A Look Back - 1982/83 First Division
Mon 30th March 2020 | A Look Back | By Martin Fallon
To keep us going through these times without football, we thought that we would take a look back through the archives and look at when records were set in the North West Counties Football League. This first three articles in this series will focus on our first season in 1982/83 when obviously many records were set and broken over the course of the season.
The North West Counties Football League was founded in 1982 following the amalgamation of two of the most historic leagues in the North West, the Cheshire County League and the Lancashire Combination, whose own history stretched back to 1919 and 1891 respectively.
Initially the North West Counties League operated with three divisions, with 20 clubs in the top two divisions and 18 clubs in the Third Division. The new league kicked Saturday 14th August, and we start this series with a look at the First Division.
First Division
The First Division was made up almost exclusively of clubs from the Cheshire County League, which we must assume was the stronger league out of the two that merged. We say almost exclusively because Lancaster City dropped down from the Northern Premier League where they had finished 17th the previous season, and Penrith moved across from the Northern League where they finished 15th the previous season.
Rhyl, who had finished second behind Congleton Town in Cheshire League Division Two the previous season, had the biggest victory on the opening day, winning 4-0 away at Nantwich. Ashton United, Burscough, Congleton, Formby and Stalybridge Celtic were the other winners on that opening day. Goals were pretty scarse compared to more recent times, with just 23 goals on the opening day. Winsford United further increased the biggest win before the end of August as they won 5-1 at Glossop.
Accrington Stanley matched that scoreline at the start of September with a home win over Nantwich Town, but the week after Burscough - who were flying at the time - won consecutive games 5-0 away at Lancaster City and at home to Leyland Motors. September also saw the most goals in a game record set as Penrith won 4-3 at Leyland Motors.
Saturday 9th October was a record setting day. Teams were involved in the F.A. Carlsberg Vase Preliminary Round, with a number of games also in all three divisions. In total there were 35 games which produced a mammoth 141 goals. Only three matchdays in our history have seen more goals scored than this.
One week later was the next date to raise the bar, Lancaster City beating Nantwich Town 6-1. That game also saw the first recorded hat-trick in the First Division courtesy of Dave Barnes, although goalscorers from early seasons are noticably absent as it wasn't a requirement back then to tell the league of them. That date also set the record for most goals in the First Division in one day with 33, although strangely that was only with eight matches played as two teams were in FA Cup action.
October ended with the highest victory increasing again as Rhyl won 6-0 at St Helens Town, whilst the seven goals in a game record was equalled twice more before the end of the year with Lancaster City wining 4-3 at Prescot Cables and Nantwich Town winning 4-3 at Leyland Motors. Saturday 19th February was a noticable day as the biggest win record was smashed as Accrington Stanley beat Bootle 8-1. That game also saw Steve(?) Parry score four goals in it. This nine goals in a game was matched on Saturday 26th March when Penrith beat Ashton United 7-2.
Burscough were the eventual champions in 1982/83, winning 26 of their 38 games and finishing on 59 points, with two points for a win in 1982/83. They were also the leading scorers in the league, scoring 93 goals. Rhyl finished two points behind them, and although they lost the least games with just four losses, eleven draws saw them drop behind Burscough. Rhyl also conceded the least goals, letting in just 30. Horwich RMI finished third, the only other side with more than 20 wins. All three of those sides were promoted to the Northern Premier League.
Congleton Town, who finished 8th, had an interesting season with a whopping 14 drawn games, which was more than they won or lost. Fourth placed Stalybridge Celtic set the record though with 15 draws from their 38 games. St Helens Town won the least amount of games with just five victories, and they also scored the least amount of goals with 29, however 11 draws saw them finish second from bottom. Nantwich Town finished bottom of the table, winning six times and conceding 93 goals, the most out of all the First Division teams.
A Look Back - 1982/83 First Division
Mon 30th March 2020 | A Look Back
By Martin Fallon
To keep us going through these times without football, we thought that we would take a look back through the archives and look at when records were set in the North West Counties Football League. This first three articles in this series will focus on our first season in 1982/83 when obviously many records were set and broken over the course of the season.
The North West Counties Football League was founded in 1982 following the amalgamation of two of the most historic leagues in the North West, the Cheshire County League and the Lancashire Combination, whose own history stretched back to 1919 and 1891 respectively.
Initially the North West Counties League operated with three divisions, with 20 clubs in the top two divisions and 18 clubs in the Third Division. The new league kicked Saturday 14th August, and we start this series with a look at the First Division.
First Division
The First Division was made up almost exclusively of clubs from the Cheshire County League, which we must assume was the stronger league out of the two that merged. We say almost exclusively because Lancaster City dropped down from the Northern Premier League where they had finished 17th the previous season, and Penrith moved across from the Northern League where they finished 15th the previous season.
Rhyl, who had finished second behind Congleton Town in Cheshire League Division Two the previous season, had the biggest victory on the opening day, winning 4-0 away at Nantwich. Ashton United, Burscough, Congleton, Formby and Stalybridge Celtic were the other winners on that opening day. Goals were pretty scarse compared to more recent times, with just 23 goals on the opening day. Winsford United further increased the biggest win before the end of August as they won 5-1 at Glossop.
Accrington Stanley matched that scoreline at the start of September with a home win over Nantwich Town, but the week after Burscough - who were flying at the time - won consecutive games 5-0 away at Lancaster City and at home to Leyland Motors. September also saw the most goals in a game record set as Penrith won 4-3 at Leyland Motors.
Saturday 9th October was a record setting day. Teams were involved in the F.A. Carlsberg Vase Preliminary Round, with a number of games also in all three divisions. In total there were 35 games which produced a mammoth 141 goals. Only three matchdays in our history have seen more goals scored than this.
One week later was the next date to raise the bar, Lancaster City beating Nantwich Town 6-1. That game also saw the first recorded hat-trick in the First Division courtesy of Dave Barnes, although goalscorers from early seasons are noticably absent as it wasn't a requirement back then to tell the league of them. That date also set the record for most goals in the First Division in one day with 33, although strangely that was only with eight matches played as two teams were in FA Cup action.
October ended with the highest victory increasing again as Rhyl won 6-0 at St Helens Town, whilst the seven goals in a game record was equalled twice more before the end of the year with Lancaster City wining 4-3 at Prescot Cables and Nantwich Town winning 4-3 at Leyland Motors. Saturday 19th February was a noticable day as the biggest win record was smashed as Accrington Stanley beat Bootle 8-1. That game also saw Steve(?) Parry score four goals in it. This nine goals in a game was matched on Saturday 26th March when Penrith beat Ashton United 7-2.
Burscough were the eventual champions in 1982/83, winning 26 of their 38 games and finishing on 59 points, with two points for a win in 1982/83. They were also the leading scorers in the league, scoring 93 goals. Rhyl finished two points behind them, and although they lost the least games with just four losses, eleven draws saw them drop behind Burscough. Rhyl also conceded the least goals, letting in just 30. Horwich RMI finished third, the only other side with more than 20 wins. All three of those sides were promoted to the Northern Premier League.
Congleton Town, who finished 8th, had an interesting season with a whopping 14 drawn games, which was more than they won or lost. Fourth placed Stalybridge Celtic set the record though with 15 draws from their 38 games. St Helens Town won the least amount of games with just five victories, and they also scored the least amount of goals with 29, however 11 draws saw them finish second from bottom. Nantwich Town finished bottom of the table, winning six times and conceding 93 goals, the most out of all the First Division teams.