Football Season Review

After entering League One as the League Two champions and assembling a squad of proven players led by the high profile Paolo di Canio, the Robins were expected to push for their second consecutive promotion in the season of their return to the third tier. They weren't showing as much consistency as their manager and fans would have liked in the early stages of the season, but they gradually improved, and were firmly inside the top six midway through the season. The turning point of their campaign was January - the Robins kept going strong despite being in the middle of an injury crisis, but it was revealed that the financial situation of the club was not good, and it was subsequently put up for sale. The first thing that the new owners did was to sell star winger Matt Ritchie without Di Canio's consent, and the controversial manager responded by handing in his registration just before the game against Tranmere on February 19. Di Canio's coaching staff were in charge for that game - the Robins emerged 3:1 winners, with the result seeing them moving to the top of the table for the first time in the campaign, but everything went downhill from there. The Robins picked up only one point from back to back home games against Preston and Bury in which they had players Darren Ward and Tommy Miller in charge, while new manager Kevin MacDonald made his debut with a 2:1 away win at Coventry. However, the victory proved to be a false dawn, as the Robins managed only three wins in their final thirteen games, and barely managed to get over the line and clinch their place in the Play-offs. Despite being outplayed by Brentford during the two legs, they managed to secure a 3:3 aggregate draw and take the tie to penalties, but were defeated in the shoot-out after young striker Miles Storey missed the decisive spot-kick. The feeling among the fans is that the club missed its big chance for glory - they won't have the 'di Canio factor' next season, and the futures of the majority of the players are uncertain. The Robins will definitely need significant summer strengthening if they are to push for promotion next season, as there was nothing about the football they showed since di Canio left that suggested that they could be able to repeat this season's heroics.

Player of the Season: Nathan Thompson