1996/97 REVIEW
Ilkeston Town's excellent form during the final few weeks of the 1995/96 season, which almost saw them escape relegation, gave rise to high expectations for the new season. Many thought that an instant return to the Southern League Premier Division was a mere formality. However, they were to be sadly mistaken.

The 1996/97 season was a huge disappointment. Poor discipline on the pitch - seven players received red cards during the season - plus injuries to key players left manager Keith Alexander with little option to keep bringing in new players. Not all proved to be as good as the players they replaced, and without a settled team Ilkeston struggled to make any sort of impact. That is, until March, when the manager was finally able to select the team he wanted. The Robins went on a 17 match unbeaten run in the Midland Division, Alexander won the Manager of the Month award for March, and the team climbed up the table from well below half way to finish in third place, just one point behind the promoted runners up Rothwell Town. But although Town had performed particularly well at the latter end of the season it couldn't disguise the fact that they had failed to reach the target so many felt was theirs for the taking.

So what went wrong? It would be fair to say that Town failed to impress in all areas of the pitch for too long. Dave Taylor, the man expected to shoot Ilkeston to glory, broke his arm (and was sent off) in the opening game and missed the first six weeks of the season as a result. On his return, he rejoined an inconsistent team and his form, by his high standards, became patchy. Then, early in the new year, he broke his arm again and as he returned to fitness he declared his unhappiness at being at the club and made no secret of his wish to leave. Taylor didn't figure again. His main strike partner, the experienced Simon Grayson who impressed upon his arrival towards the end of the previous season, underwent knee surgery during the Summer and wasn't fit enough to play until January. From then on, he appeared frequently but more often as not as substitute. A huge disappointment up front was Mark Hallam, a record signing in the Spring. Plenty of goals were expected from him too, but he lost his scoring touch and confidence, and left the club early in the new year after loan spells elsewhere. The other main striker who remained with the club from the previous season, the young and promising Steve Carruthers, failed to develop as hoped and, despite scoring a few goals, was often wasteful in front of goal. He too left the club after going out on loan.

Alexander therefore had to bring in new strikers. Already signed in pre-season was another youngster, Scott Huckerby. Huckerby was short and nimble and cannot be criticised too harshly. Although his close control sometimes let him down, he was a menace to opposing defences with his pace, but he was always more of a provider of chances rather than an out and out scorer. Nevertheless, he was a definite plus factor in the forward line. However, the same cannot be said of all the others. Gary Richefond arrived early in the season and was pleasing on the eye with his forward bursts. Unfortunately, he lacked physical presence and too often there was no end product to his game. Another early season arrival, David Byng, made a promising debut but rarely captured the same form and struggled for goals. Eventually, Alexander was forced to introduce midfielder Jason Kabia, who had skill, determination and vision, to the forward line. Kabia soon responded with a hat-trick away at Stourbridge but it took him time to hit the goal trail consistently. However, the goals began to come as the season headed towards its close and his form was one of the reasons behind Town's climb up the table.  

Of course, Kabia's move from midfield weakened another area in the struggling team. The midfield lacked the authority to dictate games and therefore failed to support the attack whilst allowing teams to put what was a suspect defence under pressure. Kabia was the only midfield player remaining at the club from the previous season, and Alexander brought in Kevin Lampkin and the hard working Steve Williams during the Summer. Lampkin didn't make an impact and soon left whilst Williams broke his arm early in the season and was released after Christmas without making a return to the team. The aggressive, hard tackling but somewhat limited Dale Wright was brought into the team and did a decent job but without quality midfield players - Kabia apart - around him his style of play won few admirers. Nevertheless, Wright's presence was to become invaluable to the team as he provided a perfect foil for the masterful John Knapper, a player who could pass accurately long or short, and who could shoot with power. Knapper joined in December and his quality was immediately apparent. Sadly, an ankle ligaments injury soon ruled him out for a number of weeks, but his return coincided with Town's late push for promotion. A few weeks before Knapper's arrival came Paul Eshelby, a goalscoring wide man who was predominantly right footed but could play down either flank. Eshelby was a big success and his ability to cut in from the wing and shoot powerfully made him top scorer by the season's end. Many other players were brought in to play in midfield without success, with the possible exception of the attack minded, dead ball expert Colin Bishop who played for a couple of months in mid season, and in the end Alexander moved Dave Robinson from central defence into the heart of midfield. Robinson was a driving force and along with Knapper, Eshelby and Wright, the previously non functioning midfield became one to be reckoned with. Indeed, Robinson was a revelation in this position and his all action displays there helped him win the player of the year award. The problem with moving Robinson away from the defence meant that the most vulnerable area of the team was even more exposed.  

The defence had problems almost from the start. Goalkeeper Paul Norton had such a torrid time that Alexander was forced to bring Malcolm Rigby in on loan after just a few weeks. Rigby made a great impression, however, and was signed permanently in October. His agility and bravery made him a firm fans favourite and they forgave his inconsistent kicking and rash dashes from his goal which occasionally placed his team in trouble. With good reason, too, because some of his acrobatic saves won valuable points for the club. Alexander preferred to play three across the back to allow his full backs free reign to push forward. The season began with new signing Darren Hall, Donovan Gethfield and Gary Middleton playing at the heart of the defence. Hall, however, was not a success and neither was the big, strong Donovan Gethfield whose lack of pace caught him out too many times. The same could not be said of the fearless, hard tackling Gary Middleton. Quick in recovery, he was a success but never quite hit the form he was capable of, due in part to the lack of a strong leader to play alongside. Fortunately, Alexander had Robinson at his disposal to bring into the back line and he soon reverted to a more typical four across the back when Hall and Gethfield left the club. When Robinson was moved into midfield, however, it was vital that a strong experienced leader was signed to play alongside Middleton. Alexander found just the man in Nicky Law, who arrived at the beginning of March and was arguably the biggest single factor in Town's change of fortunes. A superb organiser and a magnificent header of a ball, Law's presence made Ilkeston extremely difficult to break down and the hitherto leaky defence was transformed. Confidence soon spread throughout the team and had Law arrived a month earlier Ilkeston would have won promotion in all likelihood.    

Finally, Ilkeston used three players for most of the season in the full back positions. New signing Lee Saunders seemed to be a great pospect and generally played down the right. Town's formation gave him licence to push forward which he did to good effect but sadly he was prone to injury, and a recurring knee problem led to his frequent absence from the team. On the other flank was long time fans favourite Mark Pennant. He too was arguably at his best going forward and his accurate crosses, both from open play and from corners, brought the team plenty of goals. However, he too missed games because of suspension and an ankle injury, and he had a spell away on loan in mid season. Andy Shaw, who could play in either position when Saunders and Pennant were absent, joined at the start of the season and although he had his critics no player in the team created more goals than he did. Unfortunately, all three full backs had defensive defficiencies and Ilkeston were vulnerable to counter attacks down the flanks.

The 1996/97 season was also the season when Town introduced a YTS team. Several of the youngsters were handed occasional opportunities to play in the first team, although one stood out in particular. Darren Ball looked to have a fine future and was not overawed when asked to play at right back or in midfield. Another youngster who was not part of the YTS set up, Jason Bowler, who had showed much promise when he first broke into the team the previous season, continued to do so but without making any exceptional progress.

So the season ended in disappointment but Keith Alexander at least now had the satisfaction of knowing that he had the nucleus of a team capable of winning promotion. All it needed was some fine tuning.