Boro’ boss Brian Williams was looking to revive our fortunes going into the 1988-9 season; the club having suffered its first-ever relegation. It wasn’t Williams’ fault that we didn’t keep hold of our Division One status; the manager arriving too late during the previous season to halt the slide back to Division Two North. Our promotion bid was a decent one and we made a decent fist of trying to return straight away. Harlow Town and Thurrock, however, were the teams to go up as Boro’ came up short by five points.
In the FA Cup, our run came to an unusual and awkward end. Boro’ were chucked out of the competition after starting Brian Aldridge in goal. Not many people can claim to have enjoyed a winning debut, only for the admin to get in the way. You see, Aldridge was not actually eligible to play. That little faux pas with the paperwork was to Burnham‘s gain. Tilbury, meanwhile, put us out of the FA Vase; Dover Athletic ousting us from the Knights Floodlit League. In the end, it wasn’t quite the resurgence season we wanted it to be.
