# 1988–89 Football Conference

The Football Conference season of 1988–89 (known as the GM Vauxhall Conference for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth season of the Football Conference.
It was the third season that the champions of the Conference were automatically promoted to the Football League after the abolition of the election system.

## Overview

Maidstone United, who had been Conference champions once earlier in the decade and once the runners-up, were finally promoted to the Football League Fourth Division after gaining their second title at this level.
Newport County, the club newly relegated to the Conference from the Football League, were wound up due to debts on 27 February 1989. They were then expelled from the Conference for failing to fulfil their fixtures; their record was expunged.

## New teams in the league this season

* Aylesbury United (promoted 1987–88)
* Chorley (promoted 1987–88)
* Newport County (relegated from the Football League 1987–88)
* Yeovil Town (promoted 1987–88)

## Final league table

| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Maidstone United | 40 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 48 | 22 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 44 | 24 | +46 | 84 | Football Conference Champions, promoted to Football League Fourth Division |
| 2 | Kettering Town | 40 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 35 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 24 | +17 | 76 | |
| 3 | Boston United | 40 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 25 | 23 | +10 | 74 | |
| 4 | Wycombe Wanderers | 40 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 34 | 25 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 34 | 27 | +16 | 71 | |
| 5 | Kidderminster Harriers | 40 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 32 | 32 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 69 | |
| 6 | Runcorn | 40 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 39 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 38 | 31 | +24 | 65 | |
| 7 | Macclesfield Town | 40 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 31 | 26 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 32 | 31 | +6 | 61 | |
| 8 | Barnet | 40 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 36 | 30 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 39 | −5 | 61 | |
| 9 | Yeovil Town | 40 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 34 | 30 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 37 | +1 | 56 | Conference League Cup winners |
| 10 | Northwich Victoria | 40 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 31 | 30 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 33 | 35 | −1 | 53 | |
| 11 | Welling United | 40 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 18 | 30 | −1 | 53 | |
| 12 | Sutton United | 40 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 43 | 26 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 21 | 28 | +10 | 51 | |
| 13 | Enfield | 40 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 33 | 32 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 35 | −5 | 50 | |
| 14 | Altrincham | 40 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 27 | 38 | −10 | 49 | |
| 15 | Cheltenham Town | 40 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 29 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 29 | −3 | 48 | |
| 16 | Telford United | 40 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 19 | −6 | 48 | FA Trophy winners |
| 17 | Chorley | 40 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 26 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 31 | 39 | −14 | 45 | |
| 18 | Fisher Athletic | 40 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 31 | 32 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 33 | −10 | 41 | |
| 19 | Stafford Rangers | 40 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 27 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 22 | 42 | −25 | 40 | |
| 20 | Aylesbury United | 40 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 27 | 30 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 41 | −28 | 36 | Relegated to the Isthmian League |
| 21 | Weymouth | 40 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 10 | 40 | −33 | 31 | Relegated to the Southern League |
| – | Newport County | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Expelled |
* 1 2 3 New club in the Conference
* ↑ Stafford Rangers were reprieved from relegation due to Newport County's expulsion.
* ↑ Newport County were expelled from the Conference and their record was expunged.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALT | AYL | BAR | BOS | CHL | CHO | ENF | FIS | KET | KID | MAC | MDS | NOR | RUN | STA | SUT | TEL | WEL | WEY | WYC | YEO |
| Altrincham | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Aylesbury United | 1–2 | | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 |
| Barnet | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Boston United | 3–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–6 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Cheltenham Town | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Chorley | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–4 | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 |
| Enfield | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 1–2 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 |
| Fisher Athletic | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 4–2 |
| Kettering Town | 0–1 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 2–3 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 0–1 | 3–6 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 |
| Macclesfield Town | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 4–3 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 |
| Maidstone United | 7–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 3–3 | | 4–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 5–0 |
| Northwich Victoria | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 2–0 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 |
| Runcorn | 3–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | | 4–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 |
| Stafford Rangers | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–6 |
| Sutton United | 3–2 | 5–2 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 5–2 |
| Telford United | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 |
| Welling United | 0–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 4–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Weymouth | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 0–3 | 0–2 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 |
| Yeovil Town | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | |

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | League | FA Cup | FA Trophy | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | Steve Butler | Maidstone United | 26 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 27 |
| = | Mark Gall | Maidstone United | 26 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 29 |
| 3 | Chris Camden | Stafford Rangers | 23 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 34 |
| = | Mark Carter | Runcorn | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 |
| 5 | Ken Charlery | Maidstone United | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| 6 | Steve Burr | Macclesfield Town | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 26 |
| = | Don Page | Runcorn | 21 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25 |
| 8 | Paul Davies | Kidderminster Harriers | 20 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 25 |
| = | Lenny Dennis | Sutton United | 20 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 29 |
| = | Mark West | Wycombe Wanderers | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 26 |
| 11 | Ronnie Ellis | Altrincham | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| = | Derrick Parker | Northwich Victoria | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| 13 | Phil Power | Chorley | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| = | Guy Whittingham | Yeovil Town | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 15 | Chris Cook | Boston United | 15 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| = | Dean Neal | Fisher Athletic | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| = | Paul Wilson | Boston United | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| 18 | Frank Murphy | Barnet | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| = | Malcolm O'Connor | Northwich Victoria | 14 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| 20 | Gary Abbott | Enfield | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 |
| = | Phil Derbyshire | Macclesfield Town | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| = | Ernie Moss | Kettering Town | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 17 |

## Promotion and relegation
### Promoted

* Maidstone United (to the Football League Fourth Division)
* Barrow (from the Northern Premier League)
* Farnborough Town (from the Isthmian League)
* Merthyr Tydfil (from the Southern League)

### Relegated

* Aylesbury (to the Isthmian League)
* Darlington (from the Football League Fourth Division)
* Weymouth (to the Southern League)