# 1996–97 Plymouth Argyle F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Plymouth Argyle F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.

## Season summary

In the 1996–97 season, Plymouth manager Warnock was sacked within a year as the club narrowly avoided being relegated back to the basement division. Warnock's assistant Mick Jones became his successor.
In February 1997, Plymouth participated in "The Battle of Saltergate" – in a 2–1 win at Chesterfield, a fight broke out in the 88th minute, involving all 20 outfield players. Chesterfield's Darren Carr and Kevin Davies and Plymouth's Tony James and Richard Logan were all sent-off. To make matters even worse, Argyle's Wembley hero Ronnie Mauge had already been sent-off in the 36th minute. It was the first time in Football League history that five players were sent off in one game.

## Final league table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 17 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 56 | |
| 18 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 51 | 57 | −6 | 55 | |
| 19 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 54 | |
| 20 | York City | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 47 | 68 | −21 | 52 | |
| 21 | Peterborough United | 46 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 55 | 73 | −18 | 47 | Relegated |

## Results

Plymouth Argyle's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Second Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1996 | York City | H | 2–1 | 9,035 | Corazzin, Heathcote |
| 24 August 1996 | Wrexham | A | 4–4 | 3,920 | Evans, Littlejohn (2), Logan |
| 27 August 1996 | Watford | A | 2–0 | 7,349 | Billy, Littlejohn |
| 30 August 1996 | Preston North End | H | 2–1 | 9,209 | Evans, Logan |
| 7 September 1996 | Notts County | H | 0–0 | 8,109 | |
| 10 September 1996 | Brentford | A | 2–3 | 5,377 | Mauge, Corazzin |
| 14 September 1996 | Stockport County | A | 1–3 | 5,087 | Evans (pen) |
| 21 September 1996 | Bristol Rovers | H | 0–1 | 8,879 | |
| 28 September 1996 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 0–3 | 3,797 | |
| 1 October 1996 | Peterborough United | H | 1–1 | 4,929 | James |
| 5 October 1996 | Millwall | H | 0–0 | 7,507 | |
| 12 October 1996 | Walsall | A | 1–0 | 3,720 | Littlejohn |
| 15 October 1996 | Bournemouth | A | 0–1 | 3,818 | |
| 19 October 1996 | Bristol City | H | 0–0 | 9,645 | |
| 26 October 1996 | Burnley | A | 1–2 | 9,602 | Evans |
| 29 October 1996 | Gillingham | H | 2–0 | 4,787 | Evans, Illman |
| 2 November 1996 | Luton Town | H | 3–3 | 7,134 | Mauge, Evans (2, 1 pen) |
| 9 November 1996 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 5,456 | Williams |
| 19 November 1996 | Chesterfield | H | 0–3 | 4,237 | |
| 23 November 1996 | Bury | A | 0–1 | 3,582 | |
| 30 November 1996 | Burnley | H | 0–0 | 6,289 | |
| 3 December 1996 | Blackpool | A | 2–2 | 2,690 | Wotton, Littlejohn |
| 14 December 1996 | Shrewsbury Town | H | 2–2 | 5,075 | Mauge, Evans |
| 21 December 1996 | Rotherham United | A | 2–1 | 2,269 | Illman, Evans |
| 26 December 1996 | Brentford | H | 1–4 | 9,525 | Illman |
| 11 January 1997 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 1–0 | 4,767 | Logan |
| 18 January 1997 | Peterborough United | A | 0–0 | 6,288 | |
| 25 January 1997 | Gillingham | A | 1–4 | 5,465 | Evans |
| 1 February 1997 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | 0–0 | 5,024 | |
| 8 February 1997 | Luton Town | A | 2–2 | 6,439 | Littlejohn, Evans |
| 15 February 1997 | Bury | H | 2–0 | 5,486 | Logan, Corazzin |
| 22 February 1997 | Chesterfield | A | 2–1 | 5,833 | Evans, Saunders |
| 25 February 1997 | Bristol Rovers | A | 0–2 | 6,005 | |
| 1 March 1997 | Blackpool | H | 0–1 | 5,585 | |
| 8 March 1997 | Rotherham United | H | 1–0 | 4,717 | Corazzin (pen) |
| 15 March 1997 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 3–2 | 3,414 | Billy (2), Illman |
| 22 March 1997 | Wrexham | H | 0–1 | 5,468 | |
| 29 March 1997 | York City | A | 1–1 | 3,917 | Corazzin |
| 31 March 1997 | Watford | H | 0–0 | 6,836 | |
| 5 April 1997 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | 8,503 | Saunders |
| 8 April 1997 | Stockport County | H | 0–0 | 5,089 | |
| 12 April 1997 | Millwall | A | 0–0 | 5,702 | |
| 15 April 1997 | Notts County | A | 1–2 | 2,423 | Collins |
| 19 April 1997 | Walsall | H | 2–0 | 5,535 | Saunders, Barlow |
| 26 April 1997 | Bristol City | A | 1–3 | 15,368 | Williams |
| 3 May 1997 | Bournemouth | H | 0–0 | 6,507 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 16 November 1996 | Fulham | H | 5–0 | 7,104 | Mauge, Evans (2, 1 pen), Littlejohn, Corazzin |
| R2 | 6 December 1996 | Exeter City | H | 4–1 | 12,911 | Evans, Mauge, Billy, Littlejohn |
| R3 | 4 January 1997 | Peterborough United | H | 0–1 | 7,299 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 20 August 1996 | Brentford | A | 0–1 | 3,034 | |
| R1 2nd Leg | 3 September 1996 | Brentford | H | 0–0 (lost 0–1 on agg) | 5,180 | |

### Football League Trophy

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SR1 | 10 December 1996 | Bournemouth | H | 2–0 | 944 | Illman, Wotton |
| SR2 | 14 January 1997 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–0 | 1,295 | Wotton |
| SQF | 11 February 1997 | Northampton Town | H | 0–2 | 1,499 | |

## Players
### 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Kevin Blackwell |
| — | GK | ENG | James Dungey |
| — | GK | ZIM | Bruce Grobbelaar |
| — | DF | ENG | Jon Beswetherick |
| — | DF | ENG | Simon Collins |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Curran |
| — | DF | ENG | Mick Heathcote |
| — | DF | ENG | Tony James |
| — | DF | ENG | Richard Logan |
| — | DF | ENG | Mark Patterson |
| — | DF | WAL | Jason Rowbotham |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Williams |
| — | MF | ENG | Martin Barlow |
| — | MF | ENG | Chris Billy |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Gary Clayton |
| — | MF | ENG | Chris Leadbitter |
| — | MF | ENG | Ronnie Mauge |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Perkins |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Saunders |
| — | MF | ENG | Michael Simpson (on loan from Notts County) |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Wotton |
| — | FW | CAN | Carlo Corazzin |
| — | FW | ENG | Mickey Evans |
| — | FW | ENG | Neil Illman |
| — | FW | ENG | Adrian Littlejohn |
| — | FW | ENG | Lee Phillips |
| — | FW | ENG | Dominic Richardson |