1997–98 Liverpool F.C. season

Liverpool
1997–98 season
Manager	Roy Evans
Stadium	Anfield
Premier League	3rd
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Semi-finals
UEFA Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Michael Owen (18); All: ; Michael Owen (23)
Highest home attendance	44,532 vs. Bolton Wanderers (7 March 1998)
Lowest home attendance	34,705 vs. Sheffield Wednesday (13 September 1997)
Average home league attendance	40,628
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The 1997–98 Liverpool F.C. season was the 106th season in the club's existence, and their 36th consecutive year in the top-flight of English football. In addition to the Premier League, the club also competed in the FA Cup, League Cup, and the UEFA Cup.

Season summary

Liverpool's season saw them feature regularly in the title race, though in the end they just couldn't get the better of champions Arsenal and runners-up Manchester United. But the real success of the season was the emergence of 18-year-old striker Michael Owen.^[1] The Chester-born youngster had impressed in a handful of appearances during 1996–97, but his impact during 1997–98 was outstanding—18 goals from 36 Premier League games, especially after Robbie Fowler was ruled out for much of the campaign with a broken leg. In midfield, the arrival of Paul Ince sought to add steel to a side creatively centred on playmaker Steve McManaman, but the team were at the peak of their Spice Boys era, and underachieved in the end, eventually finishing in third place – meaning that Liverpool would be challenging in the UEFA Cup for 1998–99.

Players

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	David James
2	DF	ENG	Rob Jones
3	DF	NOR	Bjørn Tore Kvarme
4	DF	IRL	Jason McAteer^[a]
5	DF	ENG	Mark Wright
6	DF	IRL	Phil Babb^[b]
7	MF	ENG	Steve McManaman
8	MF	NOR	Oyvind Leonhardsen
9	FW	ENG	Robbie Fowler
11	MF	ENG	Jamie Redknapp
12	DF	ENG	Steve Harkness
13	FW	GER	Karl-Heinz Riedle
14	DF	ENG	Neil Ruddock


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
15	MF	CZE	Patrik Berger
16	MF	ENG	Michael Thomas
17	MF	ENG	Paul Ince (captain)
18	FW	ENG	Michael Owen
19	DF	IRL	Mark Kennedy
20	DF	NOR	Stig Inge Bjørnebye
21	DF	ENG	Dominic Matteo^[c]
22	GK	ENG	Tony Warner^[d]
23	DF	ENG	Jamie Carragher
24	MF	ENG	Danny Murphy
25	MF	ENG	David Thompson
29	GK	USA	Brad Friedel

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
26	GK	DEN	Jørgen Nielsen
27	FW	SCO	Paul Dalglish
28	MF	AUS	Nicky Rizzo
30	MF	ISL	Haukur Ingi Guðnason
31	DF	WAL	Gareth Roberts
32	MF	WAL	Danny Williams
—	DF	ENG	Neil Murphy
—	DF	ENG	Stephen Wright


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	WAL	Eifion Jones
—	DF	IRL	Paul O'Mara
—	MF	ENG	Jamie Cassidy
—	MF	ENG	Steven Gerrard
—	MF	ENG	Adriano Rigoglioso
—	MF	WAL	Leyton Maxwell
—	FW	ENG	Jon Newby

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		UEFA Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	ENG	David James	37	0	27	0	1	0	5	0	4	0
29	GK	USA	Brad Friedel	11	0	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	ENG	Rob Jones	26	0	20+1	0	0	0	2	0	3	0
3	DF	NOR	Bjørn Tore Kvarme	30	0	22+1	0	1	0	2	0	4	0
5	DF	ENG	Mark Wright	7	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
6	DF	IRL	Phil Babb	20	0	18+1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
12	DF	ENG	Steve Harkness	31	0	24+1	0	1	0	3+1	0	1	0
14	DF	ENG	Neil Ruddock	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
20	DF	NOR	Stig Inge Bjørnebye	32	0	24+1	0	0	0	3	0	4	0
21	DF	SCO	Dominic Matteo	33	0	24+2	0	1	0	4	0	2	0
23	DF	ENG	Jamie Carragher	23	0	17+3	0	0	0	2	0	1	0
Midfielders
4	MF	IRL	Jason McAteer	26	2	15+6	2	1	0	3	0	1	0
7	MF	ENG	Steve McManaman	46	12	36	11	1	0	5	0	4	1
8	MF	NOR	Øyvind Leonhardsen	36	6	27+1	6	1	0	3+2	0	2	0
11	MF	ENG	Jamie Redknapp	26	5	20	3	1	1	3	1	2	0
15	MF	CZE	Patrik Berger	28	4	6+16	3	0+1	0	2+1	1	1+1	0
16	MF	ENG	Michael Thomas	13	1	10+1	1	0	0	1	0	1	0
17	MF	ENG	Paul Ince	40	8	31	8	1	0	4	0	4	0
19	MF	IRL	Mark Kennedy	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	MF	ENG	Danny Murphy	17	0	6+10	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
25	MF	ENG	David Thompson	5	1	1+4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
9	FW	ENG	Robbie Fowler	28	13	19+1	9	1	0	4	3	3	1
13	FW	GER	Karl-Heinz Riedle	34	7	18+7	6	1	0	2+3	0	1+2	1
18	FW	ENG	Michael Owen	44	23	34+2	18	0	0	4	4	3+1	1
Players transferred out during the season

Last updated: 15 May 1998
Source: Competitions

Goalscorers

Rank	No.	Pos	Name	Premier League	FA Cup	League Cup	UEFA Cup	Total
1	18	FW	Michael Owen	18	0	4	1	23
2	9	FW	Robbie Fowler	9	0	3	1	13
3	7	MF	Steve McManaman	11	0	0	1	12
4	17	MF	Paul Ince	8	0	0	0	8
5	13	FW	Karl-Heinz Riedle	6	0	0	1	7
6	8	MF	Øyvind Leonhardsen	6	0	0	0	6
7	11	MF	Jamie Redknapp	3	1	1	0	5
8	15	MF	Patrick Berger	3	0	1	0	4
9	4	MF	Jason McAteer	2	0	0	0	2
10	16	MF	Michael Thomas	1	0	0	0	1
10	25	MF	David Thompson	1	0	0	0	1
Totals				68	1	9	4	82

Competition top scorers

Competition	Result	Top Scorer
Premier League	3rd	Michael Owen, 18
UEFA Cup	Second round	Robbie Fowler Steve McManaman Michael Owen Karl-Heinz Riedle, 1
FA Cup	Third round	Jamie Redknapp, 1
League Cup	Semi-finals	Michael Owen, 4
Overall		Michael Owen, 23

Competitions

Premier League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Arsenal (C)	38	23	9	6	68	33	+35	78	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Manchester United	38	23	8	7	73	26	+47	77	Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3	Liverpool	38	18	11	9	68	42	+26	65	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Chelsea	38	20	3	15	71	43	+28	63	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round^[e]
5	Leeds United	38	17	8	13	57	46	+11	59	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[f]

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

^ McAteer was born in Tranmere, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in March 1994.
^ Babb was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1994.
^ Matteo was born in Dumfries, Scotland, but was raised in England from the age of four and represented them at U-21 and B level before making his international debut for Scotland in November 2000.
^ Warner was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally and would make his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in February 2006.
^ Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions. As they were also the League Cup winners, the UEFA Cup berth vacated was awarded to Blackburn Rovers.
^ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A
Result	D	L	D	W	W	D	W	L	W	L	W	D	W	L	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	D	L	D	D	L	W	D	W	D	W	D	L	W	W	L
Position	11	14	16	12	6	6	6	5	6	5	6	5	5	5	6	5	6	4	4	4	3	2	3	4	4	4	4	5	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3

Source: Premier League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed; = Leader, 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Group stage; = 1998–99 UEFA Champions League Second Qualifying round; = 1998–99 UEFA Cup First round; = Relegation to 1998–99 Football League

Matches

9 August 1997 1	Wimbledon	1–1	Liverpool	London
15:00	Gayle 55'		Owen 70' (pen.)	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 26,106 Referee: Gary Willard

13 August 1997 2	Liverpool	1–2	Leicester City	Liverpool
	Ince 85'		Elliott 1' Fenton 83'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 35,007 Referee: Jeff Winter

23 August 1997 3	Blackburn Rovers	1–1	Liverpool	Blackburn
	Dahlin 85'		Owen 52'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 30,187 Referee: Steve Lodge

26 August 1997 4	Leeds United	0–2	Liverpool	Leeds
			McManaman 23' Riedle 75'	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 39,775 Referee: Alan Wilkie

13 September 1997 5	Liverpool	2–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Liverpool
	Ince 55' Thomas 68'		Collins 80'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 34,705 Referee: Graham Poll

20 September 1997 6	Southampton	1–1	Liverpool	Southampton
	Davies 48'		Riedle 37'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,252 Referee: Peter Jones

22 September 1997 7	Liverpool	3–0	Aston Villa	Liverpool
20:00	Fowler 56' (pen.) McManaman 79' Riedle 90'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 34,843 Referee: Martin Bodenham

27 September 1997 8	West Ham United	2–1	Liverpool	London
	Hartson 16' Berkovic 65'		Fowler 52'	Stadium: Upton Park Attendance: 25,908 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

5 October 1997 9	Liverpool	4–2	Chelsea	Liverpool
16:00	Berger 20', 35', 57' Fowler 64'		Zola 22' Poyet 85' (pen.)	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 36,647 Referee: David Elleray

18 October 1997 10	Everton	2–0	Liverpool	Liverpool
	Ruddock 45' (o.g.) Cadamarteri 75'			Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 40,112 Referee: Mike Reed

25 October 1997 11	Liverpool	4–0	Derby County	Liverpool
	Fowler 27', 84' Leonhardsen 65' McManaman 88'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 38,017 Referee: Gary Willard

1 November 1997 12	Bolton Wanderers	1–1	Liverpool	Manchester
	Blake 84'		Fowler 1'	Stadium: Reebok Stadium Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

8 November 1997 13	Liverpool	4–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Liverpool
	McManaman 48' Leonhardsen 50' Redknapp 65' Owen 86'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 38,006 Referee: Steve Lodge

22 November 1997 14	Liverpool	0–1	Barnsley	Liverpool
			Ward 35'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 41,011 Referee: Jeff Winter

30 November 1997 15	Arsenal	0–1	Liverpool	London
16:00			McManaman 55'	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,094 Referee: Graham Poll

6 December 1997 16	Liverpool	1–3	Manchester United	Liverpool
	Fowler 60' (pen.)		Cole 51', 74' Beckham 70'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 41,027 Referee: David Elleray

13 December 1997 17	Crystal Palace	0–3	Liverpool	London
			McManaman 39' Owen 56' Leonhardsen 61'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 25,790 Referee: Neale Barry

20 December 1997 18	Liverpool	1–0	Coventry City	Liverpool
	Owen 14'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 39,707 Referee: Paul Alcock

26 December 1997 19	Liverpool	3–1	Leeds United	Liverpool
	Owen 46' Fowler 79', 83'		Haaland 84'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,854 Referee: Steve Lodge

28 December 1997 20	Newcastle United	1–2	Liverpool	Newcastle
17:00	Watson 16'		McManaman 31', 43'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 36,702 Referee: Gerald Ashby

10 January 1998 21	Liverpool	2–0	Wimbledon	Liverpool
	Redknapp 71', 84'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 38,011 Referee: Martin Bodenham

17 January 1998 22	Leicester City	0–0	Liverpool	Leicester
				Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 21,633 Referee: Steve Dunn

20 January 1998 23	Liverpool	1–0	Newcastle United	Liverpool
	Owen 17'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 42,791 Referee: Graham Barber

31 January 1998 24	Liverpool	0–0	Blackburn Rovers	Liverpool
				Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,890 Referee: Paul Durkin

7 February 1998 25	Liverpool	2–3	Southampton	Liverpool
	Owen 24', 90+4'		Hirst 8' (pen.), 90' Østenstad 85'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,550 Referee: Jeff Winter

14 February 1998 26	Sheffield Wednesday	3–3	Liverpool	Sheffield
	Carbone 7' Di Canio 63' Hinchcliffe 69'		Owen 27', 73', 78'	Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 35,405 Referee: Mike Reed

23 February 1998 27	Liverpool	1–1	Everton	Liverpool
	Ince 68'		Ferguson 58'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,501 Referee: Peter Jones

28 February 1998 28	Aston Villa	2–1	Liverpool	Birmingham
	Collymore 10', 65'		Owen 6' (pen.)	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,572 Referee: Graham Poll

7 March 1998 29	Liverpool	2–1	Bolton Wanderers	Liverpool
	Ince 58' Owen 65'		A. Thompson 7'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,532 Referee: Keith Burge

14 March 1998 30	Tottenham Hotspur	3–3	Liverpool	London
	Klinsmann 13' Ginola 49' Vega 80'		McManaman 21', 89' Ince 64'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 30,245 Referee: Uriah Rennie

28 March 1998 31	Barnsley	2–3	Liverpool	Barnsley
	Redfearn 37' (pen.), 85'		Riedle 44', 59' McManaman 90'	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 18,864 Referee: Gary Willard

10 April 1998 32	Manchester United	1–1	Liverpool	Manchester
	Johnsen 12'		Owen 36'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 55,171 Referee: Graham Poll

13 April 1998 33	Liverpool	2–1	Crystal Palace	Liverpool
	Leonhardsen 29' Thompson 85'		Bent 72'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,007 Referee: Graham Barber

19 April 1998 34	Coventry City	1–1	Liverpool	Coventry
	Dublin 47' (pen.)		Owen 33'	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 22,721 Referee: Neale Barry

25 April 1998 35	Chelsea	4–1	Liverpool	London
	Hughes 11', 78' Clarke 67' Flo 72'		Riedle 45'	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 34,639 Referee: Gerald Ashby

2 May 1998 36	Liverpool	5–0	West Ham United	Liverpool
	Owen 4' McAteer 21', 25' Leonhardsen 45' Ince 61'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,414 Referee: Jeff Winter

6 May 1998 37	Liverpool	4–0	Arsenal	Liverpool
	Ince 28', 30' Owen 40' Leonhardsen 87'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,417 Referee: Alan Wilkie

10 May 1998 38	Derby County	1–0	Liverpool	Derby
	Wanchope 63'			Stadium: Pride Park Attendance: 30,492 Referee: Steve Lodge

FA Cup

Matches

3 January 1998 3rd Round	Liverpool	1–3	Coventry	Liverpool
	Redknapp 7'		Huckerby 45' Dublin 62' Telfer 87'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 33,388 Referee: Mike Riley

League Cup

Matches

15 October 1997 3rd Round	West Brom	0-2	Liverpool	West Bromwich
			Berger 52' Fowler 89'	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 21,986 Referee: Alan Wilkie

18 November 1997 4th Round	Liverpool	3-0	Grimsby	Liverpool
	Owen 27', 45', 57'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 28,515 Referee: Roy Pearson

7 January 1998 Quarter Final	Newcastle United	0-2 (a.e.t.)	Liverpool	Newcastle
			Owen 95' Fowler 103'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 33,207 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

27 January 1998 Semi Final 1st Leg	Liverpool	2-1	Middlesbrough	Liverpool
	Redknapp 31' Fowler 82'		Merson 29'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 33,438 Referee: Gary Willard

18 February 1998 Semi Final 2nd Leg	Middlesbrough	2-0 (3-2 on agg.)	Liverpool	Middlesbrough
	Merson 2' (pen.) Branca 4'			Stadium: Riverside Stadium Attendance: 29,828 Referee: Paul Durkin

UEFA Cup

Matches

16 September 1997 1st Round 1st Leg	Celtic	2-2	Liverpool	Glasgow
	McNamara 53' Donnelly 74 pen.'	Report	Owen 6' McManaman 89'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 48,526 Referee: Graziano Cesari

30 September 1997 1st Round 2nd Leg	Liverpool	0-0 (away goals)	Celtic	Liverpool
		Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 38,205 Referee: Edgar Steinborn

21 October 1997 2nd Round 1st Leg	RC Strasbourg	3-0	Liverpool	Strasbourg
	Zitelli 20' 63' Conteh 69'	Report		Stadium: Stade de la Meinau Attendance: 18,813 Referee: Vitor Manuel Melo Pereira

4 November 1997 2nd Round 2nd Leg	Liverpool	2-0 (2-3 on agg.)	RC Strasbourg	Liverpool
	Fowler 63 pen.' Riedle 84'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 32,426 Referee: Rune Pedersen

References

^ Webster, Peter (23 March 2012). "Ranking Liverpool's 19 Premier League Seasons". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 10 February 2024.

External links

LFChistory.net

[2] McAteer was born in Tranmere, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in March 1994.

[3] Babb was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1994.

[4] Matteo was born in Dumfries, Scotland, but was raised in England from the age of four and represented them at U-21 and B level before making his international debut for Scotland in November 2000.

[5] Warner was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally and would make his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in February 2006.

[table_note_res_CHE0.77448005172167-6] Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions. As they were also the League Cup winners, the UEFA Cup berth vacated was awarded to Blackburn Rovers.

[table_note_res_UC10.77448005172167-7] Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

[1] Webster, Peter (23 March 2012). "Ranking Liverpool's 19 Premier League Seasons". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 10 February 2024.

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