Looking Back at Season….1984/85

Dipping back into the archives at another memorable Southern League season.

The 1984/85 season produced one of the closest finishes to all three Southern League divisions in the history of the competition.

Three weeks prior to the end of the season, for example, three points covered the top nine clubs in the Premier Division.

The destination of the championship was finally decided on the last day of the season.

A win for Cheltenham Town or King`s Lynn could have won the shield for either club.

King`s Lynn won 1-0 at already relegated AP Leamington but with the help of a Brian Hughes penalty, Cheltenham defeated Alvechurch 2-1 in front of 1,999 fans at Whaddon Road and duly accepted the giant championship shield.

It was ironic that Cheltenham should win the title for the first time in this, their 50th anniversary of being members of the Southern League!

Their reward for the most successful season in the club`s history to date was promotion to the Gola League (Conference) and although the Robins found themselves back in the Southern League for five seasons in the early 1990s, they made it back to the Conference in 1997 and two years later were a Football League club until 2015 when they suffered the drop out of the League, only to win it back a year later.

The season`s triumphs were a personal success for the club`s player-manager John Murphy (right) in his first full campaign in charge.

A fine blend of young former Football League players together with an injection of the most talented locals provided the basis for a winning combination.

The resilience and spirit of Murphy`s small squad of players was in evidence as they battled to overcome one injury crisis after another and an end of season fixture pile-up that saw them play more than half their league games in the final two months!

Perhaps the most important factor was the club`s impressive away league record, where they succeeded in capturing maximum points on twelve occasions.

After an initial hiccup at Bromsgrove Rovers in the League Cup, the side settled down until they suffered their worst spell of the season, losing four league games in succession in late October.

However, a strong run-in with only two defeats in the final twenty league matches took them from mid-table to a neck-and-neck finish with King`s Lynn before skipper Paul Collicutt could lift the shield.

To add to Cheltenham`s title success, the club also achieved the distinction of being the Southern League`s top scorers with 83 goals and were awarded the Merit Cup in recognition of their feat.

The most outstanding contributions came from lethal marksman Mark Boyland (right) with 31 goals, and ever-present midfielder Brian Hughes, who was also voted as the supporters` player of the year and chipped in with 27 goals.

Apart from the title race itself, it is significant to note that the next three clubs in the final table – Crawley Town, Willenhall Town and RS Southampton – were only promoted the previous May.

Even the fourth promoted club from 1983/84, Shepshed Charterhouse, had headed the table for two periods during the season and finished a creditable tenth.

At the other end of the table, AP Leamington had a disastrous season after what had arguably been the most successful period of any club in the history of the Southern League – a period which had seen the Brakes lift all three major trophies in the league.

They were joined in being relegated by Witney Town, who finished 17th, Trowbridge Town, who had been in the Alliance Premier League only the year before, and Gloucester City, who had led the table after the opening three games of the season.

In the Midland Division, Aylesbury United were forced by circumstances involving the sale of their ground to complete their `home` programme by February.

But despite that handicap, the Ducks led the table but then had to face ELEVEN consecutive games `on the road`!

Despite winning seven of those, the last two were lost and that assisted Dudley Town to overhaul Aylesbury`s target of 67 points by five.

A year before, a dreadful run by Gosport Borough had seen them plunge to relegation from the Premier Division.

But 84/85 a reverse of that trend – in fact sixteen wins out of the nineteen league fixtures played after the turn of the year – saw the Hampshire side climb the table and finish second to the season`s most consistent performers in the league, Basingstoke Town.

The Camrose outfit lost only five of their thirty-eight league outings and conceded fewer goals (22) than any other club.

Basingstoke, led by Colin Stoker (left), finished nine points clear of Gosport, who, despite their fantastic run, still needed to win their final match. Even then they only topped Poole Town by goal difference – Poole having won nine of their last ten fixtures, concluding with a 4-1 away win at Canterbury City.

The demise of Bridgwater Town and Addlestone & Weybridge, who both folded before the season started, and then Milton Keynes City who pulled out during the campaign, plus doubts as to the future of Hillingdon, meant that there was to be no relegation.

That was a relief to the likes of Leicester United in the Midland Division and Erith & Belvedere in the South Division after they finished bottom of their respective sections.

Fisher Athletic`s achievement of third place in the Anglo-Italian tournament in April 1984 was equalled in 1985 by RS Southampton, who lost their first round match against Italian opponents US Pontedera 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, comfortably beat Isthmian League side Bognor Regis Town in the third-place play-off.

Fisher, King`s Lynn and VS Rugby all reached the First Round of the FA Cup.

Fisher and the Linnets both lost by the odd goal to Bristol opposition, City and Rovers respectively, but Northampton Town needed a replay to knock out Rugby.