In the 1998–99 season, Newcastle United competed in the FA Premier League. Newcastle's season was an almost carbon copy of the one before. They finished 13th in the Premiership and lost in the FA Cup final to enter Europe because the winning side had already qualified for the Champions League.
Just after the season started, Kenny Dalglish paid for Newcastle's sub-standard league performances with his job. The task was given to Ruud Gullit to turn things round, but he could not improve on the club's previous league finish of 13th. A dismal league position put them below local rivals Middlesbrough as well as other unfancied sides including Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday.
Season summary
A poor start to the 1998–99 season led to Kenny Dalglish being sacked.Dalglish Sacked by Newcastle . On This Football Day. Retrieved 14 August 2013 Ruud Gullit, a trophy winning manager with Chelsea a few years previously, was put in charge. The team again started promisingly, but was knocked out of the Cup Winners' Cup in the first round.
Gullit made some high-profile mistakes in the transfer market (notably, Spanish defender Marcelino and forward Silvio Maric bore the brunt of supporters frustrations). Less forgivably, he also fell out with several senior players, including the club captain Rob Lee, who had been the heartbeat of the team for the previous half decade, and was initially not given a squad number.Louise Taylor (Sunday Times 02.01.00) Robert Lee Interview. nufc.com. Retrieved 14 August 2013
Newcastle made it to the 1998–99 FA Cup final, their second final in successive seasons. This time around they were to lose to Manchester United 2–0.
Because the FA Cup winners had already won European qualification, this meant Newcastle reached Europe for the fourth season running: this time the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, due to the discontinuation of the Cup Winners' Cup.
Gullit resigned shortly after the start of the 1999–2000 season.
Off the pitch, controversy was caused when former chairman Freddy Shepherd, who had been forced to resign due to controversy over remarks made in the press the previous season, successfully manoeuvred to reinstate himself to the position within less than a year.
Transfers
In Date Pos. Name From Fee June 1998 MF Georgios Georgiadis Panathinaikos £500,000 June 1998 GK Lionel Perez Sunderland Free June 1998 FW Stéphane Guivarc'h Auxerre £3,500,000 July 1998 DF Carl Serrant Oldham Athletic £500,000 July 1998 MF Garry Brady Tottenham Hotspur £650,000 July 1998 DF Laurent Charvet Cannes £750,000 August 1998 MF Dietmar Hamann Bayern Munich £4,500,000 August 1998 MF Nolberto Solano Boca Juniors £2,500,000 November 1998 FW Duncan Ferguson Everton £8,000,000 January 1999 FW Louis Saha Metz Loan January 1999 DF Didier Domi PSG £4,000,000 March 1999 MF Silvio Marić Croatia Zagreb £3,650,000
Total spending: £28.55m
Out Date Pos. Name From Fee June 1998 FW Jon Dahl Tomasson Feyenoord £2,500,000 June 1998 DF Darren Peacock Blackburn Rovers £100,000 July 1998 GK Shaka Hislop West Ham United Free July 1998 GK Pavel Srníček Banik Ostrava Free 8 December 1998 MF David Batty Leeds United £4,400,000
Total spending: £2.6m
Players First-team squad
Left club during season
Reserve squad
Trialists
Statistics
Appearances, goals and cards (Starts + substitute appearances) No.Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupEuropeTotalDisciplineAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals1GK Shay Given310602020410012DF Warren Barton18+6050100024+60503DF Stuart Pearce120002020160114MF David Batty6+200020109+20404DF Didier Domi140400000180105DF Alessandro Pistone2+100000002+10106DF Steve Howey140400000180107MF Rob Lee20+6030001024+60608FW Stéphane Guivarc'h2+210000002+21009FW Alan Shearer29+11465212139+1217010MF John Barnes0+100000000+100010MF Silvio Marić9+101+20000010+301011MF Gary Speed34+34611+102043+458012MF Dietmar Hamann22+1471100030+157113GK Steve Harper7+101+1000008+200014MF Temuri Ketsbaia14+12563002022+1282015MF Georgios Georgiadis7+300+2110008+512016DF Laurent Charvet30+1150102038+113017MF Stephen Glass18+432+20202024+631018MF Keith Gillespie5+20000+10005+300018FW Louis Saha5+611100006+621019DF Steve Watson70000010800020FW Duncan Ferguson720+2000007+220021DF Carl Serrant3+100000003+101024MF Nolberto Solano24+4670101+1033+563025FW Paul Dalglish6+510021008+522027DF Philippe Albert3+3000000+103+402028DF Aaron Hughes12+201+10100014+301029MF Garry Brady3+602+1000005+700033DF David Beharall40000000400034DF Nikos Dabizas25+5360202135+548236MF Jamie McClen10000000100038DF Andy Griffin1403010101902040FW Andreas Andersson10+4210001012+4200
Starting 11 GK: #1, Shay Given, 41 RB: #2, Warren Barton, 24 CB: #6, Steve Howey, 18 (#38, Andy Griffin, has 18 starts as a RB) CB: #34, Nikos Dabizas, 35 LB: #16, Laurent Charvet, 38 RM: #24, Nolberto Solano, 33 CM: #7, Rob Lee, 24 (#17, Stephen Glass, has 24 starts as a LM) CM: #12, Dietmar Hamann, 30 LM: #11, Gary Speed, 43 CF: #9, Alan Shearer, 39 CF: #14, Temuri Ketsbaia, 22
Coaching staff
Results
Pre-season
FA Premier League
Results by matchday
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
FA Cup
League Cup
References
External links FootballSquads – Newcastle United – 1998/99 Newcastle United Football Club – Fixtures 1998–99 Season Details – 1998–99 – toon1892