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 England 1890–91 →

Football League

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts 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
9 Bolton Wanderers 22 9 1 12 54 65 0.831 19
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 Not re-elected
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored

Football Alliance

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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 GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 The Wednesday 22 15 2 5 70 39 1.795 32 Football Alliance Champions
2 Bootle 22 13 2 7 66 39 1.692 28
3 Sunderland Albion 21 12 2 7 64 39 1.641 28[a]
4 Grimsby Town 22 12 2 8 58 47 1.234 26
5 Crewe Alexandra 22 11 2 9 68 59 1.153 24
6 Darwen 22 10 2 10 70 75 0.933 22
7 Birmingham St George's 21 9 3 9 62 49 1.265 21[a]
8 Newton Heath LYR 22 9 2 11 40 44 0.909 20
9 Walsall Town Swifts 22 8 3 11 44 59 0.746 19
10 Small Heath 22 6 5 11 44 67 0.657 17
11 Nottingham Forest 22 6 5 11 31 62 0.500 17
12 Long Eaton Rangers[b] 22 4 2 16 35 73 0.479 10 Dropped out
Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal average.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b 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

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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

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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 1890 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham (A)   Wales 3–1 BHC Edmund Currey (Oxford University)
Tinsley Lindley (Nottingham Forest)
   
 
15 March 1890 Ballynafeigh Park, Belfast (A)   Ireland 9–1 BHC Fred 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)   Scotland 1–1 BHC Harry Wood (Wolverhampton Wanderers)   17'

* England score given first

Key

References

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  1. ^ "Football Alliance 1889/90". footballsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
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