The 1997–98 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the FA Premier League. It saw Arsenal lift their first league title since 1991 and, in so doing, became only the second team to win The Double for the second time.
It was Arsenal's first full season under French manager Arsène Wenger, who became the third manager to win the Premier League. Wenger followed in the footsteps of Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish and, while both Ferguson and Dalglish were Scottish, Wenger was the first manager from outside the British Isles to win a league title in England.
Season summary At the end of the 1997–98 FA Premier League season, a record total of nine English teams qualified for European competition.
Premiership champions Arsenal and runners-up Manchester United qualified for the Champions League, while UEFA Cup places went to Liverpool, Leeds United, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers. Qualifying for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup were Chelsea (as defending champions) and FA Cup runners-up Newcastle United. Crystal Palace, while finishing bottom, qualified for the Intertoto Cup.League tables and results for English football leagues, 1997–98 season. Retrieved 21 September 2006.
Manchester United led the table for most of the season, before a dip in form during the final two months of the campaign saw Arsenal overtake them in April, taking advantage of games in hand, and winning the league title with two away matches remaining, although the gap between the champions and runners-up was a single point in the final table as Arsenal lost their final two away fixtures and Alex Ferguson's men won both of theirs. Arsenal then completed the double by winning the FA Cup. Despite the sudden dismissal of FA Cup-winning player-manager Ruud Gullit, Chelsea won the League Cup and European Cup Winners Cup under new player-manager Gianluca Vialli.
The gap between the Premier League and Division One of the Football League was highlighted at the end of 1997–98 when all three newly promoted teams were relegated. Crystal Palace was confined to the bottom place in the final table, having won just two home games all season and losing most of their games in the second half of the campaign. Barnsley's first season in the top division ended in relegation, although they did reach the FA Cup quarter finals and knocked out Manchester United in the Fifth Round. Bolton Wanderers went down on goal difference, with 17th place being occupied by Everton: despite preserving top-flight football for the 45th season running, Howard Kendall quit as manager at Goodison Park after his third spell in charge.
Another mark of the gap was that the three relegated teams in the previous season took the top three places in the 1997–98 Football League. Had Sunderland not lost the play-off final to Charlton Athletic on a penalty shootout, the 20 teams from the 1998–99 Premier League would have been exactly the same as those in the 1996–97 Premier League.
Teams Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Bolton Wanderers (returning after a season's absence), Barnsley (playing in the top flight for the first time) and Crystal Palace (playing in the top flight after a two-year absence). They replaced Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest, who were relegated to the First Division after top flight spells of one, two and three years respectively.
Stadiums and locations
Team Location Stadium CapacityArsenalLondon Arsenal Stadium 38,419Aston VillaBirminghamVilla Park 42,573BarnsleyBarnsleyOakwell 23,287Blackburn RoversBlackburnEwood Park 31,367Bolton WanderersBoltonReebok Stadium 28,723ChelseaLondon Stamford Bridge 42,055Coventry CityCoventryHighfield Road 23,489Crystal PalaceLondon Selhurst Park 26,074Derby CountyDerbyPride Park Stadium 33,597EvertonLiverpool Goodison Park 40,569Leeds UnitedLeedsElland Road 40,242Leicester CityLeicesterFilbert Street 22,000LiverpoolLiverpool Anfield 45,522Manchester UnitedManchesterOld Trafford 55,385Newcastle UnitedNewcastle upon TyneSt James' Park 52,387Sheffield WednesdaySheffieldHillsborough Stadium 39,732SouthamptonSouthamptonThe Dell 15,200Tottenham HotspurLondon White Hart Lane 36,240West Ham UnitedLondon Boleyn Ground 35,647WimbledonLondon Selhurst Park 26,074
Personnel and kits A list of personnel and kits of the clubs in the 1997–98 FA Premier League. Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorArsenal Arsène Wenger Tony AdamsNikeJVCAston Villa John Gregory Gareth SouthgateReebokASTBarnsley Danny Wilson Neil RedfearnAdmiralOraBlackburn Rovers Roy Hodgson Tim SherwoodAsicsCISBolton Wanderers Colin Todd Guðni BergssonReebokReebokChelsea Gianluca Vialli Dennis WiseUmbroAutoglassCoventry City Gordon Strachan Gary McAllisterLe Coq SportifSubaruCrystal Palace Ron Noades Ray Lewington (caretakers) Andy LinighanAdidasTDKDerby County Jim Smith Igor ŠtimacPumaPumaEverton Howard Kendall Dave WatsonUmbroOne2OneLeeds United George Graham Lucas RadebePumaPackard BellLeicester City Martin O'Neill Steve WalshFox LeisureWalkersLiverpool Roy Evans Paul InceReebokCarlsbergManchester United Alex Ferguson Roy KeaneUmbroSharpNewcastle United Kenny Dalglish Robert LeeAdidasNewcastle Brown AleSheffield Wednesday Ron Atkinson Peter AthertonPumaSandersonSouthampton Dave Jones Matt Le TissierPonySandersonTottenham Hotspur Christian Gross Gary MabbuttPonyHewlett-PackardWest Ham United Harry Redknapp Steve LomasPony(no sponsor)Wimbledon Joe Kinnear Robbie EarleLottoElonex
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Nottingham Forest Stuart Pearce End of caretaker spell 8 May 1997 Pre-season Dave Bassett 8 May 1997 Everton Dave Watson 10 May 1997 Howard Kendall 10 May 1997 Blackburn Rovers Tony Parkes 1 June 1997 Roy Hodgson 1 June 1997 Southampton Graeme Souness Resigned Dave Jones 23 June 1997 Sheffield Wednesday David Pleat Sacked 3 November 1997 20th Peter Shreeves (caretaker) 3 November 1997 Peter Shreeves (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 14 November 1997 19th Ron Atkinson (caretaker) 14 November 1997 Tottenham Hotspur Gerry Francis Resigned 19 November 1997 16th Christian Gross 19 November 1997 Chelsea Ruud Gullit Sacked 12 February 1998 2nd Gianluca Vialli 12 February 1998 Aston Villa Brian Little Resigned 24 February 1998 15th John Gregory 25 February 1998 Crystal Palace Steve Coppell Promoted to director of football 13 March 1998 20th Attilio Lombardo (caretaker) 13 March 1998 Attilio Lombardo Resigned 29 April 1998 Ron Noades Ray Lewington (caretakers) 29 April 1998
League table
Results
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Dion DublinCoventry City18 Michael OwenLiverpool Chris SuttonBlackburn Rovers4 Dennis BergkampArsenal16 Kevin GallacherBlackburn Rovers Jimmy Floyd HasselbainkLeeds United7 Andy ColeManchester United15 John HartsonWest Ham United9 Darren HuckerbyCoventry City1410 Paulo WanchopeDerby County13
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Ref Coventry City Chelsea 3–2 (A) Blackburn Rovers Aston Villa 4–0 (A) 4 P Chelsea Barnsley 6–0 (A) Arsenal Leicester City 3–3 (A) Arsenal Bolton Wanderers 4–1 (H) Liverpool Chelsea 4–2 (H) Manchester United Barnsley 7–0 (H) Sheffield Wednesday Bolton Wanderers 5–0 (H) Chelsea Derby County 4–0 (H) Chelsea Tottenham Hotspur 6–1 (A) Everton Bolton Wanderers 3–2 (H) Blackburn Rovers Aston Villa 5–0 (H) Liverpool Sheffield Wednesday 3–3 (A) Blackburn Rovers Leicester City 5–3 (A) Coventry City Leeds United 3–3 (A) 4 Tottenham Hotspur Wimbledon 6–2 (A) Note: 4 Player scored 4 goals; P Player scored a perfect hat-trick; (H) – Home; (A) – Away
Awards Monthly awards MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthManagerClubPlayerClubAugust Roy HodgsonBlackburn Rovers Dennis Bergkamp ArsenalSeptember Martin O'NeillLeicester CityOctober Alex FergusonManchester United Paulo WanchopeDerby CountyNovember George GrahamLeeds United Andy Cole Kevin DaviesManchester UnitedSouthamptonDecember Roy HodgsonBlackburn Rovers Steve McManamanLiverpoolJanuary Howard KendallEverton Dion DublinCoventry CityFebruary Gordon StrachanCoventry City Chris SuttonBlackburn RoversMarch Arsène Wenger Arsenal Alex ManningerArsenalApril Emmanuel PetitArsenal
Annual awards
Award Winner Club Premier League Manager of the Season Arsène Wenger "Seasonal Awards 1997/98" . Retrieved 21 September 2006. Arsenal Premier League Player of the Season Michael Owen Liverpool PFA Players' Player of the Year Dennis Bergkamp"England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Players' Players of the Year". Retrieved 21 September 2006. Arsenal PFA Young Player of the Year Michael Owen"England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Young Players of the Year". Retrieved 21 September 2006. Liverpool FWA Footballer of the Year Dennis Bergkamp"England Player Honours – Football Writers' Association Footballers of the Year". Retrieved 21 September 2006. Arsenal
PFA Team of the Year Goalkeeper Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) Defence Gary Neville (Manchester United) Gary Pallister (Manchester United) Colin Hendry (Blackburn Rovers) Graeme Le Saux (Chelsea) Midfield David Beckham (Manchester United) Nicky Butt (Manchester United) David Batty (Newcastle United) Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) Attack Michael Owen (Liverpool) Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal)
Attendances Source:
No. Club Matches Total attendance Average 1 Manchester United 19 1,048,125 55,164 2 Liverpool FC 19 771,937 40,628 3 Arsenal FC 19 723,009 38,053 4 Newcastle United 19 696,762 36,672 5 Aston Villa 19 686,587 36,136 6 Everton FC 19 671,740 35,355 7 Leeds United 19 658,175 34,641 8 Chelsea FC 19 634,357 33,387 9 Tottenham Hotspur 19 553,731 29,144 10 Derby County 19 552,987 29,105 11 Sheffield Wednesday 19 545,423 28,706 12 Blackburn Rovers 19 479,804 25,253 13 West Ham United 19 476,428 25,075 14 Bolton Wanderers 19 462,693 24,352 15 Crystal Palace 19 417,673 21,983 16 Leicester City 19 391,689 20,615 17 Coventry City 19 374,722 19,722 18 Barnsley FC 19 350,412 18,443 19 Wimbledon FC 19 316,652 16,666 20 Southampton FC 19 288,013 15,159
See also 1997–98 in English football
References and notes
External links 1997–98 Premier League Season at RSSSF 1997/98 FA Premier League Review