In the 2005-06 review, I compared the Valley's season to a rollercoaster journey. If that were the case, then Rugby Town certainly stayed at the fairground in 2006-07, and this time round climbed aboard a white knuckle ride instead.

	The 06/07 season started with impressive wins including the last minute 3-2 victory at Banbury United

Last season Town had risen slowly up the table to the edge of the play-offs, before gradually falling back down the league to settle in 15th. This season the climb up the table was significantly steeper - with the club just one victory from going top of the league at one stage - but the decline that followed was even more rapid and dramatic, with genuine fears that relegation was a possibility - as points and then performances dried up.

A few panicked and screamed at their team's plight, others closed their eyes and hoped for the best, but fortunately those that mattered held their nerve, and the squad - strengthened, albeit belatedly, for the last six weeks of the campaign - ground out four important victories to settle in 17th, with a points total one less than the previous season.

To add to the thrills and spills of the bumpy league ride, Valley also enjoyed two significant cup runs for a change - reaching the 3rd qualifying round of the F.A.Cup for the first time in nine years and also making the semi-final stage of the Southern League Cup.

Boss Billy Jeffrey had managed to retain six of the mainstays from the previous season - Farhad Afandiyev, Chris Tullin, Craig Herbert, Delroy Gordon, Willis Francis and David Stone, plus was boosted by the return to fitness of Andy Commander - who had missed the whole of 2005-06.

With financial resources diverted towards the completion of the new training facility, Jeffrey had to look to youth and inexperience to make up the rest of his squad, with Jason Taylor, Aaron Stringfellow, Tom Breward and Matt Gearing all stepping down to start their first season at this level, and Ross Harris stepping up from the UCL. Danny Hall also rejoined the club after a season at Solihull.

Jeffrey proceeded to juggle this restricted thirteen man squad for the first half of the campaign, with temporary signing Andrew Rigby being the only other player to start a league game in the club's first twenty matches.

This youthful mix (the average age of the side usually hovered around the 21-22 year old mark) proved to be the catalyst to an encouraging first half of the season, in which Valley were rarely out of the top ten. It was probably ultimately the cause of the decline too though, as inexperience and naivety took its toll as the winter months dug in.

Early highlights saw the majestic dispatch of a fancied Ilkeston team in the F.A.Cup, a tremendous performance and last gasp 4-3 victory thanks to a Taylor hat-trick at home to Halesowen, and an equally impressive fightback to win from a two goal deficit at Banbury.

Valley also battled hard going down to an experienced Chelmsford side in the F.A.Cup, and impressed on a number of other occasions - including a deserved victory at Chippenham and a point from the ever-difficult trip to Tiverton.

The crashing 6-2 November home defeat against Jeffrey's old side Stamford - which prevented Town from reaching the league summit - certainly knocked the stuffing out of the youngsters, and the wheels then started to loosen a little with three back-to-back defeats leading up to Christmas.

Three more losses around New Year raised the volume of the alarm bells a little, and then after good home victories over Wealdstone and Tiverton, the wheels well and truly came off the campaign as Town gained just four points from the next available twenty seven.

The low point came at Butlin Road against Chippenham, when a lacklustre performance led many to conclude that the club were doomed to the drop, especially with a run-in that included games against some of the division's top teams.

	Andy Commander celebrates a crucial win agaisnt King's Lynn

The much overdue changes came at that point, with the introduction of David Staff and Parys Okai, plus the return of Breward, providing the impetuous for a mini-revival, and Valley picked up what had previously seemed improbable victories at Hitchin and Yate, in addition to a courageous home win over the might of King's Lynn and then a safety-clinching stroll in the park against doomed Northwood.

The second half of the season did see a decent cup run though, and Rugby really should have gone all the way to the final of the Errea Cup, but somehow managed to throw away a three goal half-time lead at home to Hemel.

On the individual front, ex-Rushden & Diamonds striker Jason Taylor banged in 24 goals to disprove those who had doubted his pedigree and ability early in the season. Taylor's haul is the best return from a Rugby striker since Ashley Warner in 1993/94 and left him in joint 5th place in the SLP scoring charts. With a little more conviction and aggression in his play, the tally could have been even higher.

Alongside Taylor, the enigmatic David Stone continued to delight and frustrate in equal volumes. Despite the occasional failings, he still managed 14 goals in his second season at this level, and is clearly identified as a threat by opposition managers - which often provides additional space and opportunity for Taylor and others to capitalise on.

Matty Gearing and Aaron Stringfellow also stepped down from full-time professional youth academy football - from Northampton and Coventry respectively. At the start of the season in particular Gearing looked a totally different player from the one who had struggled on loan at the Valley at the end of the previous, and regularly showed pace and technique aplenty - including three superbly executed volleyed goals. His confidence and performances dropped a little as the season neared its conclusion though.

Stringfellow was another to ebb and flow with the season. Fresh from a period of full-time training on trial at Northampton, he looked a very useful acquisition at the start, but his form also dipped mid-season, before stepping up his game again towards the end in what looks his best position at full-back.

	Taylor's first season with Rugby saw him notch 24 goals in total

At the heart of the Valley defence, Delroy Gordon and Craig Herbert were often the rock for the early successes, and whilst they were both culpable at times for sloppy defending, they can still look back over the season with a relative level of pride.

Farhad Afandiyev is undoubtedly a goalkeeper who appears to have all the right attributes to succeed in that position. Tall and athletic with sharp reflexes, Afandiyev had performed well enough in 2005-06 to have received the Vice Presidents player of the year award.

However, Faz would be the first to admit that his 2006/7 season was not the most successful for a goalkeeper. Rugby ended with the second worst goals conceded record in the league and too often conceded goals through individual error. Fantastic performances against Tiverton (home) and Wealdstone (away) reminded the fans of his ability but Faz will be undoubtedly be looking to improve in the 07/8 season.

Willis Francis played with consistency across the season, although he perhaps needs to learn from missing another seven games through four separate suspensions, with his no-nonsense tackling apparently making him a pre-meditated target for match officials. Chris Tullin again had to suffer the utility man's role, playing in a variety of positions and as ever trying hard to compensate for a lack of natural ability, with his typical energy and enthusiasm.

Andy Commander is another who never fails to give less than the maximum percentage, and his heroics and bravery in the King's Lynn success in particular stand out. Ross Harris struggled at times in his Southern League baptism, but still managed a number of solid performances - particularly in the sweeper's role at Wealdstone.

Danny Hall's return to Butlin Road ultimately proved to be a disappointing one. Whilst he looked consistently dangerous from set-pieces, he lacked the mobility and drive of his very successful first spell at the club, and he did not feature again after the disappointing Chippenham fixture.

Jamie Williams was another to return briefly to the set-up, but a period of unavailability left Jeffrey looking elsewhere for left-hand side balance, and he too disappeared from the scene.

	Parys Okai's signing in March along with David Staff provided much needed balance and experience to the side

The afore-mentioned arrival of Parys Okai and David Staff probably proved to be the club's salvation, providing much-needed stability and shape to the side. Okai chipped in with three goals and ironically looked a better player in the heart of the midfield, than at his regular left-back berth. Staff's performances were unfussy, but nonetheless very effective and he was unlucky not to open his scoring account on a number of occasions.

Tom Breward also returned a revitalised player, willing as ever to plough through the proverbial brick wall. Breward had lost his place in the side earlier in the season after preferring to sit out of the cup matches, and then jumped ship to join Loughborough Dynamos, but his physical presence was also a crucial factor in the run-in.

Of the others to start a league fixture for the Valley this season, another ex-Diamonds man Andrew Rigby looked a tidy player in his short spell - but unfortunately preferred to look for a club closer to home on his release from Nene Park.

Youth team striker David Kolodynski started 7 games and featured a further 23 times as a substitute, notching a credible six goals in the process. He was at his most effective coming off the bench against tiring defenders, although he will need to develop mentally and physically as a player to become a regular and successful performer at this level.

David Blenkinsopp failed to live up to his reputation during his brief loan spell from Nuneaton, but Alex Bolt looked a good prospect in his one game on loan from Rushden. At the season's death, Akin Aladetoun showed his raw talent with two goals on his debut and another promising performance at champions Bath.

The club's reserve team had a more stable and successful season under the leadership of Mark Shackleton in 2006-07, and also provided a platform for the likes of Kolodynski, Aladetoun and Michael Skubala to stake a claim for a 1st team place.

Chris Wells's youth team should end the season as runners-up in the Midland Floodlight Youth League Eastern, in addition to reaching the semi-finals of the league cup and the 1st round proper of the F.A.Youth Cup - equalling the best ever achievement by a Rugby side in this competition.

It was a shame to see two local youngsters - Ryan Byrne and Matt Wells - move on so early in the season, after having also featured in the 1st team from the substitutes' bench. Both preferred the lure of the UCL, ending up three levels lower at Daventry Town (via Long Buckby in Byrne's case). Byrne had had a good pre-season, and although Jeffrey preferred to start the campaign with the muscle of Breward in midfield, he surely would have got a run at some point, had he chosen to remain at Butlin Road.

Off the pitch, the new 3rd generation rubber crumb all-weather pitches were completed and officially opened. The facility has already proved popular with local football clubs and the broader community, and the club has launched a twice weekly competition - the TFL - for teams of all standards.

The new stand covering was also completed over the entire terrace at the allotment end of the ground, though home fans had to wait a number of games until the King's Lynn victory to see their side score at it!

The average league attendance was down very marginally in 2006-07 on the previous season, with the biggest crowd of the season of 546 coming to Butlin Road for the F.A.Cup match against Chelmsford.

Groundsman Steve Sharp also received commendation for the condition of the playing surface at the annual non-league ground awards, and with other club’s cancelling games with monotonous regularity elsewhere in the league, only one fixture fell victim at Butlin Road in 2006-07.

Whilst this season was the first (minor) backward step in terms of progress in league position in the nine years since the new regime took over the club, on the plus side Southern Premier status has been maintained, and supporters can look now look forward to a fourth successive season at this level - at a facility second to none in the division.

The season was certainly not lacking in terms of entertainment, incident and goals - although far too many of them ended up in the wrong net of course. If league points were awarded for performance levels as they are in boxing, then Valley would have undoubtedly have ended the season in mid-table, perhaps even as play-off contenders.

Unfortunately all too often Jeffrey's young side fell victim to the opponents' sucker punch, but by the end of the fight they had at least bounced back off the ropes and avoided a Southern League knock-out!

The Vital Statistics :

League Appearances :
Farhad Afandiyev 42, Delroy Gordon 40 (1), David Stone 40 (1), Chris Tullin 39 (2), Craig Herbert 38, Matt Gearing 37 (4), Aaron Stringfellow 37 (2), Jason Taylor 37, Willis Francis 32 (1), Danny Hall 31 (1), Ross Harris 21 (5), Tom Breward 17 (4), Andy Commander 12 (4), Parys Okai 9, David Staff 9, Andrew Rigby 6, Jamie Williams 5 (1), David Kolodynski 4 (21), David Blenkinsopp 3 (1), Akin Aladetoun 2 (5), Alex Bolt 1, Scott Wells 0 (5), Tom Manship 0 (4), Mike Feely 0 (3), Ryan Byrne 0 (2), Michael Skubala 0 (2), Fabien Smith 0 (1), Matt Wells 0 (1).

League Goals :
Jason Taylor 16, David Stone 13, David Kolodynski 6, Matt Gearing 4, Danny Hall 4, Delroy Gordon 3, Parys Okai 3, Akin Aladetoun 2, Willis Francis 2, Chris Tullin 2, Tom Breward 1, Craig Herbert1, Own Goal 1.

Cup Appearances :
Ross Harris 9, Willis Francis 9, Chris Tullin 8 (1), Matt Gearing 8 (1), Jason Taylor 8, Farhad Afandiyev 8, Delroy Gordon 8, Craig Herbert 7 (1), David Stone 6 (2), Danny Hall 6 (1), Aaron Stringfellow 6, Andy Commander 3 (3), David Kolodynski 3 (2), Jamie Williams 2, Tom Manship 1 (1), Fabien Smith 1 (1), David Blenkinsopp 1 (1), Tom Breward 1, Simon Lynn 1, Mike Anker 1, Ray Hackett 1, Tim Orford 1, Scott Wells 0 (2), Todd Sawko 0 (1), Akin Aladetoun 0 (1).

Cup Goals :
Jason Taylor 8, Matt Gearing 3, David Stone 1, David Blenkinsopp 1, Danny Hall 1, Craig Herbert 1, Delroy Gordon 1, Andy Commander 1.

Yellow Cards (all matches) :
Willis Francis 16, Andy Commander 6, Jason Taylor 5, Ross Harris 4, Delroy Gordon 3, Craig Herbert 3, Aaron Stringfellow 2, Farhad Afandiyev 2, Chris Tullin 1, Akin Aladetoun 1, David Stone 1.

Red Cards (all matches) :
Aaron Stringfellow 2, Willis Francis 1.

Rugby Advertiser Star Man Awards (all matches) :
David Stone 6, Delroy Gordon 6, Matt Gearing 5, Craig Herbert 4, Willis Francis 4, Jason Taylor 3, Danny Hall 3, Tom Breward 3, Farhad Afandiyev 3, David Staff 2, Ross Harris 2, Andy Commander 2, Aaron Stringfellow 2, Chris Tullin 2, Jamie Williams 1, Andrew Rigby 1, Akin Aladetoun 1, Parys Okai 1.

By Jon Venner.