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Southampton F.C. 1997–98 football season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1997–98 Southampton F.C. season was the club's 97th season of competitive football, their 28th (and 20th consecutive) in the top flight of English football, and their sixth in the FA Premier League. It was the first season to feature Dave Jones as the club's manager – the first appointed by new chairman Rupert Lowe, who took over from Guy Askham at the end of 1996–97. The campaign was the Saints' best in the league since 1994–95, as the club finished 12th in the table after two seasons in which they avoided relegation by a single point. Outside the league, however, the club faired less positively – they were eliminated from the FA Cup in the third round after just one game, and only made it to the fourth round of the League Cup.
1997–98 season | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Chairman | Rupert Lowe | |||
Manager | Dave Jones | |||
Stadium | The Dell | |||
FA Premier League | 12th | |||
FA Cup | Third round | |||
League Cup | Fourth round | |||
Top goalscorer | League: Matt Le Tissier (11) Egil Østenstad (11) All: Matt Le Tissier (14) | |||
Highest home attendance | 15,255 v Tottenham Hotspur (25 October 1997) | |||
Lowest home attendance | 8,004 v Brentford (17 September 1997) | |||
Average home league attendance | 15,159 | |||
Biggest win | 3–0 v West Ham United (4 October 1997) 4–1 v Barnsley (8 November 1997) 3–0 v Blackburn Rovers (21 February 1998) | |||
Biggest defeat | 0–4 v Derby County (27 September 1997) | |||
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After taking over from Graeme Souness in June, Jones added two players from his former Stockport County squad: goalkeeper Paul Jones and left-back Lee Todd. He would continue to add new players throughout the campaign, including breaking the club's transfer record with the £2 million signing of striker David Hirst, as well as selling numerous players – many from Souness' tenure. After a poor start to the league campaign which saw them drop into the relegation zone almost immediately, Southampton's form began to pick up following Hirst's arrival in October. As a result, they picked up a number of key wins over high-profile opposition and climbed the table, briefly making it into the top half before finishing in 12th place, eight points clear of the drop zone.
Outside the league, Southampton were eliminated from the FA Cup at the first hurdle for the second season in a row, losing their third round tie to FA Premier League rivals Derby County 0–2 at Pride Park Stadium. In the League Cup, the Saints beat Brentford in both legs of their second round tie, progressing 5–1 on aggregate over a side who would be relegated to the Third Division that season. In the third round they won 2–1 against Barnsley, who had just been promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history (but would be relegated again at the end of the year). The club were eliminated in the fourth round after extra time by Chelsea, who would go on to win the competition after beating First Division promotees Middlesbrough in the final.
Southampton used 31 players during the 1997–98 season and had 11 different goalscorers. Matt Le Tissier finished as the club's top goalscorer for a second season in a row (and seventh and last time overall) with 14 goals in all competitions. Kevin Davies and Egil Østenstad finished just behind Le Tissier on 12 and 11 goals, respectively. New goalkeeper Paul Jones made the most appearances for the club during the campaign and won the Southampton F.C. Player of the Season award at the end of the year. The average league attendance at The Dell during 1997–98 was 15,159. The highest attendance was 15,255 against Tottenham Hotspur in the league in October and the lowest was 8,004 against Brentford in the League Cup in September.
Ahead of the 1997–98 season, Southampton changed managers for the fourth time in just three years, when Graeme Souness resigned on 24 May 1997 due to disagreements with the club's new chairman Rupert Lowe related to potential spending in the summer transfer window.[1] On the same day, the club's director of football Lawrie McMenemy also left, claiming that he "shared the frustrations" of Souness, while on-loan midfielder Eyal Berkovic – who was set to sign a permanent deal for the Saints – explained that he did not want to stay at the club without Souness.[1] The next day, the Southampton Independent Supporters Association launched a campaign calling for Souness to be reinstated as manager and the new board, led by Lowe, to resign.[2] A month after Souness' resignation, the club announced that Dave Jones, who had just helped Stockport County achieve promotion to the First Division and reach the semi-finals of the League Cup,[3] would be taking over as Southampton manager.[4]
Jones brought two players with him from Stockport County to sign for Southampton: goalkeeper Paul Jones, who had just played every game in Stockport's promotion-winning season, for £900,000,[5] and left-back Lee Todd, who had also been a prominent part of the same team, for £850,000.[6] His only other signing prior to the season starting was Norwegian striker Stig Johansen, who joined from Bodø/Glimt at the beginning of August for £600,000.[7] The next week, Jones made his first sale as Dutch centre-back Ulrich van Gobbel (who had signed for Souness' side just ten months earlier) was sold for £800,000 to club Feyenoord – a loss of £500,000 on his signing less than a year previously.[8]
Squad changes continued throughout the season. In September and October, respectively, midfielders Jim Magilton and Neil Maddison left the club after making over 350 appearances between them – Magilton rejected a new contract and moved to Sheffield Wednesday for £1.6 million,[9] while Maddison moved to Middlesbrough for £300,000, helping them to achieve promotion back to the FA Premier League.[10] The pair were replaced by two new signings: Kevin Richardson from Coventry City for £150,000[11] and Carlton Palmer from Leeds United for £1 million.[12] Similarly, up front, David Hirst came to Southampton in a club-record £2 million deal from Sheffield Wednesday,[13] replacing Mickey Evans who moved to West Bromwich Albion for £750,000 after just seven months at the club.[14] Further sales before Christmas saw midfielder Christer Warren sold for £50,000 to Bournemouth,[15] goalkeeper Dave Beasant loaned, then sent for free, to Nottingham Forest,[16] and Maik Taylor and Alan Neilson moving to Fulham for £800,000 and £250,000, respectively.[17][18]
In the new year, left-back Simon Charlton – having lost his place in the team to new arrival Todd and in-form Francis Benali – was sold to Birmingham City in the First Division after a month-long loan spell, for a fee of £200,000.[19] John Beresford was signed as his replacement from Newcastle United a month later, with Jones paying £1.5 million for him – a new club record fee for a defender.[20] Later in February, another left-back, Matthew Robinson, moved to local rivals Portsmouth for £50,000, having made just 17 appearances over a four-season career in the Southampton first team.[21] On transfer deadline day in March, Australian midfielder Robbie Slater joined Wolverhampton Wanderers for £75,000,[22] and the Saints signed Italian midfielder Cosimo Sarli from Torino, although he failed to make an appearance for the first team and was released the following February.[23]
Players transferred in
Name | Nationality | Pos. | Club | Date | Fee | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Jones | Wales | GK | Stockport County | 1 July 1997 | £900,000 | [5] |
Lee Todd | England | DF | Stockport County | 1 July 1997 | £850,000 | [6] |
Stig Johansen | Norway | FW | Bodø/Glimt | 6 August 1997 | £600,000 | [7] |
Kevin Richardson | England | MF | Coventry City | 9 September 1997 | £150,000 | [11] |
Carlton Palmer | England | MF | Leeds United | 23 September 1997 | £1,000,000 | [12] |
David Hirst | England | FW | Sheffield Wednesday | 17 October 1997 | £2,000,000 | [13] |
John Beresford | England | DF | Newcastle United | 6 February 1998 | £1,500,000 | [20] |
Cosimo Sarli | Italy | MF | Torino | 26 March 1998 | Free | [23] |
Players transferred out
Name | Nationality | Pos. | Club | Date | Fee | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ulrich van Gobbel | Netherlands | DF | Feyenoord | 14 August 1997 | £800,000 | [8] |
Jim Magilton | Northern Ireland | MF | Sheffield Wednesday | 9 September 1997 | £1,600,000 | [9] |
Christer Warren | England | MF | Bournemouth | 10 October 1997 | £50,000 | [15] |
Mickey Evans | Republic of Ireland | FW | West Bromwich Albion | 24 October 1997 | £750,000 | [14] |
Neil Maddison | England | MF | Middlesbrough | 28 October 1997 | £300,000 | [10] |
Dave Beasant | England | GK | Nottingham Forest | 3 November 1997 | Free | [16] |
Maik Taylor | Northern Ireland | GK | Fulham | 14 November 1997 | £800,000 | [17] |
Alan Neilson | Wales | DF | Fulham | 26 November 1997 | £250,000 | [18] |
Simon Charlton | England | DF | Birmingham City | 8 January 1998 | £200,000 | [19] |
Matthew Robinson | England | DF | Portsmouth | 20 February 1998 | £50,000 | [21] |
Robbie Slater | Australia | MF | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 26 March 1998 | £75,000 | [22] |
Players loaned in
Name | Nationality | Pos. | Club | Date from | Date to | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jason Bowen | Wales | FW | Birmingham City | 2 September 1997 | 29 September 1997 | [24] |
Players loaned out
Name | Nationality | Pos. | Club | Date from | Date to | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Beasant | England | GK | Nottingham Forest | 21 August 1997 | 2 November 1997 | [16] |
Simon Charlton | England | DF | Birmingham City | 5 December 1997 | 5 January 1998 | [19] |
Steve Basham | England | FW | Wrexham | 5 February 1998 | 26 March 1998 | [25] |
Stig Johansen | Norway | FW | Bristol City | 12 February 1998 | 6 March 1998 | [7] |
Ahead of the 1997–98 campaign, Southampton played eight pre-season friendlies. They started their pre-season preparations with a short German tour beginning in mid-July, during which they played five games against local opposition. After a 1–3 loss at Carl Zeiss Jena and a 1–1 draw with Ansbach, the Saints picked up two 2–0 wins over Niederauerbach (in which goals were scored by Jason Dodd and Ulrich van Gobbel) and Idar-Oberstein (in which goals were scored by Steve Basham and trialist Dirk Hebel), before losing the final match 2–4 against Kaiserslautern (Kevin Davies and Egil Østenstad scored for the visitors).[26] Back in England, the FA Premier League side lost 0–1 to First Division side Reading, before beating Luton Town of the Second Division 3–0 and Swindon Town of the First Division 1–0, with Østenstad scoring in both games.[26]
13 July 1997 Friendly | Carl Zeiss Jena | 3–1 | Southampton | Jena, Germany |
Le Tissier | Stadium: Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld |
20 July 1997 Friendly | Niederauerbach | 0–2 | Southampton | Zweibrücken, Germany |
Dodd van Gobbel |
Stadium: Westpfalzstadion |
23 July 1997 Friendly | Idar-Oberstein | 0–2 | Southampton | Idar-Oberstein, Germany |
Basham Hebel |
Stadium: Sportgelände Im Haag |
25 July 1997 Friendly | Kaiserslautern | 4–2 | Southampton | Kaiserslautern, Germany |
Davies Østenstad |
Stadium: Fritz-Walter-Stadion |
29 July 1997 Friendly | Luton Town | 0–3 | Southampton | Luton |
Evans Maddison Østenstad |
Stadium: Kenilworth Road |
2 August 1997 Friendly | Swindon Town | 0–1 | Southampton | Swindon |
Østenstad | Stadium: County Ground |
Southampton had a poor opening start to the 1997–98 FA Premier League campaign, losing their first two games against recently promoted Bolton Wanderers and reigning champions Manchester United and failing to score in either game.[27] After another loss, 1–3 at home to title challengers Arsenal, the Saints won their first match of the season when they beat Crystal Palace (another team recently promoted from the First Division) 1–0 at The Dell, with Kevin Davies scoring his first goal for the club.[27] Defeats at Chelsea and Coventry City saw the club drop to the bottom of the league table by mid-September.[28] After securing only their fourth point of the campaign with a 1–1 draw at home to Liverpool, the Saints lost 0–2 at home to Leeds United, before suffering their heaviest defeat of the campaign when Derby County – in their new Pride Park Stadium – thrashed the South Coast side 4–0, scoring all four goals in the last 15 minutes of the tie.[29] By the end of September, the club were still bottom of the table, already four points away from safety.[30]
The Saints picked up one of their season's three 3-goal wins at the beginning of October, beating West Ham United 3–0 at The Dell, with goals from Egil Østenstad, Davies and Jason Dodd coming in a single 15-minute spell early in the second half.[29] Another 0–1 loss at Blackburn Rovers followed, before the side fought back twice from trailing positions to beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–2, with new striker David Hirst scoring twice on only his second appearance since joining the previous week.[29] This started a short winning run of three games, which included a 2–0 away victory over Everton, who were also struggling in the bottom quarter of the table, and a 4–1 home win over Barnsley, who had been recently promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history.[29] Following these three consecutive wins, Southampton had risen from 19th to 14th place in the league table.[31] Three marginal defeats followed, however, as the Saints succumbed 1–2 at Newcastle United, 2–3 to Sheffield Wednesday, and 0–1 at Wimbledon.[29][32]
Mid-December saw Southampton beat Leicester City 2–1 at The Dell, with a 2nd-minute Matt Le Tissier opener followed by full-back Francis Benali scoring the first and only senior goal of his career, heading in a free kick from Le Tissier.[32] A 1–1 draw at Aston Villa followed just before Christmas, during which a late goal from a Le Tissier free kick was disallowed after being taken from the wrong position.[32] The Saints ended 1997 with another 1–1 draw, at Crystal Palace, followed by a 1–0 win over Chelsea,[32] after which they had climbed up to 13th in the FA Premier League standings.[33] This was followed at the beginning of 1998 by a repeat of the first two fixtures of the season – a goalless draw at Bolton Wanderers, in which the Saints played with ten men for almost an hour following Benali's dismissal, was followed by a 1–0 home win over back-to-back title hopefuls Manchester United.[32] Another convincing defeat at Arsenal was followed by a hard-fought 3–2 win over Liverpool in which Østenstad and Hirst both scored in the last six minutes to give the club their first win at Anfield since 1981.[32][34]
Securing their place around the mid-table area, Southampton secured another run of three consecutive wins starting in late-February: first, they beat top-four side Blackburn Rovers 3–0 at home, with Østenstad scoring twice; the next week, they beat another top-half side, Leeds United, 1–0 at Elland Road; and finally, they won 2–1 against Everton despite Ken Monkou being sent off after just 36 minutes.[35] After losing 3–4 at Barnsley, who were fighting for survival from relegation, the Saints picked up their penultimate win of the campaign over Newcastle United, winning 2–1 at The Dell thanks to a late Le Tissier penalty given for handball.[35] The side's form suffered during April, as they picked up just one point from four games in a "pulsating and totally absorbing" 3–3 draw at Leicester City, losing against Sheffield Wednesday, Wimbledon and Aston Villa in the other three games.[35] A final 4–2 win over West Ham United was followed by a 0–2 loss at home to Derby County and a final day 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.[35] Southampton finished the season in 12th place with 14 wins, six draws and 18 defeats, marking their highest finish in the league since 10th in the 1994–95 season under manager Alan Ball.[35]
9 August 1997 1 | Southampton | 0–1 | Bolton Wanderers | Southampton |
15:00 BST | Oakley | Report | Blake 43' Frandsen Thompson |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,206 Referee: Martin Bodenham |
13 August 1997 2 | Manchester United | 1–0 | Southampton | Manchester |
20:00 BST | Beckham 78' Irwin Keane P. Neville |
Report | Johansen | Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 55,008 Referee: Graham Barber |
23 August 1997 3 | Southampton | 1–3 | Arsenal | Southampton |
15:00 BST | Maddison 25' Monkou |
Report | Overmars 20' Bergkamp 57', 79', Bould Wright |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,246 Referee: David Elleray |
27 August 1997 4 | Southampton | 1–0 | Crystal Palace | Southampton |
19:45 BST | Davies 57' Magilton Todd |
Report | Edworthy Roberts Warhurst |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,032 Referee: Jeff Winter |
30 August 1997 5 | Chelsea | 4–2 | Southampton | London |
15:00 BST | Petrescu 7' Lebouef 28' Hughes 31' Wise 34' Sinclair 78' |
Report | Davies 25' Monkou 59', Hughes Neilson Williams |
Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 30,008 Referee: Alan Wilkie |
13 September 1997 6 | Coventry City | 1–0 | Southampton | Coventry |
15:00 BST | Soltvedt 65', Williams |
Report | Lundekvam | Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 18,659 Referee: Uriah Rennie |
20 September 1997 7 | Southampton | 1–1 | Liverpool | Southampton |
15:00 BST | Davies 48' Benali Le Tissier |
Report | Riedle 37' Kvarme |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,252 Referee: Peter Jones |
24 September 1997 8 | Southampton | 0–2 | Leeds United | Southampton |
19:45 BST | Davies | Report | Molenaar 36' Rod Wallace 55' Halle |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,102 Referee: Stephen Lodge |
27 September 1997 9 | Derby County | 4–0 | Southampton | Derby |
15:00 BST | Eranio 76' (pen.) Wanchope 79' Baiano 82' Carsley 83' |
Report | Davies Dryden Neilson |
Stadium: Pride Park Stadium Attendance: 25,625 Referee: Keith Burge |
4 October 1997 10 | Southampton | 3–0 | West Ham United | Southampton |
15:00 BST | Østenstad 54' Davies 65' Dodd 68' Richardson |
Report | Breacker Pearce |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,212 Referee: Mike Riley |
18 October 1997 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | Southampton | Blackburn |
15:00 BST | Sherwood 26' | Report | Monkou | Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 24,130 Referee: Gary Willard |
25 October 1997 12 | Southampton | 3–2 | Tottenham Hotspur | Southampton |
15:00 BST | Campbell 54' (o.g.) Hirst 67', 80' Palmer Slater |
Report | Dominguez 42', Ginola 65' Vega |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,255 Referee: Neale Barry |
2 November 1997 13 | Everton | 0–2 | Southampton | Liverpool |
16:00 GMT | Phelan Short Watson |
Report | Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 29,565 Referee: Alan Wilkie |
8 November 1997 14 | Southampton | 4–1 | Barnsley | Southampton |
15:00 GMT | Le Tissier 3' (pen.), Palmer 5' Davies 35' Hirst 54' Monkou |
Report | Bosančić 37' (pen.), de Zeeuw Moses Tinkler |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,018 Referee: Gerald Ashby |
22 November 1997 15 | Newcastle United | 2–1 | Southampton | Newcastle upon Tyne |
15:00 GMT | Barnes 55', 75' Albert |
Report | Davies 5' Hirst Lundekvam |
Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 36,759 Referee: Dermot Gallagher |
29 November 1997 16 | Southampton | 2–3 | Sheffield Wednesday | Southampton |
15:00 GMT | Hirst 48' Palmer 55' Davies |
Report | Atherton 28' Collins 69' Di Canio 84' |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,244 Referee: Steve Dunn |
7 December 1997 17 | Wimbledon | 1–0 | Southampton | London |
16:00 GMT | Earle 17' | Report | Palmer | Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 12,009 Referee: Mike Reed |
13 December 1997 18 | Southampton | 2–1 | Leicester City | Southampton |
15:00 GMT | Le Tissier 1' Benali 53' Østenstad |
Report | Savage 84' Keller |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,121 Referee: Stephen Lodge |
20 December 1997 19 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Southampton | Birmingham |
15:00 GMT | Taylor 64' | Report | Østenstad 72' | Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 29,343 Referee: David Elleray |
26 December 1997 20 | Crystal Palace | 1–1 | Southampton | London |
12:00 GMT | Shipperley 62' Fullarton |
Report | Oakley 39' Benali Hirst Lundekvam |
Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 22,853 Referee: Paul Alcock |
29 December 1997 21 | Southampton | 1–0 | Chelsea | Southampton |
20:00 GMT | Davies 16' Palmer |
Report | Le Saux | Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,231 Referee: Martin Bodenham |
10 January 1998 22 | Bolton Wanderers | 0–0 | Southampton | Bolton |
15:00 GMT | Report | Benali 30' Davies Dryden Palmer |
Stadium: Toughsheet Community Stadium Attendance: 23,333 Referee: Gary Willard |
19 January 1998 23 | Southampton | 1–0 | Manchester United | Southampton |
20:00 GMT | Davies 3' Dodd Le Tissier |
Report | Beckham Butt Giggs |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,241 Referee: Mike Riley |
31 January 1998 24 | Arsenal | 3–0 | Southampton | London |
15:00 GMT | Bergkamp 62' Adams 67', Anelka 68' Platt |
Report | Dodd Hirst Monkou Richardson |
Stadium: Arsenal Stadium Attendance: 38,056 Referee: Peter Jones |
7 February 1998 25 | Liverpool | 2–3 | Southampton | Liverpool |
15:00 GMT | Owen 24', 90' Fowler James |
Report | Hirst 8' (pen.), 90' Østenstad 85' Hughes Monkou Williams |
Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,550 Referee: Jeff Winter |
18 February 1998 26 | Southampton | 1–2 | Coventry City | Southampton |
19:45 GMT | Le Tissier 79' (pen.) | Report | Whelan 14' Huckerby 29' |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,091 Referee: Paul Alcock |
21 February 1998 27 | Southampton | 3–0 | Blackburn Rovers | Southampton |
15:00 GMT | Østenstad 19', 88' Hirst 78' Oakley |
Report | Broomes Hendry |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,162 Referee: Uriah Rennie |
28 February 1998 28 | Leeds United | 0–1 | Southampton | Leeds |
15:00 GMT | Report | Palmer 76' Le Tissier |
Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 28,791 Referee: Keith Burge |
7 March 1998 29 | Southampton | 2–1 | Everton | Southampton |
15:00 GMT | Monkou 36' Le Tissier 69' (pen.) Østenstad 86' |
Report | Bilić 68' Tiler 89', Hutchison Madar |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,102 Referee: David Elleray |
14 March 1998 30 | Barnsley | 4–3 | Southampton | Barnsley |
15:00 GMT | Ward 17' Jones 32' Fjørtoft 42' Redfearn 57' (pen.) |
Report | Østenstad 25' Le Tissier 41', 71' Lundekvam |
Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 18,368 Referee: Gerald Ashby |
28 March 1998 31 | Southampton | 2–1 | Newcastle United | Southampton |
15:00 GMT | Pearce 69' (o.g.) Le Tissier 85' (pen.), Lundekvam Oakley Palmer |
Report | Lee 46' Pistone |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,251 Referee: Graham Barber |
4 April 1998 32 | Sheffield Wednesday | 1–0 | Southampton | Sheffield |
15:00 BST | Carbone 78' | Report | Lundekvam | Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 29,677 Referee: Peter Jones |
11 April 1998 33 | Southampton | 0–1 | Wimbledon | Southampton |
15:00 BST | Lundekvam | Report | Leaburn 38' | Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 14,815 Referee: Mike Reed |
14 April 1998 34 | Leicester City | 3–3 | Southampton | Leicester |
19:45 BST | Lennon 18' Elliott 52' Parker 90' (pen.) |
Report | Østenstad 17', 27', Hirst 49' Lundekvam |
Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,708 Referee: Graham Poll |
18 April 1998 35 | Southampton | 1–2 | Aston Villa | Southampton |
15:00 BST | Le Tissier 19' | Report | Hendrie 6' Yorke 60' |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,238 Referee: Alan Wilkie |
25 April 1998 36 | West Ham United | 2–4 | Southampton | London |
15:00 BST | Sinclair 42' Lomas 82' |
Report | Le Tissier 40' Østenstad 63', 86', Palmer 80' |
Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 25,878 Referee: Dermot Gallagher |
2 May 1998 37 | Southampton | 0–2 | Derby County | Southampton |
15:00 BST | Benali 54' Le Tissier |
Report | Dailly 50' Sturridge 88'. Carsley Kozluk Laursen Wanchope |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,202 Referee: Mike Riley |
10 May 1998 38 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | Southampton | London |
16:00 BST | Klinsmann 27' Campbell |
Report | Le Tissier 21' Palmer |
Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 35,995 Referee: Peter Jones |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 | Leicester City | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 51 | 41 | +10 | 53 | |
11 | Coventry City | 38 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 52 | |
12 | Southampton | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 50 | 55 | −5 | 48 | |
13 | Newcastle United | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 44 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[a] |
14 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 44 |
Southampton entered the 1997–98 FA Cup in an away tie against fellow FA Premier League side Derby County, just over three months after a 0–4 loss at the new Pride Park Stadium in the league.[36] Kevin Davies created a couple of chances to score in the first half, but it was the hosts who came closest to breaking the deadlock through Francesco Baiano and others.[36] It took until the 68th minute for the first goal, when Baiano converted a penalty given for a foul on him by Carlton Palmer – Southampton club historians claim that Palmer "had not even attempted a tackle and no contact was made", crediting Baiano's "amateur dramatics" for gaining the spot kick.[36] Five minutes later, Chris Powell scored a second to put Derby through to the fourth round and eliminate the Saints at the first hurdle.[36]
3 January 1998 Round 3 | Derby County | 2–0 | Southampton | Derby |
Baiano 68' (pen.) C. Powell 73' D. Powell |
Benali | Stadium: Pride Park Stadium Attendance: 27,992 Referee: Gerald Ashby |
Southampton entered the 1997–98 League Cup in the second round against Brentford, who were struggling in the lower regions of the Second Division table. In the first game at The Dell, the FA Premier League hosts eased past the third tier side 3–1, with Ken Monkou, Kevin Davies and Micky Evans all on the scoresheet.[37] A 2–0 win in the return leg at Griffin Park – both goals scored in the first half by Matt Le Tissier – saw the club through.[37] An all-Premier League affair in the third round saw Southampton beat recent promotees Barnsley 2–1 at Oakwell, with Davies scoring a winner in the final two minutes after the game had been level for over an hour.[37] Another top-flight side, Chelsea, hosted the Saints in the fourth round. Davies opened the scoring shortly after the half-time break, but Tore André Flo equalised just ten minutes later.[37] With replays having recently been abandoned in the tournament, the tie went to extra time, when Jody Morris scored just before the end of the second period to put Chelsea through.[37]
17 September 1997 Round 2 Leg 1 | Southampton | 3–1 | Brentford | Southampton |
Monkou 37' Davies 60' Evans 69' Richardson |
Taylor 66' Hurdle |
Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 8,004 Referee: Gary Willard |
30 September 1997 Round 2 Leg 2 | Brentford | 0–2 (1–5 agg.) | Southampton | London |
McGhee | Le Tissier 31', 44', Davies |
Stadium: Griffin Park Attendance: 3,957 Referee: Paul Taylor |
14 October 1997 Round 3 | Barnsley | 1–2 | Southampton | Barnsley |
Liddell 26' | Le Tissier 15' Davies 88' Lundekvam |
Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 9,019 Referee: Jeff Winter |
19 November 1997 Round 4 | Chelsea | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Southampton | London |
Flo 61' Morris 118' |
Davies 52', Palmer |
Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 20,968 Referee: David Elleray |
Outside the league and cup competitions, Southampton played three additional matches during the second half of the 1997–98 season. The first was a friendly against Conference side Woking in January, which ended in a 1–1 draw (Kevin Davies scored for the visitors).[26] A second friendly, at Southern League side Dorchester Town, ended in a 2–0 win for the Saints through a David Hirst brace.[26] The final match took place two days after the end of the league season, against recently-crowned La Liga champions FC Barcelona. The Spanish hosts won the tie 4–0, with two goals from Iván de la Peña in the first half followed by second-half goals from Mario Rosas and Luis Cembranos.[38]
23 January 1998 Friendly | Woking | 1–1 | Southampton | Woking |
Davies | Stadium: Kingfield Stadium |
20 March 1998 Friendly | Dorchester Town | 0–2 | Southampton | Dorchester |
Hirst | Stadium: The Avenue Stadium |
Southampton used 31 players during the 1997–98 season, 11 of whom scored during the campaign.[39] 13 players made their debut appearances for the club, including eight of their nine first team signings (John Beresford,[20] Jason Bowen,[24] David Hirst,[13] Stig Johansen,[7] Paul Jones,[5] Carlton Palmer,[12] Kevin Richardson,[11] and Lee Todd[6]), one signing from the previous season (Kevin Davies[40]), and four players making the step up from youth to the first team (Kevin Gibbens,[41] Duncan Spedding,[42] Phil Warner,[43] and Andy Williams[44]). Five of these – Bowen,[24] Johansen,[7] Richardson,[11] Spedding,[42] and Todd[6] – also made their last appearances for the Saints during the campaign, as did mid-season departees Simon Charlton,[19] Mickey Evans,[14] Neil Maddison,[10] Jim Magilton,[9] Alan Neilson,[18] Matthew Robinson,[21] Robbie Slater,[22] and Ulrich van Gobbel.[8] New goalkeeper Jones made the most appearances for Southampton during the season, playing in all 43 games across all three competitions.[39] Matt Le Tissier finished as the club's top goalscorer for the seventh time in the last nine seasons, with 11 goals in the league and three in the League Cup.[39] Jones won the Southampton F.C. Player of the Season award in the 1997–98 season.[35]
No. | Name | Pos. | Nat. | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | Discipline | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | ||||||
1 | Paul Jones | GK | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2 | Jason Dodd | DF | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
3 | Lee Todd | DF | 9(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
4 | Carlton Palmer | MF | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 3 | 8 | 1 | |
5 | Ken Monkou | DF | 30(2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 34(2) | 2 | 6 | 1 | |
6 | Claus Lundekvam | DF | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
7 | Matt Le Tissier | MF | 25(1) | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 29(1) | 14 | 7 | 0 | |
8 | Matt Oakley | MF | 32(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 37(1) | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
10 | Egil Østenstad | FW | 21(8) | 11 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22(9) | 11 | 3 | 0 | |
12 | Richard Dryden | DF | 11(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
13 | Neil Moss | GK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
14 | John Beresford | DF | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
15 | Francis Benali | DF | 32(1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 35(2) | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
16 | Kevin Davies | FW | 20(5) | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3(1) | 3 | 24(6) | 12 | 6 | 0 | |
17 | Cosimo Sarli | FW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
18 | Kevin Richardson | MF | 25(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 30(3) | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
20 | Darryl Flahavan | GK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
21 | Andy Williams | MF | 3(17) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 4(20) | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
23 | Duncan Spedding | DF | 4(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 4(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
24 | Steve Basham | FW | 0(9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
25 | Stig Johansen | FW | 3(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 4(4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
26 | David Hughes | MF | 6(7) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7(7) | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
27 | David Hirst | FW | 28 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 9 | 3 | 0 | |
28 | Kevin Gibbens | MF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
29 | Phil Warner | DF | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Squad members who left before the end of the season | |||||||||||||
4 | Jim Magilton | MF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
9 | Mickey Evans | FW | 6(4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 1 | 8(5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
11 | Robbie Slater | MF | 3(8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 3(9) | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
13 | Maik Taylor | GK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
14 | Neil Maddison | MF | 5(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
17 | Simon Charlton | DF | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
18 | Ulrich van Gobbel | DF | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
19 | Alan Neilson | DF | 3(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5(5) | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
20 | Dave Beasant | GK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
22 | Matthew Robinson | DF | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
28 | Jason Bowen | FW | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rank | Name | Pos. | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starts | Subs | Starts | Subs | Starts | Subs | Starts | Subs | Total | |||
1 | Paul Jones | GK | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 43 |
2 | Jason Dodd | DF | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 41 |
3 | Matt Oakley | MF | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 1 | 38 |
4 | Francis Benali | DF | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 2 | 37 |
5 | Ken Monkou | DF | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 36 |
6 | Claus Lundekvam | DF | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 35 |
7 | Kevin Richardson | MF | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 3 | 33 |
8 | Egil Østenstad | FW | 21 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 9 | 31 |
9 | David Hirst | FW | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 30 |
Carlton Palmer | MF | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 30 | |
Matt Le Tissier | MF | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 30 | |
Kevin Davies | FW | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 6 | 30 |
Rank | Name | Pos. | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | GPG | |||
1 | Matt Le Tissier | MF | 11 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 30 | 0.47 |
2 | Kevin Davies | FW | 9 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 30 | 0.40 |
3 | Egil Østenstad | FW | 11 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 31 | 0.35 |
4 | David Hirst | FW | 9 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 30 | 0.30 |
5 | Carlton Palmer | MF | 3 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 0.10 |
6 | Ken Monkou | DF | 1 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 0.06 |
7 | Neil Maddison | MF | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.17 |
Mickey Evans | FW | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 0.08 | |
Francis Benali | DF | 1 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 0.03 | |
Matt Oakley | MF | 1 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 38 | 0.03 | |
Jason Dodd | DF | 1 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 0.03 |
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