1999–2000 Liverpool F.C. season

Players

First-team squad

:Squad at end of season

Left club during season

Reserve squad

Transfers

In

• FIN Sami Hyypiä - NED Willem II, 18 May, £2,600,000
• GUI Titi Camara - FRA Marseille, 2 June, £2,600,000
• SUI Stéphane Henchoz - ENG Blackburn Rovers, 3 June, £3,500,000
• NED Sander Westerveld - NED Vitesse, 15 June, £4,100,000
• CZE Vladimír Šmicer - FRA Lens,1 July, £4,200,000
• NED Erik Meijer - GER Bayer Leverkusen, 1 July, Free
• GER Dietmar Hamann - ENG Newcastle United, 22 July, £8,300,000
• ENG Emile Heskey - ENG Leicester City, 10 March, £11,400,000

Out

• ENG David James - ENG Aston Villa, 23 June, £1,800,000
• ENG Steve McManaman - ESP Real Madrid, 1 July, free
• FRA Jean-Michel Ferri - FRA Sochaux, 14 July, £1,500,000
• ENG Tony WarnerWarner was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally and would make his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in February 2006. - ENG Millwall, 17 July, free
• ENG Jamie Cassidy - ENG Cambridge United, 22 July, free
• RSA Sean DundeeDundee was born in Durban, South Africa, but also holds German nationality and would make his international debut for the Germany B team in March 2000. - GER Stuttgart, 30 July, £1,100,000
• ENG Paul Ince - ENG Middlesbrough, 30 July, £1,200,000
• NOR Øyvind Leonhardsen - ENG Tottenham Hotspur, 6 August, £3,300,000
• NOR Bjørn Tore Kvarme - FRA Saint-Étienne, 30 August, £1,200,000
• GER Karl-Heinz Riedle - ENG Fulham, 28 September, £204,000
• ENG Ian Dunbavin - ENG Shrewsbury Town, 22 January, free
• WAL Eifion Jones - ENG Blackpool, 23 March, free
• ENG Rob Jones - ENG West Ham United, free, 24 July

Events of the season

After a disappointing seventh-place finish the previous season, which left Liverpool without even UEFA Cup qualification, manager Gérard Houllier began to rebuild his squad and made seven close season signings. The attack was bolstered with the arrival of Titi Camara, Erik Meijer and Vladimír Šmicer. Succeeding Aston Villa-bound David James in goal was Dutchman Sander Westerveld. A new look central defence featured Stéphane Henchoz and Sami Hyypiä. Following the summer departure of former captain Paul Ince, Jamie Redknapp was made the new captain of the side, with Robbie Fowler appointed as vice-captain.

The season began on 7 August 1999 with a 2–1 win at Sheffield Wednesday, with Robbie Fowler and the debutant Titi Camara finding the net. However, the next game saw newly promoted Watford – in the top flight for the first time in over a decade – travel to Anfield and come away surprise 1–0 winners. Defeat followed in the next game as Liverpool travelled to Middlesbrough, but then came victories over Leeds United and Arsenal which saw the Reds occupy eighth place as the first month of the season drew to a close.

September saw the Reds navigate the second round of the Football League Cup with a comfortable aggregate win over financially troubled Division Three side Hull City, though they failed to achieve any victories in the league, losing 3–2 at home to Manchester United (with Jamie Carragher scoring two own goals), drawing 2–2 at Leicester City and finally losing 1–0 at home to Everton in the Merseyside derby. This left Liverpool 12th by the end of September, while their cross-city rivals were showing signs of a revival after three dismal seasons by occupying sixth place. Things improved slightly in October with two league victories over Chelsea and West Ham United. Southampton had ended Liverpool's League Cup hopes with a third round defeat earlier in the month, which ended with Liverpool's league standing slightly improved to ninth place. With a third of the season now gone, they were eight points off the top of a table being led by Leeds United.

November was a much better month for the Reds, who achieved wins over Bradford, Derby County and Sunderland to occupy fifth place by 20 November. They were now just six points behind leaders Manchester United. However, the month ended on a low note as they lost 1–0 at West Ham United.

Liverpool's revival continued in December as they beat struggling Sheffield Wednesday 4–1 at Anfield. With the FA Cup third round unusually being played before Christmas, they travelled to Division One promotion chasers Huddersfield Town on 12 December and came away 2-0 victors. A 2–0 win over Coventry City on 18 December meant that the Reds were still fifth in the league at Christmas, six points behind Manchester United.

Their FA Cup quest ended in a shock 1–0 fourth round defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers.

Liverpool's attack was bolstered with the club record £11 million signing of Leicester City's Emile Heskey on 10 March 2000.

The first two months of the new millennium saw mixed results for the Reds, but many of the teams around them dropped points as well, meaning that by mid February they were third in the league and just six points behind leaders Manchester United, who had a game in hand. There now appeared to be a realistic chance that the Reds might finally be able to end their ten-year wait for the league title. Three successive draws followed in March, then came a five-match winning run which lifted them to second place by 16 April. However, Manchester United now had an 11-point lead at the top of the table with just five games remaining, and needed just five points from those remaining games to be certain of retaining the league title. However, Liverpool still had something to play for, as the top three places in the Premier League now meant Champions League qualification. Competition for second and third place was still fierce, with Arsenal, Leeds United, Chelsea and Aston Villa all in close contention.

However, the season ended with a disastrous run of results. A goalless draw at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby was followed by a 2–0 defeat at Chelsea. Emile Heskey's first game against old club Leicester on 3 May was a disaster as the East Midlanders came away from Anfield with a 2–0 victory. A goalless draw against Southampton followed, and on the final day of the season, 14 May, the Reds travelled to a Bradford City side battling it out with Wimbledon to avoid the last relegation place. An early David Wetherall goal gave Bradford a 1–0 win over the Reds, who surrendered a Champions League place and were forced to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup instead. The result also relegated Wimbledon, who, 12 years to the day, had beaten the Reds in one of the greatest FA Cup final shocks of all time.

Statistics

Appearances and goals

:Players with no appearances not included in the list |- |} Source:

Top scorers

Disciplinary record

Source:

Pre-season and friendlies

Competitions

Premier League

Main article: 1999-2000 FA Premier League

League Table

Results summary

Results by round

Matches

Camara Radebe Berger Berger Cole , Sinclair Izzet Gerrard Jeffers Wise Redknapp Heggem Redknapp Berger Murphy Gerrard Thompson Camara Ferguson Berger Fowler Helguson Thompson Šmicer Berger Murphy Camara Redknapp Heskey Owen Di Matteo Gilchrist

FA Cup

Main article: 1999-2000 FA Cup

Matches

Matteo

League Cup

Main article: 1999–2000 Football League Cup

Matches

First-leg Meijer Staunton Second-leg Maxwell Riedle Alcide Soltvedt

Notes

References

References

1. "Statistics for the 1999–2000 Season". LFChistory.net.
2. "FootballSquads - Liverpool - 1999/00".
3. "Seven arrive in the summer of 1999 - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!".
4. "BBC News | FA CARLING PREMIERSHIP | Heskey shrugs off record fee".
5. "Seven arrive in the summer of 1999 - LFChistory - Stats galore for Liverpool FC!".
6. "Liverpool News - LFC Online".
7. "Liverpool News - LFC Online".
8. "Liverpool News - LFC Online".
9. "Liverpool News - LFC Online".
10. "Liverpool News - LFC Online".
11. "Liverpool News - LFC Online".
12. "England BME Players - Emile Heskey".
13. "Liverpool News - LFC Online".
14. "Liverpool News - LFC Online".
15. (14 May 2000). "Bradford celebrate great escape". BBC News.
16. "Liverpool Squad Stats – 1999/2000". 11v11.
17. 1999 Carlsberg Belfast Challenge
18. 1999 Carlsberg Belfast Challenge final
19. [[Ronnie Moran]]'s testimonial.
20. [[Steve Staunton]] and [[Tony Cascarino]]'s testimonial