1895–96 Everton F.C. season

Everton
1895–96 season
Manager Dick Molyneux
The Football League Third
Top goalscorer Alf Milward 19
Highest home attendance 30,000 vs Aston Villa 21 December 1895
Lowest home attendance 7,000 vs Wolves 2 November 1895
Average home league attendance 15,242
Home colours

The 1895/96 Football League season was the eighth in Football League history with Everton having been an ever present in the top division. The club played thirty-three games in England's two major competitions, winning eighteen, drawing seven and losing eight.[1] The club finished the season in third place, six points adrift of Champions Aston Villa,[2] and were defeated in the quarter final of the F A Cup by eventual winners The Wednesday.[3] Their Goodison Park home hosted the drawn semi final between Wednesday and Bolton Wanderers.[4]

Season review

The Everton board kept faith in the squad that had finished runners up the previous season with no major signings or departures during the summer. This meant that Jack Hillman was the undisputed first choice goalkeeper for the season and would go on to play all bar the final game in which Harry Briggs made his club debut in a 2-1 victory at Stoke. Bob Kelso, Charlie Parry and James Adams resumed their battle for the two full back positions from the previous season. Adams missed the first game of the season but returned to miss just one other game as he established himself as the first choice full back but Both Kelso and Parry fell out of favour as reserve, Smart Arridge emerged as a solid full back partner to Adams. Kelso, who played the first five games of the season, made just one further appearance for the club in the half back line before leaving to join Dundee in February. Parry's long love, hate relationship with the Goodison Park club finally came to an end after his second appearance of the season when he gave away a penalty, which was missed, in a 3-4 defeat at Aston Villa in September.[5] Before the year was out the Welsh International defender had moved on to Ardwick.

The solid half back line of Dickie Boyle, Johnny Holt and Billy Stewart, considered so instrumental in the club's title push last year was unsurprisingly unaltered and the trio continued in the same vein as they had done the previous year. Hugh Goldie, a summer signing from St Mirren proved a successful reserve when required and regularly filled in for the regular trio when required.

Everton were strongest in the forward line where Jack Bell, Tom McInnes, Edgar Chadwick and Alf Milward remained regulars but the club's record hat-trick scorer, Alex Latta began to find opportunities limited as he slipped down the pecking order behind Abe Hartley. The arrival of John Cameron, yet another Scot, from Queens Park, in September [6] further reduced Latta's opportunities and he left before the end of the season for local rivals Liverpool.[7]

While the club seemed prepared to mount a fresh title challenge on the field, they were anything but prepared off it as chairman, George Mahon announced a healthy £6,000 profit at the club agm before promptly resigning, along with four other directors over 'actute administrative difficulties'. Six new directors were elected along with a new Chairman, Dr Baxter who pushed through the building of a new stand on the Bullens Road end of the ground and put a roof on the Goodison Road Stand.[8]

The club made an indifferent start to the League campaign, winning four, drawing three and losing four of their first eleven games before embarking on a run of nine consecutive victories from November to January that took them top of the table and marked them as favourites to win their second League Title.[9]

The Toffeemen were knocked off the top of the table on 4 January when Derby County won a game in hand to go a point clear. The Merseysiders' title challenge stuttered in the first three months of the year, winning just two of their next six games and leaving the club six points adrift of Aston Villa but with four games and eight points to play for against Villa's two remaining games. On 3 April Everton embarked on a hectic schedule of four games in eight days to win the title but their hopes were dashed at the first hurdle when a 2-2 draw at home to Derby County was coupled with victory for Villa at Nottingham Forest to leave Everton seven points adrift with just three games to play.

The Toffeemen finished the season in third position, six points behind champions, Villa, one place and three points worse off than when finishing Runners Up the previous season.

In the F.A. Cup Everton came through their first two ties comfortably defeating top flight opponents Nottingham Forest in Nottingham and Sheffield United at Goodison Park to an aggregate of 5-0. However confidence was low when the side traveled to Sheffield Wednesday on quarter final day, just nine days after the side had lost a League game at the same venue 1-3. They fared even worse in the cup tie, losing 0-4 to the eventual cup winners.[10]

Final league table

PosClubPWDLFAGAPts
1Aston Villa30205578451.73345
2Derby County30177668351.94341
3Everton30167766431.53539
4Bolton Wanderers30165949371.32437
5Sunderland30157852411.26837
6Stoke301501556471.19130
7The Wednesday301251344530.83029
8Blackburn Rovers301251340500.80029
9Preston North End301161344480.91728
10Burnley301071348441.09127
11Bury301231550540.92627
12Sheffield United301061440500.80026
13Nottingham Forest301131642570.73725
14Wolverhampton Wanderers301011961650.93821
15Small Heath30841839790.49420
16West Bromwich Albion30671730590.50819

Key: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points

The Football League

Everton home games were played at Goodison Park while away games were played at the venues stated

Date Opponents venue Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
2 September 1895 Sheffield Wednesday Goodison Park 2-2 Dickie Boyle, Alf Milward 15,000
7 September 1895 Nottingham Forest Goodison Park 6-2 Edgar Chadwick {2}, Alf Milward {2} Jack Bell, Albert Flewitt 16,000
9 September 1895 Bury Goodison Park 3–2 Jack Bell, Alf Milward, Edgar Chadwick 8,000
14 September 1895 Bolton Wanderers Burnden Park 1–3 Tom McInnes 14,000
21 September 1895 Blackburn Rovers Goodison Park 0–2 20,000
28 September 1895 Wolverhampton Wanderers Molineux Stadium 3–2 Tom McInnes {2}, Alf Milward 6,000
30 September 1895 Aston Villa Wellington Road 3–4 Jack Bell {3} 15,000
5 October 1895 Sheffield United Goodison Park 5–0 Alex Latta, Edgar Chadwick {3}, Alf Milward 10,000
12 October 1895 Nottingham Forest Town Ground 1-2 Edgar Chadwick 8,000
19 October 1895 West Bromwich Albion Goodison Park 1–1 Alf Milward 18,900
26 October 1895 Burnley Turf Moor 1–1 Abe Hartley 8,000
2 November 1895 Wolverhampton Wanderers Goodison Park 2–0 Edgard Chadwick, Alf Milward 7,000
9 November 1895 Sheffield United Bramall Lane 2–1 Alf Milward, Abe Hartley 4,000
16 November 1895 Sunderland Goodison Park 1–0 Alf Milward 15,000
23 November 1895 West Bromwich Albion Stoney Lane 3–0 Tom McInnes, Abe Hartley, Alf Milward 3,950
30 November 1895 Burnley Goodison Park 2–1 James Adams, Dickie Boyle 14,000
7 December 1895 Small Heath Muntz Street 3-0 Alf Milward {3} 3,000
14 December 1895 Stoke Goodison Park 7–2 Tom McInnes {3}, Jack Bell {2}, John Cameron, Alf Milward 10,000
21 December 1895 Aston Villa Goodison Park 2–0 Jack Bell, Tom Mcinnes 30,000
1 January 1896 Blackburn Rovers Ewood Park 3–2 Jack Bell, Edgar Chadwick, Murray (own goal) 20,000
11 January 1896 Bury Gigg Lane 1-1 Alf Milward 9,000
25 January 1896 Preston North End Goodison Park 1–1 Edgar Chadwick 10,000
3 February 1896 Small Heath Goodison Park 3–0 Abe Hartley {2}, Hugh Goldie 8,000
18 February 1896 Wednesday Olive Grove 1–3 John Cameron 8,000
22 February 1896 Sunderland Newcastle Road 0–3 7,000
7 March 1896 Preston North End Goodison Park 3–2 Alf Milward, Dickie Boyle, Abe Hartley 12,000
3 April 1896 Derby County Goodison Park 2–2 John Cameron 25,000
6 April 1896 Bolton Wanderers Goodison Park 1–1 Edgar Chadwick 15,000
7 April 1896 Derby County Baseball Ground 1–2 William Williams 7,000
11 April 1896 Stoke Victoria Ground 2–1 Abe Hartley, Alf Schofield 3,000

Football Association Challenge Cup

Date Round Opponents Venue Result

F – A

Scorers Attendance
1 February 1896 First Nottingham Forest Town Ground 2–0 Edgard Chadwick, Alf Milward 15,000
15 February 1896 Second Sheffield United Goodison Park 3–0 Jack Bell, John Cameron, Alf Milward {penalty} 20,000
29 February 1896 Quarter Final Wednesday Olive Grove 0–4 12,000

First Team Squad and Appearances

Pos. Name League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GKEngland Jack Hillman 29030320
GKEngland Harry Briggs 100010
FBScotland James Adams 28130311
FBWales Smart Arridge 23020250
FBWales Charlie Parry 200020
FB/HBScotland Bob Kelso 601070
FB|HBScotland David Storrier 301040
HBScotland Dickie Boyle 30330331
HBScotland William Stewart 28030310
HBEngland Johnny Holt 14020160
HBScotland John Robertson 100010
HBEngland Jack Elliott 100010
HB|FWScotland Hugh Goldie 15110161
FWEngland Alf Milward 3017223219
FWEngland Edgar Chadwick 2811313112
FWScotland Jack Bell 279313010
FWScotland Tom McInnes 19810208
FWScotland Abe Hartley 15717167
FWScotland John Cameron 13431165
FWEngland William Williams 810081
FWScotland Alex Latta 510051
FWEngland Albert Flewitt 310031
FWEngland Alf Schofield 111021
Own goals 101

References

  1. "Everton Stats / Match / evertonfc.com - The Official Website of Everton Football Club". Evertonfc.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
  2. "Everton 1887-1929 stats". Evertonfc.com.
  3. "1896 Fa Cup Final Medal - SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY FC - Sheffield History - Sheffield Memories". Sheffield History. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
  4. "Goodison Park, Liverpool". Stevesfootballstats.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
  5. Liverpool Mercury Newspaper 1 October 1895
  6. "John Cameron : Biography". Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. 1935-04-20. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
  7. "Liverpool v Everton Switching Sides". Lfcstats.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
  8. The Everton Story, Derek Hodgson, page 20, 1985
  9. "Everton 1895-1896 results". statto.com.
  10. "Sheffield Wednesday football club: record v Everton". 11v11.com.
  11. "Everton Stats / Match / evertonfc.com - The Official Website of Everton Football Club". Evertonfc.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
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