1995–96 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. season

Sheffield Wednesday
1995–96 season
Chairman	Dave Richards
Manager	David Pleat
Premiership	15th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Fourth round
Intertoto Cup	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Hirst (13); All: Hirst (14)
Highest home attendance	34,101 vs Manchester United ; (23 Sep 1995, Premiership)
Lowest home attendance	12,039 vs Crewe Alexandra ; (4 Oct 1995, League Cup)
Average home league attendance	24,877; (League games only)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 season was Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'s 129th season. They competed in the twenty-team Premier League, the top tier of English football, finishing fifteenth.

Season summary

David Pleat's first season as Sheffield Wednesday manager was the club's worst in the top flight since winning promotion in 1991. The eagerly-anticipated signing of Belgian forward Marc Degryse turned out to be a major disappointment, though David Hirst provided a fair supply of goals on his return to fitness after a two-year injury struggle.

The Owls struggled all season long, and finished 15th in the final table. This was another dismal showing for a club who were chasing honours just two or three seasons earlier, and Pleat knew that something had to change, and set out to reward the club's board for keeping faith in him for a second season.

Marc Degryse, Chris Waddle, Chris Woods and Klas Ingesson all left in the close season, and all the talk at Hillsborough was the acquisition of young striker Andy Booth from Huddersfield Town for £2.5 million. Many fans saw him as the answer to the problems which had plagued the Owls during the last seasons, and gave them hope of a new challenge for honours.

Final league table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
13	Leeds United	38	12	7	19	40	57	−17	43
14	Wimbledon	38	10	11	17	55	70	−15	41
15	Sheffield Wednesday	38	10	10	18	48	61	−13	40
16	Coventry City	38	8	14	16	42	60	−18	38
17	Southampton	38	9	11	18	34	52	−18	38

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	10	10	18	48	61	−13	40	7	5	7	30	31	−1	3	5	11	18	30	−12

Source: Statto

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A
Result	L	W	L	D	W	L	D	L	L	W	L	D	D	L	D	W	D	W	D	L	W	D	L	L	W	L	L	L	L	W	W	L	L	W	L	D	L	D
Position	17	7	14	12	7	13	12	13	15	12	13	13	14	14	15	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	14	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15

Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Sheffield Wednesday's score comes first^[1]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

FA Premier League

19 August 1995 (1995-08-19) 1	Liverpool	1–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Liverpool, Merseyside
15:00	Collymore 61'	Report		Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 40,535 Referee: Paul Durkin

23 August 1995 (1995-08-23) 2	Sheffield Wednesday	2–1	Blackburn Rovers	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
19:45	Waddle 18' Pembridge 83'	Report	Shearer 60'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 25,544 Referee: Paul Danson

27 August 1995 (1995-08-27) 3	Sheffield Wednesday	0–2	Newcastle United	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
16:00		Report	Ginola 53' Beardsley 75'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 24,815 Referee: Paul Alcock

30 August 1995 (1995-08-30) 4	Wimbledon	2–2	Sheffield Wednesday	Wimbledon, Greater London
19:45	Goodman 17' Holdsworth 84' (pen.)	Report	Degryse 10' Hirst 46'	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 6,352 Referee: Alan Wilkie

9 September 1995 (1995-09-09) 5	Queens Park Rangers	0–3	Sheffield Wednesday	Shepherd's Bush, Greater London
15:00		Report	Bright 55', 60' Donaldson 77'	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 12,459 Referee: Mike Reed

16 September 1995 (1995-09-16) 6	Sheffield Wednesday	1–3	Tottenham Hotspur	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Hirst 8'	Report^{[dead link‍]}	Sheringham 32', 65' (pen.) Walker 60' (o.g.)	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 26,565 Referee: Dermot Gallagher

23 September 1995 (1995-09-23) 7	Sheffield Wednesday	0–0	Manchester United	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00		Report		Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 34,101 Referee: Keith Burge

30 September 1995 (1995-09-30) 8	Leeds United	2–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Leeds, West Yorkshire
15:00	Yeboah 34' Speed 58'	Report		Stadium: Elland Road Attendance: 34,076 Referee: Graham Poll

15 October 1995 (1995-10-15) 9	Sheffield Wednesday	0–1	Middlesbrough	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
16:00		Report	Hignett 68' (pen.)	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 21,177 Referee: Gerald Ashby

21 October 1995 (1995-10-21) 10	Coventry City	0–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Coventry, West Midlands
15:00		Report	Whittingham 16'	Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 13,998 Referee: Jeff Winter

28 October 1995 (1995-10-28) 11	Sheffield Wednesday	0–1	West Ham United	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00		Report	Dowie 40'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 23,917 Referee: Keith Cooper

4 November 1995 (1995-11-04) 12	Chelsea	0–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Fulham, Greater London
15:00		Report		Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 23,216 Referee: Paul Danson

18 November 1995 (1995-11-18) 13	Sheffield Wednesday	1–1	Manchester City	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Hirst 14' (pen.)	Report	Lomas 55'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 24,422 Referee: Graham Poll

21 November 1995 (1995-11-21) 14	Arsenal	4–2	Sheffield Wednesday	Highbury, Greater London
19:45	Bergkamp 3' Winterburn 53' Dickov 64' Hartson 86'	Report	Hirst 9' Waddle 20'	Stadium: Arsenal Stadium Attendance: 34,556 Referee: Roger Dilkes

25 November 1995 (1995-11-25) 15	Everton	2–2	Sheffield Wednesday	Liverpool, Merseyside
15:00	Kanchelskis 45' Amokachi 52'	Report	Bright 2', 36'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 35,898 Referee: Martin Bodenham

4 December 1995 (1995-12-04) 16	Sheffield Wednesday	4–3	Coventry City	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
20:00	Whittingham 25' Hirst 39' Degryse 61' Bright 72'	Report	Dublin 18', 37', 56'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 16,229 Referee: Mike Reed

9 December 1995 (1995-12-09) 17	Manchester United	2–2	Sheffield Wednesday	Old Trafford, Greater Manchester
15:00	Cantona 19', 83'	Report	Bright 59' Whittingham 78'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 41,849 Referee: Peter Jones

16 December 1995 (1995-12-16) 18	Sheffield Wednesday	6–2	Leeds United	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Degryse 5', 25' Whittingham 18' Bright 67' Hirst 72', 86'	Report	Brolin 28' Wallace 86'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 24,573 Referee: Robbie Hart

23 December 1995 (1995-12-23) 19	Sheffield Wednesday	2–2	Southampton	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Hirst 14' (pen.), 50' (pen.)	Report	Heaney 7' Magilton 80' (pen.)	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 25,115 Referee: Jeff Winter

26 December 1995 (1995-12-26) 20	Nottingham Forest	1–0	Sheffield Wednesday	West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire
15:00	Lee 5'	Report		Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 27,810 Referee: Gerald Ashby

1 January 1996 (1996-01-01) 21	Sheffield Wednesday	4–2	Bolton Wanderers	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Kovačević 22', 45' Hirst 54' (pen.), 60'	Report	Ćurčić 51' Taggart 77'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 24,872 Referee: Paul Durkin

13 January 1996 (1996-01-13) 22	Sheffield Wednesday	1–1	Liverpool	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Kovacevic 7'	Report	Rush 87'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 32,747 Referee: David Elleray

20 January 1996 (1996-01-20) 23	Blackburn Rovers	3–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Blackburn, Lancashire
15:00	Shearer 27' Bohinen 31' Gallacher 85'	Report		Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 24,732 Referee: Gary Willard

3 February 1996 (1996-02-03) 24	Newcastle United	2–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
15:00	Ferdinand 54' Clark 90'	Report		Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 36,567 Referee: Paul Danson

10 February 1996 (1996-02-10) 25	Sheffield Wednesday	2–1	Wimbledon	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Degryse 50' Watts 85'	Report	Gayle 61'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 19,085 Referee: Martin Bodenham

17 February 1996 (1996-02-17) 26	Sheffield Wednesday	1–3	Queens Park Rangers	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Hyde 22'	Report	Barker 33', 66' Goodridge 87'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 22,442 Referee: Paul Durkin

24 February 1996 (1996-02-24) 27	Tottenham Hotspur	1–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Tottenham, Greater London
15:00	Armstrong 32'	Report		Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 32,047 Referee: Mike Reed

2 March 1996 (1996-03-02) 28	Sheffield Wednesday	1–3	Nottingham Forest	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Kovacevic 50'	Report	Howe 10' McGregor 46' Roy 80'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 21,930 Referee: Graham Poll

6 March 1996 (1996-03-06) 29	Aston Villa	3–2	Sheffield Wednesday	Witton, West Midlands
19:45	Milošević 61', 62' Townsend 72'	Report	Blinker 8', 63'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 27,893 Referee: David Elleray

16 March 1996 (1996-03-16) 30	Sheffield Wednesday	2–0	Aston Villa	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Whittingham 58' Hirst 87'	Report		Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 22,964 Referee: Peter Jones

20 March 1996 (1996-03-20) 31	Southampton	0–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Southampton, Hampshire
19:30		Report	Degryse 1'	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 13,216 Referee: Martin Bodenham

23 March 1996 (1996-03-23) 32	Bolton Wanderers	2–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Bolton, Greater Manchester
15:00	Sellars 44' Ćurčić 52'	Report	Whittingham 37'	Stadium: Burnden Park Attendance: 18,368 Referee: Jeff Winter

5 April 1996 (1996-04-05) 33	Middlesbrough	3–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
17:45	Fjørtoft 54', 67' Freestone 71'	Report	Pembridge 55'	Stadium: Riverside Stadium Attendance: 29,751 Referee: Keith Cooper

8 April 1996 (1996-04-08) 34	Sheffield Wednesday	1–0	Arsenal	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Degryse 61'	Report		Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 24,349 Referee: Steve Dunn

13 April 1996 (1996-04-13) 35	Manchester City	1–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Moss Side, Greater Manchester
15:00	Rösler 65'	Report		Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 30,898 Referee: Robbie Hart

17 April 1996 (1996-04-17) 36	Sheffield Wednesday	0–0	Chelsea	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
19:45		Report		Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 25,094 Referee: Gary Willard

27 April 1996 (1996-04-27) 37	Sheffield Wednesday	2–5	Everton	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
15:00	Hirst 9' Degryse 64'	Report	Amokachi 4' Ebbrell 10' Kanchelskis 21', 54', 65'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 32,724 Referee: Mike Reed

5 May 1996 (1996-05-05) 38	West Ham United	1–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Upton Park, Greater London
16:00	Dicks 73'	Report	Newsome 89'	Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 23,790 Referee: Roger Dilkes

FA Cup

6 January 1996 (1996-01-06) 1	Charlton Athletic	2–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Charlton, Greater London
	Grant 6' Mortimer 36' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 13,815 Referee: Alan Wilkie

League Cup

19 September 1995 (1995-09-19) 1	Crewe Alexandra	2–2	Sheffield Wednesday	Crewe, Cheshire
	Edwards Edwards		Degryse Degryse	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 5,702

4 October 1995 (1995-10-04) 2	Sheffield Wednesday	5–2	Crewe Alexandra	Sheffield, South Yorkshire
	Hirst Bright Bright Bright Degryse		Lennon Edwards	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 12,039

25 October 1995 (1995-10-25) 3	Millwall	0–2	Sheffield Wednesday	South Bermondsey, London
			Pembridge 16' Whittingham 64'	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 12,822 Referee: Paul Durkin

29 November 1995 (1995-11-29) 4	Arsenal	2–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Highbury, Greater London
	Wright 36' (pen.) Hartson 64'		Degryse 16'	Stadium: Arsenal Stadium Attendance: 35,362 Referee: Keith Burge

UEFA Intertoto Cup

24 June 1995 (1995-06-24) 1	Basel	1–0	Sheffield Wednesday	Basel, Basel-Stadt
20:00	Rey 68'			Stadium: St. Jakob Stadium Attendance: 5,200 Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (Austria)

8 July 1995 (1995-07-08) 2	Sheffield Wednesday	3–2	Górnik Zabrze	Rotherham, South Yorkshire
15:00	Krzętowski 13' (o.g.) Bright 44' Waddle 53'		Szemoński 30' Woods 70' (o.g.)	Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 5,592

15 July 1995 (1995-07-15) 3	Karlsruher SC	1–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg
16:00	Bilić 5'		Bright 81'	Stadium: Wildparkstadion Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)

22 July 1995 (1995-07-22) 4	Sheffield Wednesday	3–1	Aarhus GF	Rotherham, South Yorkshire
15:00	Bright 11', 49' Petrescu 65'		Jokovic 23'	Stadium: Millmoor Attendance: 6,990

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Chris Woods
2	DF	ENG	Peter Atherton
3	DF	NIR	Ian Nolan^{[notes 1]}
4	MF	WAL	Mark Pembridge
5	DF	SCO	Steve Nicol
6	DF	ENG	Brian Linighan
7	MF	AUS	Adem Poric^{[notes 2]}
8	MF	ENG	Chris Waddle
9	FW	ENG	David Hirst
10	FW	ENG	Mark Bright
11	MF	IRL	John Sheridan^{[notes 3]}
12	DF	YUG	Dejan Stefanović
13	GK	ENG	Kevin Pressman
14	FW	BEL	Marc Degryse
15	MF	NED	Regi Blinker^{[notes 4]}


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	MF	ENG	Graham Hyde
17	DF	ENG	Des Walker
18	FW	YUG	Darko Kovačević
19	FW	ENG	Guy Whittingham
20	DF	ENG	Jon Newsome
21	MF	WAL	Ryan Jones^{[notes 5]}
22	DF	ENG	Simon Stewart
23	GK	ENG	Lance Key
25	FW	ENG	Mike Williams
26	FW	ENG	Richard Barker
27	FW	ENG	O'Neill Donaldson
29	MF	ENG	Lee Briscoe
30	FW	ENG	Ritchie Humphreys
31	MF	ENG	Mark Platts

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
5	DF	ROU	Dan Petrescu (to Chelsea)
12	DF	ENG	Andy Pearce (to Wimbledon)
15	MF	ENG	Andy Sinton (to Tottenham Hotspur)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	MF	SWE	Klas Ingesson (to Bari)
24	DF	ENG	Julian Watts (to Leicester City)
30	MF	ENG	Matthew Hardwick (to Alfreton Town)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ENG	David Faulkner
—	DF	ENG	Matthew Daly


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	ENG	Kirk Jackson

Transfers

In

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee
19 July 1995	MF	Mark Pembridge	Derby County	£900,000
19 July 1995	FW	Marc Degryse	Anderlecht	£1,500,000
25 November 1995	DF	Steve Nicol	Notts County	Free transfer
22 December 1995	DF	Dejan Stefanović	Red Star Belgrade	£2,000,000
22 December 1995	FW	Darko Kovačević	Red Star Belgrade	£3,000,000
4 March 1996	MF	Regi Blinker	Feyenoord	£275,000
16 March 1996	DF	Jon Newsome	Norwich City	£1,500,000

Out

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee
1 July 1995	MF	Chris Bart-Williams	Nottingham Forest	£2,500,000
8 November 1995	DF	Dan Petrescu	Chelsea	£2,300,000
15 November 1995	MF	Klas Ingesson	Bari	£900,000
22 November 1995	DF	Andy Pearce	Wimbledon	£600,000
23 January 1996	MF	Andy Sinton	Tottenham Hotspur	£1,500,000
29 March 1996	DF	Julian Watts	Leicester City	£210,000

Transfers in:

£6,175,000

Transfers out:

£8,010,000

Total spending:

£1,835,000

Notes

^ Nolan was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1996.
^ Poric was born in London, England, but also qualified to represent Australia internationally and represented them at U-20 level.
^ Sheridan was born in Stretford, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1988.
^ Blinker was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, but also qualified to represent the Netherlands internationally and made his international debut for the Netherlands in March 1993.
^ Jones was born in Sheffield, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in May 1994.

References

^ "Sheffield Wednesday 1995-1996 Results". statto.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013.
^ "FootballSquads - Sheffield Wednesday - 1995/96". www.footballsquads.co.uk.

Dickinson, Jason (1999). One Hundred Years at Hillsborough. Sheffield: The Hallamshire Press/Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. pp. 240–241, 384. ISBN 978-1-874718-29-1.
Dickinson, Jason; Brodie, John (2005). The Wednesday Boys: A Definitive Who's Who of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club 1880–2005. Sheffield: Pickard Communication. pp. 346–347, 350. ISBN 978-0-9547264-9-2.
Drake, A. "1995–96 Players". The Owl Football Historian. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.

[3] Nolan was born in Liverpool, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1996.

[4] Poric was born in London, England, but also qualified to represent Australia internationally and represented them at U-20 level.

[5] Sheridan was born in Stretford, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1988.

[6] Blinker was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, but also qualified to represent the Netherlands internationally and made his international debut for the Netherlands in March 1993.

[7] Jones was born in Sheffield, England, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and made his international debut for Wales in May 1994.

[1] "Sheffield Wednesday 1995-1996 Results". statto.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013.

[2] "FootballSquads - Sheffield Wednesday - 1995/96". www.footballsquads.co.uk.

[1]

[2]

[notes 1]

[notes 2]

[notes 3]

[notes 4]

[notes 5]

v t e Sheffield Wednesday F.C. seasons
1867–68
1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900
1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25