1897 /98 Season
The exit of three
of their top players including leading scorer Fergus Hunt before the season started
was not a good omen for the club, In the run-up to the new season, Darwen Football
Club had finally become a limited company in order to try and stablise the club's
finances. Unfortunately the 1897/8 season turned out to be Darwen's worst yet,
with the club finishing second from the bottom of The Second Division, winning
just 6 and drawing 1 out of 30 games.
Four of these wins came not suprisingly
at home in the early part of the season : 3-2 against Lincoln, 2-1 v Loughborough
1-0 v Grimsby and 3-1 v Blackpool. when optimism was still high! but 5 defeats
on the trot in December and January put paid to any promotion hopes.
there
followed two suprise away wins firstly at bottom placed Loughborough and at Leicester
Fosse - but a terrible record of 11 straight defeats in their last 11 games saw
the Salmoners having to apply for re-election. In the event they managed to aviod
becoming bottom of the league because of a superior goal difference over Loughborough
with minus 45 as opposed to minus 63.
The Football League meeting took place
on the 20th May in Manchester. Along with Darwen -- Lincoln City and Loughborogh
were seeking re-election, and there was added competition from new applicants
--- Burslem Port Vale, Bristol City, Nelson and New Brighton, who also went into
the ballot for the three available positions.
When the votes were counted,
the shock news was that Darwen had been out-voted by Port Vale, and would lose
their place in the Second Division! Gone was the Loyalty that had once existed
between the Lancashire Clubs in the early years of the Football League, and the
only Lancs Club to vote for Darwen that year were Bolton Wanderers. However the
very next item on the agenda at the meeting was a move to extend the Second Division
from 16 to 18 teams, this motion was carried and Darwen were granted a repreive
and offered a place in the extended Second Division for the following season!
1897/98
Division two final positions:
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | ||
| 1 | Burnley | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 80 | 24 | 48 |
| 2 | Newcastle United | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 64 | 32 | 45 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 66 | 36 | 39 |
| 4 | Newton Heath | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 35 | 38 |
| 5 | Woolwich Arsenal | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 69 | 49 | 37 |
| 6 | Small Heath | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 58 | 50 | 36 |
| 7 | Leicester fosse | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 46 | 35 | 33 |
| 8 | Luton | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 68 | 50 | 30 |
| 9 | Gainsborough Trinity | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 50 | 54 | 30 |
| 10 | Walsall Swifts | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 58 | 58 | 29 |
| 11 | Blackpool | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 49 | 61 | 25 |
| 12 | Grimsby Town | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 52 | 62 | 24 |
| 13 | Burton Swifts | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 69 | 21 |
| 14 | Lincoln City | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 43 | 82 | 17 |
| 15 | DARWEN | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 31 | 76 | 14 |
| 16 | Loughborough | 30 | 6 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 87 | 14 |
History of top flight English Football
Darwen FC Football League Record v All Clubs.