Wigan Athletic 1997–98 football season
During the 1997–98 English football season, Wigan Athletic F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division .
Season summary [ ]
In the 1997–98 season, Wigan didn't start the campaign very well and by the end of November, sat in the bottom four and were favourites to go down before the season started and it seemed a possibility at that stage. By 21 February, their fortunes didn't really improve and were still in the relegation battle in 17th and two points clear of the relegation zone. From then onwards, Wigan went on a great run of form to end the season with seven wins from their final 15 league games and finished in a satisfying 11th place.
Final league table [ ]
Main article: 1997-98 Football League
Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
F
A
W
D
L
F
A
F
A
GD
Pts
1
Watford
46
13
7
3
36
22
11
9
3
31
19
67
41
+26
88
2
Bristol City
46
16
5
2
41
17
9
5
9
28
22
69
39
+30
85
3
Grimsby Town
46
11
7
5
30
14
8
8
7
25
23
55
37
+18
72
4
Northampton Town
46
14
5
4
33
17
4
12
7
19
20
52
37
+15
71
5
Bristol Rovers
46
13
2
8
43
33
7
8
8
27
31
70
64
+6
70
6
Fulham
46
12
7
4
31
14
8
3
12
29
29
60
43
+17
70
7
Wrexham
46
10
10
3
31
23
8
6
9
24
28
55
51
+4
70
8
Gillingham
46
13
7
3
30
18
6
6
11
22
29
52
47
+5
70
9
Bournemouth
46
11
8
4
28
15
7
4
12
29
37
57
52
+5
66
10
Chesterfield
46
13
7
3
31
19
3
10
10
15
25
46
44
+2
65
11
Wigan Athletic
46
12
5
6
41
31
5
6
12
23
35
64
66
–2
62
12
Blackpool
46
13
6
4
35
24
4
5
14
24
43
59
67
–8
62
13
Oldham Athletic
46
13
7
3
43
23
2
9
12
19
31
62
54
+8
61
14
Wycombe Wanderers
46
10
10
3
32
20
4
8
11
19
33
51
53
–2
60
15
Preston North End
46
10
6
7
29
26
5
8
10
27
30
56
56
±0
59
16
York City
46
9
7
7
26
21
5
10
8
26
37
52
58
–6
59
17
Luton Town
46
7
7
9
35
38
7
8
8
25
26
60
64
–4
57
18
Millwall
46
7
8
8
23
23
7
5
11
20
31
43
54
–11
55
19
Walsall
46
10
8
5
26
16
4
4
15
17
36
43
52
–9
54
20
Burnley
46
10
9
4
34
23
3
4
16
21
42
55
65
–10
52
21
Brentford
46
9
7
7
33
29
2
10
11
17
42
50
71
–21
50
22
Plymouth Argyle
46
10
5
8
36
30
2
8
13
19
40
55
70
–15
49
23
Carlisle United
46
8
5
10
27
28
4
3
16
30
45
57
73
–16
44
24
Southend United
46
8
7
8
29
30
3
3
17
18
49
47
79
–32
43
Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
Key
Division Champions, promoted
Promoted
Participated in play-offs
Promoted through play-offs
Relegated
Results [ ]
Wigan Athletic's score comes first [1]
Legend [ ]
[ ]
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Scorers
9 August 1997
Wycombe Wanderers
H
5–2
4,706
O'Connell (3), Green , Kilford
16 August 1997
Bournemouth
A
0–1
3,799
23 August 1997
Plymouth Argyle
H
1–1
3,761
Lowe
30 August 1997
Bristol City
A
0–3
9,255
2 September 1997
Carlisle United
A
0–1
5,352
8 September 1997
Wrexham
H
3–2
3,872
O'Connell , Lowe , Jones (pen)
13 September 1997
Blackpool
H
3–0
5,517
Johnson , Lowe (2)
20 September 1997
Northampton Town
A
0–1
6,570
27 September 1997
Fulham
H
2–1
4,951
Johnson , Greenall
4 October 1997
Grimsby Town
A
1–2
4,623
Lowe
11 October 1997
Chesterfield
A
3–2
4,673
O'Connell , Greenall , Lowe
18 October 1997
Luton Town
H
1–1
4,466
Jones (pen)
21 October 1997
Gillingham
H
1–4
3,214
Lee
25 October 1997
Millwall
A
1–1
7,986
Jones
1 November 1997
York City
H
1–1
3,701
Greenall
4 November 1997
Oldham Athletic
A
1–3
5,446
Lowe
8 November 1997
Southend United
A
0–1
2,716
22 November 1997
Preston North End
H
1–4
5,649
Kilford
29 November 1997
Watford
A
1–2
9,455
Jones
2 December 1997
Bristol Rovers
H
3–0
2,738
Kilford , Lowe (2)
13 December 1997
Burnley
A
2–0
9,520
Lee , Jones
20 December 1997
Brentford
H
4–0
3,301
Lowe , Smeets (2), Kilford
26 December 1997
Wrexham
A
2–2
4,577
Smeets , Kilford
28 December 1997
Carlisle United
H
0–2
4,511
10 January 1998
Wycombe Wanderers
A
2–1
5,549
Martínez , Lee
17 January 1998
Bristol City
H
0–3
5,078
24 January 1998
Plymouth Argyle
A
2–3
4,345
Kilford , Lee
31 January 1998
Blackpool
A
2–0
5,288
Warne , Lydiate (own goal)
7 February 1998
Northampton Town
H
1–1
3,579
Morgan
14 February 1998
Grimsby Town
H
0–2
3,548
21 February 1998
Fulham
A
0–2
7,791
24 February 1998
Luton Town
A
1–1
4,403
Jones
28 February 1998
Chesterfield
H
2–1
3,017
Lowe , Jones (pen)
7 March 1998
York City
A
2–2
3,536
Greenall , Jones
14 March 1998
Oldham Athletic
H
1–0
4,277
Kilford
17 March 1998
Southend United
H
1–3
2,616
Lowe
21 March 1998
Walsall
A
0–1
3,169
28 March 1998
Preston North End
A
1–1
10,171
Lowe
4 April 1998
Watford
H
3–2
4,262
Barlow , Lowe , Kilford
7 April 1998
Bournemouth
H
1–0
2,798
Lee
10 April 1998
Bristol Rovers
A
0–5
6,038
13 April 1998
Burnley
H
5–1
4,926
Barlow , Lowe (2), Warne , Kilford
18 April 1998
Brentford
A
2–0
4,480
Bradshaw (pen), Kilford
21 April 1998
Walsall
H
2–0
2,725
Barlow , Jones
24 April 1998
Millwall
H
0–0
4,045
2 May 1998
Gillingham
A
0–0
10,361
FA Cup [ ]
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Goalscorers
R1
15 November 1997
Carlisle United
A
1–0
5,182 (1,940 away)
Jones
R2
6 December 1997
York City
H
2–1
4,021
Martínez , Lee
R3
3 January 1998
Blackburn Rovers
A
2–4
22,402 (4,827 away)
Lee , Lowe
League Cup [ ]
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg
12 August 1997
Chesterfield
H
1–2
3,413
Lee
R1 2nd Leg
26 August 1997
Chesterfield
A
0–1 (lost 1–3 on agg)
4,076
[ ]
Round
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Attendance
Goalscorers
NR1
9 December 1997
Lincoln City
H
2–0
1,467
Jones (2, 1 pen)
NR2
20 January 1998
Rotherham United
H
3–0
1,495
Jones (2), Lowe
NQF
27 January 1998
Blackpool
A
0–1
1,687 (524 away)
Squad [ ]
[2]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
References [ ]
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