Gateshead were always set for a season of downsizing after the loss of one of the best managers at this level in Gary Mills. He was replaced by the extremely experienced Malcolm Crosby, someone who has been in the game for a long time but has not been a manager for a fair while. He prioritised the basics of staying compact and playing more direct football than the sophisticated system played under Mills. Ryan Bowman was used as a target man up front upon his arrival from Torquay while seasoned pros at this level like Simon Ramsden, Sam Russell and Jamie Maywood were signed to bring stability and quality. It was a pretty good start from the Heed as they were getting some fine wins without actually playing that well. They had a muscular and determined midfield that was allowing them to take control and Bowman certainly hit the ground running up front. The team conceded just a couple of losses in the first ten games and claimed the impressive scalps of Eastleigh and Wrexham in the space of a few days in September to climb up to second in the table. Crosby was able to get the team working at a good level by simply letting the players play the way they are most comfortable and things are certainly looking up. But the deep-lying issues of lack of variety and creativity became more and more problematic as the Heed lost a bit of momentum and began drifting in October. They won just once in eight games in the league as poor teams like Welling, Halifax and Altrincham took points off them. Crosby was suddenly looking anxious and pointing to excuse as he could not bring the solutions to the problems. November was not much kinder for the Tynesiders as a lucky win over Boreham Wood just papered over the cracks. Indeed, Gateshead lost heavily to Wrexham and then, more embarrassingly to ten-man Halifax at home, in consecutive games and were now in crisis. The decision was taken swiftly and Crosby was indeed sacked after the loss against the Shaymen. Neil Aspin look like an excellent choice as his replacement he had a fine track-record at this level, albeit being sacked by Halifax for a dire start of the current campaign. The new manager found it challenging at the start as Southport and Woking inflicted disappointing home defeats. Yet the team hit some good form over the festive period and indeed manager a run of one loss in eight games, and four clean sheets in five, to close in on the play-off spots again. The midfield was looking solid as the likes of Gus Mafuta and Paddy McLaughlin enjoyed runs in the side while loanee CJ Hamilton developed into a fine addition to the squad. The challenge for the play-off remained very much alive in early March but a crushing loss at the hands of Macclesfield just before Easter proved their undoing. The team never recovered from that disappointment and the season very much petered out in the final month as they failed to win a single game in six. At the end, the team finished rightfully in the top half of the table but never looked good enough to genuinely challenge for the play-offs. Yet in Aspin they have a fine squad-builder with know-how and will be looking towards next season with optimism.
