To New Beginnings - A Gosport Town F.C. Tale (FIFA 13)

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

Portsmouth to Regain npower League One Club
Gosport Town F.C. to begin play out of brand-new Sheddington Park in August 2012.

It turns out Portsmouth's footy fans will not have to wait as long as anticipated to see high-level professional football in town again after Portsmouth F.C. locked the gates at Fratton Park.

While the Blue Army's financial woes were well publicized, they shocked everyone when they filed for bankruptcy and folded as a club after the completion of their 114th season.

"It simply wasn't an investment headed in the right direction, the moment we were relegated from the nPower Championship, the other owners and myself decided it would be best for our respective financial portfolios if we shut down the club. Lots of fans tend to forget that football is still a business," defended former majority owner Paul Gibson.

The future of high-level pro football looked bleak for at least the next few seasons in Portsmouth, however thanks to some timely introductions and building of a new stadium, Portsmouth footy fans will have another club to switch their allegiance to.

Enter Canadian businessman Chris Stillman, owner of a chain of hotels all across the eastern seaboard of the United States. Stillman, a lifelong football fan, decided he had the resources to pursue owning a football club, however had no idea where to get into the business.

A fateful meeting in January of 2011 at a resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico introduced Stillman to Reggie Knox, Portsmouth's former goalkeepers coach.

"Reggie told me the team was in a real bad way financially, and mentioned they might fold in the coming seasons," reminisced Stillman today at the well-attended Gosport Town inauguration press conference. "He mentioned there could be a football-mad market complete unoccupied in the next few seasons, and I told him I'd be very interested in founding a high-level club in this kind of market. The rest is history!"

Knox has worked closely with the Canadian businessman over the past sixteen and a half months and now, mere weeks before the start of the 2012-13 nPower League One campaign is set to begin, Portsmouth once again has a football team.

Gosport Town Football Club, or G.T.F.C for short, will take Portsmouth F.C.'s place in the upcoming League One campaign.

Stillman, the 87% owner of G.T.F.C., announced today that Sean O'Driscoll will be the man chosen to lead Gosport Town in their maiden voyage.

As a player, the Wolverhampton native played for Fulham ('79-'84) and A.F.C. Bournemouth ('84-'95). As a manager, O'Driscoll has had reasonable amounts of success at Bournemouth, Doncaster Rovers, and Crawley Town. This will be his 2nd season in the nPower League One.

"We're looking to play fast-paced, aggressive football. We're going to the take the game to our opponents, for better or worse. Our aim is to have one of the best home records in the league, because we owe it to the people of Portsmouth," said O'Driscoll upon his introduction.

As for the actual assembling of a squad, O'Driscoll said that Gosport Town's goal will be to stay fairly domestic, and build an internationally-acclaimed Youth Academy in the same fashion as Bolton Wanderers and Everton. He did not say how exactly he plans on reeling in the required 22 footballers needed for the opening day squad list in just three weeks.

"We'll be ready come opening day, that I assure you," was all the new G.T.F.C. manager could say.

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DETAILS
Club Name: Gosport Town F.C. (Est. 2012)
League: nPower League One (2012-)
Park : Sheddington Park (18000 seated)
Nickname: The Greeners

COLORS
Green, Gold, White.

GAMEPLAY DETAILS
6 minute halves, played on Professional w/Personalized Realism Sliders
Will play all 46 league games, F.A. Cup, League Cup, but will sim Capital One Cup.

UPDATES
Will recap each month, with roughly one paragraph per game. Obviously in League One there will be a lot of snoozers and few real exciting matches, so don't expect essays unless it's a REALLY important match.

GOAL
To try something out using the Creation Centre, and see if I can build up a team using virtually only the Youth Academy!

Please Like, Follow, Comment, etc!

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

July 13th, 2012

Gosport Town announce three new signings on the back end

The Greeners posted this bulletin to soccer media outlets this morning:

Gosport Town F.C. are proud to announce a new vision in player development and pursuit- "Encompassing Football". The Greeners are excited to unveil this new approach, which features long-term 4- and 5-year contracts to all G.T.F.C. players under the age of 25. This will ensure their full development with the club, without any contract negotiations to distract them. Encompassing Football will also focus on interior improvement as opposed to out-of-club transfers. This will not only be more economic, but will also bring more of a 'family' feel to the club.

With this having been said, please allow us to introduce our first three signings, all of whom are signed through the 2015-16 season:

Shawn Danling - The 24 year-old Danling enters this season after three seasons as the First Team keeper for Conference South Havant & Waterlooville, also of Portsmouth. Danling is expected to battle with our second signing for the Starting XI spot in net. He is a very vocal leader who has had time at higher levels, including two League Cup caps with League One Gillingham five years ago.

Shawn Thomas - 21 year-old Thomas joins Gosport Town after spending three seasons with Everton's youth squad and last season with the Everton reserves. Standing an imposing 6'5, Thomas could see his first ever professional First Team action this campaign with G.T.F.C.. Thomas is also a lover of ice hockey, and plays goaltender in that sport during the football offseason for the Belfast Giants of the EIHL.

Jermaine Francis - Standing at just 5'9, Jermaine Francis is one of the most sought-after youngsters in English football. Stocky at 205 pounds, Francis is extremely strong for a rightback/defender, and is a very good crosser. At just 19 years old, he has loads of potential and larger clubs are salivating at the mouth at the thought of him in five years.

We will present the entire 22-man roster on July 19th, two days before our first friendly match.

Our friendly schedule is as follows:

July 19th/7PM/ v. Cagliari
July 25th/2PM/ @ Terek Grozny
August 2nd/6PM/ v. Preston North End

[Canada_Carlos_Ball]

July 18th, 2012

Greeners release full 19-man provisional squad roster for nPower League One's 2012-13 campaign

Gosport Town F.C., Portsmouth's newest football club, have released an almost entirely-domestic squad list, which was expected.

Goalkeepers

Shawn Danling (64) - The 24 year-old Danling enters this season after three seasons as the First Team keeper for Conference South Havant & Waterlooville, also of Portsmouth. Danling is expected to battle with our second signing for the Starting XI spot in net. He is a very vocal leader who has had time at higher levels, including two League Cup caps with League One Gillingham five years ago.

Shawn Thomas (68) - 21 year-old Thomas joins Gosport Town after spending three seasons with Everton's youth squad and last season with the Everton reserves. Standing an imposing 6'5, Thomas could see his first ever professional First Team action this campaign with G.T.F.C.. Thomas is also a lover of ice hockey, and plays goaltender in that sport during the football offseason for the Belfast Giants of the EIHL.

Defenders

Jermaine Francis (64) - Standing at just 5'9, Jermaine Francis is one of the most sought-after youngsters in English football. Stocky at 205 pounds, Francis is extremely strong for a rightback/defender, and is a very good crosser. At just 19 years old, he has loads of potential and larger clubs are salivating at the mouth at the thought of him in five years.

Greg Simpson (70) - The 31 year-old Simpson is coming off of three strong seasons centering a Rangers back four in the Scottish Premier League. Simpson stands just 5'11, but at 215 lbs. he is one solid centre back. Expected to captain Gosport Town in their inaugural campaign, the Irish international should contribute offensively as well, as a threat on corners.

Jacoby Jones (64) - The 22 year-old Jamaican is making his European debut this season for Gosport Town, and judging by what he saw from Jones last season in limited appearances with the MLS' Portland Timbers, manager Sean O'Driscoll sees Jones as a starting centre back for the Greeners.

Chris Gallagher (61) - The 25-year old Portsmouth native hasn't played competitive football in three seasons, and O'Driscoll expects to use him sparingly off of the bench. He does however, have very good ball skills.

Alex Stewart (59) - Stewart, another Portsmouth native, is a diminutive 5'2/110lb. left back. At just 23, he does have some room to grow, however as of right now, O'Driscoll says he plans on using him in a bench role.

Micah Williams (60) - Young Micah Williams (just 21) could be the Greeners' centre back of the future, and O'Driscoll says he plans to use him "as much as possible, without wearing him out, off of the bench."


Midfielder

Mike Westlake (64) - 20 year-old Mike Westlake is your prototypical English midfielder- hardworking, strong on the ball, and vocal. Standing 6'1 and weighing a husky 215 lbs., Westlake has a lot of room to grow and mature, and manager Sean O'Driscoll plans on using him in a holding midfielder role.

Graciano Goncalves (68) - The 19 year-old Goncalves comes out of Madeira, the same island which produced Cristiano Ronaldo nearly a decade ago. The similarities end there however, as Goncalves stands just 5'8. Whereas Ronaldo's game is power, Goncalves' game is finesse and passing. A very solid midfielder, O'Driscoll expects Goncalves to slot right into the Greeners' Starting XI.

Tommy Simms (66) - Simms is another stereotype, hard-working English midfielder who can run for days and will consistently go in hard on tackles and mark his men. His mindset is completely defense-first. O'Driscoll sees him as a no-nonsense defensive midfielder to start the campaign.

Craig O'Rourke (63) - O'Rourke, capped five times for the Scottish international team, is a powerful attacking midfielder who is an absolute tank on the ball. While he's not the fastest player on the Greeners' squad list, he's certainly one of the strongest and should see reasonably amounts of playing time.

Jonny Swanson (60) - Jonny Swanson is a hometown hero. 9 years ago, as a super sub for Portsmouth in what was then known as the Coca-Cola Championship, Swanson scored a historic goal which sent the Blue Army into the Premiership. Now, already two years out of football, Swanson makes a return with the Greeners at the age of 31. "He'll be in more of a player-liaison role than anything else, but should see some time in cup matches," commented O'Driscoll.

Paul Stelling (60) - Stelling is a defensive midfielder who makes his F.A. debut with the Greeners after 6 seasons at Conference South Woking. "Paul's an interesting character, and a decent footballer. Will try to spot him in in certain matches," commented O'Driscoll.

Jeremy Cunningham (59) - The 23 year-old Cunningham is small and slight, but has excellent ball skills. O'Driscoll hinted that Cunningham is a candidate to be loaned out to a League Two side.


Strikers

Darren Sproule (69) - A centre forward, Sproule is small and fast, standing just 5'9 and weighing only 160 lbs. Whether or not he's built for League One is the question, his skill is not. "Fast as lightning, with the vision to be the next Suarez," O'Driscoll lauded.

Garrett Hartley (66) - Hartley returns home to Portsmouth, where his career started, after two four-year stints at both Liverpool and Fulham in England's top division. His motivation to stay in shape and stay on top of his form is questionable, but if fully committed to G.T.F.C., Hartley brings experience and deadly heading accuracy up front.

Cristiano (71) - At just 18 years old, Cristiano is clearly the Greeners' biggest signing of their first summer. Out of Nacional da Madeira's Youth Academy in Portugal, the 5'9 speedster has some serious potential. Already projected to be one of the best strikers in League One, rumor has it the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal are interested in the Portuguese youngster. "His spot in the Starting XI isn't even guaranteed, Garrett's been very good in early season workouts," warned manager O'Driscoll, playing his cards very close to his chest...

THIS, IS GOSPORT TOWN F.C. (EST. 2012)

C'mon Greeners, Greeners,
Carry on through the mud and rain,
Greeners, Greeners,
Carry on through, the mud and rain,
Carry on through, win this game,
Carry on through, make proud this name!

[BlackCaesar]

The League Cup is the Capital One Cup.