The Combination
The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across the Northern England and the Midlands, and was wound up before completion. The second was created for the 1890–91 season, but disbanded in 1911. The league comprised teams primarily from North West England and later Wales. The league should not be confused with the other former Football Combination, a competition for reserve teams from the South of England, or with the Lancashire Combination, another minor league running around the same time . First incarnation. The first Combination was set up in 1888, the same year the Football League was founded. It was established by clubs who had been excluded from the Football League, initiated by Crewe Alexandra secretary J. G. Hall, and was announced at the Royal Hotel in Crewe. However, while the Football League quickly proved a success, the Combination lacked central organisation, with poor planning and unfulfilled fixtures, and failed to complete its first season, finishing in April 1889 without a winner. The Combination consisted of 20 teams, although this proved too many teams for each one to play the  other once, let alone twice. Instead each club was to play eight others home and away, making 16 games in total. Fixtures were left to individual clubs, which resulted in confusion, as it was unclear whether many matches between clubs were friendlies or Combination matches. Participating teams included Bootle, Blackburn Olympic, Burslem Port Vale, Crewe Alexandra, Grimsby Town, Lincoln City, Newton Heath, Small Heath and South Shore. Bootle, Crewe, Grimsby, Newton Heath and Small Heath went on to co-found the Football Alliance the following year. Second incarnation. The second incarnation was founded in 1890. The twelve founder members were : Five of the founding teams would eventually go on to play in the Football League, although in the case of Macclesfield, this would not happen until 1997–98. Glossop North End, who joined in 1894, were also elected to the League (in 1898), as were another later member team, Tranmere Rovers. As the competition evolved, the nature of the teams changed, with many more Welsh teams being involved, as well as the reserve teams of the Football League clubs such as Everton and Crewe Alexandra. By the time the competition folded in 1911 none of the original members still participated, with  the exception of Wrexham, who fielded their reserve team. It was succeeded by the Cheshire County League and later by the North West Counties Football League. Champions. The champions of the league were as follows: