# 1897–98 in English football

The 1897–98 season was the 27th season of competitive football in England.

## Honours

| Competition | Winner |
| First Division | Sheffield United (1) |
| Second Division | Burnley |
| FA Cup | Nottingham Forest (1) |
| Home Championship | England |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

## Football League
### First Division

Sheffield United won the First Division to become champions of English football for the only time in their history.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
| 1 | Sheffield United (C) | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 56 | 31 | 1.806 | 42 | |
| 2 | Sunderland | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 43 | 30 | 1.433 | 37 | |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 41 | 1.390 | 35 | |
| 4 | Everton | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 39 | 1.231 | 35 | |
| 5 | The Wednesday | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 51 | 42 | 1.214 | 33 | |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 61 | 51 | 1.196 | 33 | |
| 7 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 44 | 45 | 0.978 | 32 | |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 47 | 49 | 0.959 | 31 | |
| 9 | Liverpool | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 48 | 45 | 1.067 | 28 | |
| 10 | Derby County | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 57 | 61 | 0.934 | 28 | |
| 11 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 28 | 41 | 0.683 | 26 | |
| 12 | Preston North End | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 43 | 0.814 | 24 | |
| 13 | Notts County | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 36 | 46 | 0.783 | 24 | |
| 14 | Bury | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 51 | 0.765 | 24 | |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 39 | 54 | 0.722 | 24 | Qualification for test matches |
| 16 | Stoke (O) | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 35 | 55 | 0.636 | 24 | Qualification for test matches |
* ↑ Blackburn Rovers were initially relegated but were later reprieved due to the First Division expanding to 18 teams for the following season.

### Second Division

This was the final season of using 'Test Matches' to decide relegation and promotion between the divisions. The Second Division was won by Burnley; both they and runners-up Newcastle United were promoted to the expanded First Division, rendering the results of the end of season Test Matches meaningless. From the 1898–99 season onwards, automatic relegation and promotion of the bottom two/top two sides from each division was introduced.
Luton Town replaced Burton Wanderers.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Burnley (C, O, P) | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 80 | 24 | 3.333 | 48 | Qualification for test matches |
| 2 | Newcastle United (O, P) | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 64 | 32 | 2.000 | 45 | Qualification for test matches |
| 3 | Manchester City | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 66 | 36 | 1.833 | 39 | |
| 4 | Newton Heath | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 35 | 1.829 | 38 | |
| 5 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 49 | 1.408 | 37 | |
| 6 | Small Heath | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 1.160 | 36 | |
| 7 | Leicester Fosse | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 46 | 35 | 1.314 | 33 | |
| 8 | Luton Town | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 68 | 50 | 1.360 | 30 | |
| 9 | Gainsborough Trinity | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 50 | 54 | 0.926 | 30 | |
| 10 | Walsall | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 58 | 58 | 1.000 | 29 | |
| 11 | Blackpool | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 49 | 61 | 0.803 | 25 | |
| 12 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 52 | 62 | 0.839 | 24 | |
| 13 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 69 | 0.551 | 21 | |
| 14 | Lincoln City | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 43 | 82 | 0.524 | 17 | Re-elected |
| 15 | Darwen | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 31 | 76 | 0.408 | 14 | Re-elected |
| 16 | Loughborough | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 87 | 0.276 | 14 | Re-elected |