Season 1996/97
original illustrations of the kits worn during the season
Standard home kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P28 W15 D9 L4 F51 A26
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
11/8 | Newcastle (n) | 21/8 | Everton (h) |
25/8 | Blackburn (h) | 4/9 | Derby C (a) |
14/9 | Nott'm F (h) | 29/9 | Tottenham (h) |
12/10 | Liverpool (h) | 23/10 | Swindon (h) |
2/11 | Chelsea (h) | 16/11 | Arsenal (h) |
27/11 | Leicester (a) | 30/11 | Leicester (h) |
18/12 | Sheff Wed (a) | 21/12 | Sunderland (h) |
28/12 | Leeds U (h) | 1/1 | Aston Villa (h) |
5/1 | Tottenham (h) | 12/1 | Tottenham (a) |
25/1 | Wimbledon (h) | 29/1 | Wimbledon (h) |
1/2 | Southampton (h) | 22/2 | Chelsea (a) |
1/3 | Coventry (h) | 15/3 | Sheff Wed (h) |
5/4 | Derby C (h) | 5/5 | Middlesbro' (h) |
8/5 | Newcastle (h) | 11/5 | West Ham (h) |
This kit was also worn in the following friendlies:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
13/8 | Internazionale (h) |
Variant home kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P4 W2 D0 L2 F5 A6
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
17/8 | Wimbledon (a) | 20/10 | Newcastle U (a) |
18/1 | Coventry C (a) | 4/2 | Wimbledon (a) |
Variant home kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P4 W3 D1 L0 F11 A4
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
7/9 | Leeds U (a) | 22/3 | Everton (a) |
12/4 | Blackburn R (n) | 3/5 | Leicester C (a) |
European home kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P7 W2 D1 L4 F6 A4
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
25/9 | Rapid Wein (h) | 30/10 | Fenerbahce (h) |
20/11 | Juventus (h) | 5/3 | FC POrto (h) |
19/3 | FC POrto (a) | 9/4 | B Dortmund (a) |
23/4 | B Dortmund (h) |
Variant European home kit
Shirt numbers
Playing Record in this kit: P2 W2 D0 L0 F4 A0
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
16/10 | Fenerbahce (a) | 4/12 | Rapid Wien |
Playing Record in this kit: P1 W0 D0 L0 F0 A1
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
11/9 | Juventus (a) |
Umbro Tournament home kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P1 W0 D0 L1 F1 A2
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
3/8 | AFC Ajax (a) |
Pre-season home kit
Shirt number
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
27/7 | Portadown | 28/7 | Lge of Ireland |
31/7 | Internazionale (a) |
Home kit 2 (Friendly)
Shirt number
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
16/5 | Coventry C XI (a) |
Variant Testimonial home kit
Shirt number
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | ||
---|---|---|---|
4/11 | Norwich C (a) |
Standard change kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P1 W0 D1 L0 F0 A0
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
21/9 | Aston Villa (a) |
Playing Record in this kit:
P1 W1 D0 L0 F4 A0
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
26/12 | Nott'm F (a) |
Variant change kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
Pxx Wxx Dxx Lxx Fxx Axx
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
23/11 | Middlesbrough (a) | 8/12 | West Ham (a) |
19/2 | Arsenal (a) |
Variant change kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P1 W1 D0 L0 F3 A1
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
19/4 | Liverpool (a) |
Standard third kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P1 W0 D0 L1 F3 A6
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
26/10 | Southampton (a) |
Standard third kit 2
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P1 W0 D0 L1 F1 A2
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | Date | Opposition |
---|---|---|---|
8/3 | Sunderland (a) |
Umbro Tournament third kit
Shirt number
Playing Record in this kit:
P1 W1 D0 L0 F3 A1
This kit was worn in the following matches:
Date | Opposition | ||
---|---|---|---|
4/8 | Nott'm F (a) |
This kit was identified by Matt Salmon. The club badge had a white border rather than the more usual gold.
Home Kit
European Home Kit
Black Track Suit Variant
Worn against Leeds United (h) 28/12, Tottenham (h) 12/1, Coventry (a) 18/1, and Wimbledon (h) 25/1
Black Track Suit Variant
Worn against Sunderland (h) 21/12
Black Track Suit with padded knees
Worn against Nott'm Forest (a) 26/12, Tottenham (h) 5/1 and Rapid Vienna (a) 4/12. Move your mouse over the kit to reveal the European variant.
Blue Track Suit Variant
Worn against Leicester (h) 27/11
Change Kit 1
Change Kit 2
Pre-season Kit
Worn in the friendlies against Portadown (27/7) and Internazionale (31/7)
Home Kit
Change Kit
Variant Testimonial Kit
Worn by Raimond van der Gouw in Bryan Gunn's Testimonial at Norwich (4/11)
Variant Testimonial Kit
Worn by Peter Scmeichel at Coventry (16/5). Move your cursor over the images to reveal the kit worn by Raimond van der Gouw in the 2nd half.
The Season in brief
United beat Newcastle 4-0 in the Charity Shield in Eric Cantona's first match as captain, having succeeded Steve Bruce who left the club on a free.
The side made a sluggish start to their defence of the Premiership title, highlighted by successive away defeats in October at Newcastle (0-5) and Southampton (3-6). A 2-1 victory over Southampton on February 1st took them to the top of the table, where they remained for the rest of the season.
United were already Champions by the time Newcastle managed a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on May 8th, and finished the season some seven points ahead of their Geordie rivals. Cantona announced his decision to retire just weeks later. David Beckham was named the PFA Young Player of the Year.
Despite losing their unbeaten home record in European football to Fenerbahce in October, United progressed to the Champions League semi finals for the first time since 1968/69. The first leg against Borussia Dortmund was tight, the Germans scoring the only goal in the last fifteen minutes. United conceded an 8th minute goal in the second leg at Old Trafford and were unable to break down the determined Dortmund defence.
United had three new kits for 1996/97, although the third kit was not released until late autumn, no doubt to capitalise on replica sales pre Christmas. In the Champions' League group match at Juventus on September 11th, neither the outfield nor goalkeeper shirts featured the players' names.