Last updated 10:39, Saturday, 24 May 2008

CUMBRIAN football has had it all this season. Promotion, relegation, FA Cup runs, reserve team success, youth team success and play-off drama.

My nerves are shattered and at 21, the grey hairs are already on their way through.

Watching football has to be one of the worst things you can do. Why do we put ourselves through it? The emotions involved are enormous.

Elation, devastation, frustration, tears of joy and tears of pain, all in 90 minutes. It’s mad. Nothing else on earth has as bigger effort on a person than the football club they follow.

Some see Workington Reds’ season as a failure because they never reached the heights of the play-offs like last season. I don’t.

That FA Cup day in Bury was definitely the highlight of the season. Reds fans did the club proud, and the performance on the pitch, despite the score-line was brilliant.

Reds Reserves made up for their the senior team’s league position by winning the Lancashire League.

I suppose I should congratulate Barrow on their promotion. They found form at the right time and deserved that play-off success.

By contrast Carlisle Utd ran out of gas at the wrong time.

Facing Leeds Utd in the play-the offs their performance at Elland Road was incredible, but four days later the same 11 men could not pass the ball and were outplayed at times.

It was a disappointing end to the season, but what a season it has been, with the highest finish in the league since the mid-80s.

The new fixture list comes out on June 16 so we can all plan to jump on this rollercoaster again next year.