# 1896–97 Manchester City F.C. season

The 1896–97 season was Manchester City F.C.'s sixth season of league football and fifth season in the Football League.

## Football League Second Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 4 | Small Heath | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 47 | 1.468 | 37 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 30 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 56 | 52 | 1.077 | 35 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 1.160 | 32 |
| 7 | Gainsborough Trinity | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 50 | 47 | 1.064 | 31 |
| 8 | Blackpool | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 59 | 56 | 1.054 | 31 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 1.16 | 32 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 27 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 33 | 23 | 17 |
Source: rsssf.com

### Reports

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Venue | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 5 September 1896 | Woolwich Arsenal | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 1 | Finnerhan | 8,000 |
| 12 September 1896 | Gainsborough Trinity | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 1 | Sharples | 4,000 |
| 19 September 1896 | Darwen | H | Hyde Road | 4 – 1 | Mann (2), Ditchfield, Lewis | 10,000 |
| 21 September 1896 | Lincoln City | A | Sincil Bank | 3 – 0 | Finnerhan, Lewis, Sharples | 3,000 |
| 26 September 1896 | Blackpool | A | Athletic Grounds | 2 – 2 | Mann, Hill | 5,000 |
| 3 October 1896 | Newton Heath | H | Hyde Road | 0 – 0 | | 20,000 |
| 10 October 1896 | Notts County | A | Trent Bridge | 3 – 3 | Meredith, Hill, Robinson | 7,000 |
| 17 October 1896 | Newcastle United | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 2 | Robinson | 10,000 |
| 24 October 1896 | Grimsby Town | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 3 | Sharples | 3,000 |
| 31 October 1896 | Notts County | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 4 | Meredith | 12,000 |
| 7 November 1896 | Blackpool | H | Hyde Road | 4 – 2 | Banner, Meredith, Sharples, Lewis | 4,000 |
| 14 November 1896 | Burton Swifts | A | Peel Croft | 3 – 1 | Tait (2), Gunn | 4,000 |
| 23 November 1896 | Walsall | H | Hyde Road | 2 – 3 | Finnerhan, Mann | 3,000 |
| 28 November 1896 | Burton Wanderers | H | Hyde Road | 2 – 1 | F. Williams, Gunn | 2,000 |
| 19 December 1896 | Grimsby Town | A | Abbey Park | 3 – 1 | Meredith, Gunn, F. Williams | 12,000 |
| 25 December 1896 | Newton Heath | A | Bank Street | 1 – 2 | Hill | 18,000 |
| 26 December 1896 | Burton Swifts | H | Hyde Road | 0 – 5 | | 6,000 |
| 1 January 1897 | Small Heath | H | Hyde Road | 3 – 0 | Bannister, Gunn, Sharples | 16,000 |
| 6 January 1897 | Walsall | A | Hillary Street | 5 – 0 | Ray, Mann, Meredith, Lewis, Sharples | 500 |
| 9 January 1897 | Darwen | A | Barley Bank | 1 – 3 | Gillespie | 1,000 |
| 6 February 1897 | Newcastle United | A | St James' Park | 0 – 3 | | 4,000 |
| 13 February 1897 | Lincoln City | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 0 | Gillespie | 1,000 |
| 27 February 1897 | Gainsborough Trinity | A | The Northolme | 4 – 1 | Gillespie, F. Williams (2), Meredith | 9,000 |
| 6 March 1897 | Burton Wanderers | A | Derby Turn | 1 – 1 | Read | 3,000 |
| 13 March 1897 | Leicester Fosse | A | Filbert Street | 4 – 0 | Holmes, Meredith, Gillespie, F. Williams | 6,000 |
| 17 March 1897 | Loughborough | A | Athletic Ground | 0 – 2 | | 2,000 |
| 12 April 1897 | Leicester Fosse | H | Hyde Road | 3 – 3 | Meredith (2), ? (o.g.) | 1,000 |
| 16 April 1897 | Loughborough | H | Hyde Road | 1 – 1 | Foster | 2,000 |
| 19 April 1897 | Small Heath | A | Muntz Street | 1 – 3 | Meredith | 500 |
| 28 April 1897 | Woolwich Arsenal | A | Manor Ground | 2 – 1 | Hill (2) | 2,000 |

## FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Venue | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 30 January 1897 | First round | Preston North End | A | Deepdale | 0 – 6 | | 6,000 |

## Squad statistics
### Squad

Appearances for competitive matches only
| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Charlie Williams | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| DF | Dick Ray | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| MF | James McBride | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| FW | Walter Bowman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Pat Finnerhan | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 3 |
| FW | Billie Gillespie | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| FW | Frank Hesham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | Billy Meredith | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 10 |
| FW | William Townley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| FW | Fred Williams | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 |
| -- | Charlie Bannister | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| -- | John Ditchfield | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| -- | H. Foster | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| -- | John Gunn | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 4 |
| -- | James Harper | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| -- | Robert Hill | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 |
| -- | Billy Holmes | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| -- | Billy Lewis | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 |
| -- | Alex McConnell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| -- | George Mann | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5 |
| -- | Bobby Moffatt | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| -- | J. Moffatt | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| -- | William Patterson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| -- | J. Platt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| -- | Thomas Read | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| -- | L. Robinson | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| -- | James Sharples | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 |
| -- | David Tait | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| -- | Tonge | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |