# 1995–96 Middlesbrough F.C. season

During the 1995–96 English football season, Middlesbrough F.C. competed in the FA Premier League.

## Season summary

Middlesbrough returned to the top flight of English football, and recorded a solid mid-table finish under player-manager Bryan Robson. It was also Boro's first season at new home Riverside Stadium, following the decision to move out from Ayresome Park, once the Taylor report banned standing on British football stadia.
New to the Boro side for the season were record signing Nick Barmby, goalkeeper Gary Walsh (who succeeded Alan Miller as the club's regular goalkeeper) and young defender Phil Whelan. Soon after the beginning of the season, Boro paid nearly £5million for 22-year-old Brazilian forward Juninho.
Boro had peaked at fourth in the Premier League in late October after losing just one of their opening 10 games, but the next four months brought just three wins and included an eight-match losing run which posed the threat of relegation to a side who had previously been challenging for a UEFA Cup place. Boro eventually secured survival by a margin of five points.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 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 |

## Results

Middlesbrough's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 20 August 1995 | Arsenal | A | 1–1 | 37,308 | Barmby |
| 26 August 1995 | Chelsea | H | 2–0 | 28,286 | Hignett, Fjørtoft |
| 30 August 1995 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 36,500 | |
| 9 September 1995 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 18,376 | Hignett |
| 12 September 1995 | Southampton | H | 0–0 | 29,181 | |
| 16 September 1995 | Coventry City | H | 2–1 | 27,882 | Vickers, Fjørtoft |
| 23 September 1995 | Manchester City | A | 1–0 | 25,865 | Barmby |
| 30 September 1995 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–0 | 29,462 | Barmby, Hignett |
| 15 October 1995 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–0 | 21,177 | Hignett (pen) |
| 21 October 1995 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–0 | 29,293 | Hignett (pen) |
| 28 October 1995 | Manchester United | A | 0–2 | 36,580 | |
| 4 November 1995 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | 29,467 | Fjørtoft |
| 18 November 1995 | Wimbledon | A | 0–0 | 13,780 | |
| 21 November 1995 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–1 | 29,487 | |
| 25 November 1995 | Liverpool | H | 2–1 | 29,390 | Cox, Barmby |
| 2 December 1995 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 17,546 | Morris |
| 9 December 1995 | Manchester City | H | 4–1 | 29,469 | Barmby (2), Stamp, Juninho |
| 16 December 1995 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–1 | 27,996 | |
| 23 December 1995 | West Ham United | H | 4–2 | 28,640 | Fjørtoft, Cox, Morris, Hendrie |
| 26 December 1995 | Everton | A | 0–4 | 40,091 | |
| 30 December 1995 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–1 | 27,027 | |
| 1 January 1996 | Aston Villa | H | 0–2 | 28,535 | |
| 13 January 1996 | Arsenal | H | 2–3 | 29,359 | Juninho, Stamp |
| 20 January 1996 | Southampton | A | 1–2 | 15,151 | Barmby |
| 4 February 1996 | Chelsea | A | 0–5 | 21,060 | |
| 10 February 1996 | Newcastle United | H | 1–2 | 30,011 | Beresford (own goal) |
| 17 February 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–4 | 29,354 | Pollock |
| 24 February 1996 | Coventry City | A | 0–0 | 18,810 | |
| 2 March 1996 | Everton | H | 0–2 | 29,807 | |
| 9 March 1996 | West Ham United | A | 0–2 | 23,850 | |
| 16 March 1996 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–1 | 29,392 | Mustoe |
| 19 March 1996 | Aston Villa | A | 0–0 | 23,933 | |
| 30 March 1996 | Leeds United | A | 1–0 | 31,778 | Kavanagh (pen) |
| 5 April 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–1 | 29,751 | Fjørtoft (2), Freestone |
| 8 April 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 | 32,036 | Whelan |
| 13 April 1996 | Wimbledon | H | 1–2 | 29,192 | Fleming |
| 27 April 1996 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | 40,782 | |
| 5 May 1996 | Manchester United | H | 0–3 | 29,921 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 1996 | Notts County | A | 2–1 | 12,621 | Pollock, Barmby |
| R4 | 7 February 1996 | Wimbledon | H | 0–0 | 28,915 | |
| R4R | 13 February 1996 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | 5,520 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 20 September 1995 | Rotherham United | H | 2–1 | 13,280 | Mustoe, Fjørtoft |
| R2 2nd Leg | 3 October 1995 | Rotherham United | A | 1–0 (won 3–1 on agg) | 6,867 | Vickers |
| R3 | 25 October 1995 | Crystal Palace | A | 2–2 | 11,873 | Hignett, Barmby |
| R3R | 8 November 1995 | Crystal Palace | H | 2–0 | 16,150 | Hignett, Fjørtoft |
| R4 | 29 November 1995 | Birmingham City | H | 0–0 | 28,031 | |
| R4R | 20 December 1995 | Birmingham City | A | 0–2 | 19,878 | |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Alan Miller |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Neil Cox |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Chris Morris |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Steve Vickers |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Nigel Pearson |
| 6 | DF | SCO | Derek Whyte |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Nick Barmby |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Jamie Pollock |
| 9 | FW | NOR | Jan Åge Fjørtoft |
| 10 | FW | SCO | John Hendrie |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Robbie Mustoe |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Alan Moore |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Gary Walsh |
| 14 | DF | IRL | Curtis Fleming |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Phil Whelan |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Bryan Robson (player-manager) |
| 17 | DF | WAL | Clayton Blackmore |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | IRL | Graham Kavanagh |
| 19 | FW | BOL | Jaime Moreno |
| 20 | MF | ENG | Phil Stamp |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Craig Hignett |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Craig Liddle |
| 23 | GK | ENG | Ben Roberts |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Chris Freestone |
| 25 | MF | BRA | Juninho |
| 26 | MF | IRL | Keith O'Halloran |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Michael Barron |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Viv Anderson |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Paul Wilkinson |
| 30 | DF | BRA | Branco |
| 31 | DF | ENG | Alan White |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Andy Campbell |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Mark Summerbell |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | IRL | Micky Cummins |