The 2002/03 season probably ranks as the most topsy turvy any club could possibly
imagine. We were fourth in November, we had beaten Notts County in the FA Cup
but we ended up being relegated on the final day of the season. Wilson departed
at the start of February to be replaced by the hapless Mike Walsh. From hero to
zero in 4 months. Nobody knows what happened following the excellent giant killing
win over Notts County but the wheels fell off in a big way. The Notts County game
was on Match Of The Day and saw us come back from 2-0 down with four sensational
goals, one of which, from Syd Pickford came close to winning goal of the season
on national TV. It was a day of high emotion that everyone present will never
forget. We went on to lose 3-0 at home to Farnborough in the next game and from
then on it was down hill. Only a remarkable 4-3 win at a waterlogged Halifax in
March gave us a bit of hope but things were looking bleak. We all thought we had
done enough however and relegation was impossible but we went into the last game
of the season at Stevenage knowing we had to win to survive. It was abject surrender
and in front of a sizeable travelling contingent who made the most of a generous
travel subsidy from Charlie Clapham to pack out the Stevenage away end the Yellows
ten year stay in the Conference was over.
Source: The Complete Non-League History of Southport Football Club 1978 - 2008, by Trust in Yellow (Legends Publishing, 2008). ISBN 978-1-906796-01-3
