# 1997–98 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1997–98 season was Birmingham City Football Club's 95th in the Football League. They finished in seventh position in the 24-team Division One, the second tier of the English football league system, missing out on the playoff places on goals scored. Needing to win their last game, at home to Charlton Athletic, and hope that Sheffield United failed to win theirs, Birmingham "were repeatedly foiled in this emotionally-charged game by a brilliant display from Charlton's goalkeeper" Saša Ilić; the game finished goalless. They entered the 1997–98 FA Cup at the third round, losing to Leeds United in the fifth, and entered the League Cup in the first round and lost to Arsenal in the third.
In August 1997, co-owner David Gold took up the post of chairman after Jack Wiseman's retirement.

## Football League First Division
### Match details

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 9 August 1997 | 1st | Stoke City | H | W | 2–0 | Devlin 33', Ndlovu 87' | 20,608 |
| 23 August 1997 | 5th | Reading | H | W | 3–0 | Devlin 38', Bruce 81', Ndlovu 88' | 16,495 |
| 29 August 1997 | 3rd | Stockport County | A | D | 2–2 | Devlin 68', Francis 72' | 6,260 |
| 2 September 1997 | 3rd | Tranmere Rovers | A | W | 3–0 | Hughes 11', Ndlovu 44', Furlong 65' | 6,620 |
| 9 September 1997 | 2nd | Huddersfield Town | A | W | 1–0 | Furlong 70' | 9,477 |
| 14 September 1997 | 4th | Sunderland | H | L | 0–1 | | 17,478 |
| 20 September 1997 | 7th | Middlesbrough | A | L | 1–3 | Furlong 51' | 30,125 |
| 27 September 1997 | 7th | Sheffield United | A | D | 0–0 | | 20,553 |
| 4 October 1997 | 9th | Crewe Alexandra | H | L | 0–1 | | 16,548 |
| 12 October 1997 | 6th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | W | 1–0 | Marsden 8' | 17,822 |
| 18 October 1997 | 8th | Bury | A | L | 1–2 | Grainger 90' | 5,700 |
| 22 October 1997 | 12th | Charlton Athletic | A | D | 1–1 | Devlin 83' | 10,070 |
| 25 October 1997 | 12th | Oxford United | H | D | 0–0 | | 16,352 |
| 28 October 1997 | 11th | Ipswich Town | H | D | 1–1 | Bruce 81' | 16,778 |
| 1 November 1997 | 11th | Queens Park Rangers | A | D | 1–1 | Furlong 42' | 12,715 |
| 4 November 1997 | 13th | Bradford City | H | D | 0–0 | | 14,554 |
| 8 November 1997 | 14th | Norwich City | H | L | 1–2 | Devlin 27' pen. | 16,464 |
| 15 November 1997 | 14th | Nottingham Forest | A | L | 0–1 | | 19,610 |
| 23 November 1997 | 14th | West Bromwich Albion | A | L | 0–1 | | 18,444 |
| 29 November 1997 | 14th | Portsmouth | H | W | 2–1 | Furlong (2) 36', 73' | 17,738 |
| 6 December 1997 | 11th | Port Vale | A | W | 1–0 | Cottee 18' | 7,509 |
| 13 December 1997 | 11th | Manchester City | H | W | 2–1 | Forster 90', O'Connor 90' | 21,014 |
| 20 December 1997 | 11th | Swindon Town | A | D | 1–1 | Forster 22' | 10,900 |
| 26 December 1997 | 10th | Ipswich Town | A | W | 1–0 | McCarthy 83' | 17,459 |
| 28 December 1997 | 10th | Tranmere Rovers | H | D | 0–0 | | 19,533 |
| 10 January 1998 | 8th | Stoke City | A | W | 7–0 | Hughes (2) 4', 9', Forster 26, Furlong (3) 50', 69', 87', McCarthy 56' | 14,940 |
| 17 January 1998 | 8th | Huddersfield Town | H | D | 0–0 | | 17,850 |
| 27 January 1998 | 7th | Stockport County | H | W | 4–1 | Furlong (3) 7', 31', 90', McCarthy 16' | 17,118 |
| 31 January 1998 | 9th | Reading | A | L | 0–2 | | 10,315 |
| 7 February 1998 | 9th | Middlesbrough | H | D | 1–1 | McCarthy 3' | 20,639 |
| 17 February 1998 | 9th | Crewe Alexandra | A | W | 2–0 | Adebola 42', Hughes 45' | 5,559 |
| 22 February 1998 | 8th | Sheffield United | H | W | 2–0 | Grainger 31', Johnson 66' | 17,965 |
| 25 February 1998 | 9th | Bury | H | L | 1–3 | Johnson 90' | 20,021 |
| 28 February 1998 | 6th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | W | 3–1 | Ndlovu (2) 35', 77' pen., Adebola 71' | 25,591 |
| 4 March 1998 | 8th | Norwich City | A | D | 3–3 | Ndlovu (2) 13', 88', Adebola 44' | 9,819 |
| 7 March 1998 | 7th | Queens Park Rangers | H | W | 1–0 | Adebola 68' | 18,298 |
| 10 March 1998 | 6th | Sunderland | A | D | 1–1 | Adebola 50' | 37,602 |
| 14 March 1998 | 7th | Bradford City | A | D | 0–0 | | 16,392 |
| 21 March 1998 | 7th | Nottingham Forest | H | L | 1–2 | Ndlovu 61' pen. | 24,663 |
| 28 March 1998 | 7th | West Bromwich Albion | H | W | 1–0 | Johnson 90' | 23,260 |
| 4 April 1998 | 7th | Portsmouth | A | D | 1–1 | Adebola 84' | 14,591 |
| 11 April 1998 | 7th | Port Vale | H | D | 1–1 | Ndlovu 87' | 17,193 |
| 13 April 1998 | 7th | Manchester City | A | W | 1–0 | Adebola 90' | 29,569 |
| 18 April 1998 | 7th | Swindon Town | H | W | 3–0 | Furlong (2) 9', 34' pen., Hughes 82' | 17,016 |
| 25 April 1998 | 7th | Oxford United | A | W | 2–0 | Ford 73' o.g., Furlong 85' | 8,818 |
| 3 May 1998 | 7th | Charlton Athletic | H | D | 0–0 | | 25,877 |

### League table (part)

Final Division One table (part) :
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 5th | Ipswich Town | 46 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 77 | 43 | +32 | 83 |
| 6th | Sheffield United | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 69 | 54 | +15 | 74 |
| 7th | Birmingham City | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 60 | 35 | +25 | 74 |
| 8th | Stockport County | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 71 | 69 | +2 | 65 |
| 9th | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 65 |
| Key | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points | Pos = League position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points |
| Source | | | | | | | | | |
Note that goals scored took precedence over goal difference as a tiebreaker in the Football League.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source:

## FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 4 January 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | A | W | 2–1 | Furlong 22' pen., 55' | 4,607 |
| Fourth round | 24 January 1998 | Stockport County | H | W | 2–1 | Hughes 32', 84' | 15,882 |
| Fifth round | 14 February 1998 | Leeds United | A | L | 2–3 | Ablett 63', Ndlovu 81' | 35,463 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round 1st leg | 12 August 1997 | Gillingham | A | W | 1–0 | Francis 85' | 5,246 |
| First round 2nd leg | 26 August 1997 | Gillingham | H | W | 3–0 4–0 agg. | Devlin 68', Ndlovu 75', Furlong 78' | 7,921 |
| Second round 1st leg | 17 September 1997 | Stockport County | H | W | 4–1 | Hughes 41', Robinson 51', Devlin 77' pen., 87' | 4,900 |
| Second round 2nd leg | 23 September 1997 | Stockport County | A | L | 1–2 5–3 agg. | Furlong 70' pen. | 2,074 |
| Third round | 14 October 1997 | Arsenal | A | L | 1–4 | Hey 20' | 27,097 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | Club† | Fee |
| July 1997 | Peter Ndlovu | Coventry City | £1.6m |
| August 1997 | Jerry Gill | Yeovil Town | £30,000 |
| August 1997 | Howard Forinton | Yeovil Town | £70,000 |
| August 1997 | Tony Hey | SC Fortuna Köln | £300,000 |
| September 1997 | Jon McCarthy | Port Vale | £1.5m |
| October 1997 | Chris Marsden | Stockport County | £500,000 |
| January 1998 | Simon Charlton | Southampton | £200,000 |
| February 1998 | Dele Adebola | Crewe Alexandra | £1m |
| February 1998 | Darren Purse | Oxford United | £700,000$^a$ |
    a. Purse joined from Oxford United in exchange for £600,000 and Kevin Francis, with Francis valued at £100,000.

### Out

| Date | Player | Fee | Joined† |
| July 1997 | Dave Barnett | Free | (Dunfermline Athletic) |
| July 1997 | Mike Newell | £160,000 | Aberdeen |
| August 1997 | Kenny Brown | £40,000 | Millwall |
| October 1997 | Barry Horne | Free | Huddersfield Town |
| December 1997 | Jason Bowen | £200,000 | Reading |
| February 1998 | Kevin Francis | £100,000$^a$ | Oxford United |
| February 1998 | Andy Legg | £75,000 | Reading |
| March 1998 | Paul Devlin | £200,000 | Sheffield United |
    † Brackets round a club denote the player joined that club after his Birmingham City contract expired.
    a. Valued at £100,000 in the deal in which Darren Purse joined Birmingham from Oxford United in exchange for £600,000 plus Francis.

### Loan in

| Date | Player | Club | Return | Ref |
| November 1997 | Tony Cottee | Leicester City | One month | |
| December 1997 | Simon Charlton | Southampton | One month | |

### Loan out

| Date | Player | Club | Return | Ref |
| September 1997 | Ricky Otto | Notts County | One month | |
| December 1997 | Paul Tait | Northampton Town | One month | |

## Appearances and goals

    Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
    Players with name in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Birmingham.
    Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
    Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes.
    Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
Players' appearances and goals by competition :
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| GK | ENG | Ian Bennett | 45 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Kevin Poole | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Gary Ablett | 34 (2) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 42 (2) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Jon Bass | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | 36 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Steve Bruce | 40 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Simon Charlton | 23 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 (1) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Jerry Gill | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Martin Grainger | 27 (6) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 | 34 (7) | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| DF | JAM | Michael Johnson | 22 (16) | 3 | 0 (2) | 0 | 1 (4) | 0 | 23 (22) | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| DF | ENG | Darren Purse | 2 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (6) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Simon Rea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Darren Wassall | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| MF | SCO | Paul Devlin † | 13 (9) | 5 | 0 (1) | 0 | 5 | 3 | 18 (10) | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | GER | Tony Hey | 8 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Chris Holland | 2 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 (8) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Bryan Hughes | 34 (6) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 41 (6) | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Chris Marsden | 31 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 (1) | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| MF | NIR | Jon McCarthy | 41 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Martyn O'Connor | 32 (1) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 38 (1) | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Steve Robinson | 17 (8) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 21 (9) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | NGA | Dele Adebola | 16 (1) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 (1) | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Tony Cottee * | 4 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Howard Forinton | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Nicky Forster | 12 (16) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 (16) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | SKN | Kevin Francis † | 2 (18) | 1 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 (5) | 1 | 2 (25) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Paul Furlong | 24 (1) | 15 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 30 (1) | 19 | 8 | 1 |
| FW | ZIM | Peter Ndlovu | 29 (10) | 9 | 1 (1) | 1 | 5 | 1 | 35 (11) | 11 | 5 | 0 |
Players not included in matchday squads :
| Pos. | Nat. | Name |
| MF | WAL | Jason Bowen † |
| MF | WAL | Barry Horne † |
| MF | WAL | Andy Legg † |
| MF | ENG | Ricky Otto |
| MF | ENG | Paul Tait |