1996–97 Derby County F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was Derby County's first in the Premier League, following their promotion from the First Division the previous season.

Derby County
1996–97 season
ChairmanLionel Pickering
ManagerJim Smith
StadiumBaseball Ground
Premiership12th
FA CupQuarter finals
League CupSecond round
Top goalscorerLeague: Dean Sturridge (11)
All: Dean Sturridge (14)
Highest home attendance18,287 vs. Arsenal (11 May 1997)
Lowest home attendance17,022 vs. Wimbledon (28 September 1996)
Average home league attendance17,889

Season summary

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Back in the top flight after a five-year exile, Jim Smith's Derby County side never looked in any real danger of an immediate return to Division One, and their 12th-place finish in the final table was their highest final position in eight years. Young striker Dean Sturridge received many plaudits for his goalscoring exploits, which sparked talk of a £7 million transfer to Arsenal, but the move never happened.

The highlight of the season was a 3–2 win against champions Manchester United at Old Trafford, with Paulo Wanchope scoring a "wonder goal" on his English league debut.[1][2]

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
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
14 West Ham United 38 10 12 16 39 48 −9 42
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
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 45 58  −13 46 8 6 5 25 22  +3 3 7 9 20 36  −16

Source: Statto

Results by round
Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAAHAAAHHHAHAAHAHHAHAH
ResultDDLDWWDLLDLWWDWDLLLDDLDLWDLWLLWWDWLDWL
Position713151612991113121611101191111111211131516161312131214141412121112111012
Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

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Derby County's score comes first[3]

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
17 August 1996 Leeds United H 3–3 17,925 Sturridge (2), Paul Simpson
21 August 1996 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–1 28,219 Dailly
24 August 1996 Aston Villa A 0–2 34,646
4 September 1996 Manchester United H 1–1 18,025 Laursen
9 September 1996 Blackburn Rovers A 2–1 19,214 Willems, Flynn
14 September 1996 Sunderland H 1–0 17,692 Asanović (pen)
21 September 1996 Sheffield Wednesday A 0–0 23,487
28 September 1996 Wimbledon H 0–2 17,022
12 October 1996 Newcastle United H 0–1 18,092
19 October 1996 Nottingham Forest A 1–1 27,771 Dailly
27 October 1996 Liverpool A 1–2 39,515 Ward
2 November 1996 Leicester City H 2–0 18,010 Ward, Whitlow (own goal)
17 November 1996 Middlesbrough H 2–1 17,350 Asanović, Vickers (own goal)
23 November 1996 West Ham United A 1–1 24,576 Sturridge
30 November 1996 Coventry City H 2–1 18,042 Asanović (pen), Ward
7 December 1996 Arsenal A 2–2 38,018 Sturridge, Powell
16 December 1996 Everton H 0–1 17,252
21 December 1996 Southampton A 1–3 14,901 Dailly
26 December 1996 Sunderland A 0–2 22,512
28 December 1996 Blackburn Rovers H 0–0 17,847
11 January 1997 Wimbledon A 1–1 11,467 Willems
18 January 1997 Chelsea A 1–3 27,639 Asanović
29 January 1997 Leeds United A 0–0 27,523
1 February 1997 Liverpool H 0–1 18,102
15 February 1997 West Ham United H 1–0 18,057 Asanović (pen)
19 February 1997 Sheffield Wednesday H 2–2 18,060 Sturridge, Štimac
22 February 1997 Leicester City A 2–4 20,323 Sturridge (2)
1 March 1997 Chelsea H 3–2 18,039 Minto (own goal), Asanović, Ward
5 March 1997 Middlesbrough A 1–6 29,739 Simpson
15 March 1997 Everton A 0–1 32,140
22 March 1997 Tottenham Hotspur H 4–2 18,083 van der Laan, Trollope, Sturridge, Ward
5 April 1997 Manchester United A 3–2 55,243 Ward, Wanchope, Sturridge
9 April 1997 Southampton H 1–1 17,839 Ward
12 April 1997 Aston Villa H 2–1 18,071 Rowett, van der Laan
19 April 1997 Newcastle United A 1–3 36,550 Sturridge
23 April 1997 Nottingham Forest H 0–0 18,087
3 May 1997 Coventry City A 2–1 22,854 Burrows (own goal), Sturridge
11 May 1997 Arsenal H 1–3 18,287 Ward

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 21 January 1997 Gillingham A 2–0 9,508 Willems, van der Laan
R4 25 January 1997 Aston Villa H 3–1 17,977 van der Laan, Sturridge, Willems
R5 26 February 1997 Coventry City H 3–2 18,003 Ward, van der Laan, Sturridge
QF 8 March 1997 Middlesbrough H 0–2 17,567

League Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 1st Leg 17 September 1996 Luton Town A 0–1 4,459
R2 2nd Leg 25 September 1996 Luton Town H 2–2 (lost 2–3 on agg) 13,569 Sturridge, Simpson

Players

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First-team squad

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Squad at end of season[4]

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 Russell Hoult
2 DF   ENG Gary Rowett
3 DF   ENG Chris Powell
4 MF   ENG Darryl Powell[notes 1]
5 DF   ENG Dean Yates
6 MF   CRO Igor Štimac (captain)
7 MF   NED Robin van der Laan
8 FW   ENG Dean Sturridge
9 FW   ENG Marco Gabbiadini
10 MF   CRO Aljoša Asanović
11 FW   NED Ron Willems
12 FW   ENG Ashley Ward
13 GK   ENG Martin Taylor
14 MF   ENG Paul Simpson
15 MF   ENG Paul Trollope[notes 2]
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF   DEN Jacob Laursen
17 DF   ENG Matt Carbon
18 MF   IRL Lee Carsley[notes 3]
19 MF   ENG Sean Flynn
20 DF   ENG Darren Wassall
21 GK   EST Mart Poom
22 DF   SCO Christian Dailly
23 DF   CRC Mauricio Solís
24 MF   ENG Kevin Cooper
25 DF   ENG Rob Kozluk
26 FW   CRC Paulo Wanchope
27 DF   IRL Paul McGrath[notes 4]
28 DF   ENG Wayne Sutton
29 MF   ENG Nick Wright
30 GK   ENG Andy Quy

Left club during season

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF   ENG Jason Kavanagh (to Wycombe Wanderers)
21 FW   SWE Marino Rahmberg (on loan from Degerfors IF)
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 DF   ENG Paul Parker (to Sheffield United)

Reserve squad

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The following players did not appear for the first team this 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
DF   ENG Steve Elliott
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   ENG Andrew Tretton

Statistics

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Starting 11

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Notes

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  1. ^ Powell was born in Lambeth, England, but qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in 1998.
  2. ^ Trollope was born in Swindon, England, but qualified to represent Wales internationally and would make his international debut for Wales in May 1997.
  3. ^ Carsley was born in Birmingham, England, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandmother and represented them at U-21 and B level before making his international debut for Ireland in October 1997.
  4. ^ McGrath was born in Ealing, England to an Irish mother and Nigerian father, but was raised in the Republic of Ireland and made his international debut for Ireland in 1985.

References

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  1. ^ Harris, Nick (6 December 1997). "Football: Wanchope's weird route to renaissance man". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Wanchope put on transfer list". Evening Standard. 29 January 2001. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  3. ^ "Derby County results for the 1996-1997 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  4. ^ "FootballSquads - Derby County - 1996/97".