1996–97 Leeds United A.F.C. season

Leeds United
1996–97 season
Chairman	Bill Fotherby
Manager	Howard Wilkinson; (until 9 September); George Graham; (from 10 September)
Stadium	Elland Road
Premier League	11th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Brian Deane; Lee Sharpe; (5 each); All: ; Rod Wallace (8)
Highest home attendance	39,981 vs Liverpool ; (19 November 1996, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance	15,230 vs Darlington ; (18 September 1996, League Cup)
Average home league attendance	32,109
	← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–1997season saw Leeds United competing in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

Season summary

While Howard Wilkinson was heavily backed with funds by new owners Caspian, there were rumours of discord between him and recently appointed chairman Bill Fotherby. The club made a respectable enough start, earning 7 points from their first 4 games, but a 4–0 home defeat to Manchester United in September prompted Wilkinson's dismissal after eight years as manager. With assistant manager Mike Hennigan and first-team coaches Dick Bate and Eddie Gray also being dismissed alongside Wilkinson (though Gray would subsequently be reinstated), it became clear that Fotherby wanted a clean slate for the club after the massive disappointment of the previous season.

Wilkinson's successor was George Graham, back in football after a one-year ban arising from the "bung" scandal that had cost him his job as Arsenal manager back in February 1995. Graham was unable to improve the club's dismal goalscoring record (they finished with just 28 goals, the lowest number in Premier League history until that point; it would not be until the 2002–03 season when another club, namely Sunderland, scored fewer goals) but he managed to steer them well clear of relegation in a respectable 11th place, with a total of a staggering 20 league clean sheets all season.

Record signing Lee Sharpe failed to live up to expectations and, by the end of the season, it was rumoured that he would be on his way out of the club, while Tony Yeboah made just six appearances after recovering from a long-term injury; he, too, appeared to be heading for the Elland Road exit door. Full-back Tony Dorigo's future at the club was also thrown into doubt by the emergence of Ian Harte, while midfielder Carlton Palmer's days at Leeds were also looking numbered.

Final league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
9	Leicester City	38	12	11	15	46	54	−8	47	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[a]
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

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

^ Leicester City qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	11	13	14	28	38	−10	46	7	7	5	15	13	+2	4	6	9	13	25	−12

Source: Statto

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H
Result	D	L	W	W	L	L	L	L	W	L	L	W	L	W	W	D	D	D	L	L	L	W	W	D	D	L	W	W	W	D	L	D	D	L	D	D	D	D
Position	7	14	11	6	9	12	14	17	14	16	17	17	17	14	12	13	13	12	14	15	15	12	11	10	11	11	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	11	10	9	11	11

Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Leeds United's score comes first^[1]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
17 August 1996	Derby County	A	3–3	17,927	Laursen (own goal), Bowyer, Harte
20 August 1996	Sheffield Wednesday	H	0–2	31,011
24 August 1996	Wimbledon	H	1–0	25,860	Sharpe
4 September 1996	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–0	23,226	Harte
7 September 1996	Manchester United	H	0–4	39,694
14 September 1996	Coventry City	A	1–2	17,297	Couzens
21 September 1996	Newcastle United	H	0–1	36,070
28 September 1996	Leicester City	A	0–1	20,359
12 October 1996	Nottingham Forest	H	2–0	29,225	Wallace (2)
19 October 1996	Aston Villa	A	0–2	39,051
26 October 1996	Arsenal	A	0–3	38,076
2 November 1996	Sunderland	H	3–0	31,667	Ford, Sharpe, Deane
16 November 1996	Liverpool	H	0–2	39,981
23 November 1996	Southampton	A	2–0	15,241	Kelly, Sharpe
30 November 1996	Chelsea	H	2–0	32,671	Deane, Rush
3 December 1996	Middlesbrough	A	0–0	30,018
7 December 1996	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0–0	33,783
21 December 1996	Everton	A	0–0	36,954
26 December 1996	Coventry City	H	1–3	36,465	Deane
28 December 1996	Manchester United	A	0–1	55,256
1 January 1997	Newcastle United	A	0–3	36,489
11 January 1997	Leicester City	H	3–0	29,486	Bowyer, Rush (2)
20 January 1997	West Ham United	A	2–0	19,441	Kelly, Bowyer
29 January 1997	Derby County	H	0–0	27,549
1 February 1997	Arsenal	H	0–0	35,502
19 February 1997	Liverpool	A	0–4	38,957
22 February 1997	Sunderland	A	1–0	21,890	Bowyer
1 March 1997	West Ham United	H	1–0	30,575	Sharpe
8 March 1997	Everton	H	1–0	32,055	Molenaar
12 March 1997	Southampton	H	0–0	25,913
15 March 1997	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–1	33,040
22 March 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	A	2–2	30,373	Sharpe, Wallace
7 April 1997	Blackburn Rovers	H	0–0	27,264
16 April 1997	Wimbledon	A	0–2	7,979
19 April 1997	Nottingham Forest	A	1–1	25,565	Deane
22 April 1997	Aston Villa	H	0–0	26,897
3 May 1997	Chelsea	A	0–0	28,277
11 May 1997	Middlesbrough	H	1–1	38,567	Deane

Goalscorers

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	14 January 1997	Crystal Palace	A	2–2	21,052	Deane, Andersen (own goal)
R3R	25 January 1997	Crystal Palace	H	1–0	21,903	Wallace
R4	4 February 1997	Arsenal	A	1–0	38,115	Wallace
R5	15 February 1997	Portsmouth	H	2–3	35,604	Bowyer (2)

Goalscorers

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg	18 September 1996	Darlington	H	2–2	15,711	Wallace (2)
R2 2nd Leg	24 September 1996	Darlington	A	2–0 (won 4–2 on agg)	6,298	Wallace, Harte
R3	23 October 1996	Aston Villa	H	1–2	15,803	Sharpe

Goalscorers

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Nigel Martyn
2	DF	IRL	Gary Kelly
3	DF	ENG	Tony Dorigo
4	MF	ENG	Carlton Palmer
5	DF	RSA	Lucas Radebe
6	DF	ENG	David Wetherall
7	MF	ENG	Lee Sharpe
8	FW	ENG	Rod Wallace
9	FW	WAL	Ian Rush
10	FW	ENG	Brian Deane
11	MF	ENG	Lee Bowyer
12	DF	ENG	John Pemberton
14	FW	ENG	Andy Gray^[a]
15	GK	ENG	Mark Beeney
16	DF	ENG	Richard Jobson
17	FW	SCO	Derek Lilley
18	DF	NOR	Gunnar Halle


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
19	FW	AUS	Harry Kewell
20	DF	IRL	Ian Harte
21	FW	GHA	Tony Yeboah
22	MF	ENG	Mark Ford
23	MF	ENG	Andy Couzens
24	MF	ENG	Jason Blunt
25	MF	FRA	Pierre Laurent (from January)
27	DF	IRL	Alan Maybury
28	DF	ENG	Paul Shepherd
29	DF	ENG	Mark Jackson
30	DF	NED	Robert Molenaar
31	MF	ENG	Martin Foster
32	MF	ENG	Andy Wright
33	MF	NIR	Wesley Boyle
34	GK	RSA	Paul Evans
35	FW	WAL	Lawrence Davies

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	MF	ENG	Mark Tinkler (to York City)
25	DF	ENG	Rob Bowman (to Rotherham United)
26	DF	ENG	Paul Beesley (to Manchester City)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
30	FW	ENG	Mark Hateley (on loan from QPR)
36	FW	SWE	Tomas Brolin (on loan to Parma)

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	N	P	Player	From club	Transfer fee
20 May 1996	9	FW	Ian Rush	Liverpool	Free
5 Jul 1996	11	MF	Lee Bowyer	Charlton Athletic	£2,800,000
26 Jul 1996	1	GK	Nigel Martyn	Crystal Palace	£2,250,000
10 Aug 1996	7	MF	Lee Sharpe	Manchester United	£4,500,000^†^[3]
13 Dec 1996	18	DF	Gunnar Halle	Oldham Athletic	£500,000
23 Dec 1996	37	MF	Stephen McPhail	Youth	—
11 Jan 1997	30	DF	Robert Molenaar	Volendam	£400,000
1 Feb 1997	25	MF	Pierre Laurent	Bastia	£250,000
27 Mar 1997	17	FW	Derek Lilley	Greenock Morton	£500,000

^†Club record transfer fee at the time.

Transfers out

Date	N	P	Player	To club	Transfer fee
1 Jun 1996	7	FW	Phil Masinga	FC St. Gallen	Free
1 Jul 1996	11	MF	Gary Speed	Everton	£3,400,000
1 Jul 1996	1	GK	John Lukic	Arsenal	Free
1 Jul 1996	15	DF	Nigel Worthington	Stoke City	Free
26 Jul 1996	10	MF	Gary McAllister	Coventry City	£3,000,000
7 Feb 1997	26	DF	Paul Beesley	Manchester City	£500,000
21 Feb 1997	25	DF	Rob Bowman	Rotherham United	Free
26 Mar 1997	17	MF	Mark Tinkler	York City	£75,000

Total spending: £4,225,000

Loaned in

Start date	End date	N	P	Player	From club
18 Aug 1996	1 Jan 1997	30	FW	Mark Hateley	QPR

Loaned out

Start date	End date	N	P	Player	To club
20 Aug 1996	6 Nov 1996	36	FW	Tomas Brolin	FC Zürich
24 Dec 1996	16 Jun 1997	36	FW	Tomas Brolin	Parma
3 Mar 1997	1 Jun 1997	34	GK	Paul Evans	Bradford City
31 Mar 1997	1 Jun 1997		DF	Paul Shepherd	Ayr United

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	ENG	Nigel Martyn	44	0	37	0	4	0	3	0
15	GK	ENG	Mark Beeney	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	IRL	Gary Kelly	43	2	34+2	2	4	0	3	0
3	DF	ENG	Tony Dorigo	22	0	15+3	0	4	0	0	0
5	DF	RSA	Lucas Radebe	36	0	28+4	0	3	0	1	0
6	DF	ENG	David Wetherall	33	0	25+3	0	1+1	0	2+1	0
16	DF	ENG	Richard Jobson	13	0	10	0	0	0	3	0
18	DF	NOR	Gunnar Halle	23	0	20	0	3	0	0	0
20	DF	IRL	Ian Harte	18	3	10+4	2	1	0	2+1	1
28	DF	ENG	Paul Shepherd	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
29	DF	ENG	Mark Jackson	21	0	11+6	0	4	0	0	0
30	DF	NED	Robert Molenaar	14	1	12	1	2	0	0	0
Midfielders
4	MF	ENG	Carlton Palmer	33	0	26+2	0	3	0	2	0
7	MF	ENG	Lee Sharpe	30	6	26	5	0+1	0	3	1
11	MF	ENG	Lee Bowyer	36	6	32	4	4	2	0	0
22	MF	ENG	Mark Ford	19	1	15+1	1	0	0	3	0
23	MF	ENG	Andy Couzens	13	1	7+3	1	0	0	3	0
24	MF	ENG	Jason Blunt	2	0	0+1	0	0	0	0+1	0
25	MF	FRA	Pierre Laurent	4	0	2+2	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF	NIR	Wesley Boyle	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
Forwards
8	FW	ENG	Rod Wallace	29	8	17+5	3	4	2	3	3
9	FW	WAL	Ian Rush	42	3	34+2	3	2+2	0	2	0
10	FW	ENG	Brian Deane	32	6	27+1	5	4	1	0	0
14	FW	ENG	Andy Gray	8	0	1+5	0	0	0	2	0
17	FW	SCO	Derek Lilley	6	0	4+2	0	0	0	0	0
19	FW	AUS	Harry Kewell	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
21	FW	GHA	Tony Yeboah	7	0	6+1	0	0	0	0	0
Players who left the club during the season
17	MF	ENG	Mark Tinkler	3	0	1+2	0	0	0	0	0
26	FW	ENG	Paul Beesley	14	0	11+1	0	1	0	1	0
30	FW	ENG	Mark Hateley	6	0	5+1	0	0	0	0	0

Notes

^ Gray was born in Harrogate, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and would make his international debut for Scotland in April 2003.

References

^ "Leeds United 1996-1997 Home — statto.com". Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
^ "FootballSquads - Leeds United - 1996/97". www.footballsquads.co.uk.
^ "Sharpe takes Iceland chance, BBC". 18 March 2003.

[table_note_res_LEI0.29979901588513-1] Leicester City qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.

[4] Gray was born in Harrogate, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and would make his international debut for Scotland in April 2003.

[2] "Leeds United 1996-1997 Home — statto.com". Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.

[3] "FootballSquads - Leeds United - 1996/97". www.footballsquads.co.uk.

[5] "Sharpe takes Iceland chance, BBC". 18 March 2003.

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