It's hard to imagine many professional football club's enduring a more miserable 2017/18 campaign than Chester FC .

Relegation from the National League and an off-field financial crisis that almost brought the football club to its knees, it has been a trying 18 months or so for Blues fans.

It was a season where, sadly, the negatives far outweighed the positives. But there were some positives.

Here's a look back.

Performance of the season

Not too many of these to choose from in a season that saw us win just eight times. Honorable mentions to the gritty display in the 0-0 draw at Tranmere Rovers, the 2-0 win over Maidenhead United and the 1-0 win at Ebbsfleet United, but given the misery of the season it was heartening to see Chester go out on a high with their young players starring under the stewardship of the caretaker manager and Academy head coach Calum McIntyre on the last day of the season. The 2-1 win at Barrow for me

Goal of the season

Matty Waters' thumping effort at Gateshead under Tom Shaw's caretaker spell was a belter but teenager Nathan Brown's solo run and finish in the 3-2 win over Bromley last month was a joy to behold. Hard to top that.

Best individual performance

Tranmere fans can't quite believe it as Alex Lynch keeps them at bay again earlier in the season

You would be hard pushed to see a better display of goalkeeping than Alex Lynch's in the 0-0 draw at Tranmere. Rovers tried and tried but couldn't find a way past him however hard they tried. He sent the 7,000 or so home fans frustrated indeed. 10/10.

Player of the season

Chester FC defender Ryan Astles

Tempted to hand this accolade to Tom Crawford despite him only playing for half of the season. But given what went on around him, Ryan Astles was pretty solid throughout and rarely let the side down when some around him failed miserably. Hard to imagine he will be a Chester player next season.

Pie of the season

The FA Cup defeat at Kidderminster Harriers was utterly abysmal. The Aggborough Pie provided some crumbs of comfort.

Quote of the season

After taking charge of his first game as caretaker manager at Boreham Wood, 24-year-old Academy boss McIntyre said: "I love coaching but it is going to be really difficult. The first problem I encountered yesterday was that I am not old enough to drive the club van to training."

Magic moment

Cain Noble nets for Chester on his debut

Brown's amazing solo run was certainly up there, as was Lucas Dawson's last-gasp winner against Barrow to seal a win earlier in the season. But Lache lad Cain Noble, at just 17, heading home in front of the Harry McNally Terrace was special.

Worst display

The FA Cup defeat at Kidderminster Harriers was a low point of a forgettable season so far for Chester FC

Spoilt for choice here, sadly. So many garbage performances to choose from. The 2-0 FA Cup fourth qualifying round loss at Kidderminster was a real low, though. A performance so bad I felt I needed to rant, and it was one that I was able to rant about live on TalkSport. Truly abysmal stuff.

Low point

While confirmation of our relegation was an obvious low it had been a long time coming and was totally expected. What wasn't so expected was the revelations about our financial meltdown in January that had us all worrying for the very future of Chester Football Club. It must never be repeated.

Biggest disappointment

Given the amount of underperformers in the Chester squad over the course of the season it seems unfair to single out individuals. The summer recruitment was immensely disappointing, though, and those who we thought would take us to a new level in the National League simply failed to reach the levels we expected or required.

Reasons to be cheerful

The fundraising efforts following the financial crisis in January were phenomenal. Blues fans and the wider football community raised over £100,000 to help keep the club in business and showcased the very best of the football club and what it stands for.

The charity fundraising match featuring the likes of Michael Owen and Ian Rush was a particular highlight, as was the youth team clash with Gateshead that saw over 1,000 flock to the Swansway Chester Stadium, raising over £12,000 in the process.

The emergence of another crop of young players through the successful Academy set-up has also been a real plus.

James Jones, Crawford, Brown, Noble, Rhain Hellawell and Matty Thomson have all made their Blues bows this season.

Jones and Crawford have become key cogs in the side and look set for bright futures while the rest have shone and could well find themselves playing a key part next season. They have been a credit to the football club in some dark, dark times.

Tom Crawford made his Chester debut earlier this season