END OF SEASON REPORT FOR 2005/06

I once again managed to see every league goal of the season, missing just one game, at Exeter. I did miss the "second class" games at Burscough in the Liverpool Senior Cup and Barrow in the Lancs Junior Cup but they don't count! The last goal I missed was February 04 at Gainsborough.

It was one long season which at times became desperate but in the end it turned out just right. From the very first match at Dagenham to the last match at home to Aldershot it was tough and much harder than I could have possibly imagined. There were some highs along the way, the superb home match against Stevenage, 3-0 up pegged back to 3-2 and hanging on grimly but hang on we did but it must not be forgotten that we looked distinctly second best on a number of occasions.

After the opening home game against York which we lost 4-1 I had a feeling we would be sunk without trace. It was obvious the Conference had moved on during our two year absence but a series of battling performances saw us through. However when we went bottom of the table for the first time after the 3-0 reversal at home to Morecambe I honestly thought there was no way out of it and when in mid January we were cast adrift at the foot of the table I was getting the maps out to Moor Green and Redditch again. We had been written off by everyone and at one point we were 1-5 favourites for the drop. Enter "The Brabinator" (copyright Mellow Yellow) and we started to grind out results. The matches weren't pretty but they were getting points on the board. Other teams had started to falter and going into April we were in with a chance of survival and to get the survival point at Grays , the team who had completely torn us apart at Haig Avenue, with a game to spare was a bit special. There is no doubting the impact Brabs made on his arrival, he brought a new meaning to the "hoof" call used when watching Liverpool games, he hoofs it with his head!

Looking back, only Halifax out of the top 5 did the double over us, they were joined by Exeter, Dag & Red, Aldershot and Crawley, whilst we managed two doubles, Forest Green and somewhat surprisingly, Stevenage. Liam promised us a win at Stevenage to eradicate the memory of 2002/03 and he was good to his word.

The team and manager retained support from the fans which considering the position we were in was quite remarkable. There are always a few at Haig Ave who will have a go at the manager but Liam retained the support from the majority of fans throughout the season. I think most recognised the problems he was facing in getting players to come to the club.

Off the field things reached a low in October when fans were labelled as parasites and the atmosphere between the club and its supporters plummeted to an all time low but out of it all "Trust In Yellow" has been born and improvements are evident already. There remains a lot of work to do but a vibrant steering group is in place and making great strides. The Hereford 100 demonstrated to everyone the backing the Trust has when 100 fans made the journey on the coaches organised by the Trust. Coach travel had become virtually non existent so to get two coaches organised, and it could easily have been three, was a great achievement and augurs well for the future.

What to the future? The club have announced they are going full time which is great news. However, not wanting to be seen as a doom and gloom merchant I do think we have to be very careful with this venture. Full time football costs a lot of money, can we afford it?

I will rattle off my usual stats about attendances, we have only hit the magical 2000 figure at home nine times in our NL life and only one of those was made up of 2000 Southport fans and that was only because we were being presented with the NPL Championship against Frickley in 1992/93. Is there enough backing within the town to support full time football at this level? We must have a professional off field team in place to attract new investments, sponsorships and ideas. Without it I am worried. Yes, we will be able to get full time players in but if we are getting lowly paid full time players are they going to be that much better than higher quality part time players? I am sure Mr Clapham and the rest of the board have got it all worked out so my worries are probably unfounded, time will tell. I have seen the club almost die in the late 70's and don't ever want to have to go through that again.

I was delighted that Liam stuck at it this season, I am sure there were times when he felt like giving up but he remained positive at all times. I doubted we would stay up in January, Liam didn't and he was right. I understand Mr Clapham was amazed at the level of support Liam retained which I think was testament to the man. To hear the fans continuing to chant "There's only one Liam Watson" throughout the bad times was great to see and I hope he is rewarded with more success in the 2006/07 season.

I almost forgot, we won the Lancashire Junior Cup by beating Lancaster City 1-0 at the Mecca of Leyland. The excitement was uncontrollable! Can you ever remember a team winning a Cup Final in such a subdued atmosphere. Time to get it back to a decent ground me thinks. I did enjoy the foggy night at Nelson and the freezing cold night at Squires Gate en route to the final though. The game at Squires Gate produced the lowest ever attendance, just 52 paying speccys although I think everyone knows there were a lot more than 52 present at the game.

Other records from the season. We went 618 minutes without scoring a goal our longest run ever in NL football and just 26 minutes short of our all time record. The 6 consecutive scoreless games is also a NL record. Our run of 7 consecutive defeats was also a record in NL football. Steve Dickinson became the most "capped" player for us ending the season on 283 league appearances, 346 in all games. He took that record over from David Gamble.

MY PERSONAL AWARDS

Player Of The Season-Steve Dickinson swept the board winning all the player of the year awards but I voted for Dom Morley, ok I was the only one who did but I feel he encompassed all we were about this season. A tough battler, never gave up and played with pride in wearing the shirt.

Goal of The Season- It was going to be Syd's at Halifax but Blake's at Hereford was just so important it just about shaves it.

Best Away Match-A close thing this one but I am going for Stevenage. The point at Grays to see us safe was a good day though.

Best Home Match-Stevenage for entertainment, Accrington for the result.

Best Away Trip-Scarborough, Sedgefield races in the afternoon where I won a few bob, Fish & Chips for tea at the winner of the best Chippy in Britain in Whitby and a 1-0 win at night, what else could a man ask for.

Most Improved Player-Last season this went to Steve Daly and once again he continues to get better and he has done it without much support alongside him this season.

Worst Moment Of The Season-The 2-0 home defeat by Crawley was a shocker and not getting to Exeter was a blow to me personally.

Best Moments-The end of the match at Grays and The Hereford 100.