We did follow that up with a draw at Preston and a win at home to Wimbledon and we were in 9th and four points off the play offs but maybe the game in between them two games started the rot. Telford pulled off the shock of the FA Cup in beating us 1-0 at fortress Gresty and we have never been the same since.
The Telford game, without doubt, gave a bashing to the teams morale and then a freak 4-6 defeat at Ipswich didn't help the back fives confidence and when Dichio's 93rd minute winner at home to Millwall went in, it was agony. The series of them three games possibly killed our season off.
We fought but claiming a late equaliser at Walsall was not exactly aim of the season and it was followed up by a trashing from Bradford, a late winner from Sheff Utd, a lucky point from Derby and a very fortunate win over Wigan. You lose your 1-0 lead against joint league leaders West Brom as they get two in the last 20 minutes and four goals from West Ham in 40 minutes does harm, your confidence gets no better when a freak goal guarantees Cardiff three points at Gresty Road.
You can see a pattern emerging, a good start to the season has been wrecked by flukes or one bad period in a match. Any other team could have stopped it but with a young team like ours you need to do something different to grind a halt to the form.
The 2-0 win over Stoke obviously wasn't enough as we get a deserved tonking from Nottingham Forest and on Saturday scrape a point. The team has stayed within about 14 regulars so Dario obviously feels that a total rethink in the starting 11 will only harm the results.
The team has just been below average, consistently. We've never looked like playing the fluent pacey counter attacking passing game we were playing up until the Telford game. We've turned into a more direct style and the majority of balls are coming from Billy and Wright from near the half way line.
The team then has weak spots, Neil Sorvel slows us down and is a player who could be replaced by 3 or 4 other players at the club, Craig Hignett is old, slow and either past it or we're failing to see where his best position is. Kenny Lunt is blowing hot and cold, but he was our player of the season before the start of the year and is still our main creative man, playing abit below par.
In defence the back four have been average and leaky all through 2004, no matter which partnerships Dario's put out they all suffer from lack of concentration. Then up front Ashton and Jones just don't get the 'final ball' they need.
It's time for Dario to just go against his word, "I don't like to mess with the team too much" and go for our best team against Watford, for the first time in 5 months. Brammer must start, Steve Jones must start, Sorvel mustn't start and Hignett mustn't start.
Williams, Billy Jones, Foster, Moses, Wright, Lunt, Brammer, Cochrane, Vaughan, Jones and Ashton. I think that 11 is the best 11 out of the current squad, injured and fit players. I really want to see what effect Brams does have on the squad, we've said for ages we need him back but nows the test - is it just him we need?
I can't see us getting much better than we have been in 2004 towards the end of the season. We've got to see this season off and rethink in the season. Dario's already suggested the reserves could be totally scrapped and I think releasing the likes of Paul Edwards, Allan Smart, Mark Roberts, Matthew Platt, Alex Morris, Ian Jeffs, Matt Garner, Carl Frost, Tom Betts and sell Neil Sorvel & Lee Bell would free up space and wages. All of them are not looking likely to make the grade, our U-19s and U-17s are looking damn impressive and they are the next to turn to after we have signed the likes of Symes and Williams(Please:).
Freshen the squad up and look to next season. This season has been good enough, we've come up saying we'll be happy with 21st place but we were given a great start and it now seems a disaster if we can't finish above the bottom 4. I remind you, it is no disaster! Look forward to Elland Road next season, certainly beats Doncaster!
I will now return to clips of Sunderland, Forest, Derby.... and remember how good we really can get. You carry on looking gloomy if you wish.