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

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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

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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

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Swindon Town's score comes first

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
17 August 1996 Norwich City A 0–2 15,165
24 August 1996 Port Vale H 1–1 8,706 Robinson
28 August 1996 Oldham Athletic H 1–0 8,025 Allison
31 August 1996 Southend United A 3–1 4,011 Watson, Cowe, Finney
7 September 1996 Grimsby Town A 1–2 4,089 Cowe
11 September 1996 Portsmouth H 0–1 8,685
14 September 1996 Tranmere Rovers H 2–1 8,430 Walters (pen), Horlock
21 September 1996 Queens Park Rangers A 1–1 13,662 Cowe
27 September 1996 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–2 8,572 Horlock
2 October 1996 Bradford City A 1–2 9,249 Walters (pen)
12 October 1996 Oxford United H 1–0 10,811 Horlock
16 October 1996 Huddersfield Town H 6–0 7,724 Walters, Thorne (3), Allison, Horlock
19 October 1996 Crystal Palace A 2–1 15,088 Allison, Thorne
26 October 1996 Reading A 0–2 11,018
30 October 1996 West Bromwich Albion H 2–3 8,909 Allen, Thorne
2 November 1996 Manchester City H 2–0 14,374 Allison (2)
16 November 1996 Barnsley H 3–0 10,837 Walters, Gooden, Finney
19 November 1996 Ipswich Town A 2–3 7,086 Thorne, Allison
23 November 1996 Birmingham City A 0–1 16,559
26 November 1996 Sheffield United A 0–2 12,301
30 November 1996 Reading H 3–1 10,874 Horlock, Allison, Walters
7 December 1996 Charlton Athletic A 0–2 10,565
14 December 1996 Stoke City A 0–2 10,102
22 December 1996 Bolton Wanderers H 2–2 8,946 Walters, Allison
26 December 1996 Portsmouth A 1–0 10,605 Cowe
10 January 1997 Tranmere Rovers A 1–2 8,763 Horlock
18 January 1997 Bradford City H 1–1 7,851 Horlock
25 January 1997 Grimsby Town H 3–3 9,127 Horlock, Allison, Walters
29 January 1997 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–1 23,003
1 February 1997 Sheffield United H 2–1 8,811 Elkins, Holdsworth (own goal)
5 February 1997 Queens Park Rangers H 1–1 10,830 Brevett (own goal)
8 February 1997 West Bromwich Albion A 2–1 16,219 Allison, Smith
22 February 1997 Manchester City A 0–3 27,262
26 February 1997 Birmingham City H 3–1 7,428 Bullock, Broomes, Cowe
1 March 1997 Charlton Athletic H 1–0 9,256 Allison
4 March 1997 Barnsley A 1–1 9,789 Thorne
8 March 1997 Bolton Wanderers A 0–7 13,981
15 March 1997 Stoke City H 1–0 8,878 Thorne
22 March 1997 Port Vale A 0–1 6,142
29 March 1997 Norwich City H 0–3 10,249
31 March 1997 Oldham Athletic A 1–5 5,699 Cowe
5 April 1997 Southend United H 0–0 6,730
12 April 1997 Ipswich Town H 0–4 8,591
19 April 1997 Oxford United A 0–2 8,167
26 April 1997 Crystal Palace H 0–2 10,447
4 May 1997 Huddersfield Town A 0–0 11,506

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 5 January 1997 Everton A 0–3 20,411

League Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 First Leg 20 August 1996 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 2–0 7,451 Allison, Leitch
R1 Second Leg 3 September 1996 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–1 (won 2–1 on agg) 10,760
R2 First Leg 18 September 1996 Queens Park Rangers A 1–2 7,843 Walters
R2 Second Leg 25 September 1996 Queens Park Rangers H 3–1 (won 4–3 on agg) 6,976 O'Sullivan, Allison, Thorne
R3 23 October 1996 Manchester United A 1–2 49,305 Thorne

Squad

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

References

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  1. ^ "England 1996–97". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.