Football League test matches
Football tournament
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Football League test matches were a series of post-season football play-off matches organised by the Football League, to determine the membership of each division, between the worst finishers of the First Division and the best of the Second Division. They were first contested at the end of the 1892–93 season, following the inaugural season of the Second Division, and were replaced with automatic promotion and relegation from 1898–99.
| Organiser(s) | The Football League |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1893 |
| Abolished | 1898 |
| Region | England |
| Teams | 6 (1893–95) 4 (1896–98) |
Unlike the modern-day English Football League play-offs, which is only contested between the four teams below the automatic promotion places in each division, test matches involved the bottom teams of the First Division and the top teams of the Second Division going head-to-head. This meant that the Second Division champions were not guaranteed top-flight football, as was the case with Small Heath in 1893. On no occasion has all of the Second Division and First Division sides been either respectively promoted and relegated or remained in the same division in any season through this system.
From 1893 to 1895, six teams competed for three places in the top division. Each team played one match against the corresponding team from the other division (Second Division champions versus the bottom First Division side, and so on) at a neutral venue, usually close to the designated home team. The winners of each game were considered for election for First Division membership for the following season, whilst the losers were invited to the Second Division.
From 1896 until 1898, the series was revamped with into a mini league format, with four teams competing for two First Division places. The Second Division sides played both First Division teams on a home-and-away basis. When the proceedings have concluded, the top two finishers were elected into the First Division and the bottom two were invited to the Second Division for the following season. As the 1898–99 First Division was expanded to include two more teams, the 1898 test match series was ultimately a dead rubber as all four competing teams were elected into the top tier.
List of test matches
1893
| Small Heath D2 1st | 1–1 | D1 16th Newton Heath |
|---|---|---|
| Newton Heath D1 16th | 5–2 | D2 1st Small Heath |
|---|---|---|
Newton Heath remain in the First Division, Small Heath remain in the Second Division.
| Darwen D2 3rd | 3–2 | D1 14th Notts County |
|---|---|---|
Darwen elected to the First Division, Notts County invited to the Second Division.
| Sheffield United D2 2nd | 1–0 | D1 15th Accrington |
|---|---|---|
Sheffield United elected to the First Division, Accrington invited to the Second Division.[Note 1]
1894
| Liverpool D2 1st | 2–0 | D1 16th Newton Heath |
|---|---|---|
Liverpool elected to the First Division, Newton Heath invited to the Second Division.
| Small Heath D2 2nd | 3–1 | D1 15th Darwen |
|---|---|---|
Small Heath elected to the First Division, Darwen invited to the Second Division.
| Preston North End D1 14th | 4–0 | D2 3rd Notts County |
|---|---|---|
Preston North End remain in the First Division, Notts County remain in the Second Division.
1895
Bury elected to the First Division, Liverpool invited to the Second Division.
| Derby County D1 15th | 2–1 | D2 2nd Notts County |
|---|---|---|
Derby County remain in the First Division, Notts County remain in the Second Division.
| Stoke D1 14th | 3–0 | D2 3rd Newton Heath |
|---|---|---|
Stoke remain in the First Division, Newton Heath remain in the Second Division.
1896
| Liverpool D2 1st | 4–0 | D1 15th Small Heath |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester City D2 2nd | 1–1 | D1 16th West Bromwich Albion |
|---|---|---|
| Small Heath D1 15th | 0–0 | D2 1st Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
| West Bromwich Albion D1 16th | 6–1 | D2 2nd Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool D2 1st | 2–0 | D1 16th West Bromwich Albion |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester City D2 2nd | 3–0 | D1 15th Small Heath |
|---|---|---|
| West Bromwich Albion D1 16th | 2–0 | D2 1st Liverpool |
|---|---|---|
| Small Heath D1 15th | 8–0 | D2 2nd Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
Table
| Pos. | Team | Pld. | W | D | L | F | A | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | Small Heath | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 3 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 3 |
| Key | Note |
|---|---|
| Bold | Second Division champions |
| Italic | Second Division team |
| Elected to play in the First Division | |
| Invited to play in the Second Division |
1897
| Notts County D2 1st | 1–0 | D1 15th Sunderland |
|---|---|---|
| Burnley D1 16th | 2–0 | D2 2nd Newton Heath |
|---|---|---|
| Sunderland D1 15th | 0–0 | D2 1st Notts County |
|---|---|---|
| Newton Heath D2 2nd | 2–0 | D1 16th Burnley |
|---|---|---|
| Burnley D1 16th | 0–1 | D2 1st Notts County |
|---|---|---|
| Newton Heath D2 2nd | 1–1 | D1 15th Sunderland |
|---|---|---|
| Notts County D2 1st | 1–1 | D1 16th Burnley |
|---|---|---|
| Sunderland D1 15th | 2–0 | D2 2nd Newton Heath |
|---|---|---|
Table
| Pos. | Team | Pld. | W | D | L | F | A | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notts County | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Sunderland | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | Burnley | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| 4 | Newton Heath | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Key | Note |
|---|---|
| Bold | Second Division champions |
| Italic | Second Division team |
| Elected to play in the First Division | |
| Invited to play in the Second Division |
1898
| Newcastle United D2 2nd | 2–1 | D1 16th Stoke |
|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers D1 15th | 1–3 | D2 1st Burnley |
|---|---|---|
| Stoke D1 16th | 1–0 | D2 2nd Newcastle United |
|---|---|---|
| Burnley D2 1st | 2–0 | D1 15th Blackburn Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers D1 15th | 4–3 | D2 2nd Newcastle United |
|---|---|---|
| Newcastle United D2 2nd | 4–0 | D1 15th Blackburn Rovers |
|---|---|---|
Table
| Pos. | Team | Pld. | W | D | L | F | A | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stoke | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | Burnley | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| 3 | Newcastle United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
| Key | Note |
|---|---|
| Bold | Second Division champions |
| Italic | Second Division team |
| Elected to play in the First Division |
All teams were elected to the 1898–99 Football League First Division as the league was expanded by two teams.
See also
Notes
- ^ Accrington subsequently resigned from the Football League
Further reading
- Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin: Encyclopedia of British Football, Willow Books, London. Fourth, updated and revised edition, 1984
- A. H. Fabian & Green, Geoffrey: Association Football, Volume Two. The Caxton Publishing Company Ltd., London, 1960