Football in England

Season	1997–98
Men's football
FA Premier League	Arsenal
First Division	Nottingham Forest
Second Division	Watford
Third Division	Notts County
Football Conference	Halifax Town
FA Cup	Arsenal
Football League Trophy	Grimsby Town
League Cup	Chelsea
Charity Shield	Manchester United
Women's football
Premier League National Division	Everton
Premier League Northern Division	Ilkeston Town
Premier League Southern Division	Southampton Saints
FA Women's Cup	Arsenal
Premier League Cup	Arsenal
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The1997–98 season was the 118th season of competitivefootball in England.

Arsenal overhauledManchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title. They added theFA Cup two weeks later to become only the second English club to repeat the double.

All three newly promoted teams –Bolton Wanderers,Barnsley andCrystal Palace – were relegated after just one season in the Premiership.

Everton endured their most difficult season for some 50 years. They finished 17th in the Premiership and only avoided relegation because they had a stronger goal difference than 18th-placed Bolton, although Bolton had a goal wrongfully disallowed against Everton in the first ever match played at The Reebok Stadium. ManagerHoward Kendall's third reign at the helm came to an end soon afterwards and he was replaced byWalter Smith.

Leeds United andBlackburn Rovers made good progress in the Premiership and achievedUEFA Cup qualification.

ChampionsNottingham Forest and runners-upMiddlesbrough won promotion back to the Premiership at the first time of asking.Charlton Athletic won the playoffs to end an eight-year absence from the top flight.

Reading were relegated in bottom place. They were joined on the last day of the season byManchester City andStoke City. The blue half of Manchester endured relegation to the third tier of the English league for the first time in its history, despite beating also doomed Stoke 5–2 away on the last day of the season, but neither fans took lightly to relegation, as mass football violence outside outshone the match.Portsmouth andPort Vale won their games to avoid the drop.

Graham Taylor's second spell as manager brought instant success asWatford won the Division Two championship. They were joined by runners-upBristol City and playoff winnersGrimsby Town.

Going down to Division Three wereBrentford,Plymouth Argyle,Carlisle United andSouthend United. Brentford had been losing playoff finalists just 12 months earlier, Plymouth had been promoted to Division Two just two seasons earlier, Carlisle were newly promoted and Southend had endured their second successive relegation.

In their first season as a Football League club,Macclesfield Town finished runners-up in Division Three to gain their second successive promotion, a year after winning the Conference. They were joined by championsNotts County, who won the title by 17 points and became the first team sinceWorld War II to secure promotion in March, third-placedLincoln City and playoff winnersColchester United.

Doncaster Rovers suffered an English league record of 34 defeats and won just four games to lose their league status. They were replaced by Conference championsHalifax Town, who regained their league status five years after losing it.

Arsenal became only the second club to have won two doubles after they beatNewcastle United 2–0 and added theFA Cup to their Premiership title triumph.

Chelsea beatMiddlesbrough 2–0 to give new managerGianluca Vialli his first major trophy just weeks after being appointed.

Dennis Bergkamp played inArsenal's double-winning team and was voted bothPFA Players' Player of the Year andFWA Footballer of the Year.

Liverpool's 18-year-old strikerMichael Owen scored 18 Premiership goals and became the youngest England player of the 20th century. He was votedPFA Young Player of the Year. Owen shared thePremier League Golden Boot withChris Sutton ofBlackburn Rovers andCoventry City'sDion Dublin.

Owen's Liverpool teammateSteve McManaman had 12 assists in the league, placing him behindManchester United'sDavid Beckham, who was the top goal assists maker in the league.

Arsène Wenger won his first major trophy asArsenal manager by guiding them to Premiership and FA Cup glory.

Gianluca Vialli, 33, kicked off his management career by winning theLeague Cup andCup Winners' Cup withChelsea.

Alan Curbishley finally succeeded in gettingCharlton promoted to the Premiership after seven seasons of trying on limited resources.

Dave Bassett succeeded in getting Nottingham Forest promoted back to the Premiership at the first time of asking.

Bryan Robson returnedMiddlesbrough to the Premiership as Division One runners-up, as well as taking them to runners-up spot in theLeague Cup.

Graham Taylor began his second spell asWatford manager by winning the Division Two championship and giving his club their first successful season since they were league runners-up back in 1983.

Sammy McIlroy achieved a second successive promotion forMacclesfield Town in their first season of league football.

Alan Buckley achieved promotion forGrimsby Town after their relegation from Division One. Also took the team to Wembley for the first time in its history to win theAssociate Members Cup againstAFC Bournemouth.

Sam Allardyce tookNotts County to the Division Three title with 99 points, the highest tally in any division this season.

Shane Westley won promotion to Division Two just weeks after taking over as manager ofLincoln City.

George Mulhall, 62, returnedHalifax Town to the Football League as Conference champions five years after they had been demoted.

Arsenal equalledManchester United's record of two league championship and FA Cup doubles when they overhauledAlex Ferguson's men in the Premiership title race and beatKenny Dalglish'sNewcastle United in the FA Cup final inArsène Wenger's second season atHighbury.

Chelsea completed the other half of the London double by beatingMiddlesbrough in the League Cup final andVFB Stuttgart in the Cup Winners Cup final, within three months of 33-year-old strikerGianluca Vialli taking over as player-manager afterRuud Gullit was sacked for arguing about transfer funds with chairmanKen Bates.

Manchester City wererelegated to the third tier for the first time in their history. City had started the Division One campaign badly and managerFrank Clark (footballer) was sacked in March, with formerEverton managerJoe Royle being appointed as his successor. City went into their final game of the season atStoke, with both sides knowing that they had to win to stand any chance of avoiding relegation. In the end City won 5–2, but both teams were relegated because Portsmouth and Port Vale won their games. Stoke were relegated in the first season of their new home, theBritannia Stadium.

In October 1997,England achieved automatic qualification for the1998 World Cup after drawing 0–0 inRome withItaly, who then had to navigate a two-leg playoff. The following February,Michael Owen became the youngest-ever England international when he played in the nation's 2–0 defeat againstChile.

England took on Argentina in the Second Round of the World Cup in France, with a goal by 18-year-old strikerMichael Owen giving them an early lead. The score was 2–2 with 45 minutes played, and early in the second halfDiego Simeone fouledDavid Beckham and sent the 23-year-old midfielder falling to the ground. Beckham, still lying on the ground, reacted by kicking Simeone in the shins and was sent off. The game finished 2–2, and England lost the resultant penalty shoot-out afterDavid Batty andPaul Ince's shots were saved. The trophy was finally won by hosts France.

8 August 1997:Robbie Keane, 17-year-old striker, scores on his debut forWolverhampton Wanderers againstNorwich City inDivision One. On the same day, defenderPaul Konchesky makes his debut forCharlton Athletic and becomes their youngest ever player in a competitive match, just 93 days after his 16th birthday.

10 January 1998:Aaron Hughes, 17-year-old defender, makes his debut forNewcastle United their 2–1 away defeat toSheffield Wednesday in the Premier League.

2 May 1998:Wes Brown, 18-year-old central defender, made his debut forManchester United as a substitute againstLeeds United in the penultimate game of thePremier League season.

2 May 1998:Gareth Barry, 17-year-old Central defender, made his debut forAston Villa againstSheffield Wednesday in the Premier League

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour (First Division & Premier League). Number after slash is Premier League only. * indicates new record for competition

Arsène Wenger became the first foreign manager to win an English top division title when his Arsenal side went on a storming run in the second half of the season to overhaul a Manchester United side who had looked uncatchable until well into March. Liverpool, inspired by brilliant teenager strikerMichael Owen, managed a third-place finish, while fourth place went to aChelsea side who enjoyed their first top-five finish since 1990 and also added the League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup to their honours list soon afterRuud Gullit was suddenly sacked in favour ofGianluca Vialli. Leeds United finished fifth to earn a return to European competition after two difficult seasons, while Blackburn Rovers also qualified for the UEFA Cup with a sixth-place finish, as did seventh placedAston Villa whose new managerJohn Gregory had taken them from the fringe of a relegation battle in the space of three months.

Newcastle United, handicapped by the pre-season departures ofLes Ferdinand andDavid Ginola, as well as the injury-enforced absence ofAlan Shearer in the first half of the season, endured a disappointing season in the league as they finished 13th. Ferdinand and Ginola's new club Tottenham could only manage a 14th-place finish.

Going down were all three newly promoted clubs; Crystal Palace, Barnsley and Bolton Wanderers. It was the first occasion when all three newly promoted clubs were relegated from any division, and would not occur again until 2024. Barnsley remains the most recent of six clubs that so far have only completed one season in the top flight.^{[note 1]}

Everton, who had been in the top flight since 1954, only survived relegation on goal difference.

Leading goalscorers:Dion Dublin (Coventry City),Michael Owen (Liverpool), andChris Sutton (Blackburn Rovers) – 18

The three sides that had been relegated from the Premier League the previous year would (in reverse order) make up the top three teams in Division One this season, resulting in Nottingham Forest being promoted as champions and Middlesbrough as runners-up. The play-offs were won by Charlton Athletic, who beat Sunderland (the third side that were relegated from the previous season's Premier League) in one of the most exciting play-off finals to date, in order to avoid the first-ever feat of a carbon copy of the same teams competing in the Premier League.

FA Cup semi-finalists Wolves missed out on the playoffs, while their local rivals Birmingham only missed out by a single goal – the closest the St Andrew's side had come to reclaiming their top flight place since losing it in 1986. Stockport County finished eighth in their first season at this level for decades, while Crewe Alexandra finished eleventh in their first second tier campaign since1895–96.

Reading and Stoke City made up the bottom two; both clubs been in mid-table for most of the campaign, but they totally fell apart later in season and were relegated in bottom place. By far the biggest shock was Manchester City's relegation to Division Two; they had improved in the final weeks of the season, but all of the clubs above them went on similarly good runs as the season drew to a close, consigning City to the third tier for the first time ever.

Leading goalscorers:Kevin Phillips (Sunderland) andPierre van Hooijdonk (Nottingham Forest) – 29

Watford were promoted as champions under returning managerGraham Taylor, who reversed a decline that the club had been in ever since he previously left the club in 1987. Bristol City were promoted in the runners-up spot, while Grimsby won the play-offs, making an immediate return to Division One after being relegated the previous year.

Southend suffered their second successive relegation, while Carlisle suffered an immediate relegation back to Division Three after the previous year's promotion. Plymouth Argyle were unable to pull off the survival act they had achieved the year before, and went down. Brentford were the final relegated club, as an awful start to the season counted against them in the end, just one season after they had been defeated in the Division Two playoff final – a carbon copy of what had happened to Notts County a year earlier.

Burnley managed to escape relegation at Brentford's expense but this did not save the job of player-managerChris Waddle, who was replaced with Bury'sStan Ternent. Millwall sacked managerBilly Bonds after just one season, where a late slump had seen them finish 18th (their lowest position for 15 years) and only decent form earlier in the season prevented them from dropping into Division Three.

With Preston failing to mount a promotion challenge,Gary Peters was sacked as manager in early 1998 and replaced withDavid Moyes, who was appointed manager on a permanent basis at the season's end.

Leading goalscorer:Barry Hayles (Bristol Rovers) – 23

Notts County earned a record-breaking promotion, setting a new record for the earliest in the season that any club had earned promotion. Macclesfield Town's first season in the Football League was a huge success, and they were promoted as runners-up. The third and final automatic promotion spot was taken by Lincoln City, who managed promotion despite management and financial problems during the season. Colchester United narrowly missed out on an automatic promotion spot, but made up for this by winning the play-offs.

Doncaster Rovers fell into the Football Conference with a league record 34 defeats, and were replaced by a returning Halifax Town. Brighton were second from bottom once again, but at least their league status was never under any realistic threat due to Doncaster's hopeless form. Similarly, Hull City recorded their lowest-ever finish with a points total that would have seen them finish bottom in most years, but they were kept out of danger by the even worse performances of the two sides below them.

Both Hartlepool and Cardiff managed 23 draws,equalling the record for draws in a season. Both clubs finished in the bottom half of the table, their league status never under any real danger, but the failure to convert draws into victories meant that a promotion challenge was never realistically on the cards for either side.

Leading goalscorer:Gary Jones (Notts County) – 28

7 July 1997 –Middlesbrough pay £4.5million (a record for a club outside the top flight) forArsenal midfielderPaul Merson.

10 July 1997 – After two years withInter Milan,Paul Ince returns to England in a £4.2million move toLiverpool.

15 July 1997 – Liverpool signCrewe Alexandra midfielderDanny Murphy for £3million andTottenham Hotspur sign Newcastle United wingerDavid Ginola for £2million.

21 July 1997 –David Hopkin, the player who scored the goal that gotCrystal Palace promoted to the Premier League in this year's Division One playoff final, joinsLeeds United for £3.25million.

29 July 1997 –Newcastle United sell strikerLes Ferdinand toTottenham Hotspur for £6million.

1 August 1997 –Crystal Palace signItaly midfielderAttilio Lombardo fromJuventus for £1.6million.

7 August 1997 – FootballersBruce Grobbelaar,Hans Segers andJohn Fashanu, along with aThai businessman, are cleared of match-fixing atWinchesterCrown Court.

8 August 1997 –Graeme Le Saux returns toChelsea after more than four years atBlackburn Rovers in a £5million deal – a national record for a defender.

9 August 1997 – Barnsley's first top flight game ends in a 2–1 home defeat by West Ham United. Coventry City, who narrowly survived last season, pulled off a major surprise by defeating FA Cup holders Chelsea 3–2 atHighfield Road. Despite Alan Shearer's absence, Newcastle United beat Sheffield Wednesday 2–1 at home asKenny Dalglish continues his quest to try to become the first manager to win the English top division title at three different clubs.

11 August 1997 –Manchester United match the new national record for a defender when they signHenning Berg from Blackburn Rovers for £5million.

13 August 1997 – Leicester City shock Liverpool with a 2–1 league win atAnfield.

16 August 1997 –Arsenal announce plans to relocate fromHighbury due to its sub-40,000 capacity and difficulties for expansion.

18 August 1997 – 36-year-oldPeter Beardsley leaves Newcastle United in a £450,000 move toBolton Wanderers.

24 August 1997 – Chelsea record one of the biggest ever away league wins in the Premier League with a 6–0 victory over Barnsley atOakwell.

25 August 1997 – Blackburn Rovers beat Sheffield Wednesday 7–2 in the league atEwood Park.

31 August 1997 – TheLiverpool-Newcastle UnitedFA Premier League fixture is cancelled as a mark of respect for the lateDiana, Princess of Wales, whodied earlier in the day in aParis car crash. The month-end Premier League table shows Blackburn Rovers on a hot run of form under their new managerRoy Hodgson, topping the league on goal difference ahead of defending champions Manchester United, while West Ham United, Chelsea and Arsenal provide the nearest competition. Wimbledon, Aston Villa and Southampton occupy the relegation zone, while newly promoted Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley (playing top division football for the first time) at Crystal Palace have all had a decent first month of the season.[1]Nottingham Forest head the race for a Premier League place as Division One leaders, whileBradford City occupy second place in a division they had been expected to struggle in.West Bromwich Albion,Swindon Town,Sheffield United andPortsmouth complete the top six.^[2]

1 September 1997 –Bolton Wanderers move into their new 27,500-seatReebok Stadium after 102 years atBurnden Park, and draw 0–0 with Everton in the league in their first game there. This result would be pivotal in the end of season positions. Everton survived on goal difference to Bolton Wanderers, who had a clear goal disallowed as the officials failed to see the ball cross the goal-line.

6 September 1997 – There are no major football matches as the entireFootball League programme is moved to the previous Friday or the following Sunday on the day of thefuneral of Diana, Princess of Wales (there were noPremier League matches scheduled because of international fixtures).

13 September 1997 – Wimbledon continue their tradition of surprise wins over big clubs by defeating Newcastle United 3–1 onTyneside.

14 September 1997 – Two resurgent sides, Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United, battle it out in a thrilling Premier League at Ewood Park in which the visitors triumph 4–3.

25 September 1997 –Kevin Keegan returns to football asFulham FC's "Chief Operating Officer", working in conjunction with new Head CoachRay Wilkins.

27 September 1997 –Manchester United captainRoy Keane suffers knee ligament damage againstLeeds United in aFA Premier League 1–0 defeat atElland Road and is ruled out for the rest of the season.

30 September 1997 – September ends with Arsenal as Premier League leaders, with Manchester United second. The previous month-end leaders Blackburn Rovers have slipped into fifth place, while Leicester City (without a top division league title to their name) currently occupy third place and are just a single point off the top spot, and Chelsea occupy fourth place. A terrible run of form has pushed Southampton into bottom place, while Barnsley's reasonable start to their first top division season has given way to a series of heavy defeats and they now occupy the next lowest position in the league. The final place in the relegation zone is occupied by Sheffield Wednesday.[2] Nottingham Forest continue to lead the way in Division One, with surprise promotion contenders West Bromwich Albion now second.QPR have crept into the playoff zone at the expense of Portsmouth (who have slumped to 19th). Bradford City, Sheffield United and Swindon Town complete the top six.[3]

2 October 1997 – Bolton Wanderers pay a club record £3.5million forWimbledon strikerDean Holdsworth.

4 October 1997 – Barnsley lose 5–0 to league leaders Arsenal at Highbury.

18 October 1997 – RefereeDavid Ellery changes into a blue top for the second half of the Premier League game betweenLeeds United andNewcastle United, after his original green shirt clashed with Newcastle's away kit.^[3]

24 October 1997 –Paul Peschisolido becomes the first player to join a third-tier club for a seven-figure sum when he joinsFulham for £1.1million fromWest Bromwich Albion.

25 October 1997 – Barnsley are on the receiving end of yet another heavy defeat, this time a 7–0 hammering by Manchester United at Old Trafford which sends the hosts to the top of the table.

31 October 1997 – Manchester United finish October as Premier League leaders, leapfrogging Arsenal into second place, while Blackburn Rovers have got their title challenge back on track by climbing into third place. Chelsea and Liverpool complete the top five, with Leicester City, Derby County and Wimbledon putting immense pressure on them. A dismal run of form has pushed Bolton Wanderers into bottom place, while Barnsley occupying the next lowest position and Sheffield Wednesday completing the bottom three.[4] Nottingham Forest remain top of Division One, while Swindon Town's surprise challenge for a second promotion in three seasons continues as they now occupy second place.Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion, Bradford City andCharlton Athletic complete the top six.[5]

1 November 1997 – Manchester United boost their own lead of the Premier League with a 6–1 home win over Sheffield Wednesday, which pushes the visitors further into relegation trouble just one season after they narrowly missed out on a UEFA Cup place.

9 November 1997 – Arsenal cut Manchester United's advantage in the Premier League title race by beating them 3–2 at Highbury. Teddy Sheringjam scores twice for United, while Nicolas Anelka scores his first Gunners goal.

12 November 1997 –Michele Padovano,Juventus striker, joins Crystal Palace for £1.7million.

18 November 1997 –Premier League officials express their desire for a two-up, two-down system to operate between the top two divisions in English football, which would spell at end to the traditional three-up and three-down system which has been in use since 1974 (with an exception to four seasons between 1986 and 1995 when the league was being restructured). It also wants to give member clubs the option to withdraw from theFootball League Cup.^[4]

22 November 1997 – Manchester United bounce back from their Arsenal defeat by returning toLondon and achieving a 5–2 away win over Wimbledon. Arsenal, meanwhile, suffer a shock 2–0 defeat at struggling Sheffield Wednesday.

29 November 1997 –Iran qualify for the1998 World Cup at the expense ofAustralia, whose national coachTerry Venables steps down after one year in charge.

30 November 1997 – November draws to a close with Manchester United still top of the Premier League, with Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United putting up a strong challenge, while Arsenal's title bid appears to be fading away as they now occupy fifth place and are seven points off the top. Everton are now bottom of the top division where they have so far played for 44 seasons in succession, with Barnsley and Bolton Wanderers completing the bottom three.[6] Nottingham Forest are still top of Division One and Middlesbrough are second. The playoff zone is occupied by West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United, Swindon Town and Charlton Athletic, whileStockport County are on the edge of the playoff zone as surprise contenders for a second successive promotion.[7]

1 December 1997 – Fulham break the Division Two transfer record once again when they pay Blackburn Rovers £2million for defenderChris Coleman.

6 December 1997 –

• • FormerLeeds United andScotland midfielderBilly Bremner dies aged 54 after suffering a heart attack.
    • Tottenham's relegation worries are deepened by a 6–1 home defeat at the hands of Chelsea, while Manchester United's title hopes are boosted by a 3–1 away win over Liverpool.

9 December 1997 – Aston Villa overcomeFC Steaua București in theUEFA Cup third round with goals fromSavo Milošević andIan Taylor.^[5]

19 December 1997 – Liverpool signUSA goalkeeperBrad Friedel fromColumbus Crew for £1million.

27 December 1997 –Manchester United agree to sellCzech wingerKarel Poborský toBenfica after an unsuccessful 18 months atOld Trafford.

29 December 1997 – The English FA continue investigations into an AsianBetting Syndicate's links with Englishhooligans andmobsters to continuously shut offfloodlights in Premiership stadia to get matches with "unfavourable" results postponed and cancelled. Affected clubs likeWest Ham,Derby County,Arsenal andBolton Wanderers all filed official inquiries.

31 December 1997 – 1997 draws to a close with Manchester United now leading by a five-point margin over their nearest contenders Blackburn Rovers. Chelsea, Liverpool and Leeds United complete the top five, but Arsenal are now sixth and now need something little short of a miracle to bring the Premier League trophy toHighbury. Meanwhile, Barnsley prop up the top flight, while Everton and Tottenham Hotspur complete the bottom three.[8] Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest are level on points at the top of Division One, with the playoff zone being occupied by Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic,Sunderland andWolverhampton Wanderers.[9]

3 January 1998 – HoldersChelsea suffer a first hurdle defeat in the FA Cup when they lost 5–3 toManchester United, whileConference clubStevenage Borough achieve a shock 2–1 away win over Division OneSwindon Town.

10 January 1998 – Barnsley's defensive frailties show no sign of easing as they lose 6–0 to West Ham United at Upton Park.

17 January 1998 – Barnsley boost their survival hopes with a 1–0 home win over Crystal Palace, whose own recent downturn in form is threatening to cost them their Premier League status.

24 January 1998 –Walsall FC's hopes of pulling off a giant-killing feat in the FA Cup fourth round are ended when Manchester United crush them 5–1 at Old Trafford.

25 January 1998 – Stevenage Borough's FA Cup run continues when they hold Premier League club Newcastle United to a 1–1 draw atBroadhall Way, though a controversial refereeing decision saw them denied a goal which clearly went over the line and would have made them the first non-league time sinceSutton United in 1989 to beat a top division club in the FA Cup.

27 January 1998 – Newcastle United signSwedish strikerAndreas Andersson fromAC Milan.

31 January 1998 – Manchester United remain top of the Premier League as January draws to a close, despite losing 1–0 at home to Leicester City. They now lead their nearest rivals Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool by a four-point margin. Arsenal are beginning to rescue their season as they are now fifth in the league and just eight points off the top, with a game in hand. Barnsley remain bottom and Tottenham Hotspur have yet to climb clear of the bottom three, but Everton have jumped clear of the drop zone at the expense of Bolton Wanderers.[10] Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough continue to lead the way in Division One. Charlton Athletic, Sunderland, Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers complete the top six.[11]

4 February 1998 – Stevenage Borough's FA Cup run ends in the fourth round replay when Newcastle United beat them 2–1 at St James's Park.12 February 1998 –Chelsea managerRuud Gullit is sacked after a dispute with chairmanKen Bates. 33-year-old strikerGianluca Vialli is installed as player-manager.

14 February 1998 – Five days after his England début, Michael Owen scores his first professional hat-trick, as Liverpool draw 3–3 withSheffield Wednesday in the top-flight, andIpswich Town were the high scorers of the day with their five againstHuddersfield Town in Division One. Meanwhile, on FA Cup fifth round day, wins for Coventry City, Leeds United and Newcastle United saw them eliminate Aston Villa,Birmingham City andTranmere Rovers, while Wimbledon and second-tier Wolverhampton Wanderers drew atSelhurst Park, and West Ham United face a replay at Ewood Park after they failed to beat a Blackburn Rovers side who hadKevin Gallacher sent off for an elbow onEyal Berkovic.^[6]

23 February 1998 – Tottenham Hotspur signAlgerian midfielderMoussa Saib fromValencia CF of Spain for £2.3million.

25 February 1998 – Manchester United's FA Cup quest ends with a shock 3–2 defeat by Barnsley in the fifth round replay atOakwell.

28 February 1998 – February draws to a close with Manchester United still top of the Premier League. They are 11 points ahead of second placed Blackburn Rovers, but third placed Arsenal have played three games less than Manchester United who they trail by 12 points. Liverpool, Chelsea and Derby County are the clubs giving the top three a run for their money. Crystal Palace, yet to win at home this season, are now bottom of the Premier League in a drop zone with includes the other two newly promoted clubs Bolton Wanderers and Barnsley. Everton and Tottenham Hotspur remain under the most direct threat from the bottom three.[12] Middlesbrough are top of Division One with Nottingham Forest in second place. Sunderland, Charlton Athletic, Sheffield United and Stockport County complete the top six.[13]

1 March 1998 –Manchester United enter March eleven points ahead at the top of theFA Premier League, with their nearest contendersArsenal having 3 games in hand.

8 March 1998 – Barnsley's dreams of marking their first top division season with FA Cup glory are ended when they lost 3–1 at Newcastle United in the quarter-final.

10 March 1998 – Newcastle United signGreek defenderNikos Dabizas fromOlympiakos for £2million.

14 March 1998 – A solitaryMarc Overmars goal seesArsenal beatManchester United 1–0 atOld Trafford to decrease United's lead to 6 points, plus they have the advantage of 3 games in hand.

28 March 1998 –Notts County,Division Three leaders, become the first English team to win promotion in March. In the Premier League, Manchester United bounce back from their Arsenal disappointment with a 2–0 home win over Wimbledon, while Arsenal keep the pressure intense with a 1–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday. Liverpool keep their slim title hopes alive with a 3–2 win over a Barnsley side battling against relegation.

31 March 1998 – Manchester United remain top of the league by a six-point margin as March ends, but their nearest contenders Arsenal have three games in hand. Liverpool in third place are nine points off the top with a game in hand, and meet United atOld Trafford in 10 days for what could be a decisive game in the title race. Chelsea occupy fourth place and if they finish in the top five then a sixth placed team will automatically qualify for theUEFA Cup for the first time as Chelsea have won the League Cup and new rules regarding European competitions mean that lower-placed teams can qualify for Europe. An unlikely bid for a UEFA Cup place is coming from West Ham United and Coventry City, two means who narrowly avoided relegation last season. Meanwhile, Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and Crystal Palace continue to occupy the relegation zone.[14] Nottingham Forest remain top of Division One, two points ahead of second placed Middlesbrough and four points ahead of third placed Sunderland. Charlton Athletic, Sheffield United and a resurgent Ipswich Town complete the top six.[15]

5 April 1998 – Arsenal move closer to their second double by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 in the FA Cup semi-final atVilla Park.

6 April 1998 – Newcastle United, who have had a dismal season in the Premier League, are given the hope of FA Cup glory after a semi-final win over Sheffield United at Old Trafford sends them into the FA Cup final for the first time since 1974.

26 April 1998 – Nottingham Forest go six points clear of third-placed Sunderland in the First Division with a win at home to Reading. Sunderland have two matches remaining.^[7]

28 April 1998 – Sunderland are beaten, confirming Nottingham Forest's promotion back to the Premier League.^[7]

29 April 1998 – An incident in a 0–0 draw betweenLeicester City andNewcastle United lead toAlan Shearer being investigated by the Football Association, after he appeared to deliberately kickNeil Lennon in the head.

30 April 1998 – April draws to a close with Arsenal now leading by a point ahead of Manchester United and having two games in hand, as United manager Alex Ferguson concedes the title despite his team's 3–0 win over Crystal Palace, whose relegation is confirmed. Meanwhile, Aston Villa have emerged as surprise contenders for a UEFA Cup place after spending most of the season battling relegation, and there will also be a UEFA Cup place for the seventh-placed club if Arsenal beat Newcastle United in the FA Cup final next month. At the other end of the table, Barnsley and Bolton Wanderers remain in the bottom three, but there is still a threat of relegation for Tottenham Hotspur and Everton as well as a Newcastle United side who came close to winning the title last season and the season before. Wimbledon, who only need two points from their final three games to achieve safety, are the only other team under threat of relegation.[16] Nottingham Forest have sealed an immediate return to the top flight as Division One champions, while Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Charlton Athletic are still fighting it out for second place. Sheffield United andBirmingham City are challenging each other for the final playoff place.[17]

3 May 1998 –Arsenal clinch theFA Premier League title with a 4–0 home win overEverton.[18]Manchester City are relegated to Division Two, despite winning 5–2 at also-doomedStoke City. It is the first time in their history that they will be playing in the third tier of the English league. They are also the first former winners of a European trophy to be relegated to the third tier of their domestic league.[19]

6 May 1998 – In their first game at the title triumph, Arsenal hit relegation form when Liverpool beat them 4–0 at Anfield.

10 May 1998 – TheFA Premier League season ends withArsenal as champions andManchester United as runners-up one point behind them, with both teams qualifying for theEuropean Cup. TheUEFA Cup places go toLiverpool,Chelsea,Leeds United,Blackburn Rovers andAston Villa.Bolton Wanderers,Barnsley andCrystal Palace are relegated. Bolton were the last team to go down – their 2–0 defeat at Chelsea meaning that a 1–1 draw with Coventry City atGoodison Park was enough to achieve survival on goal difference for Everton.^[8]

16 May 1998 –Arsenal become the second English team (though with an entirely different set of players) to complete the 'double' when they beatNewcastle United 2–0 in the FA Cup final.Marc Overmars opens the scoring after 23 minutes, followed by 19-year-oldNicolas Anelka's goal in the 69th minute.

23 May 1998 –Derby County pay a club record £2.7million forArgentine defenderHoracio Carbonari fromRosario.

25 May 1998 –Charlton Athletic win promotion to theFA Premier League after beatingSunderland 7–6 on penalties following a 4–4 draw in theDivision One playoff final.

1 June 1998 – Blackburn Rovers pay a club record £7.5million forSouthampton strikerKevin Davies, 21.

5 June 1998 – Aston Villa sign wingerAlan Thompson from Bolton Wanderers for £4.5million.

• 10 July 1997:Ivor Allchurch, 67, was capped 68 times and scored 23 goals forWales between 1950 and 1966, both national records at the time, also helping them qualify for their onlyWorld Cup to date in 1958. He scored a total of 249 league goals forSwansea City (then Swansea Town),Newcastle United andCardiff City.
• 28 August 1997:Peter Springett, 51, was a goalkeeper forQPR andSheffield Wednesday during the 1960s and 1970s, keeping goal for QPR in their 1967 League Cup triumph. He served as a policeman inSouth Yorkshire after retiring as a player, and died after a four-year battle against cancer.
• 7 December 1997:Billy Bremner, 54, midfielder forLeeds United during theDon Revie era, died after suffering a heart attack two days before his 55th birthday. He helped them win several trophies and managed the club from 1985 to 1988. He also had two spells in charge ofDoncaster Rovers. He finished his playing career withHull City.
• 24 December 1997:Andy Kerr, 66, played 10 league games at centre-forward forManchester City in the late 1950s and then scored five goals from 18 games in the1963-64 season forSunderland during a career which was mostly spent in his nativeScotland.
• 13 January 1998:Ian Moores, 43, who died of cancer, played as a forward forStoke City,Tottenham Hotspur,Orient andBarnsley between 1974 and 1983 before beginning a successful five-year spell withAPOEL inCyprus. He finished his playing career withTamworth, helping them win theFA Vase in 1989.
• 22 January 1998:George Marks, 82, played twice forArsenal in the late 1930s and then kept goal a total of 194 times in postwar league football forBlackburn Rovers,Bristol City andReading. He kept goal eight times for the England wartime international side.
• 18 February 1998:Robbie James, 40, played nearly 800 English league games between 1973 and 1994 for clubs includingQPR,Leicester City,Swansea City andCardiff City, and was aWelsh international midfielder. He was withLlanelli as player-manager when he collapsed in a Welsh Football League game againstPorthcawl and was certified dead on his arrival at hospital.
• 26 February 1998:Jimmy Hagan, 80, who played 361league matches forSheffield United between 1938 and 1958, and once forEngland. As a manager he ledS.L. Benfica to three successivePortuguese championships between 1970 and 1973.
• 13 March 1998:Peter Sillett, 65, was a right back forChelsea when whey won the league championship in 1955. He was capped three times for England and was the older brother ofJohn Sillett, who managedCoventry City to FA Cup glory in 1987. SirStanley Matthews rated Sillett as the best defender he had ever played against.
• 19 March 1998:Jimmy Scoular, 73, was born inScotland but spent his whole playing career in England, playing 602 league games at wing-half between 1946 and 1964 forPortsmouth,Newcastle United andBradford Park Avenue, and being capped nine times forScotland in the early 1950s. He was player-manager of Bradford Park Avenue before managingCardiff City for nine years and finally spending a year atNewport County before quitting management in 1977 and working for various clubs as a scout.
• 2 April 1998:Ronnie Dix, 85, was the Football League's youngest goalscorer when he netted forBristol Rovers in 1928 at the age of 15. He played his last senior game in 1939 forDerby County, by which time he had scored 98 league goals and scored on his only England appearance in 1938.
• 2 May 1998:Justin Fashanu, 37, the first English footballer to disclose his homosexuality, was found dead in a lock-up garage in EastLondon. He played forNorwich City in the early 1980s and became England's first £1million black footballer when he was sold toNottingham Forest in 1981. He also had spells at other clubs, including Edmonton, Manchester City, West Ham United, Newcastle United, Torquay United, Airdrieonians and Heart of Midlothian. He was the older brother of strikerJohn Fashanu. Justin Fashanu had fled the US after being arrested in Maryland on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy. Four months after his death, a coroner recorded a verdict of suicide.
• 31 May 1998:Sammy Collins, 75, scored a club record 204 goals forTorquay United (all in the Third Division South) between 1948 and 1958.
• 15 June 1998:Keith Newton, 56, was a full-back forEverton,Blackburn Rovers andBurnley. He was selected inEngland squad for the1970 World Cup.
• 27 June 1998:Jack Rowley, 78, was a high scoring centre forward forManchester United who helped them win their first two trophies underMatt Busby – the FA Cup in 1948 and league championship in 1952. He was the older brother of another goalscoring legend,Arthur Rowley, who played forLeicester City andShrewsbury Town.

• 1997 in English sport
• 1998 in English sport
• Seasons in English football
• 1997–98 in English football

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