1996–97 Norwich City F.C. season
# 1996–97 Norwich City F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Norwich City F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

In 1996, Mike Walker returned for a second spell as Norwich manager to the delight of the fans but during the season he could not achieve promotion during his first season back at the club with only a 13th-place finish. After a great start which saw the Canaries lose only 2 out of the first 14 games, Norwich's brilliant form deteriorated from the end of October, picking up 3 points from the next 10 matches with 7 defeats during the winless run which all but ended their chances of automatic promotion.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Bolton Wanderers (C, P) | 46 | 28 | 14 | 4 | 100 | 53 | +47 | 98 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 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 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 75 | 52 | +23 | 73 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 6 | Crystal Palace (O, P) | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 71 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 7 | Portsmouth | 46 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 68 | |
| 8 | Port Vale | 46 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 67 | |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 64 | 60 | +4 | 66 | |
| 10 | Birmingham City | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 52 | 48 | +4 | 66 | |
| 11 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 63 | 56 | +7 | 65 | |
| 12 | Stoke City | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 51 | 57 | −6 | 64 | |
| 13 | Norwich City | 46 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 63 | 68 | −5 | 63 | |
| 14 | Manchester City | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 59 | 60 | −1 | 61 | |
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 52 | 66 | −14 | 59 | |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 68 | 72 | −4 | 57 | |
| 17 | Oxford United | 46 | 16 | 9 | 21 | 64 | 68 | −4 | 57 | |
| 18 | Reading | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 58 | 67 | −9 | 57 | |
| 19 | Swindon Town | 46 | 15 | 9 | 22 | 52 | 71 | −19 | 54 | |
| 20 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 54 | |
| 21 | Bradford City | 46 | 12 | 12 | 22 | 47 | 72 | −25 | 48 | |
| 22 | Grimsby Town (R) | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 59 | 81 | −22 | 46 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 23 | Oldham Athletic (R) | 46 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 51 | 66 | −15 | 43 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 24 | Southend United (R) | 46 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 42 | 85 | −43 | 39 | Relegation to the Second Division |

## Results

Norwich City's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 August 1996 | Swindon Town | H | 2–0 | 15,165 | Johnson, Fleck |
| 24 August 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–3 | 13,507 | Eadie |
| 27 August 1996 | Oxford United | A | 1–0 | 7,436 | Adams |
| 31 August 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 14,456 | Adams (pen) |
| 7 September 1996 | Bradford City | A | 2–0 | 10,054 | Sutch, Eadie |
| 11 September 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | 14,000 | Adams |
| 14 September 1996 | Southend United | H | 0–0 | 12,461 | |
| 21 September 1996 | Portsmouth | A | 1–0 | 7,511 | Crook |
| 28 September 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 1–1 | 14,511 | Fleck |
| 1 October 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 4–1 | 5,266 | Eadie (2), Johnson, O'Neill |
| 11 October 1996 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–1 | 20,256 | Johnson (2), Polston |
| 16 October 1996 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–0 | 12,271 | Eadie, Adams |
| 19 October 1996 | Manchester City | A | 1–2 | 28,269 | Scott |
| 26 October 1996 | Birmingham City | A | 3–2 | 18,869 | Johnson, Adams, Scott |
| 30 October 1996 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | 14,534 | Adams |
| 2 November 1996 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–2 | 14,145 | Milligan |
| 12 November 1996 | Barnsley | A | 1–3 | 9,697 | Newman |
| 16 November 1996 | Reading | H | 1–1 | 14,412 | Scott |
| 30 November 1996 | Birmingham City | H | 0–1 | 12,764 | |
| 7 December 1996 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–2 | 10,749 | |
| 14 December 1996 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | 16,395 | Adams |
| 18 December 1996 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–5 | 7,483 | O'Neill |
| 21 December 1996 | Port Vale | A | 1–6 | 6,278 | Fleck |
| 26 December 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–3 | 15,699 | Crook, Eadie |
| 28 December 1996 | Bradford City | H | 2–0 | 13,473 | Adams (pen), O'Neill |
| 1 January 1997 | Portsmouth | H | 1–0 | 11,946 | Jackson |
| 18 January 1997 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–1 | 16,687 | Polston, Sutch |
| 22 January 1997 | Stoke City | A | 2–1 | 10,179 | O'Neill, Eadie |
| 28 January 1997 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 1–3 | 5,891 | Eadie |
| 1 February 1997 | Barnsley | H | 1–1 | 17,001 | Eadie |
| 9 February 1997 | Sheffield United | A | 3–2 | 15,301 | Johnson, Ottosson, Holdsworth (own goal) |
| 15 February 1997 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 2–4 | 14,845 | Sutch, Adams (pen) |
| 22 February 1997 | Charlton Athletic | A | 4–4 | 12,405 | Adams (2), Eadie (2) |
| 25 February 1997 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | 5,169 | Fleck |
| 1 March 1997 | Huddersfield Town | H | 2–0 | 13,001 | Eadie (2) |
| 4 March 1997 | Reading | A | 1–2 | 8,174 | Adams |
| 8 March 1997 | Port Vale | H | 1–1 | 16,101 | Jackson |
| 15 March 1997 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–2 | 17,378 | |
| 22 March 1997 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 0–1 | 17,585 | |
| 29 March 1997 | Swindon Town | A | 3–0 | 10,249 | Eadie (2), O'Neill |
| 31 March 1997 | Oxford United | H | 1–1 | 14,644 | Eadie |
| 5 April 1997 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–3 | 26,938 | Broughton, Adams |
| 12 April 1997 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | 13,805 | O'Neill, Eadie |
| 18 April 1997 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–2 | 22,397 | |
| 25 April 1997 | Manchester City | H | 0–0 | 14,080 | |
| 4 May 1997 | Oldham Athletic | A | 0–3 | 5,562 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R3 | 4 January 1997 | Sheffield United | H | 1–0 | 12,356 | Polston |
| R4 | 25 January 1997 | Leicester City | A | 1–2 | 16,703 | Adams (pen) |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| R1 First Leg | 20 August 1996 | Oxford United | A | 1–1 | 6,062 | Johnson |
| R1 Second Leg | 4 September 1996 | Oxford United | H | 2–3 (lost 3–4 on agg) | 7,301 | Adams (2, 1 pen) |

## Players

### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season

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 | ENG | Andy Marshall |
| — | GK | SCO | Bryan Gunn |
| — | DF | ENG | Carl Bradshaw |
| — | DF | ENG | Matt Jackson |
| — | DF | ENG | Danny Mills |
| — | DF | ENG | Neil Moore (on loan from Everton) |
| — | DF | ENG | Rob Newman |
| — | DF | ENG | John Polston |
| — | DF | ENG | Kevin Scott (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| — | DF | ENG | Daryl Sutch |
| — | DF | NIR | Johnny Wright |
| — | MF | ENG | Neil Adams |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Crook |
| — | MF | ENG | Darren Eadie |
| — | MF | ENG | Adrian Forbes |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Andy Johnson |
| — | MF | ENG | Lee Marshall |
| — | MF | ENG | David Rocastle (on loan from Chelsea) |
| — | MF | ENG | Karl Simpson |
| — | MF | IRL | Shaun Carey |
| — | MF | IRL | Mike Milligan |
| — | MF | IRL | Keith O'Neill |
| — | MF | IRL | Matthew Rush |
| — | FW | ENG | Ade Akinbiyi |
| — | FW | ENG | Drewe Broughton |
| — | FW | ENG | Jamie Cureton |
| — | FW | ENG | Keith Scott |
| — | FW | SCO | Robert Fleck |
| — | FW | WAL | Craig Bellamy |
| — | FW | SWE | Ulf Ottosson (on loan from IFK Norrköping) |
