1997–98 Motherwell F.C. season

The 1997-98 season was Motherwell's 13th consecutive season in the Scottish Premier Division, and their final season before the top division of Scottish Football was reformed as the Scottish Premier League.

Motherwell

1997–98 season
Chairman	John Boyle
Manager	Alex McLeish (until 10 February) Harri Kampman (from 11 February)
Premier Division	9th
Scottish Cup	Quarter-finals
League Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Tommy Coyne (14) All: Owen Coyle (16)

Squad

As of match played 9 May 1998

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from	Signed in	Contract ends	Apps.	Goals
Goalkeepers
	Scott Thomson		GK	(1966-11-08)8 November 1966 (aged 31)	loan from Hull City	1998	1998	1	0
	Stevie Woods		GK	(1970-02-23)23 February 1970 (aged 28)	Preston North End	1994
Defenders
	Stephen Craigan		DF	(1976-10-29)29 October 1976 (aged 21)	Blantyre Victoria	1995
	Kevin Christie		DF	(1976-04-01)1 April 1976 (aged 22)	East Fife	1997
	Greig Denham		DF	(1976-10-05)5 October 1976 (aged 21)	Youth team	1994
	Brian Martin		DF	(1963-02-24)24 February 1963 (aged 35)	St Mirren	1991
	Eddie May		DF	(1967-08-30)30 August 1967 (aged 30)	Falkirk	1994
	Steve McMillan		DF	(1976-01-19)19 January 1976 (aged 22)	Troon	1993
	John Philliben		DF	(1964-03-14)14 March 1964 (aged 34)	Doncaster Rovers	1986
Midfielders
	Simo Valakari		MF	(1973-04-28)28 April 1973 (aged 25)	FinnPa	1996
	Éric Garcin		MF	(1965-12-06)6 December 1965 (aged 32)	Toulouse	1997		13	1
	Billy Davies		MF	(1964-05-31)31 May 1964 (aged 33)	Dunfermline Athletic	1993
	Lee McCulloch		MF	(1978-05-14)14 May 1978 (aged 19)	Youth team	1994		51	2
	Shaun McSkimming		MF	(1970-05-29)29 May 1970 (aged 27)	Kilmarnock	1994
	Ian Ross		MF	(1974-08-27)27 August 1974 (aged 23)	Youth team	1995
	Mickey Weir		MF	(1966-01-16)16 January 1966 (aged 32)	Hibernian	1996
	Stefan Lindqvist		MF	(1967-03-18)18 March 1967 (aged 31)	Dalian Shide	1997		6	1
Forwards
	Owen Coyle		FW	(1966-07-14)14 July 1966 (aged 31)	Dundee United	1997
	Tommy Coyne		FW	(1962-11-14)14 November 1962 (aged 35)	Tranmere Rovers	1993
	Eliphas Shivute		FW	(1974-09-27)27 September 1974 (aged 23)	Alemannia Aachen	1997		24	3
	Dougie Arnott		FW	(1964-08-05)5 August 1964 (aged 33)	Pollok	1986
	Willie Falconer		FW	(1966-04-05)5 April 1966 (aged 32)	Celtic	1996
	John Hendry		FW	(1970-01-06)6 January 1970 (aged 28)	Tottenham Hotspur	1995
	Mats Lundgren		FW	(1970-04-19)19 April 1970 (aged 28)	Unattached	1997		0	0
Left during the season
	Scott Howie		GK	(1972-01-04)4 January 1972 (aged 26)	Norwich City	1994
	Franz Resch		DF	(1969-05-04)4 May 1969 (aged 29)	Admira Wacker	1997		5	0
	Rob Newman		DF	(1963-12-13)13 December 1963 (aged 34)	loan from Norwich City	1997	1998	15	0
	Marko Tuomela		DF	(1972-03-03)3 March 1972 (aged 26)	FF Jaro	1997		0	0
	Gunnlaugur Jónsson		DF	(1974-11-29)29 November 1974 (aged 23)	ÍA	1997		2	0
	Mario Dorner		FW	(1970-03-21)21 March 1970 (aged 28)	Admira Wacker	1997		4	0

Transfers

In

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
28 July 1997	MF		Franz Resch	Admira Wacker	Undisclosed
28 July 1997	FW		Mario Dorner	Admira Wacker	Undisclosed
10 September 1997	FW		Eliphas Shivute	Alemannia Aachen	Undisclosed
24 October 1997	DF		Gunnlaugur Jónsson	ÍA	Free
31 October 1997	MF		Éric Garcin	Toulouse	Undisclosed
14 November 1997	DF		Marko Tuomela	FF Jaro	Undisclosed
27 March 1998	MF		Stefan Lindqvist	Dalian Wanda	Undisclosed
31 March 1998	FW		Mats Lundgren		Undisclosed

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
12 December 1997	DF		Rob Newman	Norwich City	8 March 1998
27 March 1998	GK		Scott Thomson	Hull City	End of season

Out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
17 October 1997	MF		Franz Resch	Darlington	Undisclosed
17 October 1997	FW		Mario Dorner	Darlington	Undisclosed
March 1998	GK		Scott Howie	Reading	Undisclosed

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
January 1998	GK		Scott Howie	Coventry City	March 1998

Released

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	Joined	Date
2 November 1997	DF		Gunnlaugur Jónsson	Kongsvinger
14 December 1997	DF		Marko Tuomela	Tromsø
30 June 1998	MF		Mickey Weir	Retirement

Competitions

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Premier Division	2 August 1997	9 May 1998	Matchday 1	9th	36	9	7	20	46	64	−18	025.00
Scottish Cup	24 January 1998	17 February 1998	Third Round	Fourth Round	4	1	2	1	4	6	−2	025.00
League Cup	9 August 1997	10 September 1997	Second Round	Quarterfinal	3	1	1	1	5	3	+2	033.33
Total					43	11	10	22	55	73	−18	025.58

Last updated: 9 May 1998
Source: Competitions

Premier Division

Main article: 1997-98 Scottish Premier Division

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
36	9	7	20	46	64	−18	34	6	4	8	26	28	−2	3	3	12	20	36	−16

Source: Fir Park Corner

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36
Ground	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	W	L	W	L	D	D	L	L	L	L	L	L	W	D	D	L	W	W	L	L	D	L	W	L	L	W	L	W	L	W	D	D	L	L	L	L
Position	1	5	3	5	5	6	7	7	7	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	8	9	9	9	7	7	7	7	9	9	9

Source: Fir Park Corner
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Dunfermline Athletic v Motherwell

2 August 1997 1	Dunfermline Athletic	0 – 2	Motherwell	East End Park
			Coyne 63', pen.', 85'	Attendance: 5,746

Motherwell v St Johnstone

16 August 1997 2	Motherwell	0 – 1	St Johnstone	Fir Park
			Grant 65'	Attendance: 5,036

Aberdeen v Motherwell

23 August 1997 3	Aberdeen	1 – 3	Motherwell	Pittodrie
	Rowson 26'		Weir 9', 55' Coyne 29'	Attendance: 11,522

Motherwell v Celtic

13 September 1997 4	Motherwell	2 – 3	Celtic	Fir Park
	Coyne 4', 59' Denham  62'		Burley 57', 75' Donnelly 81'	Attendance: 11,550

Motherwell v Hibernian

20 September 1997 5	Motherwell	1 – 1	Hibernian	Fir Park
	Coyne 80'		Rougier 46'	Attendance: 7,420

Rangers v Motherwell

27 September 1997 6	Rangers	2 – 2	Motherwell	Ibrox
	Negri 17' Porrini 63'		Coyne 7' Shivute 44'	Attendance: 48,672

Motherwell v Hearts

4 October 1997 7	Motherwell	1 – 4	Hearts	Fir Park
	Coyne 44' (pen.)		Cameron 6' Adam 13' McCann 20' Hamilton 71'	Attendance: 8,886 Referee: Jim McCluskey

Kilmarnock v Motherwell

8 October 1997 8	Kilmarnock	2 – 1	Motherwell	Rugby Park
	Vareille 17' Burke 37'		Shivute 44'	Attendance: 6,588

Dundee United v Motherwell

18 October 1997 9	Dundee United	4 – 0	Motherwell	Tannadice Stadium
	Olofsson 2' Winters 14' McSwegan 77' Andy McLaren 87'			Attendance: 7,337

Motherwell v Aberdeen

25 October 1997 10	Motherwell	1 – 2	Aberdeen	Fir Park
	Davies 62'		Windass 8', 89'	Attendance: 6,065

St Johnstone v Motherwell

1 November 1997 11	St Johnstone	4 – 3	Motherwell	McDiarmid Park
	Kernaghan 18' O'Neil 33', 60' Grant 49' (pen.)		Hendry 61' (pen.) Davies 66' Coyle 72'	Attendance: 4,566

Motherwell v Kilmarnock

8 November 1997 12	Motherwell	0 – 1	Kilmarnock	Fir Park
			Roberts 67' (pen.)	Attendance: 5,346

Celtic v Motherwell

15 November 1997 13	Celtic	0 – 2	Motherwell	Celtic Park
	Blinker  34'		Coyle 28' Weir 90'	Attendance: 48,010

Motherwell v Rangers

22 November 1997 14	Motherwell	1 – 1	Rangers	Fir Park
	Coyne 80'		McCoist 20'	Attendance: 12,018

Hibernian v Motherwell

15 November 1997 15	Hibernian	1 – 1	Motherwell	Easter Road
	Dods 75'		Coyle 90'	Attendance: 9,999

Hearts v Motherwell

6 December 1997 16	Hearts	2 – 0	Motherwell	Tynecastle
	Cameron 45' (pen.) Flogel 68'		Christie  45'	Attendance: 12,706

Motherwell v Dundee United

13 December 1997 17	Motherwell	1 – 0	Dundee United	Fir Park
	Coyle 52'			Attendance: 4,555

Motherwell v Dunfermline Athletic

20 December 1997 18	Motherwell	2 – 0	Dunfermline Athletic	Fir Park
	Coyle 61', 69'			Attendance: 4,607

Aberdeen v Motherwell

27 December 1997 19	Aberdeen	3 – 0	Motherwell	Pittodrie
	Windass 63' Jess 83', pen.', 86'			Attendance: 13,038

Kilmarnock v Motherwell

3 January 1998 20	Kilmarnock	4 – 1	Motherwell	Rugby Park
	Wright 8', 33' Mitchell 44' McPherson  75'  Roberts 88'		Coyle 24'	Attendance: 8,724

Motherwell v Celtic

10 January 1998 21	Motherwell	1 – 1	Celtic	Fir Park
	Falconer 55'		Lambert 61'	Attendance: 12,350

Rangers v Motherwell

17 January 1998 22	Rangers	1 – 0	Motherwell	Ibrox
	Cleland 23'			Attendance: 49,443

Motherwell v Hibernian

31 January 1998 23	Motherwell	6 – 2	Hibernian	Fir Park
	Arnott 10' Weir 23' Garcin 43' McCulloch 43' Coyne 88'		Crawford 4' Lavety 8' Welsh  43'	Attendance: 6,169

Dundee United v Motherwell

7 February 1998 24	Dundee United	1 – 0	Motherwell	Tannadice
	Olofsson 68'			Attendance: 6,532

Motherwell v Hearts

21 February 1998 25	Motherwell	2 – 4	Hearts	Fir Park
	Coyle 6' Falconer 37'		Hamilton 38' (58) Fulton 64' Adam 87'	Attendance: 8,375

Motherwell v St Johnstone

25 February 1998 26	Motherwell	2 – 1	St Johnstone	Fir Park
	Coyne 11', 19'		O'Boyle 61' (pen.) Kernaghan  89'	Attendance: 4,517

Dunfermline Athletic v Motherwell

7 March 1998 27	Dunfermline Athletic	2 – 1	Motherwell	East End Park
	Smith 23', 61'		Coyne 12'	Attendance: 4,811

Motherwell v Rangers

14 March 1998 28	Motherwell	2 – 1	Rangers	Fir Park
	Coyle 44' Falconer 87'		McCoist 12'	Attendance: 11,779

Hibernian v Motherwell

21 March 1998 29	Hibernian	1 – 0	Motherwell	Easter Road
	Elliot  20' Lavety 34'			Attendance: 10,582

Motherwell v Dundee United

28 March 1998 30	Motherwell	1 – 0	Dundee United	Fir Park
	Coyle 52'			Attendance: 5,012

Hearts v Motherwell

8 April 1998 31	Hearts	1 – 1	Motherwell	Tynecastle
	McCann 59'		Coyne 79'	Attendance: 14,737

Motherwell v Kilmarnock

11 April 1998 32	Motherwell	1 – 1	Kilmarnock	Fir Park
	Lindqvist 80'		Holt 28'	Attendance: 6,209 Referee: Jim McCluskey

Celtic v Motherwell

18 April 1998 33	Celtic	4 – 1	Motherwell	Celtic Park
	Burley 25', 43' Simon Donnelly 49', 62'		McMillan 12'	Attendance: 49,541

Motherwell v Dunfermline Athletic

25 April 1998 34	Motherwell	1 – 3	Dunfermline Athletic	Fir Park
	Shivute 28'		Smith 28' Ireland 31' Britton 54'	Attendance: 5,745

St Johnstone v Motherwell

2 May 1998 35	St Johnstone	3 – 2	Motherwell	Celtic Park
	Jenkinson 15', 88' McCluskey 70'		Martin 4' Coyle 58' (pen.)	Attendance: 49,541

Motherwell v Aberdeen

9 May 1998 36	Motherwell	1 – 2	Aberdeen	Fir Park
	Ross 67'		Dodds 2', pen.', 22'	Attendance: 5,861

Source:

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
6	Aberdeen	36	9	12	15	39	53	−14	39
7	Dundee United	36	8	13	15	43	51	−8	37
8	Dunfermline Athletic	36	8	13	15	43	68	−25	37
9	Motherwell	36	9	7	20	46	64	−18	34
10	Hibernian (R)	36	6	12	18	38	59	−21	30	Relegation to the First Division

Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated

Scottish Cup

Main article: 1997-98 Scottish Cup

Dumbarton v Motherwell

24 January 1998 Third Round	Dumbarton	1 – 1	Motherwell	Dumbarton
	Sharp 76' (pen.)		McSkimming 47'	Stadium: Boghead Park Attendance: 2,412

Motherwell v Dumbarton

27 January 1998 Third Round Replay	Motherwell	1 – 0	Dumbarton	Motherwell
	Coyle 73'			Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 4,204

Motherwell v Rangers

14 February 1998 Fourth Round	Motherwell	2 – 2	Rangers	Motherwell
	Coyne 19' Gough 77' (o.g.)	[ Report]	Negri 26' Durie 83'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 12,602

Rangers v Motherwell

17 February 1998 Fourth Round Replay	Rangers	3 – 0	Motherwell	Glasgow
	Albertz 36', 86' Durie 38'	[ Report]		Stadium: Ibrox Attendance: 42,043

League Cup

Main article: 1997-98 Scottish League Cup

Motherwell v Inverness CT

9 August 1997 Second Round	Motherwell	2 – 2 (4 – 1 p)	Inverness CT	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	Falconer 16' Coyle 22' Martin  103' Davies  104' Coyne Valakari Ross		Thomson 55' (pen.) Addicoat 87' Hastings I.MacArthur Wilson Stewart Andersen	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 4,247

Motherwell v Greenock Morton

20 August 1997 Third Round	Motherwell	3 – 0	Greenock Morton	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	Coyle 9', 39', 62' Christie May McMillan Falconer		Anderson  63' Mahood	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 4,576

Celtic v Motherwell

10 September 1997 Quarter-final	Celtic	1 – 0	Motherwell	Glasgow
BST (UTC+1)	Larsson 29'		Ross   90' Christie Coyle Weir	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 37,006

Squad statistics

As of match played 9 May 1998

Appearances

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier Division		Scottish Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	SCO	Scott Thomson	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	GK	SCO	Stevie Woods	42	0	35	0	4	0	3	0
	DF	NIR	Stephen Craigan	14	0	9+5	0	0	0	0	0
	DF	SCO	Kevin Christie	25	0	20+1	0	2	0	2	0
	DF	SCO	Greig Denham	21	0	18	0	0	0	3	0
	DF	SCO	Brian Martin	33	1	26	1	4	0	3	0
	DF	SCO	Eddie May	32	0	20+5	0	4	0	3	0
	DF	SCO	Stephen McMillan	41	1	33+1	1	4	0	3	0
	DF	SCO	John Philliben	15	0	10+3	0	0+2	0	0	0
	MF	FIN	Simo Valakari	31	0	24+3	0	0+2	0	1+1	0
	MF	FRA	Éric Garcin	13	1	7+4	1	2	0	0	0
	MF	SCO	Billy Davies	19	2	12+5	2	0+1	0	1	0
	MF	SCO	Lee McCulloch	30	2	6+18	2	2+2	0	0+2	0
	MF	SCO	Shaun McSkimming	15	1	11+1	0	3	1	0	0
	MF	SCO	Ian Ross	25	1	16+6	1	0	0	0+3	0
	MF	SCO	Mickey Weir	23	4	13+5	4	2	0	3	0
	MF	SWE	Stefan Lindqvist	6	1	5+1	1	0	0	0	0
	FW	IRL	Owen Coyle	43	16	34+2	11	4	1	3	4
	FW	IRL	Tommy Coyne	41	15	33+1	14	4	1	3	0
	FW	NAM	Eliphas Shivute	24	3	12+11	3	0	0	0+1	0
	FW	SCO	Dougie Arnott	10	1	3+4	1	1+2	0	0	0
	FW	SCO	Willie Falconer	29	4	21+1	3	4	0	3	1
	FW	SCO	John Hendry	13	1	10+3	1	0	0	0	0
Players who appeared for Motherwell but left during the season:
	DF	AUT	Franz Resch	5	0	3	0	0	0	2	0
	DF	ENG	Rob Newman	15	0	11	0	4	0	0	0
	DF	ISL	Gunnlaugur Jónsson	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
	FW	AUT	Mario Dorner	4	0	1+1	0	0	0	0+2	0

Goal scorers

Ranking	Position	Nation	Number	Name	Premier Division	Scottish Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW			Owen Coyle	11	1	4	16
2	FW			Tommy Coyne	14	1	0	15
3	MF			Mickey Weir	4	0	0	4
	FW			Willie Falconer	3	0	1	4
5	FW			Eliphas Shivute	3	0	0	3
6	MF			Billy Davies	2	0	0	2
	MF			Lee McCulloch	2	0	0	2
8	DF			Brian Martin	1	0	0	1
	DF			Steve McMillan	1	0	0	1
	MF			Stefan Lindqvist	1	0	0	1
	MF			Ian Ross	1	0	0	1
	FW			Dougie Arnott	1	0	0	1
	DF			Éric Garcin	1	0	0	1
	FW			John Hendry	1	0	0	1
	MF			Shaun McSkimming	0	1	0	1
				Own goal	0	1	0	1
TOTALS					46	4	5	55

Clean sheets

Ranking	Position	Nation	Number	Name	Premier Division	Scottish Cup	League Cup	Total
1	GK			Stevie Woods	5	1	1	7
TOTALS					5	1	1	7

Disciplinary record

Number	Nation	Position	Name	Premier Division		Scottish Cup		League Cup		Total
		DF	Stephen Craigan	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
		DF	Kevin Christie	4	1	2	0	2	0	8	1
		DF	Greig Denham	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
		DF	Brian Martin	7	0	0	0	0	1	8	1
		DF	Eddie May	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
		DF	Steve McMillan	8	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
		DF	John Philliben	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
		MF	Simo Valakari	7	0	0	0	1	0	8	0
		MF	Éric Garcin	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
		MF	Billy Davies	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
		MF	Lee McCulloch	3	0	1	0	0	0	4	0
		MF	Shaun McSkimming	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
		MF	Ian Ross	5	0	0	0	2	1	7	1
		MF	Mickey Weir	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
		FW	Owen Coyle	3	0	0	0	2	0	5	0
		FW	Tommy Coyne	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
		FW	Eliphas Shivute	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		FW	Willie Falconer	6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
		FW	John Hendry	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Players away on loan:
Players who left Motherwell during the season:
		DF	Franz Resch	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		DF	Rob Newman	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
		DF	Gunnlaugur Jónsson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
			TOTALS	75	2	4	0	12	3	91	5

See also

• List of Motherwell F.C. seasons