REVVED-UP ROVERS SURGE TO DEBUT SEASON PROMOTION
It was hello and goodbye to the Northern Division from Tranmere Rovers as, in their first season of Premier League football after being promoted from the North West Women’s Regional League, they swept all before them in a tidal wave of victories that lifted them up to the top flight.
Under the management of Steve Williams, who had led the team since it’s 1990 formation and remained in charge until handing over to Louise Edwards in 2002, Rovers were simply unstoppable from the opening day of the season,
They won their first 12 matches in a run that saw them twice score eight goals in a game and twice hit seven. When they were finally held to a draw by the division’s eventual runners-up Huddersfield Town, it was almost seven months from the start of the campaign! Their response: a 9-0 thrashing of Langford en route to completing an unbeaten charge to promotion.
Of the 73 goals scored in a memorable campaign, 50 were shared by three players – 22 of them hit by Julia Merola, 16 by fellow striker Molly Gardner and 12 by a young left winger, Sue Smith, who was to become one of England’s finest players of her generation.
Just 15 years old at the start of the season – and set to make her international debut at 17 then go on to win 94 caps – Smith loved a campaign that shot her into women’s football recognition.
“I was a scrawny little kid going into a big league,” she said, “but I’d played in games with lads and I could hold my own. I had no fear and I always wanted to test myself against better players.
“At Tranmere we had very decent players of our own, a very good manager and great camaraderie as a squad. We found our feet quickly in the Northern Division, and although I’m not saying it was easy for us, we became quite dominant and definitely deserved promotion.”
As Smith and her team mates were turning their attention to the top flight, the Northern Division’s 1995-96 bottom club Bronte – with only two points from a winless season – were able to avoid relegation as the division was being expanded for the following campaign
But that escape turned out to be just a stay of execution for the Yorkshire club, who sadly disbanded in November 1996 and had their records for the season expunged.
FINAL TABLE
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tranmere Rovers | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 73 | 11 | 44 | +62 |
| 2 | Huddersfield Town | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 60 | 23 | 39 | +37 |
| 3 | Garswood St Helens United | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 51 | 23 | 31 | +28 |
| 4 | Sheffield Wednesday | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 41 | 22 | 30 | +19 |
| 5 | Langford | 16 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 27 | 44 | 17* | -17 |
| 6 | RTM Newcastle Kestrels | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 21 | 43 | 13 | -22 |
| 7 | Notts County | 16 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 18 | 43 | 13 | -25 |
| 8 | Kidderminster Harriers | 16 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 27 | 53 | 13 | -26 |
| 9 | Bronte | 16 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 67 | 2 | -56 |
* 3 points deducted
FA PREMIER LEAGUE NORTHERN DIVISION RESULTS 1995-96
3/9/1995
Bronte 0-3 Tranmere Rovers
Garswood St Helens United 4-1 Langford
Notts County 1-4 Sheffield Wednesday
RTM Newcastle Kestrels 1-2 Huddersfield Town
10/9/1995
Kidderminster Harriers 2-3 Notts County
Tranmere Rovers 3-0 RTM Newcastle Kestrels
Garswood St Helens United 2-2 Huddersfield Town
17/9/1995
Bronte 0-10 Huddersfield Town
Garswood St Helens United 4-1 Kidderminster Harriers
Notts County 0-1 Tranmere Rovers
Sheffield Wednesday 2-3 Langford
24/9/1995
Bronte 1-3 RTM Newcastle Kestrels
Langford 8-1 Kidderminster Harriers
Tranmere Rovers 4-0 Sheffield Wednesday
1/10/1995
Garswood St. Helens United 0-5 Tranmere Rovers
Kidderminster Harriers 3-5 Huddersfield Town
RTM Kestrels 3-2 Notts County
Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Bronte
8/10/1995
Bronte 1-2 Kidderminster Harriers
Huddersfield Town 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Notts County 0-1 Langford
RTM Newcastle Kestrels 2-7 Garswood St Helens United
29/10/1995
Huddersfield Town 3-2 Langford
Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 RTM Newcastle Kestrels
Tranmere Rovers 2-0 Kidderminster Harriers
5/11/1995
Langford 2-8 Tranmere Rovers
Notts County 1-4 Huddersfield Town
RTM Newcastle Kestrels 2-2 Kidderminster Harriers
Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Garswood St Helens United
19/11/1995
Tranmere Rovers 4-1 Huddersfield Town
Kidderminster Harriers 0-3 Sheffield Wednesday
Langford 1-1 RTM Newcastle Kestrels
Bronte 2-2 Notts County
3/12/1995
Kidderminster Harriers 0-6 Tranmere Rovers
10/12/1995
Huddersfield Town 3-1 RTM Newcastle Kestrels
Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Notts County
Tranmere Rovers 7-0 Bronte
17/12/1995
Notts County 1-0 Kidderminster Harriers
7/1/1996
Huddersfield Town 6-0 Bronte
Langford 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Kidderminster Harriers 2-3 Garswood St Helens United
Tranmere Rovers 7-1 Notts County
14/1/1996
Bronte 0-1 Langford
Notts County 1-4 Garswood St Helens United
21/1/1996
Garswood St Helens United 1-2 Notts County
Kidderminster Harriers 4-2 Langford
4/2/1996
Kidderminster Harriers 7-1 Bronte
11/2/1996
Bronte 0-7 Garswood St Helens United
Langford 2-0 Notts County
18/2/1996
Kidderminster Harriers 2-0 RTM Kestrels
3/3/1996
Garswood St Helens United 3-0 Bronte
RTM Newcastle Kestrels 2-8 Tranmere Rovers
10/3/1996
Huddersfield Town 2-2 Garswood St Helens United
RTM Newcastle Kestrels 2-2 Bronte
Sheffield Wednesday 6-1 Kidderminster Harriers
17/3/1996
Langford 1-7 Garswood St Helens United
Notts County 1-2 RTM Newcastle Kestrels
24/3/1996
Garswood St Helens United 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Huddersfield Town 6-0 Notts County
31/3/1996
Bronte 2-6 Sheffield Wednesday
Garswood St Helens United 4-0 RTM Newcastle Kestrels
Huddersfield Town 3-3 Tranmere Rovers
7/4/1996
RTM Newcastle Kestrels 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Tranmere Rovers 9-0 Langford
14/4/1996
Huddersfield Town 5-0 Kidderminster Harriers
RTM Newcastle Kestrels 0-0 Langford
16/4/1996
Sheffield Wednesday 2-3 Huddersfield Town
28/4/1996
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Tranmere Rovers
Dates/Results not known
Langford v Bronte
Langford v Huddersfield Town
Notts County v Bronte
