Season | 1897β98 |
---|---|
Champions | Sheffield United |
Relegated | none |
New Club in League | Luton Town |
β
1896β97
1898β99 β |
The 1897β 98 season was the tenth season of The Football League.
Beginning in the 1894β95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). 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 1976β77 season.
During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893β94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894β95 season and until the 1920β21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.
Season | 1897β98 |
---|---|
Champions |
Sheffield United 1st English title |
Matches played | 240 |
Goals scored | 724 (3.02 per match) |
Top goalscorer |
Fred Wheldon (21 goals) |
Biggest home win |
Everton 6β1
West Bromwich Albion (27 November 1897) Derby County 5β0 Nottingham Forest (11 April 1898) Wolverhampton Wanderers 5β0 The Wednesday (16 April 1898) |
Biggest away win |
Liverpool 0β4
Sheffield United (5 February 1898) |
Highest scoring |
The Wednesday 3β6
Nottingham Forest (1 January 1898) |
Longest winning run | 7 matches Sunderland |
Longest unbeaten run | 14 matches Sheffield United |
Longest losing run | 5 matches Stoke |
Highest attendance | 50,000 Aston Villa 1β2 Sheffield United (15 January 1898) |
Lowest attendance | 1,000 West Bromwich Albion 2β1 Liverpool (13 November 1897) |
Average attendance | 9,396 |
β
1896β97
1898β99 β |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sheffield United (C) | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 56 | 31 | 1.806 | 42 | |
2 | Sunderland | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 43 | 30 | 1.433 | 37 | |
3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 41 | 1.390 | 35 | |
4 | Everton | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 39 | 1.231 | 35 | |
5 | The Wednesday | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 51 | 42 | 1.214 | 33 | |
6 | Aston Villa | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 61 | 51 | 1.196 | 33 | |
7 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 44 | 45 | 0.978 | 32 | |
8 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 47 | 49 | 0.959 | 31 | |
9 | Liverpool | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 48 | 45 | 1.067 | 28 | |
10 | Derby County | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 57 | 61 | 0.934 | 28 | |
11 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 28 | 41 | 0.683 | 26 | |
12 | Preston North End | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 43 | 0.814 | 24 | |
13 | Notts County | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 36 | 46 | 0.783 | 24 | |
14 | Bury | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 51 | 0.765 | 24 | |
15 | Blackburn Rovers [a] | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 39 | 54 | 0.722 | 24 | Qualification for test matches |
16 | Stoke (O) | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 55 | 0.636 | 24 |
Season | 1897β98 |
---|---|
Champions | Burnley |
Promoted |
Burnley Newcastle United |
Matches played | 240 |
Goals scored | 860 (3.58 per match) |
Top goalscorer |
Henry Boyd (23 goals) [1] |
Biggest home win |
Manchester City 9β0
Burton Swifts (16 April 1898) |
Biggest away win |
Loughborough 0β5
Gainsborough Trinity (5 February 1898) |
Highest scoring |
Luton Town 9β3
Lincoln City (18 December 1897) Burnley 9β3 Loughborough (28 March 1898) |
Longest winning run | 7 matches Manchester City |
Longest unbeaten run | 16 matches Burnley |
Longest losing run | 11 matches Darwen Loughborough |
β
1896β97
1898β99 β |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Burnley (C, O, P) | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 80 | 24 | 3.333 | 48 | Qualification for test matches |
2 | Newcastle United (O, P) | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 64 | 32 | 2.000 | 45 | |
3 | Manchester City | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 66 | 36 | 1.833 | 39 | |
4 | Newton Heath | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 35 | 1.829 | 38 | |
5 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 49 | 1.408 | 37 | |
6 | Small Heath | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 1.160 | 36 | |
7 | Leicester Fosse | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 46 | 35 | 1.314 | 33 | |
8 | Luton Town | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 68 | 50 | 1.360 | 30 | |
9 | Gainsborough Trinity | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 50 | 54 | 0.926 | 30 | |
10 | Walsall | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 58 | 58 | 1.000 | 29 | |
11 | Blackpool | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 49 | 61 | 0.803 | 25 | |
12 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 52 | 62 | 0.839 | 24 | |
13 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 69 | 0.551 | 21 | |
14 | Lincoln City | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 43 | 82 | 0.524 | 17 | Re-elected |
15 | Darwen | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 31 | 76 | 0.408 | 14 | |
16 | Loughborough | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 87 | 0.276 | 14 |
The Football League test matches were a set of play-offs, in which the bottom First Division teams faced the top Second Division teams. Each First Division team plays both Second Division teams in a mini league format, the top two finishers would then be considered for election for First Division membership whilst the bottom two finishers would be invited to play in the Second Division.
The First Division teams, if finishing in the top two, would retain their places in the division. If a Second Division team does so, it would be considered for First Division membership through an election process. Bottom-two Second Division teams would stay in the Second Division.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
(1st Div. 15th) Blackburn Rovers | 1β5 | Burnley (2nd Div. Champions) | 1β3 Thu 21 Apr |
0β2 Sat 23 Apr |
(2nd Div. 2nd) Newcastle United | 2β2 | Stoke (1st Div. 16th) | 2β1 Wed 20 Apr |
0β1 Sat 23 Apr |
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
(2nd Div. Champions) Burnley | 0β2 | Stoke (1st Div. 16th) | 0β2 Tue 26 Apr |
0β0 Sat 30 Apr |
(1st Div. 15th) Blackburn Rovers | 4β7 | Newcastle United (2nd Div. 2nd) | 4β3 Thu 28 Apr |
0β4 Sat 30 Apr |
Reference works, such Encyclopedia of British Football, [2] and Association Football [3] present the following table with the heading given above.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Stoke | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | Elected to play in First Division |
2 | Burnley | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 | |
3 | Newcastle United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 4 | To remain in Second Division, eventually elected to First Division |
4 | Blackburn Rovers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 2 |
Burnley and Stoke City entered the last match needing a draw for promotion (or in Stoke's case to retain their First Division place). A 0β0 draw ensued, reportedly 'The Match without a shot at goal' and the League immediately withdrew the Test Match system in favour of automatic promotion and relegation. Ironically, the League also decided to expand the top division to 18 teams after the Test Match series of 1897β98 and the other two teams, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United were elected into the top division for the following season, [4] negating the effect of Burnley and Stoke's reputed collusion. In the end, the test matches and their results seem to have served no particular purpose. After this season the test matches were scrapped in favour of direct promotion and relegation.
Season | 1897β98 |
---|---|
Champions | Sheffield United |
Relegated | none |
New Club in League | Luton Town |
β
1896β97
1898β99 β |
The 1897β 98 season was the tenth season of The Football League.
Beginning in the 1894β95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). 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 1976β77 season.
During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893β94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894β95 season and until the 1920β21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.
Season | 1897β98 |
---|---|
Champions |
Sheffield United 1st English title |
Matches played | 240 |
Goals scored | 724 (3.02 per match) |
Top goalscorer |
Fred Wheldon (21 goals) |
Biggest home win |
Everton 6β1
West Bromwich Albion (27 November 1897) Derby County 5β0 Nottingham Forest (11 April 1898) Wolverhampton Wanderers 5β0 The Wednesday (16 April 1898) |
Biggest away win |
Liverpool 0β4
Sheffield United (5 February 1898) |
Highest scoring |
The Wednesday 3β6
Nottingham Forest (1 January 1898) |
Longest winning run | 7 matches Sunderland |
Longest unbeaten run | 14 matches Sheffield United |
Longest losing run | 5 matches Stoke |
Highest attendance | 50,000 Aston Villa 1β2 Sheffield United (15 January 1898) |
Lowest attendance | 1,000 West Bromwich Albion 2β1 Liverpool (13 November 1897) |
Average attendance | 9,396 |
β
1896β97
1898β99 β |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sheffield United (C) | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 56 | 31 | 1.806 | 42 | |
2 | Sunderland | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 43 | 30 | 1.433 | 37 | |
3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 41 | 1.390 | 35 | |
4 | Everton | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 39 | 1.231 | 35 | |
5 | The Wednesday | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 51 | 42 | 1.214 | 33 | |
6 | Aston Villa | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 61 | 51 | 1.196 | 33 | |
7 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 44 | 45 | 0.978 | 32 | |
8 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 47 | 49 | 0.959 | 31 | |
9 | Liverpool | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 48 | 45 | 1.067 | 28 | |
10 | Derby County | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 57 | 61 | 0.934 | 28 | |
11 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 28 | 41 | 0.683 | 26 | |
12 | Preston North End | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 43 | 0.814 | 24 | |
13 | Notts County | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 36 | 46 | 0.783 | 24 | |
14 | Bury | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 51 | 0.765 | 24 | |
15 | Blackburn Rovers [a] | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 39 | 54 | 0.722 | 24 | Qualification for test matches |
16 | Stoke (O) | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 55 | 0.636 | 24 |
Season | 1897β98 |
---|---|
Champions | Burnley |
Promoted |
Burnley Newcastle United |
Matches played | 240 |
Goals scored | 860 (3.58 per match) |
Top goalscorer |
Henry Boyd (23 goals) [1] |
Biggest home win |
Manchester City 9β0
Burton Swifts (16 April 1898) |
Biggest away win |
Loughborough 0β5
Gainsborough Trinity (5 February 1898) |
Highest scoring |
Luton Town 9β3
Lincoln City (18 December 1897) Burnley 9β3 Loughborough (28 March 1898) |
Longest winning run | 7 matches Manchester City |
Longest unbeaten run | 16 matches Burnley |
Longest losing run | 11 matches Darwen Loughborough |
β
1896β97
1898β99 β |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Burnley (C, O, P) | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 80 | 24 | 3.333 | 48 | Qualification for test matches |
2 | Newcastle United (O, P) | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 64 | 32 | 2.000 | 45 | |
3 | Manchester City | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 66 | 36 | 1.833 | 39 | |
4 | Newton Heath | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 35 | 1.829 | 38 | |
5 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 49 | 1.408 | 37 | |
6 | Small Heath | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 1.160 | 36 | |
7 | Leicester Fosse | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 46 | 35 | 1.314 | 33 | |
8 | Luton Town | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 68 | 50 | 1.360 | 30 | |
9 | Gainsborough Trinity | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 50 | 54 | 0.926 | 30 | |
10 | Walsall | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 58 | 58 | 1.000 | 29 | |
11 | Blackpool | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 49 | 61 | 0.803 | 25 | |
12 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 52 | 62 | 0.839 | 24 | |
13 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 69 | 0.551 | 21 | |
14 | Lincoln City | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 43 | 82 | 0.524 | 17 | Re-elected |
15 | Darwen | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 31 | 76 | 0.408 | 14 | |
16 | Loughborough | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 87 | 0.276 | 14 |
The Football League test matches were a set of play-offs, in which the bottom First Division teams faced the top Second Division teams. Each First Division team plays both Second Division teams in a mini league format, the top two finishers would then be considered for election for First Division membership whilst the bottom two finishers would be invited to play in the Second Division.
The First Division teams, if finishing in the top two, would retain their places in the division. If a Second Division team does so, it would be considered for First Division membership through an election process. Bottom-two Second Division teams would stay in the Second Division.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
(1st Div. 15th) Blackburn Rovers | 1β5 | Burnley (2nd Div. Champions) | 1β3 Thu 21 Apr |
0β2 Sat 23 Apr |
(2nd Div. 2nd) Newcastle United | 2β2 | Stoke (1st Div. 16th) | 2β1 Wed 20 Apr |
0β1 Sat 23 Apr |
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
(2nd Div. Champions) Burnley | 0β2 | Stoke (1st Div. 16th) | 0β2 Tue 26 Apr |
0β0 Sat 30 Apr |
(1st Div. 15th) Blackburn Rovers | 4β7 | Newcastle United (2nd Div. 2nd) | 4β3 Thu 28 Apr |
0β4 Sat 30 Apr |
Reference works, such Encyclopedia of British Football, [2] and Association Football [3] present the following table with the heading given above.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Stoke | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | Elected to play in First Division |
2 | Burnley | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 | |
3 | Newcastle United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 4 | To remain in Second Division, eventually elected to First Division |
4 | Blackburn Rovers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 2 |
Burnley and Stoke City entered the last match needing a draw for promotion (or in Stoke's case to retain their First Division place). A 0β0 draw ensued, reportedly 'The Match without a shot at goal' and the League immediately withdrew the Test Match system in favour of automatic promotion and relegation. Ironically, the League also decided to expand the top division to 18 teams after the Test Match series of 1897β98 and the other two teams, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United were elected into the top division for the following season, [4] negating the effect of Burnley and Stoke's reputed collusion. In the end, the test matches and their results seem to have served no particular purpose. After this season the test matches were scrapped in favour of direct promotion and relegation.