1987–88 Football Conference
# 1987–88 Football Conference

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

## 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, 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 (promoted 1986–87)

## Final league table

| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Lincoln City | 42 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 53 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 35 | +38 | 82 | Football Conference Champions, promoted to Football League Fourth Division |
| 2 | Barnet | 42 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 57 | 23 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 36 | 22 | +48 | 80 | |
| 3 | Kettering Town | 42 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 37 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 31 | 28 | +20 | 75 | |
| 4 | Runcorn | 42 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 26 | 27 | +21 | 74 | |
| 5 | Telford United | 42 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 23 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 27 | +15 | 70 | |
| 6 | Stafford Rangers | 42 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 43 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 36 | 33 | +21 | 69 | |
| 7 | Kidderminster Harriers | 42 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 42 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 33 | 38 | +9 | 69 | |
| 8 | Sutton United | 42 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 41 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 36 | 29 | +23 | 66 | |
| 9 | Maidstone United | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 38 | 33 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 41 | 31 | +15 | 63 | |
| 10 | Weymouth | 42 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 33 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 20 | 30 | +10 | 63 | |
| 11 | Macclesfield Town | 42 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 27 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 28 | 35 | +2 | 63 | |
| 12 | Enfield | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 34 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 44 | −10 | 55 | FA Trophy winners |
| 13 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 36 | 32 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 28 | 35 | −3 | 53 | |
| 14 | Altrincham | 42 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 41 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 38 | 0 | 52 | |
| 15 | Fisher Athletic | 42 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 23 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 38 | −3 | 52 | |
| 16 | Boston United | 42 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 33 | 25 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 27 | 50 | −15 | 49 | |
| 17 | Northwich Victoria | 42 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 30 | 25 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 16 | 32 | −11 | 47 | |
| 18 | Wycombe Wanderers | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 32 | 43 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 33 | −26 | 46 | |
| 19 | Welling United | 42 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 33 | 32 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 40 | −22 | 42 | |
| 20 | Bath City | 42 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 32 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 21 | 44 | −28 | 37 | Relegated to the Southern League |
| 21 | Wealdstone | 42 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 43 | −37 | 32 | Relegated to the Southern League |
| 22 | Dagenham | 42 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 20 | 46 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 17 | 58 | −67 | 21 | Relegated to the Isthmian League |

* 1 2 3 New club in the Conference

Note: Conference League Cup winners, Horwich RMI F.C. (Northern Premier League)

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALT | BAR | BAT | BOS | CHL | DAG | ENF | FIS | KET | KID | LIN | MAC | MDS | NOR | RUN | STA | SUT | TEL | WEA | WEL | WEY | WYC |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Altrincham | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 |
| Barnet | 3–1 | | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 6–2 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 5–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Bath City | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Boston United | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Cheltenham Town | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–5 | | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Dagenham | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–3 | | 1–2 | 1–5 | 0–5 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Enfield | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Fisher Athletic | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 2–3 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Kettering Town | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 3–3 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Lincoln City | 5–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 5–3 | | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Macclesfield Town | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Maidstone United | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Northwich Victoria | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 6–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Runcorn | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Stafford Rangers | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Sutton United | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Telford United | 1–0 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Wealdstone | 0–0 | 0–6 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Welling United | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 6–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 4–0 | | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Weymouth | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | | 0–0 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 1–0 | 0–7 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 5–3 | 2–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |

## Top scorers in order of league goals

| Rank | Player | Club | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Steve Norris | Telford United | 24 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 35 |
| = | Phil Derbyshire | Stafford Rangers | 24 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 32 |
| = | Paul Davies | Kidderminster Harriers | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 27 |
| 4 | Steve Butler | Maidstone United | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 29 |
| = | Mark Carter | Runcorn | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 25 |
| = | Nicky Evans | Barnet | 22 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 30 |
| 7 | Nicky Francis | Enfield | 21 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 29 |
| 8 | Steve Burr | Macclesfield Town | 19 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 32 |
| = | Lenny Dennis | Sutton United | 19 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 25 |
| = | Dave Sansom | Barnet | 19 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 27 |
| 11 | Kim Casey | Kidderminster Harriers | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
| 12 | Phil Brown | Lincoln City | 16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 20 |
| = | Mark Smith | Kettering Town | 16 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| = | Paul Wilson | Boston United | 16 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| = | Brett Angell | Cheltenham Town | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 22 |
| 16 | Steve Biggins | Telford United | 15 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| = | John McGinley | Lincoln City | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 20 |
| = | Paul McKinnon | Sutton United | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 |

## Promotion and relegation

### Promoted

* Lincoln City (to the Football League Fourth Division)
* Aylesbury United (from the Southern Premier League)
* Chorley (from the Northern Premier League)
* Yeovil Town (from the Isthmian League)

### Relegated

* Newport County (from the Football League Fourth Division)
* Bath City (to the Southern Premier League)
* Dagenham (to the Isthmian League)
* Wealdstone (to the Southern Premier League)
