1996–97 Watford F.C. season

Watford
1996–97 season
ChairmanJack Petchey
ManagerKenny Jackett
StadiumVicarage Road
Second Division13th
FA CupFourth round
League CupSecond round
Football League TrophySouthern semi finals
Top goalscorerMooney (13)
Average home league attendance8,894

During the 1996–97 English football season, Watford F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.

Season summary

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In the 1996–97 season, although Jackett oversaw a long unbeaten stretch of results, Watford were unable to mount a serious promotion challenge and finished a disappointing campaign in 13th place – Watford's lowest position in the league structure since the 1970s. During the close season, Jackett was demoted to the position of first-team coach, with Graham Taylor once again becoming manager.[1]

Final league table

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Main article: 1996–97 Football League § Second Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
11 Gillingham 46 19 10 17 60 59 +1 67
12 Walsall 46 19 10 17 54 53 +1 67
13 Watford 46 16 19 11 45 38 +7 67
14 Millwall 46 16 13 17 50 55 −5 61
15 Preston North End 46 18 7 21 49 55 −6 61
Source: [2]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Results

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Watford's score comes first[3]

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League Second Division

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
17 August 1996 Bournemouth A 2–1 7,672 Connolly, White
24 August 1996 Millwall H 0–2 9,495
27 August 1996 Plymouth Argyle H 0–2 7,349
31 August 1996 Crewe Alexandra A 2–0 3,655 Palmer, Mooney
7 September 1996 Stockport County H 1–0 7,208 Mooney (pen)
10 September 1996 Notts County A 3–2 3,660 Mooney (2), Andrews
14 September 1996 Bristol Rovers A 1–0 6,276 White
21 September 1996 Peterborough United H 0–0 12,007
28 September 1996 Shrewsbury Town A 0–1 3,655
1 October 1996 Preston North End H 1–0 6,434 Palmer
5 October 1996 York City A 2–1 5,232 Andrews, Penrice
12 October 1996 Wrexham H 1–1 8,441 Mooney (pen)
15 October 1996 Burnley H 2–2 6,450 Andrews, R Johnson
19 October 1996 Bury A 1–1 4,092 Andrews
26 October 1996 Blackpool A 1–1 6,072 Mooney
29 October 1996 Luton Town H 1–1 14,109 Bazeley
2 November 1996 Brentford H 2–0 11,448 Gibbs, Mooney
9 November 1996 Rotherham United A 0–0 3,619
19 November 1996 Wycombe Wanderers H 1–0 7,657 Connolly
30 November 1996 Blackpool H 2–2 12,017 Millen, Noel-Williams
3 December 1996 Bristol City A 1–1 9,097 Noel-Williams
14 December 1996 Walsall H 1–1 3,674 R Johnson
21 December 1996 Gillingham H 0–0 7,809
26 December 1996 Notts County H 0–0 9,065
18 January 1997 Preston North End A 1–1 8,735 Mooney
27 January 1997 Luton Town A 0–0 7,428
1 February 1997 Rotherham United H 2–0 10,657 Bazeley, Slater
8 February 1997 Brentford A 1–1 8,679 Scott
22 February 1997 Wycombe Wanderers A 0–0 8,438
25 February 1997 Shrewsbury Town H 2–0 6,378 Phillips, Bazeley
1 March 1997 Bristol City H 3–0 8,539 Phillips (3)
4 March 1997 Peterborough United A 1–2 4,200 Mooney
8 March 1997 Gillingham A 1–3 7,385 Scott
15 March 1997 Walsall H 1–0 7,818 Mooney
18 March 1997 Bristol Rovers H 1–0 6,139 Mooney
22 March 1997 Millwall A 1–0 8,713 Mooney
29 March 1997 Bournemouth H 0–1 10,019
31 March 1997 Plymouth Argyle A 0–0 6,836
5 April 1997 Crewe Alexandra H 0–1 12,441
8 April 1997 Chesterfield A 0–0 4,258
12 April 1997 York City H 4–0 7,645 Ramage (2), Mooney, Easton
14 April 1997 Stockport County A 0–1 7,164
19 April 1997 Wrexham A 1–3 3,437 Ramage
24 April 1997 Chesterfield H 0–2 6,411
26 April 1997 Bury H 0–0 9,017
3 May 1997 Burnley A 1–4 8,269 Millen

FA Cup

[edit]
Main article: 1996-97 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 17 November 1996 Northampton Town A 1–0 7,342 Bazeley
R2 7 December 1996 Ashford Town H 5–0 7,590 Bazeley (2), Connolly (3)
R3 21 January 1997 Oxford United H 2–0 9,502 White, Connolly
R4 5 February 1997 Manchester City A 1–3 24,031 Noel-Williams

League Cup

[edit]
Main article: 1996-97 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg 20 August 1996 Walsall A 0–1 2,659
R1 2nd Leg 3 September 1996 Walsall H 2–0 (won 2–1 on agg) 5,325 Andrews, Porter
R2 1st Leg 17 September 1996 Sunderland H 0–2 9,136
R2 2nd Leg 24 September 1996 Sunderland A 0–1 (lost 0–3 on agg) 10,659

Football League Trophy

[edit]
Main article: 1996-97 Football League Trophy
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
SR2 7 January 1997 Torquay United H 2–1 2,298 Page, Connolly
SQF 11 February 1997 Bristol City H 2–1 3,142 Andrews, Bazeley
SSF 18 February 1997 Peterborough United H 0–1 4,941

Players

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First-team squad

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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.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK England ENG Alec Chamberlain
— GK England ENG Kevin Miller
— DF England ENG Darren Bazeley
— DF England ENG Colin Foster
— DF England ENG Nigel Gibbs
— DF England ENG Dominic Ludden
— DF England ENG Keith Millen
— DF Wales WAL Rob Page
— DF England ENG Steve Palmer
— DF England ENG Paul Robinson
— DF England ENG Darren Ward
— MF England ENG Clint Easton
— MF England ENG Richard Flash
— MF Australia AUS Richard Johnson
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Gary Porter
— MF England ENG Craig Ramage
— MF England ENG Stuart Slater
— MF England ENG Steve Talboys
— FW England ENG Wayne Andrews
— FW Republic of Ireland IRL David Connolly[notes 1]
— FW England ENG Nathan Lowndes
— FW England ENG Tommy Mooney
— FW England ENG Gifton Noel-Williams
— FW England ENG Gary Penrice
— FW England ENG Kevin Phillips
— FW England ENG Keith Scott (on loan from Norwich City)
— FW England ENG Devon White

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
— DF England ENG Craig Armstrong (on loan from Nottingham Forest)
— DF England ENG David Holdsworth (to Sheffield United)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Craig Ramage (on loan to Peterborough United)

Reserve 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
— DF England ENG Colin Miles
— DF England ENG David Perpetuini
— DF England ENG Mark Rooney
— MF England ENG Danny Grieves
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Chris Johnson
— FW England ENG Colin Simpson
— MF England ENG Tommy Smith

References

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  1. ^ "Rocket man". The Mirror. 13 May 1997.
  2. ^ "England 1996–97". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  3. ^ Statto Organisation Ltd. "Watford results for the 1996-1997 season - Statto.com". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  4. ^ "All Watford players: 1997". 11v11.com.

Notes

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  1. ^ Connolly was born in Brent, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in May 1996.
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