1896–97 Everton F.C. season
| Average home league attendance | 15,913 | |
|---|---|---|
|
| ||
The 1896-97 Football League season was the ninth in Football League history with Everton having been an ever present in the top division. The club played thirty-five games in England's two major competitions, winning eighteen, drawing three and losing fourteen.
Season review
In each of the previous two seasons Everton had started the calendar year on top of the League, only to falter in the second half of the season. In their bid to strengthen the forward line they brought in
.Elsewhere the familiar half back line of
On paper this side looked as good as any in the First Division but there was uncertainty over the ability of the inexperienced goalkeeper, Harry Briggs, who had stepped in to make just one appearance the previous season after the departure of Jack Hillman.
With the exception of the inclusion of
The change initially looked to have been a wise one as, shortly after Menham's arrival, Everton embarked on a run of seven consecutive League and Cup victories to put themselves right back into the title race, four points behind leaders,
The last of those victories was Everton's first round cup tie with Burton Wanderers and it seemed that the cup run once again affected their League form as they now went on a run of six consecutive League defeats which killed any lingering title ambitions.[6]
First team squad and appearances]
| Pos. | Name | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| GK |  Harry Briggs
|
10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| GK | Bob Menham
|
18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| GK |  John Patrick
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GK | John Palmer
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FB | David Storrier
|
25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| FB |  Smart Arridge
|
23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| FB | George Barker
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| FB | George Molyneux
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FB | Peter Meechan
|
7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| HB | Dickie Boyle
|
29 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 34 | 1 |
| HB | Johnny Holt
|
25 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 30 | 2 |
| HB | Billy Stewart {Capt}
|
29 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 3 |
| HB | Hugh Goldie
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| HB | John Robertson
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| HB | George Meiklejohn
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Jack Bell
|
27 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 32 | 17 |
| FW | Jack Taylor
|
30 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 35 | 15 |
| FW | John Cameron
|
15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 5 |
| FW | Edgar Chadwick
|
28 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 33 | 9 |
| FW | Alf Milward
|
27 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 32 | 12 |
| FW | Abe Hartley
|
14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 9 |
| FW | William Campbell
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| FW | Alf Schofield
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | William Maley
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| FW | William Williams
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Bert Banks
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| – | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 2 |
Final league table
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa | 30 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 73 | 38 | 1.921 | 47 |
| 2 | Sheffield United | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 42 | 29 | 1.448 | 36 |
| 3 | Derby County | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 70 | 50 | 1.400 | 36 |
| 4 | Preston North End | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 55 | 40 | 1.375 | 34 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 46 | 38 | 1.211 | 33 |
| 6 | The Wednesday | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 42 | 37 | 1.135 | 31 |
| 7 | Everton | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 62 | 57 | 1.088 | 31 |
| 8 | Bolton Wanderers | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 43 | 0.930 | 30 |
| 9 | Bury | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | 44 | 0.886 | 30 |
| 10 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 45 | 41 | 1.098 | 28 |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 49 | 0.898 | 26 |
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 33 | 56 | 0.589 | 26 |
| 13 | Stoke | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 48 | 59 | 0.814 | 25 |
| 14 | Blackburn Rovers | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 35 | 62 | 0.565 | 25 |
| 15 | Sunderland | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 34 | 47 | 0.723 | 23 |
| 16 | Burnley | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 43 | 61 | 0.705 | 19 |
Key: P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GA = Goal average; Pts = Points
The Football League
Everton home games were played at Goodison Park while away games were played at the venues stated
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result F – A |
Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 1896 | Sheffield Wednesday | Goodison Park | 2–1 | John Cameron, Jack Taylor | 15,000 |
| 12 September 1896 | Nottingham Forest | Molineux | 1–0 | Tommy Dunn (own goal) | 5,500 |
| 19 September 1896 | Aston Villa | Goodison Park | 2–3 | Jack Taylor, Alf Milward | 20,000 |
| 26 September 1896 | Aston Villa | Wellington Road | 2–1 | James Welford (own goal), Edgar Chadwick | 20,000 |
| 3 October 1896 | Liverpool | Goodison Park | 2–1 | Alf Milward, Abe Hartley | 45,000 |
| 10 October 1896 | Burnley | Turf Moor | 1–2 | Billy Stewart | 9,000 |
| 17 October 1896 | Sheffield United | Goodison Park | 1–2 | William Foulke (own goal) | 15,000 |
| 24 October 1896 | Sheffield Wednesday | Olive Grove | 1–4 | Alf Milward | 6,000 |
| 31 October 1896 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Goodison Park | 0–0 | 10,000 | |
| 14 November 1896 | Bolton Wanderers | Goodison Park | 2–3 | Alf Milward, Edgar Chadwick | 12,000 |
| 21 November 1896 | Liverpool | Anfield | 0–0 | 30,000 | |
| 28 November 1896 | Burnley | Goodison Park | 6–0 | Jack Bell
|
10,000 |
| 7 December 1896 | Bolton Wanderers | Burnden Park | 0–2 | 7,000 | |
| 12 December 1896 | Sunderland
|
Newcastle Road | 1–1 | Johnny Holt | 4,000 |
| 19 December 1896 | Stoke City | Goodison Park | 4–2 | Jack Bell (2), Jack Taylor
|
10,000 |
| 26 December 1896 | Sunderland
|
Goodison Park | 5–2 | 35,000 | |
| 1 January 1897 | Sheffield United | Goodison Park | 2–1 | Jack Taylor (2) | 10,000 |
| 2 January 1897 | Stoke City | Victoria Ground | 3–2 | Jack Bell
|
8,000 |
| 9 January 1897 | Nottingham Forest | Goodison Park | 3–1 | Jack Bell (2)
|
7,000 |
| 16 January 1897 | West Bromwich Albion | Stoney Lane | 4–1 | Jack Bell
|
3,950 |
| 6 February 1897 | Preston North End | Stoney Lane | 3–4 | Jack Taylor, Abe Hartley, Edgar Chadwick | 25,000 |
| 2 March 1897 | Bury | Gigg Lane | 1–3 | Alf Milward | 7,000 |
| 6 March 1897 | Blackburn Rovers | Ewood Park | 2–4 | Jack Bell, Jack Taylor
|
6,000 |
| 10 March 1897 | Nottingham Forest | Gregory Ground | 0–3 | 2,000 | |
| 13 March 1897 | Blackburn Rovers | Goodison Park | 0–3 | 10,000 | |
| 3 April 1897 | Preston North End | Deepdale | 1–4 | William Campbell | 2,000 |
| 16 April 1897 | Derby County | Goodison Park | 5–2 | Jack Bell
|
25,000 |
| 17 April 1897 | West Bromwich Albion | Goodison Park | 6–3 | 9,700 | |
| 20 April 1897 | Derby County | Baseball Ground | 1–0 | Billy Stewart | 14,000 |
| 24 April 1897 | Bury | Goodison Park | 1–2 | Jack Bell
|
10,000 |
References
- ^ "Everton Stats / Match / evertonfc.com - The Official Website of Everton Football Club". Evertonfc.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
- ^ "Everton 1896-1897". statto.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ "English FA Cup Finals 1890 to 1899". Historical Kits. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
- ^ "Double trouble: unravelling the careers of two footballers called Thomas McInnes". Scottish Sport History - devoted to our sporting heritage. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
- ^ "English Division One 1896-1897". statto.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Everton results 1896/97". Footballsite.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
- ^ "English Division One 1896-1897 Table". statto.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.