IT'S 20 years since the Non-League pyramid was given a shake-up at the top. Three feeder divisions to Conference Premier became two as teams Northern, Isthmian and Southern Premiers were effectively merged into Conference North and South.
Two years after play-offs were introduced in Step 1, they were now in play for Steps 2-4.
It was a radical set of changes. The 2003/04 season saw teams finishing second to 13th in Northern, Isthmian and Southern Premier automatically gain a spot in the new set-up.
A set of extra play-offs confirmed the other places, those that missed out would be effectively demoted to Step 3.
Liam Watson's Southport had little to panic over. After relegation from the Conference a year earlier, they finished sixth in Northern Premier and joined Conference North.
Fourteen of their league rivals joined them plus five from the Southern Premier, Redditch United from Southern Midlands/West and Kettering Town from Isthmian Premier.
"I didn't feel like there were any gimmes we lost to all three teams that were relegated in that first year!" Watson told The NLP. "There were some big sides, the likes of Altrincham, Stafford, Nuneaton and Worcester. Kettering were a massive club too.
"I knew if we'd get four or five strong players that summer we'd be tough to beat. The crown jewel was Terry Fearns, who scored 41 goals in all competitions. No-one had anything like our front three of him, Steve Daly and Neil Robinson.
"We had to beat Harrogate on the final day to win the league. They needed a win for the play-offs. After an hour we were 5-0 up. We were by far the best team in the league."
Watson left during the following season following Southport's transition to fulltime, but returned in the summer of 2008.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 02, 2024-Ausgabe von The Non-League Football Paper.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 02, 2024-Ausgabe von The Non-League Football Paper.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
CUT ABOVE THE REST!
ALAN JULIAN is fully on board with Hampton & Richmond Borough's serious message Movember even if he can't stop laughing at his players!
JOE IS SPECIAL GUEST STAR!
YATE TOWN 1 Guest EVESHAM UTD 0
GOAL ACE ROSS HAS PLENTY OF SHELF LIFE
It's 300 up for Allen but Green Lion marches on
TOWN ARE READY TO GO AGAIN!
Witham boss Kimble is eyeing a repeat
DAWS SHUTS DOWN TOWN BUT MAGPIES DRAW AGAIN
DORCHESTER TOWN boss Tom Killick called for unity to help the Magpies shake off their mini slump after a fourth league draw on the spin.
ARCHIE ANSWERS CHURCH PRAYERS IN FLOWERS BOW
TEN-man Alvechurch fought their way to a first league victory since mid-September to kick off the Tim Flowers era with a precious three points.
HORNETS HAVE THE BUZZ FOR VICTORY!
THE CLASH between Wingate & Finchley and Horsham was a tight and fiercely contested affair, with Horsham emerging as narrow victors thanks to a second-half strike.
MACCA'S THE HERO IN 'NICK' OF TIME!
SUBSTITUTE Nick McCoootie grabbed a stoppage-time winner as Weston-superMare battled back from 3-2 down with five minutes left to clinch victory in this top-of-the-table thriller at the Woodspring.
SHOTS LAUD HERO HENRY
FRUSTRATED Phil Parkinson bemoaned the rigours of life on the road as Altrincham were blown away by Storm Bert and a resurgent Aldershot Town in a fruitless tenhour round-trip though the wind and rain.
GRAHAM GIVES UNITED BOUNCE
NEW Boston United manager Graham Coughlan ended the Pilgrims’ 11-match winless run with his first attempt, at the expense of fellow survival fighters Braintree Town.
