1889–90 Football League

The Football League

Season	1889–90
Champions	Preston North End (2nd successive English title)
Relegated	Stoke
FA Cup winners	Blackburn Rovers (4th FA Cup title)
Matches played	132
Goals scored	611 (4.63 per match)
Top goalscorer	Jimmy Ross (Preston North End), 24 [1]
Biggest home win	Preston North End –Stoke 10–0 (14 Sept 1889)
Biggest away win	Accrington –Notts County 1–8 (12 Oct 1889)
Highest scoring	Preston North End –Stoke 10–0 (14 Sept 1889) Blackburn Rovers –Notts County 9–1 (16 Nov 1889) Wolverhampton –Burnley 9–1 (7 Dec 1889)
Longest winning run	6 –Everton and Preston North End
Longest unbeaten run	7 –Preston North End (twice), Accrington and Blackburn Rovers
Longest losing run	10 –Stoke
← 1888–89 1890–91 →

The Football League 1889–1890 was the second season of English league football, with Preston North End being crowned as the champions for the second successive season. The clubs competing were the 12 original clubs which were the founders of the league the previous year. Unlike the modern system, two points were awarded for a win, with one for a draw and no points for a loss; this system was carried on until the 1980s when teams were awarded three points for a win.

Final league table

The table below is reproduced here in the exact form that it can be found at the The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website^[2] and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79,^[3] 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.^[3]

Pos	Team	Pld		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		F	A	GA	GD		Pts
1	Preston North End	22		8	1	2	41	12		7	2	2	30	18		71	30	2.367	+41		33
2	Everton	22		8	2	1	40	15		6	1	4	25	25		65	40	1.625	+25		31
3	Blackburn Rovers	22		9	0	2	59	18		3	3	5	19	23		78	41	1.902	+37		27
4	Wolverhampton Wanderers	22		6	3	2	28	14		4	2	5	23	24		51	38	1.342	+13		25
5	West Bromwich Albion	22		8	1	2	37	20		3	2	6	10	30		47	50	0.940	–3		25
6	Accrington	22		6	4	1	33	25		3	2	6	20	31		53	56	0.946	–3		24
7	Derby County	22		8	2	1	32	13		1	1	9	11	42		43	55	0.782	–12		21
8	Aston Villa[4]	22		6	2	3	30	15		1	3	7	13	36		43	51	0.843	–8		19
9	Bolton Wanderers[4]	22		6	1	4	37	24		3	0	8	17	41		54	65	0.831	–11		19
10	Notts County	22		4	3	4	20	19		2	2	7	23	32		43	51	0.843	–8		17
11	Burnley	22		3	1	7	20	21		1	4	6	16	44		36	65	0.554	–29		13
12	Stoke[5]	22		2	3	6	18	20		1	1	9	9	49		27	69	0.391	–42		10

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
	Re-elected
	Failed re-election

Results

Match results are drawn from The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation website^[2] and Rothmans.^[3]

Home ╲ Away

ACC

AST

BLB

BOL

BUR

DER

EVE

NTC

PNE

STK

WBA

WOL

Accrington F.C.

4–2

2–2

3–1

2–2

6–1

5–3

1–8

2–2

2–1

0–0

6–3

Aston Villa

1–2

3–0

1–2

2–2

7–1

1–2

1–1

5–3

6–1

1–0

2–1

Blackburn Rovers

3–2

7–0

7–1

7–1

4–2

2–4

9–1

3–4

8–0

5–0

4–3

Bolton Wanderers

2–4

2–0

3–2

2–2

7–1

3–4

0–4

2–6

5–0

7–0

4–1

Burnley

2–2

2–6

1–2

7–0

2–0

0–1

3–0

0–3

1–3

1–2

1–2

Derby County

2–3

5–0

4–0

3–2

4–1

2–2

2–0

2–1

2–0

3–1

3–3

Everton

2–2

7–0

3–2

3–0

2–1

3–0

5–3

1–5

8–0

5–1

1–1

Notts County

3–1

1–1

1–1

3–5

1–1

3–1

4–3

0–1

3–1

1–2

0–2

Preston North End

3–1

3–2

1–1

3–1

6–0

5–0

1–2

4–3

10–0

5–0

0–2

Stoke

7–1

1–1

0–3

0–1

3–4

1–1

1–2

1–1

1–2

1–3

2–1

West Bromwich Albion

4–1

3–0

3–2

6–3

6–1

2–3

4–1

4–2

2–2

2–1

1–4

Wolverhampton Wanderers

2–1

1–1

2–4

5–1

9–1

2–1

2–1

2–0

0–1

2–2

1–1

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

Re-election process

At the Football League election meeting no vote was taken, and it was agreed that Burnley and Notts County were re-elected and that Sunderland was elected in place of Stoke, who played in the Football Alliance the following season but returned to the Football League after a year’s absence.

The applications of Football Alliance sides Bootle, Darwen, Grimsby Town, Newton Heath and Sunderland Albion were rejected.^[6]

See also

• 1889-90 in English football
• 1889 in association football
• 1890 in association football

References

1. "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
2. "England 1889-90". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
3. Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.
4. Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers finished equal on 19 points and it was agreed that neither would need to face re-election.
5. Not re-elected, joined Football Alliance. Sunderland elected in their place.
6. footballsite.co.uk

External links

• "Final 1889/1890 English Division 1 (old) Table". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
• "England 1889-90". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
• Ian Laschke: Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79. Macdonald and Jane’s, London & Sydney, 1980.