The 1896–97 season was the 26th season of competitive football in England.
Aston Villa became the second team (after Preston North End) to complete "the Double" of winning the Football League Championship and the FA Cup. No other team would complete the double for 64 years.[citation needed]
The Cup Final was played on 10 April 1897 between Aston Villa and Everton. At the start of the day, the top of the league table looked thus:[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa | 27 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 64 | 38 | 1.684 | 41 |
| 2 | Derby County | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 66 | 43 | 1.535 | 34 |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 40 | 27 | 1.481 | 34 |
| 4 | Preston North End | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 55 | 37 | 1.486 | 32 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 29 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 46 | 38 | 1.211 | 32 |
Consequently, with a total of 30 league games to play in the season, only Derby County had any "mathematical" possibility of overtaking Aston Villa to take the title. To do so, they would have needed to take at least seven points from their remaining four games, with Aston Villa losing their remaining three games. In the event, Derby lost 1–0 at Bury and Aston Villa were thus confirmed as League Champions on the same day that they went on to win the Cup. As a result, Villa became the first, and so far, only team to date to achieve the league and cup "double" on the same day.
Honours
| Competition | Winner |
|---|---|
| First Division | Aston Villa (3*) |
| Second Division | Notts County |
| FA Cup | Aston Villa (3) |
| Home Championship |  Scotland |
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition
Football League
First Division
The First Division was won by Aston Villa.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aston Villa (C) | 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 (O) | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 34 | 47 | 0.723 | 23 | Qualification for test matches |
| 16 | Burnley (R) | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 43 | 61 | 0.705 | 19 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Second Division
Notts County won the Second Division and were elected to the First Division after winning a Test Match against Burnley. Following the failure of Rotherham Town, Burslem Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra to be re-elected into the Football League, Blackpool and Gainsborough Trinity joined the Second Division. Walsall (formerly Walsall Town Swifts) also returned after a season away.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notts County (C, O, P) | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 92 | 43 | 2.140 | 42 | Qualification for test matches |
| 2 | Newton Heath | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 56 | 34 | 1.647 | 39 | |
| 3 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 66 | 45 | 1.467 | 38 | |
| 4 | Small Heath | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 47 | 1.468 | 37 | |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 30 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 56 | 52 | 1.077 | 35 | |
| 6 | Manchester City | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 1.160 | 32 | |
| 7 | Gainsborough Trinity | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 50 | 47 | 1.064 | 31 | |
| 8 | Blackpool | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 59 | 56 | 1.054 | 31 | |
| 9 | Leicester Fosse | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 59 | 57 | 1.035 | 30 | |
| 10 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 68 | 70 | 0.971 | 30 | |
| 11 | Darwen | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 67 | 61 | 1.098 | 28 | |
| 12 | Walsall | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 54 | 69 | 0.783 | 26 | |
| 13 | Loughborough | 30 | 12 | 1 | 17 | 50 | 64 | 0.781 | 25 | |
| 14 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 46 | 61 | 0.754 | 24 | Re-elected |
| 15 | Burton Wanderers (R) | 30 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 31 | 67 | 0.463 | 20 | Not re-elected |
| 16 | Lincoln City | 30 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 27 | 85 | 0.318 | 12 | Re-elected |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Southern League
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton St.Mary's[a] | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 63 | 18 | 3.500 | 35 | |
| 2 | Millwall Athletic | 20 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 63 | 24 | 2.625 | 31 | |
| 3 | Chatham Town | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 54 | 29 | 1.862 | 27 | |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 43 | 29 | 1.483 | 22 | |
| 5 | Gravesend United | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 34 | 1.029 | 22 | |
| 6 | Swindon Town | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 33 | 37 | 0.892 | 19 | |
| 7 | Reading | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 31 | 49 | 0.633 | 19 | |
| 8 | New Brompton | 20 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 32 | 42 | 0.762 | 16 | |
| 9 | Northfleet | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 24 | 46 | 0.522 | 14 | Relegation test matches |
| 10 | Sheppey United | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 34 | 47 | 0.723 | 11 | |
| 11 | Wolverton L&NWR | 20 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 17 | 74 | 0.230 | 4 | |
| 12 | Royal Ordnance Factories | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Resigned from league after seven matches, record expunged |
Rules for classification: The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used until the 1976-77 season. The points system: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
Notes: