1996–97 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
1996–97 season
Chairman Doug Ellis
Manager Brian Little
Stadium Villa Park
FA Premier League 5th
FA Cup Fourth round proper
Worthington Cup Fourth round
UEFA Cup First round
Top goalscorer League: Yorke (17)
All: Yorke (20)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

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

Contents

Season summary

There was no silverware this season for last season's Coca-Cola Cup winners, but Brian Little's competent Villa side achieved UEFA Cup qualification for the second season running by finishing fifth in the league.

The autumn of the season saw the departure of veteran defender Paul McGrath to Derby County, while the injured Gary Charles was replaced at right-back by the Portuguese Fernando Nelson. The end of the season saw the arrival of Liverpool striker Stan Collymore for a club record fee of £7 million.

Final league table

Main article: FA Premier League 1996-97
Pos Team Pl W D L F A Pts
1. Manchester United 38 21 12 5 76 44 75
2. Newcastle United 38 19 11 8 73 40 68
3. Arsenal 38 19 11 8 62 32 68
4. Liverpool 38 19 11 8 62 37 68
5. Aston Villa 38 17 10 11 47 34 61
6. Chelsea 38 16 11 11 58 55 59
7. Sheffield Wednesday 38 14 15 9 50 51 57
8. Wimbledon 38 15 11 12 49 46 56
9. Leicester City 38 12 11 15 46 54 47
10. Tottenham Hotspur 38 13 7 18 44 51 46
11. Leeds United 38 11 13 14 28 38 46
12. Derby County 38 11 13 14 45 58 46
13. Blackburn Rovers 38 9 15 14 42 43 42
14. West Ham United 38 10 12 16 39 48 42
15. Everton 38 10 12 16 44 57 42
16. Southampton 38 10 11 17 50 56 41
17. Coventry City 38 9 14 15 38 54 41
18. Sunderland 38 10 10 18 35 53 40
19. Middlesbrough *** 38 10 12 16 51 60 39
20. Nottingham Forest 38 6 16 16 31 59 34

Note: Middlesbrough deducted 3 points for failing to fulfil a fixture.

Key
Qualified for the Champions League
Qualified for the UEFA Cup
Qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup
Relegated to Division One

Results

Aston Villa's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
17 August 1996 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–2 26,861 Johnson
21 August 1996 Blackburn Rovers H 1–0 32,457 Southgate
24 August 1996 Derby County H 2–0 34,646 Joachim, Johnson
4 September 1996 Everton A 1–0 39,115 Ehiogu
7 September 1996 Arsenal H 2–2 37,944 Milošević (2)
15 September 1996 Chelsea A 1–1 27,729 Townsend
21 September 1996 Manchester United H 0–0 39,339
30 September 1996 Newcastle United A 3–4 36,400 Yorke (3)
12 October 1996 Tottenham Hotspur H 0–1 32,847
19 October 1996 Leeds United H 2–0 39,051 Yorke, Johnson
26 October 1996 Sunderland A 0–1 21,059
2 November 1996 Nottingham Forest H 2–0 35,310 Tiler, Yorke
16 November 1996 Leicester City H 1–3 36,193 Yorke
23 November 1996 Coventry City A 2–1 21,340 Joachim, Staunton
30 November 1996 Middlesbrough H 1–0 39,053 Yorke (pen)
4 December 1996 West Ham United A 2–0 19,105 Ehiogu, Yorke
7 December 1996 Southampton A 1–0 15,232 Townsend
22 December 1996 Wimbledon H 5–0 28,875 Yorke (2), Milošević (2), Taylor
26 December 1996 Chelsea H 0–2 39,339
28 December 1996 Arsenal A 2–2 38,130 Milošević, Yorke
1 January 1997 Manchester United A 0–0 55,133
11 January 1997 Newcastle United H 2–2 39,339 Yorke, Milošević
18 January 1997 Liverpool A 0–3 40,489
29 January 1997 Sheffield Wednesday H 0–1 26,726
1 February 1997 Sunderland H 1–0 32,491 Milošević
19 February 1997 Coventry City H 2–1 30,409 Yorke (2)
22 February 1997 Nottingham Forest A 0–0 25,239
2 March 1997 Liverpool H 1–0 39,339 Taylor
5 March 1997 Leicester City A 0–1 20,626
15 March 1997 West Ham United H 0–0 35,992
22 March 1997 Blackburn Rovers A 2–0 24,274 Johnson, Yorke
5 April 1997 Everton H 3–1 39,339 Milošević, Staunton, Yorke
9 April 1997 Wimbledon A 2–0 9,015 Milošević, Wright
12 April 1997 Derby County A 1–2 18,071 Joachim
19 April 1997 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–1 39,339 Yorke
22 April 1997 Leeds United A 0–0 26,897
3 May 1997 Middlesbrough A 2–3 30,074 Ehiogu, Milošević
11 May 1997 Southampton H 1–0 39,339 Dryden (own goal)

FA Cup

Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 14 January 1997 Notts County A 0-0 13,315
R3R 22 January 1997 Notts County H 3-0 25,006 Yorke (2), Ehiogu
R4 25 January 1997 Derby County A 1-3 17,977 Ćurčić

League Cup

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 23 October 1996 Leeds United A 2-1 15,803 Taylor, Yorke
R4 26 November 1996 Wimbledon A 0-1 7,573

UEFA Cup

Main article: 1996–97 UEFA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 First Leg 10 September 1996 Helsingborgs IF H 1-1 25,818 Johnson
R1 Second Leg 24 September 1996 Helsingborgs IF A 0-0 (lost on away goals) 10,000

Squad

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 Mark Bosnich
2 DF Gary Charles
3 DF Steve Staunton
4 DF Gareth Southgate
6 MF Andy Townsend (captain)
7 MF Ian Taylor
8 MF Mark Draper
9 FW Savo Milošević
10 FW Dwight Yorke
12 FW Julian Joachim
13 GK Michael Oakes
14 DF Alan Wright
No. Position Player
15 DF Fernando Nélson
16 DF Ugo Ehiogu
17 MF Lee Hendrie
19 MF Gareth Farrelly
20 DF Riccardo Scimeca
23 FW Neil Davis
24 MF Scott Murray
26 MF Saša Ćurčić
27 FW David Hughes
30 GK Adam Rachel
31 GK Stuart Brock

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
5 DF Paul McGrath (to Derby County)
11 FW Tommy Johnson (to Celtic)
18 DF Carl Tiler (to Sheffield United)
No. Position Player
21 MF Franz Carr (to Reggiana)
22 DF Phil King (to Swindon Town)
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