Stadium Selhurst Park FA Cup Fourth round | Premier League 18th (relegated) League Cup Quarter-finals | |
Chairman Sam Hammam, Lebanon
Bjørn Rune Gjelsten, Norway Manager Egil Olsen (until 1 May)
Terry Burton, England (caretaker) | ||
During the 1999–2000 English football season, Wimbledon competed in the Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).
Contents
- Season summary
- Final league table
- Results
- First team squad
- Left club during season
- Reserve squad
- In
- Out
- Loaned out
- Starting 11
- References
The season began with a new manager, Norway's Egil Olsen, after the close season resignation of long-serving Joe Kinnear, but Olsen was ousted with two weeks of the season remaining and replaced by coach Terry Burton, who was unable to save Wimbledon from relegation after 14 successive seasons of top division football.
Season summary
The close-season resignation of former Joe Kinnear because of health problems (he would suffer from them again as manager of Newcastle United) after seven years as manager led to the appointment of former Norwegian national coach Egil Olsen as Wimbledon's new manager, giving Dons fans hope of beating the drop once again. The mid-season collapse of star striker John Hartson's move to Tottenham Hotspur was further good news to the cause, but a run of eight straight defeats during the final weeks of the season dragged Wimbledon into the depth of the relegation mire. Olsen was sacked after a 3–0 defeat away to Bradford City, to be replaced by former coach and assistant manager Terry Burton for the final two games of the season. A 2–2 draw at home to Aston Villa gave them hope going into their last game, away to Southampton. They were one place above the relegation zone on goal difference, but a 2–0 defeat at the Dell – combined with Bradford's 1–0 win over Liverpool – condemned Wimbledon to relegation and ended their 14-year stay in the top flight. The transition coincided with the end of one of the most remarkable rags-to-riches stories in football, which had started with Wimbledon's election to the Football League in 1977 and seen them reach the top flight nine years later, before peaking as 1988 FA Cup Final winners. Their relegation was confirmed 12 years to the day that Wimbledon achieved their famous victory over Liverpool at Wembley.
Final league table
Updated to games played on 14 May 2000.
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
1 Chelsea qualified for the UEFA Cup as FA Cup winners
2 Leicester City qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Source: 1999-2000 FA Premier League table
Source: Soccerbase: 1999-2000 Wimbledon results
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.
Results
Wimbledon's score comes first
First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve squad
The following players did not make an appearance for the first team this season.Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.