FMHi11: Frog's back and he's gone mobile!

[FrogMan]

Okay, I've done some reporting of my career in FM Handheld for iDevice (iPod Touch in my case) in the game's thread on the general forum but I figured I needed a more localized spot to rant, vent, cry for joy or simply cry. See, as I've always done, I started my career as a manager at Luton Town, now playing in the Blue Square Bet Premiere Conference. The board is expecting us to mount a serious challenge to win the league title but we've had a kind of rough start to the season. After 11 matches, we were sitting in the bottom half of the table with a record of only 3 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses. Things have rebounded in the last 5 matches where we have gone on a sort of scoring spree. During that 5 match run, we've won three (5-0, 4-2, 4-0), have drawn one 4-4 but the one kicker is our last loss, to then 2nd place Rushden, 3-4 on an 89th minute goal, after being ahead by a couple goals early in the game.

Following that loss, I've seen that I'm now the only one listed with an insecure job. Woah, 16 games in, this could be my shortest stint of all time!

Okay, enough drama. I think (hope!) I can turn things around. I've brought in some new players and if the squad can only gel a little, as they seem to show they are doing now by scoring boat loads of goals, we should be fine.

Same disclaimer as always, I don't know how often I'll update here. I want a spot where I can talk about the squad, its ups and downs, and about the game too. Don't think I've seen a dynasty about the handheld version of the game, although I must say it's been a long while since I've visited in here.

I plan on using the ease of taking screenshots to report, so here are a few in attachments to help you follow who's who.

The date is October 23, 2010 and our next match is an FA Cup 4th round qualifying match, away at Havant & Waterlooville, a Blue Square South side.

We usually play a 4-4-2 diamond formation and I tweak between attacking and balanced depending if we're at home or away.

Three of our four free transfers are regular starters for us. Jeffers has been hurt for about a month but will go right back to his spot at SC once he's ready. Walker can be great in goal but he's also been prone to collapsing late in games. I've had a little talk with him, in private, where I criticised his play in our latest match (the 3-4 loss to Rushden). My assistant is telling me he reacted positively to it. We'll see. Hughes is just the quarterback I needed in the DMC spot. Smart is a solid backup that has seen spot duty as a starter.

Of the two loaners, Vallés has been hurt but was having a monster year before that. He just got back in the lineup and I expect him to push us forward a lot. Bowman as stepped in as a replacement for Jeffers at SC and will serve a backup role when he comes back.

Here goes nothing, I'll be back later to talk to myself some more.

FM

[FrogMan]

October 23, 2010
Gah, played H & W to a scoreless draw. Frustrating is the fact that we couldn't put one of our 7 shots on target, after scoring at will for five matches, but we also lost two players for our replay in a few days. Winger Andy Drury twisted his knee and will miss two weeks while DC Besta is suspended for a match with too many yellow cards.

All in all, we probably should have won, as we dominated in most aspects, we just couldn't pull it off away from home. Hopefully playing back home in the replay will give us the push we need...

FM

[FrogMan]

October 27, 2010
Okay, that was more like it. Up 1-0 after only 2 minutes, 4-0 atfer 26, we're on our way to win the replay easily, 5-0. We put 8 of our 10 shots on target in that game and win possession 55-45. Adam Murray who was growing frustrated of not playing with the first team a brace scores two and George Pilkington, who was also pissed at not starting, does well in the DC spot.

I did comment negatively in public toward striker Taiwo Atieno. He'd had games rated at 9 for 4 games and dipped to a 7 in our 0-0 draw. It probably paid off as he was the one to score our first goal after only 2 minutes of play.

Claude Gnakpa, who feels like an old blanket to me now in the sense that he's always been a Hatter for all the career's I've started over the years, going back to FM2005, got the Man of the Match with a rating of 10.

This win has had a very positive boost to overall club morale. Hopefully it'll help us in league play. That's something we've had trouble getting up, our morale.

FM

[FrogMan]

October 30, 2010
We beat 16th place Fleetwood convincingly, 3-1. AMC Adam Murray continues his excellent play, getting a second 10 rated game in a row and the MoM. We pu 9 of 15 shots on target. We now have the 4th best run of form in the league for the last 6 matches.

November 2, 2010
I was the runner-up for best manager in the Blue Square Premier in October and my job is not insecure anymore.

The board now feel I should be performing slightly better but they say our recent form gives them a glimmer of hope. Let's up we can keep it up...

Huhoh, Enric Vallés' loan contract ends and he returns to Birmingham. He really helped us early on at the left wing spot before getting injured and missing 3 weeks. I usually don't do 3 months loans. Guess I was desperate in that case. We'll have make do as we did when he was injured. Birmingham have rejected a request to reloan the player.

November 6, 2010
We beat Gateshead 2-0 in a match of the 1st round of the FA Cup. They're also a Blue Square Premier side. We put 6 of our shots on target and would have scored more if not for their keeper's MoM performance.

November 9, 2010
We play 3rd place Crawley to a 3-3 draw after being ahead 3-1 after 52 minutes. This is frustrating since we were 7 points behind them before the match, despite us sitting in a lowly 10th place on the table. We controlled possession but I've yet to find the right tactic to end games correctly. Bally Smart played in Vallés' left wing spot and got rated at 10 for his performance. Old man Kevin Gallen started for tired Adam Murray in the AMC spot and scored a couple.

FM

[FrogMan]

November 20, 2010
We play 10th place Cambridge at home as we've had the habit of doing lately, we jump to a 1-0 lead only 2 minutes into the game. They tie the game 2-2 just as the second half starts but we regain the lead in the 71st minute. Still looking for a way for us not to bleed away a lead, I try a 5-3-2 defensive formation that you can see in the attachment, bringing in veteran George Pilkington as a third centreback. We really controlled the game from that moment on and even added a fourth goal to win the game 4-2. Their keeper had a 4 rated match while Andy Murray records his 3rd 10 rated match in his last 5 appearances, collecting his second MoM in the sequence.

We're now the ones sitting in 10th place after that win, still not so great but we're now only 4 points from the playoffs line.

New twist on the confidence report. The board still think I should be performing slightly better but they also add that they are monitoring the mood amongst the players in the squad.

Hrm, let's boost them up a bit, I give a positive talk to the media about Andy Murray. Three 10 rated matches in the last five sure deserve a bit of praise. The day after, my assistant reports that Murray appeared especially motivated during the morning's training session. Good!

Next up, a quick roundup of the squad, position by position.

FM

[FrogMan]

The squad is attached below, as they were selected for our last match.

The Keepers
37yo Jimmy Walker is our starter for the time being. As I said before, he can do greay and not so great things, sometimes in the span of a few minutes. He'll have to do for now as Mark Tyler really wasn't up for the task before Walker joined the team.

The Defenders
Jake Howells started as our left fullback and that kinda angered Fred Murray a bit until I gave him a chance. Murray's been much more solid but is not a long term solution there.

Keith Keane is our current right fullback but can play many positions (DMC and MR). He was our starter at DMC before Hughes was acquired. Claude Gnakpa and Ed Asafu Adjaye could play that spot too but Keane is a great playmaker from the back.

Pavel Besta and Zdenek Kroca are two very good centrebacks for our level of play. Surprisingly enough, Kroca is lethal with his headers from corners, showing with 5 goals already on the season. George Pilkington is our main backup at the position.

The Midfielders
Stephen Hughes is not a pure DMC per se but he is our best center midfielder by a long shot. He's done REALLY well for us since joing the thing a little after the start of the season. Keith Keane could play there as could also Godrey Poku but he's very fringe and has yet to record an appearance this season.

At the AMC spot, I've gone with a sort of rotation between Adam Murray, Kevin Gallen and even Andy Drury at times. While Murray is very hot at the moment, Gallen has had some moments of brilliance too.

On the outside, Claude Gnakpa is not a real pure winger but he is infatigable and so allows me to make other subs as the game winds down. He's also been very steady in his form since I've put him to work on the wing from the early fullback position I had him playing in. On the left, as I said, we had Enric Vallés for a while but Andy Drury has played really well there too. Bally Smart is rounding up a good trio of wingers. I might like some more depth there as I'm not too sure Adam Newton would cut it over a long period of time. Kevin Gallen can play the wing too but he's slow as a turtle (pace=4) and tires simply at looking a the grass between him and the backline (stamina=4) so I will only use him for spot duty there.

The Strikers
Francis Jeffers was brought in as a possible goal supplier for our offense but when he went down with injury, it's little known Taiwo Atieno who stepped up. He's been huge for us and stands in the top 8 in the league for average rating. Ryan Bowman is a loanee and while he can find the back of the net, he also takes whole games off. Sort of the same can be said for Danny Crow. One I had kind of dismissed but that has great shooting and pace is Matthew Barnes-Homer. My keeping him out of the lineup has made him pissed off and he's requested to be transfer listed, a request that I accepted although I will probably give him a bit more playing time in the coming weeks.

There they are, your 2010 Hatters!

FM

[Marc Vaughan]

Fantastic stuff - really enjoying it and its interesting seeing how someone plays the game ... (always fascinated to get an inside track on someone playing one of my games ).

[FrogMan]

cool, an MV sighting! Welcome aboard, hope you enjoy the ride.

So far, I really like the game. Simpler, not as tough on my obsessive-compulsive self, yet just as immersive, at least in my opinion. I can play it sitting on my very comfortable couch and yet I still pump my fist in the air when we score. Gotta keep my cursing between my teeth though. Don't want the lady shooting too many of these "eyes as daggers" kind of looks.

FM

[FrogMan]

November 27, 2010
FA Cup 1st round, we play Rushden. It's kind of a lucky draw as there are very few Conference sides left and more and more League 1 and 2 entering the draw.

Really rough start as we go down 0-2 after 30 minutes. We claw one back and it's 1-2 at the half. GK Walker and DL are having a rough match at that point, both of them rating at 5.

Second half is much better and we tie the game at 2 a piece right after the break and we hold on for the draw. Kinda disappointing that we again couldn't put them away.

Claude Gnakpa got the MoM with the equalizer and a match rating of 9.

Prior to the match, George Pilkington requested to be transfer listed, saying he had been unfairly left out of the starting lineup. I reject his request. He's my main backup at the centreback spot.

One thing's interesting, the game must not think I have brought enough players as my "transfer acumen" rating has dipped one point, from 10 to 9. The team board seems okay with the transfers I've done though, as their confidence in that matter sits right at about the 50% mark.

FM

[bbgunn]

First, just wanna say that I enjoy your work FgM, past and present.

How does viewing a game work in FM Handheld? 2D? Or just commentary?

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

First, just wanna say that I enjoy your work FgM, past and present.

How does viewing a game work in FM Handheld? 2D? Or just commentary?

first off, thanks. Nice to see people from the old times.

Viewing games is commentary with highlights in 2D although you can choose to go with commentary only. For the 2D, you have the choice between full pitch where you see the whole pitch (duh) horizontally and zoomed in where you see only one end of the field, vertically. I'll take a couple screenshots when I'll play ou next game later on.

FM

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

first off, thanks. Nice to see people from the old times.

Viewing games is commentary with highlights in 2D although you can choose to go with commentary only. For the 2D, you have the choice between full pitch where you see the whole pitch (duh) horizontally and zoomed in where you see only one end of the field, vertically. I'll take a couple screenshots when I'll play ou next game later on.

FM

Excellent, thanks for the reply!

[FrogMan]

November 30, 2010
We play 15th place Barrow at home. I give the start at striker to Matthew Barnes-Homer, hoping his blaxing speed will spark something in our attack. We dominate possession for most of the game but just can't get away from them. We finally get a 2-1 lead in the 83rd minute and I pull the guys back to our defensive 5-3-2 formation only to see our opponents put one back in. Final score: 2-2.

Gah, 57% possession, we outshot them 10-5 (but only 4-3 on target) yet we couldn't put the game away, even on our home pitch. Adam Drury got another MoM.

You can see a couple screenshots of how the 2D matche engine looks in the handheld version of FM. As much as they look to be about the same sequence, they are from two different corner, as you can see from the minute count inbetween the team scores. The screenshot taking process does had some jaggedness so it doesn't look as bad in game. I used to play in zoomed pitch but have reverted back to the full pitch setting as I felt it gives me a better overall feel as to how the whole team is playing.

December 1, 2010
Hrm, the board is still disappointed with my management of the team and they keep monitoring the mood amongst the players of the squad.

December 4, 2010
Oh crap, as I head to the stadium for our FA Cup replay against Rushden, I read that a rumour has surfaced that the Luton Town team board are shortlisting managers as possible replacements.

To help make things better (not!) goalkeeper Jimmy Walker bruises his head in training and will miss a week. Looks like Mark Tyler will have to play a bit...

Trying to jig things up, I interact with a couple players. I have private talks with Jeffers and Keane while I publicly criticizes Striker Taiwo Atieno for his lack of production in the last couple weeks.

The match is a tough one which we do win, 2-1. Got the feeling we got dominated and shouldn't have won it to be honest. They outshot us 10-9 (7-4 on target) but it looked worse in game. Atieno did respond well to the criticism, scoring the winning goal late in the game and getting the MoM. We will play League One Southampton in the 3rd round.

December 5, 2010
Well, Atieno might have played well yesterday but my assistant reports that while he reported for this morning's training session, he was rather lax in his commitment during the session.

FM

[FrogMan]

December 8, 2010
We play 7th place Darlington. We are currently in 12th place but still only 5 points from 5th place, the last spot to be in the playoffs.

We've played a lot of football recently and I decide to give a break to 34yo Stephen Hughes. Keane takes his DMC spot, Gnakpa goes to DRC and Bally Smart will start at the right winger spot.

We're down 0-1 at the half when the fit hits the shan and Claude Gnakpa gets red carded for a professional in our penalty area. Not only we'll have to finish the game one man short but we go down 0-2 on the ensuing penalty kick. When keeper Mark Tyler lets a third goal in on the 84th minute, I've had enough and I put in Jimmy Walker for the last 6 minutes, bruised head and all.

Oh sure, he had to go and bang his head on the goalpost or something and we finish the game without a keeper and with only 9 players on the pitch. Ugh.

Following the game I learn that Claude Gnakpa has been banned for one domestic match and I decide to appeal the ban. To my great surprise, the appeals panel tell me that after review of the video footage of the incident and upon reflection, they have decided to repeal the ban. Wow, it's the first time I think this has ever happened in all my FM careers...

FM

[FrogMan]

December 11, 2010
Something seems odd in the game following my latest click of the "continue" button. Then it registers, the screen header is not orange anymore but a generic blue, then it hits me, like a 2x4 to the side of the head: Luton manager Steve Gougeon sacked!

Pardon my French but, oh shit! They say that it's due to the club's poor league position, and I kinda, sorta can understand their position. Luton Town have had a long history and were used to play in a much higher league than at the conference level. I guess they were really serious about expecting the team to mount a push for the league title. I would only have hoped to at least make it to the January transfer window.

For a moment, I'm devastated, then I go, oh well, life goes on, to the unemployement office we go... Other than the Luton job, there are two other openings in England (not knowing how fast the game would process, I started this game with only England as active league, from Blue Square Premier and up). One is Aston Villa in the Premier League, yeah right. The other is at Mansfield Town, another Blue Square Premier side. This one is interesting as they sit in 4th place and currently have the 5th best run of forms in the league over the last 6 matches. I wonder what their expectations were for them to sack their manager. Or maybe he bailed on them for higher grounds. I can't find anything in the news items I have.

I'll ponder this for a couple days (in game, don't worry) and we'll see...

FM

[FrogMan]

December 14, 2010
I applied for the Mansfield job the very next day and a couple days later, they called me back to offer me the job. I'm the new manager at Mansfield Town!

The Mansfield Town directors tell me they expect the club to attain a respectable league position this season. We're alread well placed, in 4th place. Hopefully I won't throw this all down and we can build from there, make the playoffs and put together a strong push for promotion next season. They say they have allocated a small transfer budget to help me and small it is. $10k is what I've working with. What will probably restricts me more is the wage budget of only $25,459 per week. Their current wage total sits at $17,803 per week, so about $7,500 to work with. With their max wage currently at $2,400, this means about three new players of higher caliber, for the team at least. This budget is less than half what I had to work with at Luton, where the weekly wage budget was at $54,000.

Lots to do when you take over a new club, not the least of which is evaluating the talent in place. I've attached the current squad as selected for their last match as well as my assistant's team report. My assistant is right in that I'd like to bring in a new keeper, but experience is not the problem here. The current keeper is 31yo, he simply sucks. Also, when Gary Silk is identified as your strongest defender, you might be in trouble (see attached player card). Kyle Nix looks like a good midfielder although I can't understand why he was left out of selection for the last match. Also, only based on ratings, they seem to have a strong pair of wingers. Their training sucks, seriously, all red down arrows everywher with everyone going on the generic "general" training. I'll assign everyone to the right position based training regimen and we'll start from there.

I don't know up front what kind of formation we might play although I always like the 442 diamond. Will have to see if we got the personnel to pull it off...

First match will be an FA Trophy 1st round replay, away at Blue Square South side Maidenhead. They drew 0-0 in the first match.

FM

[bbgunn]

Whoa. Sorry you got sacked there, FgM. Those Luton Town fatcats should have been more patient!

Thanks for the pitch screenshots, by the way.

[NoSkillz]

Awesome! Another FM/FM dynasty!

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by NoSkillz

Awesome! Another FM/FM dynasty!

I almost posted an invitation to your Facebook page but thought people would think I'm a bit crazy

FM

[FrogMan]

December 15, 2010
We play Blue Square South side Maidenhead United away on an FA Trophy replay. Looking at the team, what I thought were good wingers seems more like a good bunch of midfielder because while they are often marked with AM R or AM RL position descriptions, these guys all have stamina in the 5-6 range. Never seen so many guys with so low stamina, it's incredible.

With that in mind, I decide to try a 4-1-3-2 formation that will have three centre midfielders and no wingers per se. It's the first time I try to kind of thing and I usually like having wingers, but I gotta go with what we have and that setup will give a bit of backup to our defenders who, quite frankly, don't impress me much.

I've been shopping for a replacement to current keeper Alan Marriott but they're not easy to find. I at least try to boost his morale by giving him a positive pep talk prior to the game.

Marriott plays a solid game, getting our only rating of 8, but we drop the game, 0-1. We struggle to maintain possession and never really put any pressure on their defenders. A work in progress I'd call it. I'm kinda disappointed that two of the three players presented by my assistant as our strongest in one area both got ratings of 5 for this game. Come on guys, I want us to succeed but you gotta help me out here!

FM

[FrogMan]

December 18, 2010
We play 14th place Barrow on their pitch. We're currently in 4th place ourselves. I keep the 4-1-3-2 formation, hoping the guys will get accustomed to it. I'm kinda shocked to see so many guys going into the game with conditions in the hig 80's/low 90's. Used to see conditions areound 95 for about everyone at Luton, and even more so for defenders. Our left back, Kevin Sandwith, goes into this game at 89%.

We do control possession quite a bit in this game (56/44) but just can't buy a goal to get the win. Final Score: 0-0.

Form ratings are much, much better and Alan Marriott gets an 8 and the MoM. We drop to 5th place.

Some Luton news, they have appointed Martin Ling, the current manager at Cambridge Unite, another Blue Square Premier side, as their new manager.

FM

[FrogMan]

December 22, 2010
Wow, what a sucky schedule that is. Three away games in a week, stuck with a bunch of out of form guys. Today, we play 3rd place Darlington on their pitch. When the referee blows for full time, another 0-0 draw, I'm kinda okay with it. We held our own against a legitimate contender to the league title, keeping the ball 52% of the time. It's only when I look at the match overview page and see that I had apparently missed that they had a player redcarded in the 48th minute that I'm not as happy. Still, it's a step in the right direction and that 4-1-3-2 formation is doing what I wanted which is keep the opposition from scoring. Now we need to shoot a bit more and convert these shots a bit more. We drop to 6th place with the draw but are still only 5 points for the top spot.

FM

[FrogMan]

December 26, 2010
Finally a match on our home pitch. We play 20th place Eastbourne Boro. We do dominate the game as well in possession (56/44) as in shots (8 to 3, 7 to 2 on target) and the guys finally score a goal, our first since my taking over of the management of the club, we can't secure a win. Final score: 1-1.

We move back up one spot, to 5th place but we have a game on hand over every team ahead of us.

FM

[FrogMan]

December 28, 2010
Oh come one! Another game?!? And away again?!? And crap, against Luton. Sigh, that's just harsh. All these Hatters are in pretty good condition while we're our condition as a whole is in the crapper. See the halftime ratings to compare conditions between the two sides. Keigan Parker was already at 68% by then and six others are in the 70's while the lowest on the Luton side is 80%. Still, we had the game tied at 0-0 at that point.

It broke down in the second half and they beat us 0-2. We lost possession badly (42/58) and they outshot us 8 to 1 (3 to nil on target). They have apparently brought in a new striker and he got the MoM against us. Blech...

FM

[FrogMan]

January 1, 2011
The transfer window reopens today and as I hope to be able to bring in some players, I look at the leeway the team board is allowing me in budgets. Right now, they have allowed me 10k in transfer and $25,459 a week in wages. Way it works in FMHi is you can pick levels to switch to. Here are the possible levels, including where we're at now:

transfer / wage
10k / 25.5k
77k / 24.2k
150k / 22.9k
220k / 21.6k
280k / 20.3k

Our current wage total is at $18,430 a week. I decide to go with the 150k/22.9k option. It will still give me some room to negotiate wages.

We played 17th place Newport Co. to yet another scoreless draw today. Sigh, getting tired of these. We dropped to 8th place

One thing hits me. Of all our current players, almost all of them have contracts expiring this coming June and they all want some huge wage raise. I mean, stuff like going from $400 a week to $1,800 a week and on and on. Not gonna be easy...

FM

[FrogMan]

January 4, 2011
We play last place Bath at home today and finally record a win. The final score of 1-0 doesn't represent how badly we dominated them, winning possession with 57% and outshoting them 16 to 2 (10 to nothing on target). Their keeper gets the MoM, deservedly so.

I'm seeing some very greedy teams in this transfer window. Teams want sometimes way more than a player is valued at. I have my eyes on a few players, one valued at 24k, transfer listed by request, I bid 16k with my assistant saying the other team sees him has surplus to requirements. Bang, the response comes back, offer rejected and they are saying they would accept an offer in the region of $400,000. Say what???

FM

[FrogMan]

January 8, 2011
We play 10th place Gateshead on their pitch and drop it 0-1 on an 81st minute goal. Getting a bit frustrated as we keep possession close but just never challenge the opposing keeper. We played an attackling 442 formation for this match, that is 4 defenders, 2 MC, AMR/AML and 2 SC.

January 9, 2011
In the hope of generating some offense, I secure the the presence of 19yo Anthony Malbon on loan until the end of the season. Malbon is a clinical striker with a great shooting skill. His player card is attached below.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 10, 2011
Another example of teams wanting more than a player's value is 33yo striker Chris Greenacre. Valued at 48k at lowly Wellington Pheonix, the club is asking for $100k for him. I offer them $100k and 30% sell on percentage which they accept. Negotiating a contract is not too bad although he's looking only for a one contract but I'd like bit longer. His demands for wages are reasonable and we end up agreeing on a 2 year deal. Here's your new Stag (Mansfield Town's nickname is The Stags, learn something new every day ), Chris Greenacre!

Hopefully, he can combine with Malbon to give us some punch up front.

January 12, 2011
We play 3rd place AFC Wimbledon on their pitch. This match marks the debut for both Malbon and Greenacre as I move Keigan Parker to the right wing spot. First half goes well and we're tied 1-1 at the break but we crumble in the second half and drop the game 1-3. All three aforementioned players struggled, all three of them getting 5 in ratings.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 13, 2011
Grrr, there's one thing about being greedy but this one pissed me off as all hell. There was this defender, Lee Beevers, currently playing at Colchester. After seeing that Plymouth had made an offer of $16k for him, and remembering that they wanted upwards of $100k when I enquired about him, I enquired again. Yup, they say they would definitely consider an offer in the region of $140k. Err, of course, they would consider it. Go to the player page and try to make an offer to Colchester. Player is valued at $10k so I offer them $28k, in my eyes outbidding Plymouth by quite a bit. On top of that, I offer them 25% sell on percentage. My assistant believes they see him as a first team player which could explains the high value they put in the player. Day passes and they get back to me. Offer rejected, they now say they would accept an offer in the region of $180k now. WTF?!? At that point, still no news of what they did with Plymouth's offer, but I didn't have to wait long. The News drops the very next day: "Plymouth have signed Lee Beevers from Colchester for $16,000" Well Eff you!

This is utterly frustrating. First, all the inflated prices, which you can think of teams not wanting to depart with some players, but then to get f*cked like that. Getting a player of Beevers's caliber for $16k makes me think if I couldn't have had Greenacre for $50k instead of the th $100k we had to shell out for him. Hopefully it's only a one time thing...

On a more positive note, we have secured another player on loan until the end of the season. Say welcome to 20yo AM/F RLC Kireon Cardogan. He comes from Crystal Palace and his versatility and ability to play almost all positions from MC to SC will really help us.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 21, 2011
Our January revamping is still underway and we sign a new keeper to replace incumbent Alan Marriott. Richard Lee comes from Brentford and we had to pay $18k to get him.

We're now over the wage budget, at a total weekly wage of $24,469 off a budget of only $22,885. I still have a transfer budget of $25.5k but I adjust the budgets to give me more room in wages. Transfer budget dropped to zero, new wage budget is $23,380, still not high enough. I'll see if I cannot move a couple players. We have some really bad players that should be allowed to go.

As I add players all around the pitch, I'm hit with one monstrously bad news. Mark Preece, one of our starting centrebacks suffered a calf strain and will miss two months. These defenders didn't look like much on paper, but they have never really let us down. It's our scoring, or lack thereof, that has hurt us. This injury might give us a hard time. We are really thin on the back line and there really is not much available on the market. No loanees to speak of, and no transfer money left...

Looking at my assistant's team report, he agrees that we are weakest in defense but he can't come up with even one name for replacement back there. Ugh. Elsewhere, Kieron Cadogan is listed as our strongest midfielder while Chris Greenacre is listed as our strongest forward. I at least did well to improve our squad there.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 22, 2011
We play 6th place Grimsby at home. We play a very strong first before we fall a bit in the second. We still manage to win it, 2-1 on goals from Greenacre and Malbon. Nice to see these guys contribute. Kyle Nix gets the MoM, completing 42 of 57 passes in the process with an assist to boot.

January 25, 2011
We play 20th place Histon on their pitch. This game is another tale of two halves. Struggle mightily in the first, got back in the game in the second. Final Score: 2-2. Ryan Williams is our saviour, coming in at the 59 minute mark to score a brace in the last 40 minutes of the match to give us the draw from being down 0-2.

January 29, 2011
We play 14th place Kidderminster at home. It ends in another draw, 1-1 this time. Were unlucky in the first half but got back in the game later on. For once, I'd like us to play a solid 90 minutes of football... Anthony Malbon scored our lone goal and Richard Lee got the MoM.

February 1st, 2011
Team board still feel it would be unfair to comment on my overall performance as a manager.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 9, 2011
We play 22nd place Forest Green on their pitch. They do have the best on us on most statstical categories and are up 2-1 at the half but we claw back and pull even in the 72nd minute on a Kieron Cadogan goal. Chris Greenacre is our other scorer. Final Score: 2-2.

We're now able to score a bit more and are in 8th place, 7 points from a playoff spot with 13 games to play.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 12, 2011
We play 19th place Hayes & Yeading at home. This one shows the kind of domnation I had been waiting for. Not only did we win possession with 59% but we kept them shotless while putting 3 of our 5 shots on target. Greenacre scored on a penalty and Tyrone Thompson, one of the original Stag, scored the other. Keigan Parker hurt his foot and will miss about 3 weeks.

We remain in 8th place but are now 5 points away from a playoff spot.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 19, 2011
We play 3rd place Wrexham on their pitch. We finished our last game playing my beloved 442 diamond setup and that's how we'll start this game. You can see our selection below. They score first, in the 32nd minute but one of their player is sent off in the 39th minute. We do attack and have many chances at coming back but they shut us down the rest of the way. Final Score: 0-1.

Grr, that one sucks. Even possession, playing an opponent one man down for 60 minutes, outshooting them 8 to 6 (3 to 1 on target) yet not being able to at least bring back one point is frustrating.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 26, 2011
We play 19th place Tamworth at home. It's clear right from the start that we have really started playing as a team. We jump to a 2-0 start after only 8 minutes and will add 3 more in the second half on our way to a splendid 5-1 win. We put 10 of our 13 shots on target, completed 78% of our passes (to them completing 68%) and won 90% of our tackles. Well done guys!

We finished the match one man down when Kieron Cadogan was sent off for a second yellow card in the game in the 85th minute.

We remain in 8th place after this win but are only 5 points away from a playoffs spot currently held by Luton Town. Luton do have a match on hand over us.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 2, 2011
Hrm, the team board still feel it would be unfair to comment on my overall performance as a manager of the club. At least they are patient...

March 5, 2011
We play last place Southport on their pitch. DC Mark Preece has resumed training following his injury. This is odd but I'm kind of nervous to put him back him. We've been playing real well lately and I don't want to break our stride...

This is an odd game. With only 37% possession in the first half, we pull away with a 2-1 lead. We start controlling the ball more in the second half and pull away some more. Final Score: 4-2.

Anthony Malbon scores two in the win but it's Kyle Nix who gets the MoM.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 8, 2011
While the transfer window closed on January 31, the free/loan window is still open and I keep monitoring if players show of up out of contract or are put up for loan. Not much was available until this young DC caught my eye. Name is Tom Parkes and he currently plays at Leicester. He's 19yo and he joins us on loan until the end of the season with Leicester still paying 100% of his wages. Skill wise, he's much more well rounded than any of our other starting defenders.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 10, 2011
Here's another player we get to come to Mansfield on loan until the end of the season. Not too sure we really need another striker, but my assistant seems to think that Robert Hall has the potential to be one of the best players at the club. As we get to have him without paying one cent of wage, I'd say getting the 17yo to play for us is nice.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 16, 2011
Note to self: 8th place is not considered a respectable position by your team board. I learn this after seeing my team board confidence report (see attachment). They expect the club to attain a "respectable" league position, we're currently sitting in 8th place and they add that they are NOT happy with the current position of the team ergo 8th <> respectable position. Good thing is they do acknowledge that they are aware that this position is my predecessor's fault.

We play 14th place York at home. It's a pretty tight games with both teams scoring within 3 minutes of one another. Them first in the 55th minute, then us in the 58th. Final Score: 1-1.

Tom Parkes struggled in his debut, recording a form rating of 5. Robert Hall did much better, scoring in his debut. Tyrone Thompson Pulled a hamstring and will miss 3 weeks. He was our current AMC started but we have plenty of replacement, especially with the arrival of all the new strikers. They free up Keigan Parker to play in the AMC spot instead of up front.

We were only 4 points from 5th place Luton prior to the match but they gained two on us today.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 19, 2011
We play 9th place Kettering on their pitch. I decide to rest Chris Greenacre for the start of the game, giving the start to Robert Hall. Holy crap is this a bad one. We are down 0-3 after only 25 minutes and never recover after that. We didn't really get outclassed after that but they were very opportunistic in those 25 minutes. Three shots on target, three goals. Final Score: 0-3.

The good thing is we had 6 points on Kettering so we retain our 8th place but are now only 3 points away from them.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 26, 2011
We play 22nd place Altrincham at home after a good week of rest. Overall, the team is in much better shape, condition wise, than when I took over but getting a full week of rest is always good.

Ugh, Keigan Parker goes down and has to leave the field in the 17th minute. So much for that plan of him playing the AMC spot. Cadogan finished the game in his spot. It's a comfortable 2-0 win for us. We controlled the ball 60% of the time, puttin 5 of our 7 shots on target, compared to 1 out of 4 for them. Interesting stat too, we were awarded 7 corners and they got none. I guess we did put some pressure on their back line. Their keeper saved them from some embarassment with a Man of the Match performance.

Following the game, I learn that Parker will miss about 3 weeks with a broken toe.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 31, 2011
Three months from now, if things stand as they are now, I'll be left with only a couple starters as all my others will be out the door. Seriously, most of them want to see their wage doubled, or more. Here's a sample of wage increases that some players currently seen as starters are looking for:
DL Sandwith, from $700 to $1500
DR Silk, from $850 to $1800
DC Smith, from $600 to $1450
DMC Somner, from $850 to $1950
ML Nix, from $700 to $2200
AMC/SC Parker, from $1000 to $2200
MR Williams, from $750 to $2200

These 7 players currently cost us $5450 in weekly wage but would cost us $13300 if I were to give them everything they want. Yeah, as if this will happen...

It's not as if these guys are all irreplaceable, but I'd like to keep some sort of continuity, you know, keep things cohesive a bit. We'll see how it'll shake out.

Mark Preece a 23yo DC that sort of lost his starting spot when he got injured was only looking for an increase from $850 to $1050 so I take a shot and offer him $850. He accepts so that's at least one that'll be there comes the start of next season.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 2, 2011
Oh nice! I have won the Blue Square Bet Premier Manager of the Month Award for March! Go me!!!

We're piling on the awards too. Matt Somner has won the Blue Square Bet Premier Player of the Month Award for March. Even better, the runner-up was Mansfield's own Kyle Nix. Well done guys! Somner has had the following form ratings in his last five matches: 9-8-8-8-9. Well deserved award. Following this, I revisit their wage requirements and try something. Somner is looking for a wage increase from $850 to $2200, I offer him $1250 with a $28k signing on fee. Same thing for Nix who's looking for an increase in wage from $700 to $2200. I offer him $1250 with a $36k signing on fee. I gave them both a big club release clause. Somner is 28 and his deal would be for two years while Nix is 25 and his deal would be for three seasons.

The Board's still not happy with the current position of the team but they are aware that it is my predecessor's fault.

We play 4th place Rushden on their pitch. We take a 1-0 lead on a goal from Chris Greenacre in the 29th minute as we play good football. We definitely belong with them in terms of level of play. They do tie the game in the 76th minute for a final score score of 1-1 but I'm really quite okay with it. A draw against one of the top teams in our division, on the road no less, that's good, very good.

We remain in 8th place after the draw, now 7 points away from a playoff spot with only 5 games to play. Rushden dropped from 4th to 5th.

Southport is the first team to be officially relegated from the Blue Square Premier.

Following the game, I learn that both Somner and Nix have agreed to the offered wage. This tells me one thing, that players are greedy but can be negotiated with. Hopefully it'll hold true with the others. We'll see...

For now, these two resignings have put us above the wage budget of $23,380. Our current wage total is at $24,321, so about 1K too much. With the season winding down, I might cut ties with some players who simply have no hope of seeing the field anymore. Candidates in that respect include AMR Adam Smith and Steve Istead, with respective weekly wages of $850 and $700, or DC Steve Foster who's currently earning $850. He's 36 and he's said to retire at the end of the season. Looking at his player file, it says he's got 22 appearances for the team this season but I don't remember playing him once. An average form rating of 6.36 will do that to the impression a manager has of you, especially at the centreback spot.

FM

[FrogMan]

March 7, 2011
I've finally decided to clean up our wage bills. Out are reserves keeper Neil Collett, backup oldie centreback Steve Foster and backup striker Paul Connor, all names you've not seen often on our match reports. Foster and Connor cost us 10k and 12k respectively to buy out the three months left on their contracts but we're now under the wage budget of $23,380 with a weekly wage total of $23,298.

March 9, 2011
We play 17th place Fleetwood at home. Game starts okay but we're not really dominating. It's 1-1 at the half and we even go down 1-2 in the 66th minute on a fluke goal. That second half was ours all the way and I was afraid we'd drop the game on that one goal but that was without counting on Robert Hall's contribution. Hall was brought into the game in the 59th minute to replace Anthony Malbon. Good thing I brought him in as he scored two goals in the last 14th minute, right after Tom Parkes had brought the score level on a header. Hall gets the Man of the Match and we escape with a 4-2 win. Honorable mention to Paul Stonehouse who rarely sees the field as a backup left winger. He came into the game in the 75th minute when I moved Kyle Nix over to the AMC spot and he got himself a nice form rating of 9 in only 15 minutes of play.

We put 7 of 10 shots on target in the second half after going 3 out of 5 in the first half. Once again, corners told the story of the game. We were awarded 10 corners to them only getting 2. At one point, we had like 4 corners in a row, going from side to side, keeping the pressure on their keeper.

We remain in 8th place following the win, four points away from 7th place AFC Wimbledon and 5 points away from a playoffs spot and 5th place Grimsby. It's pretty tight up there. Luton in 3rd place is only 6 points away from us with 4 games to play.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 16, 2011
Rough game today as we play 2nd place Crawley on their pitch. We take an early lead on a Tyron Thompson goal in the 18th minute and we're holding on for most of the game after that. They do pull back even in the 71st minute and the game ends with both teams locked in a 1-1 draw. Richard Lee made a few great saves to keep us in this one but as a whole, we were competitive.

We remain in 8th place following the draw, 7 points away from a playoffs spot with only three matches to play. Magic number is now 2.

Bath City are the second team to be relegated from the Blues Square Premier.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 23, 2011
We play 1st place Darlington at home. Tough game for us and it starts badly. Not that we're really being outclassed but we go down 0-1 in the 18th minute and then 0-2 in the 40th minute. Halftime stats are pretty even though, they were just more opportunistic than us. The second half is even more to our advantage but doesn't translate to the scoreboard. Final Score: 0-2.

Ugh, kinda frustrating result as from the looks of it, we should have at least come out of this game with a draw yet we come out with what looks like an ugly loss.

We remain in 8th place but are now sealed off from any playoff spot, 9 points away from Luton and the 5th place with 2 games to play.

Altrincham have been relegated from the Blue Square Premier.

FM

[FrogMan]

April 26, 2011
We play 13th place Cambridge on their pitch. I'm pulling my hair out in the 4th minute when I see them take an apparent lead but the goal doesn't stand, there was offside. Phew. We take that scare and turn it around, taking a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute off a Chris Greenacre goal. We double our lead in the 87th minute on a fluke goal by Kieron Cadogan on a 40 yard long centered ball that was mishandled by their keeper. Final Score: 2-0.

Stats are very even but I could get the feeling that we took control of play during the second half. Matt Somner got the MoM.

With one match to be played, we cannot go any higher than our current 8th place but we need to win to secure it and not drop to 9th...

Darlington have won the Blue Square Premier title.

FM

[FrogMan]

May 1st, 2011
We've played out the end of our season with a 2-2 draw against AFC Wimbledon. We close the season in 8th place. Given that the team was in 4th place when I took over, I can't really be happy with that end result, but I did do quite a bit of change and felt we were doing much more to my liking towards the end.

GK Richard Lee ends the season 4th in forms rating average in the Blue Square Premier with 7.52.Kyle Nix is 13th with 7.34.

Fearing not having any player to start the new season, I offer some new contracts to our current players. MR Ryan Williams, DL Kevin Sandwith & Paul Stonehouse, DR Gary Silk, DC Chris Smith, AMC/FC Louis Briscoes all agree to new deals, pushing us just a bit over our wage budget.

May 15, 2011
I add a new DC/MC in 24 yo Byron Webster. My scout says there's not much difference between him and our current best central defender Tom Parkes, who will leave us when his loan is over. Webster had been playing with Doncaster in the Championship. I like is heading skills and his strength. I'm hoping he'll be fighting for high balls in the middle of our defence.

FM

[FrogMan]

May 20, 2011
Teams are cutting ties with players to free up some wages and I go bargain hunting. 28yo left fullback Peter Gilbert was looking for a weekly wage of $2,200 but he agrees to my offer of $1,650 a week. I know I just resigned our two left backs but I think he'll bring some interesting skills to our backline as we just didn't have a defend as well rounded as he is.

Well, crap. Luton not only made the playoff but won them. They are promoting to League 2.

In an odd bit of news, I learn that current starting right winger Ryan Williams just announced he will retire at the end of the season. The announce comes less than two weeks after him signing a new contract. He's 32.

In a rough bit of negotiation, I get forward Keigan Parker to agree to a new contract. He was looking for $2,000 a week but I only offered him $1,250 a week with $32k in sign on bonus. I'm glad we got him back.

FM

[FrogMan]

stay tuned as I plan to report through a very active offseason and bring you to 2011-12 and a whole new look Mansfield side.

FM