# 1996–97 Hartlepool United F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Hartlepool United F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division.

## Season summary

In the 1996–97 season, Hartlepool started the campaign with wins over Colchester United and Fulham, but Houchen's playing career came to an end after the fifth game of the season, against Wigan Athletic, when he retired due to a persistent knee injury. Houchen continued to bemoan referring decisions which seemed to consistently go against Hartlepool. This in turn led to continued punishments from the FA over his use of foul language towards officials. With Hartlepool on a poor run of results at the foot of the table, he left the club by mutual consent on 4 November 1996. His assistant Mick Tait led the club to a 20th-place finish, and organised a benefit match for Houchen against Middlesbrough, which raised £23,000.
There was also a change of ownership in 1997, when Harold Hornsey sold the club to an oil company called IOR.

## Final league table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 18 | Darlington | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 64 | 78 | −14 | 52 |
| 19 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 52 | 66 | −14 | 52 |
| 20 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 53 | 66 | −13 | 51 |
| 21 | Torquay United | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 46 | 62 | −16 | 50 |
| 22 | Exeter City | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 48 | 73 | −25 | 48 |

## Results

Hartlepool United's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Third Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1996 | Colchester United | A | 2–0 | 2,942 | Allon, McAuley |
| 24 August 1996 | Fulham | H | 2–1 | 2,457 | Cooper, Davies |
| 27 August 1996 | Mansfield Town | H | 2–2 | 2,750 | Cooper, Ingram |
| 31 August 1996 | Leyton Orient | A | 0–2 | 4,342 | |
| 7 September 1996 | Hereford United | A | 1–0 | 2,729 | Halliday |
| 10 September 1996 | Carlisle United | H | 1–2 | 3,077 | Cooper |
| 14 September 1996 | Wigan Athletic | H | 1–1 | 2,433 | Cooper |
| 21 September 1996 | Hull City | A | 0–1 | 3,886 | |
| 28 September 1996 | Chester City | H | 2–0 | 2,042 | Allon, Cooper (pen) |
| 1 October 1996 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 1–2 | 1,471 | Beech |
| 5 October 1996 | Cambridge United | A | 0–1 | 3,406 | |
| 12 October 1996 | Darlington | H | 1–2 | 3,799 | Halliday |
| 15 October 1996 | Swansea City | H | 1–1 | 1,310 | Halliday |
| 19 October 1996 | Barnet | A | 0–1 | 2,265 | |
| 26 October 1996 | Exeter City | A | 0–2 | 3,043 | |
| 29 October 1996 | Northampton Town | H | 0–2 | 1,254 | |
| 2 November 1996 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 2–3 | 1,683 | Mike, Cooper |
| 9 November 1996 | Scarborough | A | 4–2 | 3,157 | Howard, Clegg, Halliday (2) |
| 23 November 1996 | Torquay United | A | 1–0 | 1,856 | Allon |
| 30 November 1996 | Exeter City | H | 1–1 | 1,419 | Irvine |
| 3 December 1996 | Scunthorpe United | A | 1–2 | 1,778 | Clegg |
| 14 December 1996 | Rochdale | A | 3–1 | 1,618 | Beech, Howard, Allon |
| 21 December 1996 | Lincoln City | H | 2–1 | 1,344 | Cooper (pen), Sunderland |
| 26 December 1996 | Carlisle United | A | 0–1 | 6,947 | |
| 28 December 1996 | Hereford United | H | 2–1 | 1,923 | Allon, Howard |
| 1 January 1997 | Hull City | H | 1–1 | 1,944 | Beech |
| 11 January 1997 | Chester City | A | 0–0 | 1,885 | |
| 18 January 1997 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 2–4 | 1,708 | Howard, Cooper (pen) |
| 25 January 1997 | Northampton Town | A | 0–3 | 5,039 | |
| 1 February 1997 | Scarborough | H | 1–0 | 1,843 | Cooper |
| 8 February 1997 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 0–5 | 8,412 | |
| 11 February 1997 | Cardiff City | H | 2–3 | 1,120 | Beech (2) |
| 15 February 1997 | Torquay United | H | 1–1 | 1,548 | Beech |
| 22 February 1997 | Cardiff City | A | 0–2 | 2,971 | |
| 1 March 1997 | Scunthorpe United | H | 0–1 | 1,300 | |
| 4 March 1997 | Wigan Athletic | A | 2–2 | 3,229 | Halliday, Howard |
| 8 March 1997 | Lincoln City | A | 1–2 | 2,915 | Allon |
| 15 March 1997 | Rochdale | H | 1–2 | 1,448 | Beech |
| 22 March 1997 | Fulham | A | 0–1 | 7,222 | |
| 29 March 1997 | Colchester United | H | 1–0 | 2,725 | Beech |
| 31 March 1997 | Mansfield Town | A | 0–1 | 2,229 | |
| 5 April 1997 | Leyton Orient | H | 3–1 | 2,576 | Bradley, Baker, Halliday |
| 12 April 1997 | Cambridge United | H | 0–2 | 3,186 | |
| 19 April 1997 | Darlington | A | 2–1 | 4,662 | Brown, Allon |
| 26 April 1997 | Barnet | H | 4–0 | 3,070 | Allon (2), Baker, Halliday |
| 3 May 1997 | Swansea City | A | 2–2 | 5,423 | Howard (2) |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 16 November 1996 | York City | H | 0–0 | 3,011 | |
| R1R | 26 November 1996 | York City | A | 0–3 | 3,257 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 20 August 1996 | Lincoln City | H | 2–2 | 2,073 | Davies, Allon |
| R1 2nd Leg | 3 September 1996 | Lincoln City | A | 2–3 (lost 5–6 on agg) | 2,389 | Allon, Beech |

### Football League Trophy

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| NR1 | 10 December 1996 | Burnley | H | 0–2 | 921 | |

## 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Paul O'Connor |
| — | GK | ENG | Stephen Pears |
| — | DF | ENG | Michael Barron (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| — | DF | ENG | Russell Bradley (on loan from Scunthorpe United) |
| — | DF | ENG | Glen Davies |
| — | DF | ENG | Stephen Hutt |
| — | DF | ENG | Denny Ingram |
| — | DF | ENG | Darren Knowles |
| — | DF | ENG | Graeme Lee |
| — | DF | ENG | Sean McAuley |
| — | DF | ENG | Ian McGuckin |
| — | MF | ENG | Chris Beech |
| — | MF | ENG | Michael Brown (on loan from Manchester City) |
| — | MF | ENG | David Clegg |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Cooper |
| — | MF | ENG | Jon Cullen |
| — | MF | ENG | Andy Elliott |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Kona Hislop |
| — | MF | ENG | Chris Homer |
| — | MF | FRA | Alain Horace |
| — | MF | ENG | Richard Lucas |
| — | MF | SCO | Chris McDonald |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Proctor |
| — | MF | ENG | Jon Sunderland |
| — | MF | ENG | Mick Tait |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Walton |
| — | MF | ENG | Craig Winstanley |
| — | FW | ENG | Joe Allon |
| — | FW | ENG | Paul Baker |
| — | FW | ENG | Stephen Halliday |
| — | FW | ENG | Keith Houchen |
| — | FW | ENG | Steve Howard |
| — | FW | ENG | Stuart Irvine |
| — | FW | ENG | Adie Mike (on loan from Stockport County) |