1999 Football League First Division play-off Final
Encyclopedia
The 1999 Football League Championship play-off Final was contested between Bolton Wanderers
and Watford
, played at Wembley Stadium on 31 May 1999. The match was won by Watford
through goals from Nick Wright
and Allan Smart
. As a result, Watford would play in the Premier League for the first time since its inception in 1992. It also meant that Watford had secured promotion
for the second successive season, having been promoted as champions of Division Two
in 1997–98
.
Watford
were promoted from the Second Division
in 1997–98. Elimination from their first games in the League Cup and FA Cup to Cambridge United and Tottenham Hotspur respectively enabled Watford to focus on their league campaign. After winning their opening three league games, Watford gradually moved from the top of the table to a mid-table position. Following consecutive defeats to Swindon Town, Ipswich Town and Sheffield United in February and early March, a play-off position appeared unlikely. However, seven wins and a draw from the last eight games was enough to earn Watford a play-off spot on the last day of the season.
Pos: League position
P: Matches played
W: Matches won
D: Matches drawn
L: Matches lost
F: Goals for
A: Goals against
Pts: Points
(C): Champions
(P): Promoted
(pl): Qualified for play-offs
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center">
Watford:
|
GK
1
Alec Chamberlain
RWB
2
Darren Bazeley
LWB
3
Peter Kennedy
CB
4
Robert Page
CB
5
Steve Palmer
CB
6
Paul Robinson
RM
7
Michel Ngonge
CM
8
Micah Hyde
CF
9
Tommy Mooney
LM
10
Richard Johnson
CF
11
Nick Wright
Substitutes:
MF
12
Allan Smart
GK
13
Chris Day
DF
14
Alon Hazan
Manager:
Graham Taylor
Key
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
and Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
, played at Wembley Stadium on 31 May 1999. The match was won by Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
through goals from Nick Wright
Nick Wright (footballer born 1975)
Nicholas John "Nick" Wright is an English former professional footballer who played for Derby County, Carlisle United and Watford before his career was cut short by injury...
and Allan Smart
Allan Smart
Allan Smart is a professional footballer, currently playing for Southport, as a striker and also serving as Head of Youth Development.-Career:...
. As a result, Watford would play in the Premier League for the first time since its inception in 1992. It also meant that Watford had secured promotion
Promotion and relegation
In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...
for the second successive season, having been promoted as champions of Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
in 1997–98
1997-98 in English football
The 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title...
.
Watford
.Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
were promoted from the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
in 1997–98. Elimination from their first games in the League Cup and FA Cup to Cambridge United and Tottenham Hotspur respectively enabled Watford to focus on their league campaign. After winning their opening three league games, Watford gradually moved from the top of the table to a mid-table position. Following consecutive defeats to Swindon Town, Ipswich Town and Sheffield United in February and early March, a play-off position appeared unlikely. However, seven wins and a draw from the last eight games was enough to earn Watford a play-off spot on the last day of the season.
Final league table
KeyPos: League position
P: Matches played
W: Matches won
D: Matches drawn
L: Matches lost
F: Goals for
A: Goals against
Pts: Points
(C): Champions
(P): Promoted
(pl): Qualified for play-offs
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sunderland Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League... (C) (P) |
46 | 31 | 12 | 3 | 91 | 28 | 105 |
| 2. | Bradford City Bradford City A.F.C. Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two.... (P) |
46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 82 | 47 | 87 |
| 3. | Ipswich Town Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02.... (pl) |
46 | 26 | 8 | 12 | 69 | 32 | 86 |
| 4. | Birmingham City Birmingham City F.C. Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the... (pl) |
46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 66 | 37 | 81 |
| 5. | Watford Watford F.C. Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade... (P) (pl) |
46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 65 | 56 | 77 |
| 6. | Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001.... (pl) |
46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 78 | 59 | 76 |
| 7. | Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at... |
46 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 64 | 43 | 73 |
| 8. | Sheffield United Sheffield United F.C. Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production... |
46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 71 | 66 | 67 |
| 9. | Norwich City Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The... |
46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 62 | 61 | 62 |
| 10. | Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town F.C. Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One... |
46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 62 | 71 | 61 |
Semi-finals
|}* Bolton win on away goalsMatch details
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> | Bolton: | ||
| GK | 1 | Steve Banks Steve Banks Steven "Steve" Banks is an English footballer playing as goalkeeper and is also goalkeeping coach for Scottish Premier League club Dundee United.-Early career:... |
|
| RB | 2 | Neil Cox |
|
| LB | 3 | Robbie Elliott Robbie Elliott Robert James "Robbie" Elliott is an English former football left back who is currently the strength coach for the United States U-20 men's football team.... |
|
| CM | 4 |  Per FrandsenPer Frandsen Per Frandsen is a Danish former professional football player, who won the 1995 Danish Cup with F.C. Copenhagen, and played 265 league games as a midfielder for Bolton Wanderers in England... |
|
| CB | 5 | Andy Todd |
|
| CB | 6 |  Mark FishMark Fish Mark Anthony Fish is a retired South African footballer.-Club career:Fish started his career in his native South Africa under the guidance of renowned coach Steve Coetsee, playing for Arcadia Shepherds, an amateur team based at the Caledonian Stadium in Pretoria... |
|
| RM | 7 | Michael Johansen Michael Johansen Michael Bro Johansen is a Danish former professional football player, who most notably played as a midfielder for English club Bolton Wanderers. He played two games for the Danish national team in 2000 and 2002, and was an unused substitute at the 1992 Summer Olympics... |
|
| CM | 8 | Claus Jensen Claus Jensen Claus William Jensen is a former Danish professional footballer, who played as a midfielder. Jensen played more than 40 games and scored 8 goals for the Denmark national football team, and represented Denmark at the 2002 World Cup and 2004 European Championship tournaments. He is the cousin of AaB... |
|
| CF | 9 |  Eiður GuðjohnsenEiður Guðjohnsen Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen is an Icelandic footballer who currently plays for AEK Athens F.C. in the Superleague Greece. He has previously played for Premier League club Chelsea and FC Barcelona of Spain, having made his name with Bolton Wanderers. He was the captain of the Iceland national team until... |
|
| CF | 10 | Bob Taylor Bob Taylor (footballer) Robert Taylor , better known as Bob Taylor, is an English former footballer who played as a centre forward. Known by supporters as Super Bobby Taylor, Superbob or simply Super, Taylor scored more than 250 goals in a professional career that comprised almost 750 games in 20 years... |
|
| LM | 11 |  Ricardo GardnerRicardo Gardner Ricardo Gardner is a Jamaican footballer who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is naturally a left winger but can also play in the centre of midfield or at left wingback.-Early career:... |
|
| Substitutes: | |||
| MF | 12 | Bo Hansen Bo Hansen Bo Jannik Nyby Hansen is a Danish former football player in the striker position. He scored 52 goals in 143 games for Danish club Brøndby IF and 16 goals in 119 games for English club Bolton Wanderers. Hansen has played one game for the Denmark national football team.-Biography:Hansen started his... |
|
| MF | 13 | Scott Sellars Scott Sellars Scott Sellars is an English former professional football player, who is the coach of the Manchester City U18 team after previously holding the role of assistant manager at Chesterfield in the League Two.... |
|
| DF | 14 | Guðni Bergsson Guðni Bergsson Guðni Bergsson , is a former Icelandic football player who is best known for his time spent with Bolton Wanderers.-Club career:... |
|
| Manager: | |||
| Colin Todd Colin Todd Colin Todd is an English football manager and former player. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, Everton, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United and Luton Town, and also played in the North American Soccer League... |
|||
Alec ChamberlainAlec Chamberlain
Alec Francis Roy Chamberlain is a former English goalkeeper currently employed by Watford as the club's goalkeeping coach. He made 788 league appearances during his 25-year playing career, the final 11 years and 247 appearances of which were with Watford.-Career:Chamberlain started his career at...
Darren BazeleyDarren Bazeley
Darren Shaun Bazeley is an English association football player who most recently played for Waitakere United of New Zealand. He played as either a right full back or right-sided defensive midfielder...
Peter KennedyPeter Kennedy (footballer)
Peter Kennedy is a Northern Irish football defender/midfielder, who currently plays for Donegal Celtic. In 1995/96 he was named as the Ulster Footballer of the Year...
Robert PageRobert Page (footballer)
Robert Page is a Welsh former international football defender, who is now a youth team coach at Port Vale. In an eighteen year career in the Premier League and the Football League he made 475 league appearances for six different clubs...
Steve PalmerSteve Palmer
Stephen Leonard Palmer is an English former footballer who played for Ipswich Town, Watford and Queens Park Rangers. He played either as centre-half or a central midfielder....
Paul Robinson Michel NgongeMichel Ngonge
-External links:...
Micah HydeMicah Hyde
Micah Anthony Hyde is an English-born Jamaican footballer who plays for Isthmian League Premier Division club Aveley.- Biography :...
Tommy MooneyTommy Mooney
Thomas John Mooney is a former professional English football player who played as a striker.-Early career:...
Richard JohnsonRichard Johnson (footballer)
Richard Johnson is an Australian former football player.-Club career:When still a teenager Johnson moved to England to seek a professional football contract. He joined the youth ranks of Watford, and made his league début in the closing stages of the 1991/92 season...
Nick WrightNick Wright (footballer born 1975)
Nicholas John "Nick" Wright is an English former professional footballer who played for Derby County, Carlisle United and Watford before his career was cut short by injury...
Allan SmartAllan Smart
Allan Smart is a professional footballer, currently playing for Southport, as a striker and also serving as Head of Youth Development.-Career:...
Chris DayChris Day
Christopher Nicholas Day is an English professional football goalkeeper currently playing for League One side Stevenage....
Alon HazanAlon Hazan
Alon Hazan is a former Israeli footballer. Outside of football he is presently taking a degree in politics.Hazan spent most of his playing career in Israel, but did spend 18 months with English side Watford, with whom he achieved two promotions - from Division Two to the Premier League...
Graham TaylorMATCH RULES
|
Key
See also
- History of Watford F.C.History of Watford F.C.Watford Football Club is an English association football club from Watford, Hertfordshire. Formed as Watford Rovers in 1881, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886. In the same year, they also entered the county-wide Herts Senior Cup, reaching the final six times over the next ten...
- List of Watford F.C. seasons
- 1998-99 in English football1998-99 in English football-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker...