# 1997–98 FA Premier League

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.
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 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 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 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 knock 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 are competing 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 | Capacity |
| Arsenal | London (Highbury) | Arsenal Stadium | 38,419 |
| Aston Villa | Birmingham | Villa Park | 42,573 |
| Barnsley | Barnsley | Oakwell | 23,287 |
| Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn | Ewood Park | 31,367 |
| Bolton Wanderers | Bolton | Reebok Stadium | 28,723 |
| Chelsea | London (Fulham) | Stamford Bridge | 42,055 |
| Coventry City | Coventry | Highfield Road | 23,489 |
| Crystal Palace | London (Selhurst) | Selhurst Park | 26,074 |
| Derby County | Derby | Pride Park Stadium | 33,597 |
| Everton | Liverpool (Walton) | Goodison Park | 40,569 |
| Leeds United | Leeds | Elland Road | 40,242 |
| Leicester City | Leicester | Filbert Street | 22,000 |
| Liverpool | Liverpool (Anfield) | Anfield | 45,522 |
| Manchester United | Manchester | Old Trafford | 55,385 |
| Newcastle United | Newcastle upon Tyne | St James' Park | 52,387 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Sheffield | Hillsborough Stadium | 39,732 |
| Southampton | Southampton | The Dell | 15,200 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | London (Tottenham) | White Hart Lane | 36,240 |
| West Ham United | London (Upton Park) | Boleyn Ground | 35,647 |
| Wimbledon | London (Selhurst) | Selhurst Park | 26,074 |
* ↑ Derby County relocated to the Pride Park Stadium as their new home stadium after spending 102 years at Baseball Ground.
* ↑ Due to Wimbledon lacking a home stadium, they played their home games at Selhurst Park, which is the home stadium of Crystal Palace.

### 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 sponsor |
| Arsenal | Arsène Wenger | Tony Adams | Nike | JVC |
| Aston Villa | John Gregory | Gareth Southgate | Reebok | AST |
| Barnsley | Danny Wilson | Neil Redfearn | Admiral | Ora |
| Blackburn Rovers | Roy Hodgson | Tim Sherwood | Asics | CIS |
| Bolton Wanderers | Colin Todd | Guðni Bergsson | Reebok | Reebok |
| Chelsea | Gianluca Vialli | Dennis Wise | Umbro | Autoglass |
| Coventry City | Gordon Strachan | Gary McAllister | Le Coq Sportif | Subaru |
| Crystal Palace | Ron Noades Ray Lewington (caretakers) | Andy Linighan | Adidas | TDK |
| Derby County | Jim Smith | Igor Štimac | Puma | Puma |
| Everton | Howard Kendall | Dave Watson | Umbro | One2One |
| Leeds United | George Graham | Lucas Radebe | Puma | Packard Bell |
| Leicester City | Martin O'Neill | Steve Walsh | Fox Leisure | Walkers |
| Liverpool | Roy Evans | Paul Ince | Reebok | Carlsberg |
| Manchester United | Alex Ferguson | Roy Keane | Umbro | Sharp |
| Newcastle United | Kenny Dalglish | Robert Lee | Adidas | Newcastle Brown Ale |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Ron Atkinson | Peter Atherton | Puma | Sanderson |
| Southampton | Dave Jones | Matt Le Tissier | Pony | Sanderson |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Christian Gross | Gary Mabbutt | Pony | Hewlett-Packard |
| West Ham United | Harry Redknapp | Steve Lomas | Pony | (no sponsor) |
| Wimbledon | Joe Kinnear | Robbie Earle | Lotto | Elonex |

### 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 | End of caretaker spell | 10 May 1997 | Pre-season | Howard Kendall | 10 May 1997 |
| Blackburn Rovers | Tony Parkes | End of caretaker spell | 1 June 1997 | Pre-season | Roy Hodgson | 1 June 1997 |
| Southampton | Graeme Souness | Resigned | 1 June 1997 | Pre-season | Dave Jones | 23 June 1997 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | David Pleat | Sacked | 3 November 1997 | 20th | Peter Shreeves (caretaker) | 3 November 1997 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 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 |
| Crystal Palace | Attilio Lombardo | Resigned | 29 April 1998 | 20th | Ron Noades Ray Lewington (caretakers) | 29 April 1998 |
* ↑ Swedish striker Tomas Brolin served as Italian-to-English interpreter for Lombardo
* ↑ Noades and Lewington acted as co-managers

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Arsenal (C) | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 68 | 33 | +35 | 78 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Manchester United | 38 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 73 | 26 | +47 | 77 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 68 | 42 | +26 | 65 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 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 | |
| 9 | Derby County | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | 52 | 49 | +3 | 55 | |
| 10 | Leicester City | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 51 | 41 | +10 | 53 | |
| 11 | Coventry City | 38 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 52 | |
| 12 | Southampton | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 50 | 55 | −5 | 48 | |
| 13 | Newcastle United | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 44 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 14 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 44 | |
| 15 | Wimbledon | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 44 | |
| 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 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
| 20 | Crystal Palace (R) | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 37 | 71 | −34 | 33 | Intertoto Cup third round and relegation to the First Division |
* ↑ 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.
* ↑ As Arsenal qualified for the Champions League, their Cup Winners' Cup place as FA Cup winners defaulted to Newcastle United, the runners-up.
* ↑ Crystal Palace qualified for the 1998 Intertoto Cup as they were the only English team who applied.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ARS | AVL | BAR | BLB | BOL | CHE | COV | CRY | DER | EVE | LEE | LEI | LIV | MUN | NEW | SHW | SOU | TOT | WHU | WIM |
| Arsenal | | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 5–0 |
| Aston Villa | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Barnsley | 0–2 | 0–3 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–6 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1–4 | 5–0 | 2–1 | | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–4 | 5–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 7–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 1–5 | 5–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Chelsea | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 6–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Coventry City | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Crystal Palace | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 0–3 |
| Derby County | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | | 3–1 | 0–5 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Everton | 2–2 | 1–4 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Leeds United | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 4–3 | 0–0 | | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Leicester City | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Liverpool | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 |
| Manchester United | 0–1 | 1–0 | 7–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Newcastle United | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Southampton | 1–3 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–6 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| West Ham United | 0–0 | 2–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | | 3–1 |
| Wimbledon | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–6 | 1–2 | |

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Dion Dublin | Coventry City | 18 |
| 1 | Michael Owen | Liverpool | 18 |
| 1 | Chris Sutton | Blackburn Rovers | 18 |
| 4 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | 16 |
| 4 | Kevin Gallacher | Blackburn Rovers | 16 |
| 4 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | Leeds United | 16 |
| 7 | Andy Cole | Manchester United | 15 |
| 7 | John Hartson | West Ham United | 15 |
| 9 | Darren Huckerby | Coventry City | 14 |
| 10 | Paulo Wanchope | Derby County | 13 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Dion Dublin | Coventry City | Chelsea | 3–2 (A) | 9 August 1997 |
| Chris Sutton | Blackburn Rovers | Aston Villa | 4–0 (A) | 13 August 1997 |
| Gianluca Vialli$^4$ $^P$ | Chelsea | Barnsley | 6–0 (A) | 24 August 1997 |
| Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | Leicester City | 3–3 (A) | 27 August 1997 |
| Ian Wright | Arsenal | Bolton Wanderers | 4–1 (H) | 13 September 1997 |
| Patrik Berger | Liverpool | Chelsea | 4–2 (H) | 5 October 1997 |
| Andy Cole | Manchester United | Barnsley | 7–0 (H) | 25 October 1997 |
| Andy Booth | Sheffield Wednesday | Bolton Wanderers | 5–0 (H) | 8 November 1997 |
| Gianfranco Zola | Chelsea | Derby County | 4–0 (H) | 29 November 1997 |
| Tore André Flo | Chelsea | Tottenham Hotspur | 6–1 (A) | 6 December 1997 |
| Duncan Ferguson | Everton | Bolton Wanderers | 3–2 (H) | 28 December 1997 |
| Kevin Gallacher | Blackburn Rovers | Aston Villa | 5–0 (H) | 17 January 1998 |
| Michael Owen | Liverpool | Sheffield Wednesday | 3–3 (A) | 14 February 1998 |
| Chris Sutton | Blackburn Rovers | Leicester City | 5–3 (A) | 28 February 1998 |
| Darren Huckerby | Coventry City | Leeds United | 3–3 (A) | 25 April 1998 |
| Jürgen Klinsmann$^4$ | Tottenham Hotspur | Wimbledon | 6–2 (A) | 2 May 1998 |
    Note: $^4$ Player scored 4 goals; $^P$ Player scored a perfect hat-trick; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| August | Roy Hodgson | Blackburn Rovers | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal |
| September | Martin O'Neill | Leicester City | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal |
| October | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | Paulo Wanchope | Derby County |
| November | George Graham | Leeds United | Andy Cole Kevin Davies | Manchester United Southampton |
| December | Roy Hodgson | Blackburn Rovers | Steve McManaman | Liverpool |
| January | Howard Kendall | Everton | Dion Dublin | Coventry City |
| February | Gordon Strachan | Coventry City | Chris Sutton | Blackburn Rovers |
| March | Arsène Wenger | Arsenal | Alex Manninger | Arsenal |
| April | Arsène Wenger | Arsenal | Emmanuel Petit | Arsenal |

### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Premier League Manager of the Season | Arsène Wenger | Arsenal |
| Premier League Player of the Season | Michael Owen | Liverpool |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal |
| PFA Young Player of the Year | Michael Owen | Liverpool |
| FWA Footballer of the Year | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal |
PFA Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) | Nigel Martyn (Leeds United) |
| Defence | Gary Neville (Manchester United) | Gary Neville (Manchester United) | Gary Neville (Manchester United) | Gary Pallister (Manchester United) | Gary Pallister (Manchester United) | Gary Pallister (Manchester United) | Colin Hendry (Blackburn Rovers) | Colin Hendry (Blackburn Rovers) | Colin Hendry (Blackburn Rovers) | Graeme Le Saux (Chelsea) | Graeme Le Saux (Chelsea) | Graeme Le Saux (Chelsea) |
| Midfield | David Beckham (Manchester United) | David Beckham (Manchester United) | David Beckham (Manchester United) | Nicky Butt (Manchester United) | Nicky Butt (Manchester United) | Nicky Butt (Manchester United) | David Batty (Newcastle United) | David Batty (Newcastle United) | David Batty (Newcastle United) | Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) | Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) | Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) |
| Attack | Michael Owen (Liverpool) | Michael Owen (Liverpool) | Michael Owen (Liverpool) | Michael Owen (Liverpool) | Michael Owen (Liverpool) | Michael Owen (Liverpool) | Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) | Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) | Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) | Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) | Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) | Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) |