1997–98 Leeds United A.F.C. season

Leeds United
1997–98 season
Chairman	Bill Fotherby (until 23 June) ; Peter Ridsdale
Manager	George Graham
Stadium	Elland Road
Premiership	5th
FA Cup	Quarter finals
League Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: Hasselbaink (16); All: Hasselbaink (22)
Highest home attendance	39,952 vs Manchester United; (27 Sep 1997, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance	8,806 vs Bristol City; (17 Sep 1997, League Cup)
Average home league attendance	34,725
	← 1996–97 1998–99 →

During the 1997–98 season, Leeds United competed in the Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

Season summary

After a goal-shy Leeds side managed only an 11th-place finish the previous season, the acquisition of Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink bolstered their attack substantially and they were soon back to their winning ways after two seasons of struggle. George Graham's hard work in his second season as manager soon paid off with a fifth-place finish – the club's highest for three years – and UEFA Cup qualification.

Final league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
3	Liverpool	38	18	11	9	68	42	+26	65	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Chelsea	38	20	3	15	71	43	+28	63	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round^[a]
5	Leeds United	38	17	8	13	57	46	+11	59	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[b]
6	Blackburn Rovers	38	16	10	12	57	52	+5	58
7	Aston Villa	38	17	6	15	49	48	+1	57

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

^ Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions. As they were also the League Cup winners, the UEFA Cup berth vacated was awarded to Blackburn Rovers.
^ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	17	8	13	57	46	+11	59	9	5	5	31	21	+10	8	3	8	26	25	+1

Source: 1997–98 FA Premier League table

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	D	W	L	L	L	W	L	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	W	W	D	D	W	L	D	L	L	W	L	D	L	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	W	D	L	D
Position	9	5	9	11	14	9	14	8	6	7	6	8	7	4	4	4	5	4	4	5	5	6	7	7	7	8	8	7	7	5	5	4	4	5	4	5	5	5

Source: 11v11.com: 1997–98 Leeds United results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Leeds United's score comes first^[1]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 1997	Arsenal	H	1–1	37,993	Hasselbaink
13 August 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	A	3–1	31,520	Wallace (2), Ribeiro
23 August 1997	Crystal Palace	H	0–2	29,076
26 August 1997	Liverpool	H	0–2	39,775
30 August 1997	Aston Villa	A	0–1	39,027
14 September 1997	Blackburn Rovers	A	4–3	21,956	Wallace (2), Molenaar, Hopkin
20 September 1997	Leicester City	H	0–1	29,620
24 September 1997	Southampton	A	2–0	15,102	Molenaar, Wallace
27 September 1997	Manchester United	H	1–0	39,952	Wetherall
4 October 1997	Coventry City	A	0–0	17,770
18 October 1997	Newcastle United	H	4–1	39,834	Ribeiro, Kewell, Beresford (own goal), Wetherall
25 October 1997	Wimbledon	A	0–1	15,718
1 November 1997	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–0	26,441	Wallace
8 November 1997	Derby County	H	4–3	33,572	Wallace, Kewell, Hasselbaink (pen), Bowyer
23 November 1997	West Ham United	H	3–1	30,031	Hasselbaink (2), Håland
29 November 1997	Barnsley	A	3–2	18,690	Håland, Wallace, Lilley
6 December 1997	Everton	H	0–0	34,869
13 December 1997	Chelsea	A	0–0	34,690
20 December 1997	Bolton Wanderers	H	2–0	31,163	Ribeiro, Hasselbaink
26 December 1997	Liverpool	A	1–3	43,854	Håland
28 December 1997	Aston Villa	H	1–1	36,287	Hasselbaink
10 January 1998	Arsenal	A	1–2	38,018	Hasselbaink
17 January 1998	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1–2	33,166	Pembridge (own goal)
31 January 1998	Crystal Palace	A	2–0	25,248	Wallace, Hasselbaink
7 February 1998	Leicester City	A	0–1	21,244
22 February 1998	Newcastle United	A	1–1	36,511	Wallace
28 February 1998	Southampton	H	0–1	28,791
4 March 1998	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–0	31,394	Kewell
11 March 1998	Blackburn Rovers	H	4–0	32,933	Bowyer, Hasselbaink, Håland (2)
15 March 1998	Derby County	A	5–0	30,217	Laursen (own goal), Halle, Bowyer, Kewell, Hasselbaink
30 March 1998	West Ham United	A	0–3	24,107
4 April 1998	Barnsley	H	2–1	37,749	Hasselbaink, Moses (own goal)
8 April 1998	Chelsea	H	3–1	37,276	Hasselbaink (2), Wetherall
11 April 1998	Everton	A	0–2	37,099
18 April 1998	Bolton Wanderers	A	3–2	25,000	Håland, Halle, Hasselbaink
25 April 1998	Coventry City	H	3–3	36,522	Hasselbaink (2), Kewell
4 May 1998	Manchester United	A	0–3	55,167
10 May 1998	Wimbledon	H	1–1	38,172	Håland

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 1998	Oxford United	H	4–0	20,568	Radebe, Hasselbaink (pen), Kewell (2)
R4	24 January 1998	Grimsby Town	H	2–0	29,598	Molenaar, Hasselbaink
R5	14 February 1998	Birmingham City	H	3–2	35,463	Wallace, Hasselbaink (2)
QF	7 March 1998	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0–1	39,902

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 1st leg	17 September 1997	Bristol City	H	3–1	8,806	Wetherall, Hasselbaink (pen), Ribeiro
R2 2nd leg	30 September 1997	Bristol City	A	1–2 (won 4–3 on agg)	10,857	Hasselbaink
R3	15 October 1997	Stoke City	A	3–1 (a.e.t.)	16,203	Kewell, Wallace (2)
R4	18 November 1997	Reading	H	2–3	15,069	Wetherall, Bowyer

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Nigel Martyn
2	DF	IRL	Gary Kelly
3	DF	SCO	David Robertson
4	DF	NOR	Alf-Inge Håland
5	DF	RSA	Lucas Radebe
6	DF	ENG	David Wetherall
7	MF	ENG	Lee Sharpe
8	FW	ENG	Rod Wallace
9	FW	NED	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
10	MF	POR	Bruno Ribeiro
11	MF	ENG	Lee Bowyer
12	MF	SCO	David Hopkin (captain)
14	FW	ENG	Andy Gray^[3]
15	GK	ENG	Mark Beeney
17	FW	SCO	Derek Lilley
18	DF	NOR	Gunnar Halle
19	MF	AUS	Harry Kewell


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
20	DF	IRL	Ian Harte
21	DF	AUT	Martin Hiden
22	MF	WAL	Matt Jones
24	MF	ENG	Jason Blunt
27	DF	IRL	Alan Maybury
28	DF	ENG	Paul Shepherd
29	DF	ENG	Mark Jackson
30	DF	NED	Robert Molenaar
31	MF	ENG	Martin Foster
32	MF	ENG	Andy Wright
33	MF	NIR	Wesley Boyle
35	FW	ENG	Lee Matthews
37	MF	IRL	Stephen McPhail^[4]
38	DF	IRL	Damian Lynch
39	GK	ENG	Simon Briggs
40	DF	IRL	John Butler
45	GK	ENG	Paul Robinson

Left club 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
16	DF	ENG	Richard Jobson (to Manchester City)
21	FW	GHA	Tony Yeboah (Hamburg)
22	FW	WAL	Ian Rush (to Newcastle United)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
25	FW	FRA	Pierre Laurent (to Bastia)
26	MF	ENG	Carlton Palmer (to Southampton)
36	FW	SWE	Tomas Brolin (to Crystal Palace)

Reserve 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
—	MF	ENG	Kevin Dixon
—	DF	ENG	Gareth Evans
—	DF	WAL	Kevin Evans
—	FW	NIR	Warren Feeney


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ENG	Sean Hessey
—	MF	NOR	Tommy Knarvik
—	FW	ENG	Alan Smith
—	DF	ENG	Jonathan Woodgate

Transfers and loans

Transfers in

Date	N	P	Player	From club	Transfer fee
12 May 1997		DF	Jonathan Woodgate	Youth	—
13 May 1997	45	GK	Paul Robinson	Youth	—
1 Jun 1997		MF	Tommy Knarvik	Youth	—
1 Jun 1997		MF	Kevin Dixon	Youth	—
1 Jun 1997		FW	Tony Hackworth	Youth	—
1 Jun 1997	38	DF	Damian Lynch	Youth	—
1 Jun 1997		DF	Gareth Evans	Youth	—
1 Jun 1997		DF	Kevin Evans	Youth	—
1 Jun 1997		FW	Warren Feeney	Youth	—
12 Jun 1997	9	FW	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Boavista	£2,000,000
12 Jun 1997	4	DF	Alf-Inge Håland	Nottingham Forest	£1,600,000
18 Jun 1997	10	MF	Bruno Ribeiro	Vitória	£500,000
21 Jul 1997	12	MF	David Hopkin	Crystal Palace	£3,250,000
3 Sep 1997	22	MF	Matt Jones	Youth	—
25 Feb 1998	21	DF	Martin Hiden	Rapid Vienna	£1,300,000
26 Mar 1998		FW	Alan Smith	Youth	—
16 May 1998	8	FW	Clyde Wijnhard	Willem II	£1,500,000

Transfers out

Date	N	P	Player	To club	Transfer fee
1 Jun 1997	34	GK	Paul Evans	Released	—
1 Aug 1997	22	MF	Mark Ford	Burnley	£250,000
1 Aug 1997	10	FW	Brian Deane	Sheffield United	£1,500,000
1 Aug 1997	23	MF	Andy Couzens	Carlisle United	£100,000
18 Aug 1997	9	FW	Ian Rush	Newcastle United	Free
20 Aug 1997	3	DF	Tony Dorigo	Torino	Free
23 Sep 1997	4	DF	Carlton Palmer	Southampton	£1,000,000
24 Sep 1997	21	FW	Tony Yeboah	Hamburger SV	£1,000,000
5 Jan 1998	25	FW	Pierre Laurent	Bastia	£500,000
10 Mar 1998	16	DF	Richard Jobson	Manchester City	Free

Total spending: £5,800,000

Loaned in

Start date	End date	N	P	Player	From club

Loaned out

Start date	End date	N	P	Player	To club
11 Dec 1997	1 Jun 1998	14	FW	Andy Gray	Bury
21 Jan 1998	1 Mar 1998	16	DF	Richard Jobson	Southend United
31 Mar 1998	31 May 1998	24	MF	Jason Blunt	Raith Rovers

Notes

References

^ http://www.statto.com/football/teams/leeds-united/1997-1998/results
^ http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/1997-1998/faprem/leeds.htm
^ Gray was born in Harrogate, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and would make his international debut for Scotland in April 2003.
^ McPhail was born in Westminster, England, but was raised in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland, and would make his international debut for Ireland in May 2000.

[table_note_res_CHE0.34046893256738-1] Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as defending champions. As they were also the League Cup winners, the UEFA Cup berth vacated was awarded to Blackburn Rovers.

[table_note_res_UC10.34046893256738-2] Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

[3] ttp://www.statto.com/football/teams/leeds-united/1997-1998/results

[4] ttp://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/1997-1998/faprem/leeds.htm

[5] Gray was born in Harrogate, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and would make his international debut for Scotland in April 2003.

[6] McPhail was born in Westminster, England, but was raised in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland, and would make his international debut for Ireland in May 2000.

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