# 1996–97 West Bromwich Albion F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, West Bromwich Albion F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In February 1997, Ray Harford was named as West Bromwich's new manager in place of Alan Buckley, who was sacked with the Baggies hovering just above the relegation zone in Division One (which had been a familiar pattern since their promotion in 1993) and Harford did much to keep the club clear of relegation.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 14 | Manchester City | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 59 | 60 | −1 | 61 |
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 52 | 66 | −14 | 59 |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 68 | 72 | −4 | 57 |
| 17 | Oxford United | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 64 | 68 | −4 | 57 |
| 18 | Reading | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 57 |

## Results

West Bromwich Albion's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1996 | Barnsley | H | 1–2 | 18,561 | Hunt (pen) |
| 24 August 1996 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–1 | 9,642 | Taylor |
| 27 August 1996 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–0 | 13,849 | |
| 7 September 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–0 | 12,886 | Peschisolido, Taylor |
| 10 September 1996 | Reading | H | 3–2 | 13,096 | Hunt (3) |
| 15 September 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–4 | 20,711 | Hamilton, Taylor |
| 21 September 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 3–2 | 7,848 | Gilbert, Peschisolido, Groves |
| 28 September 1996 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–0 | 15,606 | |
| 1 October 1996 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–1 | 5,817 | Groves |
| 12 October 1996 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–1 | 14,960 | Hunt |
| 16 October 1996 | Stoke City | H | 0–2 | 16,501 | |
| 19 October 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–1 | 7,187 | Sneekes |
| 26 October 1996 | Bradford City | H | 0–0 | 14,249 | |
| 30 October 1996 | Swindon Town | A | 3–2 | 8,909 | Holmes, Peschisolido, Sneekes |
| 2 November 1996 | Portsmouth | A | 0–4 | 7,354 | |
| 9 November 1996 | Port Vale | H | 1–1 | 13,975 | Taylor |
| 13 November 1996 | Sheffield United | H | 1–2 | 12,167 | Coldicott |
| 16 November 1996 | Southend United | A | 3–2 | 5,120 | Peschisolido, Smith, Hunt |
| 27 November 1996 | Manchester City | A | 2–3 | 24,200 | Peschisolido, Hamilton |
| 30 November 1996 | Bradford City | A | 1–1 | 12,003 | Groves |
| 8 December 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–2 | 13,082 | Peschisolido, Taylor |
| 18 December 1996 | Norwich City | H | 5–1 | 12,620 | Hamilton (2), Hunt (2), Peschisolido |
| 21 December 1996 | Oxford United | H | 3–3 | 13,782 | Sneekes, Hunt (pen), Taylor |
| 26 December 1996 | Reading | A | 2–2 | 10,583 | Peschisolido, Groves |
| 28 December 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 4–1 | 19,061 | Sneekes, Smith, Hunt, Peschisolido |
| 1 January 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–2 | 14,770 | Burgess |
| 12 January 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | 27,336 | |
| 18 January 1997 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–1 | 12,103 | Taylor |
| 25 January 1997 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–5 | 9,381 | |
| 1 February 1997 | Port Vale | A | 2–2 | 8,093 | Peschisolido (2) |
| 4 February 1997 | Birmingham City | A | 3–2 | 21,600 | Taylor (2), Sneekes |
| 8 February 1997 | Swindon Town | H | 1–2 | 16,219 | Hunt (pen) |
| 15 February 1997 | Norwich City | A | 4–2 | 14,845 | Peschisolido (3), Sneekes |
| 22 February 1997 | Portsmouth | H | 0–2 | 15,800 | |
| 2 March 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 13,258 | |
| 5 March 1997 | Southend United | H | 4–0 | 11,792 | Sneekes, Murphy, Hunt, Raven |
| 8 March 1997 | Oxford United | A | 0–1 | 8,502 | |
| 16 March 1997 | Birmingham City | H | 2–0 | 16,125 | Sneekes, Hamilton |
| 22 March 1997 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–2 | 14,312 | Hunt |
| 28 March 1997 | Barnsley | A | 0–2 | 12,087 | |
| 5 April 1997 | Sheffield United | A | 2–1 | 15,004 | Coldicott, Taylor |
| 9 April 1997 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–0 | 12,866 | Peschisolido |
| 12 April 1997 | Manchester City | H | 1–3 | 20,087 | Murphy |
| 19 April 1997 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–0 | 12,748 | |
| 26 April 1997 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–0 | 15,574 | Hunt, Coldicott |
| 4 May 1997 | Stoke City | A | 1–2 | 22,500 | Hunt (pen) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 4 January 1997 | Chelsea | A | 0–3 | 27,446 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 First Leg | 20 August 1996 | Colchester United | A | 3–2 | 3,521 | Hunt, Hamilton, Donovan |
| R1 Second Leg | 3 September 1996 | Colchester United | H | 1–3 (lost 4–5 on agg) | 9,809 | Groves |

## First-team squad

    Squad at end of 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Paul Crichton |
| — | GK | ENG | Alan Miller |
| — | GK | ENG | Nigel Spink |
| — | GK | SCO | Gary Germaine |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Agnew |
| — | DF | ENG | Daryl Burgess |
| — | DF | ENG | Craig Herbert |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Holmes |
| — | DF | ENG | Roger Joseph |
| — | DF | ENG | Shane Nicholson |
| — | DF | ENG | Graham Potter |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Raven |
| — | DF | WAL | Paul Mardon |
| — | DF | AUS | Andy McDermott |
| — | DF | AUS | Shaun Murphy |
| — | MF | ENG | Dean Bennett |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Butler |
| — | MF | ENG | Stacy Coldicott |
| — | MF | ENG | Shaun Cunnington |
| — | MF | ENG | Julian Darby |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Donovan |
| — | MF | ENG | Dave Gilbert |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Groves |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Hamilton |
| — | MF | ENG | David Smith |
| — | MF | NED | Richard Sneekes |
| — | FW | ENG | Lee Ashcroft |
| — | FW | ENG | Andy Hunt |
| — | FW | ENG | Michael Rodosthenous |
| — | FW | ENG | Bob Taylor |
| — | FW | CAN | Paul Peschisolido |

### 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Chris Adamson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Gareth Hanmer |