True Blues — Chelsea FC
ΕΛ

Season: 1995–96

Premier League

League

Glenn Hoddle’s third full season as Chelsea manager — and his last — opened under a leaner Premier League of twenty clubs and a thirty-eight-game calendar.

Division
Premier League (Tier 1)
Manager
Glenn Hoddle
Top scorer (league)
John Spencer (13)
Top scorer (all comps)
John Spencer (14)
Avg. league attendance
25,581

Cups & Europe

FA Cup
Semi-finals
League Cup
Second round
Europe
—

Notes

Glenn Hoddle’s third full season as Chelsea manager — and his last — opened under a leaner Premier League of twenty clubs and a thirty-eight-game calendar. Chelsea finished eleventh again: 12 wins, 14 draws, 12 defeats, 46–44, 50 points (12×3+14). Home form was 7–7–5 (30–22); away 5–7–7 (16–22). Goal difference +2 left them a point behind West Ham on 51 and clear of Middlesbrough and Leeds on 43. Manchester United were champions with 82; Newcastle United 78; Liverpool 71; Aston Villa and Arsenal 63. Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers went down. The summer arrivals set the tone. Ruud Gullit and Mark Hughes debuted together in the opening 0–0 with Everton; Dan Petrescu arrived from Sheffield Wednesday in November and Terry Phelan from Manchester City days later. John Spencer led the league scoring with 13 and finished top across all competitions with 14; Hughes followed with 8 and 12, Dennis Wise 7 and 8, Gavin Peacock 5 and 7 (including a hat-trick in the 5–0 of Middlesbrough), Gullit 3 and 6. Highlights included 3–0 of Southampton, 1–0 of Arsenal and Newcastle at the Bridge, Peacock’s Middlesbrough rout, and Hughes’s hat-trick in a 4–1 of Leeds. The Coca-Cola Cup was brief: Stoke City held 0–0 at the Victoria Ground and won 1–0 at Stamford Bridge in the second round. The FA Cup carried the season. Newcastle United were edged on penalties after 1–1 at the Bridge and 2–2 after extra time at St James’ Park; Queens Park Rangers fell 2–1 at Loftus Road; Grimsby Town were held 0–0 away and beaten 4–1 in the replay; Wimbledon forced 2–2 at the Bridge before a 3–1 reply at Selhurst Park put Chelsea into the semi-finals. At Villa Park on 31 March, Gullit gave them the lead against Manchester United, but Andy Cole and David Beckham answered and the 1–2 exit ended European hopes. A fortnight later Hoddle accepted the England job (2 May), finished his Chelsea tenure on 10 May after the final-day 2–3 with Blackburn, and Ruud Gullit was appointed player-manager the same day. Crowds averaged 25,581 for home league games — high 31,137 against Liverpool on 30 December, low 17,078 versus Manchester City on 12 March. Umbro’s royal blue with white socks, the final season of the cult graphite-grey-and-tangerine away, and Coors across the chest closed Hoddle’s Bridge chapter.

Kits

Home
Away
Third—

Second and final season of the grey-and-tangerine.

Illustration from hex colours (not official kit photography).

On this day (related years)

All On this day →

History

Eras, trophies, and great matches in the History section.

Explore history →

Sources

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