Champions: Manchester United
Runners-up: Arsenal
Champions League places: Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool
UEFA Cup places: Leeds United, Chelsea, Ipswich Town, Aston Villa (Intertoto Cup)
Promoted (from 1999/2000): Charlton Athletic, Manchester City, Ipswich Town
Relegated: Bradford City, Coventry City, Manchester City
Leading Scorer: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Chelsea) 23 goals
Premier League Table 2000 – 2001
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manchester United | 38 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 79 | 31 | +48 | 80 |
2 | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 63 | 38 | +25 | 70 |
3 | Liverpool | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 71 | 39 | +32 | 69 |
4 | Leeds United | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 64 | 43 | +21 | 68 |
5 | Ipswich Town | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 57 | 42 | +15 | 66 |
6 | Chelsea | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 68 | 45 | +23 | 61 |
7 | Sunderland | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 57 |
8 | Aston Villa | 38 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 54 |
9 | Charlton Athletic | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 50 | 57 | -7 | 52 |
10 | Southampton | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 40 | 48 | -8 | 52 |
11 | Newcastle United | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 44 | 50 | -6 | 51 |
12 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 47 | 54 | -7 | 49 |
13 | Leicester city | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 39 | 51 | -12 | 48 |
14 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 42 |
15 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 45 | 50 | -5 | 42 |
16 | Everton | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | 45 | 59 | -14 | 42 |
17 | Derby County | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 59 | -22 | 42 |
18 | Manchester City | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 41 | 65 | -24 | 34 |
19 | Coventry City | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 36 | 63 | -27 | 34 |
20 | Bradford City | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 30 | 70 | -40 | 26 |
2000/2001 Season Review
Once again, Manchester United blew their rivals out of the water, taking the title by ten points to end on top of the 2000/01 Premier League table. As a result, Alex Ferguson became the first manager to win three English titles on the trot.
The United manager said: “This is the toughest league in the world, and winning three in a row is something special. Perhaps we’re like a great artist whose work is only really appreciated with time.”
Arsenal was hot on their heels, producing one of the most memorable matches of the season when they beat Charlton Athletic 5-3 at Highbury in August. The Gunners also became the first team since February to defeat Manchester United – narrowly winning 1-0 in October.
But by Christmas, most bookmakers had stopped taking bets on United taking the crown. And the Red Devils avenged their Highbury defeat in February, playing Arsenal off the pitch to win 6-1. That astonishing result widened the gap to 16 points and mathematically handed United the title.
Champions League Spot
Leeds United and Liverpool wrestled for the final Champions League spot. Leeds looked like favorites in November when they came from behind to beat Liverpool 4-3 in one of the greatest ever Premier League matches. Mark Viduka scored all four Leeds goals.
But Liverpool pipped Leeds to the third spot by just one point in a remarkable season for the Reds. Having already secured the FA and League Cups, an astonishing UEFA Cup final victory against Alaves clinched their unique cup treble.
Leeds had some consolation as they reached the semi-final stage of the Champions League for the first time since 1975. They also bought Rio Ferdinand from West Ham United for an English record fee of £ 18 million.
Only Five Wins
Bradford City’s tally of just five victories at the other end matched Swindon’s record low number of Premier League wins (set seven years previously). And Coventry City’s luck finally ran out. After 34 years in the top flight and many relegation battles, they lost their Premiership status thanks to a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa.
Newly promoted Manchester City was the third relegated team but had high hopes of bouncing straight back up as former England manager Kevin Keegan replaced the sacked Joe Royle.
Fellow new boys Ipswich Town fared much better. Tipped for relegation before the season started, the Tractor boys stunned even their fans by emerging as unlikely challengers for a Champions League spot. They eventually finished fifth, qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the first time since 1982.
Manager George Burley was voted “Manager of the Year” by his colleagues.
Italian Replaces An Italian
Chelsea’s slow start to the season meant Gianluca Vialli was sacked despite winning five trophies since taking the job in February 1998. His replacement was Claudio Ranieri. He spoke only limited English and led the Blues to sixth spot on the 2000/01 premier league table and a UEFA Cup place.
Things did not bode well for the rest of the Barclaycard Premiership when Manchester United broke the English transfer record in the close season to sign PSV Eindhoven’s Ruud Van Nistelrooy. And weeks later, broke it again to snap up Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron.
2000/2001 Cup Results
2000/01 FA Cup Winners: Liverpool [Final – Liverpool 2 v 1 Arsenal]
2000/01 League Cup Winners: Liverpool [Final – Liverpool 1 v 1 Birmingham City (aet) Liverpool win 5-4 on penalties]
2000/01 Champions League Winners: Bayern Munich [Final – Bayern Munich 1 v 1 Valencia (aet) Bayern Munich win 5-4 on penalties]
2000/01 UEFA Cup Winners: Liverpool [Final – Liverpool 5 v 4 Alaves (aet)]
2000/01 Managerial Changes
Bradford: Paul Jewell out, Chris Hutchings in, Chris Hutchings out, Jim Jefferies in
Chelsea: Gianluca Vialli out, Claudio Ranieri in
Leicester City: Martin O’Neill out, Peter Taylor in
Manchester City: Joe Royle out, Kevin Keegan in
Middlesbrough: Terry Venables joined manager Bryan Robson in a consultative capacity
Southampton: Glenn Hoddle out, Stuart Gray in
Tottenham Hotspur: George Graham out, Glenn Hoddle in
West Ham United: Harry Redknapp out, Glenn Roeder in
2000/2001 Premier League Player of the Month Awards
The following soccer players received the award for their achievements in the Premier League Player of the Month 2000/2001 season.
- August 2000: Alan Smith (Leeds United)
- September 2000: Tim Flowers (Leicester City)
- October 2000: Teddy Sheringham (Manchester United)
- November 2000: Paul Robinson (Leeds United)
- December 2000: James Beattie (Southampton)
- January 2001: Robbie Keane (Leeds United)
- February 2001: Stuart Pearce (West Ham United)
- March 2001: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
- April 2001: Gary McAllister (Liverpool)