When the Football Alliance merged with the Football League in 1892, members of the Alliance joined the League in a newly-founded Second Division. The merging of the leagues was one of the most important moments in the early years of professional football and resulted in Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday and future European champions Nottingham Forest joining the Football League. With the accession of these clubs came Bootle, a side which had reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup as an Alliance club. At the time, Bootle had entered the League as Merseyside's second club, a challenge to Everton, who had joined the Football League as founding members. Despite high finishes in the Alliance, Bootle's stint as a Football League club was less than impressive, winning no away games in the 1892-93 season, their only season before resigning from the League in 1893. Bootle became defunct immediately after the 1893 season, however their demise did not prove bad for football on Merseyside, they were replaced in the Football League by Liverpool.
