1891–92 in English football

Football in England
Season1891–92
Men's football
Football LeagueSunderland
FA CupWest Bromwich Albion
← 1890–91 England 1892–93 →

The 1891–92 season was the 21st season of competitive football in England.

Events

Three new clubs joined the Football Alliance, following the expansion of the Football League to 14 teams, and the defection of Sunderland Albion to the Northern League. These new teams were Ardwick (later Manchester City), Burton Swifts and Lincoln City.[citation needed]

Everton left Anfield on 15 March 1892 after a dispute with the stadium's landlord, John Houlding. Everton moved into a new stadium at nearby Goodison Park, while Houlding formed a new football club—Liverpool F.C.—on 30 March 1892, to play at Anfield.[1]

Preston North End set a new league record by winning 13 consecutive matches up to March 1892. A month later Sunderland equalled the record when they won their 13th successive game.[2] The record of 13 consecutive wins in a single season stood for 125 years until broken by Manchester City in 2017.[3]

Aston Villa recorded their biggest ever victory, defeating Accrington 12-2 on 12 March 1892.[4]

National team

In the 1892 British Home Championship, for the third (and final) time England played matches against Wales and Ireland on the same day, 5 March 1892, winning both by a 2–0 margin.

Wales

For the Welsh game, England selected a team consisting mainly of players with Corinthian connections and awarded eight new caps. The new caps included professionals George Toone of Notts County in goal, Henry Lilley of Sheffield United (making his only England appearance at left-back) and George Kinsey (Wolverhampton Wanderers) at left-half. Joe Schofield a Staffordshire schoolteacher with Stoke City played at outside-left. The other débutantes were Anthony Hossack (Corinthian), William Winckworth (Old Westminsters), Robert Cunliffe Gosling (Old Etonians) and Rupert Sandilands (Old Westminsters). England were a little too skilful for the Welsh and ran out 2–0 winners with goals from Arthur Henfrey and Rupert Sandilands.

Ireland

Against Ireland, England issued a further five new caps. The most prominent débutante was Charlie Athersmith of Aston Villa at outside-right, who would continue to appear for England over the next eight years, making twelve appearances in all. He was accompanied by his club team-mate, Jack Devey. The other new caps were John Cox of Derby County, Michael Whitham of Sheffield United and John Pearson of Crewe Alexandra for each of whom this was their solitary England appearance. Pearson went on to have a successful career as a Football League referee, including the 1911 FA Cup Final. Harry Daft of Notts County was awarded the captaincy for his last of five England appearances and marked the occasion by scoring twice, either side of half-time.

Scotland

Scotland also beat both Wales and Ireland and, as a result, the outcome of the British Home Championship rested on the final game of the season (for the third consecutive year). England selected a much more experienced team than for the Wales and Ireland games, and only included four players who had featured in those games, including only one of the debutantes, George Toone in goal. Jack Reynolds, the West Bromwich Albion full-back, was selected to play for England for the first time, even though he had previously played five international games for Ireland, having scored against England on 15 March 1890. It had wrongly been assumed that Reynolds was born in Ireland; however, his birth certificate had proved that he was in fact born in Blackburn, thereby enabling him to make eight appearances for England. England rattled in four goals in the first 21 minutes, and although Scotland scored a late consolation goal, England were able to continue their excellent run of results against the Scots and claim the championship again.

Date Venue Opponents Score* Comp England scorers
5 March 1892 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham (A)  Wales 2–0 BHC 15' Arthur Henfrey (Corinthian), 87' Rupert Sandilands (Old Westminsters)
5 March 1892 Solitude, Belfast (A)  Ireland 2–0 BHC 44', 47' Harry Daft (Notts Co.)
2 April 1892 Ibrox Park, Glasgow (A)  Scotland 4–1 BHC 1' Edgar Chadwick (Everton), 14', 21' John Goodall (Derby Co.), 16' Jack Southworth (Blackburn Rovers)

* England score given first

Key

Honours

Competition Winner
The Football League Sunderland (1)
FA Cup West Bromwich Albion (2)
Football Alliance Nottingham Forest
Home Championship  England

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

League tables

The Football League

Main article: 1891–92 Football League

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification
1 Sunderland 26 21 0 5 93 36 2.583 42 League Champions
2 Preston North End 26 18 1 7 61 31 1.968 37
3 Bolton Wanderers 26 17 2 7 51 37 1.378 36
4 Aston Villa 26 15 0 11 89 56 1.589 30
5 Everton 26 12 4 10 49 49 1.000 28
6 Wolverhampton Wanderers 26 11 4 11 59 46 1.283 26
7 Burnley 26 11 4 11 49 45 1.089 26
8 Notts County 26 11 4 11 55 51 1.078 26
9 Blackburn Rovers 26 10 6 10 58 65 0.892 26
10 Derby County 26 10 4 12 46 52 0.885 24
11 Accrington 26 8 4 14 40 78 0.513 20 Re-elected
12 West Bromwich Albion 26 6 6 14 51 58 0.879 18 FA Cup Winners[a]
13 Stoke[b] 26 5 4 17 38 61 0.623 14 Re-elected
14 Darwen[b] 26 4 3 19 38 112 0.339 11 Failed re-election[c]
Source:[citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ^ FA Cup winners — no re-election required
  2. ^ a b New club in the league
  3. ^ Not re-elected, invited to join Second Division.

The Football Alliance

Main article: 1891–92 Football Alliance
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Nottingham Forest 22 14 5 3 59 22 2.682 33 Football Alliance Champions, elected to Football League First Division
2 Newton Heath 22 12 7 3 69 33 2.091 31 Elected to Football League First Division
3 Small Heath 22 12 5 5 53 36 1.472 29 Elected to Football League Second Division
4 The Wednesday 22 12 4 6 65 35 1.857 28 Elected to Football League First Division
5 Burton Swifts[a] 22 12 2 8 54 52 1.038 26 Elected to Football League Second Division
6 Crewe Alexandra 22 7 4 11 44 49 0.898 18
7 Ardwick[a] 22 6 6 10 39 51 0.765 18
8 Bootle 22 8 2 12 42 64 0.656 18
9 Lincoln City[a] 22 6 5 11 37 65 0.569 17
10 Grimsby Town 22 6 6 10 40 39 1.026 16[b]
11 Walsall Town Swifts 22 6 3 13 33 59 0.559 15
12 Birmingham St George's 22 5 3 14 34 64 0.531 11[b] Disbanded[c]
Source: [5]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal average.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c New club in the Alliance
  2. ^ a b Two points deducted from Birmingham St George's and Grimsby Town for fielding ineligible players
  3. ^ Disbanded at the end of the season due to financial problems


References

  1. ^ "A timeline for Liverpool Football Club". LFCHistory.net.
  2. ^ Hunter, James (4 January 2017). "Will Chelsea break Sunderland's jointly-held record winning streak tonight?". Chronicle. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Premier League: Man City's record-breaking run in numbers". BBC Sport. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  4. ^ Slade, Michael (2013). The History of the English Football League: Part One--1888-1930. United Kingdom: Strategic Book Publishing. ISBN 9781625161833. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  5. ^ Blakeman, Mick; Brown, Tony; Warsop, Keith, eds. (2009). The Football Alliance Match by Match: 1889/90 to 1891/92. Nottingham: SoccerData. pp. 41–53. ISBN 978-1-905891-19-1.

References