1996-1997 DIVISION 3 ( 3 )
| History | D Steele | Programme | |||||
| Sat 17 Aug | Doncaster Rovers | A | League | W 1-0 | 3045 | 3003 | |
| Tue 20 Aug | Chester City | H | League Cup | W 1-0 | 4042 | ||
| Sat 24 Aug | Hull City | H | League | D 0-0 | 5407 | ||
| Tue 27 Aug | Leyton Orient | H | League | W 1-0 | 4973 | 4927 | |
| Sat 31 Aug | Fulham | A | League | L 0-1 | 5860 | ||
| Tue 03 Sep | Chester City | A | League Cup | W 3-1 | 1947 | ||
| Sat 07 Sep | Swansea City | H | League | W 4-1 | 5114 | 5114 | |
| Tue 10 Sep | Hartlepool United | A | League | W 2-1 | 3077 | 3007 | |
| Sat 14 Sep | Scarborough | A | League | D 1-1 | 3524 | 3524 | |
| Tue 17 Sep | Port Vale | A | League Cup | L 0-1 | 3505 | 3024 | |
| Sat 21 Sep | Darlington | H | League | W 1-0 | 5781 | 5781 | |
| Tue 24 Sep | Port Vale | H | League Cup | D 2-2 | 5545 | 5701 | |
| Sat 28 Sep | Torquay United | A | League | W 2-1 | 2435 | 2435 | |
| Tue 01 Oct | Colchester United | H | League | W 3-0 | 4889 | 4889 | |
| Sat 05 Oct | Mansfield Town | H | League | D 1-1 | 5509 | 5509 | |
| Sat 12 Oct | Rochdale | A | League | D 2-2 | 3320 | 3320 | |
| Tue 15 Oct | Exeter City | A | League | L 1-2 | 2155 | 2155 | |
| Sat 19 Oct | Cardiff City | H | League | L 0-2 | 4972 | 4972 | |
| Sat 26 Oct | Barnet | A | League | D 0-0 | 2422 | 2422 | |
| Tue 29 Oct | Chester City | H | League | W 3-1 | 4187 | 4189 | |
| Sat 02 Nov | Wigan Athletic | H | League | L 0-3 | 6235 | 6235 | |
| Sat 09 Nov | Northampton Town | A | League | D 1-1 | 4682 | 4682 | |
| Sat 16 Nov | Shepshed Dynamo | H | F.A. Cup | W 6-0 | 4394 | 4682 | |
| Tue 19 Nov | Cambridge United | H | League | W 3-0 | 3839 | 3839 | |
| Sat 23 Nov | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | League | W 3-1 | 4155 | 4155 | |
| Sat 30 Nov | Barnet | H | League | W 2-1 | 4472 | 4472 | |
| Tue 03 Dec | Lincoln City | A | League | D 1-1 | 2033 | 2033 | |
| Sat 07 Dec | Darlington | H | F.A. Cup | W 1-0 | 5625 | 5625 | |
| Tue 10 Dec | Rochdale | H | AWS | W 2-0 | 3622 | 3622 | 3602 |
| Sat 14 Dec | Hereford United | A | League | W 3-2 | 1890 | 1855 | |
| Sat 21 Dec | Scunthorpe United | H | League | W 3-2 | 5646 | 5631 | |
| Thu 26 Dec | Hartlepool United | H | League | W 1-0 | 6947 | 6947 | |
| Sat 28 Dec | Swansea City | A | League | W 1-0 | 7353 | 7353 | |
| Tue 14 Jan | Tranmere Rovers | H | F.A. Cup | W 1-0 | 10090 | 10090 | |
| Sat 18 Jan | Colchester United | A | League | D 1-1 | 3588 | 3588 | |
| Sat 25 Jan | Sheffield Wednesday | H | F.A. Cup | L 0-2 | 16104 | 16104 | |
| Tues 28 Jan | Hull City | H | AWS | W 4-1 | 3716 | 3716 | 3754 |
| Sat 01 Feb | Northampton Town | H | League | W 2-1 | 5271 | 5271 | |
| Tue 04 Feb | York City | A | AWS | W 2-0 | 1922 | 1922 | 1910 |
| Sat 08 Feb | Wigan Athletic | A | League | L 0-1 | 6195 | 6195 | |
| Tue 11 Feb | Scarborough | H | League | W 1-0 | 4936 | 4936 | |
| Sat 15 Feb | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | League | W 2-1 | 5465 | 5542 | |
| Tue 18 Feb | Shrewsbury Town | A | AWS | W 2-1 | 2774 | 2774 | 2134 |
| Fri 21 Feb | Cambridge United | A | League | W 3-1 | 4294 | 4294 | |
| Tue 25 Feb | Chester City | A | League | D 1-1 | 2750 | 2750 | |
| Sat 01 Mar | Lincoln City | H | League | W 1-0 | 4958 | 4958 | |
| Tue 04 Mar | Torquay United | H | League | W 5-1 | 4680 | 4680 | |
| Sat 08 Mar | Scunthorpe United | A | League | D 0-0 | 3470 | 3470 | |
| Sat 15 Mar | Hereford United | H | League | L 2-3 | 5063 | 5063 | |
| Tue 18 Mar | Stockport County | H | AWS | W 2-0 | 7057 | 7057 | |
| Sat 22 Mar | Hull City | A | League | W 1-0 | 3847 | 3847 | |
| Tue 25th Mar | Stockport County | A | AWS | D 0-0 | 8593 | 8593 | |
| Sat 29 Mar | Doncaster Rovers | H | League | D 0-0 | 6551 | 6551 | |
| Mon 31 Mar | Leyton Orient | A | League | L 1-2 | 4604 | 4604 | |
| Sat 05 Apr | Fulham | H | League | L 1-2 | 9171 | 9104 | |
| Tue 08 Apr | Darlington | A | League | L 1-2 | 4184 | 4184 | |
| Fri 11 Apr | Mansfield Town | A | League | D 0-0 | 4375 | 4375 | |
| Sun 20 Apr | Colchester United | W 4-3 pens | |||||
| Sun 20 Apr | Colchester United | W | AWS Final | D 0-0 | 40077 | 45077 | |
| Sat 26 Apr | Cardiff City | A | League | L 0-2 | 5104 | 5178 | |
| Tue 29 Apr | Rochdale | H | League | W 3-2 | 4882 | 4884 | |
| Sat 03 May | Exeter City | H | League | W 2-0 | 6170 |
Postponed
| Wed 1 Jan | Darlington | A | League | PP |
| Sat 4th Jan | Tranmere Rovers | H | F.A. Cup | PP |
| Sat 11th Jan | Torquay United | H | League | PP |
| Tue 21 Jan | Hull City | H | AWS | PP |
| Ptn | Third Division | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Ave Gate |
| 1 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 53 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 31 | 30 | 84 | 87 | 3,899 |
| 2 | Fulham | 46 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 41 | 20 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 31 | 18 | 72 | 87 | 6,643 |
| 3 | Carlisle United | 46 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 41 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 26 | 23 | 67 | 84 | 5,440 |
| 4 | Northampton Town | 46 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 43 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 24 | 27 | 67 | 72 | 4,823 |
| 5 | Swansea City | 46 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 37 | 20 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 25 | 38 | 62 | 71 | 3,827 |
| 6 | Chester City | 46 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 30 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 27 | 55 | 70 | 2,263 |
| 7 | Cardiff City | 46 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 30 | 23 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 31 | 56 | 69 | 3,594 |
| 8 | Colchester United | 46 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 36 | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 26 | 28 | 62 | 68 | 3,251 |
| 9 | Lincoln City | 46 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 35 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 35 | 44 | 70 | 66 | 3,163 |
| 10 | Cambridge United | 46 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 30 | 27 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 23 | 32 | 53 | 65 | 3,380 |
| 11 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 21 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 28 | 47 | 64 | 2,283 |
| 12 | Scarborough | 46 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 36 | 31 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 37 | 65 | 63 | 2,455 |
| 13 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 36 | 33 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 23 | 29 | 59 | 63 | 2,606 |
| 14 | Rochdale | 46 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 24 | 34 | 58 | 58 | 1,827 |
| 15 | Barnet | 46 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 32 | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 28 | 46 | 58 | 2,141 |
| 16 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 22 | 38 | 50 | 57 | 4,336 |
| 17 | Hull City | 46 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 26 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 44 | 57 | 3,413 |
| 18 | Darlington | 46 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 37 | 28 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 27 | 50 | 64 | 52 | 2,796 |
| 19 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 29 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 23 | 43 | 52 | 52 | 2,090 |
| 20 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 33 | 32 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 53 | 51 | 2,107 |
| 21 | Torquay United | 46 | 9 | 4 | 10 | 24 | 24 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 22 | 38 | 46 | 50 | 2,322 |
| 22 | Exeter City | 46 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 25 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 43 | 48 | 48 | 3,014 |
| 23 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 41 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 12 | 43 | 53 | 47* | 5,850 |
| 24 | Hereford United | 46 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 26 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 40 | 50 | 47 | 2,931 |
Friendlies
| 22 July 1996 | Queen of the South | A | Friendly | W 2-1 | |
| 25 July 1996 | Barrow | A | Friendly | W 3-0 | |
| 27 July 1996 | Kilmarnock | H | Friendly | W 1-0 | 3483 |
| 29 July 1996 | Ponteland | A | Friendly | ||
| 29 July 1996 | Ayr | A | Friendly | ||
| 31 July 1996 | Workington | A | Friendly | W 1-0 | |
| 01 August 1996 | Consett | A | Friendly | ||
| 03 August 1996 | Gateshead | A | Friendly | ||
| 05 August 1996 | Stoke City | H | Friendly | L 0-1 | |
| 06 August 1996 | Gretna | A | Friendly | W 5-3 | |
| 08 August 1996 | Gala Fairydean | A | Friendly | W 1-0 | |
| 10 August 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | H | Friendly | W 1-0 | |
| 12 August 1996 | RTM Newcastle | A | Friendly | W 5-0 | |
| 16 August 1996 | Blyth Spartans | A | Friendly | ||
| 21 October 1996 | Queen of the South | A | Friendly | D 2-2 | BCD |
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