1996–97 Rochdale A.F.C. season

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Rochdale 1996–97 football season

Rochdale
1996–97 season
Manager	Graham Barrow
League Division Three	14th
FA Cup	3rd Round
League Cup	1st Round
Top goalscorer	League: Steve Whitehall Alex Russell All: Steve Whitehall
← 1995–96 1997-98 →

The 1996–97 season saw Rochdale compete in their 23rd consecutive season in the fourth tier of the English football league, named at the time as the Football League Third Division.

Statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Division 3		F.A. Cup		League Cup		League Trophy		Lancashire Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK	ENG	Ian Gray	52	0	46+0	0	2+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
	DF	ENG	Andy Fensome	47	0	38+2	0	2+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
	DF	ENG	Kevin Formby	19	1	12+4	1	2+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Alan Johnson	51	5	46+0	4	2+0	1	2+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Keith Hill	50	3	43+0	3	2+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	ENG	Andy Farrell	46	2	37+3	2	2+0	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	ENG	Alex Russell	43	9	35+4	9	0+0	0	2+0	0	1+0	0	0+1	0
	MF	ENG	John Deary	43	7	37+1	5	2+0	1	2+0	1	1+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	ENG	Mark Leonard	44	4	39+0	4	1+0	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	FW	ENG	Steve Whitehall	41	11	27+8	9	2+0	0	1+0	1	1+0	0	2+0	1
	MF	ENG	Mark Stuart	36	7	28+3	7	1+0	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	FW	ENG	Mike Cecere	8	1	2+2	1	1+0	0	0+1	0	1+0	0	1+0	0
	MF	ENG	Dean Martin	3	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	ENG	David Thompson	32	1	9+19	1	0+1	0	0+2	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	David Bayliss	28	0	22+2	0	1+0	0	1+0	0	1+0	0	0+1	0
	FW	ENG	Dave Lancaster	8	0	1+5	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+1	0
	MF	ENG	Andy Gouck	31	3	22+6	3	1+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	MF	ENG	Mickey Brown	5	0	5+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	ENG	Robbie Painter	30	7	21+6	7	2+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Mark Bailey	17	0	13+2	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
	DF	ENG	Andy Thackeray	22	2	17+0	0	0+1	1	0+1	0	0+1	0	1+1	1
	DF	ENG	Wayne Dowell	9	0	6+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2+0	0
	FW	ENG	Glen Robson	3	0	0+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW	ENG	Jamie Taylor	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	GK	ENG	Kevin Gray	1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1+0	0

Final League Table

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Third Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
12	Scarborough	46	16	15	15	66	69	−3	63
13	Scunthorpe United	46	18	9	19	59	62	−3	63
14	Rochdale	46	14	16	16	58	58	0	58
15	Barnet	46	14	16	16	46	51	−5	58
16	Leyton Orient	46	15	12	19	50	58	−8	57

Source:
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Competitions

Football League Third Division

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Swansea City v Rochdale

17 August 1996 (1996-08-17) 1	Swansea City	2–1	Rochdale	Swansea
	Thomas 13' Penney 43' Mølby 75' Garnett	Report	Cecere 87' Whitehall Deary	Stadium: Vetch Field Attendance: 4272

Rochdale v Colchester United

24 August 1996 (1996-08-24) 2	Rochdale	0–0	Colchester United	Rochdale
	Leonard	Report	Reinelt Adcock	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1816 Referee: G Laws

Rochdale v Fulham

27 August 1996 (1996-08-27) 3	Rochdale	1–2	Fulham	Rochdale
	Whitehall 80'	Report	Cusack 1' Conroy 69' Cockerill Angus	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1689 Referee: JP Robinson

Mansfield Town v Rochdale

31 August 1996 (1996-08-31) 4	Mansfield Town	0–0	Rochdale	Mansfield
		Report	Fensome	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 1861

Hull City v Rochdale

7 September 1996 (1996-09-07) 5	Hull City	1–1	Rochdale	Hull
	Doncel 53' Carroll	Report	Deary 43'	Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 3451

Rochdale v Chester City

10 September 1996 (1996-09-10) 6	Rochdale	0–1	Chester City	Rochdale
	Hill	Report	Shelton 74' Davidson	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1774 Referee: AG Wiley

Rochdale v Doncaster Rovers

14 September 1996 (1996-09-14) 7	Rochdale	2–1	Doncaster Rovers	Rochdale
	Hill 14' Leonard 44' Deary 78' (pen.) Gouck 81' Brown	Report	Clark 69' Murphy Utley	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1811

Hereford United v Rochdale

21 September 1996 (1996-09-21) 8	Hereford United	3–0	Rochdale	Hereford
	Mahon 28' Hargreaves 53' Foster 84' Stoker	Report	Fensome Bayliss	Stadium: Edgar Street Attendance: 2135

Rochdale v Leyton Orient

28 September 1996 (1996-09-28) 9	Rochdale	1–0	Leyton Orient	Rochdale
	Whitehall 76' (pen.)	Report	Arnott 80' Naylor Ling	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1994 Referee: B Coddington

Darlington v Rochdale

5 October 1996 (1996-10-05) 10	Darlington	1–1	Rochdale	Darlington
	Kelly 69'	Report	Stuart 67'	Stadium: Feethams Attendance: 3071 Referee: SJ Baines

Rochdale v Carlisle United

12 October 1996 (1996-10-12) 11	Rochdale	2–2	Carlisle United	Rochdale
	Painter 7' Thompson 81'	Report	Smart 27' Peacock 54'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 3320

Rochdale v Lincoln City

15 October 1996 (1996-10-15) 12	Rochdale	2–0	Lincoln City	Rochdale
	Whitehall 44' Painter 45'	Report	Ainsworth	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1411

Cambridge United v Rochdale

19 October 1996 (1996-10-19) 13	Cambridge United	2–2	Rochdale	Cambridge
	Hyde 43' McGleish 88' Craddock Hyde	Report	Stuart 26' Painter 72'	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 3163

Scunthorpe United v Rochdale

26 October 1996 (1996-10-26) 14	Scunthorpe United	2–2	Rochdale	Scunthorpe
	Baker 6' Eyre 32' (pen.) Samways Paterson	Report	Stuart 45' Whitehall 49'	Stadium: Glanford Park Attendance: 2628

Rochdale v Brighton & Hove Albion

29 October 1996 (1996-10-29) 15	Rochdale	3–0	Brighton & Hove Albion	Rochdale
	Whitehall 31', 56' Painter 50' Hill	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1913 Referee: UD Rennie

Rochdale v Exeter City

2 November 1996 (1996-11-02) 16	Rochdale	2–0	Exeter City	Rochdale
	Hill 13' Johnson 37'	Report	Richardson Hodges Rowbotham	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2134 Referee: WC Burns

Cardiff City v Rochdale

5 November 1996 (1996-11-05) 17	Cardiff City	2–1	Rochdale	Cardiff
	Bennett 45' Eckhardt 67'	Report	Whitehall 52'	Stadium: Ninian Park Attendance: 2834

Barnet v Rochdale

9 November 1996 (1996-11-09) 18	Barnet	3–2	Rochdale	Chipping Barnet
	Devine 37' Hardyman 67' Wilson 78' (pen.)	Report	Pardew 42' (o.g.) Deary 64'	Stadium: Underhill Stadium Attendance: 2405

Northampton Town v Rochdale

23 November 1996 (1996-11-23) 19	Northampton Town	2–2	Rochdale	Northampton
	Hunter 2' White 69'	Report	Farrell 66', 68'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3836

Rochdale v Scunthorpe United

30 November 1996 (1996-11-30) 20	Rochdale	1–2	Scunthorpe United	Rochdale
	Painter 75'	Report	Baker 18' Eyre 83'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1969 Referee: A Bates

Torquay United v Rochdale

3 December 1996 (1996-12-03) 21	Torquay United	0–1	Rochdale	Torquay
		Report	Johnson 73'	Stadium: Plainmoor Attendance: 1087 Referee: G Singh

Rochdale v Hartlepool United

14 December 1996 (1996-12-14) 22	Rochdale	1–3	Hartlepool United	Rochdale
	Whitehall 77'	Report	Beech 41' Howard 42' Allon 70'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1618

Wigan Athletic v Rochdale

21 December 1996 (1996-12-21) 23	Wigan Athletic	0–1	Rochdale	Wigan
		Report	Whitehall 4' (pen.)	Stadium: Springfield Park Attendance: 3311 Referee: KM Lynch

Chester City v Rochdale

14 January 1997 (1997-01-14) 24	Chester City	0–0	Rochdale	Chester
		Report		Stadium: Deva Stadium Attendance: 1679

Rochdale v Cardiff City

18 January 1997 (1997-01-18) 25	Rochdale	1–0	Cardiff City	Rochdale
	Leonard 7'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1704 Referee: UD Rennie

Brighton & Hove Albion v Rochdale

25 January 1997 (1997-01-25) 26	Brighton & Hove Albion	3–0	Rochdale	Brighton and Hove
	Maskell 30', 67' Baird 72'	Report	Bayliss 57'	Stadium: Goldstone Ground Attendance: 4468

Rochdale v Barnet

1 February 1997 (1997-02-01) 27	Rochdale	1–1	Barnet	Rochdale
	Hill 39' Russell 90'	Report	Devine 39' Simpson 58'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1623

Rochdale v Scarborough

4 February 1997 (1997-02-04) 28	Rochdale	3–3	Scarborough	Rochdale
	Painter 40' Hill 47' Russell 62'	Report	Brooke 26' Rockett 64' Wells 70' Bennett 80'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1166

Exeter City v Rochdale

8 February 1997 (1997-02-08) 29	Exeter City	0–0	Rochdale	Exeter
		Report		Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 2849

Leyton Orient v Rochdale

11 February 1997 (1997-02-11) 30	Leyton Orient	2–1	Rochdale	London
	Inglethorpe 39' Castle 55'	Report	Painter 33'	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 2406 Referee: NS Barry

Rochdale v Northampton Town

15 February 1997 (1997-02-15) 31	Rochdale	1–1	Northampton Town	Rochdale
	Deary 44'	Report	Rush 9'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1988 Referee: SJ Baines

Rochdale v Hereford United

18 February 1997 (1997-02-18) 32	Rochdale	0–0	Hereford United	Rochdale
		Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1074

Scarborough v Rochdale

22 February 1997 (1997-02-22) 33	Scarborough	2–2	Rochdale	Scarborough
	Bennett 35' Currie 49' (pen.) Sutherland	Report	Russell 22' Sutherland 44' (o.g.) Leonard Deary Thompson	Stadium: Athletic Ground Attendance: 2384

Rochdale v Hull City

25 February 1997 (1997-02-25) 34	Rochdale	1–2	Hull City	Rochdale
	Russell 5'	Report	Joyce 12' Darby 71'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1349

Rochdale v Torquay United

1 March 1997 (1997-03-01) 35	Rochdale	2–1	Torquay United	Rochdale
	Leonard 6' Gouck 89'	Report	Nelson 11'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1469

Rochdale v Wigan Athletic

8 March 1997 (1997-03-08) 36	Rochdale	3–1	Wigan Athletic	Rochdale
	Deary 15' Johnson 39' Russell 45' Fensome Gouck	Report	Jones 28' (pen.) Sharp Bishop Lancashire	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 3254 Referee: E Lomas

Hartlepool United v Rochdale

15 March 1997 (1997-03-15) 37	Hartlepool United	1–2	Rochdale	Hartlepool
	Beech 59'	Report	Russell 29' Formby 50'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1448

Colchester United v Rochdale

21 March 1997 (1997-03-21) 38	Colchester United	1–0	Rochdale	Colchester
	Abrahams 59'	Report	Hill Farrell Deary	Stadium: Layer Road Attendance: 3211

Doncaster Rovers v Rochdale

25 March 1997 (1997-03-25) 39	Doncaster Rovers	3–0	Rochdale	Doncaster
	Hill 23' (o.g.) Cramb 28' (pen.) Esdaille 82'	Report	Fensome Leonard	Stadium: Belle Vue Attendance: 2201

Rochdale v Swansea City

29 March 1997 (1997-03-29) 40	Rochdale	2–3	Swansea City	Rochdale
	Russell 24', 36'	Report	Mølby 31', 59' (pen.) Brayson 53' Willer-Jensen	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1884 Referee: M Fletcher

Fulham v Rochdale

31 March 1997 (1997-03-31) 41	Fulham	1–1	Rochdale	London
	Conroy 12'	Report	Gouck 36' Formby Leonard	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 7866

Rochdale v Mansfield Town

5 April 1997 (1997-04-05) 42	Rochdale	0–1	Mansfield Town	Rochdale
	Fensome Formby	Report	Cresswell 59'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1620

Rochdale v Darlington

12 April 1997 (1997-04-12) 43	Rochdale	2–0	Darlington	Rochdale
	Leonard 11' Johnson 18'	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1638

Rochdale v Cambridge United

26 April 1997 (1997-04-26) 44	Rochdale	3–0	Cambridge United	Rochdale
	Stuart 16', 39' Russell 43' Thackeray Gray	Report		Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1810

Carlisle United v Rochdale

29 April 1997 (1997-04-29) 45	Carlisle United	3–2	Rochdale	Carlisle
	Hayward 73' Archdeacon 76' Dobie 79'	Report	Leonard 25' Stuart 90' Deary Thompson	Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 4882

Lincoln City v Rochdale

3 May 1997 (1997-05-03) 46	Lincoln City	0–2	Rochdale	Lincoln
	Fleming	Report	Hill 77' Stuart 82' Leonard	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 6495

F.A. Cup

Main article: 1996–97 FA Cup Macclesfield Town v Rochdale

16 November 1996 (1996 -11-16) 1	Macclesfield Town	0–2	Rochdale	Macclesfield
		Report	Deary 10' Johnson 32'	Stadium: Moss Rose Attendance: 3134

Notts County v Rochdale

7 December 1996 (1996 -12-07) 2	Notts County	3–1	Rochdale	Nottingham
	Jones 41' Arkins 68' Agana 90' Bayliss Deary	Report	Thackeray 82'	Stadium: Meadow Lane Attendance: 3584

Football League Cup (Coca Cola Cup)

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup Rochdale v Barnsley

20 August 1996 (1996 -08-20) 1	Rochdale	2–1	Barnsley	Rochdale
	Deary 61' Whitehall 74'	Report	Wilkinson 24'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 2426 Referee: WC Burns

Barnsley v Rochdale

3 September 1996 (1996 -09-03) 1	Barnsley	2–0 (3–2 agg.)	Rochdale	Barnsley
	Redfearn 17' Wilkinson 74'	Report	Johnson Stuart	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 5638 Referee: FG Stretton

Football League Trophy (Auto Windscreens Shield)

Main article: 1996–97 Football League Trophy Carlisle United v Rochdale

10 December 1996 (1996 -12-10) 1	Carlisle United	2–0	Rochdale	Carlisle
	Walling 66' McAlindon 85'	Report		Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 3622

Lancashire Cup

Blackpool v Rochdale

30 July 1996 (1996 -07-30)	Blackpool	1–1	Rochdale	Blackpool
			Thackeray	Stadium: Bloomfield Road

Morecambe v Rochdale

3 August 1996 (1996 -08-03)	Morecambe	2–1	Rochdale	Morecambe
			Whitehall	Stadium: Christie Park

References

"England 1996–97". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
Rochdale AFC: The Official History 1907–2001 by Steven Phillipps. ISBN 1874427097
"The English National Football Archive". Enfa.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2022.

v t e Rochdale A.F.C. seasons
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1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
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1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

1996–97 in English football

« 1995–96 1997–98 »

National teams

League competitions

Level 1	Premier League
Levels 2–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, play-offs)
Level 5	Football Conference
Levels 6–7	Isthmian League (Premier, One) Northern Premier League (Premier, One) Southern League (Premier, Midland, Southern)
Levels 8–9	Isthmian League (Two, Three) Combined Counties League (level 8 only) Eastern Counties League (Premier, One) Essex Senior League (level 8 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 8 only) Midland Alliance (level 8 only) Midland Football Combination (level 9 only) North West Counties League (One, Two) Northern Counties East League (Premier, One) Northern League (One, Two) South Midlands League (Premier, Senior) Spartan League (Premier, One) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One) Wessex League (level 8 only) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 9 only) Western League (Premier, One)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final)
Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Football League Trophy (Final)

European competitions

Club seasons
Premier League	Arsenal Aston Villa Blackburn Rovers Chelsea Coventry City Derby County Everton Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wimbledon
First Division	Barnsley Birmingham City Bolton Wanderers Bradford City Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Grimsby Town Huddersfield Town Ipswich Town Manchester City Norwich City Oldham Athletic Oxford United Portsmouth Port Vale Queens Park Rangers Reading Sheffield United Southend United Stoke City Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Blackpool Bournemouth Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Burnley Bury Chesterfield Crewe Alexandra Gillingham Luton Town Millwall Notts County Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Preston North End Rotherham United Shrewsbury Town Stockport County Walsall Watford Wrexham Wycombe Wanderers York City
Third Division	Barnet Brighton & Hove Albion Cambridge United Cardiff City Carlisle United Chester City Colchester United Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Fulham Hartlepool United Hereford United Hull City Leyton Orient Lincoln City Mansfield Town Northampton Town Rochdale Scarborough Scunthorpe United Swansea City Torquay United Wigan Athletic

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