1995–96 Manchester United F.C. season

Manchester United
1995–96 season
Chairman	Martin Edwards
Manager	Alex Ferguson
Premier League	1st
FA Cup	Winners
League Cup	Second round
UEFA Cup	First round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Eric Cantona (14); All: ; Eric Cantona (19)
Highest home attendance	53,926 vs Nottingham Forest (28 April 1996)
Lowest home attendance	31,966 vs West Ham United (23 August 1995)
Average home league attendance	41,681
	← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 season was Manchester United's fourth season in the Premier League, and their 21st consecutive season in the top division of English football.^[1] 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.^[2]

Pre-season and friendlies

Date	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
31 July 1995	Selangor	A	4–1	Bruce, Butt, Pallister, Sharpe	50,000
2 August 1995	Selangor	A	2–0	Bruce, Scholes	20,000
7 August 1995	Birmingham City	A	0–1		13,330
9 August 1995	Bradford City	A	1–0	Keane	13,457
11 August 1995	Shelbourne	A	2–2	Butt, Beckham	12,500
13 August 1995	East Fife	A	4–0	Beckham (2), McClair, Sharpe	5,385
15 August 1995	Oldham Athletic	A	2–0	Sharpe, Jobson (o.g.)	8,766
5 December 1995	International Select	N	1–2	Scholes	22,000
12 December 1995	Celtic	A	1–3	Scholes	37,306

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'll never 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.

19 August 1995 1	Aston Villa	3–1	Manchester United	Birmingham
15:00 BST	Taylor 14' Draper 27' Yorke 37' (pen)	Report	84' Beckham Scholes	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 34,655 Referee: Robert Hart

23 August 1995 2	Manchester United	2–1	West Ham United	Greater Manchester
20:00 BST	Scholes 50' Keane 68'	Report	56' (og) Bruce 74' Marco Boogers Dan Hutchison	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 31,966 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

26 August 1995 3	Manchester United	3–1	Wimbledon F.C.	Greater Manchester
15:00 BST	Keane 28', 80' Cole 60'	Report	65' Robbie Earle	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 32,226 Referee: Paul Durkin

28 August 1995 4	Blackburn Rovers	1–2	Manchester United	Blackburn
20:00 BST	Shearer 59' Le Saux Sherwood Batty	Report	46' Sharpe 67' Beckham 73' Roy Keane Butt Cole Neville	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 29,843 Referee: David Elleray

9 September 1995 5	Everton	2–3	Manchester United	Merseyside
15:00 BST	Anders Limpar 27' Paul Rideout 55' David Unsworth 79' Dave Watson Gary Ablett	Report	3' Sharpe 49', Sharpe 74' Giggs Pallister Keane Butt	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 39,496 Referee: Graham Poll

16 September 1995 6	Manchester United	3–0	Bolton Wanderers	Greater Manchester
15:00 BST	Scholes 18', 86' Giggs 34' Beckham	Report	Alan Thompson	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 32,812 Referee: Stephen Dunn

23 September 1995 7	Sheffield Wednesday	0–0	Manchester United	Sheffield
15:00 BST		Report		Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 34,101 Referee: Keith Burge

1 October 1995 8	Manchester United	2–2	Liverpool	Greater Manchester
16:00 BST	Butt 2' Cantona 71' (pen) Keane	Report	33' Fowler 52' Fowler Thomas McAteer Redknapp	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 34,934 Referee: David Elleray

14 October 1995 9	Manchester United	1–0	Manchester City	Greater Manchester
15:00 BST	Scholes 5' Neville		Steve Lomas Garry Flitcroft Keith Curle Terry Phelan	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 35,707 Referee: Roger Dilkes

21 October 1995 10	Chelsea	1–4	Manchester United	Fulham
15:00 BST	Hughes 75' Frank Sinclair 85' Paul Furlong Steve Clarke		4', 10' Scholes 78' Giggs 85' McClair Butt	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 31,019 Referee: Alan Wilkie

28 October 1995 11	Manchester United	2–0	Middlesbrough	Greater Manchester
15:00 GMT	Pallister 44' Cole 88' Keane 88' Bruce Butt	Report	Phil Cox Neil Whelan Jamie Pollock	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 36,580 Referee: Stephen Lodge

4 November 1995 12	Arsenal	1–0	Manchester United	London
15:00 GMT	Bergkamp 14' Paul Merson	Report	25' Beckham Gary Neville Steve Bruce	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,317 Referee: Paul Durkin

18 November 1995 13	Manchester United	4–1	Southampton	Greater Manchester
15:00 GMT	Giggs 1', 4' Scholes 9' Cole 69' Butt	Report	85' Shipperley Widdrington	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 39,301 Referee: Paul Danson

22 November 1995 14	Coventry City	0–4	Manchester United	Coventry
19:45 GMT	Paul Williams	Report	28'Irwin 48', 76' McClair 58' Beckham	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 23,400 Referee: Keith Burge

27 November 1995 15	Nottingham Forest	1–1	Manchester United	Nottingham
20:00 GMT	McGregor 18'	Report	66' (pen) Cantona Pallister	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 29,263 Referee: Keith Cooper

2 December 1995 16	Manchester United	1–1	Chelsea	Greater Manchester
15:00 GMT	Beckham 61' Gary Neville Cantona	Report	53' Wise Lee Hall Newton	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 42,019 Referee: Martin Bodenham

9 December 1995 17	Manchester United	2–2	Sheffield Wednesday	Greater Manchester
15:00 GMT	Cantona 18' Cantona 84' Bruce Beckham		59' Bright 78' Whittingham	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 41,849 Referee: Peter Jones

17 December 1995 18	Liverpool	2–0	Manchester United	Liverpool
16:00 GMT	Fowler 45' Fowler 86'	Report	McClair Sharpe	Stadium: Anfield Road Attendance: 40,546 Referee: Graham Poll

24 December 1995 19	Leeds United	3–1	Manchester United	Leeds
12:00 GMT	Gary McAllister 7' (pen) Anthony Yeboah 37' Brian Deane 73',	Report	27' Cole 73' Beckham	Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 39,801 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

27 December 1995 20	Manchester United	2–0	Newcastle United	Greater Manchester
18:00 GMT	Cole 6' Keane 53' Irwin	Report	Beresford Barton	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 42,024 Referee: Paul Alcock

30 December 1995 21	Manchester United	2–1	Queens Park Rangers	Greater Manchester
15:00 GMT	Cole 45' Giggs 52'	Report	68'Danny Dichio	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 41,890 Referee: Robert Hart

1 January 1996 22	Tottenham Hotspur	4–1	Manchester United	Tottenham
20:00 GMT	Teddy Sheringham 35' Sol Campbell 45' Chris Armstrong 48' Chris Armstrong 65' Dean Austin	Report	36' Cole	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 32,852 Referee: Gerald Ashby

13 January 1996 23	Manchester United	0–0	Aston Villa	Greater Manchester
15:00 GMT	Phil Neville Gary Neville Peter Schmeichel Irwin	Report	Mark Draper Milosevic	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 42,667 Referee: Gary Willard

22 January 1996 24	West Ham United	0–1	Manchester United	Upton Park
20:00 GMT	30' Robbie Slater	Report	9' Cantona Cole Sharpe Gary Neville Bruce 88' Butt	Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 24,197 Referee: Stephen Lodge

3 February 1996 25	Wimbledon	2–4	Manchester United	Selhurst
15:00 GMT	Marcus Gayle 68' Jason Euell 76' Neal Ardley 76' Steve Talboys	Report	41' Cole 45' (o.g.) Chris Perry 71' Cantona 81' (pen) Cantona	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 25,380 Referee: Paul Durkin

10 February 1996 26	Manchester United	1–0	Blackburn Rovers	Greater Manchester
15:00 GMT	Sharpe 15' Keane	Report	24' Graham Fenton	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 42,681 Referee: Keith Burge

21 February 1996 27	Manchester United	2–0	Everton	Greater Manchester
20:00 GMT	Keane 30' Giggs 82'	Report	Horne Ebbrell O'Connor	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 42,459 Referee: Martin Bodenham

25 February 1996 28	Bolton Wanderers	0–6	Manchester United	Bolton
17:00 GMT		Report	5' Beckham 15' Bruce 70' Cole 76', 79' Scholes 90' Butt	Stadium: Burnden Park Attendance: 21,381 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

4 March 1996 29	Newcastle United	0–1	Manchester United	Newcastle Upon Tyne
20:00 GMT	David Ginola Robert Lee	Report	52' Cantona Butt	Stadium: St. James' Park Attendance: 36,584 Referee: David Elleray

16 March 1996 30	Queens Park Rangers	1–1	Manchester United	Shepherd's Bush
15:00 GMT	Irwin 63' (o.g.) Simon Baker	Report	90' Cantona May Cole	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 18,817 Referee: Robert Hart

20 March 1996 31	Manchester United	1–0	Arsenal	Greater Manchester
20:00 GMT	Cantona 66'	Report	John Hartson	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 50,028 Referee: Gary Willard

24 March 1996 32	Manchester United	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Greater Manchester
16:00 GMT	Cantona 51' Keane Butt	Report	55' Gary Mabbutt	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 50,157 Referee: Gerald Ashby

6 April 1996 33	Manchester City	2–3	Manchester United	Moss Side
15:00 BST	Mikhail Kavelashvili 39' Uwe Rösler 71' Keith Curle Michael Brown	Report	7' (pen) Cantona 42', 73' Cole 78' Giggs Gary Neville Butt	Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 29,668 Referee: Mike Reed

8 April 1996 34	Manchester United	1–0	Coventry City	Greater Manchester
15:00 BST	Cantona 47'	Report		Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 50,332 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

13 April 1996 35	Southampton	3–1	Manchester United	Southampton
15:00 BST	Kenneth Monkou 11' Neil Shipperley 23' Le Tissier 43' Barry Venison	Report	89' Giggs Beckham	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 15,262 Referee: Graham Poll

17 April 1996 36	Manchester United	1–0	Leeds United	Greater Manchester
20:00 BST	Keane 72',		15' Mark Beeney	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 48,382 Referee: Keith Cooper

28 April 1996 37	Manchester United	5–0	Nottingham Forest	Greater Manchester
16:00 BST	Scholes 42' Beckham 45' Beckham 55' Giggs 70' Cantona 90' Keane	Report	Scott Gemmill Pearce	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 53,926 Referee: Jeff Winter

5 May 1996 38	Middlesbrough	0–3	Manchester United	Middlesbrough
16:00 BST		Report	14'May 54' Cole 81' Giggs Pallister Irwin	Stadium: Riverside Attendance: 29,921 Referee: Paul Durkin

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Manchester United (C)	38	25	7	6	73	35	+38	82	Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2	Newcastle United	38	24	6	8	66	37	+29	78	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Liverpool	38	20	11	7	70	34	+36	71	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round^[a]
4	Aston Villa	38	18	9	11	52	35	+17	63	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
5	Arsenal	38	17	12	9	49	32	+17	63	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:

^ Liverpool qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup runners-up, as winners Manchester United already qualified for the Champions League. They defaulted their UEFA Cup spot from league position to Arsenal.

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	L	W	W	W	W	W	D	D	W	W	W	L	W	W	D	D	D	L	L	W	W	L	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	L	W	W	W
Position	19	5	4	2	2	2	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; = Champions, Qualified to the 1996-97 UEFA Champions League; = Qualified to the 1996-97 UEFA Cup First Round; = Relegated to First Division; c = Qualified from the 1996-97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup First Round as FA Cup winners.

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.

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
6 January 1996	Round 3	Sunderland	H	2–2	Butt 13', Cantona 80'	41,563
16 January 1996	Round 3 Replay	Sunderland	A	2–1	Scholes 70', Cole 90'	21,378
27 January 1996	Round 4	Reading	A	3–0	Giggs 37', Parker 57', Cantona 90'	14,780
18 February 1996	Round 5	Manchester City	H	2–1	Cantona 39' (pen.), Sharpe 78'	42,692
11 March 1996	Round 6	Southampton	H	2–0	Cantona 49', Sharpe 90'	45,446
31 March 1996	Semi-final	Chelsea	N	2–1	Cole 55', Beckham 59'	38,421
11 May 1996	Final	Liverpool	N	1–0	Cantona 86'	79,007

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.

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
20 September 1995	Round 2 First leg	York City	H	0–3		29,049
3 October 1995	Round 2 Second leg	York City	A	3–1	Scholes (2) 7', 80', Cooke 14'	9,386

UEFA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	Result F–A	Scorers	Attendance
12 September 1995	Round 1 First leg	Rotor Volgograd	A	0–0		33,000
26 September 1995	Round 1 Second leg	Rotor Volgograd	H	2–2	Scholes 60', Schmeichel 89'	29,724

Squad statistics

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		FA Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		UEFA Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	DEN	Peter Schmeichel	45	1	36	0	6	0	1	0	2	1
20	DF	ENG	Gary Neville	39	0	30+1	0	5+1	0	1	0	1	0
4	DF	ENG	Steve Bruce	39	1	30	1	5	0	1+1	0	2	0
6	DF	ENG	Gary Pallister	28	1	21	1	3	0	2	0	2	0
3	DF	IRL	Denis Irwin	39	1	31	1	6	0	1	0	1	0
24	MF	ENG	David Beckham	40	8	26+7	7	3	1	2	0	2	0
16	MF	IRL	Roy Keane	39	6	29	6	7	0	0+1	0	2	0
19	MF	ENG	Nicky Butt	41	3	31+1	2	7	1	0	0	2	0
11	MF	WAL	Ryan Giggs	44	12	30+3	11	7	1	2	0	2	0
7	FW	FRA	Eric Cantona	38	19	30	14	7	5	1	0	0	0
17	FW	ENG	Andy Cole	43	13	32+2	11	7	2	1	0	1	0
25	GK	ENG	Kevin Pilkington	5	0	2+1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
5	MF	ENG	Lee Sharpe	41	6	21+10	4	4+2	2	2	0	2	0
23	DF	ENG	Phil Neville	34	0	21+3	0	6+1	0	1+1	0	1	0
22	MF	ENG	Paul Scholes	31	14	16+10	10	0+2	1	1	2	1+1	1
9	FW	SCO	Brian McClair	23	3	12+10	3	0	0	1	0	0	0
12	DF	ENG	David May	18	1	11+5	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	ENG	Paul Parker	10	1	5+1	0	1+1	1	1	0	0+1	0
31	DF	FRA	William Prunier	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	MF	WAL	Simon Davies	8	0	1+5	0	0	0	1	0	0+1	0
27	MF	ENG	Terry Cooke	7	1	1+3	0	0	0	1+1	1	0+1	0
29	MF	ENG	Ben Thornley	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	DF	ENG	John O'Kane	2	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
13	GK	ENG	Tony Coton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	FW	ENG	Graeme Tomlinson	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	DF	NIR	Pat McGibbon	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
26	DF	ENG	Chris Casper	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

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 Vitesse Arnhem on 25 June 1996.

In

Date	Pos.	Name	From	Fee
25 September 1995	GK	Nick Culkin	York City	£250k
31 January 1996	GK	Tony Coton	Manchester City	£500k
25 June 1996	GK	Raimond van der Gouw	Vitesse Arnhem	Free

Out

Date	Pos.	Name	To	Fee
1 July 1995	MF	Matthew Barrass	San Diego Nomads	Free
2 July 1995	MF	David Gardner	Released	Free
2 July 1995	DF	Paul Heckingbottom	Sunderland	Free
2 July 1995	MF	Patrick Lee	Middlesbrough	Free
2 July 1995	MF	Paul Lyons	Rochdale	Free
19 July 1995	FW	Richard Irving	Nottingham Forest	£75k
26 July 1995	DF	Ashley Westwood	Crewe Alexandra	£40k
11 August 1995	GK	Gary Walsh	Middlesbrough	£250k
25 August 1995	MF	Andrei Kanchelskis	Everton	£5m
27 September 1995	DF	Elliott Dickman	Sunderland	Free
30 September 1995	FW	Stephen Hall	Released	Free
5 November 1995	MF	John Hudson	Released	Free
23 January 1996	DF	Matt Wicks	Arsenal	Free
22 May 1996	DF	Steve Bruce	Birmingham City	Free
30 June 1996	FW	Dessie Baker	Released	Free
30 June 1996	DF	Daniel Hall	Released	Free
30 June 1996	DF	Paul Parker	Derby County	Free
30 June 1996	DF	Phillip Whittam	Released	Free

Loan in

Date from	Date to	Pos.	Name	From
29 December 1995	1 March 1996	DF	William Prunier	Bordeaux

Loan out

Date from	Date to	Pos.	Name	To
1 July 1995	1 August 1995	MF	Michael Appleton	Wimbledon
15 September 1995	15 October 1995	MF	Michael Appleton	Lincoln City
6 November 1995	15 February 1996	MF	Ben Thornley	Stockport County
11 January 1996	11 April 1996	DF	Chris Casper	AFC Bournemouth
29 January 1996	29 February 1996	MF	Terry Cooke	Sunderland
2 February 1996	20 March 1996	GK	Kevin Pilkington	Rochdale
22 February 1996	18 May 1997	MF	Ben Thornley	Huddersfield Town
22 March 1996	22 May 1996	FW	Graeme Tomlinson	Luton Town

References

^ "Manchester United Season 1995/96". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2007.
^ Lee Sharpe (15 April 2006). "13.04.96 Manchester United's grey day at The Dell". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 15 April 2006.

[table_note_res_UCWC10.78511649453319-3] Liverpool qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup runners-up, as winners Manchester United already qualified for the Champions League. They defaulted their UEFA Cup spot from league position to Arsenal.

[1] "Manchester United Season 1995/96". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2007.

[2] Lee Sharpe (15 April 2006). "13.04.96 Manchester United's grey day at The Dell". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 15 April 2006.

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