North West Counties Football League
1985/86 Tables◄ 1986/87 Tables ►1987/88 Tables
North West Counties League Division 1 1986/87
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Stalybridge Celtic | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 74 | 39 | +35 | 58 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 2nd | Accrington Stanley | 38 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 63 | 32 | +31 | 53 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 3rd | Clitheroe | 38 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 76 | 47 | +29 | 52 | - |
| 4th | Kirkby Town | 38 | 22 | 4 | 12 | 71 | 48 | +23 | 48 | - |
| 5th | Bootle | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 52 | 38 | +14 | 48 | - |
| 6th | St Helens Town | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 65 | 37 | +28 | 47 | - |
| 7th | Winsford United | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 46 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 8th | Fleetwood Town | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 61 | 49 | +12 | 45 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 9th | Penrith | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 62 | 59 | +3 | 42 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 10th | Rossendale United | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 66 | 59 | +7 | 39 | - |
| 11th | Congleton Town | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 38 | 39 | -1 | 37 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 12th | Burscough | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 58 | 54 | +4 | 33 | - |
| 13th | Leyland Motors | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 52 | 56 | -4 | 33 | - |
| 14th | Eastwood Hanley | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 40 | 50 | -10 | 31 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 15th | Radcliffe Borough | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 46 | 57 | -11 | 30 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 16th | Leek Town | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 42 | 55 | -13 | 30 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 17th | Netherfield | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 45 | 73 | -28 | 29 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 18th | Irlam Town | 38 | 4 | 13 | 21 | 36 | 74 | -38 | 21 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 19th | Curzon Ashton | 38 | 4 | 12 | 22 | 35 | 78 | -43 | 20 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 20th | Glossop | 38 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 87 | -54 | 18 | - |
North West Counties League Division 2 1986/87
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Droylsden | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 79 | 42 | +37 | 48 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 2nd | Warrington Town | 34 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 48 | 34 | +14 | 45 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Ashton United | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 73 | 45 | +28 | 44 | - |
| 4th | Wren Rovers | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 65 | 39 | +26 | 44 | - |
| 5th | Colwyn Bay | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 61 | 43 | +18 | 43 | ▲Promoted |
| 6th | Darwen | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 45 | 47 | -2 | 38 | ▲Promoted |
| 7th | Chadderton | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 37 | - |
| 8th | Colne Dynamoes | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 57 | 44 | +13 | 36 | ▲Promoted |
| 9th | Skelmersdale United | 34 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 52 | 53 | -1 | 36 | ▲Promoted |
| 10th | Ellesmere Port & Neston | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 68 | 54 | +14 | 35 | ▲Promoted |
| 11th | Formby | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 54 | 55 | -1 | 33 | ▲Promoted |
| 12th | Blackpool Mechanics | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 56 | 64 | -8 | 32 | - |
| 13th | Lancaster City | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 31 | ▲NPL Div 1 |
| 14th | Prescot Cables | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 46 | 48 | -2 | 28* | ▲Promoted |
| 15th | Great Harwood Town | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 36 | 59 | -23 | 24* | * -2 Points |
| 16th | Oldham Town | 34 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 38 | 57 | -19 | 23 | - |
| 17th | Atherton Laburnum Rovers | 34 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 32 | 61 | -29 | 21 | ▲Promoted |
| 18th | Salford | 34 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 17 | 89 | -72 | 10 | ▲Promoted |
* Prescot Cables were Deducted 2 Points
North West Counties League Division 3 1986/87
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Atherton Collieries | 24 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 46 | 22 | +24 | 36 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Flixton | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 58 | 29 | +29 | 35 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Maghull | 24 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 30 | ▲Promoted |
| 4th | Nelson | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 30 | ▲Promoted |
| 5th | Newton | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 27 | ▲Promoted |
| 6th | Ford Motors | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 38 | 27 | +11 | 26 | ▲Promoted |
| 7th | Bacup Borough | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 26 | ▲Promoted |
| 8th | Cheadle Town | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 33 | 44 | -11 | 23 | ▲Promoted |
| 9th | Daisy Hill | 24 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 21 | 42 | -21 | 17* | ▲Promoted |
| 10th | Padiham | 24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 35 | 39 | -4 | 16 | ▲Promoted |
| 11th | Nantwich Town | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 26 | 42 | -16 | 16 | ▲Promoted |
| 12th | Ashton Town | 24 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 29 | 39 | -10 | 15* | ▲Promoted |
| 13th | Whitworth Valley | 24 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 17 | 48 | -31 | 11 | ▲Promoted |
* Daisy Hill & Ashton Town were Deducted 2 Points
Teams Leaving the North West Counties League
| ▲Stalybridge Celtic were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Droylsden were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Accrington Stanley were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Congleton Town were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Curzon Ashton were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Eastwood Hanley were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Fleetwood Town were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Irlam Town were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Lancaster City were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Leek Town were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Netherfield were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Penrith were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Radcliffe Borough were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Winsford United were Promoted to the newly formed Northern Premier League Division 1 |
Teams Joining the North West Counties League
| ▲Newcastle Town Joined from the Mid-Cheshire League |
| ▲Maine Road Joined from the Manchester League |
| ▲Vauxhall Motors Joined from the West Cheshire League |
1985/86 Tables◄ 1986/87 Tables ►1987/88 Tables