# 1997–98 Tranmere Rovers F.C. season

During the 1997–98 English football season, Tranmere Rovers F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In the 1997–98 season, Tranmere had a poor start to the campaign with just three wins from their opening 14 league games which increased the pressure on player-manager Aldridge and by February were in the relegation zone, two points adrift from safety but then a brilliant run of 6 wins from 10 league games helped Tranmere on their way to escaping the drop.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 12 | Oxford United | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 60 | 64 | −4 | 58 |
| 13 | Bradford City | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 46 | 59 | −13 | 57 |
| 14 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 54 | 57 | −3 | 56 |
| 15 | Norwich City | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 52 | 69 | −17 | 55 |
| 16 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 50 | 72 | −22 | 53 |

## Results

Tranmere Rovers' score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–2 | 16,727 | Kelly |
| 15 August 1997 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–1 | 7,467 | Kelly, L. Jones |
| 22 August 1997 | Manchester City | A | 1–1 | 26,336 | L. Jones |
| 30 August 1997 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–2 | 12,095 | |
| 2 September 1997 | Birmingham City | H | 0–3 | 6,620 | |
| 7 September 1997 | Bury | A | 0–1 | 5,073 | |
| 13 September 1997 | Swindon Town | A | 1–2 | 6,811 | L. Jones |
| 20 September 1997 | Reading | H | 6–0 | 5,565 | Morrissey, Kelly (2), L. Jones, G. Jones, Thompson |
| 27 September 1997 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 1–2 | 4,845 | Stevens |
| 4 October 1997 | Norwich City | H | 2–0 | 6,674 | Kelly, L. Jones |
| 18 October 1997 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–2 | 17,009 | L. Jones, Thompson |
| 22 October 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 20,841 | G. Jones |
| 25 October 1997 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–2 | 5,911 | Branch, L. Jones |
| 1 November 1997 | Sheffield United | A | 1–2 | 16,578 | Kelly |
| 4 November 1997 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–0 | 5,127 | Irons |
| 8 November 1997 | Port Vale | H | 1–2 | 7,063 | Irons |
| 15 November 1997 | Bradford City | A | 1–0 | 16,494 | Aldridge |
| 22 November 1997 | Stoke City | H | 3–1 | 8,009 | L. Jones, Aldridge, O'Brien |
| 29 November 1997 | Sunderland | A | 0–3 | 26,674 | |
| 6 December 1997 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–1 | 5,720 | L. Jones |
| 13 December 1997 | Stockport County | A | 1–3 | 7,903 | Aldridge |
| 20 December 1997 | Oxford United | H | 0–2 | 5,181 | |
| 26 December 1997 | Bury | H | 0–0 | 9,146 | |
| 28 December 1997 | Birmingham City | A | 0–0 | 19,533 | |
| 9 January 1998 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–0 | 8,058 | |
| 17 January 1998 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–0 | 12,033 | |
| 31 January 1998 | Manchester City | H | 0–0 | 12,830 | |
| 4 February 1998 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–3 | 29,540 | |
| 7 February 1998 | Reading | A | 3–1 | 7,069 | Irons, Kelly, Branch |
| 10 February 1998 | Swindon Town | H | 3–0 | 5,288 | Thompson, Branch, Morrissey |
| 18 February 1998 | Norwich City | A | 2–0 | 12,105 | O'Brien, Kelly |
| 21 February 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 0–3 | 7,534 | |
| 24 February 1998 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–0 | 7,377 | |
| 28 February 1998 | Portsmouth | A | 0–1 | 12,250 | |
| 4 March 1998 | Port Vale | A | 1–0 | 5,465 | Kelly |
| 14 March 1998 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–3 | 10,844 | |
| 21 March 1998 | Bradford City | H | 3–1 | 9,463 | Irons, G. Jones, Kelly |
| 28 March 1998 | Stoke City | A | 3–0 | 16,692 | G. Jones, Mellon, Kelly |
| 3 April 1998 | Sunderland | H | 0–2 | 14,116 | |
| 7 April 1998 | Portsmouth | H | 2–2 | 8,020 | G. Jones, Challinor |
| 11 April 1998 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–0 | 18,039 | |
| 13 April 1998 | Stockport County | H | 3–0 | 8,070 | G. Jones (2), Mellon |
| 18 April 1998 | Oxford United | A | 1–1 | 6,489 | Mahon |
| 25 April 1998 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–2 | 15,393 | |
| 28 April 1998 | Sheffield United | H | 3–3 | 7,526 | O'Brien, G. Jones, Parkinson |
| 3 May 1998 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | 11,144 | Aldridge (2, 1 pen) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 13 January 1998 | Hereford United | A | 3–0 | 7,473 | G. Jones (2), Hill |
| R4 | 24 January 1998 | Sunderland | H | 1–0 | 14,055 | Parkinson |
| R5 | 14 February 1998 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 36,675 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 First Leg | 12 August 1997 | Hartlepool United | H | 3–1 | 3,878 | L. Jones, Morrissey, Kelly |
| R1 Second Leg | 26 August 1997 | Hartlepool United | A | 1–2 (won 4–3 on agg) | 1,626 | O'Brien |
| R2 First Leg | 16 September 1997 | Notts County | A | 2–0 | 1,779 | G. Jones, Kelly |
| R2 Second Leg | 23 September 1997 | Notts County | H | 0–1 (won 2–1 on agg) | 3,287 | |
| R3 | 14 October 1997 | Oxford United | H | 1–1 (lost 5–6 on pens) | 3,878 | Kelly |

## 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Steve Simonsen |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Andy Thompson |
| 3 | DF | ENG | John McGreal |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Dave Challinor |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Gary Stevens |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Gary Jones |
| 7 | MF | IRL | Liam O'Brien |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Kenny Irons |
| 9 | MF | SCO | Micky Mellon |
| 10 | FW | WAL | Lee Jones |
| 11 | FW | ENG | David Kelly |
| 12 | MF | ENG | John Morrissey |
| 13 | GK | WAL | Danny Coyne |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Andy Thorn |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Graham Branch |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | WAL | Alan Morgan |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Clint Hill |
| 18 | DF | POL | Dariusz Kubicki |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Paul Cook |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Andy Parkinson |
| 21 | FW | IRL | John Aldridge (player-manager) |
| 22 | DF | SCO | Stephen Frail |
| 23 | MF | IRL | Alan Mahon |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Kevin McIntyre |
| 25 | MF | WAL | Jason Koumas |
| 26 | MF | GER | Dirk Hebel |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Ryan Williams |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Michael Howard |
| 29 | MF | WAL | Neil Gibson |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Gareth Powell |