1995–96 Manchester United F.C. season

English football club season March 2015 December 2021 Manchester United 1995–96 Alex Ferguson Martin Edwards FA Premier League 1st FA Cup Winners League Cup Second round UEFA Cup First round Eric Cantona (14) Eric Cantona (19) 53,926 vs Nottingham Forest (28 April 1996) 31,966 vs West Ham United (23 August 1995) 41,681 _manutdh9496 _manutdh9496 _manutdh9496 E20E0E E20E0E E20E0E FFFFFF 000000 _manutda9596 _manutda9596 _manutda9596 _manutda9596 _manutda9596 C0C0C0 C0C0C0 C0C0C0 404040 404040 _manutd39496 _manutd39496 _manutd39496 _manutd39496 _manutd39496 0000C0 0000C0 0000C0 0000C0 0000C0 1994–95 1996–97 The 1995–96 season was Manchester United's fourth season in the FA Premier League, and their 21st consecutive season in the top division of English football.http://www.stretfordend.co.uk/seasons/season1996.html Manchester United Season 1995/96 12 November 2007 StretfordEnd.co.uk United finished the season by becoming the first English team to win the Double (league title and FA Cup) twice. Their triumph was made all the more remarkable by the fact that Alex Ferguson had sold experienced players Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis before the start of the season, and not made any major signings. Instead, he had drafted in young players like Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and the Neville brothers, Gary and Phil. Eric Cantona returned from his eight-month suspension at the beginning of October, and finished the season as the club's top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions, the last one being the winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup final. He also picked up a Premier League winner's medal and the FWA Player of the Year award. The Premier League title was sealed on the final day of the season with a 3–0 win at Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough. Season overview Having started the season without a major summer signing, the critics were ready to pounce on United, and made no apologies for writing United's chances of success off as they lost their first game of the season 3–1 at Aston Villa, a side who, by contrast, had spent heavily on players in recent months after a difficult period of transition. United hit back by winning their next five league games and were soon second to Newcastle United, spearheaded by multimillion-pound new signings Les Ferdinand and David Ginola. They actually went top of the league after a goalless draw at Sheffield Wednesday towards the end of September, only for the Tynesiders to return to the top of the table soon after. Then came Cantona's comeback on 1 October, when he scored a penalty to equalise and hold Liverpool to a 2–2 draw at Old Trafford. The autumn saw United suffer first-hurdle exits to York City in the League Cup and Rotor Volgograd in the UEFA Cup, although United did preserve their 39-year home unbeaten record in European competitions thanks to a late equaliser by goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel in the second leg of the European tie. On the domestic scene, the 3–0 defeat they suffered at home to the Division Two strugglers in the first leg of the League Cup second round was their only home defeat of the season. A 3–1 win in the return leg at Bootham Crescent was not enough and United suffered a humiliating exit, although at least these disappointments meant that United only had the league to concentrate on until after Christmas, unlike some of their fellow title contenders. United remained unbeaten throughout October and November, although they remained second behind Newcastle in the league. Then came a five match winless run which saw them 10 points behind Newcastle by Christmas. On 27 December, they hosted Newcastle at Old Trafford and won 2–0, with one of the goals coming from Andy Cole, the former Newcastle goal machine who had arrived at Old Trafford the previous winter, and the gap was down to seven points. A 2–1 win over QPR briefly cut the gap to four points. Making his debut in that game was French defender William Prunier signed on a trial contract following an injury to Gary Pallister. Prunier also appeared in the United team at Tottenham on New Year's Day, but United crashed 4–1 at White Hart Lane and Prunier was soon gone. United's title hopes appeared to be fading, and when they went 2–1 down at Old Trafford in the FA Cup third round to Division One promotion challengers Sunderland, it looked as though this season could prove to be another trophyless season for United. But an Eric Cantona equaliser with 10 minutes remaining forced a replay at Roker Park, where Sunderland once again took the lead before United finally won 2–1. There was more frustration in the league as United's second league game of 1996 saw them draw 0–0 at home to Aston Villa. The last league game of the month was won 1–0 at West Ham, and then came an easy 3–0 win over Reading in the FA Cup fourth round at Elm Park. United narrowed the gap between themselves and leaders Newcastle once again in February, winning all four of their league games that month. A 4–2 away win over Wimbledon was followed by a home clash with Blackburn, who were mid-table in a disappointing defence of their league title. Lee Sharpe was on the scoresheet as United won 1–0, and their next game was a 2–0 home win over Everton. The month was completed with a 6–0 away win over Bolton, which pushed their hosts closer to eventual relegation but also gave United's goal difference a major boost as well as putting United just four points behind Newcastle. United had also defeated Manchester City 2–1 in the FA Cup fifth round at Old Trafford, and so a unique second double was suddenly looking like a very serious possibility. March began with a visit to Tyneside, for what was billed by many as the title decider. United kept their hosts, who had yet to drop points at home, at bay in the first half of the game, thanks largely to the goalkeeping heroics of Schmeichel. The deadlock was finally broken in the second half with a Cantona goal, and the gap was now down to a single point. United briefly went top the following weekend with a 1–1 draw at struggling QPR, and after another Cantona goal gave them a 1–0 home win over Arsenal on 20 March, United went top of the table and stayed there for the rest of the season. The title race went down to the wire, but United went into the last game of the season knowing that a draw at Middlesbrough would give them the title, and Newcastle needed to beat Tottenham to have any chance of depriving them of title glory. A 3–0 victory gave United the title, and the following Saturday they triumphed 1–0 over Liverpool in the FA Cup final, with a late goal from Cantona (already voted FWA Player of the Year) making them the first team to win the double twice. Veteran defenders Steve Bruce and Paul Parker moved on at the end of the season, as did goalkeeper Tony Coton, who had only joined the club in January and never played a first team game. As the season drew to a close, speculation mounted that United would sign a world-class striker – possibly Alan Shearer – to partner Eric Cantona in the bid to bring the European Cup to Old Trafford. The season also produced one of the most infamous moments in football shirt history, when United changed their kits at half-time during their away defeat to Southampton, with Alex Ferguson stating that it was because he felt the kit left players unable to spot each other on the pitch, as well as the fact that United had not won a single of their five games played wearing the kit.https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/apr/15/sport.comment2 Lee Sharpe 15 April 2006 The Guardian 13.04.96 Manchester United's grey day at The Dell 15 April 2006 Guardian News and Media Pre-season and friendlies DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance31 July 1995SelangorA4–1Bruce, Butt, Pallister, Sharpe50,0002 August 1995SelangorA2–0Bruce, Scholes20,0007 August 1995Birmingham CityA0–113,3309 August 1995Bradford CityA1–0Keane13,45711 August 1995ShelbourneA2–2Butt, Beckham12,50013 August 1995East FifeA4–0Beckham (2), McClair, Sharpe5,38515 August 1995Oldham AthleticA2–0Sharpe, Jobson (o.g.)8,7665 December 1995International SelectN1–2Scholes22,00012 December 1995CelticA1–3Scholes37,306 FA Premier League 1995–96 FA Premier League Manchester United opened the 1995–96 season with a 3–1 defeat away to Aston Villa, after which their young team was written off by all the media, most famously by Alan Hansen who claimed "you can't win anything with kids". The younger players were partnered with veterans like Steve Bruce, Roy Keane and Peter Schmeichel, and began to look a convincing outfit, particularly after a 2–1 win away to defending champions Blackburn Rovers. A 1–0 defeat at Arsenal was only their second league defeat of the campaign, but in the run-up to Christmas they endured a five-match winless run which left Newcastle United looking uncatchable with a 10-point lead. A 2–0 home win over the Tynesiders on 27 December cut the gap to seven points, but it widened again on New Year's Day when United were crushed 4–1 at Tottenham Hotspur. United then went on a strong run of form which saw the gap between themselves and Newcastle cut to four points by the end of February, and on 4 March they won 1–0 at Newcastle to cut the gap to a single point. They went top of the league soon afterwards and went into the final game of the season at Middlesbrough only needing a point to put the title beyond all doubt. United sealed their third league title in four seasons by beating the Teessiders 3–0. DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendanceLeagueposition19 August 1995Aston VillaA1–3Beckham 84'34,65519th23 August 1995West Ham UnitedH2–1Scholes 50', Keane 68'31,9665th26 August 1995WimbledonH3–1Keane (2) 28', 80', Cole 60'32,2264th28 August 1995Blackburn RoversA2–1Sharpe 46', Beckham 67'29,8432nd9 September 1995EvertonA3–2Sharpe (2) 3', 49', Giggs 74'39,4962nd16 September 1995Bolton WanderersH3–0Scholes (2) 18', 86', Giggs 34'32,8122nd23 September 1995Sheffield WednesdayA0–034,1013rd1 October 1995LiverpoolH2–2Butt 2', Cantona 71' (pen.)34,9343rd14 October 1995Manchester CityH1–0Scholes 5'35,7072nd21 October 1995ChelseaA4–1Scholes (2) 4', 10', Giggs 78', McClair 85'31,0192nd28 October 1995MiddlesbroughH2–0Pallister 44', Cole 88'36,5802nd4 November 1995ArsenalA0–138,3172nd18 November 1995SouthamptonH4–1Giggs (2) 1', 4', Scholes 9', Cole 69'39,3012nd22 November 1995Coventry CityA4–0Irwin 28', McClair (2) 48', 76', Beckham 58'23,4002nd27 November 1995Nottingham ForestA1–1Cantona 67' (pen.)29,2632nd2 December 1995ChelseaH1–1Beckham 61'42,0192nd9 December 1995Sheffield WednesdayH2–2Cantona (2) 18', 84'41,8492nd17 December 1995LiverpoolA0–240,5462nd24 December 1995Leeds UnitedA1–3Cole 30'39,8012nd27 December 1995Newcastle UnitedH2–0Cole 6', Keane 53'42,0242nd30 December 1995Queens Park RangersH2–1Cole 45', Giggs 52'41,8902nd1 January 1996Tottenham HotspurA1–4Cole 36'32,8522nd13 January 1996Aston VillaH0–042,6673rd22 January 1996West Ham UnitedA1–0Cantona 9'24,1972nd3 February 1996WimbledonA4–2Cole 41', Perry 45' (o.g.), Cantona (2) 71', 81' (pen.)25,3802nd10 February 1996Blackburn RoversH1–0Sharpe 15'42,6812nd21 February 1996EvertonH2–0Keane 30', Giggs 82'42,4592nd25 February 1996Bolton WanderersA6–0Beckham 5', Bruce 15', Cole 70', Scholes (2) 76', 79', Butt 90'21,3812nd4 March 1996Newcastle UnitedA1–0Cantona 52'36,5842nd16 March 1996Queens Park RangersA1–1Cantona 90'18,8172nd20 March 1996ArsenalH1–0Cantona 65'50,0281st24 March 1996Tottenham HotspurH1–0Cantona 51'50,1571st6 April 1996Manchester CityA3–2Cantona 7' (pen.), Cole 42', Giggs 78'29,6681st8 April 1996Coventry CityH1–0Cantona 47'50,3321st13 April 1996SouthamptonA1–3Giggs 89'15,2621st17 April 1996Leeds UnitedH1–0Keane 72'48,3821st28 April 1996Nottingham ForestH5–0Scholes 42', Beckham (2) 45', 55', Giggs 70', Cantona 90'53,9261st5 May 1996MiddlesbroughA3–0May 14', Cole 54', Giggs 81'29,9211st MUN FA Cup 1995–96 FA Cup United won the FA Cup by beating Liverpool 1–0 in the final at Wembley Stadium, with the only goal coming from Eric Cantona in the 85th minute. On the way to the final, Manchester United defeated Sunderland, Reading, Manchester City, Southampton and Chelsea. DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance6 January 1996Round 3SunderlandH2–2Butt 13', Cantona 80'41,56316 January 1996Round 3ReplaySunderlandA2–1Scholes 70', Cole 90'21,37827 January 1996Round 4ReadingA3–0Giggs 37', Parker 57', Cantona 90'14,78018 February 1996Round 5Manchester CityH2–1Cantona 39' (pen.), Sharpe 78'42,69211 March 1996Round 6SouthamptonH2–0Cantona 49', Sharpe 90'45,44631 March 1996Semi-finalChelseaN2–1Cole 55', Beckham 59'38,42111 May 1996FinalLiverpoolN1–0Cantona 86'79,007 League Cup 1995–96 Football League Cup As in the previous seasons, United rested many of their first-team players in the League Cup, instead using the competition to provide first team experience to the club's younger players and reserves. This proved to be a bad move, as the Red Devils fell at the first hurdle, losing in the Second Round to Second Division side York City, 4–3 on aggregate. DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance20 September 1995Round 2First legYork CityH0–329,0493 October 1995Round 2Second legYork CityA3–1Scholes (2) 7', 80', Cooke 14'9,386 UEFA Cup 1995–96 UEFA Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance12 September 1995Round 1First legRotor VolgogradA0–033,00026 September 1995Round 1Second legRotor VolgogradH2–2Scholes 60', Schmeichel 89'29,724 Squad statistics No.Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupEuropeTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals1GKDEN Peter Schmeichel3606010214512DFENG Paul Parker5(1)01(1)1100(1)07(3)13DFIRL Denis Irwin3116010103914DFENG Steve Bruce (c)301501(1)02038(1)15MFENG Lee Sharpe21(10)44(2)2202029(12)66DFENG Gary Pallister2113020202817FWFRA Eric Cantona301475100038199MFSCO Brian McClair12(10)300100013(10)311MFWAL Ryan Giggs30(3)1171202041(3)1212DFENG David May11(5)120000013(5)113GKENG Tony Coton000000000015FWENG Graeme Tomlinson000000000016MFIRL Roy Keane296700(1)02038(1)617FWENG Andy Cole32(2)1172101042(2)1318MFWAL Simon Davies1(5)000100(1)02(6)019MFENG Nicky Butt31(1)271002040(1)320DFENG Gary Neville30(1)05(1)0101037(2)021DFNIR Pat McGibbon000010001022MFENG Paul Scholes16(10)100(2)1121(1)118(13)1423DFENG Phil Neville21(3)06(1)01(1)01029(5)024MFENG David Beckham26(7)731202033(7)825GKENG Kevin Pilkington2(1)01010004(1)026DFENG Chris Casper000000000027MFENG Terry Cooke1(3)0001(1)10(1)02(5)129MFENG Ben Thornley0(1)00000000(1)030DFENG John O'Kane0(1)00000101(1)031DFFRA William Prunier2000000020 Transfers United's first departure of the 1995–96 season was Matthew Barrass, who joined San Diego Nomads on 1 July. A day later, David Gardner was released, Paul Heckingbottom joined Sunderland, Patrick Lee joined Middlesbrough, and Paul Lyons joined Rochdale. Richard Irving signed for Nottingham Forest on 19 July, while a week later, Ashley Westwood departed for Crewe Alexandra. Gary Walsh signed for Middlesbrough on 11 August, Andrei Kanchelskis joined Everton, while in late September, Elliott Dickman joined Sunderland, and Stephen Hall was released. John Hudson was released on 5 November. United's only summer arrival of the 1995–96 season was Nick Culkin, who signed from York City on 25 September. United's only winter departure was Matthew Wicks, who joined Arsenal on a free transfer on 23 January. Former captain Steve Bruce left for Birmingham City on 22 May, while on 30 June, Dessie Baker, Daniel Hall, Paul Parker, and Phillip Whittam left the club. United's only winter arrival was Tony Coton, who signed from United's rivals Manchester City on 31 January. Raimond van der Gouw joined United from Dutch club Vitesse on 25 June 1996. In Date Pos. Name From Fee 25 September 1995 GK ENG Nick Culkin ENG York City £250k 31 January 1996 GK ENG Tony Coton ENG Manchester City £500k 25 June 1996 GK NED Raimond van der Gouw NED Vitesse Free Out Date Pos. Name To Fee 1 July 1995 MF ENG Matthew Barrass USA San Diego Nomads Free 2 July 1995 MF ENG David Gardner Released Free 2 July 1995 DF ENG Paul Heckingbottom ENG Sunderland Free MF IRE Patrick Lee ENG Middlesbrough Free MF ENG Paul Lyons ENG Rochdale Free 19 July 1995 FW ENG Richard Irving ENG Nottingham Forest £75k 26 July 1995 DF ENG Ashley Westwood ENG Crewe Alexandra £40k 11 August 1995 GK ENG Gary Walsh ENG Middlesbrough £250k 25 August 1995 MF RUS Andrei Kanchelskis ENG Everton £5m 27 September 1995 DF ENG Elliott Dickman ENG Sunderland Free 30 September 1995 FW ENG Stephen Hall Released Free 5 November 1995 MF ENG John Hudson Released Free 23 January 1996 DF ENG Matt Wicks ENG Arsenal Free 22 May 1996 DF ENG Steve Bruce ENG Birmingham City Free 30 June 1996 FW IRE Dessie Baker Released Free DF ENG Daniel Hall Released Free DF ENG Paul Parker ENG Derby County Free DF ENG Phillip Whittam Released Free Loan in Date from Date to Pos. Name From 29 December 1995 1 March 1996 DF FRA William Prunier FRA Bordeaux Loan out Date from Date to Pos. Name To 1 July 1995 1 August 1995 MF ENG Michael Appleton ENG Wimbledon 15 September 1995 15 October 1995 MF ENG Michael Appleton ENG Lincoln City 6 November 1995 15 February 1996 MF ENG Ben Thornley ENG Stockport County 11 January 1996 11 April 1996 DF ENG Chris Casper ENG AFC Bournemouth 29 January 1996 29 February 1996 MF ENG Terry Cooke ENG Sunderland 2 February 1996 20 March 1996 GK ENG Kevin Pilkington ENG Rochdale 22 February 1996 18 May 1997 MF ENG Ben Thornley ENG Huddersfield Town 22 March 1996 22 May 1996 FW ENG Graeme Tomlinson ENG Luton Town References 1995–96 Manchester United F.C. kits Category:Manchester United F.C. seasons Manchester United 1996