1895–96 Football League
The 1895–1896 season was the eighth season of The Football League.
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.
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
| Season | 1895–96 |
|---|---|
| Champions |
Aston Villa (2nd English title) |
| Relegated | Small Heath |
| 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 |
9 matches Everton (2 Nov 1895 – 11 Jan 1896) |
| Longest unbeaten run |
14 matches Everton (19 Oct 1895 – 18 Feb 1896) |
| Longest losing run |
6 matches Small Heath (2 Sep 1895 – 12 Oct 1895) Burnley (22 Nov 1895 – 21 Dec 1895) |
| Highest attendance |
30.000 Everton - Aston Villa (21 Dec 1895) |
| Lowest attendance |
560 West Bromwich Albion - Blackburn Rovers (29 Apr 1896) |
| Average attendance | 7.682 |
|
← 1894–95 1896–97 → | |
| 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 | –9 | 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 ╲ Away | AST | BLB | BOL | BUR | BRY | DER | EVE | NOT | PNE | SHU | SMH | STK | 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 ^ The 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.
- Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion, winners of the first round matches, and appearing on the top of the summary table, were elected to play in the 1st Division the following season.
- Small Heath and Manchester City, who lost in the first round, were not elected to play in 1st Division, but were invited to play in the 2nd 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 | George Allan (Liverpool), 26 |
| 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 |
10 matches Liverpool F.C. (7 Dec 1895 – 7 Mar 1896) |
| Longest unbeaten run |
10 matches Burton Wanderers (19 Oct 1895 – 4 Jan 1896) Liverpool F.C. (7 Dec 1895 – 7 Mar 1896) |
| Longest losing run |
6 matches Lincoln City F.C. (21 Sep 1895 – 26 Oct 1895) |
|
← 1894–95 1896–97 → | |
| 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 | 42 | 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 | 41 | 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 ╲ Away | BPV | BRS | BRW | CRE | DRW | GRI | LEI | LIN | LIV | LOU | MCI | 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.
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
See also
References
- ↑ "England 1895–96". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- 1 2 Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
- ↑ Not re-elected due to test match results. Invited to join Second Division
- ↑ Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin: Encyclopedia of British Football, Willow Books, London. Fourth, updated and revised edition, 1984, p. 167.
- ↑ A. H. Fabian & Green, Geoffrey: Association Football, Volume Two, p. 235. The Caxton Publishing Company Ltd., London, 1960.
- ↑ Elected to First Division on the basis of test matches results.
External links
- Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
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