1996–97 Football Conference

The Football Conference season of 1996–97 was the eighteenth season of the Football Conference, also known as the Vauxhall Conference for sponsorship reasons.

Football Conference
Season1996–97[1]
ChampionsMacclesfield Town (2nd Football Conference title)
Promoted to the Football LeagueMacclesfield Town
Conference League Cup winnersKidderminster Harriers
FA Trophy winnersWoking (3rd FA Trophy title
Relegated to Level 6Altrincham,
Bath City,
Bromsgrove Rovers
Matches played462
Goals scored1,306 (2.83 per match)
Top goalscorerLee Hughes (Kidderminster Harriers), 30
Biggest home winWokingAltrincham 7–1 (30 November 1996);
Kidderminster HarriersBath City 6–0 (28 December 1996);
Slough TownTelford United 6–0 (19 October 1996);
Stevenage BoroughHalifax Town 6–0 (17 August 1996)
Biggest away winSlough TownStevenage Borough 1–6 (1 January 1997);
Bromsgrove RoversNorthwich Victoria 0–5 (1 March 1997);
Dover AthleticKidderminster Harriers 0–5 (24 August 1996);
Telford UnitedRushden & Diamonds 0–5 (7 December 1996)
Highest scoringHalifax TownBath City 4–5 (15 February 1997)
Longest winning runMacclesfield Town, 8 matches
Longest unbeaten runMorecambe, 12 matches
Longest losing runBromsgrove Rovers, 7 matches
Highest attendanceStevenage Borough v Kidderminster Harriers, 6,489 (25 January 1997)
Lowest attendance?
Average attendance1,258

Overview

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Macclesfield Town won their second Conference title in three years, and this time earned a promotion to the Football League – thanks to their upgraded stadium – at the expense of Hereford United.

New teams in the league this season

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Final league table

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Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Macclesfield Town 42 15 4 2 41 11 12 5 4 39 19 +50 90 Football Conference Champions, promoted to Football League Third Division
2 Kidderminster Harriers 42 14 4 3 48 18 12 3 6 36 24 +42 85 Conference League Cup winners
3 Stevenage Borough 42 15 4 2 53 23 9 6 6 34 30 +34 82
4 Morecambe 42 10 5 6 34 23 9 4 8 35 33 +13 66
5 Woking 42 10 5 6 41 29 8 5 8 30 34 +8 64 FA Trophy winners
6 Northwich Victoria 42 11 5 5 31 20 6 7 8 30 34 +7 63
7 Farnborough Town 42 9 6 6 35 29 7 7 7 23 24 +5 61
8 Hednesford Town 42 10 7 4 28 17 6 5 10 24 33 +2 60
9 Telford United 42 6 7 8 21 30 10 3 8 25 26 −10 58
10 Gateshead 42 8 6 7 32 27 7 5 9 27 36 −4 56
11 Southport 42 8 5 8 27 28 7 5 9 24 33 −10 55
12 Rushden & Diamonds[a] 42 8 8 5 30 25 6 3 12 31 38 −2 53
13 Stalybridge Celtic 42 9 5 7 35 29 5 5 11 18 29 −5 52
14 Kettering Town 42 9 4 8 30 28 5 5 11 23 34 −9 51
15 Hayes[a] 42 7 7 7 27 21 5 7 9 27 34 −1 50
16 Slough Town 42 7 7 7 42 32 5 7 9 20 33 −3 50
17 Dover Athletic 42 7 9 5 32 30 5 5 11 25 38 −11 50
18 Welling United 42 9 2 10 24 26 4 7 10 26 34 −10 48
19 Halifax Town 42 9 5 7 39 37 3 7 11 16 37 −19 48
20 Bath City 42 9 5 7 27 28 3 6 12 26 52 −27 47 Relegated to the Southern League
21 Bromsgrove Rovers 42 8 4 9 29 30 4 1 16 12 37 −26 41
22 Altrincham 42 6 3 12 25 34 3 9 9 24 39 −24 39 Relegated to the Northern Premier League
Source: [1]
Notes:
  1. ^ a b New club in the Conference

Results

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Home \ Away ALT BAT BRO DOV FAR GAT HAL HAY HED KET KID MAC MOR NOR R&D SLO SOU STL STB TEL WEL WOK
Altrincham 1–3 3–1 1–2 0–3 0–1 2–1 0–2 1–1 4–3 0–1 0–1 0–1 2–3 4–3 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–2 2–3 1–1 1–1
Bath City 1–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 3–0 0–0 3–1 2–1 0–2 0–3 0–3 2–1 3–2 3–2 0–0 0–2 0–2 0–0 2–3 3–1 3–1
Bromsgrove Rovers 4–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 2–2 3–0 2–2 1–0 1–2 0–1 0–3 2–3 0–5 0–1 4–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 0–3
Dover Athletic 2–2 2–2 2–0 0–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 2–2 0–1 0–5 2–1 3–0 2–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 3–3 1–4 2–1 5–1
Farnborough Town 1–1 4–1 2–1 2–3 1–2 3–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 2–1 0–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 2–1 3–3 1–0 3–1 0–2 2–1 1–2
Gateshead 1–1 5–0 1–0 1–3 1–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 3–1 0–0 0–3 5–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 0–2 2–2 2–3 1–2 3–2
Halifax Town 1–1 4–5 1–0 1–3 3–0 2–0 2–2 1–0 2–1 2–3 3–3 1–1 0–3 1–3 4–1 2–0 4–1 4–2 0–3 1–1 0–4
Hayes 3–1 0–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–0 2–1 0–1 0–2 2–3 1–1 1–1 5–0 1–1 0–2 1–3 0–1 1–1 3–2
Hednesford Town 2–2 2–0 3–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–4 4–1 2–1 3–0 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–3 2–0
Kettering Town 3–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 3–1 4–1 4–1 2–2 0–2 3–1 1–4 0–2 1–0 1–5 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–2 0–1 2–3 0–0
Kidderminster Harriers 1–1 6–0 1–2 4–1 2–3 3–2 3–0 5–1 2–1 4–0 0–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 1–2 3–0 1–1 3–0 1–0 3–2 1–0
Macclesfield Town 1–1 2–2 4–0 1–0 3–0 3–0 1–0 1–0 4–0 2–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 2–1 2–0 3–2 2–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 5–0
Morecambe 2–1 1–1 1–0 3–1 1–1 4–0 1–0 2–4 2–2 5–2 2–3 1–0 2–0 2–0 0–0 2–1 0–0 1–2 0–1 1–2 1–2
Northwich Victoria 2–2 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 4–2 2–2 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–2 0–1 5–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 1–2
Rushden & Diamonds 3–2 4–1 1–2 1–1 0–2 0–4 1–0 2–2 0–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 3–0 1–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 1–1
Slough Town 0–1 5–2 2–0 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–3 2–2 1–1 0–2 0–0 1–2 3–4 5–0 1–1 4–1 1–6 6–0 3–3 3–0
Southport 1–3 3–1 0–0 0–1 0–3 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–2 2–2 1–0 1–5 3–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 3–0 0–0 0–1 3–2 4–1
Stalybridge Celtic 1–0 2–2 3–0 4–2 2–0 2–5 2–3 3–1 1–2 3–1 4–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 2–0 2–2 2–2 0–3 0–0 0–0 0–2
Stevenage Borough 2–1 2–1 3–0 4–1 3–1 4–1 6–0 2–0 3–2 0–0 2–2 2–3 4–2 2–0 4–1 2–2 2–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 0–3
Telford United 0–0 1–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 0–3 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–2 0–3 2–3 2–2 0–5 0–2 1–0 1–1 2–3 2–0 1–2
Welling United 1–0 2–0 1–2 1–0 0–2 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–2 1–2 0–1 0–3 1–4 1–1 0–1 3–2 2–3 2–0 2–0 2–1 1–1
Woking 7–1 2–2 1–3 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–2 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–3 1–2 3–1 4–2 2–0 0–1 3–2 3–1 0–0 2–1
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Glenda Rollin (ed.), Jack Rollin (exec. ed.), Rothmans Football Yearbook 1997–98. Headline, 1997.[1]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Locations of the Football Conference teams 1996–1997

Promotion and relegation

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Relegated

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Top scorers in order of league goals

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Rank Player Club League FA Cup FA Trophy League Cup Total
1 Lee Hughes Kidderminster Harriers 30 1 2 1 34
2 Lennie Dennis Welling United 21 1 1 2 25
3 Andy Whittaker Southport 19 6 2 0 27
4 Gary Abbott Slough Town 18 0 0 0 18
5 Justin Jackson Woking 17 4 2 0 23
6 Barry Hayles Stevenage Borough 16 3 2 0 21
= David Leworthy Rushden & Diamonds 16 4 0 0 20
= Lee Steele Northwich Victoria 16 0 0 0 16
9 Joe O'Connor Hednesford 15 9 0 0 24
= Paul Thompson Gateshead 15 6 1 1 23
= Clive Walker Woking 15 3 1 0 19
= Steve Wood Macclesfield Town 15 0 0 1 16
13 Mike Davis Bath City 14 7 0 0 21
= Neil Doherty Kidderminster Harriers 14 1 1 0 16
= Niell Hardy Altrincham 14 3 1 0 18
= Mickey Norbury Halifax Town 14 0 0 0 14
17 Carl Alford Rushden & Diamonds 13 2 0 0 15
= Ian Arnold Stalybridge Celtic 13 0 0 0 13
= Chris Boothe Farnborough Town 13 9 0 3 25
= Martin Randall Hayes 13 0 4 0 17
= Phil Wingfield Farnborough Town 13 2 1 0 16

[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Glenda Rollin (ed.), Jack Rollin (exec. ed.), Rothmans Football Yearbook 1997–98. Headline, 1997.
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