1997–98 West Ham United F.C. season

1997–98 season of West Ham United

West Ham United 1997–98 football season

West Ham United1997–98 season

Chairman| Terry Brown
Manager| Harry Redknapp
Stadium| Boleyn Ground
Premiership| 8th
FA Cup| Sixth round
League Cup| Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer| League: Hartson (15)
All: Hartson (24)
Highest home attendance| 25,909 (vs. Everton, 31 January)
Lowest home attendance| 23,335 (vs. Crystal Palace, 3 December)
Average home league attendance| 24,967

<- 1996–97

1998–99 ->

During the 1997–98 English football season, West Ham United F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

## Season summary[edit]

After last season's near miss with relegation, West Ham United looked more convincing than they had done for years during 1997–98.[citation needed] John Hartson matured into one of the best strikers in the Premiership, with his partner Paul Kitson also providing a steady supply of goals. Young centre-back Rio Ferdinand remained loyal to his employers despite endless speculation of a move to a bigger club.

West Ham finished 8th in the final table, just one place short of UEFA Cup qualification. Holding on to Hartson and Ferdinand gave Harry Redknapp's men an even more enhanced chance of achieving that goal next time round.

## Final league table[edit]

Main article: 1997–98 FA Premier League

Pos | Team

* v
* t
* e

| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation

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6  | Blackburn Rovers | 38  | 16  | 10  | 12  | 57  | 52  | +5  | 58  | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
7  | Aston Villa | 38  | 17  | 6  | 15  | 49  | 48  | +1  | 57
8  | West Ham United | 38  | 16  | 8  | 14  | 56  | 57  | −1  | 56  |
9  | Derby County | 38  | 16  | 7  | 15  | 52  | 49  | +3  | 55
10  | Leicester City | 38  | 13  | 14  | 11  | 51  | 41  | +10  | 53

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

1. ^ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.

Results summary
Overall | Home | Away

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|

Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD
38  | 16  | 8  | 14  | 56  | 57  |  −1  | 56  | 13  | 4  | 2  | 40  | 18  |  +22  | 3  | 4  | 12  | 16  | 39  |  −23

Source: 1997-98 FA Premier League table

Results by matchday

Match| 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

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Ground| A| H| A| A| H| A| H| A| H| A| H| A| A| A| H| H| A| H| A| H| A| H| A| H| A| A| H| H| H| H| A| H| A| H| H| A| A| H
Result| W| W| L| D| W| L| L| L| W| L| W| L| L| L| W| W| L| W| L| W| W| W| L| D| W| D| D| D| W| W| L| D| D| W| L| L| D| W
Position| 2| 3| 7| 5| 3| 6| 6| 10| 7| 9| 8| 11| 13| 15| 12| 10| 10| 10| 10| 8| 8| 7| 8| 8| 8| 8| 8| 8| 8| 7| 7| 7| 8| 6| 7| 10| 9| 8

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

## Results[edit]

West Ham United's score comes first[1]

### Legend[edit]

Win | Draw | Loss

|
|

### FA Premier League[edit]

Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers

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9 August 1997 | Barnsley | A | 2–1 | 18,667 | Hartson, Lampard
13 August 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 25,354 | Hartson, Berkovic
23 August 1997 | Everton | A | 1–2 | 34,356 | Watson (own goal)
27 August 1997 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 18,289 | Kitson
30 August 1997 | Wimbledon | H | 3–1 | 24,516 | Hartson, Rieper, Berkovic
13 September 1997 | Manchester United | A | 1–2 | 55,068 | Hartson
20 September 1997 | Newcastle United | H | 0–1 | 25,884 |
24 September 1997 | Arsenal | A | 0–4 | 38,012 |
27 September 1997 | Liverpool | H | 2–1 | 25,908 | Hartson, Berkovic
4 October 1997 | Southampton | A | 0–3 | 15,212 |
18 October 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–0 | 24,864 | Berkovic, Hartson (2)
27 October 1997 | Leicester City | A | 1–2 | 20,201 | Berkovic
9 November 1997 | Chelsea | A | 1–2 | 34,382 | Hartson (pen)
23 November 1997 | Leeds United | A | 1–3 | 30,031 | Lampard
29 November 1997 | Aston Villa | H | 2–1 | 24,976 | Hartson (2)
3 December 1997 | Crystal Palace | H | 4–1 | 23,335 | Hartson, Berkovic, Unsworth, Lomas
6 December 1997 | Derby County | A | 0–2 | 29,300 |
13 December 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–0 | 24,344 | Kitson
20 December 1997 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–3 | 21,653 |
26 December 1997 | Coventry City | H | 1–0 | 24,532 | Kitson
28 December 1997 | Wimbledon | A | 2–1 | 22,087 | Kimble (own goal), Kitson
10 January 1998 | Barnsley | H | 6–0 | 23,714 | Lampard, Abou (2), Moncur, Hartson, Lazaridis
17 January 1998 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–1 | 30,284 |
31 January 1998 | Everton | H | 2–2 | 25,909 | Sinclair (2)
7 February 1998 | Newcastle United | A | 1–0 | 36,736 | Lazaridis
21 February 1998 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 25,000 | Sinclair
2 March 1998 | Arsenal | H | 0–0 | 25,717 |
11 March 1998 | Manchester United | H | 1–1 | 25,892 | Sinclair
14 March 1998 | Chelsea | H | 2–1 | 25,829 | Sinclair, Unsworth
30 March 1998 | Leeds United | H | 3–0 | 24,107 | Hartson, Abou, Pearce
4 April 1998 | Aston Villa | A | 0–2 | 39,372 |
11 April 1998 | Derby County | H | 0–0 | 25,155 |
13 April 1998 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | 28,036 | Berkovic
18 April 1998 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–1 | 24,733 | Hartson (2)
25 April 1998 | Southampton | H | 2–4 | 25,878 | Sinclair, Lomas
2 May 1998 | Liverpool | A | 0–5 | 44,414 |
5 May 1998 | Crystal Palace | A | 3–3 | 19,129 | Lampard, Omoyinmi (2)
10 May 1998 | Leicester City | H | 4–3 | 25,781 | Lampard, Abou (2), Sinclair

### FA Cup[edit]

Main article: 1997–98 FA Cup

Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers

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R3 | 3 January 1998 | Emley | H | 2–1 | 18,629 | Lampard, Hartson
R4 | 24 January 1998 | Manchester City | A | 2–1 | 26,495 | Berkovic, Lomas
R5 | 14 February 1998 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–2 | 25,729 | Kitson, Berkovic
R5R | 25 February 1998 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–1 (5–4 on pens) | 21,972 | Hartson
QF | 8 March 1998 | Arsenal | A | 1–1 | 38,077 | Pearce
QFR | 17 March 1998 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 (3–4 on pens) | 25,859 | Hartson

### League Cup[edit]

Main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup

Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers

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R2 1st Leg | 16 September 1997 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–1 | 8,525 |
R2 2nd Leg | 29 September 1997 | Huddersfield Town | H | 3–0 (won 3–1 on agg) | 16,137 | Hartson (3)
R3 | 15 October 1997 | Aston Villa | H | 3–0 | 20,360 | Hartson (2), Lampard
R4 | 19 November 1997 | Walsall | H | 4–1 | 17,463 | Lampard (3), Hartson
QF | 6 January 1998 | Arsenal | H | 1–2 | 24,770 | Abou

## Squad[edit]

[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 |  CZE | Luděk Mikloško
2  | DF |  ENG | Tim Breacker
3  | DF |  ENG | Julian Dicks (captain)
4  | DF |  ENG | Steve Potts[3]
5  | DF |  ENG | Richard Hall
6  | DF |  ENG | David Unsworth
8  | MF |  ENG | Trevor Sinclair
9  | FW |  ENG | Paul Kitson
10  | FW |  WAL | John Hartson
11  | MF |  NIR | Steve Lomas[4]
13  | GK |  ENG | Stephen Bywater
15  | DF |  ENG | Rio Ferdinand
16  | MF |  ENG | John Moncur
17  | MF |  AUS | Stan Lazaridis
18  | MF |  ENG | Frank Lampard
19  | DF |  ENG | Ian Pearce
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

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20  | DF |  ENG | Andrew Impey
21  | GK |  ENG | Les Sealey
22  | GK |  CAN | Craig Forrest
23  | MF |  ENG | Scott Mean
24  | FW |  FRA | Samassi Abou
25  | MF |  ENG | Lee Hodges
26  | DF |  FRA | Mohamed Berthé
27  | FW |  NGA | Emmanuel Omoyinmi
28  | DF |  AUS | Chris Coyne
29  | MF |  ISR | Eyal Berkovic
30  | DF |  ENG | Joey Keith
31  | GK |  ENG | Neil Finn
32  | GK |  FRA | Bernard Lama
33  | FW |  IRL | Lee Boylan
34  | FW |  ENG | Gary Alexander

### Left club during season[edit]

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

| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

7  | MF |  ENG | Ian Bishop (to Manchester City)
8  | DF |  DEN | Marc Rieper (to Celtic)
12  | DF |  NIR | Keith Rowland (to Queens Park Rangers)
13  | DF |  FRA | David Terrier (to Newcastle United)
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
|
|

14  | FW |  NIR | Iain Dowie[5] (to Queens Park Rangers)
24  | MF |  NIR | Michael Hughes (to Wimbledon)
30  | FW |  ENG | Ian Moore (to Nottingham Forest)
30  | FW |  POR | Paulo Alves (to Sporting Lisbon)

### Reserve squad[edit]

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 | Jimmy Bullard
\-  | MF |  ENG | Craig Etherington
| No. | Pos. | Nation  | Player

|
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|

\-  | DF |  ENG | Anthony Henry
\-  | DF |  WAL | David Partridge

## Transfers[edit]

### In[edit]

Date  | Pos  | Name  | From  | Fee

|
|
|
|

2 June 1997  | MF  | Eyal Berkovic | Maccabi Haifa | £1,750,000
9 July 1997  | DF  | David Terrier | Metz | Free transfer
21 July 1997  | GK  | Craig Forrest | Ipswich Town | £500,000
15 August 1997  | DF  | David Unsworth | Everton | Swap
18 September 1997  | DF  | Ian Pearce | Blackburn Rovers | £2,300,000
26 September 1997  | DF  | Andrew Impey | QPR | £1,200,000
28 October 1997  | FW  | Samassi Abou | Cannes | £250,000
29 January 1998  | MF  | Trevor Sinclair | QPR | £2,300,000
20 February 1998  | GK  | Stephen Bywater | Rochdale | £300,000

### Out[edit]

Date  | Pos  | Name  | To  | Fee

|
|
|
|

14 May 1997  | DF  | Slaven Bilić | Everton | £4,500,000
15 August 1997  | MF  | Danny Williamson | Everton | Swap
12 September 1997  | DF  | Marc Rieper | Celtic | £1,400,000
25 September 1997  | MF  | Michael Hughes | Wimbledon | £1,600,000
29 January 1998  | DF  | Keith Rowland | QPR | Swap
29 January 1998  | MF  | Iain Dowie | QPR | £1,600,000
26 March 1998  | MF  | Ian Bishop | Manchester City | Free transfer

Transfers in:  £8,600,000
Transfers out:  £7,500,000
Total spending:  £1,100,000

## Statistics[edit]

### Appearances and goals[edit]

No. | Pos | Nat | Player  | Total | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup

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|
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Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals
Goalkeepers
1  | GK |  CZE | Luděk Mikloško | 15 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0
22  | GK |  CAN | Craig Forrest | 21 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0
32  | GK |  FRA | Bernard Lama | 14 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0
Defenders
2  | DF |  ENG | Tim Breacker | 26 | 0 | 18+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 4 | 0
4  | DF |  ENG | Steve Potts | 33 | 0 | 15+9 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0
6  | DF |  ENG | David Unsworth | 42 | 2 | 33 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0
15  | DF |  ENG | Rio Ferdinand | 47 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0
19  | DF |  ENG | Ian Pearce | 40 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0
20  | DF |  ENG | Andrew Impey | 26 | 0 | 19+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0
Midfielders
8  | MF |  ENG | Trevor Sinclair | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
11  | MF |  NIR | Steve Lomas | 43 | 3 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0
16  | MF |  ENG | John Moncur | 25 | 1 | 18+3 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0
17  | MF |  AUS | Stan Lazaridis | 35 | 2 | 27+1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0
18  | MF |  ENG | Frank Lampard | 43 | 9 | 28+4 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 4
23  | MF |  ENG | Scott Mean | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
25  | MF |  ENG | Lee Hodges | 5 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0
29  | MF |  ISR | Eyal Berkovic | 47 | 9 | 35+1 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 0
Forwards
9  | FW |  ENG | Paul Kitson | 17 | 5 | 12+1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0
10  | FW |  WAL | John Hartson | 43 | 24 | 33 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6
24  | FW |  FRA | Samassi Abou | 27 | 6 | 12+8 | 5 | 3+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 1
27  | FW |  NGA | Emmanuel Omoyinmi | 5 | 2 | 1+4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
Players who left the club permanently or on loan during the season
7  | MF |  ENG | Ian Bishop | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0
8  | DF |  DEN | Marc Rieper | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
12  | DF |  NIR | Keith Rowland | 9 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0
13  | DF |  FRA | David Terrier | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
14  | FW |  NIR | Iain Dowie | 17 | 0 | 8+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0
24  | MF |  NIR | Michael Hughes | 6 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0
30  | FW |  ENG | Ian Moore | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
30  | FW |  POR | Paulo Alves | 4 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0

### Starting 11[edit]

Considering starts in all competitions
Considering a 4-3-1-2 formation

* GK: #22,  Craig Forrest, 20
* RB: #2,  Tim Breacker, 24
* CB: #15,  Rio Ferdinand, 46
* CB: #19,  Ian Pearce, 39
* LB: #6,  David Unsworth, 41
* CM: #18,  Frank Lampard, 38
* CM: #11,  Steve Lomas, 42
* CM: #17,  Stan Lazaridis, 34
* AM: #29,  Eyal Berkovic, 45
* CF: #10,  John Hartson, 42
* CF: #24,  Samassi Abou, 16

## Notes[edit]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "West Ham United 1997-1998 Results - statto.com". Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
2. ^ "FootballSquads - West Ham United - 1997/98".
3. ^ Potts was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the United States.
4. ^ Lomas was born in Hanover, Germany, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1994.
5. ^ Dowie was born in Hatfield, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally through his father and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1990.

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* v
* t
* e

1997–98 in English football

« 1996–97

1998–99 »

National teams|

* 1998 FIFA World Cup (UEFA Qualification Group 2
* Group G
* Knockout stage
* Squad)
* Glenn Hoddle

League competitions|

| Level 1|

* Premier League

|

Levels 2–4|

* Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, play-offs)

Level 5|

* Football Conference

Levels 6–7|

* Isthmian League (Premier, One)
* Northern Premier League (Premier, One)
* Southern League (Premier, Midland, Southern)

Levels 8–9|

* Isthmian League (Two, Three)
* Combined Counties League (level 8 only)
* Eastern Counties League (Premier, One)
* Essex Senior League (level 8 only)
* Hellenic League (Premier, One)
* Kent League (level 8 only)
* Midland Alliance (level 8 only)
* Midland Football Combination (level 9 only)
* North West Counties League (One, Two)
* Northern Counties East League (Premier, One)
* Northern League (One, Two)
* Spartan South Midlands League (Premier North, Premier South, Senior)
* Sussex County League (One, Two)
* United Counties League (Premier, One)
* Wessex League (level 8 only)
* West Midlands (Regional) League (level 9 only)
* Western League (Premier, One)

Cup competitions|

| FA cups|

* FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final)
* Charity Shield
* FA Trophy (Final)

|

Football League cups|

* League Cup (Final)
* Football League Trophy (Final)

European competitions|

* Champions League
* UEFA Cup
* Cup Winners' Cup
* Intertoto Cup

Club seasons

Premier League|

* Arsenal
* Aston Villa
* Barnsley
* Blackburn Rovers
* Bolton Wanderers
* Chelsea
* Coventry City
* Crystal Palace
* Derby County
* Everton
* Leeds United
* Leicester City
* Liverpool
* Manchester United
* Newcastle United
* Sheffield Wednesday
* Southampton
* Tottenham Hotspur
* West Ham United
* Wimbledon

First Division|

* Birmingham City
* Bradford City
* Bury
* Charlton Athletic
* Crewe Alexandra
* Huddersfield Town
* Ipswich Town
* Manchester City
* Middlesbrough
* Norwich City
* Nottingham Forest
* Oxford United
* Portsmouth
* Port Vale
* Queens Park Rangers
* Reading
* Sheffield United
* Stockport County
* Stoke City
* Sunderland
* Swindon Town
* Tranmere Rovers
* West Bromwich Albion
* Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division|

* Blackpool
* Bournemouth
* Brentford
* Bristol City
* Bristol Rovers
* Burnley
* Carlisle United
* Chesterfield
* Fulham
* Gillingham
* Grimsby Town
* Luton Town
* Millwall
* Northampton Town
* Oldham Athletic
* Plymouth Argyle
* Preston North End
* Southend United
* Walsall
* Watford
* Wigan Athletic
* Wrexham
* Wycombe Wanderers
* York City

Third Division|

* Barnet
* Brighton & Hove Albion
* Cambridge United
* Cardiff City
* Chester City
* Colchester United
* Darlington
* Doncaster Rovers
* Exeter City
* Hartlepool United
* Hull City
* Leyton Orient
* Lincoln City
* Macclesfield Town
* Mansfield Town
* Notts County
* Peterborough United
* Rochdale
* Rotherham United
* Scarborough
* Scunthorpe United
* Shrewsbury Town
* Swansea City
* Torquay United

* Summer 1997 transfers
* Winter 1997–98 transfers

*[Pos]: Position
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Wins
*[D]: Draws
*[L]: Losses
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[No.]: Squad number
*[Pos.]: Position
*[GK]: Goalkeeper
*[DF]: Defender
*[MF]: Midfielder
*[FW]: Forward
*[Nat]: Nationality