1996–97 Swindon Town F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Swindon Town F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

Swindon Town
1996–97 season
ManagerEngland Steve McMahon
StadiumCounty Ground
Football League First Division19th
FA CupThird round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague: Allison (11)
All: Allison (13)
Highest home attendance14,374 vs. Manchester City (2 November 1996)
Lowest home attendance6,730 vs. Southend United (5 April 1997)
Average home league attendance9,917

Season summary

With Swindon's financial state getting more precarious, they could not afford to build a side which would be able to win promotion to the Premier League, with McMahon's only significant summer signing the underwhelming Gary Elkins from Wimbledon. In 1996–97 season, Swindon held a mid-table position right up until the middle of March, but then scored just two goals in their last ten games – getting thumped 7–0 at Bolton, 5–1 at Oldham and 4–0 at Ipswich in the process – ending up in a disappointing 19th place.

Final league table
Main article: 1996–97 Football League § First Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
17 Oxford United 46 16 9 21 64 68 −4 57
18 Reading 46 15 12 19 58 67 −9 57
19 Swindon Town 46 15 9 22 52 71 −19 54
20 Huddersfield Town 46 13 15 18 48 61 −13 54
21 Bradford City 46 12 12 22 47 72 −25 48
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference

Results

Swindon Town's score comes first

Legend
Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
17 August 1996Norwich CityA0–215,165
24 August 1996Port ValeH1–18,706Robinson
28 August 1996Oldham AthleticH1–08,025Allison
31 August 1996Southend UnitedA3–14,011Watson, Cowe, Finney
7 September 1996Grimsby TownA1–24,089Cowe
11 September 1996PortsmouthH0–18,685
14 September 1996Tranmere RoversH2–18,430Walters (pen), Horlock
21 September 1996Queens Park RangersA1–113,662Cowe
27 September 1996Wolverhampton WanderersH1–28,572Horlock
2 October 1996Bradford CityA1–29,249Walters (pen)
12 October 1996Oxford UnitedH1–010,811Horlock
16 October 1996Huddersfield TownH6–07,724Walters, Thorne (3), Allison, Horlock
19 October 1996Crystal PalaceA2–115,088Allison, Thorne
26 October 1996ReadingA0–211,018
30 October 1996West Bromwich AlbionH2–38,909Allen, Thorne
2 November 1996Manchester CityH2–014,374Allison (2)
16 November 1996BarnsleyH3–010,837Walters, Gooden, Finney
19 November 1996Ipswich TownA2–37,086Thorne, Allison
23 November 1996Birmingham CityA0–116,559
26 November 1996Sheffield UnitedA0–212,301
30 November 1996ReadingH3–110,874Horlock, Allison, Walters
7 December 1996Charlton AthleticA0–210,565
14 December 1996Stoke CityA0–210,102
22 December 1996Bolton WanderersH2–28,946Walters, Allison
26 December 1996PortsmouthA1–010,605Cowe
10 January 1997Tranmere RoversA1–28,763Horlock
18 January 1997Bradford CityH1–17,851Horlock
25 January 1997Grimsby TownH3–39,127Horlock, Allison, Walters
29 January 1997Wolverhampton WanderersA0–123,003
1 February 1997Sheffield UnitedH2–18,811Elkins, Holdsworth (own goal)
5 February 1997Queens Park RangersH1–110,830Brevett (own goal)
8 February 1997West Bromwich AlbionA2–116,219Allison, Smith
22 February 1997Manchester CityA0–327,262
26 February 1997Birmingham CityH3–17,428Bullock, Broomes, Cowe
1 March 1997Charlton AthleticH1–09,256Allison
4 March 1997BarnsleyA1–19,789Thorne
8 March 1997Bolton WanderersA0–713,981
15 March 1997Stoke CityH1–08,878Thorne
22 March 1997Port ValeA0–16,142
29 March 1997Norwich CityH0–310,249
31 March 1997Oldham AthleticA1–55,699Cowe
5 April 1997Southend UnitedH0–06,730
12 April 1997Ipswich TownH0–48,591
19 April 1997Oxford UnitedA0–28,167
26 April 1997Crystal PalaceH0–210,447
4 May 1997Huddersfield TownA0–011,506

FA Cup
Main article: 1996-97 FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R35 January 1997EvertonA0–320,411

League Cup
Main article: 1996-97 Football League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R1 First Leg20 August 1996Wolverhampton WanderersH2–07,451Allison, Leitch
R1 Second Leg3 September 1996Wolverhampton WanderersA0–1 (won 2–1 on agg)10,760
R2 First Leg18 September 1996Queens Park RangersA1–27,843Walters
R2 Second Leg25 September 1996Queens Park RangersH3–1 (won 4–3 on agg)6,976O'Sullivan, Allison, Thorne
R323 October 1996Manchester UnitedA1–249,305Thorne

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
— GK England ENG Fraser Digby
— GK England ENG Steve Mildenhall
— GK Australia AUS Frank Talia
— DF England ENG Marlon Broomes (on loan from Blackburn Rovers)
— DF England ENG Ian Culverhouse
— DF England ENG Jason Drysdale
— DF England ENG Gary Elkins
— DF England ENG David Kerslake (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
— DF England ENG Phil King
— DF England ENG Mark Robinson
— DF England ENG Mark Seagraves
— DF England ENG Shaun Taylor
— DF Republic of Ireland IRL Graham Coughlan (on loan from Blackburn Rovers)
— DF Republic of Ireland IRL Wayne O'Sullivan
— DF France FRA Frédéric Darras
— MF England ENG Paul Allen
— MF England ENG Graham Anthony
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Darren Bullock
— MF England ENG Ty Gooden
— MF England ENG Peter Holcroft
— MF England ENG Robin Hulbert
— MF England ENG Steve McMahon
— MF England ENG Alex Smith
— MF England ENG Mark Walters
— MF England ENG Kevin Watson
— MF Wales WAL Michael Pattimore
— MF Scotland SCO Lee Collins
— MF Scotland SCO Scott Leitch
— MF Northern Ireland NIR Kevin Horlock
— FW England ENG Wayne Allison
— FW England ENG Steve Cowe
— FW England ENG Steve Finney
— FW England ENG Peter Thorne

References
  1. "England 1996–97". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.