FMHi11: Frog's back and he's gone mobile!

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

this is interesting. In this case, is the effect on the league I was in or all leagues in England?

Also interesting is the fact that this season, I've not even brought in one player on loan and we're not doing much worse because of it...

FM

It affects all the leagues in England.

[Marc Vaughan]

PS - Cracking performance so far in your second season - considering its your first season up you're looking solid

[FrogMan]

Forgot to mention in my reporting of the Yeovil loss that we suffered a more important loss in that game. Star left winger and spark plug of our attack, Dean Cox, twisted his knee in the game and will miss about three weeks. I'll be trying out Byron Hart and Danny Schofield on that left winger spot.

January 23, 2013
We play 24th place Macclesfield at Mill Hill and despite our difference in our respective positions in the standings, it's a very close game. We succeed in winning it, although only 1-0. Our possession was the key.

January 24, 2013
Hrm, one week from the transfer deadline and my scout comes raving about a left fullback that he claims is twice the player our best left back Peter Gilbert is. Name is Marcus Williams and he's 26yo and without a contract. Even better, he's not looking for the moon in terms of wages, only $1350 a week. I offer him $1050 for a two year contract and he agrees. Welcome to Mill Hill, Marcus!

Once he gets to the club, my assistant's enthusiasm is a bit more subdued. He says he's a four star rated player (current and potential ability) and that he's "a lot better" than Peter Gilbert. My scout had rated him as a 6 star kind of player.

Still, whenever I can replace a starter by a player who's qualified as "a lot better", it's good in my book.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 26, 2013
We play 19th place Chesterfield at Mill Hill. It's a good thing we took an early lead with a Matt Somner goal on a set piece in the 11th minute because Wayne Thomas is sent off for a professional foul just before the end of the half. They score two quick goals at the start of the second half but we're able to tie the game shortly after on a Ivan Sproule goal. Final Score: 2-2.

Very glad we hung on for the draw here. On paper, we're in 9th place but we're technically in a three way tie for 7th place and a playoff spot.

Wayne Thomas has been banned for a match and the banning holds despite my appeal.

To make room for the wage of newly signed Marcus Williams, I release Chris Smith on free. His contract was to end in June and it costs us $19k to let him go.

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

It affects all the leagues in England.

cool, thanks for the info.

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

PS - Cracking performance so far in your second season - considering its your first season up you're looking solid

Thanks, very happy and almost surprised about it myself. As ecstatic as I can be about us challenging for a playoff spot, I'm not too sure I'd want us to promote after only one season. Might want to dominate in a second season and then move on up...

FM

[FrogMan]

January 29, 2013
We play 13th place Gillingham on their pitch. Schedule's been kinda hard on us lately, and will keep on being that way for a while too. Take a look at this:
Jan 15 at Oldham (Johnstone's Paint)
Jan 19 at Yeovil
Jan 23 vs Macclesfield
Jan 26 vs Chesterfield
Jan 29 at Gillingham
Feb 2 vs Torquay
Feb 5 vs Oldham (Johnstone's Paint)
Feb 9 at Stockport
Feb 13 vs Morecambe
Feb 16 vs Hereford

Let's see, that's 10 games over 32 days or a game every three and a half days. I don't remember seeing such a long stretch of matches at 3-4 days rest. A bit insane if you ask me and it's starting to take its toll on our players. Going into this game, quite a few are already at 90% condition or worse. Matt Somner's condition is at 88% and he'll sit out this one. Anwar Uddin takes his spot. Peter Gilbert is back at left back for one game.

The game is tough for us. We're down 0-2 at the half and it could have been 0-3 if not for one disallowed goal because of an offside. And then we exploded. Or I should say that Rowan Vine exploded. He started the game on the bench and was put in the game in the 60th minute. In the last 17 minutes he scored not one, not two but three goals turning this game on its head. Final Score: 3-2.

A hat trick in 17 minutes! Wow! Of course, he got the MoM, and their keeper got rated at 4 for his forms although I'm not entirely sure he was the only one to be blamed. They played awfully conservatively in that second half, not challenging our back line much if at all...

February 2, 2013
We play 19th place Torquay at Mill Hill. We completely shut them down in the first half, going up by one of an early Stephen Pearson goal. Rowan Vine adds to our lead scoring on a penalty kick to start the second half. Final Score: 2-0.

A dominant performance in which Wayne Thomas got the MoM. We move up to 6th place with this win, tied with Luton in points but with a match on hand.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 5, 2013
Today is the second leg of the Johnstone's Paint final and we're playing it in front of our fans. We're down 1-3 after the first leg and these fans lift us up like nothing else. Lewis Grabban scores in the 28th minute and I'm almost certain he's brought us back on level terms in the 35th minute but his goal is disallowed. He was offsides. We keep attacking like crazy but they are just this tiny bit better than us that they can contain our attacks. We lose it 2-3 on agregate scores.

Tough luck but at least we didn't get outclassed. This means we keep our team morale pretty high and given the rough stretch of schedule we're going through right now, this is a great thing.

I played Stephen Pearson on the left wing for this game and he got the MoM.

February 9, 2013
We play 10th place Stockport on their pitch. Ivan Sproule gives us a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute and we keep that lead until the 76th minute when they pull even. It ends on that score.

Dean Cox was back from his injury and he's not lost a beat. He gets the MoM with a form rating of 9.

I'm quite okay with a draw on the road. We drop to 7th place but still only 2 points from 4th place Luton with a game on hand.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 13, 2013
We play 14th place Morecambe at Mill Hill. This is an ugly one. We go down 0-2 after only 21 minutes. They'd also put 3 shots out of 3 on target. These shots will be their last OF THE GAME. Yet, we score only once and can't tie the game despite putting 10 of 15 shots on target. Final Score: 1-2.

Ugh, Richard Lee was injured in the 35th minute but even then, he had hurt us in more ways than one. Darryl Flahavan had a good game for the last 55 minutes and will need to do so for about ten days since that's how long Lee will miss after hurting his heel.

We don't have a backup keeper, I guess this guy with the gray colored name will have to do as a fill-in for the time being...


February 16, 2013
We play 8th place Hereford at Mill Hill to finish this month long marathon of games. We have agood first half, going up by one in the 11th minute on an Ashley Grimes goal but they tie it in the injury time of the first half. We come back out strong and regain the lead on a Lewis Grabban goal in the 54th minute. We close up shop after that goal and hold on for a 2-1 win. Feels good to win at home.

We move up to 6th place with the win, still only 2 points away from Luton and the fourth place.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 23, 2013
We play 1st place Southend on their pitch. They're not in first place without a reason. We're outclassed in this game. Down 0-2 after 17 minutes, then 0-3 at the start of the second half, we claim one back on a Rowan Vine goal in the 64th minute but they hit us right back. Ashley Grimes will score in the 80th minute but it was in a losing effort. Final Score: 2-4.

We drop to 8th place with the loss.

Flahavan gets rated at 5 and our keepers make me nervous. Richard Lee was not super impressive before getting injured and Flahavan just proved he's really just a backup. I see this 28yo keeper available for free, Lewis Price. My scout seems to think he'd be a lot better than Richard Lee and he would be available for fairly cheap as he's only asking for $650 a week. I offer him that and he accepts. Skill wise, he is not super impressive but both my scout and assistant seem to think he's an improvement over Lee who's now seen as a useful backup to Price.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 1, 2013
The board are still delighted with the leadership qualities I'm demonstrating.

March 2, 2013
We play 4th place Luton at Mill Hill. Wow, they sure moved up since I last checked, but they are still only 3 points away from us with 12 matches to play. We start the game wow, the guys seem to feed off my emotions for this game. We're ahead 1-0 after 22 minutes, thanks to a Matt Somner goal off a 20 yard long free kick. Better than that, in those 22 minutes, we've maintained possession 68% of the time and have place 5 shots on target out of 6 while limiting them to only one shot on target, their only shot. Our pressure is so great that one of their centreback is forced to commit a professional foul in the 43rd minute and is sent off. The second half is us taking control of the game completely. We do not add to our lead but we keep on shutting them off any good scoring chances. Final Score: 1-0.

Score doesn't look like much but this is a huge win, at least for me personally. We move back up to 7th place but Luton drop a couple spots to 6th and we're now tied in points.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 5, 2013
Important match today as we play 8th place Darlington on their pitch. We own a one point advantage over them so with 11 matches to play in the season, this is as close to must win as they come. We come out strong but they are winning possession for most of the first half. Rowan Vine scores on what must have been a frustrating goal for them as it happened a good 4 minutes into injury time for the first half. Vine then doubles his tally another 4 minutes into the second half and even though they do score in the 75th minute, it was too little too late for them. Final Score: 2-1.

Awesome win on the road! Vine gets the MoM with his two goals and we move up to 6th place, actually in a three way tie on points with Luton and Shrewsbury.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 9, 2013
We play 15th place Rochdale at Mill Hill. Wow, what a unlucky start. Not that we're real aggressive but they came out and shot twice in the first half and they lead 2-1 at the break, Lewis Grabban scoring our lone goal. He adds another one with only 5 minutes to go as we scratch our way back for one tiny point. They only had one more shot for the whole second half.

Dean Cox left the game in the 55th minute and will miss about 3 weeks with a broken toe. Back to a mix of Schofield, Hart and Pearson at the left wing spot.

March 16, 2013
We play 6th place Shrewsbury on their pitch. Another important match as we're currently just one tiny point ahead of them in the standings. It's a typical away game for us in that we're having a rough time controlling the ball yet we're not being completely dominated. We go down one in the 52nd minute and I'm kind desperate for us to score so I switch us ot a 4-2-4 formation with about 12 minutes to go. It pays off in the 85th minute when Lewis Grabban scores the equalizer. My heart stops when 2 minutes into added time they score. It starts beating again when I spot the assistant referee's raised flag. There was an offside, the goal doesn't count! Final Score: 1-1.

Phew, dodged a bullet there and maintained our position in the standings.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 23, 2013
It's another important and tough match today as we play 2nd place Crewe at Mill Hill. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good and we're just that in the first half. Despite being outclassed in possession and shots, we come out at the break leading 1-0 on a Ivan Sproule goal during added time. We play much better in the second half and even lead most of it. Final Score: 1-0.

What a comfortingly nice win. Sproule gets a deserved MoM.

Luton only drew their game and we move within 2 points of them with seven games to play.

FM

[Marc Vaughan]

Wow - looks like you've a good chance of making the play-offs and a slim chance still of grabbing an automatic promotion if you get lucky ... kudos

(and keep grinding out draws where required - I find a lot of FMH players either give up on a match or go totally gung-ho when behind, yet its often the points from draws which can make all the difference at the end of the season ...)

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Wow - looks like you've a good chance of making the play-offs and a slim chance still of grabbing an automatic promotion if you get lucky ... kudos

Thanks Marc, very happy with how the season's gone so far. I pretty much expected us to sizzle and spiral in some sort of long losing streak at some point but I'm really happy that it has not been the case. I've worked hard on maintaining morale through player interaction and I gues it might have paid off in the long run.

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

(and keep grinding out draws where required - I find a lot of FMH players either give up on a match or go totally gung-ho when behind, yet its often the points from draws which can make all the difference at the end of the season ...)

Yeah, I rarely go gung-ho, unless we're behind by one or tied at home and I have a feeling it was an unlucky goal by them. You know, the kind of game where you are at home, have like 10 shots on target to their 2 or 3 and yet it's 1-1 or you're down 0-1. Otherwise, and especially if I'm on the road, I'm often happy with a draw...

FM

[FrogMan]

March 30, 2013
We play 23rd place Bradford on their pitch. It's a tale of two halves in this one. The first half was pretty close. Even though we were losing possession by a tiny bit (46-54), we were pushing it to their backline and it was 1-1 after 45. The second was ugly football on our part though. Not one shot tried in the whole 45 minutes and after we went down 1-2 on a penalty about 2 minutes into the half, it was very frustrating for me to see the guys just give up like that. Final score: 1-2.

Yeah, we will lose some but I've come to expect better from the guys, especially against the 23rd team in the standings, even if it's away from home.

We drop to 8th place with the loss but are third in a three way tie for 6th place with Shrewsbury and Cheltenham. Our goal differential is not as good as these two so we'll have to outright pass them to be in the playoff I'm afraid...

FM

[FrogMan]

March 31, 2013
I get the three months reminder for players with contracts expiring in June. I'm not really in a urge to extend contract as most of them seem like backup or players we could upgrade on. The two important ones ar centrebacks Byron Webster and Wayne Thomas. They both want more than what my board will allow given how much above the wage budget we are at the moment. I offer them what the board allow which turns out to be just about the same wage they are earning this season. They both accept! It's a 1 season deal for the 33yo Thomas and a 3 season deal for the 26yo Webster, the better of the two. I'm happy with that.

April 3, 2013
Dean Cox has resumed full training following his foot injury.

April 6, 2013
We play 15th place Wrexham at Mill Hill. They're currently on a very hot streak, ranking first for form in their six last match. Matt Somner has a tendency to pick up yellow cards and he'll have to sit this one out after picking too many of them. Robert Milson starts in his place. After going down one in the 3rd minute, we pick ourselves up and go boom-boom in the 14th and 15th minute, scoring two goals within a minute of one another. Lewis Grabban scored the first and Byron Webster showed me why I wanted to sign him when he heads a corner kick in right after. Grabban adds another goal in injury time of the first half and we're on our way to a 3-2 win. Their second goal came on a penalty kick in the 83rd minute. This kinda worries me as we've been called for penalties in each of our last two games.

Still, it's a great win against a team in great form. We move back up a couple spots as Shrewsbury drew their game and Darlington lost theirs. With only five games to play, it's going to be a dogfight between the teams currently between 3rd and 8th place...

Meanwhile, Southend have achieved a playoff spot in League 2.

FM

[Marc Vaughan]

I both love and hate seasons like the one you're having - tons of excitement, hope your team can keep their nerve.

PS - One thing to bear in mind with contract renewals, sometimes players will play better near the end of their contract (to try and get them renewed) and sometimes players will slack off after obtaining a new one ... depends entirely on their personalities but bear it in mind.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

I both love and hate seasons like the one you're having - tons of excitement, hope your team can keep their nerve.

Yeah, got the feeling it'll be a nailbiter until the very end, and I've not played one more match than what's in here so I'm no saying this only to keep you reading.

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

PS - One thing to bear in mind with contract renewals, sometimes players will play better near the end of their contract (to try and get them renewed) and sometimes players will slack off after obtaining a new one ... depends entirely on their personalities but bear it in mind.

Yeah, had read that somewhere. I tend to be super nervous and always feared losing players on Bossmans but I've realized that my players are not really that good so I'm waiting a bit more with the contracts. The more I get comfortable with the team, the more I'm learning that I'll probably be able to replace most of these guys. Don't want to start a season with 11 new players obviously, but you know what I mean...

FM

[FrogMan]

April 13, 2013
We play 12th place Leyton Orient on their pitch. What a freakishly ugly game for us. I start us out offensive and while the stats are pretty even and we're only down 0-1 at the half, we got three players having horrendous games. Marcus Williams, Matt Somner and Kyle Nix are all rated at 5 after 45 minutes while 6 players on the other side are rated at 8. This continues in the second half and we're completely dominated. They add a goal on yet another late game penalty. Final Score 0-2.

Blech. We drop to 7th place with this loss. Luckily for us, Darlington only drew their game and are still one point behind us.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 20, 2013
We play 17th place Oxford at Mill Hill. Ugh, even at home, and against a 17th place team, we're sligth underdogs to win this match. We're ahead 1-0 after 45 but it's not because we really challenged their keeper. One shot on target out of two and it continues that way in the second. We eventually let one get in and it ends in a 1-1 draw.

We're having a rough go right now, players not playing as well as they used to earlier in the season. Darlington drew again so we retain the 7th spot. Shrewsbury even lost their match so we're tied with them in points now with only 3 matches to play.

Meanwhile, Southend have clinched promotion from League 2, Crewe have clinched a playoff spot and Macclesfield have been relegated from League 2.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 23, 2013
We play 13th place Burton on their pitch. Kyle Nix gives us the lead in the 28th minute but we let them tie only 7 minutes later. They are spraing our keeper with shots, 8 on target out of 10 in the first half and another 6 on target out of 11 in the second half. They score in the 50th minute but Lewis Grabban grabs us a so important point with his goal in the 83rd minute. Final Score: 2-2.

Shrewsbury also drew but Darlington won and they move ahead of both teams. We're now on the outside looking in, in 8th place with only 2 games to play. We could win our last two games and still not make the playoffs...

Southend have won the League 2 title. Bury have clinched a playoff spot.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 27, 2013
We play 5th place Cheltenham at Mill Hill. Ugh, rough one there as Cheltenham are red hot right now with the 2nd best form over the last 6 matches in the league. We're having a good start in this one and are ahead 1-0 on a Ivan Sproule goal in the 31st minute. I'm thinking that we can win this one as we're playing really well, then it all falls apart. First they tie the game in the 43rd minute then Lee Beevers gets sent off. Trying to win this one will be much tougher with only ten men on the pitch. Still, we keep working hard and even take the lead again when Lewis Grabban scores in the 69th minute. We try to keep them away from our goal and we succeed for some time but they finally tie the game in the 85th minute. Final Score: 2-2.

AAAAARRRRGGGGG!!! Shrewsbury won but Darlington lost. Had we won, we would have moved past them and into safety. We're still sitting just outside the playoffs zone with one match to play. This is driving me insane!

FM

[FrogMan]

May 4, 2013
We play 23rd place Barnet on their pitch for our last match of the regular season. Darlington are playing at 18th place Rochdale while Shrewsbury will be playing at home against 4th place Luton. Wow, what a boring game that is. 0-0 at the half, one shot on target out of two for us and their only shot landed off target. We're winning possession though, might try pushing a bit harder. A quick look at the live table reveals that Darlington is losing their match and if it stayed that way, a draw would put us into the playoffs. Gotta keep that in mind...

We're having a rougher second half and they start attacking more. After 82 minute, we're still tied 0-0 and Darlington is still losing their match. Our match ends in a scoreless draw and I'm hoping beyond hope that this fourth draw in a row will be enough for us to keep on playing in the playoffs. I flick the screen and my heart sinks. We're showing in 8th place... Darlington scored in the 85th minute of their match to draw it 3-3. Shrewsbury also drew 0-0 with Luton. We've been kept out of the playoffs on goal differential.

So close yet so far away. We finish this first season in League 2 in 8th place. Still not bad, yet soooooooo frustrating.

Barnet is the other team relegated from League 2.

FM

[Marc Vaughan]

Ohhhhh that is sooo cruel, the end of a season can be a hard ask if you don't have a lot of depth ... especially in the lower leagues, those extra 8 matches a season in the league take a bit out of players, especially those who have limited stamina (or are at the tail end of their career and a little older).

Best of luck for next season - was a great season to read from the outside, shame you didn't make it .... but then again if you always did it wouldn't make it so satisfying ...

[terpkristin]

I can almost taste your frustration as you went through these last few games. Still, 8th place isn't bad for your first season up.

/tk

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Ohhhhh that is sooo cruel, the end of a season can be a hard ask if you don't have a lot of depth ... especially in the lower leagues, those extra 8 matches a season in the league take a bit out of players, especially those who have limited stamina (or are at the tail end of their career and a little older).

Best of luck for next season - was a great season to read from the outside, shame you didn't make it .... but then again if you always did it wouldn't make it so satisfying ...

So cruel indeed. You start the season with tiny expectations, only hoping to survive and not be relegated, then you start winning. Even sit close to the top for a while, then you keep on playing well, although a bit more on the level of what you should be expecting from your newly promoted team. Then, while you don't really spiral down a long losing streak, you just can't buy a win and you miss out by this much. Tied on points, out because of the tiebreaker. Again, AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGG!!!

Glad you enjoyed the read and I agree, it wouldn't be normal if you alway won so I can live with it. Was reading a thread on SI I think about people complaining the game was too easy. Well, it is not, at least not really for now.

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I can almost taste your frustration as you went through these last few games. Still, 8th place isn't bad for your first season up.

/tk

I bet you can taste it for sure, it was really tough. I played out the last 2-3 matches on Saturday afternoon, comfortably seated with some Explosions in the Sky playing through my Bluetooth headset and only the fact I love my Touch so much kept me from hurling it away in disgust. That and I didn't want to set a bad example and have my wife take it away from me...

Of course, 8th place is beyond anything I was hoping for and I'm still very happy with it.

Will take a break from reporting and will simply enjoy playing the game. Might come back later. Take care everyone!

FM

[FrogMan]

oh, Marc, kudos on making such a great port of a great game into a great portable version I can take anywhere I go. Is it perfect? No, but what game is. I've now played three seasons and it's about two more than I've played in each of the last two versions of the PC game where for a reason or another, I had a hard time staying seated in front of my PC to go through to the second season.

FM

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

oh, Marc, kudos on making such a great port of a great game into a great portable version I can take anywhere I go. Is it perfect? No, but what game is. I've now played three seasons and it's about two more than I've played in each of the last two versions of the PC game where for a reason or another, I had a hard time staying seated in front of my PC to go through to the second season

Glad you're enjoying it - the iPhone game has been a labour of love for me really, it started as a 'pet project' at home to prove that it could be done and has evolved from there.

Its had a very compact development team (ie. me, although Rich is increasingly keeping me company now ) which unfortunately means the 2d isn't quite as glitch free as I'd like (but I'm working on this side of things and its 'getting there' slowly but surely) - but in general I'm proud of how it 'plays' and most importantly I really enjoy it myself

I'm really enjoying the fact that you can release updates to games on the iPhone regularly and a new update with some additional features and a choice of database (start of season or january transfer window) should be out later this month .. with more planned in the coming months

[FrogMan]

So, the 2013-14 season is well under way and after losing our first game of the season, we've absolutely taken League 2 by storm. We're sitting in first place with a 9 points lead and a match on hand. Not bad, heh.

Now comes the funny part. Take a look at the news item below...

[FrogMan]

So, you stopped laughing yet?

Even funnier is that as good as it's going with Mansfield now, I'm tempted to apply for that job. Luton is where my heart is and I'd really like to have a second go with them. I'm much more confident I'd be able to get something going now. It'd mean a lot of work getting the team to my taste whereas Mansfield are playing just the way I like them but I feel like Mansfield will always be a much smaller team than Luton. Remember that Luton was once in the Championship...

What do you think? Should I try it?

FM

[thehitcat]

Go for it Froggy!!

Also we'd want to follow that

[terpkristin]

I'd totally let Luton sweat. You're kicking tuckus where you are, let them see what they gave up on.

/tk

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

Even funnier is that as good as it's going with Mansfield now, I'm tempted to apply for that job. Luton is where my heart is and I'd really like to have a second go with them. I'm much more confident I'd be able to get something going now. It'd mean a lot of work getting the team to my taste whereas Mansfield are playing just the way I like them but I feel like Mansfield will always be a much smaller team than Luton. Remember that Luton was once in the Championship...
What do you think? Should I try it?

Its always tempting to take a job when its offered and its a big compliment that you were offered it .... but bear in mind that you've got a side you know and trust around you, leaving that to join a new one is a big risk .... your call entirely (now if it was Brighton I'd be saying take it ).

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by thehitcat

Go for it Froggy!!

Also we'd want to follow that

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I'd totally let Luton sweat. You're kicking tuckus where you are, let them see what they gave up on.

/tk

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Its always tempting to take a job when its offered and its a big compliment that you were offered it .... but bear in mind that you've got a side you know and trust around you, leaving that to join a new one is a big risk .... your call entirely (now if it was Brighton I'd be saying take it ).

you guys have all summarized my thinking... I'm tempted to take the opportunity to have another shot with Luton, given that I might have screwed part of my first shot when I was learning the ropes with the new game.

On the other hand, the fact they have sacked another manager because they are in 12th place in League 2 means they keep the leash short and for now the Mansfield board are absolutely delighted with my management of the club. We're playing really well, in good position to challenge for the title when I promised the board we'd simply make the playoffs.

And yeah, the players I have here are players I brought on board.

Marc, I've not officially received an offer, it's only the pundits who think I should be the one going over there. I've not played the game in the last couple days so what you saw posted there is the last thing I've heard...

FM

[FrogMan]

Ok, just played for the first time in a week and a couple games after that news item, Luton formally came out and offered me the job. I decided to stay at Mansfield, with the bunch of players I've brought on. I sorta expected a tiny new item about my board saying they were happy about my loyalty or something like that but nithing showed. I go check my board's confidence level and woah, they are aparently now VERY happy with my control of wages. Err, what? I have been running about 3k over budget since the start of the season. I'm kinda confused until I see tgat my wage budget has been increased from about 32k to about 52k a week! Yowza! Maybe there'll be some news item after our next game. It's December 28 now and we're entering the crazy Holiday stretch.

FM

[Marc Vaughan]

I can't remember if there is a 'thank you' message after you decline a job - I'll have to check, if there isn't .... there will be at some point in the future (good call ).