# 1995–96 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

The 1995–1996 season was the 117th season in Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s existence, and their first ever season in the Premier League following promotion from the Football League First Division.
This article covers the period from 1 July 1995 to 30 June 1996.

## Season summary

Bolton Wanderers returned to the top flight after a 15-year exile, only eight years after playing in the old Fourth Division, but with a new manager in Roy McFarland following Bruce Rioch's move to Arsenal. Bolton made a terrible start to the campaign and McFarland made several moves in the transfer market, but this was not enough to turn things around and he was sacked on New Year's Day with Bolton bottom of the table and just two wins to their name. His assistant Colin Todd took over, and Bolton's form improved, but they could not stave off relegation. In spite of this, their form under Todd was so improved that, had the results from under Todd's management been shown all season, Bolton would have stayed up in 14th place.

## Squad

    Squad at end of 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 |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Keith Branagan |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Scott Green |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Jimmy Phillips |
| 4 | MF | YUG | Saša Ćurčić |
| 5 | DF | ISL | Guðni Bergsson |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Alan Stubbs |
| 7 | MF | ENG | David Lee |
| 9 | FW | FIN | Mixu Paatelainen |
| 10 | FW | SCO | John McGinlay |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Alan Thompson |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Scott Sellars |
| 13 | GK | NIR | Aidan Davison |
| 14 | FW | SUR | Fabian de Freitas |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Bryan Small |
| 16 | GK | ENG | Gavin Ward |
| 17 | DF | ENG | Simon Coleman |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | DF | ENG | Nicky Spooner |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Stuart Whittaker |
| 20 | FW | WAL | Nathan Blake |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Chris Fairclough |
| 22 | DF | NIR | Gerry Taggart |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Andy Todd |
| 24 | DF | SCO | Steve McAnespie |
| 25 | FW | ENG | Scott Taylor |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Wayne Burnett |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Greg Strong |
| 30 | DF | ENG | Mark Powell |
| 31 | GK | ENG | Mark Westhead |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Neil Marsh |
| 33 | DF | ENG | Chris Gregory |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Matt Bowman |

### 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 |
| 4 | MF | IRL | Jason McAteer (to Liverpool) |
| 8 | MF | NED | Richard Sneekes (to West Bromwich Albion) |
| 12 | MF | ENG | Neil McDonald (to Preston North End) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Mark Patterson (to Sheffield United) |
| 20 | FW | IRL | Owen Coyle (to Dundee United) |

## Results
### Premier League

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 19 August 1995 | Wimbledon | A | 2 – 3 | Thompson 27' (pen), de Freitas 39' | 9,317 |
| 22 August 1995 | Newcastle United | H | 1 – 3 | Bergsson | 20,243 |
| 26 August 1995 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2 – 1 | de Freitas 21', Stubbs 80' | 20,253 |
| 30 August 1995 | Aston Villa | A | 0 – 1 | | 31,770 |
| 9 September 1995 | Middlesbrough | H | 1 – 1 | McGinlay 21' | 18,376 |
| 16 September 1995 | Manchester United | A | 0 – 3 | | 32,812 |
| 23 September 1995 | Liverpool | A | 2 – 5 | Todd 77', Patterson 81' (pen) | 40,104 |
| 30 September 1995 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0 – 1 | | 17,362 |
| 14 October 1995 | Everton | H | 1 – 1 | Paatelainen 1' | 20,427 |
| 21 October 1995 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2 – 3 | Sneekes 22', de Freitas 78' | 25,426 |
| 30 October 1995 | Arsenal | H | 1 – 0 | McGinlay 35' | 18,682 |
| 4 November 1995 | Manchester City | A | 0 – 1 | | 28,397 |
| 18 November 1995 | West Ham United | H | 0 – 3 | | 19,047 |
| 22 November 1995 | Chelsea | A | 2 – 3 | Ćurčić 10, Green 68' | 17,495 |
| 25 November 1995 | Southampton | A | 0 – 1 | | 14,404 |
| 2 December 1995 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1 – 1 | de Freitas 67' | 17,342 |
| 9 December 1995 | Liverpool | H | 0 – 1 | | 21,042 |
| 16 December 1995 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1 – 2 | Sellars 43' | 11,456 |
| 23 December 1995 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2 – 2 | Green 77', Bergsson 79' | 30,702 |
| 27 December 1995 | Leeds United | H | 0 – 2 | | 18,414 |
| 30 December 1995 | Coventry City | H | 1 – 2 | McGinlay 16' | 16,678 |
| 1 January 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2 – 4 | Ćurčić 51', Taggart 77' | 24,872 |
| 13 January 1996 | Wimbledon | H | 1 – 0 | McGinlay 44' (pen) | 16,216 |
| 20 January 1996 | Newcastle United | A | 1 – 2 | Bergsson 19' | 36,543 |
| 3 February 1996 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1 – 3 | Green 29' | 30,419 |
| 10 February 1996 | Aston Villa | H | 0 – 2 | | 18,099 |
| 17 February 1996 | Middlesbrough | A | 4 – 1 | Blake 12', Coleman 45', de Freitas 62', Lee 73' | 29,354 |
| 25 February 1996 | Manchester United | H | 0 – 6 | | 21,381 |
| 2 March 1996 | Leeds United | A | 1 – 0 | Bergsson | 30,106 |
| 16 March 1996 | Coventry City | A | 2 – 0 | Stubbs (2) 60', 70' | 17,226 |
| 20 March 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2 – 3 | Stubbs 74', Sellars 84' | 17,829 |
| 23 March 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 2 – 1 | Sellars 52', Ćurčić 52' | 18,368 |
| 30 March 1996 | Manchester City | H | 1 – 1 | McGinlay 74' | 21,050 |
| 6 April 1996 | Everton | A | 0 – 3 | | 37,974 |
| 8 April 1996 | Chelsea | H | 2 – 1 | McGinlay 40', Ćurčić 44' | 18,021 |
| 13 April 1996 | West Ham United | A | 0 – 1 | | 23,086 |
| 27 April 1996 | Southampton | H | 0 – 1 | | 18,795 |
| 5 May 1996 | Arsenal | A | 1 – 2 | Todd 76' | 38,104 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Coventry City | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 38 | |
| 17 | Southampton | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 34 | 52 | −18 | 38 | |
| 18 | Manchester City (R) | 38 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 33 | 58 | −25 | 38 | Relegation to Football League First Division |
| 19 | Queens Park Rangers (R) | 38 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 38 | 57 | −19 | 33 | Relegation to Football League First Division |
| 20 | Bolton Wanderers (R) | 38 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 39 | 71 | −32 | 29 | Relegation to Football League First Division |

### F.A. Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 6 January 1996 | Round 3 | Bradford City | A | 3 – 0 | Ćurčić (2), McGinlay | 10,265 |
| 14 February 1996 | Round 4 | Leeds United | H | 0 – 1 | | 16,694 |

### Coca-Cola Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 19 September 1995 | Round 2 First Leg | Brentford | H | 1 – 0 | Sneekes | 5,243 |
| 3 October 1995 | Round 2 Second Leg | Brentford | A | 3 – 2 4 – 2 (agg) | McGinlay, Patterson, Thompson | 4,861 |
| 24 October 1995 | Round 3 | Leicester City | H | 0 – 0 | | 9,166 |
| 8 November 1995 | Round 3 replay | Leicester City | A | 3 – 2 | Ćurčić, McGinlay, Sneekes | 14,884 |
| 29 November 1995 | Round 4 | Norwich City | A | 0 – 0 | | 13,820 |
| 20 December 1995 | Round 4 replay | Norwich City | H | 0 – 0 (aet) 2 – 3 (pens) | | 8,736 |

## Top scorers

| P | Player | Position | PL | FAC | LC | Total |
| 1 | John McGinlay | Striker | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Saša Ćurčić | Midfielder | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Fabian de Freitas | Striker | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 4= | Guðni Bergsson | Defender | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 4= | Alan Stubbs | Defender | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |