FM – From Semi-Pro Minnows to Champions League Glory: Dover Athletic FC

[NoSkillz]

Transfer Window Opens

-- The Premier League transfer window reopens and as usual, many of our key players look to be targets for the largest clubs in the world. Lets see what transpires…we don’t have any money right now and will likely be quiet until our budget for next year is set. We do look to lock up a few players with expiring contracts and also look to extend our staff members with contracts coming due as well.



Transfer Market - Needs

-- Okay, what are we looking for this year? I think my main goal is to find a potential stud to play at right midfield - I’m looking for more on that side, with Gianluca Bolis continuing to confound. Other than that, not much - we’ll continue our search for the best youngsters possible, as our team, while not old, are all hitting their prime and we’ll need to be careful going forward.



Transfer IN

-- Completing a modest £70,000 deal made with Tigres many months ago, we finally welcome 18 year old Mexican defender Luiz Miguel Garcia to Dover! Garcia is a bit small for a centre half back at only 5’ 10” but he’s a fine talent (1.0/3.0) and will spend next year developing with our U18 squad. He’s also playing for Mexico’s U20 club with our very own Alberto Velazquez.




Transfer Window Fun

-- The first offer comes in for little used winger Lyubomir Kunchev - the Bulgarian international is a 2.0/3.0 player and Evian are looking to grab him for £3.6 million plus incentives, essentially his current value. I counter offer £5 million and additional incentives and offer him out to other clubs for the same amount.

-- Liverpool also inquire about striker Andy Broomes - he’s going nowhere.

-- Deportivo offer me £600,000 plus incentives for depth defender Hans Briers - I accept that offer!! He has no place here. I offer him to other clubs for the same amount.

-- Two lower half Ligue 1 clubs make loan offers for top striker prospect Alberto Velazquez but try to cheap out on the up front fee. I negotiate with both to get the deal I want. Both decline for now.



Contract Extension Foiled

-- I come to terms with deep backup defender Carlos Guzman on a contract extension but incredibly, the application for another work permit is turned down! Crazy - maybe this happened because he rarely plays. I try another offer but it’s foiled as well. So we’ll be losing him on July 1st. Too bad.



International Round Up

-- We have more news on international games, as Salim Loucif, Lyubomir Kunchev, Manuel Perez, Emmerson Harvey, Mads Pedersen (one assist), Claudio Contreras, Chiquinho (one goal), Mwemere Mutesa (two goals!) and Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz all get more games. The goals by young Mutesa are his first international goals for Rwanda and he’s delighted!

-- Unfortunately, Claudio Contreras suffers a twisted ankle during the Argentina game and will be out three weeks. No biggie, as he should be back by training camp. DOVER INJURY: Claudio Contreras - Twisted Ankle (Three Weeks)



Contract Extension

-- We get a contract extension done for young midfielder Vlastimil Silhavy. He played well for the U18s and I’ll consider either keeping him here for reserves duty or possibly loan him out. A lot depends on whether we ultimately sell Lyubomir Kunchev and find a top MR replacement in the transfer market.



Transfer OUT

-- Lyubomir Kunchev agrees to a contract with Evian TG FC in France and that closes off a £5 million transfer deal, with incentives that could push it up another £500,000. Kunchev, a 21 year old Bulgarian international, spent three years with our club but was always a third choice player while here, ultimately leaving before scoring a senior team goal. In all, he started six times in those three years and played in 22 senior games overall, notching three assists. He’s a decent prospect but we’ll take the money and run after buying him for £1.9 million in 2022. Good luck to Lyubomir in France!



End of an Era?

-- Longtime stalwart midfielder Andrea Rocca is approached by AS Monaco FC and offered a contract. Rocca has been here forever, playing with us on loan in our League 1 days and ultimately he joined us as a full timer when we arrived in the Premier League. That said, he’s entering his age 29 season, has fallen to fifth on our depth chart and his skills are declining, ever so slightly. He’s asking for almost double his present salary and I think it’s time for us to walk away. It’s sad but we also have Paolo Secchi, a young and talented midfielder, waiting in the wings after spending last year on loan. Plus, we need to find more playing time for Emmerson Harvey. This is the right move, I feel.

[NoSkillz]

European Club Rankings

-- We move up 5 more places on the European Club rankings list, landing in 10th position with 127.915 coefficient points. Manchester United retain first place on the club coefficient list, Barcelona are in second and last year’s Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais are in third. We’ll continue to climb on this list for one more year, as we still have “counting” co-efficient scores from the 2020/21 season, when we didn’t play in Europe.



Transfer OUT

-- Hans Briers agrees to a contract with Deportivo in Spain and finishes off a £500,000 transfer deal. Briers arrived at the club on a free in 2022, spent a year with our U18s then spent two years on loan in the Championship, one year with Coventry and another with Hull. He never suited up for our senior team and won’t be missed.



Transfer Market Fun

-- Chelsea offer us £12,000,000 for Emmerson Harvey. Wow - I counter offer, asking for £17,000,000 up front, another £10,000,000 in monthly payments over a two year period and a big sell on fee. I want them to say no, of course and they do just that. Harvey is upset and wants a new contract and I turn that request down too. We have a chat and all is well.

-- We’ve got a couple buns in the oven right now and have a deal locked up with a young Mexican striker that requires a work permit. Hopefully, he turns out as good as our other Mexican find, Alberto Velazquez. We also have another deal accepted, pending contract approval, on a young centre half back I’ve chased for two years. He wouldn’t qualify for our U18s, as he’ll be turning 19 in early July but he’s worth picking up.

[NoSkillz]

European Golden Boot

-- The honours keep piling in for superstar Manchester United striker Yaya Sanogo, as he is awarded European Golden Boot winner. Hani Megahed comes in second and former Dover striker Shanon Andrea comes third. Ahh, Shanon…so good for us!



Preseason Friendlies

- We accept another very lucrative offer from France’s Olympique Lyonnais to play a friendly in their stadium for the second year in a row. We also accept an offer from fellow French Ligue 1 side Le Mans and in a nod to our humble beginnings, accept an offer from Blue Square Bet South side Eastbourne Boro to play our reserves! Fun.



New Season Upon Us!

-- A standard message comes in talking about the fact that the Barclays Premier League schedule will be coming out within the week. No biggie except for the last sentence, which welcomes the three promoted teams and indicates they “are relishing the prospect of fixtures at stadiums such as Old Trafford, Emirates Stadium and CRABBLE ATHLETIC GROUND. Oh that’s so cool!



International Round Up

-- Manuel Perez (Mexico), Steven Potter and Felix Hernandez (France U21) play international friendlies.



Transfer Market Fun

-- Interestingly enough, veteran midfielder Andrea Rocca REJECTS the contract offer from AS Monaco and therefore seems prepared to head into July without a contract. Hmm. Monaco does come back a couple days later with a new offer though.



Transfer IN

We are pleased to welcome 18 year old Spanish centre half back Adrian Torres to Dover in a £2 million deal with Sevilla!



I’ve been watching Torres for two years, as he showed much promise back as a 16 year old but Sevilla was asking for the world at that time - in excess of £7 million from my recollection. Now we get him for a bargain price and the 1.5/3.5 rated prospect will immediately join our senior team as a fifth option, playing reserves games and the odd cupcake Cup or league matchup. He doesn’t speak English so we’ll need to bring him along slowly. Torres is also the captain of Spain’s U19 team - a nice sign of his leadership ability!



Transfer IN

We continue to kick ass on picking up young studs, finishing off a £1.4 million deal with Tigres in Mexico for incredible striker prospect Fernando Estrada!



Estrada is 18 years old, 6’2” tall and has speed to burn and CLINICAL finishing ability already! He’s rated as a 2.0/3.5 player already and will spend the year with our U18s. This guy might just break Alberto Velazquez’s U18 scoring records - remember, Velezquez scored 62 goals last year in non-competitive play! This guy looks wonderful and I’m delighted we were able to get a work permit settled! Very exciting and what a bargain!!



Transfer IN

And another young stud comes in, as we pay a ton (£6.0 million) to bring in the best young English striker in football, 17 year old Marcus Sowter, who arrives from Sheffield Wednesday!



This is a bit of a risk due to the transfer fee but I always am eager to get the best possible English players for registration purposes. Sowter has great speed and composure but is very raw and needs time. Thankfully, he can spend up to two years with our U18s to get proper development.

[NoSkillz]

Premier League Sponsorship

-- Manchester United continue to bring in the sponsorship money, netting £59 million to lead our league. The lowest earner was Blackpool, who generated about £300k. We finally got a new kit sponsorship deal a year ago that finally got us over the million pound mark, with us officially taking in ~£1.27 million.



England Season Summary

Here's a look at the FourFourTwo Season Summary report on all the English leagues, with a full recap of the Premier League and just a quick look at the promotions/relegations in the other leagues.

Barclays Premier League 2024/25
Winners - Manchester United
Relegated - Blackpool, Burnley, Derby
Top Goalscorer - Yaya Sanogo - 37
Most Assists - Benedikt Raab, Dover - 16
Highest Average Rating - Yaya Sanogo, Manchester United - 7.87 (38 apps)
Overachievers - Newcastle
Underperformers - Aston Villa
Signing of the Season - Reading’s Gabriel Ochieng (£3.7m)
Worst Signing of the Season - Middlesbrough’s Jorge Galeano (£6.5m)

npower Championship
Winners - Birmingham
Promoted - Birmingham, Southampton, Hull
Relegated - Swansea, Colchester, West Ham

npower League 1
Winners - Coventry
Promoted - Coventry, Millwall, West Brom
Relegated - Exeter, Yeovil, Bristol City, Crawley

npower League 2
Winners - AFC Wimbledon
Promoted - AFC Wimbledon, Gillingham, Carlisle, Plymouth
Relegated - Oldham, Forest Green

Blue Square Bet Premier
Winners - Morecambe
Promoted - Morecambe, Braintree
Relegated - Hampton & Richmond, Sutton United, Fleetwood, Eastleigh

Blue Square Bet North
Winners - Bury
Promoted - Bury, Alfreton
Relegated - Stafford, Ashton United, Stalybridge

Blue Square Bet South
Winners - Kingstonian
Promoted - Kingstonian, Woking
Relegated - Dartford, Aveley, Eastbourne Boro

Other Winners
FA Cup - Dover
League Cup - Manchester United
Community Shield - Dover
Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Preston
FA Trophy - Braintree

Europe Qualification
Champions League Group Stage - Manchester United, Dover, Chelsea
Champions League Best Placed Playoff - Manchester City
Europa League Fourth Qualifying Round - Tottenham, Arsenal
Europa League Third Qualifying Round - Liverpool



Preseason Foreign Tour

-- As indicated, we once again decide to travel to France this year for our annual foreign preseason tour, with matches scheduled against Olympique Lyonnais and Le Mans FC. We’ll also host Rangers (Scotland), Dortmund (Germany), Watford (England Championship) and Barcelona (Spain) in preseason friendlies and travel to Derry City (Ireland) and Nottingham Forest (England Championship).

[NoSkillz]

Dover Fans' Player of the Year

-- In pretty much the biggest travesty of justice I can recall, our supporters name CHIQUINHO as our player of the year. Ugh. He might have been my TENTH choice for goodness sakes. Benedikt Raab and Andy Broomes were robbed.



Dover Best Eleven for 2024-25

-- As usual, there are a couple of major surprises here but that’s what happens when average rating seems to trump games played or other stats:

GK - Ingo Wilke - 29 apps 0g 7.11 avg
DL - Renato Gaucho - 43 apps 1g 7.16 avg
DC - Rayane Hamon - 45 apps 8g 7.34 avg
DC - Mwemere Mutesa - 12 apps 2g 7.90 avg
DR - Emerson - 20 apps 0g 7.07 avg
MC - Jose - 45 apps 9g 7.28 avg
MC - Benedikt Raab - 43 apps 10g 7.56 avg
ML - Mads Pedersen - 39 apps 5g 7.21 avg
MR - Gianluca Bolis - 43 apps 9g 7.13 avg
ST - Chiquinho - 49 apps 27g 7.31 avg
ST - Andy Broomes - 47 apps 32g 7.36 avg

Other notables: GK Manuel Perez 35 apps 0g 7.04; DC Claudio Contreras 47 apps 6g 7.26; DC Saber Nasri 26 apps 3g 7.23; MC Andrea Rocca 24 apps 2g 7.14; ST Zoltan Bardi 25 apps 10g 7.13; ST Paul Moses 17 apps 8g 7.21; ST Manuel Lugo 14 apps 3g 7.06

Of course, the biggest shocker is seeing young Mwemere Mutesa on here but what can you say about a 7.90 rating? He was coddled but played great. Emerson over Salim Loucif just shows how average our captain was last year and he didn’t even make the “substitutes” list.

Let's take a look at our overall Best Eleven since I took over management of the franchise:

Dover Best Eleven - Overall

GK - Ingo Wilke - 364 apps 0g 7.03 avg
DL - Renato Gaucho - 245 apps 5g 7.14 avg
DC - Olly Schulz - 120 apps 18g 7.32 avg
DC - Rayane Hamon - 196 apps 18g 7.20 avg
DR - Salim Loucif - 178 apps 1g 7.16 avg
ML - Arsene Bamba - 282 apps 56g 7.28 avg
MC - Neil Cairney - 184 apps 32g 7.27 avg
MC - Andrea Rocca - 284 apps 46g 7.24 avg
MR - Abdeltareck Sakali - 176 apps 50g 7.14 avg
ST - Chiquinho - 139 apps 82 g 7.36 avg
ST - Aaron Green - 141 apps 65g 7.18 avg

Chiquinho is the only newcomer to the best overall eleven, replacing Alexander Rattke.

Substitutes:
GK - Liam O'Brien - 219 apps 0g 6.84 avg
DC - Oliver Nicholas - 316 apps 28g 7.14 avg
DC - Claudio Contreras - 195 apps 20g 7.15 avg
MR - Gianluca Bolis - 199 apps 42g 7.13 avg
ST - Ben Hunt - 156 apps 70g 7.12 avg
ST - Zoltan Bardi - 269 apps 96g 7.09 avg
ST - Alexander Rattke - 125 apps 55g 7.13 avg

Long time left winger Ismael Fofana falls off the list.


2025-26 Barclays Premier League Fixture List Announced

-- We’ll open the Premier League season on the road versus our FA Cup final opponent Tottenham. Our first home match will be against Aston Villa. Strangely enough, there is no Boxing Day game but we wrap the season up against Everton away.

-- As usual, we are given £40,000,000 spread over 12 months for Premier League television rights.



Start of Season Expectations

-- The board’s minimum expectation is that we qualify for Europe again. Once again, I go higher, saying we’ll challenge for the Premier League title. For that they'll offer the following:

2025/26 TRANSFER BUDGET - £37,000,000 (Last Year: £52,000,000)
2025/26 WAGE BUDGET - £1,300,000 (Last Year: £1,000,000/week)

Nice bump on our wage budget but we’ll have to be a bit more frugal in the transfer market. Not a problem - we don’t need an awful lot right now but it’s funny how things seem to change quickly when studs become available!



Community Shield

-- We get a chance to defend our Community Shield from last year since we won the FA Cup. We’ll face Premier League champs Manchester United at Wembley.



Youth Intake - U18 Club

-- We announce a new intake of players and yet again, we get NOTHING. We’ve still never produced a decent player out of our academy.



International Duty

-- Reserves keeper Steven Potter and new U18 striker prospect Marcus Sowter both represent England in the U21 Championship.

[NoSkillz]

Attendance Record Broken

-- We continue to break attendance records, with our average of 22,469 last year breaking the mark of 21,342 set last year. We should sell out most of our games this year in our now antiquated 23,000 seat stadium but our board won’t build a new one.



Barclays Premier League Odds for 2025-26

-- Manchester City are made favourites to take home the Premier League title with 7-4 odds given by Bwin. For a second consecutive year, Tottenham are the second choice at 5-2, United is third at 3-1 and we are expected to finish fourth with odds of 8-1, which are the exact same odds as last year. The other top teams are Chelsea at 12-1 and Arsenal at 20-1.



International Update

-- Manuel Perez continues to play well for Mexico in the Confederations Cup, winning a 2-0 game over the USA then winning the final 1-0 over Germany. Perez gets awarded with the Best Goalkeeper award for the tournament! Perez has only one year left on his contract and we will certainly get on that soon.



Injury Update

-- Zoltan Bardi can resume full training after missing three months with torn knee ligaments. He’ll be ready to go for training camp starting next week.



Season Ticket Update

-- Tickets are selling briskly to start, with over 1854 already sold and expectations are that our season ticket base will be close to 8700 by the beginning of the season. We had 7467 season ticket holders last year so I imagine the final number will be somewhere in between those two numbers, as usual.



New Contract

-- I’m offered a substantial salary increase, with the board giving me FIVE YEAR contract offer at £83,000 per week. Holy crap, that’s a LOT of money! Obviously, I accept - that almost doubles my salary from last year.

[NoSkillz]

Dover Player Retirements and Other Departures

-- Well, it’s a very sad day, as long-time Dover midfielder Andrea Rocca packs up his belongings and leaves the club without a new deal. Simply put, his agent was asking for too much money and at best, he was going to be a fifth or sixth choice this year so we bid adieu to a fan and personal favourite. Rocca first electrified our supporters back in 2016-17 when he spent the year here on loan from Arsenal. We were in League 1 at that time and he was easily our top player even as a 19 year old, scoring 14 goals and adding 20 assists in 46 games to help us earn promotion to the Championship. He’d be sold to Celta that offseason and spend one year in Spain before coming to Dover for good in a solid £1.6 million deal. Rocca would spend seven more years with our club, all in the Premier League and there’s no question that he leaves as one of the most talented figures to ever suit up for us. In all, he played eight full seasons, appeared in 298 matches, scored 46 goals and added an incredible 114 assists. He was a master at set pieces, with a wonderful knack for corners and his left foot was filled with power and deception, as he owned a wicked curling blast on free kicks. I hope he continues his career as he approaches 30, still hope he gets that elusive first international cap for Italy and we wish this icon all the best in the future.

-- Central defender Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz leaves the club on a free, having signed with Greek club Aris. I scooped up a 16 year old Yilmaz from INF Clairefontaine back in 2019 for a VERY modest £120,000 and the youngster spent three full years with our U18 team to develop his skills and also gain eligibility as a home-grown player for European play. He’d graduate to our senior club in 2022 and would play three seasons with our main club. In all, he spent six years at Dover, played in 34 games, scored five goals and added one assist. He was always excellent when called upon and we wish him well in Greece.

-- We also complete a £500,000 transfer for defender Hans Briers, who heads to Deportivo in a previously arranged deal. We signed Briers on a free from Anderlecht in 2022 and he spent one year with our U18s before spending two years in the Championship on loan with Coventry and then Hull last year. He never suited up for our senior club. I’m thrilled to get anything for him, to be honest!

-- I also release a few players from our Reserves team and our U18 team with expiring contracts. Leaving the club are MC Warren WInd, MR Steven Miller, MC Gary Archer, ML Adam Hyde, GK Luigi Nicoletti, DC Fouad van der Horst and DL Dennis Richter. None of those players suited up for our senior team and none will be missed.

-- Interestingly enough, Carlos Guzman sticks around despite not having a contract. If you recall, I recently tried to extend him but was foiled by the work permit authority, who denied my wish for an extension. I guess Guzman is allowed to stick around on his old deal so for now, I’ll get to keep him here on a weekly basis, which is fine by me.



Transfer Market Plans

-- I’ve already touched on my transfer market plans, which are relatively modest this year. I would like a stud right midfielder and beyond that, I’m just looking to add the best young talent available. That said, I love strikers and will always seek out the best there and I’ll make possible stabs on right fullbacks and maybe a young goalkeeper if anyone is available.



World's Richest Club List

-- Real Madrid maintain their status as the world’s richest club for a fourth straight season, with an estimated value of £720 million, DOWN more than £70 million after dropping £53 million the year before. Those are HUGE decreases but they maintain their spot at the top of the world list. Barca are at £672 million (down £28 million from last year and now down almost £150 million in the last three years). FC Bayern climb to third at £435 million and Manchester United drop to fourth but gain £16 million in value and are now up to £434 million. Arsenal (??) climb one spot to fifth at £379 million. Tottenham move up to 7th, City drop from 5th to 8th (and lose over £50 million in the process), Chelsea drop from 8th to 12th and Liverpool are in 19th. We stay in 23rd position, same as last year, with a value of £141 million, up a modest £5 million from last year. We’ll never move up much more than this unless we get a new stadium.



July Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership. Our FA Cup win is the main highlight but they are slightly disappointed with the departure of Hans Briers. Oh, now THAT is rich! Haha!

-- We recorded a PROFIT last month of £7.19 million. That’s a rarity for me in the month of June!

-- I get a note about a few possible buyout fees available on transfer clauses previously set and I cash in on two of them: one for Kostas Kalfas and another for striker Roberto, who I guess has become relevant again in lower leagues and his club is worried about the clause. I accept their buyout offer and take the money and run!



Transfer IN

-- We have a bunch of offers out right now and I expect a flood of good news soon but I’m delighted to say that we have signed the best young football prospect in the world, at least according to my scouting team. Welcome 15 year old (!!) Michel Benard to Dover in a £5 million transfer with AJ Auxerre!



He’s only a baby but my scouts feel he has 4.0 star potential, which would put him amongst the world’s elite players. He’ll be 16 in August and has up to three years to spend with our U18 team if I so desire. That said, I may eventually send him abroad but for this year, he’ll definitely stay here and we’ll attempt to get him settled in England. Great looking prospect.



Contract Status

- We have a number of key players in the last year of their contract: GK Manuel Perez, DR and captain Salim Loucif, MR Gianluca Bolis, MC Neil Cairney, MC Emmerson Harvey, ST Paul Moses, GK Ingo Wilke, DL Renato Gaucho and DC Saber Nasri are all important players and I’ll be looking to extend them all soon. That’s a lot of key players! Also with expiring deals are MR Graham Allan, DR Steve Reed and MR Marcel Quade, who may not see extension offers.



Manager, Team & Stadium Status and Media Expectations



The big news is my huge salary increase which takes me to over £4 million per year. Just crazy money!!



Ticket prices remain pretty static and our team value edges up a bit. I don’t know how much more that value can increase without a new stadium…



No changes to our facilities over the past year but we do have some construction finally underway on a training ground and youth facility improvement. Work should be completed soon. My big desire is to get into a bigger stadium but I don’t see the day where that will happen, unfortunately.

[NoSkillz]

Transfers IN

-- As usual, we look to add marginal talent to our U18 club in order to continue our dominance in the youth leagues. We scoop up GK Philippe Jung (1.0/2.5), midfielder Stephen Brannigan (0.5/1.5), DC Andrew Hunter (0.5/2.5), DC Domenico Fracassetti (0.5/1.5) and DL Liam Pearce (0.5/2.0), all on free transfers. They’ll help the U18 club and possibly be transfer fodder in the future.



Contract Extension

-- Great news! We get a very reasonable contract extension with superstar striker Paul Moses! We get a four year contract that sees his salary jump only £7,000 per week. Even better is the fact he doesn’t ask for a minimum release clause so we won’t be under any pressure from opposing clubs. Still, surprisingly enough, no one has ever made an offer on Moses in the few years we’ve had him.



Transfer IN

-- We add yet another superlative young talent, bringing in 17 year old left midfielder Jonathan Langlet from Le Mans FC in a £5 million transfer.



Langlet is a 1.5/4.0 talent, making him one of the brightest prospects in the game! He’s spent the last two years on loan, playing with FC Nantes in French Ligue 2 back in 2023/24 and with Greek Superleague club AO Skoda Xanthi last year. I plan on keeping him with our U18s for this year and then we’ll perhaps look at a loan assignment the next year if he still needs some time. He is wildly ambitious and states that today “is the best day of his life” and “he plans on making himself a firm favourite with the club’s supporters”. Nice!

[NoSkillz]

Training Camp Begins

-- The players return from their vacation and there are two players who come back woefully out of shape. ST Neil Evans is a graduate of our U18 program and will, at best, stick around on our reserves team. No big deal there. However, also showing up “not ready for the big kick off” and “needing to continue training hard and get some matches under his belt” is Jose, one of our top midfielders. Inexcusable! I have chats with both players to indicate that their lack of professionalism isn’t acceptable.

-- In our team meeting, my coaches give me the low-down on where we stand in relation to other teams in the league. We continue to make major strides everywhere:

Aggression - Low
Concentration - Highest in the League (same as last year)
Flair - Highest in the League (High last year)
First Touch - Good (same as last year)
Height - Good, among the tallest squads in the league (Same as last year)
Speed - Highest in the league (same as last year)
Passing - Good (same as last year)
Strength - Good
Fitness - Best in the League (FIFTH year in a row)
Technique - Good (same as last year)
Age - Youngest team in the League (We've been the youngest squad all eight years in the Premier League)



Player Released

-- We release 22 year old fullback Carlos Guzman on a free. Guzman came to Dover back in 2021 on a £2.1 million deal with Lanus and spent a year with our U18 squad before getting promoted to the senior team the next year. He was always a second or third choice player, mostly behind Renato Gaucho but he always played well when called upon. In four years with our club, he suited up in 25 games, starting 12 of them, scoring one goal and adding one assist. I wanted to keep him here as depth but we couldn’t get a work permit arranged and in the end, despite wanting to stay, I wouldn’t have been able to get him into a match so it’s best to let him move on. We wish him the best and now I’ll be on the lookout for a cheap left fullback for our reserves.



U18 Transfer IN

-- We continue to add to our U18 roster, bringing in fullback Lorenzo Raimondi (0.5/1.5), ML Cheikh Gueye (0.5/1.5), MR Giuseppe Forti (0.5/2.0) and GK Jordan Tandy (0.5/2.0).



Transfer Offer

-- Unsolicited, we get two competing offers for 20 year old third string goalkeeper Steven Potter, a 1.0/2.5 talent. He’s playing for England’s U21 club but will never make an impact with our first team so I negotiate the offers to build in some clause money. We also get offers on marginal talents Steve Reed, a fullback and Marcel Quade a midfielder. Both were sent out on loan last year and won’t be a part of my plans going forward so hopefully, they accept a move!



Pitch Perfect

-- As usual, we have our pitch relayed before the start of the season and the playing surface is now in perfect condition.



Clause Money IN

-- We’ve been given multiple chances to accept a buyout on a sell-on clause for former midfielder Rafael Ramirez but I’ve resisted, as Ramirez has great talent and I thought he’d be worth more than what was offered. In the end, I was right, as he is sold for almost £10 million and we pick up a full 20% of that over the course of the next 24 months. Easy money!

[NoSkillz]

Thu. July 10, 2025

-- We play our annual intrasquad game between our reserves/backups and our U18 team.

Preseason Friendly
Dover 2 - 0 Dover U18
Dover Goals - Alberto Velazquez (7.3), Robert Hoffmann OG
Dover Assists - Emmerson Harvey (7.4)
Man of the Match - Emmerson Harvey
Other Notables: Emerson (7.1), Mwemere Mutesa (7.1), Adrian Torres (7.3)

U18 Goals -
U18 Assists -
Other U18 Notables - Andrew Hunter (5.9), Liam Pearce (5.7), Giuseppe Forti (5.9), Fernando Estrada (5.3)

-- A really poor game from our main backups, only scoring one legitimate goal against our kids. A good game from newcomer Torres was the highlight.



Transfer OUT

-- We make a BIG splash, paying £16 million to Turkish giant Galatasaray for 24 year old right fullback Rodolfo Lopez!!



Lopez is a 3.0/3.5 rated talent and likely one of the top young fullbacks in the game right now. He is partially blocked by captain Salim Loucif but I’ve been a tad underwhelmed by Loucif’s play and he needs a bit of a push. Lopez will get every chance to get on the first team and this definitely makes Emerson, our young right fullback with lots of promise, a potential casualty. Still, getting a player of Lopez’s pedigree was something I couldn’t turn down and we’re delighted to get him signed.



Transfer Talk

-- We have two significant offers come in for young central defender Mwemere Mutesa, including one over £10 million! That’s a lot of coin for a backup player but Mutesa has blossomed into a 3.0/3.5 talent and I think he’ll move up to our primary backup position this year over Saber Nasri. I reject the offers.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. July 12, 2025

Preseason Friendly
Le Mans FC (France Ligue 1) vs. Dover
Stade Leon Bollee, Le Mans, France

Le Mans are a traditional top 5 team but are coming off a disappointing 7th placed finish last year. I just did some business with them, bringing in young winger Jonathan Langlet, who will be on the bench today and likely will get some playing time at some point.

We are a very tired team right now as we build up our stamina and fitness for the coming season. Simply put, I start the players who are the most fit at this moment. Newcomer Rodolfo Lopez will start today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, S. Nasri, R. Hamon, R. Lopez
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho

Le Mans 1 - 5 Dover
Goals - Gianluca Bolis (8.2), Mads Pedersen (8.0), Chiquinho (8.3), Paul Moses (9.2), Sergio Mendez OG
Assists - Paul Moses 2, Gianluca Bolis, Emmerson Harvey (6.9)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (8.5), Rodolfo Lopez (7.4), Rayane Hamon (7.4), Saber Nasri (7.3), Renato Gaucho (7.5)
Attendance - 16,338

Solid start to the main preseason schedule as we start with two games in France. Paul Moses was sensational and we need to keep him healthy this year! Gianluca Bolis also had a great start but I’m hunting hard for someone else to push him on the right side of the midfield. A good start as well for big signing Rodolfo Lopez at right fullback.



Contract Extension

-- We come to terms on a four year contract extension with GK Manuel Perez. Much to my chagrin, I had to include a minimum release clause but I was able to get it set at £25 million, a solid number. Perez is currently travelling with the Mexican national team.



U18 Players Released

-- I give outright releases to nine players on the U18 team that came up through our academy. They were all 0.5 potential players and I don’t waste my time or theirs if they aren’t capable.



Season Ticket Sales Update

-- We’ve sold 4513 season ticket packages and are still expected to end up around 8600 total.



Transfers OUT

-- I’m happy to see that deep backup Steve Reed, a right fullback, has accepted a contract with Stoke, thereby closing off a £650,000 transfer deal with additional clauses that could see it rise to £750,000. Reed joined our club on a free from Liverpool in July 2022, spent two years here as a rarely used backup and spent last year at MK Dons in the Championship on a season-long loan. In all, he played 13 total games for our club, starting three of them and contributing one assist. We wish him well at Stoke.

-- We also clear midfielder Marcel Quade off our books in a modest £450,000 deal with Modena. Quade was signed on a free from Austrian club Sportvereinigung Ried for our U18 club in July 2022. He then spent two seasons away on loan, first with Savona in Italy and last year with Colchester in the Championship. He never played a senior level game for our club.



Next Up

-- We conclude our two game preseason tour in France with a game against the defending Champions League title holders Olympique Lyonnais.

[NoSkillz]

Mon. July 14, 2025

Preseason Friendly
Olympique Lyonnais (France Ligue 1) vs. Dover
OL Land, Decines-Charpieu, France

OL are the defending Champions League winners, having knocked off rivals OM in the finals. Lyonnais also won Ligue 1 for the third time in four years and 8th out of 11 years! Needless to say, they are loaded with talent and are one of the great teams in the game.

We fully rotate our squad after playing just two days earlier. Seeing his first ever Dover start today is 18 year old French goalkeeper Philippe Jung. Otherwise, it’s a good mixture of main starters and rotation players, as we continue to work on our fitness, which hasn’t been great to start the year.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - P. Jung
D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, M. Mutesa, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, E. Harvey, Jose, G. Allan
S - A. Broomes, Z. Bardi

Olympique Lyonnais 2 - 0 Dover
Goals -
Assists -
Man of the Match - Abdelhalim Meddahi (OL midfielder - 8.9)
Other Dover Notables - Rafinha (5.9)
Attendance - 58,028

Wow, we were absolutely hammered here, with OL winning 60% of possession and an outrageous 21-5 (10-2 on target) shot advantage. Rarely do we get handed our lunch like that but it’s proof of how good Olympique Lyonnais truly are. They played a narrow 4-4-2 diamond and it was very effective against us. Abdelhalim Meddahi was incredible - what a player! They’ve also got a very interesting young striker with Moses like speed. As for our club, not much to write home about. Poor young Philippe Jung was under fire all game and acquitted himself very well in a tough environment. Rafinha continues to disappoint.



Transfers OUT

-- Reserves goalkeeper Steven Potter agrees to a contract with Middlesbrough, completing a £650,000 deal with potential clauses added. We picked Potter up on a free in July 2022 after he was released by Manchester United and he played two years with our U18 team before playing extensively with our reserves last year. He never played a senior level game with our club but was part of England’s U21 setup so he might turn out to be a decent player. We wish him the best.

-- We also bid adieu to U18 graduate Vlastimil Silhavy, who departs for Leverkusen in a deal I couldn’t turn down, £1,400,000 with potential clauses as well. We picked Silhavy up on a free last year from Jablonec and he spent the year with the U18s, playing well enough to earn a senior team contract. He even got into our last game of the season and notched an assist, his only game and point for our club. I envisioned him in the “Lyubomir Kunchev” role of third right midfielder but this was an offer I couldn’t turn down. We wish him well - he’s got some intriguing potential but he was never going to realize it with our club.



Loan OUT

-- We come to terms with Recreativo in Ukraine’s top league to take top prospect Emerson on a season-long loan. We get a £350,000 up front fee and they will pay his wages for the season. At this point, he’s blocked by Salim Loucif and newcomer Rodolfo Lopez so this gives me some time to let things settle here - at only 20 years of age, and with 2.5/3.5 talent, he can definitely still be a part of our future. I rejected deals from teams in Spain and Italy because they wouldn’t guarantee him a spot in the first team.

-- Reserves defender Adam Betts agrees to join Championship side Charlton on a season-long loan with an option to buy him for £400,000. He won’t be in our plans so needless to say, I hope they take the purchase option.

-- I also have an agreement to send talented prospect Alberto Velazquez to CS Sedan Ardennes but they can’t come up with the up front fee at the last minute and the deal falls through. UGH. I try to offer him around to other teams once again.



International Update

-- A few of our U18 players take part in the Euro U19 Championship, with England’s Liam Pearce and Marcus Sowter seeing action while Eneko Remirez suited up for Spain.

-- Manuel Perez also suits up for Mexico in the Gold Cup, winning 4-0 and posting the clean sheet.



Contract Extension

-- I’m pleased to get Renato Gaucho signed for an additional four years. The 23 year old left fullback has been a constant since he was 17 years old and we’re delighted to have him around as he gets close to his prime.



Transfer IN

-- We come to terms with 18 year old German left back Ralf Kramer, closing off a £1,200,000 transfer deal with Koln.



Kramer will play for the U18s this year but essentially, he is our replacement for the departed Carlos Guzman and will be our third string left back in case of emergency. He’s a 1.0/3.0 talent and could make his way onto the senior team at some point with proper development.



Next Up

-- We host Scottish club Rangers at Crabble Athletic Ground in a preseason friendly.

[NoSkillz]

Thu. July 17, 2025

Preseason Friendly
Dover vs. Rangers (Scotland Premier League)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

We welcome the defending Scottish Premier League champs to Crabble for our first home preseason friendly. I recognize their striker Niels Hendriks, who just came over from Derby this offseason. He’s been a prolific scorer for them in the past so I’m sure he’ll do well in Scotland.

We continue to rotate the squad as we prepare for the upcoming season. We have been a bit too cocky this offseason and I tell the team I expect a win today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, A. Torres, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, N. Cairney, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, M. Lugo

Dover 4 - 1 Rangers
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.7), Ross Russell OG, Fernando Estrada PEN (7.4)
Assists - Manuel Lugo 2 (8.2), Neil Cairney (7.6), Fernando Estrada
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Rayane Hamon (7.3), Adrian Torres (7.4), Renato Gaucho (7.2), Gianluca Bolis (7.0), Mads Pedersen (7.3)
Attendance - 15,958

Back on track here, as Paul Moses continues his dominance in the preseason with two more goals and about five breakaways. We also got a great performance from U18 striker prospect Fernando Estrada, who was very noticeable in his 35 minutes with a penalty shot goal and a header that went in off Rangers defender Ross Russell. I continue to be impressed as well with 19 year old DC Adrian Torres, another new pickup. We continue to have troubles with our new players not speaking English but that will correct itself over time.



Transfer IN

-- It took awhile to get a work permit approved but we come to terms with Argentine national right midfielder Sergio De la Vega, completing a £7,000,000 transfer with Pachuca in Mexico!



This is a very exciting signing and I envision De la Vega giving incumbent Gianluca Bolis quite a push as the year goes on. He’s got decent speed and phenomenal skill and work rate and this signing is met with great fan fare by fans and the media. Fantastic! This ultimately means that Graham Allan, a versatile long-time backup, is expendable and I’ll likely look to move him out.



Loan OUT

-- We loan out talented prospect Felix Hernandez to Metalist on a season-long loan, getting about £350,000 as an upfront fee. Hernandez is a 3.5 level prospect and I hope he gets a decent amount of playing time to continue his development.



Next Up

-- We head to Ireland to take on Derry City in preseason action.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. July 19, 2025

Preseason Friendly
Derry City (Ireland) vs. Dover
The Brandywell, Londonderry, Ireland

This isn’t a large club but they are a long-time participant in the Irish Premier League and actually took part in three Champions League qualifying stages, losing in the second round of qualifying each time, most recently in 2024.

We should win in a walk today but I’m still looking for a few players to gain match fitness. Getting a start today is 18 year old striker Fernando Estrada and U18 defender Luis Miguel Garcia. Sergio De la Vega is in at right midfield and Rodolfo Lopez is in at right fullback. Philippe Jung is in goal.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - P. Jung
D - Rafinha, L. Garcia, S. Nasri, R. Lopez
M - A. Bamba, E. Harvey, P. Secchi, S. De la Vega
S - A. Broomes, F. Estrada

Derry City 1 - 4 Dover
Goals - Andy Broomes 2 (8.9), Zoltan Bardi (7.9), Jonathan Langlet (7.4)
Assists - Arsene Bamba (7.5), Fernando Estrada (6.9), Zoltan Bardi
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Rodolfo Lopez (7.2), Luis Miguel Garcia (5.9)
Attendance - 5,293

This game wasn’t as comfortable as the scoreline would indicate, as we scored two goals in the last five minutes. We only had 50% of possession and I’m a bit disappointed in our overconfidence this training camp. Broomes was very impressive and Bardi was very influential upon entering the game in the second half.



Future Transfer IN

-- We get a work permit for 17 year old Mexican defender Francisco Lopez, completing a £70,000 transfer deal with Club Deportivo Atlas. The deal will go through in early August when he turns 18. He’s a 1.0/3.0 talent so he could eventually turn into something useful.



Loan OUT

-- We loan out talented striker Alberto Velazquez to Werder Bremen on a season-long loan, getting about £250,000 as an upfront fee. I worry about his playing time with the German club but no teams could guarantee me a starting slot. At the very least, he’s on a decent team and should learn a lot.



Transfer IN

-- We continue to add to our prospect haul, paying £6,000,000 for 18 year old Spanish midfielder Juan Jose Culebras!



We pry this very impressive youngster from Villarreal and impressively, he played 24 games in the top Spanish league as a 17 year old last year on loan with Malaga. The 1.5/3.5 prospect will spend this year with the U18s and will be a potential key player in the future. Another exciting prospect!



Next Up

-- We host powerhouse Borussia Dortmund in a preseason friendly at Crabble.

[NoSkillz]

Tue. July 22, 2025

Preseason Friendly
Dover vs. Borussia Dortmund (German First Division)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

We welcome the 2023 Champions League runners up and last year’s German champion Dortmund, one of the larger clubs in the world.

I go with a very strong lineup today - most of our players are fully fit but some, like Paul Moses and Jose, are still a bit away.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho

Dover 2 - 0 Dortmund
Goals - Rayane Hamon (7.8), Benedikt Raab (8.4)
Assists - Paul Moses (6.9)
Man of the Match - Julio Cesar Cejas (Dortmund GK - 9.1)
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.4), Salim Loucif (7.2), Claudio Contreras (7.4), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Mads Pedersen (7.2)
Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out)

We scored inside the second minute and added our second in the 11th minute and cruised from there. The Dortmund keeper was sensational in a man of the match performance, as we outshot them 27-13 (11-4 on target).



Transfer OUT

-- We only had one suitor but I ended up getting a decent haul for midfielder Graham Allan, closing off a £7,500,000 transfer deal with Everton. Allan was going to be a very expensive third stringer after the acquisition of Sergio De la Vega and it only made sense to explore the market on this fine player. We brought Allan in from Blackburn for the same price we would eventually sell him at - he came here in July 2022 and played three full seasons for us, mostly as a main backup to fellow winger Gianluca Bolis but he did get plenty of starting opportunities as well. He had great speed and versatility, with the ability to play both wings and striker as well. In all, he’d appear in 118 matches for us, starting 68 of them, scoring 19 goals and adding 25 assists. We’ll miss him but I strongly believe we upgraded with the De la Vega pickup.



Dover Reserves Update

-- In a rare reserves friendly, we defeat Eastbourne Boro’s main squad 6-1. Fernando Estrada bagged a brace and we got singles from Rodolfo Lopez, Jonathan Langlet, Marcus Sowter and Luis Miguel Garcia, as we go with a very young squad filled with U18’ers.



Next Up

-- We continue our preseason schedule with a home matchup against Championship side Watford.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. July 26, 2025

Preseason Friendly
Dover vs. Watford (English Championship)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Watford are one of my favourite real-life teams - in this dynasty, they’ve been in the Championship the entire run, with two fourth place finishes being the best they’ve done. I recognize one of their players, midfielder Ben Sayer, as being a former Dover U18 player way back in our Blue Square Premier and League 2 days! Nice that the kid carved out a decent career, as he’s in his sixth year with Watford now!

We’ll use this game as a means for many of our unfit players to get some playing time. Arsene Bamba, Manuel Lugo, Zoltan Bardi and Saber Nasri are still working on their fitness. I also start U18 goalkeeper Jordan Tandy and defenders Andrew Hunter and Liam Pearce for the first time.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - J. Tandy
D - L. Pearce, A. Hunter, S. Nasri, R. Lopez
M - A. Bamba, N. Cairney, E. Harvey, S. De la Vega
S - M. Lugo, Z. Bardi

Dover 3- 0 Watford
Goals - Saber Nasri 2 (9.3), Manuel Lugo (7.8)
Assists - Neil Cairney (7.3), Arsene Bamba (8.2), Zoltan Bardi (7.1)
Man of the Match - Saber Nasri
Other Dover Notables - Rodolfo Lopez (7.5), Andrew Hunter (7.2), Liam Pearce (7.4), Sergio De la Vega (7.1)
Attendance - 9,242

We dominate this game but it was relatively boring, as Saber Nasri scores on two set piece headers. Always nice to see Lugo pitch in with a goal as well.



Season Ticket Update

-- We’ve sold just over 6900 season ticket packages and expectations are that we sell up to about 8600. We had less than 7500 last year so that would be a sizeable increase.



International Update

-- GK Manuel Perez, as is customary during our preseason schedule, is away on international duty for Mexico in the Gold Cup and he continues to dominate, getting another clean sheet in a win over Canada.



Next Up

-- We face another Championship side, this time on the road at Nottingham Forest.

[NoSkillz]

Tue. July 29, 2025

Preseason Friendly
Nottingham Forest vs. Dover
The City Ground, Nottingham, UK

Forest, like our last opponent Watford, have spent this entire dynasty in the Championship, mostly as a mid-table side. Their top finish during the last fifteen years was a fifth place finish in 2020/21.

We’ll start a relatively weak side today but Paul Moses and Sergio De la Vega are in. I’m also starting new midfielder Juan Jose Culebras for the first time.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - P. Jung
D - R. Kramer, D. Hope, A. Torres, D. Beckett
M - J. Langlet, J. Culebras, P. Secchi, S. De la Vega
S - P. Moses, F. Estrada

Nottingham Forest 2 - 4 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses (8.2), Sergio De la Vega (7.6), Rodolfo Lopez (7.4), Neil Evans (7.3)
Assists - Ralf Kramer (7.3), Paolo Secchi (7.0), Manuel Lugo (6.9)
Man of the Match - Robin Ridley (Nottingham Forest MC - 8.6)
Other Dover Notables -
Attendance - 21,987

Not a great performance, as Forest actually dominate possession with 59% but we outshoot them 19-14 (7-5 on target). We did start a whole bunch of U18’ers but still, not good enough and I tell the players as much in the room after the game. New fullback Lopez already has two goals in the preseason and he has enough versatility to play at right midfield, which may come in handy this year.



August Update

-- We hit August and we have one friendly left against Barcelona here at home before starting the season in the Community Shield against Man United. We also have three Premier League games this month: Tottenham (away), Aston Villa (home) and Southampton (away).

-- Our training report shows that we get good camp performances from Eneko Remirez, Manuel Lugo, Adrian Torres and youth player Matthew Neil. Another negative report comes in for Paul Moses - not a good sign.



August Board Update

-- The board are very pleased with my overall leadership, with our stature increase the main positive and the departure of Hans Briers still bugs them. Get over it guys - he never played a game for us!

-- They should be more upset about the fact that we record a loss of £36.53 million in July! Yikes.



Transfer Update

-- Those motherfu*k*rs at Manchester United have two injured goalkeepers so they once again come to Dover looking to steal our players. They meet star goalkeeper Manuel Perez’s minimum release clause and actually exceed it, offering us £27.5 million and it’s auto accepted. There goes our star goalkeeper of the future unless he decides to stay with us. I just recently extended his contract so he’s not interested in talking with us right now. I’m numb.



Next Up

-- We host world powerhouse Barcelona in a final preseason matchup at Crabble.

[Alf]

Eh eh, at least you still have good old Ingo Wilke

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by Alf

Eh eh, at least you still have good old Ingo Wilke

That's definitely true.

In fact, Wilke has continually outperformed the younger Perez despite lower ratings. Granted, Perez has also played at a pretty high level for us but as you state, the loss won't be the end of the world...

And that's a LOT of money for a goalkeeper!

[NoSkillz]

Sat. August 2, 2025

Preseason Friendly
Dover vs. Barcelona (Spain)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, UK

Our old Champions League rival Barcelona visits Crabble for our last preseason friendly. Interestingly enough, Barca haven’t won their league since 2014/15, a span of eleven years. They are still stacked with talent, although superstar forward Enrique will be turning 31 this October and is finally starting to lose that legendary speed.

We’ll go with a mostly full strength side today. I’m still trying to get chronically injured Arsene Bamba fit but otherwise, the roster is ready for the season. I’ll keep Paul Moses out of the lineup and ready for our Community Shield game next week.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho

Dover 1 - 1 Barcelona
Goals - Manuel Lugo (7.3)
Assists - Sergio De la Vega (6.9)
Man of the Match - Chris-Michel Bigirimana (Barcelona DC - 7.3)
Other Dover Notables - Rayane Hamon (7.0), Claudio Contreras (7.0)
Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out)

We played pretty well but needed an 83rd minute goal from substitute Lugo off a De la Vega corner to pull out a draw. And of course, Arsene Bamba got hurt again. My God, the guy is made of glass.

-- We close out the preseason 7-1-1, with the only loss for a second consecutive year coming to Olympique Lyonnais.

-- Oh JOY. Arsene Bamba suffers a torn hamstring and will miss 2-3 months. We’ve already loaned out third string ML Felix Hernandez for the whole season and I can’t recall him. GREAT. I’ll need to look at bringing in a loan player or else it will be 17 year old newcomer Jonathan Langlet backing up Mads Pedersen. Actually, I can use Rafinha as well so perhaps I’m not in bad shape. DOVER INJURY: Arsene Bamba - Torn Hamstring (2-3 months)



Season Ticket Update

-- We’ve now sold 8153 season ticket packages, already well over last year’s total of 7467. We expect to get up to around 8500 before the season begins.



International Roundup

-- In perhaps his last international game while a member of our squad, GK Manuel Perez backstops Mexico to the Gold Cup title in a 3-1 win over the USA. Perez let in only two goals in eight tournament games and made the Dream Team.



On-Field Leadership

-- We make a slight change to our on-field leadership, making Chiquinho our vice-captain behind Salim Loucif. The role had been filled by backup defender Saber Nasri for the last couple of years but I envision Nasri slipping to fourth on our central defence totem pole behind youngster Mwemere Mutesa so I’d essentially be wasting the vice captain spot if I kept him in the position.



Transfer OUT

-- And just like that, he’s gone. GK Manuel Perez accepts a contract and is granted a work permit, thus completing a whopping £27.5 million transfer to our main rival, Manchester United, the largest transfer in Dover club history. It breaks the former record of £21.5 million for our sale of defender Kostas Zagos to Chelsea a couple years ago.

Perez joined our club in July 2022 from Cruz Azul in Mexico in a modest £3.3 million deal and he was always ear marked as our goalkeeper of the future. He had trouble settling in and it took him two full years to learn how to speak English but his performances were always solid but not necessarily spectacular. He could never really unseat long-time Dover legend Ingo Wilke but finally played more than half our games last year, a bit of a down year by his lofty standards. In the end, there’s not much I can do despite wanting to keep him here - United splashed the cash and Perez takes the loot and runs, as they are paying him £175K per week, a wage I simply can’t compete with. In all, Perez started 69 matches in three years, allowing only 60 goals and notching 33 clean sheets. It’s a sad day but man, that’s a LOT of money. Now, I’ll need to find a capable backup keeper, and quickly at that.



Next Up

-- We head to Wembley to face Manchester United in the Community Shield, hoping to defend our title from last year.

[NoSkillz]

Sun. August 10, 2025

Community Shield
Manchester United vs. Dover
Wembley, London, UK

We face our main rival, Manchester United, in the Community Shield. This is the second consecutive year we’re in the competition and we are looking to defend after winning against City last season. We expect to face Manuel Perez in goal today, as he just arrives back from International duty in time to face us in his first game for United. Wonderful. He joins defender Cristian Rodriguez and midfielder Said Henni as former Dover players now starring for United. Of course, the main man on offence is Yaya Sanogo, who continues to score at will despite being 32 years old.

We’ll go with a full lineup today, with newcomer Sergio De la Vega starting at right midfield over incumbent Gianluca Bolis. Mads Pedersen will start at left midfield for injured Arsene Bamba, who will miss up to three months of action. Paul Moses starts up front and has had difficulty regaining his fitness after missing so much time last year.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, Jose, S. De la Vega
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho

Manchester United 1 - 0 Dover
Goals -
Assists -
Man of the Match - Jaroslaw Brzyski (Manchester United DC - 7.4)
Other Dover Notables -
Attendance - 82,540

Ugh. Not a great game and United didn’t even play Sanogo, Henni or Rodriguez, arguably their three top players. Not a good start for us. Oscar Briceno, one of their strikers, scored on a 3rd minute header off a corner for the only goal of the game. Possession was even and we outshot United 17-7 (6-4 on target).

MANCHESTER UNITED WIN THE 2025 COMMUNITY SHIELD

-- Ha. We get a note that the attendance for the Community Shield was a record low by over 4000 fans. I blame United!



Transfer IN

-- We continue to load up on the best youth talent in the game, bringing in 18 year old striker Bakary Kone from AIK for a modest £2.5 million!



This guy is a flat out STUD and joins a ridiculous U18 striker core of Fernando Estrada and Marcus Sowter. Kone is a 2.0/4.0 talent already and I immediately worry about how all three are going to get enough playing time. I’ll monitor the situation closely but may have to loan one of them out eventually.



Transfer News

-- I have two key players in the last year of their deals in Gianluca Bolis and Saber Nasri - Nasri has fallen to fourth on my depth chart and Bolis, at the moment, is a 1B player alongside newcomer Sergio De la Vega. I go fishing to see what I can get in the transfer market and offers come in for £12.5 million for Bolis and £6 million for Nasri. I reject both for now but will keep those in mind. I’d rather keep Bolis if I can at this point but Nasri will definitely be a transfer candidate so I can at least get something for him as opposed to losing him for nothing on a Bosman transfer.



Contract Extension

-- We come to terms on a new three year extension for blossoming midfielder Emmerson Harvey. He’ll get a huge raise and sees his contract extended to 2029. Good show.



International Update

-- We have a number of U21 players take part in friendlies. Michel Benard and Felix Hernandez suit up for the France U21 team - pretty big honour for the 16 year old Benard! Alberto Velazquez (Mexico U20 - 1 goal), Fernando Estrada (Mexico), Adrian Torres (Spain U20), Juan Jose Culebras (Spain U20) and Bakary Kone (Ivory Coast U20) also played.



Transfer IN

-- We find a backup goalkeeper, bringing in 23 year old English international Chris Davies to Dover in a £2 million deal with Reading.



Davies is an emerging player and is rated 2.5/2.5, basically putting him just under Ingo WIlke from a pure talent perspective but Wilke has always outperformed his ratings. Hopefully, Davies does the same! We had a chance to bring in an American goalkeeper but I couldn’t get a contract settled with his agent so I’ll be content with Davies as a backup. He should be able to play about 15 to 20 games for us without issue.



Clause Money IN

-- Last year, we sold promising striker Orlando Scolari to Udinese in Italy for £3.8 million and smartly built in a 20% sell on clause. Well, he just sold for a whopping £10.75 million so we’ll be getting 20% of that paid out over the next three years. Love it!



2025-26 Dover Athletic Squad

-- We head into our season opener against Tottenham with 27 first team players, the same number as last year. Here's a look at a breakdown of our senior team along with notes on our reserves, players on loan and key U18 personnel. Preferred starters are noted in bold.


GOALKEEPERS -
Ingo Wilke, Chris Davies

IN: Chris Davies (Reading - £2.0m)
OUT: Steven Potter (Middlesbrough - £750,000), Manuel Perez (Manchester United - £27.5m)

Manchester United ran into major injury issues in goal and came hard after star Manuel Perez, meeting his minimum release clause and forcing a transfer. It’s a significant loss, as we turn to 31 year old veteran Wilke, who will once again lead the way like he has for so many years. We also moved reserves keeper Potter out but bring in 23 year old English international Chris Davies as our backup. We are definitely weaker in goal this year with the sale of Perez. There are keepers on the market I can go after if Wilke can’t get the job done.

DEFENDERS -
Salim Loucif, Rafinha, Renato Gaucho, Saber Nasri, Rayane Hamon, Claudio Contreras, Mwemere Mutesa, Adrian Torres, Rodolfo Lopez

IN: Rodolfo Lopez (Galatasaray - £16m), Adrian Torres (Sevilla - £2m)
OUT: Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz (Aris - Free), Hans Briers (Deportivo - £600,000), Carlos Guzman (Released), Steve Reed (Stoke - £750,000), Adam Betts (Charlton - Loan), Emerson (Recreativo - Loan)

Once again, we have the same starting four at the back but Renato Gaucho and Salim Loucif are officially on watch after down seasons last year. I spent a ton of money to bring in talented fullback Rodolfo Lopez and he will get every chance to push our captain Loucif for a starting position. Loucif is in a contract year. Saber Nasri is also in a contract year and I’m actively attempting to sell him, as he is making a ridiculous wage for a #4 centre half back, having been overtaken by promising youngster Mwemere Mutesa. I’m also intrigued by newcomer Adrian Torres and he’ll get much more playing time after we sell Nasri. We are better with the addition of Lopez but depth is a minor concern once we move Nasri.

MIDFIELDERS -
Arsene Bamba, Emmerson Harvey, Jose, Neil Cairney, Gianluca Bolis, Sergio De la Vega, Mads Pedersen, Benedikt Raab, Paolo Secchi

IN: Sergio De la Vega (Pachuca - £7m)
OUT: Lyubomir Kunchev (Evian TG FC - £5.5m), Andrea Rocca (Released), Marcel Quade (Modena - £500k), Vlastimil Silhavy (Leverkusen - £1.4m), Felix Hernandez (Metalist - Loan), Graham Allan (Everton - £7.5m)

Last year we saw the emergence of young star Raab, as he took over from wonderkid Neil Cairney. We didn’t get good play from Arsene Bamba, who continues to be very injury prone and will once again miss a chunk of time early in the season. Gianluca Bolis will be pushed hard by newcomer De la Vega and Mads Pedersen will hopefully continue his progression on the left side. We also expect Emmerson Harvey to take the next step, as he starts to push for more playing time with the release of longtime Dover midfielder Andrea Rocca. We’re not as deep here as last year but our talent is unquestionable.

STRIKERS -

Zoltan Bardi, Andy Broomes, Chiquinho, Manuel Lugo, Paul Moses

IN: None
OUT: Alberto Velazquez (Werder Bremen - Loan)

We will go with the same roster of strikers as last year and hope that injuries don’t hit as hard as they did last year. The key to our team is the health and production from Paul Moses, who had two significant injuries last year that limited him to only 11 starts. We need his explosiveness and I think he still will need some time to get back up to speed. I am watching Chiquinho closely - he’s got two years left on his contract, is 29 years old and was very inconsistent last season - he will be pushed hard by last year’s leading scorer, Andy Broomes, veteran Zoltan Bardi and last year’s big signing, Manuel Lugo, who has been a huge disappointment thus far but has talent to burn. We hope he’s settled in by now. Our talent and depth here is incredible and we have prospects galore on loan and with our U18 team. This is a major strength on the team.

RESERVE TEAM -

DC Danny Hope, ST Neil Evans

Neither of these players will amount to anything here and have contracts that will expire at the end of this year without being renewed.

U18 SQUAD -

GK Philippe Jung, GK Jordan Tandy, DL Lorenzo Raimondi, DC Luis Miguel Garcia, DC Robert Hoffmann, DC Dominico Fracassetti, DC Andrew Hunter, DR Eneko Remirez, DC Francisco Lopez, DC Kevin Mirzai, DL Ralf Kramer, DL Liam Pearce, ML Stuart Cousins , MC Juan Jose Culebras, MC Michel Benard, MR Giuseppe Forti, ML Cheikh Gueye, MC Nathan Protheroe, MR Stephen Brannigan, ML Jonahtan Langlet, MC Edward Smith, ST Marcus Sowter, ST Fernando Estrada, ST Freddie Laird, ST Bakary Kone

We have some CRAZY talent here, with Garcia, Remirez, Lopez, Kramer, Culebras, Benard, Langlet, Sowter, Estrada and Kone all having 3.0 star potential or greater. We might average 6 goals a game with this crew in the U18 league.

PLAYERS AWAY ON LOAN -

DC Adam Betts, DR Emerson, ML Felix Hernandez, ST Alberto Velazquez

Emerson, Hernandez and Velazquez are all very strong talents and could eventually make their mark with our club.

Our goals are simple:

1. Win the Barclays Premier League
2. Win the Champions League
3. Repeat as FA Cup champions

Lets do it.



Next Up

-- We open our Premier League season on the road as underdogs against Tottenham.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. August 16, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Tottenham vs. Dover
White Hart Lane, London, England

Betting Odds: Tottenham: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Dover: 7-4
Past Meetings: 10W 4D 2L

We ended our 2024/25 season playing Spurs, defeating them 1-0 to win our first ever FA Cup and now face them in the Premier League season opener. Tottenham finished 6th in the league last year and will play in the Europa League this year. They spent £52 million in the transfer market this summer, with star winger Daniele Bentivoglio being the big signing at £26 million, coming over from Everton. They also splashed another £17 million on Mallorca’s Evgeny Kuzmin, a 27 year old Russian defender. We get a bit of a break, as top striker Peter Jansen is injured for today’s game but they still have Jean Junior, a fine talent himself.

We go with a very familiar lineup today but I’ll be closely watching players like Chiquinho, Gianluca Bolis and captain Salim Loucif. I want to see good games from all three today and we’ll need a great game from Paul Moses as well, as he looks to bounce back this year after an injury riddled campaign last year. We’re slight underdogs today but I’ll stick with our control mentality on the road.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, M. Mutesa, R. Lopez, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega, A. Broomes

Flat 4-4-2 for Tottenham, with Jean Junior being joined by Antonio Martin up front. Matthieu Dreyer is in goal. I get a note from my assistant that midfielder Jose is “jet lagged” and looks “exhausted” in the warmups but he’s in the lineup and will just need to suck it up! I tell the players this is a winnable game and pull aside Chiquinho, Bolis and Loucif to tell them I expect a performance today.

20’ - The play has been pretty even thus far, with our best chance coming early on a Contreras header off a corner kick. Later, we have a free kick from distance and from a full 30 yards out, Benedict Raab sends a curling rocket into the right top corner of the goal past an outstretched Dreyer for the sensational goal! WHAT A SHOT!! DOVER GOAL 1-0

34’ - We earn a corner and Raab’s cross is mishandled by Dreyer and the ball pops right to the foot of Mads Pedersen, who slams it into the net. Pedersen was just foiled on a full field breakaway minutes earlier but makes up for it here! DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - A very strange half, as I feel we were outplayed severely despite the two goal lead. The possession stats are UGLY - Spurs held 57% of the ball but we outshoot them 12-7 (7-1 on target). Our passing was noticeably terrible (69%), with countless unforced giveaways. We need to be better but we’ll take the two goal lead.

58’ - I pull off Salim Loucif, who got dinged up early in the game. In comes Rodolfo Lopez in his first official appearance for our club.

64’ - The jet lagged Jose comes off and in comes Neil Cairney.

66’ - I pull back into a counter attacking mentality.

76’ - Spurs have been knocking on our door the whole second half and Jean Junior dances around two players, cuts in and shoots. It hits another Spurs player, hits the crossbar then hits poor Ingo Wilke in the back and bounces in. It’s called an own goal and Tottenham are right back in this. TOTTENHAM GOAL 2-1

Spurs move immediately to a 4-2-4 formation.

87’ - Sergio De la Vega is on for Gianluca Bolis.

We hold them off the rest of the way.

Tottenham 1 - 2 Dover
Goals - Benedict Raab (8.1), Mads Pedersen (7.5)
Assists - Benedict Raab, Chiquinho (7.5)
Man of the Match - Benedikt Raab
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.1), Rayane Hamon (7.5), Claudio Contreras (7.2), Renato Gaucho (7.0)
Attendance - 36,310

Spurs really took it to us in that half but we hold on. In the end, they held 52% of the ball but we outshoot them 22-13 (7-6 on target). Paul Moses was noticeable but lacked the cutting edge we’ve seen in the past and only had a 6.2 rating today. Our passing overall was terrible - we need to be much better.

-- In other match ups, Liverpool upset Chelsea but City, United and Arsenal all win.



Dover U18 Update

-- I expect a huge season from our very talented group of youngsters this year and they don’t disappoint in game one, winning 6-0 over Wycombe. Our striker group is ridiculous this year and right off the hop, we get four goals from Fernando Estrada and two from Marcus Sowter. Our third striker, Bakary Kone, sat this one out after just returning from international duty.



Season Ticket Sales

-- We end up selling 8153 season ticket packages, up from last year’s total of 7467.



Transfer OUT

-- We bid adieu to defender Saber Nasri, as he accepts a deal with Sevilla, thus completing a £6.25 million transfer. The 27 year old Tunisia international joined us in July 2023 and played two full seasons for our club, playing 66 games, quite a high number considering he was our third DC. He scored 8 goals and added 6 assists. He always played very well when called upon but there were a few things working against him - his advancing age, the fact his contract was up after this year and the fact he was asking for way too much money considering his declining role with our club. We have the emerging star in Mwemere Mutesa and newcomer Adrian Torres and they will both step in as our main backups. We wish Nasri the best of luck with his new club and thank him for his service.



Dover Injury Update

-- Arsene Bamba is our only injured player but he will miss up to two months with a torn hamstring.



Dover Reserves Team Update

-- Paolo Secchi scored twice and added an assist as we win 5-0 over Wolves. Also scoring were Andy Broomes, Gianluca Bolis and U18 newcomer Bakary Kone. Manuel Lugo added two assists.



Dover Injury Update

-- Oh boy. Mads Pedersen sustains a twisted knee during training and will miss up to two weeks. Now our top two left midfielders are out. We are down to Rafinha, who is a left fullback and 17 year old Jonathan Langlet from our U18 team. Felix Hernandez is on a season-long loan and can’t be recalled. Ugh. We should be okay for now.



Jose Unhappy

-- So, star midfielder Jose is unhappy with his contract and decides to express his displeasure with his teammates. I call him into my office and blast him for being unprofessional and he apologizes. He already showed up to camp out of shape, was “jet lagged” in our season opener and generally hasn’t played great all preseason. So I’m going to bench him in our home opener against Aston Villa - that will show him who is the boss!



Next Up

-- We welcome Aston Villa to Crabble Athletic Ground in our Premier League home opener.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. August 23, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (1-0-0, 3 points, 6th) vs. Aston Villa (1-0-0, 3 points, 2nd)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 4-5 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Aston Villa: 3-1
Past Meetings: 8W 2D 6L

Villa have traditionally played us very tough but we have won our last four meetings. They’ve been in the Premier League every year since 1988 but are coming off their worst performance since that time, barely escaping relegation after a 16th place finish. They were relatively quiet in the transfer market, spending only £8.75 million on five players, with 22 year old striker Christos Ntantamis coming over from Spurs and 29 year old midfielder Alvaro coming in from Levante. Their top players are strikers Antonio and Mohamed Messaoudi along with left midfielder Reece Butcher, who plays inside at AMC quite often as well.

We make three changes from our winning lineup from last week. In by necessity is Rafinha, starting at left midfield for the injured Mads Pedersen. Rafinha is more than capable at this position, as I’ve been training him in that spot for a couple years now. Also coming into the lineup is Neil Cairney for the insolent Jose and Sergio De la Vega is in for the under performing Gianluca Bolis. I thought about benching Paul Moses, who has been pretty poor so far in the first two games but I decide to give him a home matchup to get over his slump. I want a goal from him today! 17 year old Jonathan Langlet is called up from the U18 team as a backup to Rafinha and may get his first senior team game today as a substitute, as Rafinha is tired after playing 90 minutes in our reserves game on Wednesday.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - Rafinha, N. Cairney, B. Raab, S. De la Vega
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, P. Secchi, J. Langlet, M. Lugo, A. Broomes

Villa are in a flat 4-4-2 with Antonio and Messaoudi up front and Antonio Kraljevic in goal. I tell the team I expect a win today - I also pull aside Moses (I expect a performance), Chiquinho (Pick up where you left off) and De la Vega (I have faith in your ability) for personal chats.

2’ - We work a counter attack by sending a long ball up to Paul Moses. He storms down the left side, cuts in and shoots. The ball deflects off a Villa defender and pops right to Chiquinho, who immediately heads the ball past an out of position Kraljevic and we take an early lead! DOVER GOAL 1-0

6’ - One of Villa’s players is hurt and needs attention on the sidelines. Villa throws in and work a give and go in our zone, springing Antonio behind our defence and he places a perfect shot into the far corner, past a diving Ingo Wilke and Villa quickly pull on level terms. Wow! ASTON VILLA GOAL 1-1

38’ - We spend the next 25 minutes absolutely DOMINATING this game but the Villa keeper is in great position to make a number of saves. We finally break through, as Rafinha crosses from the byline and while Kraljevic is able to turn the ball away, it ricochets off Chiquinho and goes right in! That’s his second! DOVER GOAL 2-1

HALFTIME - We have played like world champions since that Villa goal and the stats are incredible: a 66% possession advantage (!!) and a 20-2 (10-1 on target) shot advantage. Simply incredible. But we only lead by one. I’m feeling sorry for Paul Moses - the kid just can’t buy a goal - he had NINE SHOTS in the first half, SIX ON TARGET and all six were stopped by Kraljevic!!! He gets saddled with a 6.3 rating. Man - he needs to pick a corner!! Chiquinho was superb that half - why can’t he play like this all the time?! All the talent in the world…anyway, a great performance but we need to get that third goal to put these guys away.

74’ - The domination continues but we just can’t get a ball past their keeper. Rayane Hamon has a yellow card and just takes a knock so I take him out and bring in Mwemere Mutesa.

We continue to press but Kraljevic is up to the task. Ingo Wilke also makes a huge stop on an injury time breakaway to get us all three points. We dominate but the scoreline flatters Villa.

Dover 2 - 1 Aston Villa
Goals - Chiquinho 2 (8.8)
Assists - Sergio De la Vega (6.9)
Man of the Match - Antonio Kraljevic (Aston Villa GK - 9.4)
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.4), Claudio Contreras (7.0), Benedikt Raab (7.3)
Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out)

Their keeper rightfully is named man of the match in a sensational performance, as we hold 63% of possession and an outrageous 34-5 (13-3 on target) shot advantage. Paul Moses ended up with 10 shots and 7 on target but Kraljevic made all seven saves. Talk about snakebitten! We were great today.

-- In other match ups, City beats Sheffield Wednesday 2-1, United beat Hull 2-0, Chelsea knock off Arsenal 3-2 and Liverpool beat Reading 3-0.



Dover U18 Update

-- Another huge win, as the kids defeat Reading’s U18’s 7-0. Fernando Estrada scores three more goals to give him 7 in two games and Bakary Kone scores twice. We get singles from Juan Jose Culebras and Andrew Hunter. Estrada also had three assists - my GOD - he’s going to be awesome!



Team of the Week

-- Chiquinho is named to the Barclays Premier League team of the week for his two goal performance. Villa’s Antonio Kraljevic is also named to the team. Paul Moses agrees with that selection!



Champions League Money IN

-- We are awarded £6,174,000 for participating in the upcoming Champions League Group Stage. Our finances are in WONDERFUL shape right now, as we’ve actually posted a net gain on transfers this year due to the Manuel Perez move.



International Update

-- Two players are called up for international duty. Salim Loucif (Algeria) and Bakary Kone (Ivory Coast U20) get the call.



Champions League - Group Stage Draw

-- After being a first seed last year, we’re down to a second seed this year, albeit the top rated second seed. That likely helps us a bit. Lets see how the groups look:

GROUP A
Atletico Madrid
Fenerbahce
Anderlecht
Sampdoria

GROUP B
Olympique Lyonnais
Steaua
AZ
HSV

GROUP C
Manchester City
RC Strasbourg
Schalke
Benfica

GROUP D
Spartak Moscow
Dover
Real Madrid
Maribor

GROUP E
OM
Hoffenheim
Chelsea
AaB

GROUP F
Manchester United
Panathinaikos
Galatasaray
Genoa

GROUP G
Barcelona
Juventus
Shakhtar
AS Saint-Etienne

GROUP H
Sevilla
Dortmund
IFK Goteborg
Rangers

Well, this is a really tough draw. Real Madrid has won this event a record 11 times and have won their league three years in a row as well. They are the fourth rated team in the competition. Spartak Moscow is the second best #3 seed but Maribor, a tiny Slovenian team, will be roadkill in this group. They are rated #533 in Europe - talk about an underdog story!!! We should be able to move on but we’ll need to get a result at some point against either Madrid or Moscow.

As for the other groups, I’d say the Group of Death is Group G, with Barcelona (#2), Shakhtar (#20), Juventus (#22) and AS Saint-Etienne (#57) providing great competition.



League Cup Draw

-- We enter the competition in the third round and get one of the three League 1 teams remaining in Carlisle. Pretty easy draw and that will give us a chance to play a lot of backups or even a couple of youngsters if necessary.



Next Up

-- We venture to St. Mary’s Stadium to face Southampton, who are back in the Premier League after a few years absence.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. August 30, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Southampton (0-1-1, 1 points, 13th) vs. Dover (2-0-0, 6 points, 4th)
St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, England

Betting Odds: Southampton: 3-1 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 4-5
Past Meetings: 4W 2D 1L

Southampton are coming off a 2nd place finish in the Championship last season, which won them automatic promotion back into the Premier League for the first time since the 2021/22 season. They’ve started off this new season in fine form, battling Arsenal hard in a 3-2 loss then garnering a 3-3 draw against fellow promoted side Birmingham. They’ve added 8 players during the summer transfer window at a total of £9 million, with the largest fee paid for Porto’s Darko Music, a 28 year old attacking midfielder. I don’t recognize many of the names on the roster - midfielders Thomas Ince and Nathan Redmond stand out. They have a couple of strikers worth watching: Mike Moss has three goals in two games thus far while Arturo Osorio scored a hat trick in his only appearance thus far.

I contemplate changes but the squad played very well in our last game so I go with the exact same lineup as the Villa game. That means second consecutive starts for Rafinha, Neil Cairney and Sergio De la Vega. I do bring Jose onto the bench for today’s affair and against my better judgement, I decide to give Paul Moses one more game to get on the scoresheet. I won’t play him against Chelsea next week if he can’t break out of his slump. That said, he’s getting an incredible amount of chances but has run into hot keepers thus far.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - Rafinha, N. Cairney, B. Raab, S. De la Vega
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, Jose, J. Langlet, M. Lugo, A. Broomes

Southampton are in a flat 4-4-2 and it’s Moss starting up front with Shyamdew Doesburg. Their big signing Darko Music starts at ML and Geoffrey Tesfaye is their keeper. Sergio De la Vega is overconfident in warmups so I pull him aside to tell him I expect a performance today. I also pull aside Moses to say I have faith in him and also Chiquinho, asking him to keep up the good work. To the team, I say I expect a win.

23’ - We’re in control of this game from the outset but are having trouble getting shots on goal. We finally see Benedikt Raab work a ball into the box to Chiquinho. A Southampton defender challenges him and the ball pops loose for a second and there to pounce is PAUL MOSES and he rockets the ball into the back of the net! Moses is finally on the board and he’s delighted, as am I!! DOVER GOAL 1-0

45’+1 - We’re just into first half injury time and win a corner. Raab’s kick is to the near post and Chiquinho heads it to the far corner, where Claudio Contreras is able to battle through a challenge and tap is over the goal line. Big goal! DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - That’s three good halves in a row for us. 65% of possession is ours, along with a huge 19-2 (7-1 on target) shot advantage. Good stuff!

47’ - Moses got thwarted just seconds earlier on a partial break and now Chiquinho sends him in all alone once again. It’s VINTAGE MOSES, as he rounds the keeper and easily slots the ball into the empty net. Tremendous. DOVER GOAL 3-0

70’ - There’s been a spell of Southampton dominance but we keep them to the outside for the most part. I pull a double substitution, taking out the excellent Raab and captain Salim Loucif, bringing in Emmerson Harvey and Rodolfo Lopez.

Poor second half but a good road win overall.

Southampton 0 - 3 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.9), Claudio Contreras (8.4)
Assists - Benedikt Raab 2 (9.0), Chiquinho (8.1)
Man of the Match - Benedikt Raab
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.0), Salim Loucif (7.4), Rayane Hamon (7.4), Renato Gaucho (7.2)
Attendance - 30,065

We gave them a ton of possession in the second half and that brought our number down to 53% overall but we did enjoy a 30-8 (11-2 on target) shot advantage. Raab was brilliant, as usual and again, it’s so good to see Moses get a couple. His explosiveness isn’t back yet and I truly wonder if it ever will return after his two leg injuries last year.

-- United and City both win to stay ahead of us and Middlesbrough are off to a good start as well after a 1-0 win over Newcastle. Arsenal also wallop Reading 4-1.



International Update

-- We have a two week break from senior team competition due to an international break and we have 27 players called up by their respective countries. Pretty huge number! The biggest shock is seeing that fullback Renato Gaucho, uncapped at the senior level despite a number of caps at the youth level with Brazil, gets called up by SPAIN!! Wow! He has dual citizenship and if he plays, he will be tied to Spain for the rest of his career. I also see that Neil Cairney is back in the good graces of Scotland and has been recalled after being overlooked in recent games. Also getting his first ever call up is Mexico’s Manuel Lugo. Lots going on!

-- Gaining Senior caps are Salim Loucif (Algeria), Jose (Brazil), Chiquinho (Belgium), Mwemere Mutesa (Rwanda), Chris Davies and Paul Moses (England - one goal and two assists for Moses), Zoltan Bardi (Hungary), Mads Pedersen (Denmark - one goal), Manuel Lugo (Mexico), Neil Cairney (Scotland - one goal and one assist), Gianluca Bolis (Italy), Sergio De la Vega, Rodolfo Lopez and Claudio Contreras (Argentina - two assists for De la Vega). Lugo’s cap is his first ever senior cap for Mexico! Great stuff!!

-- Gaining youth caps are Neil Evans and Andrew Hunter (England U19), Adrian Torres (Spain U21), Alberto Velazquez, Luis Miguel Garcia and Fernando Estrada (Mexico U20 - one goal each for Velazquez and Estrada) and Bakary Kone (Ivory Coast U20 - one goal).

-- We also get a cool note that captain Salim Loucif has just become a British citizen! Loucif is the captain of Algeria’s national team but wanted to be a “EU national” and now has dual citizenship. Excellent.



September Update

-- The transfer window closes today and we’re through with our major business but do have a work permit being sorted out for a youngster that wouldn’t join our club until next summer. September will be relatively quiet for us, with three league games: Chelsea (at home), Reading (away) and Hull (home). We also start our Champions League group stage with a huge home matchup against Real Madrid and begin our quest for the League Cup with a third round matchup against minnows Carlisle. So only five matches.

-- After a couple months of poor training performances, we get a positive report for Paul Moses, which is great. We also get positive notices for Claudio Contreras, reserves DC Danny Hope and U18 players Stuart Cousins, Robert Hoffmann and Ralf Kramer. No negatives this month!



Board Confidence Update

-- The board are very pleased with my leadership, with stature increase being the major contributing factor but they are slightly disappointed with the departure of Andrea Rocca. Well, that’s a bit more reasonable than being upset about Hans Briers not being here!

-- We absolutely raked in the cash in August, making a profit of £27.2 MILLION! That’s due to the Manuel Perez and Saber Nasri sales.



Premier League Monthly Awards

-- Man City midfielder Jonathan Bottone wins the Barclays Premier League player of the month award and Chiquinho comes in third.

-- Rafinha, playing at left midfield for the injured Mads Pedersen and Arsene Bamba, wins the young player of the month award. Cool. Mwemere Mutesa finished in third despite only playing in one game as a substitute.

-- Hey! I win Manager of the Month honours! Thanks guys!



Coaching Update

-- My U18 team manager accepts a deal with Liverpool to be a youth coach, which is just bizarre. He was here for 14 years. Now I’m scrambling to find another youth coach and I ask one of the current coaches, Chris Armas, to be our U18 manager.



Champions League Registration

-- I have to leave two spaces in my Champions League roster due to not having enough English trained players. Not making the cut for this first go-around are Arsene Bamba, who is out for close to two months, and midfielder Paolo Secchi.

-- The Champions League odds are out and World Soccer Magazine makes Barcelona the 3-1 favourites to win the competition. United are at 4-1, Sampdoria are 15-2, Real Madrid are 8-1 and Man City and Olympique Lyonnais are 9-1. We are given 11-1 odds to win, up from the 12-1 odds given last year.



Premier League Team of the Week

-- Benedikt Raab and Paul Moses make the Barclays Premier League team of the week.



Dover U18 Update

-- Despite having half our U18 team away on international duty, we’re able to get past Tottenham 2-0 in extra time in the first round of the U18 Cup. Fernando Estrada and Freddie Laird score our two goals. This was Chris Armas’ first game managing the U18s.

-- A few days later, the kids win 3-1 over Brentford in U18 league play, with Stephen Brannigan, Freddie Laird and Giuseppe Forti scoring the goals.



Injury Update

-- Mads Pedersen returns to full training after missing a couple weeks with a twisted knee. He should be good to go for next weekend.

-- Bad news comes as Emmerson Harvey breaks down in training and is diagnosed with a hernia. He’ll miss a month of action. Poor timing.



Facility Upgrade Complete!

-- Our youth and training facilities expansion is finally completed! Our youth facilities go from “adequate” to “average” while our regular training facility goes from “good” to “top training facilities”. Excellent!



Dover Reserves Team Update

-- Another less than full strength side takes the pitch and we still beat Watford’s Reserves 3-0. Paolo Secchi, Andy Broomes and Rafinha score.



Next Up

-- We host Chelsea in a big early season Premier League matchup.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. September 13, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (3-0-0, 9 points, 3rd) vs. Chelsea (1-1-1, 4 points, 10th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Chelsea: 7-4
Past Meetings: 3W 5D 8L

Chelsea is likely the team that gives us the most trouble out of anyone in the world right now, as we only own three measly wins in 16 career matchups. In fact, it’s been almost two and a half years since our last win over them in a FA Cup match in March 2023. They finished 3rd last year right behind us on the table but have dealt with a very difficult early season schedule, with Arsenal, Liverpool and our club among their first four games. Incredibly, Chelsea only brought in four players during the transfer window for a total of £10 million. That’s crazy! Reading’s Gabriel Ochieng was the big purchase for a modest £7.5 million. They have a lot of midfield talent but I wonder where their goals are going to come from, as their strikers are getting way up there in age.

We are coming in to this a bit gassed due to the international fixtures and the fact that we have our first Champions League match coming up in three days and against Real Madrid at that, means we will rotate the squad a bit today. Manuel Lugo starts at striker in place of Chiquinho, Rafinha stays in at left midfield while Mads Pedersen will also be held out until the Madrid game. Gianluca Bolis draws in at right midfield and Mwemere Mutesa is in at centre half back in place of Claudio Contreras.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, M. Mutesa, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - Rafinha, Jose, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, M. Lugo
Bench - R. Lopez, A. Torres, P. Secchi, N. Cairney, M. Pedersen, S. De la Vega, A. Broomes

Chelsea come out in a tight 4-4-2 diamond formation with no wingers. Romelu Lukaku is up front with Pinga but the man to watch is AMC Miguel Sousa. Danny Udoji is their keeper - he’s a new name to me, as is Pinga. I tell the team to perform well for the supporters and pull aside Paul Moses, Gianluca Bolis and Jose for personal chats.

7’ - Chelsea start a counter attack and this formation looks to be troublesome for us, as Sousa is causing our defence to chase and that’s opening up room in the middle. Chelsea work the ball back to midfielder Ignacio Villa and he POUNDS the ball into the back of the net for the early goal! CHELSEA GOAL 0-1

HALFTIME - We outplayed Chelsea but they have the only goal. We hold 53% of possession and a 9-4 (1-1 on target) shot advantage. We need more.

66’ - Paul Moses is banged up and I pull him off for Andy Broomes. I also take out Jose and bring in Neil Cairney.

67’ - Immediately after the changes, Benedikt Raab sends a corner kick to the near post and there is Rayane Hamon to head it past Udoji and IN! DOVER GOAL 1-1

Chelsea switch to a 4-1-3-1-1 formation.

75’ - We bring in Mads Pedersen and take out Rafinha.

79’ - We have a throw in down the left and Renato Gaucho throws it to Broomes. He takes the ball and just makes a bee line toward the Chelsea area. He cuts in and bends a shot around the defence and into the corner of the net. OH MY GOD! “Magical stuff from Broomes!” DOVER GOAL 2-1

Flat 4-4-2 for Chelsea now.

GREAT comeback!

Dover 2 - 1 Chelsea
Goals - Rayane Hamon (8.0), Andy Broomes (8.1)
Assists - Renato Gaucho (8.0), Benedikt Raab (7.3)
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.6)
Attendance - 23,000

We held 55% of overall possession and outshot them 23-5 (4-1 on target). That Broomes goal was simply superb and he will start in our Champions League game coming up in a few days without question.

-- It continues to be a three team race early, as City and United match us with four wins in four matches. Arsenal knock off Hull 3-2 and Liverpool win 2-0 over Sheffield United.



Dover U18 Update

-- The U18s continue to roll, winning 5-0 over Oxford. Fernando Estrada scores two more goals and we get singles from Francisco Lopez, Marcus Sowter and Bakary Kone.

-- Two of the U18s come up with injuries: Juan Jose Culebras will miss a couple weeks with a neck issue while Jonathan Langlet will miss three weeks or so with a twisted ankle.



Champions League

-- So, I’m a complete moron, as I notice that Chiquinho, Jose AND Claudio Contreras are all suspended for our game tomorrow night against Real Madrid. If I had known that, I would have played Chiquinho and Contreras but instead, they’ll sit for a second consecutive game. We are in dire straits at central midfield, with Jose suspended, Emmerson Harvey injured and Paolo Secchi is ineligible due to the fact I had to leave two empty spots on our roster and he was one of the guys I left out of the squad. We essentially have only one other central midfielder on the team and that’s 16 year old Michel Benard - Benard will be on the bench for the Madrid game out of necessity.



Next Up

-- We host Real Madrid, as we begin group play in the Champions League.

[NoSkillz]

Tue. September 16, 2025

UEFA Champions League - Group D
Dover vs. Real Madrid
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 6-4 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Real Madrid: 13-8
Past Meetings: 1W 0D 2L

We start the Champions League group stage with a match against the largest club in the world. There’s not much to say about these guys: they are 11 time Champions League winners and have won the Spanish LIGA an incredible 39 times, including the last three years in a row. They have huge striker Cheikh Bocande, a former Liverpool player and have talent everywhere. They were relatively modest spenders during the transfer window, spending £27 million on seven players, most notably splashing £12 million on Man City DC Maikel Jungbluth.

We are in a bit of a mess with three players suspended for today’s game (Chiquinho, Jose and Claudio Contreras) and a couple key injuries, including Arsene Bamba and Emmerson Harvey. I think about moving to a one striker formation but with only three MCs available for the game, I decide to go with two strikers and will play Paul Moses up front with Andy Broomes. Mads Pedersen returns from injury and will start today. 16 year old Michel Benard will suit up with the senior team for the first time and will be on the bench today - to be honest, I hope I don’t have to use him! As slight favourites, we’ll stick with our control mentality.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, M. Mutesa, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega
S - P. Moses, A. Broomes
Bench - R. Lopez, A. Torres, M. Benard, Rafinha, G. Bolis, Z. Bardi, M. Lugo

Madrid come out in a 4-4-2 diamond formation and have Paulista up front with Rodolfo Negrete. Zonzamas Garrido is in goal. I tell the team to perform well for the supporters and pull aside Moses, De la Vega and Renato Gaucho for personal chats.

30’ - We are in complete control of this game and just dominating the highlights but Madrid take advantage of their first chance in the game, with Ingo Wilke pulling himself out of position and Paulista is able to easily head a cross into the open net. Ugly! REAL MADRID GOAL 0-1

35’ - Oh boy. Madrid hit us on the counter and it’s Rodolfo Negrete finding space, taking a great feed and beating Wilke with a shot to the corner of the goal. This is a disaster. REAL MADRID GOAL 0-2

38’ - Mads Pedersen scores on a cross off a failed corner but he’s offside. NO GOAL.

HALFTIME - We deserve better but we’re down two. We held 52% of possession and have an 18-6 (6-5 on target) shot advantage. “Where’s the passion, lads?”

77’ - This just isn’t going our way. Out comes Sergio De la Vega and in comes Rodolfo Lopez.

79’ - Zoltan Bardi comes on for Andy Broomes.

We move to an overload mentality.

This was extremely disappointing and puts us in a bad spot to start the group stage.

Dover 0 - 2 Real Madrid
Goals -
Assists -
Man of the Match - Paulista (Real Madrid ST - 8.2)
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (5.8)
Attendance - 23,000

Well, we deserved better but we just lack cutting edge this year. Paul Moses (6.0) has been terrible this year except for the one two-goal game and I give him an official warning after the game for his poor performances, which he accepts. He’ll be benched in our next game. Sergio De la Vega (6.0) is also having major troubles adapting to English football.

-- And adding to our misery is the fact that Spartak Moscow annihilate Maribor 6-0 and that won’t help us in eventual tie-breakers, as we’re quickly EIGHT GOALS behind them in goal differential. YIKES.



Injury Update

-- Great. Andy Broomes suffers strained ankle ligaments after twisting painfully during a training session. He’ll miss three weeks.



Next Up

-- We head out on the road to face Reading in Premier League play.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. September 20, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Reading (1-0-3, 3 points, 13th) vs. Dover (4-0-0, 12 points, 3rd)
The Madejski Stadium, Reading, England

Betting Odds: Reading: 13-8 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 11W 2D 3L

Reading are in their 15th straight year in the Premier League and have been an incredibly consistent bunch in the last ten years - in fact, they’ve finished in 9th place in 7 of the last 10 years! Incredible. They are off to a rough start this year but their schedule has been tough - Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool have handed them defeats and now they face us. They were decent spenders in the window, splashing £31.5 million on ten players, with Peter Zelenika from Koln being the biggest purchase at £7.75 million. Hani Megahed is their danger man up front and they have a couple of former Dover players in Kostas Zagos and Simon Woodman.

I’m going with a veteran lineup today in hopes of bouncing back after our shutout loss to Madrid. We’re also going with a one striker formation, as Chiquinho will play alone up front and Zoltan Bardi will sit in behind him. Gianluca Bolis, Jose and Claudio Contreras are all back in the lineup today and in goal, we give our first start to Chris Davies, who is facing the team we purchased him from today!

Dover: 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Control
GK - C. Davies
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - B. Raab, Jose
AM - M. Pedersen, Z. Bardi, G. Bolis
S - Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, A. Torres, N. Cairney, P. Secchi, Rafinha, S. De la Vega, M. Lugo

Reading are in a flat 4-4-2 with Megahed and Cees Duarte up front. Jan Obermajer is in goal. I tell the players I expect a win today and pull aside Chiquinho, Jose and Davies for individual pep talks.

8’ - Rayane Hamon sends a long ball up field from the halfway line and Chiquinho latches onto it. Obermajer is out too far so Chiquinho goes for the AUDACIOUS LOB and it works! Great start! DOVER GOAL 1-0

20’ - We start a quick counter near midfield and it’s old reliable Zoltan Bardi taking a pass, stepping on the gas and bolting into the area before unleashing a HOWITZER past Obermajer and it’s in. What a rocket! DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - Decent half. Reading held 52% of the ball but we outshoot them 7-2 (3-0 on target) in a bit of a snoozefest. Still, I’m pleased.

68’ - We win a corner and Benedikt Raab crosses to the near post and Zoltan Bardi. Bardi heads it to the far post and Mads Pedersen hits it on the volley and it’s in! DOVER GOAL 3-0

Solid.

Reading 0 - 3 Dover
Goals - Chiquinho (7.8), Zoltan Bardi (8.0), Mads Pedersen (8.2)
Assists - Rayane Hamon (8.3), Benedikt Raab (8.1), Mads Pedersen
Man of the Match - Rayane Hamon
Other Dover Notables - Chris Davies (7.3), Salim Loucif (7.3), Claudio Contreras (7.2), Renato Gaucho (7.5), Jose (7.5)
Attendance - 22,427

Very good performance, as we are edged in possession (we held 49% of the ball) but outshoot them 15-7 (6-0 on target). Easy shutout for Davies against his former club and a solid performance from the whole team, as only Gianluca Bolis (6.9) had a rating under 7.0.

-- Manchester City upend Everton 3-2 but United can only manage a home draw against Middlesbrough so we move into second place. Aston Villa throttle Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 and Newcastle hold Liverpool to a 1-1 draw.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 5 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Manchester City - 15 points
2. Dover - 15 points
3. Manchester United - 13 points
4. Liverpool - 11 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Arsenal - 9 points
6. Aston Villa - 8 points
7. Middlesbrough - 8 points
----------------------------------------------------
8. Tottenham - 7 points
9. Wolves - 7 points
10. Huddersfield - 7 points
11. Hull - 5 points
12. Chelsea - 5 points
13. Sunderland - 5 points
14. Newcastle - 3 points
15. Reading - 3 points
16. Sheffield Wednesday - 3 points
17. Southampton - 2 points
----------------------------------------------------
18. Birmingham - 2 points
19. Sheffield United - 1 points
20. Everton - 1 points



Dover U18 Update

-- Wow - our kids are GOOD! We throttle Fulham TEN TO NOTHING! Freddie Laird and Marcus Sowter both score hat tricks, Nathan Protheroe bags a brace and we get singles from Cheikh Gueye and an own goal. Defender Robert Hoffmann had three assists.



Premier League Team of the Week

-- Rayane Hamon and Benedikt Raab make the Premier League team of the week.



Next Up

-- We host minnows Carlisle in League Cup third round action.

[NoSkillz]

Tue. September 23, 2025

League Cup - Third Round
Dover (2nd in Barclays Premier League) vs. Carlisle (13th in npower League 1)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-8 (Favourites) Draw: N/A Carlisle: 12-1
Past Meetings: 3W 2D 1L

Carlisle are way over their heads today but we’ll need to be sharp, especially starting a lineup filled with mostly second teamers. Carlisle have bounced between League 1 and League 2 in this world and just got promoted back to League 1 this past season after a 3rd place finish and a playoff win. Their leading scorer is striker Mark Stevenson with 4 goals from nine matches.

The only holdovers from our Reading win are goalkeeper Chris Davies, who gets a second consecutive start and left midfielder Mads Pedersen Everyone else is new to the lineup and most are backups. We do have Paul Moses starting up front, as I hope this game serves as a confidence boost. Getting their first ever starts for Dover are Paolo Secchi, Rodolfo Lopez and Adrian Torres. I also have a few U18 players on the bench today. Back to a flat 4-4-2 today and we are HUGE favourites so I expect a big win today.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - C. Davies
D - Rafinha, A. Torres, M. Mutesa, R. Lopez
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, P. Secchi, S. De la Vega
S - P. Moses, M. Lugo
Bench - E. Remirez, D. Hope, R. Kramer, Jose, G. Bolis, Z. Bardi, B. Kone

As expected, Carlisle are in a very defensive formation, a 4-1-4-1, with Stevenson up front alone. Lee Derry is their keeper. I want a big win today!

6’ - We are all over them early and win a corner. Paul Moses takes it and his cross meets the head of young defender Adrian Torres, who heads it past Derry and it’s IN! TORRES SCORES ON HIS DEBUT!!! DOVER GOAL 1-0

22’ - A long ball is sent up to Manuel Lugo and he tries a shot but it is deflected out of the area by a Carlisle defender. Neil Cairney approaches the ball and from 25 yards, hits an absolute piledriver into the back of the goal. Beauty shot! DOVER GOAL 2-0

32’ - We have another corner and again, Moses delivers the ball to Torres, who heads it to the far post, off a Carlisle defender and it’s IN. That counts as an own goal but we’re comfortably ahead now. DOVER GOAL 3-0

34’ - The rout is on. Rafinha feeds a little ball to Mads Pedersen, who jukes a defender and sends a shot past Derry into the short side. DOVER GOAL 4-0

43’ - Now it’s just getting ugly, as Pedersen feeds one into Moses and our out-of-form striker hits a very weak left footed shot that Derry can’t corral and it’s in too. Yeesh. DOVER GOAL 5-0

HALFTIME - 62% possession sounds decent but how about a 29-0 (8-0 on target) shot advantage? Yeah, this is an ass kicking of the highest order. I make one change at half, taking out Mads Pedersen and bringing in U18 player Ralf Kramer for his first senior level appearance. Rafinha moves up to left midfield and Kramer is at fullback.

47’ - The massacre continues, as Moses delivers another perfect corner, this time to the near post and Mwemere Mutesa and he heads it in for his first of the year. Goals for everyone tonight! DOVER GOAL 6-0

76’ - Sergio De la Vega comes off and I bring in U18 fullback Eneko Remirez. Rodolfo Lopez moves up into De la Vega’s right midfield position.

81’ - Neil Cairney passes to Moses, who makes a little juke to get free in the area and his low blast is past Derry and in! “Vintage performance from Moses!” bellows the announcer and I would have to agree. DOVER GOAL 7-0

84’ - Ugh. Carlisle have a corner and the ball is headed in by one of their defenders. I can’t believe we gave up a goal to these guys but credit to them for not quitting. CARLISLE GOAL 7-1

90’+1 - We score another goal but it’s called back due to offsides.

We move on easily.

Dover 7 - 1 Carlisle
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (9.6), Adrian Torres (9.3), Neil Cairney (9.3), Tony Moffat OG, Mads Pedersen (8.6), Mwemere Mutesa (9.3)
Assists - Paul Moses 2, Mwemere Mutesa, Adrian Torres, Rafinha (8.5), Neil Cairney, Mads Pedersen
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Chris Davies (7.0), Rodolfo Lopez (8.2), Sergio De la Vega (7.7), Paolo Secchi (8.0), Manuel Lugo (7.7)
Attendance - 22,067

Moses with four points and he was all over the place just like old times. He still hasn’t shown that extra gear that he had before his injuries and even his shot doesn’t have the same velocity but I’m hoping it will come. Still, a very promising performance. We held 58% of the ball and a 41-4 (11-1 on target) shot advantage.



Dover Reserves Update

-- We essentially start a team of U18s only one day after our League Cup match. The game is close when we bring on U18 strikers Marcus Sowter and Fernando Estrada in the 67th minute and incredibly, both players score two goals in their 23 minutes of action, with Sowter picking up two assists as well as we romp 5-0 over Burnley. Cheikh Gueye notches the other goal.



League Cup - Fourth Round Draw

-- We get another favourable draw for round four, getting a home tie against Championship side Leeds.



Next Up

-- Back to Premier League play, as we host newly promoted Hull City.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. September 27, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (5-0-0, 15 points, 2nd) vs. Hull (1-2-2, 5 points, 11th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-6 (Favourites) Draw: 5-1 Hull: 10-1
Past Meetings: 0W 0D 0L

I’m amazed to see this is the first time we’ve ever played Hull - obviously, we moved up in a year they got relegated but 15 years of play and no cup games either? That’s quite something! Hull was last in the Premier League in 2009/10, then spent seven years in the Championship before finishing last in 2016/17 and getting relegated to League 1. It took four years for them to get back to the Championship and another four years for them to get promoted back to the Premier League. They actually finished in 5th last year and won the Championship playoff to earn that promotion. Hull only brought in six players in the offseason at a paltry total of £2.3 million so I’d have to imagine they are favourites to suffer the quick drop. That said, they’ve been very competitive early, beating fellow promoted team Birmingham and earning draws against Liverpool and Newcastle. Not bad! Former Dover player Ross McLaughlin is their starting right fullback - he was a third string player on our club a few years back. Gary Jeffrey looks dangerous and has 6 goals in as many games thus far.

We’re back to a pretty full strength side today. We do have a HUGE Champions League matchup coming up midweek against the group’s weak link, Maribor, and we’ll need to score a million goals in that game to get back into the race to move on. That said, the game is on Wednesday so our players should be able to recover from this game in time for that pivotal matchup.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, P. Secchi, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega, M. Lugo

Flat 4-4-2 for Hull, with Jeffrey up front with Martin Galik. McLaughlin starts at DR and Nicklas Johansson is their keeper. I expect a win against these guys!

6’ - We are SWARMING them early and already have a couple shots on goal and a crossbar. We continue to maintain possession and Jose feeds a little pass to Paul Moses on the outer edge of the area. He cuts right and sends a ROCKET of a shot that curls into the far corner of the goal. Now THAT is the Paul Moses I know! Great strike! DOVER GOAL 1-0

22’ - We continue to press and Claudio Contreras heads a ball over the Hull defence. There’s a race for it and Moses eludes a tackle from Ross McLaughlin, storms in on goal and sends a trademark low blast past Johansson and IN. I think I can safely say that Paul Moses IS BACK! DOVER GOAL 2-0

24’ - We force a turnover and send the ball to Moses at midfield. He’s on the left touchline, jukes a defender and off he goes on a two-on-two with Chiquinho. Moses draws a defender over, cuts back to the middle and from 20 yards out, sends a CURLING BLAST into the top right corner of the net. HOLY SHIT! MAGNIFICENT!!! Moses has the HAT TRICK! DOVER GOAL 3-0

26’ - This is NUTS! Moses gets the ball and again, SPEEDS THROUGH THE DEFENCE and in on goal. This time, the shot is saved by Johansson but the rebound pops right to the foot of Chiquinho and he simply taps it into the open net. DOVER GOAL 4-0

HALFTIME - VINTAGE PAUL MOSES! My goodness, it’s so fun to watch when he’s on his game and it looks like he’s finally BACK! We only edge them in possession but hold a 17-5 (9-2 on target) shot advantage. We are just clinical today and Hull is completely overmatched. I will use my substitutions early today to get everyone rested for the Champions League match coming up.

47’ - That didn’t take long. We have a corner and Benedikt Raab’s cross is headed home by Contreras. DOVER GOAL 5-0

52’ - No sense taking any chances, as we pull out the superb Paul Moses and bring in Manuel Lugo. “Standing ovation for Moses!”, screams the announcer. I also pull out Mads Pedersen and bring in Rafinha.

60’ - Our passing is beautiful, as we build up play into their end. We send a ball wide to Rafinha and from the byline, he sends in a high cross that is headed by Gianluca Bolis and it’s IN! That’s Bolis’ first of the year. DOVER GOAL 6-0

We pull out Benedikt Raab and bring in Paolo Secchi.

Superb!

Dover 6 - 0 Hull
Goals - Paul Moses 3 (9.7), Chiquinho (8.6), Claudio Contreras (9.3), Gianluca Bolis (8.6)
Assists - Paul Moses, Claudio Contreras, Jose (8.8), Benedikt Raab (8.9), Mads Pedersen (8.2)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.5), Salim Loucif (8.2), Rayane Hamon (8.2), Renato Gaucho (8.3)
Attendance - 22,628

Wonderful performance, as we hold 54% of possession and outshoot them 34-9 (18-3 on target). Their keeper was BUSY!

-- Newcastle upset Arsenal 2-1 and Huddersfield SHOCK Chelsea 1-0. The Blues are really struggling early and are down to 15th!! City and United both win but we move into first place due to goal differential.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 6 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 18 points
2. Manchester City - 18 points
3. Manchester United - 16 points
4. Liverpool - 11 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Huddersfield - 10 points
6. Arsenal - 9 points (after 5 games)
7. Middlesbrough - 9 points
----------------------------------------------------



Dover U18 Update

-- We defeat Woking 7-0, getting FOUR goals from Marcus Sowter and singles from Juan Jose Culebras, Andrew Hunter and Cheikh Gueye. Freddie Laird had two assists.



International Update

-- Michel Benard (France U20) and Fernando Estrada (Mexico U20 - one goal) represent their countries in the U20 World Cup.



Barclays Premier League Team of the Week

-- Ha. We have SEVEN players named to the team of the week: Claudio Contreras, Salim Loucif, Mads Pedersen, Jose, Benedikt Raab, Gianluca Bolis and Paul Moses.



Dover Injury Update

-- Arsene Bamba (torn hamstring) is a few weeks away from returning, as are Emmerson Harvey (hernia) and Andy Broomes (strained ankle ligaments).



Transfer Clause Money IN

-- Former defender Steve Reed plays his tenth game for Stoke so we receive an additional £100K due to a games played clause I built in.



Next Up

-- A pivotal road matchup in Champions League group play, as we play the group’s weak team Maribor, a tiny Slovenian club.

[JMocks]

Without a doubt, one of the best FM stories I've ever read. You've managed to turn Dover into CL winners in no time it seems. Keep up the great work!

[Alf]

To add on JMocks comment. I really appreciate the formatting and "text" information displayed. There is enough info to follow, but not too much (I don't care about specific tiny details).

/me likey

[NoSkillz]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the comments!

[NoSkillz]

Wed. October 1, 2025

UEFA Champions League - Group D
Maribor (0-0-1, 0 points, 4th) vs. Dover (0-0-1, 0 points, 3rd)
Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia

Betting Odds: Maribor: 7-2 Draw: 9-4 Dover: 4-6 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 0W 0D 0L

NK Maribor are a Slovenian side and this is the first time in their history that they’ve made it to the group stages, a victory in itself. The club’s value is £14 million and their highest valued player is 19 year old midfielder Ivica Zelenbaba, who is worth £210,000. They have a dangerous striker named Gjergi Xhaka, who has 9 goals in as many games. Still, this side has the quality of a Conference Premier team or maybe a League 2 side at best. We need to smoke them - they’ve already lost 6-0 to Spartak Moscow in their first group game.

I’m taking nothing for granted and will start as full a lineup as possible. Claudio Contreras still has two games to serve on a three game suspension so he will be replaced by Mwemere Mutesa today. I also call up 18 year old midfielder Juan Jose Culebras for the bench, as I’m short central midfielders with the injury to Emmerson Harvey and the ineligibility of Paolo Secchi.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, M. Mutesa, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, R. Lopez, A. Torres, J. Culebras, N. Cairney, Z. Bardi, M. Lugo

Maribor are in a flat 4-4-2 with Xhaka up front with Ivica Sabic. Dzenan Hadzic is their keeper. We need to score a bunch today to make up some of the eight goal deficit to Spartak Moscow - lets do this!

18’ - We are dominating, as expected but simply can’t get the ball into the net. Maribor now have possession in our end for the first time in the highlights and Gianluca Bolis shoves a guy down in our area. That’s a PENALTY! Up steps Alen Lukic and he puts the ball past Wilke and IN. OH MY GOD. MARIBOR GOAL 0-1

30’ - This Maribor goalkeeper is phenomenal today and making countless HUGE saves but we FINALLY break through, as Renato Gaucho sends a long, high cross into the area and heading it in for the second game in a row is Gianluca Bolis, making up for his idiotic penalty shove. We pull level. DOVER GOAL 1-1

34’ - We are just sending everyone forward and Chiquinho heads a little ball to Moses, who then splits the D, dribbles in and shoots low into the far corner. Ahh…we can breathe a bit. DOVER GOAL 2-1

42’ - We have a corner and Benedikt Raab’s cross is to the near post and Chiquinho. He heads it to the far post and Mwemere Mutesa finally heads it into the net. A bit of a cushion now. DOVER GOAL 3-1

HALFTIME - Well, at least we’re past the nervous stage and can just try to score more goals now. It’s all Dover: 66% possession and a 23-1 (10-1 on target) shot advantage. I encourage the players in the room at half.

71’ - UGH. We just can’t beat this keeper. Chiquinho and Benedikt Raab both have yellow cards and I pull them both out of the game in favour of Zoltan Bardi and Neil Cairney.

76’ - Seconds after Paul Moses TWICE hits the crossbar, we get another chance as our two subs hook up. Cairney feeds Bardi and with his back to the goal, he turns and fires a rocket into the top corner. Bardi is simply Mr. Reliable. DOVER GOAL 4-1

We played very well but just couldn’t score enough.

Maribor 1 - 4 Dover
Goals - Gianluca Bolis (8.0), Paul Moses (8.6), Mwemere Mutesa (8.5), Zoltan Bardi (7.3)
Assists - Chiquinho 2 (7.6), Renato Gaucho (8.1), Neil Cairney (6.9)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.2), Rayane Hamon (7.2), Jose (7.2), Mads Pedersen (7.1)
Attendance - 11,573

We just didn’t have luck on our side, as we hit the woodwork FIVE TIMES, outshot them 42-3 (17 shots on target!!) and held 61% of possession.

-- Making matters worse, Real Madrid and Spartak Moscow battle to a scoreless draw, so we remain in third spot in our group.

-- We earn £696k for the victory.



October Update

-- We continue to have a relatively light schedule as we head into October, with three Premier League matches: Sheffield United (away), Newcastle (home) and Manchester United (away). In addition to the game we just played today against Maribor, we also have a huge Champions League clash against Spartak Moscow at home and a League Cup matchup at home against Leeds at the end of the month. So six total matches.

-- Training is going well at the club and I get positive notices for Paul Moses, Mads Pedersen and Adrian Torres, along with positive notices for U18 players Domenico Fracassetti, Fernando Estrada and Eneko Remirez[/b]. No negative notices this month!



Premier League Awards for September

-- Tottenham’s Jean Junior is named Barclays Premier League player of the month and Claudio Contreras finishes third.

-- For the second consecutive month, Rafinha is named Young Player of the Month.

-- Andy Broomes is awarded with the goal of the month for his stunner against Chelsea while Paul Moses finishes with the second best goal for his magnificent hat trick goal against Hull.

-- Jose Mourinho wins Manager of the Month honours for Manchester City while I finish in second for the month after winning in August.



International Update

-- Luis Miguel Garcia and Fernando Estrada both play well for Mexico in the U20 World Cup, as does Michel Benard for France.



Board Confidence Update

-- The board continue to be very pleased with my overall leadership. Our “amazing” stature increase is the main positive while they are slightly disappointed with the departure of Andrea Rocca.

-- We record a loss of £2.77 million for the month.



Next Up

-- We are on the road to Sheffield to face United in Premier League play.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. October 4, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Sheffield United (0-1-4, 1 point, 20th) vs. Dover (6-0-0, 18 points, 1st)
Bramall Lane, Sheffield, England

Betting Odds: Sheffield United: 7-1 Draw: 3-1 Dover: 1-3 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 5W 2D 2L

Sheffield United have spent most of this dynasty in the Championship but are now in their second consecutive year in the top flight. They barely escaped relegation last year, finishing 17th and they are at the bottom of the table through their first five games this year. They brought in 11 players during the summer transfer window but were frugal spenders, splashing only £6.25 million in total. They have a couple of famous veterans in Raheem Sterling and Gylfi Sigurosson but neither are impact players anymore. Marcello Trotta was their leading scorer last year but he’s now 33 years old and may be a spare part.

We are coming up on an international break so I can go with a full lineup today. I’m a bit leery of starting Chiquinho after my opposite number comes out in the press and says he’s our main man, something that usually stresses him out. But with a two week break coming, I feel I have to start him - plus, he’s off to a wonderful start. The only change to our lineup today is the return of Claudio Contreras, who was suspended for our Champions League game. We are HUGE favourites today and we need a result.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, N. Cairney, P. Secchi, Z. Bardi, M. Lugo

Sheffield United are in a very defensive 4-2-2-2, with two defensive central mids, two wide midfielders and two strikers. Mahatma Otoo and Angel Egana are the strikers and Adrian Smith is in goal. I tell the team I expect a win today.

33’ - We control the game early but you can tell Sheffield are gaining confidence with each passing minute in the scoreless game. Thankfully, we’re able to finally break through, as Jose takes a little header from Benedikt Raab at the top of the area, cuts right and then shoots hard back across his body into the lower left portion of the goal. That’s Jose’s first of the year. DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - The short pitch seems to be negating our speed, as Sheffield United are definitely keeping up with us today. They actually hold a possession edge (52%) but we outshoot them 12-6 (4-3 on target). We need to be better than this! I encourage the players at half time.

64’ - We just can’t generate any chances against these guys today. Our goal scorer Jose comes off, as he’s a bit tired and has a yellow card and in comes Neil Cairney.

72’ - Well, I was right about Chiquinho - the guy simply sucks when he’s called out and I pull him off for Zoltan Bardi.

83’ - We have a free kick from just outside the area but Sheffield head it out. Salim Loucif passes to Cairney and from way out, he sends a ridiculous, curling blast that bends just inside the far post and IN! SPECTACULAR GOAL FROM CAIRNEY!!! DOVER GOAL 2-0

Not our best but it was good enough.

Sheffield United 0 - 2 Dover
Goals - Jose (7.8), Neil Cairney (8.1)
Assists - Salim Loucif (7.1), Benedikt Raab (7.7)
Man of the Match - Neil Cairney
Other Dover Notables - Rayane Hamon (7.0), Claudio Contreras (7.6), Renato Gaucho (7.3)
Attendance - 31,925

Sheffield held 52% of the ball but we outshoot them 24-8 (8-3 on target). Chiquinho (6.2) and Moses (6.4) just couldn’t get loose on the short field today. Cairney is named Man of the Match despite playing only 25 minutes.

-- In other action, Aston Villa hold Man City to a scoreless draw, Huddersfield continue their hot start with a 1-0 win over Reading and Sunderland knock off Southampton 2-1. Man United win 2-0 over Arsenal and Liverpool win by the same scoreline over Middlesbrough.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 7 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 21 points
2. Manchester United - 19 points
3. Manchester City - 19 points
4. Liverpool - 14 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Huddersfield - 13 points
6. Sunderland - 11 points (after 6 games)
7. Wolves - 10 points
----------------------------------------------------



Dover U18 Update

-- Freddie Laird scores two goals in a 5-0 win over Aldershot. Nathan Protheroe, Marcus Sowter and Stuart Cousins notch singles and Sowter adds two assists in the match.



International Update

-- Luis Miguel Garcia (Mexico U20), Michel Benard and Jonathan Langlet (France U20) continue to play well in the U20 World Cup.

-- Other players suiting up for their countries include Mads Pedersen (Denmark), Rodolfo Lopez (Argentina - one assist), Claudio Contreras (Argentina), Salim Loucif (Algeria - one assist), Gianluca Bolis (Italy), Paul Moses (England - one goal), Chris Davies (England), Rayane Hamon (France), Chiquinho (Belgium - one goal), Jose (Brazil - one goal), Adrian Torres (Spain U21) and Mwemere Mutesa (Ghana).



Premier League Team of the Week

-- Neil Cairney is selected to the Barclays Premier League team of the week after his sensational goal on Saturday.



Dover Injury Update

-- Lots of injuries at the moment! Emmerson Harvey (Hernia) and Andy Broomes (strained ankle ligaments) are just returning to full training. Arsene Bamba (torn hamstring) is a couple weeks away and we have numerous players on the U18 team or on loan that are hurt as well.



Future Transfer IN

-- We come to terms with 17 year old Argentine defender Emmanuel Gonzalez and we’ll have to compensate his Brazilian club Independiente £1.4 million. The transfer won’t go through until July 2026, when Gonzalez turns 18. He’s a 3.5 star DC prospect and will suit up for our U18 squad next season.



Dover Reserves Update

-- We have three reserves games during the international break. First, we defeat Derby 2-1 behind goals from Zoltan Bardi and Manuel Lugo. In the second game, we destroy Chelsea’s reserves 7-2. In that game, Lugo strikes for a hat trick while adding an assist and we get singles from Andy Broomes, Andrew Hunter, Bardi and a Chelsea own goal. In our final game, we squeak by Arsenal’s reserves 2-1 and young Fernando Estrada comes off the bench to score a goal and add an assist on a Broomes marker.



Croatia???

-- I’ve been managing Dover for over 15 years now and for the first time ever, I’m offered a managerial position internationally, as Croatia fire Ivan Bosnjak and make a formal offer to me. Croatia are rated 21st in the world at the moment - of course, I reject the offer but it’s cool to finally get a chance at a position.



New Signing

-- We sign free agent goalkeeper Ross Peake to a youth contract. He’s not a prospect at all but I need a goalkeeper who can play on the reserves team - see, the last two reserves games, I’ve been forced to start our main man, Ingo Wilke, as Chris Davies and our other two U18 goalkeepers have been away on international duty. This will likely continue to happen so I wanted a scrubby keeper to take on those responsibilities.



Next Up

-- We are huge favourites at home, as we prepare to face mid-table Newcastle at Crabble Athletic Ground.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. October 18, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (7-0-0, 21 points, 1st) vs. Newcastle (2-3-2, 9 points, 11th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 2-5 (Favourites) Draw: 11-4 Newcastle: 13-2
Past Meetings: 8W 1D 3L

Last year, Newcastle SHOCKED US 2-1 right here at Crabble so despite being monster favourites, there is no chance I’m taking them lightly. Newcastle are in their sixth consecutive year in the top flight after a one year drop to the Championship in 2019/20. They are a mid to lower table team and once again are sitting in 11th but they are coming off an 8th place finish last year to just miss out on European football. They spent £12 million on seven players during the transfer period, including £4.2 million on sc Heerenveen midfielder Carlos Mercado. Daniel Iturrieta is their danger man and has four goals so far this year.

We have a very tired squad after the international break so I need to rest a few key players today. Salim Loucif and Chiquinho are both too tired so I’ll sit them out in favour of Rodolfo Lopez and Manuel Lugo - Lugo has been tearing it up on the reserves and I’ll give him a look today alongside Paul Moses. Also tired is Jose, who has been battling his fitness since training camp. Neil Cairney will slot in today. We have Arsene Bamba back and he’ll be on the bench today as he tries to regain match fitness.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, R. Lopez
M - M. Pedersen, N. Cairney, B. Raab, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, M. Lugo
Bench - Rafinha, M. Mutesa, Jose, P. Secchi, S. De la Vega, A. Bamba, A. Broomes

Newcastle are in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Iturrieta up front alone and Jak Alnwick in goal. As huge favourites, I once again tell the team I expect a win.

39’ - It’s been a frustrating half, as we seem to be doing well with possession but just can’t get any real chances. We finally break through and it’s Manuel Lugo laying a pass off to Paul Moses at midfield. Moses dribbles between the two central defenders, gets into the area and blasts a low shot past Alnwick and in. DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - Well, I’d like to be leading by more but we just aren’t generating shots on target. We hold 53% of the ball, outshoot them 15-7 (3-0 on target) but we need that insurance marker. I try to encourage the players to get a few more goals.

61’ - I decide to pull off a nervous Lugo and bring in Jose. We switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation and have Benedikt Raab playing AMC.

75’ - Frustrating. We move back to a flat 4-4-2 and bring in Andy Broomes for Neil Cairney.

80’ - We have possession in their end and Renato Gaucho throws a pass into the middle of the pitch to Jose. He feeds it into the area to Moses, who is really close to being offside but he rounds the keeper and easily scores. Newcastle complain to no avail! DOVER GOAL 2-0

83’ - I take out Gianluca Bolis and bring in Sergio De la Vega.

Ok.

Dover 2 - 0 Newcastle
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.8)
Assists - Manuel Lugo (6.8), Jose (6.9)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Rodolfo Lopez (7.1), Rayane Hamon (7.1), Claudio Contreras (7.4), Renato Gaucho (7.1), Benedikt Raab (7.2), Mads Pedersen (7.0)
Attendance - 22,845

We were in control all game but just couldn’t break them down. We held 55% of the ball and outshot them 30-11 (5-3 on target). Another productive game from Moses, which is great to see.

-- Birmingham are somehow able to hold Man United to a scoreless draw!! Man City destroy Southampton 4-0, the very surprising Wolves throttle Sheffield United 5-0 and Sunderland drop a 2-1 decision to Chelsea. In other match ups, Hull shock Huddersfield 4-1 and Arsenal and Liverpool draw 1-1.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 8 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 24 points
2. Manchester City - 22 points
3. Manchester United - 20 points
4. Liverpool - 15 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Wolves - 13 points
6. Huddersfield - 13 points
7. Tottenham - 11 points (after 7 games)
----------------------------------------------------



Dover U18 Update

-- Fernando Estrada is ridiculous - he scores FIVE goals in our 6-0 win over Kingstonian, with strike partner Marcus Sowter scoring the other goal. Estrada is up to 21 goals in 12 non-competitive matches (9 starts). Superb!



Dover Injury Update

-- We are completely healthy!! We do have a few players who just returned from injury that will need time to regain match fitness, with Emmerson Harvey and Arsene Bamba being two in that category.



Next Up

-- We are big favourites as we welcome Spartak Moscow into Crabble Athletic Ground as we continue with Champions League group play.

[NoSkillz]

Wed. October 22, 2025

UEFA Champions League - Group D
Dover (1-0-1, 3 points, 3rd) vs. Spartak Moscow (1-1-0, 4 points, 1st)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 4-5 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Spartak Moscow: 3-1
Past Meetings: 0W 0D 0L

This is a monster matchup for us as we face our likely competition for the second place spot in this group. Spartak Moscow have a huge 6-0 win over Maribor and held Real Madrid to a scoreless draw to take the early lead in the group with a +6 goal differential. Spartak are currently in second place in the Russian Premier League, only two points behind CSKA Moscow after winning the league last year. In fact, they are 16-time Russian champions. They have a stud defender in English international Eddie Hurrell, a player I’ve long coveted but been unable to pry away. He’s injured for today’s match, however. Their leading scorers are strikers Alexandr Streitsov (13 goals) and Caca (12 goals).

Claudio Contreras is serving the last of a four game European suspension but we’ll go with all of our other regular starters today in this pivotal game. Mwemere Mutesa will play at DC in place of Contreras. We do have a match coming up in three days against Manchester United but all of our concentration should be on this match.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, M. Mutesa, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, R. Lopez, A. Torres, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, Z. Bardi, A. Broomes

Spartak are in a flat 4-4-2 with Streitsov and Caca up front and Danilo is in goal. Lets play well for our supporters today!

15’ - We aren’t playing well at all to start and watch as Mads Pedersen goes down with an injury. Great. He can’t continue so we have to bring in Rafinha for him. DOVER INJURY: Mads Pedersen

HALFTIME - Boy, this isn’t good. We’re super lethargic and generating NOTHING. No shots on goal, as we hold 54% of the ball but are being outshot 7-6 (4-0 on target for Spartak). NOT GOOD. I express anger in the room at half - I want to see some life from these guys!

55’ - Mwemere Mutesa gets called for a yellow and that’s FIVE yellow cards in the game for us. We’re undisciplined and playing poorly to boot.

74’ - Boy, we have two players that are THIS CLOSE to getting red cards but the referee lets them get away with fouls. GEEZ. We pull out Jose and bring in Neil Cairney.

80’ - Paul Moses comes out and in comes Andy Broomes.

85’ - We need to WIN THIS GAME. I move to an overload mentality.

Not good at all. Very frustrating game.

Dover 0 - 0 Spartak Moscow
Goals -
Assists -
Man of the Match - Danilo (Spartak Moscow GK - 9.1)
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.2), Mwemere Mutesa (7.3), Renato Gaucho (7.7)
Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out)

We pushed harder in the second half but still can’t break down their organized defence and the result is a scoreless draw. We are in big trouble now and will need a positive result in the second matchup in Russia OR a win against Madrid. We held 54% of possession and outshot them 18-8 (4-4 on target). Their keeper wins man of the match honours.

-- Madrid destroys Maribor, as expected, 5-0 and take the lead in the group.

-- We get £348,000 for the draw.

-- Mads Pedersen suffers a pulled hamstring and will miss 2-3 weeks. Thankfully, Arsene Bamba is back but he’s completely unfit so we’ll likely have to rely quite a bit on Rafinha. DOVER INJURY: Mads Pedersen - Pulled Hamstring (2-3 weeks)



Next Up

-- We move onto another big game, as we travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in Premier League action.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. October 25, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (8-0-0, 24 points, 1st) vs. Manchester United (6-2-0, 20 points, 3rd)
Old Trafford, Manchester, England

Betting Odds: Manchester United: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Dover: 7-4
Past Meetings: 7W 4D 13L

We’ve lost three in a row to United but the games are usually pretty close these days. There’s not much to be said about these guys - they are always awesome and once again are defending Premier League champions. They are missing a couple key players in Luiz Carlos and Omar Hernandez due to injury but Yaya Sanogo is healthy and once again leading the goal scoring ranks for United with 6. They also have former Dover players Manuel Perez, Cristian Rodriguez and Said Henni.

Rafinha starts at ML for the injured Mads Pedersen and Arsene Bamba is on the bench, as he begins to work on regaining match fitness. Sergio De la Vega starts at right midfield in place of a tired Gianluca Bolis. Claudio Contreras is back in at DC. We’ll stick with a control mentality here as slight underdogs.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - Rafinha, B. Raab, Jose, S. De la Vega
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, A. Bamba, G. Bolis, A. Broomes

Flat 4-4-2 for United, with Sanogo up front alongside Tom Bull. Perez is in goal after shutting us out earlier in the season in the Community Shield. I tell the team they can win this game.

16’ - We’ve started out decently here and have possession at midfield with Sergio De la Vega. He lays it off to Jose, who then feeds a ball up to a streaking Chiquinho. He gains a half step on old friend Cristian Rodriguez, approaches the top of the box and fires a low, hard shot that goes under a diving Perez and JUST hits the inside of the goal post and bounces IN! BEAUTY! DOVER GOAL 1-0

19’ - United strike right back, as Sanogo feeds a ball through the middle of our defence and Tom Bull speeds past Contreras and Hamon, is in on goal and shoots past Wilke and it’s in. Porous defending. MANCHESTER UNITED GOAL 1-1

23’ - United score again on a beautiful header but it’s called back due to being offsides. NO GOAL.

28’ - We earn a corner and Benedikt Raab crosses to the far post and Contreras. He heads it toward Perez but there is Paul Moses, sliding to send the ball past the keeper and IN! DOVER GOAL 2-1

36’ - There’s a wild sequence that sees two potential United fouls go uncalled then Contreras gets called for a ticky-tack foul in front of our area. United sends the free kick into our wall but the ball deflects right to the wrong guy, Yaya Sanogo, who sends a quick volley into the back of the net with trademark power. MANCHESTER UNITED GOAL 2-2

43’ - We start a counter attack by heading it up to Moses and he shows his incredible skill by cutting to the middle then juking back on defender Gutierrez, eluding his tackle attempt and running in on goal before shooting low past Perez and IN!! That’s two for Moses and this game is officially nuts! DOVER GOAL 3-2

HALFTIME - Well, the Spartak game was a snooze fest and this is anything but, as we combine for five goals in the first half alone and the neutrals are loving it! We hold 54% of possession but United outshoots us 15-10 (7-7 on target). A manager’s worst nightmare! Shots and chances galore! We’ll pull back a bit and start the second half in a counter attacking mentality. I tell the team I’m pleased.

75’ - United are pressing hard but Ingo Wilke has been terrific this half and is holding the fort down. We take out Rafinha and bring in Arsene Bamba for his first action of the year.

82’ - I take Jose off and bring in Neil Cairney.

88’ - We continue to try to milk the clock, bringing in Rodolfo Lopez for Sergio De la Vega.

A fantastic road victory!!

Manchester United 2 - 3 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (9.1), Chiquinho (8.0)
Assists - Jose (7.2), Benedikt Raab (7.5), Chiquinho
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.9)
Attendance - 73,513

We ended up with 55% of the ball but they pushed hard in the second half and dominated the shot totals, with 26 versus our 17 (14-8 on target for United). Still, we held on well and Wilke was sensational in goal. A wonderful win against a top club.

-- Chelsea begin to claw their way back into contention with a 1-0 win over second placed City, which now gives us a lovely five point cushion at the top of the table. Wolves continue to surprise everyone as they win 1-0 over Newcastle. Huddersfield win by the same scoreline over Sheffield United, as does Liverpool over Birmingham.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 9 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 27 points
2. Manchester City - 22 points
3. Manchester United - 20 points
4. Liverpool - 18 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Wolves - 16 points
6. Huddersfield - 16 points
7. Sunderland - 14 points (after 8 games)
----------------------------------------------------


Dover U18 Update

-- Another game, another big win, as we beat Crawley 5-0 behind four goals from Bakary Kone. Michel Benard notches our other marker and adds two assists.



Team of the Week

-- Paul Moses is named to the Premier League team of the week.



Injury Update

-- Mads Pedersen is our only injured player and will miss about two more weeks of action.



Next Up

-- We face Championship promotion contenders Leeds United in League Cup action.

[NoSkillz]

Tue. October 28, 2025

League Cup - Fourth Round
Dover (1st in Premier League) vs. Leeds (4th in Championship)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-4 (Favourites) Draw: N/A Leeds: 9-1
Past Meetings: 1W 1D 1L

Leeds have spent most of this dynasty in the Championship but did suffer a two year drop to League 1 before returning for good in 2021. They’ve been knocking at the door for a couple years and once again find themselves in good shape to make a playoff run or perhaps gain automatic promotion by finishing in the top two. They haven’t played in the Premier League since 2003/04. Their top scorer is midfielder/striker Joe Mason, who has 9 goals in 15 matches. I don’t recognize any other names on the club.

We’ll use this opportunity to give our backups some playing time and make 10 changes from our United match, with only Sergio De la Vega starting from that match. Arsene Bamba and Emmerson Harvey both are starting for the first time all year as both look to regain match fitness after injuries. Chris Davies is in goal. We should win big today, even with this lineup. We also call up three players from the U18 team for our bench and perhaps one or more will get their first senior level game: Jonathan Langlet, Andrew Hunter and Ralf Kramer.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - C. Davies
D - Rafinha, A. Torres, M. Mutesa, R. Lopez
M - A. Bamba, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega
S - A. Broomes, M. Lugo
Bench - R. Kramer, A. Hunter, Jose, P. Secchi, J. Langlet, G. Bolis, Z. Bardi

Leeds are in a flat 4-4-2 to start and have Joe Mason up front with Ewan Murphy. Quentin Beunardeau is their keeper. Sergio De la Vega is looking overconfident according to my assistant - this guy is driving me nuts - he hasn’t played well at all so far and seems to have an attitude. Great…I tell him I expect a good performance today and tell the team I expect a big win.

5’ - Well, the kid at least listened to me! We have control and it’s Manuel Lugo feeding a nice ball through the box to De la Vega and he puts the ball past Beunardeau and it’s in. That’s De la Vega’s first goal with Dover! DOVER GOAL 1-0

35’ - We send a long ball over the defence and Andy Broomes uses his great speed to beat the defenders to it and he easily beats the Leeds keeper to give us a bit of a cushion. DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - A reasonably comfortable first half, although Leeds have four shots on target, a bit too high a number. We edge them in possession (51%) and hold a 15-4 (8-4 on target) shot advantage.

57’ - De la Vega dribbles down the right flank and has two defenders chasing him. He delivers a cross into the area and it’s Arsene Bamba, cutting in from the left side and hitting a shot off the volley and it’s in. That’s Bamba’s first of the year! DOVER GOAL 3-0

Just prior to the goal, Andy Broomes gets the cross of doom above his name after a challenge and he takes a large fitness hit. He may miss some time. I take him out and bring in Zoltan Bardi.

80’ - I take out Bamba and bring in 17 year old Jonathan Langlet for his first ever senior appearance.

81’ - We have the ball down the right flank and it’s Bardi with it. He somehow gets a cross into the area and it’s Manuel Lugo with a DIVING HEADER that gets past Beunardeau and in!!! That’s Lugo’s first goal of the year as well and a gorgeous one at that! DOVER GOAL 4-0

Very solid.

Dover 4 - 0 Leeds
Goals - Sergio De la Vega (8.7), Andy Broomes (8.0), Arsene Bamba (8.1), Manuel Lugo (8.4)
Assists - Rafinha (8.6), Sergio De la Vega, Manuel Lugo, Zoltan Bardi (6.9)
Man of the Match - Sergio De la Vega
Other Dover Notables - Rodolfo Lopez (7.8), Mwemere Mutesa (8.4), Adrian Torres (7.6), Neil Cairney (7.5)
Attendance - 22,122

We held 53% of possession and outshot them 29-5 (11-4 on target). A great second half performance and one of those calming games where a few players who are struggling finally gain some confidence after fine performances, speaking specifically about De la Vega and Lugo.

-- Interestingly enough, QPR knock off Manchester United 3-2 so United is OUT of the League Cup as our path to a potential final continues to get easier!



Dover Reserves Update

-- We have a reserves match only one day after the Leeds game so we field a bunch of U18 players and still destroy Blackpool’s reserves 8-0!! And we played with ten men from the 16 minute mark, as U18 striker Bakary Kone got a straight red card for a foolish challenge. Zoltan Bardi scored a hat trick, Neil Evans scored twice and we got singles from Danny Hope, Giuseppe Forti and Cheikh Gueye. Michel Benard and Ralf Kramer each had two assists.



November Update

-- We have four Premier League matches in November, as we face Liverpool (home), Birmingham (home), Middlesbrough (home) and Wolves (away). We also have two Champions League matches, with Spartak Moscow (away) and Real Madrid (away) making us work hard to qualify for the next round. So six matches in all.

-- The team continues to train well, with strikers Neil Evans, Zoltan Bardi and Paul Moses impressing the most. The U18 team sees good training performances from Domenico Fracassetti, Giuseppe Forti and Juan Jose Culebras.



October Premier League Awards

-- Striker Guy Luckett from Wolves wins the Barclays Premier League player of the month award after scoring four goals in three matches. Paul Moses came in second.

-- Liverpool’s Scott Bartley wins Young player of the month while two-time winner Rafinha comes in third.

-- We continue to get accolades for our fine goals, as Neil Cairney is awarded with the goal of the month after his curling rocket against Sheffield United.

-- And I win my second Manager of the Month award in the last three months.



League Cup - Quarterfinal Draw

-- We’re down to eight teams and there are still two Championship sides left in the competition. We’ve had fortunate draws all year and get yet another, as we draw QPR from the second tier league in yet another game at Crabble Athletic Ground. We’ll still have to be careful, as they just knocked off United. Still, this is great news for our chances of moving on.



Injury Update

-- Mads Pedersen is our only injured player and will miss about two more weeks of action.



Next Up

-- We are home to Liverpool in Premier League action.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. November 1, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (9-0-0, 27 points, 1st) vs. Liverpool (5-3-1, 18 points, 4th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 4-6 (Favourites) Draw: 9-4 Liverpool: 7-2
Past Meetings: 8W 4D 10L

The Reds are off to a nice start but were very modest spenders during the transfer window, bringing in only four players at a total of £10 million. Benfica’s Careca, a 27 year old striker, was the main purchase for £7.5 million but he’s a bit player right now. Their top scorer, James Efmorfidis, is hurt today so they will rely on Oliver Hammeri or perhaps Careca for goals today.

We’re in a bit of a tough spot, as we face Spartak Moscow in Russia on Tuesday and that is a huge game for us. Still, I’m going with a pretty full lineup today in hopes of keeping this win streak alive. Arsene Bamba is tired AND unfit but he will start today - he’s ineligible for this round of Champions League play so I’m going to use him today and keep Rafinha for the Champions League game, as Mads Pedersen is still injured.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega, Rafinha, A. Broomes

Liverpool are in a 4-2-3-1 with three central attacking mids - this is a formation that usually gives us fits. Oliver Hammeri is alone up front and veteran Chris Dunn is in goal. We are big favourites and I want a win today.

44’ - It’s been a bit of an uneasy half and Liverpool are arguably the better side so far. However, we strike first when Gianluca Bolis dribbles down the right flank and sends a low cross into the area to Paul Moses and our in-form striker taps it into the empty net. DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - Indeed, we’re fortunate to be ahead, as Liverpool own a 57% possession advantage and a 7-5 (1-2 on target) shot advantage as well. I try to encourage the club in the room at half. Both Chiquinho and Paul Moses have been banged up today - Moses seems fine but Chiquinho has taken a big fitness hit but should be okay too.

50’ - We start the second half very well and we earn a corner. Benedikt Raab’s cross is to the far post and it’s headed into the net by Claudio Contreras! DOVER GOAL 2-0

Liverpool move to a flat 4-4-2.

59’ - We’re playing MUCH better here and earn another corner. Raab’s cross is to Rayane Hamon and his attempted shot bounces off a Liverpool defender and goes right to Contreras, who boots the ball on the volley past Dunn and IN! That’s a brace for Contreras! DOVER GOAL 3-0

66’ - Paul Moses comes off and in comes Andy Broomes.

68’ - Just a minute after coming on, Broomes takes a pass from Jose, dribbles to the top of the area and sends a rocket blast into the top corner of the goal! What a shot! DOVER GOAL 4-0

72’ - I take out Jose and bring in Emmerson Harvey. I also switch to a counter attacking mentality in order to reduce our tendency to get caught up in challenges.

74’ - Again, a minute after coming on, our player is involved in a key play but this time it’s a bad one, as Harvey gives the ball away and allows Liverpool to send substitute Piotr Parzyszek on a partial breakaway. He gains an angle and easily shoots past Wilke and IN. LIVERPOOL GOAL 4-1

78’ - We use our last substitution on Benedikt Raab, bringing in Neil Cairney.

90’+1 - We are passing beautifully here in midfield and eventually the ball comes to Chiquinho at the top of the box. With his back to goal, he turns and gains a quick step on his defender and then shoots low past Dunn and it’s in! “Sheer magic from Dover! A superb team goal!”, shouts the announcer. DOVER GOAL 5-1

EXCELLENT second half!

Dover 5 - 1 Liverpool
Goals - Claudio Contreras 2 (9.2), Paul Moses (7.7), Andy Broomes (7.3), Chiquinho (8.1)
Assists - Benedikt Raab 2 (8.7), Gianluca Bolis (7.6), Jose (7.4), Emmerson Harvey (6.9)
Man of the Match - Claudio Contreras
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (8.1), Rayane Hamon (7.2), Renato Gaucho (7.3), Arsene Bamba (7.1)
Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out)

Superb second half! Liverpool still held 53% of overall possession but the shots were in our favour 21-10 (8-2 on target).

-- Huddersfield and Newcastle battle to a scoreless draw, Sunderland defeat Hull 2-1, Manchester United knock off the pesky Wolves 3-1 and City beat Reading by the same scoreline.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 10 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 30 points
2. Manchester City - 25 points
3. Manchester United - 23 points
4. Liverpool - 18 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Sunderland - 17 points (after 9 games)
6. Huddersfield - 17 points
7. Wolves - 16 points
----------------------------------------------------
8. Tottenham - 15 points (after 9 games)
9. Middlesbrough - 15 points
10. Sheffield Wednesday - 14 points
11. Chelsea - 12 points
12. Everton - 10 points
13. Arsenal - 10 points (after 9 games)
14. Aston Villa - 10 points
15. Newcastle - 10 points
16. Birmingham - 9 points
17. Hull - 8 points
----------------------------------------------------
18. Reading - 7 points
19. Southampton - 3 points
20. Sheffield United - 1 points (after 9 games)



Contract Extension

-- We’re pleased to get GK Ingo Wilke signed to a two-year contract extension that will keep him here until June 2028. He’s our longest serving player and we’ll continue to rely on him heavily going forward.

-- We also lock up captain Salim Loucif to a three year extension. We did pick up Rodolfo Lopez, a studly right defender in the offseason but Loucif is super solid and has a very reasonable contract so it made sense to keep him around.



Team of the Week

-- Salim Loucif and Claudio Contreras are named to the Barclays Premier League Team of the Week.



Next Up

-- We head to Russia in a pivotal Champions League Group stage match against Spartak Moscow.

[NoSkillz]

Tue. November 4, 2025

UEFA Champions League - Group D
Spartak Moscow (1-2-0, 5 points, 2nd) vs. Dover (1-1-1, 4 points, 3rd)
Spartak, Moscow

Betting Odds: Spartak Moscow: 13-8 Draw: 2-1 Dover: 6-4 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 0W 1D 0L

Spartak play very close to the vest and their pitch is narrow so I will need to do something to generate offence. Star defender Eddie Hurrell is back for them but they are missing a couple other key defenders in Rogerio and Javier Garcia. Alexandr Streltsov is their key man up front.

We are slight favourites today and we desperately need a win to get ahead of these guys. I’m going to go out on a limb and play a counter attacking mentality to start in hopes of getting them out of their shell a bit. Rafinha draws in at left midfield today, as Arsene Bamba isn’t eligible to play in this stage and Mads Pedersen is still injured.

Dover: 4-4-2 Counter
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - Rafinha, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega, J. Langlet, A. Broomes

Flat 4-4-2 as expected for Moscow, with Streltsov and Caca up front and Danilo in goal. I boldly tell the team I expect a win today.

4’ - A NIGHTMARE START, as Moscow work a ball into the area off a throw in and there is defender Nils Haufe, way up in the box and he taps the ball past Wilke and in. Oh my goodness. SPARTAK MOSCOW GOAL 0-1

12’ - NOT GOOD. I move to a control mentality already.

15’ - We have a free kick and the ball is cleared out to safety. Claudio Contreras has it and works it in to Chiquinho, who turns and sends a delightful ball into the box to Gianluca Bolis and our winger is able to slot the ball past Danilo and it’s IN! We pull level!!! DOVER GOAL 1-1

34’ - YES! We have a corner and Benedikt Raab’s cross is headed in by Contreras! He has three goals in two games and we LEAD! DOVER GOAL 2-1

45’+1 - We score on a beautiful passing play but the goal is called back due to a foul on Paul Moses. DAMN! No goal.

HALFTIME - We were much better after the tactics change and go into half with 55% of possession and an 11-8 (2-3 on target) shot advantage. I’ll stick with a control mentality for now. I encourage the players to keep going!

54’ - He have a throw in and the ball comes to Renato Gaucho. Our left fullback sends a cross into the area and there is Bolis, completely unmarked and he easily taps in his second of the game. HOLY CRAP! DOVER GOAL 3-1

64’ - I normally wouldn’t take out a guy with two goals but Bolis is banged up after a challenge and also has a yellow card so I pull him out and bring in Sergio De la Vega.

69’ - Now Jose gets tackled hard and has the cross of doom above his head. He can continue but I arrange to take him off anyway, as his fitness is suffering. As we wait for the change, play continues and it’s Rafinha taking a pass and dribbling into the area but he’s tackled down. That’s a PENALTY!! Up steps Raab and he makes no mistake and we lead by three goals!!! DOVER GOAL 4-1

73’ - I pull back a bit into a counter attacking mentality. We don’t need any careless yellows here.

74’ - Rafinha tries to make a pass into the area but it deflects off a Spartak defender and is loose. Two other defenders converge on the ball and they get tangled up, allowing Paul Moses to pounce on the loose ball and immediately it’s sent past Danilo and IN! DOVER GOAL 5-1

76’ - We make our last substitution, taking out Renato Gaucho and bringing in U18 midfielder Jonathan Langlet. Rafinha drops back to left fullback.

Awesome win.

Spartak Moscow 1 - 5 Dover
Goals - Gianluca Bolis 2 (8.8), Claudio Contreras (8.9), Benedikt Raab (8.7), Paul Moses (8.2)
Assists - Renato Gaucho (7.6), Benedikt Raab, Rafinha (8.0), Chiquinho (8.7)
Man of the Match - Claudio Contreras
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.5), Salim Loucif (7.1), Rayane Hamon (7.7)
Attendance - 43,742

We are back in control of our own destiny, as we hold 53% of the ball and a 24-11 (8-4 on target) shot advantage. Whew! Well played lads!

-- We earn £696,000 for the win.

-- Real Madrid defeat Maribor 6-0 to hold onto top spot in the group.

-- Jose suffers a bruised rib and will miss about a week. Not a big deal - he may be ready for our next match, which is eight days away. DOVER INJURY: Jose - Bruised Ribs (5-7 days)



Dover Reserves Update

-- We are able to start a pretty strong reserves team and as a result, win 6-0 over Aston Villa’s reserves. Manuel Lugo was tremendous in scoring a hat trick and we get singles from Mwemere Mutesa, Zoltan Bardi and a Adam Platnauer own goal. Bardi and young Jonathan Langlet notched two assists as well.



Dover U18 Update

-- Bakary Kone and Fernando Estrada score twice and Juan Jose Culebras notches a single in a 5-0 win over Southampton’s U18s. In nine games, our U18 club is 9-0-0, has scored 49 goals and allowed ONE. We have amazing talent down there.

-- Later in the week, we DESTROY Leyton Orient’s U18s 9-0!! Kone scores FOUR, Estrada scores three and Michel Benard bags a brace. Benard also notches three assists and Estrada nabs two. Wild.



Premier League Update

-- There’s a pretty full schedule of Saturday action but we have the weekend off. Hull hold Manchester City to a 1-1 draw, United beat Huddersfield 2-1, Sheffield Wednesday win 2-0 over Newcastle, Liverpool beat Wolves 1-0 and Sunderland can only manage a 1-1 draw against cellar-dwellers Sheffield United.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 11 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 30 points (after 10 games)
2. Manchester City - 26 points
3. Manchester United - 26 points
4. Liverpool - 21 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Sunderland - 18 points (after 10 games)
6. Sheffield Wednesday - 17 points
7. Huddersfield - 17 points
----------------------------------------------------



International Update

-- We have 29 (!!) players called up for international duty next week.



Injury Update

-- Mads Pedersen returns to full training after missing three weeks with a pulled hamstring.



Premier League Update

-- There are three Tuesday games and we see Chelsea lose again, this time 1-0 to Villa, United knock off Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 and Arsenal cool off Wolves 1-0.



Bonus Clause Money IN

-- We pick up £50,000 from Modena after Marcel Quade plays his tenth game of the season.



Next Up

-- After a nice break, we’re back at home in Premier League action, facing newly promoted Birmingham City.

[NoSkillz]

Wed. November 12, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (10-0-0, 30 points, 1st) vs. Birmingham (3-3-5, 12 points, 15th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-6 (Favourites) Draw: 5-1 Birmingham: 10-1
Past Meetings: 6W 0D 1L

Birmingham spent two years in a row in the Premier League, got relegated last year but went down and simply won the Championship in their first year back, gaining automatic promotion. They’ve started off quite well, with 12 points from 13 matches thus far and they’ve always played us close so I don’t expect a blowout or anything today. Only four new players were brought in at a modest total of £2.1 million. Former Dover youth prospect Arron Williams is on their club and their leading scorer is striker Jamie Booth, with three goals thus far.

We have just come off an eight day break and go on an international break after this one so we can start a full-strength side today. Arsene Bamba is the only addition to the winning lineup we fielded against Spartak Moscow and Mads Pedersen is back on the bench after returning from his injury.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega, M. Pedersen, A. Broomes

4-4-2 diamond formation for Birmingham today, with Booth and Sosthene Ntagungira up front (what a mouthful!). Edwin Leferink is in goal and I tell the team to play well for the fans.

21’ - Talk about Champions League hangover! We are doing nothing and a few of our players, including Paul Moses, are playing complacently. Birmingham actually score off a free kick but it’s ruled out due to offsides. No goal.

30’ - Well, they couldn’t keep us down for long, as Benedikt Raab feeds a nice through ball to Moses and he dribbles in and places an accurate shot past Leferink and we lead. DOVER GOAL 1-0

39’ - Jose feeds Moses and he takes the ball, jukes past a defender and walks right in, rounding the keeper in trademark fashion before depositing the ball into the goal. That’s two for Moses! DOVER GOAL 2-0

45’ - We have a corner and Raab’s cross is to the near post and it’s Chiquinho, scoring on a very rare header to give us a three goal lead at the break! Weak goal. DOVER GOAL 3-0

HALFTIME - Well, Birmingham are holding the ball well, with a whopping 56% of possession but we outshoot them 16-2 (7-0 on target). It hasn’t been close since the slow opening 20 minutes. I tell them I’m pleased.

50’ - NOOOOO!!! Raab is hurt, has the cross of doom and signals for the bench. FUCK! I bring in Neil Cairney. Please don’t be a long-term injury… DOVER INJURY: Benedikt Raab

52’ - Gianluca Bolis has been hot lately and he’s screaming down the right side. He crosses into the area and it’s Arsene Bamba, sliding after it and sending it into the net! DOVER GOAL 4-0

71’ - Bamba comes off and in comes Mads Pedersen.

86’ - Emmerson Harvey comes on for Jose.

Ok. Easy win - now come on Raab - be okay!

Dover 4 - 0 Birmingham
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (9.2), Chiquinho (8.3), Arsene Bamba (8.1)
Assists - Benedikt Raab 2 (8.2), Jose (7.5), Gianluca Bolis (8.1)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.1), Salim Loucif (7.6), Rayane Hamon (7.7), Claudio Conteras (7.6), Renato Gaucho (7.6)
Attendance - 21,615

We dominate the second half and end up with 52% of the ball and a 28-4 (11-1 on target) shot advantage.

-- In other action, Newcastle upset Sunderland 2-0, Liverpool upend Huddersfield by the same score, as does City over Sheffield United. Tottenham also destroy Reading 5-0.

-- Thank goodness!!! Benedikt Raab suffers bruised ribs and will miss only five days or so. Crisis averted! DOVER INJURY: Benedikt Raab - Bruised Ribs (5-7 days)


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 12 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 33 points (after 11 games)
2. Manchester City - 29 points
3. Manchester United - 29 points
4. Liverpool - 24 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Tottenham - 18 points (after 11 games)
6. Sunderland - 18 points (after 11 games)
7. Sheffield Wednesday - 17 points
----------------------------------------------------



Injury Update

-- Ingo Wilke comes down with food poisoning but should only miss a few days of training.



International Update

-- Gaining youth caps are Emmerson Harvey (England U21 - one goal), Michel Benard (France U21), Adrian Torres (Spain U21), Jordan Tandy, Neil Evans, Andrew Hunter and Liam Pearce (England U20), Alberto Velazquez (Mexico U20 - five goals in two games), Fernando Estrada and Luis Miguel Garcia (Mexico U20) along with Lorenzo Raimondi (Belgium U19).

-- Senior caps go to Salim Loucif (Algeria - one assist), Gianluca Bolis (Italy), Sergio De la Vega (Argentina - three assists), Rodolfo Lopez (Argentina), Claudio Contreras (Argentina), Mads Pedersen (Denmark - one goal), Jose (Brazil - four assists in two games), Neil Cairney (Scotland - one goal), Chiquinho (Belgium - two goals in two games), Zoltan Bardi (Hungary - four goals in two games), Mwemere Mutesa (Rwanda), Rayane Hamon (France - one goal), Paul Moses and Chris Davies (England). Moses got a 3.6 rating in his game against Brazil - one of the lowest ratings I’ve ever seen.



Dover Contract Extensions

-- We get two more key players signed to extensions, as Neil Cairney and Gianluca Bolis both agree to three year deals. We have pretty much everyone locked up at this point.



Premier League Team of the Week

-- Gianluca Bolis, Benedikt Raab and Paul Moses are named to the team of the week.



Next Up

-- We host Middlesbrough in Premier League play.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. November 22, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (11-0-0, 33 points, 1st) vs. Middlesbrough (4-3-5, 15 points, 13th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-4 (Favourites) Draw: 4-1 Middlesbrough: 9-1
Past Meetings: 10W 2D 4L

Middlesbrough have been in the Premier League since 2010 and are a perennial mid-table club, finishing 13th last year and that’s where they stand this year. They brought in nine players during the transfer season at a modest total of £5.75 million, including our former U18 keeper Steven Potter. 28 year old striker Roland Hoxha is their danger man and has six goals in 10 matches thus far after scoring 28 goals last year! We’ll need to watch him closely.

Well, we’re coming off an international break and a number of players return to the team a bit tired. We have a mid-week Champions League matchup in Spain against Real Madrid so I’ll be going with a rotated squad today. Chiquinho will not even dress today after my opposite number calls him out as our top player - that is a recipe for a poor game for Chiquinho so I won’t even test the theory today. Starting in his place will be Andy Broomes and Manuel Lugo will be on the bench. Also starting today are Emmerson Harvey (for a tired Jose), Sergio De la Vega, Mwemere Mutesa and Chris Davies will start in goal, as Ingo Wilke is just getting over food poisoning.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - C. Davies
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, M. Mutesa, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, E. Harvey, B. Raab, S. De la Vega
S - P. Moses, A. Broomes
Bench - R. Lopez, A. Torres, P. Secchi, N. Cairney, G. Bolis, Rafinha, M. Lugo

3-5-2 formation for Middlesbrough and I totally expect them to fall back into a 5-3-2 at some point. Hoxha is up front with Robert Stoll and Acaymo Covelo is in goal. We’re big favourites and I tell the team I expect a win today.

25’ - Only a minute or so after being sent in on a breakaway but missing his chance, Paul Moses gets another break. He’s forced to the left byline, cuts back inside then delivers a DELICIOUS pass to Andy Broomes, who is following up the play and it’s an easy tap in. Superb pass from Moses, great finish from Broomes and we’re ahead! DOVER GOAL 1-0

As expected Middlesbrough drop into a 5-3-2.

27’ - We march right back down the field and a desperation cross from Arsene Bamba is bobbled by Covelo and the rebound pops right to that man Broomes and it’s another tap in! Two for Broomes!!! DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - We’re in complete control here with 62% possession and a 20-2 (7-1 on target) shot advantage. We can’t get sloppy here but I’m very pleased, especially with a number of backups in today.

65’ - A bit of an uneasy start to the second half, as Middlesbrough have been taking the play to us and more importantly, we’ve been persistent with our fouling. Thankfully, we get additional cushion when a Benedikt Raab corner kick is headed in by Paul Moses, a rare header from the little man! DOVER GOAL 3-0

70’ - Double substitution, as we take out Moses and Raab and bring in Manuel Lugo and Paolo Secchi.

81’ - Our last substitution sees Rodolfo Lopez come on for Salim Loucif.

We continue our streak!

Dover 3 - 0 Middlesbrough
Goals - Andy Broomes 2 (8.8), Paul Moses (8.4)
Assists - Benedikt Raab (7.8), Arsene Bamba (7.3), Paul Moses
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.3), Salim Loucif (7.3), Mwemere Mutesa (7.4), Claudio Conteras (7.6), Renato Gaucho (7.6)
Attendance - 21,964

Solid! 60% of possession and a 30-5 (10-2 on target) shot advantage. Broomes was great.

-- In other action, Man United and Sunderland battle to a scoreless draw, Spurs beat Hull 2-0, Aston Villa win 1-0 over Reading, Liverpool upend Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 and Man City beat Newcastle by the same scoreline.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 13 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 36 points (after 12 games)
2. Manchester City - 32 points
3. Manchester United - 30 points
4. Liverpool - 27 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Tottenham - 21 points (after 12 games)
6. Everton - 19 points
7. Aston Villa - 19 points
----------------------------------------------------



Premier League Team of the Week

-- Andy Broomes is named to the Barclays Premier League team of the week.



Next Up

-- We travel to Spain to take on Real Madrid in Champions League Group D play.

[NoSkillz]

Wed. November 26, 2025

UEFA Champions League - Group D
Real Madrid (3-1-0, 10 points, 1st) vs. Dover (2-1-1, 7 points, 2nd)
Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain

Betting Odds: Real Madrid: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Dover: 7-4
Past Meetings: 1W 0D 3L

Madrid are in complete control of this group and barring a complete collapse should easily win Group D. They have an eight goal advantage on us so even though we can match them in points with a win today, we will still be behind them on differential. They are missing a number of key pieces today due to injury so hopefully we can take advantage.

Madrid manager Bruno Labbadia came out in the press and indicated that Paul Moses would need to be stopped and that is usually a recipe for a poor game for the called out player so I am putting him on the bench today. Andy Broomes will start in his place alongside Chiquinho. Mads Pedersen is back from injury and will start at left midfield.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - M. Pedersen, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - A. Broomes, Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, Rafinha, Z. Bardi, P. Moses

4-4-2 diamond formation for Madrid, with towering Cheikh Bocande up front with Austin Eboh. Zonzamas Garrido is the keeper. I tell the team this is a winnable game and can only hope we play a lot better than we did in our first match against these guys!

13’ - A good start and Renato Gaucho feeds a ball up to Andy Broomes. Broomes takes the pass off his chest and it looks like it will cross over the byline but he sends a left footed cross through the crease and there is the suddenly in-form Gianluca Bolis to tap it into the empty net. Great start!! DOVER GOAL 1-0

HALFTIME - Well, we’re ahead and are doing well with possession, holding 60% of the ball but Madrid have been dangerous with their chances and outshoot us 11-9 (5-4 on target). We want to get a result of some sort today but I’m not going to go into a defensive shell to do it, at least not right now. We’ll stick with a control mentality and I tell the team I’m pleased.

Madrid fall into a 4-1-3-2 formation with a DMC to start the second half. Interesting.

53’ - Mads Pedersen has the ball down the left flank and crosses into the area. Chiquinho is there but Madrid defender Maikel Jungbluth tackles the ball away from him but in the process, puts it into his own goal! Oh my! DOVER GOAL 2-0

56’ - This won’t be easy. Madrid have the ball in our territory and we can’t get it out of the penalty area. The ball bounces around and eventually comes to the foot of Austin Eboh and he slams the ball past Wilke and it’s in. REAL MADRID GOAL 2-1

71’ - We’re holding on a bit here and Madrid have a corner and send almost everyone up. We clear and Chiquinho sends a long ball up field to Broomes. There is only one man back and he mistimes his jump, allowing Broomes to run in free on Garrido. Our striker makes no mistake with his shot and we’re up two again!!! DOVER GOAL 3-1

We switch to a counter attacking mentality with the two goal cushion.

77’ - Zoltan Bardi is on for Chiquinho.

80’ - Emmerson Harvey comes on for Jose.

FANTASTIC!

Real Madrid 1 - 3 Dover
Goals - Gianluca Bolis (7.8), Maikel Jungbluth OG, Andy Broomes (8.6)
Assists - Mads Pedersen (7.3), Chiquinho (7.2), Andy Broomes
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Ingo Wilke (7.1), Salim Loucif (7.0), Claudio Conteras (7.3), Renato Gaucho (7.2)
Attendance - 77,398

Hell of a win! We held 56% of possession and shots were dead even 17-17 (8-8 on target). HUGE WIN!

-- Spartak Moscow, as expected, beat Maribor 3-0 but I’m surprised to see I’m now FIRST in the group. It turns out that head-to-head match ups supersede goal differential so we are ahead of Madrid and two points up on Spartak. That means we only need a draw in our final group matchup against Maribor to move on.

-- We earn £696,000 for the win, as usual.



Premier League Update

-- There are two mid-week matches and Arsenal and Tottenham both win.



Next Up

-- We head on the road again to face surprising Wolverhampton in Premier League action.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. November 29, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Wolves (4-5-4, 17 points, 11th) vs. Dover (12-0-0, 36 points, 1st)
Molineux, Wolverhampton, England

Betting Odds: Wolves: 13-2 Draw: 11-4 Dover: 2-5 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 12W 4D 1L

We’ve had great success against Wolves over the years but need to be very careful, as they were red-hot to start this year and even were able to hold us to a 3-3 draw last year at our home stadium. After a super start, they’ve gone four games without a win and have dropped into mid-table but the ever dangerous striker Guy Luckett continues to roll, with 15 goals in 15 matches. These guys have major injury issues right now, with no less than six roster players on the sidelines. They were relatively quiet during the transfer season, bringing in four players but they did spend £7.25 million, £3 million of which was spent on Barnsley striker Aaron Renton. He hasn’t even started a game yet.

Despite a mid-week game in Spain, our players are raring to go and I only make two changes to the winning lineup, bringing Paul Moses back in for Andy Broomes and also bringing in Arsene Bamba for Mads Pedersen. We have a League Cup quarterfinal coming up on Tuesday and will be able to go with second teamers for that contest.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, R. Lopez, M. Mutesa, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, M. Pedersen, A. Broomes

Flat 4-4-2 for Wolves and they have Stefano Zeno up front with Luckett. Bas Hofstra is their keeper. There are signs of overconfidence today coming from Jose and Benedikt Raab - not good. I tell the team I expect a big win today.

29’ - We’re not playing well to start and missing some key chances but finally break through on a Benedikt Raab corner that’s headed in by Claudio Contreras. DOVER GOAL 1-0

45’ - Wolves build up play nicely and they touch a pass into the area to winger Antonio Oses, who eludes an attempted tackle from Raab and shoots past Wilke and it’s IN. Oh my. WOLVES GOAL 1-1

HALFTIME - They score on their only shot of the half and we have 54% of possession and a 12-1 (3-1 on target) shot advantage but this is unacceptable. I let loose on them in the room at half time.

50’ - That team talk doesn’t have the desired effect, as a few players are now “playing nervously”. Get over it! Anyway, we work the ball around off a throw in and Paul Moses sends a pass into the middle to Jose. He dribbles toward the area and lets a low, hard blast go that eludes Hofstra and is in! Great shot by Jose! DOVER GOAL 2-1

59’ - Incredible. Wolves get three corner kicks in a row and on the third one, the cross is sent in and Guy Luckett is able to boot it home. This is something else… WOLVES GOAL 2-2

Wolves fall into a defensive shell, going with a 4-1-4-1 formation.

69’ - I bring in Andy Broomes and take out Chiquinho.

81’ - Looks like we need a miracle here. Gianluca Bolis comes off and in comes Rodolfo Lopez.

90’+1 - Rayane Hamon is hurt and can’t continue. It just keeps getting better. In comes Mwemere Mutesa. DOVER INJURY: Rayane Hamon

There’s three minutes of extra time but it gets dragged out to SEVEN MINUTES, as Wolves pull every stall tactic known to man and the ref seems to realize it. That said, we don’t threaten and the whistle blows. TERRIBLE.

Wolves 2 - 2 Dover
Goals - Claudio Contreras (8.2), Jose (7.6)
Assists - Benedikt Raab (7.1), Paul Moses (6.8)
Man of the Match - Claudio Contreras
Other Dover Notables - Arsene Bamba (7.0)
Attendance - 27,801

We ended up with 53% of the ball and a 19-6 (7-3 on target) shot advantage. Needless to say, I’m pissed but just tell the players the performance wasn’t good enough. We were overconfident and my half time team talk should have been softer but this was unacceptable. We’re still undefeated in Premier League play but there goes the winning streak.

-- And the news gets worse, as we find out that Rayane Hamon will miss close to seven weeks with a broken collarbone. Lovely. Mwemere Mutesa will get the promotion. DOVER INJURY: Rayane Hamon - Broken Collarbone (6-7 weeks)

-- In other action, Chelsea get back into the top seven with a win over Middlesbrough and Sunderland upset Liverpool 1-0. The Manchester derby is a beauty, as City and United draw 3-3.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 14 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 37 points (after 13 games)
2. Manchester City - 33 points
3. Manchester United - 31 points
4. Liverpool - 27 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Tottenham - 24 points (after 13 games)
6. Sunderland - 22 points
7. Chelsea - 21 points
----------------------------------------------------



Dover U18 Update

-- The ridiculous run continues with an 8-1 demolition of AFC Wimbledon. Bakary Kone scores FIVE and Fernando Estrada scores THREE. They are incredible! Stephen Brannigan nabs two assists while Juan Jose Culebras notches three assists.



December Update

-- Business is PICKING UP, as we have SIX Premier League games this month! We face Huddersfield (home), Sheffield Wednesday (away), Manchester City (away), Sunderland (home), Everton (home) and Arsenal (away). Holy CRAP! That is ridiculous and we have four games during an eleven day stretch at the end of the month. We also have a League Cup quarterfinal against QPR here at home and our final Champions League Group stage match against Maribor, also here at home. That’s eight games in December.

-- We get positive training reports for Rodolfo Lopez, Salim Loucif and Manuel Lugo, along with U18 players Bakary Kone, Marcus Sowter and Ralf Kramer. Negative reports come in for U18 players Domenico Fracassetti and Giuseppe Forti.



November Awards

-- Sheffield Wednesday striker Steve Pates wins Player of the Month honours after scoring NINE GOALS in five games! Yeah, that will do it!

-- Arsenal keeper Mark Walsh wins Young Player of the Month honours.

-- Everton manager Nigel Adkins wins manager of the month after winning four of their five games in November.



FA Cup - 3rd Round Draw

-- We are defending FA Cup champions and enter the competition in the third round. Our name is drawn out #1 and we have a tough start, having to face fellow Premier League side Newcastle.



Board Confidence Update

-- No change here. Board is delighted with our stature increase and still slightly disappointed with the departure of Andrea Rocca.

-- We lost £7.35 million in November, with much of it due to a number of contract extensions that carried significant bonuses.



Dover Injury Update

-- Rayane Hamon (broken collarbone) is our only major injury right now. Danny Hope, a reserves centre half back, is out for a couple weeks and two of our loaned out players are hurt as well - Emerson and Felix Hernandez.



Next Up

-- We are in the quarterfinals of the League Cup and host Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

[NoSkillz]

Tue. December 2, 2025

League Cup - Quarterfinals
Dover (1st in Premier League) vs. Queens Park Rangers (19th in Championship)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-6 (Favourites) Draw: N/A QPR: 10-1
Past Meetings: 3W 0D 1L

QPR have spent the last 12 years in the Championship and haven’t been in the Premier League since 1996 in this dynasty. They usually finish near the middle-to-bottom of the table and here they are again with only seven wins to show for their 21 games. Striker Tom Purewal leads the team with 12 goals.

All eleven positions have different starters after our disappointing game against Wolves on the weekend. All second teamers today and we also call up three U18 players for our bench today. We should easily handle these guys even with backups.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - C. Davies
D - Rafinha, A. Torres, M. Mutesa, R. Lopez
M - M. Pedersen, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega
S - A. Broomes, M. Lugo
Bench - L. Garcia, E. Remirez, J. Culebras, P. Secchi, A. Bamba, Z. Bardi, P. Moses

Flat 4-4-2 for QPR today and Purewal is up front with Simon Thomas. Jack Butland is their keeper. Lets play well for our supporters today!

28’ - Another poor start, as we’re generating very little against the minnows. We finally break through, when Manuel Lugo sends in Andy Broomes and our in-form striker slots a hard shot past Butland and in! DOVER GOAL 1-0

31’ - We work a counter attack with Mads Pedersen through the middle of the pitch. He sends a lovely ball through to Lugo and he left foots the ball into the short side of the goal. Very nice! DOVER GOAL 2-0

35’ - We have a corner cleared out but Emmerson Harvey rips a bullet back in and it’s stopped by Butland. There’s a big rebound and it’s right on the foot of Sergio De la Vega and he easily slips it in and we’re comfortably ahead! DOVER GOAL 3-0

HALFTIME - We started off slow but that was a sensational last 20 minutes. We hold 58% of possession and a 10-2 (7-0 on target) shot advantage. Happy manager here.

50’ - Our skill is simply too much for QPR, as Broomes dribbles down the left flank, reaches the byline then cuts back to his stronger right foot. He sends a pass to the middle to Lugo and he slams the ball off Butland and in! That’s two goals for Lugo and he’s officially having a stormer! DOVER GOAL 4-0

52’ - We continue to push forward as Broomes dribbles down the middle. A QPR defender tackles the ball away and it’s slowly rolling toward the keeper but there is that man MANUEL LUGO, getting there first and tapping the ball past Butland and IN!!! That’s a hat trick for Lugo and our 19 million pound man from last year is having the best game of his life! Wooo!! DOVER GOAL 5-0

58’ - Since Rayane Hamon is injured and I’m going to need his services for the next number of weeks, I pull out Mwemere Mutesa as a precaution and bring in U18 player Luis Miguel Garcia for his first ever senior level appearance.

87’ - UGH. Emmerson Harvey fouls a man in our area and that’s a PENALTY. Up steps Chris McCann and he rifles a shot past Davies and it’s in. QPR GOAL 5-1

That mistake aside, a pretty thorough victory.

Dover 5 - 1 Queens Park Rangers
Goals - Manuel Lugo 3 (9.7), Andy Broomes (9.1), Sergio De la Vega (8.1)
Assists - Emmerson Harvey (7.1), Mads Pedersen (8.7), Andy Broomes, Manuel Lugo
Man of the Match - Manuel Lugo
Other Dover Notables - Chris Davies (7.1), Rodolfo Lopez (7.4), Mwemere Mutesa (7.9), Adrian Torres (7.3), Rafinha (7.9), Neil Cairney (7.2)
Attendance - 23,000 (Sell-Out)

We held 56% of possession and a 24-4 (11-1 on target) shot advantage. It’s GREAT to see Lugo perform like that and he has shown great improvement this year. He’s moved ahead of Zoltan Bardi on our depth chart and that bodes well for his future here.



Dover Reserves Update

-- We play Burnley’s reserves the next day so starting a lineup filled with U18’ers, we are still able to destroy them 6-0. One of the few senior team players, Zoltan Bardi, scores four goals and we get singles from Giuseppe Forti and Neil Evans. Young striker Marcus Sowter contributes three assists in the win.



League Cup - Semi Final Draw

-- We’ve been super fortunate the whole competition to get the best draws and it continues as we reach the final four, drawing Hull City. We’ll play both home and away legs to determine who moves onto the final. Southampton and Tottenham are on the other side of the draw.



Next Up

-- We are big favourites at home as we get ready to host Huddersfield in Premier League play.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. December 6, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (12-1-0, 37 points, 1st) vs. Huddersfield (5-3-6, 18 points, 13th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-6 (Favourites) Draw: 5-1 Huddersfield: 10-1
Past Meetings: 10W 3D 3L

Huddersfield Town are enjoying their 11th straight year in the Premier League and have finished as high as 7th and as low as 16th. They were huge spenders in the transfer window, dishing out an incredible £37 million, including a whopping £21 million for 25 year old Chilean striker Cesar Mora. Mora has only four goals in 12 matches as he learns the English language and tries to settle in at Huddersfield. Mora is joint leader with veteran Paul Lumsden in goals.

We’re back to our regular starting lineup today and hope we put together a more professional performance than we did against Wolves last week. Mwemere Mutesa is in for the injured Rayane Hamon and will get plenty of opportunities over the next month and a half.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, M. Mutesa, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, Rafinha, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, M. Pedersen, S. De la Vega, A. Broomes

Flat 4-4-2 for Huddersfield and it’s Lumsden and Mora up front. Alex Smithies is their goalkeeper. Lets play well for our home supporters today!

18’ - Off a Huddersfield goal kick, we work the ball up field and it’s Paul Moses sending a lovely ball through the defence to strike partner Chiquinho and he makes no mistake with a hard, low shot that gets past Smithies! DOVER GOAL 1-0

24’ - Off a throw in, Gianluca Bolis has the ball and sends a low cross into the area. Sliding after it is Moses and he sends it past Smithies and it’s in. I laugh as the announcer is already saying the game is over and that our unbeaten streak will continue. Haha. DOVER GOAL 2-0

HALFTIME - A pretty solid half and we’re playing with more confidence as the game moves on. We held 51% of the ball and outshoot them 13-2 (6-1 on target). I’m happy.

57’ - Just a minute or so after getting banged up on a challenge, it’s Bolis again as architect, as he crosses to the far post and fighting through a challenge of his own is Arsene Bamba, sliding after the ball and sending it into the net! DOVER GOAL 3-0

61’ - I take no chances, taking out the excellent Bolis and bring in Sergio De la Vega.

62’ - Holy crap! De la Vega just comes on in time for a corner kick and Benedikt Raab feeds him at the top of the area. De la Vega immediately shoots and it’s a bullet that deflects off Smithies, hits the underside of the crossbar and is IN! Immediate impact! WOW. DOVER GOAL 4-0

70’ - I pull off the yellow carded Claudio Contreras and bring in Rodolfo Lopez, moving Salim Loucif to DC and Lopez will slot in at right fullback.

75’ - Boy oh boy…Moses. Something else! He dribbles down the left, cuts through two defenders then sends a GORGEOUS pass into the box to a wide open De la Vega and he easily taps it into the empty net. That’s two goals for De la Vega in the 15 minutes he’s been on the pitch! DOVER GOAL 5-0

79’ - We make our last substitution, bringing in Emmerson Harvey for Raab.

87’ - Bamba makes a horrible pass across the middle that is intercepted and Huddersfield send a long ball into our area. It’s a race to the ball and Cesar Mora beats Wilke to it and heads it past him into the goal. Another late goal. HUDDERSFIELD GOAL 5-1

Super duper.

Dover 5 - 1 Huddersfield
Goals - Sergio De la Vega 2 (8.6), Chiquinho (8.1), Paul Moses (9.2), Arsene Bamba (8.4)
Assists - Gianluca Bolis 2 (8.0), Paul Moses 2, Benedikt Raab (8.0)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.2), Claudio Contreras (7.2), Mwemere Mutesa (7.4), Renato Gaucho (7.5), Jose (7.1)
Attendance - 21,699

We held 54% of overall possession and a 28-3 (12-2 on target) shot advantage. Great to see De la Vega starting to settle in and both he and Bolis, our two right midfielders, had wonderful games. Moses continues to roll as well!

-- Liverpool upset Manchester City 2-1, Chelsea edge Reading 1-0, Aston Villa win 2-1 over Sheffield United while Manchester United beat up on Everton 4-1. In other action, Spurs knock off Newcastle 3-0


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 15 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 40 points (after 14 games)
2. Manchester United - 34 points
3. Manchester City - 33 points
4. Liverpool - 30 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Tottenham - 27 points (after 14 games)
6. Chelsea - 24 points
7. Aston Villa - 23 points
----------------------------------------------------
8. Arsenal - 22 points (after 14 games)
9. Sunderland - 22 points
10. Sheffield Wednesday - 21 points
11. Everton - 20 points
12. Wolves - 19 points
13. Huddersfield - 18 points
14. Middlesbrough - 16 points
15. Birmingham - 15 points
16. Newcastle - 14 points
17. Hull - 11 points
----------------------------------------------------
18. Reading - 10 points
19. Southampton - 7 points
20. Sheffield United - 2 points (after 14 games)



Dover U18 Update

-- Shock of shocks, as we can only manage a 1-1 draw against Brighton’s U18 club. Bakary Kone scores our only goal.



Barclays Premier League Team of the Week

-- Sergio De la Vega, Arsene Bamba and Paul Moses make the league’s team of the week.



Injury Update

-- Rayane Hamon will miss about a month and a half with his broken collarbone and reserves defender Danny Hope is still a couple weeks away from a return as well.



Next Up

-- Our final group stage game in the Champions League will be at Crabble, as we host Maribor.

[NoSkillz]

Tue. December 9, 2025

UEFA Champions League - Group D
Dover (3-1-1, 10 points, 1st) vs. Maribor (0-0-5, 0 points, 4th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-3 (Favourites) Draw: 3-1 Maribor: 7-1
Past Meetings: 1W 0D 0L

Maribor are riding out the string and have been outscored 24-1 in the group stage, with their only goal coming on a penalty shot against us in their home leg. Striker Ivica Sabic is their leading scorer with 13 goals in 27 matches.

Well, this should be a cakewalk and I’m boldly going with a second string lineup today but will have the cavalry ready, just in case. Claudio Contreras is the only holdover from our win against Huddersfield. The Real Madrid/Spartak Moscow game will be an interesting one, as Moscow could advance with a win, something I certainly don’t expect from them.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - C. Davies
D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, A. Torres, R. Lopez
M - M. Pedersen, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega
S - A. Broomes, M. Lugo
Bench - S. Loucif, Renato Gaucho, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis, Z. Bardi, P. Moses

Flat 4-4-2 for Maribor and they have Sabic up front with Gjergi Xhaka. Dzenan Hadzic is their keeper. For the fans tonight!

27’ - We are dominating this game but simply can’t get a ball past their solid keeper. We FINALLY strike, as a nice passing buildup eventually sees Manuel Lugo feeding Andy Broomes and he is able to coax an accurate shot past Hadzic for our first goal. DOVER GOAL 1-0

30’ - We work a lightning quick counter attack and it’s Broomes, up to Lugo and then up to a charging Neil Cairney, who dribbles in on a breakaway and shoots hard and low past Hadzic and IN! Gorgeous!! DOVER GOAL 2-0

45’ - Maribor have a corner and we clear it out to Lugo, who sends a long ball up to the midfield stripe to Broomes. He puts on an absolute CLINIC, as he weaves back and forth through the two defenders, cuts back toward goal and delivers a low blast to the far corner of the net. SPECTACULAR goal by Broomes!! DOVER GOAL 3-0

HALFTIME - We’re cruising here. We only edge them in possession but hold an 18-2 (7-1 on target) shot advantage. We won’t be needing our starters today!

51’ - We’re pressing again and it’s Emmerson Harvey feeding Broomes at the edge of the area. With his back to goal, he pivots to his stronger right leg and unleashes a PILEDRIVER that rockets into the back of the net! That’s a HAT TRICK for Broomes!! DOVER GOAL 4-0

Maribor are in a weird 5-1-2-1-1 formation.

54’ - Broomes scores AGAIN on a wicked deflection but the goal is called back due to offsides. Close play but the right call when looking at the replay. No goal.

58’ - With nothing left to prove, I take out the sensational Broomes and bring in Zoltan Bardi. “Standing ovation for Broomes!”

69’ - We have a corner and Cairney’s cross is to the near post and young Adrian Torres and he hits a left footed volley that is past Hadzic and in the net. Yes! DOVER GOAL 5-0

73’ - Harvey sends a header over the defence and Bardi latches onto it. He’s in on goal but is stopped by Hadzic. There is a huge rebound though and it’s on the foot of Lugo, who pops the ball into the net. Another tremendous game from Lugo, who is really coming into his own now! DOVER GOAL 6-0

We move on to the knockout stages in spectacular fashion.

Dover 6 - 0 Maribor
Goals - Andy Broomes 3 (9.6), Neil Cairney (9.1), Adrian Torres (9.2), Manuel Lugo (9.5)
Assists - Manuel Lugo 3, Neil Cairney, Emmerson Harvey (8.5), Zoltan Bardi (6.9)
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Chris Davies (7.0), Rodolfo Lopez (8.2), Claudio Contreras (8.6), Rafinha (8.1), Sergio De la Vega (8.1), Mads Pedersen (7.9)
Attendance - 22,092

We end up with 59% of the ball and an OUTRAGEOUS 40-2 (15-2 on target) shot advantage. Broomes and Lugo were sensational - Lugo had four points today!! Every starter had a rating over 7.0 in a superb performance.

-- Real Madrid edged Spartak Moscow 2-1 in Russia to move on as well out of our group. There are no real surprises anywhere else either. Moving into the last sixteen are Atletico Madrid and Sampdoria from Group A, Olympique Lyonnais and HSV from Group B, Man City and Benfica from Group C, OM and Chelsea from Group E, Man U and Galatasaray from Group F, Barcelona and Juventus from Group G and finally, Dortmund and Sevilla from Group H.

-- As usual, we earn £696,000 for the Champions League group win.



Dover Reserves Update

-- We destroy Reading’s reserves 6-0, getting four goals from U18 star Fernando Estrada. Paolo Secchi and Marcus Sowter score singles and Secchi also had two assists. Estrada is a machine - he’s up to 34 goals in 20 non-competitive matches, 16 of which were starts. Amazing.



Premier League Update

-- Tottenham and Sheffield United play their makeup game on Wednesday and it’s Spurs winning in a walk 6-0 to move into fourth place on the table ahead of Liverpool.

-- We play on Monday so we get to watch all the weekend action take place. City upend Arsenal 3-1, Villa continue to play well in a 1-0 win over Newcastle, Chelsea knock off Hull 2-0, Liverpool beat Everton 4-0 and Tottenham and Manchester United battle to a scoreless draw.



Dover U18 Update

-- Nathan Protheroe scores twice and we get singles from Bakary Kone, Eneko Remirez, Marcus Sowter and Michel Benard in a 6-0 dismantling of MK Dons U18s. Kone, Sowter and Jonathan Langlet all had two assists as well.



Next Up

-- We head on the road to take on Sheffield Wednesday in Premier League play.

[NoSkillz]

Mon. December 15, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Sheffield Wednesday (6-3-6, 21 points, 10th) vs. Dover (13-1-0, 40 points, 1st)
Hillsborough, Sheffield, England

Betting Odds: Sheffield Wednesday: 7-2 Draw: 9-4 Dover: 4-6 (Favourites)
Past Meetings: 11W 5D 4L

Sheffield Wednesday are in their ninth straight year in the top flight after being as low as League 1 back in 2010. They spent £16 million during the July transfer window, spreading it pretty evenly among 8 players. Steve Pates has 14 goals in only 13 games and always is their most dangerous player but he and fellow strike partner Darijo Jukic will miss today’s game due to injury. Both of those injuries came in their last match, which was against Birmingham. This team is decimated right now with five key players out.

We’re back to a full strength squad for this one and can only hope complacency isn’t an issue.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, M. Mutesa, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, G. Bolis
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - R. Lopez, Rafinha, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, M. Pedersen, S. De la Vega, A. Broomes

Ok, Wednesday are in a flat 4-4-2 and are going with Ricardo Silva and Sandi Labrovic up front. Fernando Cardoso is in goal. I ask for a good performance for the travelling support today.

14’ - Sheffield start off well and dominate the early highlights but we end up striking on our first real chance. We work possession off a throw in and the ball comes to Paul Moses near the top of the area. He cuts to his strong right side and unleashes a blast that is off the hands of Cardoso and into the net! Great shot! DOVER GOAL 1-0

22’ - We earn a corner and Benedikt Raab’s cross is to the far post and Claudio Contreras. It’s a great header but Cardoso makes a brilliant diving save! There’s a rebound and there is Moses, right on the doorstep, heading it past the down and out Wednesday keeper for his second of the game and 20th of the season! DOVER GOAL 2-0

45’+3 - We work a counter attack and Gianluca Bolis is taken down hard inside the Sheffield penalty area but no foul is called. He’s hurt and will need to be replaced as the whistle blows. Sergio De la Vega will come in for the second half. DOVER INJURY: Gianluca Bolis

HALFTIME - Sheffield Wednesday held 52% of possession and we outshoot them 7-7 (5-2 on target) in an even half that just saw us take advantage of our opportunities. Hopefully things will open up a bit in the second half. I tell the team I’m pleased and tell De la Vega to pick up where they left off.

51’ - De la Vega makes an instant impact again, sending in a lovely low cross that is met by Arsene Bamba, as he slides the ball through Cardoso’s legs and in! DOVER GOAL 3-0

66’ - Raab is banged up so I take him out and bring in Emmerson Harvey.

Not our best but a decent road win.

Sheffield Wednesday 0 - 3 Dover
Goals - Paul Moses 2 (8.8), Arsene Bamba (8.0)
Assists - Claudio Contreras (8.5), Jose (7.1), Sergio De la Vega (6.9)
Man of the Match - Paul Moses
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.5), Mwemere Mutesa (7.3), Renato Gaucho (7.6), Benedikt Raab (7.0), Chiquinho (7.0)
Attendance - 41,950

A rare game where an opponent holds more of the ball, as Sheffield had 54% of possession but we outshoot them 17-13 (8-3 on target).

-- Gianluca Bolis suffers a bruised rib and will miss about a week. He will miss our big match against City on the weekend but should return a day or two later. DOVER INJURY: Gianluca Bolis (Bruised ribs - 6 days)


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 16 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 43 points (after 15 games)
2. Manchester City - 36 points
3. Manchester United - 35 points
4. Liverpool - 33 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Tottenham - 31 points
6. Chelsea - 27 points
7. Aston Villa - 26 points
----------------------------------------------------



Record League Goal Scorer

-- Paul Moses gets noted as now being Dover’s all-time leader in goals scored in league play with 75, one more than another current White in Zoltan Bardi. At 22 years of age, Moses will continue to add to this total for years to come.



Premier League Team of the Week

-- Moses is named to the Barclays Premier League team of the week.



Dover Reserves Update

-- Manuel Lugo continues his incredible progression, scoring two goals and adding two assists in an 8-0 destruction of Wolves Reserves. Zoltan Bardi also scored twice and we got singles from Emmerson Harvey, Rodolfo Lopez, Mads Pedersen and Rafinha, as we were able to start a very strong lineup today.



Champions League - First Knockout Round Draw

-- We draw the second place team in Italy, Sampdoria, in the first knockout round. The first match will be played in Italy in mid-February.



Next Up

-- A huge Premier League match, as we head to Manchester to face City.

[NoSkillz]

Sat. December 20, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Manchester City (11-3-2, 36 points, 2nd) vs. Dover (14-1-0, 43 points, 1st)
Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England

Betting Odds: Manchester City: 6-4 (Favourites) Draw: 2-1 Dover: 13-8
Past Meetings: 5W 4D 8L

A huge 1 vs. 2 matchup today at the Etihad. City are a perennial powerhouse in this dynasty and have only twice finished outside the top 3 in the league in the past 13 years, one of which was last year when they finished in fourth. They have won the Premier League eight times, most recently in 2022 and are five time Champions League winners. They were not big spenders in the July transfer window so you have to imagine that they’ll be busy come January, as they only brought in five players at around £10 million total. Arsenal’s 19 year old midfielder Philippe Poisson was the biggest purchase for just over £6 million but he’s a piece for the future and hasn’t suited up in a senior level game as of today. Last year’s leading scorer, the ever dangerous Jelle Hoegee, missed three months with a torn hamstring and is still trying to regain match fitness. Fellow striker Ryan Bonin is hurt and won’t play today so it’s possible we see Vaclav Kadlec up front if Jose Mourinho decides to keep Hoegee on the bench. City is definitely vulnerable today with their injury issues.

We make only one change for today’s game and that is a necessary one, as Sergio De la Vega starts in place of the injured Gianluca Bolis. Bolis should be ready to go for our next game. This game marks the start of a four game stretch in 11 days (and five games in 14 days) so we’ll be rotating our squad quite a bit over the next two weeks. I’m going to stick with a control mentality to start despite being the slightest of underdogs.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - Renato Gaucho, C. Contreras, M. Mutesa, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, B. Raab, Jose, S. De la Vega
S - P. Moses, Chiquinho
Bench - Rafinha, A. Torres, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, M. Pedersen, R. Lopez, A. Broomes

City are in a 4-2-3-1 formation and Hoegee is a surprise starter. He’s clearly very unfit and I have to imagine City hope they can strike early with him then bring on a substitute in the second half. Antonio is their goalkeeper and a very good one at that. For some reason, Sergio De la Vega is overconfident, not a good sign against such a talented club. I tell the lads they can win today.

21’ - And my opinion that City striker Jelle Hoegee wasn’t fit enough to start is correct, as he goes down hard on a challenge and can’t continue. So dumb that they started him today but I guess this is a pretty big game. Vaclav Kadlec comes on for him.

23’ - I wondered if that injury would deflate them a bit and I get my answer immediately, as we work a ball up to Paul Moses. He dribbles through the defence but the ball is tackled away into open space. Latching onto it is Chiquinho and he storms into the area and sends a patented low blast to the far corner and it’s in! Nice! DOVER GOAL 1-0

45’+1 - City work possession and send a long ball over our defence. Winger Jonathan Bottone gets there first and sends a little touch past Wilke and IN. That’s not a good time to give up a goal and City pulls level. MANCHESTER CITY GOAL 1-1

HALFTIME - City have really controlled possession but we’ve had way more opportunities to score. They held 56% of the ball but we outshoot them 10-6 (6-2 on target). Antonio was great in that first half and Moses had a number of great chances that were denied by their keeper. I tell the players I’m pleased thus far but lets go win this.

61’ - City are really controlling play here and dominating the highlights but we finally get possession in their end and have a free kick. Benedikt Raab crosses into the box and the ball is headed by Mwemere Mutesa and it’s past Antonio and IN! Yes!! DOVER GOAL 2-1

I immediately pull back into a counter attacking mentality. City are now holding 60% of the possession so I think we need to sit back a bit more. City also change formation, moving into a 4-3-1-2.

72’ - Rodolfo Lopez comes on and I pull out De la Vega.

79’ - Neil Cairney is on for Jose.

89’ - City are pressing hard but we continue to hold them off. We have possession at midfield with Lopez and he sends a fantastic ball through the defence to Moses. Snake bitten today, Moses rounds the keeper and slots a shot that JUST gets inside the post and it’s IN! The dagger!! DOVER GOAL 3-1

Awesome victory!

Manchester City 1 - 3 Dover
Goals - Chiquinho (7.5), Mwemere Mutesa (8.4), Paul Moses (8.2)
Assists - Benedikt Raab (7.1), Rodolfo Lopez (6.9)
Man of the Match - Mwemere Mutesa
Other Dover Notables - Claudio Contreras (7.4)
Attendance - 62,682

City end up with 56% of possession but we outshoot them 19-11 (13-4 on target). Moses deserved that goal, as he was buzzing around the net all game long and had six shots on target alone. BIG WIN!!!

-- Chelsea continue their resurgence, winning 1-0 over Newcastle and United throttle Southampton 5-1.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 17 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 46 points (after 16 games)
2. Manchester United - 38 points
3. Manchester City - 36 points
4. Liverpool - 33 points (after 16 games)
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5. Tottenham - 31 points (after 16 games)
6. Chelsea - 30 points
7. Aston Villa - 26 points (after 16 games)
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Dover U18 Update

-- Bakary Kone scores three goals, Fernando Estrada scores twice and Giuseppe Forti adds the single in a 6-0 win over Portsmouth in under 18 action.



Premier League Team of the Week

-- Mwemere Mutesa is selected for the Barclays Premier League team of the week.



Dover Injury Update

-- Rayane Hamon continues to be our only long-term injury and he’ll be out for another three weeks or so.



Next Up

-- We head home for a mid-week Premier League tilt against mid-table Sunderland.

[NoSkillz]

Tue. December 23, 2025

Barclays Premier League
Dover (15-1-0, 46 points, 1st) vs. Sunderland (6-4-7, 22 points, 12th)
Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover, England

Betting Odds: Dover: 1-6 (Favourites) Draw: 5-1 Sunderland: 10-1
Past Meetings: 8W 2D 5L

Sunderland last played in the Championship in 2011/12 so this marks 14 straight seasons in the top flight of English football. They finished as high as 6th back in 2018/19 but are usually a mid-table club and are in that normal position right now. They were moderate spenders in July, dishing out £12.75 million on five players, including £5.5 million on Rangers fullback Mubarak Al-Subaie, who has been ever-present on defence so far this year. They aren’t scoring much this year and their top goal-getter is American Jeremy Russell with five. I tried to buy Russell a couple years back but he chose Sunderland over us, for some reason - likely due to money and opportunity. Matt Barber is still very influential in midfield and former Dover backup Leo Creemers has been getting a run in their first team as of late.

We are in the middle of a five game in 14 day stretch so I’m fully rotating the squad today, with only two holdovers from our big Manchester City win the other day. Claudio Contreras and Sergio De la Vega will both slot in once again, otherwise we’re going with reserves throughout the lineup. The molten hot combo of Andy Broomes (10 goals in only six starts and 12 total games) and Manuel Lugo (5 goals and 6 assists in six starts and 8 total games) are up front. We are monster favourites so I don’t assume the weaker lineup will hurt us. Either way, our depth is superb and our second team is likely better than most first teams in this league.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - C. Davies
D - Rafinha, C. Contreras, A. Torres, R. Lopez
M - M. Pedersen, E. Harvey, N. Cairney, S. De la Vega
S - A. Broomes, M. Lugo
Bench - S. Loucif, M. Mutesa, P. Secchi, Jose, A. Bamba, G. Bolis, Z. Bardi

Sunderland will start in a 3-5-2 formation that will almost certainly change into a 5-3-2 at some point. Lucas Alba is up front with Russell and Sam Cowler is their keeper. I tell the players I expect a big win today.

14’ - We work possession off a throw in and Neil Cairney feeds a pass to Emmerson Harvey in the middle of the pitch. Harvey delivers his patented pile driver though the crowd and it’s rifled into the back of the goal! That’s Harvey’s first of the year and we’re ahead. DOVER GOAL 1-0

17’ - We are passing beautifully all over the pitch and we work deep in their end. Mads Pedersen delivers a delightful touch through to Andy Broomes and he slots a quick left footed shot underneath Cowler and it’s in. Broomes is sensational! DOVER GOAL 2-0

As expected, Sunderland fall back into a 5-3-2.

37’ - We continue to simply dominate with a full team of backups. Manuel Lugo sends a GREAT pass to Broomes, who was calling for the ball. He’s got a half step on the defender and rifles a bullet of a shot past Cowler and in. My goodness, what a shot from Broomes, his second of the match. DOVER GOAL 3-0

HALFTIME - Simply a sensational half of football, as we’re just all over them. 54% of possession is ours and we outshoot them 11-1 (6-1 on target). I’m quite pleased!

66’ - We throw it in down the left to Broomes and that’s when the MAGIC BEGINS, as he weaves through two defenders, cuts into the middle and from OUTSIDE THE AREA, sends a howitzer toward goal and it’s in to the far corner. SPECTACULAR GOAL from Broomes and that is yet ANOTHER HAT TRICK. Stunning!!! DOVER GOAL 4-0

70’ - Broomes comes off to yet another standing ovation. My goodness he’s incredible. In comes Zoltan Bardi and I also take out Neil Cairney and bring in Paolo Secchi, as we go deep into our bench.

77’ - Sunderland are sore losers, as first they tackle Secchi hard to send him temporarily to the sidelines and now they injure Pedersen and he can’t continue. I’m forced to bring on Arsene Bamba. DOVER INJURY: Mads Pedersen

90’ - We are very complacent right now and Sunderland has dominated the last ten minutes. They get a ball into Jeremy Russell and he turns and sends a weak shot that somehow gets past Davies and goes in. SUNDERLAND GOAL 4-1

90’+3 - We earn a corner and Bamba’s cross is headed in by Claudio Contreras. That’s what I’m talking about! DOVER GOAL 5-1

Very nice performance.

Dover 5 - 1 Sunderland
Goals - Andy Broomes 3 (9.6), Emmerson Harvey (8.1), Claudio Contreras (8.6)
Assists - Rafinha (8.1), Neil Cairney (7.5), Mads Pedersen (8.1), Manuel Lugo (7.8), Arsene Bamba (6.9)
Man of the Match - Andy Broomes
Other Dover Notables - Chris Davies (7.1), Rodolfo Lopez (7.8), Adrian Torres (7.4), Sergio De la Vega (7.2)
Attendance - 22,976

Sunderland end up holding 52% of possession but we outshoot them 17-10 (9-4 on target). Broomes is simply incredible - what a weapon he is as a third striker on this team! He’s up to 13 goals in 7 starts, which are ludicrous numbers!

-- Crap. Mads Pedersen suffers a broken wrist and will miss the next 5-6 weeks. DOVER INJURY: Mads Pedersen (Fractured wrist: 5-6 weeks)

-- In other action, Man City upend Birmingham 1-0, Liverpool and Tottenham battle to a 1-1 draw, United beat Villa 3-0 and Sheffield United hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.


BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE PLAYED 18 GAMES UNLESS NOTED)

1. Dover - 49 points (after 17 games)
2. Manchester United - 41 points
3. Manchester City - 39 points
4. Liverpool - 34 points (after 17 games)
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5. Tottenham - 32 points (after 17 games)
6. Chelsea - 31 points
7. Aston Villa - 26 points (after 17 games)
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Next Up

-- We host Everton in Premier League action.