1997–98 Stoke City F.C. season
# 1997–98 Stoke City F.C. season

The 1997–98 season was Stoke City's 91st season in the Football League and the 35th in the second tier. It was also Stoke's first season at the Britannia Stadium.

With Stoke now at a new home after 119 years at the Victoria Ground the hope was it would be the start of a new era for the club. Following Lou Macari's departure, his assistant Chic Bates was appointed as manager but the first league match in the Britannia Stadium was lost 2–1 against Swindon Town. Results were generally quite good and by the end of October Stoke were in a play-off position. However performances completely dropped off and the club dropped down the table like a stone and on 10 January 1998 Birmingham City beat Stoke 7–0 at home which sparked ugly scenes from some angry supporters. Bates and Peter Coates left as Stoke headed for relegation. Chris Kamara came in but was sacked after winning just one of his 14 matches in charge. Former manager Alan Durban returned for the final few matches which saw Stoke needing to beat Manchester City on the final day to stay up. They lost 5–2 and fell into the third tier.

## Season review

### League

The dawn of a new era at the Britannia Stadium should have been full of hope, but the departure of Lou Macari still not fully explained plus the farcical search for a replacement, left fans wondering what exactly was going on. Many felt the delay in announcing the new manager was a way of boosting season ticket sales with many expecting Sammy McIlroy to be named as the new boss but the silence was deafening and caretaker Chic Bates was left to take care of pre-season training. It soon became clear that Bates was going to be give the role full-time and in July he duly was much to the disappointment of many. Former manager Alan Durban made a return to the club as Bates' assistant to help take away some of his responsibilities. If Stoke had bid farewell to the Victoria Ground in a blaze of glory then the fiasco in opening the Britannia Stadium was a pit of despair. There was transport problems, ticket problems and the opening ceremony against Swindon Town was awful.

The only major signing was that of striker Peter Thorne for £550,000 whilst a small spattering of players arrived from Europe following Jean-Marc Bosman's court victory for footballers contracts. Chairman Peter Coates was now very unpopular with the supporters and there were many protests against him due to Coates not spending his money. Attendances at the new ground were poor and by Christmas Stoke had lost their early season form and were in serious trouble. The slump was brought to head early in the new year when Birmingham City beat Stoke 7–0 at home which prompted ugly scenes at the final whistle as around 2,000 fans invaded the pitch and attempted to enter the directors box. The next match live on TV against Bradford City saw more fan protests and Coates resigned as chairman.

On the pitch Bates was clearly not cut to be a manager and so was replaced by former Bradford boss Chris Kamara. He arrived with bold intentions claiming that he would build a squad good enough to take Stoke into the Premiership, But he sold the only real player of value, Andy Griffin and in his 14 matches in charge only one was won and after an awful 3–0 defeat against Tranmere Rovers he lost his job. Kamara's time at Stoke was a disaster and with Stoke heading for relegation Alan Durban took over for the remaining matches. Three wins in four home matches gave Stoke some hope, but a 5–2 defeat against Manchester City on the final day saw the inevitable happen (albeit results elsewhere meant both teams would have been relegated irrespective of the result) and Stoke were relegated as were Man City despite their big win.

### FA Cup

Stoke lost to West Bromwich Albion 3–1 in the third round.

### League Cup

Stoke beat Rochdale and Burnley before being knocked out by Leeds United.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 51 | 63 | −12 | 49 | |
| 21 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 10 | 19 | 17 | 51 | 63 | −12 | 49 | |
| 22 | Manchester City (R) | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 56 | 57 | −1 | 48 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 23 | Stoke City (R) | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 44 | 74 | −30 | 46 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 24 | Reading (R) | 46 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 39 | 78 | −39 | 42 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Stoke's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

### Football League First Division

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 9 August 1997 | Birmingham City | A | 0–2 | 20,608 | |
| 2 | 15 August 1997 | Bradford City | A | 0–0 | 13,823 | |
| 3 | 23 August 1997 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–0 | 30,122 | Stewart 60' |
| 4 | 30 August 1997 | Swindon Town | H | 1–2 | 23,000 | Forsyth 34' |
| 5 | 3 September 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–0 | 17,500 | |
| 6 | 13 September 1997 | Stockport County | H | 2–1 | 11,743 | Wallace 28', Thorne 50' |
| 7 | 20 September 1997 | Ipswich Town | A | 3–2 | 10,665 | Thorne (2) 13' 30', Stewart 55' |
| 8 | 27 September 1997 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–1 | 19,018 | |
| 9 | 4 October 1997 | Bury | H | 3–2 | 11,760 | Andrade 63', Forsyth 69', Thorne 73' |
| 10 | 12 October 1997 | Port Vale | H | 2–1 | 20,125 | Forsyth 5', Keen 34' |
| 11 | 19 October 1997 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–1 | 12,345 | Wallace 51' |
| 12 | 22 October 1997 | Manchester City | A | 1–0 | 25,333 | Wallace 63' |
| 13 | 25 October 1997 | Sunderland | H | 1–2 | 14,587 | Stewart 81' |
| 14 | 1 November 1997 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–3 | 10,916 | Griffin 79' |
| 15 | 4 November 1997 | Oxford United | H | 0–0 | 8,423 | |
| 16 | 8 November 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–0 | 18,490 | Kavanagh (2) 8', 23' (pen), Forsyth 60' |
| 17 | 15 November 1997 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 11,923 | Forsyth 7' |
| 18 | 22 November 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–3 | 8,009 | Kavanagh 35' (pen) |
| 19 | 29 November 1997 | Reading | H | 1–2 | 11,103 | Thorne 81' |
| 20 | 2 December 1997 | Sheffield United | A | 2–3 | 14,347 | Thorne (2) 8', 63' |
| 21 | 6 December 1997 | Portsmouth | A | 0–2 | 7,072 | |
| 22 | 13 December 1997 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 0–2 | 14,623 | |
| 23 | 20 December 1997 | Norwich City | A | 0–0 | 12,265 | |
| 24 | 26 December 1997 | Sheffield United | H | 2–2 | 19,723 | Forsyth 66', Thorne 86' |
| 25 | 28 December 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | 17,690 | Thorne 47' |
| 26 | 10 January 1998 | Birmingham City | H | 0–7 | 14,940 | |
| 27 | 16 January 1998 | Bradford City | H | 2–1 | 10,459 | Forsyth 65' (pen), Thorne 42' |
| 28 | 28 January 1998 | Swindon Town | A | 0–1 | 6,683 | |
| 29 | 1 February 1998 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–2 | 13,242 | Kavanagh 35' (pen) |
| 30 | 7 February 1998 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–1 | 11,416 | Holsgrove 15' |
| 31 | 14 February 1998 | Stockport County | A | 0–1 | 8,701 | |
| 32 | 17 February 1998 | Bury | A | 0–0 | 5,802 | |
| 33 | 21 February 1998 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 | 16,899 | Crowe 32' |
| 34 | 25 February 1998 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–2 | 10,027 | Kavanagh 42' |
| 35 | 1 March 1998 | Port Vale | A | 0–0 | 13,853 | |
| 36 | 4 March 1998 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 21,058 | Crowe 89' |
| 37 | 7 March 1998 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–2 | 12,594 | Tiatto 90' |
| 38 | 14 March 1998 | Oxford United | A | 1–5 | 7,300 | Crowe 69' |
| 39 | 21 March 1998 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–1 | 11,051 | Dowie (o.g.) 21', Crowe 51' |
| 40 | 28 March 1998 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 0–3 | 16,692 | |
| 41 | 4 April 1998 | Reading | A | 0–2 | 10,448 | |
| 42 | 11 April 1998 | Portsmouth | H | 2–1 | 15,569 | Pickering 78', Lightbourne 90' |
| 43 | 13 April 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–2 | 5,759 | |
| 44 | 18 April 1998 | Norwich City | H | 2–0 | 13,098 | Sigurðsson 19', Lightbourne 50' |
| 45 | 25 April 1998 | Sunderland | A | 0–3 | 41,214 | |
| 46 | 3 May 1998 | Manchester City | H | 2–5 | 26,664 | Thorne (2) 62', 87' |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R3 | 13 January 1998 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–3 | 17,598 | Gabbiadini 61' |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 1st Leg | 12 August 1997 | Rochdale | A | 3–1 | 2,509 | Kavanagh 26', Thorne 67', Forsyth 70' |
| R1 2nd Leg | 27 August 1997 | Rochdale | H | 1–1 | 12,768 | Kavanagh 85' |
| R2 1st Leg | 16 September 1997 | Burnley | A | 4–0 | 4,175 | Thorne (2) 37', 62', Kavanagh (2) 68', 80' |
| R2 2nd Leg | 24 September 1997 | Burnley | H | 2–0 | 6,041 | Keen 36', Thorne 71' |
| R3 | 15 November 1997 | Leeds United | H | 1–3 | 16,203 | Kavanagh 66' (pen) |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| GK | Carl Muggleton | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GK | Neville Southall | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Andy Griffin | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Tosh McKinlay | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | Mark McNally | 3(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Ally Pickering | 42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | Lárus Sigurðsson | 43 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 49 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | Steven Tweed | 35(3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 41(3) | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| DF | Ray Wallace | 36(3) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 42(3) | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| DF | Justin Whittle | 15(5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(4) | 0 | 16(9) | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| DF | Steve Woods | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Richard Forsyth | 37 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Robert Heath | 4(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Paul Holsgrove | 11(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(1) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Graham Kavanagh | 44 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4(1) | 5 | 48(1) | 10 | 7 | 0 |
| MF | Kevin Keen | 37(3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 43(3) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Neil MacKenzie | 7(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 8(6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Gerry McMahon | 7(10) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 9(11) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Kofi Nyamah | 9(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 10(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Dick Schreuder | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Tony Scully | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Jörg Sobiech | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | José Andrade | 4(8) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6(8) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Richard Burgess | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Dean Crowe | 10(6) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 11(7) | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | O'Neill Donaldson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Marco Gabbiadini | 2(6) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3(6) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Kyle Lightbourne | 9(4) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9(4) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Paul Macari | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Paul Stewart | 22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| FW | Simon Sturridge | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Steven Taaffe | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Peter Thorne | 33(3) | 12 | 0(1) | 0 | 4 | 4 | 37(4) | 16 | 5 | 0 |
| FW | Danny Tiatto | 11(4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11(4) | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| FW | Davide Xausa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 1 | – | – |
