Jump to content

1996–97 Ipswich Town F.C. season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ipswich Town
1996–97 season
ChairmanDavid Sheepshanks
ManagerGeorge Burley
StadiumPortman Road
First Division4th
FA CupThird round
League CupFifth round
Play-offsSemi-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Paul Mason (14)
All: Paul Mason (15)
Highest home attendance22,397
(vs. Norwich City, 18 April 1997, First Division)
Lowest home attendance6,163
(vs. Bournemouth, 20 August 1996, League Cup)
Average home league attendance11,953

During the 1996–97 English football season, Ipswich Town competed in the Football League First Division.

Season summary

[edit]

In George Burley's second season in charge of Ipswich, the club reached the play-offs as they looked for a return to the Premier League at the second attempt. Ipswich were in the bottom half of the table for most of the first half of the season but their form in the new year saw Town go 10 games unbeaten and move into the play-off places. Jason Cundy was signed on loan in October to bolster the team and became permanent a month later but was diagnosed with testicular cancer in February and stopped playing. In January, Adam Tanner failed a drug test and was withdrawn from the squad and later suspended for three months.[1]

In the play-offs, Ipswich faced Sheffield United in the semi-final. The first leg played at Bramall Lane finished 1–1.[2] In the return leg, Niklas Gudmundsson gave Ipswich a 2–1 lead in the 73rd minute but their advantage lasted just four minutes until Andy Walker made it 2–2. With the aggregate scores level at 3–3, the game went into extra time but no further goals were scored, and Sheffield United advanced to the final as they had scored more away goals than Ipswich.[3]

Ipswich also reached the quarter-finals of the Coca-Cola Cup, losing to Leicester City.

First-team squad

[edit]

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 England ENG Richard Wright
GK Canada CAN Craig Forrest
DF England ENG Wayne Brown
DF England ENG Jason Cundy
DF England ENG Tony Mowbray
DF England ENG Chris Swailes
DF England ENG Tony Vaughan
DF Netherlands NED Gus Uhlenbeek
DF Argentina ARG Mauricio Taricco
MF England ENG Steve Sedgley
MF England ENG Kieron Dyer
MF England ENG Paul Mason
MF England ENG Simon Milton
MF England ENG Mick Stockwell
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF England ENG Adam Tanner
MF Wales WAL Geraint Williams
MF Scotland SCO John Wark
MF Northern Ireland NIR Danny Sonner
MF Netherlands NED Bobby Petta
MF New Zealand NZL Lee Norfolk
MF Scotland SCO Stuart Niven
MF Sweden SWE Niklas Gudmundsson (on loan from Blackburn Rovers)
FW England ENG Richard Naylor
FW England ENG James Scowcroft
FW Scotland SCO Gerry Creaney (on loan from Manchester City)
FW Scotland SCO Alex Mathie
FW Zambia ZAM Neil Gregory

Left club during season

[edit]

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 Northern Ireland NIR Aidan Davison (loan return to Bolton Wanderers)
DF Denmark DEN Claus Thomsen (to Everton)
MF England ENG Bobby Howe (loan return to Nottingham Forest)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW Saint Lucia LCA Earl Jean (to Rotherham United)
FW England ENG Ian Marshall (to Leicester City)

Competitions

[edit]

Football League First Division

[edit]

League table

[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
2 Barnsley (P) 46 22 14 10 76 55 +21 80 Promotion to the Premier League
3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 22 10 14 68 51 +17 76 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
4 Ipswich Town 46 20 14 12 68 50 +18 74
5 Sheffield United 46 20 13 13 75 52 +23 73
6 Crystal Palace (O, P) 46 19 14 13 78 48 +30 71
Source: [4]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Legend

[edit]
Win Draw Loss

Ipswich Town's score comes first

Matches

[edit]
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
16 August 1996 Manchester City A 0–1 29,126
24 August 1996 Reading H 5–2 9,767 Vaughan (2), Sedgley (pen), Taricco, Scowcroft
27 August 1996 Grimsby Town H 1–1 9,762 Mason
31 August 1996 Oldham Athletic A 3–3 5,339 Mathie (2), Stockwell
7 September 1996 Huddersfield Town H 1–3 10,661 Mason
10 September 1996 Crystal Palace A 0–0 12,520
14 September 1996 Sheffield United A 3–1 14,261 Sedgley, Scowcroft (2)
20 September 1996 Charlton Athletic H 2–1 10,558 Sedgley, Mathie
28 September 1996 West Bromwich Albion A 0–0 15,606
1 October 1996 Barnsley H 1–1 9,041 Mathie
11 October 1996 Norwich City A 1–3 20,256 Sonner
15 October 1996 Birmingham City A 0–1 15,664
19 October 1996 Portsmouth H 1–1 10,514 Mason
26 October 1996 Tranmere Rovers H 0–2 11,003
30 October 1996 Queens Park Rangers A 1–0 10,562 Mason
2 November 1996 Oxford United A 1–3 7,903 Tanner
9 November 1996 Southend United H 1–1 10,146 Stockwell
16 November 1996 Bradford City A 1–2 10,504 Cundy
19 November 1996 Swindon Town H 3–2 7,086 Scowcroft, Creaney, Sedgley (pen)
23 November 1996 Port Vale H 2–1 9,491 Tanner, Mason
30 November 1996 Tranmere Rovers A 0–3 10,127
7 December 1996 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 0–0 12,048
14 December 1996 Bolton Wanderers A 2–1 13,314 Scowcroft (2)
21 December 1996 Stoke City H 1–1 10,159 Mason
26 December 1996 Crystal Palace H 3–1 16,020 Tanner (pen), Mason, Naylor
28 December 1996 Huddersfield Town A 0–2 11,467
1 January 1997 Charlton Athletic A 1–1 10,186 Tanner (pen)
18 January 1997 Barnsley A 2–1 9,872 Mason, Cundy
25 January 1997 West Bromwich Albion H 5–0 9,381 Holmes (own goal), Scowcroft, Stockwell, Naylor, Mason
1 February 1997 Southend United A 0–0 7,232
8 February 1997 Queens Park Rangers H 2–0 12,983 Naylor, Gregory
15 February 1997 Port Vale A 2–2 6,115 Mason, Stockwell
22 February 1997 Oxford United H 2–1 11,483 Naylor, Stockwell
1 March 1997 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–0 26,700
4 March 1997 Bradford City H 3–2 9,367 Sedgley (pen), Sonner, Gregory
8 March 1997 Stoke City A 1–0 11,933 Taricco
15 March 1997 Bolton Wanderers H 0–1 16,187
18 March 1997 Sheffield United H 3–1 10,374 Gregory (3)
22 March 1997 Reading A 0–1 10,058
31 March 1997 Grimsby Town A 1–2 6,268 Mason
5 April 1997 Oldham Athletic H 4–0 11,730 Scowcroft, Williams, Stockwell, Gregory
12 April 1997 Swindon Town A 4–0 8,591 Swailes, Stockwell, Sedgley (pen), Gudmundsson
18 April 1997 Norwich City H 2–0 22,397 Taricco, Mason
22 April 1997 Manchester City H 1–0 15,824 Sedgley (pen)
25 April 1997 Portsmouth A 1–0 12,101 Scowcroft
4 May 1997 Birmingham City H 1–1 20,570 Gudmundsson

First Division play-offs

[edit]
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
SF First Leg 10 May 1997 Sheffield United A 1–1 22,312 Stockwell
SF Second Leg 14 May 1997 Sheffield United H 2–2 (lost on away goals) 21,467 Scowcroft, Gudmundsson

FA Cup

[edit]
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 4 January 1997 Nottingham Forest A 0–3 14,681

League Cup

[edit]
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 First Leg 20 August 1996 Bournemouth H 2–1 6,163 Marshall, Mason
R1 Second Leg 3 September 1996 Bournemouth A 3–0 (won 5–1 on agg) 4,119 Scowcroft, Mathie, Stockwell
R2 First Leg 17 September 1996 Fulham A 1–1 6,947 Milton
R2 Second Leg 24 September 1996 Fulham H 4–2 (won 5–3 on agg) 6,825 Sonner, Sedgley (pen), Mathie (2)
R3 22 October 1996 Crystal Palace H 4–1 8,390 Mason (2), Mathie (2)
R4 26 November 1996 Gillingham H 1–0 13,537 Naylor
R5 21 January 1997 Leicester City H 0–1 20,793

Transfers

[edit]

Transfers in

[edit]
Date Pos Name From Fee Ref
12 June 1996 MF Northern Ireland Danny Sonner Germany Viktoria Köln Free transfer [5]
1 July 1996 MF Netherlands Bobby Petta Netherlands Feyenoord Free transfer [6]
25 November 1996 DF England Jason Cundy England Tottenham Hotspur £200,000 [7]
6 December 1996 FW Saint Lucia Earl Jean Portugal Felgueiras Free transfer [8]

Loans in

[edit]
Date from Pos Name From Date until Ref
9 October 1996 GK Northern Ireland Aidan Davison England Bolton Wanderers 9 November 1996 [9]
25 October 1996 FW Scotland Gerry Creaney England Manchester City 30 June 1997 [10]
29 October 1996 DF England Jason Cundy England Tottenham Hotspur 24 November 1996 [7]
17 January 1997 MF England Bobby Howe England Nottingham Forrest 8 February 1997 [11]
20 March 1997 MF Sweden Niklas Gudmundsson England Blackburn Rovers 30 June 1997 [12]

Transfers out

[edit]
Date Pos Name To Fee Ref
31 May 1996 GK England Clive Baker Retired [13]
19 June 1996 DF England Leo Cotterell England Bournemouth Free transfer [14]
1 July 1996 MF England Lee Durrant England Harwich & Parkeston Free transfer [15]
1 August 1996 DF England Neil Thompson England Barnsley Free transfer [16]
16 August 1996 MF England Richard Appleby Wales Swansea City Free transfer [17]
31 August 1996 FW England Ian Marshall England Leicester City £800,000 [18]
9 September 1996 MF England Stuart Slater Free agent Released [19]
16 January 1997 DF Denmark Claus Thomsen England Everton £900,000 [20]
23 January 1997 FW Saint Lucia Earl Jean England Rotherham United Free transfer [8]

Loans out

[edit]
Date from Pos Name From Date until Ref
22 November 1996 FW Zambia Neil Gregory England Torquay United 21 December 1996 [21]
27 March 1997 GK Canada Craig Forrest England Chelsea 22 April 1997 [22]

Awards

[edit]

Player awards

[edit]
Award Player
Player of the Year Argentina Mauricio Taricco

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hadgraft, Rob (2006). Ipswich Town The Modern Era. Desert Island Books. pp. 123–125. ISBN 1-905328-24-9.
  2. ^ Wilson, Paul (11 May 1997). "Stockwell's saving ace". The Observer. p. 52. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Hutchings, Nick (15 May 1997). "Blades scrape through". The Guardian. p. 26. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "England 1996–97". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Danny Sonner at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Bobby Petta at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Jason Cundy at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Earl Jean at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Aidan Davison at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Gerry Creaney at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Bobby Howe at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Niklas Gudmundsson at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Clive Baker at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Leo Cotterell at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Lee Durrant at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Neil Thompson at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Richard Appleby at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Ian Marshall at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Stuart Slater at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Claus Thompsen at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Neil Gregory at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  22. ^ "Craig Forrest at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 29 January 2020.