Before the 2004/05 season had even begun both manager John Ward and Chairman Paul Baker had decided that this needed to be a campaign of consolidation. A re-building period that required a certain amount of patience on the part of both the club and the general public, plus a little risk taking.

New faces needed to be introduced into the squad and if the club was to build itself up without breaking the bank, then any signings made would not be expensive ones. In fact with the financial climate as it was within the Football League most signings would have to come free.

Released from the previous season's wage bill were some great servants of the club, Archie Howells, Steve Book and Mark Yates had all contributed magnificently to this club over the years and it was sad to see them go. But, time and football moves on and therefore so must Cheltenham Town. Northern Ireland international defender Michael Duff joined Championship side Burnley and his ex-Robins boss, Steve Cotterill for £30,000. Others gone from the previous season, some even released before the 2003/04 season had been completed included, Paul Brayson, Richard Forsyth, Anthony Griffin, Bob Taylor, Ben Cleverley and Bertrand Cozic.

Palpatations for some suporters slowed a little after it was annouced that the manager had captured the signatures of Steve Guinan from Hereford United and JJ Melligan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, the bookies had Cheltenham Town down firmly as one of the relegation favourites from the off and for one or two regular souls at Whaddon Road, the future was being viewed with some trepidation. 

The campaign kicked off at Southend and the Robins came away with all three points. However, with a couple of home defeats following plus, an early exit from the Carling Cup for a few doubters the writing was already on the wall by the end of September.

A game that might have just come along at the right time was the potential banana skin LDV cup tie, against Dagenham and Redbridge. The Robins produced a very solid 5-1 win over relatively strong non-league opposition and the result did the squad the world of good. During October 2004 both the match results and team performances looked a lot more promising. By the end of that month we may have only improved our league position to 15th but the team were scoring more goals and whilst we remained in the bottom half of the table, mathematically there were less points between us and the top teams than there were between us and the strugglers near the bottom.

Another cracking LDV Vans match, this time against League One Walsall, heralded the month of November in and the Robins took Paul Merson's side all the way before penalties decided the tie in favour of the Saddlers, after extra-time. Despite an early exit from the FA Cup against a powerful Swansea City side the Robins finished the month of November in a glorious 8th place in Coca-Cola League Two and, had they not lost at home to Darlington could have been as high as 4th.

December probably typified the remainder of the season because most of the previous good work was frustratingly given away and instead of challenging for the top, we were back with the pack. However, within this period of inconsistency one or two shining lights started to appear on the horizon for Cheltenham Town. Young defender Gavin Caines, found himself a surprise inclusion after suspensions forced the managers hand and alongside Shane Duff he began to stand out. On the loan front, young striker Steven Gillespie of BrIstol City also became an instant hit with the supporters. Gillespie, folowing his release from Liverpool's trainee system, had been a pre-season target of John Ward. His pace and skill were a revelation in League Two and from day one he showed everyone at Whadoon Road that he knew where the target was. 

By mid February the side were once again sitting in a very comfortable 8th place in League Two. Could they believe in themselves and go one step further? Sadly no and from that moment on all the inconsistencies seemed to come back and haunt them once again. Disappointingly the team managed only four wins in the final 14 matches and that form summed it all up.

Finishing in 14th place was a bitter pill for some of the fans to swallow and no one would argue against the fact that it was a frustrating campaign which at times promised so much yet in the end appeared to deliver so little. But, at the end of the day most of us needed to be remainded of John Ward's words of wisdom at the very beginning of the season. John had said on more than one occasion that this was likely to be a season of consolidation, a period when young players would cut their teeth, many for the first time, against seasoned pro's and in many respects he was right. So, perhaps we do need to be a bit more patient, appreciate that in the long term the club is building itself a solid future and that we the fans need to look a little further beyond May 2005.

Player of the Year: Shane Duff

Top goalscorer(s): (10) Damian Spencer & Martin Deveaney

Most appearances (all comps): (50) Shane Higgs

Coca-Cola League Two: 14th - 60pts

Average home league attendance: 3,648

League Cup: R1 - Colchester United

FA Cup: R1 - Swansea City

LDV Vans Trophy: R2 - Walsall