# 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.
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 |
* 1 2 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.
* ↑ 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 | – | 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 | |
* ↑ 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

| Team | Location | Stadium | Stadium capacity |
| Birmingham St George's | Birmingham | Cape Hill | |
| Bootle | Bootle | Hawthorne Road | |
| Crewe Alexandra | Crewe | Alexandra Recreation Ground | |
| Darwen | Darwen | Barley Bank | 12,500 |
| Grimsby Town | Grimsby | Abbey Park | 10,000 |
| Newton Heath | Newton Heath | North Road | 12,000 |
| Nottingham Forest | Nottingham | Gregory Ground, Lenton | |
| Small Heath | Birmingham | Coventry Road | |
| Sunderland Albion | Sunderland | Blue House Field, Hendon | |
| Walsall Town Swifts | Walsall | The Chuckery | |
| The Wednesday | Sheffield | Olive Grove | |
| Long Eaton Rangers | Long Eaton | Recreation Ground | |

## 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.