Welcome to Romford

[Johnny Ace]

Glad you're back picking points up in the league after that FA Cup knockout, onwards & upward!

[CFuller]

Glad you're back picking points up in the league after that FA Cup knockout, onwards & upward!

If there's one positive to take from going out of the FA Cup early, it's that we can concentrate on securing our place in the Conference South. Survival is more important at the moment.

[Johnny Ace]

If there's one positive to take from going out of the FA Cup early, it's that we can concentrate on securing our place in the Conference South. Survival is more important at the moment.

That's what every manager says

[Crackers786]

That's what every manager says

That why we are all managers

[CFuller]

We hadn't lost at Ship Lane since the first game of the season, and we were confident of continuing that run against Hampton & Richmond Borough. That said, the 9th-placed Beavers had been impressive away from home thus far, and they were on a seven-match unbeaten streak in all competitions.

Before the game, I made a big call in dropping Graeme Montgomery to the bench - and not because he was tired. The local press had been criticising Monty's inconsistent performances in recent weeks, and I felt that it was time to try some different options on the left wing.

1 November 2017: Romford vs Hampton & Richmond Borough

The opening stages saw some mixed signs for us. Our Irish winger Dean O'Halloran suffered a painful knock in the very first minute after a touchline clash with Hampton & Richmond counterpart Alexander McQueen. Despite that, O'Halloran still felt fit enough to take a free-kick in the 3rd minute after H&R's Myles Hippolyte had been booked for taking down Jordan Peters. Dean played the set-piece deep into the box, where Matt Green had a shot parried away by Rikki Banks. On 15 minutes, Romford defender Connor Dymond was booked after making a risky challenge to stop Sam Gallagher from bursting through on goal. Hampton & Richmond took full advantage from their free-kick, as Joe Anderson hit an unstoppable strike past Roscoe Fryatt to give his team first blood. At that point, I decided I had to do something to turn the tie around. Off came the struggling O'Halloran, and on came Graeme Montgomery. That change seemed to help our attack out a lot, and we won a corner in the 31st minute. Although Monty's corner was headed out of the area by Dermot McVeigh, we quickly earned a free-kick after Green was fouled by Connor Wilkins. Montgomery again took the set piece, and his delivery found - of all people - left-back Jason Collins, who volleyed in an equaliser with his first ever goal! The Beavers were stunned, and even more so in the 41st minute, when we snatched the lead from under their noses! Matt ran onto Jason Harley's long pass and made it 2-1 to the Boro!

Green was buoyed by his first league goal for Romford, and after 54 minutes, he had a second! It was set up by a resurgent Montgomery, who intercepted Luke Jones' dreadful throw-in and threaded the ball for Matt to stroke into the net! At 3-1 up, we could almost taste victory. A minute later, Jordan Peters had a sniff at goal - but his shot clipped the outside of the post. That would almost certainly have wrapped the game up, and in the final half-hour, some of our players started to believe that we had indeed done the job already! One player who looked particularly complacent was Shepherd Murombedzi. In the 64th minute, the midfielder was muscled off the ball by Hampton & Richmond's Eoin Wearen, who then had a shot parried clear by Fryatt. The Beavers' bite seemed to have been blunted when Gallagher came off injured soon after, but in the 69th minute, Murombedzi handed them a pair of false teeth. After the Zimbabwean's wasteful pass was cut out by McQueen, I started fuming on the touchline. McQueen played the ball to Liam Gormley, and he in turn sent it forward to Wearen, who climbed above Kieron Gray to volley the ball home. My anger at Shepherd was so high that I instantly subbed him for his mistake! Nicky Reynolds came on in a bid to rectify the damage done to our two-goal lead, but it was too late. Hampton & Richmond had taken the initiative, and after 82 minutes, they took a point. Wilkins levelled the score with a sweet 25-yarder that flew beyond Roscoe's reach. The game finished 3-3, and our carelessness had cost us two points.

Romford - 3 (Collins 32, Green 41,54)

Hampton & Richmond Borough - 3 (Anderson 15, Wearen 69, Wilkins 82)

Conference South, Attendance 398 - POSITIONS: Hampton & Richmond 8th, Romford 13th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters, Dymond (Rofe), Gray, Collins, Murombedzi (Reynolds), Neville, Harley, McCrae, O'Halloran (Montgomery), Green. BOOKED: Dymond.

That result stretchered our unbeaten home run to seven games, but we had only won TWO of them. If we'd shown a bit more composure and a little less arrogance in any of those five draws, we might have been a bit closer to - or even inside - the play-off places. To me, this was a big source of frustration.

We looked to make amends in our next match, which saw us travel to Romford's Rush Green Stadium to play local rivals Grays Athletic. Following back-to-back promotions, the Blues were playing their first campaign in the Football Conference since they resigned from the Premier division in 2010.

This happened to be my 300th competitive game in charge of Romford, and it also saw another milestone in my coaching career. For the first time, I shook hands with an opposing manager who was YOUNGER than me! That manager was Grays' gifted young coach Michael Wylde, who at just 30 years old had already seen his team win through the play-offs in the Isthmian North and the Isthmian Premier.

4 November 2017: Grays Athletic vs Romford

Matt Green wanted to leave his mark in his final game for Romford, but he missed the target hopelessly in the 4th minute. Matt tried another shot six minutes later, and Grays keeper Peter Parker kept it out with reflexes that Spiderman would be proud of. In the 15th minute, Grays left-back Bradley Barry fell awkwardly after heading away Brian Neville's long ball and twisted his knee. Barry carried on regardless, and we looked to exploit his vulnerability. Four minutes later, Boro winger Dean O'Halloran tried to beat a limping Barry on the touchline, but he lost the ball to Max Noble, who started a counter-attacking move from the Gravelmen. Their quick breakaway left us exposed in the middle of the park. When George Nicholas centred the ball for Simon Johnson to strike home from just inside the penalty box, we went 1-0 down. Grays' slick passing continued to trouble us, and Roscoe Fryatt needed to parry a fierce effort from Nicholas to prevent them from taking a 2-0 lead soon after the restart! Our goalkeeper saved us again in the 34th minute, when he got hold of a dangerous volley struck by Jake Woolley. At the other end, French defender Philippe Chevalier was proving a tough man to beat. In the 38th minute, the ex-Arsenal trainee made a brilliant interception to get Graeme Montgomery's cross away from Simon Rofe, and Simon futily argued for a penalty. Chevalier also made an impact at the other end, as in the dying embers of normal time, he found Johnson with a superb pass to the right. The winger weighted a perfect cross to Welsh teenager Andrew Jenkins, who broke through the defence and made it 2-0 Grays!

The foul count in this local derby went up and up in the second half, as Grays captain Mike Jones and Romford left-back Jason Collins were both booked within five minutes. A lot of our fouls came out of frustration, and that also affected our shooting. In the 52nd minute, the usually deadly Nicky Reynolds hit a shot that was all power and no accuracy. The Boro captain wasted another chance in the 67th minute - about two minutes after Fryatt pulled off a stunning fingertip save to deny Jenkins his second goal. While our shooting threatened to knock the heads off spectators, the Gravelmen were much more clinical. After 72 minutes, they again used their wing wizards to exploit our weaknesses in defence. Noble flicked the ball to Woolley on the edge of the six-yard box, and Woolley's half-volley gave the hosts a third goal! The Gravelmen were making us grovel, but the torture wasn't over yet. With nine minutes left, Grays went 4-0 up as our defence fell apart completely. Jake Reed raced past Kieron Gray and slid Woolley's goalward header past a shellshocked Fryatt! I was in utter disbelief. We had dominated possession (59%), but we'd been absolutely whitewashed by our white-clad hosts. For me, game number 300 had turned into a Greek-style massacre.

Grays Athletic - 4 (Johnson 19, Jenkins 45, Woolley 72, Reed 81)

Romford - 0

Conference South, Attendance 357 - POSITIONS: Grays 14th, Romford 13th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Gray, Rofe (Allen), Collins, McCrae (Murombedzi), Neville, O'Halloran, Reynolds, Montgomery, Green (Morath-Gibbs). BOOKED: Collins, Dunn.

Suffering such humiliation in my hometown against one of our biggest rivals proved too much for me to take. After flying off the handle in the dressing room, I went home immediately without speaking to the reporters. It was the first time in my career that I'd ever refused to take any post-match interviews. Instead, my number 2 Wayne Daniel had to try and explain what the hell happened.

"What the hell happened?" That's the simple question I asked the players when they returned to training on the following Monday. They weren't quite sure why the game had been such a disaster, but we had to sort our problems out once and for all, else the spectre of relegation would start to loom large above us.

This was our first training session without Matt Green, who returned to Welling United after his three-month loan spell. Green had been very disappointing for us, with just three goals to show from his 11 appearances.

Three days on from the Grays chainsaw massacre, we stumbled back into action. Next on the agenda was an Essex Senior Cup Round 3 tie at home to Billericay Town's reserve team.

7 November 2017: Billericay Town Reserves vs Romford

Tactically, I switched back to 4-4-2 for this match, with Kenny Pollard filling Duncan Greenwood's usual target man role. That switch paid off after only eight minutes. Russell Bradley crossed deep into the Billericay box, and Garry Morath-Gibbs ducked to flick the ball onto Kenny, who slipped it over the line! It was a wonderful attacking move, and it gave us the confidence to push on even further. We hassled the Blues every time they got the ball, and that physical approach yielded a shedload of chances for us. Another Bradley cross in the 16th minute caused Billericay some bother, and defender Moussa Diarra had to head it behind to stop Kenny from getting his second goal. The resulting corner helped to create a chance for Shepherd Murombedzi, who blazed it over. Ricay had a good spell before the half-hour, as Ashley Atkinson and Adrian Benson both sent shots just wide of the target. Normal service resumed when Romford winger Tom O'Reilly struck the post with a fierce strike after 34 minutes. Eight minutes later, O'Reilly had his volley from a tight angle parried by Donny Hawkins, but Tom converted the rebound for his maiden senior goal! It put us 2-0 ahead, and we were well on course for the next round.

We took things a bit easier after the break to conserve energy. That inevitably meant fewer scoring chances for us, although our two scorers did come close to getting their second goals just before the hour mark. O'Reilly's long-distance strike in the 57th minute was tipped over the bar by Hawkins, who then watched Pollard narrowly miss from closer range four minutes later. We got another boost after 69 minutes, when Ricay's substitute defender Marcus King was forced off injured, and the hosts had to go a man down! Sometimes, though, ten men can be more difficult to play against than eleven, and that was the case three minutes later. Jake Marsh hit a massive pass into our penalty area, where Cameron Young - another half-time sub - chested the ball and slotted it into the net! What was looking like a straightforward victory was now neither straightforward nor certain to be a victory! But three minutes later, a poorly executed header from Diarra sent the ball forward to Pollard, who opened up the Billericay defence with a through-ball to Graeme Montgomery. Monty took his time while Billericay's keeper rushed out of his six-yard box, and he then blasted the ball past a hapless Hawkins. Graeme's goal sealed a 3-1 win in a match that we completely dominated.

Billericay Town Reserves - 1 (Young 72)

Romford - 3 (Pollard 8, O'Reilly 42, Montgomery 75)

Essex Senior Cup Round 3, Attendance 21

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Barnes, Peters, Dymond, James, Bradley, Harley (Dunn), McCrae (Montgomery), Murombedzi, O'Reilly, Pollard, Morath-Gibbs (Reynolds). BOOKED: McCrae.

The reward we got was a Round 4 meeting at Bowers & Pitsea, who were our Essex Senior Cup nemeses three seasons ago. We had once again been denied a home cup game, and that bad luck continued into the FA Trophy.

[CFuller]

When it comes to the FA Trophy, we've had so much bad luck that I've started believing we are cursed! Excluding replays, we have not had a single home draw since my very first season! For seven rounds in a row from 2012/2013 onwards, we had always been given away ties... and that run stretched to eight when we learned of our first opponents in the 2017/2018 FA Trophy.

On the Sunday afternoon following our 4-0 loss at Grays Athletic, I looked up the FA Trophy Qualifying Round 3 draw on the Football Association website. When I came across the line that read "Farnborough v Romford", I slammed my head on the keyboard. I personally could not have hand-picked a more difficult opponent.

The following weekend, we made the journey to Farnborough in Hampshire, hoping for a miracle against one of the Conference South's best attacking teams. I fielded a defence-minded team to try and nullify the Yellows' goal machine Kaine Sheppard, and perhaps eke out a Ship Lane replay.

11 November 2017: Farnborough vs Romford

Before kick-off, I reassured the players that the pressure would be all on Farnborough, and that helped them to relax in the opening stages. Nicky Reynolds had a shot at goal after just 14 seconds, though it was well blocked by Clark Hainon. Also inside the first minute, Farnborough's dangerman Kaine Sheppard got in trouble with the ref - picking up a yellow card for his trip on Romone McCrae. It took the Yellows a while to get into the game, but after 12 minutes, they took the lead. Shepherd Murombedzi and Kieron Gray both struggled to deal with Farnborough's quick attacking play, and Reece Mitchell sliced open our defence with a killer pass to Sheppard, who got the hosts off the mark. Mitchell himself could've doubled their lead three minutes later, but he was pressurised by Connor Dymond and dragged the ball wide. We continued to soak up the Farnborough pressure, and after Sheppard was caught offside in the 26th minute, we looked to hit back. Within moments of Roscoe Fryatt's goal kick restarting play, Graeme Montgomery searched out Kenny Pollard with a pass to his head. Kenny flicked it into the Yellows' area, where Nicky Reynolds half-volleyed beyond the keeper's reach! That gave a huge fillip to our confidence, but Ben Killip denied us a quickfire second goal two minutes later, when the home goalie beat away an effort from McCrae. Farnborough soon went back on the attack before retaking the lead with another through-ball. After being helped by Mitchell earlier on, Sheppard returned the favour in the 36th minute. Mitchell broke through our backline, sidestepped Fryatt, and applied the finish. That meant we trailed 2-1 going into the second half. Was our FA Trophy campaign about to come to a valiant but early end?

While we tried to increase the tempo in the second half, Farnborough did the opposite, and that made for a cagey first quarter-hour with no chances at either end. Then, in the 61st minute, Farnborough midfielder Austin Maguire found his team-mate Gareth Benham with a cross to the far post. Benham's header was spilled by Fryatt, and Kieron had to boot the loose ball behind to prevent Sheppard from gobbling up the rebound. We'd come within inches of going two goals behind, but seven minutes later, we turned the game on its head! Monty lofted a 50-yard free-kick into the Yellows' box, where substitute midfielder Brian Neville - who replaced the disappointing Murombedzi - rose highest to head it home! Brian had made it 2-2, and he taunted the home fans by putting his hands to his ears! Boos rang around the Rushmoor Stadium, but Brian's celebration fired up the Farnborough players as well as their fans! On 70 minutes, Mitchell dove to reach Jake Gallagher's cross, and his header deflected off Romford defender Simon Rofe before falling to... Kaine Sheppard. Sheppard tucked it away (quelle surprise), and we were one goal down for the third time in this match. Would it be a case of third time's the charm for Farnborough?

With a quarter of an hour to go, I made one last throw of the dice. Peters was off, and Trevor Dunn replaced him at right-back. In the 79th minute, Trevor exchanged passes with Kenny before whipping a cross into the six-yard box. Nicky got through a crowd of Farnborough defenders, and just about turned Dunn's cross across the line! It was 2-2 between Sheppard and Reynolds, and 3-3 between Farnborough and Romford! A replay would now be on the cards unless either team scored in the last 10 minutes. As it turned out, each side would have one last chance to clinch victory. Farnborough showed their hand first, in the 83rd minute. Killip sent a ridiculously long goal kick up to his former Chelsea youth colleague Mitchell, who let the ball drop and volleyed it... straight into the crowd. Six minutes later, Roscoe took a goal kick of his own, and our final attack got underway. After working the ball through the midfield, Monty picked out Pollard inside the 'D'. Matt Bevans pushed up to meet Kenny, but that opened up a gap in the Farnborough defence. KP passed through that gap and found Nicky, who tapped the ball serenely into the corner! There was pandemonium in the Romford dugout, and also in the away end, where our loyal fans chanted praise for our hat-trick hero! Nicky Reynolds had yet again risen to the big occasion, and for the first time since 2001, Romford FC were in Round 1 of the FA Trophy!

Farnborough - 3 (Sheppard 12,70, Mitchell 36)

Romford - 4 (Reynolds 26,79,89, Neville 68)

FA Trophy Qualifying Round 3, Attendance 302

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters (Dunn), Dymond (Rofe), Gray, Collins, O'Halloran, Murombedzi (Neville), McCrae, Montgomery, Pollard, Reynolds.

That win was a landmark moment in our recent history, and it also gave our finances a much-needed boost. We got over £4,000 as a reward for getting through the qualifying stages and into the last 64. Would the drawmakers at the FA kindly help us out even more, and give us a lucrative home draw for Round 1?

Erm... nooooo. Instead, a fortnight on from our win in Hampshire, we would be facing a trip to Sussex - to play either Burgess Hill Town (bottom of the Isthmian Premier) or Eastbourne Borough (bottom of the Conference South). They drew their initial meeting 0-0, so we wouldn't discover which of them we would play until after our next league match.

On the eve of Ebbsfleet United's visit to Ship Lane, we said an emotional farewell to one of our longest-serving players. George Allen reluctantly accepted that he was not up to Conference South standard, and after four years at Romford, the defender dropped down a level to sign for Isthmian Premier leaders Tonbridge Angels. That move saw George reunited with two of his fellow Boro old boys - Daniel Akindayini and Kamal Guthmy.

Thanks to our stunning result a week earlier, we went into the Ebbsfleet game with renewed confidence. Ebbsfleet, though, were flying high in 2nd place, and they had a mightily impressive record away from home.

18 November 2017: Romford vs Ebbsfleet United

Ebbsfleet were enjoying a renaissance under their rookie manager Aaron McLean, and they made the much more positive start here. After just four minutes, Mauro Vilhete hit a vicious volley that Roscoe Fryatt did brilliantly to tip aside. Five minutes later, a calamitous display of defending almost cost us dear. Ebbsfleet striker Adam Cunnington found himself up against three Romford defenders as he rushed through on goal, but he shook off Kieron Gray before losing control of the ball. Full-back Russell Bradley came forward to try and back-pass it to Roscoe, but Russ underhit the pass, allowing Cunnington to go one-on-one! Had Fryatt not stood his ground and blocked Cunnington's shot, we would've been 1-0 down for sure. Despite those two early scares, we were generally playing quite well. We kept and passed the ball well, but when it came to setting up chances, we often gave it away at a critical moment and allowed the Fleet to counter. We didn't register a shot at goal until the 26th minute, when Graeme Montgomery narrowly missed the net. We tried to snuff out another Ebbsfleet attack eight minutes later, but when Cunnington cut the ball back to Vilhete, the winger curled it past Fryatt. Ebbsfleet had finally opened the scoring, and they could easily have had at least one more goal before half-time. Fortunately, we didn't cave in, and we were relieved to only be 1-0 behind at the break.

In contrast to the first half, our second-half resistance lasted just eight minutes. Joe Healy cut out a Jordan Peters throw-in and played it forward to Tyrell Miller-Rodney, who hit a great pass to Vilhete. The Portuguese had so much space that he wasn't even in the same postcode as his supposed marker Bradley, and he put Ebbsfleet 2-0 ahead with a 25-yard stunner. Now we quite simply had to go on the offensive. Nicky Reynolds thundered a drive over in the 57th minute, and Peters missed by a long distance in the 63rd. Three minutes later, winger Dean O'Halloran had a rare opportunity from the middle of the park, and he struck the post. Peters lobbed the ball back into the Ebbsfleet area, and after Fleet defender Nick Wood mistimed his jump, Reynolds nodded the ball home to give us renewed hope. Whether we could pull the game back to 2-2 largely depended on if we could quickly get another goal. In the 72nd minute, Reynolds had a chance to follow-up his Farnborough hat-trick with a double against Ebbsfleet, but his effort was too tame to seriously worry goalkeeper Preston Edwards. Two minutes later, Vilhete's free-kick for the Fleet prompted plenty of frantic activity in our area. Cunnington eventually got to the ball and hit it against the post before beating both Gray and Connor Dymond to the rebound. We couldn't seriously fight back from 3-1 down, and after Graeme Montgomery headed another excellent Peters cross over the bar in the final minute, the whistle blew on our second straight league defeat.

Romford - 1 (Reynolds 66)

Ebbsfleet United - 3 (Vilhete 34,53, Cunnington 75)

Conference South, Attendance 446 - POSITIONS: Romford 15th, Ebbsfleet 2nd

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters, Dymond (Rofe), Gray, Bradley (Collins), Neville, McCrae, Murombedzi, Harley (O'Halloran), Montgomery, Reynolds. BOOKED: Dymond, Peters.

Although we were very disappointed to see our poor league form continue, we at least had an FA Trophy Round 1 match to look forward to. That would be against Eastbourne Borough, who got past Burgess Hill Town courtesy of an 89th-minute penalty in their replay at Priory Lane.

We ourselves were at Priory Lane the following Saturday as we looked to continue our cup progress. My previous form against Tommy Widdrington's Sports gave us reason for encouragement - we'd won two of our previous five meetings with Eastbourne, and the other three all ended in 0-0 draws.

[CFuller]

There was a late change to the team ahead of our FA Trophy match at Eastbourne Borough. Right-back Jordan Peters bruised his head during a training session, so Trevor Dunn had to deputise.

25 November 2017: Eastbourne Borough vs Romford

We suffered a bout of early-game nerves and conceded many fouls in the opening quarter-hour. That inevitably led to a few scoring chances for Eastbourne. In the sixth minute, midfielder Ben Adelsbury blasted his free-kick against the Romford wall. Nine minutes later, Adelsbury fired another free-kick over the wall, and struck the crossbar! Roscoe Fryatt stretched in vain as he tried to reach the ball, and he was left flailing on the floor as the rebound came to Jason Corbett, who buried it into the net! Much to our relief, though, Corbett had jumped the gun, and his goal was ruled out for offside. The Sports striker later missed two more chances in the 23rd and 39th minutes. The latter of those opportunities came moments after Nicky Reynolds had blazed over what would be our only meaningful effort on goal in the first half. It went without saying that we needed to do better in the second half.

My plan to exploit the flanks, where Eastbourne had just two wide players, was not going to plan. After an hour, one of our wingers - Jason Harley - came off with a knock, and his replacement Dean O'Halloran barely made an impact. Our struggles in front of goal continued in the 63rd minute. Kieron Gray headed Graeme Montgomery's corner so far off target that it went out of play at the opposite touchline! Replacing Reynolds with young Garry Morath-Gibbs also did little to help our endeavours, and it looked more likely that Eastbourne would get the opening goal, if indeed there was to be one. Josh Ruffels came particularly close just after 70 minutes, when he hit the bar with another dangerous Sports free-kick. Barely a minute later, Brian Neville had to head Jason Brewer's cross off our goal line. Then, seven minutes from the end, a rare Romford attack led to a critical moment, as Jason Collins was brought down just inside the area by Eastbourne defender George Pilbeam. Reynolds was no longer available, so Montgomery took the penalty instead... but his chance to be a hero was snatched away when Daniel East made a brilliant save to his right! After that, Fryatt made three late saves at the other end to secure a replay that, had Graeme shown a bit more cutting edge from 12 yards, might not have been required.

Eastbourne Borough - 0

Romford - 0

FA Trophy Round 1, Attendance 417

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Rofe, Gray, Collins, Neville, McCrae, Murombedzi, Harley (O'Halloran), Montgomery, Reynolds (Morath-Gibbs).

It was always likely to end goalless, wasn't it?

That 0-0 draw of course meant that we would have to face Eastbourne again on Wednesday night at Ship Lane. By then, the draw for Round 2 had already been made, and we knew that a home tie against Salisbury City - the Conference Premier's bottom club - would be our reward if we got through.

I stuck with exactly the same squad from the first game - the starting line-up was unchanged, as was my list of substitutes.

29 November 2017: Romford vs Eastbourne Borough

One of Eastbourne's key players - captain Chris Shephard - picked up a knock in the 8th minute after trying to take the ball off Shepherd Murombedzi. Despite that, the Sports registered the first shot at goal three minutes later, when Ben Adelsbury curled a free-kick over the crossbar. Our first chance came three more minutes later. Romford left-back Jason Collins was tackled by Tony Greaney, but he quickly got the ball back and drilled a low cross into the penalty area. Jason's cross picked out Romone McCrae, who fired an unstoppable bullet past Eastbourne keeper Daniel East! Our decision to attack right from the start had paid off. We led 1-0, and a good opportunity to further strengthen our position came in the 18th minute. Jason Harley cut inside after receiving a headed pass from Nicky Reynolds, and his shot was parried by East. Things were going along nicely, but in the 26th minute, defensive midfielder Brian Neville picked up a minor injury that left me feeling a bit concerned. To be on the safe side, I replaced Brian with Kenny Pollard, who moved into an attacking midfield spot behind Nicky. That switch left us a bit more vulnerable at the back, and Eastbourne looked to take advantage. They tested Roscoe Fryatt for the first time after 30 minutes, when Shephard's long-distance effort was caught by the goalkeeper. Roscoe's counterpart East was also in good form. He got the tips of his fingers to a Jason Collins cross in the 34th minute, and he made a similar save to keep out Kieron Gray's header just moments later! Although we still retained a single-goal lead at half-time, our place in the next round was far from secure...

...and it was even less secure after the first minute of the second half! Trevor Dunn was penalised for barging Shephard in the back, and Shephard hoisted the free-kick into the box. Eastbourne defender Harry Hooman got ahead of Pollard to reach the delivery and calmly pass it over the goal line. With the game level, we had to be more sensible. At the same time, though, we needed to give more service to captain Reynolds, who just like in the original tie was struggling as our lone frontman. In the 57th minute, Murombedzi provided a great pass for Nicky, whose 30-yard strike was brilliantly kept out by the agile East. Seven minutes later, Reynolds received a cutting ball from Harley, but he failed to make it count and drilled it past the post. Eastbourne also struggled in attack, as their single striker Louis Dennis blazed over his only shot after 71 minutes. Two minutes later, Murombedzi went for a glorious banana shot, and East caught it with some comfort. That was the last save either goalkeeper had to make in the second half, which after a few more missed chances for either side finished with the scores level at 1-1. Extra-time was needed.

The first 12 minutes of extra-time went by without incident. In the 13th, Montgomery lost the ball to Eastbourne full-back Jack Evans as he tried hopelessly to knock it past him. Evans' clearance was passed back by Dennis to midfielder Josh Ruffels, and the former Coventry City man knocked it long to George Pilbeam. The substitute raced into the penalty area, where he only had to beat Fryatt. Pilbeam did precisely that... but he also missed the target. We were fortunate not to be behind after the first half of extra-time, and we were thanking our lucky stars again with eight minutes left to play in the second. Jason Brewer got a fantastic header to Ruffels' corner, and Fryatt had to tip it towards Collins, who volleyed it clear to keep us in contention! By then, Eastbourne were really feeling the effects of playing three high-pressure FA Trophy matches in the space of eight days. Sensing that our opponents were tiring quickly, we tried to go gung-ho for one last spell. But like the other Boro, we were out on our feet, and neither team could muster enough energy to grab another goal before full-time. After two hours of play, it was Romford 1 Eastbourne Borough 1. That meant only one thing.

Trying to draw up an order for our penalty takers proved to be a tough task, as only three players - Nicky, Kenny and Graeme - said they were willing to take one for the team. The others were much more reluctant, and before we could decide who would take any additional spot-kicks, the shootout got underway. Ruffels opened the scoring in emphatic fashion for Eastbourne, and Reynolds responded in kind. Freddie Warren was next up for the Sports... and his penalty was brilliantly turned away by Ros! That meant Pollard could send us 2-1 ahead with his kick, which he duly thrashed into the net. It was advantage Romford, and even more so when Brewer powered Eastbourne's third penalty straight at Fryatt! Lining up for the next Romford penalty was Montgomery. If he had beaten East from 12 yards four days earlier, we wouldn't in all likelihood have needed this game. Could Monty keep his composure on this occasion?

Of course he could! With all the confidence in the world, Graeme fired his penalty into East's top-right corner! We led 3-1 and were on the brink of the next round! Pilbeam scored Eastbourne's next spot-kick to pull the deficit back to 3-2, so we required at least one more penalty. Defender Simon Rofe stepped up to take it. After placing the ball on the spot and pulling his socks up, Simon stepped back, recomposed himself, and started his run-up. He put his penalty low to the keeper's right, but East stayed firmly still! As soon as the ball rustled into the net, the celebrations began, and the rest of the players rushed over to embrace our new hero! Simon Rofe had put us in to the last 32 stage of the FA Trophy for the first time in 43 years!

Romford - 1 (McCrae 14)

Eastbourne Borough - 1 (Hooman 46)

[Romford win 4-2 on penalties]

FA Trophy Round 1 Replay, Attendance 270

PENALTY SHOOT-OUT: (Romford players listed in blue) Ruffels 0-1, Reynolds 1-1, Warren saved, Pollard 2-1, Brewer saved, Montgomery 3-1, Pilbeam 3-2, Rofe 4-2.

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Rofe, Gray (Dymond), Collins, Neville (Pollard), McCrae, Murombedzi, Harley (O'Halloran), Montgomery, Reynolds.

The celebrations among the Romford fans after the shootout were absolutely wild, and with very good reason! Not since the old Romford FC made it all the way to Round 3 in 1975 had we ever gone as far as the last 32 of this competition!

If we want to emulate the class of 1975 and get to the last 16, we need to beat Salisbury City at Ship Lane in mid-December. With the Whites enduring a terrible season in the Conference Premier, this is a great opportunity to create some more Romford history.

Before then, though, we have to get our Conference South campaign back on track.

[CFuller]

                                   [b]P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
1.          Canvey Island          17    12    3     2     32    12    +20   39
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2.          Ebbsfleet              18    11    3     4     31    19    +12   36
3.          Dorchester             18    9     4     5     23    12    +11   31
4.          Havant                 18    9     4     5     21    15    +6    31
5.          Chelmsford             17    8     6     3     25    16    +9    30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.          Farnborough            16    9     1     6     27    25    +2    28
7.          Oxford City            17    8     3     6     31    24    +7    27
8.          Worcester              17    7     6     4     20    22    -2    27
9.          Bromley                18    6     6     6     29    28    +1    24
10.         Bath                   17    7     3     7     26    26    0     24
11.         Woking                 18    5     8     5     26    24    +2    23
12.         Hampton & Richmond     16    4     9     3     20    19    +1    21
13.         Brackley               18    6     3     9     19    26    -7    21
14.         Braintree              18    5     5     8     25    39    -14   20
15.         Welling                18    5     4     9     24    31    -7    19
[color="#0000FF"]16.         Romford                17    4     7     6     22    31    -9    19[/color]
17.         Weston-super-Mare      19    4     6     9     25    27    -2    18
18.         Staines                18    2     12    4     22    26    -4    18
19.         Grays                  18    4     5     9     23    30    -7    17
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20.         Hayes & Yeading        18    3     6     9     18    23    -5    15
21.         Basingstoke            18    3     6     9     18    27    -9    15
22.         Eastbourne Boro        15    2     8     5     10    15    -5    14

[CFuller]

November had been a brilliant month for us financially. Our FA Trophy victory against Eastbourne Borough earned us £5,300, which along with the £4,000 we got for beating Farnborough in the previous round enabled us to make a monthly profit of over £10,500!

On the pitch, however, we had greater concerns. Our titanic battles with Eastbourne had taken their toll. A lot of the players were feeling cream crackered, and some were as exhausted as Mo Farah was after he completed the Olympic marathon in Rio de Janeiro last year (a decision that has really ruined Mo's career since)!

Three days after our cup epic, a number of our regular starters - like Graeme Montgomery and Romone McCrae - were still too tired to take part in our home league game against Bromley. We therefore had to bring in several youth players for what was likely to be a tough clash with the 9th-placed Lilywhites.

This was our first game in a hectic December period, with no fewer than nine games scheduled to be played before the New Year!

2 December 2017: Romford vs Bromley

We looked far from assured in the opening stages. Our FA Trophy hero Simon Rofe became a villain after 12 minutes, when he conceded a free-kick for barging into the visitors' debutant winger Brian Wright. That free-kick came in a great shooting position for Brazilian full-back Gílson. He struck a wonderful set piece that his idol Roberto Carlos would've been proud of, and we were a goal down! Bromley's advantage didn't last, because we restored the equilibrium just two minutes later. Left midfielder Russell Bradley hit an excellent cross to Greek youngster Vasilis Koutinis, who beat goalkeeper Elliot Kuhn from a tight angle! A dramatic start then became even more dramatic. Just seconds after the restart, Romford keeper Steven Barnes came well off his line to reach Wright's long ball... and then dropped it!! Barnes was in despair as Nathaniel Pinney looked set to fire into an unguarded net - but he hit the side of it! That didn't help Steven's confidence at all in his first league start of the season. We were thankful that his mistake hadn't cost us dear, and Pinney's miss could well have been the big turning point. Kenny Pollard came close to putting us ahead on 24 minutes with a fantastic long header to Garry Morath-Gibbs in the six-yard box. Alas, Kuhn turned it over the crossbar before GMG could make a connection. Boro captain Brian Neville was forced to come off four minutes later, after hurting himself in a challenge on Bromley counterpart Jimmy Wharton. We didn't have a natural central midfielder on our bench, so defender Liam Georgiou came on in Brian's place, and Keston James was pushed up to midfield. Although Keston settled well into his new role, Bromley put him and the other Boro boys under severe pressure late in the half. Wright - the Lilywhites' loanee from Nottingham Forest - put a powerful shot just wide in the 41st minute. About a minute later, our new captain Jason Harley hit a wasteful pass that was intercepted by Wharton. Bromley countered quickly, and Les Warner scored the goal that put them 2-1 ahead at half-time.

Bromley started the second half just as they finished the first, with positive, attacking football. The half-time introduction of Johnny Cosgrove for Warner made them even more dangerous going forward, as Barnes had to stop a couple of the Ulsterman's volleys within the first five minutes. We continued attacking whenever we could, and in the 55th minute, Kenny Pollard hit a Gílson-esque free-kick that hit the crossbar and deflected back into play. Two minutes later, some terrible Bromley defending got us back level! Kieren Dean made a woeful interception from Rofe's throw-in, and Bradley turned it back towards goal. On the other end of Russell's pass was substitute Nicky Reynolds, who walked the ball over the line after Kuhl's feeble attempts to turn it away backfired! That was Nicky's 10th goal of the season - but six minutes later, Bromley went ahead once again after Cosgrove's 10th of this term! James showed great composure in heading Pinney's dangerous cross out of harm's way, only for Harley to nod it back to Cosgrove in the six-yard box! It was one of the worst gaffes I'd seen in a long time, and horrendous Harley was hauled off. But such was our recent luck that his replacement Tom O'Reilly only lasted eight minutes before Bromley's Wesley Bunce took him out of the game! We were a goal down and a man down, and that was pretty much game over.

Romford - 2 (Koutinis 14, Reynolds 57)

Bromley - 3 (Gílson 12, Warner 42, Cosgrove 63)

Conference South, Attendance 389 - POSITIONS: Romford 17th, Bromley 8th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Barnes, Dymond, James, Gray, Rofe, Harley (O'Reilly), Neville (Georgiou), Pollard, Bradley, Koutinis, Morath-Gibbs (Reynolds).

Another day, another defeat, and the feelgood factor at Ship Lane was gone. We had lost three consecutive league games and failed to win any of our last five. Our goal difference was down to a miserable -10, and only Braintree Town had a more leaky defence than us.

We were still four points above the relegation zone, but our next match - away to second-from-bottom Basingstoke Town - was absolutely crucial. Another defeat would leave us in real danger of slipping into the drop zone.

6 December 2017: Basingstoke Town vs Romford

We hoped to create a chance when Graeme Montgomery won a free-kick after just four minutes. Monty's delivery was cleared away, though, and Basingstoke tried to hit us on the break. That didn't amount to much, as Paul McBride drilled a long-distance shot low, hard and wide. In the 15th minute, Shepherd Murombedzi found a way through the Dragons' defence and laid the ball to Nicky Reynolds. Nicky went for a powerful strike, which hit the bar before being cleared by Tom Sharpe. Murombedzi was hurt in a challenge from Miles John seven minutes later, and the Zimbabwean was replaced by Daniel Morrison, who made his return from a shoulder injury. Despite losing Shep, we still did a good job of restricting Basingstoke to long-range shots. Creating opportunities of our own proved to be a problem until the 36th minute, when Monty's cross found Reynolds in the area. Nicky shook off the presence of Basingstoke defender Curtis Watkins, and fired home a goal that sent us into the break 1-0 up.

Montgomery went close to doubling our lead with a 47th-minute free-kick. Six minutes later, another Monty free-kick found the head of Garry Morath-Gibbs, who flicked it just beyond the post. There was a fairly quiet period after that, but in the 71st minute, our defence suffered a significant blow. Simon Rofe was taken off with a fractured arm after making a last-ditch challenge on Abdul Said, and that injury would rule him out for the next four weeks. More immediately, full-back Jordan Peters had to move into the centre, and he made a crucial clearance from Said's goalbound header three minutes later. Moments after that, the Dragons almost levelled in spectacular style! Jack Middleton's long-distance goal kick was flicked on by Jonson Clarke-Harris to substitute Will Morford, whose stunning volley went straight into the gloves of Roscoe Fryatt. It was the only save Ros needed to make in the whole game, and it was a crucial one. When the final whistle blew, we could toast our first league win in six attempts.

Basingstoke Town - 0

Romford - 1 (Reynolds 36)

Conference South, Attendance 255 - POSITIONS: Basingstoke 21st, Romford 15th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters, Dymond (James), Rofe, Collins, O'Halloran, Murombedzi (Morrison), McCrae, Montgomery, Reynolds, Morath-Gibbs. BOOKED: Dymond.

We had increased our lead on the bottom three to seven points - but our next match was away to one of our bogey teams. Wes Brown's Chelmsford City were 3rd in the table after winning their last four league matches.

9 December 2017: Chelmsford City vs Romford

Chelmsford's first shot of the match came through the unlikely source of their veteran defender Nicky Hunt! After seven minutes, the former Bolton Wanderers full-back intercepted Brian Neville's clearance and went for a low shot down the middle, which Roscoe Fryatt managed to push aside. In the 15th minute, Neville won a corner off City defender Michael Hassini, and Graeme Montgomery swung it to Kieron Gray, who headed past the City goal. After that, we struggled to keep up with Chelmsford's attacks - and specifically, we couldn't keep up with the Smiths. On 29 minutes, Steven Smith's deep cross was met by a mighty header from Colchester United loanee Colin Smith at the far post, and Fryatt could only help it into the net. Chelmsford had a 1-0 lead that they would hold onto for the rest of the half. Things could've been different after 40 minutes, when Romford winger Dean O'Halloran made a mazy dribble towards goal before capping it off with a wayward shot.

We really needed a great start to the second half, but seven minutes after the restart, we were 2-0 in arrears. The evergreen David Rainford curled a lovely pass to Aaron Scott in the 'D', and Scott laid it off for Colin Smith to smack past Fryatt. Some of our players, in particular Jason Collins, raised suspicions that the Wales Under-19s striker was offside, but the goal stood. We were left with a mountain to climb if we were to turn the game around. Against Wes Brown's Chelmsford, that was like being asked to climb Everest without oxygen. Teen striker Garry Morath-Gibbs came on for us towards the end, and he thrice went close to getting us a consolation goal during the final ten minutes. The best of those efforts was right on the 89th minute, when he agonisingly struck the post. Chelmsford finished with ten men after midfielder Sam Cox was sent off for receiving a second yellow card in injury time - a repeat of something that happened in a previous meeting with us last year! By then, City had already wrapped up their fifth straight win, which took them up to 2nd spot.

Chelmsford City - 2 (C Smith 29,52)

Romford - 0

Conference South, Attendance 647 - POSITIONS: Chelmsford 2nd, Romford 16th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters (Dunn), Dymond (James), Gray, Collins, O'Halloran, Neville, Murombedzi, Koutinis, Pollard, Reynolds (Morath-Gibbs). BOOKED: James.

With 20 games gone, we were most definitely in a relegation dogfight. The gap between us and the play-off places had grown into a chasm of 15 points, and the rest of the top half was pulling away from us as well. Instead of trying to consolidate our place in the Conference South, we were battling to save it!

[tenthreeleader]

a monthly profit of over £10,500!

In one of my saves, that figure might pay the manager's bar tab

In seriousness, well done. Now get some wins. Following closely, great work!

[CFuller]

In one of my saves, that figure might pay the manager's bar tab

In seriousness, well done. Now get some wins. Following closely, great work!

£10,000 is a lot of money in non-league football. My manager's bar tab isn't anywhere near that - in fact, it's pretty much non-existent!

[CFuller]

During the middle of December, the cup competitions gave us some temporary respite from our league struggles. For Round 4 of the Essex Senior Cup, we went to the strangely familiar surroundings of the Len Salmon Stadium, where we entertained Bowers & Pitsea for the third time in five seasons.

We knocked Bowers out of the Essex Senior Cup in 2013, and they got their revenge a year later, so what would happen this time? Would the Essex Senior League lightweights defy the odds again, or would we reach the Quarter Finals for only the second time since I took over?

13 December 2017: Bowers & Pitsea vs Romford

We looked to dominate Bowers from the first whistle - but the match was a surprisingly even battle to begin with! Alan Appleby scooped a shot just over our bar in the second minute. Five minutes later, his team-mate Ged Forster had an effort saved by Boro goalie Steven Barnes. Those two Bowers chances sandwiched a couple of missed opportunities from Romford duo Kenny Pollard and Graeme Montgomery. Our shooting didn't get much better, and when we registered our fourth shot off target, I realised that we were playing at too high a tempo. Only after we slowed the pace down a bit did results improve. We broke the hosts' resolve after 25 minutes, when Garry Morath-Gibbs fired a low strike into the near corner. We then started to move the ball forward with much more fluidity, and the opportunities came by more regularly. Monty forced a difficult save from Bowers goalkeeper Carl Owens in the 31st minute before our next few shots missed the target. On 42 minutes, a scramble in the Bowers penalty box ended with Morath-Gibbs blasting in his second goal. That sent us into the break leading fairly comfortably at 2-0.

Some worrying signs of a potential home fightback started to show in the second half. But when a Bowers attack broke down in the 50th minute, we got our chance to press ahead and hammer home our advantage. With all the youthful energy I wish I had when I was 16, Garry dribbled from the centre circle to the opposing penalty area, where he slotted in his third goal! Then, little over a minute after celebrating his hat-trick, Garry got his FOURTH goal of the evening! After hitting the post from the edge of the 'D', Morath-Gibbs raced over to finish the rebound! 4-0 to Romford! Bowers & Pitsea were all at sea, but they bravely battled on, trying to get at least one goal back. The closest they came was on 61 minutes, when Barnes punched Kenny Lee's corner out of the penalty area. Substitute Harvey Lunan then popped a shot narrowly wide with six minutes remaining. We did keep a clean sheet in the end, and our 4-0 win assured us of a Quarter Final at Saffron Walden Town in the New Year.

Bowers & Pitsea - 0

Romford - 4 (Morath-Gibbs 25,42,51,52)

Essex Senior Cup Round 4, Attendance 46

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Barnes, Dunn, Georgiou, James, Bradley, Harley (O'Halloran), Morrison, McCrae (Murombedzi), Montgomery, Pollard (O'Reilly), Morath-Gibbs.

Garry Morath-Gibbs' incredible quadruple marked the first time that a Romford player had scored four goals in a single match since a certain Nicky Reynolds did it against Leatherhead way back in 2012. It also doubled Garry's tally of senior goals to eight - not bad for a rookie striker just shy of his 17th birthday!

The Bowers & Pitsea match was a tasty appetiser for our main course, which came three days later on what actually was Garry's 17th birthday. Ship Lane was buzzing ahead of our FA Trophy Round 2 clash against Salisbury City, and although the odds were against us, we were feeling optimistic.

Salisbury were bottom of the Conference Premier with just three league wins to their name all season. The appointment of former Aston Villa and Birmingham City defender Curtis Davies as manager in October had not done much to bring about a change in fortunes.

16 December 2017: Romford vs Salisbury City

Using the same possession-based strategy that saw off Bowers so comprehensively, we put Salisbury on the back foot almost immediately. That could've gone awry in the 4th minute, when Dean O'Halloran lost the ball to Whites defender Mark Hewitt, who back-passed to his captain Neal Trotman. Nicky Reynolds cunningly nicked the ball off Trotman, and then hit a shot that Simon Arthur could only parry away. Nicky centred the loose ball to O'Halloran, who pulled it back for Romone McCrae to smash it into the corner of Arthur's goal! We couldn't have got off to a better start! Within moments of the restart, Salisbury tried to get back level through Alex Amadi, but the Nigerian teenager's 30-yard shot went just over the bar. After a temporary lull in play, we attacked the Whites again in the 22nd minute. Brian Neville nodded a Jason Harley cross into the box and aimed his header for Kenny Pollard, who went down over the feet of visiting centre-back Shane Wallace! Kenny had just been booked for diving three minutes earlier, so he was taking a huge gamble in going down. This time, the referee judged that he'd genuinely been fouled - and he pointed to the spot! Reynolds stepped up for the penalty, and powered it into the net! We took a two-goal lead... and that could've become even bigger five minutes later! Nicky easily got past Jeremy Cox's sliding challenge and looked on course to bag his second goal until Arthur charged off his line to block the shot. The first half ended with little further action, so we remained 2-0 up heading into the second period.

I told the players during the break that, although they were playing very well, they couldn't afford to let their performance levels drop against a team of Salisbury's calibre. The lads heeded my words, and just over a minute after play resumed, they made it 3-0! Trotman took the ball off Boro substitute Garry Morath-Gibbs on the edge of his penalty area, but the Salisbury skipper immediately lost it to Reynolds, who cut inside and found the target! The match was firmly in our grasp, and with every passing minute, I grew more confident that we would get through without any dramas. Instead of conserving our lead, though, we set about getting more goals against an increasingly dishevelled City team! Brian Neville went close with a cheeky lob that hit the crossbar in the 66th minute. Two minutes later, we did get goal number 4, as Garry made it a birthday to remember with a fierce, low shot from the 'D'. In the minutes that followed, Amadi hit two ambitious volleys at goal for Salisbury - Roscoe Fryatt saved one with ease, and the other missed his goal completely. Then, just when Curtis Davies thought his day couldn't get any worse, his team conceded a fifth goal in the 72nd minute! Salisbury were once again carved open by some excellent passing, and Nicky finished the move off with an emphatic volley! That goal sealed his hat-trick, and it also took his season tally up to 14 - matching his total from the whole of last term! At 5-0 up, I was totally speechless... and there are no words in existence that would describe my feeling when we applied the coup de grace after 83 minutes. The final blow was dealt by the excellent Neville, whose shot was deflected past a hapless Arthur! SIX-NIL! Unbelievable!

At the final whistle, I shook the hand of a shellshocked Davies, showing little emotion as I commiserated my vanquished opposite number. As soon as I turned away from him, I couldn't stop laughing! Everything had gone perfectly, and nothing - absolutely NOTHING - could wipe the smile off my face at that moment! This was my biggest ever win as a manager, and it had booked our place in Round 3 of the FA Trophy!

Romford - 6 (McCrae 4, Reynolds pen23,47,72, Morath-Gibbs 68, Neville 83)

Salisbury City - 0

FA Trophy Round 2, Attendance 323

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters, Dymond, Gray, Bradley (James), Harley (O'Reilly), Neville, McCrae, O'Halloran, Pollard (Morath-Gibbs), Reynolds. BOOKED: Pollard.

A large group of Romford fans chanted at full-time that they were on their way to Wembley - and in fact, we were halfway there! We'd seen off three opponents in the competition, and if we knocked out three more, we would be gracing the home of football in the FA Trophy Final!

Of course, we had to get through the last 16 before we could even contemplate Wembley, and our next opponents would surely pose much more of a threat than Salisbury. We were drawn to play another Conference Premier side - Eastleigh - at their Silverlake Stadium on 13 January 2018.

Our next league game was away to the only other Conference South team left in the FA Trophy - our county rivals Canvey Island. We were both going incredibly well in cup competitions, but our league form couldn't be much more different. While we hovered just five points above the relegation zone, Canvey led the league by six points, having lost just twice so far.

20 December 2017: Canvey Island vs Romford

The confidence we had from the Salisbury City game carried over straight into this one, as we opened the scoring within five minutes! Nicky Reynolds brushed off Canvey duo Curtis Weston and Chris Lynch to reach Jason Collins' cross and stab it into the net! Five minutes later, Romford centre-half Connor Dymond headed Gulls full-back Jamie Strong's cross upfield to Reynolds, who launched a counter-attacking run towards the opposite area. Nicky then waited before laying the ball off to Graeme Montgomery, who fired a second goal past Tim Deasy! With a 2-0 lead over the league leaders, we were in dreamland! The Gulls would not be beaten so easily, and we spent practically the rest of the half trying to withstand their attacks. Canvey's first couple of shots weren't too threatening, as Leon Smith missed the target in the 16th minute and Stephen Hunt lobbed past the post four minutes later. They got a bit closer towards half-time. In the final minute of regulation time, Kenyan winger Jonathan Wafula aimed a cross for Roscoe Fryatt's top-right corner, and he almost pulled it off! Wafula's cross richocheted off the bar and towards Nicholas Bondon, whose centre was headed by Jacob Hazel into the hands of a relieved Fryatt! The drama continued in injury time, when a crucial save from Deasy denied Reynolds his second and our third goal of the game.

We could easily have entered the second half with a three-goal lead. Instead, our advantage remained at two goals - and after 54 minutes, it was down to one! The introduction of 16-year-old forward James Richardson (not to be confused with the Italian football expert) proved to be a shrewd move from Canvey boss Steve Tilson. Richardson supplied a brilliant corner delivery for Hazel, who outjumped Montgomery to head in the Gulls' first goal! Would that be the start of a Canvey Island comeback? Three minutes later, we weren't worried about letting a two-goal cushion slip away... because we got it back! Kieron Gray's long ball was picked up by Reynolds, who burst into the penalty area and was then brought down by his old team-mate Lynch! After exchanging phone numbers with Lynch, Nicky seemingly put us out of touch with the Gulls by thrashing his spot-kick into the corner! Note that I used the word seemingly - that's because, in the 59th minute, our 3-1 advantage was back down to 3-2! Richardson once again caused us problems with a cross that Connor failed to head cleanly out of danger. Although Canvey striker Thomas Lock couldn't quite get to the loose ball, Wafula did, and we were only ahead by a single goal. After 62 minutes, we weren't ahead at all! The Gulls' fightback - and Richardson's hat-trick of assists - was completed when the sub's corner was headed in off the bar by Weston for 3-3! I was shellshocked, and my shock could've become greater in the 74th minute. Canvey's other Kenyan wingman Michael Kamau aimed for goal from the touchline, but an alert Fryatt got to his cross-shot ahead of Hazel. That scare came moments after Daniel Morrison pulled up with an injury that forced us to change our strategy late on from a three-man central midfield to a two-man midfield. I bet you can see where this is going...

Canvey Island now had more room to exploit in the middle of the park. Being the league leaders, they did precisely that. With four minutes left, as we looked to conserve a draw that - even though we'd led 2-0 and 3-1 earlier on - would still have been a good result, the Gulls went all in. At the end of a strong passing move from the hosts, Hazel squared the ball to Weston, who came up from central midfield and blasted in a heartbreaking fourth goal for Canvey Island. Yet again, our failure to consolidate a healthy lead had come back to haunt us.

Canvey Island - 4 (Hazel 54, Wafula 59, Weston 62,86)

Romford - 3 (Reynolds 5,pen57, Montgomery 10)

Conference South, Attendance 576 - POSITIONS: Canvey Island 1st, Romford 16th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters, Dymond, Gray, Collins, Neville (McCrae), Morrison (Morath-Gibbs), Murombedzi, O'Halloran (Harley), Montgomery, Reynolds.

As the Park Lane faithful celebrated what could be a pivotal win in Canvey Island's promotion pursuit, we headed back home to ponder the importance of that result to our survival chances. We were exactly halfway through the Conference South season, and the difference between us and 20th place was only three points.

[CarltonBanks]

Just wanted to say, what an excellent thread. I've been spending the past couple days slowly reading through it, and it's just brilliant.

[CFuller]

Just wanted to say, what an excellent thread. I've been spending the past couple days slowly reading through it, and it's just brilliant.

Thank you very much, '

'. I was wondering where you had been...

[CFuller]

The Canvey Island result hurt us badly. It's not very often that you go two goals ahead against the league leaders on their own turf, so to collapse from 3-1 to 3-4 was a chastening experience.

After coming so close to taking at least a point from the 1st-placed team, we hoped for better luck against the 2nd-placed side. The meeting with Farnborough was our first trip to the Rushmoor Stadium since the epic 4-3 win that started our excellent run in the FA Trophy.

Our last three matches against Farnborough had seen no fewer than 21 goals, but I would gladly have taken a 1-0 win!

23 December 2017: Farnborough vs Romford

After just four minutes, the scoreline was indeed 1-0 - though not in our favour. Farnborough boss David Wetherall may have decided to conserve his star striker Kaine Sheppard's energy by putting him on the bench, but his team still had plenty of firepower. Winger Louis Thompson put them in front after stabbing a Jake Gallagher cross into the corner of our net. Our early plight worsened two minutes later, with right-back Trevor Dunn's match being brought to a premature end by injury. Our luck improved in the 9th minute, when Nicky Reynolds was fouled by Matt Bevans in the penalty area, and the referee pointed to the centre spot. Farnborough's fervent complaints meant that the actual taking of the penalty was delayed by well over a minute. Eventually, Nicky stepped up for his third penalty in consecutive games - and just like the previous two, he executed it brilliantly! 1-1! Reynolds was on hot form... and by the 27th minute, he was practically steaming! Brian Neville's lobbed pass to Reynolds was followed up by Nicky's stunning run to the Yellows' penalty area, and a shot that was even better! Two more Nicky specials had turned the match towards us. A couple of minutes later, Kenny Pollard narrowly missed an opportunity to send us 3-1 ahead. Farnborough showed signs of a fightback late in the first half, but their strikers couldn't quite get them back on terms. Reece Mitchell's shooting was wayward, and Darren Swann lacked a cutting edge in the 41st minute, when he jinked past Romford defender Kieron Gray, only to fire his effort straight at goalkeeper Roscoe Fryatt.

Early in the second half, with our 2-1 lead still intact, Wetherall swapped the floundering Mitchell for his big asset Sheppard. After 59 minutes, Sheppard got his first chance to equalise. Thompson intercepted Jordan Peters' throw-in and played the ball up to Swann, who provided the goal machine with a superb cross. This machine perhaps needed a bit of oil as well, because Sheppard incredibly missed the target from close range! It seemed that Sheppard, and Farnborough in general, were playing with a lot of nerves. A case in point was in the 62nd minute, when Bevans' point-blank header was caught so easily by Fryatt that Bevans might as well have shot from the centre-circle. If there was one Yellows player who didn't show nerves, it was Thompson. In the 65th minute, he pulled his team level with an excellent free-kick! The ex-Swindon Town player had scored twice, so we had to take him out of the game ASAP. After 77 minutes, Jordan did that - and then some. A crunching tackle from the Romford full-back left Thompson with a broken ankle. Having made all their subs, Farnborough were forced to go down to ten men. This was a great chance for us to take something from a tough away game. With four minutes left, Pollard aimed a byline cross for Reynolds at the far post. Much to our despair, though, Clark Hainon hacked it off the line for the Yellows, who later went on the counter-attack. Within a minute, Fryatt had to parry away a powerful shot from Swann... but the rebound fell to a certain Kaine Sheppard. You'll know what happened next. Sheppard's 20th goal of another superb season put Farnborough 3-2 ahead. Daniel Morrison almost drew us back level when he hit a free-kick against the bar in injury time, but it was too late. We suffered another heartbreaking defeat, and to make matters worse, our right midfielder Jason Harley was ruled out for four weeks after twisting his ankle.

Farnborough - 3 (Thompson 4,65, Sheppard 87)

Romford - 2 (Reynolds pen11,27)

Conference South, Attendance 416 - POSITIONS: Farnborough 2nd, Romford 18th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn (Peters), James, Gray, Bradley, O'Halloran, Neville (Morrison), Murombedzi, Montgomery (Harley), Pollard, Reynolds.

Oh lordy, lordy, lordy...

The following morning, I summoned the players to a Christmas Eve meeting that had little in the way of festive cheer. I wasn't unhappy with how they performed against Canvey Island and Farnborough - after all, our late defeats against the top two were more down to our opponents' brilliant comebacks than our own mistakes. But I couldn't, and wouldn't, allow us to keep freefalling without doing something to stop it.

At that meeting, I declared, "I'm really happy with how we've been playing in the cups, but at the end of the day, any cup success won't matter if we get relegated. We've got a couple of big home games coming up, so we really need to buck ourselves up for those. It's about time we got back on track!"

I wanted to gee the players up, and that pep talk seemed to have done the job. The next time I saw them was on Boxing Day, and they were champing at the bit ahead of our home game with 16th-placed Staines Town, who were only above us on goal difference.

26 December 2017: Romford vs Staines Town

The early chances went to Staines, but the Swans' shooting was far from elegant. Cormac Burke fired into the side netting in the 5th minute, and that was followed four minutes later by an awful long-range miss from Jack Morris. Though we were on the back foot early on, we waited patiently for an opportunity, and that came in the 11th minute. After Boro winger Graeme Montgomery intercepted a woeful pass from Kelvin Delderfield, we patiently probed the ball around Staines' half for a while. Dean O'Halloran then knocked it through to Kenny Pollard, who finished from just outside the six-yard box. That opening goal gave us the confidence to control possession with greater authority, though our next chance to score again wouldn't come until the 36th minute. Pollard got on the end of another through-ball, this time from Reynolds, but found the far post instead of the net. Despite that, Kenny's earlier goal was all we needed to go into half-time with a lead. The closest Staines had come to putting that in jeopardy was when Scottish midfielder Josh Carmichael forced Roscoe Fryatt into a catch just before the break.

Two minutes after the restart, a cross from O'Halloran caused plenty of concern for the Swans. Delderfield's attempt to head it clear bounced back off his team-mate Brandon Horner and towards Pollard, who again hit the post with a quick volley. Fortune favoured him this time, and the shot went in off the upright to put us 2-0 ahead! We scored twice at Staines earlier this season and still didn't win - but lightning wouldn't strike twice. The visitors were bereft of any self-belief, having just won one match since late September, and they only managed a single shot at goal in the second half. That was on 62 minutes, when Burke volleyed high and wide from inside the area. After a mundane second period, Staines gifted us some late Christmas presents - three points and a clean sheet!

Romford - 2 (Pollard 11,47)

Staines Town - 0

Conference South, Attendance 258 - POSITIONS: Romford 16th, Staines 18th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Dymond, Gray, Collins, O'Halloran (O'Reilly), Neville (Morrison), McCrae, Montgomery, Pollard (Koutinis), Reynolds. BOOKED: Reynolds.

It wasn't thrilling, but going back to a basic passing game had worked for us. That victory gave us a bit more breathing space with regards to the relegation zone - we were now six points clear!

Indeed, we could finish 2017 even further clear of the bottom three if we claimed another home win against Welling United. The Wings had been flying up and down the table throughout the campaign, alternating between very good and very bad runs of form! They'd just ended a four-game losing streak by beating Braintree Town on Boxing Day, so perhaps they were on the up again.

30 December 2017: Romford vs Welling United

Romford striker Garry Morath-Gibbs could well have scored after four minutes had Welling defender Ollie Rowe not made a last-ditch clearance. Moments later, we moved the ball back towards the United goal. Morath-Gibbs flicked Dean O'Halloran's pass on to Nicky Reynolds, who found the far corner with a volley that Paolo Di Canio would've been proud of! With his 19th goal of the season, slick Nick had got us off to a great start! In the 7th minute, another volley - from Shepherd Murombedzi - came close to doubling our money. Welling first went on the attack in the 12th minute, when Affy Obafemi drilled a shot just wide of the post. Eight minutes later, the visitors' quick, one-touch passing set up a great opportunity to level. Winger Ollie Monguel crossed on the byline towards Obafemi, but his delivery was deflected into the net off an unfortunate Kieron Gray! We lost our lead, and we had to press Welling hard to avoid losing control of the match. That restricted the number of chances Welling had to take the lead, although those few chances were mostly very good ones. In the 25th minute, their on-loan Southend United midfielder Remzi Ercan had a powerful shot pushed away by Roscoe Fryatt. Obafemi went even closer on 35 minutes, when he headed the ball against the bar! We were very fortunate not to be behind at half-time.

Welling hoped to carry their momentum forward into the second half, but five minutes in, they lost a key player. A tackle from Romford substitute Romone McCrae left the Wings' experienced midfielder Sean McAllister with a gashed leg. McAllister was forced off, and the pendulum swung towards us. In the 52nd minute, Morath-Gibbs got behind the defence to bury Reynolds' pass into the net and restore our advantage! Welling boss Kevin Davies was rather aggrieved, as he felt Garry was offside, and he used that frustration to fire his side up. Kieran Sadlier came close to bagging Welling's second equaliser in the 62nd minute, and the Irishman put another effort into Fryatt's hands four minutes later. Sadlier did find the net in the 75th minute, but he was flagged offside - a decision that infuriated Davies even more. While the Wings got in a flap, we kept our cool and secured victory in the 89th minute. McCrae's first league goal in a Romford shirt was our third of the night, and 2017 ended on a high for us.

Romford - 3 (Reynolds 5, Morath-Gibbs 52, McCrae 89)

Welling United - 1 (Gray og20)

Conference South, Attendance 349 - POSITIONS: Romford 14th, Welling 17th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters, Dymond, Gray, Bradley, O'Halloran, Morrison (McCrae), Murombedzi, Montgomery (Dunn), Reynolds, Morath-Gibbs. BOOKED: Morrison.

Two home victories in a row - that's just the tonic we need! We will now go into the New Year with an eight-point lead on the bottom three, and a much more positive outlook than we had at Christmas!

[CFuller]

                                   [b]P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
1.          Canvey Island          24    17    4     3     44    19    +25   55
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.          Farnborough            24    17    1     6     52    33    +19   52
3.          Chelmsford             24    13    6     5     42    24    +18   45
4.          Ebbsfleet              24    13    4     7     37    26    +11   43
5.          Havant                 24    12    5     7     27    18    +9    41
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.          Oxford City            23    12    4     7     43    32    +11   40
7.          Brackley               24    11    3     10    30    33    -3    36
8.          Hampton & Richmond     24    8     10    6     33    27    +6    34
9.          Dorchester             24    10    4     10    28    25    +3    34
10.         Worcester              24    9     7     8     26    35    -9    34
11.         Bath                   23    9     6     8     37    34    +3    33
12.         Bromley                23    9     6     8     36    36    0     33
13.         Woking                 24    7     10    7     30    30    0     31
[color="#0000FF"]14.         Romford                24    7     7     10    35    44    -9    28[/color]
15.         Eastbourne Boro        23    6     9     8     19    22    -3    27
16.         Weston-super-Mare      24    6     7     11    30    32    -2    25
17.         Welling                24    7     4     13    34    44    -10   25
18.         Staines                24    3     13    8     27    36    -9    22
19.         Braintree              24    5     7     12    28    53    -25   22
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20.         Grays                  24    4     8     12    28    38    -10   20
21.         Basingstoke            24    4     7     13    22    35    -13   19
22.         Hayes & Yeading        24    4     6     14    22    34    -12   18

[CFuller]

2017/2018 had been a frustrating season so far in the league, but those last couple of wins before the New Year gave me plenty of encouragement. We seemed to be getting back into form at a good time.

Although our defensive record was still a cause for concern, we were finding the net more regularly, even in the absence of captain Duncan Greenwood. While Big Dunc was still recovering from his calf injury, Nicky Reynolds and our young guns had stepped up to the plate and helped us score 23 goals in December!

It was during December that I finally sussed out what we were best at - an aggressive, high-pressing, and steady-passing game. That would be our modus operandi for most of the next four or five months, though I had to be careful not to overuse it in what would be a busy January.

Kicking off the month was a New Year's Day trip to Eastbourne Borough (or, to give them their full name, Boring Boring Eastbourne Borough). The East Sussex club had the Conference South's worst attack and third-best defence, and four of our last seven meetings with them ended goalless!

1 January 2018: Eastbourne Borough vs Romford

Although pressing hard had got us some excellent results in recent weeks, I expected Eastbourne to field a number of quick attackers, so I told my players to stand off a bit more against them. That would prove to be a mistake, as the Sports went a goal up after just five minutes. Instead of running past Kieron Gray with the ball, their striker Yannis Drais opted to shrug Kieron off and shoot from 25 yards out. The Frenchman's effort was too powerful for Roscoe Fryatt, and the hosts scored with their first shot on goal! Not to worry, though, because we did the same in the 14th minute! Garry Morath-Gibbs did well to control Trevor Dunn's cross before putting a left-footed volley into the corner of the net! It was now 1-1, and when Drais picked up a knock in the 21st minute, it seemed as if we had the upper hand. That would not be the case seven minutes later. Drais flicked a header on to Anjur Osmanovic, who created the assist for his early goal. Out of nowhere, the Bosnian midfielder ripped the ball home with another 25-yarder! After just three shots between both sides, it was 2-1 Eastbourne! I didn't want us make the same mistake for a third time, so I ordered the lads to hassle Eastbourne. From then until half-time, we restricted the Sports to just one Osmanovic effort that Roscoe comfortably caught in the 44th minute. Just before then, Connor Dymond and Romone McCrae both narrowly missed chances to draw us level, so we remained a goal behind.

Chris Shephard replaced Osmanovic for Eastbourne early in the second half, and the Sports skipper blasted a shot just wide in the 58th minute. Four minutes later, he played a fantastic long ball to his colleague Josh Ruffels, who hit the side netting from the left flank. I then made a big gamble, and gave a senior debut to speedy youth winger Dave McGrath, who had just returned from a serious knee injury. Dave wouldn't make much of an impact, and we had to wait until the 69th minute for our next opportunity. Home keeper Daniel East sliced a goal kick to Morath-Gibbs, who sprinted towards goal and placed a calm shot beyond a very embarrassed East! Was that second equaliser the slice of fortune we needed to turn the match around? Six minutes later, Garry's goal was wiped out of Eastbourne's mind, as they went in front for a third time. They didn't score from long-range again, though. Shephard swung a corner into the six-yard box, where Freddie Warren bagged what would prove to be the Sports' winner. It was not a great way to start 2018 off from our point of view.

Eastbourne Borough - 3 (Drais 5, Osmanovic 28, Warren 75)

Romford - 2 (Morath-Gibbs 14,69)

Conference South, Attendance 415 - POSITIONS: Eastbourne Boro 14th, Romford 16th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Dymond (James), Gray, Collins, O'Reilly, Neville, McCrae (Morrison), Montgomery (McGrath), Pollard, Morath-Gibbs.

This was the first time that Eastbourne manager Tommy Widdrington had ever gotten the better of me, and after eight attempts, I couldn't really begrudge him. On the day, his team had been marginally better than mine.

This was the first time goal-shy Eastbourne had scored three times in a single game this season, and it once again highlighted our defensive issues. By then, I had run out of ideas as to how we could shore our defence up without compromising our attacking strengths. I decided to not worry about that particular problem for the time being, and instead focus on trying to outscore our opponents.

Eastbourne was the first in a string of consecutive away games, and the next was in Somerset against Weston-super-Mare. The Seagulls - now managed by ex-Aberdeen defender Michael Hart - had just moved ahead of us in the table after winning their New Year's Day game.

6 January 2018: Weston-super-Mare vs Romford

Romford goalkeeper Roscoe Fryatt was seriously tested after just three minutes, when he flung himself to an Andy Barcham cross and palmed it away from a lurking Elliot Benyon! In the 13th minute, Nicky Reynolds picked up an excellent through-ball from Daniel Morrison and was set to go one-on-one with Weston's goalkeeper Billy Baker. However, Nicky lost control of the ball just outside the penalty area, and Joe Heath cleared it into touch for the Seagulls. On 21 minutes, the hosts had their first real shot on goal. Nathan Battersby's vicious free-kick hit the bar and bounced back into play! Weston could have easily converted the rebound, but Shepherd Murombedzi spared us by booting the loose ball out for a corner, which the Seagulls couldn't make the most of. Having come close to scoring at our end, Battersby prevented a goal at the other end six minutes later by clearing Trevor Dunn's drilled cross off the goal line! Three more minutes later, on the half-hour mark, we had arguably a greater chance to score. Weston midfielder Aaron Lewis's challenge on Nicky knocked the ball towards his keeper, but Garry Morath-Gibbs raced past defender Exodus Geohaghan to reach it first! Then, with just Baker to beat, Garry panicked and blasted past the far post! A similar incident occurred in the last minute of normal time, when home captain Aaron Callaghan tackled Reynolds in the penalty area, only to send the ball into the path of Morath-Gibbs. Garry didn't miss that time, and the teenager's close-range finish put us 1-0 up!

Weston-super-Mare's struggles continued into the second half, with midfielders Lee Ervin and Lewis Hogg both requiring injury treatment after picking up knocks inside the first ten minutes. Hogg was also booked for fouling Reynolds just outside Weston's area in the 55th minute. Graeme Montgomery slid the resulting free-kick across to defender Liam Georgiou, who unluckily hit the near post with an excellent low strike. We chucked away a couple more chances to go two goals clear, and then came close to losing our lead altogether after 67 minutes. A superb corner from George Colson found ex-Bolton Wanderers right-back Battersby, whose header clipped the outside of the post. Soon after, I told the team to slow play down, so that Weston couldn't build up any more momentum. I wouldn't have minded a second Romford goal either, and in the 75th minute, Georgiou got that with a looping header from Monty's corner! It was Liam's first ever league goal, and it capped off a great display in which the 17-year-old excelled at the heart of our defence. Woeful Weston couldn't muster a shot on target in the whole game, and Benyon's vicious strike over the bar with five minutes to go was their seventh unsuccessful attempt. A comfortable 2-0 win meant that we did the double over the Seagulls and went back above them into 15th.

Weston-super-Mare - 0

Romford - 2 (Morath-Gibbs 45, Georgiou 75)

Conference South, Attendance 198 - POSITIONS: Weston-super-Mare 17th, Romford 15th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters, Dymond (Rofe), Georgiou, Bradley, Dunn, Morrison (Neville), Murombedzi, Montgomery, Reynolds, Morath-Gibbs (Koutinis).

We enjoyed our 180-mile-long journey back to Romford, and a few days later, we made a significantly shorter 50-mile trip to Saffron Walden for an Essex Senior Cup Quarter Final.

Although we weren't overly familiar with Saffron Walden Town, we knew that the underdogs had some pedigree in the Essex Senior Cup. They reached the Semi Finals last season, and only missed out on the Final after losing a penalty shoot-out to eventual champions Brentwood Town.

[CFuller]

9 January 2018: Saffron Walden Town vs Romford

Saffron Walden had not yet conceded a goal in this season's Essex Senior Cup - but we ruined that record in less than two minutes! Home defender Reiss Rennison could only head Dean O'Halloran's cross as far as Kenny Pollard, who flicked it on for Vasilis Koutinis to fire home after exactly 100 seconds! Then, after precisely four minutes and one second, we added another goal! Simon Rofe's diving header deflected off Bloods midfielder Allan Miller and fell to Romone McCrae, who tidied up for 2-0! When Brian Neville narrowly missed a long-range effort in the 8th minute, it looked like we were going to run riot. But Saffron Walden were far from mellow yellow, and the red-shirted Bloods put plenty of toil and sweat into a fightback. Some silky passing helped them to create a chance in the 21st minute for Miller, who only just missed the target. Six minutes later, Imre Mather struck the Boro wall with a free-kick, and team-mate Dane Gerken did the same with the rebound. Saffron Walden won another free-kick seconds later, and this time, left-back Connor Doolan curled it right into Steven Barnes's top-right corner! The hosts had pulled a goal back, and although O'Halloran hit the post soon after the restart, we were barely holding onto our 2-1 lead. By half-time, we were the team that most needed to recompose.

Saffron Walden's first attempt at an equaliser was in the 50th minute. Jonathon Toyne's shot was blocked by Liam Georgiou, who had conceded the free-kick that led to the hosts' goal. Moments later, the Bloods nearly levelled from a scrappy corner. Matt Tattum's close-range strike deflected off the heel of Boro full-back Jordan Peters and went out for another corner, which Liam headed clear. We settled down following those early second-half scares, and so did the match in general. After 66 minutes, we launched our first meaningful attack of the period. O'Halloran played a crossfield ball to Garry Morath-Gibbs, sending the youngster clean through on goal. When Bloods keeper Connor Redman had a rush of blood and charged out of his area, GMG swiftly got past him and tapped the ball into an unguarded net! 3-1 to Romford - surely we'd done enough. We should have put the minnows further out of sight in the closing minutes, but substitute midfielder Daniel Morrison missed three chances from outside the area. Our failure to finish Saffron Walden off could've cost us dear in the first minute of injury time, when their substitute winger Jermaine Beattie found the net. Fortunately, his 'goal' was ruled out for offside, and we could relax. We were into the last four of the Essex Senior Cup!

Saffron Walden Town - 1 (Doolan 27)

Romford - 3 (Koutinis 2, McCrae 5, Morath-Gibbs 66)

Essex Senior Cup Quarter Final, Attendance 88

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Barnes, Peters, Georgiou, Rofe, Collins, O'Halloran, Neville (Morrison), McCrae, Koutinis (Bradley), Pollard, Morath-Gibbs (O'Reilly).

It had been a straightforward passage to the Essex Senior Cup Semi Finals for us, as we scored 13 goals and gave away just two. But if we wanted to go all the way to the Final, we would have to do it the hard way, by beating Conference South leaders Canvey Island at Park Lane on 6 February. The winner of that semi would face either Basildon United or Witham Town for the Cup in May.

Having moved a step closer to realising our dream of lifting the Essex Senior Cup, we looked to continue our fairytale run in another, more prestigious tournament.

Romford FC had never got through to the last eight of the FA Trophy. The old club did get close a number of times during the early- to mid-1970s, but they never made it past the last 16.

On 13 January 2018, we set out - to paraphrase William Shatner - to boldly go where no Romford team had gone before. Standing between us and a place in Round 4 were mid-table Conference Premier side Eastleigh, who had been managed by ex-England striker Darius Vassell since 2015.

Our FA Trophy campaign started in Hampshire in Qualifying Round 3. Would it also end in Hampshire in Round 3 proper - or could we prolong the fairytale?

13 January 2018: Eastleigh vs Romford

Eastleigh didn't make the most confident of starts, with ex-Southampton midfielder Corby Moore dragging a shot well wide in the fifth minute. We gave the hosts a real scare after 15 minutes with some quick end-to-end football. In the space of a few seconds, Roscoe Fryatt's long clearance was flicked on by Graeme Montgomery to Garry Morath-Gibbs, who played a through-ball for Nicky Reynolds. Nicky had plenty of time to move towards Eastleigh keeper Ger Barron, but he shot early and the Irishman tipped it over. About a minute later, the Spitfires at last took flight. Adam Nditi launched a cross into the Romford area, and Calvin Zola nodded it on to captain Mark Byrne, whose strike was too powerful for Fryatt. Following Eastleigh's opening goal, we panicked a little. Morath-Gibbs ballooned a shot over the bar in the 21st minute, shortly before Brian Neville fired a shot directly into Barron's hands. Our nerves increased when Eastleigh scored another close-range goal after 28 minutes. Tommy Hayes buried Toby Ajala's right-wing cross into the net, and the favourites were 2-0 up. We really were struggling now, and young striker Morath-Gibbs had a more frustrating day than most. In the 39th minute, Garry got on the end of a brilliant Neville pass that sent him one-on-one with Barron, but the teenager's effort could only find the sponsor hoardings. To be honest, I still thought the situation was retrievable, and during injury time, I thought about what I would say to rouse the players for a second-half resurgence. Then Hayes blasted the ball into the corner of Roscoe's net for his second goal. 3-0 to Eastleigh, and as far as I was concerned, the second half was now all about battling for pride.

In my revised team talk, I told the lads to settle down and show me something else. What they showed me was encouraging, because they composed themselves and pushed forward early on. Indeed, Neville almost scored in the 50th minute, when his stunning volley was pushed over by an impressive Barron. Seven minutes later, the Eastleigh defence fell asleep momentarily as Boro sub Vasilis Koutinis flicked the ball past the otherwise excellent centre-back Ritchie Sutton. Reynolds raced through on goal to reach Koutinis' pass, and he then rounded the fast-approaching Barron before finally putting us on the board! That made it 3-1, and when Eastleigh's dangerous winger Ajala came off with a gashed leg moments later, we felt that we could launch an improbable comeback. Barron, though, was determined not to let that happen. A poor first touch from Matthias Fanimo opened the door for Reynolds in the 65th minute, but Barron slammed it shut by standing his ground and parrying Nicky's shot. Barron also kept out a Reynolds header about a minute after that. Though we had a couple more half-chances later on, we would not seriously threaten Eastleigh again. The Spitfires had downed our hopes of FA Trophy glory at Round 3.

Eastleigh - 3 (Byrne 16, Hayes 28,45)

Romford - 1 (Reynolds 57)

FA Trophy Round 3, Attendance 966

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Dymond, Rofe (Gray), Collins, O'Halloran, Neville (Morrison), McCrae, Montgomery, Reynolds, Morath-Gibbs (Koutinis).

In the week after our FA Trophy exit, we agreed terms with Romone McCrae over a new 18-month contract for the holding midfielder. Romone had been a consistent performer during his first half-season at Romford, so I was pleased to see him commit to us for at least another campaign.

You're probably asking why Nicky Reynolds hasn't got a new contract as well. I promised to offer him a new deal if he scored 15 goals this season, and that goal against Eastleigh actually took him up to 20 - so where's this new contract, then?

The answer to that question... is that I've put a contract on the table, but Nicky hasn't signed it yet. He told me a while ago that he wanted to wait until further on down the line before pledging himself to what would be his ninth consecutive season at Romford. I'm a patient man, and I'm willing to wait for him to decide whether he'll sign that new deal - just so long as he eventually does!

[CFuller]

Our next weekend fixture at Worcester City was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch, so we didn't return to action until 24 January, when Braintree Town visited Ship Lane. We were already three-and-a-half weeks into the New Year, yet this was our first home game of 2018!

Braintree were in 18th place, and having a terrible season by their standards. The Iron were without an away win in over five months, and they had also conceded more goals than anyone else in the Conference South. They had, though, won their last two matches without conceding.

24 January 2018: Romford vs Braintree Town

We put Braintree under pressure in the 3rd minute, when Graeme Montgomery's low shot was turned around the post by Iron goalkeeper Joseph Lumley. Our next opportunity came through a Montgomery corner in the 18th minute. Romford defender Connor Dymond rose above Braintree skipper Gareth Gwillim in the middle of the six-yard box to get his head to Monty's delivery. Connor's header cannoned off the bar and was then cleared into touch by Daryl Robson. When won another corner two minutes later, Montgomery swung it towards the near post. Our other centre-back, Kieron Gray, beat William Miller to the header, and his first league goal for Romford gave us the lead! That lead came under scrutiny in the 28th minute from Braintree's Danny Kedwell. The veteran striker dispossessed Romone McCrae inside the Iron half and moved forward to the edge of our penalty area before drilling a shot inches wide. Just after the half-hour, Kenny Pollard's cross to the far post should've created a second Boro goal, but Montgomery could only head it into the side netting. We still only led 1-0 at half-time.

Braintree had been very poor during the first half, but they upped their game in the second period. A great passing move set up a 52nd-minute opportunity for Oliver Muldoon, whose low strike was tipped behind by Roscoe Fryatt. The Iron also did a good job of restricting us to long-range shots, with which we unsurprisingly struggled to find the target. The best of those was from Brian Neville, who bent a 25-yarder just wide in the 57th minute. Five minutes later, Fryatt kept us in the lead again with a stunning stoppage from Robson's vicious effort. Shortly after that, I instructed my players to slow the game down, mainly to stop Braintree from building up a head of steam, and also to create better chances for ourselves. Despite the introduction of Garry Morath-Gibbs, we still struggled on the latter front. Garry had four shots at goal in his half-hour cameo - and all of them missed the target. We did a better job of keeping Braintree at bay, and that was largely down to our centre-backs. Kieron made so many interceptions that I lost count, and Connor did his bit too, nullifying the threat of the Iron's lone striker Kedwell. Dymond also headed away Ashley Miller's 68th-minute cross to stop Josh Dawkin from nodding in a near-certain equaliser! Thanks to our improved defensive efforts, we ground out a 1-0 win - our first against Braintree in the league.

Romford - 1 (Gray 20)

Braintree Town - 0

Conference South, Attendance 355 - POSITIONS: Romford 15th, Braintree 18th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters (Dunn), Dymond, Gray, Bradley, O'Halloran, Neville, McCrae (Morrison), Montgomery, Pollard (Morath-Gibbs), Reynolds.

Victory over Braintree restored the eight-point advantage we had on the bottom three, and we knew could go even further clear if we made it back-to-back home wins against Dorchester Town. Having won our previous three clashes with the Dorset side, we were firm favourites to turn them over again.

27 January 2018: Romford vs Dorchester Town

We made a terrible start, as we struggled to take the ball off a Dorchester team who were looking to impress after going three games without victory. Welsh winger Jaye Bowen put a header wide after just three minutes. A minute later, he set up the Magpies' opening goal for Tony Garrod, whose close-range shot went in off the post. Dorchester were already in control, and they could've gone 2-0 up after eight minutes. Midfielder Greg Tempest headed a poor Jordan Peters clearance towards his team-mate Chris Flood, who cut inside from the left wing and curled his shot wide. We continued to waste possession throughout the next half-hour, and Dorchester were gifted more chances to double their lead. After 27 minutes, Romford midfielder Romone McCrae attempted to pass the ball to defender Kieron Gray. Garrod showed great anticipation to cut it out, and he dribbled past Gray before firing tamely at Roscoe Fryatt. In the 38th minute, Kieron battled to take the ball off Garrod and volleyed it forward to Garry Morath-Gibbs, who then played in Nicky Reynolds. Nicky had our first shot of the game, but he fired it so powerfully that it hit the roof of the stand! Three minutes later, that roof was oh so nearly raised by Peters! Jordan's cross looked like it was going to be headed in by Garry, but Alex Gott brilliantly fisted it over his bar. The former Coventry City goalkeeper also kept out a last-minute shot from McCrae, and so we remained 1-0 behind.

Our positive conclusion to the first half gave us encouragement to attack even more after the break. Full-back Peters had a crack at goal inside the first half-minute, but his strike never remotely threatened the target. Two minutes later, Magpies midfielder Rob Hayfield's attempted clearance struck Romone in the head and bounced back towards his goal. Dorchester defender Daniel Wyatt had to frantically head it behind for a Boro corner. Graeme Montgomery's outswinger to the near post found Gray, who turned it over the line and equalised! We wouldn't be level for long, because Dorchester retook the lead from a corner of their own in the 52nd minute. Flood whipped it into our area, and Shepherd Murombedzi's headed clearance only went as far as Ben Gill. The Magpies right-back then played it forward for right-winger Bowen to fire home from a tight angle. 2-1 to Dorchester. Shep was clearly disappointed, but after 54 minutes, he launched a Boro counter-attack by intercepting a poor pass from Hayfield. In a matter of seconds, we were celebrating our second goal, which Nicky volleyed in from Montgomery's fabulous weighted pass! It was now 2-2, and we had wrestled back control from Dorchester. That would be as good as it got for us, because we couldn't muster any more scoring opportunities, despite finishing with 59% possession. Dorchester couldn't create any either, save for a couple of speculative efforts from Bowen in the 66th minute and substitute Adam O'Reilly in the 76th. In the end, both teams were happy to settle for a point apiece.

Romford - 2 (Gray 49, Reynolds 55)

Dorchester Town - 2 (Garrod 4, Bowen 52)

Conference South, Attendance 436 - POSITIONS: Romford 16th, Dorchester 13th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters, Dymond, Gray, Collins (Rofe), O'Halloran, McCrae (Morrison), Murombedzi, Montgomery (Koutinis), Reynolds, Morath-Gibbs. BOOKED: Murombedzi.

Despite a far-from-impressive result against Karl Henry's men, we stretched the gap between us and the drop zone to nine points. That meant we could go as many as twelve points clear if we won our final match of the month - the rescheduled trip to Worcester City.

30 January 2018: Worcester City vs Romford

10th-placed Worcester hoped to draw first blood after just five minutes, but forward Hope McDonald's low strike was pushed behind by Roscoe Fryatt's fingertips. Two minutes later, Simon Rofe headed a McDonald cross out of the Romford box, only to see Worcester quickly come back at us. Dave Hayward played the ball to Ollie Marland in the 'D', and Marland shook off Simon's presence before firing past Fryatt. 1-0 to Worcester, and the Dragons were breathing fire. We were fired up after conceding early on, and in the 22nd minute, Graeme Montgomery hit a shot that was easily caught by City keeper Shane Cusack. A minute later, Garry Morath-Gibbs flicked a header on to Kenny Pollard, effectively sending KP clean through. Kenny tried to lob Cusack from just outside the area, but his strike cannoned back off the bar and we remained behind! We were then denied a penalty after 25 minutes, when Ellis Deeney scythed down Rofe in the box. The referee waved away our protests - and then booked Simon for complaining! I wasn't too pleased with Simon's attitude, and nor was I with our defending in the 30th minute. Worcester centre-half Matt Evans left our defence badly exposed when he found Danny Pilkington in bags of space down the right flank. Fortunately for us, Pilkington wasted a chance to double the Dragons' lead, firing into the side netting. We were still set to go into the break with a 1-0 deficit... until we somehow got an equaliser in the last minute of normal time! Worcester failed to clear their lines from Montgomery's corner, and when Brian Neville's strike was tipped by Cusack into the path of Rofe, Simon flicked it across the line for 1-1!

Five minutes into the second half, our defence pushed up too far, allowing Marland to sneak behind and reach a long ball from Deeney. Marland also spotted Fryatt well off his line, and he tried to half-volley the ball into Roscoe's poorly-guarded net, but his shot was poorly executed. Ros made another poor call three minutes later, and he wouldn't get away with it. The keeper misjudged the flight of Ryan Toulson's cross into the six-yard box, and Marland got to the ball first, heading it in off the crossbar from point-blank range. After Worcester retook the lead, things got rather scrappy. City's Cathair Friel and Romford's Daniel Morrison engaged in a spot of tit for tat midway through the period, as the midfielders each picked up bookings for fouling one another. Morrison later cooled down, and he took the ball off Pilkington in the 69th minute before playing it to Pollard. Kenny moved forward before laying a pass to substitute Vasilis Koutinis, who powered in a second Boro equaliser! On 77 minutes, another KP through-ball handed Vasilis an opportunity to inflict another blow, but he missed after Worcester's defenders forced him wide. Our chance to slay the Dragons at St George's Lane was gone. Then, in the 87th minute, Worcester caught Fryatt out yet again. A 30-yard strike from Pilkington smashed Roscoe's bar and came back towards City's strikers. Kieron Gray had to knock the rebound away from Marland, and Rofe cleared it from McDonald to secure us a point. For the second game in a row, we'd finished with an Archbishop Desmond: a 2-2.

Worcester City - 2 (Marland 7,53)

Romford - 2 (Rofe 45, Koutinis 69)

Conference South, Attendance 555 - POSITIONS: Worcester 10th, Romford 16th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Gray, Rofe, Bradley, Harley, Morrison (Murombedzi), Neville, Montgomery (Collins), Pollard, Morath-Gibbs (Koutinis). BOOKED: Rofe, Morrison.

Crucially, that point moved us ten clear of the relegation zone - we are now exactly the same distance from the top five. Talk of reaching the play-offs may be a little premature, but if we can keep our league resurgence going, then it might become a realistic target again.

[CFuller]

                                   [b]P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
1.          Canvey Island          29    19    6     4     54    27    +27   63
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.          Farnborough            29    18    4     7     63    44    +19   58
3.          Chelmsford             29    16    7     6     54    30    +24   55
4.          Ebbsfleet              29    15    6     8     45    30    +15   51
5.          Brackley               29    14    4     11    38    41    -3    46
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.          Havant                 29    13    5     11    32    26    +6    44
7.          Hampton & Richmond     29    10    12    7     41    34    +7    42
8.          Oxford City            29    12    6     11    50    48    +2    42
9.          Bath                   29    12    6     11    44    44    0     42
10.         Worcester              29    11    9     9     35    41    -6    42
11.         Bromley                29    11    7     11    43    42    +1    40
12.         Eastbourne Boro        29    10    10    9     29    29    0     40
13.         Dorchester             29    11    6     12    32    32    0     39
14.         Welling                29    11    5     13    48    50    -2    38
15.         Woking                 29    8     12    9     36    38    -2    36
[color="#0000FF"]16.         Romford                29    9     9     11    44    51    -7    36[/color]
17.         Grays                  29    7     9     13    39    41    -2    30
18.         Weston-super-Mare      29    7     8     14    34    39    -5    29
19.         Braintree              29    7     8     14    32    56    -24   29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20.         Staines                29    4     14    11    34    48    -14   26
21.         Hayes & Yeading        29    6     7     16    30    46    -16   25
22.         Basingstoke            29    4     8     17    28    48    -20   20

[Johnny Ace]

Picking up the points nicely there pal & got yourself a 10 point cushion!

It is crazy how 10 points better off & you'd be 11 league places higher, just shows how bad those bottom 3 are!

[CFuller]

Picking up the points nicely there pal & got yourself a 10 point cushion!

It is crazy how 10 points better off & you'd be 11 league places higher, just shows how bad those bottom 3 are!

The bottom three aren't that bad, actually - they've all conceded fewer goals than us, and a good run of form can turn their situation around.

As far as we're concerned, it's great to have some daylight between us and the relegation zone at last. I won't count my chickens just yet, though. Four of our next five league opponents are currently in the top nine. A string of bad results in February and early March could drag us back into the dogfight.

[Johnny Ace]

Ouch, that's going to be a tough run, good luck with it

[CFuller]

As has often been the case with us in recent years, February would be a rather unusual month. We were scheduled to play three matches in the first ten days, and then nothing at all until March!

All of our February fixtures would have significance, with two league games against play-off dark horses sandwiching the small matter of an Essex Senior Cup Semi Final at Canvey Island.

The first of those Conference South matches was at home to Bath City, whose play-off hopes had recently been dented by three successive shut-out defeats.

3 February 2018: Romford vs Bath City

The match started at a frenetic pace, with Nicky Reynolds pulling a shot wide for Romford after only 15 seconds. Reice Charles-Cook launched the goal kick into the centre circle, where Bath captain John Sullivan flicked it to Jake Speight. Speight then created a shooting opportunity for strike partner Elliott Chamberlain, whose effort was parried away by Roscoe Fryatt. An early goal looked very likely in this game... and after four minutes, we scored it! Kenny Pollard showed great teamwork in setting up a 22nd goal of the season for Reynolds, who blasted the ball past a statuesque Charles-Cook. Bath's early woes continued in the 11th minute, when young defender Alex Graves was booked for tripping Dean O'Halloran. Two minutes later, Boro centre-back Simon Rofe went down under a challenge from Graves in the City area. Although Simon was clearly hurt, the referee seemed to think he was trying to get a penalty, along with a red card for Graves... so he booked Simon for simulation! Rofe was shaking his head in disbelief as he reluctantly walked off to receive treatment. He insisted that he could shake the injury off and rushed back onto the field as soon as physio John Kelly had finished with him. Another Romford player was in the wars after 16 minutes, as Graeme Montgomery was brought down by Dan Western. Monty was forced off, and I decided that Rofe should also be substituted. Simon was incensed, and he hurled expletives at me as he left the pitch again, but I was only putting his long-term fitness first. Without Rofe, we struggled to cope with some fresh assaults from Bath frontman Chamberlain. The Welshman missed from close-range in the 26th minute before troubling Fryatt with a longer-distance effort four minutes later. Graves also had a go in the 41st minute, and missed by miles. Moments later, I feared having to make a third substitution before half-time. Daniel Morrison collided with Luke Joyce, but the midfielder only suffered some minor bruising. A bruising was also what Trevor Dunn gave the Bath crossbar in the second minute of injury time, with the defender's free-kick coming within inches of pulling us two goals clear!

In a role-reversal from the first half, Bath had a chance to score just a quarter of a minute into the second half. Speight exchanged passes with Chamberlain and then clinically converted to reduce our lead to rubble. O'Halloran tried to build it back up in the 51st minute, but the Irishman typically followed up a mazy dribble with a crazy shot that went nowhere near the target. While we had difficulty controlling our growing nerves, City went from strength to strength. Chamberlain fired a 25-yarder over the bar for Bath in the 64th minute. A minute later, his cross into the box found skipper Sullivan, whose attempt to nod the ball into the far corner was headed away by a brave Romone McCrae! In the minutes that followed, Speight spurned a couple of opportunities to get Bath into the lead, and sub Vasilis Koutinis also missed from a Romford point of view. When Bath lost creative midfielder Western to injury in the 82nd minute, I told the Boro boys to get stuck in and push even further for a second goal. Unfortunately, one of the boys got carried away. Dunn was already on a yellow card when, with three minutes remaining, he lunged in on Chamberlain in a dangerous position. Trevor quickly realised what a doughnut he'd been, and as soon as the yellow came out of the ref's pocket again, he was heading for the dressing room. While Dunn got ready to take an early bath, Bath prepared themselves for a fantastic chance to grab a late equaliser. Ben Harding - ironically the man that Trevor fouled for his first booking - took the free-kick, and curled it sweet as a nut into Roscoe's top-right corner. City had pinched a 2-1 lead with hardly any time for us to respond, and the Boro fans watched on grimly as we succumbed to our first league defeat since New Year's Day.

Romford - 1 (Reynolds 4)

Bath City - 2 (Speight 46, Harding 88)

Conference South, Attendance 395 - POSITIONS: Romford 16th, Bath 8th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Dymond, Rofe (Gray), Bradley, O'Halloran, Morrison, McCrae, Montgomery (Koutinis), Pollard (Peters), Reynolds. BOOKED: Rofe, Dunn, Reynolds, McCrae. SENT OFF: Dunn.

The dressing room was not a great place to be in the minutes after the final whistle, and the mood only darkened further when Simon Rofe confronted me. The physio had confirmed Simon's belief that he was not badly injured, and the defender was furious that he had not been allowed to continue playing. Harsh words were exchanged, but in the end, Simon conceded that I was perhaps right not to take any undue risks with him.

As far as I was concerned, that issue was done and dusted. However, the local BBC News reporter had picked up on it, and he asked me all sorts of questions about Simon.

He badgered me for answers about whether there was a feud between us, or whether Simon had a long-term future at Romford. He even suggested that Rofe had criticised my tactics behind my back! I was so angry that refused to comment. I felt like a volcano waiting to blow, and if that freckle-faced upstart had asked me another question about Simon effing Rofe instead of saying, "That'll be all, thanks," I probably would have swung at him.

We'd gone three games without a win - not exactly the best way to prepare for an Essex Senior Cup Semi Final at Canvey Island, who had stretched their Conference South lead to eight points. We would need a great performance to beat the Gulls on a rainy Tuesday night at Park Lane, but if we did, our first Final since 2014 awaited.

Trevor Dunn was suspended from his match, although Rofe and Graeme Montgomery both started after quickly recovering from their injuries.

6 February 2018: Canvey Island vs Romford

Canvey Island won a couple of corners inside the fifth minute, but they failed to make them count and it was us who made a marginally better start. In the 14th minute, Brian Neville had a shot from just inside the Gulls' area, shortly after Nicky Reynolds had lost the ball to Chris Lynch. Although Brian's effort was comfortably saved by Tim Deasy, it served as a warning to Canvey. Two minutes later, Dean O'Halloran stormed down the right flank and centred the ball to Reynolds, who made an impeccably-timed run towards the six-yard box and applied the finish. Some Canvey players thought that there might've been an offside against O'Halloran, but the goal stood and we had a 1-0 lead. Nevertheless, we had to be wary of a quick reply from the hosts. In the 23rd minute, Simon Rofe fouled Louie Swain just outside the Romford box, and Canvey had their chance to level from a free-kick. Boro old boy Dan Lawlor stepped up, and he serenely curled the set-piece over the wall and beyond Steven Barnes' reach. Lawlor only found the net once in 37 games for Romford, and in his first game against us since leaving, he'd scored a magnificent equaliser for Canvey Island. Cheers, Dan! Lawlor could have added a second goal in the 32nd minute, but he pulled a shot wide. A minute later, his Gulls team-mate Jonathan Wafula broke through the Boro defence, and we were fortunate not to go 2-1 down as the Kenyan's chip went off target. We later missed an opportunity to move 2-1 ahead, as Nicky struck the crossbar on 38 minutes.

Canvey Island were forced to replace their injured winger Jordan Roberts just before half-time, and they made their remaining two subs during the break. Those changes affected Canvey early in the second period, but we couldn't capitalise. Montgomery missed a free-kick by some distance in the 49th minute, while Romone McCrae didn't fare much better with a low driver in the 52nd. Another disappointment came when Kieron Gray headed Monty's corner off target on 64 minutes. Six minutes later, our other centre-back Liam Georgiou - who replaced Rofe at the break - threw everything into a challenge on Swain, and it turned out to be too much. Liam tore his hamstring in the process, so we had to replace the unfortunate youngster with midfielder Daniel Morrison and move Neville to centre-half. Brian's lack of aerial ability would be a real hindrance in the 73rd minute, when he mistimed a headed interception from Deasy's goal kick. The ball fell to Swain, who started off a string of quickfire Canvey passes that culminated in the Gulls' second goal, scored by our old foe Curtis Weston. The youngest FA Cup Finalist in history had put Canvey Island on the brink of the Essex Senior Cup Final. Instead of sitting back on their slim lead, Canvey wanted to go through in style, and we spent the rest of the match trying desperately to keep the deficit down to one goal. The Gulls wouldn't let us have a sniff at their goal in the closing stages, and the final whistle confirmed that they - not us - would be playing Witham Town for the Essex Senior Cup.

Canvey Island - 2 (Lawlor 23, Weston 73)

Romford - 1 (Reynolds 16)

Essex Senior Cup Semi Final, Attendance 448

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Barnes, Peters, Gray, Rofe (Georgiou (Morrison)), Collins, Neville, Murombedzi, O'Halloran, McCrae (Morath-Gibbs), Montgomery, Reynolds. BOOKED: Rofe.

That was my sixth attempt at winning the Essex Senior Cup, and it was gutting to lose at the Semi Final stage. We'd arguably blown our best chance yet to claim the trophy, and I feared it would be a long time before we got as good an opportunity again.

I was also very disappointed when I learned that Liam Georgiou's torn hamstring would rule him out for three months. The 18-year-old had shown good promise in the seven senior appearances he made this term, so for Liam's season to end in this manner was very cruel.

[CFuller]

Four days after our exit from the Essex Senior Cup, we got back up and continued our fight against the drop. We travelled to Hampshire for a Conference South game at Havant & Waterlooville. The Hawks were just inside the play-off places, and a good result against them would go some way towards securing our survival.

10 February 2018: Havant & Waterlooville vs Romford

Trevor Dunn made a crucial block just five minutes into his return from suspension. The Romford full-back kept out a close-range strike from Havant forward Guy Madjo. Well, it might have hit the post actually, but I'll give Trev some credit for once. Goalkeeper Roscoe Fryatt deserved plenty of credit in the 11th minute for catching a well 'ard driver from Ricky Wellard. Within moments of that save, we went up at the other end and scored! Nicky Reynolds selflessly played the ball forward to Kenny Pollard, who volleyed in his fifth goal of the season. Madjo could've cancelled out Kenny's opener within about ten seconds of restarting play, but the Cameroonian blasted the ball wide. Havant went closer to scoring in the 25th minute, as Kiel Robinson's header came towards his team-mate Ahmed Abdulla in the six-yard box. Russell Bradley's quick thinking saved us, with the left-back's brilliant challenge on Abdulla preventing a certain goal for the Hawks. Just over a minute later, Kieron Gray hit an aimless clearance up the middle of the pitch, and that would cost us the lead. After Raphael Branco, Wellard and then Madjo headed the ball back towards our area, Frankie Raymond smacked it between Fryatt and his post! I'd given the players strict orders to focus their passes down the flanks, and Kieron clearly hadn't listened! Gray could have made things worse in the 37th minute, but the ref did not listen to Havant's claims that he had unfairly challenged Madjo in the area. It was still 1-1 at half-time, though Havant were looking slightly better than us. We'd lost our other two matches in February after taking the lead. Was the same thing about to happen here?

The way we started the second half suggested not. We'd soaked up plenty of Havant attacks in the first half, and we threw them back at the Hawks after the break. Pollard tested Michael Jordan with a 52nd-minute header that the goalkeeper caught fairly comfortably. Four minutes later, Jordan was beaten by a stunning half-volley from Jason Harley, whose strike from a rare Shepherd Murombedzi assist went in off the woodwork! Once we took back the lead, we moved up the gears. Gray headed Graeme Montgomery's header over the bar in the 63rd minute. About a minute after that, Kieron took the ball off Madjo's feet in the centre circle and knocked it forward to Reynolds. Nicky played a one-two with Kenny and dribbled into the area, where he continued his excellent form with his fourth goal in successive matches! We now led 3-1! Fryatt pulled off a magnificent fingertip save to stop Madjo from getting a goal back for the Hawks in the 71st minute, and Havant would meet their Waterloo six minutes later. Romford substitute Vasilis Koutinis wasted little time in making an impact by setting up Reynolds' second goal - a 20-yard screamer that was deflected in off Jordan's left arm! Our 4-1 advantage was reduced to 4-2 in the 80th minute, when Madjo scored at the second time of asking after hitting the post, but the hosts never looked like mounting a full-scale comeback. They'd been beaten by a sizzling second-half display from the Boro boys!

Havant & Waterlooville - 2 (Raymond 27, Madjo 80)

Romford - 4 (Pollard 11, Harley 56, Reynolds 64,77)

Conference South, Attendance 625 - POSITIONS: Havant 7th, Romford 15th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn (Peters), Dymond, Gray, Bradley, Harley, Morrison, Murombedzi (McCrae), Montgomery, Pollard (Koutinis), Reynolds.

Nicky Reynolds' first goal in that match was actually his 15th league goal this season, beating his tally from the previous campaign. That invoked a clause in his current contract entitling him to a £2,500 bonus - a nice treat for him and his family. However, there's still no word on whether Nicky will sign a new deal for next season...

Following our win at Havant, we had a three-week break from competition, during which I made the players work extra-hard in training - particularly on their fitness and defensive skills.

It was also during that break that I recruited a new player, as Bolton Wanderers left-winger Tom Walker joined on loan until the end of the season. The Salford-born 22-year-old would act mainly as an understudy for Graeme Montgomery.

Tom is in line to make his Romford debut after our 'spring break' ends in early March. We will be ready to make a real charge towards survival, with Duncan Greenwood set to lead the line for us once again. That's right - the beast is coming back!

[EricPye28]

I just wanted to say what a great job you've done with Romford. I've been following since day 1 and this diary is one of the best out there.

[CFuller]

I just wanted to say what a great job you've done with Romford. I've been following since day 1 and this diary is one of the best out there.

Thank you. I've just been reading about your journeyman career on the Career Updates section, and you seem to be doing well with Belenenses at the moment. Keep it up.

[CFuller]

It had been 28 matches since our captain Duncan Greenwood was last in action, but four and a half months after tearing his groin muscle against Woking, he was finally about to return. Big Dunc had returned to full fitness over our spring break, and after three weeks of intense training, he was ready for action.

We had coped surprisingly well during Duncan's lengthy absence. Nicky Reynolds was enjoying his best run of scoring form for years, while teenagers Garry Morath-Gibbs and Kenny Pollard had chipped in with plenty of goals and assists between them. We were also on a run of scoring in 16 consecutive matches!

Nevertheless, we were glad to have Big Dunc back, and the Ship Lane crowd gave him a great reception when he came onto the pitch for our meeting with Oxford City. A home win against 9th-placed City would not only boost our survival hopes, but it would perhaps also start a late surge towards the play-off spots.

3 March 2018: Romford vs Oxford City

Oxford City carved our defence open after just three minutes, when Ben Greenhalgh stormed past Connor Dymond to collect a through-ball from Eric McLean. Greenhalgh's first-time strike hit the post before bouncing back into play. Connor got back and hoofed the ball upfield, but Oxford full-back Ashley Gray crossed it back into the box. His cross found Greenhalgh, who again hit the post with a header, although he was flagged offside that time. Greenhalgh then created a chance for Kealan Dillon in the 9th minute, but his corner delivery was headed wide by the Irish midfielder. After 23 minutes, Duncan Greenwood got his first chance to impress his adoring Boro supporters - and he fired a vicious shot towards some of them in the stands. Seven minutes later, Romone McCrae tried to find Big Dunc with a slide-rule pass into the Oxford penalty area. However, City defender Josh Robinson got there first with a crunching tackle on Greenwood. One could hear an ear-piercing snap before seeing Duncan collapse on the pitch. Once it became obvious that something was seriously wrong, Nicky Reynolds booted the ball out of touch. The stretcher was swiftly brought on, and the ground fell almost silent while Duncan was carefully placed on it. Then, as Duncan was taken towards an ambulance, fans and players from both teams gave him a standing ovation. I remained quiet, as I contemplated losing my key man yet again. To be honest, I felt heartbroken.

Despite being clearly stunned by what had happened to their captain, the Romford boys recomposed themselves and finished the first half positively. Romone forced City keeper Jermaine Antrobus into making his first save of the half after 40 minutes, and Antrobus caught another shot in injury time from Duncan's replacement Kenny Pollard.

The manner in which we completed the first period gave me hope that we could get stronger after the break. Our anxieties soon returned, though, and that was evident when Jordan Peters gave the ball away with a poor throw in the 61st minute. Oxford worked the ball up the pitch towards their 20-goal man McLean, whose shot cleared the bar. Four minutes later at the other end, Pollard ballooned a shot high and wide after being brilliantly set up by Brian Neville. Kenny put another effort wide in the 69th minute, showing that he still had some way to go before he could fill Big Dunc's big shoes. Our problems eventually came home to roost after 73 minutes. Dymon Labonne slotted a through-ball past Kieron Gray and found McLean, who duly put Oxford ahead with his 21st league goal of the campaign! Kieron bounced back brilliantly, getting a surprise equaliser for Romford three minutes later! Simon Rofe got to Graeme Montgomery's corner and headed it across goal to Kieron, who smashed it in at the near post! The assist was credited to Monty, who in the first minute of injury time should've turned one Boro point into three. Kenny threaded a wonderful pass to Graeme on the edge of the Oxford City area, but Montgomery drilled his shot inches wide, and we had to settle for a draw.

Romford - 1 (Gray 76)

Oxford City - 1 (McLean 73)

Conference South, Attendance 402 - POSITIONS: Romford 15th, Oxford City 9th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters (Rofe), Dymond, Gray, Bradley, Harley, Neville (Murombedzi), McCrae, Montgomery, Greenwood (Pollard), Reynolds.

Once the final whistle blew, my focus immediately switched to Duncan Greenwood. I gave the players a short full-time team talk and quickly headed off to the Thurrock Community Hospital, where Big Dunc had been admitted. Seeing my captain stretched out on a hospital bed, with his right leg covered in a plaster cast, was something I hoped I would never see.

Despite being in obvious pain, Duncan retained his dark sense of humour, and said to me, "You shouldn't have told me to break a leg before kick-off!"

I laughed quietly at that, and then sighed, "I don't know what to say, Dunc. We were here about four months ago, and now... here we are again." Duncan replied, "Chin up, boss. I came back from the calf injury, and I'll come back from this. Ye know, it's like what Kelly Clarkson said - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Let's hope that Big Dunc does come back stronger from this. After all, to misquote the American songstress Ms Clarkson, our lives would suck without him.

We would be without Greenwood for the rest of this campaign (and also the opening stages of next season), so we needed to bring in another target man as cover. The man I brought in was 21-year-old Ricardo Morris. Salisbury City kindly let us sign Ricardo on loan, even though he had been a regular player in their seemingly doomed bid to avoid relegation from the Conference Premier.

There was also some good news concerning our centre-back Kieron Gray, who agreed to stay at Romford for at least another season. Kieron's performances had markedly improved over the campaign, so I rewarded him with a new contract and a small pay rise.

New boy Morris was on the bench for our trip to Woking, whom we would leapfrog in the Conference South table if we completed the double against them.

10 March 2018: Woking vs Romford

Early in the match, I realised that something was not quite right. Our usually slick passing was rather slack, and we gifted Woking possession far too often for my liking. One of the first chances that Woking had to make us pay was in the 14th minute. Connor Dymond's headed clearance went awry and fell to the Cards' Zambian midfielder Lamisha Musonda, who made a fine run towards goal before blasting a piledriver into the stands. A long-range strike from Ben Williamson in the 21st minute had the same outcome. Williamson fared better with his next attempt three minutes later, as he turned in Courtney Harris' low cross to give Woking the lead. Things looked like worsening from there, because although we like to hassle our opponents, we did not cope well at all with Woking's own pressing game. Harris went close to a second Woking goal from the edge of the area in the 36th minute, firing narrowly over. About five minutes after that, Jamie Sendles-White sent a header just too high, and Boro defender Kieron Gray fell awkwardly while trying to beat him to Colin Joyce's corner delivery. Kieron was okay to continue, but with just one shot to our name at half-time, we needed to buck up our ideas to avoid a total collapse.

Woking's hard pressing opened up a gap in their defence about a minute into the second half. Romone McCrae exploited it with an excellent pass to Kenny Pollard, but Kenny's subsequent shot was less so. Two minutes later, Roscoe Fryatt pushed away a shot that could've given Williamson his second goal. Much of the play early in the second period took place in our half, and we eventually got sick of absorbing the hosts' attacks. With about half an hour to go, I brought on debutant Ricardo Morris and told the rest of the team to play more direct. After 63 minutes, Connor Dymond headed another Harris cross out of the area, and we were almost ready to counter. When Graeme Montgomery intercepted Musonda's mishit pass to Sean Long, the wheels were set in motion. Monty lobbed the ball up to Ricardo, who moved forward and supplied a killer pass that McCrae blasted into the corner of the net! It was actually Romone's last act before he was substituted, and it had put us back on level terms! We we never looked like turning the game completely on its head, although Kenny did at least force Jonny Maddison into making just his second save of the afternoon on 76 minutes. As for Woking's chances to get back in front, Elton Monteiro headed wide in the 81st minute, and the Cards went mighty close in the 89th, with Ros getting to Harris' delivery just before Williamson. By full-time, Woking led us 12-5 on the shots count and had the lion's share of possession, so they must've been wondering how we'd taken a point off them!

Woking - 1 (Williamson 24)

Romford - 1 (McCrae 63)

Conference South, Attendance 646 - POSITIONS: Woking 13th, Romford 15th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Dymond (Rofe), Gray, Bradley, O'Halloran, Neville, McCrae (Walker), Montgomery, Pollard, Reynolds (Morris). BOOKED: McCrae, Dymond.

I was unimpressed with our performance against Woking, and my mood didn't get much better when I watched our new youth intake in midweek. Ricki Mackin and I were so disappointed with what we saw that we only signed four players to our Under-18s setup - goalkeeper Conor Patterson, centre-back Ashley Clark, winger Johnnie Spong and midfielder Johnny Embleton. I'll be pleasantly surprised if any of them ever graduate into the senior ranks.

The following day, I told Leo Jones that we desperately needed to expand our youth recruitment network - but the chairman was having none of it. I was not a happy bunny.

In all honesty, I could not wait for the league season to end - and we still had nine games remaining!

[CFuller]

We had only won one of our last six league matches, so I hoped for a turnaround in fortunes when play-off hopefuls Brackley Town came to Ship Lane. Only goal difference was keeping Brackley out of the top five.

17 March 2018: Romford vs Brackley Town

To say that we dominated Brackley in the early stages would be an understatement! Full debutant Ricardo Morris had two chances to score in the first two minutes - the first went past the far post from a tight angle, and the second was saved by Aljaz Cotman. In fact, we had FOUR attempts at goal within the first three minutes! We found ourselves recycling possession and constantly attacking Brackley early on. By the quarter-hour mark, we'd managed seven shots at goal compared to just one for the visitors, who were playing so badly that their pass completion rate was as low as 12%! Incredibly, we still hadn't scored, and launching so many quick attacks in a short space of time eventually tired us out. Brackley battled back, with Ollie Devanney grazing the crossbar in the 17th minute before Jacob Blyth hit a 30-yarder into Roscoe Fryatt's hands a minute later. On 21 minutes, Blyth fed the ball through the centre of our defence to Ambrose Gnahore, and the ex-Chelsea youth winger slotted it into the corner. We had controlled almost the entire match thus far, yet Brackley were leading 1-0! Within seconds of the restart, the Saints' other winger Tomi Adeloye dribbled from his own half all the way to the edge of our 'D', where he unleashed a shot that Fryatt just about held onto! We had to stop Brackley from building up more momentum, so we began to attack hard again. In the 33rd minute, Dean O'Halloran tried to pick out Jordan Peters, but Adeloye made a superb tackle that knocked the ball out for a corner, and also left Peters with a toe injury. As I prepared to bring on Simon Rofe as a substitute, Graeme Montgomery crossed the corner to the near post, and Kieron Gray bulleted a header into the net! Would that equaliser be the game-changer? No. In the 40th minute, Boro left-back Jason Collins lost track of Gnahore, allowing the speedy forward to fire Adeloye's left-wing cross into the net. It was now 2-1 to Brackley.

At the break, I felt it was time for a new approach. I addressed the team, "It's obvious that we can't pass our way to victory. Being patient won't work against this lot. We need to get the ball into the box as much as we can - that means more direct balls, and more early crosses. Give as much service as you can to Nicky and Ricky! We can turn this around, lads!"

The players returned for the second half fired up and with my words ringing in their ears. Brackley, though, were keen to pull themselves further clear. After 50 minutes, Dominic Dell had a crack from 25 yards out, and Fryatt turned it behind for a corner. Although we dealt with the corner, the Saints were soon attacking again. Midfielder Matt Johnson's long-ranger cannoned off the bar before Collins hoofed it clear. When Dell missed another shot from distance just before the hour, we got ready to hit back. Fryatt's goal kick was flicked on by Shepherd Murombedzi to Montgomery, who charged towards the left flank. After exchanging passes with Collins, Monty crossed to the near post, where Nicky beat Brackley captain Rémy Clerima to slide it into the net! 2-2! Parity was very nearly cut short, though, because Brackley came back at us again after the kick-off! Fryatt could only push a vicious strike from Dell towards Gnahore, who was about to tap in his hat-trick goal when Connor Dymond blasted the ball as far up the pitch as he could! Connor made another crucial clearance in the 70th minute after Johnson's cross came back off the bar. He and his centre-back partner Gray were on tip-top form - as was Reynolds. With eight minutes remaining, O'Halloran knocked Fryatt's goal kick past Devanney and towards Boro substitute Garry Morath-Gibbs. Garry was beaten by Clerima, but the Frenchman inadvertently sent the ball to Reynolds, who sweetly scored his second goal of the day! We were in front for the first time, but in the 87th minute, our 3-2 lead was put into question. Gnahore's free-kick into the box was headed back to him by Dymond, and the excellent 22-year-old dribbled into the area himself... before being felled by a reckless challenge from Romone McCrae. The referee pointed to the spot, and Lewis Chalmers had a chance to save a point for the visitors. He aimed the penalty for Fryatt's left-hand side - but Ros went the same way and pushed his shot towards the corner! That was one of the biggest saves of Roscoe's season, and after holding out for several more minutes, we could at last celebrate a dramatic victory!

Romford - 3 (Gray 34, Reynolds 61,82)

Brackley Town - 2 (Gnahore 21,40)

Conference South, Attendance 390 - POSITIONS: Romford 13th, Brackley 6th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters (Rofe), Dymond, Gray, Collins, O'Halloran, Morrison (Murombedzi), McCrae, Montgomery, Morris (Morath-Gibbs), Reynolds.

Phew! That was a match and a half, wasn't it?

We now had a 12-point lead over the bottom three, and we only needed 12 more to make certain that we would not be relegated.

Graeme Montgomery's two assists against Brackley Town took his tally for the season up to a very impressive 17. After the match, Graeme signed a new £300-per-week contract to remain at Ship Lane until the end of next season, so hopefully there'll be more to come from him!

A good result at 19th-placed Hayes & Yeading United - who had floundered in the bottom five throughout this entire season - would move us even closer to safety. Jordan Peters missed that match after stubbing his toe against Brackley, and loanee Tom Walker was also out with a strained wrist.

24 March 2018: Hayes & Yeading United vs Romford

Hayes & Yeading were unlucky not to score after exactly a minute, as Darren Ogley's free-kick hit the bar. Shortly afterwards, Paul Stonehouse knocked the ball past Romford full-back Trevor Dunn to find his United team-mate Joe Pigott in the box, but the striker fired high and wide. Ogley went close from another long-distance free-kick in the 7th minute, with Roscoe Fryatt having to palm his effort over. Later on, we started to attack Hayes & Yeading, and Ricardo Morris was particularly eager to score his first goal in a Boro shirt. His 16th-minute effort from the 'D' was scuffed past the post. His 19th-minute attempt from outside the area was tipped over by goalkeeper Arron Bentley. After 25 minutes, Ricardo struck gold from 25 yards, with a stunning low strike bringing near-silence to The Warren! The home supporters quietened down, and so did the action for a while. Hayes & Yeading eventually got up and running again, and they would level the scores after 41 minutes. After we failed to clear Ogley's corner, Stonehouse pumped the ball back to the box. Samuel Smith kept it in play with a downward header to Aidan Sherlock, who took the ball on the bounce and dinked it over Fryatt's head. Had the game turned with that equaliser?

Morris attempted to restore our advantage four minutes into the second half with another audacious effort, but Bentley turned it away. Three minutes later, in the 52nd minute, Romford defender Kieron Gray pushed up too far and opened up space for Mike Symons to play Sherlock through on goal. Sherlock's header was caught by Fryatt, and United missed a great opportunity. They got another in the 57th minute, when Gray and the other Boro players failed to close down Stonehouse before he could strike into the top corner. Shortly after we went 2-1 down, I replaced Kieron with Simon Rofe - but the substitute only made things worse for us on 64 minutes. Rofe's foul on Symons handed Hayes & Yeading a penalty, which the fouled player placed past Fryatt to give United a 3-1 lead. As the pressure on us mounted up, so did our foul count. Romone McCrae eventually picked up a booking in the 72nd minute for committing his fifth foul of the afternoon. We started to relax again in the closing stages, and with three minutes to go, Reynolds got us a lifeline with a half-volley that reduced our arrears to one goal. But in spite of some excellent creative play from Shepherd Murombedzi, who set up both our goals, we couldn't muster a third. The match ended with Hayes & Yeading just about on top.

Hayes & Yeading United - 3 (Sherlock 41, Stonehouse 57, Symons pen65)

Romford - 2 (Morris 25, Reynolds 87)

Conference South, Attendance 168 - POSITIONS: Hayes & Yeading 19th, Romford 14th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Dymond, Gray (Rofe), Bradley, Harley (O'Halloran), Murombedzi, McCrae, Montgomery, Morris (Pollard), Reynolds. BOOKED: McCrae.

That result, together with 20th-placed Braintree Town's 2-0 defeat at Hampton & Richmond Borough, gave Hayes & Yeading's survival hopes a major boost whilst not doing any major damage to ours. Indeed, when Braintree suffered another defeat in midweek, we found ourselves even closer to safety!

Our next weekend fixture at Hampton & Richmond was pushed forward to a Friday night, and it was a big one. Only a victory against the Beavers, who were ten points ahead of us in 5th place, would keep alive any realistic hopes we had of sneaking into the play-offs.

30 March 2018: Hampton & Richmond Borough vs Romford

Nicky Reynolds had a nightmare in the fifth minute. Reynolds lost the ball to H&R midfielder Russ Penn, who then passed to Sam Gallagher, and Nicky's attempts to slide the ball back off Gallagher only knocked it forward to Penn. The former Cheltenham Town man surged forward to go through on goal, but he wasted his shot and let us off the hook. A minute later, Dean O'Halloran's cross set up a chance for Graeme Montgomery to put us ahead. Rikki Banks parried it away, and defender Richard Taudry made an excellent challenge to stop Monty from scoring from the rebound. We were given a greater opportunity to go 1-0 up after 25 minutes. Beavers loanee Robbie Devine - a midfielder that I tried to sign from Brighton & Hove Albion earlier in the season - got away with a risky challenge on O'Halloran in the box, though not with another on Ricardo Morris. Reynolds took the penalty, only to see it brilliantly kept out by Banks! Our confidence was badly shaken by that, and Hampton & Richmond ended the half strongly. Gallagher put a header just wide in the 39th minute, and Penn stung Fryatt's palms with a fierce shot four minutes later. Although both sides had been given opportunities to break the deadlock, it was still 0-0 after 45 minutes.

Hampton & Richmond, who lost winger Alexander McQueen to a dead leg early in the second half, made a bold move by moving centre-back Dermot McVeigh up to centre-forward. It was a masterstroke from manager Dan Murray, because McVeigh proved himself to be a budding Dion Dublin with a cool striker's finish in the 51st minute. We were 1-0 down, so I took a risk of my own - I brought 17-year-old defender Keston James on in place of Kieron Gray. It would not be a smart move on my part. Keston's rashness got the better of him in the 60th minute, as he lunged in on McVeigh in the penalty area. It was the third penalty we'd conceded in as many games, and Connor Wilkins put it away for 2-0. At the other end, Reynolds had gone downhill following his penalty miss, and I took him off after a dreadful shot went wide in the 65th minute. By then, we were all over the place tactically, and my mind had turned to jelly. Defeat was unavoidable. We were actually quite lucky not to concede a third goal before full-time, but when the final whistle blew, our 20-game scoring run was over, as was our promotion dream.

Hampton & Richmond Borough - 2 (McVeigh 51, Wilkins pen60)

Romford - 0

Conference South, Attendance 609 - POSITIONS: Hampton & Richmond 5th, Romford 14th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Peters, Dymond, Gray (James), Collins, O'Halloran, Neville (Murombedzi), McCrae, Montgomery, Morris, Reynolds (Pollard).

We now trail the top five by 13 points with six games to go, and that will surely be too big a gap to make up. Admittedly, we suffered too many dips in form and conceded too many goals to be serious contenders for promotion.

The aim now is simply to secure our place in next season's Conference South. We received a double-boost on Saturday afternoon, when the bottom two sides - Basingstoke Town and Staines Town - both failed to win. That means we are now just a few points away from safety!

[CFuller]

                                   [b]P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
1.    Pl    Canvey Island          36    22    8     6     68    39    +29   74
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2.          Farnborough            36    22    4     10    75    56    +19   70
3.          Chelmsford             36    20    7     9     71    42    +29   67
4.          Ebbsfleet              36    20    6     10    62    39    +23   66
5.          Hampton & Richmond     36    14    15    7     53    37    +16   57
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.          Brackley               36    17    5     14    50    54    -4    56
7.          Dorchester             36    16    7     13    48    41    +7    55
8.          Havant                 36    16    5     15    39    36    +3    53
9.          Oxford City            36    15    7     14    60    57    +3    52
10.         Eastbourne Boro        36    13    13    10    39    38    +1    52
11.         Worcester              36    13    11    12    46    54    -8    50
12.         Woking                 36    12    13    11    48    44    +4    49
13.         Bath                   36    14    6     16    52    59    -7    48
[color="#0000FF"]14.         Romford                36    11    11    14    56    64    -8    44[/color]
15.         Grays                  36    11    10    15    56    48    +8    43
16.         Welling                36    12    7     17    53    58    -5    43
17.         Bromley                36    11    9     16    53    59    -6    42
18.         Hayes & Yeading        36    10    9     17    45    54    -9    39
19.         Weston-super-Mare      36    9     11    16    45    51    -6    38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20.         Braintree              36    8     8     20    36    77    -41   32
21.         Basingstoke            36    6     12    18    35    54    -19   30
22.         Staines                36    4     16    16    38    67    -29   28

[CFuller]

The season was coming to a close, and our target for the end-of-season run-in was simple: we needed six points from six games. That would get us up to 50 points. Although 20th-placed Braintree Town could reach that mark if they won their final six matches, their goal difference was miles worse than ours, so we effectively had an extra point on our Essex rivals.

Here were the last six games that lay ahead of us:

2 April: vs Grays Athletic (H) - Grays were 15th, and were unbeaten in five matches

7 April: vs Basingstoke Town (H) - Basingstoke were 21st, and had not won in six away games

14 April: vs Ebbsfleet United (A) - Ebbsfleet were 4th, and had won five of their last six matches

21 April: vs Canvey Island (H) - Canvey Island were 1st, and were guaranteed to finish in the top five

28 April: vs Bromley (A) - Bromley were 17th, and had not won in 11 games

10 May: vs Farnborough (H) - Farnborough were 2nd, and were the highest goalscorers in the division

First up was a massive home derby against Grays Athletic. The Gravelmen were on a good run of form that had seen them pull away from the bottom three, and of course, they did quite well in our last encounter.

2 April 2018: Romford vs Grays Athletic

Grays were on a good run of form, and their early positivity was a major concern for us. In just the second minute, Andrew Jenkins dribbled to the edge of our area and hit a powerful shot that Roscoe Fryatt had to parry clear. Shortly afterwards, Garry Morath-Gibbs blasted our first chance high and wide. That aside, the opening salvos were mostly shot by Grays. Jake Woolley got through the Boro backline in the fifth minute and was unlucky to see his low shot sail just wide. Five minutes later, with the rain starting to pour down on Ship Lane, the Gravelmen thrived under the new conditions. Simon Johnson's attempt to pick out Woolley in the six-yard box was intercepted by Simon Rofe, but the ball fell to Jenkins, who finished with aplomb. 1-0 to Grays. It wasn't until halfway through the period that we started to get our act together. In the 23rd minute, inside-forward Tom O'Reilly saw his shot hit the back of Grays defender Matt Somner and fall to Morath-Gibbs, whose volley was kept out by a lightning-quick catch from Peter Parker! O'Reilly had another chance five minutes later, curling his free-kick just wide. It was from another free-kick that we enjoyed our best opportunity yet in the second minute of injury time. Zimbabwean midfielder Shepherd Murombedzi, who had just been booked, blasted his set-piece against the post. Moments later, Shep's attempt to centre the ball into the Grays area was cleared by visiting skipper Philippe Chevalier. We'd enjoyed lots of possession late in the first half, but once again, we failed to turn that possession into goals.

I had a stern word with the players at the break, and they came back fighting in the second half. Within the first minute, Romone McCrae set up an equalising goal from Garry Morath-Gibbs, whose first senior strike in nearly three months was his 15th of a fantastic debut season! But in the 52nd minute, Grays went back in front after a string of one-touch passes and a deadly finish from Jenkins, who beat slowpoke Kieron Gray to Callum Cornhill's through-ball. Our situation deteriorated even further about a minute later. Ros came out of his six-yard box to hoof away an overhit David Ijaha ball that was heading out of play. Much to my disgust, the goalie's clearance went straight to Grays midfielder Wayne Nicholas, who volleyed the ball into an empty net from 40 yards out! Nicholas was later forced to come off injured in the 73rd minute, but his goal had put the visitors on course for a 3-1 win. Our shooting in the second half was so poor that I felt like bringing myself on and showing the players what they should be doing. The last couple of chances we had to get back into the game were in the 74th minute, when Dean O'Halloran and O'Reilly both missed speculative efforts. Grays once again took the derby spoils to climb above us in the table.

Romford - 1 (Morath-Gibbs 46)

Grays Athletic - 3 (Jenkins 10,52, Nicholas 53)

Conference South, Attendance 401 - POSITIONS: Romford 16th, Grays 14th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn, Gray (Peters), Rofe, Collins (Bradley), Morrison, Neville, Murombedzi (McCrae), O'Halloran, O'Reilly, Morath-Gibbs. BOOKED: Murombedzi, Rofe.

I had rested Nicky Reynolds for that derby game following his Hampton & Richmond horror show, and our free-scoring frontman returned for our next home game against Basingstoke Town. If we could avoid defeat here, second-from-bottom Basingstoke would be unable to catch us in the standings.

7 April 2018: Romford vs Basingstoke Town

Basingstoke fielded a 4-3-2-1 'Christmas tree' formation, and we almost gift-wrapped them a very early present after just two minutes! Connor Dymond made a superb challenge to stop Basingstoke striker Jonson Clarke-Harris from having a shot, but his tackle took the ball to Dragons skipper Paul McBride, who hit the post. We later survived an 18th-minute attempt from McBride that flew over the bar. At the other end, we couldn't get enough service to target man Ricardo Morris. Ricky was restricted to a 21st-minute strike from distance and a 30th-minute header from inside the box. Both of them missed the target. Will Morford almost put the Dragons ahead on 34 minutes, when he fired a shot against our crossbar and Steven Barnes had to quickly tip it over! The Basingstoke woodwork denied Shepherd Murombedzi a fluke goal for Romford in the 37th minute, as the midfielder's cross shot clipped the bar. We were hoping for much better luck after half-time...

...but we didn't get it. Garry Morath-Gibbs headed against the bar just five minutes after the restart, and another Murombedzi cross hit the frame a minute later! We'd struck the woodwork three times in the match and still hadn't scored! I felt that this was perhaps karma giving us a kick up the backside. The last time we met Basingstoke, we narrowly won without playing anywhere near our best. McBride later put a couple of shots narrowly wide for the Dragons in the 73rd and 74th minutes. Then, after 77 minutes, came the crucial moment. Romford full-back Russell Bradley hauled down Morford to stop him from getting his head to Damien Davies' cross, and Basingstoke were awarded a penalty. Somalian midfielder Abdul Said's powerful spot-kick struck Barnes in the face and was diverted into the corner of the net! The opening goal was all that Basingstoke needed. Just like at the Camrose, we had played poorly against the Dragons, and we did not get away with it this time.

Romford - 0

Basingstoke Town - 1 (Said pen78)

Conference South, Attendance 310 - POSITIONS: Romford 16th, Basingstoke 21st

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Barnes, Peters, Dymond (James), Rofe, Bradley, Harley, Murombedzi, McCrae, Montgomery (Walker), Morris (Morath-Gibbs), Reynolds.

We had lost four games in a row, making this our worst run of the season.

The Basingstoke result mathematically ended the wafer-thin chance we had of reaching the play-offs, and it also put a dent in our hopes of avoiding relegation. Fortunately, 20th-placed Braintree Town could only draw 3-3 against deposed leaders Canvey Island, despite leading 2-0 at one stage.

We now only needed four points from our last four fixtures to effectively secure our survival. However, three of those games would come against the top three - Farnborough, Canvey, and Ebbsfleet United - so we were still under threat.

[CFuller]

My 33rd birthday was not really one to celebrate. My Romford team was on a four-game losing streak that was putting us in danger of suffering relegation back to the Isthmian League. We required four more points from our final four matches before we could make solid plans for another season in the Conference South, and with such a difficult run-in, safety was not guaranteed.

We took on Ebbsfleet United at Stonebridge Road three days later, and we could not have hand-picked a worse time to come up against them. Aaron McLean's men had won seven of their last eight games - a sequence that had secured them a play-off place and put them right in contention for the title.

14 April 2018: Ebbsfleet United vs Romford

I should've known from our last game against Ebbsfleet that Mauro Vilhete posed a threat on the right wing. In an oversight, I forgot to tell Jason Collins to keep an eye on him. That mistake would cost us dear after five minutes. Jason couldn't stop Vilhete from centring the ball to Reuben Reid, who slid it over the goal line and gave Ebbsfleet a very early lead! While Collins was guilty of not doing enough to stop the Portuguese winger, another Boro player was guilty of the exact opposite in the 12th minute! Graeme Montgomery clattered into Vilhete as he entered the Romford area, and the referee awarded Fleet a penalty. That was the fifth penalty we had given away in the space of six matches, and just like the last four, Ebbsfleet scored from it. Joe Healy emphatically blasted the ball into the corner, and it was 2-0 United. Healy then narrowly missed the target from a free-kick in the 17th minute as we threatened to fall apart at the seams. Six minutes later, Healy was involved in a clash with Trevor Dunn, and the Romford right-back came off worse, so I swiftly subbed Trev for Kieron Gray. Later on, Roscoe Fryatt did all he could to keep the scoreline decent, making saves from Stefan Tomasevic's header in the 28th minute and Reid's drilled effort in the 33rd. Ebbsfleet were so dominant that they didn't let us have a shot at goal until the 41st minute, but when we did, we made the most of it! Dean O'Halloran's cross was brilliantly diverted into the net by Montgomery, who made up for his earlier mistake. We were set to go into half-time with a single-goal deficit... but it wasn't to be. An injury-time bullet from Healy made it 3-1 to the Fleet. Unless we launched a great comeback in the second half, our four-game losing streak would be extended to five.

In the 48th minute, shortly after Kenny Pollard blazed over a good chance to give us a second goal, Collins lunged in on Vilhete - and hurt himself to the extent that he required treatment on the sidelines. That aside, we fared much better in the second half than in the first. We certainly created more chances - our problem now was hitting the target with them. Simon Rofe and Nicky Reynolds both failed to do that in the 54th and 57th minutes respectively, and our next real opening wouldn't come until the 71st. Ebbsfleet defender Sam Beale made two costly errors, as he first fouled O'Halloran near the corner, and then failed to head Monty's free-kick clear before Kieron stroked in our second goal! It was 3-2, and I was making plans for a late assault on the Ebbsfleet goal that would perhaps yield an equaliser. But before I put those plans into action, the Portuguese man o' war gave us a fatal sting. Man of the match Healy drilled a cross into the box, and Collins was about to hack the ball away when Vilhete rushed in and knocked it across the line! Ebbsfleet were 4-2 ahead after 84 minutes, and that was how the match finished.

Ebbsfleet United - 4 (Reid 5, Healy pen13,45, Vilhete 84)

Romford - 2 (Montgomery 41, Gray 71)

Conference South, Attendance 747 - POSITIONS: Ebbsfleet 3rd, Romford 18th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Fryatt, Dunn (Gray), Dymond, Rofe, Collins, O'Halloran, Neville (Walker), Murombedzi, Montgomery, Morris (Pollard), Reynolds.

After the final whistle, I learned that Braintree Town had thrown away a winning position at Bromley, conceding an equaliser in the 87th minute. Their failure to win meant that, in spite of our five-game losing run, we were now within two points of safety! We could therefore ensure survival by winning any of our last three matches, but if Braintree slipped up again, we'd be safe by default!

Before our potentially crucial home game against Canvey Island, I called Jason Collins into my office. Jason's poor showing against Ebbsfleet was one of several poor performances from the inconsistent left-back this season, and I'd had enough.

I told Collins that he would not be getting a new contract in the summer, and that I'd try to find him a new club as soon as possible. Jason to his credit took this rather well, reluctantly agreeing that, after three years at Ship Lane, it was time that he moved on.

Jason wouldn't play any part in the Canvey Island game, from which I was desperate to take at least a point. Steve Tilson was feeling the same way, because he'd just seen his Canvey team chuck away a big lead at the top of the table, and he wanted to wrestle first place back from Farnborough before it was too late.

21 April 2018: Romford vs Canvey Island

Our defence had been opened up far too often this season, so I told the defenders to play narrower and be more compact against Canvey Island. It certainly made a difference, as Canvey struggled to get shots on goal during the opening stages. At the other end, we won a couple of corners in the 6th minute, and Graeme Montgomery hit a 25-yarder in the 13th minute that Tim Deasy comfortably caught for the Gulls. That was as good as the half got for us attacking-wise. Canvey upped their game in the latter portion of the first half, as Jordan Roberts had a couple of chances to put them ahead despite suffering a knock earlier on. Roberts dragged a poor shot wide in the 26th minute, and then got a bit closer with a 34th-minute header. Canvey had their best opportunity three minutes from time, when Boro goalkeeper Steven Barnes got his fingers to a well-struck effort from Curtis Weston.

After a frustrating first half for them, Canvey Island nearly got lucky half a minute into the second. Weston's powerful shot took a wicked deflection off Kieron Gray's shoulder and headed goalwards, but Barnes calmly gathered the ball before he could be embarrassed. That was the first of many opportunities the Gulls had after the break. Among them was a 63rd-shot from Cameron Norman that Steven again dealt with comfortably. Moments earlier, Deasy had caught a long-range free-kick from Jason Harley. That was our only meaningful effort of the half, as the Boro boys seemed more determined to avoid a sixth straight defeat than go for a victory. It could have backfired in the 77th minute, when ex-Romford defender Chris Lynch headed millimetres wide. After a total of 15 shots from Canvey, we held on for a goalless draw, despite finishing the match a defender light. The impressive Connor Dymond had to come off just before injury time with a sprained ankle. Connor's season was over, and with his contract set to expire this summer, he might have played his final ever match for Romford.

Romford - 0

Canvey Island - 0

Conference South, Attendance 307 - POSITIONS: Romford 17th, Canvey Island 3rd

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Barnes, Peters, Dymond, Gray, Bradley, Harley, Morrison (McCrae), Murombedzi, Montgomery (Walker), Pollard, Reynolds (Morath-Gibbs). BOOKED: Morrison, Harley.

As the players showered after the final whistle, I headed back to my office with my assistant Wayne Daniel. I sat in my seat quietly, and then Wayne got off the phone to tell me, "Braintree lost 4-1 against Farnborough. We've done it, boss. We're safe!" I simply said, "Okay. Brilliant," with about as much emotion as Keanu Reeves.

I wasn't exactly jumping up and down like a hyperactive kid who'd seen their team win the UEFA Champions League. I would have felt much better if we had ensured our survival with a victory, rather than having to rely on another team losing.

With our place in next season's Conference South assured, and our hopes of a top-half finish long reduced to ashes, I chose to blood some of our younger players in the final two games. One of the lads who featured was Moses Millen - a 17-year-old goalkeeper who our head of youth development Ricki Mackin has tipped for a bright future.

Moses and our loanee winger Tom Walker got their first Romford starts in the trip to Bromley, who like us were just about safe. The Lilywhites had somehow survived despite a horrendous 15-game run in which they only picked up five points from a possible 45. You had to go back to 5 January for the last time they actually won a match!

28 April 2018: Bromley vs Romford

The first half had all the hallmarks of an end-of-season dead rubber. The general standard of play was, well, sub-standard, and chances for either team were low both on quantity and quality. Shepherd Murombedzi skied a shot over the bar for us in the 9th minute. A minute later, Bromley striker Johnny Cosgrove directed a screamer high and wide, and the Northern Irishman's next attempt in the 25th minute wasn't much better. The Lilywhites later dirtied their name with three yellow cards in the next seven minutes, as the referee's constant whistle-blowing seemed to keep awake those at Hayes Lane who were at risk of nodding off! Would the second half be another borefest?

Erm... pretty much, yeah. The woeful shooting continued on 49 minutes, when Romford's Kenny Pollard struck the chest of Bromley's Jimmy Wharton and missed the target with a follow-up. Four minutes later, referee Chris Powell's yellow card came out twice more. The official booked Boro winger Tom O'Reilly and Bromley defender Wharton for separate fouls within seconds of each other. There wasn't much to write about after that until the 77th minute, when Russell Bradley bicycle-kicked a dangerous Bromley ball out of the Romford area! Four minutes later, with just nine more to go, we finally got a shot on target, as Murombedzi fired the ball into the hands of home goalie Spencer Burns. Our young goalkeeper Moses Millen was tested for the first time in the 83rd minute, when Moses parried away Cosgrove's attempt. Then the drama really began. With less than four minutes left, Glenn Gould pulled O'Reilly down in the Bromley area, giving us a late penalty! Garry Morath-Gibbs chose to take the penalty, even though he was having a poor game - and he confidently put it away! We were surely going to take a 1-0 away win back to Essex... but then one of our old friends altered the script. Ex-Boro loanee Jonté Smith set up an 89th-minute equaliser for Solomon Taiwo, whose 25-yarder went in off the post and denied Millen a debut clean sheet! That leveller pretty much summed up our entire season to a tee.

Bromley - 1 (Taiwo 89)

Romford - 1 (Morath-Gibbs pen87)

Conference South, Attendance 512 - POSITIONS: Bromley 18th, Romford 17th

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Millen, Peters, James, Gray, Bradley, O'Reilly, Murombedzi (Morrison), McCrae, Walker (Montgomery), Pollard (Koutinis), Morath-Gibbs. BOOKED: O'Reilly.

Well that's just fantastic, is it not? We have now gone seven games without winning - equalling my worst ever barren run from last term. If we don't finish the season on a high against Farnborough, my reign as Romford boss will hit a new low.

[CFuller]

As May began, I started making plans for an end-of-season clearout. Several of our squad would not be getting new deals, and our first departure was confirmed when left-back Jason Collins agreed to sign for Isthmian League Division 1 North outfit Ware in the summer. Anyone else who wouldn't be retained would find out after our final match of the campaign.

Heading into our season finale at Ship Lane, we knew that we would finish between 16th and 19th. That represented a massive disappointment for me. It wasn't the top-half finish I was hoping for nine months earlier. It wasn't even mid-table as far as I was concerned.

While we had hardly anything left to fight for, everything was at stake for our opponents on the final day. Farnborough were embroiled in a four-way battle for the Conference South title - and they had the whip hand. If they beat us, they would definitely finish top and earn automatic promotion to the Conference Premier.

Chelmsford City, Canvey Island and Ebbsfleet United were all hoping that we would do them a favour by avoiding defeat to Farnborough, so that the door to automatic promotion could be opened for any of those three.

We had the support, and Farnborough had all the pressure, so was there about to be a late twist in the title race? Would we be able to sign off with a long-awaited victory?

10 May 2018: Romford vs Farnborough

Farnborough had scored 90 goals in the Conference South this season, with Darren Swann and Kaine Sheppard getting 49 between them. After just nine minutes, the deadly duo combined to reach their half-century. Ricky Holmes' corner was flicked towards goal by Sheppard, but Swann got the final touch in off the bar for his 23rd league goal of the campaign! Farnborough were leading 1-0, and promotion would be theirs if they stayed in front. Doncaster Rovers loanee Swann could've added a second goal in the 14th minute, only to fire his chance over the bar. The talented teen then put a 17th-minute effort into Moses Millen's hands before his partner decided to get in on the act. After 25 minutes, Sheppard brushed aside Simon Rofe to chest Swann's lobbed pass and volley it into the net, thus continuing his excellent scoring record against us. We trailed 2-0, and with the home fans getting agitated, we had to up our game. Shortly after the restart, Graeme Montgomery tried to beat Connor Brennan from just inside the area, but the Farnborough keeper tipped his shot over the bar. Former Northern Ireland youth keeper Brennan also caught Shepherd Murombedzi's 31st-minute effort, and he made further stops from Nicky Reynolds and Vasilis Koutinis before half-time. Thanks to Brennan's brilliance, and the Farnborough 'SAS', we were still two goals behind at the break. An eighth successive game without victory was looking likely.

The last 45 minutes were - rather fittingly, considering the season we'd endured - anti-climactic. Our shooting accuracy got progressively worse as the minutes ticked by. Montgomery messed up a couple of free-kicks just before the hour mark, when Reynolds wasted a golden chance. Nicky made a promising run towards goal, and then lost focus by blazing over from distance. I later brought Ricardo Morris on to try and help Nicky out, but the substitution didn't awake either man from their end-of-season slumber. Ricky woefully miscued a low shot aimed for Brennan's left-hand corner in the 70th minute. That was the first of four shots from the Salisbury City loanee - none of them seriously threatened the target. By the 89th minute, we had pretty much given up. Then, to make matters worse, Farnborough's fantastically-named defender Nortei Nortey sent a deep cross to our far post, and Swann headed it in for what he thought was 3-0. The offside flag denied the visitors their third goal, but the party was already underway for those who had travelled from Hampshire. Farnborough were heading for the Conference Premier, while we finished the season in 17th place.

Romford - 0

Farnborough - 2 (Swann 9, Sheppard 25)

Conference South, Attendance 409 - POSITIONS: Romford 17th, Farnborough 1st

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Millen, Dunn, Gray, Rofe (Georgiou), Bradley, Harley, Neville (McCrae), Murombedzi, Montgomery, Reynolds, Koutinis (Morris). BOOKED: Harley, Rofe, Gray.

As Farnborough celebrated promotion with their adoring travelling supporters, we headed back towards the dressing room to a chorus of boos. I looked up into the stands, and saw Romford chairman Leo Jones shaking his head in disgust. He was not best pleased, to say the least.

I followed the players into the dressing room, and shut the door behind me. The lads looked towards me, hoping for some kind words at full-time... but nothing came out of my mouth. I was so speechless that, after several seconds of utter silence, I left the dressing room without saying a word.

As I came out, Mr Jones confronted me with a face like thunder. He exclaimed, "What the f***ing hell do you think that was, eh? We didn't show any desire whatsoever!"

I stuttered, "S-s-sorry, Mr Jones. It w-wasn't..." before he interrupted, "I ain't having it, Chris! It can't carry on like this next season! SOMETHING'S GOT TO CHANGE!"

Mr Jones walked away in a huff, and then turned back to tell me, "I want you in my office on Monday! Got it?" I quietly nodded in acknowledgement as I wiped the sweat from my brow.

Something definitely had to change. I wondered whether he meant our playing staff, or our tactics, or perhaps something else altogether. Then I thought... what if that something was me? Would it be my neck on the line? Was Mr Jones seriously thinking about a change of manager?

[CFuller]

I'm a lover of statistics, but the stats from our disastrous season did not make comfortable reading:

• We finished the season without winning any of our last eight games - my worst ever such run.
  
• We never won more than two games consecutively this season.
  
• We scored two fewer goals and conceded 15 more in the league this season than last.
  
• In games against the eventual top five, we racked up two points out of a possible 30.
  

I could go on, but those facts are depressing enough already...

After such a diabolical campaign, there would be no prizes for guessing how many accolades we picked up at the Football Conference awards. To be brutally honest, I had as much chance of being named Manager of the Year as I had of winning Miss World.

On the Monday morning after our final match, I sat down with the chairman Leo Jones for what I feared could be my final meeting as Romford manager. However, he reassured me, "First things first, I want to let you know that I'm not thinking about replacing you at this moment. I am prepared to give you one more season, but if we don't make progress next season, then I might have to look for a new manager."

That was a relief, I thought. But when I put forward some suggestions as to how we could change our fortunes, I started to feel that Mr Jones didn't have complete faith in me.

I suggested that we should expand our scouting range to Wales and perhaps even Scotland, but Mr Jones thought we should stick to scouting just in England.

I also brought up once again the idea of hiring a specialised goalkeeping coach. Just like last year, the chairman said we couldn't afford one, although he did allow me to keep all of my backroom staff. That at least made a change from 12 months previously, when Leo suggested that I lose one of my coaches before later backtracking.

One proposal that Mr Jones did agree with was to move the start of pre-season forward to 25 June - the same day that the 2018/2019 Conference South fixtures would come out. The players were originally going to return on 2 July, but after finishing this campaign in such dreadful fashion, we agreed that they needed more time to prepare for the next one.

A bit later on, Mr Jones said rather ominously, "There's no easy way of saying this, Christopher, but we lost around £20,000 this season. Even with my monthly investments, we're still losing money. We've still got around £30,000 in the bank, but that could all be gone in 12 months.

"I'm afraid I have to ask you to slash the wage bill. Cut it by as much or as little as you want, but it's gotta come down. When all is said and done, we can't pay nearly £2,500 a week in player wages when we get such poor gate receipts!"

Ouch. I was already planning for a squad cull, and now I had no choice. There was no way that I could keep on our highest-paid players if they could not justify their wages.

Our joint-highest earners - each on £300 per week - were Graeme Montgomery and Connor Dymond. Monty was definitely staying because of his fantastic goal-creating abilities, and he also had another year on his contract. Connor's deal, though, would run out in the summer, and I very much doubted that we could afford to keep him.

Two other big earners whose contracts were about to expire were Roscoe Fryatt and Shepherd Murombedzi. Neither of them had done well enough to warrant new contracts. I also wanted to try and get Dean O'Halloran off the wage bill, even though his £250-a-week deal wouldn't expire until the end of next season.

Then I came to Brian Neville and Nicky Reynolds - our longest-serving players, and the only remaining men from my first season as Romford manager. Neville and Reynolds had both proved difficult negotiators in the past, and things would not be any different with them this time.

I wanted to keep Brian on, provided that he agreed to remain on £150 a week. The 21-year-old wanted more than that, and by the end of May, neither of us had backed down. It was difficult to see how negotiations could be successfully completed.

Nicky's problem was different. It is usually quite difficult to negotiate a new contract if one of the parties doesn't even want to start talks. I'd been badgering Nicky for months about giving him a new deal, and every time I asked him if he'd discuss it, he rebuffed me with, "Not yet, boss."

I didn't have an endless supply of patience, and I eventually ran out of it with Nicky. I gave Reynolds a final deadline of 22 June - the Friday before pre-season - to sign a new contract, otherwise I'd tell him to sling his hook.

It would be such a shame if my working relationship with Reynolds ended like this, especially as Nicky had just finished his best season in terms of goalscoring since 2013/2014.

Before I wielded the axe on my overpaid first-teamers in June, I offered senior contracts to five of our younger lads, all of whom would proudly keep on playing for their hometown club on low wages.

Daniel Morrison, Garry Morath-Gibbs and Kenny Pollard - three players who enjoyed plenty of senior action this season - were the first to sign their brand-new two-year contracts. They were later followed by Liam Georgiou and Vasilis Koutinis, both of whom I hoped would establish themselves as first-team regulars in the years ahead.

The new deal for 17-year-old Garry was especially noteworthy, because it was the first time I'd given senior terms to a player who still had one year left on his youth contract. With 16 goals already to his name, GMG really is a special talent - and probably the best to have come out of our youth system for many years.

After our 'soon-to-be-famous five' signed on, I decided to leave Romford for a short holiday. Once I had recharged my batteries, I would be ready to continue my summer overhaul.

[CFuller]

                                   [b]P     W     D     L     F     A     GD    PTS[/b]
1.    C     Farnborough            42    26    6     10    92    62    +30   84
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.          Ebbsfleet              42    25    7     10    73    43    +30   82
3.          Canvey Island          42    23    12    7     77    49    +28   81
4.    P     Chelmsford             42    24    8     10    83    51    +32   80
5.          Hampton & Richmond     42    16    17    9     60    47    +13   65
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.          Brackley               42    19    6     17    56    61    -5    63
7.          Oxford City            42    18    8     16    71    65    +6    62
8.          Eastbourne Boro        42    16    14    12    45    43    +2    62
9.          Dorchester             42    17    10    15    53    47    +6    61
10.         Worcester              42    16    13    13    60    61    -1    61
11.         Havant                 42    17    7     18    44    45    -1    58
12.         Bath                   42    16    9     17    63    67    -4    57
13.         Woking                 42    14    14    14    54    53    +1    56
14.         Welling                42    14    9     19    62    68    -6    51
15.         Grays                  42    13    11    18    61    53    +8    50
16.         Hayes & Yeading        42    13    10    19    53    61    -8    49
[color="#0000FF"]17.         Romford                42    11    13    18    60    75    -15   46[/color]
18.         Bromley                42    11    12    19    57    67    -10   45
19.         Weston-super-Mare      42    10    13    19    53    60    -7    43
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20.   R     Basingstoke            42    9     13    20    42    60    -18   40
21.   R     Braintree              42    9     11    22    45    88    -43   38
22.   R     Staines                42    4     19    19    42    80    -38   31

[CFuller]

GOALKEEPERS               APPS    CON  CLN  MOM  P%   TR   ST%  Y    R    AV RAT
Steven Barnes             8       8    3    0    78%  0.13 -    0    0    6.91
Roscoe Fryatt             43      78   9    0    80%  -    -    0    0    6.85
Moses Millen              2       3    0    0    60%  -    -    0    0    6.75

OUTFIELD PLAYERS          APPS    GLS  AST  MOM  P%   TR   ST%  Y    R    AV RAT
George Allen              2 (4)   0    0    0    62%  1.26 100% 2    0    6.38
Russell Bradley           22 (2)  0    2    1    72%  1.91 0%   0    0    6.95
Stuart Close              12 (1)  0    0    0    66%  2.05 -    0    0    6.76
Jason Collins             28 (3)  1    2    1    75%  2.96 100% 2    0    6.62
Trevor Dunn               21 (7)  0    4    0    80%  3.12 0%   3    1    6.91
Connor Dymond             29 (2)  0    1    0    65%  2.28 33%  4    0    7.06
Liam Georgiou             4 (4)   2    0    1    63%  2.19 50%  0    0    7.35
Kieron Gray               39 (3)  5    0    3    66%  2.76 64%  2    0    7.00
Matt Green                7 (4)   3    1    1    78%  1.23 36%  0    0    6.90
Duncan Greenwood          10 (4)  7    0    3    70%  2.02 57%  1    0    7.24
Jason Harley              21 (4)  1    3    0    76%  2.21 20%  2    0    6.74
Keston James              5 (7)   0    0    0    63%  1.94 -    1    0    6.92
Vasilis Koutinis          6 (8)   3    1    1    79%  2.43 47%  0    0    6.85
Romone McCrae             37 (10) 6    4    2    82%  3.95 50%  5    0    7.01
Dave McGrath              0 (1)   0    0    0    90%  0.00 -    0    0    6.90
Graeme Montgomery         42 (4)  3    18   0    78%  2.36 25%  1    0    6.95
Garry Morath-Gibbs        18 (13) 16   4    2    75%  2.69 40%  0    0    7.15
Ricardo Morris            5 (2)   1    1    0    74%  2.12 28%  0    0    6.63
Daniel Morrison           16 (12) 2    1    1    82%  4.42 42%  4    0    6.91
Shepherd Murombedzi       29 (13) 0    5    1    85%  3.49 31%  2    0    6.89
Brian Neville             35 (3)  3    1    0    79%  4.35 41%  4    0    6.91
Dean O'Halloran           31 (9)  0    9    0    76%  2.50 13%  2    0    6.79
Tom O'Reilly              5 (5)   1    2    0    77%  3.27 38%  1    0    7.10
Jordan Peters             32 (4)  0    3    2    80%  2.81 0%   2    0    6.86
Kenny Pollard             19 (5)  5    10   3    80%  2.31 27%  1    0    7.19
Nicky Reynolds            34 (5)  28   5    6    79%  1.96 56%  3    0    7.25
Simon Rofe                20 (14) 1    0    1    75%  2.87 25%  7    0    6.74
Tom Walker                1 (4)   0    0    0    63%  0.63 -    0    0    6.68

APPS - Appearances (Substitute apps), GLS - Goals, AST - Assists,
CON - Goals conceded, CLN - Clean sheets, MOM - Man of the Match awards,
P% - Pass completion %, TR - Tackles per 90 mins, ST - Shots on target %,
Y - Yellow cards, R - Red cards, AV RAT - Average match rating

[CFuller]

Incredibly, I hadn't taken a single holiday since becoming Romford manager six years ago. It was high time that I went on a break, so I took one at the start of June. I spent an entire week in Norfolk, where I could forget about the pressures of managing in non-league football and just enjoy life for a while.

Admittedly, I did not completely forget about Romford while I was on holiday. I dreamt up a couple of new formations that I could put to good use over the new season, and also though about what types of players I would need for those formations.

After my break, it was quickly back to business as usual. My first act upon returning was to ratify the departures of three players. One of them was Jason Harley - a popular right-winger who scored 12 goals in 118 games during five seasons at Ship Lane. Jason was heading to west London, where he would be playing for North Greenford United in the Southern League Division 1 Central.

I also said goodbye to both of our senior goalkeepers from the season just gone. Steven Barnes threatened to leave us in September over a lack of first-team opportunities, and though he did stay on for the rest of the campaign, he was never truly happy here. I allowed Steven to move to Buckinghamshire side Burnham, who play in the same division as Harley's new team.

Roscoe Fryatt also moved on after playing 104 games in three seasons at Romford. The 21-year-old was a capable goalkeeper who couldn't really be blamed for our defensive shortcomings, but I couldn't afford to renew his contract. It was with great regret that I let Ros sign for Conference South rivals Woking - although I did sneak a clause into the deal that entitles us to 20% of any future transfer fee for Fryatt.

I wasted no time in bringing in a new keeper, as Kyle Thomas signed on non-contract terms from Chesham United. Kyle, who is also 21, had performed well for Chesham this season, despite failing to save them from relegation from the Southern League Premier Division. The former Brighton & Hove Albion trainee is likely to battle it out with Moses Millen for Romford's number 1 jersey next term.

A few days later, our second new signing arrived. 18-year-old right-winger Jimmy Scott is a former Gillingham youth player, and I'm led to believe that he takes a mean free-kick.

Our next acquisition was a 17-year-old midfielder called Elliot Eaton, who had recently left Leyton Orient after failing to earn a professional contract at Brisbane Road.

We now had three confirmed signings, but before there would be any more, we had to part with some more of our current crop.

Among the leavers was Brian Neville, one of our most loyal servants. He played 132 times for the Boro, but after negotiations on a new contract broke down completely, he decided to drop down to the Isthmian North with Wingate & Finchley. Another midfield departure was Shepherd Murombedzi, who moved to Merstham after just one year with us.

We said 'so long' to Connor Dymond, who failed to agree terms on a new deal and ended his Boro career just four short of 200 appearances. Youngsters Iain Liggett and Dean Kurrant also left, although neither of them played competitively for the senior team.

I should also add that winger Tom Walker and striker Ricardo Morris returned to Bolton Wanderers and Salisbury City respectively following the end of their loan deals. Neither of them will be coming back.

As well as those that I've already mentioned, there was one more significant name to add to the list of departees - and his exit would signal the end of an era at Romford.

[mark wilson27]

As you said not a great season but I'm sure it was just a blip in proceedings. Having to slash the wage bill might cause some problems...Lets hope for a better new season mate

[CFuller]

As you said not a great season but I'm sure it was just a blip in proceedings. Having to slash the wage bill might cause some problems...Lets hope for a better new season mate

It was a very disappointing season, Mark, and I have to make big changes for the new campaign. Although we're not in as dire straits as some other clubs in the Conference South, our financial situation is not ideal. I need to be much more careful about which players I sign on part-time contracts. Hopefully, there will be no more expensive flops like Murombedzi.

[CFuller]

Romford's best XI for the 2017/2018 season, as voted for by Boro supporters, was as follows: Roscoe Fryatt, Jordan Peters, Connor Dymond, Kieron Gray, Jason Collins, Dean O'Halloran, Romone McCrae, Brian Neville, Graeme Montgomery, Nicky Reynolds, Garry Morath-Gibbs.

Romford fans definitely love Nicky Reynolds, and after he scored 28 goals in the campaign just gone, they voted him once again as their Player of the Year. It was the fourth time Nicky had won that award during my managership. Sadly, it would also be the last.

On 18 June, which was Nicky's 30th birthday, our all-time top goalscorer phoned to inform me that he wasn't going to stay at Romford for another season. I wasn't too surprised, considering that he'd spent much of the last six months rejecting any talk of a new contract.

I asked if he would consider staying on as a player-coach, but Reynolds said that going into coaching was the very last thing on his mind.

At that point, I considered going to Nicky's house to grovel at his feet - a bit like what Brian Clough did to his assistant Peter Taylor in the film version of The Damned United. However, I could gather from his voice that his mind was made up. There would be no use in begging him to stay.

I reluctantly thanked Reynolds for his many years of service to Romford Football Club and wished him the best of luck for his future endeavours. I said goodbye to him for the last time, and then hung up.

I had the pleasure of managing Nicky Reynolds in 269 matches over six seasons. He scored 160 goals - a record that I doubt any Romford player will get close to, let alone overtake, for many years.

The post-Reynolds era got underway a week later, when the Boro squad returned for pre-season training.

Some of the players were a bit disgruntled that their summer break had been cut short, particularly because they would have to wait three weeks for their first friendly. I knew that they wouldn't be happy, but after the shambles of the previous season, I told them that we needed as much time as possible to plan for the new campaign.

The importance of a good pre-season was further increased when the 2018/2019 Conference South fixture list was published. We had arguably the worst possible game to start off with on 11 August - an away trip to Canvey Island.

Our first home league match was scheduled for 14 August, and it was the small matter of a derby with Grays Athletic. We would also play Grays on Boxing Day at the Rush Green Stadium.

Pre-season training began with four new faces. They were Kyle Thomas, Jimmy Scott, Elliot Eaton, and our fourth summer signing - the first player from Denmark to pull on the Boro blue and yellow.

25-year-old centre-back Nicholas Lyskov joined us from Gosport Borough, where he had been a key player for the past six years. He was taking a big three-division step up from the Wessex League to the Conference South, but with his acceleration, I thought Nicholas was the covering defender we had been desperately needing.

Another addition to the Romford squad was snapped up later on in our first week back. Chelsea castoff Gareth Stamp, who was born in Dagenham, is an 18-year-old striker with pace to burn and a calm head on young shoulders. In that sense, he could be our 'new Nicky'.

Although the great man is a Romford player no more, I hope that the good fortune Nicky Reynolds gave us on the goalscoring front will remain here. If it doesn't, the next 10 months could be very, very difficult.

[CFuller]

It has been just over five years since we took our first major step up the football pyramid, with promotion from the Isthmian League Premier Division. Nicky Reynolds was the last remaining player from the side that beat AFC Sudbury 4-2 in a memorable Play-Off Final. Now that he's gone, I feel that it's as good a time as any to remember the heroes of 2013 and ask... whatever happened to them after they left Romford?

A word of warning, though. If you're expecting plenty of trophies and success stories a la Manchester United's class of 1992, prepare to be very disappointed.

Starting Line-Up vs AFC Sudbury

Scott Traveller (Goalkeeper, Boro 2012-2014) - Scott moved to Dulwich Hamlet in 2014, where he was playing quite well until he was struck by knee tendonitis. That was followed by two unsuccessful years at Whitehawk and one year at Merstham, where he won the Isthmian North title before being released this summer.

Anthony Chapman (Defender, Boro 2012-2016) - A bit-part player during my first campaign, Anthony made more impact on the first-team over the next three seasons. He was let go following our promotion to the Conference South, and he then returned to his native Staffordshire for a career outside football.

Daryl Bourgeois (Defender, Boro 2012-2013) - My first ever captain, Daryl has moved from club to club since he left us for Banbury United in 2013. After a couple of years in the south-west, he moved back east, where he is still playing for Wingate & Finchley at the age of 35.

Ryan Myers (Defender, Boro 2012-2013) - Ryan has spent most of the last five years in the Conference South, though he hasn't had too many first-team opportunities. He is currently a reserve at Hampton & Richmond Borough after spells with Kingstonian, Staines Town, Dorchester Town and Basingstoke Town.

Tom Stephen (Defender, Boro 2012-2013) - Tom relocated to Wiltshire midway through my second season, when the left-back signed for Swindon Supermarine. He would later suffer back-to-back relegations with Gosport Borough and Shortwood United, after which he fell out of love with the game and stopped playing.

Anthony Edgar (Midfielder, Boro 2013) - It's a real shame that Anthony's career did not blossom following his short stay at Romford. The explosive winger had a single season at Hayes & Yeading United, and then gave up football at the age of only 23.

Callum Crawley (Midfielder, Boro 2012-2015) - Callum is another player whose semi-professional career ended at Romford. The midfielder was with us for three years, after which he failed to attract a new deal from another league club.

Andy Oxby (Midfielder, Boro 2012-2013) - Andy's third separate spell at the Boro ended after our promotion to the Isthmian North, and his playing days in general came to a head too. Now in his mid-30s, he can be spotted coaching a Sunday league team in Romford.

Joe Oates (Midfielder, Boro 2011-2014) - After exactly 100 games under my management, Joe left us in favour of Leighton Town just before Christmas 2014. He would later move west to play for Evesham United and Cirencester Town, and in June of this year, he signed for Abingdon United in the Southern League Division 1 Central.

Chris Benjamin (Forward, Boro 2012-2014) - Post-Boro, Chris represented Cheshunt for three seasons between 2014 and 2017, but was then discarded after they were promoted from the Isthmian North. Although he still plays football, it is no longer at a semi-professional level.

Nicky Reynolds (Forward, Boro 2010-2018) - Nicky was (and still is) an icon at Romford FC, and I'm saddened that he'll most likely never play another game for the club. His record of 160 goals in 269 games since I took over is quite special, and I hope he can find another club sooner rather than later.

Substitutes vs AFC Sudbury

Wayne Hatch (Defender, Boro 2012-2016) - Wayne never really made significant inroads into the Boro senior team, but he did play 99 times for us before joining Barton Rovers in 2016. Since then, he's had spells at Northwood and Slough Town, though it's unlikely that he'll be playing for Slough in the Conference South next term.

Jay Vassell (Midfielder, Boro 2012-2017) - Jay can be a fine player on his day, but he hasn't enjoyed the career path his talent perhaps deserved. Whitehawk signed him in February 2017, but after playing 43 games for the Isthmian South club, he was let go this summer.

Mitch Fellows (Forward, Boro 2012-2014) - Other than myself, Mitch is now the longest-serving figure at Romford. The former striker was persuaded to concentrate on coaching after 2013/2014, and he is already studying for a UEFA Pro Licence at the tender age of 29.

Other notable players in 2012/2013 season

Scott Weight (Midfielder, Boro 2012-2014) - Scott was released by us in 2014 and did not find another team to sign for, so he is no longer playing in the English football pyramid.

Chris Sullivan (Midfielder, Boro 2012-2013) - Romford native Chris had an unhappy stint at Conference North side St Neots Town, making just 20 league appearances, and stopped playing in 2014 at just 27 years old.

Matty Toms (Defender, Boro 2012-2013) - Matty is presently on the books of VCD Athletic following earlier spells with Dulwich Hamlet, Cambridge City and Banbury United.

Hussein Isa (Midfielder, Boro 2012-2013) - Hussein faded away from football after his departure from Romford and now concentrates on a dual career as a male model and a Lionel Messi lookalike.

Danny Hutchins (Defender, Boro 2012) - Danny does not play anymore, having hung up his boots after Corby Town released him back in 2015.

George Walters (Defender, Boro 2012-2015) - George spent a year at Thamesmead Town and is now about to begin his third campaign with Leatherhead in the Isthmian South.

[oche balboa]

Brilliant stuff

Amazing how many drop out of football even in the game

[CFuller]

Brilliant stuff

Amazing how many drop out of football even in the game

It just goes to show how cruel semi-professional football can be, particularly at the lower levels. I was very disappointed that nobody signed Anthony Edgar after Hayes & Yeading released him, though - he could've had a bright future.

[CFuller]

Premier League

Another thrilling Premier League title race ended, rather ominously, with Manchester City taking the spoils once again. The seemingly unstoppable Citizens wrapped up a magnificent seventh consecutive title with a final-day draw over Norwich City. Roberto Mancini's men continued to excel in the middle of the park, with PFA Player of the Year Nicusor Stanciu scoring 16 goals from midfield. The champions finished three points ahead of Liverpool, who had an excellent first season under the management of Michael Laudrup.

Arsenal roared back into the top three, thanks largely to young Turkish striker Burak Acikgoz, who scored 24 goals and won the Top Goalscorer award in his first Premier League campaign. 4th place went to League Cup winners Manchester United, who could've pushed City all the way were it not for a late decline in form. Marcelo Bielsa's side narrowly pipped his old club Chelsea to a UEFA Champions League place, though the Blues did beat Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League Final after a solitary goal from Kevin Strootman.

Mega-rich Fulham underachieved once again, only managing a 10th-place finish. They also had another change of manager, with Javier Aguirre being replaced by Chris Powell when their top-six challenge started to disintegrate. Powell's old charges West Bromwich Albion reached the FA Cup Final under Ian Holloway, although they lost it 2-1 to first-time winners Stoke City.

Leicester City had a difficult first season back in the top flight, not managing a win until they stunned Manchester United in mid-December. The Foxes then tried to launch a great escape, but it didn't quite work out and they returned to the Championship with bottom club Queens Park Rangers, who brought in 22 new players over the summer. A squad overhaul didn't help Nottingham Forest either, as they too were relegated despite spending £29million on reinforcements!

Top Four: Manchester City (1st, 81 pts), Liverpool (2nd, 78 pts), Arsenal (3rd, 71 pts), Manchester United (4th, 70 pts).

Relegated: Nottingham Forest (18th, 33 pts), Leicester City (19th, 31 pts), Queens Park Rangers (20th, 31 pts).

Championship

West Ham United and Blackburn Rovers effectively swapped managers following their relegations from the Premier League last season - and West Ham clearly benefitted the most! Billy Davies' Irons romped to the Championship title with 101 points, 96 goals, and just three defeats. Sunderland also had a remarkable season, racking up 30 wins from their 46 games, but they incredibly had to settle for 2nd!

Paolo Di Canio's Blackburn suffered disappointment in the Play-Offs, as not even 30-goal Jordan Rhodes could see them past Wigan Athletic in the Semi Finals. Wigan's reward for their 3-2 aggregate win was a place in the Final against Everton, who'd seen off Bolton Wanderers in extra-time. The Wembley showdown was settled by an 86th-minute strike from Scott Sinclair, who put the Latics back into the promised land!

There was a massive 10-point gap between the top six and Derby County in 7th. It looked for a while that Hartlepool United could challenge for the Play-Offs, and though a New Year decline put paid to that, the Championship rookies still finished 16th - well clear of relegation.

It was a season to forget for Hull City and Barnsley, both of whom dropped to League One after over a decade in the top two tiers. A third Yorkshire team, Leeds United, could have gone down with them... but they narrowly survived ahead of Brentford, who yet again suffered from the so-called 'second season syndrome'.

Promoted: West Ham United (1st, 101 pts), Sunderland (2nd, 97 pts), Wigan Athletic (6th, 81 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Blackburn Rovers (3rd, 87 pts), Everton (4th, 86 pts), Bolton Wanderers (5th, 85 pts).

Relegated: Brentford (22nd, 43 pts), Barnsley (23rd, 40 pts), Hull City (24th, 38 pts).

League One

From out of nowhere, Crewe Alexandra won ten of their last eleven games to grab the League One title! They did it with their latest crop of exciting young players such as goalkeeper Kye Bishop and prolific striker Max Hicks. Doncaster Rovers will also be playing in the Championship next season after finishing as runners-up.

Bristol City recovered from a terrible start to get into the Play-Offs, where they beat Coventry City to book themselves a Final meeting with Swindon Town - vanquishers of AFC Bournemouth. A thrilling match at Wembley saw all four goals coming in the first 40 minutes, and Bristol City scored three of them to secure promotion.

Yeovil Town's 13th consecutive season in League One was very unlucky for them, because they finished bottom. The other three relegation places were confirmed on the final day, with two-time League champions Preston North End, Stevenage and Shrewsbury Town all falling into League Two alongside the Glovers.

Promoted: Crewe Alexandra (1st, 87 pts), Doncaster Rovers (2nd, 85 pts), Bristol City (4th, 77 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Swindon Town (3rd, 79 pts), Coventry City (5th, 76 pts), AFC Bournemouth (6th, 76 pts).

Relegated: Shrewsbury Town (21st, 49 pts), Stevenage (22nd, 49 pts), Preston North End (23rd, 47 pts), Yeovil Town (24th, 45 pts).

League Two

The future is finally looking bright again for Portsmouth after they won League Two to end a five-year stay in the basement division. Colchester United and Northampton Town can also look forward to life back in League One after coming a close 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Chesterfield made light work of Rotherham United in their Play-Off Semi Final, while Wrexham overcame Mansfield Town in a penalty shoot-out. The Final at Wembley ended in a comfortable victory... for 7th-placed Wrexham, who won 4-1 and brought League One football back to North Wales!

Opponents of Milton Keynes Dons rejoiced across the country when 'Franchise FC' plummeted out of the Football League! They will be in the Conference Premier next term, as will York City, who ended up just below them on goal difference.

Promoted: Portsmouth (1st, 87 pts), Colchester United (2nd, 83 pts), Northampton Town (3rd, 81 pts), Wrexham (7th, 71 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Mansfield Town (4th, 75 pts), Chesterfield (5th, 74 pts), Rotherham United (6th, 73 pts).

Relegated: Milton Keynes Dons (23rd, 35 pts), York City (24th, 35 pts).

Conference Premier

After just 20 games, Chester were well clear at the top with 51 points - and that was where they stayed, despite a few hiccups in the latter part of the season. Just eight years after reforming, Chester are returning to League Two!

The Play-Off Final was contested between Forest Green Rovers, who beat Macclesfield Town in extra-time, and Accrington Stanley, who put out runners-up AFC Telford United. Following a 1-1 draw, promotion was decided on penalties - and Accrington won the shoot-out 4-2 to break Forest Green's hearts again!

Salisbury City, Guiseley, Boreham Wood and finally Kingstonian were the four teams who were relegated to the regional Conferences. Barnet only just survived, even though they were deducted 10 points for spending the first half of the season in administration.

Promoted: Chester (1st, 91 pts), Accrington Stanley (5th, 77 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: AFC Telford United (2nd, 85 pts), Forest Green Rovers (3rd, 79 pts), Macclesfield Town (4th, 79 pts).

Relegated: Kingstonian (21st, 50 pts), Boreham Wood (22nd, 47 pts), Guiseley (23rd, 44 pts), Salisbury City (24th, 33 pts).

Conference North

Promoted: Cambridge United (1st, 79 pts), Tamworth (2nd, 75 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Altrincham (3rd, 69 pts), Harrogate Town (4th, 68 pts), Matlock Town (5th, 68 pts).

Relegated: Solihull Moors (20th, 42 pts), Bury Town (21st, 39 pts), Bradford Park Avenue (22nd, 38 pts).

Conference South

Promoted: Farnborough (1st, 84 pts), Chelmsford City (4th, 80 pts).

Also in Play-Offs: Ebbsfleet United (2nd, 82 pts), Canvey Island (3rd, 81 pts), Hampton & Richmond Borough (5th, 65 pts).

Relegated: Basingstoke Town (20th, 40 pts), Braintree Town (21st, 38 pts), Staines Town (22nd, 31 pts).

Regional Premier Divisions

Promoted from Northern Premier League Premier: Darlington (1st), Market Drayton Town (5th).

Promoted from Isthmian League Premier: Enfield Town (1st), Lowestoft Town (5th).

Promoted from Southern League Premier: Hinckley United (1st), Slough Town (5th).

[CFuller]

Major Transfers

• Arsenal made two major purchases ahead of the new season. England full-back Nathaniel Clyne moved to the Emirates Stadium from Newcastle United for £19.25million, but a more eye-catching signing was that of Burak Acikgoz from Roma for £15.75million. The 22-year-old Turkey international scored 30 goals for the Gunners in all competitions and was the Premier League's Top Goalscorer.
  
• Chelsea bolstered their creativity with two central midfielders costing a combined £34million. The Blues signed the then-teenage Portuguese starlet Alison Brito Neves from Manchester United before snapping up PSV's Holland international Kevin Strootman. Neves had a promising first season at Stamford Bridge, while Strootman scored the winning goal in the Blues' UEFA Europa League triumph over Arsenal.
  
• Fulham continued their spending spree, bringing in three young English midfielders. But while ex-Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling and former Everton man Ross Barkley struggled for the Cottagers, Will Hughes excelled following his £19.75million move from Norwich City. Hughes scored eight goals and made nine assists in the Premier League on his way to being named the PFA Young Player of the Year.
  
• It was a breakthrough year for Manchester United youngster Damien King, who was loaned out to Norwich City. The striker scored 23 Premier League goals as he helped the Canaries to 6th place - their best league finish in a quarter of a century. It is surely only a matter of time before 21-year-old King wins his first England cap.
  
• Denys Garmash had a very busy season. After playing for Arsenal in the Community Shield, the Ukraine midfielder was sold to Barcelona for £14.5million. Just four months and three Copa del Rey appearances later, Garmash was back in England after Barca flogged him to Manchester City for £750,000 less than what they paid for him! City didn't realise, though, that a player couldn't feature for more than two clubs in a single campaign, so Garmash has to wait until next season for his Citizens debut!
  
• The biggest transfer of the January transfer window also involved Barcelona, who bought Kurt Zouma from Saint-Etienne for a whopping £28million. The France international centre-back quickly established himself as an important player at the Nou Camp, and as one of the best defenders in the world right now.
  

Managerial Movements

• Manchester United were stunned when, after just one season at Old Trafford, manager Josep Guardiola quit to return to his old club Barcelona! 'Pep' would go on to reinforce his legendary status at the Nou Camp by regaining the La Liga title. Meanwhile, United replaced him with Chelsea boss Marcelo Bielsa, prompting the Blues to turn to... Guardiola's Barca predecessor, Luciano Spalletti! It's a small world.
  
• Liverpool's appointment of Michael Laudrup was precipitated by Rémi Garde's shock decision to leave for Paris Saint-Germain, where he took over from Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian had returned to AC Milan as their head coach, but while his first reign lasted eight years between 2001 and 2009, his second spell ran for just ten months before he was sacked.
  
• José Mourinho returned to management, and Madrid, in July as the new numero uno at Atlético Madrid. The former Real Madrid boss's reign was an absolute disaster, and he lasted just five months before getting the sack. In came Laurent Blanc, who left Tottenham Hotspur just after their final match at White Hart Lane.
  
• Tottenham began their new era at the recently-completed AIA Stadium under Steve Round, whose reputation had grown at Watford. Following Round's move, the Hornets brought back Tony Pulis, who had lost his job at Aston Villa several weeks earlier. Villa's new manager Darren Ferguson was succeeded at Nottingham Forest by former City Ground favourite Stuart Pearce.
  
• On the second day of Christmas, Southampton gave to Brian McDermott... his P45. A week into the New Year, the Saints hired ex-Stoke City boss Steve McClaren, who managed his fourth different club in the space of two years. Stoke City waited over a month to name McClaren's replacement, and they eventually plumped for Birmingham City chief Stale Solbakken - the man who would bring the FA Cup to the Britannia Stadium.
  
• What is it with Inter Milan and their managers? They once again pulled the trigger on a coach in mid-season, with Pasquale Marino the latest to get the bullet. Inter's next boss arrived from Valladolid, and he was a particularly controversial choice because he happened to be Marco van Basten - an AC Milan legend! To make things more bizarre, AC Milan appointed as their new manager Héctor Cúper, who had previously coached the Nerazzurri for two years!!
  

Other Major Stories

• Barcelona was the setting for a thrilling UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and Real Madrid, which finished 2-2 after 90 minutes and 3-3 after extra-time. Mehmet Ekici opened the scoring for Juve before his team-mate Fernando Llorente struck twice, but Real's Mesut Ozil outdid both of them with a superb hat-trick. However, the Old Lady - who had Kwadwo Asamoah sent off in the second half - would have the last laugh in the shoot-out. Juve won 6-5 after Fraser Forster saved Samuel Umtiti's kick to secure their first European Cup triumph for 22 years!
  
• Real will have to qualify for next season's Champions League after finishing 4th in La Liga, behind Barcelona, Granada and Espanyol. While they struggled, some other major European giants had few problems in their leagues. PSG won a sixth straight French title, Juve secured a third successive scudetto, and Porto were crowned Portuguese champions for the 29th time.
  
• There was a major surprise north of the border, where Hibernian won the Scottish Premier League to end Celtic's six-season reign and the Old Firm's 32-year dominance! Hibs were taken over by Greek tycoon Argyris Vasilakos in 2014, but never finished higher than 6th in his first three seasons. Then, after spending nearly £10million on several new signings, including a club-record £4.6million on Rijeka striker Sinisa Rakocija, Colin Cameron's men defied the odds to clinch their first championship since 1952!
  
• Wayne Rooney became England's most-capped player just before the FIFA World Cup finals. Rooney broke Peter Shilton's record of 125 in a friendly against Saudi Arabia that saw him score his 62nd goal - also a record.
  
• Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, who finished just one cap shy of 100 for England, retired at the age of 39 after winding down his career at League One club Crystal Palace. The football community also said farewell to ex-Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech (who hung up his gloves at Norwich), Liverpool defender Glen Johnson, and Fulham's Croatian full-back Darijo Srna.
  
• One of the season's most shocking transfers involved former Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, who at the age of 36 came out of retirement to play for... Grimsby Town! The Bulgarian ace scored 16 goals in 36 Conference Premier games for the Mariners.
  

Cup Winners

FA Cup: Stoke City 2-1 West Bromwich Albion.

League Cup: Manchester United 3-0 Nottingham Forest.

Community Shield: Manchester City 3-0 Arsenal.

Football League Trophy: AFC Bournemouth 2-0 Doncaster Rovers.

UEFA Champions League: Juventus 3-3 Real Madrid (6-5 penalties) - at Nou Camp, Barcelona.

UEFA Europa League: Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal - at Friends Arena, Stockholm.

UEFA Super Cup: Manchester United 3-0 Porto - at Ramón de Carranza, Cádiz.

FIFA Club World Championship: Fluminense 1-0 Porto - at BMO Field, Toronto.

Major European Leagues

Dutch Eredivisie: PSV (1st), Ajax (2nd), FC Utrecht (3rd).

French Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain (1st), Lyon (2nd), Marseille (3rd).

German Bundesliga: Bayern Munich (1st), Schalke 04 (2nd), Borussia Dortmund (3rd).

Italian Serie A: Juventus (1st), Roma (2nd), Napoli (3rd).

Portuguese Primeira Liga: Porto (1st), Sporting CP (2nd), Benfica (3rd).

Russian Premier League: CSKA Moscow (1st), Spartak Moscow (2nd), Anji Makhachkala (3rd).

Scottish Premier League: Hibernian (1st), Celtic (2nd), Heart of Midlothian (3rd).

Spanish La Liga: Barcelona (1st), Granada (2nd), Espanyol (3rd).

Award Winners

PFA Player of the Year: Nicusor Stanciu (Manchester City).

PFA Young Player of the Year: Will Hughes (Fulham).

FWA Footballer of the Year: Marco Verratti (Arsenal).

Premier League Manager of the Season: Roberto Mancini (Manchester City).

PFA Premier League Team of the Year: David De Gea (Manchester United), Adam Matthews (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Etienne Capoue (Arsenal), Grigoris Stasinopoulos (Manchester City), Leighton Baines (Manchester City), James Milner (Newcastle United), Marco Verratti (Arsenal), Nicusor Stanciu (Manchester City), Grégory Lefevre (Manchester United), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Burak Acikgoz (Arsenal).

FIFA Ballon d'Or: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid).

World Soccer World Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid).

European Golden Shoe: Yassine Benzia (Lyon).

UEFA Best Player in Europe: Lionel Messi (Barcelona).

FIFA/FIFPro World XI: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), César Azpilicueta (Bayern Munich), Samuel Umtiti (Real Madrid), Javi Martínez (Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Nicusor Stanciu (Manchester City), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Yaya Touré (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Paris Saint-Germain).

[CFuller]

Qualification

Most of the European giants - like England, France and Spain - sailed through their qualifying groups, although others like Germany and holders Ukraine made slightly heavier weather of it. In South America, 2014 hosts Brazil continued their record of attending every FIFA World Cup, while Javier Hernández struck 15 times as Mexico topped the final North American group. African duo Cameroon and Tunisia went through the entire qualifying campaign unbeaten, as did European underdogs Slovenia.

The United States staggered over the line again after beating Australia in an intercontinental play-off, while Portugal - now without the retired Cristiano Ronaldo - were within minutes of being knocked out by Denmark. Italy weren't so lucky, losing a clash of the fallen titans with Holland. 2016 Copa America winners Chile surprisingly failed to qualify, and Africa Cup of Nations holders Ghana were humbled by World Cup newcomers Zambia.

Joining Zambia in making their first bow on the big stage were Albania (who won their group ahead of Turkey), Panama, and 2022 host nation Qatar. Meanwhile, China made it through for only the second time, so the Chinese soccer boom could be about to get underway.

QUALIFIERS: Albania, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Japan, Mali, Mexico, Panama, Portugal, Qatar, Russia (hosts), Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Tunisia, Ukraine (holders), United States, Uruguay, Zambia.

Group Stage

Spain opened the World Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of Ivory Coast, and they repeated the feat against Costa Rica to win Group A ahead of Slovakia, who held them to a creditable draw. Meanwhile, there were two major shocks in Group B. The first was Cameroon topping the group without conceding a goal, and the second was hosts Russia being pipped to a last 16 place by pragmatic Slovenia, who reached that stage for the first time.

Brazil picked up nine goals and nine points in Group C, as Tottenham Hotspur's defensive midfielder Sandro turned into an unlikely goal machine by hitting the net four times. In second place were Holland, who needed to avoid defeat against Japan to go through and duly got a 1-1 draw. Germany won Group D, aka 'The Group of Death', and Ukraine qualified with them after Roman Zozulya scored twice in a decisive 2-0 win over the United States.

Colombia and Portugal both comfortably negotiated Group E unbeaten as they proved too strong for debutants Zambia and Qatar. Mexico came out on top in a goal-heavy Group F thanks to four from Porto's Carlos Fierro. England needed one from Fulham new boy Charlie Austin against China to avoid a shock exit at the Dragons' hands.

Argentina and Scotland both blitzed Panama 5-0 to coast through Group G - but it was the Scots who topped the group after Danny Wilson headed home the only goal in their decider. Belgium controversially left Manchester United winger Grégory Lefevre out of their squad, and then showed that they didn't need him by topping Group H with a 100% record. European champions France completed the Round 2 line-up.

GROUP A: Spain* (1st, 7 pts), Slovakia* (2nd, 5 pts), Ivory Coast (3rd, 3 pts), Costa Rica (4th, 1 pt).

GROUP B: Cameroon* (1st, 7 pts), Slovenia* (2nd, 6 pts), Russia (3rd, 4 pts), Ecuador (4th, 0 pts).

GROUP C: Brazil* (1st, 9 pts), Holland* (2nd, 4 pts), Japan (3rd, 4 pts), Albania (4th, 0 pts).

GROUP D: Germany* (1st, 7 pts), Ukraine* (2nd, 6 pts), United States (3rd, 4 pts), Uruguay (4th, 0 pts).

GROUP E: Colombia* (1st, 7 pts), Portugal* (2nd, 5 pts), Zambia (3rd, 2 pts), Qatar (4th, 1 pt).

GROUP F: Mexico* (1st, 7 pts), England* (2nd, 6 pts), China (3rd, 4 pts), Mali (4th, 0 pts).

GROUP G: Scotland* (1st, 9 pts), Argentina* (2nd, 6 pts), Serbia (3rd, 1 pt), Panama (4th, 1 pt).

GROUP H: Belgium* (1st, 9 pts), France* (2nd, 6 pts), South Korea (3rd, 1 pt), Tunisia (4th, 1 pt).

* through to Round 2

Round 2

Slovenia could have caused an almighty shock after Uros Zinic gave them a 21st-minute lead against Spain. But two second-half goals from Fernando Llorente - the first of them coming just after he missed a penalty - put La Furia Roja into the Quarter Finals instead. A fast-paced encounter between Cameroon and Slovakia saw four goals in the first 11 minutes, and Cameroon finished strongly to advance as 4-2 winners.

Holland's bad luck against Germany continued as Mario Gómez scored a 92nd-minute equaliser for the Mannschaft, who then knocked them out 6-5 on penalties! Ukraine's reign as champions came to an end against a ruthless Brazil side, who won 3-1 after sensational Sandro opened the scoring.

Miguel Ángel Ponce and Carlos Vela scored the decisive goals for Mexico in their 2-0 elimination of Portugal. England joined the Mexicans in the last eight with victory over Colombia, thanks to two Wayne Rooney goals and one from captain Ryan Shawcross.

Christian Benteke's two goals for Belgium and Javier Pastore's double for Argentina took their Round 2 match into extra-time, where Lionel Messi marked his 100th cap by putting the South Americans through. That was followed by the continuation of Scotland's latest fairytale, in which Arsenal's Tony Watt put paid to France's world title dream.

RESULTS: Spain 2-1 Slovenia, Cameroon 4-2 Slovakia, Germany 1-1 Holland (6-5 penalties), Brazil 3-1 Ukraine, Mexico 2-0 Portugal, England 3-1 Colombia, Argentina 3-2 Belgium (aet), Scotland 1-0 France.

Quarter Finals

Cameroon lost centre-back Louise Parfait to a red card in the 37th minute of their Quarter Final with Brazil, and more defensive errors cost them dear in the second half. Neymar's 51st-minute penalty and two goals from Leandro Damiao continued the Selecao's quest for a record sixth World Cup win. Spain's bid for their second title also carried on, even though Iker Casillas missed their victory over Germany with a wrist injury. Llorente and Gerard Piqué both scored late in the first half to keep the 2010 champions in the hunt.

Fierro put Mexico ahead against Scotland after just seven minutes - but it wasn't a sign of things to come. Wilson levelled for the Tartan Army just two minutes later before Steven Fletcher put them ahead in the 20th minute. Grant Hanley then applied the coup de grace in the 89th to incredibly put Scotland in a World Cup Semi Final! Sadly, England wouldn't join them. The Three Lions had Phil Jones sent off in their clash with Argentina, which ended 0-0 after 90 minutes. Extra-time saw Omar Sorin's opener for the Albiceleste cancelled out by a Fernando Salina own goal, but Messi came to Argentina's rescue with five minutes to go, and English hearts were broken again.

RESULTS: Brazil 3-0 Cameroon, Spain 2-0 Germany, Scotland 3-1 Mexico, Argentina 2-1 England (aet).

Semi Finals

The first Semi Final, between Spain and Scotland in St Petersburg, got off to the worst possible start for Gordon Strachan's Scots. Llorente fired Spain into the lead after just 64 seconds, and Iker Muniain doubled it a minute later. Scott Robinson did get a goal back for Scotland on 20 minutes, but after that, La Furia Roja dictated terms brilliantly with their trademark tiki-taka game. Tito Vilanova's side won 2-1 to avenge their 2016 European Championship defeat to the Tartan Army and reach their second World Cup Final.

Next up was a South American derby between Brazil and Argentina in Moscow, but in truth, it wasn't the classic many anticipated. Despite losing Sergio Aguero and Sao Paulo midfielder Sorin to injury just before half-time, Argentina came on strong after the break. Messi once again ran the show with goals in the 50th and 69th minute, and although Gonzalo Híguain later scored at the wrong end, Diego Simeone's charges still made it through to the Final. Was Messi - the greatest player of his generation - about to lift the greatest prize of all?

RESULTS: Spain 2-1 Scotland, Argentina 2-1 Brazil.

3rd Place Play-Off

Brazil dominated the 3rd Place Play-Off against Scotland in St Petersburg. However, they did not score first, as Stuart Armstrong's 40th-minute half-volley for Scotland was finished from close range by Mark O'Hara. The Selecao came back fighting in the second half, and Lucas Leiva's goal 42 seconds after the restart forced extra-time. The Play-Off was on the verge of going to penalties when, with just five seconds left, Leandro Damiao secured 3rd spot for Brazil!

RESULT: Brazil 2-1 Scotland (aet).

Final

The Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow witnessed a high-quality World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina. It was the Spaniards who had the majority of early chances, and they opened the goalscoring after 33 minutes. Thiago and Llorente combined to set up Manchester United winger Álvaro Vadillo, whose vicious low shot Sergio Romero had no hope of stopping. Four minutes later, though, Llorente gifted Argentina an equaliser. His header from Jordi Alba's clearance was woefully miscued towards Messi, who surged clear and slotted in his 7th goal of the World Cup.

Spain recomposed for the second half, six minutes into which they restored their lead. Thiago's cross was nodded in by Bayern Munich's defensive midfielder Javi Martínez, and it was 2-1 to La Furia Roja! This time, Argentina could not muster up a response. They had only one shot at goal in the second half, and that was when the usually deadly Messi put his free-kick wide on 65 minutes. When the final whistle blew, the Spanish fans erupted into cheers as Vilanova followed in Vicente Del Bosque's footsteps by leading their country to World Cup glory!

Spain captain Sergio Ramos lifted the trophy jointly with his Real Madrid team-mate Casillas, who retired from internationals after a world-record 202nd cap! Most of the current Spain squad will be in their 30s when Qatar 2022 comes around, but with youngsters like Barcelona's Nando Ribas making their mark, the future still looks Spanish.

RESULT: Spain 2-1 Argentina.

Award Winners

Golden Ball: Lionel Messi (Argentina).

Golden Boot: Lionel Messi (Argentina, 7 goals).

Yashin Award: Iker Casillas (Spain).

Best Young Player: Nando Ribas (Spain).

Goal of the Tournament: Andriy Yarmolenko (Ukraine, vs Uruguay - Group Stage).

Dream Team: Iker Casillas (Spain), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Danny Wilson (Scotland), Gerard Piqué (Spain), Jordi Alba (Spain), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Sandro (Brazil), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Javier Pastore (Argentina), Steven Fletcher (Scotland), Fernando Llorente (Spain).

[CFuller]

Sometimes, you have to take one step back to take two steps forward. That was how I felt ahead of my seventh season as Romford manager, because my sixth had been by some distance my worst to date.

After coming 9th in our debut Conference South campaign, we were quietly confident that we could build on it in 2017/2018. Unfortunately, we couldn't string a good run of results together, and when we lost our captain Duncan Greenwood to two serious injuries in quick succession, we were in big trouble. We finished the season on an eight-game winless streak and narrowly survived in 17th place - only six points above the relegation zone.

Chairman Leo Jones told me in no uncertain terms that another regression in the following season would not be tolerated. My job was on the line if we didn't start to show signs of progress again.

Our chances of avoiding relegation again were given an early boost when Salisbury City - who recently dropped down from the Conference Premier - entered administration with heavy debts. They would start the campaign with a 10-point deficit, and the likelihood was that they would be filling one of the three relegation places at the end.

Building a team capable of more than merely surviving in the Conference South would not be an easy task, especially as Mr Jones had told me to slash the wage bill. Several of our best-paid players were jettisoned over the summer, and I managed to shave around £900 off the weekly wage bill, reducing it to a smidge under £1,600 per week. I'd given myself a limit of £2,000, so there was still enough leeway to bring in one or two more good-quality players.

I'd hoped to snap up a creative midfielder before pre-season got underway, but identifying a capable player who would accept modest wages was like looking in a haystack to find a specific piece of hay.

I held talks with Gloucester City's Darren Carter and Maidstone United's Matt Bloomfield - two vastly-experienced former Football League professionals - and I hoped to persuade one of them to join us. There was one major sticking point with both of them, though. Carter and Bloomfield both insisted that they be my assistant manager, and when I told them that Wayne Daniel was not losing his job, they called off negotiations.

By the time of our first friendly, I still hadn't got the midfielder I wanted to go with our four earlier signings. I did, though, manage to get a left-winger called Dan Purches to join us, initially on a trial basis. Dan came through the same Gillingham youth team as one of our new quartet - Jimmy Scott, who plays on the opposite wing.

That opening friendly was against Dartford, who went up the crossing en route to Ship Lane. The Darts finished 15th in the Conference Premier last term.

14 July 2018: Romford vs Dartford

Dartford hail from the hometown of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards - but it was us who started up quicker. A 3rd-minute strike from Garry Morath-Gibbs was pushed away by Darts goalkeeper Chris Dunn. Three minutes later, Garry's through-ball opened up an opportunity for Kenny Pollard, who put it into the side netting. Dartford then had a number of chances to get the opening goal for themselves. The best of their early efforts was in the 13th minute, when Brendan Kiernan was brilliantly denied by new Boro keeper Kyle Thomas. They had an even better one after 29 minutes. Jordan Peters gave Darts forward Villyan Bijev a ridiculous amount of space, and the American's cross was headed in by James Alabi, who rose above Kieron Gray to score. The Darts hit the bullseye again eight minutes later, as Callum Webb's cross was tucked into the corner by Liverpool reject Bijev. It was 2-0 Dartford, and that was almost enough to make a grown man cry. There was an air of doom and gloom in the Romford dressing room at half-time. If we didn't pull ourselves together, I was likely to have my 19th nervous breakdown.

We tightened up and sat deeper in the second half, and as a result, Dartford could not create nearly as many chances. French defender Samba Kanouté headed well off target in the 47th minute, and that was about it for the visitors until ten minutes from time. Shawn Poole's edge-of-the-area strike was beaten away by our substitute goalie Moses Millen. On the attacking side of things, we continued to have problems. Debutant Gareth Stamp sent one early shot wide and had another blocked, but unlike Sir Mick, he did at least get some satisfaction with three minutes remaining. After receiving a long pass from Vasilis Koutinis, Gareth dribbled from the centre-circle to the edge of Dartford's area, where he cracked a wonderful shot in off the woodwork! It was only his first goal, but I liked him already! That stunning goal could well have kicked off an unlikely comeback. We gave it one more shot, but time was not on our side, and we had to settle for a narrow 2-1 defeat.

Romford - 1 (Stamp 87)

Dartford - 2 (Alabi 29, Bijev 37)

Friendly, Attendance 211

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Thomas (Millen), Peters (Dunn), Gray (James), Lyskov (Georgiou), Bradley (Rofe), O'Halloran (Scott), Morrison (Embleton), McCrae (Eaton), Montgomery (Purches), Pollard (Koutinis), Morath-Gibbs (Stamp). BOOKED: Morath-Gibbs, Gray.

Technically, we had now gone nine games without a victory. I wasn't too worried yet, but if we failed to snap out of that winless run at Essex Senior League outfit Takeley, I'd know that we really did have major problems.

17 July 2018: Takeley vs Romford

Things didn't look too promising for us early on. Gareth Stamp messed up a volley from Vasilis Koutinis' flick-on in the third minute. But after our mediocre start to the half, Takeley started to take a bit of a battering later on. In the 28th minute, Blues keeper Frank Williamson flailed at a deep Dan Purches cross and was lucky to only concede a corner. Fortune was on his side again a minute later. Trevor Dunn's cross was intercepted by Takeley defender Ricky Doswell, but he could only knock the ball on to Koutinis... who thumped the post! Stamp put another shot off target in the 35th minute, as did 16-year-old midfielder Johnny Embleton in the 37th. By half-time, I was scratching my head and wondering how we hadn't got our noses in front.

I chose to experiment with a 3-5-2 formation in the second half, and the first five minutes with it were very encouraging. On 50 minutes, Dunn - now our only man on the right flank - launched a cross into the six-yard box, and Garry Morath-Gibbs was there to carry the ball past Williamson and over the goal line! We were now in the ascendancy, but there would soon be a few hiccups. Four minutes after the opening goal, young Embleton was taken off with a bruised rib. In the 67th minute, Paddy Lockwood bruised our crossbar with a direct free-kick that represented Takeley's first shot of the entire game. Their second, about eight minutes later, was another close call from Brian Bond. By the 83rd minute, though, we were back on song. Tom O'Reilly's shot was turned over by Takeley's replacement keeper Michael Robinson, and the corner that followed led to our second, game-clinching goal. Graeme Montgomery's delivery was flicked to the far post by Romone McCrae, and Nicholas Lyskov was there to lash in a stunning volley! It was 2-0, and for the first time in four months, we had won a football match!

Takeley - 0

Romford - 2 (Morath-Gibbs 50, Lyskov 84)

Friendly, Attendance 52

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Millen (Thomas), Dunn (Spong), James (Lyskov), Georgiou (Gray), Rofe (Peters), Scott (McCrae), Eaton (Montgomery), Embleton (Morrison), Purches (Bradley), Koutinis (O'Reilly), Stamp (Morath-Gibbs). BOOKED: James.

Although my 3-5-2 still needed some tweaking, I was pleased with the early results, and I would certainly be using it again in pre-season. For far too long, I'd been too rigid in only ever playing with a back four, so this was like a breath of fresh air for me.

The Takeley match was fairly straightforward, and I didn't expect our next hosts to put up much more resistance. Crockenhill were an amateur team playing in the Kent Invicta League - that's four tiers below the Conference South, in the tenth level of English football.

21 July 2018: Crockenhill vs Romford

I was right in thinking Crockenhill wouldn't put up much resistance, because their clean sheet only lasted until the 11th minute. Vasilis Koutinis exchanged passes with Graeme Montgomery and then cut in from the left flank to the penalty area, where he coolly finished. That would actually be our only shot of the first half, as we got complacent and gave the hosts a couple of opportunities to equalise. After 24 minutes, Richard Leary had his close-range effort parried away by Kyle Thomas. The same man screwed up an attempt from much further out in the 36th minute. At half-time, we were still ahead, though not in convincing fashion.

I managed to get the lads motivated for the second half, and both Romone McCrae and Kenny Pollard came close to putting us 2-0 up in the first five minutes. Then, on 53 minutes, Romone brilliantly found Dean O'Halloran in bags of space. Dean crossed to the far post, where Kenny nodded home to give us a two-goal cushion. The third goal would not be long in coming. Daniel Morrison caught Crockenhill out with a long, low pass to Garry Morath-Gibbs, who burst through and stroked his shot in off the post! We were leading 3-0 after 59 minutes, and Crockenhill were looking as fragile as Chinese crockery! A little bit of cockiness crept back into our game for the next 20 minutes or so, but with the amateurs playing as such, there was absolutely no chance of a late Boro collapse. After 80 minutes, we pulled even further clear via Tom O'Reilly, who hit a first-time shot from Pollard's through-ball into the far corner. KP was in top form, and he would have the last say with a powerful finish in the 88th minute. Kenny's second strike was our fifth and final goal of a wonderful performance from Romford! That said, we were playing against a very poor team. Crockenhill once famously sold a young Tony Cascarino to Gillingham for a set of tracksuits and some training equipment, but none of their current bunch were worth two bob!

Crockenhill - 0

Romford - 5 (Koutinis 11, Pollard 53,88, Morath-Gibbs 59, O'Reilly 80)

Friendly, Attendance 96

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Thomas (Millen), Peters (Dunn), James (Georgiou), Gray (Lyskov), Bradley (Rofe), Eaton (McCrae), Morrison (Scott), O'Halloran (McGrath), Montgomery (Pollard), Koutinis (Purches), Morath-Gibbs (O'Reilly).

On our way home from Kent, Russell Bradley told me that he was considering going back there permanently. The left-flanker had received a contract offer from Tonbridge Angels, and he was seriously thinking about taking it up.

You may remember that Tonbridge already have three former Boro boys - Daniel Akindayini, Kamal Guthmy and George Allen - on their books! If they keep signing our players, they might as well change their name to Romford Rejects!

[CFuller]

The big football story in the last full week of July was that England had a new manager. Alan Pardew resigned after our World Cup exit to the bleeding Argentines, and his successor was named as former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers. That may sound like a strange appointment to you, but the Northern Irishman had been working as a 'technical adviser' at the FA since shortly after he lost his Anfield job in 2015.

As far as we were concerned, we were focusing on having a good pre-season - and it looked like we would need it if the pre-season odds were to be believed. Just like this time last year, we were rated as 40-1 outsiders for promotion, and we were at much shorter odds to be relegated. That's not a positive sign. (For what it's worth, freshly-relegated Boreham Wood at 5-2, and Kingstonian at 3-1, were the clear favourites to go back up.)

We were back at home for our next friendly, with Bishop's Stortford the opposition at Ship Lane. They were relegated from the Conference South in 2016 and have been in the Isthmian League Premier Division ever since.

24 July 2018: Romford vs Bishop's Stortford

Youth winger Dave McGrath created the final goal in our 5-0 thrashing of Crockenhill, and he carried his confidence over to this match. Dave's first effort on goal in the 11th minute went high and wide, but his next chance - three minutes later - was much better. McGrath's pass to Gareth Stamp in the Bishop's Stortford area was blocked by defender Jake McCormick, but Dave quickly got to the loose ball and fired it in via a deflection off Rob Burch's gloves! The 17-year-old had scored his first goal for the senior team, and his day almost got better on 25 minutes, when he put a close-range volley inches wide. Kenny Pollard also missed the target a minute later, and then the Bishops started to attack. On 35 minutes, Charlie Sheringham - son of ex-England striker Teddy - looked almost certain to curl a shot into the top corner until Moses Millen pulled off a great reflex save to keep us in the lead. Five minutes later, Bishop's Stortford youngster Adrian Steer steered a poor effort away from the target.

We regained control of proceedings after the half-time interval, and we nearly moved further ahead on 53 minutes. Graeme Montgomery's half-volley was blocked by visiting defender Simon Ainge, and the rebound fell to Daniel Morrison, who scuffed it. Elliot Eaton swerved a shot just over the crossbar three minutes later. We were controlling possession very well and making plenty of chances, but making the most of them was proving to be a problem. Bishop's Stortford also fared badly with the few opportunities that we handed them. A 71st-minute free-kick from winger Gregory Ariyibi found his team-mate Owen Francis, who scooped a half-volley over. A very wasteful Francis then headed the ball into the side netting on 79 minutes, after Keston James had made a mess of clearing Ariyibi's cross. That was it for the Bishops, and we recorded a third consecutive shutout win despite being far from our best.

Romford - 1 (McGrath 14)

Bishop's Stortford - 0

Friendly, Attendance 149

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Millen (Thomas), Dunn (Peters), Georgiou (Gray), Lyskov (James), Rofe (Bradley), McCrae (Eaton), Morrison (Scott), McGrath (O'Halloran), Pollard (Koutinis), Montgomery (Purches), O'Reilly (Stamp).

After that victory, I persuaded a couple of players to sign two-year contracts at Romford. The first was Russell Bradley, who spurned the advances of Tonbridge Angels and inked his signature on a new £120-a-week deal at the Boro. The second was a new signing - and one that I was very excited to have snapped up.

I had been closely tracking Merstham playmaker Fabio Saraiva for just over a year. When I heard that Boreham Wood were making an offer for him, I knew it was time to act...

...and act I did, because I snatched Saraiva from right under Ian Allinson's nose! That said, I had to push the boat out to secure Fabio's services. I offered the 24-year-old midfielder £350 a week, making him our highest-paid player ever, as well as £100 for every appearance. Fabio thought it over, and then decided to go with us!

Signing Saraiva - who was born in south London and is of Portuguese origin - was a major gamble on my part. He had made 25 league assists in his last two seasons at Merstham, and if he played anything like as well as that for us, he could be a real coup. However, he'd never played at this high a level before, having spent his entire career up to now at Moatside, so the Conference South was virgin territory for Fabio.

Our new playmaker went straight into the starting eleven when we hosted 1988 League Cup winners Luton Town in our toughest, and most prestigious, friendly of this pre-season. Leam Richardson's Hatters came 16th in League Two last season.

28 July 2018: Romford vs Luton Town

We were playing a Luton team about to start their fourth consecutive Football League campaign, and the gulf in class was apparent right from the start. Some woeful defending contributed to their opening goal after almost exactly two minutes. Boro captain Elliot Eaton's poorly-executed header went to Ronnie Banton on the edge of our area, and the Luton striker skipped past Kieron Gray's challenge before kicking off the scoring. Luton could've gone 2-0 up on six minutes, but John Rooney hit a shot that wouldn't have made his older brother Wayne proud. Three minutes later, Rooney played a small part in doubling the Hatters' advantage. His attempted pass to Ryan Wallace was intercepted by Romford midfielder Romone McCrae, but Wallace put Romone under pressure and slid the ball off him. Banton got to the loose ball just ahead of Gray, and an unstoppable low strike put us further behind. Kieron was being tortured 'Fifty Shades of Grey'-style by Banton, and it would only get more painful for the centre-back. His reckless challenge from behind on Banton gave away a penalty, which the Hatters frontman converted to bag a hat-trick after just 13 minutes! Gray was taken off sharpish, but his early substitution didn't stem the bleeding. In the 18th minute, Welsh winger Jake Howells scored at the second time of asking after his initial effort was parried back to him by Kyle Thomas. 4-0 to Luton, and if they continued scoring at that rate, they were on course for an 18-0 victory! Fortunately for us, Luton weren't going to act so sadistically. They took their foot off the pedal in the latter part of the first half and were happy to take a comfortable lead into the break.

From our perspective, the game was already lost, so the second half was purely a battle for honour. I made major changes during the break by switching to our new 3-5-2 tactic and bringing on six substitutes. I also took the captaincy from Eaton and gave it to debutant Fabio Saraiva - the only Romford player to come out of that first half with any credit. Fabio had our first real chance to score on 51 minutes, but his shot from just outside the area was well caught by Lee Butcher. Seven minutes later, normal service resumed for Luton. Joe Tait flicked a long Howells throw-in beyond Simon Rofe and towards our far post, where 17-year-old Hatters forward Rossi Millard beat Boro winger Jimmy Scott to tap it in. We were 5-0 down, and instead of being furious at our shambolic defending, I was laughing out of pure embarrassment. I probably would have started crying had Luton made the most of their next chance just over half an hour later. In the last minute of normal time, Christian Davidson's cross to Ryan Brobbel was volleyed well over the bar by the Northern Irishman, who missed a golden opportunity for number 6. We had a chance to at least get number 1 in the dying moments of injury time, but Vasilis Koutinis' header was saved by Julian Arnott. Seconds later, our 90-minute dose of reality finally came to an end.

Romford - 0

Luton Town - 5 (Banton 2,9,pen13, Howells 18, Millard 58)

Friendly, Attendance 644

ROMFORD LINE-UP: Thomas (Millen), Dunn (Peters), Gray (Georgiou), Lyskov (Rofe), Bradley (Purches), McCrae (Pollard), Eaton (Morrison), O'Halloran (Scott), Saraiva (O'Reilly), Montgomery (Koutinis), Morath-Gibbs (Stamp).

Erm... yeah...

Shall we quickly move on?

[EvilDave]

Just wanted to chip in and say how much I've enjoyed this story so far. You write well, you're conveying the struggles in a really engaging way, and I'm looking forward to the new season. Let's hope it's a bit better than the last or this thread might be cut short!

[CFuller]

Just wanted to chip in and say how much I've enjoyed this story so far. You write well, you're conveying the struggles in a really engaging way, and I'm looking forward to the new season. Let's hope it's a bit better than the last or this thread might be cut short!

Thank you - it's always nice to receive praise from a writer as good as yourself.

This coming season has got to be better than the last, for sure, but I'm confident that we can move back up the table with the signings we've made.