1997–98 Western Football League

The 1997–98 season was the 96th in the history of the Western Football League.

Western Football League
Season1997–98
ChampionsTiverton Town (Premier Division)
Bishop Sutton (Division One)

The league champions for the fourth time in their history (and the fourth time in five seasons) were Tiverton Town, who finished the season unbeaten. The champions of Division One were Bishop Sutton.[1]

Final tables

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Premier Division

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The Premier Division was increased from 18 to 20 clubs after there was no relegation to the First Division last season. Two clubs joined:

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
1 Tiverton Town (C) 38 36 2 0 154 20 +134 110
2 Taunton Town 38 31 3 4 107 28 +79 96
3 Melksham Town 38 22 7 9 75 37 +38 73
4 Bridgwater Town 38 22 6 10 73 43 +30 72
5 Paulton Rovers 38 19 6 13 76 69 +7 63
6 Mangotsfield United 38 18 8 12 76 50 +26 62
7 Barnstaple Town 38 18 5 15 79 64 +15 59
8 Brislington 38 17 8 13 62 55 +7 59
9 Calne Town 38 16 9 13 68 67 +1 57
10 Backwell United 38 15 7 16 70 68 +2 52
11 Bridport 38 16 4 18 62 72 −10 52
12 Chippenham Town 38 13 11 14 53 57 −4 50
13 Bideford 38 14 6 18 68 90 −22 48
14 Elmore 38 10 8 20 54 100 −46 38
15 Westbury United 38 9 8 21 39 65 −26 35
16 Bristol Manor Farm 38 8 10 20 37 73 −36 34
17 Keynsham Town 38 10 4 24 46 94 −48 34
18 Odd Down 38 9 6 23 33 80 −47 33
19 Chard Town (R) 38 8 8 22 44 77 −33 32 Relegated to the First Division
20 Torrington (R) 38 2 8 28 21 88 −67 14
Source: [citation needed]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

First Division

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The First Division was reduced from 20 clubs to 19, after Keynsham Town and Melksham Town were promoted to the Premier Division, and Amesbury Town left the league. Two clubs joined:

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion
1 Bishop Sutton (C, P) 36 26 8 2 86 25 +61 86 Promoted to the Premier Division
2 Yeovil Town Reserves (P) 36 24 6 6 95 47 +48 78
3 Devizes Town 36 22 7 7 83 38 +45 73
4 Street 36 21 7 8 61 32 +29 70
5 Clyst Rovers 36 20 10 6 89 39 +50 67[a]
6 Minehead 36 16 14 6 60 39 +21 62
7 Dawlish Town 36 17 10 9 78 48 +30 58[a]
8 Crediton United 36 15 8 13 65 67 −2 53 Left to join the Devon County League
9 Exmouth Town 36 15 6 15 68 60 +8 51
10 Bitton 36 14 8 14 55 53 +2 50
11 Wellington 36 13 10 13 72 54 +18 49
12 Ilfracombe Town 36 14 7 15 75 67 +8 49
13 Larkhall Athletic 36 12 7 17 45 58 −13 43
14 Welton Rovers 36 9 6 21 51 78 −27 33
15 Warminster Town 36 9 5 22 40 83 −43 32
16 Glastonbury 36 9 4 23 41 86 −45 31
17 Frome Town 36 8 6 22 47 74 −27 30
18 Heavitree United 36 3 7 26 34 135 −101 16
19 Pewsey Vale 36 3 8 25 40 102 −62 14[a]
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: The system of using goal difference to separate two teams tied on points was used. The points system: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for losing.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c Clyst Rovers, Dawlish Town and Pewsey Vale all had three points deducted for fielding ineligible players.

References

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  1. ^ Robinson, Michael (ed.), Non-League Football Tables 1889–2006, Soccer Books, 2006