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[GolfRoader]

Looking back at some past seasons we looked to be quite comfortable in the Conference League finishing mid-table most years with the odd push for promotion. (e.g the 1990-91 season)
So for anyone who was around watching Alty in 96-97 what happened for us to suddenly plummet from being a mid-table outfit to a relegated side 9 points off the pace?
Was it finances, the manager or did we just have a terrible year on the pitch?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996%E2%80%9397_Football_Conference

[SW]

For reasons I can't recall we had a three week spell without a fixture in March which seemed to unsettle us, we only picked up one more point after that.

[Derek Stubbs]

I think it was as was said about 1 game in about 6 weeks, then forced to play catch up with about 3 games a week after that.

Most of the postponements were due to other teams being inlvolved in other competions.

[TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe]

Nothing to do with anything such as a fixture backlog, I'm afraid, we simply had some very poor players!

After a 3-1 victory over Bromsgrove Rovers at Moss Lane on Saturday, 28th December 1996, we didn't win another GM Vauxhall Conference fixture until a 4-3 home success against Kettering Town on Saturday, 26th April 1997.

 

[PukkaPieman]

Plus poor management and lots of off-field issues as well.

[Bob]

Horrid, horrid season.  There was a lot of optimism with the ground improvements and we started pretty well.  Crap players, poor form, a manager in decline. I daresay there was a 'it couldn't happen to us' attitude in some quarters too.

[SW]

Culminating in a miserable last day at Rushden when we were already down and Macc winning promotion 10 miles away at Kettering.

[Jezza]

nothing went right for us whilst it seemed everything came off for the opposition....was that the year the hednesford equaliser on 98mns sent us down?....seem to remember a ball that went a yard over the line was ignored by the liner for Stalybridge to run down the slope and score a winner....barry butler being sent off after 5 mins for gravity?...(after jumping he landed on a player) etc etc......

[Hale Alty]

Failure to turn draws into wins, Keith Russell being a shadow of his former self, and Kingstonian's fixture congestion impacting on us are three things I recall. This is assuming i'm remembering the correct relegation.

[Paul Cain's Chip Pan]

Some people are confusing our 96/97 relegation with the one in 99/00. The fixture backlog and Keith Russell season was 1999/2000.

[PukkaPieman]

Horrid, horrid season.  There was a lot of optimism with the ground improvements and we started pretty well.  Crap players, poor form, dreadful disciplinary record (worst ever) a manager in decline who had completely given up. I daresay there was a 'it couldn't happen to us' attitude in some quarters too.

Corrected for you.

[TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe]

nothing went right for us whilst it seemed everything came off for the opposition....was that the year the hednesford equaliser on 98mns sent us down?....seem to remember a ball that went a yard over the line was ignored by the liner for Stalybridge to run down the slope and score a winner....barry butler being sent off after 5 mins for gravity?...(after jumping he landed on a player) etc etc......

Not to mention those extraordinary goals by two Dover players at Moss Lane.

And Danny McGoona missing a sitter from three yards out at Stalybridge.

[Sarf London Alty]

I recall Hednesford equalising in the 96th minute, David Leworthy scoring from about 40 yards against us for Dover, Macc thrashing us 4-0 at Moss Lane. As others have said a poor team who were deservedly relegated but by god everything that could go against did on the run in. The late 90s was a real roller coaster ride for the club.

[TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe]

Macc thrashing us 4-0 at Moss Lane.

That particular debacle took place during the 1995/96 season.

[TheCultOfIanTunnacliffe]

Horrid, horrid season.  There was a lot of optimism with the ground improvements and we started pretty well.  Crap players, poor form, dreadful disciplinary record (worst ever) a manager in decline who had completely given up. I daresay there was a 'it couldn't happen to us' attitude in some quarters too.

Corrected for you.

From memory, didn't we accumulate a total of circa 11 red cards during that wretched season?