# 1995–96 Nottingham Forest F.C. season

During the 1995–96 English football season, Nottingham Forest competed in the FA Premier League.

## Season summary

Despite the sale of striker Stan Collymore, Nottingham Forest performed reasonably well throughout the season and were comfortably in the top half. They were unbeaten in their first 12 league games, although they drew too many games to be considered serious title challengers, before they ran into a 7–0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers, who had just signed Forest midfielder Lars Bohinen.
The biggest success of the season was Forest's UEFA Cup exploits. In arguably the worst season for English clubs in European competitions in the era of three European trophies, they were the only English side with European action to look forward to after Christmas, and in March their adventure resumed with the first leg of the quarter-final – against Bayern Munich at the Olympiastadion. Forest lost 2–1, and any remaining hopes of a semi-final place were crushed in the second leg when the Bavarians thrashed Frank Clark's men 5–1 at the City Ground.
A ninth-place finish in the final table was not quite enough to secure another European campaign, and Clark's big summer signing, Dean Saunders, was captured in hope that he could be the man to score the goals which would bring more success to the club.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 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 |
| 10 | West Ham United | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 51 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 46 | 44 | +2 | 50 |

### 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 | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H |
| Result | W | D | D | D | D | W | D | W | W | W | D | W | L | D | D | D | D | L | W | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | D | W | L | W | W | L | D | L | D | W |
| Position | 3 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |

## Results

Nottingham Forest's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 19 August 1995 | Southampton | A | 4–3 | 15,164 | Cooper, Woan, Roy (2) |
| 23 August 1995 | Chelsea | H | 0–0 | 27,007 | |
| 26 August 1995 | West Ham United | H | 1–1 | 26,645 | Pearce (pen) |
| 29 August 1995 | Arsenal | A | 1–1 | 38,248 | Campbell |
| 9 September 1995 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 17,219 | Roy |
| 17 September 1995 | Everton | H | 3–2 | 24,786 | Watson (own goal), Lee, Woan |
| 23 September 1995 | Aston Villa | A | 1–1 | 33,972 | Lyttle |
| 30 September 1995 | Manchester City | H | 3–0 | 25,620 | Lee (2), Stone |
| 14 October 1995 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–0 | 32,876 | Stone |
| 21 October 1995 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–2 | 25,426 | Roy, Lee, Cooper |
| 28 October 1995 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–1 | 17,549 | Lee |
| 6 November 1995 | Wimbledon | H | 4–1 | 20,810 | Roy, Pearce, Lee, Gemmill |
| 18 November 1995 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–7 | 27,660 | |
| 27 November 1995 | Manchester United | H | 1–1 | 29,263 | McGregor |
| 2 December 1995 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 17,342 | Cooper |
| 10 December 1995 | Aston Villa | H | 1–1 | 25,790 | Stone |
| 18 December 1995 | Manchester City | A | 1–1 | 25,660 | Campbell |
| 23 December 1995 | Newcastle United | A | 1–3 | 36,531 | Woan |
| 26 December 1995 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–0 | 27,810 | Lee |
| 30 December 1995 | Middlesbrough | H | 1–0 | 27,027 | Pearce (pen) |
| 1 January 1996 | Liverpool | A | 2–4 | 39,206 | Stone, Woan |
| 13 January 1996 | Southampton | H | 1–0 | 23,321 | Cooper |
| 20 January 1996 | Chelsea | A | 0–1 | 24,482 | |
| 31 January 1996 | Leeds United | H | 2–1 | 24,465 | Campbell, Roy (pen) |
| 3 February 1996 | West Ham United | A | 0–1 | 21,257 | |
| 10 February 1996 | Arsenal | H | 0–1 | 27,222 | |
| 24 February 1996 | Everton | A | 0–3 | 33,163 | |
| 2 March 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 3–1 | 21,930 | Howe, McGregor, Roy |
| 16 March 1996 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–1 | 29,392 | Allen |
| 23 March 1996 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | 29,058 | Stone |
| 30 March 1996 | Wimbledon | A | 0–1 | 9,807 | |
| 6 April 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 27,053 | Stone, Woan |
| 8 April 1996 | Leeds United | A | 3–1 | 29,220 | Cooper, Woan, Lee |
| 13 April 1996 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–5 | 25,273 | Woan |
| 17 April 1996 | Coventry City | H | 0–0 | 24,629 | |
| 28 April 1996 | Manchester United | A | 0–5 | 53,926 | |
| 2 May 1996 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | 28,280 | Woan |
| 5 May 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 3–0 | 22,910 | Stone, Roy, Howe |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 1996 | Stoke City | A | 1–1 | 18,000 | Pearce |
| R3R | 17 January 1996 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | 17,372 | Campbell, Pearce (pen) |
| R4 | 7 February 1996 | Oxford United | H | 1–1 | 15,050 | Campbell |
| R4R | 13 February 1996 | Oxford United | A | 3–0 | 8,022 | Campbell, Woan (pen), Silenzi |
| R5 | 28 February 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–2 | 18,600 | Woan (2) |
| R5R | 9 March 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 (won 3–1 on pens) | 31,055 | Roy |
| QF | 13 March 1996 | Aston Villa | H | 0–1 | 21,067 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st Leg | 19 September 1995 | Bradford City | A | 2–3 | 9,288 | Bohinen (2) |
| R2 2nd Leg | 4 October 1995 | Bradford City | H | 2–2 (lost 4–5 on agg) | 15,231 | Pearce, Silenzi |

### UEFA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 12 September 1995 | Malmö FF | A | 1–2 | 12,486 | Woan |
| R1 2nd Leg | 26 September 1995 | Malmö FF | H | 1–0 (won on away goals) | 23,817 | Roy |
| R2 1st Leg | 17 October 1995 | Auxerre | A | 1–0 | 20,000 | Stone |
| R2 2nd Leg | 31 October 1995 | Auxerre | H | 0–0 (won 1–0 on agg) | 28,064 | |
| R3 1st Leg | 21 November 1995 | Lyon | H | 1–0 | 22,141 | McGregor |
| R3 2nd Leg | 5 December 1995 | Lyon | A | 0–0 (won 1–0 on agg) | 35,000 | |
| QF 1st Leg | 5 March 1996 | Bayern Munich | A | 1–2 | 38,000 | Chettle |
| QF 2nd Leg | 19 March 1996 | Bayern Munich | H | 1–5 (lost 2–7 on agg) | 28,844 | Stone |

## 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 | WAL | Mark Crossley |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Des Lyttle |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Stuart Pearce (captain) |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Colin Cooper |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Steve Chettle |
| 7 | MF | WAL | David Phillips |
| 8 | MF | SCO | Scot Gemmill |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Kevin Campbell |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Steve Stone |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Jason Lee |
| 13 | GK | NIR | Alan Fettis |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Ian Woan |
| 15 | FW | ITA | Andrea Silenzi |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Neil Webb |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Kingsley Black |
| 18 | DF | NOR | Alfie Haaland |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Bobby Howe |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Paul McGregor |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Chris Bart-Williams |
| 22 | FW | NED | Bryan Roy |
| 23 | GK | NIR | Tommy Wright |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Richard Irving |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Steve Blatherwick |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Craig Armstrong |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Steve Guinan |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Richard Clark |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Carl Tiler (to Aston Villa) |
| 9 | MF | NOR | Lars Bohinen (to Blackburn Rovers) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | GK | ENG | Simon Tracey (on loan from Sheffield United) |
| 27 | MF | ENG | Chris Allen (on loan to Oxford United) |

### 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 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Malcolm Rigby (de-registered) |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Dawson |
| — | DF | ENG | Stuart Thom |
| — | DF | ENG | Vance Warner |
| — | MF | IRL | John Burns |
| — | MF | ENG | John Finnigan |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Bobby Howe |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Melton |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Smith |
| — | MF | ENG | Justin Walker |
| — | FW | ENG | Andy Todd |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 1995 | MF | Chris Bart-Williams | Sheffield Wednesday | £2,500,000 |
| 1 July 1995 | FW | Kevin Campbell | Arsenal | £2,800,000 |
| 19 July 1995 | FW | Richard Irving | Manchester United | £75,000 |
| 16 August 1995 | FW | Andrea Silenzi | Torino | £1,800,000 |
| 13 January 1996 | GK | Alan Fettis | Hull City | £250,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 1995 | FW | Stan Collymore | Liverpool | £8,500,000 |
| 2 August 1995 | DF | Gary Bowyer | Rotherham United | Free transfer |
| 14 October 1995 | MF | Lars Bohinen | Blackburn Rovers | £750,000 |
| 28 October 1995 | DF | Carl Tiler | Aston Villa | £750,000 |
| 29 December 1995 | FW | Gary Bull | Birmingham City | Free transfer |
| 28 February 1996 | DF | Danny Hinshelwood | Portsmouth | Free transfer |
    Transfers in: £7,425,000
    Transfers out: £10,000,000
    Total spending: £2,575,000

## Statistics
### Starting 11

    Only considering appearances in Premier League and League Cup
| No. | Pos. | Name | MS |
| 1 | GK | Mark Crossley | 39 |
| 2 | RB | Des Lyttle | 33 |
| 5 | CB | Steve Chettle | 38 |
| 4 | CB | Colin Cooper | 38 |
| 3 | LB | Stuart Pearce | 31 |
| 11 | RM | Steve Stone | 35 |
| 21 | CM | Chris Bart-Williams | 34 |
| 8 | CM | Scot Gemmill | 26 |
| 14 | LM | Ian Woan | 34 |
| 12 | CF | Jason Lee | 22 |
| 22 | CF | Bryan Roy | 26 |