Izulde Sieges Soccer: Burgess Hill Rhinos FC (FM 16)

[Izulde]

vs Melksham (13th)
G: Flo Gislette
D: David Lynn/Jerrome Sobers/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Steven Gorman
MC: Billy Frost/George Colson
AM: Omarr Austin/Liam Harris
S: Carl Harris/Aaron Gibson

14 - Bad set piece defending. 0-1

46 - Frost's free kick bounces around until Austin breaks loose and puts away the equalizer before half. 1-1

Burrows steps in for error-prone Lynn at the break.

58 - Asymmetrical formation as we pull Liam Harris out and try Crane as a striker.

80 - Mensah recovers a clearance just outside the box and passes into it to Gibson. He turns around, and then fires in the late goal! 2-1

That's what you call a grit and grind type of win. No PotM awards, no standouts. A victory we were lucky to get.

vs Bideford (13th)
G: Flo Gislette
D: David Lynn/Samuel Westray/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Steven Gorman
MC: Billy Frost/George Colson
AM: Gregg Crane/Liam Harris
S: Carl Harris/Aaron Gibson

25 - Crane picks up a clearance in the box, but his short pass to Carl Harris is stripped away by a tackle. It bounces off a defender and right back to Crane, who powers in the diagonal shot! 1-0

26 - Crane's pressured by the defender, so he crosses it. Keeper comes out and deflects it, but the ball just sits there with the goalie out of position and an open net. Gibson runs up first to just dump it in. 2-0

53 - Gorman up to MC, Todd at DM, as tired but brilliant Frost takes a breather.

61 - Harris tracks down a header clearance, then crosses to Carl Harris for the high kick goal! Brilliant playing Crane has a knock, so his exhaustion finally gives way to Austin to close the game out. 3-0

67 - Carl Harris with the interception of a bad pass, and lateral passes to Colson and Gibson ensue before the latter sides it to Liam Harris. A straight line pass into the box later, and Gibson has his second score of the contest. 4-0

77 - Personally, I thought that was offsides, but what do I know? 4-1

87 - Real collapse by our defense in the late game. 4-2

We were playing superbly until the last 20 minutes, turning this from a rout into a win that was carried by PotM Liam Harris (9.0) and Aaron Gibson (8.8). Oh, and Billy Frost with a 7.5 before taking a breather.

It's early days yet, but we're in 2nd place for now, and actively looking for players to make our team stronger.

[Izulde]

@ Bridgport (16th)
G: Flo Gislette
D: David Lynn/Jerrome Sobers/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Steven Gorman
MC: Billy Frost/George Colson
AM: Omarr Austin/Liam Harris
S: Carl Harris/Aaron Gibson

5 - I keep forgetting to move Austin off the list of PK takers, but he converts here. 1-0

12 - That didn't look offsides to me, but we'll take it.

Burrows again replaces mistake-riddled Lynn at half. Kid's about to lose his starting job.

57 - Mensah throws in to Gibson, who had a dreadful first half, but he's able to turn around, literally and short pass it to Liam Harris for the snipe shot score! 2-0

68 - Frost's free kick is a chip shot far post into the box, where Carl Harris beats everyone for the short blast in. 3-0

80 - Got caught flat-footed with open net rebound. 3-1

7.9 for Jerrome Sobers, 8.6 for PotM Billy Frost, 8.0 for Liam Harris, and 7.6 for Carl Harris, whom the announcers raved about after the game.

4 teams now with 16 points each. Tight, tight atop the top of the table. 5th is 3 points back with 13.

vs Bristol Manor Farm (10th)
G: Flo Gislette
D: Jon Beeden/Jerrome Sobers/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Steven Gorman
MC: Billy Frost/George Colson
AM: Omarr Austin/Liam Harris
S: Carl Harris/Aaron Gibson

11 - Beeden plays a longball down the flank for Austin, whose cross to Gibson nets a score. My staff keeps telling me to drop the latter two players, but Austin simply outplays his rivals and Gibson has really stepped up whereas Folan is inconsistent. 1-0

50 - Folan steps in for Carl Harris

61 - Todd replaces mediocre Gorman

62 - Rare misplay by Sobers there. 1-1

88 - Magic cards go flying as I smash my keyboard into the desk. 1-2

Fucking pathetic way to waste a lot of great individual performances. I chew the shit out of the team in the locker room That was a golden fucking opportunity and we pissed it away.

Still, this isn't down to Emmanuel Mensah, who continues to be a fucking rock at DR, so I reward him with a new contract that triples his P/A money to $150, second highest on the squad.

@ Willand (1st)
G: Flo Gislette
D: David Lynn/Jerrome Sobers/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Steven Gorman
MC: Billy Frost/George Colson
AM: Omarr Austin/Liam Harris
S: Carl Harris/Aaron Gibson

At half time, Folan swaps for injured Gibson, Lynn shifts DC, and Burrows comes in at DL.

Their keeper had a 9.1, and he's a guy we tried to get here, but he told us where we could go. Just one of those games where there's no breaking down that forcefield.

We also lose Aaron Gibson for 2-3 weeks with a heel injury.

vs Hadley (FA Vase Second Qualifying Round)
G: Flo Gislette
D: David Lynn/Samuel Westray/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Steven Gorman
MC: Billy Frost/George Colson
AM: Omarr Austin/Liam Harris
S: Carl Harris/Andrew Folan

11 - Shitfuck defending. 0-1

57 - Sheppard for Carl Harris; Crane for Austin

64 - Mensah to Crane for the boomer to Sheppard down outside the left side of the box. Cross far side has the ball bouncing in the six yarder, and despite his injury, Folan walks it in. 1-1

Just some bad beats here, and no standout play anywhere. Andrew Folan is out for a week and a half, which probably means a single striker formation our next match.

@ Hengrove (Western League Les Phillips Cup Second Round)
G: Flo Gislette
D: David Lynn/Samuel Westray/Jerrome Sobers/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Will Todd
MC: Tom Rowbotham/George Colson
AM: Omarr Austin/Roy Horgan
S: Carl Harris

Burrows for Lynn at the break.

59 - Crane for Austin

We are absolute shit and this goes to overtime.

94 - Sheppard for Harris

This one goes to PKs. I'll skip the drama. We win 6-5 but I'm not at all happy about it. This was a shit team that we played so poorly against, we frankly should have lost. Tom Rowbotham does get PotM with a 7.5.

We're in a real slump form wise at the moment and struggling to get out of it. Our efforts to bring in talent upgrades keep getting blocked, and it feels like we're due to continue a bad run in league play until we can improve enough.

[Izulde]

vs Longwell Green (15th)
G: Flo Gislette
D: David Lynn/Samuel Westray/Jerrome Sobers/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Steven Gorman
MC: Mark Reynolds/Billy Frost
AM: Omarr Austin/Liam Harris
S: Carl Harris

24 - Gorman kicks back to Mensah for the power ball into the box. Liam Harris has a step on everyone and puts it past the keeper! 1-0

33 - Gorman and Frost keep exchanging passes until the latter feeds to Liam Harris in the box. The give to Carl Harris goes past, but charging Austin slots in the loose ball! 2-0

37 - That's the kind of power strike you just can't stop. 2-1

57 - Sheppard for Carl Harris, who has missed easy shots all game, and Westray goes out for Todd, changing us to a 3-2-2-3 formation with 2 DMs.

74 - Ugh. 2-2

We drop all the way to 5th on the back of that draw, and it's become clear Flo Gislette is not the answer in the nets.

Transfer In - AMR Laurie Berry (19)
Our new most expensive player at $170 p/a, but he has 19 Flair, 13 Acceleration, 10 Pace, 10 Stamina, and 12 Teamwork. Not a need area to upgrade by any means, but still an improvement over Liam Harris.

@ Hadley (FA Vase Second Qualifying Round Replay)
G: Flo Gislette
D: David Lynn/Samuel Westray/Jerrome Sobers/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Will Todd
MC: George Colson/Billy Frost
AM: Omarr Austin/Laurie Berry
S: Carl Harris

Highlight-less half. Burrows for Mensah and Crane for Austin at the break.

92 - Gibson for Harris, who continues to be lousy.

119 - Colson boots a long ball down the left flank to Gibson in the box. There's defenders all around him, so he crosses far post, where an exhausted Berry topples forward to drop a diving debut header goal in!!! 1-0

Lot of 7.3 and 7.4s, but the standout was Will Todd, winning PotM with an 8.7. He's really trying to force his way into a more regular feature. A paltry $1.34k for the win, but money is money.

@ Barnstaple (9th)G: Flo Gislette
D: Jon Beeden/Samuel Westray/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Jim Williams
MC: Mark Reynolds/Steven Gorman
AM: Omarr Austin/Liam Harris
S: Andrew Folan/Aaron Gibson

53 - Sheppard and Crane replace our strikers, who continue to stink it up out there.

Honestly, we were lucky to get a draw. They have an elite striker who should have destroyed us, but he was off target all day long.

Loan In - GK Keith Burton (19)
Will serve as a backup for now, but could challenge Flo Gislette for a starting spot if I feel like the Frenchman continues to stumble.

Transfer Out - AML/ML Connor Leek - N/C
Quickly dropped behind the curve and our former team captain was never going to break back in.

@ Cribbs (3rd)
D: David Lynn/Jerrome Sobers/Emmanuel Mensah
DM: Steven Gorman
MC: Billy Frost/George Colson
AM: Omarr Austin/Laurie Berry
S: Carl Harris/Aaron Gibson

7 - Poor defending by Sobers. Sigh. 0-1

31 - Frost fucked up. 0-2

38 - Yeah. 0-3

60 - Harris ends his drought. 1-3

78 - How fucking stupid. 1-4

Five straight league games without a win, and our season is falling apart fast.

Transfer Out - DL Jon Beeden (N/C)
Wanted more PT than he was getting.

Transfer Out - ST Andrew Folan (N/C)
Our Benedict Arnold was clearly overmatched at this level, so I'm not terribly sorry to see him go. Thanks for the promotion memories!

There's an amateur side I really want to go, but they don't have the money to pay for my release clause. I pitch a fit to the board and complain in the media, and though they're not happy to see me leave, they'll let me walk if I get a job offer.

vs Wincanton (16th)
G: Keith Burton
D: David Lynn/Samuel Westray/Jerrome Sobers/Curtis Burrows
DM: Steven Gorman
MC: George Colson/Billy Frost
AM: Omarr Austin/Liam Harris
S: Carl Harris

20 - Burrows throws into Gorman and gets it back, placing a perfect cross for Austin to hammer it in. 1-0

29 - Liam Harris kicks back to Burrows for the long, perfect in box pass to Carl Harris and the strike is sure. Morale was in the tank prior to this game, so this is a much-needed reversal. 2-0

35 - Sobers intercepts and gives to Frost, who booms the long ball into the box for Liam Harris. Cross to Carl Harris for the header! 3-0

[b]The entire team had 6.8 or higher, and only 3 were below 7.2/b]. Jerrome Sobers (7.9), George Colson (8.3), and PotM Carl Harris (8.8) were the three standout stars today.

We jump back into 5th on that win, and are still in striking distance of the title if we can start winning.

vs Pickering (FA Vase First Round)
G: Keith Burton
D: David Lynn/Samuel Westray/Jerrome Sobers/Curtis Burrows
DM: Will Todd
MC: George Colson/Billy Frost
AM: Gregg Crane/Laurie Berry
S: Carl Harris

43 - Berry is knocked out, so we go Asymmetrical with Gibson as a second striker.

Burrows moves to DL and Mensah in at DR at half.

We lose Laurie Berry for 2 months. Ouch. Not that I'll be here.

The new job offer comes the next day, and I accept it. It comes with a ton of pressure, compared to the relative easy expectations and support I had at Cheddar. But at least there's no typos in the team name here, and I'm finally coaching a team name I've wanted to manage for a very, very long time.

[Izulde]

Lindfield FC Swans
Amateur
Obscure Reputation
Bank Balance: ~$40k
Season Tickets: 14
1st place in Mid Sussex Premier with 24 points, but the 2nd place team is 1 point behind and has a game in hand.

10 matches played, 26 total.

Stadium: 1,000 capacity, owned by the local council.

Lindfield is a village of just over 5,800 people, renowned for its natural beauty as part of the High Weald, and the town itself has a lime-tree lined main street with stunning medieval buildings. The Swans have a beautiful logo and a cool team name.

There's also a B and C team that play further down the structure, but I'm not going to worry about them just yet. Oh, and Lindfield IV, so a lot of reserve squads.

This is Lindfield's first breakout season, the Swans having finished 12th and 10th the last few years. The board's expecting a league win, and we've already met our trophy expectations in their best year, so anything else is added bonus.

[b]@ Jarvis Brook II (Mid Sussex Senior Cup Second Round)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Marios Solomou/Jonah Gregory/Tony Stanley/Ronnie Brock
DM: Jake Robson
M: Ed Brinkhurst/Colin Pritchard/Marvin Downing (No ML)
S: Joel Purkiss/Tim Mitchel-King

There's a few players worth having here, but overall, not an impressive lot, and there's a ton of injuries to key dudes, and exhaustion galore on this squad.

5 - Mitchel-King's pass is intercepted by a tackle that sends the ball into the box. Downing, a loan player who is one of the better talents on the team, gets there first and hits the score. 1-0

55 - Darryl Ray in for Brock, Alan Peters for Solomou as we try to keep some energy levels up at least.

Stellar performances out of our midfield, highlighted by PotM Marvin Downing's 7.6. Alan Peters had a 7.0 off the bench. Man, I love being back in the Amateur leagues.

I'm also the only coach on staff after firing our assman, and I'm trying to get one that's at least slightly useful. Copthrone, who have a game in hand on us, win that game in hand, so they're now in 1st place.

Transfer In - ML/AML/Assistant Coach Chris Adam (36)
Fills our need for a left midfielder and is immediately the best player on the team, including being our new assistant manager into the bargain. Technically an exceptional player for this level, and his 13 Corners is the highest attribute I've had in this dynasty.

Transfer In - DL/WBL/ML Fraser Logan (34) (Scottish)
We continue to pull in the veterans and Logan, despite playing very well for Burgess Hill Rhinos, increasingly saw his PT cut. He's just one of a few players I'm hoping to bring on board.

Transfer In - DM/MC/AMC Mason Hirst (24)
I continue raiding my first club for players, and Hirst I'm hoping will be a long-term fixture. The Rhinos fanbase is pissed I poached him, but oh well. Shit happens. Massive talent infusions for sure.

Transfer In - MC/MR/AMR/AMC Peggy Lokando (29) (Congolese)
The third stolen player from the Rhinos, and the third straight huge upgrade in player quality. Unlike the others, I'm not quite sure exactly where I'll put him - he's got the versatility to play a lot of spots, however. Appeared in just 2 games this year.

Transfer In - ST Julian Owusu (29) (Ghanian)
Our strikers were awful the first game, so landing a veteran who has Ithsmian D1 quality is absolutely huge. I expect this fine striker to tear up the scoring charts as he's great in all areas for this level.

Transfer In - ML/MR/AML Orlando Joao (23) (Dutch)
Rhino #4, and a long-term solution along with Hirst. I absolutely loved this kid in Burgess Hill as a rotational guy, and although much like the rest, was unloved due to my successor bringing in his own dudes, the Dutchman gets a second chance as a Swan.

That's five signings showing up to the press conference - a record.

]vs Copthorne (1st)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Fraser Logan/Jonah Gregory/Josh Medlyn
DM: Connor Pritchard
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Marvin Downing
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

First true game of the Burr- err I mean the new Lindfield Swans. Copthorne actually come in favored to win this one.

Stanley replaces injured, yellow-carded Gregory at half.

65 - Owusu kicks back to Lokando for the perfect feed to Mitchel-King, whom I like because of his 11 Finishing. The kid sinks it for a debut goal in his first league game for this squad. 1-0

68 - Mitchel-King to Lokando, but his pass to Owusu in the box is tackled away. Luckily, a cutting in Joao slots away his own debut goal! 2-0

With that win, we obviously jump back into 1st place. Peggy Lokando is PotM with a 9.0 debut, Orlando Joao has an 8.3 one, rating matched by Neil Macgregor, who though stinking in ratings, has posted a 7.1 and 8.3 his first two games of my tenure. 7.5 for Tim Mitchel-King as well, as we dominate the second half thanks to my halftime speech, and come away with a key victory in our biggest match of the year.

It's all part of an 11 straight unbeaten record that dates back to my predecessor. There's still some upgrades I'd love to make, but there's no question we really turned it on in short order thanks to my raiding.

We do lose Jonah Gregory for 2 weeks, which is bad news bears.

[Young Drachma]

Up The Swans!

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Up The Swans!

I sure hope so! It helps having some of my Rhinos players back with me.

@ AFC Vardenians II (4th)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Fraser Logan/Tony Stanley/Josh Medlyn
DM: Jake Robson
M: Chris Adam/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Marvin Downing
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

30 - Medlyn intercepts a clearance and hits the ball forward. It's cleared, but Hirst is there for the head trap and follow it with a beautiful pass into the box just ahead of Owusu, who scores his first Swans goal! 1-0

54 - Solomou for Logan; Stanley up to DM and Brock in at DC.

63 - They've spent their three subs and now one of their players goes off with injury, putting them a man down the rest of the game.

69 - Stanley blasts a rocket down to Owusu, who traps the ball and gains control, then pops it into box space for Mitchel-King to have a 1 on 1 vs the keeper, which he converts! Game incorrectly calls it a debut score, and I noticed before the game that he has a 2(4) appearances, but whatever. 2-0

Strong performances all around, with Peggy Lokando (7.5), Mason Hirst (8.0), and Julian Owusu (PotM - 8.5) topping the 7.5+ charts. Score one for my using previous guys and uplifting the Swans.

It's been 459 minutes since Neil MacGregor has allowed a goal, so I'll keep sticking with him for the time being - though I do have my eye on a couple of other goalies.

We also set a team record with 6 consecutive wins.

Transfer In - DR/WBRL/MR Curtis Burrows (22)
Poaching from Cheddar as well, even if some people might think it a cheesy move. A solid rotation guy for us with the Cheesemen, he's an instant starter as a Swan, likely at DR.

Transfer In - DC Samuel Westray (24)
We steal another Cheeseman reserve, and Sammy had a 7.07 rating in his 7 appearances with me in Cheddar. Much like Burrows, he goes from rotation player to starting lineup lock - in his case at DC. Which would mean the entire backline of Logan/Westray/Burrows would all be guys who have played for me before. Cool cool cool.

@ Slinfold (Sussex Intermediate Cup Third Round)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Fraser Logan/Samuel Westray/Curtis Burrows
DM: Colin Pritchard
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Marvin Downing
S: Joel Purkiss/Tim Mitchel-King

3 - Had to happen eventually. 0-1

10 - No good, no good at all. 0-2

41 - Purkiss lays it down the left flank for Joao, who gets it just before it goes out of bounds. The ensuing near post cross is right to Mitchel-King for the buggy report score. 1-2

Solomou is in for the shitty Scot Logan at half.

47 - Giving up a hat trick = Burrows pulled for Brock. Ugh. 1-3

Had to happen sometime. At least it wasn't a league game.

vs AFC Ringmer (Mid Sussex Senior Cup Third Round)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Fraser Logan/Jonah Gregory/Josh Medlyn
DM: Jake Robson
M: Chris Adam/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

5 - Mitchel-King to Hirst to Owusu straight-line for the score. 1-0

43 - Assistant coach Adam is injured, and a tired Joao steps in for him.

52 - Ed Brinkhurst for Mitchel-King

58 - Double yellow for Robson. Great.

61 - You had to know that would happen. 1-1

We have several chances to win it in regulation, but Owusu just can't connect a second time, so to extra time we go.

94 - Burrows plays a beautiful ball forward to Brinkhurst, who dribbles and strikes his second goal of the season on a long strike! 2-1

101 - We're awarded an own goal, but it's disallowed. FUCK!

104 - Called it. 2-2

114 - A second own goal, but this one's not coming back! 3-2

Weird, weird game. Curtis Burrows was as brilliant at MR as he was awful at DR, netting an 8.9. Mason Hirst is PotM with his 9.0, and Ed Brinkhurst came up with the game-saving 8.3 sub showing.

Transfer In - DL/WBL Luke Rowe (27) (New Zealander)
World class better at DL than Fraser Logan or anyone else on the roster. Bit of a journeyman, and not a real standout in any one area, but here's to hoping his all-around game proves worth it.

Transfer In - DM/MC Ken Black (18)
A legit transfer with respectable attributes in key areas, and a massive upgrade in the DM department - as much as Rowe is at DL. Could conceivably play MC as well and move Peggy Lokando out to his more natural MR, but I'll hold off on that.

To be honest, I expected this kind of choppiness we've had the last couple of games. That's a lot of new players we're bringing in, and while some of them have played together before, quite a few have been at new positions, and it's a setup (3-1-4-2 DM Flat) I haven't utilized before.

[Izulde]

@ QK Southampton (11th)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Luke Rowe/Tony Stanley/Ronnie Brock
DM: Ken Black
M: Martin Allen/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Marvin Downing
S: Joel Purkiss/Tim Mitchel-King

13 - Rowe intercepts a de facto goal kick and longs it to Allen. The high, booming cross turns into a fluke goal! 1-0

24 - Hirst hits it to Allen on the wing, and this time the goalie pushes away the cross. Unfortunately, it leaves him out of position, and Downing is there first to drive in the long-range into the empty net. 2-0

34 - Lokando slams the diagonal free kick into the box, whereupon Purkiss, who stunk his first two games starting in my regime, is in front for his 4th goal of the year. 3-0

74 - Meh. Only one goal. 3-1

Stellar all around. Ken Black with a 7.9 in his debut, 8.4 for Marvin Downing, 9.0 for PotM Peggy Lokando, and 8.0 for Martin Allen.

Transfer In - DR/WBR Jake Newton (34) (Guyanese)
Keep on dipping into the international side of things. 22 international caps for Guyana, and the best mental attributes I've ever seen on a player in my LLM plays - his lowest in Mentals is an 8, and there's too many double-digits to count. Clearly on the downside of his career, and we'll probably need to replace him soon, but for now, a significant improvement at DR.

Transfer Out - DM/MC Jake Robson (Non-Contract)
A fan favorite, but never more than the third string after we brought in Ken Black. Sorry, Swans Nation, the kid just wasn't that good from my lights.

vs Fellbridge (14th)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

Halfway through the season now, and everyone is square at 13 games. We're up by a single point on second place, 6 points up on third, and a whopping 12 on 4th place. So really, this is a two horse race at the moment.

14 - Lokando gets a free kick just inside the semi-circle, and our Congolese star midfielder belts it home for his first ever Swans goal!!! 1-0

35 - Rowe throws the ball in the box to Owusu, who is nailed and awarded a PK. Ghana pride in effect as he powers the PK past the keeper! 2-0

52 - Brinkhurst in for Mitchel-King

57 - Black moves up to MC, replacing Hirst, who has been terrible. Pritchard comes in at DM.

77 - Cross by Burrows is cleared away, but he gets his own clearance and far post crosses to Brinkhurst, whose nifty back heel kick into the net results in a score, thanks to the bar. 3-0

All full-time starters except Neil MacGregor and Jake Newton were 7.1 or higher, the best of the best being Curtis Burrows with a 7.9, Orlando Joao with a stellar second half to get a 7.7, and PotM Peggy Lokando, who recorded his second straight 9.0. Goals are a thing, so Ed Brinkhurst grabbed a 7.0 off the bench.

Curiously enough, 108 people showed up for that game against a scrub team, setting an attendance record. Guess people are really loving Jestorball: the Soccer Edition. Even better, Copthorne had a 0-0 draw against the third place squad, which means we're a full 3 points clear.

@ Smallfield (8th)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

9 - Goalie clears it right at Lokando, who first touch pops it to Mitchel-King in the box. He turns around, the defense trying to catch up to no avail, as he slams it in to the debut bug. 1-0

41 - Drilled from behind in the box is Joao, and Owusu converts the PK with ease. 2-0

47 - Lokando's corner kick turns into a own goal for us just before half. That works! 3-0

68 - Lokando's indirect free kick is perfectly placed in the penalty box, and Joao surges forward for a Dutch delight. 4-0

77 - That's only one. 4-1

80 - Burrows moves down to DR and Downing comes in at MR.

All starters except Curtis Burrows had at least a 7.0, with 8+ guys being Samuel Westray (8.2), Peggy Lokando (third straight 9.0 showing), and PotM Orlando Joao (9.1).

Copthorne was behind, but salvaged a late draw to keep our expansion down to 5 points.

vs East Grinstead United (11th)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

32 - That's a questionable red card there, but we'll take it.

46 - Just before half, Newton throws in to Mitchel-King for the short pass to Burrows. The highball forward into the penalty box sees Owusu rise up and hammerhead it home! 1-0

49 - Ugh. Poor work by our defense getting back. 1-1

52 - Medlyn for Newton; Black to CM and Pritchard in at DM. I don't know what's wrong with Hirst the last couple games.

62 - Joao is hit with a penalty, and they convert. 1-2

81 - Westray's clearance is intercepted, but Pritchard, who has been a damn beast, gets yet another interception, and his high shot into the box is easy for Owusu to put away his second goal. 2-2

82 - @#%$Q%!%$!%!%$!%$!! 2-3

92 - Burrows' cross is cleared, but Joao has it outside the box and strikes in a gorgeous 25 yard bomb to salvage the draw with less than a minute to go. 3-3

We should have won this game, but our defense fucked us six ways to Sunday. And just like that, our lead is back down to 3 points with 10 games remaining.

[Izulde]

@ Portslade Athletic (11th)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

13 - Rowe intercepts a clearance and plays it high to Owusu for the in-box header. Mitchel-King is there and he puts it away, despite silly cries of offsides. 1-0

33 - Rowe throws into Black and gets it back for the pass to Mitchel-King. Our buggy striker kicks back to Hirst, and the ensuing feed is beautifully placed to box space. Owusu wins the foot race and puts it away with ease. 2-0

41 - Newton throw-in to Black, and it's a bad pass forward. Luckily, Newton muscles away the ball and hits the perfect cross to an untouched Joao for the score. 3-0

53 - Terrible covering by Rowe there. 3-1

64 - Own goal by MacGregor. We switch out the fullbacks - Logan at DL; Medlyn at DR. 3-2

73 - Fabulous 40 yard ball by Medlyn to Mitchel-King, who holds up play and lays off to Owusu. The kid gets the ball back, and it's Mitchel-King's second goal of the game after a dribble and diagonal shot! 4-2

Our backline continues to struggle, but Ken Black saved our defense with a 7.9, which Orlando Joao matched. 8.6 for Peggy Lokando, 8.7 for Tim Mitchel-King, 8.9 for Julian Owusu, and 9.0 for PotM Mason Hirst, bouncing back from two dreadful outings.

$2.44k profit and the board's very pleased with me. Oddly enough, they love the capture of Curtis Burrows as their highlight. That's not quite who I would have chosen, but it works.

vs Ashurst Wood (6th)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

48 - Ugh. Joao to MR; Logan in at ML; Brinkhurst at ST, replacing Mitchel-King. We've sucked shit this whole game. 0-1

65 - FML. 0-2

78 - The fans start leaving for the exits. I don't blame them one bit.

That ends our run of 17 straight league games without a loss, dating back to my predecessor. We're still 2 points up on 2nd, but we missed a golden opportunity to expand our lead after Copthorne drew at home vs one of the league's worst teams. Funny thing is, we didn't play *that*badly, outside of our strikers sucking hardcore. A lot of it was just them getting lucky and Neil MacGregor failing to stop shots that were easy blocks.

Problem is, we haven't been able to find a better keeper who is willing to come and play for us. We need to get one, though. Like, badly.

[Izulde]

Transfer In - GK Matt Pegler (26)
This guy is a major, major upgrade in the net, and for some unfathomable reason, was sitting out on the street as a free agent. Was great in the Southern League First Division South/West a couple of years ago, and gets a chance to restart his career with us.

Transfer In - GK Rob Peet (26)
Actually, scratch that. Peet is even more fantastic a talent, and will be our new netminder. His ratings haven't been all that great, career-wise, but he'll get a shot here to prove it's just been shit teams he's on and not him. If he doesn't work, Pegler will be there to replace him.

@ Phoenix United (5th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

17 - Newton plays a brilliant ball ahead of Joao, who dribble-straddles the box line until he crosses to Mitchel-King for the score. 1-0

29 - Westray makes the stop in our box and short passes to Black for the kickback to Peet. Our new goalie hits a boomer at midfield to Mitchel-King, who launches it all the way downfield to Owusu in the box. He holds up play until passing back to Hirst for the lateral to Lokando. Lay-in the box is just ahead of Mitchel-King for his second score of the contest. 2-0

56 - Pritchard replaces tired Hirst; Joao moves to MR and Logan comes in at ML.

65 - Stupid Rowe gets hit with the PK. 2-1

86 - ...Yeah, Peet is getting benched next game. 2-2

Pathetic. And with Copthorne losing, we could have gotten more than just a single point, and should have.

@ Copthorne (Montgomery Challenge Cup Quarterfinal
G: Matt Pegler
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

They really want to kick our butts here after losing to us in my second ever Swans game, which has thus far been the deciding factor in the league lead.

7 - Fuck. 0-1

17 - This. 0-2

39 - Fucking. 0-3

44 - Bullshit. 0-4

We lose 1-5. Whatever.

@ Burgess Hill Rhinos (Mid Sussex Senior Cup Fourth Round)
G: Rob Peet
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

My first team is unbeaten and destroying Division 3. We're expected to get absolutely crushed here.

50 - Whatever. Subs that don't matter. 0-1

68 - We suck. 0-2

74 - PK present that Lokando locks down. 1-2

92 - Just in case we thought we had a chance. 1-3

vs Burridge (10th)
G: Jake Newton
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Curtis Burrows
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Marvin Downing
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

Somehow a serious fucking bug just hit that only has 3 substitutes and rearranged everyone, putting Newton in goal.

We lose 1-2 and I'm seriously pissed and on the verge of quitting this dynasty.

[Izulde]

vs Cuckfield Rangers (4th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Marvin Downing
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

21 - I missed the replay, but Westray booted one down the left flank to Joao, who dribbles and slams in the diagonal shot. 1-0

49 - On the verge of getting subbed out, Mitchel-King gets a cross from Owusu preceded by a Hirst longball and he slams in the 1v1 to stay in. 2-0

66 - Oof. 2-1

70 - Logan for Rowe and Pritchard for Black

72 - Lokando has the indirect free kick and he lands it far side in the box, whereupon Hirst darts forth to sing home his first ever Swans goal! 3-1

This win came down to our midfield - PotM Peggy Lokando with an 8.2, Mason Hirst nabbing a 7.9, and Orlando Joao getting a 7.5. It also puts us 10 points ahead of the Rangers. We also break the Mid Sussex Premier season record for goals with 46.

@ Peacehaven United (8th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Jake Newton
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Marvin Downing
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

We've had a lengthy break and Copthorne drew their last game, temporarily putting us in 2nd, so we need points out of this one.

30 - Stupid Mitchel-King pushed the keeper, robbing us of a fluke Downing goal.

35 - Sigh. 0-1

We''re playing like shit. I scream at the team in the locker room.

51 - Lokando with the gorgeous 30 yard free kick goal! 1-1

56 - Logan for Joao; Pritchard for Hirst as both are playing horribly.

77 - UGH 1-2

80 - WTFE 1-3

I'm not at all impressed with our youth pulls so we don't sign any of them.

vs Framfield & Blackboys United (3rd)
G: Rob Peet
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Josh Medlyn
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

31 - Burrows chases down a cross-field cross and dribbles forth to send it to Mitchel-King for an important score. 1-0

51 - Lovely Lokando long pass finds Owusu, and our African connection results in a go-ahead goal. Feels like it's been a while since we've heard from our veteran striker. 2-0

82 - No fucking way Owusu was offsides. Such bullshit.

A dominating win as everyone bar the keeper was 7.0 or better, headlined by PotM Peggy Lokando's 8.7, an 8.3 for Curtis Burrows, and a 7.5 for Mason Hirst. If we could just develop some consistency...

The opposing manager, recently hired, takes the loss badly and says we were lucky. I tell him to go fuck himself.

Copthorne has set the division record for points in a season with 51 (we're right behind at 50), and Peggy Lokano breaks the Lindfield for PotM awards in a season.

3 games left and we need Copthorne to open the door for us so we can get in.

As it turns out...

But before that, we've been trying frantically to get better quality players in and failing. Everyone keeps snubbing us, so we'll likely ride with what we have unless there's a transfer deadline surprise.

We try hard but fail, and also lose a keeper I forgot was even on our roster.

@ Copthorne (1st)
G: Rob Peet
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Josh Medlyn
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

There may only be three games left, but for all intents and purposes, this is the Mid Sussex Premier title game right here. We're also heavy underdogs, which sounds about right.

61 - Brinkhurst for Owusu

81 - We're awarded a PK and Lokando converts!!!! Can we pull off the miracle?!?! 1-0

The only standout for us was also PotM and that's Samuel Westray, who was an absolute beast in the middle defense, racking up a 7.9. We're officially top of the table!!!

BTW our II and III teams got relegated from wherever they're playing. I don't care.

vs AFC Verdeanians II (11th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Josh Medlyn
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

We get a deceptively easy match, whilst Copthorne are away at Cuckfield Rangers.

25 - Mitchel-King is pressured by the defense, so he outlets to Burrows for the giveback and laterals to Owusu on the return, and that's a score! The DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love Again, indeed! 1-0

42 - Medlyn's been making a shit ton of mistakes, but he takes the ball away on this one, kickstarting a move that caps with Owusu overshooting Joao on the pass. Luckily the Dutchman picks up the pass and flies it in to Mitchel-King, whose shot splits the defenders, and I hope like fuck the debut goal bug goes away next season. Bee Tee Dubs, Copthorne fell behind 0-1, but equalized right away so it's 1-1 there. 2-0

74 - We've been playing defensively the whole second half, and put in a couple fresh subs with Pritchard for Hirst and Logan for Rowe.

75 - Hey, look! Logan with the throw-in, and he's the one who eventually gets the backpass from Black and pops it to Owusu just in the box. The long strike sneaks in the corner of the net, and we've got this on lockdown. 3-0

They should have scored late, but didn't. Brilliant all around game, with the best Ken Black of 7.5, my favorite Peggy Lokando with 7.8, and a rare matching 9.0s for Julian Owusu and Tim Mitchel-King, the Ghanian naturally edging out because of the second goal.

Copthorne could only draw, so we're the Mid Sussex Premier Division champions!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elsewhere, Cheddar is currently 3rd with 3 games to play and look like they'll once again fall short of the championship, and Burgess Hills Rhinos long ago locked up the Mid Sussex Division Three title.

[Young Drachma]

LOL at Cuckfield

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

LOL at Cuckfield

Yeah, and there's at least two Cuckfield teams. I get a chuckle out of them every time.

Copthorne wins its third Montgomery Challenge Cup in four seasons. Impressive work by them for sure. They set a ton of records in doing so.

Burgess Hill Rhinos continue smashing everyone with my successor's guys, but I'm the one who made them prestigious enough to steamroll all comers.

@ Felbridge (12th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Josh Medlyn
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

39 - Mitchel-King dribbles to just outside the box, but his cross to Owusu is intercepted via header. No problem, as Mitchel-King keeps running, gets the loose ball, and pops the shot over the head of the keeper. 1-0

48 - Pritchard goes in for yellow card Black

59 - Just one of those unstoppable shots. 1-1

80 - Logan for Joao

We were a bit unlucky here, but that's the way it goes sometimes.



I'll be honest - I'm not excited about any of our defenders or goalies. Rob Peet will continue to be the main man in net for now, but we're really looking for upgrades here as soon as possible. Finding better talent evaluators would be a huge help.



Our strength was definitely in the midfield - Peggy Lokando was our real MVP and I still quite like Orlando Joao and Mason Hirst. Finding another MC to allow Lokando to shift to MR would make this even more powerful. Ken Black at DM was phenomenal too, and he's still just 18.



Don't buy the hype on either of our strikers - Julian Owusu is very inconsistent, and Tim Mitchel-King, despite his production, simply isn't that talented. I would call this an even bigger upgrade need area than our backline setup.

Really, I like this team less than any other championship squad I've put together. If our midfield wasn't on point, we had no shot at winning a given game, and if we went in with this roster next season at the Southern Combination Football League Division Two, we'd get clobbered on a regular basis.

Fortunately, there's an elite scout on the market that we quickly snap up. We also fire our Head of Youth Development after that shit pull, and upgrade our physio department.

Club Value: $70k
Average Ticket Price: $8
Average Season Ticket Price: $113
Season Ticket Holders: 14
Bank Balance: $49.8k
Profit: ~$19.3k

As expected, Peggy Lokando runs away with the Fan Player of the Year vote - 78% to Mason Hirst 12% and Tim Mitchel-King's 8%. The team of the year is dumb, so I won't post it.

Naturally my name is a hot commodity on the market, but I'm not moving. Chelmsford City just can't keep a manager. Poor Clarets.

But not as poor as this team!



I didn't know women could be hired as head coaches in this game.

Burgess Hill Rhinos won all five of their competitions this year - a stellar quintiple.

Transfer In - ST Jon Joyce (19)
Exceptional Finishing (13) and a number of 10s in the Mental attributes. Weak physically, but the first truly good striker we've had in Swans green, and one who has upside to boot. I mean, Julian Owusu is probably more talented overall, but that damn lack of consistency. Got released by Southend after never appearing in a game for them. I'm insanely excited by this former League 1 prospect.

Transfer In - DL/WBL Joe Hopewell (25)
Once upon a time, Joe was a Stoke product from the Premier League. Since then, he's bounced around a lot of different places, never finding a home for more than two seasons. He's not world class or anything, though I do like his mentals, and for now he's an upgrade over Luke Rowe.

Transfer In - MC/MR Michael Monaghan (24)
See Hopewell for a description of Monaghan's talents, though the latter does have some underrated technical abilities as well. He'll go in as the MC. Was lousy as a 1D player for a few clubs, but dropping down in levels should help him immensely. Plus, he has upside to grow into.

And then this happens:



I applied partly as a joke, partly to see if I could steal some young talent for my Swans. I also applied to Mexico's U23s and got auto-rejected, but Jurgen evidently thinks I'm the right man for the Stars and Stripes prospects.

The question is, do I *really* want to take it? I've never done any international management before, and I'm leery of the workload that's involved. But I'm also kind of intrigued...

[Izulde]

You know what? Fuck it. INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT, BABY!

Only no one will sign on to be part of my staff. Bah. Oh well. This may be a short foray.

Transfer In - DLCR Ryan Docherty (17) (From Rugby)
Southern Premier prospect who is raw as hell, but his three position versatility will give him a role as a sub, and maybe he can grow into a starting role. My Chief Scout thinks he can be okay - my assman thinks he could be amazing. Was awful in four appearances (5.93 rating! :o), but we'll see how he goes.

After upgrading our coaching staff, we're now 1.5* in the goalkeeper categories and 2* everywhere else, bar Fitness, where we're 2.5* in both categories thanks to my assman upgrade.

Loan In - ST Andrew Quinn (19) (From Dorchester)
An absolute beast of a physical specimen, loaded with 11s and 12s there. Double digit Anticipation, Leadership, and Teamwork. I'll give him a starting crack in friendlies to see how he does.

4-4-2 and 4-1-2-3 DM Narrow are the recommended formations by my staff in preseason. I'm just like uhh... we kind of need more quality DCs first before we can do that.

Transfer Out - AML Martin Allen (19)
Don't think I played him at all.

Loan In - DC Tom Howe (17) (From Staines)
On paper, the best player on the team, or close to it. The upgrade from him to Samuel Westray is just ridiculous. Easily our biggest pickup of the offseason from a pure talent standpoint. I'd love to sign him long-term if I can, though he initially has no interest in being a Swan permanently.

Transfer Out - DLR/WBLR Shane Brathewaite (18) - $4.3k
Wow! They must see something in him that I don't, because he looks like pure trash to me. Good luck with that, Burnham!

...I hate friendly season. I wish there was a way to just skip past all those irrelevant games.

[Izulde]

We're 1-3 favorites to promote from Southern Combination Football League Division Two

The rest:
Sidley: 5-4
Lavant: 2-1
Winchester Castle: 20-1

It's a 16 team league, and the top two go up to Division One.

Joe Hopewell and Rob Peet are named Captain and Vice-Captain for this year's edition of the Swans.

Julian Owusu and Rob Peet get the highlight in the preview blurb. I'm still not thrilled about our DR situation, however.

vs Winchester Castle
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Julian Owusu/Jon Joyce

We won all but one of our friendly games - a stinker of our second straight try of a flat 4-4-2. Ryan Docherty showed enough in the exhibition season to win a starting spot for now - Andrew Quinn didn't. Thus far, I'm quietly excited about how the new guys look, especially Michael Monaghan and Jon Joyce.

26 - Lokando's free kick is perfectly dropped in the box for Black of all people to run forward and crack a gorgeous shot. But it cracks off the woodwork! Happily, Black charges and pots his own rebound in the open net for his first ever Swans score! 1-0

28 - Hopewell is first to a clearance and starts a move that sees him take part in more passes, but this caps off with a Hirst to Monaghan lateral for a first touch wing to Lokando. Then the beautiful, high cross far post to Joao, and the flying Dutchman puts it past the caught out keeper. 2-0

48 - Howe just saved a certain goal there. Whew!

67 - Black moves up to MC, replacing Hirst, and Pritchard comes in at DM. Logan jogs in for Hopewell.

Ken Black wins PotM with an 8.0, Orlando Joao recorded a 7.8, and Peggy Lokando continues to defy my staff's hate with a 7.5. Everyone played well with the exception of Jon Joyce (6.4), who was being hassled by their star DR all game long.

Good start to the new season and new league.

[Izulde]

Transfer In - ST Joe Grommett (22)
Not spectacular in any one area, but solid heading and all-around mental and physical attributes. A perfect Target Man who will replace Julian Owusu in the starting lineup to finally get someone who isn't inconsistent up front.

@ Balcombe (8th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Joe Grommett/Jon Joyce

51 - Lokando hits the corner to Black for the kick in. I'm pleased at this sudden surge of scoring from our DM. Out goes Docherty for Burrows, who can't play any worse this game. 1-0

52 - Quinn for Grommett

80 - Can't do much about those 25 yard moonshots. Monahagan did miss an interception, though. 1-1

82 - And there goes Monaghan out with injury. Pritchard comes in, he and Hirst switching spots.

That was just pure bad luck on our part. A game we should have been able to win. Worse yet, we're without Michael Monahgan for 4 weeks. That's rough, as he's played really well in his first few games for us, missed interception notwithstanding (still finished with a 7.3).

vs Sidley (1st)
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Joe Grommett/Jon Joyce

58 - Quinn and Logan replace Joyce and Joao respectively. Both teams have had their opportunities, but neither one has been able to convert in this key early season matchup.

76 - We're awarded a PK and Logan powers in his first ever Swans goal!!!! 1-0

Every full-time starter except Joe Grommett (6.2) had at least a 7.1! That includes a 7.2 by Rob Peet. PotM goes to Peggy Lokando with a 7.7, though Mason Hirst had a 7.5 as well. We're still looking for our first striker goal on the year.

@ Slidesham (7th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Joe Grommett/Jon Joyce

1 - Amazing work by Peet in stopping an opening 1v1

26 - Lokando kicks the corner, and it finds Burrows for the long-range header and first ever Swans goal. We've been saying that a lot lately, as the strikers are still silent on the scoresheet. 1-0

38 - Lokando on the corner again. Howe's shot is blocked, but the deflection results in an own goal. We'll take it. 2-0

54 - Docherty and Hopewell are putting in major work restarting moves after they clear the ball, but it's Joao who has the final interception, long-balling it to Grommett in the box. It takes him a bit to trap it, but when he does and gets control, our newest striker slides a shot behind the keeper to *finally* give us a striker score this season! 3-0

73 - Pritchard for Hirst; Logan for Joao as we sit our yellow carded players.

For the second straight game, every full-time except one (Ryan Docherty with a 6.9) had a 7.1 or higher. That includes a masterful 7.5 from Rob Peet, 7.8 from Tom Howe, 7.7 from Curtis Burrows, and a PotM-winning 8.1 by Peggy Lokando.

That resounding victory vaults us into 2nd place, and the promotion spot. Really pleased with how this team is doing overall. Rebuilding the backline has paid off huge dividends in the early going, and our midfield is as strong as ever. I'm confident the strikers will come around in time as well.

[Brian Swartz]

Aren't you just the unstoppable machine. A couple more promotions and the real fun will begin.

[Izulde]

Well, shit. Mason Hirst gets a double hernia and is out for 3 months! That's really going to set us back, as I consider him one of our best players, even if my staff doesn't agree.

Transfer Out - DL/ML Fraser Logan - $2.5k
Not a surprise, and it's a blow to our depth, but at 35, the Scotsman was on the downside of his career. So it's probably best for all involved that he moves on and gets some money.

@ Roffey (14th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Colin Pritchard/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Joe Grommett/Jon Joyce

15 - We're awarded a questionable PK in a scrum. Lokando slots it upper left corner with ease. 1-0

18 - Docherty throws in to Joyce on the right wing and gets it back. He highballs it to Grommett between two defenders who don't challenge him, despite it taking a while for our striker to control the ball. It costs Roffey, as he puts away the goal off the keeper! 2-0

24 - The post saves us there.

31 - Bad knock for Lokando, but he'll play through it. Our midfield has been hammered by injuries early in the year.

43 - Rare bad defending there. 2-1

At half, Pritchard drops to DM and Brinkhurst comes in at MC because Black has a yellow and has been playing poorly.

57 - Lokando starts dropping, so we switch to a 4-1-3-2 DM, with Solomou in at DC alongside Howe and Brinkhurst as the lone MC.

87 - They should have scored there. Got unfairly robbed by the post.

88 - Docherty launches a cross-pitch ball. It's intercepted and headed back towards the keeper, but Joyce is there to score his first Swans goal on a 1v1! Couldn't have happened at a better time. 3-1

Tom Howe and Jon Joyce carried the team on its back with matching 7.7s, the latter's game-clinching score the PotM decider. We didn't play all that well in this one, but it was good enough to win.

The win moves us up into 1st place, yay! Now for the bad news: Peggy Lokando is out 2-3 weeks. Hopefully that's only a match or two.

Backup keeper Matt Pegler is out 6-7 weeks, and third string goalie Neil MacGregor is out 2 weeks. Good news is Michael Monaghan is back in time for our next match.

vs Steyning (10th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Colin Pritchard/Michael Monaghan/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

So Quinn's manager bitches about his being in a rotation system. To shut him up, I'll make Quinn a starter, much as I prefer Grommett at the moment.

7 - Sequence begins with Black free kick, and at the end, he gets it from Monaghan and hits a rocket in front of Quinn, who nails the tough shot for his first goal for us. Okay, point taken, manager. 1-0

17 - That didn't like a own goal from Joao's shot on the pass from Monaghan, but whatever. We'll take it. 2-0

45 - Quinn doesn't like the look in the box, so he sprays all the way back to Hopewell who launches a total fluke goal from halfway between midfield and the net. We'll take it! 3-0

47 - That's just shoddy defending there right before half. 3-1

50 - Rough game for Pope of the opposition. Credited with the own goal, and now he's nailed for a PK that Joao converts on a misdirection, totally fooling the keeper. 4-1

70 - Monaghan is asking for a sub, so Brinkhurst comes in.

78 - Now Pritchard wants a break, so Solomou comes in for our switch to a 4-1-3-2 DM.

Another dominating performance - only Rob Peet and Ryan Docherty (6.8) had less than a 7.1 among the full-time starters, and even the subbed guys - Michael Monaghan (7.7) and Colum Pritchard (7.5) were brilliant. 7.9 for Joe Hopewell, 8.7 for PotM Ken Black, and 7.6 and 7.9 for Jon Joyce and Andrew Quinn up front. Oh, and 8.2 for Orlando Joao.

I'm asked to select the USA U23s squad! This is an important duty that I need to take seriously. And it's scary. Finally something I can do for international management.

...THERE'S ONLY 7 PLAYERS I CAN CALL UP?! WHAT.THE.FUCK?! "At least 19 players must be selected."

The only way to resolve this is to go on Holiday for a day. Sorry, but I have a match today. So I quit on the spot.

vs Rotherfield (10th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Colin Pritchard/Michael Monaghan/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

Hello, managed team in another universe!

43 - That looked offsides. 0-1

We're playing like shit and the defense winces when I scream at them.

56 - A lot of passing around until Pritchard lays off to Joyce for the pass to the isolated Joao, and the Dutchman's fierce strike sings home. 1-1

63 - Pritchard short passes to Joao and the long, whistling centering pass into the box finds Joyce for the simple 1 on 1 score. Subs come - Gromett for Quinn and Joao flipped MR, Burrows out, and Solomou in at ML. 2-1

8.1 for Jon Joyce, 8.3 for PotM Orlando Joao, and 7.9 for Ken Black, as we roar back from a terrible first half to secure a win and expand our lead to 4 points.

My name comes up in a vacancy that intrigues me. Things are going really well here, but I could change birds. Then again, they have a $120k loan debt they're paying off, and I like their old logo that's in game a lot better than their current, real-life one. Just stick with this one, self.

Tough decisions up next, as we have a league match and a cup game close together.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

Aren't you just the unstoppable machine. A couple more promotions and the real fun will begin.

I'm just going to enjoy this while it lasts. I'm sure I'll be swearing and smashing my keyboard soon enough. Interesting side note: Cheddar thus far appears to be doing their usual thing - upper echelon team, yet still can't break through. Burgess Hills Rhinos are again demolishing inferior opponents and I expect them to continue chasing us over the years. The first season success I had with them gave them the prestige to go out and get players far more elite than expected. My successor is also an absolute wizard at coaching defending.

[Izulde]

@ Lancing United (7th)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Alan Peters/Samuel Westray/Josh Medlyn
DM: Colin Pritchard
M: Marios Solomou/Tony Stanley/Ed Brinkhurst/Curtis Burrows
S: Julian Owusu/Tim Mitchel-King

We're going with a B lineup for this one as much as possible, to save our guys for the cup game.

5 - Even the announcers called this an obvious penalty, and Owusu converts with confidence for his first goal of the season. 1-0

24 - Bullshit penalty called on Pritchard there. 1-1

31 - Stanley wings out to Burrows for a great ball down in the box to Mitchel-King. Short dribble before the fan favorite hits a perfect ground center to Owusu for his second score of the game! 2-1

39 - Putrid defending. 2-2

41 - An own goal by Westray. Of course. 2-3

62 - Owusu shags a longball and then sends it back to Solomou for a gorgeous moon pass to just barely onsides Mitchel-King for the easy score. No debut bug anymore, so that's good. 3-3

72 - No stopping that kind of rocket. 3-4

A throwaway game was expected, and it only cost us a point. I'm somewhat okay with it.

vs Wivelsfield Green Pilgrims (Sussex Intermediate Cup Second Round)G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

16 - Lokando mails it to Joao on the left wing, and the Dutchman's boomer ball finds Quinn in the box. Our loanee dribbles in and kicks it behind the keeper for the score! 1-0

36 - Quinn has to chase down a bad cross from Joyce and is under a double-team pressure when he sends back in the box to Lokando. The shot's deflected, but Joyce is there to put it away. 2-0

76 - Whoever wants a sub first gets it, and it's Solomou for Joao and Gromett (it's one M, not two) for Joyce, with the strikers switching sides due to role fit.

8.3 each for Peggy Lokando and Andrew Quinn, the 30 year old Congolese midfielder picking up his umpteenth PotM award under my leadership. The bad news is, Ryan Docherty gets a yellow cards limit and will miss our next game.

It's even worse because we've convinced Jake Newton to retire and take on a role as a scout with us, giving us knowledge of Guyanese players. There's a striker I'm hot on, but the board rejects my request to pay for the guy.

@ Lavant (4th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Tony Stanley
DM: Ken Black
M: Orlando Joao/Colin Pritchard/Michael Monaghan/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

21 - No challenge at all from our defenders there. 0-1

35 - Counter move capping in Quinn lateraling to Monaghan in the half-circle. Feed to Joyce for long-range in box shot, and it slides past the keeper's outstretched hands. 1-1

46 - Two gorgeous interceptions by Hopewell on this drive, the latter resulting in a pass to injured but still playing Joao. He sends it in the box to Joyce for his second near box boundary goal of the game! 2-1

74 - After some awful mistakes, including one that should have been a sitter for them, I pull Hopewell for Solomou

77 - Really, this was everyone's fault for not clearing, but Black misses the easy interception and gets blamed for the score. 2-2

Frustrating draw. We dominated them and could only get a tie. Fortunately, it's a very even year for the league, so we still maintain a 3 point advantage. Easily Rob Peet's worst game in a long time.

Transfer Out - DM Ken Black - $11k
Bastard. Okay, not really. We had to know this was coming - screwup last game aside, he was an elite player for us - 7.39 rating this season and 7.19 last year. It may mean a change in a formation, as only Colin Pritchard isn't terrible at the DM spot, and our efforts at landing more talent at the position have fallen through.

This really sucks. Part of life as an amateur side unfortunately. Don't really feel like paging through everyone to find a replacement at the moment. Losing a 19 year old budding star just stinks.

[Young Drachma]

Congrats on the U23 nod. You really are movin' on up.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Congrats on the U23 nod. You really are movin' on up.

Thanks. Unfortunately it didn't last due to the game bug. I'll try it again with senior teams.

vs Mountfield United (6th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Colin Pritchard
M: Marios Solomou/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

Without Ken Black, we go from the usual blowout prediction to betting underdogs and media expert "should be enough to see off Mountfield United". Talk about a huge step down.

1 - 43 seconds after game start, Lokando's corner hits Howe's head for the central defender's first ever Swans goal! 1-0

31 - Monaghan intercepts and quick backpasses to Pritchard for the longball. Defender misses the header, and Joyce takes it, dribbles just inside the box, and fires the range scorcher he's so damn good at! 2-0

36 - That looked offsides to me, but what do I know? 2-1

55 - Hopewell is knocked, and it's too tight a game to risk it, so Rowe jumps in.

58 - Stanley in for Docherty, who is having a super bad game.

80 - Monaghan sends it up to Quinn for the first time flare out to Burrows. Scorcher of a full-pitch cross follows, and a charging Solomou rams in his first goal of the year. 3-1

84 - Our fullbacks and Peet have been terrible all game. 3-2

Bailed out on this one by Tom Howe (8.0), Peggy Lokando (8.1), Jon Joyce (8.3), and Colin Pritchard (7.5).

We're without Joe Hopewell for 5-6 weeks, continuing a really bad rash of injuries this year. It doubly hurts because he's our team captain.

Transfer In - DL/WBL Darren Ebsworth (29)
A solid veteran who has no real weaknesses technically and is a real standout mentally (11 Bravery, 14 Determination, 12 Teamwork). 11 Long Throws, too. Unfortunately, he's banned for the next match due to yellow card accumulation dating back to last season, as Fleet let him go after two seasons of solid play for the D1 side.

@ Mile Oak (16th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Luke Rowe/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Colin Pritchard
M: Marios Solomou/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

11 - It's been all them all game so far, and there was no stopping this heater. 0-1

18 - Docherty lays it up to Burrows, who, with a defender in his face, makes a perfect center cross to Joyce for the equalizer. 1-1

32 - Lokando receives the center pass from Joyce and laterals to Monaghan. The delivery to Quinn in the box has the defense screaming offsides, but the shot is sure. 2-1

38 - I don't understand how Docherty has a 6.3. In the highlights, he's been making goal-saving tackle after goal-saving tackle. I also don't understand how Mile Oak is only 16th, because their long range shooting is deadly AF. 2-2

49 - Lokando connects with Howe's head on the corner and it's in! Rowe moves up to ML, Docherty over to DL, and Medlyn comes in at DR. We'll also give Ronnie Brock a spell at DC, because our whole backline has been bad thus far. 3-2

58 - Lokando has the free kick just outside the box and shorts it to Medlyn. On the giveback, Lokando is pressured by two defenders, but then one sees an open man and drifts off. That gives our Congolese midfielder the seam to pass to Joyce for the 25 yard Howitzer in the net! It's definitely been a long-range game this afternoon. 4-2

90 - A collision sends Brock off with injury, and Stanley comes in for him.

Matching 9.0s from Peggy Lokando and Jon Joyce, the Congolese getting the PotM award. Also a 7.5 from Colin Pritchard. This was a much tougher battle than I expected.

Ronnie Brock dislocated his jaw and will be out a month. So many injuries!

In other news, Jake Newton gets an offer to be the manager of the Headington A's. I wish him the best of luck, as he didn't dig up any gems for us. His new team is a semipro outfit in last place in their league, with just 3 points (no relegation, however). They're so bad, they're 4 points behind the second to last place squad.

I browse through the job listings and am very tempted by a semipro club with an AWESOME team name, but they own their own stadium, which I'm meh about. I'd rather be somewhere that needs to build a stadium of their own, so nevermind.

Then again, there's zero pressure at that job - just keep clear of the drop and rebuild the team's horrible finances. On the other hand, I want to be on the water somewhere. The new town doesn't offer that, and Lindfield at least has a stream and great natural beauty.

And that's when I spy a team I can't resist, in one of my favorite English cities.

vs Northbrook (13th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Darren Ebsworth/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Colin Pritchard
M: Orlando Joao/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

27 - Thanks for the own goal! 1-0

At half, we switch to a 4-4-2 flat, as Pritchard is tired. Docherty slides inside to be the second DC, and Medlyn slots in at DR. Stanley comes in at MC and Lokando, who is having his worst game as a Swan, and with a yellow beside, sits. Monaghan shifts over to the advanced playmaker role.

84 - It's a highlight-less half until the 81st minute, and both it and this one are Northbrook-centric. There's no excuse for them failing to score here.

90 - Stanley plays it out a little too long to Quinn on the left wing, and he has to chase it down prior to centering to Joyce in the box. It's a first touch layoff to Joao for the game-clinching goal! 2-0

Orlando Joao wins PotM with a 7.7 in a game we frankly should have lost, and the strikers are stressed out when I calmly take the team to task.

Transfer Out - DM/DC/MC Colin Pritchard - $4.3k
And with that, our DM setup is done. The 17 year old is willing to come back on loan, but he just couldn't pass up the opportunity to make actual money. Not that I blame him - he's performed well after Ken Black also ditched us for the money.

@ Lavant (Southern Combination Football League Division 2 Challenge Cup First Round)
G: Rob Peet
D: Darren Ebsworth/Ryan Docherty/Tom Howe/Josh Medlyn
M: Marios Solomou/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

Hate having to go with the flat 4-4-2. It's the most boring formation ever.

It's a quiet first half, and at the break, Westray comes in for Docherty, Gromett for Joyce with a switch in strikers. We're really tired, because we've been hammered with a ton of games on short rest.

57 - Howe makes a heroic interception and blasts it down the pitch to Joao for the dribble and center to Quinn. Sizzling strike is sizzling! 1-0

71 - Gromett lays it to Quinn in the box. Shot's deflected and it bounces off the defender into open space. Our loanee grabs his own rebound and sinks his second score of the match! 2-0

73 - That should have been an own goal on Westray. Absolute shit. 2-1

87 - Masterful keeping by Peet there, stopping three shots in a row.

92 - ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! YOU GUYS HAD ONE FUCKING JOB!!! 2-2

100 - WHERE'S THE PK CALL ON THAT BULLSHIT?!

Home cooking by the refs sends us to penalties.

Lokando makes the first one with ease! 1-0
Their very first kicker has his shot blocked by Peet!
Gromett gets a *very* lucky bounce. 2-0
No stopping that one. 2-1
Burrows has been shit the whole game, but he comes up when it's needed most! 3-1
Mistake-free shot there. 3-2
Ebsworth was also ass, but comes through here! 4-2
Seriously, Peet? At least TRY to stop it! 4-3
Finally, Monaghan, one of my favorite signings this offseason, seals the deal! 5-3

This was all about Andrew Quinn' second half monster two goals for an 8.8 PotM game. I'm starting to not like Rob Peet again - he's inconsistent AF.

The potential new team in my favorite English city offers a compensation budget, but none of my staff want to move with me.

The offer comes in - we negotiate to $8k for the rest of the season. On the one hand, I'm tempted to take it. A city I've been to IRL and loved, and there's a chance to really grow the fanbase. I'm also not happy with the work I'll have to put in now that our DMs have been stolen.

On the other hand, I'm building something here at Lindfield, and the village is pretty and tranquil. Also, every time I'm moved up ever in an FM dynasty, I've lived to regret it.

I honestly don't know what to do.

[Izulde]

In the end, I decided to stay with the Swans. Need to finish a project I start for once.

@ Steyning (Mid Sussex Senior Cup Second Round)
G: Rob Peet
D: Darren Ebsworth/Ryan Docherty/Tom Howe/Josh Medlyn
M: Orlando Joao/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

29 - I screwed up and started three guys with suboptimal energy. Works out okay here, as Quinn lays off to Monaghan for the feed to just ahead Joyce in the box and the easy score. 1-0

44 - Lokando to Joyce and the ball is delivered to Quinn in the box, and he's absolutely wrecked. Should have been a PK. Ball squirts loose, and Joao, one of the suboptimal guys, rushes forward to put away the ball! 2-0

At the break, Stanley goes in for Medlyn; Solomou for Joao, as both guys wanted subs before halftime.

Solid all around performance and no highlights in the second half, as both teams were exhausted. Michael Monaghan wins PotM with an 8.1, Peggy Lokando not far behind with a 7.9.

vs Sompting (2nd)
G: Rob Peet
D: Marios Solomou/Ryan Docherty/Samuel Westray/Tony Stanley
M: Orlando Joao/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Andrew Quinn/Jon Joyce

No matter what happens this game, we'll still be on top thanks to our 5 point lead, and we have a 6 point lead on 3rd place going in. We've played well enough that we've built that strong a buffer.

6 - Stunning ball by Lokando down to Joyce just outside the box. Our alliterative striker cuts a pass into Burrows in the box. Rare shot is deflected, but Quinn quickly taps in the rebound! 1-0

21 - Yeah, nothing to do there. 1-1

38 - More missed time for Joao, who goes off with injury. Up to ML is Solomou, Ebsworth coming in at DL off the bench.

48 - Seconds before half, they're lined up in a free kick and I'm swearing, but then Docherty rises up to clear the ball away. Solomou catches it and plays a sparkling longball for Quinn, who kicks the ball far ahead of him as he runs down the pitch. Nobody challenges him as he fires in a diagonal to take the lead just before the whistle blows! 2-1

Actual 48 - Howe was supposed to get the game off, but Westray is just too putrid out there.

59 - When you put three defenders on Lokando, you're going to have a bad time. The Congolese outlets back to Monaghan for the pass into the box to all alone Joyce. That gives him time to set up his shot and give us the vital insurance goal - his 10th of the year. 3-1

All four of our game-ending midfielders and strikers were at 7.8 or better! The backline really rebounded from a bad first half as well. PotM is to Andrew Quinn and his 8.8 with 2 goals. I'm glad his manager yelled at me to start him. He does have a ways to go yet, and lacks consistency, but I definitely see a rising star in our loanee.

8 point margin now, and all three teams below us have 24 points to our 32. Tightly packed for that second promotion spot after what's been dominating for us thus far (knocks on wood).

Bad news is, we lose Orlando Joao for 2 months. Good news is, Marios Solomou, one of the youth players I inherited, has been improving rapidly, and will fill in fine.

Transfer In - DM/MC Ellis Parker (18)
MK Dons (League 1) product whose only action has been 4 appearances with Cogenhoe (a flight under D1) last season as a loanee. Stellar player for this position and level, including 12 Flair, 18 Teamwork, 13 Work Rate, 13 Acceleration, 10 Agility, 10 Pace, 12 Stamina, and 8 Strength. Oh, and 13 Natural Fitness. Technical game needs polishing and his jumping and balance (4) are both abysmal, but he's already one of the best players on the team - the quickest and the best endurance. Thrilled to land him. I see a real star here, like Ken Black was.

@ Willingdon Athletic (11th)
G: Matt Pegler
D: Luke Rowe/Samuel Westray/Josh Medlyn
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Marios Solomou/Tony Stanley/Mason Hirst/Curtis Burrows
S: Joe Gromett/Julian Owusu

We have a cup game in a few days and an 8 point lead in league, so I'm perfectly willing to throw away a game with second string guys and a just back from injury Mason Hirst.

30 - Yeah. 0-1

Come halftime, we're playing like hot garbage and look exactly like out of the shape bunch we are. I yell at everyone anyway.

65 - Hirst lays out to Burrows, who crosses expertly past the rushing out keeper to Gromett for the score. 1-1

We really should have won this one, surprising as it sounds. Julian Owusu had a wide open shot earlier in the second half and shanked it. Still, I'll take the point on the road against a mid-tier team with this lineup. We're still 6 points and goal differential ahead of 2nd place, even.

@ Jarvis Brook (Sussex Intermediate Cup Third Round)
G: Rob Peet
D: Darren Ebsworth/Samuel Westray/Tom Rowe/Ryan Docherty
M: Marios Solomou/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Jon Joyce/Andrew Quinn

Rest off really helped our guys, though we're playing such a packed schedule, it's hard to get people to 100%, even with a match off.

67 - Two quick yellows in the second half for Ebsworth. We switch Docherty to DL and bring in Medlyn at DR, Brinkhurst replacing exhausted Burrows at MR.

We fend them off and it goes to extra time, where we keep holding them off. On to PKs!

They make, Lokando makes - both easily. 1-1
Peet saves the second shot, and Joyce is easy breezy!! 2-1
Both score on the next round, Monaghan with a beautiful trickery. 3-2
Peet blocks the next one, but Brinkhurst shanks the fucking kick, the first time I've seen a PK shank I can remember in all my years of FM! GRRRRRRR! 3-2
But then Peet stops the last shot and we go 3-2 on PKs!!!

Peggy Lokando carried the team on his back as he so often does, winning PotM with a sterling 8.1, giving us every chance to win this one outright.

Transfer Out - DR Josh Medlyn (N/C)
He wasn't happy with the PT he was getting here, and I don't blame him, really. Combined for 17 league appearances with the senior team over last year and this. He was great last season, but clearly outmatched this year.

@ Montpelier Villa II (Mid Sussex Senior Cup Third Round)
G: Rob Peet
DM: Ellis Parker
D: Joe Hopewell/Samuel Westray/Ryan Docherty
M: Marios Solomou/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Joe Gromett/Andrew Quinn

Juggling some guys for health reasons. Beyond excited to get Joe Hopewell back in the lineup after a long layoff.

28 - Lokando on the corner and the defense and keeper jumble together, the goalie unable to hang on to the ball. He's diving it for it again, when Westray sliding tackles the ball into the net for his first ever Swans goal!!!!! 1-0

55 - Owusu in for Gromett, who continues to be a frustrating, disappointing player. Heh, and *right* before the substitution, Gromett passes to Lokando for the ground give to Quinn just outside the box. Loanee is tackled, and Gromett fires in the long range shot! Oh well, he was at 70% anyway. 2-0

We were strong all over tonight. Loved Ellis Parker's 7.7 in just his second game. Samuel Westray dominated with an 8.4, but it wasn't good enough to beat Peggy Lokando's 8.7 for PotM. Mason Hirst nabbed an 8.1 in his second game back, and Joe Gromett recorded an 8.2 off his balls amazing long strike before sitting.

Incidentally, Peggy Lokando broke his own Swans PotM record in a season from last year.

Back to league play starting next match, though we have a never-ending march of games 3 and 4 days apart.

[Izulde]

@ AFC Varndeanians (6th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Darren Ebsworth/Tom Howe/Samuel Westray/Ryan Docherty
M: Marios Solomou/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Curtis Burrows
S: Jon Joyce/Andrew Quinn

52 - Highlightless game so far. Monaghan moves to MR, Brinkhurst taking his MC slot. Stanley replaces Hirst in the other MC place. Not a good look in central midfield, but Lokando needed a game off.

81 - They had a shot, but Ebsworth clears the ball out in time back in the 73rd minute. Here, Ebsworth makes a phenomenal interception in their half to start a move that caps by Brinkhurst out to Monaghan for a gorgeous high ball that drops to the box in front of unmarked Solomou, the shot rifled in. Surprised that wasn't offsides, TBH. 1-0

92 - Seconds before the game ends, Monaghan plays another beautiful longball, this time to Quinn down the right flank. He dribbles, cuts in, fires. Deflected. But Quinn puts away his own rebound to clinch it! 2-0

Michael Monaghan gets all the plaudits in this one, and rightfully so, earning an 8.3 and PotM. Marios Solomou picked up a 7.8 in what was a pretty pedestrian game. To be expected, however, given our constant gauntlet.

Transfer In - DC Tim Walker (19) (From Lingfield)
Dude is 6'5, 200, which makes him our biggest player by 2 inches and 20 bounds. Great jumping reach (14) and the second strongest player on our team (12). 10 Marking, 16 Teamwork. Mental attributes need quite a bit of work, to be honest, but what sold me is he averaged a 6.9 the last two seasons in the division ahead of ours, and was almost 7 this year. For those stats, I'm willing to take a gamble. Former Bournemouth prospect, so he came from a Premier League farm system.

Transfer Out - DL Luke Rowe (Non-Contract)
The 28 year old New Zealander played well for us during last year's title run (14 appearances - 6.73 rating), but I knew going up he was going to be on the chopping block. He just doesn't have what it takes to compete on our roster, so this was best for both sides.

And then it happens.

Transfer In - ST Nico Thongvivat (23) (From Paulton)
My favorite striker of this dynasty moved on from Burgess Hill Rhinos to Paulton late last season, and while he struggled in 3 matches last year, this season has a 6.82 average rating with 4 goals in 12 appearances in the Western Premier after the club got relegated down from 1D. I discovered while randomly checking the Rhinos as I often do, that he'd signed elsewhere and he was willing to rejoin forces with me on a Key Player contract. Much like Peggy Lokando, my staff is meh on him, but just like our Congelese veteran, I know what he's capable of.

vs Balcombe (12th)
G: Rob Peet
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
M: Marios Solomou/Ellis Parker/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Jon Joyce/Andrew Quinn

Nico Thongvivat is still dealing with a minor injury, and after reviewing our newly stacked team, I decided to keep the flat 4-4-2, with Ellis Parker replacing Mason Hirst in the starting lineup, and Curtis Burrows taking a sub role.

53 - We're playing like ass in the first half, so I yell at the team. Docherty intercepts, passes to Monaghan, who is way wide right, and the fabulous long ball to Quinn sees a dribble and diagonal spear into the net! 1-0

58 - Monaghan wings out to Lokando for the first touch center to Parker and out to Solomou in the box. It's an around the world beautiful move that sees Solomou destroy the keeper on a snipe diagonal! 2-0

60 - Sloppy, assbag defending. Afterwards, we switch to a 3-1-4-2 DM, Parker moving to DM role, Hirst in at MC, and Westray taking the lone DC spot. 2-1

77 - A hard-charging Hirst hammers down an interception of a clearance and short passes to Quinn in the box, the latter tallying goal #10 on the year! 3-1

[b]Michael Monaghan (9.0) is PotM, but if Andrew Quinn hadn't blown a couple easy shots, he'd have had 4 goals and the award, instead of an 8.9. Still showing impressive growth - Marios Solomou with an 8.0.

At 16 games, we're just over halfway through the league season, and even though we're easing in a couple new starters and debating between a 4-4-2 and a 3-1-4-2 DM as the optimal approach, we're still 8 points ahead of 2nd and 9 ahead of third. I realize for some people, this type of success is probably boring, but unlike Burgess Hill Rhinos, where we didn't have any trouble once we figured out tactics, this has taken a longer time than usual to build, and we've had injury rashes complicate things. To say nothing of our best player in Ken Black leaving.

I'll hold off on a Rhinos update for now, so let's check in on Cheddar:

I'd forgotten that I promoted them from Western League Division One to Western League Premier. Anyway, they finished 3rd last season after I left, and this year, the Cheesemen are in 3rd, but with a game in hand that if they win, would put them 2nd, tied for 1st but losing out on goal differential. They, Cribbs, and Bristol Manor Farm are the elite 3 in the Western Premier right now. Emmanuel Mensah is leading the team with 9 season goals at DR. Um, WOT?

I know we're ridiculously stacked at central midfield, but damn I'm tempted to try and pry George Colson. Nevermind - he says our stature isn't good enough. Yeah, fuck you, George.

Jerrome Sobers is still a boss at 33, the Dominican leading the team with a 7.29 average rating as he holds down the central defense. They're running a 4-1-2-3 DM Wide, with Carl Harris as the lone striker up front. Still can't offer contracts either, despite being semi-pro.

[Young Drachma]

Nah, success is success. Especially at this level, where a few things going wrong can leave you at the wrong end of the table.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Nah, success is success. Especially at this level, where a few things going wrong can leave you at the wrong end of the table.

Good point. I thought we were going to be screwed when our DMs left town, and we're staring down a 4-4-2 and have injury issues. Things righted, however.

@ Winchester Castle (4th)
G: Rob Peet
DM: Ellis Parker
D: Joe Hopewell/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
M: Marios Solomou/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Nico Thongvivat/Andrew Quinn

8 - Thongvivat traps a pass and dribbles backwards to lay off to Hirst for the booming first touch high ball that flies to the box. Quinn leaps up and simply heads the ball over the keeper. Beautiful, just beautiful. 1-0

63 - Burrows for Lokando and Howe for Walker

Michael Monaghan wins PotM with an 8.7, Mason Hirst putting up a 7.7 next to him. Not the best game in all honesty, but a win is a win is a win. Especially against a Top 4 team at their place.

Transfer Out DLC/ML Marios Solomou (Non-Contract)
I'm stunned he left. He was getting consistent playing time as a starter at ML and even when Orlando Joao was healthy, he'd worked his way to being one of the pick of five subs for every game. It devastates our ML position, what with Joao still out another week or two. Granted, we have a 9 point buffer on second place, 11 points on 3rd, so we've the breathing space to afford this... but still, I'm just like WTF bruh?

@ Sidley (2nd)
G: Rob Peet
D: Darren Ebsworth/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Joe Hopewell/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Nico Thongvivat/Andrew Quinn

13 - That red card for Parker was bullshit. Ugh.

19 - When you're hit with those long bombs, not much you can do. 0-1

32 - Hopewell intercepts, dribbles and cuts to the sideline before a longball cross far post that hits Hirst just right for the open shot and his first goal of the year! 1-1

34 - Walker's slow feet cost us there. 1-2

41 - The defense tackles the ball away from Monaghan, but Lokando gets the loose ball just outside the box and near posts it to Thongvivat for my boy's first ever Swans goal! 2-2

Docherty moves to DL and Stanley comes on at DR at half, as we try to shore up an awful game by the defense.

48 - Lokando with the long free kick in to the box, and Quinn is perfectly positioned for the go-ahead goal! 3-2

64 - Right call on that PK by Stanley, unfortunately. 3-3

72 - We'll go asymmetrical and put Howe in as a second DC. Docherty has been so terrible, he needs to get off the field.

87 - Thongvivat gets the pass and is being harassed by four guys in their half. He laterals it to Hirst, who dribbles untouched for several lengths before firing in the long bomb! How the fuck they can cry this is offsides is beyond me. 4-3

91 - Peet blasts a goal kick to [b]Lokando/b] that connects when a defender misses the header. Our Congolese midfielder is immediately double-teamed, but he threads a pass to Quinn just outside the box. No problem for our loanee to hit the range shot to clinch victory in a short-handed game!!! 5-3

All of our midfielders and strikers were 7.6 or better in a fabulous come from behind goals fest. 9.0 for Peggy Lokando, 8.0 for Michael Monaghan, 9.2 for PotM Mason Hirst, and 8.8 for Andrew Quinn. Huge, huge win, knocking off the 2nd place team on their turf and with one of our guys red-carded for most of the game! 12 points advantage now - 4 whole games as a buffer with 12 to play.

My assman says the red card on Ellis Parker was justified, but I don't agree, so I don't discipline him for it - in fact, I appeal the suspension. BTW, that game set goal-scoring records, and Peggy Lokando also broke the Lindfield single season record for assists with 11 - previous was 9 with Jake Robson.

Our appeal is rejected, and Ellis Parker will sit out our biggest game of the year, which is coming up next. So pissed.

More troubling news - There's a takeover plot in place, and Peggy Lokando will also miss the big game with the flu. Matt Pegler, the backup keeper, damages his heel and will be out 2-3 weeks.

And then the biggest knife in the back comes.

Transfer Out - GK Rob Peet - Non-Contract
How in the FUCK are you going to do this to us, Rob?! This means we're stuck with our third string keeper in the most important match of the year, and we're already missing two of our best players. I = one triggered motherfucker. That's one thing that annoys me about this setup - amateur guys will flip teams, yet still be Very Interested in coming back to you (see: Billy Frost). Ugh. So, so, *so* pissed right now.

Andrew Quinn is appointed as the new vice-captain. Hopefully that convinces him to come sign with us long-term.

Transfer Out - DC Samuel Westray - Non-Contract
I've been expecting this, to be honest. He was always shuffling in and out of the lineup, and still has the only Swans own goal. A player that just couldn't quite put it all together, either as a Cheeseman or as a Swan. Still like the kid, but he simply wasn't a long-term fixture.

We scramble to try and bring in a replacement keeper, but can't get the contract signed before the Big Game. Sigh. What should have been a thrilling match is now doomed to Blowout City.

[Izulde]

@ Burgess Hill Rhinos (Sussex Intermediate Cup Fourth Round)
G: Neil MacGregor
D: Darren Ebsworth/Tom Howe/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
M: Joe Hopewell/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Curtis Burrows
S: Nico Thongvivat/Andrew Quinn

Yeah. We're up against my original team AGAIN. The Rhinos are a perfect 9-0-0 and have been sweeping trophies left, right, and center. It's going to be a very tall order to try and upset them here. It would be even were we at full strength and Rob Peet hadn't betrayed us.

9 - Long day ahead. 0-1

50 - No highlights for us at all. 0-2

52 - Joyce for Quinn; Brock for Walker

53 - FML. 0-3

We were up against a vastly superior team today, but no excuse for that absolutely dreadful performance. Definitely a verbal ass kicking they got. Only Mason Hirst and Michael Monaghan (6.9 each) weren't total trash.

Transfer In - ST Justin Leavers (22) - From Mountfield United
Leavers' was the leading goal scorer for the 9th place team in our league, so it's like when we poached Andrew Folan from Welton Rovers when I was with Cheddar. He scored 13 goals in 18 league games for them, and his 7.53 rating is one of the best in the league. He's the #2 scorer in goals for the entire Southern Combination Football League Division Two, and the 6'2 forward reminds me a lot of Nico Thongvivat, with strong technicals for this level. Solid all around physically with no standouts or weaknesses, but he has a long way to go mentally, outside of 16 Teamwork. On the other hand, he's a perfect Target Man, and will knock Andrew Quinn out of the starting lineup, due to 4.5-5 star potential rating by our staff.

Actually, looking at things, it really should be Jon Joyce and Andrew Quinn still starting according to our staff. Have to think about this some more, in all honesty.

Transfer In - GK Richard Jones (23)
Elite level goalkeeper back in the nets. Love his mental attributes and he looks to be really quite good technically as well. We'll see how he plays out in games, because I'm terrible at evaluating keepers and rely on my scouts to find me good ones.

@ Steyning (14th)
G: Richard Jones
D: Joe Hopewell/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Nico Thongvivat/Jon Joyce

Decided to go with my boy and Joyce after much deliberation. Quinn can wait to get the call to go back to his old team for all I care - we've got three strong strikers on paper.

12 - Hirst plays it out to Lokando for an excellent ball forward in the middle of the box to Thongvivat. A defender blocks the shot, but Joao pushes past a defender to drill in the loose ball rebound in his first game back! 1-0

15 - Thongvivat lines up for the IDFK outside the box. High ball in the air, and Walker finally powers in his first header goal as a Swan!!! I've been waiting for the big boy to do that. 2-0

50 - Terrible defending by Docherty there. 2-1

60 - Leavers replaces Joyce and striker switch. Burrows comes in at DR.

84 - Hirst intercepts and lays off to Monaghan for the pass to Leavers just outside the box. Our new striker dribbles a bit, then strikes from just outside the half-circle, and IT GOES IN! OMG! What a hell of a debut goal!! 3-1

91 - A debut goal we needed, as it turns out. Hopefully this is just Jones being rusty and out of match practice. 3-2

We were better than the final scoreline indicates. Tim Walker bagged an 8.1, Michael Monaghan a 7.7, an injured (again) Orlando Joao fighting off a minor head gash for a 7.6, 7.5 for Nico Thongvivat, and a sensational 8.1 debut PotM by Justin Leavers, who has just asserted his right to a starting spot next game.

Orlando Joao is out another 9-12 days. Really need to look at ML and DR this offseason.

Chelmsford City just can't stop from firing their managers in this universe. It amuses me.

Incidentally, our profits last month were a grand total of $17.

Speaking of, since we're in takeover talks...

The Swans currently have just shy of $56k in the bank, and are worth $80k overall, so it's not quite pocket change for the consortium (involving a former player), to target a takeover.

vs Roffey (11th)
G: Richard Jones
D: Ryan Docherty/Tim Walker/Curtis Burrows
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Joe Hopewell/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Justin Leavers/Nico Thongvivat

37 - Piss-poor defense. 0-1

47 - Own goal by Burrows. He's immediately yanked for an symmetrical formation that puts Howe at DC in his place, and Joyce goes in for Leavers and a striker switch. 0-2

66 - Fucking seriously?! 0-3

Their manager fired up his team at half, and everything that could go wrong, did. We snap an 11 game unbeaten streak in league play with the loss, but we're still up 11 points on 2nd place and have a game in hand besides. It would take a meltdown of epic proportions to not advance.

Transfer Out - DCR/DM/MCR Tony Stanley (18) (Non-Contract)
A versatile, useful reserve who played decently and was one of our first subs. Not a long-term player by any means, but we'll miss his ability to cover a lot of parts of the field.

vs Sidlesham (16th)
G: Richard Jones
D: Darren Ebsworth/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Joe Hopewell/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Justin Leavers/Nico Thongvivat

Leavers experiment is over. At half, Joyce replaces him and striker switch.

46 - Monaghan plays it long down the left flank. Thongvivat gets to it *just* before the touchline. He crosses, the keeper dives for it and misses, and it's easy for Joyce to drop it in the open net. 1-0

62 - Hirst laterals to Monaghan for the spray out to Lokando. Booming kick to Joyce in the box. Shot's deflected right back at Joyce, who takes a second to time his kick, and sinks his own rebound! 2-0

79 - Monaghan, Thongvivat, Hirst straight line short passes. Our central midfielder is unmarked, but he doesn't shoot until a triangle of defenders close in, and the shot's in! 3-0

We played okay in the first half, so I was going to be somewhat encouraging, but my assman told me to rip into them. I did, and it worked beautifully. How beautifully?



Worth noting: Darren Ebsworth was at 6.3 most of the game, so that's a huge leap late for him.

My assman is being targeted by teams for manager position, so I'm going to have to go get a new one. Boo.

On the bright side, 9 games left and 14 points up on 2nd, 16 up on 3rd. We've also broken the Southern Combination League Division Two record for goals scored in a season with 52 (previously 50), and we have a lot of matches to pad our historic scoring season.

[Izulde]

@ Rotherfield (11th)
G: Richard Jones
D: Darren Ebsworth/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Nico Thongvivat/Jon Joyce

4 - Ebsworth with the long throw back to unmarked Joao. The Dutchman dribbled once and launched a beautiful, curving cross that hit the feet of also isolated Burrows for the MR's second score of the season. 1-0

7 - Terrific interception of a clearance by Parker, who plays it to Thongvivat in the box. Just as he's about to take his shot, the defense drills him. Joao first touch shots the loose ball beyond the diving arms of the keeper. 2-0

29 - Parker strips the ball away deep in our half and passes to Hirst. Skimmer passer finds Joao and he runs all the way down the flank. Just before the touchline, another flawless cross. This time to poorly defended Joyce for the power shot! "Lindfield look good for promotion on this performance." That'd be a no shit, Sherlock. 3-0

49 - He's drawn a yellow and looks super aggressive today, so Ebsworth sits for Hopewell, who doesn't get the hoped for day off.

64 - Leavers in for tired Thongvivat, as our offense has been non-existent in the second half.

All full-time starters except Richard Jones (6.9) had 7.1 or higher. The standouts: Tom Howe (7.9), Ellis Parker and Curtis Burrows (7.6), Mason Hirst (7.5) and PotM Orlando Joao (8.3), who was absolutely brilliant in his first game back after his millionth injury.

We do lose our assman, and it comes at the worst possible time. Takeover talks have progressed to the point where the consortium, led by a business tycoon named David Bennett, are looking to buy the club for $35k and invest $50k, which would be almost double our current money. That also means transfers embargo.

vs Lavant (3rd)
G: Matt Pegler
D: Darren Ebsworth/Ricky Treadwell/Louis Brock
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Ed Brinkhurst/Curtis Burrows (Asymmetrical)
AM: Tom McQueen
S: Justin Leavers/Julian Owusu/Andrew Quinn

Don't recognize most of these guys? They're callups from our lower league squads as we're fully intent on throwing this game due to a couple cup matches coming up. Our lead is so big, we can afford several losses.

5 - You know it's a weird setup when Ebsworth is taking corners. He kicks it to Treadwell. Immediately two defenders give chase, so he dribbles back and returns it to Ebsworth. Center to Quinn and we shock everyone with an early lead. 1-0

6 - Baller AF takeaway by Ebsworth, starting a sensational sequence of passes capping in Burrows to Quinn. Wall of defenders there, so he outlets back to Burrows for the textbook centering pass forward into the box. Owusu is there, and he absolutely nails it! 2-0

30 - Blame the rain for Pegler dropping that stop and the rebound going in. 2-1

It's the kind of game where Curtis Burrows is the only one at 7 or higher on our team, and his 7.7 wins PotM. To get a victory, however narrow, against the third place team in the league, hosting a lineup of scrubs... well that's how far apart we are from the rest of the competition.

Ironically, we broke the team attendance record by 1 person, as 109 people showed up to watch that trash fest in the rain. LOL. Just lol.

We get a new assman, and he's pretty much whatever. OTOH, he's solely responsible for Tactics coaching, giving us our first 2.5* there. And I just realized we've been working on Fitness all season long rather than changing over to Balanced late in preseason. Oops.

vs Balcombe (Southern Combination Division Two Challenge Cup Quarterfinal)
G: Richard Jones
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Nico Thongvivat/Jon Joyce

29 - Complete defensive breakdown by Docherty there. 0-1

I scream at the team at the half. No excuse for this bullshit.

46 - We get the ball on the opening kickoff, and Monaghan plays a fabulous ball forward to Joao. Dribble and cross far post to Joyce, and help from the post lets us equalize right at the start. 1-1

49 - Hopewell intercepts a clearance, and end move is a constant exchange of passes between Thongvivat and Joyce. The last is a pass of T to J, and Joyce's second goal puts us ahead! I also yank Docherty for Burrows because he's absolute trash out there today. 2-1

57 - Brilliant interception by Hopwewell, on to Hirst, and then to Thongvivat. The lateral to Joyce, but he's facing pressure, so he wings out to Joao. The Dutchman flies the cross back to Joyce and there's the hat trick!!! 3-1

Definitely a tale of two halves - our midfield was stellar as usual on days we win - Peggy Lokando (7.5), Michael Monaghan (8.1), Mason Hirst (8.2), and Orlando Joao (8.6), all dominated in the second half. But the Player of the Match was of course Jon Joyce, his 9.5 everything I hoped for when I said of his transfer that I really thought he was going to have a sensational year for us.

Hilariously, the screaming article bugged its way in, even though I said it was a good win for us. Halftime talk must have triggered that bug.

So, we beat last year's title winners in that game, and Jon Joyce broke the record for club goals in a season set by Tim Mitchel-King last year, racking up 16 to Mitchel-King's 14. And still lots of soccer to be played.

Big cup match on tap next, against a team that has every reason to hate us, and who has given us troubles in the past. And no, it's not the Rhinos, thankfully.

[Izulde]

vs Copthorne (Mid Sussex Senior Cup Fourth Round)
G: Richard Jones
D: Darren Ebsworth/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Joe Hopewell/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Nico Thongvivat/Jon Joyce

Copthorne is still pissed we beat them out last season for promotion, and they've traditionally played well against us. It's going to be a tough fight here, much like they're once again in a dogfight to win the Mid Sussex Premier and go up - they're currently in 1st, but only by a point, so that has to be their top priority.

52 - Leavers goes on for Joyce; Howe for Walker due to tiredness, but in any case, both strikers have been shit this whole game.

58 - Lot of passing around the center of the pitch, deep in their half. Finally, Monaghan lays off to Hirst for the pop ball in the box to Hopewell. He dribbles, picks his spot, and banks in the shot behind the keeper for just his second goal of the year! 1-0

We didn't play too well - Joe Hopewell's 7.5 was good for PotM, and Tom Howe recorded a 7.0 off the bench. They really concentrated on shutting down our strikers, but we're through, and that's all that matters.

vs Lancing United (7th)
G: Richard Jones
D: Joe Hopewell/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Nico Thongvivat/Jon Joyce

A win here and we have a shot at locking up promotion with a ridiculous six games left to play.

4 - Joao with a short dribble down the flank, and diagonal passes connecting a line of Thongvivat and Hirst, the central midfielder picking up his surprising goal as he sometimes does. 1-0

42 - Our backline is playing awfully today. 1-1

56 - Leavers for Joyce; Ebsworth for Hopewell

57 - And there's Lokando with the 25 yard free kick goal!!! Curiously, it's just his second score of the year. 2-1

62 - Ugh. They get their own free kick goal. 2-2

We were actually really unlucky not to win this one. Lancing United always plays us tough for whatever reason. Am I worried? Not in the least - 6 matches to go and we have a 16 point lead on 2nd place, 17 on 3rd. It's all over but the math, really, as we'd need to lose out and Sompting and Winchester Castle would have to win out for that to happen.

[Izulde]

Transfer Out - ST Julian Owusu (30) (Ghanaian) - Non-Contract
Far too inconsistent and played way below his actual talent level. The 7.29 and 7.22 ratings in 15 and 4 league games respectively the two years he was with us are a mirage in my opinion - one of those guys who looks good on paper and in stats, but just can't cut it.

Ed Brinkhurst goes down for 3 months with injury. Too bad, as he would have had a start next game.

@ Mountfield United (11th)
G: Matt Pegler
D: Darren Ebsworth/Tom Howe/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
M: Joe Hopewell/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Curtis Burrows
S: Justin Leavers/Andrew Quinn

Going with as many backup guys as possible this match, as we've a cup game in a few days. A win locks up our title.

8 - Misjudged header by Monaghan allows the goal on that corner kick. 0-1

56 - Monaghan atones for his earlier mistake with an interception, drive capped by Hirst's long ball out to Burrows on the wing. Perfect center cross to Leavers, and he scores the equalizer against his old team! 1-1

62 - So, Burrows. Sliding tackle to dispossess the opponent? Great. Sliding tackle that passes the ball right to another opposing forward for the open score? Fucking terrible. 1-2

84 - And there's Walker off with injury. Parker jumps in as we switch to a 3-1-4-2 DM.

Just a couple of really bad freak plays doomed us to this loss. Second straight game where we should have won, and things happened to bounce just the wrong way to stop us. Tim Walker is also out a month with a chest injury, which hurts. Literally.

We still back into clinching promotion anyway with five games left to play.

@ Northbrook (Mid Sussex Senior Cup Quarterfinal)
G: Richard Jones
D: Joe Hopewell/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Peggy Lokando/Curtis Burrows
S: Nico Thongvivat/Jon Joyce

Michael Monaghan wasn't rested in time to play this one, but that's fine.

8 - They're really doing a good job of putting pressure on us in their half, so it's a lot of passing around. Thongvivat cracks a shot at the edge of the box, but it's blocked. Hirst is first to loose ball and passes to Joao. The Dutchman passes to open space in the box and Thongvivat breaks loose to *just* skim in the near post shot, finally ending his lengthy scoring drought! 1-0

43 - Thundering charge down the pitch initiated by Parker. Hirst gets it and plays a beautiful ball into the box for Thongvivat, who dribbles and shoots. It's knocked away, but Thongvivat drifts left and back, cracking another shot just as two defenders collapse on him. It's in! 2-0

54 - Monaghan in for Hirst; Ronnie Brock for Howe.

66 - Monaghan wings it out to Joao, who centers to Thongvivat. The keeper's been faked out, so it should be an easy hat trick score. But then the defender throws his body out of nowhere to block the shot! Luckily, Joyce is there to drill the rebound! 3-0

75 - Docherty throws in to Joyce, who is immediately decked. Docherty picks up the rebound and passes up to Burrows for the feed forward to Joyce in the box. Our alliterative striker draws FOUR defenders on him and kicks back to Burrows, who shoots. Keeper drifts left, dives, and blocks, but Joao sinks the rebound with ease!! 4-0



My very badly done diagram of that goal, which is one of the niftiest ones I've seen in FM.

79 - Nobody even bothered defending that long free kick. 4-1

7.7 for Ellis Parker, 8.1 for Curtis Burrows, 7.8 for Peggy Lokando, 8.3 for Orlando Joao, and matching 8.8s for Jon Joyce and Nico Thongvivat. It's Joyce who gets PotM, thanks to his fabulous work in drawing the train on that gorgeous goal you saw displayed above.

Burgess Hill Rhinos keep smashing tournament records. What a monster I helped create. Fortunately, we get lucky and don't draw them for the Semi-Final match, and will instead get steamrolled in the title game.

The takeover talks collapse, as I figured they would. Mad scouting frenzy ahead, yo!

Transfer In - DL David Lynn (25) (From Cheddar)
My Chief Scout loves this kid, who I can't remember if I signed or not. The rest of my staff is eh on him at best, but he's fast, quick, and strong, and can pinch-hit ML and DC if need be. 4* potential according to my scout - everyone else thinks he's a 2*, but they don't know potential. We'll give him a try. Oh wait, I *did* sign him. He was good for me, though has declined in play in his second year with the Cheesemen. That's right - he was one of my offseason signings when I promoted the team up to the Western Premier.

vs Mile Oak (15th)
G: Matt Pegler
D: Darren Ebsworth/Tom Howe/Ronnie Brock/Ryan Docherty
M: David Lynn/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Curtis Burrows
S: Justin Leavers/Andrew Quinn

Same scenario as against Mountfield United. Get as many B guys in there and let it ride, because cup match in a few days.

8 - Well, I mean they do have more to play for, fighting to stay up. 0-1

52 - Lynn dribbles the ball down the left flank, and jackhammers it. Keeper jumps up high to deflect the bomb shot. Unfortunately for him, that just drops it to open space, where injured Quinn sinks it with ease. 1-1

62 - They're forcing us back and back, until Ebsworth gets the ball at midfield. Long, screaming ground ball all the way into the box hits Leavers, and finally that damn disappointing striker scores one. 2-1

88 - Brilliant defense by Howe to stop a sure goal and blast to Quinn to start a counter move. Ends with Lynn dribbling, shaking, baking, and faking out the defender deep on the left flank. Near post cross to Leavers for the sliding tackle score! 3-1

Justin Leavers was the obvious MVP with an 8.8. Otherwise everyone fell in the 6.8-7.2 range - the type of solid, yet unremarkable win against one of the league's worst teams to guarantee that we're the Southern Combination Football League Division Two champions!!! Our second straight promotion and second straight championship!!!! After the game, Mason Hirst said it was the asskicking I gave the team at half-time that turned it around. In scoring those 2 goals, Justin Leavers officially breaks the league season goal scoring record for now. Oh, and David Lynn had a 7.1 debut, looking fabulous despite not being naturally suited to ML.

Andrew Quinn is out 5-6 weeks, but that's okay. Gives me an excuse not to play him.

[Izulde]

@ Sompting (Southern Combination Division Two Challenge Cup Semi-Final)
G: Richard Jones
D: David Lynn/Tom Howe/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Orlando Joao/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Peggy Lokando
S: Nico Thongvivat/Jon Joyce

2 - Terrible job by Parker there. 0-1

8 - Defense got caught out. 0-2

16 - WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! 0-3

39 - Now we're not even fucking trying. 0-4

44 - Meaningless goal by Thongvivat. At least we spoiled the shutout. 1-4

63 - Whatever subs.

Overall, we really turned it on in the second half and by game's end, had looked really good. We were just horribly brainfarting the first 40 minutes and just couldn't catch up.

That ends any chance we had at cup money this year.

Ellis Parker, despite his mental lapse last game, has overall exploded in our setup, and is unquestionably the best player on the team - shades of Ken Black there.

Youth Signing - MR/AMR Craig Spanou (16)
The Youth Candidates beat Lindfield III by a score of 3-2, and Spanou was a huge part of that. 10 Crossing as a 16 year old destroys anyone else we have, and though my assman and coach don't think he'll amount to much (2.5* potential), we have the title locked up, and I want to give him a look see.

@ Northbrook (12th)
G: Richard Jones
D: David Lynn/Tim Walker/Ryan Docherty
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Joe Hopewell/Mason Hirst/Michael Monaghan/Craig Spanou
S: Justin Leavers/Jon Joyce

With nothing left to play for league-wise, we're giving some younger players a shot at more PT to see how they do.

10 - Leavers gets the ball in the box and shoots. It's blocked and bounces off to the left side, where Hopewell picks it up, dribbles down towards the corner, and fires a diagonal back pass to Hirst in the box. A short dribble and long shot later, it's in. 1-0

All our defenders were 7.3, and PotM Mason Hirst (8.0) and Joe Hopewell (7.7) were brilliant. Our strikers were trash, however, and Jon Joyce additionally strained his back, and is out 5-6 weeks. We also break the league record for points scored in a season

Youth Signing - MC Connor Hadland (16)
14 Passing, 12 Work Rate, and my assman thinks this is a 4* potential kid to groom as an eventual star. We'll see how that works out. Really raw right now.

This Lindfield, Lindfield II, Lindfield III, Lindfield IV setup is giving me fits, because bugs keep triggering with Lindfield IV. It's enough to make me want to quit managing this team and go find one that has a max of three squads.

Transfer In - MR/AMR Max Laslett (17) (From Chertsey)
13 Flair, 12 Teamwork, 12 Accel, 10 Agility, 10 Fitness, 11 Pace. He may only be as good as he's ever going to get, but even if that's the case, my staff still rates him as our best MR by far. He kind of was bad with the other teams he's played with, but perhaps he just hasn't found the right role - he did decently when he went on loan to a team in the Hellenic Premier this year.

And then comes the most exciting transfer yet:



Ignore the 2.5*. That's from my assman. According to my 14/14 Scout, he's 3.5* and an Isthmian D1 potential player. Those mental attributes tho... just... *drool*. Had a 6.66 in 17 league games with a team he was loaned out too. Future captain and mentor for sure.

He's also exciting because:



That's right - I convinced the board to pony up money to go buy him, even though we're an amateur club. His previous team, Burnham, is already an Ithsmian D1 team, so he'd max out at their current level. He was worth $2.4k, but they wanted $5k for him, which I couldn't do, having no transfer budget. So I got the board to buy him, and they talked Burnham down to his actual value of $2.4k. Everybody wins - we get a feature star in the making, they get a little cash to help their bank balance. And it's particularly important because they're fighting to avoid relegation.

It also solves our DR problem now and long-term, which has been an absolute bitch to try and sort out. We've been hunting all season long for someone to replace Ryan Docherty, and we got this done literally hours before the transfer deadline.

Transfer Out - GK Neil MacGregor (19) (Non-Contract)
Third on our depth chart right now, though he was on the verge of moving up to #2, with D1 potential. I'm a little sorry to see him go, but it is what it is. Richard Jones is just too entrenched as our starter.

Transfer In - DM/MC Tom Manship (32)
10 Passing/10 Penalty Kicks with a metric buttload of 10+ Mental attributes. Physically, he's kind of trash, though he can play a lot of different positions badly. Still, I'm thinking he's going to push someone out of the starting lineup our remaining league games to see how he does - My staff considers him our second best MC next to Ellis Parker, who obviously is firmly planted in at DM.

vs Willingdon Athletic (5th)
G: Richard Jones
D: David Lynn/Tim Walker/King Omoregie
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Joe Hopewell/Tom Manship/Michael Monaghan/Max Laslett
S: Justin Leavers/Nico Thongvivat

13 - Monaghan gets red-carded. Dumb ass.

14 - I don't know what the fuck Jones was doing there. 0-1

43 - Parker hits a booming clearance down into the right corner of the pitch. Thongvivat wins the foot race and crosses to Leavers, who loses the header battle with the defense. The ball drops right at the feed of Manship, who takes two steps and bangs in the short-handed equalizer! 1-1

57 - Piss poor game by Jones. Somehow I forgot to put Docherty in the subs, so it's Burrows for Omoregie and Grommett for Thongvivat. Awful. 1-2

Unlucky loss - Michael Monaghan's red card put us behind the 8 ball, and with so many new starters... yeah. Hell of a game for Tony Manship, though - 8.2 debut. King Omoregie was the exact opposite at 6.1. But he's young and he just needs time to adjust to our setup.

Lindfield III wins promotion to Mid Sussex Division Eight, where Lindfield IV is locked in a promotion battle of their own. For those curious, Lindfield II is in Mid Sussex Division Three.

Michael Monaghan is banned for the next three games, essentially ending his season. Also out for next game is Matt Pegler, down 2 weeks with injury.

@ Sompting (3rd)
G: Richard Jones
D: David Lynn/Tim Walker/King Omoregie
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Orlando Joao/Tom Manship/Peggy Lokando/Max Laslett
S: Justin Leavers/Nico Thongvivat

60 - Docherty for Omoregie; Hirst for Manship

62 - Flawless long free kick by Lokado to the far post, Leavers beating the defense to dump it behind the keeper. 1-0

90 - Shocked that goal was disallowed on an offsides call, but we'll take it.

Peggy Lokando owned all comers with an 8.1 PotM rating. Solid, but unremarkably bittersweet win over the team that knocked us out of the cup we should have won. At least I get the grim satisfaction of putting a huge hurting on their promotion hopes. Now they have to win their last game and hope the three teams above them all lose.

Jon Joyce comes back, but then damages his shoulder, finishing his season. He may just be one of those guys who isn't quite good enough. Lack of natural fitness is killing him.

vs Balcombe (Mid Sussex Senior Cup Semi-Final)
G: Richard Jones
D: David Lynn/Tim Walker/King Omoregie
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Orlando Joao/Tom Manship/Peggy Lokando/Max Laslett
S: Justin Leavers/Nico Thongvivat

52 - FFS. [b]0-1[/b

60 - Leavers lays off to Laslett for the beautiful ball forward to Thongvivat. Completely alone, my boy strolls through the box and spears the equalizer! Docherty steps in for Walker; Hopewell for Joao as we have to see if we can win. 1-1

72 - That shit was all on Jones fucking up stopping that long range bomb. 1-2

Not that we would have beat Burgess Hill Rhinos next game, but still. We played well enough to win but just couldn't seal the fucking deal. We've had so many damned games like that this year it's fucking STUPID!

vs AFC Vardeanians (8th)
G: Richard Jones
D: Joe Hopewell/Tim Walker/King Omoregie
DM: Ellis Parker
M: Orlando Joao/Tom Manship/Peggy Lokando/Max Laslett
S: Justin Leavers/Nico Thongvivat

David Lynn got injured last match and was poor health for this one, so he'll sit out the finale.

4 - Fitting symbol of our late season trash panda play, as Lokando blows a PK.

36 - Joao centers to Thongvivat for the immediate first touch lateral to Leavers, mere inches away. Fierce strike is fierce! 1-0

44 - Sigh. 1-1

67 - Hirst for Lokando and MC switch; Gromett for Thongvivat

What a shithouse of a season finale. I don't feel good about this team going into next season at all.

[Izulde]

Well, financially that last game was an amazing success - smashed the attendance and receipts records with 177 people (109 previous high) and ~$1k (~$500 previous record).

Michael Monaghan shatters the Southern Combination Football League Division Two average rating record with 7.69 - previous high a distant 7.38.



Our backline play noticeably improved overall from last year, which was great to see. Richard Jones frustrated the hell out of me. Games where he dominated, and games where he played like total ass. Still, we'll stick with him. I'm chalking up King Omoregie's bad form to getting thrown into a new system so late in the year.



Once again it was our midfield that carried us to greatness. I'd really like to get some more young blood in at MC, because Peggy Lokando and Tom Manship are both in their 30s. Lokando was actually born in Congo, BTW, and speaks French and English fluently. He's someone I really want to get in my backroom staff when I can.

Club Value: $85k (+15k from last season)
Average Ticket Price: $8
Average Season Ticket Price: $131 (+$18 from last year)
Season Ticket Holders: 14
Bank Balance: ~$60.6k
Profit: ~$11.5k (-$7.1k from last season

Our profits took a huge bath this year, only partially explained by the $2.4k we ponied up for King Omoregie. I think we paid for a coach's course as well, which took some money out, and we've been doing an insane amount of scouting. Still growing our funds, however, and our value is skyrocketing.

One thing to note about Curtis Burrows: He's added DL to his arsenal of positions quite quickly, so I'm having train at ML as well to make him a 4 position reserve in our setup (DL/DR/MR currently). Not bad for a 23 year old.

Favored Personnel
Peggy Lokando
Tim Mitchel-King
Jake Robson

Favored Clubs - Player
Peggy Lokando

Favored Clubs - Supporter
Tim Mitchel-King
Craig Spanou

Favored Personnel - Me
Tim Mitchel-King

Another quintuple for Burgess Hill Rhinos. BTW, the Rhinos scored 56 goals and allowed just 2 in Mid Sussex Division Two this year. Falling short once again - Cheddar. The Cheesemen finished 2nd, well behind the only team promoting up.



Can't wait to get all the pre-regime players off the list.



Not shocked at all to see the midfielders sweep Player of the Year voting - That's Peggy Lokando's second straight Fans Player of the Year Award - he won last year with 78%; this year with 61%.

And then this message comes:



Holy shit! That was a lot faster than I expected!

Our sponsorship deals are only slightly higher than before, despite now being semi-pro.

As you might expect from a just turned semipro club that didn't have a ton of money in the bank, they're only offering me $2.1k, with a $170 bonus to avoid relegation at the next level. I'm like... come on, man. I've led you to two straight league titles - I deserve way more than that.

They offer an increase to $2.5k. I want at least $5k. They tell me to get lost.

Fuck you guys. Okay, to be fair, I would have taken the $2.5k if I wasn't so damn sick of the Lindfield IV bug firing.

But because I am, I'm going to look for a new amateur team to build up and take to glory. I already have my eye on one. By the way, the Swans were willing to offer a *HUGE* $135k budget if I stayed. But yeah... bug.

The board was willing to discuss a new contract, but only if I withdrew my name from the other club I applied to. Yeah, no thanks.

And it's official - I've moved again, and this time I promise I'm going to finish out my career here. Life begins at 40, and so does my fourth job - repeating 4s.

[Izulde]

Porthleven FC Fishermen

Ever since watching the TV series Poledark and Doc Martin, I've fallen in love with the beauty of Cornwall, and would love to try living in a small Cornish seaside town some day. This job gives me that opportunity - Porthleven has just over 3,000 people living there, and it's located on the southwest coast of Cornwall, on the sea.

The town itself is known as one of the best surfing and kayaking spots in all the British Isles, which appeals to me, and in 2015, they created Discover Porthleven - an online museum designed to record the town's entire history. Very cool. Can't wait to hit the waves.

As you might expect, tourism is huge in the summer months, giving a temporary population boom, and the town itself has been growing considerably the last several years.

Gala Parc, a 1,500 seat stadium, could literally hold half the town, and is owned by the club owner himself. The facilities are the sort of rot you expect at this level - and an interesting real-life note:

In June 2012 before the 2012–13 season, the club faced some bad news when the FA refused to allow them to enter any national FA competitions because they do not have toilet facilities in the home and away dressing room, and the referee's room.

Hopefully that's changed!

As for real-life success, the Fishermen have never made it out to the Qualifying Round in the FA Cup - only winning one game in their whole history before the ban. In the FA Vase, they became just the second Cornish team ever to make the quarterfinals in 1997-98, and made the third round or better for five years after that.

In terms of league play, they've been a consistent mid-tier team, though declined a chance to move up for financial reasons in 2008, I think it was. Overall, they were a pretty successful team in the late 90s-early 2000s, but have been mediocre since then.

The Fishermen have continued this tepidness in this universe - finishing 6th, 8th, 7th, and 8th, before finally finishing 12th and firing their manager. That's where I come in, and news of my hiring shocked the footballing world:



Huge, huge drop in stature, but I'm happy here. Awesome place to live, and a chance to really build something.

Bank Balance: $29.6k
Estimated Value: $60k
Average Ticket Price: $8
Average Season Ticket Price: $113
Season Ticket Holders: 10
Profit Last Season: $2.76k
Average Attendance Last Season: 66

There's a couple favored players, both of whom are young guys with the club.

The Fishermen compete in the South West Peninsula League Division One West, and the lone semi-pro team promoted up by just 2 points last season. Porthleven's club has been around since 1898, by the way, so a lot of history here.

17 clubs, and only the champion gets to move up to the next level.

Oh, I should also note: My reputation is up to 10% - double what I started with! Talk about a huge coup for Porthleven, indeed.

My assman with 7/7 JPA/JPP is the best guy we have on staff, and the top guy we can get. Ugly. But this is how low we are on the totem pole. I also can't convince anyone from my old clubs to come play for us. So we'll be starting wholly from scratch here.

New European Union Additions
Serbia
Montenegro
Bosnia-Herzogovnia

Perhaps places I can raid for talent at some point in the future.

We're *really* scraping the bottom of the barrel here in terms of guys we can get to even think about playing on the sea, but I'll just have to work on building up this club's reputation.

Between my assman, myself, and a coach we hire, we're able to have 1.5* coverage minimum in all coaching areas, with a high of 2.5* in Defending that is my assman's only coaching duty. I'm doing most of the work - the new hire responsible only for Fitness.

Transfer In - GK Tom Bridle (26) (From Plymouth Argyle Reserves)
This is how poor the talent level has been here in Porthleven - At 5*/5*, Bridle is the first player who's been listed as a good player for this level. I never know how to pick a good GK, so can't comment on him. Looks solid, however. He actually managed to play 6 games in Ithsmian Division One. Granted, he was bad there (6.22), but it's still some big experience for a little club like ours.

Transfer In - DC/DM/MC Anthony Facey (19) (Welsh)
Street free agent pick up and another 5/5 who is "very well-suited" to this level. 13 Decisions, 12 Flair, and not a single Physical attribute is lower than 7- including 12 Accel and Natural Fitness, and 10s in Balance, Jumping Reach, and Pace. Hasn't gotten a real chance to show what he can do, getting scant games here and there every season. Granted, his performances have been less than exciting, but he deserves an extended run.

Transfer In - MCR/DM Adrian Dawe (17) (Welsh) (From Merthyr Town - Free Transfer)
Technically speaking, Dawe is raw - as in pure trash. But he does have 12 Accel and Pace, along with 11 Flair and not awful mental attributes. Like Facey, he's very well-suited to this level and has only been meh with spot starts here and there at various clubs.

Transfer In - DC/DM/MC Jon Dunford (18) (From Truro City)
I'm in love with this kid already. 13 Tackling, 17 Team Work, 12 Work Rate, 13 Balance, 10 Stamina, 11 Strength. He can literally play all three of his spots at what would be an elite level compared to the rest of the squad. Right now, Tom Bridle still has the highest assessment overall, but we're bringing in some serious young talent. Probably slots in as MC right now.

We're not going to play in the U21 league this season - We just won't have the players worth it, I don't think. Board insists on U18, but whatever.

Transfer In - AMCL/MLC Darren Ling (17) (From Truro City - Free Transfer)
We're continuing to raid City. Technically, he's awful, but 11 Determination, 13 Flair, 15 Team Work, 11 Work Rate, 10 Accel, 11 Agility, 12 Pace... there's a lot to love about this kid, and he's our first player graded as Western Premier capable, which is several levels ahead of us. Really looking for him to make a huge impact.

Transfer In - DR/WBR Dominic Relen (17) (From Weymouth - Free Transfer)
13 Teamwork, 10 Jumping Reach, 12 Natural Fitness and Stamina. Not a standout at anything right now, but it's an immediate infusion of legitimate level-capable talent at the DR spot. Teem is slowly coming together.

Transfer In - AMC/ST Fred Makiadi (16) (From Taunton - Free Transfer)
I'm really intrigued by this kid - Very well-suited to the next level and blessed with 11 Flair, Leadership, and Acceleration, and 13 Work Rate, Balance, and Natural Fitness. A starting striker for sure, though I think we're starting to steer towards a Diamond setup of some kind tactically.

Transfer In - ML/AML Rob O'Brien (17) (From Truro City - Free Transfer)
Tactically, he's trash. But why am I jazzed up about this kid? 15 Pace, 13 Accel, 12 Agility, 12 Flair, 10 Work Rate. My assman swears he's next-level ready, but all I know is, I'm going to *love* watching this kid burn everyone.

Transfer In - DC Kieran Hartley (18) (From Truro City - Free Transfer)
Yeah, we're pretty much another U-21 branch of City by now, as we poach another one. 11 Decisions and Strength, 13 Balance, Jumping Reach, and Natural Fitness. Has some solid attributes in key technical areas, too. Western Premier level talent right now.

Transfer In - ST John Adcock (16) (From Truro City - Free Transfer)
For those of you keeping score at home, that's the fifth City player we've taken - one outright, and four via transfer. Adcock has 10 First Touch and Heading, 11 Composure, 14 Determination, and 12 Balance/Natural Fitness. He's another Western Premier ready player, and I'm very intrigued to watch him develop.

Truro City shouldn't shock you as our main leech point. They're the first Cornish side to ever win the FA Vase (2007), and to date, they're the only club from Cornwall to make it to Vanarama North/South. We obviously hope to be the second, and go further still. Not bad for a city of under 19,000 people. They last relegated from North/South in this universe in 2015-2016 and have since dropped back quite a bit. They're trying to work their way back out of the Southern Premier, however, finishing 9th last year after low points of 13th and 16th. That said, they were last seen below the Southern Premier in the 2008-09 season, so they've put together a great decade of sustained success.

vs Falmouth (Friendly)
G: Tom Bridle
D: Jeremy Hoskins/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Anthony Facey/Adrian Dawe
AM: Darren Ling
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock

A 3-1-3-1-2 DM formation, our first tactical tryout. We have no one able to play DL at the moment, so we'll get squashed. Jeremy Hoskins is a WBL holdover we think can convert quickly to DL.

9 - Facey forwards to Ling for the lightning diagonal past the defender out to the far wing. Dawe runs to pick it up and near posts it to Adcock for the sizzling score! 1-0

12 - Bleh. Immediate answer. 1-1

62 - Adcock gets the open ball and laterals it to Ling, running forward to catch the beautiful threaded pass. Three defenders swarming, so he lays it into space in the box. Makiadi sprints to beat the defense and slams the go-ahead! 2-1

69 - Dawe hits the corner when I realize I forgot to choose my set piece takers. Oops. We're awarded a PK, and Adcock can't convert... but he puts away his own rebound! 3-1

7.0 for Tom Bridle in the net, 7.6 for Adrian Dawe, and 7.9 for John Adcock. Good solid playing in the second half, though we looked very blah in the first 45 minutes.

vs Torpoint (Friendly)
G: Tom Bridle
D: Jeremy Hoskins/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Anthony Facey/Adrian Dawe
AM: Darren Ling
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock

21 - Ling recovers a bad pass by somebody and we work back to Hoskins, who shoots the long ball to Ling in the box. Two defenders are surrounding him, and the keeper's drifted way over there, too. Pass out center to Makiadi, and the open net eats the shot! 1-0

52 - Ryan Bayly comes in at DM, Ling switches to ML, Makiadi down to AMC, and Lewis Pook is a new ST. We haven't signed enough guys to bring in my own reserves yet, unfortunately.

62 - Fan favorite Jake Bradley replaces Hartley at DC.

74 - Damn. 1-1

Well, last time the Fishermen played these guys they lost - 1-3 or 1-2, I forget which. So a should have won is a sign of how far Porthleven has come already, I think. Officially, however, we're on something like a six game winless streak dating back to last season.

Loan In: DL Jon Casey (From Street)
Nothing special, really. Strictly a warm body while we try and find better cover elsewhere.

Rob O'Brien gets a head injury and will miss a week and a half to 2 weeks. Really need to step up the search for reserves I actually would like to have hanging around.

[Izulde]

There's only one cup to play for - the Walter C Parsons Cup, and the Fishermen have only made it to the second round once in this universe, where they lost on PKs.

Promotion Odds
Wroxham Reserves: 4-6
Ivybridge: Evens
Sticker: 10-1
Camelford: 10-1
Porthleven: 33-1
Liskeard Athletic: 50-1

Not bad - the bookies have us pegged for 5th, or one better than the team's 6th place in the first season. Evidently they're really excited about my being at the helm and the total roster overhaul.

vs Penzance (Friendly)
G: Tom Bridle
D: Jon Casey/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Darren Ling/Anthony Facey/Adrian Dawe
AM: Fred Makiadi
S: Lewis Pook/John Adcock

These guys won the league last season, so this is a good litmus test for where we really are as a team.

42 - Dawe gets the blast pass out right and hits a cracker cross that flattens the keeper. The ball is still loose, the goalie trying to get up, when Pook pounds forward, winning the foot race to dump it in. 1-0

48 - Dunford slides up to CM, and Bayly comes on as the DM.

55 - Bradley for Hartley

PotM is Jon Dunford with an 8.0, and Adrian Dawe adds on a 7.5. So, okay, we can compete with the big dogs right out the gate.

Jon Casey and Fred Makiadi are named Captain and Vice-Captain for the season, bypassing the old guard. The usual young captain angst, vice-captain happy. Interesting note about Makiadi: he's also eligible for DR Congo, and he speaks good French. Something to note in case we plunder the Francophone nations.

One of the old guard is pissed I named a temporary player captain, but most of the old regime players either don't care, or are happy. None of the new guys give a damn.

I spend way too damn much time trying to talk African national players to join us, all to no avail.

Transfer In - MC Mickey Hall (20) (From Barnstaple)
He's been fantastic when he's been given playing time - 11 Passing, Flair, and Jumping Reach, 16 Teamwork, 13 Work Rate and Natural Fitness. Huge boost in the central midfield, and next level capable right now. A future star, perhaps?

Expectations are nice and low from the board - Just finish mid-table and get to the Second Round of the Walter C Parson Cup. You got it.

We sell 9 season tickets, one less than the year before. Evidently Colin Martin got pissed at last season's suckfest and vowed to skip buying tickets this year, even though we should be so much better. Your loss, Mr. Martin.

Transfer In - MR/AMR Joe Peacock (25)
Free agent who has no real strengths and no real weaknesses. Still good enough that he really bolsters us on the right midfield slot.

A final tuneup match against some scrub team's U18 side sees a 2-0 victory and we're ready to get this show going for realsies.

BTW, now all of a sudden Tom Bridle is considered a 1*/1* due to all the upgrades we've been making. So we'll keep looking at keepers to try and find an upgrade.

@ Ivybridge
G: Tom Bridle
D: Jon Casey/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Darren Ling
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock

7 - Dunford to Ling just outside the box. Our guys are bunched up, but then Adcock moves forward to pick up the ball that Ling sends it to space, and BAM! First official Fisherman goal of the Jestor era!!! 1-0

10 - Peacock with the corner (finally did my set pieces), but it's headed away. Dunford heads the clearance right at the feet of Adcock for the layoff to O'Brien. Keeper comes out again, and the net's seared for the second time in four minutes! 2-0

25 - Casey's nerves get the best of him, and fucker own goals. 2-1

Bradley for Hartley; Facey for Hall at half, both players tired as shit.

72 - Peacock short passes the free kick to Facey, who immediately is surrounded by three defenders. He finds a seam and laterals to Ling, who has a wide open shot. Defender lunges too late as the long ground roller *just* hits the corner of the net! 3-1

81 - Casey throws in to Makiadi and gets it back. Our bad captain booms a shot way down the left flank ahead of O'Brien, who gets it *just* at the touchline. Center to Adcock who flex powers the header away from the keeper!!! 4-1



The Truro Five outlined in yellow. We just announced to the league there's a new power in town. Football in Cornwall has long been considered a joke, but this is our first step to changing that - demolishing a team favored to finish ahead of us, and on their own turf.

Oh, and Jake Bradley had a 7.0 off the bench as well, so yeah - total and absolute domination, especially in the second half.

What a gorgeous official debut.

[Izulde]

What happens when you can't sleep, and you feel like procrastinating on stuff you have to do? MOAR FM! (A lingering losing streak shall soon follow suit, I say).

vs Wroxham Reserves (3rd)
G: Tom Bridle
D: Jon Casey/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Darren Ling
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock

Well, we're getting some of the tough games out of the way early against our fellow title contenders.

24 - Adcock runs down a bad pass, just barely beating out the defense. Long medium pop ball bounces free space far post, and charging Ling puts away the score! 1-0

At half, Bradley for Hartley at DC; Ling to ML, Makiadi to AMC, and Pook in at ST, with tired O'Brien catching a break.

52 - Beautiful header to save a certain goal by Relen, and after the counter move, he gets the ball on a kick back, sending it forward to Peacock for the short dribble and high far post cross. Ling has the defense beat and is onsides for his second goal of the game! 2-0

91 - That was just poor defense by Relen there, unable to stay with his man. Stupid, tacky late goal. 2-1

Brilliant showing by Darren Ling with 8.8 and PotM. Mickey Hall picks up a 7.5 behind him. Not dominating like the last game, but still a victory we'll take.

Fred Makiadi suffers a sports hernia and is out 7-8 weeks - a devastating blow to our lineup and versatility. Grrr!

@ Wendron United (4th)
G: Tom Bridle
D: Jon Casey/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Darren Ling
S: Lewis Pook/John Adcock

18 - Double yellow for one of their guys! Let's press this!

Facey replaces Dunford at the half.

56 - Dawe for Peacock, who is tired and dragging ass out there.

69 - Ling passes back to the general area of Hall and Dawe, the former picking it up and delivering it to Pook in the box. He dribbles around the defender, and hits the shot! 1-0

Mickey Hall carried the squad single-handedly today, picking up a PotM 9.0. Next best was Dominic Relen with a 7.3. Unremarkable game against a tight-fisted defense, but we'll take it. Incidentally, that was Lewis Pook's 7th league appearance as a Fisherman, and his first goal.

Transfer In - DC Paul Jones (17) (From Truro City - Free Transfer
Make that Truro product #6. 10 Marking, 13 Teamwork, 11 Jumping Reach and Natural Fitness. It's a coin flip as to who is better between him and Kieran Hartley, so I'll probably rotate both until I decide which one is the best.

vs Plymstock United (2nd)
G: Tom Bridle
D: Paul Jones/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen (No DR)
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Darren Ling
S: Lewis Pook/John Adcock

...Or perhaps I can just not decide and go Asymmetrical! We'll try that in our biggest early test of the year, and see how it pans out.

27 seconds - Adcock wings out to Peacock, getting it back on the center, and the shot sings home! Talk about your quick strike devastation! 1-0

53 - That's down to Jones. 1-1

62 - Bradley for Jones; Ling out to ML and we change to 3-1-4-2, with the AMC dropping back for Facey to take charge of a new MC slot.

88 - Pook gets a skim pass and dribbles, then sends out to Ling on the flank. Two defenders on him, and Pook and Adcock are both ahead of the defense, yet onsides. Ground pass into the box, and Adcock slams in his second of the game! 2-1

90 - Huge header by Hall to stop an attack, and on the other end, Facey laterals to Hall for the pass up to Adcock. Heat's there, so he sends it into the box, where Pook is probably offsides, but he makes the 1 on 1 anyway and it's not called back! Their right midfielder goes to scream about the call, only to draw a warning. 3-1

91 - Facey forward to Pook for first touch side pass to Adcock. Send right back to Pook and into the box for Ling, and the keeper looks like he's given up, the kid I was "really looking to make a huge impact" netting yet another goal! 4-1

We woke up in the second half, and by game's end, Joe Peacock (8.4),Mickey Hall (8.0), Darren Ling (9.0), John Adcock (9.2 and PotM), and Lewis Pook (9.0), had completely crushed our nearest competitors. Props to Anthony Facey with his 7.0 off the bench, too. I'd love to give him more PT, but for now, he has to settle for being the guy who gets called on as a top reserve.

Pleased to see John Adcock break the club record for fastest goal scored. Previous mark was 35 seconds.

I certainly didn't expect to open with a four game win streak against this schedule, or to firmly be entrenched atop the table with some wiggle room! But with 32 games, it's only 1/8th of the season. Long, long way to go yet.

[Izulde]

Still can't sleep. Too tired to do anything I need to concentrate on. So more FM - besides, it's a buffer for those weeks when I'm too busy to post an update.

vs Vospers Oak Villa (12th)
G: Tom Bridle
D: Paul Jones/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen (No DR)
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Darren Ling
S: Lewis Pook/John Adcock

10 - Pook got drilled in the box, and Adcock converts the ensuing PK! 1-0

54 - Ugh. 1-1

59 - Facey in for Jones

Zero excuse to be drawing at home against such an inferior team.

I terminated Jon Casey's loan. Just don't trust the dude. Darren Ling is appointed captain instead, as he's now more suited than Fred Makiadi to take the band. He freaks out about it - some older regime dudes are yay, and no one else cares.

@ Liskeard Athletic (7th)
G: Tom Bridle
D: Paul Jones/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen (No DR)
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Darren Ling
S: Lewis Pook/John Adcock

52 - HE WAS FUCKING OFFSIDES!!! 0-1

54 - KEYBOARD SMASH!@#%$#%tertgagertertgawetgeatr#^%#^tq#@ 0-2

62 - Facey for Dunford; Bradley for Jones

77 - HEY FUCKNOZZLES! START FUCKING PLAYING! 0-3

79 - Meaningless fucking goal by Pook. 1-3

@ Millbrook (9th)
G: Tom Bridle
D: Paul Jones/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen (No DR)
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Darren Ling
S: Lewis Pook/John Adcock

24 - Fucking Adcock give up the fucking PK. 0-1

56 - Ling runs down the middle of the pitch to catch a longball just outside the box. I'm thinking he's going to shoot, but he sends it left to O'Brien for the cross opposite side, where all alone Peacock flies in for his first Fisherman goal! 1-1

58 - This is my screaming in your fucking STUPID NO SHOT BLOCKING ASS ON THAT FREE KICK BRIDLE!!! 1-2

64 - My keyboard refuses to snap in half. Bradley for Hartley; Facey for Hall

65 - O'Brien catches a longball by the touchline and centers to Adcock. First touch header to Pook, and we're level again. 2-2

81 - ARE YOU FUCKING KDIDSLDFNSLGNALSGNASLGNASNLF AHDGSLFAJFALFJGOLASH 2-3

Transfer In - GK Colin Down (18) (From Truro City - Free Transfer
#7. I'm now convinced Tom Bide is a dumpster fire and a half. Down isn't great either, by any means, but he's a lot younger, and at 2/4 or 1/3.5, depending on who you talk to, he's an improvement now and in the future.

@ St Martins (Walter C Parson Cup First Round)
G: Colin Down
D: Jake Bradley/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen (No DR)
DM: Anthony Facey
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Adrian Dawe
AM: Darren Ling
S: Lewis Pook/John Adcock

28 - WHAT.THE.ACTUAL.FUCK IS GOING ON?! 0-1

51 - Fuck it. Dawe to DM, Peacock in at MR. Out goes Bradley as we switch to a normal fucking formation, Hoskins in. We've lost anyway.

76 - I should have fucking stayed in Lindfield. 0-2

Another bitter, bitter loss.

Transfer In - DL Ollie Bennett (20)
Warm body, meet position.

vs Bude Town (11th)
G: Colin Down
D: Ollie Bennett/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Darren Ling
S: Lewis Pook/John Adcock

26 - Hall recovers a cleared corner and sends it back to Peacock. Cross near post is to a dancing Adcock, who sliiiiiiiiiides right for the ball and cracks the shot in! Our first lead in forever. 1-0

39 - Peacock mails it to a flying O'Brien, but he whiffs the shot. Defense tries to kick it away, but it dribbles right, and Ling keeps pace with it to just tap in his 5th goal of the year. 2-0

55 - Sigh. 0-1

62 - Facey for Dunford; Jones for Hartley

8.5 for PotM Joe Peacock. We finally get off the snide, but still drop to 2nd on goal differential and could fall even further with games in hand of teams below us.

We sign a trio of free agent developmental prospects at striker. Hopefully the nightmare is over. We'll get Fred Makiadi back next game, too, and I think his absence has hurt us tremendously. We'll see some shifting of the lineup with his return.

[Izulde]

One thing worth noting - our attendance has skyrocketed to the point where we've already doubled last season's profits just about, and we're only 25% of the way through the year. Hiring me was the best decision Porthleven FC has ever made.

vs Holsworthy (10th)
G: Colin Down
D: Ollie Bennett/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Darren Ling
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock

56 - Jones for Hartley; Pook for Adcock and striker switch.

70 - Bennett throws in to Pook for the short kick back to Dunford. High ball into the box makes the defender miss the header, and Makiadi picks the perfect time to drill his first Fisherman goal! 1-0

83 - Hall forwards it to Ling for the feed to Makiadi, who is promptly smashed to the ground. Loose ball rolls, and Ling runs with it to fire in the clincher! 2-0

85 - Awful defensive effort by Jones. That also dropped us back to 2nd. 2-1

PotM was Darren Ling with a 7.9, and Mickey Hall dominated the midfield with a 7.8. We're in 2nd on goal differential, but the new first place team (Ivybridge) also has a game in hand on us.

Transfer In - ST Dominic Pears (19)
12 Flair, 12 Acceleration, 12 Pace, 10 Strength. The laziest damn player I've ever seen (1 Work Rate!). Excellent potential, however, and we'll give him a chance at starting, because I want to shift some positions around to strengthen our squad.

@ Illogan RBL (9th)
G: Colin Down
D: Ollie Bennett/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Darren Ling/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Fred Makiadi
S: John Adcock/Dominic Pears

54 - O'Brien for Ling; Facey for Dunford

92 - O'Brien with the fabulous header clearance on a free kick, knocking it down to Makiadi, who dribbles all the way down the center of the pitch, draws the defense, and laterals it to Adcock for the charge and last minute score!!!!! 1-0

We honestly deserved to lose this one - Kieran Hartley's 7.4 and Fred Makiadi's 7.3 bailed us out on what was a game that clearly showed people struggling with our adjustments.

Ivybridge got DESTROYED 0-5, putting us firmly back in 1st, 3 points ahead of the team that trashed them. That's one way to wreck your GD.

Jon Dunford is leading the league in tackles/game at 4.01. That's always good to see.

@ Stickler (5th)
G: Colin Down
D: Ollie Bennett/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Darren Ling/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Fred Makiadi
S: John Adcock/Dominic Pears

To me there's not a whole lot of differentiation in talent levels in the league. It very much has the feel of anyone can beat anybody else on any given day. Hopefully as our team gels together, we'll continue to be on top and start being dominant, but we haven't really seen that yet - lots of close wins.

Relen and Hartley get yellow-carded in the first six minutes, and Darren Ling has a yellow just before half. Some real home cooking bullshit here. Jones is in for gassed Hartley at half.

68 - Facey for Hall

Frankly, we deserved to lose this one. It would really help if Kieran Hartley could actually finish a game. We're likely to lose our lead because Ivybridge has a game in hand and is just 1 point behind.

Darren Ling gets praised by the press, and I genuinely do love that kid. $1.9k profit for the month, and the board is absolutely thrilled with me having us on top of the league. Remember, we were projected to finish 5th, and were 33-1 longshots to win the title, so for us to be playing this well is incredible.

vs Mousehole (17th)
G: Colin Down
D: Ollie Bennett/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Darren Ling/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Fred Makiadi
S: John Adcock/Dominic Pears

28 - Makiadi flares it out on the far right wing to Peack for an exquisite center to Adcock. Shot's deflected, but Adcock puts in his own rebound! 1-0

33 - Horrible throw-in. 1-1

35 - Fucking awful pass. 1-2

Screaming ensues.

[b]48[/b - FFS. 1-3

50 - Peacock's IDFK is cleared, but Pears traps it just outside the half-circle and slams the long bomb! Jones and Facey come in as DC as we switch to 3 central defenders. Our fullbacks are just getting absolutely slaughtered out there. 2-3

53 - Adcock has two defenders on him on the left side, so he kicks back to Hall for a header to Makiadi just outside the half-circle. BOOM! Same space, same cannon shot, and now same score. 3-3

We showed superb fightback in getting to the draw, and even had a couple chances to win late in the game. A drop to 3rd is no doubt forthcoming, however, and I think we're going to switch to a 3 DC setup. Our fullbacks are just absolute trash. We also lose Darren Ling for 5-6 weeks to a back injury. Not good. Not good at all.

@ Camelford (13th)
G: Colin Down
DC: Paul Jones/Kieran Hartley/Anthony Facey
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Fred Makiadi
S: John Adcock/Dominic Pears

Miraculously, the teams below us lost all their games in hand, keeping us in 1st place. Nobody who is any good wants to come be a Fisherman, which is frustrating, but we'll keep trying.

20 - THREE FUCKING DEFENDERS ON HIM AND HE SCORES! 0-1

39 - Own goal by Facey. Terrible. F. 0-2

Bradley in for [b]Facey[a/b] at half, and I'm fucking ripping into the team.

77 - Dunford to Adcock for the booming ball to O'Briend near the touchline. Cross far post, and Pears drops in what is no doubt just a consolation goal. 1-2

And there's the drop to 2nd, finally. I wish I knew WTF is wrong with this team. We didn't play badly enough to lose, so this is really

[Izulde]

vs Newquay (5th)
G: Colin Down
DC: Paul Jones/Kieran Hartley/Anthony Facey
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AM: Fred Makiadi
S: John Adcock/Dominic Pears

We've fallen to third once everyone's played 13 games. Meh.

17 - Terrible. Backline got caught pushing up. 0-1

19 - O'Brien is hounded by two defenders on the left sideline, but he's able to turn and center to Hall just inside the box. There's some flight on that shot and it cracks the upper corner of the net for his first Fisherman goal! 1-1

53 - Bradley for Jones; Dawe for Hall

57 - FML. 1-2

We keep falling further and further behind, and I'm not sure how to fix it. Mickey Hall is going to miss our next game, too.

Transfer In - MC Jason Hawes (19) (From Portland United)
11 Passing, 17 Teamwork, 12 Work Rate, 11 Balance, 10 Stamina. Struggled to produce in the leagues directly above us, but he's got the kind of attributes that should make us a more cohesive team - he and Mickey Hall are both great passers, so we might shift to a 2 MC set up and a 3-1-4-2 Flat.

@ Dobwalls (12th)
G: Colin Down
D: Ollie Bennett/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
DM: Jon Dunford
M: Rob O'Brien/Jason Hawes/Joe Peacock
AM: Fred Makiadi
S: John Adcock/Dominic Pears

Clearly, three DCs is just not working for us, so we go back to what worked before.

10 - Beautiful long ball into space by Bennett. O'Brien picks it up, dribbles further down the left flank, and far post crosses. Pears uses his speed and quickness to beat the defense and score with ease. Our first lead in forever. 1-0

50 - Peacock on the corner to Hartley's head, and there's the insurance! 2-0

55 - No excuse for Down to fail at stopping that. Makiadi moves up to Adcock's spot, and we do change to the 3-1-4-2 setup, with Dawe coming as the second CM. 2-1

68 - Bennett just sat in the fucking corner and let them take the ball away like he's fucking get paid for it!!! Tired Dunford out for Facey 2-2

86 - ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! FACEY'S FUCKING SECOND OWN GOAL OF THE FUCKING YEAR?! 2-3

Free falling to fifth, our original prediction. Granted, we got fucked hard by our two best players going out with injury.. but still. Bullshit is bullshit.

In other news, Burgess Hill Rhinos are doing their usual smash things. Cheddar is second, and fighting for a promotion spot. Lindfield is 1st, despite a huge rash of injuries downing the Swans - Jon Joyce, Michael Monaghan, and Orlando Joao are all on the injured list.

[Izulde]

Transfer Out - WBL/ML/AML Jeremy Hoskins (19) (To Dobwalls)
He just wasn't going to ever crack our rotation, so out he goes.

vs Penryn Athletic (19th)
G: Colin Down
D: Ollie Bennett/Kieran Hartley/Paul Jones/Dominic Relen
M: Rob O'Brien/Jason Hawes/Mitchell Hall/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/Dominic Pears

Much as I hate the flat 4-4-2, it's what we're changing to in order to try and break out of this slump.

41 - Hall kicks it back to Hartley for the longball to Makiadi. Pass between three defenders to Pears, and the power strike punches in! 1-0

48 - Amazing effort by Ling to run back and take the ball away when they're mounting a counter attack. He gives to Hall for a gorgeous flareout right side down the line. Pears gets it and dribbles all the way to the touchline before crossing. Keeper comes out, and Makiadi makes him pay! 2-0

66 - Hawes is dribbling down the middle of the pitch when he wings it to Ling. High cross to Makiadi, and the header hits with authority! 3-0

80 - We didn't really need that own goal, but we'll take it! 4-0

83 - Three defenders on one striker means the other scores on the layoff. 4-1

87 - What the hell?! 4-2

Fairly disastrous last 20 minutes there, as I probably should have subbed, but we were playing brilliantly. 7.9 for Jason Hawes, 7.6 for Darren Ling, 7.8 for Dominic Pears, and 9.1 for PotM Fred Makiadi. We *finally* snap the winless drought, moving from to 6th to 4th, 3 points and GD back of the new leader.



As you can see, halfway through the season, it's still a pretty tightly clustered table, with Sticker perhaps worthy of their top spot, but there's a lot of room for someone to emerge as the top dog over the second half of the year.

Loan In - DL/WBL Cameron Ainley (18) - From Bristol Manor Farm
10 Decisions, 12 Flair, 14 Teamwork, 16 Work Rate, and solid all-around physical attributes highlighted by 10 Balance and Natural Fitness, and 11 Stamina. We had just a warm body there in Ollie Bennett, and I think this season long loanee will go a long way to addressing those problems.

vs Ivybridge (2nd)
G: Colin Down
D: Cameron Ainley/Kieran Hartley/Paul Jones/Dominic Relen
M: Darren Ling/Jason Hawes/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/Dominic Pears

9 - Bad defense there. 0-1

21 - Makiadi sends it out to all alone Peacock for the center to Hall and the surprising score. 1-1

[b]28[/b - Hall to Hawes to Makiadi straight line. The fierce shot's deflected, but Pears escapes the defense and angles the rebound diagonal just right for the go-ahead goal! 2-1

43 - Our backline took a nap there. 2-2

So frustrating that our defense continues to be so awful.

52 - Facey and Dunford replace our two DCs.

57 - I FUCKING HATE THIS SHITLORD DEFENSE! 2-3

67 - Gorgeous long-range strike by Peacock there. 3-3

82 - Hawes plays to Hall for the ball up to Makiadi. He dribbles and a horde of four defenders starts swarming on him, the keeper coming out to challenge. Coming out is stupid to do against Makiadi, and he scores the go-ahead goal! 4-3

8.3 for Joe Peacock, 8.6 for Mickey Hall, 8.7 for Jason Hawes, and 8.5 for Fred Makiadi, as we steal the most important 3 points of the season and inch up to 2nd place, a point behind new leaders Plymstock United.

Anthony Facey is out 2 weeks with a nasty bruise, but I don't really care. What I do care is that Jason Hawes will miss the next game due to yellow cards accumulation. He's been absolutely vital since I managed to steal him away.

@ Wroxham Reserves (17th)
G: Colin Down
D: Cameron Ainley/Kieran Hartley/Paul Jones/Dominic Relen
M: Rob O'Brien/Mickey Hall/Adrian Dawe/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/Dominic Pears

Matches played before this one dropped us to 4th place. You never know what kind of players you're going to face when you're up against a Reserves team, this is going to be a little nerve-wracking.

They're playing dirty, injuring Dawe and Makiadi in the first half, so Dunford and Adcock respectively come on to replace them at the break.

48 - Same old story. Defense is shit. 0-1

60 - Dunford wings out to Peacock. Ball centers to Adcock, but the shot's blocked by the defender's head. No problem, as Pears puts the equalizer away. 1-1

65 - HOW THE FUCK ARE MY DEFENDERS THE HIGHEST RATED ON THE TEAM?! 1-2

Pathetic. Paul Jones keeps fucking up so he's out, and we have to back to our old scheme, I think. Adrian Dawe is out 2 weeks, and we just can't keep a healthy midfield.

Transfer In - MR/AMR/ST Claudio Herbert (28) (Portuguese) (From Barnstaple)
Not that skilled, but 13 Acceleration and 11 Pace mean he's quick and fast. We'll give him a try as we experiment with different shit. Not like we could do much worse with our shitty backline.

vs Wendron United (16th)
G: Colin Down
D: Cameron Ainley/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
M: Darren Ling/Jason Hawes/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
AMR: Claudio Herbert
S: Fred Makiadi/Dominic Pears

I may have screwed up on the starters, because I can't remember when Darren Ling went back in, and I sometimes miss things when I copy/paste. So it's the debut of a 3-4-3 Asymmetrical AMR setup.

59 - Switching to a normal 3-4-3 as Dunford replaces Hall and I change Peacock out for Adcock and a 3 strikers formation, Herbert dropping to MR.

71 - Ling tries to cross to Makiadi, but heading stuff happens. Adcock pounces and shoots, but it's deflected. No worries, as Makiadi hits the rebound! 1-0

76 - FFS defense! 1-1

81 - Hartley's knocked out, so a I jury rig a 3-3-1-3, with Ling an AMC and O'Brien as the ML.

88 - Dunford gets smacked with a red card and I'm like ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! I HAVE FUCKING NO MORE DCS LEFT!!!!

91 - Pears recovers a corner kick clearance and goes right side to Ling. Cross to Adcock. Shot blocked, but Adcock gets his own rebound and makes the miracle long shot go home!!!!!!!!!!! 2-1

Jason Hawes may have won PotM with a 7.7, but there's no question John Adcock's 7.6 off the bench saved us, and we're back in 2nd on goal differential as the ping-ponging at the top of the table continues.



Accurate AF. Wish I knew how to fix our porous defense - I've had to go Attacking or Overload consistently the last few games, and a lot of times I'll simply just leave it because we're so bad at the back and can't find anyone willing to come play for us.

On the plus side, our offense has been amazing, and seems to specialize in clutch goals late in games.

[Izulde]

vs Liskeard Athletic (1st)
G: Colin Down
D: Ollie Bennett/Paul Jones/Dominic Relen
M: Darren Ling/Jason Hawes/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock/Dominic Pears

We're going to try a flat 3-4-3 in this key matchup to see how it does.

6 - Fuck. 0-1

11 - My. 0-2

44 - Life! 0-3

49 - Ainley for Bennett; Herbert for Peacock as we continue to get wrecked. 0-4

63 - Meaningless goal by Pears here. 1-4

Absolutely devastating loss. We got our asses hammered six ways to Sunday.

Transfer In - DLC Isaac Archer (19) (From Bodmin)
11 Leadership, 10 Positioning, 15 Teamwork, 12 Balance, 11 Natural Fitness. High potential DL player who will again try to address our revolving door at the position. A side note worth mentioning - Dominic Relen now has increased potential, so we're not going to shop too hard for a replacement there, unless someone now elite stands out.

@ Plymstock United (4th)
G: Colin Down
D: Isaac Archer/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
M: Darren Ling/Jason Hawes/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock/Dominic Pears

5 - Relen throws into Peacock, but the ensuing cross is blocked. Ball bounces back to Relen, and his highball pass into the box lands at Makiadi's feet for the score! 1-0

6 - Two defenders and they still fucking can't stop a cross@#%!$%!@$! 1-1

8 - WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THIS SHITLORD TEAM?q@$%#qw$^#%q@#$%w@ 1-2

37 - Hall out to Peacock for the dribble and high pass into the box. Makiadi -just- beats the keeper for the equalizer. 2-2

41 - I just lost half my keys threw keyboard. 2-3

43 - Makiadi scores his hat trick before half, the first for one of my players in a long time, and first Fisherman to do it. I forgot how it happened, because I was busy searching for all my lost keys (found them). 3-3

53 - Ainley for Archer; Dunford for Hall

58 - Oh look, a BULLSHIT long range goal. 3-4

62 - FUCK YOU!!!!!! ADCOCK WAS ONSIDES YOU FUCKING SHEEPFUCKING COCKMAGGOT REF!!!

82 - WHY THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SUDDENLY LAY OFF AND LET HIM FUCKING SHOOT AND SCORE?!?! 3-5

84 - Peacock dribble and cross to Adcock. He lays off into space for Ling for the goal that doesn't fucking matter. 4-5

88 - Ainley to Adcock to Makiadi and holy shit late equalizer!~!! 5-5

90 - JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!!!! WHAT THE FUCKING KINDOLSHBGOLASGOLASOSHOGHASOHGW FUCK YOU AINLEY AND YOUR FUCKING GAY FUCKING LIMPWRISTED FUCKING THROW-INS!!! 5-6

92 - Down just fuckign gave up on taht one. 5-7

@ Vospers Oak Villa (8th)
G: Colin Down
D: Isaac Archer/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
M: Darren Ling/Jason Hawes/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock/Dominic Pears

After doing some research, we're going to try playing wider and higher up, but with a Structured setup. Felt like the Balanced approach was costing us.

16 - Hall sends it out to Ling on the wing. Cross far post has Pears charging forward from the defender and powering it away. 1-0

20 - PK and Pears produces!!! Can this finally be the game we need? 2-0

37 - Down should have stopped that. 2-1

51 - Pears kicks it back to Hawes for a precision pop ball to Adcock on the box line. Three defenders blanketing him, but one misses the sliding tackle and he sings it in! 3-1

60 - Dunford for Hartley; Peacock slides inside and Herbert comes in at MR.

67 - Makiadi just outside the box. He short passes to Adcock, who dribbles on the boundary line before short pass in box to Pears, and BOOM! goes the Happy Hat Trick! 4-1

70 - Another goal Down should have stopped. 4-2

78 - Fucking retarded own goal by Dunford. I'm going to be so, so, SO fucking pissed... 4-3

Obvious PotM is Dominic Pears with a 9.4, but give credit also to Jason Hawes with an 8.2. John Adcock just misses the 7.5 mark with a 7.4.

We're back up in 3rd, but 4 and 5 points behind Plymstock United and Liskeard Athletic respectively. Those two teams have really separated themselves as the class of the league. We can still fall back to 5th, however, due to games in hand.

Transfer In - GK Jim Taylor (19)
Whether he's a 3*/3* or a 4*/4* player (my top two analysts differ), what's clear is that this street free agent absolutely destroysColin Down (1.5* current) in almost every key area of goalkeeping. This young man could well be the one thing we need to save our season.

[Izulde]

vs Millbrook (7th)
G: Jim Taylor
D: Isaac Archer/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
M: Darren Ling/Jason Hawes/Mickey Hall/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock/Dominic Pears

3 - Own goal by Hartley. JFC. 0-1

13 - Hawes grounds it out to Peacock and luckily it wasn't intercepted. Cross to Makiadi and the shot is blocked. Ball is literally sitting on the line, but Makiadi is able to run up and tap it in. 1-1

35 - Crossbar screwed us on that corner kick 1-2

37 - 1-3

50 - Ainley for Archer; Herbert for Pears

We hammered them repeatedly in the second half, but just couldn't get anything going.

Making matters worse, Jason Hawes goes home sick for 2-3 weeks with a particularly nasty virus.

@ Bude Town (12th)
G: Jim Taylor
D: Isaac Archer/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
M: Colin Micciche/Mickey Hall/Darren Ling/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock/Dominic Pears

Miccichie is an excellent crosser who was already on the team, so I've decided to give him a shot here.

7 - Caught napping on the counterattack there. 0-1

25 - In off the crossbar. 0-1

28 - CAN *WE* GET ANY FUCKING CROSSBAR LUCK?! HELL FUCKING NO!

41 - I'm looking for a new job. 0-3

54 - Hall plays a long ball for Herbert, who replaced Makiadi. Dribble and shoot for the Portuguese veteran's first Fisherman goal. 1-3

65 - Fucking cocksucker fluke goal to eliminate any fucking chance we had at coming back. 1-4

80 - Adcock with the meaningless goal. 2-4

Unfortunately, there's no jobs I want to apply to, so I'm kind of stuck here.

vs Illogan RBL (14th)
G: Jim Taylor
D: Cameron Ainley/Kieran Hartley/Dominic Relen
M: Colin Micciche/Mickey Hall/Darren Ling/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock/Dominic Pears

2 - We suck suck suck suck. 0-1

32 - Peacock cross pitch to Micciche for the beautiful center to Adcock. Three defenders breathing down his neck? No problem as he scores with ease. 1-1

35 - Peacock corner to Hartley head and it's in! 2-1

36 - Surprised that we fuck up right away because Adcock makes a shitlord backpass to no one? Yeah, me either. 2-2

49 - It's like we've given up all semblance of trying. 2-3

59 - Herbert for injured Pears and Taylor is yanked for Down.

80 - Here's the post fucking us over twice in a row.

84 - Ling longball to Adcock for the header into space. Makiadi picks it up and rifles a long one to equalize. 3-3

We genuinely should have been able to win this one.

John Adcock breaks the club goals scored record in a season with 12.

@ Holsworthy (13th)
G: Jim Taylor
DC: Isaac Archer/Kieran Hartley/Paul Jones
M: Darren Ling/Mickey Hall/Jason Hawes/Joe Peacock
S: Fred Makiadi/John Adcock/Claudio Herbert

Switching back to 3 DCs, because our fullbacks stink.

28 - Fuck.

32 - This. 0-2

61 - Earlier in half, Dunford replaced Archer; Facey came in for Hawes. Here, Makiadi plays it forward to Adcock and with two defenders sandwiching him, he threads the lateral to Herbert for the sizzling strike. 1-2

68 - Makiadi wings out to Peacock for the straight pass to Herbert just inside the corner of the box. The crazy long shot somehow finds its way in, and we're back in this! 2-2

81 - And of course FUCKING RETARDED DUNFORD IS HIT WITH A PK! 2-3

82 - FUCK YOU !!!! FUCK YOU SHFASHDFAOSHGASOHFOASFUAF ADCOCK WAS ONSIDES!!!!!

86 - Herbert to Peacock. Goalie comes out, and Peacock lays off to Makiadi for the wide open late equalizer 3-3

87 - ARE YOU FCHDGGAOSGHAOSDFHOASHGFOASHF ADCOKCAHDOFHOASDHFOASDHASHOFA AW ODFDLFJSDFDUACKSC ONSIDES!!!!

88 - BUT YOU DONT' CALL THEAHRA FUCKIDFHSKGHS FHSOGHAODFHS OFFSIDES?! FUSKVSOFHAOSFHDOAHFOASFHGOASDUHGIODHFIOADHUIODFIUHAIOFHAWUIO 3-4

[b]90[/B[ - FUCK EVERYFAHAGIHGNAGAWRT AWRTGASR GA RGF ASGHAEOGHERYH34O5903Y54U3904WTYA 3-5

I resign immediately after the match. I can't watch this shitass team anymore.

Time to find a new job. Fuck Cornwall, fuck its shitty soccer. Fuck FM. Fuck everything.

[Izulde]

One of the biggest reasons for my failure in Porthleven compared to my success everywhere else was my inability to bring in defenders with high Composure. My successful teams always accomplished that. Interestingly enough, in the press conference after my resignation, the journalist noted that while the board loved me, the fans despised me. I got rid of a lot of their favorites and 5th wasn't good enough despite the improvement it represented.

A second interview asks why I keep resigning from teams, even though this is the first time in this dynasty I've done it. The other so-called resignations were to take other, theoretically better jobs.

I definitely want to return to an Amateur side. Building up an organization to a semi-pro team is really what I love doing. Not that I regret leaving Lindfield - the bug was really getting to me. The Swans have dealt with a lot of injuries this year, but are strongly 2nd in the next league, and look to be close to an automatic lock to promote. Cheddar is 5th, and just can't seem to break the hump of being an upper tier but not quite there Western Premier squad. Burgess Hill Rhinos I don't need to say anything about. Paul Lorraine has done masterful work in building on what I did there.

It amazes me how well FM replicates how shit soccer is in Cornwall. Definitely the single most frustrating experience I've had - especially going from 1st to suddenly not being able to do anything right at all.

The Fishermen drop to 10th before they hire a new manager, who installs a 4-3-3 with 3 CMs. (Ling/Peacock/Hall) and they get a 2-0 win in their first match under him.

Ideally I'd want something with a team name, but a cool logo would definitely appeal, and so when an Insecure job comes up with one of that latter category, I go ahead and declare public interest to see if I can force the guy out. Paper is rife with speculation that it may happen.

Porthleven goes on a three game winning streak under their new manager to finish the Fishermen's original projected 5th. Lindfield does indeed promote comfortably, finishing 2nd. Burgess Hill Rhinos you already know kept smashing everyone. Cheddar finished 5th.

The insecure manager of cool logo team is indeed fired, so I apply, because none of the other amateur gigs that have opened up appeal to me particularly. It's not a guarantee I even take this job, TBH. They're taking forever to get back to me, and Adele had a house there, which annoys me. I hate that song. There's another club who didn't fire their manager who kind of interests me. That second club dismisses my interest, which actually intrigues me even more. That takes big balls, considering the things I've done.

I bomb the interview with cool logo Adele club when I tell them they have to buy the stadium the club plays in. Whatever. They took until the end of May to bring me in for an interview, so they clearly weren't serious about me.

I'm honestly getting a little antsy, however - I'm missing out on the offseason and a chance to build a roster. Maybe I should have just taken it anyway and played nice. ...Nah. The village is so small, it doesn't even have its own population. That's *too* tiny.

I find another cool logo team with a nifty history of the place it's in. They have a name - it's boring, but at least they have one. Unlike other cool logo club, which took almost two months to interview me, this second one only takes a week and a half before bringing me in. The club really wants high profile players, but I can't commit to that. The interview continues, however, so I'm hoping I still have a shot.

5 days later, they bring me in to discuss the terms of employment, and it's a fast signing.

It's June 23rd. Not much left of the offseason to change this roster and start putting things in place.

[Izulde]

Harold Wood Athletic The Wood
The club was founded in 1908, and in this universe have largely been a midtier squad in the Essex Olympian Football League. But last season, they finished in 2nd place, before their manager took a job at another amateur club.

Harold Wood itself is a suburb of northeast London of just over 12,000 people - so quite small, despite its proximity to the larger city. The town got its name from Harold Godwinson, who got his ass kicked in 1066 by William, and many of the original roads are named after great Anglo-Saxon kings.

As for Harold Wood itself beyond that nifty history note... it's a town where there's not much. No formal shopping district (or High Street) as such. Pretty much the train station and that's it.

Actually... that's really, really boring. I'm going to quit. I need something more interesting than that.

The media is flabbergasted that I quit after two days, but I did leave the Wood in a much better spot - I fired their shit staff and put out job offers for a fantastic assistant manager, chief scout, and coach.

Happily another job opened up with awesome logo and team name that's quite unique, in a much better town both in terms of visual appeal and actually having a High Street.


Cuckfield Town White Bellies

What a great logo and team name! The town itself is roughly 3,500 people, so quite small. But its High Street has among other things, a tea house and Thai and Indian eateries - quite an unexpected variety of food for such a small place. The village itself is a charming, pretty place, and I'm excited to note that there's archery classes and stuff, too. Also a golf course here, which looks pretty from pictures.

The White Bellies started off in the Mid Sussex Championship in this universe, relegated after two years, spent three seasons in Mid Sussex Division One before going back up, and spent just one year in the Mid Sussex Championship - by taking 2nd and promoting to the Mid Sussex Premier League, where the board is expecting a 3rd place finish.

Friendly season's already started, and they drew 1-1. I *just* get my staff all signed in time for the second friendly - well except the physio that I forgot I need. Thanks to Cuckfield's rapid rise, I was able to attract top-flight talent, and we're 2* or better in all training categories. Including stealing one of the guys I originally offered at Harold Wood.

There's no one capable of playing DR on this squad right now, so that's priority #1

[b]@ VCD (Friendly)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Matt Jackson
DC Bradley Williams/Tom Burgin
DM Tim Johnson-Cole
ML Wes Henderson
MC Josh Treadwell
MR Elliot Green
AMC Luke Gibbs
ST Kevin Brees/Simon Shenton

We're not expected to have any chance against a semi-pro team - less so when Wes Henderson goes out with injury and our setup gets *really* wonky. But Kevin Brees makes a couple clutch goals and we claw back from 0-2 to salvage a 2-2 draw. He nets an 8.9 and Luke Gibbs gets a 9.0 and PotM.

Transfer In - DL/WBL Joe O'Donoghue (27) (From Winchester)
Despite his struggles in recent years with Winchester, this Leyton Orient product looks very strong for our level - 12 Long Throws, 14 Bravery, 10 Composure, 10 Concentration, 10 Decisions, and 19 Teamwork! :o His one flaw is that he's kinda mediocre physically, but I'm okay with that. He's a major upgrade at the left side IMO, even though he's only considered good at the next level up.

Mid Sussex Premier Promotion Odds
Alliance: 4-5
Ifield Galaxy: 2-1
Cuckfield Town: 8-1

Yeah, 3rd.

Transfer In DR/WBR Kenny Potter (20)
Free agent with solid mental attributes, including 11 Bravery, and 11 Acceleration on the physical side. My staff absolutely loves him. Better still, he fills in a critical spot at the DR - namely, giving us someone who can actually play there.

@ Sidlesham (Friendly)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Joe O'Donoghue
DC Bradley Williams/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
DM Tim Johnson-Cole
MC Josh Treadwell/Elliott Green
AMC Luke Gibbs
ST Kevin Brees/Simon Shenton

4 - Green to Brees for the gorgeous ball forward for Gibbs. Three defenders in the area, but he calmly sets up his shot before rifling it in! 1-0

38 - Johnson-Cole with the short pass to Green and on to Gibbs. Lovely box ball for Brees, who dribbles three steps and slams it in! 2-0

75 - My fault for not going defensive soon enough. 2-1

Luke Gibbs quickly showing why he's a fan favorite - 9.0 rating and his second straight PotM award. True, it's only a friendly season, but still.

Transfer In - DM/DC/MC Graham Stewart (22) (Free Agent)
11 Teamwork, Work Rate, and Stamina; and 13 Decisions. Pretty raw technically, but he's going to get a long look as our new DM. A full-time starter ever since he broke in with Bowers, a semi-pro outfit in the Essex Senior League.

Transfer In - DC/DM/MC Jamie Diaper (16) (Transfer From Horsham)
We convince a Isthmian D1 team to part with one of its youth prospects, and I'm pretty excited about him and his potential. 11 Tackling, 10 Decisions, 11 Flair, 14 Teamwork, 13 Balance. Hate his lack of composure, so he's not going to play DC. Instead, I'll have him as the new DM, and make Graham Stewart a CM.

Another friendly to go, but I'll take a break here. Slowly working on getting this team together, though it turns out I'm working on building the defense up first. Which is fine. After the aggravation I had with some clubs in this universe (esp. Porthleven) that's a good thing.

[Izulde]

@ Phoenix Sports
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Joe O'Donoghue
DC Bradley Williams/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
DM Jamie Diaper
MC Elliott Green/Graham Stewart
AMC Luke Gibbs
ST Kevin Brees/Simon Shenton

Kevin Brees is injured in the 87th minute, and it's a draw due to our playing like complete crap. Brees is out 3-4 weeks.

I name Kenny Potter and Jamie Diaper captain and vice-captain for the season, because of how I see the lineup shaking out once we get more players in. The move angers a couple people, but is supported by others. Kenny himself feels pressured by it.

Transfer In - DM/MC/AMC Mason Hirst (26) (From Lindfield)
You knew this was going to happen, and I was going to start bringing in some of my people. Lindfield and Cuckfield are just 3.5 miles apart, so Swans raiding is going to be a thing. My staff are lukewarm on Hirst, but the guy just produces in my system, so he's going to start. Sorrynotsorry.

Transfer In - ST Justin Leavers (23) (From Lindfield)
Admittedly, Leavers was never great as a Swan after we stole the league scoring leader away from Mountfield United, but I still believe in his potential, as does my staff, who are amazed at his upside. Our strikers are also so bad, he's the best one right now by a fairly large margin.

We sell 11 season tickets, same as last year.

Transfer In - DCR Rhys Myers (24) (From Kings Langley)
Graduate of the League 1 Notts County system. Bounced around a lot of different leagues and teams, with never settling in anywhere. 13 Bravery, 11 Determination, 12 Leadership, 11 Teamwork, 11 Acceleration. A bit raw right now in terms of being a DC (He's best suited to DR), but his 9 Composure gives him the nod there - plus, team captain Kenny Potter and all.

Incidentally, before the rash of signings seen here, Kenny Potter and Phillip Thomas (who is a phenomenal GK at just 17 BTW), are mentioned as the key players to our season. Seems legit.

Transfer In - AMC/MC Carl Rose (16) (Transfer From Ascot)
Note: When I say Transfer, it means he was signed to a money contract with a team and we made formal transfer offer. Anyway, just to give you an idea of my staff: My Chief Scout is 14/14 JPA/JPP (who I also stole from my inital offer to Harold Wood), my Assman is 14/7 JPA/JPP, and my Coach is 11/10 JPA/JPP. So every one of them is really smart at finding talent for this level. I think it was my coach who recommended this kid, who is easily the biggest future star I've ever signed, and he's amazing right now. 18 Flair, 13 Acceleration, 10 Agility, 10 Balance, 14 Pace! Obviously he's our new AMC, and I can't wait to see him dazzle everyone out there. He was worth $1.5k, and Ascot let him go for nothing. Huge, huge, huge get.

@ Ashurst Wood
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Joe O'Donoghue
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
DM Jamie Diaper
MC Mason Hirst/Graham Stewart
AMC Carl Rose
ST Kevin Brees/Justin Leavers

My 222nd game as a head coach comes in my first Cuckfield Town White Bellies match. Pretty damn cool. Really excited about the changes I've made to the squad. Still looking for another DC and a ST to make all but the keeper my own guys.

28 - Well, shit. Out goes Leavers with an injury, and Gibbs comes in with a striker switch.

56 - Williams in for Myers, who is having a rough debut.

74 - O'Donoghue hits a booming free kick that bounces just right in the box for Brees to blitz the keeper! 1-0

82 - Williams fucked that one up big time. Hence why I want my guys in here and in the subs list, too. 1-1

A game we should have definitely won. Embarrassing to have such poor luck. Justin Leavers is out 2-3 weeks. Eh, could be worse. Like Luke Gibbs spraining his ankle and going down for 7-9 weeks. Ugh!

Loan In - MC/DM/MR Godfred Oduro (19) (Ghanaian) (From Harrow)
Kid is just a solid all around player, and our new best MC. 12 Acceleration is the only real standout, but he's somebody I'd love to try and convince to come around here long term.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!!! Phillip Thomas gets hurt and will miss a week! Shit shit shit! There's only 26 games in league play, so every single one counts.

Transfer In - GK Ivan Loncaric (18) (Croatian)
Get excited about landing a foreign young keeper just in time for your star goalie being out. Find out that your new Croatian young goalie is out 2-4 weeks himself with a broken leg. Curse FM.

vs Framfield & Blackboys United (11th)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Joe O'Donoghue
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
DM Jamie Diaper
MC Mason Hirst/Godfred Oduro/Graham Stewart
AMC Carl Rose
ST Kevin Brees

Philip Thomas is at 76% but I don't care. He's going in anyway. Too steep a dropoff. Due to striker injuries and my not trusting Simon Shenton, we jury rig a 4-1-3-1-1 setup today.

19 - Lots of short passes in this sequence, the last a triangle of Hirst back to Orduro and to Rose for the fabulous ground pass into space for Brees to pick up and punish the keeper 1v1! 1-0

32 - A healthier Thomas makes that stop. Sigh. 1-1

58 - Looked offsides to me. 1-2

60 - Oduro with the great pass to all alone Rose, who makes the flairtastic pass into the box for Brees to strike home. We make some changes - Myers to DR, Diaper to DC; Johnson-Cole as DM, and Williams as DL. 2-2

74 - SMH. 2-3

88 - Johnson-Cole with the long free kick into the box, and Brees shoots it around the defender in front of him for the late hat trick! 3-3

Yet another game we should have won and failed to.

@ Cuckfield Rangers (3rd)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Joe O'Donoghue
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
DM Tim Johnson-Cole
ML Wes Henderson
MC Mason Hirst/Godfred Oduro
MR Elliott Green
ST Kevin Brees

Some guys need some rest here so it's another mish-mash lineup. Really want to beat the other Cuckfield team.

Diaper for Burgin and Stewart for Oduro at half, as we're all running on fumes here.

53 - Pathetic. 0-1

74 - FUCKING PATHETIC!!! 0-2

Oh, and we lose Jamie Diaper for 5-6 weeks. So yeah, the injuries just keep coming.

Transfer In - MLR/AML Orlando Joao (26) (Dutch) (From Lindfield)
Hello, old friend. Maybe you can be the one to rescue the disaster of what our season is turning into. Staff is eh on him, but he's continually produced, even with limited PT for the Swans this season.

Transfer In - ST David Shaw (19) (Free Agent)
How the fuck nobody signed this kid is beyond me. He's a physical god, with only 6 Jumping Reach below an 8, and only 3 of those attributes below 11! 10 Dribbling, 13 Flair, 12 Leadership, 15 Teamwork, 10 Work Rate. Watford alum who only got to play a few games at Isthmian D1 level on loan last season.

vs Felbridge (6th)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Joe O'Donoghue
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
DM Graham Stewart
MC Godfred Oduro/Mason Hirst
AMC Carl Rose
ST David Shaw/Justin Leavers

Can we *finally* break the drought? Phillip Thomas is on his last straw, and is about to get pushed out by our new Croatian kid.

34 - ANOTHER FUCKING INJURY?!?! This time it's Oduro who goes off, requiring Stewart to move up, Johnson-Cole coming in at DM.

43 - skfjaskfjasolhagsoghaghafhafoahfa 0-1

51 - Jackson for O'Donoghue

56 - Rose to Shaw, who is immediately tackled. Leavers gets it from 25 out, says fuck it, and heaves the shot that somehow goes in. Flukey as fuck, but whatever. 1-1

Stop me if you've heard this one before. A GAME WE SHOULD HAVE FUCKING WON! Godfred Oduro out 2 weeks.

vs AFC Ringmer (12th)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Bradley Williams
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
ML Orlando Joao
MC Mason Hirst
MR Elliott Green
AMC Carl Rose
ST David Shaw/Justin Leavers

26 - Joao bangs a header down on a clearance, smashing it right at Shaw's feet for the long, in-box strike to give us our first lead in forever! 1-0

28 - Williams, who is getting the start over poorly playing O'Donoghue on the advice of my staff, makes a great takeway and sends it to Shaw for the boom stick to Leavers. Our just back from injury striker gets nailed in the box, and Burgin slots the PK home comfortably. 2-0

58 - Hirst out to Joao, and the Dutchman kicks it back far side in the box for Leavers to net his second goal! That's the Lindfield Swans trio in effect!!! 3-0

7.6 for Tom Burgin, 8.2 for Mason Hirst, 7.8 debut for Orlando Joao, 7.5 for Carl Rose, 7.8 for Justin Leavers, and 8.3 for PotM David Shaw.

We're still very much in the bottom of the table, with a chance to fall as far as 11th again from our current spot of 8th due to games in hand, but we've finally broken through for our first win. Maybe it was Orlando Joao on his third team with me (Burgess Hill Rhinos, Lindfield, Cuckfield Town), maybe it was switching to a Control schematic. Maybe both. Or maybe it was just finally time to snap out of the doldrums.

So far the board is okay with me despite our poor start. They recognize we've been absolutely shredded by injuries, and there's a lot of new faces to integrate. We're also still having problems settling on primary formations.

[Izulde]

@ Rotherfield (7th)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Bradley Williams
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
ML Orlando Joao
MC Mason Hirst
MR Elliott Green
AMC Carl Rose
ST David Shaw/Justin Leavers

42 - Ref is definitely playing favorites here. Yellow card on Shaw 10 seconds in, and another one, on Williams, at the 5 minute mark. Whatever. Here, Shaw attempts a cross to Leavers, but it's headed away. Joao jumps to trap and get the ball, then threads it to Leavers anyway for the score! 1-0

Our throw-ins have been dreadful all game. That's when I see our set piece takers didn't get saved somehow.

50 - Good thing I checked, because here's Leavers with the free kick into the box, right at Rose, and Flair Boy scores his first White Belly goal!!! 2-0

56 - Brees in for Rose; Williams up to ML, and O'Donoghue in at DL, Joao sitting, as both he and Rose are exhausted, despite playing brilliantly this game.

90 - Two sensational clearance saves by Hirst here, the second a tap pass to Brees for the short flare to Green. He holds up, then sends it back to Brees in the box, and bamtown! 3-0

Kenny Potter (7.3), Tom Burgin (7.2), and Rhys Myers (7.5), were absolutely nails in the backline tonight - particularly noteworthy for Myers, who has struggled previously. Orlando Joao had a 7.7 before being subbed off as did Carl Rose, which Mason Hirst matched for the entire game. Elliot Green was a surprise PotM with an 8.6. We saw Justin Leavers with a 7.9, and shocker hot start Kevin Brees with a 7.1 off the bench.

Two vintage performances. Beautiful.

Transfer In - MC/MR Michael Monaghan (26) (From Lindfield)
Finally convinced him to join up with us. He's been in a rotation system with The Swans, but here he'll be firmly planted as the starting MR, even though my staff likes Elliot Green slightly more now, and think Green has superb upside.

Transfer Out - MCR Elliot Green (23) (To Wembley)
A bit surprised an Isthmian D1 team snapped him up, but that makes the inking of Monaghan all the more timely.

vs AFC Haywards (Sussex Intermediate Cup Second Round)
GK Ivan Loncaric
DL Bradley Williams
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
MC Mason Hirst/Godfred Oduro/Graham Stewart
AMC Carl Rose
ST David Shaw/Kevin Brees

Tired players at certain positions = switch to 4-3-1-2 setup for this one. Our opponents are the worst team in the league, so we should be able to win this easily, and get a first look at our Croatian goalie who is finally back from injury.

13 - Pure and simple pyrotechnic pass by Rose all the way down the middle of the pitch into the box. Shaw gets there first, and continues fire, scorching the hapless goalie. 1-0

58 - Treadwell for tired Hirst; O'Donoghue for trash ass Williams. We've actually been playing pretty garbage overall, so we're lucky to be leading.

90 - FUUUUUUUUCK! Rose is hurt! On comes Leavers as a ST, with Brees shifting back to AMC.

It's the kind of game where Ivan Loncaric's 7.1 is PotM worthy. Ugly victory overall, but we scraped through. And we now have a contest on our hands for who the best keeper is. We lose Carl Rose for 5-6 weeks. Fuck.

vs Ardingly (6th)
GK Ivan Loncaric
DL Bradley Williams
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
ML Orlando Joao
MC Mason Hirst/Godfred Oduro
MR Michael Monaghan
ST David Shaw/Justin Leavers

Flat 4-4-2 because of how decimated we are with injuries at the AMC spot.

66 - Brees for Leavers; Barnett for Burgin

We just couldn't get anything to break down their defense. Well played to them.

Transfer In - DR/WBR Lee Pell (19) (Free Agent)
An absolutely incredible kid. Solid all around technical attributes, 10 Composure, 13 Decisions, 12 Determination, 11 Positioning, 14 Natural Fitness. The first Isthmian D1 guy I've signed here. We're going to have him work on learning DL, however, and slot him there. Held his own at the D1 level, as a loanee from League 1 side Colchester.

@ Balcombe (11th)
GK Ivan Loncaric
DL Lee Pell
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
ML Orlando Joao
MC Mason Hirst
MR Michael Monaghan
AMC Luke Gibbs
ST David Shaw/Justin Leavers

32 - Pell throws into Joao for the left flank bomb to Shaw. Dribble and horrible cross attempt is headed away, but my man Monaghan is there for the first touch 30 yard fireshot, and his first White Belly goal! 1-0

56 - Diaper for Burgin; Brees for Leavers

63 - Shutout streak had to end eventually. 1-1

67 - And this is where it falls apart. 1-2

Pathetic. We're not going to win the division this year. Hell, at this rate, we'll be lucky to even get close to the 3rd place finish originally projected.

[Izulde]

vs AFC Haywards (12th)
GK Ivan Loncaric
DL Lee Pell
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
ML Orlando Joao
MC Mason Hirst
MR Michael Monaghan
AMC Luke Gibbs
ST David Shaw/Justin Leavers

53 - Brees for Leavers; Oduro for Monaghan

83 - Whatever. 0-1

All four of our backline players got a yellow.

@ Antsy Sports & Social (Montgomery Challenge Cup Second Round)
GK Phillip Thomas
DL Lee Pell
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
DM Jamie Diaper
MC Michael Monaghan/Godred Oduro
AMC Mason Hirst
ST David Shaw/Justin Leavers

48 - Brees for Leavers; Stewart for Diaper

72 - Two straight clearances by Burgin right at the opponents. It's like he's getting paid off by them. 0-1

74 - Brees is dribbling far right side of the box. His cross completely misses the mark, but Shaw wins the foot race and banks in the immediate answer. 1-1

84 - Unbelievable. Two defenders right there and neither one does anything. Thomas should have stopped that. 1-2

@ Ifield Galaxy (3rd)
GK Ivan Loncaric
DL Lee Pell
DC Rhys Myers/Tom Burgin
DR Kenny Potter
ML Orlando Joao
MC Mason Hirst/Graham Stewart
MR Godred Oduro
ST David Shaw/Kevin Brees

55 - Johnson-Cole for Stewart; Monaghan for injured Oduro

76 - Our defense. 0-1

85 - Sucks all the cock. 0-2

@ Polegate Town (Mid Sussex Senior Cup Second Round)
GK Ivan Loncaric
DL Lee Pell
DC Rhys Myers
DR Kenny Potter
DM Jamie Diaper
ML Orlando Joao
MC Mason Hirst
MR Michael Monaghan
AMC Luke Gibbs
ST David Shaw/Kevin Brees

48 - Feh. [b]0-1[/b

62 - Rose finally comes back from injury, replacing Gibbs, while Stewart is in for Diaper.

We were actually really unlucky to lose this one. Solid at the back and mifield for once, but our strikers sucked ass.

With morale in the tank, I hold a team meeting to buck us back up. We're capable of playing far better than we have.

vs Montpelier Villa (2nd)
GK Ivan Loncaric
DL Lee Pell
DC Rhys Myers
DR Kenny Potter
DM Jamie Diaper
ML Orlando Joao
MC Mason Hirst
MR Michael Monaghan
AMC Carl Rose
ST David Shaw/Justin Leavers

54 - Potter is knocked out, so Pell shifts DR and O'Donoghue comes in at DL.

67 - Out goes Leavers; in goes Gibbs

74 - Sigh. 0-1

Second straight game we should have won. I forgot to mention, we lost Godred Oduro for a month a few games back, and now Kenny Potter is out 6-7 weeks.

The board forces me to resign the next day.

...Well shit.

[Izulde]

Hayling United FC Humbugs

What a fantastic team name for someone as dour as me in FM. The Humbugs were once a Wessex Premier fixture, but have since fallen on hard times. They even spent a season in Hampshire Premier Division One, to start this universe, and the last several years have been in the Hampshire Premier Senior Division. Last year was their best since they've started, finishing 3rd, but there's no way they'll accomplish that feat. Currently sitting 12th roughly halfway through the season (34 games overall, 16 played), and with a trash roster.

The team itself plays on Hayling Island, a 12K place island just off the south-central coast of England, a ferry ride away from Portsmouth, one of my favorite English cities. There's an amusement park here, Funland with 18 rides, and of course beaches and whatnot. Seems like a really cool place. Hope I can make it here.

No time to get new guys in before my first game - I'm still assembling my staff.

vs Hamble Club (7th)
G: Jason Wooden
D: Brendan Butterfield/Phil Ford/Nicky Freeman/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
AM: Ryan Benniman/Paul Hull/Matt Cooper
S: Darin Henry/Pete Fogden

Evidently the 4-1-5 is what they've been using, because they come in Accomplished with that setup already. Doesn't give me much hope for getting a win out of this, but we'll see.

62 - Josh Carter for Freeman; Chris Scott for Fogden

We should have won that game, but we'll take what we got.

@ Alfold (2nd)
G: Jason Wooden
D: Brendan Butterfield/Phil Ford/Nicky Freeman/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
AM: Ryan Benniman/Paul Hull/Matt Cooper
S: Darin Henry/Pete Fogden

32 - We've been robbed by the post a bunch of times, and we weren't expected to beat these guys anyway. 0-1

33 - Cooper laterals to Fogden for the play into the box to Henry, who immediately gets wrecked. Ball pops loose and Fogden is there to drill the instant reply. 1-1

35 - That's two long distance shots we've been hit by. 1-2

46 - Thanks for the just before half own goal! 2-2

51 - Bobby-Joe Franklin for Ford; Carter for Freeman

90 - Heartbreaking to kick up a corner kick goal so late in the game. I'm not happy with Wooden. He was begging for a chance when I came in, complaining to me the day I was hired. Just no. 2-3

Transfer In - AMC/MC Aaron Taylor (16) (Transfer from Redditch)
10 First Touch, 11 Aggression, 13 Decisions, 14 Teamwork, 10 Work Rate, 13 Natural Fitness. It doesn't mean a whole lot considering how bad the team is, but he's immediately our top player and it's not even close.

Transfer In - MC/AMC Sean Lawless (17) (Welsh) (Transfer from Merthyr Town)
11 Technique, 10 Decisions, 10 Flair, 12 Teamwork, 12 Acceleration, 13 Natural Fitness, 10 Pace. Signals a shift in our setup, as we need to play both him and Taylor, so the 4-1-5 is going out to be replaced by something else - what that is, I'm not sure.

vs Hurstpierpoint (6th)
G: Jason Wooden
D: Brendan Butterfield/Phil Ford/Nicky Freeman/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
MC: Sean Lawless
AM: Ryan Benniman/Aaron Taylor/Matt Cooper
S: Darin Henry

4-1-1-3-1 DM Wide setup is what we'll go with to start our new look.

55 - Butterfield throws in to Taylor and gets it back. High ball to Henry and the Humbugs have their first lead of my tenure!!! Franklin for Ford, and I experiment with James Richardson as a sweeper, replacing Cumming-Bart just for the hell of it. 5-1-3-1 Sweeper Wide. 1-0

77 - Terrible job by Cooper, giving the ball away cheaply twice. 1-1

85 - Benniman's corner is cleared, but Richardson tracks left to get it on the box-line. Dribble once forward, and pow! on the long range shot!!!!! 2-1

7.5 for Brendan Butterfield, whom I named vice-captain when I arrived. 7.8 debut for Aaron Taylor, and a sensational 8.1 PotM sub-in by Jason Richardson to add not only the first Humbug win of the Izulde Jestor era, but my first win overall in a very, very long time.

Doesn't move us up the standings any, but it puts us a lot closer to start making the ascent, and we've put some firm distance between us and the teams below us.

[Izulde]

Transfer In - GK Zac Gregory (17) (Transfer From Adlershot)
11 Command of Area, 12 Handling, 10 Kicking, 10 Reflexes, 12 Tendency To Punch, 13 Leadership, 13 Teamwork, 10 Agility. Vanarama North product who never got a shot, but he's clearly one of the top players on the team, and should be such a massive improvement in the net, it's not even funny.

Loan In - DL/WBL Christian Rouse (18) (Barbadian) (From Hendon)
12 Leadership, 18 Teamwork, 15 Work Rate, 13 Stamina. Young workhorse with sterling intangibles. Doesn't want to play here long-term, so he's just a loan for now, but I'm excited about this kid.

Loan In - DC Jack Summerfield (22) (From Whitchurch United)
11 Heading, 14 Aggression, 11 Decisions, 13 Leadership, 10 Agility. Very raw player, with superlative upside. Phil Ford's loan ends soon, so this is a swap of players, and truthfully, an upgrade.

@ Cowfold (4th)
G: Zac Gregory
D: Christian Rouse/Phil Ford/Nicky Freeman/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
MC: Sean Lawless
AM: Ryan Benniman/Aaron Taylor/Matt Cooper
S: Darin Henry

31 - That was offsides! 0-1

51 - Yeah. Richardson for Ford; Butterfield for Rouse. Can't blame this on Gregory - he's made a ton of amazing stops. 0-2

90 - Cooper with the long free kick into the box. Butterfield is there first, and he shoots. Deflected, but Butterfield puts away his own rebound. Merely a consolation goal. 1-2

Loan In - MR/AMR/AML Lee Prosser (17) (From Burnham)
14 Aggression, 12 Flair, 13 Teamwork, 13 Acceleration, 12 Natural Fitness, 11 Pace. Speedy as hell prospect who is so much better than Matt Cooper, it's ridiculous. Not an elite player yet, but one who represents a major upgrade. And yes, we're duct taping our squad with loans, but that's how it is.

Loan In - ST Daniel Gutteridge (18) (From Continental Star)
10 Finishing, 12 Work Rate, 12 Acceleration, 11 Natural Fitness and Pace. Solid all around young kid who has done pretty well when loaned out to other teams before, so I'm excited to see what he can do. Darin Henry has just been a massive disappointment up front.

We also extend 21 year old Ollie Cain's loan for the rest of the season. He's been a great fixture back there at DR.

vs Ringwood (17th)
G: Zac Gregory
D: Christian Rouse/Jack Summerfield/James Richardson/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
MC: Sean Lawless
AM: Ryan Benniman/Aaron Taylor/Lee Prosser
S: Daniel Gutteridge

17 - Horrible keeping by Gregory. 0-1

48 - No aerial ability for Gregory = goal coughed up. Freeman for Richardson; Butterfield for Rouse, who has been shit. 0-2

60 - First game we're favored to win and we're not even trying. 0-3

64 - Like. At. All. 0-4

86 - Long ball by Cumming-Bart to Gutteridge. Dribble and shot. Deflected. Meaningless sink of his own rebound for a debut goal. 1-4

There's some insanely elite young players, but the board, despite having a ton of cash in the bank, refuses to even consider shelling out the funds to get them. I'm pissed.

@ Broughton (8th)
G: Zac Gregory
D: Bremdan Butterfield/Jack Summerfield/Nicky Freeman/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
MC: Sean Lawless
AM: Ryan Benniman/Aaron Taylor/Lee Prosser
S: Daniel Gutteridge

57 - Two defenders on Taylor, but he cooly wings out to Prosser for the first touch boom center to Gutteridge, and amidst screams of offsides, he drills one in! 1-0

74 - Cain throws in to Cumming-Bart, who laterals to Lawless just outside the box. Two steps, and pow! First ever Humbug goal!!! 2-0

83 - Richardson is in for Cumming-Bart at the latter's request.

None of the starters had lower than a 6.8, and the top guys were PotM Sean Lawless with an 8.5, Lee Prosser with a 7.5, and Aaron Taylor with a 7.8. Still in 12th, but we're now tied on goal differential with 11th place.

Transfer In - DC Ben Brown (17) (Transfer From Canvey Island)
12 Aggression, 13 Positioning, 10 Teamwork, 13 Balance, 13 Jumping Reach, 11 Natural Fitness. Sure he's slow and has no agility to speak of, but this kid is a star through and through at this level. I can't wait to see him in the lineup.

Looking at the team overall, we have the following 3.5+* Current Players:

GK Zac Gregory (3.5)
DC Ben Brown (4)
MC Sean Lawless (4 as MC, 4.5 as AMC)
AMC Aaron Taylor (4.5)
ST Daniel Gutteridge (3.5 - Loan)

That leaves a lot of opportunity open in numerous spots. But at least we have some future building blocks in place.

vs AFC Roffey (9th)
G: Zac Gregory
D: Bremdan Butterfield/Jack Summerfield/Nicky Freeman/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
MC: Sean Lawless
AM: Ryan Benniman/Aaron Taylor/Lee Prosser
S: Daniel Gutteridge

26 - Lawless to Gutteridge to Taylor triangle of passes. Taylor's decked in the box. Ball flies out and Lawless jams home the long shot like he did last game! 1-0

66 - Kicking myself for forgetting to put Brown in. Anyway, Hull for Taylor; [b]Henry for Gutteridge.

81 - Henry draws the defense and feeds to Benniman in the box. Shot is just *barely* deflected, but then Prosser uses his elite quickness and speed to blitz the defense and sink the rebound for his first Humbug score!!! 2-0

Stellar all around. Tommy Cumming-Burt continues to show why I'm not particularly inclined to go get a more talented DM, posting a 7.8, but it's Sean Lawless recording his second straight PotM showing with a blistering 8.9. Lee Prosser grabbed a 7.7 as well.

It's our first win streak and we *finally* make headway in the league, inching up to 11th.

With 11 games left in the season, Cuckfield Town is up to 8th, Porthleven has a commanding 11 point lead, Lindfield is 7th after their third straight promotion last season, Cheddar appears finally over the hump, but in 1st by only 3 points, and Burgess Hill Rhinos is doing what they always do.

vs Andover Lions (1st)
G: Zac Gregory
D: Bremdan Butterfield/Jack Summerfield/Ben Brown/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
MC: Sean Lawless
AM: Ryan Benniman/Aaron Taylor/Lee Prosser
S: Daniel Gutteridge

Excellent test to see how far we've come since I've taken over.

37 - Gutteridge has 3-4 defenders closing on him, so he outlets back to Lawless. Despite a defender draping our central mid star, he lays it forward in the box just ahead of Taylor, who powers in his first ever Humbug goal!!! 1-0

55 - Benniman with the perfectly placed corner to Summerfield, and his rocket shot sings in for his own first Humbug score!!! 2-0

70 - Henry for Gutteridge

75 - Cumming-Bart wants a break, so Freeman comes on in his place.

77 - Cain throws in to Taylor and gets it back for the perfect pop ball right at Henry, and there's the kid's second goal of the year, both under me! 3-0

91 - Eh, late goal sucks, but not a big deal. 3-1

Massive, massive upset. 8.1 for Tommy Cumming-Bart, and a third straight PotM award for Sean Lawless with 9.0. 9.0 for Aaron Taylor, 7.5 for Ryan Benniman, and a clutch 7.1 off the bench for Darin Henry.

Another move up, to 10th. 3rd straight win. We're still considered underdogs in a lot of our games, so I've been running a Counter system. But what will happen when we start getting favored? Can we and I handle that pressure?

Transfer In - MC/AMC Pedro Carneiro (24) (Portuguese) (From Lindfield)
Finally brought in a guy I originally recruited. He's been tearing it up for the Swans, posting a 7.05 rating even up there in the Southern Combination Premier Division. 13 First Touch, 12 Passing, 12 Technique, 10 Aggression, 11 Decisions, 10 Flair, 15 Teamwork, 11 Work Rate, 13 Natural Fitness. We now have *3* fantastic AMC/MCs, so we have stellar coverage. The question is, where the fuck do I put them all?

I *really* don't want to disrupt the 4-1-1-3-1 setup we have that's working so well, but at the same time, then someone's going to have to sit out. And with how phenomenally Sean Lawless has been playing, that's not going to be him.

[Izulde]

And that's when it hit me. Train the 16 year old to other positions. Aaron Taylor is Awkward at MR, but I love Lee Prosser at AMR, and hope to either convince him to come play for me, or bring him back on loan next season. There's also the fact that Ryan Benniman is our oldest player at 28, and as good as he'll ever get - so it's on to AML. Also worth noting: Taylor has actually dropped a bit in skills due to lack of challenges, so this will give him something new to do.

Jason Wooden drama continues to splash all over the media.

@ Laverstock & Ford (15th)
G: Zac Gregory
D: Bremdan Butterfield/Jack Summerfield/Ben Brown/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
MC: Sean Lawless
AM: Aaron TaylorPedro Carneiro/Lee Prosser
S: Daniel Gutteridge

54 - Freeman for Brown and we shuffle things with Carneiro dropping to MC, Taylor shifting over to AMC, and Benniman coming in at AML, as Lawless is tired and not playing well.

Lackluster performance with no highlights. The point is good enough to push up to 9th, however. Steady turtle progress.

So when I first came to town, the Humbugs had around $70k in the bank. Last season, they made just under $9k profit. But on the back of that 3rd place finish last year, Hayling United is already over $13k profit this season. I think hiring me helped, too. I also have a Very Secure position, thanks to our steady climb.

@ Corsham (5th)
G: Zac Gregory
D: Bremdan Butterfield/Jack Summerfield/Ben Brown/Ollie Cain
DM: Tommy Cumming-Bart
MC: Sean Lawless
AM: Aaron TaylorPedro Carneiro/Lee Prosser
S: Daniel Gutteridge

6 - Poor set piece defending. 0-1

21 - HOW THE FUCK DID THAT DRIBBLE SHIT GO IN?! 0-2

24 - Summerfield with an amazing clearance to Carneiro, who plays a beautiful long ball to Gutteridge ahead of everyone. Danny Boy dribbles down the middle of the pitch and into the box, cuts, and shoots one over the top of the keeper's head to get us back in it. 1-2

60 - Prosser is out with injury, so we change to a 4-3-2-1 DM Narrow, with Taylor as an AMC and Freeman coming on as an MC. Rouse also replaces Butterfield.

Yeah, I'm not going to worry too much about losing to a better team. But we do lose Lee Prosser for 4-5 weeks, which means we'll have to jury-rig a new formation. With 8 games left and that situation, even though we've dropped to 10th place, I think we can realistically play for a 6th-8th finish.