FM 2005 - QuikSand at Lincoln City, redux

[QuikSand]

Finding My Way back … to Sincil Bank
Yet another FM 2005 Dynasty – with the Lincoln City Red Imps

I decided to wait until the dust had settled, and the patching has gotten well underway, before giving FM 2005 a try. My own timing had a bit to do with it as well, I will readily admit. But I’m back, trying my hand once again at the helm of my old familiar club, the Lincoln City Red Imps. We’re a League Two club, who aspire to be mid-table in this 2004 season as we begin things. As manager, I will hope to pull this club together for a run up the table and hopefully up the ladder.


As we get things started, here is the current roster – printed directly from the game:


| Pkd | Inf | Name | Position | Nat | Age | Value |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Paul Cronin | GK | IRL | 24 | €28K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | Ben Jones | GK | ENG | 14 | - |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | Alan Butler | D RC | ENG | 25 | €14K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Adam Walton | D L | ENG | 25 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Scott Johnson | D C | ENG | 19 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Richard Jones | D C | ENG | 25 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Paul McDonald | D C | ENG | 23 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Steve Vaughan | D C | ENG | 21 | €30K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Michael Walsh | D C | IRL | 20 | €7K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Brian Green | M LC | ENG | 27 | €18K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Andy Bewick | M C | ENG | 23 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | Jim Crawford | M C | NIR | 16 | - |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | David Elliott | M C | ENG | 18 | €40K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Jason Walters | M C | ENG | 21 | €8K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Lee Hill | AM R | ENG | 17 | €20K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Adam Stevens | AM RL | ENG | 27 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | James Martin | AM L | ENG | 24 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Lee Phillips | AM/F LC | ENG | 32 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Ian Young | F RC | ENG | 24 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Brian Clarke | F LC | ENG | 29 | €28K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Brian Cook | S C | ENG | 25 | €35K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Matt Edwards | S C | ENG | 18 | €45K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Paul Johnston | S C | NIR | 30 | €55K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Daniel Shaw | S C | ENG | 20 | €35K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Lee Turner | S C | ENG | 30 | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| | | | | | | |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


I’ll try to get back to this in more detail as we go along, but off the top of my head it looks like the squad is fairly heavily invested on the attacking side. I’m also a bit unnerved by the number of players on the transfer list – though on further reflection, it seems that the list above is grossly overreporting this. In fact, we have only five players transfer listed – Young, Jones, Cook, Stevens, and Turner. Not too encouraging – I’m three minutes into the multi-patched game, and I’m already finding bugs. **sigh**

[QuikSand]

We’ll have a look at the staff:


CGK COP MMG PHY TAC WWY ADA DET JPA JPP DIS MOT Wages Contract
Asst Manager John Booth 12 12 10 9 14 15 14 18 9 14 2 20 €750 June 2007
Coach David Young 8 11 18 4 11 20 15 19 11 11 20 18 €825 June 2007
Coach Dean Hunt 16 11 13 7 9 18 14 12 10 9 9 9 €600 June 2009
Physio John Young 20 €525 June 2007
Physio Alan Quinn 20 €375 June 2008
Scout Richard Keen 9 9 €300 June 2008


David Young looks, to me, to be actually better suited to the Assistant job than is John Booth, so we have some bench depth there, it seems. I may need to invest in a superior scout before too long.



A the outset, the club Chairman, Richard West, is being supportive of me, and the Board’s expectation is that we will land in a “safe mid-table” position this season. That doesn’t seem unreasonable. Our financial status is okay, though I’m a bit worried about already being over the wage budget – we start out already over our limit.

As for finances, here’s the summary we have on hand:


| General Finances | |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Transfer Budget (Season) | €45,000 |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Transfer Budget (Remaining) | €45,000 |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| % of transfer revenue made available | 65% |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sponsors | 2 year deal at €121K per season. Ends 2004 |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Loans Outstanding | - |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


We currently carry a debt of over €85,000 – so we have some work to do.

[QuikSand]

Looking for Initial Transfers

As we start out, we are already €600 over the wage budget of €19,000 – so our initial activity is going to be pretty limited. I would like to make some quick investments in the defense, but that might have to wait until there are other chances, or until we transfer out a player or two.

I decide to take a stab at a veteran midfielder, an American who is looking to get into coaching. I offer Jeff Campbell a solid contract for one year as a starter, with a secondary role as a coach as well. Trying to get him, at 34, to join a lower level club like ours is tough – perhaps the coaching angle will get him to bite. I’d be fine bringing aboard a fellow yank to help with coaching, anyway. He may end up being good enough to take the reins as Assistant Manager, once he’s done playing.

I also decide to put in an offer to Robert Robertson, a solid-looking scout who is currently out of work. I’m not enamored with Keen’s abilities, so adding a talented scout might help me rest easier. RR is 17/15 in the scouting areas, so he’s well-suited to that role – maybe even as a manager in time.

[QuikSand]

Initial Roster Review

Keepers


| Pkd | Inf | Name | Aer | Cmd | Com | Ecc | Han |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | Ben Jones | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Paul Cronin | 10 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Aer | Cmd | Com | Ecc | Han | Kic | One | Ref | Rus | Pun | Thr |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | Ben Jones | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | Paul Cronin | 10 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 10 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


Cronin is clearly our guy for now, and the 14yo Ben Jones is a long-term prospect. I’ll hold my breath for Cronin’s health – we may need a backup to him in time. Cronin looks pretty solid to me, though.


Defenders


| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Weekly wage | Expires | Prot | Value |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Steve Vaughan | First Team | €1,100 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €30K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Alan Butler | First Team | €675 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €14K |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Michael Walsh | Rotation | €750 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €7K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Scott Johnson | Backup | €450 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Adam Walton | Backup | €600 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Richard Jones | Not Needed | €1,100 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Paul McDonald | Rotation | €750 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Acc | Ant | Hea | Jum | Mar | Pac | Pos | Sta | Str | Tac |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Steve Vaughan | 11 | 8 | 16 | 20 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Alan Butler | 12 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 4 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Michael Walsh | 10 | 11 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Scott Johnson | 12 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 6 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Adam Walton | 6 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 4 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Richard Jones | 10 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 16 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Paul McDonald | 11 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 9 | 7 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


In the defense that we will eventually be running, I like to have my defenders strong in Marking, Tackling, Positioning, and Strength. Nobody here has the kind of marking skills that I prefer, but Butler and Vaughn both look like they will be okay for us right away. Butler will play on the right side, and Vaughn in the middle – we’ll rotate the rest into spots and see if we can’t come up with a usable foursome for our defensive line. Walsh and Johnson are both very young, so they will get pretty close looks.


Midfielders


| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Weekly wage | Expires | Prot | Value |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | Jim Crawford | Rotation | €110 | - | No | - |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Lee Hill | Rotation | €110 | 6.30.2005| Yes | €20K |


| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | David Elliott | First Team | €110 | 6.30.2005| Yes | €40K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Jason Walters | Hot Prospect | €750 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €8K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Andy Bewick | Rotation | €525 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | James Martin | Backup | €600 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Ian Young | Not Needed | €1,100 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Brian Green | Rotation | €1,100 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €18K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Adam Stevens | Not Needed | €600 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Brian Clarke | Key Player | €750 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €28K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Lee Phillips | Backup | €750 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Pkd | Inf | Name | Cre | Cro | Dri | Fre | Fin | Fir | Fla | Lon | Off | Pas |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | Jim Crawford | 8 | 20 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Lee Hill | 10 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | David Elliott | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 9 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Jason Walters | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 4 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Andy Bewick | 8 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | James Martin | 6 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Ian Young | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Brian Green | 1 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 10 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Adam Stevens | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Brian Clarke | 6 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Lee Phillips | 8 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 7 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Pkd | Inf | Name | Acc | Ant | Hea | Jum | Mar | Pac | Pos | Sta | Str | Tac |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | Jim Crawford | 14 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Lee Hill | 7 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 9 | 2 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | David Elliott | 10 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 11 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Jason Walters | 12 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Andy Bewick | 10 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Yth | James Martin | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Ian Young | 12 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 6 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Brian Green | 12 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Adam Stevens | 11 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Brian Clarke | 12 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 4 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Lee Phillips | 10 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 6 | 3 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


David Elliott seems to be our best all-around midfielder, and at 18yo, that is pretty promising. Generally, I’m looking for a variety of guys in my midfield – but in the middle, I prefer to see guys with decent dribbling skills along with the physical package – especially either good pace or good strength. Elliott rates very highly in aggression, concentration, and work rate – so I expect him to be a tough customer for us in the middle. 16 yo Jim Crawford looks like he has a future with us, too – very nice crossing skills, and could develop pretty well elsewhere.


Attackers


| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Weekly wage | Expires | Prot | Value |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Paul Johnston | Key Player | €1,100 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €55K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Matt Edwards | Backup | €110 | 6.30.2005| Yes | €45K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Daniel Shaw | Hot Prospect | €875 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €35K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Brian Cook | Not Needed | €750 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €35K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Brian Clarke | Key Player | €750 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €28K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Lee Turner | Not Needed | €110 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Lee Phillips | Backup | €750 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Ian Young | Not Needed | €1,100 | 6.30.2006| Yes | €3K |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Pkd | Inf | Name | Cre | Cro | Dri | Fre | Fin | Fir | Fla | Lon | Off | Pas |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Paul Johnston | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Matt Edwards | 14 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 14 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Daniel Shaw | 1 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 12 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Brian Cook | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | | Brian Clarke | 6 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Lee Turner | 7 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Loa | Lee Phillips | 8 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 7 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - | Lst | Ian Young | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


I like the look of Matt Edwards a lot here, great crossing skills and creativity is nice to have – he might end up being the “setup man” that my offense often thrives on. Johnston is the best finisher of the lot, and gives this group some veteran leadership. I’m not bowled over, but we have some players to work with here.


Overall, my plan will be to try to have a look at a few matches before we set anything in stone. I will leave the current players on the transfer list (ignore the listings you see above, they are incorrect) and will at least entertain offers for them if something arises.

[QuikSand]

John Booth’s Analysis

My Assistant Manager has offered his rundown on the squad as it looks now. (Nice game feature, too bad it isn’t print-able)

John Booth believes that Lincoln City need to strengthen their squad if the club is to establish a safe mid-table position in the English League Two.

Given the weaknesses the team possesses, Booth advises getting a midfielder capable of providing competition for Brian Green as Lee Phillips looks some way short of doing so.


His suggested lineup – not the formation I intend to use, but still instructive:


GK Paul Cronin *****
DC Steve Vaughn ***
DC Alan Butler *****
DC Ryan Foster **
MR Lee Hill ***
ML Brian Green **
MC David Elliott ****
MC Jim Crawford ***
SC Matt Edwards ****
SC Paul Johnston *****
SC Brian Clarke ****


I have never used three strikers in my usual formation – and I don’t expect to do so here. However, I have used a forward midfielder, and might be willing to drop a striker/forward into that spot, especially if we have a suitable playmaker type.

[QuikSand]

I realize that practically everyone and his brother is doing his own FM dynasty, and I have no aspirations to be unique in that regard. As I have said before -- writing the dynasty stuff adds a lot to the gaming experience for me, and adds a lot to the sense of "accountability" I feel within the game. I have always found playing CM/FM to be very immersive -- and spending a little extra time writing about the team and my decision-making seems to add to that... so I plan to do my usual bit here.

As always... if you're reading and have thoughts, any feedback is more than welcome. That, also, adds to my own experience.

[QuikSand]

One thing -- I tend to avoid using numeric ratings all that much in my descriptions, but have always been a bit curious about how young players develop in the game. So, with my starting roster, at least, I'm including a layout of their important ratings -- in large part so I will have those as a reference for some time down the road, to be able to look back and see how thigns have changed. I have never really kept track in this game... so this may be an eye-opener for me. I have no idea if a young player with a rating of, say, 10 in a key area is likely to someday develop that into an 18, or just to a 12.

I know fairly little about this game or its deep inner workings, I am happy to confess up front. I generally get enough out of the roster management issues and a dabbling or tactics to satisfy my gaming interests.

[QuikSand]

July 2004

We head into our opening friendly, looking to get a feel for the club. I am pleased to see a nice performance from our offense, as we tally two goals from Paul Johnston to get the edge we need there. The defense looks solid as well, and I am comforted by the result here. Defenseman Michael Walsh made a few nice plays to stop threats on the inside, and midfielder David Elliott gains “man of the match” honors for an all-around effort.


Scout Robert Robertson agrees to our terms, and comes aboard for a very modest contract of €300/wk. I will use him as my primary scout, and will send him on a mission immediately.


In true FM form, the American I have pursued for a player/coach role, Jeff Campbell, is not receiving bids from other clubs. I expect that we will get outbid here – but it would have been very nice to land him, as he would immediately become a key player for us.


In our next friendly, we are relentless in attacking Scarborough, and again put up a solid two goal lead with our (more or less) first team on the pitch. We get a third goal from Adam Stevens on a fluky long shot, and shuttle in a number of extra players to get some playing time. It’s another very successful effort for our gang – hopefully helping to swell morale in the early going.


In our final friendly for the prep season, we draw with Derby. Paul Cronin concedes his first goal of the warmup games, but we look okay in a 3-3 draw. Two more scores from Paul Johnston cements his spot in my eyes – he seems to be our most reliable striker right now, and probably will be the centerpiece of our attack.

[condors]

good luck, always enjoy your cm/fm dynasties

[Barkeep49]

It is always sweet, perhaps sickeningly so, to see QS bew another concentrated effort at any game.

[QuikSand]

August 2004

Jeff Campbell, regrettably, has accepted an offer from York, turning down our offer and a few others. Shame – he would have been a major difference-maker for us.

Inspired by this idea nonetheless, I have a walk through players who are still in their playing days, but are seeking managerial or coaching opportunities. I’m hoping to lure a decent player or two our way with the prospect of a coaching role.


The oddsmakers have Lincoln as a 2-1 choice for promotion – not too far behind the top clubs on the list. I’m not so sure about that – my Asst Manager seems to think we have lots of work to do. Plus, with this unknown Yank taking over, how optimistic can they really be? Good lord, this bloke doesn’t even know how to make a proper cup of tea! And we’re putting him on the pitch? Indeed…



As we head toward our first match, I have set our initial lineup as follows:

GK Paul Cronin
DR Alan Butler
DL Adam Watson
DC Richard Jones
DC Paul McDonald
DMC Michael Walsh
MR Jim Crawford
ML Brian Green
AMC David Elliott
FC Matt Edwards
FC Paul Johnston

We currently don’t have an eligible reserve keeper – that is a top priority to remedy, just to have a second option there.


We are home to Cheltenham in our first league match, and we yield a goal in the second minute – not a good start. There was a mess right in front of the goal, and the ball squirted out just as Cronin moved in to cover it. But we are quickly even, with a PK from Paul Johnston. Cheltenham manages to regain the lead on a breakaway goal at 18 minutes – the sparks are flying early here. But that’s all we see – we get a few scoring chances later in the match, but come up empty handed, and suffer a home loss in our debut. Cheltenham 2, Lincoln 1.


We have a breakthrough with our foraging for player/coach types, as the surprisingly young 25yo Ryan Watson seems available in a transfer from Altrincham. He’s a striker, with a 19 rating in finishing, which sounds promising. I’m not sure he’s a difference-maker otherwise, but he would be pretty cheap for us to take aboard on a free transfer. We put in a contract offer for him, and he accepts quickly.

We are also making progress with Jason Lawson, a pretty decent midfielder who also has coaching aspirations.



At Swansea, we face another tough team, and we again yield a goal very quickly. Our keeper Cronin is getting pretty upset – we need to get another option for back there, and quick, as his morale is very low right now. We draw level early in the second half off another PK, and we stay that way a while when Paul Cronin makes a very heroic save on a wide-open shot at 67 minutes. We resist their final presses, and secure a very acceptable draw. Lincoln 1, Swansea 1. Our defenseman Michael Walsh is named the Man of the Match – and is moving up my list of options pretty quickly.

Also, the second half rally and a few great stops seems to have rescued Paul Cronin’s spirits. That’s a good turn – a sad sack in goal is a recipe for bad news.


Midfielder Jason Lawson enthusiastically accepts my contract offer, and comes aboard as a player/coach. We pay Fleet Town a €4,000 transfer fee, and lock him up. I think the 31 year old Lawson has good enough ability to help the club right away, and may latch on in the front office at some point. Right now, we will plan to rotate him in on our left side, where he can hopefully help as a playmaker.


I move in on a young goalkeeper, Lee Bates from Darlington. He’s only 16, but seems good enough to serve as our backup for now, I think – and he will come pretty cheaply. I have my offer in, and my fingers crossed.


We welcome Boston United to Sincil Bank for our next match, and I’m starting to get something of a feel for this team. We’re a little punchless, I fear, but there’s some potential here. I think I agree with the Assistant manager – that we could really use an addition in the midfield rotation. Boston Utd. gains the edge at 31 minutes, and we area again looking at a one-nil deficit. We get some good defensive play from defenseman Paul McDonald (just blanketing and shutting down two straight attacks), and end up with one very good scoring chance, but Hill sends it just over the bar, and we fall short as they counter attack to tack on the finisher. Boston Utd. 2, Lincoln 0.


As I await word back from Darlington about young keeper Lee bates, I get word that another offer has life – 19 year old Eddie Watts from Scunthorpe. We are also haggling with Macclesfield over their defender Brian Gregory, a guy I’m willing to pay a bit for. I think he could help shore up our right-side defense a good deal.

A potentially more exciting signing is American defender Chris Wegerle, who was up for loan from Los Angeles, but I’m trying to transfer him in. He is 22 years old, and I like what I see – pretty good skills, might even be strong enough to play some in the midfield in a pinch. But he would clearly be a big step forward for us – he is rated 16 in marking, 16 in tackling, and 17 in positioning – really just what I’m looking for. He’s not looking for a huge contract – hopefully this will go smoothly. If so, I will quickly back out of a deal for Gregory, as I definitely prefer Wegerle.


The transfer of Lee Bates is complete, and we now have a viable backup keeper. Much needed. I am, however, definitely straining the transfer budget here, so the spending can’t go on forever.

New Lincoln signing Lee Bates has said he can’t wait to break into the first team at Sincil Bank.

The new signing from Darlington told journalists that he didn’t expect to play straight away but hoped that if he gets his head down and works hard, the manager will reward him with a first-team place soon enough.

Good attitude, kiddo!


In other news, Chris Wegerle accepts our contract offer, and is bound for Lincoln. This is a potentially huge improvement for us – here’s hoping he delivers on his apparent promise. I cancel my offer for Brian Gregory, who it turns out was looking to be paid over €1,000 a week, well beyond what I can muster here in Lincoln.

But, how many times have I seen it… Wegerle has a problem. I should have known. We will have to wait a couple of weeks to se if he can get a work permit. Of course. I’m screwed, I’m certain of it.


We head to Yeovil Town, looking to get back on track, but need to avoid falling behind early. Alas, they get two corner shots past Cronin, and at 20 minutes, we’re looking up at a two goal margin already. We seem to play well after the first 30 minutes, but we are taking a beating in the early stages every match, it seems. Michael Walsh gets sent off after 35 minutes, and things are just falling apart for us. However, in the late first half, we get a double salvo, two quick goals from the foot of newcomer Ryan Watson, and we pull even in a surprising twist. Yeovil pull ahead by the half, and the hot scoring blazes us to a 3-2 halftime mark. The mini-run was just an illusion, it seems, as Yeovil keeps pouring it on, and pulls away for an easy win. Yeovil 5, Lincoln 2. At least we got a nice showing from Ryan Watson in the deal, but this was a tough loss, and a morale breaker.


For what it’s worth – here’s a look at Ryan Watson:


…oops, I guess they didn’t mean it when it gave me the option to actually “print screen” – sorry ‘bout that…


I suspect that I will soon break down and just input all this data myself into my old format – these print dumps are just about worthless and unreadable. Maybe I’m deluding myself, but I recall the text printouts from CM 00/01 being very, very easy to use and worthwhile. Oh, well.


The transfer deadline is in one week – so I take a quick look around for cheap pickups to grab. I put in cheap transfer offers for several decent players who are listed as available for loan, trying to back-door my way into some decent guys who are out of their teams’ current plans. Seems worth a shot.


We do end up making a few moves – to loan in players. For me, this is a mixed blessing, as I would generally much rather be developing my own young players rather than someone else’s. But we have to get this ship righted, and we need some talent to help out. We welcome in Justin Hunt, a 24yo defender on loan from Wolves, and Daniel Wilkinson, a 20yo defender from Arsenal’s reserve squad. We will rotate these two into our defensive line, where I feel we can really use the help.


We have a League Cup match against Nottingham Forest, and I try to rotate in a number of guys who might be able to use a boost. We’re in our stylish visitor’s kit – all black. Young Lee bates keeps a clean sheet through the first half, but we cannot score, either. But at 51 minutes, they break through with a nifty goal to get ahead. They romp to a 3-0 lead, as things fall apart for us, they are just out-hustling us all over the place. It mercifully ends, but not until we have received one final shot. Nottm Forest 4, Lincoln 0 – Lincoln eliminated.


Well, it looks like I spoke too soon – Justin hunt wants no part of a loan to Lincoln, and rejects the assignment. So much for that, I guess. Hopefully, Wilkinson will accept the assignment, and we’ll at least be able to add one potential impact player by loan-in. Good news – he does accept, and comes aboard for the balance of the season.

Lincoln’s new loan signing Daniel Wilkinson has told a local newspaper that he was very pleased to have joined the club on loan.

The 20-year-old midfielder declared that he loved the place and hoped if he played well enough the clib might consider making his move permanent.

Great attitude, once again…


American Chris Wagerle’s work permit has been turned down, no surprise. We appeal, but expect to lose. So, we make do without. Should have seen it coming a mile away – I really don’t recall the mechanics of work permits in the game… I just know that the likelihood of this happening seems to be indirect proportion to the desperation I have to sign the player involved. So it goes.


We execute a last-minute transfer deal, to acquire 19 year old midfielder Mark Cole from Macclesfield for €12,000. He figures to slide into our right side midfield spot (basically a void right now) and has some pretty solid attacking skills to help with our punchless offense. We will work him into shape, and fit him right into our plans.


We are practically at the foot of the table, as we head home to take on Oxford. I have Wilkinson slotted right in at the defensive midfield spot, and am also starting veteran Jason Lawson for the first time on the left wing. Oxford strikes first, of course, gaining an edge on a long shot into the corner past Cronin. At 23 minutes, they go up 2-0, and we look cooked again. Oxford 3, Lincoln 0. Dreadful.


Our final match of this busy month is at Cambridge, where we rotate the faces, and hope for the best.


The month’s end transfer deadline comes and goes, and we are set for now, it seems. I’m hopeful that the additions of Wilkinson and Cole will help, though it looks like the tide is just sinking all around us at the moment. In the match, we actually get a couple of scoring chances early, but cannot capitalize. At 26 minutes, Cambridge gets one in off the corner kick, and we trail as usual. Things slide away from us, as we are once again totally outgunned. Cambridge 5, Lincoln 0. This is starting to look completely hopeless.

[daedalus]

Outstanding! Looking forward to this dynasty, as usual.

Are you staying with your usual style of having the AM handling the youth squad? How much are you having him do with this iteration?

[QuikSand]

At the moment, yes - the Asst. Mgr is handling the lower level stuff. Perhaps I will take that over myself once I get more comfortable with the first squad.

Have you played that way (hands on below) and found it rewarding? I have no experience with doing it at all. Even in basebal sims, it never occurred to me to take any real control over my AAA club, even. I just automatically think of all that a "the machine that makes the sausage" for my real team, if you get my drift. I like in FM how you get occasional notices about how certainb players starred in matches... but haven't really been interested much past that.

If I decided to take control of one lower club - which makes more sense, the reserves or the U-18 side? My current reserves inclue a fair number of never-will-be players... would it make sense to control there, or go with the more exciting younger guys?

[QuikSand]

September 2004

The Lincoln directors are still sure they made the right choice in appointing you manager.

Thanks, I’m not so sure myself right now.


So, it’s September. We sit at the bottom of the league table, and we can’t make any transfers. Great.


We have a little time off, but get back to the pitch to take on Rochdale. They are 2nd in the league, we are 24th, and we’re on the road. Good luck, lads.

Rochdale, of course, takes a lead in minute two, and we see our traditional 1-0 deficit very early. But surprisingly, we get our act together from there – we get a goal in the first half to make it even, and a few great saves from Cronin to stay in the game. Later on, we exchange tallies again, but we get away with a point on the road – a great result for us, all things considered. Lincoln 2, Rochdale 2. I will note that while Cronin was MOM here (deservedly so), Daniel Wilkinson, from the defensive midfield position, already stands out as the guy who most seems to know what he’s doing out there for us.


We will try to extend this swing of fair fortune as we are home to division-leading Rushden & Diamonds. We manage to avoid the early deficit this time, and at 21 minutes, lightning strikes – we take a lead off Johnston’s foot, finishing a nice feed from Cole. They draw level by the half, but it was nice to be ahead at least. It stays even throughout, but we are pleased with another pretty solid effort, and we do need the points. Lincoln 1, Rushden 1.


Midfielder David Elliott is harping for a new contract – he’s making €110 now, and thinks that €1400 is about right. Gulp. I don’t really have the money to spend, but he looks pretty promising, and is 18 years old – I’d rather not lose a player like that. I start with an offer at €850, and hope for the best.


We are home again, this time to Bury, who are right with us at the bottom of the table. This seems like a great chance to finally notch a victory. Morale is up, we are home, and the enemy seems… beatable. They do have a keeper named “Wall” which is about as good as I can imagine. It’s scoreless at the half, as we again avoid the early blues – so that’s good, at least. At 50 minutes, they get a PK – Cronin stops it, but they score on the free ball ensuing. But Johnston drives one home at 56, and we are even again. At 86 minutes, Lee Hill drops in a beautiful ball for Johnston, who finishes with flair. We survive one breakaway threat in the waning moments, and secure our first pitch triumph, at long last! Lincoln 2, Bury 1.


I make a public statement in praise of Lee Phillips, our current left winger who has had three straight very good matches. The fans react well to the praise – they are also enthusiastic about Phillips. Phillips is named to the League Two team of the week, for what that’s worth.


We’re in the Vans Trophy match, traveling to Division One Doncaster – where we ought to be woefully outgunned. I have a second team squad in, and we will hope to make a decent showing, and keep the first team rested. For this year, it seems that our focus needs to be on avoiding relegation, rather than dabbling around in these side events too much. Doncaster find the net twice in the early second half, and pull away to a comfortable win. Doncaster 4, Lincoln 0 – Lincoln eliminated. I hope this doesn’t rattle our momentum too much, but we just didn’t have the depth to field a healthy, happy side here.

[daedalus]

Have you played that way (hands on below) and found it rewarding? I have no experience with doing it at all. Even in basebal sims, it never occurred to me to take any real control over my AAA club, even. I just automatically think of all that a "the machine that makes the sausage" for my real team, if you get my drift. I like in FM how you get occasional notices about how certainb players starred in matches... but haven't really been interested much past that.I'm such an anal-retentive control freak (and that's according to my girlfriend who likes me . . . I think) that I've never been able to give control over to the AM. The back breaking straw that gave me no choice was when the AM would insist on playing some over-the-hill guys waiting out their contract over kids I wanted playing time for (for development as well as preparation for first team duty). I don't think it's for everybody, though. I think more people play the game in a more overview/GM-style than the way I do. It takes more time, certainly.If I decided to take control of one lower club - which makes more sense, the reserves or the U-18 side? My current reserves inclue a fair number of never-will-be players... would it make sense to control there, or go with the more exciting younger guys?I would probably do the reserves but probably after you have more of "your" players in the system. It would be more fun to deal with players you are familiar with and it would allow you to test them at various positions in a competitive game that won't affect your league position.

[QuikSand]

Thanks for the input... I might broaden my reach, especially (as you suggest) once I have more of my own players in there.

[QuikSand]

October 2004

I remain in good stead with the board, after a far better month than we had in August. Good show.


We head to Grimsby Town, to take on another division rival. Just before the half, Ryan Watson finishes off a nice goal, and we secure a lead. At 71 minutes, Grimsby breaks through with a breakaway goal to draw even. We get some pressure late, but cannot get the go-ahead goal, and settle for the draw. Lincoln 1, Grimsby 1. Getting a point on the road, though, is still a decent result for us.


I make a public statement of interest in a French striker, whose club immediately responds harshly that he will not be sold. So, that’s that, I guess. I had thought that a player/coach offer might pique his interest.


Midfielder David Elliott remains unhappy. He still wants a towering contract, but has yet to deliver much of anything on the pitch. It’s getting harder and harder to put up with this – perhaps we’d just be better off parting ways. I will make another effort to work out a long term deal, but I’m no longer optimistic about things. I’m giving him another shot in our attacking midfielder spot – but so far, he has failed to deliver much.


We are home to Mansfield, and will look to keep our string of effective results alive. This one ends up a scoreless draw, and we again secure a standings point. Lincoln 0, Mansfield 0. One point per match isn’t wonderful, but it may be enough to get us out of an immediate relegation position.


We travel to Shrewsbury, to take on that mid-table club. I am hopeful that we can muster another good effort, but winning on the road is tough. It is a tight, active match, which remains scoreless through 70 minutes. There is a flurry of pushing both ways in the final minute, but again, things end up without a tally. Lincoln 0, Shrewsbury 0.


We are home to Darlington next – another opportunity for a victory, we think. At 28 minutes, we show some fancy ball work, and set up a finish for Ryan Watson, who delivers. Great work, starting with Johnston in the wing, down in to Bewick inside, then up to Watson for the tally. Our best-looking goal to date. Darlington pull level at 33 minutes, but we regain the edge before the half. We work hard to resist several assaults, and then put it away in injury time with a sealer off the foot of Johnston. Lincoln 3, Darlington 1. Probably our best overall effort – a very solid victory. Morale is up, and we’re on our way out of the relegation zone, hopefully.


At this point, it’s clear – our side is playing better without David Elliott than we are with him. He won’t take a reasonable contract offer, he is increasingly unhappy, and his on-pitch performance is just lousy. I think it’s time to cut bait, and see if we can’t get something for him. I decide to see if anyone here in League Two might be interested, and we let the Assistant Manager shop him around a bit.

[QuikSand]

November 2004

After a much better run in September, I’m finally willing to reveal the league table. Here’s where we stand at the top of the month:


| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1st | | Rushden | | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 4 | +16 | 29 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2nd | | Bristol Rovers | | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 15 | +12 | 26 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 3rd | | Northampton | | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 24 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 4th | | Notts Co | | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 10 | +9 | 24 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 5th | | Boston Utd | | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 24 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 6th | | Cheltenham | | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 12 | +6 | 24 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 7th | | Southend | | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 22 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 8th | | Swansea | | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 12 | +6 | 22 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 9th | | Leyton Orient | | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 21 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 10th | | Cambridge | | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 20 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 11th | | Shrewsbury | | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 20 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 12th | | Yeovil | | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 19 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 13th | | Wycombe | | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 18 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 14th | | Oxford | | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 22 | +1 | 16 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 15th | | Rochdale | | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 15 | -2 | 16 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 16th | | Grimsby | | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 16 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 17th | | Mansfield | | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 16 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 18th | | Scunthorpe | | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 20 | -6 | 14 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 19th | | Chester | | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 14 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 20th | | Kidderminster | | 13 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 20 | -9 | 12 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 21st | | Lincoln | | 13 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 24 | -11 | 12 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 22nd | | Darlington | | 13 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 26 | -12 | 9 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 23rd | | Macclesfield | | 13 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 28 | -17 | 8 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 24th | | Bury | | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 20 | -13 | 3 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


It’s not something to be all that proud of, but at least the arrow points the right direction for us, after that dreadful start. Two spots get relegated from League Two – so we just need to steer clear of that range, which looks a lot more promising, especially if Bury continues to flounder about.


The Board is pleased with my performance – we seem to have righted the ship.


We will get to host Swindon in the first round of the FA Cup – playing at home ought to be nice, for a change.


We get no takers at all for David Elliott – so the notion that we might be sitting on something of value is now further dented. It looks like he’s just my problem. At least this makes me feel better about being unable to work out a new contract with him. My €1,000/wk offer is off the table, and I’ll be prepared to just let him play through the remaining season or so of his cheap youth contract and walk, in all likelihood.


We are ready to take the pitch at home again, against Macclesfield. You’ll see on the league table the same thing we do – a chance to hopefully extend our string of good results. At 5 minutes, Daniel Wilkinson scores his first goal for us, off a corner kick left short just for him. Ryan Watson strikes at 8 minutes, and we quickly seize a two goal edge – unheard of for this notoriously slow-starting side. We get Paul McDonald on the sheet with his first goal, as this one is coming apart. At 55 minutes, I sub in two guys to get some playing time, including backup keeper Lee Bates, and we have some quick misfortune. An own goal off McDonald, followed by a PK, give them two quick scores and make the match suddenly close. Fortunately, we weather the storm, and hold on for the victory. Lincoln 3, Macclesfield 2.


I am not superstitious, but even I hesitate to note that we haven’t lost a league match since August, and it’s now November 9th. We are not scoring a ton, but we are looking like an entirely different side than we were back then. Odd how things turn in this game, no?


We will get a real test now, as we head off to face Bristol Rovers. Right off, we get on the board with a great goal from Ryan Watson, again from a wonderful feed forward by Andy Bewick. But we concede a goal quickly, and it’s drawn level again. Rovers gain the lead on a PK at only 11 minutes, and the track meet seems to be on. They tack on another quick goal at 14 minutes, following a weird scrum right in front of our goal. They put up another, and a 4-1 deficit is certainly not an ideal spot in the first half. They just seem faster, stronger, and better than us in every respect, as they go on to capture a huge win. Bristol Rovers 5, Lincoln 1. We just hope that this doesn’t upend our nice morale trends… but it may well do so.


I go with a mostly second-team squad for our FA Cup match at home to Swindon Town. We swap goals in the first half, and it ends up an even mark in the first leg. Lincoln 1, Swindon 1. We’ll settle things at their place, where we will have to put forth a better effort than this, it seems.


At Southend, we have a chance to stop the bleeding, but it’s another tough matchup. At 26 minutes, Johnston pulls up on a drive toward the post, he instead drops it forward for Bewick, whose shot is stopped, but Watson follows up off the carom for the goal! Those three seem to be playing well together up front. Lee Phillips presses forward and gets a ball in for another tap-in for Watson, and at 44 minutes, a corner kick goes to Watson for his hat trick. However, in the second half, we let this match turn completely around, and at 89 minutes, they draw level. Lincoln 3, Southend 3. A very disappointing fold, and we nearly gave up a fourth goal to take the loss, even.


We head to Swindon Town, to wrap up our FA Cup showdown. We need to win here, or we will be all done with cup matchups for this season. Swindon, though, is all business, and they have their first team in full force, easily outpacing and overpowering us all day. We keep it within striking distance, but a third goal in the 83rd minute seals the deal. Swindon Town 3, Lincoln 1 – Lincoln eliminated.


We travel to Chester, for another league match. Morale is failing a bit – a good showing here would help stem that, I hope. We slip behind at 23 minutes, and when Andy Bewick gets sent off after 40minutes, things look bleak. We keep the game tight, fend off their advances throughout, but cannot muster a goal to get even, and take a tough loss. Chester 1, Lincoln 0.


We have received an approach from York for our keeper, Paul Cronin. I have quickly grown to like him… but a €24,000 transfer price is enough to give me pause. He’s 25, so it’s certainly possible he could remain with the club for some time. I’m not convinced that he is a truly standout player – and the cash would certainly help our situation. Will have to think on it a bit…

[QuikSand]

December 2004


We are home to Leyton Orient, who jump out right away to a lead. We battle throughout, and eventually draw even at 80 minutes, from Brian Clarke – redeeming himself for a near-miss just moments before. We slink away with a score draw, after working very hard to get back after an early concession. Lincoln 1, Leyton Orient 1.


My promising young striker Luke Eaton is looking for a new contract, and I want to oblige. The 17 year old is probably our most promising young player, and has great physical ability. We need to refine his on-pitch skills, but he could be a good one. He wants about €900/wk… I offer €600 and we’ll go from there.

Soon after, we get the word – Eaton has “turned professional” and accepted our three year deal. Great news – we may bring him up for some appearances soon.


We travel to Wycombe, to face the Wanderers. We are facing a morale crisis, and really need a good showing to help buoy spirits. We get ahead in 5 minutes, on Walsh to Bewick to Watson, and Andy Bewick is really establishing himself as our forward playmaker. Watson is clearly the team’s top finisher, oddly enough, after being a pretty incidental pickup for us, and at minute 28, he strikes again to put us up by two. At 55, Wycombe score and pull within one, and at 85, they strike again, drawing even in the closing minutes. Lincoln 2, Wycombe 2. Tough to let another lead slip away, but a pretty good effort overall.


We are now home to Kidderminster, and would like very much to pick off the 6th place Harriers. They get a dubious penalty call at 6 minutes, and lead off the PK. Watson strikes back, hitting off a long feed from Lee Phillips. After two goals in 7 minutes, we are drawn until minute 71, when Ryan Watson gets us the lead. At 93 minutes, Paul Johnston finishes it off, and we get the big win we sought. Lincoln 3, Kidderminster 1. With Andy Bewick sent off (again) we still put two goals on the board to cinch the victory – a good showing.


Paul Johnston has been unhappy, nominally about being so low on the league table. Now, he post his offical request for a transfer out. I decide to oblige him, and put him onto the list. I suspect not doing so would just make him unhappy – so if we can get some cash for him, fine.


I have made offers to two veteran midfielders, and get their current clubs to accept. Michael Morley is 29, and is looking for a pretty solid contract. He’s a mentally composed and professional player, who is a great passer. Frenchman Stephane Anelka is 33, able to play at both the right and middle spots, and is more affordable – he’s unhappy in Seattle. He looks like he might be good at driving forward and sending in a crossing pass – a tactic I like from the right side when the players fit.

I also have a modest offer in for versatile defender Vladimir Yurchenko, a 24 year old who has very good marking and positioning skills – my top two requirements. He doesn’t want to leave his Italian club Sora, but they accept my modest transfer offer, and I will try to get him happy here. His contract demand is laughably low – I am very enthused about the prospects of landing this Russian bull.

Our negotiations with Michael Morley fail at first – he’s looking for a fat deal and a starring role. I envision him as a rotation player, and if he works out, great – he’ll get his starts. Anelka seems like he’s willing – I just need to tweak his offer a bit, I bump from €400 to €500 a week, and suspect we’ll land him.


Morale is way up as we head to Northampton, where we hope to steal a point, or even a win. Ryan Watson (who else?) lands the first blow as we get ahead after 20 minutes. We get some good net work from Paul Cronin, a glorious effort from Lee Hill, and put it away with that one goal. Lincoln 1, Northampton 0[. Against a club sitting in a 2nd place position on the league table – that’s a glorious result!

I decide to make a conciliatory statement about Northampton, seeking to gain some stature points. Seems to work out well.


Vladimir Yurchenko accepts our contract offer, but we are again stuck on the work permit, so I expect this to go nowhere. Somehow he was able to play in Italy – but apparently England will be problem. Beats me.


Stéphane Anelka accepts our contract offer, so we will pick up a veteran midfielder, who can add some flexibility to our options there, I hope. Michael Morley has also accepted our offer, so we suddenly are slated to get a bit deep come January first. We will hope that these two can help us – especially Morley, who has a number of years ahead of him. I am crushing my wage budget, but until I’m told to stop spending, I’ going to try to help this club get better.


Scunthorpe’s manager calls us out, saying how nice it would be to get a win over their rivals. Good to know. We will be at home, and we are in pretty comparable positions on the league table – we look forward to putting it right to them.

In the match, it’s scoreless through 38 minutes, until Ryan Watson spikes one right into the narrow right corner spot to get us ahead. Andy Bewick gets a goal, his first of the year, to put us ahead, and we hold on to a 2-1 edge through the whole second half. Lincoln 2, Scunthorpe 1. I go to the press, and say that I was annoyed by Bobby Hunt’s attitude, and don’t mind if this turns into a bit of a feud.


Only two days later, we travel to Notts County, and will sub in a second squad for the most part. I don’t have high hopes here, on the road, against a top-level club, and weakened by fatigue. We hold them off for a while, but at 34 minutes they notch their first goal. We are on our heels the whole match, no surprise, and end up about where we expected, but kudos go out for a determined effort in a tough spot. Notts Co 2, Lincoln 0.


We get to the end of December, and it will be time to make some Bosman pursuits. This club is settling into a better league position, but I am under no illusions – we still need to make some changes to become a serious contender. Work to be done. I put in a few offers… and have a few guys tabbed who may shake loose in the net few weeks.

We get a flood of notices about contract renewals, and my first effort is to work out a new deal with Lee Hill, the 17 year old right winger who has been playing very, very well for us of late. I’m hoping to lock him up long term with a pretty reasonable deal.

[QuikSand]

January 2005

The Lincoln board are satisfied with your performance as manager.

Okay – we’ll try to boost that a bit. Perhaps they are less than thrilled with our excess over the wage budget.


We welcome aboard new midfielders Michael Morley and Stéphane Anelka, and will work to get them into shape for the pitch. Before we head into our first match of January, I want to take a few minutes to look through the roster, where we are, and how our lads are getting on. I like this format for my own reasons, so please forgive if it’s hard to view on the forum:


Goalkeepers Age Value Wage μGK μMA μPA Strengths Apps Conc Cln MOM Av R

Paul Cronin 25 24K 1100 8.4 7.9 10.3 Conc,Determ,Command,Jumping,Antic 19(1) 30 5 5 7.25
Lee Bates 16 12K 150 7.7 7.0 9.6 Conc,Jumping,Fitness,Command,Hand 8(2) 24 0 1 7.30

Defenders Age Value Wage μTA μMA μPA Strengths Apps Gl As MM Tcks P% Av R
Adam Walton 25 3K 600 6.7 9.8 9.0 Aggr,Determ,Tmwk,Comp,WkRate 26 0 4 0 3.24 66 6.96
Alan Butler 25 14K 675 6.6 9.4 11.1 Comp,Conc,Cross,Pass,Jump,Pace 21(1) 0 2 0 3.69 69 7.09
Paul McDonald 24 3K 825 5.1 7.2 11.3 Conc,Tmwk,Stam,Jump,Bal,Agil 17(1) 1 0 0 3.95 56 6.67
Richard Jones 25 6K 1100 4.5 7.9 10.8 Determ,Tmwk,Tackl,Fitness,Pace 16(1) 0 0 0 3.20 64 6.76
Michael Walsh 21 9K 750 6.4 8.2 9.3 Pass,WkRate,Jump,First,Tech 15(1) 0 0 1 4.25 71 7.00
Steve Vaughan 22 24K 1100 6.6 9.9 12.5 Jump,Head,Determ,Infl,Brav,Tmwk 10(1) 0 0 0 5.01 60 6.91
Scott Johnson 19 7K 450 4.8 7.3 7.0 Str,WkRate,Fitness,Pace,Stamina 8(2) 0 0 0 2.86 64 6.60

Midfielders Age Value Wage μTA μMA μPA Strengths Apps Gl As MM Tcks P% Av R

Daniel Wilkinson 20 750K 110 8.5 10.2 10.9 Head,Determ,TmWk,Aggr,Jump,Infl 19 1 1 0 2.95 75 7.16
Lee Phillips 33 3K 750 6.4 8.6 9.8 Determ,Drib,Flair,Pen,Jump,Fit 15(2) 1 3 4 1.41 75 7.29
Lee Hill 17 24K 650 7.4 8.9 11.1 Agil,Fit,Inf,Cross,Stam,Jump 13(2) 1 4 2 2.39 73 7.27
Andy Bewick 23 3K 575 5.6 7.9 9.7 TmWk,WkRate,Jump,Corn,Stam,Pace 12(2) 1 7 0 1.34 80 6.93
David Elliott 18 28K 120 8.9 10.6 10.8 Conc,Aggr,WkRate,Jump,Stam,Pace 11(1) 0 2 0 1.58 79 6.17
Mark Cole 19 20K 650 8.0 9.1 10.5 Finish,Head,WkRate,Cross,Fit,Dec 9 0 2 0 2.36 69 6.78
Jason Lawson 32 8K 400 8.2 10.2 5.1 OffBall,Comp,Conc,Determ,Creat 6(4) 0 0 0 0.91 73 6.70
Brian Green 27 28K 1100 7.7 8.7 11.0 Comp,Flair,Pace,Infl,TmWk,Conc 6(4) 0 2 0 1.76 78 6.60
James Martin 24 3K 600 6.2 7.4 9.3 Stam,Antic,Head,Jump,Pace,Accel 1(1) 0 0 0 0.83 74 6.50
Michael Morley 29 18K 850 7.5 11.5 11.3 Pass,Determ,Conc,Jump,Flair,Free
Stéphane Anelka 33 3K 500 8.2 10.6 11.1 OffBall,LongTh,Conc,Pace,Cross

Attackers Age Value Wage μTA μMA μPA Strengths Apps Gl As MM Tcks P% Av R

Ryan Watson 26 5K 150 7.4 8.7 10.7 Determ,Finish,Pen,Infl,WkRate,Fit 18 16 0 1 0.84 77 7.44
Paul Johnston 31 45K 1100 7.7 9.2 9.8 Pace,Head,Finish,FirstT,OffBall 16 6 2 0 1.02 83 6.94
Lee Turner 30 7K 110 5.8 8.8 8.1 Determ,TmWk,Pace,WkRate,Accel,Agg 10 3 0 0 0.56 84 6.90
Brian Clarke 30 35K 750 7.6 9.8 11.7 Determ,Infl,WkRate,Aggr,Jump,Drib 7(4) 1 1 0 1.44 77 6.82
Brian Cook 26 30K 750 6.8 8.9 12.0 Determ,Brav,Finish,Fit,Jump,Accel 3(5) 0 0 0 0.78 80 6.75
Matt Edwards 18 18K 110 8.9 11.1 10.1 Aggr,Cross,LongSh,Pass,Creat,Brav 3(2) 0 0 0 0.36 77 6.00


As you may have guessed the mu-ratings are just the average of that column of ratings for the player. A concise way to show what these guys generally look like, in skill terms, without unleashing a torrent of data. I will note that my defensemen, while being pretty effective overall, basically are lousy skill guys – seems kinda odd.


A few things become evident from the exercise of assembling all that data. One obvious one is – we are thin at striker. I have been using Johnston, but he now wants out and that’s fine. I will pull Matt Edwards back up, as he looks like a playmaker, and might be better than any of the older lads.

We’re spending a lot of money in wages on defenders… and while they are doing okay, nobody really seems to stand out. I think I might give some longer looks to Steve Vaughan, who has been playing pretty well – tough tackler, I like that.

I am still concerned at midfield, and hope that our new arrivals can help out there. If Wilkinson is just a one year loan in (pretty likely, I could never afford to transfer him in, I expect) then we’re going to need an internal answer for the DMC spot.


We head to Cheltenham, where we are refreshed and ready. Bewick’s corner kick goes in for Lee Hill’s goal to put us ahead early, but they pull even with a very nice goal, so it’s one apiece early on. At 76 minutes, they pull ahead with a good effort, and we are in trouble. We miss on a corner kick, a very good opportunity to score, and end up on the short end. Cheltenham 2, Lincoln 1. We got a look at the two new midfielders – Michael Morley does seem to be a distributor, and we’ll continue looking at him in the AMC spot.


Vladimir Yurchenko, of course, has been denied his work permit. Looks like we are out of luck, as expected.


I have an offer in for a veteran striker, and after the roster review, that seems wise. 34 year old Jose Garcia Garcia has been effective for Spanish club Ecija, but they are willing to part with him as his contract runs down. However, Garcia is not interested in moving to Lincoln – I put in an contract offer, but don’t expect this to go anywhere.


Back home at Sincil Bank, we will take on Swansea, who are in the middle of the league table. This would be a good spot to get a win, if we are going to get into the midst of the contenders. We aren’t totally recuperated from the last effort, and morale is shaky – this might be a pivotal effort. Regrettably, it’s a “nightmare start” for us as we give up a quick goal, but Brian green sets up Ryan Watson for the strike to get us even before things slip away. However, Swansea is on top of their game today, and they have us in hand, getting two more goals and taking control before halftime. We get a nice effort and a goal from young Matt Edwards, but cannot get even here. Swansea 3, Lincoln 2. Our morale has really been derailed now, which may be cause for long-term concern.


Obvious follow-ups: Yurchenko’s work permit appeal was denied, and Garcia tells us to get bent. No news here.


We are approached by crosstown club Lincoln United, who want to loan young defender Paul Howard. We agree – I like to work with United, and will usually offer them a friendly each summer.


We have a big matchup at Boston United – a top-tier club. I am fearful that another loss could send us on a serious spiral downward in morale, so I want to play very well here. They have an early goal called off from an offside violation, and we managed to keep things scoreless through the first half. At 73 minutes, Ryan Watson hits home off a long pass from Lee Phillips, and we gain the edge. Lee Turner nails another, and we are in command. Turner even pops in another off a corner kick, as we wrap up a huge victory on the road against the second-placed club in League Two. Lincoln 3, Boston Utd 0.

Chairman Richard West is delighted, and the board is understandably enthusiastic.


We ride a crest of morale, as we head home to host Yeovil Town. They gain an edge early, but we are not rattled, and stay to the task until we draw level at 71 minutes. At 82 minutes, Lee Phillips finishes a fancy move off a corner, and we take the lead. He returns the favor with an assist to Lee Turner, and we look to be in full control. Lincoln 4, Yeovil 1.


On the road at Oxford, we have a tough task – especially without injured Ryan Watson. I will hope to ride the brilliant recent performance from striker Lee Turner, and try to eke out a tough win here. Without much of an attack, we manage to crown Paul Cronin MOM as we secure a scoreless draw. Lincoln 0, Oxford 0. This keeps us in 16th position on the table – well clear of relegation, and getting into the mix of “the pack.” We’re no threat to promote, but we ought to remain in a fairly respectable spot without a major downturn.


We have another fairly tough test, at home to Cambridge, who are in 9th position. It’s a scoreless first half, as we are still struggling to finish our chances, but at 55 we get on the board when Matt Edwards completes a PK. We go up 2-0 on a nice goal from Andy Bewick, off an assist from Anelka. We secure a good, solid win, and continue our good run of late. Lincoln 3, Cambridge 0.


Lincoln Utd have offered to loan in another of our players, young reserve striker Martin White. We accept.


I make an inquiry about left winger Darius Zelwys, a 22 yo Lithuanian player currently available for loan. I don’t want to load him in, I want to transfer him in, but need to get a deal to do so. He seems very talented, a creative force from the outside – just what I typically like on my left wing. If we could get him to come aboard, I forecast good things. I await word back on what might be worked out.


We travel to Bury, and will try to secure a road victory over the Shakers. Michael Morley puts us ahead with a head-in goal, and a second goal comes later from Lee Phillips. Even without Ryan Watson, we are mustering some attack, it seems. Lincoln 2, Bury 0. A good effort overall, especially defensively – they never really threatened us seriously.


I have been using young Matt Edwards regularly as a striker, and it’s awfully frustrating. He doesn’t have good finishing skills, and it seems he’s always the one with the chance to put it away – and instead sends it dreadfully wide. His ratings aren’t awful, but I feel there is some opportunity cost involved. I may try him as our forward midfielder – but right now I am very pleased with Michael Morley’s results there.


The word we get back on Darius Zelwys is “hands off.” So, I set that onto the back burner.


We do manage to secure a modest Bosman transfer. Midfielder Massimo Serra, an 19 year old Italian, has agreed terms and will join us in August. He’s got very nice physical skills, but is pretty raw – it’s an affordable contract that will allow us to see if he can develop into a useful player.

[QuikSand]

February 2005

The Lincoln board are pleased with your performance as manager.



| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1st | | Cheltenham | | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 53 | 31 | +22 | 61 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2nd | | Notts Co | | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 45 | 24 | +21 | 54 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 3rd | | Boston Utd | | 29 | 15 | 8 | 6 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 53 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 4th | | Northampton | | 29 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 42 | 25 | +17 | 52 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 5th | | Rushden | | 29 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 36 | 20 | +16 | 52 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 6th | | Bristol Rovers | | 29 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 36 | +17 | 49 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 7th | | Leyton Orient | | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 49 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 8th | | Swansea | | 29 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 51 | 35 | +16 | 47 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 9th | | Cambridge | | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 47 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 10th | | Oxford | | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 47 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 11th | | Yeovil | | 30 | 13 | 3 | 14 | 49 | 44 | +5 | 42 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 12th | | Rochdale | | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 42 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 13th | | Wycombe | | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 31 | 35 | -4 | 41 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 14th | | Southend | | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 40 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 15th | | Lincoln | | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 44 | 48 | -4 | 40 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 16th | | Mansfield | | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 26 | 33 | -7 | 36 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 17th | | Scunthorpe | | 29 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 37 | 44 | -7 | 35 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 18th | | Chester | | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 34 | 48 | -14 | 35 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 19th | | Darlington | | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 35 | 44 | -9 | 34 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 20th | | Grimsby | | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 37 | 52 | -15 | 34 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 21st | | Shrewsbury | | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 30 | 40 | -10 | 33 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 22nd | | Kidderminster | | 30 | 4 | 12 | 14 | 31 | 52 | -21 | 24 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 23rd | | Macclesfield | | 30 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 28 | 69 | -41 | 14 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 24th | | Bury | | 30 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 24 | 54 | -30 | 11 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|


15th place isn’t so great – but the upside is there. We have 40 points, and the 11th place team has only 42 – so we have an opportunity to make a step forward. With 16 matches left, it’s certainly possible that we could even threaten the top seven… but that would take a remarkably good run down the stretch. More realistically, I think we just try to keep things going fairly well this season, and place ourselves in position for a promotion run next year.


Young Luke Eaton has let his discontent simmer, and now he wants out. I think I will accede to his wishes and list him for transfer, but in the meantime I will call him up, and see if we can get some productivity from him. If so, perhaps he will rethink his position. I’m looking for some new options at striker, anyway.


We are home to Rochdale – this is precisely the situation where a win does us a lot of good. They are three spots ahead of us, but only two points. A win over them and we leapfrog them on the table. We’re at home, we’re in great spirits – we need to strike hard here and win this. Ryan Watson is back, and he gets us out to an apparent lead after 28 minutes – but it’s called back on an offsides. At 54, we do get ahead, as Anelka tallies his first goal for us on a sweet run-in move. However, we clumsily yield a goal to let them draw even. Settling for a draw was not what I had in mind. Lincoln 1, Rochdale 1.


My keeper Paul Cronin is still on the target list – Peterborough is expressing interest. I will do my best to retain him, as he has been pretty solid for us. I don’t really have an intuitive sense of what makes a great keeper in this game – but I’m comfortable with him between the posts, and that’s important to me right now. Let me worry about other things.

Peterborough put in their offer for Cronin – it’s €24,000. We could certainly use the cash, but we do better by keeping our funds invested in productive players. I reject the offer – he is indispensable to our club.


Now we play Rushden – a pretty tall order. My fear is that a loss here could hurt our morale, which already suffered a bump off our home draw last out. Ryan Watson quickly posts his 20th goal of the season, and we grab an early edge – now we need to hold it. No such luck – by minute 4, things are even already. At 13 minutes, they convert a PK and take the lead – that was awfully quick. Lee Phillips gets sent off, and things are unraveling for us in the first 20 minutes. We stem the bleeding, but Rushden secure the win I was afraid of. Rushden 4, Lincoln 1.


Now we are tired, deflated, and up again already to play at home to Shrewsbury. This is a match we ought to have a good shot to win, but I don’t know about this dejected lot. Matt Edwards, off the bench, lights things up with a fantastic goal and an equally beautiful feeder assist to help get us ahead by two in the first half. We yield two second half goals, and are rapidly losing control of the match altogether. We hold on for the draw, but again, it’s disappointing. Lincoln 2, Shrewsbury 2.


Lee Brady, boss at Grimsby, makes some comments about our upcoming match. I suggest that I’m not so sure about him – he seems like a schmuck, but I’ll give him a chance to prove me wrong.


We work out another Bosman deal, bringing in Italian defenseman Giuseppe Di Marco, who I expect to become a solid rotation player for us. I’m trying to be ready for when many of our players’ contracts expire after next season – we need to have secure options. De Marco might exceed my expectations, but at least he ought to be serviceable.


The match against Grismby has a lot at stake for us – some press-heated rivalry talk, and also some needed standings points. I am now past thinking about a move up the table, and instead need to focus on the task at hand. They put in a shot off a corner kick to lead after 12 minutes – again, we fall behind so early! That’s all they need – we can’t manage a score in the whole affair, and it’s bad news all around. Grimsby 1, Lincoln 0.


February is not treating us kindly.


We travel to Mansfield, to face another lower-half club, a spot where we would like to be optimistic. Maybe we can get things turned around here? It’s quiet until 60 minutes, when we inexplicably let them get a clear open shot off a corner, and they take full advantage. They tack on another after several more minutes, and we seem to be spiraling down to another tough league loss. However, it’s our comeback this time – goals from Watson and Eaton get us even by the end of regular time, only to see them win it on a PK in injury time. [b]Cambridge 3, Lincoln 2[b]. Awful, awful, awful.


We have slid back to 18th position, and those dreams about making a run at the top seven now seem just silly – and that was just this month I was entertaining such thoughts!

[Desnudo]

The UK has different rules than the rest of Europe for allowing foreign players to join domestic teams. Work permit approval is dependent on one of two things. Either the player has enough potential ability to be a star or he played in at least 75% of the last 12(?) international matches for his country.

The rest of Europe generally restricts non-EU players based on an allowable amount for each squad, not ability.

[Eaglesfan27]

Nothing to add, except, I'm enjoying your dynasty.

[Katon]

I think the work permit rules are a result of the mainstream British immigration laws, rather than being purely football-related.

[Bee]

Hey QS,

What's your current wage compared to your wage budget? Just kind of curious since you were over budget before bringing in several players.

It's good to see another Lincoln dynasty, it will probably motivate me to fire up the game again to my wife's dismay...

B

[QuikSand]

What's your current wage compared to your wage budget? Just kind of curious since you were over budget before bringing in several players.

Last I checked, I was something like 4,000 over my 19,000 weekly wage budget. We aren't bleeding cash, though, as I recall.

[QuikSand]

Real life has interceded... but all is not lost.

I think March is done... will post that today if so.

[Bee]

Real life has interceded... but all is not lost.

I think March is done... will post that today if so.

hmm...no post. Was there a power outage in Annapolis? I think the QuikSand computer needs a reboot. ;)

[QuikSand]

March 2005


We need to snap out of our spiral, and soon. I don’t think we can fall into relegation worries, but I want at least a reasonable final position from all this. Considering how well we have been able to play, even for long periods, we ought to be able to make a turnaround.


We head to Darlington, where we tangle with the 20th ranked club on the table. Our morale is very low, and I don’t see any way to fix that short of a win – though to win, it would help to have someone playing well. Ugh. Darlington leads on a goal at 29 minutes, and add another before the half. We are just being outclassed by everyone we play – we have totally run off the rails, just as I had feared. Darlingtonn 2, Lincoln 0.


I have concluded that the “Assistant Manager Team Report,” while a superficially appealing idea, is just completely worthless. Either that, or I’m just missing something major about it. A month ago, my AM was telling me (via that page) that Ryan Watson was a one-star player, the weakest forward on the whole club. Now, he’s got him rated at four stars, as the best forward we have. Maybe the AM is factoring in morale here? I hope so – otherwise, this is a big weakness. Nicely formatted little report, it seems worthwhile, but after looking at it five or six times (and getting conflicts like this nearly every time) I think I’ll just pass.


By the way – I had suspected this might be true, but a quick check confirms that Ryan Watson is easily the top scorer in League Two, with 20 league goals. Best of the rest is at 14, with about a dozen guys sitting on 10 or more. Just intriguing – I don’t feel as though our attack is that prolific, but an unusually high share goes through Watson for us, even with a two-striker setup.


Now, we are home to Bristol Rovers, and will be looking for a shot against a clearly superior foe. No surprise here – we fall behind early, spend most of the match fending off their advances, and never really threaten for a goal at all. Bristol 1, Lincoln 0.


QuikSand has received the dreaded vote of confidence from the Lincoln board amid speculation that the manager was set to be sacked.

The board announced that they backed QuikSand to turn things around, although they would be looking for an improvement in the very near future.

So, this might turn out to be a pretty brief dynasty thread…



At Macclesfield, I inject a few new faces into the lineup – reserves tend to be happy when called up, and we really need the infusion of good morale. Seems like a fit to me. Poor Mike Mitchell, starting at keeper for his first time, concedes a goal in the first minute and a half – not totally his fault, but not so hot for morale, either. We do pull even at 28 minutes, off the foot of Ryan Watson, of course. But Mitchell gets beaten again, and it takes us time- but we again manage to get even, off a nifty counter-attack goal. We have some chances late, but can’t get the winner, and settle for a draw, even though I think we outplayed them. Lincoln 2, Macclesfield 2.


We host Southend, and I keep Mitchell in at keeper, and young Benjamin Massey will play on our right midfield spot. Scoreless through 80 minutes, I sub in two new attackers, trying to spark a breakthrough for the much-needed win. Ryan Watson gets one good chance, but is rebuffed, and we end up in an empty draw. Lincoln 0, Southend 0. Not bad – and keeper Mike Mitchell gains his second MOM award in as many appearances.


A couple of weeks ago, our reserve keeper Lee Bates made it known that he had “lost confidence” in my managing. Now, we are getting a big eyeful of Mike Mitchell, who might well be taking advantage of this chance to step into some real playing time at the keeper spot. Bad timing for Bates, as Paul Cronin is feeling down about now, and we are interested in a shake-up.


A weird sensation overcomes me, as we sweep into the final days of March…


Yeovil have put in a bid for young striker Matt Edwards. They offer €9,000 – I’m not wild about giving up on him, but he does have a dreadfully annoying habit of missing wide open shots. His contract expires in June anyway – I don’t think I’d buy this guy for €9,000… maybe this is for the best. I tell them he can go – but for €20K – ought to help with money issues anyway, but if they won’t budge, I can survive with him around.


Yeovil have also made us a very intriguing offer. They would send us young defenseman Richard Gethin for keeper Paul Cronin. Gethin actually looks pretty good – he posted an Av R of 7.14 for them in 30+ matches, and he has skills that fit my system pretty well. I am very intrigued. I pull the trigger – if we can work out contracts, I think this makes us younger, and addresses a need for us (right-side defender, where we have nobody except Alan Butler right now).

Gethin and Cronin both work out new contracts quickly, and the deal is consummated. Cronin very quickly dropped from “indispensable” to “gone,” it seems – he was solid for us, but I think we can replace him. Gethin is just such a good fit, in terms of skills, that I am persuaded he will be a big help. Mike Mitchell, your timing couldn’t have been better. Welcome to the starting keeper job.


We also loan in a striker, Samuel Jacobs from MK Dons. I feel we need an offensive spark, and decide he might be able to help us down the stretch here. I expect to get him right into action, probably alongside Ryan Watson. He’s quick, hard-working, and ought to be a tougher finisher than Matt Edwards or most of my veterans.


Stéphane Anelka’s deal was just for this season, but I have been sufficiently impressed to want to keep him around. He’s 33, he’s not the future of this club, but he has been a very useful player for us, and gives us some versatilty. He may end up with a lot of time at the defensive midfielder spot next season, if Daniel Wilkinson cannot return to us on another loan.

[QuikSand]

So, I have played a little way into April, and I can confirm that my month starts out with this message:

The Lincoln board are unsatisfied with your performance as manager.


Anyone have an idea of how likely it might be for me to get sacked in my first season as manager? We are losing matches right now, but aren't in real danger of relegation -- only of landing a few slots below the "safe mid-table" finish that I expected and was charged with.

I'm a bit worried about a quick triogger here...

[condors]

if you could get under the wage buget it would help, i think if you go over the wage budget you are expect to exceed thier expectations.

[QuikSand]

April 2005

The Lincoln board are unsatisfied with your performance as manager.

That’s clear. My free-spending ways would probably be okay if we were winning matches. Need to get on that soon, I reckon. The winning thing, that is.


We do re-sign an extended deal with Stéphane Anelka, so he will be back next season. Not too much money, though the board may be displeased regardless.


We got no follow up from Yeovil about Matt Edwards, presumably that deal is dead. I don’t think the €9,000 would have made a difference to our bottom line much anyway, though it might have made the board think I was making an effort with the bottom line. Hell, they might have been upset I gave up on a young prospect, though – risky both ways.


We travel to Leyton Orient, where a win would be a great boon. Likely? Not at all. Leyton get ahead at 23 minutes, and are outplaying us easily in the early going. They get in a couple more in the rough treatment, and we end up on the very shallow end of this one. Leyton Orient 5, Lincoln 0. Very tough on morale, I am certain. This bodes very poorly.

The board make their disappointment known. I don’t like the sound of this.


Paul Johnston has decided that he wants to stay in Lincoln, after all. Interesting turnaround – maybe he can become productive again? He’s been catching splinters for weeks… who knows? I oblige and remove him from the transfer list.


Our team’s morale is just dreadful – I can’t field a squad without having several big red down arrows in the mix. I usually try to manage, in part, by way or morale – here, I’m left with mostly bad choices. Now, Ryan Watson, our super striker, is even unhappy – he thinks the club is underachieving. No joke.


We are home to Chester, another lower-tier club. This is exactly the right spot for us to pull out a victory, and maybe right the ship. We get some early pressure but come up empty, and the battle goes back and forth, but eventually yields nothing on the board. Lincoln 0, Chester 0. Keeper Lee bates is Man of the Match – maybe that can help spark something – we need a bump of any sort badly.


Now we are home to Wycombe. We’ll dream of a win – we need it badly. We actually get a lead in the first half, an unusual position for us. We manage to hold the lead until 82 minutes, but they manage to draw level then, and shatter our hopes of a victory here. Lincoln 1, Wycombe 1.


Well, it’s official – Bury and Macclesfield have been relegated from League Two, so we are clear. I wasn’t that worried – but now that we are safe, perhaps we can finish out the slate of matches in more peace.


Now we travel to Kidderminster, to face another lower-tier club, where we might have a shot again. We manage to play pretty well, but two goals is enough for them – they survive a late press by us, and one goal from Ryan Watson threatens, but doesn’t get us there. Kidderminster 2, Lincoln 1.


Now we play host to 7th place Northampton – tough matchup. Lee Bates is working hard to keep things at zero, but at 54 minutes, they break through with a nice goal. Michael Morley gets us even, though, after just a few minutes, and we’re back in the match. At 77 minutes, Ryan Watson finishes a great feed, and we take the lead. It’s dramatic, but we hold on for a huge win, finally! Lincoln 2, Northampton 1. Considering our awful spell lately, this might be the single most important win this club has posted under my regime.


I have put in an offer to transfer in young midfielder Daniel Wilkinson, who has become a stalwart of our lineup this season. At 20 years old, he seems to be among our most reliable players, even in a position not prone to receiving scoring or assist opportunities. His purported value is over half a million – I’m offering the €18,000 that I can. This would add to our wage budget problems… but locking him up would be a great step for us, I think.

I am very pleasantly surprised when Arsenal accepts our transfer offer, and we sit down to work out a contract with Wilkinson. This is great news, and his demands aren’t even sky-high. He’ll be among our better paid players, but won’t break the bank, it seems. He’ll sign on for next year with a €1,000/wk salary – and we now have the defensive midfield slot sewn up, it seems. I’m very pleased with the move, though it does wipe out my transfer budget for the season.


Our morale is much higher as we travel to Scunthorpe, for a league match and a test of our momentum. A good showing here could keep us on a better course than the last several weeks have brought. We are without injured Ryan Watson, and have Paul Johnston in for him, after a long hiatus away from the lineup. Scunthorpe get out quickly to a two goal edge, and we are never really a threat to them. Scunthorpe 3, Lincoln 1. Not a terrible showing, and many players were awarded pretty solid ratings – I hope this won’t stall morale.

[QuikSand]

May 2005

The Lincoln board are satisfied with your performance as manager.

Looks like we may have dodged the bullet there – hopefully the more acceptable showings of late have gotten me off the hot seat.


In our final league match, we are host to Notts County, and trails quickly after yielding a penalty kick. Paul Johnston strikes to get us level after 25 minutes, though, and Morley hits a long free kick to put us ahead before the half. At 64 minutes, it’s back even after they score – a pretty exciting match unfolding here. Some chances each way in the final minutes fall short, and we end up all square. Lincoln 2, Notts Co 2.


Our final position on the league table is 20th – rather disappointing, but we are a full 26 points clear of the relegation zone, so it’s perhaps a bit overstated.




| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1st | C | Cheltenham | | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 71 | 45 | +26 | 89 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2nd | P | Boston Utd | | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 75 | 44 | +31 | 85 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 3rd | P | Swansea | | 46 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 88 | 52 | +36 | 83 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 4th | Pl | Northampton | | 46 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 74 | 44 | +30 | 82 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 5th | Pl | Notts Co | | 46 | 21 | 17 | 8 | 66 | 33 | +33 | 80 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 6th | Pl | Rushden | | 46 | 20 | 18 | 8 | 60 | 35 | +25 | 78 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 7th | Pl | Bristol Rovers | | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 76 | 52 | +24 | 78 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 8th | | Leyton Orient | | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 74 | 62 | +12 | 74 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 9th | | Wycombe | | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 71 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 10th | | Cambridge | | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 68 | 52 | +16 | 70 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 11th | | Southend | | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 66 | 56 | +10 | 70 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 12th | | Mansfield | | 46 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 45 | 48 | -3 | 65 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 13th | | Yeovil | | 46 | 20 | 4 | 22 | 69 | 71 | -2 | 64 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 14th | | Scunthorpe | | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 60 | 61 | -1 | 63 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 15th | | Oxford | | 46 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 59 | 62 | -3 | 58 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 16th | | Grimsby | | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 67 | 82 | -15 | 58 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 17th | | Rochdale | | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 50 | 52 | -2 | 57 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 18th | | Chester | | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 51 | 74 | -23 | 52 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 19th | | Darlington | | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 53 | 65 | -12 | 51 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 20th | | Lincoln | | 46 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 59 | 78 | -19 | 50 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 21st | | Shrewsbury | | 46 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 46 | 72 | -26 | 44 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 22nd | | Kidderminster | | 46 | 9 | 15 | 22 | 49 | 77 | -28 | 42 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 23rd | R | Bury | | 46 | 6 | 6 | 34 | 39 | 93 | -54 | 24 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 24th | R | Macclesfield | | 46 | 5 | 7 | 34 | 39 | 97 | -58 | 22 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|




McDonald accused of complacency

Some local pundits are beginning to take notice of Paul McDonald’s poor form for Lincoln and are starting to ask whether the player is getting complacent.

According to some sources, the 24-year-old central defender is not being made to work hard enough at Sincil Bank and manager QuikSand should be viewing his performance more critically.

I decide to take this basically at face value – his form has been pretty weak, and I’ll try to light a bit of a fire under him. I give him a formal warning… we’ll see where this leads.


Lincoln announce new sponsorship deal

The deal, with a local company, is worth €18K per year, for four years. Bad timing – we’ll hoefully be worth more than that in the years to come.


For the coming year, Lincoln will have a transfer budget of a paltry €20,000 – but we’ll get to recycle most of any fees coming in. No surprise – our wage budget is a bit out of shape.


With our disappointing season wrapped up, I’ll recap the stats for the year. I do not intend to update the mu-stats,


Goalkeepers Age Value Wage μGK μMA μPA Strengths Apps Conc Cln MOM Av R

Paul Cronin (gone) 25 24K 1100 8.4 7.9 10.3 Conc,Determ,Command,Jumping,Antic 31(1) 47 9 6 7.32
Lee Bates 16 12K 150 7.7 7.0 9.6 Conc,Jumping,Fitness,Command,Hand 14(3) 33 2 3 7.29
Mike Mitchell 17 N/A 110 7.7 6.8 11.2 Conc,Accel,Fitness,Jumping,Pace 5 10 1 2 7.20

Defenders Age Value Wage μTA μMA μPA Strengths Apps Gl As MM Tcks P% Av R
Adam Walton 25 3K 600 6.7 9.8 9.0 Aggr,Determ,Tmwk,Comp,WkRate 35 0 4 0 2.92 65 6.86
Alan Butler 25 14K 675 6.6 9.4 11.1 Comp,Conc,Cross,Pass,Jump,Pace 35(1) 0 2 0 3.59 70 7.17
Paul McDonald 24 3K 825 5.1 7.2 11.3 Conc,Tmwk,Stam,Jump,Bal,Agil 25(2) 1 0 0 3.28 59 6.44
Richard Jones 25 6K 1100 4.5 7.9 10.8 Determ,Tmwk,Tackl,Fitness,Pace 33(2) 0 1 0 3.29 63 6.74
Michael Walsh 21 9K 750 6.4 8.2 9.3 Pass,WkRate,Jump,First,Tech 24(1) 0 0 2 4.24 68 7.20
Steve Vaughan 22 24K 1100 6.6 9.9 12.5 Jump,Head,Determ,Infl,Brav,Tmwk 31(1) 0 0 0 4.00 62 7.22
Scott Johnson 19 7K 450 4.8 7.3 7.0 Str,WkRate,Fitness,Pace,Stamina 10(6) 0 0 0 2.86 62 6.44
Richard Gethin 23 22K 1600 7.5 8.8 9.6 Pass,Decisions,Pace,Composure,Str 4 0 0 0 1.34 64 7.00

Midfielders Age Value Wage μTA μMA μPA Strengths Apps Gl As MM Tcks P% Av R

Daniel Wilkinson 20 750K 110 8.5 10.2 10.9 Head,Determ,TmWk,Aggr,Jump,Infl 38 1 1 0 3.51 74 7.21
Lee Phillips 33 3K 750 6.4 8.6 9.8 Determ,Drib,Flair,Pen,Jump,Fit 33(2) 3 7 4 1.44 75 7.29
Lee Hill 17 24K 650 7.4 8.9 11.1 Agil,Fit,Inf,Cross,Stam,Jump 25(4) 2 6 3 2.32 74 7.28
Michael Morley 29 18K 850 7.5 11.5 11.3 Pass,Determ,Conc,Jump,Flair,Free 20(1) 4 3 2 1.69 78 7.29
Andy Bewick 23 3K 575 5.6 7.9 9.7 TmWk,WkRate,Jump,Corn,Stam,Pace 15(7) 2 8 0 1.21 80 6.73
David Elliott 18 28K 120 8.9 10.6 10.8 Conc,Aggr,WkRate,Jump,Stam,Pace 11(1) 0 2 0 1.58 79 6.17
Mark Cole 19 20K 650 8.0 9.1 10.5 Finish,Head,WkRate,Cross,Fit,Dec 10 0 2 0 2.22 69 6.80
Jason Lawson 32 8K 400 8.2 10.2 5.1 OffBall,Comp,Conc,Determ,Creat 9(5) 0 0 0 0.75 75 6.57
Brian Green 27 28K 1100 7.7 8.7 11.0 Comp,Flair,Pace,Infl,TmWk,Conc 9(4) 1 4 0 1.50 78 6.69
Stéphane Anelka 33 3K 500 8.2 10.6 11.1 OffBall,LongTh,Conc,Pace,Cross 9(4) 1 4 0 3.05 79 7.23
Jim Crawford 16 N/A 120 5.7 8.5 9.1 Cross,TmWk,Accel,Infl,WkRt,LgSht 4 0 1 0 1.71 79 6.50
Benjamin Massey 22 9K 375 5.0 10.9 11.8 Antic,Accel,Jump,Pass,Flair,Brav 3(1) 0 0 0 3.25 75 6.75
James Martin 24 3K 600 6.2 7.4 9.3 Stam,Antic,Head,Jump,Pace,Accel 1(2) 0 0 0 0.72 73 6.67

Attackers Age Value Wage μTA μMA μPA Strengths Apps Gl As MM Tcks P% Av R

Ryan Watson 26 5K 150 7.4 8.7 10.7 Determ,Finish,Pen,Infl,WkRate,Fit 35 25 2 1 0.69 77 7.34
Paul Johnston 31 45K 1100 7.7 9.2 9.8 Pace,Head,Finish,FirstT,OffBall 18(1) 7 3 0 0.97 83 6.95
Lee Turner 30 7K 110 5.8 8.8 8.1 Determ,TmWk,Pace,WkRate,Accel,Agg 28 9 6 2 0.53 83 7.18
Brian Clarke 30 35K 750 7.6 9.8 11.7 Determ,Infl,WkRate,Aggr,Jump,Drib 7(6) 1 1 0 1.50 78 6.85
Brian Cook 26 30K 750 6.8 8.9 12.0 Determ,Brav,Finish,Fit,Jump,Accel 3(7) 0 0 0 0.91 80 6.75
Matt Edwards 18 18K 110 8.9 11.1 10.1 Aggr,Cross,LongSh,Pass,Creat,Brav 12(2) 3 2 0 0.64 80 6.57



So, it looks like we have a fairly credible team coming back, especially with new contracts worked out for Wilkinson and Anelka. Our side yielded far too many goals this season – that will be our point of emphasis. We will look for a few more transfers in, as well – I will push the wage budget this season, as we have quite a lot of players departing after this year is through. It appears that in season three, this will truly be “my club.”


In League Two, Notts County manages to win the playoff for the final promotion spot.


The season is a wrap. The board is satisfied, for now.


We have two players named to the League Two Select – striker Ryan Watson is fairly obvious, and defender Steve Vaughan (a reserve) is perhaps not as much. Watson was named the top goalscorer, but his margin faded a lot down the stretch – he ended with 25 league goals, just ahead of Northampton’s John Butler (23) and Notts Co’s Danny Lewis (21). Vaughan had the fifth-highest average rating of all league defenders.

Interetsingly, Paul Cronin (now of Yeovil) had the 36th highest average rating in the league. We may yet regret making that trade, especially if Richard Gethin doesn’t secure a featured spot on our defense.

[daedalus]

Tough couple of months to end the season. Thankfully, the ship was somewhat righted toward the end.

It'll be interesting to see how the squad continues to progress. :)

[QuikSand]

June 2005


We have a fairly promising young striker in Martin White, who presents a conundrum. His contract is about to expire, but he seeks a new deal for something like €1,100/wk – totally unproven. He only scored four goals with our reserve squad last season. How do I justify a deal like that? I’d love to add another weapon up front, but how can I do this?


Paul Johnston has again asked to be placed onto the transfer list. That might push me even more toward going with younger players on the attack.


I shop around a few players, trying to reduce our wage budget, and get an offer for midfielder Brian Green. I would be very pleased with a €20,000 offer for him. I accept the offer from Hereford, and he moves over fairly quickly. Green is a decent player, but making over €1,000/wk made him an obvious target for salary offloading. getting the transfer fee is a plus – might help us cover the costs of Wilkinson’s deal.


We accept Daniel Wilkinson’s transfer in – and are glad to bring aboard this solid, young player. After the transfer, his listed value changes from some €750,000 to €50,000… but that isn’t a primary concern. Just an enigma to me.


I also make an offer to extend terms with young keeper Mike Mitchell, whom I now expect to shoulder a fair share of our work in the coming season. Lee Bates seems to be playing well – I will basically plan to rotate them based on morale and performance. Both are young, neither is a standout.


Midfielder Mark Cole now asks to be placed onto the transfer list. Fair enough – I list him. He didn’t get (or earn) much playing time last season after I brought him in. I don’t set a price – but he can be had.


For the 2004-05 season, striker Ryan Watson has been named the Lincoln fans player of the year. No surprise.


Young goalkeeper Steve Allen has been promoted from our training academy. My first look suggests that the 16 year old deserves to get some looks – he’ll start out with our under-18 club.


Lincoln pick up €350,000 in television rights – which helps our bottom line a good deal, of course.


The Lincoln board are pleased with your performance as manager this season.
The team is expected to stay clear of relegation from the League two this season.
To help you achieve this goal the Lincoln board has given you a transfer budget of €20K.


As we stand now, our finances are a bit shaky. Last season, we recorded a loss of about €440,000 – which has wounded our cash position, understandably. The television payment has put us closer to even, but we are still some €160,000 down on balance.


Young striker Matt Edwards is about to complete his contract, and I simply cannot afford his €1,400/wk asking price. My hope is to let him go, and try to resign him as a free agent, if possible.


As June wraps up, I’m focusing on contract opportunities. Plenty of decent players will have their contracts expire here, and there may be bargain transfers available in the July market. We don’t have a lot of wage flexibility, but will look for veteran bargain additions.

[QuikSand]

July 2005

The board is pleased. The transfer window is open.


19 year old striker Samuel Jacobs was released by MK Dons – I’m interested. I put in an offer – but his demands are fairly steep. My first offer yields nothing – not even a sneer. Bad sign. I might come back to this – we loaned Jacobs in late last season, but didn’t get him action. I’m thinking he might actually make sense as an investment here, especially now that he’s a free agent.


We do quickly land left side defender Paul Williams, an American who has been playing in France. I hope we don’t face a work permit challenge – but know better than to count my chickens here. Williams has solid skills, and would probably step right into a starting role. But alas – a work permit doesn’t seem likely. We’re on hold.


I have an offer in for veteran striker Stuart Morrison, who looks intriguing. He’s thinking he’s worth €3,000 a week – I am only offering €1,000. Fingers are crossed, but we don’t really expect this to work. After a few days, he signs… with Barnet. Too bad. I also see that Samuel Jacobs has been receiving other bids… so we’re probably in trouble there as well.


We are into the friendly season, and get off to a good start against Gainsborough. Our first team puts two by, and we help to get everyone into shape. We host Preston next, and while we come up on the short end, we again rotate a lot of players in for some warmup action.



We get double bad news from the transfer market – striker Samuel Jacobs has signed with Tamowrth, so we’re out there, and defender Paul Williams has been denied his work permit, so I’m probably out of luck there as well. Our appeal over Williams fails, and we are left in the lurch.


Against my better judgment, my Assistant Manager set up a friendly for us against Wigan. We hate Wigan. I may have to fire him. I have a ragtag bunch out there, and we get throttled…


After sifting through the possible transfer targets, we put in a few more bids on players who will almost certainly reject us – why not shoot high? I also decide to seek a loan in player, and target Swiss defender Marc Moret, who has the ideal skills to land in the middle of my defensive line, and would allow the more aggressive marking style that I generally prefer. I’m thinking of allowing Gethin on the right side to become more aggressive this year – Moret would certainly be up to the task as well.


For our next friendly, I have player/coach Jason Lawson make the lineup. Oddly enough, he decides that the perfect left midfielder for our starting lineup is: Jason Lawson! Uncanny! Well, Lawson manages to score a goal (unusual for him) in the outing, so maybe the strategy has worked a bit.


No surprises – the rejection messages pour in. As long as this doesn’t harm team morale, no worries. We also get a rejection from Marc Moret’s club – which surprises me. I do some more searching, as I’ve decided that loaning in a solid middle defender is a wise move for us this season.


We suffer some injuries in our last friendly- including losing Lee Phillips to a broken arm for a month or so. Not good, but we have some depth to rotate in as needed.


After eventually getting spurned by Malaga over Marc Moret, we end up landing a solid defender in 17 year old English defender Paul White, whose club Everton agrees to the loan arrangement. White looks like a great fit for my defensive design – and we expect to give him plenty of playing time. Interestingly, we also get a loan to go through for Steve Bailey, another fine-looking central defender from Liverpool. I had planned to only loan in one player, but since both look very good, we’ll give them both a try, if they agree to the loan.


We have a long, long list of players who are entering their final contract year. Next year, it seems, will be the first where this is truly my club. From that list, I see names like Lee Phillips, Steve Vaughan, Michael Morley, and Stéphane Anelka – all guys who are pretty central who what we’re trying to do here. We will have a lot of contract decisions to make before the 2005/06 season is through.


In the final days of July, we take to the pitch for our final friendly, home to Reading. I get my first team in and ready to go, after accounting for the several injuries we face. I would like to get a nice effort here to boost morale, as we head into the heart of the season. It ends up a 1-1 draw, but I am pleased with the effort overall.


We wrap up August, and are ready for the regular schedule. I’m worried about the status of our midfield, with several injuries, but overall I think we are fairly well settled for the season ahead. We have two intriguing young defenders coming in on loan (we think), and I think we have some interesting pieces to the puzzle already on the club.

News flash – Paul White has rejected the loan to Lincoln, so scratch that about the two young defenders coming in. We’ll wait and see what Steve Bailey does – it’s in his hands, but we really want to add one guy there. Alas, Steve Bailey joins Paul White in declining the loan. So, we’ll have to keep looking if we want to bring in a defender for our side. Disappointing.

[QuikSand]

The game is suddenly moving excruciatingly slowly for me.

Had a little time to play today, went through one match, and now it's taking me 10 minutes for every background day... it's dreadful.

[Bee]

The game is suddenly moving excruciatingly slowly for me.

Had a little time to play today, went through one match, and now it's taking me 10 minutes for every background day... it's dreadful.

Strange that it happened suddenly like that. Do you have any backup files in case the current save is corrupted?

[Chas in Cinti]

The off-season days always seemed to move slower for me, with all the processing that needed to occur? Maybe that's it?

-Chas

[QuikSand]

I have acouple of backup files, but they are a month or two (game time) old.

I did have almost the same thing happen to me during my last career, in CM 03/04. Game was never brisk, but the pace was acceptable. Then, at some point, it seemed to slow noticeably... and that contributed to my losing interest.

When I get a chance, I will try to get this working again... but I don't know what to do. If I have to sit for 10-30 minutes of idle time between days just to play the game -- well, it's just not going to work for me.


Setup didn't seem too heavy - medium database, and running English leagues, plus top leagues from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and USA. But perhaps that is beyond the capacity of my system, I suppose (P4 200MHZ, 256GHz RAM).

[GoldenEagle]

The game is suddenly moving excruciatingly slowly for me.

Had a little time to play today, went through one match, and now it's taking me 10 minutes for every background day... it's dreadful.
I would check your programs running in the background. Whenever FM begins running slow, I check and can almost always solve the problem right there. It could be something like the Adobe reading program which you have to close out manually and that takes a good bit of processing power.

[Desnudo]

I have acouple of backup files, but they are a month or two (game time) old.

I did have almost the same thing happen to me during my last career, in CM 03/04. Game was never brisk, but the pace was acceptable. Then, at some point, it seemed to slow noticeably... and that contributed to my losing interest.

When I get a chance, I will try to get this working again... but I don't know what to do. If I have to sit for 10-30 minutes of idle time between days just to play the game -- well, it's just not going to work for me.


Setup didn't seem too heavy - medium database, and running English leagues, plus top leagues from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and USA. But perhaps that is beyond the capacity of my system, I suppose (P4 200MHZ, 256GHz RAM).

August always runs much slower for me. It's due to all the transfer activity being processed.

[QuikSand]

August always runs much slower for me. It's due to all the transfer activity being processed.

Good to know - I hope that's all it is. I may have just not noticed it during the previous August, I guess...

[QuikSand]

August 2005

The Lincoln board are pleased with your performance.

Okay, that’s where we are now – but what if we have a bad month? I don’t feel all that secure.


We complete the free transfer of center defender Giuseppe De Marco, coming over from Italian club Casale. He is not the impact player like the guys we were trying to loan in, but he ought to help out our defensive rotation for now. We also bring in 18 year old midfielder Massimo Serra, just when we need help in the midfield. I’ll try to get him into shape and ready to work, at least as a substitute.


This year, we are placed at 50-1 in the promotion odds – so it seems that we are considered a likely relegation target. We will try to exceed that, of course, and I suspect the 50-1 is too long. The favorites on the oddsmakers tables are Northampton, Bristol Rovers, Rushden, and Oldham.


We get to start our season at home, but against the Northampton side that has been tabbed as promotion favorites. Great. We also will be without top striker Ryan Watson, hobbled by a minor injury this week. So, this doesn’t look too bright. Northampton scores after 11 minutes, and we are in our familiar position trailing early. Against their superior talent, we look clumsy and awkward, and rarely threaten. We get a few shots on goal, but Northampton connects on theirs, and we basically fall out of the match. Northampton 2, Lincoln 0. Not as bad as it seemed at the outset, but not a great start, either.


On the road at Oldham, still without Ryan Watson. Brian Clarke gets us on top after 17 minutes, and we get an unexpected bump early. Early in the second half, they draw even, but even after losing our edge, we play tough, and get away with a point from this tough road matchup. Lincoln 1, Oldham 1. We do lose defender Richard Gethin to broken ribs, and he will miss a few weeks.


Morale, on the whole, is fairly high after that match. Most of our starters are seemingly encouraged by the effort. So, even though we started out the season with two of the top clubs in the league, we made it through in reasonably good shape. With momentum being so important in this game, that’s a good first step.


So, we head back to Sincil Bank, to take on Mansfield. We welcome Ryan Watson back in at striker, and are hopeful for a good showing. Mansfield promoted into the League this year – so they are basically an unknown quantity. They look pretty crisp to me, as they put in a goal past Mike Mitchell after 8 minutes or so. Turns out that’s all the scoring they need – Mansfield looked pretty tough here, and kept us in check all day. Mansfield 2, Lincoln 0.


I call reserve keeper Nicky Phillips up for our next match against Oxford, since both Mitchell and Bates are in terrible spirits. I have never really even considered him much of a prospect, but he will get a look here. We are generally outclassed here – not Phillips’ fault at all, but we’re not in it. Oxford 2, Lincoln 0. A pretty weak start for the season – I fear for the direction of our morale.


Midfielder David Elliott has a serious training injury, and will miss three months. He has essentially become a backbencher for us, so this isn’t tragic, but disappointing nonetheless. I keep thinking I want to rotate him back in for another long look, but can’t bring myself to bench a productive player to do so. Alas.


Well, my plan for this season was to give maximum playing time to my own players. But, given this lousy start, I think we need some help. So, I make a couple of loan offers, and will try to bring aboard someone to help. I feel week on the wings, and we pursue a flexible German midfielder, who looks like he could help. I also pursue a fleet-footed striker, who might help us convert to a more counterattacking style. The side definitely needs a spark – and who knows, we could find a young player getting enamored with our club, and sticking around, like we did with Daniel Wilkinson after last season.


We head into our first League Cup match, traveling to Cheltenham Town, where we face long odds. They get ahead after only 10 minutes, a bad omen. They are a superior club, and it shows here, as they are handling us easily. With a two goal deficit at about 60 minutes, I send in three subs, to get some playing time for younger players. Then, inexplicably, the light goes on. One, two, three goals in eight minutes! Brian Clarke suddenly is unstoppable, and (MOM) Massimo Serra is a huge playmaker, and we put away a thoroughly improbable win in the cup match, on the road. Lincoln 3, Cheltenham 2 – Lincoln advances. Some of our guys get out of the match dead tired – but what a huge effort, when I truly least expected it!

We bring down €30,000 for the cup win – much needed, I might add. That’s just about the best news we could have had – we’re on to the second round. Maybe our Cup performance ought to become a real focus for us? (I usually don’t invest a lot into them, at least while the club is still really developing)


Both of my loan in offers are accepted by the host clubs – now we need these promising young players to accept the assignment.


Well, we get our league Cup second round draw. We will be at home – that’s good news. but we draw Man City. Tough to see that going well. We ought to sell some tickets, though.


Home to Shrewsbury, we are in high spirits, but tired as heck. Regardless, Ryan Watson caps off a nice move after only a few minutes, and we take an early lead. Red-hot Brian Clarke hits another, and we are off and running, it seems. We lead 3-1 in the early second half, and Lee bates stops a PK to keep our edge strong. It ends up a complete track meet, with Ryan Watson bagging a hat trick, and our lads coming off with a much-needed league win. Lincoln 5, Shrewsbury 3. Splendid effort!


German Andreas Muller, regrettably, has no interest in coming to Lincoln on loan. I put in another couple of offers, in anticipation of more good news from our other original target.

Instead, we get a sign of acceptance from young striker John Green, from Millwall. He’s 17, and seems to be quite a finisher – I expect him to have a scorer’s mentality. He also might help us inside on corner kicks, with excellent heading and jumping abilities. A quick-footed finisher – might be a good addition for us, I think. We won’t be paying any salary – just what we need, considering our wage budget issues.

We also pick up Lee Wilson, a 22 year old midfielder from Newcastle. We won’t be paying any of his €26,000 salary – but will get him playing time, probably on the left side of our midfield. I doubt very seriously he’d ever come aboard for the long term, but he might well help us right now. A good passer, playmaker, and all-around player – he could make a real difference for us, I think (and hope).


John Green expresses his interest in first team football. Great. No word about looking at the Lincoln real estate market or anything, but we’re glad he is enthused.

I am then surprised to hear that Samuel Radebe has been granted a work permit for a move to Lincoln. He’s an 18 year old striker from South Africa, who is signed with Oldham. Not quite the skills that we see in Green, but a promising guy, regardless. Assuming this works out, he ought to bolster our attack nicely, too.


We head to Cambridge, where we face a top-tier club. They have been red hot, and have moved up to 5th place on the league table. They send in a long pass to set up a nifty goal at 28 minutes – this is a good team we are facing here. But we score at 67 minutes, and then again at 83 minutes, and surprisingly pull ahead. They even push the keeper forward in the final throes, but we manage to hold on – and the best team lost at home here, I think. Lincoln 2, Cambridge 1. A quick look at John Green made him look like a blur – after being subbed in late against a tired field. We’ll see how that unfolds.


David Radebe offically joins up, and suddenly our roster looks a lot deeper. Now, I want to cycle in a few faces who have not benefitted from the huge morale boost we are riding. And so, what started out as a frustrating month seems to have taken a turn for the better, and we are looking sharp right now, and rising out of the league basement.

[Desnudo]

Good to know - I hope that's all it is. I may have just not noticed it during the previous August, I guess...

January, especially the end of it, can be slow for the same reason. Although not as slow as August, at least for me.

[QuikSand]

Now that I'm into September, thigns do seem to have picked up. Thanks -- I'm at least a bit less worried now.

[QuikSand]

September 2005

The Lincoln board are pleased with your performance.

Where we started last month – but that hardly tells the story of the last 30 days.


Daniel Wilkinson was 3rd on the list for League Two young player of the month for August – not bad. His average match rating is 7.71 after seven appearances – that’s certainly helping things for us.


Now, we are at home to Bristol Rovers – and would love to continue our hot streak against yet another top opponent. I have new midfielder Lee Wilson starting on our left side, and we will watch his effort. Wilson is unhappy – we hope that getting him on the pitch will help remedy that. Ryan Watson puts us ahead early in the second half, but they draw even after ten minutes or so, and it’s all square again. In injury time, though, Stéphane Anelka receives a great setup pass from Brian Clarke, and he puts it in for the dramatic clinching score! Lincoln 2, Bristol 1. Very nice rescue for the win, and we maintain our hot streak.

Striker John Green, it seems, is going to make an impact on this team. After two sub appearances, it’s clear – he stands out quite a lot on this side. He is rather fast, and he has a tendency to just fly toward the goal when he gets the ball – it’s quite remarkable from the overhead view, as he is fast but not all that good at dribbling. He ends up resembling a flash of lightning striking at the goal – jagged lines all the way. It’s as though he’s running downhill, out of control – sort of interesting to have on our side, I guess. Brian Clarke needs a rest, and Green will get a good look in the starting lineup.


We travel to Leyton orient, to face a decent club. Lee Phillips is back in our lineup, after a long injury absence, which is good. A mixup right in front of our goal yields them a goal, and we trail early. Adam Walton gets a shot to tie to with a PK, but he sends it high, and we blow a chance. Ryan Watson strikes in the second half, a beautiful goal, and we do make it even. We settle for the draw, even though our tired guys were the ones making advances late in the match. Lincoln 1, Leyton Orient 1.


Now, we must prepare for our League Cup match, home to Man City. I see this as an impossible task, taking on a Premiership club. So, I go with a mixed bag lineup, to get some playing time for my rotation players. In 15 minutes, they are on top of us by two goals, and I don’t like the feel of this one at all. Drawing a top club like this is just brutal, and it shows. Man City 4, Lincoln 0. Hopefully, this will be set aside in favor of our solid run within the league.


We are home to Chester, and eager to prove that we are still on track. After only four minutes, John Green breaks free for his first Lincoln tally, and we get our early edge. He misses a shot at 30 minutes, but gets a pass in to him at 39, and he scores again. And just before the half, green finishes the hat trick, as we secure a dominating position. Green finds the net once more in the early second half, as he becomes a one man gang out there, leading our lads to a great triumph. Lincoln 4, Chester 1.


In the LDV Vans Trophy, we travel to face Morecambe from the Conference. I decide to use our “second string” lineup, as most of our starters from the Chester match remain fairly winded. We put off several advances in the early going, and then take the lead when Lee Wilson strikes on a PK. However, Morecambe are very inspired here, and they get two second half goals to take the lead. I sub in a couple better attackers, but they have control of the match, and go on to take it easily. Morecambe 3, Lincoln 1 – Lincoln eliminated. Seems we went too far in using reserve players here – we looked terrible.


I decide to release a statement in praise of defender Steve Vaughan’s recent efforts. He seems to be our most reliable central defender, and I want to buck up his confidence. The fans and press support my praise.
Right now, newcomer Giuseppe De Marco seems to be our regular starter alongside him, and De Marco’s hustle is also impressive – he seems to always be running after “loose” balls, and contesting aggressively.

[QuikSand]

October 2005

The board is pleased with me, and after a nice rune, here’s a look at the league table:

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1st | | Rushden | | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 5 | +11 | 20 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2nd | | Chesterfield | | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 8 | +10 | 20 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 3rd | | Grimsby | | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 17 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 4th | | Wrexham | | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 11 | +9 | 16 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 5th | | Mansfield | | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 14 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 6th | | Bristol Rovers | | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 14 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 7th | | Rochdale | | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 12 | +3 | 14 |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 8th | | Lincoln | | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 14 |
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| 9th | | Yeovil | | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 13 | -1 | 14 |
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| 10th | | Northampton | | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 13 |
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| 11th | | Scunthorpe | | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 13 |
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| 12th | | Wycombe | | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
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| 13th | | Bradford City | | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 13 |
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| 14th | | Cambridge | | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 12 |
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| 15th | | Leyton Orient | | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 12 |
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| 16th | | Oldham | | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 12 |
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| 17th | | Kidderminster | | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 11 |
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| 18th | | Southend | | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 11 |
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| 19th | | Oxford | | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 10 |
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| 20th | | Shrewsbury | | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 16 | -2 | 8 |
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| 21st | | Darlington | | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 7 |
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| 22nd | | Halifax | | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 7 |
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| 23rd | | Chester | | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 6 |
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| 24th | | York | | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 18 | -13 | 4 |
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We play host to Bradford City, who get in a quirky goal early on, and they build up an advantage. Both their goals are rather odd (second is a corner kick that goes in off two ricochets), and they pack into a totally defensive setup, and manage to fend us off the rest of the way. We have been outplayed before, and this didn’t feel that way. Bradford 2, Lincoln 0. Disappointing, as we had been zipping along in the league matches.


We hit the road to take on Scunthorpe, and don our “alternate” yellow kit. Michael Morley scores on a 25 yard free kick, and we gain the early edge. Morley ends up with at leas five shots in the first half, but we can’t get in for a second score. At 84 minutes, Ryan Watson breaks his long silence, and nails one home to seal the win. Lincoln 2, Scunthorpe 0. Our chairman is delighted.


Our next task is tough – we travel to league leading Rushden. I decide to go with a fresh roster or mostly reserves – I expect we’ll get creamed here, and don’t want to lose our momentum. However, we manage to score early, off Luke Eaton, to take the early edge – what a surprise! But at 36 minutes, they finally draw even with a nice goal off a rebound chance. They get one more in the second half, and get away with the win, but it wasn’t the blowout we had feared by any means. Rushden 2, Lincoln 1. Our second string all get solid ratings for the match, and it’s a victory of sorts.


Our first team is fresh, and ready for our hosting Rochdale. However, they post a bizarre goal after 14 minutes, and we are on our heels. But in twenty minutes, we have a 4-1 lead, with a quick blaze of nice goals, two each from Ryan Watson and Brian Clarke. Our defense isn’t at its best, but we drag away a nice win at home. Lincoln 4, Rochdale 2.


A press campaign is building against Lincoln City’s Lee Phillips based on the notion that he is too old to be playing football at this level.

At 34 years old, there’s some truth to this, but he does remain effective for us. No worries here. I make it known I am pleased with his efforts, in an effort to keep him happy.