1995–96 Preston North End F.C. season

Preston North End
1995–96 season
Chairman	Bryan Gray
Manager	Gary Peters
Stadium	Deepdale
Third Division	1st
FA Cup	Second round
League Cup	First round
Football League Trophy	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Saville (29); All: Saville(29)
Highest home attendance	18,700 vs Exeter City
Lowest home attendance	6,837 vs Wigan Athletic
Average home league attendance	9,411

During the 1995–96 English football season, Preston North End F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division.

Season summary

During the summer of 1995, with extra funds made available, Gary Peters brought in strikers Andy Saville and Steve Wilkinson. Russ Wilcox and Dean Barrick were also brought in to strengthen the defense.^[1]

Preston North End started the season with a loss at home against Lincoln City, however, they followed this up with a 21-match unbeaten run. Preston didn't lose again in the league until the 6th January. Preston sealed promotion with a 2-0 victory against Leyton Orient on 20th April and clinched the Championship a week later against Hartlepool United.^[2]

Not only were Preston champions, they were the highest scoring outfit in the division with 78 goals. Andy Saville was the Divisions joint top scorer.^[3]

There were important changes off the pitch too as the West Stand had been demolished over the summer and replaced with the 8,000 seater Sir Tom Finney Stand, which opened on 16th March.^[4]

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	Preston North End (C, P)	46	23	17	6	78	38	+40	86	Promotion to the Second Division
2	Gillingham (P)	46	22	17	7	49	20	+29	83
3	Bury (P)	46	22	13	11	66	48	+18	79
4	Plymouth Argyle (O, P)	46	22	12	12	68	49	+19	78	Qualification for the Third Division play-offs
5	Darlington	46	20	18	8	60	42	+18	78	Qualification for the Third Division play-offs

Source:
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results

Preston North End's score comes first^[5]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League Third Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
12 August 1995	Lincoln City	H	1-2	7,813	Saville
19 August 1995	Plymouth Argyle	A	2-0	6,862	Hammond (og), Bryson
26 August 1995	Wigan Athletic	H	1-1	6,837	Atkinson
29 August 1995	Bury	A	0-0	4,682
02 September 1995	Cambridge United	H	3-3	7,034	Saville, Wilkinson, Lancashire
09 September 1995	Hereford United	A	1-0	3,124	Saville
12 September 1995	Colchester United	A	2-2	2,869	Cartwright, Bryson
16 September 1995	Scunthorpe United	H	2-2	7,397	Atkinson, Bryson
23 September 1995	Fulham	A	2-2	5,209	Bryson, Davey
30 September 1995	Chester City	H	2-0	8,544	Wilkinson, Saville
07 October 1995	Scarborough	H	3-2	7,702	Saville, Wilkinson, Davey
14 October 1995	Torquay United	A	4-0	4,058	Bryson(2), Saville(2)
21 October 1995	Mansfield Town	H	6-0	8,981	Wilkinson(3), Saville(3)
28 October 1995	Doncaster Rovers	A	2-2	4,413	Davey(2)
31 October 1995	Northampton Town	A	2-1	4,695	Wilcox, Saville
04 November 1995	Leyton Orient	H	4-0	9,823	Saville(3), Davey
18 November 1995	Exeter City	A	1-1	3,350	Moyes
25 November 1995	Hartlepool United	H	3-0	9,449	Moyes, Atkinson, Saville
09 December 1995	Fulham	H	1-1	8,422	Bryson
16 December 1995	Chester City	A	1-1	5,004	Wilkinson
23 December 1995	Gillingham	H	0-0	10,669
01 January 1996	Cardiff City	H	5-0	8,354	Davey, Brown, Saville(2), Atkinson
06 January 1996	Barnet	A	0-1	2,737
13 January 1996	Plymouth Argyle	H	3-2	11,126	Bryson, Davey, Cartwright
20 January 1996	Lincoln City	A	0-0	5,185
30 January 1996	Darlington	A	2-1	2,599	Cartwright, Saville
03 February 1996	Wigan Athletic	A	1-0	5,567	Kilbane
10 February 1996	Barnet	H	0-1	9,974
17 February 1996	Colchester United	H	2-0	9,335	Saville(2)
24 February 1996	Scunthorpe United	A	2-1	3,638	Saville, Lancashire
27 February 1996	Hereford United	H	2-2	9,761	Atkinson, Saville
02 March 1996	Rochdale	H	1-2	9,697	Saville
09 March 1996	Gillingham	A	1-1	10,602	Davey
12 March 1996	Rochdale	A	3-0	4,597	Birch, Wilkinson, Moyes
16 March 1996	Darlington	H	1-1	12,070	Bryson
23 March 1996	Cardiff City	A	1-0	3,511	Saville
26 March 1996	Bury	H	0-0	12,260
30 March 1996	Scarborough	A	2-1	3,771	Davey, Bennett
02 April 1996	Torquay United	H	1-0	11,965	Wilkinson
06 April 1996	Doncaster Rovers	H	1-0	12,773	Birch
08 April 1996	Mansfield Town	A	0-0	4,661
13 April 1996	Northampton Town	H	0-3	11,774
16 April 1996	Cambridge United	A	1-2	2,831	Saville
20 April 1996	Leyton Orient	A	2-0	5,170	Saville(2)
27 April 1996	Hartlepool United	A	2-0	5,076	Davey, Saville
04 May 1996	Exeter City	H	2-0	18,700	Saville, Wilkinson

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	11 Novemeber 1995	Carlisle United	A	2-1	7,046	Cartwright, Wilcox
R2	02 December 1995	Bradford City	A	1-2	7,602	Wilkinson

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1 1st Leg	15 August 1995	Sunderland	H	1-1	6,323	Kidd
R1 2nd Leg	23 August 1995	Sunderland	A	2-3	7,407	Carwright, Bryson

Football League Trophy


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance
NR1	17 October 1995	Hull City	A	0-1	753
NR1	07 Novemeber 1995	Scarborough	H	2-1	5,639
NR1	28 Novemeber 1995	Lincoln City	A	1-2	1,729

Squad

^[6] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	David Lucas
—	GK	FIN	Teuvo Moilanen
—	GK	IRL	Kelham O'Hanlon
—	GK	ENG	Barry Richardson
—	GK	ENG	John Vaughn
—	DF	ENG	Dean Barrick
—	DF	ENG	Charlie Bishop (on loan from Barnsley)
—	DF	ENG	Andy Fensome
—	DF	ENG	Ryan Kidd
—	DF	ENG	Alan Johnson (on loan from Lincoln City)
—	DF	SCO	David Moyes
—	DF	SCO	Ray Sharp
—	DF	ENG	Paul Sparrow
—	DF	ENG	Jamie Squires
—	DF	ENG	Russ Wilcox
—	DF	ENG	Steve Holmes
—	MF	ENG	Graeme Atkinson
—	MF	SCO	Ian Bryson


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Lee Cartwright
—	MF	WAL	Simon Davey
—	MF	ENG	Kevin Gage
—	MF	IRL	Kevin Kilbane
—	MF	ENG	Neil McDonald
—	MF	ENG	Paul McKenna
—	MF	SCO	Kevin Magee
—	MF	ENG	Paul Birch (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
—	MF	ENG	Terry Fleming
—	MF	ENG	Paul Raynor
—	FW	ENG	Gary Bennett
—	FW	ENG	Mickey Brown
—	FW	IRL	Tony Grant
—	FW	ENG	Michael Holt
—	FW	ENG	Dave Reeves
—	FW	ENG	Andy Saville
—	FW	SCO	Allan Smart
—	FW	ENG	Steve Wilkinson
—	FW	ENG	Graham Lancashire

References

^ Powter, David (2002). 25 Seasons At Deepdale - The Complete Record 1977-78 to 2001-02. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books Limited. p. 31. ISBN 1-86223-070-6.
^ Powter, David (2002). 25 Seasons At Deepdale - The Complete Record 1977-78 to 2001-02. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books Limited. p. 31. ISBN 1-86223-070-6.
^ Powter, David (2002). 25 Seasons At Deepdale - The Complete Record 1977-78 to 2001-02. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books Limited. p. 31. ISBN 1-86223-070-6.
^ Powter, David (2002). 25 Seasons At Deepdale - The Complete Record 1977-78 to 2001-02. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books Limited. p. 31. ISBN 1-86223-070-6.
^ "Preston North End results for the 1995-1996 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
^ "All Preston North End players: 1996".

[Powter-2002a-1] Powter, David (2002). 25 Seasons At Deepdale - The Complete Record 1977-78 to 2001-02. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books Limited. p. 31. ISBN 1-86223-070-6.

[Powter-2002b-2] Powter, David (2002). 25 Seasons At Deepdale - The Complete Record 1977-78 to 2001-02. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books Limited. p. 31. ISBN 1-86223-070-6.

[Powter-2002c-3] Powter, David (2002). 25 Seasons At Deepdale - The Complete Record 1977-78 to 2001-02. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books Limited. p. 31. ISBN 1-86223-070-6.

[Powter-2002d-4] Powter, David (2002). 25 Seasons At Deepdale - The Complete Record 1977-78 to 2001-02. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books Limited. p. 31. ISBN 1-86223-070-6.

[5] "Preston North End results for the 1995-1996 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2026.

[6] "All Preston North End players: 1996".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

Preston North End Football Club
General	Players Managers History Players of the Year Seasons The Invincibles
Grounds	Deepdale
Rivalries	West Lancashire derby League record by opponent Burial of the Coffin

Preston North End F.C. seasons
1880s	1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890s	1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900
1900s	1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910s	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920s	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26