# 1997–98 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

During the 1997–98 English football season, West Bromwich Albion F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.
In the first few months of the 1997–98 season, West Brom established themselves in the top six. Harford then stunned Albion supporters by moving to QPR after less than a year in charge, making way for Denis Smith, who struggled to maintain the momentum created by Harford, and the Baggies could only finish 10th.
Nigel Spink (24) became the oldest goalkeeper to appear for the club when, at the age of 39 years and 19 days, he kept goal in a League Cup tie against Cambridge United on 27 August 1997, a record since broken by Dean Kiely at 39 years, 189 days.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 8 | Stockport County | 46 | 19 | 8 | 19 | 71 | 69 | +2 | 65 |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 65 |
| 10 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 61 |
| 11 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 18 | 5 | 23 | 58 | 65 | −7 | 59 |
| 12 | Oxford United | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 60 | 64 | −4 | 58 |

## Results

West Bromwich Albion's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–1 | 16,727 | Kilbane, Hunt |
| 16 August 1997 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 3–2 | 5,234 | Hunt (pen), Hughes (2) |
| 24 August 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 22,511 | Curle (own goal) |
| 30 August 1997 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–1 | 13,508 | Sneekes |
| 3 September 1997 | Stoke City | A | 0–0 | 17,500 | |
| 7 September 1997 | Reading | H | 1–0 | 15,966 | Hunt |
| 13 September 1997 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–2 | 14,399 | |
| 20 September 1997 | Swindon Town | H | 0–0 | 16,237 | |
| 27 September 1997 | Bury | A | 3–1 | 6,439 | Peschisolido (3) |
| 4 October 1997 | Oxford United | H | 1–2 | 15,889 | Hunt |
| 18 October 1997 | Portsmouth | A | 3–2 | 9,158 | Mardon, Hunt (2) |
| 21 October 1997 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–1 | 19,243 | |
| 25 October 1997 | Sheffield United | H | 2–0 | 17,311 | Hunt, Hughes |
| 1 November 1997 | Bradford City | A | 0–0 | 16,212 | |
| 4 November 1997 | Norwich City | H | 1–0 | 13,949 | Hughes |
| 8 November 1997 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | 16,124 | Hunt |
| 15 November 1997 | Port Vale | A | 2–1 | 11,124 | Hunt, Hamilton |
| 23 November 1997 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | 18,444 | Sneekes |
| 29 November 1997 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–1 | 30,164 | |
| 2 December 1997 | Manchester City | H | 0–1 | 17,904 | |
| 6 December 1997 | Stockport County | H | 3–2 | 14,957 | Sneekes, Hughes, Hunt |
| 13 December 1997 | Sunderland | A | 0–2 | 29,231 | |
| 20 December 1997 | Huddersfield Town | H | 0–2 | 14,619 | |
| 26 December 1997 | Reading | A | 1–2 | 10,154 | Kilbane |
| 28 December 1997 | Stoke City | H | 1–1 | 19,690 | Hunt |
| 9 January 1998 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–0 | 8,058 | |
| 17 January 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 0–1 | 15,257 | |
| 27 January 1998 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–3 | 12,403 | Murphy, Flynn |
| 31 January 1998 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | 28,244 | Hunt |
| 7 February 1998 | Swindon Town | A | 2–0 | 9,861 | Carbon, Evans |
| 14 February 1998 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | 20,143 | Hughes |
| 17 February 1998 | Oxford United | A | 1–2 | 9,412 | Taylor |
| 21 February 1998 | Bury | H | 1–1 | 15,840 | Hughes |
| 24 February 1998 | Portsmouth | H | 0–3 | 12,757 | |
| 28 February 1998 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | 28,460 | |
| 3 March 1998 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–5 | 10,893 | |
| 7 March 1998 | Bradford City | H | 1–1 | 13,281 | Burgess |
| 14 March 1998 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | 16,663 | Hughes |
| 21 March 1998 | Port Vale | H | 2–2 | 14,242 | Flynn, Taylor |
| 28 March 1998 | Birmingham City | A | 0–1 | 23,260 | |
| 4 April 1998 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–1 | 21,620 | Quinn (2, 1 pen) |
| 11 April 1998 | Stockport County | A | 1–2 | 7,943 | Hughes |
| 13 April 1998 | Sunderland | H | 3–3 | 22,181 | Hughes (2), Kilbane |
| 18 April 1998 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–1 | 11,704 | |
| 25 April 1998 | Sheffield United | A | 4–2 | 21,248 | Hunt, Hughes (2), Kilbane |
| 3 May 1998 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 | 23,013 | Hughes (pen) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 13 January 1998 | Stoke City | H | 3–1 | 17,598 | Sneekes (2), Kilbane |
| R4 | 24 January 1998 | Aston Villa | A | 0–4 | 39,372 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 First Leg | 12 August 1997 | Cambridge United | A | 1–1 | 3,520 | Peschisolido |
| R1 Second Leg | 27 August 1997 | Cambridge United | H | 2–1 (won 3–2 on agg) | 10,264 | Hunt, Sneekes (pen) |
| R2 First Leg | 16 September 1997 | Luton Town | A | 1–1 | 3,437 | Taylor |
| R2 Second Leg | 23 September 1997 | Luton Town | H | 4–2 (won 5–3 on agg) | 7,227 | Raven, McDermott, Peschisolido (2) |
| R3 | 15 October 1997 | Liverpool | H | 0–2 | 22,986 | |

## 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 | Alan Miller |
| — | GK | ENG | Chris Adamson |
| — | GK | ENG | Paul Crichton |
| — | GK | ENG | Nigel Spink |
| — | GK | SCO | Gary Germaine |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Holmes |
| — | DF | WAL | Paul Mardon |
| — | DF | ENG | Matt Carbon |
| — | DF | ENG | Daryl Burgess |
| — | DF | ENG | Shane Nicholson |
| — | MF | IRL | Kevin Kilbane |
| — | MF | NED | Richard Sneekes |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Butler |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Hamilton |
| — | MF | ENG | Sean Flynn |
| — | FW | ENG | Andy Hunt |
| — | FW | ENG | Lee Hughes |
| — | MF | ENG | David Smith |
| — | DF | AUS | Shaun Murphy |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | AUS | Andy McDermott |
| — | FW | NIR | James Quinn |
| — | FW | ENG | Bob Taylor |
| — | DF | SCO | Steve Nicol |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Raven |
| — | DF | AUS | Jason van Blerk |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Beesley (on loan from Manchester City) |
| — | MF | ENG | Stacy Coldicott |
| — | DF | ENG | Tony Dobson |
| — | FW | CAN | Paul Peschisolido |
| — | DF | ENG | Graham Potter |
| — | FW | IRL | Mickey Evans |
| — | FW | ENG | Franz Carr |
| — | FW | WAL | James Thomas (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |
| — | FW | SKN | Brian Quailey |
| — | MF | ENG | Dave Gilbert |
| — | MF | ENG | Dean Bennett |
| — | FW | ENG | Michael Rodosthenous |
| — | GK | ENG | Neil Wypior |