Club History - Part 2 Seasons 1997-2002

After an on/off saga Londoner George Borg arrived at the Recreation Ground in September 1997 with an excellent managerial record.
He secured the services of Assistant Manager Stuart Cash to the ranks from his previous club, Enfield, with whom he had secured the Isthmian Premier division title.
Although dropping down a level it soon became apparent that Borg had the contacts and motivation to secure another promotion for the club.
Upon his arrival Shots were just above midtable, a considerable distance behind leaders Grays Athletic.
That they won the Division One title by eleven points is a testament to the achievements of Borg/Cash and Paul Priddy, the clubs goalkeeping Coach who remains the longest serving member of staff to this day. Attendances continued to rise during this period and the final fixture at home to Berkhamsted Town attracted 4,289 people to the Rec; a remarkable statistic at that level.

All time record goalscorer Mark Butler came on as a substitute in that match to a standing reception as he made his final (303rd) appearance for the club netting 155 goals.
The close season also saw Terry Owens step down as Chairman to be replaced by Karl Prentice.The first season in the Premier division saw manager Borg recruit a number of experienced personnel including popular former league player Colin Fielder and 33 year old striker Gary Abbott for a fee of £8000.
The Londoner scored a club season record of 48 goals during the campaign and Aldershot's home tally of 53 goals was the highest in senior football throughout the country.
The club also collected its first cup trophies winning a "double" of the League and Hampshire Cup within two days of each other in a special week; the latter in a 1-0 victory versus Basingstoke Town at The Dell in the final minute from a Gary Abbott header despite playing most of the match with ten men.

The following season (1999/00) Shots finished as runners up to Dagenham and Redbridge who won the league by an astonishing 24 points.
The best achievement of the season was an FA Cup first round replay victory at Hednesford Town that set up a first ever fixture against a Football League side in the second round, A 2-0 defeat at Exeter City was overshadowed by the fact that there were too many spectators in the visiting enclosure as over 2000 Shots fans made the visit to Devon.
A 32 minute delay followed and the Devon club had to make an official apology to Aldershot officials at an FA enquiry.
Another Hampshire Senior Cup trophy was collected in devastating style as Andover were victims of a record Aldershot Town victory (9-1). Gary Abbott scored five goals and Mark Bentley, later of Southend United, netted a hat-trick.

In 2000/01 despite an unbeaten start of 11 matches league form fell away remarkably around the Christmas period and, ironically, a Boxing Day defeat at Farnborough Town.
In truth the situation wasn't helped by the fact that the club had 13 matches postponed. Thirteen league matches were played in April and May and in a historic ruling by the Isthmian League authorities the final match of the season at home to Billericay Town was never played as it could not be arranged before the league deadline.
This season did, however, see Aldershot take on league opposition at The Rec for the first time since reforming in the FA Cup.

Brighton and Hove Albion visited for a first round tie in November and a record attendance of 7,500 witnessed the match that was also covered by Match of the Day.
Despite holding the Sussex side for most of the first half the Seagulls went on to win with ease by 6-2. It was, however, another sign of the progress that the club had made in such a short space of time. In league action though the all important top position was still eluding manager Borg and his coaching staff which by now included Colin Fielder.
With the supporters keen on an elevation to the national Conference League pressure was on the management to succeed in this department.
Another fine start saw six victories recorded in the first seven mathces during 2001/02 and hopes were high that the championship was a distinct possibility.

However a continuous run of disappointing defeats away from home saw the dream evaporate and it was only a matter of time before a management change was likely.
An FA Cup run and first round encounter with Bristol Rovers probably delayed the inevitable. In front of over 5,000 at The Rec, the Shots secured a replay in a game they should have won at the death, and only exited the competition when Vitalijs Astafjevs' 87th minute goal saw the west country side progress.
After a festive campaign of frustration the writing was on the wall for manager Borg and after a period of over four years in charge that had certainly brought success, excitement and controversy to the club, his tenure finally ended in January 2002.

Without any question the Londoner would certainly have regretted some of his actions after leaving the club but his record certainly stands up with the best during his spell in charge and he has, indeed, rekindled his managerial success firstly at Hornchurch and more recently at Braintree Town who he led to the Ryman Isthmian League championship in 2005/06 and Conference South play offs the following season. He departed the Essex club in 2007.