1989–90 Football Conference
# 1989–90 Football Conference

The Football Conference season of 1989–90 (known as the GM Vauxhall Conference for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh season of the Football Conference.

## Overview

Darlington, relegated to the Conference from the Fourth Division a year earlier, finished the season as Conference champions and regained their Football League status at the first attempt – just as Lincoln City had done two years earlier. Coming down to the Conference from the Football League were the bottom placed Fourth Division club Colchester United.

## New teams in the league this season

* Barrow (promoted 1988–89)
* Darlington (relegated from the Football League 1988–89)
* Farnborough Town (promoted 1988–89)
* Merthyr Tydfil (promoted 1988–89)

## Final league table

| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Darlington | 42 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 43 | 12 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 33 | 13 | +51 | 87 | Football Conference Champions, promoted to Football League Fourth Division |
| 2 | Barnet | 42 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 46 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 35 | 27 | +40 | 85 | |
| 3 | Runcorn | 42 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 52 | 20 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 27 | 42 | +17 | 70 | |
| 4 | Macclesfield Town | 42 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 35 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 25 | +15 | 66 | |
| 5 | Kettering Town | 42 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 35 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 38 | +13 | 66 | |
| 6 | Welling United | 42 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 36 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 26 | 34 | +12 | 64 | |
| 7 | Yeovil Town | 42 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 32 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 29 | +8 | 63 | Conference League Cup winners |
| 8 | Sutton United | 42 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 42 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 40 | +4 | 63 | |
| 9 | Merthyr Tydfil | 42 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 41 | 30 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 33 | +4 | 62 | |
| 10 | Wycombe Wanderers | 42 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 42 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 22 | 32 | +8 | 61 | |
| 11 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 30 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 38 | −2 | 59 | |
| 12 | Telford United | 42 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 31 | 29 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 34 | −7 | 58 | |
| 13 | Kidderminster Harriers | 42 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 37 | 33 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 27 | 34 | −3 | 54 | |
| 14 | Barrow | 42 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 33 | 25 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 42 | −16 | 52 | FA Trophy winners |
| 15 | Northwich Victoria | 42 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 29 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 22 | 37 | −16 | 50 | |
| 16 | Altrincham | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 28 | +1 | 49 | |
| 17 | Stafford Rangers | 42 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 25 | 39 | −12 | 48 | |
| 18 | Boston United | 42 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 36 | 30 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 37 | −19 | 47 | |
| 19 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 34 | 34 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 44 | −23 | 46 | |
| 20 | Chorley | 42 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 16 | 41 | −25 | 45 | Relegated to the Northern Premier League |
| 21 | Farnborough Town | 42 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 30 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 43 | −13 | 42 | Relegated to the Southern League |
| 22 | Enfield | 42 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 36 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 16 | 55 | −37 | 36 | Relegated to the Isthmian League |

* 1 2 3 New club in the Conference

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALT | BAR | BRW | BOS | CHL | CHO | DAR | ENF | FAR | FIS | KET | KID | MAC | MER | NOR | RUN | STA | SUT | TEL | WEL | WYC | YEO |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Altrincham | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Barnet | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Barrow | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Boston United | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Cheltenham Town | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Chorley | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Darlington | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 6–1 | 5–1 | 3–0 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Enfield | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 3–5 | 1–1 |
| Farnborough Town | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–3 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 6–3 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 |
| Fisher Athletic | 3–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–5 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 4–2 | | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 |
| Kettering Town | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 |
| Macclesfield Town | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | | 3–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | | 1–1 | 3–2 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Northwich Victoria | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–4 |
| Runcorn | 0–0 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 9–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Stafford Rangers | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Sutton United | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 6–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 |
| Telford United | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| Welling United | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 1–2 |
| Yeovil Town | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 4–2 | |

## Top scorers in order of league goals

| Rank | Player | Club | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Robbie Cooke | Kettering Town | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 2 | Efan Ekoku | Sutton | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| 3 | Simon Read | Farnborough Town | 23 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 26 |
| 4 | Ian Thompson | Merthyr Tydfil | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 5 | John Borthwick | Darlington | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 22 |
| = | Mark Carter | Runcorn | 19 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 22 |
| 7 | Mike Doherty | Runcorn | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 8 | Gary Bull | Barnet | 17 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 25 |
| = | Andrew Clarke | Barnet | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| = | Paul Furlong | Enfield | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| = | Paul Gorman | Fisher Athletic | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| = | Terry Robbins | Welling United | 17 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 22 |
| = | David Webley | Merthyr Tydfil | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 14 | Steve Burr | Macclesfield Town | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
| = | Kim Casey | Kidderminster Harriers | 16 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 25 |
| 16 | Paul McKinnon | Sutton | 16 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| = | Mark West | Wycombe Wanderers | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 20 |
| 18 | Martin Hanchard | Northwich Victoria | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| = | Mark Whitehouse | Kidderminster Harriers | 14 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
| 20 | David Cork | Darlington | 12 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
| = | Colin Cowperthwaite | Barrow | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| = | Ken McKenna | Telford United | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| = | Mickey Spencer | Yeovil Town | 12 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 17 |

## Promotion and relegation

### Promoted

* Darlington (to the Football League Fourth Division)
* Bath City (from the Southern Premier League)
* Gateshead (from the Northern Premier League)
* Slough Town (from the Isthmian League)

### Relegated

* Colchester United (from the Football League Fourth Division)
* Chorley (to the Northern Premier League)
* Enfield (to the Isthmian League)
* Farnborough Town (to the Southern Premier League)
