Newcastle 95/96 — The Entertainers: Full Squad & Ratings

Newcastle 1995/96 season — all 18 players rated, best XI, and how to draft them in 38-0.

Newcastle 1995/96 — Season Story

Newcastle United's 1995/96 season is the most romantic failure in Premier League history: Kevin Keegan's Entertainers played the most thrilling football the league had ever seen, led by 12 points in January, and still finished second to Manchester United — four points behind after a spring collapse that has been dissected ever since.

The football was glorious. Keegan's 4-4-2 attacked in waves: David Ginola gliding down the left like a film star, Les Ferdinand scoring 25 league goals, Peter Beardsley dropping deep to pull the strings, and Faustino Asprilla arriving in February to add chaos and genius in equal measure. They scored 66 goals in 38 games — the most in the league — and won 12 of their first 15 games.

The lead was 12 points in January, and it was still nine at the start of March. Then the fixtures turned cruel: a defeat at Manchester United in the rearranged game at Old Trafford, a 4-3 defeat at Liverpool in one of the greatest games ever played, and a sequence of draws and defeats in April that let Ferguson's side in. The famous 'I would love it' television rant, Keegan's explosive response to Ferguson's mind games, came after a 1-0 win at Leeds in April — and even that did not stop the slide.

Newcastle took the title race to the final day but could not win it, losing at home to Tottenham while United won. The disappointment was real, but the legacy was enormous: the Entertainers defined Newcastle's identity for a generation, and the 1995/96 squad — rated 79.9 OVR in the 38-0 dataset — remains one of the most beloved in Premier League history.

The 12-Point Lead

Newcastle were unstoppable in the first half of the season. They won their first five games, put five past Manchester United in the pre-season Charity Shield, and by January led the table by 12 points with a game in hand — a lead that, in the modern era of the Premier League, has never been overturned.

The football was pure entertainment: Ginola beating full-backs for fun, Ferdinand finishing everything, Beardsley pulling the strings. Keegan's team played without fear and without much regard for defence — they conceded 37 goals, more than any champion-elect should — but when you are scoring twice a game, nobody notices the back four.

The 4-3 at Anfield

The game of the decade came on 4 April 1996: Liverpool 4, Newcastle 3, a match that had everything — a two-goal lead surrendered, a late winner, and the two most attacking teams in the country going at each other for 90 minutes. Stan Collymore scored the winner in stoppage time for Liverpool; Newcastle, who had led 2-0 and 3-2, were left with nothing but the memory of the greatest game the league had produced.

The result was pivotal: it was Newcastle's third defeat in four games, and it handed the psychological momentum to Manchester United. The game is still shown in full on television today — the definitive proof that the Entertainers were real, and that the 1995/96 title was lost not through cowardice but through the very daring that made them loved.

I Would Love It

The season's strangest subplot was Ferguson's mind games and Keegan's response. After a win at Leeds in late April, with the title race still mathematically alive, Keegan exploded live on television: 'I would love it if we beat them — love it!' The rant became a national joke, but it also revealed the emotional cost of the collapse: the most entertaining team in the country was being driven to distraction by the most ruthless one.

Keegan's Newcastle did not win the league, and Keegan himself would leave within two years. But the 'I would love it' moment became part of the folklore — the sound of a romantic manager, fighting the machine, and losing with his heart on his sleeve. It is the perfect summary of the Entertainers: brilliant, doomed, and impossible to forget.

Key Players & Ratings

David Ginola (86 OVR) and Les Ferdinand (86 OVR) are the co-stars — the most entertaining winger in the league and the most reliable goalscorer, who won the Golden Boot equivalent with 25 league goals. Peter Beardsley (83) was the creative brain, Philippe Albert (83) the attacking centre-back who scored that famous chip against Manchester United, and Rob Lee (82) the engine of midfield.

The squad average of 79.9 OVR sits just below the 80.7 pool average, and the ratings reflect the team's nature: brilliant in attack, ordinary at the back. Shaka Hislop (81) was a solid goalkeeper, David Batty (81) the holding midfielder, and the attacking options — including Asprilla (80) — are the real draft value.

Full 18-Man Squad

Best XI — Newcastle 1995/96

The highest-rated eleven available from this squad in 38-0:

• GK Shaka Hislop 81 OVR
• RCB Darren Peacock 79 OVR
• CB Steve Howey 79 OVR
• LCB Philippe Albert 83 OVR
• LB John Beresford 79 OVR
• CDM David Batty 81 OVR
• CM Rob Lee 82 OVR
• LW David Ginola 86 OVR
• ST Les Ferdinand 86 OVR
• ST Faustino Asprilla 80 OVR
• CF Peter Beardsley 83 OVR

Drafting This Squad in 38-0

This squad's draft value is in the attack. Ferdinand is a top-tier striker at 86, Ginola an elite left winger, Beardsley a creative forward who can play as a second striker or number 10. The defenders are honest but unspectacular — the highest-rated back-line player is Albert at 83 — so draft for the front, not the back.

In Legend mode, the hierarchy is: Ferdinand and Ginola (86), Beardsley and Albert (83), Lee and Batty (81-82). The 74-79 tail is exactly the kind of place where unprepared drafters waste picks — know the top four and this landing becomes a good one.

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