| ← 1984–85 1986–87 → |
The 1985–86 North West Counties Football League was the fourth in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England. Teams were divided into three divisions.
Division One
Football league season| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Clitheroe |
| Relegated | Prescot Cables Formby |
| ← 1984–85 1986–87 → | |
Division One featured 2 new teams:
- Clitheroe promoted as champions from Division Two
- Irlam Town promoted as runners-up from Division Two
League table
| 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 | |
| 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 to Division Two |
| 20 | Formby (R) | 38 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 35 | 86 | −51 | 18 |
Rules for classification: The points system until the 1990–91 season: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Fleetwood Town had 2 points deducted.
Division Two
Football league season| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kirkby Town |
| Promoted | Kirkby Town Rossendale United |
| Relegated | Ford Motors Nantwich Town |
| ← 1984–85 1986–87 → | |
Division Two featured 3 new teams:
- Lancaster City, relegated from Division One
- Kirkby Town promoted as champions from Division Three
- Colwyn Bay promoted as runners-up from Division Three
League table
| 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 to Division 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 | |
| 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 to Division Three |
| 18 | Nantwich Town (R) | 34 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 31 | 78 | −47 | 18 |
Rules for classification: The points system until the 1990–91 season: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- Ashton United had 1 point deducted.
Division Three
Football league season| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Blackpool Mechanics |
| Promoted | Blackpool Mechanics Oldham Town |
| ← 1984–85 1986–87 → | |
Oldham Dew changed their name to Oldham Town
Division Three featured 2 new teams:
- Padiham, relegated from Division Two
- Huyton Town
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool Mechanics (C, P) | 28 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 77 | 33 | +44 | 44 | Promotion to Division 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 | 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 | |
| 15 | Ashton Athletic | 28 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 24 | 85 | −61 | 8 | Resigned |
Rules for classification: The points system until the 1990–91 season: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Notes:
Promotion and relegation
Division One
Prescot Cables and Formby were relegated to Division Two.
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
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 admitted Flixton and Ashton Town.
External links
| 1985–86 in English football | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « 1984–85 1986–87 » | |||||||||||
| National teams | |||||||||||
| League competitions |
| ||||||||||
| Cup competitions |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||