The 1997/98 season anticipated much promise for Netherfield Albion Football Club. With the sides first team promoted and jumping a league into Division One after a Third Division league and Junior league cup double, and the clubs Reserve side involved in it’s second season, with promising player / manager Shaun Pates (pictured) carrying on in the job he took control of at the start of the year, the side were destined for more success.

However a promising start to the reserves campaign, drawing their first and winning their next four to top the Notts Amateur Fourth Division table in October was marred by the First teams failure to deliver the goods and although they knocked out Premier Division Valley Park Rangers on penalties in the Cup, they failed to last the season due to poor league results, loss of players and lack of commitment, by the time January came around, Shaun Pates found himself managing his young team, as the only outfit left under the name of Netherfield Albion FC.

After deciding not to jump his inexperienced set of players up into the First Division, Netherfield continued to play fourth division football and were joined by first team legend Andy Merrin who decided to stick with the club. Merrin joined early season captures Matt Brazener and Danny Peacock who both impressed during their debut seasons, and outlasted the likes of Ian Wilkinson and Dennis Hickey who also originally decided to step down into the fourth division, before moving on in their separate ways.

By the time Merrin had joined the club, Netherfield were in a top five position, after faltering their good start to the league when coming up against tougher more organized outfits during the winter months. The likes of Culimore, AC Bulwell Reserves and Durham Ox all proved too strong for Albion but with a strike partnership of Lee Roberts (pictured) and Jason Rawson (30 goals between them before the new year) banging the goals in, the club still stayed not too far away from the leading pack.

The turn of the year however gave Merrin the chance to lead the line and he proved his class after coming on as a substitute against Great Northern. With the score tied and less then fifteen minutes remaining, Merrin came on for Albion and curled home a winner from the edge of the area. A week later he scored a hat trick against Crookes Reserves in a 4-2 win and suddenly Netherfield had a strikeforce, as good as anybody in the league.

Key: F-Friendly Match, L-Notts Amateur League Division Four Match, LC-Minor League Cup, CC- Notts FA Minor Section Cup. n-neutral venue, h-home, a-away.

Notts Amateur League Division Four Table

Andy Blacknall 6(4)-1, Glenn Bower 0(1)-0, Tony Bradley 0(1)-0, Matthew Brazener 24(1)-0, Kevin Camplin 29-13, Stef Carey 5(2)-0, Scott Carlombe 0(1)-0, Tom Creswick 26-4, Paul Croft 21(4)-1, Paul Guy 21(4)-2, Dennis Hickey 0(1)-0, Richard Hopkin 16(1)-1, Jimmy Ley 1(1)-0, Andy Merrin 12(1)-13, Kevin Miles 5(2)-0, Kevin Parsons 16(6)-1, Shaun Pates 30-0, Danny Peacock 20(8)-3,  Ian Richards 1-1, Andy Richardson 23(1)-5, Jason Rawson 29(1)-20, Lee Roberts 29-26, Joe Tinsley 10(4)-2, Ian Wilkinson 0(2)-0.