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1994-95 in English football
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The 1994-1995 season was the 115th season of competitive football in England.
kburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw with West Ham United into a win on the final day of the season.
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Encyclopedia
The 1994-1995 season was the 115th season of competitive football in England.
Overview
Premiership
Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw with West Ham United into a win on the final day of the season. Newly promoted Nottingham Forest finished third and qualified for the UEFA Cup along with fourth placed Liverpool (also League Cup winners) and fifth placed Leeds United.
After this season the Premier League would be reduced to 20 clubs, so there would be four relegation places this time round. They were occupied by Crystal Palace, Norwich City (who had narrowly missed out on the league title two years earlier), Leicester City and Ipswich Town.
Division One
The streamlining of the Premier League meant that just two clubs would be promoted from Division One in 1995. Middlesbrough won the Division One title in their first season under Bryan Robson, while Reading were the club that were to fail to win promotion despite finishing second in the table. Instead, they competed in the playoffs, losing to Bolton Wanderers in the final, who achieved their second promotion in three years under Bruce Rioch - as well as being League Cup runners-up.
1995 saw four clubs relegated from Division One - Swindon Town (relegated for the second straight season), Burnley, Bristol City and Notts County. Sunderland narrowly avoided the drop following the arrival of enthusiastic new manager Peter Reid, who over the next few years would bring dramatic improvements to the Wearsiders.
Division Two
There would only be two promotion places in Division Two for 1994-95. They were occupied by champions Birmingham City and playoff winners Huddersfield Town, both enjoying success after seasons of disappointment.
Going down were Cambridge United, Plymouth Argyle, Cardiff City, Chester City and Leyton Orient. This was the first time that five clubs had been relegated from any of the league's four divisions.
Division Three
This season saw three clubs go up from Division Three instead of four clubs. They were champions Carlisle United, runners-up Walsall and playoff winners Chesterfield F.C..
Exeter City, who almost went out of business in mid-season, finished bottom of Division Three but kept their league status because Conference champions Macclesfield Town were unable to meet the league's stadium capacity requirements.
Successful players
Alan Shearer was the English league's top scorer with 34 Premiership goals for champions Blackburn Rovers.
20-year-old Robbie Fowler collected a League Cup winner's medal with Liverpool as well as the PFA Young Player of the Year award, following another season of strong goalscoring, and team mate Steve McManaman capped the cup final with a man of the match display in a season where he charted 20 assists in the league.
Peter Schmeichel established himself as a world-class goalkeeper by conceding just 4 goals in 18 home Premiership fixtures with Manchester United.
Stan Collymore scored 22 Premiership goals for Nottingham Forest and was soon on his way to Liverpool for an English record fee of £8.4million.
Experienced Scottish striker John Hendrie was the driving force in Middlesbrough's return to the Premiership after a two-year absence.
36-year-old Tranmere Rovers striker John Aldridge was Division One's leading goalscorer with 24 league goals.
Bolton Wanderers midfielder Jason McAteer established himself as one of the most exciting young talents in England and would soon be on his way to Liverpool.
Wrexham striker Gary Bennett scored a staggering 39 goals in all competitions.
Huddersfield Town striker Andrew Booth who scored an impressive 30 goals during this season as well as make international honors with the England Under 21 squad.
Walsall wingers Scott Houghton and Martin O'Connor almost single handedly earned their club's promotion to Division Two.
Successful managers
Kenny Dalglish become only the third manager to win the English league title with different clubs after he guided Blackburn Rovers to their first league title since 1914.
Joe Royle completed his first season as Everton manager by winning the F.A Cup.
Roy Evans won the League Cup in his first full season as Liverpool manager.
Frank Clark took newly promoted Nottingham Forest to third place in the Premiership to achieve UEFA Cup qualification and bring European football to the club for the first time since the early 1980s.
Bryan Robson made an excellent start to his management career by winning the Division One championship and gaining promotion to the Premiership with Middlesbrough.
Bruce Rioch won the Division One playoffs and took Bolton Wanderers to their first cup final in nearly 40 years.
Jimmy Quinn took Reading to a second-place finish in Division One and only the streamlining of the Premiership prevented them from reaching the top flight for the very first time.
Neil Warnock achieved his fourth promotion in less than a decade as he guided Huddersfield Town to glory in the Division Two playoffs.
John Duncan helped Chesterfield F.C. win the Division Three playoffs and brought some long-awaited success to Saltergate.
Chris Nicholl had a strong first season as Walsall manager by gaining promotion to Division Two.
Barry Fry won the Division Two title with Birmingham City, who were also Auto Windscreen Shield winners.
Attendances
A total of 26,150,028 attended matches in competitions organised by the Football Association and the Football League and hosted by league clubs. Of that number, 21,856,223 attended Premiership and Football League matches. This ensured that attendace at league matches had increased for the ninth consecutive season.
In the Premiership, 11,213,371 attended the 420 matches held in 1994-95, the highest attendance in the top division since the 1980-81 season. Meanwhile, Football League clubs attracted 10,583,498, a decline of half a million from the previous season.
The ten most supported teams in league matches this season were as follows:
| Rank | Team | Average attendance | League division |
|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 43,682 | Premier League | | 2 | Arsenal | 35,505 | Premier League | | 3 | Newcastle United | 34,690 | Premier League | | 4 | Liverpool | 34,176 | Premier League | | 5 | Leeds United | 32,925 | Premier League | | 6 | Everton | 31,294 | Premier League | | 7 | Aston Villa | 29,280 | Premier League | | 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 27,259 | Premier League | | 9 | Sheffield Wednesday | 26,572 | Premier League | | 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 25,940 | Endsleigh League Division One |
The attendance at FA Cup matches from the First Round to the Final was 2,015,261, an increase of 25,641 from the previous season. The attendance at the Final was 79,592.
Events
Walker's title dream comes true for Blackburn
The five-year revival of Blackburn Rovers under the ownership of Jack Walker paid off as they were crowned Premiership champions and finished top of the English league for the first time in 81 years. Key force in the title glory was 34-goal striker Alan Shearer, also PFA Player of the Year. His strike partner Chris Sutton also had a major influence on Blackburn's success, as did midfielder Tim Sherwood (captain) and goalkeeper Tim Flowers. Manager Kenny Dalglish, who had won three titles with Liverpool, became only the third manager in English football to win the league title with different clubs.
Everton's triumph leaves United with nothing
Everton had a terrible start to the 1994-95 season. Failure to win any of their first 12 Premiership games cost manager Mike Walker his job and looked to have cost Everton their top flight status less than a decade after they had been league champions. But in came Oldham Athletic's Joe Royle as his successor, and the signing of controversial striker Duncan Ferguson helped revive Everton's fortunes. Their Premiership survival was confirmed at the end of April and on 20 May they beat Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup final thanks to a Paul Rideout goal. Rideout's goal - and the brilliant goalkeeping of veteran Neville Southall - meant that Everton had won their first major honour in eight years, while United endured their first trophyless season in six years.
The Eric Cantona kung-fu incident
Eric Cantona, the Manchester United and France striker had a unique talent but unpredictable temper. On the 25th January 1995 he was sent off in a Premiership game against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park for lashing out at Eagles defender Richard Shaw. Cantona then kicked Palace supporter Matthew Simmons, who taunted him from the stands.
His club fined him two weeks wages and banned him from playing for the rest of the season. The FA fined Cantona £10,000 and extended his ban from football to September 30, 1995, for a total of eight months - one of the longest suspensions ever handed out in English football. FIFA later confirmed that this ban was worldwide. A jury at Croydon Magistrates Court found him guilty of common assault and the judge sentenced him to 14 days in prison, although he was immediately released on bail pending an appeal - which was successful in quashing his prison sentence. He received a 120-hour community service order instead, opting to coach children in the Greater Manchester area.
Cantona was not the only player facing jail. Chelsea captain Dennis Wise was convicted of assaulting a taxi driver and jailed for three months, although a successful appeal saw both his conviction and his prison sentence quashed.
Arsenal caught up in bungs scandal and drugs controversy
Arsenal were another Premiership club to be hit by controversy in the 1994-95 season. In November, winger Paul Merson admitted that he was addicted to alcohol, cocaine and gambling. He went on a three-month rehab course before resuming his career. Just before Merson's return, it was revealed that manager George Graham had accepted £425,000 worth of illegal payments from a Scandinavian agent who had overseen the signing of Pal Lydersen and John Jensen three years earlier. Graham, one of the most successful managers in the club's history, was sacked after nine years at the Highbury helm.
Nayim ends Arsenal's Euro dream
Despite the controversy of George Graham's sacking and Paul Merson's personal problems, Arsenal reached the European Cup Winners Cup final under caretaker manager Stewart Houston, where they faced Real Zaragoza of Spain. The scores were level (1-1) at half time and a penalty shoot-out was looking certain with 120 minutes on the clock. But a freak last-minute goal from 40 yards out from Nayim - a former Tottenham player - in the dying seconds of the game saw the trophy go to the Spaniards.
Honours
English national team
ab = Abandoned after 27 minutes because of crowd violence with the Republic leading 1-0 and no official result recorded, although caps were awarded.
League tables
FA Carling Premiership
Blackburn Rovers were crowned champions of the English league for the first time since 1914 after four years of heavy spending on and off the pitch. Strikers Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton scored more than 60 goals between them all season, while captain Tim Sherwood and goalkeeper Tim Flowers ensured that there was solidity and consistency away from the attack.
Manchester United narrowly missed out on a third successive league title, while newly promoted Nottingham Forest made a huge impact and finished third to qualify for Europe for the first time in over a decade. Liverpool showed signs of a return to their former glory with a fourth place finish and a Coca-Cola Cup triumph. The final European place went to Leeds United.
Smaller clubs including Southampton and Wimbledon defied the odds to finish in the top half of the table and overtake larger clubs including Aston Villa, Manchester City and Sheffield Wednesday, who all changed managers during or after a season which had seen them all fall well short of expectations.
Ipswich Town and Leicester City were relegated by a wide margin, while Norwich City were the next to go down due to a terrible second half to the season, which dragged them out of the Premiership just two years after they had almost been champions. The final relegation place went to Crystal Palace, who found it difficult to score goals all season long. Their relegation was confirmed of the final day of the season; despite a thrilling comeback against sixth-placed Newcastle United, they lost 3-2 and went down from the Premiership just 12 months after winning promotion.
Endsleigh League Division One
A dream start in management saw Bryan Robson guide Middlesbrough to the Division One title and regain the Premiership place that was lost two years ago. Reading finished second - the highest in their history - but the streamlining of the Premiership prevented them from winning promotion and they lost 4-3 to Bolton Wanderers after extra time in the playoff final, having led 2-0 at half time. Losing semi-finalists were Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tranmere Rovers.
Barnsley and Watford were the unlucky sides to narrowly miss out on the playoffs, while an expensively-assembled Derby County side finished a disappointing ninth at the end of what many fans had hoped would be a promotion winning season.
Portsmouth, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland - three famous clubs which had seen better days - narrowly avoided relegation to Division Two, but managerial changes at each of these clubs gave fans hope that a return to the elite might not be far away.
Swindon Town suffered a second successive relegation, joining Bristol City, Burnley and Notts County in Division Two.
Endsleigh League Division Two
Birmingham City sealed an immediate return to Division One by lifting the Division Two championship trophy, joined by playoff winners Huddersfield Town. The unlucky sides in the playoffs were Brentford, Crewe Alexandra and Bristol Rovers.
Unfavoured Leyton Orient, Chester City and Cardiff City were (perhaps inevitably) relegated to Division Three. But the other two relegated teams were surprise candidates for the drop. Plymouth Argyle had almost won promotion to Division One a year earlier. Cambridge United had narrowly missed out on a place in the then-new Premier League three years earlier and poor form in the run in sealed their fate after Bournemouth avoided the drop in the final two games of the season after spending most of it in the bottom five.
Endsleigh League Division Three
Ambitious Carlisle United sealed the Division Three title to end eight years of basement division football, joined by runners-up Walsall and playoff winners Chesterfield.
Debt-ridden Exeter City finished joint bottom of the league with Scarborough, but retained their league status due to Conference champions Macclesfield Town lacking a stadium adeqaute for Football League capacity standards.
Transfer deals
For subsequent transfer deals see 1995-96 in English football.
Diary of the season
6 July 1994 - Tottenham Hotspur's 12-point penalty is reduced to 6 points on appeal at a Football Association hearing, while the £600,000 fine is increased to £1.5million and the FA Cup ban remains in place.
2 August 1994 - Tottenham sell winger Vinny Samways to Everton for £2.2million.
4 August 1994 - Aston Villa pay Wimbledon £1.35million for long-serving striker John Fashanu.
3 August 1994 - Tottenham Hotspur pay Monaco £2million for German striker Jürgen Klinsmann.
22 August 1994 - The FA Premier League season opens with Liverpool beating newly-promoted Crystal Palace 6-1 at Selhurst Park.
28 August 1994 - 19-year-old striker Robbie Fowler scores a hat-trick for Liverpool in less than five minutes.
31 August 1994 - Newcastle United finish the first month of the league season as Premier League leaders with four wins from their opening four games, with defending champions Manchester United and newly-promoted Nottingham Forest bracketed together as their nearest rivals. With four teams going down this season due to the reduction of the Premier League from 22 clubs to 20, the relegation places are occupied by Everton, Leicester City, West Ham United and Coventry City.
3 September 1994 - Former Wolverhampton Wanderers and England captain Billy Wright dies of cancer aged 70.
9 September 1994 - Romanian World Cup midfielder Gheorghe Popescu signs for Tottenham Hotspur in a £2.9million deal from PSV Eindhoven.
21 September 1994 - Gary Lineker, England's second highest goalscorer of all time, announces his retirement from playing. Since leaving Tottenham in 1992, he has played for Negoya Grampus Eight of Japan.
30 September 1994 - September draws to a close with Newcastle United still top after winning six of their first seven games, while Blackburn Rovers and Nottingham Forest have leapfrogged Manchester United into fourth place. Completing the top five are a Chelsea side who are showing some of their best form in years under the management of Glenn Hoddle. Manchester City are also giving the top five a run for their money after last season's close shave with relegation. Everton are bottom of the division with no wins from their first seven games, while Crystal Palace, Coventry City and West Ham United are all still in the bottom four as well.
31 October 1994 - October draws to a close with Newcastle United still top, with Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool and Leeds United their nearest contenders. Everton are still bottom of the league and it currently looks like something little short of a miracle will save their 41-year top flight tenure as they have yet to win a league game after their opening 12 games. Leicester City, Wimbledon and Ipswich Town have also joined Everton in the relegation zone.
1 November 1994 - Osvaldo Ardiles is sacked after 16 months as manager of Tottenham Hotspur.
8 November 1994 - Mike Walker is sacked after 10 months as manager of Everton.
9 November 1994 - The Times reports that 16 Football League clubs are set to break away from the league to form a second tier of the Premier League.
10 November 1994 - Ron Atkinson is sacked as manager of Aston Villa, while Tottenham Hotspur appoint Gerry Francis from Queens Park Rangers.
13 November 1994 - Division Two promotion chasers Oxford United suffer a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of non-league Marlow Town in the FA Cup third round.
11 November 1994 - Joe Royle, the longest-serving manager in England with 12 years at Oldham Athletic, is named as the new manager of Everton.
12/13 November 1994 - The first round of the FA Cup is highlighted by Division Two Oxford United's 2-0 defeat at non-league Marlow Town.
14 November 1994 - Ray Wilkins, 38, quits as Crystal Palace player-coach to return to Queens Park Rangers as their new player-manager, while Brian Little resigns as manager of Leicester City, sparking
25 November 1994 - Brian Little is named as the new Aston Villa manager on his 41st birthday.
30 November 1994 - Blackburn Rovers are the new month-end Premier League leaders, ahead of second-placed Manchester United by a single point, while they are two points ahead of former leaders Newcastle United who have dipped to third place. Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United are continuing to put up a strong challenge along with a Manchester City side who spent last season battling to avoid relegation. Everton's new manager Joe Royle has taken them off bottom place over the last month with their first three league wins of the season, with Ipswich Town and Leicester City now propping up the league. Also in the relegation zone are League Cup holders Aston Villa, who almost won the league title two seasons ago.
5 December 1994 - John Lyall resigns after four-and-a-half years in charge of Ipswich Town, who stand bottom of the FA Premier League.
9 December 1994 - The Football Association quashes Tottenham's FA Cup ban and 6-point deduction.
11 December 1994 - Arsenal manager George Graham denies allegations that he received an illegal £285,000 payment as part of a transfer deal.
15 December 1994 - Mark McGhee leaves Reading to take charge of Leicester City. He is replaced at Elm Park by 35-year-old players Jimmy Quinn and Mick Gooding.
18 December 1994 - John Lyall is sacked after four-and-a-half years in charge of Ipswich Town, who are currently bottom of the Premier League.
19 December 1994 - Former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness denies allegations that he received a £30,000 illegal payment in connection with a player transfer.
28 December 1994 - Ipswich Town appoint their former player George Burley as their new manager. Burley, 38, had recently quit Colchester United and without a proven track record he was perhaps a surprise candidate for the job.
31 December 1994 - 1994 draws to a close with Blackburn Rovers still top and now with a three-point lead over Manchester United as well as a game in hand. Liverpool and Nottingham Forest are still in distant contention while a resurgent Tottenham Hotspur are now putting pressure on the top five, while Leeds United and Manchester City's challenges are practically dead and buried as they have slid down the table considerably. Norwich City, meanwhile, finish 1994 in seventh place as manager John Deehan looks set to defy the critics who felt he could never successfully replace Mike Walker and mount a challenge for another European place. The month-end bottom four of Everton, Aston Villa, Ipswich Town and Leicester City remain unchanged from last month.
7 January 1995 - Division Three Walsall hold Premier League Leeds United to a 1-1 draw the Bescot Stadium in the FA Cup third round to force a replay. Enfield's hopes of achieving an upset against Leicester City are ended when they lose 2-0 to the home side at Filbert Street. Marlow's FA Cup dream ends in a 2-0 defeat at Swindon Town. Wrexham shock Ipswich Town 2-0, while Aylesbury United's dream ends in a 4-0 thrashing by Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road. Birmingham City hold Liverpool to a goalless draw.
9 January 1995 - Manchester United meet Sheffield United in the FA Cup at Bramall Lane for the second season running, and triumph 2-0.
10 January 1995 - Manchester United break the English transfer fee record by signing Andy Cole from Newcastle United in a deal worth £7million; £6million cash plus £1million-rated winger Keith Gillespie, 19.
17 January 1995 - Walsall's FA Cup dream is ended in a 5-2 defeat by Leeds United at Elland Road in the third round replay.
21 January 1995 - Leeds United pay a club record £3.4million for Eintracht Frankfurt's Ghanaian striker Tony Yeboah.
25 January 1995 - After being sent off for kicking an opponent in Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace, Eric Cantona leaps into the crowd and kicks spectator Matthew Simmons, who had allegedly been making racist remarks about the Frenchman.
27 January 1995 - Eric Cantona is suspended by his employers for the rest of the season and fined £20,000 after being charged with bringing the game into disrepute.
28 January 1995 - In the first game after the Eric Cantona incident, Manchester United beat Wrexham 5-2 in the FA Cup fourth round at Old Trafford. Brian Flynn's Division Two underdogs gave United a scare after taking an early lead, but United soon blew them apart.
31 January 1995 - The month ends with Blackburn Rovers still leading the Premier League, while Manchester United have cut their lead to a single point Kenny Dalglish's men have a two-game advantage of their Old Trafford rivals. Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United complete the top five. Ipswich Town and Leicester City continue to prop up the top flight, while Aston Villa and Everton have surged clear of the drop zone at the expense of Coventry City and West Ham United.
14 February 1995 - George Graham, whose job as Arsenal manager is reportedly under threat due to sub-standard Premier League form as well as allegations of illegal payments, pays Vitesse Arnhem £2million for Holland winger Glenn Helder.
21 February 1995 - George Graham is sacked as Arsenal manager after he admits to receiving an illegal payment of £425,000 from Norweigan agent Rune Hauge when Arsenal signed Pal Lydersen in 1991 and John Jensen in 1992. Assistant manager Stewart Houston will take over as manager until the end of the season before Arsenal find a permanent manager to succeed Graham, who had been in charge at Highbury since May 1986 and had won six major trophies.
24 February 1995 - The Football Association extends Eric Cantona's suspension until 30 September and he is fined a further £10,000.
28 February 1995 - Blackburn Rovers remain month-end leaders of the Premier League, but failed to take maximum advantages of the two games they had in hand and are still only three points ahead of second-placed Manchester United. The challenge from the remainder of the top five - Newcastle United, Liverpool and particularly Nottingham Forest - is becoming more and more distant, while Norwich City's challenge for a UEFA Cup place has collapsed into a battle to avoid relegation in the space of a few weeks. The bottom four remain unchanged apart from West Ham United climbing out of the drop zone at the expense of a goal-shy Crystal Palace.
4 March 1995 - Andy Cole becomes the first player to score five goals in a Premier League game in Manchester United's 9-0 home win over Ipswich Town - which is also the biggest win yet in the Premier League.
11 March 1995 - Liverpool's faint hopes of a unique domestic treble are ended when they lose 2-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup quarter-final.
12 March 1995 - Everton's season which began with a 12-match winless start in the league is showing signs of turning into a success after they beat Newcastle United 1-0 at Goodison Park in the FA Cup quarter-final. Manchester United reach the semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers, managed by former United player Ray Wilkins and ending his hopes of beginning his managerial career with FA Cup glory.
13 March 1995 - Chelsea captain Dennis Wise (28) is sentenced to three months in prison for assault and criminal damage, but is released on bail pending an appeal against his conviction and sentence. The court case follows an alleged attack on a taxi driver in London.
23 March 1995 - A judge at Croydon Crown Court sentences Eric Cantona to 14 days in prison for his attack on Matthew Simmons. He is released on bail, pending an appeal against the sentence. Meanwhile, Cantona's team-mate Paul Ince faces charges relating to the incident, while Matthew Simmons will also face prosecution.
31 March 1995 - Eric Cantona's prison sentence is quashed on appeal and he is sentenced to 120 hours of community service. Meanwhile, his Manchester United side are still second in the league to a Blackburn Rovers team who have a three-point lead and a game in hand. The threat from Liverpool, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest is now even more distant to the point that it could be mathematically ended within a couple of weeks. At the other end of the table, Ipswich Town and Leicester City continue to prop up the rest of the Premier League and will now need a practical miracle to beat the drop. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace are sinking deeper and deeper into hot water, while Southampton have fallen into the bottom four. A first win of 1995 has helped ease Norwich City's worries as they stand 12th, but they are just six points ahead of 19th-placed Southampton who have two games in hand. Arsenal, still reeling from the George Graham and Paul Merson scandals, are suddenly under surprise threat of relegation from a division they traditionally compete at the top end of.
1 April 1995 - Nottingham Forest achieve a record Premier League away win when they beat Sheffield Wednesday 7-1 at Hillsborough.
6 April 1995 - It is announced that Eric Cantona's community service order will take place in the form of coaching football to young boys in the Manchester area.
9 April 1995 - 35-year-old Crystal Palace supporter Paul Nixon is crushed to death by a coach outside a Walsall public house before the FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park between Crystal Palace and Manchester United. Mr Nixon had been trying to escape a brawl between supporters of the two teams, after being stabbed and seriously injured by a brick. The semi-final ended in a 2-2 draw, while Everton crush Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 in the other semi-final.
12 April 1995 - Manchester United reach the FA Cup final after beating Crystal Palace 2-0 in the semi-final replay. Their opponents will be Everton, who crushed Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 in the other semi-final.
30 April 1995 - Middlesbrough clinch the Division One championship - and the only automatic promotion place to the Premier League for this season - by beating Luton Town in the final game at 93-year-old Ayresome Park and at the end of Bryan Robson's first season in management. Middlesbrough will relocate to the new 30,000-seat Riverside Stadium in August. Meanwhile, up in the Premier League, the final full month of the season ends with Manchester United still pushing Blackburn Rovers hard, with the margin now five points wide with four games to go. Liverpool are the only other team now in with a mathematical chance of winning the title, and all minds at Anfield are focused on the final day of the season when they welcome former manager Kenny Dalglish and his Blackburn Rovers side for what could very well be the title decider. At the other end of the table, Ipswich Town and Leicester City both had their relegation confirmed earlier in the month, while Norwich City have sunk into the relegation zone and Crystal Palace are still in it - but only on goal difference, and they have a game in hand over 18th-placed West Ham United.
14 May 1995 - Blackburn Rovers are crowned league champions for the first time in 81 years, despite losing 2-1 at Liverpool on the final day of the season. Blackburn's title status was confirmed after their nearest contenders Manchester United could only manage a 1-1 draw with West Ham United. The final Premier League relegation place goes to Crystal Palace, despite their dynamic fightback from being 3-0 down at Newcastle United they still lose 3-2. Aston Villa's safety is confirmed by a 1-1 draw with already-relegated Norwich at Carrow Road.
19 May 1995 - Trevor Francis is sacked after four years as manager of Sheffield Wednesday.
20 May 1995 - Everton win the FA Cup thanks to a Paul Rideout goal in the final, which leaves Manchester United (who narrowly missed out on repeating the double) without a major trophy for the first time since 1989. Rideout's goal came in the 30th minute, and United made a few late attempts to equalise (including two extremely close attempts by Paul Scholes in the dying minutes of the game) but all shots were foiled by a courageous Neville Southall.
24 May 1995 - Paul Ince is cleared of assaulting a Crystal Palace supporter in the skirmish that followed Eric Cantona's attack on Matthew Simmons four months ago. It was already known that the spectator who accused Ince of assault had a history of football-related violence dating back to the early 1970s.
30 May 1995 - Manchester City, still looking for a new manager following the dismissal of Brian Horton, agree to sell striker Niall Quinn to Sporting Lisbon of Portugal in a £2million deal.
5 June 1995 - Niall Quinn's transfer to Sporting Lisbon falls through after he fails to agree a contract.
23 June 1995 - Manchester United announce the sale of striker Mark Hughes to Chelsea for £1.5million and midfielder Paul Ince to Inter Milan for £7.5million.
Deaths
- 3 September 1994 – Billy Wright, 70, captain of Wolverhampton Wanderers and England during the 1950s. At club level won three league championships and two F.A Cups. Was Arsenal manager from 1962 to 1966 but had little success. Made history as England's (and the world's) first 100-cap player.
- 23 September 1994 – Johnny Berry, 68, Manchester United winger from the 1950s who was forced to retire after being severely injured in the Munich Air Disaster. After retiring as a player, he ran a sports shop in Aldershot with his brother Peter.
- 30 May 1995 – Ted Drake, 82, played as a centre forward for Arsenal before the Second World War and managed Chelsea to league championship glory in 1955.
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