The 1995–96 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth season of the competition, since its formation in 1992. Due to the decision to reduce the number of clubs in the FA Premier League from 22 to 20, only two clubs, Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers, were promoted instead of the usual three.[3]
Liverpool and Aston Villa emerged as possible title contenders early in the season, while Middlesbrough's early promise saw them occupy fourth place in late October. However, an injury crisis saw their league form slump, leading them up to a 12th-place finish. Most of the campaign was a two-horse race between Manchester United and Newcastle United. The two sides played on 27 December, with Newcastle 10 points ahead in the league. A 2–0 home win for Manchester United cut the gap to seven points, and two days later they beat Queens Park Rangers 2–1 to reduce the gap to just four points. Nevertheless, a 4–1 defeat at Tottenham on New Year's Day and a 0–0 draw with Aston Villa allowed Newcastle to establish a 12-point lead in January.
Manchester United and Newcastle met again in early March, by which time the gap had been cut to four points. A second half goal by Eric Cantona gave Manchester United a 1–0 away win and cut the gap to a single point. With one game left of the season, Manchester United led the Premier League by two points, having taken lead of the league halfway through March and stayed on top ever since. In case of the two clubs being tied for first place, the Premier League made preliminary preparations for a championship play-off match at Wembley.[4] For Newcastle to win their first title since 1927, they had to win against Tottenham and hope that their north-eastern rivals Middlesbrough defeated Alex Ferguson’s men. But the Premier League title went to Old Trafford as Manchester United won 3–0 and Newcastle could only manage a 1–1 draw with Tottenham.
Despite the arrival of Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal never looked like serious title challengers. Their best chance of success coming in the League Cup, where they reached the semi-finals, was lost on away goals to Aston Villa. However, the North London side still qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing fifth.
Aston Villa won the Coca-Cola sponsored League Cup competition this season, beating Leeds United 3–0 at Wembley.
Title holders, Blackburn, recorded the lowest ever finish by a Premier League title-holder by finishing 7th. This record was matched by Manchester United in 2013–14 and broken by Chelsea in 2015–16 and again by Leicester City in 2016–17. However, Rovers striker Alan Shearer was still the league’s top scorer with 31 goals.
Six days after clinching their third league title in four seasons, Manchester United became the first team to complete a second league championship and FA Cup double when a Cantona goal gave them a 1–0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup final.[5]
Fourth place Aston Villa lifted the League Cup for a joint record fifth time, securing a UEFA Cup place for the third time in four seasons.
The Premier League relegation places went to Bolton Wanderers, Queens Park Rangers, and Manchester City. Bolton had spent most of their first Premier League season bottom of the table, and an improvement in form was not enough to save the Burnden Park side from an immediate return to Division One. They went down on the season’s penultimate weekend, on the same day that QPR’s 3-0 win over London rivals West Ham came too late to save the top flight place they had held since 1983. 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.
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top eighteen teams from the previous season and the two teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers, returning to the top flight after two and fifteen years respectively. This was also Bolton Wanderers' first season in the Premier League. They replaced Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Leicester City and Ipswich Town, who were relegated to the First Division after their top flight spells of one, nine, one and three years respectively. This was the first season in which the league was contested by twenty teams as opposed to previous seasons which were contested by twenty-two teams.
Source: Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. (C) Champions; (R) Relegated Notes:
^Liverpool qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cuprunners-up, as winners Manchester United already qualified for the Champions League. They defaulted their UEFA Cup spot from league position to Arsenal.
Source: 11v11 Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win. For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
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^Brenkley, Stephen (24 September 1995). "Yeboah up to his old tricks". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
^Barnes, Scott (22 October 1995). "Ferdinand dons triple crown". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
^Barnes, Scott (29 October 1995). "Leeds stirred by McAllister". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
^Hadfield, Dave (19 November 1995). "Bohinen busts Forest's dam". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
^Cullely, Jon (3 December 1995). "Shearer bliss". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
^Moore, Glenn (5 February 1996). "Chelsea burst into bloom". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
^Haylett, Trevor (14 April 1996). "Shearer steals show". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
^Brown, Geoff (14 April 1996). "Hughes bang up to date". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
^Barnes, Scott (28 April 1996). "Kanchelskis rules". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2009.