# 1996–97 Swindon Town F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Swindon Town F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

With Swindon's financial state getting more precarious, they could not afford to build a side which would be able to win promotion to the Premier League, with McMahon's only significant summer signing the underwhelming Gary Elkins from Wimbledon. In 1996–97 season, Swindon held a mid-table position right up until the middle of March, but then scored just two goals in their last ten games – getting thumped 7–0 at Bolton, 5–1 at Oldham and 4–0 at Ipswich in the process – ending up in a disappointing 19th place.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 17 | Oxford United | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 64 | 68 | −4 | 57 |
| 18 | Reading | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 57 |
| 19 | Swindon Town | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 52 | 71 | −19 | 54 |
| 20 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 54 |
| 21 | Bradford City | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 47 | 72 | −25 | 48 |

## Results

Swindon Town's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1996 | Norwich City | A | 0–2 | 15,165 | |
| 24 August 1996 | Port Vale | H | 1–1 | 8,706 | Robinson |
| 28 August 1996 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 8,025 | Allison |
| 31 August 1996 | Southend United | A | 3–1 | 4,011 | Watson, Cowe, Finney |
| 7 September 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–2 | 4,089 | Cowe |
| 11 September 1996 | Portsmouth | H | 0–1 | 8,685 | |
| 14 September 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–1 | 8,430 | Walters (pen), Horlock |
| 21 September 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 13,662 | Cowe |
| 27 September 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–2 | 8,572 | Horlock |
| 2 October 1996 | Bradford City | A | 1–2 | 9,249 | Walters (pen) |
| 12 October 1996 | Oxford United | H | 1–0 | 10,811 | Horlock |
| 16 October 1996 | Huddersfield Town | H | 6–0 | 7,724 | Walters, Thorne (3), Allison, Horlock |
| 19 October 1996 | Crystal Palace | A | 2–1 | 15,088 | Allison, Thorne |
| 26 October 1996 | Reading | A | 0–2 | 11,018 | |
| 30 October 1996 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–3 | 8,909 | Allen, Thorne |
| 2 November 1996 | Manchester City | H | 2–0 | 14,374 | Allison (2) |
| 16 November 1996 | Barnsley | H | 3–0 | 10,837 | Walters, Gooden, Finney |
| 19 November 1996 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–3 | 7,086 | Thorne, Allison |
| 23 November 1996 | Birmingham City | A | 0–1 | 16,559 | |
| 26 November 1996 | Sheffield United | A | 0–2 | 12,301 | |
| 30 November 1996 | Reading | H | 3–1 | 10,874 | Horlock, Allison, Walters |
| 7 December 1996 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–2 | 10,565 | |
| 14 December 1996 | Stoke City | A | 0–2 | 10,102 | |
| 22 December 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–2 | 8,946 | Walters, Allison |
| 26 December 1996 | Portsmouth | A | 1–0 | 10,605 | Cowe |
| 10 January 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–2 | 8,763 | Horlock |
| 18 January 1997 | Bradford City | H | 1–1 | 7,851 | Horlock |
| 25 January 1997 | Grimsby Town | H | 3–3 | 9,127 | Horlock, Allison, Walters |
| 29 January 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 23,003 | |
| 1 February 1997 | Sheffield United | H | 2–1 | 8,811 | Elkins, Holdsworth (own goal) |
| 5 February 1997 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | 10,830 | Brevett (own goal) |
| 8 February 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–1 | 16,219 | Allison, Smith |
| 22 February 1997 | Manchester City | A | 0–3 | 27,262 | |
| 26 February 1997 | Birmingham City | H | 3–1 | 7,428 | Bullock, Broomes, Cowe |
| 1 March 1997 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | 9,256 | Allison |
| 4 March 1997 | Barnsley | A | 1–1 | 9,789 | Thorne |
| 8 March 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–7 | 13,981 | |
| 15 March 1997 | Stoke City | H | 1–0 | 8,878 | Thorne |
| 22 March 1997 | Port Vale | A | 0–1 | 6,142 | |
| 29 March 1997 | Norwich City | H | 0–3 | 10,249 | |
| 31 March 1997 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–5 | 5,699 | Cowe |
| 5 April 1997 | Southend United | H | 0–0 | 6,730 | |
| 12 April 1997 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–4 | 8,591 | |
| 19 April 1997 | Oxford United | A | 0–2 | 8,167 | |
| 26 April 1997 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–2 | 10,447 | |
| 4 May 1997 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–0 | 11,506 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 1997 | Everton | A | 0–3 | 20,411 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 First Leg | 20 August 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | 7,451 | Allison, Leitch |
| R1 Second Leg | 3 September 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–1 (won 2–1 on agg) | 10,760 | |
| R2 First Leg | 18 September 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–2 | 7,843 | Walters |
| R2 Second Leg | 25 September 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–1 (won 4–3 on agg) | 6,976 | O'Sullivan, Allison, Thorne |
| R3 | 23 October 1996 | Manchester United | A | 1–2 | 49,305 | Thorne |

## Squad

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 | Fraser Digby |
| — | GK | ENG | Steve Mildenhall |
| — | GK | AUS | Frank Talia |
| — | DF | ENG | Marlon Broomes (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |
| — | DF | ENG | Ian Culverhouse |
| — | DF | ENG | Jason Drysdale |
| — | DF | ENG | Gary Elkins |
| — | DF | ENG | David Kerslake (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| — | DF | ENG | Phil King |
| — | DF | ENG | Mark Robinson |
| — | DF | ENG | Mark Seagraves |
| — | DF | ENG | Shaun Taylor |
| — | DF | IRL | Graham Coughlan (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) |
| — | DF | IRL | Wayne O'Sullivan |
| — | DF | FRA | Frédéric Darras |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Allen |
| — | MF | ENG | Graham Anthony |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Darren Bullock |
| — | MF | ENG | Ty Gooden |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Holcroft |
| — | MF | ENG | Robin Hulbert |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve McMahon |
| — | MF | ENG | Alex Smith |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Walters |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Watson |
| — | MF | WAL | Michael Pattimore |
| — | MF | SCO | Lee Collins |
| — | MF | SCO | Scott Leitch |
| — | MF | NIR | Kevin Horlock |
| — | FW | ENG | Wayne Allison |
| — | FW | ENG | Steve Cowe |
| — | FW | ENG | Steve Finney |
| — | FW | ENG | Peter Thorne |