1997–98 Dundee United F.C. season

March 2012 Dundee United 1997–98 Jim McLean Tommy McLean Tannadice Park Premier Division Seventh place Scottish Cup Quarter-finals League Cup Runners-up UEFA Cup First round Kjell Olofsson (18) Kjell Olofsson (23) 14,200 vs. Rangers, Premier Division, 9 May 1998 6,685 vs. Dunfermline Athletic, Premier Division, 6 December 1997 000000 FC6916 000000 000000 FC6916 000000 FFFFFF 000000 FFFFFF 000000 FFFFF0 FFFFF0 FFFFF0 000000 FFFFF0 1996–97 1998–99 The 1997–98 season was the 89th year of football played by Dundee United, and covered the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998. United finished the Scottish Premier Division 1997–98 season in 7th place with 37 points, in the final season before the revamped Scottish Premier League. Despite finishing 3rd in the previous season, 7th would be the club's best finish for the next six years. Summary Dundee United played a total of 49 competitive matches during the 1997–98 season.http://www.soccerbase.com/results2.sd?teamid=740&seasonid=127 Dundee Utd 1997/1998 results and fixtures Soccerbase 12 December 2007 The team finished seventh in the Premier Division, consigning Hibernian to relegation – and saving themselves – in the penultimate match of the season. In the cup competitions, United lost narrowly in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup to Celtic, although were soundly beaten by the same team in the final of the League Cup. In the UEFA Cup, United exited in the 1st round to Trabzonspor. Goalkeeper Sieb Dijkstra played every minute of the 1997–98 season (49 matches) The club reached the Final of the Youth Cup this season, playing Heart of Midlothian on 12 May at Tynecastle Park, losing 2–0. The squad from the semi-finals included future professionals Kevin McDonald, Paul Gallacher, Jim Paterson, Craig Easton and Stephen McConalogue. In addition, players such as Gareth Dailly, Barry Donachie, Steven Fallon, Paul McIlravey and Chris Devine played in lower league football. It remains the last time the club reached the Final, having played in three successive Finals between 1989 and 1991, winning in 1990 and 1991.http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scotland_matches.cfm?curpageid=522 SCOTTISH FA YOUTH CUP PREVIOUS WINNERS Scottish FA 1 July 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080630204107/http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scotland_matches.cfm?curpageid=522 30 June 2008 dead The club's playing kits were sponsored by Telewest for a second season. Season review Europe and early season United's season started in July, with a trip into the Pyrenees to play against CE Principat from Andorra in the UEFA Cup. United notched up an 8–0 lead in the first leg, with Robbie Winters and Gary McSwegan both scoring hat-tricks. The home leg was won 9–0, which left United just one goal short of Rangers' 18–0 aggregate score against Maltese team Valletta in 1983. The league started in August with Kjell Olofsson giving United a 1–1 draw with St. Johnstone at McDiarmid Park, before Gary McSwegan scored his 3rd hat-trick in 4 games in a 4–2 win over Queen of the South at Dumfries in the League Cup. After the successes of Olofsson, Pedersen and Zetterlund during the season before, manager Tommy McLean returned to Scandinavia several times during the course of the season to add to the squad. Thomas Tengstedt and Göran Marklund were the first two to arrive, but neither player would make an impact on the first team. The next round of the UEFA Cup saw United drawn against Turkish outfit Trabzonspor, with the away leg up first where United went down 1–0. United then drew 1–1 at home to Hibernian, before beating them after extra-time in the League Cup three days later. The next game in the League was against Rangers at Ibrox, where Marco Negri equalled Paul Sturrock's record of scoring five goals in one match, as Rangers won 5–1. Andy McLaren scored in the 2nd leg of the UEFA Cup tie against Trabzonspor at Tannadice, but the Turks scored again to win the tie 2–1 on aggregate and put an end to United's European adventure. United also drew 1–1 at Pittodrie against Aberdeen. Cup run September started with a surprise 1–0 win at Ibrox in the League Cup quarter-finals. United then lost the next three league games 2–1, with Kjell Olofsson scoring in each. During this time, Tommy McLean brought former Örebro defender Magnus Sköldmark to Tannadice after a spell in China, and former Dundee manager Jocky Scott was appointed as first team coach. The first match in October was a remarkable game against Dunfermline at East End Park, where United went 3–0 up in the first half in gale force conditions. But playing with the wind in the 2nd half, Dunfermline pulled it back to 3–3 and Dave Bowman was sent off. United then took on Aberdeen at Tynecastle in the semi-finals of the League Cup, where Robbie Winters scored twice and Craig Easton scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win to take United through to the final. This result saw United go on an unbeaten run, similar to the previous seasons run, as United beat Motherwell 4–0 at Tannadice in the next game. Robbie Winters scored his 5th goal in three games, and he scored again as Rangers visited Tannadice the following week, as United won 2–1 with Steven Pressley scoring from the penalty spot. This month saw Craig Easton win the Young Player of the Month award for October. Wins, a Cup Final and defeats Kjell Olofsson scored twice as United came from behind to beat Hibs 3–1 at Easter Road on the first day of November, and the manager bought yet another Scandinavian, with Mikael Andersson coming to Tannadice from Örebro. Aberdeen had failed to beat United since 1996, and their run got worse as United hammered them 5–0 at Tannadice with goals from Olofsson (2), McLaren, Zetterlund and Easton, with Dean Windass shown the red card three times before he left the pitch. Roy Aitken followed Alex Smith, Willie Miller and Alex Miller by becoming the next Aberdeen manager to be sacked following a defeat at the hands of United. After falling out of favour with manager Tommy McLean, midfielder Grant Johnson was transferred to Huddersfield Town after spending a few months out on loan. United showed their fighting spirit in the next match against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. After falling behind 1–0 and struggling to get back into the match, Mark Perry's scrambled equaliser sparked United into life and goals from Olofsson and McSwegan gave United their 6th straight win. Next up was the League cup final rehearsal, as United travelled through to Glasgow to face Celtic at Parkhead. a 4–0 hammering was not the best warm up for the Cup final the following week and also put an end to United's unbeaten run. Manager Tommy McLean then brought in former Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Siggi Jónsson but he would spend most of the season in and out of the first team due to injury. United made the journey through to the West again just a week later, this time for the League Cup Final, held at Ibrox due to restructuring works at Hampden. After five appearances in the final of this competition during the 1980s, this was the club's first League Cup final in 11 years, and thousands of Arabs travelled through for the club's first major final since the Scottish Cup win in 1994. The United fans were in fine voice and there was a carnival atmosphere at the stadium, but the game itself was a disaster, as Celtic won easily 3–0. Into December and United failed to score in their next three games, making it five games in a row without a goal. 0–0 draws against Dunfermline and Hearts at Tannadice was followed by a 1–0 defeat against Motherwell at Fir Park, but the side returned to winning ways with a 2–1 victory over St Johnstone at Tannadice with goals from Andy McLaren and Kjell Olofsson. The Christmas week match saw United travel through to Glasgow yet again, with another demoralising defeat, this time losing 4–1 to Rangers at Ibrox. New Year The first game in January saw United's first defeat by Aberdeen since 1995, with a 1–0 loss at Pittodrie, which was followed by a 1–1 draw with Kilmarnock at Tannadice where Robbie Winters scored for United. Winters scored again in the next match for his 16th goal of the season with the only goal of the game against Aberdeen at Tannadice, giving the team only their second win in 10 games. Kjell Olofsson scored as United were narrowly beaten 2–1 by Celtic at Tannadice, which was followed by a 2–0 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle. Another signing brought ex-Trabzonspor striker Jean Jaque Misse-Misse back to Tannadice on a short-term contract, after impressing Tommy McLean in the UEFA Cup match back in August, but he failed to impress further and was released a couple of months later. February started with a 1–0 win over Motherwell at Tannadice with Kjell Olofsson scoring his 15th goal of the season and United also saw off Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–2 in a Scottish Cup replay. Gary McSwegan scored twice in a 2–2 draw with Dunfermline at East End Park, before an Andy Dow own goal gave United a 1–1 draw with Hibs at Tannadice. Robbie Winters scored in a 1–1 draw with St. Johnstone which gave United a six-game unbeaten run during the month of February. The first match in March saw Celtic come to Tannadice for the 4th round of the Scottish Cup. A fantastic match saw Kjell Olofsson put United in front before Celtic went 2–1 up. Olofsson looked to have taken the tie to a reply with an equaliser, but a late Erik Pedersen own goal put Celtic through as United narrowly lost 3–2. After six straight defeats to Celtic in all competitions, a late Kjell Olofsson goal at Parkhead gave United a much deserved 1–1 draw in the league. The good result in Glasgow was followed by two bad ones, with 1–0 defeats against Hearts and Motherwell. The game at Motherwell saw Iain Jenkins and Julian Alsford make their debuts after arriving from Chester City. Tommy McLean would also bring in Emanuel Omoyimni, Wayne Gill and Óscar Valles – all on loan or short-term deals – but none would make an impact on the first team. Relegation battle April started with another 2–2 draw with Dunfermline, with Maurice Malpas and Kjell Olofsson scoring at Tannadice, which was followed by a 0–0 home draw with Aberdeen and a 1–0 defeat away to Kilmarnock. a 2–0 defeat at home to St. Johnstone meant that United had won only 3 in 22 League matches, and were now facing a tough relegation battle with Hibs with only two games to go, with Hibs being the next opponents. If United were to lose the match at Easter Road, they would have to take all three points from Rangers in the last game to have any chance of survival. With the League title yet to be decided, Rangers could still win the championship at Tannadice, so a United victory at Easter Road was vital. Kjell Olofsson yet again showed what a crucial part of the team he was as he scored twice as United fought back from 1–0 down to win the match, survive relegation and put Hibs down. The final game of the season in May was now not so important to United after their win over Hibs, but Rangers still had the chance of winning the League. Rangers won 2–1, but Celtic's 2–0 victory won them the League Championship, and stopped Rangers from winning their 10th title in a row. Fixtures and results All results are written with Dundee United's score first. Scottish Premier Division 1997–98 Scottish Premier Division DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 2 August 1997 St JohnstoneA1–16,592Olofsson 17 August 1997 HibernianH1–17,344Winters 23 August 1997 RangersA1–548,599Pressley 30 August 1997 AberdeenA1–112,060Winters 13 September 1997 KilmarnockH1–26,883Olofsson 20 September 1997 Heart of MidlothianA1–213,415Olofsson 27 September 1997 CelticH1–211,376Olofsson 4 October 1997 Dunfermline AthleticA3–35,829Winters (2), McLaren 18 October 1997 MotherwellH4–07,337Olofsson, Winters, McSwegan, McLaren 25 October 1997 RangersH2–112,335Winters, Pressley 1 November 1997 HibernianA3–111,110Olofsson (2), McSwegan 9 November 1997 AberdeenH5–07,893Olofsson, Zetterlund, McLaren, Easton 15 November 1997 KilmarnockA3–17,402Perry, McSwegan, Olofsson 22 November 1997 CelticA0–448,581 6 December 1997 Dunfermline AthleticH0–06,685 9 December 1997 Heart of MidlothianH0–010,402 13 December 1997 MotherwellA0–14,555 20 December 1997 St JohnstoneH2–17,342McLaren, Olofsson 27 December 1997 RangersA1–450,317Olofsson 3 January 1998 AberdeenA0–117,025 10 January 1998 KilmarnockH1–17,541Winters 27 January 1998 CelticH1–214,004Olofsson 31 January 1998 Heart of MidlothianA0–214,414 7 February 1998 MotherwellH1–06,532Olofsson 21 February 1998 Dunfermline AthleticA2–25,250McSwegan (2) 24 February 1998 HibernianH1–17,989Dow 28 February 1998 St JohnstoneA1–15,637Winters 15 March 1998 CelticA1–148,656Olofsson 21 March 1998 Heart of MidlothianH0–110,300 28 March 1998 MotherwellA0–15,012 7 April 1998 Dunfermline AthleticH2–27,769Olofsson, Malpas 11 April 1998 AberdeenH0–09,155 18 April 1998 KilmarnockA0–17,246 25 April 1998 St JohnstoneH0–28,045 29 April 1998 HibernianA2–113,413Olofsson (2) 9 May 1998 RangersH0–114,200 Scottish Cup 1997–98 Scottish Cup DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 24 January 1998 Third round AberdeenH1–011,488Winters 14 February 1998 Fourth round Inverness CTH1–18,770Olofsson 18 February 1998 Fourth round replay Inverness CTA3–25,821Olofsson, McSwegan, Zetterlund 8 March 1998 Quarter–finalsCelticH2–312,640Olofsson (2) Scottish League Cup 1997–98 Scottish League Cup 1997 Scottish League Cup Final DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 9 August 1997 Second round Queen of the SouthA4–22,438McSwegan (3), Thompson 20 August 1997 Third round HibernianH2–17,692Zetterlund, McSwegan 9 September 1997 Quarter–finals RangersA1–044,440McSwegan 15 October 1997 Semi–finals AberdeenN3–110,459Winters (2), Easton 15 October 1997 FinalCelticN0–349,305 UEFA Cup 1997–98 UEFA Cup DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 23 July 1997 First qualifying round 1st leg AND CE PrincipatA8–0700Winters (4), McSwegan (3), Zetterlund 30 July 1997 First qualifying round 2nd leg AND CE PrincipatH9–08,695McSwegan (3), Winters (2), McLaren,Olofsson, Zetterlund, Thompson 12 September 1997 Second qualifying round 1st leg TUR TrabzonsporA0–116,000 26 September 1997 Second qualifying round 2nd leg TUR TrabzonsporH1–110,232McLaren Player statistics During the 1997–98 season, United used 30 different players comprising 11 nationalities. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.http://www.soccerbase.com/squad_season.sd?teamid=740&seasonid=197 Dundee Utd 1997/1998 player appearances Soccerbase 14 December 2007 Premier Division Scottish Cup League Cup UEFA Cup Sieb Dijkstra GK Netherlands 36 0 4 0 5 0 4 0 Julian Alsford DF England 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Neil Duffy DF Scotland 7 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 Iain Jenkins DF Northern Ireland 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Maurice Malpas DF Scotland 31 1 4 0 5 0 4 0 Stewart McKimmie DF Scotland 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 Erik Pedersen DF Norway 32 0 4 0 5 0 4 0 Mark Perry DF SCO 32 1 4 0 5 0 4 0 Steven Pressley DF Scotland 29 2 4 0 5 0 3 0 Sigurður Jónsson DF Iceland 15 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Magnus Sköldmark DF Sweden 19 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 Mikael Andersson MF Sweden 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 Dave Bowman MF Scotland 19 0 1 0 4 0 4 0 Jimmy Crawford MF Republic of Ireland 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jamie Dolan MF Scotland 26 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 Craig Easton MF Scotland 29 1 1 0 4 1 1 0 Wayne Gill MF England 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ray McKinnon MF Scotland 9 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 Andy McLaren MF Scotland 27 4 4 0 4 0 4 2 Emmanuel Omoyinmi MF Nigeria 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 David Sinclair MF Scotland 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gary McSwegan FW Scotland 31 5 3 1 4 5 4 6 Göran Marklund FW Sweden 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jean-Jacques Missé-Missé FW Cameroon 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 Kjell Olofsson FW Sweden 32 18 4 4 5 0 4 1 |} Goalscorers United had 10 players score with the team scoring 78 goals in total. The top goalscorer was Kjell Olofsson, who finished the season with 23 goals.http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/History/1990s/1997-98/97-98page.htm 1997–98 Glenrothes Arabs 17 December 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20080511202610/http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/History/1990s/1997-98/97-98page.htm 11 May 2008 dead NameLeagueCupsTotalKjell Olofsson185 23Robbie Winters98 17Gary McSwegan512 17Andy McLaren42 6Lars Zetterlund24 6Steven Pressley20 2Craig Easton footballer11 2Steven Thompson Steven Thompson (Scottish footballer)02 2Maurice Malpas10 1Mark Perry Mark Perry (Scottish footballer)10 1 Discipline United had three players sent off and seventeen players received at least one caution, replicating last season's statistics. In total, the team received three red cards and 61 bookings.http://www.soccerbase.com/squad_season.sd?teamid=740&seasonid=197 Dundee Utd 1997/1998 player appearances Soccerbase 17 December 2007 NameCautionsDismissalsMaurice Malpas 7 1Erik Pedersen 6 1Dave Bowman David Bowman (footballer born 1964) 5 1Gary McSwegan 6 Jamie Dolan 5 Andy McLaren 5 Sigurður Jónsson Jonsson, Siggi 4 Mark Perry Mark Perry (Scottish footballer) 4 Magnus Sköldmark Skoldmark, Magnus 4 Lars Zetterlund 4 Sieb Dijkstra 3 Craig Easton footballer 2 Ray McKinnon Ray McKinnon (footballer) 2 Julian Alsford 1 Mikael Andersson Mikael Andersson (footballer, born 1972) 1 Steven Thompson Steven Thompson (Scottish footballer) 1 Robbie Winters 1 UEFA Cup statistics are not available Competitions League table DNU Transfers In Date Player From Fee 16 August 1997 SWE Göran Marklund Marklund, Goran SWE Vasalunds IF Unknownhttps://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=12200 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Göran Marklund 19 September 1997 SWE Magnus Sköldmark Skoldmark, Magnus China Dalian Wanda Freehttps://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=12360 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Magnus Sköldmark https://web.archive.org/web/20070930211116/http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=12360 30 September 2007 live 3 November 1997 SWE Mikael Andersson Mikael Andersson (footballer, born 1972) SWE Örebro SK Unknownhttps://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=13237 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Mikael Andersson 21 November 1997 ISL Sigurður Jónsson Jonsson, Siggi £75,000https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=13456 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Siggi Jonsson 3 January 1998 CMR Jean-Jacques Missé-Missé Misse-Misse, Jean-Jacques TUR Trabzonspor Freehttps://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=12486 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Jean-Jacques Misse-Misse 20 February 1998 NGR Emmanuel Omoyinmi ENG West Ham United Loanhttps://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=5993 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Emanuel Omoyinmi https://web.archive.org/web/20071001200103/http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=5993 1 October 2007 live 20 February 1998 IRL Jimmy Crawford Jim Crawford (footballer) ENG Newcastle United Loanhttps://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=1747 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Jimmy Crawford 26 March 1998 ENG Julian Alsford ENG Chester City £100,000http://www.soccerbase.com/players/home.sd?search=Julian+Alsford Glenrothes Arabs 26 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Julian Alsford 26 March 1998 IRL Iain Jenkins £100,000http://www.soccerbase.com/players/home.sd?search=Iain+Jenkins Glenrothes Arabs 26 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Iain Jenkins 31 March 1998 ENG Wayne Gill ENG Blackburn Rovers Loanhttps://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=2866 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Wayne Gill https://web.archive.org/web/20070930225149/http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=2866 30 September 2007 live Out Date Player To Fee 9 September 1997 SCO Marino Keith SCO Falkirk £40,000https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=9392 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Marino Keith https://web.archive.org/web/20071001224016/http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=9392 1 October 2007 live 15 November 1997 SCO Grant Johnson Grant Johnson (footballer) ENG Huddersfield £90,000https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=9391 Soccerbase 27 September 2007 The Internet Soccer Database: Grant Johnson 3 December 1997 SWE Mikael Andersson Mikael Andersson (footballer, born 1972) Released Free 13 March 1998 CMR Jean-Jacques Missé-Missé ZMisse-Misse, Jean-Jacques ENG Chesterfield Free References 30em September 2015 1997-98 Category:Scottish football clubs 1997–98 season