After their success in Division Three the previous year, Boston were billed as promotion favourites, as they had bolstered their squad for the

2004–05 Football League Two The 2004–05 Football League Two season was the first season since the Football League Third Division was renamed League Two, following a sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola. The league was made up of eighteen teams from the Third Division who were ...

, Boston's third consecutive season in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, after promotion in 2002. Hectic pre-season matches in a packed schedule saw Boston play a selection of local and national teams, including Rotherham United, Sheffield United,

Stamford A.F.C. Stamford Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Stamford, Lincolnshire. They currently compete in the . History The club was established in 1896 and spent a single season in the East Midlands League. After se ...

and local rivals Boston Town. Boston played a very lucrative friendly against a Newcastle United XI at York Street, bringing in a crowd of 3349. The Pilgrims comfortably won 4–0, with

Martin Carruthers Martin George Carruthers (born 7 August 1972) is an English former footballer who played as a forward for Aston Villa, Hull City, Stoke City, Peterborough United, York City, Darlington, Southend United, Scunthorpe United, Macclesfield Town, Bos ...

scoring a hat-trick. The game saw a number of Newcastle's future players at the game, including Michael Chopra, Matty Pattison and goalkeeper

Tony Caig Antony Caig (born 11 April 1974) is an English football coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the Head of Academy Goalkeeping for Premier League Club Newcastle United. Playing career Caig made his name playing f ...

. A notable addition to the Pilgrims' squad was former England international

Paul Gascoigne Paul John Gascoigne (, born 27 May 1967), nicknamed Gazza, is an English former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He is described by the National Football Museum as "widely recognised as the most naturally talente ...

, who joined the club on a short-term basis, as a player-coach. Assigned his famous number 19 shirt for the forthcoming season, Gascoigne was presented in front of the media against his former club Newcastle, a game which he started. Gascoigne went on to make 10 appearances for Boston before leaving in October. This season for Boston was also notable for their progression in the

Carling Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by t ...

. Playing Championship side Luton Town was at first a daunting task for United, but they were in form following two consecutive league wins against

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and Cambridge. The Pilgrims overcame Luton, winning 4–3, setting up a tie with Premier League club

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. 5373 people attended the second round tie at York Street, but Boston lost 4–1 at the hands of Chris Coleman's men. Playing for Fulham were many international players, such as

Luis Boa Morte Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

, Steed Malbranque, Brian McBride and Tomasz Radzinski. It was a season of mixed results, with the team only winning 14 of a possible 46 league games. This saw Boston finish in a comfortable 16th position, but this was disappointing to the fans, considering what many had predicted in August.

End Of Season Squad

Left the club

See also