From The Archive: The Famous Title Race of Season 1990/91

Words by Steve Whitney

Wycombe Wanderers and Yeovil Town began the campaign on new grounds, and Macclesfield Town had Chester City groundsharing with them at Moss Rose.

Welling United paid a club record fee of £30,000 for their former striker Gary Abbott and Cheltenham Town signed another prolific non-League striker in Kim Casey from Kidderminster Harriers for £20,000.

Another well-known striker, Kettering Town's Ernie Moss, announced his retirement at the age of 40.

The two title favourites, Barnet and Colchester, had a disappointing start to the new season – the U's losing away and the Bees sharing a 3-3 draw at Macclesfield, despite leading three times.

Barnet sold goalkeeper Peter Guthrie to Bournemouth for £15,000 and he became the fifth ex-Conference player with the Cherries.

Yeovil's new Huish Park proved popular with fans as season ticket sales topped 700 and a crowd of 4,169 watched the first competitive game in a 2-0 win over Colchester.

Kettering led the early table after picking up ten points from the opening four games.

A further five clubs remained undefeated with Yeovil boasting the only 100% record, while at the other end of the table, promoted Gateshead and Stafford Rangers were still without a point.

Barnet striker Gary Bull netted four times in a 6-1 win over new boys Slough Town, and just under 3,000 watched Wycombe's first competitive game at Adams Park – a 4-1 win against Welling.

Yeovil's 100% record came to an end after a 1-1 draw with Boston United, and Stafford and Gateshead earned their first points of the campaign.

Kettering`s run of successive wins came to an end after being held to a 0-0 draw by Welling. However, the Poppies lose defender Richard Brown to Blackburn Rovers for £25,000.

Barnet sold midfielder Phil Gridelet to Barnsley for a new Pyramid record of £175,000 and the Bees collected another seasonal record when 4,579 watched their 3-2 win over Wycombe.

At the bottom of the table, Bath headed out of September still looking for a first win, while Gateshead's Dave Parnaby became the first managerial casualty of the season, resigning due to work commitments.

Shortly afterwards, the Heed slumped to a 9-0 defeat by Sutton United – the worst home reversal in the league's history to date. The club then appointed former Leicester midfielder Tony Lee as their new manager.

Kettering equal the Conference record for an unbeaten start to a season with a 1-0 win against Barrow which extends the run to 14 matches.

Sky (or BSB as they were known then) announced they were to cover FA Cup First and Second Round matches live for the first time.

Fifteen Conference clubs enter the FA Cup First Round – equalling the record set in 1984/85.

Altrincham's tie with Huddersfield at Moss Lane was chosen to be screened as the first-ever live FA Cup match by BSB.

Former Crystal Palace and Arsenal goalkeeper Paul Barron returned to Welling where he began his career 23 years previously – as a striker!

Runcorn appoint leading scorer Mark Carter as their caretaker-manager.

Barrow reached the FA Cup Second Round for the first time in 21 years with a 1-0 win over Northern Leaguers Bishop Auckland, while Colchester beat Third Division Reading and Barnet, Merthyr and Wycombe progressed after replays.

Snow brought a temporary halt to most games, although Barnet managed to stage their FA Cup tie against Fourth Division leaders Northampton which ended 0-0. The Bees won the replay 1-0 at the County Ground to reach the Third Round.

Stafford sold 19-year-old striker Stan Collymore to Crystal Palace for an initial £100,000 fee.

Merthyr declined an invitation from the FA of Wales to become one of the founder members of the proposed new League of Wales.

Barnet's title challenge suffered a set-back over Christmas with a 3-1 defeat against Colchester, watched by 5,105 – a new seasonal best to date.

Cheltenham enjoyed the festive season, picking up nine points to lift them off the foot of the table.

Another late goal saw Kettering lose at Altrincham, who extended their unbeaten run to 15 games, while Runcorn register their first away win of the campaign to date with a 4-1 success at Cheshire rivals Northwich.

Altrincham set a new seasonal record by extending their unbeaten run to 16 matches with a 9-2 hammering of Merthyr, with Ken McKenna and Nicky Daws both netting hat-tricks.

Kettering's 28-week tenure at the top of the table ended after Barnet moved into top spot.

The league signed a £50,000 agreement with TV channel Sportscast for live coverage of the title run-in.

A top-of-the-table clash between Altrincham and Barnet was chosen to launch the first live football deal outside the First Division.

Altrincham set a new League unbeaten record with Easter Bank Holiday wins against Barnet and Kettering to extend their run to 24 matches.

Colchester finally lost their unbeaten home record with a 1-0 defeat by lowly Yeovil. But the U's moved top of the table with a 2-1 win over Welling.

At the other end, Bath made Tony Ricketts their permanent boss following a 1-0 win over Boston to close the gap at the bottom to five points.

Altrincham, Barnet and Colchester each earned midweek wins, with the U's recovering from being behind to beat title rivals Kettering 3-1 in front an attendance of 5,048.

Only two points the separate the top four, although Altrincham possessed games in hand and the momentum of an unbeaten run of 27 matches.

Fisher's 2-1 defeat to Barrow virtually sealed relegation for the Dockland outfit, but Bath continued to fight after a win against Northwich.

Altrincham moved to the summit with a 4-1 win over Sutton and displaced Colchester, who could only manage a draw at Kidderminster.

It was not all good news for Alty, however, as their 28-match unbeaten run finally came to an end with a 1-0 defeat at Barrow

They also lost top spot to Barnet, whose Gary Bull's 87th minute penalty earned a 3-2 win over Welling.

Fisher had relegation confirmed, while Bath's remarkable recovery saw them move out of the drop zone with a 3-0 win over Gateshead.

Barnet spoilt the party at the official opening of Wycombe`s Adams Park ground by winning 3-1 to go back to the top of the table.

Colchester assure a drama-filled last day of the season with a 3-0 win over Gateshead, but Altrincham felt the pressure and relinquished a 3-1 lead at Slough.

Sutton United followed Fisher down after losing 5-2 at home to Kettering.

The dramatic final day saw 4,283 attend already-relegated Fisher's home game with Barnet and the 'relaxed' Fish twice take the lead.

With 30 minutes to go, Colchester faced the prospect of a return to the Football League by leading 2-0 against Kidderminster.

Drama at Fisher continued as Barnet equalised and two late goals from Gary Bull guaranteed the title and promotion for Barry Fry's side.

Colchester finished second and Altrincham third, but Kettering, who at one time had such a commanding lead at the top of the table, ended up a disappointing fourth.

Wycombe concluded the season with a 2-1 FA Trophy Final victory in front of a record crowd of 35,000 against Kidderminster.