# 1996–97 Portsmouth F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Portsmouth F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In the summer of 1996, Terry Venables arrived at Portsmouth as a consultant, later taking over as chairman after buying the club for £1. The team enjoyed a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals, beating Premiership side Leeds United en route, but finished just short of the qualifying places for the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League. After the season, the Fratton End was fully demolished to make way for an all-new replacement stand.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 75 | 52 | +23 | 73 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 6 | Crystal Palace (O, P) | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 71 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 7 | Portsmouth | 46 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 68 | |
| 8 | Port Vale | 46 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 67 | |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 64 | 60 | +4 | 66 | |

## Results

Portsmouth's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1996 | Bradford City | A | 1–3 | 10,007 | Hall |
| 23 August 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–2 | 7,501 | Igoe |
| 27 August 1996 | Southend United | H | 1–0 | 5,579 | Russell |
| 31 August 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–0 | 4,747 | Rees |
| 7 September 1996 | Port Vale | H | 1–1 | 8,099 | Russell |
| 11 September 1996 | Swindon Town | A | 1–0 | 8,685 | McLoughlin |
| 14 September 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | 14,248 | |
| 21 September 1996 | Norwich City | H | 0–1 | 7,511 | |
| 28 September 1996 | Oxford United | A | 0–2 | 7,626 | |
| 1 October 1996 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–2 | 7,212 | Hall, Bradbury |
| 4 October 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 3–4 | 5,001 | Bradbury, McLoughlin (pen), Perrett |
| 12 October 1996 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–0 | 6,641 | Durnin, Bradbury |
| 15 October 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–2 | 7,411 | |
| 19 October 1996 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–1 | 10,514 | McLoughlin (pen) |
| 26 October 1996 | Stoke City | A | 1–3 | 10,259 | Bradbury |
| 29 October 1996 | Birmingham City | H | 1–1 | 6,334 | Bradbury |
| 2 November 1996 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 4–0 | 7,354 | Bradbury, Simpson, Durnin, Turner |
| 9 November 1996 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–0 | 7,639 | |
| 16 November 1996 | Manchester City | H | 2–1 | 12,841 | Bradbury, Simpson |
| 23 November 1996 | Barnsley | A | 2–3 | 7,449 | Durnin (pen), Bradbury |
| 30 November 1996 | Stoke City | H | 1–0 | 7,749 | Turner |
| 7 December 1996 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 16,333 | |
| 14 December 1996 | Huddersfield Town | H | 3–1 | 6,954 | Simpson (pen), Svensson (2) |
| 21 December 1996 | Reading | A | 0–0 | 8,520 | |
| 26 December 1996 | Swindon Town | H | 0–1 | 10,605 | |
| 28 December 1996 | Port Vale | A | 2–0 | 7,382 | Hall, Svensson |
| 1 January 1997 | Norwich City | A | 0–1 | 11,946 | |
| 11 January 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–3 | 10,467 | |
| 18 January 1997 | Crystal Palace | A | 2–1 | 15,498 | Bradbury, Thomson |
| 28 January 1997 | Oxford United | H | 2–1 | 7,301 | Hall, Svensson |
| 1 February 1997 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 9,135 | Hall |
| 8 February 1997 | Birmingham City | A | 3–0 | 15,897 | Svensson, Bradbury, McLoughlin (pen) |
| 22 February 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–0 | 15,800 | Hillier, Burton |
| 1 March 1997 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | 12,715 | Hall |
| 5 March 1997 | Manchester City | A | 1–1 | 11,276 | Simpson |
| 15 March 1997 | Huddersfield Town | A | 3–1 | 10,512 | Igoe, Hall (2) |
| 22 March 1997 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–2 | 15,746 | Bradbury |
| 25 March 1997 | Reading | H | 1–0 | 9,248 | Hall |
| 29 March 1997 | Bradford City | H | 3–1 | 12,340 | Bradbury, Hall, Svensson |
| 31 March 1997 | Southend United | A | 1–2 | 6,107 | Hall |
| 5 April 1997 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–0 | 9,854 | Carter |
| 12 April 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–3 | 12,004 | Hillier |
| 19 April 1997 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–2 | 12,342 | Hall |
| 22 April 1997 | Barnsley | H | 4–2 | 8,328 | McLoughlin (pen), Bradbury (3) |
| 25 April 1997 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–1 | 12,101 | |
| 4 May 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | 26,031 | Hall |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 4 January 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–1 | 23,626 | McLoughlin, Hall |
| R4 | 25 January 1997 | Reading | H | 3–0 | 15,003 | Hall, Bradbury, Hillier |
| R5 | 15 February 1997 | Leeds United | A | 3–2 | 35,604 | McLoughlin, Svensson, Bradbury |
| QF | 9 March 1997 | Chelsea | H | 1–4 | 15,701 | Burton |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 First Leg | 20 August 1996 | Leyton Orient | H | 2–0 | 3,102 | Burton (2) |
| R1 Second Leg | 4 September 1996 | Leyton Orient | A | 0–1 (won 2–1 on agg) | 3,177 | |
| R2 First Leg | 18 September 1996 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | 3,811 | |
| R2 Second Leg | 25 September 1996 | Wimbledon | H | 1–1 | 4,006 | Carter |

## 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 | Aaron Flahavan |
| — | GK | ENG | Alan Knight |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Awford |
| — | DF | ENG | Guy Butters |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Cook (on loan from Swansea City) |
| — | DF | ENG | Tony Dobson |
| — | DF | ENG | Danny Hinshelwood |
| — | DF | ENG | Russell Perrett |
| — | DF | ENG | Robbie Pethick |
| — | DF | ENG | Lee Russell |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Thomson |
| — | DF | ENG | Adrian Whitbread |
| — | MF | ENG | Martin Allen |
| — | MF | ENG | Jimmy Carter |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | John Durnin |
| — | MF | ENG | David Hillier |
| — | MF | ENG | Jamie Howell |
| — | MF | ENG | Sammy Igoe |
| — | MF | ENG | Fitzroy Simpson |
| — | MF | WAL | Jason Rees |
| — | MF | IRL | Alan McLoughlin |
| — | MF | NIR | Dave Waterman |
| — | MF | JAM | Paul Hall |
| — | FW | ENG | Lee Bradbury |
| — | FW | IRL | Andy Turner |
| — | FW | SWE | Mathias Svensson |
| — | FW | JAM | Deon Burton |