1997–98 Coventry City F.C. season

During the 1997–98 English football season, Coventry City competed in the FA Premier League.

Coventry City

1997–98 season
Chairman	Bryan Richardson
Manager	Gordon Strachan
Stadium	Highfield Road
Premiership	11th
FA Cup	Quarter-finals
League Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Dublin (18) All: Dublin (23)
Highest home attendance	23,054 (vs. Manchester United, 28 December)
Lowest home attendance	15,900 (vs. Crystal Palace, 24 September)
Average home league attendance	19,718
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

Season summary

After a last-day "houdini" act and the bonus of Middlesbrough having 3 points deducted kept Coventry up in the 1996–97 season, manager Gordon Strachan was determined to avoid another season of struggle. He achieved it, and an 11th-place finish was Coventry's highest in four seasons. However, even though they only suffered 10 defeats all season (the fourth least amount, after Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool), they staggeringly drew 16 games which ultimately prevented them from finishing any higher. Their secure finish was helped no end by the loyalty of striker Dion Dublin, who pledged his future to the club after turning down an offer from Blackburn Rovers. Coventry were, in fact, 17th on Boxing Day 1997, but a 3–2 win over Manchester United, with no small thanks to late goals from Dublin and Darren Huckerby, appeared to kickstart a sudden surge in form as by late March, the club found themselves in 9th. Right up to the final day of the season, the Sky Blues were within a shout of a UEFA Cup place, but they were beaten to it by local rivals Aston Villa. The two places above them were occupied by two other local rivals – Derby County and Leicester City.

Final league table

Main article: 1997–98 FA Premier League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
9	Derby County	38	16	7	15	52	49	+3	55
10	Leicester City	38	13	14	11	51	41	+10	53
11	Coventry City	38	12	16	10	46	44	+2	52
12	Southampton	38	14	6	18	50	55	−5	48
13	Newcastle United	38	11	11	16	35	44	−9	44	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round^[a]

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

1. As Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their Cup Winners' Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Newcastle United, the runners-up.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	12	16	10	46	44	+2	52	8	9	2	26	17	+9	4	7	8	20	27	−7

Source: 1997–98 FA Premier League table

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	W	L	D	D	L	W	D	D	D	D	L	D	W	D	L	L	L	W	L	L	W	L	D	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	D	L	D	D	D	D	W	D
Position	1	9	10	12	12	8	11	11	12	12	15	15	12	10	12	15	16	14	16	17	13	16	15	13	12	10	10	10	10	9	10	11	10	11	10	11	11	11

Source: 11v11.com: 1997–98 Coventry City results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Coventry City's score comes first^[1]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 1997	Chelsea	H	3–2	22,686	Dublin (3)
11 August 1997	Arsenal	A	0–2	37,324
23 August 1997	Bolton Wanderers	H	2–2	16,633	Telfer, Huckerby
27 August 1997	West Ham United	H	1–1	18,289	Huckerby
30 August 1997	Manchester United	A	0–3	55,074
13 September 1997	Southampton	H	1–0	18,659	Soltvedt
20 September 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	A	0–0	21,087
24 September 1997	Crystal Palace	H	1–1	15,900	Dublin
28 September 1997	Blackburn Rovers	A	0–0	19,086
4 October 1997	Leeds United	H	0–0	17,770
20 October 1997	Barnsley	A	0–2	17,463
25 October 1997	Everton	H	0–0	18,760
1 November 1997	Wimbledon	A	2–1	11,201	Huckerby, Dublin
8 November 1997	Newcastle United	H	2–2	22,679	Dublin (2)
22 November 1997	Derby County	A	1–3	29,351	Huckerby
29 November 1997	Leicester City	H	0–2	18,309
6 December 1997	Aston Villa	A	0–3	33,250
13 December 1997	Tottenham Hotspur	H	4–0	19,499	Huckerby (2), Breen, Hall
20 December 1997	Liverpool	A	0–1	39,707
26 December 1997	West Ham United	A	0–1	24,532
28 December 1997	Manchester United	H	3–2	23,054	Whelan, Dublin (pen), Huckerby
10 January 1998	Chelsea	A	1–3	34,647	Telfer
17 January 1998	Arsenal	H	2–2	22,864	Whelan, Dublin (pen)
31 January 1998	Bolton Wanderers	A	5–1	25,000	Whelan, Huckerby (2), Dublin (2)
7 February 1998	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–0	18,375	Dublin (pen)
18 February 1998	Southampton	A	2–1	15,091	Whelan, Huckerby
21 February 1998	Barnsley	H	1–0	20,265	Dublin (pen)
28 February 1998	Crystal Palace	A	3–0	21,810	Telfer, Moldovan, Dublin
14 March 1998	Newcastle United	A	0–0	36,767
28 March 1998	Derby County	H	1–0	18,705	Huckerby
4 April 1998	Leicester City	A	1–1	21,137	Whelan
11 April 1998	Aston Villa	H	1–2	22,792	Whelan
13 April 1998	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–1	33,463	Dublin
19 April 1998	Liverpool	H	1–1	22,721	Dublin (pen)
25 April 1998	Leeds United	A	3–3	36,522	Huckerby (3)
29 April 1998	Wimbledon	H	0–0	17,968
2 May 1998	Blackburn Rovers	H	2–0	18,794	Dublin (pen), Boateng
10 May 1998	Everton	A	1–1	40,109	Dublin

FA Cup

Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 1998	Liverpool	A	3–1	33,888	Huckerby, Dublin, Telfer
R4	24 January 1998	Derby County	H	2–0	22,824	Dublin (2)
R5	14 February 1998	Aston Villa	A	1–0	36,979	Moldovan
QF	7 March 1998	Sheffield United	H	1–1	23,084	Dublin (pen)
QFR	17 March 1998	Sheffield United	A	1–1 (lost 1–3 on pens)	29,034	Telfer

League Cup

Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg	16 September 1997	Blackpool	A	0–1	5,884
R2 2nd Leg	1 October 1997	Blackpool	H	3–1 (won 3–2 on agg)	9,565	McAllister (2, 1 pen), Dublin
R3	15 October 1997	Everton	H	4–1	10,087	Hall, Salako (2), Haworth
R4	18 November 1997	Arsenal	A	0–1	30,199

Squad

^[2] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ENG Steve Ogrizovic 2 DF   ENG Richard Shaw 3 DF   ENG David Burrows 4 DF   ENG Paul Williams 5 DF   IRL Liam Daish^[3] 6 DF   IRL Gary Breen^[4] 7 FW   ENG Darren Huckerby 8 FW   ENG Noel Whelan 9 FW   ENG Dion Dublin 10 MF   SCO Gary McAllister (captain) 12 DF   SCO Paul Telfer 13 GK   SWE Magnus Hedman 14 MF   NOR Trond Egil Soltvedt 15 MF   BEL Philippe Clement 16 MF   GHA George Boateng^[5] 17 MF   IRL Willie Boland 18 DF   ENG Marcus Hall

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF   DEN Martin Johansen 20 MF   NIR Michael O'Neill 21 FW   ENG Andy Ducros 22 FW   WAL Simon Haworth 23 DF   SWE Roland Nilsson 24 FW   ROU Viorel Moldovan 28 MF   SCO Gavin Strachan 29 DF   ENG Scott Goodwin 30 MF   ENG John Eustace 31 FW   ENG Adam Willis 32 DF   IRL Barry Prenderville 33 MF   ENG Chris Barnett 34 MF   IRL Barry Quinn 35 FW   ENG Craig Faulconbridge 36 DF   IRL John Andrews 37 DF   ENG Sam Shilton

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 11 MF   ENG John Salako (to Bolton Wanderers) 15 FW   BER Kyle Lightbourne (to Stoke City) 16 MF   ENG Kevin Richardson (to Southampton)

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 DF   ENG Brian Borrows (to Swindon Town) 26 GK   SCO Scott Howie (on loan from Motherwell)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player - MF   ENG Martin Devaney

No. Pos. Nation Player - FW   ENG Chukki Eribenne

Transfers

In

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
19 June 1997	MF	Trond Egil Soltvedt	Rosenborg	£500,000
4 July 1997	FW	Kyle Lightbourne	Walsall	£500,000
7 July 1997	GK	Magnus Hedman	AIK	Free transfer
19 June 1997	MF	Martin Johansen	Copenhagen	Free transfer
29 July 1997	DF	Roland Nilsson	Helsingborgs	£200,000
18 December 1997	DF	George Boateng	Feyenoord	£250,000
2 January 1998	FW	Viorel Moldovan	Grasshoppers	£3,250,000
26 March 1998	MF	Philippe Clement	Racing Genk	£625,000

Out

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
1 July 1997	MF	Chris McMenamin	Peterborough United	Free transfer
4 July 1997	MF	Eoin Jess	Aberdeen	£700,000
14 July 1997	FW	Peter Ndlovu	Birmingham City	£1,600,000
1 August 1997	GK	John Filan	Blackburn Rovers	£700,000
1 August 1997	GK	Jed Sumner	Cambridge United	Free transfer
9 September 1997	MF	Kevin Richardson	Southampton	Transfer
14 November 1997	DF	Brian Borrows	Swindon Town	Free transfer
16 February 1998	FW	Kyle Lightbourne	Stoke City	£500,000

Transfers in:   £5,325,000

Transfers out:   £3,500,000

Total spending:   £1,825,000

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	ENG	Steve Ogrizovic	30	0	24	0	2	0	4	0
13	GK	SWE	Magnus Hedman	17	0	14	0	3	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	ENG	Richard Shaw	40	0	33	0	3	0	4	0
3	DF	ENG	David Burrows	42	0	33	0	5	0	4	0
4	DF	ENG	Paul Williams	25	0	17+3	0	1	0	4	0
6	DF	IRL	Gary Breen	39	1	30	1	5	0	3+1	0
12	DF	SCO	Paul Telfer	39	5	33	3	4	2	2	0
18	DF	ENG	Marcus Hall	33	2	20+5	1	2+2	0	3+1	1
23	DF	SWE	Roland Nilsson	39	0	32	0	4	0	3	0
37	DF	ENG	Sam Shilton	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
10	MF	SCO	Gary McAllister	18	2	14	0	0	0	4	2
14	MF	NOR	Trond Egil Soltvedt	36	1	26+4	1	3+1	0	1+1	0
16	MF	GHA	George Boateng	19	1	14	1	5	0	0	0
17	MF	IRL	Willie Boland	22	0	8+11	0	0+1	0	1+1	0
20	MF	NIR	Michael O'Neill	5	0	2+2	0	0	0	1	0
28	MF	SCO	Gavin Strachan	13	0	2+7	0	2+2	0	0	0
Forwards
7	FW	ENG	Darren Huckerby	40	15	32+2	14	5	1	0+1	0
8	FW	ENG	Noel Whelan	25	6	21	6	4	0	0	0
9	FW	ENG	Dion Dublin	43	23	36	18	5	4	2	1
19	FW	DEN	Martin Johansen	3	0	0+2	0	0	0	1	0
21	FW	ENG	Andy Ducros	4	0	1+2	0	0	0	0+1	0
22	FW	WAL	Simon Haworth	13	1	4+6	0	0+1	0	2	1
24	FW	ROU	Viorel Moldovan	14	2	5+5	1	2+2	1	0	0
Players who left the club during the season
11	MF	ENG	John Salako	13	2	11	0	0	0	2	2
15	FW	BER	Kyle Lightbourne	10	0	1+6	0	0	0	3	0
16	MF	ENG	Kevin Richardson	3	0	3	0	0	0	0	0

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions^[6]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	MS	Notes
1	GK		Steve Ogrizovic	30
23	RB		Roland Nilsson	39
6	CB		Gary Breen	38
2	CB		Richard Shaw	40
3	LB		David Burrows	42
12	CM		Paul Telfer	39
16	CM		George Boateng	19	Marcus Hall has 25 starts
10	CM		Gary McAllister	18	Noel Whelan has 25 starts
14	AM		Trond Egil Soltvedt	30
9	CF		Dion Dublin	43
7	CF		Darren Huckerby	37

Notes

References

1. . Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
2. "FootballSquads - Coventry City - 1997/98".
3. Daish was born in Portsmouth, England, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in February 1992.
4. Breen was born in Barnet, England, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in June 1996.
5. Boateng was born in Nkawkaw, Ghana, but qualified to represent the Netherlands internationally and would make his international debut for the Netherlands in November 2001.
6. "All Coventry City players: 1998".