1996–97 Football League

The Football League
Season	1996–97
Champions	Bolton Wanderers
Promoted	Bolton Wanderers Barnsley Crystal Palace
Relegated	Hereford United
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 Football League (known as the Nationwide Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 98th completed season of The Football League.

Bolton Wanderers returned to the Premiership in superb fashion, hitting 100 goals and taking 98 points. Barnsley were promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history, while Crystal Palace returned after a two-year absence by winning the play-offs.

The decline of Oldham Athletic continued, falling into the third tier for the first time in 23 years, and just three years after being in the Premiership. Grimsby Town and Southend United joined them in relegation to the Second Division.

Bury won their second consecutive promotion, taking the Second Division title, Stockport County joined them in automatic promotion, and play-off winners Crewe Alexandra completed the trio moving up.

Going down were Peterborough United, Shrewsbury Town, Rotherham United and Notts County. County had been in the top division just five years earlier.

Wigan Athletic won the Third Division title on goals scored from Fulham. Carlisle United and play-off winners Northampton Town also won promotion to the Second Division.

Hereford United were the first club for four years to be relegated to the Conference after finishing bottom. Conference champions Macclesfield Town replaced Hereford (two years after Town had been denied entry to the Third Division). In December, Brighton & Hove Albion were 11 points adrift at the bottom of the Third Division, having had 2 points deducted for a pitch invasion. However a draw in their final game at Hereford kept Brighton in the league, and sent United down.

Final league tables and results

The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website,^[1] with home and away statistics separated. Play-off results are from the same website.

First Division

Football League, First Division
Season	1996–97
Champions	Bolton Wanderers (3rd second tier title)
Direct promotion to FA Premier League	Bolton Wanderers, Barnsley
Promoted to FA Premier League through play-offs	Crystal Palace
Relegated	Grimsby Town, Oldham Athletic, Southend United
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1476 (2.67 per match)
Top goalscorer	John McGinlay (Bolton Wanderers), 24 ^[2]
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Bolton Wanderers	46	18	4	1	60	20	10	10	3	40	33	100	53	+47	98
2	Barnsley	46	14	4	5	43	19	8	10	5	33	36	76	55	+21	80
3	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	10	5	8	31	24	12	5	6	37	27	68	51	+17	76
4	Ipswich Town	46	13	7	3	44	23	7	7	9	24	27	68	50	+18	74
5	Sheffield United	46	13	5	5	46	23	7	8	8	29	29	75	52	+23	73
6	Crystal Palace	46	10	7	6	39	22	9	7	7	39	26	78	48	+30	71
7	Portsmouth	46	12	4	7	32	24	8	4	11	27	29	59	53	+6	68
8	Port Vale	46	9	9	5	36	28	8	7	8	22	27	58	55	+3	67
9	Queens Park Rangers	46	10	5	8	33	25	8	7	8	31	35	64	60	+4	66
10	Birmingham City	46	11	7	5	30	18	6	8	9	22	30	52	48	+4	66
11	Tranmere Rovers	46	10	9	4	41	27	7	5	11	21	29	63	56	+7	65
12	Stoke City	46	15	3	5	34	22	3	7	13	17	35	51	57	–6	64
13	Norwich City	46	9	10	4	28	18	8	2	13	35	50	63	68	–5	63
14	Manchester City	46	12	4	7	34	24	5	6	12	25	35	59	60	–1	61
15	Charlton Athletic	46	11	8	4	36	28	5	3	15	16	38	52	66	–14	59
16	West Bromwich Albion	46	7	7	9	37	33	7	8	8	31	39	68	72	–4	57
17	Oxford United	46	14	3	6	44	26	2	6	15	20	42	64	68	–4	57
18	Reading	46	13	7	3	37	24	2	5	16	21	43	58	67	–9	57
19	Swindon Town	46	11	6	6	36	27	4	3	16	16	44	52	71	–19	54
20	Huddersfield Town	46	10	7	6	28	20	3	8	12	20	41	48	61	–13	54
21	Bradford City	46	10	5	8	29	32	2	7	14	18	40	47	72	–25	48
22	Grimsby Town	46	7	7	9	31	34	4	6	13	28	47	60	81	–21	46
23	Oldham Athletic	46	6	8	9	30	30	4	5	14	21	36	51	66	–15	43
24	Southend United	46	7	9	7	32	32	1	6	16	10	53	42	86	–44	39

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

NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Key
	Football League Champions, promoted to FA Premier League
	Promoted to FA Premier League
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted to Premier League through play-offs
	Relegated

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Locations of the Football League First Division 1996–1997 teams

First Division play-offs

Main article: Football League Championship play-offs § 1997

Semifinals 1st leg –May 10th; 2nd leg –May 14th, 1997					Final at Wembley May 26th, 1997

3rd	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1	2	3
6th	Crystal Palace	3	1	4
					5th	Sheffield United	0
					6th	Crystal Palace	1
4th	Ipswich Town	1	2	3
5th	Sheffield United (away goals)	1	2	3

^[1]

First Division Topscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	John McGinlay	Bolton Wanderers	24
2	Steve Bull	Wolverhampton Wanderers	23
3	Trevor Morley	Reading	22
4	Nathan Blake	Bolton Wanderers	20
5	John Aldridge	Tranmere Rovers	18
=	Nigel Jemson	Oxford United	18
=	Mike Sheron	Stoke City	18

First Division results

Home ╲ Away	Barnsley !BAR	Birmingham City !BIR	Bolton Wanderers !BOL	Bradford City !BRA	Charlton Athletic !CHA	Crystal Palace !CRY	Grimsby Town !GRI	Huddersfield Town !HUD	Ipswich Town !IPS	Manchester City !MCI	Norwich City !NOR	Oldham Athletic !OLD	Oxford United !OXF	Port Vale !PTV	Portsmouth !POR	Queens Park Rangers !QPR	Reading !REA	Sheffield United !SHU	Southend United !STD	Stoke City !STK	Swindon Town !SWI	Tranmere Rovers !TRA	West Bromwich Albion !WBA	Wolverhampton Wanderers !WOL
Barnsley !Barnsley		0–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	0–0	1–3	3–1	1–2	2–0	3–1	2–0	0–0	1–0	3–2	1–3	3–0	2–0	3–0	3–0	1–1	3–0	2–0	1–3
Birmingham City !Birmingham City	0–0		3–1	3–0	0–0	1–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	2–3	0–0	2–0	1–2	0–3	0–0	4–1	1–1	2–1	3–1	1–0	0–0	2–3	1–2
Bolton Wanderers !Bolton Wanderers	2–2	2–1		2–1	4–1	2–2	6–1	2–0	1–2	1–0	3–1	3–1	4–0	4–2	2–0	2–1	2–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	7–0	1–0	1–0	3–0
Bradford City !Bradford City	2–2	0–2	2–4		1–0	0–4	3–4	1–1	2–1	1–3	0–2	0–3	2–0	1–0	3–1	3–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–1	2–1
Charlton Athletic !Charlton Athletic	2–2	2–1	3–3	0–2		2–1	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	4–4	1–0	2–0	1–3	2–1	2–1	1–0	0–0	2–0	1–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	0–0
Crystal Palace !Crystal Palace	1–1	0–1	1–1	3–1	1–0		3–0	1–1	0–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–2	3–0	3–2	0–1	6–1	2–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	2–3
Grimsby Town !Grimsby Town	2–3	1–2	1–2	1–1	2–0	2–1		2–2	2–1	1–1	1–4	0–3	0–2	1–1	0–1	2–0	2–0	2–4	4–0	1–1	2–1	0–0	1–1	1–3
Huddersfield Town !Huddersfield Town	0–0	3–0	1–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–0		2–0	1–1	2–0	3–2	1–0	0–1	1–3	1–2	1–0	2–1	0–0	2–1	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–2
Ipswich Town !Ipswich Town	1–1	1–1	0–1	3–2	2–1	3–1	1–1	1–3		1–0	2–0	4–0	2–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	5–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	5–0	0–0
Manchester City !Manchester City	1–2	1–0	1–2	3–2	2–1	1–1	3–1	0–0	1–0		2–1	1–0	2–3	0–1	1–1	0–3	3–2	0–0	3–0	2–0	3–0	1–2	3–2	0–1
Norwich City !Norwich City	1–1	0–1	0–1	2–0	1–2	1–1	2–1	2–0	3–1	0–0		2–0	1–1	1–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	1–0
Oldham Athletic !Oldham Athletic	0–1	2–2	0–0	1–2	1–1	0–1	0–3	1–2	3–3	2–1	3–0		2–1	3–0	0–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–0	1–2	5–1	1–2	1–1	3–2
Oxford United !Oxford United	5–1	0–0	0–0	2–0	0–2	1–4	3–2	1–0	3–1	1–4	0–1	3–1		0–2	2–0	2–3	2–1	4–1	5–0	4–1	2–0	2–1	1–0	1–1
Port Vale !Port Vale	1–3	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–0	2–2	0–2	6–1	3–2	2–0		0–2	4–4	1–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	1–0	2–1	2–2	1–2
Portsmouth !Portsmouth	4–2	1–1	0–3	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–0	3–1	0–1	2–1	0–1	1–0	2–1	1–1		1–2	1–0	1–1	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
Queens Park Rangers !Queens Park Rangers	3–1	1–1	1–2	1–0	1–2	0–1	3–0	2–0	0–1	2–2	3–2	0–1	2–1	1–2	2–1		0–2	1–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–2
Reading !Reading	1–2	0–0	3–2	0–0	2–2	1–6	1–1	4–1	1–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–0	0–1	0–0	2–1		1–0	3–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–1
Sheffield United !Sheffield United	0–1	4–4	1–1	3–0	3–0	3–0	3–1	3–1	1–3	2–0	2–3	2–2	3–1	3–0	1–0	1–1	2–0		3–0	1–0	2–0	0–0	1–2	2–3
Southend United !Southend United	1–2	1–1	5–2	1–1	0–2	2–1	1–0	1–2	0–0	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–0	2–1	0–1	2–1	3–2		2–1	1–3	1–1	2–3	1–1
Stoke City !Stoke City	1–0	1–0	1–2	1–0	1–0	2–2	3–1	3–2	0–1	2–1	1–2	2–1	2–1	2–0	3–1	0–0	1–1	0–4	1–2		2–0	2–0	2–1	1–0
Swindon Town !Swindon Town	3–0	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–0	0–2	3–3	6–0	0–4	2–0	0–3	1–0	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–1	3–1	2–1	0–0	1–0		2–1	2–3	1–2
Tranmere Rovers !Tranmere Rovers	1–1	1–0	2–2	3–0	4–0	1–3	3–2	1–1	3–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–0	2–0	4–3	2–3	2–2	1–1	3–0	0–0	2–1		2–3	0–2
West Bromwich Albion !West Bromwich Albion	1–2	2–0	2–2	0–0	1–2	1–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	1–3	5–1	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	4–1	3–2	1–2	4–0	0–2	1–2	1–2		2–4
Wolverhampton Wanderers !Wolverhampton Wanderers	3–3	1–2	1–2	1–0	1–0	0–3	1–1	0–0	0–0	3–0	3–2	0–1	3–1	0–1	0–1	1–1	0–1	1–2	4–1	2–0	1–0	3–2	2–0

Source:
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second Division

Football League, Second Division
Season	1996–97
Champions	Bury (2nd third tier title)
Direct promotion	Bury, Stockport County
Promoted through play-offs	Crewe Alexandra
Relegated	Notts County, Peterborough United, Rotherham United, Shrewsbury Town
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1257 (2.28 per match)
Top goalscorer	Tony Thorpe (Luton Town), 28 ^[2]
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Bury	46	18	5	0	39	7	6	7	10	23	31	62	38	+24	84
2	Stockport County	46	15	5	3	31	14	8	8	7	28	27	59	41	+18	82
3	Luton Town	46	13	7	3	38	14	8	8	7	33	31	71	45	+26	78
4	Brentford	46	8	11	4	26	22	12	3	8	30	21	56	43	+13	74
5	Bristol City	46	14	4	5	43	18	7	6	10	26	33	69	51	+18	73
6	Crewe Alexandra	46	15	4	4	38	15	7	3	13	18	32	56	47	+9	73
7	Blackpool	46	13	7	3	41	21	5	8	10	19	26	60	47	+13	69
8	Wrexham	46	11	9	3	38	28	6	9	8	17	22	54	50	+4	69
9	Burnley	46	14	3	6	48	27	5	8	10	23	28	71	55	+16	68
10	Chesterfield	46	10	9	4	25	18	8	5	10	17	21	42	39	+3	68
11	Gillingham	46	13	3	7	37	25	6	7	10	23	34	60	59	+1	67
12	Walsall	46	12	8	3	35	21	7	2	14	19	32	54	53	+1	67
13	Watford	46	10	8	5	24	14	6	11	6	21	24	45	38	+7	67
14	Millwall	46	12	4	7	27	22	4	9	10	23	33	50	55	–5	61
15	Preston North End	46	14	5	4	33	19	4	2	17	16	36	49	55	–6	61
16	Bournemouth	46	8	9	6	24	20	7	6	10	19	25	43	45	–2	60
17	Bristol Rovers	46	13	4	6	34	22	2	7	14	13	28	47	50	–3	56
18	Wycombe Wanderers	46	13	4	6	31	14	2	6	15	20	43	51	56	–5	55
19	Plymouth Argyle	46	7	11	5	19	18	5	7	11	28	40	47	58	–11	54
20	York City	46	8	6	9	27	31	5	7	11	20	37	47	68	–21	52
21	Peterborough United	46	7	7	9	38	34	4	7	12	17	39	55	73	–18	47
22	Shrewsbury Town	46	8	6	9	27	32	3	7	13	22	42	49	74	–25	46
23	Rotherham United	46	4	7	12	17	29	3	7	13	22	41	39	70	–31	35
24	Notts County	46	4	9	10	20	25	3	5	15	13	34	33	59	–26	35

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

NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted through play-offs
	Relegated

Locations of the Football League Second Division 1996–1997 teams

Second Division play-offs

Main article: Football League One play-offs § 1997

Semifinals 1st leg –May 11th; 2nd leg –May 14th, 1997					Final at Wembley Stadium May 5th, 1997

3rd	Luton Town	1	2	3
6th	Crewe Alexandra	2	2	4
					4th	Brentford	0
					6th	Crewe Alexandra	1
4th	Brentford	2	2	4
5th	Bristol City	1	1	2

^[1]

Second Division Topscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Tony Thorpe	Luton Town	28
2	Paul Barnes	Burnley	24
3	Carl Asaba	Brentford	23
=	Shaun Goater	Bristol City	23
5	Iffy Onuora	Gillingham	21
6	Kyle Lightbourne	Walsall	20

Second Division results

Home ╲ Away	Blackpool !BLP	AFC Bournemouth !BOU	Brentford !BRE	Bristol City !BRI	Bristol Rovers !BRO	Burnley !BUR	Bury !BRY	Chesterfield !CHF	Crewe Alexandra !CRE	Gillingham !GIL	Luton Town !LUT	Millwall !MIL	Notts County !NTC	Peterborough United !PET	Plymouth Argyle !PLY	Preston North End !PNE	Rotherham United !ROT	Shrewsbury Town !SHR	Stockport County !STP	Walsall !WAL	Watford !WAT	Wrexham !WRE	Wycombe Wanderers !WYC	York City !YOR
Blackpool !Blackpool		1–1	1–0	1–0	3–2	1–3	2–0	0–1	1–2	2–0	0–0	3–0	1–0	5–1	2–2	2–1	4–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	3–3	0–0	3–0
AFC Bournemouth !AFC Bournemouth	0–0		2–1	0–2	1–0	0–0	1–1	3–0	0–1	2–2	3–2	1–1	0–1	1–2	1–0	2–0	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–1	1–2	2–1	2–1	1–1
Brentford !Brentford	1–1	1–0		0–0	0–0	0–3	0–2	1–0	0–2	2–0	3–2	0–0	2–0	0–1	3–2	0–0	4–2	0–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–0	3–3
Bristol City !Bristol City	0–1	0–1	1–2		1–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	3–0	0–1	5–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	3–1	2–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	4–1	1–1	2–1	3–0	2–0
Bristol Rovers !Bristol Rovers	0–0	3–2	2–1	1–2		1–2	4–3	2–0	2–0	0–0	3–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–2	2–0	1–1	0–1	0–1	2–0	3–4	1–1
Burnley !Burnley	2–0	1–0	1–2	2–3	2–2		3–1	0–0	2–0	5–1	0–2	1–0	1–0	5–0	2–1	1–2	3–3	1–3	5–2	2–1	4–1	2–0	2–1	1–2
Bury !Bury	1–0	2–1	1–1	4–0	2–1	1–0		1–0	1–0	3–0	0–0	2–0	2–0	1–0	1–0	3–0	3–1	2–0	0–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	2–0	4–1
Chesterfield !Chesterfield	0–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–0	0–0	1–2		1–0	2–2	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–2	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–1	1–0	0–0	0–0	4–2	2–0
Crewe Alexandra !Crewe Alexandra	3–2	2–0	2–0	1–2	1–0	1–1	2–0	1–2		3–2	0–0	0–0	3–0	1–1	3–0	1–0	1–0	5–1	1–0	1–0	0–2	3–1	3–0	0–1
Gillingham !Gillingham	2–3	1–1	1–2	3–2	1–0	1–0	2–2	0–1	2–1		1–2	2–3	1–0	2–1	4–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–0	2–0	3–1	1–2	1–0	0–1
Luton Town !Luton Town	1–0	2–0	1–0	2–2	2–1	1–2	0–0	0–1	6–0	2–1		0–2	2–0	3–0	2–2	5–1	1–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	2–0
Millwall !Millwall	2–1	0–1	0–0	0–2	2–0	2–1	1–0	2–1	2–0	0–2	0–1		1–0	0–2	0–0	3–2	2–0	2–1	3–4	1–0	0–1	1–1	2–1	1–1
Notts County !Notts County	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–1	0–0	0–1	1–1	1–2	1–2		0–0	2–1	2–1	0–0	1–2	1–2	2–0	2–3	0–0	1–2	0–1
Peterborough United !Peterborough United	0–0	3–1	0–1	3–1	1–2	3–2	1–2	1–1	2–2	0–1	0–1	3–3	1–3		0–0	2–0	6–2	2–2	0–2	0–1	2–1	0–1	6–3	2–2
Plymouth Argyle !Plymouth Argyle	0–1	0–0	1–4	0–0	0–1	0–0	2–0	0–3	1–0	2–0	3–3	0–0	0–0	1–1		2–1	1–0	2–2	0–0	2–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	2–1
Preston North End !Preston North End	3–0	0–1	1–0	0–2	0–0	1–1	3–1	0–1	2–1	1–0	3–2	2–1	2–0	3–4	1–1		0–0	2–1	1–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–0
Rotherham United !Rotherham United	1–2	1–0	0–1	2–2	0–0	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–4	1–2	0–3	0–0	2–2	2–0	1–2	0–1		1–2	0–1	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–1	0–2
Shrewsbury Town !Shrewsbury Town	1–3	1–1	0–3	1–0	2–0	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–1	1–2	0–3	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–3	0–2	0–2		3–2	2–2	1–0	0–1	1–1	2–0
Stockport County !Stockport County	1–0	0–1	1–2	1–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–1	5–1	0–0	0–0	3–1	1–0	0–0	3–1		2–0	1–0	0–2	2–1	2–1
Walsall !Walsall	1–1	2–1	1–0	2–0	1–0	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–0	1–0	3–2	2–1	3–1	4–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	2–2	1–1		1–1	0–1	2–2	1–1
Watford !Watford	2–2	0–1	2–0	3–0	1–0	2–2	0–0	0–2	0–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	0–0	0–0	0–2	1–0	2–0	2–0	1–0	1–0		1–1	1–0	4–0
Wrexham !Wrexham	2–1	2–0	0–2	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	3–3	3–3	1–1	4–4	1–0	1–0	2–1	2–3	1–2	3–1		1–0	0–0
Wycombe Wanderers !Wycombe Wanderers	1–0	1–1	0–1	2–0	2–0	5–0	0–1	1–0	2–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	1–0	2–0	2–1	0–1	4–2	3–0	0–2	0–2	0–0	0–0		3–1
York City !York City	1–0	1–2	2–4	0–3	2–2	1–0	0–2	0–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	3–2	1–2	1–0	1–1	3–1	2–1	0–0	1–2	0–2	1–2	1–0	2–0

Source:
1 ^{^} The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third Division

Football League, Third Division
Season	1996–97
Champions	Wigan Athletic (1st fourth tier title)
Direct promotion	Wigan Athletic, Carlisle United, Fulham
Promoted through play-offs	Northampton
Relegated to Conference	Hereford United
Matches played	552
Goals scored	1383 (2.51 per match)
Top goalscorer	Graeme Jones (Wigan Athletic), 31 ^[2]
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	F	A	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Wigan Athletic	46	17	3	3	53	21	9	6	8	31	30	84	51	+33	87
2	Fulham	46	13	5	5	41	20	12	7	4	31	18	72	38	+34	87
3	Carlisle United	46	16	3	4	41	21	8	9	6	26	23	67	44	+23	84
4	Northampton	46	14	4	5	43	17	6	8	9	24	27	67	44	+23	72
5	Swansea City	46	13	5	5	37	20	8	3	12	25	38	62	58	+4	71
6	Chester	46	11	8	4	30	16	7	8	8	25	27	55	43	+12	70
7	Cardiff City	46	11	4	8	31	24	9	5	9	26	31	56	54	+2	69
8	Colchester United	46	11	9	3	36	23	6	8	9	26	28	62	51	+11	68
9	Lincoln City	46	10	8	5	35	25	8	4	11	35	44	70	69	+1	66
10	Cambridge United	46	11	5	7	30	27	7	6	10	23	32	53	59	–6	65
11	Mansfield Town	46	9	8	6	21	17	7	8	8	26	28	47	45	+2	64
12	Scarborough	46	9	9	5	36	31	7	6	10	30	38	65	68	–3	63
13	Scunthorpe United	46	11	3	9	36	33	7	6	10	23	29	59	62	–3	63
14	Rochdale	46	10	6	7	34	24	4	10	9	24	34	58	58	±0	58
15	Barnet	46	9	9	5	32	23	5	7	11	14	28	46	51	–5	58
16	Leyton Orient	46	11	6	6	28	20	4	6	13	22	38	50	58	–8	57
17	Hull City	46	9	8	6	29	26	4	10	9	15	24	44	50	–6	57
18	Darlington	46	11	5	7	37	28	3	5	15	27	50	64	78	–14	52
19	Doncaster Rovers	46	9	7	7	29	23	5	3	15	23	43	52	66	–14	52
20	Hartlepool United	46	8	6	9	33	32	6	3	14	20	34	53	66	–13	51
21	Torquay United	46	9	4	10	24	24	4	7	12	22	38	46	62	–16	50
22	Exeter City	46	6	9	8	25	30	6	3	14	23	43	48	73	–25	48
23	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	12	6	5	41	27	1	4	18	12	43	53	70	–17	47	^{[notes 1]}
24	Hereford United	46	6	8	9	26	25	5	6	12	24	40	50	65	–15	47

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

NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

↑ Brighton & Hove Albion had two points deducted for failure to control spectators.

Key
	Division Champions, promoted
	Promoted
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted through play-offs
	New club in the league (none)
	Relegated to Conference

Locations of the Football League Third Division teams 1996–1997

Third Division play-offs

Main article: Football League Two play-offs § 1997

Semifinals 1st leg –May 11th; 2nd leg –May 14th, 1997					Final at Wembley Stadium May 24th, 1997

4th	Northampton	1	3	4
7th	Cardiff City	0	2	2
					4th	Northampton	1
					5th	Swansea City	0
5th	Swansea City	0	3	3
6th	Chester	0	0	0

^[1]

Third Division Topscorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Graeme Jones	Wigan Athletic	31
2	Gareth Ainsworth	Lincoln City	22
3	Mike Conroy	Fulham	21
4	Colin Cramb	Doncaster Rovers	18
5	Adrian Foster	Hereford United	16
=	Darren Roberts	Darlington	16

References

1 2 3 4 "England 1996–97". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
1 2 3 "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.

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1996–97 in English football

« 1995–96

1997–98 »

FA competitions

Premier League and
Football League

Football Conference

Football Conference
Conference League Cup

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

1998 FIFA World Cup (UEFA Qualification Group 2)

Glenn Hoddle

Club seasons

Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Blackburn Rovers Chelsea Coventry City Derby County Everton Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wimbledon

First Division	Barnsley Birmingham City Bolton Wanderers Bradford City Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Grimsby Town Huddersfield Town Ipswich Town Manchester City Norwich City Oldham Athletic Oxford United Portsmouth Port Vale Queens Park Rangers Reading Sheffield United Southend United Stoke City Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers

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 Wanderers 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

Others	Newport Woking

Summer 1996 transfers
Winter 1996–97 transfers

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1996–97 Football League

Final league tables and results

First Division

First Division play-offs

First Division Topscorers

First Division results

Second Division

Second Division play-offs

Second Division Topscorers

Second Division results

Third Division

Third Division play-offs

Third Division Topscorers

See also

References