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1997–98 Watford F.C. season

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Watford
1997–98 season
ChairmanElton John
ManagerGraham Taylor
StadiumVicarage Road
Second Division1st (champions)
FA CupThird round
League CupSecond round
Auto Windscreens ShieldFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: Kennedy (11)
All: Kennedy (13)
Average home league attendance11,532

During the 1997–98 English football season, Watford F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.

Season summary

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In the 1997–98 season, Kenny Jackett was demoted to the position of assistant manager and Graham Taylor returned for a second spell as Watford manager. The transition proved a success; Watford secured the Division Two title, beating Bristol City into second place after a season-long struggle.

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Watford (C, P) 46 24 16 6 67 41 +26 88 Promotion to the First Division
2 Bristol City (P) 46 25 10 11 69 39 +30 85
3 Grimsby Town (O, P) 46 19 15 12 55 37 +18 72 Qualification for the Second Division play-offs
4 Northampton Town 46 18 17 11 52 37 +15 71
5 Bristol Rovers 46 20 10 16 70 64 +6 70
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results

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Watford's score comes first[2]

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League Second Division

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
9 August 1997 Burnley H 1–0 11,155 Lee
16 August 1997 Carlisle United A 2–0 7,395 Kennedy, Johnson
23 August 1997 Brentford H 3–1 10,125 Millen, Melvang, Johnson
30 August 1997 Preston North End A 0–2 11,042
2 September 1997 Plymouth Argyle A 1–0 5,141 Noel-Williams
7 September 1997 Wycombe Wanderers H 2–1 12,100 Hyde, Lee
13 September 1997 Chesterfield H 2–1 11,204 Rosenthal, Lee
20 September 1997 Gillingham A 2–2 7,780 Rosenthal (pen), Johnson
27 September 1997 York City H 1–1 13,812 Lee
4 October 1997 Luton Town A 4–0 9,041 Johnson, Thomas, Kennedy (2)
14 October 1997 Bristol Rovers A 2–1 8,110 Kennedy, Rosenthal (pen)
18 October 1997 Millwall H 0–1 12,530
21 October 1997 Fulham H 2–0 11,486 Rosenthal, Robinson
25 October 1997 Grimsby Town A 1–0 5,699 Rosenthal
1 November 1997 Blackpool H 4–1 9,723 Lee (2), Johnson, Rosenthal
4 November 1997 Southend United A 3–0 4,001 Kennedy (3)
8 November 1997 Walsall A 0–0 5,077
18 November 1997 Oldham Athletic H 2–1 8,397 Thomas, Mooney
22 November 1997 Northampton Town A 1–0 7,373 Kennedy
29 November 1997 Wigan Athletic H 2–1 9,455 Thomas, Mooney
2 December 1997 Wrexham A 1–1 3,702 Rosenthal
13 December 1997 Bristol City H 1–1 16,072 Noel-Williams
20 December 1997 Bournemouth A 1–0 6,081 Kennedy
26 December 1997 Wycombe Wanderers A 0–0 8,090
28 December 1997 Plymouth Argyle H 1–1 11,594 Mooney
10 January 1998 Burnley A 0–2 9,551
17 January 1998 Preston North End H 3–1 10,182 Kennedy (2), Hyde
24 January 1998 Brentford A 2–1 6,969 Mooney, Johnson
31 January 1998 Chesterfield A 1–0 5,975 Noel-Williams
8 February 1998 Gillingham H 0–2 10,498
14 February 1998 Luton Town H 1–1 15,182 Robinson
21 February 1998 York City A 1–1 4,890 Palmer
25 February 1998 Millwall A 1–1 7,126 Mooney
28 February 1998 Bristol Rovers H 3–2 12,186 Noel-Williams, Rosenthal, Mooney
3 March 1998 Walsall H 1–2 8,096 Noel-Williams
7 March 1998 Blackpool A 1–1 5,237 Bazeley
14 March 1998 Southend United H 1–1 10,750 Hyde
17 March 1998 Carlisle United H 2–1 7,274 Palmer, Bazeley
21 March 1998 Oldham Athletic A 2–2 5,744 Bazeley, Gibbs
28 March 1998 Northampton Town H 1–1 14,268 Johnson
4 April 1998 Wigan Athletic A 2–3 4,262 Foley, Hyde
11 April 1998 Wrexham H 1–0 12,340 Lee
13 April 1998 Bristol City A 1–1 19,141 Lee
25 April 1998 Grimsby Town H 0–0 14,002
28 April 1998 Bournemouth H 2–1 12,834 Lee, Noel-Williams
2 May 1998 Fulham A 2–1 17,114 Noel-Williams, Lee

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 15 November 1997 Barnet A 2–1 4,040 Rosenthal (2)
R2 6 December 1997 Torquay United A 1–1 3,416 Noel-Williams
R2R 16 December 1997 Torquay United H 2–1 (a.e.t.) 5,848 Noel-Williams (2)
R3 3 January 1998 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–1 18,306 Kennedy
R3R 14 January 1998 Sheffield Wednesday A 0–0 (lost 3–5 on pens) 18,707

League Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg 13 August 1997 Swindon Town A 2–0 6,271 Noel-Williams, Rosenthal
R1 2nd Leg 26 August 1997 Swindon Town H 1–1 (won 3–1 on agg) 7,712 Hyde
R2 1st Leg 16 September 1997 Sheffield United H 1–1 7,154 Kennedy
R2 2nd Leg 23 September 1997 Sheffield United A 0–4 (lost 1–5 on agg) 7,511

Football League Trophy

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
SR1 9 December 1997 Fulham A 0–1 3,364

Players

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First-team squad

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Squad at end of season[3]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK England ENG Alec Chamberlain
GK England ENG Chris Day
GK England ENG Andrew Iga
DF England ENG Darren Bazeley
DF England ENG Clint Easton
DF England ENG Nigel Gibbs
DF England ENG Dominic Ludden
DF England ENG Colin Miles
DF England ENG Keith Millen
DF England ENG Steve Palmer
DF England ENG Paul Robinson
DF England ENG Mark Rooney
DF England ENG Darren Ward
DF Wales WAL Rob Page
DF Denmark DEN Lars Melvang
MF England ENG Micah Hyde[notes 1]
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF England ENG Stuart Slater
MF England ENG Tommy Smith
MF England ENG Steve Talboys
MF Northern Ireland NIR Peter Kennedy
MF Iceland ISL Jóhann Guðmundsson
MF Israel ISR Alon Hazan
MF Australia AUS Richard Johnson
FW England ENG Wayne Andrews
FW England ENG Jason Lee
FW England ENG Nathan Lowndes
FW England ENG Tommy Mooney
FW England ENG Gifton Noel-Williams
FW Wales WAL Dai Thomas
FW Republic of Ireland IRL Dominic Foley (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
FW Israel ISR Ronny Rosenthal

Reserve squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF England ENG David Perpetuini
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW England ENG Danny Grieves

References

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  1. ^ "England 1997–98". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Watford 1997-1998 Results - statto.com". statto.com. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  3. ^ "All Watford players: 1998". 11v11.com. Retrieved 18 August 2014.

Notes

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  1. ^ Hyde was born in Newham, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in 2001.