# 1996–97 Derby County F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was Derby County's first in the Premier League, following their promotion from the First Division the previous season.

## Season summary

Back in the top flight after a five-year exile, Jim Smith's Derby County side never looked in any real danger of an immediate return to Division One, and their 12th-place finish in the final table was their highest final position in eight years. Young striker Dean Sturridge received many plaudits for his goalscoring exploits, which sparked talk of a £7 million transfer to Arsenal, but the move never happened.
The highlight of the season was a 3–2 win against champions Manchester United at Old Trafford, with Paulo Wanchope scoring a "wonder goal" on his English league debut.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 44 | 51 | −7 | 46 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 28 | 38 | −10 | 46 |
| 12 | Derby County | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 45 | 58 | −13 | 46 |
| 13 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 42 |
| 14 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 42 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
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 | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | D | L | D | W | W | D | L | L | D | L | W | W | D | W | D | L | L | L | D | D | L | D | L | W | D | L | W | L | L | W | W | D | W | L | D | W | L |
| Position | 7 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 12 |

## Results

Derby County's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1996 | Leeds United | H | 3–3 | 17,925 | Sturridge (2), Paul Simpson |
| 21 August 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 | 28,219 | Dailly |
| 24 August 1996 | Aston Villa | A | 0–2 | 34,646 | |
| 4 September 1996 | Manchester United | H | 1–1 | 18,025 | Laursen |
| 9 September 1996 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 2–1 | 19,214 | Willems, Flynn |
| 14 September 1996 | Sunderland | H | 1–0 | 17,692 | Asanović (pen) |
| 21 September 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 23,487 | |
| 28 September 1996 | Wimbledon | H | 0–2 | 17,022 | |
| 12 October 1996 | Newcastle United | H | 0–1 | 18,092 | |
| 19 October 1996 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–1 | 27,771 | Dailly |
| 27 October 1996 | Liverpool | A | 1–2 | 39,515 | Ward |
| 2 November 1996 | Leicester City | H | 2–0 | 18,010 | Ward, Whitlow (own goal) |
| 17 November 1996 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–1 | 17,350 | Asanović, Vickers (own goal) |
| 23 November 1996 | West Ham United | A | 1–1 | 24,576 | Sturridge |
| 30 November 1996 | Coventry City | H | 2–1 | 18,042 | Asanović (pen), Ward |
| 7 December 1996 | Arsenal | A | 2–2 | 38,018 | Sturridge, Powell |
| 16 December 1996 | Everton | H | 0–1 | 17,252 | |
| 21 December 1996 | Southampton | A | 1–3 | 14,901 | Dailly |
| 26 December 1996 | Sunderland | A | 0–2 | 22,512 | |
| 28 December 1996 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–0 | 17,847 | |
| 11 January 1997 | Wimbledon | A | 1–1 | 11,467 | Willems |
| 18 January 1997 | Chelsea | A | 1–3 | 27,639 | Asanović |
| 29 January 1997 | Leeds United | A | 0–0 | 27,523 | |
| 1 February 1997 | Liverpool | H | 0–1 | 18,102 | |
| 15 February 1997 | West Ham United | H | 1–0 | 18,057 | Asanović (pen) |
| 19 February 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–2 | 18,060 | Sturridge, Štimac |
| 22 February 1997 | Leicester City | A | 2–4 | 20,323 | Sturridge (2) |
| 1 March 1997 | Chelsea | H | 3–2 | 18,039 | Minto (own goal), Asanović, Ward |
| 5 March 1997 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–6 | 29,739 | Simpson |
| 15 March 1997 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 32,140 | |
| 22 March 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 4–2 | 18,083 | van der Laan, Trollope, Sturridge, Ward |
| 5 April 1997 | Manchester United | A | 3–2 | 55,243 | Ward, Wanchope, Sturridge |
| 9 April 1997 | Southampton | H | 1–1 | 17,839 | Ward |
| 12 April 1997 | Aston Villa | H | 2–1 | 18,071 | Rowett, van der Laan |
| 19 April 1997 | Newcastle United | A | 1–3 | 36,550 | Sturridge |
| 23 April 1997 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–0 | 18,087 | |
| 3 May 1997 | Coventry City | A | 2–1 | 22,854 | Burrows (own goal), Sturridge |
| 11 May 1997 | Arsenal | H | 1–3 | 18,287 | Ward |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 21 January 1997 | Gillingham | A | 2–0 | 9,508 | Willems, van der Laan |
| R4 | 25 January 1997 | Aston Villa | H | 3–1 | 17,977 | van der Laan, Sturridge, Willems |
| R5 | 26 February 1997 | Coventry City | H | 3–2 | 18,003 | Ward, van der Laan, Sturridge |
| QF | 8 March 1997 | Middlesbrough | H | 0–2 | 17,567 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 17 September 1996 | Luton Town | A | 0–1 | 4,459 | |
| R2 2nd Leg | 25 September 1996 | Luton Town | H | 2–2 (lost 2–3 on agg) | 13,569 | Sturridge, Simpson |

## Players
### 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Russell Hoult |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Gary Rowett |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Chris Powell |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Darryl Powell |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Dean Yates |
| 6 | MF | CRO | Igor Štimac (captain) |
| 7 | MF | NED | Robin van der Laan |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Dean Sturridge |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Marco Gabbiadini |
| 10 | MF | CRO | Aljoša Asanović |
| 11 | FW | NED | Ron Willems |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Ashley Ward |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Martin Taylor |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Paul Simpson |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Paul Trollope |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | DF | DEN | Jacob Laursen |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Matt Carbon |
| 18 | MF | IRL | Lee Carsley |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Sean Flynn |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Darren Wassall |
| 21 | GK | EST | Mart Poom |
| 22 | DF | SCO | Christian Dailly |
| 23 | DF | CRC | Mauricio Solís |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Kevin Cooper |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Rob Kozluk |
| 26 | FW | CRC | Paulo Wanchope |
| 27 | DF | IRL | Paul McGrath |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Wayne Sutton |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Nick Wright |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Andy Quy |

### 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 |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Jason Kavanagh (to Wycombe Wanderers) |
| 21 | FW | SWE | Marino Rahmberg (on loan from Degerfors IF) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Paul Parker (to Sheffield United) |

### Reserve squad

    The following players did not appear for the first team this 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 |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Elliott |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Andrew Tretton |

## Statistics
### Starting 11

* GK: #1, Russell Hoult, 31
* RB: #2, Gary Rowett, 35
* CB: #27, Paul McGrath, 23
* CB: #22, Christian Dailly, 31
* CB: #16, Jacob Laursen, 35
* LB: #3, Chris Powell, 35
* CM: #6, Igor Štimac, 21
* CM: #10, Aljoša Asanović, 34
* CM: #4, Darryl Powell, 27
* CF: 8, Dean Sturridge, 29
* CF: #12, Ashley Ward, 25