Tottenham and Everton qualified for the UEFA Cup, as did Bolton, despite the departure of long-serving manager Sam Allardyce shortly before the end of the season.

The matter was eventually settled out of court, with West Ham fined £5.5 million by the Premier League and ordered to pay the Blades compensation over five years.

The surprise appointment of Roy Keane by rookie chairman Niall Quinn paid off and they surged up the table, losing just one of their final 20 games to clinch promotion as champions.

Keane's former Manchester United colleague, Steve Bruce also took Birmingham City back into the Premier League, ensuring that they only remained in the Championship for one season.

After a play-off final appearance the previous year, Leeds finished bottom amidst yet more financial worries and acrimony, falling into the relegation zone in early October and, despite a late improvement, never leaving it.

The club came close to being expelled from the Football League during the summer after being unable to agree a deal with their creditors, but they were allowed to remain for the following season, albeit with a 15-point deduction.

Colchester fared best of the newly promoted clubs, comfortably finishing in 10th, largely on the back of their strong home form at the division's smallest stadium, Layer Road.

Gary Johnson helped Bristol City achieve automatic-promotion after nearly a decade of near-misses and 2 play-off defeats, ending their eight-year exile from the Championship.

Having started the decade in the Premier League, Bradford City fell into the bottom division for the first time in twenty-five years, with Chesterfield occupying the final relegation spot.

[229] West Ham United secured the surprise double signing of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez from Corinthians,[230] and Dietmar Hamann's transfer to Bolton Wanderers became the shortest in English footballing history.