FA Premier League 1995-96 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Promoted teams

Due to the decision to reduce the number of clubs in the Premier League from 22 to 20, only two clubs were promoted this season: Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

as Football League First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

champions, and Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

who won the 1994-95 playoff

Football League Play-Offs

The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...

Transfers

Before the season began, the English transfer record was broken for the third time in 12 months when Liverpool paid £8.4 million for the Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

striker

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

Stan Collymore

Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...

. The record fee for a defender was broken when Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

paid £4million for Wimbledon

Wimbledon F.C.

Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

's Warren Barton

Warren Barton

Warren Dean Barton is a former English football player and a TV Pundit for Fox Soccer Channel.-Club career:...

. Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

paid a club record £7.5 million for Inter Milan's 26-year-old Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

striker Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...

. Newcastle spent £6 million for 28-year-old Queens Park Rangers

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...

striker Les Ferdinand

Les Ferdinand

Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE is a former English footballer. His playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Besiktas J.K., Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., during which period he earned a number of appearances for England...

English performance in European competition

Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

, the 1994-95 Premier League champions, finished bottom of their group in the Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

. Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

were knocked out of the UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

in the first round, with Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

and Leeds United both being knocked out at the second round. Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

were beaten in the second round of the Cup Winners' Cup. The only English team still in European competition after Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

were Nottingham Forest, who reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

Manchester United achieve second domestic double

Manchester United and Newcastle United emerged as the primary title contenders for the 1995-96 season. The two sides played on 27 December 1995, 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 Manchester United then lost 4-1 at Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

on New Year's Day

New Year's Day

New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...

and drew 0-0 with Aston Villa, allowing Newcastle to establish a 12-point lead in January 1996.

Manchester United and Newcastle met again in early March, and a goal by Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona

Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...

gave 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. For Newcastle to win their first title since 1927, they had to win against Tottenham and hope that Middlesbrough beat their Mancunian

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

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. A week later, Manchester United became the first team to complete a second league championship and FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

double when a Cantona goal gave them a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup Final.

Newcastle's second-place under Kevin Keegan marked the last time (as of 2011) that an English manager would finish in the top two places of the Premier League.

Relegated teams

The Premier League relegation places went to Bolton, Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

. 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.

Player and managerial awards

PFA Players' Player of the Year
PFA Players' Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in English football...

was Les Ferdinand of Newcastle.
PFA Young Player of the Year
PFA Young Player of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year is an annual award given to the player aged 23 or under at the start of the season who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football...

was 21-year-old Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....

, who won the award for the second consecutive season.
Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year
Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in English football...

was Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona
Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...

, who returned from his eight-month suspension to score 19 competitive goals for Manchester United.
FA Premier League Manager of the Year
FA Premier League Manager of the Year
In the Premier League, the FA Premier League Manager of the Year Award is an annual award given to a manager who is recognised for their overall...

was Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

of Manchester United.

Managerial changes

Arsenal appointed Bruce Rioch
Bruce Rioch
Bruce David Rioch is an English-born football manager and former player. He was manager of Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga, until his sacking on 23 October 2008....

as manager, who was previously manager of newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers.
Bolton Wanderers was jointly managed by Roy McFarland
Roy McFarland
Roy Leslie McFarland is an English football manager who was also a player, notably at Derby County where he played 434 league games helping him to earn 28 caps for England.-Playing career:...

and Colin Todd
Colin Todd
Colin Todd is an English football manager and former player. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, Everton, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United and Luton Town, and also played in the North American Soccer League...

until Christmas, at which point McFarland was dismissed and Todd assumed full managerial duties.
Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....

left at the end of the season to take charge of the England team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

.
Manchester City appointed Alan Ball as manager.
Sheffield Wednesday replaced Trevor Francis
Trevor Francis
Trevor John Francis , is a former footballer who won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest and played for England 52 times. He was England's first £1 million player...

with Luton Town's
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...

David Pleat
David Pleat
David John Pleat is an English football player turned manager and sports commentator.He is remembered by his contemporaries primarily for his career as manager of Tottenham Hotspur and Luton Town football clubs, and for an oft-televised clip of him running onto the pitch in 1983 to celebrate after...

.
Southampton appointed David Merrington
David Merrington
David Robert Merrington is a former football manager.As a player Merrington appeared in midfield for Burnley, playing 98 league games including a spell as captain. He later played for Bristol City before retiring and going into coaching .Merrington was a brief caretaker manager for Sunderland A.F.C...

before the start of the season, but he was sacked and replaced with Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness
Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...

following the season.

Final league table

38
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Notes
1	Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...	38	25	7	6	73	35
82	UEFA Champions League 1996–97 group stage
2	Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...	38	24	6	8	66	37
78	UEFA Cup 1996–97 first round
3	Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	38	20	11	7	70	34
71	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1996–97 first round¹
4	Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...	38	18	9	11	52	35
63	UEFA Cup 1996–97 first round
5	UEFA Cup 1996–97 first round	Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...	38	17	12	9	49	32
63
6	Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...	38	17	10	11	64	44
61
7	Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....	38	18	7	13	61	47
61
8	Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....	38	16	13	9	50	38
61
9	Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...	38	15	13	10	50	54	−4	58
10	West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...	38	14	9	15	43	52	−9	51
11	Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...	38	12	14	12	46	44
50
12	Middlesbrough Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...	38	11	10	17	35	50	−15	43
13	Leeds United Leeds United A.F.C. Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...	38	12	7	19	40	57	−17	43
14	Wimbledon Wimbledon F.C. Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...	38	10	11	17	55	70	−15	41
15	Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...	38	10	10	18	48	61	−13	40
16	Coventry City Coventry City F.C. Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...	38	8	14	16	42	60	−18	38
17	Southampton Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...	38	9	11	18	34	52	−18	38
18	Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...	38	9	11	18	33	58	−25	38	Relegated to Football League First Division 1996–97
19	Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers F.C. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...	38	9	6	23	38	57	−19	33
20	Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....	38	8	5	25	39	71	−32	29

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

¹ Liverpool qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup runners-up, with winners Manchester United going into the Champions League

Results

Season Statistics

Total Goals:	988
Average Goals per game:	2.6

Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

began their life under Bruce Rioch's

Bruce Rioch

Bruce David Rioch is an English-born football manager and former player. He was manager of Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga, until his sacking on 23 October 2008....

management with a seven-place improvement upon last season's disappointing finish, but were never in the hunt for the title. New signings David Platt and Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp

came to justify their hefty price tags, while the ageing Ian Wright

Ian Wright

Ian Edward Wright, MBE is a retired English footballer turned television and radio personality.Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal, spending six years with the former and seven years with the latter. With Arsenal he has lifted the Premier League title and both major...

showed no sign of winding down thanks to a regular supply of goals. The legendary "back five" of David Seaman

David Seaman

David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...

, Lee Dixon

Lee Dixon

Lee Michael Dixon is a former English professional footballer born in Manchester.He formed part of the Arsenal defence from the late 1980s, through till 2002. He was capped 22 times for England, scoring once....

, Nigel Winterburn

Nigel Winterburn

Nigel Winterburn is a retired English footballer who played at left-back for Arsenal. He is best known for his role alongside Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Lee Dixon, forming a celebrated defensive line in the Premier League and European football during the 1990s.-Early career:Winterburn was born...

, Steve Bould

Steve Bould

Stephen Andrew Bould is an English former football player and current coach. He played professionally for Stoke City, Torquay United, Arsenal and Sunderland.-Stoke City:...

and Tony Adams

Tony Adams (footballer)

Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...

also showed little sign of their advancing years.

Arsenal blew their best chance of silverware in February after they went out of the Coca-Cola Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

to eventual winners Aston Villa in the semi-finals.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

made huge progress in their first full season under Brian Little's

Brian Little (footballer)

Brian Little is an English former football player and manager who is currently without a job after being relieved of his duties as manager of Gainsborough Trinity on 22 August 2011. Little has previously managed Darlington, Leicester City, Aston Villa, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Hull City,...

management, finished fourth in the league as well as matching Liverpool's

Liverpool F.C.

record of five League Cup victories thanks to a 3-0 Wembley win over Leeds United

Leeds United A.F.C.

Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

in March.

A new-look Villa side proved itself to be one of the finest in the country thanks to the likes of Gary Charles

Gary Charles

Gary Charles is an English former footballer who played at right-back.-Playing career:Charles won two caps for the England team and turned out at club level for Nottingham Forest, Derby County, Aston Villa, S.L. Benfica, and finally West Ham United. Charles was famously fouled by Paul Gascoigne in...

, Alan Wright

Alan Wright

Alan Geoffrey Wright is an English professional footballer. He is a coach in the Centre of Excellence at his first club, Blackpool, a role he assumed in June 2011....

, Ian Taylor

Ian Taylor (footballer)

Ian Kenneth Taylor is an English former footballer, best known for his time at Aston Villa. A midfielder, he had a fifteen year career in the Football League and Premier League, making 478 league appearances....

and Mark Draper

Mark Draper

Mark Draper is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder and represented England at under-21 level. He currently works as the Kit Man at Notts County.-Career:...

. Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

ian striker Dwight Yorke

Dwight Yorke

Dwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland...

proved himself as one of the Premier League's most competent goalscorers, though there were some doubts regarding the suitability of Savo Milosevic

Savo Miloševic

Savo Milošević is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a striker.After making a name for himself at Partizan, he signed for Aston Villa, and went on to spend the vast majority of the following decade playing in Spain, where he represented four clubs, amassing La Liga totals of 241 games and...

as the man to replace Dean Saunders

Dean Saunders

Dean Nicholas Saunders is a former Wales international footballer who played as a striker in a professional career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He is the manager of Doncaster Rovers....

Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

held on to the bulk of their title winning squad, but had to contend with the loss of Chris Sutton

Chris Sutton

Christopher Roy "Chris" Sutton is an English football manager and former player.In his career, Sutton played for Norwich City, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Celtic, Birmingham City and Aston Villa. Sutton scored over 150 career goals in over 400 league appearances spanning 16 years in the English...

and Graeme Le Saux

Graeme Le Saux

Graeme Pierre Le Saux is a retired English footballer of French ancestry who played for the Premier League clubs Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Southampton, and for the England national football team. Primarily a left back, he was sometimes also played in midfield or on the left wing.After...

to injury for much of the season, while Tim Sherwood

Tim Sherwood

Timothy "Tim" Sherwood is an English former professional footballer who was captain of Blackburn Rovers' Premiership title-winning side...

no longer looked quite like the inspirational captain who had helped Rovers win their first league title for over 80 years. At least Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

was his usual prolific-scoring self, hitting 31 Premier League goals alone.

Despite these problems, coupled with dismal early season form and an early exit from the Champions' League

UEFA Champions League

, Blackburn entered the New Year in a far more determined mood and only narrowly missed out on a UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

place. But the close season sale of Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

to Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

- in the world's first £15million transfer - left manager Ray Harford

Ray Harford

Raymond Thomas Harford was an English footballer, better known for his successes as a coach and manager than as a player. He is considered to have been one of the top coaches of his generation.-Playing career:...

with a big gap to fill. Some of the club's own players even wrote off their side's hopes of regaining the title in the new season

1996-97 in English football

The 1996–1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England.Arrival into the league and exit out of the league returns in the fourth tier for the first time after its 3 season absence with only 1 relegation spot.- Premier League :...

Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers F.C.

returned to the top flight after a 15-year exile, only eight years after playing in the old Fourth Division, but with a new manager in Roy McFarland

Roy McFarland

Roy Leslie McFarland is an English football manager who was also a player, notably at Derby County where he played 434 league games helping him to earn 28 caps for England.-Playing career:...

following Bruce Rioch

Bruce Rioch

Bruce David Rioch is an English-born football manager and former player. He was manager of Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga, until his sacking on 23 October 2008....

's move to Arsenal. Bolton made a terrible start to the campaign and McFarland made several moves in the transfer market, but this was not enough to turn things around and he was sacked on New Year's Day with Bolton bottom of the table. His assistant Colin Todd

Colin Todd

Colin Todd is an English football manager and former player. As a player, he made more than 600 appearances in the Football League, playing for Sunderland, Derby County, Everton, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, Oxford United and Luton Town, and also played in the North American Soccer League...

took over, and Bolton's form improved marginally, but they could not stave off relegation. In spite of this, their form under Todd was so improved that, had the results from under Todd's management been shown all season, Bolton would have stayed up in 14th place.

Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

rarely set the Premier League alight in 1995-96

1995-96 in English football

- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....

, finishing 11th for the third time in four seasons, but once again they enjoyed a good cup run. This time they reached the FA Cup

FA Cup

semi-finals, taking on Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

- who had beaten them in the final two years earlier. One of Chelsea's players, Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes

Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....

, had actually scored for United in the 1994 final.

Chelsea took an early lead, but lost 2-1 and with it went their hopes of a foray into Europe. A few weeks later, Chelsea were left shocked by manager Glenn Hoddle's

Glenn Hoddle

Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....

decision to quit for the England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

manager's job. They responded by appointing 33-year-old Dutch

Netherlands

superstar Ruud Gullit

Ruud Gullit

OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...

as player-manager. Gullit wasted no time in preparing Chelsea for another challenge for honours, breaking the club record in a £4.9million move for Italian midfielder Roberto Di Matteo

Roberto Di Matteo

Roberto Di Matteo is a Swiss-born Italian former professional footballer and the current assistant manager of Chelsea. As a midfielder, he enjoyed spells at Schaffhausen, Zürich Aarau, Lazio, and Chelsea. He was capped by Italy 34 times, scoring two goals for the Italian national team, and played...

Coventry City

Once again, Coventry City

Coventry City F.C.

Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...

defied the odds after a season of struggle. This time they had the determination of manager Ron Atkinson

Ron Atkinson

Ronald Ernest Atkinson, commonly known as "Big Ron" and "Bojangles" is an English former football player and manager. In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits...

and the regular supply of goals from Dion Dublin

Dion Dublin

Dion Dublin , is a retired English footballer. He was capped four times for England. Dublin started his career as a centre back with Norwich City, but made his name at Cambridge United as a goal-scoring centre forward. However, in his later years he showed his versatility by becoming an...

to thank for their survival. They hit the headlines in December with a spectacular 5-0 win over defending champions Blackburn, but the defence leaked too many goals for the Sky Blues to progress beyond 16th place in the final table.

Atkinson splashed out more than £15million on new players during the close season, as he looked to build a Coventry side which was capable of matching the high placing of his old club Aston Villa, one of Coventry's deadliest rivals.

Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

progressed well after last season's FA Cup glory, though their defence of the trophy and their European Cup Winners' Cup campaign were short-lived. They were in the higher reaches of the table for much of the season, but were pipped at the post by Arsenal who claimed the final UEFA Cup place on the final day of the season. Leading goalscorer Andrei Kanchelskis

Andrei Kanchelskis

Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis is a Ukrainian-born Russian football manager and former association footballer who played as a right winger. Kanchelskis is the only player in history to have scored in each of the Glasgow, Merseyside and Manchester local derbies.Currently, he is managing FC...

, the club's record signing at £5million, was a key player in this strong showing, while veteran goalkeeper Neville Southall

Neville Southall

Neville Southall MBE is a former Wales international footballer, best known for his time with Everton. He has been described as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1985...

maintained his hard-earned reputation as one of the division's top shot-stoppers.

Leeds United

Leeds began the season in good form, with a Tony Yeboah

Tony Yeboah

Anthony "Tony" Yeboah is a Ghanaian former footballer most noted for his time at European clubs 1. FC Saarbrücken, Eintracht Frankfurt, Leeds United and Hamburger SV during the 1990s...

hat-trick giving them an away win over Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

in their UEFA Cup opener. But their European campaign was short-lived, and with the league title soon looking like an unrealistic target, their best hope of success was in the Coca-Cola Cup. They reached the final to claim their first cup final appearance since the 1975 European Cup

UEFA Champions League

final, only to fail miserably and lose 3-0 to Aston Villa.

The Wembley defeat triggered a six-match losing run in the Premier League, and only a 0-0 draw with fellow strugglers Coventry on the final day of the season put their survival beyond all doubt.

Howard Wilkinson

Howard Wilkinson

Howard Wilkinson is a former English football player and manager, and has recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director at Sheffield Wednesday after formerly relinquishing the chairman role to Milan Mandaric...

then spent a substantial sum on new players in the summer, bringing in goalkeeper Nigel Martyn

Nigel Martyn

Antony Nigel Martyn , more commonly known as Nigel Martyn, is a retired English football goalkeeper. He played for Crystal Palace where he became the first £1million goalkeeper in British football and also won the Full Members Cup. Martyn then left to spend six seasons at Leeds United. He went on...

, striker Ian Rush

Ian Rush

Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...

and winger Lee Sharpe

Lee Sharpe

Lee Stuart Sharpe is an English former footballer. Predominantly a left winger, Sharpe joined Manchester United from Torquay United as a youngster in 1988, playing for the club up until 1996...

in hope of making Leeds contenders for the league title.

Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

suffered a humiliating early exit from the UEFA Cup at the hands of Danish minnows Brondby, but their form on the domestic scene was far more convincing. With Robbie Fowler

Robbie Fowler

Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....

scoring 28 league goals and with Stan Collymore

Stan Collymore

as strike partner and Steve McManaman

Steve McManaman

Steven McManaman is a retired English footballer who played as a midfielder, winger and playmaker. Having spent his playing career at two of European football's most successful clubs of the 20th century, Liverpool and Real Madrid, as well as a spell at Manchester City, McManaman is the most...

as playmaker (leading the league with 25 assists), they seemed the league's most fearsome attacking line up at times. However, the side suffered from defensive weaknesses and this disparity was epitomised in the classic Liverpool and Newcastle game which ended 4-3 in injury time. Liverpool were in with a chance of the title until late April, and reached the FA Cup final where they took on Premier League champions Manchester United. The game was at deadlock for 85 minutes before Liverpool succumbed to a late Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona

goal and ended the season without a trophy.

Consolation for this misery was a place in the Cup Winners' Cup, which was seen as a new and exciting challenge for one of the most promising sides in the Premier League.

Manchester City

When Alan Ball was named as Manchester City manager at the start of the new season

1995-96 in English football

, he said that his job was "the envy of millions". But it quickly appeared to be a poisoned chalice, as a City side in the middle of a major transition (with many older players being transferred to make way for the club's promising set of youngsters) failed to win any of their first 12 Premier League games. An improvement in form over the winter suggested that City could beat the drop, and a 2-2 home draw with third-placed Liverpool on the final day of the season looked to have secured their survival. But positive results, and a greater goal difference, for the two sides directly above them - Coventry City and Southampton

Southampton F.C.

Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

- condemned the club to relegation after seven years in the top flight.

Manchester United

"You'll never win anything with kids", was TV

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

pundit Alan Hansen's

Alan Hansen

Alan David Hansen is a Scottish former football player and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, Liverpool and Scotland...

opinion after a predominantly young Manchester United lost 3-1 to Aston Villa on the opening day of the season. United had just sold key players Paul Ince

Paul Ince

Paul Emerson Carlyle Ince is an English football manager and a former professional player. He has managed Blackburn Rovers, Milton Keynes Dons and Macclesfield Town...

, Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes

Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....

and Andrei Kanchelskis

Andrei Kanchelskis

for a combined fee of £14million, and for the first few games of the season were still without the suspended Eric Cantona. But they still had a few experienced players at hand, and by October were second in the table and giving leaders Newcastle a run for their money.

On Christmas Eve, a 3-1 defeat at Leeds left United 10 points behind Newcastle and needing something little short of a miracle to beat the Tynesiders

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

to the title. Three days later, they beat Kevin Keegan's

Kevin Keegan

Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....

men 2-0 at Old Trafford to cut the gap to 7 points, but a 4-1 drubbing at Tottenham on New Year's Day soon saw Newcastle restoring their 10-point lead.

United went into overdrive during the first few weeks of 1996, and a 1-0 away win over the leaders in early March saw the gap narrowed to 1 point. They were soon top of the table and a 3-0 win at Middlesbrough on the final day of the season confirmed them as champions for the third time in four seasons. A week later, they won the FA Cup and became the first English side to repeat the "double", and did so with no less than seven players from the previous double triumph two years earlier.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

returned to the top flight as Division One

Football League First Division

champions under 38-year-old player-manager Bryan Robson

Bryan Robson

Bryan Robson OBE is an English football manager and a former player. He is best known for playing in midfield for Manchester United, where he was the longest serving captain in club history. He was the manager of Sheffield United, being relieved of his first team duties at the club in February 2008...

. They were also playing in their new stadium

Riverside Stadium

The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough F.C. since it opened in 1995...

- the first new stadium in top division football in 72 years.
The £4.75million signing of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian superstar Juninho

Juninho Paulista

Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior , better known as Juninho Paulista or simply Juninho, is a former Brazilian footballer...

in October was shortly followed by a fourth place standing in the Premier League, which gave them a real chance of European qualification - though there were few observers who were brave enough to predict a title challenge.

An injury crisis over the winter saw Middlesbrough endure a terrible run of 11 defeats from 12 Premier League games, which ended their UEFA Cup hopes and sparked fears of a possible relegation battle. But a steady run over the final weeks of the season saw Robson's men climb to a secure 12th place. This was their highest finish for nearly 20 years, and they would have finished higher still had it not been for that disastrous mid-season slump and the fact that Boro managed just 8 away league goals all season.

Robson then spent over £11million on Italian striker Fabrizio Ravanelli

Fabrizio Ravanelli

Fabrizio Ravanelli is a former international Italian football player, who won five titles with Juventus, including a Serie A championship in 1995 and a Champions League title in 1996....

and Brazilian midfielder Emerson

Emerson Moisés Costa

Emerson Moisés Costa , simply Emerson, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.As well as in his country, he played professionally in Portugal, England, Spain and Scotland...

, giving Boro fans hope of a challenge for honours in the approaching new season

1996-97 in English football

Newcastle United

A brilliant start to the season, mainly down to new signings Les Ferdinand

Les Ferdinand

and David Ginola

David Ginola

David Karl Ginola is a French former international football player who has also worked as an actor and model.Ginola was born in Gassin, Var...

, saw Newcastle establish themselves as favourites for the title. As late on as January, they were still 12 points ahead at the top.

But their nearest rivals Manchester United were getting increasingly better by the time March was in sight, and the gap was narrowed to a single point in early March when an Eric Cantona goal saw the Mancunians grab all the points at St James' Park

St James' Park

St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'...

. While Alex Ferguson's

Alex Ferguson

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

side won virtually every remaining game, Newcastle dropped a few vital points and any chances they might have had of making a last-gasp recovery were killed on the final day of the season when they failed to beat Tottenham. Even a win would not have been enough, as Manchester United also won their final game of the campaign.

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

were expected to struggle following the sale of star striker Stan Collymore

Stan Collymore

to Liverpool, but they performed reasonably well throughout the season and there was never any question of them being relegated.

The biggest success of the season was Forest's UEFA Cup exploits. They were the only English side with European action to look forward to after Christmas

Christmas

, and in March their adventure resumed with the first leg of the quarter-final - against Bayern Munich at the Olympiastadion

Olympic Stadium (Munich)

Olympiastadion is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the Olympiapark München in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics....

. Forest lost 2-1, and any remaining hopes of a semi-final place were crushed in the second leg when the Bavaria

Bavaria

Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

ns thrashed Frank Clark's men 5-1 at the City Ground

City Ground

The City Ground is a football stadium in the West Bridgford area of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898, and has a capacity of 30,602 ....

.

A ninth place finish in the final table was not quite enough to secure another European campaign, and Clark's big summer signing Dean Saunders

Dean Saunders

Dean Nicholas Saunders is a former Wales international footballer who played as a striker in a professional career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He is the manager of Doncaster Rovers....

was captured in hope that he could be the man to score the goals which would bring more success to the club.

Queens Park Rangers

One player never makes a team, but QPR

Queens Park Rangers F.C.

felt the loss of prolific striker Les Ferdinand

Les Ferdinand

following his £6million move to Newcastle.

The last three seasons had seen QPR finish fifth, ninth and eighth in the Premier League thanks largely to Ferdinand's goals, but the new strike partnership of Kevin Gallen

Kevin Gallen

Kevin Andrew Gallen is an English professional footballer who is without a club. He most recently played for Braintree Town and is currently working for Queens Park Rangers academy in a youth development role similar to that previously held by his brother Joe Gallen.A former England Under-21...

and Danny Dichio failed keep up the momentum. Even the support of excellent winger Trevor Sinclair

Trevor Sinclair

Trevor Lloyd Sinclair is an English former professional footballer. Sinclair was a versatile winger, able to play on both the left and right flanks who played in the Premier League and made twelve appearances for the England national team.He retired in 2008, after a nineteen-year professional...

could not translate into a strong supply of goals, and it was soon clear that player-manager Ray Wilkins

Ray Wilkins

Raymond Colin Wilkins MBE , often known as "Butch" Wilkins, is an English former footballer and at present a television pundit...

and his men were in for a hard season.

A 3-0 win over London rivals West Ham

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

in late April was not enough to keep QPR up, and their relegation was confirmed after 13 years in the top flight.

Hopes of QPR gaining a quick return to the Premier League were given a major boost by the confirmation that key players Gallen, Dichio and Sinclair were to stay at the club.

Sheffield Wednesday

David Pleat

David John Pleat is an English football player turned manager and sports commentator.He is remembered by his contemporaries primarily for his career as manager of Tottenham Hotspur and Luton Town football clubs, and for an oft-televised clip of him running onto the pitch in 1983 to celebrate after...

's first season as Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

manager was the club's worst in the top flight since winning promotion in 1991. The eagerly-anticipated signing of Belgian forward Marc Degryse

Marc Degryse

Marc Gabriel Degryse , nicknamed Le Lutin d'Ardooie and The Little One, is a former Belgian footballer, who played as a forward.-Club career:...

turned out to be a major disappointment, though David Hirst

David Hirst (footballer)

David Eric Hirst is an English former professional footballer, an exciting but injury prone striker who played for Sheffield Wednesday for much of his career.-Playing career:...

provided a fair supply of goals on his return to fitness after a two-year injury struggle.

The Owls struggled all season long, and finished 15th in the final table. This was another dismal showing for a club who were chasing honours just two or three seasons earlier, and Pleat knew that something had to change. Marc Degryse, Chris Waddle

Chris Waddle

Christopher Roland "Chris" Waddle is a former footballer from England. He played for a number of clubs in the 1980s and 90s, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday in England, and Olympique de Marseille in France...

, Chris Woods

Chris Woods

Christopher 'Chris' Charles Eric Woods is a former England international football goalkeeper, who played in the Football League and Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, Sheffield Wednesday, Reading, Southampton and Burnley, in the Scottish Football League for Rangers, and in Major...

and Klas Ingesson

Klas Ingesson

Klas Ingesson is a former Swedish footballer. As a member of the national team he played in 57 games, including 1990 FIFA World Cup and 1994 FIFA World Cup, as well as the 1992 European Championship....

all left in the close season, and all the talk at Hillsborough

Hillsborough Stadium

Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...

was the acquisition of young striker Andy Booth

Andy Booth

Andrew David "Andy" Booth is a retired professional footballer. Whilst at Huddersfield he announced his retirement on 22 April 2009, but remains at the club as an ambassador.-Huddersfield Town:...

from Huddersfield Town for £2.5million. Many fans saw him as the answer to the problems which had plagued the Owls during the last seasons, and gave them hope of a new challenge for honours.

Southampton

The departure of manager Alan Ball to Manchester City saw Southampton

Southampton F.C.

give the manager's job to long-serving coach David Merrington

David Merrington

David Robert Merrington is a former football manager.As a player Merrington appeared in midfield for Burnley, playing 98 league games including a spell as captain. He later played for Bristol City before retiring and going into coaching .Merrington was a brief caretaker manager for Sunderland A.F.C...

, and he managed to hold onto most of the squad which had finished 10th the previous season. But the normally-prolific Matthew Le Tissier

Matthew Le Tissier

Matthew "Matt" Le Tissier is a retired English footballer who played for Southampton and England.An attacking midfielder with exceptional technical skills, Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was...

lost his edge, scoring just 7 Premier League goals all season. The suddenly goal-shy attack was the key reason for Southampton returning to their struggling ways, and their last hope of success was extinguished in early March when they lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals. But wins over Manchester United and Bolton in late April gave them a lifeline, and they safety was narrowly achieved on goal difference.

This was not enough for the club's board, who sacked Merrington and replaced him with former Liverpool and Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

boss Graeme Souness

Graeme Souness

Graeme James Souness is a Scottish former professional football player and manager.Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s and player-manager of Rangers in the late 1980s as well as captain of the Scottish national team. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur,...

Tottenham Hotspur

The sale of key players Jürgen Klinsmann

Jürgen Klinsmann

Jürgen Klinsmann is a German football manager and former player who is currently the coach of the United States Men's National Team. As a player, Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe and was part of the West German team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup and the German one that...

, Gheorghe Popescu

Gheorghe Popescu

Gheorghe Gică Popescu is a former Romanian footballer who played as a defender, and was a key part of the Romania national team in the 1990s. He played for a string of European clubs in an illustrious career that saw him amass many honours...

and Nick Barmby

Nick Barmby

Nicholas Jon "Nick" Barmby is an English footballer who plays for Hull City as a midfielder, where he is also caretaker manager. At his peak he earned a total of 23 caps for England between 1995 and 2001...

weakened Tottenham's resources for 1995-96, and manager Gerry Francis

Gerry Francis

Gerald Charles James Francis is an English former footballer and manager, now working as First Team coach at Stoke City.-Playing career:Francis made his debut for Queens Park Rangers v Liverpool in March 1969...

was faced with taunts of "what a waste of money" from shocked supporters when he paid a club record £4.5million for Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

striker Chris Armstrong

Chris Armstrong (footballer born 1971)

Christopher Peter "Chris" Armstrong is an English former England B international footballer who has played as a striker for Wrexham , Millwall, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers between 1989 and 2005.-Crystal Palace:After short spells with Wrexham and Millwall, Armstrong found...

.

But Armstrong quickly formed an effective strikerforce with Teddy Sheringham

Teddy Sheringham

Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester...

, and an eighth place finish in the final table was only one place lower than last season's final position - though it was once again not quite enough for a UEFA Cup place.

Early in the season, Tottenham (and local rivals Wimbledon

Wimbledon F.C.

) were informed that they would be banned from European competition for the 1996-97 season for fielding weakened teams in the pre-season Inter-Toto Cup. The ban was lifted on appeal.

West Ham United

West Ham progressed further following the previous season's 14th place finish (and last-minute scramble away from relegation danger) and climbed to 10th place in the final table - their best finish since they came third in 1986. They were never in any danger of going down, but they never looked like challenging for a UEFA Cup spot. Nor did they make much of an impact in the cup competitions, though striker Tony Cottee

Tony Cottee

Anthony Richard "Tony" Cottee is a former football player who now works as a television football commentator...

showed little sign of his advancing years, coming joint top scorer with penalty taking left-back Julian Dicks

Julian Dicks

Julian Andrew Dicks , is a retired football player and manager, last attached to Isthmian League Division One North club Grays Athletic.-Playing career:...

.

Manager Harry Redknapp

Harry Redknapp

Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....

spent heavily over the summer, mostly on foreign players, in hope of building a West Ham side capable of chasing European qualification and major trophies.

Wimbledon

With the Premier League's lowest crowds and transfer budget, Wimbledon have begun most of their top division seasons since promotion in 1986 as pre-season relegation favourites. But the "crazy gang" spirit kept Wimbledon going once again, although their 14th place finish was their lowest since joining the top flight 10 seasons earlier.

Dean Holdsworth

Dean Holdsworth

Dean Christopher Holdsworth is an English former professional football player, now manager. As a striker he scored 193 goals in 610 league games over a 22 year career. Despite playing for 16 clubs in 19 spells the majority of his goals and appearances came at Brentford, Wimbledon, and Bolton...

and Efan Ekoku

Efan Ekoku

Efangwu Goziem "Efan" Ekoku is an English-born Nigerian former footballer who played as a striker.- Playing career :...

were once again a formidable strikerforce, while Vinnie Jones

Vinnie Jones

Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...

was as combative as ever and Oyvind Leonhardsen's performances attracted attention from several bigger clubs. Manager Joe Kinnear

Joe Kinnear

Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kinnear is an Irish football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Newcastle United....

managed to hold on to all his key assets, as well as adding a few more, over the close season as he grew ever more determined to defy the odds once again.

Top scorers

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals
1	Alan Shearer Alan Shearer Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...	Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....	31
2	Robbie Fowler Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....	Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	28
3	Les Ferdinand Les Ferdinand Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE is a former English footballer. His playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Besiktas J.K., Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., during which period he earned a number of appearances for England...	Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...	25
4	Dwight Yorke Dwight Yorke Dwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland...	Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...	17
5	Andrei Kanchelskis Andrei Kanchelskis Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis is a Ukrainian-born Russian football manager and former association footballer who played as a right winger. Kanchelskis is the only player in history to have scored in each of the Glasgow, Merseyside and Manchester local derbies.Currently, he is managing FC...	Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...	16
5	Teddy Sheringham Teddy Sheringham Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester...	Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....	16
7	Chris Armstrong Chris Armstrong (footballer born 1971) Christopher Peter "Chris" Armstrong is an English former England B international footballer who has played as a striker for Wrexham , Millwall, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers between 1989 and 2005.-Crystal Palace:After short spells with Wrexham and Millwall, Armstrong found...	Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....	15
7	Ian Wright Ian Wright Ian Edward Wright, MBE is a retired English footballer turned television and radio personality.Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal, spending six years with the former and seven years with the latter. With Arsenal he has lifted the Premier League title and both major...	Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...	15
9	Eric Cantona Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...	Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...	14
	Stan Collymore Stan Collymore Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England...	Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	14
	Dion Dublin Dion Dublin Dion Dublin , is a retired English footballer. He was capped four times for England. Dublin started his career as a centre back with Norwich City, but made his name at Cambridge United as a goal-scoring centre forward. However, in his later years he showed his versatility by becoming an...	Coventry City Coventry City F.C. Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...	14

Top assists

Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Steve McManaman Steve McManaman Steven McManaman is a retired English footballer who played as a midfielder, winger and playmaker. Having spent his playing career at two of European football's most successful clubs of the 20th century, Liverpool and Real Madrid, as well as a spell at Manchester City, McManaman is the most...	Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	25

Monthly awards

Month	Manager of the Month	Player of the Month Premier League Player of the Month The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Premier League player each month of the season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor, and announced alongside the Manager of the Month on the first or second Friday of the following month...
August	Kevin Keegan Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United.... (Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger... )	David Ginola David Ginola David Karl Ginola is a French former international football player who has also worked as an actor and model.Ginola was born in Gassin, Var... (Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger... )
September	Kevin Keegan Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United.... (Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger... )	Tony Yeboah Tony Yeboah Anthony "Tony" Yeboah is a Ghanaian former footballer most noted for his time at European clubs 1. FC Saarbrücken, Eintracht Frankfurt, Leeds United and Hamburger SV during the 1990s... (Leeds United)
October	Frank Clark (Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship... )	Trevor Sinclair Trevor Sinclair Trevor Lloyd Sinclair is an English former professional footballer. Sinclair was a versatile winger, able to play on both the left and right flanks who played in the Premier League and made twelve appearances for the England national team.He retired in 2008, after a nineteen-year professional... (Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers F.C. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years... )
November	Alan Ball (Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894... )	Rob Lee Rob Lee Robert Martin "Rob" Lee is a retired English footballer who played the majority of his career for Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United.-Charlton Athletic:... (Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger... )
December	Roy Evans Roy Evans Roy Evans CBE was a Liverpool football player who eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become team manager.-Career:... (Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... )	Robbie Fowler Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United.... (Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... )
January	Roy Evans Roy Evans Roy Evans CBE was a Liverpool football player who eventually rose through the coaching ranks to become team manager.-Career:... (Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... )	Stan Collymore Stan Collymore Stanley Victor "Stan" Collymore is an English football pundit and former footballer, who played from 1990 until 2001. He held the British transfer record when he moved from Nottingham Forest to Liverpool for £8.5 million in 1995 and was capped three times at senior level by the England... & Robbie Fowler Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United.... (Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups... )
February	Alex Ferguson Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986... (Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... )	Dwight Yorke Dwight Yorke Dwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland... (Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder... )
March	Alex Ferguson Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986... (Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... )	Eric Cantona Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in... (Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958... )
April	Dave Merrington (Southampton Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club... )	Andrei Kanchelskis Andrei Kanchelskis Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis is a Ukrainian-born Russian football manager and former association footballer who played as a right winger. Kanchelskis is the only player in history to have scored in each of the Glasgow, Merseyside and Manchester local derbies.Currently, he is managing FC... (Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... )

External links

1995-96 Premier League Season at RSSSF

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