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

[thehitcat]

Will do Froggy! A very enjoyable dynasty as always!

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by thehitcat

Will do Froggy! A very enjoyable dynasty as always!

thanks, appreciate the support.

FM

[FrogMan]

June 1, 2011
The board feels I should perform slightly better in my role. Yeah, I knew that. I too would like our club to be doing better.

You can see the 2010-11 season review in the attachments.

Martin Ling is the guy who took over for me at Luton. And yeah, he won Manager of the Year in the Blue Square Premier. Bite me...

FM

[FrogMan]

June 10, 2011
The board inform me of their expectations for the upcoming season. They again expect the club to achieve a respectable league position this season. To achieve that expectation, they are giving me a weekly wage budget of $25,426 and a whopping transfer budget of $1,650. Woohoo, let's go spending on the transfer market!!!! Oh, you mean, there are no zeros after that 1650? ooookay. I feel bold and I tell them I think we can achieve a playoff spot. They give me $1,850 in transfer budget (woohoo again!!!) but more importantly, they raise the wage budget to $27,967. This will come in handy, especially if I want to secure some better loanees and I need to pay some of their wages.

The board would have given me $1,900/$29,238 if I'd been shooting for promotion and $2,000/$30,508 but I'm not comfortable gunning for higehr than a simple playoff appearance.


June 17, 2011
Well, it was no joke. Ryan Williams has retired and we've got nobody to man the right wing. Current wage total is at $22,951.


June 22, 2011
We don't remain wingerless on our right side for long. Newcomer is 26yo Ashley Vincent. He only had 5 appearances with League 1 Colchester but averaged 7.2 in form. Felt kinda lucky to get him as he was looking for $4.2k in weekly wages while my board only allowed me to offer him up to $2.4k. I did put in a nice $43k signing on fee to sweeten the deal. I feel he's got a great mix of skills for a winger. Good pace, good dribbling, decent stamina.


FM

[FrogMan]

June 23, 2011
Oh, some players are graduating from our youth setup. David Middleton is the first one, an 18yo striker who already looks much better than some players that were starters when I took over.


FM

[FrogMan]

July 4, 2011
Sam Graham is a second striker to come up from our youth squad. He's 17yo though and I guess his upside is the reason my assistant rate him as our best young striker, ahead of Middleton.


FM

[FrogMan]

July 7, 2011
Took a bit of jimmying back and forth but I finally secure a nice loanee in 23yo D RC Dominic Shimmin. He'll be with us until the end of the season. I like that he's a bit older than most typical loanees, especially for a centreback. My assistant described him as twice the player of our current best central defender Byron Webster. I love how well rounded he is, skill wise.


FM

[FrogMan]

July 7, 2011
Wow, that youth squad was quite good this year. Byron Hart, a 17yo M LC is the third notable player to promote from our youth setup. He's got diddly poo for stamina but otherwise has a lot of skills for being only 17. My assistant rtaes him a four star for potential ability...

We're now getting close to our wage budget at $26,185 out of $27,967.

FM

[FrogMan]

July 13, 2011
Graeme Owens, currently at Kilmarnock, is another 23yo possible loanee I'd been goign after. I finally secure him, and he agrees to come on a season long loan, after I offered Kilmarnock to pay his whole weekly wage of $1,950. This puts us over the wage budget but I think he will be very much worth it. The kid's got all the skills I want in a winger, plus he can play both sides.


FM

[FrogMan]

July 23, 2011
We play our first of three friendly, against League 1 Gillingham, at home. We record a nice 2-0 win on goals from Chris Greenacre and Ashley Vincent with Vincent getting the MoM. I liked what I saw in that match. Sure it's only a friendly but They are a couple levels above us...


July 30, 2011
We play League 2 Yeovil on their pitch and this one's a bit of a setback. We lose it 0-1 but win possession and are even in stats.

August 1, 2011
With a clean slate and without the league position hanging over my head, the board is now satisfied with my management of the club. They say the positive atmosphere in the changing room has been encouraging and I must agree. Morale is way up and it will be nice to go into the season with a positive outlook on things.

August 6, 2011
We close our schedule of friendlies with a match against Blue Square South side Forest Green on their pitch. It's a satisfying 3-1 win for us on two goals from Greenacre and another from Vincent. Vincent got another MoM.

August 7, 2011
Keigan Parker is again injured and will miss a couple weeks. Attached is what our current selection looks like. Youngster Sam Graham is set to be our second starting striker, but nothing's set in stone there.


FM

[FrogMan]

August 8, 2011
I go against my head scout's assessment and sign 18yo gk Peter Donnelly away from Havant & W's. My scout believes he's not good enough to succeed at the club but at only $260 a week, on a free transfer, he's worth a shot in my book. I sign him to a three year deal.

The 2011-12 season starts on August 13!

[FrogMan]

Attached is our squad selection as it stands when we enter the 2011-12 season. The grey rating is their average form rating

To me, it's a much better squad than what I had when I took over. Now, I only hope the new guys will mesh well with the few that remain from last season.

FM

[FrogMan]

August 13, 2011
The 2011-12 season is finally here!!! We start if off on the road, against Gainsborough. We seem to go through some growing pains early on and it's 2-2 at the half. Peter Gilbert scored in the 11th minute but they replied with two quick goals before Chris Greenacre put us back on even terms.

The second half was all ours though. Graeme Owens, just Like Gilbert, scored on his debut and Kyle Nix added to our lead late in the game. Final Score: 4-2.

Stats were pretty even but going by the highlights, we seemed to be getting the better chances. Kyle Nix gets the MoM.


August 16, 2011
Hrm, Graeme Owens sprained a wrist in training and will miss about a week.

We play Fleetwood at home. We take a very early lead with a Matt Somner goal in the 5th minute, then add to that lead on a Greenacre goal in the 42nd but they take one back with a goal in injury time of the first half.

One of their player gets a second yellow in the 54th minute and it's all downhill for them from there. We turn it on and never look back, controlling the ball at will. Dominic Shimmin heads one in in the 65th minute and David Middleton even scores in the waning moments. Final Score: 4-1.

Another high scoring affair. Even better is our 58% possession ratio and our 16 shots on target out of 20. Impressive stuff. Kyle Nix gets his second MoM in a row with a rating of 10.

We're sitting atop the league table, one of four teams with two wins in two games.

FM

[FrogMan]

August 17, 2011
Newport County have offered to loan David Middleton until the end of the season with a clause to recall him if I'd want to. They will pay 100% of his $260 weekly wages. I accept the offer and he, in turn, acccepts to go on loan with them.

August 20, 2011
We play Rushden on their pitch. They are a legitimate contender and it's unfortunate that our second half of the game broke down so hard. It was 1-1 at the halftime break and we had good stats, comparable to them. They score as the second half started and then Louis Briscoe got sent off for a professional foul inside our penalty area. Not only did we have to finish the game a man down but they added to their lead with the ensuing penalty. To add to our rough time, Dominic Shimmin had to leave the game in the 78th minute, just moments after I'd used my last substitution so we finished the match with 9 men on the pitch. That was a pitiful second half. Final Score: 1-3.

I'm kind of encouraged that we held our own, on their pitch no less.

Shimmin will be out of action for about 3 weeks after twisting his knee in the game. My head physio is making me nervous here though. He says he has long term concerns over Shimmin's fitness. Hrm, injury prone maybe?

Good news is that Keigan Parker resumed full training following his shin injury.

FM

[FrogMan]

August 23, 2011
We play Barrow at home. Chris Smith takes Shimmin's place at centreback. What a crazy first half. Shot are 10(6) for us, 7(3) for them and we're ahead 2-0 at the break on two Keigan Parker goals. Sure glad to have him back.

We collapse at the start of the second half and within 20 minutes we're all even, 2-2. Graeme Owens saves us with a nice goal in the 72nd minute. Final Score: 3-2.

We win possession with 56% and shots are quite even, 15(9) for us, 15(8) for them. Very offensive. You don't often see this many shot in a game.

August 25, 2011
An interesting rumour has linked us to Barnet's Anwar Uddin. Uddin is a 29yo centreback with great leadership. I don't have a full scouting report on him but what I see decent enough heading and tackling that I think he could work out for us. He's valued at $2k but I offer them to pick him up on a free transfer with a 50% sell on percentage. I will probably never sell him anyway, just let him go when his contract's over. They accept the offer and I negotiate with Uddin over a contract. He wants $2k a week but there's no way I want to pay him that. I offer him $1.4k for two years with some money up front and he accepts! Say welcome to the newest Stag! As I said, decent enough heading and tackling, with bonus aggression, decision and positioning. He should be fine with us. Also, if Shimmin stays healthy, I could keep Uddin at DC and move Shimmin to the right where Gary Silk has struggled in the first few games.

FM

[FrogMan]

August 27, 2011
We play 17th place Lincoln. They're struggling early on this season, with 1 win, 1 draw and 2 losses to show for it. Sam Graham is on fire to start this one and scores two within a couple minutes of one another and after 12 minutes, we're ahead 2-0. They claw their way back in and by the 61st minute, we're again all tied, at 2-2. Chris Smith makes his presence known by heading in a corner and we go away with the three points. Final Score: 3-2.

Sam Graham picked up the MoM with his couple goals and we're gonna need him to do more of this as Chris Greenacre had to leave the game in the 49th minute after twisting his ankle. He will miss about 2 months. Now is not the time for Keigan Parker to pick up one of his crappy injury.

August 29, 2011
It's a pretty congested schedule to start this season as we play again, only two days removed from our last match. This time it's at home against 17th place Kidderminster.

We're very opportunistic to start the game as we jump to a 2-0 lead on only 3 shots, although all 3 are on target. Tyrone Thompson and Keigan Parker are our scorers. Thompson is our latest casualty when he leaves the match in the 50th minute atfer suffering a calf strain. We keep the pressure in the second half, adding to our lead early on in the half on a Matt Somner goal while completely shutting them down the rest of the way. Final Score: 3-0

Tyrone Thompson had a great 50 minutes of play and gets the MoM. The bad news is that he will miss about 2 months with his injured calf. Ugh...

We move up to first place in the Blue Square Premier, ahead of Rushden! Outstanding start to the season!

FM

[Marc Vaughan]

Out of interest - what team instructions do you have set and have you tinkered with the player roles at all? (I'm guessing hard tackling and pressing?)

Nice report - I'm enjoying reading it

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Out of interest - what team instructions do you have set and have you tinkered with the player roles at all? (I'm guessing hard tackling and pressing?)

Nice report - I'm enjoying reading it

We're still playing the diamond 442 (4 D, DMC, MR/ML, AMC, SC), switching from defensive to attacking depending if we're away (mostly defensive) or home although I've stayed at attacking very often lately, only to pull back to balanced. Short passing is the predominant pick. We do use pressing but have been for most of last season, without much if any effect on the number of injuries. I sometimes turn it off, especially when we play many games in a short period of time and I want to rest the guys a bit.

Tackling is always set to normal. I think I used hard tackling once last season and went back to normal the very next game.

Player roles are fairly conventional. I sometimes fool around with them a bit but not much. Defenders are set to default. DMC is set to "ball winning midfielder", both wingers to winger, AMC to advanced playmaker. One striker is a "deep lying forward" while the other has been going between "target man", "poacher" or "advanced forward".

I'm thinking it's simply a string of bad luck as they often happen in the game (handheld or desktop version).

FM

[FrogMan]

August 31, 2011
With the injuries we've suffered, I set myself to find some loanees that could come and bolster our squad for free. I offer Chesterfield to take on their 19yo AM/F RC Tendaya Darwika until the end of the season, without paying a dime of his wage of course. They agree and he in turn agrees to come play for us on loan. Might look like all my loan request work but Darwika is maybe the fourth player I've tried to bring in in the last few days. Probably not the highest on my list but my assistant says he is twice the player of our best young forward Sam Graham. Seeing how nicely Graham has filled in for us, I'm sure Darwika could be useful when caught in a pinch.

FM

[FrogMan]

September 2nd, 2011
Woah, I have won the Blue Square Premier Manager of the Month award for August. Go me!

The board are now satisfied by my management of the team and add that this has been underlined by the joy of the fans at the current form of the team. Life is good right now.


September 4, 2011
We play 22nd place AFC Telford on their pitch. They are still winless after 6 matches. Even though we start strong, they get first crack at goal and even put one past Richard Lee but it's disallowed because of a offside. We unleash the fury on them after that. It's 2-0 at the half, both goals coming from Keigan Parker, and 3-1 at full time. Our last goal was scored by Sam Graham. we put 10 of 13 shots on target. Graeme Owens got the MoM.

Reinforcing my opinion that he's been on fire lately, Keigan Parker is given the Blue Square Premier Player of the Month award for August. It's Mansfield everywhere!

Following that award, there are rumours that Parker could be linked with a $52k move to a club called The New Saints. Never ever heard of them before. They seem to be a professional club in Wales with a stadium capacity of 3000. WTF? I deny that Parker is available for transfer.

I spot another youngster to bring in on a loan. Name's Reuben Noble-Lazarus and he's an 18 yo AM/F RLC currently playing at Barnsley. My assistant says he is twice the player of our best right winger Tendaya Darwika. Well, that'd be an upgrade, no? I try to get them to let him go to us for free, but they keep refusing. His weekly wage is only $180 so I bite the bullet and offer to pay his whole wage and they agree. He joins us on loan until the end of the season. He's got great dribbling and passing and can play about anywhere starting at the centerline.


September 8, 2011
Dang! Tendaya Darwika will be out of action for about 3 weeks after suffering a thigh strain in training. Guess the signing of Noble-Lazarus will be very useful...

FM

[FrogMan]

September 10, 2011
We play 9th place Crawley at home. Out for this game are Thompson, Darwika, Greenacre and Shimmin although Shimmin is getting very close, only a few days away. Graeme Owens scores what ends up being the only goal of the game in the 15th minute. Final Score: 1-0.

It was a hard fought battle and we lose another warrior when Sam Graham leaves the game in the 44th minute after straining a thigh. Sigh, he will miss about 3 weeks.


September 13, 2011
Newport County are really scouting our kids listed for loan. They offer to take on young keeper Peter Donnelly for a season long loan. They won't pay his wage but that's okay. I only want him to have a shot at playing, something which I'd really have a hard time giving to him, given the position he plays. I accept and off he goes.

FM

[FrogMan]

September 17, 2011
We play 3rd place Kettering on their pitch. It's getting hard to field a decent starting eleven now with all these injured players. Shimmin's back in the lineup and given how well Chris Smith has done at DC while he was out of the lineup, averaging 7 in form rating, I decide to start Shimmin at DR instead of Garry Silk. We keep the game close for most of the match, playing a very conservative and defensive game. It's 1-1 at the half and I'm thinking we can get away from there with a draw until they sink us with a last minute score in the 90th minute. Final Score: 1-2.

What else is new, another striker goes down in this game. Reuben Noble-Lazarus is the latest casualty. He twisted his knee and will miss about 3 weeks. I'm just about to go buy a pair of cleats and suit up to take a spot on the dang field...

The loss drops us to 2nd part, in a threeway tie with Rushden and Kettering with Grimsby right behind us with a game on hand.

FM

[FrogMan]

September 19, 2011
Trying to shore up our attacking front, I scour the list of players available for free. Many are interesting but few want to come play for us, choosing to stay home instead of fighting it out with a team trying to win promotion. I fin a 24yo AM/S C whom my scout describes as being "decent" which means that there's not much difference, in my scout's eyes at least, between him and our strong forward Chris Greenacre. He's looking for a 3 year contract worth $2.6k a week. Since we'Re running a bit over our wage budget, our board will allow me wages up to $1.75k for him. I offer him $1.5k for 3 years with a signing on fee of $26.5k and to my surprise, he agrees.

The odd thing is that my assistant seems to disagree with my scout. He says Grimes is some way off the standard of Greenacre and that he isn't considered one of the best forwards at the club. (not to Marc, the exact sentence was "Grimes isn't considered one of the better forward's at the club". Might want to correct that straying 's there )

Anyway, he's a natural center forward and is accomplished at AMC and competent on the whole right side.

And ayup, another day, another injury. My physio was probably right in saying he had some long term concerns over Shimmin's fitness. He will miss a month after straining a calf in training... Gary Silk goes back into the starting lineup.

September 20, 2011
We play 6th place Tamworth at home and despite what looks like a makeshift starting eleven, we come out clawing out and we're ahead 2-0 at the half. At that point, we had put 5 of 9 shots on target, had completely denied them of any shots, on target or not, and had held the ball for an impressive 63% of the time.

We cool off just a tad in the second half but still add to our lead. Final Score: 3-0.

Kyle Nix, Louis Briscoe and Ashley Vincent all score a goal in the win but it's Graeme Owens who got the MoM.

[FrogMan]

September 24, 2011
These weeks of three games are sometimes tough when you have a full complement of players, let's say they're very tough when you are going through an injury rash like we have.

Oh come on now DAMMIT! Matt Somner twisted his knee in practice and will miss about 3 weeks. This does it and I finally take some time to tweak our training schedule. I dial down the fitness aspect of the three main schedules from "medium" to "light". You can see the schedule in attachment.

For people used to the PC version of the game, you can't create new training schedules in the FMHi version. There are 6 preset schedules that you can tweak to your liking: Goalkeeper, Defending, Attacking, Fitness, Technical, General. I usually have my keepers on Goalkeepers (duh!), my defenders and DMC on Defending (double duh!), my general midfielders on Technical and my strikers, AMCs and wingers on Attacking. IIRC, the only real tweak I've ever done to those is increased the motivation aspect of every schedule. There's no real way of knowing how harsh a specific schedule is. I'm just hoping the drop down in fitness work will keep players from overexerting themselves...

We play 8th place Histon on their pitch. Looking at the player stats for the league, I'm happy to see that Keigan Parker comes in first for average form rating with an outstanding 8.0 average. Graeme Owens is in 8th place with an average form rating of 7.77 and Kyle Nix is in 10th with an average of 7.7. Parker is also the current top goal scorer with 6 while Nix and Owens are #1 and #2 in assists with 7 and 6 assists respectively.

The game is rough on us. No, no new injuries, just being outplayed. We're down 0-1 at the halfway point but more specifically, we're hardly touching the ball. We're barely surviving but Richard Lee keeps us in the game with a few mazing saves. They put 13 of 14 shots on target but he never lets one more past him. We're putting just enough pressure on their defenders late in the game that they commit a foul in their penalty area, the ref points the spot. PENALTY!!! Keigan Parker puts it past their keeper and we leave the field quickly when the final whistle blows, afraid the cops will come after us as we'd just robbed a kid of his candy. Final Score: 1-1.

Wow, just wow. We dodged a major bullet there...

Add to my joy the fact that both Rushden and Grimsby (who'd been hot on our trail and really on fire lately) stumble. They both lost and we regain sole possession of first place. Rushden got destroyed 4-1 by Lincoln.

FM

[FrogMan]

training schedules coming in a few minutes...

FM

[FrogMan]

There they are. I only included the three main ones.

FM

[terpkristin]

Woohoo!
Following along another Froggie dynasty.

/tk

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Woohoo!
Following along another Froggie dynasty.

/tk

hehe, didn't know if you were interested or I would have mentioned it to you earlier...

FM

[FrogMan]

September 27, 2011
Quick roundup of who's out and when they might be coming back:
Tendaya Darwika, a few days
Chris Greenacre, 10 days
Tyrone Thompson, 10 days
Sam Graham, 1 week
Reuben Noble-Lazarus, 2 weeks
Dominic Shimmin, 3 weeks
Matt Somner, 3 weeks

Soon we'll have an overload of strikers and I'll be able to field a 1-1-8 kind of lineup.

We play 22nd place AFC Wimbledon at home. We're go up by 2 before the first half is over on goals form Ashley Vincent and Keigan Parker and I'm feeling good about our play. hat else is new, we lose Anwar Uddin to injury to at the start of the second half but we almost build on it and add two more goals, from Ashley Grimes and Louis Briscoe, before the game is over. Final Score: 4-0.

Impressive showing. 57% possession, 10 shots on target out of 12. Really controlled the field of play. MoM goes to Ashley Grimes who's fitting well in the squad.

Uddin, the current replacement for injured DMC Matt Somner, will miss two weeks with a bruised shin. Dammit guys, get some new shin guards or something!

October 1, 2011
Interesting, Lance Key of Rushden won the Blue Square Premier Manager of the Month award and the Runner-up was Ian Sampson of Grimsby. Looking at how Rushden has played in the last month, I don't see anything better than what we did although I'd have thought that Grimsby had done better than both our clubs.

The board are satisfied with my management of the club. They again point out the happiness of the fans at the current form of the team. You can see the board's confidence ratings attached below.

We play 24th and last place Newport County on their place. This is interesting because they are usually playing to of our players, out there on loans, but they show up as unavailable due to league rules. Guess it's automatic that a loanee cannot play the team he is under contract with. Paul Stonehouse takes over at the DMC spot.

They have a goal disallowed because of an offside in teh 4th minute but we take control of the first half after that. The score is a satisfying 2-0 for us at the half. That's when the fit hits the shan and we forget how to play defensively. They score two in the first 4 minutes of the second half and we're back on level terms. We attack a bit more and take a 3-2 lead on a nice Keigan Parker goal in the 71st minute but the ref awards them a dubious penalty in the 84th minute. They convert it and we're wack to square one. More attack from us results in a goal in the 90th minute. Surely that must be the winning goal but oh no, we let another one in at the 93 minute mark. Gah! Final Score: 4-4.

Keepers of both team each received the same form rating as the number of goals they conceded, i.e. a 4. Blech. Talk about a defensive letdown. So disappointing to drop 2 points on what looked like a sure win.

FM

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

hehe, didn't know if you were interested or I would have mentioned it to you earlier...

FM

I admit I rarely read dynasties and when I do, I lurk, but I like reading your FM stuff. It's always entertaining.

/tk

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I admit I rarely read dynasties and when I do, I lurk, but I like reading your FM stuff. It's always entertaining.

/tk

Thanks for the kind words. I try to make it as lively as possible and I've found it helps with my English when I write a bit...

As a disclaimer, I also rarely read the dynasty forum, until I decide to start a new one, then I see what I've missed and I read a few here and there...

FM

[FrogMan]

October 4, 2011
Oh crap, another game with little rest, and against Grimsby of all teams. They are in 2nd place, only 1 point behind us but they have a game on hand. Even only 13 games into the season, that's as close to a must win as there will ever be one and following the defensive debacle we just went through, let's say I'm not feeling too confident. Even at home, the bookies have us as underdogs...

We do come out strong though and Ashley Grimes gives us a 1-0 lead in the fading moments of the first half. We were losing possession slightly at the point but had been buzzing around their net. They do put a lot more pressure on us in the second half but we hold on to win it 1-0.

Gary Silk came out of nowhere a couple times with great tackles and he gets the MoM.

Rushden drew in their game thus we move a full 3 points away from them. Looking at the board's confidence ratings, they are now delighted with the leadership qualitied I am demonstrating. Their words, not mine. Take a look at it, I don't think I've ever seen a full bar of confidence as it's currently showing in the "Competitions" bar. I know I told them my expectations were for the club to make the playoffs but I guess they never thought fourteen games into the season we'd sit in first place, three full points clear of second place. That we were able to maintain this form with a squad as depleted as ours has been bodes really well for the rest of the season. Hopefully the guys coming back into the lineup will keep goign the same way as those who allowed us to have such good form.

Ocober 6, 2011
Youngster Sam Graham has begun full training following his thigh injury. Tendaya Darwika played in the second half of the Grimsby match. They're coming back!

October 8, 2011
It's Tyrone Thompson's turn to begin full training again. Chris Greenacre, Anwar Uddin and Reuben Noble-Lazarus are all only a few days away while Dominic Shimmin and Matt Somner are about ten days from coming back. It's all coming together people!

FM

[FrogMan]

October 8, 2011
We play 16th place Braintree opn their pitch. It's 0-0 at the half but we're barely surviving. Nobody's getting hot and we look like tourists out there. They put 7 of 10 shots on target in one half, that tells you something. We keep playing the same way in the second half and we can't escape this one. They put two past Richard Lee in the final 45 minutes. Final Score: 0-2.

A very disappointing result but something that had happened before when players who'd been away because injuries come back to the lineup.


October 10, 2011
Chris Greenacre resumes training and he's got a chip on his shoulder. When he got hurt, the media went into a mini frenzy and some people questioned if the 33yo would even have a spot in the starting eleven when he'd come back from his injury. I defended him in the media but Chris still want to prove to people that they were wrong to question his abilities.


October 12, 2011
It's all "woohoo" and "oh crap" in a matter of a few minute, albeit a minor "oh crap" to be honest. The "woohoo" is the fact that Anwar Uddin has resumed training, the minor "oh crap" comes with another injury, this time to Louis Briscoe. He will miss two months after twisting an ankle in training.

Grimsby finally play the game they had on hand over us and lose it! To Newport County, no joke! Following our latest loss, we're tied to Rushden in points and one ahead of Grimsby. We're six points safe into playoff contention.

FM

[FrogMan]

October 15, 2011
We play 7th place Hayes & Yeading at home. Shimmin and Somner are both a few days away from coming back. Pundits are saying they believe we should have too much quality for H&Y on our own pitch and we prove them right with a 3-0 first half lead. Despite a slight disadvantage in possession, we'd put 6 of 9 shots on target over the first 45 minutes. We go on to win it 4-1 on goals from Parker, Greenacre, Gilbert and Grimes. We completely took over possession of the ball in the second half.

Keigan Parker got the MoM.

FM

[FrogMan]

October 22, 2011
We play FC Halifax Town in the FA Cup Qualifying round 4. They play in the English Northern Premier League Premier Division. That's quite a mouthful there and according to this wikipedia page, it's apparently at level 7 of the England soccer system. The whole England system is presented here and according to that, the Blue Square Premier is at level 5. This gives you an idea of relative level between our two clubs. While my scout believe they will be no pushovers, the pundits believe we should have too much quality for them.

Grrr, Reuben Noble-Lazarus will be out of action for 2 weeks after suffering a stubbed to in training. Yeah right, he tripped and feel while coming out a bar is more like it...

Back in are Somner at DMC and Shimmin at DR.

Hrm, guys are complacent in the first half and we go down one goal twice in the half before pulling back. It's 2-2 at the break and I'm reasonably nervous at that point. Guys crank up the heat and we destroy them in the second half: Final Score 5-2.

We didn't allow them one shot, on target or not, for all of the second half. On the game, Nix had 2, Greenacre 1, Parker 1 and Grimes 1.

Interesting fact about Ashley Grimes whom my assistant said just a month ago that he wasn't one of the best forwards at the club. He's averaged a form rating of 7.62 in 8 appearances since joining us. He's also scored 5 goals and registered 2 assists in those 8 appearances. Oh, now my assistant says there isn't much difference between him and our other strong forward Chris Greenacre. Apparently now he is one of the best forwards at the club.

FM

[FrogMan]

October 29, 2011
We play 5th place Wrexham on their pitch. They're going through a run of good form right now and are evens favorites to win this one. We steal a point out of this one with a 1-1 draw. We never really controlled anything and a Keigan Parker goal just before then end of the first half was all we could muster. Still happy with the point.

November 1, 2011
The board are still delighted with the leadership qualities I'm demonstrating.

November 5, 2011
We play Billericay on their pitch in the first round of the FA Cup. They are currently playing in the Premier League of the Isthmian League which is a couple levels below us, i.e. right below the Conference Noth/South level.

We control the game from start to finish, just as I hoped we would. We're ahead 4-0 at the half and it ends with a final score of 5-0. We put 8 of 16 shots on target to their 2 out of 3. Parker got a couple goals while Owens, Grimes and centreback Chris Smith all got one a piece. Owens got the MoM and their keeper got a rating of 2. Yikes...

November 8, 2011
We play 19th place Accrington at home. We're quietly in control in this game and the 1-0 final score doesn't really represent how much more we controlled the flow of the game. The winning goal came from a Chris Greenacre header in the 24th minute. He also got the MoM.

November 12, 2011
Quick look at the league stats reveals that Graeme Owens and Chris Greenacre are 3rd and 4th in average form ratings with 7.64 and 7.62 respectively. Ashley Grimes and Keigan Parker come in 13th and 14th with averages of 7.55 and 7.53 respectively. Not too shabby. Parker is also the current top goal scorer of the league with 11. The closes to him has only 9. Greenacre is 8th with 5. Owens and Kyle Nix are 1st and 2nd in assists with 10 and 8 and Ashley Vincent is 7th with 5 assists himself. As a team, we're in 6th place for forms over the last 6 match.

We play 17th place Ebbsfleet on their pitch. A freakishly sad/unlucky showing. We went down 1 in the 13th minute and it looked like the guys stopped trying right there. Final score is a 0-2 loss but they only put 3 of 4 shots on target. Richard Lee ends the game with a form rating of 5.

November 19, 2011
We play 20th place Gateshead at home.

Before heading out to the field, I learn that Reuben Noble-Lazarus strained his neck in training and will miss a couple weeks. He's not played much wince all the guys got back from injury.

Yowza, what a first half we played today. We put 6 of 8 shots on target in the first 45 minutes and score 4 goals. We cool off a bit as I tell the guys to stop pressing in the second half but we save Richard Lee's clean sheet. Final Score: 4-0.

Chris Greenacre records a hat trick in the win while Keigan Parker score the fourth goal. Goes without saying that Greenacre also got the MoM.

Rushden won over Grimsby 4-3 and we're now sitting in second place.

FM

[FrogMan]

November 21, 2011
Hrm, Sam Graham will be out of action for about 3 weeks after hurting his foot in training. The kid's made out of silk paper, and it's not only my opinion but my physio's too. He tells me he has long term concerns over Graham's fitness...

Yeah, well, injuries come in twos I guess. Tendaya Darwika hurt his shoulder in training and will miss one month. Like I reported for Noble-Larazus earlier, Darwika has not seen the pitch much since all the forwards have come back from their injuries.

November 26, 2011
We play Burton on their pitch for our 2nd round FA Cup match. They are currently sitting in 4th place of League 2, this is gonna be one tough match, away no less.

And yeah, it's a tough one, but we pull away 1-0 in the 26th minute on a beautiful header of a corner by Chris Smith. We are being dominated though and even though we're still ahead by that one goal at the break, we're getting our hind parts handed to us. They're outshooting us 5 to 1 (4 to 1 on target) but that one shot from us gave us the lead.

They keep attacking some more and score an equalizer in the 54th minute. I was simply playing for the rematch at that point, until Byron Webster imitates Smith and heads one in from a corner kick in the 87th minute. We win it 2-1!

Webster is awarded the MoM. Let's say we stayed with them just enough to survive it and got lucky in the end. On to the 3rd round we go!

Oh wow, the draw for round 3 happens and we will be playing QPR at home on January 7. This'll be an emotional one for me.

November 29, 2011
We play 21st place York on their pitch. As much as we did just enough and got lucky against Burton, we don't do enough and are unlucky against York. We're ahead 2-0 after 34 minutes but it's even after 67. We even go down 2-3 in the 75th minute but Chris Greenacre puts us back in the game with a late goal in the 88th minute. Final Score: 3-3.

Blech, We had it so much in control in the first half and we let it get away. Owens got the MoM with a goal and Parker scored the other goal. Richard Lee again got rated at 5.

December 1, 2011
The board are still delighted with the leadership qualities I am demonstrating. The positive atmosphere in the changing room has been encouraging to them.

Chris Greenacre has won the Blue Square Premier Player of the Month award and the runner-up was none other than Graeme Owens. Well done guys!

I also see that Plymouth and Reading seem to be interested in Greenacre. Hrm, he's got a Big Club Release but I'd really hate to lose him in the January transfer window...

Looking around, I see that Matt Somner lists me has his favoured person. Sounds silly but I've always liked being listed like that.

December 3, 2011
We play 12th place Eastbourne Boro at home. It's one of those games where we can't do anything wrong. We're up 4-0 at the break with 59% possession and it ends with us winning 5-0 with 63% possession over the whole game, i.e. 67% for the last 45 minutes.

Our goalscorers were Kyle Nix, Keigan Parker and Byron Hart with one a piece and Chris Greenacre with two. It was Hart's first senior goal. Nix got the MoM.

Looking at the coach report for Hart, my assistant now lists him as the best young central midfielder at the club, ahead of Tendaya Darwika who is a high prize looanee. Potential ability ranked at four stars.

Rushden got manhandled by Wrexham, losing their game 3-0 and we move up to 2nd place.

FM

[FrogMan]

December 10, 2011
We play Hyde at home for our first round match in the FA Trophy. They play in the Blue Square North which is the level right under the Blue Square Premier.

Hrm, this one was more of a nailbiter than it should ever have been. We win it 2-1 after leading 2-0 for the first 82 minutes of the game. They just had too many clear chances to my liking in those last 10 minutes.

Keigan Parker and Chris Greenacre scored our goals, Parker getting the MoM. We'll play another Blue Square North side in the second round, Bishop's Stortford.

December 17, 2011
We play 17th place Gainsborough at home. This one starts ugly as we go down 0-1 in the 9th minute. A Chris Greenacre goal gets us back in the game in the 20th mintue but that was our first shot, on or off target. They'd already 3 of 4 on target by that time and were controlling the ball 64% of the time.

We do gain back possession the rest of the way and have quite a few chances but we fail to capitalize on them. Final Score: 1-1.

December 21, 2011
We play 6th place Cambridge. They've been absolutely on fire lately, recording a draw and five wins over the course of their last six games. We've gone WLWDWD, a bit less hot but still good enough for 8th in the league over the same period.

Ball control is our big weapon in this one as we're up 1-0 at the half with a nice 59% possession. We keep it going in the second half and add to our lead while maintaining the same kind of possession. Final Score: 2-0.

Tyrone Thompson scores in a rare start. Keigan Parker scores our second goal while also getting the MoM.

Rough news following the game though. Peter Gilbert had to leave the game after strainging an ankle. I learn afterward that he will miss about 2 months. Ouch... I'll see how Kevin Sandwith do in his absence and if he falters, I'll try Paul Stonehouse.

Today, we played the match we had on hand over Rushden. The win brings us to two points of them and the top spot in the league.

FM

[FrogMan]

December 26, 2011
We play 8th place Fleetwood on their pitch. It's a pretty even first half of play, both stats wise and score wise. It's 1-1 after 45 minutes and it looks like we're gonna get out of there with one point when they score in the 90th minute. DAMMIT!

That's a hard loss to take but we didn't deserve any better. We did just enough to survive all game long and got burned at the end.

Matt Somner scored our only goal and we drop to 3rd place as Grimsby jumps a couple spot to first place with a win. They're three points ahead of us with a match in hand.

December 28, 2011
We play 2nd place Rushden at home. Ugh, I hate these games with only 48 hours of rest. And against Rushden no less. If you go back and check, at the same time last season, we played Luton on only 48 hours of rest. Didn't go too well...

Looking at the squad, we got many players going into the game with their condition below 90%, something I try to avoid at all cost. Graeme Owens is alreayd at only 86%. Because of that, I give his first start ever to Byron Hart. Also in are Paul Stonehous and Gary Silk at DL and DR, Ashley Grimes for Keigan Parker at SC, Tyrone Thompson for Kyle Nix at AMC and Uddin for Matt Somner at DMC.

It's a crazy first half that goes back and forth. We scored twice, they scored twice, both keepers rated at 5 after 45, 2-2 is the score. Crazy...

We take control in the second half and Richard Lee is just not as awful as their keeper. He's still rated at 5 after 90 minutes but their keeper ends up with a 3. Final Score: 4-2

Huge, HUGE win! Ashley Grimes scored two, Reuben Noble-Lazarus had one as a replacement for Vincent late in the game and Byron Hart had one before coming out in the 61st minute. Vincent got the MoM.

This win against Rushden combined with a rare home loss by Grimsby means we're back at the top of the table! Grimsby still has a match on hand over us but this win was big.

FM

[FrogMan]

December 31, 2011
With the turn of the year come the reminders about all your players with contracts expiring in 6 months. Last year's list was huge. This year's, not so much. Only 6 players are on this list this season, apart from the loan players, and none is a regular starter. Here's the list:
GK Alan Marriott - not one appearance this year
DC Mark Preece - not one appearance this year
D LC Kevin Sandwith - currently replacing Peter Gilbert but otherwise expendable, 33yo
D/M LC Paul Stonehouse - see Sandwith but is only 24 so might be worthy of an offer on the cheap to be a backup
AM C Tyrone Thompson - used to be a regular last year but has barely played this season. Kyle Nix is much more dependable. 29yo

We play 8th place Barrow on their pitch. Greenacre comes into this game at only 85% condition so he'll sit to start the game. We struggle early on but score a couple to keep it under control and it's 2-2 at the half. It's frustrating that we let go of a 2-1 lead but even more that it's a penalty kick called in the 67th mintue that decides who wins. Final Score: 2-3.

Graeme Owens and Keigan Parker scored our goals.

Lucky for us, both Rushden and Grimsby lost their match so we remain in first place.

January 1st, 2012
The board remain delighted with the leadership qualities I am demonstrating.

While the January transfer window does open, I don't expect to make any acquisition this time around. First we're almost $3k over our weekly wage budget and because of that, our board is limiting me to wage offers of no more than $1.75k. Not many players of impact will come play for us at that price.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 3, 2012
We play 15th place Lincoln at home. Byron Webster is out for this game, having been suspended for a match with too many yellow cards. I move Dominic Shimmin back to DC and put Gary Silk in his DR spot. Shimmin has not been has impressive as I'd have hoped he would be, at least not a difference maker as other loanee Graeme Owens has been. Chris Greenacre played to finish our last game and his condition is still low. Thing is, Keigan Parker's condition is also pretty low. Good thing we're playing a lower quality opponent. I give a rare start to Reuben Noble-Lazarus.

I'm regretting this kinda lineup at the half. It's still 0-0 so we're not behind, but we've only targetted one ball on their keeper. We explode for two goals in a minute or so in the 66th minute and that's just enough to give us the win. Final Score: 2-0. Kidsters gave us that win as Byron Hart and Sam Graham both scored. Graham even got away with the MoM.

Grr, Shimmin left the game with an injury in the 84th minute. Turns out he will miss a couple weeks after twisting his knee.

Both Grimsby and Rushden won their respective games so nothing changes in the league table.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 7, 2012
We play Championship side Q.P.R. at home in this 3rd round FA Cup match. I have some history from another life with the club from Loftus Road and this match means a little something to me.

If you didn't know about my connection with QPR, feel free to read a bit
FM2005: a frog at Loftus Road - Front Office Football Central
FM2005: a frog in the Premiership - Front Office Football Central
FM2005: a frog in Europe - Front Office Football Central
FM2005: Loftus Road to host Premiership football again - Front Office Football Central
FM2005: European Football is back at Loftus Road! - Front Office Football Central
FM2005: a frog at the World Cup? - Front Office Football Central

My scout thinks that Q.P.R. will provide a difficult test and that retaining possession will be especially important. Yeah, duh, tell me something I DON'T know. Q.P.R. have been made 1-4 favorites to win this game by the bookies. Looking at the list of teams playing today, we're the only Blue Square Premier side left in the competition while there's still a Blue Square North club, Dover. Very impressed by that.

I decide to try and surprise QPR by going out attacking and well, it was not such a good idea. We're just not touching the ball. Possession is staying in th 30% area, but we've had some chances. We even take a 1-0 lead in the 41st minute on a Chris Greenacre goal but they even the score on a penalty just as the second half begins. Grrr... Come one guys, we can't be giving them goals! I only have time to catch my breath that we mount a push to their goal and it's his best impersonation of an NHL referee, the ref equalizes. PENALTY! Greenacre doubles his tally and we're back in the lead. We're still only registering 33% possession though, but they are not coming close to our net. I switch our formation to a defensive 5-3-2 formation and it does the trick just well enough for us to hang to our lead. Final Score: 2-1!!!

We've done it, we're through to round 4! I can't believe it!

This one is a huge morale booster in the dressing room.

January 8, 2012
Reuben Noble-Lazarus strained his neck in training and will miss 10 days.

January 10, 2012
I learn that we will play either League 2 Hereford or League 1 Brighton and Hove Albion in our 4th round FA Cup match. Interesting that we just beat a Championship club and would play lower clubs in the next round. Not saying it's a done deal we will advance, but we could, if we play it right.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 11, 2012
While looking at some scout reports for potential replacements for current keeper Richard Lee, I see that the scouted player is now being compared to Peter Donnelly. I mean, my scout is not saying the scouted player is "not anywher near", "as good as", or "better than" Richard Lee but than Petter Donnelly. Woah. Looking at his player card, it looks like the 19yo kid has grown a heck of a lot while on loan at Newport County. Despite conceding 61 goals in 25 appearances, he's averaged a form rating of 7.32, much better than Lee's 6.60. I decide to end Donnelly's loan and to recall him on the spot.

January 12, 2012
Oh crap, what I feared the most is happening. Plymouth Argyle have made a $110,000 bid for Chris Greenacre. Since they meet the criteria for the player's big club release clause, I cannot reject this offer. He accepts a $6.4k a week contract with them within the day.

I'm freakishly sad to see him go though, I can't lie. He was my first big transfer splash and he was a spark plug for our offense this season. He scored 7 goals in 18 appearances last season and had already score 16 in 22 appearances this season. Looking at his player card, not only does he lists me as his favoured person, he also admires me. I guess I gave him a second lease on life, so to speak.

Still, it's not all bad. I mean, Greenacre is 34 and we have some depth at the forward position. There's one thing though, even though I could not reject the offers, players are mad at me. Chris Smith, Kevin Sandwith, Ashley Vincent, Kyle Nix, Anwar Uddin, Paul Stonehouse and Louis Briscoe are all unhappy at the sale of one of the Club's star players. I COULD NOT REJECT IT!!!

FM

[FrogMan]

January 14, 2012
We play Bishop's Stortford in a 2nd Round FA Trophy match. Ashley Grimes gets the start for departed Chris Greenacre. Peter Donnelly is ineligible under competition rules since he's played a match in the FA Trophy with Newport County.

It's not one of our finest match. We go down 0-1 after only 11 mintues but tie it in the 36th minute. From then on, we attack off and on but I end up setting the guys to simply hold the draw so we'll play a rematch at home. Final Score: 1-1.

Keigan Parker scored our lone goal and Matt Somner got the MoM.

I learn that we will be playing Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup 4th round. They destroyed Hereford 5-1 in a replay after drawing with them first 1-1.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 18, 2012
2nd Round FA Trophy replay match against Bishop's Stortford, on our pitch this time. This is more like it. We come out strong and control possession from the get go. It's 3-0 at the half and 4-0 after 90 minutes. Goals came from Matt Somner, Graeme Owens (pen), and Keigan Parker had two. We did lose two players to injury. Byron Webster will miss about a week after suffering a gashed lef and Ashley Vincent will be out of action for about three weeks with a twisted knee.

Matt Somner goes to the press and publicly thank me. He says he believes his wonderful form this season is due to the effect I have had on his career. Feels good to hear.

January 20, 2012
Huhoh, League 2 Brentford have come out and offered $80k for Kyle Nix. Like Greenacre, he too has the big club release clause but I guess Brentford is not a big enough club since I can negotiate. Silly me can't find a straight "reject" button but I follow my assistant's advice and nump up my demands to $900k for Nix. My assistant is of the opinion that Nix is a key player at the club who should be retained at all costs. I guess $900k would qualify for "at all costs". As expected, they drop their offer.

January 21, 2012
We play 22nd place AFC Telford at home. This game marks the senior debut of Peter Donnelly with us. We're totally in control in this game and the final score of a 2-1 win doesn't represent how we manhandled them. 57% possession with with shots going 11 to 12 (8 to 1 on target) is more representative. Keigan Parker and Sam Graham scored for us. Graeme Owens got yet another MoM playing the right wing. Youngster Byron Hart played the first 78 minutes on the left wing and got a rating of 8.

Grimsby also won while Rushden lost. We're moving up to second place, 4 points away from Grimsby but with a match on hand.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 24, 2012
We play 8th place Crawley on their pitch. Wow, what a counter performance Peter Donnelly gives us. I guess he is still very young at 19 and he will have bad games but this one is a really bad one. We end up with a 3-3 draw on at least 2 bad goals given by Donnelly. He ends the game on the bench with a form rating of 4.

Keigan Parker scored one and Kyle Nix scored two. Byron Hart ended up with the MoM in another strong showing.

Grimsby won and they pull away a bit more, now 6 points ahead of us. The scary thing is we're only one tiny points ahead of 5th place Cambridge who've been tearing the league up lately.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 25, 2012
Byron Webster has resumed training following his injury.

Thinking about making the team better for next season and our life post-Owens, remember that he is a loanee, I spot this 24yo AM RL named Dean Cox currently playing for Leyton Orient. I got some transfer money left and after a bit of back and forth, I get them to agree to an offer of $18k. My scout seems to think he is not good enough to succeed but his skills are just what I like in a winger, i.e. decent (12-13) crossing, dribbling, pace, stamina, passing, technique and teamwork. Yeah all those skills are either at 12 or 13 for him, plenty good enough for me. Add "movement", which I assume is the old "off the ball" skill, at 13 too. Sure, my scout is comparing him to Owens as our current best left midfielder. Owens is out of this world for a Conference level side. Even better, Cox is looking for only $1.65k a week on a 3 year deal. I go bit cheaper and offer him $1.5k a week with a $10k signing on fee. He agrees to the contract offered and joins us the very next day.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 28, 2012
We play Brighton at home for this 4th round FA Cup match. Peter Donnelly is again ineligible for this one so Richard Lee is back in the nets, and he delivers a stinker. Wow, we're with them all the way, controlling possession of 59% over the course of the whole game. Shots are also very even at 6 (3 on target) for us and also 6 (4 on target) for them. Still, Lee gets rated a wonderful 3 on form and we lose it 0-3.

Good thing it's not a league match and the impact is not as bad on player morale as the media and everyone pretty much expected us to lose. Still very frustrating to see we could have won this one, but a bad keeper performance denied us of that...

Following this second bad keeper performance in a row, by two separate keepers, I take this scout report I get about one 34yo Darryl Flahavan very seriously. My scout says he is twice the keeper that our best keeper Peter Donnelly is. Flahavan is without a contract and is looking for a one year deal at only $700 a week. He agrees to it and joins us as our fourth keeper. He could make for a solid keeper until the 19yo Donnelly matures a bit.

FM

[FrogMan]

January 31, 2012
Wow, while we were getting our butts handed to us in the FA Cup, it seems like everybody else around us in the league table have won their league game. Look at that, we're now in 6th place, only one points above the playoff line. Sure, we got two matches on hand but dang, this puts a lot of pressure on us to win those matches.

FM

[FrogMan]

February 1, 2012
Huhoh, since we're not as high on the league table, the board has kinda cooled off on their appreciation of my management of the club. They are not delighted anymore, simply very pleased with it.

The good news is that youngster Byron Hart has won the Blue Square Premier Player of the Month award. Wow, well done! I had not realized but since he's been a starter, the 18yo has had some very decent outings with form ratings of 7-8-9-7-8 over his last five appearances. Funny thing is the kiddo lists me as his favoured person. He's only four years older than my own son. Heck, he could be my son...

We play 13th place Kidderminster on their pitch. I give Donnelly another start at keeper and he again gives away a bad goal. He ends the game with a decent enough rating of 7 but a bad goal a game forces us to play way over our head defensively and even if it was a non-factor in this one as we won it 3-2, I simply don't like giveaway goals...

Byron Hart scored again along with Kyle Nix and Graeme Owens who also got the MoM. This was the only match in the league today and the win moves us back up to second place, 3 points away from first place Grimsby.

FM