# 1997–98 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

During the 1997–98 English football season, Blackburn Rovers competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

## Season summary

After last season's slip-up, Blackburn Rovers emerged as title contenders under new manager Roy Hodgson, and even sixth place in the final table was enough for a UEFA Cup place. Never below seventh throughout the campaign, Rovers only lost two league matches before New Year as Hodgson picked up the Premier League Manager of the Month awards for both August and December, but faded in the second half of the campaign.
Chris Sutton's continued return to form saw him come joint top of the Premiership goalscoring charts with 18 goals, a Premier League Player of the Month award for February and led to him earning a long-awaited international call-up, though he didn't make the final squad for the World Cup after refusing to play for the England B team.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 4 | Chelsea | 38 | 20 | 3 | 15 | 71 | 43 | +28 | 63 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 5 | Leeds United | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 59 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 57 | 52 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 57 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 8 | West Ham United | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 56 | 57 | −1 | 56 | |
* ↑ Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions. As they were also the League Cup winners, the UEFA Cup berth vacated was awarded to Blackburn Rovers.
* ↑ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: 1997-98 FA Premier League table

### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | W | D | W | W | L | D | D | D | W | W | D | D | W | W | L | W | W | W | D | D | L | W | D | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | D | W | L | W |
| Position | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |

## Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 1997 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | 23,557 | Gallacher |
| 13 August 1997 | Aston Villa | A | 4–0 | 37,112 | Sutton (3), Gallacher |
| 23 August 1997 | Liverpool | H | 1–1 | 30,187 | Dahlin |
| 25 August 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 7–2 | 19,618 | Gallacher (2), Hyde (own goal), Wilcox, Sutton (2), Bohinen |
| 30 August 1997 | Crystal Palace | A | 2–1 | 20,849 | Sutton, Gallacher |
| 14 September 1997 | Leeds United | H | 3–4 | 21,956 | Gallacher, Sutton (pen), Dahlin |
| 20 September 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–0 | 26,573 | |
| 24 September 1997 | Leicester City | A | 1–1 | 19,921 | Sutton |
| 28 September 1997 | Coventry City | H | 0–0 | 19,086 | |
| 4 October 1997 | Wimbledon | A | 1–0 | 15,600 | Sutton |
| 18 October 1997 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | 24,130 | Sherwood |
| 25 October 1997 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 | 36,716 | Sutton |
| 1 November 1997 | Barnsley | A | 1–1 | 18,665 | Sherwood |
| 8 November 1997 | Everton | H | 3–2 | 25,397 | Gallacher, Duff, Sherwood |
| 22 November 1997 | Chelsea | H | 1–0 | 27,683 | Croft |
| 30 November 1997 | Manchester United | A | 0–4 | 55,175 | |
| 6 December 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–1 | 25,503 | Gallacher, Sutton, Wilcox |
| 13 December 1997 | Arsenal | A | 3–1 | 38,147 | Wilcox, Gallacher, Sherwood |
| 20 December 1997 | West Ham United | H | 3–0 | 21,653 | Ripley, Duff (2) |
| 26 December 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 33,502 | |
| 28 December 1997 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–2 | 23,872 | Gallacher, Sutton |
| 11 January 1998 | Derby County | A | 1–3 | 27,823 | Sutton |
| 17 January 1998 | Aston Villa | H | 5–0 | 24,834 | Sherwood, Gallacher (3), Ripley |
| 31 January 1998 | Liverpool | A | 0–0 | 43,890 | |
| 7 February 1998 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–3 | 30,388 | |
| 21 February 1998 | Southampton | A | 0–3 | 15,162 | |
| 28 February 1998 | Leicester City | H | 5–3 | 24,854 | Dahlin, Sutton (3), Hendry |
| 11 March 1998 | Leeds United | A | 0–4 | 32,933 | |
| 14 March 1998 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 33,423 | |
| 31 March 1998 | Barnsley | H | 2–1 | 24,179 | Dahlin, Gallacher |
| 6 April 1998 | Manchester United | H | 1–3 | 30,547 | Sutton (pen) |
| 11 April 1998 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 25,000 | Duff |
| 13 April 1998 | Arsenal | H | 1–4 | 28,212 | Gallacher |
| 18 April 1998 | West Ham United | A | 1–2 | 24,733 | Wilcox |
| 25 April 1998 | Wimbledon | H | 0–0 | 24,848 | |
| 29 April 1998 | Chelsea | A | 1–0 | 33,311 | Gallacher |
| 2 May 1998 | Coventry City | A | 0–2 | 18,794 | |
| 10 May 1998 | Newcastle United | H | 1–0 | 29,300 | Sutton |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 3 January 1998 | Wigan Athletic | H | 4–2 | 22,402 | McGibbon (own goal), Gallacher (2), Sherwood |
| R4 | 26 January 1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 3–0 | 15,940 | Sutton, Sherwood, Duff |
| R5 | 14 February 1998 | West Ham United | A | 2–2 | 25,729 | Gallacher, Sutton |
| R5R | 25 February 1998 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 (lost 4–5 on pens) | 21,972 | Ripley |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 17 September 1997 | Preston North End | H | 6–0 | 22,564 | Dahlin (2), Sutton, Gallacher, Andersson, Bohinen |
| R2 2nd Leg | 30 September 1997 | Preston North End | A | 0–1 (won 6–1 on agg) | 11,472 | |
| R3 | 15 October 1997 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 (lost 1–4 on pens) | 18,671 | McKinlay |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Tim Flowers |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Callum Davidson |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Jeff Kenna |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Tim Sherwood (captain) |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Colin Hendry |
| 6 | DF | NOR | Tore Pedersen |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Stuart Ripley |
| 8 | FW | SCO | Kevin Gallacher |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Chris Sutton |
| 10 | FW | SWE | Martin Dahlin |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Jason Wilcox |
| 13 | GK | AUS | John Filan |
| 14 | FW | SWE | Anders Andersson |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Garry Flitcroft |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | FW | DEN | Per Pedersen |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Billy McKinlay |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Gary Croft |
| 22 | DF | FRA | Patrick Valéry |
| 24 | DF | SUI | Stéphane Henchoz |
| 25 | MF | IRL | Damien Duff |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Marlon Broomes |
| 32 | GK | WAL | Anthony Williams |
| 33 | GK | NIR | Alan Fettis |
| 34 | FW | ENG | James Beattie |
| 35 | MF | NIR | Damien Johnson |
| 36 | MF | ENG | Wayne Gill |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Adam Reed |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 12 | MF | NOR | Lars Bohinen (to Derby County) |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Ian Pearce (to West Ham United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | DF | WAL | Chris Coleman (to Fulham) |
| 21 | MF | GRE | Giorgos Donis (to AEK Athens) |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | GK | ENG | Gareth Stewart |
| - | DF | IRL | Graham Coughlan |
| - | DF | IRL | Peter Murphy |
| - | DF | ENG | Leam Richardson |
| - | DF | ENG | Martin Taylor |
| - | DF | IRL | David Worrell |
| - | MF | ENG | Ryan Baldacchino |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | MF | ENG | David Dunn |
| - | MF | NIR | Darren Dunning |
| - | MF | ENG | Andy McAvoy |
| - | MF | ENG | Ian Richards |
| - | MF | ENG | Luke Staton |
| - | FW | NIR | Gary Hamilton |
| - | FW | WAL | James Thomas |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 17 June 1997 | DF | Stéphane Henchoz | HSV | £3,000,000 |
| 24 June 1997 | DF | Patrick Valéry | Bastia | Free transfer |
| 8 July 1997 | FW | Martin Dahlin | Roma | £2,500,000 |
| 8 July 1997 | FW | Anders Andersson | Malmö FF | £500,000 |
| 1 August 1997 | GK | John Filan | Coventry City | £700,000 |
| 8 September 1997 | DF | Tore Pedersen | FC St. Pauli | £500,000 |
| 10 September 1997 | GK | Alan Fettis | Nottingham Forest | £300,000 |
| 10 February 1998 | DF | Callum Davidson | St Johnstone | £1,750,000 |
| 21 May 1998 | MF | Jimmy Corbett | Gillingham | £525,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 21 July 1997 | MF | Matty Holmes | Charlton Athletic | £250,000 |
| 1 August 1997 | MF | Graham Fenton | Leicester City | £1,100,000 |
| 1 August 1997 | DF | Nicky Marker | Sheffield United | Signed |
| 1 August 1997 | DF | Paul Warhurst | Crystal Palace | Signed |
| 8 August 1997 | DF | Graeme Le Saux | Chelsea | £7,000,000 |
| 11 August 1997 | DF | Henning Berg | Manchester United | £5,000,000 |
| 18 September 1997 | DF | Ian Pearce | West Ham United | £2,300,000 |
| 22 September 1997 | MF | Giorgos Donis | AEK Athens | Free transfer |
| 1 December 1997 | DF | Chris Coleman | Fulham | £2,000,000 |
| 25 March 1998 | MF | Lars Bohinen | Derby County | £1,450,000 |
    Transfers in: £9,775,000
    Transfers out: £19,100,000
    Total spending: £9,325,000

## Statistics
### Starting 11

    Considering starts in all competitions
* GK: #1, Tim Flowers, 30
* RB: #3, Jeff Kenna, 42
* CB: #5, Colin Hendry, 39
* CB: #24, Stéphane Henchoz, 40
* LB: #20, Gary Croft, 24 (#11, Jason Wilcox, has 27 starts)
* RM: #7, Stuart Ripley, 28
* CM: #17, Billy McKinlay, 31
* CM: #4, Tim Sherwood, 34
* LM: #15, Garry Flitcroft, 31
* CF: #8, Kevin Gallacher, 35
* CF: #9, Chris Sutton, 41