# 1888–89 Everton F.C. season

In 1888–89, Everton F.C. was a founding member of the Football League and competed in the first edition of the competition. The team finished eighth, avoiding re-election by a single place.

## Regular First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Robert Smalley, 18 appearances |
| — | DF | ENG | George Dobson, 18 appearances |
| — | DF | SCO | Nick Ross, 19 appearances |
| — | MF | SCO | John Weir, 16 appearances |
| — | MF | ENG | Johnny Holt, 17 appearances |
| — | MF | WAL | George Farmer, 21 appearances |
| — | FW | WAL | Joe Davies, 8 appearances at outside right |
| — | FW | ENG | Robert Watson, 18 appearances at inside right |
| — | FW | ENG | Frank Sugg, 9 appearances at centre forward |
| — | FW | ENG | Edgar Chadwick, inside left |
| — | FW | ENG | James Costley, 6 appearances at outside left |
Teams at the time played a 2–3–5 formation. Thus, Dobson and Ross were "full-backs" while Weir, Holt, and Farmer were "halfbacks". However, Everton fielded by far the most unsettled side of all the twelve original Football League members, using thirty-five players in their twenty-two game campaign. Indeed, the club have never fielded more players in any season since, despite having played as many as twenty league games more in over fifty subsequent seasons. So inconsistent was their team selection that at no time did the above combination actually take the field. Not surprisingly Everton's best result of the season, a 6–2 victory over Derby County on 20 October 1888 was achieved with ten of the above players on the field. Robert Watson missed that game while his deputy, Alex McKinnon scored the only hat-trick obtained by an Everton player all season. This was the only game in which ten of the first eleven featured.

## Other players used

* Alec Dick (9 appearances – right back)
* David Waugh (7 apps – inside right)
* William Brown (6 apps – outside left)
* Alex McKinnon (6 apps – outside right)
* Alf Milward (6 apps – centre forward)
* Jack Angus (5 apps at outside left)
* George Fleming (4 apps – outside right)
* Charles Jolliffe (4 apps – goalkeeper)
* Wiliam Lewis (3 apps – centre forward)
* William Briscoe (3 apps – inside left)
* Albert Chadwick (2 apps – left back)
* Jas Coyne (2 apps – inside right)
* George Davie (2 apps – centre forward)
* Mike Higgins (1 app – centre half)
* Robert Jones (1 app – centre back)
* Bob Kelso (1 app – centre back),
* Jack Keys (1 app – centre forward)
* R Morris (1 app – centre forward)
* Henry Parkinson (1 app – centre half)
* Hugh Pollock (1 app – centre back)
* Roberts (1 app – centre back)
* George Stephenson (1 app – centre back)
* Harry Warmby (1 app – centre back)
* Walter Wilson (1 app – left back)
Note that position listed is that filled most commonly by the player during this season and may not always have been the role played.

## League
### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification |
| 6 | West Bromwich Albion | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 40 | 46 | 0.870 | 22 | |
| 7 | Accrington | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 48 | 48 | 1.000 | 20 | |
| 8 | Everton | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 35 | 46 | 0.761 | 20 | |
| 9 | Burnley | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 42 | 62 | 0.677 | 17 | Re-elected |
| 10 | Derby County | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 41 | 61 | 0.672 | 16 | Re-elected |

### Results

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 8 September 1888 | Accrington | H | 2–1 | George Fleming (2) | 12,000 |
| 15 September 1888 | Notts County | H | 2–1 | Edgar Chadwick, Nick Ross | 6,000 |
| 22 September 1888 | Aston Villa | A | 1–2 | Robert Watson | 5,000 |
| 29 September 1888 | Bolton | A | 2–6 | William Lewis, Robert Watson | 5,000 |
| 6 October 1888 | Aston Villa | H | 2–0 | George Farmer, Dave Waugh | 10,000 |
| 13 October 1888 | Notts County | A | 1–3 | Nick Ross | 4,000 |
| 20 October 1888 | Derby | A | 4–2 | James Costley (2), Edgar Chadwick, Alex McKinnon | 3,000 |
| 27 October 1888 | Derby | H | 6–2 | Alex McKinnon (3), Nick Ross (2), Robert Watson | 3,000 |
| 3 November 1888 | Bolton | H | 2–1 | William Brown, Nick Ross | 8,000 |
| 10 November 1888 | Blackburn | A | 0–3 | | 6,000 |
| 17 November 1888 | Burnley | A | 2–2 | Edgar Chadwick, Robert Watson | 3,000 |
| 24 November 1888 | Burnley | H | 3–2 | Edgar Chadwick, James Costley, Coyne | 6,000 |
| 1 December 1888 | West Brom | A | 1–4 | Edgar Chadwick | 5,700 |
| 15 December 1888 | Stoke | A | 0–0 | | 1,500 |
| 22 December 1888 | Preston | A | 0–3 | | 8,000 |
| 29 December 1888 | Accrington | A | 1–3 | William Brown | 2,000 |
| 12 January 1889 | Stoke | H | 2–1 | Joe Davies, Alf Milward | 7,000 |
| 19 January 1889 | Preston | H | 0–2 | | 15,000 |
| 26 January 1889 | Wolves | A | 0–5 | | 4,500 |
| 9 February 1889 | Wolves | H | 1–2 | Edgar Chadwick | 6,000 |
| 23 February 1889 | West Brom | H | 0–1 | | 2,079 |
| 30 March 1889 | Blackburn | H | 3–1 | Joe Davies, Alf Milward, Dave Waugh | 4,000 |

## Sources

* http://www.evertonfc.com/stats/?mode=players&era_id=1&season_id=2&seasons=2 Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
* http://www.allfootballers.com