1997–98 Coventry City F.C. season explained

Club:Coventry City
Manager:Gordon Strachan
Chairman:Bryan Richardson
Season:1997–98
Stadium:Highfield Road
League:Premiership
League Result:11th
Cup2:FA Cup
Cup2 Result:Quarter-finals
Cup3:League Cup
Cup3 Result:Fourth round
League Topscorer:Dublin (18)
Season Topscorer:Dublin (23)
Highest Attendance:23,054 (vs. Manchester United, 28 December)
Lowest Attendance:15,900 (vs. Crystal Palace, 24 September)
Average Attendance:19,718
Prevseason:1996–97
Nextseason:1998–99

During the 1997–98 English football season, Coventry City competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary

After a last-day "houdini" act and the bonus of Middlesbrough having 3 points deducted kept Coventry up in the 1996–97 season, manager Gordon Strachan was determined to avoid another season of struggle. He achieved it, and an 11th-place finish was Coventry's highest in four seasons. However, even though they only suffered 10 defeats all season (the fourth least amount, after Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool), they staggeringly drew 16 games which ultimately prevented them from finishing any higher. Their secure finish was helped no end by the loyalty of striker Dion Dublin, who pledged his future to the club after turning down an offer from Blackburn Rovers. Coventry were, in fact, 17th on Boxing Day 1997, but a 3–2 win over Manchester United, with no small thanks to late goals from Dublin and Darren Huckerby, appeared to kickstart a sudden surge in form as by late March, the club found themselves in 9th. Right up to the final day of the season, the Sky Blues were within a shout of a UEFA Cup place, but they were beaten to it by local rivals Aston Villa. The two places above them were occupied by two other local rivals – Derby County and Leicester City.

Final league table

See main article: 1997–98 FA Premier League.

Results summary
Results by round

Results

Coventry City's score comes first[1]

Legend

WinDrawLoss

FA Premier League

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
9 August 1997 ChelseaH3–222,686Dublin (3)
11 August 1997 ArsenalA0–237,324
23 August 1997 Bolton WanderersH2–216,633Telfer, Huckerby
27 August 1997 West Ham UnitedH1–118,289Huckerby
30 August 1997 Manchester UnitedA0–355,074
13 September 1997 SouthamptonH1–018,659Soltvedt
20 September 1997 Sheffield WednesdayA0–021,087
24 September 1997 Crystal PalaceH1–115,900Dublin
28 September 1997 Blackburn RoversA0–019,086
4 October 1997 Leeds UnitedH0–017,770
20 October 1997 BarnsleyA0–217,463
25 October 1997 EvertonH0–018,760
1 November 1997 WimbledonA2–111,201Huckerby, Dublin
8 November 1997 Newcastle UnitedH2–222,679Dublin (2)
22 November 1997 Derby CountyA1–329,351Huckerby
29 November 1997 Leicester CityH0–218,309
6 December 1997 Aston VillaA0–333,250
13 December 1997 Tottenham HotspurH4–019,499Huckerby (2), Breen, Hall
20 December 1997 LiverpoolA0–139,707
26 December 1997 West Ham UnitedA0–124,532
28 December 1997 Manchester UnitedH3–223,054Whelan, Dublin (pen), Huckerby
10 January 1998 ChelseaA1–334,647Telfer
17 January 1998 ArsenalH2–222,864Whelan, Dublin (pen)
31 January 1998 Bolton WanderersA5–125,000Whelan, Huckerby (2), Dublin (2)
7 February 1998 Sheffield WednesdayH1–018,375Dublin (pen)
18 February 1998 SouthamptonA2–115,091Whelan, Huckerby
21 February 1998 BarnsleyH1–020,265Dublin (pen)
28 February 1998 Crystal PalaceA3–021,810Telfer, Moldovan, Dublin
14 March 1998 Newcastle UnitedA0–036,767
28 March 1998 Derby CountyH1–018,705Huckerby
4 April 1998 Leicester CityA1–121,137Whelan
11 April 1998 Aston VillaH1–222,792Whelan
13 April 1998 Tottenham HotspurA1–133,463Dublin
19 April 1998 LiverpoolH1–122,721Dublin (pen)
25 April 1998 Leeds UnitedA3–336,522Huckerby (3)
29 April 1998 WimbledonH0–017,968
2 May 1998 Blackburn RoversH2–018,794Dublin (pen), Boateng
10 May 1998 EvertonA1–140,109Dublin

FA Cup

See main article: 1997–98 FA Cup.

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers
R33 January 1998 LiverpoolA3–133,888Huckerby, Dublin, Telfer
R424 January 1998 Derby CountyH2–022,824Dublin (2)
R514 February 1998 Aston VillaA1–036,979Moldovan
QF7 March 1998 Sheffield UnitedH1–123,084Dublin (pen)
QFR17 March 1998 Sheffield UnitedA1–1 (lost 1–3 on pens)29,034Telfer

League Cup

See main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup.

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg 16 September 1997 BlackpoolA0–15,884
R2 2nd Leg 1 October 1997 BlackpoolH3–1 (won 3–2 on agg)9,565McAllister (2, 1 pen), Dublin
R315 October 1997 EvertonH4–110,087Hall, Salako (2), Haworth
R418 November 1997 ArsenalA0–130,199

Squad

[2]

Reserve squad

Transfers

In

DatePosNameFromFee
19 June 1997MFTrond Egil SoltvedtRosenborg£500,000
4 July 1997FWKyle LightbourneWalsall£500,000
7 July 1997GKMagnus HedmanAIKFree transfer
19 June 1997MFMartin JohansenCopenhagenFree transfer
29 July 1997DFRoland NilssonHelsingborgs£200,000
18 December 1997DFGeorge BoatengFeyenoord£250,000
2 January 1998FWViorel MoldovanGrasshoppers£3,250,000
26 March 1998MFPhilippe ClementRacing Genk£625,000

Out

DatePosNameToFee
1 July 1997MFChris McMenaminPeterborough UnitedFree transfer
4 July 1997MFEoin JessAberdeen£700,000
14 July 1997FWPeter NdlovuBirmingham City£1,600,000
1 August 1997GKJohn FilanBlackburn Rovers£700,000
1 August 1997GKJed SumnerCambridge UnitedFree transfer
9 September 1997MFKevin RichardsonSouthamptonTransfer
14 November 1997DFBrian BorrowsSwindon TownFree transfer
16 February 1998FWKyle LightbourneStoke City£500,000

Transfers in: £5,325,000

Transfers out: £3,500,000

Total spending: £1,825,000

Statistics

Appearances and goals

|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Goalkeepers|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Defenders|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Midfielders|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Forwards|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players who left the club during the season|-|}

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Coventry City results for the 1997-1998 season - Statto.com . 12 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150611071049/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1997-1998/results . 11 June 2015 . dead . dmy-all .
  2. Web site: FootballSquads - Coventry City - 1997/98.
  3. Web site: All Coventry City players: 1998.