the improvement of facilities gradually increased along with pressure for unification at the top level, especially after the border counties league clubs (who had set up their own league many years earlier in protest at the closed shop) joined the league virtually en bloc in 1992. a couple of acrimonious egms highlighted the discontent among the "also-rans", while from 1986 there was an annual vote among the executive members in deciding whether the mainstream champions should replace the elite's bottom club, but despite some close calls – including two casting votes by the chairman – this never happened.