Make the Nets Bigger (FM2014)

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by korme

Just wanted to post and share that I am following along

Thanks!

[larrymcg421]

September 1

Vauxhall (0-2-4, 24th) vs. Kidderminster (1-0-5, 21st)

A match we badly need to win. A scoreless tie is broken in the 32nd minute when O'Callaghan's corner is headed in by Joe Tait. They equalize on a "fluke" goal that was meant to be a cross, but bounced off the keeper into the net. Then 12 minutes later we lose track of their right winger and suddenly we're headed to another loss. However, we come right back and two minutes later Hewitt finds himself all alone on the right wing and easily beats the keeper. Then just two minutes after that, Fearnehough sends a beautiful through pass in to Peake, who puts it away. We hold on for a great comeback!

Final: Vauxhall 3, Kidderminster 2
Goals: Peake, Hewitt, Tait
Assists: O'Callaghan, Pino, Fearnehough
Top Three: O'Callaghan 7.9, Hewitt 7.4, Tait 7.4
Worst: Ellams 6.3


September 5

Vauxhall (1-2-4, 22nd) at Histon (2-1-4, 17th)

Deflected, missed, missed, hit the post, deflected, missed. That's how the first half goes as we fail to capitalize on numerous opportunities. Then Histon come through with a goal in the 81st minute and we lose yet again.

Final: Histon 1, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Kennedy 6.9, Clark 6.7, Hubbard 6.7
Worst: Tait 6.2


September 8

Vauxhall (1-2-5, 23rd) at Chester (6-0-2, 4th)

They are dominating possession, but we're holding pretty firm and preventing good shots. A great athletic play by O'Callaghan starts a break that Hubbard finishes. 6 minutes later, Harris loses their top striker in the box and they equalize. With time winding down and it looking like a draw, O'Callaghan gets to a loose ball, knees it past a defender, then sends it over to Peake who crosses it back in. O'Callaghan finishes with perfect timing. A terrific win for Vauxhall!

Final: Vauxhall 2, Chester 1
Goals: Hubbard, O'Callaghan
Assists: O'Callaghan, Peake
Top Three: O'Callaghan 7.9, Hubbard 7.2, Peake 6.8
Worst: Harris 6.2


September 12

Vauxhall (2-2-5, 20th) vs. Braintree (4-2-3, 10th)

Oh, it's another one of those matches. We go down 3-0 in the first 28 minutes, all on goals from the same player. Peake actually manages to pull one back for us in the 2nd half and we didn't let them add any more damage, but it's very frustrating to see the guys play this bad.

Final: Braintree 3, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Peake
Assist: O'Callaghan
Top Three: O'Callaghan 7.8, Peake 7.1, Kennedy 6.8
Worst: Hewitt 5.9


September 19

Vauxhall (2-2-6, 23rd) vs. FC Halifax (4-4-2, 10th)

Nobody pays attention to a winger running down the field and FC Halifax go up 11 minutes in. It stays that way until the 2nd half, where Hubbard shows off his great finishing ability with two goals in the 56th and 72nd minute. The defense holds on for our 3rd victory of the season.

Final: Vauxhall 2, FC Halifax 1
Goals: Hubbard 2
Assists: Peake, Clark
Top Three: Hubbard 8.8, Harris 7.2, Peake 6.8
Worst: Beales 6.2



September 22

Vauxhall (3-2-6, 19th) at Sutton Utd (3-2-6, 18th)

Rainford is back for this one. We actually hold possession fairly well, but still fall behind when Walker can't get to a placed shot over his head. Then they score on a cross into the box where Walker slips as he was trying to catch it. We pull one back, but they break our backs with two more in the final minutes. Ugly way to lose.

Final: Sutton Utd 4, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Rainford
Assist: Pino
Top Three: Rainford 7.0, O'Callaghan 6.7, Pino 6.7
Worst: Harris 5.7


September 25

Vauxhall (3-2-7, 21st) vs. Dartford (5-0-7, 16th)

Another match that we were dominating, but couldn't get anything in. I was waiting for the fluke goal from the other team to send us to a loss. However, Kim O'Callaghan completely takes over at the end. In the 72nd minute, he gets a pass, splits two defenders and beats the keeper. Then in the 88th minute, as they were trying furiously to equalize, he torches his defender, gets a long pass from Fearnehough and makes the keeper look silly. Hewitt adds insult to injury with a 92nd minute goal off a deflected free kick.

Final: Vauxhall 3, Dartford 0
Goals: O'Callaghan 2, Hewitt
Assists: Fearnehough, Clark, Rainford
Top Three: O'Callaghan 9.2, Hewitt 7.8, Fearnehough 7.6
Worst: Peake 6.2


*We alternated wins and losses this month, but it was definitely a step up from August.

*The strategy now is to stay under budget and avoid regulation. Hopefully, we can then get a bigger budget next season to make a title chase.

*I am still scouring the loan market.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Lincoln		13	10	1	2	36	14	+22	31
2nd		Salisbury		13	9	2	2	27	20	+7	29
3rd		Chester		13	9	0	4	30	20	+10	27
4th		Barnet		13	8	3	2	23	18	+5	27
5th		Hereford		13	7	2	4	21	10	+11	23
6th		Ebbsfleet		13	7	2	4	29	20	+9	23
7th		Dag & Red		13	7	1	5	26	19	+7	22
8th		Nuneaton		13	6	2	5	28	22	+6	20
9th		Braintree		13	5	4	4	25	27	-2	19
10th		FC Halifax		13	4	6	3	20	15	+5	18
11th		Newport Co		13	5	3	5	25	22	+3	18
12th		Eastbourne Boro		13	5	2	6	19	24	-5	17
13th		Aldershot		13	4	4	5	25	29	-4	16
14th		Kidderminster		13	5	1	7	19	23	-4	16
15th		Alfreton		13	4	3	6	19	19	0	15
16th		Forest Green		13	4	3	6	14	19	-5	15
17th		Histon		13	4	3	6	12	19	-7	15
18th		Dartford		13	5	0	8	15	23	-8	15
19th		Sutton Utd		13	4	2	7	22	26	-4	14
20th		Vauxhall		13	4	2	7	16	25	-9	14
21st		Cambridge		13	3	3	7	16	21	-5	12
22nd		Stockport		13	2	5	6	21	29	-8	11
23rd		Guiseley		13	3	2	8	17	30	-13	11
24th		Southport		13	2	4	7	17	28	-11	10

[larrymcg421]

October 3

Vauxhall (4-2-7, 20th) at Hereford (7-2-4, 5th)

The guys play incredibly well on the road against a really strong Hereford squad. At this point, I'm really happy with a draw, but then Spencer Harris knocks in a loose ball off a corner and we have the lead. Hereford never really come close to threatening and we've now won 3 of our last 4 matches!

Final: Vauxhall 1, Hereford 0
Goal: Harris
Assist:
Top Three: Harris 7.5, Walker 6.8, Blakely 6.8
Worst: O'Callaghan 5.9


October 10

Vauxhall (5-2-7, 16th) vs. Forest Green (4-3-7, 20th)

And this is how this game can mess with my sanity. We've been on a roll lately, have moved up to 16th, and playing a really bad squad at home. We're up 2-1 (two O'Callaghan goals) as late asthe 60th minute and then everything falls apart. They score on a cross into the box and Blakely is furious, protesting that the player was offsides. He protests so much that he gets a yellow, his second of the game, and is sent off. Forest Green take advantage and score the game winner in the 85th minute.

Final: Forest Green 3, Vauxhall 2
Goals: O'Callaghan 2
Assists: Pino, Hubbard
Top Three: O'Callaghan 8.8, Hubbard 7.1, Pino 6.8
Worst: Harris 5.4


October 13

Vauxhall (5-2-8, 19th) at Southport (2-4-9, 24th)

We get several opportunities to take the lead, but frustratingly cannot put them away. It's a 0-0 halftime score when we should've been up by 2 at least. Then Southport score on a free kick in the 50th minute. Our furious attack puts pressure on them, but still can't finish the job, and they score a backbreaker in the 85th minute.

Final: Southport 2, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Hewitt 6.8, Fearnehough 6.7, Harris 6.7
Worst: Clark 5.7


I picked up DMC Luke Foster on loan. He's better than Blakely at that spot and I can move Blakely back to his traditional CD spot.


October 17

Vauxhall (5-2-9, 20th) at Barnet (10-3-3, 3rd)

Once again we head to the break with a scoreless tie, despite spending much of the first half in front of their net. Then they score on a corner and we're down again. O'Callaghan comes through to equalize for us in the 67th minute, but then they score off a free kick in the only a minute later. We try furiously to equalize again, but Barnet score another in the 90th minute to end it.

Final: Barnet 3, Vauxhall 1
Goal: O'Callaghan
Assists: Hubbard
Top Three: O'Callaghan 7.2, Hubbard 7.0, Foster 6.5
Worst: Clark 6.1


October 24

FA Cup: 4th Qualifying Round

Vauxhall at Matlock

We have a week off after this, so we can play most of our starters against this lower division squad. O'Callaghan gets an early goal and then Ellams comes through with a hat trick. We coast to victory, although we should beat a team like this by more.

Final: Vauxhall 4, Matlock 1
Goals: Ellams 3, O'Callaghan
Assists: Clark, Peake, O'Callaghan
Top Three: Ellams 9.6, O'Callaghan 7.9, Peake 7.8


October 31

Vauxhall (5-2-10, 22nd) vs. Stockport (4-6-7, 20th)

Stockport get 2 shots on target and score on one of them. We get 10 shots on target and score on none of them. That's how it goes for Vauxhall football these days. I have to find some way to turn this around or we will be relegated.

Final: Stockport 1, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Foster 6.9, Walker 6.8, Kennedy 6.8
Worst: Fearnehough 6.4


*I loan RW Mark Dark, who is a very good crosser, to help out at the RW spot.

*We have scored the 2nd fewest goals in the league. So much for the thread title.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Salisbury		18	12	3	3	40	26	+14	39
2nd		Lincoln		18	11	4	3	42	19	+23	37
3rd		Chester		18	12	1	5	42	25	+17	37
4th		Barnet		18	11	3	4	34	23	+11	36
5th		Hereford		18	11	2	5	28	13	+15	35
6th		Dag & Red		18	9	2	7	37	26	+11	29
7th		Ebbsfleet		18	8	3	7	43	33	+10	27
8th		Nuneaton		18	8	3	7	39	33	+6	27
9th		Newport Co		18	8	3	7	34	35	-1	27
10th		Braintree		18	7	5	6	34	40	-6	26
11th		Aldershot		18	7	4	7	33	39	-6	25
12th		Alfreton		18	7	3	8	30	30	0	24
13th		Eastbourne Boro		18	7	3	8	24	34	-10	24
14th		Guiseley		18	7	2	9	28	39	-11	23
15th		Kidderminster		18	7	1	10	25	30	-5	22
16th		Histon		18	6	4	8	19	26	-7	22
17th		FC Halifax		18	5	6	7	26	23	+3	21
18th		Stockport		18	5	6	7	29	34	-5	21
19th		Dartford		18	7	0	11	26	34	-8	21
20th		Forest Green		18	6	3	9	21	30	-9	21
21st		Cambridge		18	5	3	10	23	32	-9	18
22nd		Vauxhall		18	5	2	11	20	34	-14	17
23rd		Sutton Utd		18	4	4	10	34	41	-7	16
24th		Southport		18	4	4	10	21	33	-12	16

[larrymcg421]

November 3

Vauxhall (5-2-11, 22nd) at Guiseley (7-2-9, 14th)

It's our old friends Guiseley, who beat us in the playoff final two seasons ago. Would love to get revenge. We get started right away as Hewitt outruns the fullback, gets a pass, and is able to run right at the goal. then right after the half, Pino extends the lead with a long range shot outside the penalty area. The defense is playing solid and we manage to extend the lead in the 70th minute when Clark beats the fullback on the other side. Great win, both for revenge and to end our terrible form.

Final: Vauxhall 3, Guiseley 1
Goals: Hewitt, Pino, Clark
Assists: Peake, Tait, Ellams
Top Three: Clark 8.0, Pino 7.8, Hewitt 7.6
Worst: Kennedy 6.6


November 7

FA Cup: 1st Round

Vauxhall at FC Halifax

It would be nice to win and get some much needed money, but it was not to be. They score twice in the first 27 minutes on basically the same play, a cross in to their striker who we cannot cover. Then in the 2nd half, Harris knocks the ball into his own goal. Fearnehough pulled one back, but we never gave them a scare.

Final: FC Halifax 3, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Fearnehough
Assist: Hubbard
Top Three: Fearnehough 7.3, O'Callaghan 6.7, Dark 6.7
Worst: Rainford 6.0


November 14

Vauxhall (6-2-11, 21st) at Nuneaton (8-4-7, 10th)

I start Rutter for the first time in a while and it pays off immediately as he sends a great through pass to Hubbars who puts it away for the early lead. Then my blood starts to boil as Nuneaton score twice in a 3 minute span to take the lead. Thankfully, Rutter is able to equalize just before halftime, off a header from O'Callaghan. In the 2nd half, we manage to take the lead on another O'Callaghan to Rutter combination. Then O'Callaghan provides some insurance by scoring one of his own. Nuneaton pull one back to provide a late scare, but we hold on for a great win.

Final: Vauxhall 4, Nuneaton 3
Goals: Rutter 2, O'Callaghan, Hubbard
Assists: O'Callaghan 2, Rutter, Hubbard
Top Three: O'Callaghan 9.0, Rutter 8.8, Hubbard 8.3
Worst: Walker 6.3

*Pino's loan is over. With the loan deadline approaching, we pick up CM Martin Dey and DM Adam Everitt.


November 21

Vauxhall (7-2-11, 18th) vs. Cambridge (5-4-11, 24th)

Surely, we're on a roll now and should be able to dispense with the worst team in the league at home. Oh, why do I get my hopes up? They score twice in a 4 minute span to take a 2-0 halftime lead. Hubbard manages to pull one back in the 2nd half, but then they close up shop and we can't break through. What a stupid loss.

Final: Cambridge 2, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Hubbard
Assist: O'Callaghan
Top Three: O'Callaghan 7.1, Hubbard 7.0, Walker 6.8
Worst: Harris 5.8


November 24

Vauxhall (7-2-12, 21st) vs. Alfreton (7-5-9, 15th)

Another one of those games where we completely dominate possession, but can't finish the job. It is a scoreless tie until the 50th minute when Hubbard - on a roll lately - puts through a deflection. It is only 6 minutes later when they equalize on a long throw-in. Thankfully, O'Callaghan comes through with another great play, sending a perfect pass to Peake, who puts through the game winner.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Alfreton 1
Goals: Hubbard, Peake
Assists: Blakely, O'Callaghan
Top Three: Hubbard 7.2, Peake 7.1, O'Callaghan 7.1
Worst: Rainford 6.3


November 28

FA Trophy: 1st Round

Vauxhall vs. Weymouth

Weymouth are two divisions lower than us, so we should beat them pretty handily, but we go into halftime with a scoreless tie. In the 50th minute, Luke Foster randomly decides to make a central run from his DM position, gets the pass from Fearnehough, and scores. He looked like a striker there. That was all the scoring to be done. Kind of embarassing that we only won 1-0, but I'll take the victory and move on.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Weymouth 0
Goal: Foster
Assist: Fearnehough
Top Three: Foster 8.2, Fearnehough 7.0, Kennedy 6.9
Worst: Tait 6.3


*Definitely a better month for Vauxhall. The Cambridge loss doesn't look so bad when they followed it up by beating Stockport 2-0 and Guiseley 5-0.

*The Free Transfer and Loan deadlines just passed, so we're stuck with who we have for a while.

*Our full loan list....

RW Alex Hewitt - End of season.
ST Elliott Peake - End of season.
CM Kane Wills - End of season.
CD John Beales - End of season.
CM/DM Adam Everitt - Expires 2/20
CM Martin Dey - Expires 2/19
RW Mark Dark - Expires 1/23
DM Luke Foster - Expires 1/14

*The loan window reopens on Feb 6.

*Kim O'Callaghan is drawing interest from other clubs and managers are coming to our games to watch him. I'm considering hiring Clive Bundy's militia to deal with them.

*We are spending $290k on salaries. The next lowest team is Guiseley with $351k. Then Histon with $456k. The average salary is over $1 million and Forest Green leads the league with $2.01 million.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Salisbury		23	14	6	3	48	31	+17	48
2nd		Chester		22	13	4	5	50	30	+20	43
3rd		Barnet		22	13	3	6	44	32	+12	42
4th		Lincoln		22	12	5	5	46	25	+21	41
5th		Hereford		23	12	4	7	36	22	+14	40
6th		Braintree		22	10	5	7	45	48	-3	35
7th		Newport Co		22	10	3	9	41	45	-4	33
8th		Dag & Red		22	10	2	10	42	36	+6	32
9th		Ebbsfleet		22	9	4	9	50	41	+9	31
10th		Nuneaton		22	9	4	9	46	40	+6	31
11th		Kidderminster		22	10	1	11	38	37	+1	31
12th		Forest Green		22	9	4	9	28	31	-3	31
13th		Eastbourne Boro		23	9	3	11	33	46	-13	30
14th		Cambridge		23	8	4	11	35	37	-2	28
15th		Southport		23	8	4	11	33	39	-6	28
16th		Histon		22	8	4	10	27	33	-6	28
17th		Dartford		22	8	3	11	30	37	-7	27
18th		Aldershot		22	7	6	9	35	43	-8	27
19th		FC Halifax		23	6	8	9	30	28	+2	26
20th		Alfreton		23	7	5	11	34	37	-3	26
21st		Vauxhall		22	8	2	12	30	41	-11	26
22nd		Sutton Utd		22	7	4	11	41	47	-6	25
23rd		Guiseley		23	7	3	13	33	56	-23	24
24th		Stockport		22	5	7	10	30	43	-13	22

[larrymcg421]

December 5

Vauxhall (8-2-12, 21st) at Dag & Red (10-2-10, 8th)

Ugh, this one hurts. We actually take a lead on a 1st half Hubbard goal. They equalize in the 62nd minute when Walker can't catch a very soft cross that was floated into the box. It bounces behind him and they run up to put it through. Then, just when I thought we would at least be able to salvage a nice road draw, they score in the 86th minute.

Final: Dag & Red 2, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Hubbard
Assist: Hewitt
Top Three: Hubbard 7.1, O'Callaghan 6.7, Hewitt 6.7
Worst: Everitt 6.1


December 12

FA Trophy: 2nd Round

Vauxhall vs. Maidenhead United

Maidenhead are a division lower than us, in the Skrill South. We control the match as expected. Eventhough we're only up 1-0 in the first half, it's pretty comfortable because they're never sending any threatening balls in our area. We add to it in the 2nd half and coast to an easy victory.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Maidenhead United 0
Goals: Hubbard, O'Callaghan
Assists: Rainford 2
Top Three: Hubbard 8.3, Rainford 8.1, O'Callaghan 7.8
Worst: Clark 6.6


December 15

Vauxhall (8-2-13, 22nd) at Aldershot (8-6-9, 13th)

Aldershot have our old GK Ben Woodhead. They go up 2-0 on a cross and a penalty. Hubbard continues to be on fire and pulls one back before halftime. It looks like we have a great chance to equalize, but they beat us on a counter to extend their lead. Hubbard pulls back one more, but we can't get the equalzer.

Final: Aldershot 3, Vauxhall 2
Goals: Hubbard 2
Assists: O'Callaghan, Dey
Top Three: Hubbard 8.8, Dey 8.0, O'Callaghan 6.9
Worst: Tait 5.7


December 30

Vauxhall (8-2-14, 23rd) at Lincoln (13-6-6, 4th)

Two weeks off due to a waterlogged field, but it's the same old Vauxhall football. Inability to put chances away. Inability to stop opposing chances. We go up 1-0, miss several chances to extend that lead and they equalize. We go up 2-1, miss several chances to extend. They equalize and take the lead. We come right back down and score only a minute later to salvage the draw. A road draw against Lincoln should be a good thing, but we should've got 2 more pts out of this one.

Final: Vauxhall 3, Lincoln 3
Goals: Hubbard 2, Dark
Assists: Peake 2, O'Callaghan
Top Three: Hubbard 8.8, O'Callaghan, 7.5, Dark 7.4
Worst: Harris 6.2

*Relegation is a real possibility at this point. Every time it looks like we'll go on a run to get out of the relegation spots, we have a shitty month like this one.

*At the end of last season, the board decided to build a new field and took out a huge loan to do it. Meanwhile, we don't have enough money to get players that can compete and they refuse to increase the budget.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Salisbury		25	16	6	3	56	35	+21	54
2nd		Barnet		26	14	5	7	49	37	+12	47
3rd		Lincoln		26	13	7	6	56	31	+25	46
4th		Chester		26	14	4	8	56	40	+16	46
5th		Hereford		26	13	5	8	38	25	+13	44
6th		Braintree		25	13	5	7	52	51	+1	44
7th		Newport Co		26	12	5	9	52	50	+2	41
8th		Dag & Red		26	12	3	11	47	40	+7	39
9th		Ebbsfleet		26	11	5	10	57	45	+12	38
10th		Kidderminster		26	12	1	13	45	43	+2	37
11th		Aldershot		26	10	7	9	44	48	-4	37
12th		Forest Green		26	11	4	11	36	41	-5	37
13th		Nuneaton		26	10	6	10	53	45	+8	36
14th		Alfreton		26	9	6	11	41	41	0	33
15th		Eastbourne Boro		26	10	3	13	38	52	-14	33
16th		FC Halifax		26	8	8	10	37	35	+2	32
17th		Sutton Utd		26	8	6	12	45	52	-7	30
18th		Southport		26	8	6	12	37	44	-7	30
19th		Cambridge		26	8	5	13	38	42	-4	29
20th		Histon		25	8	5	12	31	41	-10	29
21st		Dartford		26	8	4	14	36	51	-15	28
22nd		Vauxhall		25	8	3	14	36	49	-13	27
23rd		Guiseley		26	8	3	15	34	59	-25	27
24th		Stockport		26	6	8	12	36	53	-17	26

[larrymcg421]

January 2

Vauxhall (8-3-14, 22nd) vs. Ebbsfleet (11-5-10, 9th)

It's a pretty fierce defensive struggle (we are called for 24 fouls), but it is scoreless at the half. Right after the half, we are called for a penalty and that's the ballgame. We can't threaten no matter what we try to do.

Final: Ebbsfleet 1, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Walker 7.2, Dey 6.8, Hubbard 6.7
Worst: Kennedy 6.2



January 9

FA Trophy: Third Round

Vauxhall at Ebbsfleet

Back to back matches against Ebbsfleet. Once again it is scoreless at the half and once again they go up right after the half. However, this time O'Callaghan came through with two goals, including a dramatic 87th minute game winner. The bad news? O'Callaghan goes down with injury right after this and we will be without him for 3-4 weeks. I hate the world.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Ebbsfleet 1
Goals: O'Callaghan 2
Assists: Hewitt, Peake
Top Three: O'Callaghan 8.8, Tait 7.1, Hewitt 7.0
Worst: Hubbard 6.3


January 12

Vauxhall (8-3-15, 24th) at Eastbourne Borough (10-3-14, 18th)

Without O'Callaghan, the guys know they have to step up. Rutter gets things started with a header. Then Ellams scores on a penalty. They manage to pull one back when Walker gets caught in no man's land. But it only took a minute for us to go right back down and extend the lead on a Rutter to Everitt combo. The only thing that happens in the 2nd half is that we add two more goals to have our most complete victory of the season.

Final: Vauxhall 5, Eastbourne Boro 1
Goals: Ellams 2, Rutter, Dey, Everitt
Assists: Hubbard, Dark, Rutter, Dey, Ellams
Top Three: Ellams 9.2, Dey 8.7, Everitt 8.4
Worst: Blakely 7.1


January 15

Vauxhall (9-3-15, 22nd) vs. Salisbury (16-6-5, 1st)

As expected, we go down early against the #1 team, but our defense holds firm to keep us in it. And that's when craziness ensues. In the 79th minute, Hubbard gets the ball in the penalty area and beats the keeper. Then we immediately steal the ball at the next kickoff and Hubbard ends up knocking through a cross from Clark. 2 goals in 2 minutes and we had the lead. Then only 3 minutes later, Salisbury catch us off guard on a long pass and equalize. I'll definitely take the draw, but I wish we could've held on for the victory.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Salisbury 2
Goals: Hubbard 2
Assists: Rainford, Clark
Top Three: Hubbard 8.8, Fearnehough 6.9, Clark 6.8
Worst: Kennedy 6.2


January 23

Vauxhall (9-4-15, 21st) at Kidderminster (14-1-14, 9th)

Yet another game where we fall behind early, but mount a comeback. They score in the 11th minute, but then we score two 2nd half goals in a 6 minute span to take the lead. All we have to do is hold the lead. And we cannot. They score off a long goal kick in the 86th minute. Another draw against a good team, but that's 4 pts in two games we let slip away.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Kidderminster 2
Goals: Ellams, Dey
Assists: Hubbard 2
Top Three: Hubbard 8.3, Dey 7.3, Ellams 7.2
Worst: Tait 6.3
January 26


January 26

Vauxhall (9-5-15, 21st) vs. Histon (8-5-16, 24th)

Histon promoted the season before we did. They managed to avoid the drop last year, but they're obviously struggling now. We take it to them with a Kennedy header off a corner and a Harris conversion of a penalty kick. It stood at 2-0 until the 73rd minute when Histon pull one back on a corner and then 7 minutes later, Walker cannot hold on to a soft cross and the ball bounces in. Are we really gonna give up three wins in a row on late goals? Fortunately, Dominic Kennedy comes through again by connecting with a free kick at the perfect time to send it through. We win in the 86th minute!

Final: Vauxhall 3, Histon 2
Goals: Kennedy 2, Harris
Assists: Peake, Hubbard, Everitt
Top Three: Kennedy 9.2, Peake 7.4, Hubbard 7.2
Worst: Tait 6.6


January 29

FA Trophy: Quarterfinals

Vauxhall at Dag & Red

We have a short rest before our next league match, so I have to throw in the scrubs for this one. And the guys fight pretty hard considering that. Dag & Red do go up 2-0 in the first half, but Peake manages to pull one back right before the halftime whistle. We pull out all the stops to try and equalize, but they catch us on a counter and put the game away.

Final: Dag & Red 3, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Peake
Assist: Rutter
Top Three: Peake 7.2, Rutter 7.1, Blakely 6.5
Worst: Fearnehough 5.9


*I'd been wary of changing my tactic at all, especially since it has done so well for me, also because I don't feel comfortable that I know enough to make a smart or meaningful change. However, after the first match this month, I decided to change the "Short Passing" instruction to "Go Route One". I figured that the strength of my current squad is in athleticism, so getting the ball down field and taking advantage of that speed would be better than a short, possession strategy. It seems to have worked so far, but I'll keep monitoring things.

*Loans for Dey (who has been fantastic), Foster, and Dark have been extended for the full season.

*I loaned Willie Dunn to help with Striker depth.

*O'Callaghan still won't talk contract renewal with me and this will probably be his last season with Vauxhall.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Salisbury		31	19	7	5	69	45	+24	64
2nd		Lincoln		31	17	8	6	73	37	+36	59
3rd		Barnet		31	16	7	8	61	46	+15	55
4th		Braintree		31	16	7	8	62	57	+5	55
5th		Chester		31	16	6	9	69	47	+22	54
6th		Hereford		30	14	7	9	42	29	+13	49
7th		Ebbsfleet		31	14	6	11	64	49	+15	48
8th		Newport Co		30	13	7	10	60	58	+2	46
9th		Kidderminster		31	14	3	14	51	46	+5	45
10th		Dag & Red		31	13	5	13	53	47	+6	44
11th		Aldershot		31	12	8	11	51	55	-4	44
12th		Forest Green		31	13	5	13	42	48	-6	44
13th		Nuneaton		31	11	7	13	60	55	+5	40
14th		Sutton Utd		31	11	7	13	54	57	-3	40
15th		FC Halifax		31	9	11	11	46	44	+2	38
16th		Alfreton		31	10	7	14	45	54	-9	37
17th		Cambridge		31	10	6	15	45	50	-5	36
18th		Southport		31	9	9	13	42	50	-8	36
19th		Vauxhall		30	10	5	15	48	57	-9	35
20th		Stockport		31	9	8	14	47	64	-17	35
21st		Dartford		31	10	4	17	46	66	-20	34
22nd		Guiseley		31	10	4	17	43	68	-25	34
23rd		Eastbourne Boro		31	10	3	18	42	67	-25	33
24th		Histon		30	8	5	17	35	54	-19	29

[larrymcg421]

February 2

Vauxhall (10-5-15, 19th) vs. Newport County (13-7-10, 8th)

Hubbard and Dey gets us off to a fast start with two goals in the first 18 minutes. Then in a 4 minute span, Forest Green score two goals to even it up before the half. I'm really tired of seeing this happen. Thankfully, our offensive production stays strong and O'Callaghan comes through with two goals in the 2nd half.

Final: Vauxhall 4, Newport County 2
Goals: O'Callaghan 2, Hubbard, Dey
Assists: Hewitt, Dey, Clark, Dunn
Top Three: O'Callaghan 8.6, Dey 8.2, Dunn 8.1
Worst: Foster 6.3


February 6

Vauxhall (11-5-15, 16th) at Braintree (16-7-8, 4th)

One contract I will NOT be renewing is Paul Walker's. Each of our strikers score in the first half to give us a 3-1 halftime lead. In the 58th minute, Walker kicks a ball right to a Braintree player who sends the ball right back over Walker's head. Then in the 74th minute, Walker can't handle a shot and loses sight of the ball, eventually kicking into his own net. So we end up with a draw snatched from the jaws of victory.

Final: Vauxhall 3, Braintree 3
Goals: Dunn, O'Callaghan, Hubbard
Assists: Dey, Dunn, Hubbard
Top Three: Dunn 7.9, Hubbard 7.7, Dey 7.6
Worst: Walker 6.0


February 13

Vauxhall (11-6-15, 17th) at FC Halifax (9-12-11, 15th)

FC Halifax striker Adebayo Akinfenwa completely owns us in this one. He stakes them to a 2-0 lead on two plays where he embarassed our defenders. Dunn managed to get one back in the 66th minute, but while we were trying to equalize, they got a break and Akinfenwa put the game away by completing his hat trick.


Final: FC Halifax 3, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Dunn
Assist: O'Callaghan
Top Three: Dunn 7.2, O'Callaghan 6.7, Walker 6.7
Worst: Clark 5.7


February 16

Vauxhall (11-6-16, 19th) vs. Chester (17-6-10, 4th)

We hang tough with a really good squad and actually take the lead when they knock it into their own goal on a corner. We hold firm until te 82nd minute when their star striker Tom Peers (21 goals this season) scores on a header. Another late goal denies us a victory!

Final: Vauxhall 1, Chester 1
Goal:
Assist: Hewitt
Top Three: Hewitt 7.4, Clark 6.7, Tait 6.7
Worst: Hubbard 6.1


February 20

Vauxhall (11-7-16, 19th) vs. Sutton United (13-8-13, 9th)

Talk about a fast start. Dunn gets a goal and Hubbard gets two in the first 13 minutes! Yep, 13 minutes in and we are up 3-0. You'd think this game was gonna be a route, wouldn't you? Well that would mean you haven't watched Vauxhall. I watch in terror as Sutton pull one back before the half and another right after the half. They have a couple clear cut chances for the equalizer, but Walker redeems himself somewhat by coming up with big saves to preserve our victory and my sanity

Final: Vauxhall 3, Sutton United 2
Goals: Hubbard 2, Dunn
Assists: Hubbard, Dunn, Foster
Top Three: Hubbard 8.8, Dunn 8.7, Dark 7.2
Worst: Ajayi 6.2


February 26

Vauxhall (12-7-16, 16th) at Dartford (10-7-18, 21st)

Dartford score on a corner only 5 minutes in and shut us down for the first half. Right after the half, O'Callaghan comes through with the equalizer on a header. But we can't get anything else going and it looks like it's gonna be another stupid draw against a team we should've beaten. Then 2 minutes into extra time, Clark fires a long pass that gets to a wide open Hubbard. He sends it into the box and O'Callaghan puts it through for another miracle win!

Final: Vauxhall 2, Dartford 1
Goals: O'Callaghan 2
Assists:
Hubbard, Dark
Top Three: O'Callaghan 8.8, Dark 7.4, Kennedy 6.9
Worst: Tait 6.1


*We have finally put together a good enough run to get some separation from the relegation zone. We are now 8 pts ahead of 21st.

*Dey has been so good, I made a transfer offer for him, which will go through at the end of the season.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Salisbury		36	21	8	7	77	50	+27	71
2nd		Braintree		36	19	8	9	74	65	+9	65
3rd		Lincoln		36	18	10	8	80	47	+33	64
4th		Barnet		36	18	10	8	72	54	+18	64
5th		Chester		35	18	7	10	75	53	+22	61
6th		Hereford		36	15	10	11	48	37	+11	55
7th		Dag & Red		36	15	8	13	64	53	+11	53
8th		Ebbsfleet		36	15	8	13	66	57	+9	53
9th		Newport Co		36	14	10	12	71	71	0	52
10th		Sutton Utd		36	14	8	14	64	64	0	50
11th		Kidderminster		35	15	4	16	57	52	+5	49
12th		Aldershot		36	13	10	13	61	67	-6	49
13th		Forest Green		36	14	7	15	49	58	-9	49
14th		FC Halifax		36	11	13	12	55	51	+4	46
15th		Vauxhall		36	13	7	16	62	69	-7	46
16th		Nuneaton		36	12	9	15	65	60	+5	45
17th		Cambridge		35	12	7	16	51	54	-3	43
18th		Southport		36	11	9	16	50	56	-6	42
19th		Alfreton		35	11	9	15	49	59	-10	42
20th		Stockport		36	10	10	16	53	74	-21	40
21st		Eastbourne Boro		36	11	5	20	52	75	-23	38
22nd		Guiseley		35	11	5	19	49	79	-30	38
23rd		Histon		35	10	7	18	43	60	-17	37
24th		Dartford		36	10	7	19	51	73	-22	37

[larrymcg421]

March 5

Vauxhall (13-7-16, 15th) at Forest Green (14-7-15, 13th)

Ouch. We got our asses handed to us in this one. We never really threatened and Forest Green just put in goal after goal. The worst part is O'Callaghan got hurt again and will be out for 2 weeks.

Final: Forest Green 4, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Rutter 6.5, Dey 6.4, Hubbard 6.3
Worst: Blakely 4.9


March 8

Vauxhall (13-7-17, 15th) vs. Hereford (16-10-11, 6th)

And we bounce back in a big way against Hereford, possibly ending their playoff chances. Dunn starts things off by taking advantage of a horrible pass and starting a break that he finished. Then an own goal put us up 2-0 at the half. We keep attacking in the 2nd half and Clark gets on the board by grabbing a deflection and striking a powerful shot. Then Hubbard adds one more late to make it a complete route.

Final: Vauxhall 4, Hereford 0
Goals: Hubbard, Dunn, Clark
Assists: Dunn, Rutter, Hewitt, Ajayi
Top Three: Dunn 8.4, Clark 8.3, Kennedy 8.1
Worst: Ellams 6.6


March 12

Vauxhall (14-7-17, 15th) vs. Barnet (19-10-9, 5th)

Another really strong team, but we can't dominate them the same way we did to Hereford. We do start off the scoring when Dunn converts a penalty. Barnet comes back in the 2nd half and takes the lead with goals in the 51st and 78th minute. However, Barnet makes a serious error on a deep throw-in and sends it right to Clark who lobs a beautiful pass to Dunn. Dunn makes the keeper look silly and equalizes in the 88th minute.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Barnet 2
Goals: Dunn 2
Assists: Peake, Clark
Top Three: Dunn 8.6, Peake 6.8, Walker 6.8
Worst: Foster 6.0


March 19

Vauxhall (14-8-17, 15th) at Stockport (10-11-18, 23rd)

Our promotion partners Stockport are fighting to avoid the drop. Dominic Kennedy infuriates me early on by doing my least favorite thing - sending a cross field pass deep in our own half of the field. It's intercepted in a central position and there's no chance to stop the goal. With a gifted lead, Stockport pull back and try to protect a desperately needed victory. It works until the 68th minute when there keeper fails to catch a cross and Hubbard puts it through. They are still able to hold on to the draw, but that might not be enough to keep them up.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Stockport 1
Goal: Hubbard
Assist: Dark
Top Three: Hubbard 7.1, Walker 6.9, Dark 6.8
Worst: Rutter 6.3


March 26

Vauxhall (14-9-17, 14th) vs. Southport (12-10-18, 20th)

We help out our buddies Stockport by completely destroying one of the teams they are fighting with in relegation zone. 1st half goals by Dark and O'Callaghan give us a comfortable 2-0 lead. Then, in the 2nd half, Dunn scores two goals in a 4 minute span to completely put the game away. O'Callaghan adds another one before Southport are able to pull one back.

Final: Vauxhall 5, Southport 1
Goals: Dunn 2, O'Callaghan 2, Dark
Assists: Hubbard 2, Dunn, Dark
Top Three: Dunn 9.5, Dark 9.3, Hubbard 8.7
Worst: Tait 7.1


March 28

Vauxhall (15-9-17) vs. Guiseley (14-6-21, 18th)

We all remember our good friends Guiseley. They beat us in the playoff final last year, one of the most crushing experiences I've had in a text sim. We got some revenge by beating them 3-1 at their place earlier this year. And we continue that by taking an early lead and piling on late. It is a 2-0 halftime lead and we get a 3rd goal in the 75th minute. A 3-0 win is nice, but I want to destroy them, so we still attack and manage to add two more in the 90th and 92nd minute to humiliate them and hopefully send them to relegation land. The last 3 goals all came from backup Elliot Peake.

Final: Vauxhall 5, Guiseley 0
Goals: Peake 3, O'Callaghan, Hubbard
Assists: Hewitt 2, Dark, O'Callaghan
Top Three: Peake 9.6, O'Callaghan 9.3, Hubbard 9.1



*We rebounded nicely from that awful defeat against Forest Green to move all the way up to 12th and are now 11 pts ahead of relegation with 4 matches left. One more win or two draws will clinch survival.

*It should be an interesting relegation battle. There are 6 teams within a 3 pt difference and 3 of them will be relegated.

*The battle for the playoffs is less exciting, with 10 pt gap between 5th and 6th, although the league title race is still open.

*I wish I knew why O'Callaghan won't talk to me about a contract renewal.

*Also, I'm concerned that yet again the board is waiting until the last minute to renew my own contract.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	Pl	Chester		42	24	8	10	97	59	+38	80
2nd		Lincoln		42	22	11	9	97	57	+40	77
3rd		Barnet		42	22	11	9	83	62	+21	77
4th		Salisbury		42	22	9	11	86	67	+19	75
5th		Braintree		42	21	10	11	82	76	+6	73
6th		Hereford		42	17	12	13	53	46	+7	63
7th		Dag & Red		41	18	8	15	74	62	+12	62
8th		Newport Co		42	17	11	14	84	84	0	62
9th		Forest Green		42	18	7	17	60	64	-4	61
10th		Sutton Utd		42	17	9	16	80	77	+3	60
11th		FC Halifax		41	15	14	12	65	52	+13	59
12th		Vauxhall		42	16	9	17	79	77	+2	57
13th		Kidderminster		41	17	5	19	68	64	+4	56
14th		Aldershot		42	15	11	16	68	76	-8	56
15th		Ebbsfleet		41	15	9	17	71	68	+3	54
16th		Histon		42	15	8	19	52	66	-14	53
17th		Cambridge		42	14	10	18	57	59	-2	52
18th		Guiseley		42	14	6	22	64	96	-32	48
19th		Alfreton		42	12	11	19	54	72	-18	47
20th		Nuneaton		42	12	10	20	70	72	-2	46
21st		Southport		42	12	10	20	54	67	-13	46
22nd		Dartford		42	12	9	21	62	81	-19	45
23rd		Stockport		42	11	12	19	61	88	-27	45
24th		Eastbourne Boro		42	11	6	25	63	92	-29	39

[larrymcg421]

April 2

Vauxhall (16-9-17, 12th) at Cambridge (14-10-18, 17th)

O'Callaghan gets things started by using his speed to beat a defender to a loose ball into the box and putting it away. It's 1-0 at the half, but Cambridge equalize in the 57th minute when we don't even attempt to properly defend a corner. Only 6 minutes later, a Cambridge defender slips and we retake the lead. Cambridge gets several opportunities, but can't convert them and we escape with a narrow win.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Cambridge 1
Goals: O'Callaghan, Hubbard
Assists: Dunn, Hewitt
Top Three: Dunn 7.5, O'Callaghan 7.2, Hubbard 7.1
Worst: Blakely 6.2


April 9

Vauxhall (17-9-17, 11th) vs. Nuneaton (12-10-21, 21st)

This was a very physical match. 24 minutes in, Dark gets injured by a Nuneaton player, who gets the red card. Being up a man, we go on the attack but still can't break through until O'Callaghan gets the ball in a great position and fires a nice angled shot behind the keeper. After the half, Nuneaton actually manage to equalize right after the half, but then we come right back down and Hewitt converts a beautiful placed shot in the top corner. The match continues to be brutal with several yellow cards and Foster is sent off in the 91st minute (how dumb!). They actually get a shot on goal in extra time, but Walker makes the save.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Nuneaton 1
Goals: O'Callaghan, Hewitt
Assists: Dunn 2
Top Three: Dunn 7.5, Hewitt 7.3, O'Callaghan 7.1
Worst: Foster 5.1


April 16

Vauxhall (18-9-17, 11th) at Alfreton (13-12-19, 18th)

We come right down the field after the whistle and Dunn scores off a rebound. Then the match stops. We can't break through, but neither can they. It's a tough, defensive struggle. Then in the 93rd minute, for some reason unbeknownst to me, Fearnehough sends a very high pass towards the middle of the field. It is intercepted by Alfreton and they score on the break. What a stupid play!

Final: Vauxhall 1, Alfreton 1
Goals: Dunn
Assists: Dey
Top Three: Dunn 7.7, Tait 7.0, Dey 6.8
Worst: Hubbard 6.5 (How did Fearnehough get a 6.7 with that nonsense play?)


April 23

Vauxhall (18-10-17, 11th) vs. Dag & Red (20-9-16, 6th)

For whatever reason, Dag & Red seem to have our number this season. They beat us 2-1 earlier in the season and then eliminated us from the FA Trophy 3-1. That continues here as they just completely embarass us at home. For whatever reason, our guys weren't ready to play. Dag & Red go up 2-0 in the first half and then add two more goals in the 2nd half before Hubbard finally pulls one back.

Final: Dag & Red 4, Vauxhall 1
Goals: Hubbard
Assist: Blakely
Top Three: Hubbard 7.0, Hewitt 6.7, Fearnehough 6.7
Worst: Ajayi 5.7


*Well, that was a crappy final two matches for us, but it was still a fantastic season overall. After spending much of the first half in relegation territory, we went on a late run that pushed us all the way up to 11th.

*I still don't have a contract renewal.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	C	Chester		46	26	10	10	108	64	+44	88
2nd	Pl	Barnet		46	25	11	10	93	67	+26	86
3rd	Pl	Salisbury		46	24	10	12	90	69	+21	82
4th	Pl	Lincoln		46	23	12	11	102	63	+39	81
5th	Pl	Braintree		46	23	11	12	92	83	+9	80
6th		Dag & Red		46	21	9	16	84	68	+16	72
7th		Forest Green		46	21	7	18	69	70	-1	70
8th		Newport Co		46	19	12	15	91	89	+2	69
9th		FC Halifax		46	17	16	13	71	57	+14	67
10th		Hereford		46	17	15	14	57	51	+6	66
11th		Vauxhall		46	18	10	18	85	84	+1	64
12th		Sutton Utd		46	18	9	19	87	85	+2	63
13th		Aldershot		46	16	12	18	74	83	-9	60
14th		Kidderminster		46	17	8	21	73	73	0	59
15th		Ebbsfleet		46	16	11	19	78	80	-2	59
16th		Cambridge		46	15	12	19	61	63	-2	57
17th		Histon		46	15	10	21	54	72	-18	55
18th		Guiseley		46	15	9	22	69	100	-31	54
19th		Southport		46	13	13	20	59	71	-12	52
20th		Alfreton		46	13	13	20	60	78	-18	52
21st	R	Dartford		46	14	9	23	66	86	-20	51
22nd	R	Stockport		46	12	13	21	63	93	-30	49
23rd	R	Nuneaton		46	12	11	23	73	79	-6	47
24th	R	Eastbourne Boro		46	11	9	26	68	99	-31	42

[larrymcg421]

Pkd	Inf	Name	Apps	Gls	Ast	PoM	Pas R	Tck	DrbPG	Sh T	Yel	Red	Av Rat
STC	PR	Willie Dunn	18	9	8	6	73%	1.26	1.44	45%	0	0	7.39
STCL		Kim O'Callaghan	39	20	12	8	73%	1.18	1.53	43%	2	0	7.33
STCR	Ctr	Adam Hubbard	43 (1)	22	13	5	75%	0.97	1.01	51%	2	0	7.24
MCR	Trn	Martin Dey	21 (2)	3	5	0	76%	1.50	0.98	46%	1	0	7.00
-	Inj	Mark Dark	20 (1)	2	5	0	74%	1.41	1.78	37%	2	0	6.87
S4	Yth	Elliott Peake	14 (7)	6	7	1	76%	1.66	1.21	50%	0	0	6.83
DCR		Semi Ajayi	11	0	1	0	67%	2.00	0.67	0%	0	0	6.83
ML		Tom Rutter	11 (4)	3	3	0	70%	1.17	1.44	31%	1	0	6.80
MR		Alex Hewitt	26 (6)	4	8	1	74%	2.44	1.07	37%	4	0	6.79
GK		Paul Walker	46	0	0	0	60%	-	-	-	0	0	6.75
-	Inj	Lloyd Ellams	11 (6)	3	3	1	70%	1.70	1.04	46%	1	0	6.64
DCL		Dominic Kennedy	43	3	0	1	71%	2.44	0.35	80%	11	0	6.64
-		Jack Clark	38 (1)	2	5	1	72%	1.97	1.17	41%	10	0	6.62
-	Rsv	Antony Bolland	2 (1)	0	0	0	73%	1.39	1.39	-	1	0	6.60
S3	Rsv	Danny Fearnehough	10 (6)	0	2	0	71%	1.51	0.70	67%	1	0	6.60
DC		Joe Tait	44 (1)	1	1	0	70%	2.36	0.34	33%	5	0	6.60
DMCL		Luke Blakely	31 (5)	0	1	0	77%	3.45	0.46	43%	9	2	6.59
S5		Luke Foster	21 (1)	0	1	0	75%	3.16	0.29	20%	5	1	6.51
S2		Spencer Harris	18 (3)	2	0	1	69%	3.38	0.47	67%	0	0	6.48
S1	Loa	William Stewart	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
-	Ctr	Nathan Phillips	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

[larrymcg421]

Offseason

*The board finally signed me to a two year deal.

*Unfortunately, payroll budget is essentially the same as last season. The club is still in financial trouble because of the new expensive field the idiots are building.

*Kim O'Callaghan is officially leaving Vauxhall.

*I also terminate the contracts of Fearnehough and Rutter. I'd love to keep them as backups just for nostalgic reasons, but I couldn't afford them anymore.

*Players that will be returning include MC Martin Dey, DC Joe Tait, DC Dominic Kennedy, DC Spencer Harris, DC/DMC Luke Blakely, ST Adam Hubbard, LW Jack Clark, GK Paul Walker, ST Lloyd Ellams.

*Offseason signings:

ST Ricky Miller ($400 p/w) - A very fast striker with great Determination (16), Work Rate (13), Flair (10), and Long Shots (11). Should fit well in our system.

RW Jermaine Knight ($110 p/a) - Mostly to be a backup, he has decent speed and good crossing ability.

DC Neil Byrne ($300 p/w) - Great physical skills. Should be valuable defending corners, which is one of our major weaknesses last season.


And that is enough to break our bank. The rest we get will have to be on loan. The following guys will be on loan at the start of the season.

MC Kevin Brown - Great athlete who can dribble and pass.

LW Mike Khan - Good crossing and creativity. Will challenge Clark for starting spot.

ST Daryl Prescott - Slower than I like my strikers (8 Pace), but has good finishing and heading.

DMC Anthony Martin - Good defender and passer. A little slow and not very determined.

RW Jordan Jones - Very good speed and no major weaknesses. I only have him for three months and he will probably be the starter that whole time.

*I also promote ST Lee Vickers from the youth squad. He has decent finishing and speed.

*That is it for now. I will be keeping an eye on the loan market. I definitely need more depth at striker.

*We are given 50-1 odds for promotion and picked to finish 23rd. Stevenage are favorites at 3-1, with evil Dag & Red at 5-1.

*It will be interesting to see how this season will go. Without the extra payroll that I expected, we didn't get to upgrade like I wanted. We relied on O'Callaghan so much the past couple seasons that I'm worried how we'll do without him.

*Speaking of O'Callaghan, he's just sitting there on the free transfer market with no offers and still unwilling to speak to me.

[larrymcg421]

Opening day starting lineup

ST Miller, ST Hubbard, ST Vickers
LW Clark, MC Dey, DMC Blakely, RW Jones
DC Kennedy, DC Tait, DC Byrne
GK Walker


August 6

Vauxhall (0-0-0) at Aldershot (0-0-0)

It looks really bad at the start. Aldershot dominate possession and we can't get anything going. They score on a break in the 17th minute, but miss several chances to extend their lead. That opens the door for us to regroup and make a charge in the 2nd half. It is newly promoted 18 yr old Lee Vickers who gets the equalizer on a great pass from Hubbard. That same combo works again when Vickers sends a pass to Hubbard, who puts through the game winner. What a great way to start the season!

Final: Vauxhall 2, Aldershot 1
Goals: Vickers, Hubbard
Assists: Hubbard, Vickers
Top Three: Vickers 8.2, Hubbard 7.8, Byrne 7.3


August 9

Vauxhall (1-0-0, 6th) vs. Ebbsfleet (1-0-0, 2nd)

Depth is clearly an issue for us. With our players not in midseason form just yet, they are gassed and I have to start many backups. The result is a complete ass kicking at home. Nothing else to say, except it was a nightmare to watch.

Final: Ebbsfleet 4, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Martin 6.4, Kennedy 6.4, Ellams 6.4
Worst: Byrne 5.6


August 13

Vauxhall (1-0-1, 16th) at Staines (1-0-1, 11th)

Ouch. We suck again and this time can't blame it on our backups. That opening match victory seems like a total fluke right now.

Final: Staines 4, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Vickers 6.4, Prescott 6.3, Fry 6.3
Worst: Clark 5.7


August 16

Vauxhall (1-0-2, 19th) vs. Braintree (0-1-2, 20th)

Well this was a nice way to break out of a slump. We control the first half, but can only get one in from Jones to go up 1-0. It is the 2nd half where we take off. An own goal from their keeper is followed by Miller's first of the season and then a double barrel from Vauxhall veteran Lloyd Ellams.

Final: Vauxhall 5, Braintree 1
Goals: Ellams 2, Miller, Jones
Assists: Khan 2, Brown, Hubbard, Jones
Top Three: Ellams 9.0, Jones 8.9, Khan 8.2
Worst: Vickers 6.4


August 20

Vauxhall (2-0-2, 15th) vs. Salisbury 1-1-2, 16th)

Jones and Prescott put in goals only 4 minutes apart to stake us to an early lead. Salisbury pull one back just a few minutes later. We still look good in the 2nd half until Blakely makes an insanely stupid play and gets sent off. They equalize soon after and I'm so furious at Blakely! Thankfully, we regrouped and Tait scored with a header off a corner kick to give us the victory!

Final: Vauxhall 3, Salisbury 2
Goals: Jones, Prescott, Tait
Assists: Clark, Prescott
Top Three: Clark 8.2, Prescott 7.9, Tait 7.2
Worst: Byrne 6.5

*Blakely was suspended for three matches for his brutal foul. I fined him one weeks salary and he accepted it.


August 27

Vauxhall (3-0-2, 10th) at Histon (3-0-2, 8th)

Ricky Miller heads home a Jones cross, then Hubbard gets a long pass from Walker and easily beats the keeper one on one. Hubbard adds another in the 2nd half to make it academic, but the real story is that we're called for six yellow cards and get fined $1.1k as a result.

Final: Vauxhall 3, Histon 0
Goals: Hubbard 2, Miller
Assists: Jones 2, Walker
Top Three: Hubbard 8.8, Jones 8.1, Miller 7.9
Worst: Martin 6.5


August 30

Vauxhall (4-0-2, 7th) at Barnet (3-1-2, 10th)

After three straight wins, we put together a sluggish effort on the road. Barnet control possession 61% of the time and score late in the first half. Our exhausted team can't break through for the equalizer.

Final: Barnet 1, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Tait 7.2, Fry 6.7, Kennedy 6.6
Worst: Harris 6.2



*We finish the first month in 8th place, not bad at all considering the budget issues. But we'll need to be more consistent if we want to promote.

*We loaned Russel Fry, a valuable asset who can play MC, LW, RW, ST, and has decent skills for each.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Wrexham		7	6	1	0	18	6	+12	19
2nd		Kidderminster		7	5	1	1	14	5	+9	16
3rd		Eastleigh		7	5	1	1	11	3	+8	16
4th		Ebbsfleet		7	4	1	2	14	7	+7	13
5th		Barnet		7	4	1	2	18	15	+3	13
6th		FC Halifax		7	4	1	2	8	7	+1	13
7th		Forest Green		7	4	0	3	16	15	+1	12
8th		Vauxhall		7	4	0	3	13	13	0	12
9th		Histon		7	4	0	3	9	9	0	12
10th		Gateshead		7	3	2	2	12	10	+2	11
11th		Stevenage		7	3	2	2	13	13	0	11
12th		Luton		7	3	1	3	12	11	+1	10
13th		Southport		7	3	1	3	13	13	0	10
14th		Cambridge		7	3	1	3	8	9	-1	10
15th		Hereford		7	3	1	3	11	13	-2	10
16th		Sutton Utd		7	2	3	2	8	8	0	9
17th		Salisbury		7	2	2	3	15	13	+2	8
18th		Dag & Red		7	2	1	4	9	10	-1	7
19th		Staines		7	2	1	4	16	20	-4	7
20th		Guiseley		7	1	2	4	9	16	-7	5
21st		Newport Co		7	0	4	3	9	12	-3	4
22nd		Alfreton		7	1	1	5	7	11	-4	4
23rd		Aldershot		7	1	1	5	5	16	-11	4
24th		Braintree		7	0	1	6	7	20	-13	1

[larrymcg421]

Skrill Premier Total Salaries...

Luton			$2.43m
Barnet			$2.09m
Forest Green			$1.91m
Wrexham			$1.83m
Gateshead			$1.63m
Newport Co			$1.61m
Aldershot			$1.52m
Ebbsfleet			$1.48m
Hereford			$1.40m
Cambridge			$1.31m
Salisbury			$1.24m
Kidderminster			$1.24m
Dag & Red			$1.20m
Eastleigh			$1.10m
Southport			$1.07m
Stevenage			$1.02m
Braintree			$948k
FC Halifax			$703k
Staines			$652k
Alfreton			$562k
Sutton Utd			$502k
Histon			$470k
Guiseley			$332k
Vauxhall			$297k

[larrymcg421]

September 3

Vauxhall (4-0-3, 8th) vs. Forest Green (4-0-3, 7th)

Jones continues to be a terrific addition. 11 minutes in, he sends a great pass into the penalty area, which Prescott meets and puts past the keeper. Harris gives us some cushion in the 53rd minute with a penalty conversion. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough cushion. We have three players go down with injury in this game and the backups cannot hold on to the lead. Forest Green pull one back in the 59th minute and then equalize in the 87th.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Forest Green 2
Goals: Prescott, Harris
Assists: Jones, Hubbard
Top Three: Prescott 7.1, Jones 6.8, Dey 6.8
Worst: Miller 5.3


September 6

Vauxhall (4-1-3, 9th) vs. Hereford (3-1-4, 16th)

After a frustrating first half where Ricky Miller continued to underperform, I give Russell Fry his first chance at Striker and it pays off almost immediately. In the 46th minute, he heads a cross in the net to give us the 1-0 lead. And that's all we would need. The defense (especially Walker) played really well and preserved the victory.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Hereford 0
Goal: Fry
Assist: Jones
Top Three: Walker 8.5, Fry 7.1, Brown 6.8
Worst: Ellams 6.1

*We will be without injured Joe Tait, who has been playing very well, for a few weeks.


September 10

Vauxhall (5-1-3, 7th) at Kidderminster (6-1-2, 2nd)

Another scoreless affair where Miller disappoints and I send in Fry. Once again, Fry comes through. In the 53rd minute he sends in a cross that Kennedy is able to head through. Unfortunately, we cannot extend the lead and pay for it when our defense misplays a long ball from their keeper and they beat Walker one on one. We do hold on for the draw.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Kidderminster 1
Goal: Kennedy
Assist: Fry
Top Three: Kennedy 7.4, Byrne 7.1, Jones 6.9
Worst: Miller 6.2


September 17

Vauxhall (5-2-3, 7th) vs. Southport (6-1-3, 4th)

Anthony Martin gets called for a foul in the 40th minute and Southport convert the penalty. 5 minutes later, we get a fluke goal when a Jones pass into the box just rolls right by the keeper into the net. We'll take it. The 2nd half is uneventful and we have our 3rd draw in 4 games.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Southport 1
Goal: Jones
Assist: Prescott
Top Three: Jones 7.3, Dey 6.8, Walker 6.7
Worst: Martin 5.3


September 20

Vauxhall (5-3-3, 8th) at Wrexham (8-2-1, 1st)

Facing our toughest test of the season, we we put together a terrific performance. Jones gets us started by scoring straight from a free kick. Then we earn a penalty, which Harris converts to send us to the half up 2-0. There is a slight scare when Wrexham pull one back in the 90th minute, but Hubbard scores 2 minutes later to put it out of reach.

Final: Vauxhall 3, Wrexham 1
Goals: Jones, Harris, Hubbard
Assists: Jones, Khan, Prescott
Top Three: Jones 8.3, Prescott 7.6, Hubbard 7.4
Worst: Byrne 6.5


September 24

Vauxhall (6-3-3, 7th) vs. Eastleigh (6-4-2, 3rd)

Another match against a top league squad. This time we fall behind 1-0 on a corner in the 16th minute. Martin makes up for his stupid penalty against Southport with a powerful free kick to equalize before the half. The second half is uneventful until the end. In the 80th minute, Jones scores another fluke when his cross bounces off the keeper and into the net. Then an attempted long throw-in is intercepted by Clark and Prescott finishes off the play to put the game out of reach.

Final: Vauxhall 3, Eastleigh 1
Goals: Martin, Jones, Prescott
Assists: Hubbard 2
Top Three: Hubbard 7.8, Martin 7.6, Jones 7.5
Worst: Dey 6.3


*An unbeaten month of Vauxhall football puts us in 4th position!

*Ricky Miller has scored 2 goals in 9 appearances, with an average rating of 6.53. I warn him that he'll be demoted if he doesn't turn it around.

*I'm considering signing extremely slow (5 Pace/Acc), but extremely skilled (10+ in almost every non-physical category. If Miller doesn't turn it around soon, I may just do that, even if I have to go well over budget to do so.

*We only have Jones for one more month. That'll be a big hole to fill.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Wrexham		13	9	2	2	26	14	+12	29
2nd		Gateshead		13	7	3	3	29	16	+13	24
3rd		Southport		13	7	3	3	25	17	+8	24
4th		Vauxhall		13	7	3	3	24	19	+5	24
5th		Kidderminster		13	6	4	3	25	16	+9	22
6th		Eastleigh		13	6	4	3	17	11	+6	22
7th		FC Halifax		13	7	1	5	16	15	+1	22
8th		Ebbsfleet		13	6	3	4	22	15	+7	21
9th		Forest Green		13	6	3	4	31	25	+6	21
10th		Barnet		13	6	3	4	28	26	+2	21
11th		Histon		13	6	2	5	13	17	-4	20
12th		Cambridge		13	5	4	4	20	18	+2	19
13th		Dag & Red		13	5	3	5	18	16	+2	18
14th		Staines		13	5	3	5	29	29	0	18
15th		Luton		13	5	1	7	19	21	-2	16
16th		Stevenage		13	4	4	5	20	23	-3	16
17th		Braintree		13	5	1	7	20	27	-7	16
18th		Newport Co		13	3	5	5	20	23	-3	14
19th		Salisbury		13	3	5	5	23	27	-4	14
20th		Hereford		13	4	1	8	16	23	-7	13
21st		Guiseley		13	3	2	8	15	26	-11	11
22nd		Aldershot		13	3	2	8	13	28	-15	11
23rd		Sutton Utd		13	2	4	7	16	24	-8	10
24th		Alfreton		13	1	4	8	12	21	-9	7

[larrymcg421]

October 1

Vauxhall (7-3-3, 4th) at Sutton United (2-4-7, 23rd)

We continue our great run by ripping Sutton United apart. The only thing Sutton are able to put through is a Luke Blakely own goal. But this was after we'd already taken a 3-0 lead on goals from Prescott, Hubbard, and Tait. Hubbard would add one more late to make it 10 goals in 3 games for us. The bad news is an injury to Prescott, who will be out for a few weeks.

Final: Vauxhall 4, Sutton United 1
Goals: Hubbard 2, Prescott, Tait
Assists: Hubbard, Dey, Jones
Top Three: Hubbard 9.2, Dey 8.0, Tait 7.8
Worst: Miller 6.5


October 8

Vauxhall (8-3-3, 3rd) vs. Gateshead (7-3-4, 5th)

A scoreless 1st half tie is ended when Fry converts a penalty in the 65th minute. We continue to threaten, but can't put the game clincher away. This bites us in the ass when Gateshead score on a free kick in the 94th minute. Ugh!

Final: Vauxhall 1, Gateshead 1
Goal: Fry
Assist: Miller
Top Three: Miller 6.9, Dey 6.9, Fry 6.8
Worst: Byrne 6.1


October 11

Vauxhall (8-4-3, 3rd) vs. Luton (5-2-8, 19th)

This was a wild one. Ricky Miller finally gets on the board by using his speed to score in the 8th minute. Then Luton come back with two more goals before Hubbard is able to equalize for us before the half. The 2nd half was pretty much a repeat. Ellams scores, then we give up two goals and have to fight for the late equalizer, which we get when Anthony Martin converts a penalty in the 82nd minute. An exciting match, but we should not be drawing against this team.

Final: Vauxhall 4, Luton 4
Goals: Miller, Martin, Hubbard, Ellams
Assists: Khan, Miller, Ellams
Top Three: Miller 7.8, Ellams 7.7, Hubbard 7.1
Worst: Byrne 5.7

*Anthony Martin will miss a couple weeks due to injury.


October 15

FA Cup - 4th Qualifying Round

Vauxhall vs. Chelmsford

Dey gets a hat trick as we rip through a lower seeded team. They manage to pull back twice in the 2nd half on stupid errors from our defense, but this one was never in doubt. The bad thing is a late injury to Ricky Miller.

Final: Vauxhall 6, Chelmsford 2
Goals: Dey 3, Fry 2, Byrne
Assists: Ellams 2, Dey, Clark
Top Three: Dey 9.7, Fry 9.0, Ellams 9.0
Worst: Harris 6.7



*Ricky Miller out for 3-4 weeks. This leaves us incredibly thin at Striker. Fry can fill in, but I was counting on him taking over the RW spot when Jones' loan expired.

*Are you fucking kidding me? Ellams gets hurt in trainingjust a few days later. This means we now have 4 strikers on the injured list.

*Nobody on the loan market. I tried to sign Akinyemi, but the board shut me down.



October 22

Vauxhall (8-5-3, 4th) at Cambridge (5-5-6, 13th)

Yikes! Talk about a meltdown. I attempt to play Brown at striker, but he does not know the position and the team just looks lost. Cambridge take a 2-0 halftime lead, but things get crazy in the 2nd half. When Cambridge scores their 4th goal, Blakely loses his mind and gets a 2nd yellow for arguing that it was offsides. (It's not like we were coming back!) Without Blakely, they manage to score one more to really make this painful and we'll now be without him for 2 matches.

Final: Cambridge 5, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Walker, 6.4, Tait, 6.2, Byrne 6.2
Worst: Brown 5.6


October 29

FA Cup: 1st Round

Without Blakely and Martin, we have to start 3rd stringer Anthony Bolland at DM. Mike Khan gets the chance to play out of position at Striker. Khan actually bags a 1st half goal, but in the 2nd half, we give up two free kick goals and cannot find the equalizer. We fall to defeat against a team that is 2 divisions lower than us.

Final: Buxton 2, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Khan
Assist: Fry
Top Three: Khan 7.0, Kennedy 6.9, Hubbard 6.7
Worst: Clark 5.4


*We are able to loan ST Samir Belhout for 3 months and Prescott should be back soon.

*We had a chance to take the lead this month, but instead fall out of the playoff spots.

*We have one more match with Jordan Jones. In 15 appearances, he has 5 goals, 7 assists, and a 7.01 rating.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Wrexham		17	11	2	4	31	19	+12	35
2nd		Barnet		17	9	4	4	39	27	+12	31
3rd		Southport		17	8	6	3	29	20	+9	30
4th		Ebbsfleet		17	8	5	4	31	19	+12	29
5th		Kidderminster		17	8	5	4	30	20	+10	29
6th		Eastleigh		17	8	5	4	21	14	+7	29
7th		Vauxhall		17	8	5	4	33	30	+3	29
8th		Forest Green		17	8	3	6	37	31	+6	27
9th		Gateshead		17	7	5	5	33	22	+11	26
10th		Histon		17	8	2	7	18	23	-5	26
11th		Dag & Red		17	7	4	6	23	23	0	25
12th		FC Halifax		17	7	3	7	19	22	-3	24
13th		Cambridge		17	6	5	6	28	23	+5	23
14th		Staines		17	6	4	7	35	37	-2	22
15th		Newport Co		17	5	6	6	31	33	-2	21
16th		Luton		17	6	3	8	27	29	-2	21
17th		Stevenage		17	5	5	7	24	27	-3	20
18th		Braintree		17	6	2	9	25	34	-9	20
19th		Salisbury		17	4	7	6	28	32	-4	19
20th		Guiseley		17	5	3	9	23	36	-13	18
21st		Hereford		17	5	2	10	23	31	-8	17
22nd		Sutton Utd		17	3	6	8	20	29	-9	15
23rd		Aldershot		17	4	3	10	22	38	-16	15
24th		Alfreton		17	2	5	10	17	28	-11	11

[larrymcg421]

November 1

Vauxhall (8-5-4, 7th) at Guiseley (5-3-9, 20th)

Two people playing out of position in this one: Khan at ST and Dey at DM. Dey gets injured about 12 minutes in and I feel like crying at this point. We manage to bounce back and pound Guiseley once again. Our newly arrived loan player Samir Belhout has a fantastic debut with 4 goals total and Brown adds one more.

Final: Vauxhall 5, Guiseley 2
Goals: Belhout 4, Brown
Assists: Jones 2, Hubbard 2, Brown
Top Three: Belhout 9.8, Hubbard 8.3, Brown 8.2
Worst: Harris 6.7

*Martin Dey out for 3-4 weeks. This is getting ridiculous. Right now we have 4 strikers out, two midfielders out, and another midfielder suspended.

*Jones finishes his Vauxhall days with 5 goals and 9 assists in 17 appearances. His 7.06 rating was 2nd on the team.


November 5

Vauxhall (9-5-4, 4th) vs. Dag & Red (8-4-6, 9th)

I have so much hatred for this team. They just destroy us every time and that continues here. We manage to keep it close early and then equalize on an own goal in the 66th minute, but then our defense just runs out of gas and allows 3 goals in the final 10 minutes.

Final: Dag & Red 4, Vauxhall 1
Goal:
Assist: Khan
Top Three: Khan 6.7, Prescott 6.4, Walker 6.4
Worst: Byrne 4.9

*We add RW Jake Sheridan on loan to replace Jones.


November 12

Vauxhall (9-5-5, 7th) at Stevenage (6-5-8, 16th)

Belhout gets us on board early with a 12th minute strike where he dribbles through the center of the defense. Stevenage equalize before the half. Then we go back up almost immediately after the half when Stevenage's keeper knocks the ball into his own goal. We try to hold on for a much needed victory, but a mistimed tackle attempt from Kennedy allows a close range shot that Walker has no hopes of stopping.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Stevenage 2
Goals: Belhout
Assists: Hubbard, Clark
Top Three: Belhour 8.3, Hubbard 7.2, Clark 7.0
Worst: Byrne 6.0


November 19

Vauxhall (9-6-5, 7th) vs. Newport County (7-6-7, 13th)

14 minutes into his first start for us, new loan signee RW Jake Sheridan goes down with an injury. We have to play Khan on the opposite side and he doesn't fare well there. Newport get a goal right before halftime and we only manage 1 shot on target for the entire match. We are just completely falling apart.

Final: Newport County 1, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Hubbard 6.8, Brown 6.7, Walker 6.7
Worst: Byrne 6.1


*Sheridan out for 7 weeks. We terminate his loan.


November 22

Vauxhall (9-6-6, 9th) at Alfreton (3-5-13, 24th)

Alfreton is the worst team in the league, so surely this is the perfect time to get our mojo back. Wrong. Even with Prescott (and Miller) healthy, we can't get any offensive rhythm going and once again only manage 1 on target shot. Alfreton score in the 38th minute and we lose again.

Final: Alfreton 1, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Tait 7.5, Hubbard 6.7, Belhout 6.7
Worst: Clark 6.1

*We add RW/MC Ashley Worsfold and RW Charlie Barnett on loan.


November 26

FA Trophy: 1st Round

Vauxhall vs. Gateshead

Hubbard ends his goal drought with a header in the 14th minute. The defense plays one of its better games of the season and ensures that 1 goal was enough. Gateshead only get two on target shots and we advance.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Gateshead 0
Goal: Hubbard
Assist: Khan
Top Three: Tait 7.4, Hubbard 7.3, Dey 6.8



*Wow, what a shitty month. At one point we were one win away from taking over 1st place and now we enter the midway point of the season mired in 12th.

*The injury issues got to a comical point. I tried to get the board to allow me to add more physios, but they can't find the funding. (The ridiculous loan they took out for the new field is still ruining our finances).

*If we don't promote and/or the board doesn't offer more payroll next season, I may start thinking about moving on to a new club.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Wrexham		22	14	3	5	44	28	+16	45
2nd		Dag & Red		22	12	4	6	37	25	+12	40
3rd		Ebbsfleet		22	11	6	5	41	24	+17	39
4th		Southport		22	11	6	5	37	27	+10	39
5th		Barnet		22	11	5	6	43	35	+8	38
6th		Eastleigh		22	10	6	6	29	24	+5	36
7th		Histon		22	11	2	9	26	28	-2	35
8th		FC Halifax		22	10	4	8	28	26	+2	34
9th		Gateshead		22	9	6	7	42	31	+11	33
10th		Forest Green		22	10	3	9	44	37	+7	33
11th		Newport Co		22	9	6	7	42	38	+4	33
12th		Vauxhall		22	9	6	7	41	40	+1	33
13th		Cambridge		22	9	5	8	38	30	+8	32
14th		Kidderminster		22	9	5	8	35	30	+5	32
15th		Staines		22	8	4	10	40	47	-7	28
16th		Stevenage		22	7	6	9	32	34	-2	27
17th		Luton		22	8	3	11	35	41	-6	27
18th		Braintree		22	8	2	12	35	46	-11	26
19th		Salisbury		22	5	9	8	35	39	-4	24
20th		Guiseley		22	7	3	12	33	49	-16	24
21st		Aldershot		22	6	5	11	30	46	-16	23
22nd		Hereford		22	6	3	13	27	40	-13	21
23rd		Alfreton		22	4	5	13	20	34	-14	17
24th		Sutton Utd		22	3	7	12	26	41	-15	16

[larrymcg421]

December 3

Vauxhall (9-6-7, 12th) vs. FC Halifax (10-4-8, 8th)

FC Halifax beat us on a counter and take a lead in the 23rd minute. And that's all it would take because our offense has completely disappeared. We get shutout again and have now scored 1 goal in our last 4 matches. Pathetic.

Final: FC Halifax 1, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Clark 7.1, Kennedy 6.9, Walker 6.8
Worst: Dey 6.2


December 10

FA Trophy: 2nd Round

Vauxhall vs. Eastleigh

I don't really care about the FA Trophy (and neither does the board), but it is frustrating that our offense is still nowhere to be seen. It is now 1 goal in our last 5 matches.

Final: Eastleigh 1, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Byrne 7.1, Blakely 6.6, Walker 6.6
Worst: Clark 5.9


December 13

Vauxhall (9-6-8, 13th) at Ebbsfleet (11-6-6, 5th)

Well it felt like we had broken out of a slump as we control the pace of the game and get an incredible 22 shots on goal. However, we can only manage 1 first half goal and it takes an own goal for us to get some separation. That own goal was crucial because Ebbsfleet pull one back in the 72nd minute. The defense is strong enough to hold the lead.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Ebbsfleet 1
Goals: Worsfold
Assists: Belhout
Top Three: Belhout 7.5, Worsfold 7.5, Kennedy 6.9
Worst: Miller 6.1


December 26

Vauxhall (10-6-8, 11th) vs. Aldershot (7-6-11, 20th)

Once again the offense is worthless. Neither team gets many opportunities and it is a scoreless tie all the way until the 88th minute when Barnett sends a terrific cross to the far post, which Clark heads in for the dramatic game winner.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Aldershot 0
Goal: Clark
Assist: Barnett
Top Three: Clark 7.3, Kennedy 7.0, Walker 6.8
Worst: Worsfold 6.4


December 28

Vauxhall (11-6-8, 9th) vs. Staines (9-4-12, 16th)

Well now this is the match we've been waiting on. Kennedy and Worsfold get goals in the first 23 minutes to stake us to an early 2-0 lead. Then an own goal right before the half gives us a comfortable margin. In the 2nd half, a slumping Hubbard finally breaks through to make it 4-0. Staines pull one back late, but we win in dominating fashion.

Final: Vauxhall 4, Staines 1
Goals: Hubbard, Kennedy, Worsfold
Assists: Khan 2, Worsfold
Top Three: Kennedy 8.4, Worsfold 8.2, Khan 8.0
Worst: Martin 6.7


December 31

Vauxhall (12-6-8, 7th) at Braintree (8-4-14, 20th)

I don't have an explanation for what happened here. Braintree take an early lead when Byrne falls asleep and lets his man run right by him. No big deal because Clark scores only 2 minutes later. I feel good at this point because we are threatening and it seems to be only a matter of time before we capitalize. In the 40th minute, Tait misses an interception and they have an easy one on one. In the 45th minute, Byrne does the same thing and we're down 3-1. Then Kennedy gets caught in no man's land trying to dribble his way down the field, gets stripped and they go up 4-1. All of this happened in a 5 minute span. We pull one back in the 2nd half, but this was a stupid loss.

Final: Braintree 4, Vauxhall 2
Goals: Clark, Hubbard
Assists: Worsfold, Clark
Top Three: Clark 8.0, Hubbard 7.2, Belhout 6.7
Worst: Byrne 4.4


*It's amazing that after all the turmoil and poor performances we went through that we still have a shot at the league title. We are only 8 pts back. If we can get back to our early season form, we can win this.

*Byrne's contract is terminated. That 4.4 is the last straw. I'll find someone on loan that can do better than that. He finishes his Vauxhall career with 25 appearances and a 6.38 average rating.

*Salisbury City offer me a job interview. They are also a Skrill Premier squad and I'd have quadruple the payroll that I have now. It's tempting, but I want to finish this season with Vauxhall and see what happens before I leave.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Dag & Red		27	15	5	7	47	31	+16	50
2nd		Forest Green		27	15	3	9	58	42	+16	48
3rd		Barnet		27	14	6	7	49	40	+9	48
4th		Wrexham		27	14	5	8	50	38	+12	47
5th		Southport		27	13	8	6	44	35	+9	47
6th		Eastleigh		27	12	8	7	36	27	+9	44
7th		Newport Co		27	12	7	8	48	41	+7	43
8th		Ebbsfleet		26	12	6	8	44	28	+16	42
9th		Vauxhall		27	12	6	9	50	47	+3	42
10th		FC Halifax		27	11	7	9	32	33	-1	40
11th		Histon		27	12	3	12	31	37	-6	39
12th		Stevenage		27	10	8	9	40	39	+1	38
13th		Gateshead		27	10	7	10	47	39	+8	37
14th		Kidderminster		27	10	6	11	37	37	0	36
15th		Cambridge		27	10	5	12	42	38	+4	35
16th		Staines		27	10	4	13	44	54	-10	34
17th		Salisbury		27	8	9	10	44	45	-1	33
18th		Luton		27	10	3	14	46	52	-6	33
19th		Braintree		27	9	4	14	44	56	-12	31
20th		Hereford		26	8	4	14	33	45	-12	28
21st		Aldershot		27	7	7	13	36	53	-17	28
22nd		Sutton Utd		27	6	9	12	32	44	-12	27
23rd		Guiseley		27	7	4	16	36	59	-23	25
24th		Alfreton		27	6	6	15	30	40	-10	24

[larrymcg421]

January 2

Vauxhall (12-6-9, 9th) vs. Histon (12-3-12, 11th)

Histon score early when we get beat on the flanks and an easy cross is sent in that is headed home. They have a strong defense and bottle us up for most of the match, but we finally break through when Hubbard gets hold of a loose ball in the box and puts it through.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Histon 1
Goal: Hubbard
Assist:
Top Three: Hubbard 7.1, Khan 7.0, Knight 6.8
Worst: Vickers 6.3

*DC Alan Byrne joins us on loan.


January 14

Vauxhall (12-7-9, 8th) vs. Barnet (15-6-7, 2nd)

In a real snoozer that Dan Rydell would loathe, the two teams manage just 3 on target shots throughout the whole match. I have no answer for our offensive woes this season.

Final: Vauxhall 0, Barnet 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Kennedy 7.2, Byrne 6.9, Tait 6.9
Worst: Barnett 6.0

*Willie Dunn, our star Striker on loan last year, is now willing to come join us on a permanent basis. I terminate Ricky Miller's contract to make this happen. Miller was a total bust, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists in 19 appearances.


January 21

Vauxhall (12-8-9, 10th) at Salisbury (8-10-11, 18th)

Another scoreless tie at halftime is broken in the 60th minute when Barnett fires an angled shot from the right side of the box that the keeper can't stop. Then we suffer a total collapse. In the 75th minute, they score on a long range shot from outside the penalty box that Walker should've been able to stop. This is followed by a goal off a corner kick just two minutes later. Just like that we go from victory to defeat against a really bad team.

Final: Salisbury 2, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Barnett
Assist: Dunn
Top Three: Barnett 7.3, Dunn 6.7, Prescott 6.6
Worst: Blakely 6.1


January 24

Vauxhall (12-8-10, 11th) at Hereford (9-5-16, 20th)

Worsfold and Hubbard come through with great goals to stake us to a 2-0 halftime lead. They score on a header in the 59th minute, but we still look good, with several attacking runs. Then in the 82nd minute, they send a cross into the box which we cannot defend and it is put through. Once again we have collapsed and suffer a draw.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Hereford 2
Goals: Worsfold, Hubbard
Assists: Hubbard, Worsfold
Top Three: Worsfold 7.8, Hubbard 7.8, Walker 6.8
Worst: Tait 5.4

*Three draws and a loss, with 5 goals in 4 matches, is not what I had in mind. The league title is probably out of reach and the playoffs are not likely either.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Dag & Red		31	17	7	7	52	34	+18	58
2nd		Barnet		31	17	7	7	58	44	+14	58
3rd		Wrexham		31	15	7	9	58	45	+13	52
4th		Eastleigh		31	14	10	7	43	30	+13	52
5th		Forest Green		31	16	3	12	64	50	+14	51
6th		Southport		30	14	9	7	49	40	+9	51
7th		Newport Co		31	13	10	8	53	45	+8	49
8th		Stevenage		31	13	9	9	44	39	+5	48
9th		Ebbsfleet		31	13	8	10	50	35	+15	47
10th		FC Halifax		31	13	8	10	39	38	+1	47
11th		Vauxhall		31	12	9	10	54	52	+2	45
12th		Gateshead		31	12	8	11	52	42	+10	44
13th		Histon		30	12	5	13	34	42	-8	41
14th		Salisbury		31	10	10	11	49	49	0	40
15th		Luton		31	12	3	16	53	58	-5	39
16th		Cambridge		31	10	8	13	46	44	+2	38
17th		Kidderminster		29	10	7	12	38	40	-2	37
18th		Staines		31	10	7	14	51	64	-13	37
19th		Braintree		29	10	4	15	46	59	-13	34
20th		Sutton Utd		31	8	9	14	39	50	-11	33
21st		Hereford		31	9	6	16	42	55	-13	33
22nd		Aldershot		31	8	8	15	40	59	-19	32
23rd		Alfreton		31	7	7	17	34	47	-13	28
24th		Guiseley		31	7	5	19	37	64	-27	26

[larrymcg421]

February 4

Vauxhall (12-9-10, 11th) vs. Kidderminster (10-7-13, 17th)

Another snoozer that looks like it's headed to a scoreless tie. The defense is playing well, but for whatever reason, the offense has forgotten how to score goals. We do finally manage to win a match when Alan Byrne heads a corner into the net in the 76th minute.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Kidderminster 0
Goal: Byrne
Assist: Dey
Top Three: Byrne 7.4, Walker 7.0, Dey 6.9
Worst: Blakely 6.2


February 11

Vauxhall (13-9-10, 10th) at Forest Green (16-4-12, 4th)

Prescott ends his slump by putting a header through in the 13th minute. We manage to hold that until the end of the first half when Kennedy puts the ball in his own net. Then we try to hold on for the big victory, but Byrne misplays a long ball and allows the opposing striker to have a free run at the striker. The result is another 2-1 loss after going up 1-0.

Final: Forest Green 2, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Prescott
Assist:
Top Three: Prescott 7.1, Walker 6.7, Blakely 6.7
Worst: Hubbard 6.2


February 14

Vauxhall (13-9-11, 12th) at Southport (16-9-8, 3rd)

Khan sends a great pass in to Worsfold, who beats the keeper on the near post. And that's all the scoring in the game. We have 9 more shots on goal, but can't put any through. Dunn, Prescott, and Hubbard all have terrible games.

Final: Vauxhall 1, Southport 0
Goal: Worsfold
Assist: Khan
Top Three: Worsfold 7.1, Khan 7.0, Walker 6.9
Worst: Dunn 6.2

February 25

Vauxhall (14-9-11, 11th) at Eastleigh (16-11-8, 3rd)

After trading goals int he 1st half, we take the lead in the 46th minute when Fry heads home a Khan cross. In the 54th minute we cannot properly clear a cross and the equalizer is scored. Then we have trouble keeping up with the opposing striker who gets wide open and makes Walker look silly. Missed opportunity to make up some points.

Final: Eastleigh 3, Vauxhall 2
Goals: Byrne, Fry
Assists: Dey, Khan
Top Three: Byrne 7.3, Dey 7.2, Fry 7.1
Worst: Walker 6.3


*So I was excited to be able to sign Willie Dunn, who was so good for us last year, but he has yet to score a goal in six matches.

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Barnet		36	20	9	7	71	50	+21	69
2nd		Dag & Red		36	19	9	8	64	44	+20	66
3rd		Eastleigh		36	17	11	8	51	33	+18	62
4th		Southport		36	17	9	10	57	47	+10	60
5th		Forest Green		35	18	4	13	71	56	+15	58
6th		Stevenage		36	16	10	10	53	42	+11	58
7th		Wrexham		35	17	7	11	64	54	+10	58
8th		Gateshead		36	15	10	11	63	48	+15	55
9th		Newport Co		36	14	13	9	58	50	+8	55
10th		FC Halifax		36	15	10	11	46	45	+1	55
11th		Ebbsfleet		36	14	10	12	55	44	+11	52
12th		Vauxhall		35	14	9	12	59	57	+2	51
13th		Luton		36	15	5	16	64	64	0	50
14th		Cambridge		36	13	8	15	57	50	+7	47
15th		Salisbury		36	12	10	14	55	59	-4	46
16th		Braintree		36	13	6	17	62	71	-9	45
17th		Histon		36	13	6	17	41	57	-16	45
18th		Kidderminster		36	11	8	17	46	51	-5	41
19th		Sutton Utd		36	10	10	16	46	62	-16	40
20th		Staines		36	11	7	18	55	72	-17	40
21st		Aldershot		36	9	10	17	46	68	-22	37
22nd		Hereford		36	9	8	19	42	59	-17	35
23rd		Guiseley		36	9	7	20	44	68	-24	34
24th		Alfreton		35	7	8	20	39	58	-19	29

[larrymcg421]

March 4

Vauxhall (14-9-12, 12th) at Gateshead (15-10-11, 8th)

Willie Dunn finally gets on the board 10 minutes in. Then we fall asleep defensively again and give up two quick goals. Martin Dey strikes back with a long range shot in the 39th minute to equalize for us before the half. Then Hubbard comes alive in the 2nd half with two goals to put the game away. Gateshead pull one back, but not until the 92nd minute.

Final: Vauxhall 4, Gateshead 3
Goals: Hubbard 2, Dunn, Dey
Assists: Clark, Fry, Dunn, Hubbard
Top Three: Hubbard 9.1, Dunn 8.6, Fry 7.7
Worst: Blakely 6.3


March 10

Vauxhall (15-9-12, 11th) vs. Wrexham (18-7-12, 5th)

So after a great performance in the previous match, the teams turns to shit here. It's actually a scoreless tie at the half, but they are dominating and the onslaught is inevitable. They score in the 54th, 64th, and 74th minutes to blow us away.

Final: Wrexham 3, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Fry 6.6, Dey 6.6, Hubbard 6.4
Worst: Barnett 6.0


March 14

Vauxhall (15-9-13, 12th) vs. Cambridge (14-8-16, 16th)

Well we get on the board first on another early Dunn goal. But then it's total disaster. Cambridge score 3 goals in the first half ona combination of poor defensive and goalkeeping play. We manage to pull one back in the 2nd half, but this is a horrendous loss at home against a weaker team.

Final: Cambridge 3, Vauxhall 2
Goals: Dunn, Harris
Assists: Brown, Hubbard
Top Three: Brown 7.7, Dunn 7.0, Harris 6.8
Worst: Kennedy 6.0


March 17

Vauxhall (15-9-14, 12th) vs. Sutton United (12-10-16, 19th)

And we hit rock bottom here. They catch us off guard with a goal in the 1st minute. Things are so bad for our offense these days that we miss a chance to equalize on a penalty. We eventually do equalize, but but Sutton come out strong in the 2nd half with goals in the 47th and 51st minutes. We fight hard to pull one back and it looks like we have a shot until they put it away with another one in the 68th minute.

Final: Sutton United 4, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Byrne
Assist: Dey
Top Three: Byrne 7.1, Dey 7.1, Walker 6.6
Worst: Prescott 5.9


March 21

Vauxhall (15-9-15, 13th) at Luton Town (17-5-17, 11th)

Well, we've been losing to crappy teams at home. No reason to think we can match up against a good team on the road. And sure enough, we are down 3-0 after only 15 minutes. That is the score at the half and I'm resigned to another awful loss. But then we come out in the 2nd half and Hubbard scores goals in the 51st and 57th minutes. Suddenly we're back in it! Then we steal a throw in and Prescott comes through with an equalizer in the 66th minute. Two minutes later, Hubbard completes his hat trick to give us the lead! But this is Vauxhall football, so of course we give up a late equalizer on a corner kick.

Final: Vauxhall 4, Luton 4
Goals: Hubbard 3, Prescott
Assists: Dey, Prescott, Dunn
Top Three: Hubbard 9.6, Prescott 7.7, Dey 6.8
Worst: Walker 6.1


March 25

Vauxhall (15-10-15, 13th) at Dag & Red (21-10-9, 2nd)

This is the team we always lose to. We actually play them pretty well, but a first half goal (thanks to some absurdly poor defensive positioning) is enough for them to hold on to the victory as we can't break through offensively.

Final: Dag & Red 1, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Tait 7.2, Byrne 6.7, Clark 6.6
Worst: Walker 6.0

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st		Barnet		42	22	11	9	82	64	+18	77
2nd		Dag & Red		41	22	10	9	74	51	+23	76
3rd		Eastleigh		41	20	12	9	59	38	+21	72
4th		Forest Green		41	21	5	15	84	66	+18	68
5th		Wrexham		41	19	8	14	79	67	+12	65
6th		FC Halifax		41	18	11	12	53	50	+3	65
7th		Stevenage		42	18	10	14	64	52	+12	64
8th		Newport Co		41	16	14	11	67	59	+8	62
9th		Southport		41	17	10	14	62	59	+3	61
10th		Luton		41	18	6	17	73	70	+3	60
11th		Gateshead		41	15	12	14	68	58	+10	57
12th		Vauxhall		41	15	10	16	70	75	-5	55
13th		Salisbury		41	15	10	16	61	66	-5	55
14th		Sutton Utd		41	15	10	16	60	66	-6	55
15th		Staines		41	16	7	18	70	79	-9	55
16th		Cambridge		41	15	9	17	65	58	+7	54
17th		Ebbsfleet		41	14	11	16	60	55	+5	53
18th		Histon		41	15	6	20	47	66	-19	51
19th		Braintree		41	14	7	20	68	78	-10	49
20th		Kidderminster		41	12	10	19	50	58	-8	46
21st		Guiseley		41	13	7	21	54	75	-21	46
22nd		Aldershot		41	11	12	18	53	74	-21	45
23rd		Alfreton		41	10	8	23	52	70	-18	38
24th		Hereford		41	10	8	23	46	67	-21	38

[SplitPersonality1]

Following along. Good luck the rest of the season.

Nice to see my old team near the top of the table. Go Daggers!

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by SplitPersonality1

Following along. Good luck the rest of the season.

Nice to see my old team near the top of the table. Go Daggers!

They have killed me in this dynasty!

Thanks for reading!

[larrymcg421]

April 1

Vauxhall (15-10-16, 12th) at Guiseley (13-7-21, 21st)

Prescott scores his first goal in a long, long time and Clark adds another one to give us a 2-0 halftime lead. Possession is about equal in this match, but we hold them to one on target shot and we coast to victory in the 2nd half.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Guiseley 0
Goals: Prescott, Clark
Assists: Dey 2
Top Three: Clark 7.7, Dey 7.7, Prescott 7.3
Worst: Kennedy 6.4


April 8

Vauxhall (16-10-16, 11th) vs. Stevenage (18-10-14, 8th)

Whatever chances we had at making a last second run at the playoffs are dashed. This was a fairly even contest. Stevenage score on a corner in the first half and then we do the same early in the 2nd half. They add a 2nd goal on a stupid defensive lapse and are able to shut us down for the victory.

Final: Stevenage 2, Vauxhall 1
Goal: Kennedy
Assist: Ellams
Top Three: Kennedy 7.4, Clark 6.8, Barnett 6.8
Worst: Byrne 6.0


April 15

Vauxhall (16-10-17, 13th) at Alfreton (10-9-24, 24th)

We are held to a scoreless tie in the first half and I'm frustrated thinking we might draw against the worst team in the league. Thankfully, Willie Dunn finally shows up and bags two 2nd half goals. We really dominated this match and should've won by more.

Final: Vauxhall 2, Alfreton 0
Goals: Dunn 2
Assists: Ellams, Hubbard
Top Three: Dunn 8.7, Hubbard 7.5, Walker 7.0
Worst: Martin 6.4


April 17

Vauxhall (17-10-17, 11th) at Newport County (17-5-12, 8th)

Another frustrating game in which we take 18 shots, but can't score a single goal. Newport beat us twice on counter attacks and we have no answer for them.

Final: Newport County 2, Vauxhall 0
Goals:
Assists:
Top Three: Kennedy 6.9, Hubbard 6.8, Blakely 6.7
Worst: Byrne 5.8


April 24

Vauxhall (17-10-18, 13th) at FC Halifax (20-11-14, 7th)

I'm not sure where this performance came from, but we close a frustrating season by absolutely destroying FC Halifax at their place. Hubbard has a hat trick and Dey adds two goals of his own. As you can see by their record, FC Halifax is a very good squad, so I don't know why we couldn't play this well more often.

Final: Vauxhall 5, FC Halifax 0
Goals: Hubbard 3, Dey 2
Assists: Dunn 3, Clark
Top Three: Hubbard 9.6, Dey 9.4, Dunn 9.3
Worst: Walker 7.5

[larrymcg421]

Pos	Inf	Team		Pld	Won	Drn	Lst	For	Ag	G.D.	Pts
1st	C	Barnet		46	24	11	11	89	68	+21	83
2nd		Eastleigh		46	22	14	10	67	43	+24	80
3rd		Dag & Red		46	23	11	12	76	60	+16	80
4th		Wrexham		46	22	10	14	85	70	+15	76
5th	P	Forest Green		46	23	5	18	94	75	+19	74
6th		Newport Co		46	19	15	12	75	63	+12	72
7th		Stevenage		46	20	11	15	70	57	+13	71
8th		FC Halifax		46	20	11	15	56	61	-5	71
9th		Luton		46	20	8	18	80	72	+8	68
10th		Gateshead		46	18	12	16	75	64	+11	66
11th		Ebbsfleet		46	18	11	17	68	63	+5	65
12th		Southport		46	18	11	17	65	66	-1	65
13th		Vauxhall		46	18	10	18	80	79	+1	64
14th		Cambridge		46	17	11	18	74	66	+8	62
15th		Salisbury		46	17	11	18	69	71	-2	62
16th		Braintree		46	18	7	21	81	84	-3	61
17th		Sutton Utd		46	16	11	19	67	78	-11	59
18th		Staines		46	16	9	21	76	91	-15	57
19th		Aldershot		46	13	14	19	63	82	-19	53
20th		Histon		46	15	8	23	55	78	-23	53
21st	R	Kidderminster		46	13	13	20	55	62	-7	52
22nd	R	Guiseley		46	15	7	24	59	82	-23	52
23rd	R	Hereford		46	13	8	25	56	76	-20	47
24th	R	Alfreton		46	10	9	27	55	79	-24	39

[larrymcg421]

Pkd	Inf	Name	Apps	Gls	Ast	PoM	Pas R	Tck	DrbPG	Sh T	Yel	Red	Av Rat
STCR	Vac	Adam Hubbard	41 (4)	19	13	6	73%	0.64	0.98	35%	3	0	7.04
STCL	Vac	Lloyd Ellams	6 (5)	3	3	1	77%	1.38	0.83	45%	0	0	7.02
STC	Vac	Willie Dunn	16 (1)	4	6	1	72%	0.75	0.94	30%	2	0	6.89
MCR	Vac	Martin Dey	26 (4)	3	7	0	74%	1.55	0.83	32%	6	0	6.85
ML	Vac	Jack Clark	28 (3)	3	6	3	69%	2.07	1.04	45%	4	0	6.80
S3	Vac	Mike Khan	19 (5)	0	9	0	68%	2.03	1.11	19%	9	1	6.73
S2	Vac	Kevin Brown	23 (6)	1	3	0	74%	1.95	0.89	28%	1	0	6.71
GK	Vac	Paul Walker	46	0	1	1	50%	-	-	-	0	0	6.70
DCL	Vac	Dominic Kennedy	43 (1)	3	1	4	67%	2.40	0.46	71%	8	0	6.68
DC	Vac	Alan Byrne	16	3	0	1	64%	2.25	0.38	50%	2	1	6.68
S4	Vac	Daryl Prescott	29 (3)	7	4	0	71%	1.29	0.83	42%	1	0	6.67
-	Vac	Lee Vickers	7	1	1	1	74%	1.68	0.72	57%	0	0	6.66
DCR	Vac	Joe Tait	41	2	0	2	68%	2.73	0.42	42%	3	0	6.66
MR	Vac	Charlie Barnett	19	1	1	0	70%	2.00	1.24	38%	4	0	6.63
S5	Vac	Spencer Harris	9 (10)	3	0	0	66%	2.46	0.45	80%	2	0	6.61
-	Vac	Russell Fry	14 (8)	3	2	0	70%	1.90	1.22	38%	3	0	6.61
DMCL	Vac	Luke Blakely	33 (1)	0	0	0	75%	3.49	0.75	25%	10	2	6.56
-	Vac	Antony Bolland	1 (3)	0	0	0	74%	2.85	0.36	0%	0	0	6.55
-	Inj	Anthony Martin	14 (3)	2	0	0	75%	2.37	0.54	100%	3	0	6.55
S1	Vac	William Stewart	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
-	Vac	Nathan Phillips	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

[larrymcg421]

Offseason

*The board increase payroll to $6000 p/w. While this is an increase, it's stil a pathetically small amount for the Skrill premier. The average payroll is around $22,000 p/w.

*I entertained the idea of moving to another team, but I want to try and ride this out.

*Returning players include ST Adam Hubbard, ST Willie Dunn, ST Lloyd Ellams, ST/RW Ashley Worsfold, MC Martin Dey, DMC/DC Luke Blakely, DC Alan Byrne, and GK Paul Walker

Our new signees:

RW Jeff Atkinson (loan) - He's not very fast, but has good technical skills and should be able to put some good crosses in.

DC Ben Clark ($425 p/w) - He's old, but might be the best defender we've had here. Marking (11), Positioning (13), Determination (14), Concentration (11), and Anticipation (11).

DC Eddie Malone ($190 p/w) - Came very cheap and he has good Marking (12), Determination (14), Stamina (11), and Bravery (11). Weakness in Positioning (7) and Speed (7/7).

LW James Reid ($425 p/w) - Good speed and all-around player with no major weak spots. Can also play Striker.

DM Lleyton Roberts (loan) - Really like his Tackling (12), Determination (12), Teamwork (11), and Work Rate (13). Hoping he can take the starting spot here so Blakely can move back to DC.

ST Marc Williams ($425 p/w) - Hoping his combination of Finishing (13), First Touch (11), Work Rate (11), Flair (10), Composure (10), and Acceleration (11) can prove to be deadly. His major weakness is Stamina (7).

DM Dave Stevenson (loan) - Will compete with Roberts and has a pretty similar skill set.

*We are once again 50-1 longshots for promotion. Favorites are relegated Northampton at 3-1.

*Our stupid new stadium is finally complete and hopefully we can now start making money.

Opening day starting lineup:

ST Hubbard, ST Williams, ST Dunn
LW Reid, MC Dey, DMC Roberts, RW Atkinson
DC Blakely, DC Clark, DC Byrne
GK Walker

[SplitPersonality1]

*Our stupid new stadium is finally complete and hopefully we can now start making money.

The official name of your new home should be "Stupid New Stadium".