1997–98 in Scottish football
The 1997–98 season was the 101st season of competitive football in Scotland. Celtic won the Premier Division championship, preventing rivals Rangers from winning a record 10th successive championship.
[1]
Scottish Premier Division
Top scorers
Scottish League Division One
Table
Top scorers
Scottish League Division Two
Table
Top scorers
| P |
Name |
Goals |
| 1 |
Iain Stewart (Inverness CT) |
16 |
| 2 |
G Harvey (Livingston) |
15 |
| = |
Ian Little (Stenhousemuir) |
15 |
| 4 |
Martin McLauchan (Forfar Athletic) |
14 |
| 5 |
Colin McDonald (Clydebank) |
13 |
| = |
B Thomson (Inverness CT) |
13 |
| 7 |
Ben Honeyman (Forfar Athletic) |
12 |
| 8 |
Tommy Bryce (Queen of the South) |
11 |
| = |
Matthew Dyer (East Fife) |
11 |
| = |
Gordon Young (Stranraer) |
11 |
Scottish League Division Three
Table
Top scorers
| P |
Name |
Goals |
| 1 |
Colin McGlashan (Montrose) |
20 |
| 2 |
William Irvine (Alloa) |
18 |
| 3 |
Billy Spence (Arbroath) |
16 |
| 4 |
Derek Adams (Ross County) |
15 |
| 5 |
Willie Watters (Albion Rovers) |
13 |
| = |
Davie Watt (East Stirlingshire) |
13 |
| 7 |
Paul Forrester (Berwick Rangers) |
10 |
| = |
Brian Grant (Arbroath) |
10 |
| = |
Lee Gardner (Albion Rovers) |
10 |
| = |
Colin McKinnon (Dumbarton) |
10 |
Other honours
Cup honours
Individual honours
SPFA awards
SFWA awards
Scottish clubs in Europe
Average coefficient - 3.125
Scotland national team
| Date |
Venue |
Opponents |
Score[2] |
Competition |
Scotland scorer(s) |
| 7 September |
Pittodrie, Aberdeen (H) |
Belarus |
4–1 |
WCQG4 |
Kevin Gallacher (2), David Hopkin (2) |
| 11 October |
Celtic Park, Glasgow (H) |
Latvia |
2–0 |
WCQG4 |
Kevin Gallacher, Gordon Durie |
| 12 November |
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, St Etienne (A) |
France |
1–2 |
Friendly |
Gordon Durie |
| 25 March |
Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow (H) |
Denmark |
0–1 |
Friendly |
|
| 22 April |
Easter Road, Edinburgh (H) |
Finland |
1–1 |
Friendly |
Darren Jackson |
| 23 May |
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford NJ (A) |
Colombia |
2–2 |
Friendly |
John Collins, Craig Burley |
| 30 May |
RFK Memorial Stadium, Washington DC (A) |
USA |
0–0 |
Friendly |
|
| 10 June |
Stade de France, Saint-Denis (N) |
Brazil |
1–2 |
WCGA |
John Collins (pen.) |
| 16 June |
Stade Lescure, Bordeaux (N) |
Norway |
1–1 |
WCGA |
Craig Burley |
| 23 June |
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, St Etienne (N) |
Morocco |
0–3 |
WCGA |
|
Key:
- (H) = Home match
- (A) = Away match
- WCQG4 = World Cup qualifying - Group 4
- WCGA = World Cup - Group A
Notable events
- After the end of the season, the 10 Premier Division clubs formed a breakaway Scottish Premier League similar to the one formed in England six years earlier.
- Celtic won the Premier Division title after nine successive title wins by Rangers.
- Walter Smith resigned as manager of Rangers after seven years to be succeeded by Dutchman Dick Advocaat.
- Rangers lost the Scottish Cup final 2–1 to Hearts, leaving them without a major trophy for the first time since 1986.
- Paul Gascoigne left Rangers in March to return to England in a £3.4million move to Middlesbrough.
- Ally McCoist left Rangers after 15 years and more than 300 goals to sign for Kilmarnock on a free transfer.
- Goalkeeper Andy Goram left Rangers after seven years, having just walked out of the Scotland squad for the World Cup in France.
- Also leaving Rangers after seven years was Stuart McCall, who moved to England and signed for Bradford City.
- After signing from Perugia in a £3.5million deal at the start of the season, Italian striker Marco Negri had a dream start to his career at Rangers - scoring 23 goals in his first 10 league games. However, after playing 27 league games and scoring 32 goals, his season was ended by a serious eye injury off the field in March.
- Brian Laudrup ended his four-year spell with Rangers and signed for Chelsea at the end of the season.
Notes and references
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| Domestic leagues | |
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| Domestic cups | |
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| European competitions | |
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| Related to national team | |
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Club seasons |
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| Premier Division | |
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| First Division |
- Airdrieonians
- Ayr United
- Dundee
- Falkirk
- Greenock Morton
- Hamilton Academical
- Partick Thistle
- Raith Rovers
- St. Mirren
- Stirling Albion
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| Second Division | |
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| Third Division |
- Albion Rovers
- Alloa Athletic
- Arbroath
- Berwick Rangers
- Cowdenbeath
- Dumbarton
- East Stirlingshire
- Montrose
- Queen's Park
- Ross County
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| Overview | |
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| National teams | |
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| League system | |
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| Cup competitions | |
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| Junior football | |
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| Amateur football | |
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| Welfare football | |
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