The Story of a Premiership Season

January 1998

Barnsley win the basement battle with fellow strugglers Bolton but a brawl near the end of the game, involving players and coaching staff from both sides, has to be broken up by stewards and police.

Manchester United increase their lead at the top to seven points with an easy victory over Tottenham that leaves Spurs 19th. Chelsea beat Coventry to go second and Blackburn fail to keep pace and fall to third when they lose at Derby, who move up to sixth.

Barnsley suffer their second worst defeat of the campaign, at West Ham. Everton’s second successive win, against Crystal Palace, with Nicky Barmby scoring his first goal of the season, in 18 games, sends the Merseysiders soaring out of the bottom three to 15th and Bolton drop to 18th after drawing with Southampton.

Faustino Asprilla ends his unhappy stay at St James’ Park and returns to Parma for £6 million.
Blackburn make the most of being the only top three side in action with a thumping victory over Aston Villa in which Kevin Gallagher nets a hat-trick. It’s the second worst defeat of the campaign for Villa, the next worst was a Rovers win in August, at Villa Park, in which Gallagher also scored, taking Blackburn’s aggregate to nine goals, without reply, and they go second, five points adrift of the leaders.

Alan Shearer returns after six months out when he comes on as substitute in Newcastle’s win over Bolton that drops Wanderers a place to 19th. Barnsley record only their third win in nine games, against Crystal Palace and, as in the previous two, the only goal of the match comes from Ashley Ward, but the Tykes are still marooned in 20th place.

Everton’s climb to safety continues with a third consecutive win, over Chelsea, that takes them to 13th. Jurgen Klinsmann finally gets his first goal, in three games, since he returned to White Hart Lane and it’s enough to take Spurs up to 18th. Liverpool maintain fourth place by drawing at Leicester and Southampton give the chasing pack hope when a Kevin Davies scores a third-minute goal which proves enough to beat Manchester United, but Chelsea’s defeat by Everton limits the damage to the leaders’ advantage at the top.

It’s a tale of two strikers as Alan Shearer makes another substitute appearance, at Anfield, but cannot prevent a Michael Owen goal consigning Newcastle to defeat.

Manchester United suffer a second successive defeat, for the first time in 15 months, when Tony Cottee’s first goal of the season inflicts a first home reverse of the season on the leaders to give hope to the chasing pack. But only Chelsea, who beat Barnsley and move up a place to second, four points behind United, profit as Blackburn and Liverpool cancel each other out with an Anfield draw and remain third and fourth respectively.

Bolton are thrashed at home by Coventry and stay 19th and Spurs complete the basement trio after defeat at Derby, which keeps The Rams sixth.

#FA CUP round-up Ian Rush’s winning goal, at Everton, where else for the record scorer in Merseyside derbies, that takes Newcastle into the fourth round extends his FA Cup record to 43 goals.

Story of a Premiership Season - January 1998

Story of a Premiership Season -
January 1998