It’s not often you win away from home by eight goals. But that’s what we did at Runcorn in November 1995; Barry Hayles among our scorers with a hattrick. At the end of the 1995-6 campaign, the Linnets were relegated for the first time in their history. It ended a run of 15 seasons in the top flight of non-league football, which – more often than not – were strong times. In 1982, the Linnets were the best non-league club in the country!
After relegation, however, the following years were no less painful. Only once (in 1998) did they come close to a return to the Conference. The best they had to make do with was an unsuccessful season in the Conference North in 2004-5; known as Runcorn Halton by this point in time. This was due to a relocation; their old Canal Street stadium in dire repair. For four years, they played at Halton Stadium – before moving out due to financial issues.
And it’d be financial issues that caused them to eventually and sadly fold two years later.
