| Season | 1996–97[1] |
|---|---|
| Champions | Macclesfield Town (2nd Football Conference title) |
| Promoted to the Football League | Macclesfield Town |
| Conference League Cup winners | Kidderminster Harriers |
| FA Trophy winners | Woking (3rd FA Trophy title |
| Relegated to Level 6 | Altrincham, Bath City, Bromsgrove Rovers |
| Matches played | 462 |
| Goals scored | 1,306 (2.83 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Lee Hughes (Kidderminster Harriers), 30 |
| Biggest home win | Woking – Altrincham 7–1 (30 November 1996); Kidderminster Harriers – Bath City 6–0 (28 December 1996); Slough Town – Telford United 6–0 (19 October 1996); Stevenage Borough – Halifax Town 6–0 (17 August 1996) |
| Biggest away win | Slough Town – Stevenage Borough 1–6 (1 January 1997); Bromsgrove Rovers – Northwich Victoria 0–5 (1 March 1997); Dover Athletic – Kidderminster Harriers 0–5 (24 August 1996); Telford United – Rushden & Diamonds 0–5 (7 December 1996) |
| Highest scoring | Halifax Town – Bath City 4–5 (15 February 1997) |
| Longest winning run | Macclesfield Town, 8 matches |
| Longest unbeaten run | Morecambe, 12 matches |
| Longest losing run | Bromsgrove Rovers, 7 matches |
| Highest attendance | Stevenage BoroughvKidderminster Harriers, 6,489 (25 January 1997) |
| Lowest attendance | ? |
| Average attendance | 1,258 |
← 1995–96 1997–98 → | |
The Football Conference season of 1996–97 was the eighteenth season of the Football Conference, also known as the Vauxhall Conference for sponsorship reasons.
Macclesfield Town won their second Conference title in three years, and this time earned a promotion to the Football League – thanks to their upgraded stadium – at the expense of Hereford United.
| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macclesfield Town | 42 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 41 | 11 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 39 | 19 | +50 | 90 | Football Conference Champions, promoted to Football League Third Division |
| 2 | Kidderminster Harriers | 42 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 48 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 36 | 24 | +42 | 85 | Conference League Cup winners |
| 3 | Stevenage Borough | 42 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 53 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 34 | 30 | +34 | 82 | |
| 4 | Morecambe | 42 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 34 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 35 | 33 | +13 | 66 | |
| 5 | Woking | 42 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 41 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 30 | 34 | +8 | 64 | FA Trophy winners |
| 6 | Northwich Victoria | 42 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 31 | 20 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 30 | 34 | +7 | 63 | |
| 7 | Farnborough Town | 42 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 35 | 29 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 23 | 24 | +5 | 61 | |
| 8 | Hednesford Town | 42 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 24 | 33 | +2 | 60 | |
| 9 | Telford United | 42 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 30 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 26 | −10 | 58 | |
| 10 | Gateshead | 42 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 32 | 27 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 36 | −4 | 56 | |
| 11 | Southport | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 28 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 33 | −10 | 55 | |
| 12 | Rushden & Diamonds[a] | 42 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 30 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 31 | 38 | −2 | 53 | |
| 13 | Stalybridge Celtic | 42 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 35 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 18 | 29 | −5 | 52 | |
| 14 | Kettering Town | 42 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 30 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 23 | 34 | −9 | 51 | |
| 15 | Hayes[a] | 42 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | 21 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 27 | 34 | −1 | 50 | |
| 16 | Slough Town | 42 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 42 | 32 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 33 | −3 | 50 | |
| 17 | Dover Athletic | 42 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 32 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 25 | 38 | −11 | 50 | |
| 18 | Welling United | 42 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 24 | 26 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 26 | 34 | −10 | 48 | |
| 19 | Halifax Town | 42 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 39 | 37 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 37 | −19 | 48 | |
| 20 | Bath City | 42 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 28 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 26 | 52 | −27 | 47 | Relegated to the Southern League |
| 21 | Bromsgrove Rovers | 42 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 37 | −26 | 41 | |
| 22 | Altrincham | 42 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 25 | 34 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 24 | 39 | −24 | 39 | Relegated to the Northern Premier League |
| Home \ Away | ALT | BAT | BRO | DOV | FAR | GAT | HAL | HAY | HED | KET | KID | MAC | MOR | NOR | R&D | SLO | SOU | STL | STB | TEL | WEL | WOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altrincham | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |
| Bath City | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | |
| Bromsgrove Rovers | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | |
| Dover Athletic | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 5–1 | |
| Farnborough Town | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | |
| Gateshead | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–2 | |
| Halifax Town | 1–1 | 4–5 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | |
| Hayes | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | |
| Hednesford Town | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–0 | |
| Kettering Town | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–5 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 1–1 | 6–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | |
| Macclesfield Town | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | |
| Morecambe | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | |
| Northwich Victoria | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | |
| Rushden & Diamonds | 3–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |
| Slough Town | 0–1 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–6 | 6–0 | 3–3 | 3–0 | |
| Southport | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 4–1 | |
| Stalybridge Celtic | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | |
| Stevenage Borough | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | |
| Telford United | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | |
| Welling United | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Woking | 7–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Rank | Player | Club | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | League Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Hughes | Kidderminster Harriers | 30 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 34 |
| 2 | Lennie Dennis | Welling United | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25 |
| 3 | Andy Whittaker | Southport | 19 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 27 |
| 4 | Gary Abbott | Slough Town | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 5 | Justin Jackson | Woking | 17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 23 |
| 6 | Barry Hayles | Stevenage Borough | 16 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
| = | David Leworthy | Rushden & Diamonds | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| = | Lee Steele | Northwich Victoria | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 9 | Joe O'Connor | Hednesford | 15 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| = | Paul Thompson | Gateshead | 15 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| = | Clive Walker | Woking | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| = | Steve Wood | Macclesfield Town | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| 13 | Mike Davis | Bath City | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| = | Neil Doherty | Kidderminster Harriers | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
| = | Niell Hardy | Altrincham | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| = | Mickey Norbury | Halifax Town | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 17 | Carl Alford | Rushden & Diamonds | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| = | Ian Arnold | Stalybridge Celtic | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| = | Chris Boothe | Farnborough Town | 13 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 25 |
| = | Martin Randall | Hayes | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 |
| = | Phil Wingfield | Farnborough Town | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
|
| |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
« 1995–96 1997–98 » | |||||||||||
| National teams |
| ||||||||||
| League competitions |
| ||||||||||
| Cup competitions |
| ||||||||||
| European competitions |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
