All seasons

Football League 1889/90

Preston North End won the 1889/90 Football League with 33 points, 2 points ahead of Everton. Stoke City failed re-election and left the league. The season's 132 matches produced 611 goals, 4.63 a game.

Preston North End

Champions

611

Goals

4.63

Goals a game

56%

Home wins

Final table

1Preston North EndPreston North End2215347130+4133
2EvertonEverton2214356540+2531
3Blackburn RoversBlackburn2212377841+3727
4Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2210575138+1325
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2211384750-325
6AccringtonAccrington229675356-324
7Derby CountyDerby County2293104355-1221
8Aston VillaAston Villa2275104351-819
9Bolton WanderersBolton2291125465-1119
10Notts CountyNotts County2265114351-817
11BurnleyBurnley2245133665-2913
12Stoke CityStoke2234152769-4210

▌ Champions ▌ Not re-elected. Two points for a win, one for a draw; clubs level on points are split by goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded), as they were then. Sort and filter it on the all-time table →

The 1889/90 title race

The top four's points, match day by match day. Pick other clubs or measures on the race chart →

0102030SepOctNovDecJanFebMarWolves25Blackburn27Everton31Preston North End33

Points, Mon 31 Mar 1890

1

Preston North End

33

2

Everton

31

3

Blackburn

27

4

Wolves

25

Hover the chart to read any match day, or a club to highlight its line.

1889/90 · Mon 31 Mar 1890

An MP4 of this race to post on X, TikTok, Instagram or YouTube.

The 1889/90 scoreline grid

Every result of the season, home goals along the bottom and away goals up the side. Each square counts the matches that finished that way; ringed squares are results the English top flight had never seen before this season. Select a square to see those matches.

Away goals
Home goals

Times it's happened

Never

Once

2

3–4

5–9

10+

First-ever results

8 results in 1889/90 had never happened in the English top flight before, counting home and away separately:

September 14, 1889Preston North End 10–0 StokeFirst 10–0 home win
September 21, 1889Aston Villa 5–3 Preston North EndFirst 5–3 home win
October 5, 1889Burnley 2–6 Aston VillaFirst 6–2 away win
October 12, 1889Accrington 1–8 Notts CountyFirst 8–1 away win
October 12, 1889Aston Villa 7–1 Derby CountyFirst 7–1 home win
November 2, 1889Everton 8–0 StokeFirst 8–0 home win
November 4, 1889West Brom 6–3 BoltonFirst 6–3 home win
November 30, 1889Preston North End 6–0 BurnleyFirst 6–0 home win

Biggest wins

September 14, 1889Preston North End 10–0 Stoke10-goal home win
November 16, 1889Blackburn 9–1 Notts County8-goal home win
December 7, 1889Wolves 9–1 Burnley8-goal home win
November 2, 1889Everton 8–0 Stoke8-goal home win
January 4, 1890Blackburn 8–0 Stoke8-goal home win

Highest-scoring matches

September 14, 1889Preston North End 10–0 Stoke10 goals
November 16, 1889Blackburn 9–1 Notts County10 goals
December 7, 1889Wolves 9–1 Burnley10 goals
October 12, 1889Accrington 1–8 Notts County9 goals
November 4, 1889West Brom 6–3 Bolton9 goals

Most common results

#11–1 draw11 · 8%
#22–2 draw10 · 8%
#31–2 away win10 · 8%

How 1889/90 compares

At 4.63 goals a game, 1889/90 was the highest-scoring of the 93 old First Division seasons (the average is 3.07). Home sides won 56% of matches, against 52% across all seasons; 17% were draws and 27% away wins.