Football Season Review

It was another disappointing season for Carlisle United as they failed to recover from a poor start and missed out on a play-off place under manager Keith Curle. There was heartbreak last season having conceded an injury-time winner to lose to Exeter City in the play-off semi-finals. Curle had to replace goalkeeper Mark Gillespie and the goals of striker Jabo Ibehre and brought in goalkeeper Jack Bonham on a season-long loan from Brentford and striker Richie Bennett from Barrow. They really struggled at the start of the season and were as low as 19th place in September as the natives grew increasingly restless. This was exacerbated by a schism between supporters and those running the club following a two-year saga involving a mystery billionaire investor. The team slowly recovered from their poor start and as spring began to sprung they found their form, losing just one of their last 14 league matches. Sadly they drew too many and they left themselves with too much to do to reach the play-offs and had to settle for a 10th place finish in the table. They weren’t helped by the loss of last season’s player of the season Nicky Adams, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in November. One of their stand-out performers was experienced defender Clint Hill, who looks set to announce his retirement this summer. Striker Hallam Hope finished as leading goalscorer with 13 goals and not far behind him was midfielder Jamie Devitt with ten goals. He was also their creative spark and was voted player of the season. The identity of the secret investor was revealed as Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi in March. Keith Curle opted to jump before his was pushed and his departure leaves yet more uncertainly for the Cumbrians heading into the summer.

Player of the Season: Jamie Devitt