# 1995–96 Blackburn Rovers F.C. season

During the 1995–96 English football season, Blackburn Rovers F.C. competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons).

## Season summary

Blackburn had a disappointing title defence in the Premier League, dropping to 7th in the standings in the wake of Kenny Dalglish's resignation as manager. Their first half of the season was little short of disastrous, their 5–0 defeat at struggling Coventry City in mid December being their eighth in the league, with relegation a distinct possibility. However, Blackburn improved in the second half of the season, losing just five more games and only narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup place.
They also got knocked out of the Champions League already in the group stage against comparatively unknown Rosenborg and Legia Warsaw. Compounding the misery was the sale of fan favourite and top scorer Alan Shearer, who went to Newcastle for a British transfer record at the end of July.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Arsenal | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 49 | 32 | +17 | 63 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 6 | Everton | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 64 | 44 | +20 | 61 | Excluded from the UEFA Cup |
| 7 | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 61 | 47 | +14 | 61 | |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 50 | 38 | +12 | 61 | |
| 9 | Nottingham Forest | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 50 | 54 | −4 | 58 | |
* ↑ The Football Association was initially awarded a UEFA Fair Play berth to the Premier League's highest-placed team not qualified for Europe, but was revoked by UEFA for its clubs fielding under-strength sides in the 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Statto

### 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 | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | W | L | L | L | D | L | W | L | W | D | W | L | L | W | D | W | L | W | D | W | W | D | W | W | W | L | L | L | D | W | W | L | L | W | W | W | D | W |
| Position | 6 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 |

## Results

Blackburn Rovers' score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 19 August 1995 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–0 | 22,860 | Shearer (pen) |
| 23 August 1995 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–2 | 25,544 | Shearer |
| 26 August 1995 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 20,253 | Holmes |
| 28 August 1995 | Manchester United | H | 1–2 | 29,843 | Shearer |
| 9 September 1995 | Aston Villa | H | 1–1 | 27,084 | Shearer |
| 16 September 1995 | Liverpool | A | 0–3 | 39,502 | |
| 23 September 1995 | Coventry City | H | 5–1 | 24,382 | Shearer (3), Hendry, Pearce |
| 30 September 1995 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–2 | 29,462 | |
| 14 October 1995 | Southampton | H | 2–1 | 26,780 | Bohinen, Shearer |
| 21 October 1995 | West Ham United | A | 1–1 | 21,776 | Shearer |
| 28 October 1995 | Chelsea | H | 3–0 | 27,733 | Sherwood, Shearer, Newell |
| 5 November 1995 | Everton | A | 0–1 | 30,097 | |
| 8 November 1995 | Newcastle United | A | 0–1 | 36,473 | |
| 18 November 1995 | Nottingham Forest | H | 7–0 | 27,660 | Shearer (3), Bohinen (2), Newell, Le Saux |
| 26 November 1995 | Arsenal | A | 0–0 | 37,695 | |
| 2 December 1995 | West Ham United | H | 4–2 | 26,638 | Shearer (3, 1 pen), Newell |
| 9 December 1995 | Coventry City | A | 0–5 | 29,469 | |
| 16 December 1995 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | 27,996 | Shearer |
| 23 December 1995 | Wimbledon | A | 1–1 | 7,105 | Kimble (own goal) |
| 26 December 1995 | Manchester City | H | 2–0 | 28,915 | Shearer, Batty |
| 30 December 1995 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 30,004 | Marker, Shearer |
| 1 January 1996 | Leeds United | A | 0–0 | 31,285 | |
| 13 January 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–0 | 13,957 | Shearer |
| 20 January 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–0 | 24,732 | Shearer, Bohinen, Gallacher |
| 3 February 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–1 | 30,419 | Shearer (3) |
| 10 February 1996 | Manchester United | A | 0–1 | 42,681 | |
| 24 February 1996 | Liverpool | H | 2–3 | 30,895 | Wilcox, Sherwood |
| 28 February 1996 | Aston Villa | A | 0–2 | 28,008 | |
| 2 March 1996 | Manchester City | A | 1–1 | 29,078 | Shearer |
| 13 March 1996 | Leeds United | H | 1–0 | 23,358 | Fenton |
| 16 March 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 3–2 | 32,387 | Shearer (3, 1 pen) |
| 30 March 1996 | Everton | H | 0–3 | 29,468 | |
| 6 April 1996 | Southampton | A | 0–1 | 14,793 | |
| 8 April 1996 | Newcastle United | H | 2–1 | 30,717 | Fenton (2) |
| 13 April 1996 | Nottingham Forest | A | 5–1 | 25,273 | Shearer, McKinlay, Wilcox (2), Fenton |
| 17 April 1996 | Wimbledon | H | 3–2 | 24,174 | Shearer (2), Fenton |
| 27 April 1996 | Arsenal | H | 1–1 | 29,834 | Gallacher |
| 5 May 1996 | Chelsea | A | 3–2 | 28,436 | Sherwood, McKinlay, Fenton |

### FA Charity Shield

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 13 August 1995 | Everton | N | 0–1 | 40,149 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 1996 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–0 | 21,236 | |
| R3R | 16 January 1996 | Ipswich Town | H | 0–1 | 19,606 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 20 September 1995 | Swindon Town | A | 3–2 | 14,740 | Sutton, Shearer (2) |
| R2 2nd Leg | 4 October 1995 | Swindon Town | H | 2–0 | 16,924 | Shearer (2) |
| R3 | 24 October 1995 | Watford | A | 2–1 | 17,035 | Shearer, Newell |
| R4 | 29 November 1995 | Leeds United | A | 1–2 | 26,006 | Kelly (own goal) |

### UEFA Champions League

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers | Referee |
| Group B | 13 September 1995 | Spartak Moscow | H | 0–1 | 20,940 | | Michel Piraux (Belgium) |
| Group B | 27 September 1995 | Rosenborg | A | 1–2 | 12,210 | Newell | Günter Benkö (Austria) |
| Group B | 18 October 1995 | Legia Warsaw | A | 0–1 | 15,000 | | Anders Frisk (Sweden) |
| Group B | 1 November 1995 | Legia Warsaw | H | 0–0 | 20,897 | | Urs Meier (Switzerland) |
| Group B | 22 November 1995 | Spartak Moscow | A | 0–3 | 25,000 | | Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy) |
| Group B | 6 December 1995 | Rosenborg | H | 4–1 | 20,677 | Shearer (pen), Newell (3) | Didier Pauchard (France) |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Tim Flowers |
| 2 | DF | WAL | Chris Coleman |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Jeff Kenna |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Tim Sherwood |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Colin Hendry |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Graeme Le Saux |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Stuart Ripley |
| 8 | FW | SCO | Kevin Gallacher |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Alan Shearer |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Mike Newell |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Jason Wilcox |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Nicky Marker |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Bobby Mimms |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Graham Fenton |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Matty Holmes |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Chris Sutton |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Billy McKinlay |
| 18 | MF | SWE | Niklas Gudmundsson |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Adam Reed |
| 20 | DF | NOR | Henning Berg |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Paul Harford |
| 22 | MF | NOR | Lars Bohinen |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Garry Flitcroft |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Paul Warhurst |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Ian Pearce |
| 26 | DF | IRL | Gary Tallon |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Tony Whealing |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Wayne Gill |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Steve Hitchen |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Marlon Broomes |
| 31 | GK | IRL | Shay Given |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Gary Croft |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Mark Atkins (to Wolverhampton Wanderers) |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Lee Makel (to Huddersfield Town) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 23 | MF | ENG | David Batty (to Newcastle United) |

### Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | AUS | Frank Talia |
| — | DF | IRL | Graham Coughlan |
| — | DF | ENG | Richard Hope |
| — | DF | IRL | David Worrell |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | IRL | Damien Duff |
| — | FW | ENG | James Beattie |
| — | FW | ENG | Michael Holt |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 9 August 1995 | DF | Adam Reed | Darlington | £200,000 |
| 15 August 1995 | MF | Matty Holmes | West Ham United | £1,200,000 |
| 1 October 1995 | MF | Lars Bohinen | Nottingham Forest | £700,000 |
| 10 October 1995 | MF | Billy McKinlay | Dundee United | £1,750,000 |
| 14 October 1995 | DF | Graham Coughlan | Bray Wanderers | £100,000 |
| 6 November 1995 | ST | Graham Fenton | Aston Villa | £1,500,000 |
| 21 December 1995 | DF | Chris Coleman | Crystal Palace | £2,800,000 |
| 1 March 1996 | MF | Niklas Gudmundsson | Halmstads BK | £750,000 |
| 28 March 1996 | MF | Garry Flitcroft | Manchester City | £3,500,000 |
| 29 March 1996 | DF | Gary Croft | Grimsby Town | £1,600,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 11 August 1995 | MF | Tony Carss | Darlington | Free transfer |
| 14 August 1995 | MF | Robbie Slater | West Ham United | £600,000 |
| 10 September 1995 | MF | Mark Atkins | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £1,000,000 |
| 13 October 1995 | MF | Lee Makel | Huddersfield Town | £300,000 |
| 9 November 1995 | GK | Frank Talia | Swindon Town | £150,000 |
| 24 February 1996 | MF | David Batty | Newcastle United | £3,750,000 |
    Transfers in: £5,750,000
    Transfers out: £1,050,000
    Total spending: £4,700,000

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Champions League | UEFA Champions League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | ENG | Tim Flowers | 48 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Bobby Mimms | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | WAL | Chris Coleman | 22 | 0 | 19+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | IRL | Jeff Kenna | 43 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Colin Hendry | 44 | 1 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Graeme Le Saux | 19 | 1 | 13+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ENG | Nicky Marker | 10 | 1 | 8+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | NOR | Henning Berg | 50 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Paul Warhurst | 18 | 0 | 1+9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Ian Pearce | 19 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | ENG | Tim Sherwood | 46 | 3 | 34 | 3 | 1+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Stuart Ripley | 38 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Jason Wilcox | 10 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Matty Holmes | 12 | 1 | 8+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Billy McKinlay | 22 | 2 | 13+6 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | NOR | Lars Bohinen | 20 | 4 | 17+2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Garry Flitcroft | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||||
| 8 | FW | SCO | Kevin Gallacher | 19 | 2 | 14+2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Alan Shearer | 47 | 37 | 35 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Mike Newell | 42 | 8 | 26+4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5+1 | 4 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Graham Fenton | 14 | 6 | 4+10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | ENG | Chris Sutton | 22 | 1 | 9+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 3+3 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | SWE | Niklas Gudmundsson | 4 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||||
| 14 | MF | ENG | Lee Makel | 5 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Mark Atkins | 5 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | David Batty | 33 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Last updated: 30 May 1996 Source: Competitions

### Starting 11

    Only considering Premier League starts
* GK: #1, Tim Flowers, 37
* RB: #20, Henning Berg, 38
* CB: #5, Colin Hendry, 33
* CB: #2, Chris Coleman, 19
* LB: #3, Jeff Kenna, 32
* RM: #7, Stuart Ripley, 28
* CM: #23, David Batty, 23
* CM: #4, Tim Sherwood, 33
* LM: #22, Lars Bohinen, 17
* CF: #9, Alan Shearer, 35
* CF: #10, Mike Newell, 25