Wikipedia

1997–98 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1997–98 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 95th in the Football League. They finished in seventh position in the 24-team Division One, the second tier of the English football league system, missing out on the playoff places on goals scored. Needing to win their last game, at home to Charlton Athletic, and hope that Sheffield United failed to win theirs, Birmingham "were repeatedly foiled in this emotionally-charged game by a brilliant display from Charlton's goalkeeper" Saša Ilić; the game finished goalless.[2] They entered the 1997–98 FA Cup at the third round, losing to Leeds United in the fifth, and entered the League Cup in the first round and lost to Arsenal in the third.

Birmingham City F.C.
1997–98 season
ChairmanDavid Gold
ManagerTrevor Francis
GroundSt Andrew's
Division One7th
FA CupFifth round
(eliminated by Leeds United)
League CupThird round
(eliminated by Arsenal)
Top goalscorerLeague: Paul Furlong (15)
All: Paul Furlong (19)
Highest home attendance24,663 vs Nottingham Forest, 21 March 1998
Lowest home attendance4,900 vs Stockport County, League Cup 2nd round 1st leg, 17 September 1997
Average home league attendance18,751[1]

In August 1997, co-owner David Gold took up the post of chairman after Jack Wiseman's retirement.[3]

Football League First Division edit

Main article: 1997–98 Football League

Match details edit

Date League
position		 Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance Report
9 August 1997 1st Stoke City H W 2–0 Devlin 33', Ndlovu 87' 20,608 [4]
23 August 1997 5th Reading H W 3–0 Devlin 38', Bruce 81', Ndlovu 88' 16,495 [4]
29 August 1997 3rd Stockport County A D 2–2 Devlin 68', Francis 72' 6,260 [4]
2 September 1997 3rd Tranmere Rovers A W 3–0 Hughes 11', Ndlovu 44', Furlong 65' 6,620 [4]
9 September 1997 2nd Huddersfield Town A W 1–0 Furlong 70' 9,477 [4]
14 September 1997 4th Sunderland H L 0–1 17,478 [4]
20 September 1997 7th Middlesbrough A L 1–3 Furlong 51' 30,125 [4]
27 September 1997 7th Sheffield United A D 0–0 20,553 [4]
4 October 1997 9th Crewe Alexandra H L 0–1 16,548 [4]
12 October 1997 6th Wolverhampton Wanderers H W 1–0 Marsden 8' 17,822 [4]
18 October 1997 8th Bury A L 1–2 Grainger 90' 5,700 [4]
22 October 1997 12th Charlton Athletic A D 1–1 Devlin 83' 10,070 [4]
25 October 1997 12th Oxford United H D 0–0 16,352 [4]
28 October 1997 11th Ipswich Town H D 1–1 Bruce 81' 16,778 [4]
1 November 1997 11th Queens Park Rangers A D 1–1 Furlong 42' 12,715 [4]
4 November 1997 13th Bradford City H D 0–0 14,554 [4]
8 November 1997 14th Norwich City H L 1–2 Devlin 27' pen. 16,464 [4]
15 November 1997 14th Nottingham Forest A L 0–1 19,610 [4]
23 November 1997 14th West Bromwich Albion A L 0–1 18,444 [4]
29 November 1997 14th Portsmouth H W 2–1 Furlong (2) 36', 73' 17,738 [4]
6 December 1997 11th Port Vale A W 1–0 Cottee 18' 7,509 [4]
13 December 1997 11th Manchester City H W 2–1 Forster 90', O'Connor 90' 21,014 [4]
20 December 1997 11th Swindon Town A D 1–1 Forster 22' 10,900 [5]
26 December 1997 10th Ipswich Town A W 1–0 McCarthy 83' 17,459 [4]
28 December 1997 10th Tranmere Rovers H D 0–0 19,533 [4]
10 January 1998 8th Stoke City A W 7–0 Hughes (2) 4', 9', Forster 26, Furlong (3) 50', 69', 87', McCarthy 56' 14,940 [4]
17 January 1998 8th Huddersfield Town H D 0–0 17,850 [4]
27 January 1998 7th Stockport County H W 4–1 Furlong (3) 7', 31', 90', McCarthy 16' 17,118 [4]
31 January 1998 9th Reading A L 0–2 10,315 [4]
7 February 1998 9th Middlesbrough H D 1–1 McCarthy 3' 20,639 [4]
17 February 1998 9th Crewe Alexandra A W 2–0 Adebola 42', Hughes 45' 5,559 [4]
22 February 1998 8th Sheffield United H W 2–0 Grainger 31', Johnson 66' 17,965 [4]
25 February 1998 9th Bury H L 1–3 Johnson 90' 20,021 [4]
28 February 1998 6th Wolverhampton Wanderers A W 3–1 Ndlovu (2) 35', 77' pen., Adebola 71' 25,591 [4]
4 March 1998 8th Norwich City A D 3–3 Ndlovu (2) 13', 88', Adebola 44' 9,819 [4]
7 March 1998 7th Queens Park Rangers H W 1–0 Adebola 68' 18,298 [4]
10 March 1998 6th Sunderland A D 1–1 Adebola 50' 37,602[4] [4]
14 March 1998 7th Bradford City A D 0–0 16,392 [4]
21 March 1998 7th Nottingham Forest H L 1–2 Ndlovu 61' pen. 24,663 [4]
28 March 1998 7th West Bromwich Albion H W 1–0 Johnson 90' 23,260 [4]
4 April 1998 7th Portsmouth A D 1–1 Adebola 84' 14,591 [6]
11 April 1998 7th Port Vale H D 1–1 Ndlovu 87' 17,193 [4]
13 April 1998 7th Manchester City A W 1–0 Adebola 90' 29,569 [4]
18 April 1998 7th Swindon Town H W 3–0 Furlong (2) 9', 34' pen., Hughes 82' 17,016 [4]
25 April 1998 7th Oxford United A W 2–0 Ford 73' o.g., Furlong 85' 8,818 [4]
3 May 1998 7th Charlton Athletic H D 0–0 25,877 [2]

League table (part) edit

Final Division One table (part)
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts
5th Ipswich Town 46 23 14 9 77 43 +32 83
6th Sheffield United 46 19 17 10 69 54 +15 74
7th Birmingham City 46 19 17 10 60 35 +25 74
8th Stockport County 46 19 8 19 71 69 +2 65
9th Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 18 11 17 57 53 +4 65
Key Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played;
W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost;
F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source [7]

Note that goals scored took precedence over goal difference as a tiebreaker in the Football League.[7]

Results summary edit

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 19 17 10 60 35  +25 74 10 8 5 27 15  +12 9 9 5 33 20  +13

Source: [7]

FA Cup edit

Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance Report
Third round 4 January 1998 Crewe Alexandra A W 2–1 Furlong 22' pen., 55' 4,607 [4]
Fourth round 24 January 1998 Stockport County H W 2–1 Hughes 32', 84' 15,882 [4]
Fifth round 14 February 1998 Leeds United A L 2–3 Ablett 63', Ndlovu 81' 35,463 [4]

League Cup edit

Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponents Venue Result Score
F–A		 Scorers Attendance Report
First round 1st leg 12 August 1997 Gillingham A W 1–0 Francis 85' 5,246 [8]
First round 2nd leg 26 August 1997 Gillingham H W 3–0
4–0 agg.		 Devlin 68', Ndlovu 75', Furlong 78' 7,921
Second round 1st leg 17 September 1997 Stockport County H W 4–1 Hughes 41', Robinson 51', Devlin 77' pen., 87' 4,900 [4]
Second round 2nd leg 23 September 1997 Stockport County A L 1–2
5–3 agg.		 Furlong 70' pen. 2,074 [4]
Third round 14 October 1997 Arsenal A L 1–4 Hey 20' 27,097 [4]

Transfers edit

In edit

Date Player Club† Fee Ref
July 1997 Peter Ndlovu Coventry City £1.6m [9]
August 1997 Jerry Gill Yeovil Town £30,000 [10]
August 1997 Howard Forinton Yeovil Town £70,000 [10]
August 1997 Tony Hey SC Fortuna Köln £300,000 [11]
September 1997 Jon McCarthy Port Vale £1.5m
October 1997 Chris Marsden Stockport County £500,000
January 1998 Simon Charlton Southampton £200,000
February 1998 Dele Adebola Crewe Alexandra £1m
February 1998 Darren Purse Oxford United £700,000a [12]
a. Purse joined from Oxford United in exchange for £600,000 and Kevin Francis, with Francis valued at £100,000.[12]

Out edit

Date Player Fee Joined† Ref
July 1997 Dave Barnett Free (Dunfermline Athletic) [13]
July 1997 Mike Newell £160,000 Aberdeen [14]
August 1997 Kenny Brown £40,000 Millwall
October 1997 Barry Horne Free Huddersfield Town
December 1997 Jason Bowen £200,000 Reading
February 1998 Kevin Francis £100,000a Oxford United [12]
February 1998 Andy Legg £75,000 Reading
March 1998 Paul Devlin £200,000 Sheffield United [15]
† Brackets round a club denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.
a. Valued at £100,000 in the deal in which Darren Purse joined Birmingham from Oxford United in exchange for £600,000 plus Francis.[12]

Loan in edit

Date Player Club Return Ref
November 1997 Tony Cottee Leicester City One month [16]
December 1997 Simon Charlton Southampton One month [17]

Loan out edit

Date Player Club Return Ref
September 1997 Ricky Otto Notts County One month [18]
December 1997 Paul Tait Northampton Town One month [19]

Appearances and goals edit

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
Players with name struck through and marked † left the club during the playing season.
Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.
Players included in matchday squads
Pos. Nat. Name League FA Cup League Cup Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals    
GK   ENG Ian Bennett 45 0 3 0 5 0 53 0 0 0
GK   ENG Kevin Poole 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
DF   ENG Gary Ablett 34 (2) 0 3 1 5 0 42 (2) 1 4 0
DF   ENG Jon Bass 30 0 3 0 3 (1) 0 36 (1) 0 1 0
DF   ENG Steve Bruce 40 2 3 0 2 0 45 2 8 0
DF   ENG Simon Charlton 23 (1) 0 1 0 0 0 24 (1) 0 4 0
DF   ENG Jerry Gill 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
DF   ENG Martin Grainger 27 (6) 2 3 0 4 (1) 0 34 (7) 2 7 0
DF   JAM Michael Johnson 22 (16) 3 0 (2) 0 1 (4) 0 23 (22) 3 3 1
DF   ENG Darren Purse 2 (6) 0 0 0 0 0 2 (6) 0 1 0
DF   ENG Simon Rea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF   ENG Darren Wassall 14 0 0 0 5 0 19 0 4 2
MF   SCO Paul Devlin† 13 (9) 5 0 (1) 0 5 3 18 (10) 8 2 0
MF   GER Tony Hey 8 (1) 0 0 0 2 1 10 (1) 1 0 0
MF   ENG Chris Holland 2 (8) 0 0 0 3 0 5 (8) 0 1 0
MF   ENG Bryan Hughes 34 (6) 5 3 2 4 1 41 (6) 8 1 0
MF   ENG Chris Marsden 31 (1) 1 2 0 0 0 33 (1) 1 6 1
MF   NIR Jon McCarthy 41 4 3 0 0 0 44 4 4 0
MF   ENG Martyn O'Connor 32 (1) 1 3 0 3 0 38 (1) 1 3 0
MF   ENG Steve Robinson 17 (8) 0 0 (1) 0 4 1 21 (9) 1 2 0
FW   NGA Dele Adebola 16 (1) 7 0 0 0 0 16 (1) 7 1 0
FW   ENG Tony Cottee* 4 (1) 1 0 0 0 0 4 (1) 1 0 0
FW   ENG Howard Forinton 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 0 0
FW   ENG Nicky Forster 12 (16) 3 3 0 0 0 15 (16) 3 1 0
FW   SKN Kevin Francis† 2 (18) 1 0 (2) 0 0 (5) 1 2 (25) 2 3 0
FW   ENG Paul Furlong 24 (1) 15 2 2 4 2 30 (1) 19 8 1
FW   ZIM Peter Ndlovu 29 (10) 9 1 (1) 1 5 1 35 (11) 11 5 0
Players not included in matchday squads
Pos. Nat. Name
MF   WAL Jason Bowen†
MF   WAL Barry Horne†
MF   WAL Andy Legg†
MF   ENG Ricky Otto
MF   ENG Paul Tait

See also edit

Sources edit

  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  • Matthews, Tony (2010). Birmingham City: The Complete Record. Derby: DB Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85983-853-2.
  • For match dates, league positions and results: "Birmingham City 1997–1998: Results". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  • For lineups, appearances, goalscorers and attendances: Matthews (2010), Complete Record, pp. 430–431.
  • For goal times: "Birmingham Results 1997/98". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  • For transfers: "Birmingham Transfers 1997/98". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  • For discipline: individual player pages linked from "Birmingham Squad details 1997/98". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 June 2013. Soccerbase omits details of the visit to Nottingham Forest, so cards received in that game are sourced from Rodgers, Ian (15 November 1997). "Nottingham Forest 1 Birmingham 0". sportinglife.com. British Sky Broadcasting. PA Sport. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2013.

References edit

  1. ^ "English historical attendance and performance: Birmingham City". European Football Statistics. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Birmingham 0 Charlton 0". sportinglife.com. British Sky Broadcasting. 3 May 1998. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  3. ^ Willcock, John (5 August 1997). "People & Business: Tennis anyone? City clears out for the summer holidays". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax "Birmingham City Reports – 1997–1998". sportinglife.com. 365 Media Group. Archived from the original on 22 May 2012. Individual match reports are linked from this page.
  5. ^ Steggles, Jack (21 December 1997). "Ref in red card fury". Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  6. ^ Steen, Rob (5 April 1998). "Thomson's touch livens up party". Sunday Times. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  7. ^ a b c "Birmingham City 1997–1998 : English Division One Table". Statto Organisation. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Thank Kevin!". Daily Mirror. 13 August 1997. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  9. ^ Tattum, Colin (6 July 2009). "Medical concerns delay Benitez's £9m move to Blues". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Yeovil's £10,000 windfall". Western Daily Press. 20 August 1999. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  11. ^ Curtis, John (26 July 1997). "Birmingham City 1 Derby 0". sportinglife.com. British Sky Broadcasting. PA Sport. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d "Sporting Digest: Football". The Independent. London. 17 February 1998. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Rougier heads for Hibs in swop deal". The Herald. Scotland. 10 July 1997. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  14. ^ McGregor, Derek (15 October 1997). "We can't talk our way out of this slump". Daily Record. Glasgow. p. 49. Retrieved 3 May 2022 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  15. ^ Murray, Adrian (27 December 1999). "Devlin in full support of a happy return". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Tony Cottee". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  17. ^ "Simon Charlton". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Ricky Otto: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  19. ^ "Paul Tait: Career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
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