| Season | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Mount Wellington |
| Relegated | Wellington Diamond United |
← 1973 1975 → | |
The 1974 New Zealand National Soccer League was the fifth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
Caversham finished last in the 1973 league and so contested a round-robin home and away play-off series with the winners of the northern, central, and southern leagues (North Shore United, Waterside, and Christchurch Rangers respectively). With the exception of Shore's two big wins over the Wharfies of Wellington the matches were evenly contested, and it was those two performances which finally told. With three wins, two draws and a loss, North Shore United pipped Caversham by one point to enter the NZNSL for the first time. [1]
Mount Wellington became the first team to win the league for a second time, having previously won in 1972. They achieved this with a performance that was as convincing as their great rival Christchurch United's triumph the previous season. They finished the table seven points ahead of the pack, a figure achieved without losing a match away from home, and only losing one match in all their 18 fixtures, that to Eastern Suburbs. Ironically, the season's biggest win came to bottom-placed Wellington Diamond United, an 8-0 thrashing of the same Eastern Suburbs side on the following weekend. [2]
As with the previous season, the big gap between first and the rest was accompanied by a major tussle to finish in second. Christchurch United narrowly managed to gain second place, one point ahead of neighbours New Brighton and Stop Out, both of whom finally put their past seasons' lacklustre form behind them. United started poorly and had only nine points halfway through the season, before going on a ten-match unbeaten run. A new coach (Alan Vest) changed New Brighton's fortunes, and the side produced an excellent home record with seven wins from nine starts. Stop Out also had a change in fortune, and could have finished runners-up if they had not lost their last game of the season. [3]
Blockhouse Bay and newcomers North Shore United comfortably filled the middle two spots in the table, and seventh-placed Wellington City were also comfortably clear of the relegation zone. City set one unwanted record during the season, becoming the first side to concede 100 goals in its national league career. Gisborne City were in danger of dropping out of the league after a poor start to the season, but a change of coach was accompanied by a change of fortune, with four wins from their last nine matches. Eastern Suburbs had their worst season to this point, and the 1971 champions were in serious danger of relegation. A poor goal-scoring return coupled with the leakiest defence in the league left them only one place above the drop. The wooden spoon, though, went to Wellington Diamond United, who — despite the big win over Eastern Suburbs — never looked like surviving. That win accounted for over a third of their season's goals, and they finished the season without a single away win. [4]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Wellington (C) | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 44 | 19 | 2.316 | 29 |
| 2 | Christchurch United | 18 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 31 | 19 | 1.632 | 22 |
| 3 | New Brighton | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 34 | 25 | 1.360 | 21 |
| 4 | Stop Out | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 26 | 23 | 1.130 | 21 |
| 5 | Bay Olympic | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 32 | 23 | 1.391 | 20 |
| 6 | North Shore United | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 27 | 0.852 | 16 |
| 7 | Wellington City | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 32 | 38 | 0.842 | 15 |
| 8 | Gisborne City | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 21 | 35 | 0.600 | 13 |
| 9 | Eastern Suburbs | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 23 | 45 | 0.511 | 13 |
| 10 | Wellington Diamond United (R) | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 0.647 | 10 |
The 1971 New Zealand National Soccer League was the second season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. The league was expanded at the end of the inaugural season, so there was no relegation from the 1970 league season. Hungaria, who had competed in the inaugural season, combined with Miramar Rangers to form a new composite league team, Wellington City. Though Miramar withdrew from the team after the 1971 season, the team continued to use the new name.
The 1972 New Zealand National Soccer League was the third season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
The 1973 New Zealand National Soccer League was the fourth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
The 1975 New Zealand National Soccer League was the sixth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
The 1976 New Zealand National Soccer League was the seventh season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football.
The 1977 New Zealand National Soccer League was the eighth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. An expansion by two teams meant that it was the first year in which twelve teams took part. Prize money was significantly increased for the top three clubs, and the number of teams relegated increased from one to three, these being automatically replaced by the winners of the three regional leagues.
The 1978 New Zealand National Soccer League was the ninth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. A change was made from previous years, with the replacement of goal average by goal difference as a means for ranking teams equal on points.
The 1979 New Zealand National Soccer League was the tenth season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. It produced the biggest winning margin in the league's history, with Mount Wellington never being in serious danger of finishing anywhere but first.
The 1980 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 11th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Mount Wellington became the first club to win back-to-back titles and also the first club to win the league four times, though their winning margin was significantly smaller than in 1979.
The 1981 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 12th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Wellington Diamond United won the league for a second time, having previously been champions in 1976. The league was the closest until this point, with only four points separating the top five teams.
The 1982 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 13th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Mount Wellington comfortably won the league for a fifth time, finishing seven points clear of second-placed Hanimex North Shore United. This was the last season in which a win scored two points; from 1983 wins were worth three points.
The 1983 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 14th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Manurewa comfortably won the league for the first time, finishing eight points clear of second-placed Hanimex North Shore United. This was the first season in which a win scored three points; prior to this they were worth only two.
The 1984 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 15th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Gisborne City finally wrestled the trophy away from the major centres, taking it to a provincial city for the first time.
The 1985 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 16th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Wellington Diamond United finished as champions, three points clear of 1984 title-holders Gisborne City.
The 1986 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 17th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Mount Wellington finished as champions, one point ahead of Miramar Rangers.
The 1987 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 18th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. It was the first season in which 14 teams competed in the league, up from 12 in the previous season, and was also the first season with new sponsors Air New Zealand, leading to it being called the Air New Zealand Soccer League. Christchurch United finished as champions, seven points clear of Gisborne City.
The 1988 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 19th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Christchurch United finished as champions for the second season running, three points clear of traditional rivals Mount Wellington.
The 1989 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 20th season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Napier City Rovers had their debut championship win over Mount Maunganui, in doing so taking the title away from the main centres for only the second time.
The 1990 New Zealand National Soccer League was the 21st season of a nationwide round-robin club competition in New Zealand football. Waitakere City won the league for the first time, by two points over Auckland neighbours Mount Wellington.
The 2022 New Zealand Men's National League is the second scheduled season of the National League since its restructuring in 2021; the 2021 National League was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in northern regions. 32 clubs compete in the competition, with four qualifying from the Northern League, three qualifying from the Central League and two qualifying from the Southern League for the National Championship phase. Each team can field a maximum of four foreign players as well as one additional foreign player who has Oceania Football Confederation nationality. Each team must also have at least two players aged 20 or under in the starting eleven.