THERE’LL be a team missing from this year’s Conference South after Salisbury City were expelled from the Football Conference.

It’s not the first time The Whites have been in trouble.

Four years ago Salisbury were in the Conference Premier but were put in administration after racking up debts of nearly £200,000.

They broke Conference rules by failing to pay creditors by a set deadline and were chucked out altogether, dropping three leagues.

This time, though, there’s been a bitter taste left in the mouths of those at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium, with the rest of non-league football looking over with either embarrassment or sympathy.

Salisbury comfortably avoided relegation on their return to the Conference Premier last season but, despite their 12th-place finish, they were shunted down to the Conference South for failing to pay their creditors.

The Whites were the second club to be taken out of the league following Hereford United, who were thrown out as they failed to pay a £350,000 bond.

But for Salisbury, as the season wore on the troubles began to spiral out of control.

In April they were placed under a transfer embargo so they couldn’t spend money they didn’t have.

The Whites looked to have received a lifeline in May, when Mark Winter and Otail Touzar completed their dual takeover of the club and its £150,000 debt. 

Then for Salisbury, the embarrassment began and the revelations unravelled. Touzar had no intention of providing any funds to pay the debt and ensure the club’s survival.

Winter paid £75,000 of the debt, but Touzar — who owned 98 per cent of the company — refused to budge.

The Football Conference had seen enough and on July 4, the day of next season’s fixture release, Salisbury were expelled from the league altogether, leaving Ebbsfleet United with no-one to play on the opening day.

Such has been the story of the Wiltshire club. There has been a glimmer of light at the end of a dark and cold tunnel.

Exactly a week after being booted out, Salisbury had successfully taken legal action against former owner Touzar for fraudulent misrepresentation.

A new five-member board of investors and directors, consisting of Mark Winter, Jackie Goddard, David Phillips, Graeme Mundy and Jeremy Harwood will aim to take the club forward once more.

It’s easy to place blame on the previous owners for selling when instances such as Salisbury’s occur.

But naive faith can play its part when someone gives their word that they will take the club forward and safeguard its future.

If anything, Salisbury’s off-field problems will remind other non-league clubs to be much wiser should a foreign investor show interest in taking over a local club away from the money and glamour of the Premier League.

And so the Conference South will run a team short this season with 23 teams.

As for Salisbury City Football Club, as was the case in 2010, the players, staff and even owners may go but it’s the loyal fans that stay and suffer the burden of watching their club fall in front of their eyes and are forced to pick up the pieces.