The 1998–99 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Premier League, the top division of English football, since its establishment in 1992. Manchester United won a treble of the league title, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. They secured their fifth league title in seven seasons after outlasting Arsenal and Chelsea in a closely fought title race, losing just three league games all season.
The season was also the 100th season of top-flight football in England, not counting years lost to the two World Wars. Of the original clubs in the first Football League season, only Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, and Everton were present for this season.
Moment That Happens During The Season. Manchester United won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League. Arsenal Came Close But Dethroned. Chelsea Qualified For The Champions League. Liverpool’s Michael Owen Won The Golden Boot. Charlton was Promoted But Stayed For One Season. Tottenham Appointed George Graham And Won The League Cup.
Summary
At the end of 1998–99, the Premiership would have three Champions League places. Manchester United as well as runners-up Arsenal and third-placed Chelsea would be playing in the following season's Champions League. There would only be one automatic UEFA Cup place from the league – taken by fourth-placed Leeds United. Fifth-placed West Ham United qualified for the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup after achieving their highest league finish since 1986 as they continued to make progress under Harry Redknapp, outperforming several "bigger" clubs with greater resources. Also qualifying were Newcastle United via the 1998–99 FA Cup final, and Tottenham Hotspur via the League Cup.
Manchester United regained the title from Arsenal on the final day of the season, and had faced competition from Chelsea until the final stages of the season, while Aston Villa had led the table for much of the first half of the season before finishing sixth.
Bottom of the Premiership in the final table came Nottingham Forest, who suffered their third relegation in seven seasons. After winning two of their opening three matches, a club record winless run of 19 matches left them firmly rooted to the bottom. Another notable low during the season saw an 8-1 defeat at home to Manchester United, by which point Dave Bassett had been replaced by Ron Atkinson, who was unable to spark a revival in fortunes, and their relegation back to the First Division was confirmed with three games remaining. Forest ultimately would not return to the top flight for another 23 years.
