The 1994–95 FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the competition, since its formation in 1992 as the top division of professional football in England. Due to the decision to reduce the number of clubs in the FA Premier League from 22 to 20 starting from the following season, a total of four clubs were to be relegated.

Quick Facts Season, Dates ...
Premier League
Season1994–95
Dates20 August 1994 – 14 May 1995
ChampionsBlackburn Rovers
1st Premier League title
3rd English title
RelegatedCrystal Palace
Norwich City
Leicester City
Ipswich Town
Champions LeagueBlackburn Rovers
Cup Winners' CupEverton
UEFA CupManchester United
Nottingham Forest
Liverpool
Leeds United (through UEFA Respect Fair Play ranking)
Matches played462
Goals scored1,195 (2.59 per match)
Top goalscorerAlan Shearer
(34 goals)
Best goalkeeperPeter Schmeichel (20 clean sheets)
Biggest home winManchester United 9–0 Ipswich Town
(4 March 1995)
Biggest away winSheffield Wednesday 1–7 Nottingham Forest
(1 April 1995)
Highest scoringManchester United 9–0 Ipswich Town
(4 March 1995)
Longest winning run7 games[1]
Blackburn Rovers
Longest unbeaten run13 games[1]
Nottingham Forest
Longest winless run12 games[1]
Everton
Southampton
Longest losing run8 games[1]
Ipswich Town
Highest attendance43,868[2]
Manchester United 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday
(7 May 1995)
Lowest attendance5,268[2]
Wimbledon 2–0 Manchester City
(21 March 1995)
Total attendance11,203,236[2]
Average attendance24,249[2]
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Overview

Transfers

Just before the start of the season, the English transfer record was broken when Blackburn Rovers paid £5 million for 21-year-old Norwich City striker Chris Sutton. But that record was broken again in January when Manchester United paid £6 million for Newcastle United's Andy Cole, in a deal which also saw £1 million-rated Keith Gillespie move to Newcastle. Other significant transfers before and during the 1994–95 season included: Vinny Samways (Tottenham to Everton, £2 million), David Rocastle (Manchester City to Chelsea, £1.25 million), Jürgen Klinsmann (Monaco to Tottenham Hotspur, £2 million), John Scales (Wimbledon to Liverpool, £3 million) and Paul Kitson (Derby County to Newcastle United, £2.2 million).

Summary

The title was won by Blackburn Rovers, whose last title success was in 1914, and also was Blackburn's first major trophy in 67 years (the last being 1927–28 FA Cup).[3] Kenny Dalglish's side secured the championship on the last day of the season despite losing 2–1 at his former club Liverpool, as Manchester United could only manage a 1–1 draw at West Ham.[4] This meant that Blackburn Rovers qualified for the European Cup for the first time in their history, while Manchester United finished second earning a UEFA Cup place. A single point separated the two sides, who for more than half of the season enjoyed a wide gap in terms of point between themselves and the rest of the league, despite the likes of Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Newcastle United looking like title contenders during the first three months of the season.

Also qualifying for the UEFA Cup were Nottingham Forest (who finished third in their first season back in the Premier League), Liverpool (who finished fourth and won their fifth League Cup in the club's first full season following the appointment of Roy Evans) and fifth placed Leeds United.

The number of teams in the league for the following year would be reduced to 20. This was to be achieved by increasing the number of teams facing relegation to four, and reducing the number of teams being promoted from Division 1 to two. Ipswich Town were relegated in bottom place after winning just seven league games and conceding 93 goals. Newly promoted Leicester City also went down, winning just six times in the league and never being outside the bottom two after November. Norwich City, who had been in contention for a UEFA Cup place halfway through the season, suffered a nosedive in form during the second half of the season and were relegated just two seasons after being title contenders. The final relegation place on the last day of the season went to Crystal Palace, who still lost 3-2 despite a strong fightback at Newcastle after being 3-0 down.

Controversial incidents

In January 1995, Manchester United's 28-year-old French striker Eric Cantona (then holder of the PFA Players' Player of the Year award) assaulted a Crystal Palace fan who verbally abused him[5] in his team's 1–1 draw at Selhurst Park. Cantona was banned from football for eight months, fined £20,000 and sentenced to 14 days in prison. The prison sentence was later reduced to 120 hours community service on appeal.

Chelsea midfielder Dennis Wise was convicted of criminal damage and assault, relating to a fight with a taxi driver in London. He was given a three-month prison sentence but the conviction and prison sentence were quickly overturned on appeal.

Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson admitted in November 1994 that he was an alcoholic and was also addicted to cocaine and gambling. He underwent a three-month drug rehabilitation programme before being allowed to resume his playing career.

Crystal Palace striker Chris Armstrong failed a drugs test in February 1995 but admitted that he had done wrong and returned to action after just four weeks undergoing rehabilitation. Armstrong was Palace's leading goalscorer in 1994–95, helping them reach the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions, but was unable to prevent them from being relegated back to the First Division just one season after winning promotion.

Arsenal manager George Graham was sacked in February 1995 after nearly nine years in charge, when it was revealed that he had accepted an illegal payment of £425,000 from Norwegian agent Rune Hauge relating to the purchases of Norwegian and Danish players Pål Lydersen and John Jensen three years earlier. Graham was later banned from football for one year by the FA.

Teams

Twenty-two teams competed in the league – the top nineteen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from the First Division. The promoted teams were Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest (both teams returning to the top flight after a season's absence), and Leicester City (returning after a top flight absence of seven years). This was also Leicester City's first season in the Premier League. They replaced Sheffield United, Oldham Athletic and Swindon Town, who were relegated to the First Division after their top flight spells of four, three and one year respectively. This was the final season with twenty-two teams as all seasons after this one have twenty teams.

Stadiums and locations

  1. Due to Wimbledon lacking a home stadium, they played their home games at Selhurst Park, which is the home stadium of Crystal Palace.

Personnel and kits

(as of 14 May 1995)

More information Team, Manager ...
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Arsenal Scotland Stewart Houston (caretaker) England Tony Adams Nike JVC
Aston Villa England Brian Little England Kevin Richardson Asics Müller
Blackburn Rovers Scotland Kenny Dalglish England Tim Sherwood Asics McEwan's Lager
Chelsea England Glenn Hoddle England Dennis Wise Umbro Coors
Coventry City England Ron Atkinson England Brian Borrows Pony Peugeot
Crystal Palace England Alan Smith England Gareth Southgate Nutmeg TDK
Everton England Joe Royle England Dave Watson Umbro NEC
Ipswich Town Scotland George Burley England Steve Palmer Umbro Fisons
Leeds United England Howard Wilkinson Scotland Gary McAllister Asics Thistle Hotels
Leicester City Scotland Mark McGhee England Steve Walsh Fox Leisure Walkers
Liverpool England Roy Evans Wales Ian Rush Adidas Carlsberg
Manchester City England Brian Horton England Keith Curle Umbro Brother
Manchester United Scotland Alex Ferguson England Steve Bruce Umbro Sharp
Newcastle United England Kevin Keegan England Peter Beardsley Asics McEwan's (home)
Newcastle Brown Ale (away)
Norwich City England Gary Megson (caretaker) England Jon Newsome Ribero Norwich and Peterborough
Nottingham Forest England Frank Clark England Stuart Pearce Umbro Labatt's
Queens Park Rangers England Ray Wilkins England David Bardsley Clubhouse Compaq
Sheffield Wednesday England Trevor Francis England Chris Waddle Puma Sanderson
Southampton England Alan Ball England Matt Le Tissier Pony Dimplex
Tottenham Hotspur England Gerry Francis England Gary Mabbutt Umbro Holsten
West Ham United England Harry Redknapp England Steve Potts Pony Dagenham Motors
Wimbledon Republic of Ireland Joe Kinnear Wales Vinnie Jones In-House Elonex
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Managerial changes

More information Team, Outgoing manager ...
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
West Ham United England Billy Bonds Resigned 10 August 1994 Pre-season England Harry Redknapp 10 August 1994
Tottenham Hotspur Argentina Osvaldo Ardiles Sacked 1 November 1994 11th England Steve Perryman (caretaker) 1 November 1994
Everton Wales Mike Walker 8 November 1994 22nd England Joe Royle 10 November 1994
Aston Villa England Ron Atkinson 10 November 1994 19th England Jim Barron (caretaker) 10 November 1994
Tottenham Hotspur England Steve Perryman End of caretaker spell 15 November 1994 13th England Gerry Francis 15 November 1994
Queens Park Rangers England Gerry Francis Resigned 18th England Ray Wilkins
Leicester City England Brian Little Resigned 22 November 1994 20th Scotland Kevin MacDonald (caretaker) 22 November 1994
Aston Villa England Jim Barron End of caretaker spell 25 November 1994 19th England Brian Little 25 November 1994
Ipswich Town England John Lyall Resigned 5 December 1994 22nd England Paul Goddard (caretaker) 5 December 1994
Leicester City Scotland Kevin MacDonald End of caretaker spell 14 December 1994 21st Scotland Mark McGhee 14 December 1994
Ipswich Town England Paul Goddard 28 December 1994 22nd Scotland George Burley 28 December 1994
Coventry City England Phil Neal Sacked 14 February 1995 13th England Ron Atkinson 15 February 1995
Arsenal Scotland George Graham 21 February 1995 12th Scotland Stewart Houston 21 February 1995
Norwich City England John Deehan Resigned 9 April 1995 20th England Gary Megson (caretaker) 9 April 1995
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League table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Blackburn Rovers (C) 42 27 8 7 80 39 +41 89 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Manchester United 42 26 10 6 77 28 +49 88 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
3 Nottingham Forest 42 22 11 9 72 43 +29 77
4 Liverpool 42 21 11 10 65 37 +28 74
5 Leeds United 42 20 13 9 59 38 +21 73
6 Newcastle United 42 20 12 10 67 47 +20 72
7 Tottenham Hotspur 42 16 14 12 66 58 +8 62
8 Queens Park Rangers 42 17 9 16 61 59 +2 60
9 Wimbledon 42 15 11 16 48 65 17 56
10 Southampton 42 12 18 12 61 63 2 54
11 Chelsea 42 13 15 14 50 55 5 54
12 Arsenal 42 13 12 17 52 49 +3 51
13 Sheffield Wednesday 42 13 12 17 49 57 8 51
14 West Ham United 42 13 11 18 44 48 4 50
15 Everton 42 11 17 14 44 51 7 50 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[b]
16 Coventry City 42 12 14 16 44 62 18 50
17 Manchester City 42 12 13 17 53 64 11 49
18 Aston Villa 42 11 15 16 51 56 5 48
19 Crystal Palace (R) 42 11 12 19 34 49 15 45 Relegation to Football League First Division
20 Norwich City (R) 42 10 13 19 37 54 17 43
21 Leicester City (R) 42 6 11 25 45 80 35 29
22 Ipswich Town (R) 42 7 6 29 36 93 57 27
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Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Leeds United were rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup through UEFA Fair Play ranking.
  2. Everton qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup winners.

Results

More information Home \ Away, ARS ...
Home \ Away ARS AVL BLB CHE COV CRY EVE IPS LEE LEI LIV MCI MUN NEW NOR NFO QPR SHW SOU TOT WHU WIM
Arsenal 0–0 0–0 3–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 4–1 1–3 1–1 0–1 3–0 0–0 2–3 5–1 1–0 1–3 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 0–0
Aston Villa 0–4 0–1 3–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 0–0 4–4 2–0 1–1 1–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–2 7–1
Blackburn Rovers 3–1 3–1 2–1 4–0 2–1 3–0 4–1 1–1 3–0 3–2 2–3 2–4 1–0 0–0 3–0 4–0 3–1 3–2 2–0 4–2 2–1
Chelsea 2–1 1–0 1–2 2–2 0–0 0–1 2–0 0–3 4–0 0–0 3–0 2–3 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–2 1–1
Coventry City 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–2 1–4 0–0 2–0 2–1 4–2 1–1 1–0 2–3 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 2–0 1–3 0–4 2–0 1–1
Crystal Palace 0–3 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 1–0 3–0 1–2 2–0 1–6 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–2 0–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–0
Everton 1–1 2–2 1–2 3–3 0–2 3–1 4–1 3–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–2 2–2 1–4 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0
Ipswich Town 0–2 0–1 1–3 2–2 2–0 0–2 0–1 2–0 4–1 1–3 1–2 3–2 0–2 1–2 0–1 0–1 1–2 2–1 1–3 1–1 2–2
Leeds United 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–3 3–0 3–1 1–0 4–0 2–1 0–2 2–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 4–0 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 3–1
Leicester City 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 2–2 2–0 1–3 1–2 0–1 0–4 1–3 1–0 2–4 1–1 0–1 4–3 3–1 1–2 3–4
Liverpool 3–0 3–2 2–1 3–1 2–3 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 4–0 1–0 1–1 4–1 3–1 1–1 0–0 3–0
Manchester City 1–2 2–2 1–3 1–2 0–0 1–1 4–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 2–1 0–3 0–0 2–0 3–3 2–3 3–2 3–3 5–2 3–0 2–0
Manchester United 3–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 3–0 2–0 9–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 5–0 2–0 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 3–0
Newcastle United 1–0 3–1 1–1 4–2 4–0 3–2 2–0 1–1 1–2 3–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 5–1 3–3 2–0 2–1
Norwich City 0–0 1–1 2–1 3–0 2–2 0–0 0–0 3–0 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–2 2–1 0–1 4–2 0–0 2–2 0–2 1–0 1–2
Nottingham Forest 2–2 1–2 0–2 0–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 4–1 3–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–2 4–1 3–0 2–2 1–1 3–1
Queens Park Rangers 3–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 2–2 0–1 2–3 1–2 3–2 2–0 2–1 1–2 2–3 3–0 2–0 1–1 3–2 2–2 2–1 2–1 0–1
Sheffield Wednesday 3–1 1–2 0–1 1–1 5–1 1–0 0–0 4–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–7 0–2 1–1 3–4 1–0 0–1
Southampton 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 3–1 2–0 3–1 1–3 2–2 0–2 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 4–3 1–1 2–3
Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 3–4 3–1 0–0 1–3 0–0 2–1 3–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 4–2 1–0 1–4 1–1 3–1 1–2 3–1 1–2
West Ham United 0–2 1–0 2–0 1–2 0–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–0 3–0 1–1 1–3 2–2 3–1 0–0 0–2 2–0 1–2 3–0
Wimbledon 1–3 4–3 0–3 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–1 3–2 1–0 2–2 1–3 0–1 0–2 1–2 1–0
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Source: 11v11
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Thumb
Blackburn's Alan Shearer was the top scorer in the 1994–95 Premier League season, with 34 goals.
More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Goals[6]
1 England Alan Shearer Blackburn Rovers 34
2 England Robbie Fowler Liverpool 25
3 England Les Ferdinand Queens Park Rangers 24
4 England Stan Collymore Nottingham Forest 22
5 England Andy Cole Newcastle United
Manchester United
21
6 Germany Jürgen Klinsmann Tottenham Hotspur 20
7 England Matt Le Tissier Southampton 19
8 England Teddy Sheringham Tottenham Hotspur 18
England Ian Wright Arsenal
10 Germany Uwe Rösler Manchester City 15
Wales Dean Saunders Aston Villa
England Chris Sutton Blackburn Rovers
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Hat-tricks

Thumb
In addition to his hat-trick, Manchester United's Andy Cole became the first player to score five goals in a Premier League match.
More information Player, For ...
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
England Chris SuttonBlackburn RoversCoventry City4–0 (H)[7]27 August 1994
England Robbie FowlerLiverpoolArsenal3–0 (H)[8]28 August 1994
Russia Andrei KanchelskisManchester UnitedManchester City5–0 (H)[9]10 November 1994
England Alan ShearerBlackburn RoversQueens Park Rangers4–0 (H)[10]26 November 1994
England Teddy SheringhamTottenham HotspurNewcastle United4–2 (H)[11]3 December 1994
England Tony CotteeWest Ham UnitedManchester City3–0 (H)[12]17 December 1994
England Alan ShearerBlackburn RoversWest Ham United4–2 (H)[13]30 October 1994
Ipswich Town4–1 (H)[14]2 January 1995
England Tommy JohnsonAston VillaWimbledon7–1 (H)[15]11 February 1995
England Andy Cole5Manchester UnitedIpswich Town9–0 (H)[16]4 March 1995
Zimbabwe Peter NdlovuCoventry CityLiverpool3–2 (A)[17]14 March 1995
Ghana Tony YeboahLeeds UnitedIpswich Town4–0 (H)[18]5 April 1995
England Ian WrightArsenal4–1 (H)[19]15 April 1995
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Note: 5 – player scored 5 goals; (H) – Home; (A) – Away

Clean sheets

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Clean
sheets[20]
1 Denmark Peter Schmeichel Manchester United 20
2 England David James Liverpool 17
England John Lukic Leeds United
4 England Tim Flowers Blackburn 16
5 England Nigel Martyn Crystal Palace 14
Wales Neville Southall Everton
7 Wales Mark Crossley Nottingham Forest 13
Czech Republic Luděk Mikloško West Ham United
Czech Republic Pavel Srníček Newcastle United
10 Russia Dmitri Kharine Chelsea 11
England Steve Ogrizovic Coventry City
England David Seaman Arsenal
England Ian Walker Tottenham Hotspur
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Discipline

Player

Club

  • Most yellow cards: 72[23]
    • Wimbledon
  • Fewest yellow cards: 35[23]
    • Liverpool
  • Most red cards: 8[24]
    • Leicester City
  • Fewest red cards: 0[24]
    • Leeds United
    • Southampton

Awards

Thumb
Tottenham's Jürgen Klinsmann was the inaugural Player of the Month.

Monthly awards

More information Month, Manager of the Month ...
Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August England Kevin Keegan Newcastle United Germany Jürgen Klinsmann Tottenham Hotspur
September England Frank Clark Nottingham Forest England Rob Lee Newcastle United
October Scotland Alex Ferguson Manchester United England Paul Ince Manchester United
November Scotland Kenny Dalglish Blackburn Rovers England Alan Shearer Blackburn Rovers
England Chris Sutton
December England Gerry Francis Tottenham Hotspur England Matt Le Tissier Southampton
January England Brian Little Aston Villa England Chris Waddle Sheffield Wednesday
February England Kevin Keegan Newcastle United Scotland Duncan Ferguson Everton
March England Ron Atkinson Coventry City Ghana Tony Yeboah Leeds United
April England Howard Wilkinson Leeds United England David Seaman Arsenal
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Annual awards

Quick Facts
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More information PFA Team of the Year, Goalkeeper ...
PFA Team of the Year[30]
Goalkeeper England Tim Flowers
(Blackburn Rovers)
Defenders England Rob Jones
(Liverpool)
England Gary Pallister
(Manchester United)
Scotland Colin Hendry
(Blackburn Rovers)
England Graeme Le Saux
(Blackburn Rovers)
Midfielders England Tim Sherwood
(Blackburn Rovers)
England Matt Le Tissier
(Southampton)
England Paul Ince
(Manchester United)
Forwards Germany Jürgen Klinsmann
(Tottenham Hotspur)
England Alan Shearer
(Blackburn Rovers)
England Chris Sutton
(Blackburn Rovers)
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See also

References and notes

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