THE 1998-99 season will go down as one of the more dramatic in Worcester City's re-cent history.

A final position of seventh in the Dr Martens League Premier Division does little to reflect a campaign that started and finished with great optimism but saw a change of management in mid-stream.

A host of summer signings by former boss George Rooney, adding to a side that had briefly threatened a title challenge the previous season, left City fans confident they could finally make the breakthrough.

But an inconsistent start, where good away form was counter-balanced by an inability to perform in their home matches, left City floundering in mid-table.

And in early December, Rooney's six-year reign as City boss was terminated by mutual arrangement.

His departure prompted mass speculation about a replacement, while Graham Selby and Mick Tuohy steadied the ship as caretaker bosses. But a week later, Graham Allner quit after 15 years as Kidderminster Harriers boss, and as a former Worcester City player, he immediately became the favourite.

Allner was duly appointed in January, and immediately set about changing City's style of play to that which he had put into practice at Harriers.

Some early teething troubles meant that City were in danger of being drawn into a relegation fight, so tight was the league table.

But having dropped to 17th place, City then won six of their next seven games to go into the last game still in with a shout of finishing third, although defeat at Boston scuppered those hopes.

It was a successful season on the cup front, with Rooney delivering a long-awaited FA Cup run for City.

A favourable draw carried them into the first round proper for the first time in 11 years and earned a home tie against Third Division strugglers Torquay United. More than 3,000 packed into St George's Lane to see them fall to a late Torquay goal.

In the FA Umbro Trophy Worcester reached the last 32 for the first time in five years, and put up an heroic performance in losing 1-0 at Nationwide Conference side Northwich Victoria.

They beat West Brom and Walsall on their way to the Birmingham Senior Cup semi-final, where they were beaten in extra time to Birmingham City, and lost to Allner's former club Kidderminster in the Worcestershire Senior Cup final.

Two players worthy of mention are striker Mark Owen, who blossomed as the season progressed, the 21-year-old ending as top scorer with 25 goals.

At the back Carl Heeley showed great determination to battle back after sustaining serious facial injuries in an FA Cup tie at Mangotsfield. He was back playing within three months and never let it affect him subsequently.

So what for next season? With a host of new signings imminent and Allner at the helm, success will be expected -- we will have to wait and see.

Thursday, May 7, 1999