TerrasBlog 07/05/09 - hmmmmmmmmmmmmphhhh THE SEASON REVIEW

That was kind of supposed to be a sigh. We have had so many days of pain, misery and disruption that when a week of quiet comes along we all run out of things to say. I can't even be bothered to check Twitter nowadays.

So with nothing to talk about (and having done TerrasBlog Gold about three years ago; it was a review of classic TerrasBlog updates and posts), we have no option but to hurtle into the season review of 2008/09.

Summary

This season will long be remembered by Terras fans for more disruption off the field and a mid season collapse which resulted in a 9-0 home defeat and ultimately relegation back to Conference South.

Back in the summer of '08 it all looked so different. John Hollins was quick to start work on a new squad after seeing his charges hold off relegation. Fans wanted to see Swindon loanee Chris Blackburn stay at the club, but the lure of league football with Aldershot was too strong for the man who looks like the bloke out of Nickelback, but with straighter hair.

Franklin Anzite wasn't retained by the Terras. No-one cried.

Players of the calibre of Ryan Williams and Kevin Sandwith were brought in to compliment the retained core of James Coutts, Scott Doe and Stuart "Beaver" Beavon.

We still looked a squad short of goals so it was a relief when contract rebel Michael Malcolm re-signed on the eve of the campaign after a trial with Luton.

Key exits included Nick Crittenden who never impressed me because of his past. Ironic that we may meet him again next season.

The Friendlies

Terras enjoyed their usual 'mixed bag' in the friendlies. In years gone by I remember dreading the season if we had played well in the warm ups. It was usually the sign of a season of toil and struggle.

The highlight was a 3-3 home draw with Championship side Bristol City, Beaver netting twice.

The final match of pre-season saw us lose 1-0 at home to Yeovil. Only a friendly I know, but thoroughly unacceptable form. :0)

The Start

We didn't have the worst start to a season to be honest. An easy win over Grays in the opening day sunshine saw Chris McPhee (a shoe in for player of the season if he had been allowed to stay) open his account and that was built on with a win at Oxford, draw at Stevenage and win over Lewes at the Wessex.

I must admit to having viewed the fixtures and thinking a positive start was essential. As defeat in those tough two away fixtures could have had a bearing on the whole campaign.

The first defeat cam on bank holiday Monday to our perennial bogey side Forest Green. Bah!

The Autumn

Michael Malcolm then hit a rich vein of scoring form including a late equaliser against Cambridge which left their manager spitting feathers in his radio interview. It was very funny.

Less so was the 2-5 home result against play off bound Histon.

Malcolm Curtis showed some pictures of a new stadium proposal for Monmouth Avenue. The rugby club weren't impressed....

We looked destined for mid table as we trundled towards the winter, a late winner by James Coutts at Northwich being the highlight.

It all went wrong as we headed into the winter...

The Winter of Discontent

Obvious caption I know but it seems wholly appropriate. If you weren't at the FA Cup match with Hornchurch I suspect that, like me, it became a "where were you moment". I took a call in the Decathlon megastore in Lakeside, Essex.

My correspondent at the Wessex saying that departures seemed inevitable and those included both Malcolm Curtis and Manager John Hollins.

It was Hollins who departed first. Judged to have been under performing in the role of Manager and not instilling the right level of discipline into his charges. It was a total shocker and set the trend for the rest of the campaign.

Credit to Alan Lewer though. He stepped into the breach and got us to Christmas on 32 points and in 11th place in the league.

The New Year and that match...

January saw some great performances including the completion of the double over Northwich on 24th January. To date our last home win.

But with Malcolm Curtis having withdrawn his interest in the club, no-one had a clue who was running the business side of things and it soon became apparent that instant help was needed to prevent the whole club from unraveling.

A 2-0 away win at Torquay United became the final highlight of the season and before that weekends fixture with Rushden & Diamonds the majority of the first team squad were planning their exit.

Not too much is publicaly know about how the players insurance ran out and the youth team came to play Rushden. Less is know of the irregular betting patterns in the run up to that match. It's possible someone somewhere knew what was happening and became rich.

I sat in Girona airport having been bombarded with calls and text from non-Terras supporting chums with my head in my hands. It felt like the end.

The Run In

There isn't much to say about the run in. Apart from a battling draw with Forest Green on Easter Monday it was defeat after defeat after defeat. With 4 goals to show from our last 16 games. Particular lowlights were the missed Stephen Reed penalty at Lewes and their inevitable second half winning goal.

Off the field, things were showing signs of turning for the better. The previous Board of Directors fell on their swords thanks to being exposed over the folly of the Stephen Beer 'rescue package'. Beer had allegedly seen the Terras plight and taken pity on the club. His gift became a loan and then he had a stroke on the way to a press conference to announce his deal.

Gary Calder looked very stupid for backing Beer over a local consortium and in the end a group headed up by Paul Cocks, Shaun Hennessey, Dave Higson and chaired by Ian Ridley wrestled control of the club back from Calder and .... well I don't think there was anyone else left by that stage.

Their first plan was to get some loan players in and try and keep the club up. The first match being the televised home clash with fellow strugglers Barrow.

It was one of the worst Weymouth performances of all time. The extenuating circumstances by the players not having trained together or barely met each other aside, we were really bad.

And the results didn't improve for Alan Lewer, culmintating in his removal with 5 matches to go. Bobby Gould being his replacement.  At the time a lot of people felt this was a harsh decision. Lewer had stuck by the club though the unpaid period having taken over from Hollins. But the new owners had to try something and even though it didn't work I admire them for trying something different. Having interview Lewer for TerrasBlog I found him to be a nice fella who wanted to do well for the club. I wish him well.

The Final Week

The final week of the season saw Terras in action three times.

First up was away at Histon where a dodgy free kick and resulting early goal left them with a mountain to climb. But they battled on, just failing to get back in the game. With the results having gone against them elsewhere it looked like a miracle was needed to avoid the drop.

The home match with York was the last chance to keep the season alive until the final day and despite going behind Cliff Akurang restored parity on half time. Dominic Marella could have won it for the Terras but a late goalkeeping error let the visitors in and consigned Weymouth to the Blue Square South for next season.

The final day defeat at Wrexham was completely academic.

To conclude...

I would not be over estimating to call this the most harrowing season I have had in over two decades of watching Weymouth FC. The feeling when hearing the final whistle in the York game was horrific and despite keeping into context that it is only a game of football we are talking about, I never want to experience that again.

Over the course of the season we just weren't good enough to stay in the league but you will always wonder what would have happened if Hollins had been allowed to stay and keep his team together until the seasons end. By the same token you can take out the former England man and ask how those same players would have finished under Lewer?

All hypothetical and painful for the brain to process.

Once the players had gone there still looked a decent enough cushion between us and the relegation places, but 1 point after January was never going to keep us up. Despite a healthy position at that time.

The future

Weymouth now face an uphill battle to keep their heads above water in the economic climate and in Blue Square South. With the club trying to work with its £500k debt it will be very interesting to see the calibre of Manager and player that comes in.

The club has been through a harrowing and horrible season and I for one would settle for building a decent side in mid table Conference South for the next few seasons... even if it does mean less to talk about on the blog