1996–97 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. season

Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
1996–97 season
Chairman Dave Richards
Manager David Pleat
FA Premier League 7th
FA Cup Quarter-final
League Cup Second round
Top goalscorer League: Andy Booth (10)
All: Andy Booth (13)
Highest home attendance 38,943 (vs. Liverpool, Premiership)
Lowest home attendance 7,499 (vs. Oxford United, League Cup)
Average home attendance 25,714 (league)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 season was Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'s 130th season in existence. They competed in the twenty-team Premiership, the top tier of English football, finishing seventh.

Contents

Season summary

A four-match winning start to the season saw Sheffield Wednesday top the Premiership and manager David Pleat receive Manager of the Month award for August, but they soon fell out of the title frame and in the end they finished seventh in the final table - not even enough for UEFA Cup qualification. In the close season, Pleat paid a club record £5.7 million for Celtic's Italian forward Paolo Di Canio[1], giving his squad a much-needed boost to their hopes of challenging for honours.

Final league table

Main article: 1996-97 FA Premier League
Pos Team Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1. Manchester United 38 21 12 5 76 44  +32 75
2. Newcastle United 38 19 11 8 73 40  +33 68
3. Arsenal 38 19 11 8 62 32  +30 68
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
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  −9 47
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 38 10 10 18 35 53  −18 40
19. Middlesbrough * 38 10 12 16 51 60  −9 39
20. Nottingham Forest 38 6 16 16 31 59  −28 34
Key
Qualified for the Champions League
Qualified for the UEFA Cup
Qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup
Relegated to Division One

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Sheffield Wednesday's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
17 August 1996 Aston Villa H 2-1 26,861 Humphreys, Whittingham
20 August 1996 Leeds United A 2-0 31,011 Humphreys, Booth
24 August 1996 Newcastle United A 2-1 36,452 Atherton, Whittingham
2 September 1996 Leicester City H 2-1 17,657 Booth, Humphreys
7 September 1996 Chelsea H 0-2 30,983
16 September 1996 Arsenal A 1-4 33,461 Booth
21 September 1996 Derby County H 0-0 23,934
28 September 1996 Everton A 0-2 34,160
12 October 1996 Wimbledon A 2-4 10,512 Booth, Hyde
19 October 1996 Blackburn Rovers H 1-1 22,191 Booth
26 October 1996 Coventry City A 0-0 17,267
2 November 1996 Southampton H 1-1 20,106 Newsome
18 November 1996 Nottingham Forest H 2-0 16,390 Trustfull, Carbone
23 November 1996 Sunderland A 1-1 20,644 Oakes
30 November 1996 West Ham United H 0-0 22,321
7 December 1996 Liverpool A 1-0 39,507 Whittingham
18 December 1996 Manchester United H 1-1 37,671 Carbone
21 December 1996 Tottenham Hotspur A 1-1 30,996 Nolan
26 December 1996 Arsenal H 0-0 23,245
28 December 1996 Chelsea A 2-2 27,467 Pembridge, Stefanović
11 January 1997 Everton H 2-1 24,175 Pembridge, Hirst
18 January 1997 Middlesbrough A 2-4 29,485 Pembridge (2)
29 January 1997 Aston Villa A 1-0 26,726 Booth
1 February 1997 Coventry City H 0-0 21,793
19 February 1997 Derby County A 2-2 18,060 Collins, Hirst
22 February 1997 Southampton A 3-2 15,062 Hirst (2), Booth
1 March 1997 Middlesbrough H 3-1 28,206 Booth, Hyde, Pembridge (pen)
5 March 1997 Nottingham Forest A 3-0 21,485 Carbone (2), Blinker
12 March 1997 Sunderland H 2-1 20,294 Hirst, Stefanović
15 March 1997 Manchester United A 0-2 55,267
22 March 1997 Leeds United H 2-2 30,373 Hirst, Booth
9 April 1997 Tottenham Hotspur H 2-1 22,667 Atherton, Booth
13 April 1997 Newcastle United H 1-1 33,798 Pembridge
19 April 1997 Wimbledon H 3-1 26,957 Donaldson, Trustfull (2)
22 April 1997 Blackburn Rovers A 1-4 20,845 Carbone (pen)
3 May 1997 West Ham United A 1-5 24,960 Carbone
7 May 1997 Leicester City A 0-1 20,793
11 May 1997 Liverpool H 1-1 38,943 Donaldson

FA Cup

Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 4 January 1997 Grimsby Town H 7-1 20,590 Humphreys (2), Booth (2), Fickling (own goal), Hyde, Pembridge
R4 25 January 1997 Carlisle United A 2-0 16,104 Whittingham, Booth
R5 16 February 1997 Bradford City A 1-0 17,830 Humphreys
QF 9 March 1997 Wimbledon H 0-2 25,032

League Cup

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 First Leg 18 September 1996 Oxford United H 1-1 7,499 Whittingham
R2 Second Leg 24 September 1996 Oxford United A 0-1 6,863

Squad list

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

No. Position Player
1 GK Kevin Pressman
2 DF Peter Atherton
3 DF Ian Nolan
4 MF Mark Pembridge
5 DF Jon Newsome
6 DF Des Walker
7 FW Guy Whittingham
8 FW Benito Carbone
9 FW David Hirst
10 FW Andy Booth
11 MF Regi Blinker
12 MF Graham Hyde
13 GK Matt Clarke
No. Position Player
14 DF Steve Nicol
17 MF Lee Briscoe
18 DF Dejan Stefanović
19 MF Scott Oakes
20 MF Wayne Collins
21 MF Ryan Jones
22 FW O'Neill Donaldson
23 FW Mike Williams
24 DF Brian Linighan
25 DF Ritchie Humphreys
26 MF Orlando Trustfull
- MF Adem Poric

Left club during season

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

No. Position Player
8 FW Mark Bright (to FC Sion)
15 MF Chris Waddle (to Falkirk)
No. Position Player
16 MF John Sheridan (to Bolton Wanderers)

References

  1. ^ Alan, Nixon (7 August 1997). "Wednesday sign pounds 4.5m Di Canio". FA Carling Premiership. The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/wednesday-sign-pounds-45m-di-canio-1244236.html. Retrieved 29 August 2011. 
The Club
Grounds
Related articles
Steel City derby · Wednesdayite · All articles
1867–68 · 1880–81 · 1881–82 · 1882–83 · 1883–84 · 1884–85 · 1885–86 · 1886–87 · 1887–88 · 1888–89 · 1889–90
1890–91 · 1891–92 · 1892–93 · 1893–94 · 1894–95 · 1895–96 · 1896–97 · 1897–98 · 1898–99 · 1899–1900
1900–01 · 1901–02 · 1902–03 · 1903–04 · 1904–05 · 1905–06 · 1906–07 · 1907–08 · 1908–09 · 1909–10
1910–11 · 1911–12 · 1912–13 · 1913–14 · 1914–15 · 1915–16 · 1916–17 · 1917–18 · 1918–19 · 1919–20
1920–21 · 1921–22 · 1922–23 · 1923–24 · 1924–25 · 1925–26 · 1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30
1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40
1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50
1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60
1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70
1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80
1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90
001990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–2000
2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10
2010–11 · 2011–12 · 2012–13 · 2013–14 · 2014–15 · 2015–16 · 2016–17 · 2017–18 · 2018–19 · 2019–20
 « 1995–96
1997–98 » 
FA competitions
FA Cup (Qualifying Rounds · Final) · Charity Shield · FA Trophy (Final)
Premier League and
Football League
Football Conference
Football Conference · Conference League Cup
Lower leagues
European competitions
Related to national team
Club seasons
Premier League
First Division
Second Division
Blackpool · Bournemouth · Brentford · Bristol City · Bristol Rovers · Burnley · Bury · Chesterfield · Crewe Alexandra · Gillingham · Luton Town · Millwall · Notts County · Peterborough United · Plymouth Argyle · Preston North End · Rotherham United · Shrewsbury Town · Stockport County · Walsall · Watford · Wrexham · Wycombe · York City
Third Division
Barnet · Brighton & Hove Albion · Cambridge United · Cardiff City · Carlisle United · Chester City · Colchester United · Darlington · Doncaster Rovers · Exeter City · Fulham · Hartlepool United · Hereford United · Hull City · Leyton Orient · Lincoln City · Mansfield Town · Northampton Town · Rochdale · Scarborough · Scunthorpe United · Swansea City · Torquay United · Wigan Athletic
Southern League
Summer 1996 transfers · Winter 1996–97 transfers