From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

1996–97 FA Premier League

Football season in England

Field	Value
competition	FA Premier League
season	[1996–97](1996-97-in-english-football)
dates	17 August 1996 – 11 May 1997
winners	Manchester United
4th Premier League title
11th English title
continentalcup1	[Champions League](1997-98-uefa-champions-league)
continentalcup1 qualifiers	Manchester United
Newcastle United
continentalcup2	[Cup Winners' Cup](1997-98-uefa-cup-winners-cup)
continentalcup2 qualifiers	Chelsea
continentalcup3	[UEFA Cup](1997-98-uefa-cup)
continentalcup3 qualifiers	Arsenal
Liverpool
Aston Villa (through UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking)
Leicester City
relegated	Sunderland
Middlesbrough
Nottingham Forest
league topscorer section	Top scorers
league topscorer	Alan Shearer
(25 goals)
best goalkeeper	Nigel Martyn (19 clean sheets)
biggest home win	Everton 7–1 Southampton
(16 November 1996)
Newcastle United 7–1 Tottenham Hotspur
(28 December 1996)
biggest away win	Leeds United 0–4 Manchester United
(7 September 1996)
Nottingham Forest 0–4 Manchester United
(26 December 1996)
Sunderland 0–4 Tottenham Hotspur
(4 March 1997)
highest scoring	Southampton 6–3 Manchester United
(26 October 1996)
matches	380
total goals	970
longest wins	7 games
Newcastle United
Wimbledon
longest unbeaten	16 games
Manchester United
longest losses	6 games
Everton
longest winless	16 games
Nottingham Forest
highest attendance	55,314
Manchester United 2–1 Wimbledon
(29 January 1997)
lowest attendance	7,979
Wimbledon 2–0 Leeds United
(16 April 1997)
attendance	10,818,380
average attendance	28,469
prevseason	[1995–96](1995-96-fa-premier-league)
nextseason	[1997–98](1997-98-fa-premier-league)

4th Premier League title 11th English title Newcastle United Liverpool Aston Villa (through UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking) Leicester City Middlesbrough Nottingham Forest (25 goals) (16 November 1996) Newcastle United 7–1 Tottenham Hotspur (28 December 1996) (7 September 1996) Nottingham Forest 0–4 Manchester United (26 December 1996) Sunderland 0–4 Tottenham Hotspur (4 March 1997) (26 October 1996) Newcastle United Wimbledon Manchester United Everton Nottingham Forest Manchester United 2–1 Wimbledon (29 January 1997) Wimbledon 2–0 Leeds United (16 April 1997)

The 1996–97 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the FA Premier League since its formation in 1992. The majority of the season was contested by the reigning champions, Manchester United, along with Newcastle United, Arsenal and Liverpool. The title was eventually won by Manchester United, after Liverpool's and Newcastle's failure to win in their penultimate games of the season; at 75 points it is the lowest points total for a Premier League champion club and lowest since the 3-1-0 points system was introduced in the 1981–82 season.

Middlesbrough, who had high-profile foreign players like Juninho, Emerson, Fabrizio Ravanelli (who scored 31 goals in all competitions), Branco and Gianluca Festa, were relegated on the final day of the season and were on the losing side in both the FA Cup final and the League Cup final. Middlesbrough finished in 19th place, but would have been placed 14th without a three-point deduction imposed for unilaterally postponing a 21 December 1996 fixture at Blackburn Rovers, with the Middlesbrough board making the decision due to the absence of 23 players ill or injured. The club consulted the Premier League prior to calling off the fixture and was told to do 'what they thought best'. To protect the integrity of the game, and avoid fielding a team of untried teenagers including three goalkeepers, Middlesbrough called off the match. The Premier League subsequently absolved itself of all responsibility and deducted the three points. This sanction meant Coventry City, who had been in the top division since 1967, finished in 17th place and avoided relegation. The decision was controversial, and later resurfaced in 2006–07 when West Ham escaped a points deduction and subsequently avoided relegation.

Another relegation place went to Nottingham Forest, who sacked manager Frank Clark in December. Stuart Pearce took over as temporary player-manager, spending three months in charge and winning the January 1997 Manager of the Month award. In March, Pearce quit as manager to be replaced by Dave Bassett, formerly of Crystal Palace. Also relegated, due to a 1–0 defeat to Wimbledon in their last game of the season, was Sunderland, who were leaving Roker Park after 99 years and relocating to the 42,000-seat Stadium of Light on the banks of the River Wear for the start of the 1997–98 season in Division One.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Sunderland, Derby County (both teams returning to the top flight after a five-year absence) and Leicester City (immediately returning to the top flight after a season's absence). This was also both Sunderland and Derby County's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers, who were relegated to the First Division after a top flight presence of seven, thirteen and one year respectively.

Stadiums and locations

Arsenal

Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur

West Ham United

Wimbledon

Team	Location	Stadium
Arsenal	London (Highbury)	Arsenal Stadium
Aston Villa	Birmingham	Villa Park
Blackburn Rovers	Blackburn	Ewood Park
Chelsea	London (Fulham)	Stamford Bridge
Coventry City	Coventry	Highfield Road
Derby County	Derby	Baseball Ground
Everton	Liverpool (Walton)	Goodison Park
Leeds United	Leeds	Elland Road
Leicester City	Leicester	Filbert Street
Liverpool	Liverpool (Anfield)	Anfield
Manchester United	Manchester	Old Trafford
Middlesbrough	Middlesbrough	Riverside Stadium
Newcastle United	Newcastle upon Tyne	St James' Park
Nottingham Forest	West Bridgford	City Ground
Sheffield Wednesday	Sheffield	Hillsborough Stadium
Southampton	Southampton	The Dell
Sunderland	Sunderland	Roker Park
Tottenham Hotspur	London (Tottenham)	White Hart Lane
West Ham United	London (Upton Park)	Boleyn Ground
Wimbledon	London (Selhurst)	Selhurst Park

Personnel and kits

(as of 11 May 1997)

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Arsenal	FRA Arsène Wenger	ENG Tony Adams	Nike	JVC
Aston Villa	ENG Brian Little	IRL Andy Townsend	Reebok	AST Research
Blackburn Rovers	ENG Tony Parkes	ENG Tim Sherwood	Asics	CIS
Chelsea	NED Ruud Gullit	ENG Dennis Wise	Umbro	Coors
Coventry City	SCO Gordon Strachan	SCO Gary McAllister	Le Coq Sportif	Peugeot
Derby County	ENG Jim Smith	CRO Igor Štimac	Puma	Puma
Everton	ENG Dave Watson (caretaker)	ENG Dave Watson	Umbro	Danka
Leeds United	SCO George Graham	RSA Lucas Radebe	Puma	Packard Bell
Leicester City	NIR Martin O'Neill	ENG Steve Walsh	Fox Leisure	Walkers
Liverpool	ENG Roy Evans	ENG John Barnes	Reebok	Carlsberg
Manchester United	SCO Alex Ferguson	FRA Eric Cantona	Umbro	Sharp
Middlesbrough	ENG Bryan Robson	ENG Nigel Pearson	Erreà	Cellnet
Newcastle United	SCO Kenny Dalglish	ENG Peter Beardsley	Adidas	Newcastle Brown Ale
Nottingham Forest	ENG Dave Bassett	ENG Stuart Pearce	Umbro	Labatt's
Sheffield Wednesday	ENG David Pleat	ENG Peter Atherton	Puma	Sanderson
Southampton	SCO Graeme Souness	ENG Matt Le Tissier	Pony	Sanderson
Sunderland	ENG Peter Reid	ENG Kevin Ball	Avec	Vaux Breweries
Tottenham Hotspur	ENG Gerry Francis	ENG Gary Mabbutt	Pony	Hewlett-Packard
West Ham United	ENG Harry Redknapp	ENG Julian Dicks	Pony	Dagenham Motors
Wimbledon	IRL Joe Kinnear	WAL Vinnie Jones	Lotto	Elonex

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Chelsea	ENG Glenn Hoddle	Signed by England	10 May 1996	Pre-season	NED Ruud Gullit	10 May 1996
Southampton	ENG Dave Merrington	Sacked	14 June 1996	SCO Graeme Souness	3 July 1996
Arsenal	SCO Bruce Rioch	12 August 1996	SCO Stewart Houston (caretaker)	12 August 1996
Leeds United	ENG Howard Wilkinson	10 September 1996	9th	SCO George Graham	10 September 1996
Arsenal	SCO Stewart Houston	Signed by Queens Park Rangers	16 September 1996	7th	NIR Pat Rice (caretaker)	16 September 1996
NIR Pat Rice	End of caretaker spell	30 September 1996	3rd	FRA Arsène Wenger	30 September 1996
Blackburn Rovers	ENG Ray Harford	Resigned	25 October 1996	20th	ENG Tony Parkes (caretaker)	25 October 1996
Coventry City	ENG Ron Atkinson	Promoted to director of football	5 November 1996	18th	SCO Gordon Strachan	5 November 1996
Nottingham Forest	ENG Frank Clark	Resigned	19 December 1996	20th	ENG Stuart Pearce (caretaker)	20 December 1996
Newcastle United	ENG Kevin Keegan	8 January 1997	4th	ENG Terry McDermott (caretaker)	8 January 1997
ENG Terry McDermott	End of caretaker spell	14 January 1997	SCO Kenny Dalglish	14 January 1997
Everton	ENG Joe Royle	Resigned	27 March 1997	13th	ENG Dave Watson (caretaker)	1 April 1997

League table

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	ENG Alan Shearer	Newcastle United	25
2	ENG Ian Wright	Arsenal	23
3	ENG Robbie Fowler	Liverpool	18
NOR Ole Gunnar Solskjær	Manchester United
5	TTO Dwight Yorke	Aston Villa	17
6	ENG Les Ferdinand	Newcastle United	16
ITA Fabrizio Ravanelli	Middlesbrough
8	ENG Dion Dublin	Coventry City	13
ENG Matt Le Tissier	Southampton
10	NED Dennis Bergkamp	Arsenal	12
ENG Steve Claridge	Leicester City
ENG Stan Collymore	Liverpool
BRA Juninho	Middlesbrough

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Premier League hat-tricks

Player	For	Against	Result
ENG	Nottingham Forest	Coventry City	3–0 (A)
ITA	Middlesbrough	Liverpool	3–3 (H)
ENG	Arsenal	Sheffield Wednesday	4–1 (H)
TRI L	Aston Villa	Newcastle United	4–3 (A)
WAL	Everton	Southampton	7–1 (H)
ENG 4	Liverpool	Middlesbrough	5–1 (H)
ENG	Newcastle United	Leicester City	4–3 (H)
ENG	Leicester City	Derby County	4–2 (H)
NOR	Tottenham Hotspur	Sunderland	4–0 (A)
ITA	Middlesbrough	Derby County	6–1 (H)
SCO	Blackburn Rovers	Wimbledon	3–1 (H)
ENG	West Ham United	Sheffield Wednesday	5–1 (H)

:Note: 4 Player scored 4 goals; L Player finished on the losing side; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Top assists

Rank	Player	Club	url=https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/players/goal_assist
1	FRA Eric Cantona	Manchester United	12
2	ENG Neal Ardley	Wimbledon	11
3	NED Dennis Bergkamp	Arsenal	9
ENG Andy Hinchcliffe	Everton
SCO Gary McAllister	Coventry City
ITA Gianfranco Zola	Chelsea
7	ENG Nick Barmby	Everton	8
ENG David Beckham	Manchester United
NOR Stig Inge Bjørnebye	Liverpool
ENG Les Ferdinand	Newcastle United

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month	Player of the Month	Manager	Club
August	ENG David Pleat	Sheffield Wednesday	ENG David Beckham	Manchester United
September	IRE Joe Kinnear	Wimbledon	CZE Patrik Berger	Liverpool
October	SCO Graeme Souness	Southampton	ENG Matt Le Tissier	Southampton
November	ENG Jim Smith	Derby County	ENG Ian Wright	Arsenal
December	SCO Gordon Strachan	Coventry City	ITA Gianfranco Zola	Chelsea
January	ENG Stuart Pearce	Nottingham Forest	ENG Tim Flowers	Blackburn Rovers
February	SCO Alex Ferguson	Manchester United	ENG Robbie Earle	Wimbledon
March	ENG Bryan Robson	Middlesbrough	BRA Juninho	Middlesbrough
April	SCO Graeme Souness	Southampton	ENG Mickey Evans	Southampton

Annual awards

Award	Winner	Club
Premier League Manager of the Season	SCO Alex Ferguson	Manchester United
Premier League Player of the Season	BRA Juninho	Middlesbrough
PFA Players' Player of the Year	ENG Alan Shearer	Newcastle United
PFA Young Player of the Year	ENG David Beckham	Manchester United
FWA Footballer of the Year	ITA Gianfranco Zola	Chelsea

PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper
Defence
Midfield
Attack

Attendances

Manchester United drew the highest average home attendance in the 1996-97 edition of the Premier League. !#!!Football club!!Home games!!Average attendance |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Manchester United || 19 || 55,081 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Liverpool FC || 19 || 39,777 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Arsenal FC || 19 || 37,821 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Newcastle United || 19 || 36,467 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Everton FC || 19 || 36,188 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Aston Villa || 19 || 36,027 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Leeds United || 19 || 32,118 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Tottenham Hotspur || 19 || 31,067 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Middlesbrough FC || 19 || 29,871 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Chelsea FC || 19 || 27,617 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Sheffield Wednesday || 19 || 25,714 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Blackburn Rovers || 19 || 24,947 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Nottingham Forest || 19 || 24,587 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || West Ham United || 19 || 23,209 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Sunderland AFC || 19 || 20,974 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Leicester City || 19 || 20,184 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Coventry City || 19 || 19,608 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Derby County || 19 || 17,889 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Wimbledon FC || 19 || 15,139 |- | style"text-align:center;"| _row_count || Southampton FC || 19 || 15,105 |- |} }}

Notes

References

"English Premier League 1996–97". statto.com.
"Premier League 1996/1997 » Attendance » Home matches".
[https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/4597743.stm "Football's biggest punishments".] Retrieved 20 September 2006.
[https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/funny_old_game/2592133.stm "Funny Old Game. Happened on this day – 20 December".] Retrieved 20 September 2006.
Culley, Jon. (18 August 1996). "Campbell calls tune". The Independent.
(9 November 2002). "Middlesbrough v Liverpool". The Times.
Moore, Glenn. (17 September 1996). "Football: Wright's hat-trick lifts the gloom". The Independent.
Turnbull, Simon. (1 October 1996). "Yorke hat-trick in vain for Villa". The Independent.
Brown, Geoff. (17 November 1996). "Football: Speed puts foot down". The Independent.
"Liverpool 5–1 Middlesbrough". Soccerbase.
Hodgson, Guy. (3 February 1997). "Football: Shearer provides Newcastle fantasy". The Independent.
Fox, Norman. (23 February 1997). "Football: Marshall's triple tale of the unexpected". The Independent.
Stamiforth, Tommy. (5 March 1997). "Football: Spurs boosted by Iversen's hat-trick". The Independent.
Turnbull, Simon. (6 March 1997). "Football: Ravanelli hat-trick bodes well for Boro". The Independent.
Hadfield, Dave. (17 March 1997). "Football: Gallacher takes advantage of Sullivan's sudden relapse". The Independent.
Houston, Bob. (4 May 1997). "Kitson glory day". The Independent.
"Statistical Leaders – 1997". Premier League.
link. (18 March 2006 . Retrieved 20 September 2006.)
[http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamHons/HonsPFAPlyr.html "England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Players' Players of the Year".] Retrieved 20 September 2006.
[http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamHons/HonsPFAYngPlyr.html "England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Young Players of the Year".] Retrieved 20 September 2006.
[http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamHons/HonsFWAFbYr.html "England Player Honours – Football Writers' Association Footballers of the Year".] Retrieved 20 September 2006.
"Premier League 1996/1997 » Attendance Home matches".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1996–97-fa-premier-league premier-league-seasons 1996–97-in-european-association-football-leagues 1996–97-in-english-football-leagues

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1996–97 FA Premier League — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report