# 1996–97 Leicester City F.C. season

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

## Season summary

Most observers had tipped Leicester for an immediate return to Division One, so Martin O'Neill's ultimate task for this season was to achieve survival for Leicester. However, he defied many of the pre-season predictions by finishing 9th in the table. Leicester's season was capped by a victory over Middlesbrough in the League Cup final to win their first major trophy for 33 years and their passport to the following season's UEFA Cup.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 7 | Sheffield Wednesday | 38 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 50 | 51 | −1 | 57 | |
| 8 | Wimbledon | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 56 | |
| 9 | Leicester City | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 47 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 44 | 51 | −7 | 46 | |
| 11 | Leeds United | 38 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 28 | 38 | −10 | 46 | |
* ↑ Leicester City qualified for the UEFA Cup as League Cup winners.

### 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 | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | H | H | A |
| Result | D | W | L | L | D | L | W | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | D | L | D | D | L | W | D | L | W | W | W | D | L | D | D | D | L | L | L | D | W | W |
| Position | 11 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 9 |

## Results

Win  Draw  Loss

### League Cup
## 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 | Kevin Poole |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Simon Grayson |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Mike Whitlow |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Julian Watts |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Steve Walsh (captain) |
| 6 | MF | TUR | Muzzy Izzet |
| 7 | MF | NIR | Neil Lennon |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Scott Taylor |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Steve Claridge |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Garry Parker |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Emile Heskey |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Mark Robins |
| 13 | GK | USA | Kasey Keller |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Colin Hill |
| 15 | DF | SWE | Pontus Kåmark |
| 16 | DF | FRA | Franck Rolling |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Spencer Prior |
| 18 | DF | SCO | Matt Elliott (vice-captain) |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Rob Ullathorne |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Ian Marshall |
| 21 | MF | JAM | Jamie Lawrence |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Neil Lewis |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Steve Guppy |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Stuart Wilson |
| 26 | MF | SCO | Stuart Campbell |
| 28 | MF | GER | Sascha Lenhart |

### 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 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Jimmy Willis (retired) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Stuart Slater (to Watford) |

### 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 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Sam McMahon |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Justin Harrington |
| 29 | GK | ENG | Paul Hyde |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Ian Andrews |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Martin Fox |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 17 August 1996 | DF | Spencer Prior | Norwich City | £600,000 |
| 17 August 1996 | GK | Kasey Keller | Millwall | £900,000 |
| 31 August 1996 | FW | Ian Marshall | Ipswich Town | £800,000 |
| 1 September 1996 | MF | Sascha Lenhart | Royal Antwerp | Free transfer |
| 16 January 1997 | DF | Matt Elliott | Oxford United | £1,600,000 |
| 17 February 1997 | DF | Robert Ullathorne | Osasuna | £600,000 |
| 28 February 1997 | MF | Steve Guppy | Port Vale | £850,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 23 August 1996 | MF | Mark Blake | Walsall | Free transfer |
| 27 November 1996 | MF | Stuart Slater | Watford | Free transfer |
| 14 March 1997 | GK | Paul Hyde | Leyton Orient | Free transfer |
| 22 June 1997 | DF | Jamie Lawrence | Bradford City | £50,000 |
| 22 June 1997 | DF | Neil Lewis | Peterborough United | £75,000 |
| 26 June 1997 | DF | Simon Grayson | Aston Villa | £1,300,000 |
    Transfers in: £5,350,000
    Transfers out: £1,425,000
    Total spending: £3,925,000