During the 1995–96 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the Premier League. Villa made huge progress in their first full season under Brian Little's management. He had arrived at Villa Park in November 1994, taking charge of a side faced with a real threat of relegation just 18 months after almost winning the Premier League title. The rebuilding process had started almost immediately, with Little quickly discarding the likes of Kevin Richardson, Garry Parker, Earl Barrett and Ray Houghton, and bringing in Ian Taylor, Gary Charles, Alan Wright and Tommy Johnson as mid-season signings. The rebuilding process had continued over the summer of 1995, with Shaun Teale, Dalian Atkinson and even top scorer Dean Saunders heading out of the Villa Park exit door, in favour of new signings including Gareth Southgate and Serbian striker Savo Milosevic - who both broke the club's transfer record in quick succession.
Villa finished fourth in the league and matched Liverpool's record of five League Cup victories (Liverpool have since reclaimed the record with victories in 2001, 2003 and 2012) thanks to a 3–0 Wembley win over Leeds United in March.[2] Villa were also FA Cup semi-finalists, but their hopes of a Wembley double were ended with a defeat to Liverpool.
A new-look Villa side proved itself to be one of the finest in the country thanks to the likes of Gary Charles, Alan Wright, Ian Taylor and Mark Draper. Trinidadian striker Dwight Yorke proved himself as one of the Premier League's most competent goalscorers, though there were some doubts regarding the suitability of Savo Milošević as the man to replace Dean Saunders.
The club's longest-serving player, veteran goalkeeper Nigel Spink, left Villa halfway through the season after nearly 20 years to sign for local rivals West Bromwich Albion in Division One.
After the season ended, Little paid a club record £4million for Serbian midfielder Sasa Curcic. With Gary Charles facing a long stretch on the sidelines with a serious ankle injury picked up during the final weeks of the season, Little signed Portuguese right-back Fernando Nelson.
Source: Premier League Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. Notes:
^Liverpool qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup as FA Cuprunners-up, as winners Manchester United already qualified for the Champions League. They defaulted their UEFA Cup spot from league position to Arsenal.
The following players made most of their appearances this season for the reserves, and did not appear for the first-team, or only appeared for the first-team in friendlies.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
The following players spent most of the season playing for the youth team, and did not appear for the first team, but may have appeared for the reserve team.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^McGrath was born in Ealing, England, but was raised in the Republic of Ireland and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1985.
^Milošević was born in Bijeljina, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina).
^Townsend was born in Maidstone, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandmother and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in February 1989.
^Byfield was born in Sutton Coldfield, England, but also qualifies to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in 2003.
£9,250,000
£3,020,000
£9,250,000
£3,020,000
AUS
ENG
IRL
SCO
SCG
TRI