We are the Champions!

Re-live the highlights of the 1996/ 97 season enjoyed by manager Paul Futcher, his players and of course the fans.

Gresley Rovers reached the pinnacle of a 115-year history. The championship winning campaign began with a win on the first day of the season.

August

The final touches were made at the beginning of August when, after Gareth Jennings' return, Mark Blount rejoined the Moatmen. Manager Paul Futcher was delighted to see the player return after he was released from Sheffield United and Peterborough United.

Rovers kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 away victory over Hastings Town, which was followed three days later by a win at Worcester. Paul Futcher described the wins as "Terrific", and said that it was a good platform to start the season. After Gravesend scored two own goals, handing Gresley a win, a 1-0 win over Atherstone saw Gresley climb to the top of the Premier Division.

September

At the beginning of the month, it was revealed that if they were to win the league, that they would not go into the Conference, because the facilities at the Moat Ground, and the new stadium would not be ready in time.

Injuries, to players Richard Denby, Brian Horseman, Andy Garner and Carl Cunningham, did not cause too many problems, and stop them winning their match against one of the front runners Halesowen 3-0.

Paul Futcher needed plastic surgery after a clash with Crawley player Steve Restarick. But despite the horrific injury, above his eye, he spent the following day going to watch a match, much to the disgust of his assistant Gary Birtles. Goalkeeper Stuart Ford faced a long layoff after a back injury flared up forcing him out of action.

After beating Chasetown in the first qualifying round, Rovers prepared for their FA Cup tie with Rushden and Diamonds with a win over Worcester, to keep them joint top of the league. But they fell to their first defeat of the season, beaten by the Conference side.

October

It looked likely that one of Rovers' favourites, central defender Stuart Evans, would be moving on to Halesowen after the player failed to sign a new contract at the Moat Ground.

The lead of the division changed hands a number of times during the month, a 3-1 win over Cambridge City saw the Moatmen go two points clear at the top, bouncing back from the FA Cup defeat.

But then Rovers' 1-1 draw with Atherstone saw the Moatmen slip to second place when Halesowen overtook them and claimed top spot.

But it all changed again following a win over the in-form Crawley, and Rovers went back to the top of the league, all set for their meeting with Gloucester City. An excellent performance saw them collect another valuable three points.

The month ended with defeat in the Dr Marten's League Cup, against Division One side Ilkeston Town. A 1-1 draw was followed by a 2-2 draw at the Moat Ground, but the visitors went into the next round on the away goals rule.

November

The month started with a goalkeeping crisis that saw former Burton Albion keeper Nick Goodwin come to the rescue when Mark Wheatley failed to recover from injury before the 3-0 win over Baldock.

It was one of those days against Sudbury, and for the rest of the month the Moatmen failed to win, however they did take an important point from highflying Halesowen.

Gresley were knocked off the top of the league by Gloucester, but they still had three games in hand.

December

Paul Futcher's men tasted defeat for the first time in December when they lost their first league game. Sittingbourne visited the Moat Ground, and became the first side to take three points from Gresley this season after a 4-0 win.

Rovers were fuming when their Tuesday evening match with Sudbury Town was called off at 1.20 in the afternoon. They called Rovers saying they had a water-logged pitch but it came so late that players had already taken time off work to get to the meeting point.

The club were upset at the low amount of the £7,250 fee set by a tribunal for Stuart Evans after his move to Halesowen, and Stuart Ford was ruled out for most of the season after his back injury was found to be worse than first thought. After a year in charge at the Moat Ground Paul Futcher was delighted with his teams progress. A 3-0 defeat of Hastings saw Kevin Allsop grab his seventh goal of the season, after winning his place back in the side at the expense of Mark Hurst.

The Boxing Day derby fixture with Burton Albion went ahead when a number of the days matches were called off due to the bad weather, and saw the Moatmen take the honours in a 3-2 win.

January

Talks took place to see if deadlines for grounds being ready for entry to higher leagues could be moved which would mean that he club would be admitted to the Conference should they be crowned champions, but nothing came of it and Gresley had to resort to one last ditch effort.

The Vauxhall Conference decided that there was no chance that Gresley would be promoted if they won the Dr Martens title, because their ground would not be ready and they could not even ground-share. A bid to use Derby County's Baseball Ground never got going because the Conference stated that a team must share a ground for a year to gain entry into the league.

The opponents in the FA Trophy were Conference side Altrincham, but despite a 3-3 draw they were defeated 1-0 in the replay. The manager dismissed speculation that Justin O'Reilly was returning to the Moat Ground from Port Vale.

Rovers progressed in the Derbyshire Senior Cup after a win over Borrowash Victoria.

February

Gary Castledine was put on the transfer list, amid speculation that he would sign for a league club. Futcher said he demanded respect from the player after he failed to report for training.

A disastrous first half saw the Moatmen only force a draw in the match at Ashford. And then they suffered their second defeat of the season, when they lost 2-1 to Kings Lynn but they recovered in time for their return game at Ashford, and finished off the month with a win over Cheltenham.

March

A busy month began with a trip to Gravesend, where they lost for just the third time, but this was followed by a second win over local rivals Burton Albion, during a month that saw Rovers face 10 matches.

Carl Cunningham made his second start for the club, and marked it by scoring his second goal for the club that helped them to an important 3-0 win over Baldock Town.

The 2-2 draw with Cheltenham Town in second place kept the gap between the two rivals at a healthy nine points distance.

After former Derby County player Steve Devine was signed, three players moved on, Mark Wood moved to Stafford Rangers, Mark Hurst was released and Steve Futcher also left the club.

But then the club's championship hope's suffered a setback when they lost twice to Nuneaton Borough over Easter - the first team to do the double over Gresley that season.

April

A run of five wins in April saw Rovers collect the championship trophy after a 3-1 win over their only rivals Gloucester City -but it all started with a 2-0 win over Kings Lynn which was followed by a 5-0 drubbing of Salisbury City.

Once they had beaten Matlock Town in the Derbyshire Senior Cup, things were really hotting up, as Rovers and Gloucester prepared for a head-to-head battle at the Moat Ground when the destination of the league title was to be decided. It was celebrations all round as the Moatmen collected the league trophy following a 3-1 win - despite a crowd disturbance.

May

There was no championship hangover, as the Moatmen went to Sudbury and came back with a convincing 3-0 win, thanks to two goals from Kevin Allsop. The last game of the season saw the Sittingbourne bogey continue as the Moatmen went down 2-0 in Kent.