Izulde's Delayed Start (FM 16)

[Izulde]

So usually what happens with my amateur dynasties is this:

1) Take over amateur side
2) Build super team that destroys everyone
3) Move to another job because I get bored
4) Fail at new job and proceed to wander around, never settling in anywhere
5) Eventually get distracted and forget about dynasty

What if we could skip Step Two? The way FM16 is at universe start, there's a lot of elite for amateur level talent available, so cobbling together an amazing crew is easy. How to avoid that? Start as unemployed and wait until the season's over.

Obviously I'm going to be picking an amateur team because that's how I roll. Vacation until June 1st, here we come!


Beverley Town FC Dragons

Beverley is located in the northeast of England, not far from Hull. The Dragons finished 12th the first season in the Humber Premier League Premier Division, and have been in existence since 1933. The league's only semi-pro team won the title and lone promotion spot by a single point, and there's a long way to go to making these Dragons fly - 12th of 16 teams is not a good look.

Very imbalanced youth pulls from last season - a GK, MCs, and DCs. Ugly, just ugly. Our new Chief Scout's initial report has us offering for a lot of kids from Altrincham, who will be the focus of our building project, I suspect.

Transfer In - GK Steven Graham (From South Shields) (30)
I don't know how to judge keepers, but he posted a 6.63 at a higher level last season, so I think he'll be pretty darn good, all in all.

Transfer In - DLC Paul Weldon (From Darlington 1883) (24)
I see this guy as an ideal Fullback attacking on the left side, where we presently have no one. 11 Bravery, 10 Teamwork, 12 Natural Fitness, 13 Stamina, 13 Strength.

Transfer In - MC Brad Aspinall (From Altrincham) (18)
11 First Touch, Vision, and Work Rate, and a truckload of 10+ physical attributes. My staff sees him as an ideal Ball-Winning Midfielder, but I want to groom this kid into an Advanced Playmaker - really take advantage of his 11 attributes.

Transfer In - ST Billy Greulich-Smith (From Durham) (25)
Allegedly a defensive forward, but I see Target Man in him. 10 Heading, 11 Aggression, 14 Teamwork (Note: I'm only going to highlight relevant role 10+ from now on to save time). Was a star for Shildon as a loanee last year.

Transfer In - GK Dean Porter (From Skelmersdale) (25)
Here to battle Steven Graham for the starting spot.

Transfer In - DCR Luke Connolly (23)
Ideally a DC, but I want to make him an attacking DR FB for lack of any other options for right now - 10 Tackling, 15 Teamwork there.

Transfer In - MC Tom Smith (From Altrincham) (18)
Raw kid, but ideally suited to CM defend role next to fellow former Altrincham Brad Aspinall. 12 Decisions, 14 Teamwork, 11 Work Rate.

Transfer In - DC/DM Aidan Young (From Altrincham) (18)
11 Tackling, 14 Aggression, 10 Anticipation, 13 Bravery, 11 Decisions as DC, which is where I think he'll be. Might experiment at him with DM as we get more players in, however.

Transfer In - DC Callum Jones (From Altrincham) (18)
11 Marking, 10 Tackling, 11 Aggression, 11 Positioning as a DC, and I really, really like this kid. A probable long-term fixture with the current state of our roster. Not a lot of weaknesses in any area for that slot and level.

Transfer In - DC Joe Conway (From Altrincham) (18)
Not good enough to crack the starting lineup at the moment, so he'll play off the bench. Still better than the pile of suck in our youth pulls.

Transfer In - ST Kris Fawcett (18)
A Grimsby Town product who hasn't gotten a shot. I *love* this kid - 11 Finishing, 11 First Touch, 10 Acceleration, and he's tailor-made for the Poacher role. Mark my words - he's going to be a star, and a career Dragon if I can help it.

Transfer In - MR/AMR Matty Hammons (19) (Welsh)
10 Crossing, 12 Work Rate, 11 Pace as our new right winger. Yeah, we're going with the default 4-4-2 flat.

Transfer In - MLCR/AML Kieran Evans (18) (Welsh)
10 Crossing, 10 Passing, 10 Work Rate, 12 Acceleration as our All-Welsh winger combination. Love his versatility, so he could be a long-term member of the club.

Transfer In - ST Lewis Troke (18)
11 Heading, 14 Teamwork, 11 Work Rate, 12 Jumping Reach as a Target Man, though his 12 Dribbling and 11 Finishing mean I'm going to have him train as an Advanced Forward. Burton graduate who has never been given a fair chance. Better than the other TM we signed, so he'll start.

And that's all the signings we'll make for now - let's see how this group does early on in the season before making other moves.

Promotion Odds
Yorkshire Amateur: 1-5
Pocklington Town: 40-1
Beverley Town: 40-1
Chalk Lane: 80-1

Interesting... the oddsmakers feel as though we're good enough to finish third, which would be a monumental leap from last year.

Transfer In - DR/MR Alex Dean (26)
Depth signing who can play both our spots on the right side. Gives us 3 total players capable of playing MR. Love his 14 Teamwork and 16 Natural Fitness. I actually may give him a shot at DR and sliding Luke Connolly inside.

Steven Graham and Luke Connolly are named Captain and Vice for the season.

Transfer In - ST Nigel Hudson (From Newton Aycliffe) (16)
10 Heading and 12 Jumping Reach, but he's here as an emergency depth signing because Lewis Troke went down for 2 months in preseason play.

We go 1-2 in the friendlies - close loss to a superior team in Game #1, strong win over a team we should beat in Game #2, and an embarrassing Game #3 loss to a side we should have handled easily.

Time for the games to really count.

[Izulde]

Board wants top half league finish and get to the semi-final of the league cup (the Dragons made it to the title game last year and lost). Reasonable expectations.

vs Crown
G: Steven Graham
D: Paul Weldon/Aidan Young/Callum Jones/Luke Connolly
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Billy Greulich-Smith/Kris Fawcett

42 - There's been a lot of bullshit long-range strikes scored on us, and it happens here, too. 0-1

62 - Young moves to DM, Conway on at DC for Jones, and Dean replaces Connolly as we switch to a 3-1-4-2 setup.

90 - Evans' pass into the box is blocked, but Weldon picks up the rebound and crosses in to Fawcett, who sidesteps to put away the late equalizer. 1-1

We got really unlucky to only get a draw, as things improved a ton once we switched formation, but their keeper was mostly hot today. I think we'll go with that 3-1-4-2 DM setup as that should shut off the long-range goals we kept giving up.

10 season ticket sales, double last year's of 5.

Transfer In - DL Anthony Callaghan (From Darlington 1883) (27)
10 Anticipation, 16 Teamwork, 12 Acceleration, and we're going to give this veteran a crack at starting over Paul Weldon, who has been unimpressive so far.

@ Bridlington Sports Club (5th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Callum Jones/Luke Connolly
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Billy Greulich-Smith

4 - Total and complete breakdown in the penalty box. 0-1

56 - 3-5-1 DM now, as I forgot to put Hudson in the substitutes. Paul Hutchinson, a youth pull, takes an MC spot, and Weldon replaces Callaghan

67 - Aspinall off with injury and whatever.

Pure trash. Billy Greulich-Smith strains his neck and is out 2-3 weeks; Brad Aspinall, our most reliable and talented MC is gone for a month.

@ Sculcoates Amateurs (7th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Callum Jones/Luke Connolly
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Paul Hutchinson/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Nigel Hudson

26 - Fucking awful defense by Callaghan. 0-1

34 - Jones' stupid fucking ass gets a double yellow.

39 - We suck. 0-2

57 - Subs that don't matter.

Morale is in the tank. We're in the bottom of the league. FML.

[Izulde]

I make some small role tweaks to our tactical setup to try and break out of this goal-scoring slump.

vs Hedon Rangers (8th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Joe Conway/Luke Connolly
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Paul Hutchinson/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Nigel Hudson

36 - No fucking way Fawcett was offsides!

53 - Dean for Connolly; Weldon for Callaghan

56 - Give them four shots in one sequence, of course they'll score. 0-1

We officially drop to last place.

vs Reckitts (8th)
G: Dean Porter
D: Anthony Callaghan/Joe Conway/Luke Connolly
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Paul Hutchinson/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Billy Greulich-Smith

13 - Shit defending on a corner. 0-1

15 - Young has been on fire this game, and he takes a throw-in from Callaghan for the fluke bomb goal! 1-1

53 - That was on Porter's piss-poor keeping. 1-2

56 - Jones for Conway; Dean for Connolly

90 - Fawcett is wrecked in the box, and he hammers the late PK to rescue the equalizer. 2-2

It's been 10 games since the Dragons have seen a league win, and everyone is pretty much fed up with it. Granted, I may have taken on too big a job at Level 11 to start my career, but meh.

@ Goole United (15th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Callum Jones/Luke Connolly
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

5 - Fawcett intercepts a pass and lays it to Evans. Kickback to Smith for longball to box, and Fawcett wins the foot race, slotting in the diagonal for our first damn open field non-fluke goal and lead of the year! (Still only good enough to move us to 14th, though). 1-0

57 - Jones gets injured, so Connolly slides to DC, Dean pumps in at DR, and Greulich-Smith comes on for tired Troke

7.0 for Luke Connolly and Anthony Callaghan, but PotM went to one of their dudes, because we should have won by like 4. For our efforts, we climb off the bottom ...to 15th. Yeah. One fucking spot.

ST Trovarn Thompson (19)
12 Heading, 14 Aggression, 15 Teamwork, 10 Work Rate, 13 Jumping Reach, 10 Strength as a Target Man, and my staff considers him our best striker. Free agent who dominated for Hinckley last year, and is a Mansfield alum.

@ Hornsea Town (6th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Lewis Troke/Trovarn Thompson

So, Callum Jones got hurt last game for 2 weeks, and Paul Hutchinson went down before the last game with a 2 month practice injury. Not exactly a consistently healthy bunch we have here.

50 - Weldon for Callaghan; Troke shifts to TM and Fawcett pops in for exhausted Thompson

54 - Bullshit 25 yard strike. And just to ensure we're doubly ass-fucked, yellows galore suddenly awarded to the other side.

83 - Troke gets the ball just outside the box, and he promptly freezes when the defender challenges him. Luckily, it's a missed tackle, and the kid strides forward to sink his first ever Dragon goal, and the late equalizer. 1-1

It's a point we'll take to slip up to 13th.

vs South Cave Sporting Club (8th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Trovarn Thompson

42 - Dodgy PK awarded, and Thompson blows both it and the follow-through, because I still haven't picked my set piece guys. Oops.

At half, it's Conway for Connolly and Greulich-Smith for Thompson

50 - Smith intercepts a throw-in and sends it to Greulich-Smith in the box. Shot is blocked, but Greulich-Smith puts away his own rebound to go ahead on his first ever Beverley Town goal! 1-0

52 - We'll take that own goal gift! 2-0

75 - Smith gets the ball on defense and outlets to Evans, who has all the space in the world to dribble down the left flank. Long ball hits all alone Fawcett near the touchline, and the center to Greulich-Smith is perfectly placed for his second score! 3-0

7.6 for Brad Aspinall and Kieran Evans, and our first ever PotM award under my tenure, with Billy Greulich-Smith the supersub on 8.7. It's the first truly complete game we've played all season, shuttling us up to 10th place.

[Izulde]

vs Hessle Rangers (Premier League Challenge Cup 1st Round 1st Leg)
G: Dean Porter
D: Anthony Callaghan/Joe Conway/Luke Connolly
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
AMC: Nigel Hudson
S: Lewis Troke/Billy Geulich-Smith

I'm training Hudson to be an AMC, but it's probably going to take a while before he even gets Awkward there. Nonetheless, because of so many tired guys on short rest, we'll go with a 3-1-3-1-2 DM setup.

23 - Greulich-Smith has some work to trap and keep Porter's goal kick, but does, and dribbles down the right flank. Pass into box to Troke, but it's tackled away before our striker can get to it. No worries, as Evans is there to drop off his first ever Dragons goal! 1-0

28 - Aspinall with the pass up to Evans. Double team closes in, and the ground cross sees Hammons beat his man for our weary wingers burning it up out there, each with first scores. 2-0

39 - Hammons and Hudson exchange passes, the former shorting it into the box to Greulich-Smith for the dribble right and bam slam ma'am! 3-0

53 - Straight line pair of passes - Aspinall to Troke to Greulich-Smith. First shot's rejected, but the defense can't clear it, so he bags his second score, 4th in two games, on the rebound!!! 4-0



Total and complete mastery. They didn't see that new formation coming at all, and had no idea how to handle it. Even better, the win pushes me up to Secure with the board, despite our league position.

vs East Riding Rangers (3rd)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Callum Jones/Luke Connolly
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Trovarn Thompson

28 - Thompson is pressured in the right corner of the box, so he backpasses to Connolly. Aerial far cross, and Evans times his header perfectly to knock it in! 1-0

54 - Greulich-Smith for Fawcett and striker switch.

58 - Troke for Thompson

93 - ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME WITH THAT LAST SECOND FUCKING BULLSHIT?!?! 1-1

@ Pocklington Town (12th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Billy Greulich-Smith

16 - Hammons on the wing. His pass forward is meant to hit Fawcett, but it bounces off a defender instead, and Evans is there to slot it away. 1-0

22 - Hammons kicks back to Young and receives a highball back on the flank. Cross to Greulich-Smith, and Billy Boy continues to exceed expectations, slamming it in! 2-0

54 - Troke for Fawcett; Weldon for Callaghan

Matty Hammons is PotM with a sterling 8.4 as he racks up both assists. Luke Connollywas a force in the middle at 7.7. We're a third of the way through the season at 10 games, and are sitting 9th with 13 points. League leaders Hedon Rangers are at 20 points.

Paul Weldon gets injured in a U21 game and is out 4-5 weeks. Dean Porter is also out a week with a leg injury.

Transfer In - MC Ollie Nugent (18)
12 Passing, 14 Decisions, 17 Teamwork, 14 Work Rate, and a premier MC in a defensive role, where he'll take over for Tom Smith. Our best central midfielder by a trillion. Tranmere kid who sparkled on loan for Cinderford last year.

[Izulde]

@ Driffield Evening Institute (14th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

38 - Troke with the short pass to Hammons for the gorgeous longball into space. Fawcett beats out everyone and slams in the 1v1! 1-0

45 - Brilliant interception by Callaghan and ball forward to Fawcett in the middle of the pitch. He gives back to Nugent for the bomb to Troke, who dribbles into the box and lays off to Fawcett for his second goal just before the half! 2-0

At half, Connolly moves DR for wiped Dean, and Greulich-Smith replaces struggling Troke, who has a 6.1 even with that assist.

67 - The post saved us there.

84 - Greulich-Smith has the ball far right, and he crosses to Fawcett. But it's knocked away before the shot. No problem, as Greulich-Smith's horizontal box run gets him there first, and he cracks the most beautiful diagonal goal I've ever seen! His ratings (star and Finishing) may not be good by scouts, but the man just keeps on producing in key moments. 3-0

7.7 for Anthony Callaghan, 7.9 for Matty Hammons, 8.2 for Billy Greulich-Smith, and a PotM 8.8 for Kris Fawcett, who finally had the kind of game I've been waiting for all year. Props to Ollie Nugent's 7.3 debut, as well. On up to 7th now.

Hessle Rangers (Premier League Challenge Cup 1st Round 2nd Leg)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Tom Smith/Matty Hammons
AMC: Nigel Hudson
S: Lewis Troke/Trovarn Thompson

We've got a 4 goal advantage banked and a lot of tired guys, so might as well run out the formation that shocked them last time.

Jones is in for wiped Connolly at the half.

51 - Hudson short laterals to Smith for the box feed to Thompson. The shot just finds the corner of the net for his first goal as a Dragon, and we've got this in the bag. 1-0

52 - Missed header by Dean and we're punished for it. 1-1

54 - Smith sprays it to Hammons on the wing, and the high cross is perfectly placed for Thompson to rise up and smash a beautiful header over the heads of two defenders and the keeper! 2-1

60 - Fawcett subs in for Troke

8.7 and PotM for Trovarn Thompson, 7.8 for Tom Smith, and 7.4 for Matty Hammons as our three stars of the night. We fought through complacency issues to win both legs outright and advance.

@ Chalk Lane (11th)
G: Dean Porter
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Trovarn Thompson

Chalk Lane has been the opposite of us - they started off hot, but have been Elsa cold since then. I smell a trap game here. Porter is actually higher rated than Graham by our staff, so I'm going to give him the opportunity to win the starting job.

8 - Yep. Trap game. 0-1

Connolly to DR; Conway in at DC. Dean has been bad the last few games, so he's going to sit until further notice.

51 - Greulich-Smith for tired Thompson

88 - That seals it. Wasted corner after corner on our end, too. 0-2

Missed golden opportunity to really move up the standings. Our first league loss in seven games.

Transfer In MLCR/AMC Gustavo Sousa Mota (From Ampthill) (Brazilian) (23)
10 First Touch, 12 Teamwork as an AMC, which I think is going to be his position, and we'll formally switch to the 3-1-3-1-2 DM formation for the rest of the season, as that gives us the most overall talent. Our first non-UK player, who has been solid everywhere he's played.

vs Hessle Rangers (11th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Joe Conway/Luke Connolly
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AMC: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Trovarn Thompson

Kinda funny that we're back to this formation for these guys, but it is what it is.

52 - Dean for ass Connolly; Greulich-Smith for Thompson, who has real endurance issues and should be a reserve. So far we've been beating them everywhere but the scoreboard.

Frankly, we were just unlucky. Had a lot of close chances that should have gone in, but we simply couldn't covert. The point is still enough to move us up to 6th in a tightly packed upper-middle half of the table.

Billy Greulich-Smith agrees to tutor Nigel Hudson, which I'm excited to see.

vs Yorkshire Amateur (5th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Joe Conway/Luke Connolly
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AMC: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Trovarn Thompson

We're in the same boat, these two teams - both highly favored to be Top 3, and both under that standard as we near the halfway point of the season.

11 - Absolutely beautiful ball into space by Thompson for Fawcett to get a 1 on 1 with the keeper and win! 1-0

20 - Dynamite stop by Graham prior to the launch to Thompson. Header forward sees the ball dribbling into the box, Fawcett first and slamming it in untouched for his second goal. 2-0

63 - Greulich-Smith for Thompson; Hudson for Sousa Mota

89 - Darting forward to get the ball deep in our half is Hudson, starting a counter capping in Hammons driving down the right flank before near crossing to Greulich-Smith. A little help from the post, and we can breathe easily. 3-0

No one in the starting lineup except the keeper and Gustavo Sousa Mota had less than a 7.2. That's how much we owned this one from start to finish. Joe Conway (7.6), Matty Hammons (7.9), Kris Fawcett (8.8, PotM), and Trovarn Thompson (8.2) were the special ones, and Billy Greulich-Smith grabbed a 7.1 as a reserve.

While our move up is only to 5th, we're now just 6 points behind 1st/2nd place after that critical victory.

Two straight games against the same opponent on tap next as we close out the first half of the regular season and continue cup play.

[Izulde]

@ Wawne United (1st)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AMC: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Trovarn Thompson

These guys have been on absolute fire lately - six straight wins, seven game unbeaten streak. And if you count league games, they're unbeaten in 11 straight contests.

32 - Should have scored. Should have scored. Our strikers are blowing easy opportunities. Graham takes a backpass from Dean and boots one to Thompson, who laterals back to Fawcett. Jackhammer forward to Evans on the wing, and he crosses to untouched Hammons for the score we finally should have had ages ago. 1-0

43 - More frustrating misses, including a crossbar screw job. Callaghan throws into Young for the lateral to Sousa Mota. Our Brazilian hits a 25 yard screamer for his first Dragons goal! 2-0

58 - Greulich-Smith for Fawcett; Hudson for Thompson, as I'm sick of seeing our strikers not take advantage of what should be a total blowout at this stage.

59 - Graham doesn't get up fast enough from a deflection, and it's an easy rebound. 2-1

72 - Greulich-Smith doesn't take the smart pass out to Evans, instead lateraling to Hudson, who *does* hit Evans. High pass back into the box, and a leaping leg from Sousa Mota gives us that desperately needed insurance. 3-1

Great job by the full-time starters - everyone but Anthony Callaghan pitched a 7.1 or better. Standouts - Matty Hammons with an 8.7, Kieran Evans with a 7.8, and the expected PotM, Gustavo Sousa Mota, ringing up a 9.0. Fantastic work in a key contest from our non-English crew. Officially halfway through the season and we're in 3rd - 3 points behind the dudes we just beat and Hedon Rangers, who unfortunately have a game in hand on us. We could also drop to 4th once everyone has 15 in.

@ Wawne United (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Quarterfinals 1st Leg)
G: Dean Porter
D: Anthony Callaghan/Joe Conway/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Ollie Nugent/Brad Aspinall/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

They're pissed that we snapped their winning streak on their own turf and 4 days later, we're right back there. Tiredness issues means we're switching formations for this one, with Kieran Evans getting a break for the first time this season.

From the jump their guys are lacking in energy, as Wawne doesn't have the reserves that we do, so I'm going to play wide and force them to run.

9 - Troke has attention in the box, so he wings out to Hammons. Cross is blocked, so Hammons surges into the box and tries another center. The ball bounces off the defender, and Aspinall is there to softly pop in his first Beverley Town goal! 1-0

12 - Thanks for that own goal! 2-0

33 - Stupid penalty coughed up by Aspinall. No excuse for that. 2-1

38 - Fawcett lays it to Troke in the box. It's been pouring all game, and it's nifty to see him sidestep in the mud to hoof in a diagonal shot in the upper corner of the net. 3-1

We're going to try Weldon at DM, as Young needs a break.

47 - Great free kick clearance by Aspinall. Hammons is there first, and he dribbles before crossing the pitch to Sousa Mouta. Back to the center and hard-charging Aspinall, who sends it to Fawcett in the box, and there's yet another score! 4-1

57 - Problem with going wide? Our guys are now as tired as theirs, and Conway is a step too slow. 4-2

7.8 for Joe Conway, 7.5 for Matty Hammons, phenomenal games by our strikers - Lewis Troke with an 8.7 and Kris Fawcett with an 8.2, but despite the surrendered PK, this game was all about Brad Aspinall putting the performance of his young career, earning Player of the Match with a 9.0.

We do in fact drop to 4th after makeup games are played, but the good news is, Hedon Rangers were upset, meaning that halfway through the season, we're just 3 points out of 1st place. Way to overcome a poor early start that made me wonder if I'd jumped straight to Step 4.

@ Crown (16th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AMC: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

Trap game most likely, as we tend to play down to teams shittier than us, but we'll see.

16 - Fucking told you. 0-1

52 - Thompson in and striker switch, as Fawcett sits. Switching to 3-1-4-2 DM, with Aspinall replacing Sousa Mota

70 - Evans grabs a clearance and shoots it straight back into the box for Thompson to slam in the equalizer. 1-1

Frankly, salvaging a draw was a huge comeback for us. We were putrid. New leader now, in Bridlington Sports, and we're still 3 points back. Didn't help that that the ref was clearly biased to the home team.

Transfer In - DM/MC Jamie Newton (22)
11 Decisions, 14 Teamwork, 11 Work Rate, 10 Stamina. Not much upside here, and he's really probably more of a stopgap. Doesn't have the physicals or technicals to truly impress, but I love his mentals and will give him a shot at starting. He was literally like our 7th or 8th choice to upgrade over Aidan Young.

vs Sculcoates Amateurs (7th)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AMC: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

47 - Thanks for the own goal! 1-0

56 - Thompson for Troke; Weldon for Connolly, the latter dangerous because I forgot to revise my bench beforehand.

61 - Shit. They got the halftime boost. 1-1

87 - Hammons sends it back to Dean for the booming high cross, and Evans has the defense beat by a step for the dramatic late game go-ahead! 2-1

Bar Alex Dean's incredible PotM 8.5, we got away with one there, and I let them know as much. Up to 2nd now, just 2 points out from again new leader Wawne United. A couple of bad things, though - Alex Dean is out next match with a yellows ban, and Matty Hammons will miss over a month with a chest injury sustained in the closing seconds of that win.

vs Bridlington Sports Club (3rd)
G: Steven Graham
D: Anthony Callaghan/Joe Conway/Luke Connolly
DM: Jamie Newton
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Brad Aspinall/Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

Huge game for league implications. Secure a win here and we can start putting some distance between us and everyone not named the Fleetmen.

2 - Dynamite header interception by Connolly starts a move that ends in Callaghan straight lining to Fawcett. Pass to Troke in the semi-circle, and he dribbles into the box for our fastest score this season! 1-0

16 - JFC. 1-1

29 - Off goes Fawcett with injury. Troke shifts to Poacher slot and Thompson comes in.

35 - FUCKING DAMN IT!!!! 1-2

I yank Callaghan for Weldron and scream at the team.

81 - Sousa Mota up to Aspinall, who hits a beautifully crafted aerial cross, landing perfectly at Evans' feet for the late equalizer. 2-2

85 - FUCKING CHRIST, EVANS! FUCKING GO GET THE BALL!!!! 2-3

Fall to 4th and could crash to 5th after games in hand are played. We're also very much in danger of careening back to the midpack. There aren't words enough for just how fucking DEVASTATING this shitlord loss was. 6-7 weeks without Kris Fawcett, and I'm ripped in the media for changing formations. HELLO, SHITFUCK, I DON'T HAVE THE FUCKING PLAYERS TO KEEP PLAYING THE FUCKING 3-1-3-1-2 FORMATION

vs Wawne United (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Quarterfinals Second Leg)
G: Dean Porter
D: Anthony Callaghan/Joe Conway/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Aidan Young
M: Ollie Nugent/Tom Smith/Brad Aspinall
S: Nigel Hudson/Billy Greulich-Smith

Unveiling a 4-1-3-2 DM Narrow because injuries and short rest necessitate it. We're protecting a two goal lead, which should be enough to get us through to the next round. Then again, with how shit we've been playing lately, a blowout is certainly possible.

31 - Greulich-Smith steals a bad backpass and plays a stunning ball ahead of Hudson, who races alone down the middle of the pitch. In the semi-circle, he can hear the footsteps of a defender about to catch him, so the kid rifles in his first ever Dragons goal at the best moment! 1-0

34 - Conway plays a great ball for Hudson in the box. Shot is blocked, but he follows through for his second score of the game! Wow! 2-0

56 - Jones goes in for Connolly, but before that happens, Hudson runs down a full-field long ball and centers it perfectly for Greulich-Smith to smoke the keeper! 3-0

7.8 for Joe Conway, 8.3 for Brad Aspinall, 8.4 for Billy Greulich-Smith, and 9.2 for the kid having the game of his life in Nigel Hudson, who is now Awkward at AMC.

Transfer In - GK Pavels Matvejevs (From Brigg) (Latvian) (22)
Star player for his old club and whilst my staff doesn't see him as a starter currently ahead of Dean Porter, I may give this kid a shot anyway to see what he can do - his upside is significantly higher than that of Porter, who pretty much is what he is.

[Izulde]

Transfer In - DC/DM/MC Jose Gurrionero (26) (Spanish)
Hasn't gotten a game in this universe, but 11 Tackling, 11 Decisions, 12 Team Work, and 11 Jumping Reach paint a guy who's capable of filling all three positions as a backup. Though my best staff guy says he's our top DM (all 0.5*) and second best MC (1.5*). So we'll see. He only speaks basic English right now, and we could have sent him on a $14.25k course, but no. That would have put us in the red, as we haven't yet hit $10k in the bank.

@ Hedon Rangers (6th)
G: Pavels Matvejevs
D: Anthony Callaghan/Joe Conway/Luke Connolly
DM: Jamie Newton
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Alex Dean
AM: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Lewis Troke/Travarn Thompson

Here's an experiment to see how Dean does at MR. This overall really is our top formation, so I'll try to shoehorn this in until Matty Hammons comes back.

15 - Fucking fluke goal. 0-1

30 - Own goal by Conway. Engine decides we're not going to win today, apparently. 0-2

36 - Nugent out to Evans for the perfect ball to Troke, and of course, it clangs off the woodwork. He puts away his own rebound, but whatever. 1-2

51 - Dean down to DR, Sousa Mota to MR, Hudson in at AM; Gurrionero on for Conway

53 - Sousa Mota dribbles down the right side deep in their half, then feeds it for Thompson's high kick shot that finds its way in for the equalizer. 2-2

62 - We got smacked on the break. 2-3

77 - Troke dribbles into the box, and with the defense on him, crosses to unmarked Thompson for another goal. 3-3

We should have won. Chalk this up to our new Latvian keeper being absolute shit. Guess we'll go back to our old standby. Anthony Callaghan will miss the next game due to yellows limit.

We transfer in a Zimbabwean MC, but work permit issues mean it's going to be a while before he'll see play, if ever.

Transfer In - GK Neil Webster (From Longborough University) (19)
We promised the kid a Key Player role, but he has a long way to go technically. Good decision maker, though (12). At this point, the season's pretty much lost as far as the title goes, so why not start him? Sky high potential, too.

Transfer In - GK Jahquil Kumari-Hill (Bermudan) (19)
The fans went bananas when we signed this kid. Potential equal to Webster and my best staff guy thinks he's our best keeper right now. Instant starter and maybe we can salvage this season after all. He's also the first signing after the initial rush to get a press conference.

With two high potential keepers, I hunt for a coach to develop them. We grab the best one we can get, and it's part of a major staff overhaul in the winter holidays break. Unfortunately we lose Lewis Troke for a month in the middle of it, and my great coaching assman gets a head job elsewhere.

Weird head coach shuffle in the league - South Cave Sporting Club's manager gets a paid gig, so he takes it, which makes sense. But then Wawne United's manager decides to leave a league leading team and takes the 5th place team job, which leads Hedon Rangers' manager to take the standings upgrade.

@ Reckitts (4th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Paul Weldon/Joe Conway/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Trovarn Thompson/Billy Greulich-Smith

25 - Gurrionero passes to Sousa Mota for the brilliant feed to Thompson, who I forgot to sit at 85%. His shot cracks off the post, but Greulich-Smith dashes between two defenders to sink the rebound. 1-0

36 - Nothing to do there. That was textbook. 1-1

Fawcett replaces Thompson at the break.

54 - Sousa Mota moves to MR; Hudson in at AMC.

75 - Greulich-Smith is getting pressured, so he dribbles out to the sideline before kicking back to Sousa Mota. A steaming cross later, and Fawcett finally gets one in after shanking an open net rebound earlier. 2-1

76 - Nugent flares out to Evans for the pop cross to Sousa Mota. Shot's deflected, but our Brazilian, who plays better at MR than AMC a lot of times so far, sinks the insurance that should clinch it. 3-1

90 - Gurrionero to Hudson, who dribbles between three defenders to lay a perfect ball into the box for Fawcett to hit an authoritative slammer!!! 4-1

Yes, yes we definitely were on fire in the second half. I encouraged most of the team, but told off the midfield for the shit job they were doing. End result? 7.9 for Gustavo Sousa Mota and 8.0 for Ollie Nugent. Nice work by the defense: Our DM and all three defenders netted 7 or higher, highlighted by Luke Connolly's 7.7. But the PotM was, of course, supersub Kris Fawcett, with an 8.7, as we finally win big for the first time in a long time, it feels like. That's a jump to 4th. Unfortunately, South Cave Sporting Club blew a 2-0 lead to fall 2-3 to Wawne United. Bet the former Fleetmen manager is kicking himself now.

10 games left, and we're 7 points back of 1st. I don't see a promotion in the cards, but we're just 2 points behind 2nd, and so can put ourselves in position to win the title next year.

[Izulde]

The league dominoes continue to fall, with Sculthorpe Amateurs' manager going to Hedron Rangers. This is fun.

vs Goole United (16th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Trovarn Thompson

17 - Gurrionero strips the ball away and sends it down to Thompson, who loses the ball, gets it back, and threads a pass through *3* defenders to hit Fawcett in the box. 1v1 = Fawcett win! 1-0

45 - Oh look. Thompson hurt again. Greulich-Smith takes his spot.

Weldon replaces Callaghan at halftime.

61 - We've had two wide open shots and blanked both. Nugent makes a brilliant interception and cracks one down into space. Greulich-Smith is there first, and his pop ball evades the keeper to hit the net. 2-0

88 - Sousa Mota is being chased by two defenders, so he links it up to Hammons. Shot's kicked away, but he puts in his own rebound! 3-0

Why, yes. We did kick ass after halftime. 8.3 for Luke Connolly, 8.2 for Matty Hammons, 8.9 for PotM Ollie Nugent, 8.5 for Kris Fawcett, and Billy Greulich-Smith doing his usual bench energizer thing with an 8.1. Unfortunately, we don't make up any ground on anyone. We're also out Trovarn Thompson for a month. Swell.

Hessle Rangers' manager goes to Reckitts, and I'm losing track of all the switches that have gone on in league.

vs Hornsea Town (7th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

44 - Damn near gave up a goal on the corner, but then Callaghan gets in and jackhammers it all the way down the pitch to Fawcett. That sets up a counter that sees Hammons completely alone on the right side, letting him stop, set his center, and connect with Fawcett for the go-ahead before half. 1-0

52 - Sousa Mota to MR; Hudson at AM, and Weldron replacing Callaghan

61 - I'm going to gamble and put in Greulich-Smith for Troke. Hate burning my third sub, especially this early, but I kind of have to.

65 - Free kick starts with Dean tapping it to Gurrionero. Eventually the ball gets to Hudson, who sends it high to Greulich-Smith. Trap, capture, and with *4* defenders around him, he threads the hole to untouched Fawcett. Gamble officially paid off. 2-0

78 - Nugent bails Sousa Mota out twice on this drive, including a lost ball and a blocked cross. Upon retrieval of the latter, Nugent passes to Fawcett for the FIRECRACKER GOAL AND HAT TRICK!!! 3-0

Kris Fawcett breaks the record this universe with 9.5, obviously. 7.0 for Jahquil Kumari-Hill and 7.5 for Jose Gurrionero, who have settled in very nicely in their respective positions so far. Alex Dean with the 7.6, and 8.4 for Ollie Nugent, continuing my long-standing tradition of exceptional central midfielders. We move up to the preseason prediction of 3rd, but Wawne United just won't lose. On the bright side, we're now 3 points and GD clear of 5th, which is nice.

We lose Nigel Hudson for 3-4 weeks, which is bad, because the kid has been playing over his head as backup AMC for us.

@ South Cave Sporting Club (6th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

6 - Bullshit. 0-1

7 - What the fuck Connolly?! HOW THE FUCK DO YOU GET A RED CARD THIS FUCKING EARLY IN A GAME WE'RE DOWN?! Gurrionero drops to DC, and I'm pissed.

50 - I'm sick of watching us blow ample opportunities, so I yank Fawcett for Greulich-Smith and switch. Move Sousa Mota to ML, and Newton comes as on DM, dumping the AM.

56 - FUCK YOU!!! HE WAS OFFSIDES!!!! 0-2

We just pissed away any faint hopes we had at a title. And there was chance after chance after chance to win this one too.

[Izulde]

vs Driffield Evening Institute (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Semi-final First Leg
G: Steven Graham
D: Paul Weldon/Joe Conway/Alex Dean
DM: Jamie Newton
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Jose Gurrionero/Matty Hammons
S: Kris Fawcett/Trovarn Thompson

Both teams on 3 days rest. Major props to Gurrionero and Nugent last game, who did their damnedest to keep us alive in that game. Callaghan is benched for the foreseeable future, because he's been ass the last several games. How the hell DEI got this far, I'll never know. They're legitimately one of the worst teams in the league.

27 - It's a Nugent-Thompson-Hammons connection, but our right winger's shot is blocked. Fortunately, Thompson is there to drill the rebound. 1-0

28 - For fucks sakes! 1-1

Greulich-Smith for Thompson; Callaghan for Weldron at the break. The defense Eeyores on me after I tell them they're shit. Fucking man up, then, pussies!

55 - Beautiful bomb by Gurrionero to Evans. The touchline to post cross is pushed away, but that just means Fawcett snipes that shit in. 2-1

74 - FUCK YOU, POST! 2-2

Yeah, we got jobbed. Played well enough to win and had to settle for a draw against these shitlords.

Guy gets fired from Pocklington Town, worst team in the league. Gets hired by Bridlington Town, the 2nd place team. Louis Lund amuses me. Managed Reckitts last year, then joined Crown, and now he's moved to East Riding Rangers, also getting a huge elevator promotion in the standings.

Gustavo Sousa Mota gets hurt in training and will miss a month. Great. That's both our AMCs out. Then Kris Fawcett goes down too. What the actual fuck?!

vs Pocklington Town (16th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Nigel Hudson
S: Lewis Troke/Trovarn Thompson

34 - Lovely rainbow by Nugent to Hammons on the wing. Cross finds Troke for the fire strike right between two defenders. 1-0

42 - Fuck this team. 1-1

Greulich-Smith goes in for Thompson at the half.

46 - Callaghan throws into Troke for the picture perfect center and defender split shot by Greulich-Smith. I was much nicer than I wanted to be at halftime. 2-1

68 - Newton tags in for Gurriomero

7.9 for Luke Connolly, 8.2 for PotM Matty Hammons, 7.8 for Lewis Troke, who I'm real fucking sick and tired of watching getting his ass kicked every time he has the ball in the open field, and 7.0 sub for Billy Greulich-Smith. 6 games left and we're 6 points out of 1st, still 3rd. It's a tease, no doubt. We just barely beat the worst team in the league on our own turf.

Youth Candidates vs U18 Squad
The Youth Candidates flat out smash the U18s 3-1, and I'm officially intrigued. Then I go talk to my assman to see what he thinks. No real showstoppers here, but enough guys I want to give a crack at that I sign them anyway.

MR/AMR Roy Smith (16) - 0.5 silver/3.5
MR/AMR Gareth Swain (16) - 0.5 silver/3.5
DL/WBL Gareth Hargreaves (16) - 0.5 silver/3
DM/MC Paul Harper (17) - 0.5 silver/2 (Just to get a DM body)

Smith and Swain start training ML; Hargreaves DC.

@ Driffield Evening Institute (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Semi-final Second Leg
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Nigel Hudson
S: Lewis Troke/Billy Greulich-Smith

19 - Hammons centers to Greulich-Smith, and the shot is blocked. Evans picks up the rebound on the left side of the box, re-centers to Greulich-Smith, and Billy Boy bashes the ball in like a fucking billy goat. 1-0

38 - Fucking defense gives them like seven straight cracks at it. 1-1

Defense cries because I scream at them at half.

51 - Conway for Connolly; Newton for [bGurrionero[/b]

76 - SHOOT THE FUCKING BALL, HUDSON! IT'S WIDE FUCKING OPEN AND YOU'RE A STRIKER BY TRADE!

93 - THAT DOESN'T MEAN FUCKING SHANK IT, HUDSON!

93 - Extra Time - Hammons kicks back to Evans, whose shot is blocked, but he gets his own fucking rebound! FUCK.YEAH. 2-1

98 - Kumari-Hill takes the backpass and fucking rifles the kick downfield to Nugent. Pass into space, and Troke makes up for all his sins by bitchslapping the net with the insurance goal! 3-1

Funny thing. Defense cries when I yell at them, and then they play better. 7.3 or higher for the backline, including 7.6 for Joe Conway. Midfield is all 7.1 or better, notably 8.2 for Ollie Nugent and 9.0 for PotM Kieran Evans. 7.7 for Billy Greulich-Smith, too. This shit was not pretty at all, but the Dragons roar back to the Finals, and this year, I intend to win the fucking thing. Because I'm fucking Izulde Jestor, King of the Fucking Amateurs.

[Izulde]

vs Driffield Evening Institute (14th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Nigel Hudson
S: Lewis Troke/Billy Greulich-Smith

17 - One of those unstoppable long shots. 0-1

44 - Callaghan throws in to Troke for the center to Greulich-Smith. Defense kicks it away but Evans is right there for the late half behind the back equalizer. These dudes are not confident today. 1-1

Weldon for Callaghan; Thompson for Troke at the break.

We were just unlucky today - something that happens to us a lot against this shitty fucking team. That was another missed chance, too, as both Wawne United and Bridlington Sports Club tied as well.

Transfer In - ML/AMC Terry Johnson (17) (From AFC Emley
I'm not excited about this kid at all, but he's a needed depth signing with 15 Acceleration, 11 Pace, 12 Determination, and 14 Natural Fitness. I also wanted to sign SOMEBODY at the deadline, and we were getting rejected left and right.

@ East Riding Rangers (6th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

38 - Ugh.

50 - Thompson for Troke, and we switch to a 3-1-5-1 DM, with Johnson replacing Fawcett in a 2 AMC setup.

63 - Sousa Mota to Thompson in the box, who wings out to Hammons. Cross pitch, and Evans banks in a corner shot. 1-1

67 - Evans is blanketed by two defenders, so he kicks back to Gurrionero for the boom giveback near the touchline. Evans with the counter cross to Hammons, who fakes out the defender, and there's the go-ahead goal! 2-1

83 - Heart-stopping moment, but Kumari-Hill makes an incredible falling save, and Connolly jacks out the danger.

PotM and 8.3 for Matty Hammons; 7.9 for Kieran Evans, as our wingers bailed us out in this one. We move up to 2nd place, though still 6 points back, and can finish no worse than 9th, officially clinching an improvement over last season's 12th finish.

Gustavo Sousa Mota gets hurt again in a friendly and will miss our next match, because I'm not paying $750 for medical equipment. We're not going to win the title without winning out and help, and I want to see more of Terry Johnson after he had a solid debut.

@ Hessle Rangers (12th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Terry Johnson
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

41 - Dean picks up a cleared corner and sends out to Evans. Perfect pop ball over the head of defenders, and Fawcett beats everyone to score. 1-0

51 - Thompson for Troke; Weldon for Callaghan

90 - WHAT THE FUCK?! WHY THE FUCK DO YOU SHIT THE BED ON A LATE FUCKING CORNER?! 1-1

We crash to 4th and kiss any remote title hopes goodbye.

vs Chalk Lane (12th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

28 - I'm getting fucking sick and tired of Dean throwing the ball to opponents. We give up a free kick goal here that looked offsides. 0-1

34 - Fawcett takes a pass and is immediately blanketed by two defenders, so he lays off to Hammons for the dribble, shoot, score. 1-1

[b]38[b] - Dean actually throws in to one of our guys, [b]Troke[b], gets it back, and sends the aerial cross to Evans for the goal! 2-1

Johnson replaces Sousa Mota at half.

56 - Thompson in for Troke

7.5 for Luke Connolly, 8.3 for PotM Matty Hammons, and 7.6 for Kieran Evans, as our wingers continue to carry us despite most of the rest of the team being meh.

Two games left and we're in 2nd place. Mathematically, we're still in it, but we need to win out and Wawne United to lose both games for us to snipe the title like an eBay bidder. As for worst case scenario, we can't place any worse than 5th, which will make the board happy - they wanted a top half finish.

vs Wawne United (1st)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jose Gurrionero
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
AM: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

49 - Our strikers are shit today, so I put in Thompson and Johnson to change to our 3-1-5-1 DM formation.

89 - Nugent kicks it back to Gurrionero, who sends a gorgeous ball on the touchline to Callaghan of all people. Cross to Hammons, and there's the goal!!!!!!! They're screaming offsides, but the ref is like lol no. 1-0

We're littered with 7.1s, the two standouts PotM Anthony Callaghan with his phenomenal assist at 7.6, and 7.5 for winning goal Matty Hammons. No matter what happens in the last game of the season, we won't finish any worse than the preseason prediction of 3rd, which is a huge relief.

The sharks are circling for this offseason. Luke Connolly has two semipro teams looking at him, and Lewis Troke and Matty Hammons are also drawing attention.

@ Yorkshire Amateur (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Championship
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Joe Conway/Alex Dean
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Jose Gurrionero/Matty Hammons
S: Lewis Troke/Kris Fawcett

We're going to throw a tactical surprise at these guys, because A) it's a Cup final, and B) We fucking have to play them again in the last game of the year.

3 - Fawcett laterals to Callaghan to send it up to Evans on the wing. Dribble, center cross, and Hammons drills it in!!! 1-0

17 - Evans gets his own cleared corner and crosses to Callaghan for his first ever Dragons goal in a big, big moment!!!! 2-0

32 - Poor backpass by the opponents. Fawcett with the cuddle give to Hammons to send out to Evans. Ball forward, and Troke slams in his first goal in forever to end a drought!!! 3-0

41 - Hammons dribbles down the right flank and centers to Troke. Weak kick, but the keeper is super slow to react, and the beating continues. 4-0

75 - Evans and Troke want to sit, so Sousa Mota and Thompson come in.



Beautiful. Just beautiful.

[Izulde]

$750 goes in the bank for winning the Cup.

@ Yorkshire Amateur (7th)
G: Jahquil Kumari Hill
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Joe Conway/Alex Dean
M: Kieran Evans/Ollie Nugent/Jose Gurrionero/Matty Hammons
S: Lewis Troke/Kris Fawcett

Why not go with what worked last time? Realistically, we're not that well set up to run DMs and AMs and have that be our best scenario.

10 - Fucking ugh. 0-1

Thompson for Troke; Sousa Mota for Evans at half as I scream at the team.

49 - Sousa Mota kicks back to Callaghan after the throw in, and a long ball connects with Nugent. Ollie has just enough time to set his shot, and fire in his first Dragons goal! We still need to go ahead and for Wawne United to drop another goal to Crown (1-1). 1-1

52 - Thompson's dodged by two defenders, so he lays off to Hammons for the just *barely* onsides pass to Fawcett in front of two people, and there's the Fawcett finally flowing again after running dry! 2-1

57 - Hammons' corner kick hits Connolly's head to send far post to Conway for *his* first ever Dragons score, and the first time all year we've scored off a set piece! We've done our part - now for Crown to do theirs. 3-1

72 - This is why I don't like the 4-4-2 flat. You're open to 30 yard long shots. 3-2

75 - By the time a defender thinks to challenge Sousa Mota's free run down the left flank, he crosses to Fawcett for the power bomb goal. COME.FUCKING.ON.CROWN! 4-2

79 - A stampede erupts down the middle of the pitch, with a series of quick passes - Fawcett to b]Nugent[/b] to Sousa Mota. Shot's blocked, but Hammons sinks the rebound. 5-2

Everyone but Kumari-Hill left on the pitch at game's end had 7 or higher. Earning PotM Matty Hammons with an 8.9, with Jose Gurrionero (7.5), Ollie Nugent (8.6), Kris Fawcett (8.8), and Gustavo Sousa Mota (7.8) the other standouts.

Unfortunately it's not enough, as Wawne United played for the tie, and we lose the league by a single fucking point. Ugh, this shits me to no end. Makes me want to go somewhere else. On the bright side, I got Yorkshire Amateurs' manager fired.



StandingsDragonsY1 by Tim Moungey, on Flickr

Fans Player of the Year Voting
Matty Hammons - 36%
Ollie Nugent - 32%
Kieran Evans - 22%

No surprise that our starting midfield for most of the season swept the Top 3 voting. They were the single biggest reason we had the year we did, though I'm curious to see where the other 10% of the vote went.

Steven Graham and Billy Greulich-Smith are the only Best 11 Season surprises.

All in all, it was an excellent season, final disappointment aside. I think we'll continue to strive for being a top half team, challenging for the title next year without guaranteeing it, and the players agree - a rare season end meeting that goes swimmingly.

I haven't yet decided if I'm coming back next year. I've turned on another country's leagues to give myself the option of heading elsewhere - somewhere I don't think I've ever managed, but wouldn't totally be outside my comfort zone either.

Average Attendance: 72
Bank Balance: $17,379

Transfer In - AML/ST Callum Smith (18)
Newcastle product who immediately becomes our top striker and one of our best players overall. 11 First Touch, 12 Composure, 13 Teamwork, and he can play any of our striker positions well. Huge get.

Transfer In - ST Richard Bennett (26)
11 Heading, 13 Teamwork and Work Rate, 15 Jumping Reach, 14 Strength. Another upgrade up front, and a guy who is tailor made for our Target Man role. He was decent for higher side Norwich last year, and should be great at our lower level.

Summer Raids
Callum Jones - Non-Contract - Congleton
Tom Smith - $2.2k - Boston Town
Dean Porter - $2.8k - Stourport
Aidan Young - $6k - Market Drayton
Paul Weldon - $5k - Maine Road

We jump up to the third highest reputation team in the league behind Yorkshire Amateurs and Wawne United.

Transfer In - MC/AMC Niall Dawson (19)
Chester alum with really good physical attributes for this level, 11 First Touch, Composure, Vision, Work Rate, and 14 Teamwork. We finally have a great AMC to make our primary formations work!

Transfer In - MR/AMR Lloyd Henderson (18)
A League 1 youth academy graduate in Doncaster, he has 11 Crossing, 10 Technique, 13 Work Rate, 12 Acceleration, and blows Matty Hammons out of the water in terms of talent level. I'll start work on training him on the left side, too.

Transfer In - GK Josh Perryman (18)
Came out of Sheffield United and finally gives us a fantastic young keeper we can build our defense around. I'm stoked about this find.

Transfer In - GK Harry Fidler (18)
Remember what I said about Perryman? Well, Fidler is even better and is not only our best keeper, but now one of our best players. We're really stocking up on talent this offseason.

Transfer In - DM/MC Melle Meulensteen (18) (Dutch)
Another high level academy graduate, he boasts 10 First Touch, Passing, Vision, and Technique; 11 Decision and Balance, and 15 Teamwork. Finally, a great young DM to make our top formation work!!!

Transfer In - MC Daniel Devine (19)
10 Passing, Determination, and Acceleration, and 12 Work Rate. The kid out of Bradford City grades out as slightly better than Ollie Nugent.

We're wrecked 1-6 in our first friendly. The one area we haven't managed to improve is our backline, and I'm going to continue hunting until I find guys who can be better than the steaming piles we have there.

[Izulde]

An Equatoguinean midfielder prospect signs despite failure for a Work Permit, like our Zimbabwean guy last year. That's fine, though - I'd rather handcuff decent young talent when possible.

Promotion Odds
Beverley Town: 1-10
Yorkshire Amateurs: 1-5
Eccleshill: 1-2
Pocklington Town: 2000-1

Some shuffling of the odds, and Chalk Lane drops out for the team relegated from Level 11, but overall, exactly the same as last year.

1-2 in friendlies, as it took until the third game to finally play the way we're capable of. I'm suspect of Harry Fidler in truth, and he might get dropped if he doesn't start stepping up.

Luke Connolly is promoted to Captain ad Lloyd Henderson is our new Vice Captain. Last year, no one cared about Steven Graham as captain. This season, a lot of people are thrilled that Connolly is now the captain.

The board still only wants a top half finish, but expect us to repeat as Challenge Cup champions.

vs East Riding Rangers
G: Harry Fidler
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

16 - Smith takes the kick from Fidler and wings out to Henderson. Perfect cross to Evans, and there's our first official score of the year! 1-0

52 - Fawcett for Bennett and switch; Sousa Mota takes over for Henderson

64 - Dawson kicks it up in space for Evans's exquisite cross to Sousa Mota and he puts it away with ease! 2-0

67 - Evans on the corner, and Meulensteen thunders home the header for a debut goal!!! 3-0

Excellent opener. 8.4 for Luke Connolly, 8.6 for Melle Meulensteen, 7.8 for Liam Dawson, and a peerless 9.3 PotM for Kieran Evans. Oh, and 7.3 off the bench for Gustavo Sousa Mota.

Brian Howard is crying in the media. Go, asshole. You were here when I showed up, and you sucked. Nothing has changed.

Transfer Out - DC Joe Conway - Guisborough - $3.5k
Played really well for us as a partial starter last season, but he can only play one position and has been surpassed on the bench by more versatile players. Knock on wood, but we've been lucky so far with teams raiding our reserves and not yet managing to lure our leading lights.

@ Pocklington Town (1st)
G: Harry Fidler
D: Anthony Callaghan/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

7 - Smith plays the cross too long for Henderson to shoot, but he simply gets it and crosses right back for Evans to put in his second goal of the year. 1-0

18 - Callaghan intercepts the ball and gives to Dawson for the high arc to Smith. Center to Bennett for his first Dragons goal! 2-0

26 - Dawson passes it forward to Henderson. Cross and Evans untouched drill his third goal this year! Our Welsh left winger was crucial last season, and he's been on fire early. 3-0

29 - Evans runs down a clearance on the left side touchline, spins around it, and lofts it to Smith for a header first Beverley Town score!! 4-0

How dominating was this win? Everyone but Fidler had a 7.5 or better!!!. 8+ players: Luke Connolly (8.1), Lloyd Henderson (8.7), Daniel Devine (8.3), Callum Smith (8.7) and his second straight PotM award to Kieran Evans with 9.5

The guys who were last year are pissed we missed out on the title, and we're playing with a vengeance. That's our sixth straight win dating back to last season, which is a this universe record, as is our 12 game unbeaten streak.

Luke Connolly gets hit in the face, and he's so vital to our success that I pay the $750 for him to get medical equipment.

Transfer Out - DL Anthony Callaghan - $6.5k - Team Northumbria
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!! He was the weakest starter on our backline from a production standpoint, but literally our only cover is youth pull Gareth Hargreaves, who is nowhere near ready. I spent all offseason and this year trying to find an even remotely passable replacement and have failed. This really hurts, as I think our two straight shutouts have come down in large part to the chemistry our defenders developed playing together most of last year.

This beautiful start could well all go up in smoke now.

[Izulde]

vs Crown (15th)
G: Harry Fidler
D: Gareth Hargreaves/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

Crown has the worst reputation of any team in the league. I just thought that was a thing you should know. We'll probably lose this one, too.

28 - Smith somehow gets a ball off two defenders and squeezes it to Evans. The cross to Henderson sees him winning the header and nodding it to Bennett, who nods it in. 1-0

61 - Sousa Mota goes in for Evans; Fawcett for Bennett and striker switch.

81 - Dean to Smith for the kick out to Dawson, and the long ball finds furiously running Fawcett for the insurance goal! 2-0

Solid, but not great game. Luke Connolly was PotM with 7.6 and Kris Fawcett netted a 7.1 off the bench. That $750 I paid for Connolly's injury has already paid for itself, as we're in sole possession of 1st place now.

Transfer In - DLCR Gary Pearson (From Halesowen) (16)
I don't like that he's selfish, but he's a 3 position backup, which helps our versatility. Very raw, but my staff thinks he has really good upside and can grow into being a valuable player.

@ Bridlington Sports Club (13th)
G: Harry Fidler
D: Gareth Hargreaves/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

They're off to a really rough start this season after finishing near the top of the table last year.

25 - Evans dribbles past a defender, and as two guys are chasing him, he crosses to Henderson. First shot's deflected, but he sinks the rebound for his first Dragons goal! 1-0

35 - Dawson bails out a poor pass by Henderson and gives it back to our right winger. Three defenders on him, so a quick pass back to Dawson, who wows everyone by threading a pass through four defenders to a wide open Bennett for the score. 2-0

Pearson will get his first look, replacing nervous, mistake-prone Hargreaves at the half. We also had three guys pick up yellow cards in the first half alone, so I'm going to tell the team to back off.

50 - Backing off cost us there. 2-1

59 - Fawcett on for sucking Smith

Bar PotM Richard Bennett's 8.3, we played like shit and deserved to lose. We got away with one here. Good news is we're a full 3 points and GD ahead of Yorkshire Amateurs, the newest 2nd place team.

vs Eccleshill (13th)
G: Harry Fidler
D: Gary Pearson/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

Pearson looked solid in his debut, so I'm going to give him the start today against a team that was expected to be our primary contenders, but have struggled. Can you say trap game?

7 - Yep. 0-1

52 - Fawcett for Smith and Sousa Mota for Evans

65 - @#%$!@%@%$!@ 0-2

83 - Some people are definitely getting benched next game 0-3

That's our first league loss in 11 games. Frustrating as hell. We're still in first by a single point, though, so that's good.

[Izulde]

Transfer In - DL Josh Nearney (20)
The fans are over the moon over this kid's potential, and though he's raw, he's a damned sight better than Gary Pearson or Gareth Hargreaves. 15 Teamwork and 12 Acceleration.

@ Yorkshire Amateur (4th)
G: Harry Fidler
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

12 - Devine short passes to Dawson in the box, who puts it into space for Bennett to jog past the defense and literally walk in a goal! 1-0

23 - Our new guy Nearney jacks one over the heads of the defense for Bennett. The long shot's pushed away, but sheer magic by Smith to not only beat defenders, but nail a difficult diagonal shot! 2-0

24 - Thanks for the own goal gift! 3-0

30 - Dawson's crowded in the box, so he passes back to Bennett, who passes back to Devine. Forward into the box to Smith. Defense strips but doesn't hold, and Dawson powers in the shot for his first Dragons goal!!! 4-0

How brilliantly are we playing? At halftime, everyone but Fidler has a 7.0 or higher. We were pissed about how ass we played last game, and we're taking it out on Yorkshire big time.

69 - Smith sends it to Evans on the wing. High cross, and Henderson smashes the header *just* under the bar! 5-0

70 - Gurrionero in for Connolly

All the starters except Fidler had 8.1 or better. Holy shit. I've never seen a game like this, I don't think. 9+ showings by PotM Lloyd Henderson (9.3), and Niall Dawson and Richard Bennett with 9.2 each.

Transfer In - DR/MR/MC Ryan Auger (23)
My assman is freaking out over Auger's upside and my other coach likes him a ton, too. He's better than [b]Alex Dean[b] right now at DR and will start there. Only position relevant 10 is Stamina, but he's at 9 in a lot of other places, and will get there. Love his flexibility to play different spots.

vs Hedon Rangers (10th)
G: Harry Fidler
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Ryan Auger
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

15 - Get awarded a penalty and Dawson drills it right at the keeper. Ugh.

At half, Liam Dawson has a 5.7, so he's pulled for Sousa Mota. We've also an injury to Smith, so Fawcett comes in.

54 - Seriously? 0-1

Total and complete shitting of the bed. Ugh. We fall out of 1st, and I'm pissed. This team is built to go to box to wire. On top of it, we lose Callum Smith for about 2 weeks in the middle of a congested part of our schedule.

[Izulde]

@ Reckitts (1st)
G: Harry Fidler
D: Gary Pearson/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Matty Hammons
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Kris Fawcett/Richard Bennett

Some changes to get some guys some rest.

13 - Terrible decision by Fidler to come out, and we're punished for it. 0-1

51 - Gurrionero for Connolly; Troke for Bennett

71 - Meulensteen short to Dawson on the free kick, and gets it back. He hits Hammons on the long wideout to the flank, and a dribble and cross later, Sousa Mota strikes the nets. 1-1

Honestly, we did well to battle back for a draw, and played much better in the second half.

@ Yorkshire Amateur (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup First Round First Leg
G: Josh Perryman
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Billy Greulich-Smith/Richard Bennett

A U18 game just before this match, combined with last game, means we're having to deal with a lot of fatigue issues.

29 - Dawson to Bennett, who has three defenders encircling him. That means a layoff to the wide open Henderson, who dribbles into the box, and softly kicks the goal in. 1-0

39 - Terrible effort at clearances - always sending it right back to them. 1-1

49 - We move to a 3-4-1-2, with Aspinall coming in to replace Meulensteen and a moveup. Also, Thompson replaces Greulich-Smith

Really, really unlucky not to get a win here. We outplayed them considerably.

@ Goole United (14th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Ryan Auger
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

Ultimately this comes down to who I trust in the net. Composure is becoming a stat I highly value in keepers, and our young Bermudan is the best one there.

We have beautiful move after beautiful move in the first half, but come up dry. Pearson replaces the injured Nearney at the break.

49 - Absolutely awful misplay by Auger there 0-1

50 - Evans hammers one down the pitch to hit Bennett for the lateral to Dawson and a continued right to left move by connecting with Smith. Long distance strike hits and we answer immediately. 1-1

64 - Fawcett for Bennett

67 - Smith to Evans for the cross to Henderson, but there's no shot! Instead, Henderson crosses back to Evans, and that's the fire in the hole! 2-1

70 - Time to play with fire. Connolly moves to DR and Gurrionero steps in at DC.

93 - Bullshit disallow on that goal by Fawcett.

Not the prettiest of wins, but we finally break through on Lloyd Henderson's 8.1 PotM performance and Kieran Evans' 7.7 outing. Melle Meulensteen will sit out next game due to yellow cards.

vs Hessle Rangers (7th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Jamie Newton
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

7 - Nearney blasts one all the way downfield for Smith, who dribbles into the box and cracks off a heat-seeking diagonal missile that explodes the strings! 1-0

14 - Bennett pirouettes and sends out to Evans for the cross to Henderson. Shot clangs off the crossbar and the keeper dives for it. Big mistake, as Henderson spears the empty net! 2-0

77 - Just bad stuff all around on that one. 2-1

79 - Pearson for Dean; Gurrionero for Connolly

We really slacked off in the second half and got away with one there. Lloyd Henderson got a 7.5, but it's the rare win where we don't have a PotM - in fact, our first time this universe. Callum Smith also got hurt again in the closing minutes and will be out 2 weeks. Unlike Luke Connolly, he's not so valuable that I'm willing to drop $750 to keep him playing.

The good news? Reckitts could only get an away draw, so we move back into 1st place as we complete the first third of the season.

[Izulde]

Kieran Evans gets some well-deserved media love, and the kid's been a rock for us at the ML slot.

Transfer In - DLR Stephen Wainwright (23)
10 Tackling, 12 Acceleration, 9 Stamina, and just super solid all around. One of the best players on our team and a massive upgrade at right back. Has been great at higher levels, too, so this is a real coup for us.

@ Hornsea Town (4th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Matty Hammons
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

These guys are no pushovers - they just drew Reckitts on their turf. Side note: After 10 games, the top of the table looks like this:

Us - 22 points
Reckitts - 21 points
Sculcoates Amateurs - 18 points
Hornsea Town; Driffield Evening Institute; Yorkshire Amateurs - 16 points

The big drop at the bottom is from 13th to 14th - East Riding Rangers with 12 points, then fallen Bridlington Sports Club and annual whipping boys Crown with 5 points each.

4 - Evidently my switch didn't take because Dean is starting. Not a bad thing, though, given our next match. Here, Fawcett plays a gorgeous through ball into the box for Evans. He gets it at the touchline and crosses to Hammons for the score! 1-0

8 - We've been waiting a long time for this moment. Evans on the corner and Connolly smashes the header in for our captain's first ever Dragons goal! 2-0

Pearson replaces Nearney at halftime.

53 - Sousa Mota goes on for Dawson

About time we had a strong win again. Luke Connolly takes PotM honors with 8.7, Matty Hammons grabs a 7.9, and Kieran Evans continues his brilliance with 8.4. There's now a clear Top 2, as Reckitts won, putting 5 points between them and third place, us 6 points up. Nice buffer.

vs Yorkshire Amateur (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup First Round Second Leg
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Gary Pearson/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Trovarn Thompson/Billy Greulich-Smith

I screwed up in not accounting for the reserve game sandwiched in between two short rest games again, which means Evans is going to have to play exhausted.

5 - Wow! Kumari-Hill literally just snatched the ball from the opposing striker's head!

9 - Dawson to Greulich-Smith and it's kicked back to Devine. Stunning ball played for Thompson to have 1v1 in the box, and he converts! 1-0

Sousa Mota swaps in for Evans at the half, even though he's bone tired himself.

54 - We're all winded, but it's Nugent who gets in, replacing Devine. I actually promised Ollie I'd start him in the cup game in a chat before this, but forgot. Oops.

We withstand a real barrage in the last quarter of the game to eke out a win. Heroic work by Jahquil Kumari-Hill in goal for his 7.2. Lloyd Henderson is PotM with 7.5, and I have to tip my hat to Gary Pearson, who took over Luke Connolly's spot and came out with a 7.4.

Transfer Out - DC/DM/MC Jose Gurrionero - $4.8k - West Allotment
The fans are happy about this, but I'm not. I was hoping to keep him around until he was ready to retire, so I could add him to my staff and break into Spain proper with scouting knowledge. Not to mention, even though he played a reserve role this season, he was quite good when called on, and great last year.

@ Chalk Lane (9th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Kris Fawcett/Richard Bennett

51 - We change to 3-1-3-3 DM, with Sousa Mota taking over at ML, and dumping the AM for Smith to be a third striker up front.

I fucked up and pulled Devine when I meant to get rid of Dawson. We absolutely wasted Jahquil Kumari-Hill's 8.4 PotM outing, so I scream at the team. We fall out of 1st, and I don't give a fuck that we're now 6 points ahead of third place. 2nd place gets you fuck all in this league, and I want to move up.

[Izulde]

vs Driffield Evening Institute (3rd)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

Great opportunity here to kick these guys further down the charts.

Fawcett goes in for Bennett at half, who is sucking shit and Eeyoreing at me when I yell at the team. Reckitts is just crushing their opponents so far today - 4-0 scoreline.

48 - Henderson first touch shoots the cleared free kick and sends it into the goal. 1-0

58 - We switch to our 3-1-5-1 DM formation, with Smith, who has shanked about 500 shots, coming off, and Sousa Mota going in for his position in the 2 AMC set.

64 - Evans with the corner, and it's cleared. Sousa Mota's first touch shot cracks off the post, and Connolly gets it. His shot's blocked, but the defender kicks it wrong way, and Connolly pounces on it for the insurance goal! 2-0

8.4 for PotM Lloyd Henderson and 8.0 for Luke Connolly. Another game where we did well enough to win, but a lot of other guys were putrid out there. 8 points ahead of 3rd now, further cementing this as a 2 team race. Reckitts smashed South Cave Sporting Club 6-0, btw.

Lloyd Henderson gets much earned media praise. Dude has been killing it lately.

vs South Cave Sporting Club (13th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Kris Fawcett/Richard Bennett

We finally get to see our new signing in action, as his energy level and our reserve games just haven't jived enough to have him start before now.

25 - Connolly gets the ball back after an awful pass by Dawson, and wings out to Nearney. Beautiful, booming pitch-length rainbow to Smith, who centers to Bennett. The header needs post help, but it just squeaks by to finally end our elder striker's lengthy goal drought. 1-0

Wainwright is having a dreadful debut, so he's yanked for Pearson at the break.

63 - Newton for Meulensteen

72 - That was just bullshit. Smith was onsides.

We withstand a barrage of attacks late in the game, and though we eked out the 1-0 win, we actually played pretty well overall. Lot of low 7s, including 7.0 by Jahquil Kumari-Hill, who continues to justify why I keep starting him over my staff's objections. PotM is Luke Connolly with an 8.0, as he was freaking amazing. Made heady plays all game long. Unfortunately, Reckitts just keeps right on winning. I don't know how - I'm looking at their team, and it's frankly not that good.

@ Sculcoates Amateurs (3rd)G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Richard Bennett

13 - Smith is injured for the 50th time this year. Fawcett replaces him.

27 - We're awarded a PK, and Fawcett nails it beautifully. 1-0

Pearson subs in for Nearney at half. By the way, I'm getting real sick and tired of seeing bad passes by Dawson and Bennett. We're also damned lucky to be ahead, because we're playing like dog shit.

8.1 PotM for Luke Connolly. I lied and said they played well, but only because Reckitts had to settle for a draw, pushing us back into 1st place as we hit the halfway mark of the season, a single point up, still 8 points on the ever-shuffling 3rd, presently owned by Yorkshire Amateurs. Big news is, we're 11 ahead of 4th place Sculcoate after narrowly topping them here, giving us a huge cushion to stay in the Top 3 with the second half of the year to go.

Bad news? Callum Smith is out 5-6 months, so he'll miss most, if not all, of the rest of the season. Damned shame, too, as he's a talented kid, and probably our most consistent striker at the moment.

[Izulde]

@ Driffield Evening Institute (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Quarterfinals 1st Leg
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Gary Pearson/Luke Connolly/Alex Dean
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Ollie Nugent/Matty Hammons
S: Trovarn Thompson/Kris Fawcett

Switching to a flat 4-4-2 to catch them by surprise, and also because I'm still supremely annoyed with Dawson's shit outing last game.

55 - Sousa Mota for Evans; Newton for Nugent

Meh. 0-0 Draw, because both strikers kept missing wide open shots.

Transfer Out - MC Ollie Nugent - Non-Contract - Congleton
I love the kid, but he just got thoroughly beat out by Daniel Devine, and just stunk it up in the cup game. That does make us somewhat weaker in the midfield backup spots, but I can't be fussed to go hunting right now. ...Or can I?

vs Pocklington Town (7th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Kris Fawcett/Richard Bennett

Troke replaces Fawcett at the half.

59 - Sousa Mota for Dawson

69 - Evans who has a fucking 5.9!, crosses high for Henderson to smash a header at the feet of Bennett. Time taken on the shot, and he drills it in. 1-0

92 - Henderson draws the PK a minute before game end, and Meulensteen blasts the shot in to make sure no funny business happens. 2-0

Solid all around, bar Kieran Evans' shit 6.0. Lloyd Henderson was the man, picking up another PotM with 9.0, and Luke Connolly continues to be Captain God in the central defense with a 7.5.

I have a chat with Kieran Evans and Kris Fawcett after the game. Both promise to do better.

My name *finally* comes up in rumors for a job, but Ilkeston is too new a club - 2010 - for me to consider it. Plus, Vanarama North/South = too large a jump at this stage.

@ East Riding Rangers (6th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Kris Fawcett/Richard Bennett

17 - Dawson plays a perfect ball forward for Evans, who gets there just before the touchline and crosses to a completely open Henderson. In it goes, and Evans just made a key play when his spot in the lineup was in danger! 1-0

52 - Troke for Bennett

53 - Troke being pressured in their half, and he *just* gets it out to Henderson, who also has a Stage 5 clinger. No matter, because the cross is exquisitely placed for charging Fawcett to finally stomp in a goal! 2-0

92 - Fawcett is on the left sideline and a defender's swooping down. He sends it up and in to Evans for the first touch pass to wide open Dawson and the final seconds goal! 3-0

We turned on the afterburners in the second half, so that every full-time starter had at least a 7, headlined by 9.0 Kieran Evans, 8.9 Niall Dawson, 9.1 PotM Lloyd Henderson, and a 7.3 in the net by Jahquil Kumari-Hill in his best game in the Dragons #1 shirt.

Better still? Reckitts got upset by Crown, 1-0, giving us a 4 point lead!

Bad news: Luke Connolly picks up his Yellows limit.
Good news: Next game is a cup game, which I literally could not care less about, given how whatever the prize money is.

Transfer In - MC/AMC Dave Bourne (Solihull Moors) (16)
Raw prospect with some decent upside - 11 First Touch, 11 Decisions, 15 Flair, 13 Work Rate speak of an exciting player who slides naturally into the Advanced Playmaker role we ask of our AMCs since the arrival of Niall Dawson, which makes him a better option there than Gustavo Sousa Mota.

[Izulde]

vs Driffield Evening Institute (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Quarterfinals 2nd Leg
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Gary Pearson/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Kris Fawcett/Richard Bennett

3 - Meulensteen snags a clearance and gives it to Dawson for the textbook feed to Henderson. Cross to Evans and there's the score. 1-0

27 - Dangerous play by Kumari-Hill in coming out of the box completely, but he kicks it to Evans. Two defenders sandwiching him, but his ground steamer cross is chased down by Bennett for the short lateral to Henderson in the box. Center, and Fawcett drills it. 2-0

57 - Ugh. Troke comes in for Bennett, who is going to get a little chat after this game, and Pearson is out in favor of Newton and a switch to a 2-5-1-2 2 DM setup.

71 - That was some of the worst defending on a corner kick I've ever seen. 2-2

103 - Nearney to Dawson to Fawcett on a pair of high balls. Fawcett runs down the pitch, draws three defenders, and crosses to isolated Troke in the box for the go-ahead goal!!! 3-2

No surprise to see a 9.0 and yet another PotM for Lloyd Henderson. Also starring: Kieran Evans with a 7.8 and Kris Fawcett with an 8.3. I was tempted to give them hell about the second half meltdown, but we stepped it up again in extra time, so I'm going to be nice.

I cut original holdovers Tony Booth and Ade Ryan after they cry about the team training workload. Kieran Evans is complaining, too, but suck it up, buttercup.

Transfer Out - DM/MC Jamie Newton - Non-Contract - Barton Town OB
Teams are loving to raid my reserve DMs this year for some reason. Like Jose Gurrionero, fans are perfectly content with this move, and I'm left feeling mildly salty.

We lose Matty Hammons for a month to injury. Lewis Troke wants his starting job from last season back, and given how poor Richard Bennett has been lately. I'm perfectly willing to do that.

@ Crown (14th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Liam Dawson
S: Kris Fawcett/Lewis Troke

These guys just stunned Reckitts here, so I'm not taking them lightly at all.

Pearson replaces Nearney at the break.

58 - Fawcett sits his ass down for Thompson

81 - Dawson to Troke to Thompson straight line, our reserve striker dribbling into the box and firing the late go-ahead with authority! 1-0

82 - Are we surprised at this bullshit? No. Are we surprised Pearson fucked up? Also no. 1-1

Prime chance to really make hay here with Reckitts wrecked 1-3 by Eccleshill, and all we can do is a lousy point to move 5 up. Give the Royals credit, though - they play teams tough.

Lloyd Henderson is the greatest player ever to put on a Dragons jersey, I swear. More media attention. On a side note, Kieran Evans is unhappy with being asked to train a new position and learn a preferred move. So he may be on his way out soon.

Transfer In - DC/DM/MC Callum Fawcett (From Stapenhill) (19)
Raw as hell and no relation to Kris Fawcett. 11 Decisions and Work Rate, 15 Teamwork. A very middling prospect, but we need the depth in a major way, and now I can maybe kick Gary Pearson off the subs list.

Transfer Out - ST Lewis Troke (Amateur) (Yorkshire Amateurs)
Well... shit. Losing him doesn't hurt much because we have a lot of depth at striker, but to see him go in division kills me. Fans are really upset about it, too.

We lose Daniel Devine for 2-3 weeks. Not gonna pay the $750 for equipment because I want to give some guys some burn.

Transfer In - DL/ML/DM/MC Simon Forsdick (From Northwich Manchester Villa) (34)
Dude has been a beast for the lower divisions in this universe and while he's retired from professional soccer, he's an extremely useful player. 10 Crossing, 11 Passing and a truckload of 10+ Mental attributes. Won't start for us - I like Josh Nearney too much and want to develop him, but he'll definitely be in the subs every single game.

vs Bridlington Sports Club (15th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Niall Dawson/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Dave Bourne
S: Kris Fawcett/Trovarn Thompson

At this point, I'm ready for Kieran Evans to go. If he can't handle making himself more versatile to the team, then he's out. Plus his performances have been very uneven lately.

3 - Wainwright hits Thompson for the header to a charging Sousa Mota in the right corner of the box. Our Brazilian, who I wanted to give more starts to in order to develop him anyway, dribbles and fires a dazzling diagonal to hit the net! 1-0

7 - The defense tackles the ball away from Thompson, but Dawson's right there to pick it up and send to Henderson for the short lateral to Thompson. Easy shot, and our lead doubles quickly. 2-0

Forsdick will get his debut, as he goes in at half. Nearney is on a yellow and freaked out when I tell the team to not get complacent like they did in the cup match.

50 - Forsdick already having an impact, as he swings the pass out to Sousa Mota for the short cross to Fawcett, who makes a magical, tough shot! 3-0

70 - Connolly's begging for a break, and our lead is safe enough that I send Pearson in, the other Fawcett sitting out due to yellows from his old club.

Every single full-time starter was 7.1 or better except for Kumari-Hill. 8.0 for Luke Connolly, 9.0 for Lloyd Henderson, and 9.0 for PotM Trovarn Thompson. Loving that debut by Dave Bourne, by the way.

On the downside, Josh Nearney will miss the next game with yellows, and [b]Gary Pearson[b] almost screwed the shutout.

Transfer In - ST/MR Sam Madeley (27)
How this guy sat out in the street so long I'll never know - 10 Crossing, 11 Free Kicks, 12 Passing, 15 Long Shots, 14 Penalty Kicks, 11 Decisions, 10 Determination, 14 Teamwork, 11 Work Rate, 11 Jumping Reach, 10 Strength. Nor do I know why my staff isn't considering him an elite player. I also don't understand why he only wanted a Backup contract. I consider this guy freaking AMAZING, and he's instantly going in as a starter.

I'm not seeing any other significant transfers unless something terrible happens with one of our guys getting stolen. Come to think of it, I *should* be looking at keepers just to be safe.

Transfer In - GK Sam Peters (From Loughborough Dynamo) (23)
Kid is only 23 years old and he was ready to give up his playing dreams to become a coach. We talked him into coming on as a backup, though, where he'll take over our #2 keeper spot. He doesn't have great upside relative to the rest of the roster, but he has a more well-rounded set of attributes. Dynamo never gave him a shot, even though the fans loved him in friendlies and were sad to see him leave.

@ Eccleshill (10th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Simon Forsdick/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Niall Dawson
S: Trovarn Thompson/Sam Madeley

Eccleshill was supposed to be one of the contenders this year. Instead, they're languishing in 10th. We've never beaten them in this universe, though - they topped us last game, and swept the Dragons in the first year, before I got here.

53 - Wainwright moves over to DL, Dean coming on at DR; Kris Fawcett replaces Thompson up front. We should be up by this point, but our strikers are freaking lousy tonight.

57 - Dawson plays it to Madeley for a beautiful through ball for Fawcett. A couple steps and *BAM*! Debut assist racked up! 1-0

73 - Dean plays a long ball into space, and the defender trips and falls flat on his face! I'm laughing my ass off as Henderson and the keeper race for the ball. Our star winger wins, and puts away the insurance. 2-0

Luke Connolly picks up PotM with a 7.6 and Lloyd Henderson had a mortal 7.5. While I'm sorta happy about Kris Fawcett's 7.1 bench showing, he also blew a lot of easy shots. Shoutout to Sam Madeley for getting his head out of his ass after his poor first half to rebound for a really nice 7.2 debut.

20 games now in the books, and with a third of the league schedule to play, standings look like this:

Bevereley Town: 48 points
Reckitts: 41 points
Yorkshire Amateurs: 36 points
Chalk Lane: 34 points
Sculcoates Amateurs: 33 points
Driffield Evening Institute: 29 points

Yep, Reckitts could only manage a draw, so we gain another 2 points on them for a two game+ cushion and Lewis Troke's new team is so far back, it would take an epic collapse for us to drop to 3rd.

[Izulde]

What Academies Are Our Starters/Primary Reserves From?
Altrincham: 1
Barrow: 1
Bradford City: 1
Chester: 2
Curzon Ashton: 1
Darlington 1883: 1
Doncaster: 1
Grimsby: 1
Hampton & Richmond: 1
Mansfield: 2
Newcastle: 1
Preston: 1
Shepshed: 1
Solihull Moors: 1
Tranmere: 1
West Brom: 1

Our top players are Premier/Championship flameouts, but we've also got a number of League 1/League 2 guys. Vanarama North/South and National is also a key source.

I get tempted to apply for another job, but ultimately decide to keep going with the Dragons, even though it bothers me that their logo has nothing to do with a dragon.

Then I see who we're playing next and decide to for sure stick around until after that match. There's an awesome job that pops up where the manager is under pressure, so I declare interest in it. Two days later, that manager is canned, and the media is crackling with rumors that I'm the leading candidate for the job.

vs Yorkshire Amateurs (3rd)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Niall Dawson
S: Trovarn Thompson/Sam Madeley

12 - Madeley with the short pass to Thompson. Three defenders on him, so he goes left to Sousa Mota, our Brazilian all alone as he dribbles into the box, and fires a right-footed kick into the upper corner of the net! 1-0

49 - Forsdick for Nearney

65 - Meulensteen jacks one out on the wing to Sousa Mota for the pass to Dawson in the box. He dribbles horizontally, the defense tracking him, picks his spot, and fires a gorgeous ball into the net! 2-0

68 - Thompson wants a break, so Kris Fawcett in

88 - Wainwright to Dawson, and then a booming high ball that Fawcett heads JUST out of the reach of the keeper's fingertips and into the net!!! 3-0

Every single full-time starter was 7.1 or higher, with the 8+ guys: Luke Connolly (8.4), Gustavo Sousa Mota (8.3), and PotM Niall Dawson (9.0). Kris Fawcett's sub goal gained a 7.1, too. As for Lewis Troke? He showed that disloyalty doesn't pay, as he had a team and tied for game worst 6.3 rating.

Reckitts got stunned at home by Goole United, so we're now 10 points clear of 2nd place. That's 18 straight games where we haven't lost, which sets a new Dragons record.

Transfer Out - AMC/ML Terry Johnson (Non-Contract) (Anstey Nomads)
We just got way too good and way too deep for him to ever crack through. Good luck.

@ Hedon Rangers (8th)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Niall Dawson
S: Trovarn Thompson/Sam Madeley

36 - I literally can't remember the last time we were behind. 0-1

49 - Dean in for Wainwright; Kris Fawcett for Thompson

We really stepped up our play in the second half, but their keeper just happened to have an absolutely incredible game (8.1 rating). Nothing we can really do about that one - it's just hard luck. So the 18 game non-loss streak is snapped, as is the 14 game non-loss streak in league play.

None of my staff is interested in moving with me if I take the job.

The offer comes in. They're in 6th place and expect me to challenge for the title. It's a reasonable enough request, I suppose, but they're only offering me $7k, which seems a little low. A quick check around the league shows salaries ranging from $5k - $12.5k, with $10k the mode. Yeah, that's low. After discussion, they agree to offer me $10.5k, which puts me right in the range of the other managers.

Now to decide whether or not to take it. It's a huge step up from where I am now, a semiprofessional club that's actually able to offer their players legitimate contracts. There's a lot of pressure from the get go - challenge for the title in the remaining games or be sacked.

Honestly, it's the pressure that's got me thinking - if I take it and flame out, then I'm just repeating the cycle I have in so many other dynasties.

[Izulde]

Too big a jump, I decided in the end. If I move it's going to be to another amateur team.

vs Reckitts (2nd)
G: Jahquil Kumari-Hill
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Niall Dawson
S: Trovarn Thompson/Sam Madeley

We're 7 points ahead, so from one standpoint, this match doesn't matter. But from the view of trying to lock up the title as quickly as possible, it's huge.

20 - Sousa Mota has been knocking on the door all game long, and he finally heads one in after an aerial cross from Henderson for his 5th score of the year. 1-0

72 - Thompson is being harrassed by two defenders, so he kicks out to the right flank for Henderson to pick up and cross. Sousa Mota takes a bit to trap it, and the Brazilian curves the shot around two defenders into the net! W-O-W WOW!!! 2-0

83 - That's one of those shots you're just not going to do anything about. 2-1

Critical victory keyed by Lloyd Henderson's 9.0, Gustavo Sousa Mosa's PotM-winning 9.1, and Niall Dawson's 8.2.

7 games left, and we already can't drop out of the Top 5.

@ Eccleshill (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Semifinal First Leg
G: Sam Peters
D: Simon Forsdick/Callum Fawcett/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Matty Hammons
AM: Niall Dawson
S: Kris Fawcett/Sam Madeley

Both Fawcetts (not related) are playing today as we're doing on short rest. I'm also curious to see what Peters brings to the table.

6 - Madeley wings out to Hammons, and this defense just doesn't have the speed to compete with Kris Fawcett's charge to drill in the cross. 1-0

Callum Fawcett moves up to DM for winded Meulensteen at half, and Connolly comes in, because I was too lazy to adjust my subs.

54 - Thompson swaps in for Madeley

83 - Three guys protecting the net and they still manage to poke it in. 1-1

Should have won this one, but whatever. We'll hit them on the backswing. Niall Dawson is now officially a Natural at AMC, which fantastic. 12 games unbeaten in the Humber Premier League Challenge Cup is a record.

Transfer Out - GK Jahquil Kumari-Hill - $6.5k - North Shields
Had to happen some time, but damn am I sad to lose our Bermudan keeper, who I fought for time and time again. He's 21 now and apparently his new club had cash to burn, because they just made him one of their highest paid players as a backup. Losing him makes me much less motivated to stay here in this suburb of Nottingham.

Transfer In - MC Matt Liddiard - From Sporting Khalsa - 25
I mainly signed him because he has a real picture. Also fills in the backup MC role Ollie Nugent left behind. 11 First Touch and Marking, 13 Passing, 13 Decisions, 16 Teamwork, 13 Work Rate. Really great player, honestly, and he showed it at his last club.

So I turn down one job I thought seriously about. Another one kind of attracts me, but then not really, so I reject that offer as well. The board's very unhappy with my wandering eye, and my job security takes a hit as a result.

vs Goole United (15th)
G: Sam Peters
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Niall Dawson
S: Trovarn Thompson/Sam Madeley

10 - Holy shit! Meulensteen runs down a bad pass from Dawson on the touchline and kicks back to Nearney. Our left fullback laterals to Devine who dribbles and fires one from just outside the half-circle for his first ever Dragons goal!!!! 1-0

15 - Dawson to Devine to Thompson and on to Madeley who dribbles just inside the box and fires his own long shot for his own first Dragons score!!! 2-0

59 Both Fawcetts go in for Connolly and Thompson respectively. We should be beating this sadsack, last place team by like 5.

86 - Madeley is untouched as he dribbles down the pitch, but he still longs it to Henderson, who dribbles and cracks one up in the corner of the net. 3-0

8.1 for Josh Nearney, 8.5 for Lloyd Henderson, 8.7 for Daniel Devine and Niall Dawson, but it's Sam Madeley who takes his first PotM award with us, courtesy of his 9.0. Reckitts could only manage a draw, so we're 12 points up with 6 games left. They're also in danger of losing 2nd place to Yorkshire Amateurs.

Callum Smith comes back aaaand we lose Niall Dawson for 5-6 weeks. Cool.

vs Eccleshill (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Semifinal Second Leg)
G: Sam Peters
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Kieran Evans/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Gustavo Sousa Mota
S: Callum Smith/Sam Madeley

20 - Sousa Mota pops a ball out to Henderson, and the following cross is perfectly placed for Smith to score his very first game back after a layoff! 1-0

31 - Our fullbacks sucked shit on that one 1-1

55 - Forsdick and Dean replace our useless fullbacks.

74 - Henderson to Madeley to Smith, and just as the defender's about to tackle him, he fires in his second goal! 2-1

8.3 for Lloyd Henderson, 7.7 for Daniel Devine, and 8.8 for PotM Callum Smith in his first game back. We gritted this one out by the skin of our teeth.

Transfer Out - MR Matty Hammons - Non-Contract - Heather St. John's
I'd wanted to keep him around as insurance for Lloyd Henderson, but it just wasn't meant to be for last season's Fans Player of the Year.

Youth Pulls play U18s next, but I don't really care, because I'm about to leave for the perfect situation. Just as soon as that manager gets fired and I apply.

The Youth Candidates DESTROY the U18s 6-0, so I sign everyone my assman tells me to. Again, I don't care much, so why not?

[Izulde]

@ Hessle Rangers (13th)
G: Sam Peters
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Dave Bourne
S: Callum Smith/Sam Madeley

47 - We switch to a 4-4-2, with Meulensteen moving to MC, Pearson coming at DC to replace Bourne, and Dean taking over for Wainwright

51 - Brilliant dispossessing tackle by Meulensteen sends the ball to Sousa Mota. He passes forward to Devine for the lateral to Smith, and there's the goal we need. 1-0

89 - Guess who fucked up on that corner kick to allow a late equalizer? Yep, Pearson. Dumbass. 1-1

Lead cut to 10 points. With 5 games to go, we can't finish any worse than 3rd.

vs Hornsea Town (11th)
G: Sam Peters
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Dave Bourne
S: Callum Smith/Sam Madeley

4 - One of those shots you can't do anything about. 0-1

25 - Henderson races down the right flank and crosses to Sousa Mota. Keeper is years away from being close as our Brazilian midfielder puts it in with ease. 1-1

34 - Our backline is pure trash today 1-2

39 - Fuck you, Madeley was onsides!!!

48 - Wainwright over to DL; Dean in at DR

68 - Kris Fawcett for Madeley and striker switch

82 - Bourne tracks down a cleared corner and wings out to Meulensteen for the exquisite cross to unguarded Smith. We'll get a draw out of this yet. 2-2

93 - BULL FUCKING SHIT! FAWCETT WAS ONSIDES!!!!

No fucking shit the ref had a 5.4 rating. Absolutely fucking terrible screw job we got put on us. 4 games left - our lead now cut to just 8 points. We might blow this thing yet.

@ Driffield Evening Institute (4th)
G: Sam Peters
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Niall Dawson
S: Callum Smith/Sam Madeley

19 - I didn't give a chance to give my pregame talk because my mouse clicked through too fast. Boo. Anyway, Henderson bounces the ball off a defender and it gets to Dawson for the seamless feed to Smith. Important: Reckitts is down 0-1 to South Cave. 1-0

45 - Wainwright throws in to Henderson for a gorgeous cross to Sousa Mota, who has beaten the defense. 1 v 1 and Brazilian wins. 2-0

63 - Connolly has suffered a bad stretch of mediocre games lately, but here he grabs a ball and kicks back to Peters. Booming kick the opposition just misses the header on, and Smith takes it all the way to the house, firing a savage goal in! First time I've seen that sequence actually be successful and not "He did so well until the finish" 3-0

Everyone except Sam Madeley had a 7.3 or higher with Lloyd Henderson's 8.9 and Callum Smith's PotM winning 9.0 especially carrying the day. South Cave own goaled to give Reckitts the draw, but it doesn't matter because we've officially clinched the Humber Premier League title!!!

The mouse skips a question in the post-game presser, which really irritates me. Think I need a new one.

A team I've managed before has come open, but I'm not in the mood yet to revisit old places. The job I was trying to get still hasn't fired their manager, but enough time has passed for me to re-iterate my interest in the position.

Good thing we locked up the title, because Sam Peters is out 3-4 weeks.

With nothing left to play for other than the Cup final, we smash South Cave Sporting Club behind Sam Madeley's hat trick and assist for a 9.7 rating.

I sign a 20 year old DLC, Joe Denny for the upcoming season for after I leave, because that job I wanted *finally* opened up.

We're robbed by the post three times, but it's another hat trick for Sam Madeley as we smash Chalk Lane 4-1. Callum Smith gets hurt again and will miss the next game.

vs South Cave Sporting Club (Humber Premier League Challenge Cup Final)
G: Harry Fidler
D: Josh Nearney/Luke Connolly/Stephen Wainwright
DM: Melle Meulensteen
M: Gustavo Sousa Mota/Daniel Devine/Lloyd Henderson
AM: Niall Dawson
S: Kris Fawcett/Sam Madeley

11 - Ugh. 0-1

23 - Fuck you, Fidler. You suck, and I hate you. 0-2

34 - Nearney is injured, so Forsdick comes in.

37 - Fuck Fidler. My staff is wrong - he blows chunks. 0-3

43 - I mean, really, really sucks. First half hat trick?! GTFOH 0-4

61 - Dean goes on for Wainwright, who has a 5.9! Connolly had a 5.5 at half!

76 - Too little, too late goal by Henderson. Whatever. 1-4

Honestly, we played tons better in the second half. We just couldn't overcome that giant fucking 4 goal deficit.

461 people showed up for that shitshow of a final, smashing a ton of records and earning $3.5k just in gate receipts alone. Previous high was 113, and our average attendance for the Cup games was 172, setting a tournament record.

We fizzle out with a 1-1 draw against Sculcoates Amateurs in the last game of the season.

Lloyd Henderson wins 78% of Fans Player of the Year vote, 15% to Luke Connolly and 5% to Niall Dawson.

The expected turn to semi-pro happens, but also some *very* interesting developments. I think the double-clicking problem may be with FM16 being open too long, so I'll save, close, and restart.

[Izulde]

This doesn't include the guys that played some games and were sent down to U21 and U18, because I'm lazy and not planning to be here long. The improvements we made with our new strikers was phenomenal, and Melle Meulensteen dramatically upgraded our defensive midfielder slot, just as I hoped.



Poor Kris Fawcett - one of our leading players in appearances and the all-time goals leader, and he's being sniped by dudes with half those stats. Daniel Devine isn't a DM, so that's lol whatever. Seasonal Best 11 was who you might expect, though Richard Bennett surprised me by sneaking on the team, and I snorted in derision at Simon Forsdick and Gary Pearson making the cut.

So the board is dicking me around - $2.1k. They go up to $2.5k and then get mad at my $4k request. I'm sorry, but I don't like you guys enough to be the lowest paid manager in the next division up. The range is from $4k - $12.5k, with $4k the mode.

I do, however, use that absurd $132k budget to start locking up key players and leaving this team in decent shape for next season, despite my hatred of the board and their insanity at trying to buy the 1,500 seat stadium with just $37.6k in the bank.

Transfer Out - GK Josh Perryman (Non-Contract) - AFC Darwen
Good riddance. But for some weird reason, they're not going to get him until next season.

Signings
Luke Connolly
Lloyd Henderson
Niall Dawson
Melle Meulensteen

All non-contracts, with Henderson obviously the biggest cost at $230 p/a, which translates into roughly $12k by the accountant's estimate. I think that's off, personally, but whatever.

Not my problem anymore, because the job I've been chasing all of last season is officially being offered to me! It's going to be a huge challenge in ways that shock me. Remember Porthleven, when nobody of any quality wanted to come to Cornwall?

One of the biggest reasons for my failure in Porthleven compared to my success everywhere else was my inability to bring in defenders with high Composure. My successful teams always accomplished that. Interestingly enough, in the press conference after my resignation, the journalist noted that while the board loved me, the fans despised me. I got rid of a lot of their favorites and 5th wasn't good enough despite the improvement it represented.

Also, our best guy on staff with the Fisherman was 7/7. It's even worse in my new situation, but more on that next post, to better represent the true turning of the page - leaving an excellent situation I've built up to one of the worst teams in all of English football.

[Izulde]

Sidmouth Town AFC Vikings
I get to be a Viking and the logo has a dragon boat on the water. How freaking cool is that?! And even the water color change on the pin looks really awesome. I sooo want to get that pin now. I find it on some website out of stock, but get put on the list to be notified when available.

I did find this, which I may pick up: Sidmouth Town Devon County Crest Small Pin Badge (1169) - DEVON SELLER

Anyway, on to Sidmouth Town itself. Wikipedia link: Sidmouth - Wikipedia

A pretty, English seaside town, and I love all the literary associations with it. I remember Vanity Fair being a slog when I read it, but I grew to love it upon further reflection, so I'm quite happy to read another Thackeray novel. Very cool that a village this size has an arts center as well. If I didn't prefer warmer weather, might be a place I try and move/retire to at some point.

As for the Vikings themselves...

...Literally no staff want to come here of any repute. Our 7 JPA/4 JPP Scout is literally the best JPA we can get, as no one 5 or higher wants to consider coming here. Our 4 JPA/6 JPP assistant? Yep, that's the best we can get there, too. Ditto our 6 Physiotherapy dude.

The team itself is pure garbage - the top All-Time 11 starter has an average rating of 6.63 and there's 3 sub 6s in the all-time reserves. There *is* a 16 year old DM/MC, John Howell, who has some decent looking attributes for an MC, and posted a 7.18 average rating in 3 starts and a substitute as a youth pull last year, and I think Uche Mustapha, 18 year old striker, has been under-utilized. 19 year old AMC/MC Jack Mitchell is clearly the best overall talent, however - a 5*/5* talent and the only one above 2* current by our shitty scouts. I like his 11 Flair, 14 Teamwork, and 11 Work Rate as an Advanced Playmaker AMC.

But everyone else? I'm hitting the Unattached Free Agents hard to get some more talent on this roster, pronto.

Transfer In - DC/DM/MC Andrew Gunn (30)
11 Heading, 10 Marking, 10 Determination, 11 Strength, 14 Teamwork, 11 Work Rate, 11 Acceleration, with exceptional all-around physical attributes for this level and his age. I'd like to see him develop his DM comfort level, as I think he'd be amazing there. Western Premier level player and has Vanarama North experience with Oxford City.

Transfer In - ST Nicky Jackson (18)
An eye-popping 14 Finishing, 10 First Touch, and 13 Acceleration, and tailor-made for a Poacher role. An Exeter (League 2) product who just never got the chance to play anywhere. I smell stardom for him here.

Transfer In - WBR/MR/AMR Liam Lee (18)
Very raw prospect whose only notable attribute is 10 Pace for his position, and he's bounced around a couple different clubs to not great results the last two seasons. He'll get his shot here, but will also quickly be upgraded if I can. The fans are absolutely thrilled with his potential, and want Double L to blossom into greatness here.

Transfer in - ST/AMC Luke Peel (18)
Swindon (League 1) alumnus with 12 Finishing, 13 Acceleration, 12 Pace, 10 Stamina. Future team captain with that 14 Leadership. I'd like to try him out as a Defensive Forward and see how he does, but he's also quite good as a Poacher if need be.

Transfer In - DCR Jory Cureton (25)
15 Teamwork, 11 Decisions, 10 Composure, 14 Leadership. Not a very accomplished guy technically speaking, but he's probably our team captain this season and will lock down that DR spot, switching to DC if necessary. Originally from Vanarama South side Weston-super-Mare, he's been a very solid starter for Western Premier squad Willand the last two years, so you know he's legit.

Transfer In - ST Robert Convery (18)
10 First Touch, 11 Aggression, 10 Acceleration. Did decently well at a couple of clubs the last two years on loan assignments from Vanarama South side Hemel Hempstead. I think I like Nicky Jackson and Luke Peel a lot more, but he's a decent enough third striker.

Transfer In - MR/MC Leigh Ryan (18)
He's got decent all-around physical attributes for this level, 12 Flair, and 10 Teamwork, but he just doesn't excite me. He has no ambition at all, and though my staff is convinced he's our best right midfielder, I'd rather use him as a two position backup and let Liam Lee get the burn he needs to develop.

Before I forget (again):

Club Value: $35k
Average Ticket Price: $8
Season Ticket Price: $113
Season Ticket Sales: 10
Reputation: Obscure
Stadium: 1,000 capacity (Club Owner Owned)
Corporate facilities: Basic
Training facilities: Poor
Youth facilities: Basic
Junior coaching: Minimal
Youth recruitment: Limited
Bank Balance (June 15th): $14,883
My Reputation: 5%

Transfer In - DC Steve Mason (29) - From Farnborough
15 Aggression and 10 Strength. Not an eye-popping player, though the fans think he's great. He's been terrible at higher division clubs, but maybe the lower level here will prove beneficial to resurrecting his career. Will get a crack at the starting DC slot unless one of our other rafts of offers comes through.

We're having a hell of a time finding players who can play on the left side, defensive midfield, and keeper, who will sign with us.



Finally, a DL guy! He makes me smile just because of his name. And he's going to start at DL for his entire career here, damn it. Leatherhead product (Isthmian Premier)

Reputation
We're ranked 16th of 18 teams in the South West Peninsula League Division One East. Not much of anywhere to go but up. Galmpton United and Totnes & Darlington are the lone clubs below us.

Beverley Town obviously went up in reputation, but are still ranked third in their old league behind Eccleshill and Yorkshire Amateurs

Vikings Results To Date
League Play
Year 1: 3rd - 48 points
Year 2: 8th - 48 points
Year 3: 17th - 30 points

Walter C. Parsons Cup
Year 1: Semi-final
Year 2: First round
Year 3: Quarter-final

Progressively worse in league standing and topsy-turvy in cup play. Hopefully I can change at least the league results from the jump.

Transfer In - DC/DM/MC Kevin Haig (17) - From Merthyr Town (Welsh)
This kid doesn't have any notable double-digit ratings other than 15 Leadership, but he also has no real weaknesses other than low Determination. I really like this kid and he immediately drops into our DM spot as an Anchor Man. He hasn't done very well, but he's also never had enough appearances to really get into a groove.

Transfer In - DC Tristain Haswell (20)
10 Tackling, 13 Bravery, 11 Decisions, 10 Positioning. Gloucester product who stunk at Vanarama South level, but did okay as a loanee to divisions above his. He and Steve Mason will be in a dogfight for the starting spot, though Mason's better composure probably wins the day for now.

Transfer In - GK Steve Byrne (18)
11 Decisions, and I'm worried about that 18 Eccentricity and 3 Composure. He'll start in the net simply for lack of better options, but this Worcester (Vanarama North) graduate who was eh at a higher level scares the crap out of me. But I was so desperate for a keeper, I rolled the dice on his ranges.

Transfer In - GK Jonathan Brown (20)
Another dice roll player, and sure enough, 3 Composure. Does have 11 Handling and 10 Decisions, however. Though his anticipation is ass at 1, so I may give Byrne a try first anyway.

Transfer In - DC Bradley Bale (18) - Welsh
12 Tackling, 11 Determination, 12 Positioning, 10 Jumping Reach. *Very* intriguing young man and suddenly I'm thinking of dropping my beloved 3-1-3-1-2 DM formation because we're absolutely stacked at DC. Oh, and did I mention, he's a flameout from Premier League team Swansea?!

Transfer In - DCR Pierce Mitchell (22) - Irish
10 Decisions and 12 Teamwork and he's bounced around the directional Premier leagues, awful at most stops. Sounds like he just needs a place to land where he can get more PT. I want to make him an all positions backline reserve, so he'll start training at DL.

Transfer In - ML Stuart Hawkins (16) - From Poole Town
10 Work Rate, 15 Acceleration, 11 Pace. This dude has the physicals to b-u-r-n BURN! Needs a lot of work, but we just needed a body there to cover us until we can get better players on the spot in. Southern Premier guy.

So with all this movement, we're now switching to a 4-4-2 Diamond Wide as our primary formation, keeping my old favorite with Beverley Town in our back pocket if we can ever get an MC who's worth it.

Jory Cureton pulls his groin in training and is out for about a month.

Transfer In - AMC/MC Joe Rowberry (19) - Welsh
13 First Touch, 11 Technique, 12 Flair, 12 Work Rate. An absolute AMC god for this level as we continue picking up Welsh young talent. I can't wait to see what this kid does for us. From Cardiff of Sky Bet Championship fame.

Transfer In - ST/AMC David Way (18)
Portsmouth graduate (my favorite English city!) with 11 Finishing, 12 Aggression, 14 Acceleration, and 11 Pace. Ideally suited as a Poacher, and he'll push Luke Peel to a backup role. We're rolling in talent in quite a few spots now. Keeper, DM depth, and the wingers are still an issue, however.

Transfer In - MLR Tom Manning (19) - From Kelvedon Hatch
My staff is eh on him, but the fans are bananas on his upside. 10 Work Rate and 10 Acceleration. He *should* be starting at MR over Liam Lee, so that's what he'll probably do. He's been playing at levels way above his head, so coming down will be good for him.

Since no staff period even show interest in becoming a Viking, we take out ads to see what's available when we say we're open - looking for an assman, a coach, and a scout.

Friendly season up next, which I frigging hate.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

Good luck with Sidmouth Town. You're right about the literary associations.

I do the same thing; I'll pick a club based on a cool badge, or a spiffy-looking kit, or a location in a town or city that appeals to me somehow.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Greyfriars Bobby

Good luck with Sidmouth Town. You're right about the literary associations.

I do the same thing; I'll pick a club based on a cool badge, or a spiffy-looking kit, or a location in a town or city that appeals to me somehow.

Yep, I'm all about the aesthetics of a team and an area, which often makes it hard for me to find a job I'm going to stay at long term. I'm planning to make this a long haul gig, though, but we'll see.

vs Bideford (Friendly)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Tristain Haswell/Bradley Bale/Steve Mason
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

2 - Haig pulls his hamstring, but it's playable through the rest of the half.

16 - Brilliant free kick goal from the half circle by Hawkins, even though I forgot to select my set piece takers. 1-0

Gunn goes in for Haig at half.

54 - Byrne with the save and longball all the way down to Jackson, and he heads back to Rowberry. Gorgeous return highball drops into space in front of Jackson, who has everyone beat and scores with ease. 2-0

69 - Double yellow for Manning. Unfortunately that means we have to sit Rowberry and put Ryan in as MR, with Mitchell completing the refresh of the right side by going on for Mason

70 - Mitchell saves what should have been a surefire goal there.

88 - ...And then Mitchell promptly makes a bad header right at the opposing striker to let one in. 2-1

8.5 PotM for Joe Rowberry and 8.3 for Stuart Hawkins. Nice work, considering this is the first time this crew has played together at all. We lose Kevin Haig for 5-6 weeks, which is fineish. Rather have this happen in preseason.

vs Hallen (Friendly)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Tristain Haswell/Bradley Bale/Steve Mason
DM: Andrew Gunn
M: Stuart Donaghue/Liam Lee
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Robert Convery

Guess our ML spot is owned by the Stuarts. Normally at this level it's all blah blah our talent exceeds everyone, but here it's looking to be evenly matched. Which probably means we'll lose by 5.

Way moves down to AMC, Convery switches to Poacher, and Peel comes in at DF at half. Also Howell pops in as DM.

59 - Irish Mitchell for Mason (I forget we have two Mitchells on the squad); Ryan in for Way; Jackson for Convery

Draw ground out and we're looking decent so far despite the injury issues. Naturally that worries me for when the games count for real. One more friendly to go and we can really start this Viking party.

Promotion Odds
Tiverton B: 1-5
Sidmouth Town: Evens
Cullompton: 5-4
Plymouth Parkway: 25-1
Plymouth Argyle Reserves: 150-1
Okehampton Argyle: 200-1

2nd seems about right - we're still two wings away from being elite in my opinion, but I think we're good enough to challenge for the championship, if not win it in my first year.

vs Liverton United (Friendly)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Tristain Haswell/Bradley Bale/Steve Mason
DM: Andrew Gunn
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

22 - We definitely need a ML upgrade - Hawkins is getting beat up almost every time he touches the ball. Anyway, in this series, Rowberry shorts it to Jackson, and with a cavalcade of defenders around him, he dribbles towards the right sideline until he finds the opening to feed Manning. Defense is beat, and our right winger dribbles deep into the box before short kicking it in. 1-0

26 - Amazing clearance and rundown of a corner by Haswell, followed by a 55 yard moonshot down and across the pitch to Way. A bit comical here, as Hawkins has to backtrack for the pass into the box, and then a lucky bounce off a defender sees the ball roll behind our two strikers before being picked up for Manning for a more emphatic score than his first. 2-0

76 - Fluke goal hat trick for Manning? Sure. 3-0

81 - Mason throws in to Gunn, who, well, guns one into box space. The keeper is slow to come out, and Way makes him way pay. 4-0

Everyone had a 7.r or higher except Steve Byrne with a 7.1. 8+ guys: Andrew Gunn (8.8), PotM Tom Manning (9.5), and matching 8.2s for Nicky Jackson and Stuart Hawkins.

After placing advertisements, we get a decent coach through our ad for a scout of all things. We also found a more balanced scout - 6 JPA/JPP vs 7/4. Once we reassign coaching duties, we're 2* in most non-GK areas, bar 1.5* in Tactics and Ball Control, and our GK is still just 1*. Baby steps of improvement. Of course, that's if I don't get a better JPA/JPP assman before then.

There's a month off between our last friendly and the first regular season game because I'm lazy and I hate friendlies.

To no one's surprise, Jory Cureton and Kevin Haig are named Captain and Vice-Captain, replacing the scrub holdovers. Cureton and Haig are delighted at their appointments, and there's a fair handful of players who are really stoked the 25 year old defender is taking leadership of this team.

A lot of my starters have low current ratings because of Jonathan Brown (4.5* and will never play because of his 1 Anticipation), Bradley Bale (4*), Nicky Jackson (4.5*), [b]David Way (4*), and the single best player on the team, Joe Rowberry (5* and Southern League First Division South/West ready - or 3 levels higher than this one).

Expectations are more than reasonable from the board - mid-table in the league and the semifinals of the Walter C. Parsons Cup. I'll be very disappointed if we don't beat both projections - particularly in league play.

[Izulde]

10 season ticket sales, same as last year.

Liam Lee is whining about the Average team training. Suck it up, buttercup.

I didn't stop the advertisement, but we get a 6 JPA/8 JPP Chief Scout upgrade.

@ Newton Abbot Spurs
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Tristain Haswell/Bradley Bale/Steve Mason
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

12 - Can't leave a long shot sniper open like that. 0-1

22 - That's just terrible defending. 0-2

32 - Rowberry bounce passes one out to Hawkins for a great cross to Jackson and a fight back into this. 1-2

53 - Mitchell replaces Mason; Gunn in for Bale

67 - Hawkins gets the longball and dribbles all the way down the left flank before crossing to unmarked Jackson. Took long enough to fight back for the draw. 2-2

Tim Lee sadly sunk us in this with a 6.0 rating. Nice work for these guys to come back and salvage the away draw, but eeegh. Tiverton B smashed their opponents and set a divisional record with a 6-0 opening win, including 4 goals for 26 year old striker Mark Smith.

vs Crediton (9th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Tristain Haswell/Bradley Bale/Jory Cureton
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

49 - Brilliant interception and longball by Haig. It hits Way, but he loses it to the defense. No problem, as he muscles it right back, dribbles into the box, and beats the keeper on the 1v1 for his first Vikings goal! Irish Mitchell swaps in for Haswell, who has disappointed this game. 1-0

66 - Jackson goes down and Convery gets his first action.

Kevin Haig wins PotM with a 7.7, and Joe Rowberry picks up a 7.5 as we get on the board. Nicky Jackson sits for a month, which is disappointing.

Transfer In - AMLR/MLRC Alex Morris (18) (Welsh)
Even given our weakness at winger, he's still not capable of challenging the guys locked in there. Massive upside, however, if the fans' reaction is anything to go by. 10 Work Rate.

@ St Martin's (9th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Tristain Haswell/Bradley Bale/Jory Cureton
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Robert Convery

22 - Haswell knocked out with injury; Gunn in

At half, I replace knocked Haig by moving Gunn to DM and Irish Mitchell in at DC. Both keepers are playing brilliantly today - hence the knotted up scoreline.

55 - Piss poor work by our backline there. 0-1

57 - Stunning ball into space by Rowberry, which Convery picks up. He runs into the box, dribbles around the keeper, and fires the ball behind him for his first Vikings score! 1-1

76 - Hawkins fetches a dispossession, plays an excellent ball into the box, and Way races untouched ahead of everyone, faking out the goalie with his shot! 2-1

91 - We're awarded a PK, but Way's shot is just barely stopped.

8.5 PotM award for Stuart Hawkins, as we got away with one there. Tristian Haswell is out roughly 2 weeks.

vs Exwick Villa (14th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Pierce Mitchell/Bradley Bale/Jory Cureton
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Robert Convery

49 - Corner clearance by Convery and he heads it out to Rowberry for the breathtaking run all the way downfield. There he crosses to Way for the score! Afterwards, Gunn boots Bale, and Morris hops in for Manning for the kid's debut 1-0

59 - Rowberry sends it forward to Hawkins just outside the box. Our season's biggest surprise dribbles in, drills a cross past the keeper, and it's only a matter of it Way or Convery will get to the ball first for the empty net goal. It's Convery who wins. 2-0

67 - Rowberry, Hawkins, and Haig keep a triangle of passes going until the last gives it to Convery. Gorgeous ball into space for Morris in the box. Two steps, and he cracks the diagonal right past the outcoming goalie for a debut goal!!! Holy shit!!! 3-0

Joe Rowberry takes home PotM with an 8.4, but hat-tip to Stuart Hawkins' 7.7 performance, and of course, Alex Morris' 7.4 debut off the bench. Steve Byrne was strong in the net, too, with a 7.2.

The win propels us to 2nd place, as Plymouth Parkway is unblemished in the first four games of the season.

[Izulde]

@ Galmpton United (18th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Pierce Mitchell/Bradley Bale/Jory Cureton
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Robert Convery

51 - Gunn for Bale; Peel for Way

76 - Haig throws in to Convery, and the first touch cross finds Hawkins for a beautiful mid-range strike and first ever Vikings goal! 1-0

84 - Convery sends a dribbler to the right sideline for Manning to pick up, and both wingers get their first Sidmouth score - the right one on a fluke goal. 2-0

86 - Haig to Rowberry and pristine pass into the box for Peel. I'm out of my seat, expecting a third first, but the shot ricochets off the bar. No problem, as hard charging Manning blasts in the rebound! 3-0

7.6 for Jory Cureton, Kevin Haig, and Robert Convery; an 8.3 for Stuart Hawkins, and it's Tom Manning as PotM with a 9.3. We vault into 1st with the victory, but there's still a long way to go - it's a 34 game season.

It's a good thing we're playing so well out the gate, because the complaining about playing time is happening really early. I'm able to fob them off with comments about the team play, settled side, blah blah.

It took us two months, but we were finally able to sack our Assman for a 7 JPA/7 JPP guy. Not sure what happens to the $1.44k we were going to pay our old assman to take a course now. Probably stuck with it, to be honest. Oh well.

vs Teignmouth (8th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Pierce Mitchell/Tristan Haswell/Jory Cureton
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Bradley Bale is still our most talented central defender, but he's been bad so far, so he's going to sit this one out.

33 - Manning has three defenders on him, but he finds a hole to stroke a killer cross to Way, just a step ahead, and he sinks it with authority. 1-0

47 - Hawkins gets it to Way in the box, and I'm thinking those two defenders are going to strip him, but he finds a seam, shoots, and the keeper can't get a firm handle on it, so it rolls in for his second goal. 2-0

62 - Haig gets his own cleared corner, and he centers it for a leaping Manning to power in a midrange header! 3-0

90 - Our defense slacked off there. 3-1

8.1 for Kevin Haig, 9.0 for PotM Tom Manning, 7.7 for Stuart Hawkins, and 8.8 for David Way. In a normal situation, I'd be paying attention to my staff and looking for talent upgrades, but the way this team is clicking, I'm just going by how players perform on the pitch - especially since so many of these guys allegedly have high potential.

100 people showed up for that match, smashing last season's record of 86, and destroying the overall team record. Tom Manning's 2 PotM awards is also a Vikings first. We're averaging 87 people a home game, compared to last year 59, the year before 62, and the first year 29. People are thrilled to have a proven manager like me at the helm of this boat, and ecstatic about the wholesale makeover I gave this squad.

[Izulde]

@ Bovey Tracey (8th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Bradley Bale/Steve Mason/Jory Cureton
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Liam Lee
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Robert Convery

Short rest lineup today. We're 4 points up on 2nd, so we've already created a small buffer for ourselves.

15 - Mason hammers it to heavily guarded Way, who lays off to unmarked Convery for the easy goal. 1-0

45 - Stupid own goal by Bale. JFC. 1-1

52 - Way moves to AM; Peel comes in as Poacher, and Manning takes over for Hawkins

83 - Bad night for the backline gets even worse. 1-2

We were awful all game long in every area of the pitch, initial goal aside.

vs Exwick Villa (Walter C. Parsons Cup First Round)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Bradley Bale/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell
DM: Andrew Gunn
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: Nicky Jackson/Robert Convery

12 - Convery is blanketed, so he lays it forward for Manning. Defense doesn't go after the ground cross, allowing Jackson to slip into space and sink it. 1-0

54 - Peel for Rowberry; Morris for Hawkins and winger switch.

70 - Morris and Peel keep exchanging passes as they're both double-teamed. But then Peel finds a gap and delivers it to Convery for the insurance goal! 2-0

74 - Peel ends up directing a lot of passes on this drive, including one twos with Manning, the last to the latter resulting in a center to Convery for his second score. 3-0

79 - Peel long balls it to Manning for a short dribble down the left flank. Three defenders are running to challenge him, so before he gets there, he hightails the ball to Convery for his second half hat trick!!!!! 4-0

All full-time starters except the keeper had a 7.4 or higher as we really turned it on the second half. 9.2 for Tom Manning, 9.6 for PotM Robert Convery, and Luke Peel had his best game as a Viking - 8.0 off the bench.

Transfer In - DLCR/MLR Stephane Ngamvolou (29) (French)
10 Tackling, 10 Technique, 10 Concentration, 11 Strength. Dude is an absolute god at the DR spot and his positional versatility is amazing. He performed at an acceptable level as a full-time starter with Vanarama South side Whitehawk in the first year, and started his career in France, where he was born in Romorantin-Lanthenay. His father is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, so he's eligible for both France and DR Congo, and has 114 days to go before getting British nationality. The first signing of the Sidmouth era to get a press conference.

Transfer In - DLR Leon Archer (19)
Played a handful of games 3 flights up last year and did all right. A ridiculous 18 Bravery! Has a long way to go in his technical aspects, but overall, he's a huge upgrade, and we'll see him at DR, shifting our French star to the left side (Sorry, Tim Lee).

vs Cullompton (12th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Bradley Bale/Tristan Haswell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

5 - Ngamvolou takes the backpass and holds up play before sending a low screamer down the left flank to Hawkins. Acres of space to dribble and center to Way for the searing shot into the net! 1-0

14 - Rowberry to Manning. Our right winger dribbles into the box, shrugs off the defender draping him, and crosses to Way, who shake and bakes his own defender for the short shot double. 2-0

26 - Haig to Rowberry, longball to Manning. Dribble, short pass into the box, Jackson with the mid-range scorcher. 3-0

31 - Jackson has a defender running for his face, so he lays off to Hawkins left side. He shakes and bakes the defense with his dribbles, then sends it into the box for Jackson to salt away our fourth goal in just over half an hour. 4-0

35 - The defense hammers Manning in the box, drawing a PK, and this time Way won't be denied his first half-hat trick!!! We are absolutely crushing these guys. 5-0

38 - Eh, whatever. 5-1

50 - Do not fuck this up, dudes. 5-2

51 - On the ensuing kickoff, Jackson is about to get wrecked, so he quick short gives to Way. A moment later, he gets it back, dribbles into the box, and fires in the immediate long answer and his own hat trick goal! 6-2

71 - Our defense just doesn't want to put that work in today. As a result, Irish Mitchell goes in for Haswell. We're also not seeing a great game from Rowberry, so Way drops down to AM, and Convery comes in as the Poacher. 6-3

8.3 for Kevin Haig, 8.6 for Tom Manning, 7.8 for Stuart Hawkins, and matching 9.5s for David Way and Nicky Jackson, the latter earning PotM honors due to the critical value of being the last goal. Our defense really slacked off in the second half, but I'm not going to trip. We were up 5-0 - it's hard to stay focused with a lead that huge.

That's 8 goals for David Way, breaking the 7 goals by youth pull scrub Leon Horgan last season that stood as the Vikings this universe record. Expect to see more of those fall as we progress through this season.

@ Tiverton B (12th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Bradley Bale/Tristan Haswell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Tiverton's B team started the season with fireworks, but have fizzled out since then. Hope we're not the ones to give them that spark back.

17 - Oh, look. Bale fucks up and we can't reorganize in time to have any hope of stopping the empty net goal 0-1

33 - Haig sprays it out lateral for Manning to run and get, two step, and cross for Way to beat the defense and power in the equalizing header. 1-1

53 - Hawkins draws a PK and of course they convert. Mitchell and Gunn go in for our two ass-sucking DCs as we try to salvage a point out of this awful game. 1-2

The whole team pretty much stunk it up, outside of Tom Manning (7.7). I chewed them out royally, as once again we get a 4 point lead, only to screw it up and lose our cushion. That's two games now Bradley Bale has cost us points, and he'll never play another match for us if I can help it.

vs Plymouth Parkway (2nd)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

43 - Hawkins takes the ball all the way down the left flank and into the box. Just as about he's to cross, he's tackled from behind. No whistle, and the ball squirts loose. Jackson wins the foot race and puts it away. 1-0

62 - Jackson's decked in the box, and Way nails the following PK. He then moves to AM, with Convery coming in. Ngamvolou moves up to ML, Tim Lee taking the DL spot. 2-0

This is what we call a solid, but unspectacular win, with Nicky Jackson's 7.7 earning PotM distinction. 10 games into South West Peninsula League Division One East play, and we're in 1st by 3 points and GD. Oh, and that's 3 PotM awards for Nicky Jackson, breaking Tom Manning's record set earlier this year. David Way's 10 goals also breaks the total goals scored record, wiping out Stuart Donaghue's 9. The previous record Way set was for league goals, apparently.

Speaking of, let's check in on Beverley Town. They signed a manager for $10k, so fuck them and their cheapskate bullshit with me. That manager then used the massive payroll to raid Premier/Championship youth castoffs and the Dragons are 16-0-0, a ripping 16 points ahead of 2nd place! We saw this with Burgess Hills Rhinos in the previous dynasty, so I'm not completely surprised. They're also doing a lot more rotation than I did, and Sam Madeley has sparkled under the new setup - averaging a team high 7.69 average rating, evenly splitting time between ST and MR in their 4-4-1-1 primary formation.

[Izulde]

@ Budleigh Salterton (16th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

17 - Manning is boxed in by four guys so he lays it back to completely open Rowberry. A little dribble and long ball to the feet of Way, who takes it just inside the box and fires an unstoppable master shot. 1-0

34 - Lot of build up here as we're pressed back, Archer taking part in many of the passes. He sends it to Rowberry as he's about to get crunched, and it's on to Manning for the box feed to Jackson. Short run later, and we add another to our tally. 2-0

56 - Bad play by Haswell there. He's immediately yanked for Gunn and Morris takes over for Hawkins as we try not to blow this. 2-1

61 - Jackson to out Manning for the right flank run and finishing cross into the penalty box that Jackson falling kick puts away. 3-1

68 - Oh, yay. Bullshit fluke goal. 3-2

77 - Way and Jackson keep trading passes, the last a diagonal that both Jackson and the defense miss outside the box. Jackson's there first, and his first touch shot somehow sizzles right into the net for his hat trick! 4-2

80 - Off goes Jackson with injury, forcing us to spend our last sub on Convery - and precisely why I always keep a sub in my back pocket.

7.5 for Tom Manning, 9.0 for Joe Rowberry, and 8.9 for David Way. Oh, and Nicky Jackson's PotM 9.5, obviously. The yo-yoing continues, as we're back up to a 4 point margin. We're out Nicky Jackson for a month and a half, which sucks.

vs Okehampton Argyle (Walter C. Parsons Cup Second Round)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Tristan Haswell/Jory Cureton/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Andrew Gunn
M: Stuart Hawkins/Alex Morris
AM: Luke Peel
S: David Way/Robert Convery

Short turnaround time, so we have to use a Scotch tape lineup.

22 - Terrible defending by Ngamvolou

I yank Ngamvolou at the half for Archer

53 - Morris has been shit all game, so he sits in favor of Ryan

57 - Byrne gets injured and we burn our last sub bringing in Brown

92 - Fucking embarrassing. 0-2

6.0 for Stephane Ngamvolou and 5.8 for Robert Convery as we take a giant steaming shit all over tournament expectations.

vs Okehampton Argyle (2nd)
G: Jonathan Brown
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Robert Convery

43 - Gorgeous 35 yard ball for Way by Hawkins. Our striker dribbles just inside the box and drills it 1-0

46 - Another fabulous ball just before half, this time into space for Way and delivered by Convery, who had been terrible up to this point. Way gets to it, drives deeper into the box, and slams his second goal in seconds before the halftime whistle ends! 2-0

68 - Rowberry to Way for the turnaround pass into the box that Convery gets and smashes in. We're playing pissed after our last game screwup. 3-0

74 - Manning wants a breather, so Morris goes on. Ngamvolou switches to DR, and Tim Lee comes in at DL.

7.9 for Kevin Haig, 8.1 for Robert Convery, 8.8 for David Way, and 9.0 PotM outing by Stuart Hawkins. The emphatic statement win gives us a new 5 point cushion on 2nd, 7 on 3rd. We'll really be focusing on make sure we hammer down the league now since we cocked up the Cup.

[Izulde]

vs Totnes & Darlington (7th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Robert Convery

We stole their assman in our upgrade, which they're pretty salty about.

8 - Hawkins gets a clearance and attempts the pass to Convery. It's headed away, and Rowberry first touch shoots. Deflected, but Manning is there to put away the rebound. 1-0

21 - Sure, the ref is quick to tee us up for two yellows, but lets their guy go. Hawkins takes revenge with a perfect free kick shot just outside the box. 2-0

68 - Cut-in by Manning followed a pass to Convery. The lateral requires Way to go get it, but when he does, he hits a soft roller that finds the net. Manning wants a breather, so Morris hits the field. 3-0

72 - Rowberry gets a breather with Peel replacing him

Robert Convery wowed this match with a 9.0 PotM rating. Joe Rowberry snagged a 7.9, Stuart Hawkins an 8.3. Fun fact - Tiverton B has won the league all three seasons, but can't promote due to Tiverton being just one level up.

@ Plymouth Argyle Reserves (11th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Robert Convery

7 - Convery gets the ball on the right side of the box and holds up play. Cross to Manning for the trap and control, and his ensuing shot goes past the half-step too slow keeper. 1-0

13 - Just bad defense by Archer there. 1-1

28 - Haig crosses to Way and the shot's pushed away, the ball unmoving. Way charges for the rebound, but Hawkins is there first for the easy putt. 2-1

54 - Tim Lee for Ngamvolou, who has been a disappointment relative to what I expected. Probably because he's just not comfortable on the left side.

59 - Archer takes a wing out and boots one downfield over the head of everyone to connect with Convery. Dribble, shoot, insurance. 3-1

89 - Way dribbles straight down the middle of the pitch, then flares forward to hit probably offsides Hawkins. Fierce dribble and shot fired behind the back of the keeper. 4-1

7.8 for Leon Archer, who really turned it on after I yelled at the backline at halftime. Tom Manning with a 7.6, an 8.3 and 8.4 respectively by Robert Convery and David Way, but it's Stuart Hawkins who takes home PotM with an 8.8.

vs Brixham (18th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Robert Convery

37 - Way's hurt, so in goes Peel

50 - Now Convery gets injured, so we switch to a 4-1-3-1-1 DM, with Gunn stepping in as an MC

Just unlucky not to win this one. 15 league games in the books, and we've a 5 point lead despite our 5 game win streak being snapped. David Way is gone for a month, Robert Convery a couple weeks.

@ Axminster (11th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Andrew Gunn/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: Luke Peel

56 - Jackson replaces Peel whilst Ngamvolou moves inside to boot Haswell and get Tim Lee in.

[b]91/b] - Just when I'm prepared to settle for a draw, Manning recovers a cleared corner, and the high cross finds Hawkins opposite side for the header goal!!! Wow! No one paid attention to our now 17 year old left winger (his birthday was about a week ago), and he makes them pay!!! 1-0

8.2 and PotM for Tom Manning and 7.7 for Andrew Gunn as we steal one. Tom Manning also just broke the Sidmouth single season assists record with 11.

vs Appledore (4th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: Nicky Jackson/Robert Convery

1 - Blunder by Haswell gives them an opening score. 0-1

27 - Manning stampedes down the right flank and crosses to Jackson for the equalizer. 1-1

37 - Convery jukes the shorts off the defender and passes in the box for Jackson to pick up and fire in. 2-1

50 - Gunn goes on for Haswell

57 - Convery sends to Manning for the box space ball. Rowberry surges and makes it look easy. 3-1

64 - Second fantastic interception by Archer this half and he high curves the ball to Manning. The lateral to Convery is tackled away, but it ends up at Jackson's feet for the searing hat trick score! 4-1

65 - Complete collapse by the central defense 4-2

67 - Convery outlets to Manning and with an unseen header help, his cross locates wide open Hawkins for the immediate answer. Ngamvolou switches over for Mitchell, and Lee steps in at DL. 5-2

68 - Apparently, defense is a thing no one is playing now. 5-3

71 - Jackson is getting squeezed by two defenders, so he diagonals into the box for Hawkins' laser beam into the net. It's the Nicky Jackson Show, indeed. 6-3

9.1 for Tom Manning, 9.3 for Stuart Hawkins, 8.5 for Joe Rowberry, 7.8 for Robert Convery, and of course, PotM 9.6 for Nicky Jackson. Our success this season has really been predicated on our midfielders and strikers. Halfway through the year, we're up by 7 points still, and I'm loving that 2 game cushion.

vs Newton Abboton Spurs (16th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: Nicky Jackson/Robert Convery

9 - Rowberry belts the ball like it stole money, and Jackson gets to it just before it crosses the left sideline. He holds up, then dribbles towards the box and crosses to Manning for the no one saw it coming score! 1-0

14 - Archer suffered third degree burns on that play. 1-1

50 - Ngamvolou shifts to DR; Tim Lee at DL. Mitchell is also yanked for Gunn

81 - Convery hurt again, so Peel jogs on

We were complete ass that game and I rip the team for that lazy turd. It's another 2 weeks without Robert Convery. We'll also be without Tom Manning and Kevin Haig next game after they both hit the yellow maxes. Great job guys. :P

[Izulde]

@ Crediton (15th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Andrew Gunn
M: Stuart Hawkins/Leigh Ryan
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

27 - Gunn plays a key role here, constantly outletted to and setting up passes. His last goes to Rowberry for the great ball into space. Jackson gets it, goes into the box, and fires in the shot. 1-0

65 - Peel pops in for Rowberry

72 - Morris moves in for Hawkins

It's the kind of match where Andrew Gunn's 7.2 is PotM. We didn't play badly - we just didn't play great. 9 point lead now. Stuart Hawkins is going to have his turn to sit out next game for yellows accumulation.

I'm getting real sick of Liam Lee's whining about team training, especially since latest evaluations say he'll never be up to the standard of this team, so I cut him.

vs St Martin's (13th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Morris/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: Nicky Jackson/Robert Convery

11 - Way blasts the high cross to Manning, and he puts it away. 1-0

49 - Way moves to AM, with Convery coming as the Poacher

50 - Ngamvolou throws in to Convery, and the center hits Jackson for the mid-range header goal. Good call on the substitution, me. 2-0

77 - Manning wants a break, so Ryan replaces him

7.5 and PotM for Tom Manning. Also a 7.1 for Steve Byrne in net. Another decent, but not fantastic grinding win. Nicky Jackson gets goal #15 to nip David Way in the chase for the single reason Sidmouth record.

Andrew Gunn is complaining about a lack of starts, which is fair. He's been quite good whenever we've asked him to play as a reserve. I'll rotate him in and out of the DCs until he's satisfied.

Just remembered I've article deadline to meet, so I'll be back again later.

[bbgunn]

Gotta love a player named Gunn. Here's hoping Andrew Gunn gets a permanent starting role.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Gotta love a player named Gunn. Here's hoping Andrew Gunn gets a permanent starting role.

I like him a lot - he dreads big matches and is horribly inconsistent though according to my scouts, so probably won't be permanent. Plus he's 30. We'll see how he goes, however.

@ Exwick Villa (12th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Andrew Gunn/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

13 - Ngamvolou intercepts the clearance and pops it to Hawkins' head for the nodding center to Way. Shot's blocked, Way gets rebound opportunity, but it's tackled away. No problem, as he muscles past everyone to get to the loose ball first and put it away. 1-0

33 - Rowberry gets back a clearance, dribbles right and outlets to Manning for the shot from the sideline, and the fluke goal goes in. 2-0

58 - Convery subs in for Jackson; Ngamvolou moves up to ML, and Tim Lee takes over at DL

7.5 for Tristan Haswell and Joe Rowberry, with Tom Manning's 7.6 taking PotM honors. I'm fine with these mid-level games, so long as we keep on winning. Especially since we've now opened up a 12 point lead.

vs Galmpton United (14th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Andrew Gunn/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

28 seconds - Brilliant interception by Ngamvolou and header to Hawkins. He shoots the moon and finds Way, who is untouched as he dribbles down into the box and fires one in just as the defenders converge on him! 1-0

14 - Poor job of Gunn defending that free kick 1-1

59 - Ngamvolou moves to DR because maybe he'll have better luck there. Tim Lee at DL; Jackson for Convery. Our whole backline is playing like trash.

85 - Rowberry saves our ass several times with retrievals on this one, though it caps off with Haig winging out to Hawkins for the center to Way. Defense is screaming offsides, but it's a makeup call for the ref missing a penalty earlier. 2-1

We survive an awful night from our defenders thanks to Stuart Hawkins' PotM 9.0 and an 8.8 by David Way. Sorry, Andrew Gunn, but you're going back to the bench next game.

Steve Godfrey of Appledore is in a head to head race with David Way for who will own the league's single season scoring record by year's end. The 17 year old has off the charts Finishing for this level, so it's to be expected. As you might expect, David Way's 28 second goal was the fastest in Vikings universe history, and he's taken the single season scoring team mark from Nicky Jackson, who has been blah lately.

@ Teignmouth (7th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

68 - Lee for Ngamvolou; Convery for Jackson, who is going to sit on the bench for at least a game or two.

Our strikers were shit all game, and it's the first match since December 1st we've failed to score (It's mid-late February now). November 3rd was the only other time this year we've not put the ball in the net. But it's all good I guess, because we're now 15 points in front of 2nd place, and with 11 games to go, it's becoming a matter of when we clinch the title, having a full 5 match protective barrier. Our GD is +34, with the next best +13.

Beverley Town is 27-0-1 with a 20 point lead on 2nd, 23 on the playoffs spot in 3rd and a +61 GD, 30 better than the second place team. Absolute masterwork by the Dragons this year.

[Izulde]

vs Bovey Tracey (5th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Luke Peel

It's my 100th game as a manager, so I'm hoping to celebrate the occasion with a win. Our #2 and #3 strikers are both out of form, so Peel is going to get a look as a starter.

42 - Way passes down the line to Manning for a short cross, and Peel contorts himself for a fabulous header into the net and his first Vikings goal! 1-0

51 - Rowberrry gradually pushes deeper until a beautiful spray shot lands with Hawkins, who charges into the box and hits a beautiful angled shot. 2-0

59 - Morris for Manning; Gunn for Haig

8.3 for Stuart Hawkins and 8.7 for PotM Joe Rowberry. Hat/tip to Steve Byrne's 7.1 in goal, as well. One thing Hawkins' season has shown me - Acceleration + Pace combo is absolutely critical for the setups I've fallen into in this universe, where the ML/MR are attacking wingers. It's the only thing I'm seeing that can explain his virtuoso performance (maybe that and his Flair? Tom Manning has also performed above expectations, and their common denominators are 12+ Flair and 11+ Acceleration).

114 people showed up for that one, breaking both the team and divisional records by a single attendee. We also get a record $780 in ticket sales, destroying last year's $570 mark.

Transfer Out - Jack Mitchell - Amateur - Bedfont Sports
The fans loved this youth pull scrub, but he was never going to see a minute on our roster once I remodeled.

@ Cullompton (8th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: Robert Convery/Luke Peel

David Way hasn't looked great the last two games, so he'll sit this one out while we try to snap Convery out of his cold streak.

8 - Archer throws in to Manning for the line play to Peel. Exquisite high cross and Hawkins heads it in. 1-0

17 - Haswell first touch blasts the interception to Convery. He dribbles into the box, crosses to Peel, and there's our fourth striker with his second goal in as many games! 2-0

31 - Whole lot of passing here, culminating in Hawkins' cross to Manning. Our unexpected star right winger dribbles into the box, and then crosses back to Hawkins for the pandemonium-causing score 3-0

32 - Asstastic job of keeping by Byrne on that one. 3-1

33 - Just absolutely shoddy defensive work altogether 3-2

46 - Un.fucking.believable. Piss away a 3 goal lead in 15 minutes right before halftime. 3-3

53 - Ngamvolou moves to DR and Lee comes in at DL. Haswell is out in favor of Gunn

59 - Haig wings out to Hawkins for the center to Rowberry just outside the box. Our AMC moves forward a step, then hammers in the howitzer! 4-3

64 - Disaster strikes as Rowberry is forced off with injury. Peel shifts down to AMC and Jackson comes on as DF. I hope it's not a longer injury - Rowberry is our best player in my opinion.

74 - One of their guys goes off with injury now. They've also burnt all their subs, so we'll play advantage the rest of the game.

92 - Convery has four defenders hugging his jock, so he outlets to Hawkins on the left wing. Run into the box, and there's the searing hat trick goal!!! 5-3

Stuart Hawkins sets a record with a 9.7! rating, but let's also give credit to Joe Rowberry and Robert Convery (8.3 each), Luke Peel (8.8), and Steve Byrne's 7.0 despite giving up 3 goals. News is pretty bad - Joe Rowberry is out a month and a half to two months. We've a 17 point lead with 9 games to play, so we're in excellent shape... but losing our top guy is hella rough.

vs Tiverton B (6th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Stephane Ngamvolou/Tristan Haswell/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: David Way
S: Robert Convery/Luke Peel

41 - Way lays it for Hawkins, but the defense is there first. Hawkins strips the ball, though, and passes to Convery to beat the defense and make the easy score. 1-0

44 - Way to Convery, who feeds the ball through a hole in the defense to Hawkins. It needs a lucky crossbar bounce, but the shot finds its way in. 2-0

50 - Ngamvolou switches to DR and Lee comes in. I'm pondering making that change permanent the next few games, as Archer has really crashed lately.

62 - Jackson jogs on for Peel after we allow a score on a corner kick 2-1

7.9 for Stuart Hawkins and 8.2 for Robert Convery, as we don't get a PotM despite the win. Frankly, we didn't deserve that victory, but we'll take it. 19 point lead, and now it's just a matter of when we sew up the title.

Leigh Ryan goes down for a little over a month, and Tom Manning will miss our next game with food poisoning. Way to decimate our right wing spot.

Transfer In - DLC/DM Ryan Carolan (29) - From Farnborough (Irish)
I low key kind of want to put together an All-Irish backline now, since he and Pierce Mitchell will be manning half of it. 11 Bravery, 12 Determination, 13 Teamwork, 11 Jumping Reach. Also 13 Leadership, so he might be a candidate to replace Jory Cureton next year. For now, he'll take over the trainwreck we've had at DL, though I see him eventually moving inside because he doesn't have the Acceleration I require from my fullbacks. Solid 3 year starter for Redbridge at the Ithsmian D1 North level, but for some reason, he wasn't used much with Farnborough - just 12 appearances.

@ Plymouth Parkway (6th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Stephane Ngamvolou
AM: David Way
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

Andrew Gunn is complaining about his lack of starts again, and I haven't been impressed with Tristan Haswell, so I'm fine giving him another shot. Note: A win here potentially locks up the title early.

4 - Gunn draws the PK and Way fakes out the keeper. 1-0

22 - Haig throws in to Archer, who high kicks to trap it, then sends it back to the furiously backpedaling Convery. Long range rifle outside the box sings home! 2-0

25 - Ngamvolou, back on his more comfortable right side, runs down a long ball and crosses to Jackson. Header's blocked, but the defense doesn't clear, so he just kicks it right in. 3-0

60 - Hawkins is hurt, so Morris moves in

84 - Defense slacked off there. 3-1

The last 20 minutes saw us get a little lazy and performance levels drop, but Leon Archer still had the best defensive outing we've seen all year with a 7.8, and Robert Convery's 8.3 is PotM- winning. We also lose Stuart Hawkins for a month. We're being linked to a young left winger, but I'd have to look at him before I could say for sure if we pursue him. David Way's 18th goal of the year sees him take the league record from Steve Godfrey for now.

Transfer In - ML/AML Alex Clark (20) - From Cranleigh
This kid is a League 1 Southend product who has been a part-time guy for Cranleigh and done fairly well there, though he's mostly played on the U21 team. 11 Crossing, 11 Dribbling, 10 Technique, 10 Work Rate, 11 Acceleration, 10 Pace. He's not as flashy as Stuart Hawkins, but he's a much more complete player, and thus deserves to be the starter.

vs Budleigh Salterton (16th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Stephane Ngamvolou
AM: David Way
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

We've rebuilt our entire left side in two moves, and a win here clinches the title no matter what happens elsewhere.

Haswell replaces error-prone Mitchell at half.

53 - Peel pulls Way off the pitch

58 - Haswell goes off with injury, so Carolan moves inside and Lee becomes our last sub.

We played like we didn't give a shit. I mean, no one put forth any effort at all, so they get the hairdryer treatment. Tristain Haswell, whose name I've been misspelling forever, is out 2 weeks. Not a big loss.

I've been giving Andrew Gunn starts, but not enough, because he says I didn't keep my promise. Um, yeah, okay. We're so close to getting the title though - really more mathematical than anything else, that I'll just start him the rest of the year to shut him up.

Youth Pulls
Anyone I'm excited about? ...There's a couple guys my assman swears are 3.5* potential players, but they don't trip my trigger at all. The rest is the usual trash at this level. The game's on the same day as our next match, so I'll miss it. I'd skip it anyway TBH.

@ Okehampton Argyle (3rd)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Stephane Ngamvolou
AM: David Way
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

2 - Unstoppable shot, but behind is a rare spot for us. 1-0

16 - Mid-level screaming rope from Way blazes past Convery to find Jackson for the long strike in the half-circle. 1-1

36 - Haig is slapped with the PK and Byrne just isn't good enough to stop it. 1-2

51 - Peel for Convery and striker switch; Cureton gets a rare appearance in place of Mitchell

62 - Way with the delivery to Peel in the box. It's, well, peeled away by a sliding tackle from the defense. Jackson is first to the loose ball and sinks his second goal, 18th score on the year. 2-2

89 - Haig on the corner to Way, who heads it to Gunn, and HE BOUNCES IT OFF THE KEEPER FOR HIS FIRST EVER VIKINGS GOAL AND THE LATE GO-AHEAD!!! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!!! 3-2

It's a god damn mob scene in the clubhouse, David Way proud of his PotM award with a 9.0 and Nicky Jackson with his 8.8. Kevin Haig came back from his fuckup for a 7.6, and we've clinched the title with a full 5 games to go!!!! Tiverton B's strangehold on the league is D-E-A-D DEAD!!!!

Celebrations all throughout the town tonight, as the Vikings and the fans enjoy one of their sweetest moments in team history.

[Izulde]

Andrew Gunn at 31 years old, 15 days, became the oldest goalscorer in the league this season with that game-winner. There have been older players though.

Since there's really nothing left to play for - Tiverton B went 31-0-3 the first season and scored 126 goals with 98 points - let's take a look at the current thinking of my assman. Note: There's still the single season assists and goals record for individuals to go for, so David Way, Nicky Jackson, and Tom Manning are all starter locks.

Note 2: I'm not going to cover everyone - just the relevant players at positions I realistically see them playing or have played for us.

Goalies
Jonathan Brown - 3.5/4 (20)
Steve Byrne - 5 silver/4 (19)

Brown has too many flaws in key areas for him to ever play more than an emergency role for us, so we'll keep on developing and starting Byrne, unless the better keeper's Anticipation and 1v1s improve.

Defenders - Left
Ryan Carolan - 2/2 (29) (Irish)
Stephane Ngamvolou - 1/1 (30) (French)
Leon Archer - 4 silver/4 (19)
Tim Lee - 2 silver/3.5 (17)

Lee really deserves to start all these last games to try and help accelerate his development. Carolan has been a major disappointment in his first few starts, and I'm surprised to see Archer with this high an upside on the left.

Defenders - Center
Bradley Bale - 4/4 (19) (Welsh)
Carolan - 2/2
Tristain Haswell - 1.5/3
Kevin Haig - 1/4 (18) (Welsh)
Ngamvolou - 1/1
Andrew Gunn - 1/1 (31)
Pierce Mitchell - 0.5/5 (22) (Irish)

I don't think Mitchell will ever reach that superlative upside. He hasn't shown any progress despite getting tons of starts. Definitely overachieving relative to his ratings, however. Bale busted, of course. Haig is someone I'm excited about. Haswell is far less than what we originally thought, and I'll be looking to move on from him.

Defenders - Right
Ngamvolou - 4/4
Archer - 2/4
Mitchell - 0.5/4.5

All great options here in terms of what they can be. Ngamvolou is going to sit as a reserve the rest of the season so I can develop these kids.

Defensive Midfielders
Haig - 1/4
Ngamvolou - 1/1
Gunn - 0.5/0.5

Haig has been great as the DM, but some better Anchorman talent would go a long way here.

Wingers - Left
Alex Clark - 3.5/4 (20)
Ngamvolou - 0.5/0.5
Tom Manning - 4.5 silver/3.5 (19)
Stuart Hawkins - 2.5 silver/1.5 (17)
Alex Morris - 2 silver/1.5 (19) (Welsh)

So far Clark has been eh. No real standout games, but he's still adjusting. It's cool to see Manning have that upside here, but I'm stunned our studly kid in Hawkins has such low upside. Definitely an area to watch.

Wingers - Right
Ngamvolou - 1/1
Manning - 5 silver/3.5
Leigh Ryan - 3.5 silver/4 (19)
Morris - 2 silver/2

Between Manning and Ryan, I like our future here if they develop. I'll admit - if the right player comes along who fits my scheme, Manning could end up a flash in the pan.

Attacking Midfielders - Center
Joe Rowberry - 4/4 (19) (Welsh)
David Way - 1/4 (19)
Luke Peel - 4.5 silver/4 (19)

Peel probably isn't long for the team - he wants more starts and we're just simply too stacked to give him much burn. It's a real shame, too, because I'd love to keep him and grow him.

Strikers
Nicky Jackson - 4/4 (19)
Way - 3.5/4
Robert Convery - 1.5/3.5 (19)
Peel - 1/4

I love my set of four strikers; I really do. Not really looking to make any changes here for the foreseeable future. Unlike with Beverley Town, the guys up front have been absolutely critical to our success.

Regular Non-English Players by Nationality
France: 1
Ireland: 2
Wales: 2

Obviously I'd like to beef this up over the next couple seasons. Finding international gems is my favorite part of FM, and I love Abe's Mellila (sp) dynasty with the South Korean infusion. Really gave his team flavor.

Note: This will be the last dynasty I play as an Amateur team working their way up the ranks. It's too easy to create a dominant squad for those levels, so whenever this one closes (won't be for a long time - I really want to see if I can push the Vikings to one of the best teams in England), I'll give somewhere else a try.

18 games unbeaten smashes the old Sidmouth Town record.

@ Totnes & Darlington (11th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Tom Manning
AM: David Way
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

23 - Jackson takes advantage of an inattentive defender to steal the ball, but he has to backpass. Eventually, Haig seeks Clark on the left wing. With a defender breathing down his neck, our new winger centers to Jackson for the high kick score. Finally, an assist! 1-0

57 - Way moves up to the Poacher spot, and Convery sits, with Peel the AMC.

81 - Peel plays out to Clark, but he's doubled teamed and sends it back to Haig, only to catch the higher, longer return pass and cross to Jackson for the latter's 20th goal of the season!!! 2-0

Kevin Haig (7.9), Alex Clark (PotM and 9.0 in his breakout game), and Nicky Jackson (8.8) were the stars in this one, but we were solid all over the field, including Luke Peel's 7.0 bench showing.

We're probably not going to catch Steve Godfrey for the single season goal record, but that's fine.

I hunt around for MR, DL, and DM immediate talent upgrades, but there's none to be found. Something to look at in the offseason, then.

vs Plymouth Argyle Reserves (4th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

22 - Rowberry out to Clark for the juggle-trap-control. Cross to Jackson bounces off the keeper's hands and sits there, allowing our closest chaser to Godfrey to tap it in. 1-0

74 - Peel in for Way and striker switch

81 - That's just one of those bombs you can't do anything about 1-1

Unlucky to draw, but I have to say, I absolutely LOVED the lavender jerseys our opponents were wearing. Note to self: Next dynasty, look for lavender hued team. That said, I *do* also love our horizontal striped shirts, both the red and the green versions.

Nicky Jackson is now just a goal behind Steve Godfrey in the scoring race.

We try to pry a Welsh central defender loose on transfer day, but he won't bite. We also miss on a Gibraltan AMC who rejects us with seconds left to spare. He'd be a fantastic backup to Joe Rowberry, so we'll try again in the summer.

@ Brixham (18th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

9 - Big time fire from Gunn, making two key interceptions in a row before short giving to Rowberry. Berry Blast hits Jackson, who dribbles downfield, then cuts into the box as the defender doesn't press him. Big mistake, as he slams in the goal. 1-0

19 - Way kicks it back to Clark and the high ball forward finds Jackson. Header's blocked, so he kicks it in for his second goal, and may have just taken the league scoring lead!! 2-0

26 - Mitchell, you fucking shit baboon! Don't give away careless PKs! 2-1

52 - Ngamvolou and Cureton replace Archer and Mitchell, because our backline has been piss poor today.

61 - Beautiful stomp and grab by Rowberry and he plays it to Jackson. Open field run, and the 30 yard why not sings in for the hat trick!!!! 3-1

88 Little run from Rowberry prior to the pass just inside the box to Jackson. The turnaround shot is past two defenders, and holy shit!!! Holy shit!!! Jackson is the fucking MAN, MAN! 4-1

9.0 for Joe Rowberry and 9.8!!! for the God of the Night, Nicky Jackson!!!

With 2 games left to play:

Nicky Jackson - 24 goals
Steve Godfrey (Appledore) - 22 goals
Louis Wells (Plymouth Argyle Reserves) - 20 goals

Improved Ability
Nicky Jackson - 4.5/4.5 (Southern League First Division South/West with Vanarama North/South potential!)
Joe Rowberry - 4/4 (Southern League First Division South/West)
Pierce Mitchell - 0.5/5?! (Western Premier)

For some reason, Pierce Mitchell's improvements aren't showing on his scouted screen - still says he's a good player for this level. I'm not sure when it's going to update. Joe Rowberry's didn't change because it didn't need to. Nicky Jackson's has in fact changed.

Guess I need to get a new Assman.

Alphington the next level up wins the Walter C. Parsons Cup. We're tagged as the biggest underachievers. Watch me not really care.

Tom Manning is done for the year after a training injury, but that just means a couple games for Leigh Ryan

vs Axminster
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Leigh Ryan
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

52 - I put the team on blast at halftime, because we're lollygagging out there. Rowberry, who has been particularly bad, blasts a 50 yarder to the right side for Ryan. Dribble and gorgeous center cross for Jackson to bank another one. 1-0

54 - We got jobbed on that one. Peel in for Rowberry

72 - Injury to Way, so Ngamvolou becomes the MC in a 4-1-3-1-1 DM setup we haven't used in a while

80 - That was some weak ass free kick defending by Lee. Fucking hell. 1-1

With one match left, Steve Godfrey needs 4 goals to beat Nicky Jackson outright, a hat trick to tie, and that's if Jackson is shut out in the last game. David Way will miss the final game, but he's been ice cold to end the year anyway.

Increased Ability
Tom Manning - Western Premier (No update)

Decreased Ability
Jory Cureton - South West Peninsula League Premier (No update)

Wish I knew what would trigger the updates. It's driving me insane. But for now, I'll just go with it.

@ Appledore (3rd)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Leigh Ryan
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

We're going to Mark/Close/Weaker Foot Steve Godfrey with hard tackling all the time to guarantee Nicky Jackson the scoring title.

8 - Aaaand of course we let Godfrey spring loose. Of course. 0-1

Cureton replaces Mitchell at the break, a scream fest because we're playing like absolute ass.

62 - Peel replaces Jackson, whose head just isn't in this game at all. Now it's up to us to contain Godfrey and also somehow fight to at least salvage a point and keep our unbeaten streak alive.

90 - Rowberry runs to get the pass into space by Lee and near posts the cross to Convery. Shot's pushed away, and Ryan steps up to deliver the last second equalizer!!! They're screaming offsides, but that's bullshit because there were at least two defenders capable of closing in. They just didn't mark him at all, and that's Ryan's first ever Vikings goal at a critical moment!!!! 1-1

7.7 for Leigh Ryan as we bounced back from a horrific first half. That assclown Steve Godfrey won PotM with an 8.3, but no win for him and no scoring title!!!

Screens/Discussion/etc to come later. For now, I'm just reveling in Nicky Jackson's late season surge to steal the scoring crown and league record.

[Izulde]

Sorry for the bad edit job. :P Anyway, as you can see our backline still needs adjusting/improvement, but our midfielders and strikers were all super amazing.



Stuart Hawkins and Nicky Jackson both broke the league records in their respective categories. Tom Manning and Kevin Haig[/b] both tied for the league lead in yellow cards with 9 a piece, Stuart Hawkins tied for third with 6.

Nicky Jackson and Steve Godfrey tied for most PotM awards with 6, so I'm a little salty he got the last one. Stuart Hawkins and Tom Manning ranked 1st and 2nd in Distanced Covered/90 minutes at 8.5 and 8.42 miles respectively Nicky Jackson also completed a league-best 81% of his passes and had the fewest minutes between goals at 76.92 - Second place? Louis Wells with 93.18, and then it was a big drop to Steve Godfrey at 121.30. Robert Convery and Tom Manning shared in a three way tie for 1st in assists with 13.

Just a quick gloss of leaders as we're not staying here, obviously.



Wow. I think Nicky Jackson got hosed in the voting. I mean, I'm not going to argue about Stuart Hawkins, but no way it should have been that big of a margin. Not going to show the All-Time Best 11 yet because it's an old formation.

Bank Balance: $29,789 ($15.2k profit this season)
Club Value: $50k (+$15k over last year)

Everything else stayed the same financially/facilities wise. We over doubled our money from the first three years in a single season. That's what happens when you hire someone awesome like me.

Impressive Yearly Training
Alex Morris
Tim Lee
Tom Manning

Bad Yearly Training
Jory Cureton

Favored Personnel
Jack Mitchell
Stuart Hawkins
Tom Manning

Izulde Jestor Favored Manager
Stuart Hawkins
Tom Manning

Sidmouth Town Favored Club - Player
Stuart Hawkins
Tom Manning

I didn't know if this was going to happen yet, but as it turns out...



Obviously they mean the next level up, but things haven't rolled over yet.

The offer comes in at $2.1k - the usual bullshit. $4k is the standard, but they're not having it. $2.5k offer is counter, with warning that I need to get closer on my next one. I come back with $3k and they accept that. It's possible that the $4k I'm seeing is everyone's new contract.

So far, I haven't been given a payroll budget to sign guys, which makes me a little nervous. I want to start locking dudes down. The problem is, they might be asking for too much money - the coach I want to keep insists on getting paid more than I do, which isn't going to fly. So I'm fine just letting everyone stay on amateur month to month contracts.

Contract Signings
Robert Convery - $55 P/A (estimated $2.8k)
Kevin Haig - $35 P/A (estimated $1.5k)
Steve Byrne - $40 P/A (estimated $1.8k)
Leon Archer - $45 P/A (estimated $2.4k)

That's $8.5k to lock in 4 starters. Our real big names are asking for way more than that, but it's just not feasible with our budget, which, although it hasn't been set, I've mentally calculated as $16k.

The board agrees with my request to start looking for a parent club in order to get players on loan and save money that way. Unfortunately, they can't find anyone.

We jump from 16th to 4th in reputation in the South West Peninsula Division One East. That's pretty damn awesome!

Coach Signing
Ryan Dovell - $3.3k (Holdover from staff)

$11.8k now. I was able to talk him down to making only slightly more than I do, thankfully, as he's really, really good.

$12.9k after we ink Pierce Mitchell to a $30 P/A deal, and actually that number is probably higher, so we'll sit with this group for now, as it's very close to my self-imposed limitations.

The board wants to increase coaching salary wages, and I'm just like, but what about training facilities? They're not happy with that idea. Oops. Next time I'll just shut up and say okay.

We make a slight profit - $168 - in the month of June, which is awesome. Maybe I can start gradually getting more players as time goes on.

Oh, we also have a payroll budget now of $70k, and evidently I'm spending $8k of it. After a lot of thought and reflection, Joe Rowberry and Nicky Jackson are just too vital to our team success to let walk away, so I negotiate them down to $120 P/A. It's a steep price, yes, but we'd be sunk without them. We also shell out $95 P/A to Alex Clark.

On the flip side, the board are being assholes about meeting the very reasonable demands of Tom Mitchell, Leigh Ryan, and Tim Lee. Crazytown is Stuart Hawkins, who wants as much as our stars. Um, nope.

Transfer budget bonus from sales is up to 30% now. Good joss.

Increased Potential Ability
Tim Lee - Southern League First Division South/West

Transfer Out
Tristain Haswell - $29k - Whitchurch
Bradley Bale - Non-Contract - Ashton & Blackwell United

Wow! I can't believe Haswell conned Whitchurch into giving him that kind of cash! That might be the biggest shock signing I've ever seen, and I've seen some doozies.

South West Peninsula Premier League Promotion Odds
Sidmouth Town: 1-5
Falmouth: 4-6
Westbury: 6-4
Elburton Villa: 5-1
Longwell Green: 16-1

Gee, thanks for that pressure. Our payroll has also ballooned to 41.5k after the recent signings, which is slightly more than our total revenue last year, I think. So we'll just hang tight now, and I mean it.

Robert Convery dislocates his jaw and is out 5-6 weeks. Cool or something. We lost $2.29k last month, probably because the wage budget was so high. Have to keep an eye on that.

We go 2-0-2 in friendly play. Kevin Haig is promoted to Captain, with Alex Clark taking the vice captain slot. A lot of people are happy with that, even though Haig feels pressured.

Jonathan Brown leads an insurrection, and while I manage to talk most of the team down, I'm so pissed at his instigator shit that I cut his ass.

Loan In - DC/MC/DM Marcus Casey (17) - From Dorchester
Huge get - 11 Tackling, 15 Aggression, 12 Decisions, 12 Strength. Really stabilizes our backline and he's also comfortable playing the Anchorman role. Whilst he's struggled at previous loans in higher divisions, I think he'll do well here, and get the kind of PT he needs to develop that he hasn't yet so far.

The board expects us to win the league, get to the third round of the FA Vase, and reach the championship game of the Walter C. Parsons Cup. Definitely a lot higher expectations here now.

Luke Peel and Steve Mason want out. Things are looking pretty chaotic here, and team morale is sketchy at best at the moment. It's a tough situation all around.

[Izulde]

@ Godolphin Athletic
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Marcus Casey/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Why pay people when you don't have to? Hence the omission of Pierce Mitchell from the lineup, as he's quite content on a Rotation deal. I'm going to treat the gang with kid gloves until we get our morale back up.

52 - Peel for Way and striker switch; Ngamvolou for Casey

57 - Peel draws the PK, but Jackson's shot is blocked. Rough. So rough.

So there's 20 teams in the league - Bottom two relegate and the champion promotes. That means 38 games total. By the way, we now have 24 consecutive games without a loss. 11 season ticket sales, one more than last year. I finally get tired of Luke Peel complaining and cut him. Wanted to keep him, but no go.

vs Helston (8th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Marcus Casey/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

5 - Haig to Rowberry to Way to Jackson straight line, and we're on the scoreboard finally! 1-0

15 - Rowberry connects with a long ground pass to Way. He's being jammed up by two defenders, so he lays off to the wide open Clark, and there's his first Vikings goal!!!! 2-0

17 - LOL! Thanks for that own goal! 3-0

38 - That was Casey's flub 3-1

41 - Way lays it out to Manning for the pass into box space. Rowberry runs up and blasts in the mid-range shot! 4-1

71 - Byrne makes the easy stop and jackhammers it downfield to Clark. Ball's stripped, but Clark gets it right back and laterals to Rowberry. Rainbow strike hits Way, he dribbles a little further into the box, and ends his goal drought! 5-1

Everyone had at least a 7.1 and Kevin Haig (8.8), Tom Manning (8.0), Alex Clark and Joe Rowberry (9.0), and PotM David Way (9.2) particularly electrified.

A match gets rearranged because some other team has an FA Cup game. Funny, the board didn't mention any FA Cup expectations. Maybe we don't meet the standard to play?

@ Launceston (3rd)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Steve Mason/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Andrew Gunn/Stephane Ngamvolou/Leigh Ryan
S: David Way

4-1-4-1 DM setup today due to short rest and a need to do a lot of shuffling.

53 - Cureton in for injured Mason. Their keeper has just been having a world class day in the net. Huge reason why they're 2-0-0 so far.

Not much you can do on a night when the opposing keeper has an 8.2 rating.

Steve Mason is out 2 weeks with injury. Not a huge deal because of how low value he is in our setup, though.

I try to throw huge amounts of money at a player but just when I'm about to try and start getting creative, my mouse doubleclicks on me at the wrong time and angry face happens. Probably for the best, really. But knowing me, I'll try again, just because.

Transfer Out - Steve Mason - $3.3k - St. Ives
Whatever. Not a big deal at all. 11% of your payroll on a backup is bad business anyway.

Loss of $1.35k last month. My position has now slipped to Very Secure, as the board isn't pleased with how we've come out of the gate. Give me a fucking break. We're one missed PK and a superhuman performance by a keeper from being right up at the top.

[Izulde]

@ Falmouth (18th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Marcus Casey/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

57 - Ryan for Manning; Ngamvolou for Carolan

71 - Haig throws into Jackson, gets it back, and short passes to Rowberry. High forward cross lands and Clark steps up to power in the short goal 1-0

Alex Clark's 7.9 is PotM as we grind out an ugly win that leaps us from 12th all the way to 3rd. St. Blazey has won the first four games in league play and are strongly in 1st.

@ Cogenhoe (FA Vase First Qualifying Round)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Marcus Casey/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Alex Clark/Tom Manning
AM: Joe Rowberry
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

This is the nicest stadium we've ever been in. Ryan replaces tired Manning at half, but truthfully, we're lucky to still be tied at this point.

64 - Mitchell goes on for Gunn

67 - Our first offensive highlight of the entire game sees Rowberry pop a longball ahead of Way, and our only non-paid striker drive into the box for the go ahead score! 1-0

78 - Rowberry and Way trade a couple passes while they run downfield, the last resulting in Way's pass into the box for Jackson and the sorely needed insurance goal! 2-0

84 - You don't stop cannon shots like that 2-1

Let's be honest - we were thoroughly and completely outplayed here, but we got lucky and escaped with a win. And it was an important win, because a cool $1.01k gets dropped into our coffers. That's the single biggest cash infusion we've had yet. And do it, we beat a team that's actually able to pay players contracts. In fact, it's considered the biggest talking point of the round.

Transfer Out - Joe Rowberry - $12k - Didcot
Had to happen sometime, and he hasn't played that well overall to start the year. Still a crushing blow to lose one of our best players like this. On the bright side, that's a ton of money saved as one of our highest P/A players leaves town. And we can have David Way take over for him.

vs Exmouth (17th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Jory Cureton/Leon Archer
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Alex Clark/Tom Manning
AM: David Way
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

4 - Just outside the reach of Byrne, unfortunately. 0-1

41 - Gunn wrecks face, gets the ball, and sends it to Way. Booming kick finds Manning for the dribble and near post cross to Jackson's head, and that's in. 1-1

Manning moves to the left side and Ryan goes in, as Clark is injured at half.

49 - Thanks for the own goal! 2-1

59 - Ngamvolou subs in for Archer

61 - Massive fuckup by the backline 2-2

77 - Way snags a clearance and laterals to Ryan for the first touch bomb outside the box, and it goes in!!! 3-2

90 - The right side of the pitch is WIDE OPEN, so Jackson passes into space for Ryan to pick up, run, and counter cross to Manning for the latter's first goal of the year and victory clincher. 4-2

8.3 for Tom Manning, heroic 8.2 off the bench for Leigh Ryan, and a PotM worthy 8.7 for David Way. Bad news is Alex Clark is out 6-7 weeks.

I've decided not to dole out contracts to our guys. If they're going to leave anyway, like Joe Rowberry did, why spend the money?

vs Alphington (10th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Lee Ryan
AM: David Way
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

Our striker and AMC situation is dire in terms of rest and bodies due to like 3 games in a week. Not feeling good about this one.

66 - Manning for Hawkins; Ngamvolou for Haig

We got hard luck here. Outplayed them and just couldn't get that one goal we needed to win. The opposite of what happened in the FA Vase game, really. That's our 30th straight unbeaten game, by the way.

@ Liverton United (10th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Marcus Casey/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: David Way
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

26 - Amazing save by Byrne as prelude to a full-pitch rocket to Way. Three defenders immediately on him, so he outlets to his right, where Jackson picks up the pass and sings it home! 1-0

56 - Gunn blew that coverage and so he gets yanked for Mitchell. So pissed right now. Manning left side, and Ngamvolou in at MR. 1-1

63 - Fuck you!!! Convery was onside!!!

68 - Stunning, pristine longball by Way after the throw in. Jackson wins the race, sets his shot, and slams in the scorcher! Eat that, ref! 2-1

82 - Haig to Convery to Jackson. Dribbles into the box, and soft loft over the keeper's head for his hat trick!!!! 3-1

7.9 for Kevin Haig, 9.0 for David Way, 7.8 for Robert Convery despite continuing his goal drought, and a lovely 9.5 and PotM for Nicky Jackson. We're now a goal behind on GD and St. Blazey with a game in hand on us, but points wise, we're tied for 1st.

Loan In - MC/AMC Gickes Leverock (17) - From Gloucester
Ironically, my name was just mentioned for the vacant manager spot, but I really want to see how far I can take the Vikings. 12 Flair and 12 Work Rate - Not to mention some very nice physicals. He'll suit up at our AMC slot.

Decreased Ability
Ryan Carolan - Now just a dude who is a leader at this level.

Loan In - AMCR/MCR Rob Pike (18) - From Stratford
10 First Touch, 10 Technique, strong all around mentals. I'm going to give him a shot at MR and train him as a Defensive Forward (he's Competent as a striker) to maximize his flexibility. Probably moves to the bench once Alex Clark comes back from injury, but a valuable player nonetheless.

vs Elburton Villa (15th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Marcus Casey/Leon Archer
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Tom Manning/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

Matches are all squared up at 7, and we're tied on both GD and points with St. Blazey heading into this one. They're ahead presumably on total wins - 5 to our 4.

15 - Haig with the pass to Leverock. Perfect feed into box space for Pike. His shot cracks off the post, but Pike kicks in the rebound with authority for the debut goal!!!! 1-0

35 - Leverock makes a brilliant interception on the corner and longballs it to Convery. Wing to Pike and he runs downfield before executing an exquisite cross to Manning for the open score! 2-0

59 - Lee swaps out for Carolan; Way for Convery as we switch out two guys having awful days.

7.6 for Tom Manning and a stunning 7.9 PotM debut for loanee Rob Pike. Wow!!! Better still, St. Blazey lost and we're now in sole possession of 1st place!!!

We lost $866 last month, and thus far have lost $4k total on the year. I'm surprised that happened, given we lost Joe Rowberry, Alex Clark is injured, and we got $1.01k for winning the FA Vase. Weird.

[Izulde]

Let's look closer at income vs expenditures.

So last month, we had $5,936 income and $6,801 in expenses. The bulk of the costs came from $2,244 in appearance bonuses. We played 6 games, meaning our average bonuses per game was $374.

Nicky Jackson - $120
Alex Clark - $95
Robert Convery - $55
Leon Archer - $45
Steve Byrne - $40
Kevin Haig - $35
Pierce Mitchell - $30

Let's say every one of these guys played. That would be $420 if I have my math right. Remove Alex Clark's $95 and that's $325 - which would be $294 less total payroll - still not enough to get us in the black. If we remove Robert Convery's $55, that gets us down to $239 and very close to the break-even point, which we can then get to by taking out Leon Archer's $45 p/a.

Why not subtract Nicky Jackson? Because he's our most vital player, that's why. So we do have ways of cutting down to the bone here and getting solvent. Eventually what we want to do is reach the point where we're able to pay out actual contracts, and that starts with carefully selecting youth pulls at $400 or 500 a year for dirt cheap talent. We can't run on amateur contracts forever, unfortunately.

@ St Austell (4th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Marcus Casey/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

24 - Leverock recovers the ball after Hawkins loses it and sends a diagonal pass to Jackson, followed by a lateral to Pike. He dribbles into the box, picks his spot, and fires his second goal in as many games! 1-0

38 - Stay in the fucking net, Byrne! Ugh!!! 1-1

58 - Lee for Carolan and Cureton for Gunn

63 - Leverock's midrange pass finds Jackson for the first touch to Pike and a beautiful return feed into the box, Jackson having run forward to get the ball and hammer it home!! 2-1

92 - Pike is tackled and we get a free kick. He says he's hurt, but St. Austell is screaming he's faking and just wasting time to run out the clock.

Not the prettiest of wins, but Rob Pike's 8.2 PotM outing single-handedly carries the day for us in beating a team near the top of the table on their own turf.

@ Seaford Town (FA Vase Second Qualifying Round)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Pierce Mitchell/Jory Cureton/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Tom Manning/Leigh Ryan
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

We continue to be hard done by in the FA Vase - another away match against a higher level team, and worse yet, one that's won 6 straight. Going to be very tough to get a win here.

22 - HE WAS OFFSIDES!!! 0-1

26 - Casey intercepts and wings out to Manning. He jukes the defender and passes into the box, where Jackson shakes off the defense and absolutely drills in the near-immediate answer 1-1

27 - JFC, that's two fucking goals we've allowed on free kicks 1-2

30 - Our whole defense is absolutely fucking SHIT 1-3

I spend the money to put Archer in at half to replace Ngamvolou

55 - Carolan moves inside, replacing Cureton and Lee pops in at DL

That's our first loss in like 40 games or something. Really pissed right now at that shitlord performance.

Decreased Potential Ability
Robert Convery - Downgraded to Western Premier level

Lovely. One of the few guys we're paying.

vs Longwell Green (7th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Marcus Casey/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

9 - Damn right cover your head with your hands, Casey. That shit is your fault 0-1

10 - Jackhammer to Jackson for the run and cross to the flying out of nowhere Hawkins. Immediate answer. 1-1

31 - Way is getting pressured at the box line, so he kicks back to Leverock and runs forward to catch the return pass, beating everyone and destroying the keeper. 2-1

36 - We block a free kick and Way starts the counter with a center pitch run before laying off to Pike. Advance continues until he stops and hits a sonic cross where streaking Hawkins is all alone to fire home the master stroke! 3-1

Casey's complacent, sucking ass sits at half for Cureton

67 - Complete fuck up by the defense on the set piece AGAIN! 3-2

68 - Lee jogs on for Carolan

78 - Haig to Leverock to Way, and there's the insurance. I'm going to have these guys work on defending set pieces the rest of the damn year. 4-2

7.6 for Rob Pike, matching 8.8s for Stuart Hawkins and David Way, but it's Gickes Leverock's 9.0 PotM performance that deserves the most plaudits. Quite a few complacent looking guys in the backline. The victory does extend our lead to 5 points and we're officially 10 games in the books.

@ Westbury (14th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Andrew Gunn/Marcus Casey/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

27 - Fuck. 0-1

35 - This. 0-2

51 - Lee and Cureton replace our fullbacks

76 - Shit. 0-3

Stephane Ngamvolou is out 7-8 weeks with a sports hernia. He's been ass anyway, so whatever.

@ Liskeard Athletic (20th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Herbie Harrington/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/John Parsons
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

We call up a couple of youth pulls from previous years to shake up our horrible backline, and I think the Casey/Haig switch will prove beneficial for both those guys too.

12 - Fire in the Leverock as he fights to get the ball back twice, including when Jackson is cut down in the box. Tapper to Way for the box pass to now free Jackson, and there's the lead. 1-0

19 - Leverock to Jackson to Pike. Defender misses the tackle, so the center to Way results in a curve shot around the defender for the insurance. 2-0

21 - Kickback to Leverock by Pike, and the ball to Jackson sees a dribble and shot behind the keeper! We're playing angry and amped, just as we should be. 3-0

30 - Hard-charging Herbie Harrington intercepts a pass and hammers it to Way. Defense on him so he laterals to completely alone Jackson and there's the first half hat-trick!!! WESTSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE!!!! 4-0

40 - Roaring sliding tackle just outside the box by Casey, and Jackson picks it up for the pass into space. Keeper hesitates, and Way takes advantage of the pause to get there and scorch it in!!! "Good Vibrations" is playing on Pandora and we are L-I-T LIT! 5-0

How fire are we? Everyone but the keeper has a 7.4 minimum at half.

72 - Byrne drops the ball - literally - and a goal rolls in. 5-1

Weirdly, everyone looks wound up and frustrated after the game. Probably because we couldn't score more in the second half. No worries, though. What was true at half holds by game end. The 8+ guys: Kevin Haig (8.3), Marcus Casey (8.0), Rob Pike (8.2), Gickes Leverock (8.0), Nicky Jackson (9.7 and PotM), and David Way (9.5). It was the ultimate fuck you Izulde after I harangued them after last game and before this one.

6 point lead now, and our +15 GD destroys everyone else. I'm super happy my switch of Casey and Haig worked to perfection, too.

Loan In - DR Nick Williams (17) - From Westfields
Err... 11 Acceleration and some decent stats in some areas, but he's nowhere near as good as I thought he'd be. Damn. That said, I brought him in to get first team experience, and that's precisely what he'll get, even if he doesn't impress much. I do like him better than John Parsons in some key areas.

[Izulde]

vs Newquay (15th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Herbie Harrington/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Nick Williams
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

51 - Pike shifts up to DF, Way out as Jackson moves to Poacher, and Manning comes in as MR.

57 - Cureton subs in for Williams

61 - Cureton plays it up to Pike, and he holds up until he can split two defenders to send it to Manning. Cross to charging Hawkins and there's the go ahead goal. 1-0

7.5 and PotM for Stuart Hawkins. Not the prettiest win, but 3 points is 3 points

I'm successful in slashing bonuses to $1,220 but we still record a $1.65k loss due to travel costs and struggles getting attendance up. I can't pare it down much more than I have, and I guess I need to find bigger clubs to come play friendlies here.

@ Westbury (Walter C. Parson Cup Second Round)
G: Steve Byrne
D: John Parsons/Ryan Carolan/Kevin Haig/Nick Williams
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Oh, look. We keep getting screwed in trophy draws.

9 - Dribble, dribble, dribble goes Leverock. The pop ball hits Manning in the box, and the strings swish with his shot! 1-0

32 - For some reason, "Good Vibrations" comes on my Pandora again, and I'm chuckling, thinking it'd be hilarious if this lead to a goal. Manning passes to Way in the semi-circle. He dribbles around and cracks a shot a little further in, and there's the goal!!! 2-0

34 - Aaaaaand of course Manning gets knocked out right after. Sigh. Get in there, Ryan.

"Manning has been sensational in the first half! Westbury can't handle him!" Uh, they kinda did... injuring him and shit.

60 - Cureton comes in for Williams

85 - Casey runs down the cleared corner and sends it back to kicker Ryan. Their defense hasn't gotten back fast enough, so it's an easy matter for the cross to Hawkins and the firm we're advancing goal. 3-0

Impressive game, with all the original starters except Byrne and Jackson still on the field netting 7.1 or better. 8.0 for Kevin Haig, 8.2 for Stuart Hawkins, 8.1 for Gickes Leverock, 8.3 for David Way and PotM Tom Manning.

Blargh. We lose Tom Manning for 2 months. That really sucks.

Tim Lee refuses to be tutored by Andrew Gunn. Dipass. Oh, I forgot to mention a couple updates ago, Gunn is now clam happy.

vs Ivybridge (14th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Herbie Harrington/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Nick Williams
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

4 - Annoying song on Pandora, and we give up the early goal. Bleh. 0-1

55 - Taylor Swift has always been a huge crush of mine because she reminds me vaguely of the ex I've never gotten over. "Blank Space" is playing, and Jackson dribbles down the right flank for the cross to exciting winger Hawkins to equalize. 1-1

56 - Sooo I forgot to put Gunn back in, and Carolan is sucking hobbit snot at DC. Switch made. Additionally, Way drops to AMC, Jackson to Poacher, Pike to DF, Ryan in at MR.

91 - Casey recovers an errant pass and absolutely hoofs it to Jackson for the dribble and late score!!!! DES-PA-CI-TO!!!!!!! 2-1

8.3 for PotM Stuart Hawkins and matching 7.7s for Marcus Casey and Nicky Jackson. Fantastic comeback win after I yelled at the team at halftime. 9 point lead, bitches. That's something to celebrate with Patron on ice.

John Parsons strains his groin and is on ice for a month.

@ Bodmin (13th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Herbie Harrington/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Nick Williams
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

53 seconds - Scrum on defense and Williams emerges with the ball for a rainbow to Way ahead of everyone. The track meet is on and our striker with no money burns them all, firing in the nets with authority. 1-0

13 - A cavernous stadium with so comparatively few people to watch Way slip it forward to Hawkins. Run and cross and accelerated Pike kicks it in with ice in his veins - ice, ice baby that beauty of a goal is so cold. 2-0

23 - Hawkins' free kick is headed away, but the ball belly flops and it's an ensuing mob, with Way ninja styo finding it and kicking it in out of nowhere! 3-0

65 - Haig throws into Williams and his high ball locates Way for the hat trick!!! And Iiiiiiiiiii willllll allwaaaaaaaaaays loooooooovvveee you David Way and Nicky Jackson!!! I just wish I could afford to pay you, bae Way. 4-0

68 - Fluke goal. Whatever. 4-1

Our entire backline and DM were 7.0 or higher (not the keeper tho). Lot of 7.8 guys tonight: Nicky Williams, Kevin Haig, and Rob Pike, but the truly amazing hero is of course David Way tricking his way to a 9.5 and PotM. 15 league matches in and we're coasting so far.

vs Torpoint (15th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Herbie Harrington/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Nick Williams
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Bodmin took out their frustration on St. Blazey 6-3. Wow!

45 - Fucking just before half goal bullshit. 0-1

59 - I fucked up and forgot to reset my subs, so it's just Carolan in for Gunn, even though we need to replace more dudes than that. Actually, you know what? Fuck it. Ryan at ML

Absolutely pathetic.

@ St Blazey (10th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Herbie Harrington/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Nick Williams
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Wow. They've fallen on hard times from their hot start to the year.

75 - FUCKING DEFEND SET PIECES, YOU SHITSTAINS! Carolan at DL and I'm super pissed now. 0-1

Our lead has shrunk to 6 points after those two pitiful outings.

Our smallest loss yet last month at just $125. I've shrunk bonuses down to $983, so maybe I can get this ship righted financially after all.

vs Tavistock (20th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Herbie Harrington/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Nick Williams
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

36 - Authoritative boom kick from Casey to connect with Way. He dribbles down the left flank, then stops. Center to Jackson, and our cold snap ends. 1-0

38 - Leverock weights one out to Pike for the short dribble, stop, and near post pass to Jackson for his second goal. 2-0

58 - Set piece fuckup? Set piece fuckup. Williams gets yanked so hard for Ngamvolou the Frenchman shouts "Sacre Bleu!" We also move Haig up to DM and put in Carolan because Casey is tired as a ho 2-1

We grit this one out to end our losing streak on the back of Nicky Jackson's 8.8 PotM performance. Am I thrilled we struggled to beat the worst team in the league home at Manstone Lane? Fuck no. But we're back with an 8 point clearance.

vs St Austell (Walter C Parson Cup Third Round)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Herbie Harrington/Ryan Carolan/Kevin Haig/Nick Williams
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Alex Clark/Leigh Ryan
AM: David Way
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

We're actually getting a decent crowd for this one because these jokers are in 2nd place in the league. That's rare for trophy matches outside of the final. My gut says to splash the cash for this match.

36 - When I tell you fuckers to close down on someone, that doesn't mean leave him wide fucking open. Carolan pulling his best Gunn suck during big matches impression. 0-1

45 - Convery gathers in the pass, two snow white defenders sitting there, so he plays back to Clark. Stunning cross to Jackson for the score, and I'm feeling justified shelling out the extra $140 for this game. 1-1

First order of business at halftime - yank Carolan for Ngamvolou

66 - Leverock kicks Way to the bench

71 - FUCK YOU POST!!!!! FUCK DFHSLDHFGOADSHGOAFHGOHAEFOGHOAHGOIARHFGOHASOG BULLSHITw! BULLSHIT! I PISSED AWAY $140 TO FUCKING LOSE TO THOAHSOFGHOASIGHOSHGOASHGOAGHOAYHROH34TH3O25H6O2H62OH6OHO 1-2

Once again we completely assfuck a fucking Cup run. Fucking horseshit. Fucking fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!!!!!! I want to go beat the fuck out of a Nazi until he fucking bleeds out.

Leon Archer is out 6-7 weeks with injury. Not that I've been playing him anyway.

Transfer Out - Leon Archer - Amateur - Sompting
Good move for both sides. If I hadn't foolishly signed to him a P/A deal, this would probably be a different tale. Oh well.

vs Millbrook (4th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Herbie Harrington/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/John Parsons
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Nick Williams has been bitterly disappointing, so he'll sit his ass down for a spell.

31 - Fucking Parsons. 0-1

Parsons is shunted off for Ngamvolou at half.

50 - Haig up to DM, Carolan at DC

80 - Hawkins has to backtrack for the pass from Way and dribbles forward. On the center, Jackson also has to backpedal, but he forces the shot in for a late equalizer 1-1

We got dicked over by the ref, who gave us 6 yellow cards, which was total bullshit. Anyway, at 19 games, we're halfway through and still in the lead by 7 points. Really struggling to develop winning consistency now, though.

May be time to throw in a tactical surprise to try and get out of this sudden slump we're in.

[Izulde]

Nasty surprise awaits during training when Nicky Jackson tears his hernia and is out 2 months. Just fucking great.

@ Heiston (15th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Jory Cureton/Kevin Haig/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Andrew Gunn/Gickes Leverock/Rob Pike
S: David Way

4-1-4-1 DM it is.

27 - SMFH. 0-1

Ngamvolou continues to be lousy, so I yank him for Parsons

60 - Manning swaps in for Hawkins

Really unlucky to lose that one.

Loan In - DL Ifeanyi Chibuike (17) - From Bracknell
11 Stamina is his only noteworthy rating for a FB, but we need to try *something*.

Loan In - DR Robert Burt (17) - From Whitehawk
Fantastic physical attributes for this level, including 11 Acceleration and 12 Stamina. Also 12 Teamwork, and he'll slot in perfectly as the fullback on the right side. Neither he nor Chibuike, who has Nigerian lineage, have played great for their other loaned clubs, but higher levels and all.

vs Godolphin Athletic (17th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Robert Burt
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Tom Manning/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Robert Convery

22 - Convery runs down his own header into space and centers to Way for a relieving go ahead score. 1-0

36 - Pike is pressured, so he kicks it back to Leverock and runs ahead for the return pass. Dribble near post pass to Convery and the latter's long, long ice streak comes to an end! One of my favorite songs - Keri Hilson (feat. Kanye, Ne-Yo) "Knock You Down" - comes on Pandora shortly before this starts, too. 2-0

39 - Gorgeous longball header clearance by Convery to Way, who afterburners his way down the field and just as two defenders are about to crunch him in the box, he passes back to Leverock just outside of the penalty area, and everyone is stunned to see the kid score his first Vikings goal!!! 3-0

69 - Sigh. 3-1

73 - Hawkins for Manning; Haig moves to DM and Cureton comes in at DC

We didn't get PotM, but we did get a vital win to finally shake off the doldrums. David Way's 7.7 was our big highlight. It also ends a respective 8+ hour drought (Way) and 13+ hour drought (Convery) for both strikers.

Oh, by the way, we had 5 of 11 starters as loanees! That's probably what triggered the Flexible Steam achievement, but I'll have to check on that.

$1.77k profit last month!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're back up to the $4k loss we were a few months ago. Despite the splurge for the Cup game, bonuses were only $983 due to no paid strikers in the 4-1-4-1 DM game and Robert Convery being $55 per appearance to injured Nicky Jackson's $120. Attendance is still an issue - despite the promotion, we're averaging 84 at the moment - slightly below last season's 86. And our high attendance has just been 98.

vs Launceston (15th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Jory Cureton/Robert Burt
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Tom Manning/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Robert Convery

Marcus Casey has been in a slump lately, so I'll give him a couple games off.

8 - Dear backline, get the FUCK BACK on that shit. Thanks, Me 0-1

59 - Ngamvolou runs in for Burt, Pike moves to DF, Manning to MR, and Hawkins come in.

67 - Leverock fetches the cleared free kick and wings out to Haig. Center to Pike, and that goal hits the net. 1-1

75 - ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?! 1-2

And just like that, our lead is down to 4 points. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?!?! I don't give a fuck if Kelly Clarkson is singing a soothing song right now. You're not supposed to break away from your great play earlier in the season!!!

Nick Williams goes home. Good, you fucking disappointment.

Sure. Fucking sure, Pandora. Pour salt in the wounds by playing "Donna" which my brain automatically corrects to "Danae". Fuck it. I'm going to start drinking wine.

... "It's been a long day without you my friend... and I'll tell you all about it when I see you again" ...Really? Really?! Chaining that shit on top of what came before?! Eat a dick, Pandora.

@ Exmouth (5th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Jory Cureton/Robert Burt
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Tom Manning/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Robert Convery

Yo, if you guys could get a win here, that would be really fucking awesome. Oh, your morale is shit? Mine, too. Mine fucking too.

38 - If there wasn't wine in this bottle, and it wasn't glass, I'd be tempted to throw it. 0-1

44 - Not marking David Smith would be suicidal because he crosses better than all your dudes. No shit?

63 - Is that actually Gunn dribbling down the right flank and crossing?!?! Fuck me running, it is! Way with the slide tackle into goal!! That one's for your boy, Mr. B.B. Gunn. I chuckle whenever I see that username bee tee dubs. I should make subs. Ngamvolou for Burt, even though both dudes are making me sigh. Casey at DM, with Haig dropping to DC and kicking out... Nevermind. Just got an assist. Uh, we'll go with Pike to DF and the usual switch stuff Stuart blah blah 1-1

"Exmouth Town might feel they should have won that game". ...Yeah, pretty much. Our lead is now down to just 2 points. Time to drink some more and watch the inevitable collapse.

"Fight For Love"? Heh, tried that, Elliott. When I got drunk about a year or so ago. Email went unanswered. Friend requests, which I haven't done in a long time, went the same route. Do I depress myself even further, maybe even clue FOFC in? Nope - not enough alcohol. I think I need to go to 7-11 for the second time today. First time was smokes. Parliament 100s if you care.

My assman says I need to get Tim Lee because our Nigerian-English loanee is sucking. Sure, why the fuck not? I kinda like whatever is playing now. "Wanna Be A Balla" featuring too many artists that I don't feel like typing out right now.

I just misread "Juicy Peach Notes" as "Judgy Peach Notes". I mean, they wouldn't be wrong. Unemployed, living in a not great apartment in one of Vegas' ghetto areas - there's not a lot thrilling about my life right now.

"Sidmouth Town face difficult Falmouth challenge". Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit - everything is a difficult challenge now.

vs Falmouth (9th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Tim Lee/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Robert Burt
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Tom Manning/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Robert Convery

Well, shit. Even the announcer favors Falmouth. FML. I'm laugh-crying as I tell the team to go enjoy themselves. The 1st place team playing the 9th place franchise and we're the underdogs... lolololol... why the fuck am I singing along to Justin Bieber anyhow?

35 - Ofc they just warn opponent, and yellow card Lee. Oh, look, there's a soft header over Byrne head. Yes, DJ Khaled with an ensemble of feature artists, I'm the One. The One who is going to get fired. 0-1

Cureton to DR, Ngamvolou at DL, Casey at DM, Haig replacing at DC at half. Fuck it, burn subs at half.

69 - Ngamvolou hits the corner, and somehow the ball does bouncy things, letting Convery dart forward to slam in the equalizer. Be nice to get a fucking win. 1-1

Way should have won that game for us, but we'll hug that point, because it makes us 3 points clear of 2nd.

@ Alphington (2nd)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Pierce Mitchell/Kevin Haig/Robert Burt
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Tom Manning/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Robert Convery

8 - Elliott Yamin "Wait For You" is so appropriate on so many levels right now. 0-1

12 - Casey - Leverock - Convery straight line and ofc shot is blocked, but Way charges like an angry elephant and banks in the difficult rebound. Fuck yeah. But we'll still lose or draw, because that's how assrific we are now. 1-1

42 - Fucking told you 1-2

47 - Leverock heads to Convery and then runs ahead to get the return ball in space, slamming the equalizer. 2-2

60 - Leverock to Convery and the short ass pass in space has Way beating everyone to put us ahead this late for the first time in forever. Think I'll switch to YouTube to play that after Gunn and Mitchell switch locations 3-2

64 - Ohhhhhhhh shit! Free kick goal by Convery! I'm literally tearing up and fuuuuuuuuck yeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!! 4-2

90 - Ofc they get back within a shout 4-3

But we pull off the victory!!! Gickes Leverock and Robert Convery both snag 9.0s, the latter PotM because game-winner. 8.8 for David Way, too.

25 games in the books, and we're still only 3 points up because St Austell refuses to go away. Boo, you saintly whores. I need more wine. 7-11, I go visit, and "Cupid Shuffle" just came on, so I'm gonna go do that first before getting convenient. Then back for more FM. Maybe.

Fukken saved!

[Izulde]

Still a sense of dread that we're going to let it all slip away, but I'm not sure what else to do right now. Just have to hope we can hang on, I suppose.

I'm still Very Secure in job security, but the support is slipping. We also lost $1.26k last month because I had our scout go and look at a lot of different players to try and staunch the bleeding.

vs Liverton United (4th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Pierce Mitchell/Kevin Haig/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Tom Manning/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Robert Convery

20 - Still shit at defending set pieces 0-1

47 - Gunn for Mitchell; Burt for Ngamvolou

84 - Manning off injured again. Hawkins in

Just hard luck that our offense once again sputtered out. Unfortunately, St. Austell won, so we're now ahead only on goal differential. Tom Manning is gone for 6-7 weeks.

My assman gets a manager job a level below. so I promote Ryan Dovell, who has really progressed while serving as a coach, to assman. He firmly negotiates a payraise to $4.3k while doing so.

Transfer Out - Alex Clark - Non-Contract - Alresford
He was making way too much money considering our other options on the team, so I'm not sad to see him walk. There's certain positions where we'll bite the bullet and pay $95 p/a or more to upgrade. ML isn't one of them. David Way is appointed the new vice-captain.

@ Elburton Villa (7th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Pierce Mitchell/Kevin Haig/Jory Cureton
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

51 - We've been incredibly unlucky so far, so of course we let in a goal. Mitchell moves to DR, Gunn in, and Ryan hops in at ML. 0-1

We didn't deserve to lose that one. Not at all. And the slide continues.

vs St Austell (2nd)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Kevin Haig/Pierce Mitchell
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Stephane Ngamvolou/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Going to spring a tactical surprise on them - I've also switched my primary two formations (this one and the Diamond Wide) to Counter and Control respectively.

47 - Had a lot of good chances, but nothing gone through so far. Ngamvolou is on the right side and blasts it left to Hawkins. Dribble into the box, and despite two defenders on him, he gets the ball through the legs of one to Way, and we finally go ahead in this crucial match! 1-0

52 - Dreadful defending 1-1

54 - Ngamvolou to DL and Gunn in at MC

56 - Leverock wings out to Hawkins and a high cross finds speeding Pike to seize the lead back!! 2-1

81 - Jackson steals a bad throw-in and passes to Way before running down the right flank to get the return long ground pass into space. Center to Leverock, and there's the insurance goal!!! Mitchell is tired and the worst playing defender, so Cureton will replace him 3-1

We played that game to perfection - all full-time starters except the keeper were 7.1 or higher, with the 8+ standouts: Rob Pike with 8.4, Gickes Leverock the PotM with an 8.5, and PotM Stuart Hawkins with an 8.3.

Huge, huge, huge victory that gives us our 3 point cushion back with 10 games left to play. We also finally got our 100+ attendance game in at 113. Oh, and I've been spending the money for Pierce Mitchell because no one else is working out as the DR.

We lose Rob Pike for a month with injury. Thankfully we still have Leigh Ryan or we'd really be hurting.

@ Longwell Green (11th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ryan Carolan/Kevin Haig/Pierce Mitchell
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Stephane Ngamvolou/Leigh Ryan
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

They're favored in initial betting and are a good attacking team, so it's Counter strategy again.

42 - Hawkins' cross is intercepted, but the tired defender doesn't control it, so Jackson steals and scores the birthday goal!!! Happy birthday, Nicky Jackson!!! 1-0

[b]55[b/] - They've been threatening all game, and finally broke through. Leverock goes off and we switch to a 4-1-4-2 DM with Gunn coming in as CM and Chibuike replacing Carolan, who continues to frustrate. 1-1

82 - Embarrassing. 1-2

90 - Jackson gives the opposing striker a hat trick on his birthday by allowing a PK 1-3

We got bitchslapped by the other manager hyping up his team at half. Nothing to do against shit like that. Back to GD the lone separator.

Tim Lee finally agrees to be tutored, by Stephane Ngamvolou of all people. The Frenchman was originally like nah, not gonna do that, but I talked him into it.

vs Westbury (11th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Pierce Mitchell
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Leigh Ryan
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

St Austell lost, but the 3rd place team is just 2 points behind, so we need a win here badly.

8 - Leverock plays back to Casey for the forward pass to Ryan. Cross to Jackson, and I'm reminded how much I missed having our star striker around 1-0

29 - Jackson gets in front of the clearance attempt to block wih his body, and Way sends the loose ball into the net! 2-0

66 - Oh, fuck you. Jackson was onsides. Ngamvolou comes on for Hawkins; Cureton for Mitchell

GOD DAMN FUCKING SHITTY ASS MOUSE DOUBLE CLICKING AND FUCKING PISSING OFF MY PLAYERS!!!!! That just totally ruined the morale of my players. UGH UGH UGH UGH!!!!

$1.31k profit last month.

@ Newquay (18th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Pierce Mitchell
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Leigh Ryan
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

If we lose promotion because of my fucking mouse I will literally smash it to pieces. We do have a 3 point cushion now at least. BTW Andrew Gunn added DL to his playable positions, so you can teach an old dog new tricks.

4 -#$^@%^@%^@%#^@#%^@#%^@%#^@#%^&%&#%^&# 0-1

17 - Gorgeous strip and long ground pass into space by Gunn. It's Way with the pickup, and when his shot cracks off the post, I'm ready to start mouse crushing, but then Jackson steps up to sink the empty net rebound. 1-1

19 - Hawkins with the intercept and give to Leverock. Into space for Way, and this time he won't be denied. 2-1

21 - Chibuike cracks open a first touch cold one of a clearance right back into the box, where Jackson heads in another goal! 3-1

38 - FUCKING STAY ON HIM, MITCHELL!!!! 3-2

Cureton subs in for Mitchell at half

55 - WILL NOBODY FUCKING GET ON THAT DUDE?! WHAT THE FUCK IS WORNG WIRHSGHAGSFGOHFOGHAWRO;GHAROTGIARHGO;ARIGH;AROHG;AOSRGHAG 3-3

58 - Ngamvolou for Ryan

Because these fuckmuppet defenders didn't fucking follow directions, we had to settle for a draw instead of the 3 points. 7 games left and we're in one hell of a race, still 3 points up.

Youth Pulls
Youth Candidates 1 U18s 0
Considering the U18s just had a game and were all exhausted, this is less of a wow, let's these kids, and more of a taking advantage of easy opponents. That said...

AMC Dale Wylde - $30 P/A
15 Flair, 10 Acceleration, 12 Pace has me liking him quite a bit, along with his consistency. A guy I could see getting a lot of PT, especially if he adds other positions - right now he's Unconvincing as an MC.

There's a few other guys I'd like to sign, but they're all demanding $35 P/A and refuse to negotiate. So fuck them until the next go-round.

@ Ivybridge (18th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Robert Burt
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Leigh Ryan
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

13 - Tell players to go HAM on star player. Defenders sag on star player. 0-1

27 - Way with the winger to Hawkins and collects the return pass. Shot's deflected, but my boy Jackson slots the rebound in. 1-1

41 - The cross to Way is headed away, but Hawkins grabs the clearance and sends it right back in for the Jackson header. 2-1

63 - Haig throws into Burt and the cross hits Way's head for the nod back to Hawkins. It takes our winger a bit to contain it, but then he fires in the insurance!!! 3-1

Yelling at the defense at halftime yielded much better results from them in the second. 9.0 and PotM for Stuart Hawkins, 8.8 for Nicky Jackson, and 7.7 for David Way. 6 games left, and we can't finish any worse than 15th. Obviously not what we're going for here, but it's nice to know we've clinched our ticket out of Level 11.

vs Liskeard Athletic (19th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Kevin Haig/Robert Burt
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

38 - Byrne kicked it right at them. 0-1

51 - Manning to ML; Ngamvolou to MR

85 - Chibuike plays a ball for Jackson, but a sliding tackle from the defense dumps the ball. Ngamvolou gets there first and hammers in the tough shot! Our strikers have been total ass all game 1-1

86 - Fucknozzle Haig gets his second yellow.

88 - Casey plays a gorgeous ball forward for Jackson, and he dribbles just inside the box, blasting home the long-range beauty of a short-handed goal!!!!! 2-1

We pulled that one out of our ass thanks to Marcus Casey's 7.9, Nicky Jackson's PotM 8.3 outing, and Stephane Ngamvolou's heroic 7.3 off the bench. The team responded after I shredded them at halftime.

5 games left. 4 point lead. Top 10 finish pretty much mathematically clinched.

[Izulde]

Tranfer Out - Ryan Carolan - Amateur - Camelford
Versatile defender, but he never really lived up to expectations here, and he's 30 years old now. Won't be sorry to see him go, in all actuality.

I try to steal some guys from in the league at the transfer deadline, but no soap.

vs Bodmin (15th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Robert Burt
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Tom Manning/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

49 - Fucking Jackson allowing yet another PK! 0-1

52 - Convery goes in for Way, Pike moves up to DF, and Ryan comes on at MR

85 - Ryan takes in the long ball, dribbles the right flank, and crosses perfectly in front of Convery to late equalize 1-1

Both teams fight it out the last few minutes, but it's all draw. No fucking way we shouldn't have won this. Our lead gets cut to just 2 points, because St Austell won. 4 to go.

$1.39k loss last month, and I've come to accept we're simply going to keep bleeding out little by little.

@ Torpoint (5th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Pierce Mitchell/Robert Burt
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Rob Pike
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Our biggest match of the year right here. Win, and we'll not only stay on top, but guarantee a Top 5 place.

Fuck. I forgot to put Haig back in the lineup. Worse, Casey is injured. We'll move DM up to CM and stick Ngamvolou in.

55 - Convery for Jackson

60 - Ngamvolou's corner is cleared, but Pike gets in to head it down to Gunn for the net walk-in!!! 1-0

Andrew Gunn and Rob Pike picked up 7.5, but it was Gickes Leverock who really won this game for us with an 8.0 and PotM. Robert Convery shanked 5 very easy shots that would have given us security.

How huge was this victory? St Austells lost, which means we're 5 points ahead with 3 matches left to play!!! But it comes at a cost - Marcus Casey is out 2 weeks, which means two of our last three games.

Falmouth wins the Walter C Parsons Cup. My talk with Nicky Jackson goes horribly. I said he needs to start hitting them into the net, and he's like, "Have you been to the optometrist lately? My game was perfect!" So now our star player is salty AF.

The hits keep coming. Rob Pike is injured again, and out for the rest of the season.

vs St Blazey (12th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Andrew Gunn/Robert Burt
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Stuart Hawkins/Stephane Ngamvolou/Tom Manning
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

Don't let that position fool you - these guys destroyed us last time and just lost 1-2 to Falmouth for the Walter C Parsons Cup

2 - Ngamvolou to Way, who dribbles, draws the defender, and short passes it forward to Jackson just in the box. Fire shot for his 50th Vikings goal!!! He smirks at me as he jogs back to line up, "I told you, man. Perfect game." 1-0

49 - Manning moves to the left side and [b]Ryan[/g] romps on

55 - What the actual fuck is this bullshit?!?! Ryan goes off injured. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Ngamvolou to MR, Gunn up to MC, and Mitchell gets his money.

57 - I smash my fucking keyboard. FUCK YOU FM FUCK YOU UP THE DIGITAL ASSS!!!! 1-1

2 games left. Down to 3 fucking points. We need a god damn win out of these last two matches. And of course Leigh Ryan is out for the rest of the year, further assfucking on our MR guys

Youth Signings (In addition to earlier one)
ML Adam Stephens
10 Acceleration, 12 Pace, 12 Flair, 10 Work Rate. Might be the next Stuart Hawkins

DLC Matthew Rowles
Some really good looking physical attributes, including 12 Acceleration. I'm having him work on DR as well, in hopes of making him a three position backline reserve sooner rather than later.

DR Karl Corderoy
10 Acceleration and 15 Leadership. Tailor made to be a future captain, and he could see PT sooner than some of these other guys, as he's a ready made FB.

DLC Sam Dafydd
Needs work to become comfortable as a central defender, which is what my setup calls for, but 13 Aggression, 17 Flair, 15 Jumping Reach says he could get there. Will likely be the first one to see play, as I plan on calling him up and making him a sub over Pierce Mitchell, who I don't think will ever reach his alleged potential.

ST Tyrone Lightstone
Awesome name, and a natural Defensive Forward. Signed for just that alone, even though 10 Work Rate is his only double digit thing in that role.

@ Millbrook (9th)
G: Steve Byrne
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Kevin Haig/Robert Burt
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Stephane Ngamvolou/Tom Manning
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

14 - Leverock dribbles down the pitch, then holds up play before feeding Way in the box. With two defenders swooping down like Dementors, he crosses to an open Jackson, and that's a flawless counter attack!!! 1-0

21 - Leverock steals the ball and dribbles before playing it into space for Way. Run into the box, and bada bing bada boom!!!! PS St Austells is down by 1 at the moment. 2-0

58 - Haig up to DM, Gunn in at DC. Nice game by Casey, but he's tired because we rushed him back.

68 - Chibuike to Hawkins to Way, and I think we can pretty much start celebrating at this point. 3-0

76 - Lewis Bond is one of the best goal-scorers in the league. We weren't going to be able to contain him completely. 3-1

Excellent all around game in our biggest moment of the season. 7.7 for Stuart Hawkins, 8.7 for Gickes Leverock, and the man who led the way being the Way, David Way, with a PotM-winning 9.1.

And St Austells could only get a tie, so we are officially the champions!!! Double fucking promotion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it was a cool year to do it.



Also, a board member got drunk at the celebration and let slip they're considering almost doubling the wage budget to $120k next season.

[Izulde]

I'm not sure at what point I'll be able to start offering part-time contracts. I *think* it's possible - I thought I read somewhere that someone took a San Marino club from amateur to semi-pro to pro, and were able to do part-time at some point. Finances probably have a lot to do with it. But it may take me getting all the way to Vanarama National before I can if previous versions are any indication. I sure hope not!

Beverley Town was projected to win a third straight promotion, but fell short. Still a Top 3 finish no matter what happens in the last game of the season. The Dragons managed to snag a League 1 player from Walsall on loan! :o

Even if we don't score another goal in our last match, our 66 goals are a new Southern Peninsula Premier season record by 1.

@ Tavistock (20th)
G: Brett Beauchamp
D: Ifeanyi Chibuike/Jory Cureton/Andrew Gunn/Robert Burt
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Stephane Ngamvolou/Gickes Leverock/Tom Manning
AM: Gickes Leverock
S: David Way

We're not going to spend a single dollar in the last game of the year.

Stuart Hawkins got hurt early, but played through it. We actually played really well - just couldn't quite locate the net despite several decent chances.

We shell out $1.5k in squad bonuses for winning the league, so I think it's a good time to look at the latest financial/attendance info for the year:

Bank Balance: $21,720 (7.8k loss for the season)
Club Value: $45k (-5k value from last year)
Average Attendance: 86 (Same as last season)
Average Season Ticket Price: $127 (Up $9)
My Reputation: 10% (+5)

Kevin Haig, Nicky Jackson, and Steve Byrne definitely earned their money last year. Robert Convery and Pierce Mitchell not so much.

In terms of loanees, Gickes Leverock, Rob Pike, and Ifeanyi Chibuike were huge for us. Robert Burt... not so much. I'm really going to try and get the first three guys back next season if I can.

Overall, we were okay in keeper, fantastic in midfield and striker. The defense continues to be an issue, though Andrew Gunn played his old man heart out, knowing he has a huge fan out there in bbgunn.



We continue to be a yellow card heavy team - Kevin Haig and Stuart Hawkins topped the individual tables at 9 and 8 respectively. Stuart Hawkins was 2nd in Distance Covered/90 Minutes at 8.63 miles, and Nicky Jackson was 2nd in Fastest Time Between Goals at 115.32 minutes and 1st in Shots On Target at 54%. David Way tied for 2nd in Assists at 14 and was 2nd in Key Passes Completed at 139, topped only by Gickes Leverock with 154.

Marcus Casey took 1st in Tackles/Game with 3.84. Kevin Haig tied for 3rd in Key Headers at 82.

Craig Mitchell, the Board Chairman, stops me in the hall. He smells like beer and says he wants to discuss team improvements. Okay, cool. "Let's improve the team by extending your contract," he announces with a sweeping arm and stinking belch. Uh, okay, sure! ...I hope a raise is coming. I'm sick of Ryan Dovell making it rain tenners because he makes a grand more than I do. Actually, $1.3k to precise.



Unless we get a new keeper (something I'd love to do, btw), Ray Johnstone will be here a while. Uche is someone I'm hoping to get kicked off next year - Tim Lee and Leon Archer getting bumped from the starters wouldn't hurt, either.



Finally, Nicky Jackson gets the credit he deserved last season. I really, really hope we can get Gickes Leverock on loan again next season. Overall, we need to make some serious infusions of talent.

Players Who Can Compete At The Next Level Or Higher
Stephane Ngamvolou (if at DR)
David Way
Robert Burt (Uh, okay)
Marcus Casey
Nicky Jackson (Southern League First Division South/West - with Vanarama North/South potential)

Aaand that's it.

We need help.

Yearly Yay Trains
Robert Burt
Rob Pike
Herbie Harrington
Gickes Leverock
Sam Dafydd

Club wants to buy Manstone Lane from the club owner. Hope he'll give us a huge discount.

I'm going to sink money into our scout looking for first team capable players. It's a pain in the ass to click names individually.

The board does indeed offer me a raise, to $4K. While that's lower than most of the coaches in the Western Premier, it's the standard rate for low level teams in the division like ours, so I happily accept and tell Ryan Dovell to eat my shorts. I could have pushed for more to get the same pay as him, but I'd rather that money stay in the club.

Our sponsorship money increases slightly to $1.1k a year for the next two years. I'm hoping I can make us a solid Western Premier club until we get on more stable talent and financial footing. This is where the big challenge really starts.

And frankly, I'm going to have to start opening up the wallet to bring guys in. While I'll still hit up the loanees as much as possible, only David Way is left of the amateur guys who can be someone for us at this level. A quick check in says he wants crazy money. Nope.

Favored Personnel
Jack Mitchell
Stuart Hawkins
Tom Manning
Nicky Jackson
David Way
Gickes Leverock

Izulde Jestor Favored Manager
Stuart Hawkins
Tom Manning
David Way
Kevin Haig
Nicky Jackson

Sidmouth Town Favored Club - Player
Stuart Hawkins
Tom Manning
David Way
Nicky Jackson

Highest Reputation Players
David Way - Local - 1.5*
Nicky Jackson - Local - 1.5*

I'm not including the Supporter of our Youth Pulls because that doesn't count.

$164 loss in May. Andrew Gunn announces he's going to retire from professional soccer, but will still play at the semi-pro level.

Transfer In - DC Clive Jenkins (20) - Welsh - $150 P/A
We splash the cash to get this kid who is the best defender ever to put on a Vikings jersey. 10 Heading, 12 Tackling, 10 Determination, and a whopping 13 Positioning. While at League 2 Side Newport County, he struggled on loan, but that was at the level below Vanarama North/South. We're 3 levels below North/South, so he should be fine.

Transfer In - MC/AMC Sean Coombes (20) - $100 P/A
Born in Wicklow, Ireland to English parents, he considers himself primarily English. I like this gap-toothed kid with the buzz cut a fair bit. 12 Decisions and 14 Vision, he played for Cabinteely in the Irish First Division, but is considered having trained at Maidenhead in the Vanarama South. Did pretty well as a loanee at higher levels, and he'll be a great addition, and a security blanket if we don't bring Gives Leverock back on loan.

Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro all join the EU, yay! More countries to get dudes from when we can afford it.

Gives Leverock and Robert Burt's contracts end soon, so I can't request another loan year. Marcus Casey and Ifeanyi Chibuike I can. Both teams accept it, and both players are thrilled to come back. Excellent.

So far the team next year looks like:

D: Ifeani Chibuike - Clive Jenkins - Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
AMC: Sean Coombes
ST: David Way/Nicky Jackson

for guys who can either already play at Western Premier level, or should be able to grow into it (Chibuike)

I'm not sure where we were before, but after winning the title, we jump to 4th in reputation in the South West Peninsula Premier. It's going to be interesting to see how we go in the Western Premier, since, as I indicated before, I think we'll be there a while. Interesting that Tavistock is 2nd despite relegating down and St Austells dropped to 5th behind us, even though they finished 2nd.

One of the things a club like ours should try to do apparently is bring in bigger clubs for friendlies to pack the stadium and take the butt whipping for money (see NCAA FCS and FBS).

We're able to set up friendlies with Wigan, Shrewsbury, Cardiff, and Bristol City - all of which, despite having to pay a fee to the teams for coming, should net us between $1-2k a game.

That's $4k-8k in the bank! I'm excited, and will be speeding like hell through the ass kickings we get. We'll have 5 total friendlies, as I invite Welsh club Pen-y-bont too. Actually, 6. Larger reputation Barry gets a date, too. Just as a couple tests for higher rep clubs that I don't pay a fee to.

As it so happens, our date with Wigan is on the first day of preseason. LOL. Welcome back, guys! Now go get slaughtered for sweet, sweet cash.

We're changing to our 4-1-4-1 DM formation to a 4-4-2 Narrow Diamond due to our utter and complete lack of winger talent.

Amazingly, we hold Wigan scoreless for 42 minutes! And they only beat us 1-0!!! 938 people showed up to the game - a near sell-out!

We paid Wigan $8k to show up, which is nothing for a team like that. It's also over a third of our bank balance. It paid off though - we made $980 profit for the month of June, and it's usually a loser for us.

Shrewbury waxes us 5-1, but I'm thrilled to see Nicky Jackson get a goal. 878 people showed up for that one.

Loan In - DC/DM/MC Jimmy Parker (17) - From Hampton & Richmond
This kid is hella strong and makes smart decisions (13 Strength and Decisions). 10 Work Rate, too. He's not as good as our other first line guys, due to a lack of technical polish, but as of right now, he's a starting MC in the Narrow Diamond and a starting DC in our other formations (if, you know, we ever get wingers worth it).

And then this phenomenal news hits my Inbox!



FUCK.YEAH!

Transfer In - GK Martin Childs (19) - $85 P/A
10 Kicking, 10 Reflexes, 13 Agility - a resolute as hell shot stopping beast. Solihull Moors graduate from Vanarama North who didn't make the grade there, but is a monster improvement for us in the net (3.5* to 1* for Steve Byrne.

It was indeed... a MOTHER FUCKING SELLOUT!!! YEAAAAAAH BOY!! We got our asses kicked 0-4, and the team is getting mad at how badly we've been getting whipped.

Transfer In - DC Josh Powell (19) (Welsh) - $100 P/A
Say hello to the Mentals God. 14 Aggression, 14 Bravery, 12 Decisions, 10 Determination, 13 Jumping Reach, 13 Strength. Ironically a Cardiff alum. Only had 5 appearances as a loanee, so his meh showing didn't really get a chance to show his strengths. Rated our 3rd best DC behind Marcus Casey and Clive Jenkins, but our Welsh defenders collecting continues.

Transfer In - DC Dave Knight - $50 P/A (19)
11 Marking, 15 Aggression, 10 Positioning, 12 Jumping Reach, 10 Strength. Worcester kid who stunk the few games he got with Bitton a couple years ago, but he's a cheap pick up who can sit on the youth team and develop into something incredible.

Gickes Leverock's contract is expired, but he spurns the chance to join us outright. Damn.

Andrew Gunn and Sam Dayfdd get into a tutoring relationship.

We lose 0-1 to Weymouth and just 43 people show up. Note to self: Don't schedule higher rep teams if they're not guaranteeing income.

Loan In - DL Andy Owens (17) - From Staines
16 Teamwork and 12 Acceleration. Not the highest profile pickup ever, but we can work on getting Ifeanyi Chibuike over on the DR now, because Owens is massively better a player.

Bristol City is expected to be another sellout! And that sellout crowd watched us hold Bristol City scoreless for 80 minutes!!!!





Pls b moar rezunable board kthx.

Nicky Jackson and Clive Jenkins are tipped as the players to watch on our side.

We're expected to beat Barry and do, hammering them 3-0.

All that money we pulled in? Yeah, we lost $1.59k last month - $26k in total match day money, $24k in paying people to come here, so in total it was beneficial - just not to the level that we hoped for despite two sellout crowds.

Pen-y-bont falls 3-1 as expected, but I think next season I'm just going to stick to what should be the money-making friendlies.

Kevin Haig and David Way keep the captain and vice-captain roles, though I was tempted to make Martin Childs the vice-captain. Normal bonuses - $2k to win the league, $9k if we win a cup.

Expectations
Western Premier: Finish near the top
FA Cup: Preliminary Round
FA Vase: Second Round (Downgraded from last year's Third Round)
Western League Les Phillips Cup: Quarterfinals

...Yeah, so much for more reasonable. 20 teams in the league. Champion wins promotion and that's it. The bottom 3 teams go back down to Level 10. Guess I did too good a job of going out and upgrading our talent.

[Izulde]

vs Bitton
G: Martin Childs
D: Andy Owens/Clive Jenkins/Josh Powell/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Jimmy Parker/Marcus Casey
AM: Sean Coombes
S: David Way/Nicky Jackson

37 - Owens rips it downfield into the box to Way. He dribbles and shoots. Keeper blocks it, but Way sinks his own rebound on a difficult angled shot! 1-0

39 - Damn it, Owens! Double yellow. Powell goes off as well, Chibuike taking over at DL

52 - Way is curbstomped in the box, gets up, dusts himself off, and just barely gets in the PK! 2-0

57 - Way is hurt, but he'll just have to play on.

91 - You had to figure we'd let one in at some point. 2-1

7.8 for Jimmy Parker and 8.6 for PotM David Way, who is out for 2 weeks. And of course we've another game in like 3 days. 115 people showed up for that nailbiter, breaking the attendance record in our very first Western Premier game. We're still going to be bleeding out money like no one's business, though.

@ Bideford
G: Martin Childs
D: Ifenayi Chibuike/Clive Jenkins/Josh Powell/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Tom Manning
AM: Sean Coombes
S: Robert Convery/Nicky Jackson

So we're spending about $38k in the wage budget for the year. That's well below what the board authorized to spend, at least.

50 seconds - Coombes plays it up to Hawkins after Chibuike's throw in. A diving header by the defense knocks the ball offstride, but Manning is there for the loose ball and long range strike!!! 1-0

24 - Dreadful defending by Ngamvolou 1-1

39 - Let's just completely shit the bed defensively, okay? Fucking dipasses. 1-2

49 - Chibuike moves to the right side, Dafydd is going to make his debut at DL, and Gunn subs in for Jenkins

68 - WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS BULLSHIT?! NOW NICKY JACKSON GOES OFF?! 4-1-3-1-1 DM with Haig coming in as DM and Casey moving up to MC

71 - Manning runs down the right flank, crosses to Hawkins. Dribble and shot deflected, but he sinks in his own rebound! 2-2

75 - Haig on the corner hits Powell's head for the nod-on to Gunn, and there's a miraculous go ahead goal!!! 3-2

90 - Manning makes a fierce clearance of a corner to Convery. Our only healthy striker gives it to Coombes and chases the beautiful 30 yard go ahead return pass. Dribble into the box, doesn't like his shot, so he shorts it to Manning, and the second long range strike goes in!!!! 4-2

We may not have had the PotM, but Martin Childs grabbed a 7.0 in goal, Tom Manning put up an 8.8, Stuart Hawkins an 8.1, and a monster 7.5 sub game from Andrew Gunn. Our old formation's not dead yet, folks!

But of course, it comes with a horrific cost. Nicky Jackson dislocated his shoulder and is out 3 months!!!

Man, what a phyrric start to the season. Going to take a break and ponder my next moves.

[Izulde]

We'll press on with what we have, and scour the loan list for potential signings. In the mean time, we'll deconstruct the 4-4-2 Diamond Wide in favor of the 4-1-3-1-1 DM formation that won us the comeback victory in our last game.

@ Colne (FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round)
G: Martin Childs
D: Andy Owens/Clive Jenkins/Josh Powell/Ifeanyi Chibuike
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Jimmy Parker/Tom Manning
AM: Sean Coombes
S: Robert Convery

51 - Ryan for Manning and Dafydd for Jenkins

69 - Fucking Chibuike blew that totally 0-1

87 - I'm tired of getting fucked over in tournament draws 0-1

We were awful, Chibuike's 5.8 the worst performance we've had here in a long time, maybe even ever.

vs Bradford Town (5th)
G: Martin Childs
D: Andy Owens/Clive Jenkins/Josh Powell/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Stuart Hawkins/Jimmy Parker/Tom Manning
AM: Sean Coombes
S: David Way

30 - Amazing team effort to defend the corner kick, and it caps in Coombes crushing the ball down to Way. He dribbles into the box, then *around* the defender to hammer in a goal! 1-0

Ryan swaps in for tired Manning at the half

55 - Dayfdd jumps on because Owens is having a shit day

76 - That was the worst defending of a counter attack I've seen in ages 1-1

And so we drop from an early 1st place to 3rd after that draw. Very unlucky. Tim Lee loved his mentorship with Stephane Ngamvolou, which is cool.

@ Ashton & Blackwell United (19th)
G: Martin Childs
D: Andy Owens/Clive Jenkins/Josh Powell/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Tom Manning/Jimmy Parker/Leigh Ryan
AM: Sean Coombes
S: David Way

We're underdogs in this one, and rightfully so. Losing Nicky Jackson has really hurt our ability to do well.

19 - Way pops a longball to Coombes and he's got wide open field to dribble down. I'm thinking a shot is coming, but no, he taps it to Parker for the 20 yard bomb and his first ever Vikings goal!!! 1-0

53 - Haig in for Casey; Convery will get his shot again

57 - WHAT THE FUCK?! CONVERY GOES OFF WITH INJURY 4 FUCKING MINUTES AFTER HE GOES IN AND WE'RE NOW DOWN TO ZERO HEALTHY STRIKERS?! 4-1-2-3-0 DM, pushing our wingers up to AML/AMR, Ngamvolou to MC, and Chibuike at DR.

7.5 for Clive Jenkins and 8.3 PotM by Jimmy Parker. We actually got a few decent looks with that 0 striker formation, but holy fucking hell, what a clusterfuck.

It gets better - Robert Convery is out 3-4 months, meaning we have 1 healthy striker who isn't a youth pull current scrub. I literally do not know what to do - all the loan options are sheer trash, and all the free agents want too damn much money.

[Izulde]

Transfer In - MLCR Eddie Dunne (16) - From Thame - $50 P/A
11 Decisions, 10 Determination, 16 Teamwork, 13 Work Rate, 12 Acceleration, 10 Pace. Exciting potential prospect who has gotten only scant starts at the next level up. Hasn't done well there, but for us, he should be a major upgrade on the right wing and offer flexibility all along the middle of the pitch. We've been trying to get him for a while now, and finally landed him.

$3.45k loss last month. It took a season to build up our cash reserves, and it's going to be two seasons to wipe it all out.

Transfer In - ST Brad Henderson (17) - From Clanfield - $100 P/A
So, this guy was willing to leave for cheap in his demands - $45 P/A, but every time I went higher, he was like nah, no thanks. So finally I made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Literally within seconds of my emailing him the new offer, he signed. And he's worth it. 14 Finishing, 11 Free Kicks, 10 Heading, 15 Flair, 11 Teamwork, 10 Strength. I scooped him up from a smaller club, and here's the kicker - my assman and my scout both think he's better than Nicky Jackson. Let that sink in.

Loan In - ST Lewis Hughes (18) - From Merthyr Town
We got him here under what will now be false pretenses (First Team). In actuality, he's going to be a sub until our other strikers get back. A natural born leader (14) and horse healthy (17 Natural Fitness), but not a lot exciting outside of that.

These acquisitions will allow us to shift to using my 3-1-3-1-2 DM setup I favored at Beverley Town and started incorporating again towards the end of last season. More importantly, we now have cover again. Thanks, 2 week break!

vs Odd Down (8th)
G: Martin Childs
D: Andy Owens/Clive Jenkins/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Tom Manning/Jimmy Parker/Eddie Dunne
AM: Sean Coombes
S: Brad Henderson/David Way

56 - Hughes in for Way, as both strikers have been awful all night

73 - Dunne switches left side, and Ryan comes in at MR

We just couldn't get anything going on offense tonight. Defense did well, though.

@ University of Exeter (11th)
G: Martin Childs
D: Andy Owens/Josh Powell/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Tom Manning/Jimmy Parker/Leigh Ryan
AM: Sean Coombes
S: Brad Henderson/David Way

After some thought, I've made some tweaks up front because I don't think the P/DF combo is working for us.

53 - Coombes blasts one down the right flank, and Manning gets there first. Cross to Henderson near post, and there's the header for his first Vikings goal!!! 1-0

60 - Dunne goes in for Manning

67 - Casey moves up to MC, with Haig coming on

It's the kind of game where Josh Powell's 7.3 is PotM, but we'll take it! Especially since it means a move up to 2nd place. So far this team is playing way above my expectations, especially with the rash of striker injuries we've had. Of course, we're paying through the nose in salaries, but that's okay. We kind of have to in order to stay relevant at this level - and at least our attendance thus far has been excellent. We not only sold one more season ticket - 12 total now, but our average attendance has skyrocketed to 109.

Gonna go chill for a while. Be back tomorrow.

[Izulde]

vs Bridgwater (11th)
G: Martin Childs
D: Andy Owens/Clive Jenkins/Josh Powell/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Marcus Casey
M: Jimmy Parker/Eddie Dunne
AM: Sean Coombes
S: Brad Henderson/David Way

8 - Henderson has to chase down a ball and, under pressure, he sends back to Owens for the lateral to Casey. Ball goes into the box, where an advancing Parker beats out everyone for the short goal. 1-0

61 - Haig for Casey; Hughes for Way and striker switch.

Very frustrating to watch Lewis Hughes blow several easy opportunities, but we get the win anyway thanks to Eddie Dunne and Jimmy Parker putting up 7.7s, Dunne the PotM. And suddenly, we're back in 1st place.

@ Bridport (4th)
G: Martin Childs
D: Andy Owens/Clive Jenkins/Stephane Ngamvolou
DM: Kevin Haig
M: Tom Manning/Marcus Casey/Leigh Ryan
AM: David Way
S: Lewis Hughes/Brad Henderson

18 - Breathtaking strip by Ryan and quick handoff to Way, who rockets the ball downfield ahead of Hughes. He catches up, dribbles, and shoots. Rejected. Rebound shot. Blocked. Third time is the charm for our loanee to get his first Vikings goal! 1-0

Gunn replaces Jenkins and Chibuike swaps in for Owens at half. Hate spending my subs that early, but the situation calls for it.

75 - Because we don't have enough injuries yet, Ryan gets hurt, forcing me to shift Manning to MR and bring Hawkins in

84 - The bullshit is real, and continues, as Manning goes off with injury, and the asshole who hurt him doesn't even get carded.

We survive playing a man down and win this match because Martin Childs put on a freaking goalkeeping clinic - 8.1 PotM outing, making brilliant stop after brilliant stop. Great news after the game - Leigh Ryan only had a minor injury, and Tom Manning is just out a week.

Tiverton really wants me, but their finances are an absolute trainwreck, and I'm enjoying what I'm building here with the Vikings, so that's a no.

Jory Cureton is unhappy about his playing time, and I'm just thinking, dude, you got way more PT last season than you had any right to expect, and honestly, you were mediocre then. Why the hell would I ever give you a minute of time at this level when you're clearly outclassed by literally every other defender on the roster?

Luckily I'm able to fob him off with the excuse of the team playing so well right now. Honestly, though, it feels like a fragile house of cards. We're playing exceptional defense in our all-counter setup, but our offense isn't anywhere near to that level. Just two games this season where we've scored 2 goals or more out of 9 matches.

[bbgunn]

Trying to catch up here, but good to see Gunn somewhat contribute even though he's somewhat retired.