| Competition: | Northern Premier League |
| Season: | 1970–71 |
| Winners: | Wigan Athletic |
| Promoted: | None |
| Relegated: | None |
| Matches: | 462 |
| Total Goals: | 1466 |
| Biggest Home Win: | Wigan Athletic 7–0 Goole Town (22 August 1970) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Fleetwood 1–6 Great Harwood (30 January 1971) Great Harwood 0–5 Fleetwood (8 March 1971) |
| Highest Scoring: | (31 October 1970) |
| Longest Wins: | 9 matches Northwich Victoria (13 February 1971 – 9 April 1971) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 16 matches Wigan Athletic (9 October 1970 – 20 February 1971) |
| Longest Winless: | 14 matches Kirkby Town (13 February 1971 – 28 April 1971) |
| Longest Losses: | 6 matches Runcorn (15 August 1970 – 5 September 1970) Netherfield (23 September 1970 – 23 October 1970) Goole Town (28 December 1970 – 20 February 1971) |
| Prevseason: | 1969–70 |
| Nextseason: | 1971–72 |
The 1970–71 Northern Premier League was the third 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 15 August 1970 and concluded on 8 May 1971.[1]
The League was expanded this season, for the first time, from twenty teams to twenty-two teams.
The following two clubs left the League at the end of the previous season:
The following four clubs joined the League at the start of the season:
| Team | Stadium | |
|---|---|---|
| Moss Lane | ||
| Farrar Road | ||
| York Street | ||
| Park Avenue | ||
| Victory Park | ||
| 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 | ||
| Holly Park | ||
| Simonside Hall | ||
| Marston Road | ||
| Springfield Park |
| width=90 | Stage ! | width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team ! | width=100 | Venue ! | width=150 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Leg | Fleetwood Town | 2-2 | Macclesfield Town | Highbury | scorers for Fleetwood Armstrong and Morley | ||||||
| 2nd Leg | Macclesfield Town | 0-0 | Fleetwood Town | Moss Rose | |||||||
| Replay | Fleetwood Town | 1–0 | Macclesfield Town | Springfield Park (Wigan Athletic) | scorer Tony Hallam assist Derek Armstrong |
See main article: 1970–71 FA Cup. Out of the twenty-two clubs from the Northern Premier League, only Wigan Athletic reached for the second round:
Second Round
| width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wigan Athletic | 2–1 | Peterborough United |
Third Round
| width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | 1–0 | Wigan Athletic |
See main article: 1970–71 FA Trophy. Out of the twenty-two clubs from the Northern Premier League, only Macclesfield Town reached for the fourth round:
Fourth Round
| width=150 | Home Team ! | width=20 | Score ! | width=150 | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hereford United | 2–0 | Macclesfield Town |
At the end of the third season of the Northern Premier League none of the teams put forward, for election, received enough votes to be promoted to the Football League. Conversely, none of the sides were relegated.
Alongside the four Football League clubs facing re-election, a total of twelve non-League clubs applied for election, three of which were from the Northern Premier League. All four Football League teams were re-elected.[2]
The League expanding from twenty-two clubs to twenty-four clubs for the following season.
The following two clubs joined the League the following season: