Alex Ferguson had built on the success of the previous season's double-winning team thanks largely to two new signings – Norwegians Ronny Johnsen (central defender) and Ole Gunnar Solskjær (striker).

After going 2–0 up Boro bought it back to 2–2, but not after controversy when Jonathan Howard's shot hit the underside of the crossbar and clearly crossed the line,[citation needed] but was waved off by the referee despite the linesman calling it in.

Fulham missed out on the title due to this change in rules, though the runners-up spot represented a huge improvement over the previous season, where they had been in danger of relegation to the Football Conference for much of the campaign.

Leading goalscorer: Graeme Jones (Wigan Athletic) – 31 30 July 1996 – Alan Shearer from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United, £15 million For subsequent transfer deals see 1997–98 in English football.

20 July 1996 – Manchester United pay Slavia Prague £3.5 million for winger Karel Poborský, who helped Czech Republic reach the final of UEFA Euro 1996.

28 August 1996 – With his one-year ban from football now over, George Graham is reportedly due to be offered the Manchester City manager's job, 18 months after he was sacked by Arsenal for accepting illegal payments.

17 October 1996 – West Ham United goalscoring legend Tony Cottee, who has lost his place in the first team this season, signs for Malaysian club Selangor for £750,000.

22 October 1996 – Chelsea director Matthew Harding, 42, is killed with four other people in a helicopter crash in Cheshire on his journey home from the club's League Cup defeat against Bolton Wanderers.

25 October 1996 – Ray Harford resigns as manager of Blackburn Rovers, bottom of the FA Premier League just 18 months after being champions, and coach Tony Parkes takes over until the end of the season.

Blackburn Rovers are still bottom of the table and winless after 11 games, while they and Coventry City are now joined by Nottingham Forest in the relegation zone after Southampton climbed to a secure 14th place with the 6–3 win over Manchester United playing a big part in their recent improvement.

On the same day, Peter Beardsley also appears on the scoresheet twice – as Newcastle United beat local rivals Middlesbrough 3–1 to boost their own title challenge and push their opponents further towards the relegation zone.

20 November 1996 – Terry Venables, who quit as England manager last summer, accepts an offer to take charge of the Australia national football team, but insists that he will continue in his role as Portsmouth chairman.

26 November 1996 – Another FA Cup first round replay upset sees Brighton & Hove Albion (currently bottom of Division Three only six seasons after they almost won promotion to the top flight) lose at home on penalties to non-league Sudbury Town after a 1–1 draw at the Goldstone Ground.

A Middlesbrough side featuring some of the country's most expensively signed players are just above the relegation zone as midway point approaches during a season where they had been expected to challenge much higher in the table.

11 December 1996 – John Scales turns his back on Leeds United after looking set to return to the club where he began his career over a decade ago, and leaves Liverpool for Tottenham Hotspur in a £2.6 million deal.

20 December 1996 – Middlesbrough cancel their Premier League fixture at Blackburn Rovers tomorrow, after manager Bryan Robson insisted he could not field a team, as 23 of his playing staff have been hit by a virus.

25 January 1997 – A major upset in the FA Cup third round replay sees Wrexham win 1–0 against West Ham United at Upton Park after drawing the first match 1–1 at the Racecourse Ground, sparking a pitch invasion.

[17] However, Hednesford Town's luck finally runs out when they lose 3–2 to Middlesbrough in the fourth round clash at the Riverside Stadium, while a late equaliser for Wimbledon forces a replay for Manchester United.

27 January 1997 - Liverpool are beaten by both Rangers and Milan in a six-a-side tournament at the Amsterdam Arena;[17] the Glasgow club's England international Paul Gascoigne limps out of the same competition, putting into doubt his participation in the national side's Wembley match with Italy in February.

10 February 1997 – Leicester City defender Neil Lewis is sentenced to six months in prison for affray after being found guilty of attacking a man with a bottle in a nightclub brawl.

On the same day, Wimbledon move closer to FA Cup glory by winning 2–0 at Sheffield Wednesday, while the end is in sight for Chelsea's 26-year trophy drought as they crush Portsmouth 4–1 at Fratton Park.

12 March 1997 – Recently signed striker Paul Kitson scores twice as West Ham United boost their survival bid with a 3–2 home win over Chelsea.

9 April 1997 – Coventry City's survival battle continues with another win over a much stronger opposition – this time Chelsea, who find themselves on the receiving end of a 3–1 defeat at Highfield Road.

Newcastle United's challenge is all but over, while Aston Villa's hopes are now completely dead, and the midlanders are now facing a threat of being pipped to even a UEFA Cup place – by Sheffield Wednesday.

Paul Kitson ensures West Ham's survival with a hat-trick in their 5–1 home win over Sheffield Wednesday, whose UEFA Cup hopes are ended by the result.

6 May 1997 – Newcastle's goalless draw at West Ham and Liverpool's 2–1 defeat at Wimbledon means that Manchester United are Premier League champions for the fourth time in five seasons.

[34] 11 May 1997 – On a dramatic final day of the Premier League season, Coventry City pull off a miracle survival act by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 at White Hart Lane.

23 June 1997 – Former Everton striker Andy Gray rejects an offer to return to the club as manager, preferring to stay in his current role as a football pundit with Sky Sports.

7 November 1996: Dave Busst, 29-year-old central defender who suffered a compound leg fracture while playing for Coventry City against Manchester United seven months ago, retires on medical advice after being told that he is unlikely ever to recover to full fitness despite having had 26 operations.

[40] 28 April 1997: Peter Shilton, 47-year-old goalkeeper who four months earlier became the first player to reach 1,000 league appearances in English football, ends his professional career after being given a free transfer by Leyton Orient.