However I feel that if the powers that be had taken more interest in looking on their own doorstep over the years it might well not have come to this.
The untapped talent in the Halifax leagues and West Riding divisions is, for me, an absolute disgrace.
I have been involved in amateur football for Spring Gardens FC for many years and the players who have played for me and against us, I believe, have been overlooked by Halifax Town.
There are just too many to mention but the most famous is Paddy Kenny, once of Halifax Irish FC, now of Sheffield United.
On several occasions Brighouse Town FC has embarrassed Halifax Town, albeit in pre-season friendlies, so why have these players been overlooked, many of whom played their Sunday football in the Halifax leagues? One of them is Andrew Moss, who played for me at Spring Gardens.
Not only would Halifax Town have benefited from having the passion and pride of local lads playing for their local team but I am 100 per cent certain the crowds would have been swelled by local people knowing that the players they were watching were part of their own community.
A great example of this is the Celtic team of 1967 which won the European Cup. All the players lived within a 15 miles of the club.
I sincerely hope that Halifax Town survives at some level but to do so it will have to start to look for players closer to home.
Ian Smith
(Manager, Spring Gardens, 1998-2005)