1998–99 in English football gets the manager's job on a permanent basis. 28 October 1998 – Chelsea player-manager Gianluca Vialli scores a hat-trick in the 4–1 League Cup third round win over Aston Villa. Making his debut as a late substitute is 17-year-old defender John Terry. On the same day, striker Brian Laudrup's departure from Chelsea is announced after just four months at the club. 31 October 1998 – Ron Reeves, a 55-year-old steward, is killed outside Highfield Road stadium after being crushed by the Arsenal team coach just before a game with Coventry City. The month ends with Aston Villa still top, a
Matthew Armstrong (English footballer) Matthew Armstrong (English footballer) Matthew Armstrong (1918 or 1919 – 12 July 1941) was an English footballer who made 38 appearances in the Football League playing as a wing half for Darlington in the 1930s. He joined Aston Villa in 1939 – a preview in the "Daily Express" highlighted him as one of "two young defenders who look as if they have that certain Soccer something" – but he never played for Villa's first team before the league was abandoned for the duration of the Second World War. Armstrong died on active service on 12 July 1941, aged 22, while