# 1997–98 Aston Villa F.C. season

In the 1997–98 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).
When Brian Little resigned as Aston Villa manager in February, Villa were 15th in the Premiership and were starting to look like outside bets for relegation. Ruud Gullit, recently sacked by Chelsea, was linked with the vacancy, but the surprise choice for the job was Wycombe manager John Gregory, a former Villa coach. He influenced a late run of form which saw Villa climb to seventh place, and for the second season running Villa qualified for the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking.
There were debut appearances for Gareth Barry (365), Simon Grayson (48), Stan Collymore (46), Darren Byfield (7), Richard Walker (6), Matthew Ghent, Paul Crichton and Lee Collins.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 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 | |
* ↑ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

## Kit

| Kit Supplier | Sponsor |
| << Reebok >> | AST Computer |

## Transfers
### Transferred in

| Date | Pos | Player | From | Fee |
| 13 May 1997 | CF | Stan Collymore | Liverpool | £7,000,000 |
| 26 June 1997 | RB | Simon Grayson | Leicester City | £1,300,000 |
| 27 November 1997 | CM | David Curtolo | Västerås | £30,000 |
| | | | | £8,330,000 |
Record

### Loaned in

| Date | Pos | Player | From | Loan End |
| 7 August 1997 | GK | Paul Crichton | West Bromwich Albion | 13 August 1997 |

### Transferred out

| Date | Pos | Player | To | Fee |
| 1 July 1997 | LM | Gareth Farrelly | Everton | £750,000 |
| 29 August 1997 | CM | Andy Townsend | Middlesbrough | £500,000 |
| 1 September 1997 | GK | Stuart Brock | Kidderminster | Free transfer |
| 9 December 1997 | RM | Scott Murray | Bristol City | £150,000 |
| 26 March 1998 | DM | Saša Ćurčić | Crystal Palace | £1,000,000 |
| | | | | £2,400,000 |

### Loaned out

| Date | Pos | Player | To | Loan End |
| 1 August 1997 | CF | Neil Davis | Tranmere Rovers | 23 August 1997 |
| 26 March 1998 | LB | David Hughes | Carlisle United | 26 April 1998 |

### Overall transfer activity
## Squad
### First Team

| # | Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Date signed | Fee | Apps | Gls |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||
| 1 | Mark Bosnich | GK | Liverpool | (1972-01-13)13 January 1972 (aged 25) | Sydney Croatia | 28 February 1992 | Free transfer | 169 | 0 |
| 13 | Michael Oakes | GK | Northwich | (1973-10-30)30 October 1973 (aged 23) | Academy | 1 July 1991 | — | 24 | 0 |
| 29 | Paul Crichton | GK | Pontefract | (1968-10-03)3 October 1968 (aged 28) | West Bromwich Albion | 7 August 1997 | Loan | - | - |
| 29* | Matthew Ghent | GK | Burton upon Trent | (1980-09-05)5 September 1980 (aged 16) | Academy | 1 July 1997 | — | - | - |
| 30 | Adam Rachel | GK | Birmingham | (1976-12-30)30 December 1976 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 July 1995 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Stuart Brock | GK | West Bromwich | (1976-09-26)26 September 1976 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 July 1996 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||||
| 2 | Gary Charles | RB | Newham | (1970-04-13)13 April 1970 (aged 27) | Derby County | 6 January 1995 | £1,450,000 | 63 | 1 |
| 3 | Steve Staunton | LB | Dundalk | (1969-01-19)19 January 1969 (aged 28) | Liverpool | 7 August 1991 | £1,100,000 | 225 | 15 |
| 4 | Gareth Southgate (c) | CB | Watford | (1970-09-03)3 September 1970 (aged 26) | Crystal Palace | 1 July 1995 | £3,500,000 | 77 | 3 |
| 5 | Ugo Ehiogu | CB | Hackney | (1972-11-03)3 November 1972 (aged 24) | West Bromwich Albion | 12 July 1991 | £40,000 | 176 | 10 |
| 14 | Alan Wright | LB | Ashton-under-Lyne | (1971-09-28)28 September 1971 (aged 25) | Blackburn Rovers | 10 March 1995 | £1,000,000 | 104 | 3 |
| 15 | Fernando Nélson | RB | Porto | (1971-11-05)5 November 1971 (aged 25) | Sporting | 2 August 1996 | £1,700,000 | 39 | 0 |
| 16 | Simon Grayson | RB | Ripon | (1969-12-16)16 December 1969 (aged 27) | Leicester City | 26 June 1997 | £1,300,000 | - | - |
| 19 | David Hughes | LB | Wrexham | (1978-02-01)1 February 1978 (aged 19) | Academy | 1 July 1996 | — | 7 | 0 |
| 20 | Riccardo Scimeca | CB | Leamington Spa | (1975-06-13)13 June 1975 (aged 22) | Academy | 1 July 1995 | — | 22 | 0 |
| 21 | Lee Collins | LB | Birmingham | (1977-09-10)10 September 1977 (aged 19) | Academy | 1 July 1997 | — | - | - |
| 24* | Gareth Barry | LB | Hastings | (1981-02-23)23 February 1981 (aged 16) | Academy | 1 January 1998 | — | - | - |
| Midfielders |||||||||||
| 6 | Andy Townsend | CM | Maidstone | (1963-07-26)26 July 1963 (aged 33) | Chelsea | 26 July 1993 | £2,100,000 | 172 | 11 |
| 7 | Ian Taylor | CM | Birmingham | (1968-06-04)4 June 1968 (aged 29) | Sheffield Wednesday | 21 December 1994 | £1,000,000 | 96 | 9 |
| 8 | Mark Draper | CM | Long Eaton | (1970-11-11)11 November 1970 (aged 26) | Leicester City | 5 July 1995 | £3,250,000 | 82 | 5 |
| 17 | Lee Hendrie | RM | Solihull | (1977-05-18)18 May 1977 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 July 1995 | — | 10 | 0 |
| 18 | Saša Ćurčić | DM | Belgrade | (1972-02-14)14 February 1972 (aged 25) | Bolton Wanderers | 1 July 1995 | £4.000.000 | 25 | 5 |
| 24 | Scott Murray | RM | Fraserburgh | (1974-05-26)26 May 1974 (aged 23) | Academy | 1 July 1995 | — | 4 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||||
| 9 | Savo Milošević | CF | Bijeljina | (1973-09-02)2 September 1973 (aged 23) | Partizan | 26 June 1995 | £3,500,000 | 85 | 24 |
| 10 | Dwight Yorke | CF | Canaan | (1971-11-03)3 November 1971 (aged 25) | Signal Hill | 19 July 1991 | £120,000 | 237 | 82 |
| 11 | Stan Collymore | CF | Tittensor | (1971-01-22)22 January 1971 (aged 26) | Liverpool | 13 May 1997 | £7,000,000 | - | - |
| 12 | Julian Joachim | CF | Peterborough | (1974-09-20)20 September 1974 (aged 22) | Leicester City | 24 February 1996 | £1,890,000 | 28 | 4 |
| 22 | Darius Vassell | CF | Birmingham | (1980-06-13)13 June 1980 (aged 17) | Academy | 1 January 1998 | — | - | - |
| 23 | Neil Davis | CF | Bloxwich | (1973-08-15)15 August 1973 (aged 23) | Academy | 1 July 1995 | — | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | Darren Byfield | CF | Sutton Coldfield | (1976-09-29)29 September 1976 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 July 1997 | — | - | - |
| 27 | Richard Walker | CF | Bloxwich | (1977-11-08)8 November 1977 (aged 19) | Academy | 1 July 1997 | — | - | - |
*squad number was re-used following a players departure. Note: Stats and ages are correct as of July 1, 1997.

## Results

Aston Villa's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 1997 | Leicester City | A | 0–1 | 20,304 | |
| 13 August 1997 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–4 | 37,112 | |
| 23 August 1997 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 36,783 | |
| 27 August 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–3 | 26,317 | Yorke 27', Collymore 58' |
| 30 August 1997 | Leeds United | H | 1–0 | 39,027 | Yorke 67' |
| 13 September 1997 | Barnsley | A | 3–0 | 18,649 | Ehiogu 25', Draper 50', Taylor 72' |
| 20 September 1997 | Derby County | H | 2–1 | 35,444 | Yorke 72', Joachim 75' |
| 22 September 1997 | Liverpool | A | 0–3 | 34,843 | |
| 27 September 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–2 | 32,044 | Staunton 32', Taylor 49' |
| 4 October 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | 24,186 | Milošević 12' |
| 18 October 1997 | Wimbledon | H | 1–2 | 32,087 | Taylor 45' |
| 26 October 1997 | Arsenal | A | 0–0 | 38,061 | |
| 1 November 1997 | Chelsea | H | 0–2 | 39,372 | |
| 8 November 1997 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–1 | 21,097 | Joachim 86' |
| 22 November 1997 | Everton | H | 2–1 | 36,389 | Milošević 37', Ehiogu 56' |
| 29 November 1997 | West Ham United | A | 1–2 | 24,976 | Yorke 47' |
| 6 December 1997 | Coventry City | H | 3–0 | 33,250 | Collymore 21', Hendrie 71', Joachim 85' |
| 15 December 1997 | Manchester United | A | 0–1 | 55,151 | |
| 20 December 1997 | Southampton | H | 1–1 | 29,343 | Taylor 64' |
| 26 December 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 4–1 | 38,644 | Draper 38', 68', Collymore 81', 89' |
| 28 December 1997 | Leeds United | A | 1–1 | 36,287 | Milošević 85' |
| 10 January 1998 | Leicester City | H | 1–1 | 36,429 | Joachim 87' |
| 17 January 1998 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–5 | 24,834 | |
| 1 February 1998 | Newcastle United | H | 0–1 | 38,266 | |
| 7 February 1998 | Derby County | A | 1–0 | 30,251 | Yorke 90' |
| 18 February 1998 | Manchester United | H | 0–2 | 39,372 | |
| 21 February 1998 | Wimbledon | A | 1–2 | 13,131 | Milošević 41' |
| 28 February 1998 | Liverpool | H | 2–1 | 39,372 | Collymore 10', 65' |
| 8 March 1998 | Chelsea | A | 1–0 | 33,018 | Joachim 51' |
| 11 March 1998 | Barnsley | H | 0–1 | 29,519 | |
| 14 March 1998 | Crystal Palace | H | 3–1 | 33,781 | Taylor 1', Milošević pen 14', 35' |
| 28 March 1998 | Everton | A | 4–1 | 36,471 | Joachim 12', Charles 62', Yorke pen 72', 81' |
| 4 April 1998 | West Ham United | H | 2–0 | 39,372 | Joachim 76', Milošević 82' |
| 11 April 1998 | Coventry City | A | 2–1 | 22,792 | Yorke 5', 48' |
| 18 April 1998 | Southampton | A | 2–1 | 15,238 | Hendrie 6', Yorke 60' |
| 25 April 1998 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–3 | 38,392 | Taylor 57' |
| 2 May 1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 3–1 | 34,177 | Yorke 21', Hendrie 25', Joachim 50' |
| 10 May 1998 | Arsenal | H | 1–0 | 39,372 | Yorke 37' (pen) |