1987–88 Football Conference
The Football Conference season of 1987–88 (known as the GM Vauxhall Conference for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the Football Conference.
Overview
Lincoln City, who had been relegated to the Conference a year earlier in the first season of automatic promotion and relegation between the Conference and the Fourth Division of the Football League, won the Conference title to reclaim their place in the Football League, where they replaced the bottom placed Fourth Division club Newport County.
New teams in the league this season
- Lincoln City (relegated from the Football League 1986–87)
- Fisher Athletic (promoted 1986–87)
- Macclesfield Town (promoted 1986–87)
- Wycombe Wanderers (promoted 1986–87)
Final League Table[1]
| Season | 1987–88[1] |
|---|---|
| Champions | Lincoln City (1st Football Conference title) |
| Promoted to the Football League | Lincoln City |
| Conference League Cup winners | Horwich RMI (Northern Premier League) |
| FA Trophy winners | Enfield |
| Relegated to Level 6 | Bath City, Dagenham, Wealdstone |
| Matches played | 462 |
| Goals scored | 1,386 (3 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Steve Norris (Telford United), 24; Phil Derbyshire, (Stafford Rangers), 24; Paul Davies, (Kidderminster Harriers), 24 |
| Biggest home win | Altrincham – Dagenham 6–0 (2 May 1988); Northwich Victoria – Boston United 6–0 (5 May 1988) |
| Biggest away win | Wycombe Wanderers – Barnet 0–7 (15 September 1987) |
| Highest scoring | Barnet – Sutton United 6–2 (28 December 1987); Lincoln City – Kidderminster Harriers 5–3 (28 December 1987); Wycombe Wanderers – Cheltenham Town 5–3 (16 January 1988) |
| Longest winning run | Kettering Town, Lincoln City, 6 matches |
| Longest unbeaten run | Kidderminster Harriers, Lincoln City, 16 matches |
| Longest losing run | Dagenham, 12 matches |
| Highest attendance | Lincoln City v Wycombe Wanderers, 9,432 (2 May 1988) |
| Lowest attendance | ? |
| Average attendance | 1,249 (+ 36% from the previous season) |
← 1986–87 1988–89 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln City | 42 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 53 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 35 | 86 | 48 | + 38 | 82 | |||||
| 2 | Barnet | 42 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 57 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 36 | 22 | 93 | 45 | + 48 | 80 | |||||
| 3 | Kettering Town | 42 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 31 | 28 | 68 | 48 | + 20 | 75 | |||||
| 4 | Runcorn | 42 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 26 | 27 | 68 | 47 | + 21 | 74 | |||||
| 5 | Telford United | 42 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 23 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 27 | 65 | 50 | + 15 | 70 | |||||
| 6 | Stafford Rangers | 42 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 43 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 36 | 33 | 79 | 58 | + 21 | 69 | |||||
| 7 | Kidderminster Harriers | 42 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 42 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 33 | 38 | 75 | 66 | + 9 | 69 | |||||
| 8 | Sutton United | 42 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 41 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 36 | 29 | 77 | 54 | + 23 | 66 | |||||
| 9 | Maidstone United | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 38 | 33 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 41 | 31 | 79 | 64 | + 15 | 63 | |||||
| 10 | Weymouth | 42 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 33 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 20 | 30 | 53 | 43 | + 10 | 63 | |||||
| 11 | Macclesfield Town | 42 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 27 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 28 | 35 | 64 | 62 | + 2 | 63 | |||||
| 12 | Enfield | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 34 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 44 | 68 | 78 | – 10 | 55 | |||||
| 13 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 36 | 32 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 28 | 35 | 64 | 67 | – 3 | 53 | |||||
| 14 | Altrincham | 42 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 41 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 38 | 59 | 59 | ± 0 | 52 | |||||
| 15 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 38 | 58 | 61 | – 3 | 52 | |||||
| 16 | Boston United | 42 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 33 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 27 | 50 | 60 | 75 | – 15 | 49 | |||||
| 17 | Northwich Victoria | 42 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 30 | 25 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 16 | 32 | 46 | 57 | – 11 | 47 | |||||
| 18 | Wycombe Wanderers | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 32 | 43 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 33 | 50 | 76 | – 26 | 46 | |||||
| 19 | Welling United | 42 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 33 | 32 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 40 | 50 | 72 | – 22 | 42 | |||||
| 20 | Bath City | 42 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 32 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 21 | 44 | 48 | 76 | – 28 | 37 | Relegated to the Southern League | ||||
| 21 | Wealdstone | 42 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 43 | 39 | 76 | – 37 | 32 | Relegated to the Southern League | ||||
| 22 | Dagenham | 42 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 20 | 46 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 17 | 58 | 37 | 104 | – 67 | 21 | Relegated to the Isthmian League |
- Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
- Points scored: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw.
| Key | |
|---|---|
| Football Conference Champions, promoted to Football League Fourth Division | |
| FA Trophy winners | |
| Conference League Cup winners, Horwich RMI F.C. (Northern Premier League) | |
| Relegated from The Football League, see Lincoln City | |
| New club in the Conference | |
| Relegated to Level 6 |
Results[1]
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Top scorers in order of league goals[1]
| Rank | Player | Club | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | League Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Norris | Telford United | 24 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 35 |
| = | Phil Derbyshire | Stafford Rangers | 24 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 32 |
| = | Paul Davies | Kidderminster Harriers | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 27 |
| 4 | Steve Butler | Maidstone United | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 29 |
| = | Mark Carter | Runcorn | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 25 |
| = | Nicky Evans | Barnet | 22 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 30 |
| 7 | Nicky Francis | Enfield | 21 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 29 |
| 8 | Steve Burr | Macclesfield Town | 19 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 32 |
| = | Lenny Dennis | Sutton United | 19 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 25 |
| = | Dave Sansom | Barnet | 19 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 27 |
| 11 | Kim Casey | Kidderminster Harriers | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
| 12 | Phil Brown | Lincoln City | 16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 20 |
| = | Mark Smith | Kettering Town | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| = | Paul Wilson | Boston United | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| = | Brett Angell | Cheltenham Town | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 22 |
| 16 | Steve Biggins | Telford United | 15 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| = | John McGinley | Lincoln City | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 20 |
| = | Paul McKinnon | Sutton United | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 |
Promotion and relegation
Promoted
- Lincoln City (to the Football League Fourth Division)
- Aylesbury United (from the Southern Premier League)
- Chorley (from the Northern Premier League)
- Yeovil Town (from the Isthmian League)
Relegated
- Newport County (from the Football League Fourth Division)
- Bath City (to the Southern Premier League)
- Dagenham (to the Isthmian League)
- Wealdstone (to the Southern Premier League)