Sheffield Wednesday were the team chosen to face the first day of the new venture as they faced Burnley at Hillsborough with the unusual, TV-enforced kick-off time of 6:15pm.
It, too, was a disaster, with the Lancashire side running out 2-0 winners thanks to an Ian Thomas-Moore goal and a Paul Cook penalty late on. It was Peter Shreeves first game as permanent Wednesday boss.
From Italian enigmas and brothers of England internationals to promising youngsters later charged with drugs offences, let’s take a look at what happened next to the Wednesday players that took the field that day 19 years ago.
9. Alan Quinn
Having made the trip over from Ireland as a teenager, Alan Quinn made over 170 appearances for the Owls, scoring 17 times. A lively midfielder, he was something of a fan favourite and together with Leigh Bromby made the shift across to Sheffield United in 2004. He spent four seasons there, moving on to Ipswich in 2007 before retiring in 2010 with eight Ireland caps. Photo: Clive Brunskill
10. Trond Egil Soltvedt
A full Norway international who arrived via Coventry and Southampton, Trond Egil Soltvedt was named club captain at Sheffield Wednesday having been signed on a reported appearance-based fee. He left the Owls in 2003 after making 73 league appearances to head back to Norway, where he remains general manager of fifth-tier outfit IL Kvernbit. Photo: Jamie McDonald
11. Efan Ekoku
A club icon at Wimbledon, Nigerian international Efan Ekoku arrived at Wednesday via Swiss side Grasshopper Zurich, impressing initially on loan. Though his final months with the club were not happy ones he had a reasonable scoring record in a largely struggling team, leaving for short stints at Brentford and Dublin City in 2003. He know has a glittering media career both in the US, Africa and the UK, working on BT Sport's coverage of European football. Photo: Getty Images
12. Gerald Sibon
A huge fan favourite, big Gerald Sibon straddled the seasons of Sheffield Wednesday's relegation from the Premier League having signed from Ajax in 1999. He left for Heerenveen in 2002 having belted 36 goals in over 120 league games for the Owls. It was the first of three spells for De Superfriezen, representing Ducth giants PSV, FC Nurmberg and Melbourne Heart in between times. He now works as a performance coach at Australian outfit Adelaide United. Photo: Mark Thompson