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1996–97 FA Premier League

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FA Premier League
Season1996 (1996)–97
Dates17 August 1996 – 11 May 1997
ChampionsManchester United
4th Premier League title
11th English title
RelegatedSunderland
Middlesbrough
Nottingham Forest
Champions LeagueManchester United
Newcastle United
Cup Winners' CupChelsea
UEFA CupArsenal
Liverpool
Aston Villa
Leicester City
Matches played380
Goals scored970 (2.55 per match)
Top goalscorerAlan Shearer (25)
Biggest home winEverton 7–1 Southampton
(16 November 1996)
Newcastle United 7–1 Tottenham Hotspur
(28 December 1996)
Biggest away winLeeds 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 scoringSouthampton 6–3 Manchester United
(26 October 1996)
Longest winning run7 games[1]
Newcastle United and Wimbledon
Longest unbeaten run16 games[1]
Manchester United
Longest winless run16 games[1]
Nottingham Forest
Longest losing run6 games[1]
Everton
Highest attendance55,314
Manchester United v Wimbledon
(29 January 1997)
Lowest attendance7,979
Wimbledon v 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 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 and lowest since the 3-1-0 points system was introduced in the 1981–82 season.

Middlesbrough – despite spending millions of pounds on high-profile foreign players like 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 and League Cup finals. Middlesbrough finished in 19th place, but they would have been placed outside the relegation zone without a three-point deduction imposed for unilaterally postponing a December 1996 fixture at Blackburn Rovers, with the Middlesbrough board blaming the decision on the absence of 23 players ill or injured.[2][3] The club consulted the Premier League prior to calling off the fixture and were 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 themselves 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, were 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, ending their top flight spells of seven, thirteen and one year respectively.

Stadiums and Locations

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Locations of the 1996–97 Premier League teams
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Greater London Premier League football clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Arsenal London (Highbury) Arsenal Stadium 38,419
Aston Villa Birmingham Villa Park 39,399
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Ewood Park 31,367
Chelsea London (Fulham) Stamford Bridge 36,000
Coventry City Coventry Highfield Road 23,489
Derby County Derby Baseball Ground[a] 18,300
Everton Liverpool (Walton) Goodison Park 40,157
Leeds United Leeds Elland Road 40,204
Leicester City Leicester Filbert Street 22,000
Liverpool Liverpool (Anfield) Anfield 42,730
Manchester United Old Trafford Old Trafford 55,314
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 30,000
Newcastle United Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park 36,649
Nottingham Forest West Bridgford City Ground 30,539
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Hillsborough Stadium 39,859
Southampton Southampton The Dell 15,200
Sunderland Sunderland Roker Park 22,500
Tottenham Hotspur London (Tottenham) White Hart Lane 36,230
West Ham United London (Upton Park) Boleyn Ground 28,000
Wimbledon London (Wimbledon) Selhurst Park[b] 26,309
  1. ^ This was Derby County's last season at Baseball Ground as they were scheduled to relocate to the Pride Park Stadium at the end of the season.
  2. ^ Due to Wimbledon lacking a home stadium, they played their home games at Selhurst Park, which is the home stadium of Crystal Palace.

Personnel and kits

(as of 11 May 1997)

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

Managerial changes

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

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Manchester United (C) 38 21 12 5 76 44 +32 75 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Newcastle United 38 19 11 8 73 40 +33 68 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3 Arsenal 38 19 11 8 62 32 +30 68 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
4 Liverpool 38 19 11 8 62 37 +25 68
5 Aston Villa 38 17 10 11 47 34 +13 61
6 Chelsea 38 16 11 11 58 55 +3 59 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[b]
7 Sheffield Wednesday 38 14 15 9 50 51 −1 57
8 Wimbledon 38 15 11 12 49 46 +3 56
9 Leicester City 38 12 11 15 46 54 −8 47 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[c]
10 Tottenham Hotspur 38 13 7 18 44 51 −7 46
11 Leeds United 38 11 13 14 28 38 −10 46
12 Derby County 38 11 13 14 45 58 −13 46
13 Blackburn Rovers 38 9 15 14 42 43 −1 42
14 West Ham United 38 10 12 16 39 48 −9 42
15 Everton 38 10 12 16 44 57 −13 42
16 Southampton 38 10 11 17 50 56 −6 41
17 Coventry City 38 9 14 15 38 54 −16 41
18 Sunderland (R) 38 10 10 18 35 53 −18 40 Relegation to the Football League First Division
19 Middlesbrough (R) 38 10 12 16 51 60 −9 39[d]
20 Nottingham Forest (R) 38 6 16 16 31 59 −28 34
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.
  2. ^ Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup winners.
  3. ^ Leicester City qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.
  4. ^ Middlesbrough were docked three points for failing to fulfil a fixture.

Results

Home \ Away ARS AVL BLB CHE COV DER EVE LEE LEI LIV MUN MID NEW NFO SHW SOU SUN TOT WHU WIM
Arsenal 2–2 1–1 3–3 0–0 2–2 3–1 3–0 2–0 1–2 1–2 2–0 0–1 2–0 4–1 3–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 0–1
Aston Villa 2–2 1–0 0–2 2–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–3 1–0 0–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 5–0
Blackburn Rovers 0–2 0–2 1–1 4–0 1–2 1–1 0–1 2–4 3–0 2–3 0–0 1–0 1–1 4–1 2–1 1–0 0–2 2–1 3–1
Chelsea 0–3 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–2 0–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 6–2 3–1 3–1 2–4
Coventry City 1–1 1–2 0–0 3–1 1–2 0–0 2–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 3–0 2–1 0–3 0–0 1–1 2–2 1–2 1–3 1–1
Derby County 1–3 2–1 0–0 3–2 2–1 0–1 3–3 2–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 4–2 1–0 0–2
Everton 0–2 0–1 0–2 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 7–1 1–3 1–0 2–1 1–3
Leeds United 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 1–3 0–0 1–0 3–0 0–2 0–4 1–1 0–1 2–0 0–2 0–0 3–0 0–0 1–0 1–0
Leicester City 0–2 1–0 1–1 1–3 0–2 4–2 1–2 1–0 0–3 2–2 1–3 2–0 2–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–0
Liverpool 2–0 3–0 0–0 5–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 4–0 1–1 1–3 5–1 4–3 4–2 0–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 1–1
Manchester United 1–0 0–0 2–2 1–2 3–1 2–3 2–2 1–0 3–1 1–0 3–3 0–0 4–1 2–0 2–1 5–0 2–0 2–0 2–1
Middlesbrough 0–2 3–2 2–1 1–0 4–0 6–1 4–2 0–0 0–2 3–3 2–2 0–1 1–1 4–2 0–1 0–1 0–3 4–1 0–0
Newcastle United 1–2 4–3 2–1 3–1 4–0 3–1 4–1 3–0 4–3 1–1 5–0 3–1 5–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 7–1 1–1 2–0
Nottingham Forest 2–1 0–0 2–2 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–4 1–1 0–0 0–3 1–3 1–4 2–1 0–2 1–1
Sheffield Wednesday 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–2 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 3–1
Southampton 0–2 0–1 2–0 0–0 2–2 3–1 2–2 0–2 2–2 0–1 6–3 4–0 2–2 2–2 2–3 3–0 0–1 2–0 0–0
Sunderland 1–0 1–0 0–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 3–0 0–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 0–4 0–0 1–3
Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–2 0–2 1–2 1–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–0 1–0
West Ham United 1–2 0–2 2–1 3–2 1–1 1–1 2–2 0–2 1–0 1–2 2–2 0–0 0–0 0–1 5–1 2–1 2–0 4–3 0–2
Wimbledon 2–2 0–2 1–0 0–1 2–2 1–1 4–0 2–0 1–3 2–1 0–3 1–1 1–1 1–0 4–2 3–1 1–0 1–0 1–1
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

Newcastle's Alan Shearer was the top scorer for the third and final time, with 25 goals.
Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Alan Shearer Newcastle United 25
2 England Ian Wright Arsenal 23
3 England Robbie Fowler Liverpool 18
Norway Ole Gunnar Solskjær Manchester United
5 Trinidad and Tobago Dwight Yorke Aston Villa 17
6 England Les Ferdinand Newcastle United 16
Italy Fabrizio Ravanelli Middlesbrough
8 England Dion Dublin Coventry City 13
England Matt Le Tissier Southampton
10 Netherlands Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal 12
England Steve Claridge Leicester City
England Stan Collymore Liverpool
Brazil Juninho Middlesbrough

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Premier League hat-tricks
Middlesbrough's Fabrizio Ravanelli was the only player to score a hat-trick more than once during the 1996–97 season.
Player For Against Result Date Ref
England Kevin Campbell Nottingham Forest Coventry City 3–0 (A) 17 August 1996 [4]
Italy Fabrizio Ravanelli Middlesbrough Liverpool 3–3 (H) 17 August 1996 [5]
England Ian Wright Arsenal Sheffield Wednesday 4–1 (H) 16 September 1996 [6]
Trinidad and Tobago Dwight YorkeL Aston Villa Newcastle United 4–3 (A) 30 September 1996 [7]
Wales Gary Speed Everton Southampton 7–1 (H) 16 November 1996 [8]
England Robbie Fowler4 Liverpool Middlesbrough 5–1 (H) 14 December 1996 [9]
England Alan Shearer Newcastle United Leicester City 4–3 (H) 2 February 1997 [10]
England Ian Marshall Leicester City Derby County 4–2 (H) 22 February 1997 [11]
Norway Steffen Iversen Tottenham Hotspur Sunderland 4–0 (A) 4 March 1997 [12]
Italy Fabrizio Ravanelli Middlesbrough Derby County 6–1 (H) 5 March 1997 [13]
Scotland Kevin Gallacher Blackburn Rovers Wimbledon 3–1 (H) 15 March 1997 [14]
England Paul Kitson West Ham United Sheffield Wednesday 5–1 (H) 3 May 1997 [15]
Note: 4 Player scored 4 goals; L Player finished on the losing side; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Top assists

Manchester United's Eric Cantona assisted 12 goals for the club in the 1996–97 Premier League season.
Rank Player Club Assists[16]
1 France Eric Cantona Manchester United 12
2 England Neal Ardley Wimbledon 11
3 Netherlands Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal 9
England Andy Hinchcliffe Everton
Scotland Gary McAllister Coventry City
Italy Gianfranco Zola Chelsea
7 England Nick Barmby Everton 8
England David Beckham Manchester United
Norway Stig Inge Bjørnebye Liverpool
England Les Ferdinand Newcastle United

Awards

Southampton's Graeme Souness was the only manager to win the Manager of the Month award more than once.

Monthly awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August England David Pleat Sheffield Wednesday England David Beckham Manchester United
September Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear Wimbledon Czech Republic Patrik Berger Liverpool
October Scotland Graeme Souness Southampton England Matt Le Tissier Southampton
November England Jim Smith Derby County England Ian Wright Arsenal
December Scotland Gordon Strachan Coventry City Italy Gianfranco Zola Chelsea
January England Stuart Pearce Nottingham Forest England Tim Flowers Blackburn Rovers
February Scotland Alex Ferguson Manchester United England[a] Robbie Earle Wimbledon
March England Bryan Robson Middlesbrough Brazil Juninho Middlesbrough
April Scotland Graeme Souness Southampton England[b] Mickey Evans Southampton

Annual awards

Award Winner Club
Premier League Manager of the Season Scotland Alex Ferguson[17] Manchester United
Premier League Player of the Season Brazil Juninho[17] Middlesbrough
PFA Players' Player of the Year England Alan Shearer[18] Newcastle United
PFA Young Player of the Year England David Beckham[19] Manchester United
FWA Footballer of the Year Italy Gianfranco Zola[20] Chelsea
PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper England David Seaman (Arsenal)
Defence England Gary Neville (Manchester United) England Tony Adams (Arsenal) England Mark Wright (Liverpool) Norway Stig Inge Bjørnebye (Liverpool)
Midfield England David Beckham (Manchester United) Republic of Ireland Roy Keane (Manchester United) England David Batty (Newcastle United) England Steve McManaman (Liverpool)
Attack England Alan Shearer (Newcastle United) England Ian Wright (Arsenal)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Earle was born in England, but made his debut for Jamaica in September 1997.
  2. ^ Evans was born in England, but made his debut for the Republic of Ireland in October 1997.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "English Premier League 1996–97". statto.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Football's biggest punishments". Retrieved 20 September 2006.
  3. ^ "Funny Old Game|Happened on this day – 20 December". Retrieved 20 September 2006.
  4. ^ Culley, Jon (18 August 1996). "Campbell calls tune". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Middlesbrough v Liverpool". The Times. London. 9 November 2002. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  6. ^ Moore, Glenn (17 September 1996). "Football: Wright's hat-trick lifts the gloom". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  7. ^ Turnbull, Simon (1 October 1996). "Yorke hat-trick in vain for Villa". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  8. ^ Brown, Geoff (17 November 1996). "Football: Speed puts foot down". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  9. ^ "Liverpool 5–1 Middlesbrough". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 17 February 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  10. ^ Hodgson, Guy (3 February 1997). "Football: Shearer provides Newcastle fantasy". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  11. ^ Fox, Norman (23 February 1997). "Football: Marshall's triple tale of the unexpected". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  12. ^ Stamiforth, Tommy (5 March 1997). "Football: Spurs boosted by Iversen's hat-trick". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  13. ^ Turnbull, Simon (6 March 1997). "Football: Ravanelli hat-trick bodes well for Boro". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  14. ^ Hadfield, Dave (17 March 1997). "Football: Gallacher takes advantage of Sullivan's sudden relapse". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  15. ^ Houston, Bob (4 May 1997). "Kitson glory day". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  16. ^ "Statistical Leaders – 1997". Premier League. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  17. ^ a b "Seasonal Awards 1996/97" Archived 18 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 September 2006.
  18. ^ "England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Players' Players of the Year". Retrieved 20 September 2006.
  19. ^ "England Player Honours – Professional Footballers' Association Young Players of the Year". Retrieved 20 September 2006.
  20. ^ "England Player Honours – Football Writers' Association Footballers of the Year". Retrieved 20 September 2006.
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