1996–97 Stoke City F.C. season


The 1996–97 season was Stoke City's 90th season in the Football League and 34th in the second tier. It was also Stoke's final season at their Victoria Ground.
After 119 years Stoke were all set to move to a new stadium with the 1996–97 season confirmed as the final season at the Victoria Ground. With Stoke agreeing with the council to pay £6 million towards the cost, manager Lou Macari had no money to spend on new players having to rely on free or cheap transfers and loan signings instead. It was a very inconsistent season results wise as Stoke finished in 12th position with 64 points. The final league match at the Victoria Ground saw a repeat of the very first league match against West Bromwich Albion, Stoke won 2–1 with Graham Kavanagh scoring Stoke's final goal at the Vic. Stoke moved to the Britannia Stadium ahead of the 1997–98 season.

Season review

League

The final season at the Victoria Ground was a big milestone in the club's history and was met with mixed reaction from the club's supporters, some of whom were happy to move and some who wanted the Victoria Ground to remain. The first ramifications of the move became clear in the summer of 1996 as a number of players wanted a move away as the club began trying to find the £6 million they need. Nigel Gleghorn and Vince Overson were the first to depart both joining Burnley. Funds were generated by the sale of Graham Potter to Southampton for £300,000 and Lee Sandford to Sheffield United for £450,000. The board did permit Macari to spend £200,000 on Richard Forsyth who became the club's first player signed for a fee since 1994.
With the club losing three very good players the supporters were downbeat about the team's prospects ahead of the 1996–97 season. So an opening five-match unbeaten run took many by surprise and Stoke were early season table-toppers as Macari won the manager of the month award. A 3–0 defeat at Barnsley brought reality back and prompted the signings of Gerry McMahon and Graham Kavanagh and the sale of John Dreyer. There were some serious questions now being raised as to how Stoke could afford the £6 million needed for their new stadium and they found part of the answer as a deal was struck with the Britannia building society who bought the naming rights to the stadium as well as shirt sponsorship for around £1.3 million, meaning the new ground would be known as the Britannia Stadium.
On the pitch Stoke won one match in seven and went from promotion contenders to mid-table also-rans. And with Macari struggling for players he promoted Andy Griffin to the first team as Stoke's away form continued to be dire. They lost eight of their final nine away fixtures scoring just once which was an own goal. However, their home form held up as the landmark games came and went. Stoke won the last evening game and drew the last Saturday match, while the final Potteries derby at the Vic was won 2–0.
The final league match at the Victoria Ground saw a re-run of the first with Stoke coming up against West Bromwich Albion in a carnival atmosphere. Stoke won 2–1 with Gerry McMahon and Graham Kavanagh scoring Stoke's goals. However manager Lou Macari announced he was leaving at the end of the season which was a surprise but he was 'stripped of his duties' before he left and later launched a lawsuit against Peter Coates for wrongful dismissal. Less of a surprise was the departure of Mike Sheron who joined Queens Park Rangers for £2.75 million exactly the amount Stoke needed to make up their contribution to the cost of the new stadium. And so Stoke went into a new era at the Britannia Stadium with no manager and their best player gone.

FA Cup

Stoke suffered a poor defeat at home in the third round losing 1–0 to Stockport County.

League Cup

Stoke edged past Northampton Town and drew Arsenal in the third round. After a 1–1 draw at home Arsenal proved too strong at Highbury running out 5–2 winners.

Final league table

Key: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Legend

Football League First Division

MatchDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
117 August 1996Oldham AthleticA2–18,021Sheron 27', 43'
224 August 1996Manchester CityH2–121,116Forsyth 27', Sheron 32'
328 August 1996Bradford CityH1–011,918Sheron 90'
431 August 1996ReadingA2–213,540Sheron 25', Forsyth 76'
57 September 1996Crystal PalaceH2–213,540Sheron 20', Dreyer 32'
610 September 1996BarnsleyA0–311,696
714 September 1996Birmingham CityA1–318,612Forsyth 66'
822 September 1996Huddersfield TownH3–29,147Gayle 41', Sheron 77', 85'
928 September 1996Bolton WanderersA1–116,195Kavanagh 90'
1013 October 1996Port ValeA1–114,396Keen 65'
1116 October 1996West Bromwich AlbionA2–016,501Wallace 33', Forsyth 72'
1219 October 1996Sheffield UnitedH0–413,581
1326 October 1996PortsmouthH3–110,259McMahon 59', 75', Sheron 71'
1429 October 1996Oxford UnitedA1–46,381Sheron 59'
152 November 1996Queens Park RangersA1–17,354Kavanagh 4'
1616 November 1996Grimsby TownA1–15,601Forsyth 30'
1723 November 1996Southend UnitedH1–212,821Forsyth 52'
1830 November 1996PortsmouthA0–17,749
194 December 1996Charlton AthleticH1–07,456Sheron 49'
207 December 1996Tranmere RoversH2–09,931Sheron 27', Higgins 82'
2114 December 1996Swindon TownH2–010,102Stein 44', 64'
2221 December 1996Ipswich TownA1–110,159Stein 23'
2326 December 1996BarnsleyH1–019,025Sheron 72'
241 January 1997Huddersfield TownA1–212,019Stein 18'
2510 January 1997Birmingham CityH1–010,049Wallace 18'
2618 January 1997Charlton AthleticA2–19,901Sheron 42', 43'
2722 January 1997Norwich CityH1–210,179Stein 14'
2829 January 1997Bolton WanderersH1–215,645Macari 84'
291 February 1997Wolverhampton WanderersA0–227,408
307 February 1997Oxford UnitedH2–18,609MacKenzie 9', Macari 37'
3115 February 1997Southend UnitedA1–24,625Harris 70'
3222 February 1997Queens Park RangersH0–013,121
3328 February 1997Tranmere RoversA0–09,127
345 March 1997Grimsby TownH3–18,621Southall 48', Kavanagh 50', Griffin 78'
358 March 1997Ipswich TownH0–111,933
3615 March 1997Swindon TownA0–18,879
3718 March 1997Wolverhampton WanderersH1–015,683Forsyth 47'
3822 March 1997Manchester CityA0–228,497
3929 March 1997Oldham AthleticH2–111,755Sheron 17', Macari 40'
4031 March 1997Bradford CityA0–113,579
415 April 1997ReadingH1–19,961Forsyth 65'
4212 April 1997Norwich CityA0–213,805
4315 April 1997Crystal PalaceA0–211,382
4420 April 1997Port ValeH2–016,246Sheron 44', 85'
4525 April 1997Sheffield UnitedA0–125,596
465 May 1997West Bromwich AlbionH2–122,500McMahon 33', Kavanagh 69'

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R315 January 1997Stockport CountyH0–29,961

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
R2 1st Leg18 September 1996Northampton TownH1–06,093Worthington 60'
R2 2nd Leg24 September 1996Northampton TownA2–1 5,088Sheron 100', 108'
R323 October 1996ArsenalH1–120,804Sheron 26'
R3 Replay11 November 1996ArsenalA2–533,961Sheron 35', 88'

Friendlies

Squad statistics