1997–98 Grimsby Town F.C. season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grimsby Town
1997–98 season
ChairmanPeter Furneaux
ManagerAlan Buckley
StadiumBlundell Park
Second Division3rd (promoted via playoffs)
FA CupFourth round
League CupFourth round
Auto Windscreens ShieldWinners
Top goalscorerLeague: Donovan (16)
All: Donovan (21)
Average home league attendance5,601

During the 1997–98 English football season, Grimsby Town F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.

Season summary[]

The 1997–98 season saw the return of Alan Buckley as manager, after an unsuccessful period at West Bromwich Albion, for Grimsby's most successful post-war season. In the summer of 1997, Buckley succeeded in bringing in players to the club who were to be instrumental in the club's upcoming season. Former skipper Paul Groves was re-signed from West Bromwich Albion, and Kevin Donovan and David Smith also joined the club from Albion. The mid-season capture of Huddersfield Town midfielder Wayne Burnett proved to be a great bit of business for Buckley. After a seemingly poor start to the League campaign, performances improved, which propelled the club into a promotion battle with Watford, Bristol City and an expensively assembled Fulham (at the time the only club at this level to have spent seven-figure sums on players). A good run in the League Cup saw The Mariners knock holders Leicester City and fellow Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday out of the competition before finally losing out to Liverpool. A decent run of form had ignited the careers of such younger players as Daryl Clare, Danny Butterfield and Jack Lester who were becoming an integral part of the Blundell Park set-up. The Mariners went on to dump Burnley out of the Football League Trophy Northern section area final, which would see the club book its first trip to Wembley Stadium.[1] The club were drawn against Southern section champions AFC Bournemouth and in a tight game, an equaliser from substitute Kingsley Black took the game into extra time, and in the 112th minute Grimsby secured the game courtesy of a golden goal from Wayne Burnett.[1] This was the first major trophy awarded to the club following its first appearance at Wembley. It took only four weeks for Grimsby to return to the stadium though, this time to face Northampton Town in the Division Two Play Off Final.[1] Town won the game 1–0 thanks to a first half Kevin Donovan goal which gave the club a historic Wembley double and The Mariners promotion back to Division One.[1]

Final league table[]

Main article: 1997–98 Football League
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Watford 46 24 16 6 67 41 +26 88 Division Champions, promoted
2 Bristol City 46 25 10 11 69 39 +30 85 Promoted
3 Grimsby Town 46 19 15 12 55 37 +18 72 Promoted through play-offs
4 Northampton Town 46 18 17 11 52 37 +15 71 Participated in play-offs
5 Bristol Rovers 46 20 10 16 70 64 +6 70
Source:[citation needed]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Results[]

Grimsby Town's score comes first[2]

Legend[]

Win Draw Loss

Football League Second Division[]

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
9 August 1997 Bristol City H 1–1 6,220 Widdrington
16 August 1997 Plymouth Argyle A 2–2 6,002 Donovan (pen), Nogan
23 August 1997 Wrexham H 0–0 4,404
30 August 1997 Brentford A 1–3 3,875 Nogan
2 September 1997 Preston North End A 0–2 9,489
9 September 1997 York City H 0–0 5,308
13 September 1997 Fulham A 2–0 6,874 Livingstone (2)
20 September 1997 Millwall H 0–1 4,267
27 September 1997 Bournemouth A 1–0 3,712 Groves
4 October 1997 Wigan Athletic H 2–1 4,623 Donovan (2 pens)
11 October 1997 Northampton Town H 1–0 4,778 Donovan
18 October 1997 Blackpool A 2–2 5,234 Nogan, Donovan (pen)
21 October 1997 Oldham Athletic A 0–2 4,520
25 October 1997 Watford H 0–1 5,699
1 November 1997 Southend United H 5–1 4,501 Nogan (2), Lester, Groves, Widdrington
4 November 1997 Walsall A 0–0 2,599
8 November 1997 Chesterfield A 0–1 5,004
22 November 1997 Burnley H 4–1 4,829 Groves, Widdrington, Lester, Nogan
29 November 1997 Gillingham A 2–0 4,855 Jobling, Black
2 December 1997 Wycombe Wanderers H 0–0 4,160
12 December 1997 Bristol Rovers A 4–0 4,801 Gallimore, Livingstone (2), Donovan
20 December 1997 Carlisle United H 1–0 6,222 McDermott
26 December 1997 York City A 0–0 7,093
28 December 1997 Preston North End H 3–1 6,725 Donovan (2), Black
10 January 1998 Bristol City A 1–4 12,567 Groves
17 January 1998 Brentford H 4–0 4,624 Groves, Smith, Donovan, Clare
31 January 1998 Fulham H 1–1 6,785 Burnett
7 February 1998 Millwall A 1–0 6,020 Livingstone
14 February 1998 Wigan Athletic A 2–0 3,548 Nogan, Donovan
21 February 1998 Bournemouth H 2–1 5,456 O'Neil (own goal), Groves
24 February 1998 Blackpool H 1–0 4,924 Clare
28 February 1998 Northampton Town A 1–2 6,932 Donovan
3 March 1998 Chesterfield H 0–0 4,940
7 March 1998 Southend United A 1–0 4,829 Clare
14 March 1998 Walsall H 3–0 4,916 Nogan, Donovan (2)
21 March 1998 Luton Town A 2–2 5,700 Gallimore, Donovan
24 March 1998 Plymouth Argyle H 1–0 4,661 Groves
28 March 1998 Burnley A 1–2 8,256 Lester
31 March 1998 Wrexham A 0–0 5,421
4 April 1998 Gillingham H 0–0 5,190
7 April 1998 Luton Town H 0–1 4,455
10 April 1998 Wycombe Wanderers A 1–1 5,846 Lester
13 April 1998 Bristol Rovers H 1–2 5,484 Donovan (pen)
21 April 1998 Carlisle United A 1–0 3,956 Donovan (pen)
25 April 1998 Watford A 0–0 14,002
2 May 1998 Oldham Athletic H 0–2 8,054

Second Division play-offs[]

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
Semi-final first leg 9 May 1998 Fulham A 1–1 13,954 Smith
Semi-final second leg 13 May 1998 Fulham H 1–0 (won 2–1 on agg) 8,689 Donovan
Final 24 May 1998 Northampton Town N 1–0 62,988 Donovan

FA Cup[]

Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
First round 15 November 1997 Shrewsbury Town A 1–1 3,193 Southall
First round replay 25 November 1997 Shrewsbury Town H 4–0 3,242 Nogan, Herbert (own goal), Lester, Jobling
Second round 6 December 1997 Chesterfield H 2–2 4,762 Rodger, Nogan
Second round replay 16 December 1997 Chesterfield A 2–0 4,553 Lester, Groves
Third round 3 January 1998 Norwich City H 3–0 8,161 McDermott, Woods, Donovan
Fourth round 14 January 1998 Leeds United A 0–2 29,598

League Cup[]

Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
First round first leg 12 August 1997 Oldham Athletic A 0–1 5,656
First round second leg 26 August 1997 Oldham Athletic H 5–0 (won 5–1 on agg) 5,078 Lester (3), Livingstone, Donovan
Second round first leg 17 September 1997 Sheffield Wednesday H 2–0 6,429 Groves, Livingstone
Second round second leg 1 October 1997 Sheffield Wednesday A 2–3 (won 4–3 on agg) 11,120 Nogan, Groves
Third round 14 October 1997 Leicester City H 3–1 7,738 Jobling, Livingstone (2)
Fourth round 18 November 1997 Liverpool A 0–3 28,515

Football League Trophy[]

Main article: 1997–98 Football League Trophy
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
First round 9 December 1997 Chesterfield A 1–0 1,128 Nogan
Second round 6 January 1998 Hull City H 1–0 4,778 Butterfield
Area quarter-final 27 January 1998 Scunthorpe United A 2–0 4,596 Groves, Burnett
Area semi-final 17 February 1998 Blackpool H 1–0 8,027 Burnett
Area final first leg 10 March 1998 Burnley H 1–1 6,064 Groves
Area final second leg 17 March 1998 Burnley A 2–0 (won 3–1 on agg) 10,257 Nogan, Donovan
Final 19 April 1998 Bournemouth N 2–1 62,432 Glass (own goal), Burnett

Squad[]

[3]

No. Pos Nat Player Total Second Division Play-offs FA Cup FL Cup FL Trophy
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
- GK Northern Ireland Aidan Davison 63 0 42+0 0 3+0 0 6+0 0 5+0 0 7+0 0
- GK England Jason Pearcey 5 0 4+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0
- DF Scotland Peter Handyside 64 0 40+2 0 1+0 0 6+0 0 6+0 0 8+1 0
- DF England John McDermott 62 2 40+1 1 3+0 0 6+0 1 5+0 0 7+0 0
- DF England Mark Lever 54 0 37+1 0 3+0 0 1+1 0 5+0 0 6+0 0
- DF England Tony Gallimore 56 2 34+1 2 3+0 0 6+0 0 5+0 0 7+0 0
- DF England Kevin Jobling 44 3 17+13 1 0+1 0 5+0 1 1+3 1 2+2 0
- DF England Graham Rodger 19 1 10+1 0 0+0 0 5+0 1 1+1 0 1+0 0
- DF England Danny Butterfield 11 1 4+3 0 0+0 0 0+1 0 1+0 0 1+1 1
- DF England Matthew Bloomer 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
- DF England Ben Chapman 1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
- DF England Ashley Fickling 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
- MF England Paul Groves 68 12 46+0 7 3+0 0 6+0 1 6+0 2 7+0 2
- MF England Kevin Donovan 67 21 46+0 16 3+0 2 6+0 1 6+0 1 6+0 1
- MF Northern Ireland Kingsley Black 55 2 24+15 2 0+3 0 4+0 0 5+0 0 2+2 0
- MF England Wayne Burnett 29 4 20+1 1 3+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 5+0 3
- MF England David Smith 25 2 17+0 1 3+0 1 1+0 0 0+0 0 4+0 0
- MF England Tommy Widdrington 30 3 15+6 3 0+0 0 2+0 0 5+1 0 1+0 0
- MF England Dave Gilbert 6 0 5+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0
- MF England Nicky Southall 9 1 4+1 0 0+0 0 1+1 1 1+1 0 0+0 0
- MF England Paul Holsgrove 10 0 3+7 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
- MF Scotland Jim Dobbin 2 0 1+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
- MF England Darren Wrack 2 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+1 0
- MF England Gary Childs 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
- FW Wales Lee Nogan 54 13 33+3 8 3+0 0 4+0 2 6+0 1 5+0 2
- FW England Steve Livingstone 59 9 28+13 5 0+2 0 2+3 0 3+3 4 4+1 0
- FW England Jack Lester 57 9 27+13 4 3+0 0 4+0 2 3+2 3 1+4 0
- FW Republic of Ireland Daryl Clare 33 3 8+14 3 0+1 0 1+4 0 0+0 0 4+1 0
- FW England Neil Woods 14 1 1+9 0 0+0 0 0+1 1 0+2 0 1+0 0
  • Source:[citation needed]

Transfers[]

In[]

Date Pos. Name From Fee
1 August 1997 MF England Kevin Donovan England West Bromwich Albion £300,000
1 August 1997 MF England Paul Groves England West Bromwich Albion £250,000
1 August 1997 FW Wales Lee Nogan England Reading £170,000
16 January 1998 MF England David Smith England West Bromwich Albion £200,000
12 February 1998 MF England Wayne Burnett England Huddersfield Town £100,000
26 March 1998 MF Scotland Jim Dobbin England Scarborough Free transfer

Out[]

Date Pos. Name To Fee
1 August 1997 MF Wales John Oster England Everton £1,500,000
7 August 1997 MF England Jimmy Neil England Scunthorpe United Free transfer
1 September 1997 MF England Gary Childs England Wisbech Town Free transfer
6 December 1997 MF England Nicky Southall England Gillingham Free transfer
Transfers in: Decrease £1,020,000
Transfers out: Increase £1,500,000
Total spending: Increase £480,000

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Buckley savours Wembley hat-trick". BBC Sport. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  2. ^ http://www.statto.com/football/teams/grimsby-town/1997-1998/results
  3. ^ "Grimsby FC Player Appearances | Past & Present | Soccer Base".
Retrieved from ""