Season analysis

DREAMS of ending a difficult and historic season with a fairytale Millennium play-off final at Cardiff were still alive after a 2-0 home win over improving bottom club Carlisle in the Minstermen's first game of 2004.

The victory against the Cumbrians was City's third in four matches with only championship favourites Hull City blemishing that sequence with a Boxing Day victory that saw the Tigers become only the second visiting side to win a League game at Bootham Crescent.

Chris Brass' men were just four points short of a top-six place and only the most miserable of pessimists or an observer with the supposed insight of Nostradamus could have predicted what was to follow.

Five points from a possible 60 not only saw City relegated with two matches left to play, it also broke a club record with the 20 matches failing to bring a League win.

So what went so wrong?

Initially, City's displays, if not the results following the Carlisle victory, were not too discouraging.

A difficult run of games brought defeats against Northampton, Huddersfield, Hull, Mansfield and Lincoln.

All five sides would either end the season in automatic promotion places or play-off positions and only the last match - a woeful 4-1 drubbing against the Imps - suggested anything more than City being outclassed by superior opposition.

A 2-0 defeat at Boston, in which Brass was sent off and incurred a four-match ban, started the alarm bells ringing however.

City had slipped into the bottom half of the table for the first time in the season as late as February 21 but suddenly looked vulnerable and the Lincoln match appeared to set the tone for further terrible home displays during the crucial run-in.

A poor Scunthorpe side left Bootham Crescent with maximum points after scoring from all three of their on-target efforts and relegation rivals Macclesfield beat City 2-0 thanks to goals from old boys Jon Parkin and Graham Potter.

The game threatened to be a massacre at one stage as the visitors cut through a once resilient City defence at will during a disastrous first half.

That defeat dumped City into the relegation zone and was the second in a goal-less three-match run that inflicted irreparable damage on City's survival hopes with City also beaten by fellow relegation rivals Bristol Rovers (0-3) and Cambridge (0-2).

Flickers of hope during the team's 20-match run were provided during hard-earned draws against Oxford, Torquay and Bury but they proved only fleeting moments of optimism as the side plunged towards the Nationwide Conference.

Lee Bullock's departure can be cited as one reason for the slide. The side certainly lacked a link man between midfield and attack when he left for Cardiff even though he was used as a makeshift striker in his final City appearances.

Like Bullock, finances also dictated that on-loan midfielder Justin Walker was packed off.

Bullock was a source of goals from midfield while Walker was a potential creator of chances.

Without either player, a huge chasm developed in City's playing formation.

Dave Merris' loss of form and only sporadic contributions from Darren Edmondson, when fit, also City's supply line from the flanks dry up.

Hopeful, aimless long balls became more commonplace and Lee Nogan, who had proven adept at scoring from the few scraps he was fed either side of Christmas, suddenly became completely starved of opportunities.

The departure of Parkin could also have had an impact with his personality missed as much as his potential attacking threat although he never looked as fit this season as he did on his infamous return to Bootham Crescent.

His transfer also deprived City fans of a genuine crowd-pleaser which Brass could consider during his summer rebuilding programme.

A lack of flair in wide positions, the middle of the park and up front will also be something the City manager will be hoping to address as well as searching for the physical presence that he has outlined will be crucial in the Conference.

City’s manager has had a difficult first season in charge but has a three-year contract in which to turn things around.

Few eyebrows were raised when he put pen to paper on the back of an encouraging first half of the season but, in hindsight after subsequent events, the wisdom of the new board’s decision has been questioned.

But the memorably moving reaction of supporters during the club’s final home game of the season indicates that the majority are still firmly behind Brass.

Articulate, intelligent, passionate and hard-working, Brass boasts many of the ingredients of a successful manager and also commands a respect that belies his 28 years, as well as having a deep understanding of the traumas the club has been through.

He deserves a chance to build his own team this summer over three months rather than three weeks and is ready to live or die by his decisions.

City fans also appreciate that while the end of the club’s 75 years as a Football League outfit was an agonising experience, playing fortunes are much easier to reverse than those that have been resolved off the field.

Saving the club from extinction and securing a long-term future at Bootham Crescent should prove more crucial in York City’s proud history than this season’s relegation.