Derby County 1996–97 football season
The 1996–97 season was Derby County's first in the Premier League , following their promotion from the First Division the previous season.
Back in the top flight after a five-year exile, Jim Smith's Derby County side never looked in any real danger of an immediate return to Division One, and their 12th-place finish in the final table was their highest final position in eight years. Young striker Dean Sturridge received many plaudits for his goalscoring exploits, which sparked talk of a £7 million transfer to Arsenal , but the move never happened.
The highlight of the season was a 3–2 win against champions Manchester United at Old Trafford , with Paulo Wanchope scoring a "wonder goal" on his English league debut.[ 1] [ 2]
Source:
Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Results summary Overall Home Away Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD 38 11 13 14 45 58 −13 46 8 6 5 25 22 +3 3 7 9 20 36 −16
Results by round Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Ground H A A H A H A H H A A H H A H A H A A H A A A H H H A H A A H A H H A H A H Result D D L D W W D L L D L W W D W D L L L D D L D L W D L W L L W W D W L D W L Position 7 13 15 16 12 9 9 11 13 12 16 11 10 11 9 11 11 11 12 11 13 15 16 16 13 12 13 12 14 14 14 12 12 11 12 11 10 12
Source:
Statto.com A = Away;
H = Home;
W = Win;
D = Draw;
L = Loss Derby County's score comes first [ 3]
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers 17 August 1996 Leeds United H 3–3 17,925 Sturridge (2), Paul Simpson 21 August 1996 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–1 28,219 Dailly 24 August 1996 Aston Villa A 0–2 34,646 4 September 1996 Manchester United H 1–1 18,025 Laursen 9 September 1996 Blackburn Rovers A 2–1 19,214 Willems , Flynn 14 September 1996 Sunderland H 1–0 17,692 Asanović (pen) 21 September 1996 Sheffield Wednesday A 0–0 23,487 28 September 1996 Wimbledon H 0–2 17,022 12 October 1996 Newcastle United H 0–1 18,092 19 October 1996 Nottingham Forest A 1–1 27,771 Dailly 27 October 1996 Liverpool A 1–2 39,515 Ward 2 November 1996 Leicester City H 2–0 18,010 Ward , Whitlow (own goal) 17 November 1996 Middlesbrough H 2–1 17,350 Asanović , Vickers (own goal) 23 November 1996 West Ham United A 1–1 24,576 Sturridge 30 November 1996 Coventry City H 2–1 18,042 Asanović (pen), Ward 7 December 1996 Arsenal A 2–2 38,018 Sturridge , Powell 16 December 1996 Everton H 0–1 17,252 21 December 1996 Southampton A 1–3 14,901 Dailly 26 December 1996 Sunderland A 0–2 22,512 28 December 1996 Blackburn Rovers H 0–0 17,847 11 January 1997 Wimbledon A 1–1 11,467 Willems 18 January 1997 Chelsea A 1–3 27,639 Asanović 29 January 1997 Leeds United A 0–0 27,523 1 February 1997 Liverpool H 0–1 18,102 15 February 1997 West Ham United H 1–0 18,057 Asanović (pen) 19 February 1997 Sheffield Wednesday H 2–2 18,060 Sturridge , Štimac 22 February 1997 Leicester City A 2–4 20,323 Sturridge (2) 1 March 1997 Chelsea H 3–2 18,039 Minto (own goal), Asanović , Ward 5 March 1997 Middlesbrough A 1–6 29,739 Simpson 15 March 1997 Everton A 0–1 32,140 22 March 1997 Tottenham Hotspur H 4–2 18,083 van der Laan , Trollope , Sturridge , Ward 5 April 1997 Manchester United A 3–2 55,243 Ward , Wanchope , Sturridge 9 April 1997 Southampton H 1–1 17,839 Ward 12 April 1997 Aston Villa H 2–1 18,071 Rowett , van der Laan 19 April 1997 Newcastle United A 1–3 36,550 Sturridge 23 April 1997 Nottingham Forest H 0–0 18,087 3 May 1997 Coventry City A 2–1 22,854 Burrows (own goal), Sturridge 11 May 1997 Arsenal H 1–3 18,287 Ward
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers R2 1st Leg 17 September 1996 Luton Town A 0–1 4,459 R2 2nd Leg 25 September 1996 Luton Town H 2–2 (lost 2–3 on agg) 13,569 Sturridge , Simpson
Squad at end of season [ 4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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.
The following players did not appear for the first team this season. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
GK: #1, Russell Hoult , 31 RB: #2, Gary Rowett , 35 CB: #27, Paul McGrath , 23 CB: #22, Christian Dailly , 31 CB: #16, Jacob Laursen , 35 LB: #3, Chris Powell , 35 CM: #6, Igor Štimac , 21 CM: #10, Aljoša Asanović , 34 CM: #4, Darryl Powell , 27 CF: 8, Dean Sturridge , 29 CF: #12, Ashley Ward , 25 ^ Powell was born in Lambeth , England , but qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in 1998. ^ Trollope was born in Swindon , England , but qualified to represent Wales internationally and would make his international debut for Wales in May 1997. ^ Carsley was born in Birmingham , England , but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandmother and represented them at U-21 and B level before making his international debut for Ireland in October 1997. ^ McGrath was born in Ealing , England to an Irish mother and Nigerian father, but was raised in the Republic of Ireland and made his international debut for Ireland in 1985.
National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Levels 2–4 Level 5 Levels 6–7 Levels 8–9 Isthmian League (Two , Three ) Combined Counties League (level 8 only ) Eastern Counties League (Premier , One ) Essex Senior League (level 8 only ) Hellenic League (Premier , One ) Kent League (level 8 only ) Midland Alliance (level 8 only ) Midland Football Combination (level 9 only ) North West Counties League (One , Two ) Northern Counties East League (Premier , One ) Northern League (One , Two ) South Midlands League (Premier , Senior ) Spartan League (Premier , One ) Sussex County League (One , Two ) United Counties League (Premier , One ) Wessex League (level 8 only ) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 9 only ) Western League (Premier , One )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
European competitions