1996–97 Coventry City F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Coventry City F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary

Manager Ron Atkinson stepped up to the role of Director of Football at struggling Coventry City in early November, with assistant Gordon Strachan stepping up to the manager's seat. A good run of form saw Coventry climb to 11th place in January, but then a decline set in and defeat in the penultimate game of the season made Coventry's 30-year stay in the top flight appear to be over. However, with a win over Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the season and losses for Sunderland and Middlesbrough, the Sky Blues pulled off a miraculous survival act to book themselves a 31st successive top flight campaign.^[1] The key player in the great escape act was striker Dion Dublin, who scored 14 Premier League goals to attract attention from several larger clubs and encourage calls for an international call-up from many observers.

However, Coventry only ultimately avoided relegation due to the three-point deduction imposed upon Middlesbrough, who had been penalised in mid-season for cancelling a fixture at short notice.

Final league table

Results

Coventry City's score comes first^[2]

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[3]

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Steve Ogrizovic 2 DF Richard Shaw 3 DF David Burrows 4 DF Paul Williams 5 DF Liam Daish 6 MF Kevin Richardson 7 MF Eoin Jess 8 MF Noel Whelan 9 FW Dion Dublin 10 MF Gary McAllister (captain) 11 MF John Salako 12 MF Paul Telfer 13 GK John Filan 14 FW Peter Ndlovu 15 FW Isaías 16 DF Brian Borrows 17 MF Willie Boland 18 DF Marcus Hall 19 FW Iyseden Christie 20 MF Michael O'Neill

No. Position Player 21 FW Andy Ducros 22 MF Gavin O'Toole 23 DF Oleksandr Yevtushok 24 GK Neil Wypior 25 DF Gary Breen 26 MF Gordon Strachan (player-manager) 27 MF Chris McMenamin 28 FW Darren Huckerby 29 DF Scott Goodwin 30 DF Lorcan Costello 31 DF Adam Willis 32 DF Barry Prenderville 33 MF Brett Healy 34 DF Colin Hawkins 35 FW Craig Faulconbridge 36 DF Carl Nolan 37 MF Sam Shilton 38 MF Tim Blake 39 MF Paul Bailey 40 DF Jamie Williams

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. Position Player 24 DF Régis Genaux (to Udinese)

Reserve squad

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

No. Position Player - DF Barry Quinn - MF John Eustace

No. Position Player - MF Gavin Strachan

Transfers

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
10 August 1996	DF	Régis Genaux	Standard Liège	£750,000
23 November 1996	FW	Darren Huckerby	Newcastle United	£1,000,000
30 January 1997	DF	Gary Breen	Birmingham City	£2,500,000
30 January 1997	DF	Oleksandr Yevtushok	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	£800,000
21 May 1997	FW	Simon Haworth	Cardiff City	£500,000
19 June 1997	MF	Trond Egil Soltvedt	Rosenborg	£500,000
4 July 1997	FW	Kyle Lightbourne	Walsall	£500,000
7 July 1997	GK	Magnus Hedman	AIK	Free
9 July 1997	MF	Martin Johansen	Copenhagen	Free

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
5 August 1996	DF	David Rennie	Northampton Town	Free
15 August 1996	DF	Ally Pickering	Stoke City	£280,000
28 January 1997	DF	Régis Genaux	Udinese	£800,000
1 July 1997	MF	Chris McMenamin	Peterborough United	Free
4 July 1997	MF	Eoin Jess	Aberdeen	£700,000
14 July 1997	FW	Peter Ndlovu	Birmingham City	£1,600,000
14 July 1997	GK	Neil Wypior	West Bromwich Albion	Undisclosed

Transfers in: £6,550,000

Transfers out: £3,380,000

Total spending: £3,170,000

References