The Journeyman - A FM 21 Story

[jasontoddwhitt]

CLUB NEWS

Parish seals new two-year contract

The club announced today that striker Danny Parish has signed a two-year contract extension worth $64k. Parish's goal-scoring form in the Isthmian Division has carried forward to the National League, as Parish has scored 17 goals in 25 appearances across all competitions.

"It's always good to lock up your key players," said Drew Welch. "This was a deal that we wanted to get done before other clubs started sniffing around."

Emmanuel set to move on loan to Dartford

Midfielder Moses Emmanuel has agreed to a loan move to National League South club Dartford till the end of the season.

"Moses had come to us looking for more playing time, and we felt this was the best move for his career moving forward," said GM Michael Shaw.

Emmanuel had only made one appearance for Wealdstone this season.

St. Pat's Athletic to sign Smith

Midfielder Connor Smith has agreed to a contract with Irish club St. Patrick's Athletic and will leave the club at the end of the season.

"We made a run to keep Connor because he is a solid piece of the puzzle here, but he liked their offer better," said GM Michael Shaw.

Smith has made 17 appearances across all competitions with one assist as he is typically employed as a ball-winning midfielder.

Wealdstone bring in two loan signings

Wealdstone announced the arrival of two players on loan.

Wealdstone used their connection with Watford again to bring in 18-year-old striker Tiago Cukur on loan till the end of the season. Cukur is a product of the youth academy at Dutch side Az Alkmaar before moving to Watford this season. Cukur is looking to make his professional football debut. Cukur is being brought in to provide cover upfront.

Wealdstone also brought in 18-year-old midfielder Fin Back on loan till the end of the season from Nottingham Forest. Back is a product of the Reds youth academy, and will be looking to make his professional football debut as well. Back could equally operate as both a ball-winning midfielder and a box-to-box midfielder and initial reports coming out of training say that he could easily slot into the starting XI.

Wealdstone dominate National League voting

The National League named Wealdstone striker Danny Parish as the player of the month for the month of January. Parish scored in every league match this month, scoring five goals in five appearances with an average match rating of 7.44. Parish has now taken the league lead in goal scoring with 15 goals.

Attacking midfielder Daniel Green finished second in voting for the award. Green appeared in all five league matches in the month, registering two goals and four assists with an average match rating of 7.50.

Eastleigh striker Ben House finished third in the voting, scoring four goals in five appearances with an average match rating of 7.36.

Fans Choice Voting

1. AMC Daniel Green - 4(1) apps, 2 goals, 4 assists, 0.76 xG, 7.50 rating
2. CB Josh Meekings - 5(1) apps, 1 goal, 0.07 xG, 7.27 rating
3. ST Danny Parish - 5(1) apps, 5 goals, 2.46 xG, 7.35 rating





I came into this job with absolutely zero expectations, and the media also had zero expectations for us. Preseason projections had us mired in a relegation fight and I would be lucky to make it through a whole season.

I mean, my expectations were a bit higher than that. But never in my wildest dreams would I think that halfway through the season, we would be sitting in 3rd place and just eight points off the top of the table.

We could actually win a promotion to League 2. That's a wild thought.

[jasontoddwhitt]

[jasontoddwhitt]

MATCH REPORT | Wealdstone 3-0 Barnet

A typical drizzly day in southeast England did not stop the largest crowd of the year at Grosvenor Vale from witnessing the utter throttling of rival Barnet. Two early goals from Tiago Cukur and Connor Smith showed the Blues meant business, and Dennon Lewis provided the exclamation point deep in the second half to give the Stones a vital 3-0 victory over rival Barnet.

The win pushes Wealdstones' winning streak to five games and matches without a loss in league action to 14 games. The victory maintains Wealdstone's hold on 3rd place, two points off of Wrexham and Stockport for the top of the table. Barnet's second straight loss and third match without a win see them maintain 6th in the table.

The major difference today was Barnet's inability to carve open Wealdstone on the counter-attack as they did in the first meeting between these clubs. Barnet only managed six shots and 43% possession as Wealdstone did a great job of keeping them pinned in their own half.

WEALDSTONE: Isted, Olowu, Meekings (Phillips 67), Okimo, Efete, Wishart (Cawley 73), Back, Smith, Dyer, McKiernan (Lewis 56), Cukur

Subs not used: Askew, Parish

BT Sport Highlights



Manager Drew Welch: I am very pleased with today's performance. We completely outplayed Barnet and the scoreline reflects the quality we showed. We did a very good job of maintaining possession, and we did a great job of restricting what they could do when they did have possession. So good in fact that they just resorted to chopping us down with 25 fouls. And it was great to see the crowd that we drew today.

[jasontoddwhitt]

The little charms of this club...we have our own bar.

I always frequent this place. I remember when I first got here, I could blend in. But with our recent success, that's becoming a thing of the past. Supporters coming up and thanking me for what has been an exciting season. I've become a bit of a local celebrity in this corner of London.

This isn't a social gathering though. This is a work meeting. To my right is General Manager Michael Shaw. Across from me is President Rory Fitzgerald.

"How are the studies going Drew," asked Fitzgerald.

Yes, I'm studying for my National B license. Between matches, training, class, family, etc., etc., I'm definitely learning to operate on four hours of sleep or less a night. I'll have time to sleep during the offseason.

"I just want to say that this season has gone beyond our wildest imaginations," continued Fitzgerald.

"It's not over yet, sir."

Mr. Fitzgerald gave a hearty chuckle. "This is true Drew, but you're 31 points clear of the relegation zone, so everything you do from here on out is icing on the cake."

A meal, a few drinks, and more socializing than talking about football. Nothing wrong with that. Mr. Fitzgerald excused himself, leaving me and Michael alone.

"Well now that he has gone, where are we really at," asked Michael.

The boys are gassed. Playing two matches a week the past month and we still have a month and a half of this before the schedule calms down. We could definitely use an extra body or two. But I know we don't have the budget for that. So, we'll just make do.

"I figured as much," said Michael. "That's why I talked to the board and convinced them to shift some of that $88k from that transfer clause to the payroll budget. I'll see what I can do, but this late in the year, I can't promise anything."

That's better than nothing.

[jasontoddwhitt]

CLUB NEWS

Wealdstone promotes academy coach to first team

Wealdstone announced that academy coach Brett Bradley has been promoted to the first-team staff, finally completing Drew Welch's staff.

"We interviewed a few people, but we decided that Brett deserved the promotion to the first team," said manager Drew Welch. "Brett has done great work in the youth academy and we feel that he's going to be a great asset for us."

McKiernan recognized by National League

An amazing February by JJ McKiernan has seen him recognized by the National League with both the Young Player of the Month award and the Player of the Month award.

In six appearances last month, McKiernan scored eight goals and registered two assists with an average match rating of 8.13 in league action.

Second place in National League Young Player of the Month award voting went to Wrexham forward Micah Obiero. The Huddersfield loanee scored seven goals and registered two assists in seven appearances with an average match rating of 7.51. Third place went to Sutton forward Isaac Olaofe. The Millwall loanee scored four goals in four appearances with an average match rating of 7.60.

Second place in National League Player of the Month award voting also went to Obiero. Third place went to Solihull Moors forward Cameron Archer. The Aston Villa loanee scored five goals in five appearances with an average match rating of 7.44.

Welch recognized by National League

Wealdstone manager Drew Welch finished second in voting for the National League Manager of the Month award. It is the first time this season that Welch finished in the top three in voting for the award. Wealdstone earned 16 out of a possible 18 points during the month of February, solidifying their hold on third place and putting them straight into the title conversation with Wrexham and Stockport.

Sutton manager Darren Currie won the award for the month of February after Sutton won all five of their matches during the month, moving Sutton from 17th up to 11th in the table. Chesterfield manager David Irving, having been on the job for only 66 days, finished third in voting after earning 15 of 18 points in February and climbing Chesterfield out of the relegation zone for the first time since October 17th.

Fans Choice Voting

1. ST JJ McKiernan - 6 apps, 8 goals, 2 assists, 2.58 xG, 8.13 rating
2. CM Tom Holland - 4 apps, 1 goal, 4 assists, 0.21 xG, 7.75 rating
3. ST Danny Parish - 4 apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1.82 xG, 7.65 rating





We just keep defying expectations. But you can tell that our legs are starting to wear down and a lack of depth could cause us issues. That match against Wrexham was insane. Definitely deserved to be on television. I'm disheartened that we couldn't close out the game after scoring four straight goals, but a 4-4 draw against a team you are in a title fight with doesn't hurt your chances.

No reinforcements at this time. We did try to make a move for a midfielder, but we ultimately couldn't come to a contract agreement. I get it. The club is not too far removed from gross financial mismanagement, and they are not in a hurry to get back into that mess.

We've got another month's worth of two matches a week before the schedule finally calms down at the end of April. This run is already getting tough on the legs. In the last couple of matches, I've rotated the lineup more than I really wanted to.

This run of form though has been totally worth it.

[studbucket]

Glad to see your FM career. I tried it once and wasn't quite able to enjoy the dynasty aspect with FM as much as I do with NBA/College Hoops, but I love FM. I've enjoyed your writing so far.

[toysoldier_00]

love it so far

good luck this season

[jasontoddwhitt]

Quote: Originally Posted by studbucket

Glad to see your FM career. I tried it once and wasn't quite able to enjoy the dynasty aspect with FM as much as I do with NBA/College Hoops, but I love FM. I've enjoyed your writing so far.

I appreciate you for reading. I've noticed that I have to take breaks from dynasty reports, otherwise, I start feeling like it's a job. That's why I have another save that I do for my own entertainment. Because I've also learned that if I get too far ahead gameplay-wise from what I've reported, I also have zero interest in trying to get the thread caught up.

Quote: Originally Posted by toysoldier_00

love it so far good luck this season

Thanks for reading.