A COMBINATION AND AN ALLIANCE

'After drawing your attention to the birth of Manchester United, Newton Heath began their existence playing in the Football Alliance. The Football League had formed in 1888 with 12 teams from the Midlands and North. The Football Alliance started in 1889 in competition, surviving for three seasons only, as the central organisation was poor and teams did not fulfil fixtures. Travelling, cancellations and finances provided obstacles.

12 clubs joined the Alliance as a rival to the Football League with teams mainly from the North West and Midlands. Original members were: Birmingham St Georges, Newton Heath, Grimsby Town, Long Eaton Rangers, Nottingham Forest, Crewe Alexandra, Darwen, Bootle, Small Heath, Sunderland Albion The Wednesday (Sheffield) and Walsall Town Swifts.

The Wednesday, Stoke and Nottingham Forest were champions in those first three seasons.

By 1892, the Football League and Alliance merged to form two Football League divisions. Stoke had already joined the FLeague in 1890-1 followed by Darwen in 1891-2. 

The Football Combination, not to be confused with the more well known "reserve" division titled the Football Combination in the south, was formed in 1888-9 and lasted for one season before folding and starting again in 1890-91 until 1911.

In its second incarnation the Combination included Burton Swifts, Chester, Denton, Derby St Luke's, Gorton Villa, Hyde, Leek, Macclesfield Town, Northwich Victoria, Stafford County, Witton and Wrexham.

Five of these early members ended up in the Football League and you should be able to work those out fairly easily. Glossop North End, who joined the Combination later also went to the FLeague. 

Gradually more Welsh teams and FL reserves sides joined the Combination such as Everton Reserves who were the Combination champions for seven years out of the first ten or so seasons. By 1911, only Wrexham Reserves of the original clubs survived. Since 1912, other new local leagues were formed to accommodate the clubs jettisoned as the Combination was disbanded.

By 1890, Chester, Denton, Derby St Luke's, Gorton Villa, Hyde, Leek, Macclesfield Town, Northwich Victoria, Stafford County, Witton and Wrexham were in the league. A few of these were linked to present day clubs.

For those of you not comfortable your English and Welsh geography, these teams lurked in the Greater Manchester and North Wales region bordering Cheshire.

By the time the Combination folded in 1911, Whitchurch had joined and became Champions, Bangor and Oswestry United had also joined in, as well as other teams from the North-west area and only Wrexham's reserves from the original founder members supported the Combination.

And then I discover this blog from Australia........

http://gottfriedfuchs.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/the-football-combination-1888.html