1995–96 Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. season

Wolverhampton Wanderers
1995–96 season
ChairmanJonathan Hayward
ManagerGraham Taylor
(until 13 November)
Mark McGhee
(from 13 December)
First Division20th
FA Cup4th round
League CupQuarter-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Don Goodman (16)
All: Don Goodman (20)
Highest home attendance28,088 (vs Birmingham, 17 January 1996)
Lowest home attendance20,381 (vs Fulham,
20 September 1995)
Average home league attendance22,658 (league only)

The 1995–96 season was the 97th season of competitive league football in the history of English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. They played the season in the second tier of the English football system, the Football League First Division.

Although the season began with Graham Taylor as manager, he resigned sixteen games into their league campaign under fan pressure due to the team's poor results.[1] Despite being tipped by many to be one of the promotion favourites[2] - following on from having reached the play-offs in the previous season - the side sat in 18th place at the time of Taylor's exit.[3]

After a period under caretaker manager Bobby Downes, Mark McGhee resigned from Leicester City to become Wolves' new manager in December.[4] Despite a slow upturn in results under McGhee that put the team within three points of a play-off place at the start of April, their form again collapsed and they took just four points from the final 24 available.[5]

The club eventually finished the season in 20th place, only confirming their safety from relegation in their final home game. This represented their lowest finish in the football pyramid since returning to the second level in 1989–90.[6]

Results

[edit]

Football League First Division

[edit]

A total of 24 teams competed in the Football League First Division in the 1995–96 season. Each team played every other team twice: once at their stadium, and once at the opposition's. Three points were awarded to teams for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. Teams finishing level on points were firstly divided by the number of goals scored rather than goal difference.

The provisional fixture list was released on 20 June 1995, but was subject to change in the event of matches being selected for television coverage or police concerns.

12 August 1995 1 Tranmere Rovers 2–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers Birkenhead
15:00 BST O'Brien 51'
Aldridge 81'
Bull 40'
Goodman 53'
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 11,880 (2,986 away)
20 August 1995 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–1 West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton
14:55 BST Mardon 66' (o.g.) Taylor 46' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 26,329 (2,832 away)
26 August 1995 3 Sunderland 2–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Sunderland
15:00 BST Melville 8'
Gray 28'
Stadium: Roker Park
Attendance: 16,816 (1,894 away)
30 August 1995 4 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–0 Derby County Wolverhampton
19:45 BST Daley 12'
Goodman 16'
de Wolf 32'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 26,053 (1,500 away)
2 September 1995 5 Leicester City 1–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Leicester
15:00 BST Whitlow 27' Stadium: Filbert Street
Attendance: 18,441 (1,700 away)
9 September 1995 6 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–1 Grimsby Town Wolverhampton
15:00 BST Bull 42', 69'
Goodman 51', 76'
Groves 39' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 23,656 (603 away)
13 September 1995 7 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–2 Norwich City Wolverhampton
19:45 BST Johnson 60'
Ward 70'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 27,064 (1,236 away)
16 September 1995 8 Southend United 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Southend-on-Sea
15:00 BST Gridelet 45'
Jones 73'
Goodman 29' Stadium: Roots Hall
Attendance: 6,322 (1,986 away)
23 September 1995 9 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–0 Luton Town Wolverhampton
15:00 BST Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 23,659 (822 away)
30 September 1995 10 Port Vale 2–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers Burslem
15:00 BST Richards 37' (o.g.)
Porter 61' (pen.)
Goodman 16'
Daley 31'
Stadium: Vale Park
Attendance: 11,550 (3,824 away)
7 October 1995 11 Ipswich Town 1–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers Ipswich
15:00 BST Sedgley 28' (pen.) Goodman 38'
Atkins 42'
Stadium: Portman Road
Attendance: 15,335 (1,465 away)
14 October 1995 12 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–4 Stoke City Wolverhampton
15:00 BST Thompson 71' (pen.) Gleghorn 39'
Potter 41'
Wallace 85'
Carruthers 89'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 26,483 (2,927 away)
21 October 1995 13 Watford 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Watford
15:00 BST Holdsworth 57' Daley 45' Stadium: Vicarage Road
Attendance: 11,319 (1,269 away)
28 October 1995 14 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 Sheffield United Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Bull 37' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 23,881 (865 away)
4 November 1995 15 Barnsley 1–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Barnsley
15:00 GMT Redfearn 77' Stadium: Oakwell
Attendance: 9,668 (478 away)
12 November 1995 16 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–0 Charlton Athletic Wolverhampton
14:55 GMT Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 20,450 (473 away)
18 November 1995 17 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–3 Oldham Athletic Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Emblen 27' Makin 62'
McCarthy 64'
Beresford 78'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 23,128 (513 away)
22 November 1995 18 Crystal Palace 3–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers London
19:45 GMT Freedman 10', 29', 49' Thompson 64' (pen.)
Young 83'
Stadium: Selhurst Park
Attendance: 12,571 (663 away)
25 November 1995 19 Huddersfield Town 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Huddersfield
15:00 GMT Booth 20'
Dalton 38'
Bull 79' Stadium: McAlpine Stadium
Attendance: 16,423 (1,127 away)
3 December 1995 20 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–2 Ipswich Town Wolverhampton
14:55 GMT Goodman 60', 70' Marshall 30'
Mowbray 90'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 20,867 (788 away)
10 December 1995 21 Luton Town 2–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers Luton
14:55 GMT Oakes 31'
Marshall 50'
Richards 7'
Goodman 18'
Bull 41'
Stadium: Kenilworth Road
Attendance: 6,997 (1,421 away)
16 December 1995 22 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–1 Port Vale Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Porter 6' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 23,329 (2,424 away)
26 December 1995 23 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–1 Millwall Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Bull 10' Malkin 77' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 25,591 (887 away)
30 December 1995 24 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–2 Portsmouth Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Bull 5'
Goodman 35'
Carter 58'
Burton 65'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 25,294 (1,412 away)
13 January 1996 25 West Bromwich Albion 0–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers West Bromwich
15:00 GMT Stadium: The Hawthorns
Attendance: 21,624 (5,000 away)
20 January 1996 26 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 Tranmere Rovers Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Bull 35'
Goodman 67'
Aldridge 55' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 24,173 (984 away)
3 February 1996 27 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–0 Sunderland Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Thompson 15' (pen.)
Goodman 18'
Atkins 61'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 26,537 (2,777 away)
10 February 1996 28 Derby County 0–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Derby
15:00 GMT Stadium: Baseball Ground
Attendance: 17,460 (1,450 away)
17 February 1996 29 Norwich City 2–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers Norwich
15:00 GMT Crook 24'
Eadie 25'
Bull 12', 37'
Goodman 74'
Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 14,691 (1,587 away)
21 February 1996 30 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–3 Leicester City Wolverhampton
19:45 GMT Bull 26'
Law 42'
Roberts 38'
Heskey 60', 80'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 27,381 (3,116 away)
24 February 1996 31 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–0 Southend United Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Young 28'
Thompson 50'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 24,677 (404 away)
2 March 1996 32 Millwall 0–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers London
15:00 GMT Bull 69' Stadium: The New Den
Attendance: 9,131 (1,045 away)
5 March 1996 33 Birmingham City 2–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Birmingham
19:45 GMT Devlin 28' (pen.), 39' Stadium: St Andrew's
Attendance: 22,051 (2,124 away)
9 March 1996 34 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–1 Reading Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Atkins 42' Gooding 17' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 25,954 (1,498 away)
12 March 1996 35 Grimsby Town 3–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Cleethorpes
19:45 GMT Shakespeare 51'
Livingstone 66'
Forrester 78'
Stadium: Blundell Park
Attendance: 5,013 (578 away)
16 March 1996 36 Portsmouth 0–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers Portsmouth
15:00 GMT Emblen 39'
Goodman 41'
Stadium: Fratton Park
Attendance: 11,732 (986 away)
23 March 1996 37 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–2 Birmingham City Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Goodman 37'
Thompson 88' (pen.)
Bull 89'
Devlin 6', 84' (pen.) Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 26,256 (2,655 away)
30 March 1996 38 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–0 Watford Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Froggatt 33'
Osborn 41', 54'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 25,885 (812 away)
3 April 1996 39 Stoke City 2–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Stoke-on-Trent
19:45 BST Sheron 3'
Sturridge 59'
Stadium: Victoria Ground
Attendance: 26,483 (2,175 away)
6 April 1996 40 Sheffield United 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Sheffield
19:45 BST Taylor 21'
White 31'
Thompson 45' (pen.) Stadium: Bramall Lane
Attendance: 16,658 (1,484 away)
8 April 1996 41 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–2 Barnsley Wolverhampton
15:00 BST Bull 16'
Ferguson 51' (pen.)
Moses 13'
Payton 85'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 23,789 (706 away)
13 April 1996 42 Oldham Athletic 0–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Oldham
15:00 BST Stadium: Boundary Park
Attendance: 7,592 (1,390 away)
20 April 1996 43 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–2 Crystal Palace Wolverhampton
15:00 BST Hopkin 31'
Dyer 55'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 24,350 (1,500 away)
27 April 1996 44 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–0 Huddersfield Town Wolverhampton
15:00 BST Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 25,290 (2,589 away)
30 April 1996 45 Reading 3–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Reading
19:45 BST Williams 22'
Quinn 40', 86'
Stadium: Elm Park
Attendance: 12,828 (2,409 away)
5 May 1996 46 Charlton Athletic 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers London
15:00 BST Leaburn 38' Crowe 52' Stadium: The Valley
Attendance: 10,909 (1,723 away)

Final table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
17 Grimsby Town 46 14 14 18 55 69 –14 56
18 Oldham Athletic 46 14 14 18 54 50 +4 56
19 Reading 46 13 17 16 54 63 –11 56
20 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 13 16 17 56 62 –6 55
21 Portsmouth 46 13 13 20 61 69 –8 52
22 Millwall 46 13 13 20 43 63 –20 52

Source: Statto.com

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
46 13 16 17 56 62  −6 55 8 9 6 34 28  +6 5 7 11 22 34  −12

Source: Statto.com

Results by round

Round12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940414243444546
ResultDDLWLWLLDDWLDWLDLLLDWLDDDWWDWLWWLDLWWWLLDDLDLD
Position9192112151216181819151816161818181920212022222020201818171816141515151412111213151518181820
Source: Statto.com
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

FA Cup

[edit]
6 January 1996 R3 Birmingham City 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Birmingham
15:00 GMT Poole 72' Bull 25' Stadium: St Andrew's
Attendance: 21,349
Referee: Robbie Hart
17 January 1996 R3 rep. Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 Birmingham City Wolverhampton
19:45 GMT Ferguson 17'
Bull 62'
Hunt 51' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 28,088
Referee: Robbie Hart

League Cup

[edit]
20 September 1995 R2.1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–0 Fulham Wolverhampton
19:45 BST Goodman 4'
Wright 50'
Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 20,381
3 October 1995 R2.2 Fulham 1–5
(1–7 agg.)
Wolverhampton Wanderers London
19:45 BST Cusack 82' Daley 28'
Williams 69'
Atkins 77'
Goodman 86', 88'
Stadium: Craven Cottage
Attendance: 6,625
8 November 1995 R3 rep. Charlton Athletic 1–2 (a.e.t.) Wolverhampton Wanderers London
19:45 GMT Robinson 54' Emblen 23'
Atkins 98'
Stadium: The Valley
Attendance: 10,909
29 November 1995 R4 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 Coventry City Wolverhampton
19:45 GMT Venus 33'
Ferguson 34'
Williams 67' Stadium: Molineux
Attendance: 24,628
10 January 1996 QF Aston Villa 1–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Birmingham
19:45 GMT Johnson 66' Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 39,277

Players

[edit]

Key:
  ‡ On loan from another club   * First appearance(s) for the club

Correct as of end of season. Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances in parentheses where applicable.

PosNamePGPGPGPG A yellow card A red card Notes
League FA CupLeague CupTotalDiscipline
GK England Andy De Bont 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GK Wales Paul Jones 8 0 0 0 2 0 10 0 0 0
GK England Mike Stowell 38 0 4 0 4 0 46 0 0 0
DF Netherlands John de Wolf 14(1) 1 0 0 1 0 15(1) 1 0 0
DF Wales Brian Law 5(2) 1 1 0 1(1) 0 7(3) 1 0 1
DF Northern Ireland Neil Masters 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
DF England Dennis Pearce 3(2) 0 1 0 1 0 5(2) 0 0 0
DF England Dean Richards 36(1) 1 2 0 5 0 43(1) 1 0 0
DF England Peter Shirtliff 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
DF England Jamie Smith 10(3) 0 0 0 1 0 11(3) 0 0 0
DF England Andy Thompson 45 6 4 0 6 0 55 6 0 0
DF England Mark Venus 19(3) 0 2 0 3 1 24(3) 1 0 0
DF Wales Eric Young 30 2 4 0 5 0 39 2 0 0
MF England Mark Atkins 26(6) 3 4 0 5 2 35(6) 5 0 0
MF England Paul Birch ¤ 5(2) 0 0 0 2(1) 0 7(3) 0 0 0
MF Australia Steve Corica 17 0 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 0
MF England Gordon Cowans 10(6) 0 0 0 2 0 12(6) 0 0 0
MF England Tony Daley 16(2) 3 0(1) 0 4 1 20(3) 4 0 0
MF Northern Ireland Robbie Dennison ¤ 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0(1) 0 0 0
MF England Neil Emblen 30(3) 2 3 0 1(1) 1 34(4) 3 0 0
MF Scotland Darren Ferguson 26(7) 1 3(1) 1 4 1 33(8) 3 0 0
MF England Richard Flash 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF England Steve Froggatt 13(5) 1 0 0 0 0 13(5) 1 0 0
MF England Simon Osborn 21 2 4 0 0 0 25 2 0 0
MF England Mark Rankine 27(5) 0 3(1) 0 6 0 36(6) 0 0 1
MF Wales Carl Robinson ¤ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF England Vinny Samways 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
MF England Geoff Thomas 0(2) 0 0 0 0 0 0(2) 0 0 1
MF England Jermaine Wright 4(3) 0 0 0 1(1) 1 5(4) 1 0 0
FW England Steve Bull 42(2) 15 4 2 4(1) 0 50(3) 17 0 1
FW Republic of Ireland Glen Crowe 1(1) 1 0 0 0 0 1(1) 1 0 0
FW Republic of Ireland Dominic Foley 1(4) 0 0(1) 0 0(1) 0 1(6) 0 0 0
FW England Don Goodman 43(1) 16 4 1 6 3 53(1) 20 0 0
FW Republic of Ireland David Kelly 3(2) 0 0 0 0 0 3(2) 0 0 0
FW South Africa Mark Williams 5(7) 0 1 0 2(1) 1 8(8) 1 0 0

Source: Wolverhampton Wanderers: The Complete Record[7]

Transfers

[edit]

In

[edit]
Date Player From Fee
30 May 1995 England Dean Richards Bradford City £1.85 million
13 September 1995 Wales Eric Young Crystal Palace Free
20 September 1995 South Africa Mark Williams Belgium RWD Molenbeek £300,000
21 September 1995 England Mark Atkins Blackburn Rovers £1 million
22 September 1995 England Richard Flash Manchester United Free
22 December 1995 England Simon Osborn Queens Park Rangers £1 million
16 February 1996 Australia Steve Corica Leicester City £1.1 million
16 February 1996 Australia Željko Kalac Leicester City £650,000

Out

[edit]
Date Player To Fee
23 June 1995 Scotland Tom Bennett Stockport County £75,000
18 July 1995 England Paul Blades Rotherham United £110,000
25 August 1995 England Peter Shirtliff Barnsley £125,000
18 September 1995 Republic of Ireland David Kelly Sunderland £1 million
29 December 1995 England Gordon Cowans Sheffield United Free

Loans in

[edit]
Start date Player From End date
21 December 1995 England Vinny Samways Everton 21 January 1996

Loans out

[edit]
Start date Player To End date
5 October 1995 Northern Ireland Robbie Dennison Wales Swansea City End of season
7 March 1996 England Paul Birch Preston North End End of season
28 March 1996 Wales Carl Robinson Shrewsbury Town End of season

Management and coaching staff

[edit]
Position Name
Manager Graham Taylor (until 13 November), then Mark McGhee (from 13 December onward)
Assistant manager Bobby Downes, then Colin Lee (from 13 December onward)
First Team coach Mike Hickman
Youth Development Officer Chris Evans
Youth Team coach Chris Turner
Club doctors Dr Peter Ackroyd and Dr Peter Bekenn
Club Physio Barry Holmes

Kit

[edit]

The season saw a new home shirt introduced featuring an embroidered crest and new collar design. The all-white away kit of the previous season was retained. Both were manufactured by Nutmeg Clothing and featured sponsor name of Goodyear.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Wolves seek successor as Taylor resigns". The Independent. London. 14 November 1995. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Midland move to join the moneyed classes". The Independent. London. 12 August 1995. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Taylor falls through credibility gap". The Independent. London. 14 November 1995. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
  4. ^ "McGhee the new man at Molineux". The Independent. London. 14 December 1995. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Wolverhampton Wanderers 1995-1996: Results". Statto. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Wolverhampton Wanderers: History 1975 to date". Statto. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  7. ^ Matthews, Tony (2008). Wolverhampton Wanderers: The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-632-3.