# 1996–97 Everton F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Everton F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

## Season summary

After finishing sixth the previous season, Everton started the new season with much hope and ambitions of qualifying for Europe or winning a major trophy. But the mid-season sale of top scoring winger Andrei Kanchelskis to Fiorentina sabotaged Everton's chances of more success, and manager Joe Royle resigned in March, less than two years after guiding the club to FA Cup glory. Captain Dave Watson took over as acting manager and confirmed Everton's survival with a 15th-place finish, before Howard Kendall returned to Goodison Park for his third spell as manager.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 13 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 42 | 43 | −1 | 42 |
| 14 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 42 |
| 15 | Everton | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 42 |
| 16 | Southampton | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 41 |
| 17 | Coventry City | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 38 | 54 | −16 | 41 |

### 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 | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H |
| Result | W | D | D | L | L | L | D | W | W | W | D | W | D | W | L | D | W | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | D | L | W | L | L | D | W | D | D | L | L |
| Position | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 15 |

## Results

Everton's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1996 | Newcastle United | H | 2–0 | 40,117 | Unsworth (pen), Speed |
| 21 August 1996 | Manchester United | A | 2–2 | 54,943 | Ferguson (2) |
| 24 August 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–0 | 29,696 | |
| 4 September 1996 | Aston Villa | H | 0–1 | 39,115 | |
| 7 September 1996 | Wimbledon | A | 0–4 | 13,684 | |
| 14 September 1996 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–2 | 39,250 | Short |
| 21 September 1996 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–1 | 27,091 | Unsworth |
| 28 September 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–0 | 34,160 | Kanchelskis, Stuart |
| 12 October 1996 | West Ham United | H | 2–1 | 36,571 | Stuart, Speed |
| 28 October 1996 | Nottingham Forest | A | 1–0 | 19,892 | Short |
| 4 November 1996 | Coventry City | H | 1–1 | 31,477 | Stuart |
| 16 November 1996 | Southampton | H | 7–1 | 35,669 | Stuart, Kanchelskis (2), Speed (3), Barmby |
| 20 November 1996 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | 40,751 | Speed |
| 23 November 1996 | Leicester City | A | 2–1 | 20,975 | Hinchcliffe, Unsworth |
| 30 November 1996 | Sunderland | H | 1–3 | 40,087 | Ferguson |
| 7 December 1996 | Chelsea | A | 2–2 | 28,418 | Branch, Kanchelskis |
| 16 December 1996 | Derby County | A | 1–0 | 17,252 | Barmby |
| 21 December 1996 | Leeds United | H | 0–0 | 36,954 | |
| 26 December 1996 | Middlesbrough | A | 2–4 | 29,673 | Unsworth, Ferguson |
| 28 December 1996 | Wimbledon | H | 1–3 | 36,733 | Stuart |
| 1 January 1997 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–2 | 30,427 | |
| 11 January 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–2 | 24,175 | Ferguson |
| 19 January 1997 | Arsenal | A | 1–3 | 38,095 | Ferguson |
| 29 January 1997 | Newcastle United | A | 1–4 | 36,143 | Speed |
| 1 February 1997 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–0 | 32,567 | Ferguson, Barmby |
| 22 February 1997 | Coventry City | A | 0–0 | 19,497 | |
| 1 March 1997 | Arsenal | H | 0–2 | 36,980 | |
| 5 March 1997 | Southampton | A | 2–2 | 15,134 | Ferguson, Speed |
| 8 March 1997 | Leeds United | A | 0–1 | 32,055 | |
| 15 March 1997 | Derby County | H | 1–0 | 32,140 | D Watson |
| 22 March 1997 | Manchester United | H | 0–2 | 40,079 | |
| 5 April 1997 | Aston Villa | A | 1–3 | 39,339 | Unsworth |
| 9 April 1997 | Leicester City | H | 1–1 | 30,368 | Branch |
| 12 April 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–0 | 36,380 | Speed |
| 16 April 1997 | Liverpool | H | 1–1 | 40,177 | Ferguson |
| 19 April 1997 | West Ham United | A | 2–2 | 24,545 | Branch, Ferguson |
| 3 May 1997 | Sunderland | A | 0–3 | 22,108 | |
| 11 May 1997 | Chelsea | H | 1–2 | 38,321 | Barmby |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 1997 | Swindon Town | H | 3–0 | 20,411 | Kanchelskis, Barmby, Ferguson |
| R4 | 25 January 1997 | Bradford City | H | 2–3 | 30,007 | O'Brien (own goal), Speed |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 18 September 1996 | York City | H | 1–1 | 11,527 | Kanchelskis |
| R2 2nd Leg | 24 September 1996 | York City | A | 2–3 | 7,354 | Rideout, Speed |

## 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 |
| 1 | GK | WAL | Neville Southall |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Earl Barrett |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Andy Hinchcliffe |
| 4 | DF | ENG | David Unsworth |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Dave Watson (captain) |
| 6 | DF | IRL | Terry Phelan |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Graham Stuart |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Paul Rideout |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Duncan Ferguson |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Gary Speed |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Nick Barmby |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Paul Gerrard |
| 15 | DF | DEN | Claus Thomsen |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Adam Eaton |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Joe Parkinson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | DF | SUI | Marc Hottiger |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Tony Grant |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Craig Short |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Gavin McCann |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Michael Branch |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Jon O'Connor |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Michael Ball |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Graham Allen |
| 27 | DF | IRL | Richard Dunne |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Danny Cadamarteri |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Richard Townsend |
| 32 | MF | ENG | Robert Tynan |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Edward Hussin |
| 35 | DF | ENG | John Hills |

### 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 |
| 11 | MF | SWE | Anders Limpar (to Birmingham City) |
| 14 | MF | ENG | John Ebbrell (to Sheffield United) |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Matt Jackson (to Norwich City) |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Vinny Samways (to UD Las Palmas) |
| 17 | MF | RUS | Andrei Kanchelskis (to ACF Fiorentina) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Peter Holcroft (to Swindon Town) |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Neil Moore (to Norwich City) |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Mark Grugel |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Chris Price |
| 33 | GK | ENG | James Speare (to Darlington) |

### Reserve 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 |
| - | FW | ENG | Mark Quayle |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | WAL | Neville Southall | 38 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Paul Gerrard | 5 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Earl Barrett | 40 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Andy Hinchcliffe | 20 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | David Unsworth | 36 | 5 | 32+2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Dave Watson | 31 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | IRL | Terry Phelan | 16 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | DEN | Claus Thomsen | 16 | 0 | 15+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | SUI | Marc Hottiger | 9 | 0 | 4+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Craig Short | 25 | 2 | 19+4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Michael Ball | 5 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Graham Allen | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | IRL | Richard Dunne | 8 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | DF | ENG | John Hills | 3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | ENG | Graham Stuart | 38 | 5 | 29+6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | WAL | Gary Speed | 41 | 11 | 37 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Nick Barmby | 29 | 8 | 22+3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1+1 | 3 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Joe Parkinson | 31 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Tony Grant | 20 | 0 | 11+6 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 8 | FW | ENG | Paul Rideout | 12 | 1 | 4+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | SCO | Duncan Ferguson | 36 | 11 | 31+2 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Michael Branch | 27 | 3 | 13+12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Danny Cadamarteri | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who left the club during the season ||||||||||||
| 11 | MF | SWE | Anders Limpar | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | John Ebbrell | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | RUS | Andrei Kanchelskis | 24 | 6 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |