1996–97 West Ham United F.C. season

West Ham United
1996–97 season
Chairman Terry Brown
Manager Harry Redknapp
Stadium Upton Park
Premier League 14th
FA Cup Third round
League Cup Fourth round
Top goalscorer League:
Paul Kitson (8)
All:
Paul Kitson/Julian Dicks (8)
Highest home attendance 25,064 (vs. Liverpool, 29 September)
Lowest home attendance 19,105 (vs. Aston Villa, 4 December)
Average home league attendance 23,242

During the 1996–97 English football season, West Ham United competed in the FA Premier League.

Season summary

The season began with much excitement at Upton Park, as a whole host of foreign signings arrived. However, most of the acquisitions were short-lived and unsuccessful. Romanian striker Florin Răducioiu walked out in mid-season after scoring just two goals and Portuguese winger Paulo Futre played just nine games for the club before giving in to a knee injury and announcing his retirement in November.

It was a season of struggle for Harry Redknapp and his east Londoners, but in the end a new wave of players helped save the day and keep West Ham in the Premiership. Exciting young defender Rio Ferdinand broke into the side and so impressed that an international call-up appeared imminent, while newly-signed strikers Paul Kitson and John Hartson gave the attack the much-needed boost that Radiciou and Futre had failed to deliver.

With survival confirmed by the final day of the season, there was now talk of pushing for a UEFA Cup place in the following campaign.

Final league table

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 -8 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

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

West Ham United's score comes first[1]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
17 August 1996 ArsenalA0-238,056
21 August 1996 Coventry CityH1-121,580Rieper
24 August 1996 SouthamptonH2-121,227M Hughes, Dicks (pen)
4 September 1996 MiddlesbroughA1-430,060M Hughes
8 September 1996 SunderlandA0-018,642
15 September 1996 WimbledonH0-221,294
21 September 1996 Nottingham ForestA2-023,352Bowen, M Hughes
29 September 1996 LiverpoolH1-225,064Bilić
12 October 1996 EvertonA1-236,571Dicks (pen)
19 October 1996 Leicester CityH1-022,285Moncur
26 October 1996 Blackburn RoversH2-123,947Berg (own goal), Porfírio
2 November 1996 Tottenham HotspurA0-132,999
16 November 1996 Newcastle UnitedA1-136,552Rowland
23 November 1996 Derby CountyH1-124,576Bishop
30 November 1996 Sheffield WednesdayA0-022,321
4 December 1996 Aston VillaH0-219,105
8 December 1996 Manchester UnitedH2-225,045Răducioiu, Dicks (pen)
21 December 1996 ChelseaA1-328,315Porfírio
28 December 1996 SunderlandH2-024,077Bilić, Răducioiu
1 January 1997 Nottingham ForestH0-122,358
11 January 1997 LiverpoolA0-040,102
20 January 1997 Leeds UnitedH0-219,441
29 January 1997 ArsenalH1-224,382Rose (own goal)
1 February 1997 Blackburn RoversA1-221,994Ferdinand
15 February 1997 Derby CountyA0-118,057
24 February 1997 Tottenham HotspurH4-323,998Dicks (2, 1 pen), Kitson, Hartson
1 March 1997 Leeds UnitedA0-130,575
12 March 1997 ChelseaH3-224,502Dicks, Kitson (2)
15 March 1997 Aston VillaA0-035,992
18 March 1997 WimbledonA1-115,771Lazaridis
22 March 1997 Coventry CityA3-122,291Hartson (2), Ferdinand
9 April 1997 MiddlesbroughH0-023,988
12 April 1997 SouthamptonA0-215,244
19 April 1997 EvertonH2-224,525Kitson (2)
23 April 1997 Leicester CityA1-020,327Moncur
3 May 1997 Sheffield WednesdayH5-124,960Kitson (3), Hartson (2)
7 May 1997 Newcastle UnitedH0-024,617
11 May 1997 Manchester UnitedA0-255,249

FA Cup

Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R34 January 1997 WrexhamA1-19,747Porfírio
R3R25 January 1997 WrexhamH0-116,763

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 First Leg18 September 1996 BarnetA1-13,849Cottee
R2 Second Leg25 September 1996 BarnetH1-015,264Bilić
R323 October 1996 Nottingham ForestH4-119,402Dowie (2), Porfírio, Dicks (pen)
R427 November 1996 Stockport CountyH1-120,061Răducioiu
R4R18 December 1996 Stockport CountyA1-29,834Dicks

First-team squad

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

No. Position Player
1 Czech Republic GK Luděk Mikloško
2 England DF Tim Breacker
3 England DF Julian Dicks (captain)
4 England DF Steve Potts (vice-captain)
5 England DF Richard Hall
6 England MF Danny Williamson
7 England MF Ian Bishop
8 Denmark DF Marc Rieper
9 England FW Paul Kitson
10 Wales FW John Hartson
11 Northern Ireland MF Steve Lomas
12 Northern Ireland DF Keith Rowland
No. Position Player
13 Portugal MF Hugo Porfírio (on loan from Sporting CP)
14 Northern Ireland FW Iain Dowie
16 England MF John Moncur
17 Australia MF Stan Lazaridis
21 England GK Les Sealey
24 Northern Ireland MF Michael Hughes (footballer)
26 England MF Frank Lampard
27 England DF Rio Ferdinand
28 Croatia DF Slaven Bilić
29 Nigeria FW Emmanuel Omoyinmi
33 Republic of Ireland FW Lee Boylan

Left club during season

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

No. Position Player
9 England FW Tony Cottee (to Selangor)
10 Portugal FW Paulo Futre (to Atlético Madrid)
11 Romania FW Florin Răducioiu (to Espanyol)
15 England DF Kenny Brown (to Birmingham City)
18 Romania FW Ilie Dumitrescu (to Club América)
19 Australia MF Robbie Slater (to Southampton)
No. Position Player
19 England FW Mike Newell (on loan from Birmingham City)
20 Wales DF Mark Bowen (to Shimizu S-Pulse)
21 England GK Peter Shilton (to Leyton Orient)
22 England DF Adrian Whitbread (to Portsmouth)
23 England FW Steve Jones (to Charlton Athletic)
30 Australia GK Steve Mautone (to Reading)

Reserve squad

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

No. Position Player
25 England MF Lee Hodges
31 England GK Neil Finn
32 England MF Scott Mean

Statistics

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions

References