1995–96 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. season

Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
1995–96 season
Chairman Dave Richards
Manager David Pleat
Premiership 15th
FA Cup Third round
League Cup Fourth round
Intertoto Cup Group stage
Top goalscorer League: Hirst (13)
All: Hirst (14)
Highest home attendance 34,101 (vs. Manchester United, Premiership)
Lowest home attendance 12,039 (vs. Crewe Alexandra, League Cup)
Average home attendance 24,877
(League games only)
← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 season was Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'s 129th season. They competed in the twenty-team Premiership, the top tier of English football, finishing fifteenth.

Contents

Season summary

David Pleat's first season as Sheffield Wednesday manager was the club's worst in the top flight since winning promotion in 1991. The eagerly-anticipated signing of Belgian forward Marc Degryse turned out to be a major disappointment, though David Hirst provided a fair supply of goals on his return to fitness after a two-year injury struggle.

The Owls struggled all season long, and finished 15th in the final table. This was another dismal showing for a club who were chasing honours just two or three seasons earlier, and Pleat knew that something had to change. Marc Degryse, Chris Waddle, Chris Woods and Klas Ingesson all left in the close season, and all the talk at Hillsborough was the acquisition of young striker Andy Booth from Huddersfield Town for £2.5 million. Many fans saw him as the answer to the problems which had plagued the Owls during the last seasons, and gave them hope of a new challenge for honours.

Final league table

Pos Team Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1. Manchester United 38 25 7 6 73 35  +38 82
2. Newcastle United 38 24 6 8 66 37  +29 78
3. Liverpool 38 20 11 7 70 34  +36 71
4. Aston Villa 38 18 9 11 52 35  +17 63
5. Arsenal 38 17 12 9 49 32  +17 63
6. Everton 38 17 10 11 64 44  +20 61
7. Blackburn Rovers 38 18 7 13 61 47  +14 61
8. Tottenham Hotspur 38 16 13 9 50 38  +12 61
9. Nottingham Forest 38 15 13 10 50 54  −4 58
10. West Ham United 38 14 9 15 43 52  −9 51
11. Chelsea 38 12 14 12 46 44  +2 50
12. Middlesbrough 38 11 10 17 35 50  −15 43
13. Leeds United 38 12 7 19 40 57  −17 43
14. Wimbledon 38 10 11 17 55 70  −15 41
15. Sheffield Wednesday 38 10 10 18 48 61  −13 40
16. Coventry City 38 8 14 16 42 60  −18 38
17. Southampton 38 9 11 18 34 52  −18 38
18. Manchester City 38 9 11 18 33 58  −25 38
19. Queens Park Rangers 38 9 6 23 38 57  −19 33
20. Bolton Wanderers 38 8 5 25 39 71  −32 29
Key
Qualified for the Champions League
Qualified for the UEFA Cup
Qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup
Relegated to Division One

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Sheffield Wednesday's score comes first

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
19 August 1995 Liverpool A 0-1 40,535
23 August 1995 Blackburn Rovers H 2-1 25,544 Waddle, Pembridge
27 August 1995 Newcastle United H 0-2 24,815
30 August 1995 Wimbledon A 2-2 6,352 Degryse, Hirst
9 September 1995 Queens Park Rangers A 3-0 12,459 Bright (2), Donaldson
16 September 1995 Tottenham Hotspur H 1-3 26,565 Hirst
23 September 1995 Manchester United H 0-0 34,101
30 September 1995 Leeds United A 0-2 34,076
15 October 1995 Middlesbrough H 0-1 21,177
21 October 1995 Coventry City A 1-0 13,998 Whittingham
28 October 1995 West Ham United H 0-1 23,917
4 November 1995 Chelsea A 0-0 23,216
18 November 1995 Manchester City H 1-1 24,422 Hirst (pen)
21 November 1995 Arsenal A 2-4 34,556 Hirst, Waddle
25 November 1995 Everton A 2-2 35,898 Bright (2)
4 December 1995 Coventry City H 4-3 16,229 Whittingham, Hirst, Degryse, Bright
9 December 1995 Manchester United A 2-2 41,849 Bright, Whittingham
16 December 1995 Leeds United H 6-2 24,573 Degryse (2), Whittingham, Bright, Hirst (2)
23 December 1995 Southampton H 2-2 25,115 Hirst (2 pens)
26 December 1995 Nottingham Forest A 0-1 27,810
1 January 1996 Bolton Wanderers H 4-2 24,872 Kovačević (2), Hirst (2)
13 January 1996 Liverpool H 1-1 32,747 Kovačević
20 January 1996 Blackburn Rovers A 0-3 24,732
3 February 1996 Newcastle United A 0-2 36,567
10 February 1996 Wimbledon H 2-1 19,085 Degryse, Watts
17 February 1996 Queens Park Rangers H 1-3 22,442 Hyde
24 February 1996 Tottenham Hotspur A 0-1 32,047
2 March 1996 Nottingham Forest H 1-3 21,930 Kovačević
6 March 1996 Aston Villa A 2-3 27,893 Blinker (2)
16 March 1996 Aston Villa H 2-0 22,964 Whittingham, Hirst
20 March 1996 Southampton A 1-0 13,216 Degryse
23 March 1996 Bolton Wanderers A 1-2 18,368 Whittingham
5 April 1996 Middlesbrough A 1-3 29,751 Pembridge
8 April 1996 Arsenal H 1-0 24,349 Degryse
13 April 1996 Manchester City A 0-1 30,898
17 April 1996 Chelsea H 0-0 25,094
27 April 1996 Everton H 2-5 32,724 Hirst, Degryse
5 May 1996 West Ham United A 1-1 23,790 Newsome

FA Cup

Main article: 1995–96 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 6 January 1996 Charlton Athletic A 0-2 13,815

League Cup

Main article: 1995–96 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R2 First Leg 19 September 1995 Crewe Alexandra A 2-2 5,702 Degryse (2)
R2 Second Leg 4 October 1995 Crewe Alexandra H 5-2 (won 7-4 on agg) 12,039 Hirst, Bright (3), Degryse
R3 25 October 1995 Millwall A 2-0 12,822 Pembridge, Whittingham
R4 29 November 1995 Arsenal A 1-2 35,362 Degryse

Squad list

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 GK Chris Woods
2 DF Peter Atherton
3 DF Ian Nolan
4 MF Mark Pembridge
5 DF Steve Nicol
6 DF Brian Linighan
7 MF Adem Poric
8 FW Chris Waddle
9 FW David Hirst
10 FW Mark Bright
11 MF John Sheridan
12 DF Dejan Stefanović
13 GK Kevin Pressman
14 FW Marc Degryse
15 MF Regi Blinker
No. Position Player
16 MF Graham Hyde
17 DF Des Walker
18 FW Darko Kovačević
19 FW Guy Whittingham
20 DF Jon Newsome
21 MF Ryan Jones
22 DF Simon Stewart
23 GK Lance Key
25 FW Mike Williams
26 FW Richard Barker
27 FW O'Neill Donaldson
29 MF Lee Briscoe
30 FW Ritchie Humphreys
31 MF Mark Platts

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
5 DF Dan Petrescu (to Chelsea)
12 DF Andy Pearce (to Wimbledon)
15 MF Andy Sinton (to Tottenham Hotspur)
No. Position Player
18 MF Klas Ingesson (to Bari)
24 DF Julian Watts (to Leicester City)
30 MF Matthew Hardwick (to Alfreton Town)

References

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