| Season | 1901–02 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Sunderland |
| Relegated | none |
| New Clubs in League | Bristol City, Doncaster Rovers |
1902–03 → | |
The1901–02 season was the 14th 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 conceded 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 | 1901–02 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Sunderland 4thEnglish title |
| Relegated | Small Heath Manchester City |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 840 (2.75 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jimmy Settle (18 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Newcastle United 8–0Notts County (26 October 1901) |
| Biggest away win | Blackburn Rovers 1–4Manchester City (12 April 1902) Manchester City 1–4Small Heath (14 September 1901) Sheffield United 1–4Small Heath (15 February 1902) 0–3: five matches |
| Highest scoring | Newcastle United 8–0Notts County (26 October 1901) Notts County 5–3Wolverhampton Wanderers (28 March 1902) |
| Longest winning run | 5 matches Nottingham Forest |
| Longest unbeaten run | 10 matches Sunderland |
| Longest losing run | 5 matches Manchester City |
| Highest attendance | 50,000 Aston Villa 1–0Small Heath (26 December 1901) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,000 Blackburn Rovers 2–0Bolton Wanderers (7 December 1901) Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–0Newcastle United (10 March 1902) Nottingham Forest 0–2Newcastle United (19 March 1902) Derby County 1–0Sunderland (5 April 1902) The Wednesday 1–1Everton (5 April 1902) Bury 2–1Wolverhampton Wanderers (12 April 1902) Blackburn Rovers 3–1Derby County (19 April 1902) |
| Average attendance | 11,209 |
1902–03 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunderland(C) | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 50 | 35 | 1.429 | 44 | |
| 2 | Everton | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 35 | 1.514 | 41 | |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 48 | 34 | 1.412 | 37 | |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 52 | 48 | 1.083 | 36 | |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 43 | 43 | 1.000 | 35 | |
| 6 | Derby County | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 39 | 41 | 0.951 | 35 | |
| 7 | Bury | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 38 | 1.158 | 34 | |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 42 | 40 | 1.050 | 34 | |
| 9 | The Wednesday | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 48 | 52 | 0.923 | 34 | |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 53 | 48 | 1.104 | 33 | |
| 11 | Liverpool | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 42 | 38 | 1.105 | 32 | |
| 12 | Bolton Wanderers | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 51 | 56 | 0.911 | 32 | |
| 13 | Notts County | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 51 | 57 | 0.895 | 32 | |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 46 | 57 | 0.807 | 32 | |
| 15 | Grimsby Town | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 44 | 60 | 0.733 | 32 | |
| 16 | Stoke | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 45 | 55 | 0.818 | 31 | |
| 17 | Small Heath(R) | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 47 | 45 | 1.044 | 30 | Relegation to theSecond Division |
| 18 | Manchester City(R) | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 42 | 58 | 0.724 | 28 |
| Home \ Away | AST | BLB | BOL | BRY | DER | EVE | GRI | LIV | MCI | NEW | NOT | NTC | SHU | SMH | STK | SUN | WED | WOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | |
| Blackburn Rovers | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 6–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| Bolton Wanderers | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | |
| Bury | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | |
| Derby County | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | |
| Everton | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 6–1 | |
| Grimsby Town | 4–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 3–0 | |
| Liverpool | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 7–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | |
| Manchester City | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 3–0 | |
| Newcastle United | 2–1 | 0–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 8–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | |
| Nottingham Forest | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |
| Notts County | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 6–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 6–1 | 5–3 | |
| Sheffield United | 6–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | |
| Small Heath | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 6–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | |
| Stoke | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | |
| Sunderland | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |
| The Wednesday | 1–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 |
| Season | 1901–02 |
|---|---|
| Champions | West Bromwich Albion |
| Promoted | West Bromwich Albion Middlesbrough |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 885 (2.89 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Chippy Simmons (23 goals)[1] |
| Biggest home win | Preston North End 8–0Lincoln City (28 December 1901) |
| Biggest away win | Burton United 0–6Lincoln City (23 November 1901) |
| Highest scoring | Barnsley 2–7Middlesbrough (22 February 1902) |
| Longest winning run | 10 matches West Bromwich Albion |
| Longest unbeaten run | 17 matches West Bromwich Albion |
| Longest losing run | 6 matches Stockport County |
1902–03 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Bromwich Albion(C, P) | 34 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 82 | 29 | 2.828 | 55 | Promotion to theFirst Division |
| 2 | Middlesbrough(P) | 34 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 90 | 24 | 3.750 | 51 | |
| 3 | Preston North End | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 71 | 32 | 2.219 | 42 | |
| 4 | Woolwich Arsenal | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 50 | 26 | 1.923 | 42 | |
| 5 | Lincoln City | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 45 | 35 | 1.286 | 41 | |
| 6 | Bristol City | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 52 | 35 | 1.486 | 40 | |
| 7 | Doncaster Rovers | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 49 | 58 | 0.845 | 34 | |
| 8 | Glossop | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 36 | 40 | 0.900 | 32 | |
| 9 | Burnley | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 41 | 45 | 0.911 | 30 | |
| 10 | Burton United | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 46 | 54 | 0.852 | 30 | |
| 11 | Barnsley | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 51 | 63 | 0.810 | 30 | |
| 12 | Burslem Port Vale | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 43 | 59 | 0.729 | 29 | |
| 13 | Blackpool | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 40 | 56 | 0.714 | 29 | |
| 14 | Leicester Fosse | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 56 | 0.679 | 29 | |
| 15 | Newton Heath | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 38 | 53 | 0.717 | 28 | |
| 16 | Chesterfield Town | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 47 | 68 | 0.691 | 28 | Re-elected |
| 17 | Stockport County | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 36 | 72 | 0.500 | 23 | |
| 18 | Gainsborough Trinity | 34 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 80 | 0.375 | 19 |
| Home \ Away | BAR | BLP | BRI | BRN | BPV | BRT | CHF | DON | GAI | GLP | LEI | LIN | MID | NWH | PNE | STP | WBA | WOO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnsley | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–7 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | |
| Blackpool | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | |
| Bristol City | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | |
| Burnley | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | |
| Burslem Port Vale | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | |
| Burton United | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–6 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | |
| Chesterfield | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 8–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | |
| Doncaster Rovers | 0–1 | 4–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Gainsborough Trinity | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| Glossop | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | |
| Leicester Fosse | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | |
| Lincoln City | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |
| Middlesbrough | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 7–1 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 5–0 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 6–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | |
| Newton Heath | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | |
| Preston North End | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 8–0 | 0–3 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | |
| Stockport County | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 3–1 | 7–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 7–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | |
| Woolwich Arsenal | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 |