| Club: | Derby County |
| Season: | 1997–98 |
| Manager: | Jim Smith |
| Chairman: | Lionel Pickering |
| Stadium: | Pride Park |
| League: | Premiership |
| League Result: | 9th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Fourth round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Fourth round |
| League Topscorer: | Paulo Wanchope (13) |
| Season Topscorer: | Paulo Wanchope (17) |
| Highest Attendance: | 30,492 vs. Liverpool (10 May 1998) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 25,625 vs. Southampton (27 September 1997) |
| Average Attendance: | 29,105 |
| Prevseason: | 1996–97 |
| Nextseason: | 1998–99 |
The 1997–98 English football season was Derby County's second consecutive season in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).
Derby County began life at their new stadium by progressing further on the previous season's solid 12th-place finish. Jim Smith's team emerged as surprise contenders for a UEFA Cup place, and European qualification (for the first time in over 20 years) was still a possibility on the final day of the season. But results didn't go Derby's way, and that final European place went to Aston Villa.
The end-of-season arrival of Argentine defender Horacio Carbonari gave Derby fans fresh hope of challenging for a place in Europe.
See main article: 1997–98 FA Premier League.
Derby County's score comes first[1]
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 August 1997 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–1 | 23,557 | ||
| 23 August 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–1 | 25,886 | ||
| 30 August 1997 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | 27,232 | Eranio (pen) | |
| 13 September 1997 | Everton | H | 3–1 | 27,828 | Hunt, C Powell, Sturridge | |
| 20 September 1997 | Aston Villa | A | 1–2 | 35,444 | Baiano | |
| 24 September 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 5–2 | 22,391 | Baiano (2), Laursen, Wanchope, Burton | |
| 27 September 1997 | Southampton | H | 4–0 | 25,625 | Eranio, Wanchope, Baiano, Sturridge | |
| 6 October 1997 | Leicester City | A | 2–1 | 19,585 | Baiano (2) | |
| 18 October 1997 | Manchester United | H | 2–2 | 30,014 | Baiano, Wanchope | |
| 22 October 1997 | Wimbledon | H | 1–1 | 28,595 | Baiano | |
| 25 October 1997 | Liverpool | A | 0–4 | 38,017 | ||
| 1 November 1997 | Arsenal | H | 3–0 | 30,004 | Wanchope (2), Sturridge | |
| 8 November 1997 | Leeds United | A | 3–4 | 33,572 | Sturridge (2), Asanović | |
| 22 November 1997 | Coventry City | H | 3–1 | 29,351 | Baiano, Eranio (pen), Wanchope | |
| 29 November 1997 | Chelsea | A | 0–4 | 34,544 | ||
| 6 December 1997 | West Ham United | H | 2–0 | 29,300 | Mikloško (own goal), Sturridge | |
| 14 December 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 3–3 | 23,037 | Eranio, Baiano (2) | |
| 17 December 1997 | Newcastle United | A | 0–0 | 36,289 | ||
| 20 December 1997 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–0 | 26,590 | ||
| 26 December 1997 | Newcastle United | H | 1–0 | 30,232 | Eranio (pen) | |
| 28 December 1997 | Barnsley | A | 0–1 | 18,686 | ||
| 11 January 1998 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 3–1 | 27,823 | Sturridge (2), Wanchope | |
| 17 January 1998 | Wimbledon | A | 0–0 | 13,031 | ||
| 31 January 1998 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 30,187 | Sturridge, Wanchope | |
| 7 February 1998 | Aston Villa | H | 0–1 | 30,251 | ||
| 14 February 1998 | Everton | A | 2–1 | 34,876 | Štimac, Wanchope | |
| 21 February 1998 | Manchester United | A | 0–2 | 55,170 | ||
| 28 February 1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–0 | 30,203 | Wanchope (2), Rowett | |
| 15 March 1998 | Leeds United | H | 0–5 | 30,217 | ||
| 28 March 1998 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 18,705 | ||
| 5 April 1998 | Chelsea | H | 0–1 | 30,062 | ||
| 11 April 1998 | West Ham United | A | 0–0 | 25,155 | ||
| 13 April 1998 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 4–0 | 29,126 | Wanchope, Burton (2), Baiano | |
| 18 April 1998 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–3 | 18,101 | Bohinen | |
| 26 April 1998 | Leicester City | H | 0–4 | 29,855 | ||
| 29 April 1998 | Arsenal | A | 0–1 | 38,121 | ||
| 2 May 1998 | Southampton | A | 2–0 | 15,202 | Dailly, Sturridge | |
| 10 May 1998 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | 30,492 | Wanchope |
See main article: 1997–98 FA Cup.
| R3 | 3 January 1998 | Southampton | H | 2–0 | 27,992 | Baiano, C Powell | |
| R4 | 24 January 1998 | Coventry City | A | 0–2 | 22,824 |
See main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup.
| R2 1st Leg | 16 September 1997 | Southend United | A | 1–0 | 4,011 | Wanchope | |
| R2 2nd Leg | 1 October 1997 | Southend United | H | 5–0 | 18,490 | Rowett (2), Wanchope, Sturridge, Trollope | |
| R3 | 15 October 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–1 | 20,390 | Wanchope (2) | |
| R4 | 18 November 1997 | Newcastle United | H | 0–1 | 27,364 |
| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 May 1997 | MF | Stefano Eranio | Milan | Free transfer | |
| 1 August 1997 | FW | Francesco Baiano | Fiorentina | £650,000 | |
| 6 August 1997 | FW | Deon Burton | Portsmouth | £1,000,000 | |
| 6 February 1998 | MF | Rory Delap | Carlisle United | £200,000 | |
| 25 March 1998 | MF | Lars Bohinen | Blackburn Rovers | £1,450,000 | |
| 23 May 1998 | DF | Horacio Carbonari | Rosario Central | £2,700,000 |
| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 June 1997 | GK | Martin Taylor | Wycombe Wanderers | Free transfer | |
| 6 August 1997 | MF | Sean Flynn | West Bromwich Albion | £260,000 | |
| 7 August 1997 | MF | Kevin Cooper | Stockport County | £150,000 | |
| 4 September 1997 | FW | Ashley Ward | Barnsley | £1,300,000 | |
| 1 November 1997 | DF | Andrew Tretton | Chesterfield | Non-contract | |
| 11 November 1997 | MF | Paul Simpson | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £75,000 | |
| 27 November 1997 | MF | Paul Trollope | Fulham | £600,000 | |
| 29 December 1997 | MF | Aljoša Asanović | Napoli | £350,000 | |
| 26 January 1998 | DF | Matt Carbon | West Bromwich Albion | £800,000 | |
| 12 February 1998 | FW | Nick Wright | Carlisle United | Transfer |
Transfers in: £6,000,000
Transfers out: £3,535,000
Total spending: £2,465,000