The Voting Saga

At the end of the 1986/87 season, Scarborough became the first non-League team to gain automatic promotion to the Football League after winning the Conference title.

Up until that season, the only way into the Football League was via the antiquated `voting in` system.

It was often the case that the respective chairmen would feel it would be like `turkeys for Christmas` if they voted out clubs and for many years there was no strategy to going forward for election, hence the votes being split when a single or two candidates would have a better chance of success.

An arrangement such as that took around 70 years to come to fruition when the Southern and Northern Premier League agreed on a few principles of applying!

In 1894, Manchester City (can you believe!) had to apply for re-election to the Football League Division Two.

They were successful – just – and Leicester Fosse and Bury were elected into the league from the Midland and Lancashire League respectively.

Two years later, Tottenham Hotspur polled only two votes as they looked move up from the Southern League.

Spurs failed again in 1908, but this time managed to obtain 14 votes.

However, a few days after the AGM, Stoke City announced they could not continue in the Football League due to lack of support and their resignation was accepted.

A special meeting was arranged to elect a new member, but before the
meeting took place Stoke announced they wished to continue in the League.

Stoke, along with Tottenham, Lincoln City, Rotherham County and Southport stood for election and in the ballot Tottenham and Lincoln tied, 20 votes each.

The Management Committee then voted 5-3 in favour of Tottenham Hotspur.

It was rumoured that Stoke's original resignation had been encouraged by
Tottenham, who offered financial inducements to Stoke to resign!

For the first full season after the end of the First World War, the Football League decided to increase its membership from 40 clubs (two divisions of 20) to 44 clubs (two divisions of 22).

Consequently, no Football League clubs were obliged to seek re-election and four new places in Division Two were available for applicants:

In 1920, Grimsby Town and Lincoln City were not re-elected and Leeds United and Cardiff City came in.

But after this vote, a debate concerning the creation of a Third Division took place.

The original proposal was that the 22 members of the Southern League be elected en-bloc.

Some argued that it was unfair that Grimsby and Lincoln had just lost their places and would not be able to regain their places.

It was then remembered that one of the Southern League's members (Cardiff) had just been elected to the League leaving another vacancy!

Grimsby, having gained more votes than Lincoln, were then elected to the new Third Division along with the 21 Southern League clubs, all of whom are current League clubs apart from Merthyr Town and Crystal Palace, Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion are now Premier League outfits.

There was also a promise that Lincoln would be treated sympathetically if a northern section of the Third Division was created which it subsequently was in 1921 when Lincoln, along with Accrington Stanley, Nelson, Rochdale, Walsall, Chesterfield Town, Tranmere Rovers, Ashington, Hartlepool United, Darlington, Durham City, Barrow and Wrexham were originally made members, followed shortly afterwards by another vote to take the membership to 20 clubs, with Wigan Athletic, Halifax Town, Southport and Stalybridge Celtic being added to Grimsby, who were switched and Stockport County, who had been relegated.

Amongst those unsuccessful in the vote were Doncaster Rovers and Scunthorpe United.

During the period leading up to the Second World War, many non-League sides tried in vain to gain a Football League place.

In 1927, Aberdare Athletic's loss of their Football League place was controversial.

There was one spoilt ballot paper in the first ballot when Aberdare and Torquay United tied.

Aberdare's secretary claimed that one of the scrutineers was 'an interested party'. Aberdare lost the second ballot.

However, the three Southern League clubs applying for election – Kettering Town, Yeovil & Petters United and Ebbw Vale polled only two votes between them!

Kettering had last applied back in 1900 without success and in 1928 they at least increased their vote from one to three but were back down to a single vote in 1929 and didn`t try again until 1957 after they had won the Southern League under former England great Tommy Lawton.

But even his substantial influence couldn`t help and the Poppies actually didn`t receive a single vote – the emerging Peterborough United topping the non-League vote with 7.

In 1928, Kettering and Peterborough were joined in the end-of-season vote by an unknown name in Argonauts.

Argonauts were formed as an amateur club along the lines of Queen's Park (Glasgow) and Corinthians.

They had not played any matches when they made their application to join the Football League but somehow managed to poll 13 votes to Kettering`s 3 and Peterborough`s 2!

Midland League Mansfield Town came within 7 votes of ousting Barrow in 1930 and Southern League Llanelly managed to obtain a massive 25 votes in 1932 and 20 the following year but fell short – the latter time falling just 6 votes short of Welsh rivals Newport County.

Then in 1938, Southern League Ipswich Town won a place in Division Three (South) by polling 36 votes, with Gillingham losing their place.

In the first season after WWII, no less than twenty-seven clubs challenged the four clubs seeking re-election.

However, there was more controversy as the Football League secretary pointed out that the two clubs relegated from Division Two were both southern clubs and that if geographically unsuitable clubs were elected this would cause an even greater imbalance in regionalised Division Three.

He suggested that the four retiring clubs should be re-elected en-bloc and without any voice of dissent this is what happened, so no vote took place!

Then in 1950, the Football League increased its numbers from 88 to 92 clubs.

The bottom four clubs were re-elected without a ballot and a vote was then held to elect four new members.

The ballot was regionalised with Midland League clubs Shrewsbury Town and Scunthorpe United being elected to Division Three (North) and Gillingham and Colchester United from the Southern League took their place in Division Three (South).

However, it took three ballots before Scunthorpe were able to fight off the challenges of Wigan and Workington.

The Reds of Workington were successful though a year later, taking New Brighton`s spot in Division Three (North).

The case for Peterborough was growing and after polling 15 votes in 1958 and 26 the following year, 1960 saw Posh outvote Gateshead with 34 votes to 18 and won their place in the Football League after dominating the Midland League for several years.

There was a new name beginning to appear on the voting ballot papers, Headington United.

After recording modest backing in the past, 1960 saw them achieve 10 votes and the following year, now known as Oxford United, they pulled in 19 votes but were still 13 behind Hartlepool.

Oxford, however, were given a helping hand in 1962 by the resignation of Accrington Stanley. But no less than 25 other non-League clubs added their names to the ballot paper looking to fill the vacancy!

But Arthur Turner`s Oxford side dominated the vote, pulling in 39 – only one less than Hartlepool who were seeking re-election.

The next best non-League vote was Cheshire League Wigan Athletic with just 5.

No-one came close to getting a foot into the Football League after that and then in 1969, the formation of the Northern Premier League to equal the status of the Southern League, was the first step of many which led to the creation of a non-League `Pyramid`.

The Football 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 also mounted the best challenge in years but 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 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 under Bill Leivers, polled 31 votes to supplant Bradford Park Avenue, who were going `cap in hand` to the League chairmen for the fourth year running.

Wigan, with 18 votes, also won greater support than Avenue`s 17 and of the other challengers, Cambridge City did best with two votes.

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

In 1971, Football League secretary Alan Hardaker held talks with the Southern and Northern Premier Leagues about the possible foundation of another `Alliance`- essentially a fifth division - yet nothing materialised.

That year`s AGM saw Hartlepool and Newport survive strong challenges from Hereford United with 22 votes and Wigan with 14.

Bradford PA achieved one vote as they looked to bounce straight back!

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

Their cause received an added boost at the 1972 AGM when Hereford United`s marvellous FA Cup runs and consistent league performances earned them election to the Football League at the expense of Barrow.

Hereford`s cause was helped by the fact that the other eleven non-League clubs attracted hardly any support at all – just Bradford, Cambridge City and Wimbledon managing to obtain one vote apiece.

Even so, Hereford and Barrow ties with 26 votes each, necessitating a second vote which the Bulls 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 before them, justified their elevation by achieving promotion in their first season.

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

The Poppies, under Ron Atkinson, came within 5 votes of Workington in 1974 and Yeovil were just three votes 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 war.

The problem one more was the splitting of the non-League vote among 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 Football League`s management committee.

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

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

Wimbledon, of course, went on to prove to be the most successful of all the post-war `new boys` and their election 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 to stay up in a row proved 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.

And like Wimbledon, the Latics proved worthy members, going on to be a Premier League member and FA Cup winner.

A second successive non-League gain seemed to herald a new dawn but hopes proved deceptive with no further non-League side 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 clubs seeking re-election 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 Altrincham was that two clubs who had promised to vote for them, Grimsby Town and Luton Town, failed to do so.

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

They may call football a `funny old game`, but in Altrincham in 1980, no-one was laughing!

The other Alliance club to come close were Maidstone United – the Kent outfit finished 10 votes adrift of Hatlepool United in both 1983 and 1984 – the latter occasion being Pools` 14th application for re-election!

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 reorganisation of the Football League, which 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 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; stoppage time was only being played because a dog had run onto the pitch and bitten a Torquay defender on the leg!

Scarborough were followed by Lincoln making an immediate return, Darlington, Colchester United, Barnet and then Maidstone United, for whom, unfortunately, it seemed to come at the wrong time as their tenure in the Football League proved to be a brief one as they went out of business after just three seasons in Division Four.

Their calamitous departure was a salutary warning that automatic promotion to the Football League, campaigned so vigorously and for so long, may not always be the prize it first appears.

And the National League has now been campaigning for a two-up, two-down scenario between the Football League for almost as long as the call for automatic promotion went on!

It will come – eventually!