1996–97 Sunderland A.F.C. season
During the 1996–97 English football season, Sunderland competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).
| 1996–97 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Bob Murray |
| Manager | Peter Reid |
| Stadium | Roker Park |
| Premiership | 18th (relegated) |
| FA Cup | Third round |
| League Cup | Third round |
| Top goalscorer | Russell/Stewart (4) |
| Highest home attendance | 22,512 vs Derby County (26 Dec 1996, Premier League) |
| Lowest home attendance | 10,659 vs Watford (24 Sep 1996, League Cup) |
| Average home league attendance | 20,865 |
Season summary
Just one year after they had almost slipped into Division Two, Sunderland had returned to the top flight under new manager Peter Reid. With a new 42,000-seat stadium due to be ready in the summer of 1997, Reid and his players were determined to secure survival in the final season at historic Roker Park and give the new stadium at Monkwearmouth a debut season in the Premiership.
The first half of the season went well for club, finding themselves in a comfortable 11th position by the end of January, boasting a strong home form going into the February. However, a run of 4 consecutive defeats against Aston Villa, Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hospur saw them slip down to 16th by March.
Sunderland lost 1-0 to Wimbledon on the final day of the season; with Coventry City's win at Tottenham, the Wearsiders were relegated.
On a high note, Sunderland did manage to beat Chelsea (3-0), Arsenal (1-0) and Manchester United (2-1) all at home during the season.
Final league table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Southampton | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 41 | |
| 17 | Coventry City | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 38 | 54 | −16 | 41 | |
| 18 | Sunderland (R) | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 35 | 53 | −18 | 40 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
| 19 | Middlesbrough (R) | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 51 | 60 | −9 | 39[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 20 | Nottingham Forest (R) | 38 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 31 | 59 | −28 | 34 |
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated.
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated.
Notes:
- Middlesbrough were docked three points for failing to fulfil a fixture.
- Results summary
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 35 | 53 | −18 | 40 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 18 | +2 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 35 | −20 |
Source: Statto
- Results by round
Results
Sunderland's score comes first[1]
Legend
| Win | Draw | Loss |
FA Premier League
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 August 1996 | Leicester City | H | 0-0 | 19,262 | |
| 21 August 1996 | Nottingham Forest | A | 4-1 | 22,874 | Gray, Quinn (2), Ord |
| 24 August 1996 | Liverpool | A | 0-0 | 40,503 | |
| 4 September 1996 | Newcastle United | H | 1-2 | 22,037 | Scott (pen) |
| 8 September 1996 | West Ham United | H | 0-0 | 18,642 | |
| 14 September 1996 | Derby County | A | 0-1 | 17,692 | |
| 21 September 1996 | Coventry City | H | 1-0 | 19,459 | Agnew |
| 28 September 1996 | Arsenal | A | 0-2 | 38,016 | |
| 14 October 1996 | Middlesbrough | H | 2-2 | 20,936 | Rae (pen), Russell |
| 19 October 1996 | Southampton | A | 0-3 | 15,225 | |
| 26 October 1996 | Aston Villa | H | 1-0 | 21,059 | Stewart |
| 2 November 1996 | Leeds United | A | 0-3 | 31,667 | |
| 16 November 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0-2 | 31,867 | |
| 23 November 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1-1 | 20,644 | Melville |
| 30 November 1996 | Everton | A | 3-1 | 40,087 | Russell, Bridges (2) |
| 7 December 1996 | Wimbledon | H | 1-3 | 19,672 | Melville |
| 15 December 1996 | Chelsea | H | 3-0 | 19,683 | Duberry (own goal), Ball, Russell |
| 21 December 1996 | Manchester United | A | 0-5 | 55,081 | |
| 26 December 1996 | Derby County | H | 2-0 | 22,512 | Ord, Russell |
| 28 December 1996 | West Ham United | A | 0-2 | 24,077 | |
| 1 January 1997 | Coventry City | A | 2-2 | 17,700 | Bridges, Agnew (pen) |
| 11 January 1997 | Arsenal | H | 1-0 | 21,154 | Adams (own goal) |
| 18 January 1997 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0-0 | 20,850 | |
| 29 January 1997 | Leicester City | A | 1-1 | 17,883 | Williams |
| 1 February 1997 | Aston Villa | A | 0-1 | 32,491 | |
| 22 February 1997 | Leeds United | H | 0-1 | 21,890 | |
| 1 March 1997 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0-1 | 24,208 | |
| 4 March 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0-4 | 20,785 | |
| 8 March 1997 | Manchester United | H | 2-1 | 22,225 | Gray, Mullin |
| 12 March 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1-2 | 20,294 | Ball |
| 16 March 1997 | Chelsea | A | 2-6 | 24,027 | Stewart, Rae |
| 22 March 1997 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1-1 | 22,120 | Ball |
| 5 April 1997 | Newcastle United | A | 1-1 | 36,582 | Gray |
| 13 April 1997 | Liverpool | H | 1-2 | 21,938 | Stewart |
| 19 April 1997 | Middlesbrough | A | 1-0 | 30,106 | Williams |
| 22 April 1997 | Southampton | H | 0-1 | 21,521 | |
| 3 May 1997 | Everton | H | 3-0 | 22,108 | Stewart (pen), Waddle, Johnston |
| 11 May 1997 | Wimbledon | A | 0-1 | 21,338 |
Players
First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Appearances and goals
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Premier League | FA Cup | Coca-Cola Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||||
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||||
| 1 | GK |  |
Tony Coton | 12 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 13 | GK | |
David Preece | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 30 | GK |  |
Lionel Perez | 32 | 0 | 28+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 32 | GK | |
Chris Woods | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Defenders | |||||||||||||
| 2 | DF |  |
Dariusz Kubicki | 32 | 0 | 28+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 3 | DF | |
Martin Scott | 17 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 6 | DF | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
Andy Melville | 35 | 2 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 8 | DF | |
Richard Ord | 38 | 2 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 12 | DF | |
Gareth Hall | 37 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 20 | DF | |
Darren Holloway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 24 | DF | |
Paul Heckingbottom | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 23 | DF | |
Darren Williams | 13 | 2 | 10+1 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 33 | DF |  |
Jan Eriksson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Midfielders | |||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | |
Paul Bracewell | 41 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 5 | MF | |
Kevin Ball | 35 | 4 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | ||
| 7 | MF | |
Michael Gray | 38 | 4 | 31+3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 11 | MF | |
Steve Agnew | 18 | 2 | 11+4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 15 | MF |  |
Alex Rae | 25 | 3 | 13+10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 21 | MF | |
Sam Aiston | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 22 | MF | |
John Mullin | 12 | 1 | 9+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 25 | MF | |
Chris Waddle | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 26 | MF | |
Allan Johnston | 6 | 1 | 4+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Forwards | |||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | |
Craig Russell | 34 | 4 | 10+19 | 4 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | ||
| 10 | FW | |
Paul Stewart | 27 | 4 | 20+4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 14 | FW | |
Lee Howey | 12 | 0 | 9+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 16 | FW |  |
David Kelly | 28 | 0 | 23+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | ||
| 17 | FW | |
Niall Quinn | 13 | 3 | 8+4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 18 | FW | |
Martin Smith | 13 | 0 | 6+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 19 | FW | |
Michael Bridges | 29 | 3 | 10+15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | ||
Transfers
In
| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 June 1996 | MF | Alex Rae | Millwall | £1,000,000 |
| 11 July 1996 | FW | Paul Conlon | Hartlepool United | Free transfer |
| 18 July 1996 | GK | Tony Coton | Manchester United | £600,000 |
| 1 August 1996 | FW | Chris Tate | York City | Signed |
| 1 August 1996 | GK | Lionel Pérez | Bordeaux | £200,000 |
| 17 August 1996 | FW | Niall Quinn | Manchester City | £1,300,000 |
| 18 October 1996 | DF | Darren Williams | York City | £50,000 |
| 7 January 1997 | DF | Jan Eriksson | Helsingborgs IF | £250,000 |
| 17 March 1997 | MF | Chris Waddle | Bradford City | £75,000 |
| 21 March 1997 | MF | Kim Heiselberg | Esbjerg fB | £125,000 |
| 26 March 1997 | GK | Chris Woods | Colorado Rapids | Signed |
| 1 April 1997 | MF | Allan Johnston | Rennes | £550,000 |
Out
| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 July 1996 | GK | Alec Chamberlain | Watford | £40,000 |
| 27 July 1996 | DF | Scott Coates | Berwick Rangers | Signed |
| 1 August 1996 | MF | Brian Atkinson | Darlington | Free transfer |
| 1 August 1996 | MF | Gordon Armstrong | Bury | Free transfer |
| 22 November 1996 | FW | Brett Angell | Stockport County | £120,000 |
| 14 February 1997 | FW | Steve Brodie | Scarborough | Free transfer |
- Transfers in:
£4,150,000 - Transfers out:
£160,000 - Total spending: £3,990,000
Notes
- Hall was born in Croydon, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in March 1988.
- Kelly was born in Birmingham, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his father and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in November 1987.
References
- "Sunderland 1996-1997 Home - statto.com". Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/1996-1997/faprem/sunder.htm
- http://www.11v11.com/teams/sunderland/tab/players/season/1997
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