1997–98 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

During the 1997–98 English football season, Blackburn Rovers competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

Season summary

After last season's slip-up, Blackburn Rovers emerged as title contenders under new manager Roy Hodgson, and even sixth place in the final table was enough for a UEFA Cup place. Chris Sutton's continued return to form saw him come joint top of the Premiership goalscoring charts with 18 goals, and led to him earning a long-awaited international call-up, though he didn't make the final squad for the World Cup after refusing to play for the England B team.

Final league table

Main article: 1997-98 FA Premier League


Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Arsenal (C)	38	23	9	6	68	33	+35	78	1998–99 UEFA Champions League Group stage
2	Manchester United	38	23	8	7	73	26	+47	77	1998–99 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
3	Liverpool	38	18	11	9	68	42	+26	65	1998–99 UEFA Cup First round
4	Chelsea	38	20	3	15	71	43	+28	63	1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round ¹
5	Leeds United	38	17	8	13	57	46	+11	59	1998–99 UEFA Cup First round
6	Blackburn Rovers	38	16	10	12	57	52	+5	58
7	Aston Villa	38	17	6	15	49	48	+1	57
8	West Ham United	38	16	8	14	56	57	−1	56
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	1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round ²
14	Tottenham Hotspur	38	11	11	16	44	56	−12	44
15	Wimbledon	38	10	14	14	34	46	−12	44
16	Sheffield Wednesday	38	12	8	18	52	67	−15	44
17	Everton	38	9	13	16	41	56	−15	40
18	Bolton Wanderers (R)	38	9	13	16	41	61	−20	40	Relegation to 1998–99 Football League First Division
19	Barnsley (R)	38	10	5	23	37	82	−45	35	Relegation to 1998–99 Football League First Division
20	Crystal Palace (R)	38	8	9	21	37	71	–34	33	1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round ³
20	Crystal Palace (R)	38	8	9	21	37	71	–34	33	Relegation to the 1998–99 Football League First Division

Updated to games played on 10 May 1998.
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
¹ Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions and were the League Cup winners.
² As Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their Cup Winners' Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Newcastle United, the losing finalists.
³ Despite being relegated, Crystal Palace qualified for the 1998 Intertoto Cup.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

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	16	10	12	57	52	+5	58	11	4	4	40	26	+14	5	6	8	17	26	−9

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	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H
Result	W	W	D	W	W	L	D	D	D	W	W	D	D	W	W	L	W	W	W	D	D	L	W	D	L	L	W	L	L	W	L	L	L	L	D	W	L	W
Position	5	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	5	3	2	3	3	2	2	3	3	2	2	2	2	3	2	3	4	5	2	5	5	4	6	6	6	7	6	6	6	6

Source: 11v11.com: 1997-98 Blackburn Rovers results
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first^[1]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 1997	Derby County	H	1–0	23,557	Gallacher
13 August 1997	Aston Villa	A	4–0	37,112	Sutton (3), Gallacher
23 August 1997	Liverpool	H	1–1	30,187	Dahlin
25 August 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	H	7–2	19,618	Gallacher (2), Hyde (own goal), Wilcox, Sutton (2), Bohinen
30 August 1997	Crystal Palace	A	2–1	20,849	Sutton, Gallacher
14 September 1997	Leeds United	H	3–4	21,956	Gallacher, Sutton (pen), Dahlin
20 September 1997	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–0	26,573
24 September 1997	Leicester City	A	1–1	19,921	Sutton
28 September 1997	Coventry City	H	0–0	19,086
4 October 1997	Wimbledon	A	1–0	15,600	Sutton
18 October 1997	Southampton	H	1–0	24,130	Sherwood
25 October 1997	Newcastle United	A	1–1	36,716	Sutton
1 November 1997	Barnsley	A	1–1	18,665	Sherwood
8 November 1997	Everton	H	3–2	25,397	Gallacher, Duff, Sherwood
22 November 1997	Chelsea	H	1–0	27,683	Croft
30 November 1997	Manchester United	A	0–4	55,175
6 December 1997	Bolton Wanderers	H	3–1	25,503	Gallacher, Sutton, Wilcox
13 December 1997	Arsenal	A	3–1	38,147	Wilcox, Gallacher, Sherwood
20 December 1997	West Ham United	H	3–0	21,653	Ripley, Duff (2)
26 December 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	A	0–0	33,502
28 December 1997	Crystal Palace	H	2–2	23,872	Gallacher, Sutton
11 January 1998	Derby County	A	1–3	27,823	Sutton
17 January 1998	Aston Villa	H	5–0	24,834	Sherwood, Gallacher (3), Ripley
31 January 1998	Liverpool	A	0–0	43,890
7 February 1998	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0–3	30,388
21 February 1998	Southampton	A	0–3	15,162
28 February 1998	Leicester City	H	5–3	24,854	Dahlin, Sutton (3), Hendry
11 March 1998	Leeds United	A	0–4	32,933
14 March 1998	Everton	A	0–1	33,423
31 March 1998	Barnsley	H	2–1	24,179	Dahlin, Gallacher
6 April 1998	Manchester United	H	1–3	30,547	Sutton (pen)
11 April 1998	Bolton Wanderers	A	1–2	25,000	Duff
13 April 1998	Arsenal	H	1–4	28,212	Gallacher
18 April 1998	West Ham United	A	1–2	24,733	Wilcox
25 April 1998	Wimbledon	H	0–0	24,848
29 April 1998	Chelsea	A	1–0	33,311	Gallacher
2 May 1998	Coventry City	A	0–2	18,794
10 May 1998	Newcastle United	H	1–0	29,300	Sutton

FA Cup

Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 1998	Wigan Athletic	H	4–2	22,402	McGibbon (own goal), Gallacher (2), Sherwood
R4	26 January 1998	Sheffield Wednesday	A	3–0	15,940	Sutton, Sherwood, Duff
R5	14 February 1998	West Ham United	A	2–2	25,729	Gallacher, Sutton
R5R	25 February 1998	West Ham United	H	1–1 (lost 4-5 on pens)	21,972	Ripley

League Cup

Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg	17 September 1997	Preston North End	H	6–0	22,564	Dahlin (2), Sutton, Gallacher, Andersson, Bohinen
R2 2nd Leg	30 September 1997	Preston North End	A	0–1 (won 6-1 on agg)	11,472
R3	15 October 1997	Chelsea	A	1–1 (lost 1-4 on pens)	18,671	McKinlay

Squad

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

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Tim Flowers
2	DF	Callum Davidson
3	DF	Jeff Kenna
4	MF	Tim Sherwood (captain)
5	DF	Colin Hendry
6	DF	Tore Pedersen
7	MF	Stuart Ripley
8	FW	Kevin Gallacher
9	FW	Chris Sutton
10	FW	Martin Dahlin
11	MF	Jason Wilcox
13	GK	John Filan
14	FW	Anders Andersson
15	MF	Garry Flitcroft

No.	Position	Player
16	FW	Per Pedersen
17	DF	Billy McKinlay
20	DF	Gary Croft
22	DF	Patrick Valéry
24	DF	Stéphane Henchoz
25	MF	Damien Duff
26	DF	Marlon Broomes
32	GK	Anthony Williams
33	GK	Alan Fettis
34	FW	James Beattie
35	DF	Damien Johnson
36	MF	Wayne Gill
37	DF	Adam Reed

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.		Position	Player
12		MF	Lars Bohinen (to Derby County)
18		DF	Ian Pearce (to West Ham United)

No.		Position	Player
19		DF	Chris Coleman (to Fulham)
21		MF	Giorgos Donis (to AEK Athens)

Reserve squad

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

No.	Position	Player
-	GK	Gareth Stewart
-	DF	Graham Coughlan
-	DF	Peter Murphy
-	DF	Leam Richardson
-	DF	Martin Taylor
-	DF	David Worrell
-	MF	Ryan Baldacchino

No.	Position	Player
-	MF	David Dunn
-	MF	Darren Dunning
-	MF	Andy McAvoy
-	MF	Ian Richards
-	MF	Luke Staton
-	FW	Gary Hamilton
-	FW	James Thomas

Transfers

In

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
17 June 1997	DF	Stéphane Henchoz	HSV	£3,000,000
24 June 1997	DF	Patrick Valéry	Bastia	Free transfer
8 July 1997	FW	Martin Dahlin	Roma	£2,500,000
8 July 1997	FW	Anders Andersson	Malmö FF	£500,000
1 August 1997	GK	John Filan	Coventry City	£700,000
8 September 1997	DF	Tore Pedersen	FC St. Pauli	£500,000
10 September 1997	GK	Alan Fettis	Nottingham Forest	£300,000
10 February 1998	DF	Callum Davidson	St Johnstone	£1,750,000
21 May 1998	MF	Jimmy Corbett	Gillingham	£525,000

Out

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
21 July 1997	MF	Matty Holmes	Charlton Athletic	£250,000
1 August 1997	MF	Graham Fenton	Leicester City	£1,100,000
1 August 1997	DF	Nicky Marker	Sheffield United	Signed
1 August 1997	DF	Paul Warhurst	Crystal Palace	Signed
8 August 1997	DF	Graeme Le Saux	Chelsea	£7,000,000
11 August 1997	DF	Henning Berg	Manchester United	£5,000,000
18 September 1997	DF	Ian Pearce	West Ham United	£2,300,000
22 September 1997	MF	Giorgos Donis	AEK Athens	Free transfer
1 December 1997	DF	Chris Coleman	Fulham	£2,000,000
25 March 1998	MF	Lars Bohinen	Derby County	£1,450,000

Transfers in:

£9,775,000

Transfers out:

£19,100,000

Total spending:

£9,325,000

Statistics

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions^[3]^[4]

GK: #1, Tim Flowers, 30
RB: #3, Jeff Kenna, 42
CB: #5, Colin Hendry, 39
CB: #24, Stéphane Henchoz, 40
LB: #20, Gary Croft, 24 (#11, Jason Wilcox, has 27 starts)
RM: #7, Stuart Ripley, 28
CM: #17, Billy McKinlay, 31
CM: #4, Tim Sherwood, 34
LM: #15, Garry Flitcroft, 31
CF: #8, Kevin Gallacher, 35
CF: #9, Chris Sutton, 41

References

Blackburn Rovers Football Club

History Players Managers Reserves Academy

Grounds	Oozehead Pleasington Cricket Ground Alexandra Meadows Leamington Road Ewood Park

Related articles	East Lancashire derby Blackburn Rovers L.F.C. Radio Rovers Burial of the Coffin

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1997–98 in English football

« 1996–97

1998–99 »

FA competitions

Premier League and
Football League

Football Conference

Football Conference
Conference League Cup

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Chelsea Coventry City Crystal Palace Derby County Everton Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester United Newcastle United Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wimbledon

First Division	Birmingham City Bradford City Bury Charlton Athletic Crewe Alexandra Huddersfield Town Ipswich Town Manchester City Middlesbrough Norwich City Nottingham Forest Oxford United Portsmouth Port Vale Queens Park Rangers Reading Sheffield United Stockport County Stoke City Sunderland Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Blackpool Bournemouth Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Burnley Carlisle United Chesterfield Fulham Gillingham Grimsby Town Luton Town Millwall Northampton Town Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Preston North End Southend United Walsall Watford Wigan Athletic Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers York City

Third Division	Barnet Brighton & Hove Albion Cambridge United Cardiff City Chester City Colchester United Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Hartlepool United Hull City Leyton Orient Lincoln City Macclesfield Town Mansfield Town Notts County Peterborough United Rochdale Rotherham United Scarborough Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Swansea City Torquay United

Non-League	Newport

Summer 1997 transfers
Winter 1997–98 transfers

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