| Season | 1997–98 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Tiverton Town (Premier Division) Bishop Sutton (Division One) |
1998–99 → | |
The1997–98 season was the 96th in the history of theWestern Football League.
The league champions for the fourth time in their history (and the fourth time in five seasons) wereTiverton Town, who finished the season unbeaten. The champions of Division One wereBishop Sutton.[1]
The Premier Division was increased from 18 to 20 clubs after there was no relegation to the First Division last season. Two clubs joined:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiverton Town(C) | 38 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 154 | 20 | +134 | 110 | |
| 2 | Taunton Town | 38 | 31 | 3 | 4 | 107 | 28 | +79 | 96 | |
| 3 | Melksham Town | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 75 | 37 | +38 | 73 | |
| 4 | Bridgwater Town | 38 | 22 | 6 | 10 | 73 | 43 | +30 | 72 | |
| 5 | Paulton Rovers | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 76 | 69 | +7 | 63 | |
| 6 | Mangotsfield United | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 76 | 50 | +26 | 62 | |
| 7 | Barnstaple Town | 38 | 18 | 5 | 15 | 79 | 64 | +15 | 59 | |
| 8 | Brislington | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 59 | |
| 9 | Calne Town | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 68 | 67 | +1 | 57 | |
| 10 | Backwell United | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 70 | 68 | +2 | 52 | |
| 11 | Bridport | 38 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 62 | 72 | −10 | 52 | |
| 12 | Chippenham Town | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 53 | 57 | −4 | 50 | |
| 13 | Bideford | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 68 | 90 | −22 | 48 | |
| 14 | Elmore | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 54 | 100 | −46 | 38 | |
| 15 | Westbury United | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 39 | 65 | −26 | 35 | |
| 16 | Bristol Manor Farm | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 37 | 73 | −36 | 34 | |
| 17 | Keynsham Town | 38 | 10 | 4 | 24 | 46 | 94 | −48 | 34 | |
| 18 | Odd Down | 38 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 33 | 80 | −47 | 33 | |
| 19 | Chard Town(R) | 38 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 44 | 77 | −33 | 32 | Relegated to the First Division |
| 20 | Torrington(R) | 38 | 2 | 8 | 28 | 21 | 88 | −67 | 14 |
The First Division was reduced from 20 clubs to 19, after Keynsham Town and Melksham Town were promoted to the Premier Division, andAmesbury Town left the league. Two clubs joined:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bishop Sutton(C, P) | 36 | 26 | 8 | 2 | 86 | 25 | +61 | 86 | Promoted to the Premier Division |
| 2 | Yeovil Town Reserves(P) | 36 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 95 | 47 | +48 | 78 | |
| 3 | Devizes Town | 36 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 83 | 38 | +45 | 73 | |
| 4 | Street | 36 | 21 | 7 | 8 | 61 | 32 | +29 | 70 | |
| 5 | Clyst Rovers | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 89 | 39 | +50 | 67[a] | |
| 6 | Minehead | 36 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 60 | 39 | +21 | 62 | |
| 7 | Dawlish Town | 36 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 58[a] | |
| 8 | Crediton United | 36 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 65 | 67 | −2 | 53 | Left to join theDevon County League |
| 9 | Exmouth Town | 36 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 68 | 60 | +8 | 51 | |
| 10 | Bitton | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 50 | |
| 11 | Wellington | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 72 | 54 | +18 | 49 | |
| 12 | Ilfracombe Town | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 75 | 67 | +8 | 49 | |
| 13 | Larkhall Athletic | 36 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 45 | 58 | −13 | 43 | |
| 14 | Welton Rovers | 36 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 51 | 78 | −27 | 33 | |
| 15 | Warminster Town | 36 | 9 | 5 | 22 | 40 | 83 | −43 | 32 | |
| 16 | Glastonbury | 36 | 9 | 4 | 23 | 41 | 86 | −45 | 31 | |
| 17 | Frome Town | 36 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 47 | 74 | −27 | 30 | |
| 18 | Heavitree United | 36 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 34 | 135 | −101 | 16 | |
| 19 | Pewsey Vale | 36 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 40 | 102 | −62 | 14[a] |