1997–98 Aston Villa F.C. season

Main article: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present)
Aston Villa
1997–98 season
ChairmanDoug Ellis
ManagerBrian Little (until 24 February)
John Gregory (from 25 February)
StadiumVilla Park
Premiership7th
FA CupFifth round
League CupThird round
UEFA CupQuarter-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Dwight Yorke (12)
All: Dwight Yorke (14)
Average home league attendance36,137

In the 1997–98 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

When Brian Little resigned as Aston Villa manager in February, Villa were 15th in the Premiership 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

Main article: 1997–98 FA Premier League
Pos Team
 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:
  1. ^ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

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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 Sweden David Curtolo Sweden 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 Republic of Ireland Gareth Farrelly Everton £750,000
29 August 1997 CM Republic of Ireland Andy Townsend Middlesbrough £500,000
1 September 1997 GK Stuart Brock Kidderminster Free transfer
9 December 1997 RM Scotland Scott Murray Bristol City £150,000
26 March 1998 DM Serbia and Montenegro 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 Wales David Hughes Carlisle United 26 April 1998

Overall transfer activity

Squad

First Team

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

Main article: 1997–98 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

Main article: 1997–98 Football 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

Main article: 1997–98 UEFA Cup
16 September 1997 (1997-09-16) R1 L1 Bordeaux France 0-0 England 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 England 1-0 (a.e.t.)
(1-0 agg.)		 France 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 Spain 0-0 England Aston Villa Bilbao
20:30 Stadium: San Mamés
Attendance: 39,000
Referee: Hartmut Strampe
4 November 1997 (1997-11-04) R2 L2 Aston Villa England 2-1
(2-1 agg.)		 Spain 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 Romania 2-1 England 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 England 2-0
(3-2 agg.)		 Romania 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 Spain 1-0 England 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 England 2-1
(2-2* agg.)		 Spain Atlético Madrid Birmingham
19:45 Taylor 72'
Collymore 74'		 Caminero 28' Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 39,163
Referee: Mario van der Ende

References

  1. ^ "Little resigns from Villa". BBC Sport. 24 February 1998. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Ex-backroom boy gets Villa job". BBC Sport. 25 February 1998. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  3. ^ Aston Villa 1997/1998. WorldFootball.net. Accessed 2 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.
  5. ^ Soccerbase: 1997–98 Aston Villa results