| Club: | Perth Glory |
| Season: | 1996–97 |
| Chairman: | Nick Tana Paul Afkos |
| Manager: | Gary Marocchi |
| Mgrtitle: | Head Coach |
| Stadium: | Perth Oval |
| League: | National Soccer League |
| League Result: | 7th |
| League Topscorer: | Bobby Despotovski (14) |
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| Nextseason: | 1997–98 |
The 1996–97 season was Perth Glory's first season in the National Soccer League and first overall season in the top flight of Australian soccer.
After a number of years of speculation around a team from Perth, Perth businessmen, Nick Tana and Paul Afkos put in a bid to join the 1996–97 A-League (as the NSL was known after being relaunched for the 1995–96 season) in late 1995. Arena Investments, a company owned by Tana and Afkos, had stepped in to invest in the Perth Kangaroos IFC after the initial investors of the 1994 FAS Premier League champions pulled out. On 1 December 1995, the name Perth Glory was announced and is considered to be the club's foundation date.[1] [2] [3] [4]
To allow the club to prepare for their first season, the Glory were excused from participation in the 1996–97 National Cup in September and October 1996. Instead the Glory played a number of friendly matches, starting with a match against Italian team Sampdoria which they lost 3–0. This was the only match that the club lost in the leadup to the season, with a series of matches against Western Australian opposition all ending in wins to the Glory.[5] [6]
The league season began with a match against UTS Olympic at Perth Oval. The ground was ordinarily an Australian rules football ground so temporary seating was brought in to make a smaller arena for soccer. A crowd of 9639 saw the Glory lose 4–1 to Olympic, with Alan MacKenzie scoring a late consolation goal.[7] [8]
The Glory entered the final round of the season needing just one point to secure a finals position. However they were defeated 3–1 by the Melbourne Knights after being reduced to ten players, in front of a crowd of 10,000 at knights stadium.[9] [10]
| No. | Position | Player | Transferred from | Type/fee | Date | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Melbourne Knights | Undisclosed | July 1996 | [11] | |||
| 10 | Undisclosed | July 1996 | |||||
| — | Undisclosed | July 1996 | |||||
| — | Undisclosed | July 1996 | |||||
| — | Undisclosed | July 1996 | |||||
| 7 | Gippsland Falcons | Undisclosed | July 1996 | ||||
| — | Undisclosed | July 1996 |
| No. | Position | Player | Transferred to | Type/fee | Date | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Undisclosed | April 1997 | |||||
| — | Undisclosed | April 1997 |
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 May 1996 | Sampdoria | WACA Ground | 0–3 | [12] | ||
| 5 September 1996 | Swan IC | Ashfield Reserve | 3–1 | Nick Lazarevski (2), Bobby Despotovski | [13] | |
| 8 September 1996 | Floreat Athena | Lake Monger Velodrome | 7–0 | Bobby Despotovski (2), Gary Lees (2), Paul Strudwick, Scott Miller, Alex Novatsis (og) | [14] | |
| 10 September 1996 | Morley-Windmills | Ashfield Reserve | 12–0 | Bobby Despotovski (6), Nick Lazarevski (3), Paul Strudwick, Paul McVittie, Scott Miller | [15] | |
| 14 September 1996 | Inglewood Falcons | 2–0 | Scott Miller, Doug Ithier | [16] | ||
| 17 September 1996 | Spearwood Dalmatinac | Ashfield Reserve | 3–0 | Bobby Despotovski, Spase Najdovski, Peter Vukrimovic | [17] | |
| 22 September 1996 | Sorrento | Kiev Sports Centre | 6–0 | Doug Ithier, Bobby Despotovski (3), Spase Najdovski, Paul McVittie | [18] | |
| 26 September 1996 | WA State Amateur team | Kiev Sports Centre | 4–0 | Dale Wingell, Paul McVittie, Vladimir Beretovac, Scott Miller | [19] | |
| 30 September 1996 | Bayswater Panthers all-stars | Bayswater Oval | 3–0 | Bobby Despotovski (2), Alan MacKenzie | [20] | |
| 2 October 1996 | WA State Amateur team | Ashfield Reserve | 6–0 | Alan MacKenzie (3), Bobby Despotovski (2), Dale Wingell | [21] | |
| 6 October 1996 | WA State team | Bayswater Oval | 5–0 | Paul Strudwick (2), Bobby Despotovski, Dale Wingell, Gareth Naven | [22] |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result[23] | Scorers | Attendance | Referee | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 October 1996 | UTS Olympic | Home | 1–4 | Alan MacKenzie | 9,639 | Lennie | [24] | |
| 2 | 20 October 1996 | West Adelaide | Away | 1–3 | Paul Strudwick | 3,527 | Brazzale | [25] | |
| 3 | 26 October 1996 | Newcastle Breakers | Away | 3–1 | Paul Strudwick, Bobby Despotovski (2) | 3,750 | Micallef | [26] | |
| 4 | 3 November 1996 | Canberra Cosmos | Home | 6–0 | Paul McVittie, Bobby Despotovski (2), Dale Wingell, Gareth Naven, Scott Miller | 8,053 | Panella | [27] | |
| 5 | 10 November 1996 | Away | 0–0 | 5,504 | Dade | [28] | |||
| 6 | 16 November 1996 | Gippsland Falcons | Home | 2–3 | Vas Kalogeracos, Paul Strudwick | 6,299 | Gorton | [29] [30] | |
| 7 | 23 November 1996 | Sydney United | Away | 2–4 | Paul Strudwick, Vas Kalogeracos | 3,450 | Diomis | [31] | |
| 8 | 1 December 1996 | Adelaide City | Home | 2–1 | Gavin Wilkinson, Bobby Despotovski | 9,765 | Lennie | [32] | |
| 9 | 7 December 1996 | Brisbane Strikers | Away | 5–1 | Gavin Wilkinson, Bobby Despotovski (2), Vas Kalogeracos, Paul Strudwick | 4,028 | Shield | [33] | |
| 10 | 14 December 1996 | Wollongong City | Home | 3–1 | Paul Strudwick, Bobby Despotovski (2) | 10,281 | Lennie | [34] | |
| 11 | 21 December 1996 | South Melbourne | Away | 0–1 | 7,896 | Brazzale | [35] | ||
| 12 | 28 December 1996 | Melbourne Knights | Home | 3–2 | Paul McVittie, Vas Kalogeracos, Scott Miller | 14,759 | Gorton | [36] | |
| 13 | 4 January 1997 | Marconi-Fairfield | Away | 2–1 | Vas Kalogeracos (2) | 5,419 | Micallef | [37] [38] | |
| 14 | 12 January 1997 | Marconi-Fairfield | Home | 1–1 | Paul Strudwick | 17,582 | Brazzale | [39] | |
| 15 | 2 February 1997 | UTS Olympic | Away | 2–0 | David Barrett (og), Bobby Despotovski | 7,124 | Hugo | [40] [41] | |
| 16 | 9 February 1997 | West Adelaide | Home | 1–1 | Vas Kalogeracos | 15,737 | Lennie | [42] | |
| 17 | 15 February 1997 | Newcastle Breakers | Home | 0–2 | 11,546 | Dade | [43] | ||
| 18 | 22 February 1997 | Canberra Cosmos | Away | 1–4 | Bobby Despotovski | 2,000 | Brazzale | [44] [45] | |
| 19 | 2 March 1997 | Collingwood Warriors | Home | 0–2 | 10,964 | Panella | [46] [47] | ||
| 20 | 9 March 1997 | Gippsland Falcons | Away | 1–1 | Alan MacKenzie | 2,149 | Diomis | [48] | |
| 21 | 15 March 1997 | Sydney United | Home | 3–1 | Vas Kalogeracos (2), Dale Wingell | 11,644 | Connolly | [49] [50] | |
| 22 | 23 March 1997 | Adelaide City | Away | 1–1 | Bobby Despotovski | 5,253 | Micallef | [51] | |
| 23 | 30 March 1997 | Brisbane Strikers | Home | 0–2 | 12,858 | Dade | [52] | ||
| 24 | 6 April 1997 | Wollongong City | Away | 3–1 | Bobby Despotovski (2), Gavin Wilkinson | 3,158 | Dade | [53] | |
| 25 | 12 April 1997 | South Melbourne | Home | 4–0 | Vas Kalogeracos (3), Con Blatsis (og) | 15,197 | Hugo | [54] | |
| 26 | 20 April 1997 | Melbourne Knights | Away | 1–3 | Tony Carbone | 10,000 | Micallef | [55] [56] |
List of squad players, including number of appearances by competition
| Nat | Pos | Name | Appearances | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | GK | Vince Matassa | 11 | 0 | |
| GK | Tom Maras | 8 | 0 | |
| GK | Robert Zabica | 7 | 0 | |
 | DF | Gavin Wilkinson | 24 | 3 | |
| Vladimir Beretovac | 13 | 0 | ||
| Vinko Buljubasic | 25 | 0 | ||
| Tony Carbone | 8 | 1 | ||
| Doug Ithier | 12 | 0 | ||
| Paul McVittie | 25 | 2 | ||
| Scott Miller | 26 | 2 | ||
| MF | Gareth Naven | 25 | 1 | |
| Craig Naven | 25 | 0 | ||
| Paul Strudwick | 23 | 7 | ||
| Peter Vukrimovic | 6 | 2 | ||
| Dale Wingell | 25 | 2 | ||
| Marc Wingell | 2 | 0 | ||
| FW | Alan MacKenzie | 12 | 2 | ||
| FW | Vasilios Kalogeracos | 20 | 12 | |
| FW | Bobby Despotovski | 23 | 14 |