| Competition: | Northern Premier League |
| Season: | 1971–72 |
| Winners: | Stafford Rangers |
| Promoted: | None |
| Relegated: | Chorley Kirkby Town |
| Matches: | 552 |
| Total Goals: | 1585 |
| Biggest Home Win: | Chorley 8–0 Matlock Town (14 August 1971) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Ellesmere Port Town 1–8 Scarborough (26 March 1972) |
| Highest Scoring: | (26 March 1972) |
| Longest Wins: | 6 matches Boston United (29 January 1972 – 5 March 1972) Wigan Athletic (4 March 1972 – 31 March 1972) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 19 matches Boston United (29 January 1972 – 4 May 1972) |
| Longest Winless: | 19 matches Kirkby Town (27 December 1971 – 17 April 1972) |
| Longest Losses: | 9 matches South Liverpool (6 October 1971 – 30 November 1971) |
| Prevseason: | 1970–71 |
| Nextseason: | 1972–73 |
The 1971–72 Northern Premier League was the fourth season of the Northern Premier League, a regional football league in Northern England, the northern areas of the Midlands and North Wales. The season began on 14 August 1971 and concluded on 5 May 1972.[1]
The League was expanded, for the second consecutive season, from twenty-two teams to twenty-four teams.
The following two clubs joined the League at the start of the season:
| Team | Stadium | |
|---|---|---|
| Moss Lane | ||
| Farrar Road | ||
| York Street | ||
| Park Avenue | ||
| Victory Park | ||
| Ellesmere Port | ||
| Highbury | ||
| The Northolme | ||
| Victoria Pleasure Ground | ||
| The Showground | ||
| Simonswood Lane | ||
| Great Axe | ||
| Moss Rose | ||
| Causeway Lane | ||
| Christie Park | ||
| Parkside | ||
| Drill Field | ||
| Canal Street | ||
| Athletic Ground | ||
| White Moss Park | ||
| Holly Park | ||
| Simonside Hall | ||
| Marston Road | ||
| Springfield Park |
| width=90 | Stage ! | width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Leg | Wigan Athletic | ?–? | Gainsborough Trinity | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Gainsborough Trinity | ?–? | Wigan Athletic | ||||
| Aggregate | Wigan Athletic | 4–2 | Gainsborough Trinity |
Between Champions of NPL Premier Division and Winners of the NPL Cup.
| width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wigan Athletic | beat | Stafford Rangers |
See main article: 1971–72 FA Cup. Out of the twenty-two clubs from the Northern Premier League, only three teams reached for the second round:
Second Round
| width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston United | 2–1 | Hartlepool | |||
| South Shields | 1–3 | Notts County | |||
| Wrexham | 4–0 | Wigan Athletic |
| width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston United | 0–1 | Portsmouth |
See main article: 1971–72 FA Trophy. Out of the twenty-two clubs from the Northern Premier League, only Stafford Rangers and Macclesfield Town reached for the fourth round:
Fourth Round
| width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team! | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford Rangers | 1–1 | Macclesfield Town | ||||
| Macclesfield Town | 0–3 | Stafford Rangers | replay |
Semi-finals
| width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford Rangers | 4–0 | Yeovil Town |
Final
| width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stafford Rangers | 3–0 | Barnet |
At the end of the fourth season of the Northern Premier League none of the teams put forward for election received enough votes to be promoted to the Football League. Chorley resigned the league and Kirkby Town was relegated.
Alongside the four Football League teams facing re-election, a total of twelve non-League teams applied for election, four of which were from the Northern Premier League. Three out of the four Football League teams were re-elected. Hereford United from the Southern League replaced Barrow from the Football League as they didn't receive enough votes. Barrow was subsequently relegated to the Northern Premier League.[2]
The following two clubs left the League at the end of the season:
The following two clubs joined the League the following season: