Due to the uncertainty of the club's future, the Conference had discussed plans to expel the side before the season had started and their opening fixture was not confirmed to be played until 11am of the morning of the match.

However, Sherman responded by taking the first team to dinner at The Cavendish Hotel following a 1–1 draw with Sutton United four days later, with an estimated cost of around £2,000.

[12] The club's hastily assembled squad struggled to adapt to quickly and, despite briefly pulling out of the relegation zone at the start of December,[11] by the end of the month Newport were in 21st position.

[15] Another potential bidder, Dan McCauley pulled out of negotiations after being told he would have to pay the club's full £330,000 debts to take over ownership.

[17] The Conference chose to expel Newport due to their failure to fulfil fixtures in March, but the decision was delayed when Sherman entered an appeal with 20 minutes remaining of the deadline.

[19] Sherman's appeal was rejected by the Football Association on the grounds that it could only be lodged by the club's liquidators and the team were expelled from the Conference and their record was expunged.