5 of the biggest meltdowns in Premier League title race

#4. Newcastle United (1995-96)

David Ginola was part of the Newcastle side that came close to lifting the league title

It was the fourth Premier League season and like in the previous three seasons, Manchester United were title contenders once again. Joining Ferguson’s side was Newcastle United, managed by the famous Kevin Keegan.

Newcastle emerged as the favourites to win the title earlier on and when they played Man Utd on December 27, they held a 10 point lead over their rivals. Man Utd went on to win the game 2-0 and cut down Newcastle’s lead to 7 points, but later on, they lost to Spurs and drew with Aston Villa, allowing Newcastle to establish a 12 point lead at the top of the table.

The Geordies were well on course to win the league title, but a defeat to West Ham and draw against Manchester City prior to their game against Manchester United mounted the tension. A goal from Eric Cantona helped Manchester United do a double over Newcastle and also reduced Newcastle’s lead to just one point.

Newcastle were unable to fully recover from their slump and went on to lose 3 out of their next five games, winning the other two. However, United’s draw against QPR and defeat to Southampton breathed new life into the title race going into the final game of the season with table looking in this manner.

Position	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Points
1	Manchester United	37	24	7	6	70	35	35	79
2	Newcastle United	37	24	5	8	65	36	29	77

For Newcastle to win the title, they had to win their game against Tottenham Hotspur and also hope that Man Utd would at least draw against Middlesbrough. The Premier League even started making arrangements for a championship play-off if both teams were tied at the top. However, Man Utd comfortably won their last game, while Newcastle could only manage a draw.