#16 – 1999/00
TTT Season Rating Score*: 1.70 (League 1.29, Cups 0.00, Finance 0.41).
Manager: Gerard Houllier.
Premier League: 67 points, finished 4th.
£XI rank: 5th.
Europe: N/A.
FA Cup: 4th round.
League Cup: 3rd round.
Top scorer: Michael Owen 12.
Final League Table:
| # | Team | M. | W | D | L | goals | Dif. | Pt. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Manchester United | 38 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 97:45 | 52 | 91 |
| 2 |  |
Arsenal FC | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 73:43 | 30 | 73 |
| 3 |  |
Leeds United | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 58:43 | 15 | 69 |
| 4 |  |
Liverpool FC | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 51:30 | 21 | 67 |
| 5 |  |
Chelsea FC | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 53:34 | 19 | 65 |
| 6 |  |
Aston Villa | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 46:35 | 11 | 58 |
| 7 |  |
Sunderland AFC | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 57:56 | 1 | 58 |
| 8 |  |
Leicester City | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 55:55 | 0 | 55 |
| 9 |  |
West Ham United | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 52:53 | -1 | 55 |
| 10 |  |
Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 57:49 | 8 | 53 |
| 11 |  |
Newcastle United | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 63:54 | 9 | 52 |
| 12 |  |
Middlesbrough FC | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 46:52 | -6 | 52 |
| 13 |  |
Everton FC | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 59:49 | 10 | 50 |
| 14 |  |
Coventry City | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 47:54 | -7 | 44 |
| 15 |  |
Southampton FC | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 45:62 | -17 | 44 |
| 16 |  |
Derby County | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 44:57 | -13 | 38 |
| 17 |  |
Bradford City | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 38:68 | -30 | 36 |
| 18 |  |
Wimbledon FC | 38 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 46:74 | -28 | 33 |
| 19 |  |
Sheffield Wednesday | 38 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 38:70 | -32 | 31 |
| 20 |  |
Watford FC | 38 | 6 | 6 | 26 | 35:77 | -42 | 24 |
Transfers In:
| Player | Current Money Purchase Price | Age @ transfer |
| Heskey E | £100,464,384 | 22 |
| Hamann D | £73,065,007 | 25 |
| Westerveld S | £36,532,503 | 24 |
| Henchoz S | £34,249,222 | 24 |
| Smicer V | £34,249,222 | 26 |
| Camara T | £23,746,127 | 26 |
| Hyypia S | £23,746,127 | 25 |
| Meijer E | £0 | 29 |
Transfers Out:
| Player | Sales CTPP |
| Leonhardsen O | £27,399,377 |
| James D | £15,526,314 |
| Ferri J | £13,699,689 |
| Kvarme B | £9,133,126 |
| Ince P | £9,133,126 |
| Dundee S | £9,133,126 |
| Riedle K | £1,826,625 |
| McManaman S | N/A |
Player stats for the season:
| # | Player | Starts | Sub Apps | Goals |
| 12 | Sami Hyypia | 42 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Sander Westerveld | 39 | 0 | |
| 23 | Jamie Carragher | 37 | 3 | |
| 15 | Patrik Berger | 36 | 1 | 9 |
| 21 | Dominic Matteo | 33 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Stephane Henchoz | 33 | 0 | |
| 16 | Dietmar Hamann | 29 | 1 | 1 |
| 28 | Steven Gerrard | 28 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | Michael Owen | 25 | 5 | 12 |
| 22 | Titi Camara | 24 | 13 | 10 |
| 25 | David Thompson | 22 | 9 | 3 |
| 11 | Jamie Redknapp | 19 | 4 | 3 |
| 7 | Vladimir Smicer | 17 | 8 | 1 |
| 4 | Rigobert Song | 16 | 5 | |
| 24 | Danny Murphy | 13 | 14 | 6 |
| 8 | Emile Heskey | 12 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 | Vegard Heggem | 11 | 14 | 1 |
| 5 | Steve Staunton | 11 | 5 | 1 |
| 18 | Erik Meijer | 10 | 14 | 2 |
| 9 | Robbie Fowler | 8 | 6 | 3 |
| 19 | Brad Friedel | 4 | 0 | |
| 30 | Djimi Traore | 2 | 0 | |
| 13 | Karl-Heinz Riedle | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Layton Maxwell | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Jon Newby | 0 | 4 | |
| 31 | Frode Kippe | 0 | 1 |
Season summary
Andrew Beasley: In his first full season in sole control, Gerard Houllier tightened up the Reds’ back line, but at the cost of the attack. Michael Owen was top scorer with just 12, the lowest total by Liverpool’s top goal-getter in any Premier League campaign.
There’s no question the defence improved spectacularly though with Sander Westerveld, Stephane Henchoz and (especially) Sami Hyypia curing many of the team’s ills almost immediately. The Reds conceded 30 league goals that season; their best record in the Premier League era at that point, and a tally they’ve only bettered five times in the 19 years since.
However, goals were very hard to come by and it ultimately proved very costly. The Reds didn’t net in any of their final five league games, which saw them drop from second in the table to fourth, at a time when England only held three Champions League qualification spots.
Across the campaign Liverpool suffered 1-0 losses in the league to Watford, Middlesbrough, Everton – though it was at least their last win at Anfield – West Ham, Spurs and Bradford. Blackburn knocked Houllier’s side out of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win at Anfield too. Five goalless draws also took their toll; Liverpool should really have easily qualified for Europe’s top table. But that would have to wait until the following year.
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