Retro Fantasy Football

1997/98 Premier League fantasy football

Replay the 1997/98 Premier League as an old school fantasy football manager. Build a £100m squad from that season's 340 real players across 20 clubs, then play all 38 gameweeks and see how many points your 1997/98 XI can rack up. Dennis Bergkamp is the season's most expensive pick at £12.0m.

Draft a squad from 1997/98

The 1997/98 title race

Arsenal won the 1997/98 title with 78 points, 1 point clear of Manchester United. They won 23, drew 9 and lost 6 of their 38 games, scoring 68 and conceding 33. Bolton, Barnsley and Crystal Palace were relegated. Michael Owen, Chris Sutton and Dion Dublin shared the scoring honours with 18 league goals.

1997/98 Premier League final table

#ClubPWDLGFGAGDPts
1Arsenal3823966833+3578
2Manchester United3823877326+4777
3Liverpool38181196842+2665
4Chelsea38203157143+2863
5Leeds38178135746+1159
6Blackburn381610125752+558
7Aston Villa38176154948+157
8West Ham38168145657-156
9Derby38167155249+355
10Leicester381314115141+1053
11Coventry381216104644+252
12Southampton38146185055-548
13Newcastle381111163544-944
14Tottenham Hotspur381111164456-1244
15Wimbledon381014143446-1244
16Sheffield Wednesday38128185267-1544
17Everton38913164156-1540
18Bolton38913164161-2040
19Barnsley38105233782-4535
20Crystal Palace3889213771-3433

The bottom three were relegated. In the game, every result behind this table plays out as it really happened.

1997/98 top scorers

PlayerGoalsAssistsOur price
Michael OwenLiverpool1810£9.0m
Chris SuttonBlackburn186£9.0m
Dion DublinCoventry1810£10.0m
Dennis BergkampArsenal1611£12.0m
Jimmy Floyd HasselbainkLeeds166£8.5m
Kevin GallacherBlackburn164£10.5m
Andy ColeManchester United157£9.5m
John HartsonWest Ham158£9.0m
Darren HuckerbyCoventry141£8.5m
Paulo WanchopeDerby135£8.0m

1997/98 assist leaders

PlayerAssistsGoalsOur price
David BeckhamManchester United139£11.5m
Dennis BergkampArsenal1116£12.0m
Teddy SheringhamManchester United109£8.5m
Michael OwenLiverpool1018£9.0m
Dion DublinCoventry1018£10.0m
Steve GuppyLeicester102£7.5m
Matt Le TissierSouthampton911£9.0m
Ryan GiggsManchester United98£9.5m
Eyal BerkovicWest Ham97£8.0m
David GinolaTottenham Hotspur96£7.5m

League goals and assists only. Players who moved clubs mid-season are listed under the club they played most for.

1997/98 best-value XI

A 5-3-2 that costs £65.5m at our prices, leaving room on a £100m budget for four substitutes.

PlayerPriceest. ptsPer £1m
Kevin MillerGoalkeeper · Crystal Palace£5.0m11422.8
Dean GordonDefender · Crystal Palace£5.0m13226.4
Stephen CarrDefender · Tottenham Hotspur£4.5m11425.3
Des WalkerDefender · Sheffield Wednesday£4.5m11425.3
Chris PowellDefender · Derby£5.0m12324.6
Alan WrightDefender · Aston Villa£5.0m12324.6
Per FrandsenMidfielder · Bolton£6.0m13622.7
Neil RedfearnMidfielder · Barnsley£7.5m16722.3
David GinolaMidfielder · Tottenham Hotspur£7.5m15921.2
Michael OwenForward · Liverpool£9.0m21023.3
David HirstForward · Southampton£6.5m15023.1

The best return on our prices, using an estimate of fantasy points per £1m from real league stats and our scoring: 3 points per appearance, plus goals (10 for goalkeepers, 6 for defenders, 5 for midfielders, 4 for forwards) and 3 per assist. Clean sheets were not recorded per player in this era, so defenders and goalkeepers are ranked mostly on appearances. Players need at least 1,710 league minutes (half a season), and no more than three come from one club.

Most expensive players by position

The premium picks a £100m budget forces you to choose between in 1997/98.

Goalkeepers

  1. Paul JonesSouthampton · 0 goals, 2 assists£6.0m
  2. Nigel MartynLeeds · 0 goals, 1 assist£6.0m
  3. Peter SchmeichelManchester United · 0 goals, 0 assists£6.0m

Defenders

  1. Matt ElliottLeicester · 7 goals, 3 assists£7.0m
  2. Frank LeboeufChelsea · 5 goals, 4 assists£6.5m
  3. Dan PetrescuChelsea · 5 goals, 4 assists£6.0m

Midfielders

  1. David BeckhamManchester United · 9 goals, 13 assists£11.5m
  2. Kevin GallacherBlackburn · 16 goals, 4 assists£10.5m
  3. Steve McManamanLiverpool · 11 goals, 9 assists£10.5m

Forwards

  1. Dennis BergkampArsenal · 16 goals, 11 assists£12.0m
  2. Dion DublinCoventry · 18 goals, 10 assists£10.0m
  3. Andy ColeManchester United · 15 goals, 7 assists£9.5m

1997/98 on Retro Fantasy Football

11 managers have finished a 1997/98 season on our leaderboard (as of October 2026). The best scores so far:

  1. 2,088 pts
  2. 1,993 pts
  3. 1,959 pts
  4. 1,945 pts
  5. 1,924 pts

Points follow our scoring rules. Think you can beat them?

Draft a squad from 1997/98