1997–98 West Ham United F.C. season

During the 1997–98 English football season, West Ham United F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

West Ham United
1997–98 season
ChairmanTerry Brown
ManagerHarry Redknapp
StadiumBoleyn Ground
Premiership8th
FA CupSixth round
League CupQuarter-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Hartson (15)
All: Hartson (24)
Highest home attendance25,909 (vs. Everton, 31 January)
Lowest home attendance23,335 (vs. Crystal Palace, 3 December)
Average home league attendance24,967

Season summary

After last season's near miss with relegation, West Ham United looked more convincing than they had done for years during 1997–98. John Hartson matured into one of the best strikers in the Premiership, with his partner Paul Kitson also providing a steady supply of goals. Young centre-back Rio Ferdinand remained loyal to his employers despite endless speculation of a move to a bigger club.

West Ham finished 8th in the final table, just one place short of UEFA Cup qualification. Holding on to Hartson and Ferdinand gave Harry Redknapp's men an even more enhanced chance of achieving that goal next time round.

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
6 Blackburn Rovers 38 16 10 12 57 52 +5 58 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
7 Aston Villa 38 17 6 15 49 48 +1 57
8 West Ham United 38 16 8 14 56 57 1 56
9 Derby County 38 16 7 15 52 49 +3 55
10 Leicester City 38 13 14 11 51 41 +10 53
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.
Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
38 16 8 14 56 57  −1 56 13 4 2 40 18  +22 3 4 12 16 39  −23
Results by matchday
Match1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAHAAHAHAHAHAAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHHHAHAHHAAH
ResultWWLDWLLLWLWLLLWWLWLWWWLDWDDDWWLDDWLLDW
Position237536610798111315121010101088788888887778671098
Source: 11v11.com: 1997-98 West Ham United results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

West Ham United's score comes first[1]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
9 August 1997BarnsleyA2-118,667Hartson, Lampard
13 August 1997Tottenham HotspurH2-125,354Hartson, Berkovic
23 August 1997EvertonA1-234,356Watson (own goal)
27 August 1997Coventry CityA1-118,289Kitson
30 August 1997WimbledonH3-124,516Hartson, Rieper, Berkovic
13 September 1997Manchester UnitedA1-255,068Hartson
20 September 1997Newcastle UnitedH0-125,884
24 September 1997ArsenalA0-438,012
27 September 1997LiverpoolH2-125,908Hartson, Berkovic
4 October 1997SouthamptonA0-315,212
18 October 1997Bolton WanderersH3-024,864Berkovic, Hartson (2)
27 October 1997Leicester CityA1-220,201Berkovic
9 November 1997ChelseaA1-234,382Hartson (pen)
23 November 1997Leeds UnitedA1-330,031Lampard
29 November 1997Aston VillaH2-124,976Hartson (2)
3 December 1997Crystal PalaceH4-123,335Hartson, Berkovic, Unsworth, Lomas
6 December 1997Derby CountyA0-229,300
13 December 1997Sheffield WednesdayH1-024,344Kitson
20 December 1997Blackburn RoversA0-321,653
26 December 1997Coventry CityH1-024,532Kitson
28 December 1997WimbledonA2-122,087Kimble (own goal), Kitson
10 January 1998BarnsleyH6-023,714Lampard, Abou (2), Moncur, Hartson, Lazaridis
17 January 1998Tottenham HotspurA0–130,284
31 January 1998EvertonH2-225,909Sinclair (2)
7 February 1998Newcastle UnitedA1-036,736Lazaridis
21 February 1998Bolton WanderersA1-125,000Sinclair
2 March 1998ArsenalH0-025,717
11 March 1998Manchester UnitedH1-125,892Sinclair
14 March 1998ChelseaH2-125,829Sinclair, Unsworth
30 March 1998Leeds UnitedH3-024,107Hartson, Abou, Pearce
4 April 1998Aston VillaA0-239,372
11 April 1998Derby CountyH0-025,155
13 April 1998Sheffield WednesdayA1-128,036Berkovic
18 April 1998Blackburn RoversH2-124,733Hartson (2)
25 April 1998SouthamptonH2-425,878Sinclair, Lomas
2 May 1998LiverpoolA0–544,414
5 May 1998Crystal PalaceA3-319,129Lampard, Omoyinmi (2)
10 May 1998Leicester CityH4-325,781Lampard, Abou (2), Sinclair

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R33 January 1998EmleyH2–118,629Lampard, Hartson
R424 January 1998Manchester CityA2–126,495Berkovic, Lomas
R514 February 1998Blackburn RoversH2–225,729Kitson, Berkovic
R5R25 February 1998Blackburn RoversA1–1 (5–4 on pens)21,972Hartson
QF8 March 1998ArsenalA1–138,077Pearce
QFR17 March 1998ArsenalH1–1 (3–4 on pens)25,859Hartson

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 1st Leg16 September 1997Huddersfield TownA0-18,525
R2 2nd Leg29 September 1997Huddersfield TownH3-0 (won 3-1 on agg)16,137Hartson (3)
R315 October 1997Aston VillaH3-020,360Hartson (2), Lampard
R419 November 1997WalsallH4-117,463Lampard (3), Hartson
QF6 January 1998ArsenalH1-224,770Abou

Squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  CZE Luděk Mikloško
2 DF  ENG Tim Breacker
3 DF  ENG Julian Dicks
4 DF  ENG Steve Potts[3]
5 DF  ENG Richard Hall
6 DF  ENG David Unsworth
8 MF  ENG Trevor Sinclair
9 FW  ENG Paul Kitson
10 FW  WAL John Hartson
11 MF  NIR Steve Lomas[4]
13 GK  ENG Stephen Bywater
15 DF  ENG Rio Ferdinand
16 MF  ENG John Moncur
17 MF  AUS Stan Lazaridis
18 MF  ENG Frank Lampard
19 DF  ENG Ian Pearce
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF  ENG Andrew Impey
21 GK  ENG Les Sealey
22 GK  CAN Craig Forrest
23 MF  ENG Scott Mean
24 FW  FRA Samassi Abou
25 MF  ENG Lee Hodges
26 DF  FRA Mohamed Berthé
27 FW  NGA Emmanuel Omoyinmi
28 DF  AUS Chris Coyne
29 MF  ISR Eyal Berkovic
30 DF  ENG Joey Keith
31 GK  ENG Neil Finn
32 GK  FRA Bernard Lama
33 FW  IRL Lee Boylan
34 FW  ENG Gary Alexander

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
7 MF  ENG Ian Bishop (to Manchester City)
8 DF  DEN Marc Rieper (to Celtic)
12 DF  NIR Keith Rowland (to Queens Park Rangers)
13 DF  FRA David Terrier (to Newcastle United)
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 FW  NIR Iain Dowie[5] (to Queens Park Rangers)
24 MF  NIR Michael Hughes (to Wimbledon)
30 FW  ENG Ian Moore (to Nottingham Forest)
30 FW  POR Paulo Alves (to Sporting Lisbon)

Reserve squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
- MF  ENG Jimmy Bullard
- MF  ENG Craig Etherington
No. Pos. Nation Player
- DF  ENG Anthony Henry
- DF  WAL David Partridge

Transfers

In

Date Pos Name From Fee
2 June 1997 MF Eyal Berkovic Maccabi Haifa £1,750,000
9 July 1997 DF David Terrier Metz Free transfer
21 July 1997 GK Craig Forrest Ipswich Town £500,000
15 August 1997 DF David Unsworth Everton Swap
18 September 1997 DF Ian Pearce Blackburn Rovers £2,300,000
26 September 1997 DF Andrew Impey QPR £1,200,000
28 October 1997 FW Samassi Abou Cannes £250,000
29 January 1998 MF Trevor Sinclair QPR £2,300,000
20 February 1998 GK Stephen Bywater Rochdale £300,000

Out

Date Pos Name To Fee
14 May 1997 DF Slaven Bilić Everton £4,500,000
15 August 1997 MF Danny Williamson Everton Swap
12 September 1997 DF Marc Rieper Celtic £1,400,000
25 September 1997 MF Michael Hughes Wimbledon £1,600,000
29 January 1998 DF Keith Rowland QPR Swap
29 January 1998 MF Iain Dowie QPR £1,600,000
26 March 1998 MF Ian Bishop Manchester City Free transfer
Transfers in: £8,600,000
Transfers out: £7,500,000
Total spending: £1,100,000

Statistics

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions
Considering a 4-3-1-2 formation

Notes

    References

    1. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/west-ham-united/1997-1998/results
    2. http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/1997-1998/faprem/westham.htm
    3. Potts was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the United States.
    4. Lomas was born in Hanover, Germany, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1994.
    5. Dowie was born in Hatfield, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally through his father and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1990.
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