permanent basis on 8 January 1997. In his first full season in charge he led the club to three trophies – the League Cup, County Antrim Shield, and Floodlit Cup – and narrowly missed out on the league title to champions Cliftonville by four points. Jeffrey won his first league title as manager in the 1999–2000 season however, along with a third consecutive League Cup triumph. The Blues retained the league title the following season, and also won the Charity Shield and the County Antrim Shield. The 2001–02 season saw the club win a cup double, lifting both the Irish Cup and the League Cup. In 2005, the inauguration of the Setanta Cup meant the return of an all-Ireland cup competition for the first time since 1980. The Blues qualified as league champions, but started the competition poorly – losing 2–1 away to Longford Town. They recovered from that opening defeat to eventually reach the final against Shelbourne, with the Blues being major underdogs going into the match against full-time professional League of Ireland opposition. However, they overcame the odds with a 2–0 victory to become inaugural winners of the competition. Incidentally, Linfield were in fact the reigning all-Ireland champions at the time, having won the final staging of the Tyler Cup in 1980 before the competition was discontinued. The 2005–06 season was the most successful of Jeffrey's tenure, with the Blues achieving a clean sweep of all four domestic competitions; the Irish Premier League, Irish Cup, Irish League Cup, and County Antrim Shield. However, they failed to retain the Setanta Cup as defending champions when they were narrowly beaten 1–0 at Windsor Park in the semi-finals by eventual winners, Drogheda United. In April 2010, former captain Noel Bailie made his 1,000th appearance for the club when he played in a 0–0 draw against Crusaders in the league. A few days later, Linfield won their 49th league title after a 1–0 home win against Cliftonville. The following year, a landmark 50th league title arrived during the club's 125th anniversary year. Bailie retired from football in April 2011 at the age of 40, after making 1,013 appearances for the club in all competitions since making his debut against Ballymena United in March 1989. Linfield subsequently retired the number 11 shirt in his honour. In the 2011–12 season, Linfield won a league and cup double for the third consecutive season and the