1997–98 Southampton F.C. season

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

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

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

Main article: 1997–98 FA Premier League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
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	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
14	Tottenham Hotspur	38	11	11	16	44	56	−12	44

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

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
38	14	6	18	50	55	−5	48	10	1	8	28	23	+5	4	5	10	22	32	−10

Source: 1997-98 FA Premier League table

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	37	38
Ground	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	L	L	L	W	L	L	D	L	L	W	L	W	W	W	L	L	L	W	D	D	W	D	W	L	W	L	W	W	W	L	W	L	L	D	L	W	L	D
Position	18	17	19	16	18	20	20	20	20	19	19	17	16	14	15	16	17	16	15	15	13	13	12	12	11	12	11	11	10	11	10	11	12	12	12	11	12	12

Source: 11v11.com: 1997-98 Southampton results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Southampton's score comes first

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

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	WAL	Paul Jones
2	DF	ENG	Jason Dodd
3	DF	ENG	Lee Todd
4	MF	ENG	Carlton Palmer
5	DF	SUR	Ken Monkou
6	DF	NOR	Claus Lundekvam
7	MF	ENG	Matt Le Tissier (captain)
8	MF	ENG	Matt Oakley
10	FW	NOR	Egil Østenstad
12	DF	ENG	Richard Dryden
13	GK	ENG	Neil Moss
14	DF	ENG	John Beresford
15	DF	ENG	Francis Benali

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	FW	ENG	Kevin Davies
17	FW	ITA	Cosimo Sarli
18	MF	ENG	Kevin Richardson
20	GK	ENG	Darryl Flahavan
21	DF	WAL	Andy Williams
23	MF	ENG	Duncan Spedding
24	FW	ENG	Steve Basham
25	FW	NOR	Stig Johansen
26	MF	WAL	David Hughes
27	FW	ENG	David Hirst
28	MF	ENG	Kevin Gibbens
29	DF	ENG	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.	Pos.	Nation	Player
4	MF	NIR	Jim Magilton (to Sheffield Wednesday)
9	FW	IRL	Mickey Evans (to West Bromwich Albion)
11	MF	AUS	Robbie Slater (to Wolves)
13	GK	NIR	Maik Taylor (to Fulham)
14	MF	ENG	Neil Maddison (to Middlesbrough)
17	DF	ENG	Simon Charlton (to Birmingham City)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	DF	NED	Ulrich van Gobbel (to Feyenoord)
19	DF	WAL	Alan Neilson (to Fulham)
20	GK	ENG	Dave Beasant (to Nottingham Forest)
22	DF	ENG	Matthew Robinson (to Portsmouth)
28	FW	WAL	Jason Bowen (on loan from Birmingham City)
—	MF	ENG	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.	Pos.	Nation	Player
-	GK	ENG	Scott Bevan
-	DF	ENG	Wayne Bridge
-	DF	ENG	Stephen Jenkins

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
-	DF	ENG	Garry Monk
-	MF	ENG	Russell Watkinson
-	FW	ENG	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