# 1985–86 North West Counties Football League

The 1985–86 North West Counties Football League was the fourth in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England. Teams were divided into three divisions.

## Division One

Division One featured 2 new teams:
* Clitheroe promoted as champions from Division Two
* Irlam Town promoted as runners-up from Division Two

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Clitheroe (C) | 38 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 61 | 30 | +31 | 54 | |
| 2 | Congleton Town | 38 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 51 | 29 | +22 | 54 | |
| 3 | Eastwood Hanley | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 68 | 45 | +23 | 53 | |
| 4 | Stalybridge Celtic | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 62 | 39 | +23 | 52 | |
| 5 | Fleetwood Town | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 70 | 34 | +36 | 50 | |
| 6 | Irlam Town | 38 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 66 | 45 | +21 | 46 | |
| 7 | Leek Town | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 64 | 44 | +20 | 46 | |
| 8 | Curzon Ashton | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 52 | 50 | +2 | 45 | |
| 9 | Burscough | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 45 | 35 | +10 | 40 | |
| 10 | St Helens Town | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 65 | 55 | +10 | 38 | |
| 11 | Accrington Stanley | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 62 | 60 | +2 | 37 | |
| 12 | Leyland Motors | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 62 | 67 | −5 | 34 | |
| 13 | Winsford United | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 55 | 68 | −13 | 34 | |
| 14 | Radcliffe Borough | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 48 | 49 | −1 | 33 | |
| 15 | Bootle | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 29 | |
| 16 | Penrith | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 46 | 63 | −17 | 26 | |
| 17 | Netherfield | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 38 | 76 | −38 | 26 | |
| 18 | Glossop | 38 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 37 | 69 | −32 | 24 | |
| 19 | Prescot Cables (R) | 38 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 68 | −35 | 19 | Relegation to Division Two |
| 20 | Formby (R) | 38 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 35 | 86 | −51 | 18 | Relegation to Division Two |
* ↑ Fleetwood Town had 2 points deducted.

## Division Two

Division Two featured 3 new teams:
* Lancaster City, relegated from Division One
* Kirkby Town promoted as champions from Division Three
* Colwyn Bay promoted as runners-up from Division Three

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Kirkby Town (C, P) | 34 | 24 | 7 | 3 | 85 | 30 | +55 | 55 | Promotion to Division One |
| 2 | Rossendale United (P) | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 81 | 36 | +45 | 48 | Promotion to Division One |
| 3 | Wren Rovers | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 60 | 46 | +14 | 44 | |
| 4 | Warrington Town | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 62 | 48 | +14 | 43 | |
| 5 | Colwyn Bay | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 74 | 53 | +21 | 42 | |
| 6 | Chadderton | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 66 | 48 | +18 | 42 | |
| 7 | Colne Dynamoes | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 59 | 43 | +16 | 39 | |
| 8 | Great Harwood Town | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 36 | |
| 9 | Skelmersdale United | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 58 | 53 | +5 | 33 | |
| 10 | Droylsden | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 48 | 56 | −8 | 33 | |
| 11 | Atherton Laburnum Rovers | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 49 | 61 | −12 | 30 | |
| 12 | Lancaster City | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 57 | 66 | −9 | 29 | |
| 13 | Ellesmere Port & Neston | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 45 | 61 | −16 | 27 | |
| 14 | Ashton United | 34 | 11 | 5 | 18 | 46 | 64 | −18 | 26 | |
| 15 | Darwen | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 24 | |
| 16 | Salford | 34 | 9 | 4 | 21 | 38 | 72 | −34 | 22 | |
| 17 | Ford Motors (R) | 34 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 36 | 64 | −28 | 20 | Relegation to Division Three |
| 18 | Nantwich Town (R) | 34 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 31 | 78 | −47 | 18 | Relegation to Division Three |
* ↑ Ashton United had 1 point deducted.

## Division Three

Oldham Dew changed their name to Oldham Town
Division Three featured 2 new teams:
* Padiham, relegated from Division Two
* Huyton Town

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
| 1 | Blackpool Mechanics (C, P) | 28 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 77 | 33 | +44 | 44 | Promotion to Division Two |
| 2 | Oldham Town (P) | 28 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 56 | 29 | +27 | 37 | Promotion to Division Two |
| 3 | Maghull | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 36 | |
| 4 | Daisy Hill | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 62 | 45 | +17 | 33 | |
| 5 | Atherton Collieries | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 33 | |
| 6 | Bolton ST | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 29 | Resigned |
| 7 | Cheadle Town | 28 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 42 | 26 | +16 | 28 | |
| 8 | Bacup Borough | 28 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 28 | |
| 9 | Padiham | 28 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 26 | |
| 10 | Prestwich Heys | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 53 | 66 | −13 | 26 | Resigned |
| 11 | Newton | 28 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 24 | |
| 12 | Whitworth Valley | 28 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 22 | |
| 13 | Huyton Town | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 41 | 71 | −30 | 21 | Resigned |
| 14 | Nelson | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 36 | 65 | −29 | 19 | |
| 15 | Ashton Athletic | 28 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 24 | 85 | −61 | 8 | Resigned |
* 1 2 3 Blackpool Mechanics, Bolton ST and Nelson had 2 points deducted.

## Promotion and relegation
### Division One

Prescot Cables and Formby were relegated to Division Two.

### Division two

Division Two champions Kirkby Town and second placed Rossendale United were promoted to Division One while Ford Motors and Nantwich Town were relegated to Division Three.

### Division Three

Division Three champions Blackpool Mechanics and second placed Oldham Town were promoted to Division Two while Bolton ST, Prestwich Heys, Huyton Town and Ashton Athletic left the League at the end of the season and were replaced by newly admitted Flixton and Ashton Town.