1997–98 Football League First Division

First Division
Season1997–98
ChampionsNottingham Forest
PromotedNottingham Forest
Middlesbrough
Charlton Athletic
RelegatedManchester City
Stoke City
Reading
Matches played552
Goals scored1,410 (2.55 per match)
Top goalscorerKevin Phillips
Pierre van Hooijdonk
(29 goals each)[1]
Biggest home winMiddlesbrough 6–0 Swindon Town
(11 March 1998)
Biggest away winStoke City 0–7 Birmingham City
(10 January 1998)
Highest scoringNottingham Forest 5–2 Charlton Athletic
(22 November 1997)
Stoke City 0–7 Birmingham City
(10 January 1998)
Ipswich Town 5–2 Oxford United
(24 February 1998)
Stoke City 2–5 Manchester City
(3 May 1998)

The 1997–98 Football League First Division (referred to as the Nationwide First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the league under its current league division format.

Changes from previous season

Team changes

From First Division

Promoted to Premier League

Relegated to Second Division

To First Division

Promoted from Second Division

Relegated from Premier League

Teams

Stadium and locations

Locations of the Football League First Division 1997–1998 teams
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Birmingham City Birmingham St Andrew's 25,877
Bradford City Bradford Valley Parade 17,848
Bury Bury Gigg Lane 11,840
Charlton Athletic Charlton The Valley 15,815
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Gresty Road 10,153
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Alfred McAlpine Stadium 24,500
Ipswich Town Ipswich Portman Road 30,311
Manchester City Manchester Maine Road 35,150
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 30,000
Norwich City Norwich Carrow Road 24,663
Nottingham Forest West Bridgford City Ground 30,576
Oxford United Oxford Manor Ground 9,500
Port Vale Burslem Vale Park 19,052
Portsmouth Portsmouth Fratton Park 21,100
Queens Park Rangers White City Loftus Road 18,439
Reading Reading Elm Park 14,800
Sheffield United Sheffield Bramall Lane 29,034
Stockport County Stockport Edgeley Park 10,841
Stoke City Stoke-on-Trent Britannia Stadium 27,743
Sunderland Sunderland Stadium of Light 42,000
Swindon Town Swindon County Ground 15,728
Tranmere Rovers Birkenhead Prenton Park 16,567
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich The Hawthorns 22,986
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Molineux Stadium 28,525

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Birmingham City Trevor Francis Steve Bruce Pony Auto Windscreens
Bradford City Paul Jewell Wayne Jacobs Beaver JCT600
Bury Stan Ternent Chris Lucketti Super League Birthdays
Charlton Athletic Alan Curbishley Mark Kinsella Quaser Viglen
Crewe Alexandra Dario Gradi Gareth Whalley Adidas Boldon James
Huddersfield Town Peter Jackson Barry Horne Pony Panasonic
Ipswich Town George Burley Jason Cundy Punch Greene King
Manchester City Joe Royle Kit Symons Kappa Brother
Middlesbrough Bryan Robson Nigel Pearson Erreà Cellnet
Norwich City John Faulkner (caretaker) Matt Jackson Pony Colman's
Nottingham Forest Dave Bassett Steve Chettle Umbro Pinnacle
Oxford United Malcolm Shotton Phil Gilchrist Own Brand Unipart
Port Vale John Rudge Allen Tankard Mizuno Tunstall Assurance
Portsmouth Alan Ball Adrian Whitbread Admiral KJC
Queens Park Rangers Ray Harford Steve Morrow Le Coq Sportif Ericsson
Reading Tommy Burns Phil Parkinson Mizuno Auto Trader
Sheffield United Steve Thompson (caretaker) David Holdsworth Le Coq Sportif Wards
Stockport County Gary Megson Mike Flynn Adidas Robinsons
Stoke City Alan Durban (caretaker) Lárus Sigurðsson Asics Britannia
Sunderland Peter Reid Kevin Ball Asics Lambtons
Swindon Town Steve McMahon Brian Borrows Mizuno Nationwide
Tranmere Rovers John Aldridge Liam O'Brien Mizuno Wirral
West Bromwich Albion Denis Smith Sean Flynn Patrick West Bromwich Building Society
Wolverhampton Wanderers Mark McGhee Keith Curle Puma Goodyear

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Huddersfield Town Brian Horton Sacked 6 October 1997 24th Peter Jackson 7 October 1997[2]
Queens Park Rangers Stewart Houston Sacked 10 November 1997 13th Ray Harford 5 December 1997
West Bromwich Albion Ray Harford Resigned 4 December 1997 4th Denis Smith 24 December 1997
Oxford United Denis Smith Signed by West Bromwich Albion 24 December 1997 16th Malcolm Shotton 24 January 1998
Bradford City Chris Kamara Sacked 6 January 1998 11th Paul Jewell 6 January 1998
Portsmouth Terry Fenwick Sacked 14 January 1998 24th Alan Ball 26 January 1998
Stoke City Chic Bates Mutual consent 22 January 1998 20th Chris Kamara 22 January 1998[3]
Manchester City Frank Clark Sacked 17 February 1998 22nd Joe Royle 18 February 1998[4]
Sheffield United Nigel Spackman Resigned 2 March 1998 5th Steve Bruce 2 July 1998
Reading Terry Bullivant Resigned 18 March 1998[5] 23rd Tommy Burns 25 March 1998[6]
Stoke City Chris Kamara Mutual consent 8 April 1998[7] 24th Brian Little 13 May 1998
Norwich City Mike Walker Resigned 30 April 1998 16th Bruce Rioch 12 June 1998

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Nottingham Forest (C, P) 46 28 10 8 82 42 +40 94 Promotion to the Premier League
2 Middlesbrough (P) 46 27 10 9 77 41 +36 91
3 Sunderland 46 26 12 8 86 50 +36 90 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
4 Charlton Athletic (O, P) 46 26 10 10 80 49 +31 88
5 Ipswich Town 46 23 14 9 77 43 +34 83
6 Sheffield United 46 19 17 10 69 54 +15 74
7 Birmingham City 46 19 17 10 60 35 +25 74
8 Stockport County 46 19 8 19 71 69 +2 65
9 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 18 11 17 57 53 +4 65
10 West Bromwich Albion 46 16 13 17 50 56 −6 61
11 Crewe Alexandra 46 18 5 23 58 65 −7 59
12 Oxford United 46 16 10 20 60 64 −4 58
13 Bradford City 46 14 15 17 46 59 −13 57
14 Tranmere Rovers 46 14 14 18 54 57 −3 56
15 Norwich City 46 14 13 19 52 69 −17 55
16 Huddersfield Town 46 14 11 21 50 72 −22 53
17 Bury 46 11 19 16 42 58 −16 52
18 Swindon Town 46 14 10 22 42 73 −31 52
19 Port Vale 46 13 10 23 56 66 −10 49
20 Portsmouth 46 13 10 23 51 63 −12 49
21 Queens Park Rangers 46 10 19 17 51 63 −12 49
22 Manchester City (R) 46 12 12 22 56 57 −1 48 Relegation to the Second Division
23 Stoke City (R) 46 11 13 22 44 74 −30 46
24 Reading (R) 46 11 9 26 39 78 −39 42
Source: Statto.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Play-offs

Main article: Football League Championship play-offs § 1998
Semi-finals
First leg – 10 May; Second leg – 13 May 1998 		Final at Wembley
25 May 1998
        
3rd Sunderland 1 2 3
6th Sheffield United 2 0 2
3rd Sunderland 4 (6)
4th Charlton Athletic (pen.) 4 (7)
4th Charlton Athletic 1 1 2
5th Ipswich Town 0 0 0

Results

Home \ Away BIR BRA BRY CHA CRE HUD IPS MCI MID NWC NOT OXF PTV POR QPR REA SHU STP STK SUN SWI TRA WBA WOL
Birmingham City 0–0 1–3 0–0 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–0 4–1 2–0 0–1 3–0 0–0 1–0 1–0
Bradford City 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–2 2–1 0–3 0–0 2–1 1–3 1–1 4–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 0–4 1–1 0–1 0–0 2–0
Bury 2–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–3 1–3
Charlton Athletic 1–1 4–1 0–0 3–2 1–0 3–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 4–2 3–2 1–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 2–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 3–0 2–0 5–0 1–0
Crewe Alexandra 0–2 5–0 1–2 0–3 2–5 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–4 2–1 0–1 3–1 2–3 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–3 2–0 2–1 2–3 0–2
Huddersfield Town 0–1 1–2 2–0 0–3 2–0 2–2 1–3 0–1 1–3 0–2 5–1 0–4 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 3–1 2–3 0–0 3–0 1–0 1–0
Ipswich Town 0–1 2–1 2–0 3–1 3–2 5–1 1–0 1–1 5–0 0–1 5–2 5–1 2–0 0–0 1–0 2–2 0–2 2–3 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 3–0
Manchester City 0–1 1–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–0 1–2 2–3 0–2 2–3 2–2 2–2 0–0 0–0 4–1 0–1 0–1 6–0 1–1 1–0 0–1
Middlesbrough 3–1 1–0 4–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 4–1 2–1 1–1 3–0 4–0 1–2 3–1 0–1 3–1 6–0 3–0 1–0 1–1
Norwich City 3–3 2–3 2–2 0–4 0–2 5–0 2–1 0–0 1–3 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 5–0 0–2 1–1 0–2
Nottingham Forest 1–0 2–2 3–0 5–2 3–1 3–0 2–1 1–3 4–0 2–3 1–3 2–1 1–0 4–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 3–0 2–2 1–0 3–0
Oxford United 0–2 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–4 2–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 3–1 3–0 2–4 3–0 5–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 3–0
Port Vale 0–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–3 4–1 1–3 2–1 0–1 2–2 0–1 3–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–0 3–1 0–1 0–1 1–2 0–2
Portsmouth 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–3 3–0 0–1 0–3 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–1 3–1 3–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–4 0–1 1–0 2–3 3–2
Queens Park Rangers 1–1 1–0 0–1 2–4 3–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 5–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 0–0 2–0 0–0
Reading 2–0 0–3 1–1 2–0 3–3 0–2 0–4 3–0 0–1 0–1 3–3 2–1 0–3 0–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 2–0 4–0 0–1 1–3 2–1 0–0
Sheffield United 0–0 2–1 3–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–2 4–0 5–1 3–2 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–4 1–0
Stockport County 2–2 1–2 0–0 3–0 0–1 3–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 2–2 2–2 3–2 3–0 3–1 2–0 5–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 4–2 3–1 2–1 1–0
Stoke City 0–7 2–1 3–2 1–2 0–2 1–2 1–1 2–5 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–2 2–1 1–2 1–2 0–3 0–0 3–0
Sunderland 1–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 1–2 0–1 1–1 3–1 4–2 2–1 2–2 4–1 4–2 4–1 3–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–1
Swindon Town 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–3 1–2 1–0 0–0 4–1 4–2 0–1 3–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–2 0–0
Tranmere Rovers 0–3 3–1 0–0 2–2 0–3 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–2 2–0 0–0 0–2 1–2 2–2 2–1 6–0 3–3 3–0 3–1 0–2 3–0 0–0 2–1
West Bromwich Albion 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–2 2–3 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 2–0 3–2 1–1 3–3 0–0 2–1 1–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–3 2–1 4–2 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 5–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 3–2 3–1 0–0 3–4 1–1 0–1 3–1 2–1 0–1
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Kevin Phillips Sunderland 29
Pierre van Hooijdonk Nottingham Forest
3 Kevin Campbell 23
Clive Mendonca Charlton Athletic
5 David Johnson Ipswich Town 20
6 Brett Angell Stockport County 18
7 Paul Furlong Birmingham City 15
Marcus Stewart Huddersfield Town

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date
Pierre van Hooijdonk Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers 4–0 30 August 1997
Charlton Athletic 5–2 22 November 1997
Kevin Campbell Crewe Alexandra 4–1 7 March 1998
Clive Mendonca Charlton Athletic Norwich City 4–0 17 September 1997
Jan Åge Fjørtoft Sheffield United Stockport County 5–1 21 October 1997
Paul Furlong Birmingham City Stoke City 7–0 10 January 1998
Stockport County 4–1 27 January 1998
Dougie Freedman Wolverhampton Wanderers Norwich City 5–0 10 January 1998
Alex Mathie Ipswich Town Norwich City 5–0 21 February 1998
David Johnson Oxford United 5–2 24 February 1998
Niall Quinn Sunderland Stockport County 4–1 7 March 1998
Marco Branca Middlesbrough Bury 4–0 11 April 1998
Colin Little Crewe Alexandra Bradford City 5–0 25 April 1998

References

  1. ^ "English League Leading Goalscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  2. ^ Edwards, John (7 October 1997). "Mystery man replaces Horton". The Mirror. The Free Library. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  3. ^ Metcalf, Rupert (23 January 1998). "Kamara takes charge of Stoke as Bates steps down". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  4. ^ Nixon, Alan (18 February 1998). "Clark sacked, Royle in at City". The Mirror. The Free Library. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  5. ^ Nixon, Alan (19 March 1998). "Bullivant ends Reading rule". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Burns takes the reins at Reading". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 26 March 1998. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  7. ^ Martin, Andrew (9 April 1998). "Kamara leaves struggling Stoke". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
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