1996–97 Arsenal L.F.C. season

Arsenal Ladies
1996–97 season
Chairman	Peter Hill-Wood
Manager	Vic Akers
Stadium	Hayes Lane
Premier League	Winners
FA Cup	Semi Finals
Premier League Cup	Second Round
London County Cup	Winners
Biggest win	0–9 (vs Southampton Saints, Premier League, 26 January 1997); 9–0 (vs Huddersfield Town, FA Cup, 02 February 1997)
Biggest defeat	1–0 (vs Doncaster Rovers Belles, Premier League, 16 November 1996); 1–0 (vs Wembley, FA Cup, 30 March 1997); 1–2 (vs Doncaster Rovers Belles, Premier League Cup, 24 November 1996)
Home colours	Away colours

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 Statistics

First team squad

Name	Date of Birth (Age)	Since	Signed From
Goalkeepers
Sarah Reed	(1980-05-12) 12 May 1980	1996	Wembley
Sara King		1996
Defenders
Kirsty Pealling	(1975-04-14) 14 April 1975	1987	Homegrown
Faye White	(1978-02-02) 2 February 1978	1996	Horsham Ladies
Clare Wheatley	(1971-02-04) 4 February 1971	1995	Chelsea
Gill Wylie		1991	Tottenham Hotspur
Kelley Few		1991	Watford
Kim Jerry-Silver	(1977-10-06) 6 October 1977	1996	Wembley
Vicki Slee	(1973-03-09) 9 March 1973	1991
Michelle Curley	(1972-04-30) 30 April 1972	1987
Lisa Spry		1988
Midfielders
Joanne Broadhurst	(1967-11-27) 27 November 1967	1995	Doncaster Belles
Sian Williams (captain)	(1968-02-02) 2 February 1968	1990	Juve Siderno
Emma Coss	(1979-05-09) 9 May 1979	1992	Homegrown
Linda Watt		1995
Sarah Mulligan		1988
Forwards
Marieanne Spacey	(1966-02-13) 13 February 1966	1993	Wimbledon
Rachel Yankey	(1979-12-01) 1 December 1979	1996	Mill Hill United
Natasha Daly	(1979-11-29) 29 November 1979	1996	Mill Hill United
Kelly Smith	(1978-10-29) 29 October 1978	1996	Wembley
Emma Hastings		1995
Kara Lee Reynolds		1996
Pat Pile		1994
Unknown
Lizzy Benham		1995
Laura Ray		1996
Yvette Rean		1995
Siobhan Kane	(1975-03-28) 28 March 1975	1996	Castle Rovers

Transfers, loans and other signings

Transfers in

Announcement date	Position	Player	From club
1996	FW	Natasha Daly	Mill Hill United
1996	GK	Sarah Reed	Wembley
1996	DF	Faye White	Horsham
1996	FW	Rachel Yankey	Mill Hill United
1996	FW	Kara Lee Reynolds
1996	GK	Sara King
1996	FW	Siobhan Kane	Castle Rovers
1996	FW	Kelly Smith	Wembley
1996		Laura Ray
1997	DF	Kim Jerry-Silver	Wembley

Transfers out

Announcement date	Position	Player	To club
1996	MF	Samantha Britton	Cove Rangers
1996	FW	Conchi Sánchez	Retired
1996	GK	Rosa Serra
1996	FW	Michelle Sneddon
1996	DF	Kelly Townsend
1996	GK	Kathy Simmonds
1996		Carly Cruickshank
1996		Julie Newell

Club

Kit

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: JVC^[5]

Home

Away

Competitions

FA Women's Premier League

01 September 1996 1	Doncaster Belles	1–0	Arsenal
	Walker 23'	Report

14 September 1996 2	Liverpool	0–2	Arsenal	Anfield
		Report	Broadhurst 79'	Stadium: Anfield

22 September 1996 3	Arsenal	4–0	Ilkeston Town	Bromley
	Broadhurst 24' (pen.), 70' White Yankey	Report		Stadium: Hayes Lane

06 October 1996 4	Wembley	1–1	Arsenal
	Ball 70'	Report	Few 80'

13 October 1996 5	Arsenal	4–2	Tranmere Rovers	Bromley
	Wheatley Broadhurst Spacey Yankey	Report	Smith	Stadium: Hayes Lane

20 October 1996 6	Everton	1–5	Arsenal
	McGrady 60'	Report	Broadhurst Hastings

03 November 1996 7	Arsenal	7–0	Southampton Saints	Bromley
	Lee Reynolds Spacey Broadhurst Daly	Report		Stadium: Hayes Lane

08 December 1996 8	Arsenal	3–2	Doncaster Belles	Bromley
	Broadhurst Lee Reynolds Spacey	Report		Stadium: Hayes Lane

26 January 1997 9	Southampton Saints	0–9	Arsenal
		Report	Broadhurst Spacey Lee Reynolds White Smith

09 February 1997 10	Arsenal	3–0	Wembley	Potters Bar
	Broadhurst Smith	Report		Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

22 February 1997 11	Millwall Lionesses	0–4	Arsenal	Bermondsey
		Report	Few 20' Smith 46' Lee Reynolds Broadhurst	Stadium: Surrey Docks Stadium

19 March 1997 12	Arsenal	2–1	Croydon	Potters Bar
		Report		Stadium: The Lantern Stadium

23 March 1997 13	Ilkeston Town	0–3	Arsenal
		Report

06 April 1997 14	Croydon	0–2	Arsenal
		Report	Yankey Spacey 75'

20 April 1997 15	Arsenal	4–1	Everton	Edgware
14:00 BST		Report	Marley	Stadium: Silver Jubilee Park

27 April 1997 16	Arsenal	3–0	Liverpool	Highbury
	Smith 7' Jerray-Silver	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
		Report

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

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Ground	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	H	A
Result	L	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W

Updated to match(es) played on 20 May 2018. Source: FA WSL
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Women's Cup

19 January 1997 Fourth Round	Arsenal	6–0	Barry Town	Bromley
	Smith Wheatley Daly (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Hayes Lane

02 February 1997 Fifth Round	Arsenal	9–0	Huddersfield Town	Bromley
	Broadhurst White Williams Lee Reynolds Benham (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Hayes Lane

02 March 1997 Quarter Final	Ilkeston Town	2–4	Arsenal
		Report	Yankey Few Spacey Broadhurst

30 March 1997 Semi Final	Wembley	0–1	Arsenal	Borehamwood
	Koch 81'	Report		Stadium: Meadow Park Attendance: 289

FA Women's Premier League Cup

27 October 1996 First Round	Liverpool	1–2	Arsenal
		Report	Lee Reynolds 46' Wheatley

24 November 1996 Second Round	Doncaster Rovers Belles	1–2	Arsenal
	Walker	Report	White

London County Cup

22 December 1996 Second Round	West Ham United	0–4	Arsenal
		Report

26 January 1997 Semi Final	Wimbledon	3–4	Arsenal	Wimbledon
	Stansbury	Report	Smith Broadhurst Spacey	Stadium: Plough Lane

13 April 1997 Final	Arsenal	2–0	Millwall Lionesses	Hendon
	Spacey 9' Yankey 78'	Report		Stadium: Claremont Road

References

^ Connolly, Kevin (19 April 1997). "Marieanne and Rachel make it three in a row". Arsenal vs Blackburn Rovers Matchdaty Programme: Page 21.
^ Connolly, Kevin (12 April 1997). "Girls set up title finale". Arsenal vs Leicester City Matchday Programme: Page 21.
^ Connolly, Kevin (24 November 1996). "Girl Gunners seek speedy revenge". Arsenal vs Southampton Matchday Programme: Page 21.
^ "Arsenal 0-1 Wembley". The Women's FA Cup.
^ "Arsenal FC Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Retrieved 2025-02-14.

External links

Official website

[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] "Arsenal FC Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Retrieved 2025-02-14.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Arsenal W.F.C. seasons
Arsenal L.F.C	1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Arsenal W.F.C	2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26