1997–98 Barnsley F.C. season explained

During the 1997–98 English football season, Barnsley competed in the Premier League.

Season summary

1997–98 was the first top-flight season in Barnsley's 102-year history, and, despite some courageous performances, their stay among the elite lasted just one season. They suffered from horrendous defeats and the leakiest defensive record in the division, conceding 82 goals. Their start to the season was OK, losing two and winning two of their first four games at Crystal Palace and against Bolton Wanderers. However, they were in the bottom three virtually for the remainder of the season after the 1–4 defeat at Wimbledon, though they did enjoy some success in the FA Cup, knocking out Manchester United in the fifth round^[1] before bowing out to eventual runners-up Newcastle United in the quarter-final. Their relegation was confirmed a few weeks later,^[2] and manager Danny Wilson then moved to South Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday. 35-year-old striker John Hendrie was appointed player-manager following Wilson's departure.

Final league table

See main article: 1997–98 FA Premier League.

Results summary

Results by round

Results

Barnsley's score comes first^[3]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 1997	West Ham United	H	1–2	18,667	Redfearn
12 August 1997	Crystal Palace	A	1–0	21,547	Redfearn
24 August 1997	Chelsea	H	0–6	18,170
27 August 1997	Bolton Wanderers	H	2–1	18,661	Tinkler, Hristov
30 August 1997	Derby County	A	0–1	27,232
13 September 1997	Aston Villa	H	0–3	18,649
20 September 1997	Everton	A	2–4	32,659	Redfearn, Barnard
23 September 1997	Wimbledon	A	1–4	7,668	Tinkler
27 September 1997	Leicester City	H	0–2	18,660
4 October 1997	Arsenal	A	0–5	38,049
20 October 1997	Coventry City	H	2–0	17,463	Ward, Redfearn (pen)
25 October 1997	Manchester United	A	0–7	55,142
1 November 1997	Blackburn Rovers	H	1–1	18,665	Bosančić
8 November 1997	Southampton	A	1–4	15,018	Bosančić (pen)
22 November 1997	Liverpool	A	1–0	41,011	Ward
29 November 1997	Leeds United	H	2–3	18,690	Liddell, Ward
8 December 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	A	1–2	29,086	Redfearn
13 December 1997	Newcastle United	H	2–2	18,687	Redfearn, Hendrie
20 December 1997	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–3	28,232
26 December 1997	Bolton Wanderers	A	1–1	25,000	Hristov
28 December 1997	Derby County	H	1–0	18,686	Ward
10 January 1998	West Ham United	A	0–6	23,714
17 January 1998	Crystal Palace	H	1–0	17,819	Ward
31 January 1998	Chelsea	A	0–2	34,442
7 February 1998	Everton	H	2–2	18,672	Fjørtoft, Barnard
21 February 1998	Coventry City	A	0–1	20,265
28 February 1998	Wimbledon	H	2–1	17,102	Fjørtoft (2)
11 March 1998	Aston Villa	A	1–0	29,519	Ward
14 March 1998	Southampton	H	4–3	18,368	Ward, Jones, Fjørtoft, Redfearn (pen)
28 March 1998	Liverpool	H	2–3	18,684	Redfearn (2)
31 March 1998	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–2	24,179	Hristov
4 April 1998	Leeds United	A	1–2	37,749	Hristov
11 April 1998	Sheffield Wednesday	H	2–1	18,692	Ward, Fjørtoft
13 April 1998	Newcastle United	A	1–2	36,534	Fjørtoft
18 April 1998	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–1	18,692	Redfearn
25 April 1998	Arsenal	H	0–2	18,691
2 May 1998	Leicester City	A	0–1	21,293
10 May 1998	Manchester United	H	0–2	18,694

FA Cup

See main article: 1997–98 FA Cup.

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers

R3	3 January 1998	Bolton Wanderers	H	1–0	15,042	Barnard
R4	24 January 1998	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–1	28,722	Redfearn (pen)
R4R	4 February 1998	Tottenham Hotspur	H	3–1	18,220	Ward, Redfearn, Barnard
R5	15 February 1998	Manchester United	A	1–1	54,700	Hendrie
R5R	25 February 1998	Manchester United	H	3–2	18,655	Hendrie, Jones (2)
QF	8 March 1998	Newcastle United	A	1–3	36,695	Liddell

League Cup

See main article: 1997–98 Football League Cup.

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers

R2 1st Leg	16 September 1997	Chesterfield	A	2–1	6,318	Redfearn (pen), Ward
R2 2nd Leg	30 September 1997	Chesterfield	H	4–1 (won 6–2 on agg)	8,417	Liddell, Redfearn, Sheridan, Hristov
R3	14 October 1997	Southampton	H	1–2	9,019	Liddell

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^{[4] [5]}

Reserve squad

Transfers

In

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
1 June 1997	GK	Lars Leese	Bayer Leverkusen	£250,000
13 June 1997	FW	Georgi Hristov	FK Partizan	£1,500,000
1 July 1997	MF	Eric Tinkler	Cagliari	£650,000
2 July 1997	FW	Aleš Križan	NK Maribor	£500,000
5 August 1997	DF	Darren Barnard	Bristol City	£750,000
4 September 1997	FW	Ashley Ward	Derby County	£1,300,000
31 October 1997	GK	Paul Heritage	Sheffield United	Signed
15 January 1998	FW	Jan Åge Fjørtoft	Sheffield United	£800,000

Out

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
1 August 1997	MF	Carel van der Velden	Scarborough	Free transfer
1 August 1997	GK	Glyn Clyde	Macclesfield Town	Free transfer
1 August 1997	FW	Darran Clyde	Gateshead	Undisclosed
18 September 1997	FW	Paul Wilkinson	Millwall	£150,000
31 October 1997	FW	Dave Regis	Leyton Orient	Free transfer
18 March 1998	DF	Steve Davis	Oxford United	Signed
15 May 1998	FW	Luke Beckett	Chester City	Free transfer

Transfers in: £5,750,000

Transfers out: £150,000

Total spending: £5,600,000

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 transferred out during the season

Notes and References

1. Web site: Schmeichel slip-up wrecks treble dream. BBC News. 26 February 1998. 8 August 2015.
2. Web site: Premiership goal feast as Barnsley relegated. BBC News. 2 May 1998. 8 August 2015.
3. Web site: Barnsley 1997–1998 Results . 12 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150611123633/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/barnsley/1997-1998/results . 11 June 2015 . dead .
4. Web site: FootballSquads - Barnsley - 1997/98. www.footballsquads.co.uk. 24 February 2012.
5. Web site: All Barnsley players: 1998. www.11v11.com. 25 August 2012.