1896–97 in English football

Overview

Aston Villa became the second team (after Preston North End) to complete "the Double" of winning the Football League Championship and the FA Cup. No other team would complete the double for 64 years.

The Aston Villa team of 1897 that won The Double.

The Cup Final was played on 10 April 1897 between Aston Villa and Everton. At the start of the day, the top of the league table looked thus:[1]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Aston Villa 27 18 5 4 64 38 1.684 41
2 Derby County 26 15 4 7 66 43 1.535 34
3 Sheffield United 28 12 10 6 40 27 1.481 34
4 Preston North End 26 11 10 5 55 37 1.486 32
5 Liverpool 29 12 8 9 46 38 1.211 32
Source:

Consequently, with a total of 30 league games to play in the season, only Derby County had any "mathematical" possibility of overtaking Aston Villa to take the title. To do so, they would have needed to take at least seven points from their remaining four games, with Aston Villa losing their remaining three games. In the event, Derby lost 1–0 at Bury and Aston Villa were thus confirmed as League Champions on the same day that they went on to win the Cup. As a result, Villa became the first, and so far, only team to date to achieve the league and cup "double" on the same day.

Honours
CompetitionWinner
First DivisionAston Villa (3*)
Second DivisionNotts County
FA CupAston Villa (3)
Home Championship Scotland

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Football League
Main article: 1896–97 Football League

First Division
Main article: 1896–97 Football League § First Division

The First Division was won by Aston Villa.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification
1 Aston Villa 30 21 5 4 73 38 1.921 47[lower-alpha 1] League Champions
2 Sheffield United 30 13 10 7 42 29 1.448 36
3 Derby County 30 16 4 10 70 50 1.400 36
4 Preston North End 30 11 12 7 55 40 1.375 34
5 Liverpool 30 12 9 9 46 38 1.211 33
6 The Wednesday 30 10 11 9 42 37 1.135 31
7 Everton 30 14 3 13 62 57 1.088 31
8 Bolton Wanderers 30 12 6 12 40 43 0.930 30
9 Bury 30 10 10 10 39 44 0.886 30
10 Wolverhampton Wanderers 30 11 6 13 45 41 1.098 28
11 Nottingham Forest 30 9 8 13 44 49 0.898 26
12 West Bromwich Albion 30 10 6 14 33 56 0.589 26
13 Stoke 30 11 3 16 48 59 0.814 25
14 Blackburn Rovers 30 11 3 16 35 62 0.565 25
15 Sunderland 30 7 9 14 34 47 0.723 23 Into test matches
16 Burnley 30 6 7 17 43 61 0.705 19[lower-alpha 2]
Source:
Notes:
  1. FA Cup Winners
  2. Not re-elected due to test match results. Invited to join Second Division.

Second Division
Main article: 1896–97 Football League § Second Division

Notts County won the Second Division and were elected to the First Division after winning a Test Match against Burnley. Following the failure of Rotherham Town, Burslem Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra to be re-elected into the Football League, Blackpool and Gainsborough Trinity joined the Second Division. Walsall (formerly Walsall Town Swifts) also returned after a season away.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification
1 Notts County 30 19 4 7 92 43 2.140 42[lower-alpha 1] Division Champions, into test matches
2 Newton Heath 30 17 5 8 56 34 1.647 39 Into test matches
3 Grimsby Town 30 17 4 9 66 45 1.467 38
4 Small Heath 30 16 5 9 69 47 1.468 37
5 Newcastle United 30 17 1 12 56 52 1.077 35
6 Manchester City 30 12 8 10 58 50 1.160 32
7 Gainsborough Trinity[lower-alpha 2] 30 12 7 11 50 47 1.064 31
8 Blackpool[lower-alpha 2] 30 13 5 12 59 56 1.054 31
9 Leicester Fosse 30 13 4 13 59 57 1.035 30
10 Woolwich Arsenal 30 13 4 13 68 70 0.971 30
11 Darwen 30 14 0 16 67 61 1.098 28
12 Walsall[lower-alpha 2] 30 11 4 15 54 69 0.783 26
13 Loughborough 30 12 1 17 50 64 0.781 25
14 Burton Swifts 30 9 6 15 46 61 0.754 24 Re-elected
15 Burton Wanderers 30 9 2 19 31 67 0.463 20 Failed re-election or resigned
16 Lincoln City 30 5 2 23 27 85 0.318 12 Re-elected
Source:
Notes:
  1. Elected to First Division on the basis of test match results.
  2. New club in the league

Southern League
Main article: 1896–97 Southern Football League
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Relegation
1 Southampton St.Mary's[lower-alpha 1] 20 15 5 0 63 18 3.500 35
2 Millwall Athletic 20 13 5 2 63 24 2.625 31
3 Chatham Town 20 13 1 6 54 29 1.862 27
4 Tottenham Hotspur 20 9 4 7 43 29 1.483 22
5 Gravesend United 20 9 4 7 35 34 1.029 22
6 Swindon Town 20 8 3 9 33 37 0.892 19
7 Reading 20 8 3 9 31 49 0.633 19
8 New Brompton 20 7 2 11 32 42 0.762 16
9 Northfleet 20 5 4 11 24 46 0.522 14 Relegation test matches
10 Sheppey United 20 5 1 14 34 47 0.723 11
11 Wolverton L&NWR 20 2 0 18 17 74 0.230 4
12 Royal Ordnance Factories 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 Resigned from league after seven matches, record expunged
Source:
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Notes:
  1. Changed name to Southampton at end of season

References
  1. This table was extrapolated from the final table, after excluding the results from 10 April onwards.
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