Football clubs in the English non-league always seem to be on a financial tightrope. Unfortunately, some clubs fall off and go out of business.
One such club was Salisbury City F.C. However, like many of its non-league counterparts, who suffered financial death, the club was reborn in 2015 as Salisbury F.C.
A short history of Salisbury City F.C.
Unlike some of their fellow phoenix clubs, Salisbury City F.C. couldn’t claim to have a history dating back to the 1880s or even the early 1900s, as the club was formed in 1947.
However, Salisbury City F.C. was not the first club to bear the name; another Salisbury City F.C. existed from 1906 until 1911. It was not related to the club that originated in 1947, though.
Salisbury started in the Western League and won the Second Division title in its debut campaign. Incredibly, 8,902 spectators attended the title-winning game, a 1-1 draw against Weymouth, a figure the club has never achieved again.
City were members of the Western League until 1968, winning the title on two occasions in seasons 1957/58 and 1960/61, while also finishing as runners-up four times. The club also reached the FA Cup first round on four occasions while reaching the second round once.
In 1968, Salisbury was elected to the Southern Football League. They remained in the league until the 1985/86 season when they were promoted to the Premier Division after finishing second behind Cambridge City.
However, they spent just one season in the Premier Division before suffering relegation.
A change of name and redevelopment of the stadium
In 1993, the club officially changed its name to just Salisbury City, dropping the F.C. from their name. In season 1994/95, Salisbury were crowned champions of the Southern League Southern Division.
The club redeveloped the council-owned ground Victoria Park to be allowed to play in the Premier Division. Two years earlier, Salisbury had finished in the promotion spots but was denied entry into the higher league because its stadium did not meet the required standards.
Salisbury enjoyed a seven-year stint in the Premier Division, but off-the-field issues ended the 17-year stay of club stalwart boss Geoff Butler. Worse was to follow as not only did the club suffer relegation, but it came close to going out of business for the first time.
However, the club was saved from oblivion by one of the club’s sponsors, Neville Beal. After the appointment of former Southampton player Nick Holmes, Salisbury won promotion in season 2003/04 from the Southern League Eastern Division.
Due to a restructuring of the leagues, City ended up in the Isthmian League Premier Division. However, after a season, they were moved back to the Southern League Premier Division.
They found immediate success, winning the title and earning promotion to the sixth tier, the Conference League South.
Promoted to the fifth tier and financial difficulties
Things got even better in May 2007, when City defeated Braintree Town 1-0 to win the play-off final and earn promotion to the Conference Premier (Now the National League) for the first time in their history.
The 2006/07 season also saw the club make it to the second round of the FA Cup in their history. Salisbury were drawn against former European champions Nottingham Forest.
City held Forest to a 1-1 draw at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium, which was filmed by BBC cameras. The game attracted a record crowd of 3,100 spectators at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium.
However, the Midlands side recorded a 2-0 win at the City Ground in the replay to end Salisbury’s FA Cup journey.
Despite producing two highly respectable seasons in the Conference Premier, City faced financial issues. In September 2008, fan donations helped the club raise £33,000 to stay afloat.
The tally was short of the initial £100,000 they sought to raise. In October 2008, the club had to resort to loaning out their best players in an attempt to keep the club from going out of business.
Then, in April 2009, Salisbury City was put up for sale for just £1 in an attempt to find investors to rescue the club. However, the club still found it difficult to attract an investor willing to take on the financial responsibility and debts.
On September 3rd 2009, the club entered administration with £200,000 worth of debt cleared.
The club suffered further financial issues but managed to limp on, with periods in the Southern Football League Premier Division, Conference South and the Conference Premier.
On December 12, 2013, things appeared to be looking up for Salisbury, as the club exited administration after five years of financial instability.
City finished 12th place in the Conference Premier in season 2013/14. However, they were relegated to the Conference South due to missing a deadline to clear their debts. They were then expelled from the Conference South on 4th July and later suffered liquidation.
Phoenix from the Ashes in 2015
After the collapse of Salisbury City, a new phoenix club, Salisbury F.C., was created in 2015. The new team plays its games at the old club’s Raymond McEnhill Stadium.
At the time of writing, Salisbury F.C. is not too far behind where its predecessors had previously played, as it is currently in the Conference South.
As it is, the Wiltshire club could easily return to the National League in the near future.
After all the financial turmoil of the old club, their current situation looks stable, and the fans will be hoping that the current carnation of Salisbury can avoid similar difficulties off the pitch and prosper on it for decades to come.
nonleaguefanatic
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