AFC Telford suffered a miserable relegation from the Conference this season after failing to cope with the pressures and the demands of playing in this league. They managed to save themselves at the end of the previous season and the hopes were that Andy Sinton will consolidate the team and make them a more stable presence in the division. And indeed, he was off to a very good start of the season with a shocking 1:0 win at Luton standing out. The team continued to perform well over the course of the first couple of months and put some assured and battling performances, like in the draw against Mansfield in September. And that was happening despite the absences of big players like Chris Sharp and Michael Briscoe with Steve Jones and Steven Leslie in impressive form up front. A 4:1 win away at early-season high-flyers Dartford in early October really lifted the expectations around the place but it would prove to be the last one that the team will get all the way until the penultimate week of the season. Good performances continued to come now and then but the failure to win games due to missed chances and poor defending started to hurt the team. Important points were dropped against direct rivals like Ebbsfleet and Barrow and the confidence began to drop. Suddenly the Bucks were sliding down the table and wondering where their next win will come from. Still, it looked like Sinton will get a hold of things and stop the rot but things really started to look bad around the festive period. Some truly miserable displays at home to Southport and Wrexham in the early weeks of 2013 seemed to seal the fate of the manager who was given the sack in early February despite managing decent draws against Hereford and Luton. At that stage, it looked like the team spirit was broken and the change had come too late. Still, Mark Cooper was appointed as a new manager and he had a good track record in this league. The performance levels upped in the weeks to follow but that vital first win since October proved elusive. And Cooper decided to jump ship after barely five and a half weeks in charge as he joined Swindon's back room stuff and left Telford in the lurch, adrift at the bottom and with their confidence shot in pieces. His assistant Graham Hyde lasted two games before leaving as well and it was left to youth coach John Psaras to complete the season. It was basically a formality for the rest of the campaign as Telford were too far behind to make up the difference but at least defeat Ebbsfleet 3:1 to stop a run of 31 games without a league win, setting a new record in the division. It was just a season that went badly off the rails and it is hard to point out what single thing contributed most to the demise. It is important for the Bucks to rally strongly and come back next season as they are a big club for this level and deserve to be in the Conference.
