Football League Second Division  1895/96

Pos Club Pld W D L F A GA Pts Notes
1st   Liverpool 30 22 2 6 106 32 3.313 46 ▲Champions
2nd   Manchester City 30 21 4 5 63 38 1.658 46 Remained
3rd   Grimsby Town 30 20 2 8 82 38 2.158 42 -
4th   Burton Wanderers 30 19 4 7 69 40 1.725 42 -
5th   Newcastle United 30 16 2 12 73 50 1.460 34 -
6th   Newton Heath 30 15 3 12 66 57 1.158 33 -
7th   Woolwich Arsenal 30 14 4 12 58 42 1.405 32 -
8th   Leicester Fosse 30 14 4 12 57 44 1.295 32 -
9th   Darwen 30 12 6 12 72 67 1.075 30 -
10th   Notts County 30 12 2 16 57 54 1.056 26 -
11th   Burton Swifts 30 10 4 16 39 69 0.565 24 -
12th   Loughborough 30 9 5 16 40 66 0.597 23 -
13th   Lincoln City 30 9 4 17 53 75 0.707 22 -
14th   Burslem Port Vale 30 7 4 19 43 78 0.551 18 ▼Not Re Elected
15th   Rotherham Town 30 7 3 20 34 97 0.351 17 ▼Resigned
16th   Crewe Alexandra 30 5 3 22 30 95 0.316 13 ▼Not Re Elected

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Football League Test Match Series

Promotion and relegation between the two divisions was again decided by a series of Test Matches. As in the previous season the top two clubs in the Second Division and the bottom two in the First Division met in a mini-league. Each club played four matches - home and away matches against the two sides from the other division. At the conclusion of the matches the first and second sides in the league played in the First Division and the third and fourth sides in Second Division.

Date Home Score Away
18/04/1896 Liverpool 4-0 Small Heath
18/04/1896 Manchester City 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
20/04/1896 Small Heath 0-0 Liverpool
20/04/1896 West Bromwich Albion 6-1 Manchester City
25/04/1896 Liverpool 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
25/04/1896 Manchester City 3-0 Small Heath
27/04/1896 Small Heath 8-0 Manchester City
27/04/1896 West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Liverpool

Football League Test Match Series Standings

Pos Club Pld W D L F A Pts Outcome
1st  Liverpool 4 2 1 1 6 2 5 Promoted
2nd  West Bromwich Albion 4 2 1 1 9 4 5 Retained
3rd  Small Heath 4 1 1 2 8 7 3 ▼Relegated
4th  Manchester City 4 1 1 2 5 15 3 Remained

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Election for League Membership

Rotherham Town did not seek Re-Election so other two bottom clubs were required to seek re-election to the League. They were joined in the vote for League membership by 7 non-league clubs.
Votes Club End Result
19 Blackpool Elected to the League
16 Walsall Elected to the League
15 Gainsborough Trinity Elected to the League
10 Burslem Port Vale ▼Not Re-Elected to the League
10 Luton Town Not Elected to the League
4 Crewe Alexandra ▼Not Re-Elected to the League
3 Fairfield Athletic Not Elected to the League
3 Glossop North End Not Elected to the League
2 Macclesfield Not Elected to the League
2 Tottenham Hotspur Not Elected to the League

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End of Season Notes

 ♦▼Small Heath were Relegated from the Football League First Division

 ▲Liverpool were Promoted to the Football League First Division

 ▼Burslem Port Vale were Not Re-Elected to the Football League

 ▼Rotherham Town Resigned from the Football League

 ▼Crewe Alexandra were Not Re-Elected to the Football League

 ▲Blackpool were Elected to the Football League

 ▲Walsall were Elected to the Football League

 ▲Gainsborough Trinity were Elected to the Football League