Football Season Review

Bury entered their season of return to League One with their main goal being to avoid a swift return to League Two and, with that in mind, their season can only be described as a success, as they secured their survival with a month to spare and were never really in the relegation dogfight to start with. In fact, the Shakers spent the majority of the season in the top half of the table and actually looked like being able to push for their second consecutive promotion in the first half of the campaign. However, the injury situation that they had to deal with has made it impossible for them to maintain their early season form, as key men such as Leon Clarke, Nathan Cameron, Kelvin Etuhu, Tom Soares and Jacob Mellis, among others, have all missed large chunks of the season due to injuries. There was even an instance when David Flitcroft had to bring in a keeper on loan, with his two first-choice goalies both being injured, and that situation really summed up the season that the Shakers have had. Despite escaping the drop rather comfortably, the Shakers cannot afford to be too complacent during the summer - they have numerous injury-prone players on short-term contracts and it is far within the realms of possibility for them to find themselves in a relegation dog fight next season if they fail to use their summer wisely.

Player of the Season: Peter Clarke