1996–97 Reading F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was another struggle for Reading, but they managed to secure survival on 12 April 1997, after beating promotion-chasing Wolves 2-1 at Elm Park.

Squad

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

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Sal Bibbo
		GK	Nick Hammond
		GK	Tommy Wright (on loan from Nottingham Forest)
		GK	Steve Mautone
		DF	Steve Blatherwick (on loan from Nottingham Forest)
		DF	Martyn Booty
		DF	Kenny Brown
		DF	Keith McPherson
		DF	Steve Swales
		DF	Paul Bodin
		DF	Jeff Hopkins
		DF	Barry Hunter
		DF	Dariusz Wdowczyk
		DF	Andy Bernal

No.		Position	Player
		MF	David Bass
		MF	Darren Caskey
		MF	Byron Glasgow
		MF	Mick Gooding (player-manager)
		MF	Paul Holsgrove
		MF	Phil Parkinson
		MF	Ben Smith
		MF	Michael Meaker
		MF	Stuart Lovell
		FW	Jamie Lambert
		FW	Trevor Morley
		FW	Neville Roach
		FW	Martin Williams
		FW	Lee Nogan
		FW	Jimmy Quinn (player-manager)

Transfers^[1]

In

Date	Position	Name	From	Fee
1 August 1996		Jimmy Garrity	Newcastle United	Free
1 August 1996	MF	Ben Smith	Arsenal	Free
27 March 1997	GK	Steve Mautone	West Ham United	£250,000

Out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee
10 August 1995	DF		Dylan Kerr	Carlisle	Free
27 March 1997	MF		Michael Gilkes	Wolves	£50,000

Released

Date	Position	Name
6 March 1997	GK	Borislav Mikhailov
9 May 1997	FW	Jimmy Quinn
9 May 1997	MF	Mick Gooding
31 May 1997	MF	David Bass
31 May 1997		Alan Carey
31 May 1997	DF	Jeff Hopkins
31 May 1997		Derek Simpson
31 May 1997		Jimmy Garrity

Results

Football League First Division

17 August 1996	Reading	1 - 0	Sheffield United	Elm Park
	Bernal 80' Quinn 82'	[ Report]		Attendance: 11,081

24 August 1996	Ipswich Town	5 - 2	Reading	Portman Road
	Vaughan 13', 69' Sedgley 45' (pen.) Taricco 72' Scowcroft 87'	[ Report]	Nogan 28' Mikhailov 45' Hunter 62'	Attendance: 9,767

28 August 1996	Barnsley	3 - 0	Reading	Oakwell
	Sheridan 24' Liddell 37', 82'	[ Report]	Bernal 80'	Attendance: 7,523

31 August 1996	Reading	2 - 2	Stoke City	Elm Park
	Morley 7' (pen.) Holsgrove 79'	[ Report]	Sheron 25' Forsyth 79'	Attendance: 8,414

8 September 1996	Reading	2 - 0	Oxford United	Elm Park
	Williams 14' Morley 83'	[ Report]		Attendance: 8,497

10 September 1996	West Bromwich Albion	3 - 2	Reading	The Hawthorns
	Hunt 35', 45', 66'	[ Report]	Morley 4pen.' Parkinson 75'	Attendance: 13,096

14 September 1996	Charlton Athletic	1 - 0	Reading	The Valley
	Leaburn 6'	[ Report]		Attendance: 10,831

21 September 1996	Reading	1 - 6	Crystal Palace	Elm Park
	Hunter 55' Morley 69' (pen.)	[ Report]	Tuttle 27' Freedman 37' Muscat 50' Dyer 56' (pen.) Veart 58' Roberts 60' Ndah 77'	Attendance: 9,675

28 September 1996	Huddersfield Town	1 - 0	Reading	Alfred McAlpine Stadium
	Payton 34'	[ Report]		Attendance: 10,330

5 October 1996	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0 - 1	Reading	Molineux
		[ Report]	Lambert 69'	Attendance: 23,193

12 October 1996	Reading	1 - 1	Grimsby Town	Elm Park
	Morley 57' (pen.)	[ Report]	Wrack 83'	Attendance: 6,656

15 October 1996	Reading	2 - 0	Manchester City	Elm Park
	Nogan 35', 67'	[ Report]	Lomas 82'	Attendance: 11,724

19 October 1996	Oldham Athletic	1 - 1	Reading	Boundary Park
	Orlygsson 65' (pen.)	[ Report]	Quinn 75' (pen.)	Attendance: 7,171

26 October 1996	Reading	2 - 0	Swindon Town	Elm Park
	Morley 51' (pen.), 60'	[ Report]		Attendance: 11,018

29 October 1996	Bolton Wanderers	2 - 1	Reading	Burnden Park
	Sellars 40' McGinlay 58' Branagan 63'	[ Report]	Lambert 51'	Attendance: 12,677

2 November 1996	Southend United	2 - 1	Reading	Roots Hall
	Nielsen 63' Marsh 70' (pen.)	[ Report]	Nogan 50'	Attendance: 5,002

16 November 1996	Norwich City	1 - 1	Reading	Carrow Road
	Scott 79'	[ Report]	Morley 56' Gooding 69'	Attendance: 14,412

23 November 1996	Reading	2 - 1	Queens Park Rangers	Elm Park
	Morley 73' Nogan 80'	[ Report]	Spencer 49'	Attendance: 12,847

26 November 1996	Reading	0 - 0	Birmingham City	Elm Park
		[ Report]		Attendance: 8,407

30 November 1996	Swindon Town	3 - 1	Reading	The County Ground
	Horlock 5' Allison 25' Walters 87'	[ Report]	Morley 13'	Attendance: 10,874

3 December 1996	Reading	2 - 0	Tranmere Rovers	Elm Park
	Lambert 10' Morley 33'	[ Report]		Attendance: 5,513

7 December 1996	Reading	0 - 1	Port Vale	Elm Park
		[ Report]	Talbot 73'	Attendance: 6,445

17 December 1996	Bradford City	0 - 0	Reading	Valley Parade
		[ Report]		Attendance: 10,077

21 December 1996	Reading	0 - 0	Portsmouth	Elm Park
	Hunter 79'	[ Report]	Svensson 79'	Attendance: 8,520

26 December 1996	Reading	2 - 2	West Bromwich Albion	Elm Park
	Nogan 8' Quinn 73' Bernal 77'	[ Report]	Peschisolido 3' Groves 39'	Attendance: 10,583

28 December 1996	Oxford United	2 - 1	Reading	Manor Ground
	Beauchamp 7' Murphy 81'	[ Report]	Morley 89'	Attendance: 9,223

11 January 1997	Reading	2 - 2	Charlton Athletic	Elm Park
	Williams 26' Lambert 74'	[ Report]	Lisbie 68' Whyte 81'	Attendance: 7,614

18 January 1997	Birmingham City	4 - 1	Reading	St Andrew's
	Furlong 33' Devlin 56' (pen.), 75' Gilkes 89' (o.g.)	[ Report]	Holsgrove 51'	Attendance: 15,363

28 January 1997	Reading	4 - 1	Huddersfield Town	Elm Park
	Morley 13' McPherson 15' Hunter 30' Lovell 82'	[ Report]	Payton 9'	Attendance: 5,710

1 February 1997	Tranmere Rovers	2 - 2	Reading	Prenton Park
	Branch 14' Thomas-Moore 72'	[ Report]	Morley 21', 42'	Attendance: 6,019

8 February 1997	Reading	3 - 2	Bolton Wanderers	Elm Park
	Morley 56', 62' (pen.), 70'	[ Report]	Thompson 61' McGinlay 64'	Attendance: 10,739

22 February 1997	Reading	3 - 2	Southend United	Elm Park
	McPherson 33' Gilkes 60' Morley 76'	[ Report]	Boere 54', 71'	Attendance: 7,683

1 March 1997	Port Vale	1 - 0	Reading	Vale Park
	Naylor 45'	[ Report]		Attendance: 6,057

4 March 1997	Reading	2 - 1	Norwich City	Elm Park
	Morley 20' Adams 86' (o.g.)	[ Report]	Adams 27' (pen.)	Attendance: 8,174

12 March 1997	Queens Park Rangers	0 - 2	Reading	Loftus Road
	Ready 55'	[ Report]	Morley 2' Maddix 76' (o.g.)	Attendance: 10,316

15 March 1997	Reading	0 - 0	Bradford City	Elm Park
		[ Report]		Attendance: 8,435

22 March 1997	Reading	1 - 0	Ipswich Town	Elm Park
	Lovell 90'	[ Report]		Attendance: 10,058

25 March 1997	Portsmouth	1 - 0	Reading	Fratton Park
	Hall 84'	[ Report]		Attendance: 9,248

29 March 1997	Sheffield United	2 - 0	Reading	Bramall Lane
	Bodin 11' (o.g.) Walker 49'	[ Report]		Attendance: 15,153

31 March 1997	Reading	1 - 2	Barnsley	Elm Park
	Morley 27' (pen.)	[ Report]	Holsgrove 2' (o.g.) Liddell 16'	Attendance: 10,244

5 April 1997	Stoke City	1 - 1	Reading	Victoria Ground
	Forsyth 65'	[ Report]	Lambert 1'	Attendance: 9,961

12 April 1997	Reading	2 - 1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Elm Park
	Lovell 89', 90'	[ Report]	Atkins 75'	Attendance: 14,853

19 April 1997	Grimsby Town	2 - 0	Reading	Blundell Park
	Southall 15' Widdrington 71'	[ Report]		Attendance: 4,392

23 April 1997	Crystal Palace	3 - 2	Reading	Selhurst Park
	Linighan 13' Hopkin 49' Shipperley 69'	[ Report]	Bodin 57' Williams 82'	Attendance: 12,552

26 April 1997	Reading	2 - 0	Oldham Athletic	Elm Park
	Roach 28' Lovell 81'	[ Report]		Attendance: 8,301

3 May 1997	Manchester City	3 - 2	Reading	Maine Road
	Dickov 34' Rosler 66' Heaney 78'	[ Report]	Meaker 2' Symons 33' (o.g.)	Attendance: 27,260

League Table

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 FA Premier League through play-offs
	Relegated

FA Cup

4 January 1997 Third Round	Reading	3 - 1	Southampton	Elm Park
19:45	Lambert 19' Caskey 55' Morley 76' (pen.)	[ Report]	Ostenstad 49' Benali 75' Slater 90'

25 January 1997 Fourth Round	Portsmouth	3 - 0	Reading	Fratton Park
19:45	Hall 68' Bradbury 76' Hillier 86'	[ Report]

League Cup

20 August 1996 First Round 1st Leg	Reading	1 - 1	Wycombe Wanderers	Elm Park
15:00	Quinn 57'	[ Report]	Williams 64'

3 September 1996 First Round 2nd Leg	Wycombe Wanderers	2 - 0	Reading	Causeway Stadium
15:00	Evans 57' Williams 75'	[ Report]

Squad Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		First Division		FA Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		Borislav Mikhailov	11	0	8+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
	GK		Sal Bibbo	6	0	5+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	GK		Nick Hammond	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	GK		Steve Mautone	15	0	15+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	GK		Tommy Wright	17	0	17+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Dariusz Wdowczyk	10	0	8+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	DF		Barry Hunter	29	2	26+1	2	1+0	0	1+0	0
	DF		Martyn Booty	18	0	14+0	0	2+0	0	2+0	0
	DF		Paul Bodin	39	1	37+0	1	0+0	0	2+0	0
	DF		Andy Bernal	44	0	41+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0
	DF		Jeff Hopkins	20	0	18+1	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
	DF		Keith McPherson	40	2	39+0	2	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Kenny Brown	5	0	5+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Steve Swales	3	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Steve Blatherwick	7	0	6+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Mick Gooding	47	0	40+3	0	2+0	0	2+0	0
	MF		Darren Caskey	38	1	26+9	0	2+0	0	1+0	1
	MF		Phil Parkinson	26	1	15+9	1	0+0	0	1+1	0
	MF		Paul Holsgrove	17	2	12+2	2	2+0	0	1+0	0
	MF		Byron Glasgow	5	0	2+2	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
	MF		Stuart Lovell	28	5	17+9	5	1+0	0	1+0	0
	MF		Michael Gilkes	34	1	27+5	1	2+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		David Bass	2	0	0+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Ben Smith	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Michael Meaker	26	0	15+10	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
	FW		Martin Williams	32	3	21+7	3	2+0	0	2+0	0
	FW		Jimmy Quinn	25	4	10+14	3	0+0	0	1+0	1
	FW		Lee Nogan	34	6	21+11	6	0+0	0	1+1	0
	FW		Trevor Morley	39	23	35+1	22	2+0	1	1+0	0
	FW		Jamie Lambert	33	6	20+11	5	2+0	1	0+0	0
	FW		Neville Roach	3	1	2+1	1	0+0	0	0+0	0

Top Scorers

Place	Position	Name	First Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	Trevor Morley	22	1	0	23
2	FW	Lee Nogan	6	0	0	6
=	FW	Jamie Lambert	5	1	0	6
3	MF	Stuart Lovell	5	0	0	5
4	FW	Jimmy Quinn	3	0	1	4
5	FW	Martin Williams	3	0	0	3
=		Own Goal	3	0	0	3
7	DF	Barry Hunter	2	0	0	2
=	MF	Paul Holsgrove	2	0	0	2
=	DF	Keith McPherson	2	0	0	2
10	DF	Paul Bodin	1	0	0	1
=	FW	Neville Roach	1	0	0	1
=	MF	Phil Parkinson	1	0	0	1
=	MF	Michael Gilkes	1	0	0	1
=	FW	Darren Caskey	0	1	0	1
		TOTALS	58	3	1	62

Disciplinary Record

Number	Nation	Position	Name
Number	Nation	Position	Name	First Division		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		GK	Borislav Mikhailov	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
		GK	Tommy Wright	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		DF	Kenny Brown	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
		DF	Steve Swales	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		DF	Steve Blatherwick	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		DF	Keith McPherson	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
		DF	Jeff Hopkins	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
		DF	Barry Hunter	11	2	0	0	0	0	11	2
		DF	Paul Bodin	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
		DF	Andy Bernal	7	3	0	0	0	0	7	3
		MF	Mick Gooding	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
		MF	Darren Caskey	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		MF	Phil Parkinson	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
		MF	Michael Meaker	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
		MF	Michael Gilkes	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		FW	Trevor Morley	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
		FW	Jamie Lambert	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
		FW	Jimmy Quinn	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
		FW	Martin Williams	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
		FW	Neville Roach	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
			TOTALS	66	7	0	0	0	0	66	7

References

↑ http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=2125&teamTabs=transfers&season_id=127

Soccerbase.com

Reading Football Club

History

Grounds

Elm Park (1896–1998)
Madejski Stadium (1998–present)

People

Notable matches

Level 2 play-off finals	1995 2011 2017
Level 3 play-off finals	2001
Full Members' Cup finals	1988
Other matches	Portsmouth 7–4 Reading

Book:Reading F.C.
Category:Reading F.C.
Portal:Association football
Commons:Reading F.C.

Reading F.C. seasons

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
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18

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

Summer 1996 transfers
Winter 1996–97 transfers

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