Another Adventure in Anglia (FM 14)

[Greyfriars Bobby]

11 August 2018

As we enter our second season in the Conference Premier, my back room staff looks exactly like it did last year.



Our players are developing well, from our youth team on up. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The board surprised me with a very generous increase to our wage budget. We have a little over £11,000 to spend per week, which allowed us to keep the players we wanted and bring in a couple of new faces, too.

Here's the squad we are taking into action as the season kicks off today:



Goalkeepers
We have an affiliation with Gillingham, a League Two club. When I saw Leighton McGuire on the list of players they would encourage to join us on loan, I decided to make him an offer. He'll join us on a season-long loan.

Leighton is a superb shot stopper with the mental makeup I like to see in a goalie. Chris Beesley has never been seriously challenged for his position, and now I have two 'keepers whom I'd trust between the posts for a must-win match. For now, Chris and Leighton will split the starting role. Adam Rowland will be the number one for our Under 21s.


Defenders
Tomasz Wisniewski and Lloyd Unsworth, who played so well together in the final months of last season, will form our center back pairing from the start. Matt Osman signed with Dover Athletic, and to take his place, we brought in Michael Thompson on a year-long loan from our friends at Gillingham. Michael's ability to play anywhere in the back line, and his outstanding pace, make him a valuable part of our plans.

Jordan Watson, whom we signed on a free after his contract with Grimsby Town expired, will be our new starting left back. Jordan has lots of pace and tackles relentlessly, and his willingness to give it all for his team fits the Wantage Town ethic perfectly. Malte Seidel returns for a third season as our starter at right back. He's solid and reliable, and he presents a real threat on set pieces.

Matty York provides us with depth, and I'm thinking about bringing in another defender, possibly a younger one.


Midfielders
In Tom Wilkinson and Aiden Harris, we have an outstanding pair of wide men. Both of them take a very professional approach to their careers, which is a big reason why they keep getting better. It's hard to believe Tom is only 19, and Aiden is hardly a greybeard at 23.

Ryan Bellamy is cut from the same cloth. He hasn't had as dramatic an impact on our team as Wilkinson or Harris--at least not yet--but I am looking to him to assert himself even more this year.

I'm also hoping Dominic Hutchinson returns to the form that made him the Supporters' Player of the Year in 2015/16. We need him to provide steel in our midfield, and his prowess on corners and free kicks is usually worth a few points a season.

We have promising teenagers like Kevin Lewis, Pakie Kerley, and last spring's youth sensation, Sean Boshel, backing up Bellamy and Hutchinson. I would love to have similar cover for the wingers. We haven't produced a prodigy at those positions since I've been at Wantage, so I might have to put our scouting staff to work finding one.


Forwards
Mick Hart will again lead the line for us, and another 25-goal season should be a reasonable expectation. Unless a bigger club comes along and turns his head--he's a Wantage boy who grew up supporting the club, so that's not as likely as one might think--he should be a big part of our plans for a long time...as long as we can afford to pay his wages. He's our joint top earner, on £750/week.

Paul Douglas is perfectly content to play provider for his flashy young teammate. Paul is 30 now, and his attributes are starting to drop a bit. I'm not sure how much longer he'll be able to do a job for us but, then again, our staff hasn't thought he was up to the task for two years now. Then, Paul went out and broke the league record for assists. I've learned to never count him out.

Josias Bedwell got tired of waiting for playing time, so he signed for Ebbsfleet United. They also gave him 850 reasons to join their club, which they enclose in his wage packet each week. His departure leave John Nash and young Pearce Lynn as our backup strikers, with youngster Ash Newall growing his game in the Under 21s.



The odds-makers think a lot more highly of us this year, based on our strong performance in 2017/18. Burton Albion and Dagenham & Redbridge are tipped to bounce back up, after being relegated from League Two last spring.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

2 October 2018



This is our second season in the Conference Premier, and I hoped we would consolidate our place as a competitive side, one who could battle for a play-off position. We're about a quarter of the way in now, and look where we are!

We've ridden a run of seven games without a defeat (six wins, one draw) to the upper reaches of a very tightly packed table. As you can see, one poor result, combined with a set of good results for certain other clubs, could send us back to the middle of the table in the blink of an eye. It makes for some interesting times, and I have to be careful not to get too excited or too deflated over the result of a single match.



Our run of outstanding form coincides perfectly with the return of Tomasz Wisniewski to the lineup. Tomasz twisted his knee in our first league match, and missed our next five games. We won only one of those games. Since Tomasz returned, we've taken 16 points from a possible 18. We've also conceded only two goals in our last eight matches. Needless to say, having our regular center back pairing on the pitch makes a big difference.

I've also been shaping the Alfredians into a team that will hopefully remain in the running for promotion. There are four new men in the team, two here on loan, two who are ours to keep.

In mid-August, we improved our depth by bringing in defender John Lawless and wide man Sam Wash.

Lawless is 18, an Irishman from Drogheda. He played last year for University College Dublin, and they let him go after his contract ran out. John can play anywhere along the spine of the team. I like his determination and his willingness to get stuck in. He is also comfortable on the ball, a trait I am coming to appreciate more from my central defenders. There is a side of his game that makes his surname quite appropriate. He was sent off against Forest Green Rovers after two of his tackles were deemed to be a bit too Lawless.

Wash, also 18, was released by Carlisle in July. He spent last season on loan at Spennymoor Town, where he played fairly well in the Moors' futile attempt to avoid relegation from Conference North. Sam is tall, strong, and athletic. He can play on either side of midfield or at right back, providing cover for Aiden Harris, Tom Wilkinson, and Malte Seidel. The technical side of his game is still somewhat raw, but that's nothing our coaching staff can't fix.

At the August transfer deadline, we brought two strikers in on loan: Graham Palmer from Yeovil Town and John Bailey from Wycombe Wanderers.

I'm still trying to figure out why Palmer, 17, has basically been cast aside from two clubs at such a young age. Perhaps it's his lack of pace (I'm sometimes guilty of viewing that as a fatal flaw in young forwards myself). I'm willing to look past it, however, as young Graham is 6'6" and strong as a horse. He is also a surprisingly deft passer, and he is much more inclined to contribute defensively than most strikers.

Bailey, 20, came up in Bournemouth's youth program. He failed to make the grade there, moved to Wycombe on a free transfer last year, and got in only three games. He's more than good enough for our level, with plenty of pace and the ability to move without the ball.

I'm finding that as long as I play two men up top, I need four or five good strikers at my disposal. We're about to begin play in the FA Cup and FA Trophy competitions, and I'll need to rotate my squad. Mick Hart seems to have one real flaw--he gets hurt fairly frequently; in fact, he's injured again now. As Paul Douglas ages, he's less able to play at a high level for 90 minutes. I wasn't comfortable with only those two and John Nash in my stable of strikers, and with Graham and Bailey, I now have five forwards I feel comfortable using against any opposition.

Incidentally, the arrival of the two young loanees seemed to light a fire under our captain. Five days after Graham and Bailey joined us, Douglas stung Kettering Town with a hat trick. He leads the club with five goals in all comps.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

2 November 2018

What's that sound I hear? Is it coming from Alfredian Park?

We are top of the league...we are top of the league!



Wantage Town supporters know that chant well, but it's been a while since they've had a chance to sing it. It sounds especially good these days.



It took a bit of luck to nick three points at Wrexham. Their goalkeeper, Robbie Harris, got a shot by Tom Wilkinson tangled between his feet and pushed it over the line. It was one of only two shots we put on goal all day long. Still, when you are winning, luck like this tends to fall your way, and we'll take it.

Kidderminster Harriers seemed like a bit of a bogey side last year, but John Nash came off the bench to hit a brace in our 3-1 victory. However, we got bad news, too: midfield creator Ryan Bellamy twisted his ankle painfully, and might miss up to two months. I decided to shift Aiden Harris into the middle of the park and give Sam Wash a try at right wing.

That decision was partly due to the fact that four of our players were picked for their national teams in the First Qualifying Round of the European Under 19 Championship. John Lawless and Pakie Kerley got their first Ireland youth caps, while Nathan Nicholl was similarly honored by Northern Ireland. Kevin Lewis was once again selected for Wales. Even better: John, Kevin, and Nathan scored, and all their teams advanced to the next round.

A goal-less draw against the 20th placed team in the league is usually not a desirable outcome, but the point we got from the Alfreton match put us level with Dover Athletic on 30 points. We took the top spot in the table on goal differential, by a single goal.

We welcomed Mick Hart back to the team for our FA Cup tie, at home to St Albans. It took Mick exactly twelve seconds to tuck away a Wilkinson cross, and then the two young stars reversed roles for a second goal 12 minutes later. In both cases, their pace was on full display.

Our last match of the month was a classic promotion fixture, as we welcomed Dover Athletic to Alfredian Park.

When we reached the Conference Premier, I changed my tactical philosophy. In the lower leagues, we had a lot of success with a high press and a direct approach in possession. At this level, I've gone with a defensive mentality and a more patient build-up. So far, that approach has worked a treat. Only one team in the league has conceded fewer goals than we have.

Against the Whites, our players gave a master class in the execution of our strategy. Dover managed only two shots all game, and neither of those were on target. Tomasz Wisniewski showed us once again that he is an absolute boss: 11/11 headers won, 16 interceptions, breaking up Dover's attacking threats before they truly became, well, threatening.

Our streak of games without a loss has reached 12 now, 10 in league play. It's our third-longest such streak, but it's still some way short of the run of 21 matches without a loss we reeled off between May and October, 2015. The fact that we've done it with either Hart or Bellamy missing from the team makes it very impressive.

The board considers my job Untouchable, with a 79% approval rating. I've never seen it that high. They also rewarded me with a contract extension that will keep me at Alfredian Park until June 2020.

Life is good.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

1 December 2018



Another month passes by, and we're still on top of the league. We've had to play very well to retain our position, because Forest Green Rovers and Chester are in excellent form, too. The title fight looks like it's going to be closely contested and very exciting.



I didn't field full-strength teams for either the FA Cup or Southern League Cup ties. Several promising young players--defenders Matthew Sullivan and Kieran Burke, midfielders Sean Boshell, Nathan Nicholl, and Luke Beauchamp--made their first team debuts.

Draws against Burton and Dartford bracketed three big wins in league play. We certainly should have had a result against Dartford, who are in the relegation places, and we didn't look great against Burton, either.

The Canvey Island match was a different story. Tomasz Wisniewski provided the biggest highlight, scoring a hat trick within the space of nine minutes. None of the goals were cheap. On the first, he met a Malte Seidel throw-in and assertively headed it home. Then, Lloyd Unsworth nodded Paul Douglas's corner across the face of goal to Tomasz's feet, and he scored with a nice half-volley. Finally, he reacted quickly when Douglas hit the post with a free kick, and he lashed the ball past a sprawling Gulls 'keeper. I'm used to Big T asserting his will on a game defensively, but watching him turn goal scorer was a treat.

Speaking of goal scorers, Paul Douglas is banging them in at a rate unlike anything we've ever seen from him. His four goals in November give him 10 in 17 appearances. A few months ago, I was wondering if his days in a Wantage shirt might be drawing to a close, if the combination of his increasing age and the quality of the competition he faced in the Conference Premier might be too much for him. Now, there's a "Captain, Leader, Legend" banner with Paul's initials and shirt number hanging from the rail at Alfredian Park on match days.

And, while we're on the topic of goals, look what wide man Aiden Harris did this month!



Both goals were indeed terrific, and the first one allowed us to escape the Burton match with a point.

Amidst all this good news were a few less positive tidings. As we've grown as a club, some of our players are being targeted by even bigger teams. Perhaps it's not surprising that a few of their heads are being turned.

Dominic Hutchinson was the first. Tranmere Rovers put in a pathetically low £500 (!!) bid for his services, which I immediately turned down. Then I saw what they were up to. Their interest unsettled Dominic, who came to me asking for a transfer. I managed to get the League One club to pay us £16,000 for him, which I didn't think was a bad piece of business under the circumstances. He'll be leaving on 1 January.

A few days later, Tom Wilkinson came to me, expressing his desire to play for a bigger club. I managed to convince him we were on our way to even bigger things, but he says unless we're promoted again this season, he'll be on his way out.

Losing Hutchinson is one thing. He's been at Wantage Town since 2015, when his contract with Brackley Town ran out and we signed him on a free. That's a decent run in the team, but he's still not completely "ours."

Wilkinson is from the nearby town of Abingdon. He supported our club as a boy, came up through our youth system, and is serving as our vice captain this year at age 20. The opportunity to watch players like Tom develop into stars and establish themselves as club icons is part of what is making my time at Wantage Town so much fun. If we lose too much of that vibe, I might start thinking about trying my luck somewhere else.

We'll see what happens over the next few months.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

1 January 2019



Bad weather kept us from playing very often in December, but when we were able to get onto the pitch, things went very well for us.

The league table is a little bit deceptive, as we have three games in hand on Forest Green Rovers. I'm delighted with the way we're playing, especially with our defensive performance.



We knew we would have a full week to recover from our FA Trophy tie against Romsey Town, so I fielded nearly a full-strength side. They are a County Leagues club; I remember what it was like to face Conference teams when we were at that level, so part of me felt a bit guilty for running out so many first teamers.

I was especially eager to get Mick Hart into the eleven. I noticed three of Romsey's four defenders have less pace than our goalkeepers, while Mick has often been dubbed "the fastest man in non-League football." I told the lads to pass the ball more directly, hoping to release Mick (along with fellow speedsters Tom Wilkinson and John Bailey) behind the Romsey back line. I hoped Mick would bag a goal or two, because he hasn't been scoring at his usual rate this season.

The strategy worked perfectly. Hart ran onto a pass from Bailey and fired home. On another occasion, a Romsey defender hacked him down from behind, and Aiden Harris converted the penalty. Fifteen minutes from time, Mick slipped his marker, took a pass from just-introduced Paul Douglas, let the ball run onto his favored left foot, and lashed it in. The 4-0 victory was a very nice 38th birthday present from the team.

Reunited in the first eleven against Aldershot Town, Mick and Paul both contributed a goal to our tidy victory. A crowd of 1,275 came out to Alfredian Park on a chilly, drizzly day, the largest ever to watch us play a league match. The same day, Forest Green lost a shocker at home to bottom-of-the table Canvey Island.

I decided to see how far we might go in the FA Trophy this season. Our Third Round opponent was Forest Green, so I might have had several reasons to play the first eleven in this tie even if I hadn’t decided to go all in for the Trophy. I wasn’t about to roll over for a league opponent. Rovers manager James Radcliffe picked a strong side, so I’m glad I did the same.

I did need to make one change, because Wilkinson's ribs were still sore from a knock he’d taken in the Aldershot match. His replacement, Sam Wash, made me look really smart by rifling in a goal. Forest Green responded, keeping us on the back foot for the remainder of the first half, so I wasn’t shocked when they got their equalizer. I was almost resigned to a draw and a replay, but Aiden Harris had other ideas. He capped a very nice team move by taking a perfect pass from Hart in stride and firing home.

I wasn't sure if the lads would be ready to play again three days later at Eastleigh, but Old Man Winter saved us. The pitch at Silverlake Stadium was waterlogged, so the match was postponed until the 28th. The weather was no better that day, so it was delayed until 7 January.

January is going to be a very, very busy month now.