We Are Going Up !
City's young cubs came of age as City took the first substantive step
towards reclaiming our previous status. From this point on ...the future
is yellow.
We go back over the season to chart all those highlights (and lowlights)
of a memorable campaign.
PRE-SEASON
After all the turmoil of recent pre-seasons this one was remarkable,
if only for what looked a like stability by comparison. Chris Burns
had kept most of his squad together and the only really significant
departure was that of Luke Prince. Despite only having lost one player
it was enough to have most fans fretting wildly about where the goals
would come from. Last season's top scorer had been Hosky with a not
exactly mighty ten goals. Four of them came against Bilston in one game
- and even he was banned for the start of the season. Baylo was still
partially crocked and we looked decidedly light weight up front. Spirits
weren't particularly lifted by the arrival of 38 year-old Adie Harris
from Cinderford. As the season unfolded I think we all got to realise
that this is why we don't actually manage the team.
The one really interesting signing had been that of Lyndon Tomkins from
Cinderford, but that quickly became less thrilling for all concerned
as his season ended with a ricked knee in the opening minutes of our
first pre-season fixture at Brockworth. The pre-season programme held
little excitement, with only the visit of Yeovil and Bristol City to
swell the coffers. Results were erratic and performances equally patchy.
With little to judge our progress by the fans guessed the season held
anything from relegation to promotion. However on the eve of the campaign
came two bits of news to lift the spirits. First came the signing of
Neil Mustoe who agreed to play while looking for a return to League
football, and secondly came the signing of Jimmy Cox from Weston. Suddenly
the questions over where the pace and goals were to come from had been
answered and the season couldn't start soon enough.
AUGUST
As always with City, it is best to protect yourself from anything as
dangerous as hope. The season started badly as we crashed 2-1 at home
to Atherstone, captain Neil Griffiths' red card marking the start of
the chairman's campaign to improve our disciplinary record with suitable
aplomb. Things improved markedly as Lee Smith smacked in a brace to
beat pre-season favourites Taunton away. His two goals were as many
as he'd managed in the whole of the previous season - perhaps we did
have a goalscorer in our midst after all. Once again though optimism
gave way to despair as City slumped 4-0 to local rivals Cinderford in
the most inept performance of the season. Now it looks like a blip,
then it looked like the beginnings of disaster. The general mood wasn't
helped by having Tommy Callinan rejoicing in our discomfort - what a
nice man he is. The month ended with an entertaining 2-2 battle against
newly relegated Merthyr, our performance lifted by the return of Matt
Bath in goal after he started the season suspended. The defence looked
happier with him there and we could well have won until Gary Marshall
got himself sent off in entirely predictable circumstances. Four points
and two red cards under our belts, things were not looking quite as
planned.
SEPTEMBER
If things were looking less rosy than hoped for in August, by mid-September
pre-season ambitions were being replaced by anxious examination of the
wrong end of the early season tables. Jimmy Cox had returned, but far
from being the goal scoring Messiah he simply looked like a very naughty
boy indeed as he petulantly got red carded in a tantrum when denied
a penalty. Two more league defeats found City in 19th and with just
one league win before an unexpected but well deserved FA Cup win over
Bashley suddenly lifted the confidence and inspired two much needed
league wins to drag us back up the table.
The end of the month brought the opportunity to test our mettle against
Newport County in the FA Cup. The home tie was closely contested and
showed that the side had improved and settled. Hoskins and Harris played
out of their skins while Mustoe was finding some rhythm and he covered
every blade of grass on the pitch. However the whole occasion was marred
by a bizarre collection of Newport's worst freak show residents whose
ugly antics killed the atmosphere before they headed off into the city
centre to confront the local constabulary's wholly incompetent response
to their arrival. And inevitably we got beaten in the replay just to
wrap things up nicely.
OCTOBER
The turn of form in September was confirmed with some really spirited
and uplifting results in the next few months. First City scrapped their
way through a difficult Trophy tie at Atherstone, in-form before financial
woes ruined their season, and City were again inspired by a performance
from Mustoe that was again full of both graft and sublime passing. We
then faced promotion favourites Solihull at home and overcame all obstacles
and expectations, not even the sending off of Jenks in the opening minutes
could hold us back as Cox scored all four goals to underline the resurrection.
However in true Gloucester City style our star forward then went on
to celebrate in style, falling through a shop front window and missing
the next month after having the tendons in his arm stitched back up.
However even this blow could not derail us in irresistible form, two
more victories on the road saw us claw our way back into the top half
of the table.
NOVEMBER
We were still a long way from realising the Trophy would play a
significant part in our season, but the trip to Banbury was none the
less a welcome distraction from the league. The match was one that showed
our newly developed guts, we matched a strong side and weathered a real
storm with some fantastic defending to take the tie back to Meadow Park
where we won 2-1. The actions of a handful of travelling 'fans' caused
the club real embarrassment though, being ejected for racist behaviour
and invading the pitch. Perhaps if we'd handled it better the later
problems that dogged our Trophy success would never have happened, but
it's easy to be wise after the event. Back in the league we were continuing
to make progress, steadily picking up points. An unbeaten league run
of 8 matches came unstuck at Redditch, only for us to bounce back to
defeat Taunton 4-2. Lee Smith scored again, his first goal since he
last scored against the Somerset side in August. Fans were disappointed
as Craig 'ambitious' Hampson traded in Meadow Park for the greater glories
of Kings Stanley. The team meanwhile just shrugged and carried on getting
better.
DECEMBER
The Trophy draw had disappointed with the visit of league leaders
Merthyr Tydfil, not only familiar visitors but every prospect of defeat.
City were by now a better side than one that would roll over and looked
to have the Valleys outfit on the ropes but could not find the killer
blow against ten men. Not to worry though, our form on the road was
already at least as good as that at home and we gritted our teeth to
battle our way to a bruising 1-0 win on their ground. The pre- Christmas
games did not inspire a great deal, but where as last season we only
played well against the better sides we now seemed to have found a sense
of professional pride. Well disciplined performances saw Shepshed and
Stourport rolled over and a top six spot in our hands before a return
to league leaders Merthyr on Boxing Day. We exchanged an early flurry
of goals but this time the Welsh were simply too strong and we lost
3-2, but as a yardstick of how much we needed to do to match the top
side the answer was simply, not a lot.
Back to top
JANUARY
One festive fixture had fallen due to the state of the pitch so
it was a great credit to all concerned that our New Year's day match
against Mangotsfield was on at all. The resulting 4-3 City win was one
of the most entertaining games at Meadow Park for a long while, and
also underlined that our attack was potent enough to outscore one of
the division's best sides. The dodgy pitch postponed our Trophy tie
with Lewes, but when it did come City rode their luck to edge out the
Sussex outfit 3-2 to set up a visit from Conference side Woking.
In the middle of the month the inevitable happened and Neil Mustoe headed
off for Conference football and City fans braced themselves for a loss
of form and confidence. However the young City side showed that this
recent success was not about the form of one player and went on to improve
yet further. Any wobbles were got out of the system as a patched up
side ground out a tough 1-0 win over Gresley, but the real test of their
mental strength came at promotion chasers Bromsgrove. Rovers went two
up after only 15 minutes, but were overhauled 4-2 with Smith and Webb
to the fore in a momentous victory. A few days later and poor old Warwick
got hit for six to take City into fifth and our young side suddenly
looked rather special.
FEBRUARY
The start of the month brought the eagerly awaited visit of Woking
in the trophy and the pride felt by the City fans as our young side
equaled the Conference outfit in a 0-0 draw was palpable in the applause
they earnt at the final whistle. No-one, players included, could have
really believed they would win the replay. But all that work and effort
over the previous months had given this side a huge amount of self-belief.
Tom Webb epitomised the character of
the team as he stepped up to fill the creative void left by Mustoe's
departure. When he opened the scoring with his first ever City goal
the Cards collapsed like a pack of ... and by the time the ageless Adie
Harris added a second it was clear this was a very special night for
the club. Burns' Babes, as dubbed by all and sundry, had come of age.
Potential was starting to turn into achievement.
We won both our league matches of the month to keep in touch with the
chasing pack, but while promotion was starting to look like a dream
still worth dreaming the attention was now fixed on the Trophy. Our
next opponents were Southport, like Woking in the Conference but on
a poor run, and after Woking, they were there to be beaten. Southport
couldn't live with the pace of Cox or the clever probing of Webb and
we took the lead, the Merseysiders a little fortunate to nick an equaliser.
That game was marred by more violence from the less than faithful and
least welcome elements of City's support. A coach load of City fans
shrugged this off to make the long midweek trip to Southport and were
rewarded by another virtuoso Gloucester performance. Despite going one
behind City scored three and entirely outplayed their higher ranked
opposition in earning a second famous scalp and pointing out to the
non-league media that Woking had been no flash in the pan. We really
were quite good after all!
MARCH
If City were on cloud nine courtesy of those Trophy wins it was
March when everyone came tumbling back to the ground. We opened the
month with a crunch encounter against Weston, if City won this our games
in hand meant promotion was within reach - defeat would leave an awful
lot to be done. Weston played a brutal and unattractive style of football
and it was no surprise our players limped off bruised, bullied and defeated,
or that the match closed with a bad tempered brawl as City players sought
revenge for a match of having lumps kicked out of them. This was a harsh
lesson, we may be good but at this level sometimes you need to be able
to assert your right to play the ball around. That defeat seemed to
burst the bubble and a draw and defeat on the road dismissed any lingering
promotion hopes and didn't exactly bode well for the Trophy quarter-final
at Aylesbury.
City went into the game with some slightly odd tactical team selections,
and the match was all but lost in the opening 20 minutes when the Ducks
scored twice and City looked all at sea. Playing Baylo instead of Smith
left his old legs stranded in midfield, while Aussie centre back Stephen
Chipps has been missed even before Steadman got his marching orders.
The
vast City travelling support had their day out further spoilt by the
return of the self-styled CDB, so dumb they couldn't even manage to
find the ground without the help of a police escort to show them the
way. At least their presence finally alerted the club and the police
to the potential scale of this problem and perhaps the Ch@#tenham loving
scum can be encouraged to go and play their games back wherever they
came from.
The rest of the month was to put it mildly, inconsistent. Evesham were
on the end of a well deserved 6-1 thrashing with Hosky grabbing four
as the Trophy disappointment was exorcised. Off the pitch the side was
lifted by news Jimmy Cox had turned down an offer from Kidderminster
to see out the season with us. Bromsgrove visited and were edged out
in a 1-0 win, but these triumphs were mitigated by defeats to Stourport
and Solihull. Marshall probably but the final punch into his City career
as he was dragged kicking and screaming from the Atherstone pitch after
another red card.
APRIL & MAY
A season that had promised so much seemed to be drifting out of
control but we did manage to salvage some pride as the players fought
back to finish the season in a highly credible 5th place. There
were some welcome scalps in the final month too. Cinderford were on
the end of some sweet revenge as they got a precise 4-0 retaliation
in the local derby. City went to Mangotsfield and served up a timely
reminder to the rest of the division
that the Bristol side were not the only attack to be feared in this
division as they were on the end of a 4-1 demolition job. Lee Smith's
swerving, dipping goal of the season contender was topped by a Hoskins
brace to mark his 100th appearance. Then in the last match of the season
against Cirencester our lads sought to illustrate all that this exhilarating
and at times frustrating season had been about. We ran up a 5-1 lead
including a Cox hatrick before some slapdash defending saw us end the
match clinging on to a 5-4 victory.
This was a season where you really felt the club was
on the verge of a genuine upswing. Ultimately it was a season that once
again ended without any silverware and next season we will still be
in a division below that we all believe is the least we deserve. This
though would be a view of undeserved pessimism and gloom. This season
our young players showed skill, loyalty and character to take us to
the last eight of non-league football's premier knock-out competition,
an achievement unparalleled by a club from our level. We built on last
season's progress in the league to finish 5th, a great platform for
next season. Many players made visible progress from last season - Hoskins
hit over twice as many goals, Tom Webb came of age and Lee Smith found
a new and more successful role on the right wing. Adie Harris showed
Burns to be an astute manager and struck a blow for all those told they
may be knocking on a little - showing as much energy and effort in his
performances as those half his age and well deserving of his player
of the year award.
Off the pitch there was much to celebrate too. The club now looks stable,
a new board is set to take the helm and years of financial trouble may
finally be coming to an end. The Supporters Club has not gone stale
but has instead continued to bring in a steady stream of cash. The club
has diversified and moved closer to a genuine community role with closer
ties to City Ladies, who won promotion, and a new set of junior boys
teams. Gates are slowly increasing to match the steady improvement of
our team and there is much to be optimistic about. If we can hold on
to our players and maintain the behind the scenes stability next season
promises more tangible rewards. In a few years time we may look back
and say, really it all started in 2003...
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End of Season League Movement
Dr. Marten's League Western Division
Promoted to Conference 2 North: Redditch
United (after play-off wins over King's Lynn & Merthyr Tydfil)
Promoted to DML Premier: Gloucester City, Cirencester Town,
Halesowen Town, Rugby United, Team Bath, Solihull Borough.
Moved in from DML Eastern: Brackley Town, Burnham, Corby
Town, Rothwell Town
Moved in from Ryman Isthmian One: Ashford Town, Bracknell Town,
Egham town, Marlow, Oxford City, Thame United.
Promoted into Division: Paulton Rovers (Western League R-Up)
Moved out to Unibond Northern One: Gresley Rovers, Ilkeston
Town, Shepshed Dynamo.