The 1896–97 season was Manchester City F.C.'s sixth season of league football and fifth season in the Football League.
It was the first season during which Manchester City scored its one and only win against the Burton Wanderers F.C., in November 1896. In January 1897, centre-forward Billie Gillespie joined City from Lincoln City F.C., scoring the only goal in his debut against Darwen F.C. (1870).
Team kit
Football League Second Division
Results summary
Reports
DateOpponentsH / AVenueResultF – AScorersAttendance 5 September 1896 Woolwich Arsenal H Hyde Road 1 – 1 Finnerhan 8,000 12 September 1896 Gainsborough Trinity H Hyde Road 1 – 1 Sharples 4,000 19 September 1896 Darwen H Hyde Road 4 – 1 Mann (2), Ditchfield, Lewis 10,000 21 September 1896 Lincoln City A Sincil Bank 3 – 0 Finnerhan, Lewis, Sharples 3,000 26 September 1896 Blackpool A Athletic Grounds 2 – 2 Mann, Hill 5,000 3 October 1896 Newton Heath H Hyde Road 0 – 0 20,000 10 October 1896 Notts County A Trent Bridge 3 – 3 Meredith, Hill, Robinson 7,000 17 October 1896 Newcastle United H Hyde Road 1 – 2 Robinson 10,000 24 October 1896 Grimsby Town H Hyde Road 1 – 3 Sharples 3,000 31 October 1896 Notts County H Hyde Road 1 – 4 Meredith 12,000 7 November 1896 Blackpool H Hyde Road 4 – 2 Banner, Meredith, Sharples, Lewis 4,000 14 November 1896 Burton Swifts A Peel Croft 3 – 1 Tait (2), Gunn 4,000 23 November 1896 Walsall H Hyde Road 2 – 3 Finnerhan, Mann 3,000 28 November 1896 Burton Wanderers H Hyde Road 2 – 1 F. Williams, Gunn 2,000 19 December 1896 Grimsby Town A Abbey Park 3 – 1 Meredith, Gunn, F. Williams 12,000 25 December 1896 Newton Heath A Bank Street 1 – 2 Hill 18,000 26 December 1896 Burton Swifts H Hyde Road 0 – 5 6,000 1 January 1897 Small Heath H Hyde Road 3 – 0 Bannister, Gunn, Sharples 16,000 6 January 1897 Walsall A Hillary Street 5 – 0 Ray, Mann, Meredith, Lewis, Sharples 500 9 January 1897 Darwen A Barley Bank 1 – 3 Gillespie 1,000 6 February 1897 Newcastle United A St James' Park 0 – 3 4,000 13 February 1897 Lincoln City H Hyde Road 1 – 0 Gillespie 1,000 27 February 1897 Gainsborough Trinity A The Northolme 4 – 1 Gillespie, F. Williams (2), Meredith 9,000 6 March 1897 Burton Wanderers A Derby Turn 1 – 1 Read 3,000 13 March 1897 Leicester Fosse A Filbert Street 4 – 0 Holmes, Meredith, Gillespie, F. Williams 6,000 17 March 1897 Loughborough A Athletic Ground 0 – 2 2,000 12 April 1897 Leicester Fosse H Hyde Road 3 – 3 Meredith (2), ? (o.g.) 1,000 16 April 1897 Loughborough H Hyde Road 1 – 1 Foster 2,000 19 April 1897 Small Heath A Muntz Street 1 – 3 Meredith 500 28 April 1897 Woolwich Arsenal A Manor Ground 2 – 1 Hill (2) 2,000
FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AVenueResult F – AScorersAttendance 30 January 1897 First round Preston North End A Deepdale 0 – 6 6,000
Squad statistics
Appearances and goals
Scorers
All ScorerGoals Billy Meredith10James Sharples6Robert Hill5George Mann Fred Williams Billie Gillespie4 John Gunn Billy Lewis Pat Finnerhan3Charlie Bannister2L. RobinsonDavid TaitJohn Ditchfield1H. FosterBilly Holmes Dick RayThomas Read
League ScorerGoals Billy Meredith10James Sharples6Robert Hill5George Mann Fred Williams Billie Gillespie4 John Gunn Billy Lewis Pat Finnerhan3Charlie Bannister2L. RobinsonDavid TaitJohn Ditchfield1H. FosterBilly Holmes Dick RayThomas Read
See also Manchester City F.C. seasons
References
External links Extensive Manchester City statistics site