1995–96 in English football a club-record £4.5 million for striker Chris Armstrong from relegated Crystal Palace. 1 July 1995: Nottingham Forest paid a club-record £2.5 million for Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Chris Bart-Williams, the day they sold striker Stan Collymore to Liverpool for a national-record £8.5 million. Collymore was replaced by Kevin Campbell, a £2.8-million signing from Arsenal. 3 July 1995: Alan Ball was appointed the new manager of Manchester City. 5 July 1995: Aston Villa acquired Leicester City midfielder Mark Draper for £3.25 million. 6 July 1995: Newcastle United signed French winger David Ginola from Paris St Germain for £2.5 million and striker Les
1996–97 Nottingham Forest F.C. season by Christmas, and their manager Frank Clark gone, with Stuart Pearce taking over as player-manager on a temporary basis. A good run of form in January saw Pearce receive the Manager of the Month award, but, by the time he stepped down to make way for Dave Bassett in March, Forest had endured another setback and were left needing a miracle to beat the drop. The acquisition of Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk did little to change the club's fortunes, and they were relegated in bottom place. "Nottingham Forest's score comes first" 1996–97 Nottingham Forest F.C. season During the 1996–97