1996–97 FA Premier League

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.

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
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)

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] 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
Locations of the 1996–97 Premier League teams
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[lower-alpha 1] 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[lower-alpha 2] 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 Arsène Wenger Tony Adams Nike JVC
Aston Villa Brian Little Andy Townsend Reebok AST Research
Blackburn Rovers Tony Parkes Tim Sherwood Asics CIS
Chelsea Ruud Gullit Dennis Wise Umbro Coors
Coventry City Gordon Strachan Gary McAllister Le Coq Sportif Peugeot
Derby County Jim Smith Igor Štimac Puma Puma
Everton Dave Watson (caretaker) Dave Watson Umbro Danka
Leeds United George Graham Lucas Radebe Puma Packard Bell
Leicester City Martin O'Neill Steve Walsh Fox Leisure Walkers
Liverpool Roy Evans John Barnes Reebok Carlsberg
Manchester United Alex Ferguson Eric Cantona Umbro Sharp
Middlesbrough Bryan Robson Nigel Pearson Erreà Cellnet
Newcastle United Kenny Dalglish Peter Beardsley Adidas Newcastle Brown Ale
Nottingham Forest Dave Bassett Stuart Pearce Umbro Labatt's
Sheffield Wednesday David Pleat Peter Atherton Puma Sanderson
Southampton Graeme Souness Matt Le Tissier Pony Sanderson
Sunderland Peter Reid Kevin Ball Avec Vaux Breweries
Tottenham Hotspur Gerry Francis Gary Mabbutt Pony Hewlett-Packard
West Ham United Harry Redknapp Julian Dicks Pony Dagenham Motors
Wimbledon Joe Kinnear Vinnie Jones Lotto Elonex

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Chelsea Glenn Hoddle Resigned 10 May 1996 Pre-season Ruud Gullit 10 May 1996
Southampton Dave Merrington Sacked 14 June 1996 Graeme Souness 3 July 1996
Arsenal Bruce Rioch 12 August 1996 Stewart Houston (caretaker) 12 August 1996
Leeds United Howard Wilkinson 10 September 1996 9th George Graham 10 September 1996
Arsenal Stewart Houston End of caretaker spell 16 September 1996 7th Pat Rice (caretaker) 16 September 1996
Pat Rice 30 September 1996 3rd Arsène Wenger 30 September 1996
Blackburn Rovers Ray Harford Resigned 25 October 1996 20th Tony Parkes (caretaker) 25 October 1996
Coventry City Ron Atkinson Promoted to director of football 5 November 1996 18th Gordon Strachan 5 November 1996
Nottingham Forest Frank Clark Resigned 19 December 1996 20th Stuart Pearce (caretaker) 20 December 1996
Newcastle United Kevin Keegan 8 January 1997 4th Terry McDermott (caretaker) 8 January 1997
Terry McDermott End of caretaker spell 14 January 1997 Kenny Dalglish 14 January 1997
Everton Joe Royle Resigned 27 March 1997 13th 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[lower-alpha 1]
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[lower-alpha 2]
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[lower-alpha 3]
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[lower-alpha 4]
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) Champion; (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 fulfill a fixture.

Results
Home \ Away ARS AST BLB CHE COV DER EVE LEE LEI LIV MUN MID NEW NOT SHW SOU SUN TOT WHU WDN
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:
Colours: 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 Alan Shearer Newcastle United 25
2 Ian Wright Arsenal 23
3 Robbie Fowler Liverpool 18
Ole Gunnar Solskjær Manchester United
5 Dwight Yorke Aston Villa 17
6 Les Ferdinand Newcastle United 16
Fabrizio Ravanelli Middlesbrough
8 Dion Dublin Coventry City 13
Matt Le Tissier Southampton
10 Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal 12
Steve Claridge Leicester City
Stan Collymore Liverpool
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.
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
Kevin CampbellNottingham ForestCoventry City3–0 (A)17 August 1996[4]
Fabrizio RavanelliMiddlesbroughLiverpool3–3 (H)17 August 1996[5]
Ian WrightArsenalSheffield Wednesday4–1 (H)16 September 1996[6]
Dwight YorkeLAston VillaNewcastle United4–3 (A)30 September 1996[7]
Gary SpeedEvertonSouthampton7–1 (H)16 November 1996[8]
Robbie Fowler4LiverpoolMiddlesbrough5–1 (H)14 December 1996[9]
Alan ShearerNewcastle UnitedLeicester City4–3 (H)2 February 1997[10]
Ian MarshallLeicester CityDerby County4–2 (H)22 February 1997[11]
Steffen IversenTottenham HotspurSunderland4–0 (A)4 March 1997[12]
Fabrizio RavanelliMiddlesbroughDerby County6–1 (H)5 March 1997[13]
Kevin GallacherBlackburn RoversWimbledon3–1 (H)15 March 1997[14]
Paul KitsonWest Ham UnitedSheffield Wednesday5–1 (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 Eric Cantona Manchester United 12
2 Neal Ardley Wimbledon 11
3 Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal 9
Andy Hinchcliffe Everton
Gary McAllister Coventry City
Gianfranco Zola Chelsea
7 Nick Barmby Everton 8
David Beckham Manchester United
Stig Inge Bjørnebye Liverpool
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 David Pleat Sheffield Wednesday David Beckham Manchester United
September Joe Kinnear Wimbledon Patrik Berger Liverpool
October Graeme Souness Southampton Matt Le Tissier Southampton
November Jim Smith Derby County Ian Wright Arsenal
December Gordon Strachan Coventry City Gianfranco Zola Chelsea
January Stuart Pearce Nottingham Forest Tim Flowers Blackburn Rovers
February Alex Ferguson Manchester United [lower-alpha 1] Robbie Earle Wimbledon
March Bryan Robson Middlesbrough Juninho Middlesbrough
April Graeme Souness Southampton [lower-alpha 2] Mickey Evans Southampton

Annual awards
Award Winner Club
Premier League Manager of the Season Alex Ferguson[17] Manchester United
Premier League Player of the Season Juninho[17] Middlesbrough
PFA Players' Player of the Year Alan Shearer[18] Newcastle United
PFA Young Player of the Year David Beckham[19] Manchester United
FWA Footballer of the Year Gianfranco Zola[20] Chelsea
PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper David Seaman (Arsenal)
Defence Gary Neville (Manchester United) Tony Adams (Arsenal) Mark Wright (Liverpool) Stig Inge Bjørnebye (Liverpool)
Midfield David Beckham (Manchester United) Roy Keane (Manchester United) David Batty (Newcastle United) Steve McManaman (Liverpool)
Attack Alan Shearer (Newcastle United) 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. "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. 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. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  7. Turnbull, Simon (1 October 1996). "Yorke hat-trick in vain for Villa". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  8. Brown, Geoff (17 November 1996). "Football: Speed puts foot down". The Independent. London. 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. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  11. Fox, Norman (23 February 1997). "Football: Marshall's triple tale of the unexpected". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  12. Stamiforth, Tommy (5 March 1997). "Football: Spurs boosted by Iversen's hat-trick". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  13. Turnbull, Simon (6 March 1997). "Football: Ravanelli hat-trick bodes well for Boro". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  14. Hadfield, Dave (17 March 1997). "Football: Gallacher takes advantage of Sullivan's sudden relapse". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  15. Houston, Bob (4 May 1997). "Kitson glory day". The Independent. London. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  16. "Statistical Leaders – 1997". Premier League. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  17. "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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