1998–99 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season

During the 1998–99 season, Tottenham Hotspur participated in the English Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur

1998–99 season
Chairman	Alan Sugar
Manager	Christian Gross (until 5 September) Chris Hughton (caretaker from 5–24 September) George Graham (from 24 September)
Stadium	White Hart Lane
Premiership	11th
FA Cup	Semi-finals
League Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Iversen (9) All: Iversen (13)
Highest home attendance	36,125 (vs. Liverpool, 5 December)
Lowest home attendance	22,980 (vs. Brentford, 23 September)
Average home league attendance	34,149
Home colours Away colours
← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

Season summary

A dismal start to the season saw Christian Gross lose his job as Tottenham manager less than a year after taking over.^[1] There were a few raised eyebrows when the job went to George Graham – who had achieved so much success during his reign at Tottenham's deadly rivals Arsenal.^[2] But the appointment brought instant success: though Tottenham were unable to progress beyond 11th place in the final Premiership table, they triumphed in the Worthington Cup (while also reaching the FA Cup semi-final) to attain only their second European campaign of the post-Heysel era.^[3]

Final league table

Main article: 1998–99 FA Premier League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
9	Middlesbrough	38	12	15	11	48	54	−6	51
10	Leicester City	38	12	13	13	40	46	−6	49
11	Tottenham Hotspur	38	11	14	13	47	50	−3	47	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[a]
12	Sheffield Wednesday	38	13	7	18	41	42	−1	46
13	Newcastle United	38	11	13	14	48	54	−6	46	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[b]

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

1. Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.
2. As Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Newcastle United, the runners-up.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	11	14	13	47	50	−3	47	7	7	5	28	26	+2	4	7	8	19	24	−5

Source: 1998-99 FA Premier League table

Results by matchday

Match	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	L	L	W	W	L	D	D	W	L	W	D	L	D	W	L	W	D	L	D	W	D	D	D	D	D	D	W	L	W	L	D	W	W	L	L	L	D	L
Position	20	19	14	8	12	12	13	11	14	8	9	12	14	10	12	11	10	13	13	12	12	11	11	11	13	12	10	11	10	12	12	10	9	10	10	10	11	11

Source: 11v11.com: 1998-99 Tottenham Hotspur results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Tottenham Hotspur's score comes first^[4]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
15 August 1998	Wimbledon	A	1–3	23,031	Fox
22 August 1998	Sheffield Wednesday	H	0–3	32,129
29 August 1998	Everton	A	1–0	39,378	Ferdinand
9 September 1998	Blackburn Rovers	H	2–1	28,331	Nielsen, Ferdinand
13 September 1998	Middlesbrough	H	0–3	30,345
19 September 1998	Southampton	A	1–1	15,204	Fox
26 September 1998	Leeds United	H	3–3	35,535	Vega, Iversen, Campbell
3 October 1998	Derby County	A	1–0	30,083	Campbell
19 October 1998	Leicester City	A	1–2	20,787	Ferdinand
24 October 1998	Newcastle United	H	2–0	36,047	Iversen (2)
2 November 1998	Charlton Athletic	H	2–2	32,202	Nielsen, Armstrong
7 November 1998	Aston Villa	A	2–3	39,241	Anderton (pen), Vega
14 November 1998	Arsenal	A	0–0	38,278
21 November 1998	Nottingham Forest	H	2–0	35,832	Nielsen, Armstrong
28 November 1998	West Ham United	A	1–2	26,044	Armstrong
5 December 1998	Liverpool	H	2–1	36,125	Fox, Carragher (own goal)
12 December 1998	Manchester United	H	2–2	36,097	Campbell (2)
19 December 1998	Chelsea	A	0–2	34,881
26 December 1998	Coventry City	A	1–1	23,098	Campbell
28 December 1998	Everton	H	4–1	36,053	Ferdinand, Armstrong (3)
9 January 1999	Sheffield Wednesday	A	0–0	28,204
16 January 1999	Wimbledon	H	0–0	32,422
30 January 1999	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–1	29,643	Iversen
6 February 1999	Coventry City	H	0–0	34,376
20 February 1999	Middlesbrough	A	0–0	34,687
27 February 1999	Derby County	H	1–1	35,392	Sherwood
2 March 1999	Southampton	H	3–0	28,580	Armstrong, Iversen, Dominguez
10 March 1999	Leeds United	A	0–2	34,521
13 March 1999	Aston Villa	H	1–0	35,963	Sherwood
3 April 1999	Leicester City	H	0–2	35,415
5 April 1999	Newcastle United	A	1–1	36,655	Anderton (pen)
17 April 1999	Nottingham Forest	A	1–0	25,181	Iversen
20 April 1999	Charlton Athletic	A	4–1	20,043	Iversen, Campbell, Dominguez, Ginola
24 April 1999	West Ham United	H	1–2	36,089	Ginola
1 May 1999	Liverpool	A	2–3	44,007	Carragher (own goal), Iversen
5 May 1999	Arsenal	H	1–3	36,019	Anderton
10 May 1999	Chelsea	H	2–2	35,878	Iversen, Ginola
16 May 1999	Manchester United	A	1–2	55,189	Ferdinand

FA Cup

Main article: 1998–99 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	2 January 1999	Watford	H	5–2	36,022	Iversen (2), Anderton (pen), Nielsen, Fox
R4	23 January 1999	Wimbledon	A	1–1	22,229	Ginola
R4R	2 February 1999	Wimbledon	H	3–0	24,049	Sinton, Nielsen (2)
R5	13 February 1999	Leeds United	A	1–1	39,696	Sherwood
R5R	24 February 1999	Leeds United	H	2–0	32,307	Anderton, Ginola
QF	16 March 1999	Barnsley	A	1–0	18,793	Ginola
SF	11 April 1999	Newcastle United	N	0–2	53,609

League Cup

Main article: 1998–99 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg	15 September 1998	Brentford	A	3–2	11,831	Carr, Vega, Dominguez
R2 2nd Leg	23 September 1998	Brentford	H	3–2 (won 6–4 on agg)	22,980	Campbell, Nielsen, Armstrong
R3	27 October 1998	Northampton Town	A	3–1	7,422	Armstrong (2), Campbell
R4	10 November 1998	Liverpool	A	3–1	20,772	Iversen, Scales, Nielsen
QF	2 December 1998	Manchester United	H	3–1	35,702	Armstrong (2), Ginola
SF 1st Leg	27 January 1999	Wimbledon	H	0–0	35,997
SF 2nd Leg	16 February 1999	Wimbledon	A	1–0 (won 1–0 on agg)	25,204	Iversen
F	21 March 1999	Leicester City	N	1–0	77,892	Nielsen

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ENG Ian Walker 2 DF   IRL Stephen Carr 3 DF   ITA Paolo Tramezzani 4 MF   GER Steffen Freund 5 DF   NOR Roger Nilsen 6 MF   DEN Allan Nielsen 7 MF   MSR Ruel Fox 8 MF   ALG Moussa Saïb 9 MF   ENG Darren Anderton 10 FW   ENG Les Ferdinand 11 FW   ENG Chris Armstrong 12 DF   ENG Justin Edinburgh 13 GK   NOR Espen Baardsen 14 MF   FRA David Ginola 15 DF   SUI Ramon Vega 16 DF   ENG Clive Wilson

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 DF   ENG John Scales 18 FW   NOR Steffen Iversen 19 DF   ARG Mauricio Taricco 20 MF   POR José Dominguez 21 FW   ENG Rory Allen 22 MF   ENG Andy Sinton 23 DF   ENG Sol Campbell (captain) 24 MF   ENG Tim Sherwood 25 MF   ENG Stephen Clemence 26 DF   ENG Ledley King 29 FW   NIR Paul McVeigh 30 GK   NED Hans Segers 31 GK   ENG Simon Brown 32 DF   ENG Luke Young 33 MF   ENG Mark Gower 35 DF   ENG Alton Thelwell

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 4 MF   ITA Nicola Berti (to Alavés) 5 DF   SCO Colin Calderwood (to Aston Villa) 24 FW   ENG Neale Fenn (on loan to Lincoln City)

No. Pos. Nation Player 34 MF   ENG Peter Gain (to Lincoln City) - DF   ENG Mark Arber (to Barnet)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player - GK   ENG Alan Marriott - DF   IRL Simon Webb - MF   ENG David Lee - MF   ENG John Piercy

No. Pos. Nation Player - MF   ENG Stuart Thurgood - FW   ENG Peter Crouch - FW   ENG Ian Stonebridge

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	ENG	Ian Walker	36	0	25	0	7	0	4	0
13	GK	NOR	Espen Baardsen	15	0	12	0	0	0	3	0
30	GK	NED	Hans Segers	2	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
Defenders
2	DF	IRL	Stephen Carr	52	1	37	0	7	0	8	1
3	DF	ITA	Paolo Tramezzani	7	0	6	0	0	0	1	0
5	DF	NOR	Roger Nilsen	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
12	DF	ENG	Justin Edinburgh	26	0	14+2	0	4+1	0	5	0
15	DF	SUI	Ramon Vega	25	3	13+3	2	4	0	5	1
16	DF	ENG	Clive Wilson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
17	DF	ENG	John Scales	9	1	7	0	0	0	2	1
19	DF	ARG	Mauricio Taricco	16	0	12+1	0	2+1	0	0	0
23	DF	ENG	Sol Campbell	52	8	37	6	7	0	8	2
26	DF	ENG	Ledley King	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
32	DF	ENG	Luke Young	22	0	14+1	0	3+2	0	1+1	0
Midfielders
4	MF	GER	Steffen Freund	26	0	17	0	6	0	3	0
6	MF	DEN	Allan Nielsen	40	9	25+4	3	2+2	3	7	3
7	MF	MSR	Ruel Fox	25	4	17+3	3	2	1	1+2	0
8	MF	ALG	Moussa Saib	4	0	0+4	0	0	0	0	0
9	MF	ENG	Darren Anderton	46	5	31+1	3	7	2	7	0
14	MF	FRA	David Ginola	44	7	30	3	6	3	8	1
20	MF	POR	José Dominguez	15	3	2+11	2	0	0	0+2	1
22	MF	ENG	Andy Sinton	34	1	12+10	0	2+4	1	3+3	0
24	MF	ENG	Tim Sherwood	18	3	12+2	2	4	1	0	0
25	MF	ENG	Stephen Clemence	21	0	9+8	0	0+1	0	2+1	0
33	MF	ENG	Mark Gower	2	0	0	0	0	0	0+2	0
Forwards
10	FW	ENG	Les Ferdinand	35	5	22+2	5	6+1	0	2+2	0
11	FW	ENG	Chris Armstrong	44	12	24+10	7	3+2	0	5	5
18	FW	NOR	Steffen Iversen	40	13	22+5	9	5+2	2	6	2
21	FW	ENG	Rory Allen	7	0	0+4	0	0	0	1+2	0
Players transferred out during the season
4	MF	ITA	Nicola Berti	4	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
5	DF	SCO	Colin Calderwood	17	0	11+1	0	0	0	5	0

Last updated: 15 May 1999
Source: [[^[6]]]

Goal scorers

Last updated: 26 July 2020.
Source: premierleague.com

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

Rnk	Pos	No.	Player	Premier League	FA Cup	EFL Cup	Total
1	FW	18	Steffen Iversen	9	2	2	13
2	FW	11	Chris Armstrong	7	0	5	12
3	MF	6	Allan Nielsen	3	3	3	9
4	DF	23	Sol Campbell	6	0	2	8
5	MF	14	David Ginola	3	3	1	7
6	MF	9	Darren Anderton	3	2	0	5
	FW	10	Les Ferdinand	5	0	0	5
8	DF	6	Ruel Fox	3	1	0	4
9	DF	15	Ramon Vega	2	0	1	3
	MF	20	José Dominguez	2	0	1	3
	MF	24	Tim Sherwood	2	1	0	3
12	DF	2	Stephen Carr	0	0	1	1
	DF	17	John Scales	0	0	1	1
	MF	22	Andy Sinton	0	1	0	1
TOTALS				45	13	17	75

Clean sheets

Last updated: 26 July 2020.
Source: premierleague.com

Rnk	No.	Player	Premier League	FA Cup	EFL Cup	Total
1	1	Ian Walker	7	3	3	13
2	13	Espen Baardsen	5	0	0	5
TOTALS			12	3	3	18

Transfers

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
29 June 1998	DF	Paolo Tramezzani	Piacenza	£1,350,000
9 November 1998	DF	Mauricio Taricco	Ipswich Town	£1,775,000
24 December 1998	MF	Steffen Freund	Borussia Dortmund	£750,000
4 February 1999	MF	Tim Sherwood	Blackburn Rovers	£4,000,000
25 March 1999	DF	Roger Nilsen	Sheffield United	Free transfer
17 May 1999	MF	Willem Korsten	Vitesse Arnhem	£1,500,000

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
14 June 1998	MF	David Howells	Southampton	Free transfer
17 June 1998	MF	Danny Hill	Oxford United	Free transfer
1 July 1998	DF	Dean Austin	Crystal Palace	Free transfer
7 July 1998	MF	Garry Brady	Newcastle United	Free transfer
20 November 1998	DF	Mark Arber	Barnet	£75,000
31 December 1998	MF	Nicola Berti	Alavés	Free transfer
23 March 1999	DF	Colin Calderwood	Aston Villa	£225,000
25 March 1999	MF	Peter Gain	Lincoln City	£15,000
18 May 1999	MF	Ross Fitzsimon	Norwich City	Free transfer

Transfers in:   £9,375,000

Transfers out:   £315,000

Total spending:   £9,060,000

References

1. "Gross leaves struggling Spurs". BBC Sport. 9 September 1998. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
2. "George Graham: Football's comeback king". BBC Sport. 24 September 1998. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
3. "Nielsen nicks it for Spurs". BBC Sport. 22 March 1999. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
4. . Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
5. "Tottenham Hotspur - 1998/99". FootballSquads. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
6. "Tottenham FC Player Appearances | Past & Present | Soccer Base".