Autobiography

esults. We were beginning to celebrate our
safety when they announced Albion’s late goal
– and we were down. Portsmouth had exacted
their revenge.
At one stage during that 1993/94 season,
between early November and late March, we
went through 23 league matches with only two
victories. But by the end of that dreadful run
Barry was beginning to have an effect, and in
the desperate run-in at the end of the season
we lost only once, at Oxford United, in our last
ten games, taking 21 points but moving up
only two places.
In a bizarre way it was almost as if it was
destined. We had to be relegated and had to
cleanse our soul. We needed to set fire to the
pyre and see the phoenix rise from the ashes.
In the beginning, I felt that that with our
investment, our expertise in business and our
determination we couldn’t fail. It was a kind of
arrogance, so when we were relegated it
brought us back down to earth. I was
mortified. The despair I felt driving back from
Tranmere all the way to Surrey was
unbearable.
But when I look back it proved to be a crucial
time, not only for the football club but also for
us, the owners, who had to come to terms with
the fact that this was never going to be easy.
We had been successful in business, but this
was different. We could not apply the same
rules to football as to our other companies.
Relegation made that clear to us, and despite
going down to Division Two we still had
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