THE anguish of York City fans on April 23 when it was confirmed that their beloved team had been relegated from the Football League again after just four years was raw.
Dave Flett, The Press's City reporter, wrote that the club surrendered its league status 'with a whimper' in a 3-0 loss away to Accrington Stanley.
In the event, it would have made no difference had they won, since Newport's 1-1 draw at Luton meant City were doomed anyway. But Jackie McNamara's men didn't know that at the time...
Commenting on The Press website, one fan wrote: "Obviously it wasn't just Accrington who sent us down. We have paid the ultimate price for a season of failure."
It will be a summer of bitterness, then, for City fans - with the only consolation the hope that the Minstermen can rebuild, start afresh, and hopefully claw their way back into the league the way they did so thrillingly under Gary Mills.
Until then, at least there are always some glorious memories to look back on.
Here, in pictures and words, are a few of the best...
The 1955 FA Cup run
February 1955, York City v Spurs: Alf Ramsey rushes across in vain as Billy Fenton swoops to score City's second goal
City made it all the way to the semi-final, beating along the way teams such as Blackpool, Bishop Auckland and - in a sensational fifth round home tie at Bootham Crescent - the mighty Tottenham Hotspur. That game, considered by some one of the finest games ever played at Bootham Crescent and played in front of an all-ticket crowd of 21,000, saw City run out 3-1 victors. The Minstermen actually fell behind in the 11th minute to George Robb's close range goal, before Norman Wilkinson headed the equaliser in the 29th minute and Billy Fenton put York in front soon after.
Wilkinson ensured York's victory with ten minutes to go, after he steered in Fenton's cross. Following the game, Spurs' Danny Blanchflower said: "York's standard of play left us speechless."
The Minstermen then went on to beat Notts County 1-0 away to make the semis. The team drew 1-1 against Newcastle United at Hillsborough, earning a home replay, where they were eventually beaten 2-0. But it was a run that lives in the memory still.
Two seasons in the second tier
York City captain Barry Swallow leads York City on to the Bootham Crescent turf for their first Second Division match in 1974
From 1974-1976, City spent two seasons in the old Second Division - the equivalent of today's Championship. Captain Barry Swallow lead the team out onto the Bootham Crescent turf for their first ever Second Division match, against Aston Villa. The match ended a 1-1 draw, but that season City played and beat teams like Millwall, Hull, Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham (for whom a certain Bobby Moore played), and earned honourable draws against Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday. They finished 15th, with 38 points, earning another year in the second tier. In 1975/76 the team was relegated, and quickly dropped down to the fourth division. But they were great memories...
Breaking the 100 points barrier in 1983/4
York City skipper Roger Jones lifts the 1984 Division Four championship trophy.
York City were the first team in English football league history to reach 100 points in a season, following a change in rules which allowed three points for a win. Towards the end of the season, the Minstermen went on a run of 16 consecutive games without a loss, sealing the Fourth Division championship in style.
Beating Arsenal in the FA Cup, 1985 January 26, 1985
Keith Houchen's penality which gave York City FA cup glory in the fourth round against Arsenal at Bootham Crescent in 1985
A day that will live long in the club's history. The Minstermen beat Arsenal 1-0 in the fourth round of the FA cup, thanks to a Keith Houchen penalty.
Denis Smith's men beat a Gunners side worth £4.5 million, and containing Kenny Samson, David O'Leary and Viv Anderson, thanks to Houchen's spot kick. It came in the last minute as Houchen was felled by Steve Williams. He got up and calmly slotted past John Lukic for a memorable victory that is still talked about more than three decades later.
In the fifth round, City faced Liverpool, earning a 1-1 draw at Bootham Crescent and a replay at Anfield. There, the famous Kop atmosphere clearly got to the team - they were thrashed 7-0. But it couldn't erase the memory of that thrilling win over the Arsenal.
Beating Manchester United at Old Trafford
1995: York City's Paul Barnes takes on Manchester United's Denis Irwin in the first leg at Old Trafford - which ended in a 3-0 win for City
City travelled to Old Trafford in the Coca Cola Cup - where they handed Sir Alex Ferguson's men a 3-0 thumping.
Two weeks later, in the second leg, United returned the compliment, beating City 3-1 at Bootham Crescent. But it was still enough to allow City to go through to the next round 4-3 on aggregate.
They were knocked out by QPR, who beat them 3-1 at Loftus Road. But who remembers that?
The Wembley double of 2012
York City v Newport County wembley FA trophy final 2012..Goalkeeper Michael Ingham leads the after match celebrations with goalscorer Matty Blair
It is almost too painful to remember in the circumstances - but just four years ago there was the euphoria of that extraordinary Wembley double when, in the space of little more than a week, Gary Mills' men lifted the FA Trophy by beating Newport County 2-0 then, just eight days later, returned to Wembley to beat Luton 2-1 in the Conference play-off final and secure a return to the Football League. How long ago it seems...
Happy days, painful memories...May 21, 2012.York City manager Gary Mills holds both Wembley trophies as an open top bus tours the city centre
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