First Division
Season1997–98
ChampionsNottingham Forest
PromotedNottingham Forest
Middlesbrough
Charlton Athletic
RelegatedManchester City
Stoke City
Reading
Matches played552
Goals scored1,410 (2.55 per match)
Top goalscorerKevin Phillips
Pierre van Hooijdonk
(29 goals each)[1]
Biggest home winMiddlesbrough 6–0 Swindon Town
(11 March 1998)
Biggest away winStoke City 0–7 Birmingham City
(10 January 1998)
Highest scoringNottingham Forest 5–2 Charlton Athletic
(22 November 1997)
Stoke City 0–7 Birmingham City
(10 January 1998)
Ipswich Town 5–2 Oxford United
(24 February 1998)
Stoke City 2–5 Manchester City
(3 May 1998)

The 1997–98 Football League First Division (referred to as the Nationwide First Division for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the league under its current league division format.

Changes from previous season

Team changes

From First Division

Promoted to Premier League

Relegated to Second Division

To First Division

Promoted from Second Division

Relegated from Premier League

Teams

Stadium and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Birmingham CityBirminghamSt Andrew's25,877
Bradford CityBradfordValley Parade17,848
BuryBuryGigg Lane11,840
Charlton AthleticCharltonThe Valley15,815
Crewe AlexandraCreweGresty Road10,153
Huddersfield TownHuddersfieldAlfred McAlpine Stadium24,500
Ipswich TownIpswichPortman Road30,311
Manchester CityManchesterMaine Road35,150
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbroughRiverside Stadium30,000
Norwich CityNorwichCarrow Road24,663
Nottingham ForestWest BridgfordCity Ground30,576
Oxford UnitedOxfordManor Ground9,500
Port ValeBurslemVale Park19,052
PortsmouthPortsmouthFratton Park21,100
Queens Park RangersWhite CityLoftus Road18,439
ReadingReadingElm Park14,800
Sheffield UnitedSheffieldBramall Lane29,034
Stockport CountyStockportEdgeley Park10,841
Stoke CityStoke-on-TrentBritannia Stadium27,743
SunderlandSunderlandStadium of Light42,000
Swindon TownSwindonCounty Ground15,728
Tranmere RoversBirkenheadPrenton Park16,567
West Bromwich AlbionWest BromwichThe Hawthorns22,986
Wolverhampton WanderersWolverhamptonMolineux Stadium28,525

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Birmingham CityEngland Trevor FrancisEngland Steve BrucePonyAuto Windscreens
Bradford CityEngland Paul JewellEngland Wayne JacobsBeaverJCT600
BuryEngland Stan TernentEngland Chris LuckettiSuper LeagueBirthdays
Charlton AthleticEngland Alan CurbishleyRepublic of Ireland Mark KinsellaQuaserViglen
Crewe AlexandraEngland Dario GradiEngland Gareth WhalleyAdidasBoldon James
Huddersfield TownEngland Peter JacksonWales Barry HornePonyPanasonic
Ipswich TownScotland George BurleyEngland Jason CundyPunchGreene King
Manchester CityEngland Joe RoyleWales Kit SymonsKappaBrother
MiddlesbroughEngland Bryan RobsonEngland Nigel PearsonErreàCellnet
Norwich CityEngland John Faulkner (caretaker)England Matt JacksonPonyColman's
Nottingham ForestEngland Dave BassettEngland Steve ChettleUmbroPinnacle
Oxford UnitedEngland Malcolm ShottonEngland Phil GilchristOwn BrandUnipart
Port ValeEngland John RudgeEngland Allen TankardMizunoTunstall Assurance
PortsmouthEngland Alan BallEngland Adrian WhitbreadAdmiralKJC
Queens Park RangersEngland Ray HarfordNorthern Ireland Steve MorrowLe Coq SportifEricsson
ReadingScotland Tommy BurnsEngland Phil ParkinsonMizunoAuto Trader
Sheffield UnitedEngland Steve Thompson (caretaker)England David HoldsworthLe Coq SportifWards
Stockport CountyEngland Gary MegsonEngland Mike FlynnAdidasRobinsons
Stoke CityWales Alan Durban (caretaker)Iceland Lárus SigurðssonAsicsBritannia
SunderlandEngland Peter ReidEngland Kevin BallAsicsLambtons
Swindon TownEngland Steve McMahonEngland Brian BorrowsMizunoNationwide
Tranmere RoversRepublic of Ireland John AldridgeRepublic of Ireland Liam O'BrienMizunoWirral
West Bromwich AlbionEngland Denis SmithEngland Sean FlynnPatrickWest Bromwich Building Society
Wolverhampton WanderersScotland Mark McGheeEngland Keith CurlePumaGoodyear

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Huddersfield TownEngland Brian HortonSacked6 October 199724thEngland Peter Jackson7 October 1997[2]
Queens Park RangersScotland Stewart HoustonSacked10 November 199713thEngland Ray Harford5 December 1997
West Bromwich AlbionEngland Ray HarfordResigned4 December 19974thEngland Denis Smith24 December 1997
Oxford UnitedEngland Denis SmithSigned by West Bromwich Albion24 December 199716thEngland Malcolm Shotton24 January 1998
Bradford CityEngland Chris KamaraSacked6 January 199811thEngland Paul Jewell6 January 1998
PortsmouthEngland Terry FenwickSacked14 January 199824thEngland Alan Ball26 January 1998
Stoke CityEngland Chic BatesMutual consent22 January 199820thEngland Chris Kamara22 January 1998[3]
Manchester CityEngland Frank ClarkSacked17 February 199822ndEngland Joe Royle18 February 1998[4]
Sheffield UnitedEngland Nigel SpackmanResigned2 March 19985thEngland Steve Bruce2 July 1998
ReadingEngland Terry BullivantResigned18 March 1998[5]23rdScotland Tommy Burns25 March 1998[6]
Stoke CityEngland Chris KamaraMutual consent8 April 1998[7]24thEngland Brian Little13 May 1998
Norwich CityWales Mike WalkerResigned30 April 199816thScotland Bruce Rioch12 June 1998

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Nottingham Forest (C, P) 46 28 10 8 82 42 +40 94 Promotion to the Premier League
2 Middlesbrough (P) 46 27 10 9 77 41 +36 91
3 Sunderland 46 26 12 8 86 50 +36 90 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
4 Charlton Athletic (O, P) 46 26 10 10 80 49 +31 88
5 Ipswich Town 46 23 14 9 77 43 +34 83
6 Sheffield United 46 19 17 10 69 54 +15 74
7 Birmingham City 46 19 17 10 60 35 +25 74
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
13 Bradford City 46 14 15 17 46 59 −13 57
14 Tranmere Rovers 46 14 14 18 54 57 −3 56
15 Norwich City 46 14 13 19 52 69 −17 55
16 Huddersfield Town 46 14 11 21 50 72 −22 53
17 Bury 46 11 19 16 42 58 −16 52
18 Swindon Town 46 14 10 22 42 73 −31 52
19 Port Vale 46 13 10 23 56 66 −10 49
20 Portsmouth 46 13 10 23 51 63 −12 49
21 Queens Park Rangers 46 10 19 17 51 63 −12 49
22 Manchester City (R) 46 12 12 22 56 57 −1 48 Relegation to the Second Division
23 Stoke City (R) 46 11 13 22 44 74 −30 46
24 Reading (R) 46 11 9 26 39 78 −39 42
Source: Statto.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Play-offs

Semi-finals
First leg – 10 May; Second leg – 13 May 1998 		Final at Wembley
25 May 1998
        
3rd Sunderland 1 2 3
6th Sheffield United 2 0 2
3rd Sunderland 4 (6)
4th Charlton Athletic (pen.) 4 (7)
4th Charlton Athletic 1 1 2
5th Ipswich Town 0 0 0

Results

Home \ Away BIR BRA BRY CHA CRE HUD IPS MCI MID NWC NOT OXF PTV POR QPR REA SHU STP STK SUN SWI TRA WBA WOL
Birmingham City 0–0 1–3 0–0 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–2 1–2 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–0 4–1 2–0 0–1 3–0 0–0 1–0 1–0
Bradford City 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–2 2–1 0–3 0–0 2–1 1–3 1–1 4–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 0–4 1–1 0–1 0–0 2–0
Bury 2–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–3 1–3
Charlton Athletic 1–1 4–1 0–0 3–2 1–0 3–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 4–2 3–2 1–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 2–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 3–0 2–0 5–0 1–0
Crewe Alexandra 0–2 5–0 1–2 0–3 2–5 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–4 2–1 0–1 3–1 2–3 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–3 2–0 2–1 2–3 0–2
Huddersfield Town 0–1 1–2 2–0 0–3 2–0 2–2 1–3 0–1 1–3 0–2 5–1 0–4 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 3–1 2–3 0–0 3–0 1–0 1–0
Ipswich Town 0–1 2–1 2–0 3–1 3–2 5–1 1–0 1–1 5–0 0–1 5–2 5–1 2–0 0–0 1–0 2–2 0–2 2–3 2–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 3–0
Manchester City 0–1 1–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–0 1–2 2–3 0–2 2–3 2–2 2–2 0–0 0–0 4–1 0–1 0–1 6–0 1–1 1–0 0–1
Middlesbrough 3–1 1–0 4–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 4–1 2–1 1–1 3–0 4–0 1–2 3–1 0–1 3–1 6–0 3–0 1–0 1–1
Norwich City 3–3 2–3 2–2 0–4 0–2 5–0 2–1 0–0 1–3 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 5–0 0–2 1–1 0–2
Nottingham Forest 1–0 2–2 3–0 5–2 3–1 3–0 2–1 1–3 4–0 2–3 1–3 2–1 1–0 4–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 3–0 2–2 1–0 3–0
Oxford United 0–2 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–4 2–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 3–1 3–0 2–4 3–0 5–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 3–0
Port Vale 0–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–3 4–1 1–3 2–1 0–1 2–2 0–1 3–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–0 3–1 0–1 0–1 1–2 0–2
Portsmouth 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–3 3–0 0–1 0–3 0–0 1–1 0–1 2–1 3–1 3–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–4 0–1 1–0 2–3 3–2
Queens Park Rangers 1–1 1–0 0–1 2–4 3–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 5–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 0–0 2–0 0–0
Reading 2–0 0–3 1–1 2–0 3–3 0–2 0–4 3–0 0–1 0–1 3–3 2–1 0–3 0–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 2–0 4–0 0–1 1–3 2–1 0–0
Sheffield United 0–0 2–1 3–0 4–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–2 4–0 5–1 3–2 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–4 1–0
Stockport County 2–2 1–2 0–0 3–0 0–1 3–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 2–2 2–2 3–2 3–0 3–1 2–0 5–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 4–2 3–1 2–1 1–0
Stoke City 0–7 2–1 3–2 1–2 0–2 1–2 1–1 2–5 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–2 2–1 1–2 1–2 0–3 0–0 3–0
Sunderland 1–1 2–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 3–1 2–2 3–1 1–2 0–1 1–1 3–1 4–2 2–1 2–2 4–1 4–2 4–1 3–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–1
Swindon Town 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–3 1–2 1–0 0–0 4–1 4–2 0–1 3–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 0–2 0–0
Tranmere Rovers 0–3 3–1 0–0 2–2 0–3 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–2 2–0 0–0 0–2 1–2 2–2 2–1 6–0 3–3 3–0 3–1 0–2 3–0 0–0 2–1
West Bromwich Albion 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–2 2–3 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 2–0 3–2 1–1 3–3 0–0 2–1 1–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–3 2–1 4–2 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 5–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 3–2 3–1 0–0 3–4 1–1 0–1 3–1 2–1 0–1
Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Kevin Phillips Sunderland 29
Netherlands Pierre van Hooijdonk Nottingham Forest
3 England Kevin Campbell 23
England Clive Mendonca Charlton Athletic
5 England David Johnson Ipswich Town 20
6 England Brett Angell Stockport County 18
7 England Paul Furlong Birmingham City 15
England Marcus Stewart Huddersfield Town

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Netherlands Pierre van HooijdonkNottingham ForestQueens Park Rangers4–030 August 1997
Charlton Athletic5–222 November 1997
England Kevin CampbellCrewe Alexandra4–17 March 1998
England Clive MendoncaCharlton AthleticNorwich City4–017 September 1997
Norway Jan Åge FjørtoftSheffield UnitedStockport County5–121 October 1997
England Paul FurlongBirmingham CityStoke City7–010 January 1998
Stockport County4–127 January 1998
Scotland Dougie FreedmanWolverhampton WanderersNorwich City5–010 January 1998
Scotland Alex MathieIpswich TownNorwich City5–021 February 1998
England David JohnsonOxford United5–224 February 1998
Republic of Ireland Niall QuinnSunderlandStockport County4–17 March 1998
Italy Marco BrancaMiddlesbroughBury4–011 April 1998
England Colin LittleCrewe AlexandraBradford City5–025 April 1998

References

  1. ↑ "English League Leading Goalscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  2. ↑ Edwards, John (7 October 1997). "Mystery man replaces Horton". The Mirror. The Free Library. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  3. ↑ Metcalf, Rupert (23 January 1998). "Kamara takes charge of Stoke as Bates steps down". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Nixon, Alan (18 February 1998). "Clark sacked, Royle in at City". The Mirror. The Free Library. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  5. ↑ Nixon, Alan (19 March 1998). "Bullivant ends Reading rule". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "Burns takes the reins at Reading". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 26 March 1998. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  7. ↑ Martin, Andrew (9 April 1998). "Kamara leaves struggling Stoke". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
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