1995–96 in English football

The 1995-1996 season was the 116th season of competitive football in England.

Overview

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.

Manchester United were England's entrants for the European Cup, while Newcastle were joined in the UEFA Cup by Liverpool, Aston Villa (League Cup winners) and Arsenal.

Going down were Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers.

Division One

Sunderland and Derby County both returned to the Premiership after a five-year exile, joined by Division One playoff winners Leicester City.

Watford and Luton Town, who had both been established top division sides a decade earlier, were relegated to the league's third tier after enduring a terrible season. On the last day of the season they were joined by Millwall, who had been top of the division five months earlier but slumped dramatically after Mick McCarthy's departure for the Republic of Ireland manager's job.

Division Two

Swindon Town returned to Division One at the first attempt after lifting the Division Two championship trophy. They were joined by runners-up Oxford United, who were enjoying their first successful season since the mid 1980s, and playoff winners Bradford City.

Going down were Carlisle United, Swansea City (who got through five managers in a season), Brighton & Hove Albion (sinking further into a financial crisis) and Hull City.

Division Three

Preston North End, Gillingham, Bury and playoff winners Plymouth Argyle won promotion to Division Two.

Torquay United finished bottom of Division Three, having won just five games all season, but were saved from demotion because Conference champions Stevenage Borough did not meet the league's required minimum stadium capacity.

Successful managers

Alex Ferguson guided Manchester United to a unique second double of the league title and F.A Cup.

Brian Little completed his impressive rebuilding of Aston Villa by guiding them to glory in the League Cup as well as a fourth place finish in the Premiership.

Peter Reid brought some long-awaited success to Sunderland as they finished champions of Division One and won promotion to the Premiership.

Experienced manager Jim Smith achieved another managerial success by winning promotion to the Premiership with Derby County.

Martin O'Neill achieved his third promotion in four seasons by winning promotion to the Premiership with Leicester City.

Steve McMahon succeeded in getting Swindon Town back into Division One at the first attempt as they were crowned champions of Division Two.

Dennis Smith built on the success he achieved earlier in his career (with York City and later Sunderland) by gaining promotion to Division One with Oxford United.

Gary Peters had a dream start to his reign as Preston North End manager as they were crowned champions of Division Three.

Stan Ternent finally enjoyed some success in his long management and coaching career by winning promotion to Division Two with Bury.

Neil Warnock achieved the fifth promotion of his managerial career (and his fourth via the playoffs) by winning the Division Three playoffs with Plymouth.

Events

Double double delight for United

Manchester United made history as the first English club to repeat the double of the league title and F.A Cup. The triumph was made all the more incredible by the fact that manager Alex Ferguson had sold key players Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis before the start of the season, and not bought any new players. Instead he placed his faith in young players like Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Gary Neville and Phil Neville, who fitted in well with a team still containing more experienced players like Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister and Eric Cantona.

United's title dreams looked dead come Christmas as they trailed Newcastle United by 10 points. On 27th December they beat Newcastle 2-0 to cut the gap to seven points, but a 1-0 win at St James's Park on 4th March cut the gap to a single point. A 1-1 draw at QPR the following weekend put United on top of the Premiership and they remained at the top for the rest of the season. On the final day of the season they confirmed their status as Premiership champions for the third time in four seasons thanks to a 3-0 away win over Middlesbrough - managed by former United captain Bryan Robson.

Eric Cantona, who returned from his suspension in style to spearhead United's chase for trophies, was voted FWA Player of the Year as the press who had vilified him for the previous season's Selhurst Park incident came to applaud him for his brilliance on the pitch.

On 11th May, United faced Liverpool in the F.A Cup final at Wembley. A late goal from Eric Cantona saw United make history and lift the F.A Cup as England's first 'double double' winners.

Venables out, Hoddle in

Terry Venables announced in January that he would not be continuing as England manager after the 1996 European Championships, so the F.A began their hunt for his successor. The likes of Alex Ferguson, Howard Kendall, Steve Coppell, Gerry Francis and Kevin Keegan were all linked with the job, but all quickly ruled themselves out either because of club commitments or a lack of experience.

In the end, Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle (aged 39) agreed to take charge of the England team on a four-year contract. Hoddle's successor at Chelsea was the 33-year-old Dutch legend Ruud Gullit.

Euro 96: So close for England

England hosted the 1996 European Championships - for the first time in the history of the competition. They went through to the quarter finals after drawing with Switzerland and beating Scotland and Holland in the group stages. The score with Spain was 0-0 in the quarter finals but England went through on penalties. An Alan Shearer goal gave them an early lead over Germany in the semi finals, but the Germans pulled a goal back to force extra time and England's hopes of glory were ended when they lost the inevitable penalty shoot-out. Germany went on to beat Czech Republic 2-1 in the final.

Europe runs rings around England

English clubs endured a tough time in European competition during 1995-96. Manchester United, Liverpool and Leeds United suffered early exits from the UEFA Cup, while Blackburn Rovers were eliminated from the Champions League at the group stages and Everton were dumped out of the Cup Winners Cup in the Second Round. That left Nottingham Forest as the only English club still in Europe after Christmas.

Forest took on Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup quarter finals and lost 2-1 away and looking good on the return leg with an away goal in hand. However, Jürgen Klinsmann was the driving force in the German side's triumph as they trounced Forest 5-1 at the City ground and went on to win the competition.

Bosman ruling throws transfer market into chaos

A legal challenge in the European Court of Human Rights by little-known Belgian midfielder Jean-Marc Bosman gave out-of-contract players aged 23 or above the right to become free agents and move to other clubs for no fee. There was widespread controversy following the announcement, as many clubs feared that they would lose expensively signed players for nothing. The Bosman Ruling also saw an end to the "three foreigner" rule which restricted teams to fielding a maximum of three players born outside the country that they were employed in. In the Premiership, the limit of three foreigners in a match squad had covered Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish players. But the Bosman ruling allowed clubs in EU countries to field an unlimited number of players who were of EU nationalities, although they were still restricted to fielding 3 players of non-EU nationalities.

Bob Paisley dies

Bob Paisley, who won a record total of 21 trophies during his reign as Liverpool manager (1974 until 1983), died on 14th February at the age of 77. His success, which included six league titles and three European Cups, was all the more amazing because he had not originally wanted to take over as manager. On his promotion from the coaching staff to the manager's seat, Paisley (55 at the time) had tried to persuade his predecessor Bill Shankly to carry on. But Paisley eventually agreed to take over as manager and established himself as a world class manager. After retiring, he remained at the club as a director and later president.

Honours

Endsleigh League Division One

Sunderland gave their best performance in years by clinching the Division One title, and were joining among the elite by runners-up Derby County and playoff winners Leicester City. Crystal Palace fell victim to a last-minute Leicester winner at Wembley, and would have gone up automatically had it not been for their dismal first half of the season.

Luton Town, Watford and Millwall, who had all played in the top flight at some stage in the last nine seasons, went down to Division Two. Oldham Athletic narrowly avoided a second relegation in three seasons, while Wolverhampton Wanderers finished a disappointing 20th and the last safe place was secured by Portsmouth.

See also: Play-off results

NB In the Football League goals scored (F) takes precedence over goal difference

Diary of the season

12 July 1995 - George Graham is banned from football for a year as punishment for accepting illegal payments, which cost him his job as Arsenal manager five months ago.

17 July 1995 - Mike Naylor, chairman and founder of Football League sponsors Endsleigh Insurance, dies in Southern France when his Bentley crashes into a tree.

24 July 1995 - Footballers Bruce Grobelaar, Hans Segers and John Fashanu are charged with being involved in match-fixing and bribery.

5 August 1995 - Middlesbrough, newly promoted to the Premier League, pay a club record £5.25million for Tottenham forward Nick Barmby.

8 August 1995 - Eric Cantona announces his intention to depart from English football, but Manchester United refuse to terminate his contract.

10 August 1995 - Eric Cantona changes his mind and announces his intention to stay at Manchester United after a discussion with manager Alex Ferguson.

19 August 1995 - The FA Premier League season kicks off with Middlesbrough playing in the new Riverside Stadium (the first new top division stadium since 1923), while a Manchester United side predominantly made up of young players suffers a 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

24 August 1995 - Everton pay a club record £5million for Manchester United winger Andrei Kanchelskis.

20 September 1995 - York City achieve a shock 3-0 away win over an under-strength Manchester United side in the League Cup second round second leg.

23 September 1995 - Long-serving Rangers striker Mark Hateley is transferred to FA Premier League strugglers Queens Park Rangers.

1 October 1995 - Eric Cantona returns from his 8-month suspension and scores late equaliser in a 2-2 home draw with Liverpool.

15 October 1995 - Bryan Robson pulls off one of the biggest surprises of 1995 by signing Brazilian midfielder Juninho, currently one of the most sought-after talents in world football, in a £4.75million deal.

30 October 1995 - 31-year-old striker John McGinlay scores for struggling Bolton Wanderers as they achieve a surprise 1-0 home win over Arsenal.

13 November 1995 - Former England manager Graham Taylor resigns after 20 months in charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who began the season as Division One promotion favourites but currently stand 19th in the table. High profile names including Steve Bruce, Kenny Dalglish and even Brian Clough are linked with the Molineux job.

24 November 1995 - The FA Premier League's foreign legion continues to expand with 26-year-old Swedish striker Tomas Brolin signing for Leeds United from Parma.

9 December 1995 - Defending Premier League champions Blackburn Rovers suffer a shock 5-0 defeat at Coventry City, while in Division One Sunderland go top after beating previous leaders Millwall 6-0 at Roker Park.

12 December 1995 - Dave Bassett, the fifth longest serving manager in the English league, resigns as manager of Division One strugglers Sheffield United.

17 December 1995 - Blackburn Rovers left-back Graeme Le Saux is ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a serious ankle fracture in a 1-0 home win over Middlesbrough in the FA Premier League.

24 December 1995 - Newcastle United maintain their 10-point lead at the top of the FA Premier League after the nearest contenders Manchester United lose 3-1 at Leeds United.

27 December 1995 - Manchester United cut the gap at the top of the FA Premier League to 7 points with a 2-0 home win over leaders Newcastle United.

30 December 1995 - Manchester United cut the gap at the top to 4 points with a 2-1 win over QPR.

1 January 1996 - Manchester United suffer their heaviest Premier League defeat yet when they lose 4-1 at Tottenham, four years to the day that they suffer a similar humiliation at home to QPR in the last season of the pre-Premiership First Division.

2 January 1996 - Roy McFarland is sacked as manager of Bolton Wanderers, bottom of the FA Premier League, who promote his assistant Colin Todd to the manager's seat.

10 January 1996 - Terry Venables announces that he will quit as England manager after Euro 96.

15 January 1996 - Bryan Robson, Middlesbrough manager and England assistant manager, is rumoured by the media to be in line to succeed Terry Venables as England manager after Euro 96.

8 February 1996 - The Department of Employment refuses to issue work permits to Marc Hottiger (who has agreed a deal to move from Newcastle United to Everton) and Ilie Dumitrescu (who has agreed a deal to move from Tottenham to West Ham).

14 February 1996 - Former Liverpool manager Bob Paisley dies aged 77 after a four-year battle against Alzheimer's disease.

4 March 1996 - Manchester United cut Newcastle United's FA Premier League lead to a single point thanks to an Eric Cantona goal in a 1-0 win at St James's Park.

7 March 1996 - Marc Hottiger and Ilie Dumitrescu finally receive the necessary work permits to complete their long-awaited transfers.

17 March 1996 - Manchester United go top of the FA Premier League with a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

24 March 1996 - Aston Villa defeat Leeds United 3-0 in the Football League Cup final.

12 April 1996 - John Aldridge, 37, is appointed player-manager of Tranmere Rovers after John King's nine-year reign as manager came to an end.

20 April 1996 - Sunderland win promotion to the Premier League, meaning they will be playing the top division against both Middlesbrough and Newcastle United next season - for the first time since the 1970s.

1 May 1996 - Chelsea boss Glenn Hoddle agrees to become England manager on a four-year contract after the European Football Championships.

5 May 1996 - Manchester United clinch the FA Premier League title with a 3-0 away win over Middlesbrough on the final day of the season. They also clinch a place in the European Cup. The UEFA Cup places go to Newcastle United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa. Going down to Division One are Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers.

11 May 1996 - Manchester United become the first English team to repeat the 'double' (and do so with a similar squad to the 1994 side) when an Eric Cantona goal gives them a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup final.

1 June 1996 - Ian Rush leaves Liverpool after two spells (the first of which began in 1980, the second of which began in 1988) and joins Leeds United on a free transfer.

25 June 1996 - England bow out of Euro 96 in the semi-final, a Gareth Southgate penalty miss putting them out after a 1-1 draw with Germany.

30 June 1996 - Euro 96 is won by Germany, who beat Czech Republic 2-1 at Wembley with Oliver Bierhoff scoring both of his country's goals.

Transfer deals

For subsequent transfer deals see 1996-97 in English football.

Deaths

*Dennis Allen, 56, was a former player of Charlton Athletic, Reading and Portsmouth. He was a member of a strong footballing family, being the father of Martin Allen and the uncle of Paul Allen, Clive Allen and Bradley Allen.
*Dave Bowen, 67, former Arsenal and Northampton defender, who won 19 caps for Wales and represented his country at the 1958 World Cup. Later became Northampton's most successful manager of all time, guiding the Cobblers from the fourth to the first division in four seasons.
*Johnny Carey, 76, former Manchester United defender and Republic of Ireland international. Won the league in 1952, and the FA Cup in 1948. Later managed a number of clubs, including Blackburn, Everton, Leyton Orient and Nottingham Forest.
*Neil Franklin, 74, an outstanding centre-half with Stoke City, winning 27 England caps. In 1950, he agreed to join Santa Fé of the non-FIFA sanctioned Colombian league where he would allegedly receive "ten times his English wages", but returned to England disillusioned and never played top-flight football again.
*Albert Johanneson, 55, South African winger who played for Leeds during the 1960s and played in their first league championship winning team in 1969. Moved to York City a year later. Died alone at his tower block flat in Leeds.
*Bobby Langton, 77, former Blackburn and Preston left-winger who also won 11 caps for England.
*Michael Millett, 17, Wigan Athletic defender, died in a car crash one day before his 18th birthday. Had played three times for his club and was tipped by many to reach the highest level.
*Alan Nicholls, 22, former Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper, was killed in a motorcycle crash near Peterborough which also claimed the life of the motorcyclist whose motorcycle he was a passenger on. At the time of his death, was playing for Stevenage Borough in the Conference after a brief spell at Gillingham.
*Bob Paisley, 77, legendary former Liverpool manager who won a total of 21 prizes between 1974 and 1983, and had previously been employed by the club as a player and later as a coach. At the time of his death he was still the most successful manager in English football.
*Harry Potts, 75, former Burnley player and manager. Played 165 league games for the Charets between 1946 and 1950, and was appointed manager in 1958, a post he held until 1970, winning the 1959-60 league title. He also had a second spell as Burnley manager between 1977 and 1979.
*Harold Shepherdson, 76, longtime assistant coach for the England national team, a role he held during England's 1966 World Cup victory.
*Joe Walter, 99, inside-forward who played for Bristol Rovers, Huddersfield and Blackburn. Won a league championship with Huddersfield in 1924. At the time of his death, he was believed to be the second-oldest former professional footballer in England.