Wimbledon 96/97 — The Crazy Gang: Full Squad & Ratings
Wimbledon 1996/97 season — all 18 players rated, best XI, and how to draft them in 38-0.
Draft this era — play 38-0 free Spin the slot machine through 44 historic squads and build your all-time Premier League XI. No download, no account.Wimbledon 1996/97 — Season Story
Wimbledon's 1996/97 season was the last great stand of the Crazy Gang: eighth place in the Premier League — their best finish in five years — a run to the FA Cup semi-finals, and a team of misfits and battlers who kept embarrassing the establishment with a style that belonged to another era. The club would move to Milton Keynes in 2003 and become a different entity; the 1996/97 squad is the final snapshot of the real Wimbledon.
The Crazy Gang's identity was built on everything the Premier League was trying to be: they had no stadium of their own, renting Selhurst Park from Crystal Palace; they had no money to compete in the transfer market; and they had a dressing room culture — Vinnie Jones, the hard men, the practical jokes — that the polished modern game had no room for. And yet they finished above Tottenham, above Chelsea, above Everton, and only four points off a UEFA Cup place.
The season's football was direct and effective: Efan Ekoku led the line with power and pace, Robbie Earle arrived from midfield with goals, and the defence — organised by Kenny Cunningham — conceded the fewest goals of any side outside the top seven. The FA Cup run took them to the semi-finals, where Chelsea beat them 3-0 at Highbury, but the quarter-final win over Sheffield Wednesday had shown the old magic still worked.
The 1996/97 squad is rated 76.3 OVR in the 38-0 dataset — the lowest-rated of the 44 squads in the pool, which is exactly right. This was not a team of stars; it was a team of hard-working, underestimated footballers who, for one more season, made the biggest clubs in the country take them seriously.
No Home of Their Own
Wimbledon were the Premier League's only tenants: they had played at Selhurst Park since 1991, paying rent to Crystal Palace while the club searched for a ground of their own in the borough of Merton. The arrangement made them the league's strangest club — no home identity, no atmosphere of their own, no stadium to grow into.
The lack of a home defined the club's psychology: nobody expected anything of them, so they played without pressure, and the away record showed it. In 1996/97 they won at Arsenal's Highbury and took points from most of the top six, playing the role of the league's most dangerous underdogs with relish.
The Crazy Gang Spirit
The nickname came from the 1988 FA Cup final, when a third-division Wimbledon beat Liverpool 1-0 with a team of cast-offs and characters. By 1996/97 the original gang was mostly gone — John Fashanu had retired, Dennis Wise had moved on — but the culture remained: Vinnie Jones in midfield, the dressing-room pranks, the siege mentality that made the club a nightmare to play against.
The football matched the attitude. Wimbledon pressed relentlessly, played long and direct, and scored more goals than Chelsea, Tottenham or Aston Villa. Jones, Earle and Oyvind Leonhardsen formed a midfield that out-fought bigger names, and the 1-0 win at Highbury in September — sealed by an Ekoku goal — was the season's statement: the Crazy Gang were still crazy, and still capable of beating anyone.
The Cup Run
The FA Cup run gave the season its romance. Wimbledon beat Wycombe, Carlisle and Watford before the fifth-round tie at Sheffield Wednesday, where a 2-1 win — Earle and Ekoku scoring — sent the quarter-final against Middlesbrough to a replay, which Wimbledon won 1-0 at Selhurst Park in front of a delirious crowd.
The semi-final at Highbury against Chelsea was a step too far — Chelsea, with Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Di Matteo, won 3-0 — but the run had earned the club its best cup performance since the 1988 final. For a club with no stadium, no money and no stars, a semi-final was a triumph in itself, and the 1996/97 season remains the last great Wimbledon story.
Key Players & Ratings
Efan Ekoku (81 OVR) is the squad's highest-rated player — a powerful striker who scored 10 league goals and led the line with genuine quality. Vinnie Jones (80), Robbie Earle (80) and Oyvind Leonhardsen (80) form the midfield core, Neil Sullivan (78) was the reliable goalkeeper, and Kenny Cunningham (78) the organiser of the defence.
The squad average of 76.3 OVR is the lowest in the entire 44-squad pool, and the ratings tell the truth: this was a team of honest professionals rather than stars. The top tier — Ekoku, Jones, Earle, Leonhardsen — is draftable, but everything below 76 is the kind of roster filler that only matters in a crisis.
Full 18-Man Squad
| Pos | Player | OVR | Alt positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Neil Sullivan | 78 | — |
| GK | Paul Heald | 72 | — |
| RB | Kenny Cunningham | 78 | CB |
| RCB | Chris Perry | 77 | CB |
| CB | Brian McAllister | 74 | RCB |
| LCB | Dean Blackwell | 75 | CB |
| LB | Alan Kimble | 75 | LWB |
| RM | Marcus Gayle | 78 | RW, ST |
| RM | Neal Ardley | 76 | CM |
| CM | Vinnie Jones | 80 | CDM |
| CM | Robbie Earle | 80 | CAM |
| CM | Øyvind Leonhardsen | 80 | RM |
| CM | Peter Fear | 72 | — |
| ST | Efan Ekoku | 81 | CF |
| ST | Dean Holdsworth | 77 | CF |
| ST | Mick Harford | 74 | — |
| ST | Andy Clarke | 74 | — |
| ST | Jon Goodman | 73 | — |
Best XI — Wimbledon 1996/97
The highest-rated eleven available from this squad in 38-0:
- GK Neil Sullivan 78 OVR
- RB Kenny Cunningham 78 OVR
- RCB Chris Perry 77 OVR
- LCB Dean Blackwell 75 OVR
- RM Marcus Gayle 78 OVR
- RM Neal Ardley 76 OVR
- CM Vinnie Jones 80 OVR
- CM Robbie Earle 80 OVR
- CM Øyvind Leonhardsen 80 OVR
- ST Efan Ekoku 81 OVR
- ST Dean Holdsworth 77 OVR
Drafting This Squad in 38-0
If the slot machine lands on Wimbledon, the honest advice is to take the best available and move on: Ekoku is a decent striker, Earle and Leonhardsen are workmanlike midfielders, and Jones is a destroyer. None of them will headline your all-time XI, but the top four are the only picks that will not actively hurt it.
In Legend mode, this is the squad where drafters get caught: the famous names — the Crazy Gang, the culture — are worth less than the ratings. Memorise Ekoku (81) as the best pick, then Earle, Jones, Leonhardsen (80), and avoid the 72-75 tail entirely. This landing is about damage limitation, not opportunity.
FAQ
What did Wimbledon achieve in 1996/97?
Eighth place in the Premier League — their best finish in five years — plus an FA Cup semi-final appearance, with a 1-0 win at Highbury over Arsenal among the season's highlights.
Who was the best player in the 1996/97 Wimbledon squad?
Efan Ekoku, rated 81 OVR in 38-0, who scored 10 league goals. Vinnie Jones, Robbie Earle and Oyvind Leonhardsen (all 80) were the midfield engine.
Why is Wimbledon the lowest-rated squad in 38-0?
At 76.3 OVR it is the weakest squad in the pool — a team of hard-working, underestimated players rather than stars, which is exactly how the real Wimbledon operated.
How should I draft this squad?
Take the top name — Ekoku (81) — or one of the 80-rated midfield trio, and avoid the 72-75 tail. It is a damage-limitation landing where knowing the top four is everything.