1996–97 FA Premier League
The 1996–97 FA Premier League was the fifth season of the FA Premier League since its formation in 1992. The majority of the season was contested by the reigning champions, Manchester United, along with Newcastle United, Arsenal and Liverpool. The title was eventually won by Manchester United, after Liverpool and Newcastle's failure to win in their penultimate games of the season; at 75 points it is the lowest points total for a Premier League champion and lowest since the 3-1-0 points system was introduced in the 1981–82 season.
Middlesbrough – despite spending millions of pounds on high-profile foreign players like Emerson, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Branco and Gianluca Festa – were relegated on the final day of the season and were on the losing side in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals. Middlesbrough finished in 19th place, but they would have been placed outside the relegation zone without a three-point deduction imposed for unilaterally postponing a December 1996 fixture at Blackburn Rovers, with the Middlesbrough board blaming the decision on the absence of 23 players ill or injured. This sanction meant Coventry City, who had been in the top division since 1967, finished in 17th place and avoided relegation. The decision was controversial and later resurfaced in 2006–07 when West Ham escaped a points deduction and subsequently avoided relegation.
Another relegation place went to Nottingham Forest, who sacked manager Frank Clark in December. Stuart Pearce took over as temporary player-manager, spending three months in charge and winning the January 1997 Manager of the Month award. In March, Pearce quit as manager to be replaced by Dave Bassett, formerly of Crystal Palace. Also relegated, due to a 1–0 defeat to Wimbledon in their last game of the season, were Sunderland, who were leaving Roker Park after 99 years and relocating to the 42,000-seat Stadium of Light on the banks of the River Wear for the start of the 1997–98 season in Division One.
Teams
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top seventeen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Sunderland, Derby County and Leicester City. This was also both Sunderland and Derby County's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers, ending their top flight spells of seven, thirteen and one year respectively.Stadiums and Locations
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Arsenal | London | Arsenal Stadium | |
| Aston Villa | Birmingham | Villa Park | |
| Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn | Ewood Park | |
| Chelsea | London | Stamford Bridge | |
| Coventry City | Coventry | Highfield Road | |
| Derby County | Derby | Baseball Ground | |
| Everton | Liverpool | Goodison Park | |
| Leeds United | Leeds | Elland Road | |
| Leicester City | Leicester | Filbert Street | |
| Liverpool | Liverpool | Anfield | |
| Manchester United | Old Trafford | Old Trafford | |
| Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough | Riverside Stadium | |
| Newcastle United | Newcastle upon Tyne | St James' Park | |
| Nottingham Forest | West Bridgford | City Ground | |
| Sheffield Wednesday | Sheffield | Hillsborough Stadium | |
| Southampton | Southampton | The Dell | |
| Sunderland | Sunderland | Roker Park | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | London | White Hart Lane | |
| West Ham United | London | Boleyn Ground | |
| Wimbledon | London | Selhurst Park |
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Arsenal |  Arsène Wenger |  Tony Adams | Nike | JVC |
| Aston Villa | Brian Little |  Andy Townsend | Reebok | AST Research |
| Blackburn Rovers | Tony Parkes | Tim Sherwood | Asics | CIS |
| Chelsea |  Ruud Gullit | Dennis Wise | Umbro | Coors |
| Coventry City |  Gordon Strachan | Gary McAllister | Le Coq Sportif | Peugeot |
| Derby County | Jim Smith |  Igor Štimac | Puma | Puma |
| Everton | Dave Watson | Dave Watson | Umbro | Danka |
| Leeds United | George Graham |  Lucas Radebe | Puma | Packard Bell |
| Leicester City |  Martin O'Neill | Steve Walsh | Fox Leisure | Walkers |
| Liverpool | Roy Evans | John Barnes | Reebok | Carlsberg |
| Manchester United | Alex Ferguson | Eric Cantona | Umbro | Sharp |
| Middlesbrough | Bryan Robson | Nigel Pearson | Erreà | Cellnet |
| Newcastle United | Kenny Dalglish | Peter Beardsley | Adidas | Newcastle Brown Ale |
| Nottingham Forest | Dave Bassett | Stuart Pearce | Umbro | Labatt's |
| Sheffield Wednesday | David Pleat | Peter Atherton | Puma | Sanderson |
| Southampton | Graeme Souness | Matt Le Tissier | Pony | Sanderson |
| Sunderland | Peter Reid | Kevin Ball | Avec | Vaux Breweries |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Gerry Francis | Gary Mabbutt | Pony | Hewlett-Packard |
| West Ham United | Harry Redknapp | Julian Dicks | Pony | Dagenham Motors |
| Wimbledon | Joe Kinnear |  Vinnie Jones | Lotto | Elonex |
Managerial changes
League table
Results
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Alan Shearer | Newcastle United | 25 |
| 2 | Ian Wright | Arsenal | 23 |
| 3 | Robbie Fowler | Liverpool | 18 |
| 3 |  Ole Gunnar Solskjær | Manchester United | 18 |
| 5 |  Dwight Yorke | Aston Villa | 17 |
| 6 | Les Ferdinand | Newcastle United | 16 |
| 6 |  Fabrizio Ravanelli | Middlesbrough | 16 |
| 8 | Dion Dublin | Coventry City | 13 |
| 8 | Matt Le Tissier | Southampton | 13 |
| 10 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | 12 |
| 10 | Steve Claridge | Leicester City | 12 |
| 10 | Stan Collymore | Liverpool | 12 |
| 10 |  Juninho | Middlesbrough | 12 |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref |
| | Nottingham Forest | Coventry City | 3–0 | 17 8 1996 | |
| | Middlesbrough | Liverpool | 3–3 | 17 8 1996 | |
| | Arsenal | Sheffield Wednesday | 4–1 | 16 9 1996 | |
 L | Aston Villa | Newcastle United | 4–3 | 30 9 1996 | |
| | Everton | Southampton | 7–1 | 16 11 1996 | |
| 4 | Liverpool | Middlesbrough | 5–1 | 14 12 1996 | |
| | Newcastle United | Leicester City | 4–3 | 2 2 1997 | |
| | Leicester City | Derby County | 4–2 | 22 2 1997 | |
| | Tottenham Hotspur | Sunderland | 4–0 | 4 3 1997 | |
| | Middlesbrough | Derby County | 6–1 | 5 3 1997 | |
| | Blackburn Rovers | Wimbledon | 3–1 | 15 3 1997 | |
| | West Ham United | Sheffield Wednesday | 5–1 | 3 5 1997 |
Top assists
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Eric Cantona | Manchester United | 12 |
| 2 | Neal Ardley | Wimbledon | 11 |
| 3 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | 9 |
| 3 | Andy Hinchcliffe | Everton | 9 |
| 3 | Gary McAllister | Coventry City | 9 |
| 3 | Gianfranco Zola | Chelsea | 9 |
| 7 | Nick Barmby | Everton | 8 |
| 7 | David Beckham | Manchester United | 8 |
| 7 | Stig Inge Bjørnebye | Liverpool | 8 |
| 7 | Les Ferdinand | Newcastle United | 8 |
Awards
Monthly awards
Annual awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Premier League Manager of the Season | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United |
| Premier League Player of the Season | Juninho | Middlesbrough |
| PFA Players' Player of the Year | Alan Shearer | Newcastle United |
| PFA Young Player of the Year | David Beckham | Manchester United |
| FWA Footballer of the Year | Gianfranco Zola | Chelsea |