ECFC Conference Years - Good? Bad? Ugly?

[Northants Grecian]

Agreed with almost all the above ... was upset to go down but thrilled to see us winning more often than not and recently started to play good football as well rather than just hoofball ... it was our final league season that I stopped calling myself a liverpool fan who followed city and became what I am now (and what everyone I know knows me to be) ... a very proud CITY FAN !!

 

[GrecianInWales]

The Conference was definitely, in hindsight, good for the club. Up until our relegation and near-demise I'd always been a casual supporter but seeing what the Trust had to contend with and watching the club come so close to going out of business really got be going again and since then I've never looked back.

I remember being devastated when we went down but I think the Conference was very much a case of one step back two steps forward. I'm not quite sure what kind of position we'd have been in if we'd stayed up. Probably bumbling along, doing our best not to get relegated, assuming we hadn't already gone out of business.

Yes, we went to some fairly grim places in our support of City, but we also went to some friendly and unique grounds and met supporters who reminded you what football is all about.

I definitely look back on our time in the Conference fondly, even if it hurt being non-league.

 

[Red and White Zider]

The day we got relegated was nothing short of devastation, wondering if we would have a club to support. Being in the Conference put a big breath of fresh air through the club, which we gradually built up and although I struggled to comprehend being a non league side for a while, I had the clubs best interests at heart and knew when we would go up eventually that we would be in a better state on and off the field. For that alone I have the Conference years to thank. (You only have to look at what Doncaster have achieved to show that) Yes we did go to some right holes, we really did but one thing you can say they were all welcoming clubs and I was able to tick off quite a few grounds to boot!

But as Ant says, we will be going back there? Will we f*ck!

 

[iscalad]

I enjoyed the friendliness of the Conference and the general honesty of the players. No rolling around on the floor, no feigning bad injuries....it was a bit of an eye opener when Luton visited the park and saw all of their antics.

But saying that, I hated City being non league and especially when there was a Trophy game and no coverage whatsoever on a Saturday afternoon.

Up the City...

Tim Sills is obviously not a Conference player then.

 

[crocks]

Tim Sills is obviously not a Conference player then.

There's always an exception to the rule....

 

[greenawayr]

I remember going to see City Pre-Relegation, I think it was against Leyton Orient, and being mocked by my mate who was with me, A Yeovil Town supporter as the one and only Iyesden Christie tore us apart, and we could barely string 3 passes together. To top it off all of us (the crowd as a whole) laughed when an Exeter player was given the man of the match award.

That for me, summed up how bad things were, and I truly believed then that relegation would be the best thing for us as we were constantly firefighting and patching the team up with loanees and over the hill veterans looking for one last contract and pay day.

We were duly relegated and once the rat fumigators got rid of the pests in the club we started the rebuild and then the god send that was Manchester United was kick start we needed to building a better club.

Since then we've had stability and a real appreciation for our club as we all know how close we came to losing it.

I would agree with most that has been said, apart from the part about the END being the victory at Wembley. The End of our conference time maybe, but really think that we are only just beginning. Although I'm a little worried about what might happen to Tis at the end of the season, especially if we were to get promoted.

 

[STURTZ]

If we get promoted why would Tisdale leave?

 

[Exe bornandbred]

Good thread, looking back when we were in the Conference in the early years, i did lose a little interest in City and it seemed everything the club did, wasnt ever enough and times didnt look good.

For me, the turning point was when the Trust came onboard and the realisation that we finally had induviduals at the helm who had a general interest and drive for the club to get out of the conference by making several little changes within the club like stabilising the youth set up, lowering the wage bill, freezing ticket prices etc. Since then, i have througherly enjoyed watching City and saw them more regularly in the last couple of seasons in non-league.

In hindsight, I think going down to non-league really stabilised the club in a funny sort of way and shook everyone up realising that you cant survive in the football league with the resources we had in the late 90s etc. If we go up to League 1, it will just prove what can be done when a club is ran properly and professionally and having lots of great people behind the scenes making the day-to-day running of the club smooth and effective.

Exciting times, say no more...

 

[Poultice]

I would agree with most that has been said, apart from the part about the END being the victory at Wembley.

"Never before..........and should........a thousand years..............the few......finest hour..........this was not the end nor even the beginning of the end, but it was the end of the beginning".

 

[Jason H]

Pre-May 2003: I knew very few City fans. Trips down to the Park would be quite a frosty affair. The Football on display was generally pretty awful. Defeats were inevitable and met with "ho hum". Wins? What were they?

2003-2008: The initial shock of relegation and the aftermath gave way to a club that had unity, strength and togetherness. On the pitch the losing mentality was eroded and we began to remember what it was like to win frequently. The club turned from cold and unfriendly to all-encompassing, to the extent that I now know and speak to a huge number of fans at away matches, and would actively count down the days between matches. I was then thrilled to be asked to get involved in a small way with my website contributions. We may have played at some tiny grounds against some very tiny clubs, but in a way that was a large part of the charm.