1997–98 FA Premier League

The 1997–98 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the FA Premier League. It saw Arsenal lift their first league title since 1991[2] and, in so doing, became only the second team to win 'The Double' for the second time.

FA Premier League
Season1997–98
Dates09 August 1997–10 May 1998
ChampionsArsenal
1st Premier League title
11th English title
RelegatedBarnsley
Bolton Wanderers
Crystal Palace
Champions LeagueArsenal
Manchester United
Cup Winners' CupChelsea
Newcastle United
UEFA CupAston Villa
Blackburn Rovers
Leeds United
Liverpool
UEFA Intertoto CupCrystal Palace
Matches played380
Goals scored1,019 (2.68 per match)
Top goalscorerDion Dublin
Michael Owen
Chris Sutton
(18 goals each)
Biggest home winManchester United 7–0 Barnsley
(25 October 1997)
Biggest away winBarnsley 0–6 Chelsea
(24 August 1997)
Highest scoringBlackburn Rovers 7–2 Sheffield Wednesday
(25 August 1997)
Longest winning run10 games[1]
Arsenal
Longest unbeaten run18 games[1]
Arsenal
Longest winless run15 games[1]
Crystal Palace
Longest losing run8 games[1]
Crystal Palace
Highest attendance55,306
Manchester United v Wimbledon
(28 March 1998)
Lowest attendance7,668
Wimbledon v Barnsley
(23 September 1997)
Average attendance29,212

It was Arsenal's first full season under French manager Arsène Wenger, who became the third manager to win the Premier League. Wenger followed in the footsteps of Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish and, while both Ferguson and Dalglish were Scottish, Wenger was the first manager from outside the British Isles to win a league title in England.

Season summary

At the end of the 1997–98 FA Premier League season, a record total of nine English teams qualified for European competition.

Premiership champions Arsenal and runners-up Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, while UEFA Cup places went to Liverpool, Leeds United, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers. Qualifying for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup were Chelsea (as defending champions) and FA Cup runners-up Newcastle United. Crystal Palace, while finishing bottom, qualified for the Intertoto Cup.[3]

The gap between the Premier League and Division One of the Football League was highlighted at the end of 1997–98 when all three newly promoted teams were relegated. Crystal Palace were confined to bottom place in the final table having won just two home games all season. Barnsley's first season in the top division ended in relegation, although they did reach the FA Cup quarter finals and knock out Manchester United in the Fifth Round. Bolton Wanderers went down on goal difference, with 17th place being occupied by Everton: despite preserving top flight football there for the 45th season running, Howard Kendall quit as manager at Goodison Park after his third spell in charge.

Another mark of the gap was that the three relegated teams in the previous season took the top three places in the 1997–98 Football League. Had Sunderland not lost the play-off final to Charlton Athletic on penalty shootout, the 20 teams from 1998–99 Premier League would have been exactly the same as those in the 1996–97 Premier League.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Bolton Wanderers (returning to the top flight after a season's absence), Barnsley (playing in the top flight for the first time) and Crystal Palace (playing in the top flight again after a two-year absence). They replaced Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, who were relegated after top flight spells of one, two and three years respectively.

Stadiums and Locations
Locations of the 1997–98 Premier League teams
Greater London Premier League football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Arsenal London (Highbury) Arsenal Stadium 38,419
Aston Villa Birmingham Villa Park 42,573
Barnsley Barnsley Oakwell 23,287
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Ewood Park 31,367
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Reebok Stadium 28,723
Chelsea London (Fulham) Stamford Bridge 42,055
Coventry City Coventry Highfield Road 23,489
Crystal Palace London (Selhurst) Selhurst Park 26,074
Derby County Derby Pride Park Stadium[lower-alpha 1] 33,597
Everton Liverpool (Walton) Goodison Park 40,569
Leeds United Leeds Elland Road 40,242
Leicester City Leicester Filbert Street 22,000
Liverpool Liverpool (Anfield) Anfield 45,522
Manchester United Old Trafford Old Trafford 55,385
Newcastle United Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park 52,387
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Hillsborough Stadium 39,732
Southampton Southampton The Dell 15,200
Tottenham Hotspur London (Tottenham) White Hart Lane 36,240
West Ham United London (Upton Park) Boleyn Ground 35,647
Wimbledon London (Wimbledon) Selhurst Park[lower-alpha 2] 26,074
  1. Derby County relocated to the Pride Park Stadium as their new home stadium after spending 102 years at Baseball Ground.
  2. Due to Wimbledon lacking a home stadium, they played their home games at Selhurst Park, which is the home stadium of Crystal Palace.

Personnel and kits

A list of personnel and kits of the clubs in the 1997–98 FA Premier League.

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal Arsène Wenger Tony Adams Nike JVC
Aston Villa John Gregory Gareth Southgate Reebok AST
Barnsley Danny Wilson Neil Redfearn Admiral Ora
Blackburn Rovers Roy Hodgson Tim Sherwood Asics CIS
Bolton Wanderers Colin Todd Guðni Bergsson Reebok Reebok
Chelsea Gianluca Vialli Dennis Wise Umbro Autoglass
Coventry City Gordon Strachan Gary McAllister Le Coq Sportif Subaru
Crystal Palace Ron Noades
Ray Lewington (caretakers)		 Andy Linighan Adidas TDK
Derby County Jim Smith Igor Štimac Puma Puma
Everton Howard Kendall Dave Watson Umbro One2One
Leeds United George Graham Lucas Radebe Puma Packard Bell
Leicester City Martin O'Neill Steve Walsh Fox Leisure Walkers
Liverpool Roy Evans Paul Ince Reebok Carlsberg
Manchester United Alex Ferguson Roy Keane Umbro Sharp
Newcastle United Kenny Dalglish Robert Lee Adidas Newcastle Brown Ale
Sheffield Wednesday Ron Atkinson Peter Atherton Puma Sanderson
Southampton Dave Jones Matt Le Tissier Pony Sanderson
Tottenham Hotspur Christian Gross Gary Mabbutt Pony Hewlett-Packard
West Ham United Harry Redknapp Steve Lomas Pony (no sponsor)
Wimbledon Joe Kinnear Robbie Earle Lotto Elonex

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Nottingham Forest Stuart Pearce End of caretaker spell 8 May 1997 Pre-season Dave Bassett 8 May 1997
Everton Dave Watson 10 May 1997 Howard Kendall 10 May 1997
Blackburn Rovers Tony Parkes 1 June 1997 Roy Hodgson 1 June 1997
Southampton Graeme Souness Resigned Dave Jones 23 June 1997
Sheffield Wednesday David Pleat Sacked 3 November 1997[4] 20th Peter Shreeves (caretaker) 3 November 1997
Sheffield Wednesday Peter Shreeves (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 14 November 1997 19th Ron Atkinson (caretaker) 14 November 1997
Tottenham Hotspur Gerry Francis Resigned 19 November 1997 16th Christian Gross 19 November 1997
Chelsea Ruud Gullit Sacked 12 February 1998 2nd Gianluca Vialli 12 February 1998
Aston Villa Brian Little Resigned 24 February 1998 15th John Gregory 25 February 1998
Crystal Palace Steve Coppell Promoted to director of football 13 March 1998 20th Attilio Lombardo (caretaker)[lower-alpha 1] 13 March 1998
Attilio Lombardo Resigned 29 April 1998 20th Ron Noades
Ray Lewington (caretakers)[lower-alpha 2]		 29 April 1998
  1. Swedish striker Thomas Brolin served as Italian-to-English interpreter for Lombardo
  2. Noades and Lewington acted as co-managers

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 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Manchester United 38 23 8 7 73 26 +47 77 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3 Liverpool 38 18 11 9 68 42 +26 65 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Chelsea 38 20 3 15 71 43 +28 63 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
5 Leeds United 38 17 8 13 57 46 +11 59 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 2]
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 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 3]
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 the 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
Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round[lower-alpha 4]
Relegation to the Football League First Division
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions. As they were also the League Cup winners, the UEFA Cup berth vacated was awarded to Blackburn Rovers.
  2. Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.
  3. As Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their Cup Winners' Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Newcastle United, the runners-up.
  4. Crystal Palace qualified for the 1998 Intertoto Cup as they were the only English team who applied.

Results
Home \ Away ARS AST BAR BLB BOL CHE COV CRY DER EVE LEE LEI LIV MUN NEW SHW SOU TOT WHU WDN
Arsenal 0–0 5–0 1–3 4–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 4–0 2–1 2–1 0–1 3–2 3–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 4–0 5–0
Aston Villa 1–0 0–1 0–4 1–3 0–2 3–0 3–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 0–2 0–1 2–2 1–1 4–1 2–0 1–2
Barnsley 0–2 0–3 1–1 2–1 0–6 2–0 1–0 1–0 2–2 2–3 0–2 2–3 0–2 2–2 2–1 4–3 1–1 1–2 2–1
Blackburn Rovers 1–4 5–0 2–1 3–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 1–0 3–2 3–4 5–3 1–1 1–3 1–0 7–2 1–0 0–3 3–0 0–0
Bolton Wanderers 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–5 5–2 3–3 0–0 2–3 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–0
Chelsea 2–3 0–1 2–0 0–1 2–0 3–1 6–2 4–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 4–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 4–2 2–0 2–1 1–1
Coventry City 2–2 1–2 1–0 2–0 2–2 3–2 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–1 3–2 2–2 1–0 1–0 4–0 1–1 0–0
Crystal Palace 0–0 1–1 0–1 1–2 2–2 0–3 0–3 3–1 1–3 0–2 0–3 0–3 0–3 1–2 1–0 1–1 1–3 3–3 0–3
Derby County 3–0 0–1 1–0 3–1 4–0 0–1 3–1 0–0 3–1 0–5 0–4 1–0 2–2 1–0 3–0 4–0 2–1 2–0 1–1
Everton 2–2 1–4 4–2 1–0 3–2 3–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–0 1–3 0–2 0–2 2–1 0–0
Leeds United 1–1 1–1 2–1 4–0 2–0 3–1 3–3 0–2 4–3 0–0 0–1 0–2 1–0 4–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 3–1 1–1
Leicester City 3–3 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 3–3 3–0 2–1 0–1
Liverpool 4–0 3–0 0–1 0–0 2–1 4–2 1–0 2–1 4–0 1–1 3–1 1–2 1–3 1–0 2–1 2–3 4–0 5–0 2–0
Manchester United 0–1 1–0 7–0 4–0 1–1 2–2 3–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 3–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 6–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–0
Newcastle United 0–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 3–1 0–0 1–2 0–0 1–0 1–1 3–3 1–2 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–3
Sheffield Wednesday 2–0 1–3 2–1 0–0 5–0 1–4 0–0 1–3 2–5 3–1 1–3 1–0 3–3 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1
Southampton 1–3 1–2 4–1 3–0 0–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 0–2 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–3 3–2 3–0 0–1
Tottenham Hotspur 1–1 3–2 3–0 0–0 1–0 1–6 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 3–3 0–2 2–0 3–2 1–1 1–0 0–0
West Ham United 0–0 2–1 6–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–0 4–1 0–0 2–2 3–0 4–3 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–4 2–1 3–1
Wimbledon 0–1 2–1 4–1 0–1 0–0 0–2 1–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–5 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–6 1–2
Source:
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers
Liverpool's Michael Owen was the joint top scorer, with 18 goals.
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Dion Dublin Coventry City 18
Michael Owen Liverpool
Chris Sutton Blackburn Rovers
4 Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal 16
Kevin Gallacher Blackburn Rovers
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Leeds United
7 Andy Cole Manchester United 15
John Hartson West Ham United
9 Darren Huckerby Coventry City 14
10 Paulo Wanchope Derby County 13

Hat-tricks
Main article: List of Premier League hat-tricks
Chelsea's Gianluca Vialli and Tottenham's Jürgen Klinsmann both scored four goals in a match during the 1997–98 Premier League season. In addition, Vialli scored a perfect hat-trick (left foot, right foot, header).
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Dion DublinCoventry CityChelsea3–2 (A)9 August 1997[5]
Chris SuttonBlackburn RoversAston Villa4–0 (A)13 August 1997[6]
Gianluca Vialli4 PChelseaBarnsley6–0 (A)24 August 1997[7]
Dennis BergkampArsenalLeicester City3–3 (H)27 August 1997[8]
Ian WrightArsenalBolton Wanderers4–1 (H)13 September 1997[9]
Patrik BergerLiverpoolChelsea4–2 (H)5 October 1997[10]
Andy ColeManchester UnitedBarnsley7–0 (H)25 October 1997[11]
Andy BoothSheffield WednesdayBolton Wanderers5–0 (H)8 November 1997[12]
Gianfranco ZolaChelseaDerby County4–0 (H)29 November 1997[13]
Tore André FloChelseaTottenham Hotspur6–1 (A)6 December 1997[14]
Duncan FergusonEvertonBolton Wanderers3–2 (H)28 December 1997[15]
Kevin GallacherBlackburn RoversAston Villa5–0 (H)17 January 1998[16]
Michael OwenLiverpoolSheffield Wednesday3–3 (A)14 February 1998[17]
Chris SuttonBlackburn RoversLeicester City5–3 (A)28 February 1998[18]
Darren HuckerbyCoventry CityLeeds United3–3 (A)25 April 1998[19]
Jürgen Klinsmann4Tottenham HotspurWimbledon6–2 (A)2 May 1998[20]
Note: 4 Player scored 4 goals; P Player scored a perfect hat-trick; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Top assists
Manchester United's David Beckham assisted 13 goals for the club in the 1997–98 Premier League season.
Rank Player Club Assists[21]
1 David Beckham Manchester United 13
2 Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal 12
3 Eyal Berkovic West Ham United 10
Dion Dublin Coventry City
Steve Guppy Leicester City
Michael Owen Liverpool
Teddy Sheringham Manchester United
8 Ryan Giggs Manchester United 9
David Ginola Tottenham Hotspur
Matt Le Tissier Southampton

Awards

Monthly awards
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August Roy Hodgson Blackburn Rovers Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal
September Martin O'Neill Leicester City Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal
October Alex Ferguson Manchester United Paulo Wanchope Derby County
November George Graham Leeds United Andy Cole
Kevin Davies		 Manchester United
Southampton
December Roy Hodgson Blackburn Rovers Steve McManaman Liverpool
January Howard Kendall Everton Dion Dublin Coventry City
February Gordon Strachan Coventry City Chris Sutton Blackburn Rovers
March Arsène Wenger Arsenal Alex Manninger Arsenal
April Arsène Wenger Arsenal Emmanuel Petit Arsenal

Annual awards
Award Winner Club
Premier League Manager of the Season Arsène Wenger[22] Arsenal
Premier League Player of the Season Michael Owen[22] Liverpool
PFA Players' Player of the Year Dennis Bergkamp[23] Arsenal
PFA Young Player of the Year Michael Owen[24] Liverpool
FWA Footballer of the Year Dennis Bergkamp[25] Arsenal
PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Nigel Martyn (Leeds United)
Defence Gary Neville (Manchester United) Gary Pallister (Manchester United) Colin Hendry (Blackburn Rovers) Graeme Le Saux (Chelsea)
Midfield David Beckham (Manchester United) Nicky Butt (Manchester United) David Batty (Newcastle United) Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Attack Michael Owen (Liverpool) Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal)

See also

References and notes
  1. "English Premier League 1997–98". statto.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  2. "Honours". Arsenal. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  3. League tables and results for English football leagues, 1997–98 season. Retrieved 21 September 2006.
  4. "Sheffield Wednesday search for new boss". BBC Sport. 4 November 1997. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  5. White, Clive (10 August 1997). "Football: Dublin exposes Chelsea's flaw". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  6. Anderson, David. "Blackburn 5 Aston Villa 0". Sporting Life. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  7. Hodgson, Guy (25 August 1997). "Football: Barnsley exposed by Vialli". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  8. "In pictures: Dennis Bergkamp's 100 Arsenal goals". BBC Sport. 4 January 2003. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  9. "Arsenal 4–1 Bolton Wanderers". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 16 May 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  10. "Liverpool 4–2 Chelsea". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 16 May 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  11. Anderson, David. "Manchester United 7–0 Barnsley". Sporting Life. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  12. Culley, Jon (10 November 1997). "Football: Shreeves reaps reward of Pleat's long-term plan". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  13. Lipton, Martin. "Chelsea 4 Derby 0". Sporting Life. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  14. Shaw, Phil (7 December 1997). "Football: Tottenham's revival hopes threatened by Venglos factor". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  15. "Ferguson hits hat-trick for Everton". BBC News. 28 December 1997. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  16. Culley, Jon (18 January 1998). "Football: Villa cut down by Gallacher". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  17. "Sheffield Wednesday 3–3 Liverpool". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 17 May 2005. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  18. Hodgson, Guy (2 March 1998). "Football: Why Sutton should eat humble pie". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  19. Rodgers, Ian. "Leeds 3 Coventry 3". Sporting Life. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  20. Griffiths, Wyn (4 May 1996). "Football: Klinsmann muddies the water". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  21. "Statistical Leaders – 1998". Premier League. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  22. "Seasonal Awards 1997/98" Archived 9 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 September 2006.
  23. "England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Players' Players of the Year". Retrieved 21 September 2006.
  24. "England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Young Players of the Year". Retrieved 21 September 2006.
  25. "England Player Honours – Football Writers' Association Footballers of the Year". Retrieved 21 September 2006.
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