# 1985–86 Alliance Premier League

The Alliance Premier League season of 1985–86 (known as the Gola League 1985–86 for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Alliance Premier League. This was the first year where a team from the Isthmian League had been promoted to the APL, and this was the last season of the league under this name - starting with the 1986–87 season, the league would be renamed to the Football Conference.

## New teams in the league this season

* Cheltenham Town (promoted 1984–85)
* Stafford Rangers (promoted 1984–85)
* Wycombe Wanderers (promoted 1984-85)

## Final league table

| Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Enfield | 42 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 48 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 46 | 27 | +47 | 76 | Football Conference Champions, no promotion |
| 2 | Frickley Athletic | 42 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 46 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 29 | +28 | 69 | |
| 3 | Kidderminster Harriers | 42 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 51 | 28 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 48 | 34 | +37 | 67 | |
| 4 | Altrincham | 42 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 42 | 27 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 28 | 22 | +21 | 63 | FA Trophy winners |
| 5 | Weymouth | 42 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 43 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 36 | +15 | 61 | |
| 6 | Runcorn | 42 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 40 | 17 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 30 | 27 | +26 | 60 | |
| 7 | Stafford Rangers | 42 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 30 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 32 | +7 | 60 | Conference League Cup winners |
| 8 | Telford United | 42 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 42 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 26 | 42 | +2 | 51 | |
| 9 | Kettering Town | 42 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 37 | 24 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 18 | 29 | +2 | 49 | |
| 10 | Wealdstone | 42 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 35 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 22 | 28 | +1 | 47 | |
| 11 | Cheltenham Town | 42 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 47 | 27 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 42 | 0 | 46 | |
| 12 | Bath City | 42 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 28 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 25 | 29 | −1 | 45 | |
| 13 | Boston United | 42 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 41 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 25 | 50 | −10 | 44 | |
| 14 | Barnet | 42 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 32 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 24 | 37 | −4 | 41 | |
| 15 | Scarborough | 42 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 31 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 19 | 35 | −12 | 40 | |
| 16 | Northwich Victoria | 42 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 29 | −12 | 37 | |
| 17 | Maidstone United | 42 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 35 | 29 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 22 | 37 | −9 | 36 | |
| 18 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 27 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 31 | 46 | −15 | 36 | |
| 19 | Dagenham | 42 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 23 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 25 | 37 | −18 | 36 | |
| 20 | Wycombe Wanderers | 42 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 30 | 35 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 25 | 49 | −29 | 36 | Relegated to the Isthmian League |
| 21 | Dartford | 42 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 36 | 33 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 49 | −31 | 26 | Relegated to the Southern League |
| 22 | Barrow | 42 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 26 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 52 | −45 | 24 | Relegated to the Northern Premier League |
* 1 2 3 New clubs in the Conference

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALT | BAR | BRW | BAT | BOS | CHL | DAG | DAR | ENF | FRK | KET | KID | MDS | NOR | NUN | RUN | SCA | STA | TEL | WEA | WEY | WYC |
| Altrincham | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 7–4 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–3 |
| Barnet | 2–2 | | 4–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Barrow | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 1–1 |
| Bath City | 0–2 | 1–1 | 6–0 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 |
| Boston United | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 |
| Cheltenham Town | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–6 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 5–3 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–2 |
| Dagenham | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Dartford | 3–2 | 5–3 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Enfield | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 4–4 | 2–3 |
| Frickley Athletic | 0–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–4 | | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Kettering Town | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–1 |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 8–2 |
| Maidstone United | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 4–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Northwich Victoria | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 |
| Nuneaton Borough | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Runcorn | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 3–1 | | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Scarborough | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 3–5 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 2–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Stafford Rangers | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 |
| Telford United | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 |
| Wealdstone | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 7–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Weymouth | 0–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 4–2 | | 1–1 |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | |

## Top scorers

    Source:
| Rank | Player | Club | League |
| 1 | Kim Casey | Kidderminster Harriers | 36 |
| 2 | Carl Richards | Enfield | 28 |
| 3 | Mike Doherty | Weymouth | 25 |
| 4 | Mick Carter | Runcorn | 22 |
| 5 | Paul Davies | Kidderminster Harriers | 21 |
| 6 | Nicky Evans | Barnet | 20 |
| = | Gary Hooley | Frickley Athletic / Scarborough | 20 |
| 8 | Ken McKenna | Telford United | 18 |
| = | Paul Wilson | Frickley Athletic | 18 |
| 10 | Graham Bennett | Stafford Rangers | 17 |
| 11 | Mark Boyland | Cheltenham Town | 16 |
| = | Dave Gilbert | Boston United | 16 |
| 13 | Colin Cowperthwaite | Barrow | 15 |
| = | Frank Murphy | Nuneaton Borough | 15 |
| 15 | Tony Burman | Dartford | 14 |
| = | David Singleton | Bath City | 14 |
| = | Tim Smithers | Nuneaton Borough | 14 |
| = | Chris Townsend | Cheltenham Town | 14 |
| 19 | Tony Agana | Weymouth | 13 |
| = | Noel Ashford | Enfield | 13 |
| 21 | Phil Derbyshire | Stafford Rangers | 12 |
| 22 | Bob Mountain | Stafford Rangers | 11 |
| 23 | Stephen Claridge | Weymouth | 10 |

## Promotion and relegation
### Promoted

* Gateshead (from the Northern Premier League)
* Sutton (from the Isthmian League)
* Welling United (from the Southern Premier League)

### Relegated

* Wycombe Wanderers (to the Isthmian League)
* Dartford (to the Southern Premier League)
* Barrow (to the Northern Premier League)

## Election to the Football League

As winners of the Alliance Premier League, Enfield won the right to apply for election to the Football League to replace one of the four bottom sides in the 1985–86 Football League Fourth Division. The vote went as follows:
| Club | Final Position | Votes |
| Exeter City | 21st (Fourth Division) | 64 |
| Preston North End | 23rd (Fourth Division) | 62.5 |
| Cambridge United | 22nd (Fourth Division) | 61 |
| Torquay United | 24th (Fourth Division) | 61 |
| Enfield | 1st (Alliance Premier League) | 7.5 |
As a result Enfield did not gain membership of the Football League. This was the final season in which the team who won the Conference National had to apply for election to the Football League, and from the 1986–87 season onward the winning team was automatically promoted, on the provision that they met the various conditions that the Football League set for all its members.