1976–77 Northern Premier League

Northern Premier League
Season1976–77
ChampionsBoston United
PromotedNone
RelegatedNone
Matches played506
Goals scored1,494 (2.95 per match)
Biggest home winGainsborough Trinity 7–0 Great Harwood[1]
(5 February 1977)
Biggest away winSouth Liverpool 0-8 Bangor City[1]
(2 January 1977)
Highest scoringScarborough 5-3 Wigan Athletic[1]
(6 November 1976)

Bangor City 4-4 Matlock Town[1]
(27 November 1976)
South Liverpool 0-8 Bangor City[1]
(2 January 1977)
Worksop Town 1-7 Altrincham[1]
(12 March 1977)
Frickley Athletic 2-6 Matlock Town[1]
(9 April 1977)
Great Harwood 4-4 Scarborough[1]
(5 May 1977)

Gainsborough Trinity 5–3 Stafford Rangers[1]
(29 March 1977)
Longest winning run8 matches
Lancaster City
(11 September 1976 - 11 October 1976)
Longest unbeaten run19 matches
Northwich Victoria
(6 February 1977 – 18 May 1977)
Longest winless run11 matches
Buxton
(23 October 1976 – 5 February 1977)
Longest losing run8 matches
Barrow
(11 April 1977 – 30 April 1977)

The 1976–77 Northern Premier League was the ninth season of the Northern Premier League, a regional football league in Northern England, the northern areas of the Midlands and North Wales. The season began on 21 August 1976 and concluded on 20 May 1977.[1]

Overview

The League featured twenty-three teams for the first time. The systems of goal average was replaced by goal difference.

Team changes

The following club left the League at the end of the previous season:

The following club joined the League at the start of the season:

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
1 Boston United (C) 44 27 11 6 82 35 +47 65
2 Northwich Victoria 44 27 11 6 85 43 +42 65
3 Matlock Town 44 26 11 7 108 57 +51 63
4 Bangor City 44 22 11 11 87 52 +35 55
5 Scarborough 44 21 12 11 77 66 +11 54
6 Goole Town 44 23 6 15 64 50 +14 52
7 Lancaster City 44 21 9 14 71 58 +13 51
8 Gateshead United 44 18 12 14 80 64 +16 48 Club Folded. A new club formed Gateshead replaced
9 Mossley 44 17 14 13 74 59 +15 48
10 Altrincham 44 19 9 16 60 53 +7 47
11 Stafford Rangers 44 16 14 14 60 55 +5 46
12 Runcorn 44 15 14 15 58 50 +8 44
13 Worksop Town 44 16 12 16 50 58 −8 44
14 Wigan Athletic 44 14 15 15 62 54 +8 43
15 Morecambe 44 13 11 20 59 75 −16 37
16 Gainsborough Trinity 44 13 10 21 58 74 −16 36
17 Great Harwood 44 11 14 19 63 84 −21 36
18 Buxton 44 11 13 20 48 63 −15 35
19 Macclesfield Town 44 8 15 21 41 68 −27 31
20 Frickley Athletic 44 11 8 25 53 93 −40 30
21 Barrow 44 11 6 27 56 87 −31 28
22 South Liverpool 44 10 8 26 51 104 −53 28
23 Netherfield 44 9 8 27 47 92 −45 26
Updated to match(es) played on 20 May 1977. Source: The Football Archives
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored. The points system up until the 1982–83 season: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
(C) Champions

Results

Home \ Away ALT BAN BRW BOS BUX FRK GAI GAT GOO GHA LNC MAC MAT MOR MOS NET NOR RUN SCA SLI STA WIG WOK
Altrincham 1–0 3–2 0–0 2–0 2–2 4–1 1–0 4–1 4–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 3–1 1–0 4–1 0–3 0–2 0–1 0–0 0–3 1–3 0–0
Bangor City 1–1 6–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–2 3–1 3–1 0–0 1–0 4–4 1–0 3–0 3–1 1–2 0–0 1–0 4–1 2–0 0–0 2–0
Barrow 0–1 0–3 0–1 0–2 2–0 2–2 1–2 1–2 1–0 0–2 4–3 0–3 3–1 2–3 2–2 3–1 0–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 4–1 0–1
Boston United 4–0 1–3 2–0 2–0 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 3–2 1–0 1–5 6–0 2–1 4–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 4–0 1–1 1–1 4–2
Buxton 0–0 4–2 0–1 1–5 0–1 2–2 2–0 2–0 3–1 0–1 1–0 1–5 3–0 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 0–3 1–2
Frickley Athletic 1–1 1–2 4–0 0–3 1–2 3–2 2–0 1–5 3–1 0–1 1–1 2–6 0–2 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 4–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 0–0
Gainsborough Trinity 0–1 2–1 4–0 0–2 2–1 3–2 0–0 0–1 7–0 0–3 2–0 0–4 1–2 0–1 2–1 2–2 0–0 2–0 3–2 5–3 0–0 1–0
Gateshead United 1–2 5–1 3–2 3–1 0–1 3–2 4–1 2–1 5–1 3–1 1–1 1–3 3–3 1–1 3–2 3–0 1–0 0–1 5–0 2–0 2–0 0–3
Goole Town 2–1 2–3 1–0 0–2 3–1 3–0 2–0 3–2 0–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 2–1 3–2 4–2 0–0 0–1 1–1
Great Harwood 1–3 2–2 0–2 3–0 3–2 5–2 2–2 2–2 0–2 1–0 0–1 2–2 3–2 0–3 0–1 1–1 2–2 4–4 4–1 2–2 2–0 5–0
Lancaster City 1–0 2–1 1–3 1–2 2–1 1–3 2–0 3–3 2–0 1–1 3–1 4–3 3–2 2–0 3–0 1–1 3–1 1–2 5–2 1–2 1–1 1–1
Macclesfield Town 0–2 1–1 3–1 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 1–3 0–0 0–3 1–1 1–3 0–3 2–2 1–1 0–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 2–0
Matlock Town 5–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 4–2 2–2 5–1 1–1 4–2 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–2 3–2 1–4 2–1 1–1 4–0 4–0 2–1 4–3
Morecambe 3–0 1–3 0–5 0–1 1–1 5–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–1 4–1 0–0 0–1 3–2 2–0 0–3 1–1 1–2 3–2 1–2 1–0 5–1
Mossley 2–1 3–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 4–0 5–0 2–2 2–5 2–1 3–0 1–2 1–2 1–1 4–1 1–1 3–2 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–3 1–1
Netherfield 1–0 1–3 3–1 0–3 3–2 1–3 2–1 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–3 1–3 3–1 1–2 1–1 1–3 2–2 0–3 2–3 1–0 1–0 0–1
Northwich Victoria 1–1 2–0 5–1 1–3 1–1 5–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–0 2–0 3–2 2–2 3–1 4–1 1–3 4–0 3–1 2–0 1–0 1–0
Runcorn 2–1 0–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 4–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–3 4–0 0–2 4–1 0–4 2–2 1–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–1
Scarborough 1–0 2–3 3–3 2–1 1–0 4–2 3–2 3–3 2–2 1–1 2–2 1–2 3–1 4–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 5–3 3–1
South Liverpool 1–0 0–8 1–1 0–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 0–3 1–2 1–1 2–3 1–1 1–3 3–0 2–5 2–2 1–2 0–4 5–1 2–1 0–3 0–2
Stafford Rangers 1–1 0–5 2–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–2 1–0 3–0 0–2 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 6–1 1–1 3–0 3–1 3–2 3–1 1–1
Wigan Athletic 1–2 2–1 5–2 1–1 3–1 4–1 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–2 1–1 2–2 2–0 0–1 0–0 1–3 3–0 1–2 2–0
Worksop Town 1–7 2–3 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 4–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 0–1 3–2 1–1
Updated to match(es) played on 20 May 1977. Source: The Football Archives
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Stadia and locations

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 1976–77 Northern Premier League teams
Team Stadium
Altrincham Moss Lane
Bangor City Farrar Road
Barrow Holker Street
Boston United York Street
Buxton The Silverlands
Frickley Athletic Westfield Lane
Gainsborough Trinity The Northolme
Gateshead United Gateshead Youth Stadium
Goole Town Victoria Pleasure Ground
Great Harwood The Showground
Lancaster City Great Axe
Macclesfield Town Moss Rose
Matlock Town Causeway Lane
Morecambe Christie Park
Mossley Seel Park
Netherfield Parkside
Northwich Victoria Drill Field
Runcorn Canal Street
Scarborough Athletic Ground
South Liverpool Holly Park
Stafford Rangers Marston Road
Wigan Athletic Springfield Park
Worksop Town Central Avenue

Cup results

Challenge Cup

Main article: Northern Premier League Challenge Cup
Home Team Score Away Team
Scarborough 1–0 Runcorn

Northern Premier League Shield

Main article: Northern Premier League Shield

Between Champions of NPL Premier Division and Winners of the NPL Cup.

Home Team Score Away Team
Boston United beat Scarborough

FA Cup

Main article: 1976–77 FA Cup

Out of the twenty-four clubs from the Northern Premier League, only three teams reached the second round:

Second Round

Home Team Score Away Team
Mansfield Town 2–5 Matlock Town
Northwich Victoria 4–0 Peterborough United
Wrexham 1–1 Goole Town
Goole Town 0–1 Wrexham Replay

Third Round

Home Team Score Away Team
Carlisle United 5–1 Matlock Town
Northwich Victoria 3–2 Watford

Fourth Round

Home Team Score Away Team
Carlisle United 5–1 Matlock Town
Northwich Victoria 1–3 Oldham Athletic

FA Trophy

Main article: 1976–77 FA Trophy

Out of the twenty-four clubs from the Northern Premier League, three teams reached the fourth round:

Fourth Round

Home Team Score Away Team
Scarborough 1-1 Nuneaton Borough
Nuneaton Borough 0-1 Scarborough Replay
Slough Town 2-0 Morecambe
Weymouth 0-0 Altrincham
Altrincham 2-1 Weymouth Replay

Semi-finals

Stage Home Team Score Away Team
1st Leg Scarborough 2-0 Altrincham
2nd Leg Altrincham 2-0 Scarborough
Aggregate Scarborough 2-2 Altrincham
Replay Scarborough 0-0 Altrincham
2nd Replay Scarborough 2-1 Altrincham

Final

Home Team Score Away Team
Scarborough 3-2 Dagenham

End of the season

At the end of the ninth season of the Northern Premier League, Altrincham who put forward for election did not receive enough votes to be promoted to the Football League.

Football League elections

Alongside the four Football League teams facing re-election, two non-League teams, one from the Northern Premier League and the other from the Southern League. Applied to be elected. Three out of the four Football League teams were re-elected. Wimbledon from the Southern League replaced Workington from the Football League as they didn't receive enough votes. Workington was subsequently relegated to the Northern Premier League.[2]

Club League Votes
Halifax Town Football League Division Four 44
Hartlepool Football League Division Four 42
Southport Football League Division Four 37
Wimbledon Southern League Premier Division 27
Workington Football League Division Four 21
Altrincham Northern Premier League 12

Promotion and relegation

The following club left the League at the end of the season:

The following club joined the League the following season:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The Football Archives 76-77". The Football Archives.
  2. ^ A history of admission to the Football League