Who Was in Charge of Your Club in 1992/93?

I have regularly featured former Southern Football League managers during lockdown, and these were the men in charge of the three divisions in 1992/93, starting with the Premier Division.

No less than seven Premier Division clubs had a change of manager during the season.

Atherstone United parted company with Graham Smith for `financial reasons` in a general cost-cutting exercise.

They then appointed from within, coach Micky Brookes, a former Adders goalkeeper, taking over the post.

Crawley Town were expecting big things when they made the ex-Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers defender Steve Wicks their manager prior to the start of the season.

However, although he could not be described as a failure, the cost of formulating a squad sprinkled with former Football League players, eventually overshot Crawley`s budget.

Dave Haining, the club`s long-serving former trainer, player and manager, was given the job, albeit only until the end of the season.

Perhaps one of the most surprising sackings of the 1992/93 season was Peter Sillett`s at Hastings Town.

The veteran former Chelsea and England full-back (right) had led the club to promotion from the Southern Division only the season before and was one of the most respected bosses in the southern non-League scene.

His replacement, Hastings-born Dean White, who made almost 150 appearances for Gillingham and Millwall, was given the task of trying to help the club avoid the drop straight back down – which he achieved.

There was an awful lot of upheaval at VS Rugby during the previous year or so.

Their much-respected and long-serving manager Jimmy Knox left during the summer of 1992, citing Boardroom wrangling as the main reason for his departure, and he was replaced by goalkeeper Mick Martin.

He was given a much-reduced wage budget and therefore, several players left Butlin Road.

At the end of January 1993, Ron Bradbury, who had been in charge at nearby Hinckley Athletic for a short time, was asked to replace Martin, who left the club.

Bradbury had plenty of Southern League experience, having previously been in charge of Atherstone United for several years, but he couldn`t prevent Valley from being relegated.

Waterlooville were another club to break ties with a long-serving boss in Ernie Bradwell.

Bradwell had done extremely well to keep Ville at Southern Premier Division level for so long, bearing in mind their finances compared to most, but the Board decided that a change was needed.

They eventually went for two people embarking on their first taste of management in ex-Crystal Palace duo Billy Gilbert and Vince Hilaire.

It was Hilaire`s first spell at non-League level, having made 469 appearances for Palace, Portsmouth, Leeds United, Stoke City and Luton Town, but Gilbert had tasted football at this level, having been at Havant Town and, more recently, player-coach at Isthmian League Division One side Whyteleafe under another former Palace star, Steve Kember.

Len Drake did a marvellous job with extremely limited resources at Weymouth in 1991/92.

His young side, deprived of several of their better players who were snapped up by Football League clubs, managed to finish as runners-up to Hastings and win back their place in the Premier Division.

However, like Hastings, the Terras` inability to make a mark at the higher-level cost Drake his job.

Initially, former Welsh international winger Leighton James accepted the Weymouth job but, mysteriously, he had a change of mind at the last minute.

The club then turned to the vastly experienced former Cardiff City and Sunderland boss Len Ashurst (left) to take charge, albeit on a temporary basis in December 1992.

Ashurst made 455 appearances for Sunderland and Hartlepool United as a player but couldn`t stop Weymouth from finishing rock-bottom of the table and relegated back to the Southern Division and he left at the end of the season.

had become something of a graveyard for managers in recent years.

Martyn Bennett, the ex-West Bromwich Albion stalwart defender, was given the task of attempting to restore former glories to St George`s Lane.

However, in December 1992 he decided to call it a day with the club struggling at the lower end of the table.

City turned to one of their former managers, George Rooney, and hoped he`d carry on where he left off three years earlier before deciding to take the post at Bath City.

Rooney had been doing a great job at another former Conference giant, Nuneaton Borough, and was previously assistant to John King at Altrincham.

One of the most experienced managers in the division at the time was Gloucester City`s Brian Godfrey (right).

The former Welsh international made 544 appearances as a player for the likes of Preston North End and Aston Villa and had managed Exeter City, Bath City and Weymouth.

He was persuaded to return to Meadow Park in February 1992 after resigning in November 1991.

Moor Green`s Bob Faulkner had been in charge at the Moorlands since December 1985.

Prior to joining them he had been an assistant to Bobby Hope at Bromsgrove Rovers and had managed a Sunday side.

Three other managers were in charge for second spells at their clubs.

Trevor Parker was with Bashley before embarking on a Hampshire journey, taking in Fareham Town and Basingstoke Town.

He returned to Bashley after an absence of three years to guide them to the Southern Division title and build a side capable of holding its own in the Premier Division.

Joe Sullivan was re-appointed manager of Chelmsford City earlier in the 92/93 season.

In his previous spell in charge, City enjoyed their best period for many years.

He originally arrived in 1985 from Heybridge Swifts and brought the likes of former England and Spurs winger Peter Taylor with him to New Writtle Street.

Sullivan led City to runners-up spot behind Welling United in the 1985/86 season but left two years later when that old chestnut `financial cutbacks` made his job almost impossible.

John Murphy (left) was another manager to return to a previous club.

He had been hugely successful with Cheltenham Town where he established the club in the Conference until he was sacked and replaced by Jim Barron.

But he was almost immediately snapped up by Trowbridge Town to become their new man in charge.

In a bizarre occurrence, Murphy was subsequently approached by his former club to take over as manager again at Whaddon Road.

He did so, but due to some amazing abuse from a section of the crowd, he decided, after a very short space of time, to end his association with the Robins again.

Trowbridge, in the meantime, hadn`t yet appointed a successor to Murphy and were only too pleased to welcome him back – after all, he had led them back into the Premier Division as runners-up only a few months before.

Southern League Premier Division Managers (end of 92/93 season):

Atherstone United – Mick Brookes
Bashley – Trevor Parker
Burton Albion – Brian Kenning
Cambridge City – Steve Fallon (player-manager)
Chelmsford City – Joe Sullivan
Cheltenham Town – Lindsay Parsons
Corby Town – Elwyn Roberts
Crawley Town – Dave Haining
Dorchester Town – Paul Arnold
Dover Athletic – Chris Kinnear
Gloucester City – Brian Godfrey
Halesowen Town – John Morris
Hastings United – Dean White (player-manager)
Hednesford Town – John Baldwin
Moor Green – Bob Faulkner
Solihull Borough – Ralph Punsheon
Trowbridge Town – John Murphy
Waterlooville – Billy Gilbert & Vince Hilaire
Weymouth – Len Ashurst
Worcester City – George Rooney