1995–96 Tottenham Hotspur F.C. season

Season summary

The sale of key players Jürgen Klinsmann, Gheorghe Popescu and Nick Barmby weakened Tottenham's resources for 1995-96, and manager Gerry Francis was faced with taunts of "what a waste of money" from shocked supporters when he paid a club record £4.5million for Crystal Palace striker Chris Armstrong.

But Armstrong quickly formed an effective strikerforce with Teddy Sheringham, and an eighth-place finish in the final table was only one place lower than last season's final position - though it was once again not quite enough for a UEFA Cup place.

Perhaps the best moment of the season came on New Year's Day when Spurs triumphed 4-1 at home to Manchester United, dealing a serious blow to the visiting side's title hopes and boosting their own hopes of qualifying for the UEFA Cup as they muscled in on the top five. While Spurs failed to live up to the promise that the game delivered, the losing side lost only one more league game all season and won the league title which had looked an impossible job a few short months earlier.

Early in the season, Tottenham (and local rivals Wimbledon) were informed that they would be banned from European competition for the 1996-97 season for fielding weakened teams in the pre-season Inter-Toto Cup. The ban was lifted on appeal.

Final league table

Updated to games played on 5 May 1996.
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
¹ Liverpool qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cup runners-up, as winners Manchester United already qualified for the Champions League.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Results

Tottenham Hotspur's score comes first

Squad

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

Left club during season

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

Intertoto Cup squad

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

Reserve squad

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

Out