Saturday 1st January 2005 Bradford (Park Avenue) 1-3 Stafford Rangers Conference North
I said goodbye to captain Neil Grayston today, he moved, with the clubs blessing to Conference side York City for a small fee. We'll miss him as it leaves the midfield looking a bit weak but we didn't really have any option other than to sell, such is the dire state of the clubs finances. Missing our first choice centre backs through suspension we lined up to face the fourth placed side hoping that our run of bad form would change. It hadn't, we were one down within three minutes, Lee Downes the scorer. It didn't really get any better as we fell to a three-one defeat but our play was better than in recent weeks and we did create some chances.
Monday 3rd January 2005 Hinckley United 6-1 Bradford (Park Avenue) Conference North
I'd been offered the job as Altrincham manager (rejected) and been mentioned as a possible successor to the recently departed Tony Adams at Wycombe Wanderers in todays press but was really feeling too much pressure to really take any notice as we travelled to tenth placed Hinckley. We'd slipped to fifteenth in the table and our recent form didn't suggest we'd get anything out of the game today. Sadly the form book was right and we got hammered, Jamie Dolan, playing as an emergency striker, getting our consolation.
It proved to be the final straw and that evening the chairman came to my house and told me that I wouldn't be required to come into work on the Tuesday. I'd been sacked. My time at Bradford (Park Avenue) had seen me manage them in twenty-six competitive games, we'd won eight, drawn four and lost fourteen. Scoring forty-four but conceding seventy-three in the process. I can't help but feel that with a bit of money and some luck with injuries and suspensions I'd have been able to keep Avenue up and satisfy the boards want of finishing mid-table, if not higher but, as it was, I left feeling embarrassed and ashamed to have let them down.
It seemed that I had however become quite highly rated for some reason and was soon offered the job of manager at Welsh Premier League side Aberystwyth Town. For the record I accepted, but what went on there is a tale for another day.
The End 
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