STANDING ORDER FOR GOALDEN LOTTERY
THE HISTORY OF SOUTHPORT FOOTBALL CLUB
The highlights of Southport Football Club formed in 1881 include a Football League Championship, an appearance at Wembley, an FA Cup sixth round appearance and a Northern Premier League title.
Southport were founder members of the new Third Division North in 1921 just as we are of Nationwide North in 2004/05. Coincidentally both Barrow and Stalybridge Celtic hold the same double.
Southport enjoyed our Football
League status until 1978. From 1978 to 1993 the Sandgrounders were Northern
Premier League members and from the 1993-94 season became an established Vauxhall/
Nationwide Conference club for a decade.
Southport have played at Haig Avenue
(previously known as Ash Lane) for 99
years and the club are planning Haig
Avenue centenary celebrations for the 2005-06 season. Southport were founder
members of the Central League in 1911 and in 1918 were taken over by the Vulcan
Motor Company, playing as Southport Vulcan for one season, the first club to
use a sponsorship label as part of their name?!
In the FA Cup Southport became the first
Third Division North club to reach the sixth round in the 1930/31 season, losing
to the mighty Everton at Goodison Park 9-1 in front of 45,647 fans. A season later a Haig Avenue record gate of
20,010 saw the Sandgrounders draw in the 4 th round with Newcastle United this
was after drawing the first game at Newcastle 1-1 before 50,155 football crazy
Geordies . The 2nd replay saw The Port lose 9-0 at Hillsborough. Southport
reached the Quarter Finals in the 65/66 season after defeating Ipswich Town 3-2
away in a replay, Cardiff City 2-0 before losing to
Hull City 2-0 in front of 38,811 fans . Southport 's last third round appearance was under Paul Futcher
in 1998/98 when after a giant killing act at Mansfield (2-1) the hopes of a
drawing a big club were dashed being defeated by Orient 2-0 in front of the
highest gate ever at the refurbished Haig Avenue (4950). That elusive
big FA Cup draw has been missing since Southport lost 1-0 to Harry Catterick's
Everton back in 1968.
As a Football League club Southport achieved two promotions out of the Fourth Division.
In 1966-67 Billy Bingham's squad finished as runners up to Stockport County 45 years after joining the Football League. Bingham's illustrious career took him on to manage Plymouth , Northern Ireland and Everton. Bingham was a big name player who gained his management experience at Haig Avenue. A number of older supporters compare Bingham's appointment with the club's most recent incumbent Liam Watson who took over in October 2003 at the age of 33, the youngest ever Southport manager. With Bingham gone in 1968-69 under Don McEvoy's management the club achieved its highest ever position, 8th in the then Third Division. A number of players forever associated with Southport formed the backbone of this impressive squad, George Andrews, Alex Russell, Arthur Peat and the biggest favourite of all Eric Redrobe. Former Southport player Jimmy Meadows went one better than Billy Bingham, lifting the Fourth Division title in 1972-73 with an exciting and experienced side.
Southport had found themselves back in the Fourth Division basement having been relegated in 1970. Meadows was a talented winger whose career was wrecked by suffering a broken leg in the 1955 FA Cup final. This was just a month after picking up his first England cap. Ironically it was Meadows Stockport that had pipped the Port to the Fourth Division championship back in 1967. Meadows played with two expansive wingers in David Hughes and Frank Lee. He partnered the highly experienced Jim Fryatt, a fine aerial exponent who holds the record as the scorer of the fastest ever league goal with the lively Andy Provan. Captain John McPhee marshalled the side, who after defeating Darlington 7-0 away on January 6th never looked back.
Sadly Meadows and his highly talented number two Brian Green did not have the capacity to strengthen for the Third Division and with McPhee retired the experienced players that remained could not handle the new flight. Fryatt and Provan after a summer spell in the USA , where they were aptly nicknamed “Batman and Robin”, came back jaded. Summer signings failed or sustained injuries. Meadows was prematurely sacked on December 30th, Green having left to join Chester earlier in the season. Most supporters trace the decline of the club into non league from that moment. It was a rapid decline in fortunes. League title winners in 1973 and voted out under re election procedures in June 1978.
Alan Ball senior settled Southport back in the Fourth Division but Ball's preoccupation in also coaching Swedish club I.F. Saab led to his departure. Ex Liverpool star Jimmy Melia who later took Brighton to the FA Cup final, Allan Brown and Ray Henderson, all experienced managers, were unable to revive Southport 's fortunes as re-election became an annual humiliating occurrence. A continual weakness in the goal scoring department put the Port in the doldrums. With gates low and without financial clout at boardroom level the club failed to arrest its position despite the appointment of ex Scotland international and Southampton schemer Hughie Fisher as player manager. Fisher's side defeated Tranmere Rovers in the League Cup in our last season in the Football League but finished second bottom to Rochdale at the end of the 1977-78 season.
The old pals act didn't work this time with the older board members Jack Clough deceased and John Church no longer chairman. Disastrously chairman Walter Giller failed to canvas and on a second ballot at the Café Royal on June 2 nd 1978, Southport lost their league status to Wigan Athletic. Southport 's fifty years in the Football League was over. The last home Football League match was against Huddersfield Town on April 22nd drawing 1-1 in front of just 1,466 fans with at least 300 from Huddersfield. The last ever Football League match was away to Graham Taylor's Watford, losing 3-2 in front of 10,089 supporters. Watford went all the way to the now Premiership.
Southport remained stuck in the Northern Premier until 1993 when promotion was finally gained to the Conference. The 1992/93 season saw numerous club records broken and the crowds returned culminating in a gate of 2,230 to see the Championship Trophy presented against Frickley Athletic a game that was won 2-1 with the superb Stevie Haw scoring the two goals he needed to equal Archie Waterston's 63 year old record of 31 League goals in a season.
Life in The Conference started well but it took until mid September to record the first win but after that there was no stopping us and by February The Port topped the table and thoughts of a return to the Football League were high on everyone's minds. It was not to be and the season ended with us in 4th place.
The ten Conference Seasons saw many ups and downs, managers come and go, including ex England International Mark Wright who, whilst exciting the fans had ambitions beyond the financial ability at the club.
The highlight of the ten Conference Season's has to be the never to be forgotten appearance at Wembley in the FA Trophy final of 1998 and in front of the Sky Cameras and 26,837 fans we lost 1-0 to Cheltenham but we held our heads high. After the traumas that the fans had endured over the years when the club very nearly went under, this day left many fans with memories they thought they would never have.
Sadly the momentum of the Trophy run was not maintained but the club had a good go at winning the league in the 2000/01 season under the aforementioned Mark Wright finishing 4th, it was not to be and Wright left at the end of the season to be replaced by Phil Wilson.
After a sparkling start to the 2002/03 season which saw another giant killing act when The Port beat Notts County 4-2 after being two goals down a remarkable slump saw us slide dramatically down the table which meant we went into the last day of the season needing a win to be guaranteed safety. It was not to be and after ten years in top flight Non League soccer The Sandgrounders were relegated to the Unibond with Phil Wilson losing his job and being replaced by Mike Walsh
The first season was a roller coaster, a great start, a shocking middle and a decent run in and The Port finished a creditable 6th. MIke Walsh was replaced by Liam Watson after a shocker of a performance in the FA Cup at Vauxhall Motors and Liam started on a clearout that was to see a number of players leaving the club.
The signing of Terry Fearns gave all Southport fans high hopes for 2004/05 and those hopes were realised when in a season to remember The Port finished as the inaugural champions of The Conference North. Terry Fearns breaks the club goal scoring record along the way. It all went down to the final game of the season at Harrogate when The Yellows needed a win to be sure of the title and when by the 65th minute we were 5-0 up it was ours. The 1300 fans who had crossed the Pennines celebrated in style to end a truly remarkable season.
The 2005/06 season was a season of struggle with the team hovering in or around the relegation zone for most of the season but a tremendous fighting spirit somehow saw us escape relegation. Amazingly the bond between players, supporters and manager was never better and the celebrations at Grays when we avoided relegation in the penultimate game of the season were incredible.
Trust In Yellow an Independent Supporters Trust for Southport FC is born and the inaugural coach trip saw TIY run a hugely successful "Hereford Hundred".
A bombshell came when totally out of the blue the hugely popular Liam Watson left the club after being unable to go full time. It caused quite a reaction from the fans, I don't think I can ever remember a reaction like it to a manager going.
Paul Cook is appointed as manager and given the difficult job of leading us from a part time outfit into the full time arena. Paul is only given 25 games before being awarded the order of the boot after winning just 4 games in his spell as manager.
Peter Davenport takes over as boss returning to the club after having had a short spell as caretaker manager in the 1996/97 season.
Relegated to Conference North finishing next to bottom, the club announce they will stay full time in an attempt to get back to the Conference National at the first attempt.