The 2001-2 season saw the curtain fall Paul Fairclough‘s reign as Stevenage Borough gaffer for the second (as things stand) and final time. Apart from an early FA Cup exit at the hands of Kettering Town in October, there hadn’t been a huge amount going wrong; after all, Boro’s first league meeting with Barnet ended in a three-goal win for Boro’ and that counts for a lot. But not much had been going right, either. Boro’ were bang average and stuck in the mid-table.
The journey towards the FA Trophy final had begun in style, but Phil Wallace decided it required a new driver after seeing off Forest Green in the fifth round. Wayne Turner took Boro’ the rest of the way, but the final would end in defeat. It was, in part, because of ex-forward Carl Alford. We’d taken a couple of heavy blows in the run-up to that final – no doubt the management prioritising the chance of silverware. The test would be how we could take that into the next campaign.
