# 1901–02 in English football

The 1901–02 season was the 31st season of competitive football in England.

## League changes

Doncaster Rovers and Bristol City replaced Walsall and New Brighton Tower in the Football League.
Burton United were formed by a merger of Burton Swifts with former League side Burton Wanderers.
Bristol City were the first non-London Southern side in the league.

## Events

* 9 January 1902 – Newton Heath, the Manchester based Second Division club, are on the brink of closure and expulsion from the Football League after being issued with a winding up order. The club is £2,600 in debt.
* 28 April 1902 – Newton Heath, after being saved by new owner John Henry Davies, are renamed Manchester United.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner |
| First Division | Sunderland (4) |
| Second Division | West Bromwich Albion |
| FA Cup | Sheffield United (2) |
| Home Championship | Scotland |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## Football League
### First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Sunderland (C) | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 50 | 35 | 1.429 | 44 | |
| 2 | Everton | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 35 | 1.514 | 41 | |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 48 | 34 | 1.412 | 37 | |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 52 | 48 | 1.083 | 36 | |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 43 | 43 | 1.000 | 35 | |
| 6 | Derby County | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 39 | 41 | 0.951 | 35 | |
| 7 | Bury | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 38 | 1.158 | 34 | |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 42 | 40 | 1.050 | 34 | |
| 9 | The Wednesday | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 48 | 52 | 0.923 | 34 | |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 53 | 48 | 1.104 | 33 | |
| 11 | Liverpool | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 42 | 38 | 1.105 | 32 | |
| 12 | Bolton Wanderers | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 51 | 56 | 0.911 | 32 | |
| 13 | Notts County | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 51 | 57 | 0.895 | 32 | |
| 14 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 46 | 57 | 0.807 | 32 | |
| 15 | Grimsby Town | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 44 | 60 | 0.733 | 32 | |
| 16 | Stoke | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 45 | 55 | 0.818 | 31 | |
| 17 | Small Heath (R) | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 47 | 45 | 1.044 | 30 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 18 | Manchester City (R) | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 42 | 58 | 0.724 | 28 | Relegation to the Second Division |

### Second Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | West Bromwich Albion (C, P) | 34 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 82 | 29 | 2.828 | 55 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Middlesbrough (P) | 34 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 90 | 24 | 3.750 | 51 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Preston North End | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 71 | 32 | 2.219 | 42 | |
| 4 | Woolwich Arsenal | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 50 | 26 | 1.923 | 42 | |
| 5 | Lincoln City | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 45 | 35 | 1.286 | 41 | |
| 6 | Bristol City | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 52 | 35 | 1.486 | 40 | |
| 7 | Doncaster Rovers | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 49 | 58 | 0.845 | 34 | |
| 8 | Glossop | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 36 | 40 | 0.900 | 32 | |
| 9 | Burnley | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 41 | 45 | 0.911 | 30 | |
| 10 | Burton United | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 46 | 54 | 0.852 | 30 | |
| 11 | Barnsley | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 51 | 63 | 0.810 | 30 | |
| 12 | Burslem Port Vale | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 43 | 59 | 0.729 | 29 | |
| 13 | Blackpool | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 40 | 56 | 0.714 | 29 | |
| 14 | Leicester Fosse | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 56 | 0.679 | 29 | |
| 15 | Newton Heath | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 38 | 53 | 0.717 | 28 | |
| 16 | Chesterfield Town | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 47 | 68 | 0.691 | 28 | Re-elected |
| 17 | Stockport County | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 36 | 72 | 0.500 | 23 | Re-elected |
| 18 | Gainsborough Trinity | 34 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 30 | 80 | 0.375 | 19 | Re-elected |