1995–96 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. season
# 1995–96 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. season

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 | Teamvte | 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 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |

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 |

## Results

Sheffield Wednesday's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |
| - | - | - |

## Players

### First-team squad

    Squad at end of season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. 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 |
| 4 | MF | WAL | Mark Pembridge |
| 5 | DF | SCO | Steve Nicol |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Brian Linighan |
| 7 | MF | AUS | Adem Poric |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Chris Waddle |
| 9 | FW | ENG | David Hirst |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Mark Bright |
| 11 | MF | IRL | John Sheridan |
| 12 | DF | YUG | Dejan Stefanović |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Kevin Pressman |
| 14 | FW | BEL | Marc Degryse |
| 15 | MF | NED | Regi Blinker |
| 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 |
| 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. 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. 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
