# 2016–17 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

The 2016–17 season was Bolton Wanderers's first season in the third tier of English football since 1993 following their relegation from the Football League Championship. Along with Football League One, the club competed in the FA Cup, Football League Cup and Football League Trophy. The season covered the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.

## Pre-season

On 20 May 2016, Bolton Wanderers announced their English pre-season schedule in full for both the entire squad and an XI squad. They also announced that there would be a training camp and further games abroad. These games were confirmed on 3 June as being against Danish teams HB Køge and FC Helsingør. On 17 June the away game at Ashton United was cancelled as the home side's pitch would not be ready. On 27 June the game at HB Køge was cancelled as it was felt that the date was too early in the pre-season. The Bolton XI game against Chester on 20 July was also cancelled as it was felt there was not enough first-team players to make up Bolton's team travelling to Tranmere Rovers a day earlier. Due to this, some of the Bolton XI traveled with the first-team for the game and both games were mixtures of first team players and the reserve players.

## Competitions
### League One
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sheffield United (C, P) | 46 | 30 | 10 | 6 | 92 | 47 | +45 | 100 | Promotion to the EFL Championship |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers (P) | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 68 | 36 | +32 | 86 | Promotion to the EFL Championship |
| 3 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 80 | 54 | +26 | 82 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 4 | Fleetwood Town | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 64 | 43 | +21 | 82 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
| 5 | Bradford City | 46 | 20 | 19 | 7 | 62 | 43 | +19 | 79 | Qualification for the League One play-offs |
* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the EFL Championship.
| Matchday | 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 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | W | W | D | D | D | L | D | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | W | W | D | L | L | D | W | W | D | L | D | D | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | L | L | D | W | W |
| Position | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |

#### Matches

On 22 June 2016, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced. Bolton will start the season at home to Sheffield United on 6 August and finish at home to Peterborough United on April 30, 2017.

### FA Cup

Bolton entered the competition at the first round stage for the first time since 1993, alongside all other Football League One and Football League Two sides.

### League Cup

Bolton entered the competition at the first round stage and were drawn to play away at Blackpool in the first round.

### EFL Trophy

Bolton entered the competition at the first round group stage and were drawn against Everton U-23, Blackpool and Cheltenham Town in Northern Group A.
| Pos | Div | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L2 | Cheltenham Town | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 2 | L2 | Blackpool | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | Advance to Round 2 |
| 3 | ACA | Everton U21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | L1 | Bolton Wanderers | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 3 | |

## Squad

| No. | Name | Pos. | Place of birth | Age | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee | End |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 13 | Ben Alnwick | GK | Prudhoe | 30 | 26 | 0 | Peterborough United | 31 August 2016 | Free | 2018 |
| 33 | Mark Howard | GK | Southwark | 30 | 29 | 0 | Sheffield United | 13 July 2016 | Free | 2018 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | Lewis Buxton | RB | Newport | 33 | 11 | 0 | Rotherham United | 5 August 2016 | Free | 2017 |
| 3 | Dean Moxey | LB | Exeter | 31 | 82 | 2 | Crystal Palace | 2 July 2014 | Free | 2017 |
| 4 | Dorian Dervite | CB | Lille | 28 | 83 | 1 | Charlton Athletic | 27 May 2014 | Free | 2017 |
| 5 | Mark Beevers | CB | Barnsley | 27 | 51 | 7 | Millwall | 3 July 2016 | Free | 2018 |
| 15 | Derik Osede | CB | Madrid | 24 | 51 | 0 | Real Madrid | 6 July 2015 | Free | 2018 |
| 20 | Andrew Taylor | LB | Hartlepool | 30 | 40 | 0 | Wigan Athletic | 10 August 2016 | Loan | 2017 |
| 23 | Lawrie Wilson | RB | Collier Row | 29 | 39 | 2 | Charlton Athletic | 5 August 2015 | Free | 2017 |
| 25 | Reece Wabara | RB | Bromsgrove | 25 | 1 | 0 | Free Agent | 15 February 2017 | Free | 2017 |
| 31 | David Wheater | CB | Redcar | 30 | 167 | 15 | Middlesbrough | 20 January 2011 | Undisclosed | 2017 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 6 | Josh Vela | CM | Salford | 23 | 132 | 12 | Academy | 20 March 2011 | Trainee | 2019 |
| 8 | Jay Spearing | DM | Wallasey | 28 | 173 | 10 | Liverpool | 9 August 2013 | Undisclosed | 2017 |
| 10 | Jem Karacan | CM | Catford | 28 | 5 | 1 | Free Agent | 11 March 2017 | Free | 2017 |
| 11 | Viv Solomon-Otabor | LW | London | 21 | 4 | 0 | Birmingham City | 31 January 2017 | Loan | 2017 |
| 16 | Mark Davies | CM | Willenhall | 29 | 208 | 16 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 26 January 2009 | Undisclosed | 2017 |
| 17 | Liam Trotter | CM | Ipswich | 28 | 74 | 6 | Millwall | 1 July 2014 | Free | 2017 |
| 21 | Darren Pratley | CM | Barking | 32 | 168 | 15 | Swansea City | 1 July 2011 | Free | 2018 |
| 22 | Filipe Morais | RW | Benavente | 31 | 19 | 2 | Bradford City | 2 February 2017 | Free | 2017 |
| 24 | James Henry | RW | Reading | 27 | 35 | 2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 31 August 2016 | Loan | 2017 |
| 32 | Tom Thorpe | CM | Manchester | 24 | 25 | 1 | Rotherham United | 31 August 2016 | Loan | 2017 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 12 | Chris Long | CF | Huyton | 22 | 10 | 1 | Burnley | 31 January 2017 | Loan | 2017 |
| 14 | Gary Madine | CF | Gateshead | 26 | 78 | 16 | Sheffield Wednesday | 8 June 2015 | Free | 2017 |
| 19 | Max Clayton | CF | Crewe | 22 | 30 | 2 | Crewe Alexandra | 18 September 2014 | £300,000 | 2017 |
| 35 | Conor Wilkinson | CF | Croydon | 22 | 16 | 0 | Millwall | 2 July 2013 | Undisclosed | 2018 |
| 45 | Adam Le Fondre | CF | Stockport | 30 | 36 | 14 | Cardiff City | 31 January 2017 | Loan | 2017 |
| Out on Loan ||||||||||||
| 1 | Ben Amos | GK | Macclesfield | 27 | 45 | 0 | Manchester United | 1 July 2015 | Free | 2019 |
| 7 | Chris Taylor | LM | Oldham | 30 | 23 | 0 | Blackburn Rovers | 2 July 2016 | Free | 2018 |
| 9 | Jamie Proctor | CF | Preston | 25 | 29 | 1 | Bradford City | 1 July 2016 | Free | 2018 |
| 28 | Tom Walker | MF | Salford | 21 | 21 | 1 | Academy | 1 July 2014 | Trainee | 2017 |

### Statistics

    As of 1 May 2017
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League One | League One | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Lewis Buxton | 11 | 0 | 9+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Dean Moxey | 22 | 0 | 16+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | FRA | Dorian Dervite | 14 | 0 | 13+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Mark Beevers | 51 | 7 | 45+0 | 7 | 4+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Josh Vela | 53 | 10 | 45+1 | 9 | 3+0 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jay Spearing | 42 | 3 | 36+1 | 3 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | TUR | Jem Karacan | 5 | 1 | 2+3 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Viv Solomon-Otabor | 4 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Chris Long | 10 | 1 | 3+7 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Ben Alnwick | 26 | 0 | 20+1 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Gary Madine | 42 | 10 | 36+0 | 9 | 3+0 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ESP | Derik | 28 | 0 | 19+6 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Mark Davies | 6 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Liam Trotter | 23 | 3 | 17+3 | 2 | 1+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Max Clayton | 13 | 1 | 0+10 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Andrew Taylor | 40 | 0 | 31+3 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Darren Pratley | 12 | 0 | 11+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | POR | Filipe Morais | 19 | 2 | 19+0 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Lawrie Wilson | 26 | 1 | 18+0 | 1 | 4+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | James Henry | 35 | 2 | 12+18 | 1 | 2+1 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Reece Wabara | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | ENG | David Wheater | 49 | 9 | 43+0 | 9 | 4+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Tom Thorpe | 25 | 1 | 16+5 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Mark Howard | 29 | 0 | 26+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 35 | FW | ENG | Conor Wilkinson | 9 | 0 | 2+6 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Alex Perry | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | ENG | Jack Earing | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 43 | FW | IRN | Alex Samizadeh | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 45 | FW | ENG | Adam Le Fondre | 19 | 6 | 17+2 | 6 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Out on Loan: ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Ben Amos | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Chris Taylor | 23 | 0 | 3+13 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Jamie Proctor | 29 | 1 | 7+14 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Tom Walker | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Player who left the club during the course of the season: ||||||||||||||
| 10 | FW | ENG | Zach Clough | 29 | 9 | 17+6 | 9 | 4+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Keshi Anderson | 10 | 1 | 3+5 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Sammy Ameobi | 24 | 4 | 15+5 | 2 | 2+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Kaiyne Woolery | 3 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Alex Finney | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |

### Goals record

    As of 1 May 2017
| Rank | No. | Nat. | Po. | Name | League One | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | Total |
| 1 | 6 | | CM | Josh Vela | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1 | 14 | | CF | Gary Madine | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | 10 | | SS | Zach Clough | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | 31 | | CB | David Wheater | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | 5 | | CB | Mark Beevers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 6 | 45 | | CF | Adam Le Fondre | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 7 | 22 | | RW | Sammy Ameobi | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | 8 | | DM | Jay Spearing | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | 17 | | CM | Liam Trotter | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | 22 | | RW | Filipe Morais | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 24 | | RW | James Henry | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | 9 | | CF | Jamie Proctor | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 10 | | CM | Jem Karacan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 11 | | CF | Keshi Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 12 | | SS | Chris Long | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 19 | | LW | Max Clayton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 23 | | RB | Lawrie Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 30 | | CF | Kaiyne Woolery | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | 32 | | CM | Tom Thorpe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 66 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 73 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 1 May 2017
| Rank | No. | Nat. | Po. | Name | League One | League One | League One | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy | EFL Trophy | Total | Total | Total |
| 1 | 8 | | DM | Jay Spearing | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 6 | | CM | Josh Vela | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 5 | | CB | Mark Beevers | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 17 | | CM | Liam Trotter | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 31 | | CB | David Wheater | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 20 | | LB | Andrew Taylor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 14 | | CF | Gary Madine | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 3 | | LB | Dean Moxey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 16 | | CM | Mark Davies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 35 | | CF | Conor Wilkinson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 4 | | CB | Dorian Dervite | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 7 | | LM | Chris Taylor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 9 | | CF | Jamie Proctor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 10 | | SS | Zach Clough | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 15 | | CB | Derik Osede | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 23 | | RB | Lawrie Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 32 | | CM | Tom Thorpe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 2 | | RB | Lewis Buxton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 11 | | CF | Keshi Anderson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | 12 | | CF | Chris Long | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | 13 | | GK | Ben Alnwick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 21 | | CM | Darren Pratley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 22 | | RW | Sammy Ameobi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 24 | | RW | James Henry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 30 | | CF | Kaiyne Woolery | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 72 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 2 | 0 |

## Transfers

At the completion of the previous season the club announced that twenty players would not be offered new contracts once their present ones concluded. These players included senior squad members Neil Danns, Stephen Dobbie, Tom Eaves, Liam Feeney, Robert Hall, Emile Heskey, Paul Rachubka, Oscar Threlkeld, David Wheater and Hayden White. These players were followed out of the club by young defender Tyler Garratt who signed for Doncaster Rovers on 28 June for an undisclosed fee.
On 1 July, it was reported that the transfer embargo that the club had been under since the previous season was to be at least partially lifted by the Football League and the day after former Blackburn Rovers midfielder Chris Taylor signed on a free transfer, followed the following day by Millwall defender Mark Beevers, also on a free transfer. They were followed on 5 July by Bradford City forward Jamie Proctor, also signed on a free transfer. Former Sheffield United goalkeeper Mark Howard then signed for the club. David Wheater re-signed on a one-year deal after initially being released at the end of the previous season. He was shortly followed to the club by defender Lewis Buxton after his release from Rotherham United.

### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 2 July 2016 | LM | Chris Taylor | Blackburn Rovers | Free transfer |
| 3 July 2016 | CB | Mark Beevers | Millwall | Free transfer |
| 5 July 2016 | CF | Jamie Proctor | Bradford City | Free transfer |
| 13 July 2016 | GK | Mark Howard | Sheffield United | Free transfer |
| 5 August 2016 | RB | Lewis Buxton | Rotherham United | Free transfer |
| 31 August 2016 | GK | Ben Alnwick | Peterborough United | Free transfer |
| 2 February 2017 | RW | Filipe Morais | Bradford City | Free transfer |
| 15 February 2017 | RB | Reece Wabara | Wigan Athletic | Free transfer |
| 11 March 2017 | CM | Jem Karacan | Unattached | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 28 June 2016 | LB | Tyler Garratt | Doncaster Rovers | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2016 | GK | Harry Campbell | Burton Albion | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | DM | Channing Campbell-Young | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CM | Jon Ceberio | Real Sociedad C | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CM | Chris Cvetko | FC Blau-Weiß Linz | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CM | Neil Danns | Bury | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | SS | Stephen Dobbie | Queen of the South | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CF | Tom Eaves | Yeovil Town | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | RW | Liam Feeney | Blackburn Rovers | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | GK | Ross Fitzsimons | Braintree Town | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | LW | Robert Hall | Oxford United | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CF | Emile Heskey | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CM | Jordan Lussey | Southport | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | RB | Niall Maher | Bury | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | GK | Paul Rachubka | Bury | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CB | Quade Taylor | Braintree Town | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | CF | Jamie Thomas | Burnley | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | DM | Oscar Threlkeld | Plymouth Argyle | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | LB | Yvan Wassi | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2016 | RB | Hayden White | Peterborough United | Released |
| 7 July 2016 | RB | Francesco Pisano | Olbia Calcio 1905 | Released |
| 22 July 2016 | CB | Rob Holding | Arsenal | £2,500,000 |
| 1 August 2016 | DF | Nathaniel Phillips | Liverpool | Free transfer |
| 1 August 2016 | DM | Filip Twardzik | Free Agent | Released |
| 8 August 2016 | ST | Daniel McKenna | Witton Albion | Free transfer |
| 12 August 2016 | CB | Alex Finney | Queens Park Rangers | Released |
| 31 August 2016 | CF | Kaiyne Woolery | Wigan Athletic | £207,000 |
| 31 January 2017 | SS | Zach Clough | Nottingham Forest | £2,610,000 |
* ↑ Following Campbell's release, he signed for Burton Albion.
* ↑ Following Danns' release, he signed for Bury.
* ↑ Following Eaves' release, he signed for Yeovil Town.
* ↑ Following Feeney's release, he signed for Blackburn Rovers.
* ↑ Following Fitzsimons release, he signed for Braintree Town.
* ↑ Following Hall's release, he signed for Oxford United.
* ↑ Following Maher's release, he signed for Bury.
* ↑ Following Rachubka's release, he signed for Bury.
* ↑ Following Thomas's release, he signed for Burnley.
* ↑ Following Threlkeld's release, he signed for Plymouth Argyle.
* ↑ Following White's release, he signed for Peterborough United.
* ↑ Following Finney's release, he signed for Queens Park Rangers.

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Until |
| 10 August 2016 | LB | Andrew Taylor | Wigan Athletic | End of Season |
| 31 August 2016 | LW | Sammy Ameobi | Newcastle United | 3 January 2017 |
| 31 August 2016 | CF | Keshi Anderson | Crystal Palace | 16 January 2017 |
| 31 August 2016 | RW | James Henry | Wolverhampton Wanderers | End of Season |
| 31 August 2016 | CB | Tom Thorpe | Rotherham United | End of Season |
| 30 January 2017 | SS | Chris Long | Burnley | End of Season |
| 31 January 2017 | CF | Adam Le Fondre | Cardiff City | End of Season |
| 31 January 2017 | LW | Viv Solomon-Otabor | Birmingham City | End of Season |
* ↑ On 16 January 2017, Keshi Anderson's season-long loan was terminated.

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Until |
| 5 August 2016 | ST | George Newell | AFC Fylde | End of Season |
| 26 August 2016 | GK | Ben Amos | Cardiff City | End of Season |
| 31 August 2016 | CM | Tom Walker | Bury | End of Season |
| 31 August 2016 | CF | Conor Wilkinson | Chesterfield | January 2017 |
| 31 January 2017 | CF | Jamie Proctor | Carlisle United | End of Season |
| 31 January 2017 | LM | Chris Taylor | Oldham Athletic | End of Season |

## Summary

| Games played | 54 (46 League One, 4 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 3 EFL Trophy) |
| Games won | 28 (25 League One, 2 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 1 EFL Trophy) |
| Games drawn | 12 (11 League One, 1 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 0 EFL Trophy) |
| Games lost | 14 (10 League One, 1 FA Cup, 1 League Cup, 2 EFL Trophy) |
| Goals scored | 75 (68 League One, 4 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 1 EFL Trophy) |
| Goals conceded | 47 (36 League One, 4 FA Cup, 4 League Cup, 3 EFL Trophy) |
| Goal difference | +28 |
| Clean sheets | 20 (17 League One, 2 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 1 EFL Trophy) |
| Yellow cards | 82 (72 League One, 6 FA Cup, 2 League Cup, 2 EFL Trophy) |
| Red cards | 2 (2 League One, 0 FA Cup, 0 League Cup, 0 EFL Trophy) |
| Worst Discipline | Jay Spearing (13 , 0 0 ) |
| Best result | 4–0 vs Gillingham (12 Dec 16), 4–0 vs Gillingham (14 Mar 17) |
| Worst result | 2–4 vs Blackpool (9 Aug 16) |
| Most appearances | Josh Vela (53) |
| Top scorer | Josh Vela, Gary Madine (10) |
| Points | 86 |