1997–98 Coventry City F.C. season


During the 1997–98 English football season, Coventry City competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary

After a last-day "houdini" act and the bonus of Middlesbrough having 3 points deducted kept Coventry up in the 1996–97 season, manager Gordon Strachan was determined to avoid another season of struggle. He achieved it, and an 11th-place finish was Coventry's highest in four seasons. However, even though they only suffered 10 defeats all season, they staggeringly drew 16 games which ultimately prevented them from finishing any higher. Their secure finish was helped no end by the loyalty of striker Dion Dublin, who pledged his future to the club after turning down an offer from Blackburn Rovers. Coventry were, in fact, 17th on Boxing Day 1997, but a 3-2 win over Manchester United, with no small thanks to late goals from Dublin and Darren Huckerby, appeared to kickstart a sudden surge in form as by late March, the club found themselves in 9th. Right up to the final day of the season, the Sky Blues were within a shout of a UEFA Cup place, but they were beaten to it by local rivals Aston Villa. The two places above them were occupied by two other local rivals - Derby County and Leicester City.

Final league table

;Results summary
;Results by round

Results

Coventry City's score comes first

Legend

FA Premier League

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R33 January 1998LiverpoolA3-133,888Huckerby, Dublin, Telfer
R424 January 1998Derby CountyH2-022,824Dublin
R514 February 1998Aston VillaA1-036,979Moldovan
QF7 March 1998Sheffield UnitedH1-123,084Dublin
QFR17 March 1998Sheffield UnitedA1-1 29,034Telfer

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 1st Leg16 September 1997BlackpoolA0-15,884
R2 2nd Leg1 October 1997BlackpoolH3-1 9,565McAllister, Dublin
R315 October 1997EvertonH4-110,087Hall, Salako, Haworth
R418 November 1997ArsenalA0-130,199

Squad

Left club during season

Reserve squad

Transfers

In

Out

Statistics

Starting 11