The 1904–05 season was the 34th season of competitive
football in England
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
.
Overview
Events
Stockport County were replaced by
Doncaster Rovers in the Second Division.
At the end of the 1904–05 season, the First Division was expanded to include 20 teams;
Bury and
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
were elected back into the First Division from the Second Division.
Manchester City, the previous season's FA Cup winners, were discovered to have been paying their players up to £6 or £7 per week instead of the legal maximum of £4 per week. The club's influential winger
Billy Meredith was
accused of bribing Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...
player
Alex Leake
Alexander Leake (11 July 1871 – 29 March 1938), known as Alex or Alec Leake, was an English professional footballer who won five caps for his country and made 407 appearances in the Football League playing as a half back for Small Heath, ...
and was faced with an 18-month ban from
The Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world ...
, who further rebuked the club by dismissing five of its directors and banning a total of 17 players from ever playing for the club again.
Honours
Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition
League tables
First Division
Second Division
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1904-05 in English football