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
1998–99 Aston Villa F.C. season 1998–99 Aston Villa F.C. season During the 1998–99 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons). The season was Villa's eighth in the Premier League, and their eleventh consecutive season in the top division of English football. The early-season sale of Dwight Yorke to Manchester United seemed to rule out Villa's chances of challenging for a place in Europe, but new signings Dion Dublin and Paul Merson soon revitalised the attack and the team spent much of the first half of the season at the top of the Premiership.