# 1897–98 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season

The 1897–98 season was Tottenham's second season as a fully professional club and the 15th year since their inception. In the season Tottenham played in two leagues. The main campaign was played in the Southern Football League with midweek games in the United League. They also competed the FA Cup qualifying rounds. The first game was a 7–0 win at home against 2nd Coldstream Guards, the second was a 4–3 loss to Luton Town.
In the United League Tottenham also played Luton twice, Luton won the first game 5–0 and in the second game which finished in a draw 2–2 was described as a dirty game by the Weekly Herald. The referee was classed as being poor, penalising the wrong players, not noticing a handball goal and not being able to handle what was called "a dirty game". This led to some Tottenham supporters using foul language and some attacks on Luton players. Luton complained to the Football Association about the conduct at Northumberland Park, the result was that Tottenham had to play their next home game at Millwall's ground.

## 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Charles Ambler |
| — | GK | SCO | Joseph Cullen |
| — | DF | SCO | Edwin Downie |
| — | DF | SCO | Alex Hall |
| — | DF | ENG | Stanley Briggs |
| — | DF | ENG | Joe Knowles |
| — | DF | ENG | Lycurgus Burrows |
| — | DF | SCO | Jack Montgomary |
| — | MF | ENG | William Crump |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | WAL | Jack Jones |
| — | MF | SCO | Johnny Madden |
| — | MF | SCO | Robert Tannahill |
| — | MF | SCO | Robert Stormont |
| — | FW | ENG | Thomas Meade |
| — | FW | SCO | Jimmy Davidson |
| — | FW | SCO | David Black |
| — | FW | SCO | Bill Joyce |
| — | FW | SCO | Jimmy Hartley |

## Transfers
### In

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Fee | Ref. |
| May 1897 | Forward | | James Davidson | Burnley | Unknown | |
| May 1897 | Full back | | Joe Knowles | Sunderland | Unknown | |

### Out

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Fee | Ref. |
| December 1897 | Full back | | Lycurgus Burrows | Sheffield United | Unknown | |

## Competitions
### Southern League
#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
| 1 | Southampton | 22 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 53 | 18 | 2.944 | 37 |
| 2 | Bristol City | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 67 | 33 | 2.030 | 33 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 52 | 31 | 1.677 | 28 |
| 4 | Chatham Town | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 50 | 34 | 1.471 | 28 |
| 5 | Reading | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 39 | 31 | 1.258 | 23 |

#### Results
### United League
#### Table

| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 1 | Luton Town | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 49 | 11 | 28 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 40 | 21 | 21 |
| 3 | Woolwich Arsenal | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 35 | 24 | 21 |
| 4 | Kettering | 16 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 28 | 25 | 19 |
| 5 | Rushden Town | 16 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 42 | 15 |
| 6 | Southampton | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 24 | 12 |
| 7 | Millwall | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 27 | 12 |
| 8 | Wellingborough | 16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 42 | 9 |
| 9 | Loughborough | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 8 | 42 | 4 |