Looking Back.....Season 1996/97

Recounting another past Southern League campaign.

This was a season which saw a team dominate the Premier Division from virtually the first kick to the last – and yet didn`t gain promotion!

This was also the campaign that saw the re-emergence of Tamworth and the emergence of Forest Green Rovers.

And this was the season that saw the Southern League lose Gravesend & Northfleet (Ebbsfleet United) to the Isthmian League and Sudbury Town, who voluntarily dropped back into the Eastern Counties League.

Garry Birtles`s story is well-known, after being signed by Brian Clough for Nottingham Forest from non-League side Long Eaton United in 1977.

He soon established himself as a regular in the Forest first team and a goalscoring record of 32 goals in 87 league games was enough to earn him three full England caps.

He was also a member of Forest`s European Cup-winning sides of 1978/79 and 1979/80.

The following season saw him transferred to Manchester United for a reported £1million fee.

After 58 games and 11 goals he moved back to Forest where he played a further 125 games, scoring 38 more goals.

Then came spells with Notts County and Grimsby Town before injuries forced him to retire from the full-time game.

He became assistant-manager at GRESLEY ROVERS part-way through the 1995/96 season and in that first season Gresley won the Derbyshire Senior Cup and reached the quarter finals of the FA Trophy.

The following season was even better as in addition to retaining the Senior Cup Gresley won the Premier Division of the Southern League.

When player-manager Paul Futcher (right) left in the summer of 1997, Birtles was promoted from assistant manager to manager.

But it was Futcher who led village side Gresley Rovers to a surprise, but comprehensive title win in 1996/97.

Futcher was the defensive half of twin brothers - his brother was centre-forward Ron.

Paul was the most expensive defender in England when he became Manchester City's record signing for £350,000 in June 1978

He went on to make 615 Football League appearances with Luton, City, Derby County, Halifax Town and Grimsby Town.

After leading Gresley to the title, Futcher left to take the position of manager of Conference side Southport.

And his elevation to manage at the top of the non-League Pyramid came after leading minnows Gresley to the championship – never being out of the top three from first whistle to last.

After taking top spot in August, only Gloucester City (for five weeks) and Halesowen Town (for one week) topped Rovers, who re-gained the leadership from the Yeltz on December 14th and never looked back, winning the title by 11 points.

The success of the Moatmen was even more remarkable given the fact that the players knew from as early as October 1996 that they wouldn`t be promoted to the Conference due to their Moat ground being not up to the standard required.

The club`s Board of Directors had been planning re-locating to a nearby, purpose-built stadium.

Indeed, I saw the plans myself – and the site of the proposed new stadium - when visiting the club in my role as editor of Team Talk magazine.

However, forward to November 2020, and the club are still playing at The Moat Ground in Church Gresley!

But back to 1996, and it`s testament to Futcher and Birtles that they managed to keep the players` attention firmly focussed on winning the Southern League title.

Despite losing only one match during the first half of the season, Gresley were never allowed to break away from the chasing pack until later on.

A Burton Albion side managed by John Barton, King`s Lynn, Nuneaton Borough and Sudbury all threatened to make a challenge to the top of the table.

It was, however, Cheltenham Town, Gloucester and Halesowen who maintained a strangle-hold on the positions immediately behind the leaders.

Gresley won the title with 85 points, while Halesowen finished fourth in the end with 73 points – just 12 months after finishing runners-up with 92 points!

Gloucester, under Leroy Rosenior, finished third on 74 points – the 8 points dropped in their final seven games during an amazing fixture pile-up caused largely by the Tigers` excellent run in the FA Trophy, left them just a point and a place being their fierce rivals and neighbours CHELTENHAM TOWN.

As Gresley were not able to take their place in the Conference, it was Cheltenham who profited.

The Robins, therefore, returned to the top of the non-League Pyramid after a five-year gap and also launched the managerial career of Steve Cotterill.

Cotterill (left) took over at Whaddon Road in January 1997 after the club sacked Chris Robinson, despite being in third place in the table.

A former Wimbledon and Bournemouth striker, he had been signed by Robinson a month earlier as a player and, having started his career with Cheltenham, led his boyhood team to win the FA Trophy in 1998 and the Conference championship and promotion to the Football League a year later.

Cotterill went on to manage the likes of Stoke City, Burnley, Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and Birmingham City.

At the opposite end of the Premier Division table, Cambridge City, who only escaped the drop in 1995/96 due to Bamber Bridge being unable to take their place in the Conference after winning the Northern Premier League title, only maintained their spot in 96/97 with a stoppage time winner at Merthyr Tydfil on the final day of the campaign – the goal scored by current Cardiff City manager Neil Harris.

After just one season back in the Premier Division, Ashford Town finished 19th. However, the resignation of Sudbury gave the Nuts & Bolts a reprieve.

Not so fortunate, however, were Chelmsford City, Baldock Town or Newport AFC, who all dropped into the lower divisions.

It was especially disappointing for Chelmsford – one of the biggest and most renowned teams in the Southern League – and the Newport side only formed in 1989 following the demise of Newport County.

The Welsh side gained promotion from the Hellenic League in its first season and spent five seasons in the Southern Midland Division before winning the title and promotion to the Premier Division in 1995.

Just two years on and they changed their name back to Newport County and won promotion back to the Premier Division in 1999 and then to the Conference South in 2004, Conference Premier in 2010 and then finally back to the Football League in 2013.

TAMWORTH dominated the Midland Division title race.

Paul Hendrie`s side were third on August 24th, having won their opening three matches, and then went to the summit two days later – and never relinquished that position.

The Lambs dropped their first league points on November 26th when they were held to a 0-0 draw at Hinckley Town and lost for the first time on January 25th at Solihull Borough, who actually did the `double` over them by beating them again on the final day of the campaign – the only other team to beat them in the league being Bilston Town.

Grantham Town looked to be the favourites to go up with Tamworth in the second promotion spot, but an injury crisis cost the Gingerbreads dear and that allowed ROTHWELL TOWN to sneak up behind them and take second place – the Bones (sadly now defunct) beating neighbours Raunds Town and Sutton Coldfield Town – both away – in their final two games to snatch promotion.

The first relegation spot from the Midland Division was occupied as early as August as Leicester United were closed down after just four games.

Sutton Coldfield, Raunds and VS Rugby flirted with the drop zone and Corby Town dropped like a stone to the bottom of the table by January.

However, a derby win over Raunds and a draw against Shepshed Dynamo pushed the Steelmen away from the foot of the table, leaving Sutton Coldfield bottom, although they stayed up due to Leicester and Sudbury going out.

The Southern Division title looked like heading to Havant Town, who dominated the early part of the campaign.

FOREST GREEN ROVERS had moved into second place with ST LEONARDS STAMCROFT in third.

But a fixture backlog was catching up on Micky Reed`s side.

By the end of January, now under new management, had their lead eroded and Forest Green, under the shrewd Frank Gregan (left), moved to the top.

St Leonards were tenth at the same stage and were no less than EIGHT games behind Forest Green!

Clevedon Town, their neighbours Weston-super-Mare and Margate were looking like being Forest Green`s main challengers, while Micky Stead`s Fisher Athletic were coming up on the rails.

On March 1st, St Leonards were 12th in the table and had a whopping 21 games still left to play!

Forest Green survived a little wobble at the end to win the title by a four-point margin. However, St Leonards had a remarkable run that lifted them into second spot and, in the end, by an eight-point margin over Havant.

In April, the Sussex side played no less than TWELVE matches, including a Sussex Senior Cup and a Hastings Senior Cup semi-final.

They lost away at Weymouth and Witney Town and drew at Fareham Town but won the other seven league games in April and their final league match of the season at home to Weymouth to seal second spot – and to top it all off, they also won the Sussex Senior and Hastings Senior Cups!