The 1996 FA Charity Shield (also known as the Littlewoods FA Charity Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the 74th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 11 August 1996 at Wembley Stadium and contested by Manchester United, who had won the Double of Premier League and FA Cup in 1995–96, and Newcastle United, who had finished as runners-up in the Premier League. Manchester United won the match 4–0 with goals from Eric Cantona, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Roy Keane.
The game saw new signings Jordi Cruyff and Karel Poborský make their debuts for Manchester United, though neither of these players had particularly successful careers at Old Trafford and both had left the club within four years. The day before the game had seen the surprise sale of one of Manchester United's longest serving players – Lee Sharpe.
The game saw Newcastle United give a debut to £15 million world record signing Alan Shearer, who would remain at the club until his retirement as a player 10 years later and break the club's goalscoring record in the process, though he would never win a major trophy with them.
Match details
GK 1 Peter SchmeichelRB 12 Phil NevilleCB 6 Gary PallisterCB 4 David MayLB 3 Denis Irwin RM 10 David BeckhamCM 8 Nicky Butt CM 16 Roy Keane LM 11 Ryan GiggsCF 18 Paul Scholes CF 7 Eric Cantona (c) Substitutes:GK 17 Raimond van der GouwDF 2 Gary Neville DF 19 Ronny JohnsenMF 14 Jordi Cruyff MF 15 Karel Poborský FW 13 Brian McClairFW 20 Ole Gunnar SolskjærManager: Alex Ferguson GK 1 Pavel SrníčekRB 19 Steve WatsonCB 5 Darren PeacockCB 27 Philippe Albert LB 3 John BeresfordRM 8 Peter Beardsley (c) CM 4 David BattyCM 7 Rob LeeLM 14 David Ginola CF 9 Alan ShearerCF 10 Les FerdinandSubstitutes:GK 15 Shaka HislopDF 2 Warren BartonDF 6 Steve HoweyMF 18 Keith Gillespie MF 20 Lee ClarkFW 11 Faustino Asprilla FW 28 Paul KitsonManager: Kevin Keegan Match officials Assistant referees: David Horlick (Merseyside) Alan Sheffield (Staffordshire) Reserve official: Peter Jones (Leicestershire)Match rules 90 minutes Penalty shootout if scores level Seven named substitutes Maximum of three substitutions
References
Sources 1996 Final MAN UNITED 4 NEWCASTLE 0
See also 1995–96 FA Premier League 1995–96 FA Cup