For the fifth time, Fred Wheldon appeared in every League match, in his last season with the club before joining local rivals Aston Villa for an initial transfer fee of £350, believed to be a record.

Of the fringe players, Charlie Letherbarrow joined Millwall, with whom he won the Southern League title in 1895–96, Ernie Moore and Tilson Pritchard returned to non-League football, and Tom Watson resumed his police career.

[6] The Dart thought that Jenkyns would be missed "a great deal more than some of [the] supporters imagine", and that apart from Fall, who was expected to be a significant improvement on Charles Partridge, the 1895–96 team would be noticeably weaker than that of the season just ended.

The players had not yet got used to the new rule forbidding the thrower to step over the line while taking a throw-in, and after penalising the Sheffield captain for a foul throw, the referee took time out to demonstrate the correct procedure.

[9][10] With Joe Fall still unavailable because of an injury sustained in pre-season training, Charles Partridge was replaced in goal by reserve Jim Roach, who made an eventful debut at local rivals Aston Villa.

According to the Birmingham Daily Post, he should take no blame for any of the five goals conceded before half-time, due in part to the sun in his eyes and with the half-backs "little more than landmarks on the field".

[11] Fall returned to fitness for Small Heath's third defeat of the season, at home to Stoke in a game characterised by excessive foul play.

Both clubs had promised full first teams, but numerous regulars were unavailable, and Small Heath fielded their fourth different goalkeeper of the season, Bill Meates, an amateur signed from Eastbourne a few weeks earlier.

[21][22][23] Meates kept his place for the next League game, and Hands, who was injured against Bury, Billy Walton and Devey were replaced by Jack Jones, Charlie Izon and Alex Leake, the latter two making their first appearances of the season, as Small Heath were "completely outclassed" by Stoke.

[29] The visit to Bolton Wanderers was postponed after severe weather in the north-west left the ground waterlogged,[30] so the next game was at home to Preston North End on 23 November.

Lester turned the ball into his own net to bring the scores level, but despite the brilliance of Bob Holmes, playing on his own at back after Sandy Tait had gone in goal, Preston could not prevent Small Heath exploiting their numerical advantage.

In the face of wind laced with flurries of snow, Small Heath "almost to a man, blocked their goal in such a manner as to render it well nigh impossible for Everton to score through such a forest of legs.

[38] The expected heavy defeat at Sunderland failed to materialise, that club's winning goal coming only when Jack Oliver – a native of the town – chested the ball into his own net while attempting to block a shot.

[39] An exciting though unscientific local derby against West Bromwich Albion, the closest team to Small Heath in the table, produced a 2–2 draw in which Fraser's courage and judgment in a defensive role was remarked upon, and Bruce and James Adlington scored their first goals for the club.

[40] On an icy surface on Boxing Day, the home forwards' enthusiasm was rewarded with a goal scored by Adlington from a Wheldon cross to beat Burnley and narrow the gap to just one point behind that club and West Bromwich Albion.

[48] Two days later, in the replay of the match abandoned for bad weather, Small Heath's forwards pressed hard early on, but faded after Hugh Goldie scored somewhat against the run of play and Everton won 3–0.

Wednesday had a goal from a free kick disallowed because the ball had not touched another player on its way into the net, though Meates made a desperate attempt to save it after it appeared to have deflected off Fred Spiksley.

[54] Small Heath put out a strong side against Blackburn Rovers – the Leicester Chronicle believed that "at no period of the season have they had such a representative team".

[55] While Corinthian back Lewis Vaughan Lodge's long-expected first appearance for the club – which proved to be his last – was marred by a lack of discipline positionally, Haddon enhanced his reputation at centre-forward and contributed to Wheldon's fine winning goal after debutant Bill Robertson had scored from a penalty kick.

The Rovers forwards played an effective dribbling game, but Small Heath's once-characteristic "dash" earned them victory and took them into March off the bottom of the table.

[56] A 1–0 defeat of Bury, courtesy of Haddon after a Wheldon header had been ruled out for offside, took Small Heath out of the test match positions at the expense of Wolverhampton Wanderers, but the latter club had the easier run-in to the end of the season.

[57] After a more than usually entertaining friendly at Leicester Fosse finished 3–2 to the home side,[58] Small Heath resumed their League campaign with a visit to Blackburn Rovers, in which a performance " much better ... than was expected of them" still ended in defeat.

[60] The annual theatrical sports, run by the Small Heath club in association with the Prince of Wales Theatre, raised £350 after expenses, to be distributed among the local hospitals.

Perhaps with the approaching FA Cup Final on their minds, they took it easy in the second half, but a weakened Small Heath team, with Fountain, Jones and Pratt replacing Hands, Haddon and Lester, were still unable to score.

[65] On Easter Monday, a goalless draw at West Bromwich Albion, thanks largely to Joe Fall and his defence, kept Small Heath out of the bottom two places with two games left to play.

[66] Small Heath dominated the play against Sheffield United, but visiting goalkeeper William Foulke was on fine form, and his team had a one-goal lead at the interval.

Encouraged by this stroke of luck, Small Heath pressed, and from a Leake cross, Wheldon executed an overhead kick from which the ball rebounded off the crossbar to Mobley, again standing offside, who tapped it in for the winning goal.

"[77] Harry Haynes moved on to Southern League club Southampton St Mary's, Ted Devey left for Burton Wanderers, and Adam Fraser returned to Scotland,[78] but the major loss was that of Fred Wheldon.

[79][80] He joined local rivals and League champions Aston Villa for a fee which, after much speculation, was confirmed at Small Heath's Annual General Meeting as £350 guaranteed, plus the proceeds of a match to be played between the two clubs.