The final relegation place went to Ipswich Town, who had gradually fallen out of contention with the First Division's leading pack since Bobby Robson's departure to manage the England team four years earlier. As champions of the Alliance Premier League, Enfield won the right to apply for election to the Football League, to replace one of the four bottom teams in the 1985–86 Football League Fourth Division. The vote went as follows:  Hence, all four Football League teams were re-elected, and Enfield were denied membership of the Football League. This was the last season in which the Alliance Premier League champions had to apply for election to the Football League. From the 1986–87 season, when the Alliance Premier League was re-branded as the Football Conference, the champions were automatically promoted, provided that they met the criteria set by the Football League.