1995–96 Bolton Wanderers F.C. season

The 1995–1996 season was the 117th season in Bolton Wanderers F.C.'s existence, and their first ever season in the Premier League following promotion from the Football League First Division.

Bolton Wanderers
1995–96 season
Chairman Gordon Hargreaves
Manager Roy McFarland (until 2 January)
Colin Todd (from 2 January)
StadiumBurnden Park
FA Premier League20th
FA CupFourth round
League CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague: McGinlay (6)
All: McGinlay (9)
Highest home attendance21,381 (vs. Manchester United,
25 February 1996)
Lowest home attendance5,247 (vs. Brentford,
19 September 1995)
Average home league attendance18,822

This article covers the period from 1 July 1995 to 30 June 1996.[1]

Season summary

Bolton Wanderers returned to the top flight after a 15-year exile, only eight years after playing in the old Fourth Division, but with a new manager in Roy McFarland following Bruce Rioch's move to Arsenal. Bolton made a terrible start to the campaign and McFarland made several moves in the transfer market, but this was not enough to turn things around and he was sacked on New Year's Day with Bolton bottom of the table and just two wins to their name. His assistant Colin Todd took over, and Bolton's form improved, but they could not stave off relegation. In spite of this, their form under Todd was so improved that, had the results from under Todd's management been shown all season, Bolton would have stayed up in 14th place.

Squad
Squad at end of season[2]

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

No. Position Player
1 GK Keith Branagan[3]
2 DF Scott Green
3 DF Jimmy Phillips
4 MF Saša Ćurčić
5 DF Guðni Bergsson
6 DF Alan Stubbs
7 MF David Lee
9 FW Mixu Paatelainen
10 FW John McGinlay
11 MF Alan Thompson
12 MF Scott Sellars
13 GK Aidan Davison[4]
14 FW Fabian de Freitas
15 DF Bryan Small
16 GK Gavin Ward
17 DF Simon Coleman
No. Position Player
18 DF Nicky Spooner
19 MF Stuart Whittaker
20 FW Nathan Blake
21 DF Chris Fairclough
22 DF Gerry Taggart
23 DF Andy Todd
24 DF Steve McAnespie
25 FW Scott Taylor
26 MF Wayne Burnett
29 DF Greg Strong
30 DF Mark Powell
31 GK Mark Westhead
32 DF Neil Marsh
33 DF Chris Gregory
34 MF Matt Bowman

Left club during season

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

No. Position Player
4 MF Jason McAteer[5] (to Liverpool)
8 MF Richard Sneekes (to West Bromwich Albion)
12 MF Neil McDonald (to Preston North End)
No. Position Player
15 MF Mark Patterson (to Sheffield United)
20 FW Owen Coyle[6] (to Dundee United)

Results

Premier League
Main article: 1995–96 FA Premier League
Date Opponents H / A Result

F – A

 Scorers Attendance
19 August 1995 Wimbledon A 2 – 3 Thompson 27' (pen), de Freitas 39' 9,317
22 August 1995 Newcastle United H 1 – 3 Bergsson 20,243
26 August 1995 Blackburn Rovers H 2 – 1 de Freitas 21', Stubbs 80' 20,253
30 August 1995 Aston Villa A 0 – 1 31,770
9 September 1995 Middlesbrough H 1 – 1 McGinlay 21' 18,376
16 September 1995 Manchester United A 0 – 3 32,812
23 September 1995 Liverpool A 2 – 5 Todd 77', Patterson 81' (pen) 40,104
30 September 1995 Queens Park Rangers H 0 – 1 17,362
14 October 1995 Everton H 1 – 1 Paatelainen 1' 20,427
21 October 1995 Nottingham Forest A 2 – 3 Sneekes 22', de Freitas 78' 25,426
30 October 1995 Arsenal H 1 – 0 McGinlay 35' 18,682
4 November 1995 Manchester City A 0 – 1 28,397
18 November 1995 West Ham United H 0 – 3 19,047
22 November 1995 Chelsea A 2 – 3 Ćurčić 10, Green 68' 17,495
25 November 1995 Southampton A 0 – 1 14,404
2 December 1995 Nottingham Forest H 1 – 1 de Freitas 67' 17,342
9 December 1995 Liverpool H 0 – 1 21,042
16 December 1995 Queens Park Rangers A 1 – 2 Sellars 43' 11,456
23 December 1995 Tottenham Hotspur A 2 – 2 Green 77', Bergsson 79' 30,702
27 December 1995 Leeds United H 0 – 2 18,414
30 December 1995 Coventry City H 1 – 2 McGinlay 16' 16,678
1 January 1996 Sheffield Wednesday A 2 – 4 Ćurčić 51', Taggart 77' 24,872
13 January 1996 Wimbledon H 1 – 0 McGinlay 44' (pen) 16,216
20 January 1996 Newcastle United A 1 – 2 Bergsson 19' 36,543
3 February 1996 Blackburn Rovers A 1 – 3 Green 29' 30,419
10 February 1996 Aston Villa H 0 – 2 18,099
17 February 1996 Middlesbrough A 4 – 1 Blake 12', Coleman 45', de Freitas 62', Lee 73' 29,354
25 February 1996 Manchester United H 0 – 6 21,381
2 March 1996 Leeds United A 1 – 0 Bergsson 30,106
16 March 1996 Coventry City A 2 – 0 Stubbs (2) 60', 70' 17,226
20 March 1996 Tottenham Hotspur H 2 – 3 Stubbs 74', Sellars 84' 17,829
23 March 1996 Sheffield Wednesday H 2 – 1 Sellars 52', Ćurčić 52' 18,368
30 March 1996 Manchester City H 1 – 1 McGinlay 74' 21,050
6 April 1996 Everton A 0 – 3 37,974
8 April 1996 Chelsea H 2 – 1 McGinlay 40', Ćurčić 44' 18,021
13 April 1996 West Ham United A 0 – 1 23,086
27 April 1996 Southampton H 0 – 1 18,795
5 May 1996 Arsenal A 1 – 2 Todd 76' 38,104
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
16 Coventry City 38 8 14 16 42 60 −18 38
17 Southampton 38 9 11 18 34 52 −18 38
18 Manchester City (R) 38 9 11 18 33 58 −25 38 Relegation to the Football League First Division
19 Queens Park Rangers (R) 38 9 6 23 38 57 −19 33
20 Bolton Wanderers (R) 38 8 5 25 39 71 −32 29
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated.

F.A. Cup
Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

 Scorers Attendance
6 January 1996 Round 3 Bradford City A 3 – 0 Ćurčić (2), McGinlay 10,265
14 February 1996 Round 4 Leeds United H 0 – 1 16,694

Coca-Cola Cup
Date Round Opponents H / A Result

F – A

 Scorers Attendance
19 September 1995 Round 2 First Leg Brentford H 1 – 0 Sneekes 5,243
3 October 1995 Round 2 Second Leg Brentford A 3 – 2
4 – 2 (agg)		 McGinlay, Patterson, Thompson 4,861
24 October 1995 Round 3 Leicester City H 0 – 0 9,166
8 November 1995 Round 3 replay Leicester City A 3 – 2 Ćurčić, McGinlay, Sneekes 14,884
29 November 1995 Round 4 Norwich City A 0 – 0 13,820
20 December 1995 Round 4 replay Norwich City H 0 – 0 (aet)
2 – 3 (pens)		 8,736

Top scorers
P Player Position PL FAC LC Total
1 John McGinlay Striker 6 2 1 9
2 Saša Ćurčić Midfielder 4 1 2 7
3 Fabian de Freitas Striker 5 0 0 5
4= Guðni Bergsson Defender 4 0 0 4
4= Alan Stubbs Defender 4 0 0 4

References
  1. "Bolton Wanderers 1995-96". bwfcstats.com. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  2. http://www.footballsquads.co.uk/eng/1995-1996/faprem/bolton.htm
  3. Branagan was born in Fulham, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and would make his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in February 1997.
  4. Davison was born in Sedgefield, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and would make his international debut for Northern Ireland in April 1996.
  5. McAteer was born in Birkenhead, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in 1994.
  6. Coyle was born in Paisley, Scotland, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in April 1994.
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