| Club: | Nottingham Forest |
| Season: | 1996–97 |
| Manager: | Frank Clark (until December) Stuart Pearce (player-caretaker manager) Dave Bassett (from March) |
| Chairman: | Irving Korn |
| Stadium: | City Ground |
| League: | Premiership |
| League Result: | 20th (relegated) |
| Cup2: | FA Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Fifth round |
| Cup3: | League Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Third round |
| League Topscorer: | Haaland/Campbell (6) |
| Highest Attendance: | 29,181 vs Liverpool (15 Mar 1997, Premier League) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 6,482 vs Wycombe Wanderers (18 Sep 1996, League Cup) |
| Average Attendance: | 24,587 |
| Prevseason: | 1995–96 |
| Nextseason: | 1997–98 |
During the 1996–97 English football season, Nottingham Forest F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).
After a Kevin Campbell hat-trick earnt Nottingham Forest an impressive 3–0 away win at Coventry City on the season's opening game, an appalling 4–1 home defeat to Premiership newcomers Sunderland prompted a dismal start to the season which saw them fail to win any of their next 16 league games until a shock 2–1 home win over title contenders Arsenal on 21 December 1996. Ultimately, Forest were bottom of the Premiership by Christmas, and their manager Frank Clark gone, with Stuart Pearce taking over as player-manager on a temporary basis. A good run of form in January saw Pearce receive the Manager of the Month award and Forest lifted out of the relegation zone, but, by the time he stepped down to make way for Dave Bassett in March, Forest had endured another setback and were left needing a miracle to beat the drop. The acquisition of Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk did little to change the club's fortunes, and they were relegated in bottom place, seven points adrift of safety. They would have escaped relegation had it not been for dropping 32 points from 16 draws throughout the league season.
See main article: 1996–97 FA Premier League.
Nottingham Forest's score comes first[1]
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 August 1996 | Coventry City | A | 3–0 | 19,468 | Campbell (3) | |
| 21 August 1996 | Sunderland | H | 1–4 | 22,874 | Haaland | |
| 24 August 1996 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–1 | 24,705 | Pearce | |
| 4 September 1996 | Southampton | A | 2–2 | 14,450 | Campbell, Saunders | |
| 7 September 1996 | Leicester City | H | 0–0 | 24,105 | ||
| 14 September 1996 | Manchester United | A | 1–4 | 54,984 | Haaland | |
| 21 September 1996 | West Ham United | H | 0–2 | 23,352 | ||
| 28 September 1996 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | 27,673 | Lee | |
| 12 October 1996 | Leeds United | A | 0–2 | 29,225 | ||
| 19 October 1996 | Derby County | H | 1–1 | 27,771 | Saunders | |
| 28 October 1996 | Everton | H | 0–1 | 19,892 | ||
| 2 November 1996 | Aston Villa | A | 0–2 | 35,310 | ||
| 18 November 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–2 | 16,390 | ||
| 25 November 1996 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–2 | 17,525 | Pearce (pen), Cooper | |
| 30 November 1996 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | 12,608 | ||
| 9 December 1996 | Newcastle United | H | 0–0 | 25,762 | ||
| 17 December 1996 | Liverpool | A | 2–4 | 36,126 | Campbell, Pearce | |
| 21 December 1996 | Arsenal | H | 2–1 | 27,384 | Haaland (2) | |
| 26 December 1996 | Manchester United | H | 0–4 | 29,032 | ||
| 28 December 1996 | Leicester City | A | 2–2 | 20,833 | Clough, Cooper | |
| 1 January 1997 | West Ham United | A | 1–0 | 22,358 | Campbell | |
| 11 January 1997 | Chelsea | H | 2–0 | 28,358 | Pearce, Bart-Williams | |
| 19 January 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 27,303 | Roy (2) | |
| 29 January 1997 | Coventry City | H | 0–1 | 22,619 | ||
| 1 February 1997 | Everton | A | 0–2 | 32,567 | ||
| 22 February 1997 | Aston Villa | H | 0–0 | 25,239 | ||
| 1 March 1997 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–0 | 32,805 | Saunders | |
| 5 March 1997 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–3 | 21,485 | ||
| 8 March 1997 | Arsenal | A | 0–2 | 38,206 | ||
| 11 March 1997 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–1 | 20,485 | Haaland | |
| 15 March 1997 | Liverpool | H | 1–1 | 29,181 | Woan | |
| 22 March 1997 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | 22,120 | Lyttle | |
| 24 March 1997 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–1 | 29,888 | Haaland | |
| 5 April 1997 | Southampton | H | 1–3 | 25,134 | Pearce (pen) | |
| 19 April 1997 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | 25,565 | van Hooijdonk | |
| 23 April 1997 | Derby County | A | 0–0 | 18,087 | ||
| 3 May 1997 | Wimbledon | H | 1–1 | 19,865 | Roy | |
| 11 May 1997 | Newcastle United | A | 0–5 | 36,554 |
See main article: 1996–97 FA Cup.
| R3 | 4 January 1997 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–0 | 14,681 | Saunders (2), Allen | |
| R4 | 26 January 1997 | Newcastle United | A | 2–1 | 36,434 | Woan (2) | |
| R5 | 15 February 1997 | Chesterfield | A | 0–1 | 8,890 |
See main article: 1996–97 Football League Cup.
| R2 1st Leg | 18 September 1996 | Wycombe Wanderers | H | 1–0 | 6,482 | Roy | |
| R2 2nd Leg | 24 September 1996 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 6,310 | Lee | |
| R3 | 23 October 1996 | West Ham United | A | 1–4 | 19,402 | Cooper |
| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 July 1996 | MF | Chris Allen | Oxford United | £500,000 | |
| 16 July 1996 | FW | Dean Saunders | Galatasaray | £1,500,000 | |
| 26 July 1996 | DF | Nikola Jerkan | Real Oviedo | £1,000,000 | |
| 10 March 1997 | FW | Pierre van Hooijdonk | Celtic | £4,500,000 | |
| 15 March 1997 | FW | Ian Thomas-Moore | Tranmere Rovers | £1,000,000 |
| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 July 1996 | MF | Kingsley Black | Grimsby Town | £25,000 | |
| 16 August 1996 | MF | Neil Webb | Grimsby Town | Free transfer | |
| 22 August 1996 | DF | Darren Watkins | Berwick Rangers | Signed | |
| 4 March 1997 | GK | Tommy Wright | Manchester City | £450,000 | |
| 9 May 1997 | MF | Justin Walker | Scunthorpe United | Unknown | |
| 28 May 1997 | FW | Jason Lee | Watford | £200,000 |
Transfers in: £8,500,000
Transfers out: £675,000
Total spending: £7,825,000