When Man Utd were too good for English football

The English Premier League title was won by Manchester United for the second consecutive season in emphatic fashion in 1999-2000, ending the campaign a massive 18 points clear of nearest challengers Arsenal.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side lost just three times, scoring 97 goals in the process as the rest of the league struggled to keep pace with the Red Devils. Leeds United, who had upped their spending considerably, came in third, to qualify for the Champions League.

CHANGES

Manchester United, having a treble-winning squad, weren’t required to do a great deal of housekeeping in the summer. The only real issue Sir Alex Ferguson faced was Peter Schmeichel’s decision to move on to Sporting Lisbon, and he moved quickly to secure the highly-regarded Mark Bosnich as his replacement.

Arsenal responded to losing the title on the final day of the season by acquiring Thierry Henry from Juventus, after the Frenchman’s ill-fated spell in Italy. Wenger planned to turn Henry into a central striker – a decision that would prove hugely lucrative in the long-term for the Gunners.

David O’Leary’s fledgling Leeds were quickly developing into one of the watchable sides in the division, and they added some experience in the form of Michael Duberry and Premier League winner Jason Wilcox, as well as the promising Michael Bridges for a £5m fee.

Chelsea brought in World Cup winner Didier Deschamps and also spent a huge amount – £10m – on Chris Sutton from Blackburn Rovers, a move that wouldn’t prove beneficial for either club or player, and Sutton was on his way to Celtic at the end of the season. Liverpool, meanwhile, bolstered their attacking options mid-season with an £11m deal for Emile Heskey.

Coming up from the First Division were a Sunderland side that were among as dominant as any promoted outfit in history, followed by the unfancied Bradford City and, via the playoffs, Watford.

SEASON SUMMARY

From the opening rounds of the season it became clear that, once again,…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/when-man-utd-were-too-good-for-english-football-the-1999-00-premier-league/59

Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)

Publish date : 2024-07-25 11:00:00

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