During the 1995–96 FA Premier League season, English club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

participated in the Premier League, finishing in second place.

Season summary

The 1995–96 season saw Sir John Hall's millions allow Newcastle to invest heavily in players from across the world. With a total of some £16 million spent on the signings of

Les Ferdinand Leslie Ferdinand MBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and television pundit, who is currently the director of football at Queens Park Rangers. A striker, his playing career included notable sp ...

, David Ginola,

Warren Barton Warren Dean Barton (born 19 March 1969) is an English football coach, pundit, and former professional player. As of 2022, he works as a director and youth coach for the Del Mar Carmel Valley Sharks, a youth club in San Diego, California, Unite ...

and Shaka Hislop before the start of the season,

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. A forward, he played for several professional clubs from 1968 to 1984. Having begun his career at Scunthorpe United, he moved to Liverpool in 1971 and ...

's team made a strong start. Colombian striker

Faustino Asprilla Faustino Hernán Asprilla Hinestroza (born 10 November 1969) is a Colombian former professional footballer who most notably played for Parma, Newcastle United and the Colombia national team as a forward. Club career Early years After starting ...

and England midfielder David Batty were also attracted to the north-east in February 1996 for a combined total of around £11 million. An explosive start to the season saw Newcastle storm to the top of the Premier League table. Newcastle led the league for virtually all of the season from August until mid-March, and by Christmas had established a 10-point lead over

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Though they lost 2–0 at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

on 27 December, they still managed to extend this lead to 12 points on 20 January 1996, putting them in prime position for the title with 15 matches remaining. However, Manchester United – bolstered by the return of Eric Cantona from suspension – then enjoyed a surge in form. Despite an emphatic 2–1 win at Middlesbrough largely inspired by debutant Faustino Asprilla, Newcastle lost five of their next eight. Newcastle dropped vital points away to West Ham and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, whilst a 1–0 win for

Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...

's team at St James' Park on 4 March ended Newcastle's 100% home record in the league and cut their lead to a single point, and further away defeats at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers allowed Manchester United to overtake them and establish a lead that would ultimately prove decisive. Ferguson's mind games added further heat to the title race and provoked an infamous rant from Keegan live on Sky Sports on 29 April 1996, following his team's 1–0 win at Leeds United. A 1–1 draw at Nottingham Forest three days later left Newcastle needing to beat Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United needing to lose against Middlesbrough, if the title was to return to Tyneside for the first time since 1927. In the end, a 1–1 draw proved academic as Manchester United beat the Teessiders 3–0, thus winning by four points. Newcastle's second place finish was nonetheless their highest finish for 69 years.

Analysis

The contest between Newcastle United and Manchester United for the Premier League title in the 1995–96 season has been described by ''Total Football'' magazine as "an absolute classic". In 2012, the season was one of six nominees for the Premier League 20 Seasons Award for the best Premier League season ever. The 4-3 loss to Liverpool was voted the greatest game of the first decade of the Premier League at the

Premier League 10 Seasons Awards The Premier League 10 Seasons Awards were a set of English football awards which marked the first 10 years of competition in the Premier League, the top-level domestic league competition of professional football in England. The awards celebrated ...

, attributing to the jubilant celebrations at Anfield whilst Keegan slumped over the advertising hoardings in distress. Newcastle's collapse in the Premier League title race has been the subject of continuous debate. Newcastle's performance has been described by Graham Lister of ''Goal.com'' as having "entered football folklore as the Premier League's ultimate

Devon Loch Devon Loch (1946–1963) was a racehorse, which fell on the final straight while leading the 1956 Grand National. Owned by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and ridden by Dick Francis, Devon Loch had won two races already that season and finishe ...

moment." Rob Lee claimed that the failure to capture the title was due to falling player confidence, whilst Ian Cusack believed that the return of Eric Cantona was the major difference, stating "Newcastle United had, player for player, the best team in the Premiership, but didn't have the best player." Mark Lawrenson said the general consensus was Keegan's attacking philosophy having been instrumental in costing Newcastle the title, stating "I really think they should have won the league in the 1995–96 season...Kevin could have done it if he'd altered the system very, very slightly. But he didn't want to betray his principles...I think Kevin wanted it free-flowing in all departments and that doesn't necessarily happen."

Final league table

Results by round

Kit

Newcastle United's kit was manufactured by the company

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

and sponsored by Tyneside-based brewery

Newcastle Brown Ale Newcastle Brown Ale is a brown ale, originally brewed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Launched in 1927 by Colonel Jim Porter after three years of development, the 1960 merger of Newcastle Breweries with Scottish Brewers afforded the beer natio ...

Players

First-team squad

:''Squad at end of season''

Left club during season

Reserves

:''The following players did not appear for the first-team this season.''

Appearances, goals and cards

:''Starts + substitute appearances)''

Coaching staff

Matches

External links

FootballSquads – Newcastle United – 1995/96
*[http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:LSNB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F934C29685AF044&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815 The Great career – Profile]
Player Index – premierleague.com

Season Details – 1995–96 – toon1892

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 Newcastle United F.C. season

Newcastle United F.C. seasons