1997–98 Coventry City F.C. season

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

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

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. 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

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
20 Crystal Palace (R) 38 8 9 21 37 71 –34 33 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup Third round 3
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
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
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
Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHA
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
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Results

Coventry City's score comes first[1]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
9 August 1997 ChelseaH3-222,686Dublin (3)
11 August 1997 ArsenalA0-237,324
23 August 1997 Bolton WanderersH2-216,633Telfer, Huckerby
27 August 1997 West Ham UnitedH1-118,289Huckerby
30 August 1997 Manchester UnitedA0-355,074
13 September 1997 SouthamptonH1-018,659Soltvedt
20 September 1997 Sheffield WednesdayA0-021,087
24 September 1997 Crystal PalaceH1-115,900Dublin
28 September 1997 Blackburn RoversA0-019,086
4 October 1997 Leeds UnitedH0-017,770
20 October 1997 BarnsleyA0-217,463
25 October 1997 EvertonH0-018,760
1 November 1997 WimbledonA2-111,201Huckerby, Dublin
8 November 1997 Newcastle UnitedH2-222,679Dublin (2)
22 November 1997 Derby CountyA1-329,351Huckerby
29 November 1997 Leicester CityH0-218,309
6 December 1997 Aston VillaA0-333,250
13 December 1997 Tottenham HotspurH4-019,499Huckerby (2), Breen, Hall
20 December 1997 LiverpoolA0-139,707
26 December 1997 West Ham UnitedA0-124,532
28 December 1997 Manchester UnitedH3-223,054Whelan, Dublin (pen), Huckerby
10 January 1998 ChelseaA1-334,647Telfer
17 January 1998 ArsenalH2-222,864Whelan, Dublin (pen)
31 January 1998 Bolton WanderersA5-125,000Whelan, Huckerby (2), Dublin (2)
7 February 1998 Sheffield WednesdayH1-018,375Dublin (pen)
18 February 1998 SouthamptonA2-115,091Whelan, Huckerby
21 February 1998 BarnsleyH1-020,265Dublin (pen)
28 February 1998 Crystal PalaceA3-021,810Telfer, Moldovan, Dublin
14 March 1998 Newcastle UnitedA0-036,767
28 March 1998 Derby CountyH1-018,705Huckerby
4 April 1998 Leicester CityA1-121,137Whelan
11 April 1998 Aston VillaH1-222,792Whelan
13 April 1998 Tottenham HotspurA1-133,463Dublin
19 April 1998 LiverpoolH1-122,721Dublin (pen)
25 April 1998 Leeds UnitedA3-336,522Huckerby (3)
29 April 1998 WimbledonH0-017,968
2 May 1998 Blackburn RoversH2-018,794Dublin (pen), Boateng
10 May 1998 EvertonA1-140,109Dublin

FA Cup

Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R33 January 1998 LiverpoolA3-133,888Huckerby, Dublin, Telfer
R424 January 1998 Derby CountyH2-022,824Dublin (2)
R514 February 1998 Aston VillaA1-036,979Moldovan
QF7 March 1998 Sheffield UnitedH1-123,084Dublin (pen)
QFR17 March 1998 Sheffield UnitedA1-1 (lost 1-3 on pens)29,034Telfer

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 1st Leg 16 September 1997 BlackpoolA0-15,884
R2 2nd Leg 1 October 1997 BlackpoolH3-1 (won 3-2 on agg)9,565McAllister (2, 1 pen), Dublin
R315 October 1997 EvertonH4-110,087Hall, Salako (2), Haworth
R418 November 1997 ArsenalA0-130,199

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 England GK Steve Ogrizovic
2 England DF Richard Shaw
3 England DF David Burrows
4 England DF Paul Williams
5 Republic of Ireland DF Liam Daish[3]
6 Republic of Ireland DF Gary Breen[4]
7 England FW Darren Huckerby
8 England FW Noel Whelan
9 England FW Dion Dublin
10 Scotland MF Gary McAllister (captain)
12 Scotland DF Paul Telfer
13 Sweden GK Magnus Hedman
14 Norway MF Trond Egil Soltvedt
15 Belgium MF Philippe Clement
16 Ghana MF George Boateng[5]
17 Republic of Ireland MF Willie Boland
18 England DF Marcus Hall
No. Position Player
19 Denmark MF Martin Johansen
20 Northern Ireland MF Michael O'Neill
21 England FW Andy Ducros
22 Wales FW Simon Haworth
23 Sweden DF Roland Nilsson
24 Romania FW Viorel Moldovan
28 Scotland MF Gavin Strachan
29 England DF Scott Goodwin
30 England MF John Eustace
31 England FW Adam Willis
32 Republic of Ireland DF Barry Prenderville
33 England MF Chris Barnett
34 Republic of Ireland MF Barry Quinn
35 England FW Craig Faulconbridge
36 Republic of Ireland DF John Andrews
37 England DF 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. Position Player
11 England MF John Salako (to Bolton Wanderers)
15 Bermuda FW Kyle Lightbourne (to Stoke City)
16 England MF Kevin Richardson (to Southampton)
No. Position Player
24 England DF Brian Borrows (to Swindon Town)
26 Scotland GK 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. Position Player
- England MF Martin Devaney
No. Position Player
- England FW 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: Decrease £5,325,000
Transfers out: Increase £3,500,000
Total spending: Decrease £1,825,000

Statistics

Starting 11

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

References

  1. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1997-1998/results
  2. http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/1997-1998/faprem/coventry.htm
  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. http://www.11v11.com/teams/coventry-city/tab/players/season/1998
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/3/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.