1975–76 Northern Premier League (original) (raw)
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Football league season
| Season | 1975–76 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Runcorn |
| Promoted | None |
| Relegated | Skelmersdale United |
| Matches played | 552 |
| Goals scored | 1,562 (2.83 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Boston United 8–0 Barrow[1](10 April 1976) |
| Biggest away win | Fleetwood 0–6 Northwich Victoria[1](1 November 1975) Fleetwood 1–7 Worksop Town[1](10 April 1976) |
| Highest scoring | Great Harwood 3–7 Wigan Athletic[1](5 April 1976) |
| Longest winning run | 8 matchesRuncorn(22 November 1975 – 27 December 1975) Boston United(24 January 1976 – 24 March 1976) |
| Longest unbeaten run | 16 matchesStafford Rangers(28 October 1975 – 14 February 1976) |
| Longest winless run | 14 matchesFleetwood(1 November 1975 – 21 February 1976) |
| Longest losing run | 7 matchesGreat Harwood(10 January 1976 – 21 February 1976) Goole Town(28 December 1970 – 20 February 1971) |
| ← 1974–75 1976–77 → |
The 1975–76 Northern Premier League was the eighth season of the Northern Premier League, a regional football league in Northern England, the northern areas of the Midlands and North Wales. The season began on 16 August 1975 and concluded on 1 May 1976.[1]
The League featured twenty-four teams.
No clubs were promoted, conversely, none of the clubs were relegated.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Runcorn (C) | 46 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 95 | 42 | 2.262 | 68 | |
| 2 | Stafford Rangers | 46 | 26 | 15 | 5 | 81 | 41 | 1.976 | 67 | |
| 3 | Scarborough | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 84 | 43 | 1.953 | 62 | |
| 4 | Matlock Town | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 96 | 63 | 1.524 | 61 | |
| 5 | Boston United | 46 | 27 | 6 | 13 | 95 | 58 | 1.638 | 60 | |
| 6 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 81 | 42 | 1.929 | 57 | |
| 7 | Altrincham | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 77 | 57 | 1.351 | 54 | |
| 8 | Bangor City | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 80 | 70 | 1.143 | 54 | |
| 9 | Mossley | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 70 | 58 | 1.207 | 53 | |
| 10 | Goole Town | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 58 | 49 | 1.184 | 53 | |
| 11 | Northwich Victoria | 46 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 79 | 59 | 1.339 | 51 | |
| 12 | Lancaster City | 46 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 61 | 70 | 0.871 | 45 | |
| 13 | Worksop Town | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 63 | 56 | 1.125 | 44 | |
| 14 | Gainsborough Trinity | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 58 | 69 | 0.841 | 43 | |
| 15 | Macclesfield Town | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 50 | 64 | 0.781 | 42 | |
| 16 | Gateshead United | 46 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 64 | 63 | 1.016 | 41 | |
| 17 | Buxton | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 37 | 62 | 0.597 | 35 | |
| 18 | Skelmersdale United (R) | 46 | 12 | 10 | 24 | 45 | 74 | 0.608 | 34 | Relegated to Lancashire Combination |
| 19 | Netherfield | 46 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 55 | 76 | 0.724 | 33 | |
| 20 | Morecambe | 46 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 47 | 67 | 0.701 | 33 | |
| 21 | Great Harwood | 46 | 13 | 7 | 26 | 58 | 86 | 0.674 | 33 | |
| 22 | South Liverpool | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 45 | 78 | 0.577 | 33 | |
| 23 | Barrow | 46 | 12 | 9 | 25 | 47 | 84 | 0.560 | 33 | |
| 24 | Fleetwood | 46 | 3 | 9 | 34 | 36 | 131 | 0.275 | 15 | Club Folded |
Updated to match(es) played on 1 May 1976. Source: The Football Archives
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal average; 3) number of goals scored.
The system of using goal average to separate two teams tied on points was used up until the 1976–77 season.
The points system up until the 1982–83 season: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Updated to match(es) played on 1 May 1976. Source: The Football Archives
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Stadia and locations
[edit]
Locations of the 1975–76 Northern Premier League teams
| Team | Stadium |
|---|---|
| Altrincham | Moss Lane |
| Bangor City | Farrar Road |
| Barrow | Holker Street |
| Boston United | York Street |
| Buxton | The Silverlands |
| Fleetwood | Highbury |
| Gainsborough Trinity | The Northolme |
| Gateshead United | Gateshead Youth Stadium |
| Goole Town | Victoria Pleasure Ground |
| Great Harwood | The Showground |
| Lancaster City | Great Axe |
| Macclesfield Town | Moss Rose |
| Matlock Town | Causeway Lane |
| Morecambe | Christie Park |
| Mossley | Seel Park |
| Netherfield | Parkside |
| Northwich Victoria | Drill Field |
| Runcorn | Canal Street |
| Scarborough | Athletic Ground |
| Skelmersdale United | White Moss Park |
| South Liverpool | Holly Park |
| Stafford Rangers | Marston Road |
| Wigan Athletic | Springfield Park |
| Worksop Town | Central Avenue |
| Stage | Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Leg | Boston United | 4–0 | Mossley Town |
| 2nd Leg | Mossley Town | 1–2 | Boston United |
| Aggregate | Boston United | 5–2 | Mossley |
Northern Premier League Shield
[edit]
Between Champions of NPL Premier Division and Winners of the NPL Cup.
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
| Boston United | beat | Runcorn |
Out of the twenty-four clubs from the Northern Premier League, only four teams reached for the second round:
Second Round
| Home Team | Score | Away Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2–0 | Wigan Athletic | |
| Stafford Rangers | 1–3 | Halifax Town | |
| Scarborough | 3–2 | Preston North End | |
| Gateshead United | 1–1 | Rochdale | |
| Rochdale | 3–1 | Gateshead United | Replay |
Third Round
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
| Scarborough | 1–2 | Crystal Palace |
Out of the twenty-four clubs from the Northern Premier League, three teams reached for the fourth round:
Fourth Round
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
| Bedford Town | 1–2 | Runcorn |
| Scarborough | 1–0 | Tooting & Mitcham United |
| Stafford Rangers | 2–0 | Hillingdon Borough |
Semi-finals
| Stage | Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Leg | Scarborough | 1–0 | Enfield |
| 2nd Leg | Enfield | 0–0 | Scarborough |
| Aggregate | Scarborough | 1–0 | Enfield |
| 1st Leg | Stafford Rangers | 1–0 | Runcorn |
| 2nd Leg | Runcorn | 0–0 | Stafford Rangers |
| Aggregate | Stafford Rangers | 1–0 | Runcorn |
Final
| Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|
| Scarborough | 3–2 | Stafford Rangers |
At the end of the eighth season of the Northern Premier League none of the teams put forward for election received enough votes to be promoted to the Football League. Skelmersdale United resigned and Fleetwood folded.
Football League elections
[edit]
Alongside the four Football League teams facing re-election, a total of nine non-League teams applied for election, three of which were from the Northern Premier League. All four Football League teams were re-elected.[2]
Promotion and relegation
[edit]
The number of clubs reduced from twenty-four clubs to twenty-three clubs for the following season.
The following two clubs left the League at the end of the season:
- Skelmersdale United resigned, demoted to Lancashire Combination
- Fleetwood folded
The following club joined the League the following season:
- Frickley Athletic promoted from Midland League (1889)
- ^ a b c d e "The Football Archives 75–76". The Football Archives.
- ^ A history of admission to the Football League