| Founded | 1890 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 1893 |
| Region |  England |
| Most successful club(s) | Derby County reserves (2 titles) |
The Midland Alliance was an association football league for teams in the Midlands of England, which ran for three seasons in the 1890s.
| Founded | 1890 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 1893 |
| Region | England |
| Most successful club(s) | Derby County reserves (2 titles) |
The Midland Alliance was an association football league for teams in the Midlands of England, which ran for three seasons in the 1890s.
The League was set up at a meeting at the Maypole Hotel in Nottingham in June 1890. The aim was to form a competition akin to the Midland League for clubs overlooked for that particular division; 9 clubs initially pledged to join, with an invitation sent to Football League club Notts County for its reserve side (the Rovers) to take part. County duly accepted and 10 teams formed the first league, officially called the Midland Football Alliance, but almost always referred to as the Midland Alliance. [1]
Rotherham Swifts, after winning only one of its first five matches, withdrew from the league in December 1890. [2] Although the Alliance initially refused to accept the club's resignation, [3] another member, Jardines, was suspended by the Football Association for non-payment of a fine. [4] On 17 April 1891 it was decided to expunge both clubs' records; this did not have any effect on the overall table, as Notts County Rovers were uncatchable, [5] although it made the gap a little smaller as Jardines' only win had come against Rovers. [6]
Five new clubs were elected into the competition, including three reserve sides - those of Derby County (the Wanderers), Lincoln City (the Swifts), and Long Eaton Rangers (the Athletic). [7] [8] Leicester Fosse and Boston also applied to join, but were not elected; Sheffield, having finished bottom in the first season, was forced to apply for re-election, but was voted back in. [9]
Grantham Rovers, despite finishing fourth the previous season, decided not to enter again, as the club's debts had increased to £44 and it had to undertake a new guarantee scheme in order to continue at all; [10] instead it sought bigger gates by joining the Midland League, and the club was replaced by its rival Grantham Town. Two other clubs – Doncaster Rovers and Loughborough – also left for the Midland League.
The 1891–92 season saw each of the 10 clubs play out their entire fixtures, and Derby County Wanderers took the title, with 88 goals scored in 18 matches, more than double the total of runner-up Mansfield Town. [11]
The third season of the Alliance was its final season. Mansfield Town was elected to the Midland League in May 1892; [12] in June 1892 the Alliance voted to accept neighbours Greenhalgh's as a replacement, with two other clubs proposed by Mr Longdon of Newark, Matlock and the Nottingham Forest reserves, also accepted at the same time. [13] However, Newark in turn withdrew shortly afterwards to join the Midland League, and the Sheffield United reserve side, the Strollers, which had been turned down by the Sheffield & District Football League, was elected as a replacement. [14]
The division suffered an early blow when Grantham Town withdrew in December, having played just three matches (one win, draw, and defeat each). [15] The remaining eleven clubs however completed their fixtures, and the Derby County reserves (now called Derby Town) again took the title, having secured the crown with 2 matches still to play. [16] One match was never finished; the game between Lincoln City Swifts and Heanor Town at John O'Gaunts in January was abandoned while scoreless with 13 minutes remaining, after Lincoln goalkeeper Johns was sent off for kicking an opponent (allegedly in retaliation), and the crowd invaded the pitch. [17] Heanor claimed both points, but the Alliance ordered that the result stand as 0–0, with Heanor keeping its point for a draw, and Lincoln having its point deducted. [18]
The Alliance held a meeting for admission of new clubs on 12 June 1893, but only two clubs – Derby Town and Notts Olympic – turned up, along with honorary secretary Mr Hines. Given that most of the other clubs had found berths in different competitions, the three attendees voted to suspend the requirements for a quorum, and to disband the Alliance. [19]
| Club | 1890–91 | 1891–92 | 1892–93 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derby County Wanderers/Derby Town | – | 31 | 34 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 17 | – | – |
| Grantham Rovers | 14 | – | – |
| Grantham Town | – | 11 | – |
| Greenhalgh's | – | – | 26 |
| Heanor Town | 12 | 18 | 25 |
| Lincoln City Swifts | – | 15 | 16 |
| Long Eaton Athletic | – | 12 | 5 |
| Loughborough | 16 | – | – |
| Mansfield Town [20] | – | 28 | – |
| Matlock | – | – | 19 |
| Newark | 12 | 22 | – |
| Nottingham Forest Swifts | – | – | 26 |
| Notts County Rovers | 22 | 24 | 20 |
| Notts Olympic | 9 | 8 | 14 |
| Sheffield | 8 | 11 | 5 |
| Sheffield United Strollers | – | – | 27 |
The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92.
Long Eaton Rangers Football Club was a football club based in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, England, which, for a brief period in the 1880s, had a legitimate claim to being one of the best teams in the country. They were founding members of the second ever league, The Combination, in 1888, and when that folded, the Football Alliance in 1889.
Heanor Town Football Club is a football club based in Heanor, Derbyshire, England. They are currently members of the United Counties League Premier Division North and play at the Town Ground.
The Derbyshire County FA Senior Cup is a local county football cup for teams based in the county of Derbyshire. Founded in 1883–1884, the first competition was won by Staveley, who beat Derby Midland 2–1 in the final. 1885–1886 saw Heeley from Yorkshire win the competition. It was not until 1892 that the county's top club Derby County first won the trophy. This delay was partially helped by a disagreement during Derby County's first season 1884–1885. After beating Derby St. Luke's and Wirksworth, Derby County were drawn at home to Long Eaton Rangers in the third round. The club applied for a week's delay in playing the fixture, however Long Eaton Rangers claimed the tie stating that they weren't aware of any change in date and had arrived on the set date to play. A correspondent of the 'Derby Daily Telegraph' wrote that the referee had arrived to take charge on the re-arranged date. The Derbyshire County FA awarded the tie to Long Eaton Rangers and the following season Derby County played in the Birmingham and District FA Senior Cup and set up their own Charity Cup. Players also boycotted playing for the County FA team in protest. It wasn't until 1887–1888 that Derby County next played in their own county's competition, where again in the third round they were drawn to play Long Eaton Rangers who won the tie 4–1.
Notts Rangers Football Club was an English football club, founded in 1868 under the name Nottingham St James. They became Nottingham Rangers in 1880 and by 1886 were habitually referred to as Notts Rangers.
William Hodder was an English footballer who played in The Football League for Notts County.
Robert J. Jardine (1864–1941) was a Scottish footballer who played in The Football League for Derby County and Notts County.
Thomas McLean was a Scottish footballer who played in the English Football League for Derby County and Notts County.
Billy May was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Notts County and Burton Swifts.
Staveley F.C. was a football club in Staveley, a village in Derbyshire, England.
The Central Alliance was a football league in England, covering the East Midlands.
The Central Combination was a short-lived football league in central England. The league was established in 1933 to create a stepping stone for clubs looking to progress from county leagues to the Midland League and initially had 17 members. However, after losing around a third of its members in 1935, the league was reduced to nine clubs. Although it gained an extra member for the 1936–37 season, the league folded in the summer of 1937.
The East Midlands Regional League was a football league in the East Midlands region of England between 1967 and 1985. The league was formed in 1967, taking all but four of the clubs from the Premier Division of the Central Alliance. In 1985 it merged with the Central Alliance to form the Midlands Regional Alliance.
Notts Olympic Football Club was an English football club from the Radford district of Nottingham.
Nottingham Swifts Football Club, usually referred to as Notts Swifts, was an English football club, founded in or before 1876 under the name Mansfield Road. They became Nottingham Swifts in 1880.
Mellors Limited Football Club, also variously given as Mellors' or Mellor's Limited, was an English football club from Nottingham.
Basford Rovers Football Club was an English football club from Nottingham.
Jardines F.C. was an English association football club from Nottingham, England.
Rotherham Swifts F.C. was an association football club from Kimberworth, near Rotherham, Yorkshire, England, active in the 19th century.