Nonetheless, the season ended in disappointment for the club as they lost in the semi-finals of the play-offs to Crystal Palace, thereby failing to reach the Premier League.
Their failure to finish ahead of unfancied Barnsley in the automatic promotion places, and then subsequent play-off exit, caused owner Sir Jack Hayward to make an emotional outburst days after the campaign in which he accused manager Mark McGhee and the chairman, his son Jonathan, of "blackmailing" him into funding their high transfer spending.
[1][2] A total of 24 teams competed in the Football League First Division in the 1996–97 season.
The provisional fixture list was released on 17 June 1996, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.
In a further emphasis of the "wolf head", a new club emblen was introduced replacing the usage of the Wolverhampton city crest on the shirts that had been adopted for the previous three seasons.