Moor Green: An FM Dynasty

[MalcPow]

11/26/05

The board is delighted. And we get a definite upgrade in the news item:

With half the season gone, the Moors are beginning to convince the public that, against all expectations, this could be a successful season.

Now that's what I'm talking about. First you convince the public, then you get the money, the power, and the women. We've got our fingers crossed...

Aldershot hold the pace though with a 2-0 win over Hereford at home, and they're only 1 back. But Tamworth drop another to fall into a three-way tie for third 8 points back with Nuneaton and Dag & Red. The emergence of old enemy Nuneaton is interesting development. And it's only our blistering form, and my not wanting to mess with anything, that prevents me from reminding their manager Roger Ashby how much I hate his stupid face.

But the time will come...

[MalcPow]

11/29/05

Stephen Cooke and Kieran Richardson, in what is the anthesis of a surprise, are named to the CN Team of the Week.

Cooke is a bit knackered though, and clearly not back into full fitness yet. We have a midweek game tomorrow at home against Stevenage, and I'm not sure he'll be able to play. We've got a couple of players who will be below ideal levels, and we might be primed for a fall. We've got our FA Cup 2nd Round match coming up on 12/3 and I might rest anyone I can for that. But we clearly can't give any quarter in the league at the moment.

Just going to be one of those weeks where people play tired.

In other news...

We draw York in the 3rd Round of the FA Trophy (different than simply the FA Cup) Cup. And although York aren't having the best season in the CN at the moment, they're still a dangerous team. We again luck out in drawing a home game though.

[MalcPow]

11/29/05

Conference National - Home v. Stevenage

As I said before I'm wary of a letdown with the level of fatigue most of our team is it. Our starters are all around 90%, and Stephen Cooke is sitting out at 82%. If we weren't at home I'd say we were primed for the upset for sure. But the crowd, my dedicatedly masochistic Moories, might be able to buoy us to victory.

We go with the same formation as before. I drop Cooke from the lineup and move Adam Nowland back into the free AMC role. Erik Lund starts for us for the first time in a while, playing the lone striker role up front. And everyone else is the same, but I'll be looking to pull the plug if people start looking too weary.

Rob Elmes asks me if it will be necessary for him to call his wife and have her bring his jersey to the stadium. He's been wearing a sharp blue velvet tracksuit to better fit his "new role," as he calls it, of semi-assistant coach. I tell him to have a pistol brought to him right away, because I'll need him to shoot me in the testicles long before I'll need him on the pitch.

Kickoff

We start well. And as is our style we spend the first bit of the half feeling them out. Until Olie Hviden-Watson slides a nice ball into the box onto the deadly foot of Kieran Richardson in the 27th minute. And then again in the 34th, this time off a cross from Olie, Richardson heads one home to put us up 2-nil.

We head into the half this way, looking comfortably sure of ourselves. But I'm nervous about pulling people to quickly. Two goals is not enough, and we can't afford a draw, not in a game like this, at home against a poor squad. But in the 64th Olie drills home a goal of his own, and puts us into what I consider an airtight no doubter.

I pull our crown princes of the midfield, Kieran Richardson, David Fox, and Olof Hviden-Watson immediately following the goal, and replace them with a motley crew of MC Andrew Fisk back in Fox's spot, and strikers Jakob Hadda and Michael Malcolm playing out of position in the midfield for Richarson and Watson.

Malcolm makes Richardson's MC role his own, banging in two more goals before fulltime. And rating a 9 in only 25 minutes of play. It's possible Richardson's brilliance (with this match he's rated an unholy 8.71 through 7 games with us) is partly the system. Maybe any old idiot can pop goals and put up 9's and 10's from this spot?




We really obliterate them, and we're back to our old ways, controlling 58% of possession and spending 29% of the game with the ball in their third. Olie wins a deserving MOM. And I'm starting to think that this squad, with this tactic, at this level, might be simply unbeatable at home. A lot of qualifiers, but since I'm not planning on changing anything soon, and we can't be promoted for another half a season, it basically means we're in good shape for a good while. We even get a nice performance out of Erik Lund, which I'm hoping is not a sign of impending apocalypse.

[GoldenEagle]

This is a great read so far. It has inspired me to start back up with FM. I am trying to turn Kettering Town into winners. We are about five games into the first season and I think we are in fifth place. I loaned in Simek for the season so we will see how that goes. My scouts have not been bringing players that fit into my system though. I love players with good work rates and acceleration.

[MalcPow]

11/29/05

The board is delighted, these have probably been the greatest weeks of their delighted little lives.


12/1/05

Bou wins the CN Manager of the Month award.

Kieran Richardson is named Player of the Month. And Olof Hviden-Watson finishes second in the voting.


12/3/05


FA Cup 2nd Round - Home v. Hereford

I decide to change nothing from the starting eleven of our last game. Stephen Cooke comes into the match with less condition than anyone else still, so there's no point in pushing things. He'll start on the bench and probably come on in the second half.

Kickoff

The sun is shining. It's a beautiful Moorlands day. And we get right to work, with Erik Lund pouncing on a saved David Fox shot and popping it home in the 2nd minute. He scores another in the 19th minute to make it 2-0, a nice play from him as he dribbles into the area and puts into the corner past the keeper on a tight angle. We're up two early, and Lund is looking like the wunderkind uber-striker we've always dreamed he would be.

We go into the half without producing too much more. Although Hereford plays a few beautiful long balls forward exposing my pushed up defense badly, and creating one on ones with Luke Steele. They can't convert, but I have the sinking sensation that my tactic is slowly being cracked. We've been making enough little changes to stay out front of things, but this kind of success can't really be sustained.

I bring three subs on in the 61st to spell some people. Cooke comes into the game for Richardson, Jakob Hadda for Olie, and Michael Malcolm is on for Nowland as the free AMC. We get a little excitement as Hadda rips one from 35 yards on the left wing and it finds its way to the back of the net in the 78th minute. But other than that, few fireworks.





The game is actually closer than the scoreline or stat sheet would show, as there were a number of times when Hereford made me very nervous. The 7's through most of the defense are probably a function of that, we just didn't look sharp. Too much space, and badly out of position on a few long passes. Ultimately it didn't matter, and it's great to see Erik Lund performing, and taking down MOM honors. If he starts coming into his own, Franklin Simek's poor pace at the back will become our number one problem, and it's not that big a problem.

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

This is a great read so far. It has inspired me to start back up with FM. I am trying to turn Kettering Town into winners. We are about five games into the first season and I think we are in fifth place. I loaned in Simek for the season so we will see how that goes. My scouts have not been bringing players that fit into my system though. I love players with good work rates and acceleration.

Thanks ! It's funny because I posted basically the same thing in EaglesFan's FM dynasty the other day, reading through his stuff made me want to get back into the game, and write a little at the same time. As far as the scouting goes, I'd recommend either of the scouts I picked up at the start of this game, Rob Campkin and David Jarrett, they're excellent. Send one to Scandinavia and keep the other at home in merry England. I can't do much with a lot of the guys they mention, but Hviden-Watson has been outstanding for me, and I never would have unearthed him otherwise. Every once in a while the scouts seem to get a clue, and then every once in a while they recommend a player that's already on your team. Somehow this always reminds of the scene in Major League where they're looking at the list of players they're inviting to spring training, and somebody goes, "This guy here is dead." I feel like some of the lists my scouts bring me are about on par with that.

[MalcPow]

12/3/05

We're given 22k for our win in the FA Cup 2nd round.

No word from the board, where is the delight I ask you?

We've now broken another club record. This time for our eleven straight victories between October 15th and December 3rd. I honestly did not realize we had run it that long, but looking back we've only given up three goals in that span. We've got too much talent. The tactic is nice, and it fits our players well, but we're simply loaded for the level we're at. It's the guys like Leadbitter and Malcolm who signed for peanuts, and Olie and Nowland as pretty cheap transfers that have made the difference I think. We had good players before that obviously, but those guys, along with the inhuman stuff Richardson has done on loan so far, have just put us on a different level of quality.

We've definitely got a letdown loss, or draw, or at the very least a piddling 1-0 victory in our future. I can't see us carrying this success through indefinitely, especially if we're still playing in the FA Cup when those FA Trophy matches start-up. I'll have to trot out Elmes if we get into that kind of spot.


12/4/05

It starts. Olie goes down for 5 days with a stubbed toe in training. He's questionable for our game on the 10th v. Dag & Red. But does it even matter?

*A quiet rumble of thunder is heard beneath the surface of our laughing hubris*

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by MalcPow

Thanks ! It's funny because I posted basically the same thing in EaglesFan's FM dynasty the other day, reading through his stuff made me want to get back into the game, and write a little at the same time. As far as the scouting goes, I'd recommend either of the scouts I picked up at the start of this game, Rob Campkin and David Jarrett, they're excellent. Send one to Scandinavia and keep the other at home in merry England. I can't do much with a lot of the guys they mention, but Hviden-Watson has been outstanding for me, and I never would have unearthed him otherwise. Every once in a while the scouts seem to get a clue, and then every once in a while they recommend a player that's already on your team. Somehow this always reminds of the scene in Major League where they're looking at the list of players they're inviting to spring training, and somebody goes, "This guy here is dead." I feel like some of the lists my scouts bring me are about on par with that.

I have Jarret and Campkin under contract. I have this silly rule about I can only sign players in the British Isles until I move up. It is a house rule I like to use. I have found a couple of young wingers I like. The problem is I do not have any transfer money. I am probably going to sell my stud defender, Rob Gould, for some cash to Chester. Take a look at him, he is good.

[MalcPow]

12/5/05

Olie, Kieran Richardson, and Adam Nowland are named to the CN Team of the Week.

We draw English Championship side Stoke in the FA Cup 3rd Round. It's not a bad draw ultimately, as we could've gotten a Premiership team, and guess where we're playing? The Moorlands baby. Where we're unbeatable (um, with qualifiers at least...)

12/7/05

I'm informed that full-back Adam Eckersley has gone down in training and will be out for at least two months with a torn groin. This is fairly confusing for me because I haven't seen Eckersley in weeks. He's been practicing with Rob Elmes's misfit band of never-will-be's. And I use "practice" fairly loosely here. I think they're in the playoffs of their intra-squad ping-pong season right now.

So I ask Elmes what the hell happened?

Rob: "He was mouthing me."

Boo: "What do you mean mouthing you?"

Rob: "We was playing and he start into me with a lot of talk."

Boo: "And what did you do?"

Rob: "Well I done what I had to."

Boo: "Well what the hell was that?"

Rob: "I shown him his place is all."

Boo: "And tore his freaking groin?"

Rob: "He call me jumpsuit faggoty Boo. Front of everybody he done it. Faggoty he says."

So I nod my head. I walk away. I resist the blossoming urge to confirm that the jumpsuit is indeed faggoty, and remind myself that any decision that maintains the integrity of one's groin is always the correct course of action.

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

I have Jarret and Campkin under contract. I have this silly rule about I can only sign players in the British Isles until I move up. It is a house rule I like to use. I have found a couple of young wingers I like. The problem is I do not have any transfer money. I am probably going to sell my stud defender, Rob Gould, for some cash to Chester. Take a look at him, he is good.

Not a bad rule, other than some of the cheap Scandinavian guys no one outside of the isles would probably sign anyway. And I took a look at Rob Gould and he's sheer class (not sure if you're joking or not, he might actually be good on your game, but I figured you were making a point about what little you were working with). He's moved clubs, but appears to have retained his quality.





He looks like he could give Rob Elmes a run for his money as resident captain of jackassery. He also looks a little lonely. He might find the sheep-flocked hills of the Moorlands a target rich environment...

[MalcPow]

12/7/05

Physio Steve Shipley thinks Adam Eckersley ought to go to rehabilitation, so I send him packing for a four month vacation from ping-pong and faggoty jumpsuits.


12/10/05

Conference National - Away v. Dag & Red

We go on the road against a tough Dag & Red team. Olie Hviden-Watson has recovered from his stubbed toe, but his condition is still low, so I start him on the bench for the match with Stephen Cooke manning the left wing in his place.

Kickoff

The pitch is wet, and it's clear from the start this is going to be a slow game. Both sides look tentative, neither really ready to go for too much in these conditions. We look tired and slow, and we may be a little of both.

We go into the break with nothing doing. I'm cold and wet, and not really interested in giving an inspirational speech, so I unleash the charisma and charm of Rob Elmes on them at halftime, hoping ten minutes with him will at least make them want to be back on the pitch, if for no other reason than to be rid of his company.

Whatever he says has little effect. Both sides look sloppy, no one really standing out. Until the 82nd minute when the Daggers blister home a freekick from well outside the area. Surely that seals it, everyone's thinking, and good riddance really, let's get out of here. But two minutes later the Dag & Red keeper slips taking a goalkick and flubs the ball straight to Erik Lund. Lund takes one step and fires one from 30 yards, popping it into the net while their goalie is still sitting on his wet fallen ass. Incredibly odd, and it ends with everyone wondering if this was all just a bad dream.





We look alright from the stat line, a seemingly decent number of shots. But it's a mediocre performance and the ratings more or less show that out. Our passing percentage is way down as well, and it's tough for me to say whether that was the absence of Olie (who's definitely our best passer) or simply the effects of the weather. All around not a game either team will be proud of, and although a draw seems fairly just, our particularly bizarre goal makes us feel we got away with one on an off-day.

[MalcPow]

12/10/05

Valencia win the Asian/Euro Cup 3-0 over Pohang at Yokohoma International Stadium

Despite our sloppy draw with Dag we actually move a point further up the table as Aldershot loses at home 2-0 to Chester. This leaves us five points clear at the top, and Aldershot appear to be in a tailspin with two straight league losses and a cup loss nestled in between. We're eight points clear of third placed Woking, but we'll be facing a grueling stretch of games in a couple weeks with three active competitions, and we'll need all the wins we can muster before then.

Overall, good news though. We play poorly, and still extend our lead.


12/11/05

Swindon come in with a bid of 120k plus a friendly for the newly popular David Fox. I'm less traumatized this time around and reject it immediately. But Foxie hasn't looked great of late, this might be having an impact on him.

12/15/05

Another of our reserves goes down with injury. This time it's midfielder Matty Hall, out for a month with broken ribs.

I decide to visit him in the trainer's room to ask a few questions.

Bou: "Matty, how you doing pal?"

Matty: "I'm alright boss."

Bou: "Matty I need you to be honest with me now. What the hell are you idiots up to while we're out on the training pitch?"

He's quiet a while.

Bou: "Well? Matty you need to answer me."

Matty: "I can't."

Bou: "You can't?"

Matty: "The first rule of fight club..."

Bou: "Oh bloody hell."

[MalcPow]

12/17/05


Conference National - Home v. Crawley


Olie is fully recovered and it looks like we've got our full squad more or less at our disposal. I decide to leave the streaking Erik Lund on upfront, and start Adam Nowland on the bench.

Kickoff

It's cold and wet again. And we are apparently a collection of withering pansies. I barely want to talk about this match. Kieran Richardson is doing absolutely nothing, and I pull him in the 41st minute for Adam Nowland. We go into halftime with a collective yawn from the soaked and miserable crowd.

I shout something at them for a minute or two, but bore myself quickly and wander back onto the pitch to wallow in the existential hell of the Moorlands in December. The team feeds off my wallowing and we carry each other to an absolutely pathetic nil-nil final. Michael Malcolm comes on for Erik Lund in the 72nd, but he does nothing other than curse me for pulling him away from the shelter and heat of the dugout. An absolute crap showing.





We outshoot them 3-2, and 2-0 on target. Both of their shots come on freekicks. Apparently we lack the ability to play in wet weather, or we're slowly fading into a tailspin of our own. Either way it's not a particularly good sign.

[MalcPow]

12/17/05

Aldershot can only manage a 1-1 draw with Gravesend so they gain no ground. But Woking and Nuneaton both win, and are now right behind, six and seven points back respectively. I do not want a four-horse race at the top. Let's hope these last two games have been our midseason hangover, and we can get quickly back on track. I might make a small tweak or two tactically to confuse people that might have us figured out.


12/20/05


Conference National - Away v. Nuneaton


Of course it would play out that we go into the very heart of evil on only two days rest, and slumping from back to back poor showings. It would also play out that David Fox, our captain, is looking a little too weary, and we've got a few too many matches ahead for me to allow him to fall all the way into jadedness.

So we go into Nuneaton Borough a key player short, and with everyone hovering in the low 90's of condition. I start MC Andrew Fisk in place of Fox, which is probably not the best of ideas as Fisk hasn't seen significant competitive match time in quite a while, but I do it anyway. And I move Adam Nowland back upfront of our attack as Erik Lund's fifteen minutes of game might be up, at least for this season.

Kickoff

Things start slowly as usual, and although it's freezing it is at least freaking dry. Nuneaton are a strong team, and they've got some pace in attack so they are causing us the usual problems with the long ball forward. I have to admit that over the course of our unbeaten run that Luke Steele has been pretty impressive in handling these breakaways, and almost always seems to pounce or intimidate enough to force a shot wide or high. He's held things together for us.

We look like the same team that has played to two lackluster draws in a row. And Nuneaton is showing the quality to put us out of our misery. Nowland is looking semi-comatose upfront and Leadbitter not much better on the right wing. Richardson blazes a few great chances over the bar, and Cooke puts another good one wide. Until the two of them team up for one of their patented one-two's in the box and Richardson finds the back of the net in the 45th minute.

We come out after halftime and I make some changes in the 57th, bringing Jakob Hadda on for Olie on the left wing and Michael Malcolm on for Leadbitter on the right. They're both out of position but have the skills, and have played well there before. With Fisk on the pitch I don't really have any manageable midfielders left, so we'll have to make do.

Hadda quickly unleashes his hate for Nuneaton with a nasty looking tackle on the wing and picks up a yellow, even a generous yellow frankly, it could have been worse. We're trying to grind away. It becomes apparent we don't have the enthusiasm to go forward and finish things off, so we're going to have to slow things down and go into our shell. I bring Paul Culshaw on in the 81st for Stephen Cooke, and park him in back of our defense. He brings some experience and leadership, and hopefully enough defensive ability to keep out a last second heartbreaker.

A few minutes later Hadda goes into apeshit mode again, with a two-footed tackle and his second yellow of the game. Quite the accomplishment for his twenty-some odd minutes of work. We play the last few minutes with no one upfront, and our breath held, but they barely threaten and we squeak away with the full three points and a win. The first time in a while that we did not look like the better team, but we'll take it.





It looks like we are definitely hitting the midseason wall of fatigue, and it's only going to get worse over the next few weeks as we're playing two or three matches every week. If we can come out of this middle third of the season with a few games in hand, I think we'll be fine. But somebody will have a great chance of catching us if they can put together a nice run here.

[MalcPow]

12/20/05

***For reasons I still don't understand (doubtfully FM related), my system crashes and I lose the last two games of play. I try to recreate them as best I can, with ultimately a 2-2 draw against Crawley, and a 2-0 win over Nuneaton. The Crawley draw took forever to get as I kept beating them, and I ultimately had to put a defender in goal to get them to a draw. This should have little or no impact, except of course for the fact that Aldershot, instead of drawing and losing a game, wins both their games in the resim. So a bit more challenging.***

The board is pleased by the win over Nuneaton.

We're three points clear of Aldershot at the top, so very little breathing room. But a healthy nine points clear of an emerging Tamworth in third.

12/22/05

Portsmouth make a bid of 120k for David Fox. I reject them but again wonder about the possibility of moving him down the road. He's a little less than ideal as a DMC as he's weak in the air, but he does everything I need from him for the time being. We might cash in on a couple players if we can stay strong and find promotion at the end of the year.

12/26/05

Cooke and Olie are named to the CN Team of the Week.

[MalcPow]

12/26/05


Conference National - Home v. Woking

So with little margin for error we host Woking today. We've got another league match in two days to look forward to, and if we can get out to a lead, I'd like to pull some key players. We basically go with the starting squad we've been using except we've got Michael Malcolm in front as opposed to Erik Lund. And Stephen Cooke is on the right with Grant Leadbitter in reserve.

Kickoff

We're pressuring early, and appear to have some resemblance of our previous form back. There's just a lot more hop in our step, and attacking movements are more creative and interesting. In the 19th minute Franklin Simek picks up a potential injury, and Stephen Cooke appears much too fatigued, so I pull them both, hoping to avoid any big trouble. And bring Paul Culshaw in at the back, and Leadbitter for Cooke's wing position.

We fail to capitalize on our good form until the 41st minute when Michael Malcolm cleans up a mess of rebounds by driving the ball into the back of the net. We go to the half up 1-nil and looking good.

We come out firing not too long after the restart, with Adam Nowland using his skill to round a defender and beat the keeper cross corner. It's the 61st minute, and the goal puts us up 2-0. I pull David Fox immediately, trying to give him as much rest as possible, and bring Adam Fisk on.

Woking end up bagging a garbage goal in the 89th minute. But it's ultimately a mere consolation as we hold on for the points.




We look good again. And I'm hoping we got enough people some rest, and no serious injuries hit. Paul O'Connor picked up a potential injury in the last moments of the game. We could take maybe one injury, but if O'Connor and Simek both go down I'll be very uncomfortable.

[MalcPow]

12/26/05

Aldershot and Tamworth both draw, extending our lead to five and eleven points over each respectively.

James O'Connor is out for 3 days with a bruised rib. So he'll miss one match, but nothing too dramatic.


12/28/05

Conference National - Away v. Northwich


Having played just two days ago we've got a lot of guys that are tired. I decide to bite the bullet and go with a pretty motley lineup, hoping to scratch out a win while giving a number of people some critical rest.

Paul Culshaw starts at right back for the injured James O'Connor. Jakob Hadda will play on the left wing to give Olie a break. And Stephen Cooke will play Kieran Richardson's spot, with Grant Leadbitter starting on the right. Erik Lund also starts upfront again.

Kickoff

Nothing happens for a while. And when the game picks up we pressure with a couple of chances.

On the 30th minute Jakob Hadda takes a cross from Grant Leadbitter and hammers into the net on a volley. We look good considering, and we're generating some nice chances. We go to the break up 1-0.

After a slow start to the second half, I pull Fox, Cooke, and Lund, hoping to conserve a little energy and lock this game into grind-out mode. Instead of simply putting things to sleep we continue to attack and Adam Nowland bags one from short range in the 73rd. We ride out the lead and come away with a 2-0 win, hopefully getting some much needed rest as well.





Overall I'm really happy with this. Anytime you're resting multiple key players, you're lucky if you get a solid all-around performance, and that's what we got. Obivously we had some people step up and play well with guys like Olie and Richardson on the bench. I don't think we're where we're at today without those guys around, but it's reassuring that we can sit them down, and take some other guys out early, and still play well. Games like this bunched together are brutal, and this is where I've really had some seasons start to fall apart by trying to force people through these tough stretches. Hopefully we can strike the right balance and stay fresh enough. We've got another game in three days on the 1st and then on the 7th we play Stoke at home in the FA Cup. I'm trying to do everything I can to have a semi-rested and full squad for that Stoke game. I think we can compete, and it would be a huge win for the club.

[MalcPow]

12/28/05

Aldershot go on a 5-0 romp over Burton, and hold at five points back. Whereas third placed Tamworth play to a nil-nil draw and fall thirteen behind. Looks like it's turning into a showdown between us and Aldershot. We're at the exact midpoint of the season. We have 50 points to their 45. It is a bit unsettling that we've got a blistering 50 points and we're only five up. It's almost impossible for us to play as well in the second half of the season, hopefully we'll be able to hang on, or they'll fall apart down the stretch.

And... the board is delighted. Sweet!

12/30/05

Jakob Hadda goes down with a thigh strain for two weeks. I sense foul play, but there's a dangerous underworld within Moor Green football that one only wants get so close to, so I leave it alone.

1/1/06

Thierry Henry makes a sweep of it with World Footballer, World Player, European Footballer, European Striker of the Year honors. Pretty impressive. John Terry is name European Defender of the Year. And Henry's Arsenal teammate Freddie Ljunberg takes home European Midfielder of the Year. Goalkeeper is Madrid's Iker Casillas.

Bou finishes second in the Manager of the Month standings for the Conference National. Good friend Bob Faulkner of Weymouth brings home the cheese this month.

[daedalus]

Not a bad season by Titi. Quite deserving, I'm sure.

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Not a bad season by Titi. Quite deserving, I'm sure.

He had a great year. But as odd as it was to see him sweep everything like that, it made sense at least. I never understood how somehow a guy can be World Footballer but come in third for European Footballer or something, which seems to happen fairly often in FM. At least this made sense.

[GoldenEagle]

I hope no one ordered a hit on Bou.

[MalcPow]

Shhh... the girlfriend is in town. Bou is in hiding for a little while...

[MalcPow]

1/1/06

Conference National - Away v. Bury

We head into this one on the heels of a couple unimpressive, but crucial nonetheless, victories. We've got everyone pretty rested, and I'm going with a more or less first team here. With the only possible exception being Erik Lund up top and Adam Nowland on the bench. But Lund has flashed some value of late, and might be coming into his own as at least a mediocre player (Woohoo! ). We'll be hoping to rest some guys if possible though ahead of our FA Cup Super Showdown with Stoke on the 7th. There might be a danger of us looking ahead to that game, always a dangerous thing but even doubly so on the road.

Kickoff

I notice that the pitch is a little wet, and I'm clutched by the paralyzing knowledge that Moor Green is like oil and water is like, well, water. And... they don't mix...

But we look pretty good anyway. And in the 17th minute Kieran Richardson put in a nice cross to a wide open Erik Lund, who settles, ponders, shoots... and scores! And we're up 1-0.

We're controlling the game. In the 34th minute... Cooke gets a breakaway, tries to chip it, but the keeper scrambles back and tips it over the bar. On the corner, defender Paul Culshaw (who I realize shouldn't really be out there as James O'Connor isn't injured anymore but I forgot to change them out) comes streaking into the six yard box and powers a header home. 2-0. Maybe it's not so bad to have him in there.

Halftime

We make some quick changes. Bring Michael Malcolm on for a tired Lund. And then a few minutes later we bring Guy Bates on for Olie, and Adam Nowland on for Stephen Cooke. We're up 2-0 and I want as many people rested as possible. Nowland ends up bagging a nice goal in the 73rd.

Final: Win 3-0




A good game, and we break the streak of terrible performances in wet conditions. Now it's time to get the hype machine ready for Stoke City, FA Cup 3rd Round, January 7th...

[MalcPow]

1/2/06

Stuart Parnaby, Jakob Hadda, and Kieran Richardson are all named to the CN Team of the Week. Jakob Hadda makes the team despite not even playing in the game against Bury do to injury. A game in which Kieran Richardson scored a 10 and was man of match. To give some idea of what Richardson has done for us since coming over... 13 games, five goals, nine assists, four man of match awards, and a Christ-like rating of 8.38.

I say again, with a full line of white space for contemplation...

8.38.

I think it's partly tactical, he plays an attacking role that is rewarded pretty well by the ratings system. But it's still freaking incredible. He has started to slip a bit, as he was at 8.6 not too long ago, but I'm not sure I've ever had a player above 8 for a season, at any level. It's a little amazing to me.


1/7/06

I get a call again from our mysterious and wheezing anonymous friend.

Caller: "Birchall's talking with Weymouth."

Boo: "Weymouth?"

Caller: "That's right. Word on the street is it's lights out Nancy if he signs with another Conference club."

Boo: "I'm not going to comment on that."

Caller: "Fair enough. Word on the street is also that Birchall's ready to come in. He wants to play again. He doesn't care if it's the California Penal League, he just wants a jersey, some boots, and some black silk underwear."

Boo: "I'll keep that in mind."

Caller: "You do that."

Boo: "Hey who are you?"

Click.

And I'm shaking my head. But I call up the elusive white elephant, the enigma of shadows and dust, striker Adam Birchall...

He wants to be a Key Player. And he wants 28k/yr for three years. A piddly 5% a year wage raise. I give him whatever he wants. It's all a lot less than I've previously thrown at the assclown.

He's considering other offers. I'm hoping the constant death threats and stalkings over the last six months will work in my favor. He knows the stakes. And he actually seems interested. We'll see how this plays out, but it's an odd stroke of luck ahead of our FA Cup Mega-Match with Stoke City (that sort of loses its kick with the Stoke City part doesn't it?)...

[MalcPow]

1/7/06

FA Cup 3rd Round - Home v. Stoke


I'm not gonna go into a lot of ballyhoo for this one. Matter of fact I think we're all a little ballyhooed out when it comes to the Moor Green hype machine and our FA Cup duel in the desert (there's not really a desert) with Stoke City.

Kickoff

Erik Lund is still starting up top. Why? Because he's our best striker? No, because I'm a superstitious jackass.

The game starts slow. And I mean slow. Nothing really happening. One of those stretches where FM feels obligated to show you some kind of highlight, so you get to watch a weak cross get caught by the keeper.

Until... the 40th minute. McCarthy sends one forward to Olie on the wing. He brings it down the side. Slips a pass in to Cooke. He turns. Finds Richardson with a ball in the box. Richardson strikes! Goal! Nailed cross corner just inside the post. We're up 1-0. The three thousand strong in the Moorlands are cautiously ecstatic.

We go to Halftime...

The 63rd... Stephen Cooke bringing the ball through the midfield. Moor Green trying to strike quick on the break. Cooke out to Olie, and he's rushing forward. Olie puts back into the box for Cooke. He shoots! Scores! 2-0. Is this going to happen?

I'm starting to think about all the defensive adjustments I can make. Should I bring on another defender? Pull everyone back? I'm hovering over the Moor Green Tactics button for the next few minutes.

72nd... Watson to Richardson. To Lund. Richardson with a great move into space. Lund quickly gives it back to him. Richardson into space. Goal! 3-0. It's fist pump time. We're jumping on each other.

I try to calm people down. I'm bringing on sumstitutes, I'm adjusting things. An extra defender back. David Fox appears to have picked up a possible injury and I'm hoping it's not bad but we're all still going nuts. There's a buzz in the Moorlands. We're going to do it!

Then the fear hits. In the 78th... Stoke's Ade Akinbiyi slices through my defense and makes Luke Steele look like a lost kindergartner. Could it happen?

The delirious irrationality of horrified pessimism takes complete hold of the stadium. We're going to meltdown. We're going to give up a pair of quick goals. End up with a draw. End up cup-tied and devastated and heading to Stoke for the ass-whupping we deserved. It's all coming apart.

I'm trying to calm people down. Where's my captain? Foxie's back in the trainer's room being treated. A lot of nervous eyes around. I give them a hearty stare, a raised closed fist, and a duck dyingly awful emotional scream.

They respond. Richardson on a counterattack. Sends the ball forward to recent sub Adam Nowland. Nowland into the box... buries it! 4-1. Good freaking night Nancy. We go out winners. And we're dancing in the Moor Green streets.





You have to have a healthy reservoir of paranoia to be as nervous about the outcome of this game as I was when you look at the scoreline and stat sheet. But in the moment, at the time, I've seen bigger collapses. I've seen bigger meltdowns. But we made it through. We just took down a Champioship club, convincingly. And I'm thinking this was our good day against their bad one, but still... this team, at home... you never know baby...

[MalcPow]

1/8/06

The board is happy.

No injury for DMC David Fox. He's fine. A little hungover, but fan-freaking-tastic otherwise.

We're given an ungodly 75k for the win. That's HUGE for us.

And Liverpool has lost to League 1 side Barnsley in the FA Cup. We've made it farther than Liverpool. This is a success.


1/9/06

The draw for the 4th Round of the FA Cup is today. We draw Premiership side Crystal Palace, and we have to go on the road to play them. This is almost certainly the end of things. But we've got until the 21st to revel in our victory. So we'll be reveling thank you...

[GoldenEagle]

Bou! Welcome back. At least you will get to split the gate money with Crystal Palace. I think we might have a chance. It is not like Crystal Palace is a lights out squad.

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Bou! Welcome back. At least you will get to split the gate money with Crystal Palace. I think we might have a chance. It is not like Crystal Palace is a lights out squad.

That's kind of how I'm feeling about it. We might have a chance. It's not like drawing Chelsea or something. But at the same time, the game is right in the middle of a really vicious cluster of other matches, and it's going to take a lot of creativity to put a semi-fresh squad on the pitch. The money has done wonders for my bank balance though. I've got something like 140k to the good, if I can stay anywhere near that I might have some serious transfer money next season. I think I posted this before, but I never took the Cup matches very seriously, and kind of thought of them as just a big burden on the fitness of my squad. But if you get a few decent draws, you can really help your season with a nice run.

And... it's good to be back.

[MalcPow]

1/10/06

Conference National - Home v. Carlisle

David Fox, despite not being injured, is heavily fatigued and I sit him down for this one. Adam Fisk, the constant benchwarmer, will start in his place.

Kickoff

The whole team is obviously fatigued after our match three days ago with Stoke. And we look it. There are a couple of decent chances in the first half, but we just can't seem to finish and we don't look sharp. We go in with neither team having done much. 0-0

Halftime

We come out from the half and they generate a couple chances. I'm thinking about what kind of changes I might want to make, because what we're doing ain't working.

In the 55th minute Stuart Parnaby helps nudge me toward a little tinkering by picking up a professional foul, and taking one of their strikers down just outside of the box. Red Card. I bring James O'Connor, who'd been sitting because Paul Culshaw, my second captain, was starting at right back in his place. I also move Stephen Cooke back into the DMC role, he doesn't like it but he understands. Adam Fisk comes off. And I figure what the hey, and bring Adam Nowlad on for Lund up front, Erik hasn't really done anything and he's looking a bit gassed.

Four minutes later I feel smart. Adam Nowland takes a pass outside the right edge of the area, slices in, pops one near post. And we're up 1-nil.

I pump a fist.

Bou: "Can I get a hoo-ha Two Times Tuesday?"

Silence. And a lot of blank faces.

But after a few seconds Olie raises his hand.

Olie: "Hoo-ha."

And in the 67th, he delivers. Mopping up a shot deflected across the net and burying it into the wide-open goal.

Bou: "That's what I'm talking about!"

I'm wondering why we're suddenly playing better with ten players...

And then they start pressuring the crap out of us. They find a late goal in the 87th. And we have to sit through the excruciating torment of watching five minutes of extra time a man down and them in the dreaded 2-3-5 maniac formation.

We come out on top but the end is scary. 2-1.

Hoo-hah...





So we get the win. Stephen Cooke is rated poorly playing back in Foxie's spot, but he gives us a good effort at least. Sometimes you've just got to take what you can get when somebody goes off, and we did alright today. I hate to lose Parnaby for another match though.

[MalcPow]

1/12/06

Swindon make a sad 55k bid for David Fox. I laugh. In a kind of lonely sad way. Much of my communication with the rest of the world seems to revolve around bids for my players.

And the sadness turns to rage...

Adam Birchall... devil incarnate... has signed with Weymouth and rejected the offer from Moor Green. Weymouth is currently in 19th place in the Conference National and barely outside of the relegation zone.

I resist the temptation to act rashly in my rage. I maintain some degree of discipline and keep some handle on my emotions. The fury is fizzing just beneath the surface of my skin, bubbling in bloody spasms of violent thought bursts.

I control myself for now.

But it's not over...

[MalcPow]

Um apparently something is screwed up with the way pics are showing up, at least for me. The rage is bubbling... etc etc

But it's not over. I'll have to figure out what the prob is.

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by MalcPow

Um apparently something is screwed up with the way pics are showing up, at least for me. The rage is bubbling... etc etc

But it's not over. I'll have to figure out what the prob is.

Honestly, I never could get the pictures to show up. I was going to say something, but I figured old Bou was just crazy. I also do not want to cross Bou, like that wretched Birchall.

I just scrolled down to find something I was going to reference and I see the pictures! Bou is not crazy afterall!

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Honestly, I never could get the pictures to show up. I was going to say something, but I figured old Bou was just crazy. I also do not want to cross Bou, like that wretched Birchall.

I just scrolled down to find something I was going to reference and I see the pictures! Bou is not crazy afterall!

You are wise not to cross Bou, sanity is clearly not one of his virtues. But I thought he could at least competently post some pictures in a thread.

I still don't know what the problem is exactly, but hopefully it will work itself out. But for now Bou remains thrashing in lunatic limbo... at least until tonight after work when I can sim a few matches and put up some imaginary screenshots.