The IMG gradings introduced in rugby league have certainly divided opinion. Their aim is to reward sustainable, well-run clubs rather than those relying on short-term spending, but the shift has be…

The IMG gradings introduced in rugby league have certainly divided opinion. Their aim is to reward sustainable, well-run clubs rather than those relying on short-term spending, but the shift has been controversial. Supporters of the system argue it will protect the sport’s future; critics say it undermines the idea that results should always decide who goes up and who goes down.

The IMG gradings introduced in rugby league have certainly divided opinion. Their aim is to reward sustainable, well-run clubs rather than those relying on short-term spending, but the shift has been controversial. Supporters of the system argue it will protect the sport’s future; critics say it undermines the idea that results should always decide who goes up and who goes down.

Why Southport’s latest cup run cannot be measured by old labels Southport’s crowd of 2,194 for the Fourth Qualifying Round tie with FC Halifax Town in October 2025 was an excellent turnout and the club’s best at this stage of the FA Cup for a century. It was not, however, the highest ever attendance for a Fourth Qualifying Round match. In 1923, when Southport were a Football League club, around 5,000 watched their game against New Brighton at the same stage.

When the Dundee Evening Post published a history of Third Lanark in 1901, it remembered John and Charles Weir as the “famous half-backs” of the Cathkin Park side in the 1880s. John’s later career with Everton and Scotland has kept his name alive, but Charlie’s story deserves telling too. His was a career that bridged Glasgow’s Volunteer tradition and the first wave of Scottish footballers to cross the border and try their luck in Lancashire.

When Southport were voted out of the Football League in 1978, it ended fifty-seven years of membership that had begun with their election to the newly formed Third Division North in 1921. The blow was heavy enough, but within a year the landscape of English football was about to change again. For the first time, the leading clubs from the Southern League and Northern Premier League were to be drawn into a new national competition.

When James Brown Meunier signed for Southport Central in the summer of 1906, he brought with him a background that made him stand out. Born in Birmingham in April 1885 to a French father and English mother, he had already been on the books at Manchester City without breaking through to first-team football. Central provided him with that long-awaited opportunity, and in doing so, gave the club one of its most cosmopolitan players of the pre-First World War era.

Today we celebrate the 99th birthday of Trevor Hitchen, the oldest living former Southport player and manager, the oldest living former football manager, and the seventh oldest former professional footballer in the country. Trevor holds a unique place in Southport’s history. Appointed as “Players’ Manager” in 1958, he took responsibility for every aspect of the playing side at Haig Avenue, from players and coaches to even the groundsman.

Floodlights, pay packets and the pull of the big city clubs: English football’s flirtation with Friday nights began with practicalities and ended, mostly, with television. In between, it gave Southport a distinct local identity and a weekly ritual that felt different to a Saturday at three. Tranmere Rovers led the way on Merseyside. When Dave Russell took over as manager in 1961 he made a conscious decision to stage games on a Friday evening, avoiding clashes with Liverpool and Everton in order to tempt neutrals.

Southport FC Women’s manager Keith Paterson has stepped down from his role two days after the opening league game of the new season. Paterson informed his players of the decision on Tuesday morning before making the news public later that day. Paterson took over the role in February 2024, overseeing 32 games and crucially a promotion from the Liverpool Women's league division 1 last season.

The Fair Game Index is designed to assess how well football clubs in England are run. Each year it scores clubs across eight areas: finance, governance, transparency, fan engagement, equality, diversity, environment, ethics and community. The principle is sound. With the Independent Football Regulator (IFR) beginning to take shape, any attempt to benchmark clubs against standards of good practice is valuable.

Southport Central continues to publish original features across governance, heritage, culture and context because it is the kind of coverage supporters cannot find elsewhere. Since the end of July we have brought you articles covering: Governance and oversight The Independent Football Regulator: What it Means for Southport FC and the Role of Supporters Football’s Financial Machine and Southport’s Place Within It…

As the new FA Cup campaign approaches, the usual clichés will surface again: giant-killings, the magic of the cup, David versus Goliath, and so on. This year is a little different for Southport, as it will mark the club’s 125th season in the competition. Yet with so much of Southport’s history still overlooked or misreported, you are unlikely to hear that number mentioned.

In September 1975 Southport were handed one of the great cup draws. Newcastle United, then a First Division side with Malcolm Macdonald among their stars, were paired with Jimmy Melia’s men in the second round of the Football League Cup. On paper it was a glamour tie, the kind of occasion Haig Avenue had long craved. Yet it was not played there.

Earlier this week, Investing.com published an article under the headline How football turned into a financial machine. It charted how the sport has become one of the most reliable industries in the world, with clubs generating huge sums through broadcasting, commercial deals, hospitality, and stadium redevelopment. Real Madrid, it noted, have doubled their matchday income to €248 million with a revamped Bernabéu, while Tottenham’s new ground increased average supporter spend from little more than a pound to over fifteen.

The terrace opposite the Main Stand at Haig Avenue has, for more than a century, been known as the Popular Side. The use of the term “Popular Side” is not unique to Southport. Many grounds across the country once had their own Popular Side, the phrase being a formal title rather than an informal nickname. Manchester City’s famous Kippax Stand at Maine Road was originally opened in 1923 as the Popular Side.

Football is never static. The rules that decide promotion, relegation and even how points are awarded have shifted over time, and some of the most significant reforms only arrived in the last fifty years. Goal difference replaced goal average. Three points replaced two. The play-offs created fresh jeopardy. Automatic relegation ended the safety net of re-election. But what if those rules had always been in place?

Southport began the 1925–26 season with a sense of optimism. The previous campaign had carried the hope of promotion, and with the majority of the players returning there was every reason to believe progress could continue. Instead, the year became one of the most difficult in the club’s Football League history. By the spring, Southport were hanging on to their place in the Third Division North and only just avoided the need for re-election.

Few topics divide supporters more than walk-out music. For Southport, the debate circles endlessly back to Da Do Ron Ron, a song still regarded by many as “our tune”. Its place in the matchday ritual is far from settled, and every so often the question resurfaces: is it tradition worth preserving, or atmosphere holding us back? The most recent round of discussion was sparked by Nicola’s return to the tannoy, which happened to coincide with a change of music.