Season | 1895β96 |
---|---|
Champions | Aston Villa |
Relegated |
Crewe Alexandra Burslem Port Vale Rotherham Town |
New Club in League | Loughborough |
β
1894β95
1896β97 β |
The 1895β 96 season was the eighth season of The Football League.
Beginning in the 1894β95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). In case one or more teams had the same goal difference, this system favoured those teams who had scored fewer goals. The goal average system was eventually scrapped beginning with the 1976β77 season.
During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893β94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894β95 season and until the 1920β21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.
Season | 1895β96 |
---|---|
Champions |
Aston Villa 2nd title |
Relegated | Small Heath |
Matches played | 240 |
Goals scored | 807 (3.36 per match) |
Top goalscorer |
John Campbell Steve Bloomer (22 goals each) |
Biggest home win |
Derby County 8β0
Small Heath (30 November 1895) Sheffield United 8β0 Bury (6 April 1896) |
Biggest away win |
The Wednesday 0β4
Derby County (28 December 1895) |
Highest scoring |
Aston Villa 7β3
Small Heath (7 September 1895) |
Longest winning run | 9 matches Everton |
Longest unbeaten run | 14 matches Everton |
Longest losing run | 6 matches Burnley Small Heath |
Highest attendance | 30,000 Everton 2β0 Aston Villa (21 December 1895) |
Lowest attendance | 560 West Bromwich Albion 3β2 Blackburn Rovers (29 April 1896) |
Average attendance | 7,682 |
β
1894β95
1896β97 β |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aston Villa (C) | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 78 | 45 | 1.733 | 45 | |
2 | Derby County | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 68 | 35 | 1.943 | 41 | |
3 | Everton | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 66 | 43 | 1.535 | 39 | |
4 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 49 | 37 | 1.324 | 37 | |
5 | Sunderland | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 52 | 41 | 1.268 | 37 | |
6 | Stoke | 30 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 56 | 47 | 1.191 | 30 | |
7 | The Wednesday | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 44 | 53 | 0.830 | 29 | |
8 | Blackburn Rovers | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 50 | 0.800 | 29 | |
9 | Preston North End | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 44 | 48 | 0.917 | 28 | |
10 | Burnley | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 48 | 44 | 1.091 | 27 | |
11 | Bury | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 50 | 54 | 0.926 | 27 | |
12 | Sheffield United | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 40 | 50 | 0.800 | 26 | |
13 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 42 | 57 | 0.737 | 25 | |
14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 61 | 65 | 0.938 | 21 | |
15 | Small Heath (R) | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 39 | 79 | 0.494 | 20 | Qualification for test matches |
16 | West Bromwich Albion (O) | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 30 | 59 | 0.508 | 19 |
Season | 1895β96 |
---|---|
Champions | Liverpool |
Promoted | Liverpool |
Matches played | 240 |
Goals scored | 943 (3.93 per match) |
Top goalscorer |
George Allan (26 goals) |
Biggest home win |
Liverpool 10β1
Rotherham Town (18 February 1896) |
Biggest away win |
Burton Swifts 0β7
Liverpool (29 February 1896) Crewe Alexandra 0β7 Liverpool (28 March 1896) |
Highest scoring |
Darwen 10β2
Rotherham Town (13 January 1896) |
Longest winning run | 10 matches Liverpool |
Longest unbeaten run | 10 matches Burton Wanderers Liverpool |
Longest losing run | 6 matches Lincoln City |
β
1894β95
1896β97 β |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Liverpool (C, O, P) | 30 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 106 | 32 | 3.313 | 46 | Qualification for test matches |
2 | Manchester City | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 63 | 38 | 1.658 | 46 | |
3 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 82 | 38 | 2.158 | 42 | |
4 | Burton Wanderers | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 69 | 40 | 1.725 | 42 | |
5 | Newcastle United | 30 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 73 | 50 | 1.460 | 34 | |
6 | Newton Heath | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 66 | 57 | 1.158 | 33 | |
7 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 58 | 42 | 1.381 | 32 | |
8 | Leicester Fosse | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 57 | 44 | 1.295 | 32 | |
9 | Darwen | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 72 | 67 | 1.075 | 30 | |
10 | Notts County | 30 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 57 | 54 | 1.056 | 26 | |
11 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 39 | 69 | 0.565 | 24 | |
12 | Loughborough | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 40 | 66 | 0.606 | 23 | |
13 | Lincoln City | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 53 | 75 | 0.707 | 22 | |
14 | Burslem Port Vale | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 43 | 78 | 0.551 | 18 | Resigned from league |
15 | Rotherham Town | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 34 | 97 | 0.351 | 17 | |
16 | Crewe Alexandra | 30 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 30 | 95 | 0.316 | 13 |
The Football League test matches were a set of play-offs, in which the bottom First Division teams faced the top Second Division teams.
The format had changed from previous seasons, with the number of participants has reduced from six to four (two from each division). Now, each First Division team plays both Second Division teams in a mini league format. The top two finishers would then be considered for election for First Division membership, whilst the bottom two finishers would be invited to play in the Second Division.
The First Division teams, if finishing in the top two, would retain their places in the division. If a Second Division team does so, it would be considered for First Division membership through an election process. Bottom-two Second Division teams would stay in the Second Division.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
(2nd Div. Champions) Liverpool | 4β0 | Small Heath (1st Div. 15th) | 4β0 Sat 18 Apr |
0β0 Mon 20 Apr |
(2nd Div. 2nd) Manchester City | 2β7 | West Bromwich Albion (1st Div. 16th) | 1β1 Sat 18 Apr |
1β6 Mon 20 Apr |
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
(2nd Div. Champions) Liverpool | 2β2 | West Bromwich Albion (1st Div. 16th) | 2β0 Sat 25 Apr |
0β2 Mon 27 Apr |
(2nd Div. 2nd) Manchester City | 3β8 | Small Heath (1st Div. 15th) | 3β0 Sat 25 Apr |
0β8 Mon 27 Apr |
Reference works, such Encyclopedia of British Football [1] and Association Football, [2] present the following table with the heading given above.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Liverpool | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 | Elected to play in First Division |
2 | West Bromwich Albion | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 5 | |
3 | Small Heath | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 3 | Invited to play in Second Division |
4 | Manchester City | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15 | −10 | 3 |
It is likely that the league decided on re-election to the First Division and on promotion and relegation on the basis of the summary table above. It is not clear why all the four teams did not play each other, since it would only have required two more matches for each of them. It seems those teams who had lost in the first round hardly had any chance of ending up among the top teams in this system, and the election outcome effectively seems to have confirmed the first round results.