Racing 9 Levels To The Top - A FM10 Dynasty

[SirFozzie]

This is not going to be a game by game report, more of an update when I feel like it dynasty (monthly, or every other month in game) I downloaded a XML league file that is accurate down to Level 10. That's right.. Here's the League Pyramid:

1. EPL
2. Championship
3. League One
4. League Two
5. Conference National
6. Conference North/South (2 Leagues Feed up)
7. 3 Leagues (Northern, Southern, Isthmian Premier Leagues)
8. 6 Leagues (Division One North and SOuth for the three Leagues above)
9. 14 Leagues. (I'm not going through the list, sorry :P )
10. 16 Leagues <--- This is where I will start.

The club I will be playing as is Racing Club Warwick FC. They are so named, because they are near the Warwick Racecourse.

They have never played in the first round of the FA Cup (Their best effort is the 3rd Qualifying round in 1987/88).. They've done slightly better in the FA Trophy (2nd round in 1998/1999). They have advanced to the fourth round of the FA Vase (which is the top trophy for amateur teams in England), in 1977-78.

Our ground, the Townsend Meadow, can have a whopping 1280. That's about how many people can stand around the pitch.

The club is amateur, which means all my players are free.

Here's the ground, if you want to see how bad it is:

Racing Club Warwick: Townsend Meadow


We play in the following leagues (with the following goals, set by the "board")

The Midlands Football Combination Premier Division: Our step 10 league. We have a good team for this level, and the chairman expects that we can win, and gain promotion. (22 teams, 42 games)

The FA Cup: The main knockout competition. The chairman hopes we can reach the 2nd qualifying round. (I think we get drawn in either the first or second qualifying round).

FA Vase: The trophy for amateur teams. They are hoping we can get to the second round.

Birmingham County FA Senior Challenge Cup: A tournament for local teams. They are hoping we make the second round

Birmingham County FA Midweek Floodlit Challenge Cup: A tournament for smaller local teams. They want us to win that.

That's going to be a LOT of games.

More shortly.

[Izulde]

I love Warwick Castle, so this is awesome.

And the 10 league setup is even more awesome. Where did you find it?

[bulletsponge]

wow, thats a loooonnnnggg way to go

[SirFozzie]

Sports Interactive Community is the XML file. It replaces the existing england league, with one accurate teamwise alllll the way down

[BYU 14]

This is awesome, I can play Cambridge City again!!!

Will be pulling for you Foz

[BYU 14]

You Stadium looks like an Old Race track

[SirFozzie]

Here's our breakdown of squad at this point. In the interests of time and space, I'll just give their age and my Assistant Manger's review (compared to the league we're in):

GK
Tom Farmer (22) (Current 2.5 Stars/Potential 2.5 Stars)
Nathan Atkins (27) (2.5/2.5)
Phillip Warner (16) (1.5/4.0)

Farmer and Atkins are both fighting it out for the #1 spot as we enter the friendlies, but they're looking over their shoulders at the young teenager Warner. In our first four friendlies, Farmer and Atkins have started once each, and Warner twice, but Farmer may have the inside track, he's the only one who's played (either as a starter or as a sub) in all four friendlies.

Defenders

Mark Clegg (24) (D/WB R) (5.0/5.0)
James Leech (26) (D R) (2.5/2.5)
Steve Fox (26) (D RL) (2.5/2.5)
Mark New (27) (D L)(5.0/5.0)
Tom Milligan (27) (D L) (4.5/4.5)
Michael Brown (16) (D LC) (2.5/2,5)
Jamie Berry (28) (D LC) (2.0/2.0)
Richard Burt (27) (D LC) (3.0/3.0)
Paul Gooding (26) (D RC) (2.5/2.5)
Paul Upson (23) (D C) (2.0/2.0)


Pretty solid for a backline at this level. My Asst Manager suggests a flat back four of New-Burt-Brown-Clegg (left to right), and that's probably our best option. I'll have to look to see if there's any players slightly better then Brown, who's judged the weaker of our starting D C's.

Leech gets the worst temperment rating I've ever seen from my AM.. he's rated as a "spineless" personality, meaning he gets walked over by all and sundry. I really hope we don't have to rely on him (meaning Clegg got injured), not only is he not really well rated, well.. I prefer my decisive players in defense..

[SirFozzie]

Midfielders

Lee O'Donnell (29) (DM/M C) (3.0/3.0)
Richard Boateng (24) (M R) (3.5/3.5)
Mark Currie (26) (M L) (3.5/3.5)
Ian Steer (27) (M C) (1.5/1.5)
Phillip Rimmer (26) (M L/C) (1.5/1.5)
Tony Perry (26) (M L/C) (1.5/1.5)
John Barron (16) (DM M C) (0.5/1.5)
Richard Hyde (22) (AM R) (2.5/2.5)
Darren Donnelly (16) (AM L) (0.5/0.5)
Anthony Hart (25) (AM C) (1.5/1.5)


Ugh. Weakness has to be considered here. Some decent players, but noone who can lock things down like New/Clegg/Milligan. I'll be casting around the local lads and see if I can find any one to give me a spark.

Right now, I'm playing four in midfield, a DMC tending to the right side of center, a MC tending to the left side of center, and two Attacking Midfielders (Right and Left). The Midfield players are to get the ball forward and hope.

The Asst Manager's suggested four: DMC-O'Donell, MC-Steer, AMR-Hyde, AML-Currie)

Attackers

Craig Towler (22) (3.0/3.0)
Phillip Rothwell (27) (1.5/1.5)
Danny Towers (22) (2.5/2.5)
Ryan Faulkner (16) (2.0/2.0)

Again, not the greatest, and short handed to boot. Towers is a decent second striker, but he'll be a withdrawn striker.. he doesn't have the pace that Towler has, which is going to be necessary. With our finishing, anything outside a goal mouth scramble could be iffy.

So our front two are Towler and Towers. And I'll be hanging out at the local park asking goal scorers.. "Hey, ever thought about playing football in the non-league system?"

[SirFozzie]

First two weeks in charge see four friendlies played, as I try to get an idea of what we can do.

First is the obligatory "First Squad v Reserves" game.. it looks like the game's going to peter out into an embarassing 1-1 draw (at least from the starter's side), but a late goal from teenager Ryan Faulkner (88th Minute) saves the blushes of the first team, and they win 2-1.

Our next game is at home, against Midlands Football Alliance side (a Level 9 league) Alvechurch. It's good that we don't give up a goal against a higher level side. However, that's because I think the two teams have invented a cure for insomnia, as a total of nine shots are taken by the two teams, four of them blocked, and neither goalie had to make a save. It's a 0-0 draw, and I'm reminded rudely of the level of low level play. No one can shoot worth crap

Our next game is against another Level 9 team, Daventry (From the United Counties League), and we do score a 7th minute goal from Craig Towler, and make it stand up, 1-0. Be prepared folks for a lot of 0's and 1's.

Our final game in the first two weeks is a game against the Glenn Hoddle Academy, a touring team created by the former England Manager to give likely kids who've been released by league teams a chance to stay fit and hopefully attract scouts.

We give up a goal (a sixth minute penalty scored by Michael Noone.. (that's his actual name folks!), but in stoppage time, Towler scores an equalizer, and it ends 1-1.

Ah, non-league football. Attendance at the three games "open to the public".. 10, 14, 23

Then I look at the rest of the preseason schedule..

I resist the urge to ask "Who's the bloody moron who set up this schedule" out loud only because I'm not 100% sure that the chairman wouldn't overhear me. In the next 12 days, we play five more times, four on the road. Hope the lads can take time off from their real jobs...

[SirFozzie]

One in, One out.

I managed to sign Tommy Noble, a 32 year old striker to a contract. He's about as good a finisher as you're going to get (10 finishing), but is slow (6 Pace), but I have a feeling he'll be my "Target Man".. He has decent stats, and good natural fitness.. with 50 or so games facing us, that's going to be necessary.

The one out.. unfortunately, is my Assistant Manager Mark Shackleton. It had been rumored he interviewed for the Wessex League Premier Divsion Team New Milton Town, (A L9 team).. and I couldn't really blame him.. It's the next step up on the pyramid, and a manager's job..

Our fans were reportedly furious about Shackleton's disloyalty and wanted me to fire him before he took the job. This, of course, made me say "Wait.. we have fans?" Then I wished Shackleton well, and told him I hoped to be managing at the same level as him next year.

[SirFozzie]

We are able to find a replacement for Shackleton in 30 year old Darren Abbot. He's rather decent for a staff member at this level (Attacking 10, Man Management 14, Tactical 12, Working With Youngsters 13, Adaptability 11, Judging Player Ability 10, Judging Player Potential 10).. so I don't expect that I'll get to keep him too long :P

[SirFozzie]

We are in the first qualifying round for the FA Cup. We don't get a kind draw, we will be facing Ely City, from the Eastern Counties League Premier Division (yes, another L9 squad), and worse yet, it's at their place.

We're finished with our preseason friendlies, winning three of our five remaining games,and we even score twice in one of them, a 2-0 win away at Level 9 (Hellenic Premier League) Ardley United.

So now we have 10 days off for everyone to catch up on work and stuff, then.. the season begins!

[SirFozzie]

August 2009:

We start the year off traveling to the King George V Playing Grounds to take on Pershore Town, who have their Assistant Manager coaching the team, as the former manager took another job elsewhere.

We're expected to cruse, and we do. Noble breaks an offside trap to go one on one with the keeper and slots it into the net in the 19th minute, and defender Richard Burt manages to scramble one in during a 2nd half goal mouth scramble that looked like something you see at a U-9 game, where there's one giant creature with 20 legs and 20 arms screaming and kicking at the ball.. but it doesn't have to be pretty at this level.

The defense does their job, blocking all but one of the four shots that Pershore attempted, and we'll take the win.

Pershore 0-2 RC Warwick (Noble 19, Burt 55), Att:201

[SirFozzie]

We actually had to start Warner at goal, Atkins picked up a gash to his head that's slow to heal, so the 16 year old played.. but really anyone could have played in that first game. Our FA Cup 1st Qualifying round match against Ely is next, and I'm really hesitant to throw the teenager to the wolves, but my new Assistant Manager convinces me that this will help the lad grow as a footballer.

I'm just hoping that it doesn't crush him.

[SirFozzie]

1st Qualifying Round @ Ely United

Well, we do control the early part of possession, which makes the waiting to see how Warner would do even harder, but in the 8th minute, they break, and shoot from a wicked angle, but Warner gets his hands up (it was either that or let the ball take his head off, it was hit so hard), and deflects the ball over the bar.

Whew!

Our main avenue of attack gets stunted when a challenge by an Ely player leaves Noble out and in serious pain. Needless to say, with him out, goals are hard to come by. We actually do win the battle of possession, however, but without goals, the only thing settled is that nothing is settled, a nil-nil draw.. and we'll do this all again in a bit, this time at our place.

Ely United 0-0 RC Warwick (Att:146)

[DataKing]

Good stuff Fozz...I'm enjoying the humor. "one giant create with 20 legs and 20 arms"....awesome! I'll be reading.

[SirFozzie]

It's only a twisted knee on Noble, but he'll be out a month. Could be worse I guess.

At this point, we're TIRED of trips on buses and cars, our last six games (between friendlies, cup and league games) have all been road games. We'll add a seventh to that list, as we take on Southam United. At least we are again strong favorites. Farmer gets the start over Warner in net, don't want the kid to get a big head.

I know it's going to be a long day in the first minute when Rothwell is just inside the six yard box.. and puts it wide. Oh dear. I see it's time for other training methods. Something about lining them in front of the broad side of a barn comes to mind.

We do give up a penalty on a questionable call against Clegg (but has their ever been a penalty given against you that WASN'T a questionable call? ), but the Southam United PK taker puts it into the neighboring pasture, and it's 0-0 at the break.

We do give up a second half goal, and fall 1-0. With Noble out, we don't have any spark from Midfield, and no ignition from the strikers. If we were a car, I'd recommend junking the engine and starting over.

But let's see if I can find some replacement parts instead.

Southam United 1-0 RC Warwick (Att:191)

More tonight.

[Passacaglia]

Awesome thread. Hopefully you get promoted soon so you can stick it to Shackleton.

[bulletsponge]

good read

[Izulde]

Damn you, Fozzie. Because of this dynasty, I finally broke down and bought FM10 rather than waiting like I'd planned.

[SirFozzie]

Mwahahahaha! More coming tonight.

[SirFozzie]

We manage to find a couple players, but we won't get their regestrations sorted out in time for our first home game of the year, playing Cadbury Athletic. Noble is still out, so despite being prohibitive favorites, I'm not feeling good about the ability to score tonight.

Sadly, my first thought was the right one. We dominate possession, accumulating 60% of the possession, and restrict the visitors to one shot on target.

That one didn't go in.

However, none of our 10 shots (2 on target) went in either. Another 0-0 draw, a point gained, and more frustration.

Hopefully our new signings will change that...

RC Warwick 0-0 Cadbury Athletic (Att:107)

[SirFozzie]

We get drawn into the firstqualifying round of the FA Vase (The top amateur knockout tournament in all of England), and we get two bits of good news. We'll be playing fellow L10 team Penn & Tylers Green, and we'll be doing it at home.

Finally, the stitches on Atkins's head have healed, and he rejoins the team.

We have two new signings:

D C Aaron Robinson (20) - I found him playing for Northern Ireland lower division side Shankhill, and reviewed him. He looked twice the player of our existing defenders, and I'll be very glad to bolster a weak area of our team. He's ranked as a full 5.0/5.0 by my Asst Manager

ST Chris Sheridan (29) Also playing for Shankhill when I found him. He's.. well, a mite bit flaky, but he can score well.. or more accurately, score well for this level, has a real flair for the game (17 in Flair).. Hopefully he can wake up our offense. He's also rated fully, and him and Noble (when fit) will wake up our offense, which is approaching vegetative coma state at this point.

[SirFozzie]

All during the few hours of practice we have between the Cadbury game, and the FA Cup replay, we have penalty kicks.. with our defense so strong, and our offense so anemic, we are likely to be wanting to make sure we have PK's drilled..

The replay at home against Ely is a nailbiter. Both teams know a single goal is enough to go through, most likely, and there are opportunities. Sheridan gets one on one in the 65th minute with the keeper, but puts it wide. Later, Towers puts one from outside the 18 off the crossbar.

While we have the majority of possession, Ely do have one good opportunity, but their shot also finds the woodwork, and 90 minutes again are not enough to settle it, so we'll play 30 minutes of extra time.

We have a sure chance taken away from us in the first half of extra time when Sheridan is held back from running on to a free ball (it was the last man too, so it would have been "Denial of a Goal-Scoring Opportunity", and thus a red card.. so we are only fifteen minutes away from PK's at this point.

113th minute, a pass finds Hyde running onto the ball unmarked from the corner of the 18, as we catch a tired Ely team in an overshift.. but his shot is on frame, but the goalie punches it over. That was a real chance.

That's the last major action of the game. So we're going to settle it with the Russian Roulette Lottery of Penalty Kicks. If I had any substitutions left, I would have taken Warner out.. a 16 year old goalie is not quite fit for the battle of nerves that are PK's.

O'Donnell is up first for us. GOAL! Top corner. That's how you're supposed to do it. (1-0)

David Welch will be the first to shoot for Ely. He steps up.. WIDE AND HIGH. Horrible attempt! (1-0)

Currie is up next for us.. Through the rain, I watch him as he prepares. All during practice, he showed he was the best taker of penalties we had (14 at PK's).. and he puts it low to the right, and right in the corner. (2-0)

Clarke will take the 2nd PK for Ely.. and Warner sticks his ground, but Clarke puts it low to the right and in. (2-1)

Clegg is up next, he had a solid game in defense.. his nerve holds, (a replay of Clarke's shot), and we're 3 for 3 so far (3-1)

Stowell up for Ely.. Warner guesses right, but can't get there in time, and it's still fairly in the balance (3-2)

Towler will take our fourth PK. He came on after the 90 was complete, had a solid if not spectacular game.. he miskicks it a bit.. if the goalie had gone the right way, it would have been saved, but he didn't, so we've got three chances to win, entering the final three kicks. (4-2)

Morris must score to extend this to the final round.. pressure? You wouldn't know it. Upper 90.. straight down the middle, Thank You Very much! (4-3)

Richard Burt has the chance to be a hero for Warwick. The goalie guesses left.. he shoots left... and the ball SQUIRTS UNDERNEATH THE DIVING KEEPER AND IN! (5-3)

Warwick wins, 5-3 on PK's. I make sure to congratulate the lads on the PK's. You don't see many top level teams who can keep their nerve for five rounds of penalties, and they've done well. We're through to the next round!

RC Warwick 0-0 Ely (Warwick wins 5-3 on PK's) Att:178

PK's: Warwick: O'Donnell O Currie O, Clegg O, Towler O, Burt O. Ely: Welch X, Clarke O, Stowell O, Morris O

[SirFozzie]

Faulkner, a second half sub for us, is the youngest player (16 years and 54 days) ever to play for RC Warwick.. Unfortunately, we lose one player after the game, as Jamie Berry comes to me looking for more playing time, and with the new signings, I can't offer him that, and offer to terminate his registration with us so he can find a new team.

He accepts, and we work out the details.

[SirFozzie]

We don't have much time to rest on our laurels. Our FA Cup second qualifying round game is a couple days is against Lingfield (another L10 team), and we'll play at home. I just hope we score.

[SirFozzie]

With Noble out, we try Faulkner at the 2nd striker position along with Sheridan. Can't hurt.. it gives the kid some good playing time.

The first half is rather drab (gee, big shock, huh?). Our lack of a target man hurts.. we're having plenty of possession, but all of it is passing the ball about back and forth. Which is nice, when you're up a goal, and can shout things like "Ole!" each time you keep the ball away from the opposition. When you're tied, it looks like you have no clue on what to do with the ball.

Which is an accurate summation, when you come to think about it.

Both teams come in for the halftime break, and I think about throwing the halftime oranges at the players, promise to do vile things to them at practice if they don't score a bloody freaking goal or two.. or even just breaking down and crying. All seem like really good ides.. but I decide none of it's needed.

"Look, this team is too talented to be kept off the board forever. Just play your game, and the chances will come, and so will the goals. Just believe in yourself, make the right pass, and it will come, trust me lads. If you play your game right in the second half, we will come back into this change room at the fulltime whistle winners."

As the team troops back out to play the second half, I pull my assistant manager aside. "Think they bought it?"

"Yah.. but I'd start thinking of when they're going to want to schedule the replay.. just in case..' was his laconic reply.

Actually, the team does look a bit more focused in the second half. We break out into an attack in the first minute of the second half, Lingfield clears, but we intercept, and knock it out wide.

Then Currie gets the ball and space and cuts inward to the net. It's like a traffic accident. I can't bear to watch. I start laying mental odds on where he's going to miss it. I take a split second to decide the most likely odds have to be wide of the far post.

But he shoots it towards the near post.

Apparently the goalie and I are on the same wavelength, and neither of us should be queueing up to put a tenner down at the bookie's, as the goalie freezes, and the ball squirts into the net.

Everyone freezes for a half second. We all know footballers have their preferred goal celebrations mapped out, just in case.. but it had been so long since we scored that no one really knew what they were going to do.. so they settled for swarming Currie and mussing his hair up a bit.

ANd while we don't score again, we have several more good chances, and we manage to advance to the Third Qualifying Round with the 1-0 win.

Which is really good.. since I think my next motivational tool would have had to involve some kind of tazer.

RC Warwick 1-0 Lingfield (Currie 46): Att:174

[kobe360x]

really enjoying this

[SirFozzie]

The win over Linfield is the last game we play in August.

We're going to have some AWFUL fixture congestion going forward..we haven't played a league game since the 22nd of August, but our next game is the FA Vase Qualifying 1st round matchup against Penn & Tylers Green, at our home.

This is a game we really ought to be winning.. and we have 65% of the possession in the first half. But a couple shots go awry, and I fully expect that I'll be racking my brains for a "why won't you score?" speech at halftime, but a free kick byTowers finds Aaron Robinson just inside the penalty spot, and his header trickles in to the corner of the net, and we take a 1-0 lead at halftime.

I fully expect that Penn will be coming forward in an attempt to find an equalizer, and they do take it up a gear, but compared to their previous efforts, it's not THAT much more threatening. Our defense holds firm, and the victory is enough to get us to the next round of the FA Vase

RC Warwick 1-0 Penn & Tylers Green (Robinson 41). Att:107

[SirFozzie]

We'll be very familiar with our next opponents by the time the next two games are complete.. For our regional tournament (The Birmingham FA Senior Challenge Cup) We get drawn against a team two levels higher then us, Sutton Coldfield. That, coincidentally, are the team who we will also play in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup.

[SirFozzie]

We do have a barely fit Tommy Noble, and my assistant manger suggests playing him as a starter despite the fact he's not near game shape yet (80%). I don't know what this says about my reserves. Actually, I do. I'm just hoping that the pairing with Sheridan helps.

We are 20-1 underdogs against the team from the Southern League Division One (Midlands).. and the local paper seems to think that Sutton Coldfield will be able to name a number against us, and then score that many.

I doubt that for two reasons. One) Our defense is pretty solid, so we'll be decent.. and Two) Well.. to be honest, their strikers can't be that good to get that many shots on net, right?

We come out, and press the attack. It's a windy, gusty day, and the two teams get a quick lesson in what the wind can do.. but it's to our surprise benefit, as a mishit header from Sheridan that would normally land about the six yard box sailed.. and sailed and sailed.. the Sutton goalie backpedaled and tried to punch it over, but it just maybe brushed his fingers and dropped into the net!

Through a freakish goal, we were 1-0 up in the fifth minute!

Well, that was too good to be true.. and a rare goof up from our teenage netminder in Warner means that lead doesn't last past the 21st minute, as a free kick meant to be a cross saw him take a couple steps to just outside his six yard box, and then realize to his horror, that the wind had swung the ball INWARDS.. rather then back pedal to try to knock it outside, he judged that the best way to deal with it was to leap as high as he could, and go for the punch.

He didn't get there. Not even close, really. The ball was a good foot or so above his hand, dipped, and ticked the under side of the cross bar, and ricocheted downwards, but over the goaline. 1-1.

That was the score at halftime, and I saw a bit of frustration from the Sutton players.. they had come into the game expecting an easy run out and a laugher.. instead we were giving them all they could handle!

The second half was tense, back and forth.. Noble couldn't make it to the 90 minute mark, but a 60 minute run out wasn't so bad.. as the game goes longer and longer, we have more of the possession, but their goalie plays a really good game (five saves), and we hit the 90 minute mark.

I send my last two subs before extra time begins.. in an attempt to get some fresh legs out there that might net me a winner..

Unfortunately, Sutton has decided already that they are going to play for the lottery, and bunkers in.. we have one good shot when Clegg one times a punch from the Sutton goalie that went right to him.. but it would end up in Row Z.. well.. if we had a row Z. Instead it was just really really high over the net.

So, it would be penalties. At this point, I'm not really sure we WANT to win this PK shootout, we've given a good account of ourselves, it's a minor regional cup, and we play the same team in three days in the FA Cup.. not to mention the fixture congestion we're going to be facing (we've only played three games in the league, all the other teams have played four or five already!).. Then I decide that yeah, I want to win.. they played hard for 120 minutes, and it'd be a nice scalp to have.

So, we send out our top PK squad. Warner is getting used to these shootout situations, so we just tell him to relax and do what he can...

Halsall will shoot first for them... bang.. top corner.. perfect shot. (0-1)

Clegg, who took a slight knock in extra time, will shoot first for us.. and apparently his leg injury bothers him because he tries to sidefoot it, well wide of the target.. Advantage Sutton.. (0-1)

Woolf is the second PK taker for Sutton. I think about making a "Who's afraid of a Sutton Woolf?" joke to my assistant, but two seconds later its apparent.. that Warner is, because when Woolf puts his kick straight down the middle, Warner's not there, having dived to his left. (0-2)

This could get ugly real quickly, if Sheridan fails to convert his PK.. but he puts it in the lower corner, and we've managed to hold the deficit down. (1-2).

Butler is third for Sutton.... His penalty is low and to the right.. AND PUSHED ON TO THE POST BY WARNER! The fans cheer, and Warner does a fist pump.. we have the chance to go level! (1-2).

Currie will take the equalizing penalty.. and he strikes it perfectly.. if he was aiming for the post. It strikes the post head on and bounces back nearly 20 yards as our heads go down. That was our chance... (1-2)

Woodall strides up quickly for Sutton, not wanting to give us a chance to recover from our emotional roller coaster... and scores low to the left.. (1-3)

We need Towler to score or it's all over.. But his shot is well wide, and Sutton escape..

RC Warwick 1-1 Sutton Coldfield (Sutton advance 3-1 on PK's) (Sheridan 5) Att:83

Penalties: Warwick: Clegg X, Sheridan O, Currie X, Craig Towler X. Sutton: Halsall O, Woolf O, Butler X, Woodall O

[SirFozzie]

Before our next game, the third qualifying round of the FA Cup, against Sutton Coldfield (again) the chairman asks if one of his contacts, a former Scottish soccer player from the 50's... one Reginald Davidson can give the team a pregame speech.

I don't mind, because giving in on these minor things seem to be a way to keep the boss in our good graces.. so he comes in.

For a man in his seventies, Davidson's in fine shape.. he still looks like he was carved out of a block of marble.. well a very craggy bit of marble at this point, but you know what I mean. His voice is strong too, and I sit back and listen

"Ye played well last week, lads, but you missed something.. and I think I can give it to you. I played in a time where there was no substitutions and no magic spray, or any of that stuff.

So you had to be tough, and you had to be rough. Otherwise, the opponent will walk right over you.

I think this team can be a throwback to those days.. You know how you defend against those attackers? Those pretty boys who think they can feck about, flit about, do daft all for 85 minutes, touch the ball once, somehow get it into the net, and then pretend like it was all them that got the win?"

He paused to take a breath, and survey the lads looking at him

You get stuck in! You get into their heads, and make them realize that if they don't back off, you'll ruin their pretty boy looks and send him cryin home to their mama. They go up for a ball.. you smack them with an elbow and leave him gasping for air.

They run at you with the ball, you dive in and BREAK THEIR FECKIN LEGS!

The lads cheer, while the assistant manager and I exchange worried glances.. I see Leech (see the posts above for his personality) shrinking back against his locker as if he was afraid that Davidson was going to jump him right there.

Or those midfielders. Those lads up front require them to get them the ball.. so you know what you do what these guys? You GET STUCK IN! They can't feed the attackers too well if they don't have the ball, and they can't have the ball, if you go in hard on em, and leave them on the ground, because YOU BROKE THEIR FECKIN LEGS, now, can they?

The worried glances have become full fledged panic at this point. The chairman is nodding his approval, and I'm trying to figure a way to interrupt this speech from the Scottish equivalent of Attilla the Hun.. but he continues, apparently warming to his subject.

Now, we get to the defenders. Lads, I won't sugar it, those are their hard men. The ones whose job it is to do whatever it takes to keep you out. No lads, I'm nae gonna sugarcoat it.. if you let them. they will hurt you bad...

The room is silent.

So remember,, lads.. Do it tae the bloody feckers first.. after all.. if you BREAK THEIR FECKIN LEGS first, they can't do nae much about you scoring, now is there?

The room explodes.. I'm already composing the "Explain to the FA why your team are a bunch of Thugs" letter that I'm sure will follow today's game.

Ach.. lads.. lads.. I left someone out. The last line of defense. That goalkeeper.. by now, I think you know how to deal with them?

Someone, I think it's Clegg, calls out merrily.. "BREAK THEIR FECKIN LEGS"? in a fair imitation of Davidson's craggy voice.

"Ah feck, no, lad are ye daft?..Weren't you listening.. this is a hard game, not a game to be nice to them. Ye'd leave the job half done! Ye see.. since the goalkeeper's arms are just as important then his legs.. Ye go out there AND BREAK THEIR FECKIN ARMS, TOO! Now.. let's go out there and give them Sutton sassenachs what for!

The team cheers, and thunders out of the change room the way that I assume the lads that stormed the beaches on D-Day did.. which could be problematic because.. we're trying to play a game, not kill the opposition.

Abbot and I are the last two in the change room, still staring at each other in horror.

After a few seconds of thought, he speaks. "No more motivational speakers...."

I nod.

[Tellistto]

I chuckled.

Tell

[Coffee Warlord]

I MUST BREAK YOU!

[SirFozzie]

Well, thankfully, the team doesn't go in that crazy, although there's a couple hard challenges in the first few minutes that have me reaching for the Pepto Bismol.. It's really nice to see the team can play at this level.. we're giving Sutton everything they can handle...

Just before halftime, a Sutton player goes up for a header, and Burt goes up with him.. and nearly takes his head off with an elbow that landed flush on the forehead.

THe Sutton player collapses to the ground as the ball is cleared, and the whole Sutton team makes a move towards Burt, and our team moves to defend their own.. but the ref, who somehow missed the elbow, manages to get the two teams apart before we can do the english version of the Crips and the Bloods.

We go into halftime, 0-0.

I'd like to leave Burt out there for the second half. Not only is he a better defender then Gooding, who I'd bring on for him.. but if Sutton is more interested in hurting him then winning the game, maybe we could benefit on the pitch there...

But I decide that's all a bad idea.. Right now, the game's on a balanced edge, and leaving Burt on there could be the straw that not only breaks the camel's back.. but turns it into an impromptu rugby match.

So Burt comes off, and in fact I leave him back in the changing room, an idea that I feel validated when I see that there's a couple of Sutton's "fans" hanging around the changing room door, two lads who look like a brick wall you'd see at your local brewery.. and smell like them too..

10 minutes into the second half, we have a free kick JUST outside the Sutton 18.. and Towers steps up. The freekick has none of the swerve or carry that you'd see from a top level free kick taker.. what it is instead; a laser that finds a crack in the wall, and nearly breaks through the back of the net! We go up 1-0! Could we pull off the upset?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. In the 62nd minute, there's an almighty scramble in front of the net after Warner deflected a shot, and Darren Roberts is there to toe poke it hime to even things up.

The last half hour sees some end to end stuff, and we go close a couple times to a winner, but we can't seal the deal.

So, this means we'll have to play Sutton a THIRD time.. this time at their place.

FA Cup 3rd Round Qualifying

RC Warwick 1-1 Sutton Coldfield (Towers 55), Att:165

[SirFozzie]

Two days after the game, I'm finishing up some paperwork, when I get a knock at the door of the small office that I use for paperwork. I look up, and there's a gentleman who's neatly dressed in a sharp suit and tie.. Apparently the FA have sent a gentleman out to discuss the incident in last week's game.

Apparently, while the referee made no mention of the proximate cause of the.. "disagreement" last week, it had come to the attention of the FA through unofficial reports that one of Warwick's players had very nearly caused serious injury to an opponent and had nearly touched off a full scale brawl.

I acknowledge the truth, and wait for the hammer to be dropped. And they finally do, with a high level of corporate speak and mealymouthedness but the message was clear.

The FA would.. prefer it.. if Mr Burt was not named to the travelling squad for the next day's replay. In fact, it was the clear hope of the Football Association that Mr Burt would find himself someplace other then at the Coles Lane ground the next day. They did not want to see any further.. REPERCUSSIONS of the incident.

I didn't have the guts to tell him that I had already sussed out the fact that I'd be having my player take his life into his own hands if he was there.. and that the player had already been told, and he had issued a private apology to the Sutton player.

So it was a volatile mix.. Third time we've played them in a week. The first game was a draw (settled by PK's).. the second game was a draw.. and this was a definite case of absence would be making our hearts fonder of each other.

((OOC: Burt did catch a player with an elbow that was somehow missed by the ref, forcing the opponent off, and he suffered some kind of injury right before the half, that I couldn't see in the log..))

[SirFozzie]

The replay at Coles Lane has the usual folks hanging around the edge of the pitch. I see a few people in suit and tie that are likely there as observers from the FA..

The first half is a high tension affair. We know what the other team does in most cases by this point, and there's some hard fouls, but each time, the referee quickly and decisively defuses the situation before it can boil over. Sutton has obviously tired of playing us, and they are trying to pin us back.

In the first minute of stoppage time in the first half, there's a scramble to the right side of net, and Warwick defender Aaron Robinson hits it on the run, trying to cut it back in to the mass of screaming people in front of the net, but it must have hit a small rock or something, because it bounces over the foot of the defender, and squirts in to the net!

We're up 1-0 at halftime, and I start praising the lads.. but then I look at them. Specifically their eyes

We've played 255 minutes in less then a full week, against higher level opposition, and their collective gas tanks are on E.

I try to keep them going, but on the way out of the changing room, I have a quick word with Abbott, trying to come up with some way we can get out of the next 45 minutes with our slim lead.

The gulf between Sutton and Warwick in the second half isn't talent (although there's the obvious talent gap between us and them, that we've managed to put off via effort). It's instead in the gas tank. They have a bunch of players on semi-pro contracts, and the fact that they can spend more hours a week on training then our ad-hoc practices and efforts while our players hold down various full time jobs. Put it simply.. they have a deeper tank of reserves and of energy then we can.

The second half isn't pretty, time and time again, Sutton launches attacks on us. Seven minutes in, we fail to clear, and a cross finds the head of Sutton's Ed Booth, who heads home an equalizer.

Despite the score only being tied then, our heads have gone down a bit. We're in the game physically.. emotionally.. we have nothing left to give..

One of their second half subs, Darren Roberts, who just killed us in the second half (4 shots in 45 minutes, and 2 on net).. slams one past Warner into the top corner from the edge of the box, and we're down 2-1 with a half hour to play

We start throwing subs in, reconfiguring our attack, trying anything and everything to get a tying goal, but five minutes after giving up Sutton's go-ahead goal, a miscommunication on defense (How I miss having Burt in there!) frees up Jimmy Quiggin of Sutton just inside the box, and his shot blasts past Warner. 3-1.. and the fight's gone out of us.

FInally, having broken us, Sutton takes their foot off the gas, and we have very little possession in the last 20 minutes or so.

They deserve the victory, and we're out of the FA Cup.

Sutton Coldfield 3-1 RC Warwick (Aaron Robinson 45+1) Att:127

[SirFozzie]

One of the problems with all the replays and cup games (and we're not quite out of THOSE woods yet, more on that in a bit).. is that most of the other sides in our league were knocked out a while ago. We only have three games in the league, while most of the other teams have 6 or 7 games in. We are going to face some painful stretches going ahead.

We actually have three days off before our next game , a FA Vase 2nd qualifying round game against L9 (Wessex League Premier DIvision) Bournemouth Poppies F.C. .. I almost want to tell the boys to just go out there and have fun, and if we lose, at least we can concentrate on the league.

[SirFozzie]

Quick update:

We draw Bournemouth FC 1-1 in our 2nd Qualifying Round FA Vase game.. so we get to do it again. (these cup games are getting ri-freaking-diculous). We do win the replay at home, 1-0, thanks to a Joyce 23rd minute goal, and thus qualify for the first round proper of the FA Vase.

So, finally, we're back in the league. 1 month and four days have passed since our last league game, so I' half jokingly ask what's this league thing's for.. but we get a late winner at home against Walsall Wood to win 2-1.

However, the league form is stuttering, and we lose on the road at Brocton by that same score, in a game where we really should have gotten a point out of it... but then it's time to go back to the FA Vase, for our first round proper game against Knaphill, and we do something we had yet to do this year, score three goals in a single game, as two from Sheridan, and a PK from Towers is enough to defeat Knaphill 3-1. I think about asking when the replay is, but then decide to just accept the victory.

The next two league games earn us four points, a 1-1 draw against league bottom dwellers Pelsall (we really should have won this one, especially since we were at home), and a 1-0 win at home against Pilkington XXX.

Normally, I'd be fearing for my job.. we're 15 points behind the league leaders, and the boss wants me to win.. but we also have five games in hand.

[MacroGuru]

Any updates? This and BYU 14's dynasty is what got me to start mine.

[SirFozzie]

I have a bunch of updates to write at some point, but I've picked up the equivalent of a second job (elected to the Arbitration Committee on Wikipedia), so it'll be slow coming.