The City Ground

SEASON: 1897-98

Prev Season: 1896-97
This Season: 1897-98
Next Season: 1898-99

DIVISION:: English First Division (Tier 1)
MANAGER(s):: Harry Haslam
FA Cup:: Winners (Derby County (Crystal Palace) 3-1)
League Cup:: Not started

Top Goalscorer:: Arthur Capes, Chas Richards, Len Benbow (12 goals)

LEAGUE POSITIONS

SEASON END TABLE

FIRST DIVISION (Tier 1) - 1897-98								Home					Away								Results
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	Result	Home	Away
1	Sheffield United	30	17	8	5	56	31	9	4	2	27	14	8	4	3	29	17	1.806	42		1-1	1-1
2	Sunderland	30	16	5	9	43	30	12	2	1	27	8	4	3	8	16	22	1.433	37		1-1	0-4
3	Wolverhampton Wanderers	30	14	7	9	57	41	10	4	1	36	14	4	3	8	21	27	1.390	35		1-1	0-0
4	Everton	30	13	9	8	48	39	11	3	1	33	12	2	6	7	15	27	1.231	35		2-2	0-2
5	The Wednesday	30	15	3	12	51	42	12	0	3	39	15	3	3	9	12	27	1.214	33		1-0	6-3
6	Aston Villa	30	14	5	11	61	51	12	1	2	47	21	2	4	9	14	30	1.196	33		3-1	0-2
7	West Bromwich Albion	30	11	10	9	44	45	8	5	2	25	16	3	5	7	19	29	.978	32		0-1	0-2
8	Nottingham Forest	30	11	9	10	47	49	7	5	3	30	19	4	4	7	17	30	.959	31
9	Liverpool	30	11	6	13	48	45	7	4	4	27	16	4	2	9	21	29	1.067	28		2-3	2-1
10	Derby County	30	11	6	13	57	61	10	3	2	40	19	1	3	11	17	42	.934	28		3-4	0-5
11	Bolton Wanderers	30	11	4	15	28	41	9	2	4	18	13	2	2	11	10	28	.683	26		2-0	0-2
12	Preston North End	30	8	8	14	35	43	7	5	3	26	15	1	3	11	9	28	.814	24		4-1	0-3
13	Notts County	30	8	8	14	36	46	4	6	5	23	23	4	2	9	13	23	.783	24		1-1	3-1
14	Bury	30	8	8	14	39	51	8	3	4	25	19	0	5	10	14	32	.765	24		3-1	2-2
15	Blackburn Rovers	30	7	10	13	39	54	4	7	4	20	22	3	3	9	19	32	.722	24	Remained in 1st Div after league expansion	3-1	1-1
16	Stoke City	30	8	8	14	35	55	8	3	4	21	14	0	5	10	14	41	.636	24	Remained in 1st Div after playoffs	3-1	2-1

Click here for all tables for 1897-98

Competitive Games:: 36
Competitive Goals:: 64
Goals per game:: 1.8
League Games:: 30
League Points:: 31 out of 60 (2 points per win)
Points Percentage:: 51.7%

GOALS
Goals scored, conceded and win and loss margins

Goal count:	1 goal	2 goals	3 goals	4 goals	5+ goals
Scored	8 times	7 times	8 times	3 times	1 time
Conceded	17 times	7 times	3 times	2 times	1 time
Won By	4 times	8 times	2 times	2 times
Lost By	3 times	4 times	1 time	1 time	1 time

LEAGUE POSITION ANALYSIS
Analysis of the league positions
This table shows:
(a) how many days we spent in each of the league positions
(b) how we did when we played teams in each of the league positions.

Position days		Record against teams in each position
Forest Pos	Num Days	Opp Pos	P	W	D	L	F	A	Points	Results (Green=win; Blue=draw; Red=loss)
1		1	2	-	2	-	2	2	2	Sheffield United (1-1), Sheffield United (1-1)
2		2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3		3	1	-	-	1	0	4	0	Sunderland (0-4)
4		4	1	1	-	-	3	1	2	Aston Villa (3-1)
5	7	5	2	1	1	-	7	4	3	Sunderland (1-1), The Wednesday (6-3)
6		6	5	1	2	2	3	5	4	Wolverhampton Wanderers (0-0), West Bromwich Albion (0-1), The Wednesday (1-0), Everton (2-2), Everton (0-2)<
7	31	7	2	-	1	1	1	3	1	Wolverhampton Wanderers (1-1), Aston Villa (0-2)
8	123	8	1	1	-	-	2	0	2	Bolton Wanderers (2-0)
9	14	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	9	10	4	2	-	2	11	9	4	Derby County (3-4), Liverpool (2-1), Preston North End (4-1), Liverpool (2-3)
11	27	11	3	-	-	3	0	9	0	West Bromwich Albion (0-2), Bolton Wanderers (0-2), Derby County (0-5)
12	4	12	3	1	1	1	4	5	3	Preston North End (0-3), Blackburn Rovers (1-1), Bury (3-1)
13	17	13	1	-	1	-	1	1	1	Notts County (1-1)
14	9	14	2	2	-	-	6	2	4	Blackburn Rovers (3-1), Stoke City (3-1)
15		15	1	1	-	-	2	1	2	Stoke City (2-1)
16		16	2	1	1	-	5	3	3	Notts County (3-1), Bury (2-2)

ATTENDANCES (HOME)

Highest League Attendance:: 15,000 (Notts County)
Lowest League Attendance:: 3,000 (Preston North End)
Average League Attendance:: 7,733
Highest Cup Attendance:: 10,000 (Gainsborough Trinity)
Lowest Cup Attendance:: 6,000 (Grimsby Town)

MISCELLANEOUS

Clean Sheets:: 6
Yellow cards:: 0
Red cards:: 0
Own goals (for):: (scored by opponents for us)
Own goals (against):: (scored by us for opponents)
Penalties scored:: 0
Penalties conceded:: 0
Penalties missed:: 0
Penalties saved:: 0

GAMES

Manager for all games: Harry Haslam
League

Week	Date	Opponent	H/A	Score	Result	Att	Pos	Scorers
1	Sat Sep 04, 1897	Notts County	H	1-1	Draw	15,000	9	Capes (?)
2	Sat Sep 11, 1897	West Bromwich Albion	A	0-2	Loss	8,000	13
3	Sat Sep 18, 1897	Sheffield United	H	1-1	Draw	9,000	14	Capes (?)
4	Sat Sep 25, 1897	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0-0	Draw	6,000	12
5	Sat Oct 02, 1897	Sunderland	H	1-1	Draw	8,000	13	Wragg (?)
6	Sat Oct 09, 1897	Notts County	A	3-1	Win	15,000	10	Forman (?), Benbow (?), Spouncer (?)
7	Sat Oct 16, 1897	Blackburn Rovers	H	3-1	Win	6,000	7	McInnes (?), Benbow (?, ?)
8	Sat Oct 23, 1897	Bolton Wanderers	A	0-2	Loss	5,000	11
9	Sat Oct 30, 1897	Derby County	H	3-4	Loss	12,000	11	McPherson (?), Spencer (?), Capes (?)
10	Sat Nov 06, 1897	Liverpool	A	2-1	Win	7,000	8	Richards (?), Benbow (?)
11	Sat Nov 13, 1897	Preston North End	H	4-1	Win	3,000	7	Richards (?, ?), Spouncer (?, ?)
12	Sat Nov 20, 1897	Stoke City	A	2-1	Win	3,000	5	Benbow (?), Spouncer (?)
13	Sat Nov 27, 1897	Liverpool	H	2-3	Loss	5,000	8	McInnes (?), Spouncer (?)
14	Sat Dec 04, 1897	Sheffield United	A	1-1	Draw	10,000	7	McPherson (?)
15	Sat Dec 11, 1897	West Bromwich Albion	H	0-1	Loss	6,000	8
16	Sat Dec 25, 1897	Preston North End	A	0-3	Loss	6,000	10
17	Sat Jan 01, 1898	The Wednesday	A	6-3	Win	5,000	11	Forman (?), McPherson (?), Richards (?, ?), Benbow (?, ?)
18	Sat Jan 08, 1898	Bolton Wanderers	H	2-0	Win	8,000	9	Benbow (?), Capes (?)
19	Sat Jan 15, 1898	Blackburn Rovers	A	1-1	Draw	5,000	8	Richards (?)
20	Sat Jan 22, 1898	The Wednesday	H	1-0	Win	10,000	8	McInnes (?)
21	Sat Feb 19, 1898	Stoke City	H	3-1	Win	6,000	7	Forman (?), Capes (?), Spouncer (?)
22	Sat Mar 12, 1898	Everton	H	2-2	Draw	8,000	8	Capes (?, ?)
23	Sat Mar 26, 1898	Aston Villa	H	3-1	Win	4,930	7	Benbow (?, 20), Capes (?)
24	Sat Apr 02, 1898	Everton	A	0-2	Loss	10,000	8
25	Mon Apr 04, 1898	Bury	A	2-2	Draw	2,000	8	Spencer (?), Capes (?)
26	Fri Apr 08, 1898	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	1-1	Draw	10,000	8	Forman (?)
27	Sat Apr 09, 1898	Bury	H	3-1	Win	6,000	8	Forman (?, ?), McInnes (?)
28	Mon Apr 11, 1898	Derby County	A	0-5	Loss	16,000	8
29	Sat Apr 23, 1898	Sunderland	A	0-4	Loss	9,000	8
30	Sat Apr 30, 1898	Aston Villa	A	0-2	Loss	9,000	8

FA Cup

Date	Opponent	Round	Replay	Count	H/A	Score	Result	Att	Scorers
Sat Jan 29, 1898	Grimsby Town	1			H	4-0	Win	6,000	McInnes (?), Richards (?, ?), Capes (?)
Sat Feb 12, 1898	Gainsborough Trinity	2			H	4-0	Win	10,000	McInnes (?), Richards (?, ?), Benbow (?)
Sat Feb 26, 1898	West Bromwich Albion	Quarter			A	3-2	Win	16,500	Richards (?), Forman (65), Spouncer (87)
Sat Mar 19, 1898	Southampton St Mary's	Semi			N	1-1	Draw	30,000	Benbow (?)
Thu Mar 24, 1898	Southampton St Mary's	Semi	Y	1	N	2-0	Win	12,000	McInnes (?), Richards (?)
Sat Apr 16, 1898	Derby County	Final			N	3-1	Win	62,017	McPherson (?), Capes (?, ?)

Friendly

Date	Opponent	Country	H/A	Score	Result	Att	Scorers
Thu Sep 02, 1897	Gainsborough Trinity	England	H	5-0	Win	400	McPherson (?), McInnes (?), Benbow (?, ?, ?)
Wed Sep 08, 1897	Loughborough	England	A	5-1	Win	500	Richards (?, ?), Capes (?, ?), Capes (?)
Mon Sep 13, 1897	Langley Mill Rangers	England	A	2-0	Win	-	Radford (?), ? (?)
Mon Sep 20, 1897	Leicester Fosse	England	A	0-4	Loss	-
Wed Oct 27, 1897	Gainsborough Trinity	England	A	6-2	Win	2,000	Capes (?, ?, ?, ?), Simpson (?), Hancock (?)
Sat Dec 18, 1897	Derby County	England	A	4-2	Win	3,000	Forman (?), Spencer (?), Richards (?, ?)
Mon Dec 27, 1897	Notts County	England	A	1-0	Win	10,000	? (?)
Tue Apr 26, 1898	Newark	England	A	5-0	Win	1,200	Forman (?), Iremonger (?, ?), Richards (?), McCracken (?)
Wed Apr 27, 1898	Worksop Town	England	A	4-1	Win	-	Forman (?), Bradshaw (?, ?), Thornley (?)
Thu Apr 28, 1898	Leicester Fosse	England	H	1-0	Win	1,500	Capes (?)

Date	Game Type	Opponent	Round	Replay Count	H/A	Score	Att	Scorers
Manager: Harry Haslam
Thu Sep 02, 1897	Friendly	Gainsborough Trinity			H	5-0	400	McPherson (?), McInnes (?), Benbow (?, ?, ?)
Sat Sep 04, 1897	League Tier 1	Notts County			H	1-1	15,000	Capes (?)
Wed Sep 08, 1897	Friendly	Loughborough			A	5-1	500	Richards (?, ?), Capes (?, ?), Capes (?)
Sat Sep 11, 1897	League Tier 1	West Bromwich Albion			A	0-2	8,000
Mon Sep 13, 1897	Friendly	Langley Mill Rangers			A	2-0	-	Radford (?), ? (?)
Sat Sep 18, 1897	League Tier 1	Sheffield United			H	1-1	9,000	Capes (?)
Mon Sep 20, 1897	Friendly	Leicester Fosse			A	0-4	-
Sat Sep 25, 1897	League Tier 1	Wolverhampton Wanderers			A	0-0	6,000
Sat Oct 02, 1897	League Tier 1	Sunderland			H	1-1	8,000	Wragg (?)
Sat Oct 09, 1897	League Tier 1	Notts County			A	3-1	15,000	Forman (?), Benbow (?), Spouncer (?)
Sat Oct 16, 1897	League Tier 1	Blackburn Rovers			H	3-1	6,000	McInnes (?), Benbow (?, ?)
Sat Oct 23, 1897	League Tier 1	Bolton Wanderers			A	0-2	5,000
Wed Oct 27, 1897	Friendly	Gainsborough Trinity			A	6-2	2,000	Capes (?, ?, ?, ?), Simpson (?), Hancock (?)
Sat Oct 30, 1897	League Tier 1	Derby County			H	3-4	12,000	McPherson (?), Spencer (?), Capes (?)
Sat Nov 06, 1897	League Tier 1	Liverpool			A	2-1	7,000	Richards (?), Benbow (?)
Sat Nov 13, 1897	League Tier 1	Preston North End			H	4-1	3,000	Richards (?, ?), Spouncer (?, ?)
Sat Nov 20, 1897	League Tier 1	Stoke City			A	2-1	3,000	Benbow (?), Spouncer (?)
Sat Nov 27, 1897	League Tier 1	Liverpool			H	2-3	5,000	McInnes (?), Spouncer (?)
Sat Dec 04, 1897	League Tier 1	Sheffield United			A	1-1	10,000	McPherson (?)
Sat Dec 11, 1897	League Tier 1	West Bromwich Albion			H	0-1	6,000
Sat Dec 18, 1897	Friendly	Derby County			A	4-2	3,000	Forman (?), Spencer (?), Richards (?, ?)
Sat Dec 25, 1897	League Tier 1	Preston North End			A	0-3	6,000
Mon Dec 27, 1897	Friendly	Notts County			A	1-0	10,000	? (?)
Sat Jan 01, 1898	League Tier 1	The Wednesday			A	6-3	5,000	Forman (?), McPherson (?), Richards (?, ?), Benbow (?, ?)
Sat Jan 08, 1898	League Tier 1	Bolton Wanderers			H	2-0	8,000	Benbow (?), Capes (?)
Sat Jan 15, 1898	League Tier 1	Blackburn Rovers			A	1-1	5,000	Richards (?)
Sat Jan 22, 1898	League Tier 1	The Wednesday			H	1-0	10,000	McInnes (?)
Sat Jan 29, 1898	FA Cup	Grimsby Town	1		H	4-0	6,000	McInnes (?), Richards (?, ?), Capes (?)
Sat Feb 12, 1898	FA Cup	Gainsborough Trinity	2		H	4-0	10,000	McInnes (?), Richards (?, ?), Benbow (?)
Sat Feb 19, 1898	League Tier 1	Stoke City			H	3-1	6,000	Forman (?), Capes (?), Spouncer (?)
Sat Feb 26, 1898	FA Cup	West Bromwich Albion	Quarter		A	3-2	16,500	Richards (?), Forman (65), Spouncer (87)
Sat Mar 12, 1898	League Tier 1	Everton			H	2-2	8,000	Capes (?, ?)
Sat Mar 19, 1898	FA Cup	Southampton St Mary's	Semi		N	1-1	30,000	Benbow (?)
Thu Mar 24, 1898	FA Cup	Southampton St Mary's	Semi	1	N	2-0	12,000	McInnes (?), Richards (?)
Sat Mar 26, 1898	League Tier 1	Aston Villa			H	3-1	4,930	Benbow (?, 20), Capes (?)
Sat Apr 02, 1898	League Tier 1	Everton			A	0-2	10,000
Mon Apr 04, 1898	League Tier 1	Bury			A	2-2	2,000	Spencer (?), Capes (?)
Fri Apr 08, 1898	League Tier 1	Wolverhampton Wanderers			H	1-1	10,000	Forman (?)
Sat Apr 09, 1898	League Tier 1	Bury			H	3-1	6,000	Forman (?, ?), McInnes (?)
Mon Apr 11, 1898	League Tier 1	Derby County			A	0-5	16,000
Sat Apr 16, 1898	FA Cup	Derby County	Final		N	3-1	62,017	McPherson (?), Capes (?, ?)
Sat Apr 23, 1898	League Tier 1	Sunderland			A	0-4	9,000
Tue Apr 26, 1898	Friendly	Newark			A	5-0	1,200	Forman (?), Iremonger (?, ?), Richards (?), McCracken (?)
Wed Apr 27, 1898	Friendly	Worksop Town			A	4-1	-	Forman (?), Bradshaw (?, ?), Thornley (?)
Thu Apr 28, 1898	Friendly	Leicester Fosse			H	1-0	1,500	Capes (?)
Sat Apr 30, 1898	League Tier 1	Aston Villa			A	0-2	9,000

TRANSFERS
Transfers before, during and immediately after the season.

In (6)				Out (5)
Date	Player	Details	Fee	Date	Player	Details	Fee
	James Benbow	Bought			Chris Goodchild	Sold
1897	John Thornley	Bought			James Benbow	Sold
	Len Benbow	Bought			JB Hancock	Sold
	Richardson (1898)	Bought			Martin (1897-98)	Sold
	Tom Bradshaw	Bought		Aug 01, 1897	Adrian Capes	Sold
May 30, 1897	Alf Spouncer	Bought

SQUAD

			Season Record (Competitive Games only)
Pos	Num	Player	P	W	D	L	Goals	Yellows	Reds	Went Off	Came On	Unused Sub	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK		Dan Allsop	32	15	8	9
GK		Martin (1897-98)	4	1	2	1
Defenders
D		Adam Scott	31	15	9	7
D		Archibald Ritchie	25	14	5	6
D		James Iremonger	17	3	8	6
Midfielders
M		Adrian Capes	1		1
M		Chris Goodchild	1		1
M		Frank Forman	32	16	7	9	7
M		James Benbow	1	1
M		JB Hancock
M		John McPherson	33	14	10	9	4
M		John Thornley	1	1
M		Peter McCracken	9	3	4	2
M		Richardson (1898)	1			1
M		Willie Wragg	30	14	7	9	1
Forwards
F		Alf Spouncer	29	14	7	8	7
F		Arthur Capes	33	15	9	9	12
F		Arthur Shaw	1			1
F		Chas Richards	31	15	6	10	12
F		Fred Forman	7		4	3
F		Fred Spencer	11	5	4	2	2
F		Len Benbow	30	13	8	9	12
F		Tom Bradshaw	6	3	1	2
F		Tom McInnes	29	14	8	7	7

		A Radford	1		1
		Parry (1897)
		Simpson

GOALSCORERS

Competitive goals only

Goals (Pens)	Player	Games
12	Arthur Capes	33
12	Chas Richards	31
12	Len Benbow	30
7	Alf Spouncer	29
7	Frank Forman	32
7	Tom McInnes	29
4	John McPherson	33
2	Fred Spencer	11
1	Willie Wragg	30

LEAGUE DOUBLES
Home and away victories for the season

	Game 1			Game 2
Opponent	Date	H/A	Score	Date	H/A	Score
Stoke City	Sat Nov 20, 1897	Away	2-1	Sat Feb 19, 1898	Home	3-1
The Wednesday	Sat Jan 01, 1898	Away	6-3	Sat Jan 22, 1898	Home	1-0