# 1997–98 Bristol Rovers F.C. season

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

## Season summary

The 1997–98 season saw Bristol Rovers reach the playoff places, finishing in 5th place and despite taking a first-leg advantage of 3–1 against Northampton Town, Rovers subsequently lost 3–0 in the second leg and went out 4–3 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

## Final league table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 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 |
| 6 | Fulham | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 60 | 43 | +17 | 70 | Participated in play-offs |
| 7 | Wrexham | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 55 | 51 | +4 | 70 | |

## Results

Bristol Rovers' score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Second Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 9 August 1997 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–1 | 7,386 | Hayles |
| 16 August 1997 | York City | A | 1–0 | 3,307 | Hayles |
| 23 August 1997 | Carlisle United | H | 3–1 | 6,044 | Bennett, Hayles, Penrice |
| 30 August 1997 | Burnley | A | 0–0 | 9,887 | |
| 2 September 1997 | Bournemouth | A | 1–1 | 5,550 | Cureton (pen) |
| 9 September 1997 | Walsall | H | 2–0 | 6,225 | Ramasut, Hayles |
| 13 September 1997 | Gillingham | H | 1–2 | 6,572 | Hayles |
| 20 September 1997 | Chesterfield | A | 0–0 | 5,309 | |
| 27 September 1997 | Oldham Athletic | A | 4–4 | 5,990 | Beadle (2), Hayles, Cureton (pen) |
| 4 October 1997 | Wrexham | H | 1–0 | 6,829 | Ramasut |
| 14 October 1997 | Watford | H | 1–2 | 8,110 | Penrice |
| 18 October 1997 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 5,836 | |
| 21 October 1997 | Brentford | A | 3–2 | 3,967 | Hayles (2), Beadle |
| 25 October 1997 | Blackpool | H | 0–3 | 6,183 | |
| 1 November 1997 | Northampton Town | A | 1–1 | 7,264 | Cureton |
| 4 November 1997 | Bristol City | H | 1–2 | 7,552 | Tillson |
| 8 November 1997 | Fulham | H | 2–3 | 6,166 | Penrice (2) |
| 18 November 1997 | Preston North End | A | 2–1 | 7,798 | Penrice, Alsop |
| 22 November 1997 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | 3,653 | Beadle (pen) |
| 29 November 1997 | Millwall | H | 2–1 | 5,542 | Beadle, Hayles |
| 2 December 1997 | Wigan Athletic | A | 0–3 | 2,738 | |
| 12 December 1997 | Grimsby Town | H | 0–4 | 4,801 | |
| 20 December 1997 | Luton Town | A | 4–2 | 5,266 | Cureton, Hayles (2), Beadle |
| 26 December 1997 | Walsall | A | 1–0 | 6,634 | Beadle |
| 28 December 1997 | Bournemouth | H | 5–3 | 7,256 | Beadle (3), Hayles (2) |
| 10 January 1998 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 2–1 | 6,850 | Cureton, Hayles |
| 17 January 1998 | Burnley | H | 1–0 | 7,208 | Cureton |
| 24 January 1998 | Carlisle United | A | 1–3 | 5,725 | Cureton |
| 31 January 1998 | Gillingham | A | 1–1 | 5,593 | Cureton (pen) |
| 7 February 1998 | Chesterfield | H | 3–1 | 5,481 | Bennett, Cureton (2) |
| 14 February 1998 | Wrexham | A | 0–1 | 3,716 | |
| 21 February 1998 | Oldham Athletic | H | 3–1 | 5,789 | Hayles (2), Ramasut |
| 24 February 1998 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | 3–1 | 5,805 | Hayles, Beadle, Ramasut |
| 28 February 1998 | Watford | A | 2–3 | 12,186 | White, Cureton |
| 3 March 1998 | Fulham | A | 0–1 | 6,843 | |
| 7 March 1998 | Northampton Town | H | 0–2 | 6,535 | |
| 10 March 1998 | York City | H | 1–2 | 4,289 | Ramasut |
| 14 March 1998 | Bristol City | A | 0–2 | 17,086 | |
| 21 March 1998 | Preston North End | H | 2–2 | 5,278 | Cureton (pen), Hayles |
| 27 March 1998 | Southend United | H | 2–0 | 5,323 | Tillson, Hayles |
| 4 April 1998 | Millwall | A | 1–1 | 5,635 | Zabek |
| 10 April 1998 | Wigan Athletic | H | 5–0 | 6,038 | Hayles, Ramasut, Beadle (3) |
| 13 April 1998 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–1 | 5,484 | Hayles (2) |
| 18 April 1998 | Luton Town | H | 2–1 | 8,038 | Beadle, Tillson |
| 25 April 1998 | Blackpool | A | 0–1 | 7,057 | |
| 2 May 1998 | Brentford | H | 2–1 | 9,043 | Cureton, Hayles |

### Second Division play-offs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SF 1st Leg | 10 May 1998 | Northampton Town | H | 3–1 | 9,173 | Beadle (pen), Bennett, Hayles |
| SF 2nd Leg | 13 May 1998 | Northampton Town | A | 0–3 (lost 3–4 on agg) | 7,501 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 14 November 1997 | Gillingham | H | 2–2 | 4,825 | Alsop, Holloway |
| R1R | 25 November 1997 | Gillingham | A | 2–0 | 4,459 | Hayles, Penrice |
| R2 | 6 December 1997 | Wisbech Town | A | 2–0 | 3,593 | Beadle, Hayles |
| R3 | 3 January 1998 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–1 | 8,610 | Beadle |
| R3R | 13 January 1998 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–1 | 11,362 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 12 August 1997 | Bristol City | A | 0–0 | 9,341 | |
| R1 2nd Leg | 26 August 1997 | Bristol City | H | 1–2 (lost 1–2 on agg) | 5,872 | Alsop |

### Football League Trophy

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SR1 | 8 December 1997 | Cambridge United | H | 1–0 | 2,386 | Cureton |
| SR2 | 6 January 1998 | Exeter City | A | 2–1 | 1,851 | Bennett, Tillson |
| SQF | 28 January 1998 | Walsall | H | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | 4,165 | |

## 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 | Andy Collett |
| - | GK | ENG | Shane Higgs |
| - | GK | WAL | Lee Jones (on loan from Swansea City) |
| - | DF | ENG | Steve Foster |
| - | DF | ENG | David Pritchard |
| - | DF | ENG | Andy Tillson |
| - | DF | WAL | Jason Perry |
| - | DF | ENG | Matt Lockwood |
| - | DF | ENG | Tom White |
| - | DF | ENG | Brian Gayle |
| - | DF | ENG | Graeme Power |
| - | DF | ENG | Luke Basford |
| - | DF | ENG | Mark Smith |
| - | DF | ENG | Billy Clark |
| - | DF | ENG | Lee Martin |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | MF | ENG | Gary Penrice |
| - | MF | ENG | Ian Holloway (player-manager) |
| - | MF | WAL | Tom Ramasut |
| - | MF | ENG | Matt Hayfield |
| - | MF | ENG | Lee Zabek |
| - | MF | ENG | Josh Low |
| - | MF | ENG | Jon French |
| - | MF | ENG | Lee Archer |
| - | FW | JAM | Barry Hayles |
| - | FW | ENG | Jamie Cureton |
| - | FW | ENG | Peter Beadle |
| - | FW | ENG | Julian Alsop |
| - | FW | ENG | Frankie Bennett |
| - | FW | ENG | Steve Parmenter |
| - | FW | ENG | David Whyte |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 August 1997 | DF | Jason Perry | Cardiff City | Free transfer |
| 1 August 1997 | DF | Steve Foster | Woking | £150,000 |
| 1 August 1997 | MF | Gary Penrice | Watford | Free transfer |
| 1 August 1997 | FW | Barry Hayles | Stevenage | £250,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 August 1997 | MF | Paul Miller | Lincoln City | Free transfer |
| 1 August 1997 | DF | Andy Gurney | Torquay United | Free transfer |
| 31 October 1997 | DF | Billy Clark | Exeter City | Free transfer |
| 1 December 1997 | MF | Ryan Morgan | Clevedon Town | Free transfer |
| 8 December 1997 | MF | Brian Gayle | Shrewsbury Town | Monthly |
| 13 March 1998 | FW | Julian Alsop | Swansea City | £30,000 |
| 13 March 1998 | FW | Steve Parmenter | Yeovil Town | Free transfer |
| 14 March 1998 | FW | David Whyte | Southend United | Signed |
    Transfers in: £400,000
    Transfers out: £30,000
    Total spending: £370,000