| Club: | Wigan Athletic |
| Season: | 1996–97 |
| Manager: | John Deehan |
| Chairman: | Dave Whelan |
| Stadium: | Springfield Park |
| League: | Third Division |
| League Result: | 1st (champions) |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | First round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | First round |
| Cup3: | Football League Trophy |
| Cup3 Result: | Second round |
| League Topscorer: | Jones (31) |
| Season Topscorer: | Jones (33) |
| Average Attendance: | 3,899 |
| Prevseason: | 1995–96 |
| Nextseason: | 1997–98 |
During the 1996–97 English football season, Wigan Athletic F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division.
In the 1996–97 season, Wigan Athletic became Third Division champions on the last day of the campaign, Graeme Jones scoring a club record 31 league goals in the process. In most seasons they would have been runners-up, but a temporary rule change which saw goals scored take precedence over goal difference allowed them to finish above runners-up Fulham, who had the same number of points and a better goal difference.
| Player | Pos | From | Fee | Date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF | £20,000 | 1 July 1996 | [1] | |||
| FW | £150,000 | 8 July 1996 | ||||
| FW | £100,000 | 25 October 1996 | ||||
| MF | £50,000 | 7 March 1997 | ||||
| GK | £350,000 | 16 April 1997 |
| Player | Pos | To | Fee | Date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MF | Released | 15 October 1996 | [2] | |||
| MF | Released | 31 October 1996 | [3] | |||
| DF | Free | 24 January 1997 | [4] | |||
| MF | Released | 31 May 1997 | ||||
| DF | Released | 31 May 1997 | ||||
| DF | Released | 31 May 1997 |
| Player | Pos | From | Date | Duration | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MF | 30 August 1996 | One month | ||||
| MF | 13 December 1996 | Three months | ||||
| DF | 3 March 1997 | End of season |
See main article: 1996–97 Football League.
Wigan Athletic's score comes first[5]
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 August 1996 | Northampton Town | H | 2–1 | 3,449 | Lancashire, Biggins | |
| 24 August 1996 | Barnet | A | 1–1 | 1,905 | Jones | |
| 27 August 1996 | Cardiff City | A | 2–0 | 3,354 | Jones, Kilford | |
| 31 August 1996 | Chester City | H | 4–2 | 3,854 | Jones (3, 1 pen), Shelton (own goal) | |
| 7 September 1996 | Scunthorpe United | H | 3–0 | 3,321 | Jones, Lancashire (2) | |
| 10 September 1996 | Darlington | A | 1–3 | 2,601 | Greenall | |
| 14 September 1996 | Hartlepool United | A | 1–1 | 2,433 | Jones | |
| 21 September 1996 | Lincoln City | H | 1–0 | 3,394 | Lancashire | |
| 28 September 1996 | Scarborough | A | 1–3 | 2,570 | Lancashire | |
| 1 October 1996 | Exeter City | H | 2–0 | 2,788 | Lancashire, Jones | |
| 5 October 1996 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 1–0 | 3,744 | Jones | |
| 12 October 1996 | Colchester United | A | 1–3 | 2,700 | Sharp | |
| 15 October 1996 | Mansfield Town | A | 1–0 | 1,942 | Sharp | |
| 19 October 1996 | Torquay United | H | 3–2 | 3,374 | Jones (3) | |
| 26 October 1996 | Hull City | H | 1–2 | 3,887 | Morgan | |
| 29 October 1996 | Swansea City | A | 1–2 | 2,227 | Díaz | |
| 2 November 1996 | Carlisle United | A | 3–0 | 6,235 | Díaz (2), Saville | |
| 9 November 1996 | Hereford United | H | 4–1 | 3,414 | Martínez, Jones, Greenall, Saville | |
| 23 November 1996 | Fulham | H | 1–1 | 5,039 | Martínez | |
| 30 November 1996 | Hull City | A | 1–1 | 3,537 | Jones | |
| 3 December 1996 | Doncaster Rovers | H | 4–1 | 2,606 | Biggins, Johnson, Saville, Jones | |
| 14 December 1996 | Cambridge United | A | 1–1 | 2,784 | Kilford | |
| 21 December 1996 | Rochdale | H | 0–1 | 3,311 | ||
| 28 December 1996 | Scunthorpe United | A | 3–2 | 2,833 | Saville, Rogers, Kilford | |
| 18 January 1997 | Exeter City | A | 1–0 | 3,067 | Johnson | |
| 21 January 1997 | Leyton Orient | A | 2–1 | 3,014 | Kilford, Jones | |
| 25 January 1997 | Swansea City | H | 3–2 | 4,058 | Jones (2), Kilford | |
| 1 February 1997 | Hereford United | A | 1–3 | 2,532 | Rogers | |
| 4 February 1997 | Lincoln City | A | 3–1 | 2,241 | Jones (2), Johnson | |
| 8 February 1997 | Carlisle United | H | 1–0 | 6,195 | Lowe | |
| 15 February 1997 | Fulham | A | 1–1 | 9,448 | Lowe | |
| 22 February 1997 | Leyton Orient | H | 5–1 | 3,783 | Jones (3), Lancashire, Rogers | |
| 25 February 1997 | Darlington | H | 3–2 | 3,667 | Jones (3, 1 pen) | |
| 28 February 1997 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 0–2 | 2,948 | ||
| 4 March 1997 | Hartlepool United | H | 2–2 | 3,229 | Jones, Kilford | |
| 8 March 1997 | Rochdale | A | 1–3 | 3,254 | Jones (pen) | |
| 11 March 1997 | Scarborough | H | 7–1 | 3,094 | Martínez, Lowe (2), Díaz (2), Lancashire, Biggins | |
| 15 March 1997 | Cambridge United | H | 1–1 | 3,867 | Jones | |
| 22 March 1997 | Barnet | H | 2–0 | 3,286 | Kilford, Martínez | |
| 29 March 1997 | Northampton Town | A | 1–0 | 5,914 | Lowe | |
| 31 March 1997 | Cardiff City | H | 0–1 | 4,634 | ||
| 5 April 1997 | Chester City | A | 1–1 | 4,005 | Kilford | |
| 8 April 1997 | Colchester United | H | 1–0 | 4,571 | McGibbon | |
| 12 April 1997 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 0–1 | 8,703 | ||
| 26 April 1997 | Torquay United | A | 3–0 | 2,481 | Jones (2), Díaz | |
| 3 May 1997 | Mansfield Town | H | 2–0 | 7,106 | Lancashire, Lowe |
| width=50 | Key! | width=180 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Division Champions, promoted | |||
| Promoted | |||
| Promoted through play-offs |
See main article: 1996-97 FA Cup.
| R1 | 16 November 1996 | Blackpool | A | 0–1 | 5,465 (1,832 away) |
See main article: 1996-97 Football League Cup.
| R1 1st Leg | 20 August 1996 | Preston North End | H | 2–3 | 3,713 | Lancashire, Jones | |
| R1 2nd Leg | 3 September 1996 | Preston North End | A | 4–4 (lost 5–6 on agg) | 5,767 (1,158 away) | Lancashire (3), Greenall |
See main article: 1996-97 Football League Trophy.
| NR2 | 14 January 1997 | Shrewsbury Town | A | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | 1,639 (374 away) | Martínez, Jones |
Note: Numbers in brackets are appearances as a substitute.
Source:
| Nat. | Pos. | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | FA Cup | Other[6] | Total | ||||||||
| FW | 20 (13) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 22 (15) | 3 | |||
| DF | 20 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 (1) | 0 | |||
| DF | 20 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 (4) | 0 | |||
| GK | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 0 | |||
| DF | 12 (6) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 (7) | 0 | |||
 | MF | 26 (13) | 6 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 26 (15) | 6 | ||
| DF | 46 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 (1) | 1 | 49 (1) | 3 | |||
| DF | 37 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 3 | |||
| FW | 39 (1) | 31 | 1 | 0 | 2 (1) | 2 | 42 (2) | 33 | |||
| MF | 24 (11) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 26 (12) | 8 | |||
| DF | 5 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (1) | 0 | |||
| FW | 15 (9) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 17 (9) | 13 | |||
| DF | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | |||
| FW | 31 (11) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 35 (11) | 6 | |||
| | MF | 38 (5) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 (1) | 1 | 41 (6) | 5 | ||
| DF | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | |||
| DF | 18 (5) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 (5) | 1 | |||
 | DF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| | DF | 27 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31 (2) | 0 | ||
| MF | 18 (2) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 (2) | 3 | |||
| FW | 17 (3) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 (3) | 4 | |||
| | MF | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | ||
| DF | 30 (5) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 32 (6) | 2 | |||
| MF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| MF | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | |||