FM 10 - Take #10,000

[Izulde]

Redditch United
Blue Square North
Founded: 1891
Reputation: Obscure
Nickname: The Reds

They haven't had a ton of success over the years and that's fitting because I haven't had a ton of success sticking to an FM dynasty.

We're expected to avoid relegation this season and we have a $200,000 budget for salaries, currently spending $168,425 of it. So there's plenty of wiggle room financially to improve the situation. $0 transfer budget of course.

Oh, and for those of you currently freaking out about the numbers, I do it per year, not per week. It gives me a much better sense of how much money people are actually making.

As for myself? $33,000 a year contract through June 30th, 2011. It's currently July 7th, 2009. So I've essentially got two seasons to sort this team out.

[Izulde]

When I coached youth soccer, my first ever game I ran a 2-5-3 formation and it proved a disaster. My thinking was we had a lot of midfielders on our team and it was best to control the midfield and keep attacking. We were down 6-0 at the half and I changed to a 3-4-3. We still lost 8-0, but stuck with the 3-4-3 the rest of the reason, and the team that had gone 1-15 the year before went 6-9-1 under me with essentially the same players, including handing the top team in the league their only loss of the season.

To be honest, I love the 3-4-3. It espouses my philosophy of controlling the midfield while probably tilting slightly more towards offense. I like goals.

So that's what we're going to run here at Redditch, just to see if I can get it to work.

The default 3-4-3 calls for 3 DC, 1 ML, 2 MC, 1 MR, and 3 ST. Let's try widening it out and going with a DL/DC/DR.

FM 10 provides more help than ever that I never realized as far as what attributes to look for.

Fullback
Traditional defensive duties/overlapping runs down the wing to support forward play, etc.

Wing Back
Must fulfill all attacking and defensive duties of wingers and fullbacks.
Attack - Run at his man, aggressive crosses to midfield to win possession battle
Defense - Close down opponents, block crosses and win ball back

Hmm. Although U14 girls soccer I had my DL and DR play fullback, I'm intrigued by the Wingback. Or maybe I did have 3 DCs. It's hard to remember that far back now. Anyway, we'll try it with two wingbacks.

For the outlying Midfielders

Wide Midfielder
Lacks the explosive pace and dribbling of traditional winger, relies on teamwork and work rate

Winger
Needs to be technically proficient and quick

Defensive Winger
Press opposing fullbacks win the ball high up the pitch and either hold, drive to byline, or get quick cross or through ball to forwards.

Now I'm thinking fullback instead of wingback, but it all depends on the players we have.

And the inner midfield

Central Midfielder
Technical ability
Lacks stamina, vision, and drive to perform more than one role simultaneously

Deep-Lying Playmaker
Creative, pin-point passes, has to be competent in defense.

Ball-winning Midfielder
Close down opposition, technical skills

Box to Box Midfielder
Non-stop dynamism, contributes both ends.

Advanced Playmaker
Drop into holes in opposition, turns defense into attack.

And the striker:

Deep-lying forward
Link attack to midfield, supply linking passes

Advanced Forward
Required to score and create goals

Target Man
Sheer physicality disrupts defense, opens up space for fellow strikers and support midfielders.
Strength and aerial presence rather than technique

Poacher
Sits on shoulder of last defender, run onto through balls from midfield. Focus is ball in back of net.

Complete Forward
God, essentially. Technical of Deep-lying forward, goal scoring of Poacher, strength and power of Target Man.

Defensive forward
Attacks opposing defenses and denies them the ball. Prefers to bring others rather than create own chances.

Trequarquista
Advanced Playmaker but with no defensive ability.

Wow. That's a lot of information to cover.

So here's what I'm looking at.

Fullbacks
Pace
Stamina
Tackling
Positioning

Central Defender
Pace
Stamina
Marking
Positioning
Passing
Composure

Wide Midfielder
Positioning
Passing
Teamwork
Work Rate

Winger
Pace
Dribbling
Passing
Positioning

Central Midfielder
Positioning
Passing
Technique

Deeplying Forward
Positioning
Passing

Target Man
Strength
Heading
Positioning

Poacher
Finishing
Positioning

Advanced Forward
Finishing
Positioning
Pace

I think those are the most likely position types I'll use, but who knows? I'd love to have a Complete Forward or a Box-To-Box Midfielder, but I don't think I'll find those types of players at this level.

Next up, a team review.

[Izulde]

Goalkeeper
Danny Lewis (27)
Best all around keeper, which means almost nothing, considering our only other options are a couple of youth guys. We need help here immediately.

Defenders
Asa Charlton (31) DLC
Good header and PK taker. Really good Work Rate (13). Not fantastic, but still quality.

Tom Birch (21) DC
Irish kid is a good tackler with decent positioning. Not sure how I feel about him or anyone, to be honest.

Liam Francis (19) DC
Probably the best technical defender we have so far in terms of his tackling and technique. Needs a lot of work, though.

Jordan Street (19) DC
Great physical attributes for this level and some solid mental attributes, but the kid's a technical stink bomb and is horrid at positioning. Has value, so I'll transfer list him unless I get new scouts in that say different.

Bradley Bullimore (19) D/ML
Garbage.

You know, I should probably change my staff out before taking these as gospel.

My press conference doesn't go all that well. My attractive, attacking football draws mixed reactions.

Worried
Liam Francis
Joe Clarke

Suck it up, kiddies.

My dream assistant manager tells me to shove off, so my goalkeeping coach, who is okay at evaluating, gets an offer to be promoted to assistant manager.

Oh crap, time for senior squad vs reserves. Oh well, we'll throw what's out there out there.

So I ask my GK coach, who will be the new assman to pick and he throws together a team for me.

GK Danny Lewis
DL Asa Charlton
DC Liam Francis
DR Jordan Street
ML Michael McGrath
MR Matt Blair
MC Joe Clarke
MC Jack Byrne
ST Godwill Moraka
ST Luke Barlone
ST Jozsef Jakob

These guys are gonna have to impress me, and I tell them that.

3` Nice pass by Jack Byrne to Godwill Moraka, who, despite his cool name, shanks the shot.

4` Somebody named Oakes on the reserves puts a great pass forward and John Reid scores. 0-1

6` Nice throw-in by Asa Charlton. Jack Byrne blows the shot that he should have buried.

28` Liam Francis is hurt by John Reid. Tom Birch in.

43` The reserves have a couple of corners that don't turn out to soap.

Halftime
Nobody on the senior squad is impressing me. Jack Oakes might be able to play his way up. John Reid, 16, is just having a good game, although some of his mental attributes intrigue.

The second half is a hot mess of laughable shooting, although the defense improves significantly. In the end, though, the seniors walk out with an embarrassing 1-0 loss to the reserves. It's gonna be a long, long season.

Jordan Street recorded a 7.4, the only player on the team to reach above a 7. Maybe he'll stick around after all, as he's got the mental and the physical (except the positioning) to get it done. He also won Man of the Match.

...Our goalkeeping coach doesn't want to be an assistant manager. Fuck off, then.

Friendly #2 - GH Academy
I'm expecting to get romped in this one and we're down 2-0 at the half, but then in the 70th minute, an injured Jordan Street feeds a perfect ball to Morrison, a reserve MC technically speaking, who feeds it to Barlone for our first score! Then in 78, Luke Barlone plays a perfect pass to Godwill Moraka who nails it from 25 yards out for the tie.

Well done, lads, well done.

And on July 16th, we finally sign 37 year old Gerry Harrison (Judge Player Ability/Potential both 12). He wanted to be a Player/Assman, but we paid enough money that he agreed to just be an assistant manager.

The twilight of his playing career (2004-2009) was spent here in the Blue Square North, playing for Hyde. We paid some serious coin for him, but he's worth every dollar of it. Now we can finally start working on fixing this trainwreck of a team.

[bbgunn]

Good luck!

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Good luck!

Thanks. I have a short day today so I'm hoping to get an update or two in, either here or in other dynasties I've got idling.

[Young Drachma]

Good luck indeed.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Good luck indeed.

Pretty much.

[Izulde]

So okay, let's see if we can get this thing started.

We have no coaches and no scouts. Well that's not good.

We can have a max of 2 coaches, so I go for a goalkeeping coach and a general coach.

No scouts really worth having and the one guy who's even mediocre wants more than what the board will allow me to offer. Sigh. I try it anyway.

Friendly @ Northwood
GK: Lewis
DR: Street
DC: Francis
DL: Rowantree
ML: Heggs
MC: Clark/Byrne
MR: Semper
ST: Moraka/Barlone/Jakab

I know I haven't reviewed everyone, but right now I'm just throwing bodies out there and seeing what comes of it.

18` Northwood gets a free kick and almost scores, but Francis manages to clear it away for the corner.

37` Weaksauce long-range shot from Clarke. Oh wait, that was supposed to be a pass. Moraka was nowhere near in position to do anything. We steal the ball back after the goal kick and Clarke puts a great ball forward for Barlone ...who promptly gets himself tackled.

40` Semper to Clarke, who passes it beautifully ahead. Barlone. This time he doesn't screw up and just shoots the thing for our first lead of the young year. 1-0

Halftime: No surprise, Joe Clarke has been brilliant so far with a 7.6 and everyone else is playing well enough. We're winning most of the headers and controlling possession, but everyone's still getting used to each other. Morrison in for Clarke, Cooper for Heggs. Powell for [b]Street and [b]Blair for Semper.

51' Shot by Northwood just skims the top of the bar. We got lucky there.

65` It's our goal kick, a guy named Ruggs beats Barlone on the header, flicking it back to their goalie who rushes out... only to find Godwill Moraka waiting to leap up and slam the header home into the empty net! Wow. 2-0.

69` Lewis Francis fouls and gives up a PK. They nail it home. 2-1. We switch to a 4-4-2 and Birch goes in as a DC

86` Morrison plays it up for Moraka but he shoots it wide.

88` Morrison fakes the defense of its shorts, but then hits it right at the keeper. Keeper can't hang on to it so Morrison pounces on the rebound... only to shank it.

That'll do it.

Northwood 1 Redditch 2

Okay, so we were expected to win and this game doesn't count for anything. Still, that first victory is important.

Joe Clarke (7.6) - Man of the Match
Godwill Moraka (7.0) - Goal, Stuart Rowntree (7.0)

Worst was a 5.9 for John Powell.

Attendance: 19, so basically the wives and girlfriends

Jon Marney agrees to be a coach and he's assigned to Attacking, Defending, and Tactics. Our assman is given Strength, Aerobic, and Ball Control, simply because we don't have anyone else.

We get a couple scouts to sign and our goalkeeping coach. We're also hot on the trail of a terrifically finishing D/DM who also appeals to me because he's from Ghana and I love having foreign players on my teams. Another guy we're hoping to get is a striker who also has offers from Northwich Victoria and Welling United.

Our pitch is narrow and I play a lot of wide guys, so I tell them to make it as wide as possible.

Transfer In
18 year old ST Daniel Hindmarsh on a free. 10 Finishing, Work Rate and Determination, 11 Off the Ball, 13 Aggression, 14 Teamwork, 17 Jumping, 11 Pace. Sucks in all the technical areas and has a worrying 2 Composure. I should have scouted him first, but we needed to get bodies in here.

26 year old ST Chad Gould comes in on a two week trial. We'll see how he does, although his technical attributes look quite sound for this level.

My assman prepares a team report and says he hates Jordan Street and loves GK Danny Lewis and ML Michael McGrath. Interesting. We agree on most of the starting 11, though.

According to Gerry Harrsion (the assman) our priority areas are:
DR
MR
ST

We're already working overtime on the striker issue and now start hitting the right side.

Friendly @ Connah's Quay
GK: Danny Lewis
D: Charlton/Francis/Street
M: McGrath/Morrison/Clarke/Semper
ST: Hindmarsh/Barlone/Moraka

11` Francis boots a long pass forward for Moraka. Their defender has a shot at an interception but he misses it, so the ball goes down to the left, where a streaking Daniel Hindmarsh slams it home so hard the ball bounces up and down in the net. 1-0

15` Semper puts a great ball ahead for Barlone but as characteristic for him so far in these friendlies, he sits too long on it.

29` Rocket shot from Hindmarsh but it goes wide. I think I'm starting to like this kid.

39` Clarke and Morrison play a game of back and forth in the middle of the field before Clarke hits a shot from longerish range that I swear is going to go in... but it's a few inches short.

40` Clear-cut one on one for them and I'm swearing cuz it looks like an easy shot, and they punt it over the bar.

Halftime
We're playing overconfident and cocky according to the assman, and our finishing sucks. Blair in for Clarke, Heggs for Semper, Birch for Francis, and Gould for Barlone. and Byrne for Morrison. Oh and Cooper for McGrath.

45` We do a lot of passing around on the opening kickoff and Gould lays it forward for Moraka, who has a terrible shot he should have nailed. Very weaksauce.

58` Chad Gould, who I realized when I was picking my set piece guys midway through this half, is our best all-around guy by far and he's a trialist, gets a perfect opportunity on a great ball by Blair and he promptly shoots it into the stratosphere. "Not playing with a lot of confidence today". Dude, I get that you're a nervous ass trialist, but you need to bury that shit.

69` Moraka's offside, but he shot it right at the keeper anyway.


74` Cooper picks up a ball on the left and passes it into the penalty area where Byrne is hanging out. Byrne lofts it close to the goal where Moraka gets his second header goal of the year. 2-0.

83` Great. Moraka's hurt. He'll play on, though. CQ has a goal that should have been, even though I swear the dude was offsides.

87` Another should have been goal for the Quay. They're trying to copy our 4-3-3 now.

Redditch 2 Connah's Quay 0

Jordan Street - 7.9 - Man of the Match
Asa Charlton (7.6), Godwill Moraka (7.1), Daniel Hindmarsh (7.0)

Attendance: 77

Moraka damages his elbow and is out 2-3 weeks. Not cool.

Davis Abbey, the D/DM guy we really wanted to get, laughs at our offer, wanting more than the $17k a year contract we can offer. He wants $25.5k and while he's worth it, our board says no.

The media wants to talk to me about Daniel Hindmarsh. What, and put pressure on a very low composure kid? Yeah, no thanks guys.

Our loan offer gets rejected by a player. Sigh. There's a ML I've decided we want and we offer him a transfer. He's also loan listed which has Weston Super Mare and a ton of other teams after him.

Friendly vs Witton
GK: Danny Lewis
D: Charlton/Francis/Street
M: McGrath/Morrison/Clarke/Semper
ST: Hindmarsh/Barlone/Gould

Gould in for the injured Moraka. Let's see how the trialist does with a full start.

0` McGrath crosses it for Barlone after a great long ball from Francis and Barlone scores, but the goal's disallowed because of a very questionable foul call. Assholes.

4` Missed interception by Morrison allows their forward to walk right through and score. 0-1

15` Clarke lays it off to Barlone who strikes it home,shouts, "Fuck you!" and leaps up in the air with a fistpump. 1-1

18` Francis beat and they score. 1-2. I move our defensive line back deeper, because we've been getting killed with their guys being able to go ahead.

24` They just miss another goal they should have easily had. We're getting killed.

34` Morrison injured.

Halftime
Bluh bleh blah. Blair in for Morrison, Jakab in for Hindmarsh.

50` Hell of a save by the keeper when Barlone kicks it following a Street free to set the shot up. Then we get another shot, but Barlone is offsides. Ugh.

62` There we go! Barlone passes back to Blair, who then legs it forward. Barlone striking it to the net for goal #2. 2-2

80` Heggs on for the injured Semper. Our opponents are just playing dirty now. They've had like four or five yellow cards this half.

92` Simply put, Barlone was right there for the hat trick and he missed a short shot. So frustrating.

Witton 2 Redditch 2

Barlone 8.8 - Man of the Match
Nobody else higher than a 6.8

Attendance: 81

Transfer In
ST Kevin Townson, 26, was the guy being pursued by Welling United and Northwich Victoria, but he signs with us. 10 Finishing and 13 Penalty Kicking as his strongest technical attributes. 10 Flair, Off The Ball, and Teamwork in mental, and mostly 10s in his physical attributes. The fans absolutely love this signing.

The loan guy rejected the offer of a contract from us, so I'll try to loan him in til season's end.

DR Andrew Hawksworth, 19, comes in. 10 passing and 10 tackling, 13 Composure, a bunch of other 10s in mental attribute, 12 Teamwork, 15 Work Rate and 15 Natural Fitness. The fans don't release a wow over this one, but I'm wowing over it. He's immediately our best defender IMO.

How big are these guys? Gerry Harrison lists Hawksworth as a 4* player and Towson as a 4 1/2* player. Of course he still likes Jozsef Jakab, who I think is terrible, but the overwhelming consensus is that we've hugely improved the Reds with these two signings.

[Izulde]

We still have issues with our midfield depth but...

Loan In
Craig Jones, the MLC/AMLC 19 year old we tried to get a transfer for but he rejected, accepted our season long loan. He's from Hereford's reserves and is a quality passer for this level (10) and just a solid all around player in general, though not a true standout in any one area. My guess is he'll start at MC alongside Clarke.

Ilkeston got David Davis, the midfielder I really wanted, who's worth $130,000, on a 6 month loan. Bastards.

Friendly vs. Bangor City
GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
M: Jones/Byrne/Clarke/Heggs
A: Hindmarsh/Barlone/Towson

Quite a few changes what with our transfers and a few guys needing rest. Going to be interesting. By the way, Street moved up to 2 1/2* by moving to DC, so I'm curious to see how he goes here.

19` Clarke feeds it to Barlone who sets it up for Towson to take a shot... Goalie saves and no one's there for the rebound.

30` They score easily as our defense got caught napping. 0-1

41` Uh-oh. Towson is hurt, but my panic over that is assauged by Jones setting up a beautiful corner to Street who somehow manages to knock it in. 1-1

Halftime
Overconfident guys in warmups yay. Morrison in for Clarke, Blair in for Heggs. McGrath in for Byrne as we move Jones inside, and Gould in for Townson who appears okay, but why risk it?

69` Beautiful pass by Jones and the keeper -just- manages to fend off Gould's volley.

75` McGrath - Jones - Morrison midfield horizontal sequence. Then Morrison passes it to Hindmarsh who cracks a long one... and hits! 2-1 Time for us to turtle up into a 4-4-2, with Francis on, a winded Gould off.

78`Jones plays a beautiful ball forward for Barlone and the shot bounces off the keeper and into the net. 3-1

Jones - 7.7 - Man of the Match (2 assists)
Hawksworth (7.3), Charlton (7.2), Street, Barlone, Hindmarsh (7.0)

We were actually underdogs in this one and our new guys showed them up. Beautiful work by our defense overall. I loved seeing the comment about Bangor City unable to stop Jones. He's already paying off dividends.

Attendance: 69

Transfer In
Say hello to DR/MRC Matt Concliffe. The 20 year old commanded a stiff price of $22,000 for his salary, but his solid all around attributes, including 9 passing and 8 marking, 13 Team and Workrate, make him well worth the money. He's a massive upgrade at MR over Semper and I'm feeling a lot better about our squad now.

Concliffe is now our highest wage earner so he better live up to it. We've still got $13,000 a year to play with, which isn't enough to bring in an impact player, so we'll sit on it until we can clear people out.

[u]Squad Values[/b]
Hawksworth - $28k
Concliffe - $24k
Byrne - $24k
Francis - $14k
Cooper - $12k
Street - $12k
McGrath - $10k
Clarke - $10k
Lewis - $5k
Townson - $3k
Charlton - $3k
Birch - $2.5k
Jakab - $2k
Jones - $2k

I try to free up some salary but nobody wants Joszef Jakab unfortunately.

Friendly @ Worthing
GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Rowntree
M: Cooper/Blair/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Townson/Barlone/Jakab

A day off half my midfield. I do agree we need some depth at striker, although I feel pretty good about our defense. Could probably use more depth at midfield too, but we'll see.

2` Jakab runs clean through the D but the keeper blocks the shot. We can't rebound in time, although we do get another shot at a crazy bicycle kick by Townson.

3` Midget Blair, the shortest player in the BSN at 5'3, can't fully punch out a shot and they pounce for the score 0-1

18` Treleavan, their previous goal-scorer, wins a foot race with Clarke and finishes with ease 0-2.

Halftime
Everyone is playing like shit.

46` Street misses an interception, but fortunately they miss.

47` Treleavan with the hat trick 0-3

71` Concliffe fucks up, Treleaven scores goal #4 from 40 out. 0-4

79` No shutout as Townson scores. Watch me not care. 1-4

88` #5 for Treleaven. 1-5

We sucked. I rip everyone a new asshole. Treleaven gets a perfect 10 rating. He's on loan from Eastborne Boro. I make an offer. Boro says sure no problem. He laughs in our faces. I offer him $41,000 for the year to come play for us.

I whatever my way through a 4-0 Mansfield loss in our final friendly. Bring on the conference games. Treleavan mocks me and my $41,000. Good thing too, because we're over wage budget.

Chad Gould finishes his trial and he didn't show enough to get a contract. I praise Trelevan and he regards it lightly. I declare my utmost interest in signing him and he blows me off. Jesus. What an ass.

Oh now this is interesting. Asa Charlton is glad to see his manager has a good sense of humor following his declaration of interest in Trelevan.

The whole team is pissed off because I made Luke Barlone captain. Godwill Moraka thinks -he- should be captain. Barlone thinks he's being put under too much pressure by being named captain.

BSN vs. Stalybridge Celtic
We're slight underdogs in this one.

GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Jones/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone/Townson

8` Street gets injured and they score. Horrid start. 0-1

10` Lewis fucking LOLLYGAGS and they score again. Fuckass. 0-2

44` Francis who came in for the injured Street misses an INT and Lewis just stands there like a dumbfuck. 0-3

Halftime
It's Heggs in for Concliffe. Let's get this shit over with.

47` Jones plays a great ball for Townson who can't convert. A minute later they score on a 30 yarder. 0-4

51` Moraka plays a beautiful cross and Barlone connects. Our first goal. Fingertwirl. 1-4

63` Great pass by Barlone to Townson just inside the penalty box. This time our heralded pickup converts. 2-4

69` Moraka, seeing no opening, kicks it back to Jones who rather than take a shot, just sends a small ball forward for Townson to slam home. 3-4

78` Let's overload this thing to try and get the tie.

79` Barlone gives Moraka a golden opportunity for the tie.. but Godwill is stopped by the keeper.

82` A bullshit penalty call that dicksmurf Lewis of course can't stop and that's it I fear. 3-5

86` Clarke puts it ahead and Moraka outmuscles everyone. This time the keeper can't stop him. 4-5

Sadly we don't mount any more chances.

Redditch 4 Stalybridge 5

Kevin Townson - 8.8
Joe Clarke 8.2
Moraka (7.6), Barlone (7.4), Jones (7.2)

Attendance: 320

Gerry Harrison's big mouth says we should expand the squad in the post-match press conference. The fans are disappointed with our loss.

Whatever.

I'm too annoyed to keep playing for now.l

[Izulde]

I misread the numbers. We're currently $13,200 over our wage budget. I think we'll just sit with what we have unless loan guys come available.

That 9 goal game set Blue Square North and Redditch scoring records. Too bad it was a loss.

66 people bought season tickets. Yay?

BSN: @ Ikleston
Yeah yeah they're favored.

GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Byrne/Clarke/Heggs
A: Moraka/Barlone/Towson

I don't like having to start only one of my regular midfielders, but I'm wary of starting guys with mid-80% conditioning so there you go.

0` Ilkeston should have that goal but they shank it.

11` We have a good buildup that starts with a Hawksworth pass, but Moraka shanks the header and "Ilkeston fans are jeering at him". Wow, nice guys.

31` That's about the fifth opportunity Ilkeston has had that they should have gotten, but they really blow this one. Lewis keeps deflecting things but has trouble grasping on to the ball. No offensive highlights for us since the 11 minute mark.

Halftime
We aren't playing great and our midfield has been awful. Concliffe and Blair go in for Heggs and Bridgewater respectively.

56` 20 yard strike from Morgan-Smith. It was only matter of time. 0-1

70` Street misses an interception and Lewis's 300th inability to hang on to the ball bonks in a rebound. Fuck, I hate this team. 0-2

That's the final scoreline.

Another game of playing like crap. Kevin Townson (5.5) was especially bad. Jack Byrne did pick up a 7. Fans devastated by the result. Oh fuck off already. You whoresons bitch after every game.

BSN: @ Blyth
They're even money favorites. We switch to a 4-4-2 for this one and try a counter attack.

GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Francis/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Jones/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Townson

12` Moraka feels we should have gotten a penalty, but the ref, probably bought by Blyth, waves him off.

23` Hawksworth shows his skills launching it to Townson who I swear has it... but no good.

46` Very close, Brayson, but fortunately the donkey misses it.

Halftime
The gap between midfield and attack is far too big and the supply from midfield isn't getting anywhere.

We've had that comment two games in a row and damned if I know how to fix it. Hindmarsh in for Moraka.

77` [b]Heggs in for Concliffe.

A virtually highlight free second half and we escape with a point.

Blyth 0 Redditch 0

Andrew Hawksworth 7.1
Francis, Charlton 7.0
Terrible by Townson with a 5.8

Blyth result disappoints fans

HEY ASSHOLES, FUCK OFF AND GET OFF MY ASS ALREADY.

We're 18th and only out of relegation on goal differential. I know, I know, early in the year, but it feels like we're really struggling right now.

[Izulde]

BSN vs Stafford (5th place)
Our first home game, we're underdogs and no one's coming. Whatever.

GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Byrne/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone/Townson

1` Stafford blow an easy goal opportunity and then before I can blink, Byrne gives it to Barlone who threads a pass through three defenders where Moraka's waiting to fire it in the net. 1-0 and our first league lead!

5` Charlton passes it to Clarke who sends it on up to Barlone and just like that, we have a 2 goal lead. Bet those fans wish they'd come to the park now, huh? 2-0

17` They just miss a goal they should have had. Realistically it could be a 2-2 tie right now.

23` A beautiful move started by Byrne but the conclusion of it has Clarke going to Barlone who plays his second gorgeous ball. This time it's Townson who finds himself open and we're on freaking fire. 3-0

46` Fine save by Lewis to preserve a first half shutout.

Halftime
First time I've seen a player with an 8.2 rating on our side at the half and that goes to Barlone. Wow! Everyone has a 6.8 or better and this is the best I've seen things. Assman, you are now in charge of all team talks. Heggs in for McGrath, Jones in for Byrne, both of whom are exhausted.

A quiet second half. Each of us has a great opportunity to score, but hell, I"m not complaining in the least about this huge upset.

Stafford 0 Redditch 3

Luke Barlone 9.1 - Man of the Match
Jordan Street - 8.4

Both our other strikers get 7.2, our defenders all do 7.4 or better and even Lewis gets a 7.1. Clarke was the lone midfielder with 7.0, but I'm delighted as hell with the win.

Fans pleased with Stafford result

Thank you! Glad for some recognition.

The victory puts us 14th with 4 points, which is a darn good thing. Farsley is still at -4, Northwich -1, which I assume is some penalty thing.

Time to go celebrate this win with some food.

[BYU 14]

Looks like you are building quite the bond with your fanbase

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Looks like you are building quite the bond with your fanbase

No kidding. Reactionary bastards.

Just as a side note all, I'm having major internet problems at home, so there's a chance this won't be updated for a while until that's fixed.

[Izulde]

@ Northwich Victoria (21st)
They're heavily favored despite being in a relegation spot. Going with the 4-4-2 since we're on the road.

G: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Francis/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Byrne/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone

2` Northwich comes out pressing and Lewis makes a brilliant save, but then they get a perfect setup on the corner and head it home for the goal. 0-1

8` Own goal by Charlton on a corner? WTF? 0-2

13` Should be 0-3 right now but Lewis got to the rebound first.

35` Our first offensive highlight of the entire match sees Hawksworth send a booming kick down the middle, but alas, their rushing out goalie beats Moraka to the punch.

Halftime
We're playing like shit, to put it mildly. Francis with the 4.8 because of his misplay on the own goal, and four players with 5s ratings. Getting that gap between midfield and attack comment again. Let's try a 3-5-2 and take Francis out for Heggs. Moraka moves to MR, Hindmarsh in at ST, and Jones in for Clarke.

58` Lewis quite literally drops the ball. Ugh. Heggs looks completely lost at AMC, even thoug he's 38 and supposed to be a natural.

74` Finally a real shot with a great pass forward by Byrne but the keeper jumps out and gets it.

77` And that's the final dagger. 0-3

82` Charlton pass to Jones, who scores his first ever goal for Redditch. Too little, too late, though. 1-3

84` Yellow card for Byrne.

1-3

One of the big problems is that for some reason we were set to Counter, which I don't remember doing. Maybe that's why we couldn't generate many goals.

Anyway, 7.2 rating for Jones, the only one over 7. 5.4 for Byrne and an expected 5.8 for Heggs. Pretty bad game.

Fans Disappointed Gee, what else is new?

Jordan Street is named to the Blue Square North Team of the Week. Very cool and our first player to get such recognition.

Hinckley Redditch match on the 31st is Fan Day, so we better win.

vs Alfreton (1st)
Yeah, not much chance of winning this, I don't think. 3-4-3 since we're at home.

GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Byrne/Jones/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone/Townson

4` Sensational run by Concliffe who passes it on down to Jones. It's sent to Barlone who puts it up for a patented Godwill "Header Beast" Moraka goal, only to have Moraka hit it wrong. Sigh.

13` Townson makes a great pass to Barlone, but sadly our striker can't finish it properly. Then Townson somehow ends up on the right side of the box and puts another good pass to Moraka who gets it taken away from him.

20` Holy crap! Picture perfect pass by Jones to Barlone just outside the penalty box and Barlone nails it home! 1-0

26` Nice set up by Concliffe to Townson, who is a quarter inch away from a pretty, looping goal. Oh well.

27` Great pass by Jones to Townson who does a nice set of shake n bake and the opportunity is wide open for Barlone, but he once again can't cap it. Really should be 3-0 right now.

33` Their guy Clayton outmuscles Street near the backline and I'm initially thinking Street's getting it back to set up a corner, but Clayton outruns him and drills it in near post. 1-1

38` Byrne slams down a header from a goal kick to start a move. Jones with the needle pass to Moraka, but the keeper saves, Barlone tries to hit the rebound, but a defender's there to clear it off. Then a bit later in the sequence, Jones cracks a shot, but it's just over.

46` Byrne hits it forward a little too far for Concliffe so the goalie gets to it.

Halftime
This is really the best half we've played all year IMO. 7.8 for Jones, who is just tearing shit up. On the downside, a 5.1 for Street. We move Jones to ML and bring Bridgwater and Clarke in at MC. Not sure why Clarke wasn't starting in the first place. Oversight on my part.

54` Hard bounce of a ball off Hawksworth. Barlone picks it up and runs all the way down to the goal... only to blow what should have been an easy finish.

71 ` Clayton nearly scores again after Townson got raped midfield. Whew on the miss.

88` How they just missed a goal there, I have no idea, but I refuse to turtle up. Fuck it, I want my 3 points against the #1 team in the conference. All-out, baby. Their goalie is named Gamble, after all.

89` Hearn pulls a Barlone impersonation, aka one on one with the keeper and has horrible finish. We'll take that.

We get a couple more opportunities, but nothing doing.

1-1

A point off the league leaders, even early in the year, is pretty good.

Chris Jones - 8.0 - Man of the Match
Luke Barlone - 7.3, Andrew Hawkworth - 7.1, Joe Clarke, Asa Charlton - 7.0, [b]

Jordan Street actually did worse with a 5.0.

Fans pleased

@ Hinckley (16th)
Really? An away game is Fan Day? Odd. They're even money favorites, which is better than the 4-7 overwhelming favorites our previous two opponents have had. That's expected though because we're playing on short rest.

G: Lewis
D: Rowntree/Francis/Birch/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Byrne/Clarke/Heggs
A: Townson/Hindmarsh

Yeah. Ugly looking lineup today.

3` McGrath is really up for this match so far. Made a ton of great passes, but Hindmarsh's shot was from a weird angle.

Halftime
Dull, rainy first half. Hinckley has had shot opportunities, but they've been very wild and have bitched twice about not getting PKs they felt they deserved. McGrath has played some good balls, but our strikers haven't done great. Heggs moved to ML, Blair in at MR, Bridgwater in for Clarke.

78` Great moves by Hinckley all half and there's twice they should have scored with easily. Finally they accomplish it with a terrific strike. 0-1

81` Fantastic move by us but Hindmarsh's shot clanks off the post. So damned disappointing.

85` Yellow card for Francis.

0-1

Heartbreaking loss. 7.0 for Francis even with the yellow, 5.9 for Rowntree

Fans were disappointed. I was too, but decided to sympathise instead.

Nathan Smith did well in Goalkeeping, old ass Carl Heggs sucked in Aerobics.

The board's satisfied. Our 3-0 win over Stafford is the highlight, the 0-2 loss to Ilkeston the lowlight.

We lost $36,710 lost month. We're currently 19th, a single point above the drop zone and Northwich Victoria who had some points penalties, will get out of there by the end of the year I'm sure. Our 5 points has us 2 points behind the next worst team, Eastwood.

Farsley's another team that had negative points but are playing well enough that they should be out of the drop by season's end. Only winless AFC Telford is authentically below us. Everyone else in the league has at least two wins.

Seeing the problem?

Only thing is, I'm not quite sure what to do about it. I send out a few loan offers, thinking that 4 months is short term and end of season is long term. I go after a midfielder, a defender, and a striker. One of each, why not?

vs Fleetwood (12th
Slight underdogs here.

G: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Jones/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone/Townson

1` Fucking horseshit! Best god damned sequence all season and the Moraka goal is declared offside. FUCK YOU REF! FUCK YOU UP THE ASS!

20` THAT SHIT WAS OFFSIDES! FUCK YOU! 0-1

38` There's a goal they should have.

42` Clarke plays a great ball to Moraka but the defense challenges it off. It bounces and Townson grabs it and spears it in! 1-1 The fucksticks of Fleetwood scream that it was offside and I tell them to go fuck a rancid cockroach with their microscopic dick ass selves.

46` Yellow card for Clarke.

Halftime
Well shit. Clarke is our best player at the half but I can't risk a red. We need to win. Byrne in for Clarke and we'll try Street at DL with Francis in for Charlton, who's playing like crap.

Oops. And Charlton is not happy!!!

56` That's it. We're fucking done. 1-2

68` McGrath crosses for Moraka who fights the traffic to connect a low, short screamer. 2-2

76` Jones with the yellow.

77` Jones on a corner, Francis with a fabulous header and the 3-2 lead!!!

83` Lot of buildup until it gets to Moraka who kicks it and I swear to god our clincher is going in... but it hits the side net.

88` It's a centered ball by Townson and even though I swear he's actually offsides this time, Moraka's header is allowed to stand!!! 4-2! Okay, now we can turtle up. Blair in for Jones so we don't lose our best player for the next match.

90` Before my sub and tactics can take effect, Fleetwood has a golden opportunity to get within one but Jones clears it away. Kinda looked like a penalty to me there and Fleetwood is furious about it. Tough luck, bitches. It's called the refs making up for their BS in the first half.

4-2

Redditch were really fired up in the second half. The manager's team talk proved a real treat

Thank you, thank you very much!

Godwill Moraka -8.8 - Man of the Match
Kevin Townson 7.8, Liam Francis 7.6, Jordan Street 7.5, Michael McGrath 7.3

First league win in four games and it polevaults us from 19th to 16th. We're still in a clump of teams with 8 points that runs from 16th to 19th, but we're also 2 points away from getting as high as 11th. Huge, huge victory.

The two loan guys from Aston Villa reject us, so it's just one loan offer still sitting out there.

Another must win game coming up and as a sneak preview, it's the very first time we've been favored.

[Izulde]

vs Gainsborough (18th)
We're 6-4 favorites at home and this is a game we absolutely must win if we want to avoid the drop.

G: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Jones/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone/Townson

2` Clarke plays a beautiful long pass to Townson who runs through for a better shot and converts the goal! 1-0

8` Great move capped by Townson's cross to Barlone and even though it's a miss, the fans applaud the beauty of it.

17` They score a goal but it's very clearly offside. Nice positioning by Street there to draw it.

21` Townson jogs around the defense in the penalty area but can't convert.

22` Lewis is caught flat-footed but Street races over to clear it. From the highlights, he and Hawksworth have been brilliant today.

26` Townson's hurt. Oh shit.

31` About that Townson injury? He not only steals the ball away from a Gainsborough player, he sends it forward to Moraka who executes the finish! 2-0

Halftime
Want to know how amazing Townson's been? 8.3 rating. Just wow. Blair in for Jones and we'll gamble with Charlton at ML, Street at DL and Francis subbing in. Forgot to put in a reserve ML in the subs. Oops.

47` Blair starts a counter with a feed to Moraka who tears through the field only to blow the shot.

78` Funniest thing all match? Blair out-heading someone. He's 5'6, shortest in the league. Anyway, he sends a great pass to Barlone who plays it perfectly for Moraka.. and somehow Godwill shanks the easy miss.

2-0
Great game. I'll recap it later.

[Izulde]

So in that 2-0 win, Townson dazzled with an 8.9 and MotM. Others over 7:

7.8 Street
7.6 Hawksworth
7.3 Charlton
7.4 Clarke
7.0 Moraka

We zoom up to 13th with the win and now have a 3 point cushion against the drop while temporarily sending Gainsborough there.

Second Season Loan
ST William Grigg will loan in from Walsall for the rest of the season. 10 Dribbling, 11 Heading, 10 Technique, 10 Flair, but what really sold me on him is his physical attributes - Only Strength (7) and Stamina (10) are lower than 11 and he's immediately our most physically gifted striker.

@ Harrogate (14th)
They're favored and I think I"m going to junk the 4-4-2. We've never won on the road, but now that I have Grigg, I want to keep three strikes going.

G: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Lewis/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Jones/Moraka
A: Grigg/Barlone/Townson

As you can see, we've switched to a 4-3-3 and moved Moraka to MR while giving Grigg his debut.

13` Lot of pressure from Harrogate in the first 4 minutes but we withstand everything. In this play, McGrath longballs it and Townson's got the one on one, but their keeper saves and Barlone is a step too slow to get the rebound.

15` Francis is hurt but will play on.

46` Charlton with the yellow.

Halftime
We're not playing well and we're not playing too terrible with the exception of Grigg (5.9). Hindmarsh in for Barlone and we'll drop to a 4-4-2, subbing out Grigg for Byrne.

Kickoff - Townson receives the pass from Hindmarsh and breezes through the Harrogate defense, only to blunder the finish.

47` Another beautiful weave by Townson, but McGrath can't complete the rebound after the goalie deflects Kevin's initial shot.

67` Yellow card for Townson. We slide Moraka up to ST and put Heggs in at MR. Can't risk losing our best striker to a red.

70` Exceptional Harrogate pass and Franciss is beat to the punch. 0-1

73` Should have been a second goal there.

76` Missed interception by Street and we're done pretty much. 0-2

0-2

Good game by McGrath 7.0 but everyone else was blah, including a bad 5.7 by Hawksworth, his worst game in a Redditch jersey. Disappointing. We could have really secured ourselves here.

We drop to 16th and our safety net narrows to 2 points.

Fuck you, Jonathan Hogg. Disses us for the loan and takes Alfreton's.

vs Workington (17th)
We're favored and we should be able to handle this pretty easily.

G: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Jones/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone/Townson

8` Street with a yellow.

16` Clarke misses an interception and their star striker, Wright slams it in. 0-1

21` Towson feeds it to Moraka and their goalie makes a hell of a stop.

23` Blown opportunity by Workington.

36` Free kick by Jones and there's a muddle in the goal box. Their goalie comes out and Townson neatly pokes it in. 1-1

38` Fucking pathetic. They get it right back. 1-2

43` Lewis comes out and it's an easy goal. Unbelievable. 1-3

Halftime
Shit ton of 5s. Francis in for Street, Grigg for Moraka.

48` Lot of buildup and passing around in their half and Grigg scores! But the fucking cocksuck referee says he was offside when he clearly wasn't. Fuck you, just seriously. FUCK. YOU.

62` Whoa! Barlone takes the ball away from about 25 yards yard out, one steps, and rockets it home! Pure inspiration shouts the announcer. Oh, indeed. Fighting chance now. 2-3

66` Grigg plays an unbelievable ball for Townson who far posts a tricky shot! Fighting comeback! Fuck yeah! 3-3

69` Another great move by Grigg angling it up for a McGrath header and it looks like it's going to go in, but the keeper just gets to it and the defender hoofs the ball on out.

72` An easy header, but Workington somehow misses

84` Great pass by Clarke for Concliffe, but the easy shot is shanked.

89` Their dangerous striker Wright almost scores again, but Francis saves the day.

3-3
Proud of the boys for drawing back and with a break here or there, we would have won. 8.8 for Townson, 8.3 for Barlone, 7.5 for Clarke, 7.2 for Francis off the bench, 7 for McGrath. A hideous 5.8 for Lewis, who played the worst game since I've been here.

Oddly enough we move up to 15th with the draw and the fans were pleased with it. Go figure.

Redditch fans are confident of a big win over Newcastle-under-Lyme in the 2nd qualifying round of the FA Cup and we're overwhelming 1-8 favorites.

@ Newcastle (FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round)
GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Jones/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone/Townson

22` Long ball from Street to Barlone, but the moonshot just misses.

32` Concliffe sends it to Moraka, who heads it in. 1-0

44` 30 yard strike from Jones for the 2-0 lead.

Halftime
Our talent advantage is just ridiculous. Heggs for McGrath, Blair for Concliffe and Byrne for Clarke as we let our most tired guys catch a breather.

55` Townson steals the ball, chips it up and Barlone wins the foot race and puts in. 3-0

67` Inferior teams like this shank easy goal opportunities.

83` ...Townson fools a defender who then jackhammers him. That's a red card for sure... and it is!

3-0
A nice, easy breezy win to send us through.

Street - 8.0 - Man of the Match
Jones - 7.9
Hawksworth 7.5, Charlton 7.4, Barlone and Moraka 7.2, Townson 7.1

Hell of a job by our backline today all 7.5+

$7,500 for the win and we've reached the board's minimum expectations.

Fans jubiliant over win

Okay, but it's not like it wasn't expected IMO.

A MR we were targeting is getting hot offers, so we again request to transfer him. The board intervenes over the head of the management and accepts it. Wow. Unfortunately, our own board is not letting us offer quite what he wants, so I go ahead and release Jozsef Jakab who "feels he was brought to the club under false pretenses." Hey buddy, I didn't sign you. It costs me $10,000 in compensation, but he was our third highest paid player.

Training Update - October 1st
Daniel Hindmarsh trained well in Tactics, Carl Heggs sucked at Aerobics as did Danny Lewis at Tactics.

Kevin Townson takes second place in Blue Square North Player of the Month voting. Cool.

Board is now pleased with me. As might be expected, Kevin Townson's signing is the highlight. Our 3-1 defeat by Northwich is the lowlight. We lost a little over $23,000 last month.

@Stalybridge (13th)
We lost to them in that epic, record-setting 5-4 game at our place the first time. Obviously things have changed since then. We'll go with the 4-3-3 since we're away.

GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Francis/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone/Townson

1` Fluke 25 yarder that I believe bounced off Lewis's fingers and into goal. 0-1

6` Moraka crosses for a Townson header that really should have gone in.

15` Charlton to Clarke to Moraka, the latter of who dribbles forward a little before popping it in. 1-1

34` Francis is juked out of his shorts. UGH! 1-2

Halftime
Bluggy first half. Street has been bad (5.7). Out go Street and Hawksworth as we switch to a 3-4-3 and bring on Jones and Heggs, Concliffe sliding down to DR.

61` Another quarter inch and we'd have had our first PK opportunity of the year. Alas, the free kick is soap.

63` Oh look, here's Townson jimmer-jamming the defense and putzing the shot.

72` Yellow for Francis.

78` Another prime opportunity for Townson caused by some midfielder's header and another blown chance. That's it. Grigg, go prove you were worthy of my wasting a season loan on you.

92` Grigg taking possession of the ball on the right sideline, a cross to Clarke... who heads it in for the goal! 2-2

2-2

Townson will feel he could have contributed more. No shit, huh? 8.4 for Clarke, 7.1 for Francis and Concliffe.

Fans were pleased with the result. I suppose, an away draw is respectable, since it gives us 4 points away from the drop.

Transfer In
MR Jon Else comes from Forest Green's Reserves. 20 years old, can play anywhere on the right side adequately. 10 First Touch and Passing, 16 Determination and 14 Influence. Just ordinary on the physical attributes, but fans are delighted with him, and why not? He can also play MC and is our first Hot Prospect. Valued at $9,000.

To clear up more room in the wage budget, we release DC Tom Birch and since Jack Byrne has the highest value of anyone on the team at $26,000 we'll transfer list him and see if anyone wants to bite.

We tried getting MRC Luke Webb, who looks incredible, but he signed with relegation candidates Gainsborough instead since he'll have a clearer shot at a starting spot there.

@ Nanwitch Town (FA Cup)
We're slight favorites in this third qualifying round.

G: Lewis
D: Charlton/Francis/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Clarke/Jones/Concliffe
A: Grigg/Barlone/Townson

31` Great job by Francis to clear out what would have been a sure goal.

40` Can't believe Nantwitch flubbed that. They're definitely outplaying us.

Halftime
Nobody great, nobody awful. Concliffe over to MC, Else debuting at MR.

46` Kind of offsides there, pal. Whatever. 0-1

48` No doubt there. Fucking hideous. 0-2

73` Ugh. 0-3

89` Yellow for Francis.

0-3

So we're out of the FA Cup despite a great draw. Congratulations, guys. Francis was the only one who played remotely well at 7.0

Fans devastated by loss

Me too. Me too.

[Izulde]

Loan In
MLC Sam Adkins of Walsall joins us for 3 months. The 18 year old is immediately our best all-around player and he's valued at $50,000. The only things 5 or lower are Penalty Kicks, Throw-Ins and Influence and all his physical attributes are 10 or higher. Can't wait to see him at ML.

vs Farsley (20th)
They may be in relegation zone, but they had a penalty. Much better team than it looks like because of that and as a result, they're favored.

G: Lewis
D: Charlton/Francis/Concliffe
M: Adkins/Clarke/Jones/Else
A: Grigg/Barlone/Townson

Let's see what our loan-heavy lineup does.

3` Awesome! Penalty and Farsley bitches, swearing Francis dove. One gets a yellow card and Kevin Townson coolly drills home our first PK attempt of the year! 1-0

5` Farsley is still so pissed about the PK they blow a sitter.

16` We've had a couple near misses and then there's a very late, very questionable offsides call on Barlone.

19` Adkins gives a beautiful cross and somebody, I didn't see who, missed a header they should have ripped in with ease. Spell of dominance for Redditch, says the announcer, but it's still just a one goal lead.

27` ...Fuck. Jones is hurt bad and has to leave the game. Adkins over to MC, McGrath subbing in at ML.

32` Else steals the ball and passes it to Clarke who dribbles about until he finds Barlone for the score! ...Only it's a SECOND iffy offsides call. Grr.

34` There we go. Lewis longball to Townson who outruns everyone and scores! 2-0

Halftime
We are completely dominating this match. Townson with an 8.5, Grigg the lowest with a 6.3

58` Crossbar thunder to deny Townson his hat trick.

68` Moraka in for injured Grigg.

81` All that crap they gave us about Barlone offsides and one of their dudes does it and isn't called. Meh. We still lead. But time to turtle up. 4-4-2 defensive, Street on, Barlone off.

87` Townson with the smooth evasion he does, smoother ball for Moraka but the goalie makes a hell of a save.

2-1

It's Redditch who take a vital win today! Precisely.

Kevin Townson - 8.6 - Man of the Match
Joe Clarke, Liam Francis - 7.9, Asa Charlton - 7.0

Now the damage.

William Grigg - Out 5-6 Weeks
Cliff Jones - Out 3-4 Weeks

Up to 15th, a full 6 points clear.

Loan In
21 year old MLC Liam Green from none other than Blue Square North rival Ilkeston Town for 3 months. 14 PKs and a solid all around player. He becomes an important loanee thanks to the Jones injury. A natural MC, but can also play DL and ML. Very versatile guy.

Kevin Townson and Joe Clarke make the Blue Square North Team of the Week. It's the second time each has made it.

[Izulde]

@ Southport (20th)
They're slightly favored, but this is a real opportunity for us to put our foot on their throat and go a long way to keeping out of the drop zone.

G: Lewis
D: Charlton/Francis/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Adkins/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Moraka/Barlone/Townson

1` Charlton with the yellow.

5` Strong shots by Townson, Clarke and then Clarke again. No one there for the rebound.

25` An offsides goal but it's theirs and on their turf so of course it's allowed. 0-1

36` Southport misses an easy one.

38` Charlton concedes the penalty and they convert. 0-2 Ref yellows Francis for his protest.

Halftime
Some serious home cooking here, but we're all playing like crap so it doesn't matter. Green in for Charlton, Hindmarsh in for Moraka as we get our worst guys out of there.

63` Hindmarsh to Clarke and the lovely ball forward for Townson who sends it home for his 10th league goal of the year. We've a fighting chance now. 1-2

72` !!!! I swear that was a 45-50 yard strike by Barlone that finds the net!!! 2-2

78`YOU GOD DAMNED FUCKING DICKSMACK PIECE OF SHIT LEWIS FUCKING HOLD ON TO THE GOD DAMN BALL ARGH ARGH ARGH I FUCKING HATE YOU LEWIS 2-3

93` Hindmarsh is hurt and in a weird sequence, his prone body is magnetically pulled off the field while the medics lollygag behind him. It's minute 96 by the time this all done and he's too hurt to continue. It's so surreal I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. A 3-5-2 with Else in at MR, Concliffe over to MC.

And so it goes to 98 minutes with no miracle ending.

I rip Danny Lewis's fucking face off and bitch out Michael McGrath's 5.9 ass too.

Daniel Hindmarsh: Out 6-8 Months

Granted he was a reserve, but damn.

Sam Adkins and Luke Barlone make Team of the Week.

[b@ ]Solihull Moors (9th)[/b]
We never win on the road so whatever.

G: Lewis
D: Charlton/Francis/Street/Hawksworth
M: McGrath/Adkins/Concliffe/Else
A: Barlone/Townson

Let's see if we can pull off a miracle.

1` BS yellow card on Concliffe

27` Fluke 30 yard goal by them. 0-1

30` Barlone almost answers it.

40` Yellow for Francis and he'll miss the next match.

Halftime
Fuck me running. We suck right now. Moraka for Townson, Blair for Concliffe.

55` Yellow for Adkins

0-1

Pitiful. Just pitiful. Especially Godwill Moraka

Oh look, the Solihull Moors manager is talking smack about me. I say something nice about his tactics only because I can't shred him.

Godwill Moraka is getting hammered by the press and rightfully so.

Transfer In
18 year old GK Mark Scott signs on a free from Swindon. Worth $12,000, he's immediately our new keeper and our fans absolutely love the purchase.

vs Harrogate (4th)
Yeah we're underdogs.

GK: Scott
D: Charlton/Street/Hawksworth
DMC: Clarke
M: Green/Adkins/Byrne/Concliffe
A: Heggs/Townson

Injuries, suspensions, and fatigue cause this rather odd looking 3-1-4-2 lineup.

23` Townson has a challenger in front of him near the penalty box, so he just lays it forward for Concliffe who hits for his first ever Redditch goal! 1-0

30` Love the wall of defenders that blocks a great move by Harrogate.

35` I think Townson's going to get free but he's offsides.

Halftime
Despite the announcers bagging it, I think we've had a damn fine first half and the morale shows it. Everybody was kinda gloomy at the beginning but now we're perked up. Blair in for the tired Green.

71` Against my better judgment, Moraka in for Heggs.

81` Clarke up to MC, dropping to a 4-4-2, Rowntree in at DL, and let's defend our way out of here with the 3 points. Nevermind, back to Standard, because they score a goal off a corner in the meantime. 1-1. Or hell, let's overload this bitch.

85` Hell of a move by Moraka but his go to for Adkins results in a missed header. We've had some real chances.

We're robbed TWICE of a PK we should have been given and they miss an easy one.

1-1

Hard to feel good about this. 7.4 for Concliffe, 7.3 for Street. Blair was terrible at 5.5

We're technically in 14th, but don't get excited. We're just 2 points out of the drop and a ton of teams below us have games in hand.

Andrew Hawksworth trained well n Tactics.

Michael McGrath didn't even play and he's still getting blasted.

Board is satisfied, still loving Kevin Townson and hating William Grigg. Yeah. Not my fault the dude is hurt. -$32k last month.

GK Mark Scott has the flu. I have a headache.

vs AFC Telford (12th)
They've been hot, we haven't, so they're favored.

GK: Lewis
D: Charlton/Street/Francis/Hawksworth
M: Green/Adkins/Clarke/Concliffe
A: Barlone/Townson

Not trusting my 3-4-3 right now.

36` Fake ass goal. Fuck it. We're relegating. 0-1

38` You need to finish that shit Townson. So then he gets it back and hits it up for Barlone who scores. They bitch it's offsides. fuck you *AND* the horses you punkasses rode in on it. Your shit was way offsides. 1-1

43` They get it right back. Gonna be a one season dynasty. I fucking hate FM. 1-2

Halftime
Back to our 3-4-3. Moraka up front, Street to DR, Else in for Concliffe.

50` Barlone feeds it to Moraka who ends a long, long goal-drought with the score. 2-2

65` Counter attakc and they score. Kill me now. 2-3

Whatever McGarth in for Green.

Robbed of two PKS.

2-3

Who gives a shit anymore? I remember now why I hate FM so much. We're now 17th and another manager is talking shit. Ah good, an angyr comment available. Shove it up your ass fuckwit. You were the last team to fucking get a win in this shit league.

Danny Lewis is rightfully ripped in the media. I hate him more than I hate this damn game. Andrew Hawksworth is getting torn apart too. He has been playing pretty poorly, so I warn him.

He's floored by it and wants to leave the team. I almost transfer list him for the hell of it.

17th, 1 point away from drop and FACE THE IMPOSSIBLE against Fleet Town. Oh yeah, everyone below has a game or two in hand.

[Izulde]

@ Fleetwood (12th)
Yada yada impossible.

G: Scott
D: Charlton/Francis/Concliffe
M: Adkins/Jones/Clarke/Else
A: Barlone/Moraka/Townson

Getting Craig Jones back should be a huge lift for the team.

1` Dropped ball by Scott, but it's cleared out. He's still not match fit, I remind myself.

3` Concliffe to Clarke to Jones to Adkins and bam! 30 yard strike for the goal! 1-0

17` They get their own 30 yard strike from Seddon who had a long goal drought end. 1-1

19` Own goal by Scott 1-2

31` Oh, how I'm missed you, Jones! Long ball to Barlone who cooly finishes it home. 2-2

37` Terrible game for Scott, surrendereing another goal. 2-3

45` Absolutely devastating. 2-4

Halftime
A ton of 5s. Heggs in for Moraka, Hawksworth in for Concliffe.

81` Yellow for Clarke.

2-4

We're now 21st.

@ Braintree (FA Trophy)
Expected to lose. We'll rest guys today.

G: Scott
D: Rowntree/Street/Hawksworth
DM: Clarke
M: Adkins/Green/Byrne/Else
A: Heggs/Townson

5` Yellow card for Street

12` A couple injuries, not sure how serious.

15` Goal #1 for them. 0-1

22` Hawksworth to Adkins, whose header narrowly bounces away.

36` Goal #2 for them. 0-2

Halftime
It's Charlton in at DC, Green to DL, and Concliffe becomes a fifth midfielder.

50` Yellow for Charlton

70` Barlone on for Heggs.

0-2


Sam Adkins - Out 2-3 Weeks

Six games without winning is a new futility record. We're technically a point away from safety, but lots of teams with game in hand.

Our only away win of the entire year has been in the FA Cup against that scrub Newcastle Town.

[Izulde]

vs Blyth (1st)
At this point, we need points.

G: Scott
D: Charlton/Francis/Hawskworth
M: Green/Jones/Byrne/Else
A: Grigg/Barlone/Townson

13` Blown easy goal for the Spartans.

26` Francis hurt.

31` Missed int by Francis and they score a zany heade.r 0-1

32` Poor pass by Griggs. Over early 0-2

35` Yellow for Jones

44` Griggs misses an easy header.

Halftime
Usual suckitude. Concliffe in for Green with Jones sliding to ML. Street in for Francis.

54` Hat trick for Bates. 0-3

57` 30 yarder. 0-4

61` Dazzling move by Townson with shit finish. Yellow for Concliffe.

76` Concliffe to Barlone who does some running and then back to Concliffe, but oh too little, too late. 1-4

80` Jones to Concliffe as we're making it respectable. 2-4

91` It's raining goals. 2-5

Fans criticise tactics

Now in dead last, four points needed to even be in consideration for safety.

3-1 road loss to Corby because we haven't won once in league this season. The FA warns me about bitching about a penalty, the squad's in complete disarray, and we're further than ever from the drop.

I resign.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Who gives a shit anymore? I remember now why I hate FM so much. We're now 17th and another manager is talking shit. Ah good, an angyr comment available. Shove it up your ass fuckwit. You were the last team to fucking get a win in this shit league.

Goosfraba ...

[Izulde]

So I apply for every single job that comes open. Swansea and Reading reject me swiftly. Tranmere actually considers me for a long time but while the Rovers are deciding, Bath comes open and they're immediately offering me the security of a three year, $35,500 a year contract to take charge. There's a $1,600 transfer budget with a $450,000 wage budget, well over double what I had at Redditch.

They're 17th in the Blue Square South, just a point away from being relegated. I decide to press my luck and ask for $52,000. Nope, they're holding firm, but they're super fast in their reply.

Eh, what the hell? I agree.

We'll review the new club later.

[Izulde]

So my sparkly new job is in for a relegation fight of its own. Redditch, by the way, has gone 3-1-4, and despite those three wins and single tie for 10 points, they're still in the drop zone, sitting 21st and 4 points away from safety.

As for Bath's recent run of form? 1-2-6, not counting a seventh loss, in the FA Trophy 1st round. They've been running a 4-4-2 and they have a pretty good goalie named Ryan Robinson.

Main issues: DC, Injuries to starting MCs and a very poor set of strikers. In fact, they haven't been starting their best striker and it's pissed him off. That's changing right now.

I promote Marcus Browning, who was the Vice-Captain, to Captain, and make Lewis Hogg a new Vice-Captain. We'll stick with the current staff we have and review it later, but I need an assistant manager pronto.


vs Bishop's Stortford
We're favored to win in my debut and we're running a 4-4-1-1

G: Robinson
D: Hill/Jones/Simpson/J. Edwards
M: Mackie/Connolly/Hogg/Perrott
AMC: Johnston
A: A. Edwards

Kickoff - Only sheer luck prevents a Bishop's goal. Sheesh.

8` - Another very close miss that they should have had.

19` Long, long sequence in front of our goal, but it's all soap again for them.

22` Our first offensive highlight see Mackie corner kicking it to Jones who has a crack. The ball rebounds and Connolly, who was a last minue addition to the lineup, sends it home!! 1-0

31` Yellow card for Gethin Jones

33` Yellow card for Joe Edwards, our best player and a loan-in.

43` Another unbelievable Bishop's miss.

Halftime
We really should be down like 1-3 right now, so we've been very, very lucky. Johnston moves to ML, Mohamed in at AMC.

61` WTF? That was the most offsides goal I've seen in the history of soccer and it's allowed? Fucking horseshit. Guy kicks the ball on a free and a player runs up right next to the goalie and heads it in with nobody even close to him. How the fuck is that not offsides? 1-1 It's Holland in for J Edwards, with Simpson moving to DR.

82` Sigh. 1-2

91` Johnston's hurt and he's out.

1-2
I tell them not to get complacent and what do they do? Blow it.

2 months loss of Craig Johnston in addition to all the other injuries.


@St. Alban's (17th)
A game we really need to get at least a point out of. They're favored

Same lineup as last time, but with Mohamed at AMC

31` Robinson comes out and they score. 0-1

Halftime
Let's try a 5-4-1 and attacking.

87` Simpson with a yellow.

0-1

Well, I think I figured what tactic to use with this team. No highlights on either side, but the team played decently.

We're now in 19th, goal differential away from the drop.

Transfer In
ST Matt Groves gets all of our $1,500 transfer fee and I had to let a high priced player go to bring him in, but with quality all around attributes for this level, the 29 year old Dorchester favorite, who the fans hated to see go, will be a huge boon to our club.

vs Dover (3rd)
They're heavy favorites but I actually got some useful tactical advice from my assman that I'll use.

21` Here's Groves with a cross over to D Edwards, who gets it in for the lead! 1-0

37` Sigh. Robinson slips on the wet grass and they score.

44` Own goal by Robinson. WTF?

Halftime
5-3-2 formation time.

75` 1-3. I fucking hate FM.

A 1-0 loss to Maidenhead later, we've officially gone 13 games without a win and we're in the drop zone, behind a point.

[Izulde]

Ugh. My post got eaten due to random browser crash.

Anyway, we go ultra-defensive and tie Weymouth 1-1, then lose 0-1 @ a superior Welling team. Mike Perrot finally breaks Bath's goal scoring drought, but it's a late equalizer to give us just a 1-1 tie vs Thurrock in one of our most highly attended games ever, with 714 fans. Realistically we should have won that game and gotten the 3 points, but so we blew chance after chance.

Then Dorchester pulls off an upset win a few days later, meaning we're now 2 points away from safety with just 8 games left.

[Izulde]

0-0 road tie with Eastleigh and I'm kicking myself for not doing this right away when I get to Bath -fighting for the draws and all that. Joe Edwards' loan ends before the end of the year, which puts us in serious trouble as he's our best player.

We get blown up by Braintree in the second half thanks to some real fucking cunty bullshit by the refs.. and we're at home. Cocksucks are on the take, I swear. 1-3 loss and now we're 4 points out. We also lose our top DL for the rest of the year with an injury.

And so for the second time, I resign.

Redditch is 2 points away from the drop, by the by.

[Izulde]

Bath loses again another game before they finally end their 18 game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over Dorchester at home. Two matches left against Bromley and St. Alban's and they're 2 points away from safety.

Redditch is in the same 2 games out, 2 points back point in the BSN. Sadly, they finish 22nd and drop.

As for Bath? They just make it. 19th and on goal differential, despite repeated injury problems. I'd like to say I had something to do with that, but it'd be a damned lie. Matt Groves was a bust transfer.

...Wow. This is sad. Nobody and I mean nobody, not even a recently promoted Blue Square South side (Oxford City) will hire me.

So I see Crawley is in the drop zone in Blue Square Premiere and their manager is listed as Insecure. I declare interest for the hell of it. I did in the offseason too with Forest Green but the chairman shrugged me off.

This time...

"Crawley Town's chairman Victor Marley has admitted today he would be foolish not to consider someone of Tim Moungey's calibre for the job."

Awesome.

A week later.

"Crawley Town chairman Victor Marley looking to step aside."

Hmm. I'm wondering if the fanbase freaked out when they heard about my possibly coming to the Red Devils.

*chortle* Ipswich just opened up. I have to. They hire some dude named Keith Hill.

Forest Green opens up and I apply. They offer me a contract but I see their average attendance is 666. I've always had a phobia about that number so I hurriedly decline.

Welling's willing to offer me a job at the end of January. They come with their own parent and feeder club already in place. Used to be a consistent Blue Square Premier side back in the 80s and 90s.

No transfer budget and a $350,000 a year wage budget. To contrast that, Forest Green had $700,000 a year wage budget. Facilities are all basic to very basic.

Then again I feel like that's more money than I've had to work with in my previous two stops, so hell let's take it.

[Izulde]

All right, so here's the story.

Welling was picked to finish 7th in the Blue Square South and they're currently 17th. With 27 games played, they have 30 points, good for 9 points above the drop zone. On the flip side, the Wings are 16 points from a playoff spot, so I'm just hoping to get them mid-table by the end of the year.

The current staff has guys contracted through 2013 (The assman and the physio) and through 2011 (the scout). I don't like the assman or the scout, but I'm fine with the physio.

We have no coaches.

Goalkeepers
Luke Foster, a youth GK, has gotten most of the starts and has done okay. Chris Oldfield, a 20 year old loanee from Brentford, looks a lot better, but hasn't wowed in 4 starts. Paul Burton is another youth GK who stinks.

Clearly this is an area in need of upgrade, though perhaps Foster can grow into his role.

Defenders
So, James Lawson is listed as a DR, but he's a natural AMR and can play AML, ML, MR, and ST. Talk about a crazy, versatile kid. With a 1 tackling, there's no way he gets near the backline, though. 24 year old has good technical and mental attributes for this level, but he leaves something to be desired on the physical end of things.

Jack Parkinson, 20, can play MC and DC equally well. 31 year Danny Williams, who has just 4 starts for some reason despite a great rating in them, is a natural DMC, but can also play DC and MC.

Another player capable of playing both D and M well, but on the left side, is 22 year old Jack Obersteller. The same is true for Sam Hurrell, who is the same age, although Obersteller is significantly better in terms of average rating.

Matt Plummer, 23, is our most physically talented DC and our highest wage earner at $35,500 a year. He's significantly overpaid IMO, but he's also the team captain. What I'm seeing here is enough depth at the backline where we could probably sell him off.

David Thompson and Jimmy Turner are injury/fatigue filler, but still equal to what I had at Redditch and Bath IMO.

Midfield
Aside from the guys mentioned above, MR Loui Fazakerly doesn't look great by the ratings, but the 5'6 26 year old is a phenomenal free kicker with flair at this level (both 14), and he's posted some great average ratings, so he probably stays.

Anthony Finn, 28, is overpaid. There's a bunch of other filler, but DMC/MC Stephen Gregory, a loan-in from AFC Wimbledon, looks pretty good and might find his way in the mix somewhere. Chris Holland is the old man of the team so far at 35, but I feel like he should be starting somewhere thanks to his superlative mental attributes, even if he's slow as hell (5 Pace).

Strikers
It's a pretty poor situation up front. Lawson and 23 year old Steve Diggin are the only guys I don't outright hate.

I immediately look for a new assman and scout and name Chris Holland and Danny Williams Captain and Vice-Captain. This pisses off Matt Plummer, who I immediately offer to other clubs along with Anthony Finn.

A ton of players are happy to see Holland appointed team captain, which is awesome.

I sign 36 year old Anthony Hathaway as a major scout upgrade.

We're $20k+ over budget, so after trying to get a bit of transfer money from teams for Plummer and Finn, I just do it on a free to bring our wage budget down and clear out some space to bring in upgrades elsewhere.

@ Bishop's Stortford (1st)
Not much chance of winning the debut, so we'll go with a modified, defensive 4-4-2.

D: Obersteller/Williams/Parkinson/Turner
DM: Holland
M: Hurrell/Gregory/Fazakerny
A: Lawson/Diggin

14` They've been building up a lot of pressure and finally they score when Williams doesn't do a good enough job of clearing out the threat. 0-1

17` Perfect shot off a corner kick. 0-2

34` Yellow card for Turner

Halftime
When the highest rating is 6.5, you know the team is dragging ass out there. The on his way out Plummer in for Parkinson, Dudfield in for Diggin.

46` Gregory gets the ball off a cleared out corner and plays it up to Lawson, who outruns everyone on the left side, then turns right and keeps going until he's in the penalty box where he nails it home! 1-2

55` A Bishop Stortford's goal is disallowed because of offsides. It would've been Marquis's second goal. Lucky break there for us.

60` Okay I've had enough of Danny Williams's sucking ass. David Thompson on for him.

73` Bishop's allegedly misses a sitter, but I don't see it. Attack mode on to try and get the equalizer.

81` Great ball forward by Holland, but Dudfield just misses the long, diagonal shot.

90` Yellow for Holland.

1-2

7.0+
Lawson - 8.3 (Goal scored - Man of the Match)

Oldfield really sucked this game and actually got worse after I told them to get better (6.5 to 6.0). Williams dropped as well. Everyone else got better, including Lawson, who went from a 5.7 to 8.3.

It's been four games since Wellling won, by the way. We drop to 18th.

Matt Plummer goes to non-league side Worcester, who relegated out of the Blue Square last year and rips me to the paper. Yeah, I don't care. Clearing him out means we're now $15k and change under our wage budget.

Eddie Bishop signs to be our new assman and I see him as a huge improvement over the old guy.

James Lawson wins Player of the Month and makes the Weekly Team. Cool.

vs Weston Super Mare (20th)
We're naturally favored to win this one and we have to do it.

GK: Oldfield
D: Obersteller/Thompson/Parkinson/Turner
M: Hurrell/Holland/Gregory/Fazakerley
A: Lawson/North

Let's attack, shall we? I want to bury these guys.

14`We're playing like shit. They should have nailed us on a counter attack but thankfully miss. Let's drop back to standard.

38` Another should have been goal for them. They're fouling the shit out of our guys and have hurt a lot of them, including North and Turner.

Halftime
Ridiculous. So this is dangerous, but I'm moving Lawson to DR, subbing in Diggin and Dudfield for Turner and North, and putting Williams in at MC.

55` ...You have *got* to fucking be kidding me. A penalty awarded for them? Really? And of course they convert. Oh fuck no. FUCK NO. We are not LOSING to this bullshit team at home. 0-1

NOT A SINGLE OFFENSIVE HIGHLIGHT FOR US ALL DAMN HALF!

0-1

Yeah you fuckers all played like shit. So we're now 19th, 3 points above the drop. Think this is looking familiar? I can't remember the last time a team I managed won a game.

This.fucking.blows.

Transfer In
DL/ML Ryan Lynch is 23 and capable of playing all left side positions but striker and can also play DR. We have some depth issues there so he's a quality capture for us and the fans love the buy. Great all around physical attributes and solid enough in other areas. I see him as a DR guy in our current setup. He'll make $8,000 for the next two seasons.

@Dartford (16th)
They're favored. 4-1-4-1 here.

D: Obersteller/Thompson/Parkinson/Lynch
DM: Cutler
M: Hurrell/Holland/Gregory/Fazakerly
A: Lawson

18` I stupidly forgot to make a team talk because I pressed Confirm Change when making Lynch my throw-in taker. By the way, there's a throw-in and he doesn't take it. Bug? Lawson's hurt. Wonderful.

27` Long range strike and they score. 0-1

Halftime
People are playing okay, but not great. Williams in for Thompson, Diggins in for Fazakerley. We've had 0 offensive highlights for two halves now and it's getting pretty fucking frustrating.

60` Two straight corners and it's nothing doing for them.

73` 4-4-2 Dudfield in for Cutler.

75` Fucking horeshit. 30 yard strike. 0-2

81` Gregory to Lawson to Hurrell. I don't care. 1-2

83` Yellow for Williams

85` Yellow for Lynch

91` Yellow for Diggins and Dudfield hurt.

1-2

I'm sick of losing. Really damn sick and tired of it. Three fucking teams and can't get a fucking win out of any of them no matter who the fuck we play.

Now 2 points from the drop.

Loan-In
Adam Mekki, 19, from Aldershot. Winger at ML/MR/AML/AMR and also ST, though I really think he's best suited to MR. Fazakerley has been getting slammed in the press again, so it's time we looked another direction. 3 month loan, as despite his great mental stats, his technical skills don't wow me.

Anthony Finn signs with Oxford City, where they just love him.

vs Thurrock (8th)
They're favored naturally. 4-4-2 Standard.

GK: Oldfield
D: Lynch/Thompson/Parkinson/Turner
M: Hurrell/Williams/Gregory/Meeki
A: Lawson/Dudley

10` I notice Parkinson screws up and luckily they miss.

18` Another Parkinson stuff-up and they score. 0-1

28` Why the fuck do I ever bother playing this game? 0-2

Halftime
Diggin in for Dudfield. Not that it matters.

49` Yellow for Mekki

68` 0-3. Obersteller on for Lynch.

0-3

Season End Loan-In
Okay, so here's 20 year old Fred Foreman from Staines. I think he'll be better striker than the complete shit we run out there now, but I don't rightly know.

@Chalmsford
Blah blah face the impossible blah blah. Blah blah 5-3-2 defensive.

GK: Oldfield
D: Lynch/Thompson/Williams/Parkinson/Turner
M: Hurrell/Gregory/Mekki
A: Lawson/Foreman

Halftime
We're down 2-1 but I loved seeing "Foreman plays a defense-splitting pass" and Lawson taking it all the way the rest of the way for the score.

Ho'hum. 4-1 Loss.

Still 19th. I don't know what it is to win anymore.

[Izulde]

Wage-wise, we have some money to burn, with $56,000 cap space. If we can get anyone to sign with us.

vs Maidenhead
They're favored of course. I try a 4-4-2 Diamond and have my assman pick the team this go-round.

GK: Oldfield
D: Lynch/Thompson/Parkinson/Turner
DM: Holland
M: Obersteller/Fazakerley
AM: Foreman
A: Mekki/Lawson

Halftime
Down 0-3 at the half. Lawson's out with an injury.

You can not resign as manager of Welling on match day.

Fine. Quit Game.

I officially give up on FM. I suck at it and all it does is piss me off.