| Season | 1987–88[1] |
|---|---|
| Champions | Lincoln City (1stFootball Conference title) |
| Promoted to theFootball 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 | 462 |
| Goals | 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 vWycombe Wanderers, 9,432 (2 May 1988) |
| Lowest attendance | ? |
| Average attendance | 1,249 (+ 36% from the previous season) |
1988–89 → | |
The Football Conference season of 1987–88 (known as theGM Vauxhall Conference for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of theFootball Conference.
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 theFootball League, where they replaced the bottom placed Fourth Division clubNewport County.
The season featured an experimental rule change, whereby no attacker could be offside directly from a free-kick. The change was not deemed a success, as the attacking team invariably packed the six yard box for any free-kick (and had several players stand in front of the opposition goalkeeper). The experiment was swiftly dropped.[2]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln City(C, P) | 42 | 24 | 10 | 8 | 86 | 48 | +38 | 82 | Promotion to theFootball League Fourth Division |
| 2 | Barnet | 42 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 93 | 45 | +48 | 80 | |
| 3 | Kettering Town | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 68 | 48 | +20 | 75 | |
| 4 | Runcorn | 42 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 68 | 47 | +21 | 74 | |
| 5 | Telford United | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 65 | 50 | +15 | 70 | |
| 6 | Stafford Rangers | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 79 | 58 | +21 | 69 | |
| 7 | Kidderminster Harriers | 42 | 18 | 15 | 9 | 75 | 66 | +9 | 69 | |
| 8 | Sutton United | 42 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 77 | 54 | +23 | 66 | |
| 9 | Maidstone United | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 79 | 64 | +15 | 63 | |
| 10 | Weymouth | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 63 | |
| 11 | Macclesfield Town | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 64 | 62 | +2 | 63 | |
| 12 | Enfield | 42 | 15 | 10 | 17 | 68 | 78 | −10 | 55 | |
| 13 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 11 | 20 | 11 | 64 | 67 | −3 | 53 | |
| 14 | Altrincham | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 59 | 59 | 0 | 52 | |
| 15 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 58 | 61 | −3 | 52 | |
| 16 | Boston United | 42 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 60 | 75 | −15 | 49 | |
| 17 | Northwich Victoria | 42 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 46 | 57 | −11 | 47 | |
| 18 | Wycombe Wanderers | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 50 | 76 | −26 | 46 | |
| 19 | Welling United | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 50 | 72 | −22 | 42 | |
| 20 | Bath City(R) | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 48 | 76 | −28 | 37 | Relegation to theSouthern League Premier Division |
| 21 | Wealdstone(R) | 42 | 5 | 17 | 20 | 39 | 76 | −37 | 32 | |
| 22 | Dagenham(R) | 42 | 5 | 6 | 31 | 37 | 104 | −67 | 21 | Relegation to theIsthmian League Premier Division |
| Home \ Away | ALT | BAR | BAT | BOS | CHL | DAG | ENF | FIS | KET | KID | LIN | MAC | MDS | NOR | RUN | STA | SUT | TEL | WEA | WEL | WEY | WYC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altrincham | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | |
| Barnet | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 6–2 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 5–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | |
| Bath City | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
| Boston United | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | |
| Cheltenham Town | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | |
| Dagenham | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 0–5 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | |
| Enfield | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | |
| Fisher Athletic | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |
| Kettering Town | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | |
| Lincoln City | 5–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 5–3 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | |
| Macclesfield Town | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | |
| Maidstone United | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | |
| Northwich Victoria | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
| Runcorn | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| Stafford Rangers | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | |
| Sutton United | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | |
| Telford United | 1–0 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |
| Wealdstone | 0–0 | 0–6 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | |
| Welling United | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 6–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | |
| Weymouth | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1–0 | 0–7 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 5–3 | 2–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Rank | Player | Club | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | League Cup | Total[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |