1997–98 Sheffield United F.C. season

On 5 August 1997, Nigel Spackman was appointed as permanent manager of Sheffield United and his side had a good start to the season but huge losses and high wages from the previous season's promotion failure led to enforced sales of key personnel. The final straw being the sale of both of the club's top scoring strikers (Brian Deane – 11 league goals – went to S.L. Benfica & Jan Åge Fjørtoft – 9 league goals – to Barnsley) on the same day. Even though leaving midseason, Deane would go on to become the team's top scorer that year, such was the lack of replacements. Spackman was unhappy over this and resigned in March 1998, leaving Thompson and Slade in caretaker charge until the end of the season. The Blades finished in the playoffs but came up short in the playoff semi-finals against Sunderland, losing 3–2 on aggregate.

{{main|1997–98 Football League First Division}}

{{:1997–98 Football League First Division|showteam=SHU}}

Sheffield United's score comes first{{Cite web |url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/sheffield-united/1997-1998/results |title = Sheffield United results for the 1997-1998 season – Statto.com |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-date=18 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518113306/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/sheffield-united/1997-1998/results |url-status=dead }}

{{Main|1997–98 FA Cup}}

{{Main|1997–98 Football League Cup}}

:Squad at end of season{{cite web|url=https://www.11v11.com/teams/sheffield-united/tab/players/season/1998/|title=All Sheffield United players: 1998|website=11v11.com}}

{{fs start}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=GK|name=Matthew George}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=GK|name=Simon Tracey}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=WAL|pos=GK|name=Andy Dibble}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=IRL|pos=GK|name=Alan KellyKelly was born in Preston, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his father and represented them at U-23 level before making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1993.}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Earl Barrett}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Ian Hamilton}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=David Holdsworth}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=David Lee|other=on loan from Chelsea}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Nicky Marker}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Jon O'Connor|other=on loan from Everton}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Wayne Quinn}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Lee Sandford}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Chris ShortShort was born in Münster, West Germany (now Germany), but was raised in England.}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Carl Tiler}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Chris Wilder}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=IRL|pos=DF|name=Paul McGrathMcGrath was born in Ealing, England, but was raised in the Republic of Ireland and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1985.}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=NED|pos=DF|name=Michel Vonk}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=NOR|pos=DF|name=Roger Nilsen}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=GRE|pos=DF|name=Vasilios Borbokis}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=GRE|pos=DF|name=Traianos Dellas}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Mark Beard}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Adam Burley}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Jon Cullen}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Kevin Davies}}

{{Fs mid}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Shaun Derry}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Paul DevlinDevlin was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his father and would make his international debut for Scotland in October 2002.}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Bobby Ford}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Steve Hawes}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Nick Henry}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Ryan Ludlam}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Graham Stuart}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Mitch Ward}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=David White}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Dane Whitehouse}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Curtis Woodhouse}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=SCO|pos=MF|name=Don HutchisonHutchison was born in Gateshead, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his father and would make his international debut for Scotland in March 1999, having previously represented them at B level.}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Brian Deane}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Lee Morris}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Mark Patterson}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Andy Scott}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=WAL|pos=FW|name=Ian Rush|other=on loan from Newcastle United}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=WAL|pos=FW|name=Dean Saunders}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=WAL|pos=FW|name=Gareth TaylorTaylor was born in Weston-super-Mare, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his father and made his international debut for Wales in 1995.}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=SCO|pos=FW|name=Andy Walker}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=NOR|pos=FW|name=Jan Åge Fjørtoft}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=FIN|pos=FW|name=Ville Lehtinen}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=BLR|pos=FW|name=Pyotr Kachura}}

{{Fs player|no=|nat=BRA|pos=FW|name=Marcelo}}

{{Fs end}}

{{Reflist|group=notes|32em}}

{{reflist}}

{{Sheffield United F.C. seasons}}

{{1997-98 in English football}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 Sheffield United F.C. season}}

Category:Sheffield United F.C. seasons

Sheffield United