The 1994-95 English Premier League title was won by Blackburn Rovers, who were masterminded to victory by Kenny Dalglish and the devastating goalscoring of Alan Shearer, who scored 34 times as Rovers fended off the sternest of challenges from Manchester United to hold on amidst dramatic scenes on the final day of the season.
CHANGES
It could be argued that the mid-season transfer of Andy Cole from Newcastle United to Manchester United helped to trigger the era of extravagant spending. The £7m spent on the prolific forward was unprecedented at the time, but it wasn’t long before such a fee became commonplace, and the fan became desensitised to huge transfer fees.
Blackburn Rovers weren’t shy about spending, either; with the magnate Jack Walker’s money behind them, they had previously spent big to sign Alan Shearer, and they had broken the transfer record this summer to bring in Chris Sutton from Norwich City for £5m. The duo immediately formed a partnership, known as the SAS.
Tottenham had an interesting summer, making moves for the Romanian duo of Gheorghe Popescu and Ilie Dumitrescu, who had enjoyed such a successful World Cup, but the real headlines were kept for the marquee arrival of Jurgen Klinsmann.
The German brought his brand of dynamic forward play and unique celebrations to a league that embraced him from the moment he arrived.
Off the pitch, league reconstruction took place. At the end of the season four teams were to be relegated and only two promoted, reducing the number of sides from 22 to 20, to ease some of the strain on players.
SEASON SUMMARY
Newcastle were the early pace-setters, losing just one of their opening 12 matches, and they were joined at the top by Nottingham Forest, buoyed by the goals of Stan Collymore. Liverpool, Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers weren’t far behind.
But as Christmas approached it was United and Rovers who emerged as the two sides who appeared to have the consistency of performance to maintain a…
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Author : editors@footballcritic.com (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-07-21 10:00:00
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