The 2005–06 season was the 27th season of the Football Conference.
Overview
This season saw the return of Accrington Stanley (albeit as a reformed club) and Hereford United to the Football League. Accrington replaced Oxford United, who had replaced them when they resigned from the League in 1962.
Northwich Victoria, Stafford Rangers and Weymouth returned to the Conference National, the latter for the first time since 1989, whilst St Albans City won promotion to the fifth tier for the first time.
As with the previous season, Grays Athletic were the winners of the FA Trophy.
Conference National
A total of 22 teams contested the division, including 17 sides from last season, two relegated from the Football League Two, two promoted from the Conference North and one promoted from the Conference South.
Promotion and relegation
Teams promoted from 2004–05 Conference North
Teams promoted from 2004–05 Conference South
Teams relegated from 2004–05 Football League Two
League table
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Accrington Stanley | 42 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 38 | 17 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 28 | +31 | 91 | Football Conference Champions, promoted to League Two |
2 | Hereford United | 42 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 30 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 29 | 19 | +26 | 80 | Promoted to League Two through play-offs |
3 | Grays Athletic[a] | 42 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 46 | 32 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 48 | 23 | +39 | 76 | Participated in play-offs |
4 | Halifax Town | 42 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 31 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 29 | +15 | 75 | |
5 | Morecambe | 42 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 44 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 24 | 24 | +27 | 74 | |
6 | Stevenage Borough | 42 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 38 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 24 | 32 | +15 | 69 | |
7 | Exeter City | 42 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 26 | +17 | 63 | |
8 | York City | 42 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | 22 | +15 | 63 | |
9 | Burton Albion | 42 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 23 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 31 | −2 | 60 | |
10 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 42 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 31 | 32 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 32 | 27 | +4 | 58 | |
11 | Woking | 42 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 30 | 20 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 27 | +11 | 56 | |
12 | Cambridge United | 42 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 35 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 16 | 32 | −6 | 55 | |
13 | Aldershot Town | 42 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 31 | 44 | −13 | 54 | |
14 | Canvey Island | 42 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 27 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 24 | 31 | −11 | 51 | Voluntarily relegated to Isthmian League Division One North |
15 | Kidderminster Harriers | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 27 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 28 | −16 | 50 | |
16 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 42 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 25 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 20 | 32 | −12 | 49 | |
17 | Crawley Town | 42 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 21 | 33 | −7 | 47 | |
18 | Southport | 42 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 24 | 38 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 30 | −32 | 40 | |
19 | Forest Green Rovers | 42 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 27 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 18 | 35 | −13 | 38 | |
20 | Tamworth | 42 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 40 | −31 | 38 | |
21 | Scarborough | 42 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 24 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 36 | −26 | 37 | Relegated to Conference North[b] |
22 | Altrincham | 42 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 25 | 30 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 41 | −31 | 23[c] | Reprieved from relegation[d] |
- ^ Grays Athletic were the FA Trophy winners.
- ^ Scarborough had come out of administration and would have been reprieved due to the voluntary demotion of Canvey Island and Altrincham being below them in the table, but they did not fulfil the Conferences financial guidelines and were thus relegated.
- ^ Altrincham were docked 18 points for fielding an ineligible player.
- ^ Altrincham were reprieved from relegation due to the enlargement of the Conference to 24 teams and the voluntary demotion of Canvey Island (whose main financial backer, Jeff King, had moved to Chelmsford City). It was the first of three successive seasons in which the club finished in the relegation zone, but were spared demotion due to financial issues at other clubs.
Locations


Results
Play-offs
Semifinals 1st leg 6/7 May; 2nd leg 10/11 May | Final at Walkers Stadium, Leicester 20 May 2006 | ||||||||||
2nd | Hereford United | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
5th | Morecambe | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
2nd | Hereford United (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||||||
4th | Halifax Town | 2 | |||||||||
3rd | Grays Athletic | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||
4th | Halifax Town | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Semi-finals
Morecambe | 1–1 | Hereford United |
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Report |
Hereford United | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Morecambe |
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|
Report |
Hereford United won 4–3 on aggregate.
Halifax Town | 3–2 | Grays Athletic |
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Report |
|
Grays Athletic | 2–2 | Halifax Town |
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Report |
Halifax Town won 5–4 on aggregate.
Final
Halifax Town | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Hereford United |
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Report |
|
Top scorers in order of league goals
Pos | Player | Club | League | Play-offs | FA Cup | FA Trophy | LDV | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Andy Bishop | York City | 23 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 26 |
2 | Justin Richards | Woking | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 |
3 | Danny Carlton | Morecambe | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
= | Colin Little | Altrincham | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
5 | Clayton Donaldson | York City | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
6 | Chris Moore | Dagenham & Redbridge | 15 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
7 | Michael Kightly | Grays Athletic | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
= | Paul Mullin | Accrington Stanley | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
9 | Glenn Poole | Grays Athletic | 13 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 18 |
= | Lee Phillips | Exeter City | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
= | Ian Craney | Accrington Stanley | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
= | Gary Roberts | Accrington Stanley | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
= | Daryl Clare | Burton Albion | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
Source:[1]
Conference North
A total of 22 teams contested the division, including 17 sides from last season, one promoted from Southern Football League, two promoted from the Northern Premier League and two relegated from the Conference National.
Promotion and relegation
Teams promoted from 2004–05 Northern Premier League
Teams promoted from 2004–05 Southern Football League
Teams relegated from 2004–05 Conference National
League table
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Northwich Victoria | 42 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 53 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 44 | 33 | +48 | 92 | Conference North Champions, promoted to Conference National |
2 | Stafford Rangers | 42 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 17 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 32 | 17 | +34 | 85 | Promoted to Conference National through play-offs |
3 | Nuneaton Borough | 42 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 43 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 25 | 22 | +25 | 77 | Participated in play-offs |
4 | Droylsden | 42 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 52 | 24 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 28 | 32 | +24 | 72 | |
5 | Harrogate Town | 42 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 31 | 40 | +10 | 71 | |
6 | Kettering Town | 42 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 38 | 18 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 31 | +14 | 67 | |
7 | Stalybridge Celtic | 42 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 51 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 31 | +20 | 66 | |
8 | Worcester City | 42 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 27 | 20 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 26 | +12 | 62 | |
9 | Moor Green | 42 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 28 | 33 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 39 | 31 | +3 | 61 | |
10 | Hinckley United | 42 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 28 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 29 | 27 | +5 | 58 | |
11 | Hyde United[a] | 42 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 39 | 37 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 24 | +7 | 56 | |
12 | Hucknall Town | 42 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 33 | 25 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 23 | 29 | +2 | 55 | |
13 | Workington[a] | 42 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 29 | 29 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 33 | −2 | 55 | |
14 | Barrow | 42 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 39 | 33 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 34 | −5 | 47 | |
15 | Lancaster City | 42 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 23 | 40 | −14 | 47 | |
16 | Gainsborough Trinity | 42 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 26 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 35 | −20 | 46 | |
17 | Alfreton Town | 42 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 27 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 31 | −12 | 45 | |
18 | Vauxhall Motors | 42 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 28 | 37 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 22 | 34 | −21 | 43 | |
19 | Worksop Town | 42 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 27 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 19 | 40 | −25 | 41 | |
20 | Redditch United | 42 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 29 | 34 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 23 | 44 | −26 | 39 | |
21 | Leigh RMI | 42 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 54 | −34 | 39[b] | Reprieved from relegation[c] |
22 | Hednesford Town[a] | 42 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 37 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 26 | 50 | −45 | 35 | Relegated to the Northern Premier League Premier Division |
Notes:
Locations
Results
Play-offs
Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||
2nd | Stafford Rangers | 1 | |||||||||
5th | Harrogate Town | 0 | |||||||||
2nd | Stafford Rangers (pen.) | 1 (5) | |||||||||
4th | Droylsden | 1 (3) | |||||||||
3rd | Nuneaton Borough | 0 | |||||||||
4th | Droylsden | 1 |
Semifinals
Nuneaton Borough | 0–1 | Droylsden |
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Report |
|
Stafford Rangers | 1–0 | Harrogate Town |
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|
Report |
Play-Off Final
Topscorers
Pos | Player | Club | League | Play-offs | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jonny Allan | Northwich Victoria | 24 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 31 |
Source:[1]
Conference South
A total of 22 teams contested the division, including 18 sides from last season, two promoted from the Isthmian League, one promoted from the Southern Football League and one relegated from Conference National.
Promotion and relegation
Teams promoted from 2004–05 Southern Football League
Teams promoted from 2004–05 Isthmian League
Teams relegated from 2004–05 Conference National
League table
Pos | Team | Pld | HW | HD | HL | HGF | HGA | AW | AD | AL | AGF | AGA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Weymouth | 42 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 47 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 33 | 21 | +46 | 90[a] | Conference South Champions, promoted to Conference National |
2 | St Albans City | 42 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 54 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 40 | 28 | +47 | 86 | Promoted to Conference National through play-offs |
3 | Farnborough Town | 42 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 24 | +24 | 78 | Participated in play-offs |
4 | Lewes | 42 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 40 | 30 | +21 | 73 | [b] |
5 | Histon[c] | 42 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 41 | 30 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 29 | 26 | +14 | 71 | Participated in play-offs |
6 | Havant & Waterlooville | 42 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 17 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 35 | 31 | +16 | 70[d] | |
7 | Cambridge City | 42 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 35 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 43 | 23 | +32 | 67[e] | |
8 | Eastleigh[c] | 42 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 33 | 28 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 32 | 30 | +7 | 66 | |
9 | Welling United | 42 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 32 | 20 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 27 | 24 | +15 | 65 | |
10 | Thurrock | 42 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 33 | 31 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 27 | 29 | 0 | 58 | |
11 | Dorchester Town | 42 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 32 | 41 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 28 | 32 | −13 | 55 | |
12 | Bognor Regis Town | 42 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 31 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 23 | 32 | −1 | 49 | |
13 | Sutton United | 42 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 28 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 20 | 36 | −13 | 49 | |
14 | Weston-super-Mare | 42 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 25 | 46 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 31 | 42 | −32 | 49 | |
15 | Bishop's Stortford | 42 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 33 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 30 | −8 | 48 | |
16 | Yeading[c] | 42 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 38 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 29 | 24 | −15 | 47 | |
17 | Eastbourne Borough | 42 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 24 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 36 | −9 | 46 | |
18 | Newport County | 42 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 28 | 34 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 33 | −17 | 44 | |
19 | Basingstoke Town | 42 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 37 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 26 | 35 | −25 | 44 | |
20 | Hayes | 42 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 26 | 28 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 21 | 32 | −13 | 42 | |
21 | Carshalton Athletic | 42 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 27 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 41 | −26 | 40 | Relegated to the Isthmian League Premier Division |
22 | Maidenhead United | 42 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 49 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 24 | 50 | −50 | 31[f] | Relegated to the Southern Football League |
Notes:
- ^ Weymouth had 4 points deducted.
- ^ Lewes could not participate in the play-offs due to ground issues.
- ^ a b c New club in Conference South
- ^ Havant & Waterlooville had 3 points deducted.
- ^ Cambridge City had 3 points deducted.
- ^ Maidenhead United had 2 points deducted.
Locations
Results
Play-offs
Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||
2nd | St Albans City [notes4 1] | W/O | |||||||||
2nd | St Albans City | 2 | |||||||||
5th | Histon | 0 | |||||||||
3rd | Farnborough Town | 0 | |||||||||
5th | Histon | 3 |
- ^ Lewes did not take part in the play-offs as they could not be promoted to the Conference National
due to ground grading issues. As a result, St Albans City were given a bye to the play-off final.
Semifinal
Farnborough Town | 0–3 | Histon |
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Play-Off Final
Topscorers
Pos | Player | Club | League | Play-offs | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Paul Booth | Cambridge City | 24 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 32 |
Source:[1]