The 1996–97 season was the 59th season of competitive association football in the Football League played by Chester City, an English club based in Chester, Cheshire.

Also, it was the second season spent in the Third Division, after the relegation from the Second Division in 1995. Alongside competing in the Football League the club also participated in the FA Cup, the Football League Cup and the Football League Trophy.

Nat	Player	Total		League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy
		A	G	A	G	A	G	A	G	A	G
Goalkeepers
	Wayne Brown	2	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Neil Cutler	5	–	5	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Chris Knowles	3	–	2	–	–	–	1	–	–	–
	Ronnie Sinclair	44	–	39	–	3	–	1	–	1	–
Field players
	Sam Aiston	16	–	16	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Julian Alsford	51	2	45	2	3	–	2	–	1	–
	Greg Brown	0+2	–	0+1	–	0+1	–	–	–	–	–
	Ross Davidson	46	2	42	2	2	–	1	–	1	–
	Neil Fisher	25+10	1	19+10	1	3	–	2	–	1	–
	David Flitcroft	35+3	6	32+2	6	2	–	0+1	–	1	–
	Martin Giles	0+1	–	–	–	0+1	–	–	–	–	–
	Ian Helliwell	8+1	1	8+1	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Peter Jackson	37	1	32	1	2	–	2	–	1	–
	Iain Jenkins	46	–	41	–	3	–	1	–	1	–
	Jonathan Jones	3+15	1	3+15	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Rod McDonald	25	7	24	6	–	–	–	–	1	1
	Andy Milner	45+9	14	40+8	12	3	2	2	–	0+1	–
	John Murphy	6+7	1	4+7	1	–	–	2	–	–	–
	Kevin Noteman	32+8	10	30+5	9	2+1	–	0+1	1	0+1	–
	Chris Priest	35+2	2	32+2	2	2	–	–	–	1	–
	Shaun Reid	29	1	29	1	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Nick Richardson	11	–	9	–	–	–	2	–	–	–
	Dave Rogers	6+2	–	4+1	–	0+1	–	2	–	–	–
	Stuart Rimmer	28+4	6	22+4	4	3	2	2	–	1	–
	Gary Shelton	21+4	2	18+4	2	1	–	2	–	–	–
	Gary Tallon	1	–	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Spencer Whelan	20+10	1	19+7	1	1+2	–	–	–	0+1	–
	Matt Woods	14+14	1	10+13	1	3	–	0+1	–	1	–
	Own goals	–	2	–	2	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Total	54	61	48	55	3	4	2	1	1	1

Sumner, Chas (1 November 2011). 125 Years on the Borderline: The Complete History of Chester City F.C. 1885-2010. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0956984821.

• Chester City at the Football Club History Database