FROM its beginnings as a factory football team around 1920 Netherfield went on to become one of the leading lights in the North West semi-professional game and played its part in the formation and later expansion on the Northern Premier, now UniBond, League.

During the inter-war years it rose in prominence, replacing the defunct Kendal Town as the area's top club and in 1945 gave up its amateur status when it entered the Lancashire Combination.

The club took the Championship title in 1949 and again in 1965 and also twice lifted the Combination Cup.

In 1968 the Combination and the Cheshire League merged to form the Northern Premier with the aim of improving the case for promotion of clubs into the Football League.

It was an ambitious move but a necessary one.

The then chairman, Norman Sharpe, wrote " We had to go into the Premier League to keep football functioning properly in the town - we just had to go with the good teams into this competition.

We feared that if we didn't make the stride with the others we would become 'has-beens' in the game."

The new league began on August 10, 1968 with Worksop Town the visitors to Parkside and amongst the other member clubs were Wigan Athletic, Scarborough, Macclesfield Town and the latest recruits to the Football League ranks, Boston United.

The most successful season came in 1972-73 when 29 goals, the league best, from Keith Skillen ensured ninth place.

Sadly just 12 months later they were bottom and a decade of struggle with falling gates and revenue followed.

The increasing dependance on only local players saw the team go over two months and twelve games without a goal in 1983 and it dropped into the North West Counties League.

Five years later the formation of a First Division took the club back into the NPL fold, but success continued to elude them.

There was one bright flourish in the middle of the 1988-89 season when the combination of Andy Milner, Jamie McGowan and Gordon Moore provided some remarkable displays, but Manchester City came in for Milner and snuffed it out.

Under former Wolves star Gary Pierce the side reached 12th in 1991 with Brian Fleming providing most of the goals.

Ex-Liverpool defender Alan Kennedy took over and pushed a workmanlike side up to ninth before his assistant Tony Hesketh assumed control and brought in the prolific Andy Whittaker.

Some 51 goals in 17 months later the striker moved to Ashton United for a record fee, but Netherfield still ended the 1993-94 season in fifth.

Hesketh left for Barrow and Welsh international Leighton James kept the club in the top half of the table.

In a change of direction former Ambleside boss Steve Edmondson was put in charge for the 1995-96 season as local players were given their chance to shine.

They had a remarkable start to the season winning their first seven away games, but fortunes changed and Darren Emmett was brought in from the League of Wales to provide the goals.

Stan Allan, Alan Cook, Bryan Griffiths and Mick Hoyle all tried their hand before, late in the day and with their fate probably already sealed, Peter Smith almost pulled them back from the brink.