Reminder of facts to forget

LATICS ROUND UP:

THERE are seasons to remember and seasons to forget.

Few Athletic fans need too much prompting to recall the former, especially with the 20-year celebrations taking place recently in memory of the 'pinch me' days.

Unfortunately, the campaign which ended with a 2-0 home loss to Charlton fell firmly into the latter category.

The reasons behind the disappointments of 2009-10 have been pored over time and again.

But at least it ended with the club nestled safely in mid-table, ready for another crack at League One next season.

And there is plenty to look forward to — derby games with promoted Rochdale and the continued development of promising players like Kirk Millar and Tom Eaves, for example — to offset the doom and gloom that has permeated the club.

Below are a few Athletic-related statistics which tell the story of a difficult season:

The numbers game

13 — goals by top scorer Pawel Abbott

3 — goals by joint second-top scorers Danny Whitaker, Deane Smalley, Lewis Guy and centre-back Reuben Hazell

24 — times Athletic have failed to hit the net in all competitions

8 — number of League One sides with better defensive records

17 — age at which Kirk Millar made his senior debut against Wycombe

37 — age at which Sean Gregan will be next year

2,883 — crowd against Brentford at Boundary Park, the lowest for more than two decades

2,980 — fans Athletic took across to Huddersfield in 2008-09

10 — Athletic's finishing position in 2008-09

16 — Athletic's finishing position in 2009-10

73 — unbroken sequence of games in which captain Sean Gregan has played, including 24 from 2008-09

0 — number of matches injury victim Rob Purdie managed since signing last summer