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Old 06-07-2018, 10:53 AM   #7
Greyfriars Bobby
College Prospect
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
18 May 2014

We did it!!!

I started to let myself believe a little bit when we saw off Brimscombe & Thrupp, who were second in the league, in mid-March. The fact that their name sounds like it would better fit a haberdashery or a brand of tea doesn't take away from the fact they're a very good side.

However, we lost Ashley Lane to a tweaked hamstring in our next match, so my optimism was still very guarded...especially with promotion candidates Highworth next on the programme. I decided to move Paul Douglas into the midfield to fill Ashley's Advanced Playmaker role, and gave young Mick Hart a chance to show me if he was ready for the Hellenic Premier.

Mick's ready. He scored in our 2-1 victory at Highworth and again in our 3-0 dismantling of Ascot at Alfredian Park. He didn't score against Abingdon Town, but his pace gave the Abbots fits.

That victory put us in an interesting spot. We were tied with Bracknell at the top of the league. And, since their club's name begins with a B and ours with a W, they were listed in first place, even though our goal differential was significantly better! And, since only the champion is promoted from the Hellenic League, the Alfredians were going to get hosed if the season ended like this.

I went into the editor and fixed the issue, but apparently the fix didn't "take." Maybe it can't be applied to a game in progress.

Fortunately, the lads took care of business, and the problem became meaningless. Right winger Dominic Todd's brace gave us a result over Bracknell. We drew with Ardley, but we still held our fate in our own hands. A win or a draw at home to Oxford Nomads, and we'd lift the trophy.

Our captain, Andy Williams, had the kind of day young boys dream of when they're playing football in the street. He scored two goals against Nomads, and then he got to lift the Hellenic League Premier Division trophy!



I hope we're out of the County Leagues for good now. If the Alfredians are relegated back down, I'll resign; I might have done so anyway, but now it's a guarantee.

Anyway, it's not time to think about that now. I haven't won many trophies in Football Manager, and the way we charged up the table makes this one feel especially good.



As you can see, we didn't back into our title. In our last eight matches, we faced the five teams that finished 2-6 in the table. Against them, we won three and drew two. We outscored them 11-6 on aggregate. We played like champions over the last weeks of the season.
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