1997–98 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa F.C.
1997–98 season
Chairman	Doug Ellis
Manager	Brian Little (until 24 February) ; John Gregory (from 25 February)
Stadium	Villa Park
FA Premier League	7th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Third round
UEFA Cup	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Dwight Yorke (12); All: Dwight Yorke (14)
Average home league attendance	36,137
	← 1996–97 1998–99 →

In the 1997–98 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the FA Premier League.

When Brian Little resigned as Aston Villa manager in February, Villa were 15th in the Premier League and were starting to look like outside bets for relegation.^[1] Ruud Gullit, recently sacked by Chelsea, was linked with the vacancy, but the surprise choice for the job was Wycombe manager John Gregory, a former Villa coach.^[2] He influenced a late run of form which saw Villa climb to seventh place, and for the second season running Villa qualified for the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking.^[3]

There were debut appearances for Gareth Barry (365), Simon Grayson (48), Stan Collymore (46), Darren Byfield (7), Richard Walker (6), Matthew Ghent, Paul Crichton and Lee Collins.^[4]

Final league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
5	Leeds United	38	17	8	13	57	46	+11	59	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[a]
6	Blackburn Rovers	38	16	10	12	57	52	+5	58
7	Aston Villa	38	17	6	15	49	48	+1	57
8	West Ham United	38	16	8	14	56	57	−1	56
9	Derby County	38	16	7	15	52	49	+3	55

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

^ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

Kit

Kit Supplier	Sponsor
<< Reebok >>	AST Computer

Transfers

Transferred in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Fee

13 May 1997	CF	Stan Collymore	Liverpool	£7,000,000
26 June 1997	RB	Simon Grayson	Leicester City	£1,300,000
27 November 1997	CM	David Curtolo	Västerås	£30,000
				£8,330,000

Record

Loaned in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Loan End

7 August 1997	GK	Paul Crichton	West Bromwich Albion	13 August 1997

Transferred out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Fee

1 July 1997	LM	Gareth Farrelly	Everton	£750,000
29 August 1997	CM	Andy Townsend	Middlesbrough	£500,000
1 September 1997	GK	Stuart Brock	Kidderminster	Free transfer
9 December 1997	RM	Scott Murray	Bristol City	£150,000
26 March 1998	DM	Saša Ćurčić	Crystal Palace	£1,000,000
				£2,400,000

Loaned out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Loan End

1 August 1997	CF	Neil Davis	Tranmere Rovers	23 August 1997
26 March 1998	LB	David Hughes	Carlisle United	26 April 1998

Overall transfer activity

Expenditure

£8,330,000

Income

£2,400,000

Balance

£5,930,000

Squad

First Team

#	Name	Position	Place of birth	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from	Date signed	Fee	Apps	Gls
Goalkeepers
1	Mark Bosnich	GK	Liverpool	(1972-01-13)13 January 1972 (aged 25)	Sydney Croatia	28 February 1992	Free transfer	169	0
13	Michael Oakes	GK	Northwich	(1973-10-30)30 October 1973 (aged 23)	Academy	1 July 1991	—	24	0
29	Paul Crichton	GK	Pontefract	(1968-10-03)3 October 1968 (aged 28)	West Bromwich Albion	7 August 1997	Loan	-	-
29*	Matthew Ghent	GK	Burton upon Trent	(1980-09-05)5 September 1980 (aged 16)	Academy	1 July 1997	—	-	-
30	Adam Rachel	GK	Birmingham	(1976-12-30)30 December 1976 (aged 20)	Academy	1 July 1995	—	0	0
31	Stuart Brock	GK	West Bromwich	(1976-09-26)26 September 1976 (aged 20)	Academy	1 July 1996	—	0	0
Defenders
2	Gary Charles	RB	Newham	(1970-04-13)13 April 1970 (aged 27)	Derby County	6 January 1995	£1,450,000	63	1
3	Steve Staunton	LB	Dundalk	(1969-01-19)19 January 1969 (aged 28)	Liverpool	7 August 1991	£1,100,000	225	15
4	Gareth Southgate (c)	CB	Watford	(1970-09-03)3 September 1970 (aged 26)	Crystal Palace	1 July 1995	£3,500,000	77	3
5	Ugo Ehiogu	CB	Hackney	(1972-11-03)3 November 1972 (aged 24)	West Bromwich Albion	12 July 1991	£40,000	176	10
14	Alan Wright	LB	Ashton-under-Lyne	(1971-09-28)28 September 1971 (aged 25)	Blackburn Rovers	10 March 1995	£1,000,000	104	3
15	Fernando Nélson	RB	Porto	(1971-11-05)5 November 1971 (aged 25)	Sporting	2 August 1996	£1,700,000	39	0
16	Simon Grayson	RB	Ripon	(1969-12-16)16 December 1969 (aged 27)	Leicester City	26 June 1997	£1,300,000	-	-
19	David Hughes	LB	Wrexham	(1978-02-01)1 February 1978 (aged 19)	Academy	1 July 1996	—	7	0
20	Riccardo Scimeca	CB	Leamington Spa	(1975-06-13)13 June 1975 (aged 22)	Academy	1 July 1995	—	22	0
21	Lee Collins	LB	Birmingham	(1977-09-10)10 September 1977 (aged 19)	Academy	1 July 1997	—	-	-
24*	Gareth Barry	LB	Hastings	(1981-02-23)23 February 1981 (aged 16)	Academy	1 January 1998	—	-	-
Midfielders
6	Andy Townsend	CM	Maidstone	(1963-07-26)26 July 1963 (aged 33)	Chelsea	26 July 1993	£2,100,000	172	11
7	Ian Taylor	CM	Birmingham	(1968-06-04)4 June 1968 (aged 29)	Sheffield Wednesday	21 December 1994	£1,000,000	96	9
8	Mark Draper	CM	Long Eaton	(1970-11-11)11 November 1970 (aged 26)	Leicester City	5 July 1995	£3,250,000	82	5
17	Lee Hendrie	RM	Solihull	(1977-05-18)18 May 1977 (aged 20)	Academy	1 July 1995	—	10	0
18	Saša Ćurčić	DM	Belgrade	(1972-02-14)14 February 1972 (aged 25)	Bolton Wanderers	1 July 1995	£4.000.000	25	5
24	Scott Murray	RM	Fraserburgh	(1974-05-26)26 May 1974 (aged 23)	Academy	1 July 1995	—	4	0
Forwards
9	Savo Milošević	CF	Bijeljina	(1973-09-02)2 September 1973 (aged 23)	Partizan	26 June 1995	£3,500,000	85	24
10	Dwight Yorke	CF	Canaan	(1971-11-03)3 November 1971 (aged 25)	Signal Hill	19 July 1991	£120,000	237	82
11	Stan Collymore	CF	Tittensor	(1971-01-22)22 January 1971 (aged 26)	Liverpool	13 May 1997	£7,000,000	-	-
12	Julian Joachim	CF	Peterborough	(1974-09-20)20 September 1974 (aged 22)	Leicester City	24 February 1996	£1,890,000	28	4
22	Darius Vassell	CF	Birmingham	(1980-06-13)13 June 1980 (aged 17)	Academy	1 January 1998	—	-	-
23	Neil Davis	CF	Bloxwich	(1973-08-15)15 August 1973 (aged 23)	Academy	1 July 1995	—	3	0
25	Darren Byfield	CF	Sutton Coldfield	(1976-09-29)29 September 1976 (aged 20)	Academy	1 July 1997	—	-	-
27	Richard Walker	CF	Bloxwich	(1977-11-08)8 November 1977 (aged 19)	Academy	1 July 1997	—	-	-

*squad number was re-used following a players departure.
Note: Stats and ages are correct as of July 1, 1997.

Results

Aston Villa's score comes first^[5]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 1997	Leicester City	A	0–1	20,304
13 August 1997	Blackburn Rovers	H	0–4	37,112
23 August 1997	Newcastle United	A	0–1	36,783
27 August 1997	Tottenham Hotspur	A	2–3	26,317	Yorke 27', Collymore 58'
30 August 1997	Leeds United	H	1–0	39,027	Yorke 67'
13 September 1997	Barnsley	A	3–0	18,649	Ehiogu 25', Draper 50', Taylor 72'
20 September 1997	Derby County	H	2–1	35,444	Yorke 72', Joachim 75'
22 September 1997	Liverpool	A	0–3	34,843
27 September 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	H	2–2	32,044	Staunton 32', Taylor 49'
4 October 1997	Bolton Wanderers	A	1–0	24,186	Milošević 12'
18 October 1997	Wimbledon	H	1–2	32,087	Taylor 45'
26 October 1997	Arsenal	A	0–0	38,061
1 November 1997	Chelsea	H	0–2	39,372
8 November 1997	Crystal Palace	A	1–1	21,097	Joachim 86'
22 November 1997	Everton	H	2–1	36,389	Milošević 37', Ehiogu 56'
29 November 1997	West Ham United	A	1–2	24,976	Yorke 47'
6 December 1997	Coventry City	H	3–0	33,250	Collymore 21', Hendrie 71', Joachim 85'
15 December 1997	Manchester United	A	0–1	55,151
20 December 1997	Southampton	H	1–1	29,343	Taylor 64'
26 December 1997	Tottenham Hotspur	H	4–1	38,644	Draper 38', 68', Collymore 81', 89'
28 December 1997	Leeds United	A	1–1	36,287	Milošević 85'
10 January 1998	Leicester City	H	1–1	36,429	Joachim 87'
17 January 1998	Blackburn Rovers	A	0–5	24,834
1 February 1998	Newcastle United	H	0–1	38,266
7 February 1998	Derby County	A	1–0	30,251	Yorke 90'
18 February 1998	Manchester United	H	0–2	39,372
21 February 1998	Wimbledon	A	1–2	13,131	Milošević 41'
28 February 1998	Liverpool	H	2–1	39,372	Collymore 10', 65'
8 March 1998	Chelsea	A	1–0	33,018	Joachim 51'
11 March 1998	Barnsley	H	0–1	29,519
14 March 1998	Crystal Palace	H	3–1	33,781	Taylor 1', Milošević pen 14', 35'
28 March 1998	Everton	A	4–1	36,471	Joachim 12', Charles 62', Yorke pen 72', 81'
4 April 1998	West Ham United	H	2–0	39,372	Joachim 76', Milošević 82'
11 April 1998	Coventry City	A	2–1	22,792	Yorke 5', 48'
18 April 1998	Southampton	A	2–1	15,238	Hendrie 6', Yorke 60'
25 April 1998	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–3	38,392	Taylor 57'
2 May 1998	Sheffield Wednesday	A	3–1	34,177	Yorke 21', Hendrie 25', Joachim 50'
10 May 1998	Arsenal	H	1–0	39,372	Yorke 37' (pen)

FA Cup

3 January 1998 (1998-01-03) R3	Portsmouth	2-2	Aston Villa	Portsmouth
15:00	Foster 6' 40'		Steve Staunton 41' Simon Grayson 88'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 16,013 Referee: Uriah Rennie

14 January 1998 (1998-01-14) R3R	Aston Villa	1-0	Portsmouth	Birmingham
19:45	Milošević 21'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 23,355 Referee: Uriah Rennie

24 January 1998 (1998-01-24) R4	Aston Villa	4-0	West Bromwich Albion	Birmingham
15:00	Grayson 4' Yorke 62' 64' Collymore 72'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,372 Referee: Neale Barry

14 February 1998 (1998-02-14) R5	Aston Villa	0-1	Coventry City	Birmingham
15:00			Viorel Moldovan 72'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 36,979 Referee: Gary Willard

League Cup

15 October 1997 (1997-10-15) R3	West Ham United	3-0	Aston Villa	London
19:45	Hartson 9' 81' Lampard 17'			Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 20,360 Referee: Stephen Lodge

UEFA Cup

16 September 1997 (1997-09-16) R1 L1	Bordeaux	0-0	Aston Villa	Bordeaux
20:30				Stadium: Stade du Parc Lescure Attendance: 16,800 Referee: Armand Ancion

30 September 1997 (1997-09-30) R1 L2	Aston Villa	1-0 (a.e.t.) (1-0 agg.)	Bordeaux	Birmingham
19:45	Milošević 111'}			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 33,072 Referee: Knud Erik Fisker

21 October 1997 (1997-10-21) R2 L1	Athletic Bilbao	0-0	Aston Villa	Bilbao
20:30				Stadium: San Mamés Attendance: 39,000 Referee: Hartmut Strampe

4 November 1997 (1997-11-04) R2 L2	Aston Villa	2-1 (2-1 agg.)	Athletic Bilbao	Birmingham
19:30	Taylor 27' Yorke 50'		González 70'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,915 Referee: Sándor Piller

25 November 1997 (1997-11-25) R3 L1	Steaua București	2-1	Aston Villa	Bucharest
19:45	Ciocoiu 30' 32'		Yorke 54'	Stadium: Stadionul Steaua Attendance: 24,000 Referee: Ľuboš Micheľ

9 December 1997 (1997-12-09) R3 L2	Aston Villa	2-0 (3-2 agg.)	Steaua București	Birmingham
19:45	Milošević 71' Taylor 85'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,102 Referee: Bernd Heynemann

3 March 1998 (1998-03-03) QF L1	Atlético Madrid	1-0	Aston Villa	Madrid
21:30	Vieri 42' (pen.)			Stadium: Estadio Vicente Calderón Attendance: 51,000 Referee: Stefano Braschi

17 March 1998 (1998-03-17) QF L2	Aston Villa	2-1 (2-2* agg.)	Atlético Madrid	Birmingham
19:45	Taylor 72' Collymore 74'		Caminero 28'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,163 Referee: Mario van der Ende