# 1995–96 Crystal Palace F.C. season

During the 1995–96 English football season, Crystal Palace F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

Alan Smith was sacked within days of relegation from the Premiership, and Steve Coppell returned to the manager's seat. Relegation also resulted in an exodus of players. The likes of Chris Coleman, Eric Young, Richard Shaw, Gareth Southgate, Iain Dowie, John Salako and Chris Armstrong were all sold to other clubs and Palace's line-up in the first game of the 1995–96 Division One campaign was barely recognisable. The campaign went poorly, and Coppell's second spell was brought to an end after only seven months, with relegation looking increasingly possible. Dave Bassett then joined the club for a second spell, which proved to be far more productive than his first as the club embarked on a stunning run of form which took them to the play-offs. The Eagles beat Charlton Athletic in the semi-finals to take them to the final against Leicester City at Wembley Stadium, in which they narrowly lost to the Foxes by a long range Steve Claridge goal in the final minute of extra time.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sunderland (C, P) | 46 | 22 | 17 | 7 | 59 | 33 | +26 | 83 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 2 | Derby County (P) | 46 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 71 | 51 | +20 | 79 | Promotion to the Premier League |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 75 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 4 | Stoke City | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 73 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 5 | Leicester City (O, P) | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 66 | 60 | +6 | 71 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |

## Results

Crystal Palace's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 12 August 1995 | Barnsley | H | 4–3 | 12,067 | Houghton, Dowie (2), Gordon (pen) |
| 19 August 1995 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–1 | 12,681 | |
| 26 August 1995 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–1 | 14,124 | Dyer |
| 29 August 1995 | Sheffield United | A | 3–2 | 15,170 | Dyer (2), Gordon |
| 9 September 1995 | Birmingham City | A | 0–0 | 19,403 | |
| 12 September 1995 | Watford | A | 0–0 | 8,780 | |
| 16 September 1995 | Huddersfield Town | H | 0–0 | 15,645 | |
| 23 September 1995 | Oldham Athletic | A | 1–3 | 14,434 | Hopkin |
| 30 September 1995 | Stoke City | H | 1–1 | 14,613 | Freedman |
| 7 October 1995 | Sunderland | H | 0–1 | 13,754 | |
| 15 October 1995 | Port Vale | A | 2–1 | 6,935 | Freedman, Gordon |
| 22 October 1995 | Millwall | H | 1–2 | 14,338 | Gordon |
| 28 October 1995 | Leicester City | A | 3–2 | 18,376 | Dyer (2), Hopkin |
| 4 November 1995 | Reading | H | 0–2 | 16,058 | |
| 11 November 1995 | Norwich City | A | 0–1 | 14,156 | |
| 19 November 1995 | Southend United | A | 1–1 | 5,089 | Lapper (own goal) |
| 22 November 1995 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 3–2 | 12,571 | Freedman (3) |
| 25 November 1995 | Derby County | H | 0–0 | 13,506 | |
| 3 December 1995 | Sunderland | A | 0–1 | 12,777 | |
| 9 December 1995 | Oldham Athletic | H | 2–2 | 12,709 | Davies, Freedman |
| 16 December 1995 | Stoke City | A | 2–1 | 12,090 | Freedman, Taylor |
| 23 December 1995 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 3–2 | 7,694 | Gordon (3, 2 pens) |
| 1 January 1996 | Portsmouth | A | 3–2 | 12,296 | Hopkin (2), Freedman |
| 13 January 1996 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–1 | 14,097 | Davies |
| 20 January 1996 | Barnsley | A | 1–1 | 6,620 | Gordon |
| 4 February 1996 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–0 | 13,560 | |
| 10 February 1996 | Sheffield United | H | 0–0 | 15,883 | |
| 17 February 1996 | Watford | H | 4–0 | 13,325 | Freedman (2), Dyer (2) |
| 20 February 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 3–2 | 5,253 | Freedman, Boere, Houghton |
| 24 February 1996 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–3 | 13,041 | |
| 27 February 1996 | Birmingham City | H | 3–2 | 12,965 | Dyer (3) |
| 2 March 1996 | Luton Town | A | 0–0 | 9,478 | |
| 5 March 1996 | Grimsby Town | H | 5–0 | 11,548 | Freedman (3), Hopkin, Houghton |
| 9 March 1996 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | 18,336 | Freedman |
| 12 March 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–1 | 13,183 | Ndah, Hopkin |
| 16 March 1996 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–0 | 5,059 | Ndah, Gordon |
| 19 March 1996 | Luton Town | H | 2–0 | 13,609 | Dyer (2) |
| 23 March 1996 | Portsmouth | H | 0–0 | 17,039 | |
| 30 March 1996 | Millwall | A | 4–1 | 13,214 | Hopkin, Brown, Ndah (2) |
| 2 April 1996 | Port Vale | H | 2–2 | 14,180 | Freedman (2) |
| 6 April 1996 | Leicester City | H | 0–1 | 17,331 | |
| 8 April 1996 | Reading | A | 2–0 | 12,579 | Freedman, Houghton |
| 14 April 1996 | Southend United | H | 2–0 | 15,672 | Freedman (2) |
| 20 April 1996 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 2–0 | 24,350 | Hopkin, Dyer |
| 28 April 1996 | Derby County | A | 1–2 | 17,041 | Brown |
| 5 May 1996 | Norwich City | H | 0–1 | 19,354 | |

### First Division play-offs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SF 1st Leg | 12 May 1996 | Charlton Athletic | A | 2–1 | 14,618 | Brown, Veart |
| SF 2nd Leg | 15 May 1996 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | 22,880 | Houghton |
| F | 27 May 1996 | Leicester City | N | 1–2 | 73,573 | Roberts |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 1996 | Port Vale | H | 0–0 | 10,456 | |
| R3R | 16 January 1996 | Port Vale | A | 3–4 | 6,754 | Taylor, Cox, Dyer |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 First Leg | 19 September 1995 | Southend United | A | 2–2 | 4,031 | Hopkin (2) |
| R2 Second Leg | 3 October 1995 | Southend United | H | 2–0 | 6,588 | Vincent, McKenzie |
| R3 | 25 October 1995 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–2 | 11,873 | Hopkin (2) |
| R3R | 8 November 1995 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–2 | 16,150 | |

## Players
### First-team 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Nigel Martyn |
| — | GK | WAL | Rhys Wilmot |
| — | DF | ENG | Danny Boxall |
| — | DF | ENG | Kenny Brown (on loan from West Ham United) |
| — | DF | ENG | Sagi Burton |
| — | DF | ENG | Ian Cox |
| — | DF | ENG | Jason Cundy (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Cyrus |
| — | DF | ENG | Marc Edworthy |
| — | DF | ENG | Tony Gale |
| — | DF | ENG | Dean Gordon |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Sparrow |
| — | DF | ENG | Dave Tuttle |
| — | DF | ENG | Jamie Vincent |
| — | DF | WAL | Gareth Davies |
| — | MF | ENG | Tony Folan |
| — | MF | ENG | Damian Matthew |
| — | MF | ENG | Darren Pitcher |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Rob Quinn |
| — | MF | ENG | Andy Roberts |
| — | MF | ENG | Simon Rodger |
| — | MF | SCO | David Hopkin |
| — | MF | SCO | Steven Thomson |
| — | MF | IRL | Rory Ginty |
| — | MF | IRL | Ray Houghton |
| — | MF | IRL | Brian Launders |
| — | MF | IRL | Tony Scully |
| — | MF | AUS | Carl Veart |
| — | FW | ENG | Bruce Dyer |
| — | FW | ENG | Jason Harris |
| — | FW | ENG | Leon McKenzie |
| — | FW | ENG | George Ndah |
| — | FW | WAL | Gareth Taylor |
| — | FW | SCO | Dougie Freedman |
| — | FW | NIR | Iain Dowie |
| — | FW | NED | Jeroen Boere |