Please May We Come In?

How it used to be down to a vote to get into the Football League.

It seems odd nowadays to think that for many years, ambitious non-League outfits had to go cap-in-hand, along with a begging bowl, to Football League clubs to try and gain admittance every June.

We are still battling hard today to get the 92 to accept more than two clubs from the National League.

However, it`s still miles better than the old system.

The 1969 season saw a hint of change when the formation of the Northern Premier League to equal the status of the long-established Southern League was the first step of many which led to the creation of the non-League `Pyramid`.

The League`s management committee also decided that in future it would inspect the ground of any club seeking election to ensure that it met the standards required.

Southern League Cambridge United under former Manchester City defender Bill Leivers also mounted the best challenge in years.

Their 16 votes left them well short of Newport County`s 27, but the voting suggested another breakthrough was imminent.

In September 1969, the Southern League`s management committee attempted to nominate only one of its clubs for Football League membership.

Although not every member heeded the instruction, the applicants in 1970 were fewer in number and stronger in potential.

Cambridge United, Southern League champions again, polled 31 votes to supplant Bradford Park Avenue`s 17 – the Yorkshire side going `cap-in-hand` for the fourth year running.

Wigan Athletic, with 18 votes, also won greater support. Of the other challengers, Cambridge City did best with 2 votes.

Once United were elected, however, any hopes City had of League football virtually disappeared. If the city of Bradford could not sustain two Football League clubs, what chance had Cambridge?

In 1971, League secretary Alan Hardaker held talks with the Southern and Northern Premier Leagues about the possible foundation of an `Alliance`, essentially the fifth division, yet nothing materialised – yet!

That year`s annual meeting saw Hartlepool United (33) and Newport County (33) survive strong challenges from Hereford United, who polled 22 votes, and Wigan Athletic, who obtained 14.

Among the other candidates were Bradford Park Avenue with one vote and Gateshead, who polled none.

During the 1971/72 season, the Southern League and Northern Premier League joined forces to draw up concrete proposals concerning automatic promotion to the League.

Their cause received an added boost at the 1972 annual meeting when Hereford United were elected to the League at the expense of Barrow.

Hereford forced their way in, despite failing to win the Southern League championship – it was instead one famous FA Cup game that made their case irresistible.

Hereford`s cause was helped by the fact that the other eleven non-League clubs attracted hardly any support at all – gaining only 3 votes between them.

Even so, Hereford and Barrow tied with 26 votes each, necessitating a second vote which Hereford won 29/20.

Poor Barrow came close to avoiding the re-election maelstrom, but a crushing 7-1 defeat at Exeter City in their final game sucked them in.

Hereford, like Peterborough United before them, justified their elevation by achieving promotion in their first season.

Non-League clubs failed to make further inroads during the next four seasons, although Kettering Town and Yeovil Town both came close.

Kettering came within 5 votes or Workington in 1974 and Yeovil were just 3 votes short of the same team in 1976.

On both occasions, Workington were re-elected with just 21 votes – the lowest total for a re-elected club since the Second World War.

The problem once more was the splitting of the non-League vote amongst too many applicants.

In 1976 for example, non-League sides gained a total of 50 votes – more than twice the number needed to see off Workington.

An essential change took effect therefore from 1977. The Southern and Northern Premier Leagues agreed to submit a list of applicants to be vetted by the management committees.

From that list just two approved clubs would be chosen to challenge the four retiring clubs in return for which any club losing its League place would be guaranteed a place in either the Southern or Northern Premier League, depending upon location.

The new system bore fruit immediately when Allen Batsford`s Wimbledon, who had just won a third successive Southern League championship, replaced Workington, who were applying for re-election for the fourth time in a row.

Wimbledon, of course, proved to be the most successful of all the post-war `new boys`. Their election in 1977 proved what many had suspected for decades, that if the list of applicants was cut down, heads were bound to roll.

In 1978, it was the turn of Southport.

Their third application in a row proved to be one too many and they were replaced by the Northern Premier League runners-up, Wigan Athletic, after a second vote.

League football thus returned to the town of Wigan for the first time since Wigan Borough had dropped out in 1931.

A second successive non-League gain seemed to herald a new dawn but hopes proved deceptive with no further non-League club elected over the next eight years.

Even the birth of the long-planned Alliance Premier League in 1979 failed to budge the fortress doors.

The first straight contest between an Alliance club and the four retiring clubs took place at the 1980 AGM.

Altrincham, the Alliance`s first champions, polled 25 votes, but fell just one short of Rochdale.

What made the result particularly galling for Alty was that two clubs who had promised to vote for them – Grimsby Town and Luton Town – failed to do so.

The Grimsby representatives went to the wrong place, whilst the Luton chairman arrived late from lunch and missed the vote!

The other Alliance club to come close were Maidstone United, who finished 10 votes adrift of Hartlepool United in both 1983 and 1984 – the latter occasion being Pool`s 14th application for re-election – a league record.

Not surprisingly, Alliance frustration grew and demands for automatic promotion to the Football League gathered pace.

This proposal first put forward seriously by non-League clubs as long ago as 1959, finally came about for the 1986/87 season as part of a far-reaching re-organisation of the League, which also saw the introduction of play-offs to decide other promotion and relegation issues.

The first side to benefit from the new regime were Scarborough, who clinched the Conference title with a superb late-season run.

Lincoln City moved in the opposite direction after Burnley and Torquay United mounted `Houdini` like escape acts on the final day of the season.

Burnley, a founder member of the Football League, survived in front of over 15,000 emotional fans at Turf Moor, whilst Torquay wriggled free with a stoppage time equaliser against Crewe Alexandra.

Torquay`s reprieve was especially bizarre as stoppage time was only being played because a dog had run onto the pitch and bitten a Torquay defender on the leg!

As for Burnley? Well, they have since shown what can happen and make the old saying: “It`s a funny old game”, even more appropriate!