1997–98 North West Counties Football League

The 1997–98 North West Counties Football League season was the 16th in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England. Teams were divided into two divisions: Division One and Division Two.

Division One

North West Counties
Football League
Division One
Season1997–98
ChampionsKidsgrove Athletic
PromotedBurscough
RelegatedChadderton
Darwen
Warrington Town
Matches played462
Goals scored1,529 (3.31 per match)

Division One featured four new teams:

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Kidsgrove Athletic (C) 42 32 3 7 127 50 +77 99
2 Burscough (P) 42 29 7 6 101 30 +71 94 Promotion to Northern Premier League Division One
3 Newcastle Town 42 23 16 3 82 32 +50 85
4 Vauxhall GM 42 24 9 9 91 52 +39 81
5 St Helens Town 42 22 12 8 91 59 +32 78
6 Clitheroe 42 21 10 11 72 51 +21 73
7 Prescot Cables 42 19 11 12 72 57 +15 68
8 Glossop North End 42 19 7 16 78 69 +9 64
9 Mossley 42 16 14 12 67 52 +15 62
10 Nantwich Town 42 17 6 19 71 79 −8 57
11 Maine Road 42 15 10 17 56 70 −14 55
12 Chadderton (R) 42 15 8 19 63 59 +4 53 Relegation to Division Two
13 Rossendale United 42 15 6 21 61 80 −19 51
14 Blackpool Rovers 42 13 9 20 67 84 −17 48 Resigned to the West Lancashire League at the end of the season
15 Atherton Laburnum Rovers 42 12 11 19 54 73 −19 47
16 Haslingden 42 12 10 20 68 95 −27 46 Club folded
17 Ramsbottom United 42 12 9 21 58 84 −26 45
18 Salford City 42 13 4 25 64 92 −28 43
19 Warrington Town (R) 42 10 10 22 56 72 −16 40[a] Relegation to Division Two
20 Holker Old Boys 42 7 12 23 46 96 −50 33
21 Darwen (R) 42 6 13 23 42 93 −51 31 Relegation to Division Two
22 Atherton Collieries 42 7 9 26 42 100 −58 30
Updated to match(es) played on May 1998. Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Warrington Town were relegated an extra level due to ground standards issues.

Division Two

North West Counties
Football League
Division Two
Season1997–98
ChampionsOldham Town
PromotedBootle
Cheadle Town
Leek CSOB
Skelmersdale United
RelegatedNone
Matches played420
Goals scored1,641 (3.91 per match)

Division Two featured three new teams:

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 Oldham Town (C) 40 27 8 5 118 49 +69 89
2 Skelmersdale United (P) 40 26 7 7 111 50 +61 85 Promotion to Division One
3 Leek County School Old Boys (P) 40 26 7 7 77 39 +38 85
4 Cheadle Town (P) 40 24 9 7 108 58 +50 81
5 Woodley Sports 40 22 7 11 118 56 +62 73
6 Formby 40 22 7 11 90 63 +27 73
7 Bootle (P) 40 19 15 6 82 60 +22 72 Promotion to Division One
8 Garswood United 40 19 10 11 98 62 +36 67 Resigned to the Mid Cheshire League at the end of the season
9 Tetley Walker 40 19 9 12 98 62 +36 66
10 Castleton Gabriels 40 18 7 15 86 59 +27 61
11 Maghull 40 16 10 14 68 63 +5 58
12 Fleetwood Freeport 40 15 11 14 73 55 +18 56
13 Nelson 40 17 5 18 69 76 −7 56
14 Bacup Borough 40 13 8 19 58 83 −25 47
15 Squires Gate 40 11 9 20 72 88 −16 42
16 Daisy Hill 40 11 9 20 60 86 −26 42
17 Middlewich Athletic 40 11 8 21 48 90 −42 41 Resigned to the Mid Cheshire League at the end of the season
18 Colne 40 8 7 25 48 91 −43 31
19 Ashton Town 40 6 6 28 73 137 −64 24
20 Stantondale 40 4 4 32 50 146 −96 16 Club folded
21 Blackpool Mechanics 40 2 5 33 33 165 −132 11
Updated to match(es) played on 2 May 1998. Source: [2]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

References