1996–97 FA Premier League
| Season | 1996–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions |
Manchester United 4th Premier League title 11th English title |
| Relegated |
Sunderland Middlesbrough Nottingham Forest |
| Champions League |
Manchester United Newcastle United |
| UEFA Cup |
Arsenal Aston Villa Leicester City Liverpool |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Chelsea |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 970 (2.55 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Alan Shearer (25) |
| Biggest home win |
Everton 7–1 Southampton (16 November 1996) Newcastle United 7–1 Tottenham Hotspur (28 December 1996) |
| Biggest away win |
Leeds United 0–4 Manchester United (7 September 1996) Nottingham Forest 0–4 Manchester United (26 December 1996) Sunderland 0–4 Tottenham Hotspur (4 March 1997) |
| Highest scoring |
Southampton 6–3 Manchester United (26 October 1996) |
| Longest winning run | 7 games Newcastle United |
| Longest unbeaten run | 16 games Manchester United |
| Longest winless run | 16 games Nottingham Forest |
| Longest losing run | 6 games Everton |
| Highest attendance | 55,314 Manchester United v Wimbledon (29 January 1997) |
| Lowest attendance | 7,979 Wimbledon v Leeds United (16 April 1997) |
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← 1995–96
1997–98 →
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The 1996–97 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the competition, since its formation in 1992. The majority of the season was contested by the reigning champions, Manchester United, along with Newcastle United, Arsenal and Liverpool. The title was eventually won by Manchester United, after Liverpool and Newcastle's failure to win in their penultimate games of the season; at 75 points it is the lowest points total for a Premier League champion and lowest since the 3-1-0 points system was introduced in the 1981–82 season.
(as of 11 May 1997)
Middlesbrough, despite spending millions of pounds on high-profile foreign players like Emerson Moisés Costa, Fabrizio Ravanelli (who scored 31 goals in all competitions), Branco and Gianluca Festa, were relegated on the final day of the season and were on the losing side in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals. Middlesbrough finished in 19th place, but they would have been placed outside the relegation zone without a 3-point deduction imposed for cancelling a December 1996 fixture against Blackburn Rovers, with the Middlesbrough board blaming the decision on the absence of 23 players ill or injured. This sanction meant Coventry City, who had been in the top division since 1967, finished in 17th place and avoided relegation. The decision was controversial and later resurfaced in 2006/07 when West Ham escaped a points deduction and, subsequently, avoided relegation.
The other relegation places went to Nottingham Forest, who sacked manager Frank Clark in December. Stuart Pearce took over as temporary player-manager, spending three months in charge and winning the January 1996 Manager of the Month award. In March, Pearce quit as manager to be replaced by Dave Bassett, formerly of Crystal Palace. Also relegated, due to a 1–0 defeat to Wimbledon in their last game of the season, were Sunderland, who were leaving Roker Park after 99 years and relocating to the 42,000-seat Stadium of Light on the banks of the River Wear for the start of the 1997–98 season in Division One.
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