1889–90 Football Alliance

The 1889–90 Football Alliance was the first season of the Football Alliance, an association football league which was set up in England as an alternative to The Football League, which had begun in the 1888–89 season. A proposal that the Football League be expanded to 24 teams was rejected, so a new league was formed to cater for those excluded. Twelve clubs were accepted for membership,[1] the same number as in the Football League, and they were drawn from a similar geographical area, stretching from the Midlands to the North West, but also further east in Sheffield, Grimsby and Sunderland.[2]

Football Alliance
Season1889–90
ChampionsThe Wednesday
Dropped outLong Eaton Rangers
Matches played131
Goals scored652 (4.98 per match)

Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw, each team played every other team once at home and once away from home. The Wednesday were the first champions; after hitting an eight-match winning run which started in November, they found themselves at the top of the league by the end of December, and remained there for the rest of the season. Long Eaton Rangers finished last of the 12 clubs and dropped out to join the Midland Football League.[2]

Final league table
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[lower-alpha 1]
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[lower-alpha 1]
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[lower-alpha 2] 22 4 2 16 35 73 0.479 10 Dropped out
Source: [3]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal average.
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.

Results
Home \ Away BSG BOO CRE DRW GRI LER NWH NOT SMH SUA WAL WED
Birmingham St George's 5–1 2–0 4–4 3–3 2–1 5–1 1–3 4–1 –[lower-alpha 1] 5–3 0–2
Bootle 5–1 6–1 7–1 2–1 5–0 4–1 2–0 6–0 3–1 5–1 4–1
Crewe Alexandra 4–2 7–3 3–5 6–0 7–4 2–2 1–1 6–2 2–5 2–3 2–0
Darwen 3–7 3–1 3–2 3–0 3–5 4–1 9–0 4–2 4–4 6–3 4–3
Grimsby Town 5–4 3–2 3–1 7–3 4–1 7–0 4–0 4–0 1–2 4–0 0–4
Long Eaton Rangers 1–5 2–3 1–4 1–2 2–3 0–3 5–3 0–2 1–1 3–2 2–0
Newton Heath LYR 2–1 3–0 1–2 2–1 0–1 3–0 0–1 9–1 4–1 2–1 1–2
Nottingham Forest 2–2 2–2 2–5 3–1 1–2 1–1 1–3 0–0 3–1 3–0 1–3
Small Heath 3–2 2–2 0–2 6–2 3–1 3–1 1–1 12–0 1–3 0–2 2–2
Sunderland Albion 3–1 1–2 5–1 5–1 4–0 5–2 2–0 4–0 6–1 6–2 2–3
Walsall Town Swifts 2–1 1–0 3–4 5–3 2–2 3–1 4–0 1–3 1–1 3–2 2–2
The Wednesday 0–5 2–1 6–4 4–1 4–3 9–1 3–1 3–1 9–1 4–1 4–0
Source: [4]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. When this match was originally played, Birmingham St George's beat Sunderland Albion 5–3. However, the Alliance ruled that the referee had not been properly appointed and ordered the match to be replayed. St George's refused, and the two points were awarded to Sunderland Albion.

Stadia and locations
Locations of the 1889–90 Football Alliance teams
Team Location Stadium Stadium capacity
Birmingham St George's Birmingham Cape Hill[5]
Bootle Bootle Hawthorne Road
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Recreation Ground[6]
Darwen Darwen Barley Bank 12,500[7]
Grimsby Town Grimsby Abbey Park[8] 10,000
Newton Heath Newton Heath North Road 12,000
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Gregory Ground, Lenton[9]
Small Heath Birmingham Coventry Road[10]
Sunderland Albion Sunderland Blue House Field, Hendon[11]
Walsall Town Swifts Walsall The Chuckery[12]
The Wednesday Sheffield Olive Grove[13]
Long Eaton Rangers Long Eaton Recreation Ground[14]

Team kits

These were the kits worn by the teams that season.

Birmingham St George's
Bootle
Crewe Alexandra
Darwen
Grimsby Town
Newton Heath
Nottingham Forest
Small Heath
Sunderland Albion
Walsall Town Swifts
The Wednesday
Long Eaton Rangers

The Football League election process

At the Football League election meeting no vote was taken, but it was agreed that Burnley and Notts County were re-elected to the Football League and that Sunderland was elected to join the League in place of Stoke, who would play in the Football Alliance the following season.

The applications of Football Alliance sides Bootle, Darwen, Grimsby Town, Newton Heath and Sunderland Albion to join the League were rejected.[3]

See also

References
  1. 'Cover-point' (14 May 1889). "Cricket & Football Notes". Sheffield & Rotherham Independent. p. 8. The rejected applicants for admission to the Football League did not lose much time in making other arrangements, which have resulted in the formation of another league under the title of the Football Alliance. This entirely destroys the badly managed Football Combination of last season, and also seriously interferes with the proposed organisation of the Northern and Midland Counties Leagues.
  2. "1889–90". The Owl Football Historian. Andrew Drake. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.
  3. "Football Alliance 1889/90". footballsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 August 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  4. Blakeman, Mick; Brown, Tony; Warsop, Keith, eds. (2009). The Football Alliance Match by Match: 1889/90 to 1891/92. Nottingham: SoccerData. pp. 15–27. ISBN 978-1-905891-19-1.
  5. Baggs, A.P.; Baugh, G.C. & Johnston, D.A. (1976). "Smethwick: Social life". In Greenslade, M.W. (ed.). A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 17: Offlow hundred (part). Victoria County History. pp. 134–136. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013.
  6. Inglis, Simon (1996) [1985]. Football Grounds of Britain (3rd ed.). London: CollinsWillow. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-00-218426-7.
  7. "Barley Bank". Darwen F.C. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  8. Inglis, p. 176.
  9. Inglis, p. 273.
  10. Inglis, p. 44.
  11. Inglis, p. 350.
  12. Inglis, p. 376.
  13. Inglis, p. 326.
  14. "The Football Alliance. Long Eaton Rangers v. Crewe Alexandra". The Sheffield & Rotherham Independent. 23 September 1889. p. 7.
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