1996–97_Southampton_F.C._season
1996–97 Southampton F.C. season
Southampton F.C. 1996–97 football season
In the 1996–97 season, Southampton Football Club competed in the FA Premier League.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2011) |
| 1996–97 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Rupert Lowe |
| Manager | Graeme Souness |
| Stadium | The Dell |
| Premiership | 16th |
| FA Cup | Third round |
| League Cup | Quarter-finals |
| Top goalscorer | League: Matt Le Tissier (13) All: Matt Le Tissier (16) |
| Highest home attendance | 15,253 vs Manchester United (26 Oct 1996, Premier League) |
| Lowest home attendance | 10,737 vs Oxford United (18 Dec 1996, League Cup) |
| Average home league attendance | 15,099 |
For the fourth time in five seasons, Southampton managed to avoid relegation. Manager Dave Merrington had been dismissed at the end of the previous season to be succeeded by Graeme Souness, who brought in quality new players including Claus Lundekvam, Eyal Berkovic and Egil Østenstad. A 6–3 win over Manchester United in late October, which saw Ostenstad scoring a brace, was the highlight of the season, and Southampton entered the final game of the season only needing a draw to confirm their survival. Survival was achieved, but it did not prevent Souness from quitting the club after just one season, handing over the reins to Stockport's Dave Jones.
Ali Dia incident
After receiving a phone call purporting to be from Liberian international and former FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah, Graeme Souness signed Senegalese "international" striker Ali Dia. "Weah" had told Souness that Dia was his cousin, had played for Paris Saint-Germain and had played 13 times for his country. None of this was true: the phone call was made by a fellow university student of Dia's to Souness, suggesting that he should give Dia a chance with the Saints.[1] Nonetheless, Souness was convinced, and signed Dia on a one-month contract.
Dia played just one game for Southampton, against Leeds United on 23 November 1996; he had originally been scheduled to play in a reserve friendly against Arsenal, but the match was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch. In the match against Leeds, he came on as a substitute for Matt Le Tissier after 32 minutes but his performance was spectacularly below Premier League quality. He was later substituted for Ken Monkou after playing for 53 minutes;[2] Leeds won the match 2–0.
Le Tissier himself recalled the story in a television interview, telling that Dia spent only a weekend at the club. He first came down to train with the team on Friday morning; according to Le Tissier he "didn't look very good" and the players thought that they would "never see him again", but the next day Dia was surprisingly named on the bench. His performance on the field after he came on to replace Le Tissier "was unbelievable. He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice, it was very very embarrassing to watch." Yet, according to the team's physiotherapist, on Sunday morning Dia "turned up for treatment of an injury" and "then he left, and we never saw him again . . . nobody knows where he went."[3] Dia was released by Southampton two weeks later.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 42 | |
| 15 | Everton | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 42 | |
| 16 | Southampton | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 41 | |
| 17 | Coventry City | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 38 | 54 | −16 | 41 | |
| 18 | Sunderland (R) | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 35 | 53 | −18 | 40 | Relegation to the Football League First Division |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated
- 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 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 41 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 18 | 32 | −14 |
Source: Statto
- 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 | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | L | L | D | L | L | L | W | D | W | W | D | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | D | L | L | D | W | D | D | L | L | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | L |
| Position | 11 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 16 |
Southampton's score comes first[4]
Legend
| Win | Draw | Loss |
FA Premier League
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 August 1996 | Chelsea | H | 0–0 | 15,186 | |
| 21 August 1996 | Leicester City | A | 1–2 | 17,562 | Le Tissier (pen) |
| 24 August 1996 | West Ham United | A | 1–2 | 21,227 | Heaney |
| 4 September 1996 | Nottingham Forest | H | 2–2 | 14,450 | Dryden, Le Tissier |
| 7 September 1996 | Liverpool | A | 1–2 | 39,189 | Magilton |
| 14 September 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–1 | 15,251 | |
| 23 September 1996 | Wimbledon | A | 1–3 | 8,572 | Oakley |
| 28 September 1996 | Middlesbrough | H | 4–0 | 15,230 | Oakley, Le Tissier (2), Watson |
| 13 October 1996 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 15,485 | Le Tissier |
| 19 October 1996 | Sunderland | H | 3–0 | 15,225 | Dodd, Le Tissier (pen), Shipperley |
| 26 October 1996 | Manchester United | H | 6–3 | 15,253 | Berkovic (2), Le Tissier, Østenstad (2), P. Neville (own goal) |
| 2 November 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | 20,106 | Le Tissier (pen) |
| 16 November 1996 | Everton | A | 1–7 | 35,669 | Østenstad |
| 23 November 1996 | Leeds United | H | 0–2 | 15,241 | |
| 30 November 1996 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–2 | 23,018 | Østenstad |
| 4 December 1996 | Arsenal | A | 1–3 | 38,033 | Berkovic |
| 7 December 1996 | Aston Villa | H | 0–1 | 15,232 | |
| 21 December 1996 | Derby County | H | 3–1 | 14,901 | Watson, Oakley, Magilton (pen) |
| 26 December 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–3 | 30,549 | Le Tissier |
| 29 December 1996 | Liverpool | H | 0–1 | 15,222 | |
| 11 January 1997 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–0 | 29,509 | Magilton (pen) |
| 18 January 1997 | Newcastle United | H | 2–2 | 15,251 | Maddison, Le Tissier |
| 1 February 1997 | Manchester United | A | 1–2 | 55,269 | Østenstad |
| 22 February 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2–3 | 15,062 | Østenstad, Le Tissier |
| 26 February 1997 | Wimbledon | H | 0–0 | 14,418 | |
| 1 March 1997 | Newcastle United | A | 1–0 | 36,446 | Le Tissier |
| 5 March 1997 | Everton | H | 2–2 | 15,134 | Slater, Short (own goal) |
| 12 March 1997 | Leeds United | A | 0–0 | 25,913 | |
| 15 March 1997 | Arsenal | H | 0–2 | 15,144 | |
| 19 March 1997 | Chelsea | A | 0–1 | 28,079 | |
| 22 March 1997 | Leicester City | H | 2–2 | 15,044 | Østenstad, van Gobbel |
| 5 April 1997 | Nottingham Forest | A | 3–1 | 25,134 | Magilton, Evans |
| 9 April 1997 | Derby County | A | 1–1 | 17,839 | Powell (own goal) |
| 12 April 1997 | West Ham United | H | 2–0 | 15,244 | Evans, Berkovic |
| 19 April 1997 | Coventry City | H | 2–2 | 15,251 | Evans, Østenstad |
| 22 April 1997 | Sunderland | A | 1–0 | 21,521 | Østenstad |
| 3 May 1997 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–0 | 15,247 | Slater, Le Tissier |
| 11 May 1997 | Aston Villa | A | 0–1 | 39,339 |
FA Cup
League Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R2 1st Leg | 18 September 1996 | Peterborough United | H | 2–0 | 14,467 | Le Tissier, Watson |
| R2 2nd Leg | 25 September 1996 | Peterborough United | A | 4–1 | 8,220 | Watson, Charlton, Magilton, Dryden |
| R3 | 23 October 1996 | Lincoln City | H | 2–2 | 14,516 | Le Tissier, van Gobbel |
| R3R | 12 November 1996 | Lincoln City | A | 3–1 | 10,523 | Magilton (pen), Watson, Berkovic |
| R4 | 26 November 1996 | Oxford United | A | 1–1 | 9,473 | Dryden |
| R4R | 18 December 1996 | Oxford United | H | 3–2 | 10,737 | Berkovic, Dryden, Østenstad |
| QF | 22 January 1997 | Stockport County | A | 2–2 | 9,840 | Østenstad (2) |
| QFR | 29 January 1997 | Stockport County | H | 1–2 | 13,428 | Le Tissier |
First-team squad
- Squad at end of season[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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- "Never again..." BBC Sport. 1 April 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
- Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. pp. 248 & 504. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
- Haberdager (21 August 2007). "Matt Le Tissier recounts the Ali Dia saga". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021 – via YouTube.
- Ltd, Statto Organisation. "Southampton results for the 1996-1997 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.