Fm19 The Rise of the Poole Town Dolphins!

[Chas in Cinti]

Stay and conquer... let's see how far you can go!

[Abe Sargent]

Alright, let’s try this organically. I reach out to my board, I will stay for updated training facilities. They aren’t going to do it. So we are just going to push forward and see what happens organiccally.

About 4 or 5 youthers sign, and a few trialists arrive too, including Coleman, the strong MC I showed you before to see him in action, but he’s redundant. And won’t sign a cheaper deal.

The 8th arrives, and with it my players from their mid-season break. Ready to punch people? Let’s get this year started!

Our first friendly is on the 13th, and as a reminder, I hand those to my AM.

The 10th is here – and I find out about my job offer.




Ah well

[Abe Sargent]

I make some offers to my Trialists who are willing to sign for hot prospect deals (just two, none of the bigger names.) This is the best of the group:



This is 20 year old Noha Sylvestre, currently on a Trial with me, and I just made an 20/week hot prospect deal for him. He would give me depth at MC, and DR. Noha isn’t this great revelation for my squad or anything, but hey – any player in a storm, is any player in a storm – right? Right!


Sometimes my view, and my scouts, view, of these players radically diverge. Here’s a great example:








This is 18 year old Rayan Clarke. My folks love him. They think that he is a very good player for the league we are in, and a strong future poetnail for League 1, two above us. He wants at least first team and hundreds of cash/week. I don’t see his current value. He just has four phsyical stats at 10 or more. I don’t see it. But there is just nothing there to hang my hat on.

[Abe Sargent]

I extend my hot prospect James Marshall by a few years. Sylvestre’s deal is confirmed.


We defeat Carmarthen Town 4-1 in our 2nd friendly

One of my U23 players are injured for a month.

We tie Dundee 2-2 in our friendly


I submit my squad numbers

We lose 0-1 to the U23 squad for Albion.

One of my coaches finishes his coaching quals.

We tied the Wolves U23 squad 1-1.

Goodbye July!

[Abe Sargent]

August


3 Aug – Friendly vs Corinthians
10 Aug – League Opens
10 Aug – Home vs Wrexham
17 Aug – Away vs Morecambe
20 Aug – Home vs Sutton
24 Aug – Away vs Harrogate Town
31 Aug – Home vs Fylde


Let’s do it!


We win our friendly 4-0.

I name Blanchfield my captain.

I set up my set pieces and tactics.

We get a few of our coaches onto more classes.

Our promotion odds are 250-1, and 2-1 of going down, but with our big investment of talent, I suspect we’ll be more in the mid-table range. Let’s see though!


League Game #1 - Home vs Wrexham – This should be a good place to hold up, and check in and see where we stack up against the rest of the league. Alright. Game time! On the first corner of the game, Devlin feeds Browne for goal, but it’s waived offsides. They score in the 5th. GK Taylor gives away possession on a kick to the other side, and it’s goal for them in the 32nd. Shihab gives up a penalty, and they sink it. Half. They give us a penalty in the 53rd, and Heardman sinks it for us. Kebbie drives the corner, crosses to Heardman’s head, who sinks it for goal in the 64th. I pull Shihab for Colbridge. Roberts in for Devlin. Spetch for Moore after he gets a yellow card. Heardman feeds Browne for goal in extra time at the 93:55 mark!



Nice!

We hold and tie 3-3 .

Let me show you why I think we’ll be very competitive this year:





Remembering that Wrexham finished in the playoffs last year, and were one of the top 6 or 7 clubs, we shellacking them in every statistic that matters, other than the score. We’ll be fine.

I will move my tactics and tell Taylor to distribute the ball to my DCs.

[Abe Sargent]

I loan out GK Thomas and Beardman.

Beardman and Browne were named in the Team of the Week.

One of the ways you compete in games is with tactics. In this match, I didn’t realize that Taylor, who is an experienced 29 year old GK, would give away the ball that easily. So we made that change


League Game #2 – Away vs Morecambe – Morecambe were relegated from the League 2 last year, and thus are expected to do very well in our league this year. Thus, heading away to a team expected to contend is another place for us to test our mettle. The one thing that leans our way today is the tactics. They have a simple 4-4-2, and we are built to have an edge on that tactic. We give up a goal in the 9th. Just a few minutes left, on a counter attack, our shot rifles off the cannon bar to Moore, who puts it away to tie the game. Our foes were dominating in the first 10-15 minutes of the half, but we have been have been pushing hard, and thus the 1-1 tie at the half is actually generous to them, as we have 12 shots, 8 on target, to their 4-2. They knock through an offsides goal in the 49th. Our foes are collecting yellows. Corbridge for Davey is my first sub. Roberts for Browne. We tie 1-1. Corby Moore is MOM.


League Game #3 – Home vs Sutton United – Good luck out there! We begin positively. If we can do well today and finish with a win, then we’d have 5 points in our first three games. Not bad! Devlin has an early yellow and then a light injury, so I pull him in the 25th for Roberts. We are dominating, not just sinking shots. Half. 0-0. Just keep playing, and the result will follow. In the 61st, Kebbie, Beardman and Browne are triangling the ball dangerously on the flank. Kebbie hits Beardman as he breaks, and Breadman scores. I send in Spetch for Moore. In the 79th, Kebbie crosses for Roberts on the other flank, who scores. We win 2-0, MOM is Kebbie with both assists


We have 5 points in 3 games. And Kebbie has three assists, Beardman three goals. Our offense is trucking, and we got a blank game, but they only had 7 shots with 3 on target. I am still worried about Taylor.

In the rest of the league, Aldershot hung 6 on Barnet.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s take a step back at my history at Poole:


I arrived at Poole, and we were in our 3rd season in the South. We had finished at 5th, then almost relegation, then I took over.

Here were my waves of talent Acquisition:


Wave 1 – GK Stedman, AMR Elliot, DR Kebbie, DC Corbridge

And these joined the current squad, and I started MC Moore, Bedford, AM Brooks, ST Roberts, AM Devlin, DL Spetch, DC Whisken. We did well! But then when we were sliding back and had only won 1 game out of the last six in early January, I picked up:

Wave 2 – AMC Browne, MC Ashby, DC Davey.

I moved Brooks, Whisken, and Bedford to my rotations, and then started them. I didn’t lose a match for six weeks, and then managed to remain in the driver’s spot, despite fading at the end of the season.

And we won! By the end of the season, only Roberts, Moore, Devlin, and Spetch had remained at the ST, MC, AML, and DL respectively.

Wave 3 – We brought in GK Taylor, AMC Logan, DC Shihab, MC Blanchfield, and ST Heardman. We sold Elliott after Dundee wanted to bring him over to the Scottish Premier League.

Right now, I have starting, and I will give you the number of the wave I acquired them (0 if they stated with me)


GK Taylor – 3
DC Davey – 2
DC Shihab – 3
DL Moore – 0
DR Kebbie – 1
MC Ashby – 2
MC Blanchfield – 3
AMR Browne – 2
AMC Logan – 3
AML Devlin – 0
ST Heardman – 3


So, of the four acquisitions I made earlier in this dynasty, only Kebbie remains starting.

I’m a little worried about Taylor


Let me show you why:

Game 1 – 3 goals, in 6 shots on target
Game 2 – 1 goal, in 2 shots on target
Game 3 – 0 goals, in 3 shots on target


Now, the first game may wind up being an outlier, and I want to give him some more starts before hitting the “On Shit” button. Even with a shut out last game helping his numbers, he is giving up 4 goals in 9 shots on target, or roughly 45% of the shots on target are hitting the net. That is not a long term sustainably slate of goal stopping.

I don’t know if you care, but we have the best Goalkeeping and tactical training in our division, and the 3rd best scouting.


Let’s finish up August and see where we stand!

[Abe Sargent]

I loan out Kitching among others.

I bring in 32 year old Brazilian Marcedo to run my U19 squad.


I offer a month trial to GK Yves Ma Kalambay, a 33 year old international from the DR Congo, and wo has been looking for a coaching gig, and that’s how I came across him. He was not in my scouting list for players, but I found him looking for staff, jobs. If he wants to come over, I may like him a lot more than Taylor.


Game 4 – Away vs Harrogate Town – Alright, can I keep our momentum? Can our GK stop the on-target shots from sinking? Keep our run going! We have a fast and quiet half, no cards, nothing. They have 1 shot, none on target, to our 9 and 4. Just keep up, you’ll be fine. In the 57th, Devlin feeds a nice, low pass to the feet of Heardman for goal. Roberts spells Browne . Harrogate gets three quick yellows. They are clearly frustrated. Sylvestre for Ashby. Bedford for Logan. We give up a goal in the 84th. We hold and tie, 1-1.



Now, this is Taylor as an issue again. Up until the early 80s, our foes had, for the entire game, 2 shots, 0 on target. Then they pressured us, and had just two shots on goal, for the game. Taylor gave up the first.

I don’t think Taylor is my guy.

[Abe Sargent]

Without Taylor right now, and just a decent GK, we win the first game 3-2, and/or this one 1-0.

I’ma give him another game.


League #5 – Home vs Fylde – One of the best teams in the league last year is here – they finished 2nd but missed in the playoffs! Say hello to Fylde. Keep up our run! Browne to Heardman, goal, 7th minute. Moore is carded a few minutes later. I tell him to ease off tackles. Browne to Devlin, goal; 18th minute. In the 22nd, Devlin to Heardman, goal. 34th Heardman collects a free ball off an interception, and scores. Hattrick! Half. I sub out Moore for Spetch. Devlin sinks a DFK in the 51st. By the way, as of right now, my defense has held Fylde to just one shot on goal. Sylvestre for Davey. Roberts for Browne.



Here – Boom! Again, note that Taylor’s 2nd clean sheet came with only 1 shot on target. My defense has been forcing them to take longer shots, and clamping down on them, so they aren’t as many on target.

Right now Heardman is breaking nets.

Good bye August!

[Abe Sargent]

Good bye August!

Hello September!


Sept. 2 – Away vs Solihull Moors
Sept. 7 – Away vs Boreham Wood
Sept. 14 – Home vs Maidenhead
Sept. 17 – Home vs Barnet
Sept. 21 – Away vs Halifax Town
Sept. 28 – Home vs Salford City


Three of my players are called up for international duty in the beginning of next month.

The youth facilities upgrades we discussed earlier (from my old board) have finished. They have now risen in quality all the way up to “below average”!


League #6 – Away vs Solihull Moors – For today’s match, Browne is on duty. I am starting Roberts, and I have activated youther Jayden Bennetts from the U23 squad as my primary backup. Keep our run going! At first our foes have a few shots. Then the momentum switches to us, and then back and forth. At the half, it’s 0-0. You get us that one goal, we are probably winning this! I send in Bedford, Bennett. And Corbridge after Shihab collects a card. They score in the 78th. On a corner, Devlin finds Davey for goal in the 89th. They get a 2nd yellow and a bath for a nasty foul on Bennetts in the box. He’s banged up, Heardman scores the PK in the 92nd minute. We win 2-1, MOM was Davey!



This was the first game where Taylor showed up.

[Abe Sargent]

Who’s been showing up? We have been!

Devlin, Browne, and Davey are in the Team of the Week



League #7 – Away vs Boreham Wood – Keep up our run! I have moved another youther, ST.MC Reece Miller to my substitutional main squad to replace some folks heading out to internationals. Roberts is injured early and I send in Bennett to spell him. They score in the 23rd. They have two cards, and then three. At the half, they have 1 shot, 1 on target. Taylor is striking again. Show me something else! Heardman an early card. I send in Miller. Can you get a goal in your first professional match? Almost! Kebbie send him two nice crosses that were on target but stopped by their GK. In the 81st, Devlin crosses deeply, and it sneaks into goal without anyone touching it. And….we hold and tie 1-1.

Roberts is out for two months.

I need to bring in some better depth that Bennetts or other youth on their way up. I sign some more attacking style hot prospect and send them to my U23 squad.



League #8 – Home vs Maidenhead – Our foes are in 22nd. Browne is back, but he’s tired, so I am starting Bennetts at AMR today. Spetch starts at Fullback. I am looking to bring Browne back for the Barnet match in a few days. Keep our run going! Logan to Heardman for goal in the 15th. And then a few minutes later, they score. Half. I send in Moore, Bedford, and Corbridge. But we don’t manage to crack their goal again, 1-1 tie. Taylor, once again, allowed a goal with a small number of on-target shots 93 in this case).

I am tired of Taylor.

[Abe Sargent]

League #9 – Home vs Barnet – Our foes are 9th. Can we thump them? We have 5 ties and 3 wins, so no losses in my 1st 8 games, but we just have 14 points. …….. It’s nice a nice game. We lose 2-1. MOM was Bedford after I send him in for Ashby and he got my lone score. This was our first loss of the season, but we are 10th after it


League #10 – Away vs FC Halifax Town – Our foes are right behind us at 11th. Let’s get started! Card for Devlin in the 18th. Half. Show me something else! Card for Shihab. I send in Corbridge for him. I don’t want to drop to 10. In the 68th, Moore’s cross feeds a hungry Browne for goal. Bedford heads in. They get a nice, built up shot to sink in the 74th, but it’s called offsides. Miller for a tired Heardman. We hold on and win 1-0. MOM was Moore. Now Taylor had 5 shots on target, and a shut out. I consider this to have been a solid game.

Alright, let’s finish September.

[Abe Sargent]

He has arrived:



I moved Taylor to squad rotation a few games ago from his initial deal. Yves has arrived. Time to get a real GK! He’s also not a bad coach for later if we wanted to update him.

I am about to move Myring up to my mains quad for rotational needs, and I figured I’d show you him and some of my other new youthers:





Bennetts is currently adapting to life as a part-timer. Lots of folks will begin to drop shortly after joining, btw, if they weren’t part time before. For many, their stats will pop back up later afterwards.

[Abe Sargent]

League #11 – Home vs Salford City – Let’s start Yves. We have a lot more fans in the stands who are excited to see Yves. For the fans! Browne crosses to Devlin the players in the middle moving on goal in the 27th. Browne with a card. I tell him to lay off the tackles. Our foes are pushing forward hard. Hard. Half. Don’t let up! Myring heads in for Browne. Now Corbridge for Davey. Sylvestre for Kebbie. They push into a 4-2-4 to overload us. Yves has multiple diving saves. We hold and win 1-0. MOM is Devlin. Yves’s impact in a single game?



He pitched a clean sheet with strong saves.

Yves was named in the Team of the Week!


Goodbye September!

[Abe Sargent]

October

Oct. 5 – Away vs Ebbsfleet United
Oct. 8 – Home vs Wealdstone
Oct. 12 – Away vs Barrow
Oct. 26 – Away vs Gateshead
Oct. 29 – Home vs Eastleigh


I went to my board. I figured since the first upgrade to my youth facilities were finished, they might be more inclined for training facilities:



Yes, they are!

Another hot prospect I just signed:



I will make him active for my U23 squad while remaining in my Senior one.


League #12 – Away vs Ebbsfleet – Let’s do it! Keep up on run!

Quiet draw

[Abe Sargent]

League #13 – Home vs Wealdstone – Here are our fellow folks from last year in the South league. For the Fans!!! Browne comes out with an injury early and I send in Myring. Ashby feeds Logan for goal in the 23rd, and then Kebbie drives and Heardman with a score. Half. Don’t get complacent. I send in Bedford. Pull Ashby after he collects a card. Heardman grabs another goal in extra time, and we win 3-0. MOM is Heardman. Nice!


Browne is out for a month with an injured hamstring.

I hand out some rests to Logan. Have you noticed that under the last three games under Yves, we’ve haven’t even given up a goal?


League #14 – Away vs Barrow – Browne is out – Roberts is back and starting for him. Our foes are 23rd right now, against our 7th. I begin positively. Keep up our run of form!



3-0 victoire

[Abe Sargent]

4th round – FA Cup – Oxford City – Keep up the run! 1-1 tie, sorry.





Replay arrives! Win this for the fans. 0-0 first half, then 1-1, after they score on a PK in injury time to take us to ET. They score a few minutes later, then Heardman scores in the 114th and we are 2-2 and heading to pks. Heardman steps up, and is blocked by the GK. They score, then Moore steps up and scores. They score too, and here comes Blanchfield. In. They score again. Here comes Bedford and….in. They hit, and here comes Logan. Blocked by their GK. They win 4-3. We are out of the FA Cup.

[Abe Sargent]

League #15 – Away vs Gateshead – We handed out rests so I could make the three-day turnaround. Kebbie is lightly injured and will be out for a few days.

We win nicely!



4-2 baby! MOM was Logan with 2 scores. Logan named in Team of the Week.

League #16 – Home vs Eastleigh – I start Sylvestre for Kebbie. Our foe is 4th. Keep the run going!



Tie.

By bye October!

[Abe Sargent]

November

Nov. 2 – Away vs Leyton Orient
Nov. 16 – Home vs Maidstone United
Nov. 23 – Away vs Kidderminster
Nov. 26 – Home vs Dover
Nov. 30 – Home vs Chemsford

AMC Logan was 2nd most in the league voting for Young Player of the Month

League #17 – Vs Leyton Orient – They are currently #1 in the league. Kebbie is back starting after his injury. We have nothing to lose, so go out there and get a result. Play your game. We lose 0-3. Badly. That loss drops us to 6th.


Browne is back from his injury.

League #18 – Home vs Maidstone, currently #4. No changes to my lineup as Browne is on international duty. We lose in a close 1-0 fight, although they pushed us around in our own house:




They dominated us offensively, and it’s a credit to our team that we only gave up a single goal.

Yves was named in the Team of the Week.

[Abe Sargent]

League #19 – Away vs Kidderminster – We win this time by another 1 gal score:



2-1! We are back to our winning ways! Now sure, we had an early 10 man squad, but hey, any victory is a victory, right? Right!

Yves again in Team of Week

League #20 – Home vs Dover – For the fans!!! I start Bedford for Ashby. It’s dousing rain tonight.




Dover got points from this one very, very, late. Happens.

[Abe Sargent]

The League after 20 games:




You can see that we are 5th!

League #21 – Home vs #6 Chesterfield – I move Ashby back to starting. For the fans!!!

Who called for a shoot out?



Was it you? Were you bored with the many 1-0, 0-0 ties and such and you called for this? Okay, here you go!


Good bye November

[Abe Sargent]

Hello December

Dec. 3 – Away vs Grimsby
Dec. 7 – Home vs Aldershot
Dec. 14 – FA Trophy Round 1 vs Ramsgate
Dec. 21 – Away vs Wrexham
Dec. 26 – Home vs Morecambe
Dec. 28 – Away vs Sutton
Dec. 30 – Home vs Harrogate Town


My next two games include #4 Grimsby and #11 Aldershot.


League #22 – Away vs Grimsby Town – Keep our run going lads! We don’t We lose 0-2.




League #23 – Home vs Aldershot Town – I start Roberts for Devlin, as he’s on a cold streak. For our fans lads!!! We dominated this match:

[Abe Sargent]

Nicely done!

We remain in 5th place. Heardman now has 18 league goals; the next highest is 13. He may be quiet for a game or two, but then he will just roar us back into competition.

I have been working on bringing up the ability to play other positions in some of my players, such as Blanchford or Shihab, both of whom are much better now at MCs, DMCs, and in the case of the former, the MR spot. I suspect you’ll begin to see them grow more comfortable there now that they’ve been working in that for around half a year.

My next job interview offer arrives:



I used to run Yeovil Town FC in a former life. No thanks! They just won this division last year, and now are in dead last in League 2. That’s not something I’m interested in doing - moving to another club like that.

Do I have my new Devlin?

Here’s Tarique Fosu –




He was let go by Charlton last year, and has been on a free for months. For the first time, he’s interested in coming to slum it up in our division. I make him an offer. Devlin has been dropping in ability after starting strong, and has been in a bit of a slump.

[Abe Sargent]

FA Trophy vs Ramsgate – I start a few backups and subs today. My starters include Devlin, Roberts, Balmer, Corbridge, Spetch, and such. For the fans! It’s cascading rain, and my attacking mentality hasn’t done much, so I pull back to positive around the 15 minute mark. Roberts scores two minutes later. Then Spetch at the 18th. Roberts an early yellow card. I tell him to ease up. Half. Don’t get complacent! I send in Bennetts for Roberts. Balmer scores at the 45:33 mark. I send in Sylvestre and Myring. We win 3-0, MOM is Will Spetch. Good job!


Once we made an offer on Fosu, multiple teams put in offers as well, and he’ll be heading to Bristol.

League #24 – Away vs Wrexham – Keep our run going! Everyone is back n their starting spots, saved for Spetch, who remains in. Blanchfield feeds Logan for goal in the 22nd, but otherwise, a pretty quiet half. Don’t get complacent!! We send in Bedford, Myring, and Colridge. We hold on, and win 1-0. MOM is Blanchfield. We were the first team to score against Wrexham in games and games, by the by. Good job!


Bedford was injured and will be out for two weeks.

[Abe Sargent]

Rumors have hit the market of some French teams that might be interested in bringing me in, namely Brest (as my main nation is Morocco, I speak Arabic, Berber and French naturally, and then Korean and English).

I go to the board and ask for an extension of my contract. We sit down and work on a new deal. We agree to change our expectation, and offer more budget, and extend my deal a year.

They inject around 115k into my transfer budget for me to move around, but we are now expecting a top half finish. I move my budget to around 1k more than I am currently spending.

Time to look for a new Devlin.

League #25 – Home vs Morecambe – I leave Spetch in. After today’s match, I will hand out rests for the next few days, as I have a gauntlet of three games in 5 days. Keep our run going!!! We tie 1-1 as Browne scores.


League #26 – Away vs Sutton – For the fans!!! Is that…snow? Is this the first time I’ve seen snow at the game? I guess so, I can’t remember it last year. Alright- let’s snow it on! I tell you what, in honor of the snow…let’s begin attacking. I make that change. Heardman delightfully feeds Ashby on an attack run to score in the 16th. Then a few minutes later, Roberts crosses to Logan for goal. I ease back to balanced from attacking. Apparently, they were not expecting me to come out blazing like that on the road and in the snow. Logan feeds Heardman for goal in the 24th. Heardman scores again in the 42nd. Half. We are up 4-0. What do you say? Don’t get complacent? Thanks? Our opponent has more fouls (7) than shots (6). I don’t feel complacency comment would resonate, so just “Keep it going!.” Spetch a card, and I tell him to ease up. I pull two tireder people early – Blanchfield and Kebbie. Yves has a bad clearance, intercepted, and scored by them in the 72nd. They knock down another score off the post. They get a pk to sink in the 89th, but it’s too late, and we hold on and win 4-3. Next time, I’m not being nice at half time. Heardman was MOM.

[Abe Sargent]

December 29 has arrived and I pause while I look to see what I might unearth.

I think I may have my new Devlin



Like Fosu, he’s been free for months, and is now willing to slum it up with us in the Conference. Any job in a storm, right? I make Fejiri an offer to come join us! It will require some cash, but I just got that investment from m y board a few days ago that’ll help a lot, a lot.

I bring in, on trial, the best player on free that’s not at a position of logjam (such as GK) –






This is Will Collar. I wanted to see if he was my new Ashby or Blanchfield, but I am unsure.

Here is the comparison

Collar vs Ashby:



As you can see, Ashby isn’t better anywhere. They are even in speed and technical abilities, and that’s it.

Collar vs Blanchfield:



Now, Blanchfield and Collar are the same in attacking and technically, and Blanchfield is better at vision. But Collar? He’s better everywhere else.

Now, to bring him on would cost be, roughly, 700/week, which would need to come from somewhere.

I thought I was set at MC, as Ashby played well in half a year, and Blanchfield was an obvious upgrade from Moore. But so far? Ashby has 3 goals, 3 assists, and a 7.02 league rating; Blanchfield has 3 assists, no goals, and a 7.03 rating. Now, to be fair to Blanchfield, he has a deep lying playmaker role. That’s not someone you would expect to be rolling off goals and assists. But Ashby last year had 7 goals, 1 assist, in 6 fewer leagues games for us, in the exact same role. Now, sure, this would be harder, since it’s a level up, but that still worries me a little. The difference in price in Ashby from current salary to Collar isn’t much either.

Right now, I have my AM offer out, and that will likely take up most of my new 1k available in salary.

[Abe Sargent]

But…before I do that, I make offers to my current folks that are ending in 6 months that I want to retain:

Browne by one year
Corbridge by two years, and I drop him to hot prospect
Bedford by a year
Balmer by 2 years


That means I could lose these players: Corby Moore, Alex Davey, Steve Devlin, Will Spetch, Luke Roberts, Josh Ashby

I’m okay with that. Browne is the one I don’t want to try and replace right now. I could bring in new MC for Ashby now, and then move Ashby to squad rotation. Let’s do it. I make Collar the offer, and then massage my transfers to cover both offers.


League #27 – Home vs Harrogate Town - Starting today are Devlin and Moore for Roberts and Spetch. It’s the final battle of 2019. Keep up our run!




They do not. We lose. Maybe Ashby felt footsteps?

Goodbye 2019

[Abe Sargent]

Hello 2020

Jan. 4 – Home vs Solihill Moors
Jan. 11 – Away vs Fylde
Jan. 18 – FA Trophy – Home vs Stockport
Jan. 25 – Home vs Boreham Wood


Once again, Logan was 2nd in Young Player of the Month voting



Here are the current standings. We are 5th. I don’t want to finish anywhere below 7th, as I want to have at least a shot of promoting. Now, like the previous league, you cannot get out without winning or winning a playoff, there are no slots for hitting #2 or #3. There are just two spots out. I don’t want to rely of guesses, I want out, out – so I am aiming to win, not to get hot with a playoff.

So, if you hit 7th, then you have a lottery ticket out! Now it may look at first like we would have a 1 in 6 chance of making it out as there are 76 teams in the playoffs. But that’s not how math works. That means for teams hitting 4, 5, 6, 7, they fight against each other, and then the winners against 2, 3, and then in a final. So basically, the math looks like this:

Chance of a team hitting 4-7 getting out – 1 in 8
Chance of a team hitting 2-3 getting out - 1 in 4

You double your chances by getting to 3. That’s my new goal now that I am five. Thus my two new players are coming in hopefully to get us enough form to take us to #3. And that seems feasible. I don’t want to rely on 2-7, but if I have to, let’s get to 3.


Fejiri arrives, and he signed for 850/week plus 30% promotion raise. We’ll be starting him at AML for now.

[Abe Sargent]

League #28 – Home vs Solihull Moors – I will assign Fejiri an Inside Forward roll to see how he handles it, as it plays to his strengths. For the Fans!! This is a good team that is currently 8th. I cannot do this game justice in a paragraph:

11th minute, we hit goal, when Logan hits Ashby.

16th - They get a card, then another soon after,

22nd – They score off a counter.

37th – They score off a DFK

44th – They give us a corner, and then foul us in the box. Heardman sinks the PK.

Half, tied, 2-2.


In the 49th, Browne feeds Fejiri for goal. He scored on his debut with us.


55th – Ashby to Heardman, goal

59th – We send off one of their middies in a nasty looking injury

66th – Ashby feeds Browne, goal

71st – I send in Corbridge for Davey and Sylvestre for Blanchfield

75th - They score again off a strong long shot that was nasty.

82nd – I send in Myring


We win 5-3, MOM is Ashby. Nice!

Collar’s trial ends, we have a bid out for him still.




Ah well. He heads to Nott’s County.

But the idea is a good one, although Ashby’s recent hot streak suggests he is fine for now.

How about DL where I have Moore and Spetch rotating?

I begin scouting.

I make an offer to unsigned Conor McLaughlin


Ashby and Fejiri are named in Team of the Week

[Abe Sargent]

I go to my board and request another scout, and they agree. I make an offer to Polish scout Lukasz Bednarz. He signs.


League #29 – Away vs Fylde – I open defending today. No one expects us to win – no pressure!!! Tense and nervy first half, but neither team cracked that goal. We each had opportunities and such. Just get that goal! Over the first 15 minutes, all of the pressure is ours, but we can’t crack their GK, and then the system heads back to equilibrium. By the 63rd minute, our foes have used all of their subs. I push forward, and try to break their momentum, and I tell my folks to tackle hard. It happens. In the 72nd minute, we injure one of their defenders. We are now up a person. I ease off tackles and move to positive. I send in Sylvestre. In the 77th, Browne finds Logan for goal, and we have broken the 0-0 stalemate. Is that the only goal of the match? DC Dinyezi heads in next. In the 83rd, Fylde is moving forward to try and correct the scoreboard. I ease back to cautious. Roberts heads in. We hold and win 1-0. MOM is Logan. Nice!

Conor says no – we can’t offer enough money for him to come here. I can’t find a DL that works for me who is also willing to come work for me. Ah well.

Yves named in Team of Week

FA Trophy Round #2 – Stockport – Show why we are the heavy favorites! We begin attacking. In the first half, we have two goals by Heardman and one by Fejiri. Half, 3-0. DON’T GET COMPLACENT! Then goals by Browne and Fejiri. We win 5-0, MOM is Fejiri.

Bedford is back from injury.

[Abe Sargent]

League #30 – Home vs Boreham Wood – Keep up your run! I begin positively. Moore a yellow. I give him my normal instruction to ease up. Fejiri to Blanchfield for goal in the 44th. Half. Don’t get complacent in the driving rain. Heardman off Browne, goal, 67th. I send in Roberts and Sylvestre for Moore. Then Dinyezi. They score off a nice counter in the 89th. We win 2-1, MOM is Blanchfield.

After 30 games:




We’re now in 4th and in shouting distance of 2nd and 3rd.

Good bye January!

[Abe Sargent]

February


Feb. 1 – Away vs Barnet, Conference
Feb. 8 – Home vs Barnet, FA Trophy
Feb. 11 – Away vs Maidenhead
Feb. 15 – Home vs Halifax
Feb. 22 – Away vs Salford


I win Manager of the Month!

League #31 – Away vs #6 Barnet – I open today cautiously. Vengeance!!! On a corner, Logan finds Davey for goal. Quiet half. Don’t get complacent! They grab two goals in the 2nd half, and beat us 2-1.



FA Trophy vs Barnet – Well I lost to Barnet last time. But now? Now it really matters! Let’s get ‘er done and move through them. Vengeance!!! Cascades of rain are pouting around. They are sandblasting us at our own home, and we are barely holding on. Half, 0-0. Go get us that goal! Then, in the 61st, goal is made. By us! We’ve had 6 shots, and this is only the 2nd on target, to their 13 and 7. But Ashby finds Fejiri for goal. And we’ll take it! I send in Sylvestre in the 72nd. In the 74th, Ashby to Browne for goal. That is just the 3rd shot we’ve even had on target. I slide back to cautious. I suspect a Barnet Wave is About to Crash Poole Town. Myring heads in. Then Spetch to give my fullback spot some more energy fresh off the bench. At the 89:19 mark, finally, our foes score. They have dominated this match so much, they had to. Can we hold on? Yes we do. MOM is Ashby, and we win 2-1. Nicely nice!

We draw Morecambe for the FAT Trophy Quarterfinals

[Abe Sargent]

League #32 – Away vs Maidenhead – For the fans! Our foes are 24th, so began offensively. Whoa! They score in the 6th, and then again in the 9th. Nope! I clamp down to defensive and hold off any further assault. I slowly open up like a shelled clam. In the 27th I move to cautious. Abut ten minutes later, Fejiri sinks a goal after jumping off a rebound off the crossbar. Half. This is not acceptable!!! In the 57th, I move to balanced. On a built up attack, Ashby scores from a Kebbie assist. I send in Bennetts, and then Myring. In the 81st, Myring finds Browne for goal. In heads Sylvestre. We hold and win 3-2. MOM is Ashby. Huh. Not how I expected that game to go, but I’ll take any result that’s a W.



League #33 – Home vs Halifax Town – Keep up our run! I begin balanced seeing how overconfidence may have left to a more difficult game last week than I was looking for. We lose 1-2. Our lone goal was by Logan late.

[Abe Sargent]

League #34 – Away vs Salford City. For the fans!!! Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. Half in seconds. 0-0. Hm… We’re not doing badly. Quiet. They acquire a card. I send in Dinyezi and Myring. Then we give up a pk in the 77th, but Yves blocks it! In the 81st, Blanchford scores with an assist by Dinyezi, and that score……….stands. We win 1-0, MOM is Blanchford. Clean sheet!

I hand out many a rest

League #35 - Home vs Ebbsfleet – For the Fans!!! Fejiri feeds Heardman for goal in the 16th. Moore to Logan on a counter, and we are up 2-0 at the 28th. They power a score just before the half. Halftime. Don’t. Get. Complacent. We injure their Striker and he is spelled. In heads Sylvestre and Corbridge. Browne feeds Heardman in the 73rd for goal. I ease to cautious. Ebbsfleet have been very lethal at 8 shots on target out of 10, so I don’t want to assume anything here. Spetch heads in too. They grab a consolation goal in the 88th, and we win 3-2. MOM is Heardman.

Heardman is named Team of the Week

[Poli]

I haven't bought the game since 12, but man this makes me want to rethink that!

[Abe Sargent]

Our new intake of youth arrive. Not very promising, sorry!


FA Trophy Quarter Finals – Away vs Morecambe – I begin cautious today. For the FANS!!! In his ball playing defender role, Shihab feeds Blanchfield on a run and he scores in the 15th. By half, we have 3 shots, all on target, to their 10 and 5. Don’t even think of complacency! Our foes move forward for around 12 minutes, but aren’t hitting paydirt. They stop a great offensive strike in the 65th by us. I pull a tired Logan for Myring. They finally crack the code in the 78th. Sylvestre for an underperforming Kebbie. Blanchfield with his first card of the year. End of regular time. Go get me that goal!!! ½ time in ET. I send in Spetch for Moore. And that’s game. We tied 1-1. MOM is Blanchfield. That means we’ll play the rematch at our place.



I hand out MANY rests….

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Poli

I haven't bought the game since 12, but man this makes me want to rethink that!

I'm glad!

The training is fully rehauled, and I haven't really touched it. I've just handed it off to my folks to do, and I tweak it here and there. It's like every day is the training camp set-up in FOF.


Abe

[Abe Sargent]

Here my training screen, and from here I can track folks training well or not, health risks with various training types and levels, moves, etc. It's more detailed than before.

[Abe Sargent]

Oh, and also brand new is this:



There are a number of ways you can track inter-squad dynamics, social groups,e leaders, respected veterans, personality,etc. Yves, my GK is a perfectionist. He works well with those people. Etc.

[Abe Sargent]

With this, i can hold team meetings any time I want:

[Abe Sargent]

March


Mar. 4 – FA Trophy QF Rematch vs Morecambe
Mar. 7 – Home vs Gateshead
Mar. 10 – Away vs Wealdstone
Mar. 14 – Home vs Barrow
Mar. 21 – Away vs Eastleagh or the Semi Final vs Dag & Red of the FA Trophy if we take out Morecambe
Mar. 24 – Away vs Maidstone
Mar. 28 – Home vs Leyton Orient

Logan’s goal vs Halifax was Goal of the Month!

Here’s the League table



Now, if you paid attention, we did not have a good February, with a few losses in there. Well take heart, me laddies! We rose to #3. Which means we’d get a bye in the playoffs this year if the year ended. Please note we are tied with Fylde at 3-4, and Maidstone is just a point behind us. We have both Maidstone and Leyton this month. We’ll have a much better view of where things stand at the end of March.


QF Rematch vs Morecambe – Because we are at home, I open balanced. Moore is jaded and tired, so I have Spetch start for him. For the fans!!! Fejiri a nasty fast assist to Blanchfield, with a nasty fast shot that slips past their defenses and sinks in the 36th They score offa corner a few minutes later. They also grabed a number of cards. Half. SHOW ME SOMETHING ELSE. They collect a yellow. Then another. The moment Spetch collects a card, I send in Sylvestre for him. End of 90 minutes. My foe pulled one yellow card, and has used all three subs, but I have 2. GET THAT GOAL. I send in Dinyezi and Myring. In the 102nd, off a IFK, Logan hits Dinyezi’s head for goal. And that……..holds, and we are out! MOM is Blanchfield.

[Abe Sargent]

League #36 – Home vs Gateshead – Spetch remains in. We are tied 0-0 at the half, boring, ish. But we are ahead on the stats, so keep going. Logan to Fejiri for a goal in the 59th. I send in Roberts for a tired Browne. Corbridge for Davey. Myring for a tired Heardman. Ashby gets goal in the 87th. A very, very poor and stupid pass by Myring gave away possession deep, and they punish with a score in OT. We win 2-1. MOM is Fejiri. We got away with that one.

Browne is out for a week with a hamstring. Roberts will cover.

Yves and Fejiri named in Team of Week


League #37 – Away vs Wealdstone – Keep up our run!!! We tie 2-2, MOM is Heardman with two goals.

[Abe Sargent]

League #38 – Home vs Barrow – Moore is back – For the fans, in this light drizzle. We win 3-1, and Ashby’s 1 goal and assist game was MOM with goals by Shihab off an corner, and Fejiri.


League #39 – Away vs Eastleigh – I begin cautious. We take a while to get going, but finally, in the 41st, Kebbie feeds Fejiri for goal. Half. Don’t get complacent out there. They score in the 56th, but then after I send in Dinyenzi and Sylvestre, in the 78th, Ashby feeds Logan for goal. I send in Spetch. Can we hold and win 2-1? We can! MOM is Logan.

[Abe Sargent]

Semi-Final Leg #1 of the FA Trophy vs Dag & Red – As we are beginning in our home, I begin positively. For the FANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rain means nothing as we fight for destiny’s embrace! At the 1:47 minute, Roberts fed Fajiri for goal. There we are! Logan scores around 10 minutes later. They collect a card. Then another. They sink a DFK in the 33rd. Half. No complaceny! Logan with a card. I tell him to lay of the heavy tackling. Blanchfield to Fajiri for goal in the 58th. In the 62nd, they get a 2nd yellow. I swap out Logan. They foul us in the box, and then Fejiri sinks a PK in the 68th. I send in Sylvestre. Now Dinyezi heads in.



Well, we win the first leg well!


League #40 – Away vs Maidstone – I will begin defensively for this matchup. Vengeance!!! 0-0 tie. Boring. On the day, my vaulted offensse had three shots to their 17. The tie favors us. We’ll take it, and the MOM was Shihab.

[Abe Sargent]

FA Trophy Semi-Final 2nd Leg – Away at Dag & Red - Browne is back from his injury. As we are on the road, and up 4-1, I expect our foes to come in hot and heavy and I begin cautiously. The first leg means nothing. Go out and win this game too! Quiet first 20 minutes, then my foes get two yellows. We are controlling the match, just not dropping scores. Half, 0-0. Stay focused!!! Our foes get a 4th card. Kebbie to Heardman for goal in the 65th. I send in Spetch and Dinzeyi. One of their yellows collects another in the 82nd. We win 1-0 today, and 5-1 aggregate. MOM is Kebbie

We made it to the FA Trophy Finals! In the finals,we are playing Grimsby Town, currently 3rd in the same division as us.




Curent Table. We are in 4th, but points wise, we’re close but games got shifted around for our FA Trophy and it’s a mess.

[Abe Sargent]

April


Apr. 4 - Home vs Kidderminster
Apr. 7 – Home vs Leyton Orient
Apr. 10 – Away vs Dover
Apr. 14 – Away vs Chesterfield
Apr. 18 – Away vs Aldershot
Apr. 25 – Home vs Grimsby
May 16 – Neutral vs Grimsby for the FA Trophy Final

So, as you can see, we have 6 games left for the regular season, and we are probably finishing in the playoffs. Which gives us a shot at League 2. With a game in hand against the teams below us, we are likely not to fall below 7th, so I’m good calling this a playoff season. But I covet that bye. Get Poole Town to #3!


League #41 – Home vs Kidderminster – I will begin positively for today’s match. We have everyone rested from the semis too, as it was a while ago. Keep our run going! They score first in the 15th, but Heardman follows a few minutes later. And then…..nothing. Half. Show me something else! Shots, possession, etc were roughly even. In heads Myring and Corbridge. Moore feeds Browne goal in the 77th, and that…..is it. We hold and win 2-1. Good job!




League #42 - Leyton Orient just dropped a game to Grimsby three days ago. We have them tired, and in our place, so this is the best chance to steal a win. If you’ll recall, we did not do well against them away earlier in the year. I begin attacking, because I want to see if I can catch them napping. But Leyton dropped from #1 to #2 with the loss, so they may be angry. So I want to watch it. VENGEANCE!!! I slide back to positive after 12 minutes of playing defense. In the 16th, Browne gives Heardman just a beautiful assist, that he finishes. They collect a card. 28th minute? What happened then? Just a Browne to Fajiri score, nothing much. I slide to balanced. In the 32nd, they pop the goal. Half. Don’t get complacent. Another card fort them. Blanchfield a card – I send in Sylvestre. They sink a corner in the 67th. Roberts and Dinyezi head in. That was not good enough. We should have won 2-2.

[Abe Sargent]

League #43 – Away vs Dover – We begin cautious.

We win 5-3



Enjoy the crazy!


League #44 – Away vs Chesterfield – Today is my 100th game with Poole Town! Keep up our run! They score 2 in the first ten minutes, and I shell up and slowly unfold, much like before. Moore scores in the 41st from a Blanchfield assist, and we are down 2-1 at the half. Show me something else! They do! At the 45:44 mark, Heardman scores. Our foes collect the first card of the day by either side. They score again in the 77th, in heads Dinzeyi, Roberts and Sylvestre. They score again. In the 89th, off a corner, Dinzeyi scores. Then he gifts them an OG a minute later. We lose 5-3. I am far from pleased

[Abe Sargent]

Two games left! And they aren’t easy. I would have enjoyed some momentum going into them.





If I had just tied that game, we’d be even on points with Grimsby and Leyton. With two games left, any of LO, Grimsby, us or Barnet have a shot at winning the league outright. Had we won…we’d be two points in front! But, ah well.


League - #45 Away vs Aldershot – I begin cautiously optimistic. For the fans!!! Boring 0-0 draw! Our 3rd this year! Spetch was injured though and will be out 2-4 weeks.


Now, the bad news is that this tie drops us to 4th. The goods news? W have #3 to finish the season, at home, and they are still just 1 point ahead of us as they tied as well. Win, and we are guaranteed at least 3rd. Tie, and we cannot get higher than Grimsby for sure. That means this last week is crucial. They will be playing for an outside shot at 1st if they win, and if they tie, they are guaranteed a top 3 spot.

[Abe Sargent]

League #46 – Home vs Grimsby Town:


I begin balanced. All of my subs are people from last year that I know like Devlin, Bedford, Corbridge, and Roberts. Now the good thing for today is that Grimsby Town are playing the normal 4-4-2 that my team is designed to help answer. And we are at home too, in front of our peoples. That helps as well.

Vengeance!!!

Let’s do this!

Quiet first 10 minutes or so, but we’ve been pushing them. By 20 minutes, we’ve been in control, but not massively so, of the game. We have a nice counter attack by Grimsby that we push aside, and then we score off of the built up that follows in the 39th minute.



Logan to Ashby for goal. Nice. Now, we need to keep our early momentum going. This is very very early, and our foes are not someone I want to go to sleep on. I ease back to cautious as Grimsby Town push forward a little before the half. The stats have become more even, as they have around the same number of shots on target that we do.



Where we’ve been doing here is really dominating possession though. And they have been a foul-a-saurus on us, although no cards yet for them. They are trying to disrupt our momentum. But we are ahead, and I can safely try to lean on that to exploit them coming at us. I tell my lads that, of course, not to get complacent. They send in a sub at the half.

This may help:



Ashby feeds Heardman for goal in the 53rd. Nice. I will remain in a cautious state as, again, I would expect that Grimsby are too good, and have too much quality, not to still threaten us. Grimsby move forward, and have two strong offensive pushes we handle. At the 63rd?



Logan sinks a DFK. Their Hack-a-Poole tactics gave us a DRK almost at the box, and Logan made them pay. Good job! They have changed their formation. But again, I doubt this score holds. We are not going to win 3-0, not with how well the have been playing offensively. I send in my first sub – Roberts for Browne. Bedford for Blanchfield is next. It happens in the 82nd when they score off a corner. Again, I expected this. Now we need to hold. Corbridge for Davey. Can we hold them off? 4 minute of stoppage time. Three. Two. One. Time. We win 3-1, mom is Logan.


Good job!

[Abe Sargent]

Final Standings…



We finished 2nd! Not bad for our first year. In a normal league, we’d get out with that sort of a placement, not here. We were also just 1 point off first. Again, that Aldershot, OR Chesterfield match near the end hurt. That surprising tie on the road at Wealdstone hurt! If we converted one tie into a win? We would have won the league outright.

But now’s it’s playoff time.

Can we get out that way?

Yves was in Team of the Week.



Good bye April

Heardman won Player of the Month.

Corby Moore’s goal against Chesterfield was Goal of the Month.