# 1996–97 Crystal Palace F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Crystal Palace competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

Crystal Palace finished 6th place in the First Division and gained promotion to the Premier League after a 1–0 win in the play-off finals over Sheffield United at Wembley, David Hopkin scoring the winner in the 89th minute.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 4 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 68 | 50 | +18 | 74 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 75 | 52 | +23 | 73 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 6 | Crystal Palace (O, P) | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 71 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 7 | Portsmouth | 46 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 68 | |
| 8 | Port Vale | 46 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 67 | |

## Results

Crystal Palace's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### First Division

First Division match results :
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 18 August 1996 | Birmingham City | A | 0–1 | | 18,765 |
| 24 August 1996 | Oldham Athletic | H | 3–1 | Hopkin 11', 23', Dyer 44' | 12,822 |
| 27 August 1996 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–0 | | 13,849 |
| 31 August 1996 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–1 | Freedman 69' | 11,166 |
| 7 September 1996 | Stoke City | A | 2–2 | Hopkin 13', Freedman 22' | 13,540 |
| 10 September 1996 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–0 | | 12,520 |
| 14 September 1996 | Manchester City | H | 3–1 | Hopkin 12', 49' Andersen 31' | 17,638 |
| 21 September 1996 | Reading | A | 6–1 | Tuttle 27', Freedman 37', Muscat 50', Dyer 56' (pen.), Veart 58', Ndah 77' | 9,675 |
| 28 September 1996 | Southend United | H | 6–1 | Muscat 2, Houghton 38', Hopkin 49', Veart 53', Dyer 72', Freedman 79' | 14,858 |
| 1 October 1996 | Portsmouth | A | 2–2 | Veart 28', Freedman 63' | 7,212 |
| 12 October 1996 | Barnsley | A | 0–0 | | 9,183 |
| 16 October 1996 | Port Vale | A | 2–0 | Dyer 2', Roberts 15' | 4,522 |
| 19 October 1996 | Swindon Town | H | 1–2 | Dyer 23' (pen.) | 15,088 |
| 26 October 1996 | Grimsby Town | H | 3–0 | Dyer 44', Veart 56', Freedman 29' | 13,665 |
| 29 October 1996 | Bradford City | A | 4–0 | Shipperley 36', 38', Freedman 58', Hopkin 83' | 10,091 |
| 2 November 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 3–1 | Dyer 15', Freedman 48', Hopkin 85 | 8,613 |
| 10 November 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–0 | Dyer 40', Shipperley 71', Hopkin 90 | 15,324 |
| 16 November 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–2 | Hopkin 39', Freedman 41' | 16,892 |
| 23 November 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–3 | Veart 51', Dyer 55' | 20,655 |
| 30 November 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–2 | Shipperley 5' | 5,115 |
| 7 December 1996 | Oxford United | H | 2–2 | Dyer 16', 80' | 17,879 |
| 14 December 1996 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | Shipperley 3' | 16,395 |
| 17 December 1996 | Sheffield United | H | 0–1 | | 12,801 |
| 21 December 1996 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | Shipperley 87' | 16,279 |
| 26 December 1996 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–3 | Gordon 65' (pen.) | 16,020 |
| 11 January 1997 | Manchester City | A | 1–1 | Ndah 83' | 27,395 |
| 18 January 1997 | Portsmouth | H | 1–2 | Quinn 30' | 15,498 |
| 28 January 1997 | Southend United | A | 1–2 | Freedman 68' | 5,061 |
| 1 February 1997 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–0 | Hopkin 22' | 16,467 |
| 8 February 1997 | Bradford City | H | 3–1 | Shipperley 61', Ndah 65', Freedman 74' | 14,844 |
| 15 February 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 3–0 | Tuttle 17', Veart 72', Dyer 73' | 25,919 |
| 22 February 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 0–1 | | 15,396 |
| 1 March 1997 | Oxford United | A | 4–1 | Gordon 37', Dyer 50', 82', Hopkin 63' | 8,572 |
| 4 March 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | Linighan 50' | 16,035 |
| 8 March 1997 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–2 | Dyer 60' | 15,000 |
| 15 March 1997 | Norwich City | H | 2–0 | Gordon 30' (pen), McKenzie 35' | 17,378 |
| 23 March 1997 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–0 | McKenzie 3' | 5,282 |
| 29 March 1997 | Birmingham City | H | 0–1 | | 16,331 |
| 5 April 1997 | Huddersfield Town | H | 1–1 | Shipperley 52' | 13,541 |
| 9 April 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | | 12,866 |
| 12 April 1997 | Sheffield United | A | 0–3 | | 20,051 |
| 15 April 1997 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | Dyer 6', 21' | 11,382 |
| 19 April 1997 | Barnsley | H | 1–1 | Shipperley 30' | 20,006 |
| 23 April 1997 | Reading | H | 3–2 | Linighan 13', Hopkin 49', Shipperley 69' | 12,552 |
| 26 April 1997 | Swindon Town | A | 2–0 | Shipperley 44', 89' | 10,447 |
| 4 May 1997 | Port Vale | H | 1–1 | Roberts 12' | 16,401 |

### First Division Play Offs

Play Off Semi-finals:
Palace... 3 Wolves... 1(Shipperley, Freedman (2)) Wolves...2 Palace... 1 (Hopkin)
Play Off Final at Wembley:
Palace... 1 Sheffield United... 0 (Hopkin)

### League Cup
## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Tom Evans |
| — | GK | ENG | Carlo Nash |
| — | GK | ENG | Chris Day |
| — | DF | ENG | Danny Boxall |
| — | DF | ENG | Sagi Burton |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Cyrus |
| — | DF | ENG | Marc Edworthy |
| — | DF | ENG | Dean Gordon |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Linighan |
| — | DF | AUS | Kevin Muscat |
| — | DF | ENG | Dave Tuttle |
| — | DF | WAL | Gareth Davies |
| — | DF | IRL | Rob Quinn |
| — | DF | NOR | Leif Andersen |
| — | MF | ENG | Hayden Mullins |
| — | MF | ENG | Darren Pitcher |
| — | MF | ENG | Andy Roberts |
| — | MF | ENG | Simon Rodger |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | SCO | David Hopkin |
| — | MF | SCO | Steven Thomson |
| — | MF | NIR | Wayne Carlisle |
| — | MF | NIR | Gareth Graham |
| — | MF | IRL | Tony Folan |
| — | MF | IRL | Ray Houghton |
| — | MF | IRL | Richard Kennedy |
| — | MF | IRL | Tony Scully |
| — | MF | AUS | Carl Veart |
| — | FW | ENG | Bruce Dyer |
| — | FW | ENG | Jason Harris |
| — | FW | ENG | Leon McKenzie |
| — | FW | ENG | Clinton Morrison |
| — | FW | ENG | George Ndah |
| — | FW | ENG | Neil Shipperley |
| — | FW | WAL | Andy Martin |
| — | FW | SCO | Dougie Freedman |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Bobby Mimms (to Preston North End) |
| — | DF | ENG | Jamie Vincent (to AFC Bournemouth) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | WAL | Paul Trollope (on loan from Derby County) |