Hattrick Dynasty- FC Hartford

[samifan24]

Well guys, I've decided to try this whole dynasty writing thing. This is the first time I've ever tried something like this, so please bear with me. I know this will be boring to most of you but I hope that someone gets some kind of enjoyment out of reading my little dynasty, even if it is just for laughs. Oh well, here goes.

[samifan24]

FC Hartford Manager Brendan O’Neill has been very busy since late last October. He was a man on a mission; his was to rebuild a fledging club that finished dead last in their series last season. With last evening’s shutout victory over league mates “AntUSA”, O’Neill seems to come quite a ways away from the product of late last year. Although there is much of the schedule left to be played, the improvements at FC Hartford bear a closer look after such a turnaround.

The flurry of changes at the FC Hartford grounds began after O’Neill made the decision to sack the club’s coach, under whom the team had managed just one draw and eight losses last season. O’Neill filled the empty coach’s position by elevating one of the youth squad’s coaches, fifty-one year old Chad Burt, to FC Hartford’s head coaching position.
On the heels of Burt’s appointment, O’Neill made one of the hardest decisions he was faced with in his brief managing career: for the sake of raising future funds, he was forced to sell one of the club’s brightest and most popular young stars, Gus Bowden. While his mates were sad to see Bowden go, they knew that the $125,000 sum the team received for him would benefit them in the long run.

With Bowden gone, the team’s talent pool was stretched to its thinnest. However, O’Neill made it apparently clear that after the team lost a match by the score of ten-nil last season and six-nil this season, changes were on the horizon and Bowden’s departure was a casualty of those changes.

In their first game without Bowden, FC Hartford fell to Nationals by a score of two-nil. Despite the close score, Hartford struggled on the pitch and in the stands. The team managed just 282 spectators, far below the 4,000 or so the team had averaged prior to Bowden’s departure. The attendance drop was clearly an indication of a fan base whose suffering had reached the breaking point. Those who did show had little to cheer for, as the Nationals held first-half possession by an impressive 61% over the home club. After the match, the scouts reported that not a single position for Hartford recorded even a “passable” rating for their efforts. Hartford’s play was poor and the fans responded accordingly. However, this was the turning point for Hartford, as O’Neill decided to take some drastic measure to improve his club.

Bowden’s transfer was finalized on the first of the year. By the end of the next day, FC Hartford had a completely different look. O’Neill decided to sack the youthful keeper who had started the previous game, Barney Larkin, and went to the transfer wires searching for a final, stable solution at keeper. The team’s default starter was twenty-six year old Jeffrey Burnette, a sympathetic player but a weak keeper. Hartford’s midfield needed much improvement as well and O’Neill went to the wires searching for some help. Luckily, he found it.

For every thing, there is a price; a simple adage which O’Neill faced when he plunged Hartford into debt after purchasing four players in one day. Of the four players purchased, three seem to fit well into the club’s plans. Midfielder Jack Staley, a thirty year old veteran whose leadership was expected to carry the club, was not received well by his new teammates and did not respond to the change well. As a result, he was immediately told to keep his bags packed and was listed on the transfer market as per his request. As yet, the club has not received any offers for him. The outlook for the remaining three players is quite a sharp contrast to that of Staley and two of the new players made quite a splash upon their FC Hartford debuts yesterday.

The most important addition to the club was also the youngest of the imports. At the tender age of nineteen, Garland Cornwell is asked to become the team’s rock, Hartford’s new keeper. The wunderkind was acquired from the Californian club “Ticos” for a rate of $249,000. Cornwell was the new blood in the box, but O’Neill was not done there.

The club welcomed midfielders William Gentile, twenty-six, and Hu Lee-Man, twenty-four, who were acquired in separate transactions. Both players made an important impact on their teammates and helped the squad in yesterday’s match.

Much has been said of the new players O’Neill brought in and of their impact in yesterday’s match, but the score has not yet been given. As mentioned previously, the team did not win a single match last season and yesterday’s victory was a significant step in the right direction for FC Hartford.

The score? FC Hartford 3, AntUSA 0.

New keeper Garland Cornwell lived up to his billing and led the club to its first victory in grand fashion. The supporters came out in masse, 4,627 strong, to witness Hartford’s transformation and were not disappointed.

After the thrilling victory, O’Neill felt inspired to comment on the team’s turnaround. On his way to the team bus, O’Neill stopped and noted, “This was an important victory for our club on the way to respectability. We had to make some tough decisions to get here but I feel that we will be rewarded in the long run for our patience through the tough times. This victory means a lot to our guys and a lot to me. There’s still a long way to go but this win means a lot to us.”

[samifan24]

The club faces a tough week this week with a friendly against fellow FOFCer astralhaze, followed by a match against the league's best team, the September Smokies. FC Hartford Manager Brendan O'Neill was rumored to have consulted a special computer program (read: Mybestteam) for help in divising a new lineup which will be testing during the friendly. The site spit out a very interesting lineup, one which O'Neill said he never considered before. O'Neill noted, "I was pretty surprised when the program suggested the lineup it suggested, but I'm willing to give it a try, especially in a friendly."
In the new lineup, backs Aaron Girard and Milton Giles moved from center backs to wing backs and 19 year old Arthur Howard moved into the back and will see the first playing time of his young career. Along side Howard will be Mikey Zuniga, who scored a pair of goals at forward earlier in the season but has been training for defense since that time.

Jack Staley, who was thought to be on his way out, occupies one of the midfield positions, pushing Melvin Ambrose out to the right wing position. Newly acquired William Gentile occupies the second midfield position and Hu Lee-Man, who started at the left wing and scored a goal in his Hartford debut, heads to the bench in favor of Wilmer Numbers.

The only position where everything stayed the same after the program's printout is forward. Samuel Stewart and Ray Singh are poised to continue their recent hot streak in support of Hartford's new keeper, Garland Cornwell.

All in all it looks to be a very interesting challenge vs. astralhaze and an even tougher challenge against the September Smokies later in the week. More to follow....

[samifan24]

The much-anticipated friendly between astralhaze's "Hamas Mad Bombers" club and FC Hartford played out yesterday under grey skies and the watchful eye of 314 spectators at Hamas Arena.
Due to some last minute lineup changes because of the loss of two players to transfers, defender Aaron Girard and midfielder Byron Stephens, FC Hartford had to play with a bit of a patchwork lineup. Manager Brendan O'Neill and Coach Chad Burt opted to go with a 4-5-1 formation, bringing Samuel Stewart back from his usual forward position to play left wing back. Team Captain Milton Giles anchored the central defense, with 19 year old Arthur Howard making his first career start along side Giles. Mikey Zuniga, who finished training in the back earlier in the week, occupied the right wing back position and played well despite having to learn a new position over the past several weeks.

The midfield sported a fifth member for the match, and usual forward Van Watt occupied the 5th midfielder's position. Unfortunately, Watt did not play well, most likely due to the forced position change. However, the rest of the midfield was comprised of familiar faces, with Ambrose, Gentile, Staley and Lee-Man rounded out the rest of the men in the middle.

The lone forward for the match was 21 year old Ray Singh, who notched his first two career goals last week in the 3-0 victory over antUSA.

The first half of the game was back-and-forth, with Hartford gaining the slight edge in possession, holding 61% at the half. However, Hartford looked confused at times due to the new formation.

The two keepers were strong for their respective teams, as Hartford keeper Garland Cornwell made several key stops, including one against Hamas midfielder David Cornelius in the 34th minute to keep the game scoreless.

The second half saw more of back-and-forth football, but the half belonged to Hartford all the way. Ray Singh broke through the defense in the 72nd minute and rifled a shot past Hamas keeper Alejandro Bayo, a goal which proved to be the eventual game winner. Garland Cornwell was voted Hartford's outstanding man of the match, while Van Watt drew the criticism of the papers due to his poor form.

The match, although a friendly, was a key tune-up for Hartford's upcoming match against league leader September Smokies later this week. When asked about the match, Cornwell noted, "This was a pretty tough game for all our guys. Learning the new formation and losing a couple of key guys before the game were tough, but we pulled through. We can't breathe easy just yet, though, and there's much work to be done in preparation of our match against the Smokies."

And so, the preparations begin....

[samifan24]

With a very tough week coming up, manager Brendan O'Neill knew he could use some defensive help and was wary of spending a lot of cash on the transfer market. Having spent $20,000 weekly on the youth squad, he decided to see what options he had there and pulled a player up. The result? Like the week before, O'Neill pulled a defender. Last week's addition was 19 year old Kelly Schuler, who looks to be a good option off the bench. This week, however, is a bit different.
His name is Hector Li, and he's just 17 years old. However, he is quite a gem and coach Chad Burt remarked that "he's wise beyond his years. He'll make a push to start from day one." FC Hartford are hoping that Burt is correct.

Li is a solid all-around player and FC Hartford's scouts list his approximate value at $115,000; a price which makes him the second most valuable player behind keeper Cornwell.

After meeting Li and watching him practice with the squad for the first time, manager Brendan O'Neill remarked, "Hopefully this is the start of a great partnership with our youth squad. Our youth squad did a good job on him and we hope they've got more where he came from." However, he also cautioned that, "Li's a real talent, but he's young. Our goal is to allow him to mature without putting too much pressure on him."

It remains to be seen how O'Neill and Burt decide to approach Li's status for the upcoming week, but he is expected to see some playing time in the weeks ahead. His scouting report may be found below.


code:
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Hector Li 115 000 US$, 17 years, passable form
Has disastrous experience and inadequate leadership abilities [Powerful]
Stamina: passable Keeper: disastrous Playmaking: weak Passing: poor Winger: poor Defending: passable Scoring: solid Set Pieces: weak

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[samifan24]

While the weather was sunny and hot, the outcome of the much-anticipated FC Hartford match against the September Smokies was still ugly. As anticipated, the Smokies took an offensive approach to the match and continued their league domination with their 4-0 victory over FC Hartford yesterday. The loss was FC Hartford's first in three games and dropped the team into 6th place, just four points from the cellar.
After the opening 45 minutes, the Smokies were already ahead 2-0 and held an impressive 81% possession rate over Hartford. In the second half, the Smokies forwards continued to dance around Hartford defenders Milton Giles and Arthur Howard, splitting the defense and beating keeper Garland Cornwell twice more.

The final score line was just 4-0 thanks to Cornwell's efforts. Cornwell, who was voted Hartford's game MVP, was well-supported by his wingers, and most of the trouble seemed to begin around midfield. The midfielders game ratings were all very poor, which drew the ire of coach Chad Burt following the loss. Samuel Stewart, normally a forward, suited up as the fifth midfielder and played especially poorly and was transfer-listed as a forward earlier today.

It is expected that wunderkind Hector Li will start in Stewart's place at forward for the team's upcoming friendly against the Texas Miracle in the first round of the FOFC Cup.

"We knew this would be a tough match," manager Brendan O'Neill noted, "but we learned what we can and cannot get away with against better teams like the Smokies. The bottom line is that we won those two [previous] matches as a team and lost this game as a collection of individuals." He added, "We need to get back on track. We know what we have to do. We certainly can't keep playing the way we did today and expect to win. It just won't happen that way."

[samifan24]

Following on the heels of FC Hartford's 2-0 defeat of the Texas Miracle in game one, round one of the FOFC Cup, the club announced that striker Samuel Stewart, who lost his starting spot to Hector Li, had been sold.
Stewart, who had considerable talent, became expendable when Li was promoted from the youth squad last week. Hartford fans will recall that Li had a hand in both of the club's goals against the Miracle, setting up Hu Lee-Man from the corner kick on the first and rallying through the defense and taking it himself on the second.
Coach Chad Burt said "Samuel always gave it his all, but it was just a matter of having too many guys for a spot. It came down to numbers and money, honestly. We wish Samuel all the luck in the world with his new club."
FC Hartford also announced that they booked their second match against Texas, this one to be played at FC Hartford Arena on the 23rd. The club's next league match is against RawTuna on the 20th.

[samifan24]

After several progressive weeks for the club, manager Brendan O'Neill's FC Hartford club suffered a setback tonight, suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of leaguemates RawTuna. It ended Garland Cornwell's shutout streak (including friendlies) and saw several Hartford players carded as well. To top it all off, the club lost defender Kelly Schuler, who was making his first career start at the back, for two weeks following an ankle injury. All in all, it was a sad affair for the visiting Hartford squad.
The team entered the match with a 4-4-2 in front of Cornwell. The lineup was: Howard-Giles-Zuniga-Schuler/Ambrose-Staley-Gentile-Man/Li-Singh. This was a lineup which had played together several times before, so it was not as though they were inexperienced.
For RawTuna, the scoring began in the 14th minute and by halftime, it was up to 3-0. By the 45 minute mark, Ray Singh and Milton Giles were both booked and Schuler left with his injury, replaced by 17 year old Evan Hannah, who was making his first appearance for FC Hartford.
The second half saw Hartford make a brief push, as they controlled possession by 57%, but it proved to be too little, too late for the club. All match long, the defense played poorly and appeared unorganized and Hector Li and Ray Singh gave their keeper little offensive support. A terrible defensive effort and a offense which was not even half the strength of its opponent all made for a miserable day for FC Hartford.
This week may bring some changes at the FC Hartford Grounds. There are persistent rumors that coach Chad Burt and manager Brendan O'Neill are pursuing some help at the back and on the wings. While the team has been very happy with the contributions the youth squad has made, they feel that it may be time to look for some help outside of the organization. Judging by the latest club performance, it seems that those rumors may be soon substantiated.

[samifan24]

In the past week, the club welcomed three new faces. Knowing he needed some help on defense and the wings, manager Brendan O'Neill scoured the transfer market and emerged with two new faces: defender Bruce Hood, 20, who is a solid bench addition; and winger Dean Benoit, who is an upgrade over Hu Lee-Man, who may be pushed to the middle, especially given William Gentile's particularily weak play of late.
The third new face was a youth squad promotion. The club welcomed 19 year old defender/wing back Billy Schrader to the club early last week and Schrader will be inserted into the left wing back position vacated by Kelly Schuler following his ankle injury. O'Neill was asked about what these three new faces mean to the existing lineup. He replied, "Well, we feel that each player really does play a role. Billy's timing was excellent. He can come in for us and immediately plug a hole. As far as Dean goes, he provides us immediate depth at the wing position and should really help our all around game. Bruce is a young player and, like Dean, we hope to develop his skills at the back. We are happy to have all three men at the grounds."

[samifan24]

FC Hartford faces quite a challenge this week, with tonight's league match against Grand Rapids being the first of two tough matchups.
The second half of the matchup is the recently scheduled friendly against English club Faversham Town, a team composed of awesome athletes. When asked why he scheduled a friendly against such a powerful opponent, one which is clearly a step above Hartford at almost every position, manager Brendan O'Neill responded that "we need challenges like these or we'll never get any better. As a club, we haven't been playing well at all and I'd like to see how we match up against a premier side like Faversham Town."
Getting back to tonight's match against Grand Rapids, the club is looking to start out with a bit of a different lineup. Wunderkind Hector Li will play at the back as the 5th defender and newly acquired 18 year old Irish striker David O'Connor will be the lone man up front. As an aside, O'Connor scored 10 goals this season with his old side, Jedi Mind Trick.
Along with the new lineup, FC Hartford is also looking for a new outcome: a win. Will they get it? Only time will show if Hartford can stay with these football giants.

[samifan24]

It started out with a bang. Coach Burt and Manager O'Neill were happy. After all, what more could they ask for? Their scouting efforts brought them 18 year old Irish phenom David O'Connor. Their young striker made his mark on the Grand Rapids Storm by scoring on his first Hartford shot. After O'Connor's tally it all went downhill, with Hartford dropping the match by a final score of 2-1.
In the first half, the Storm held the ball with a clear 57% possession rate. The Storm were solid all the way around, getting particiularly outstanding games from their defenders and strikers.
While the Storm's defense was solid, Hartford's ragtag bunch was equal to the task, getting particularly sharp games from veteran Mikey Zuniga and youngster Billy Schrader. However, the middies played poorly all match long and even lost one of their own, when Dean Benoit was unable to continue after being injured. Hartford team doctors expect Benoit to be sidelined for two weeks. The match was another poor performance from a sliding team which, at one point two weeks ago, looked as though it was poised to make a run at the series championship this season. Hartford's recent efforts are more indicative of a team in search of something to fight for.
**Transfer News**- Following the match against Grand Rapids, manager Brendan O'Neill held a closed door meeting with Coach Chad Burt and team captain Milton Giles. O'Neill was reportedly very agitated with the team's recent string of poor matches and responded by transfer-listing the following players:
Howard (D)
Numbers (W)
Lindquist (M)
Hood (D)
Hannah (F/D)
Welsh (WB)
Burnette (K)
Gentile (M/F)

As for 3 PM Monday, Howard was sold to Georgia United for $5,600. O'Neill refused comment when asked about the selling spree. However, there have been rumors that Chad Burt, the second Hartford coach this season, may be on the way out if he is unable to find a way to win in the next week.

[samifan24]

Following yet another loss to English club Faversham Town, the team announced it sold two players, William Gentile and Bruce Hood and is now in a full-time rebuilding movement.

More to come.....

[Poli]

I'm home for a few days, and catching up on all our dynasties, keep it up!

[samifan24]

It has been a tough period for FC Hartford. The club has lost four straight matches and has also lost several key players to injuries. With the string of losses and sale of several players, Hartford manager Brendan O'Neill called a press conference to "address our supporters."

FC Hartford Press Conference 31/01/03

Manager Brendan O'Neill began by saying, "We wanted to address our supporters today and let them know that we remain as dedicated as always to putting a winning club on the pitch. In the past, we have made some questionable personnel decisions and I take the blame for those."

O'Neill addressed the team's financial woes, saying "we have no plans to add more players to our roster except for youth pulls. To date, we have spent far too much time and money on the wire, on players who are no longer with our club. It is our goal to remain competitive, but we also have financial responsibilites which we also need to take into consideration. Therefore, we have no plans to purchase any new contracts on the transfer market for the duration of the season."

O'Neill also addressed the recent poor play from keeper Garland Cornwell, remarking that "we knew that Garland would tire out. He's never been a #1 starter before so the workload has been the main source of [his ineffectiveness.] We really can't blame him, though. It's his first real season playing at this level and he needs some time to adjust."

O'Neill also spoke about Cornwell's recent injury, which forced him to leave the friendly vs. Faversham Town last week. He was replaced by Jeffrey Burnette. On the injury, O'Neill said "it could really be a bit of a blessing. Garland gets some time to rest and heal up while Jeff gets some valuable game action." Hartford fans will recall that, prior to his relief appearance last week, Burnette last appeared in a league match in late December.

Finally, O'Neill spoke about the media's growing concern for coach Chad Burt's job security. When asked if the team had any plans for a new coach, O'Neill responded that the team was happy with the job Burt had done with the available talent. O'Neill added that "Chad's done a lot with a little. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to give him a whole lot to work with. Our goal is to be a defensive club and we think Chad can get us there, so we have no plans to remove him from his position at this time."

This concluded the FC Hartford press conference. Fans are reminded that the club's next league match is February 3rd vs. Grand Rapids and the next home match is a friendly against Brazilian club Figueirense on February 6th.

[samifan24]

After saying that he would not add a single player from outside the club last week, manager Brendan O'Neill did just that. Cezar Spiridon, a Romanian midfielder, was acquired for the dirt cheap price of $3,000. The team got a head start on his transfer fee when they managed to sell disappointing wingback Jim Welsh for $970 immediately after their last match, a 4-0 loss to Grand Rapids.
The only good news in the loss to Grand Rapids was that the defense played its best game in quite some time. Newcomer Leroy Crook was the backbone of the defense and Giles, Zuniga and Scharder all played well around him. The defense was rated "excellent-excellent-solid" from right to left in the post game report.
FC Hartford gears up for its friendly match against Brazilian club Figueirense tomorrow. Garland Cornwell will be in the nets in front of a starting ten of mostly backups. Jason Lindquist, Brad Miner, Even Hannah and Van Watt are expected to see their first playing time in just over a month. More to come soon....