BACK IN '69....
BACK IN '69....
The Northern Premier League was formed in time for the 1968/9 season, and for the first time the three current Step 7 leagues were all in existence, albeit then at Step 5. In those times clubs from any league could apply for Football League membership, just like they could apply to join Neil Armstrong on the Moon (they had a better chance of the latter). This page looks at the 80 clubs in the four then Step 5 divisions as they finished in 1969, and what became of them. Clubs in italics have at one time or another held Football League membership. Two things stand out; the collapse in standing of Northern League and its clubs, and the fact that one of the NPL's fixtures that season pitched Wigan Athletic against South Liverpool; these two clubs now stand TEN DIVISIONS APART!
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
|
|
SOUTHERN |
ISTHMIAN |
NORTHERN PREMIER |
NORTHERN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Level 1 |
|
|
Wigan Athletic (2) |
|
|
Level 2 |
|
|
|
|
|
Level 3 |
Cheltenham Town (19, rel.), Yeovil Town (8) |
|
|
|
|
Level 4 |
Barnet (12), Hereford United (14) |
Leytonstone 3 (11), Wycombe Wanderers (4) |
Macclesfield Town (1), Morecambe (13) |
|
|
|
||||
|
Level 5 |
Burton Albion (17), Cambridge United (1), Kettering Town (9), Weymouth (7) |
Woking (16) |
Altrincham (9), Northwich Victoria (13) |
|
|
|
||||
|
Level 6 |
Chelmsford City (13), King's Lynn (4), Wellington Town 2 (15), Worcester City (5), Wimbledon 1 (3) |
Bromley (17), St. Albans City (7) |
Fleetwood Town (6), Gainsborough Trinity (4), Gateshead (11), Hyde United (6), Worksop Town (20, rel.) |
Blyth Spartans (5) |
|
Level 7 |
Bedford Town (20, rel.), Dover Athletic (10), Margate (18), Rugby Town (21, rel.) |
Hendon (6), Hitchin (2), Maidstone United (14), Oxford City (9), Sutton United (3), Tooting & Mitcham (10), Wealdstone (5) |
Boston United (14),, Netherfield 7 (13) |
Whitby Town (6) |
|
Level 8 |
Hillingdon Borough (2), Nuneaton Borough (11) 12 |
Corinthian-Casuals (20), Dulwich Hamlet (18), Ilford 3 (19), Kingstonian (12) |
Chorley (19, rel.), Goole Town (8) |
Durham City (14) |
|
Level 9 |
Guildford City (22, rel.), Poole Town (16), Romford (6) |
Barking (8), Clapton (15), Enfield 10 (1) |
Ashington (18, rel.), Runcorn 5 (15) |
Billingham Synthonia (8), Bishop Auckland (15), Shildon (10), Spennymoor Town 4 (7), Tow Law Town (3), West Auckland Town (12), Whitley Bay (2) |
|
Level 10 |
|
|
Scarborough (17) 11, South Shields (10) |
Crook Town (11), North Shields (1), Penrith (13) |
|
Level 11 |
|
|
South Liverpool (12) |
Willington (16) |
|
Level 12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Other |
|
Walthamstow Avenue 3 (13) |
Bangor City 6 (7) |
Evenwood Town 4 (4), Ferryhill Athletic 9 (17), South Bank (9), Stanley United 8 (18) |
The bottom three clubs in the NPL were replaced by feeder league clubs Stafford Rangers, Great Harwood Town and Matlock Town. The bottom four clubs in Southern Division One were replaced by Brentwood Town, Bath City, Gloucester City and Crawley Town, the top four clubs in Division Two. The Isthmian and Northern Leagues, with just one division each, had no relegation.
---------------------------------
---------------------------------
Notes:
1) Franchised to Milton Keynes by Incompetents Inaction (the FA) in 2003/4. The resultant fans' club is AFC Wimbledon.
2) Renamed Telford United in 1970, defunct 2004. A fans' club restored the name as AFC Telford United. A new Wellington FC now play at Level 10.
3) Leytonstone subsequently merged with Ilford (1979, Leytonstone & Ilford), Walthamstow Avenue (1988, Redbridge Forest) and Dagenham (1992, Dagenham & Redbridge. Two of the four constituent parts have since reformed; Leytonstone Unitedand Ilford.
4) The original Spennymoor collapsed in 2005, whereon Evenwood Town moved to and adopted the name Spennymoor.
5) Renamed Runcorn FC Halton, collapsed in 2006, reformed as a fans' club called Runcorn Linnets.
6) Left for the League of Wales upon formation of that league.
7) Renamed Kendal Town.
8) Folded 2003, whereon Crook & District League side Crook Wanderers moved in and adopted the name.
9) Currently playing in the Durham Alliance League, not part of the Football Pyramid.
10) Folded on Level 8 during the 2007 close season, then reformed on Level 9. A fans' club, Enfield Town, plays at Level 8.
11) Folded during 2007/08 close season. A fans' club reformed on Level 10 as Scarborough Athletic.
12) Folded during 2008/09 close season, reformed as Nuneaton Town.
Elections to the Football League (as in airborne bacon, ten o' clock high)
|
Club |
Votes |
Total |
|---|---|---|
23. Grimsby Town (re-elected) |
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
47 |
21. York City (re-elected) |
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
45 |
24. Bradford Park Avenue (re-elected) |
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
38 |
22. Newport County (re-elected) |
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
27 |
Cambridge United |
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
16 |
Kettering Town |
XXX |
3 |
|
Cambridge City |
XX |
2 |
|
Hereford United |
XX |
2 |
|
Romford |
XX |
2 |
|
Bedford Town |
X |
1 |
|
Chelmsford City |
X |
1 |
|
Worcester City |
X |
1 |
|
Nuneaton Borough |
|
0 |
|
Wimbledon |
|
0 |
Clubs that were then members of the League but have since been relegated and failed to regain their place are:
Division 2: Oxford United
Division 3: Barrow, Southport, Torquay United and Mansfield Town
Division 4: (F.C.) Halifax Town, Wrexham and Workington.
In addition the following clubs have since been relegated but did regain their League place:
Division 2: Carlisle United
Division 3: Shrewsbury Town
Division 4: Aldershot Town, Chester City, Colchester United, Doncaster Rovers, Exeter City and Lincoln City.
The electoral system was that Division 1 and 2 clubs got four votes each (one for each of the places on offer) and Division 3 and 4 clubs shared a small number of votes between them. Note that only one of the four re-elected clubs is still a League member, suggesting the turkeys were well-advised not to vote for Christmas. All non-league applicants this year came from the Southern One except Cambridge City (Southern Two); the Isthmian was still an amateur league at this time, and the NPL was getting established. Twelve months later CAMBRIDGE UNITED, who had received more votes in 1969 than in their last four applcations put together, finally got into the League with 31 votes at the expense of BRADFORD PARK AVENUE (17 votes) and fellow-aspirants WIGAN ATHLETIC (18 votes).
---------------------------------
---------------------------------