| Season | 1896–97 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Warmley (Division One) Eastville Wanderers (Division Two) |
1897–98 → | |
The1896–97 season was the fifth in the history of theWestern Football League, which had been known as the Bristol & District league until 1895.
Warmley were the Division One champions for the fourth time in five years, and also began competing in theSouthern League during this season.Eastville Wanderers won Division Two in only their second season in the league.[1]
At the end of this season the league was restructured, with a new Professional Section being formed, taking five clubs from Division One and three new clubs joining. Division One and Division Two remained as the Amateur Section, with four clubs being promoted from Division Two to Division One, and several new clubs joining both divisions.
One new club joined Division One for this season, though the number of clubs was reduced from 12 to nine afterGloucester andSwindon Wanderers left,Cardiff were expelled andMangotsfield were relegated to Division Two.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warmley | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 42 | 9 | 4.667 | 28 | Moved to newProfessional Section |
| 2 | Bristol South End | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 28 | 22 | 1.273 | 22 | |
| 3 | Bedminster | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 32 | 16 | 2.000 | 18 | |
| 4 | St George | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 27 | 23 | 1.174 | 17 | Moved to newProfessional Section |
| 5 | Eastville Rovers | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 25 | 23 | 1.087 | 14[a] | |
| 6 | Trowbridge Town | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 30 | 0.700 | 13 | |
| 7 | St Paul's | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 31 | 0.935 | 11 | |
| 8 | Staple Hill | 16 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 18 | 39 | 0.462 | 10 | |
| 9 | Clifton | 16 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 19 | 48 | 0.396 | 9 |
One new team joined Division Two this season, though the number of clubs was reduced from 11 to seven afterCumberland,Clifton Reserves,St George Reserves andWarmley Reserves left the league andFrenchay resigned.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastville Wanderers(P) | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 9 | 2.778 | 18[a] | Promoted toAmateur Division One |
| 2 | Barton Hill(P) | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 7 | 4.000 | 17 | |
| 3 | Mangotsfield(P) | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 14 | 1.643 | 15 | |
| 4 | Fishponds(P) | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 16 | 1.063 | 13 | |
| 5 | Bedminster Reserves | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 20 | 0.950 | 13 | |
| 6 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 12 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 33 | 0.212 | 5 | Left the league at the end of the season |
| 7 | Staple Hill Reserves | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 34 | 0.235 | 3 |