1997–98 Manchester City F.C. season

English football club season March 2015 March 2015 Manchester City 1997–98 Francis LeeDavid Bernstein Frank Clark (until 17 February)Joe Royle (from 18 February) Maine Road First Division 22nd (relegated) FA Cup Fourth round League Cup First round Paul Dickov (9) Paul Dickov (9) 32,040 – (25 April vs Queens Park Rangers, First Division) 12,563 – (12 August vs Blackpool, League Cup first round) 28,037 _mcfc_home_97-99 _mcfc_home_97-99 _mcfc_home_97-99 _mcfc_home_97-99 _mcfc_home_97-99 0B0066 _mcfc_away_97-98 _mcfc_away_97-98 _mcfc_away_97-98 _mcfc_away_97-99 _mcfc_away_97-99 _mcfc_third_97-98 _mcfc_third_97-98 _mcfc_third_97-98 FCCD10 FCCD10 FCCD10 000000 000000 1996–97 1998–99 The 1997–98 season was Manchester City's second in the First Division following relegation from the Premier League in 1995–96. The 1996–97 season had been a turbulent one; Five different managers took charge of the team over the course of the season (three permanent appointments and two caretakers), including Steve Coppell, who resigned after just 32 days as manager.Buckley Andy Burgess, Richard Blue Moon Rising: The Fall and Rise of Manchester City Milo Bury 2000 0-9530847-4-4 p. 132. Frank Clark became manager in December 1996 and was in charge for the start of the 1997–98 season. Despite speculation that linked him with a transfer, 1996–97 Player of the Season Georgi Kinkladze stayed at the club, and signed a three-year contract that made him the highest-paid player in Manchester City's history.Fergie's £15m for Fab Gab Sunday Mirror 18 May 1997 The highest profile signing was striker Lee Bradbury, who joined from Portsmouth for a club record £3 million.Manchester City F.C. Official Handbook 1997-98, p. 19. Defender Tony Vaughan arrived from Ipswich Town. His transfer free was decided by tribunal and set at £1.35 million, more than double City's valuation.Football Independent 17 July 1997 The club also signed Dutch midfielder Gerard Wiekens from BV Veendam for £500,000.Manchester City F.C. Official Handbook 1997-98, p. 33. Wiekens had agreed to join the club in March, but the move only took place once the previous season had finished.Merson to be out of action for six weeks Adam Szreter 14 March 1997 Independent Departing was Peter Beagrie, sold to Bradford City for £200,000.Football Round-up Independent 3 July 1997 In an early-season interview with the Sunday Times, Frank Clark bemoaned the difficulty of reducing the size of his squad, which contained 40 senior professionals: "This squad is too big, but a lot of the players are on good contracts which other clubs won't match. You can't blame them for staying." "We've got around 12 very good youngsters whose potential is really encouraging, but they can't get a reserve-team game. Because we've got to fill the reserves with senior pros needing match practice or players we're trying to sell, the youngsters' development is held up."Louise Taylor Clark attempting to rekindle City's lights Sunday Times 17 August 1997 Joe Royle replaced Frank Clark in February 1998. Off the field, the club introduced a new badge, and changed the colour of the home shirt to a much deeper shade termed "laser blue". The new kit was made by Kappa; this ended a 63-year association with Umbro.James Gary Manchester The City Years James Ward Halifax 2012 978-0-9558127-7-4 454–5 In its preview of the forthcoming season, The Times listed bookmakers odds that put Manchester City as 6/1 joint second favourites to win the division.Club-by-Club guide to the Nationwide League - First Division The Times 7 August 1997 Team kit none center _mcfc_home_97-99 _mcfc_home_97-99 _mcfc_home_97-99 _mcfc_home_97-99 _mcfc_home_97-99 FFFFFF 0B0066 Home none center _mcfc_away_97-98 _mcfc_away_97-98 _mcfc_away_97-98 _mcfc_away_97-99 _mcfc_away_97-99 Away none center _mcfc_third_97-98 _mcfc_third_97-98 _mcfc_third_97-98 FCCD10 FCCD10 FCCD10 000000 000000 Third League The league campaign started with a home match against Portsmouth. Bradbury, Vaughan and Wiekens all made their debuts. The match finished 2–2, with a debut goal for Wiekens. The first away match was a trip to Sunderland, a match that was the first competitive fixture at the Stadium of Light. City lost 3–1 to a team spearheaded by their former striker Niall Quinn. Jason van Blerk made his debut in the match, having signed on a free transfer in the run-up to the fixture.Stockport chase Robins Independent 12 August 1997 The first league win did not arrive until the fifth match, when Nottingham Forest were beaten at the City Ground.Brannan double eases Clark woe John Lawson The Guardian 4 September 1997 22 Three games later City's second win of the season was emphatic, 6–0 at home to Swindon Town. Lee Bradbury cracked a vertebra at the start of October, and coupled with an injury to Uwe Rösler, City were left with few options in attack.Buckley & Burgess, Blue Moon Rising, p. 145. The team scored just one goal in October. A succession of reserve strikers were tried; Barry Conlon, Chris Greenacre, Ray Kelly and Gerry Creaney all saw their first action of the season. The situation was exacerbated in late October when Kinkladze crashed his Ferrari, sustaining a back injury that required 30 stitches and caused him to miss two matches.Kinkladze: The Perfect 10? Clayton David 2005 Parrs Wood Press Manchester 1-903158-60-5 113 By November City lay in the relegation zone with just 3 wins from 16 matches.English Division One 1997-1998 : Table 09.11.1997 http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-one/1997-1998/table/1997-11-09 Statto organisation 24 June 2013 A home defeat to Huddersfield Town led to open rebellion amongst the club's supporters. On the tenth anniversary of a match in which the same opposition were beaten 10–1, Manchester City succumbed to a defeat that was last-placed club Huddersfield's first away win of the season.Edwards volley sinks City The Guardian Derek Potter 8 November 1997 A12 Choruses of "You're not fit to wear the shirt" rang out during the match.David Maddock The Times Huddersfield add to City's gloom 8 November 1997 Afterward two thousand supporters held a demonstration demanding the resignation of chairman Francis Lee.City suffer another humiliation Independent Derick Allsop 8 November 1997 The season hit a new low with 3–1 away defeat to local rivals Stockport County who were having the best season in their history. The club picked up enough wins here and there to at least stay out of the relegation zone, but then a horrific run of form after Christmas saw the club dumped to the bottom of the table following a 2–1 loss to Ipswich Town in February. This proved the end of the road for Clark, who was sacked later that day and replaced by Joe Royle, who had been out of the game since resigning as Everton manager a year prior. A run of three wins from Royle's first four matches seemed to get things back on track for City, but then the club's form slumped again, and most damagingly they lost virtually all of their matches against the other teams involved in the relegation struggle. Francis Lee finally resigned during this poor run-in, with David Bernstein replacing him as chairman. A failure to beat Queens Park Rangers in their penultimate match left the Blues needing to defeat Stoke City and hope that at least one of Port Vale and Portsmouth would fail to win their own final matches to preserve their First Division status. In the end, City were able to beat Stoke, however both Port Vale and Portsmouth also won that day to send City into the third tier for the first time in their history. Table y MCI Results summary 6 6 11 28 26 6 6 11 28 31 March 2022 Matches 1 9 August 1997 Manchester City 2–2 Portsmouth Rösler 16Wiekens 55 Aloisi 5Hall 80 Manchester Maine Road 30,474 David Laws D 2 15 August 1997 Sunderland 3–1 Manchester City Quinn 17Phillips 84Clark 89 Kinkladze 76 pen. Sunderland Stadium of Light 38,827 Eddie Wolstenholme L 3 22 August 1997 Manchester City 1–1 Tranmere Rovers Horlock 46 Jones 61 Manchester Maine Road 26,336 John Brandwood D 4 29 August 1997 Charlton Athletic 2–1 Manchester City Van Blerk 67 o.g.Jones 69 Wiekens 20 London The Valley 14,009 Rob Harris L 5 3 September 1997 Nottingham Forest 1–3 Manchester City Campbell 81 Brannan 20 71Dickov 88 Nottingham City Ground 23,681 Stephen Finch W 6 12 September 1997 Bury 1–1 Manchester City Johnson 65 Morley 81 Bury Gigg Lane 11,216 Phil Richards D 7 20 September 1997 Manchester City 1–2 Norwich City Bradbury 27 Adams 38Coote 64 Manchester Maine Road 27,258 Alan Butler L 8 27 September 1997 Manchester City 6–0 Swindon Town Kinkladze 7Casper 17 o.g.Horlock 37Dickov 50 59Bradbury 80 Manchester Maine Road 26,646 Roy Pearson W 9 4 October 1997 Ipswich Town 1–0 Manchester City Mathie 63 Ipswich Portman Road 14,322 Mike Bailey L 10 18 October 1997 Manchester City 0–0 Reading Manchester Maine Road 26,488 D 11 22 October 1997 Manchester City 0–1 Stoke City Wallace 63 Manchester Maine Road 25,333 Anthony Leake L 12 26 October 1997 Queens Park Rangers 2–0 Manchester City Ready 13Peacock 33 Shepherd's Bush, London Loftus Road 14,451 Rob Harris L 13 29 October 1997 Manchester City 1–0 Crewe Alexandra Greenacre 44 Manchester Maine Road 27,384 Kevin Lynch W 14 1 November 1997 Oxford United 0–0 Manchester City Oxford Kassam Stadium 8,592 David Orr D 15 4 November 1997 Manchester City 2–3 Port Vale Wiekens 15Dickov 41 Snijders 17Talbot 45Naylor 50 Manchester Maine Road 24,554 John Brandwood L 16 7 November 1997 Manchester City 0–1 Huddersfield Town Edwards 76 Manchester Maine Road 24,425 Graham Frankland L 17 15 November 1997 Sheffield United 1–1 Manchester City Deane 21 Horlock 90 Sheffield Bramall Lane 23,850 Paul Rejer D 18 22 November 1997 Manchester City 1–0 Bradford City Vaughan 90 Manchester Maine Road 29,746 Guy Stretton W 19 21 November 1997 Stockport County 3–1 Manchester City Cook 6Armstrong 8Angell 30 Brannan 49 Stockport Edgeley Park 11,351 Eddie Wolstenholme L 20 28 November 1997 West Bromwich Albion 0–1 Manchester City Dickov 55 West Bromwich The Hawthorns 17,904 John Kirkby W 21 6 December 1997 Manchester City 0–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Symons 42 Manchester Maine Road 28,999 Clive Wilkes L 22 13 December 1997 Birmingham City 2–1 Manchester City O'Connor 90Forster 90 Shelia 88 Birmingham St Andrew's 21,014 Andy D'Urso L 23 20 December 1997 Manchester City 2–0 Middlesbrough Rösler 17 pen.Dickov 32 Manchester Maine Road 28,097 Mike C Bailey W 24 26 December 1997 Crewe Alexandra 1–0 Manchester City Holsgrove 19 Crewe Alexandra Stadium 5,759 Trevor Jones L 25 28 December 1997 Manchester City 2–3 Nottingham Forest Shelia 56Dickov 77 van Hooijdonk 31 pen. 53 pen.Campbell 50 Manchester Maine Road 31,839 Alan Wiley L 26 10 January 1998 Portsmouth 0–3 Manchester City Russell 44Kinkladze 51Rösler 89 Portsmouth Fratton Park 13,512 Paul Taylor W 27 17 January 1998 Manchester City 0–1 Sunderland Phillips 55 Manchester Maine Road 31,715 Matt Messias L 28 28 January 1998 Manchester City 2–2 Charlton Athletic Dickov 7 pen.Symons 88 Jones 74 90 Manchester Maine Road 24,058 Phil Richards D 29 31 January 1998 Tranmere Rovers 0–0 Manchester City Birkenhead Prenton Park 12,830 Clive Wilkes D 30 7 February 1998 Norwich City 0–0 Manchester City Norwich Carrow Road 15,274 Barry Knight D 31 14 February 1998 Manchester City 0–1 Bury Butler 52 Manchester Maine Road 28,885 Terry Heilbron L 32 18 February 1998 Manchester City 1–2 Ipswich Town Symons 5 Mathie 83Dyer 90 Manchester Maine Road 27,156 Graham Frankland L 33 21 February 1998 Swindon Town 1–3 Manchester City Cowe 71 Rösler 22 77Bradbury 83 Swindon County Ground 12,280 Brian Coddington W 34 24 February 1998 Reading 3–0 Manchester City Hodges 8Houghton 29Asaba 89 Reading Elm Park 11,513 Anthony Bates L 35 28 February 1998 Manchester City 1–0 West Bromwich Albion Rösler 43 Manchester Maine Road 28,460 Alan Butler W 36 3 March 1998 Huddersfield Town 1–3 Manchester City Dalton 38 pen. Wiekens 10Briscoe 45Tskhadadze 65 Huddersfield Alfred McAlpine Stadion 15,694 George Cain W 37 7 March 1998 Manchester City 0–2 Oxford United Beauchamp 44Cook 81 Manchester Maine Road 28,720 William Burns (referee) L 38 14 March 1998 Port Vale 2–1 Manchester City Foyle 13Ainsworth 73 Wiekens 61 Stoke-on-Trent Vale Park 13,122 Roger Furnandiz L 39 21 March 1998 Manchester City 0–0 Sheffield United Manchester Maine Road 28,496 Roy Pearson D 40 28 March 1998 Bradford City 2–1 Manchester City Pepper 49Edinho 66 Whitley 24 Bradford Valley Parade 17,099 Eddie Wolstenholme L 41 4 April 1998 Manchester City 4–1 Stockport County Goater 5Jobson 32Bradbury 37 57 Wilbraham 6 Manchester Maine Road 31,855 Rob Harris W 42 11 April 1998 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–2 Manchester City Margetson 34Simpson 85 Pollock 13Horlock 63 Wolverhampton Molineux Stadium 24,458 Mark Halsey D 43 13 April 1998 Manchester City 0–1 Birmingham City Adebola 90 Manchester Maine Road 29,569 Terry Heilbron L 44 17 April 1998 Middlesbrough 1–0 Manchester City Armstrong 43 Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 30,182 Alan Wiley L 45 25 April 1998 Manchester City 2–2 Queens Park Rangers Kinkladze 1Bradbury 48 Sheron 8Pollock 21 o.g. Manchester Maine Road 32,040 D 46 3 May 1998 Stoke City 2–5 Manchester City Thorne 62 87 Goater 32 71Dickov 49Bradbury 64Horlock 90 Stoke-on-Trent Britannia Stadium 28,000 Mike C Bailey W FA Cup Manchester City entered the FA Cup in the third round, the starting point for all clubs in the top two divisions. Drawn at home to fellow First Division club Bradford City, Manchester City won 2–0.Clark's on the up n' up Sunday Mirror 4 January 1998 Another home tie followed in the fourth round, against Premier League club West Ham United. City trailed 1–0 at half time, but a solo goal from Georgi Kinkladze levelled the score. A penalty gave City the chance to take the lead, but Uwe Rösler's kick went high over the crossbar.Ian Ross Rosler boots a win into the air The Guardian 26 January 1998 A3 Two minutes later, former City player Steve Lomas scored for West Ham.Ian Ross Lomas returns to City with interest The Times 26 January 1998 City lost 2–1 and exited the competition. DateRoundOpponentsH / AVenueResultF – AScorersAttendance 3 January 1998 Third round Bradford City H Maine Road 2 – 0 Brown, Rösler 23,686 25 January 1998 Fourth round West Ham United H Maine Road 1 – 2 Kinkladze 26,495 League Cup Manchester City entered the League Cup in the first round for the first time. In previous years, the club's league position had been sufficient to gain a bye into the second round. Blackpool were the opposition in the first round, for which ties were played over two legs. In the first leg, at Bloomfield Road, City lost 1–0.Unconvincing City slip up at Blackpool Independent 13 August 1997 The return leg was chosen for live television coverage.Manchester City 's Coca-Cola Cup first round second leg with Blackpool brought forward Independent 14 August 1997 Kevin Horlock scored with two minutes of normal time remaining to make the score 1–1 on aggregate and take the tie to extra time.Mark Pierson Mellon on the spot to see Blackpool through Independent 27 August 1997 No goals were scored in extra time, so the result was decided by a penalty shootout. Horlock and Bradbury's kicks missed, and Blackpool won the shootout 4–2.Ian Whittell Kinkladze's injury adds to woe for City The Times 27 August 1997 DateRoundOpponentsH / AVenueResultF – AScorersAttendance 12 August 1997 First round first leg Blackpool A Bloomfield Road 0 – 1 8,084 26 August 1997 First round second leg Blackpool H Maine Road 1 – 0 (aet, 2 – 4 pens) Horlock 12,563 Squad Appearances for competitive matches only, substitute appearances in brackets Source:James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, pp. 462–3. Pos.NameAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotalGKWAL Martyn Margetson28 00020300GKNIR Tommy Wright Northern Ireland footballer18 02000200DFENG Paul Beesley07 4 (3)0000007 4 (3)0DFENG Ian Brightwell21 19 (2)0202025 23 (2)0DFENG Lee Briscoe05 51000005 51DFENG Lee Crooks05 3 (2)0000005 3 (2)0DFENG Richard Edghill3601000370DFENG Richard Jobson footballer06 61000006 61DFIRE Alan Kernaghan01 10001002 20DFENG Dave Morley03 1 (2)1000003 1 (2)0DFGEO 1990 Murtaz Shelia1222000142DFWAL Kit Symons4221010442DFGEO 1990 Kakhaber Tskhadadze1010000101DFAUS Jason van Blerk19 10 (9)01 0 (1)01 0 (1)021 10 (11)0DFENG Tony Vaughan footballer1910020211DF/MFNED Gerard Wiekens37 35 (2)5102040 38 (2)5MFENG Peter Beardsley06 5 (1)0000006 5 (1)0MFENG Ian Bishop footballer06 4 (2)0000006 4 (2)0MFENG Ged Brannan32 27 (5)3102037 32 (5)3MFENG Michael Brown footballer, born 197726 18 (8)0001026 18 (8)0MFENG Neil Heaney03 30000003 30MFNIR Kevin Horlock2550021276MFGEO 1990 Georgi Kinkladze30 29 (1)4212034 33 (1)5MFIRL Eddie McGoldrick07 6 (1)0001 0 (1)008 6 (2)0MFSCO Jamie Pollock08 81000008 81MFIRL Tony Scully09 1 (8)0000009 1 (8)0MFENG Nicky Summerbee09 4 (5)0002011 6 (5)0MFNIR Jeff Whitley17 14 (3)1100018 15 (3)1MFNIR Jim Whitley19 17 (2)02 1 (1)00021 18 (3)0FWENG Lee Bradbury27 23 (4)7002029 25 (4)7FWSCO Gerry Creaney01 10000001 10FWIRL Barry Conlon07 1 (6)0000007 1 (6)0FWSCO Paul Dickov30 21 (9)9201 0 (1)033 23 (10)9FWBER Shaun Goater07 73000007 73FWENG Chris Greenacre03 2 (1)11 0 (1)00004 2 (2)1FWIRL Ray Kelly footballer01 10000001 10FWDEU Uwe Rösler29 23 (6)6212033 27 (6)7FWENG Craig Russell footballer24 17 (7)1200026 19 (7)1 Transfers In PlayerTransferred fromFeeDateRefGerard Wiekens Veendam0500000 £500,00029 April 1997Nicky Weaver Mansfield Town0200000 £200,000March 1997 Football Round-Up Independent 20 April 1997Tony Vaughan footballer Ipswich Town1350000 £1.35mJuly 1997Lee Bradbury Portsmouth3000000 £3mJuly 1997Alan Nixon Kendall poised to offer £7m for Cole Independent 31 July 1997Jason van Blerk Millwall0000000 FreeAugust 1997Tony Scully Crystal Palace0300000 £300,000August 1997Rupert Metcalf Saints dispense with Van Gobbel Independent 16 August 1997Richard Jobson Richard Jobson (footballer) Leeds United0000000 FreeMarch 1998On the move Independent on Sunday 15 March 1998Jamie Pollock Bolton Wanderers0800000 £800,000March 1998On the move Independent on Sunday 22 March 1998Shaun Goater Bristol City0400000 £400,000March 1998Yesterday's deadline-day deals Independent 27 March 1998Ian Bishop footballer West Ham United0000000 FreeMarch 1998 Out PlayerTransferred toFeeDateRefPeter Beagrie Bradford City0200000 £200,000July 1997Nigel Clough Sheffield Wednesday0000000 LoanSeptember 1997Spurs ponder action on Iversen Independent 12 September 1997Gerry Creaney Burnley0000000 LoanSeptember 1997Shearer set for New Year return Guardian 20 September 1997 12Alan Kernaghan St Johnstone0000000 LoanSeptember 1997On the move Independent 21 September 1997Alan Kernaghan St Johnstone0000000 FreeDecember 1997Gordon Simpson Back in line Daily Record 27 December 1997Gerry Creaney Chesterfield0000000 LoanJanuary 1998Pressure mounts for Waddle and his men Lancashire County Publications 5 January 1998Barry Conlon Plymouth Argyle0000000 LoanFebruary 1998Sidelines: Gers trade with Hearts flowers Independent 28 February 1998Jason van Blerk West Bromwich Albion0050000 £50,000March 1998Paul Beesley West Bromwich Albion0000000 LoanMarch 1998Dave Morley Ayr United0000000 LoanMarch 1998Tony Scully Queens Park Rangers0155000 £155,000March 1998Blues boss targets double swoop Manchester Evening News Richard Burgess 16 March 1998Rae Ingram Macclesfield Town0000000 LoanMarch 1998Martin Phillips Martin Phillips (footballer) Exeter City0000000 LoanMarch 1998John Foster footballer Carlisle United0000000 FreeMarch 1998Neil Heaney Charlton Athletic0000000 LoanMarch 1998Ray Kelly footballer Wrexham0000000 LoanMarch 1998Eddie McGoldrick Stockport County0000000 LoanMarch 1998Scott Thomas footballer Brighton0000000 LoanMarch 1998 References 33em Category:Manchester City F.C. seasons Manchester City