# 1895–96 Football League

The 1895–96 season was the eighth season of The Football League.

## Final league tables

Beginning in the 1894–95 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 1976–77 season.
During the first six seasons of the league, (up to the 1893–94 season), re-election process concerned the clubs which finished in the bottom four of the league. From the 1894–95 season and until the 1920–21 season the re-election process was required of the clubs which finished in the bottom three of the league.

## First Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Aston Villa (C) | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 78 | 45 | 1.733 | 45 | |
| 2 | Derby County | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 68 | 35 | 1.943 | 41 | |
| 3 | Everton | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 66 | 43 | 1.535 | 39 | |
| 4 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 49 | 37 | 1.324 | 37 | |
| 5 | Sunderland | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 52 | 41 | 1.268 | 37 | |
| 6 | Stoke | 30 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 56 | 47 | 1.191 | 30 | |
| 7 | The Wednesday | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 44 | 53 | 0.830 | 29 | |
| 8 | Blackburn Rovers | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 50 | 0.800 | 29 | |
| 9 | Preston North End | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 44 | 48 | 0.917 | 28 | |
| 10 | Burnley | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 48 | 44 | 1.091 | 27 | |
| 11 | Bury | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 50 | 54 | 0.926 | 27 | |
| 12 | Sheffield United | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 40 | 50 | 0.800 | 26 | |
| 13 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 42 | 57 | 0.737 | 25 | |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 61 | 65 | 0.938 | 21 | |
| 15 | Small Heath (R) | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 39 | 79 | 0.494 | 20 | Qualification for test matches |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion (O) | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 30 | 59 | 0.508 | 19 | Qualification for test matches |

### Results

| Home \ Away | AST | BLB | BOL | BUR | BRY | DER | EVE | NOT | PNE | SHU | SMH | STK | SUN | WED | WBA | WOL |
| Aston Villa | | 3–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 7–3 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1–1 | | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 2–2 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 |
| Burnley | 3–4 | 6–0 | 1–2 | | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 |
| Bury | 5–3 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 3–4 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–5 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 6–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Derby County | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 8–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 5–2 |
| Everton | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | | 6–2 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 7–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Nottingham Forest | 0–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–5 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Preston North End | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 6–0 | | 4–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–3 |
| Sheffield United | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 8–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Small Heath | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 5–2 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 |
| Stoke | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 6–1 | | 5–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| Sunderland | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | | 2–1 | 7–1 | 2–2 |
| The Wednesday | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | | 5–3 | 3–1 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | | 2–1 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–2 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 7–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–2 | |

### Maps
## Second Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Liverpool (C, O, P) | 30 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 106 | 32 | 3.313 | 46 | Qualification for test matches |
| 2 | Manchester City | 30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 63 | 38 | 1.658 | 46 | Qualification for test matches |
| 3 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 82 | 38 | 2.158 | 42 | |
| 4 | Burton Wanderers | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 69 | 40 | 1.725 | 42 | |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 30 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 73 | 50 | 1.460 | 34 | |
| 6 | Newton Heath | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 66 | 57 | 1.158 | 33 | |
| 7 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 58 | 42 | 1.381 | 32 | |
| 8 | Leicester Fosse | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 57 | 44 | 1.295 | 32 | |
| 9 | Darwen | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 72 | 67 | 1.075 | 30 | |
| 10 | Notts County | 30 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 57 | 54 | 1.056 | 26 | |
| 11 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 39 | 69 | 0.565 | 24 | |
| 12 | Loughborough | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 40 | 66 | 0.606 | 23 | |
| 13 | Lincoln City | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 53 | 75 | 0.707 | 22 | |
| 14 | Burslem Port Vale | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 43 | 78 | 0.551 | 18 | Resigned from league |
| 15 | Rotherham Town | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 34 | 97 | 0.351 | 17 | Resigned from league |
| 16 | Crewe Alexandra | 30 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 30 | 95 | 0.316 | 13 | Resigned from league |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BPV | BRS | BRW | CRE | DRW | GRI | LEI | LIN | LIV | LOU | MCI | NEW | NWH | NTC | ROT | WOO |
| Burslem Port Vale | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 5–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 0–2 |
| Burton Swifts | 2–1 | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 0–7 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Burton Wanderers | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 4–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 0–3 | 5–1 | 1–3 | 6–1 | 4–1 |
| Crewe Alexandra | 3–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–7 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 |
| Darwen | 8–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 6–1 | | 3–3 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 4–4 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 10–2 | 1–1 |
| Grimsby Town | 6–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | | 7–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| Leicester Fosse | 5–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | | 1–3 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 8–0 | 1–0 |
| Lincoln City | 4–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 2–5 | 2–3 | | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 1–1 |
| Liverpool | 5–1 | 6–1 | 4–1 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 6–1 | | 1–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 7–1 | 3–0 | 10–1 | 3–0 |
| Loughborough | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 2–4 | | 2–4 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 |
| Manchester City | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | | 5–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Newcastle United | 4–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 6–0 | 7–2 | 1–5 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | | 2–1 | 5–1 | 6–1 | 3–1 |
| Newton Heath | 2–1 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–5 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 3–0 | 3–0 | 5–1 |
| Notts County | 7–2 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 5–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | | 0–0 | 3–4 |
| Rotherham Town | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–6 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–5 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | | 3–0 |
| Woolwich Arsenal | 2–1 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 7–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | |

### Maps
## Test Matches

The Football League test matches were a set of play-offs, in which the bottom First Division teams faced the top Second Division teams.
The format had changed from previous seasons, with the number of participants has reduced from six to four (two from each division). Now, 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.

### First round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| (2nd Div. Champions) Liverpool | 4–0 | Small Heath (1st Div. 15th) | 4–0 Sat 18 Apr | 0–0 Mon 20 Apr |
| (2nd Div. 2nd) Manchester City | 2–7 | West Bromwich Albion (1st Div. 16th) | 1–1 Sat 18 Apr | 1–6 Mon 20 Apr |

### Second round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| (2nd Div. Champions) Liverpool | 2–2 | West Bromwich Albion (1st Div. 16th) | 2–0 Sat 25 Apr | 0–2 Mon 27 Apr |
| (2nd Div. 2nd) Manchester City | 3–8 | Small Heath (1st Div. 15th) | 3–0 Sat 25 Apr | 0–8 Mon 27 Apr |

### Summary

Reference works, such Encyclopedia of British Football and Association Football, present the following table with the heading given above.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Liverpool | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 | Elected to play in First Division |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 5 | Elected to play in First Division |
| 3 | Small Heath | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 3 | Invited to play in Second Division |
| 4 | Manchester City | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15 | −10 | 3 | Invited to play in Second Division |

### Consequences

It is likely that the league decided on re-election to the First Division and on promotion and relegation on the basis of the summary table above. It is not clear why all the four teams did not play each other, since it would only have required two more matches for each of them. It seems those teams who had lost in the first round hardly had any chance of ending up among the top teams in this system, and the election outcome effectively seems to have confirmed the first round results.
* Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion, winners of the first round matches, and appearing on the top of the summary table, were elected to play in the 1st Division the following season.
* Small Heath and Manchester City, who lost in the first round, were not elected to play in 1st Division, but were invited to play in the 2nd Division.

## Attendances
### First Division

| # | Football club | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | Everton FC | 15 | 16,080 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 15 | 12,360 |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers | 15 | 9,535 |
| 4 | The Wednesday | 15 | 8,975 |
| 5 | Derby County | 15 | 8,360 |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers | 15 | 7,810 |
| 7 | Bury FC | 15 | 7,800 |
| 8 | Stoke FC | 15 | 7,600 |
| 9 | Preston North End | 15 | 6,975 |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 15 | 6,865 |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 15 | 6,625 |
| 12 | Sunderland AFC | 15 | 6,210 |
| 13 | Small Heath FC | 15 | 6,065 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 15 | 6,005 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 15 | 5,875 |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 15 | 5,660 |