1997–98 Wimbledon F.C. season

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Wimbledon
1997–98 season
Chairman Sam Hammam
Manager Joe Kinnear
Stadium Selhurst Park
Premiership 15th
FA Cup Fifth round
League Cup Third round
Top goalscorer League: Cort/Ekoku/Euell/
M Hughes/Leaburn (4)
All: Euell (8)
Average home league attendance 16,156
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

During the 1997–98 English football season, Wimbledon F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons). They finished 15th in the final table to secure a 13th successive top flight campaign, although their final position was disappointing given their performance earlier in the season.

Season summary

Despite the early season sale of Dean Holdsworth to Bolton Wanderers, Wimbledon showed the "Crazy Gang" spirit once more as they were still standing fourth at the beginning of December. Manager Joe Kinnear was hopeful that this could finally be the season when Wimbledon achieved a UEFA Cup place, but the team's form steadily deteriorated during the second half of the season. Their 15th place finish was their worst since reaching the top flight in 1986, though they had never looked to be in any real danger of relegation.

Final league table

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Main article: 1997-98 FA Premier League
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
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
38 10 14 14 34 46  −12 44 5 6 8 18 25  −7 5 8 6 16 21  −5

Source: 1997-98 FA Premier League table

Results by round
Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38
Ground H H H A A H H A H A A H H A H A H A A H A H A A H A H H A H H A H A A A H A
Result D D L L W L W D L W D W L W L L W D D L L D D W W L L W L D D W D L D D L D
Position 11 14 17 20 15 18 13 15 15 12 11 9 10 9 10 11 10 11 12 12 14 14 16 15 13 15 15 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 14 14 16 15

Source: Soccerbase: 1997-98 Wimbledon results
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Results

Wimbledon's score comes first[1]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
9 August 1997 Liverpool H 1–1 26,106 Gayle
23 August 1997 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–1 11,503 Euell
27 August 1997 Chelsea H 0–2 22,237
30 August 1997 West Ham United A 1–3 24,516 Ekoku
13 September 1997 Newcastle United A 3–1 36,526 Cort, Perry, Ekoku
20 September 1997 Crystal Palace H 0–1 16,747
23 September 1997 Barnsley H 4–1 7,668 Cort, Earle, C Hughes, Ekoku
27 September 1997 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–0 26,261
4 October 1997 Blackburn Rovers H 0–1 15,600
18 October 1997 Aston Villa A 2–1 32,087 Earle, Cort
22 October 1997 Derby County A 1–1 28,595 Rowett (own goal)
25 October 1997 Leeds United H 1–0 15,718 Ardley (pen)
1 November 1997 Coventry City H 1–2 11,201 Cort
10 November 1997 Leicester City A 1–0 18,553 Gayle
22 November 1997 Manchester United H 2–5 26,309 Ardley, M Hughes
29 November 1997 Bolton Wanderers A 0–1 22,703
7 December 1997 Southampton H 1–0 12,009 Earle
13 December 1997 Everton A 0–0 28,533
26 December 1997 Chelsea A 1–1 34,100 M Hughes
28 December 1997 West Ham United H 1–2 22,087 Solbakken
10 January 1998 Liverpool A 0–2 38,011
17 January 1998 Derby County H 0–0 13,031
31 January 1998 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–1 22,655 M Hughes
9 February 1998 Crystal Palace A 3–0 14,410 Leaburn (2), Euell
21 February 1998 Aston Villa H 2–1 13,131 Euell, Leaburn
28 February 1998 Barnsley A 1–2 17,102 Euell
11 March 1998 Arsenal H 0–1 22,291
14 March 1998 Leicester City H 2–1 13,229 Roberts, M Hughes
28 March 1998 Manchester United A 0–2 55,306
31 March 1998 Newcastle United H 0–0 15,478
4 April 1998 Bolton Wanderers H 0–0 11,356
11 April 1998 Southampton A 1–0 14,815 Leaburn
13 April 1998 Everton H 0–0 15,131
18 April 1998 Arsenal A 0–5 38,024
25 April 1998 Blackburn Rovers A 0–0 24,848
29 April 1998 Coventry City A 0–0 17,968
2 May 1998 Tottenham Hotspur H 2–6 25,820 Fear (2)
10 May 1998 Leeds United A 1–1 38,172 Ekoku

FA Cup

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Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 4 January 1998 Wrexham H 0–0 6,349
R3R 13 January 1998 Wrexham A 3–2 9,539 Hughes (2), Gayle
R4 24 January 1998 Huddersfield Town A 1–0 14,533 Ardley
R5 14 February 1998 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–1 15,322 Euell
R5R 25 February 1998 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1–2 25,112 Jones

League Cup

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Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg 16 September 1997 Millwall H 5–1 6,949 Cort (2, 1 pen), Clarke, Euell, Castledine
R2 2nd Leg 1 October 1997 Millwall A 4–1 (won 9-2 on agg) 3,591 Euell (2), Castledine, Gayle
R3 14 October 1997 Bolton Wanderers A 0–2 9,875

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
1 Scotland GK Neil Sullivan[3]
2 Republic of Ireland DF Kenny Cunningham
3 England DF Alan Kimble
5 England DF Dean Blackwell
6 England DF Ben Thatcher[4]
7 Wales MF Ceri Hughes
8 Jamaica MF Robbie Earle[5]
9 Nigeria FW Efan Ekoku[6]
10 England MF Andy Roberts
11 Jamaica FW Marcus Gayle[7]
12 England DF Chris Perry
13 England GK Paul Heald
14 Republic of Ireland FW Jon Goodman[8]
15 England DF Alan Reeves
16 Northern Ireland MF Michael Hughes
17 Scotland DF Brian McAllister
No. Position Player
18 England DF Neal Ardley
19 England MF Stewart Castledine
20 England FW Mick Harford
21 Scotland DF Duncan Jupp[9]
22 England FW Andy Clarke
23 England MF Jason Euell[10]
24 England MF Peter Fear
25 England DF Andy Pearce
26 England FW Carl Cort[11]
27 England MF Damien Francis
28 England FW Richard O'Connor[12]
29 England FW Carl Leaburn
30 England DF Peter Hawkins
31 England DF Danny Hodges
32 Republic of Ireland DF Mark Kennedy
33 Republic of Ireland GK Brendan Murphy

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
4 Wales MF Vinnie Jones (to Queens Park Rangers[13])
10 England FW Dean Holdsworth (to Bolton Wanderers)
No. Position Player
10 Norway MF Ståle Solbakken (to Aalborg)

Transfers

In

Date Pos Name From Fee
2 July 1997 MF Ceri Hughes Luton Town £400,000
25 September 1997 MF Michael Hughes West Ham United £1,600,000
13 October 1997 MF Ståle Solbakken Lillestrøm £250,000
8 January 1998 FW Carl Leaburn Charlton Athletic £300,000
9 March 1998 MF Andy Roberts Crystal Palace £2,000,000
26 March 1998 DF Mark Kennedy Liverpool £1,750,000

Out

Date Pos Name To Fee
2 June 1997 MF Øyvind Leonhardsen Liverpool £3,500,000
1 August 1997 DF Scott Fitzgerald Millwall £50,000
2 October 1997 FW Dean Holdsworth Bolton Wanderers £3,500,000
26 March 1998 MF Vinnie Jones Queens Park Rangers £750,000
Transfers in: Decrease £6,300,000
Transfers out: Increase £7,800,000
Total spending: Increase £1,500,000

References

  1. ↑ http://www.statto.com/football/teams/wimbledon/1997-1998/results
  2. ↑ http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/1997-1998/faprem/wimbled.htm
  3. ↑ Sullivan was born in Sutton, England, but qualified to represent Scotland internationally and made his debut for Scotland in 1997.
  4. ↑ Thatcher was born in Swindon, England, and played for the England U21 side during the season, but also qualified to represent Wales through his grandmother and made his international debut for Wales in March 2004.
  5. ↑ Earle was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England, but qualified to represent Jamaica internationally. He made his international debut for Jamaica in 1997, having previously being called up for England once without playing.
  6. ↑ Ekoku was born in Manchester, England, but qualified to represent Nigeria internationally and made his international debut for Nigeria in 1994.
  7. ↑ Gayle was born in Hammersmith, London, but qualified to represent Jamaica internationally; he made his international debut for Jamaica in 1998.
  8. ↑ Goodman was born in Walthamstow, England, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and would make his debut for Ireland in 1997.
  9. ↑ Jupp was born in Haslemere, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and made his debut for the Scotland U21 side in 1996.
  10. ↑ Euell was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in 2004.
  11. ↑ Cort was born in Southwark, England, but qualified to represent Guyana and would make his international debut for Guyana in 2011.
  12. ↑ O'Connor was born in Wandsworth, England, but also qualified to represent Anguilla internationally and would make his debut for Anguilla in 2000.
  13. ↑ Jones was born in Watford, England, but qualified to represent Wales through his maternal grandfather; he made his international debut for Wales in 1994.
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