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1996–97 Wimbledon F.C. season

FieldValue
clubWimbledon
season1996–97
managerJoe Kinnear
chairmanSam Hammam
stadiumSelhurst Park
leaguePremier League
league result8th
cup1FA Cup
cup1 resultSemi-finals
cup2League Cup
cup2 resultSemi-finals
league topscorerEkoku (11)
season topscorerGayle (13)
highest attendance25,786 (vs. Manchester United, 17 August)
lowest attendance3,811 (vs. Portsmouth, 18 September)
average attendance14,416
prevseason1995–96
nextseason1997–98

During the 1996–97 English football season, Wimbledon competed in the Premier League. The season marked 20 years since Wimbledon's election to the Football League and was their eleventh successive season of top division football. It was one of the most successful of the club's history as they finished eighth in the Premier League and reached the semi-finals of both domestic cups.

Season summary

The opening day of the season saw Wimbledon lose 3–0 at home to Manchester United in a game mostly remembered for David Beckham's late goal from inside his own half. The Dons also lost their next two games, but then went on a 19-match unbeaten run, including seven league wins in a row. A 1–0 over Blackburn Rovers in December left them 3rd in the table, one point behind leaders Arsenal. The team's form tailed off in the second half of the season and they missed out on the chance of European qualification, finishing 8th.

Wimbledon also reached the semi-finals of both domestic cups. Their FA Cup run saw them knock out holders Manchester United but they lost 3–0 to the eventual winners Chelsea at Highbury. In the League Cup they were eliminated on away goals by Leicester City, who also went on to win the trophy. The sale of Øyvind Leonhardsen to Liverpool at the end of the season left manager Joe Kinnear with a big hole to fill in a squad which had, so far, achieved so much on a shoestring budget.

Final league table

Main article: 1996–97 FA Premier League

;Results summary

;Results by round

Results

Wimbledon's score comes first

Legend

WinDrawLoss

FA Premier League

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
17 August 1996Manchester UnitedH0–325,786
21 August 1996Newcastle UnitedA0–236,385
26 August 1996Leeds UnitedA0–125,860
4 September 1996Tottenham HotspurH1–017,506Earle
7 September 1996EvertonH4–013,684Ardley, Gayle, Earle, Ekoku
14 September 1996West Ham UnitedA2–021,294Clarke, Ekoku
23 September 1996SouthamptonH3–18,572Gayle, Ekoku (2)
28 September 1996Derby CountyA2–017,022Earle, Gayle
12 October 1996Sheffield WednesdayH4–210,512Ekoku, Earle, Leonhardsen, Jones
19 October 1996ChelseaA4–228,020Earle, Ardley, Gayle, Ekoku
26 October 1996MiddlesbroughA0–029,758
2 November 1996ArsenalH2–225,521Jones, Gayle
16 November 1996Coventry CityH2–210,307Earle, Gayle
23 November 1996LiverpoolA1–139,027Leonhardsen
30 November 1996Nottingham ForestH1–012,608Earle
7 December 1996SunderlandA3–119,672Ekoku (2), Holdsworth
14 December 1996Blackburn RoversH1–013,246Holdsworth
22 December 1996Aston VillaA0–528,875
28 December 1996EvertonA3–136,733Ekoku, Leonhardsen, Gayle
11 January 1997Derby CountyH1–111,467Gayle
18 January 1997Leicester CityA0–118,927
29 January 1997Manchester UnitedA1–255,314Perry
1 February 1997MiddlesbroughH1–115,046Cox (own goal)
23 February 1997ArsenalA1–037,854Jones
26 February 1997SouthamptonA0–014,418
1 March 1997Leicester CityH1–311,487Holdsworth
3 March 1997Coventry CityA1–115,273Ekoku
15 March 1997Blackburn RoversA1–323,333Ekoku
18 March 1997West Ham UnitedH1–115,771Harford
23 March 1997Newcastle UnitedH1–123,175Leonhardsen
5 April 1997Tottenham HotspurA0–132,654
9 April 1997Aston VillaH0–29,015
16 April 1997Leeds UnitedH2–07,979Holdsworth, Castledine
19 April 1997Sheffield WednesdayA1–326,957Goodman
22 April 1997ChelseaH0–114,601
3 May 1997Nottingham ForestA1–119,865Leonhardsen
6 May 1997LiverpoolH2–120,016Euell, Holdsworth
11 May 1997SunderlandH1–021,338Euell

FA Cup

Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R314 January 1997Crewe AlexandraA1–15,011Perry
R3R21 January 1997Crewe AlexandraH2–04,951Earle, Holdsworth
R425 January 1997Manchester UnitedA1–153,342Earle
R4R4 February 1997Manchester UnitedH1–025,601Gayle
R515 February 1997Queens Park RangersH2–122,395Gayle, Earle
QF9 March 1997Sheffield WednesdayA2–025,032Earle, Holdsworth
SF13 April 1997ChelseaN0–332,674

League Cup

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R2 1st Leg18 September 1996PortsmouthH1–03,811Holdsworth
R2 2nd Leg25 September 1996PortsmouthA1–1 (won 2–1 on agg)4,006Gayle
R322 October 1996Luton TownH1–15,043Holdsworth
R3R12 November 1996Luton TownA2–18,076Castledine, Fear
R426 November 1996Aston VillaH1–07,573Gayle
QF8 January 1997Bolton WanderersA2–016,968Ekoku, Leonhardsen
SF 1st Leg18 February 1997Leicester CityA0–016,021
SF 2nd Leg11 March 1997Leicester CityH1–1 (lost on away goals)17,810Gayle

Players

First-team squad

:Squad at end of season

Left club during season

Reserve squad

:The following players did not appear for the first-team this season.

Transfers

In

DatePos.NameFromFee
1 July 1996DFDuncan JuppFulham£200,000
5 July 1996DFBen ThatcherMillwall£1,700,000

Out

DatePos.NameToFee
22 July 1996MFLenny PiperGillingham£40,000
25 July 1996MFSteve TalboysWatfordFree transfer
16 September 1996DFAndy ThornHeartsNon-contract
18 September 1996DFGary ElkinsSwindon Town£100,000

:Transfers in: £1,900,000 :Transfers out: £140,000 :Total spending: £1,760,000

Statistics

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 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players who left the club during the season

|- |}

References

Notes

References

  1. "Wimbledon 1996-1997 Home - statto.com".
  2. "FootballSquads - Wimbledon - 1996/97".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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