# 1996–97 Stoke City F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was Stoke City's 90th season in the Football League and 34th in the second tier. It was also Stoke's final season at their Victoria Ground.
After 119 years Stoke were all set to move to a new stadium with the 1996–97 season confirmed as the final season at the Victoria Ground. With Stoke agreeing with the council to pay £6 million towards the cost, manager Lou Macari had no money to spend on new players having to rely on free or cheap transfers and loan signings instead. It was a very inconsistent season results wise as Stoke finished in 12th position with 64 points. The final league match at the Victoria Ground saw a repeat of the first league match against West Bromwich Albion, Stoke won 2–1 with Graham Kavanagh scoring Stoke's final goal at the Vic. Stoke moved to the Britannia Stadium ahead of the 1997–98 season.

## Season review
### League

The final season at the Victoria Ground was a big milestone in the club's history and was met with mixed reaction from the club's supporters, some of whom were happy to move and some who wanted the Victoria Ground to remain. The first ramifications of the move became clear in the summer of 1996 as a number of players wanted a move away as the club began trying to find the £6 million they need. Nigel Gleghorn and Vince Overson were the first to depart both joining Burnley. Funds were generated by the sale of Graham Potter to Southampton for £300,000 and Lee Sandford to Sheffield United for £450,000. The board did permit Macari to spend £200,000 on Richard Forsyth who became the club's first player signed for a fee since 1994.
With the club losing three very good players the supporters were downbeat about the team's prospects ahead of the 1996–97 season. So an opening five-match unbeaten run took many by surprise and Stoke were early season table-toppers as Macari won the manager of the month award. A 3–0 defeat at Barnsley brought reality back and prompted the signings of Gerry McMahon and Graham Kavanagh and the sale of John Dreyer. There were some serious questions now being raised as to how Stoke could afford the £6 million needed for their new stadium and they found part of the answer as a deal was struck with the Britannia building society who bought the naming rights to the stadium as well as shirt sponsorship for around £1.3 million, meaning the new ground would be known as the Britannia Stadium.
On the pitch Stoke won one match in seven and went from promotion contenders to mid-table also-rans. And with Macari struggling for players he promoted Andy Griffin to the first team as Stoke's away form continued to be dire. They lost eight of their final nine away fixtures scoring just once which was an own goal. However, their home form held up as the landmark games came and went. Stoke won the last evening game and drew the last Saturday match, while the final Potteries derby at the Vic was won 2–0.
The final league match at the Victoria Ground saw a re-run of the first with Stoke coming up against West Bromwich Albion in a carnival atmosphere. Stoke won 2–1 with Gerry McMahon and Graham Kavanagh scoring Stoke's goals. However manager Lou Macari announced he was leaving at the end of the season which was a surprise but he was 'stripped of his duties' before he left and later launched a lawsuit against Peter Coates for wrongful dismissal. Less of a surprise was the departure of Mike Sheron who joined Queens Park Rangers for £2.75 million exactly the amount Stoke needed to make up their contribution to the cost of the new stadium. And so Stoke went into a new era at the Britannia Stadium with no manager and their best player gone.

### FA Cup

Stoke suffered a poor defeat at home in the third round losing 1–0 to Stockport County.

### League Cup

Stoke edged past Northampton Town and drew Arsenal in the third round. After a 1–1 draw at home Arsenal proved too strong at Highbury running out 5–2 winners.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 10 | Birmingham City | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 52 | 48 | +4 | 66 |
| 11 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 63 | 56 | +7 | 65 |
| 12 | Stoke City | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 51 | 57 | −6 | 64 |
| 13 | Norwich City | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 63 | 68 | −5 | 63 |
| 14 | Manchester City | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 59 | 60 | −1 | 61 |

## Results
### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Match | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 1 | 17 August 1996 | Oldham Athletic | A | 2–1 | 8,021 | Sheron (2) 27', 43' |
| 2 | 24 August 1996 | Manchester City | H | 2–1 | 21,116 | Forsyth 27', Sheron 32' |
| 3 | 28 August 1996 | Bradford City | H | 1–0 | 11,918 | Sheron 90' (pen) |
| 4 | 31 August 1996 | Reading | A | 2–2 | 13,540 | Sheron 25', Forsyth 76' |
| 5 | 7 September 1996 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–2 | 13,540 | Sheron 20', Dreyer 32' |
| 6 | 10 September 1996 | Barnsley | A | 0–3 | 11,696 | |
| 7 | 14 September 1996 | Birmingham City | A | 1–3 | 18,612 | Forsyth 66' |
| 8 | 22 September 1996 | Huddersfield Town | H | 3–2 | 9,147 | Gayle 41', Sheron (2) 77', 85' |
| 9 | 28 September 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 16,195 | Kavanagh 90' |
| 10 | 13 October 1996 | Port Vale | A | 1–1 | 14,396 | Keen 65' |
| 11 | 16 October 1996 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–0 | 16,501 | Wallace 33', Forsyth 72' |
| 12 | 19 October 1996 | Sheffield United | H | 0–4 | 13,581 | |
| 13 | 26 October 1996 | Portsmouth | H | 3–1 | 10,259 | McMahon (2) 59', 75', Sheron 71' |
| 14 | 29 October 1996 | Oxford United | A | 1–4 | 6,381 | Sheron 59' |
| 15 | 2 November 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 7,354 | Kavanagh 4' |
| 16 | 16 November 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 1–1 | 5,601 | Forsyth 30' |
| 17 | 23 November 1996 | Southend United | H | 1–2 | 12,821 | Forsyth 52' |
| 18 | 30 November 1996 | Portsmouth | A | 0–1 | 7,749 | |
| 19 | 4 December 1996 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | 7,456 | Sheron 49' |
| 20 | 7 December 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–0 | 9,931 | Sheron 27', Higgins 82' (o.g.) |
| 21 | 14 December 1996 | Swindon Town | H | 2–0 | 10,102 | Stein (2) 44', 64' |
| 22 | 21 December 1996 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–1 | 10,159 | Stein 23' |
| 23 | 26 December 1996 | Barnsley | H | 1–0 | 19,025 | Sheron 72' |
| 24 | 1 January 1997 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–2 | 12,019 | Stein 18' |
| 25 | 10 January 1997 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | 10,049 | Wallace 18' |
| 26 | 18 January 1997 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–1 | 9,901 | Sheron (2) 42', 43' |
| 27 | 22 January 1997 | Norwich City | H | 1–2 | 10,179 | Stein 14' |
| 28 | 29 January 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–2 | 15,645 | Macari 84' |
| 29 | 1 February 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–2 | 27,408 | |
| 30 | 7 February 1997 | Oxford United | H | 2–1 | 8,609 | MacKenzie 9', Macari 37' |
| 31 | 15 February 1997 | Southend United | A | 1–2 | 4,625 | Harris 70' (o.g.) |
| 32 | 22 February 1997 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–0 | 13,121 | |
| 33 | 28 February 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 0–0 | 9,127 | |
| 34 | 5 March 1997 | Grimsby Town | H | 3–1 | 8,621 | Southall 48' (o.g.), Kavanagh 50', Griffin 78' |
| 35 | 8 March 1997 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–1 | 11,933 | |
| 36 | 15 March 1997 | Swindon Town | A | 0–1 | 8,879 | |
| 37 | 18 March 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 15,683 | Forsyth 47' |
| 38 | 22 March 1997 | Manchester City | A | 0–2 | 28,497 | |
| 39 | 29 March 1997 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–1 | 11,755 | Sheron 17', Macari 40' |
| 40 | 31 March 1997 | Bradford City | A | 0–1 | 13,579 | |
| 41 | 5 April 1997 | Reading | H | 1–1 | 9,961 | Forsyth 65' |
| 42 | 12 April 1997 | Norwich City | A | 0–2 | 13,805 | |
| 43 | 15 April 1997 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–2 | 11,382 | |
| 44 | 20 April 1997 | Port Vale | H | 2–0 | 16,246 | Sheron (2) 44', 85' |
| 45 | 25 April 1997 | Sheffield United | A | 0–1 | 25,596 | |
| 46 | 5 May 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–1 | 22,500 | McMahon 33', Kavanagh 69' |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R3 | 15 January 1997 | Stockport County | H | 0–2 | 9,961 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 18 September 1996 | Northampton Town | H | 1–0 | 6,093 | Worthington 60' |
| R2 2nd Leg | 24 September 1996 | Northampton Town | A | 2–1 (aet) | 5,088 | Sheron (2) 100', 108' |
| R3 | 23 October 1996 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | 20,804 | Sheron 26' |
| R3 Replay | 11 November 1996 | Arsenal | A | 2–5 | 33,961 | Sheron (2) 35', 88' |

### Friendlies

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers |
| 3 August 1996 | Dunfermline Athletic | A | 2–2 | Beeston, P Macari |
| 4 August 1996 | Hibernian | A | 0–1 | |
| 5 August 1996 | Carlisle United | A | 1–0 | M Macari |
| 10 August 1996 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 0–1 | |
| 11 August 1996 | Newcastle Town | A | 1–0 | M Macari |
| 13 August 1996 | Osasuna | H | 2–0 | Devlin (2) |

## Squad statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| GK | Carl Muggleton | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GK | Mark Prudhoe | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 14(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Wesley Byrne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Hugo Costa | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | Ian Cranson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DF | John Dreyer | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Andy Griffin | 29(5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 30(6) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Mark McNally | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | Ally Pickering | 39(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 44(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | Lárus Sigurðsson | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| DF | Ray Wallace | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| DF | Justin Whittle | 35(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38(2) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | Carl Beeston | 17(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Mark Devlin | 13(8) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17(8) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Sean Flynn | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Richard Forsyth | 40 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Steve Jagielka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Graham Kavanagh | 32(6) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35(6) | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Kevin Keen | 5(11) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 7(13) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Neil MacKenzie | 5(17) | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(18) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Gerry McMahon | 31(4) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 35(5) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Kofi Nyamah | 0(7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(7) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Simon Rodger | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Graham Stokoe | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Nigel Worthington | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Martin Carruthers | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | John Gayle | 8(4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10(4) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Mike Macari | 15(15) | 3 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(3) | 0 | 15(19) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| FW | Mike Sheron | 41 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 46 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Mark Stein | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Simon Sturridge | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| – | Own goals | – | 3 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 3 | – | – |