1997–98 Coventry City F.C. season

February 2015 February 2015 Coventry City F.C. 1997–98 Bryan Richardson Gordon Strachan Highfield Road FA Premier League 11th FA Cup Quarter-final League Cup Fourth round Dion Dublin (18) Dion Dublin (23) 23,054 (vs. Manchester United, 28 December) 15,900 (vs. Crystal Palace, 24 September) 19,718 1996–97 1998–99 During the 1997–98 English football season, Coventry City competed in the FA Premier League. Season summary After a last-day "houdini" act and the bonus of Middlesbrough having 3 points deducted kept Coventry up in the 1996–97 season, manager Gordon Strachan was determined to avoid another season of struggle. He achieved it, and an 11th-place finish was Coventry's highest in four seasons. However, even though they only suffered 10 defeats all season (the fourth least amount, after Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool), they staggeringly drew 16 games which ultimately prevented them from finishing any higher. Their secure finish was helped no end by the loyalty of striker Dion Dublin, who pledged his future to the club after turning down an offer from Blackburn Rovers. Coventry were, in fact, 17th on Boxing Day 1997, but a 3–2 win over Manchester United, with no small thanks to late goals from Dublin and Darren Huckerby, appeared to kickstart a sudden surge in form as by late March, the club found themselves in 9th. Right up to the final day of the season, the Sky Blues were within a shout of a UEFA Cup place, but they were beaten to it by local rivals Aston Villa. The two places above them were occupied by two other local rivals – Derby County and Leicester City. Final league table 1997–98 FA Premier League COV Results summary 8 9 2 26 17 4 7 8 20 27 1997–98 FA Premier League table August 2015 Results by round table b Round Ground H/A/H/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/H/A Result W/L/D/D/L/W/D/D/D/D/L/D/W/D/L/L/L/W/L/L/W/L/D/W/W/W/W/W/D/W/D/L/D/D/D/D/W/D Position 1/9/10/12/12/8/11/11/12/12/15/15/12/10/12/15/16/14/16/17/13/16/15/13/12/10/10/10/10/9/10/11/10/11/10/11/11/11 Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss 1st 2nd 3rd red1 11v11.com: 1997–98 Coventry City results August 2015 Results Coventry City's score comes firsthttp://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1997-1998/results Coventry City results for the 1997-1998 season - Statto.com 12 September 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150611071049/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1997-1998/results 11 June 2015 live dmy-all Legend WinDrawLoss FA Premier League DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 9 August 1997 ChelseaH3–222,686Dublin (3) 11 August 1997 ArsenalA0–237,324 23 August 1997 Bolton WanderersH2–216,633Telfer, Huckerby 27 August 1997 West Ham UnitedH1–118,289Huckerby 30 August 1997 Manchester UnitedA0–355,074 13 September 1997 SouthamptonH1–018,659Soltvedt 20 September 1997 Sheffield WednesdayA0–021,087 24 September 1997 Crystal PalaceH1–115,900Dublin 28 September 1997 Blackburn RoversA0–019,086 4 October 1997 Leeds UnitedH0–017,770 20 October 1997 BarnsleyA0–217,463 25 October 1997 EvertonH0–018,760 1 November 1997 WimbledonA2–111,201Huckerby, Dublin 8 November 1997 Newcastle UnitedH2–222,679Dublin (2) 22 November 1997 Derby CountyA1–329,351Huckerby 29 November 1997 Leicester CityH0–218,309 6 December 1997 Aston VillaA0–333,250 13 December 1997 Tottenham HotspurH4–019,499Huckerby (2), Breen, Hall 20 December 1997 LiverpoolA0–139,707 26 December 1997 West Ham UnitedA0–124,532 28 December 1997 Manchester UnitedH3–223,054Whelan, Dublin (pen), Huckerby 10 January 1998 ChelseaA1–334,647Telfer 17 January 1998 ArsenalH2–222,864Whelan, Dublin (pen) 31 January 1998 Bolton WanderersA5–125,000Whelan, Huckerby (2), Dublin (2) 7 February 1998 Sheffield WednesdayH1–018,375Dublin (pen) 18 February 1998 SouthamptonA2–115,091Whelan, Huckerby 21 February 1998 BarnsleyH1–020,265Dublin (pen) 28 February 1998 Crystal PalaceA3–021,810Telfer, Moldovan, Dublin 14 March 1998 Newcastle UnitedA0–036,767 28 March 1998 Derby CountyH1–018,705Huckerby 4 April 1998 Leicester CityA1–121,137Whelan 11 April 1998 Aston VillaH1–222,792Whelan 13 April 1998 Tottenham HotspurA1–133,463Dublin 19 April 1998 LiverpoolH1–122,721Dublin (pen) 25 April 1998 Leeds UnitedA3–336,522Huckerby (3) 29 April 1998 WimbledonH0–017,968 2 May 1998 Blackburn RoversH2–018,794Dublin (pen), Boateng 10 May 1998 EvertonA1–140,109Dublin FA Cup 1997–98 FA Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR33 January 1998 LiverpoolA3–133,888Huckerby, Dublin, TelferR424 January 1998 Derby CountyH2–022,824Dublin (2)R514 February 1998 Aston VillaA1–036,979MoldovanQF7 March 1998 Sheffield UnitedH1–123,084Dublin (pen)QFR17 March 1998 Sheffield UnitedA1–1 (lost 1–3 on pens)29,034Telfer League Cup 1997–98 Football League Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR2 1st Leg 16 September 1997 BlackpoolA0–15,884R2 2nd Leg 1 October 1997 BlackpoolH3–1 (won 3–2 on agg)9,565McAllister (2, 1 pen), DublinR315 October 1997 EvertonH4–110,087Hall, Salako (2), HaworthR418 November 1997 ArsenalA0–130,199 Squad http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/1997-1998/faprem/coventry.htm FootballSquads - Coventry City - 1997/98 1 ENG GK Steve Ogrizovic 2 ENG DF Richard Shaw 3 ENG DF David Burrows 4 ENG DF Paul Williams 5 IRL DF Liam DaishDaish was born in Portsmouth, England, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in February 1992. 6 IRL DF Gary BreenBreen was born in Barnet, England, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in June 1996. 7 ENG FW Darren Huckerby 8 ENG FW Noel Whelan 9 ENG FW Dion Dublin 10 SCO MF Gary McAllister captain 12 SCO DF Paul Telfer 13 SWE GK Magnus Hedman 14 NOR MF Trond Egil Soltvedt 15 BEL MF Philippe Clement 16 GHA MF George BoatengBoateng was born in Nkawkaw, Ghana, but qualified to represent the Netherlands internationally and would make his international debut for the Netherlands in November 2001. 17 IRL MF Willie Boland 18 ENG DF Marcus Hall 19 DEN MF Martin Johansen 20 NIR MF Michael O'Neill 21 ENG FW Andy Ducros 22 WAL FW Simon Haworth 23 SWE DF Roland Nilsson 24 ROU FW Viorel Moldovan 28 SCO MF Gavin Strachan 29 ENG DF Scott Goodwin 30 ENG MF John Eustace 31 ENG FW Adam Willis 32 IRL DF Barry Prenderville 33 ENG MF Chris Barnett 34 IRL MF Barry Quinn 35 ENG FW Craig Faulconbridge 36 IRL DF John Andrews 37 ENG DF Sam Shilton Left club during season 11 ENG MF John Salako to Bolton Wanderers 15 Bermuda FW Kyle Lightbourne to Stoke City 16 ENG MF Kevin Richardson to Southampton 24 ENG DF Brian Borrows to Swindon Town 26 SCO GK Scott Howie on loan from Motherwell Reserve squad - ENG MF Martin Devaney - ENG FW Chukki Eribenne Transfers In DatePosNameFromFee19 June 1997MFTrond Egil SoltvedtRosenborg£500,0004 July 1997FWKyle LightbourneWalsall£500,0007 July 1997GKMagnus HedmanAIKFree transfer19 June 1997MFMartin JohansenCopenhagenFree transfer29 July 1997DFRoland NilssonHelsingborg£200,00018 December 1997DFGeorge BoatengFeyenoord£250,0002 January 1998FWViorel MoldovanGrasshoppers£3,250,00026 March 1998MFPhilippe ClementRacing Genk£625,000 Out DatePosNameToFee1 July 1997MFChris McMenaminPeterborough UnitedFree transfer4 July 1997MFEoin JessAberdeen£700,00014 July 1997FWPeter NdlovuBirmingham City£1,600,0001 August 1997GKJohn FilanBlackburn Rovers£700,0001 August 1997GKJed SumnerCambridge UnitedFree transfer9 September 1997MFKevin RichardsonSouthamptonTransfer14 November 1997DFBrian BorrowsSwindon TownFree transfer16 February 1998FWKyle LightbourneStoke City£500,000 Transfers in: £5,325,000 Transfers out: £3,500,000 Total spending: £1,825,000 Statistics Appearances and goals FA Premier League FA Cup League Cup |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Goalkeepers 1 Steve Ogrizovic GK ENG 24 0 2 0 4 0 13 Magnus Hedman GK SWE 14 0 3 0 0 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Defenders 2 Richard Shaw DF ENG 33 0 3 0 4 0 3 David Burrows DF ENG 33 0 5 0 4 0 4 Paul Williams DF ENG 17+3 0 1 0 4 0 6 Gary Breen DF IRL 30 1 5 0 3+1 0 12 Paul Telfer DF SCO 33 3 4 2 2 0 18 Marcus Hall DF ENG 20+5 1 2+2 0 3+1 1 23 Roland Nilsson DF SWE 32 0 4 0 3 0 37 Sam Shilton DF ENG 2 0 0 0 0 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Midfielders 10 Gary McAllister MF SCO 14 0 0 0 4 2 14 Trond Egil Soltvedt MF NOR 26+4 1 3+1 0 1+1 0 16 George Boateng MF GHA 14 1 5 0 0 0 17 Willie Boland MF IRL 8+11 0 0+1 0 1+1 0 20 Michael O'Neill MF NIR 2+2 0 0 0 1 0 28 Gavin Strachan MF SCO 2+7 0 2+2 0 0 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Forwards 7 Darren Huckerby FW ENG 32+2 14 5 1 0+1 0 8 Noel Whelan FW ENG 21 6 4 0 0 0 9 Dion Dublin FW ENG 36 18 5 4 2 1 19 Martin Johansen FW DEN 0+2 0 0 0 1 0 21 Andy Ducros FW ENG 1+2 0 0 0 0+1 0 22 Simon Haworth FW WAL 4+6 0 0+1 0 2 1 24 Viorel Moldovan FW ROU 5+5 1 2+2 1 0 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players who left the club during the season 11 John Salako MF ENG 11 0 0 0 2 2 15 Kyle Lightbourne FW BER 1+6 0 0 0 3 0 16 Kevin Richardson MF ENG 3 0 0 0 0 0 |- |} Starting 11 Considering starts in all competitionshttp://www.11v11.com/teams/coventry-city/tab/players/season/1998 All Coventry City players: 1998 Steve Ogrizovic ENG 1 GK 30 Roland Nilsson SWE 23 RB 39 Gary Breen IRL 6 CB 38 Richard Shaw ENG 2 CB 40 David Burrows ENG 3 LB 42 Paul Telfer SCO 12 CM 39 George Boateng GHA 16 CM 19 Marcus Hall has 25 starts Gary McAllister SCO 10 CM 18 Noel Whelan has 25 starts Trond Egil Soltvedt NOR 14 AM 30 Dion Dublin ENG 9 CF 43 Darren Huckerby ENG 7 CF 37 References Category:Coventry City F.C. seasons Coventry City