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2004–05 Boston United F.C. season

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Boston United
2004–05 season
ChairmanJon Sotnick
ManagerSteve Evans
League 216
FA CupThird round
Football League CupSecond round
Top goalscorerLeague:
All: Andy Kirk (20)
Highest home attendance6445 (v Lincoln)
Lowest home attendance1489 (v Cambridge)
Average home league attendance2965

After their success in Division Three the previous year, Boston were billed as promotion favourites, as they had bolstered their squad for the 2004–05 Football League Two, Boston's third consecutive season in the Football League, after promotion in 2002.

Hectic pre-season matches in a packed schedule saw Boston play a selection of local and national teams, including Rotherham United, Sheffield United, Stamford A.F.C. and local rivals Boston Town. Boston played a very lucrative friendly against a Newcastle United XI at York Street, bringing in a crowd of 3349. The Pilgrims comfortably won 4–0, with Martin Carruthers scoring a hat-trick. The game saw a number of Newcastle's future players at the game, including Michael Chopra, Matty Pattison and goalkeeper Tony Caig.

A notable addition to the Pilgrims' squad was former England international Paul Gascoigne, who joined the club on a short-term basis, as a player-coach. Assigned his famous number 19 shirt for the forthcoming season, Gascoigne was presented in front of the media against his former club Newcastle, a game which he started. Gascoigne went on to make 10 appearances for Boston before leaving in October.

This season for Boston was also notable for their progression in the Carling Cup. Playing Championship side Luton Town was at first a daunting task for United, but they were in form following two consecutive league wins against Chester and Cambridge. The Pilgrims overcame Luton, winning 4–3, setting up a tie with Premier League club Fulham. 5373 people attended the second round tie at York Street, but Boston lost 4–1 at the hands of Chris Coleman's men. Playing for Fulham were many international players, such as Luis Boa Morte, Steed Malbranque, Brian McBride and Tomasz Radzinski.

It was a season of mixed results, with the team only winning 14 of a possible 46 league games. This saw Boston finish in a comfortable 16th position, but this was disappointing to the fans, considering what many had predicted in August.

End Of Season Squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF England ENG Alan White
4 DF England ENG Paul Ellender (captain)
5 DF England ENG Mark Greaves (vice-captain)
6 MF England ENG Steve Melton
7 MF England ENG Brad Maylett
8 MF England ENG David Noble
9 FW England ENG Jason Lee
11 MF England ENG Chris Holland
12 MF Scotland SCO Simon Rusk
14 DF Scotland SCO Austin McCann
15 MF England ENG Lee Thompson
16 MF England ENG Danny Thomas
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW Wales WAL Jermaine Easter
19 FW Scotland SCO Stephen O'Donnell
20 MF England ENG Paul Raynor (assistant-manager)
22 MF England ENG David Staff
23 MF England ENG Courtney Pitt
24 MF England ENG Luke Forbes
25 MF England ENG Rob Norris
26 GK England ENG Nathan Abbey
27 MF England ENG Tom Hurst
28 DF England ENG Dean West
29 FW England ENG Daryl Clare
31 DF England ENG Stuart Smith

Left the club

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Paul Bastock (to Scarborough)
2 DF Wales WAL Lee Beevers (to Lincoln)
3 DF England ENG Greg Strong (to Livingston)
3 DF England ENG Dominic Roma (end of loan from Sheffield Utd)
7 MF England ENG Tom Bennett (to Kidderminster)
7 FW England ENG Kevin James (end of loan from Nottingham Forest)
7 MF England ENG Scott Wiseman (end of loan from Hull City)
10 FW Northern Ireland NIR Andy Kirk (to Northampton)
17 MF England ENG Ryan Clarke (to Leigh RMI)
18 FW England ENG Martin Carruthers (to Lincoln)
18 MF Scotland SCO Stephen Boyack (to Blackpool)
18 GK England ENG Luke McCormick (end of loan from Plymouth)
19 MF England ENG Paul Gascoigne (left the club)
21 MF England ENG Matt O'Halloran (to King's Lynn)
24 DF England ENG Gareth Jelleyman (end of loan from Peterborough)
24 DF Italy ITA Emanule Gabrieli (end of loan from Sheffield Utd)
25 FW England ENG Zema Abbey (end of loan from Norwich)
27 FW Scotland SCO Tam McManus (end of loan from Hibernian)

See also

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