Preseason The Glory opened their preseason campaign with matches in Adelaide against the
Blue Eagles (1–1) and
Adelaide Force (2–1). Perth Glory returned to Perth for two matches at the
WACA Ground against the
Slovakia team preparing for the
2000 Olympic football tournament. The Glory lost the two matches, 0–1 and 1–5. On 20 September, the Glory defeated
Inglewood United 3–1. Perth Glory and
Sydney Olympic played two matches in the
Pilbara region of Western Australia. The first match, in
Newman ended in a scoreless draw, while the second, in
Karratha was a 4–2 victory to the Glory. The final match of the preseason was a tightly contested 3–2 win over the Western Australia under-23 team.
Regular season The season was opened with a replay of the 1999–2000 NSL grand final against Wollongong Wolves with the teams locked at one goal apiece at full time at
WIN Stadium. The Glory began the season with a six-match unbeaten home streak, only dropping points in a 1–1 draw with
Sydney Olympic in Round 4. The streak was broken with a defeat to Marconi in Round 11 when former Glory player James Afkos returned to score his first NSL goal. Playing against the
Brisbane Strikers in Round 13, the Glory set a club record high score in a 7–2 win with
Damian Mori scoring four goals in the second half.
Finals series Perth Glory finished the regular season in third place, equal on points and
goal difference with
Wollongong Wolves. The Wolves took second place based on a greater number of goals scored. The Glory would have taken second place but for a decision by
Soccer Australia to award the Wolves a 3–0 forfeit win over
Eastern Pride after their withdrawal from the league. Had Soccer Australia followed their decision to award walkovers to opponents of
Carlton after their withdrawal, Perth would have finished above the Wolves. As a result of finishing third, Perth missed out on a double chance in the finals. In the first leg of the elimination final, Perth and
Melbourne Knights drew 1–1 at
Knights Stadium. The match was overshadowed by a number of incidents involving members of the crowd and the Perth Glory team and supporters. During the match, Serbian-raised Glory forward
Bobby Despotovski reacted to comments from the crowd supporting the Croatian-majority Knights with a
three-fingered salute, a symbol of Serbian Orthodox Christianity. Members of the crowd attacked a number of players including Despotovski, Craig Deans, Gareth Naven and Jason Petkovic as they left the stadium. Coach Bernd Stange and several supporters were also attacked. Knights management claimed that a group of skinheads associated with another, un-named, Melbourne-based Croatian team were responsible. After a mid-week investigation, the Knights were cleared to play the second leg at
Subiaco Oval in Perth. The Glory and Knights drew 2–2, with the Perth team being eliminated on the
away goals rule.
Coaching Having survived an attempt by majority owner and chairman
Nick Tana to replace him during the previous season, coach
Bernd Stange took charge of the Glory for his last season. In March 2001, the club placed a poll on their website asking fans to decide whether Stange should be retained beyond the current season. When the poll was removed, it was approximately 50–50 for and against keeping Stange as coach. After the end of the 2000–01 season, Stange left the club after the completion of his contract. He was replaced by his deputy,
Mich d'Avray. ==Results==