| Season | 1994–95 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 August 1994 – 14 May 1995 |
| Champions | Blackburn Rovers 1st Premier League title 3rdEnglish title |
| Relegated | Crystal Palace Norwich City Leicester City Ipswich Town |
| Champions League | Blackburn Rovers |
| Cup Winners' Cup | Everton |
| UEFA Cup | Manchester United Nottingham Forest Liverpool Leeds United (throughUEFA Respect Fair Play ranking) |
| Intertoto Cup | Tottenham Hotspur Wimbledon Sheffield Wednesday |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,195 (2.59 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Alan Shearer (34 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper | Peter Schmeichel (20 clean sheets) |
| Biggest home win | Manchester United9–0 Ipswich Town (4 March 1995) |
| Biggest away win | Sheffield Wednesday 1–7 Nottingham Forest (1 April 1995) |
| Highest scoring | Manchester United 9–0 Ipswich Town (4 March 1995) |
| Longest winning run | 7 games[1] Blackburn Rovers |
| Longest unbeaten run | 13 games[1] Nottingham Forest |
| Longest winless run | 12 games[1] Everton Southampton |
| Longest losing run | 8 games[1] Ipswich Town |
| Highest attendance | 43,868[2] Manchester United 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday (7 May 1995) |
| Lowest attendance | 5,268[2] Wimbledon 2–0Manchester City (21 March 1995) |
| Total attendance | 11,203,236[2] |
| Average attendance | 24,249[2] |
1995–96 → | |
The1994–95 FA Premier League (known as theFACarling Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the third season of the competition, since its formation in 1992 as the top division of professionalfootball in England. Due to the decision to reduce the number of clubs in theFA Premier League from 22 to 20 starting from thefollowing season, four clubs were to be relegated.
Just before the start of the season, the English transfer record was broken whenBlackburn Rovers paid £5 million for 21-year-oldNorwich City strikerChris Sutton. But that record was broken again in January when Manchester United paid £6 million forNewcastle United'sAndy Cole, in a deal which also saw £1 million-ratedKeith Gillespie move to Newcastle. Other significant transfers before and during the 1994–95 season included:Vinny Samways (Tottenham toEverton, £2 million),David Rocastle (Manchester City to Chelsea, £1.25 million),Jürgen Klinsmann (Monaco toTottenham Hotspur, £2 million),John Scales (Wimbledon toLiverpool, £3 million) andPaul Kitson (Derby County to Newcastle United, £2.2 million).
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 being1927–28 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 theEuropean Cup for the first time in their history, while Manchester United finished second earning aUEFA 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 ofNottingham Forest,Liverpool andNewcastle 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 fifthLeague Cup in the club's first full season following the appointment ofRoy Evans). Fifth-placedLeeds United also secured a place via the newly-introducedUEFA Fair Play ranking, by virtue of the Premier League's exemplary disciplinary record through the season.
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 promotedLeicester 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 toCrystal Palace, who still lost 3-2 despite a strong fightback at Newcastle after being 3-0 down.
In January 1995,Manchester United's 28-year-old FrenchstrikerEric Cantona (then holder of thePFA Players' Player of the Year award) assaulted a Crystal Palace fan who verbally abused him[5] in his team's 1–1 draw atSelhurst Park. Cantona was banned fromfootball 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.
ChelseamidfielderDennis Wise was convicted of criminal damage and assault, relating to a fight with ataxi driver in London. He was given a three-month prison sentence but the conviction and prison sentence were quickly overturned on appeal.
Arsenal midfielderPaul Merson admitted in November 1994 that he was an alcoholic and was also addicted tococaine and gambling. He underwent a three-monthdrug rehabilitation programme before being allowed to resume his playing career.
Crystal Palace strikerChris 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 in1994–95, helping them reach the semi-finals of both domestic cup competitions, but was unable to prevent them from being relegated back to theFirst Division just one season after winning promotion.
Arsenal managerGeorge 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 agentRune Hauge relating to the purchases of Norwegian and Danish playersPål Lydersen andJohn Jensen three years earlier. Graham was later banned from football for one year by theFA.
Twenty-two teams competed in the league – the top nineteen teams from the previous season and the three teams promoted from theFirst Division. The promoted teams wereCrystal Palace,Nottingham Forest (both teams returning to the top flight after a season's absence), andLeicester City (returning after a top flight absence of seven years). This was also Leicester City's first season in the Premier League. They replacedSheffield United,Oldham Athletic andSwindon Town, who were relegated to theFirst Division after their top flight spells of four, three and one year respectively. This was the final season to be contested by twenty-two teams as all seasons after were contested by twenty teams.
(as of 14 May 1995)
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham United | Resigned | 10 August 1994 | Pre-season | 10 August 1994 | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | Sacked | 1 November 1994 | 11th | 1 November 1994 | ||
| Everton | 8 November 1994 | 22nd | 10 November 1994 | |||
| Aston Villa | 10 November 1994 | 19th | 10 November 1994 | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur | End of caretaker spell | 15 November 1994 | 13th | 15 November 1994 | ||
| Queens Park Rangers | Resigned | 18th | ||||
| Leicester City | Resigned | 22 November 1994 | 20th | 22 November 1994 | ||
| Aston Villa | End of caretaker spell | 25 November 1994 | 19th | 25 November 1994 | ||
| Ipswich Town | Resigned | 5 December 1994 | 22nd | 5 December 1994 | ||
| Leicester City | End of caretaker spell | 14 December 1994 | 21st | 14 December 1994 | ||
| Ipswich Town | 28 December 1994 | 22nd | 28 December 1994 | |||
| Coventry City | Sacked | 14 February 1995 | 13th | 15 February 1995 | ||
| Arsenal | 21 February 1995 | 12th | 21 February 1995 | |||
| Norwich City | Resigned | 9 April 1995 | 20th | 9 April 1995 |
| 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 theChampions League group stage |
| 2 | Manchester United | 42 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 77 | 28 | +49 | 88 | Qualification for theUEFA 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 | Qualification for theIntertoto Cup group stage |
| 8 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 61 | 59 | +2 | 60 | |
| 9 | Wimbledon | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 65 | −17 | 56 | Qualification for theIntertoto Cup group stage |
| 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 | Qualification for theIntertoto Cup group stage |
| 14 | West Ham United | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 44 | 48 | −4 | 50 | |
| 15 | Everton | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 44 | 51 | −7 | 50 | Qualification for theCup 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 toFootball 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 |
| 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 | — |

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackburn Rovers | 34 | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 25 | |
| 3 | Queens Park Rangers | 24 | |
| 4 | Nottingham Forest | 22 | |
| 5 | Newcastle United Manchester United | 21 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | |
| 7 | Southampton | 19 | |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | |
| Arsenal | |||
| 10 | Manchester City | 15 | |
| Aston Villa | |||
| Blackburn Rovers |

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers | Coventry City | 4–0 (H)[7] | 27 August 1994 | |
| Liverpool | Arsenal | 3–0 (H)[8] | 28 August 1994 | |
| Manchester United | Manchester City | 5–0 (H)[9] | 10 November 1994 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | Queens Park Rangers | 4–0 (H)[10] | 26 November 1994 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Newcastle United | 4–2 (H)[11] | 3 December 1994 | |
| West Ham United | Manchester City | 3–0 (H)[12] | 17 December 1994 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | West Ham United | 4–2 (H)[13] | 30 October 1994 | |
| Ipswich Town | 4–1 (H)[14] | 2 January 1995 | ||
| Aston Villa | Wimbledon | 7–1 (H)[15] | 11 February 1995 | |
| Manchester United | Ipswich Town | 9–0 (H)[16] | 4 March 1995 | |
| Coventry City | Liverpool | 3–2 (A)[17] | 14 March 1995 | |
| Leeds United | Ipswich Town | 4–0 (H)[18] | 5 April 1995 | |
| Arsenal | 4–1 (H)[19] | 15 April 1995 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[20] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 20 | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 17 | |
| Leeds United | |||
| 4 | Blackburn | 16 | |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 14 | |
| Everton | |||
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 13 | |
| West Ham United | |||
| Newcastle United | |||
| 10 | Chelsea | 11 | |
| Coventry City | |||
| Arsenal | |||
| Tottenham Hotspur |
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | |
| August | Newcastle United | Tottenham Hotspur | ||
| September | Nottingham Forest | Newcastle United | ||
| October | Manchester United | Manchester United | ||
| November | Blackburn Rovers | Blackburn Rovers | ||
| December | Tottenham Hotspur | Southampton | ||
| January | Aston Villa | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| February | Newcastle United | Everton | ||
| March | Coventry City | Leeds United | ||
| April | Leeds United | Arsenal | ||
| PFA Team of the Year |
| PFA Team of the Year[30] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | (Blackburn Rovers) | |||||||||||
| Defenders | (Liverpool) | (Manchester United) | (Blackburn Rovers) | (Blackburn Rovers) | ||||||||
| Midfielders | (Blackburn Rovers) | (Southampton) | (Manchester United) | |||||||||
| Forwards | (Tottenham Hotspur) | (Blackburn Rovers) | (Blackburn Rovers) | |||||||||
Manchester United drew the highest average home attendance in the third edition of the Premier League.
| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance[31] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | 21 | 43,677 |
| 2 | Arsenal FC | 21 | 35,353 |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 21 | 34,692 |
| 4 | Liverpool FC | 21 | 34,225 |
| 5 | Leeds United | 21 | 32,798 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 21 | 30,894 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 21 | 29,756 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 27,259 |
| 9 | Sheffield Wednesday | 21 | 26,568 |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers | 21 | 25,272 |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 21 | 23,633 |
| 12 | Manchester City | 21 | 22,655 |
| 13 | Chelsea FC | 21 | 21,057 |
| 14 | West Ham United | 21 | 20,223 |
| 15 | Leicester City | 21 | 19,532 |
| 16 | Norwich City | 21 | 18,625 |
| 17 | Ipswich Town | 21 | 16,880 |
| 18 | Coventry City | 21 | 15,979 |
| 19 | Crystal Palace FC | 21 | 14,879 |
| 20 | Southampton FC | 21 | 14,685 |
| 21 | Queens Park Rangers | 21 | 14,637 |
| 22 | Wimbledon FC | 21 | 10,207 |