1895–96 Football League

The 1895–1896 season was the eight season of The Football League.

Contents

Final league tables

The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at the The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website[1] and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79,[2] with home and away statistics separated.

Note: Beginning with the season 1894–95, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), or more properly put, goal ratio. 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.

Since the goal average was used for this purpose for such a long time, it is presented in the tables below even for the seasons prior to 1894–95, and since the goal difference is a more informative piece of information for a modern reader than the goal average, the goal difference is added in this presentation after the goal average.

During the first five seasons of the league, that is until the season, 1893–94, 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.[2]

First Division

First Division
Season 1895–96
Champions Aston Villa
(2nd English title)
Relegated Small Heath
FA Cup winners The Wednesday (1st FA Cup title)
Matches played 240
Goals scored 807 (3.36 per match)
Top goalscorer John Campbell (Aston Villa)
Steve Bloomer (Derby County), 22
Biggest home win Derby County – Small Heath 8–0 (30 Nov 1895)
Sheffield United– Bury 8–0 (6 Apr 1896)
Biggest away win The Wednesday – Derby County 0–4 (28 Dec 1895)
Highest scoring Aston Villa – Small Heath 7–3 (7 Sept 1895)
Longest winning run ?
Longest unbeaten run ?
Longest losing run ?
Highest attendance ?
Lowest attendance ?
Average attendance ?
The Wednesday (Sheffield)
Small Heath (Birmingham)
Locations of the Football League First Division 1895–96 teams
Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GA GD Pts
1 Aston Villa 30 14 1 0 47 17 6 4 5 31 28 78 45 1.733 + 33 45
2 Derby County 30 12 2 1 42 13 5 5 5 26 22 68 35 1.943 + 33 41
3 Everton 30 10 4 1 40 17 6 3 6 26 26 66 43 1.535 + 23 39
4 Bolton Wanderers 30 12 2 1 34 14 4 3 8 15 23 49 37 1.324 + 12 37
5 Sunderland 30 10 5 0 36 14 5 2 8 16 27 52 41 1.268 + 11 37
6 Stoke 30 12 0 3 43 11 3 0 12 13 36 56 47 1.191 + 9 30
7 The Wednesday 30 10 2 3 31 18 2 3 10 13 35 44 53 0.830 – 7 29
8 Blackburn Rovers 30 10 1 4 26 18 2 4 9 14 32 40 50 0.800 – 10 29
9 Preston North End 30 8 5 2 31 18 3 1 11 13 30 44 48 0.917 – 4 28
10 Burnley 30 8 5 2 33 11 2 2 11 15 33 48 44 1.091 + 4 27
11 Bury 30 7 1 7 32 24 5 2 8 18 30 50 54 0.926 – 4 27
12 Sheffield United 30 9 4 2 28 12 1 2 12 12 38 40 50 0.800 – 10 26
13 Nottingham Forest 30 11 1 3 34 16 0 2 13 8 41 42 57 0.737 – 15 25
14 Wolverhampton Wanderers 30 10 0 5 43 18 0 1 14 18 47 61 65 0.938 – 4 21
15 Small Heath[3] 30 7 2 6 22 24 1 2 12 17 55 39 79 0.494 – 40 20
16 West Bromwich Albion 30 5 4 6 18 22 1 3 11 12 37 30 59 0.508 – 29 19

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Key
League Champions
FA Cup Winners
Into test matches

First Division Results

Home \ Away1 AST BLB BOL BUR BRY DER EVE NOT PRE SHE SMH STO SUN WED WBA WOL
Aston Villa 3–1 2–0 5–1 2–0 4–1 4–3 3–1 1–0 2–2 7–3 5–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 4–1
Blackburn Rovers 1–1 3–2 1–0 0–2 0–2 2–3 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 2–4 2–1 1–0 3–1
Bolton Wanderers 2–2 1–1 1–0 2–4 2–1 3–1 2–1 1–0 4–1 4–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 4–0
Burnley 3–4 6–0 1–2 3–0 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 5–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 2–0 3–0 3–1
Bury 5–3 2–0 0–3 3–4 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 4–5 0–1 1–2 6–1 3–0 3–0
Derby County 2–2 0–0 2–1 5–1 2–1 2–1 4–0 1–0 0–2 8–0 2–1 2–0 3–1 4–1 5–2
Everton 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–1 3–2 2–2 6–2 3–2 5–0 3–0 7–2 1–0 2–2 1–1 2–0
Nottingham Forest 0–2 4–2 0–0 2–1 5–0 2–5 2–1 0–1 3–1 3–0 4–0 3–1 1–0 2–0 3–2
Preston North End 4–3 1–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 6–0 4–3 3–2 0–1 4–1 0–1 0–0 4–3
Sheffield United 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 8–0 1–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–0 2–1
Small Heath 1–4 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–3 0–3 1–0 5–2 2–1 1–2 0–1 1–1 2–2 3–2
Stoke City 1–2 3–0 2–0 2–1 0–2 2–1 1–2 1–0 4–0 4–0 6–1 5–0 5–0 3–1 4–1
Sunderland 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–1 0–0 2–2 3–0 1–1 4–1 1–1 2–1 4–1 2–1 7–1 2–2
The Wednesday 1–3 3–0 1–1 1–0 1–3 0–4 3–1 3–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 3–0 5–3 3–1
West Bromwich Albion 1–1 3–2 2–3 0–2 1–3 0–0 0–3 3–1 1–2 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 2–3 2–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–2 1–2 5–0 5–1 1–0 2–0 2–3 6–1 2–1 4–1 7–2 1–0 1–3 4–0 1–2

Source: [1]
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Test Matches 1896

The test matches were a kind of play-offs, in which the bottom 1st Division teams faced the top 2nd Division teams. The 1st Division teams, if coming out as winners, would retain their places in the division. If a 2nd Division team won, it would be considered for 1st Division membership through an election process. Losing 2nd Division teams would stay in the 2nd Division.

Test Matches, First Round

Team 1   Agg.   Team 2   1st leg     2nd leg  
(2nd Div. Champions) Liverpool 4–0 Small Heath (1st Div. 15th) 4–0
Sat 18 Apr		 0–0
Mon 20 Apr
(2nd Div. 2nd) Manchester City 2–7 West Bromwich Albion (1st Div. 16th) 1–1
Sat 18 Apr		 1–6
Mon 20 Apr

Test Matches, Second Round

Team 1   Agg.   Team 2   1st leg     2nd leg  
(2nd Div. Champions) Liverpool 2–2 West Bromwich Albion (1st Div. 16th) 2–0
Sat 25 Apr		 0–2
Mon 27 Apr
(2nd Div. 2nd) Manchester City 3–8 Small Heath (1st Div. 15th) 3–0
Sat 25 Apr		 0–8
Mon 27 Apr

Test Match Summary

Reference works, such Encyclopedia of British Football[4] and Association Football[5], present the following table with the heading given above.

Pos Team Pld W D L F A GD Pts
1 Liverpool 4 2 1 1 6 2 + 4 5
2 West Bromwich Albion 4 2 1 1 9 4 + 5 5
3 Small Heath 4 1 1 2 8 7 + 1 3
4 Manchester City 4 1 1 2 5 15 – 10 3
Key
Elected to play in First Division
Invited to play in Second Division

Test Match Consequences

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.

Second Division

Second Division
Season 1895–96
Champions Liverpool (2nd title)
Promoted Liverpool
Failed re-election Crewe Alexandra
Burslem Port Vale
Rotherham Town
Matches played 240
Goals scored 943 (3.93 per match)
Top goalscorer ?
Biggest home win Liverpool – Rotherham 10–1 (18 Feb 1896)
Biggest away win Burton Swifts – Liverpool 0–7 (29 Feb 1896)
Crewe Alexandra – Liverpool 0–7 (28 Mar 1896)
Highest scoring Darwen – Rotherham 10–2 (13 Jan 1896)
Longest winning run ?
Longest unbeaten run ?
Longest losing run ?
Highest attendance ?
Lowest attendance ?
Average attendance ?
Newton Heath (Manchester)
Locations of the Football League Second Division 1895–96 teams
Pos Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A F A GA GD Pts
1 Liverpool[6] 30 14 1 0 65 11 8 1 6 41 21 106 32 3.313 + 74 46
2 Manchester City 30 12 3 0 37 9 9 1 5 26 29 63 38 1.658 + 25 46
3 Grimsby Town 30 14 1 0 51 9 6 1 8 31 29 82 38 2.158 + 44 42
4 Burton Wanderers 30 12 1 2 43 15 7 3 5 26 25 69 40 1.725 + 29 42
5 Newcastle United 30 14 0 1 57 14 2 2 11 16 36 73 50 1.460 + 23 34
6 Newton Heath 30 12 2 1 48 15 3 1 11 18 42 66 57 1.158 + 9 33
7 Woolwich Arsenal 30 11 1 3 43 11 3 3 9 16 31 59 42 1.405 + 17 32
8 Leicester Fosse 30 10 0 5 40 16 4 4 7 17 28 57 44 1.295 + 13 32
9 Darwen 30 9 4 2 55 22 3 2 10 17 45 72 67 1.075 + 5 30
10 Notts County 30 8 1 6 41 22 4 1 10 16 32 57 54 1.056 + 3 26
11 Burton Swifts 30 7 2 6 24 26 3 2 10 15 43 39 69 0.565 – 30 24
12 Loughborough 30 7 3 5 32 25 2 2 11 8 42 40 67 0.597 – 27 23
13 Lincoln City 30 7 1 7 36 24 2 3 10 17 51 53 75 0.707 – 22 22
14 Burslem Port Vale 30 6 4 5 25 24 1 0 14 18 54 43 78 0.551 – 35 18
15 Rotherham Town 30 7 2 6 27 26 0 1 14 7 71 34 97 0.351 – 63 17
16 Crewe Alexandra 30 5 2 8 22 28 0 1 14 8 67 30 95 0.316 – 65 13

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against;
GA = Goal average; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Key
Division Champions, into test matches
Into test matches
New club in the league
Re-elected (none)
Failed re-election or resigned

Second Division Results

Home \ Away1 BPV BRS BRW CRE DRW GRI LEI LIN LIV LOU MNC NEW NWH NTC ROT WOO
Burslem Port Vale 1–0 2–2 2–1 3–3 1–4 1–1 0–1 5–4 1–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 0–4 4–0 0–2
Burton Swifts 2–1 0–2 1–1 1–2 2–1 0–2 4–0 0–7 1–2 1–4 3–1 4–1 0–0 2–0 3–2
Burton Wanderers 2–1 2–1 4–0 3–0 2–1 0–0 4–1 2–1 4–0 4–1 0–3 5–1 1–3 6–1 4–1
Crewe Alexandra 3–2 1–3 0–1 3–1 0–1 1–1 2–2 0–7 1–2 0–2 3–0 0–2 5–1 3–2 0–1
Darwen 8–2 3–0 3–0 6–1 3–3 4–1 5–0 0–4 1–1 2–3 4–4 3–0 2–0 10–2 1–1
Grimsby Town 6–1 3–0 2–1 2–0 5–0 7–1 4–2 1–0 2–0 5–0 2–1 4–2 3–0 4–0 1–1
Leicester Fosse 5–0 2–1 1–3 4–1 2–3 1–2 1–3 2–0 5–0 1–2 2–0 3–0 2–1 8–0 1–0
Lincoln City 4–2 1–2 1–2 6–2 1–0 2–5 2–3 0–1 4–1 1–2 4–0 2–0 2–3 5–0 1–1
Liverpool 5–1 6–1 4–1 6–1 0–0 3–1 3–1 6–1 1–0 3–1 5–1 7–1 3–0 10–1 3–0
Loughborough 3–0 2–2 1–1 4–1 4–1 0–1 1–4 3–0 2–4 2–4 1–0 3–3 1–3 3–0 2–1
Manchester City 1–0 1–1 1–1 4–0 4–1 2–1 2–0 4–0 1–1 5–1 5–2 2–1 2–0 2–0 1–0
Newcastle United 4–2 5–0 4–0 6–0 7–2 1–5 1–0 5–0 1–0 3–0 4–1 2–1 5–1 6–1 3–1
Newton Heath 2–1 5–0 1–2 5–0 4–0 3–2 2–0 5–5 5–2 2–0 1–1 2–1 3–0 3–0 5–1
Notts County 7–2 5–0 1–4 6–0 4–1 5–3 1–2 2–0 2–3 2–0 3–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 3–4
Rotherham Town 0–2 1–4 1–6 4–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–2 0–5 4–0 2–3 1–1 2–3 1–0 3–0
Woolwich Arsenal 2–1 5–0 3–0 7–0 1–3 3–1 1–1 4–0 0–2 6–0 0–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 5–0

Source: Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

See also

References

  1. ^ "England 1895–96". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. http://www.rsssf.com/engpaul/FLA/1895-96.html. Retrieved 2010-02-24. 
  2. ^ a b Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
  3. ^ Not re-elected due to test match results. Invited to join Second Division
  4. ^ Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin: Encyclopedia of British Football, Willow Books, London. Fourth, updated and revised edition, 1984, p. 167.
  5. ^ A. H. Fabian & Green, Geoffrey: Association Football, Volume Two, p. 235. The Caxton Publishing Company Ltd., London, 1960.
  6. ^ Elected to First Division on the basis of test matches results.

External links

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First Division
Aston Villa · Blackburn Rovers · Bolton Wanderers · Burnley · Bury · Derby County · Everton · Nottingham Forest · Preston North End · Sheffield United · Small Heath · Stoke · Sunderland · The Wednesday · West Bromwich Albion · Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division
Burslem Port Vale · Burton Swifts · Burton United · Crewe Alexandra · Darwen · Grimsby Town · Leicester Fosse · Lincoln City · Liverpool · Loughborough · Manchester City · Newcastle United · Newton Heath · Notts County · Rotherham Town · Woolwich Arsenal
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Clapton · Ilford · Luton Town · Millwall Athletic · New Brompton · Reading · Royal Ordnance · Southampton St Mary's · Swindon Town
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