Football Season Review

There is little doubt that Bury supporters will look back on the season behind their club with pride, as the Shakers managed to fulfil their target for the season and avoid relegation in their first season after winning promotion. It was a real up and down campaign for Richie Barker and his men, who were an incredibly streaky side over the entire course of the season - they had a five game losing streak early in the season and a 13 match winless run which they snapped only in the 39th round, but were very tough to beat in most of the games they played outside of those two horror streaks. In the first half of the season, their away form was the thing that was keeping them out of trouble, while they eventually managed to cross the finish line thanks to three consecutive wins in front of their own fans. Barker deserves special praise for the way he made his side competitive again after they lost key men Ryan Lowe and Damian Mozika early in the season - it initially seemed that the Shakers would fall off the rails after their departures, but the fine scoring form of Andy Bishop kept the Shakers clear of danger for months, while a combined effort of several players made up for Mozika's departure. It has to be said that Bury haven't established a trademark style of play and haven't show any sort of consistency or quality that would suggest that they couldn't become relegation candidates next term - Barker's task over the summer will be to strengthen and avoid his side suffering a second season syndrome.

Player of the Season: Andy Bishop