1996–97 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'s 130th season in existence. They competed in the twenty-team Premiership, the top tier of English football, finishing seventh.

Sheffield Wednesday

1996–97 season
Chairman	Dave Richards
Manager	David Pleat
Premier League	7th
FA Cup	Quarter-finals
League Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Booth (10) All: Booth (13)
Highest home attendance	38,943 (vs. Liverpool, Premiership)
Lowest home attendance	7,499 (vs. Oxford United, League Cup)
Average home league attendance	25,714 (league)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Season summary

A four-match winning start to the season saw Sheffield Wednesday top the Premiership and manager David Pleat receive Manager of the Month award for August, but they soon fell out of the title frame and in the end, despite losing just nine games in the league, they finished seventh in the final table - not even enough for UEFA Cup qualification; they could easily have finished higher had they not drawn as many as 15 games (making it 30 points they dropped).^[1] In the close season, Pleat paid a club record £5.7 million for Celtic's Italian forward Paolo Di Canio,^[2] giving his squad a much-needed boost to their hopes of challenging for honours.

Final league table

Main article: 1996–97 FA Premier League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
5	Aston Villa	38	17	10	11	47	34	+13	61	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[a]
6	Chelsea	38	16	11	11	58	55	+3	59	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round^[b]
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	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[c]

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

1. Aston Villa was rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.
2. Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup winners.
3. Leicester City qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.

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	14	15	9	50	51	−1	57	8	10	1	25	16	+9	6	5	8	25	35	−10

Source: Statto

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Result	W	W	W	W	L	L	D	L	L	D	D	D	W	D	D	W	D	D	D	D	W	L	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	L	D	W	D	W	L	L	L	D
Position	6	1	1	1	1	5	5	7	7	9	8	9	9	10	10	9	9	9	10	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	6	5	5	7	6	6	6	6	7	7	7

Source: Statto.com
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Sheffield Wednesday's score comes first^[3]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

FA Premier League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
17 August 1996	Aston Villa	H	2–1	26,861	Humphreys, Whittingham
20 August 1996	Leeds United	A	2–0	31,011	Humphreys, Booth
24 August 1996	Newcastle United	A	2–1	36,452	Atherton, Whittingham
2 September 1996	Leicester City	H	2–1	17,657	Booth, Humphreys
7 September 1996	Chelsea	H	0–2	30,983
16 September 1996	Arsenal	A	1–4	33,461	Booth
21 September 1996	Derby County	H	0–0	23,934
28 September 1996	Everton	A	0–2	34,160
12 October 1996	Wimbledon	A	2–4	10,512	Booth, Hyde
19 October 1996	Blackburn Rovers	H	1–1	22,191	Booth
26 October 1996	Coventry City	A	0–0	17,267
2 November 1996	Southampton	H	1–1	20,106	Newsome
18 November 1996	Nottingham Forest	H	2–0	16,390	Trustfull, Carbone
23 November 1996	Sunderland	A	1–1	20,644	Oakes
30 November 1996	West Ham United	H	0–0	22,321
7 December 1996	Liverpool	A	1–0	39,507	Whittingham
18 December 1996	Manchester United	H	1–1	37,671	Carbone
21 December 1996	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–1	30,996	Nolan
26 December 1996	Arsenal	H	0–0	23,245
28 December 1996	Chelsea	A	2–2	27,467	Pembridge, Stefanović
11 January 1997	Everton	H	2–1	24,175	Pembridge, Hirst
18 January 1997	Middlesbrough	A	2–4	29,485	Pembridge (2)
29 January 1997	Aston Villa	A	1–0	26,726	Booth
1 February 1997	Coventry City	H	0–0	21,793
19 February 1997	Derby County	A	2–2	18,060	Collins, Hirst
22 February 1997	Southampton	A	3–2	15,062	Hirst (2), Booth
1 March 1997	Middlesbrough	H	3–1	28,206	Booth, Hyde, Pembridge (pen)
5 March 1997	Nottingham Forest	A	3–0	21,485	Carbone (2), Blinker
12 March 1997	Sunderland	H	2–1	20,294	Hirst, Stefanović
15 March 1997	Manchester United	A	0–2	55,267
22 March 1997	Leeds United	H	2–2	30,373	Hirst, Booth
9 April 1997	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2–1	22,667	Atherton, Booth
13 April 1997	Newcastle United	H	1–1	33,798	Pembridge
19 April 1997	Wimbledon	H	3–1	26,957	Donaldson, Trustfull (2)
22 April 1997	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–4	20,845	Carbone (pen)
3 May 1997	West Ham United	A	1–5	24,960	Carbone
7 May 1997	Leicester City	A	0–1	20,793
11 May 1997	Liverpool	H	1–1	38,943	Donaldson

FA Cup

Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	4 January 1997	Grimsby Town	H	7–1	20,590	Humphreys (2), Booth (2), Fickling (own goal), Hyde, Pembridge
R4	25 January 1997	Carlisle United	A	2–0	16,104	Whittingham, Booth
R5	16 February 1997	Bradford City	A	1–0	17,830	Humphreys
QF	9 March 1997	Wimbledon	H	0–2	25,032

League Cup

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg	18 September 1996	Oxford United	H	1–1	7,499	Whittingham
R2 2nd Leg	24 September 1996	Oxford United	A	0–1 (lost 1–2 on agg)	6,863

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[4][5]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   ENG Kevin Pressman 2 DF   ENG Peter Atherton 3 DF   NIR Ian Nolan^[notes 1] 4 MF   WAL Mark Pembridge 5 DF   ENG Jon Newsome 6 DF   ENG Des Walker 7 FW   ENG Guy Whittingham 8 FW   ITA Benito Carbone 9 FW   ENG David Hirst 10 FW   ENG Andy Booth 11 MF   NED Regi Blinker^[notes 2] 12 MF   ENG Graham Hyde

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 GK   ENG Matt Clarke 14 DF   SCO Steve Nicol 17 DF   ENG Lee Briscoe 18 DF   YUG Dejan Stefanović 19 MF   ENG Scott Oakes 20 MF   ENG Wayne Collins 21 MF   WAL Ryan Jones^[notes 3] 22 FW   ENG O'Neill Donaldson 23 FW   ENG Mike Williams 24 DF   ENG Brian Linighan 25 MF   ENG Ritchie Humphreys 26 MF   NED Orlando Trustfull

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. Pos. Nation Player 8 FW   ENG Mark Bright (to FC Sion) 15 MF   ENG Chris Waddle (to Falkirk)

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF   IRL John Sheridan^[notes 4] (to Bolton Wanderers)

Reserve squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF   ENG Matthew Daly — DF   ENG David Billington — DF   ENG Steve Haslam — DF   ENG Simon Weaver

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   IRL Mark McKeever^[notes 5] — MF   AUS Adem Poric^[notes 6] — FW   ENG Mark Platts — FW   GHA Junior Agogo

Transfers

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
8 July 1996	FW	Andy Booth	Huddersfield Town	£2,700,000
11 July 1996	GK	Matt Clarke	Rotherham United	£325,000
7 August 1996	MF	Scott Oakes	Luton Town	£425,000
9 August 1996	MF	Wayne Collins	Crewe Alexandra	£600,000
20 August 1996	MF	Orlando Trustfull	Feyenoord	£750,000
1 September 1996	DF	Dave Hercock	Cambridge City	Free transfer
14 October 1996	FW	Benito Carbone	Inter Milan	£3,000,000
3 April 1997	DF	David Billington	Peterborough United	£500,000
15 April 1997	MF	Mark McKeever	Peterborough United	£500,000

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
1 June 1996	GK	Chris Woods	Colorado Rapids	Free transfer
17 June 1996	DF	Simon Stewart	Fulham	Free transfer
1 July 1996	FW	Darko Kovačević	Real Sociedad	Signed
26 July 1996	GK	Lance Key	Dundee United	Free transfer
1 August 1996	FW	Marc Degryse	PSV Eindhoven	Signed
15 August 1996	DF	David Faulkner	Darlington	Free transfer
12 September 1996	MF	Chris Waddle	Falkirk	Free transfer
19 December 1996	MF	John Sheridan	Bolton Wanderers	£180,000
1 January 1997	FW	Mark Bright	FC Sion	£70,000
11 March 1997	DF	Sam Sharman	Hull City	Free transfer
30 August 1997	DF	Matthew Daly	Sligo Rovers	Free

Transfers in:   £8,800,000

Transfers out:   £250,000

Total spending:   £8,550,000

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	ENG	Kevin Pressman	44	0	38	0	4	0	2	0
13	GK	ENG	Matt Clarke	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	ENG	Peter Atherton	43	2	37	2	4	0	2	0
3	DF	NIR	Ian Nolan	44	1	38	1	4	0	2	0
5	DF	ENG	Jon Newsome	14	1	10	1	3	0	1	0
6	DF	ENG	Des Walker	41	0	36	0	4	0	1	0
14	DF	SCO	Steve Nicol	28	0	19+4	0	2+1	0	0+2	0
17	DF	ENG	Lee Briscoe	6	0	5+1	0	0	0	0	0
18	DF	YUG	Dejan Stefanović	31	2	27+2	2	1	0	1	0
Midfielders
4	MF	WAL	Mark Pembridge	39	7	33+1	6	4	1	1	0
11	MF	NED	Regi Blinker	36	1	15+18	1	1	0	2	0
12	MF	ENG	Graham Hyde	24	3	15+4	2	4	1	1	0
19	MF	ENG	Scott Oakes	19	1	7+11	1	0	0	0+1	0
20	MF	ENG	Wayne Collins	13	1	8+4	1	1	0	0	0
25	MF	ENG	Ritchie Humphreys	35	6	14+15	3	3+1	3	1+1	0
26	MF	NED	Orlando Trustfull	22	3	9+10	3	0+1	0	2	0
Forwards
7	FW	ENG	Guy Whittingham	37	5	29+3	3	3	1	2	1
8	FW	ITA	Benito Carbone	27	6	24+1	6	2	0	0	0
9	FW	ENG	David Hirst	28	6	20+5	6	0+2	0	1	0
10	FW	ENG	Andy Booth	41	13	32+3	10	4	3	2	0
22	FW	ENG	O'Neill Donaldson	5	2	2+3	2	0	0	0	0
23	FW	ENG	Mike Williams	2	0	0+1	0	0	0	1	0
Players who left the club during the season
8	FW	ENG	Mark Bright	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
16	MF	IRL	John Sheridan	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0

Notes

1. Nolan was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1996.
2. Blinker was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, but also qualified to represent the Netherlands internationally and made his international debut for the Netherlands in March 1993.
3. Jones was born in Sheffield, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in May 1994.
4. Sheridan was born in Stretford, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1988.
5. McKeever was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and represented them at U-19 and U-21 level.
6. Poric was born in London, England, but also qualified to represent Australia internationally and represented them at U-20 level.

References

1. "Golden Goal: Ritchie Humphreys for Sheffield Wednesday v Leicester (1996)". The Guardian. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
2. Alan, Nixon (7 August 1997). "Wednesday sign pounds 4.5m Di Canio". The Independent. FA Carling Premiership. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
3. . Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
4. "FootballSquads - Sheffield Wednesday - 1996/97". www.footballsquads.co.uk.
5. "All Sheffield Wednesday players: 1997". www.11v11.com.

• Dickinson, Jason (1999). One Hundred Years at Hillsborough. Sheffield: The Hallamshire Press/Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. pp. 242–243, 385. ISBN 1-874718-29-6.
• Dickinson, Jason; Brodie, John (2005). The Wednesday Boys: A Definitive Who's Who of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club 1880–2005. Sheffield: Pickard Communication. pp. 346–347, 350. ISBN 0-9547264-9-9.
• Drake, A. . The Owl Football Historian. Archived from the original on 4 September 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.