Bolton Wanderers
1997–98 season
ChairmanGordon Hargreaves
ManagerColin Todd
StadiumReebok Stadium
Premiership18th (relegated)
FA Cup3rd Round
League Cup4th Round
Top goalscorerLeague: Blake (12)
All: Blake (14)
Highest home attendance25,000, multiple occasions
Lowest home attendance6,444 v Leyton Orient, 30 September 1997
Average home league attendance24,352

The 1997–1998 season was the 119th season in Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s existence, and their first season back in the Premier League after winning the Football League First Division the previous season. It covers the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998. After 102 years playing at Burnden Park, the club had moved to the new Reebok Stadium.[1]

Season summary

In their new 27,000-seat stadium, Bolton Wanderers began the season as the strongest-looking of the newly promoted side, particularly after paying a club record fee of £3.5 million for Wimbledon striker Dean Holdsworth and holding Manchester United to a 0–0 draw. But it was a season-long struggle for Colin Todd and his men, who lost their battle on the final day of the season and occupied the final relegation place – on goal difference – to complete a hat-trick of newly promoted clubs suffering relegation. Controversially Bolton had a goal against Everton disallowed in the belief that the ball had not crossed the line after crashing down off the Everton crossbar. Television replays showed the ball had indeed crossed the line. The game finished goal-less and the two sides finished level on points with Everton surviving on their superior goal difference. Bolton fans complained bitterly that the goal and resulting 1–0 win would have kept them in the Premier League at Everton's expense. Everton fans countered by pointing to Bolton's inability to hold onto a lead during the season while Everton had a good record of coming from behind to draw or even win against their fellow strugglers. With an hour to play it is impossible to say with any degree of confidence that Bolton would indeed have been able to hold on to their goal lead.

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
16 Sheffield Wednesday 38 12 8 18 52 67 −15 44
17 Everton 38 9 13 16 41 56 −15 40
18 Bolton Wanderers (R) 38 9 13 16 41 61 −20 40 Relegation to the Football League First Division
19 Barnsley (R) 38 10 5 23 37 82 −45 35
20 Crystal Palace[lower-alpha 1] (R) 38 8 9 21 37 71 −34 33 Intertoto Cup third round and relegation to the First Division
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ Crystal Palace qualified for the 1998 Intertoto Cup as they were the only English team who applied.
    Results summary
    OverallHomeAway
    PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
    38 9 13 16 41 61  −20 40 7 8 4 25 22  +3 2 5 12 16 39  −23
    Results by round
    Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
    GroundAAAHAHHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHHAHAHAHA
    ResultWDLDLDDDLLWDLDWWLDLDLDLLDDLLWWLDWLLWWL
    Position58131216161617171817171818181314161716171819191918191919191918181819181718
    Source: 11v11.com: 1997-98 Bolton Wanderers results
    A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

    Results

    FA Premier League

    Date Opponents H / A Result

    F – A

    		 Scorers Attendance
    9 August 1997 Southampton A 1 – 0 Blake 43' 15,206
    23 August 1997 Coventry City A 2 – 2 Blake (2) 69', 76' 16,633
    27 August 1997 Barnsley A 1 – 2 Beardsley 31' 18,661
    1 September 1997 Everton H 0 – 0 23,131
    13 September 1997 Arsenal A 1 – 4 Thompson 13' 38,138
    20 September 1997 Manchester United H 0 – 0 25,000
    23 September 1997 Tottenham Hotspur H 1 – 1 Thompson 20' (pen) 23,433
    27 September 1997 Crystal Palace A 2 – 2 Beardsley 36', Johansen 66' 17,134
    4 October 1997 Aston Villa H 0 – 1 24,186
    18 October 1997 West Ham United A 0 – 3 24,864
    26 October 1997 Chelsea H 1 – 0 Holdsworth 72' 24,080
    1 November 1997 Liverpool H 1 – 1 Blake 84' 25,000
    8 November 1997 Sheffield Wednesday A 0 – 5 25,027
    22 November 1997 Leicester City A 0 – 0 20,464
    29 November 1997 Wimbledon H 1 – 0 Blake 89' 22,703
    1 December 1997 Newcastle United H 1 – 0 Blake 22' 24,494
    6 December 1997 Blackburn Rovers A 1 – 3 Frandsen 84' 25,503
    14 December 1997 Derby County H 3 – 3 Thompson 50' (pen), Blake 73', Pollock 77' 23, 037
    20 December 1997 Leeds United A 0 – 2 31,163
    26 December 1997 Barnsley H 1 – 1 Bergsson 38' 25,000
    28 December 1997 Everton A 2 – 3 Bergsson 42', Sellars 43' 37,149
    10 January 1998 Southampton H 0 – 0 23,333
    17 January 1998 Newcastle United A 1 – 2 Blake 72' 36,767
    31 January 1998 Coventry City H 1 – 5 Sellars 21' 25,000
    7 February 1998 Manchester United A 1 – 1 B.Taylor 60' 55,156
    21 February 1998 West Ham United H 1 – 1 Blake 86' 25,000
    1 March 1998 Tottenham Hotspur A 0 – 1 29,032
    8 March 1998 Liverpool A 1 – 2 Thompson 7' 44,532
    14 March 1998 Sheffield Wednesday H 3 – 2 Frandsen 31', Blake 53', Thompson 69' (pen) 24,847
    28 March 1998 Leicester City H 2 – 0 Thompson (2) 52', 89' 25,000
    31 March 1998 Arsenal H 0 – 1 25,000
    4 April 1998 Wimbledon A 0 – 0 11,356
    11 April 1998 Blackburn Rovers H 2 – 1 Holdsworth 20', B. Taylor 67' 25,000
    13 April 1998 Derby County A 0 – 4 29,126
    18 April 1998 Leeds United H 2 – 3 Thompson 56', Fish 89' 25,000
    25 April 1998 Aston Villa A 3 – 1 Cox 18', B.Taylor 41', Blake 84' 38,392
    2 May 1998 Crystal Palace H 5 – 2 Blake 7', Fish 20', Phillips 30', Thompson 70', Holdsworth 79' 24,449
    10 May 1998 Chelsea A 0 – 2 34,845

    FA Cup

    Date Round Opponents H / A Result

    F – A

    		 Scorers Attendance
    3 January 1998 Round 3 Barnsley A 0 – 1 15,042

    Coca-Cola Cup

    Date Round Opponents H / A Result

    F – A

    		 Scorers Attendance
    16 September 1997 Round 2 First Leg Leyton Orient A 3 – 1 Todd 13', Frandsen 20', McGinlay 79' 4,128
    30 September 1997 Round 2 Second Leg Leyton Orient H 4 – 4 (aet)
    7 – 5 (agg)    		 Blake (2) 8' 35', McGinlay 65' (pen), Gunnlaugsson 66' 6,444
    14 October 1997 Round 3 Wimbledon H 2 – 0 (aet) Pollock 91', McAllister 94' (og) 9,875
    18 November 1997 Round 4 Middlesbrough A 1 – 2 (aet) Thompson 33' 22,801

    Transfers

    Transfers in

    Player From Date Fee
    England Robbie ElliottEngland Newcastle United1 July 1997£2,500,000
    Iceland Arnar GunnlaugssonIceland IA Akranes10 July 1997£100,000
    England Peter BeardsleyEngland Newcastle United18 August 1997£450,000
    South Africa Mark FishItaly Lazio19 September 1997£2,000,000
    England Mike WhitlowEngland Leicester City19 September 1997£500,000
    England Dean HoldsworthEngland Wimbledon2 October 1997£3,500,000
    Finland Jussi JääskeläinenFinland VPS Vaasa11 November 1997£100,000

    Transfers out

    Player To Date Fee
    England Scott GreenEngland Wigan Athletic1 July 1997£300,000
    England David LeeEngland Wigan Athletic14 July 1997£250,000
    Finland Mixu PaatelainenEngland Wolverhampton Wanderers8 August 1997£200,000
    Scotland John McGinlayEngland Bradford City6 November 1997£625,000
    Scotland Steve McAnespieEngland Fulham27 November 1997£100,000
    England Simon ColemanEngland Southend20 February 1998Free
    England Jamie PollockEngland Manchester City20 March 1998£1,000,000
    England Alan ThompsonEngland Aston Villa5 June 1998£4,500,000

    Loans in

    Player From Date From Date To
    England Franz CarrItaly Reggiana24 October 199728 January 1998
    England Bob TaylorEngland West Bromwich Albion9 January 19989 February 1998
    Switzerland Gaetano GiallanzaFrance Nantes26 March 199831 May 1998
    England John SalakoEngland Coventry City26 March 199831 May 1998
    England Bob TaylorEngland West Bromwich Albion26 March 199831 May 1998

    Loans out

    Player To Date From Date To
    England Simon ColemanEngland Wolverhampton Wanderers2 September 19972 October 1997
    England Bryan SmallEngland Luton Town8 September 199712 December 1997
    England Greg StrongEngland Blackpool21 November 199710 February 1998
    England Scott TaylorEngland Rotherham United12 December 19977 February 1998
    England Bryan SmallEngland Bradford City19 December 199717 January 1998
    England Bryan SmallEngland Bury30 January 199831 May 1998
    England Peter BeardsleyEngland Manchester City17 February 199811 March 1998
    England Peter BeardsleyEngland Fulham26 March 199831 May 1998
    England Scott TaylorEngland Blackpool26 March 199826 April 1998

    Appearances

    Bolton used a total of 29 players during the season.

    P Player Position PL FAC LC Total
    1 Denmark Per Frandsen Midfielder 38 (0) 1 (0) 4 (0) 43 (0)
    2 Wales Nathan Blake Striker 35 (0) 1 (0) 3 (0) 39 (0)
    3 Iceland Guðni Bergsson (captain) Defender 34 (1) 1 (0) 3 (0) 38 (1)
    4 England Alan Thompson Midfielder 33 (0) 1 (0) 4 (0) 38 (0)
    5 Republic of Ireland Keith Branagan Goalkeeper 34 (0) 0 (0) 3 (0) 37 (0)
    6 England Jamie Pollock Midfielder 25 (1) 1 (0) 4 (0) 30 (1)
    7 England Andy Todd Defender 23 (2) 1 (0) 4 (0) 28 (2)
    8 England Scott Sellars Midfielder 22 (0) 1 (0) 3 (0) 26 (0)
    9 South Africa Mark Fish Defender 22 (0) 1 (0) 1 (0) 24 (0)
    10 England Jimmy Phillips Defender 21 (1) 0 (0) 1 (1) 22 (2)
    11 England Neil Cox Defender 20 (1) 0 (1) 0 (0) 20(2)
    12 England Peter Beardsley Striker 14 (3) 0 (1) 3 (0) 17 (4)
    13 England Dean Holdsworth Striker 17 (3) 0 (0) 0 (0) 17 (3)
    14 England Mike Whitlow Defender 13 (0) 1 (0) 3 (0) 16 (0)
    15 Northern Ireland Gerry Taggart Defender 14 (1) 0 (0) 1 (0) 15 (1)
    16 England John Sheridan Midfielder 12 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 12 (0)
    17 England Bob Taylor Striker 10 (2) 0 (0) 0 (0) 10 (2)
    18 England Chris Fairclough Striker 10 (1) 0 (0) 0 (0) 10 (1)
    19 Scotland John McGinlay Striker 4 (3) 0 (0) 2 (1) 6 (4)
    20 England Gavin Ward Goalkeeper 4 (2) 1 (0) 1 (0) 6 (2)
    21 Denmark Michael Johansen Midfielder 4 (12) 0 (0) 1 (2) 5 (14)
    22 England Robbie Elliott Defender 4 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 4 (0)
    23 Iceland Arnar Gunnlaugsson Striker 2 (13) 1 (0) 0 (3) 3 (16)
    24 Scotland Steve McAnespie Defender 1 (1) 0 (0) 2 (0) 3 (1)
    25 England Hasney Aljofree Defender 2 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 2 (0)
    26 England Greg Strong Defender 0 (0) 0 (0) 1 (1) 1 (1)
    27 England John Salako Midfielder 0 (7) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (7)
    28 England Franz Carr Midfielder 0 (5) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (5)
    29 Switzerland Gaetano Giallanza Striker 0 (3) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (3)

    Top scorers

    P Player Position PL FAC LC Total
    1 Wales Nathan Blake Striker 12 0 2 14
    2 England Alan Thompson Midfielder 9 0 1 10
    3= Denmark Per Frandsen Midfielder 2 0 1 3
    3= England Dean Holdsworth Striker 3 0 0 3
    3= England Bob Taylor Striker 3 0 0 3

    References

    1. ↑ "Bolton Wanderers 1997-98". bwfcstats.com. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
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