During the 1997–98 English football season,
Grimsby Town F.C. competed in the
Football League Second Division.
Season summary
The 1997–98 season saw the return of Alan Buckley as manager, after an unsuccessful period at
West Bromwich Albion, for Grimsby's most successful post-war season. In the summer of 1997, Buckley succeeded in bringing in players to the club who were to be instrumental in the club's upcoming season. Former skipper
Paul Groves was re-signed from
West Bromwich Albion, and
Kevin Donovan and
David Smith also joined the club from Albion. The mid-season capture of
Huddersfield Town midfielder
Wayne Burnett
Wayne Burnett (born 4 September 1971) is an English football coach and former footballer who is manager of Tottenham Hotspur under-23's team.
As a player Burnett was a midfielder from 1989 until 2004 notably playing in the Football League f ...
proved to be a great bit of business for Buckley. After a seemingly poor start to the League campaign, performances improved, which propelled the club into a promotion battle with
Watford,
Bristol City and an expensively assembled
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
(at the time the only club at this level to have spent seven-figure sums on players). A good run in the
League Cup saw The Mariners knock holders
Leicester City and fellow Premier League side
Sheffield Wednesday out of the competition before finally losing out to
Liverpool. A decent run of form had ignited the careers of such younger players as
Daryl Clare,
Danny Butterfield and
Jack Lester who were becoming an integral part of the
Blundell Park
Blundell Park is a football ground in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England and home to Grimsby Town Football Club. The stadium was built in 1899, but only one of the original stands remains. The current capacity of the ground is 9, ...
set-up. The Mariners went on to dump
Burnley out of the
Football League Trophy Northern section area final, which would see the club book its first trip to
Wembley Stadium.
The club were drawn against Southern section champions
AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
and in a tight game, an equaliser from substitute
Kingsley Black took the game into extra time, and in the 112th minute Grimsby secured the game courtesy of a
golden goal from
Wayne Burnett
Wayne Burnett (born 4 September 1971) is an English football coach and former footballer who is manager of Tottenham Hotspur under-23's team.
As a player Burnett was a midfielder from 1989 until 2004 notably playing in the Football League f ...
.
This was the first major trophy awarded to the club following its first appearance at Wembley. It took only four weeks for Grimsby to return to the stadium though, this time to face
Northampton Town in the Division Two Play Off Final.
Town won the game 1–0 thanks to a first half
Kevin Donovan goal which gave the club a historic Wembley double and The Mariners promotion back to Division One.
Transfers
Transfers in
Loans in
Transfers out
Loans out
:Transfers in: £1,020,000
:Transfers out: £2,200,000
:Total spending: £480,000
Final league table
Results
''Grimsby Town's score comes first''
Legend
Football League Second Division
Second Division play-offs
FA Cup
League Cup
Football League Trophy
Squad
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 Grimsby Town F.C. season
Grimsby Town F.C. seasons
Grimsby Town