Wikipedia

1996–97 Leeds United A.F.C. season

During the 1996–97 season, Leeds United A.F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.

Leeds United
1996–97 season
ChairmanBill Fotherby
ManagerHoward Wilkinson
(until 9 September)
George Graham
(from 10 September)
StadiumElland Road
Premiership11th
FA CupFifth round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Brian Deane
Lee Sharpe
(5 each)
All:
Rod Wallace (8)
Highest home attendance39,981 vs Liverpool
(19 November 1996, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance15,230 vs Darlington
(18 September 1996, League Cup)
Average home league attendance32,109

Season summary edit

While Howard Wilkinson was heavily backed with funds by new owners Caspian, there were rumours of discord between him and recently appointed chairman Bill Fotherby. The club made a respectable enough start, earning 7 points from their first 4 games, but a 4–0 home defeat to Manchester United in September prompted Wilkinson's dismissal after eight years as manager. With assistant manager Mike Hennigan and first-team coaches Dick Bate and Eddie Gray also being dismissed alongside Wilkinson (though Gray would subsequently be reinstated), it became clear that Fotherby wanted a clean slate for the club after the massive disappointment of the previous season.

Wilkinson's successor was George Graham, back in football after a one-year ban arising from the "bung" scandal that had cost him his job as Arsenal manager back in February 1995. Graham was unable to improve the club's dismal goalscoring record (they finished with just 28 goals, the lowest number in Premier League history until that point; it would not be until the 2002–03 season when another club, namely Sunderland, scored fewer goals) but he managed to steer them well clear of relegation in a respectable 11th place, with a total of a staggering 20 league clean sheets all season.

Record signing Lee Sharpe failed to live up to expectations and, by the end of the season, it was rumoured that he would be on his way out of the club, while Tony Yeboah made just six appearances after recovering from a long-term injury; he, too, appeared to be heading for the Elland Road exit door. Full-back Tony Dorigo's future at the club was also thrown into doubt by the emergence of Ian Harte, while midfielder Carlton Palmer's days at Leeds were also looking numbered.

Final league table edit

Main article: 1996–97 FA Premier League
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
9 Leicester City 38 12 11 15 46 54 −8 47 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
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
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ 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 11 13 14 28 38  −10 46 7 7 5 15 13  +2 4 6 9 13 25  −12

Source: Statto

Results by round
Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAHHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHHHAAHAAHAH
ResultDLWWLLLLWLLWLWWDDDLLLWWDDLWWWDLDDLDDDD
Position714116912141714161717171412131312141515121110111199999910111091111
Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results edit

Leeds United's score comes first[1]

Legend edit

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League edit

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
17 August 1996 Derby County A 3–3 17,927 Laursen (own goal), Bowyer, Harte
20 August 1996 Sheffield Wednesday H 0–2 31,011
24 August 1996 Wimbledon H 1–0 25,860 Sharpe
4 September 1996 Blackburn Rovers A 1–0 23,226 Harte
7 September 1996 Manchester United H 0–4 39,694
14 September 1996 Coventry City A 1–2 17,297 Couzens
21 September 1996 Newcastle United H 0–1 36,070
28 September 1996 Leicester City A 0–1 20,359
12 October 1996 Nottingham Forest H 2–0 29,225 Wallace (2)
19 October 1996 Aston Villa A 0–2 39,051
26 October 1996 Arsenal A 0–3 38,076
2 November 1996 Sunderland H 3–0 31,667 Ford, Sharpe, Deane
16 November 1996 Liverpool H 0–2 39,981
23 November 1996 Southampton A 2–0 15,241 Kelly, Sharpe
30 November 1996 Chelsea H 2–0 32,671 Deane, Rush
3 December 1996 Middlesbrough A 0–0 30,018
7 December 1996 Tottenham Hotspur H 0–0 33,783
21 December 1996 Everton A 0–0 36,954
26 December 1996 Coventry City H 1–3 36,465 Deane
28 December 1996 Manchester United A 0–1 55,256
1 January 1997 Newcastle United A 0–3 36,489
11 January 1997 Leicester City H 3–0 29,486 Bowyer, Rush (2)
20 January 1997 West Ham United A 2–0 19,441 Kelly, Bowyer
29 January 1997 Derby County H 0–0 27,549
1 February 1997 Arsenal H 0–0 35,502
19 February 1997 Liverpool A 0–4 38,957
22 February 1997 Sunderland A 1–0 21,890 Bowyer
1 March 1997 West Ham United H 1–0 30,575 Sharpe
8 March 1997 Everton H 1–0 32,055 Molenaar
12 March 1997 Southampton H 0–0 25,913
15 March 1997 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–1 33,040
22 March 1997 Sheffield Wednesday A 2–2 30,373 Sharpe, Wallace
7 April 1997 Blackburn Rovers H 0–0 27,264
16 April 1997 Wimbledon A 0–2 7,979
19 April 1997 Nottingham Forest A 1–1 25,565 Deane
22 April 1997 Aston Villa H 0–0 26,897
3 May 1997 Chelsea A 0–0 28,277
11 May 1997 Middlesbrough H 1–1 38,567 Deane

Goalscorers edit

FA Cup edit

Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 14 January 1997 Crystal Palace A 2–2 21,052 Deane, Andersen (own goal)
R3R 25 January 1997 Crystal Palace H 1–0 21,903 Wallace
R4 4 February 1997 Arsenal A 1–0 38,115 Wallace
R5 15 February 1997 Portsmouth H 2–3 35,604 Bowyer (2)

Goalscorers edit

League Cup edit

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg 18 September 1996 Darlington H 2–2 15,711 Wallace (2)
R2 2nd Leg 24 September 1996 Darlington A 2–0 (won 4–2 on agg) 6,298 Wallace, Harte
R3 23 October 1996 Aston Villa H 1–2 15,803 Sharpe

Goalscorers edit

Squad edit

Squad at end of season[2]

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 Nigel Martyn
2 DF   IRL Gary Kelly
3 DF   ENG Tony Dorigo
4 MF   ENG Carlton Palmer
5 DF   RSA Lucas Radebe
6 DF   ENG David Wetherall
7 MF   ENG Lee Sharpe
8 FW   ENG Rod Wallace
9 FW   WAL Ian Rush
10 FW   ENG Brian Deane
11 MF   ENG Lee Bowyer
12 DF   ENG John Pemberton
14 FW   ENG Andy Gray[a]
15 GK   ENG Mark Beeney
16 DF   ENG Richard Jobson
17 FW   SCO Derek Lilley
18 DF   NOR Gunnar Halle
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW   AUS Harry Kewell
20 DF   IRL Ian Harte
21 FW   GHA Tony Yeboah
22 MF   ENG Mark Ford
23 MF   ENG Andy Couzens
24 MF   ENG Jason Blunt
25 MF   FRA Pierre Laurent (from January)
27 DF   IRL Alan Maybury
28 DF   ENG Paul Shepherd
29 DF   ENG Mark Jackson
30 DF   NED Robert Molenaar
31 MF   ENG Martin Foster
32 MF   ENG Andy Wright
33 MF   NIR Wesley Boyle
34 GK   RSA Paul Evans
35 FW   WAL Lawrence Davies

Left club during season edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF   ENG Mark Tinkler (to York City)
25 DF   ENG Rob Bowman (to Rotherham United)
26 DF   ENG Paul Beesley (to Manchester City)
No. Pos. Nation Player
30 FW   ENG Mark Hateley (on loan from QPR)
36 FW   SWE Tomas Brolin (on loan to Parma)

Transfers edit

Total spending:   £4,225,000

Statistics edit

Appearances and goals edit

No. Pos Nat Player Total Premier League FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers
1 GK   ENG Nigel Martyn 44 0 37 0 4 0 3 0
15 GK   ENG Mark Beeney 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Defenders
2 DF   IRL Gary Kelly 43 2 34+2 2 4 0 3 0
3 DF   ENG Tony Dorigo 22 0 15+3 0 4 0 0 0
5 DF   RSA Lucas Radebe 36 0 28+4 0 3 0 1 0
6 DF   ENG David Wetherall 33 0 25+3 0 1+1 0 2+1 0
16 DF   ENG Richard Jobson 13 0 10 0 0 0 3 0
18 DF   NOR Gunnar Halle 23 0 20 0 3 0 0 0
20 DF   IRL Ian Harte 18 3 10+4 2 1 0 2+1 1
28 DF   ENG Paul Shepherd 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
29 DF   ENG Mark Jackson 21 0 11+6 0 4 0 0 0
30 DF   NED Robert Molenaar 14 1 12 1 2 0 0 0
Midfielders
4 MF   ENG Carlton Palmer 33 0 26+2 0 3 0 2 0
7 MF   ENG Lee Sharpe 30 6 26 5 0+1 0 3 1
11 MF   ENG Lee Bowyer 36 6 32 4 4 2 0 0
22 MF   ENG Mark Ford 19 1 15+1 1 0 0 3 0
23 MF   ENG Andy Couzens 13 1 7+3 1 0 0 3 0
24 MF   ENG Jason Blunt 2 0 0+1 0 0 0 0+1 0
25 MF   FRA Pierre Laurent 4 0 2+2 0 0 0 0 0
33 MF   NIR Wesley Boyle 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
Forwards
8 FW   ENG Rod Wallace 29 8 17+5 3 4 2 3 3
9 FW   WAL Ian Rush 42 3 34+2 3 2+2 0 2 0
10 FW   ENG Brian Deane 32 6 27+1 5 4 1 0 0
14 FW   ENG Andy Gray 8 0 1+5 0 0 0 2 0
17 FW   SCO Derek Lilley 6 0 4+2 0 0 0 0 0
19 FW   AUS Harry Kewell 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
21 FW   GHA Tony Yeboah 7 0 6+1 0 0 0 0 0
Players who left the club during the season
17 MF   ENG Mark Tinkler 3 0 1+2 0 0 0 0 0
26 FW   ENG Paul Beesley 14 0 11+1 0 1 0 1 0
30 FW   ENG Mark Hateley 6 0 5+1 0 0 0 0 0


Notes edit

  1. ^ Gray was born in Harrogate, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and would make his international debut for Scotland in April 2003.

References edit

  1. ^ "Leeds United 1996-1997 Home — statto.com". Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  2. ^ "FootballSquads - Leeds United - 1996/97". www.footballsquads.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Sharpe takes Iceland chance, BBC".
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