North West Counties Football League
1995/96 Tables◄ 1996/97 Tables ►1997/98 Tables
North West Counties League Division 1 1996/97
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Trafford | 42 | 29 | 7 | 6 | 99 | 38 | +61 | 94 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Newcastle Town | 42 | 27 | 7 | 8 | 71 | 31 | +40 | 88 | Runners Up |
| 3rd | Clitheroe | 42 | 23 | 14 | 5 | 75 | 36 | +39 | 83 | - |
| 4th | Penrith | 42 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 75 | 49 | +26 | 79 | ►NL Division 1 |
| 5th | Burscough | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 68 | 48 | +20 | 75 | - |
| 6th | Eastwood Hanley | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 64 | 51 | +13 | 70 | Resigned |
| 7th | Mossley | 42 | 20 | 8 | 14 | 79 | 57 | +22 | 68 | - |
| 8th | Blackpool Rovers | 42 | 17 | 16 | 9 | 70 | 47 | +23 | 67 | - |
| 9th | Prescot Cables | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 68 | 60 | +8 | 62 | - |
| 10th | Vauxhall Motors | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 70 | 69 | +1 | 57 | - |
| 11th | Nantwich Town | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 74 | 74 | 0 | 53 | - |
| 12th | Glossop North End | 42 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 56 | 67 | -11 | 53 | - |
| 13th | Bootle | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 61 | 73 | -12 | 53 | ▼Demoted |
| 14th | St Helens Town | 42 | 14 | 6 | 22 | 65 | 79 | -14 | 48 | - |
| 15th | Atherton Collieries | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 63 | 85 | -22 | 45 | - |
| 16th | Kidsgrove Athletic | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 53 | 73 | -20 | 44 | - |
| 17th | Rossendale United | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 51 | 76 | -25 | 42 | - |
| 18th | Chadderton | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 49 | 80 | -31 | 41 | - |
| 19th | Holker Old Boys | 42 | 10 | 9 | 23 | 60 | 80 | -20 | 39 | - |
| 20th | Maine Road | 42 | 9 | 11 | 22 | 49 | 85 | -36 | 38 | - |
| 21st | Darwen | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 49 | 81 | -32 | 37 | - |
| 22nd | Salford City | 42 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 53 | 82 | -29 | 36 | - |
North West Counties League Division 2 1996/97
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Notes |
| 1st | Ramsbottom United | 38 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 100 | 34 | +66 | 87 | ▲Champions |
| 2nd | Haslingden | 38 | 27 | 6 | 5 | 90 | 32 | +58 | 87 | ▲Runners Up |
| 3rd | Garswood United | 38 | 26 | 5 | 7 | 90 | 38 | +52 | 83 | - |
| 4th | Tetley Walker | 38 | 24 | 5 | 9 | 105 | 58 | +47 | 77 | - |
| 5th | Castleton Gabriels | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 78 | 39 | +39 | 74 | - |
| 6th | Leek County School Old Boys | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 67 | 49 | +18 | 73 | - |
| 7th | Formby | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 86 | 57 | +29 | 69 | - |
| 8th | Maghull | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 52 | 50 | +2 | 58 | - |
| 9th | Cheadle Town | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 59 | 63 | -4 | 53 | - |
| 10th | Skelmersdale United | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 72 | 66 | +6 | 52 | - |
| 11th | Nelson | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 64 | 72 | -8 | 52 | - |
| 12th | Stantondale | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 59 | 69 | -10 | 45 | - |
| 13th | Middlewich Athletic | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | 54 | 65 | -11 | 45 | - |
| 14th | Squires Gate | 38 | 12 | 4 | 22 | 44 | 79 | -35 | 40 | - |
| 15th | Daisy Hill | 38 | 10 | 5 | 23 | 47 | 76 | -29 | 35 | - |
| 16th | Bacup Borough | 38 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 48 | 83 | -35 | 33 | - |
| 17th | Ashton Town | 38 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 53 | 77 | -24 | 32 | - |
| 18th | Blackpool Mechanics | 38 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 48 | 88 | -40 | 26 | - |
| 19th | Oldham Town | 38 | 6 | 7 | 25 | 48 | 113 | -65 | 25 | - |
| 20th | Colne | 38 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 35 | 91 | -56 | 23 | - |
Teams Leaving the North West Counties League
| ▲Trafford were Promoted to Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ►Penrith Transferred to the Northern League Division 1 |
| ▼Eastwood Hanley Resigned from the League and Folded |
Teams Joining the North West Counties League
| ▼Atherton Laburnum Rovers were Relegated from the Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▼Warrington Town were Relegated from the Northern Premier League Division 1 |
| ▲Fleetwood Freeport - newly formed club |
| ▲Woodley Sports Joined from the Manchester League |
1995/96 Tables◄ 1996/97 Tables ►1997/98 Tables