 In the 1996 – 97 season, Wetherall played less regularly as new manager George Graham experimented with defensive combinations, though by the following season he had re-established himself in the starting eleven, sometimes acting as captain, and signed a new five-year contract. On 27 September 1997, he scored in the 1 – 0 victory over arch-rivals Manchester United when Roy Keane's knee was badly injured in the act of fouling Alf-Inge Håland, who then accused Keane of feigning injury. Keane later took revenge on Håland during a Manchester derby and said to Håland as he lay on the ground: "And don't ever stand over me again sneering about fake injuries, and tell your pal Wetherall there's some for him as well." Later that season Wetherall was among the Leeds travelling party who escaped unhurt as their aircraft crash-landed after an engine caught fire on takeoff.
