1995–96 was a frustrating season for Harford and Blackburn. Chris Sutton, Jason Wilcox and Graeme Le Saux missed a lot of games through injury, although Alan Shearer was still brilliant, with 31 Premiership goals. Despite an early exit from the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League, Blackburn improved as the season went on. Although they never looked like regaining their Premiership title, they were in contention for a UEFA Cup place until the last game of the season but lost out to Arsenal and finished seventh. It wasn't at all a bad finish, though, considering that Blackburn had been in the bottom half of the Premier League for much of the season. During the summer of 1996, Alan Shearer was sold to Newcastle United for a then world record fee of £15 million, and Harford failed to adequately replace him. Harford stated that "I'm told we need a big name. Engelbert Humperdinck is a big name but it doesn't mean he can play football."