1995–96 FA Premier League FA Cup which was won by Manchester United. Before the season began, the English transfer record was broken for the third time in 12 months when Liverpool paid £8.4 million for the Nottingham Forest striker Stan Collymore. The record fee for a defender was broken when Newcastle United paid £4 million for Wimbledon's Warren Barton. Arsenal paid a club record £7.5 million for Internazionale's 26-year-old Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp. Newcastle spent £6 million for 28-year-old Queens Park Rangers striker Les Ferdinand. Blackburn Rovers, the 1994–95 Premier League champions, finished bottom of their group in the UEFA Champions League. Manchester United
Nottingham Forest F.C. Neil Webb one. Forest chased a unique cup treble but tragedy struck a week after the League Cup win. Forest and Liverpool met for the second season in a row in the FA Cup semi-finals. The Hillsborough disaster claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans. The match was abandoned after six minutes. When the emotion laden rescheduled game took place Forest struggled as Liverpool won 3–1. Forest finished third in the First Division for a second successive year. However they were unable to compete in the UEFA Cup. The 1985 post Heysel Stadium Disaster UEFA competition ban on English clubs