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
ChairmanBryan Richardson
ManagerGordon Strachan
StadiumHighfield Road
Premiership11th
FA CupQuarter-finals
League CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague: Dublin (18)
All: Dublin (23)
Highest home attendance23,054 (vs. Manchester United, 28 December)
Lowest home attendance15,900 (vs. Crystal Palace, 24 September)
Average home league attendance19,718

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 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[lower-alpha 1]
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
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
38 12 16 10 46 44  +2 52 8 9 2 26 17  +9 4 7 8 20 27  −7
Results by round
Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHA
ResultWLDDLWDDDDLDWDLLLWLLWLDWWWWWDWDLDDDDWD
Position191012128111112121515121012151614161713161513121010101091011101110111111
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
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
9 August 1997ChelseaH3–222,686Dublin (3)
11 August 1997ArsenalA0–237,324
23 August 1997Bolton WanderersH2–216,633Telfer, Huckerby
27 August 1997West Ham UnitedH1–118,289Huckerby
30 August 1997Manchester UnitedA0–355,074
13 September 1997SouthamptonH1–018,659Soltvedt
20 September 1997Sheffield WednesdayA0–021,087
24 September 1997Crystal PalaceH1–115,900Dublin
28 September 1997Blackburn RoversA0–019,086
4 October 1997Leeds UnitedH0–017,770
20 October 1997BarnsleyA0–217,463
25 October 1997EvertonH0–018,760
1 November 1997WimbledonA2–111,201Huckerby, Dublin
8 November 1997Newcastle UnitedH2–222,679Dublin (2)
22 November 1997Derby CountyA1–329,351Huckerby
29 November 1997Leicester CityH0–218,309
6 December 1997Aston VillaA0–333,250
13 December 1997Tottenham HotspurH4–019,499Huckerby (2), Breen, Hall
20 December 1997LiverpoolA0–139,707
26 December 1997West Ham UnitedA0–124,532
28 December 1997Manchester UnitedH3–223,054Whelan, Dublin (pen), Huckerby
10 January 1998ChelseaA1–334,647Telfer
17 January 1998ArsenalH2–222,864Whelan, Dublin (pen)
31 January 1998Bolton WanderersA5–125,000Whelan, Huckerby (2), Dublin (2)
7 February 1998Sheffield WednesdayH1–018,375Dublin (pen)
18 February 1998SouthamptonA2–115,091Whelan, Huckerby
21 February 1998BarnsleyH1–020,265Dublin (pen)
28 February 1998Crystal PalaceA3–021,810Telfer, Moldovan, Dublin
14 March 1998Newcastle UnitedA0–036,767
28 March 1998Derby CountyH1–018,705Huckerby
4 April 1998Leicester CityA1–121,137Whelan
11 April 1998Aston VillaH1–222,792Whelan
13 April 1998Tottenham HotspurA1–133,463Dublin
19 April 1998LiverpoolH1–122,721Dublin (pen)
25 April 1998Leeds UnitedA3–336,522Huckerby (3)
29 April 1998WimbledonH0–017,968
2 May 1998Blackburn RoversH2–018,794Dublin (pen), Boateng
10 May 1998EvertonA1–140,109Dublin

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

League Cup
Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 1st Leg16 September 1997BlackpoolA0–15,884
R2 2nd Leg1 October 1997BlackpoolH3–1 (won 3–2 on agg)9,565McAllister (2, 1 pen), Dublin
R315 October 1997EvertonH4–110,087Hall, Salako (2), Haworth
R418 November 1997ArsenalA0–130,199

Squad

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

No. 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

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 copy". Archived from the original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    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
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