I just thought, what with the festive season upon us, I'd reflect on the last calendar year.
After the indifferent form that took us into this year it looked like we were set for a decent, top 9 finish to me, and then when January came we exploded. 3 months unbeaten until March, the best strike partnership outside of the Premiership combining and giving us a run we hadn't had for 7 or 8 years, and it was splendid times at the start of 04. In came the crowds, attendances swelled and we had a football team full of youngsters clawing us back towards respectability after seasons of obscurity. Towards the end of this run was a major, major signing in SO'H.
Then it got very tense. The last two months of the season and we were in with a shot of automatic promotion. Then the presuure, and some tough games, knocked us back a bit, a couple of defeats leading us into a massive massive game against City in April, Swindons biggest game since the heady days of Premier League football, and in front of a sell out audience Mr Fallon set SN1 into delirium with that goal.
Splendid away wins, consecutive 3-0's, established are fans as some of the best away fans in the land last season, and we cemented our rightful playoff place after a cracking opening 4 months to 2004. Attendances were well up and so were the lads.
And then the unthinkable nearly happened, we nearly missed out altogether, needing a point in our final league game to get us to the promised land, and in the pouring rain we got it. Ecstasy. Swindon were back in the national spotlight. Brighton. Was this our year?
The first leg, sheer frustration. It seems strange to gloss over those 120 minutes at the Withdean in a couple of lines, we all kknow what it felt like with 119 of them played, and how it all changed. Despite that agony, no one held nothing but glorious optimism for the upcoming season.
To say that the summer soured this is an understatement. The loss of that bald bloke, to a certain team in yellow, despite what we all said and still say, was a real kick in the teeth. Perhaps, the more significant loss was Mark Devlin, to took a richly deserved job at his dream club QPR. The season started badly with 2 consecutive defeats, but that was soon turned around with the win we'd craved for ages, beating the scum at Ashton Gate.
Following this, the next few weeks saw us back and snapping around the top half, as the Henderson show got in full swing. He left and so did the consistency, as we went on collecting win after lose after draw for the next few games. It all seemed to be on the up when Sheff Wed were undone in 12 magical minutes, 3-2. 4 goal drubbings of Hull and those poor Sheffield lads soon followed.
And now its turned sour. Bodies and points dissappeard from the CG. We were in the national spotlight as the start of the 04/05 season's underachievers as half the season has already passed. Crazy how time flies.
Finally, if you're still with me, This has been a mental year, and fuck knows what next year holds, promotion, LDV glory, bankruptcy, who knows? But if it's anything like 2004 it will be one to remember.
Fucking hell, must took you ages to write this. A+