The 1897–98 Football League season was Aston Villa's 10th season in the Football League First Division, the top flight of English football. George Ramsay would continue in charge of Aston Villa while the Management Committee continued to pick the team. The season fell in what was to be called Villa's golden era.[1]
| 1897–98 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | George Ramsay |
| Ground | Wellington Road |
| Football League | 6th |
| FA Cup | First round |
| Top goalscorer | Fred Wheldon (21) |
First-class cricketer[2] and England football international, Jack Devey was Captain. Jimmy Crabtree also captained the team.[3] "Diamond" Freddie Wheldon was League top scorer with 21.
Billy Garraty great-great grandfather of Jack Grealish, made his league debut for Aston Villa during the season but made just one other appearance that year.[4][5] Other debuts were James Fisher, Jack Sharp, Bert Sharp, Billy George, Howard Harvey, Jimmy Suddick, Tommy Bowman, Edmund Strange, George Johnson and Charlie Aston.[6]
| Pos | Team | 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[a] | 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 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners
Notes:
- ^ Blackburn Rovers were initially relegated but were later reprieved due to the First Division expanding to 18 teams for the following season.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Aston Villa Club History 1900 – 1939". AVFC.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 August 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
- ^ "Jack Devey". www.cricketarchive.com. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ AVFC History: 1897–98 season
- ^ Kendrick, Mat (26 May 2015). "Aston Villa v Arsenal: This 1905 FA Cup winner is related to a current Villa star – find out who". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ "Player info: William Garraty". Englandstats.com. Davey Naylor. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.