| Season: | 1896–97 |
| League Result: | 6th |
| Cup1 Result: | First round |
| League Topscorer: | Meredith (10 goals) |
| Season Topscorer: | Meredith (10 goals) |
| Highest Attendance: | 20,000 vs Newton Heath (3 October 1896) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,000 vs Lincoln City (13 February 1897) 1,000 vs Leicester Fosse (12 April 1897) |
| Nextseason: | 1897–98 |
The 1896–97 season was Manchester City F.C.'s sixth season of league football and fifth season in the Football League.
| Date | Opponents | H / A | Venue | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Appearances for competitive matches only
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| GK | Charlie Williams | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 0 | ||
| DF | Dick Ray | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 1 | ||
| MF | James McBride | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| FW |  Walter Bowman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| FW | Pat Finnerhan | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 3 | ||
| FW | Billie Gillespie | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | ||
| FW | Frank Hesham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| FW | Billy Meredith | 27 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 10 | ||
| FW | William Townley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| FW | Fred Williams | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | ||
| align="left" | -- | Charlie Bannister | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
| align="left" | -- | John Ditchfield | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | |
| align="left" | -- | H. Foster | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |
| align="left" | -- | John Gunn | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 4 | |
| align="left" | -- | James Harper | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| align="left" | -- | Robert Hill | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | |
| align="left" | -- | Billy Holmes | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| align="left" | -- | Billy Lewis | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | |
| align="left" | -- | Alex McConnell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| align="left" | -- | George Mann | 18 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 5 | |
| align="left" | -- | Bobby Moffatt | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| align="left" | -- | J. Moffatt | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| align="left" | -- | William Patterson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| align="left" | -- | J. Platt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| align="left" | -- | Thomas Read | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
| align="left" | -- | L. Robinson | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| align="left" | -- | James Sharples | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 6 | |
| align="left" | -- | David Tait | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| align="left" | -- | Tonge | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Scorer | Goals |
|---|---|
| Billy Meredith | 10 |
| James Sharples | 6 |
| Robert Hill | 5 |
| George Mann | |
| Fred Williams | |
| Billie Gillespie | 4 |
| John Gunn | |
| Billy Lewis | |
| Pat Finnerhan | 3 |
| Charlie Bannister | 2 |
| L. Robinson | |
| David Tait | |
| John Ditchfield | 1 |
| H. Foster | |
| Billy Holmes | |
| Dick Ray | |
| Thomas Read |
| Scorer | Goals |
|---|---|
| Billy Meredith | 10 |
| James Sharples | 6 |
| Robert Hill | 5 |
| George Mann | |
| Fred Williams | |
| Billie Gillespie | 4 |
| John Gunn | |
| Billy Lewis | |
| Pat Finnerhan | 3 |
| Charlie Bannister | 2 |
| L. Robinson | |
| David Tait | |
| John Ditchfield | 1 |
| H. Foster | |
| Billy Holmes | |
| Dick Ray | |
| Thomas Read |