# 1997–98 Grimsby Town F.C. season

During the 1997–98 English football season, Grimsby Town F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.

## Season summary

The 1997–98 season saw the return of Alan Buckley as manager, after an unsuccessful period at West Bromwich Albion, for Grimsby's most successful post-war season. In the summer of 1997, Buckley succeeded in bringing in players to the club who were to be instrumental in the club's upcoming season. Former skipper Paul Groves was re-signed from West Bromwich Albion, and Kevin Donovan and David Smith also joined the club from Albion. The mid-season capture of Huddersfield Town midfielder Wayne Burnett proved to be a great bit of business for Buckley. After a seemingly poor start to the League campaign, performances improved, which propelled the club into a promotion battle with Watford, Bristol City and an expensively assembled Fulham (at the time the only club at this level to have spent seven-figure sums on players). A good run in the League Cup saw The Mariners knock holders Leicester City and fellow Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday out of the competition before finally losing out to Liverpool. A decent run of form had ignited the careers of such younger players as Daryl Clare, Danny Butterfield and Jack Lester who were becoming an integral part of the Blundell Park set-up. The Mariners went on to dump Burnley out of the Football League Trophy Northern section area final, which would see the club book its first trip to Wembley Stadium. The club were drawn against Southern section champions AFC Bournemouth and in a tight game, an equaliser from substitute Kingsley Black took the game into extra time, and in the 112th minute Grimsby secured the game courtesy of a golden goal from Wayne Burnett. This was the first major trophy awarded to the club following its first appearance at Wembley. It took only four weeks for Grimsby to return to the stadium though, this time to face Northampton Town in the Division Two Play Off Final. Town won the game 1–0 thanks to a first half Kevin Donovan goal which gave the club a historic Wembley double and The Mariners promotion back to Division One.

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Pos | Player | Transferred from | Fee |
| 1 August 1997 | MF | Kevin Donovan | West Bromwich Albion | £300,000 |
| 1 August 1997 | MF | Paul Groves | West Bromwich Albion | £250,000 |
| 1 August 1997 | FW | Lee Nogan | Reading | £170,000 |
| 1 August 1997 | GK | Aidan Davison | Bradford City | Free Transfer |
| 16 January 1998 | MF | David Smith | West Bromwich Albion | £200,000 |
| 12 February 1998 | MF | Wayne Burnett | Huddersfield Town | £100,000 |
| 26 March 1998 | MF | Jim Dobbin | Scarborough | Free transfer |

### Loans in

| Date | Pos | Player | Transferred from | Date Until |
| 10 August 1997 | MF | Dave Gilbert | West Bromwich Albion | 13 September 1997 |
| 1 August 1997 | MF | Paul Holsgrove | Reading | 9 November 1997 |
| 9 January 1998 | MF | Wayne Burnett | Huddersfield Town | 8 February 1998 |

### Transfers out

| Date | Pos | Player | Transferred To | Fee |
| 31 May 1997 | FW | Clive Mendonca | Charlton Athletic | £700,000 |
| 31 May 1997 | MF | Craig Shakespeare | Scunthorpe United | Released |
| 31 May 1997 | DF | Joby Gowshall | Lincoln City | Released |
| 31 May 1997 | DF | Neil Webb | Aldershot Town | Released |
| 31 May 1997 | GK | Andy Quy | Stevenage Borough | Released |
| 31 May 1997 | MF | Paul Harsley | Scunthorpe United | Released |
| 1 August 1997 | MF | John Oster | Everton | £1,500,000 |
| 7 August 1997 | MF | Jimmy Neil | Scunthorpe United | Released |
| 1 September 1997 | MF | Gary Childs | Wisbech Town | Released |
| 6 December 1997 | MF | Nicky Southall | Gillingham | Free transfer |

### Loans out

| Date | Pos | Player | Transferred To | Date Until |
| 7 November 1997 | FW | Neil Woods | Wigan Athletic | 9 November 1997 |
| 17 January 1998 | FW | Neil Woods | Scunthorpe United | 16 February 1998 |
| 17 February 1998 | FW | Neil Woods | Mansfield Town | 17 March 1998 |
| 26 March 1998 | DF | Ashley Fickling | Darlington | 31 May 1998 |
    Transfers in: £1,020,000
    Transfers out: £2,200,000
    Total spending: £480,000

## Final league table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Watford | 46 | 24 | 16 | 6 | 67 | 41 | +26 | 88 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Bristol City | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 69 | 39 | +30 | 85 | Promoted |
| 3 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 55 | 37 | +18 | 72 | Promoted through play-offs |
| 4 | Northampton Town | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 71 | Participated in play-offs |
| 5 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 70 | 64 | +6 | 70 | Participated in play-offs |

## Results

Grimsby Town's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Second Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 1997 | Bristol City | H | 1–1 | 6,220 | Widdrington |
| 16 August 1997 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 2–2 | 6,002 | Donovan (pen), Nogan |
| 23 August 1997 | Wrexham | H | 0–0 | 4,404 | |
| 30 August 1997 | Brentford | A | 1–3 | 3,875 | Nogan |
| 2 September 1997 | Preston North End | A | 0–2 | 9,489 | |
| 9 September 1997 | York City | H | 0–0 | 5,308 | |
| 13 September 1997 | Fulham | A | 2–0 | 6,874 | Livingstone (2) |
| 20 September 1997 | Millwall | H | 0–1 | 4,267 | |
| 27 September 1997 | Bournemouth | A | 1–0 | 3,712 | Groves |
| 4 October 1997 | Wigan Athletic | H | 2–1 | 4,623 | Donovan (2 pens) |
| 11 October 1997 | Northampton Town | H | 1–0 | 4,778 | Donovan |
| 18 October 1997 | Blackpool | A | 2–2 | 5,234 | Nogan, Donovan (pen) |
| 21 October 1997 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–2 | 4,520 | |
| 25 October 1997 | Watford | H | 0–1 | 5,699 | |
| 1 November 1997 | Southend United | H | 5–1 | 4,501 | Nogan (2), Lester, Groves, Widdrington |
| 4 November 1997 | Walsall | A | 0–0 | 2,599 | |
| 8 November 1997 | Chesterfield | A | 0–1 | 5,004 | |
| 22 November 1997 | Burnley | H | 4–1 | 4,829 | Groves, Widdrington, Lester, Nogan |
| 29 November 1997 | Gillingham | A | 2–0 | 4,855 | Jobling, Black |
| 2 December 1997 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | 0–0 | 4,160 | |
| 12 December 1997 | Bristol Rovers | A | 4–0 | 4,801 | Gallimore, Livingstone (2), Donovan |
| 20 December 1997 | Carlisle United | H | 1–0 | 6,222 | McDermott |
| 26 December 1997 | York City | A | 0–0 | 7,093 | |
| 28 December 1997 | Preston North End | H | 3–1 | 6,725 | Donovan (2), Black |
| 10 January 1998 | Bristol City | A | 1–4 | 12,567 | Groves |
| 17 January 1998 | Brentford | H | 4–0 | 4,624 | Groves, Smith, Donovan, Clare |
| 31 January 1998 | Fulham | H | 1–1 | 6,785 | Burnett |
| 7 February 1998 | Millwall | A | 1–0 | 6,020 | Livingstone |
| 14 February 1998 | Wigan Athletic | A | 2–0 | 3,548 | Nogan, Donovan |
| 21 February 1998 | Bournemouth | H | 2–1 | 5,456 | O'Neil (own goal), Groves |
| 24 February 1998 | Blackpool | H | 1–0 | 4,924 | Clare |
| 28 February 1998 | Northampton Town | A | 1–2 | 6,932 | Donovan |
| 3 March 1998 | Chesterfield | H | 0–0 | 4,940 | |
| 7 March 1998 | Southend United | A | 1–0 | 4,829 | Clare |
| 14 March 1998 | Walsall | H | 3–0 | 4,916 | Nogan, Donovan (2) |
| 21 March 1998 | Luton Town | A | 2–2 | 5,700 | Gallimore, Donovan |
| 24 March 1998 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–0 | 4,661 | Groves |
| 28 March 1998 | Burnley | A | 1–2 | 8,256 | Lester |
| 31 March 1998 | Wrexham | A | 0–0 | 5,421 | |
| 4 April 1998 | Gillingham | H | 0–0 | 5,190 | |
| 7 April 1998 | Luton Town | H | 0–1 | 4,455 | |
| 10 April 1998 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 5,846 | Lester |
| 13 April 1998 | Bristol Rovers | H | 1–2 | 5,484 | Donovan (pen) |
| 21 April 1998 | Carlisle United | A | 1–0 | 3,956 | Donovan (pen) |
| 25 April 1998 | Watford | A | 0–0 | 14,002 | |
| 2 May 1998 | Oldham Athletic | H | 0–2 | 8,054 | |

### Second Division play-offs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| Semi-final first leg | 9 May 1998 | Fulham | A | 1–1 | 13,954 | Smith |
| Semi-final second leg | 13 May 1998 | Fulham | H | 1–0 (won 2–1 on agg) | 8,689 | Donovan |
| Final | 24 May 1998 | Northampton Town | N | 1–0 | 62,988 | Donovan |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| First round | 15 November 1997 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 1–1 | 3,193 | Southall |
| First round replay | 25 November 1997 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 4–0 | 3,242 | Nogan, Herbert (own goal), Lester, Jobling |
| Second round | 6 December 1997 | Chesterfield | H | 2–2 | 4,762 | Rodger, Nogan |
| Second round replay | 16 December 1997 | Chesterfield | A | 2–0 | 4,553 | Lester, Groves |
| Third round | 3 January 1998 | Norwich City | H | 3–0 | 8,161 | McDermott, Woods, Donovan |
| Fourth round | 14 January 1998 | Leeds United | A | 0–2 | 29,598 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| First round first leg | 12 August 1997 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–1 | 5,656 | |
| First round second leg | 26 August 1997 | Oldham Athletic | H | 5–0 (won 5–1 on agg) | 5,078 | Lester (3), Livingstone, Donovan |
| Second round first leg | 17 September 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–0 | 6,429 | Groves, Livingstone |
| Second round second leg | 1 October 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2–3 (won 4–3 on agg) | 11,120 | Nogan, Groves |
| Third round | 14 October 1997 | Leicester City | H | 3–1 | 7,738 | Jobling, Livingstone (2) |
| Fourth round | 18 November 1997 | Liverpool | A | 0–3 | 28,515 | |

### Football League Trophy

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| First round | 9 December 1997 | Chesterfield | A | 1–0 | 1,128 | Nogan |
| Second round | 6 January 1998 | Hull City | H | 1–0 | 4,778 | Butterfield |
| Area quarter-final | 27 January 1998 | Scunthorpe United | A | 2–0 | 4,596 | Groves, Burnett |
| Area semi-final | 17 February 1998 | Blackpool | H | 1–0 | 8,027 | Burnett |
| Area final first leg | 10 March 1998 | Burnley | H | 1–1 | 6,064 | Groves |
| Area final second leg | 17 March 1998 | Burnley | A | 2–0 (won 3–1 on agg) | 10,257 | Nogan, Donovan |
| Final | 19 April 1998 | Bournemouth | N | 2–1 | 62,432 | Glass (own goal), Burnett |

## Squad

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Second Division | Second Division | Play-offs | Play-offs | FA Cup | FA Cup | FL Cup | FL Cup | FL Trophy | FL Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| - | GK | NIR | Aidan Davison | 63 | 0 | 42+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 |
| - | GK | ENG | Jason Pearcey | 5 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| - | DF | SCO | Peter Handyside | 64 | 0 | 40+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 8+1 | 0 |
| - | DF | ENG | John McDermott | 62 | 2 | 40+1 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 1 | 5+0 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 |
| - | DF | ENG | Mark Lever | 54 | 0 | 37+1 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 |
| - | DF | ENG | Tony Gallimore | 56 | 2 | 34+1 | 2 | 3+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 |
| - | DF | ENG | Kevin Jobling | 44 | 3 | 17+13 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 5+0 | 1 | 1+3 | 1 | 2+2 | 0 |
| - | DF | ENG | Graham Rodger | 19 | 1 | 10+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| - | DF | ENG | Danny Butterfield | 11 | 1 | 4+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 |
| - | DF | ENG | Matthew Bloomer | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| - | DF | ENG | Ben Chapman | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| - | DF | ENG | Ashley Fickling | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| - | MF | ENG | Paul Groves | 68 | 12 | 46+0 | 7 | 3+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 1 | 6+0 | 2 | 7+0 | 2 |
| - | MF | ENG | Kevin Donovan | 67 | 21 | 46+0 | 16 | 3+0 | 2 | 6+0 | 1 | 6+0 | 1 | 6+0 | 1 |
| - | MF | NIR | Kingsley Black | 55 | 2 | 24+15 | 2 | 0+3 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 |
| - | MF | ENG | Wayne Burnett | 29 | 4 | 20+1 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 3 |
| - | MF | ENG | David Smith | 25 | 2 | 17+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 |
| - | MF | ENG | Tommy Widdrington | 30 | 3 | 15+6 | 3 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| - | MF | ENG | Dave Gilbert | 6 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| - | MF | ENG | Nicky Southall | 9 | 1 | 4+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| - | MF | ENG | Paul Holsgrove | 10 | 0 | 3+7 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| - | MF | SCO | Jim Dobbin | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| - | MF | ENG | Darren Wrack | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| - | MF | ENG | Gary Childs | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| - | FW | WAL | Lee Nogan | 54 | 13 | 33+3 | 8 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 2 | 6+0 | 1 | 5+0 | 2 |
| - | FW | ENG | Steve Livingstone | 59 | 9 | 28+13 | 5 | 0+2 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 3+3 | 4 | 4+1 | 0 |
| - | FW | ENG | Jack Lester | 57 | 9 | 27+13 | 4 | 3+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 2 | 3+2 | 3 | 1+4 | 0 |
| - | FW | EIR | Daryl Clare | 33 | 3 | 8+14 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 |
| - | FW | ENG | Neil Woods | 14 | 1 | 1+9 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
* Source: