1997–98 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

West Bromwich Albion
1997–98 season
Chairman	Tony Hale
Manager	Ray Harford (until 4 December) ; Richie Barker and John Trewick (caretaker managers until 24 December) ; Denis Smith (from 24 December)
Stadium	The Hawthorns
First Division	10th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Hughes (14); All: Hunt/Hughes (14)
Highest home attendance	23,013 v Nottingham Forest
Lowest home attendance	7,227 v Luton Town
Average home league attendance	17,004 (16,635 all competitions)
	← 1996–97 1998–99 →

During the 1997–98 English football season, West Bromwich Albion F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

In the first few months of the 1997–98 season, West Brom established themselves in the top six. Harford then stunned Albion supporters by moving to QPR after less than a year in charge, making way for Denis Smith,^[1]^[2] who struggled to maintain the momentum created by Harford, and the Baggies could only finish 10th.

Nigel Spink (24) became the oldest goalkeeper to appear for the club when, at the age of 39 years and 19 days, he kept goal in a League Cup tie against Cambridge United on 27 August 1997,^[3] a record since broken by Dean Kiely at 39 years, 189 days.^[4]

Final league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
8	Stockport County	46	19	8	19	71	69	+2	65
9	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	18	11	17	57	53	+4	65
10	West Bromwich Albion	46	16	13	17	50	56	−6	61
11	Crewe Alexandra	46	18	5	23	58	65	−7	59
12	Oxford United	46	16	10	20	60	64	−4	58

Source: Statto.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference

Results

West Bromwich Albion's score comes first^[5]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 1997	Tranmere Rovers	H	2–1	16,727	Kilbane, Hunt
16 August 1997	Crewe Alexandra	A	3–2	5,234	Hunt (pen), Hughes (2)
24 August 1997	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	1–0	22,511	Curle (own goal)
30 August 1997	Ipswich Town	A	1–1	13,508	Sneekes
3 September 1997	Stoke City	A	0–0	17,500
7 September 1997	Reading	H	1–0	15,966	Hunt
13 September 1997	Queens Park Rangers	A	0–2	14,399
20 September 1997	Swindon Town	H	0–0	16,237
27 September 1997	Bury	A	3–1	6,439	Peschisolido (3)
4 October 1997	Oxford United	H	1–2	15,889	Hunt
18 October 1997	Portsmouth	A	3–2	9,158	Mardon, Hunt (2)
21 October 1997	Nottingham Forest	A	0–1	19,243
25 October 1997	Sheffield United	H	2–0	17,311	Hunt, Hughes
1 November 1997	Bradford City	A	0–0	16,212
4 November 1997	Norwich City	H	1–0	13,949	Hughes
8 November 1997	Charlton Athletic	H	1–0	16,124	Hunt
15 November 1997	Port Vale	A	2–1	11,124	Hunt, Hamilton
23 November 1997	Birmingham City	H	1–0	18,444	Sneekes
29 November 1997	Middlesbrough	A	0–1	30,164
2 December 1997	Manchester City	H	0–1	17,904
6 December 1997	Stockport County	H	3–2	14,957	Sneekes, Hughes, Hunt
13 December 1997	Sunderland	A	0–2	29,231
20 December 1997	Huddersfield Town	H	0–2	14,619
26 December 1997	Reading	A	1–2	10,154	Kilbane
28 December 1997	Stoke City	H	1–1	19,690	Hunt
9 January 1998	Tranmere Rovers	A	0–0	8,058
17 January 1998	Crewe Alexandra	H	0–1	15,257
27 January 1998	Ipswich Town	H	2–3	12,403	Murphy, Flynn
31 January 1998	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	1–0	28,244	Hunt
7 February 1998	Swindon Town	A	2–0	9,861	Carbon, Evans
14 February 1998	Queens Park Rangers	H	1–1	20,143	Hughes
17 February 1998	Oxford United	A	1–2	9,412	Taylor
21 February 1998	Bury	H	1–1	15,840	Hughes
24 February 1998	Portsmouth	H	0–3	12,757
28 February 1998	Manchester City	A	0–1	28,460
3 March 1998	Charlton Athletic	A	0–5	10,893
7 March 1998	Bradford City	H	1–1	13,281	Burgess
14 March 1998	Norwich City	A	1–1	16,663	Hughes
21 March 1998	Port Vale	H	2–2	14,242	Flynn, Taylor
28 March 1998	Birmingham City	A	0–1	23,260
4 April 1998	Middlesbrough	H	2–1	21,620	Quinn (2, 1 pen)
11 April 1998	Stockport County	A	1–2	7,943	Hughes
13 April 1998	Sunderland	H	3–3	22,181	Hughes (2), Kilbane
18 April 1998	Huddersfield Town	A	0–1	11,704
25 April 1998	Sheffield United	A	4–2	21,248	Hunt, Hughes (2), Kilbane
3 May 1998	Nottingham Forest	H	1–1	23,013	Hughes (pen)

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	13 January 1998	Stoke City	H	3–1	17,598	Sneekes (2), Kilbane
R4	24 January 1998	Aston Villa	A	0–4	39,372

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 First Leg	12 August 1997	Cambridge United	A	1–1	3,520	Peschisolido
R1 Second Leg	27 August 1997	Cambridge United	H	2–1 (won 3–2 on agg)	10,264	Hunt, Sneekes (pen)
R2 First Leg	16 September 1997	Luton Town	A	1–1	3,437	Taylor
R2 Second Leg	23 September 1997	Luton Town	H	4–2 (won 5–3 on agg)	7,227	Raven, McDermott, Peschisolido (2)
R3	15 October 1997	Liverpool	H	0–2	22,986

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[6]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Alan Miller
—	GK	ENG	Chris Adamson
—	GK	ENG	Paul Crichton
—	GK	ENG	Nigel Spink
—	GK	SCO	Gary Germaine^{[notes 1]}
—	DF	ENG	Paul Holmes
—	DF	WAL	Paul Mardon^{[notes 2]}
—	DF	ENG	Matt Carbon
—	DF	ENG	Daryl Burgess
—	DF	ENG	Shane Nicholson
—	MF	IRL	Kevin Kilbane^{[notes 3]}
—	MF	NED	Richard Sneekes
—	MF	ENG	Peter Butler
—	MF	ENG	Ian Hamilton
—	MF	ENG	Sean Flynn
—	FW	ENG	Andy Hunt
—	FW	ENG	Lee Hughes
—	MF	ENG	David Smith
—	DF	AUS	Shaun Murphy


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	AUS	Andy McDermott
—	FW	NIR	James Quinn^{[notes 4]}
—	FW	ENG	Bob Taylor
—	DF	SCO	Steve Nicol
—	DF	ENG	Paul Raven
—	DF	AUS	Jason van Blerk
—	DF	ENG	Paul Beesley (on loan from Manchester City)
—	MF	ENG	Stacy Coldicott
—	DF	ENG	Tony Dobson
—	FW	CAN	Paul Peschisolido
—	DF	ENG	Graham Potter
—	FW	IRL	Mickey Evans^{[notes 5]}
—	FW	ENG	Franz Carr
—	FW	WAL	James Thomas (on loan from Blackburn Rovers)
—	FW	SKN	Brian Quailey^{[notes 6]}
—	MF	ENG	Dave Gilbert
—	MF	ENG	Dean Bennett
—	FW	ENG	Michael Rodosthenous
—	GK	ENG	Neil Wypior

Notes

^ Germaine was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and represented them at U-21 level.
^ Mardon was born in Bristol, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in October 1995.
^ Kilbane was born in Preston, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his parents and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for Republic of Ireland in September 1997.
^ Quinn was born in Coventry, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1996.
^ Evans was born in Plymouth, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in October 1997.
^ Quailey was born in Leicester, England, but also qualified to represent Saint Kitts and Nevis internationally and represented them at U-23 level.

References

^ Irwin, Mark (4 December 1997). "QPR's Harf measure". The Free Library. The Mirror. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
^ Moore, David (24 December 1997). "Football: Albion job for Smith". The Free Library. The Mirror. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
^ Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Breedon Books. pp. 220–221. ISBN 1-85983-474-4.
^ "Games played by Dean Kiely in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
^ "West Bromwich Albion results for the 1997-1998 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
^ "All West Bromwich Albion players: 1998".

[7] Germaine was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and represented them at U-21 level.

[8] Mardon was born in Bristol, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in October 1995.

[9] Kilbane was born in Preston, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his parents and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for Republic of Ireland in September 1997.

[10] Quinn was born in Coventry, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1996.

[11] Evans was born in Plymouth, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in October 1997.

[12] Quailey was born in Leicester, England, but also qualified to represent Saint Kitts and Nevis internationally and represented them at U-23 level.

[1] Irwin, Mark (4 December 1997). "QPR's Harf measure". The Free Library. The Mirror. Retrieved 18 September 2013.

[2] Moore, David (24 December 1997). "Football: Albion job for Smith". The Free Library. The Mirror. Retrieved 18 September 2013.

[WBA_Whos_Who-3] Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Breedon Books. pp. 220–221. ISBN 1-85983-474-4.

[4] "Games played by Dean Kiely in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 March 2013.

[5] "West Bromwich Albion results for the 1997-1998 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2013.

[6] "All West Bromwich Albion players: 1998".

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