in the role for more than 17 seasons. Relegation followed and the club came close to being wound up before being saved by a consortium led by one of the club's sponsors, Neville Beal, who was also able to tempt former Southampton player Nick Holmes, at the time living in the US, to take over as manager in 2002. In the 2003–04 season, Salisbury gained promotion from the Southern League Eastern Division by finishing sixth, but a re-organisation of the English football league system saw them placed in the Isthmian League Premier Division, although after one season they were switched back to the Southern League Premier Division, which they won at the first attempt to gain a place in the Conference South. On 13 May 2007, they defeated Braintree Town 1–0 in the Conference South promotion play-off final, earning a promotion spot to the Conference Premier. As well as winning promotion, 2006–07 saw Salisbury embark on one of their most successful FA Cup runs, reaching the 2nd Round for only the second time in the club's history, where they were drawn against Nottingham Forest. In front of a record attendance at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium of 3,100, Salisbury held Forest to a 1–1 draw live on BBC One. The replay at the City Ground saw Forest progress into the 3rd round with a 2–0 victory, which was broadcast live on Sky. Salisbury's first season in the Conference Premier saw them finish a credible twelfth after a run of several wins in the second half of the season. This success continued into the 2008–09 season when they hit top spot in early September. However, this run soon came to an end when they suffered many injuries which saw their form slip. Then an appeal to raise £100,000 in two weeks was asked of the fans and the city, but only £33,000 was raised. This was insufficient to keep the club going with the squad they had, which led to cuts: in October 2008 many of Salisbury City's top players went on loan in order for the club to cut costs. In April 2009 the club was put up for sale for £1 in a bid to attract new investors to help the club survive. However, the future of the club remained unclear after it was announced that the club had been unable to find a buyer willing to assume the financial