Harold Wood Athletic The Wood
The club was founded in 1908, and in this universe have largely been a midtier squad in the
Essex Olympian Football League. But last season, they finished in 2nd place, before their manager took a job at another amateur club.
Harold Wood itself is a suburb of northeast London of just over 12,000 people - so quite small, despite its proximity to the larger city. The town got its name from Harold Godwinson, who got his ass kicked in 1066 by William, and many of the original roads are named after great Anglo-Saxon kings.
As for Harold Wood itself beyond that nifty history note... it's a town where there's not much. No formal shopping district (or High Street) as such. Pretty much the train station and that's it.
Actually... that's really, really boring. I'm going to quit. I need something more interesting than that.
The media is flabbergasted that I quit after two days, but I did leave the Wood in a much better spot - I fired their shit staff and put out job offers for a fantastic assistant manager, chief scout, and coach.
Happily another job opened up with awesome logo and team name that's quite unique, in a much better town both in terms of visual appeal and actually having a High Street.
Cuckfield Town White Bellies
What a great logo and team name! The town itself is roughly 3,500 people, so quite small. But its High Street has among other things, a tea house and Thai and Indian eateries - quite an unexpected variety of food for such a small place. The village itself is a charming, pretty place, and I'm excited to note that there's archery classes and stuff, too. Also a golf course here, which looks pretty from pictures.
The White Bellies started off in the Mid Sussex Championship in this universe, relegated after two years, spent three seasons in Mid Sussex Division One before going back up, and spent just one year in the Mid Sussex Championship - by taking 2nd and promoting to the Mid Sussex Premier League, where the board is expecting a 3rd place finish.
Friendly season's already started, and they drew 1-1. I *just* get my staff all signed in time for the second friendly - well except the physio that I forgot I need. Thanks to Cuckfield's rapid rise, I was able to attract top-flight talent, and we're 2* or better in all training categories.
Including stealing one of the guys I originally offered at Harold Wood.
There's no one capable of playing DR on this squad right now, so that's priority #1
[b]@ VCD (Friendly)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Matt Jackson
DC Bradley Williams/Tom Burgin
DM Tim Johnson-Cole
ML Wes Henderson
MC Josh Treadwell
MR Elliot Green
AMC Luke Gibbs
ST Kevin Brees/Simon Shenton
We're not expected to have any chance against a semi-pro team - less so when
Wes Henderson goes out with injury and our setup gets *really* wonky. But
Kevin Brees makes a couple clutch goals and we claw back from 0-2 to salvage a 2-2 draw. He nets an 8.9 and
Luke Gibbs gets a 9.0 and PotM.
Transfer In - DL/WBL Joe O'Donoghue (27) (From Winchester)
Despite his struggles in recent years with Winchester, this Leyton Orient product looks very strong for our level - 12 Long Throws, 14 Bravery, 10 Composure, 10 Concentration, 10 Decisions, and 19 Teamwork! :o His one flaw is that he's kinda mediocre physically, but I'm okay with that. He's a major upgrade at the left side IMO, even though he's only considered good at the next level up.
Mid Sussex Premier Promotion Odds
Alliance: 4-5
Ifield Galaxy: 2-1
Cuckfield Town: 8-1
Yeah, 3rd.
Transfer In DR/WBR Kenny Potter (20)
Free agent with solid mental attributes, including 11 Bravery, and 11 Acceleration on the physical side. My staff absolutely loves him. Better still, he fills in a critical spot at the DR - namely, giving us someone who can actually play there.
@ Sidlesham (Friendly)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Joe O'Donoghue
DC Bradley Williams/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
DM Tim Johnson-Cole
MC Josh Treadwell/Elliott Green
AMC Luke Gibbs
ST Kevin Brees/Simon Shenton
4 -
Green to
Brees for the gorgeous ball forward for
Gibbs. Three defenders in the area, but he calmly sets up his shot before rifling it in!
1-0
38 -
Johnson-Cole with the short pass to
Green and on to
Gibbs. Lovely box ball for
Brees, who dribbles three steps and slams it in!
2-0
75 - My fault for not going defensive soon enough.
2-1
Luke Gibbs quickly showing why he's a fan favorite - 9.0 rating and his second straight PotM award. True, it's only a friendly season, but still.
Transfer In - DM/DC/MC Graham Stewart (22) (Free Agent)
11 Teamwork, Work Rate, and Stamina; and 13 Decisions. Pretty raw technically, but he's going to get a long look as our new DM. A full-time starter ever since he broke in with
Bowers, a semi-pro outfit in the Essex Senior League.
Transfer In - DC/DM/MC Jamie Diaper (16) (Transfer From Horsham)
We convince a Isthmian D1 team to part with one of its youth prospects, and I'm pretty excited about him and his potential. 11 Tackling, 10 Decisions, 11 Flair, 14 Teamwork, 13 Balance. Hate his lack of composure, so he's not going to play DC. Instead, I'll have him as the new DM, and make
Graham Stewart a CM.
Another friendly to go, but I'll take a break here. Slowly working on getting this team together, though it turns out I'm working on building the defense up first. Which is fine. After the aggravation I had with some clubs in this universe (esp.
Porthleven) that's a good thing.