2008–09 Northern Premier League

The 2008-09 was the 41st season for the Northern Premier League Premier Division, and the second season for the Northern Premier League Division One North and South.

As continuing part of non-league restructuring, the Division One South temporarily has 20 teams, while the Division One North contains 21, with a targeted number for both of 22 teams. This will naturally affect the number of relegation slots available this season, as the league attempts to enlarge the size of the divisions at the end of the season.

Premier Division

Northern Premier League Premier Division

Season	2008–09
Champions	Eastwood Town
Promoted	Eastwood Town Ilkeston Town
Relegated	Cammell Laird Witton Albion Leigh Genesis Prescot Cables
Matches played	465
Goals scored	1437 (3.09 per match)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The Premier Division features six new clubs:

• Leigh Genesis, relegated from the Conference North
• Boston United, relegated from the Conference North
• Bradford Park Avenue, promoted from NPL Division One North
• F.C. United of Manchester, promoted via play-offs from NPL Division One North
• Cammell Laird, promoted from NPL Division One South
• Nantwich Town, promoted via play-offs from NPL Division One South

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Eastwood Town (C) (P)	42	25	12	5	82	37	+45	87	Promotion to the Conference North
2	Ilkeston Town (P)	42	23	13	6	59	34	+25	82	Qualification to the Playoffs
3	Nantwich Town	42	22	10	10	83	41	+42	76
4	Guiseley	42	22	10	10	98	60	+38	76
5	Kendal Town	42	21	11	10	85	63	+22	74
6	F.C. United of Manchester	42	21	9	12	82	58	+24	72
7	Bradford Park Avenue	42	20	12	10	74	52	+22	72
8	Hednesford Town	42	21	6	15	78	52	+26	69
9	Ashton United	42	16	10	16	71	75	−4	58
10	North Ferriby United	42	16	6	20	67	65	+2	54
11	Frickley Athletic	42	13	15	14	50	58	−8	54
12	Ossett Town	42	15	8	19	71	74	−3	53
13	Marine	42	15	6	21	54	75	−21	51
14	Buxton	42	13	10	19	56	58	−2	49
15	Matlock Town	42	12	13	17	65	74	−9	49
16	Boston United	42	12	13	17	38	52	−14	49
17	Worksop Town	42	12	12	18	48	87	−39	48
18	Cammell Laird (R)	42	12	11	19	58	70	−12	0471	Relegation to the NPL Division One North & South
19	Whitby Town	42	12	10	20	58	71	−13	46
20	Witton Albion (R)	42	12	6	24	53	73	−20	42	Relegation to the NPL Division One North & South
21	Leigh Genesis (R)	42	11	7	24	42	88	−46	40
22	Prescot Cables (R)	42	5	12	25	52	107	−55	27

Source: Unibond League.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
¹Cammell Laird relegated due to ground grading issues. Whitby Town reprieved.^[1]
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Playoffs

	Semifinals					Final
	3	Nantwich Town	2
	4	Guiseley	1
						2	Ilkeston Town	2
						3	Nantwich Town	1
	2	Ilkeston Town	4
	5	Kendal Town	3

Stadia and Locations

Ashton United

Boston United

Bradford Park Avenue

Buxton

Cammell Laird

Eastwood Town

F.C. United

Frickley Athletic

Guiseley

Ilkeston Town

Kendal Town

Leigh Genesis

Marine

Matlock Town

Nantwich Town

North Ferriby

Ossett Town

Prescot Cables

Whitby Town

Witton Albion

Worksop Town

Locations of the 2008–09 Northern Premier League teams

Team	Stadium	Capacity
F.C. United of Manchester	Gigg Lane (Bury ground share)	11,840
Leigh Genesis	Leigh Sports Village Stadium	10,000
Boston United	York Street	6,643
Buxton	The Silverlands	5,200
Bradford Park Avenue	Horsfall Stadium	5,000
Worksop Town	Watnall Road (Hucknall ground share)	5,000
Ashton United	Hurst Cross	4,500
Ilkeston Town	New Manor Ground	3,500
Nantwich Town	The Weaver Stadium	3,500
Whitby Town	Turnbull Ground	3,500
Prescot Cables	Valerie Park	3,200
Burscough	Victoria Park	3,054
Guiseley	Nethermoor Park	3,000
Marine	The Arriva Stadium	2,800
North Ferriby United	Grange Lane	2,700
Eastwood Town	Coronation Park	2,500
Kendal Town	Lakeland Radio Stadium	2,400
Matlock Town	Causeway Lane	2,214
Frickley Athletic	Westfield Lane	2,087
Ossett Town	Ingfield	2,000
Cammell Laird	Kirklands Stadium	1,500

Division One North

Northern Premier League Division One North

Season	2008–09
Champions	Durham City
Promoted	Durham City Newcastle Blue Star
Relegated	None
Matches played	423
Goals scored	1447 (3.42 per match)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The Division One North features six new clubs:

• F.C. Halifax Town, relegated from the Conference National
• Colwyn Bay, moved from the South to the North Division
• Warrington Town, moved from the South to the North Division
• Salford City, promoted from North West Counties Football League Division One
• Durham City, promoted from Northern Football League Division One
• Trafford, promoted from North West Counties League

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Durham City (C) (P)	40	25	12	3	98	41	+57	87	Promotion to the NPL Premier Division
2	Skelmersdale United	40	26	8	6	96	51	+45	86	Qualification to the Playoffs
3	Newcastle Blue Star (P)	40	21	10	9	93	54	+39	73
4	Colwyn Bay	40	23	7	10	72	49	+23	0731
5	Curzon Ashton	40	20	8	12	66	44	+22	68
6	Ossett Albion	40	19	9	12	76	61	+15	66
7	Lancaster City	40	19	8	13	69	64	+5	65
8	F.C. Halifax Town	40	17	12	11	71	52	+19	63
9	Wakefield	40	16	8	16	65	62	+3	56
10	Mossley	40	16	6	18	63	70	−7	54
11	Bamber Bridge	40	16	5	19	69	78	−9	53
12	Clitheroe	40	15	7	18	64	76	−12	52
13	Woodley Sports	40	16	3	21	57	74	−17	51
14	Chorley	40	13	8	19	56	66	−10	47
15	Trafford	40	13	7	20	72	83	−11	46
16	Garforth Town	40	13	5	22	77	99	−22	44
17	Radcliffe Borough	40	12	6	22	51	66	−15	42
18	Harrogate Railway Athletic	40	13	3	24	58	82	−24	42
19	Warrington Town	40	11	8	21	50	73	−23	41
20	Salford City	40	10	6	24	59	107	−48	36
21	Rossendale United	40	8	10	22	53	83	−30	0342

Source: Unibond League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
¹Colwyn Bay deducted 3 points for fielding an ineligible player
²Rossendale United reprieved from relegation^[2]
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Playoffs

	Semifinals					Final
	3	Newcastle Blue Star	2(4)
	4	Colwyn Bay	2(2)
						3	Newcastle Blue Star	4
						5	Curzon Ashton	1
	2	Skelmersdale United	0
	5	Curzon Ashton	1

Division One South

Northern Premier League Division One South

Season	2008–09
Champions	Retford United
Promoted	Retford United Stocksbridge Park Steels
Relegated	Gresley Rovers
Matches played	383
Goals scored	1243 (3.25 per match)
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The Division One South features seven new clubs:

• Leek Town, relegated from the NPL Premier Division
• Stamford, relegated from the NPL Premier Division
• Lincoln United, relegated from the NPL Premier Division
• Rushall Olympic, moved from the SFL Division One Midland
• Willenhall Town, moved from the SFL Division One Midland
• Glapwell, promoted from the NCEL Premier Division
• Loughborough Dynamo, promoted from the Midland Football Alliance

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Retford United (C) (P)	38	24	9	5	88	34	+54	81	Promotion to the NPL Premier Division
2	Belper Town	38	24	9	5	79	41	+38	81	Qualification to the Playoffs
3	Stocksbridge Park Steels (P)	38	23	6	9	92	44	+48	75
4	Carlton Town	38	20	10	8	83	50	+33	70
5	Rushall Olympic	38	20	8	10	63	42	+21	68
6	Glapwell	38	21	5	12	78	58	+20	68
7	Stamford	38	15	16	7	65	51	+14	61
8	Shepshed Dynamo	38	16	8	14	61	61	0	56
9	Leek Town	38	14	12	12	63	60	+3	54
10	Lincoln United	38	14	9	15	58	65	−7	51
11	Sheffield	38	14	8	16	67	69	−2	50
12	Quorn	38	13	9	16	54	63	−9	48
13	Grantham Town	38	12	11	15	49	65	−16	47
14	Loughborough Dynamo	38	11	13	14	45	58	−13	46
15	Kidsgrove Athletic	38	12	5	21	49	62	−13	41
16	Willenhall Town	38	10	8	20	55	74	−19	38
17	Spalding United	38	10	7	21	41	82	−41	37
18	Goole	38	13	5	20	62	85	−23	0331
19	Gresley Rovers	38	6	7	25	41	78	−37	0252	Club folded, reformed in EMCFL
20	Brigg Town	38	3	5	30	41	92	−51	14

Source: Unibond League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

¹Goole deducted 1 point for fielding an ineligible player and 10 points for entering into administration
²Gresley Rovers resigned from the league. Brigg Town reprieved^[3]
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Playoffs

	Semifinals					Final
	3	Stocksbridge Park Steels	5
	4	Carlton Town	2
						3	Stocksbridge Park Steels	1
						2	Belper Town	0
	2	Belper Town	1
	5	Rushall Olympic	0

Cup Results

Challenge Cup: Teams from all 3 divisions.

• Guiseley 3-2 AET Ilkeston Town

President's Cup: Teams from lower 2 divisions.

• Trafford 2-0 Quorn

Chairman's Cup: Between Champions of NPL Division 1 North and NPL Division 1 South.

• Durham City 2-1 Retford United

Peter Swales Shield: Between Champions of NPL Premier Division and Winners of the Chairmans Cup.

• Eastwood Town 2-1 Durham City

References

1. ^ "Lairds Face Relegation After FA Ground Grading Decision". UniBond League. 2009-04-18. http://www.unibondleague.com/newsfull.php?newsid=7327. 
2. ^ "Non-League System – Proposed Allocation of Clubs 2009/10" (PDF). The FA. 2009-05-29. http://www.thefa.com/Leagues/NationalLeagueSystem/NewsAndFeatures/2009/~/media/Files/PDF/Leagues/NLS200910.ashx/NLS200910.pdf. Retrieved 22 December 2009. 
3. ^ Harrison, Mark (24 April 2009). "Club Statement: From Mark Harrison Chairman of Gresley Rovers". Gresley Rovers FC. http://www.gresleyrovers.com/news/article/2423. Retrieved 22 December 2009. 

External links

• Official website
• Official Northern Premier League Match Photo Gallery