1991–92 North West Counties Football League
Football league season
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The 1991–92 North West Counties Football League season (known as the Bass North West Counties League for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England.
The league comprised two divisions (at levels 8 and 9 of the English football league system) and there were additionally three cup competitions: the League Challenge Cup knockout competition (known as the Raab Karcher Cup for sponsorship reasons for the final occasion this season), open to all the league's clubs; the Second Division Trophy (known as the Lamot Pils Trophy for sponsorship reasons), a knockout trophy competition for Division Two clubs only; and the Floodlit Trophy competition for all the league's clubs with floodlights (known as the Tennents Floodlit Trophy for sponsorship reasons for the first occasion this season[1]). The league also had a reserves team section.
Division One
| Season | 1991–92 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 18 |
| Champions | Ashton United |
| Promoted | Ashton United Great Harwood Town |
| Relegated | Bootle |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 907 (2.96 per match) |
← 1990–91 1992–93 → | |
Division One featured featured 18 clubs, 15 remaining from the previous season plus 3 additional (all promoted from Division Two):
- Blackpool Rovers, promoted as runners-up
- Bradford Park Avenue, promoted from third place
- Great Harwood Town, promoted as champions
At the end of the season the top two clubs were promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One: the champions Ashton United automatically and Great Harwood Town (with their second successive promotion) who won a ballot for the additional club required by the Northern Premier League.[2] Two other clubs left the division: the bottom and only relegated club Bootle; and Vauxhall GM who for organisational reasons stepped back from the league and joined the West Cheshire League.[3]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ashton United (C, P) | 34 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 61 | 30 | +31 | 77 | Promoted to Northern Premier League Division One |
| 2 | Great Harwood Town (P) | 34 | 22 | 8 | 4 | 68 | 38 | +30 | 74 | |
| 3 | Eastwood Hanley | 34 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 54 | 35 | +19 | 63 | |
| 4 | Blackpool Rovers | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 73 | 57 | +16 | 55 | |
| 5 | Prescot | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 48 | 43 | +5 | 51 | |
| 6 | Penrith | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 57 | 58 | −1 | 50 | |
| 7 | Skelmersdale United | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 48 | 52 | −4 | 44 | |
| 8 | Flixton | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 42 | |
| 9 | Clitheroe | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 42 | |
| 10 | Darwen | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 56 | 55 | +1 | 41 | |
| 11 | Atherton Laburnum Rovers | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 41 | |
| 12 | Nantwich Town | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 40[a] | |
| 13 | Vauxhall GM | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 42 | 51 | −9 | 40 | Resigned to West Cheshire League[3] |
| 14 | Bacup Borough | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 41 | 45 | −4 | 38 | |
| 15 | St Helens Town | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 36 | |
| 16 | Maine Road | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 40 | 60 | −20 | 36 | |
| 17 | Bradford Park Avenue | 34 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 57 | 68 | −11 | 35 | |
| 18 | Bootle (R) | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 41 | 61 | −20 | 35 | Relegated to Division Two |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Nantwich Town had three points deducted
Division Two
| Season | 1991–92 |
|---|---|
| Teams | 18 |
| Champions | Bamber Bridge |
| Promoted | Bamber Bridge Blackpool Mechanics Burscough Chadderton Glossop Kidsgrove Athletic Newcastle Town Salford City |
| Relegated | None |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 991 (3.24 per match) |
← 1990–91 1992–93 → | |
Division Two featured 18 clubs, 15 remaining from the previous season plus 3 additional:
- Holker Old Boys, joined from the West Lancashire League
- Salford City, relegated from Division One
- Squires Gate, joined from the West Lancashire League
At the end of the season Bamber Bridge and Newcastle Town as the champions and runners-up respectively were promoted to Division One and to expand the higher division to 22 clubs for the next season six further clubs were advanced not solely on the basis of their position in the final table but also having suitable ground grading; these were: Blackpool Mechanics (who finished third), Burscough (fourth), Glossop (sixth), Salford City (seventh), Kidsgrove Athletic (tenth) and Chadderton (eleventh).[4] Bottom placed clubs Ashton Town and Westhoughton Town both conceded in excess of 100 goals over the season (101 and 106 respectively) – although below the historic league highest of 111 (in the 1982–83 season by Darwen and 1988–89 season by Newton) it was the first occasion that two clubs in the same division in the league had conceded treble digit goals in a single season.
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Season End Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bamber Bridge (C, P) | 34 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 97 | 39 | +58 | 78 | Promoted to Division One |
| 2 | Newcastle Town (P) | 34 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 69 | 26 | +43 | 75 | |
| 3 | Blackpool Mechanics (P) | 34 | 20 | 9 | 5 | 75 | 34 | +41 | 69 | |
| 4 | Burscough (P) | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 82 | 46 | +36 | 64 | |
| 5 | Formby | 34 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 49 | 39 | +10 | 56 | |
| 6 | Glossop (P) | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 61 | 44 | +17 | 54 | Promoted to Division One |
| 7 | Salford City (P) | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 51 | |
| 8 | Castleton Gabriels | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 54 | 43 | +11 | 51 | |
| 9 | Cheadle Town | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 53 | 50 | +3 | 51 | |
| 10 | Kidsgrove Athletic (P) | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 49 | Promoted to Division One |
| 11 | Chadderton (P) | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 48 | |
| 12 | Oldham Town | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 49 | 62 | −13 | 41 | |
| 13 | Atherton Collieries | 34 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 51 | 64 | −13 | 40 | |
| 14 | Squires Gate | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 45 | 60 | −15 | 38 | |
| 15 | Holker Old Boys | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 37 | 53 | −16 | 36 | |
| 16 | Maghull | 34 | 7 | 2 | 25 | 38 | 90 | −52 | 23 | |
| 17 | Ashton Town | 34 | 4 | 7 | 23 | 47 | 101 | −54 | 19 | |
| 18 | Westhoughton Town | 34 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 33 | 106 | −73 | 19 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
League Challenge Cup
The 1991–92 League Challenge Cup (known as the Raab Karcher Cup for sponsorship reasons for the final occasion this season) was a knockout competition open to all the league's clubs. The final, played at Bury F.C., was won by Division One club Ashton United who, as part of a league and cup double, defeated Burscough of Division Two 1–0.[5]
Semi-finals and Final
The semi-finals were decided on aggregate score from two legs played
| Semi-finals | Final[a] | ||||||||||||
| Ashton United (D1) | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Castleton Gabriels (D2) | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Ashton United (D1) | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Burscough (D2) | 0 | ||||||||||||
| Burscough (D2) | 2 | 1[b] | 3[c] | ||||||||||
| Eastwood Hanley (D1) | 0 | 3[b] | 3 | ||||||||||
Club's division appended to team name: (D1)=Division One; (D2)=Division Two
sources:
- Semi-finals: "Castleton legged up by Ashton". Rochdale Observer. Rochdale. 15 April 1992. p. 16.; "Tigger's a wonderful thing". Ormskirk Advertiser. Ormskirk. 16 April 1992. p. 13.
- Final: "(column 5) Ashton Utd 1 Burscough 0". Liverpool Daily Post. Liverpool. 1 May 1992. p. 42.
Second Division Trophy
The 1991–92 Second Division Trophy (known as the Lamot Pils Trophy for sponsorship reasons) was a knockout competition for Division Two clubs only. Newcastle Town defeated Atherton Collieries 2–0 in extra time (0–0 at 90 minutes) in the final played at Ashton United F.C.[6]
Semi-finals and Final
The semi-finals were decided on aggregate score from two legs played
| Semi-finals | Final[a] | ||||||||||||
| Cheadle Town | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Atherton Collieries | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Atherton Collieries | 0[b] | ||||||||||||
| Newcastle Town | 2[b] | ||||||||||||
| Newcastle Town | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
| Chadderton | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||
- Played at Ashton United F.C.
- After extra time, score at 90 minutes: 0–0
sources:
- Semi-finals: "Results, scorers, attendences: Saturday: Lamot Pils Trophy semi-final 1st leg". Manchester Evening News: Pink Final. Manchester. 11 April 1992. p. 22.; "Results, scorers, attendences: Saturday:Lamot Pils Trophy semi-final 2nd leg". Manchester Evening News: Pink Final. Manchester. 18 April 1992. p. 22.
- Final: "Newcastle Town win Lamot Pils Trophy". Evening Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 7 May 1992. p. 32.
Floodlit Trophy
The 1991–92 Floodlit Trophy (known as the Tennents Floodlit Trophy for sponsorship reasons for the first occasion[1]) was a competition open to all the league's clubs with floodlights. The first phase took place in groups; the final was held at Wigan Athletic F.C. and was won by Division One club Great Harwood Town who defeated Bamber Bridge of Division Two 1–0.[7]
Reserves Section
Main honours for the 1991–92 season:[8]
- Reserves Division
- Winners: Flixton Reserves
- Runners-up: Chadderton Reserves
- Reserves Division Cup
- Winners: Chadderton Reserves
- Runners-up: Flixton Reserves