During the 1997–98 English football season, Wimbledon F.C. competed in the FA Premier League. They finished 15th in the final table to secure a 13th successive top flight campaign, although their final position was disappointing given their performance earlier in the season.
Season summary Despite the early season sale of Dean Holdsworth to Bolton Wanderers, Wimbledon showed the "Crazy Gang" spirit once more as they stayed clear of the relegation zone and spent most of the season in mid table. Manager Joe Kinnear was hopeful that this could finally be the season when Wimbledon achieved a UEFA Cup place, but the team's form steadily deteriorated during the second half of the season. Their 15th-place finish was their worst since reaching the top flight in 1986, though they had never looked to be in any real danger of relegation.
Final league table
Results summary
Results by round
Results Wimbledon's score comes first
Legend WinDrawLoss
FA Premier League DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 9 August 1997 LiverpoolH1–126,106Gayle 23 August 1997 Sheffield WednesdayH1–111,503Euell 27 August 1997 ChelseaH0–222,237 30 August 1997 West Ham UnitedA1–324,516Ekoku 13 September 1997 Newcastle UnitedA3–136,526Cort, Perry, Ekoku 20 September 1997 Crystal PalaceH0–116,747 23 September 1997 BarnsleyH4–17,668Cort, Earle, C Hughes, Ekoku 27 September 1997 Tottenham HotspurA0–026,261 4 October 1997 Blackburn RoversH0–115,600 18 October 1997 Aston VillaA2–132,087Earle, Cort 22 October 1997 Derby CountyA1–128,595Rowett (own goal) 25 October 1997 Leeds UnitedH1–015,718Ardley (pen) 1 November 1997 Coventry CityH1–211,201Cort 10 November 1997 Leicester CityA1–018,553Gayle 22 November 1997 Manchester UnitedH2–526,309Ardley, M Hughes 29 November 1997 Bolton WanderersA0–122,703 7 December 1997 SouthamptonH1–012,009Earle 13 December 1997 EvertonA0–028,533 26 December 1997 ChelseaA1–134,100M Hughes 28 December 1997 West Ham UnitedH1–222,087Solbakken 10 January 1998 LiverpoolA0–238,011 17 January 1998 Derby CountyH0–013,031 31 January 1998 Sheffield WednesdayA1–122,655M Hughes 9 February 1998 Crystal PalaceA3–014,410Leaburn (2), Euell 21 February 1998 Aston VillaH2–113,131Euell, Leaburn 28 February 1998 BarnsleyA1–217,102Euell 11 March 1998 ArsenalH0–122,291 14 March 1998 Leicester CityH2–113,229Roberts, M Hughes 28 March 1998 Manchester UnitedA0–255,306 31 March 1998 Newcastle UnitedH0–015,478 4 April 1998 Bolton WanderersH0–011,356 11 April 1998 SouthamptonA1–014,815Leaburn 13 April 1998 EvertonH0–015,131 18 April 1998 ArsenalA0–538,024 25 April 1998 Blackburn RoversA0–024,848 29 April 1998 Coventry CityA0–017,968 2 May 1998 Tottenham HotspurH2–625,820Fear (2) 10 May 1998 Leeds UnitedA1–138,172Ekoku
FA Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR34 January 1998 WrexhamH0–06,349R3R13 January 1998 WrexhamA3–29,539Hughes (2), GayleR424 January 1998 Huddersfield TownA1–014,533ArdleyR514 February 1998 Wolverhampton WanderersH1–115,322EuellR5R25 February 1998 Wolverhampton WanderersA1–225,112Jones
League Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR2 1st Leg 16 September 1997 MillwallH5–16,949Cort (2, 1 pen), Clarke, Euell, CastledineR2 2nd Leg 1 October 1997 MillwallA4–1 (won 9–2 on agg)3,591Euell (2), Castledine, GayleR314 October 1997 Bolton WanderersA0–29,875
Players First-team squad Squad at end of season
Earle was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England, and was called up for England without playing, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in 1997.
Left club during season
Reserve squad
Transfers
In DatePosNameFromFee2 July 1997MFCeri HughesLuton Town£400,00025 September 1997MFMichael HughesWest Ham United£1,600,00013 October 1997MFStåle SolbakkenLillestrøm£250,0008 January 1998FWCarl LeaburnCharlton Athletic£300,0009 March 1998MFAndy RobertsCrystal Palace£2,000,00026 March 1998MFMark KennedyLiverpool£1,750,000
Out DatePosNameToFee2 June 1997MFØyvind LeonhardsenLiverpool£3,500,0001 August 1997DFScott FitzgeraldMillwall£50,0002 October 1997FWDean HoldsworthBolton Wanderers£3,500,00026 March 1998MFVinnie JonesQueens Park Rangers£750,000
Transfers in: £6,300,000 Transfers out: £7,800,000 Total spending: £1,500,000
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
Notes
References