1889–90 in English football

The 1889–90 season was the 19th season of competitive football in England. Preston North End were Football League champions for the second successive season while The Wednesday finished top of the newly formed Football Alliance. Blackburn Rovers won the FA Cup.

Football in England
Season1889–90
Men's football
Football LeaguePreston North End
FA CupBlackburn Rovers
← 1888–89 1890–91 →

Football League
Main article: 1889–90 Football League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Preston North End 22 15 3 4 71 30 2.367 33 League Champions
2 Everton 22 14 3 5 65 40 1.625 31
3 Blackburn Rovers 22 12 3 7 78 41 1.902 27 FA Cup Winners
4 Wolverhampton Wanderers 22 10 5 7 51 38 1.342 25
5 West Bromwich Albion 22 11 3 8 47 50 0.940 25
6 Accrington 22 9 6 7 53 56 0.946 24
7 Derby County 22 9 3 10 43 55 0.782 21
8 Aston Villa 22 7 5 10 43 51 0.843 19[lower-alpha 1]
9 Bolton Wanderers 22 9 1 12 54 65 0.831 19[lower-alpha 1]
10 Notts County 22 6 5 11 43 51 0.843 17 Re-elected
11 Burnley 22 4 5 13 36 65 0.554 13
12 Stoke 22 3 4 15 27 69 0.391 10 Failed re-election[lower-alpha 2]
Source:
Notes:
  1. Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers finished equal on 19 points and it was agreed that neither would need to face re-election.
  2. Not re-elected, joined Football Alliance. Sunderland elected in their place.

Football Alliance
Main article: 1889–90 Football Alliance

A new competition, the Football Alliance, started this season. It was formed by 12 clubs as a rival to The Football League, which had begun in the 1888–89 season, also with 12 member clubs. The Alliance covered a similar area to the League, stretching from the Midlands to the North West, but also further east in Sheffield, Grimsby and Sunderland.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 The Wednesday 22 15 2 5 70 39 +31 32 Football Alliance Champions
2 Bootle 22 13 2 7 66 39 +27 28
3 Sunderland Albion 21 12 2 7 64 39 +25 28[lower-alpha 1]
4 Grimsby Town 22 12 2 8 58 47 +11 26
5 Crewe Alexandra 22 11 2 9 68 59 +9 24
6 Darwen 22 10 2 10 70 75 −5 22
7 Birmingham St George's 21 9 3 9 62 49 +13 21[lower-alpha 1]
8 Newton Heath LYR 22 9 2 11 40 44 −4 20
9 Walsall Town Swifts 22 8 3 11 44 59 −15 19
10 Small Heath 22 6 5 11 44 67 −23 17
11 Nottingham Forest 22 6 5 11 31 62 −31 17
12 Long Eaton Rangers[lower-alpha 2] 22 4 2 16 35 73 −38 10 Dropped out
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. Sunderland Albion's point total includes two points awarded after Birmingham St George's refused to fulfil a fixture against them which had been ordered to be replayed by the management committee.
  2. Dropped out of the Football Alliance to join the Midland League.

FA Cup
Main article: 1889–90 FA Cup

The FA Cup was won by Blackburn Rovers, who beat The Wednesday 6–1 in the 1890 FA Cup Final to lift the trophy for the fourth time.

National team

In the 1889–90 British Home Championship, England played matches against Wales and Ireland on the same day, 15 March 1890, winning both comfortably. The team for the Wales match were mainly amateur players, whereas the team against Ireland were all professional players. The Irish goal was scored by Jack Reynolds, who later played for England.

In the deciding match against Scotland, the teams drew 1–1 and shared the trophy.

Date Venue Opponents Score* Competition England scorers Goals and times
15 March 1890Racecourse Ground, Wrexham (A) Wales3–1BHCEdmund Currey (Oxford University)
Tinsley Lindley (Nottingham Forest)
15 March 1890Ballynafeigh Park, Belfast (A) Ireland9–1BHCFred Geary (Everton)
William Townley (Blackburn Rovers)
Joe Lofthouse (Blackburn Rovers)
Kenny Davenport (Bolton Wanderers)
John Barton (Blackburn Rovers)		 15'  60'  80'
 16'  84'
 40'
 46'  75'
 88'
5 April 1890(Second) Hampden Park, Glasgow (A) Scotland1–1BHCHarry Wood (Wolverhampton Wanderers) 17'

* England score given first

Key

References
  1. "1889–90". The Owl Football Historian. Andrew Drake. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.
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