| Season | 1896–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Aston Villa |
| Relegated | Burton Wanderers |
| New club in league | Blackpool, Gainsborough Trinity, Walsall |
1897–98 → | |
The1896–97 season was the ninth season ofThe Football League.
Beginning in the 1894–95 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 1976–77 season.
During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893–94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.
| Season | 1896–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Aston Villa 3rdEnglish title |
| Relegated | Burnley |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 751 (3.13 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Steve Bloomer (22 goals)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Derby County 8–1West Bromwich Albion (25 December 1896) Sheffield United 7–0Blackburn Rovers (9 January 1897) |
| Biggest away win | Blackburn Rovers 1–5Aston Villa (28 November 1896) |
| Highest scoring | Derby County 7–2Bury (26 September 1896) Derby County 8–1West Bromwich Albion (25 December 1896) Everton 6–3West Bromwich Albion (17 April 1897) |
| Longest winning run | 6 matches Everton |
| Longest unbeaten run | 12 matches Aston Villa |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches Everton |
| Highest attendance | 40,000 Everton 2–1Liverpool (3 October 1896) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,000 Nottingham Forest 4–1Burnley (24 October 1896) Sheffield United 7–0Blackburn Rovers (9 January 1897) |
| Average attendance | 7,734 |
1897–98 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa(C) | 30 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 73 | 38 | 1.921 | 47 | |
| 2 | Sheffield United | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 42 | 29 | 1.448 | 36 | |
| 3 | Derby County | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 70 | 50 | 1.400 | 36 | |
| 4 | Preston North End | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 55 | 40 | 1.375 | 34 | |
| 5 | Liverpool | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 46 | 38 | 1.211 | 33 | |
| 6 | The Wednesday | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 42 | 37 | 1.135 | 31 | |
| 7 | Everton | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 62 | 57 | 1.088 | 31 | |
| 8 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 43 | 0.930 | 30 | |
| 9 | Bury | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | 44 | 0.886 | 30 | |
| 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 45 | 41 | 1.098 | 28 | |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 49 | 0.898 | 26 | |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 56 | 0.589 | 26 | |
| 13 | Stoke | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 48 | 59 | 0.814 | 25 | |
| 14 | Blackburn Rovers | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 35 | 62 | 0.565 | 25 | |
| 15 | Sunderland(O) | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 34 | 47 | 0.723 | 23 | Qualification fortest matches |
| 16 | Burnley(R) | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 43 | 61 | 0.705 | 19 |
| Home \ Away | AST | BLB | BOL | BUR | BRY | DER | EVE | LIV | NOT | PNE | SHU | STK | SUN | WED | WBA | WOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 3–0 | 6–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1–5 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | |
| Burnley | 3–4 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 0–3 | |
| Bury | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | |
| Derby County | 1–3 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 7–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 8–1 | 4–3 | |
| Everton | 2–3 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 6–0 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 6–3 | 0–0 | |
| Liverpool | 3–3 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | |
| Nottingham Forest | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | |
| Preston North End | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 5–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 5–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | |
| Sheffield United | 0–0 | 7–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | |
| Stoke | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 6–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | |
| Sunderland | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | |
| The Wednesday | 1–3 | 6–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 6–1 |
| Season | 1896–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Notts County |
| Promoted | Notts County |
| Relegated | Burton Wanderers |
| Matches | 240 |
| Goals | 907 (3.78 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | John Murphy Tom Boucher (22 goals each)[2] |
| Biggest home win | Darwen 12–0Walsall (26 December 1896) |
| Biggest away win | Walsall 1–6Small Heath (24 October 1896) |
| Highest scoring | Darwen 12–0Walsall (26 December 1896) |
| Longest winning run | 6 matches Notts County Small Heath |
| Longest unbeaten run | 10 matches Newton Heath |
| Longest losing run | 12 matches Lincoln City |
1897–98 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notts County(C, O, P) | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 92 | 43 | 2.140 | 42 | Qualification fortest matches |
| 2 | Newton Heath | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 56 | 34 | 1.647 | 39 | |
| 3 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 66 | 45 | 1.467 | 38 | |
| 4 | Small Heath | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 47 | 1.468 | 37 | |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 30 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 56 | 52 | 1.077 | 35 | |
| 6 | Manchester City | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 1.160 | 32 | |
| 7 | Gainsborough Trinity | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 50 | 47 | 1.064 | 31 | |
| 8 | Blackpool | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 59 | 56 | 1.054 | 31 | |
| 9 | Leicester Fosse | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 59 | 57 | 1.035 | 30 | |
| 10 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 68 | 70 | 0.971 | 30 | |
| 11 | Darwen | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 67 | 61 | 1.098 | 28 | |
| 12 | Walsall | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 54 | 69 | 0.783 | 26 | |
| 13 | Loughborough | 30 | 12 | 1 | 17 | 50 | 64 | 0.781 | 25 | |
| 14 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 46 | 61 | 0.754 | 24 | Re-elected |
| 15 | Burton Wanderers(R) | 30 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 31 | 67 | 0.463 | 20 | Failed re-election and demoted |
| 16 | Lincoln City | 30 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 27 | 85 | 0.318 | 12 | Re-elected |
| Home \ Away | BLP | BRS | BRW | DRW | GAI | GRI | LEI | LIN | LOU | MCI | NEW | NWH | NTC | SMH | WAL | WOO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackpool | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | |
| Burton Swifts | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 3–5 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | |
| Burton Wanderers | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–6 | 1–0 | 0–3 | |
| Darwen | 2–3 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 12–0 | 4–1 | |
| Gainsborough Trinity | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 7–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 4–1 | |
| Grimsby Town | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 8–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | |
| Leicester Fosse | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 6–3 | |
| Lincoln City | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | |
| Loughborough | 4–1 | 0–2 | 6–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 8–0 | |
| Manchester City | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | |
| Newcastle United | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| Newton Heath | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 6–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| Notts County | 3–1 | 6–1 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 6–0 | 8–0 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 7–4 | |
| Small Heath | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 5–2 | |
| Walsall | 2–2 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–6 | 5–3 | |
| Woolwich Arsenal | 4–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 6–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 |
TheFootball League test matches were a set of play-offs, in which the bottom First Division teams faced the top Second Division teams. 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.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2nd Div. Champions)Notts County | 1–0 | Sunderland (1st Div. 15th) | 1–0 Sat 17 Apr | 0–0 Mon 19 Apr |
| (1st Div. 16th)Burnley | 2–2 | Newton Heath (2nd Div. 2nd) | 2–0 Mon 19 Apr | 0–2 Wed 21 Apr |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1st Div. 16th)Burnley | 1–2 | Notts County (2nd Div. Champions) | 0–1 Sat 24 Apr | 1–1 Mon 26 Apr |
| (2nd Div. 2nd)Newton Heath | 1–3 | Sunderland (1st Div. 15th) | 1–1 Sat 24 Apr | 0–2 Mon 26 Apr |
Reference works, suchEncyclopedia of British Football[3] andAssociation Football,[4] present the following table with the heading given above.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notts County | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | Elected to play in First Division |
| 2 | Sunderland | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Burnley | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | Invited to play in Second Division |
| 4 | Newton Heath | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 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.