The 1995âÂÂ96 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.
Manchester United won the Premier League and qualified for the UEFA Champions League, while Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Newcastle United qualified for the UEFA Cup. Liverpool also qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as runners-up of the FA Cup which was won by Manchester United.
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 12th-place. 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 2âÂÂ0 home win for Manchester United cut the gap to seven points, and two days later they beat Queens Park Rangers 2âÂÂ1 to reduce the gap to just four points. Nevertheless, a 4âÂÂ1 defeat at Tottenham on New Year's Day and a 0âÂÂ0 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 1âÂÂ0 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. 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 FergusonâÂÂs men. But the Premier League title went to Old Trafford as Manchester United won 3âÂÂ0 and Newcastle could only manage a 1âÂÂ1 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 3âÂÂ0 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 2013âÂÂ14 and broken by Chelsea in 2015âÂÂ16 and again by Leicester City in 2016âÂÂ17. However, Rovers striker Alan Shearer was still the leagueâÂÂs 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 1âÂÂ0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup final.
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 seasonâÂÂs penultimate weekend, on the same day that QPRâÂÂs 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.
Blackburn Rovers, the 1994âÂÂ95 Premier League champions, finished bottom of their group in the UEFA Champions League. Manchester United were knocked out of the UEFA Cup in the first round, with Liverpool and Leeds United both being knocked out at the second round. Everton were beaten in the second round of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The only English team still in European competition after Christmas were Nottingham Forest, who reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.
Tottenham Hotspur, Wimbledon and Sheffield Wednesday were invited to the revamped Intertoto Cup, which became under the auspices of UEFA. All three failed to progress from the group stage but due to Tottenham and Wimbledon fielding under-strength teams, they both received a one-year suspension from UEFA. The bans were lifted upon appeal however, the Football Association were forced to forfeit their Fair Play berth for the 1996âÂÂ97 UEFA Cup to go to the best-placed team not qualified for Europe, which were Everton.
Twenty teams competed in the league â 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.
(as of 5 May 1996)
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