1996–97 Liverpool F.C. season

Liverpool

1996–97 season
Chairman	David Moores
Manager	Roy Evans
Premier League	4th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Fifth round
Cup Winners' Cup	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Robbie Fowler (18) All: Robbie Fowler (31)
Average home league attendance	38,436
Home colours Away colours
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

During the 1996–97 English football season, Liverpool F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

Competition	Result	Top scorer
Premier League	4th	Robbie Fowler, 18
UEFA CWC	Semi-finals	Robbie Fowler, 7
FA Cup	Fourth round	Stan Collymore, 2
League Cup	Fifth round	Robbie Fowler, 5
Overall		Robbie Fowler, 31

Season summary

Until late March, Liverpool had led the Premiership for most of the season, even opening up a five point lead at the top before New Year's Day 1997. However, the team were overtaken by Manchester United, who remained top of the league for the rest of the season, despite Liverpool having two or three more chances to reclaim the position before falling away badly due to mistakes and a lack of discipline.^[1] Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler continued to excel for the club, but Fowler's suspension for the final four games of the season effectively ended any lingering hopes of title glory, and the side were marred both by the rise of their Spice Boys culture, as well as by defensive aberrations; dropping points at their previously impregnable Anfield home. Liverpool's finishing in 4th place was the shock of the season as they had been challenging for the title all along, with the additional fact that on the final day of the season, despite having lost the league title to Manchester United, they were in second place, two points ahead of Newcastle and Arsenal,^[2] leaving Roy Evans and his team with a UEFA Cup place as scant consolation for what might have been. Former defender Mark Wright stated in an interview that this was the season in the 1990s that the Liverpool team truly had the talent and opportunity to win the title but threw it away:^[3] "We did come close to winning the league a few times and we finished fourth one season when we were the best team. We were better than Manchester United, better than everyone, and we finished joint second but ended up fourth because of goal difference. That was the season we should have won the title and we all know that. I remember some of the games we lost and the way we dropped points against certain sides. David James dropped a few clangers and I remember them because in certain games he didn't have anything to do, then all of a sudden he thinks he's got to be involved in the game. He would come rushing out and all of a sudden you would be 1-0 down", he said.

Final league table

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

First-team squad

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 David James 2 DF Rob Jones 3 DF John Scales 3 DF Bjorn Kvarme 4 DF Jason McAteer 5 DF Mark Wright 6 DF Phil Babb 7 MF Steve McManaman 8 FW Stan Collymore 9 FW Robbie Fowler 10 MF John Barnes 11 MF Jamie Redknapp 12 DF Steve Harkness

No. Position Player 13 GK Tony Warner 14 DF Neil Ruddock 15 MF Patrik Berger 16 MF Michael Thomas 18 FW Michael Owen 19 DF Mark Kennedy 20 DF Stig Inge Bjørnebye 21 DF Dominic Matteo 22 MF Jamie Cassidy 23 DF Jamie Carragher 24 FW Lee Jones 25 MF David Thompson 26 GK Jørgen Nielsen

Transfers

In

#	Pos	Player	From	Fee	Date
15	MF	Patrik Berger	Borussia Dortmund	£3,250,000	1 August 1996
28	MF	Nick Rizzo	Sydney Olympic	Free	1 September 1996
3	DF	Bjørn Tore Kvarme	Rosenborg	Free	10 January 1997

Out

#	Pos	Player	To	Fee	Date
27	GK	Stephen Pears	Hartlepool United	Free	1 June 1996
18	MF	Phil Charnock	Crewe Alexandra	Free	6 December 1996
3	DF	John Scales	Tottenham Hotspur	£2,600,000	11 December 1996

Results

Premier League

1 17 August 1996	Middlesbrough	3–3	Liverpool	Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
15:00	Ravanelli  26' (pen.), 36', 81'		Bjørnebye  4' Barnes  29' Fowler  65'	Stadium: Riverside Stadium Attendance: 30,039

2 19 August 1996	Liverpool	2–0	Arsenal	Liverpool, Merseyside
20:00 BST	McManaman  68', 74'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 38,103 Referee: Gary Willard

3 24 August 1996	Liverpool	0–0	Sunderland	Liverpool, Merseyside
				Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,503

4 4 September 1996	Coventry City	0–1	Liverpool	Coventry, West Midlands
19:45			Babb  68'	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 23,021

5 7 September 1996	Liverpool	2–1	Southampton	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Collymore  39' McManaman  89'		Magilton  68'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 39,189

6 15 September 1996	Leicester City	0–3	Liverpool	Leicester, Leicestershire
			Berger  58', 77' Thomas  61'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,987

7 21 September 1996	Liverpool	5–1	Chelsea	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Fowler  15' Berger  42', 49' Myers  45' (o.g.) Barnes  57'		Leboeuf  85'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,739

8 29 September 1996	West Ham United	1–2	Liverpool	Newham, London
	Bilić  15'		Collymore  3' Thomas  55'	Attendance: 25,064

9 12 October 1996	Manchester United	1–0	Liverpool	Trafford, Greater Manchester
	Beckham  23'			Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 55,128

10 27 October 1996	Liverpool	2–1	Derby County	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Fowler  47', 51'		A. Ward  89'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 39,515

11 3 November 1996	Blackburn Rovers	3–0	Liverpool	Blackburn, Lancashire
	Sutton  3' (pen.), 56' Wilcox  24'			Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 29,598

12 16 November 1996	Leeds United	0–2	Liverpool	Leeds, West Yorkshire
			Ruddock  13' McManaman  90'	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 39,981

13 20 November 1996	Liverpool	1–1	Everton	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Fowler  30'		Speed  82'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,751

14 23 November 1996	Liverpool	1–1	Wimbledon	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Collymore  1'		Leonhardsen  67'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 39,027

15 2 December 1996	Tottenham Hotspur	0–2	Liverpool	Haringey, London
			Thomas  45' McManaman  49'	Stadium: White Hart Lane

16 7 December 1996	Liverpool	0–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Liverpool, Merseyside
			Whittingham  21'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 39,507

17 14 December 1996	Liverpool	5–1	Middlesbrough	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Fowler  1', 28', 77', 85' Bjørnebye  45'		Fjørtoft  75'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 39,491

18 17 December 1996	Liverpool	4–2	Nottingham Forest	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Collymore  6', 63' Fowler  27' Lyttle  53' (o.g.)		Campbell  34' Pearce  60'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 36,126

19 23 December 1996	Newcastle United	1–1	Liverpool	Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear
	Shearer  28'		Fowler  45'	Stadium: St. James' Park Attendance: 36,570

20 26 December 1996	Liverpool	1–1	Leicester City	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Collymore  80'		Claridge  76'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,786

21 29 December 1996	Southampton	0–1	Liverpool	Southampton, Hampshire
			Barnes  76'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,222

22 1 January 1997	Chelsea	1–0	Liverpool	Fulham, London
	Di Matteo  43'			Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 28,329

23 11 January 1997	Liverpool	0–0	West Ham United	Liverpool, Merseyside
				Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,102

24 18 January 1997	Liverpool	3–0	Aston Villa	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Carragher  50' Collymore  58' Fowler  63'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,489

25 1 February 1997	Derby County	0–1	Liverpool	Derby, Derbyshire
			Collymore  75'	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 18,102

26 19 February 1997	Liverpool	4–0	Leeds United	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Fowler  21' Collymore  36', 37' Redknapp  87'			Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 38,957

27 22 February 1997	Liverpool	0–0	Blackburn Rovers	Liverpool, Merseyside
				Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,747

28 2 March 1997	Aston Villa	1–0	Liverpool	Birmingham, West Midlands
	Taylor  83'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,339

29 10 March 1997	Liverpool	4–3	Newcastle United	Liverpool, Merseyside
	McManaman  29' Berger  30' Fowler  42', 90'		Gillespie  71' Asprilla  87' Barton  88'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,751

30 15 March 1997	Nottingham Forest	1–1	Liverpool	Nottingham
	Woan  30'		Fowler  4'	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 29,181

31 24 March 1997	Arsenal	1–2	Liverpool	Islington, London
20:00 GMT	Wright  78'		Collymore  50' McAteer  65'	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,068 Referee: Gerald Ashby

32 6 April 1997	Liverpool	1–2	Coventry City	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Fowler  52'		Whelan  65' Dublin  90'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,079

33 13 April 1997	Sunderland	1–2	Liverpool	Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
	Stewart  53'		Fowler  33' McManaman  47'	Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 21,938

34 16 April 1997	Everton	1–1	Liverpool	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Ferguson  65'		Redknapp  26'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 40,177

35 19 April 1997	Liverpool	1–3	Manchester United	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Barnes  19'		Pallister  13', 42' Cole  63'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,892

36 3 May 1997	Liverpool	2–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Liverpool, Merseyside
	Collymore  15' Berger  43'		Anderton  5'	Stadium: Anfield

37 6 May 1997	Wimbledon	2–1	Liverpool	Croydon, London
	Euell  43' Holdsworth  55'		Owen  74'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 20,016

38 11 May 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	1–1	Liverpool	Sheffield
	Donaldson  75'		Redknapp  83'	Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 38,943

Top scorers

Premier League

• Robbie Fowler 18
• Stan Collymore 12
• Steve McManaman 7
• Patrik Berger 6
• John Barnes 4

References

Liverpool F.C. seasons 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 1990–91 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

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