1995–96 FA Premier League


The 1995–96 FA Premier League was the fourth season of the competition, since its formation in 1992. Due to the decision to reduce the number of clubs in the Premier League from 22 to 20, only two clubs were promoted instead of the usual three, Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers.
Manchester United won the Premier League and qualified for the UEFA Champions League, while Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Newcastle United qualified for the UEFA Cup. Liverpool also qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as runners-up of the FA Cup which was won by Manchester United.

Summary

and Aston Villa emerged as possible title contenders early in the season, while Middlesbrough's early promise saw them occupy fourth place in late October, but an injury crisis saw their league form slump, and they could only manage a 12th-place finish. Most of the campaign was a two-horse race between Manchester United and Newcastle United. The two sides played on 27 December, with Newcastle 10 points ahead in the league. A 2–0 home win for Manchester United cut the gap to seven points, and two days later they beat Queens Park Rangers 2–1 to reduce the gap to just four points. But a 4–1 defeat at Tottenham on New Year's Day and a 0–0 draw with Aston Villa allowed Newcastle to establish a 12-point lead in January.
Manchester United and Newcastle met again in early March, and a goal by Eric Cantona gave Manchester United a 1–0 away win and cut the gap to a single point. With one game left of the season, Manchester United led the Premier League by two points, having taken lead of the league halfway through March and stayed on top ever since. In case of the two clubs being tied for first place, the Premier League made preliminary preparations for a championship play-off match at Wembley. For Newcastle to win their first title since 1927, they had to win against Tottenham and hope that Middlesbrough beat their Mancunian rivals. But the Premier League title went to Old Trafford as Manchester United won 3–0 and Newcastle could only manage a 1–1 draw with Tottenham.
Despite the arrival of Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal never looked like serious title challengers, their best chance of success coming in the League Cup, where they reached the semi-finals, losing on away goals to Aston Villa. However, the North London side still qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing fifth.
Title holders Blackburn recorded the lowest ever finish by a Premier League title-holder by finishing 7th. This record was matched by Manchester United in 2013–14 and broken by Chelsea in 2015–16 and again by Leicester City in 2016–17.
Six days after clinching their third league title in four seasons, Manchester United became the first team to complete a second league championship and FA Cup double when a Cantona goal gave them a 1–0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup final.
The Premier League relegation places went to Bolton, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City. Bolton had spent a large proportion of their first Premier League season bottom of the table. Manchester City failed to beat Liverpool on the final day of the season, consigning them to the final relegation place on goal difference behind Southampton and Coventry City.

English performance in European competition

, the 1994–95 Premier League champions, finished bottom of their group in the UEFA Champions League. Manchester United were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the first round, with Liverpool and Leeds United both being knocked out at the second round. Everton were beaten in the second round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The only English team still in European competition after Christmas were Nottingham Forest, who reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.

Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top eighteen teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers, returning to the top flight after two and fifteen years respectively. This was also Bolton Wanderers' first season in the Premier League. They replaced Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Leicester City and Ipswich Town, ending their top flight spells of one, nine, one and three years respectively.

Stadiums and Locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
ArsenalLondon Arsenal Stadium
Aston VillaBirminghamVilla Park
Blackburn RoversBlackburnEwood Park
Bolton WanderersBoltonBurnden Park
ChelseaLondon Stamford Bridge
Coventry CityCoventryHighfield Road
EvertonLiverpool Goodison Park
Leeds UnitedLeedsElland Road
LiverpoolLiverpool Anfield
Manchester CityManchesterMaine Road
Manchester UnitedOld TraffordOld Trafford
MiddlesbroughMiddlesbroughRiverside Stadium
Newcastle UnitedNewcastle upon TyneSt James' Park
Nottingham ForestWest BridgfordCity Ground
Queens Park RangersLondon Loftus Road
Sheffield WednesdaySheffieldHillsborough Stadium
SouthamptonSouthamptonThe Dell
Tottenham HotspurLondon White Hart Lane
West Ham UnitedLondon Boleyn Ground
WimbledonLondon Selhurst Park

Personnel and kits

TeamManagerCaptainKit manufacturerShirt sponsor
Arsenal Bruce Rioch Tony AdamsNikeJVC
Aston Villa Brian Little Andy TownsendReebokAST Research
Blackburn Rovers Ray Harford Tim SherwoodAsicsCIS
Bolton Wanderers Colin Todd Alan StubbsReebokReebok
Chelsea Glenn Hoddle Dennis WiseUmbroCoors
Coventry City Ron Atkinson Brian BorrowsPonyPeugeot
Everton Joe Royle Dave WatsonUmbroDanka
Leeds United Howard Wilkinson Gary McAllisterAsicsThistle Hotels
Liverpool Roy Evans Ian RushAdidasCarlsberg
Manchester City Alan Ball Keith CurleUmbroBrother
Manchester United Alex Ferguson Steve BruceUmbroSharp
Middlesbrough Bryan Robson Nigel PearsonErreàCellnet
Newcastle United Kevin Keegan Peter BeardsleyAdidasNewcastle Brown Ale
Nottingham Forest Frank Clark Stuart PearceUmbroLabatt's
Queens Park Rangers Ray Wilkins David BardsleyView FromCompaq
Sheffield Wednesday David Pleat Peter AthertonPumaSanderson
Southampton Dave Merrington Matt Le TissierPonySanderson
Tottenham Hotspur Gerry Francis Gary MabbuttPonyHewlett-Packard
West Ham United Harry Redknapp Steve PottsPonyDagenham Motors
Wimbledon Joe Kinnear Vinnie JonesCoreElonex

Managerial changes

League table

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Alan ShearerBlackburn Rovers31
2 Robbie FowlerLiverpool28
3 Les FerdinandNewcastle United25
4 Dwight YorkeAston Villa17
5 Teddy SheringhamTottenham Hotspur16
6 Chris ArmstrongTottenham Hotspur15
6 Andrei KanchelskisEverton15
6 Ian WrightArsenal15
9 Eric CantonaManchester United14
9 Stan CollymoreLiverpool14
9 Dion DublinCoventry City14

Hat-tricks

PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef
SouthamptonNottingham Forest3–4 15 8 1995
4LiverpoolBolton Wanderers5–3 23 8 1995
Blackburn RoversCoventry City5–1 23 8 1995
Leeds UnitedWimbledon4–2 23 8 1995
Newcastle UnitedWimbledon6–1 21 10 1995
Leeds UnitedCoventry City3–1 28 10 1995
Blackburn RoversNottingham Forest7–0 18 11 1995
Blackburn RoversWest Ham United4–2 2 12 1995
Coventry CitySheffield Wednesday4–3 4 12 1995
Aston VillaCoventry City4–1 16 12 1995
LiverpoolArsenal3–1 23 12 1995
Blackburn RoversBolton Wanderers3–1 3 2 1996
ChelseaMiddlesbrough5–0 4 2 1996
Blackburn RoversTottenham Hotspur3–2 16 3 1996
ChelseaLeeds United4–1 13 4 1996
EvertonSheffield Wednesday5–2 27 4 1996

Top assists

RankPlayerClubAssists
1 Steve McManamanLiverpool15
2 Darren AndertonTottenham Hotspur11
3 John BarnesLiverpool10
3 Eric CantonaManchester United10
3 Ian WoanNottingham Forest10
3 Dwight YorkeAston Villa10
7 Peter BeardsleyNewcastle United9
7 Ryan GiggsManchester United9
7 Mike NewellBlackburn Rovers9
7 Stuart RipleyBlackburn Rovers9

Awards

Monthly awards

Annual awards

AwardWinnerClub
Premier League Manager of the Season Alex FergusonManchester United
PFA Players' Player of the Year Les FerdinandNewcastle United
PFA Young Player of the Year Robbie FowlerLiverpool
FWA Footballer of the Year Eric CantonaManchester United