The 2015–16 North West Counties Football League season was the 34th in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England. Teams were divided into two divisions: Premier Division and Division One.
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Colne |
| Promoted | Colne |
| Relegated | Alsager Town Silsden AFC Blackpool |
← 2014–15 2016–17 → | |
The Premier Division featured four new teams:[1]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colne (C, P) | 42 | 31 | 7 | 4 | 105 | 41 | +64 | 100 | Promoted to Northern Premier League Division One North |
| 2 | Runcorn Linnets | 42 | 32 | 2 | 8 | 97 | 35 | +62 | 98 | |
| 3 | Atherton Collieries | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 113 | 66 | +47 | 84 | |
| 4 | 1874 Northwich | 42 | 24 | 6 | 12 | 89 | 62 | +27 | 78 | |
| 5 | West Didsbury & Chorlton | 42 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 81 | 65 | +16 | 68 | |
| 6 | Congleton Town | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 79 | 65 | +14 | 67 | |
| 7 | Ashton Athletic | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 73 | 68 | +5 | 61 | |
| 8 | Bootle | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 75 | 75 | 0 | 61 | |
| 9 | Barnoldswick Town | 42 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 77 | 69 | +8 | 59 | |
| 10 | Abbey Hey | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 67 | 66 | +1 | 59 | |
| 11 | Padiham | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 84 | 90 | −6 | 57 | |
| 12 | Maine Road | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 72 | 76 | −4 | 55 | |
| 13 | Runcorn Town | 42 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 70 | 76 | −6 | 52 | |
| 14 | Winsford United | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 66 | 93 | −27 | 52 | |
| 15 | Cammell Laird 1907 | 42 | 14 | 8 | 20 | 71 | 83 | −12 | 50 | |
| 16 | Nelson | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 69 | 70 | −1 | 48 | |
| 17 | A.F.C. Liverpool | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 86 | 92 | −6 | 48 | |
| 18 | A.F.C. Darwen | 42 | 12 | 7 | 23 | 82 | 111 | −29 | 43 | |
| 19 | Squires Gate | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 53 | 91 | −38 | 41 | |
| 20 | Alsager Town (R) | 42 | 11 | 6 | 25 | 56 | 101 | −45 | 39 | Relegated to Division One |
| 21 | Silsden (R) | 42 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 57 | 88 | −31 | 38 | |
| 22 | A.F.C. Blackpool (R) | 42 | 9 | 9 | 24 | 65 | 104 | −39 | 36 |
To be promoted at the end of the season a team must:
The following five clubs achieved criterion 1:[3]
| Home \ Away | 18N | ABH | BLK | DAR | LVP | ALS | ASH | ACO | BWT | BTL | CAM | CLN | CNG | MNR | NEL | PAD | RNL | RNT | SIL | SQG | WDC | WNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1874 Northwich | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 5–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | |
| Abbey Hey | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–5 | 2–4 | |
| A.F.C. Blackpool | 3–4 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 3–5 | 2–2 | |
| A.F.C. Darwen | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 3–7 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 7–4 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | |
| A.F.C. Liverpool | 3–3 | 1–1 | 7–1 | 6–1 | 4–0 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 3–6 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–6 | 4–2 | |
| Alsager Town | 0–5 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 3–4 | |
| Ashton Athletic | 4–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | |
| Atherton Collieries | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 6–1 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 7–2 | 5–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | |
| Barnoldswick Town | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 5–2 | |
| Bootle | 2–3 | 2–2 | 6–0 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–5 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | |
| Cammell Laird 1907 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 4–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | |
| Colne | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 6–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 6–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 6–2 | |
| Congleton Town | 4–4 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | |
| Maine Road | 4–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 5–3 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 5–0 | |
| Nelson | 0–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 5–1 | |
| Padiham | 0–7 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 6–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 4–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 5–1 | |
| Runcorn Linnets | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 7–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 5–1 | |
| Runcorn Town | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 2–5 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | |
| Silsden | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | |
| Squires Gate | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 6–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | |
| West Didsbury & Chorlton | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–3 | 4–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | |
| Winsford United | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
Sources for this subsection: NWCFL web site and the websites of the participating clubs
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| A.F.C. Darwen | The Anchor Ground | 4,000 |
| A.F.C. Liverpool | Marine Travel Arena, Crosby (groundshare with Marine) | 3,185 |
| 1874 Northwich | Barton Stadium (groundshare with Winsford United) | 3,000 |
| Winsford United | Barton Stadium | 3,000 |
| Atherton Collieries | Alder Street | 2,500 |
| Bootle | Delta Taxis Stadium | 2,500 |
| Silsden | The Asda Foundation Stadium | 2,300 |
| Cammell Laird 1907 | North West Construction Stadium, Birkenhead | 2,000 |
| Maine Road | Brantingham Road, Chorlton | 2,000 |
| Nelson | Little Wembley | 2,000 |
| Colne | XLCR Stadium | 1,800 |
| Padiham | Arbories Memorial Sports Ground | 1,688 |
| Runcorn Linnets | Millbank Linnets Stadium | 1,600 |
| Runcorn Town | Pavilions Sports Complex | 1,530 |
| A.F.C. Blackpool | The Mechanics | 1,500 |
| Alsager Town | Wood Park Stadium | 1,500 |
| Congleton Town | Richborough Estates Stadium | 1,450 |
| Abbey Hey | The Abbey Stadium, Gorton | 1,000 |
| Ashton Athletic | Brockstedes Park | 1,000 |
| Squires Gate | School Road | 1,000 |
| Barnoldswick Town | Silentnight Beds Stadium | |
| West Didsbury & Chorlton | Brookburn Road, Chorlton |
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Hanley Town |
| Promoted | Hanley Town Irlam Barnton |
| Relegated | Rochdale Town |
← 2014–15 2016–17 → | |
Division One featured four new teams:[1][4]
One further club had changed its name since the previous season:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanley Town (C, P) | 34 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 68 | 32 | +36 | 78 | Promotion to Premier Division |
| 2 | Irlam (P) | 34 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 73 | 27 | +46 | 77 | |
| 3 | Barnton (O, P) | 34 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 94 | 36 | +58 | 66 | Qualification for Playoffs |
| 4 | Stockport Town | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 68 | 44 | +24 | 63 | |
| 5 | Bacup Borough | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 81 | 54 | +27 | 57 | |
| 6 | Cheadle Town | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 89 | 59 | +30 | 56 | |
| 7 | St Helens Town | 34 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 84 | 61 | +23 | 55 | |
| 8 | Holker Old Boys | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 73 | 62 | +11 | 55 | |
| 9 | Litherland REMYCA | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 63 | 51 | +12 | 54 | |
| 10 | Rochdale Town (R) | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 66 | 77 | −11 | 47[a] | Relegation to Step 7 |
| 11 | Ashton Town | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 57 | 57 | 0 | 43 | |
| 12 | Daisy Hill | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 56 | 72 | −16 | 42 | |
| 13 | Widnes | 34 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 67 | 77 | −10 | 35 | |
| 14 | Chadderton | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 35 | |
| 15 | Northwich Manchester Villa | 34 | 10 | 4 | 20 | 48 | 77 | −29 | 34[b] | Resigned from league at end of season |
| 16 | Eccleshall | 34 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 53 | 77 | −24 | 32 | |
| 17 | Atherton Laburnum Rovers | 34 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 32 | 103 | −71 | 18 | |
| 18 | Whitchurch Alport | 34 | 2 | 10 | 22 | 31 | 127 | −96 | 16 |
Source for this subsection: NWCFL results
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 3 | Barnton (aet) | 4 | |||||||
| 6 | Cheadle Town | 1 | |||||||
| 3 | Barnton (aet) | 2 | |||||||
| 5 | Bacup Borough | 0 | |||||||
| 4 | Stockport Town | 0 | |||||||
| 5 | Bacup Borough | 2 | |||||||
| Home \ Away | AST | ALR | BAC | BAR | CHA | CHT | DSH | ECC | HAN | HOB | IRL | LIT | NMV | RCH | STH | SPT | WHI | WID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton Town | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 5–1 | 3–2 | 4–4 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 1–2 | |
| Atherton Laburnum Rovers | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–6 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | |
| Bacup Borough | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 5–5 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 9–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 7–0 | 6–0 | |
| Barnton | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 11–1 | 0–1 | |
| Chadderton | 6–0 | 6–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–3 | |
| Cheadle Town | 1–2 | 10–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 5–3 | 2–0 | |
| Daisy Hill | 0–4 | 4–2 | 3–0 | 1–6 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 4–2 | |
| Eccleshall | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–6 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 0–5 | |
| Hanley Town | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 4–3 | |
| Holker Old Boys | 2–2 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 0–5 | 0–0 | 8–0 | 3–1 | |
| Irlam | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 4–1 | |
| Litherland REMYCA | 0–2 | 6–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |
| Northwich Manchester Villa | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | |
| Rochdale Town | 2–0 | 4–3 | 0–3 | 1–6 | 5–0 | 2–6 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 1–3 | |
| St Helens Town | 0–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–6 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 10–0 | 3–2 | |
| Stockport Town | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–5 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | |
| Whitchurch Alport | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 1–6 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 0–7 | 3–3 | |
| Widnes | 2–3 | 4–1 | 5–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 6–1 | 3–3 |
Sources for this section: NWCFL web site and the websites of the participating clubs
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Widnes | Select Security Stadium | 13,350 |
| Northwich Manchester Villa | Manchester Regional Arena | 6,500 |
| Atherton Laburnum Rovers | Crilly Park | 3,000 |
| Bacup Borough | West View | 3,000 |
| Holker Old Boys | Rakesmoor Lane Barrow-in-Furness | 2,500 |
| Stockport Town | The Neil Rourke Memorial Stadium | 2,384 |
| Ashton Town | Edge Green Street | 2,000 |
| Cheadle Town | Park Road Stadium | 2,000 |
| Daisy Hill | New Sirs Westhoughton | 2,000 |
| Chadderton | MCA Stadium | 1,500 |
| Rochdale Town | Mayfield Sports Centre | 1,500 |
| Eccleshall | Pershall Park | 1,000 |
| Irlam | Silver Street | 1,000 |
| St Helens Town | Brockstedes Park (groundshare with Ashton Athletic) | 1,000 |
| Hanley Town | Abbey Lane | 750 |
| Barnton | Townfield | |
| Litherland REMYCA | Litherland Sports Park | |
| Whitchurch Alport | Yockings Park |
Also called the MEN United Cup for sponsorship reasons.[7] Sources for this section: NWCFL web site results
Bacup Borough and Rochdale Town received byes to the second round. Premier Division teams exempt to the second round.
Played Saturday 26 September.
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Ties played 23 and 24 October.
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Ties played 28 November, with four delayed by bad weather.
* played at Ashton
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Ties played on Saturday 27 February.
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Played 10 May at Fleetwood Town's Highbury Stadium
| Score | ||
|---|---|---|
| Atherton Collieries | 5–1 | Colne |
Also called the Reusch First Division Cup for sponsorship reasons.[8] Source for this section: NWCFL web site
Each of the remaining Division One clubs received a bye to the second round.
Ties played Saturday 17 October.
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Ties played 6 and 7 November, with two delayed due to bad weather
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*played at Chadderton, following two postponements |
One tie played 20 February, with three delayed due to bad weather
* Played at Barnton |
* Litherland REMYCA disqualified for fielding an ineligible player |
Played on 19 March.
Hanley Town awarded walkover to final |
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Played on 19 April at Congleton Town's ground
| Score | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hanley Town | 1–1 aet, pens 4–5 | Barnton |
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