title: 2008–09 North West Counties Football League
text: # 2008–09 North West Counties Football League
  
  The 2008–09 North West Counties Football League season (known as the 2008–09 Vodkat League for sponsorship reasons) was the 27th in the history of the North West Counties Football League, a football competition in England. Teams were divided into two divisions: the Premier and the First. This was a change from previous seasons when the divisions were known as Division One and Division Two respectively.
  
  ## Premier Division
  
  The Premier Division featured four new teams:
  
  * AFC Fylde promoted as runners-up of Division Two (renamed from Kirkham & Wesham F.C.)
  * Alsager Town relegated from the Northern Premier League Division One South
  * Ashton Athletic promoted as third in Division Two
  * New Mills promoted as champions of Division Two
  
  ### League table
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | AFC Fylde (P) | 42 | 33 | 5 | 4 | 122 | 35 | +87 | 104 | Promotion to Northern Premier League Division One North |
  | 2 | New Mills | 42 | 34 | 2 | 6 | 92 | 33 | +59 | 104 | |
  | 3 | Newcastle Town | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 91 | 33 | +58 | 87 | |
  | 4 | Congleton Town | 42 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 85 | 44 | +41 | 86 | |
  | 5 | Glossop North End | 42 | 25 | 7 | 10 | 83 | 49 | +34 | 82 | |
  | 6 | Ashton Athletic | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 67 | 68 | −1 | 61 | |
  | 7 | Alsager Town | 42 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 66 | 72 | −6 | 59 | |
  | 8 | Bacup Borough | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 71 | 71 | 0 | 58 | |
  | 9 | Silsden | 42 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 62 | 67 | −5 | 58 | |
  | 10 | Squires Gate | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 57 | |
  | 11 | Runcorn Linnets | 42 | 16 | 7 | 19 | 64 | 84 | −20 | 55 | |
  | 12 | Atherton Laburnum Rovers | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 70 | 77 | −7 | 51 | |
  | 13 | Maine Road | 42 | 14 | 9 | 19 | 60 | 74 | −14 | 51 | |
  | 14 | Ramsbottom United | 42 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 56 | 72 | −16 | 50 | |
  | 15 | Formby | 42 | 15 | 3 | 24 | 57 | 67 | −10 | 48 | |
  | 16 | St Helens Town | 42 | 14 | 4 | 24 | 64 | 97 | −33 | 46 | |
  | 17 | Nelson | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 68 | 86 | −18 | 45 | |
  | 18 | Colne | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 64 | 75 | −11 | 43 | |
  | 19 | Flixton | 42 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 58 | 86 | −28 | 41 | |
  | 20 | Winsford United | 42 | 10 | 9 | 23 | 52 | 82 | −30 | 39 | |
  | 21 | Abbey Hey | 42 | 11 | 5 | 26 | 60 | 89 | −29 | 38 | |
  | 22 | Atherton Collieries (R) | 42 | 7 | 8 | 27 | 42 | 93 | −51 | 29 | Relegation to Division One |
  
  * ↑ Ramsbottom United were docked 3 points.
  
  ## Division One
  
  Division One featured three new teams:
  
  * A.F.C. Liverpool admitted as a new team
  * Irlam promoted as 8th in the Manchester League
  * Wigan Robin Park promoted as champions of the Manchester League
  
  Two existing teams underwent name changes for this season:
  
  * Blackpool Mechanics changed their name to AFC Blackpool
  * Castleton Gabriels changed their name to Rochdale Town
  
  ### League table
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Bootle (P) | 34 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 78 | 27 | +51 | 80 | Promotion to Premier Division |
  | 2 | Padiham (P) | 34 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 93 | 41 | +52 | 73 | Promotion to Premier Division |
  | 3 | Stone Dominoes | 34 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 85 | 51 | +34 | 71 | |
  | 4 | A.F.C. Liverpool | 34 | 22 | 3 | 9 | 82 | 39 | +43 | 69 | |
  | 5 | Wigan Robin Park | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 61 | 49 | +12 | 59 | |
  | 6 | Oldham Town | 34 | 16 | 5 | 13 | 60 | 54 | +6 | 53 | |
  | 7 | Cheadle Town | 34 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 54 | 44 | +10 | 52 | |
  | 8 | Irlam | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 51 | 43 | +8 | 52 | |
  | 9 | Holker Old Boys | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 59 | 61 | −2 | 50 | |
  | 10 | Chadderton | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 60 | 54 | +6 | 48 | |
  | 11 | Eccleshall | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 47 | |
  | 12 | Norton United | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 63 | 60 | +3 | 42 | |
  | 13 | Darwen | 34 | 11 | 7 | 16 | 51 | 74 | −23 | 40 | Club folded at end of season |
  | 14 | Leek County School Old Boys | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 51 | 72 | −21 | 31 | |
  | 15 | A.F.C. Blackpool | 34 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 34 | 59 | −25 | 29 | |
  | 16 | Rochdale Town | 34 | 6 | 6 | 22 | 55 | 91 | −36 | 24 | |
  | 17 | Daisy Hill | 34 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 39 | 101 | −62 | 22 | |
  | 18 | Ashton Town | 34 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 35 | 91 | −56 | 20 | |
  