# 1995–96 Chelsea F.C. season

During the 1995–96 English football season, Chelsea competed in the Premier League.

## Season summary

The big news at Chelsea at the start of the 1995–96 season was the arrival of Manchester United striker Mark Hughes, one of the most accomplished strikers of the last decade in the English leagues, and the arrival of Dutch superstar Ruud Gullit.
Chelsea had a mid-table Premiership campaign in 1995–96, finishing 11th for the third time in four seasons, but once again they enjoyed a good cup run. This time they reached the FA Cup semi-finals, taking on Manchester United, who had beaten them in the final two years earlier. Chelsea took an early lead, but lost 2–1 and with it went their hopes of a foray into Europe. A few weeks later, Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle's decision to quit for the England manager's job was understandable as it was a job he could not turn down. They responded by appointing Ruud Gullit as player-manager. Gullit wasted no time in preparing Chelsea for the following season, breaking the club record in a £4.9 million move for Italian midfielder Roberto Di Matteo from Lazio.

## Statistics

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Football League Cup | Football League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | RUS | Dmitri Kharine | 29 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ROU | Dan Petrescu | 31 | 3 | 22+2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ENG | David Lee | 39 | 1 | 29+2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Michael Duberry | 30 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Steve Clarke | 31 | 0 | 21+1 | 0 | 6+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Andy Myers | 23 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | NED | Ruud Gullit | 40 | 6 | 31 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Dennis Wise | 44 | 8 | 34+1 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Eddie Newton | 28 | 1 | 21+3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | SCO | John Spencer | 37 | 14 | 23+5 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | WAL | Mark Hughes | 39 | 12 | 31 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Kevin Hitchcock | 19 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | NOR | Erland Johnsen | 26 | 0 | 18+4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Gavin Peacock | 36 | 7 | 17+11 | 5 | 3+4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | SCO | Craig Burley | 26 | 0 | 16+6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Paul Furlong | 38 | 4 | 14+14 | 3 | 4+4 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Nigel Spackman | 20 | 0 | 13+3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Frank Sinclair | 15 | 1 | 12+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | IRL | Terry Phelan | 20 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Scott Minto | 16 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | RSA | Mark Stein | 9 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Gareth Hall | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | David Rocastle | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | SCO | Andy Dow | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Jody Morris | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20090520151010/http://www.soccerbase.com/squad_season.sd?teamid=536
Squad details and shirt numbers from .

## Results
### Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 19 August 1995 | Everton | H | 0–0 | 30,189 | |
| 23 August 1995 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–0 | 27,007 | |
| 26 August 1995 | Middlesbrough | A | 0–2 | 28,286 | |
| 30 August 1995 | Coventry City | H | 2–2 | 24,398 | Wise(pen.), M. Hughes |
| 11 September 1995 | West Ham United | A | 3–1 | 19,228 | Spencer (2), Wise |
| 16 September 1995 | Southampton | H | 3–0 | 26,237 | Sinclair, Gullit, M. Hughes |
| 24 September 1995 | Newcastle United | A | 0–2 | 36,225 | |
| 30 September 1995 | Arsenal | H | 1–0 | 31,048 | M. Hughes |
| 14 October 1995 | Aston Villa | A | 1–0 | 34,922 | Wise |
| 21 October 1995 | Manchester United | H | 1–4 | 31,019 | M. Hughes |
| 28 October 1995 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–3 | 27,733 | |
| 4 November 1995 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–0 | 23,216 | |
| 18 November 1995 | Leeds United | A | 0–1 | 36,209 | |
| 22 November 1995 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–2 | 17,495 | David Lee, Hall, Newton |
| 25 November 1995 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | 31,059 | |
| 2 December 1995 | Manchester United | A | 1–1 | 42,019 | Wise |
| 9 December 1995 | Newcastle United | H | 1–0 | 31,098 | Petrescu |
| 16 December 1995 | Arsenal | A | 1–1 | 38,295 | Spencer |
| 23 December 1995 | Manchester City | A | 1–0 | 28,668 | Peacock |
| 26 December 1995 | Wimbledon | H | 1–2 | 21,906 | Petrescu |
| 30 December 1995 | Liverpool | H | 2–2 | 31,137 | Spencer (2) |
| 2 January 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–1 | 14,904 | Brazier (O.G), Furlong |
| 13 January 1996 | Everton | A | 1–1 | 34,968 | Spencer |
| 20 January 1996 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–0 | 24,482 | Spencer |
| 4 February 1996 | Middlesbrough | H | 5–0 | 21,060 | Peacock (3), Furlong, Spencer |
| 10 February 1996 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 20,639 | |
| 17 February 1996 | West Ham United | H | 1–2 | 25,252 | Peacock |
| 24 February 1996 | Southampton | A | 3–2 | 15,226 | Wise (2), Gullit |
| 2 March 1996 | Wimbledon | A | 1–1 | 17,048 | Furlong |
| 12 March 1996 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | 17,078 | Gullit |
| 16 March 1996 | Liverpool | A | 0–2 | 40,820 | |
| 23 March 1996 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 1–1 | 25,590 | Spencer |
| 6 April 1996 | Aston Villa | H | 1–2 | 23,530 | Spencer |
| 8 April 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 18,021 | Spencer |
| 13 April 1996 | Leeds United | H | 4–1 | 22,131 | M. Hughes (3), Spencer |
| 17 April 1996 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–0 | 25,094 | |
| 27 April 1996 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–1 | 32,918 | M. Hughes |
| 5 May 1996 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–3 | 28,436 | Wise, Spencer |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 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 |
| 12 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 35 | 50 | −15 | 43 |
| 13 | Leeds United | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 40 | 57 | −17 | 43 |

### League Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 20 September 1995 | R2 | Stoke City | A | 0–0 | 15,574 | |
| 4 October 1995 | R2 | Stoke City | H | 0–1 | 16,272 | |

### FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 7 January 1996 | R3 | Newcastle United | H | 1–1 | 25,151 | M. Hughes |
| 17 January 1996 | R3 | Newcastle United | A | 2–2 | 36,535 | Gullit, Wise |
| Chelsea won 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 29 January 1996 | R4 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–1 | 18,542 | Furlong, Peacock |
| 21 February 1996 | R5 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–0 | 9,648 | |
| 28 February 1996 | R5 | Grimsby Town | H | 4–1 | 28,545 | Duberry, M. Hughes, Peacock, Spencer |
| 9 March 1996 | R6 | Wimbledon | H | 2–2 | 30,805 | Gullit, M. Hughes |
| 20 March 1996 | R6 | Wimbledon | A | 3–1 | 21,380 | Duberry, M. Hughes, Petrescu |
| 31 March 1996 | SF | Manchester United | N | 1–2 | 38,421 | Gullit |