- 1997–98 Chelsea F.C. season
-
Chelsea 1997–98 season Chairman 
Ken BatesManager 
Ruud Gullit (until 12 February)
Gianluca Vialli (from February)FA Premier League 4th FA Cup Third round Coca Cola Cup Winners UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Winners Top goalscorer League: Vialli/Flo (11)
All: Vialli (19)Highest home attendance 34,845 (vs. Bolton Wanderers, 10 May) Lowest home attendance 29,075 (vs. Blackpool, 19 Apr) ← 1996–97 1998–99 → The 1997-98 season was Chelsea F.C.'s 83rd competitive season, their 9th consecutive season in the English top flight and 92nd year as a club.
Contents
Season summary
With conceding goals being a major issue last season, Chelsea signed Dutch international goalkeeper Ed de Goey, who proved to be a relative success. Chelsea's only other major signings were young Norwegian striker Tore Andre Flo and Uruguayan international midfielder Gustavo Poyet from Real Zaragoza, who added more goals from an otherwise very defensive midfield. Chelsea were well on course for a top-five finish and success in the European Cup Winners' Cup and the Coca-Cola Cup when manager Ruud Gullit was sacked on 12 February following a dispute with chairman Ken Bates. His job went to 33-year-old striker Gianluca Vialli, who took on the role of player-manager and achieved instant success - within three months of his appointment, Vialli had guided the Blues to glory on the continent and at Wembley. This success gave Chelsea fans hope that the following season could spell the end of their title wait which began in 1955.
Statistics
No. Nat Pos Player Total Premier League FA Cup Football League Cup Cup Winners Cup Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals 1 GK Ed de Goey 42 0 28 0 1 0 4 0 9 0 2 
DF Dan Petrescu 42 8 31 5 1 0 3 1 7 2 3 
DF Celestine Babayaro 13 0 8 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 4 MF Ruud Gullit 10 0 0+6 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 5 
DF Frank Leboeuf 46 6 32 5 1 0 4 0 9 1 6 
DF Steve Clarke 40 1 22+4 1 1 0 6 0 7 0 7 DF Bernard Lambourde 13 0 5+2 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 8 
MF Gustavo Poyet 18 5 11+3 4 0 0 0 0 4 1 9 FW Gianluca Vialli 33 19 14+7 11 1 2 3 0 8 6 10 
FW Mark Hughes 38 12 25+4 9 1 0 5 2 3 1 11 MF Dennis Wise 39 3 26 3 0 0 4 0 9 0 12 DF Michael Duberry 33 0 23 0 1 0 3 0 6 0 13 GK Kevin Hitchcock 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 14 DF Graeme Le Saux 34 3 26 1 1 1 4 1 3 0 15 DF David Lee 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 16 MF Roberto Di Matteo 43 10 28+2 4 1 0 4 3 8 3 17 DF Danny Granville 20 1 9+4 0 0 0 3 0 4 1 18 DF Andy Myers 17 0 11+1 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 19 
FW Tore André Flo 44 15 16+18 11 1 0 4 2 5 2 20 
DF Frank Sinclair 32 2 20+2 1 0 0 5 1 5 0 21 MF Paul Hughes 11 0 5+4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 22 FW Mark Nicholls 24 3 8+11 3 1 0 2 0 2 0 23 
GK Dmitri Kharine 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 MF Eddie Newton 29 0 17+1 0 0 0 4 0 7 0 25 FW Gianfranco Zola 40 12 23+4 8 1 0 4 0 8 4 26 DF Laurent Charvet 13 2 7+4 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 28 MF Jody Morris 14 2 9+2 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 32 FW Steven Hampshire 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 34 MF Nick Crittenden 3 0 0+2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 35 DF Jon Harley 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Statistics taken from [1]. Squad details and shirt numbers from [2] and [3].
Starting 11
- Only considering Premiership starts.
No. Pos. Name Starts 1 GK Ed de Goey28 6 RB Steve Clarke26 12 CB Michael Duberry23 5 CB Frank Leboeuf32 14 LB Graeme Le Saux26 2 RM Dan Petrescu31 11 CM Dennis Wise (Captain)29 16 CM Roberto Di Matteo30 8 LM Gustavo Poyet14 25 CF Gianfranco Zola27 9 CF Gianluca Vialli21 Results
Premier League
1 Coventry 3–2 Chelsea Dublin 
41, 42, 88'Sinclair 39'
Flo 71'2 Barnsley 0–6 Chelsea Petrescu 25'
Poyet 38'
Vialli 44, 57, 65, 82'3 Wimbledon 0–2 Chelsea Di Matteo 60'
Petrescu 64'4 Chelsea 4–2 Southampton Petrescu 7'
Leboeuf 28'
Hughes 31'
Wise 34'Davies 25'
Monkou 59'5 Crystal Palace 0–3 Chelsea Hughes 20'
Leboeuf 26' (pen.)
Le Saux 90'6 Chelsea 2–3 Arsenal Poyet 40'
Zola 60'Bergkamp 45, 59'
Winterburn 89'7 Manchester United 2–2 Chelsea Scholes 36'
Solskjær 86'Berg 25' (o.g.)
Hughes 68'8 Chelsea 1–0 Newcastle Poyet 75'9 Liverpool 4–2 Chelsea Berger 20, 35, 57'
Fowler 64'Zola 22'
Poyet 85' (pen.)10 Chelsea 1–0 Leicester Leboeuf 88'11 Bolton 1–0 Chelsea Holdsworth 72'12 Aston Villa 0–2 Chelsea Hughes 38'
Flo 82'13 Chelsea 2–1 West Ham R. Ferdinand 57' (o.g.)
Zola 83'Hartson 85' (pen.)14 Blackburn 1–0 Chelsea Croft 11'15 Chelsea 2–0 Everton Wise 80' (pen.)
Zola 90' (pen.)16 Chelsea 4–0 Derby Zola 12, 66, 77'
Hughes 35'17 Tottenham 1–6 Chelsea Vega 43'Flo 40, 63, 90'
Di Matteo 48'
Petrescu 59'
Nicholls 78'18 Chelsea 0–0 Leeds 19 Sheffield Wednesday 1–4 Chelsea Pembridge 71'Petrescu 30'
Vialli 56'
Leboeuf 65' (pen.)
Flo 84'20 Chelsea 1–1 Wimbledon Vialli 8'Mi. Hughes 28'21 Southampton 1–0 Chelsea Davies 16'22 Chelsea 3–1 Coventry Nicholls 65, 70'
Di Matteo 78'Telfer 30'23 Everton 3–1 Chelsea Speed 39'
Ferguson 62'
Duberry 83' (o.g.)Flo 37'24 Chelsea 2–0 Barnsley Vialli 23'
Hughes 47'25 Arsenal 2–0 Chelsea S. Hughes 4, 42'26 Leicester 2–0 Chelsea Heskey 3, 89'27 Chelsea 0–1 Manchester United P. Neville 31'28 Chelsea 0–1 Aston Villa Joachim 51'29 Chelsea 6–2 Crystal Palace Vialli 15, 44'
Zola 17'
Wise 84, 89'Hreiðarsson 7'
Bent 87'30 West Ham 2–1 Chelsea T. Sinclair 69'
Unsworth 74'Charvet 54'31 Derby 0–1 Chelsea Hughes 37'32 Leeds 3–1 Chelsea Hasselbaink 7, 47'
Wetherall 22'Charvet 11'33 Chelsea 2–0 Tottenham Flo 75'
Vialli 88'34 Chelsea 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday Leboeuf 23' (pen.)35 Chelsea 4–1 Liverpool Hughes 11, 78'
Clarke 67'
Flo 72'Riedle 45'36 Chelsea 0–1 Blackburn Gallacher 48'37 Newcastle 3–1 Chelsea Dabizas 39'
Lee 42'
Speed 59'Di Matteo 77'38 Chelsea 2–0 Bolton Vialli 73'
Morris 90'- Final Table
Pos Club Pld W D L F A GD Pts 3 Liverpool 38 18 11 9 68 42 26 65 4 Chelsea 38 20 3 15 71 43 28 63 5 Leeds United 38 17 8 13 57 46 11 59 Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
FA Cup
Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers 4 January 1998 3 Manchester United H 3-5 34,792 Le Saux, Vialli (2) League Cup
Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers 15 October 1997 3 Blackburn Rovers H 1-1 18,671 Di Matteo After extra time, Chelsea won on 4-1 on penalties 19 November 1997 4 Southampton H 2-1 20,968 Morris, Flo 7 January 1998 QF Ipswich Town A 2-2 22,088 Le Saux, Flo After extra time, Chelsea won on 4-1 on penalties 28 January 1998 SF Arsenal A 1-2 38,144 Hughes 18 February 1998 SF Arsenal H 3-1 34,330 Petrescu, Di Matteo, Hughes 29 March 1998 F Middlesbrough N 2-0 77,698 Sinclair, Di Matteo UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
Date Round Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers 8 September 1997 1 Slovan Bratislava H 2-0 23,067 Danny Granville, Di Matteo 2 October 1997 1 Slovan Bratislava A 2-0 13,850 Di Matteo, Vialli 23 October 1997 2 Tromsø A 2-3 6,438 Vialli (2) 6 November 1997 2 Tromsø H 7-1 29,363 Leboeuf, Petrescu (2), Vialli (3), Zola 5 March 1997 QF Real Betis A 2-1 31,000 Flo (2) 19 March 1997 QF Real Betis H 3-1 32,300 Sinclair, Di Matteo, Zola 2 April 1997 SF Vicenza A 0-1 19,319 16 April 1997 SF Vicenza H 3-1 33,810 Poyet, Zola, Hughes 3 May 1997 F VfB Stuttgart N 1-0 30,216 Zola References
Chelsea F.C. seasons 1905–06 · 1906–07 · 1907–08 · 1908–09 · 1909–10 · 1910–11 · 1911–12 · 1912–13 · 1913–14 · 1914–15 · 1915–16 · 1916–17 · 1917–18 · 1918–19 · 1919–20 · 1920–21 · 1921–22 · 1922–23 · 1923–24 · 1924–25 · 1925–26 · 1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30 · 1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40 · 1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50 · 1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60 · 1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70 · 1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80 · 1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90 · 1990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–2000 · 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 · 2011–121997–98 in English football FA competitions Premier League and
Football LeaguePremier League · Football League (First Division · Second Division · Third Division) · League Cup (Final) · Football League Trophy (Final) · Play-offs (First Division Final · Second Division Final · Third Division Final)Football Conference Football Conference · Conference League CupLower leagues European competitions Related to national team Club seasonsPremier League Arsenal · Aston Villa · Barnsley · Blackburn Rovers · Bolton Wanderers · Chelsea · Coventry City · Crystal Palace · Derby County · Everton · Leeds United · Leicester City · Liverpool · Manchester United · Newcastle United · Sheffield Wednesday · Southampton · Tottenham Hotspur · Wimbledon · West Ham UnitedFirst Division Birmingham City · Bradford City · Bury · Charlton Athletic · Crewe Alexandra · Huddersfield Town · Ipswich Town · Manchester City · Middlesbrough · Norwich City · Nottingham Forest · Oxford United · Portsmouth · Port Vale · Queens Park Rangers · Reading · Sheffield United · Stockport County · Stoke City · Sunderland · Swindon Town · Tranmere Rovers · West Bromwich Albion · Wolverhampton WanderersSecond Division Blackpool · Bournemouth · Brentford · Bristol City · Bristol Rovers · Burnley · Carlisle United · Chesterfield · Fulham · Gillingham · Grimsby Town · Luton Town · Millwall · Northampton Town · Oldham Athletic · Plymouth Argyle · Preston North End · Southend United · Walsall · Watford · Wigan Athletic · Wrexham · Wycombe · York CityThird Division Barnet · Brighton & Hove Albion · Cambridge United · Cardiff City · Chester City · Colchester United · Darlington · Doncaster Rovers · Exeter City · Hartlepool United · Hull City · Leyton Orient · Lincoln City · Macclesfield Town · Mansfield Town · Notts County · Peterborough United · Rochdale · Rotherham United · Scarborough · Scunthorpe United · Shrewsbury Town · Swansea City · Torquay UnitedFootball Conference Cheltenham Town · Dover Athletic · Farnborough Town · Gateshead · Halifax Town · Hayes · Hednesford Town · Hereford United · Kettering Town · Kidderminster Harriers · Leek Town · Morecambe · Northwich Victoria · Rushden & Diamonds · Slough Town · Southport · Stalybridge Celtic · Stevenage Borough · Telford United · Welling United · Woking · Yeovil TownSouthern League NewportSummer 1997 transfers · Winter 1997–98 transfersCategories:- Chelsea F.C. seasons
- English football clubs 1997–98 season
- 1997 in London
- 1998 in London
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
