1996–97 Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. season


During the 1996–97 English football season, Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division.

Season summary

In the 1996–97 season, Jimmy Case was sacked after a terrible start that saw Brighton stuck the bottom of the league by a considerable margin — they seemed certain to be relegated from the Football League just 14 years after they had almost won the FA Cup. The club's directors appointed a relative unknown in Steve Gritt, the former joint manager of Charlton Athletic, in hope of performing a miracle survival.
Brighton's league form steadily improved under Gritt, although their improving chances of survival were put under further threat on 9 December by a two-point deduction from the Football League imposed as punishment for a pitch invasion by fans who were protesting against the sale of the Goldstone Ground in a league game against Lincoln City on 1 October 1996. The club later appealed against the points deduction but their appeal was rejected.
The last game at The Goldstone was held on 26 April 1997, in which Brighton beat Doncaster Rovers 1–0. The result lifted Brighton off the bottom of Division Three and meant that a draw or win in their visit to Hereford United the following weekend would prevent relegation to the Conference and preserve their Football League status. Brighton went on to draw the game 1–1 and secure survival, as well as ending Hereford's 25-year stay in the Football League – thus avoiding becoming the first former members of the top flight or the first major cup finalists to be relegated to the Conference.
The sale of the Goldstone Ground went through in 1997 and this led to Brighton having to play some 70 miles away at Gillingham's Priestfield stadium.

Final league table

Results

Brighton & Hove Albion's score comes first

Legend

Football League Third Division

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R116 November 1996Sudbury TownA0–03,112
R1R26 November 1996Sudbury TownH1–1 3,902Maskell

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R1 1st Leg21 August 1996Birmingham CityH0–15,132
R1 2nd Leg4 September 1996Birmingham CityA0–2 20,050

Football League Trophy

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
SR117 December 1996FulhamH3–2 1,384Maskell, McDonald, Virgo
SR214 January 1997Plymouth ArgyleA0–11,295

Squad