| Football League First Division 1996-97 | ||
| Season information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Winners | Bolton Wanderers | |
| Promoted | Bolton Wanderers Barnsley Crystal Palace | |
| Relegated | Grimsby Town, Oldham Athletic, Southend United | |
| Season statistics | ||
| Matches played | 552 | |
| Goals scored | 1476 | |
| Average | (2.67 per match) | |
| Top goalscorer | John McGinlay (Bolton Wanderers), 24 | |
← 1995-96
|
1997-98 →
| |
The 1996–97 Football League (known as the Nationwide Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 98th completed season of The Football League.
Bolton Wanderers returned to the Premiership in superb fashion, hitting 100 goals and taking 98 points. Barnsley were promoted to the top flight for the first time in their history, while Crystal Palace returned after a two-year absence by winning the play-offs.
Final tables[]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 60 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 40 | 33 | 100 | 53 | +47 | 98 | |||||
| 2 | Barnsley | 46 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 43 | 19 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 33 | 36 | 76 | 55 | +21 | 80 | |||||
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 24 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 37 | 27 | 68 | 51 | +17 | 76 | |||||
| 4 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 44 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 27 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 74 | |||||
| 5 | Sheffield United | 46 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 46 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 29 | 29 | 75 | 52 | +23 | 73 | |||||
| 6 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 39 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 39 | 26 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 71 | |||||
| 7 | Portsmouth | 46 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 32 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 29 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 68 | |||||
| 8 | Port Vale | 46 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 36 | 28 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 27 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 67 | |||||
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 33 | 25 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 31 | 35 | 64 | 60 | +4 | 66 | |||||
| 10 | Birmingham City | 46 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 30 | 18 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 22 | 30 | 52 | 48 | +4 | 66 | |||||
| 11 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 41 | 27 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 29 | 63 | 56 | +7 | 65 | |||||
| 12 | Stoke City | 46 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 34 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 17 | 35 | 51 | 57 | –6 | 64 | |||||
| 13 | Norwich City | 46 | 9 | 10 | 4 | 28 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 35 | 50 | 63 | 68 | –5 | 63 | |||||
| 14 | Manchester City | 46 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 34 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 25 | 35 | 59 | 60 | –1 | 61 | |||||
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 36 | 28 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 16 | 38 | 52 | 66 | –14 | 59 | |||||
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 37 | 33 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 31 | 39 | 68 | 72 | –4 | 57 | |||||
| 17 | Oxford United | 46 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 26 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 20 | 42 | 64 | 68 | –4 | 57 | |||||
| 18 | Reading | 46 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 37 | 24 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 43 | 58 | 67 | –9 | 57 | |||||
| 19 | Swindon Town | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 36 | 27 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 44 | 52 | 71 | –19 | 54 | |||||
| 20 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 41 | 48 | 61 | –13 | 54 | |||||
| 21 | Bradford City | 46 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 32 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 18 | 40 | 47 | 72 | –25 | 48 | |||||
| 22 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 34 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 28 | 47 | 60 | 81 | –21 | 46 | |||||
| 23 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 30 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 21 | 36 | 51 | 66 | –15 | 43 | |||||
| 24 | Southend United | 46 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 32 | 32 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 10 | 53 | 42 | 86 | –44 | 39 |
- Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
- NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
| Key | |
|---|---|
| Football League Champions, promoted to FA Premier League | |
| Promoted to FA Premier League | |
| Participated in play-offs | |
| Promoted to Premier League through play-offs | |
| Relegated |
First Division play-offs[]
- Main article: Football League Championship play-offs#1997
| Semifinals 1st leg –May 10th; 2nd leg –May 14th, 1997 |
Final at Wembley May 26th, 1997 | ||||||||||||
| 3rd | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||||||||||||
| 6th | Crystal Palace | ||||||||||||
| 5th | Sheffield United | 0 | |||||||||||
| 6th | Crystal Palace | 1 | |||||||||||
| 4th | Ipswich Town | ||||||||||||
| 5th | Sheffield United (away goals) | ||||||||||||
First Division Topscorers[]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  John McGinlay |
Bolton Wanderers | 24 |
| 2 |  Steve Bull |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 23 |
| 3 | Trevor Morley |
Reading | 22 |
| 4 |  Nathan Blake |
Bolton Wanderers | 20 |
| 5 |  John Aldridge |
Tranmere Rovers | 18 |
| = | Nigel Jemson |
Oxford United | 18 |
| = | Mike Sheron |
Stoke City | 18 |
First Division results[]
| Home \ Away | BAR |  BIR
|
 BOL |
BRA |  CHA |
 CRY |
GRI |  HUD |
 IPS |
 MNC |
 NWC |
OLD | OXU | PTV | POR |  QPR |
 REA |
 SHU |
SOU |  STK |
SWI | TRA |  WBA |
 WOL
|
| Barnsley | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | |
| Birmingham City
|
0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | |
| Bolton Wanderers
|
2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 6–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 7–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| Bradford City | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Charlton Athletic
|
2–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–4 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| Crystal Palace
|
1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 6–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | |
| Grimsby Town | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | |
| Huddersfield Town
|
0–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | |
| Ipswich Town
|
1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 0–0 | |
| Manchester City
|
1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | |
| Norwich City
|
1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–0 | |
| Oldham Athletic | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | |
| Oxford United | 5–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Port Vale | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 6–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 4–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | |
| Portsmouth | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 0–2 | |
| Queens Park Rangers
|
3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | |
| Reading
|
1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–6 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | |
| Sheffield Utd
|
0–1 | 4–4 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | |
| Southend United | 1–2 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | |
| Stoke City
|
1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | |
| Swindon Town | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | |
| Tranmere Rovers | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | |
| West Brom
|
1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | |
| Wolves
|
3–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 |
Source: BBC Football
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
See also[]
| EFL Championship seasons
|
| 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–00 · 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 · 2011–12 · 2012–13 · 2013–14 · 2014–15 · 2015–16 · 2016–17 · 2017–18 · 2018–19 · 2019–20 · 2020–21 · 2021–22 · 2022–23 · 2023–24 · 2024–25 · 2025–26 · |
Template:1996–97 in English football