The Story of a Premiership Season

August 2000

Patrick Vieira gets a fifth red card of his Arsenal career, in the last minute, as The Gunners open the season with defeat to a goal from Highbury ‘old boy’ Niall Quinn. Mario Stanic makes a scoring debut for Chelsea with two goals in the win over West Ham. Charlton Athletic enjoy the day’s highest win when they thrash Manchester City and Everton, who haven’t won at Elland Road since 1951, are beaten by Leeds. Les Ferdinand makes a scoring debut as Spurs beat Ipswich.
Manchester United enjoy a comfortable win over Newcastle with former Magpie Andy Cole on the mark against his old club.

Liverpool lose a bad-tempered game at Arsenal in which Patrick Vieira is red carded for the second time in four days. Gary McAllister and Dietmar Hamann also get their marching orders. But the German is later reprieved as referee Graham Poll rescinds Hamann’s second yellow card in the Gunners’ game.

Sir Alex Ferguson lambastes Premiership referees as ‘prima donnas' after the champions are held by Ipswich. Coventry register their first away win in 22 attempts with victory at Southampton. Duncan Ferguson comes off the bench to mark his Everton return with a brace that helps beat Charlton and Warren Barton is sent off on his 350th League appearance as Newcastle defeat Derby in front of St James’ Park’s biggest attendance for 24 years, 51,327, and £7 million striker Carl Cort nets on his Magpies’ debut.

Patrick Vieira makes the right kind of headlines with two goals as Arsenal beat Charlton to go top. Leeds win again, at Middlesbrough, and go second while Liverpool squander a 3–0 lead and concede three goals, in the last 17 minutes, in being held by Southampton, who are just one place off the bottom. Manchester United are fifth after drawing with West Ham, who are bottom of the table and Newcastle beat Spurs to go third and Coventry reach the heady heights of fourth place by beating Manchester City.

Another John Hartson transfer falls through as the Wimbledon striker fails a medical and his dream, 37 million, move to Glasgow Rangers is called off.