I will always look back on the summer of 1995 with some of my fondest memories. It was the hottest summer on record in Britain at the time, second only to 1976, and it seemed like every day was hotter.
Not being able to watch the World Cup also meant players were able to negotiate transfers earlier than last summer. This was especially interesting to my game-obsessed 9-year-old. My dad recently bought a television with text messaging, and now I can watch transfer announcements all summer long without having to wait for the six o’clock news!
On June 17, Liverpool announced their first big name signing of the summer, and it turned out to be a record-breaker. The Merseyside club paid a British record £8.5 million to bring striker Stan Collymore to Anfield from Nottingham Forest.
If it was Tottenham Hotspur who brought in Jurgen Klinsmann last summer, it was north London rivals Arsenal who grabbed the headlines in 1995.
Three days after Stan Collymore was introduced to the national media at Anfield, Arsenal’s new manager Bruce Riok has announced the signing of striker Dennis Bergkamp. The Dutchman had spent two unhappy years at Inter Milan and was now set to try his luck in the English league.
Tottenham Hotspur signed striker Chris Armstrong from Crystal Palace for £4.5 million the following day, and on 22 June Paul Ince joined Inter Milan for £7 million.
A second Dutchman has moved to a club in the capital after Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle unveiled Ruud Gullit at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. He arrived on a free transfer from Sampdoria. Chelsea also signed Mark Hughes from Manchester United on the same day, but this was certainly less notable than the signing of Gullit.
Aston Villa broke the transfer record by signing Savo Milosevic from Partizan Belgrade for £3.5 million, while Newcastle United took the lead after signing French midfielder David Ginola from Paris Saint-Germain for £2.5 million.
Before the end of the month, England captain David Platt joined Arsenal’s Dennis Bergkamp from Sampdoria after the two clubs agreed a fee of £4.75 million.
On the same day that David Platt put pen to paper at Highbury, his England team-mate Paul Gascoigne joined Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers.
With Bergkamp, Gullit, Platt and Gascoigne all leaving Italy, the Premier League is quickly becoming the best place to play and watch football. As the 1995/96 season began, Italian Serie A was fast becoming the best league in the world.
About the author
