1994–95 Football League

The Football League
Season1994–95
ChampionsMiddlesbrough
PromotedMiddlesbrough
Bolton Wanderers

The 1994–95 Football League season was the 96th completed season of The Football League. It was the third season of The Football League since the formation of the Premier League. For sponsorship reasons, the league was known as the Endsleigh League.

Overview

[edit]

The reduction of the Premier League from 22 teams to 20, to take effect from the 1995–96 season, meant that just two teams would be promoted from the First Division in 1995: the champions and the play-off winners. Middlesbrough were the champions, in their first season under Bryan Robson. Reading finished second but had to settle for the play-offs, losing in the final to Bolton Wanderers – who achieved their second promotion in three years under Bruce Rioch, as well as finishing runners-up to Liverpool in the League Cup.

1995 also saw four teams relegated from the First Division, with Burnley, Bristol City and Notts County being joined by Swindon Town, who suffered a second straight relegation. Sunderland narrowly avoided the drop following the arrival of enthusiastic new manager Peter Reid, who over the next few years would bring dramatic improvements to the fortunes of the Wearsiders.

The Second Division would also see only the champions and the play-off winners promoted, while five teams would be relegated. Birmingham City were the champions, returning to the First Division at the first time of asking; they also won the Football League Trophy to complete a "lower-league Double". Huddersfield Town were the play-off winners, defeating second-placed Brentford on penalties before beating Bristol Rovers in the final. The five teams relegated were Cambridge United, Plymouth Argyle, Cardiff City, Chester City and Leyton Orient.

In the Third Division, three teams would be promoted instead of the usual four: the champions, the runners-up and the play-off winners. Carlisle United were the champions and Walsall the runners-up, while Chesterfield won the play-offs, defeating Bury in the final. Exeter City, in severe financial trouble, finished bottom, but held on to their league status as Conference champions Macclesfield Town were unable to meet the league's stadium capacity requirements.

Final league tables and results

[edit]

The tables and results below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website.[1] Play-off results are from the same website.

First Division

[edit]
First Division
Season1994–95
ChampionsMiddlesbrough
PromotedMiddlesbrough
Bolton Wanderers
RelegatedSwindon Town
Burnley
Bristol City
Notts County
Matches played552
Goals scored1,389 (2.52 per match)
Top goalscorerJohn Aldridge
(24 goals)[2]

With the reduction of the Premier League from 22 to 20 clubs for the 1995–96 season, there would be just two promotion places from Division One in the 1994–95 season, as well as a fourth relegation place instead of the usual three.

Middlesbrough clinched the division's only automatic promotion place by finishing champions in their first season under player-manager Bryan Robson, with promotion being clinched in the final game at Ayresome Park at the end of April. After 92 years at their historic home, the club would be relocated to the new 30,000-seater Riverside Stadium over the summer of 1995.

Runners-up Reading, another club planning to build a new stadium in the near future, would normally have won automatic promotion, but the latest restructuring of the league meant that they had to navigate a play-off semi-final with fifth-placed Tranmere Rovers. They easily overcame the Wirral side, whose veteran striker John Aldridge topped the Division One goal charts with 24 league strikes, but then had to take on Bolton Wanderers in a Wembley clash. The Royals were still 2–0 ahead and looking set to reach the top flight for the first time ever with more than hour left on the clock, but then Bolton pulled a goal back in the 75th minute and followed this with an equaliser to force extra time, and the Burnden Park side ended up winning a dramatic match 4–3 and ending their 15-year absence from the top flight. However, they were faced with having to fight for Premier League survival in 1995–96 without their manager Bruce Rioch, who left to manage Arsenal over the summer and was succeeded by joint managers Roy McFarland and Colin Todd.

A number of Division One sides enjoyed memorable runs in the FA Cup and League Cup. Weeks before their dramatic playoff triumph, Bolton Wanderers had travelled to Wembley for their first major cup final in 37 years, to take on Liverpool in the final of the League Cup, but lost 2–1 to the Merseysiders. Wolves, who went on to lose to Bolton in the playoff semi-finals, had held Crystal Palace to a 1–1 draw in their FA Cup quarter-final at Selhurst Park and had high hopes of a semi-final tie with Manchester United, only to lose the replay 4–1 at home to the South London side.

At the other end of the table, Swindon Town quickly found themselves battling against a second successive relegation, having been relegated from the Premier League in 1993–94. Their manager John Gorman was sacked in November and replaced by 33-year-old Manchester City midfielder Steve McMahon as player-manager. The Wiltshire club's new manager was able to guide Swindon to the semi-finals of the League Cup, but he was unable to guide them to Division One survival, as they went down in the fourth and final relegation place along with Burnley, Bristol City, and Notts County.

During this season, a number of Division One clubs had a new stadium in the pipeline. Middlesbrough were preparing for their move from Ayresome Park to the new Riverside Stadium, while their local rivals Sunderland had identified a former colliery site on the banks of the River Wear as their preferred site for a new all-seater stadium after nearly 100 years at Roker Park. Bolton Wanderers, who went up alongside Middlesbrough, were aiming for a new 25,000-seater stadium at Lostock to replace Burnden Park. Beaten playoff finalists Reading had lined up a site on the southern side of the town as the site of a replacement for antiquated Elm Park, while Luton Town's new owner Simon Kohler unveiled ambitious plans to build a new 20,000-seater indoor stadium, the latest in a string of proposals which had emerged over the last 40 years as possible replacements for the cramped stadium at Kenilworth Road.

Derby County, who missed out on the playoffs, were planning to rebuild the Baseball Ground as a 26,000-seater stadium, after considering relocating to a new site at Pride Park.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Middlesbrough (C, P) 46 23 13 10 67 40 +27 82 Promotion to the Premier League
2 Reading 46 23 10 13 58 44 +14 79 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
3 Bolton Wanderers (O, P) 46 21 14 11 67 45 +22 77
4 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 21 13 12 77 61 +16 76
5 Tranmere Rovers 46 22 10 14 67 58 +9 76
6 Barnsley 46 20 12 14 63 52 +11 72
7 Watford 46 19 13 14 52 46 +6 70
8 Sheffield United 46 17 17 12 74 55 +19 68
9 Derby County 46 18 12 16 66 51 +15 66
10 Grimsby Town 46 17 14 15 62 56 +6 65
11 Stoke City 46 16 15 15 50 53 −3 63
12 Millwall 46 16 14 16 60 60 0 62
13 Southend United 46 18 8 20 54 73 −19 62
14 Oldham Athletic 46 16 13 17 60 60 0 61
15 Charlton Athletic 46 16 11 19 58 66 −8 59
16 Luton Town 46 15 13 18 61 64 −3 58
17 Port Vale 46 15 13 18 58 64 −6 58
18 Portsmouth 46 15 13 18 53 63 −10 58
19 West Bromwich Albion 46 16 10 20 51 57 −6 58
20 Sunderland 46 12 18 16 41 45 −4 54
21 Swindon Town (R) 46 12 12 22 54 73 −19 48 Relegation to the Second Division
22 Burnley (R) 46 11 13 22 49 74 −25 46
23 Bristol City (R) 46 11 12 23 42 63 −21 45
24 Notts County (R) 46 9 13 24 45 66 −21 40
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Play-offs

[edit]
Main article: Football League Championship play-offs § 1995
Semi-finals
1st leg – 14 May; 2nd leg – 17 May 1995 		Final at Wembley
29 May 1995
        
2nd Reading 3 0 3
5th Tranmere Rovers 1 0 1
2nd Reading 3
3rd Bolton Wanderers (a.e.t.) 4
3rd Bolton Wanderers 1 2 3
4th Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 0 2

Results

[edit]
Home \ Away BAR BOL BRI BUR CHA DER GRI LUT MID MIL NTC OLD POR PTV REA SHU STD STK SUN SWI TRA WAT WBA WOL
Barnsley 3–0 2–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 4–1 3–1 1–1 4–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 3–1 0–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 2–2 0–0 2–0 1–3
Bolton Wanderers 2–1 0–2 1–1 5–1 1–0 3–3 0–0 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 4–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 5–1
Bristol City 3–2 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–2 2–2 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 3–1 0–0 3–2 0–1 0–0 1–0 1–5
Burnley 0–1 2–2 1–1 2–0 3–1 0–2 2–1 0–3 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–2 4–3 1–2 4–2 5–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–1
Charlton Athletic 2–2 1–2 3–2 1–2 3–4 2–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 3–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 3–0 1–1 3–2
Derby County 1–0 2–1 3–1 4–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 0–1 3–2 0–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 1–2 2–3 1–2 3–0 0–1 3–1 5–0 1–1 1–1 3–3
Grimsby Town 1–0 3–3 1–0 2–2 0–1 0–1 5–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–3 2–0 4–1 1–0 0–0 4–1 0–0 3–1 1–1 3–1 0–0 0–2 0–0
Luton Town 0–1 0–3 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 1–2 5–1 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–0 2–1 0–1 3–6 2–2 2–3 3–0 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–3
Middlesbrough 1–1 1–0 3–0 2–0 1–0 2–4 1–1 2–1 3–0 2–1 2–1 4–0 3–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–1 2–2 3–1 0–1 2–0 2–1 1–0
Millwall 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–3 3–1 4–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 2–2 1–3 2–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–1 2–1 2–2 1–0
Notts County 1–3 1–1 1–1 3–0 3–3 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–3 0–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 2–2 0–2 3–2 0–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–1
Oldham Athletic 1–0 3–1 2–0 3–0 5–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 3–2 3–2 1–3 3–3 0–2 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–2 1–0 4–1
Portsmouth 3–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–1 2–1 3–2 0–0 3–2 2–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–4 4–3 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–2
Port Vale 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 0–2 0–2 5–0 1–1 0–0 2–2 2–0 0–1 1–0 2–4
Reading 0–3 2–1 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–1 0–0 3–3 1–0 2–0 4–0 0–2 3–0 1–3 4–1 0–2 4–2
Sheffield United 0–0 3–1 3–0 2–0 2–1 2–1 3–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–0 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–0 2–2 2–0 3–0 2–0 3–3
Southend United 3–1 2–1 2–1 3–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 3–0 0–2 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–2 4–1 1–3 4–2 0–1 2–0 0–0 0–4 2–1 0–1
Stoke City 0–0 1–1 2–1 2–0 3–2 0–0 3–0 1–2 1–1 4–3 2–1 0–1 0–2 0–1 0–1 1–1 4–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 4–1 1–1
Sunderland 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–3 2–2 1–1
Swindon Town 0–0 0–1 0–3 1–1 0–1 1–1 3–2 1–2 2–1 1–2 3–0 3–1 0–2 2–0 1–0 1–3 2–2 0–1 1–0 2–2 1–0 0–0 3–2
Tranmere Rovers 6–1 1–0 2–0 4–1 1–1 3–1 2–0 4–2 1–1 3–1 3–2 3–1 4–2 1–1 1–0 2–1 0–2 0–1 1–0 3–2 2–1 3–1 1–1
Watford 3–2 0–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 0–0 2–4 1–1 1–0 3–1 1–2 2–0 3–2 2–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 2–1
West Bromwich Albion 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–3 3–0 3–2 3–1 0–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 1–3 1–3 2–5 5–1 0–1 2–0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–0 3–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 0–2 2–1 2–3 0–2 3–3 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–2 5–0 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

[edit]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Norway Jan Aage Fjortoft Swindon Town 24
Republic of Ireland John Aldridge Tranmere Rovers 24
2 Scotland Gerry Creaney Portsmouth 18
= Wales Sean McCarthy Oldham Athletic 18
= England David Whyte Charlton Athletic 18
3 Wales Nathan Blake Sheffield United 17
4 England Martin Foyle Port Vale 16
= England Chris Malkin Tranmere Rovers 16
= Scotland John McGinlay Bolton Wanderers 16
= England Steve Bull Wolverhampton Wanderers 16
5 Scotland John Hendrie Middlesbrough 15
= England David Kelly Wolverhampton Wanderers 15

Locations

[edit]
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Locations of the First Division teams
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Locations of the London-based First Division teams

Second Division

[edit]

Following relegation from Division One at the end of the 1993–94 season, Birmingham City earned an instant return as Second Division champions, also lifting the Auto Windscreens Shield. The latest restructuring of the league meant that runners-up Brentford missed out on automatic promotion and had to contest the play-offs, where they were beaten on penalties by Huddersfield Town after drawing both legs of their semi-final 1-1. The other semi-final saw Bristol Rovers overcome Crewe Alexandra, ending the Cheshire club's chances of a second successive promotion. The Wembley showdown saw Huddersfield Town beat the West Country side 2–1 to clinch a return to the second tier after seven seasons of trying, rounding off a fine first season at Huddersfield's impressive new all-seater McAlpine Stadium.

Wycombe Wanderers finished sixth in Division Two and missed out on the play-offs – and the chance of a third successive promotion – but this didn't deter Norwich City (just relegated from the Premier League) from recruiting Martin O'Neill as their new manager.

At the bottom of the table, Leyton Orient were relegated after six seasons in the third tier, having not won an away game in the league since before Christmas 1993. Just before the end of the season, the Brisbane Road club was taken over by Barry Hearn, who was swift to sack joint managers John Sitton and Chris Turner, appointing Pat Holland in their place. Chester City suffered an instant return to Division Three as they finished second from bottom. Cardiff City went down to Division Three just two seasons after winning promotion. Plymouth Argyle, promotion contenders a season earlier, went down in 21st place. The fifth and final relegation place went to a Cambridge United side who had been on the brink of a place in the new Premier League just three years earlier.

As Huddersfield were settling into their new home after more than 80 years at Leeds Road, a number of other Division Two clubs were planning to follow the growing trend of moving to a completely new stadium. Just before Christmas, Bristol Rovers announced plans to build a new 20,000-seater stadium at Avonmouth as part of their ambitious plan to end their long search for a permanent new home which had started when they moved out of their home at Eastville in 1986. Blackpool were also looking at possible sites to build a new all-seater stadium to replace Bloomfield Road. Shortly after the end of the season, Oxford United announced plans to build a new 16,000-seater stadium near Blackbird Leys to replace the dilapidated Manor Ground.

Football League, Second Division
Season1994–95
ChampionsBirmingham City (1st third tier title)
Direct promotionBirmingham City
Promoted through play-offsHuddersfield Town
RelegatedCambridge United,
Cardiff City,
Chester,
Leyton Orient,
Plymouth Argyle
Matches played552
Goals scored1,441 (2.61 per match)
Top goalscorerGary Bennett (Wrexham), 29[2]

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Birmingham City 46 15 6 2 53 18 10 8 5 31 19 +47 89 Division Champions, promoted
2 Brentford 46 14 4 5 44 15 11 6 6 37 24 +42 85 Participated in play-offs
3 Crewe Alexandra 46 14 3 6 46 33 11 5 7 34 35 +12 83
4 Bristol Rovers 46 15 7 1 48 20 7 9 7 22 20 +30 82
5 Huddersfield Town 46 14 5 4 45 21 8 10 5 34 28 +30 81 Promoted through play-offs
6 Wycombe Wanderers 46 13 7 3 36 19 8 8 7 24 27 +14 78
7 Oxford United 46 13 6 4 30 18 8 6 9 36 34 +14 75
8 Hull City 46 13 6 4 40 18 8 5 10 30 39 +13 74
9 York City 46 13 4 6 37 21 8 5 10 30 30 +16 72
10 Swansea City 46 10 8 5 23 13 9 6 8 34 32 +12 71
11 Stockport County 46 12 3 8 40 29 7 5 11 23 31 +3 65
12 Blackpool 46 11 4 8 40 36 7 6 10 24 34 −6 64
13 Wrexham 46 10 7 6 38 27 6 8 9 27 37 +1 63 Welsh Cup winners, qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup
14 Bradford City 46 8 6 9 29 32 8 6 9 28 32 −7 60
15 Peterborough United 46 7 11 5 26 29 7 7 9 28 40 −15 60
16 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 9 10 4 25 15 5 7 11 29 38 +1 59
17 Rotherham United 46 12 6 5 36 26 2 8 13 21 35 −4 56
18 Shrewsbury Town 46 9 9 5 34 27 4 5 14 20 35 −8 53
19 AFC Bournemouth 46 9 4 10 30 34 4 7 12 19 35 −20 50
20 Cambridge United 46 8 9 6 33 28 3 6 14 19 41 −17 48 Relegated
21 Plymouth Argyle 46 7 6 10 22 36 5 4 14 23 47 −38 46
22 Cardiff City 46 5 6 12 25 31 4 5 14 21 43 −28 38
23 Chester City 46 5 6 12 23 42 1 5 17 14 42 −47 29
24 Leyton Orient 46 6 6 11 21 29 0 2 21 9 46 −45 26
Source: [3]

Play-offs

[edit]
Main article: Football League One play-offs § 1995
Semi-finals
1st leg – 14 May; 2nd leg – 17 May 1995 		Final at Wembley
28 May 1995
        
2nd Brentford 1 1 2 (3)
5th Huddersfield Town (pen.) 1 1 2 (4)
4th Bristol Rovers 1
5th Huddersfield Town 2
3rd Crewe Alexandra 0 1 1
4th Bristol Rovers (away goals) 0 1 1

[4]

Results

[edit]
Home \ Away BOU BIR BLP BRA BRE B&HA BRR CAM CAR CHR CRE HUD HUL LEY OXF PET PLY ROT SHR STP SWA WRE WYC YOR
AFC Bournemouth 2–1 1–2 2–3 0–1 0–3 2–0 1–0 3–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–3 2–0 0–2 0–3 0–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 3–2 1–3 2–0 1–4
Birmingham City 0–0 7–1 0–0 2–0 3–3 2–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 5–0 1–1 2–2 2–0 3–0 4–0 4–2 2–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 5–2 0–1 4–2
Blackpool 3–1 1–1 2–0 1–2 2–2 0–2 2–3 2–1 3–1 0–0 1–4 1–2 2–1 2–1 4–0 5–2 2–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 0–1 0–5
Bradford City 1–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–3 1–1 0–2 3–4 1–0 2–0 0–2 4–2 2–0 0–3 1–1 1–2 1–3 1–1 2–1 0–0
Brentford 1–2 1–2 3–2 4–3 2–1 3–0 6–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 0–1 3–0 2–0 0–1 7–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 3–0
Brighton & Hove Albion 0–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 4–0 1–1 1–0
Bristol Rovers 2–1 1–1 0–0 4–0 2–2 3–0 2–1 2–2 3–0 2–2 1–1 0–2 1–0 3–2 3–1 2–0 2–0 4–0 2–2 1–0 4–2 1–0 3–1
Cambridge United 2–2 1–0 0–0 4–1 0–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–2 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–2 2–0 1–1 2–1 3–1 3–4 1–3 1–2 2–2 1–0
Cardiff City 1–1 0–1 0–1 2–4 2–3 3–0 0–1 3–1 2–1 1–2 0–0 0–2 2–1 1–3 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–2
Chester 1–1 0–4 2–0 1–4 1–4 1–2 0–0 1–3 0–2 0–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 4–4 1–3 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–2 0–4
Crewe Alexandra 2–0 2–1 4–3 0–1 0–2 4–0 2–1 4–2 0–0 2–1 3–3 3–2 3–0 3–2 1–3 2–2 3–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–3 1–2 2–1
Huddersfield Town 3–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 3–1 5–1 5–1 1–2 1–1 2–1 3–3 1–2 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 2–1 0–1 3–0
Hull City 3–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–2 2–2 0–2 1–0 4–0 2–0 7–1 1–0 2–0 3–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–2 0–0 0–2 3–2 0–0 3–0
Leyton Orient 3–2 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–2 0–3 1–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–4 0–2 1–1 1–1 4–1 0–2 0–0 2–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–1
Oxford United 0–3 1–1 3–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 4–0 3–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 4–0 1–2 0–0 0–2 0–2
Peterborough United 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 2–2 2–1 0–0 2–2 2–1 2–0 1–5 2–2 2–1 0–0 1–4 1–2 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–3 1–1
Plymouth Argyle 0–1 1–3 0–2 1–5 1–5 0–3 1–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 3–2 0–3 2–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 2–1 4–1 2–2 1–2
Rotherham United 4–0 1–1 0–2 3–1 0–2 4–3 0–3 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 3–1 0–4 1–0 3–3 0–1 2–0 2–1
Shrewsbury Town 3–0 0–2 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 2–3 3–0 1–1 2–2 3–2 1–0 1–1 3–3 2–2 2–2 1–0
Stockport County 1–0 0–1 3–2 1–2 0–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 4–1 2–2 3–1 1–2 4–0 2–1 0–2 1–1 2–4 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 4–1 2–3
Swansea City 1–0 0–2 1–0 0–0 0–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 4–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–3 2–0 3–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–0
Wrexham 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–3 2–2 1–0 1–2 2–2 4–1 3–2 3–3 3–1 3–1 0–1 1–0 4–1 4–1 1–1
Wycombe Wanderers 1–1 0–3 1–1 3–1 4–3 0–0 0–0 3–0 3–1 3–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–0 3–1 1–2 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–0
York City 1–0 2–0 4–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 3–0 3–1 4–1 0–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 3–0 2–4 2–4 0–1 0–0
Source: [5]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

[edit]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Gary Bennett Wrexham 29
2 England Andy Booth Huddersfield Town 28
3 England Nicky Forster Brentford 25
4 England Robert Taylor Brentford 23
5 England Steve Claridge Birmingham City 20
= England Paul Moody Oxford United 20

Locations

[edit]
class=notpageimage|
Locations of the Second Division teams
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Locations of the London-based Second Division teams

Third Division

[edit]

Under the ambitious ownership of Michael Knighton, the man who had unsuccessfully tried to take over Manchester United in 1989, Carlisle United clinched the Division Three title by a comfortable margin, ending their eight-year tenure in the league's basement division. Walsall, under new manager Chris Nicholl, achieved promotion as runners-up after five seasons at this level. Chesterfield ended their six-year spell in the fourth tier by triumphing over Bury in the playoff final, while the previous season's finalists Preston North End were beaten by the Greater Manchester club in the semi-final, and Mansfield lost to their East Midlands rivals Chesterfield in the other semi-final.

At the bottom end of the table, Exeter City not only found their league status under threat, but also their very existence. The Devon club, relegated from Division Two the previous season, went into liquidation in November and were only saved from going under when a takeover deal was approved. They still finished bottom of the league, level on points with Scarborough, but were saved from dropping into the Conference by the fact that Macclesfield Town's Moss Rose ground did not meet Football League requirements.

Northampton Town, whose league status had been saved in similar fashion the previous season, were on the move to a new stadium in October when they bade farewell to the County Ground and moved into the new Sixfields Stadium.

As the season ended, three Division Three clubs had their future secured by takeover deals. Preston North End were taken over by local heating firm Baxi, who were quick to replace John Beck with Gary Peters as manager. Debt-ridden Gillingham were saved from the threat of closure by new owner Paul Scally, who appointed Tony Pulis as manager of Kent's only current Football League club. Wigan Athletic were taken over by JJB tycoon Dave Whelan, a former Blackburn Rovers player, who appointed John Deehan as the club's new manager and had plans to build a new all-seater stadium to replace Wigan's current home at Springfield Park.

Football League, Third Division
Season1994–95
ChampionsCarlisle United (1st fourth tier title)
Direct promotionCarlisle United,
Walsall
Promoted through play-offsChesterfield
Relegated to ConferenceNone
Matches played462
Goals scored1,229 (2.66 per match)
Top goalscorerDougie Freedman (Barnet), 24[2]

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Carlisle United 42 14 5 2 34 14 13 5 3 33 17 +36 91 Division Champions, promoted
2 Walsall 42 15 3 3 42 18 9 8 4 33 22 +35 83 Promoted
3 Chesterfield 42 11 7 3 26 10 12 5 4 36 27 +25 81 Promoted through play-offs
4 Bury 42 13 7 1 39 13 10 4 7 34 23 +37 80 Participated in play-offs
5 Preston North End 42 13 3 5 37 17 6 7 8 21 24 +17 67
6 Mansfield Town 42 10 5 6 45 27 8 6 7 39 32 +25 65
7 Scunthorpe United 42 12 2 7 40 30 6 6 9 28 33 +5 62
8 Fulham 42 11 5 5 39 22 5 9 7 21 32 +6 62
9 Doncaster Rovers 42 9 5 7 28 20 8 5 8 30 23 +15 61
10 Colchester United 42 8 5 8 29 30 8 5 8 27 34 −8 58
11 Barnet 42 8 7 6 37 27 7 4 10 19 36 −7 56
12 Lincoln City 42 10 7 4 34 22 5 4 12 20 33 −1 56
13 Torquay United 42 10 8 3 35 25 4 5 12 19 32 −3 55
14 Wigan Athletic 42 7 6 8 28 30 7 4 10 25 30 −7 52
15 Rochdale 42 8 6 7 25 23 4 8 9 19 44 −23 50
16 Hereford United 42 9 6 6 22 19 3 7 11 23 43 −17 49
17 Northampton Town 42 8 5 8 25 29 2 9 10 20 38 −22 44
18 Hartlepool United 42 9 5 7 33 32 2 5 14 10 37 −26 43
19 Gillingham 42 8 7 6 31 25 2 4 15 15 39 −18 41
20 Darlington 42 7 5 9 25 24 4 3 14 18 33 −14 41
21 Scarborough 42 4 7 10 26 31 4 3 14 23 39 −21 34
22 Exeter City 42 5 5 11 25 36 3 5 13 11 34 −34 34 Retained[a]
Source: [6]
Notes:
  1. ^ Financially troubled Exeter City retained their league status due to Conference champions Macclesfield Town lacking a stadium adequate for Football League capacity standards.

Play-offs

[edit]
Main article: Football League Two play-offs § 1995
Semi-finals
1st leg – 14 May; 2nd leg – 17 May 1995 		Final at Wembley
27 May 1995
        
3rd Chesterfield (a.e.t.) 1 5 6
6th Mansfield Town 1 2 3
3rd Chesterfield 2
4th Bury 0
4th Bury 1 1 2
5th Preston North End 0 0 0

[7]

Results

[edit]
Home \ Away BAR BRY CRL CHF COL DAR DON EXE FUL GIL HAR HER LIN MAN NOR PNE ROC SCA SCU TOR WAL WIG
Barnet 1–1 0–2 4–1 0–1 2–3 0–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 4–0 2–2 2–1 2–2 2–3 2–1 6–2 3–1 1–2 2–0 1–3 1–1
Bury 3–0 2–0 2–1 4–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 0–0 3–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 5–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–0 3–1 0–0 3–3
Carlisle United 4–0 3–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–3 2–1 2–1 0–0 4–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–1
Chesterfield 2–0 0–0 1–2 2–2 0–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 3–0 1–0 2–2 0–1 3–1 1–0 0–0 0–0
Colchester United 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–3 1–0 0–3 3–1 5–2 2–2 1–0 2–2 1–2 1–1 0–1 3–1 0–0 0–2 4–2 1–3 3–2 0–1
Darlington 0–1 0–2 0–2 0–1 2–3 0–2 2–0 0–0 2–0 1–2 3–1 0–0 0–0 4–1 0–0 4–0 1–0 1–3 2–1 2–2 1–3
Doncaster Rovers 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–3 1–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 3–0 3–0 3–0 0–2 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–2 5–3
Exeter City 1–2 0–4 1–1 1–2 1–0 0–2 1–5 0–1 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 2–3 0–0 0–1 0–0 5–2 2–2 1–2 1–3 2–4
Fulham 4–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 1–2 3–1 0–2 4–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 4–2 4–4 0–1 5–0 1–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–0
Gillingham 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–3 2–1 4–2 3–0 4–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–2 3–1 2–3 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–0 1–3 0–1
Hartlepool United 0–1 3–1 1–5 0–2 3–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 2–0 4–0 0–3 3–2 1–1 3–1 1–0 3–3 1–4 1–1 1–1 0–1
Hereford United 3–2 1–0 0–1 0–2 3–0 0–0 0–1 3–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 0–3 0–0 2–1 0–2 0–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–2
Lincoln City 1–2 0–3 1–1 0–1 2–0 3–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 3–0 2–0 3–2 2–2 1–1 2–2 2–0 3–3 1–2 1–1 1–0
Mansfield Town 3–0 0–2 1–2 4–2 2–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–1 4–0 2–0 7–1 6–2 1–1 1–2 1–1 3–2 1–0 2–2 1–3 4–3
Northampton Town 1–1 0–5 2–1 2–3 1–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–3 3–1 0–1 2–1 1–2 0–3 0–1 2–0 2–2 1–0
Preston North End 1–0 5–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–3 2–2 0–1 3–2 1–1 2–0 4–2 4–0 2–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 1–2 1–0
Rochdale 2–2 0–3 1–1 4–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 0–1 1–2 2–1 1–0 1–3 1–0 3–3 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 0–2 1–0
Scarborough 0–1 1–2 1–2 0–1 0–1 3–1 2–2 0–2 3–1 0–0 2–2 3–1 1–1 2–5 0–0 1–1 2–4 3–0 1–1 1–2 0–1
Scunthorpe United 1–0 3–2 2–3 0–1 3–4 2–1 0–5 3–0 1–2 3–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 3–4 1–1 2–1 4–1 3–1 3–2 0–1 3–1
Torquay United 1–2 2–2 1–1 3–3 3–3 1–0 0–1 0–0 2–1 3–1 2–2 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 4–1 2–1 1–1 3–2 0–0
Walsall 4–0 0–1 1–2 1–3 2–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 5–1 2–1 4–1 4–3 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 4–1 2–1 1–0 2–0
Wigan Athletic 1–2 0–3 0–2 2–3 1–2 4–1 3–2 3–1 1–1 0–3 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–4 2–1 1–1 4–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

[edit]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Scotland Dougie Freedman Barnet 24
2 Bermuda Kyle Lightbourne Walsall 23
= England Steve Wilkinson Mansfield Town 23
3 England Dave Reeves Carlisle United 20
4 England David Pugh Bury 17
5 England Kevin Wilson Walsall 16

Locations

[edit]
class=notpageimage|
Locations of the Third Division teams
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Locations of the London-based Third Division teams

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "England 1994–95". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  3. ^ "England 1994–95". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  4. ^ "England 1994–95". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  5. ^ "England 1994–95". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  6. ^ "England 1994–95". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  7. ^ "England 1994–95". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
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