Season Summary
With half of last seasons team having departed, this season was going to be a massive struggle for Gunners. Whilst Gunners had signed plenty of players, many of these were on a casual "odd game" basis and the number of regular players were limited.
The key areas of concern were a general lack of players, the lack of a specialist keeper and a prolific striker to replace Bill.
The first game of the season saw Gunners at home against Shinfield with Gunners managing to scrape together a starting lineup of 11 players with a "guest" player on the bench. Gunners conceded a penalty to go 1-0 down and then after making their only substitution saw an injury reduce them to 10 men for 40 minutes of the game. Gunners managed to stay in the game right towards the end and then had a lifeline when Paul Ali earned a penalty with a few minutes to go. Unfortunately, Paul’s shot was saved by the keeper leaving Gunners narrow losers. Peter Ali was Gunners "Man of the Match".
The second game of the season saw Gunners struggle to raise a team and ended up fielding a "guest" keeper. Richard Alderton turned up ‘flu ridden but hung around as Gunners only substitute. A changed line up saw Gunners start the game slowly and Wokingham took advantage going a couple of goals up. Gunners battled back in the second half but the game was beyond their reach and Gunners suffered their second defeat in a row despite an excellent performance from Mike Olivier.
Gunners then faced fellow strugglers Chalfont Park and again only managed to start the game with a bare 11 players (Steve Tranter turned up midway through the first half). Gunners started well and opened up Chalfont on a couple of occasions but could not convert these chances into goals. Chalfont then took the lead before Peter Ali suffered an injury during the first half and was forced to play up front as best he could before Steve arrived just before half time and a substitution was made. However, Peter did manage to score a goal to make it 1-1 at half time. Chalfont had the better of the second half but Gunners held out to give them a point. Marcus Randles was the pick of the Gunners players.
Next up was an away tie against Earley HG Res now referred to as "The Battle of Bulmershe". Gunners gave away an early goal and were outplayed during the first half leaving them 3-0 down. A more spirited performance in the second half saw Gunners create a few chances before Steve Tranter retaliated to a late tackle by an opponent which saw both players sent off and the Earley HG supporter getting involved in the ensuing scuffle.
Following some verbals between Steve and several Earley HG players and supporters, Steve was instructed to leave the game and go home. Unfortunately, as he made his way to the car park he was confronted by 3 Earley HG players who ran off the field as he left. A scuffle ensued which was calmed down from players form both sides but the referee had seen enough and abandoned the game with about 10 minutes to go. Gunners then faced a charge of failing to control their players and supporters (of which Gunners only had 2 both which were not involved) and denied the charge although Steve accepted his sending off was appropriate. A written denial was submitted as the potential cost of a hearing was too costly but the charge was upheld and Gunners were fined £50. As the cost of appealing the decision was £50 it was uneconomic to pursue the matter and it appears that the punishment was minor in any case. Following this game, Steve elected to join another team as he was not enjoying his football and so another player was lost.
Gunners then faced Good Companions in the league and again only just managed to scrape 12 players together including a recovering Peter Ali on the bench. A much changed around side (including the fourth different keeper in five games) lost out 4-0. Marcus Randles and Mike Olivier were the form players for Gunners.
After this result it was plain to see that many of the regular players were pretty dejected and an ad-hoc team meeting was held immediately after the game. With Gunners struggling to get 11 players each week, it was agreed between the senior players and Manager that the team would see out the end of the season and then disband the team. They also agreed to put the word out to all ex-players to lend a hand by making the odd appearance or two to help the team get through the season.
Gunners faced Division 1 side Trentonians in the Cup and after a close fought game lost out 3-1 with Paul Marten scoring a rare goal whilst ex-Gunner Paul Clark made a return appearance for the team.
Gunners then faced league leaders Purple Turtle in their 200th ever competive game and despite a good performance form Chris Fielding in goal lost out 4-1. Paul Ali did score the only goal for Gunners on his 200th appearance for the club.
Gunners were still seeking their first win of the season and earned this when they beat fellow strugglers Chalfont Park 4-3 in the return fixture. Gunners could only manage to get 11 players but fortunately saw the game out with no injuries and secured the win with a good effort from all the players.
Gunners then faced Woodley Saints in a league encounter and again could only manage to raise 12 men and were beaten 4-2 despite a good performance from Lee Gallagher in goal. It was clear from this game that Gunners did not have sufficient resources to compete effectively with other teams in the division and it wasn’t helped that ever present player Paul Ali suffered a hamstring injury in the final few minutes of the game.
And so Gunners came to their final ever competitive game against Ruscombe. Gunners could not raise a side and turned up with 11 players, including 3 "guest" players and an injured Paul Ali who was literally a passenger due to his injury. Gunners were soundly beaten by Ruscombe 6-0 and it was fair to say that nobody enjoyed the game.
Following this game, Manager Paul Ali telephoned most of the senior players to discuss the teams position. Put bluntly, the team did not have sufficient resources to continue and the game against Ruscombe was clear evidence of that. Despite putting a call to ex-Gunners players to lend a hand, the team had struggled to raise a team each week and Gunners were uncompetitive in the league. The choice was simple, did players fancy carrying on?
The answer was no and a decision was made to disband the team with immediate effect. Whilst most people were disappointed with the outcome everyone realised that it was not sustainable to continue and a sensible decision was made.
And so after starting in 1998 and after more than 200 games which had seen Gunners start from Division 2 of the Tilehurst Trophies Friendly League and being promoted or elevated 4 times over 8-9 years to reach Division 2 East of the Reading Sunday League Gunners had called it a day and would not play a competitive game again.
