During the 1997–98 English football season, Coventry City competed in the FA Premier League.
Season summary After a last-day "houdini" act and the bonus of Middlesbrough having 3 points deducted kept Coventry up in the 1996–97 season, manager Gordon Strachan was determined to avoid another season of struggle. He achieved it, and an 11th-place finish was Coventry's highest in four seasons. However, even though they only suffered 10 defeats all season (the fourth least amount, after Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool), they staggeringly drew 16 games which ultimately prevented them from finishing any higher. Their secure finish was helped no end by the loyalty of striker Dion Dublin, who pledged his future to the club after turning down an offer from Blackburn Rovers. Coventry were, in fact, 17th on Boxing Day 1997, but a 3–2 win over Manchester United, with no small thanks to late goals from Dublin and Darren Huckerby, appeared to kickstart a sudden surge in form as by late March, the club found themselves in 9th. Right up to the final day of the season, the Sky Blues were within a shout of a UEFA Cup place, but they were beaten to it by local rivals Aston Villa. The two places above them were occupied by two other local rivals – Derby County and Leicester City.
Final league table
Results summary
Results by round
Results Coventry City's score comes first
Legend WinDrawLoss
FA Premier League DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 9 August 1997 ChelseaH3–222,686Dublin (3) 11 August 1997 ArsenalA0–237,324 23 August 1997 Bolton WanderersH2–216,633Telfer, Huckerby 27 August 1997 West Ham UnitedH1–118,289Huckerby 30 August 1997 Manchester UnitedA0–355,074 13 September 1997 SouthamptonH1–018,659Soltvedt 20 September 1997 Sheffield WednesdayA0–021,087 24 September 1997 Crystal PalaceH1–115,900Dublin 28 September 1997 Blackburn RoversA0–019,086 4 October 1997 Leeds UnitedH0–017,770 20 October 1997 BarnsleyA0–217,463 25 October 1997 EvertonH0–018,760 1 November 1997 WimbledonA2–111,201Huckerby, Dublin 8 November 1997 Newcastle UnitedH2–222,679Dublin (2) 22 November 1997 Derby CountyA1–329,351Huckerby 29 November 1997 Leicester CityH0–218,309 6 December 1997 Aston VillaA0–333,250 13 December 1997 Tottenham HotspurH4–019,499Huckerby (2), Breen, Hall 20 December 1997 LiverpoolA0–139,707 26 December 1997 West Ham UnitedA0–124,532 28 December 1997 Manchester UnitedH3–223,054Whelan, Dublin (pen), Huckerby 10 January 1998 ChelseaA1–334,647Telfer 17 January 1998 ArsenalH2–222,864Whelan, Dublin (pen) 31 January 1998 Bolton WanderersA5–125,000Whelan, Huckerby (2), Dublin (2) 7 February 1998 Sheffield WednesdayH1–018,375Dublin (pen) 18 February 1998 SouthamptonA2–115,091Whelan, Huckerby 21 February 1998 BarnsleyH1–020,265Dublin (pen) 28 February 1998 Crystal PalaceA3–021,810Telfer, Moldovan, Dublin 14 March 1998 Newcastle UnitedA0–036,767 28 March 1998 Derby CountyH1–018,705Huckerby 4 April 1998 Leicester CityA1–121,137Whelan 11 April 1998 Aston VillaH1–222,792Whelan 13 April 1998 Tottenham HotspurA1–133,463Dublin 19 April 1998 LiverpoolH1–122,721Dublin (pen) 25 April 1998 Leeds UnitedA3–336,522Huckerby (3) 29 April 1998 WimbledonH0–017,968 2 May 1998 Blackburn RoversH2–018,794Dublin (pen), Boateng 10 May 1998 EvertonA1–140,109Dublin
FA Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR33 January 1998 LiverpoolA3–133,888Huckerby, Dublin, TelferR424 January 1998 Derby CountyH2–022,824Dublin (2)R514 February 1998 Aston VillaA1–036,979MoldovanQF7 March 1998 Sheffield UnitedH1–123,084Dublin (pen)QFR17 March 1998 Sheffield UnitedA1–1 (lost 1–3 on pens)29,034Telfer
League Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR2 1st Leg 16 September 1997 BlackpoolA0–15,884R2 2nd Leg 1 October 1997 BlackpoolH3–1 (won 3–2 on agg)9,565McAllister (2, 1 pen), DublinR315 October 1997 EvertonH4–110,087Hall, Salako (2), HaworthR418 November 1997 ArsenalA0–130,199
Squad
Left club during season
Reserve squad
Transfers
In DatePosNameFromFee19 June 1997MFTrond Egil SoltvedtRosenborg£500,0004 July 1997FWKyle LightbourneWalsall£500,0007 July 1997GKMagnus HedmanAIKFree transfer19 June 1997MFMartin JohansenCopenhagenFree transfer29 July 1997DFRoland NilssonHelsingborg£200,00018 December 1997DFGeorge BoatengFeyenoord£250,0002 January 1998FWViorel MoldovanGrasshoppers£3,250,00026 March 1998MFPhilippe ClementRacing Genk£625,000
Out DatePosNameToFee1 July 1997MFChris McMenaminPeterborough UnitedFree transfer4 July 1997MFEoin JessAberdeen£700,00014 July 1997FWPeter NdlovuBirmingham City£1,600,0001 August 1997GKJohn FilanBlackburn Rovers£700,0001 August 1997GKJed SumnerCambridge UnitedFree transfer9 September 1997MFKevin RichardsonSouthamptonTransfer14 November 1997DFBrian BorrowsSwindon TownFree transfer16 February 1998FWKyle LightbourneStoke City£500,000
Transfers in: £5,325,000 Transfers out: £3,500,000 Total spending: £1,825,000
Statistics Appearances and goals
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center|Forwards
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players who left the club during the season
Starting 11 Considering starts in all competitions
References