During the 1996–97 English football season, Sunderland competed in the FA Premier League.
Season summary Just one year after they had almost slipped into Division Two, Sunderland had returned to the top flight under new manager Peter Reid. With a new 42,000-seat stadium at Monkwearmouth due to be ready in the summer of 1997, Reid and his players were determined to secure survival in the final season at historic Roker Park and give the new stadium a debut season in the FA Premier League.
The first half of the season went well for the club, who found themselves in a comfortable 11th position by the end of January, boasting strong home form. However, a run of four consecutive defeats against Aston Villa, Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hospur saw them slip down to 16th by March.
Sunderland lost 1–0 to Wimbledon on the final day of the season; with the Wearsiders relegated due to Coventry City's win at Tottenham.
On a high note, Sunderland did manage to beat Chelsea (3–0), Arsenal (1–0) and Manchester United (2–1) during the season, all at home.
The events of the latter part of the season were recorded for a BBC documentary series, Premier Passions, broadcast approximately a year later.'The club was finished' - inside Sunderland's TV drama, Simon Armstrong, BBC Sport, 4 October 2025
Final league table
Results summary
Results by round
Results Sunderland's score comes first
Legend WinDrawLoss
FA Premier League DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 17 August 1996 Leicester CityH0–019,262 21 August 1996 Nottingham ForestA4–122,874Gray, Quinn (2), Ord 24 August 1996 LiverpoolA0–040,503 4 September 1996 Newcastle UnitedH1–222,037Scott (pen) 8 September 1996 West Ham UnitedH0–018,642 14 September 1996 Derby CountyA0–117,692 21 September 1996 Coventry CityH1–019,459Agnew 28 September 1996 ArsenalA0–238,016 14 October 1996 MiddlesbroughH2–220,936Rae (pen), Russell 19 October 1996 SouthamptonA0–315,225 26 October 1996 Aston VillaH1–021,059Stewart 2 November 1996 Leeds UnitedA0–331,667 16 November 1996 Tottenham HotspurA0–231,867 23 November 1996 Sheffield WednesdayH1–120,644Melville 30 November 1996 EvertonA3–140,087Russell, Bridges (2) 7 December 1996 WimbledonH1–319,672Melville 15 December 1996 ChelseaH3–019,683Duberry (own goal), Ball, Russell 21 December 1996 Manchester UnitedA0–555,081 26 December 1996 Derby CountyH2–022,512Ord, Russell 28 December 1996 West Ham UnitedA0–224,077 1 January 1997 Coventry CityA2–217,700Bridges, Agnew (pen) 11 January 1997 ArsenalH1–021,154Adams (own goal) 18 January 1997 Blackburn RoversH0–020,850 29 January 1997 Leicester CityA1–117,883Williams 1 February 1997 Aston VillaA0–132,491 22 February 1997 Leeds UnitedH0–121,890 1 March 1997 Blackburn RoversA0–124,208 4 March 1997 Tottenham HotspurH0–420,785 8 March 1997 Manchester UnitedH2–122,225Gray, Mullin 12 March 1997 Sheffield WednesdayA1–220,294Ball 16 March 1997 ChelseaA2–624,027Stewart, Rae 22 March 1997 Nottingham ForestH1–122,120Ball 5 April 1997 Newcastle UnitedA1–136,582Gray 13 April 1997 LiverpoolH1–221,938Stewart 19 April 1997 MiddlesbroughA1–030,106Williams 22 April 1997 SouthamptonH0–121,521 3 May 1997 EvertonH3–022,108Stewart (pen), Waddle, Johnston 11 May 1997 WimbledonA0–121,338
FA Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR34 January 1997 ArsenalA1–137,793GrayR3R15 January 1997 ArsenalH0–215,277
League Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR2 1st Leg17 September 1996 WatfordA2–09,136Quinn, RaeR2 2nd Leg24 September 1996 WatfordH1–0 (won 3–0 on agg)10,659ScottR323 October 1996 Tottenham HotspurA1–224,867Ball
Players First-team squad Squad at end of season
Reserve squad
Appearances and goals
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders
! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards
Transfers
In Date Pos. Name From Fee1 June 1996MFAlex RaeMillwall£1,000,00011 July 1996FWPaul ConlonHartlepool UnitedFree transfer18 July 1996GKTony CotonManchester United£600,0001 August 1996FWChris TateYork CitySigned1 August 1996GKLionel PerezBordeaux£200,00017 August 1996FWNiall QuinnManchester City£1,300,00018 October 1996DFDarren WilliamsYork City£50,0007 January 1997DFJan ErikssonHelsingborgs IF£250,00017 March 1997MFChris WaddleBradford City£75,00021 March 1997MFKim HeiselbergEsbjerg fB£125,00026 March 1997GKChris WoodsColorado RapidsSigned1 April 1997MFAllan JohnstonRennes£550,000
Out Date Pos. Name To Fee10 July 1996GKAlec ChamberlainWatford£40,00027 July 1996DFScott CoatesBerwick RangersSigned1 August 1996MFBrian AtkinsonDarlingtonFree transfer1 August 1996MFGordon ArmstrongBuryFree transfer22 November 1996FWBrett AngellStockport County£120,00014 February 1997FWSteve BrodieScarboroughFree transfer
Transfers in: £4,150,000 Transfers out: £160,000 Total spending: £3,990,000
Notes
References