1996–97 Arsenal L.F.C. season

Arsenal Ladies
1996–97 season
ChairmanPeter Hill-Wood
ManagerVic Akers
StadiumHayes Lane
Premier LeagueWinners
FA CupSemi Finals
Premier League CupSecond Round
London County CupWinners
Biggest win9–0 (vs Southampton Saints (A), Premier League, 26 January 1997)
9–0 (vs Huddersfield Town (H), FA Cup, 02 February 1997)
Biggest defeat0–1 (vs Doncaster Rovers Belles, Premier League (A), 16 November 1996)
0–1 (vs Wembley (N), FA Cup, 30 March 1997)
1–2 (vs Doncaster Rovers Belles (A), Premier League Cup, 24 November 1996)

The 1996–97 season was Arsenal Ladies Football Club's 10th season since forming in 1987. The club participated in the National Division of the FA Women's Premier League, winning their third League Title since promotion, and were also able to retain the London County Cup for a third year in a row by defeating Millwall Lionesses in the Final.[1] However, they failed to progress in the Premier League Cup and the FA Cup, losing to Doncaster Rovers Belles and Wembley respectively.[2][3][4]

Squad information & statistics

First team squad

Name Date of birth (age) Since Signed from
Goalkeepers
Sarah Reed (1980-05-12)12 May 1980 (aged 17) 1996 Wembley
Sara King 1996
Defenders
Kirsty Pealling (1975-04-14)14 April 1975 (aged 22) 1987 Arsenal Academy
Faye White (1978-02-02)2 February 1978 (aged 19) 1996 Three Bridges
Clare Wheatley (1971-02-04)4 February 1971 (aged 26) 1995 Chelsea
Kim Jerray-Silver (1977-10-06)6 October 1977 (aged 19) 1997 Wembley
Jenny Canty (1976-03-22)22 March 1976 (aged 21) 1991 Limehouse
Vicki Slee (1973-03-09)9 March 1973 (aged 24) 1991 Millwall Lionesses
Michelle Curley (1972-04-30)30 April 1972 (aged 25) 1988 Arsenal Academy
Kelley Few (1971-10-17)17 October 1971 (aged 25) 1991 Romford
Gill Wylie (1965-08-27)27 August 1965 (aged 31) 1991 Tottenham
Lisa Spry 1988 Arsenal Academy
Jo Moruzzi 1995 Arsenal Academy
Midfielders
Joanne Broadhurst (1967-11-27)27 November 1967 (aged 29) 1995 Doncaster Belles
Sian Williams (c) (1968-02-02)2 February 1968 (aged 29) 1990 Millwall Lionesses
Emma Coss (1979-05-30)30 May 1979 (aged 18) 1992 Arsenal Academy
Siobhan Kane (1975-03-28)28 March 1975 (aged 22) 1996 Castle Rovers
Linda Watt (1973-05-19)19 May 1973 (aged 24) 1995 Watford
Beth Lovell January 1980 1995 Arsenal Academy
Sharon Barber 1988 Tottenham
Robyn Davies-Patrick (1975-08-29)29 August 1975 (aged 21) 1996
Laura Ray 1996
Forwards
Marieanne Spacey (1966-02-13)13 February 1966 (aged 31) 1993 Wimbledon
Rachel Yankey (1979-12-01)1 December 1979 (aged 17) 1996 Mill Hill United
Natasha Daly (1979-11-29)29 November 1979 (aged 17) 1996 Mill Hill United
Kelly Smith (1978-10-29)29 October 1978 (aged 18) 1996 Wembley
Yvette Rean (1969-04-11)11 April 1969 (aged 28) 1995 Watford
Emma Hastings (1977-11-24)24 November 1977 (aged 19) 1995 Dunstable
Kara Lee Reynolds 1996 Texas Lightning
Liz Benham 1996 Croydon
Pat Pile 1989 Hackney
Emma Burke 1995 Arsenal Academy

Goalscorers

Rank Position Name Premier League FA Cup PL Cup LC Cup Total
1 MF Joanne Broadhurst 20 3 0 1 24
2 FW Marieanne Spacey 8 1 0 2 11
FW Kelly Smith 7 2 0 2 11
3 Unknown Goalscorers 5 0 0 4 9
FW Kara Lee Reynolds 7 1 1 0 9
4 FW Rachel Yankey 6 1 0 1 8
5 DF Faye White 3 2 1 0 6
6 DF Clare Wheatley 2 2 1 0 5
7 FW Natasha Daly 3 1 0 0 4
8 DF Kelley Few 2 1 0 0 3
9 Own Goals 0 2 0 0 2
MF Sian Williams 0 2 0 0 2
10 FW Emma Hastings 1 0 0 0 1
DF Kim Jerray-Silver 1 0 0 0 1
FW Liz Benham 0 1 0 0 1
Total 65 19 3 10 97

Clean sheets

Rank Name Premier League FA Cup PL Cup LC Cup Total
1 Sara King 5 1 0 1 7
2 Sarah Reed 3 1 0 0 4
Unknown Goalkeepers 3 0 0 1 4
Total 11 2 0 2 15

Transfers, loans and other signings

Transfers in

Announcement date Position Player From club
1996[5] FW Natasha Daly Mill Hill United
1996[5][6] FW Rachel Yankey Mill Hill United
1996[5][7] DF Faye White Horsham
1996 GK Sarah Reed Wembley
1996[8] FW Kara Lee Reynolds Texas Lightning
1996[9] MF Siobhan Kane Castle Rovers
1996[10] GK Sara King
1996[11] MF Laura Ray
1996 MF Robyn Davies-Patrick
December 1996[12] FW Kelly Smith Wembley
1997[13] DF Kim Jerray-Silver Wembley

Transfers out

Announcement date Position Player To club
1996[14] MF Samantha Britton Cove Rangers
1996 FW Conchi Sánchez Retired
1996[5][15] GK Roser Serra Barcelona
1996[16] MF Emma Hayes Retired
1996 FW Carla Rose Bracknell
1996 FW Julie Newell Chelsea
1996[14][17] FW Michelle Sneddon Cove Rangers
1996 GK Kathy Simmons Langford
1996[18] FW Julia Brown Portsmouth
1996 FW Kelly Townshend Enfield
1996 MF Sarah Clark
1996 GK Nancy Jeffery
1996 MF Carly Cruickshank
1996 FW Krista Yeomans
1996 MF Amy Lamont

Club

Kit

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: JVC[19]

Home
Away

Competitions

FA Women's Premier League National Division

Main article: 1996–97 FA Women's Premier League

Partial league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Arsenal (C) 18 16 1 1 65 9 +56 49
2 Doncaster Belles 18 13 2 3 44 15 +29 41
3 Croydon 18 9 4 5 39 26 +13 31
4 Liverpool 18 9 3 6 30 16 +14 30
5 Millwall Lionesses 18 7 6 5 20 19 +1 27
Source: FA WPL
(C) Champions

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
18 16 1 1 65 9  +56 49 9 0 0 36 6  +30 7 1 1 29 3  +26

Results by matchday

Matchday123456789101112131415161718
GroundAAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHHA
ResultLWWDWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
Position713543332211111111
Source: FA WPL
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

01 September 1996 1 Doncaster Belles 1–0 Arsenal Armthorpe
14:00 BST
  • Walker 23'
 Report Stadium: Welfare Ground
Referee: P L Wright
14 September 1996 2 Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal Anfield
14:00 BST Report
Stadium: Anfield
22 September 1996 3 Arsenal 4–0 Ilkeston Town Bromley
 Report Stadium: Hayes Lane
06 October 1996 4 Wembley 1–1 Arsenal Wembley
14:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Vale Farm
Referee: R. E. Webber
13 October 1996 5 Arsenal 4–2 Tranmere Rovers Bromley
 Report
Stadium: Hayes Lane
20 October 1996 6 Everton 1–5 Arsenal Crosby
  • McGrady 60'
 Report
Stadium: Rossett Park
03 November 1996 7 Arsenal 7–0 Southampton Saints Bromley
 Report Stadium: Hayes Lane
08 December 1996 8 Arsenal 3–2 Doncaster Belles Bromley
 Report
Stadium: Hayes Lane
26 January 1997 9 Southampton Saints 0–9 Arsenal  
Report
09 February 1997 10 Arsenal 3–0 Wembley Potters Bar
 Report Stadium: The Lantern Stadium
23 February 1997 11 Millwall Lionesses 0–4 Arsenal Bermondsey
14:00 GMT Report
Stadium: Surrey Docks Stadium
19 March 1997 12 Arsenal 2–1 Croydon Potters Bar
20:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: The Lantern Stadium
23 March 1997 13 Ilkeston Town 0–3 Arsenal  
Report
06 April 1997 14 Croydon 0–2 Arsenal  
Report
20 April 1997 15 Arsenal 4–1 Everton Edgware
14:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Silver Jubilee Park
Referee: H. Thomas
27 April 1997 16 Arsenal 3–0 Liverpool Highbury
12:00 BST
Report Stadium: Highbury
29 April 1997 17 Arsenal 6–0 Millwall Lionesses The Skyline Stadium
 Report
05 May 1997 18 Tranmere Rovers 0–3 Arsenal Birkenhead
Report
Stadium: Prenton Park

FA Women's Cup

Main article: 1996–97 FA Women's Cup
19 January 1997 Fourth round Arsenal 6–0 Barry Town Bromley
 Report Stadium: Hayes Lane
02 February 1997 Fifth round Arsenal 9–0 Huddersfield Town Bromley
 Report Stadium: Hayes Lane
06 March 1997 Quarter-finals Ilkeston Town 2–4 Arsenal Ilkeston
19:30 GMT
  • Kirk 20'
Report
Stadium: New Manor Ground
30 March 1997 Semi-finals Wembley 1–0 Arsenal Borehamwood
15:00 GMT
  • Koch 81'
 Report Stadium: Meadow Park
Attendance: 289

FA Women's Premier League Cup

Main article: 1996–97 FA Women's Premier League Cup
27 October 1996 First round Liverpool 1–2 Arsenal
Report
24 November 1996 Second round Doncaster Belles 2–1 Arsenal Armthorpe
13:00 GMT
Report
Stadium: Welfare Ground

London County Cup

22 December 1996 Quarter-finals West Ham United 0–4 Arsenal  
Report
26 January 1997 Semi-finals Wimbledon 3–4 Arsenal Wimbledon
  • Stansbury
Report
Stadium: Plough Lane
13 April 1997 Final Arsenal 2–0 Millwall Lionesses Hendon
 Report Stadium: Claremont Road

See also

References

  1. ^ Connolly, Kevin (19 April 1997). "Marieanne and Rachel make it three in a row". Arsenal vs Blackburn Rovers Matchdaty Programme: Page 21.
  2. ^ Connolly, Kevin (12 April 1997). "Girls set up title finale". Arsenal vs Leicester City Matchday Programme: Page 21.
  3. ^ Connolly, Kevin (24 November 1996). "Girl Gunners seek speedy revenge". Arsenal vs Southampton Matchday Programme: Page 21.
  4. ^ "Arsenal 0-1 Wembley". The Women's FA Cup.
  5. ^ a b c d "Arsenal v West Ham United – FA Premier League, Saturday August 17th 1996". The Arsenal Collection. 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  6. ^ "Arsenal Ladies". www.arsenal.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2000-09-18. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  7. ^ "Arsenal Ladies". www.arsenal.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2001-06-26. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  8. ^ "Arsenal v Sheffield Wednesday – FA Premier League, Monday September 16th 1996". The Arsenal Collection. 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  9. ^ "Siobhan Kane - Player changes, player transfers | Soccerdonna". www.soccerdonna.de. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  10. ^ "Aussie is the Gunner's number one". Hayes & Harlington Gazette. 11 September 1996. p. 68.
  11. ^ "Arsenal v Chelsea – FA Premier League, Wednesday September 4th 1996". The Arsenal Collection. 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  12. ^ "Arsenal v Aston Villa – FA Premier League, Saturday December 28th 1996". The Arsenal Collection. 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  13. ^ "Arsenal Ladies". www.arsenal.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2000-09-18. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  14. ^ a b "Cove all set to land the double". Aberdeen Herald & Post. 6 March 1997. p. 49.
  15. ^ "FÚTBOL FEMENINO". www.orgullonacional.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2025-10-09.
  16. ^ Lewis, Michael (2023-11-17). "A BLAST FROM THE PAST: When Emma Hayes was hired by the Lady Riders". Front Row Soccer. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  17. ^ Howell, Bill (7 June 1997). "Michelle aims to beat the pain barrier...and the docs". Aberdeen Evening Express. p. 49.
  18. ^ "Royals slump to first defeat". Reading Evening Post. 9 October 1996. p. 23.
  19. ^ "Arsenal FC Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
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