1996–97 Reading F.C. season

Reading

1996–97 season
Chairman	John Madejski
Manager	Mick Gooding and Jimmy Quinn (player-managers)
Stadium	Elm Park
First Division	18th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: Trevor Morley (22) All: Trevor Morley (23)
Highest home attendance	14,853 (vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, 12 April 1997)
Lowest home attendance	5,513 (vs. Tranmere Rovers, 3 December 1996)
Average home league attendance	9,160
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

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

Season summary

The 1996–97 season was another struggle for Reading, but they managed to secure survival on 12 April 1997, after beating promotion-chasing Wolves 2-1 at Elm Park.

Squad

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

No. Position Player GK Sal Bibbo GK Nick Hammond GK Tommy Wright (on loan from Nottingham Forest) GK Steve Mautone DF Steve Blatherwick (on loan from Nottingham Forest) DF Martyn Booty DF Kenny Brown DF Keith McPherson DF Steve Swales DF Paul Bodin DF Jeff Hopkins DF Barry Hunter DF Dariusz Wdowczyk DF Andy Bernal

No. Position Player MF David Bass MF Darren Caskey MF Byron Glasgow MF Mick Gooding (player-manager) MF Paul Holsgrove MF Phil Parkinson MF Ben Smith MF Michael Meaker MF Stuart Lovell FW Jamie Lambert FW Trevor Morley FW Neville Roach FW Martin Williams FW Lee Nogan FW Jimmy Quinn (player-manager)

Transfers

In

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee
1 August 1996			Jimmy Garrity	Newcastle United	Free
1 August 1996	MF		Ben Smith	Arsenal	Free
27 March 1997	GK		Steve Mautone	West Ham United	£250,000

Out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee
10 August 1995	DF		Dylan Kerr	Carlisle	Free
27 March 1997	MF		Michael Gilkes	Wolves	£50,000

Released

Date	Position	Nationality	Name
6 March 1997	GK		Borislav Mikhailov
9 May 1997	FW		Jimmy Quinn
9 May 1997	MF		Mick Gooding
31 May 1997	MF		David Bass
31 May 1997			Alan Carey
31 May 1997	DF		Jeff Hopkins
31 May 1997			Derek Simpson
31 May 1997			Jimmy Garrity

Results

Football League First Division

Main article: 1996-97 Football League

Reading v Sheffield United

17 August 1996	Reading	1 - 0	Sheffield United	Elm Park
	Bernal  80' Quinn  82'	[ Report]		Attendance: 11,081

Ipswich Town v Reading

24 August 1996	Ipswich Town	5 - 2	Reading	Portman Road
	Vaughan  13', 69' Sedgley  45' (pen.) Taricco  72' Scowcroft  87'	[ Report]	Nogan  28' Mikhailov  45' Hunter  62'	Attendance: 9,767

Barnsley v Reading

28 August 1996	Barnsley	3 - 0	Reading	Oakwell
	Sheridan  24' Liddell  37', 82'	[ Report]	Bernal  80'	Attendance: 7,523

Reading v Stoke City

31 August 1996	Reading	2 - 2	Stoke City	Elm Park
	Morley  7' (pen.) Holsgrove  79'	[ Report]	Sheron  25' Forsyth  79'	Attendance: 8,414

Reading v Oxford United

8 September 1996	Reading	2 - 0	Oxford United	Elm Park
	Williams  14' Morley  83'	[ Report]		Attendance: 8,497

West Bromwich Albion v Reading

10 September 1996	West Bromwich Albion	3 - 2	Reading	The Hawthorns
	Hunt  35', 45', 66'	[ Report]	Morley  4pen.' Parkinson  75'	Attendance: 13,096

Charlton Athletic v Reading

14 September 1996	Charlton Athletic	1 - 0	Reading	The Valley
	Leaburn  6'	[ Report]		Attendance: 10,831

Reading v Crystal Palace

21 September 1996	Reading	1 - 6	Crystal Palace	Elm Park
	Hunter  55' Morley  69' (pen.)	[ Report]	Tuttle  27' Freedman  37' Muscat  50' Dyer  56' (pen.) Veart  58' Roberts  60' Ndah  77'	Attendance: 9,675

Huddersfield Town v Reading

28 September 1996	Huddersfield Town	1 - 0	Reading	Alfred McAlpine Stadium
	Payton  34'	[ Report]		Attendance: 10,330

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Reading

5 October 1996	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0 - 1	Reading	Molineux
		[ Report]	Lambert  69'	Attendance: 23,193

Reading v Grimsby Town

12 October 1996	Reading	1 - 1	Grimsby Town	Elm Park
	Morley  57' (pen.)	[ Report]	Wrack  83'	Attendance: 6,656

Reading v Manchester City

15 October 1996	Reading	2 - 0	Manchester City	Elm Park
	Nogan  35', 67'	[ Report]	Lomas  82'	Attendance: 11,724

Oldham Athletic v Reading

19 October 1996	Oldham Athletic	1 - 1	Reading	Boundary Park
	Orlygsson  65' (pen.)	[ Report]	Quinn  75' (pen.)	Attendance: 7,171

Reading v Swindon Town

26 October 1996	Reading	2 - 0	Swindon Town	Elm Park
	Morley  51' (pen.), 60'	[ Report]		Attendance: 11,018

Bolton Wanderers v Reading

29 October 1996	Bolton Wanderers	2 - 1	Reading	Burnden Park
	Sellars  40' McGinlay  58' Branagan  63'	[ Report]	Lambert  51'	Attendance: 12,677

Southend United v Reading

2 November 1996	Southend United	2 - 1	Reading	Roots Hall
	Nielsen  63' Marsh  70' (pen.)	[ Report]	Nogan  50'	Attendance: 5,002

Norwich City v Reading

16 November 1996	Norwich City	1 - 1	Reading	Carrow Road
	Scott  79'	[ Report]	Morley  56' Gooding  69'	Attendance: 14,412

Reading v Queens Park Rangers

23 November 1996	Reading	2 - 1	Queens Park Rangers	Elm Park
	Morley  73' Nogan  80'	[ Report]	Spencer  49'	Attendance: 12,847

Reading v Birmingham City

26 November 1996	Reading	0 - 0	Birmingham City	Elm Park
		[ Report]		Attendance: 8,407

Swindon Town v Reading

30 November 1996	Swindon Town	3 - 1	Reading	The County Ground
	Horlock  5' Allison  25' Walters  87'	[ Report]	Morley  13'	Attendance: 10,874

Reading v Tranmere Rovers

3 December 1996	Reading	2 - 0	Tranmere Rovers	Elm Park
	Lambert  10' Morley  33'	[ Report]		Attendance: 5,513

Reading v Port Vale

7 December 1996	Reading	0 - 1	Port Vale	Elm Park
		[ Report]	Talbot  73'	Attendance: 6,445

Bradford City v Reading

17 December 1996	Bradford City	0 - 0	Reading	Valley Parade
		[ Report]		Attendance: 10,077

Reading v Portsmouth

21 December 1996	Reading	0 - 0	Portsmouth	Elm Park
	Hunter  79'	[ Report]	Svensson  79'	Attendance: 8,520

Reading v West Bromwich Albion

26 December 1996	Reading	2 - 2	West Bromwich Albion	Elm Park
	Nogan  8' Quinn  73' Bernal  77'	[ Report]	Peschisolido  3' Groves  39'	Attendance: 10,583

Oxford United v Reading

28 December 1996	Oxford United	2 - 1	Reading	Manor Ground
	Beauchamp  7' Murphy  81'	[ Report]	Morley  89'	Attendance: 9,223

Reading v Charlton Athletic

11 January 1997	Reading	2 - 2	Charlton Athletic	Elm Park
	Williams  26' Lambert  74'	[ Report]	Lisbie  68' Whyte  81'	Attendance: 7,614

Birmingham City v Reading

18 January 1997	Birmingham City	4 - 1	Reading	St Andrew's
	Furlong  33' Devlin  56' (pen.), 75' Gilkes  89' (o.g.)	[ Report]	Holsgrove  51'	Attendance: 15,363

Reading v Huddersfield Town

28 January 1997	Reading	4 - 1	Huddersfield Town	Elm Park
	Morley  13' McPherson  15' Hunter  30' Lovell  82'	[ Report]	Payton  9'	Attendance: 5,710

Tranmere Rovers v Reading

1 February 1997	Tranmere Rovers	2 - 2	Reading	Prenton Park
	Branch  14' Thomas-Moore  72'	[ Report]	Morley  21', 42'	Attendance: 6,019

Reading v Bolton Wanderers

8 February 1997	Reading	3 - 2	Bolton Wanderers	Elm Park
	Morley  56', 62' (pen.), 70'	[ Report]	Thompson  61' McGinlay  64'	Attendance: 10,739

Reading v Southend United

22 February 1997	Reading	3 - 2	Southend United	Elm Park
	McPherson  33' Gilkes  60' Morley  76'	[ Report]	Boere  54', 71'	Attendance: 7,683

Port Vale v Reading

1 March 1997	Port Vale	1 - 0	Reading	Vale Park
	Naylor  45'	[ Report]		Attendance: 6,057

Reading v Norwich City

4 March 1997	Reading	2 - 1	Norwich City	Elm Park
	Morley  20' Adams  86' (o.g.)	[ Report]	Adams  27' (pen.)	Attendance: 8,174

Queens Park Rangers v Reading

12 March 1997	Queens Park Rangers	0 - 2	Reading	Loftus Road
	Ready  55'	[ Report]	Morley  2' Maddix  76' (o.g.)	Attendance: 10,316

Reading v Bradford City

15 March 1997	Reading	0 - 0	Bradford City	Elm Park
		[ Report]		Attendance: 8,435

Reading v Ipswich Town

22 March 1997	Reading	1 - 0	Ipswich Town	Elm Park
	Lovell  90'	[ Report]		Attendance: 10,058

Portsmouth v Reading

25 March 1997	Portsmouth	1 - 0	Reading	Fratton Park
	Hall  84'	[ Report]		Attendance: 9,248

Sheffield United v Reading

29 March 1997	Sheffield United	2 - 0	Reading	Bramall Lane
	Bodin  11' (o.g.) Walker  49'	[ Report]		Attendance: 15,153

Reading v Barnsley

31 March 1997	Reading	1 - 2	Barnsley	Elm Park
	Morley  27' (pen.)	[ Report]	Holsgrove  2' (o.g.) Liddell  16'	Attendance: 10,244

Stoke City v Reading

5 April 1997	Stoke City	1 - 1	Reading	Victoria Ground
	Forsyth  65'	[ Report]	Lambert  1'	Attendance: 9,961

Reading v Wolverhampton Wanderers

12 April 1997	Reading	2 - 1	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Elm Park
	Lovell  89', 90'	[ Report]	Atkins  75'	Attendance: 14,853

Grimsby Town v Reading

19 April 1997	Grimsby Town	2 - 0	Reading	Blundell Park
	Southall  15' Widdrington  71'	[ Report]		Attendance: 4,392

Crystal Palace v Reading

23 April 1997	Crystal Palace	3 - 2	Reading	Selhurst Park
	Linighan  13' Hopkin  49' Shipperley  69'	[ Report]	Bodin  57' Williams  82'	Attendance: 12,552

Reading v Oldham Athletic

26 April 1997	Reading	2 - 0	Oldham Athletic	Elm Park
	Roach  28' Lovell  81'	[ Report]		Attendance: 8,301

Manchester City v Reading

3 May 1997	Manchester City	3 - 2	Reading	Maine Road
	Dickov  34' Rosler  66' Heaney  78'	[ Report]	Meaker  2' Symons  33' (o.g.)	Attendance: 27,260

League Table

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GD		Pts	Notes
1	Bolton Wanderers	46		18	4	1	60	20		10	10	3	40	33		100	53	+47		98
2	Barnsley	46		14	4	5	43	19		8	10	5	33	36		76	55	+21		80
3	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46		10	5	8	31	24		12	5	6	37	27		68	51	+17		76
4	Ipswich Town	46		13	7	3	44	23		7	7	9	24	27		68	50	+18		74
5	Sheffield United	46		13	5	5	46	23		7	8	8	29	29		75	52	+23		73
6	Crystal Palace	46		10	7	6	39	22		9	7	7	39	26		78	48	+30		71
7	Portsmouth	46		12	4	7	32	24		8	4	11	27	29		59	53	+6		68
8	Port Vale	46		9	9	5	36	28		8	7	8	22	27		58	55	+3		67
9	Queens Park Rangers	46		10	5	8	33	25		8	7	8	31	35		64	60	+4		66
10	Birmingham City	46		11	7	5	30	18		6	8	9	22	30		52	48	+4		66
11	Tranmere Rovers	46		10	9	4	41	27		7	5	11	21	29		63	56	+7		65
12	Stoke City	46		15	3	5	34	22		3	7	13	17	35		51	57	–6		64
13	Norwich City	46		9	10	4	28	18		8	2	13	35	50		63	68	–5		63
14	Manchester City	46		12	4	7	34	24		5	6	12	25	35		59	60	–1		61
15	Charlton Athletic	46		11	8	4	36	28		5	3	15	16	38		52	66	–14		59
16	West Bromwich Albion	46		7	7	9	37	33		7	8	8	31	39		68	72	–4		57
17	Oxford United	46		14	3	6	44	26		2	6	15	20	42		64	68	–4		57
18	Reading	46		13	7	3	37	24		2	5	16	21	43		58	67	–9		57
19	Swindon Town	46		11	6	6	36	27		4	3	16	16	44		52	71	–19		54
20	Huddersfield Town	46		10	7	6	28	20		3	8	12	20	41		48	61	–13		54
21	Bradford City	46		10	5	8	29	32		2	7	14	18	40		47	72	–25		48
22	Grimsby Town	46		7	7	9	31	34		4	6	13	28	47		60	81	–21		46
23	Oldham Athletic	46		6	8	9	30	30		4	5	14	21	36		51	66	–15		43
24	Southend United	46		7	9	7	32	32		1	6	16	10	53		42	86	–44		39

• Pld = Matches ; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

• NB: In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Key
	Football League Champions, promoted to FA Premier League
	Promoted to FA Premier League
	Participated in play-offs
	Promoted to Premier League through play-offs
	Relegated

FA Cup

Main article: 1996-97 FA Cup

Reading v Southampton

4 January 1997 Third Round	Reading	3 - 1	Southampton	Elm Park
19:45	Lambert  19' Caskey  55' Morley  76' (pen.)	[ Report]	Ostenstad  49' Benali  75' Slater  90'

Portsmouth v Reading

25 January 1997 Fourth Round	Portsmouth	3 - 0	Reading	Fratton Park
19:45	Hall  68' Bradbury  76' Hillier  86'	[ Report]

League Cup

Main article: 1996-97 Football League Cup

Reading v Wycombe Wanderers

20 August 1996 First Round 1st Leg	Reading	1 - 1	Wycombe Wanderers	Elm Park
15:00	Quinn  57'	[ Report]	Williams  64'

Wycombe Wanderers v Reading

3 September 1996 First Round 2nd Leg	Wycombe Wanderers	2 - 0	Reading	Causeway Stadium
15:00	Evans  57' Williams  75'	[ Report]

Squad Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		First Division		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		Borislav Mikhailov	11	0	8+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
	GK		Sal Bibbo	6	0	5+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	GK		Nick Hammond	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	GK		Steve Mautone	15	0	15+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	GK		Tommy Wright	17	0	17+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Dariusz Wdowczyk	10	0	8+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	DF		Barry Hunter	29	2	26+1	2	1+0	0	1+0	0
	DF		Martyn Booty	18	0	14+0	0	2+0	0	2+0	0
	DF		Paul Bodin	39	1	37+0	1	0+0	0	2+0	0
	DF		Andy Bernal	44	0	41+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0
	DF		Jeff Hopkins	20	0	18+1	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
	DF		Keith McPherson	40	2	39+0	2	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Kenny Brown	5	0	5+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Steve Swales	3	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Steve Blatherwick	7	0	6+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Mick Gooding	47	0	40+3	0	2+0	0	2+0	0
	MF		Darren Caskey	38	1	26+9	0	2+0	0	1+0	1
	MF		Phil Parkinson	26	1	15+9	1	0+0	0	1+1	0
	MF		Paul Holsgrove	17	2	12+2	2	2+0	0	1+0	0
	MF		Byron Glasgow	5	0	2+2	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
	MF		Stuart Lovell	28	5	17+9	5	1+0	0	1+0	0
	MF		Michael Gilkes	34	1	27+5	1	2+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		David Bass	2	0	0+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Ben Smith	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	MF		Michael Meaker	26	0	15+10	0	0+0	0	1+0	0
	FW		Martin Williams	32	3	21+7	3	2+0	0	2+0	0
	FW		Jimmy Quinn	25	4	10+14	3	0+0	0	1+0	1
	FW		Lee Nogan	34	6	21+11	6	0+0	0	1+1	0
	FW		Trevor Morley	39	23	35+1	22	2+0	1	1+0	0
	FW		Jamie Lambert	33	6	20+11	5	2+0	1	0+0	0
	FW		Neville Roach	3	1	2+1	1	0+0	0	0+0	0

Top Scorers

Place	Position	Nation	Number	Name	First Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW			Trevor Morley	22	1	0	23
2	FW			Lee Nogan	6	0	0	6
=	FW			Jamie Lambert	5	1	0	6
3	MF			Stuart Lovell	5	0	0	5
4	FW			Jimmy Quinn	3	0	1	4
5	FW			Martin Williams	3	0	0	3
=				Own Goal	3	0	0	3
7	DF			Barry Hunter	2	0	0	2
=	MF			Paul Holsgrove	2	0	0	2
=	DF			Keith McPherson	2	0	0	2
10	DF			Paul Bodin	1	0	0	1
=	FW			Neville Roach	1	0	0	1
=	MF			Phil Parkinson	1	0	0	1
=	MF			Michael Gilkes	1	0	0	1
=	FW			Darren Caskey	0	1	0	1
				TOTALS	58	3	1	62

Disciplinary Record

Number	Nation	Position	Name	First Division		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
		GK	Borislav Mikhailov	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
		GK	Tommy Wright	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		DF	Kenny Brown	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
		DF	Steve Swales	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		DF	Steve Blatherwick	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		DF	Keith McPherson	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
		DF	Jeff Hopkins	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
		DF	Barry Hunter	11	2	0	0	0	0	11	2
		DF	Paul Bodin	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
		DF	Andy Bernal	7	3	0	0	0	0	7	3
		MF	Mick Gooding	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
		MF	Darren Caskey	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		MF	Phil Parkinson	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
		MF	Michael Meaker	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
		MF	Michael Gilkes	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
		FW	Trevor Morley	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
		FW	Jamie Lambert	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
		FW	Jimmy Quinn	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
		FW	Martin Williams	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
		FW	Neville Roach	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
			TOTALS	66	7	0	0	0	0	66	7

References

Soccerbase.com