1997–98 season of Aston Villa
997–98 season of Aston Villa
Aston Villa 1997–98 football season
Aston Villa 1997–98 season Chairman Doug Ellis Manager Brian Little (until 24 February) John Gregory (from 25 February)Stadium Villa Park Premiership 7th FA Cup Fifth round League Cup Third round UEFA Cup Quarter-finals Top goalscorer League: Dwight Yorke (12) All: Dwight Yorke (14) Average home league attendance 36,137
During the 1997–98 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).
When Brian Little resigned as Aston Villa manager in February, Villa were 15th in the Premiership and were starting to look like outside bets for relegation.[1] Ruud Gullit , recently sacked by Chelsea , was linked with the vacancy, but the surprise choice for the job was Wycombe manager John Gregory, a former Villa coach.[2] He influenced a late run of form which saw Villa climb to seventh place, and for the second season running Villa qualified for the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking .[3]
Final league table [ ]
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
5
Leeds United
38
17
8
13
57
46
+11
59
Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round [a]
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
Source:
Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
^ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking .
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
17
6
15
49
48
+1
57
9
3
7
26
24
+2
8
3
8
23
24
−1
Results by matchday
Match 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 A H A A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A H H A H A H A H A H A H H A H A A H A H Result L L L L W W W L D W L D L D W L W L D W D D L L W L L W W L W W W W W L W W Position 18 20 20 20 19 12 9 11 14 8 11 13 14 15 11 13 11 12 12 11 10 10 12 15 13 14 15 14 13 13 12 11 9 8 8 8 7 7
Results [ ]
Aston Villa's score comes first [4]
Legend [ ]
FA Premier League [ ]
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorers
9 August 1997
Leicester City
A
0–1
20,304
13 August 1997
Blackburn Rovers
H
0–4
37,112
23 August 1997
Newcastle United
A
0–1
36,783
27 August 1997
Tottenham Hotspur
A
2–3
26,317
Yorke 27', Collymore 58'
30 August 1997
Leeds United
H
1–0
39,027
Yorke 67'
13 September 1997
Barnsley
A
3–0
18,649
Ehiogu 25', Draper 50', Taylor 72'
20 September 1997
Derby County
H
2–1
35,444
Yorke 72', Joachim 75'
22 September 1997
Liverpool
A
0–3
34,843
27 September 1997
Sheffield Wednesday
H
2–2
32,044
Staunton 32', Taylor 49'
4 October 1997
Bolton Wanderers
A
1–0
24,186
Milošević 12'
18 October 1997
Wimbledon
H
1–2
32,087
Taylor 45'
26 October 1997
Arsenal
A
0–0
38,061
1 November 1997
Chelsea
H
0–2
39,372
8 November 1997
Crystal Palace
A
1–1
21,097
Joachim 86'
22 November 1997
Everton
H
2–1
36,389
Milošević 37', Ehiogu 56'
29 November 1997
West Ham United
A
1–2
24,976
Yorke 47'
6 December 1997
Coventry City
H
3–0
33,250
Collymore 21', Hendrie 71', Joachim 85'
15 December 1997
Manchester United
A
0–1
55,151
20 December 1997
Southampton
H
1–1
29,343
Taylor 64'
26 December 1997
Tottenham Hotspur
H
4–1
38,644
Draper 38', 68', Collymore 81', 89'
28 December 1997
Leeds United
A
1–1
36,287
Milošević 85'
10 January 1998
Leicester City
H
1–1
36,429
Joachim 87'
17 January 1998
Blackburn Rovers
A
0–5
24,834
1 February 1998
Newcastle United
H
0–1
38,266
7 February 1998
Derby County
A
1–0
30,251
Yorke 90'
18 February 1998
Manchester United
H
0–2
39,372
21 February 1998
Wimbledon
A
1–2
13,131
Milošević 41'
28 February 1998
Liverpool
H
2–1
39,372
Collymore 10', 65'
8 March 1998
Chelsea
A
1–0
33,018
Joachim 51'
11 March 1998
Barnsley
H
0–1
29,519
14 March 1998
Crystal Palace
H
3–1
33,781
Taylor 1', Milošević pen 14', 35'
28 March 1998
Everton
A
4–1
36,471
Joachim 12', Charles 62', Yorke pen 72', 81'
4 April 1998
West Ham United
H
2–0
39,372
Joachim 76', Milošević 82'
11 April 1998
Coventry City
A
2–1
22,792
Yorke 5', 48'
18 April 1998
Southampton
A
2–1
15,238
Hendrie 6', Yorke 60'
25 April 1998
Bolton Wanderers
H
1–3
38,392
Taylor 57'
2 May 1998
Sheffield Wednesday
A
3–1
34,177
Yorke 21', Hendrie 25', Joachim 50'
10 May 1998
Arsenal
H
1–0
39,372
Yorke 37' (pen)
FA Cup [ ]
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Goalscorers
R3
3 January 1998
Portsmouth
A
2–2
16,013
Staunton 41', Grayson 88'
R3R
14 January 1998
Portsmouth
H
1–0
23,355
Milošević 21'
R4
24 January 1998
West Bromwich Albion
H
4–0
39,372
Grayson 4', Yorke 61', 64', Collymore 72'
R5
14 February 1998
Coventry City
H
0–1
36,979
League Cup [ ]
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Goalscorers
R3
15 October 1997
West Ham United
A
0–3
20,360
UEFA Cup [ ]
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Goalscorers
R1 1st leg
16 September 1997
Bordeaux
A
0–0
16,800
R1 2nd leg
30 September 1997
Bordeaux
H
1–0 (won 1–0 on agg)
33,072
Milošević 111'
R2 1st leg
21 October 1997
Athletic Bilbao
A
0–0
46,000
R2 2nd leg
4 November 1997
Athletic Bilbao
H
2–1 (won 2–1 on agg)
35,915
Taylor 28', Yorke 50'
R3 1st leg
25 November 1997
Steaua Bucharest
A
1–2
24,000
Yorke 54'
R3 2nd leg
9 December 1997
Steaua Bucharest
H
2–0 (won 3–2 on agg)
35,102
Milošević 71', Taylor 85'
QF 1st leg
3 March 1998
Atlético Madrid
A
0–1
45,000
QF 2nd leg
17 March 1998
Atlético Madrid
H
2–1 (lost on away goals)
39,163
Taylor 72', Collymore 74'
Players [ ]
First-team squad [ ]
Squad at end of season [5] [6] [7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Left club during season [ ]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve squad [ ]
The following players made most of their appearances this season for the reserves, and did not appear for the first-team, or only appeared for the first-team in friendlies.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Youth squad [ ]
The following players spent most of the season playing for the youth team, and did not appear for the first team, but may have appeared for the reserve team.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Trainees [ ]
The following players were signed to Aston Villa as trainees, and did not appear for the youth or reserve teams this season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Schoolboys [ ]
The following players were signed to Aston Villa as associated schoolboys, and did not appear for the youth or reserve teams this season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Other players [ ]
The following players were signed to Aston Villa on unknown contractual terms, and did not appear for the youth or reserve teams this season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Statistics [ ]
Starting 11 [ ]
No.
Pos.
Nat.
Name
MS
Notes
1
GK
Mark Bosnich
42
15
RB
Fernando Nélson
28
5
CB
Ugo Ehiogu
48
4
CB
Gareth Southgate
43
3
CB
Steve Staunton
38
14
LB
Alan Wright
48
8
CM
Mark Draper
43
16
CM
Simon Grayson
36
7
CM
Ian Taylor
42
10
SS
Dwight Yorke
40
11
CF
Stan Collymore
34
Transfers [ ]
In [ ]
Date
Pos
Name
From
Fee
Notes
27 November 1997
MF
David Curtolo
Västerås SK
£30,000
5 June 1998
MF
Alan Thompson
Bolton Wanderers
£4,500,000
24 June 1998
MF
Fabio Ferraresi
Cesena
Free transfer
24 June 1998
DF
David Unsworth
West Ham United
£3,000,000
Out [ ]
Date
Pos
Name
To
Fee
Notes
29 August 1997
MF
Andy Townsend
Middlesbrough
£500,000
1 September 1997
GK
Stuart Brock
Kidderminster Harriers
Free transfer
9 December 1997
MF
Scott Murray
Bristol City
£150,000
26 March 1998
MF
Saša Ćurčić
Crystal Palace
£1,000,000
1 July 1998
FW
Savo Milošević
Real Zaragoza
£3,500,000
3 July 1998
DF
Steve Staunton
Liverpool
Free transfer
7 July 1998
DF
Fernando Nélson
Porto
£1,100,000
Transfers in: £7,530,000
Transfers out: £6,250,000
Total spending: £1,280,000
Notes [ ]
^ Milošević was born in Bijeljina , Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina ).
^ Byfield was born in Sutton Coldfield , England , but also qualifies to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in 2003.
^ Townsend was born in Maidstone , England , but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandmother and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in February 1989.
^ Ilić was born in Melbourne , Australia , but also qualified to represent FR Yugoslavia internationally and would make his international debut for FR Yugoslavia in December 1998.
^ Samuel was born in San Fernando , Trinidad and Tobago , but also qualified to represent England internationally and would represent them at U-18, U-20, and U-21 level and be called up to the senior team before switching his international allegiance to Trinidad and Tobago and making his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in September 2009.
^ Myhill was born in Modesto , California , United States , but was raised in England from the age of 1, qualifying to represent any of the home nations. He represented England at U-17, and U-18, and U-20 level before making his international debut for Wales in March 2008.
References [ ]
External links [ ]
National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Levels 2–4 Level 5 Levels 6–7 Levels 8–9
Isthmian League (Two , Three )
Combined Counties League (level 8 only )
Eastern Counties League (Premier , One )
Essex Senior League (level 8 only )
Hellenic League (Premier , One )
Kent League (level 8 only )
Midland Alliance (level 8 only )
Midland Football Combination (level 9 only )
North West Counties League (One , Two )
Northern Counties East League (Premier , One )
Northern League (One , Two )
Spartan South Midlands League (Premier North , Premier South , Senior )
Sussex County League (One , Two )
United Counties League (Premier , One )
Wessex League (level 8 only )
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 9 only )
Western League (Premier , One )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
European competitions