# 1996–97 Oldham Athletic A.F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Oldham Athletic A.F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

The 1996–97 season was a major struggle for Oldham which resulted in Graeme Sharp resigning in February. Sharp was succeeded by Neil Warnock, who had previously achieved promotion success with Scarborough, Notts County (twice), Huddersfield Town and Plymouth Argyle but was unable to save Oldham from relegation to the third tier for the first time in 23 years which was confirmed three months later following Bradford City's win against Charlton Athletic.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 20 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 54 | |
| 21 | Bradford City | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 47 | 72 | −25 | 48 | |
| 22 | Grimsby Town (R) | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 59 | 81 | −22 | 46 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 23 | Oldham Athletic (R) | 46 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 51 | 66 | −15 | 43 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 24 | Southend United (R) | 46 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 42 | 85 | −43 | 39 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Oldham Athletic's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1996 | Stoke City | H | 1–2 | 8,021 | Redmond |
| 24 August 1996 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–3 | 12,822 | McCarthy |
| 28 August 1996 | Swindon Town | A | 0–1 | 8,025 | |
| 31 August 1996 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–3 | 5,339 | Rickers, Redmond, Banger |
| 7 September 1996 | Sheffield United | H | 0–2 | 7,323 | |
| 10 September 1996 | Birmingham City | A | 0–0 | 17,228 | |
| 13 September 1996 | Huddersfield Town | A | 2–3 | 10,296 | McCarthy (2) |
| 21 September 1996 | Barnsley | H | 0–1 | 7,043 | |
| 28 September 1996 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–1 | 12,178 | |
| 1 October 1996 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–1 | 5,817 | Ormondroyd |
| 5 October 1996 | Port Vale | H | 3–0 | 6,051 | Ormondroyd (2), Banger |
| 12 October 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–3 | 14,813 | Allott |
| 16 October 1996 | Norwich City | A | 0–2 | 12,271 | |
| 19 October 1996 | Reading | H | 1–1 | 7,171 | Örlygsson (pen) |
| 26 October 1996 | Southend United | H | 0–0 | 6,606 | |
| 29 October 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 3–0 | 3,532 | Ormondroyd, Halle (2) |
| 2 November 1996 | Bradford City | A | 3–0 | 10,855 | Barlow (3) |
| 9 November 1996 | Portsmouth | H | 0–0 | 7,639 | |
| 15 November 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–1 | 8,327 | Ormondroyd |
| 23 November 1996 | Oxford United | H | 2–1 | 4,851 | Barlow, Halle |
| 30 November 1996 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | 5,001 | Richardson (pen) |
| 7 December 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–2 | 5,590 | |
| 14 December 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | 22,528 | Ormondroyd |
| 21 December 1996 | Manchester City | H | 2–1 | 12,992 | Ormondroyd, Banger |
| 28 December 1996 | Sheffield United | A | 2–2 | 16,130 | Henry, Rickers |
| 18 January 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | 12,103 | Barlow |
| 25 January 1997 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–2 | 8,588 | Richardson |
| 1 February 1997 | Portsmouth | A | 0–1 | 9,135 | |
| 8 February 1997 | Grimsby Town | H | 0–3 | 6,549 | |
| 15 February 1997 | Oxford United | A | 1–3 | 6,868 | Graham |
| 22 February 1997 | Bradford City | H | 1–2 | 9,524 | Ormondroyd |
| 1 March 1997 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–0 | 10,180 | Banger |
| 4 March 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–2 | 5,417 | Banger |
| 8 March 1997 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | 30,729 | |
| 15 March 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–2 | 9,661 | Rickers (2), Barlow |
| 18 March 1997 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–1 | 4,969 | Barlow |
| 23 March 1997 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–1 | 5,282 | |
| 29 March 1997 | Stoke City | A | 1–2 | 11,755 | Barlow |
| 31 March 1997 | Swindon Town | H | 5–1 | 5,699 | Richardson (pen), Barlow (3), Rush |
| 5 April 1997 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–4 | 11,730 | |
| 8 April 1997 | Birmingham City | H | 2–2 | 5,942 | Richardson (pen), Reid |
| 12 April 1997 | Port Vale | A | 2–3 | 11,701 | Garnett, Duxbury |
| 15 April 1997 | Barnsley | A | 0–2 | 17,476 | |
| 19 April 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–0 | 10,702 | |
| 26 April 1997 | Reading | A | 0–2 | 8,301 | |
| 4 May 1997 | Norwich City | H | 3–0 | 5,562 | McCarthy, Rush, Barlow |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 1997 | Barnsley | A | 0–2 | 9,936 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 First Leg | 20 August 1996 | Grimsby Town | H | 0–1 | 2,975 | |
| R1 Second Leg | 3 September 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–0 (won 5–4 on pens) | 2,371 | McCarthy |
| R2 First Leg | 17 September 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–2 | 3,094 | Redmond, Richardson |
| R2 Second Leg | 24 September 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–0 | 3,711 | Banger |
| R3 | 23 October 1996 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 36,314 | |

## First-team 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 |
| — | GK | IRL | Gary Kelly |
| — | GK | ENG | Jon Hallworth |
| — | DF | ENG | Craig Fleming |
| — | DF | ENG | Mark Foran (on loan from Peterborough United) |
| — | DF | ENG | Shaun Garnett |
| — | DF | ENG | Richard Graham |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Holt |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Redmond |
| — | DF | ENG | Carl Serrant |
| — | DF | NOR | Gunnar Halle |
| — | DF | AUS | Steve Ingham |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Allott |
| — | MF | ENG | David Beresford |
| — | MF | ENG | Lee Duxbury |
| — | MF | ENG | John Gannon |
| — | MF | ENG | Nick Henry |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Andrew Hughes |
| — | MF | ENG | Martin Pemberton |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Reid |
| — | MF | ENG | Lee Richardson |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Rickers |
| — | FW | ENG | Andy Ritchie |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Snodin |
| — | MF | ISL | Þorvaldur Örlygsson |
| — | FW | ENG | Nicky Banger |
| — | FW | ENG | Stuart Barlow |
| — | FW | ENG | David McNiven |
| — | FW | ENG | Scott McNiven |
| — | FW | ENG | Ian Ormondroyd |
| — | FW | ENG | Matthew Rush |
| — | FW | WAL | Sean McCarthy |
| — | FW | NIR | John Morrow |