# 1997–98 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

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

## Season summary

Nottingham Forest were re-promoted to the Premier League, much thanks to the striking partnership of Pierre van Hooijdonk and Kevin Campbell. In the end, Forest had a four-point margin down to the 3rd positioned-team Sunderland, prompting an immediate return to the top flight.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Nottingham Forest (C, P) | 46 | 28 | 10 | 8 | 82 | 42 | +40 | 94 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Middlesbrough (P) | 46 | 27 | 10 | 9 | 77 | 41 | +36 | 91 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | Sunderland | 46 | 26 | 12 | 8 | 86 | 50 | +36 | 90 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic (O, P) | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 80 | 49 | +31 | 88 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 77 | 43 | +34 | 83 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |

## Results

Nottingham Forest's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 1997 | Port Vale | A | 1–0 | 12,533 | Campbell |
| 15 August 1997 | Norwich City | H | 4–1 | 16,524 | van Hooijdonk, Thomas (2), Campbell |
| 23 August 1997 | Oxford United | A | 1–0 | 9,486 | Bart-Williams |
| 30 August 1997 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 4–0 | 18,804 | van Hooijdonk (3), Saunders |
| 3 September 1997 | Manchester City | H | 1–3 | 23,681 | Campbell |
| 7 September 1997 | Swindon Town | A | 0–0 | 13,051 | |
| 13 September 1997 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 24,536 | |
| 20 September 1997 | Portsmouth | H | 1–0 | 17,292 | van Hooijdonk |
| 27 September 1997 | Stoke City | H | 1–0 | 19,018 | Campbell |
| 3 October 1997 | Huddersfield Town | A | 2–0 | 11,258 | Cooper, Saunders |
| 18 October 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–2 | 17,009 | van Hooijdonk, Gemmill |
| 21 October 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | 19,243 | Campbell |
| 24 October 1997 | Reading | A | 3–3 | 12,610 | van Hooijdonk (2, 1 pen), Campbell |
| 1 November 1997 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 3–1 | 18,268 | Campbell, van Hooijdonk (2) |
| 4 November 1997 | Bury | A | 0–2 | 6,137 | |
| 8 November 1997 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | 33,160 | Hjelde |
| 15 November 1997 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | 19,610 | Campbell |
| 22 November 1997 | Charlton Athletic | H | 5–2 | 18,532 | van Hooijdonk (3), Woan, Campbell |
| 26 November 1997 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–0 | 30,143 | |
| 29 November 1997 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–0 | 17,580 | Campbell |
| 6 December 1997 | Bradford City | H | 2–2 | 17,943 | Cooper, Bonalair |
| 14 December 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 24,635 | A Johnson |
| 20 December 1997 | Stockport County | H | 2–1 | 16,701 | van Hooijdonk (pen), Stone |
| 26 December 1997 | Swindon Town | H | 3–0 | 26,500 | Campbell (2), A Johnson |
| 28 December 1997 | Manchester City | A | 3–2 | 31,839 | van Hooijdonk (2 pens), Campbell |
| 10 January 1998 | Port Vale | H | 2–1 | 17,639 | van Hooijdonk (2) |
| 17 January 1998 | Norwich City | A | 0–1 | 17,059 | |
| 24 January 1998 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–0 | 13,220 | Cooper |
| 31 January 1998 | Oxford United | H | 1–3 | 18,392 | van Hooijdonk (pen) |
| 7 February 1998 | Portsmouth | A | 1–0 | 15,033 | Chettle |
| 17 February 1998 | Huddersfield Town | H | 3–0 | 18,231 | van Hooijdonk (2), Bonalair |
| 21 February 1998 | Stoke City | A | 1–1 | 16,899 | Thomas-Moore |
| 24 February 1998 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–0 | 7,377 | |
| 1 March 1998 | Middlesbrough | H | 4–0 | 25,286 | van Hooijdonk (2, 1 pen), Campbell, Cooper |
| 4 March 1998 | Sunderland | H | 0–3 | 29,009 | |
| 7 March 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 4–1 | 5,759 | Bart-Williams, Campbell (3) |
| 14 March 1998 | Bury | H | 3–0 | 18,846 | Lucketti (own goal), van Hooijdonk, Rogers |
| 21 March 1998 | Birmingham City | A | 2–1 | 24,663 | van Hooijdonk (2) |
| 28 March 1998 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–4 | 15,815 | Campbell (2) |
| 1 April 1998 | Sheffield United | H | 3–0 | 21,512 | Thomas, Campbell (2) |
| 5 April 1998 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | 22,292 | Cooper, van Hooijdonk |
| 11 April 1998 | Bradford City | A | 3–0 | 17,248 | Campbell, Gemmill, Bart-Williams |
| 13 April 1998 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–0 | 22,863 | Johnson, van Hooijdonk, Campbell |
| 18 April 1998 | Stockport County | A | 2–2 | 9,892 | van Hooijdonk, Johnson |
| 26 April 1998 | Reading | H | 1–0 | 29,302 | Bart-Williams |
| 3 May 1998 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | 23,013 | Stone |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 3 January 1998 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–4 | 13,827 | van Hooijdonk |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 First Leg | 11 August 1997 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 8–0 | 4,547 | Thomas, Saunders (2), Hjelde (2), van Hooijdonk (2), Allen |
| R1 Second Leg | 27 August 1997 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2–1 (won 10–1 on agg) | 9,908 | Guinan, van Hooijdonk |
| R2 First Leg | 17 September 1997 | Walsall | H | 0–1 | 7,841 | |
| R2 Second Leg | 24 September 1997 | Walsall | A | 2–2 (lost 2–3 on agg) | 6,037 | van Hooijdonk, Armstrong |

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Dave Beasant |
| — | GK | ENG | Mark Goodlad |
| — | GK | WAL | Mark Crossley |
| — | GK | SUI | Marco Pascolo |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Chettle |
| — | DF | ENG | Colin Cooper |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Dawson |
| — | DF | ENG | Des Lyttle |
| — | DF | ENG | Alan Rogers |
| — | DF | ENG | Stuart Thom |
| — | DF | SCO | Chris Doig |
| — | DF | FRA | Thierry Bonalair |
| — | DF | NOR | Jon-Olav Hjelde |
| — | MF | ENG | Chris Allen |
| — | MF | ENG | Craig Armstrong |
| — | MF | ENG | Chris Bart-Williams |
| — | MF | ENG | Richard Cooper |
| — | MF | ENG | John Finnigan |
| — | MF | ENG | Richard Hodgson |
| — | MF | ENG | Bobby Howe |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Melton |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Stone |
| — | MF | ENG | Geoff Thomas |
| — | MF | ENG | Andy Todd |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Woan |
| — | MF | WAL | Christian Edwards |
| — | MF | WAL | Glyn Hodges |
| — | MF | WAL | Andy Johnson |
| — | MF | SCO | Scot Gemmill |
| — | MF | IRL | John Burns |
| — | MF | AUS | Gareth Edds |
| — | FW | ENG | Kevin Campbell |
| — | FW | ENG | Steve Guinan |
| — | FW | ENG | Marlon Harewood |
| — | FW | ENG | Paul McGregor |
| — | FW | ENG | Ian Thomas-Moore |
| — | FW | IRL | David Freeman |
| — | FW | NED | Pierre van Hooijdonk |
| — | FW | ESP | Carlos Merino |

### Left club permanently during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | NIR | Alan Fettis (to Blackburn Rovers) |
| — | DF | ENG | Vance Warner (to Rotherham United) |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Smith (to Lincoln City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | WAL | David Phillips (to Huddersfield Town) |
| — | MF | NIR | Damien Johnson (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |
| — | FW | WAL | Dean Saunders (to Sheffield United) |

### Left club on loan during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | WAL | Mark Crossley (on loan to Millwall) |
| — | MF | ENG | Chris Allen (on loan to Luton Town) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | John Finnigan (on loan to Lincoln City) |
| — | FW | ENG | Marlon Harewood (on loan to FC Haka) |