The 1995–96 English football season was Aston Villa's 4th season in the Premier League. The season was Aston Villa's 121st professional season, their 85th season in the top flight and their 8th consecutive season in the top tier of English football (the fourth in the FA Premier League).
Villa made huge progress in their first full season under Brian Little's management. He had arrived at Villa Park in November 1994, taking charge of a side faced with a real threat of relegation just 18 months after almost winning the Premier League title. The rebuilding process had started almost immediately, with Little quickly discarding the likes of Kevin Richardson, Garry Parker, Earl Barrett and Ray Houghton, and bringing in Ian Taylor, Gary Charles, Alan Wright and Tommy Johnson as mid-season signings. The rebuilding process had continued over the summer of 1995, with Shaun Teale, Dalian Atkinson and even top scorer Dean Saunders heading out of the Villa Park exit door, in favour of new signings including Gareth Southgate and Serbian striker Savo Milosevic - who both broke the club's transfer record in quick succession.
Villa finished fourth in the league and matched Liverpool's record of five League Cup victories (Liverpool have since reclaimed the record with victories in 2001, 2003 and 2012) thanks to a 3–0 Wembley win over Leeds United in March. Villa were also FA Cup semi-finalists, but their hopes of a Wembley double were ended with a defeat to Liverpool.
A new-look Villa side proved itself to be in fine form, thanks to the likes of Gary Charles, Alan Wright, Ian Taylor, and Mark Draper. Trinidadian striker Dwight Yorke established himself as one of the Premier League's most prolific goalscorers, though there were still some doubts regarding the suitability of Savo Milošević as the man to replace Dean Saunders.
The club's longest-serving player, veteran goalkeeper Nigel Spink (361), left Villa halfway through the season after nearly 20 years to sign for local rivals West Bromwich Albion in Division One.
After the season ended, Little paid a club record £4million for Serbian midfielder Saša Ćurčić. With Gary Charles facing a long stretch on the sidelines with a serious ankle injury picked up during the final weeks of the season, Little signed Portuguese right-back Fernando Nelson.
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Results by round
Matches
FA Cup
League Cup
Transfers
Transferred in DatePosPlayerFromFee 26 June 1995 CF Savo Milošević Partizan £3,500,000 1 July 1995 CB Gareth Southgate Crystal Palace £2,500,000 5 July 1995 CM Mark Draper Leicester City £3,250,000 28 October 1995 CB Carl Tiler Nottingham Forest £750,000 24 February 1996 CF Julian Joachim Leicester City £1,890,000£11,890,000
Loaned in DatePosPlayerFromLoan End
Transferred out DatePosPlayerToFee 1 July 1995 CF John Fashanu Retired 1 July 1995 CF Dean Saunders Galatasaray £2,350,000 31 July 1995 AM Nii Lamptey Coventry City £150,000 1 August 1995 CF Dalian Atkinson Fenerbahçe £1,600,000 14 August 1995 CB Shaun Teale Tranmere Rovers £450,000 14 September 1995 CM David Farrell Wycombe Wanderers £100,000 13 October 1995 CM Trevor Berry Wycombe Wanderers £100,000 6 November 1995 AM Graham Fenton Blackburn Rovers £1,500,000 30 January 1996 GK Nigel Spink West Bromwich Albion Free transfer 1 March 1996 LB Bryan Small Bolton Wanderers Free transfer 21 March 1996 CF Steve Cowe Swindon Town £100,000£6,350,000
Loaned out DatePosPlayerToLoan End
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure £11,890,000
Income £6,350,000
Balance £5,540,000
Squad First Team # Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth (age) Signed from Date signed Fee Apps Gls Goalkeepers 1 Mark Bosnich GK Liverpool Sydney Croatia 28 February 1992 Free transfer 94 0 13 Nigel Spink GK Chelmsford Chelmsford City 4 January 1977 £4,000 450 0 30 Michael Oakes GK Northwich Academy 1 July 1991 1 0 35 Adam Rachel GK Birmingham Academy 1 July 1995 - - Defenders 2 Gary Charles RB Newham Derby County 6 January 1995 £1,450,000 16 0 3 Steve Staunton LB Dundalk Liverpool 7 August 1991 £1,100,000 173 12 4 Gareth Southgate CB Watford Crystal Palace 1 July 1995 £3,500,000 - - 5 Paul McGrath CB Greenford Manchester United 3 August 1989 £400,000 268 8 6 Carl Tiler CB Sheffield Nottingham Forest 28 October 1995 £750,000 - - 12 Phil King LB Bristol Sheffield Wednesday 1 August 1994 £200,000 23 0 14 Alan Wright LB Ashton-under-Lyne Blackburn Rovers 10 March 1995 £1,000,000 8 0 16 Ugo Ehiogu CB Hackney West Bromwich Albion 12 July 1991 £40,000 81 4 20 Riccardo Scimeca CB Leamington Spa Academy 1 July 1995 - - 21 Paul Browne CB Glasgow Academy 1 July 1995 - - Bryan Small LB Birmingham Academy 1 July 1990 43 0 Midfielders 7 Ian Taylor CM Birmingham Sheffield Wednesday 21 December 1994 £1,000,000 24 1 8 Mark Draper CM Long Eaton Leicester City 5 July 1995 £3,250,000 - - 11 Andy Townsend (c) CM Maidstone Chelsea 26 July 1993 £2,100,000 87 6 15 Graham Fenton AM Whitley Bay Academy 1 July 1993 34 3 15* Lee Hendrie RM Solihull Academy 1 July 1995 - - 19 Gareth Farrelly LM Dublin Academy 1 July 1995 - - 22 David Farrell CM Birmingham Redditch United 6 January 1992 £45,000 8 0 24 Scott Murray RM Fraserburgh Academy 1 July 1995 - - Forwards 9 Savo Milošević CF Bijeljina Partizan 26 June 1995 £3,500,000 - - 10 Tommy Johnson CF Gateshead Derby County 6 January 1995 £1,450,000 15 4 17 Franz Carr RW Preston Leicester City 10 February 1995 £250,000 2 0 18 Dwight Yorke CF Canaan Signal Hill 19 July 1991 £120,000 146 37 23 Neil Davis CF Bloxwich Academy 1 July 1995 - - 26 Julian Joachim CF Peterborough Leicester City 24 February 1996 £1,890,000 - -
Statistics
Appearances Rank # Nat Player Pos Apps FA Premier League FA Cup League Cup Total XI Sub XI Sub XI Sub XI Sub1 1 51 38 0 5 0 8 0 51 02 14 51 38 0 5 0 8 0 51 03 16 50 37 0 5 0 8 0 50 04 8 49 36 0 5 0 8 0 49 05 9 49 36 1 5 0 7 0 48 16 18 48 36 0 4 0 8 0 48 07 2 47 34 0 5 0 8 0 47 08 11 44 29 2 5 0 8 0 42 29 4 43 32 0 4 0 7 0 43 010 5 41 29 1 4 1 5 1 38 311 7 35 23 2 4 0 5 1 32 312 10 31 18 7 2 0 4 0 24 713 20 22 8 6 1 2 1 4 10 1214 3 17 9 3 1 0 2 2 12 515 26 11 3 4 2 0 1 1 6 516 19 6 1 2 1 0 2 0 4 217 15 5 3 0 0 0 2 0 5 018 23 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 019 15* 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 220 24 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 321 13 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 022 17 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 223 21 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 224 6 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Goals Involvements Rank # Nat Player Pos Apps Goal Inv. FA Premier League FA Cup League Cup Total Goals Assists Goals Assists Goals Assists Goals Assists1 18 48 36 17 10 2 1 6 0 25 112 9 49 23 12 6 1 1 1 2 14 93 10 31 10 6 2 1 0 1 0 8 24 7 35 7 3 2 1 0 1 0 5 25 8 49 13 2 6 2 1 1 1 5 86 - - - - 4 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 07 11 44 12 2 6 0 1 1 2 3 98 5 41 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 09 4 43 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 010 16 50 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 011 14 51 4 2 1 0 0 0 1 2 212 26 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 013 17 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 014 2 47 8 1 6 0 0 0 1 1 715 3 17 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
Clean Sheets Rank # Nat Player Apps Conceded Clean Sheets FA Premier League FA Cup League Cup Con CS Con CS Con CS1 1 51 42 22 32 14 4 3 6 52 13 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0
References
External links Aston Villa official website avfchistory.co.uk 1995–96 season