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1996–97 Sunderland A.F.C. season

English football club season

English football club season

FieldValue
clubSunderland A.F.C.
season1996–97
chairmanBob Murray
managerPeter Reid
stadiumRoker Park
leagueFA Premier League
league result18th (relegated)
cup1FA Cup
cup1 resultThird round
cup2League Cup
cup2 resultThird round
league topscorerCraig Russell/Paul Stewart (4)
highest attendance22,512 vs Derby County
(26 Dec 1996, FA Premier League)
lowest attendance10,659 vs Watford
(24 Sep 1996, League Cup)
average attendance20,865
prevseason1995–96
nextseason1997–98

(26 Dec 1996, FA Premier League) (24 Sep 1996, League Cup) During the 1996–97 English football season, Sunderland competed in the FA Premier League.

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 at Monkwearmouth 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 a debut season in the FA Premier League.

The first half of the season went well for the club, who found themselves in a comfortable 11th position by the end of January, boasting strong home form. However, a run of four 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 the Wearsiders relegated due to Coventry City's win at Tottenham.

On a high note, Sunderland did manage to beat Chelsea (3–0), Arsenal (1–0) and Manchester United (2–1) during the season, all at home.

The events of the latter part of the season were recorded for a BBC documentary series, Premier Passions, broadcast approximately a year later.

Final league table

Main article: 1996–97 FA Premier League

;Results summary

;Results by round

Results

Sunderland's score comes first

Legend

WinDrawLoss

FA Premier League

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
17 August 1996Leicester CityH0–019,262
21 August 1996Nottingham ForestA4–122,874Gray, Quinn (2), Ord
24 August 1996LiverpoolA0–040,503
4 September 1996Newcastle UnitedH1–222,037Scott (pen)
8 September 1996West Ham UnitedH0–018,642
14 September 1996Derby CountyA0–117,692
21 September 1996Coventry CityH1–019,459Agnew
28 September 1996ArsenalA0–238,016
14 October 1996MiddlesbroughH2–220,936Rae (pen), Russell
19 October 1996SouthamptonA0–315,225
26 October 1996Aston VillaH1–021,059Stewart
2 November 1996Leeds UnitedA0–331,667
16 November 1996Tottenham HotspurA0–231,867
23 November 1996Sheffield WednesdayH1–120,644Melville
30 November 1996EvertonA3–140,087Russell, Bridges (2)
7 December 1996WimbledonH1–319,672Melville
15 December 1996ChelseaH3–019,683Duberry (own goal), Ball, Russell
21 December 1996Manchester UnitedA0–555,081
26 December 1996Derby CountyH2–022,512Ord, Russell
28 December 1996West Ham UnitedA0–224,077
1 January 1997Coventry CityA2–217,700Bridges, Agnew (pen)
11 January 1997ArsenalH1–021,154Adams (own goal)
18 January 1997Blackburn RoversH0–020,850
29 January 1997Leicester CityA1–117,883Williams
1 February 1997Aston VillaA0–132,491
22 February 1997Leeds UnitedH0–121,890
1 March 1997Blackburn RoversA0–124,208
4 March 1997Tottenham HotspurH0–420,785
8 March 1997Manchester UnitedH2–122,225Gray, Mullin
12 March 1997Sheffield WednesdayA1–220,294Ball
16 March 1997ChelseaA2–624,027Stewart, Rae
22 March 1997Nottingham ForestH1–122,120Ball
5 April 1997Newcastle UnitedA1–136,582Gray
13 April 1997LiverpoolH1–221,938Stewart
19 April 1997MiddlesbroughA1–030,106Williams
22 April 1997SouthamptonH0–121,521
3 May 1997EvertonH3–022,108Stewart (pen), Waddle, Johnston
11 May 1997WimbledonA0–121,338

FA Cup

Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R34 January 1997ArsenalA1–137,793Gray
R3R15 January 1997ArsenalH0–215,277

League Cup

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 1st Leg17 September 1996WatfordA2–09,136Quinn, Rae
R2 2nd Leg24 September 1996WatfordH1–0 (won 3–0 on agg)10,659Scott
R323 October 1996Tottenham HotspurA1–224,867Ball

Players

First-team squad

:Squad at end of season

Reserve squad

Appearances and goals

|- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards |- |}

Transfers

In

DatePos.NameFromFee
1 June 1996MFAlex RaeMillwall£1,000,000
11 July 1996FWPaul ConlonHartlepool UnitedFree transfer
18 July 1996GKTony CotonManchester United£600,000
1 August 1996FWChris TateYork CitySigned
1 August 1996GKLionel PerezBordeaux£200,000
17 August 1996FWNiall QuinnManchester City£1,300,000
18 October 1996DFDarren WilliamsYork City£50,000
7 January 1997DFJan ErikssonHelsingborgs IF£250,000
17 March 1997MFChris WaddleBradford City£75,000
21 March 1997MFKim HeiselbergEsbjerg fB£125,000
26 March 1997GKChris WoodsColorado RapidsSigned
1 April 1997MFAllan JohnstonRennes£550,000

Out

DatePos.NameToFee
10 July 1996GKAlec ChamberlainWatford£40,000
27 July 1996DFScott CoatesBerwick RangersSigned
1 August 1996MFBrian AtkinsonDarlingtonFree transfer
1 August 1996MFGordon ArmstrongBuryFree transfer
22 November 1996FWBrett AngellStockport County£120,000
14 February 1997FWSteve BrodieScarboroughFree transfer

:Transfers in: £4,150,000 :Transfers out: £160,000 :Total spending: £3,990,000

Notes

References

References

  1. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cp8jvj0md7zo 'The club was finished' - inside Sunderland's TV drama], Simon Armstrong, [[BBC Sport]], 4 October 2025
  2. "Sunderland 1996-1997 Home – statto.com".
  3. "FootballSquads – Sunderland – 1996/97".
  4. "All Sunderland players: 1997".
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