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, 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.
| Season | 1889–90 |
|---|---|
| Champions | The Wednesday |
| Dropped out | Long Eaton Rangers |
| Matches played | 131 |
| Goals scored | 652 (4.98 per match) |
1890–91 → | |
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.
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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 35 | 73 | 0.479 | 10 | Dropped out |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal average.
Notes:
