The Football Conference season of 1987–88 (known as the GM Vauxhall Conference for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

Overview

Lincoln City, who had been relegated to the Conference a year earlier in the first season of automatic promotion and relegation between the Conference and the Fourth Division of the Football League, won the Conference title to reclaim their place in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

, where they replaced the bottom placed Fourth Division club Newport County. The season featured an experimental rule change, whereby no attacker could be offside directly from a free-kick. The change was not deemed a success, as the attacking team invariably packed the six yard box for any free-kick (and had several players stand in front of the opposition goalkeeper). The experiment was swiftly dropped.

New teams in the league this season

* Lincoln City (relegated from the Football League 1986–87) * Fisher Athletic (promoted 1986–87) * Macclesfield Town (promoted 1986–87) *

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

(promoted 1986–87)

Final league table

Results

Top scorers in order of league goals

Promotion and relegation

Promoted

* Lincoln City (to the

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

) * Aylesbury United (from the Southern Premier League) *

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

(from the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

) * Yeovil Town (from the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

)

Relegated

* Newport County (from the

) * Bath City (to the Southern Premier League) *

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

(to the

) *

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...

(to the Southern Premier League)

References

External links

1987–88 Conference National Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:1987-88 Football Conference National League (English football) seasons 5