Manchester United had won the first two Premier League titles in 1992/93 and 1993/94 to re-assert the club’s dominance at the top of English football.
But with Blackburn Rovers snatching the title in 1994/95 as United fell short without a suspended Eric Cantona, manager Alex Ferguson found himself at an important crossroad.
The United boss knew he would still be without Cantona for the first two months of the 1995/96 campaign and several key members of those first two title winning teams were cut loose.
Paul Ince went to Italy to join Inter, while Mark Hughes moved south to Chelsea.