1997–98 Hibernian F.C. season

Hibernian
1997–98 season
ManagerJim Duffy
(until 2 February)[1]
Alex McLeish
(from 11 February)[1]
Premier Division10th (relegated)
Scottish CupR3
League CupR3
Top goalscorerLeague: Crawford, 9
All: Crawford, 9
Lavety, 9
Highest home attendance15565[2]
Lowest home attendance9126[2]
Average home league attendance12025[2] (up 1464)

Season 1997–98 was an unqualified disaster for Hibs, as the club was relegated to the First Division by finishing bottom of the Premier Division. There was also disappointment in the cup competitions, as the club were beaten by First Division club Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup, and Dundee United in the League Cup. Manager Jim Duffy was sacked and replaced by Alex McLeish midway through the season.

League season

Hibs got off to a good start to the season, winning 2–1 against Celtic on the opening day, with Chic Charnley scoring a memorable winning goal.[3] The season "rapidly turned into a nightmare", however.[3] With the club four points adrift at the bottom of the league, manager Jim Duffy was sacked after a 6–2 defeat by Motherwell.[4] Alex McLeish was hired as Duffy's replacement, but he was unable to save the club from relegation to the First Division.[3]

Results

3 August 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 2–1 Celtic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Power 24'
Charnley 75'		 Mackay 29' Attendance: 13,051
17 August 1997 Premier Division Dundee United 1–1 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
Winters 22' Tosh 77' Attendance: 7,344
23 August 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 4–0 Kilmarnock Easter Road, Edinburgh
Crawford 6'
Lavety 24'
Baker 64' (o.g.)
McGinlay 90'		 Attendance: 9,559
30 August 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 0–1 Heart of Midlothian Easter Road, Edinburgh
McCann 7' Attendance: 15,550
13 September 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 5–2 Dunfermline Athletic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Charnley 25', 79'
Lavety 31'
Crawford 38'
McGinlay 55'		 Millar 16' (pen.)
Petrie 80'		 Attendance: 10,070
20 September 1997 Premier Division Motherwell 1–1 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell
Coyne 80' Rougier 46' Attendance: 7,420
27 September 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 1–1 St Johnstone Easter Road, Edinburgh
Crawford 2' Farquhar 16' Attendance: 11,172
4 October 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 3–4 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
McGinlay 28'
Lavety 43'
Crawford 46'		 Negri 26' (pen.), 58'
Gascoigne 51'
Albertz 52'		 Attendance: 15,237
18 October 1997 Premier Division Aberdeen 2–0 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Glass 5'
Dodds 37' (pen.)		 Attendance: 11,708
25 October 1997 Premier Division Kilmarnock 2–1 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Roberts 54'
Nevin 57'		 Larusson 80' Attendance: 7,541
1 November 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 1–3 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
Crawford 85' Olofsson 26', 88'
McSwegan 90'		 Attendance: 10,110
8 November 1997 Premier Division Heart of Midlothian 2–0 Hibernian Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh
Robertson 17'
Quitongo 88'		 Attendance: 16,739
15 November 1997 Premier Division Dunfermline Athletic 2–1 Hibernian East End Park, Dunfermline
Smith 17', 81' Crawford 90' Attendance: 6,952
22 November 1997 Premier Division St Johnstone 1–0 Hibernian McDiarmid Park, Perth
Scott 2' Attendance: 5,403
29 November 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 1–1 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh
Dods 75' Coyle 90' Attendance: 9,999
7 December 1997 Premier Division Rangers 1–0 Hibernian Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
Negri 51' Attendance: 48,070
13 December 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 2–2 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Walker 2', 83' Dodds 43'
Jess 68'		 Attendance: 10,001
20 December 1997 Premier Division Celtic 5–0 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
Burley 23', 90'
Wieghorst 38'
McNamara 48'
Larsson 64'		 Attendance: 49,094
27 December 1997 Premier Division Hibernian 0–1 Kilmarnock Easter Road, Edinburgh
Wright 43' Attendance: 10,543
1 January 1998 Premier Division Heart of Midlothian 2–2 Hibernian Tynecastle Stadium, Edinburgh
Fulton 6', 10' Walker 51'
McGinlay 67'		 Attendance: 17,564
10 January 1998 Premier Division Hibernian 1–0 Dunfermline Athletic Easter Road, Edinburgh
McGinlay 36' Attendance: 10,616
17 January 1998 Premier Division Hibernian 0–1 St Johnstone Easter Road, Edinburgh
Grant 83' Attendance: 9,126
31 January 1998 Premier Division Motherwell 6–2 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell
Arnott 10'
Weir 23'
Garcin 43'
McCulloch 81', 89'
Coyne 88'		 Crawford 4'
Lavety 8'		 Attendance: 6,169
7 February 1998 Premier Division Aberdeen 3–0 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Newell 40'
Jess 57'
Miller 59'		 Attendance: 12,043
21 February 1998 Premier Division Hibernian 1–2 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Lavety 19' Negri 35'
Albertz 88'		 Attendance: 13,968
24 February 1998 Premier Division Dundee United 1–1 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
Dow 73' (o.g.) Hughes 75' Attendance: 7,989
28 February 1998 Premier Division Hibernian 0–1 Celtic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Rieper 25' Attendance: 15,137
14 March 1998 Premier Division St Johnstone 1–1 Hibernian McDiarmid Park, Perth
McQuillan 62' Rougier 90' (pen.) Attendance: 6,472
Referee: McCluskey
21 March 1998 Premier Division Hibernian 1–0 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh
Lavety 34' Attendance: 10,582
28 March 1998 Premier Division Hibernian 1–1 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Rougier 90' (pen.) Jess 68' Attendance: 12,966
1 April 1998 Premier Division Rangers 3–0 Hibernian Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
McCoist 56'
Thern 58'
Durie 75'		 Attendance: 48,488
11 April 1998 Premier Division Hibernian 2–1 Heart of Midlothian Easter Road, Edinburgh
Lavety 56'
Harper 80'		 Robertson 71' Attendance: 16,200
18 April 1998 Premier Division Dunfermline Athletic 1–1 Hibernian East End Park, Dunfermline
Brebner 48' (o.g.) Welsh 90' Attendance: 12,749
25 April 1998 Premier Division Celtic 0–0 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 49,500
2 May 1998 Premier Division Hibernian 1–2 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
Brebner 31' Olofsson 72', 78' Attendance: 13,413
9 May 1998 Premier Division Kilmarnock 1–1 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Roberts 15' Crawford 90' Attendance: 12,393

Final table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
6 Aberdeen 36 9 12 15 39 53 −14 39
7 Dundee United 36 8 13 15 43 51 −8 37
8 Dunfermline Athletic 36 8 13 15 43 68 −25 37
9 Motherwell 36 9 7 20 46 64 −18 34
10 Hibernian (R) 36 6 12 18 38 59 −21 30 Relegation to the First Division
Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated

Scottish League Cup

Results

9 August 1997 Scottish League Cup Hibernian 3–1 Alloa Athletic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Lavety 9'
Charnley 29'
McGinlay 49'		 Irvine 50' Attendance: 6,807
20 August 1997 Scottish League Cup Dundee United 2–1
AET		 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
Zetterlund 90'
McSwegan 92'		 Lavety 3' Attendance: 7,692
Referee: McCluskey

Scottish Cup

Results

24 January 1998 Scottish Cup Hibernian 1–2 Raith Rovers Easter Road, Edinburgh
McGinlay 22' Millar 10', 21' Attendance: 11,481

Transfers

Player stats

During the 1997–98 season, Hibs used 32 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[5]

No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier Division Scottish Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Iceland ISL Olafur Gottskalksson 17 0 16 0 0 0 1 0
GK Scotland SCO Bryan Gunn 12 0 12 0 0 0 0 0
GK Scotland SCO Chris Reid 10 0 8 0 1 0 1 0
DF Benin BEN Jean-Marc Adjovi-Bocco 32 0 29 0 1 0 2 0
DF Scotland SCO Shaun Dennis 6 0 5 0 1 0 0 0
DF Scotland SCO Darren Dods 32 1 29 1 1 0 2 0
DF Scotland SCO David Elliot 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
DF Scotland SCO John Hughes 27 1 25 1 0 0 2 0
DF Scotland SCO Stuart McCaffrey 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
DF Scotland SCO Jamie McQuilken 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
DF Scotland SCO Willie Miller 34 0 31 0 1 0 2 0
DF Scotland SCO Michael Renwick 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0
DF Scotland SCO Brian Welsh 17 1 17 1 0 0 0 0
MF Scotland SCO Scott Bannerman 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
MF Scotland SCO Grant Brebner 9 1 9 1 0 0 0 0
MF Scotland SCO Chic Charnley 23 4 20 3 1 0 2 1
MF Scotland SCO Graeme Donald 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
MF Scotland SCO Andy Dow 35 0 32 0 1 0 2 0
MF Scotland SCO Brian Grant 7 0 5 0 0 0 2 0
MF Scotland SCO Kevin Harper 29 1 27 1 1 0 1 0
MF Scotland SCO Chris Jackson 16 0 15 0 1 0 0 0
MF Iceland ISL Bjarni Larusson 7 1 7 1 0 0 0 0
MF Scotland SCO Pat McGinlay 36 6 33 4 1 1 2 1
MF Scotland SCO Greg Miller 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 0
MF Scotland SCO Eric Paton 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF Trinidad and Tobago TRI Tony Rougier 31 3 30 3 0 0 1 0
FW Scotland SCO Stephen Crawford 38 9 35 9 1 0 2 0
FW Scotland SCO Barry Lavety 29 9 26 7 1 0 2 2
FW Scotland SCO Kenny Miller 7 0 7 0 0 0 0 0
FW Ireland EIR Lee Power 6 1 5 1 0 0 1 0
FW Scotland SCO Paul Tosh 16 1 15 1 0 0 1 0
FW Scotland SCO Andy Walker 9 3 8 3 1 0 0 0

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Manager History for Hibernian". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Average Home League Game Attendances". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  3. ^ a b c Hardie, David (21 November 2009). "Chic Charnley slams old boss Alex McLeish over time at Hibs". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  4. ^ "Football: Duffy is sacked by Hibernian". The Independent. 3 February 1998. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Hibernian 1997/1998 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 15 February 2010.