| Season | 1989–90[1] |
|---|---|
| Champions | Darlington (1stFootball Conference title) |
| Promoted to theFootball League | Darlington |
| Conference League Cup winners | Yeovil Town |
| FA Trophy winners | Barrow |
| Relegated to Level 6 | Chorley, Enfield, Farnborough Town |
| Matches | 462 |
| Goals | 1,317 (2.85 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Robbie Cooke(Kettering Town), 28 |
| Biggest home win | Runcorn –Enfield 9–0 (3 March 1990) |
| Biggest away win | Barrow –Merthyr Tydfil 1–5 (18 April 1990); Stafford Rangers –Darlington 0–4 (21 April 1990); Telford United –Chorley 0–4 (9 December 1989); Wycombe Wanderers –Cheltenham Town 0–4 (30 December 1989); Yeovil Town –Welling United 0–4 (13 September 1989) |
| Highest scoring | Runcorn –Enfield 9–0 (3 March 1990); Farnborough Town –Runcorn 6–3 (11 November 1989) |
| Longest winning run | Barnet, 8 matches |
| Longest unbeaten run | Darlington, 13 matches |
| Longest losing run | Northwich Victoria, 6 matches |
| Highest attendance | Barnet vDarlington, 5,880 (31 March 1990) |
| Lowest attendance | ? |
| Average attendance | 1,429 (+ 9% from previous season) |
1990–91 → | |
The Football Conference season of 1989–90 (known as theGM Vauxhall Conference for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of theFootball Conference.
Darlington, relegated to the Conference from theFourth Division a year earlier, finished the season as Conference champions and regained their Football League status at the first attempt – just asLincoln City had done two years earlier. Coming down to the Conference from the Football League were the bottom placed Fourth Division club Colchester United.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darlington(C, P) | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 76 | 25 | +51 | 87 | Promotion to theFootball League Fourth Division |
| 2 | Barnet | 42 | 26 | 7 | 9 | 81 | 41 | +40 | 85 | |
| 3 | Runcorn | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 79 | 62 | +17 | 70 | |
| 4 | Macclesfield Town | 42 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 56 | 41 | +15 | 66 | |
| 5 | Kettering Town | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 66 | 53 | +13 | 66 | |
| 6 | Welling United | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 62 | 50 | +12 | 64 | |
| 7 | Yeovil Town | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 62 | 54 | +8 | 63 | |
| 8 | Sutton United | 42 | 19 | 6 | 17 | 68 | 64 | +4 | 63 | |
| 9 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 67 | 63 | +4 | 62 | |
| 10 | Wycombe Wanderers | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 64 | 56 | +8 | 61 | |
| 11 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 58 | 60 | −2 | 59 | |
| 12 | Telford United | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 56 | 63 | −7 | 58 | |
| 13 | Kidderminster Harriers | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 64 | 67 | −3 | 54 | |
| 14 | Barrow | 42 | 12 | 16 | 14 | 51 | 67 | −16 | 52 | |
| 15 | Northwich Victoria | 42 | 15 | 5 | 22 | 51 | 67 | −16 | 50 | |
| 16 | Altrincham | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 49 | |
| 17 | Stafford Rangers | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 50 | 62 | −12 | 48 | |
| 18 | Boston United | 42 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 48 | 67 | −19 | 47 | |
| 19 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 55 | 78 | −23 | 46 | |
| 20 | Chorley(R) | 42 | 13 | 6 | 23 | 42 | 67 | −25 | 45 | Relegation to theNorthern Premier League Premier Division |
| 21 | Farnborough Town(R) | 42 | 10 | 12 | 20 | 60 | 73 | −13 | 42 | Relegation to theSouthern League Premier Division |
| 22 | Enfield(R) | 42 | 10 | 6 | 26 | 52 | 89 | −37 | 36 | Relegation to theIsthmian League Premier Division |
| Home \ Away | ALT | BAR | BRW | BOS | CHL | CHO | DAR | ENF | FAR | FIS | KET | KID | MAC | MER | NOR | RUN | STA | SUT | TEL | WEL | WYC | YEO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altrincham | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | |
| Barnet | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Barrow | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 | |
| Boston United | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| Cheltenham Town | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Chorley | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | |
| Darlington | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 6–1 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | |
| Enfield | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–5 | 1–1 | |
| Farnborough Town | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 6–3 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | |
| Fisher Athletic | 3–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–5 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | |
| Kettering Town | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | |
| Macclesfield Town | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| Northwich Victoria | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–4 | |
| Runcorn | 0–0 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 9–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | |
| Stafford Rangers | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |
| Sutton United | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | |
| Telford United | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | |
| Welling United | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |
| Yeovil Town | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 4–2 |
| Rank | Player | Club | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | League Cup | Total[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robbie Cooke | Kettering Town | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 2 | Efan Ekoku | Sutton | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 3 | Simon Read | Farnborough Town | 23 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 26 |
| 4 | Ian Thompson | Merthyr Tydfil | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 5 | John Borthwick | Darlington | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 22 |
| = | Mark Carter | Runcorn | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 22 |
| 7 | Mike Doherty | Runcorn | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 8 | Gary Bull | Barnet | 17 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 25 |
| = | Andrew Clarke | Barnet | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| = | Paul Furlong | Enfield | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| = | Paul Gorman | Fisher Athletic | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| = | Terry Robbins | Welling United | 17 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 22 |
| = | David Webley | Merthyr Tydfil | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 14 | Steve Burr | Macclesfield Town | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
| = | Kim Casey | Kidderminster Harriers | 16 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 25 |
| 16 | Paul McKinnon | Sutton | 16 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| = | Mark West | Wycombe Wanderers | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 20 |
| 18 | Martin Hanchard | Northwich Victoria | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| = | Mark Whitehouse | Kidderminster Harriers | 14 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
| 20 | David Cork | Darlington | 12 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
| = | Colin Cowperthwaite | Barrow | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| = | Ken McKenna | Telford United | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| = | Mickey Spencer | Yeovil Town | 12 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 17 |