1896–97 in English football
The 1896–97 season was the 26th season of competitive football in England.
| Season | 1896–97 | |
|---|---|---|
| Men's football | ||
| First Division | Aston Villa | |
| Second Division | Notts County | |
| Northern League | Middlesbrough | |
| Midland League | Doncaster Rovers | |
| Southern League | Southampton St. Mary's | |
| FA Cup | Aston Villa | |
| FA Amateur Cup | Old Carthusians | |
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.
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:
| 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.