2000–01 in English football

Manchester United secured their third Premiership title in succession and their seventh title in just nine seasons. Liverpool became only the second English side to win the League Cup and FA Cup in the same season, also adding the UEFA Cup to make it a unique treble.

Fulham reached the Premiership as Division One champions to secure their five-season rise from Division Three. They also became the first club to have played in all four divisions of the English league since the creation of the Premiership.

Luton Town – who had been League Cup winners 13 years prior and top division members until nine years prior – and Oxford United – who had been League Cup winners 15 years earlier and top division members until 13 years prior – were relegated to Division Three.

Mid-table Division Two side Wycombe Wanderers beat all odds by reaching the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool, beating Division One sides Millwall, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Wimbledon, as well as Premier League side Leicester City en route to the semis. Wycombe were defeated 2–1 at Villa Park.

From Division One to the Premier League:

Fulham

Blackburn Rovers

Bolton Wanderers

From Division Two to Division One:

Millwall

Rotherham United

Walsall

From Division Three to Division Two:

Brighton & Hove Albion

Cardiff City

Chesterfield

Blackpool

From The Football Conference to Division Three:

Rushden & Diamonds

From the Premier League to Division One:

Manchester City

Coventry City

Bradford City

From Division One to Division Two:

Huddersfield Town

Queens Park Rangers

Tranmere Rovers

From Division Two to Division Three:

Bristol Rovers

Luton Town

Swansea City

Oxford United

From Division Three to The Football Conference:

Barnet

• After failing to break into the Tottenham Hotspur side, Peter Crouch, 19, makes his league debut for new club Queens Park Rangers in a goalless draw with Birmingham City on the opening day of the season.
• The same weekend sees future England teammate Joleon Lescott, play for Wolverhampton Wanderers in their draw with Sheffield Wednesday shortly before his 18th birthday.
• Seventeen-year-old Jermain Defoe scores the only goal of the game as West Ham United win 1–0 at Walsall in the League Cup in August 2000.

3 August 2000: Pierluigi Casiraghi, 31-year-old Italian striker, retires nearly two years after he broke his leg in a Premier League match for Chelsea and failed to make a full recovery.^[2]

28 September 2000: Steve Bould, 37-year-old central defender, retires after just over a year at Sunderland, having joined them after 11 years at Arsenal where he formed part of one of the most successful defence line-ups of modern times.^[3]

8 November 2000: Robbie Earle, 35-year-old Wimbledon and Jamaica midfielder, retires due to a stomach injury.^[4]

24 January 2001: Luc Nilis, 33-year-old Belgian striker, retires on medical advice four months after suffering a badly broken leg while playing for Aston Villa against Ipswich Town.^[5]

4 May 2001: Dave Watson, 39-year-old central defender, finally retires from playing after 15 years with Everton after accepting an offer to manage Tranmere Rovers.^[6]

9 May 2001: Tony Cottee, 35-year-old striker, retires after a brief spell at Millwall during their Division Two promotion run-in.^[7]

4 July 2001: Gary Pallister, 36-year-old central defender, retires after 17 years in professional football after three years back at Middlesbrough, who gave him his Football League break when he began his first spell with them in 1984. His biggest successes came at Manchester United between 1989 and 1998, where he won four league titles, three FA Cups, a Football League Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup. He was also capped 22 times by England between 1988 and 1996.^[8]

• 8 July 2000: Cliff Sear, 63, took much of the credit for helping develop the career of Ian Rush from his work with the Chester youth set-up in the late 1970s. His 19-year association with Chester (1968–87) also included a spells as manager and player. The former Welsh international had earlier played for Manchester City and later worked for Wrexham.
• 29 July 2000: Benny Fenton, 81, played 409 league games at wing-half between 1937 and 1958 for West Ham United, Millwall, Charlton Athletic and Colchester United. He served Colchester United for eight years as manager, before a year-long spell in charge of Orient before returning to Millwall as manager in 1966 and remaining in charge of the club for eight years until 1974.
• 18 August 2000: Maurice Evans, 63, died of a heart attack. He had managed Reading to the Fourth Division championship in 1979 and most famously took charge of Oxford United during their three-year spell in the top flight (1985–88). Guided them to League Cup glory in 1986. Was sacked in March 1988 as they were heading for relegation to the Second Division, but was later employed at the club as caretaker manager (during the autumn of 1993) and then as Director of Football.
• 29 August 2000: Willie Maddren, 49, played 293 league games in defence for his only club, Middlesbrough, between 1969 and 1977 before a knee injury cut his playing career short at the age of 26. He officially retired as a player in 1979, returning to the Teesside club as physiotherapist in 1982 before being promoted to the manager's seat in March 1984. Although his time as manager at the club was difficult due to the club's financial difficulties and a loss in form which pushed them towards relegation to the Third Division in 1986 (costing him his job), he built a significant part of the side which would win two successive promotions under his successor Bruce Rioch. Maddren then enjoyed success with his own sports trophy business before being diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 1995, the illness claiming his life after five years.
• 23 October 2000: Doug Millward, 69, played 143 league games as a forward for Ipswich Town under Alf Ramsey between 1955 and 1963, scoring 35 goals and being part of their title winning team in 1962. Became manager of St Mirren in Scotland in 1965 before furthering his career to the USA a year later and staying there until his death.
• 1 November 2000: George Armstrong, 56, died of a stroke at Arsenal's training ground where he had been coaching the club's reserve side. He had been a key player in their 1971 double triumph.
• 10 November 2000: Bob Matthewson, 70, played three league games for Bolton Wanderers in the early postwar years before moving into refereeing. He refereed many top matches, including the 1974 FA Charity Shield (in which he sent off Kevin Keegan and Billy Bremner for fighting) and the 1977 FA Cup Final.
• 7 February 2001: Marc North, 34, who died of cancer, started his career as a striker for Luton Town, making 18 First Division appearances in the mid-1980s and scoring three goals. He signed for Grimsby Town in 1987 and spent two years at Blundell Park, memorably scoring twice as a substitute in a surprise FA Cup tie victory over Middlesbrough as well as scoring 17 goals in 67 league games before his move to Leicester City in 1989. He was transferred back to Grimsby in 1991 but left a year later after just one league appearance, with back injuries taking their toll and ending his senior career at the age of 26, although he continued to play at non-league level until 1999.
• 28 February 2001: Stan Cullis, 85, manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers from 1947 to 1964, having previously been on the club's playing staff. Won three league championships and two FA Cups. Was Birmingham City manager from 1965 until 1970. During the early 1990s redevelopment of the Molineux, a new stand was named in honour of Stan Cullis.
• 30 March 2001: George Mutch, 88, Aberdeen born inside-forward, signed for Manchester United in 1934 and collected a Second Division title medal in 1936, managing 46 goals in 112 league games for the club before his transfer to Preston North End in 1937. He scored the last-minute winning penalty for the Deepdale side in their 1938 FA Cup final triumph, but his chances of further success were sabotaged by the outbreak of World War II a year later. He continued his career after the war with Bury and finally Southport. His solitary cap for Scotland came in 1938.
• 31 March 2001: David Rocastle, 33, who won two league championships and one League Cup with Arsenal (where he played from 1983 until 1992), died of cancer. He played 14 times for England without scoring, but was never on the losing side. He later played for Leeds United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Norwich City, Hull City and Malaysian side Sabah before retiring in 1999. His nine-year-old son Ryan was Arsenal's mascot at the FA Cup final just six weeks after Rocastle senior's death.
• 8 April 2001: Dennis Roberts, 83, played 306 league games at centre-half for Bristol City between 1938 and 1954.
• 9 June 2001: Ronnie Allen, 72, had an illustrious career as a forward for Port Vale, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace between 1946 and 1965, scoring 276 goals (208 of them for Albion). He was capped five times by England during the 1950s, scoring twice, and collected an FA Cup winner's medal in 1954 with Albion. He moved into management with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1966, guiding the club to promotion a year later and later taking charge of Atletico Bilbao, Sporting CP, Walsall, West Bromwich Albion (twice), and Greek side Panathinaikos. His final contribution to management came in 1981–82 with his second spell in charge of Albion, where they reached the semi-finals of both domestic cups, but narrowly avoided relegation from the top flight a year after finishing fourth under his predecessor Ron Atkinson. He remained at Albion on the coaching and scouting staff until 1996, and his death came after a struggle with Alzheimer's disease.
• 30 June 2001: Joe Fagan, 80, was a long-serving coach at Liverpool when he succeeded Bob Paisley as manager in 1983. In his first season they won a unique treble of the league championship, League Cup and European Cup, but his last season ended trophyless after they lost 1–0 to Juventus in the European Cup final at Heysel – the infamous game at which the Heysel Stadium disaster claimed the lives of 39 spectators.