1997–98 Southampton F.C. season

Southampton F.C.
1997–98 season
Chairman	Rupert Lowe
Manager	Dave Jones
Stadium	The Dell
Premiership	12th
FA Cup	Third round
Coca-Cola Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Le Tissier/Østenstad (11) All: Le Tissier (14)
Highest home attendance	15,255 vs. Tottenham Hotspur (25 October 1997)
Lowest home attendance	14,815 vs. Wimbledon (11 April 1998)
Average home league attendance	15,159
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

During the 1997–98 English football season, Southampton Football Club competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary

Under the management of Dave Jones, with no managerial experience beyond Division Two, Southampton were most people's favourites for relegation to Division One. After all, they had endured close brushes with relegation on no less than five occasions in the previous seven seasons, and most of the club's new signings were drafted in from the lower leagues.

But the Saints were more convincing than they had been in a long time, and most bookmakers had stopped placing bets on them being relegated before Christmas. In the end, a 12th place finish gave the players and fans alike something to be proud of.

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pl	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1.	Arsenal	38	23	9	6	68	33	+35	78
2.	Manchester United	38	23	8	7	73	26	+47	77
3.	Liverpool	38	18	11	9	68	42	+26	65
4.	Chelsea	38	20	3	15	71	43	+28	63
5.	Leeds United	38	17	8	13	57	46	+11	59
6.	Blackburn Rovers	38	16	10	12	57	52	+5	58
7.	Aston Villa	38	17	6	15	49	48	+1	57
8.	West Ham United	38	16	8	14	56	57	–1	56
9.	Derby County	38	16	7	15	52	49	+3	55
10.	Leicester City	38	13	14	11	51	41	+10	53
11.	Coventry City	38	12	16	10	46	44	+2	52
12.	Southampton	38	14	6	18	50	55	–5	48
13.	Newcastle United	38	11	11	16	35	44	–9	44
14.	Tottenham Hotspur	38	11	11	16	44	56	–12	44
15.	Wimbledon	38	10	14	14	34	46	–12	44
16.	Sheffield Wednesday	38	12	8	18	52	67	–15	44
17.	Everton	38	9	13	16	41	56	–15	40
18.	Bolton Wanderers	38	9	13	16	41	61	–20	40
19.	Barnsley	38	10	5	23	37	82	–45	35
20.	Crystal Palace	38	8	9	21	37	71	–34	32

Key
Qualified for the Champions League
Qualified for the UEFA Cup
Qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup
Relegated to Division 1

Results

Southampton's score comes first^[1]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 1997	Bolton Wanderers	H	0-1	15,206
13 August 1997	Manchester United	A	0-1	55,008
23 August 1997	Arsenal	H	1-3	15,246	Maddison
27 August 1997	Crystal Palace	H	1-0	15,032	Davies
30 August 1997	Chelsea	A	2-4	30,008	Davies, Monkou
13 September 1997	Coventry City	A	0-1	18,659
20 September 1997	Liverpool	H	1-1	15,252	Davies
24 September 1997	Leeds United	H	0-2	15,102
27 September 1997	Derby County	A	0-4	25,625
4 October 1997	West Ham United	H	3-0	15,212	Østenstad, Davies, Dodd
18 October 1997	Blackburn Rovers	A	0-1	24,130
25 October 1997	Tottenham Hotspur	H	3-2	15,255	Vega (own goal), Hirst
2 November 1997	Everton	A	2-0	29,565	Le Tissier, Davies
8 November 1997	Barnsley	H	4-1	15,018	Le Tissier (pen), Palmer, Davies, Hirst
22 November 1997	Newcastle United	A	1-2	36,759	Davies
29 November 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	H	2-3	15,244	Hirst, Palmer
7 December 1997	Wimbledon	A	0-1	12,009
13 December 1997	Leicester City	H	2-1	15,121	Le Tissier, Benali
20 December 1997	Aston Villa	A	1-1	29,343	Østenstad
26 December 1997	Crystal Palace	A	1-1	22,853	Oakley
29 December 1997	Chelsea	H	1-0	15,231	Davies
10 January 1998	Bolton Wanderers	A	0-0	23,333
19 January 1998	Manchester United	H	1-0	15,241	Davies
31 January 1998	Arsenal	A	0-3	38,056
7 February 1998	Liverpool	A	3-2	43,550	Hirst, Østenstad
18 February 1998	Coventry City	H	1-2	15,091	Le Tissier (pen)
21 February 1998	Blackburn Rovers	H	3-0	15,162	Østenstad (2), Hirst
28 February 1998	Leeds United	A	1-0	28,791	Hirst
7 March 1998	Everton	H	2-1	15,102	Le Tissier (pen), Østenstad
14 March 1998	Barnsley	A	3-4	18,368	Østenstad, Le Tissier (2)
28 March 1998	Newcastle United	H	2-1	15,251	Pearce (own goal), Le Tissier (pen)
4 April 1998	Sheffield Wednesday	A	0-1	29,677
11 April 1998	Wimbledon	H	0-1	14,815
14 April 1998	Leicester City	A	3-3	20,708	Østenstad (2), Hirst
18 April 1998	Aston Villa	H	1-2	15,238	Le Tissier
25 April 1998	West Ham United	A	4-2	25,878	Le Tissier, Østenstad (2), Palmer
2 May 1998	Derby County	H	0-2	15,202
10 May 1998	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1-1	35,995	Le Tissier

FA Cup

Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 1998	Derby County	A	0-2	27,992

League Cup

Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg	17 September 1997	Brentford	H	3-1	8,004	Monkou, Davies, Evans
R2 2nd Leg	30 September 1997	Brentford	A	2-0 (won 5-1 on agg)	3,957	Le Tissier (2)
R3	15 October 1997	Barnsley	A	2-1	9,019	Le Tissier, Davies
R4	19 November 1997	Chelsea	A	1-2	20,968	Davies

Squad

^[2]^[3] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Paul Jones
2	DF	Jason Dodd
3	DF	Lee Todd
4	MF	Carlton Palmer
5	DF	Ken Monkou
6	DF	Claus Lundekvam
7	MF	Matt Le Tissier (captain)
8	MF	Matt Oakley
10	FW	Egil Østenstad
12	DF	Richard Dryden
13	GK	Neil Moss
14	DF	John Beresford
15	DF	Francis Benali

No.	Position	Player
16	FW	Kevin Davies
17	FW	Cosimo Sarli
18	MF	Kevin Richardson
20	GK	Darryl Flahavan
21	DF	Andy Williams
23	MF	Duncan Spedding
24	FW	Steve Basham
25	FW	Stig Johansen
26	MF	David Hughes
27	FW	David Hirst
28	MF	Kevin Gibbens
29	DF	Phil Warner

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
4	MF	Jim Magilton (to Sheffield Wednesday)
9	FW	Mickey Evans (to West Bromwich Albion)
11	MF	Robbie Slater (to Wolves)
13	GK	Maik Taylor (to Fulham)
14	MF	Neil Maddison (to Middlesbrough)
17	DF	Simon Charlton (to Birmingham City)

No.	Position	Player
18	DF	Ulrich van Gobbel (to Feyenoord)
19	DF	Alan Neilson (to Fulham)
20	GK	Dave Beasant (to Nottingham Forest)
22	DF	Matthew Robinson (to Portsmouth)
28	FW	Jason Bowen (on loan from Birmingham City)
	MF	Christer Warren (to Bournemouth)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
-	GK	Scott Bevan
-	DF	Wayne Bridge
-	DF	Stephen Jenkins

No.	Position	Player
-	DF	Garry Monk
-	MF	Russell Watkinson
-	FW	Shayne Bradley

Transfers

In

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
1 July 1997	GK	Paul Jones	Stockport County	£900,000
1 July 1997	DF	Lee Todd	Stockport County	£850,000
6 August 1997	FW	Stig Johansen	FK Bodø/Glimt	£600,000
9 September 1997	MF	Kevin Richardson	Coventry City	Transfer
23 September 1997	MF	Carlton Palmer	Leeds United	£1,000,000
17 October 1997	FW	David Hirst	Sheffield Wednesday	£2,000,000
6 February 1998	DF	John Beresford	Newcastle United	£1,500,000

Out

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
1 August 1997	MF	Andy Sullivan	Farnborough	Free transfer
14 August 1997	DF	Ulrich van Gobbel	Feyenoord	£800,000
9 September 1997	DF	Jim Magilton	Sheffield Wednesday	£1,600,000
10 October 1997	MF	Christer Warren	Bournemouth	£50,000
24 October 1997	FW	Mickey Evans	West Bromwich Albion	£750,000
28 October 1997	MF	Neil Maddison	Middlesbrough	£250,000
3 November 1997	GK	Dave Beasant	Nottingham Forest	Free transfer
14 November 1997	GK	Maik Taylor	Fulham	£700,000
26 November 1997	DF	Alan Neilson	Fulham	£250,000
8 January 1998	DF	Simon Charlton	Birmingham City	£200,000
1 February 1998	DF	David Piper	Yeovil Town	Signed
20 February 1998	DF	Matthew Robinson	Portsmouth	£50,000
26 March 1998	MF	Robbie Slater	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Signed

Transfers in:

£7,050,000

Transfers out:

£4,650,000

Total spending:

£2,400,000

References

Southampton Football Club

Players Managers Academy Records Honours Current season

History	History Seasons South Coast derby Southampton F.C. in European Football

Home ground	Antelope Ground (1887–1896) County Ground (1896–1898) The Dell (1898–2001) St Mary's Stadium (2001–present)

Players	100+ appearances 25–99 appearances 1–24 appearances Player of the Season

Related articles	Southampton F.C. Player of the Year Southampton Leisure Holdings Southampton Saints L.F.C. St. Mary's Church

Category:Southampton F.C. Portal:Association football Commons:Southampton F.C.

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1997–98 in English football

« 1996–97

1998–99 »

FA competitions

Premier League and
Football League

Football Conference

Football Conference
Conference League Cup

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

1998 FIFA World Cup (UEFA Qualification Group 2
Group G
Knockout stage
Squad)
Glenn Hoddle

Club seasons

Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Barnsley Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Chelsea Coventry City Crystal Palace Derby County Everton Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester United Newcastle United Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wimbledon

First Division	Birmingham City Bradford City Bury Charlton Athletic Crewe Alexandra Huddersfield Town Ipswich Town Manchester City Middlesbrough Norwich City Nottingham Forest Oxford United Portsmouth Port Vale Queens Park Rangers Reading Sheffield United Stockport County Stoke City Sunderland Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Blackpool Bournemouth Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Burnley Carlisle United Chesterfield Fulham Gillingham Grimsby Town Luton Town Millwall Northampton Town Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Preston North End Southend United Walsall Watford Wigan Athletic Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers York City

Third Division	Barnet Brighton & Hove Albion Cambridge United Cardiff City Chester City Colchester United Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Hartlepool United Hull City Leyton Orient Lincoln City Macclesfield Town Mansfield Town Notts County Peterborough United Rochdale Rotherham United Scarborough Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Swansea City Torquay United

Football Conference	Cheltenham Town Dover Athletic Farnborough Town Gateshead Halifax Town Hayes Hednesford Town Hereford United Kettering Town Kidderminster Harriers Leek Town Morecambe Northwich Victoria Rushden & Diamonds Slough Town Southport Stalybridge Celtic Stevenage Borough Telford United Welling United Woking Yeovil Town

Others	Newport

Summer 1997 transfers
Winter 1997–98 transfers