1996–97 Liverpool F.C. season

English football club season January 2019 February 2015 Liverpool 1996–97 Roy Evans David Moores Premier League 4th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Fifth round Cup Winners' Cup Semi-finals Robbie Fowler (18) Robbie Fowler (31) 38,436 _FCK_9495h _FCK_9495h _liverpool9698h FF0000 FF0000 FF0000 FF0000 FF0000 _liverpool9697a _liverpool9697a _liverpool9697a _redlinebottom _liverpool9697a FFFDD0 FFFDD0 FFFDD0 000000 FDF4D9 1995–96 1997–98 The 1996–97 Liverpool F.C. season was the 105th season in the club's existence, and their 35th consecutive year in the top-flight of English football. In addition to the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons), the club competed in the FA Cup, League Cup, and the Cup Winners' Cup. Season overview Liverpool led the Premiership for much of the season, and established a five-point lead at the top before New Year's Day 1997. However, the team were overtaken by Manchester United in the latter stages of the season, and it was United who ultimately won the league, though Liverpool squandered several more chances to reclaim the top position.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2008/sep/10/1 Football: The Joy of Six: bogey teams Rob Smyth 10 September 2008 30 January 2019 www.theguardian.com The Guardian The side were marred both by the rise of the "Spice Boys" culture, as well as by defensive aberrations; dropping points at their previously impregnable Anfield home. A 2–1 home defeat against bottom of the table Coventry City denied Liverpool the chance to return to top spot with six games to go, United having lost at home to Derby the previous day.https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-liverpool-fall-foul-of-dublin-1265678.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-liverpool-fall-foul-of-dublin-1265678.html 1 May 2022 subscription live Football: Liverpool fall foul of Dublin 7 April 1997 The Independent 30 January 2019 Indeed, a win over United at Anfield in April would have put Liverpool top with just three matches to go, but United won 3–1 to effectively clinch the title.https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2007/feb/15/onsecondthoughtsroyevans On second thoughts ... Roy Evans Rob Smyth 15 February 2007 30 January 2019 www.theguardian.com The Guardian The title lost, Liverpool still went into the final match of the season in second place with a two-point lead over Newcastle and Arsenal, but a 1–1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday meant they ended up finishing 4th on goal difference, thus missing out on a place in the newly expanded UEFA Champions Leaguehttp://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/premier-league/1996-1997/table/1997-05-08 English Premier League Table on Thursday 8th May 1997 - Statto.com https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170215/http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/premier-league/1996-1997/table/1997-05-08 3 March 2016 live 30 January 2019 and leaving Roy Evans and his team with a UEFA Cup place as scant consolation for a season which had promised much and giving rise to the phrase "finishing fourth in a two horse race". In the cups there was more disappointment. Liverpool's UEFA Cup Winners' Cup campaign ended in the semi-finals with a 3–2 aggregate defeat to Paris St Germain. In the FA Cup they lost 4–2 to eventual winners Chelsea in the fourth round, having led 2–0 at half-time and squandered chances to extend their lead. Liverpool were knocked out in the Coca-Cola Cup quarter-finals by eventual finalists Middlesbrough. The side were nevertheless praised for their attractive attacking style of football. Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler continued to excel for the club, and Fowler continued his prolific strike partnership with Stan Collymore, scoring 47 goals between them. Fowler's suspension for the final four games was a big blow and effectively ended any lingering hopes of title glory. Fowler also received a UEFA Fair Play award, for protesting that he had not been fouled by Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman when the referee awarded a penalty kick. The season also saw the debut of teenage prodigy Michael Owen. Former defender Mark Wright stated in an interview that this was the season in the 1990s that the Liverpool team truly had the talent and opportunity to win the title but threw it away:http://www.noticias.info/archivo/2007/200711/20071127/20071127_325231.shtm Noticias.info 2 October 2010 31 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200831162240/http://www.noticias.info/archivo/2007/200711/20071127/20071127_325231.shtm dead "We did come close to winning the league a few times and we finished fourth one season when we were the best team. We were better than Manchester United, better than everyone, and we finished joint second but ended up fourth because of goal difference. That was the season we should have won the title and we all know that. I remember some of the games we lost and the way we dropped points against certain sides. David James dropped a few clangers and I remember them because in certain games he didn't have anything to do, then all of a sudden he thinks he's got to be involved in the game. He would come rushing out and all of a sudden you would be 1–0 down", he said. First-team squad 1 ENG GK David James 2 ENG DF Rob Jones 3 ENG DF John Scales 3 NOR DF Bjørn Tore Kvarme 4 IRL DF Jason McAteerMcAteer was born in Tranmere, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in March 1994. 5 ENG DF Mark Wright 6 IRL DF Phil BabbBabb was born in Lambeth, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1994. 7 ENG MF Steve McManaman 8 ENG FW Stan Collymore 9 ENG FW Robbie Fowler 10 ENG MF John BarnesBarnes was born in Kingston, Jamaica, but also qualified to represent any of the home nations internationally as he held a British passport and made his international debut for England in May 1983. 11 ENG MF Jamie Redknapp 12 ENG DF Steve Harkness 13 ENG GK Tony WarnerWarner was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally and would make his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in February 2006. 14 ENG DF Neil Ruddock 15 CZE MF Patrik Berger 16 ENG MF Michael Thomas 18 ENG FW Michael Owen 19 IRL MF Mark Kennedy 20 NOR DF Stig Inge Bjørnebye 21 ENG DF Dominic MatteoMatteo was born in Dumfries, Scotland, but was raised in England from the age of four and represented them at U-21 and B level before making his international debut for Scotland in November 2000. 22 ENG MF Jamie Cassidy 23 ENG DF Jamie Carragher 24 WAL FW Lee Jones 25 ENG MF David Thompson 26 DEN GK Jørgen Nielsen Transfers In #PosPlayerFromFeeDate15MFCZE Patrik BergerGER Borussia Dortmund£3,250,00015 August 199628MFAUS Nick RizzoAUS Sydney OlympicFree1 September 19963DFNOR Bjørn Tore KvarmeNOR RosenborgFree10 January 1997 Out #PosPlayerToFeeDate27GKENG Stephen PearsENG Hartlepool UnitedFree1 June 199618MFENG Phil CharnockENG Crewe AlexandraFree6 December 19963DFENG John ScalesENG Tottenham Hotspur£2,600,00011 December 1996 Competitions Premier League 1996–97 FA Premier League League table LIV Results by round table b Round Ground A/H/H/A/H/A/H/A/A/H/A/A/H/H/A/H/H/H/A/H/A/A/H/H/A/H/H/A/H/A/A/H/A/A/H/H/A/A Result D/W/D/W/W/W/W/W/L/W/L/W/D/D/W/L/W/W/D/D/W/L/D/W/W/W/D/L/W/D/W/L/W/D/L/W/L/D Position 9/4/7/4/3/1/1/1/3/3/2/3/2/3/2/3/2/2/2/2/1/2/3/3/2/2/3/4/4/4/4/4/3/4/4/3/2/4 Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss 1st 2nd 3rd red1 Competitive Matches May 2010 Matches 1 17 August 1996 15:00 Middlesbrough 3–3 Report Liverpool Ravanelli 26 pen. 36 81 Bjørnebye 4Barnes 29Fowler 65 Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire Riverside Stadium 30,039 D 2 19 August 1996 20:00 BST Liverpool 2–0 Arsenal McManaman 68 74 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 38,103 Gary Willard W 3 24 August 1996 15:00 Liverpool 0–0 Sunderland Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,503 D 4 4 September 1996 19:45 Coventry City 0–1 Liverpool Babb 68 Coventry, West Midlands Highfield Road 23,021 W 5 7 September 1996 15:00 Liverpool 2–1 Southampton Collymore 39McManaman 89 Magilton 68 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 39,189 W 6 15 September 1996 15:00 Leicester City 0–3 Liverpool Berger 58 77Thomas 61 Leicester, Leicestershire Filbert Street 20,987 W 7 21 September 1996 15:00 Liverpool 5–1 Chelsea Fowler 15Berger 42 49Myers 45 o.g.Barnes 57 Leboeuf 85 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,739 W 8 29 September 1996 15:00 West Ham United 1–2 Liverpool Bilić 15 Collymore 3Thomas 55 Newham, London 25,064 W 9 12 October 1996 11:15 Manchester United 1–0 Liverpool Beckham 23 Trafford, Greater Manchester Old Trafford 55,128 L 10 27 October 1996 16:00 Liverpool 2–1 Derby County Fowler 47 51 A. Ward 89 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 39,515 W 11 3 November 1996 15:00 Blackburn Rovers 3–0 Liverpool Sutton 3 pen. 56Wilcox 24 Blackburn, Lancashire Ewood Park 29,598 L 12 16 November 1996 15:00 Leeds United 0–2 Liverpool Ruddock 13McManaman 90 Leeds, West Yorkshire Elland Road 39,981 W 13 20 November 1996 19:45 Liverpool 1–1 Everton Fowler 30 Speed 82 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,751 D 14 23 November 1996 15:00 Liverpool 1–1 Wimbledon Collymore 1 Leonhardsen 67 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 39,027 D 15 2 December 1996 20:00 Tottenham Hotspur 0–2 Liverpool Thomas 45McManaman 49 Haringey, London White Hart Lane W 16 7 December 1996 15:00 Liverpool 0–1 Sheffield Wednesday Whittingham 21 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 39,507 L 17 14 December 1996 15:00 Liverpool 5–1 Middlesbrough Fowler 1 28 77 85Bjørnebye 45 Fjørtoft 75 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 39,491 W 18 17 December 1996 19:45 Liverpool 4–2 Nottingham Forest Collymore 6 63Fowler 27Lyttle 53 o.g. Campbell 34Pearce 60 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 36,126 W 19 23 December 1996 20:00 Newcastle United 1–1 Liverpool Shearer 28 Fowler 45 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Wear St. James' Park 36,570 D 20 26 December 1996 15:00 Liverpool 1–1 Leicester City Collymore 80 Claridge 76 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,786 D 21 29 December 1996 16:00 Southampton 0–1 Liverpool Barnes 76 Southampton, Hampshire The Dell 15,222 W 22 1 January 1997 15:00 Chelsea 1–0 Liverpool Di Matteo 43 Fulham, London Stamford Bridge 28,329 L 23 11 January 1997 15:00 Liverpool 0–0 West Ham United Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,102 D 24 18 January 1997 15:00 Liverpool 3–0 Aston Villa Carragher 50Collymore 58Fowler 63 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,489 W 25 1 February 1997 15:00 Derby County 0–1 Liverpool Collymore 75 Derby, Derbyshire Baseball Ground 18,102 W 26 19 February 1997 19:45 Liverpool 4–0 Leeds United Fowler 21Collymore 36 37Redknapp 87 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 38,957 W 27 22 February 1997 15:00 Liverpool 0–0 Blackburn Rovers Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,747 D 28 2 March 1997 16:00 Aston Villa 1–0 Liverpool Taylor 83 Birmingham, West Midlands Villa Park 39,339 L 29 10 March 1997 20:00 Liverpool 4–3 Newcastle United McManaman 29Berger 30Fowler 42 90 Gillespie 71Asprilla 87Barton 88 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,751 W 30 15 March 1997 15:00 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Liverpool Woan 30 Fowler 4 Nottingham City Ground 29,181 D 31 24 March 1997 20:00 GMT Arsenal 1–2 Liverpool Wright 78 Collymore 50McAteer 65 Islington, London Highbury 38,068 Gerald Ashby W 32 6 April 1997 15:00 Liverpool 1–2 Coventry City Fowler 52 Whelan 65Dublin 90 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,079 L 33 13 April 1997 15:00 Sunderland 1–2 Liverpool Stewart 53 Fowler 33McManaman 47 Sunderland, Tyne and Wear Roker Park 21,938 W 34 16 April 1997 19:45 Everton 1–1 Liverpool Ferguson 65 Redknapp 26 Liverpool, Merseyside Goodison Park 40,177 D 35 19 April 1997 11:15 Liverpool 1–3 Manchester United Barnes 19 Pallister 13 42Cole 63 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield 40,892 L 36 3 May 1997 15:00 Liverpool 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur Collymore 15Berger 43 Anderton 5 Liverpool, Merseyside Anfield W 37 6 May 1997 19:45 Wimbledon 2–1 Liverpool Euell 43Holdsworth 55 Owen 74 Croydon, London Selhurst Park 20,016 L 38 11 May 1997 16:00 Sheffield Wednesday 1–1 Liverpool Donaldson 75 Redknapp 83 Sheffield Hillsborough 38,943 D FA Cup 1996–97 FA Cup Third round 4 January 1997 Liverpool 1–0 (Report) Burnley Collymore 12 Liverpool Anfield 33,252 W Fourth round 26 January 1997 Chelsea 4–2 (Report) Liverpool Hughes 50Zola 58Vialli 63 76 Fowler 10Collymore 21 London Stamford Bridge 27,950 L Football League Cup 1996–97 Football League Cup Third round 23 October 1996 Charlton Athletic 1–1 Report Liverpool Whyte 18 Fowler 21 London The Valley 15,000 W Third round replay 13 November 1996 Liverpool 4–1 Report Charlton Athletic Wright 14Redknapp 18Fowler 48 73 Newton 21 Liverpool Anfield 20,714 W Fourth round 27 November 1996 Liverpool 4–2 Report Arsenal McManaman 26Fowler 39 pen. 52Berger 72 Wright 13 pen. 68 pen. Liverpool Anfield 32,814 W Quarter-final 8 January 1997 Middlesbrough 2–1 Report Liverpool Hignett 14Vickers 21 McManaman 65 Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium 28,670 L Cup Winners' Cup 1996–97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First round, first leg 12 September 1996 MyPa FIN 0–1 http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/1868 ENG Liverpool Bjørnebye 61 Anjalankoski Kymenlaakson Sähkö Stadion 4,767 W First round, second leg 26 September 1996 Liverpool ENG 3–1 4–1 http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/1868 FIN MyPa Berger 16Collymore 59Barnes 77 Keskitalo 64 Liverpool Anfield 39,013 W Second round, first leg 17 October 1996 Sion SUI 1–2 http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/1872 ENG Liverpool Bonvin 10 Fowler 28Barnes 80 Sion Stade Tourbillon 15,500 W Second round, second leg 31 October 1996 Liverpool ENG 6–3 8–4 http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/1876 SUI Sion McManaman 27Bjørnebye 55Barnes 66Fowler 70 79Berger 89 Chassot 20 65Bonvin 23 Liverpool Anfield 38,514 W Quarter-final, first leg 6 March 1997 Brann NOR 1–1 http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/1872 ENG Liverpool Hasund 48 Fowler 10 Bergen Brann Stadion 12,700 D Quarter-final, second leg 20 March 1997 Liverpool ENG 3–0 4–1 http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/1876 NOR Brann Fowler 25 pen. 77Collymore 61 Liverpool Anfield 40,326 W Semi-final, first leg 10 April 1997 Paris Saint-Germain FRA 3–0 http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/1872 ENG Liverpool Leonardo 11Cauet 43Leroy 83 Paris Parc des Princes 35,142 L Semi-final, second leg 24 April 1997 Liverpool ENG 2–0 2–3 http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/1876 FRA Paris Saint-Germain Fowler 12Wright 79 Liverpool Anfield 39,000 W Statistics Appearances and goals Premier League FA Cup League Cup CWC |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers 1 David James GK ENG 38 0 2 0 4 0 8 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders 2 Rob Jones DF ENG 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 Bjørn Tore Kvarme DF NOR 15 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 Mark Wright DF ENG 33 0 2 0 3 1 5 1 6 Phil Babb DF IRL 21+1 1 1 0 3 0 4+1 0 12 Steve Harkness DF ENG 5+2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 14 Neil Ruddock DF ENG 15+2 1 0 0 2 0 2+1 0 19 Mark Kennedy DF IRL 0+5 0 0+1 0 0+1 0 0+1 0 20 Stig Inge Bjørnebye DF NOR 38 2 2 0 4 0 8 2 21 Dominic Matteo DF ENG 22+4 0 2 0 3 0 7 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders 4 Jason McAteer MF IRL 36+1 1 2 0 4 0 8 0 7 Steve McManaman MF ENG 37 7 2 0 4 2 8 1 10 John Barnes MF ENG 34+1 4 2 0 3 0 7 3 11 Jamie Redknapp MF ENG 18+5 3 1 0 1 1 4+3 0 15 Patrik Berger MF CZE 13+10 6 1+1 0 3 1 6 2 16 Michael Thomas MF ENG 29+2 3 1 0 4 0 5+1 0 23 Jamie Carragher MF ENG 1+1 1 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 25 David Thompson MF ENG 0+2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards 8 Stan Collymore FW ENG 25+5 12 2 2 0 0 4+1 2 9 Robbie Fowler FW ENG 32 18 1 1 4 5 7 7 18 Michael Owen FW ENG 1+1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 Lee Jones FW WAL 0+2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |- ! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season 3 John Scales DF ENG 3 0 0 0 1 0 2+1 0 |} Goal scorers Rank RankNo. Squad NumberPos PositionNat NationalityNamePremier LeagueFA CupLeague CupCup Winners' Cup Total19FWENGRobbie Fowler181573128FWENGStan Collymore122021637MFENGSteve McManaman702110415MFCZEPatrick Berger60129510MFENGJohn Barnes40037611MFENGJamie Redknapp3010420DFNORStig Inge Bjørnebye20024816MFENGMichael Thomas3000395DFENGMark Wright00112104DFIRLJason McAteer100016DFIRLPhil Babb1000114DFENGNeil Ruddock1000118FWENGMichael Owen1000123DFENGJamie Carragher10001Own goal20002Totals623101893 Competition top scorers Competition Result Top scorer Premier League 4th ENG Robbie Fowler, 18 UEFA CWC Semi-finals ENG Robbie Fowler, 7 FA Cup Fourth round ENG Stan Collymore, 2 League Cup Fifth round ENG Robbie Fowler, 5 Overall ENG Robbie Fowler, 31 Notes notes 30em References Category:Liverpool F.C. seasons Liverpool