1996–97_Ipswich_Town_F.C._season

1996–97 Ipswich Town F.C. season

Ipswich Town 1996–97 football season

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

Quick Facts Chairman, Manager ...

Ipswich Town
1996–97 season
Chairman	David Sheepshanks
Manager	George Burley
Stadium	Portman Road
First Division	4th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Fifth round
Play-offs	Semi-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Paul Mason (14) All: Paul Mason (15)
Highest home attendance	22,397 (vs. Norwich City, 18 April 1997, First Division)
Lowest home attendance	6,163 (vs. Bournemouth, 20 August 1996, League Cup)
Average home league attendance	11,953
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

Season summary

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 In January, Adam Tanner failed a drug test and was withdrawn from the squad and later suspended for three months.^[1]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

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Richard Wright
—	GK	CAN	Craig Forrest
—	DF	ENG	Wayne Brown
—	DF	ENG	Jason Cundy
—	DF	ENG	Tony Mowbray
—	DF	ENG	Chris Swailes
—	DF	ENG	Tony Vaughan
—	DF	NED	Gus Uhlenbeek
—	DF	ARG	Mauricio Taricco
—	MF	ENG	Steve Sedgley
—	MF	ENG	Kieron Dyer
—	MF	ENG	Paul Mason
—	MF	ENG	Simon Milton
—	MF	ENG	Mick Stockwell


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Adam Tanner
—	MF	WAL	Geraint Williams
—	MF	SCO	John Wark
—	MF	NIR	Danny Sonner
—	MF	NED	Bobby Petta
—	MF	NZL	Lee Norfolk
—	MF	SCO	Stuart Niven
—	MF	SWE	Niklas Gudmundsson (on loan from Blackburn Rovers)
—	FW	ENG	Richard Naylor
—	FW	ENG	James Scowcroft
—	FW	SCO	Gerry Creaney (on loan from Manchester City)
—	FW	SCO	Alex Mathie
—	FW	ZAM	Neil Gregory

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	NIR	Aidan Davison (loan return to Bolton Wanderers)
—	DF	DEN	Claus Thomsen (to Everton)
—	MF	ENG	Bobby Howe (loan return to Nottingham Forest)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	LCA	Earl Jean (to Rotherham United)
—	FW	ENG	Ian Marshall (to Leicester City)

Competitions

Football League First Division

Main article: 1996–97 Football League First Division

League table

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	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

Win	Draw	Loss

Ipswich Town's score comes first

Matches

More information Date, Opponent ...

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

More information Round, Date ...


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

Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup

More information Round, Date ...


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

League Cup

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup

More information Round, Date ...


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

Transfers in

More information Date, Pos ...

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

Loans in

More information Date from, Pos ...

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

Transfers out

More information Date, Pos ...

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

Loans out

More information Date from, Pos ...

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

Awards

Player awards

More information Award, Player ...

Award	Player
Player of the Year	Mauricio Taricco

References

[1]
Hadgraft, Rob. Ipswich Town The Modern Era. 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]
"Jason Cundy at Soccerbase". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
[8]
"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.

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