1996–97 Motherwell F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was Motherwell's 12th consecutive season in the Scottish Premier Division, the top division of Scottish Football.

Motherwell

1996–97 season
Manager	Alex McLeish
Premier Division	8th
Scottish Cup	Quarter-finals
League Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Tommy Coyne (11) All: Tommy Coyne (11)

Season events

Motherwell started the season with pre-season friendlies in England against Southend United, Baldock Town and Blyth Spartans. Motherwell lost to Southend United, defeated Baldock Town and Blyth Spartans before returning to Fir Park to face Portuguese giants Porto, losing 1–0.

Squad

As of match played 10 May 1997

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date of birth (Age)	Signed from	Signed in	Contract ends	Apps.	Goals
Goalkeepers
	Scott Howie		GK	(1972-01-04)4 January 1972 (aged 25)	Norwich City	1994
	Stevie Woods		GK	(1970-02-23)23 February 1970 (aged 27)	Preston North End	1994
Defenders
	Mitchell van der Gaag		DF	(1971-10-22)22 October 1971 (aged 25)	PSV Eindhoven	1995
	Stephen Craigan		DF	(1976-10-29)29 October 1976 (aged 20)	Blantyre Victoria	1995
	Kevin Christie		DF	(1976-04-01)1 April 1976 (aged 21)	East Fife	1997
	Greig Denham		DF	(1976-10-05)5 October 1976 (aged 20)	Youth team	1994
	Brian Martin		DF	(1963-02-24)24 February 1963 (aged 34)	St Mirren	1991
	Eddie May		DF	(1967-08-30)30 August 1967 (aged 29)	Falkirk	1994
	David McCallum		DF	(1977-09-07)7 September 1977 (aged 19)	Bearsden BC	1995
	Chris McCart		DF	(1967-04-17)17 April 1967 (aged 30)	Youth team	1985
	Steve McMillan		DF	(1976-01-19)19 January 1976 (aged 21)	Troon	1993
	John Philliben		DF	(1964-03-14)14 March 1964 (aged 33)	Doncaster Rovers	1986
	Fraser Wishart		DF	(1965-03-01)1 March 1965 (aged 32)	Heart of Midlothian	1996
Midfielders
	Joni Lehtonen		MF	(1973-09-30)30 September 1973 (aged 23)	Ilves	1996
	Simo Valakari		MF	(1973-04-28)28 April 1973 (aged 24)	FinnPa	1996
	Billy Davies		MF	(1964-05-31)31 May 1964 (aged 32)	Dunfermline Athletic	1993
	Lee McCulloch		MF	(1978-05-14)14 May 1978 (aged 18)	Youth team	1994		21	0
	Shaun McSkimming		MF	(1970-05-29)29 May 1970 (aged 26)	Kilmarnock	1994
	Ian Ross		MF	(1974-08-27)27 August 1974 (aged 22)	Youth team	1995
	Mickey Weir		MF	(1966-01-16)16 January 1966 (aged 31)	Hibernian	1996
Forwards
	Owen Coyle		FW	(1966-07-14)14 July 1966 (aged 30)	Dundee United	1997
	Tommy Coyne		FW	(1962-11-14)14 November 1962 (aged 34)	Tranmere Rovers	1993
	Roy Essandoh		FW	(1976-02-17)17 February 1976 (aged 21)	Cumbernauld United	1994
	Dougie Arnott		FW	(1964-08-05)5 August 1964 (aged 32)	Pollok	1986
	Alex Burns		FW	(1973-08-04)4 August 1973 (aged 23)	Youth team	1991
	Willie Falconer		FW	(1966-04-05)5 April 1966 (aged 31)	Celtic	1996
	John Hendry		FW	(1970-01-06)6 January 1970 (aged 27)	Tottenham Hotspur	1995
Left during the season
	Jamie Dolan		MF	(1969-02-22)22 February 1969 (aged 28)	Youth team	1987
	Innes Ritchie		DF	(1973-08-24)24 August 1973 (aged 23)	Youth team	1992
	Andy Roddie		MF	(1971-11-04)4 November 1971 (aged 25)	Aberdeen	1994

Transfers

In

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref
16 November 1997	MF		Joni Lehtonen	Ilves	Undisclosed
7 January 1998	FW		Owen Coyle	Dundee United	Player swap
7 February 1998	MF		Simo Valakari	FinnPa	Undisclosed
14 March 1998	MF		Mickey Weir	Hibernian	Undisclosed
21 March 1998	DF		Kevin Christie	East Fife	Undisclosed

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date to	Ref.
24 July 2021	FW		Matthew Connelly	Gretna	End of season

Out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
7 January 1998	MF		Jamie Dolan	Dundee United	Player swap
11 January 1998	DF		Innes Ritchie	East Fife	Undisclosed
27 January 1998	MF		Andy Roddie	Notts County	Undisclosed

Released

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	Joined	Date	Ref.
30 June 1996	MF		Paul Lambert	Borussia Dortmund

Friendlies

Southend United v Motherwell

24 July 2021	Southend United	1 – 0	Motherwell	Southend-on-Sea
BST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Roots Hall

Baldock Town v Motherwell

25 July 2021	Baldock Town	1 – 2	Motherwell	Arlesey
BST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Hitchin Road

Blyth Spartans v Motherwell

27 July 2021	Blyth Spartans	2 – 3	Motherwell	Blyth
BST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Croft Park

Motherwell v Porto

3 August 2021	Motherwell	0 – 1	Porto	Motherwell
15:00 BST (UTC+1)				Stadium: Fir Park

Competitions

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Premier Division	10 August 1996	10 May 1997	Matchday 1	8th	36	9	11	16	44	55	−11	025.00
Scottish Cup	25 January 1997	8 March 1997	Third Round	Quarterfinal	4	2	1	1	6	5	+1	050.00
League Cup	13 August 1996	13 August 1996	Second Round	Second Round	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Total					41	11	13	17	50	60	−10	026.83

Last updated: 10 May 1997
Source: Competitions

Premier Division

Main article: 1996–97 Scottish Premier Division

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
36	9	11	16	44	55	−11	38	5	5	8	24	25	−1	4	6	8	20	30	−10

Source: Fir Park Corner

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H
Result	D	D	W	L	D	D	W	L	D	L	L	L	W	L	W	L	D	L	L	L	L	W	L	W	L	D	W	L	D	L	L	D	W	D	W	D
Position	6	7	3	5	5	5	4	6	5	7	8	9	7	8	7	8	8	8	9	9	9	8	9	7	9	8	7	7	7	8	9	9	9	9	7	8

Source: Fir Park Corner
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Dundee United v Motherwell

10 August 1996 1	Dundee United	1–1	Motherwell	Dundee
BST (UTC+1)	McSwegan 7'		van der Gaag 78' May Denham	Stadium: Tannadice Attendance: 8,157 Referee: Captain W Simpson

Motherwell v Aberdeen

17 August 1996 2	Motherwell	2–2	Aberdeen	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	McSkimming 40', pen.', 51' McMillan Falconer		Windass 24' Shearer 72' Kiryakov	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 5,036

Raith Rovers v Motherwell

24 August 1996 3	Raith Rovers	0–3	Motherwell	Kirkcaldy
BST (UTC+1)	Browne Millar		van der Gaag 23', 58' Arnott 31' Dolan	Stadium: Stark's Park Attendance: 4,836

Motherwell v Rangers

7 September 1996 4	Motherwell	0–1	Rangers	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	van der Gaag McSkimming		Gough 39' Gascoigne	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 12,288

Dunfermline Athletic v Motherwell

14 September 1996 5	Dunfermline Athletic	1–1	Motherwell	Dunfermline
BST (UTC+1)	Clark 5'		May 57'	Stadium: East End Park Attendance: 5,687

Hearts v Motherwell

21 September 1996 6	Hearts	1–1	Motherwell	Edinburgh
BST (UTC+1)	Weir 5'		Arnott 46' May	Stadium: Tynecastle Attendance: 10,932

Motherwell v Kilmarnock

28 September 1996 7	Motherwell	1–0	Kilmarnock	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	Arnott 19' Dolan  86'		Anderson  86'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 5,700

Celtic v Motherwell

12 October 1996 8	Celtic	1–0	Motherwell	Glasgow
BST (UTC+1)	Marshall   80' van Hooijdonk 90'		May McSkimming	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 49,422

Motherwell v Hibernian

19 October 1996 9	Motherwell	1–1	Hibernian	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	McSkimming 73' Dolan Burns		Leighton   26' Harper 73' Wilkins	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 6,784

Rangers v Motherwell

26 October 1996 10	Rangers	5–0	Motherwell	Glasgow
BST (UTC+1)	Laudrup 51', 78' Gascoigne 66', 79', 84'		Ross McCart	Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 48,160

Motherwell v Dundee United

2 November 1996 11	Motherwell	1–3	Dundee United	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Ross 59'		Olofsson 55' McKinnon 57' Winters 89'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 5,814

Motherwell v Hearts

11 November 1996 12	Motherwell	0–2	Hearts	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	May Martin Burns		Paille 54' Robertson 88' Weir	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 5,441

Kilmarnock v Motherwell

16 November 1996 13	Kilmarnock	2–4	Motherwell	Kilmarnock
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Wright 55', 87' (pen.)		Coyne 9', 59', 89' Philliben 49'	Stadium: Rugby Park Attendance: 7,087

Hibernian v Motherwell

30 November 1996 14	Hibernian	2–0	Motherwell	Edinburgh
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Jackson 35', 90' (pen.) Wilkins		Dolan Davies	Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 7,332

Motherwell v Celtic

7 December 1996 15	Motherwell	2–1	Celtic	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Davies 39' Ross 89' Roddie		Hay 83' McKinlay	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 11,589

Motherwell v Raith Rovers

11 December 1996 16	Motherwell	0–1	Raith Rovers	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)			Lennon 89'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 4,040

Aberdeen v Motherwell

14 December 1996 17	Aberdeen	0–0	Motherwell	Aberdeen
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Shearer		Martin McMillan Dolan Roddie Burns	Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 10,000

Motherwell v Dunfermline Athletic

21 December 1996 18	Motherwell	2–3	Dunfermline Athletic	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Ireland 12' (o.g.) Coyne 29' van der Gaag Davies		Miller 15' (pen.) Andy Smith 56', 75'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 4,529

Dundee United v Motherwell

26 December 1996 19	Dundee United	2–0	Motherwell	Dundee
15:00 GMT (UTC)	McSwegan 36' Hannah 67'		Martin	Stadium: Tannadice Attendance: 8,072

Hearts v Motherwell

28 December 1996 20	Hearts	4–1	Motherwell	Edinburgh
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Robertson 22' (pen.), 75' Weir 53' Hamilton 63'		Coyne 12' Martin McSkimming Davies Falconer	Stadium: Tynecastle Attendance: 11,164

Celtic v Motherwell

4 January 1997 21	Celtic	5–0	Motherwell	Glasgow
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Di Canio 29' (pen.) van Hooijdonk 41' Cadete 75', 86' Wieghorst 87' Mackay McNamara		McCart Denham	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 45,374

Motherwell v Hibernian

11 January 1997 22	Motherwell	2–1	Hibernian	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	McSkimming 20' Hunter 24' (o.g.) van der Gaag		Dow 49' Welsh	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 5,855

Motherwell v Rangers

18 January 1997 23	Motherwell	1–3	Rangers	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Coyle 68' (pen.) van der Gaag McSkimming Ross Falconer		Albertz 20' Laudrup 60' Gascoigne 88'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 13,166

Motherwell v Kilmarnock

21 January 1997 24	Motherwell	2–0	Kilmarnock	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Coyle 3', 38' van der Gaag		Mitchell Reilly	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 5,508

Dunfermline Athletic v Motherwell

1 February 1997 25	Dunfermline Athletic	3–1	Motherwell	Dunfermline
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Miller 11' Tod 26' Britton 76'		Davies	Stadium: East End Park Attendance: 4,796

Motherwell v Aberdeen

8 February 1997 26	Motherwell	2–2	Aberdeen	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Falconer 48' Burns 54' Philliben   82' May		Dodds 11' Martin 33' (o.g.) Windass   82' Glass	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 5,555

Raith Rovers v Motherwell

18 February 1997 27	Raith Rovers	1–5	Motherwell	Kirkcaldy
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Duffield 79'		Coyle 27' van der Gaag 40' Coyne 48', 54' May 81' Valakari	Stadium: Stark's Park Attendance: 3,052

Motherwell v Celtic

22 February 1997 28	Motherwell	0–1	Celtic	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	McMillan		Cadete 10'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 12,131 Referee: Jim McCluskey

Hibernian v Motherwell

1 March 1997 29	Hibernian	1–1	Motherwell	Edinburgh
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Wright 51'		Coyne 64' Falconer	Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 8,328

Kilmarnock v Motherwell

15 March 1997 30	Kilmarnock	1–0	Motherwell	Kilmarnock
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Wright 77' MacPherson		Martin Wishart	Stadium: Rugby Park Attendance: 7,612

Motherwell v Hearts

22 March 1997 31	Motherwell	0–1	Hearts	Motherwell
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Martin Davies		Paille 12'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 6,245

Aberdeen v Motherwell

5 April 1997 32	Aberdeen	0–0	Motherwell	Aberdeen
BST (UTC+1)			Valakari Davies Coyle	Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Captain W Simpson

Motherwell v Raith Rovers

12 April 1997 33	Motherwell	5–0	Raith Rovers	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	Falconer 17' Weir 46' Coyne 53', 74' Coyle 78'		Harvey	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 4,691

Motherwell v Dundee United

19 April 1997 34	Motherwell	1–1	Dundee United	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	Coyne 36' (pen.) Christie   88' Weir		McKimmie   40' Zetterlund 66' Bowman	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 5,382

Rangers v Motherwell

5 May 1997 35	Rangers	0–2	Motherwell	Glasgow
BST (UTC+1)	McLaren Gascoigne		Coyle 7', pen.', 84' Valakari Weir	Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 50,059

Motherwell v Dunfermline Athletic

10 May 1997 36	Motherwell	2–2	Dunfermline Athletic	Motherwell
BST (UTC+1)	Weir 32' van der Gaag 73'		French 38' Bingham 59' Fraser Britton	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 9,676

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
6	Aberdeen	36	10	14	12	45	54	−9	44
7	Kilmarnock	36	11	6	19	41	61	−20	39	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup qualifying round
8	Motherwell	36	9	11	16	44	55	−11	38
9	Hibernian (O)	36	9	11	16	38	55	−17	38	Qualification for the Play-off
10	Raith Rovers (R)	36	6	7	23	29	73	−44	25	Relegation to the First Division

Source: Soccerbase
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:

Scottish Cup

Main article: 1996-97 Scottish Cup

Partick Thistle v Motherwell

25 January 1997 Third round	Partick Thistle	0–2	Motherwell	Glasgow
			McSkimming 65' Davies 76'	Stadium: Firhill

Motherwell v Hamilton Academical

15 February 1997 Fourth Round	Motherwell	1–1	Hamilton Academical	Motherwell
	Coyle 33'		Clark 69'	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 8,050

Hamilton Academical v Motherwell

26 February 1997 Fourth Round Replay	Hamilton Academical	0–2	Motherwell	Glasgow
		[ Report]	Coyle 1', 77'	Stadium: Firhill

Dundee United v Motherwell

8 March 1997 Quarter-finals	Dundee United	4–1	Motherwell	Dundee
	McLaren 47', 66' Winters 63' Olofsson 87'	[ Report]	Van der Gaag 80'	Stadium: Tannadice Attendance: 11,054

League Cup

Main article: 1996–97 Scottish League Cup

Motherwell v Alloa Athletic

13 August 1996 Second round	Motherwell	0–0 (a.e.t.) (2 – 4 p)	Alloa Athletic	Motherwell
				Stadium: Fir Park

Statistics

Goal scorers

Ranking	Position	Nation	Number	Name	Premier Division	Scottish Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW			Tommy Coyne	11	0	0	11
2	FW			Owen Coyle	7	3	0	10
3	DF			Mitchell van der Gaag	6	1	0	7
4	MF			Shaun McSkimming	4	1	0	5
5	FW			Dougie Arnott	3	0	0	3
6	FW			Willie Falconer	2	0	0	2
	MF			Eddie May	2	0	0	2
	MF			Ian Ross	2	0	0	2
	MF			Mickey Weir	2	0	0	2
	MF			Billy Davies	1	1	0	2
				Own goal	2	0	0	2
12	FW			Alex Burns	1	0	0	1
	DF			John Philliben	1	0	0	1
TOTALS					44	6	0	50

See also

• List of Motherwell F.C. seasons