The 1998-99 English Premier League title was won by Manchester United, thanks to a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the season, denying Arsenal in the process.
The two rivals had been exchanging blows for much of the second half of the season, but when Arsenal lost to Leeds with just one game remaining it handed the initiative to United, who made no mistake in completing the first leg of their famous treble.
CHANGES
Arsenal had finished strongly while United had succumbed to a long injury list at the end of the previous campaign, and Sir Alex Ferguson knew he had to refresh a squad which had ageing players in certain departments. The transfer of Jaap Stam from PSV Eindhoven for £10.75m freshened up a back line, with Gary Pallister returning to former club Middlesbrough soon after. United weren’t finished there, adding Jesper Blomqvist as high-quality cover for the injury-prone Ryan Giggs, but their hunt for a forward stretched into the start of the new campaign until they secured the £12.6m million transfer of Dwight Yorke from Aston Villa.
Arsenal’s summer was low key, adding Freddie Ljungberg before bolstering their attacking options with Kanu in mid-season, while Chelsea welcomed a few marquee signings, securing the coup of Marcel Desailly, Pierluigi Casiraghi came in from Lazio, and the brilliant Dane Brian Laudrup was added from Rangers on a Bosman.
Elsewhere in the division there wasn’t much in the way of significant spending, though Newcastle ended that by spending £8m on Duncan Ferguson from Everton.
Nottingham Forest, deserved winners of the First Division, were joined by Middlesbrough and, via one of the most dramatic playoff finals ever, Charlton Athletic, who won on penalties after a gruelling 4-4 draw at Wembley.
One of the most bizarre, ethereal moments in Premier League history arrived in September when, after a mini-brawl broke out between Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal at Hillsborough, Paolo Di Canio confronted…
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Author : editors@footballcritic.com (Team FC)
Publish date : 2024-07-25 10:00:00
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