An Era Ends

Perhaps some won’t understand how horrible this was, but watching on that May evening we knew that an era had come to an end. August 2002 saw the club fight its way out of administration and become truly bonded with fans and the city.

Five terrific years followed, all featuring play-off appearances and what passed for success. Each season we stepped into those final matches believing the Holy Grail of League One football was waiting for us.

Going into this game, losing from the first leg and on a horrible run of form, inevitability was the overriding emotion. We were never going to win this game and despite scoring the goals we needed, we looked a broken side at the back.

The summer saw Paul Morgan leave, few decent players arrive and by October, John Schofield had gone. The decline had begun.