TH DIVISION
A
THE three automatic promotion places in the Fourth Division produced no major
surprises. Rotherham and Mansfield Town were early season favourites for an
automatic return to the Third Division (although it will be called the Second next
season) following relegation last season and after the great run that took Burnley
to the top just before Christmas, the championships always, somehow, seemed
destined to come Burnley's way. The only real surprise was the collapse of
Blackpool, for the second year running. For two seasons they have gone into the
last game of the season needing a draw for promotion and lost both matches
2-0. This year they went to red-hot form team Lincoln City Steve Thompson
had just been named manager of the month for April, and the Red Imps had lost
just once in 17 outings and lost 2-0, both goals coming from the penalty spot.
That result dumped Blackpool into the play-offs and hoping to go one better than
last season when they were the beaten finalists. But they started badly and lost
the first leg of their semi-final 1-0 at Barnet. The other semi-final featured Crewe
and Scunthorpe and ended level at 2-2 after the first leg. Both games were, then,
nicely poised and then the second legs were played it was, in both cases, the
home sides who triumphed 2-0 and so it is Blackpool and Scunthorpe who clash
at Wembley on Saturday to decide who will be the fourth promoted side. The new
faces in the Fourth Division (although it will be called the Third) next season will
be fairly familiar to those who have followed League football for a while. Colchester
were relegated to the Vauxhall Conference two years ago, and just missed out
on an automatic return to the League last season. This season they edged
Wycombe Wanderers out on the last day of the season. The relegated teams are
Darlington, the previous season's Fourth Division champions, Torquay last
term's play-off winners and Bury, a team who were relegated when they lost at
Deepdale on the last day of the 1991-92 campaign. Excluding the play-off games,
Dave Bamber of Blackpool was the division's highest scorer with 35 goals followed
by Barnet's Mark Carter with 29 and next came our own Michael Conroy one astray.
The top attendance came for the match between Burnley and Wrexham a
remarkable 21,216 while the lowest of the season was at Maidstone United
when just 842 watched them play Hereford United. On the attendance front, 10
clubs showed an increase in their average gate and 11 recorded their highest gates
when Burnley were the visitors.
14
TOP TEN ATTENDANCES LEAGUE
21,216 Burnley v Wrexham (May 2nd)
18,183 Burnley v Blackpool (Feb 22nd)
16,030 Cardiff City v Burnley (Feb 29th)
13,812 Burnley v Rotherham (Dec 26th)
12,408 Burnley v Cardiff City (March 22nd)
12,312 Burnley v Scarborough (April 20th)
12,018 Burnley v Barnet (March 7th)
11,848 Burnley v Mansfield (Nov 9th)
10,986 Burnley v Maidstone (March 28th)
10,903 Burnley v Halifax Town (March 14th)
TOP TEN ATTENDANCES ANY COMPETITION
24,712 West Ham v Wrexham (FA Cup, Jan 25th).
24,259 Notts Forest v Hereford (FA Cup, Jan 26th).
21,216 Burnley v Wrexham (Fourth Division, May 2nd)
18,772 Burnley v Derby County (FA Cup Jan 4th).
18,374 Derby County v Burnley (FA Cup Jan 25th).
18,183 Burnley v Blackpool (Fourth Division, Feb 22nd).
17,995 Wrexham v West Ham (FA Cup Feb 4th).
16,030 Cardiff v Burnley (Fourth Division, Feb 29th).
14,558 Leeds Utd v Scunthorpe (Rumbelows Cup, Oct 8th).
13,812 Burnley v Rotherham United (Fourth Division, Dec 26th).
