1986–87 → |
The1985–86 North West Counties Football League was the fourth in the history of theNorth West Counties Football League, afootball competition inEngland. Teams were divided into three divisions.
| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Clitheroe |
| Relegated | Prescot Cables Formby |
1986–87 → | |
Division One featured 2 new teams:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clitheroe(C) | 38 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 61 | 30 | +31 | 54 | |
| 2 | Congleton Town | 38 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 51 | 29 | +22 | 54 | |
| 3 | Eastwood Hanley | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 68 | 45 | +23 | 53 | |
| 4 | Stalybridge Celtic | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 62 | 39 | +23 | 52 | |
| 5 | Fleetwood Town | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 70 | 34 | +36 | 50[a] | |
| 6 | Irlam Town | 38 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 66 | 45 | +21 | 46 | |
| 7 | Leek Town | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 64 | 44 | +20 | 46 | |
| 8 | Curzon Ashton | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 52 | 50 | +2 | 45 | |
| 9 | Burscough | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 40 | |
| 10 | St Helens Town | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 65 | 55 | +10 | 38 | |
| 11 | Accrington Stanley | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 62 | 60 | +2 | 37 | |
| 12 | Leyland Motors | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 62 | 67 | −5 | 34 | |
| 13 | Winsford United | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 55 | 68 | −13 | 34 | |
| 14 | Radcliffe Borough | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 48 | 49 | −1 | 33 | |
| 15 | Bootle | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 29 | |
| 16 | Penrith | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 46 | 63 | −17 | 26 | |
| 17 | Netherfield | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 38 | 76 | −38 | 26 | |
| 18 | Glossop | 38 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 37 | 69 | −32 | 24 | |
| 19 | Prescot Cables(R) | 38 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 68 | −35 | 19 | Relegation toDivision Two |
| 20 | Formby(R) | 38 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 35 | 86 | −51 | 18 |
| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kirkby Town |
| Promoted | Kirkby Town Rossendale United |
| Relegated | Ford Motors Nantwich Town |
1986–87 → | |
Division Two featured 3 new teams:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kirkby Town(C, P) | 34 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 85 | 30 | +55 | 55 | Promotion toDivision One |
| 2 | Rossendale United(P) | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 81 | 36 | +45 | 48 | |
| 3 | Wren Rovers | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 60 | 46 | +14 | 44 | |
| 4 | Warrington Town | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 62 | 48 | +14 | 43 | |
| 5 | Colwyn Bay | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 74 | 53 | +21 | 42 | |
| 6 | Chadderton | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 66 | 48 | +18 | 42 | |
| 7 | Colne Dynamoes | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 59 | 43 | +16 | 39 | |
| 8 | Great Harwood Town | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 36 | |
| 9 | Skelmersdale United | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 58 | 53 | +5 | 33 | |
| 10 | Droylsden | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 48 | 56 | −8 | 33 | |
| 11 | Atherton Laburnum Rovers | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 49 | 61 | −12 | 30 | |
| 12 | Lancaster City | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 57 | 66 | −9 | 29 | |
| 13 | Ellesmere Port & Neston | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 45 | 61 | −16 | 27 | |
| 14 | Ashton United | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 46 | 64 | −18 | 26[a] | |
| 15 | Darwen | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 24 | |
| 16 | Salford | 34 | 9 | 4 | 21 | 38 | 72 | −34 | 22 | |
| 17 | Ford Motors(R) | 34 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 36 | 64 | −28 | 20 | Relegation toDivision Three |
| 18 | Nantwich Town(R) | 34 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 31 | 78 | −47 | 18 |
| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Blackpool Mechanics |
| Promoted | Blackpool Mechanics Oldham Town |
1986–87 → | |
Oldham Dew changed their name to Oldham Town
Division Three featured 2 new teams:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool Mechanics(C, P) | 28 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 77 | 33 | +44 | 44[a] | Promotion toDivision Two |
| 2 | Oldham Town(P) | 28 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 56 | 29 | +27 | 37 | |
| 3 | Maghull | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 36 | |
| 4 | Daisy Hill | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 62 | 45 | +17 | 33 | |
| 5 | Atherton Collieries | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 33 | |
| 6 | Bolton ST | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 29[a] | Resigned |
| 7 | Cheadle Town | 28 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 42 | 26 | +16 | 28 | |
| 8 | Bacup Borough | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 28 | |
| 9 | Padiham | 28 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 26 | |
| 10 | Prestwich Heys | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 53 | 66 | −13 | 26 | Resigned |
| 11 | Newton | 28 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 24 | |
| 12 | Whitworth Valley | 28 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 22 | |
| 13 | Huyton Town | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 41 | 71 | −30 | 21 | Resigned |
| 14 | Nelson | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 36 | 65 | −29 | 19[a] | |
| 15 | Ashton Athletic | 28 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 24 | 85 | −61 | 8 | Resigned |
Prescot Cables and Formby were relegated to Division Two.
Division Two champions Kirkby Town and second placed Rossendale United were promoted to Division One while Ford Motors and Nantwich Town were relegated to Division Three.
Division Three champions Blackpool Mechanics and second placed Oldham Town were promoted to Division Two while Bolton ST, Prestwich Heys, Huyton Town and Ashton Athletic left the League at the end of the season and were replaced by newly admittedFlixton andAshton Town.