This is MY Football Club, UK? (Ebbsfleet -Foz's Farewell to FM08)

[SirFozzie]

Gravesend & Northfleet F.C. was formed in 1946, following the Second World War, after a merger between Gravesend United (originally formed in 1893) and Northfleet United (originally formed in 1890) with the new club retaining the red & white home colours (and the Stonebridge Road stadium) of Northfleet United.

In 1979, the team was one of the founder members of the Alliance Premier League (now today's Conference National) but were relegated back into the Southern League Premier three seasons later.

For the 1997-98 season, Gravesend & Northfleet left the Southern League and joined the Isthmian League. They played in the Premier Division of the league until the 2001-02 season, when they finished as champions and earned promotion back into the Conference, where they have remained since then.

In real life, the Internet Consotium known as "My Football Club, UK" formed, 60,000 strong, and purchased the team in late 2007. They rewarded their new owners by winning the FA Trophy (the knockout tournament for semi-professional and amateur teams).

So.. this is where I step in..

[SirFozzie]

We're expected to finish safely in the Blue Square Premier League (formally known as the Conference National level). My Assistant Manager thinks that should be easily doable, so I tell the board that I think a top half finish is the mininum that we can reach. They're glad to hear it. Now I got to practice what I preach.

Breakdown:

Goalkeepers: Sam Mott (18 years old, 1K value) is our only non-injured senior squad goalie, so he, by default is our de-facto starter. Lance Cronin (21, 4K) is really a better goalie, but he's recovering from a broken finger, and is out 4-8 weeks. We're trying to do our best to bring in a goalie on loan however.

DefensePrimarily, we're going to run a 3-4-1-2, so we only need centre backs, and we have some decent ones.. well, at least for the BSP level. Phil Starkey (19, 6K) is the weak link of our starters, but our other two Gary McDonald (27, 12K) and Peter Hawkins (28, 10K) our pretty decent at marking, so I think we'll be fine.

Midfield We're really shorthanded here in a couple positions. (our best player, Neil Barrett (25, 16K) will be out of position on the left hand side). But we're working on that.

Forwards Again, short handed, but we have three forwards who will rotate in and out. None of them are particularly great at finishing, but John Akinde (18, 6K) might be the best finisher.

[SirFozzie]

| Pkd     | Inf     | Name             | Position   | Nat     | Height  | Weight  | Age     | Value   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK      |         | Sam Mott         | GK         | ENG     | 186 cm  | 64 kg   | 18      | £1K     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      |         | Phil Starkey     | D RC       | ENG     | 188 cm  | 78 kg   | 19      | £6K     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      |         | Gary MacDonald   | D LC       | ENG     | 183 cm  | 82 kg   | 27      | £12K    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      |         | Peter Hawkins    | D LC       | ENG     | 178 cm  | 72 kg   | 28      | £10K    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR      |         | Danny Slatter    | AM RC      | WAL     | 173 cm  | 65 kg   | 26      | £8K     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML      |         | Neil Barrett     | M C        | ENG     | 178 cm  | 70 kg   | 25      | £16K    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC      |         | Mark Ricketts    | D RC, DM   | ENG     | 183 cm  | 71 kg   | 22      | £14K    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC      |         | Michael Bostwick | D/M C      | ENG     | 188 cm  | 75 kg   | 19      | -       | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC     |         | Luke Moore       | AM/F C     | ENG     | 181 cm  | 73 kg   | 19      | £6K     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC      |         | Raphaël Nadé     | AM RC, F C | CIV     | 183 cm  | 80 kg   | 27      | £14K    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| FC      |         | Chukki Eribenne  | ST         | ENG     | 178 cm  | 78 kg   | 26      | £10K    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1      |         | John Akinde      | ST         | ENG     | 188 cm  | 64 kg   | 18      | £6K     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2      |         | Ronnie Bull      | D L        | ENG     | 171 cm  | 69 kg   | 26      | £10K    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3      |         | Stacy Long       | M C        | ENG     | 173 cm  | 64 kg   | 22      | £12K    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4      |         | Chris McPhee     | ST         | ENG     | 181 cm  | 75 kg   | 24      | -       | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5      |         | Sasha Opinel     | D/WB/M L   | FRA     | 176 cm  | 77 kg   | 30      | £12K    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6      |         | Warren Goodhind  | D R        | RSA     | 181 cm  | 73 kg   | 29      | £8K     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Lance Cronin     | GK         | ENG     | 186 cm  | 75 kg   | 21      | £4K     | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|         |         |                  |            |         |         |         |         |         | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Senator]

I am following along with your dynasty. I have been a member for over a year with the real thing.

[SirFozzie]

July, 2007:

Well, time for that wonderful time of the year, which is to comb the loan/free transfer market like mad, hoping to get ANY kind of depth possible. It's a good thing I'm not bummed out about rejection, the amount of players who don't want to come down would be.. depressing otherwise.

We do make a significant development in July, we announce that Crystal Palace (in the English Championship) and Ebbsfleet United have agreed to a working partnership. Immediately, this looks to have paid off, as they send two youngsters down to get a season worth of training with us.

IN:
Chris Palmer (Wycombe) A WB/M L, he fills a hole for us with left side midfield and will be a key player. Really good at launching long throws in to the box. (loan, Rest of Season)

Lee Hills (Crystal Palace) One of our players from our link up with Crystal Palace, right now, he's a man without a position (he's a left side defender, I play three centre backs), but the 17 year old is good enough that he's making me reconsider the 3-4-1-2. He's also worth about, 50 times our best player (my best player on contract is worth about 16K, he's valued at 850K) (Loan, End of Season)

James Dayton (Crystal Palace) the other Palace young gun to join us at first, he fills a need for us, and his physical stats are really good, and more importantly he can go all 90 minutes easily (natural fitness of 16, Stamina of 10). (Loan, End of Season)

David Wilkinson (Crystal Palace) Well, we specifically have to ask for him, but at 20 years old, he probably could use the experience. Decent at handling and one-on-ones, he will likely start while our usual goalkeeper is injured.. maybe after that. We'll see. (Loan, End of Season)

Barry Hunter: Well, we wanted to bring in the 38 year old central defender in as a player/coach, but the board didn't want anymore coaches in the setup.. but we brought him in for depth at central defense (He immediately acquired the nick name Gramps, as at 38, he's 8 years older then anyone else on the squad!). Funny thing is, he gets sent off in his first game with the team (the next-to-last preseason game) and will miss at least the beginning of the regular season. Which just changed his nickname to "Grandpa Angry". (Free Transfer)

July 2007 Results: (All Friendlies)

July 16th @ Eastbourne Boro (L 0-3)
July 19th @ Maidenhead (W 4-1, Naede (2), Eribenne, Palmer)
July 22nd @ Fisher (W 3-1, Eribenne, McPhee, Akinde)
July 25th Plymouth (L 0-3)
July 28th @ Chelmsford (L 1-3, Mcphee, Hunter SENT OFF)
July 31st @ Braintree (L2-3, McPhee, Akinde)

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Senator

I am following along with your dynasty. I have been a member for over a year with the real thing.

Cool! I wanted to join but they never let me pay.. :P

[SirFozzie]

We are priced at 2-1 for promotion. 6th favorite. There are only two promotion slots out of the conference to League 2 (for the Champion, and the winner of a playoff involving 2nd-5th Place), so the moves we've done seems to have impressed the press.

[SirFozzie]

I promise upper-level bonuses, of 55K to be paid out if we win the BSP this year (and its requisite automatic promotion spot), as well as 55K if we win the FA Trophy (or exceedingly less likely, the FA Cup). I find its a cheap way to buy loyalty.. they play better if there's a load of dosh in it for them!

[SirFozzie]

We start off against Cambridge United (my real life favorite team in that division), with the following lineup:

GK:Wilkinson
DC:Hills
DC:Macdonald
DC:Starkey
MLayton
MC:Bostwick
MC:Ricketts
MR:Slatter
AMC:Moore
FC:Eribenne
FC: Nade

It's good to start the year off at home. It's even better to take a lead early on, and we do so, Moore slotting home a rebound off the post 13 minutes in. We're applying constant pressure, and Moore takes advantage of a Cambridge goalie's mistake, shouldering him aside, and sliding the ball into the empty net, and we're up 2-0 21 minutes in. However, it's not all beer and skittles, and Eribenne's day ends early due to injury.

Hills is not trained as a DC (although he's working on it now), and he's more familiar with being out wide. He tries to block a Cambridge United shot, but ends up redirecting it into our own net, and our lead is halved, 2-1, 10 minutes till the halftime break.

It's halftime, and we're up 2-1. I sub in Opinel for Mills (who hasn't played badly, other than the own goal). We're limiting Cambridge to mostly shots outside the box, and they're obliginingly putting it wide.. but there's a few anxious moments near the end of the game.. but soon enough the whistle blows, and Ebbsfleet United have won their first game of the year!

Ebbsfleet United 2-1 Cambridge United (Att:1291) Moore 13, 21

[SirFozzie]

Eribenne is going to be out at least a month with a sprained ankle, and striker's one of those areas where we need to find help ANYWAY, so we start hitting the transfer wire/loan market again. We only have 13K in transfer funds, but hopefully we can find someone to provide more depth.

[SirFozzie]

Our 2nd game of the year is only three days later, and we're the non-league game of the week on TV, facing Grays Athletic

Well, every so often I get reminders that this is not the highest level of performers. The effort is there, but the ability? Not always. Our defense is not exactly GREAT, but with a couple shots ticking wood on their way over, we manage to keep it scoreless early, and then finally dig our way back into the game.

We have a goal disallowed for offside a half hour in, but right before the half, Dayton intercepts a lazy pass at midfield, jukes outside one defender, draws the goalie out, beating him to the spot and putting it in. We're up 1-0 at the break.

The second half looks to be petering out into a 1-0 win for Ebbsfleet, with the final touch of the game, their striker Aaron O'Connor rises above Wilkinson and heads home a cross to snatch a point for them, and deny us two points. Frustration!

Grays Athletic 1-1 Ebbsfleet United (Drayton 43) Att:1216

[SirFozzie]

After the game, the press comes looking for the juicy story (well, for the type of press that follows Ebbsfleet), and ask if the disallowed goal by Raphael Nade in the first half should've counted and if so, how did it change the game.

Well, this is bad enough at the professional level, where you have 9 camera angles of every incident, and you can at least make an educated guess. At our level, where you have three cameras (and that's because we're the one game this week aired on TV!).. you really have to guess. But he did look a STEP offside (the defender stepped up RIGHT as the ball was to be served), so I swallow the protest, and say that I think the ref got it spot on.

Well, this didn't make Nade happy. He informed me the next day that he had expected that I would stick up for him. He claimed he was on side, and that should've been good enough for me. I try to smooth it over, but he's not really happy. Not much I can do, however. I really think he's more angry about the fact that I hit the transfer wire and brought in a player from Shrewsbury:

Andy Cooke (Striker) 33 years old, this is pretty much the last stop for him, but he's a good finisher in front of net (13 Finishing), and he's played at all levels of the English pyramid except for the Premier League (Championship, League 1, League 2, even some time over seas in South Korea's K-League). Despite scoring double digit goals for Shrewsbury last year in league 2, he was deemed expendable this year, and it only cost us 1K in transfer fees and 800 pounds a week in wages. (1K Transfer)

Cooke is good. the problem is he knows he's good.. and he says so in his first press conference. That he's proven himself at higher levels, and now that we've brought him in, he expects to be the straw that stirs the drink..

Speaking of drinks *facepalm*...

[SirFozzie]

Well, the next game at Altricham is probably in the weirdest conditions I've ever seen. It's 95 degrees, and we have a thunderstorm in the distance, but instead of being delayed, we play, and the field rapidly devolves into a quagmire. We give away a first half penalty (Little obstructed an Altricham player).

We manage to tie it up, but a 2nd half goal, is sadly inevitable, as they had FIVE straight corners, and on the fifth one they scramble it home. We try for a 2nd one oursleves, but we just do not have our attacking boots on (or if they did, they're stuck in the mud!), and we lose our first game of the year.

Altrincham 2-1 Ebbsfleet (Drayton 44) Att:1046

[SirFozzie]

The Vultures are circling. Well, it's not my job the Press wants (yet), but obviously they've been sent by Loki to sew discord and disharmony amongst my team. Already having had one player upset with me, when the press want me to comment on the penalty given to Altrincham in the last game, I decline comment. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me (was going to go with the Who/Bush and say "won't get fooled again". Let's see them spin something negative out of that!

[SirFozzie]

Well, our next game is home at Stafford Rangers, and my team brought their shooting boots. Good thing too.

We were down 2-0 within half an hour through two good shots from the Rangers, but we come back, Nade (who's somewhat patched things over with me, I think he realizes that now that we have four strikers on the roster, his starting place isn't so guaranteed) scores in the 35th minute, and two minutes later, Moore scores his first of the game and we go into the halftime break tied at 2.

In the second half, Nade scores his second, and we hold a 3-2 lead, when Shane Bradley scores for Rangers to tie it up. We think we've scored a winner when Moore pots home his second, but they tie it up 5 minutes from time, and we have another frustrating draw.

Ebbsfleet 4-4 Stafford Rangers (Nade 35, 46, Moore 37, 76) Att:1297

[SirFozzie]

After a 3-1 loss to York, I decide some changes are necessary. We ditch the 3-4-1-2, and switch to a 4-4-2 diamond. Our defense has more holes than swiss cheese shot by a machine gun.

We manage to score a point with a 2-2 draw at home against Crawley to move up to 17th in the 24 team BSP.. we have a record of 1 win, 3 draws, 2 losses. Our defense is just plain slow. Most of the goals we've let in have been instances where they've gotten behind the defense, and our D is left to chase them and watch them go one on one with our keeper.

[SirFozzie]

Three more losses in a row make it abundantly clear that our defense and goalkeeping isn't much better with 4 rather than 3 (1-0 to Halifax, 4-2 to Droylsden, 2-1 to Forest Green).

We're 12-1 underdogs when we face Aldershot, who are top of the league by four points. We try switching to a 5-3-2 counter formation, and while it helps on offense, we blow 2-0 and 3-2 leads to get another 3-3 draw. *sighs*

[SirFozzie]

The 5-3-2 counter seems to work better, which is good because we're perilously close to the drop zone...

We defeat Woking 1-0, get two draws (1-1 and 2-2) against Burton and then Histon. We look to be slipping into bad habits with a 4-3 loss against Exeter, and then a 1-0 loss against Oxford. We right the ship with a 2-0 victory at home against Stevenage., but it immediately starts listing again, (3-1 loss to Northwich).

However, a 3-0 win at home against Kidderminster is huge. We're still 20th in the BSP, but we're now three points out of the drop zone, and have something to build on (beating the fifth place team big is always huge).

We draw Grays Athletic in the final qualifying round.. and look to be advancing to the FA Cup Proper, but a late goal sends the game to a replay, 2-2. We play at their house 3 days later, and take it to extra time, but again, they score late, 2-1, and no chance of a big money spinning fixture in the FA Cup.

Holders - Dag & Red






| Pos                            | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st                            |       | Oxford        |       | 18    | 11    | 5     | 2     | 29    | 15    | +14   | 38    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd                            |       | Aldershot     |       | 18    | 10    | 4     | 4     | 36    | 23    | +13   | 34    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd                            |       | Forest Green  |       | 18    | 9     | 6     | 3     | 31    | 21    | +10   | 33    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th                            |       | Salisbury     |       | 18    | 10    | 3     | 5     | 26    | 18    | +8    | 33    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th                            |       | Kidderminster |       | 17    | 9     | 2     | 6     | 25    | 18    | +7    | 29    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th                            |       | Rushden       |       | 17    | 9     | 2     | 6     | 31    | 26    | +5    | 29    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th                            |       | Northwich     |       | 18    | 8     | 5     | 5     | 26    | 24    | +2    | 29    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th                            |       | York          |       | 18    | 8     | 5     | 5     | 23    | 22    | +1    | 29    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th                            |       | Stevenage     |       | 18    | 7     | 7     | 4     | 22    | 15    | +7    | 28    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th                           |       | Altrincham    |       | 18    | 7     | 7     | 4     | 24    | 22    | +2    | 28    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th                           |       | Torquay       |       | 18    | 8     | 3     | 7     | 37    | 25    | +12   | 27    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th                           |       | Stafford      |       | 18    | 7     | 5     | 6     | 31    | 24    | +7    | 26    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th                           |       | Exeter        |       | 18    | 7     | 5     | 6     | 26    | 26    | 0     | 26    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th                           |       | Grays         |       | 18    | 5     | 10    | 3     | 23    | 24    | -1    | 25    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th                           |       | Burton        |       | 18    | 6     | 7     | 5     | 22    | 23    | -1    | 25    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th                           |       | Cambridge     |       | 18    | 6     | 4     | 8     | 20    | 19    | +1    | 22    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th                           |       | Halifax       |       | 18    | 6     | 3     | 9     | 22    | 28    | -6    | 21    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th                           |       | Droylsden     |       | 18    | 5     | 4     | 9     | 28    | 33    | -5    | 19    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th                           |       | Weymouth      |       | 18    | 5     | 4     | 9     | 14    | 29    | -15   | 19    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th                           |       | Ebbsfleet     |       | 18    | 4     | 6     | 8     | 30    | 34    | -4    | 18    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st                           |       | Woking        |       | 18    | 3     | 6     | 9     | 15    | 26    | -11   | 15    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd                           |       | Crawley       |       | 18    | 5     | 5     | 8     | 27    | 32    | -5    | 14    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23rd                           |       | Histon        |       | 18    | 1     | 5     | 12    | 18    | 33    | -15   | 8     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24th                           |       | Farsley       |       | 18    | 1     | 3     | 14    | 13    | 39    | -26   | 6     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6 points deducted from Crawley |       |               |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                                |       |               |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[SirFozzie]

November's a busy month (truth be told, with a 46 game regular season, various minor tournaments to play, etcetera.. EVERY month is busy)

We bring in three players on Free Transfers during November:

Conor Killeen (AMC).. Brought in to provide depth in case of a couple injuries, but not much else. 33 years old as well, so not one long term either.

Gerard Davis (DR, WB R) Pretty good at marking defenders, and will go into a challenge anywhere, he fills a need. We had no true right wingbacks on the roster, so he'll play immediately. He's also an international player, 28 caps for New Zealand, and he's only 29. Probably a good candidate to be kept around.

John Ryan (Striker) Good at finishing, this 32 year old Irish player will provide depth at the striker position. It also allowed us to cut out some dead weight.. (see below)

Now, a quick recap of our November games:

11/3 @ Salisbury (W 3-1, Dayton 2 goals, Akinde)
11/6 Farsley (D, 1-1, Long)
11/17 @ Torquay (W 3-2, Akinde 2, Dayton)
11/24 Weymouth (D, 1-1, Akinde, Moore MISSED PENALTY, Barrett SENT OFF)

Early December as a bonus
12/1 @ Cambridge (L 1-2, Dayton)
12/6 Grays Athletic (W, 2-0, Akinde, Nade)

We're still in 17th, but we've been pulling the pack back to us, (and more importantly, putting a good 10 points between us and the drop zone!)

We do release one player, as we officially cut ties with Andy Cooke. He's only played six games for us (3 as a starter, 3 as a reserve), and never scored goal one for us. He's so cocky about finding a new team, when we offer to terminate his contract, he doesn't even demand a buyout as "he's sure to find work elsewhere". Well, if that's the case, goodbye, and good luck!

[SirFozzie]

Rest of December:

Our next two games are cup games, first is the first round FA Trophy (the tournament that Ebbsfleet Utd won in the real 2007-08 season) game against Blue Square South contenders Bath United. Despite the fact they're 2nd in their regional division, this is one of the few teams we'll play that's below our division. We end up handling them easily 4-0 (Goals from Akinde, Nade, Long, and an own goal).

The other tournament is the Setanta Shield (formerly known as the Conference Cup), which pits the teams from the Blue Square Premier League and the Blue Square Regional league against each other. We draw Stevenage, who were 3rd in the table, and quite frankly, with the FA Trophy being more in my mind, I put out as much of a second string team as I can. They beat us 4-2 (an Own Goal and Moore being our two goals).

We seem to be in a bit of a funk, and Rushden and Diamonds beat us 2-0.. but before I can worry too much, we defeat Altrincham 3-1 (Long 2, Nade) to end the year in 17th place. I think if we keep it up, we'll climb to midtable safely.

[SirFozzie]

We do ok, most of our players are on expiring contracts. We do lose Long to Irish First Division side Waterford United (he'll join them when his contract expires), and we'll miss him, but we manage to keep the roster mostly the same otherwise. Some take a bit less, some demand a bit more, it all balances out

[SirFozzie]

We bring in three players for depth during the transfer window for minimum fees:

Ciaran Toner (26, M L/C) Capped twice for Northern Ireland, he provides some good depth in our midfield, especially if we abandon the 5-3-2. (Grimsby, 2K cost, Transfer)

Matt Somer (25, DM C) Pretty accomplished at Midfield, he's played once for Wales at the U21 level. A good team player (Notts County, 1K, Transfer)

Martin Smith (33, AM LC, FC) Plays at serveral positions. Finishing, ok not great, but 12 years ago, he played once for England's U21 team. So hey, we got that going for us. Hopefully he'll provide depth. (Darlington, 1K, Transfer)

[SirFozzie]

We get off to a good start to the new year. We defeat Stafford Rangers at their housem 2-1, in a televised game of the week. The goals came from Hills (penalty), and Long.

We manage a 1-1 draw against promotion candidates York, with Eribenne scoring the tying goal late.

Our FA Trophy 2nd round game is against another regional side, Solihull Motors, who's not even as good as our previous opponent (they're 14th in the Blue Square North), and we take advantage. Nade scores, Dayton scores twice (we really need to find a way to make his move permanent) and Mills adds a fourth, and we advance to the third round easily, 4-0.

Our next game is at relegation candidates Crawley, and the score is a deceptive 3-0. With six minutes left, it was a 1-0 game (Mills from the penalty spot again), but Drayton and Akinde scored late to give us the win.

We're officially a top half team with the win, as we move into 12th. (Updated table shortly.

[SirFozzie]

Holders - Dag & Red






| Pos                            | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st                            |       | Oxford        |       | 29    | 19    | 6     | 4     | 47    | 23    | +24   | 63    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd                            |       | Forest Green  |       | 29    | 16    | 7     | 6     | 52    | 28    | +24   | 55    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd                            |       | York          |       | 29    | 15    | 9     | 5     | 45    | 29    | +16   | 54    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th                            |       | Rushden       |       | 29    | 16    | 5     | 8     | 56    | 38    | +18   | 53    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th                            |       | Aldershot     |       | 29    | 15    | 7     | 7     | 57    | 40    | +17   | 52    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th                            |       | Stevenage     |       | 29    | 13    | 9     | 7     | 37    | 24    | +13   | 48    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th                            |       | Exeter        |       | 28    | 14    | 6     | 8     | 41    | 34    | +7    | 48    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th                            |       | Salisbury     |       | 29    | 13    | 6     | 10    | 44    | 37    | +7    | 45    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th                            |       | Cambridge     |       | 29    | 13    | 6     | 10    | 35    | 29    | +6    | 45    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th                           |       | Northwich     |       | 28    | 12    | 7     | 9     | 38    | 43    | -5    | 43    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th                           |       | Altrincham    |       | 29    | 10    | 10    | 9     | 36    | 43    | -7    | 40    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th                           |       | Ebbsfleet     |       | 29    | 10    | 9     | 10    | 50    | 46    | +4    | 39    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th                           |       | Stafford      |       | 29    | 11    | 6     | 12    | 46    | 42    | +4    | 39    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th                           |       | Torquay       |       | 29    | 11    | 4     | 14    | 50    | 44    | +6    | 37    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th                           |       | Kidderminster |       | 29    | 11    | 4     | 14    | 34    | 37    | -3    | 37    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th                           |       | Grays         |       | 29    | 7     | 16    | 6     | 31    | 34    | -3    | 37    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th                           |       | Halifax       |       | 29    | 11    | 4     | 14    | 34    | 40    | -6    | 37    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th                           |       | Burton        |       | 29    | 8     | 11    | 10    | 33    | 40    | -7    | 35    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th                           |       | Weymouth      |       | 29    | 9     | 6     | 14    | 28    | 44    | -16   | 33    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th                           |       | Histon        |       | 29    | 5     | 9     | 15    | 32    | 45    | -13   | 24    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st                           |       | Woking        |       | 29    | 5     | 9     | 15    | 25    | 43    | -18   | 24    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd                           |       | Crawley       |       | 29    | 7     | 8     | 14    | 41    | 47    | -6    | 23    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23rd                           |       | Droylsden     |       | 29    | 5     | 8     | 16    | 38    | 55    | -17   | 23    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24th                           |       | Farsley       |       | 29    | 3     | 4     | 22    | 22    | 67    | -45   | 13    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6 points deducted from Crawley |       |               |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                                |       |               |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[Coffee Warlord]

Yeah. 3 man defensive lines are just about impossible in FM08.

I got it to work decently well for a few seasons...once. Ever. And that was mainly because our scoring was off the charts.

[SirFozzie]

usually, the 3-4-1-2 worked for me, but you absolutely CANNOT run it with a slow back three. The amount of times they were out of position, and a guy broke free for an easy goal just drove me crazy.

[SirFozzie]

We manage to run up the unbeaten streak with a 2-2 draw at home against Halifax.

Up next is a game at Histon, in the third round of the FA Trophy. I'd like to keep the run going, (it's the only goal I'm currently making in the board's goal for the year). Unfortunately, it looks like we're heading out of the Trophy when we give up a stoppage time penalty, tied 1-1.. but Wilkinson makes a fantastic save!

So it's all square, and honors even, means that we have to do it all over again, three days later, but this time at our house. Yet again, it's honors even after 90 minutes, and Ebbsfleet are down a man after Opinel gets sent off in the 81st minute for his second booking.

Histon can't make the man advantage pay, however, and are down to 10 themselves when Antonio Murray is unable to continue, and in the second half of extra time, a long shot from Ciaran Toner, who had come on for a sub at the 105 minute mark, finds the net, and we're through to the fourth round!

We bring in the son of a well-known English footballer, as Charlie Sheringham, son of England International Teddy Sheringham (who, at age 42, is still playing with Colchester's reserves). comes in to help at striker.

Sheringham scores on his debut, at home in the BSP against Aldershot, but we can't hold on to the lead, and draw 1-1.

He makes it 2 for 2 with an 8th minute goal on the road at Woking, but again, we can't hold on, and this time we lose all the points, when they score twice in the 2nd half to beat us 2-1.

With Sheringham doing so well, we accept a 26K bid for John Akinde from Irish side Bray Wanderers, and he transfers out.

Up next is a game against 2nd place Forest Green. I'm afraid that we are slipping into old, bad habits, so I read them the riot act before the game. It seems to help.

Nade (22)
Long (28)
Dayton (32)
Sheringham (72).

That's a 4-0 hiding of the 2nd place team, and a HUGE win for the Fleet.

[SirFozzie]

In our next game, at 23rd placed Droylsden, Drayton scores a hattrick within the first 15 minutes, and we hold on, 3-2. The game takes us up to 11th place, with 12 games left on the year.

[SirFozzie]

We get knocked out of the FA Trophy, 2-1 by Stafford Rangers.. hoo boy. I get the news that there's been a bit of a change with the team we have an agreement with. And there's a chance that it might affect us.. or more accurately, ME.

Crystal Palace sack Warnock

Neil Warnock has been sacked by Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan,

Ebbsfleet United manager Alex Donovan is currently odds-on favorite to be offered the job, although nothing has yet been heard from the Ebbsfleet camp.

Crystal Palace officials are refusing to comment, but speculation suggests that Keith Armstrong, Sean O'Driscoll, and David Platt could also be in the mix.

I decide it's best not to comment on the issue. Crystal Palace are 22nd in the Championship, just one point from safety, but I'm not sure, less than a year into my job, if I'm really the best candidate.

[SirFozzie]

Luckily, I do not get offered the job, Keith Armstrong gets it.

The rest of February and then March is an up and down month. Now that we've gotten into the middle of the table, it starts to go a bit pear-shaped to be honest..

February
0-1 L @ Burton

March
1-0 W Histon (Nade)
1-1 D @ Exeter (Sheringham)
0-1 L Oxford
2-3 L @ Stevenage (Dayton, Eribenne)
3-0 W Northwich (Dayton 2, Nade)
2-2 D @ Fasrsley (Sheringham 2)
0-3 L @ Kidderminster
2-2 D Salisbury (Long, Dayton)

I'm bummed out that we won't be keeping Dayton and Long, but we make a bid to Crystal Palace that means that if goes through, Sheringham will join us long term. He has 7 goals in 17 games so far.

[SirFozzie]

sheesh! Leave me alone guys!

Hull City is third in the championship, and their new manager hasn't signed a renewal yet, I'm apparently the hot favorite to take over if Phil Brown moves on.

[SirFozzie]

Well, the purple patch has destroyed any chance we had to be a top 10 team.. so we shift back to the 4-4-2 diamond to see how the rest of the season turns out. Actually, quite well.

4-1 W Torquay (Sheringham, Slatter, MacDonald, Dayton)
3-4 L @ Weymouth (MacDonald 2, Dayton)
4-1 W Rushden and Diamonds (Moore 2, MacDonald, Eribenne)

The final table (no code this time)

1 Oxford United (102) - CHAMPIONS
2 York City (92) - PLAYOFF
3 Forest Green Rovers (90) - PLAYOFF
4 Rushen and Diamonds (87) - PLAYOFF
5 Exeter City (81) - PLAYOFF
6 Aldershot (80)
7 Salisbury (72)
8 Stevenage (71)
9 Halifax (70)
10 Grays (65)
11 Altrincham (63)
12 EBBSFLEET UNITED (62)
13 Cambridge (62)
14 Torquay (62)
15 Northwich (58)
16 Kidderminster (57)
17 Weymouth (56)
18 Stafford (55)
19 Burton (50)
20 Woking (49)
21 Crawley (53-6=47) (RELEGATED - SIX POINTS DEDUCTED FOR OFF SEASON VIOLATION)
22 Histon (36) (RELEGATED)
23 Droylsden (27) (RELEGATED)
24 Farsley (20) (RELEGATED)


Final 2007-08 Roundup for Ebbsfleet United

FA CUP: 4th round Qualifying
FA Trophy: 4th Round (QF)
Setanta Shield: 4th Round
Blue Square Premier: 12th

We were predicted to finish 14th, so that's slightly better then expected (then why were we 6th favorites to promote?)

[SirFozzie]

It's a fairly quick off season. Sheringham signs for 7K, but tears a muscle in a preseason friendly.. we won't be seeing him for 3-4 months..

We sign the following players for our 08-09 campaign:

Patrick Dayton (AM L/FC) yes, one of last year's top scorers will be joining us for another year. He's been rather good for us last year, so we're expecting good things from him once again (Loan from Crystal Palace)

Charlie Sheringham (Striker) Discussed above. Solid on attack, but will miss about 12 weeks :/ (Transfer)

Shaun Godhall (Striker) brought in on loan after Sheringham's injury. Will start for us, and if he does well, we'll look about extending his loan from 3 months for the rest of the year.

Free Transfers:

Chris Palmer (WB/M L) Played for us briefly last year, plays at the WB L position which will be important if we go back to the 5-3-2 this season

Tony Grant (M C) A Veteran (33 years old) will provide depth at the Midfield spot. Would be a good playmaker type.

Marcus Stewart (Striker) brought in for depth, there's not much chance this 35 year old man will play cosntantly, but he still has a good killer instinct around the net.

Nick Bussey (GK): With Wilkinson currently not coming back to us for a second season, we find ourselves in need of a backup keeper. He's actually decent, with 10 in reflexes and 12 on one on ones, and a 10 on handling. He will fight for the backup spot with..

Scott Allison (GK): Only 20, with a rather high eccentricity rating (14), he's good at what he does, but he may be too flighty to hold down a regular role.

[SirFozzie]

This time out, we're 16-1 to get promotion, but I think we're better then we were this time last year.

August

We open the season with a big 4-1 win against Cambridge (Nade, Dayton, Goodhall and MacDonald in that order), all scoring goals after Cambridge had taken a 1-0 lead.

Our offense is definitely better this year, more varied, as Goodhall, MacDonald, and Dayton all score in the first twenty minutes of our second game, against Kidderminster, and we make it stand with 3-1 victory.

It's Dayton, MacDonald, and Nade, and with a half hour left at Boston United, we're up 3-0 and up a man after a Boston Utd player is sent off for a 2nd booking, but we take our foot off the gas pedal, and nearly pay for it, as Boston score twice, but we hold on to win 3-2.

However, our defense lets us down in our next game, despite Dayton and Nade (you beginning to see a trend here?) scoring, we allow three first half goals, and lose 4-2 at Burton.

Our next game is affected greatly by a ref's decision. For once, it's one that goes our way, as up 1-0 35 minutes in, a Stafford Rangers player is sent off for a straight red (last defender situation), and remembering our problems against Boston United, we manage to kill the game off this time, and win by that 1-0 score. (finally, a shutout. I had forgotten what they were like!)

Oh, defense, why do you tease me so? We finally shut someone out, and then let up 3 the next game, including two in the stoppage time of the first half, a move that left me ranting and raving at my defense. Thankfully, it was a case of "Last Goal Wins", and fortunately for the Fleet, it's Drayton's second of the game (and second in the last 15 minutes of the game), that gives us a 4-3 win at Grays Athletic (Moore and MacDonald scored the other two)

We finish the month of August in 2nd place in the Blue Square Premier, outside the top spot only via goal differential.

[SirFozzie]

Haven't forgot about this. Got two months to repot on

September is an up and down month for the Fleet. It's win one, lose one, win one, lose one, type of thing. 3 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses for 7 league games in one month, so we yoyo a bit in the standings.

October is better without being great. We win three of our five league games that month (drawing a fourth), punctuated by a 5-1 demolition job of Torquay. However, it takes a replay on the road to get by Heybridge Swifts and enter the FA Cup 1st round, after a 2-1 win after 1-1 draw at home.

As the Fleet edge towards the midseason point, we're fourth in the BSP, tied on goal differential for third, and four points back of leaders Rushden & Diamonds.