2008-09 WHAT ELSE...

Just a year after celebrating their 100th anniversary, south-east London club Fisher Athletic folded. The club was wound up by the High Court in May 2009 after failing to repay its debts. Meanwhile, fellow Conference South club Team Bath resigned their place in the Non-League Pyramid at the end of the 2008-09 season. The Scholars had attracted significant media attention in 2002 when they became the first university team to reach the first round of the FA Cup in over 120 years.

Rushden & Diamonds secured their biggest ever victory when they won 9-0 at Weymouth in February. The Terras had to field their youth team after members of the first team went on strike. The match was subsequently investigated by the FA for betting irregularities after bookmakers lost over £1 million on the game when eagle eyed Non-League fans rushed to bet against Weymouth after hearing news of the strike.

A young Lee Novak enjoyed a breakthrough season as he topped the Conference North goalscoring charts to help Gateshead win promotion. The Newcastle-born frontman has gone on to enjoy a successful career in the Football League, representing the likes of Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City.

Conference North side Blyth Spartans welcomed Premier League club Blackburn Rovers to Croft Park in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. The Green Army put in a battling performance but were edged out by a second half free-kick from Chilean international Carlos Villanueva. The midfielder seemed unfazed by the arctic-like conditions in Northumberland, which represented somewhat of a contrast to his coastal hometown of Viña del Mar.

Despite sitting at the bottom of the League Two table, Luton Town pulled off a shock 3-2 victory over Scunthorpe in the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. The Hatters prevailed thanks to an extra-time goal from striker Claude Gnakpa.

Newcastle United suffered their first-ever relegation from the Premier League. The Magpies turned to club legend Alan Shearer in a desperate attempt to avoid the drop; however the former striker was unable to prevent Newcastle from crashing out of the top flight.

Tony Adams lasted just 14 weeks as manager of Portsmouth before he was sacked as Pompey plummeted towards the Premier League drop zone.