EXPECTATION levels have risen at Histon after their achievements over the last few years – but the Stutes are finding it difficult this season to build on their recent success.
Histon won promotion as champions from the Conference South at the end of the 2006-07 campaign, the first time ever that the Stutes had reached the highest level of the non-league system.
That was the club’s fourth promotion in seven years and Histon quickly adapted to life in the Blue Square Premier in the 2007-08 season.
Manager Steve Fallon steered them to a seventh place finish in their first campaign at that level, just two places and nine points away from the play-offs.
That was highly commendable from a club that was only playing Eastern Counties League football ten years previously.
But more was to come from Histon who started their second season in the Conference in excellent form, and went on to top the table last November, eventually finishing last term in third position to secure a play-off berth.
But they were beaten 2-0 on aggregate by Torquay United in the semi-finals.
It was not the only success Histon enjoyed last season as the Stutes reached the third round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
Histon beat Football League opponents Swindon Town (1-0) and Leeds United (1-0), both at The Glass World Stadium before their dream run ended in round three when they went down 2-1 against Swansea City.
There were high hopes among supporters that Histon could build on the success of last season but Fallon lost the services of four key players over the summer.
Patrick Ada, Matthew Mitchel-King, Jack Midson and Antonio Murray all moved on, while the departure of influential coach John Beck, who left as a cost cutting measure, was also seen as a massive blow.
But Fallon did not have the financial resources to compensate for the players who had exited as Histon struggle to attract crowds large enough to sustain a large Conference-level wage budget.
Although they picked up four points from their opening two matches of the campaign, a run of six defeats in seven outings – they secured a lone win at home to Salisbury in that time – left the Stutes languishing in the wrong half of the table.
A three-game unbeaten run, resulting in seven points, put Histon back on track before a crushing 4-0 defeat at AFC Wimbledon – the worst on the season – on September 26.
But Fallon picked up the pieces and turned things around once again.
Histon embarked on a five game unbeaten run in the league, stretching from the end of September throughout all of October, with wins against Eastbourne Borough (2-0), Tamworth (3-1) and Forest Green (5-2), and 1-1 draws with neighbours Cambridge United and Mansfield Town.
Although they could not repeat the FA Cup heroics of the previous season when they crashed out at Hinckley United in the fourth qualifying round, that excellent sequence of results saw a huge improvement in Histon’s league position.
But their five-game unbeaten league run came to an end last Saturday when they lost 2-1 at Rushden & Diamonds in their first outing for a fortnight.
Substitute Andrew Tidswell’s late consolation goal was all Histon had to show for their efforts and Fallon bemoaned his team’s lack of attacking quality, saying: “As an attacking force we were very, very poor.
“In the second half, with the wind behind us, we thought we might be able to put them under pressure, but the quality wasn’t there.
“The one half-decent ball we put in the box we scored from. That’s not good enough. It was an easy day for their defenders."”
There has been plenty of upheaval at the club in recent weeks which has given Fallon plenty to ponder.
Gareth Baldwin stepped down as Histon chairman after 17 years at the Glass World earlier this month, with director Tony Roach taking over.
Roach admitted that the club’s accounts were a cause for concern and as a result of the financial problems Histon are looking to cash in on their prize assets, something that does not make Fallon’s job any easier.
Lanre Oyebanjo, Josh Simpson and Danny Wright have all been on trial at Peterborough United, while Nat Knight-Percival has also been generating interest from clubs.
Fallon finally lost midfielder Simpson who did join Peterborough on loan until the end of the year with a view to a permanent deal.
However, that move is still up in the air as the Posh have since parted company with manager Darren Ferguson.
But Fallon has been able to sign teenage Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Sam Cox on a month-long loan.
Cox, 19, who will continue to train with Spurs development squad throughout his loan, made his debut in last week’s defeat at Rushden.
A number of injuries meant Fallon was short of bodies at Nene Park and although striker Danny Wright is still ruled out of tomorrow’s clash against Wrexham, Oyebanjo should return after missing the defeat because he was on international
duty with Ireland under 21s.
Winger Knight-Percival broke his nose 16 minutes into last week’s game but should be fit to face the Reds.
Fallon will name keeper Danny Naisbitt in goal with Adam Tann, Matthew Langston, Adam Bygrave and Adam Gwillim in defence.
A five-man midfield featuring Knight-Percival, John Kennedy, Billy Crook, Cox and Jamie Barker lined up at Rushden with Michael Frew operating as a lone striker.