1997–98 Sheffield United F.C. season

During the 1997–98 English football season, Sheffield United competed in the Football League First Division.

Sheffield United
1997–98 season
ChairmanMike McDonald
ManagerNigel Spackman (until 2 March)
Russell Slade (caretaker from 2 March - 9 March)
Steve Thompson (caretaker from 3 March)
StadiumBramall Lane
First Division6th
FA CupSemi finals
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague: Deane (10)
All: Deane (12)
Fjørtoft (12)
Average home league attendance17,942

Season summary

On 5 August 1997, Nigel Spackman was appointed as permanent manager of Sheffield United and his side had a good start to the season but huge losses and high wages from the previous season's promotion failure led to enforced sales of key personnel. The final straw being the sale of both of the club's top scoring strikers (Brian Deane – 11 league goals – went to S.L. Benfica & Jan Åge Fjørtoft – 9 league goals – to Barnsley) on the same day. Even though leaving midseason, Deane would go on to become the team's top scorer that year, such was the lack of replacements. Spackman was unhappy over this and resigned in March 1998, leaving Thompson and Slade in caretaker charge until the end of the season. The Blades finished in the playoffs but came up short in the playoff semi-finals against Sunderland, losing 3-2 on aggregate.

Final league table
Main article: 1997–98 Football League First Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
4 Charlton Athletic (P) 46 26 10 10 80 49 +31 88 Qualification for First Division play-offs
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
Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 1998. Source: Statto.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) number of goal scored; 3) goal difference.
(P) Promoted.

Results

Sheffield United's score comes first[1]

Legend
Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
10 August 1997SunderlandH2–017,324Fjørtoft, Borbokis
16 August 1997Wolverhampton WanderersA0–023,102
23 August 1997PortsmouthH2–115,895Fjørtoft (2)
30 August 1997Huddersfield TownA0–014,268
13 September 1997Nottingham ForestH1–024,536Taylor
20 September 1997Oxford UnitedA4–27,514Deane, Fjørtoft (pen), Holdsworth, Whitehouse
27 September 1997Birmingham CityH0–020,553
5 October 1997MiddlesbroughA2–130,000Deane, Whitehouse
18 October 1997Queens Park RangersH2–218,006Borbokis, Marcelo
21 October 1997Stockport CountyH5–116,241Whitehouse, Fjørtoft (3), Deane
25 October 1997West Bromwich AlbionA0–217,311
1 November 1997Tranmere RoversH2–116,578Tiler, Taylor
4 November 1997ReadingA1–08,132Patterson
9 November 1997Ipswich TownA2–29,695Taylor, Ward
15 November 1997Manchester CityH1–123,850Deane
18 November 1997Bradford CityA1–116,127Deane
22 November 1997Port ValeA0–08,017
29 November 1997Crewe AlexandraH1–016,973Fjørtoft
2 December 1997Stoke CityH3–214,347Taylor, Fjørtoft, Deane
6 December 1997Norwich CityA1–211,745Deane
9 December 1997Charlton AthleticA1–29,868Marker
13 December 1997Swindon TownH2–118,115Holdsworth, Saunders
20 December 1997BuryA1–16,012Deane
26 December 1997Stoke CityA2–219,723Taylor, Deane
28 December 1997Charlton AthleticH4–118,677Taylor, Saunders, Deane, Marker
10 January 1998SunderlandA2–436,391Saunders, Taylor
17 January 1998Wolverhampton WanderersH1–022,144Marcelo
27 January 1998Huddersfield TownH1–116,535Saunders
31 January 1998PortsmouthA1–112,003Knight (own goal)
7 February 1998Oxford UnitedH1–016,881Ford
22 February 1998Birmingham CityA0–217,965
25 February 1998Queens Park RangersA2–29,560Saunders, Stuart
28 February 1998Bradford CityH2–117,848Taylor (2)
3 March 1998Ipswich TownH0–114,120
14 March 1998ReadingH4–015,473Stuart, Marcelo, Taylor, Quinn
21 March 1998Manchester CityA0–028,496
28 March 1998Port ValeH2–115,860Marcelo, Saunders
1 April 1998Nottingham ForestA0–321,512
7 April 1998MiddlesbroughH1–018,421Saunders
11 April 1998Norwich CityH2–216,915Stuart, Borbokis
13 April 1998Swindon TownA1–15,956Marcelo
18 April 1998BuryH3–016,056Stuart (pen), Saunders (2)
25 April 1998West Bromwich AlbionH2–421,248Stuart (pen), Marcelo
28 April 1998Tranmere RoversA3–37,526Quinn, Saunders, Devlin
30 April 1998Crewe AlexandraA1–25,759Hamilton
3 May 1998Stockport CountyA0–19,683

First Division play-offs
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
SF First Leg10 May 1998SunderlandH2–123,800Marcelo, Borbokis
SF Second Leg13 May 1998SunderlandA0–2 (lost 2-3 on agg)40,092

FA Cup
Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R33 January 1998BuryH1–114,009Fjørtoft
R3R13 January 1998BuryA2–14,920Saunders, Fjørtoft
R424 January 1998Ipswich TownA1–114,654Saunders
R4R3 February 1998Ipswich TownH1–014,144Hutchison (pen)
R513 February 1998ReadingH1–017,845Sandford
QF7 March 1998Coventry CityA1–123,084Marcelo
QFR17 March 1998Coventry CityH1–1 (won 3-1 on pens)29,034Holdsworth
SF5 April 1998Newcastle UnitedN0–153,452

League Cup
Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R1 First Leg12 August 1997WrexhamA1–13,644Borbokis
R1 Second Leg26 August 1997WrexhamH3–1 (won 4-2 on agg)7,181Deane, Whitehouse, Fjørtoft
R2 First Leg16 September 1997WatfordA1–17,154Scott
R2 Second Leg23 September 1997WatfordH4–0 (won 5-1 on agg)7,511Day (own goal), Whitehouse (2), Deane
R314 October 1997WalsallA1–28,239Borbokis

Players

First-team squad
Squad at end of season[2]

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

No. Position Player
GK Matthew George
GK Simon Tracey
GK Andy Dibble
GK Alan Kelly[notes 1]
DF Earl Barrett
DF Ian Hamilton
DF David Holdsworth
DF David Lee (on loan from Chelsea)
DF Nicky Marker
DF Jon O'Connor (on loan from Everton)
DF Wayne Quinn
DF Lee Sandford
DF Chris Short[notes 2]
DF Carl Tiler
DF Chris Wilder
DF Paul McGrath[notes 3]
DF Michel Vonk
DF Roger Nilsen
DF Vassilis Borbokis
DF Traianos Dellas
MF Mark Beard
MF Adam Burley
MF Jon Cullen
MF Kevin Davies
No. Position Player
MF Shaun Derry
MF Paul Devlin[notes 4]
MF Bobby Ford
MF Steve Hawes
MF Nick Henry
MF Ryan Ludlam
MF Graham Stuart
MF Mitch Ward
MF David White
MF Dane Whitehouse
MF Curtis Woodhouse
MF Don Hutchison[notes 5]
FW Brian Deane
FW Lee Morris
FW Mark Patterson
FW Andy Scott
FW Ian Rush (on loan from Newcastle United)
FW Dean Saunders
FW Gareth Taylor[notes 6]
FW Andy Walker
FW Jan Åge Fjørtoft
FW Ville Lehtinen
FW Pyotr Kachura
FW Marcelo

References
  1. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/sheffield-united/1997-1998/results
  2. http://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/players/season/1998

Notes
  1. Kelly was born in Preston, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his father and represented them at U-23 level before making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1993.
  2. Short was born in Münster, West Germany (now Germany), but was raised in England.
  3. McGrath was born in Ealing, England, but was raised in the Republic of Ireland and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1985.
  4. Devlin was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his father and would make his international debut for Scotland in October 2002.
  5. Hutchison was born in Gateshead, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his father and would make his international debut for Scotland in March 1999, having previously represented them at B level.
  6. Taylor was born in Weston-super-Mare, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his father and made his international debut for Wales in 1995.
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