The 1995âÂÂ96 English football season was Aston Villa's 4th season in the Premier League. The season was Aston Villa's 121st professional season, their 85th season in the top flight and their 8th consecutive season in the top tier of English football (the fourth in the FA Premier League).
Villa made huge progress in their first full season under Brian Little's management. He had arrived at Villa Park in November 1994, taking charge of a side faced with a real threat of relegation just 18 months after almost winning the Premier League title. The rebuilding process had started almost immediately, with Little quickly discarding the likes of Kevin Richardson, Garry Parker, Earl Barrett and Ray Houghton, and bringing in Ian Taylor, Gary Charles, Alan Wright and Tommy Johnson as mid-season signings. The rebuilding process had continued over the summer of 1995, with Shaun Teale, Dalian Atkinson and even top scorer Dean Saunders heading out of the Villa Park exit door, in favour of new signings including Gareth Southgate and Serbian striker Savo Milosevic - who both broke the club's transfer record in quick succession.
Villa finished fourth in the league and matched Liverpool's record of five League Cup victories (Liverpool have since reclaimed the record with victories in 2001, 2003 and 2012) thanks to a 3âÂÂ0 Wembley win over Leeds United in March. Villa were also FA Cup semi-finalists, but their hopes of a Wembley double were ended with a defeat to Liverpool.
A new-look Villa side proved itself to be in fine form, thanks to the likes of Gary Charles, Alan Wright, Ian Taylor, and Mark Draper. Trinidadian striker Dwight Yorke established himself as one of the Premier League's most prolific goalscorers, though there were still some doubts regarding the suitability of Savo Miloà ¡eviàas the man to replace Dean Saunders.
The club's longest-serving player, veteran goalkeeper Nigel Spink (361), left Villa halfway through the season after nearly 20 years to sign for local rivals West Bromwich Albion in Division One.
After the season ended, Little paid a club record ã4million for Serbian midfielder Saà ¡a ÃÂurÃÂiÃÂ. With Gary Charles facing a long stretch on the sidelines with a serious ankle injury picked up during the final weeks of the season, Little signed Portuguese right-back Fernando Nelson.
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