The 2010-11 campaign for Exeter City will be remembered as one of sadness and one of joy.
At the start of the season, it was announced that striker Adam Stansfield had lost his battle with bowel cancer on August 10th 2010.
Following this tragic announcement, their first game following his death, against Dagenham and Redbridge, was postponed as a mark of respect and there were further tributes held when Exeter faced Yeovil Town, one of Adam's former clubs.
Incidentally, the last time the two clubs had met each other, Adam had found the score sheet in a 2-1 defeat for Exeter, a goal which he refused to celebrate as a mark of respect for the Glovers.
The Grecians also retired Adam's number nine shirt as he had been a key figure iu their rise from the Conference to League One.
As the season progressed, Exeter carried on with the progress they have made since Paul Tisdale took charge in 2006 as they equalled their best ever run in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy as they reached the Southern Area final where they were beaten by Brenford.
En route they had beaten Plymouth Argyle 2-1 at Home Park in the Southern Quarter Final stage, which was the first of their three meetings during the campaign with the Pilgrims after having not played their Devon rivals for over nine years.
Goals from Ryan Harley and Daniel Nardiello proved to be enough to see off Argyle who replied through Chris Clark. The game was also notable for crowd trouble, which saw 15 arrests made.
The next meeting between the two sides came in December and the Pilgrims gained revenge with Bradley Wright-Phillips scoring a brace.
Their third encounter, and the only one of the three played at St James' Park, in April was played under very different circumstances.
By this time the Pilgrims had received a ten-point deduction for going into Administration and were fighting against relegation.
The Grecians were to heap further misery on Argyle as they won 1-0 with a goal on the stroke of half-time from James Dunne to underline their new found status as Devon's leading club.
This victory came in a run of seven wins in their final eight games of the season as they finished eighth in League One, equalling their highest ever league finish originally set in the 1979-80 season.
Leading scorer Jamie Cureton finished sixth in the league's highest scorers' chart with 20 goals.
Midfield playmaker Ryan Harley was also off to pastures new as he joined Swansea City on a free transfer during the January transfer window and was subsequently loaned back to the Grecians.
In other news, Bertie Cozic has aaoounced his retirement and coaches Marcus Stewart and Rob Edwards from playing as has manager Paul Tisdale.
Spanish forward Guillem Bauza, formerly of Swansea City and ex Spanish youth international contemporary of Fernando Torres and Andres Iniesta, has become the Grecians' first summer signing after joining from Northampton Town.
