RIP Scarborough FC

I know I said I wouldn't be back until this Saturday but I've been forced into action by the sad news that Scarborough FC are no more, after being wound up at Leeds High Court yesterday morning with debts of £2.5m.

In their 128 year history, The Seadogs had their fair share of glorious moments: they won the FA Trophy three times in the 1970s, reached the FA Cup Third Round twice in that same decade with perhaps their finest moment as a non-league club coming in 1987 when Neil Warnock guided them to promotion to the football league.

Scarborough were literally seconds from football league safety at the end of the 1998-99 season but when Jimmy Glass performed that now well-documented injury-time miracle for Carlisle United, it brought about Scarborough's first ever relegation in their footballing history. Things haven't gone right for them ever since.

At the end of the 2005-2006 season Scarborough were bottom of the Conference and, after much to-ing and fro-ing over Altrincham's 18-point deduction and Scarborough's financial stability, were relegated to the Conference North. They then started the following season with a 10-point deduction and struggled. Another relegation took them down to the Unibond Premier, which is now a team short for the start of the 2007-2008 season.

As seems to be the present-day way of things, don't be too surprised if you see them re-appear in the near future with a new name a la Runcorn and Telford. There's already talk of a "Scarborough Athletic" being put together to play in the Northern Counties East League Division One.

This blog sends its sympathies to the fans of Scarborough FC.