AFC Telford failed to prolong their stay in the Conference Premier and are heading back to the second-flight non-league straight after promotion an year ago. There was lots of optimism among the Bucks’ fans after getting through as Conference North champions, with an excellent manager like Liam Watson in place and good momentum behind them. Yet it quickly became clear that it will be a challenging campaign for the newcomers and they soon got anchored into the bottom of the table. Watson was using predominantly direct tactics and found out quickly that the squad at his disposal was not up to the standard in the league. Goals were conceded constantly while Telford were a bit too predictable in attack, always pumping the ball forward and hoping for the best from the second balls. Just the two points were gained in the first eight games of the season, leaving the team from Shropshire firmly at the foot of the table and already drifting away from the safety places. There was the odd spirited and fighting performance, holding Barnet to a draw and then shocking in-form Torquay for a 4:3 win in late September. But these were isolated moments of excitement in what was quickly turning out to be a dreary and very challenging season for Watson and his men. The losses kept on stacking and they were already eight points off the safety places by early November. There was little sign of improvement coming as the constant changes in starting 11 were killing off any balance that has been garnered. Mike Phenix was one of the few players impressing but he was snapped up by Barnsley in October, leaving the squad short in the attacking department where only the exploits of Tony Gray were not enough. The manager also showed poor man management by falling out with some players and constantly attacking the squad as a whole, refusing to take blame himself. The only slightly more positive note was a run to the second round of the FA Cup and a highly agonising last-minute loss to a strong Bristol City side just when the Bucks looked set for a money-spinning replay at home. That proved one of the last games that Watson was in charge of as he was sacked just before the start of the festive run of games. Steve Kittrick, formerly a manager of Guiseley, took over at the helm and actually oversaw some sort of improvement for the basement boys in early January. Telford caught the eye with away wins at Aldershot and particularly Wrexham, who were trounced 4:0 in Wales. There was suddenly a bit of hope and fighting spirit on show but any real hopes of survival are quickly sussed out in the next few weeks. Narrow losses in a few key game against direct rivals, most notably a last-minute 3:2 defeat to Dartford, left the Bucks with too much of a gap to overcome and the season died a slow death in the last couple of months of the campaign. To be fair to Kittrick, the team did show better football compared to the first half of the season and never stopped trying until the end, winning three of four games after already being officially relegated at the start of April. Overall, it was a campaign that seemed destined for failure from the word go due to the insufficient strengthening of the squad. But Kittrick has shown signs that he can do better with a bit more to work and Telford may be a worthy candidate to return to the Conference Premier next season.
