The 1994–95 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the competition, since its formation in 1992 as the top division of professional football in England. Due to the decision to reduce the number of clubs in the FA Premier League from 22 to 20 starting from the following season, four clubs were to be relegated.
Overview Transfers Just before the start of the season, the English transfer record was broken when Blackburn Rovers paid £5 million for 21-year-old Norwich City striker Chris Sutton. But that record was broken again in January when Manchester United paid £6 million for Newcastle United's Andy Cole, in a deal which also saw £1 million-rated Keith Gillespie move to Newcastle. Other significant transfers before and during the 1994–95 season included: Vinny Samways (Tottenham to Everton, £2 million), David Rocastle (Manchester City to Chelsea, £1.25 million), Jürgen Klinsmann (Monaco to Tottenham Hotspur, £2 million), John Scales (Wimbledon to Liverpool, £3 million) and Paul Kitson (Derby County to Newcastle United, £2.2 million).
Summary The title was won by Blackburn Rovers, whose last title success was in 1914, and also was Blackburn's first major trophy in 67 years (the last being 1927–28 FA Cup). Kenny Dalglish's side secured the championship on the last day of the season despite losing 2–1 at his former club Liverpool, as Manchester United could only manage a 1–1 draw at West Ham. This meant that Blackburn Rovers qualified for the European Cup for the first time in their history, while Manchester United finished second earning a UEFA Cup place. A single point separated the two sides, who for more than half of the season enjoyed a wide gap in terms of point between themselves and the rest of the league, despite the likes of Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Newcastle United looking like title contenders during the first three months of the season.
Also qualifying for the UEFA Cup were Nottingham Forest (who finished third in their first season back in the Premier League), Liverpool (who finished fourth and won their fifth League Cup in the club's first full season following the appointment of Roy Evans). Fifth-placed Leeds United also secured a place via the newly-introduced UEFA Fair Play ranking, by virtue of the Premier League's exemplary disciplinary record through the season.
The number of teams in the league for the following year would be reduced to 20. This was to be achieved by increasing the number of teams facing relegation to four, and reducing the number of teams being promoted from Division 1 to two. Ipswich Town were relegated in bottom place after winning just seven league games and conceding 93 goals. Newly promoted Leicester City also went down, winning just six times in the league and never being outside the bottom two after November. Norwich City, who had been in contention for a UEFA Cup place halfway through the season, suffered a nosedive in form during the second half of the season and were relegated just two seasons after being title contenders. The final relegation place on the last day of the season went to Crystal Palace, who still lost 3–2 despite a strong fightback at Newcastle after being 3–0 down.
Controversial incidents In January 1995, Manchester United's 28-year-old French striker Eric Cantona (then holder of the PFA Players' Player of the Year award) assaulted a Crystal Palace fan who verbally abused him in his team's 1–1 draw at Selhurst Park. Cantona was banned from football for eight months, fined £20,000 and sentenced to 14 days in prison. The prison sentence was later reduced to 120 hours community service on appeal.
Chelsea midfielder Dennis Wise was convicted of criminal damage and assault, relating to a fight with a taxi driver in London. He was given a three-month prison sentence but the conviction and prison sentence were quickly overturned on appeal.
Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson admitted in November 1994 that he was an alcoholic and was also addicted to cocaine and gambling. He underwent a three-month drug rehabilitation programme before being allowed to resume his playing career.
Crystal Palace striker Chris Armstrong failed a drugs test in February 1995 but admitted that he had done wrong and returned to action after just four weeks undergoing rehabilitation. Armstrong was Palace's leading goalscorer in 1994–95, helping them reach the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions, but was unable to prevent them from being relegated back to the First Division just one season after winning promotion.
Arsenal manager George Graham was sacked in February 1995 after nearly nine years in charge, when it was revealed that he had accepted an illegal payment of £425,000 from Norwegian agent Rune Hauge relating to the purchases of Norwegian and Danish players Pål Lydersen and John Jensen three years earlier. Graham was later banned from football for one year by the FA.
Teams Twenty-two teams competed in the league – the top nineteen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest (both teams returning to the top flight after a season's absence), and Leicester City (returning after a top flight absence of seven years). This was also Leicester City's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Sheffield United, Oldham Athletic and Swindon Town, who were relegated to the First Division after their top flight spells of four, three and one year respectively. This was the final season to be contested by twenty-two teams as all seasons after were contested by twenty teams.
Stadiums and locations
Team Location Stadium Capacity Arsenal London Highbury Aston Villa Birmingham Villa Park Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Ewood Park Chelsea London Stamford Bridge Coventry City Coventry Highfield Road Crystal Palace London Selhurst Park Everton Liverpool Goodison Park Ipswich Town Ipswich Portman Road Leeds United Leeds Elland Road Leicester City Leicester Filbert Street Liverpool Liverpool Anfield Manchester City Manchester Maine Road Manchester United Manchester Old Trafford Newcastle United Newcastle upon Tyne St James' Park Norwich City Norwich Carrow Road Nottingham Forest West Bridgford City Ground Queens Park Rangers London Loftus Road Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Hillsborough Stadium Southampton Southampton The Dell Tottenham Hotspur London White Hart Lane West Ham United London Boleyn Ground Wimbledon London Selhurst Park
Personnel and kits (as of 14 May 1995) Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorArsenal Stewart Houston (caretaker) Tony AdamsNikeJVCAston Villa Brian Little Kevin RichardsonAsicsMüllerBlackburn Rovers Kenny Dalglish Tim SherwoodAsicsMcEwan's LagerChelsea Glenn Hoddle Dennis WiseUmbroCoorsCoventry City Ron Atkinson Brian BorrowsPonyPeugeotCrystal Palace Alan Smith Gareth SouthgateNutmegTDKEverton Joe Royle Dave WatsonUmbroNECIpswich Town George Burley Steve PalmerUmbroFisonsLeeds United Howard Wilkinson Gary McAllisterAsicsThistle HotelsLeicester City Mark McGhee Steve WalshFox LeisureWalkersLiverpool Roy Evans Ian RushAdidasCarlsbergManchester City Brian Horton Keith CurleUmbroBrotherManchester United Alex Ferguson Steve BruceUmbroSharpNewcastle United Kevin Keegan Peter BeardsleyAsicsNewcastle Brown Ale (home) McEwan's Lager(away)Norwich City Gary Megson (caretaker) Jon NewsomeRiberoNorwich and PeterboroughNottingham Forest Frank Clark Stuart PearceUmbroLabatt'sQueens Park Rangers Ray Wilkins David BardsleyClubhouseCompaqSheffield Wednesday Trevor Francis Chris WaddlePumaSandersonSouthampton Alan Ball Matt Le TissierPonyDimplexTottenham Hotspur Gerry Francis Gary MabbuttUmbroHolstenWest Ham United Harry Redknapp Steve PottsPonyDagenham MotorsWimbledon Joe Kinnear Vinnie JonesIn-HouseElonex
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment West Ham United Billy Bonds Resigned 10 August 1994 Pre-season Harry Redknapp 10 August 1994 Tottenham Hotspur Osvaldo ArdilesSacked 1 November 1994 11th Steve Perryman (caretaker) 1 November 1994 Everton Mike Walker 8 November 1994 22nd Joe Royle 10 November 1994 Aston Villa Ron Atkinson 10 November 1994 19th Jim Barron (caretaker) Tottenham Hotspur Steve Perryman End of caretaker spell 15 November 1994 13th Gerry Francis 15 November 1994 Queens Park Rangers Gerry Francis Resigned 18th Ray Wilkins Leicester City Brian Little 22 November 1994 20th Kevin MacDonald (caretaker) 22 November 1994 Aston Villa Jim Barron End of caretaker spell 25 November 1994 19th Brian Little 25 November 1994 Ipswich Town John Lyall Resigned 5 December 1994 22nd Paul Goddard (caretaker) 5 December 1994 Leicester City Kevin MacDonald End of caretaker spell 14 December 1994 21st Mark McGhee 14 December 1994 Ipswich Town Paul Goddard 28 December 1994 22nd George Burley 28 December 1994 Coventry City Phil Neal Sacked 14 February 1995 13th Ron Atkinson 15 February 1995 Arsenal George Graham 21 February 1995 12th Stewart Houston 21 February 1995 Norwich City John Deehan Resigned 9 April 1995 20th Gary Megson (caretaker) 9 April 1995
League table
Results
Season statistics Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Alan ShearerBlackburn Rovers342 Robbie FowlerLiverpool253 Les FerdinandQueens Park Rangers244 Stan CollymoreNottingham Forest225 Andy ColeNewcastle UnitedManchester United216 Jürgen KlinsmannTottenham Hotspur207 Matt Le TissierSouthampton198 Teddy SheringhamTottenham Hotspur18 Ian WrightArsenal10 Uwe RöslerManchester City15 Dean SaundersAston Villa Chris SuttonBlackburn Rovers
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Blackburn Rovers Coventry City 4–0 (H) Liverpool Arsenal 3–0 (H) Manchester United Manchester City 5–0 (H) Blackburn Rovers Queens Park Rangers 4–0 (H) Tottenham Hotspur Newcastle United 4–2 (H) West Ham United Manchester City 3–0 (H) Blackburn Rovers West Ham United 4–2 (H) Ipswich Town 4–1 (H) Aston Villa Wimbledon 7–1 (H) 5 Manchester United Ipswich Town 9–0 (H) Coventry City Liverpool 3–2 (A) Leeds United Ipswich Town 4–0 (H) Arsenal 4–1 (H) Note: 5 – player scored 5 goals; (H) – Home; (A) – Away
Clean sheets RankPlayerClubCleansheets1 Peter SchmeichelManchester United202 David JamesLiverpool17 John LukicLeeds United4 Tim FlowersBlackburn165 Nigel MartynCrystal Palace14 Neville SouthallEverton7 Mark CrossleyNottingham Forest13 Luděk MikloškoWest Ham United Pavel SrníčekNewcastle United10 Dmitri KharineChelsea11 Steve OgrizovicCoventry City David SeamanArsenal Ian WalkerTottenham Hotspur
Discipline Player Most yellow cards: 12 Francis Benali (Southampton) Ken Monkou (Southampton) Andy Pearce (Sheffield Wednesday)
Most red cards: 2 Duncan Ferguson (Everton) Vinnie Jones (Wimbledon) Pavel Srníček (Newcastle United) Andy Townsend (Aston Villa) Jason Wilcox (Blackburn Rovers)
Club Most yellow cards: 72 Wimbledon
Fewest yellow cards: 35 Liverpool
Most red cards: 8 Leicester City
Fewest red cards: 0 Leeds United Southampton
Awards
Monthly awards
MonthManager of the MonthPlayer of the MonthManagerClubPlayerClubAugust Kevin KeeganNewcastle United Jürgen KlinsmannTottenham HotspurSeptember Frank ClarkNottingham Forest Rob LeeNewcastle UnitedOctober Alex FergusonManchester United Paul InceManchester UnitedNovember Kenny DalglishBlackburn Rovers Alan ShearerBlackburn Rovers Chris SuttonDecember Gerry FrancisTottenham Hotspur Matt Le TissierSouthamptonJanuary Brian LittleAston Villa Chris WaddleSheffield WednesdayFebruary Kevin KeeganNewcastle United Duncan FergusonEvertonMarch Ron AtkinsonCoventry City Tony YeboahLeeds UnitedApril Howard WilkinsonLeeds United David SeamanArsenal
Annual awards
PFA Team of the Year