Seems a long time ago since we played Crawley at home in that Nationwide Conference season doesn’t it, infact with it being October 2nd 2004 it is almost eight years to the day. Looking at the table then from what is now known as the Blue Square Bet Premier time has been kind to some sides, and it hasn’t for others. Stevenage, who were Borough in 2004-05, are in League One alongside Crawley and ourselves, while Accrington Stanley, Aldershot Town, Barnet, Burton Albion, Dagenham & Redbridge, Exeter, Morecambe and York all now occupy places in League Two.
Forest Green Rovers, Gravesend & Northfleet (now Ebbsfleet United) Hereford, Tamworth and Woking are still in the ‘Conference’ although a few of those sides have been on their travels either up or down in the meantime. So, with just 22 clubs in the division when Carlisle were there that leaves us with only six clubs left to look at, with Canvey Island, Farnborough, Halifax, Leigh, Northwich and Scarborough all having had a hard time of it, very hard in some cases, since 2005.
Starting with Canvey Island, they finished in 18th place in our season while we drew 0-0 at home to them and won 3-0 in Essex. The Gulls hitting trouble when owner-manager Jeff King pulled his money and left to go to Chelmsford at the end of the 2005-06 campaign, and so it meant hard financial times for the Park Lane outfit, with the Islanders taking voluntary relegation three levels down to the Isthmian League Division One North, a subsequent promotion now seeing Canvey Island in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League.
Farnborough Town, who we beat 7-0 at home and 2-1 away got relegated in second bottom place in that 2004-05 season, and after going into administration in the summer of 2006 they were eventually liquidated in May 2007, with the fans voting for the name of Farnborough FC as the new club went into the Southern League Division One South & West. Times haven’t been a vast amount easier financially for the Yellows either since their reincarnation, but they have made it back up the Blue Square Bet South so far.
As for Halifax, well we drew 2-2 at their place and won 1-0 at home with that late Magno Vieira goal. The Shaymen had bigger worries in May 2008 though when debts of over £2million were revealed, with £814,000 of that owed to HMRC. With such massive debt for a small club a deal was unable to be reached with creditors and so they were liquidated that summer. The newly formed FC Halifax Town joining the Northern Premier League Division One North for the start of the 2008-09 season and now finding themselves in the Blue Square Bet North.
Leigh RMI were always punching above their weight at Conference level and they finished rock bottom in United’s season, losing 3-0 away to the Blues and 6-1 at home. After surviving by the skin of their teeth at the next level down the club was renamed Leigh Genesis in the summer of 2008 after relegation to the Northern Premier League. You could go on all day about their travails from then on, but the club effectively stopped playing at the end of the 2011-12 season upon relegation to the North West Counties League, with the club relaunching in Division One of the South Lancs Counties Football League this year.
As for Northwich Victoria, who were booted out of the Conference top tier in our season, while drawing 2-2 at home to Carlisle and losing 1-0 away, well you could give up a whole page to their exploits in the last seven years but suffice to say that administrations, expulsions from both ground and league and various other crises have led to the Vics currently playing in the Northern League Division One South 42 miles away from home in Stafford.
Finally come Scarborough, who finished 13th in 2004-05 and who we beat 2-1 at home and drew 1-1 with away. Northwich-style financial relegation from the Conference soon came before in June 2007 the club’s 128 year history ended as they were wound up with debts of £2.5 million. Two clubs having subsequently risen from the ashes in the meantime, with Scarborough Athletic currently in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, while Scarborough Town are now in the Humber Premier League Premier Division.