1889–90 Aston Villa F.C. season
| 1889–90 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | George Ramsay | ||
| Ground | Wellington Road | ||
| Football League | 8th | ||
| FA Cup | Round 2 | ||
|
| |||
| Season | 1889–90 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Preston North End, 2nd title |
| Top goalscorer | Jimmy Ross, 24 |
| Biggest home win | Preston North End 10–0 Stoke (14 September 1889) |
| Biggest away win | Accrington 1–8 Notts County (12 October 1889) |
| Highest scoring | Preston North End 10–0 Stoke (14 September 1889) Blackburn 9–1 Notts County (16 November 1889) Wolves 9–1 Burnley (7 December 1889) |
| Longest winning run | 6, Everton, Preston |
| Longest unbeaten run | 7, Accrington, Blackburn, Preston North End |
| Longest losing run | 10 matches Stoke |
← 1888–89 1890–91 → | |
The 1889–90 English football season saw Aston Villa's 2nd season in the Football League. They started with an unbeaten opening three games including a win over champions Preston, but suffered several defeats after Christmas, winning only one of their six remaining league games to finish 8th.
Preston's "Invincibles" were unbeaten from the previous season. They had now won their first league match to stretch their unbeaten league run to 23 games but faced a Villa team who would inflict their first-ever league defeat with a 5–3 victory. In the former top tear of English football, home and away Christmas Day fixtures were often played allowing many working people their only chance to watch a game guaranteeing football clubs large crowds. Champions Preston North End faced Aston Villa on Christmas Day 1889. Christmas fixtures were recorded as late as the 1957-58 Football League season.
Scottish centre back, Jimmy Cowan, made his debut, coming from Vale of Leven FC. He would go on to make 357 appearances for Villa, his last win seeing Small Heath knocked out of the 1901 FA Cup Quarter-final replay. There were also debuts for Albert Aldridge, Tom Clarkson, Billy Dickson, Sammy Gray, George Davis, Ike Moore, Arthur Hickton, James Connor, Jack Graham, Lewis Campbell, Bill Dickie and Jim Paton.
A benefit match was held for Small Heath player, Chris Charsley, ahead of his retirement; despite the admission charge being increased for the occasion, around 6,000 spectators turned up to watch a schoolboys' match followed by the main attraction. In an encounter described by the Birmingham Daily Post as "perhaps the closest and most exciting ever played on the field", Aston Villa, featuring new signing Tom McKnight, drew 2–2 with a Small Heath eleven. A substantial sum was raised.