1996–97 Dundee United F.C. season

Dundee United
1996–97 season
Chairman Jim McLean
Manager Billy Kirkwood (until 10 September 1996)
Tommy McLean (from 10 September 1996)
Scottish Premier Division 3rd (UEFA Cup)
W17 D9 L10 F46 A33 P60
Tennent's Scottish Cup Semi-finals
Coca-Cola Cup Third round
Top goalscorer League: Kjell Olofsson (12)
All: Kjell Olofsson (13)
Highest home attendance 12,600 (vs Celtic, 1 February 1997)
Lowest home attendance 6,387 (vs Raith Rovers, 22 March 1997)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 season was the 85th year of football played by Dundee United, and covered the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997. United finished in third place in the league following their promotion from the First Division and qualified for the UEFA Cup in the process. The club lost in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup after a replay and were knocked out of the League Cup in a third round penalty shootout by rivals Dundee.

Contents

Season review

United finished the Scottish Premier Division 1996–97 season in 3rd place with 60 points, in the first season back in the top flight after the single season in the First Division. Despite taking just one point from the first six games, United finished third, with the appointment of Tommy McLean starting an immediate six-game unbeaten run, bettered later by a thirteen-game unbeaten succession, which included eight straight league wins.

The cup campaigns saw a 3rd round League Cup penalty shootout defeat to rivals Dundee and a semi-final Scottish Cup defeat (after a replay) to eventual winners Kilmarnock.

Off the pitch, United started a four-year successive run of 'Premier League Programme of the Year'.[1]

Match results

Dundee United played a total of 44 competitive matches during the 1996–97 season.[2] The team finished third in the Premier Division.

Legend

Win Draw Loss

All results are written with Dundee United's score first.

Premier Division

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
10 August 1996 Motherwell H 1–1 8,127 McSwegan
17 August 1996 Hibernian H 0–1 8,589
24 August 1996 Rangers A 0–1 48,285
7 September 1996 Hearts A 0–1 11,858
14 September 1996 Celtic H 1–2 12,152 McSwegan
21 September 1996 Raith Rovers A 2–3 5,077 McSwegan, Hannah
28 September 1996 Aberdeen H 1–0 10,359 McSwegan
12 October 1996 Kilmarnock H 0–0 7,365
19 October 1996 Dunfermline A 1–1 6,982 Winters
26 October 1996 Hearts H 1–0 9,353 Winters
2 November 1996 Motherwell A 3–1 5,814 Olofsson, McKinnon, Winters
16 November 1996 Aberdeen A 3–3 13,800 McLaren, Winters, Olofsson
23 November 1996 Raith Rovers H 1–2 8,028 Duffy
30 November 1996 Dunfermline H 1–1 7,646 Winters
7 December 1996 Kilmarnock A 2–0 5,814 Olofsson (2)
10 December 1996 Rangers H 1–0 12,529 Own goal (Gough)
14 December 1996 Hibernian A 1–1 8,250 McLaren
21 December 1996 Celtic A 0–1 46,590
26 December 1996 Motherwell H 2–0 8,072 McSwegan, Hannah
28 December 1996 Raith Rovers A 1–0 5,762 Olofsson
1 January 1997 Aberdeen H 4–0 9,736 Winters, Pressley (2), Olofsson
4 January 1997 Kilmarnock H 2–0 8,508 Malpas, McKinnon
11 January 1997 Dunfermline A 3–1 7,698 Olofsson (2), McInally
18 January 1997 Hearts A 2–1 12,777 Olofsson, McKinnon
1 February 1997 Celtic H 1–0 12,600 McSwegan
8 February 1997 Hibernian H 0–0 9,219
22 February 1997 Kilmarnock A 3–2 6,054 McKinnon (3)
1 March 1997 Dunfermline H 2–1 8,160 McLaren, Olofsson
12 March 1997 Rangers A 2–0 49,192 Winters, Olofsson
15 March 1997 Aberdeen A 1–1 13,645 Olofsson
22 March 1997 Raith Rovers H 2–1 6,387 Winters (2)
5 April 1997 Hibernian A 0–2 11,010
19 April 1997 Motherwell A 1–1 5,500 Zetterlund
03 May 1997 Hearts H 1–0 7,405 McSwegan
07 May 1997 Rangers H 0–1 12,180
10 May 1997 Celtic A 0–3 46,758

Tennent's Scottish Cup

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
25 January 1997 Stirling A 2–0 3,300 Winters, McSwegan
16 February 1997 Hearts A 1–1 14,833 Own goal
25 February 1997 Hearts H 1–0 12,283 Winters
8 March 1997 Motherwell H 4–1 12,283 McLaren (2), Winters, Olofsson
14 April 1997 Kilmarnock N 0–0 12,391
22 April 1997 Kilmarnock N 0–1 9,225

Coca-Cola Cup

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
13 August 1996 Stirling A 2–1 1,683 Winters, Coyle
3 September 1996 Dundee H 2-2 11,839 Coyle, McSwegan

Dundee beat United 4-3 on penalty kicks

Player details

During the 1996–97 season, United used 31 different players comprising five nationalities. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[3]

No. Nat Pos Player Total Premier Division Tennent's Scottish Cup Coca-Cola Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK Sieb Dykstra 28 0 22 0 6 0 0 0
GK Lance Key 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
GK Ally Maxwell 12 0 10 0 0 0 2 0
DF Armand Benneker 9 0 7 0 0 0 2 0
DF Neil Duffy 17 1 13 1 2 0 2 0
DF Stewart McKimmie 7 0 6 0 1 0 0 0
DF Jamie McQuilken 11 0 9 0 0 0 2 0
DF Maurice Malpas 32 1 26 1 6 0 0 0
DF Erik Pedersen 31 0 25 0 6 0 0 0
DF Mark Perry 43 0 35 0 6 0 2 0
DF Steven Pressley 43 2 36 2 5 0 2 0
DF Rab Shannon 10 0 9 0 0 0 1 0
MF Paul Black 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
MF Dave Bowman 30 0 27 0 1 0 2 0
MF Jamie Dolan 19 0 13 0 6 0 0 0
MF Craig Easton 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
MF David Hannah 11 2 11 2 0 0 0 0
MF Grant Johnson 9 0 8 0 0 0 1 0
MF Jim McInally 20 1 16 1 4 0 0 0
MF Ray McKinnon 31 6 24 6 5 0 2 0
MF Andy McLaren 41 6 34 4 6 2 1 0
MF Sandy Robertson 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0
MF David Sinclair 8 0 6 0 2 0 0 0
MF Paul Walker 4 0 3 0 1 0 0 0
MF Jonas Wirmola 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
MF Lars Zetterlund 32 0 25 0 1 0 6 0
FW Owen Coyle 11 2 9 0 0 0 2 2
FW Gary McSwegan 38 9 30 7 6 1 2 1
FW Kjell Olofsson 31 13 25 12 6 1 0 0
FW Steven Thompson 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
FW Robbie Winters 43 12 36 8 5 3 2 1

Goalscorers

United had 12 players score with the team scoring 58 goals in total. The top goalscorer was Kjell Olofsson, who finished the season with 13 goals.[4]

Name League Cups Total
Olofsson, KjellKjell Olofsson 12 1 13
Winters, RobbieRobbie Winters 8 4 12
McSwegan, GaryGary McSwegan 7 2 09
McKinnon, RayRay McKinnon 6 06
McLaren, AndyAndy McLaren 3 2 05
goal, OwnOwn goal 2 1 03
Hannah, DavidDavid Hannah 2 02
Pressley, StevenSteven Pressley 2 02
Coyle, OwenOwen Coyle 2 02
Duffy, NeilNeil Duffy 1 01
McInally, JimJim McInally 1 01
Malpas, MauriceMaurice Malpas 1 01
Zetterlund, LarsLars Zetterlund 1 01

Discipline

United had three players sent off and seventeen players received at least one caution. In total, the team received three red cards and[5]

Name Cautions Dismissals
Bowman, DaveDave Bowman 4 1
McKimmie, StewartStewart McKimmie 1 1
Pressley, StevenSteven Pressley 1
McKinnon, RayRay McKinnon 7
Perry, MarkMark Perry 4
Zetterlund, LarsLars Zetterlund 4
Pedersen, ErikErik Pedersen 3
Benneker, ArmandArmand Benneker 2
Dolan, JamieJamie Dolan 2
McInally, JimJim McInally 2
McLaren, AndyAndy McLaren 2
McSwegan, GaryGary McSwegan 2
Dykstra, SiebSieb Dykstra 1
Easton, CraigCraig Easton 1
Johnson, GrantGrant Johnson 1
Malpas, MauriceMaurice Malpas 1
Olofsson, KjellKjell Olofsson 1
Wirmola, JonasJonas Wirmola 1

Note: disciplinary statistics are missing for Coca-Cola match vs Dundee and Scottish Cup matches vs Kilmarnock

Transfers

In

The club signed twelve players during the season with approximately £650k spent on transfer fees. In addition, three players were promoted from youth contracts: Paul Black, Craig Easton, Steven Thompson, with all three featuring at least once during the season.

Date Player From Fee (£)
26 July 1996 Key, LanceLance Key Sheff Wed Free[6]
1 August 1996 Duffy, NeilNeil Duffy Dundee Unknown[7]
1 August 1996 Benneker, ArmandArmand Benneker MVV Bosman[8]
3 October 1996 McInally, JimJim McInally Raith Rovers Unknown[9]
30 October 1996 Zetterlund, LarsLars Zetterlund Örebro £0,100,000[10]
1 November 1996 Olofsson, KjellKjell Olofsson Moss £0,400,000[11]
1 November 1996 Pedersen, ErikErik Pedersen Viking Unknown[12]
4 December 1996 Dykstra, SiebSieb Dykstra Q.P.R. £0,050,000[13]
7 January 1997 Dolan, JamieJamie Dolan Motherwell Swap[14]
1 January 1997 Wirmola, JonasJonas Wirmola Unattached Free[15]
31 January 1997 Sinclair, DavidDavid Sinclair Millwall £0,090,000[16]
19 March 1997 McKimmie, StewartStewart McKimmie Aberdeen Free[17]

Out

Ten players left the club during the season, with the club receiving over £1.35m in transfer sales, representing an overall transfer profit of around £700k.

Date Player To Fee
1 July 1996 Brewster, CraigCraig Brewster Ionikos Bosman[18]
7 August 1996 Welsh, BrianBrian Welsh Hibernian £0,200,000[19]
12 August 1996 Dailly, ChristianChristian Dailly Derby County £0,500,000[20]
6 September 1996 O'Hanlon, KelhamKelham O'Hanlon Preston North End £0,000,012[21]
20 October 1996 Shannon, RabRab Shannon Hibernian Unknown[22]
28 December 1996 Hannah, DavidDavid Hannah Celtic £0,650,000[23]
7 January 1997 Coyle, OwenOwen Coyle Motherwell Swap[24]
19 January 1997 Crabbe, ScottScott Crabbe Falkirk Unknown[25]
31 January 1997 Wirmola, JonasJonas Wirmola Released Free[26]
14 March 1997 Key, LanceLance Key Sheffield United Free[27]

Playing kit

Home colours
Away colours

The jerseys were sponsored for the first time by Telewest Communications.

References

  1. ^ "Programme of the Year Awards". Programme Monthly & Football Collectible. http://www.pmfc.co.uk/awards_page.php. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  2. ^ "Dundee Utd 1996/1997 results and fixtures". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/results2.sd?teamid=740&seasonid=126. Retrieved 2007-12-12. 
  3. ^ "Dundee Utd 1996/1997 player appearances". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/squad_season.sd?teamid=740&seasonid=196. Retrieved 2007-12-13. 
  4. ^ "1996–97". Glenrothes Arabs. Archived from the original on July 03, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080703194227/http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/History/1990s/1996-97/96-97page.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-13. 
  5. ^ "Dundee Utd 1996/1997 player appearances" (HTML). Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/squad_season.sd?teamid=740&seasonid=196. Retrieved 2007-12-13. 
  6. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Lance Key". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=4175. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  7. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Neil Duffy". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=2191. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  8. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Armand Benneker". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=11096. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  9. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Jim McInally". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=5144. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  10. ^ "Player A to Z: Lars Zetterlund". Glenrothes Arabs. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080828221453/http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Zetterlund%20L.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  11. ^ "Player A to Z: Kjell Olofsson". Glenrothes Arabs. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20081015115237/http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Olofsson%20K.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  12. ^ "Player A to Z: Erik Pedersen". Glenrothes Arabs. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20081015121438/http://www.dirtyarab.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Player%20a-z/Pedersen%20E.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  13. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Sieb Dykstra". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=2245. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  14. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Jamie Dolan". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=9226. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  15. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Jonas Wirmola". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=11114. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  16. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: David Sinclair". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=7314. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  17. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Stewart McKimmie". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=5181. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  18. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Craig Brewster". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=970. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  19. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Brian Welsh". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=8402. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  20. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Christian Dailly". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=1876. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  21. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Kelham O'Hanlon". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=9394. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  22. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Rab Shannon". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=9396. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  23. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: David Hannah". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=3236. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  24. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Owen Coyle". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=1720. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  25. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Scott Crabbe". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=9386. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  26. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Jonas Wirmola". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=11114. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 
  27. ^ "The Internet Soccer Database: Lance Key". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=4175. Retrieved 2007-09-26. 

External links

Club
Derbies
Decades
1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s
1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90
1990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–00
Domestic leagues
Premier Division · First Division · Second Division · Third Division
Domestic cups
Scottish Cup (Final) · League Cup (Final) · Challenge Cup (Final) · Junior Cup
European competitions
Related to national team
Club seasons
Premier League