Ferguson was heavily criticised in the summer of 1995 when three of United's star players were allowed to leave and replacements were not bought. First Paul Incemoved to Internazionale of Italy for £7.5 million, long-serving striker Mark Hughes was suddenly sold to Chelsea in a £1.5 million deal, and Andrei Kanchelskis was sold to Everton.

Ferguson made an approach for Tottenham Hotspur winger Darren Anderton, but the player signed a new contract with the North London club. He then made a bid to sign Dutchman Marc Overmars from Ajax (the European Cup winners), but the player suffered a serious knee injury and was ruled out for months. Media reports suggested that United were going to make an approach for Juventus and Italy forward Roberto Baggio, but the player remained in his homeland and signed for Milaninstead.

Ferguson felt that United had a number of young players who were ready to play in the first team. The youngsters, who would be known as "Fergie's Fledglings", included Gary Neville, Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, who would all go on to be important members of the team. And so the 1995–96 season began without a major signing, at a time when the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United were making the headlines with big-money signings.

A youthful United team lost 3–1 in their opening league game of the 1995–96 season, against Aston Villa.^[63] On Match of the Day, pundit Alan Hansen criticised their performance, ending his analysis with the words: "You can't win anything with kids".^[64] United won their next five matches and were boosted by the return of Cantona, who made his comeback against Liverpool in October 1995. For much of the season, the team trailed league leaders Newcastle United and found themselves 10 points behind by Christmas; this later was narrowed to seven points after defeating them on 27 December 1995. The gap increased to 12 points, but a series of wins, coupled with Newcastle dropping points, meant by late March, United moved to the top of the table. A hard-fought win against Leeds United in April prompted Ferguson to accuse his opponents of "cheating" their manager:

I'm saying to myself these guys have put their manager in trouble and after seeing how they played against us I can only say they're cheating their manager. You think for some of them it's more important to get a result against Manchester United, who are top of the League, than anything else. It's pathetic. No wonder managers get the sack. Of course, when it comes to Newcastle you wait and see the difference. It will be interesting.^[65]

In a televised outburst after his team's win against Leeds, Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan responded angrily to Ferguson's comments: "We're still fighting for this title, and he's got to go to Middlesbrough ... I would love it if we beat them, love it."^[66] A win against Middlesbrough on the final day sealed the title for United and the team beat Liverpool by a goal to nil to win the 1996 FA Cup Final; this was their second double in three years. A week after the cup final, Ferguson agreed a four-year contract to remain at United.^[67]