The 1890–91 season was Newton Heath’s second season in the Football Alliance; they finished in 9th position.

The club also took part in the FA Cup, reaching the Second Qualifying Round; the Lancashire Senior Cup, in which they reached the Second Round; and the Manchester and District Challenge Cup, in which they finished as runners-up to Ardwick.

Football Alliance

Date	Opponents	H / A	ResultF – A	Scorers	Attendance
6 September 1890	Darwen	H	4 – 2	Farman, Evans, J. Doughty,Owen	6,000
13 September 1890	Grimsby Town	A	1 – 3	Stewart	3,000
20 September 1890	Nottingham Forest	H	1 – 1	J. Doughty	5,000
27 September 1890	Stoke	A	1 – 2	Milarvie	2,000
11 October 1890	Bootle	A	0 – 5		4,000
18 October 1890	Grimsby Town	H	3 – 1	Ramsay, Evans, Sharpe	2,500
1 November 1890	Crewe Alexandra	H	6 – 3	Farman, Stewart (2), Craig,Evans, Ramsay	4,000
8 November 1890	Walsall Town Swifts	A	1 – 2	Sharpe	3,000
22 November 1890	Nottingham Forest	A	2 – 8	Farman, Ramsay	2,000
29 November 1890	Sunderland Albion	H	1 – 5	Ramsay	2,000
13 December 1890	Small Heath	H	3 – 1	Sharpe, Milarvie, Speller (o.g.)	1,000
27 December 1890	Bootle	H	2 – 1	Stewart, Milarvie	5,000
5 January 1891	Stoke	H	0 – 1		3,000
10 January 1891	Birmingham St George’s	A	1 – 6	Farman	1,000
17 January 1891	Walsall Town Swifts	H	3 – 3	Owen, Milarvie, Ramsay	1,500
24 January 1891	Sheffield Wednesday	A	2 – 1	Sharpe, Stewart	3,000
14 February 1891	Crewe Alexandra	A	1 – 0	Farman	3,000
21 February 1891	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1 – 1	Craig	4,000
7 March 1891	Small Heath	A	1 – 2	Sharpe	2,000
14 March 1891	Birmingham St George’s	H	1 – 3	Sharpe	2,000
28 March 1891	Darwen	A	1 – 2	Ramsay	2,000
11 April 1891	Sunderland Albion	A	1 – 2	Ramsay	3,500

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
8	Crewe Alexandra	22	8	4	10	59	67	20
9	Newton Heath	22	7	3	12	37	55	17
10	Small Heath	22	7	2	13	58	66	16

Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	ResultF – A	Scorers	Attendance
4 October 1890	First Round Qualifying	Higher Walton	H	2 – 0	Farman, Evans	3,000
25 October 1890	Second Round Qualifying	Bootle Reserves	A	0 – 1		3,000

Lancashire Senior Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	ResultF – A	Scorers	Attendance
7 February 1891	Round 1	Witton	A	4 – 3	Craig, Milarvie, unknown, unknown
19 February 1891	Round 2	Preston North End	A	1 – 3	Farman	2,000

Manchester Senior Cup

Date	Round	Opponents	H / A	ResultF – A	Scorers	Attendance
14 February 1891	Round 3	Hurst	H	2 – 2	Jones (2)	500
21 March 1891	Semi-final	Stockport County	Ardwick	3 – 1	Stewart, Craig, Milarvie	5,000
18 April 1891	Final	Ardwick	West Manchester	0 – 1		10,000