Bolton Wanderers won the 1996-97 EFL Championship promotion and relegation race on 98 points, 18 points ahead of Barnsley. Grimsby Town, Oldham Athletic and Southend United finished in the relegation places.
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EFL Championship standings, 1996-97
Team
W
D
L
GD
PTS
L10
Streak
Bolton Wanderers (BOL)
28
14
4
+47
98
8-2-0
D1
Barnsley (BAR)
22
14
10
+21
80
5-2-3
L1
Wolverhampton Wanderers (WOL)
22
10
14
+17
76
3-2-5
L1
Ipswich Town (IPS)
20
14
12
+18
74
6-1-3
D1
Sheffield United (SHU)
20
13
13
+23
73
4-3-3
D1
Crystal Palace (CRY)
19
14
13
+30
71
4-3-3
D1
Portsmouth (POR)
20
8
18
+6
68
5-0-5
W1
Port Vale (PVL)
17
16
13
+3
67
5-2-3
D1
Queens Park Rangers (QPR)
18
12
16
+4
66
6-1-3
L1
Birmingham City (BIR)
17
15
14
+4
66
5-5-0
D1
Tranmere Rovers (TRA)
17
14
15
+6
65
3-5-2
D1
Stoke City (STK)
18
10
18
-6
64
4-1-5
W1
Norwich City (NOR)
17
12
17
-5
63
2-3-5
L1
Manchester City (MCI)
17
10
19
0
61
4-3-3
W1
Charlton Athletic (CHA)
16
11
19
-14
59
3-4-3
D1
West Bromwich Albion (WBA)
14
15
17
-4
57
4-1-5
L1
Oxford United (OXF)
16
9
21
-4
57
3-2-5
W1
Reading (REA)
15
12
19
-9
57
3-1-6
L1
Huddersfield Town (HUD)
13
15
18
-13
54
2-4-4
D1
Swindon Town (SWI)
15
9
22
-19
54
1-2-7
D1
Bradford City (BRD)
12
12
22
-25
48
4-2-4
W2
Grimsby Town (GRI)
11
13
22
-22
46
3-2-5
W1
Oldham Athletic (OLD)
10
13
23
-15
43
2-2-6
W1
Southend United (SEN)
8
15
23
-43
39
1-3-6
L3
The three dashed lines are the automatic promotion pace (2nd), the play-off pace (6th), and the relegation line.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 17 times.
Bolton Wanderers trailed by as many as 3 points on August 16, 1996.
Bolton Wanderers took first place for good on December 26, 1996.
Bolton Wanderers won 7 games in a row from December 26, 1996 to February 1, 1997, the longest run of the race.
Manchester City led by 3 points as late as August 16, 1996.
Bolton Wanderers went 7-1-0 from December 21, 1996 to February 1, 1997, turning a deficit of 2 points into a lead of 12 points.
The top two ended the day within three points of each other on 51 of the 133 days played.
Ten teams held first place.
Bolton Wanderers spent 234 of the season's 262 charted days in first place.