1996–97 Leicester City F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Leicester City F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

Leicester City

1996–97 season
Chairman	Tom Smeaton
Manager	Martin O'Neill
Stadium	Filbert Street
Premiership	9th
FA Cup	Fifth round
League Cup	Winners
Player of the Year	Simon Grayson
Top goalscorer	League: Claridge (11) All: Claridge (14)
Highest home attendance	21,134 vs Newcastle United (26 Oct 1996, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance	10,793 vs Scarborough (25 Sep 1996, League Cup)
Average home league attendance	20,182
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Season summary

Most observers had tipped Leicester for an immediate return to Division One, so Martin O'Neill's ultimate task for this season was to achieve survival for Leicester. However, he defied many of the pre-season predictions by finishing 9th in the table. Leicester's season was capped by a victory over Middlesbrough in the League Cup final to win their first major trophy for 33 years and their passport to the following season's UEFA Cup.[1]

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
7	Sheffield Wednesday	38	14	15	9	50	51	−1	57
8	Wimbledon	38	15	11	12	49	46	+3	56
9	Leicester City	38	12	11	15	46	54	−8	47	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
10	Tottenham Hotspur	38	13	7	18	44	51	−7	46
11	Leeds United	38	11	13	14	28	38	−10	46

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

1. Leicester City qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.

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	12	11	15	46	54	−8	47	7	5	7	22	26	−4	5	6	8	24	28	−4

Source: Statto

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	A	H	H	H	A
Result	D	W	L	L	D	L	W	W	L	L	W	L	W	L	L	W	D	L	D	D	L	W	D	L	W	W	W	D	L	D	D	D	L	L	L	D	W	W
Position	11	7	12	13	14	16	14	10	12	14	11	13	10	12	14	12	12	13	13	12	16	12	13	14	12	10	9	10	11	11	11	11	13	13	14	16	12	9

Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

  Win   Draw   Loss

Pre-season

24 July 1996	Penzance	2–4	Leicester City	Penzance
			Robins  ?', ?' Harrington  ?' Campbell  ?'	Stadium: Penlee Park

27 July 1996	Torpoint Athletic	0–5	Leicester City	Torpoint
			Robins  ?', ?' Hallam  ?' Izzet  ?' Wilson  ?'	Stadium: The Mill

29 July 1996	Shepshed Dynamo	1–2	Leicester City	Leicester
			Wilson  ?' Akeredolu  o.g.'	Stadium: The Dovecote Stadium

2 August 1996	Dundee United	2–1	Leicester City	Dundee
			Izzet  ?'	Stadium: Tannadice Park

5 August 1996	PAOK	3–0	Leicester City	Thessaloniki
				Stadium: Toumba Stadium

7 August 1996	Kettering Town	2–1	Leicester City	Kettering
			Whitlow  ?' (pen.)	Stadium: Rockingham Road

9 August 1996	Bournemouth	1–1	Leicester City	Bournemouth
19:45 BST			Izzet  ?'	Stadium: Dean Court

11 August 1996	Peterborough United	1–1	Leicester City	Peterborough
15:00 BST	Charlery  ?'		Walsh  ?'	Stadium: London Road Stadium

FA Premier League

17 August 1996	Sunderland	0–0	Leicester City	Sunderland
15:00 BST				Stadium: Roker Park Attendance: 19,262 Referee: Stephen Lodge

21 August 1996	Leicester City	2–1	Southampton	Leicester
19:45 BST	Heskey  6', 42'		Le Tissier  68' (pen.) Venison  82'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 17,562 Referee: Mike Riley

24 August 1996	Leicester City	0–2	Arsenal	Leicester
15:00 BST			Bergkamp  27' (pen.) Wright  90'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,429 Referee: Graham Barber

2 September 1996	Sheffield Wednesday	2–1	Leicester City	Sheffield
20:00 BST	Humphreys  25' Booth  51'		Claridge  28'	Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 17,657 Referee: Gary Willard

7 September 1996	Nottingham Forest	0–0	Leicester City	Nottingham
15:00 BST				Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 24,105 Referee: Paul Alcock

15 September 1996	Leicester City	0–3	Liverpool	Leicester
15:00 BST			Berger  58', 77' Thomas  61'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,987 Referee: Paul Durkin

22 September 1996	Tottenham Hotspur	1–2	Leicester City	London
16:00 BST	Wilson  64' (pen.)		Claridge  22' Marshall  86'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 24,159 Referee: Alan Wilkie

28 September 1996	Leicester City	1–0	Leeds United	Leicester
15:00 BST	Heskey  60'			Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,359 Referee: Steve Dunn

12 October 1996	Leicester City	1–3	Chelsea	Leicester
15:00 BST	Watts  44'		Vialli  48' Di Matteo  64' Hughes  80'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,766 Referee: Mike Reed

19 October 1996	West Ham United	1–0	Leicester City	London
20:00 BST	Moncur  78'		Walsh  87'	Stadium: Upton Park Attendance: 22,285 Referee: Mike Riley

26 October 1996	Leicester City	2–0	Newcastle United	Leicester
15:00 BST	Claridge  17' Heskey  79'			Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 21,134 Referee: Graham Poll

2 November 1996	Derby County	2–0	Leicester City	Derby
15:00 GMT	Ward  56' Whitlow  89' (o.g.)			Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 18,010 Referee: Graham Barber

16 November 1996	Aston Villa	1–3	Leicester City	Birmingham
15:00 GMT	Yorke  15'		Claridge  8' Parker  43' (pen.) Izzet  85'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 36,193 Referee: David Elleray

23 November 1996	Leicester City	1–2	Everton	Leicester
15:00 GMT	Walsh  83'		Hinchcliffe  12' Unsworth  52'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,975 Referee: Jeff Winter

30 November 1996	Manchester United	3–1	Leicester City	Manchester
15:00 GMT	Butt  75', 87' Solskjær  85'		Lennon  90'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 55,196 Referee: Martin Bodenham

3 December 1996	Middlesbrough	0–2	Leicester City	Middlesbrough
19:45 GMT			Claridge  45' Izzet  46'	Stadium: Riverside Stadium Attendance: 29,709 Referee: Paul Alcock

7 December 1996	Leicester City	1–1	Blackburn Rovers	Leicester
15:00 GMT	Marshall  78'		Sutton  34'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 19,306 Referee: Mike Riley

21 December 1996	Leicester City	0–2	Coventry City	Leicester
15:00 GMT			Dublin  12', 72'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,038 Referee: Frazer Stretton

26 December 1996	Liverpool	1–1	Leicester City	Liverpool
15:00 GMT	Collymore  80'		Claridge  76'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,786 Referee: Alan Wilkie

28 December 1996	Leicester City	2–2	Nottingham Forest	Leicester
15:00 GMT	Heskey  10' Izzet  63'		Clough  37' Cooper  87'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,833 Referee: Keith Burge

11 January 1997	Leeds United	3–0	Leicester City	Leeds
15:00 GMT	Bowyer  40' Rush  45', 69'			Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 29,486 Referee: Mike Reed

18 January 1997	Leicester City	1–0	Wimbledon	Leicester
15:00 GMT	Heskey  73'			Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 18,927 Referee: Stephen Lodge

29 January 1997	Leicester City	1–1	Sunderland	Leicester
19:45 GMT	Parker  32' (pen.)		Williams  18'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 17,883 Referee: Steve Dunn

2 February 1997	Newcastle United	4–3	Leicester City	Newcastle
16:00 GMT	Elliott  3' Shearer  77', 83', 90'		Elliott  55' Claridge  60' Heskey  68'	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 36,396 Referee: Mike Reed

22 February 1997	Leicester City	4–2	Derby County	Leicester
15:00 GMT	Marshall  7', 24', 27' Claridge  59'		Sturridge  2', 47'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,323 Referee: Paul Durkin

1 March 1997	Wimbledon	1–3	Leicester City	London
15:00 GMT	Holdsworth  66'		Elliott  17', 27' Robins  32'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 11,487 Referee: Gerald Ashby

5 March 1997	Leicester City	1–0	Aston Villa	Leicester
19:45 GMT	Claridge  66'			Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,626 Referee: Graham Poll

8 March 1997	Coventry City	0–0	Leicester City	Coventry
15:00 GMT				Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 19,220 Referee: Paul Alcock

15 March 1997	Leicester City	1–3	Middlesbrough	Leicester
15:00 GMT	Marshall  47'		Blackmore  9' Juninho  27' Beck  36'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,561 Referee: Stephen Lodge

19 March 1997	Leicester City	1–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Leicester
19:45 GMT	Claridge  74'		Sheringham  90'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,593 Referee: Roger Dilkes

22 March 1997	Southampton	2–2	Leicester City	Southampton
15:00 GMT	Østenstad  32' van Gobbel  48'		Heskey  46' Neilson (o.g.)	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,044 Referee: Keith Burge

9 April 1997	Everton	1–1	Leicester City	Liverpool
15:00 BST	Branch  17'		Marshall  70'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 30,368 Referee: Steve Dunn

12 April 1997	Arsenal	2–0	Leicester City	London
15:00 GMT	Adams  35' Platt  66'			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,044 Referee: Stephen Lodge

19 April 1997	Chelsea	2–1	Leicester City	London
15:00 GMT	Minto  13' Hughes  73'		Sinclair  47' (o.g.)	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 27,723 Referee: Alan Wilkie

23 April 1997	Leicester City	0–1	West Ham United	Leicester
19:45 GMT			Moncur  75'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,327 Referee: Roger Dilkes

3 May 1997	Leicester City	2–2	Manchester United	Leicester
11:15 GMT	Walsh  16' Marshall  20'		Solskjær  45', 51'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 21,068 Referee: Alan Wilkie

7 May 1997	Leicester City	1–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Leicester
19:45 GMT	Elliott  86'			Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,793 Referee: Gerald Ashby

11 May 1997	Blackburn Rovers	2–4	Leicester City	Blackburn
16:00 GMT	Flitcroft  25' Fenton  66'		Heskey  13', 56' Claridge  55' Wilson  81'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 25,881 Referee: Steve Dunn

FA Cup

15 January 1997 R3	Leicester City	2–0	Southend United	Leicester
19:45 GMT	Claridge  40' Marshall  48'			Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 13,982

25 January 1997 R4	Leicester City	2–1	Norwich City	Leicester
15:00 GMT	Marshall  32' Lennon   Parker  67' (pen.)		Jackson   Adams  39' (pen.)	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 16,703

16 February 1997 R5	Leicester City	2–2	Chelsea	Leicester
15:00 GMT	Walsh  52' Newton  88' (o.g.)		Di Matteo  16' Hughes  35'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 19,125 Referee: Mike Reed

26 February 1997 R5 Replay	Chelsea	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Leicester City	London
19:45 GMT	Leboeuf  117' (pen.)			Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 26,053 Referee: Mike Reed

League Cup

17 September 1996 R2 1st leg	Scarborough	0–2	Leicester City	Scarborough
19:45 BST			Izzet  9' Lawrence  81'	Stadium: McCain Stadium Attendance: 4,168

25 September 1996 R2 2nd leg	Leicester City	2–1 (4–1 agg.)	Scarborough	Leicester
19:45 BST	Lawrence  40' Parker  90' (pen.)		Ritchie  77'	Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 10,793

22 October 1996 R3	York City	0–2	Leicester City	York
19:45 BST			Lennon  60' Grayson  86'	Stadium: Bootham Crescent Attendance: 8,406

27 November 1996 R4	Leicester City	2–0	Manchester United	Leicester
19:45 GMT	Claridge  38' Heskey  77'			Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 20,428

21 January 1997 QF	Ipswich Town	0–1	Leicester City	Ipswich
19:45 GMT			Robins  42'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 19,000 Referee: David Elleray

18 February 1997 SF 1st leg	Leicester City	0–0	Wimbledon	Leicester
19:45 GMT				Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 16,021 Referee: Stephen Lodge

11 March 1997 SF 2nd leg	Wimbledon	1–1 (a.e.t.) (1–1(a) agg.)	Leicester City	London
19:45 GMT	Gayle  23'		Grayson  53'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 17,810 Referee: Alan Wilkie

6 April 1997 Final	Leicester City	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Middlesbrough	London
15:00 BST	Heskey  118'	Report	Ravanelli  95'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 76,757 Referee: Martin Bodenham

16 April 1997 Final Replay	Leicester City	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Middlesbrough	Sheffield
19:45 BST	Claridge  100'	Report		Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 39,428 Referee: Martin Bodenham

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[2][3]

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 Kevin Poole 2 DF  ENG Simon Grayson 3 DF  ENG Mike Whitlow 4 DF  ENG Julian Watts 5 DF  ENG Steve Walsh (captain) 6 MF  TUR Muzzy Izzet 7 MF  NIR Neil Lennon 8 MF  ENG Scott Taylor 9 FW  ENG Steve Claridge 10 MF  ENG Garry Parker 11 FW  ENG Emile Heskey 12 FW  ENG Mark Robins 13 GK  USA Kasey Keller

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 DF  ENG Colin Hill 15 DF  SWE Pontus Kåmark 16 DF  FRA Franck Rolling 17 DF  ENG Spencer Prior 18 DF  SCO Matt Elliott (vice-captain) 19 DF  ENG Rob Ullathorne 20 FW  ENG Ian Marshall 21 MF  JAM Jamie Lawrence 22 DF  ENG Neil Lewis 24 MF  ENG Steve Guppy 25 MF  ENG Stuart Wilson 26 MF  SCO Stuart Campbell 28 MF  GER Sascha Lenhart

Left club during 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 24 DF  ENG Jimmy Willis (retired)

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 MF  ENG Stuart Slater (to Watford)

Reserve squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 MF  ENG Sam McMahon 27 FW  ENG Justin Harrington 29 GK  ENG Paul Hyde

No. Pos. Nation Player 30 GK  ENG Ian Andrews 33 DF  ENG Martin Fox

Transfers

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
17 August 1996	DF	Spencer Prior	Norwich City	£600,000[4]
17 August 1996	GK	Kasey Keller	Millwall	£900,000
31 August 1996	FW	Ian Marshall	Ipswich Town	£800,000
1 September 1996	MF	Sascha Lenhart	Royal Antwerp	Free transfer
16 January 1997	DF	Matt Elliott	Oxford United	£1,600,000
17 February 1997	DF	Robert Ullathorne	Osasuna	£600,000
28 February 1997	MF	Steve Guppy	Port Vale	£850,000

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
23 August 1996	MF	Mark Blake	Walsall	Free transfer
27 November 1996	MF	Stuart Slater	Watford	Free transfer
14 March 1997	GK	Paul Hyde	Leyton Orient	Free transfer
22 June 1997	DF	Jamie Lawrence	Bradford City	£50,000
22 June 1997	DF	Neil Lewis	Peterborough United	£75,000
26 June 1997	DF	Simon Grayson	Aston Villa	£1,300,000

Transfers in: £5,350,000

Transfers out: £1,425,000

Total spending: £3,925,000

References

1. Moore, Glenn (17 April 1997). "Claridge's five-star silver service". The Independent. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
2. http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/1996-1997/faprem/leicester.htm
3. http://www.11v11.com/teams/leicester-city/tab/players/season/1997
4. "On the move". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. 18 August 1996. Retrieved 16 April 2012.