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.
Contents
Football League
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| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Preston North End | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 71 | 30 | 2.367 | 33 |
| 2 | Everton | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 65 | 40 | 1.625 | 31 |
| 3 | Blackburn Rovers | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 78 | 41 | 1.902 | 27 |
| 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[1] | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 43 | 51 | 0.843 | 19 |
| 9 | Bolton Wanderers[1] | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 54 | 65 | 0.831 | 19 |
| 10 | Notts County[2] | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 43 | 51 | 0.843 | 17 |
| 11 | Burnley[2] | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 36 | 65 | 0.554 | 13 |
| 12 | Stoke[3] | 22 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 27 | 69 | 0.391 | 10 |
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 | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Wednesday | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 70 | 39 | 32 |
| 2 | Bootle | 22 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 66 | 39 | 28 |
| 3 | Sunderland Albion | 21 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 64 | 39 | 28[4] |
| 4 | Grimsby Town | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 58 | 47 | 26 |
| 5 | Crewe Alexandra | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 68 | 59 | 24 |
| 6 | Darwen | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 70 | 75 | 22 |
| 7 | Birmingham St George's | 21 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 62 | 49 | 21[4] |
| 8 | Newton Heath | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 40 | 45 | 20 |
| 9 | Walsall Town Swifts | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 44 | 59 | 19 |
| 10 | Small Heath | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 44 | 67 | 17 |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 31 | 62 | 17 |
| 12 | Long Eaton Rangers[5] | 22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 35 | 73 | 10 |
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
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
In the 1890 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
- A = Away match
- BHC = British Home Championship
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers finished equal on 19 points and it was agreed that neither would need to face re-election
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Re-elected
- ↑ Relegated, joined Football Alliance. Sunderland elected in their place.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 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.
- ↑ Dropped out of the Football Alliance to join the Midland League
