1997–98 Football League First Division

Football League First Division
Season 1997–98
Champions Nottingham Forest
3rd First Division title
Promoted Nottingham Forest
Middlesbrough
Charlton Athletic
Relegated Manchester City
Stoke City
Reading
Matches played 552
Goals scored 1410 (2.55 per match)
Top goalscorer Kevin Phillips
Pierre van Hooijdonk (29)[1]
Biggest home win Sheffield United 5–1
Stockport County
(21 October 1997)
Huddersfield Town 5–1
Oxford United
(10 January 1998)
Ipswich Town 5–1 Huddersfield Town
(14 February 1998)
Stockport County 5–1
Reading
(3 March 1998)
Oxford United 5–1
Stoke City
(14 March 1998)
Ipswich Town 5–1
Port Vale
(18 April 1998)
Biggest away win Stoke City 0–7
Birmingham City
(10 January 1998)
Highest scoring Nottingham Forest 5–2
Charlton Athletic
(22 November 1997)
Stoke City 0–7
Birmingham City
(10 January 1998)
Ipswich Town 5–2
Oxford United
(24 February 1998)

The 1997–98 Football League First Division (referred to as the Nationwide First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the league under its current league division format.

Changes from previous season

Team changes

From First Division

Promoted to Premier League

Relegated to Second Division

To First Division

Promoted from Second Division

Relegated from Premier League

Teams

Stadium and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Birmingham City Birmingham St Andrew's 25,877
Bradford City Bradford Valley Parade 17,848
Bury Bury Gigg Lane 11,840
Charlton Athletic Charlton The Valley 15,815
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Gresty Road 10,153
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Alfred McAlpine Stadium 24,500
Ipswich Town Ipswich Portman Road 30,311
Manchester City Manchester Maine Road 35,150
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 30,000
Norwich City Norwich Carrow Road 24,663
Nottingham Forest West Bridgford City Ground 30,576
Oxford United Oxford Manor Ground 9,500
Port Vale Burslem Vale Park 19,052
Portsmouth Portsmouth Fratton Park 21,100
Queens Park Rangers White City Loftus Road 18,439
Reading Reading Elm Park 14,800
Sheffield United Sheffield Bramall Lane 29,034
Stockport County Stockport Edgeley Park 10,841
Stoke City Stoke-on-Trent Britannia Stadium 27,743
Sunderland Sunderland Stadium of Light 42,000
Swindon Town Swindon County Ground 15,728
Tranmere Rovers Birkenhead Prenton Park 16,567
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich The Hawthorns 22,986
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Molineux Stadium 28,525

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Birmingham City England Trevor Francis England Steve Bruce Pony Auto Windscreens
Bradford City England Paul Jewell England Wayne Jacobs Beaver JCT600
Bury England Stan Ternent England Chris Lucketti Super League Birthdays
Charlton Athletic England Alan Curbishley Republic of Ireland Mark Kinsella Quaser Viglen
Crewe Alexandra England Dario Gradi England Gareth Whalley Adidas Boldon James
Huddersfield Town England Peter Jackson Wales Barry Horne Pony Panasonic
Ipswich Town Scotland George Burley England Jason Cundy Punch Greene King
Manchester City England Joe Royle Wales Kit Symons Kappa Brother
Middlesbrough England Bryan Robson England Nigel Pearson Erreà Cellnet
Norwich City England John Faulkner (caretaker) England Matt Jackson Pony Colman's
Nottingham Forest England Dave Bassett England Steve Chettle Umbro Pinnacle
Oxford United England Malcolm Shotton England Phil Gilchrist Own Brand Unipart
Port Vale England John Rudge England Allen Tankard Mizuno Tunstall Assurance
Portsmouth England Alan Ball England Adrian Whitbread Admiral KJC
Queens Park Rangers England Ray Harford Northern Ireland Steve Morrow Le Coq Sportif Ericsson
Reading Scotland Tommy Burns England Phil Parkinson Mizuno Auto Trader
Sheffield United England Steve Thompson (caretaker) England David Holdsworth Le Coq Sportif Wards
Stockport County England Gary Megson England Mike Flynn Adidas Robinsons
Stoke City Wales Alan Durban (caretaker) Iceland Lárus Sigurðsson Asics Britannia
Sunderland England Peter Reid England Kevin Ball Asics Lambtons
Swindon Town England Steve McMahon England Brian Borrows Mizuno Nationwide
Tranmere Rovers Republic of Ireland John Aldridge Republic of Ireland Liam O'Brien Mizuno Wirral
West Bromwich Albion England Denis Smith England Sean Flynn Patrick West Bromwich Building Society
Wolverhampton Wanderers Scotland Mark McGhee England Keith Curle Puma Goodyear

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Huddersfield Town England Brian Horton Sacked 6 October 1997 24th England Peter Jackson 7 October 1997[2]
Queens Park Rangers Scotland Stewart Houston Sacked 10 November 1997 13th England Ray Harford 5 December 1997
West Bromwich Albion England Ray Harford Resigned 4 December 1997 4th England Denis Smith 24 December 1997
Oxford United England Denis Smith Signed by West Bromwich Albion 24 December 1997 16th England Malcolm Shotton 24 January 1998
Bradford City England Chris Kamara Sacked 6 January 1998 11th England Paul Jewell 6 January 1998
Portsmouth England Terry Fenwick Sacked 14 January 1998 24th England Alan Ball 26 January 1998
Stoke City England Chic Bates Mutual consent 22 January 1998 20th England Chris Kamara 22 January 1998[3]
Manchester City England Frank Clark Sacked 17 February 1998 22nd England Joe Royle 18 February 1998[4]
Sheffield United England Nigel Spackman Resigned 2 March 1998 5th England Steve Bruce 2 July 1998
Reading England Terry Bullivant Resigned 18 March 1998[5] 23rd Scotland Tommy Burns 25 March 1998[6]
Stoke City England Chris Kamara Mutual consent 8 April 1998[7] 24th England Brian Little 13 May 1998
Norwich City Wales Mike Walker Resigned 30 April 1998 16th Scotland Bruce Rioch 12 June 1998

League table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Nottingham Forest (C) 46 28 10 8 82 42+40 94 Promotion to 1998–99 FA Premier League
2 Middlesbrough (P) 46 27 10 9 77 41+36 91
3 Sunderland 46 26 12 8 86 50+36 90 Qualification for First Division play-offs
4 Charlton Athletic (P) 46 26 10 10 80 49+31 88
5 Ipswich Town 46 23 14 9 77 43+34 83
6 Sheffield United 46 19 17 10 69 54+15 74
7 Birmingham City 46 19 17 10 60 35+25 74
8 Stockport County 46 19 8 19 71 69+2 65
9 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 18 11 17 57 53+4 65
10 West Bromwich Albion 46 16 13 17 50 566 61
11 Crewe Alexandra 46 18 5 23 58 657 59
12 Oxford United 46 16 10 20 60 644 58
13 Bradford City 46 14 15 17 46 5913 57
14 Tranmere Rovers 46 14 14 18 54 573 56
15 Norwich City 46 14 13 19 52 6917 55
16 Huddersfield Town 46 14 11 21 50 7222 53
17 Bury 46 11 19 16 42 5816 52
18 Swindon Town 46 14 10 22 42 7331 52
19 Port Vale 46 13 10 23 56 6610 49
20 Portsmouth 46 13 10 23 51 6312 49
21 Queens Park Rangers 46 10 19 17 51 6312 49
22 Manchester City (R) 46 12 12 22 56 571 48 Relegation to 1998–99 Second Division
23 Stoke City (R) 46 11 13 22 44 7430 46
24 Reading (R) 46 11 9 26 39 7839 42

Updated to games played on 3 May 1998.
Source: Statto.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(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.

Play-offs

  Semi-finals
First leg – 10 May; Second leg – 13 May 1998
Final at Wembley
25 May 1998
                     
3rd  Sunderland 1 2 3  
6th  Sheffield United 2 0 2  
    3rd  Sunderland 4 (6)
  4th  Charlton Athletic (pen.) 4 (7)
4th  Charlton Athletic 1 1 2
5th  Ipswich Town 0 0 0  

Results

Home ╲ Away BIR BRA BRYCHACREHUDIPSMCIMIDNORNOTOXFPTVPORQPRREASHUSTPSTKSUNSWITRAWBAWOL
Birmingham City 00 13 00 01 00 11 21 11 12 12 00 11 21 10 30 20 41 20 01 30 00 10 10
Bradford City 00 10 10 10 11 21 21 22 21 03 00 21 13 11 41 11 21 00 04 11 01 00 20
Bury 21 20 00 11 22 01 11 01 10 20 10 22 02 11 11 11 01 00 11 10 10 13 13
Charlton Athletic 11 41 00 32 10 30 21 30 21 42 32 10 10 11 30 21 13 11 11 30 20 50 10
Crewe Alexandra 02 50 12 03 25 00 10 11 10 14 21 01 31 23 10 21 01 20 03 20 21 23 02
Huddersfield Town 01 12 20 03 20 22 13 01 13 02 51 04 11 11 10 00 10 31 23 00 30 10 10
Ipswich Town 01 21 20 31 32 51 10 11 50 01 52 51 20 00 10 22 02 23 20 21 00 11 30
Manchester City 01 10 01 22 10 01 12 20 12 23 02 23 22 22 00 00 41 01 01 60 11 10 01
Middlesbrough 31 10 40 21 10 30 11 10 30 00 41 21 11 30 40 12 31 01 31 60 30 10 11
Norwich City 33 23 22 04 02 50 21 00 13 10 21 10 20 00 00 21 11 00 21 50 02 11 02
Nottingham Forest 10 22 30 52 31 30 21 13 40 23 13 21 10 40 10 30 21 10 03 30 22 10 30
Oxford United 02 00 11 12 00 20 10 00 14 20 01 20 10 31 30 24 30 51 11 21 11 21 30
Port Vale 01 00 11 01 23 41 13 21 01 22 01 30 21 20 00 00 21 00 31 01 01 12 02
Portsmouth 11 11 11 02 23 30 01 03 00 11 01 21 31 31 02 11 10 20 14 01 10 23 32
Queens Park Rangers 11 10 01 24 32 21 00 20 50 11 01 11 01 10 11 22 21 11 01 12 00 20 00
Reading 20 03 11 20 33 02 04 30 01 01 33 21 03 01 12 01 10 20 40 01 13 21 00
Sheffield United 00 21 30 41 10 11 01 11 10 22 10 10 21 21 22 40 51 32 20 21 21 24 10
Stockport County 22 12 00 30 01 30 01 31 11 22 22 32 30 31 20 51 10 10 11 42 31 21 10
Stoke City 07 21 32 12 02 12 11 25 12 20 11 00 21 21 21 12 22 21 12 12 03 00 30
Sunderland 11 20 21 00 21 31 22 31 12 01 11 31 42 21 22 41 42 41 30 00 30 20 11
Swindon Town 11 10 31 01 20 11 02 13 12 10 00 41 42 01 31 02 11 11 10 12 21 02 00
Tranmere Rovers 03 31 00 22 03 10 11 00 02 20 00 02 12 22 21 60 33 30 31 02 30 00 21
West Bromwich Albion 10 11 11 10 01 02 23 01 21 10 11 12 22 03 11 10 20 32 11 33 00 21 10
Wolverhampton Wanderers 13 21 42 31 10 11 11 22 10 50 21 10 11 20 32 31 00 34 11 01 31 21 01

Source:
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Kevin Phillips Sunderland 29
Netherlands Pierre van Hooijdonk Nottingham Forest
3 England Kevin Campbell 23
England Clive Mendonca Charlton Athletic
5 England David Johnson Ipswich Town 20
6 England Brett Angell Stockport County 18
7 England Paul Furlong Birmingham City 15
England Marcus Stewart Huddersfield Town

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date
Netherlands van Hooijdonk, PierrePierre van Hooijdonk Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers 4–0 30 August 1997
Charlton Athletic 5–2 22 November 1997
England Campbell, KevinKevin Campbell Crewe Alexandra 4–1 7 March 1998
England Mendonca, CliveClive Mendonca Charlton Athletic Norwich City 4–0 17 September 1997
Norway Fjørtoft Åge, JanJan Åge Fjørtoft Sheffield United Stockport County 5–1 21 October 1997
England Furlong, PaulPaul Furlong Birmingham City Stoke City 7–0 10 January 1998
Stockport County 4–1 27 January 1998
Scotland Freedman, DougieDougie Freedman Wolverhampton Wanderers Norwich City 5–0 10 January 1998
Scotland Mathie, AlexAlex Mathie Ipswich Town Norwich City 5–0 21 February 1998
England Johnson, DavidDavid Johnson Oxford United 5–2 24 February 1998
Republic of Ireland Quinn, NiallNiall Quinn Sunderland Stockport County 4–1 7 March 1998
Italy Branca, MarcoMarco Branca Middlesbrough Bury 4–0 11 April 1998
England Little, ColinColin Little Crewe Alexandra Bradford City 5–0 25 April 1998

References

  1. "English League Leading Goalscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  2. Edwards, John (7 October 1997). "Mystery man replaces Horton". The Mirror. The Free Library. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  3. Metcalf, Rupert (23 January 1998). "Kamara takes charge of Stoke as Bates steps down". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  4. Nixon, Alan (18 February 1998). "Clark sacked, Royle in at City.". The Mirror. The Free Library. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  5. Nixon, Alan (19 March 1998). "Bullivant ends Reading rule". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  6. "Burns takes the reins at Reading". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 26 March 1998. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  7. Martin, Andrew (9 April 1998). "Kamara leaves struggling Stoke". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
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