1996–97 Grimsby Town F.C. season

During the 1996–97 English football season, Grimsby Town competed in the Football League First Division.

Grimsby Town

1996–97 season
Chairman	Bill Carr
Manager	Brian Laws (until 1 November 1996) John Cockerill (caretaker) Kenny Swain (caretaker)
Stadium	Blundell Park
Division One	22nd (Relegated)
FA Cup	Third Round
League Cup	First Round
Lincolnshire Senior Cup	Runners Up
Top goalscorer	League: All: Clive Mendonca (19)

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Pos	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Ref
11 July 1996	MF	Tommy Widdrington	Southampton	£300,000
16 July 1996	MF	Kingsley Black	Nottingham Forest	£25,000
19 July 1996	MF	Darren Wrack	Derby County	£100,000
16 August 1996	DF	Neil Webb	Nottingham Forest	Free Transfer
31 August 1996	GK	Andy Quy	Derby County	Free Transfer

Loans in

Date	Pos	Player	Transferred from	Date Until	Ref
30 August 1996	DF	Paul Trollope	Derby County	1 October 1996
17 January 1997	MF	Michael Appleton	Manchester United	18 March 1997
28 January 1997	GK	Alan Miller	Middlesbrough	8 February 1997
21 March 1997	FW	Jason Lee	Nottingham Forest	31 May 1997

Transfers out

Date	Pos	Player	Transferred To	Fee	Ref
31 May 1996	MF	Tommy Watson	Retired	Released
31 May 1996	DF	Enzo Gambaro	Sturm Graz	Released
8 July 1996	MF	Paul Groves	West Bromwich Albion	£600,000
1 August 1996	MF	Steve Fraser	Lincoln City	Free Transfer
2 August 1996	MF	Jim Dobbin	Rotherham United	Free Transfer
9 August 1996	FW	Ivano Bonetti	Tranmere Rovers	Free Transfer
2 October 1996	GK	Paul Crichton	West Bromwich Albion	£250,000
1 November 1996	DF	Brian Laws	Darlington	Released
8 November 1996	MF	Johnny Walker	Mansfield Town	£50,000
21 March 1997	FW	Jamie Forrester	Scunthorpe United	Free Transfer

Loans out

Date	Pos	Player	Transferred To	Date Until	Ref
4 October 1996	MF	Jimmy Neil	Grantham	4 November 1996
17 February 1997	MF	Darren Wrack	Shrewsbury Town	15 March 1997

Season summary

The Mariners were relegated from Division One. Despite flowing goals from Clive Mendonca and good performances from John Oster and newcomer Kingsley Black, Grimsby failed to save themselves. The club had suffered from the losses of ever-present goalkeeper Paul Crichton and Gary Croft, who made a £1.5 million move to Blackburn Rovers. Manager Brian Laws had been sacked late in 1996; John Cockerill and Kenny Swain both had stints as caretaker during the season. At the end of the season, former manager Alan Buckley, who had taken Grimsby from the Fourth to the old Second Division in his first stint in charge, rejoined the club in an attempt to take Grimsby back to the second tier.

Kit

Italian company Lotto became Grimsby's new kit manufacturers, and introduced a new kit for the season. Europe's Food Town remained kit sponsors.

Results

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
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
24	Southend United (R)	46	8	15	23	42	85	−43	39

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference
(R) Relegated

Squad overview

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

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	Paul Crichton (Departed in October 1996)
—	GK	ENG	Jason Pearcey
—	GK	ENG	Andy Love
—	GK	ENG	Alan Miller (on loan from Middlesbrough)
—	GK	ENG	Andy Quy
—	DF	ENG	Danny Butterfield
—	DF	ENG	Ashley Fickling
—	DF	ENG	Tony Gallimore
—	DF	ENG	Joby Gowshall
—	DF	SCO	Peter Handyside
—	DF	ENG	Kevin Jobling
—	DF	ENG	Brian Laws (Departed in November 1996)
—	DF	ENG	Mark Lever (captain)
—	DF	ENG	John McDermott
—	DF	ENG	Jimmy Neil
—	DF	ENG	Graham Rodger
—	DF	ENG	Richard Smith
—	DF	ENG	Neil Webb

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Michael Appleton (on loan from Manchester United)
—	MF	NIR	Kingsley Black
—	MF	ENG	Gary Childs
—	MF	ENG	Paul Harsley
—	MF	WAL	John Oster
—	MF	ENG	Craig Shakespeare
—	MF	ENG	Nicky Southall
—	MF	WAL	Paul Trollope (on loan from Derby County)
—	MF	SCO	Johnny Walker (Departed in November 1996)
—	MF	ENG	Tommy Widdrington
—	MF	ENG	Darren Wrack
—	FW	IRL	Daryl Clare
—	FW	ENG	Jamie Forrester (Departed in March 1997)
—	FW	ENG	Jason Lee (on loan from Nottingham Forest)
—	FW	ENG	Jack Lester
—	FW	ENG	Steve Livingstone
—	FW	ENG	Clive Mendonca
—	FW	ENG	Neil Woods