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When They Kick At Your Front Door: A Brixton FC Story (FM18)
Introduction
“When they kick at your front door, how you gonna come?” That is the opening line to the song “Guns Of Brixton” by The Clash. I bet the writer, The Clash’s bassist Paul Simonon, never imagined that the line could be interpreted the way I have. “Kick” could be a reference to kicking the football and “front door” could mean football being played professionally right there in Brixton, on the former ground of HM Prison Brixton. And I hope the fans “come” in droves. What is this all about? This a Football Manager 2018 Dynasty Report inspired by my love of English music. I’ll discuss Football Manager later on. Eh? My long fascination with England is rooted in my love of bands from there. My two favorite bands are New Model Army and Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine. Other English acts that I love are XTC, The Clash, Pop Will Eat Itself, Queen, Gary Numan, Billy Bragg, and The Streets. There are many connections between Brixton and the music I listen to. First and foremost, the song I mentioned above, “Guns of Brixton.” Another reference you might be familiar with is Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue.” Many Carter USM songs make reference to areas like Tulse Hill, Clapham, Peckham, New Cross, and of course Brixton itself. Several musicians were born there (David Bowie, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon), lived there (Mike Skinner, Jimbob, Fruitbat) or spent time in Brixton Prison (Glenn Danzig, Mick Jagger). Speaking of Brixton Prison, in the fictional story (in my head) of the team’s origin, their future massive stadium will be on the former site of the prison spreading up into Windmill Gardens, its name sake. (Brixton Prison was closed due to its upkeep becoming too expensive for the local government and the Brixton club owners agreeing to build a new facility outside the city.) Windmill Gardens is scheduled to open on 1 July 2022 and thus the club built a small stadium on the westside of Brockwell Park; it also functions as the training ground/reserve stadium and will remain so after the move in 2022. City Heights Academy in the real-world is where the Brixton Youth Academy is. I’m not being too original but the nicknames for Brixton will be Mortars and Guns. I made Guns the second nickname because those bastards at Arsenal are already the Gunners and I don’t want too much confusion. Other Inspiration This Dynasty Report was directly inspired by three people: Jim Gindin Of course it starts with him. In the late 90s he took sports simming to a new level. I guess over the years I spent around $150 on his products. From around Christmas 1998 to Halloween 2007 I played FOF or FOF:TCY (mostly TCY) just about every day. For 2 to 12 hours per day. Money very well spent. You’re a legend, Jim! Scott Brown When I finally got my act together and stayed with FM for more than a month, I was struggling to understand position combinations. While researching I found this wonderful Let’s Play by accident and learned some stuff. More importantly, I was entertained. I’ve read it in full probably four or five times since October 2019. The style of this blog is an homage to Scott’s LP. I wonder how he feels about Wrexham getting two Sugar Daddies. Loki Doki A YouTube personality (and what a personality!) who lives a simple life of playing Football Manager for profit and rescuing animals. Not a lot of profit, mind you. He’s always entertaining and keeps me out of the FM doldrums; I watch him to get a good laugh and get inspired to get back into the game. |
Football Manager 2018
Welcome to Football Manager 2018. If you don’t know what Football Manager is, read the next paragraph. If you already have devoted your life and soul to Football Manager, skip the next paragraph. Football Manager is THE premier sports simulation computer game for managing football clubs. Clubs not teams, I’m talking association football, or as us ‘mericans call it, soccer. You can choose to manage a club in your nation of choice, though for some of the smaller nations you have to download custom databases from Steam Workshop. Everywhere in the world except ‘merica the football leagues have a promotion/regulation pyramid structure meaning that bad teams get dropped to a level below and the good teams get elevated to a level above. To put it in U.S. terms, the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears would have been dropped down to Division 1 and Alabama and Michigan would be in the NFL. Let’s Talk Pyramid Schemes For this story I am playing in England in the 9th level of the English football league system. Essentially, at that level it’s a bunch of guys in their late 20s and early 30s trying to (re)capture that glory that eluded them. FM doesn’t come stocked with that many leagues for England (you can go down to the 6th level) so I had to download a databased called “England Level 10 and Cup Competitions” by danseakin. Mad props, dude! Game Setup However, because Brixton is a fictional club, I’ve had to add them to the database. The scenario I’ve chosen is that Brixton is owned by a Sugar Daddy who has pumped loads of money into the team, built a highest-quality Youth Academy, built a 7,000-seat Reserve Stadium (that will act as the Senior stadium for now), and is building a 25,000-seat stadium, which will lie on the grounds of real-world Windmill Gardens and HM Prison Brixton, set to open on 1 July 2022. I’ve also granted Brixton a full complement of coaches because despite loving the endless scouting for players, I just cannot stand scouting for staff. I’ve got an assistant manager (hereafter known forever and ever as an AssMan), a head of youth development, two goalkeeping coaches, two fitness coaches, and five regular coaches. I added Brixton to the Southern Counties East League, swapping out Rusthall because they had the lowest Reputation (150). I’ve given Brixton a reputation of 1 (out of 10,000) to make things somewhat realistic. I added 17 players to the database for Brixton but all of them are 15 or 16 years old to simulate a new beginning of players graduating from the Youth Academy. As far as other playable leagues, I added Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. I also added Belorussia so I could have a mid-March start in order to have enough time to find some slightly older players to act as mentors before the start of the season. So with a start date of 13 March 2017, it’s time to start the fun. The Write Stuff A note about my writing style: I’m a professional writer and editor. It’s hard work and taxes one’s brain agonizing over some of the smallest details. Sometimes I need to let my hair down and unwind. Therefore I’m not putting a lot of effort into editing, and I'm writing like I speak, all stream-of-conscious like. So if there is bad grammar, misspelled words, or weird sentence structures…well, I’m not gonna worry about it. :-) I hope it doesn’t detract from your experience. |
First Update: Kids Are People Too
Let us meet the “Senior” team of Brixton’s first squad. These are the 17 players I mentioned earlier in the Game Setup section of the Introduction page. GK I added two goalkeepers as I wanted to make sure an injury to the best keeper doesn’t hamstring us.   Neither one is great and there is very little difference to the naked eye but my AssMan thinks Webb is currently better. At this point I have no idea which one will be better. |
DR
I also added two right fullbacks.   Okay, so technically Peter Maguire isn’t a right fullback, he’s a centreback. But at only 178 cm I’m not too sure he’ll grow enough to ever be an effective central defender, even if he is only 14. (I’ll be keeping track of his growth to see how tall he gets. I want my DCs to be 182 cm tall at a bare minimum but 185 is the realistic bottom end.) Considering he has world class Acceleration (16 is considered world class in FM) and a 14 Pace, his future is only the wings, even if his Crossing is abysmal. He’s clearly better and I don’t need my AssMan to tell me that. (Can you believe his Stamina?!?) Note: I capitalize certain FM terms to highlight that I’m referring to elements of the game. |
DL
The real second DR is Kevin Parker whose Preferred Foot is Either so I’ll be working on getting his DL up to Natural.   Jefcoate is clearly the better player and I’m not even counting his 16 Pace. But of course Parker is going to get plenty of opportunities so he can be my utility fullback as at this level of the pyramid I will only be able to suit up 5 substitutes. |
DC
I set up the database so I’d have one left-footed and one right-footed centreback. I didn’t set their heights so I’m glad both are tall for their ages.   I suppose they are alright for this level but Carroll’s Strength is a bit of concern. |
DMC
I love playing with DMCs as I love the Regista role. FM2014 didn’t really institute the role well as it was the first year of its availability in the game; I’m hoping it’s instituted properly in FM2018.   Smith is my first choice and it has nothing to do with his tremendous height for a lad of only 15. He’s six-foot-five, for you Americans in the audience. If I can’t find some more centrebacks to relieve Spearing and Carroll then Smith can drop back and McAdam can fill his role. I’ll be starting the season training the 4-4-2 formation with Standard mentality, which should get Smith ample time to get his MC up to Natural. |
MC
I’ve got three MCs to choose from with Terry Barlow being the best option.    Barlow is the better MC so I’ll pair him with Smith in the 4-4-2, with Smith as the defensive-minded one and Barlow as the creator. |
MR
I only have one right midfielder.  He’s not that good except his speed and Teamwork. I’ll look to find a better winger soon. I eventually will be using Wingers exclusively so I’ll start Pearson on improving his position there. |
ML
Similarly, I only have one left midfielder.  Daniel is going to be around for quite a while. I’m sure he’ll get a new large contact in the future so he can get the duckets. (Anybody? Remember slang from ’87, ’88? Just me? Drat.) |
ST
Finally, I have two strikers.   We’re in good shape with these two strikers. Obviously Ben is going to be an absolute beast this far down the pyramid and it’ll be a challenge to keep him. I imagine he’ll be gone before we make it to the Conference South, the sixth level of the pyramid. He’ll probably get unsettled by a lower-level Premier team and become extra pouty and start playing horribly. Hopefully not. I plan on using Ben as a Target Man and I hope to bring in a captain who is also a striker and can mentor Ben, then Paul, to get their Determination higher. |
Searching for a Captain and Vice Captain
I need a captain who is not only as a strong leader on the pitch but also a mentor. Initially I thought I would use one of the youths as a vice captain but quickly realized that might be foolish if the captain goes down to an injury for a lengthy amount of time. While looking for that captain I ran across one of the funniest names I’ve ever seen in Football Manager: Chick Legg. Hahahaha. So much funny there. He’s a GK and I don’t need him so I don’t sign him though the temptation alone was almost enough. I do find two good candidates for captains. Eddie Macey would be a great Advanced Forward but he wants at least £2,100 per week. The second candidate is a DC named Chris Day. He’d be better as our Vice and he would be cheap, at most £230 per week. On 29 March I’ve still not found my captains but I did get notice of major clubs fixing to release youth players so I scout the hell out of them. Turns out all of them are either too expensive, most of them are in the £2,000 per week range, or have no desire to join us. So on 2 April I offer a contract to Macey only to learn that my chief scout completely misjudged his wage demands. He asked for £900 p/w and I bumped it up to £1,000, and he signed immediately. Maybe the promise to make him Captain helped? Sadly, that Heading and Strength are going to be a major hindrance but he’ll be our chief penalty taker.  On 4 April I scout Chris Day again just to make sure I know everything I can about him. Like that he’s Inconsistent. :-( Whomp, whomp. I offered him a contract a week later and it took a week for him to make up his mind. The pleasure of his services will cost us £500 per week. That’s twice my scouts have been inaccurate on player wage demand assessments. I’ll have to keep an eye on this.  |
I made some more signings too. I picked up AMC Scott Thompson for some additional MC rotation but also I think I’ll eventually switch from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1 so I’ll need someone who can play Shadow Striker.
 On 21 April I offer a bunch of young players trial contracts. I got 17 to accept but 27 rejected. Oh well. One of the rejectors is Chick Legg. And after all the work I put into writing poultry jokes! Staff Four of our coaches are given an opportunity to better themselves by working on coaching licenses; the club will cover the costs. Coaching courses are how the game determines if a staff member will narrow the gap between the Current Ability and Potential Ability. I also added three scouts. I’ll have one chief scout who scouts Next Opponent and the other three will cycle through England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. None of the scouts are particularly outstanding but what can you expect for a club with a Reputation of 1? I added a Physio too as I somehow forgot to add one when building the database. Finances On 1 April I get an email saying that we have a new main kit sponsor. This company lucked out as it will only cost them a staggering amount of £4,700 per ANNUM. Another ramification of having a 1 Reputation. At this time I looked at some more financial matters and discovered that our average ticket price is only £2. I foresee financial follies ahead. Pre-Pre-Season I dump the trialists into the U23s and hold scrimmages on 24 and 27 April. The “Seniors” won the first match but lost the second. One of the weird artefacts of starting the pre-season so early is that I had to have an End of Season Team Meeting on 28 April and decide when the real pre-season begins, which will be 26 June. Before everyone headed out, I signed three of the trialists: DC Joe Clark, MR Robbie Jones, and ST Alex Rae. I’ll post their Player Cards at the start of the pre-season. After Rae signed, Macey came complaining to me that he was worried I was trying to replace him. Dude, I made you Captain. Is your ego really that fragile? Kids these days… On 5 May I get an email noting that Joe Clark is now considered “home-grown.” That will matter at some point I guess. Oddly, while looking at his Player Card to see if he had a second nationality I notice that his “Place of Birth” is “Unknown.” What the deuce?! Also comes news that we were granted a lower youth category, from 1 to 2. I set up the database to have our Youth Facilities at 20, Junior Coaching at 12, and Youth Recruitment at 12. I thought these values would put us straight into a lower youth category but I suppose the game uses just the Youth Facilities number. I’m quite glad because I don’t need to see our youngins smacked about the pitch by the likes of Liverpool and the Manchesters. |
From the Funny Names File
One of the great things about Football Manager is the random name combinations. Like the aforementioned Chick Legg. And Dick Pring. :-D It did not sign him.  Scouting I of course continue scouting, looking for some cheap, good players. Case in point: Sam Martin, AM (L). I’ll get his M (L) up to Natural then work on AM (R) as he’s already Competent there. A bit slow and can’t really cross but he is cheap!  Dynamics On 13 June I get an email notifying me that Eddie Macey has moved up a rung in the team Hierarchy to “Influential Player.” You’d hope your Team Captain was influential! Squad Dynamics is a new facet of Football Manager that I’ve not had to deal with before. I like it though, adds to the realism. Not so keen on the Social Groups part of it though. At this point all 24 players support me. Season Expectations I meet with the board on 16 June to discuss season expectations. I tell them I will win the league and they give me a transfer budget of £843,000 and a weekly wage of £12,420. We are currently spending £4,288 per week. I think we’ll be alright. New Arrivals DC Joe Clark, MR Robbie Jones, and ST Alex Rae arrive. Clark isn’t much to write home about but he does provide depth at DC and DR, which I’ll try to get up to Natural.  Jones won’t supplant Pearson but he’ll get plenty of game time even though he’s short for a Stormtrooper. I mean, he’s slow for a Winger. I’ll get his AMR and ML up to Natural, hopefully.  I needed some ST depth still so I signed Rae. He’s not an outstanding striker but I think he’ll make a fine Target Man. Except for the Bravery. And Strength. Why did I sign him?!  World Cup 2022 Well this is certainly interesting (it came in on 30 June 2017). I guess crime doesn’t pay:  Friendlies On 31 May I set up 11 Friendly matches against teams that are in leagues below us as I want to build confidence as well as fitness so I chose a bunch of patsies. I won’t be making the Chairman money but that’s not my concern yet. |
The Boys Are Back In Town
The Youths of Brixton return in good shape, raring to go. I continue to work the lads learning the 4-4-2 Standard formation but also add the 4-1-2-3 DM Wide Standard. (In FM14 this formation was called the 4-5-1. I don’t understand the name change but I don’t think it’s an FM thing, it’s a global football thing.) Trial Day When you are in the lower leagues you will get invitations to Trial Days. We got such and I sent our chief scout to pick over the squads on 14 July. There are some tasty morsels in there so I had my AssMan scout some of the more luscious treats. One of Trialists is Captain Slow but he has no desire to play for us. Much like everyone else.  Cup Draws The football gods are kind to us as we draw a team from one level below us for the FA Cup, March Town United. I go to look at their roster and that’s when I realize why we’ve been having an easy walk through the pre-season; all their player are The Greys; fake players auto-generated by the program to fill in empty slots on teams. This goes back to when I set up the game and did not select the “Add Players to Teams” option. Well drat. For the FA Trophy, we host AFC Mansfield, a team at the same level of the pyramid as us. However, they are predicted to finish 18th in their league (of 22 teams) so I’m confident of this match too. For the Southern League Cup, we travel to fellow Southern Counties East League crew Cray Valley Paper Mills. A company team? That’s interesting! I know that Airbus have a team in Wales. Back in FM2014 I managed to poach two good players from them. Our FA Vase opponent, Loxwood, will visit us and again they are from the same pyramid level as Brixton. Pre-Season Matches • 1 July vs. Chinnor: 5-0. Macey and O’Donnell score before I sub everyone at 60’. Spearing gets one and Taylor gets a brace. Good stuff. • 4 July vs. Penn: 5-0. Paul Taylor is the maestro in this match setting up goals and making key passes but Duckie gets Player of the Match (POM) for 2 goals in 30 minutes of action. • 7 July at Farleigh: 3-0. Carroll gets a goal off a corner just 3’ in. O’Donnell and Rae get goals too but we are inefficient, going 9 of 20 shots on target. • 10 July vs. Letcombe: 3-0. Our strikers are really clicking with Taylor, Rae, and Macey all scoring. Smith has been excellent in all matches stealing several balls. • 13 July at Rayners Lane: 2-0. Macey gets two goals, coming at 28’ and 60’ after the team generally looked lazy. • 16 July at Sheerwater: 5-1. Our first 4-5-1 usage. First goal was 7’ in and the second at 63’ after I did a full outfield swap. Our opponents got their goal off a Spearing penalty. Three of our goals came from our MCs. • 19 July vs. Woodstock: 6-0. Macey gets his hat trick in 31 minutes and Smith continues his mid-field dominance. We are a budding juggernaut. Surprisingly, the game was not played in mud. • 22 July at South Park Reserves: 4-1. We went on down to South Park, had ourselves a time. There were not friendly faces everywhere, especially as we were silky smooth in moving the ball and only slightly less so shooting the ball. We finally allowed a goal from open play but I’m fine with it. (Apologies to Les Claypool, and Stan and Kyle and Cartman and Kenny.) • 25 July vs. Wallingford: 13-0. What can I saw about this ass-whooping? Four goals from Taylor, 3 from O’Donnell, 2 from Macey, and 2 from Rae. We are ready for the real games. • 28 July at FCD Galicia: 2-1. They actually score first on a B.S. penalty. The team is putrid, especially Duckett, and the second team finally scores at 82’ and 42 seconds into 2 minutes of extra time. Hubris is a bad, bad thing. • 31 July vs. Tring Corinthians: 5-0. A good bounce-back with mostly everyone playing well. Well that was a successful pre-season. Our tactical familiarity isn’t wonderful but I think we’ll be alright. Everyone is Match Fit or better. Aside from Joe Clark missing two matches from a gashed head he picked up in the Penn bout, we escape the pre-season relatively unscathed. I have 24 fine players and no real gaps to fill. I’m feeling confident about the season. |
It’s time to kick off the season FOR REALZ! I’m very confident of winning the league and the Southern League Cup. (Maybe. If I read the info tab on it correctly, all the 58 teams are either at our level or one higher. Maybe that’s hubris but if the teams above us are also just a bunch of Greys…) We aren’t going to last long in the FA Cup. Or FA Trophy. FA Vase should be ours too as the teams are at or below the 9th level of the English pyramid.
Let’s get to those games! The first match that matters is an FA Cup meeting. I quickly realize that something is fishy. I’m allowed 12 subs. This is peculiar. I should only be allowed 7 for an FA Cup match. I wonder if the England Level 10 database creator upped the numbers for shits and giggles. I take this opportunity to check the league rules and they too allow for 12 subs. It seems that all the leagues at level 6 and above are setup correctly, thankfully. FA Cup First Preliminary Round vs. March Town United, 5 August 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell Subs: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Donaldson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae We start fast with a goal at 2:04 after some lovely clearance play and fancy passing. I knew O’Donnell would be our first scorer due to his massive talent for this level. It takes him less than 2 minutes go get his brace, both assists are by Duckett. At 15’, a long kick from Carroll finds O’Donnell alone on the left flanks and as he charges towards the goal he spies an advancing Macey who polishes his run off with a hard shot into the lower left corner. A counter-attack after a set piece sees more lovely movement from the left side culminating in a lovely low Pearson cross to the feet of Macey and we’re up 4-0 before 25 minutes. Barlow takes us to five because March forgot he was sitting on the far side after a corner and nobody was close enough to prevent him from blasting a shot in. I then switch to Defensive and nothing happens until 88’ when a surprising long kick reaches sub Rae entering the box and as he drives to goal he feeds Macey for a hat trick. Game. Set. Match. POM: Eddie Macey (3 goals, 1 key pass)  The Week Between We draw Whitley Bay for the next round of the FA Cup. It’s a very good draw as we are at home and they are at the same level of the pyramid as us. Unlike March, they actually have players. We also have the FA Trophy draw and will be playing at Haverhill, also at the same pyramid level as us. I got an email on 8 August from my Press Officer, letting me know that the bookmakers think we’re an absolute shoe-in to win the league at 1-5 odds. Nearest competitor is Chatham at 7-2 odds. I feel confident. |
Next we have another cup match but unlike our first match, this one should just be the beginning of our run to a cup title.
FA Vase First Round vs. Loxwood, 12 August 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell Subs: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Thompson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Again with the long passes! SI still can’t get their programming right. Short passing means short passing! But at least this time when Maguire sends forward from deep in our territory, O’Donnell out runs the defense and we’re up just after 6 minutes. Ten minutes later we are up two after another long pass, this time from Pearson to Macey and uncharacteristically he gets it past the GK after shooting it right at him. Just before in 71’ Thompson steals the ball, feeds it to Pearson, who sees a streaking O’Donnell. Ben takes the ball into the left side of the box and as the defense flocks to him, fresh sub Taylor is alone near the far post and gets a goal on his debut. Less than a minute later, another steal and some fancy passing leads to a brace for Taylor. I switch to Defensive and see the game out POM: Steve Pearson (2 assists, 5 key passes, 2 chances created)  The Week Between The Southern League Cup draw comes in and we’ll be heading to Braintree, a Conference South team. I think we’re boned. And the FA Vase Cup draw too, we host Chasetown who are a league above us. We might have a chance. |
Before this match I get an email that says 700 of the 900 people expected to show up at Cray Valley are traveling Brixton fans. Interesting… It’s our first mid-week game and first away game. Their roster is old with 8 non-Grey players whose average age is almost 32. All this considered, I’m feeling confident in this one.
Southern League Cup First Round At Cray Valley Paper Mills, 16 August 2017 (almost exactly 10 km almost exactly due east of Brockwell Park)  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Webb, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Cullen, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Subs: Friend, Day, Maguire, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Donaldson, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O'Donnell Well, our streak continues. Our streak of not scoring from a free kick! Not a single one even through pre-season. We had two wasted opportunities and its nada-nada at half. I Calmly tell the team I’m not happy and up the Tempo and switch to Attacking. Rae and Taylor have multiple opportunities but they botch them. And of course the wasted free kicks continue. At 60’ I swap out some player, notably Taylor and Rae for Macey and O’Donnell. Or so I thought so. I brought in Duckett instead of Macey and he promptly crosses to Martin, who get’s his first goal of the season. I correct my error and send Duckett to MR. In the 78’ Cray-Cray get a free kick about 25 yards out and can’t convert so on the counter O’Donnell runs the ball down to the byline and sends a slow, low cross to the far corner for an easy Macey clean up. I switch us to Control and then Defensive at 80’. Ninety seconds into extra time we get some more O’Donnell cross to Macey to absolutely shut the door on Crazy Valley. POM: Ben O’Donnell (2 assists, 5 key passes, 4 chances created)  History was made in this match. Because of Maguire’s appearance, he now holds the record for the youngest player ever in this cup at 15 years and 48 days. (Because no real records were brought over in the database, these are false histories really.) FA Cup Second Preliminary Round vs. Whitley Bay, 19 August 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell Subs: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Thompson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Despite having plenty of goals off corners in the pre-season, we’ve yet to score one this season. This trend continues today. Nothing much happens until 26’ when a lovely smooth attack begins from a throw-in deep in our territory. Jefcoate lobs it forward to O’Donnell, who dribbles almost to the 18-yard box and then sends in another low cross to the near post where Macey beats his man and sends in a low shot to the left. Our captain is awesome! Nothing really happens until just after 71’ when Whitley get a goal off a corner. I switch to Attacking and two and a half minutes later a right-side thrown in to Pearson gets booted ahead to Rae on a breakaway. His shot hits the crossbar and ricochets right to a trailing Macey who doesn’t miss. I quickly change things to Control to try to close the match out. There are some butt-clenching moments especially when Macey fouls a guy in our end with 10 second left in extra time but the ensuing kick gets booted up-field and we win our first close match. POM: Eddie Macey (2 goals)  I took another look at finances before and after the match. Seems that the fans are spending around £9 on the concessions; we’re making £11 when you add in the ticket prices. That is not sustainable. Prices better go up next season significantly. I guess this is what I get for setting Reputation to 1. The Week Between It’s FA Cup First Qualifying Round draw time! We get to host Tonbridge, who are two leagues above us and predicted to finish 7th out of 24 teams. Hopefully we don’t let them play like we did Whitley Bay. |
At this stage of the save I finally get my first prediction of future potential other than “A Lot”. Rae is predicted to be good enough for Conference South, the sixth level of the FA pyramid. I think he’ll be better but if by the time we get to Conference South his Pace is 11 or lower I’ll jettison him. Maybe I’ll keep him longer if he can get his Jumping Reach and Strength up to be a good Target Man.
(Pennington’s Judge Player Ability and Judge Player Potential are 13 (out of 20), hence my reluctance to fully believe him.)  For our Mansfield match I do some rotation to a) get Parker experience at DL, and b) Friend has yet to start a match. FA Trophy First Round vs. AFC Mansfield, 23 August 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Friend, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Parker, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell Subs: Webb, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Jones, Cullen, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae O’Donnell has a chance to put us in the lead at 14 seconds but his header goes wide. That would have been epic. Twelve minutes later he redeems himself as he and Duckett combine on a breakaway. Four minutes later Mansfield ties it up with a beautiful header off a lovely cross. Damnit. The scorer out-jumped Day, which is not a good sign. I swear the crosser’s name was Duffus. (rofl) At 31’ Pearson lobs a long-ball to Macey who is one-on-one with the keeper and manages not to screw things up. Phew! At 40’ Duckett sends in a prayer from the left corner that flies over everyone, but as it was a sky-high lob it gave Pearson enough time to fly in and get his second goal of the season. (Some luck was involved because Pearson crossed the field to Duckett and Doofus had a chance to head it but missed.) My half-time speech is met with mixed review as I told the team to not be complacent and Duckett and O’Donnell give me the red thumbs down. Luckily six players including our captains respond positively so hopefully they don’t screw the pooch. I switch to Control and make the necessary adjustments. In the 68’ Cullen sends in a free kick way to the left almost at the byline. In the resulting melee the ball finds Jones near the top of the arc and he sends in a high, fast ball and the game is ours. Two minutes later another free kick from Cullen, this time from the right mid-area. It goes to the far post where Jones sends a header to the post but gets a rebound for an even tighter shot that goes in. I switch us to Defensive but in 86’ Parker hoofs it forward from deep to Taylor who waltzes on in for an easy goal. POM: Eddie Macey (1 goal, 2 key passes)  The Days Between For the Second Round we travel to Haverhill Rovers who are at the same pyramid level as Brixton and are predicted to finish 20th (of 23 clubs) in their league. First league match today! Let’s go Guns of Brixton! Southern Counties East At Hollands & Blair, 26 August 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell Subs: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Donaldson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae I actually manage to get a reaction from the squad from a pre-match pep-talk. About freakin’ time! Smith continues to be a dominant force and steals the ball at 6:00 just in front of our area. He boots it forward to a streaking O’Donnell who is alone, he rounds the keeper and our league campaign is off to a flying start. Just over three minutes later, history repeats but this time it’s Pearson and Macey, and Macey nutmegs the goalie. Just before half Jefcoate sends in a cross to the near post and Macey scoots past their DR to get us a trio. Smith is hella tired so I pull him at half for McAdam. At 56’ Macey gets his hat trick with a power shot from the top of the arc. I bring in Spearing and Donaldson immediately thereafter to get them some Sharpness. At 65’ I take off Maguire and Macey for Johnstone and Rae. However, before the changes take effect we move the ball up the field methodically and Macey heads over to the right corner, sends in a low cross to the near post, and O’Donnell back-heels the ball in from a tight angle. Amazing! Should be the goal of the month. A few minutes later O’Donnell get his hat trick from a cross from Rae. Though I don’t like to take advantage of the 12 subs rule, I do bring Benny off for Taylor, and swap Rae to the left side. In the 79’ their left DC gets his second yellow; I maintain the Defensive game play. Needless to say, at a +6 Goal Differential, we are top of the league. Correction. Three teams have played two games already and won both. So we are “6th” for now. POM: Eddie Macey (3 goals, 1 assist, 2 key passes)  |
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I gotta figure out a way to make it not so easy to win. And I think it’s time to introduce a new formation. We’re starting to really click in the 4-4-2 Standard.  So I switched things up, adding the 4-5-1 and 4-2-3-1 Wide or as I call it, Spade. As part of this, to have my best players on the pitch, I’ve started training Ben O’Donnell on learning AMC, focusing on the Shadow Striker role.  Southern Counties East vs. Erith Town, 30 August 2017  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Thompson, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae It takes a while for the lads to settle in to the Spade but I’m not too concerned. At 34’ Erith get a free kick but mishandle the ball and O’Donnell steals it, sending it forward to Macey who dribbles it all the way to the byline to the left of the goal. His cross is errant but Pearson tracks it down and sends it to O’Donnell to the right of the penalty spot and his aim is true. Not three minutes later O’Donnell steals another ball which eventually ends up with Pearson on the far right flank. His cross meets Macey’s head just a few yards out and we’re up 2-0 At half I sub out Jefcoate not because he has a yellow, though that doesn’t help, but he’s a bit knackered. I also sub out Carroll because Clark is in serious need of match fitness. O’Donnell scores again at 56’ off some more great winger play, this time courtesy of Parker. Duckett and Pearson combine to take us to 4-0 just before 60’. I then make a giant sub fest with all five mid-fielders coming out. That doesn’t lessen our dangerousness though as we flood the box on a counter culminating with Jones sending a cross to the goalie who fails to handle the ball, letting it fall to a defender-less Taylor who blasts one in. At 70’ I swap out the rest of the outfield players and switch up to Defensive. But in the aftermath of a corner Clark feeds Jones who hits a long shot that had no right to go in but it does. I’m disappointed that our home opener only drew 945 fans. But it was enough to make us £5,094 so I guess I shouldn’t bitch too much. POM: Steve Pearson (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 key passes)  The Days Between Just before the end of the month the report for Tonbridge comes in. They have a lot of good players, some as good as us. We might not win that match. The board expects me to make it to the Second Qualifying Round for the FA Cup and I might fail. In Summary We are off to an amazing start of the season! We’ve outscored our opponents 33-2 and have yet to concede a goal in league play. The easy lesson is that setting up the database to have 17 youths with high Potential Ability (PA) and great Youth Facilities is overkill. When setting up a database you can set a player to have a PA between 1 and 200. If you set it to 0 then the PA is random but confined by certain parameter related to your club (Reputation, League, Facilities, Coaching, etc.) You can also give them a value from -1 to -10 which will keep the randomness of the PA within certain ranges. -10 is the best and the PA will be between 170 and 200. Well, I did not give myself any players that good but I have all of them at -5 or better. Overkill. Lesson learned. I think we’ll have a fine campaign so long as we don’t get hit by any major injury bugs. Also we’ll have to make it through the January transfer window. None of our players drew any interest in the August window. I’ve seen some indications that the game plays differently when you have four additional levels in England and I believe that means none of my players will draw interest from the top three levels of the pyramid as the game won’t have the top teams looking that low. Stay tuned!  |
The training report comes in and I’m happy to see three players have Impressive Performances. I’m irked but not surprised Day has a bad report. I got a notice about a week prior that he was struggling and he has red down-arrows for almost all Attributes. I’ll have to have a talk, he’s our Vice Captain and must do better than that.
 I had The Talk (not that talk!) with Chris Day and he promised to do better. You better! Financial Matters We lost over £122,000 last month. I knew this was coming but it still sucks to see it in black and red. This brings our season loss to almost £445,000. Oh well, luckily Brixton has a Sugar Daddy. Now on to the match against Tonbridge. We are 6:4 odds so despite them being higher than us we’re favored. Okay. The FA Cup brings the boys to the yard, and I’m like, we’re better than you. And 2,580 fans agree. Yeah money! Amazingly, I don’t botch the pre-game pep-talk! Six players are motivated. FA Cup First Qualifying Round vs. Tonbridge, 2 September 2017  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Parker, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae In the 8’ Smith shoves a guy down in the box during a cross and doesn’t get called for it. Two breakaway opportunities for Macey lead to nothing. By half, three of their players have picked up knocks (plus one of their subs started that way with 69% fitness) so this should be a war of attrition we should be winning. Macey is sporting a 6.3. Drat. With Macey and O’Donnell sporting a 6.3 and 6.4, respectively, I switch to the 4-4-2 and crank it up to Attack. Seven minutes later, Macey redeems himself with a weak effort 16 yards out. A few minutes later I bring on Cullen, McAdam, and Rae for Barlow, Smith, and O’Donnell. Then Jefcoate comes on at 75’. And shortly thereafter, Maguire sends a long ball up the right side, Macey crosses to the far post, and Rae puts us in a commanding position; I immediately switch to Control. Then a minute later Macey gets barged over in the penalty area and Duckett seals it. POM: Eddie Macey (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 key passes, 1 chance created)  We’re on to the next round! I’ve met the board’s expectation so that’s a plus. Hopefully we get drawn against a creampuff. And we made £28,676! Sweet! |
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FA Cup Draw Day! And we get…a home match against Dartford of the Conference South, three rungs above us on the FA ladder. They are currently 17th so hopefully their poor form carries over. We are in the hunt in four cups plus the league so we’ll continue to play a match every 3 or 4 days until 4 October then we’ll have a 10-day break. I kinda hope we lose all cup matches to end the congestion. I’m going to give the Second XI starts in the 4-5-1 Counter just to get them experience and the First XI some rest. FA Trophy Second Round at Haverhill, 5 September 2017  Formation: 4-5-1 Counter (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC, MC r, MC l, AMR, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, McAdam, Thompson, Donaldson, Jones, Martin, Taylor Subs: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Smith, Barlow, Cullen, Pearson, Duckett, Rae, O’Donnell After 32 minutes of absolutely nothing I switch to Attacking just to get something to happen. Something does happen! Another failed corner by us. McAdam pulled his groin around 17’ so I sub him out at half. I Calmly tell the crew that I’m not happy with their performance. From the restart we get an excellent chance to pull ahead but Taylor, in the clear, sends the shot wide. He tries to redeem himself 11 minutes later but this shot is even worse than the first; it left the 18-yard box before going out of bounds. Time to bring on the First XI and go to 4-4-2 Standard. In the 63’ Rae almost gets it done but hits the right post and Haverhill clears it to the sideline. On the throw in Rae redeems himself, sending in a cross to O’Donnell’s powerful left foot. Then at 80’ O’Donnell returns the favor and Rae gets an easy one. I switch to Defensive for the last 10 minutes. POM: Ben O’Donnell (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 key passes, 1 chance created)  I just realized something. We haven’t had a single goal called back for offsides. Not in the regular season, not in any friendlies. |
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It’s FA Trophy Third Round Draw Day! We get to play at Sheppey, who currently are the top of our league. I think we have a fair shot. FA Vase Second Round vs. Chasetown, 9 September 2017  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae I Assertively tell the team I expect nothing but a win. Ghost town. I rarely get much reaction out of this team. We finally get things going at 19’ when Pearson unwisely passes it up the middle to a pack of defenders. Macey is the only one aware in the area and the ball somehow makes it to his feet and we are up. Our second goal comes off a Pearson to O’Donnell combo after Pearson literally kicks the calf of Chasetown’s left back. Shake my dumb head. I’ve noticed in FM18 that players more frequently come flying in from behind for sliding tackles. So far it’s been funny but I’m sure eventually one of my players will suffer a major injury. A third is added by Macey in 63’ off a subbed-in Martin cross. (Duckett wasn’t playing well.) A couple minutes later they pull one back on a corner. But no worries, Macey gets another hat trick at 78’. Not 3 minutes later, he gets his fourth, again coming from a Martin cross. For those keeping track at home, we’ve conceded two goals off corners and scored none. Harrumph! POM: Eddie Macey (4 goals, 1 key pass)  |
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Another day, another draw. This time FA Vase Third Round. Drum roll please…We travel to Salisbury! A level above us but they are currently 19th in a 22-team league. I have hope. The scouting report for Chatham comes in and they have a pretty darned good Striker, Dave Buckley, who’s scored 3 goals in 2 league games. We actually might face a challenge here! Chatham are on a five-game winning streak, just like us. This might be The Clash of The (Midget) Titans! Southern Counties East at Chatham, 13 September 2017  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae Subs Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Cullen, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Well, it finally happened, 17 minutes in and the defense screws up royally, with a defender sending a weak back-pass to an unobservant GK and the ball goes in the goal. It happens pretty regularly in FM14 but I hadn’t seen it at all until now in FM18. Oh, Rae was the lucky guy. And finally we get a goal off a set piece, though from a free kick, kinda. Taylor sends in the freebie from way out on the left side and a Chatham DC heads it up field right to Donaldson, who sends a flier in from about 25 yards out. And just before half Spears sends an extremely long ball into Chatham’s half and Rae out runs the defenders and sends one in from 19 yards out. Second half begins with another odd play. Chatham’s right central defender tries to lob one in from the halfway line but it bounces off Taylor who came charging in, the deflection went straight to Rae, who was busy watching the sky above the Chatham goal and when he realized what had happened, he ran after the ball, got a one-on-one and sent one in from 16 yards out. What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on out there?! And to cap things, off, Duckett sends in a free kick from the right to the far post where a lonely Taylor waits to get in on things. I switch to Defensive for the last 15 minutes but 6 minutes later Duckett puts an exclamation mark on matters and sends in a weak effort from the left corner of the 6-yard box. Jesus. A minute later, Rae makes is 7-0 with another breakaway. I guess my players just don’t understand not to boot things forward, no matter the instructions I give them. That striker I feared? He was down as low as a 5.4 but ended the match with a 6.0 and “Very frustrated” Body Language. POM: Alex Rae (4 goals)  |
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A funny thing happened on the way to the forum. Since our real matches began, on each game day a grey GK would show up on the roster for the Senior team. I never put him on the team sheet and chalked up the event to the game thinking 12 subs MUST include two GKs on the bench. Well, I decided a third permanent GK couldn’t hurt. When I went looking for one I was reminded of Chick Legg. Back in March I ran across him and thought the name was too funny but he wanted ridiculous wages so I moved on. But I am intrigued by his Driven personality and Unflappable media style so I decided to splurge and hopefully he can mentor Carl Friend. Plus, my players' names are pretty bland and hopefully I’ll be able to make some funny jokes along the way. (Fun fact: He was “born” the day I moved out of Alaska.)  The team report for Dartford comes in and, well, we’re boned. FA Cup Second Qualifying Round vs. Dartford, 16 September 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell Subs: Legg, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Thompson, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Taylor, Rae, Cullen Well, I should have known. They get out on top at 21’ from a good cross. Nothing much happens for us so I switch to Spade. At the restart we are almost FMed as Day mishandles a back-pass and Dartford striker steals the ball. And sends it high. At 65’ I bring in Parker and Thompson for Jefcoate and Barlow as they are rating 6.2. I’ll give Macey 5 more minutes to do something. But before I can do that, Dartford’s right winger lobs a ball forward, it bounces off the cross bar right to their left striker. 0-2. This was started when Smith was pick-pocketed. So off he comes as well as Macey and Duckett. Well it was never in the cards that we’d win. But I botch the post-game speech and 11 players “switched off.” So I’ve got that going for me. Oh, and we made £25,101 from the match.  Next up is another Conference South team, Braintree, who are 19th out of 22 in that league. So you’re saying there’s a chance? |
The Days Between
English Southern League Cup draw sees us host Wroxham if we make it past Braintree. Yes, Wroxham, not Wrexham. Wroxham are near the east coast, northeast of Norwich. They are at the same level as us. I also set up a U18 friendly against Farleigh’s youths so I could get some players more match sharpness, especially new-hire Chick Legg. I play everyone who didn’t start against Dartford. Everyone played exceptionally well with Legg coming in the lowest at an 8.1 rating. Rae got a hat trick on our way to a 9-1 slaughtering. Well, Braintree’s squad report is not that much different from Dartford’s so we’ll probably lose. Sticking with 4-4-2 Standard as we are familiar with the position. But before we get to that, it’s my favorite time of year! Youth Intake Day! In Ireland, not as good as in England. I send my three scouts there to look for kids 16 and under. Hopefully I find a couple. Southern League Cup at Braintree, 20 September 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell Subs: Legg, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Donaldson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae For once I don’t blow the pre-match speech and everyone but Carroll and Webb “Seem motivated.” A counter-attack in 8’ led by O’Donnell gets us a goal off the foot of Barlow. YES!!! But 15 minutes later Braintree hoof one up the field and, Day and Carroll have a confab to determine who’s going to boot the ball out of the box so Braintree’s right striker takes matters into his own hands and embarrasses us all. After a two minute spell of hitting the bar three times, Macey finally puts one away off a deflection and we go into the half up one. At 63’ I have to sub out Maguire and Day cuz they’ve been horrible and Barlow cuz he’s getting exhausted. We still can’t score from set pieces but we manage to retain possession off of one in the 70th and Macey gets a goal in the box off a Smith pass. At 75’ Clark screws up and does a poor job of collecting a ball and it’s a one-goal game again. Sports Interactive are not that good of a company. They spend each year adding something new to the game that is supposed to be all glitzy and glammy. But they never fix the broken code. Case in point, I have my GK instruction to roll out the ball to central defenders. And he keeps trying to send long passes up the field. I had this problem in FM14 also, and the brief time I played FM20. But this time it results in a goal for us at 89:18 by Jones. Oh well. We see out the game and I thank the lads but give the defense some curt words as too many had poor games, most notably Maguire (6.2) and Day (6.1). POM: Eddie Macey (2 goals, 2 key passes, 2 chances created)  |
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And the first Ireland youth scouting reports are in. The best player (who might actually come to us) is Mark Nixon, AMC. He’s better than Barlow by far but with a Stamina of 3 he won’t get to start many games, despite having 14 in Dribbling, Technique, and Flair and also really good other Physicals. I promise him “Rotation” and “Win the league this season” and he agrees to proceed to the contract phase. Next up is Stephen Dunne, ML. He doesn’t seem to have a great future but I’ll eventually need bodies for the U18 and left-footed players are a premium, plus he can play MC a little. He has a 12 Penalty Taking but 9 Pace. I like his 15 Determination and 16 Natural Fitness. I promise him “Rotation” and “Win the league this season” and he agrees to proceed to the contract phase. I also look at Martin Duggan, DC l. Again, he’s left-footed and I only have one naturally left-footed central defender. He’s tall, can jump, and knows where to stand. As far as negotiating a contract, is there an echo in here? Same as Nixon and Dunne. Finally, there is Jesse Gilroy, ST. He’s tall, fast, determined, and knows how to shoot a ball. Probably going to be as good as Ben O’Donnell. Unfortunately, he refuses to discuss a contract. Drat. Next up is a Sunday (!) match against an oddly named club/city. I have no idea why the game is on Sunday. Time for Legg to make his debut! Southern Counties East at Crowborough, 24 September 2017  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Friend, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae I bring us back to the Spade to get Familiarity higher. This is also Chicken Leg’s debut. I get four positive responses from my Calm speech about being favourites and leaving no doubt as to why. Macey is one of them, which is promising as his Morale has been lower than everyone else’s recently. In the first 12 minutes we have three great heading opportunities off crosses but they’re all to the goalie. Macey is looking a bit complacent so I give him a shout demanding more. Finally in the 18’ we get a free kick but play it short and work it into the box where Barlow feeds to Pearson for a powerful shot and it’s in. On the restart Macey finds himself alone in front of the goal because Ravensburg’s defense screws up. And he sends it right to the goalie, not even bothering to dribble around him with no defenders within yards. Eight minutes later and he sends another soft one right to the goalie. We finally get a second when, in the scrum after a corner, the ball finds Day in the penalty area and he gets first goal of the season. I can’t count it as a set piece goal due to all the pinballing going on. So of course Macey picks up a yellow but a couple minutes later he becomes bait as he’s on a breakaway when Ratbirdtown’s right back hacks him down; said Ratbird was already on a yellow so now we have a man advantage. I read Macey and Smith the riot act at half as they are underperforming and not looking interested at all. Three other players, including Chicken Leg, are also already thinking about tomorrow but I don’t want to overdo the chastising. Despite being a player up nothing happens in the second half. I let the team know their performance was unsatisfactory and Assertively tell Macey he was shit. I brought Rae in for him but he fared slightly better than crap. POM: Daniel Duckett (1 assist, 4 key passes, 4 chances created)  After the match I give Macey an Official Warning. Can’t let a Captain get away with such play. |
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Another U18 Friendly is scheduled for the Yutes, this time at Rayers Lane on 1 October. I figure the Irish youth arrivals will need to get into shape. Southern Counties East vs. Beckenham, 27 September 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell Subs: Webb, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Thompson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae We have a good start with a Pearson-Macey combo getting us ahead before 10 minutes has elapsed. Ben O’Donnell almost gets on the board at 25’ but hits the post. Macey is still horrible beating one-on-ones so I’m going to put him on training to round the keeper. Holy Bat, Shitman! We scored a goal off a corner! Duckett sends it in from the left to O’Donnell who heads it down to Carroll, waiting patiently at the right post, and he sends it in silky smooth for his first career goals. I give a Calm pep-talk at half and for shits and giggles swap Macey and Benny around. I bring Smith and Carroll off at 55’ because both are on yellow. Immediately thereafter my swap for Benny and Macey pays off with a lovely cross resulting in Macey’s brace. Chris Day on the other hand is still prone to dumb mistakes. Chicken Leg rolls the ball to him and Day just kind of starts looking around and gets robbed then the Beckenhammer sends it into goal before Chicken can react. The rest of the match sees me subbing everyone but Chicken at staggered intervals. This schedule is brutal and I need my lads fresh. POM: Eddie Macey (2 goals, 2 key passes, 1 chance created)  |
The Days Between
Dunne, Duggan and Nixon sign. I’ll show you their Player Cards at the end of the month. Glebe are a horrible team with only one non-Grey, a GK who is under a transfer bid. If we don’t win this I will absolutely lose my mind. Southern Counties East at Glebe, 30 September 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell Subs: Webb, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Cullen, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Macey seems to be in form getting a goal in the 9th from 19 yards out after a long Benny lob from just inside our territory. At 40’ a long pass forward from the top of OUR arc by Carroll to Macey results in an easy goal from 3 yards out for O’Donnell off Macey’s low cross. At the half I have to tell Day, Smith, and Jefcoate to calm down as they already have yellows. Nothing much happens in the second half start so after 10 minutes I take off the young offenders for Clark, McAdam, and Parker. I put Maguire at DC r and Clark at DR to get him some experience there. The rest come off at 65’. Eventually in the 84th we get a long ball to the right endline where Taylor crosses to the penalty spot for Rae, who shoots in a powerful shot for our third goal. POM: Eddie Macey (1 goal, 1 assist, 3 key passes, 2 chances created)  |
New Signings
Stephen Dunne signed on 25 September, Martin Duggan on the 27th, and Dixon the 30th September. Here’s a look at said youths. Stephen Dunne, ML  Martin Duggan, DC  Mark Dixon, AMC  In Summary A pretty good month, I'd say. Aside from the blip against Dartford, which wasn't unexpected, I'm proud of our achievements. We're still in three cups and are on top of the league. We picked up three kids from Ireland with one of them having a serious chance of helping and having a long stint with us.  |
The training report comes in and I’m happy to see three players have Impressive Performances and especially pleased that Ben O’Donnell is one of them. I think he is the key to our long-term success.
 Financial Matters We lost almost £122,000 in September, a slight improvement over August. Oddly, the board insisted on meeting to discuss the transfer budget. It’s my first time being called into the principal’s officer so I’m a little worried that I’ve been losing too much money. Nope! They increase the transfer budget up to £5.8m. It had dropped to £837,280. What the hell am I going to do with an extra five million?! Not-So-Friendlies Also on 1 October we had a Friendly against Rayners Lane U18s. I only played my second stringers to get some more Match Fitness and integrate the three new players. We won easily five-nil. I used the Spade and Stephen Dunne got POM. The other new kids on the block did well with Duggan getting an 8.9 and Dixon getting an 8.1. Dixon was subbed out at 71’ a testament to his low Stamina. Player Development On 3 October I get an email on player development, this time for Terry Barlow and Steve Pearson. Barlow has the potential to be “League Two talent” according to my AssMan. More exciting, Steve Pearson has the potential to be a “League One Talent.” Hallelujah! I’ll offer them Professional contracts when they turn 17. Remember back in the pre-pre-season when I brought on Alex Rae and Macey thought I was trying to force him out? Well on 4 October I get an email from my Player Liaison Officer that he now no longer feels that way. It only took him starting 14 matches (not including pre-season) and scoring 25 goals to get over that. Ingrate. Now onto the October matches! Our next match is against Whitstable who are second in the league with 5 wins and 1 draw. This could be a tough match. Southern Counties East vs. Whitstable, 4 October 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O'Donnell Subs: Webb, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Thompson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Four minutes in O’Donnell gets an assist and Macey gets a goal, though his first shot was right at the goalie and the rebound came right back to him. Whitstable likes to do a lot of slide tackles but it backfires on them. On a Macey breakaway from a long pass from our side of the circle their leftback slides in and sends the ball right to O’Donnell for an easy goal. Then five minutes later O’Donnell gets his brace from a penalty; Macey was shoved during a long free kick from Duckett. Nineteen seconds into the second half and Benny gets his hat trick. He’ll be coming out at 55’ for sure. Three minutes later Macey gets his brace. Duckett is racking up assists like a man possessed. After some more slide tackling karma Carroll sends a great lob right to Rae and he makes them pay. (Hey, that rhymes.) And again 2 minutes later. And with two minutes to go, Chicken Leg rolls the ball to Day and it’s a repeat of the Beckenham game and they draw one back. I have Legg set to distribute via short kicks so of course SI programming makes this shit happens. Fuck you, Myles! POM: Ben O’Donnell (3 goals, 4 key passes, 3 chances created)  In the post-game email dump I get a notice that Maguire is now a Natural at DR. I looked at his history and see that it only took him 22 starts and 7 sub appearances to do that. This happened much quicker than in FM14. Thank you, Myles! |
The Days Between
Nothing much happens between the matches, just me looking for some more cheap, exciting young prospects. FA Vase Third Round at Salisbury, 7 October 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O'Donnell Subs: Webb, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Donaldson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Interesting, the odds of us winning are even. I’ll have a say in that! Oh well, only Macey was inspired by my speech. Our first goal is Smith’s first career goal. It comes off a corner, kinda. It gets headed or kicked toward the goal four times so I don’t think it really counts as a set piece goal. The drought goes on. Four minutes later they pull one back on yet another horrible clearance by Chicken Leg. At 33’ we pull back ahead thanks to Macey, with Pearson providing the assist. Just before the half we extend our lead from a Macey cross from the byline to O’Donnell’s noggin. Maguire picked up a bruised ankle early in the first so I sub him out to get Clark some DR time. Just over a minute later Barlow gets in on the action courtesy of a long pass from Macey to Benny and his low cross. The rest of the half goes smoothly and we’re on to the next round! POM: Ben O’Donnell (3 goals, 4 key passes, 3 chances created)  The news on Maguire is as good as could be expected, out for 1 to 3 days. He’ll miss the FA Trophy match against Sheppey so Clark will get a start at DR. New arrival Martin Duggan will be our sub for left DC and Spearing will be the sub at right DC. The Days Between FA Vase Fourth Round Draw is today and we are the first team chosen from the pot and we get to face Soham. Mmm…ham… Soham are a level above us but are 17th out of 24 teams in the Isthmian Division 1 North. I feel confident. I also look at the league stats page and evidently we’ve scored two goals off of corners. Go figure! The Sheppey United team report comes in and they only have 4 non-grey players and one of them is injured. I think I’ll field my Second XI. Maybe even give the newbies some real match time. FA Trophy Third Round at Sheppey, 10 October 2017  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Clark, Spearing, Duggan, Parker, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae Subs: Friend, Johnstone, Carroll, Smith, Donaldson, Duckett, Nixcon And they’re off! Just before 4’ Martin sends a cross to the far post for an easy goal by Jones. But they pull one back 7 minutes later off a free kick that bounces around leaving their right CD alone with Webb. Why are we conceding so much recently?! Jones and Rae spend the rest of the half sending balls wide or off the crossbar. I tell the lads to get their act together. I have to bring off Cullen as he’s exhausted. I also switch the tactic to Attacking. Six minutes in and Clark shows me he can play DR. He crosses from the right corner and it meets Martin a yard out from the far post and Martin puts in a nice header. I was hoping that Duggan would be the only one with a debut but with Rae doing nothing worth a damn I bring in Nixon as Shadow Striker and move Taylor up to Poacher. I really wanted to get Taylor a full game at AMC as he’s not improved at all in that arena. My changes pay off within 4 minutes as Martin feeds Taylor and we’re up 3-1. Thankfully the rest of the match passes without much happening. Nixon had a good debut though he only rated a 6.7, which surprises me as he had a lot of good passes near the box. Duggan had a 6.4 so that was not too exciting. POM: Sam Martin (1 goal, 2 assists, 6 key passes, 3 chances created)  |
The Days Between
So it is on 11 October 2017 that it is time to start working on my U18. I already had a U18 manager and noticed that the board will now allow me to have a U18 AssMan, U18 Coach, and U18 Physio. I put out adverts and wait for the applications to roll in. FA Trophy Draw Day! And in the Fourth Round we face…Aldershot at their place on 7 November. They are in Conference National so I think it’s safe to say we will not advance to the Fifth Round. But first up is Rochester United! Southern Counties East vs. Rochester United, 14 October 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Johnstone, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O'Donnell Subs: Webb, Maguire, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Cullen, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae HOLY COW! Off some beautiful passing Macey scores 14 seconds in!!! It took five passes to get it to him and the goalie was caught flat-footed. Wonderful stuff! His second one comes just before 5’, this time courtesy of Duckett. Five minutes later we’re up 3 off a corner, Smith launched it from just inside the 18-yard box and it hit the crossbar, went straight down and then back up and then fully into the goal box. In the 28’ Rochester are patiently looking for a hole in our defense when Smith intercepts a pass, hoofs it forward to O’Donnell on the right who crosses it perfect for Macey to get his hat trick. Game over, man! /PFC Hudson Macey got a yellow just before half so with that and his three-fer I pull him at 50’ along with Jefcoate who got his yellow less than a minute into the second half. Aside from Rochester embarrassing Legg nothing much happens. Why oh why is my defense a mess?! He’ll never get a clean-sheet at this rate! Well, at 85’ something does happen, Taylor gets a score. Off a long pass. Nobody has permission to pass long. FM…shake my dumb head. And it happens again (long pass) 5 minutes later but this time the scorer is Rae. POM: Eddie Macey (3 goals, 2 key passes, 1 chance created)  The Week Between Finally! Our first week with just one game! The players are resting nicely despite me putting the training at Fitness with High intensity. Southern Counties East vs. Cray Valley, 21 October 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O'Donnell Subs: Webb, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Thompson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Ohh fiddle sticks! Not even five minutes in and Smith needs to be pulled as he has a serious foot injury. Cray are playing a really narrow formation so after 10 minutes of nothing happening I tell the lads to Exploit the Flanks and kick Early Crosses. Ten minutes later it pays off with Pearson launching from deep and Macey getting on the end of it for a tight-angled goal off the keep’s hands. Not 4 minutes later Macey gets goal number two, this time on an early cross by Jefcoate. And at 40’ Macey gets the hat trick with a low pass from Duckett. Our fourth goal comes at 52’ from a fluke play by Duckett. He’s about two-thirds the way into Cray Valley territory up against the left side and just launches the ball towards the goal and it goes in. I think it was a deliberate shot as there was no one near the goal to receive a cross. Our final goal comes when I have us set to Defensive but Maguire can’t help himself, sending a long lob forward to Taylor. At least we got a clean sheet for Chicken Leg! POM: Eddie Macey (3 goals)  The butcher’s bill comes in. Smith will be out 12-14 days with pulled ankle ligaments. Fudge. He should be back in time for the Aldershot match. |
The Days Between
Back in April I asked Macey to mentor Scott Thompson and six months later it’s over and Thompson gained very little. Drat. His Determination improved but only from 7 to 9, which is a shame because Macey’s is 18. I get some more Player Development emails, one indicating that Robert Webb is a “Potential League Two Talent” and Simon McAdam is a “Potential Conference National Talent.” I can live with that. For a couple of years. With Smith out, Jefcoate tired, and using the Spade, the only strong relationship on the field right now is Maguire and Pearson. Maybe I’ll emphasize exploiting the right side if things get off to a slow start. Now it’s time to tan some fine Corinthian leather hide. Southern Counties East at Corinthian, 25 October 2017  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Parker, Barlow, Thompson, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Jones, Cullen, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae It takes almost 28 minutes but O’Donnell, having already missed several shots, manages to get the rebound off a Pearson cross that hit the near post. Nine minutes later the inverse happens, Duckett crosses to Macey for our second goal. Everything is calm until the 82’ when a generous Macey has a clear shot but passes to Pearson instead and he does not fail me. And once again, Legg gets a clean sheet. POM: Steve Pearson (1 goals, 1 assist, 4 key passes, 1 chance created)  Now that I have enough U18 coaches in late October I go a-looking to stock the squad with players. Plus, there were just too many good Irish youth available. I offer contracts to six youths. I don’t fully understand how the scouting packages work in FM18 and at some point in August or September I had blown the budget and no longer had any packages. So I don’t know how this Jordanian kid is even showing up in my list of players to scout. He was released on a free by Bristol Rovers on 30 June 2017. I’m signing him sight-unseen. Don’t care. He has great physicals and plenty of really good Mental Attributes.  He signs right before our next match and immediately goes on International duty. |
Our next opponent is not Wrexham but Wroxham, who are currently Second in the Eastern Counties Premier league, which is at the same level as us. Lots of tired bodies today so we’ve had a bit of a shuffle. Notably Nixon getting his first start at AMC now that he’s Match Fit.
Southern League Cup Third Round vs. Wroxham, 28 October 2017  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, McAdam, Jones, Nixon, Martin, O'Donnell Subs: Webb, Johnstone, Clark, Spearing, Duggan, Macey, Cullen, Donaldson, Dunne, Taylor, Rae Well, putting in Nixon at Shadow trike certainly pays off quickly, 1:55 into the match to be exact. It came off a sneaky back-heel, no-look pass from O’Donnell into the box. Cheeky! Wroxham play a physical style, knocking many players off the ball, sometimes from behind, but no cards so far. Aside from that early strike, the rest of the first 45 the lads look like boobs, getting nothing done. Until 39’ when Nixon gets a powerful, up-close shot from 5 yards thanks to Martin’s impeccable cross from the endline. We go into the half feeling good so I slow things down a bit. I praise the team with a little extra for the defense because they’ve held the opponent with no shots on goal; they give me no reaction. In the second half I get just what the doctor ordered: everything calm and peaceful until 2 minutes left when Donaldson get his second goal of the season off a Rae feed. And then 2 minutes later, Rae gets rewarded with a goal of his own. We’re on to the next round. In a rare move, I actually kept a player on who had a brace with the hope of getting the hat trick. Sorry, Nixon, it didn’t work. I did manage to do the right team talk at the end with six players being delighted. Also of note, Stephen Dunne finally makes his debut. POM: Mark Nixon (2 goals, 1 key pass)  The Week Between It’s draw time for the Southern League Cup. We’re going on down to South Park, gonna leave our cares behind. Friendly faces everywhere, humble folk without temptation. We’ll visit them on 9 December. Shadi al-Ziod did well, rating a 7.8 for the Jordan U19 squad in a friendly against Yemen. In Summary A damn good month! Not a loss and we eventually improved on defense once Chick Legg settled in. I know our streak will end at the beginning of November when we face Aldershot. Our morale is high and the players are learning their craft pretty well. I am very satisfied.  |
Fun read!
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Again with the crummy training performances!
 Financial Matters We lost just over £200,000 in October, quite the increase over the previous months. The largest increase came from the “Other” category, which includes “advertising, supplies, and other general expenses.” No idea what would have caused that. Okay, this is where our streak ends. Aldershot are in Conference National so we are well and truly fucked.  FA Trophy Fourth Round at Aldershot, 7 November 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O'Donnell Subs: Webb, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Jones, Cullen, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Just as I thought, we really had no chance. They score early and roughly 18 minutes later Day gives them a two-goal lead from a deflection off his shin. I encourage the team at half-time and switch to the Spade. We do manage to pull one back off the goalie’s suddenly-rocky hands thanks to Pearson, but it’s too little too late. Oh well, it was never really in the cards. Plus we made about £10,000 on the day.  |
The Days Between
Through late October into early November I signed several players to the U18s, very few of which are particularly talented or interesting. Well, there are two who are interesting-ish, the strikers. Their names are Declan McNulty and Derek McLeish. If they by some miracle become our leading strikers I will call them collectively The Mickey Ds. One player, Andy Hodgson, costs us £10,000 to pry him away from Blackpool. He’s a fast right winger who might be better than Jones. It’s Veteran’s Day and I feel comfortable that the Youths of Brixton will play like veteran footballers. Comfortable enough to put Webb in goal and get Al-Ziod his debut. FA Vase Fourth Round vs. Soham, 11 November 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O'Donnell Subs: Legg, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Jones, Nixon, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae A pretty hum-drum match. O’Donnell scored early and Macey got one off a penalty but he repeatedly kept kicking the ball right at the goalie. I chastised him at the half and 35 seconds in he scores. There were way too many yellow cards, including Macey’s third of the season so I brought him off for Taylor who too proved that strikers can pick up yellows. And we’re on to the 5th round! POM: O’Donnell (1 goal, 7 key passes, 3 chances created)  |
The Days Between
FA Vase Draw time! We get Wellingborough who thankfully are at the same level as we are but unfortunately it’s an away game. On the Good News Front, I get an email from my AssMan that Paul Taylor is a “Potential League One Talent” now. I also learn from the email that Macey is a “Highly Influential Player” now. Sadly, nobody has moved up to become an Influential Player. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? If Taylor, with 4 stars is League One and Macey has 4.5 stars, he must be a Championship talent? Then that must make O’Donnell Premier League?!?!?! I sure hope so! And Chick Legg for that matter, too! I’m rotating a lot due to fixture congestion and switch to Spade to get Nixon some more game experience. Southern Counties East at Deal, 14 November 2017  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Jones, Nixon, Martin, Rae Subs: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Cullen, Barlow, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Taylor, Macey The players are timid and nervous until 26’ when Parker gets stuck on the left side in the aftermath of a free kick. He decides to take the ball up the left flank and finds Rae at the near post for a squeaky-bum goal. The lackluster performance continues until 73’ when we get a penalty and Clark gets his first goal of the season. (Yes, his 5 Penalty Taking and 1 Finishing made him the best choice.) On the restart, Day continues his bout of fuckery when he tries to hold up the ball on the 6-yard line only to be robbed and Chicken Leg loses his clean sheet pay. Five minutes later Martin and Rae hook up in the 18-yard box to give us a more comfortable lead. POM: Sam Martin (1 assist, 4 key passes, 3 chances created)  |
The Days Between
I think it’s fair to mention that still, I may have overpowered things by giving us a Sugar Daddy and excellent facilities. Since 1 October the U18s have had six friendlies and not lost. They’ve outscored their opponents 21 to 1. Southern Counties East at Croydon, 18 November 2017  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae Remember how Staples used to sell those big “EASY” buttons? You’d press it and a semi-robotic voice would say, “That was easy!” I would have smashed it if I had one. Counter-attack, Barlow, Duckett, Macey’s skull, and we’re up. That was 3:15 in and then 3:14 later off a throw-in it’s Al-Ziod, Smith, Pearson’s skull. And 6:30 later a sliding tackle on Macey sees O’Donnell sink a penalty. And at 27:30 it’s the Pearson specialty of a cross to Duckett who embarrasses the goalie. Then holy shit, we get our first direct goal off a corner! Carroll gets the honor. After that everything is quiet and I swap out pretty much everyone but Legg, Carroll, and O’Donnell and then we get a second penalty at 68’ and O’Donnell does not disappoint. POM: Ben O’Donnell (2 goals, 4 key passes, 3 chances created)  |
The Week Between
The mystery has been solved on why I could see Shady; he’s a dual-citizen of Jordan and England. Derp de derp. Don’t know how I missed that. I’m trying something a little different. I’m putting O’Donnell on the right as an Advanced Forward and Macey on the left as a Deep Lying Forward in a Support role. Southern Counties East vs. Tunbridge Wells, 25 November 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, O'Donnell, Macey Subs: Legg, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Al-Ziod, Jones, Donaldson, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Another quick start courtesy of O’Donnell and it was a well-placed shot. And then nothing. Just uninspired play. Carroll was nervous from the get-go, got a yellow in the first half and got a header in off a corner only for it to be called offsides somehow. I let them know that was a bit of a let-off and most players got fired up. Martin got stressed and also got stressed when I put him on and demanded a performance. So he has a low Pressure rating. Noted. I guess my experiment of switching the strikers around backfired. POM: James Jefcoate (4 key passes)  |
The Week Between
More good news rolls in with an email from my AssMan noting that Daniel Duckett is a “Potential League One Talent” now. In Summary Another easy month is in the book. We knew we were going to lose to Aldershot but in a few years’ time we’ll get our revenge in the Conference South and defeat them twice. I now have a full crew of U18 players and they are winning and getting great training, even if some of them will not be around long.  |
Going down to South Park, gonna have myself a time
Excellent training news! Spearing goes from zero to hero, being poor in November and excelling in December. Everything for him went up except Aggression, Determination, Natural Fitness, and Bravery, which is already 19. I’ve never seen Aggression increase. Not even in FM2014. I wonder if it can only change by one of those very rare emails where a player has some off-the-field event that changes them somehow. I received two such emails when playing FM2014, each time the Determination went up and there was a positive personality change.  Financial Matters Another £200,000-loss month. This time “Other” went down. I have no idea what happened in October to cause that mysterious increase. Maybe it was the adverts for the U18 staff I put out? I don’t want my starting XI tired for two cup games coming up on the 6th and 9th so I do a full rotation less Chicken Leg. Bearsted are near the bottom of the table with only 10 points through 13 games. Southern Counties East vs. Bearsted, 2 December 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Al-Ziod, Jones, Nixon, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Subs: Webb, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Pearson, Cullen, Smith, Duckett, Macey, O'Donnell Nine minutes in and Spearing gets his first career goal from a Nixon assist off a corner. Taylor gets a goal at 17’ after beating the central defenders to a Route One pass from Nixon. Nixon is doing well as a Box-to-Box Midfielder! Jones gets a fluke goal from a desperate long shot from 25 yards out. And just before half Rae makes it four. Despite slowing things down Spearing gets his second just before 60’. And Rae gets his brace 10 minutes later. A much better performance than the last match, thankfully. POM: Alex Rae (2 goals, 1 assist, 2 key passes)  |
The Days Between
Nothing happens between the matches. I’ve pretty much stopped scouting as I’m satisfied with the roster. No Player Development emails roll in so no additional news on finding the next Wunderkind. :-( Southern League Cup Fourth Round at South Park, 6 December 2017  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Spearing, Parker, Donaldson, Nixon, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae A pretty drab opening until just after 11’ when Barlow feeds Macey up the middle, who sends it in from about 15 yards out. Then 11 minutes later Smith sprints after a free ball following a free kick in our end and launches forward to the right wing, finding Pearson. His first shot is blocked but the rebound comes right back to him and he doesn’t miss the second time. On the restart South Park manage to draw one back and the crowd finally gets animated. Their striker splits Day and Carroll who just watched him go by. Day is definitely a liability but with him being Vice Captain I’m going to keep him the starter unless we get an absolute phenom in our Youth Intake Day. In an amazing twist of being out of position, Maguire on a counter-attack takes the ball down the right to almost the endline and sends in a beautiful cross that Barlow heads in. I would have expected that from Pearson and Macey! The Barlow-Macey link-up strikes again just before 44’ with a deep pass up the gut to a lonely Ben. At this point Barlow is rocking a 9.3 rating. The second half is tame and by 66’ I’ve had the whole outfield switched out but for Carroll. Immediately thereafter Parker lobs a desperate one into the box, somehow finding Jones’ head for our fifth. Taylor gets in on the act in the 78th with a low cross from Rae at the left endline. POM: Terry Barlow (1 goal, 2 assists, 4 key passes, 4 chances created, 100% tackle won ratio)  The Days Between Our U18s continue their winning streak. Eleven games, 43 goals for, 4 goals against. Sugar Daddies are way too powerful. FA Vase Fifth Round at Wellingborough, 9 December 2017  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Nixon Well, this is a drab game with nary a chance in the first half. Everyone is off target and even Macey, left alone right in front of the goalie pings a Duckett cross off the underside of the crossbar from 4 yards out. I Assertively tell them to consolidate their feces at the half and finally the Duckett-Macey thing works 10 minutes in. Then 15 minutes later, after having swapped all the outfielders, McAdam gives us the comfort point. And another 10 goes by before Taylor seals the victory. POM: Daniel Duckett (1 assist, 3 key passes, 2 chances created)  A strange thing happened after the game. Pearson’s agent emails me demanding a new deal for his client. Mind you, he got yanked for a 6.4 rating. And he’s under contract until 2020. To say I laughed is an understatement. I also get an email saying that McAdam is now Natural at MC. Huzzah! Now if Smith would get his act together… |
The Days Between
On Sunday we get the draws for the FA Vase and Southern League Cup. The first one we travel to take on Lord Grantham, the second one we get at home versus Weymouth. Time to mix things up again, get some MC experience for Nixon, and Webb some first team experience again. Southern Counties East at Sevenoaks, 13 December 2017  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Webb, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Jones, Nixon, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Rae Subs: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Pearson, Cullen, Donaldson, Duckett, Macey, O'Donnell Boy oh boy does the ref like some yellow. The crew aren’t playing well but in 28’ we get a penalty opportunity and Nixon does not disappoint. Taylor is averaging a shot every seven minutes and they are all defended well. That is until 44’ when finally he gets a header past the goalie. (He was offsides when Martin passed him the ball but the ref didn’t see it.) In the second half McAdam sends in a screamer but the goalie has another awesome save but can’t keep control allowing Rae to put us up three. POM: Joe Clark (2 key passes, 2 chances created)  Southern Counties East vs. AFC Croydon Athletic, 16 December 2017  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Cullen, Donaldson, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Nixon Another game were I have all the regulars starting and they dick around for far too long. Before Macey scores in the 27th we already have three yellow cards. It’s not just us though so I guess the ref is a jerk. And then at 35’ Barlow gets hurt, potential foot injury. Luckily 5 minutes later Macey gets his brace so I’m not too mad at the half. Well, that and the Duckett-Pearson combo gets us a third at 46’. Two more yellows in quick succession sees me pulling all the young offenders off at 52’ and then newly-on Donaldson gets one. Luckily Day gets a header off a free kick and our victory is guaranteed. Croydon pull one back at 75’ and I berate the schmucks. And then another at 84’. I Assertively give them hell for the Jekyl and Hyde performance. Spearing and Martin were particularly bad and I let them know specifically. Final yellow tally was seven for them and six for us. WTF? POM: Eddie Macey (2 goals, 1 key pass)  (That is the longest post-match list I’ve ever seen!) The butcher’s bill: Barlow is out with a twisted sister…er, ankle, for 3 to 4 weeks. Bad news but at least Nixon will now get some extra work at MC and hopefully goes Natural by the end of the season. |
Southern Counties East
vs. Lordswood, 23 December 2017  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Jefcoate, Nixon, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Al-Ziod, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Donaldson Eight minutes in and O’Donnell is showing his work as a Shadow Striker. Two minutes later a rare Jefcoate-Pearson combo works wonders with Pearson getting the goal off a long-range cross. Almost a half-hour goes by before the famous Pearson-Duckett combo strikes with Pearson getting the assist this time. He’s been a man on fire of late. In the 73’ McAdam gets his first league goal off a wicked shot down the barrel from 12 yards out. An absolute blunder by their right back at 87’ give us another; he tried to pass back to the goalie who for some reason was staring off at the left back. POM: Mark Nixon (1 assist, 4 key passes, 3 chance created)  The Week Between Christmas comes and goes with no new toys for Brixton. That’s alright, our stocking was stuffed some 9 months prior. I don’t understand why we didn’t get a Boxing Day match though. Harrumph! I do get a Player Development email though. This time it’s Teddy Cullen who is a “Potential League Two Talent”. It’s our last match of the year. Hopefully we ring in the new year with a perfect league record. Southern Counties East at Sheppey, 30 December 2017  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Day, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Nixon, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Clark, Spearing, Jefcoate, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Donaldson It takes us damn near 30 minutes to show signs of life and it comes off a lucky bounce from the goalie’s hands to O’Donnell’s foot right in front of the goal. At halftime I give Carroll, on a 6.4, and Macey the what-for. Macey hasn’t had a shot on goal and is rating a 6.7, which is how he ended the previous match. Four-and-a-half minutes into five minutes of extra time Jones gets an easy goal. It should have been Macey but he was lackadaisical and couldn’t be bothered to sprint for the ball. A two-nil win was not what I was expecting. POM: Daniel Duckett (6 key passes, 4 chances created)  In Summary An excellent month! We went down to South Park and had ourselves a time. No losses and generally good cohesive play with a minimum of lazy players. We’ve extended our lead in the league table to 13 points. We are still in the hunt for trophies in the Southern League Cup and FA Vase.  |
January 2018
Don't stop me now Welcome to 2018! Things to look forward to: Youth Intake Day, winning the league, and winning two cups. Can we do it?! Let’s find out! Day picked the wrong time to have a bad training report. I’ve decided to move Spearing to our starting right central defender, sorry Day. You can come on when it’s late and take the captain’s band when Macey comes off. I’m pleased that kinda-of-recent arrival The Real Slim Shadi Al-Ziod is doing well, though none of his Technical skills have risen  Player Matters I don’t remember when but I had Robbie Jones try to learn how to Knock Ball Past Opponents. I got an email on the 1st of the year saying he has mastered it. A great Trait for a Winger to have. Pretty useless trait for Winger to have. Financial Matters We only lost £193,000 in December. This brings us up over £1 million in losses for the season. I wonder how long this is sustainable. Will we end up losing roughly £2.5 million per year? If we get consecutive promotions all the way until we’re in Conference South, will we be bringing in the crowds to make us enough money? I have serious doubts. At what point do I have to have a fire sale of our precious youth players? The Week Between We had an incredible 10 days between matches. I dropped the intensity of training for a bit then had us work on Fitness. On 4 January 2018 I get an email from the board who want to discuss extending my contract. I’m currently on £625 per week but my contact expires on 30 June this year. The next day they offer £650 per week, which I’m good with, but offer only one year. I ask for two years and drop my Promotion Wage Rise 10%, leave in the 35% Relegation Wage Drop and bump the Managerial Compensation up to 90% because there is no way I’m leaving this club and it should make the board more agreeable to the extra year (the max I could ask for). To counter that, I ask for a contract extension upon promotion. The board immediately approve and there are drinks all around. The team report for our next opponent, Grantham, comes in and they actually look like a respectable team. One thing struck me though; unlike FM2014, in FM2018, crappy players have crappy Determination. Of all the respectable players Grantham has, only two have Determination in the double-digits. I looked around some more and that seems to be pretty consistent across all teams. This is our first match of the new year. Hopefully 2018 is as kind to us as 2017 was. FA Vase Sixth Round at Grantham, 9 January 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Nixon, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Clark, Al-Ziod, Barlow, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Cullen Spot on 13:00 Macey comes out of his slump. Duckett stole the ball from Lord Grantham’s right back and sent it into the box where a left-alone Macey struck as surely as ever. And exactly 41 seconds later Macey returns the favor; he received a long-ball from Maguire and took it out wide to the right to send a cross to Duckett at the far post and as simple as that we are in a commanding lead. The rest of our goals come at 15:23, 22:29, and 36:17, courtesy of Duckett, Duckett, and Macey. (Brixton’s newest law firm.) I do a complete outfield swap at half to keep the lads fresh for Saturday’s upcoming Southern League Cup match and get a recovering Barlow back to Match Fit. And in the second half we get goals at 45:30 and 75:10, courtesy of Rae and Martin. (Not a law firm.) POM: Daniel Duckett (3 goals, 1 assist, 4 key passes, 1 chance created)  After the match I get another email from another agent. This time it’s Paul Taylor’s. Coming off a game in which he rated 6.7 and had one key pass in 45 minutes of action. Nope. Before the match I got an email from Graham Rutherford again, this time to tell me that Peter Maguire is a “Potential Conference National Talent”. |
Southern League Cup Fifth Round
vs. Weymouth, 13 January 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Nixon, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Clark, Jefcoate, Barlow, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Donaldson They have a good team but they are starting two injured players. Will that be a bad decision? Nothing happens until 15’ but that’s just Nixon sending in a long ball without a prayer. Finally we get a lucky deflection that ultimately ends up with an easy O’Donnell score. Weymouth just got FMed. The first half ends with us having 5 shots but only 1 on target. After a few subs in the back half, Macey puts us in a more comfortable position just before 58’ off a nice O’Donnell feed up the gut. What was amazing about it was he was 1-on-5 and he still managed to score. He only falters during 1-on-1s. And just to make it funner, Duckett to Macey rears its lovely head 90 seconds into stoppage time for an Eddie brace. Maybe I’ll just call him Eddie from now on in a nod toward Iron Maiden. POM: Daniel Duckett, (2 assists, 4 key passes, 2 chances created)  The Days Between It’s the drawings again! In the Southern League Cup we get to host Kings Langely, two rungs above in the ladder. For the FA Vase we get to host Pickering, who are at the same level as us. They are 2nd in their league so they might present a small challenge. Things could have been worse; Dartford and Bath were in both pools. Player Development Another Player Development email came in, this time for Mark Nixon. In a twist though, Rutherford doesn’t assess which league he has the potential for; he believes Nixon will be as good as Ben O’Donnell. That is some high praise! I take it to mean he’ll be Premier League-worthy. Barlow is finally well enough to start again. I have faith he’ll pick up where he left off. I also swap Webb into goal to keep his development going. Southern League Cup Fifth Round at Canterbury, 17 January 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Clark, Al-Ziod, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Cullen Duckett to Pearson strikes again, this time in the 14th minute. After that it’s a pretty eventless first half. Duckett and Carroll are being complacent and Macey is skying his shots and has a 6.3 rating going. They all get a scolding. It seems to work with Duckett as he gets another assist with O’Donnell’s goal. Macey still ain’t doing shit. He doesn’t improve and gets yanked at 65’. I think his problem is that he’s at 19 league goals and gets a bonus of £2,000 if he makes 20. So I guess this means he has a low Pressure rating? We get a penalty call in the 82nd minute and Nixon bounces it of the left upright. Dumbass. But two minutes later Jones sends in a high lob to a tall Rae who doesn’t botch his attempt and we seal the bishop’s fate. Barlow rated a 6.8. Well, at least he’s healthy again. POM: Ben O’Donnell (1 goal, 4 key passes, 4 chances created)  Nixon ends the match with a 6.3 and despite having promised myself not to fine these youths, a statement must be made. I fine him and Eddie each a week and Macey’s Determination jumps up one to 19 as well as his Work Rate jumping from 12 to 13. Nixon’s Determination went from 9 to 10 but his Work Rate remained the same. Who? Hahahahaha I slay me. (At least I didn’t make another Archbishop joke!) |
The Days Between
Pearson’s agent came looking for a new contract again. This time at least he waited for a good game as Pearson scored a goal and rated a 7.1. The answer is still no. Time for more up changing. Changing up? Eff it, time for the Second XI to get some starts. Southern Counties East vs. Hollands & Blair, 20 January 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Clark, Day, Carroll, Parker, Cullen, Donaldson, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Macey Subs: Webb, Maguire, Spearing, Al-Ziod, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Rae, Smith In the 17th Donaldson get us on the scoreboard after a corner, it was the first action period of the game. Not a minute later they equalize when Legg can’t handle a header courtesy of a free kick deep in our end. Just before 58’ a long ball forward by Donaldson sees a Macey cross from the right side of the box to the arc where Taylor is able to get his hammer foot on it for a low shot to the left corner. Just wish it was Macey who would get off the snide. He does get a clean shot a few moments later but sends it in with a much force as a mouse fart. And there it is folks! In the 73rd minute Macey gets loose between the two central defenders, jukes right, rounds the keeper and he gets his 20th league goal of the season. I thought that sealed the game but his sub, Rae, scores at 4 minutes and 10 seconds into 4 minutes of stoppage time. A good victory. POM: David Donaldson (4 key passes)  In the post-game email dump I get notification that Parker is Natural at DL now. That is a relief. If the game/database rights itself next year and I can only use 5 subs, he’ll be a regular back-up for us. The Week Between We have 8 games (days) before our next match. It’s against Erith Town who are second in the league. I might use this week to change tactics again. I think I’ll switch the left striker to the Advanced Forward and the right striker to a Deep Lying Forward in Support mode. That way O’Donnell will become the star sooner. I do this knowing that Macey won’t probably be with us once we make it to the Conference South. I want to try a new formation but I was hoping that Pearson, Duckett, and Jones were Natural as wingers by now. I’ll hold off. I haven’t got a name for it yet but it’s going to have 3 CD, 1 WBR, 1 WBR, 3 MC, and 2 ST. I want to try out the Mezzala role as I’ve not tried it. Maybe I’ll call it Candle because it looks like a candle holder? Because the Central Defenders are the bottom, the wing backs are the lip, the midfielders are the base, and the strikers are the top? Southern Counties East at Erith Town, 28 January 2018 Psych! Match postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. See, Erith, you need a Sugar Daddy who’ll build you a stadium that doesn’t suck. Fun fact: Erith Town don’t have their own stadium and have to play in Greenwich. I guess they’re never late for matches as they always know what time it is? I am able to schedule a last-minute friendly with some team called Bicester. I’ll play the second XI and the U18s. Gotta keep the kiddos Match Fit! The friendly goes as well as expected, 9-0. Both U18 strikers (remember the Mickey Ds?) got hat tricks and Paul Taylor got a brace. In Summary Another excellent, if truncated, month in the books. Like December, January saw no losses, still on top of our league by 13 points, and still in two cups. I’m looking forward to February as it’s a short month that culminates in Youth Intake Day. What was it the kids said like 10 years ago? Squeeeee!? It’ll be an action-packed month as we are scheduled for 7 matches. (Checks math) So one every four days. Joy!  |
February 2018
Semi-charmed kind of life Now it’s Clark who can’t put in a good training month. What is up with my defenders? Well, okay, Carroll had a good month as did Shadi last month. It’s not like Clark is a long-term answer for us with his 1.5 to 2.5 stars of Potential Ability. On the positive side, O’Donnell made improvements in every Technical ability and almost so in Mental and Physical abilities.  Financial Matters Our January loss is about the same as our December loss. I guess I’ll just have to be as patient as my Sugar Daddy will allow. Speaking of, my Job Security is rated as Very Secure. Club Finances is pegged at 100%, which has to be because I’m spending half of what I’ve been allotted for weekly wages. Southern Counties East at Beckenham, 3 February 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Clark, Al-Ziod, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Cullen It takes 20 minutes but an early cross to a running Macey finds him alone with the goalie and again he rounds the keeper and gets us a goal. Our second goal comes indirectly off a corner with Spearing heading the ball away from the goal to a wide open Duckett who sinks it. His second comes off a fluke bounce off the goalie and into the goal, just before the half. O’Donnell is rocking a 6.4 so I give him the what-for and keep him in all game, eventually moving him up top in hope he scores. No, he gets a 6.1 and I give him an Assertive, “You suck!” speech. After the match I fine him a week’s pay, which he accepts. POM: Steve Pearson, (1 assist, 4 key passes, 3 chance created)  After the match I get an email saying that Smith is now a Natural at MC. Huzzah! It took 36 starts and 4 sub appearances. I’m guessing that means he has a low Versatility. At this point I’d try to get his AMC going but with a Dribbling of 1, Technique of 3 and Off The Ball of 4 he’s just not gonna cut it. So I’ll probably eventually work on his DC skillz. And of course another game, another agent email demanding a new contract. This time it’s Peter Maguire’s. At least he was coming off a good game, a 7.2 rating. Still a big fat nope. A funny thing about these emails is that the players don’t seem to mind, their Morale doesn’t drop after I reject the request. |
Rae hasn’t been used much recently so I’m giving him the start. He just mastered “Knock Ball Past Opponent” so I hope to see plenty of that.
Southern Counties East vs. Chatham, 7 February 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Rae Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Clark, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Macey, Cullen Nothing much at all happens until just before 40’ when Rae shows he’s good at being a Poacher. Barlow saw Rae standing between two centerbacks and knocked the ball forward perfectly for Rae to sprint and one-time the ball into the net. Beautiful! In the 53rd minute O’Donnell sends a free-kick into the box right to Smith who waits for traffic to clear before Frogger-ing the ball across the street to its rightful destination. I swap everyone out but Chicken Legg and Rae but then realized I missed taking Duckett off until the 75th minute. Luckily, Martin enters for a corner kick and immediately heads the ball in. What timing! Chatham pulls one back in the 89th off of one of those FM specials: A defender tries to clear a ball up-field only to have the ball hit a teammate which then bounces to an opponent in the box who is free-and-clear. Thanks, Myles! Turd. (Frogger was fresh in my mind after hearing it discussed in the World’s Greatest 2nd Edition AD&D podcast, THACO’s Hammer.) POM: Terry Barlow (1 assist, 4 key passes, 2 chances created)  Rae’s lack of sharpness bites me in the ass. He got a bruised thigh late in the game and is out 5 to 10 days. FA Vase Seventh Round vs. Pickering, 10 February 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Clark, Al-Ziod, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Nixon, Martin, Taylor, Donaldson Pickering prove no slouches but after 13’ we are able to punch through their armor with a counter-attack culminating in an O’Donnell cross to Macey for an easy goal. In the 22nd, our tactic of Prevent GK Distribution FINALLY pays off when Macey robs their left central defender of a slow pass from the goalie. Never in any matches in this season have I seen this even attempted. Good work, Eddie! At the half I make the rare Assertive “Don’t get complacent” talk and almost everyone focuses up; Maguire and Legg are the notable exceptions. I hope that isn’t a portent. Not two minutes into the second half O’Donnell beats his man and lifts a tight shot into the ceiling of the net. He totally baffled the goalkeeper. At 56’ Eddie again steals a distribution but this time kicks it straight at the goalie. Derp. Because a lot of the non-starters aren’t getting enough playing time I do a full outfield swap at 60’, Macey’s hat-trick be damned. And five minutes later it bites me in the tookis as Pickering counter-attack and make Chicken Fucker look incompetent. But that’s all the excitement there is to be had and we’re onto the Quarter Final! POM: Eddie Macey (2 goals, 1 key pass)  Another match, another agent, another nope. Sorry, Carroll, that 7.3 doesn’t matter when I have you signed until 2020. |
The Days Between
The FA Vase Quarter Final draw happens on the 11th. Please not Dartford, please not Dartford, please not Dartford. YES! We get to host Hampton & Richmond, who are in the Conference South, so it’s not easy street but at least it’s not the team that last beat us again. O’Donnell turned 17 on the 9th and I went to offer him a Full-time contract and he refused to negotiate. Says we couldn’t meet his ambitions or some shit like that. Luckily we have him until 2021 so either he eventually signs or we sell him at a healthy profit. This is the reschedule of the match that was postponed due to a water-logged field. Lettuce see what happens. Southern Counties East at Erith Town, 14 February 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Clark, Jefcoate, Cullen, Donaldson, Jones, Nixon, Martin, Rae, McAdam No postponement this time despite a “Very Poor Pitch.” Hopefully we don’t suffer any injuries. Interesting formation they use, 4-3-3 with three strikers and three central midfielders. Erith Town probably wish the match had been cancelled though. We get a penalty in the 9th minute and O’Donnell skies it. What the fuck?! Seventeen minutes later he makes up for his sin planting a score off a Duckett cross. It was just the two of them with nary a defender in sight and if they had botched it I was going to yank Ben. In the 32nd their right striker gets his second yellow and we are hopefully on Easy Street. Two minutes into extra time we get a Duckett goal (a beautiful tight-angle one to the ceiling of the net) in the aftermath of a corner. At 60’ I sub out O’Donnell and Spearing who are on yellows. At 65’ I bring in Rae for Macey (on a 6.4) so he can get his fitness back up, and Cullen for Barlow who is stinking up the joint with a 6.3 rating. Just after entering extra time Maguire finds Nixon at the far post and the victory is sealed, as is Legg’s first cleansheet in two matches. Or so I thought. Duckett has been horrible the second half and passes the ball right to a Townie who Route Ones it up the field and Legg just stands there looking stoopid. And not another minute later their goalie launches one forward and they get a repeat. POM: Daniel Duckett (1 goal, 1 assist, 5 key passes, 4 chances created)  I lamblast™ them and point out Clark, Barlow, Macey, and Rae specifically. I then hand out some fines and warnings. Barlow doesn’t feel the fine was justified, blaming his team-mates. That’s not good. Macey accepts his warning and Clark accepts his fine, he even gets a Determination bump. A lot of players are in the high 80s in their Match Fitness so I have heavy rotation. Macey and O’Donnell are on my shitlist so they don’t even suit up today. Southern Counties East at Whitstable, 17 February 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Webb, Parker, Day, Clark, Jefcoate, Cullen, McAdam, Jones, Donaldson, Martin, Taylor Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, Nixon, Duckett, Rae The first action doesn’t happen until the 34th minute and Cullen does well getting the ball to Jones’ noggin but he just sends it softly to the goalie. Le Sigh. Amazingly not a minute later we get a penalty opportunity and Jefcoate of all people gets the opportunity. (Taylor is on the pitch but he too is kind of on my shitlist for his botched penalty.) Jefcoate does not disappoint and gets his first goal of the season. At 69’ I bring on Rae and Nixon for Taylor and Cullen who have done nothing to impress me. Also Jefcoate comes off for the Jordanian Prince as he’s earned a yellow. Just before 80’ when I was going to switch to Defensive due to our recent lapses, Whitstable get us with the Route One. That’s our weakness. Five minutes later the lads respond to my Overload change-up with a Martin-Jones-Rae combo for a goal. I switch to Contain and give as many players defensive instructions as possible. In the first minute of stoppage time of six minutes Parker gets doinked in the head and on comes Maguire. And then with 6 seconds left Jones scores off a corner and the squeaky-bum match ends with a Brixton victory. POM: Robert Jones (1 goal, 2 key passes, 2 chances created)  Oh fuck me to tears. Parker has a fractured skull and will be out for 3 to 4 months. Fuuuuuuuck. One of our two DRs in the U18 is currently out for 11 days to 3 weeks for a twisted ankle so it seems the FM fix is in. Youth Intake is right around the corner and hopefully we get a good DR who can take Parker’s place. |
The Week Between
Awesome! Another Player Development email, this time from my Head of Youth Development, Harold Pennington. He believes that The Real Slim Shadi’s “potential could lead to him becoming a League Two left-back in the future.” YEAH! It’s Ratbirdtown again! Southern Counties East vs. Crowborough, 21 February 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Day, Clark, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Donaldson, Cullen Just before 2’ we march the ball up the field slowly, methodically and then pounce with a long ball to the left corner. Duckett sends in a low cross to the near post and Macey get us on the board. Anything you can do I can do better, says O’Donnell. He takes a Barlow feed up the middle and meets the ball near the right post and we’re up two. Oh my. In the 35th Maguire sends in a prayer that meets Duckett’s left foot near the left post and we score again. We have a Cup match in 3 days so I do Ye Olde Outfield Swap at 60’. I try Donaldson at right back just for shits and giggles. And of course that bites me in the ass again. Same shit, different game, a Route One attack and Legg just stares at the attacker. And this is even after I dropped our line back to normal. I think it may be Day and Clark who are the problem. Rae does draw one back in the 84th and we see out the match. POM: Daniel Duckett (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 key passes)  Duckett has been on fire of late. I need to check to see if he’s rating higher than everyone else the last 5 and 20 games. In the last 5 games he’s averaging 8.04 with Maguire the closest at 7.50. Over the last 20 games, he’ at 7.98, second to Macey (somehow) at 8.19. I issue a warning to McAdam for a 6.3 rating. I don’t have the option for Taylor but he’s been on a bad steak recently so I have a sit-down with him. He admitted he didn’t do well. At this moment I notice he has a 3 in Teamwork. He probably needs to be shipped off if we get two good strikers in our Youth Intake Day. Also another match, another agent, another no. Barlow, remind your agent about your Erith Town performance, please. It’s been 5 matches since we had a clean sheet. I’ve no idea what the hell is going on. Let’s try to improve that against a team two steps above us in the English pyramid? Southern League Cup Quarter Final vs. Kings Langley, 24 February 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Day, Clark, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Donaldson, Cullen It’s a pretty boring match with neither Macey or O’Donnell able to dial it in. We do get a goal at 38’ courtesy of an own goal though Duckett kind of got the defender and GK all a-panicky. In the second half we get a free kick that gets headed by Spearing to Pearson who strikes it true. A few moments later they draw one back but I can’t fault Legg this time, it was a long shot that went to the far upper left corner. And we strike back immediately with the Duckett-Pearson combo. I pulled Macey and his 6.4 rating for Taylor and switch to 4-4-2 Standard. And Taylor gives up the ball and Kings score on the counter. Fucking hell. But Taylor redeems himself with a goal in the 81st. POM: Steve Pearson (2 goals, 1 key pass)  Six matches without a cleansheet. This is not what the doctor ordered. |
In Summary
Another great month victory-wise but there has been a number of shaky performances and just one cleansheet. We’re semi-talented. I don’t know why the kids are faltering in dumb ways. Maybe I shouldn’t stick with the same tactic from match-to-match? But we’ve extended our league lead to 20 points and are still in two cups so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much. In my next update I’ll go over our 2018 Youth Intake Day. I think this is a good time to talk about my desires for the long-term makeup of the team. A number of my desires are really not explainable; it’s just the way my age-addled brain works. I would like at least one American in my Starting XI but I’m not going to be a homer and make Brixton an U.S. exclave. To keep the Brixton motif alive, I would like one or two players from the Caribbean. For goalkeeper, I want a Pole. I want one of my defenders to be German, hopefully one of the centrebacks. Somewhere on the team I want a Japanese or South Korean player. I want the bulk of my players to be English or British or Irish. I probably won’t sign many, if any, Central or South Americans. I just don’t like the style of play in real life so that carries over into how I play FM. When we get to the Premier League and I can scout worldwide I’ll probably make those regions the last ones I explore. I guess maybe part of that is because of the whole agent “owns” a player thing. Now onto my favoritest part of the game!  |
YOUTH INTAKE DAY 2018
Reasons to Be Cheerful It’s that time of year now that spring is in the air and we get new gits with loads and loads of Flair. With apologies to Spitting Image. We got one amazing player who’s ready to contribute but none of the others are anywhere near first team material right now.  Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 1 1. Kemar Kirkpatrick: My AssMan has the audacity to claim he is going to be better than Ben O’Donnell. Poppycock! That’s ridiculi, beyond ridiculous. Oh my. Can play with both feet, but stronger on the right. He’s 193cm (6’4”) which is crazy for a 15-year-old. Not any Mentals below 9. No Physicals below 11 except Strength. Already “very well-suited to League Two football.” I have hit the jackpot! 2. Gary Leary: Already a Natural at MR and ML, and Competent at AMR. (And left-footed!) Should be my wing sub once we get to Conference South, where substitute numbers actually matter. (Big assumption there.) 3. Bill Taylor: Looks like a good Core player with great Teamwork and Work Rate already. 4. Ashley Hibbert: Can play a lot of positions on the right side and up front. And I get to make some Simpsons jokes! 5. Caribbean players: Aside from Kemar, we have another player born in Jamaica and a player born in Tobago. This fits my Brixton theme very well as it’s home to many Afro-Caribbean people. 6. Seven players who just might be rated at 5 stars on Potential Ability. 7. Everyone has a 9 or better Natural Fitness. 8. Eleven players have Determination in the double-digits. 9. Nine players have a good Personality. 10. Good spread of positions with none being over- or under-represented. (This one time in FM14, I got three GKs and four STs in one youth intake. /Hannigan) Bonus: How I ended up with an Angolan kid is anyone’s bet. He has great physicals except Strength and Stamina. However, with a Marking of 2 and a Positioning of 1 he’ll never make it as a Fullback. I’m not going to show all the cards, just the ones of the players I think might actually be with us for the full term of their first contract. Kemar Kirkpatrick (ST, AMC) Like I said, Brixton has hit the jackpot. There is nothing not to like except he will probably outgrow us before we are high enough in the pyramid to appease him.  Andy Robinson (AMR, MR) He’s going to be better than Robbie Jones but whether he’s going to be better than Pearson is up for debate. I wish his Determination was better but I’m glad about his Corners starting so high.  Dean Rice (DL, WBL) Good left fullbacks are hard to find. I have a plethora of them. Jefcoate and The Real Slim Shadi are real good and I think Dean Rice will eventually be nearly as good. This will help me sell off Jefcoate once Rice’s Determination gets Tutored up.  Mitchell Nightingale (DC) He’s slow, he’s short but he has a lot of good defensive skills. I think I’ll be able to get him up to starter quality eventually.  Bill Taylor (MC, DMC, AMC) I haven’t instituted my drive to make my central midfielders into what I call Core: being Natural at DMC, MC, and AMC. Bill Taylor will easily be able to become such a player. He has a weird spread of Attributes, not really being good at attack and being pretty crap with defense.  Tasos Noulas (DMC) Now here’s a player who too can be a Core player but with much better defensive skills than Bill Taylor. He speaks Greek so maybe in the future if he’s still around he can be Mentor for any Greek players I manage to sign.  Ashley Hibbert (MR, AMR, AML, ST) I’m liking him more than Andy Robinson not just for all the positions he can play but also his high Determination, Flair, Natural Fitness, and Pace.  Youth Candidate Match Nothing much happens until 40’ when Carey (DM) pushes Noulas (DM) to the ground during a free kick and Bill Taylor (MC) scores easily from the spot. McNulty (ST) has a chance at 50’ but sends the ball wide right from inside the 18-yard box. At 83’ Noulas tries an effort from 25 yards out but just misses the upper left corner. That’s it. Nothing else happened. I was really hoping Kemar would impress but he only managed a 6.7. Scouting I don’t have the budget to scout many teams and I don’t think any youths are going to want to come to Brixton anyway. Therefore, I’ll only scout four teams that are nearby: AFC Croydon, Bromley, Croydon, and Dulwich Hamlet. By mid-month all my scouting requests are processed. There are some wonderful kids out there but none of them are willing to sign. Those that are willing to sign are not going to be better than what we already have. |
March 2018
The winner takes it all Yeah! An excellent training report! I’m especially pleased to see Smith do well as I think he’s going to be a force for us for a good while.  Financial Matters A slight improvement in our finances; we lost around £9,000 less in February. Southern Counties East vs. Glebe, 3 March 2018  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, O’Donnell, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Jefcoate, Jones, Nixon, McAdam, Martin, Rae, Taylor, Donaldson, Cullen In 17’ Pearson receives a long pass from Maguire off to the right of goal and has enough space to cross to the far post where his bestie is charging but instead of going for glory he nods it to Benny to his right who seals the deal. Between 31’ and 34’ Benny and Eddie have opportunities but are off the mark on long-range shots. Just after 40’ Benny receives a long boot forward by Pearson, he takes it to the endline, draws the opposition leaving Barlow alone at the far post to put in the low cross. Eddie is rocking it 6.4 style so I give him a pep-talk, let’s see if it works. It took him 5 minutes and 20 second but Eddie makes it three. He and Benny had a fast break courtesy of Shady and with the option to shoot or pass he shot and it went right through the goalies legs. Rae was needing match fitness so I swap him in for Benny at 60’. Just before 78’ another hoof-it-forward sees Eddie on a one-on-one and he gets a brace. At 88’ Glebe almost get one in off a corner but luckily the defense is doing wonderful today and clear the ball upfield. POM: Eddie Macey (2 goals)  Huzzah! We have a cleansheet again! In setting up this game I realized that I had been using the Spade since mid-December. Not a good idea. The Week Between Let us look at our finances on a per-game basis. From the Glebe match we made £6,718. Match day income was £5,379 plus gate receipts of £1,659. Match day expenses were £320. Ah, but let us look at how much we paid in player salaries. For bonuses (goals, assists, clean sheets, appearance, etc.) we spent £1,250 and for salaries, for the whole team, is £8,589. So essentially we lose £3,121 ever week. More on weeks when we don’t play at home. Less when we have a game mid-week at home. We gotta increase ticket prices to at least £6 in the off-season. Because of Parker’s injury I’m bringing up left DC Martin Duggan as I’m going to use Clark as the second DR until the end of the season. On 6 March I get an email from Rutherford about player development. He believes DM Tasos Noulas can be much better than Connor Smith. I find that surprising. I’m also highly skeptical. Only time will tell. Southern Counties East at Rochester United, 10 March 2018  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Pearson, Barlow, Smith, Duckett, O’Donnell, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Jones, Nixon, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Kirkpatrick, Cullen Just over 5’ in and our first corner sees a Duckett-Carroll-Spearing combo give us an early lead. On the restart Rochester try to stab our gut but Smith kicks the ball out to Pearson on the right wing and his long pass finds O’Donnell who sinks it from 7 yards out. Just before the 18th minute Maguire finds himself way too far forward, ends up with the ball at the endline and crosses it perfectly to Benny at the near post. Of course Benny has to hit the near post just for shits and giggles and the rebound comes right back to him and this time he got his act together and put us in a commanding lead. And. O’Donnell had a chance of a third but his header bounces off the underside of the crossbar and he fouls a defender trying to get to the rebound. Our inability to keep cleansheets rears its ugly head when Macey can’t make anything of being oddly alone to the goalie’s right. He fumbles around with the ball when a defender charges and kicks the ball way deep into our territory and Carroll let’s their striker pass him by and Chicken Legg just watches the ball go on by. But then 15 seconds after the restart Duckett sends in a prayer and Benny is able to outrun the opposition, one-timing the ball right under the goalie. He has his hat trick and will come off at half for Kemar’s debut. But not satisfied, Barlow times a perfect pass with a Benny run and he has four. At 50’ Duckett gets pushed down in the box during a Pearson cross and he sinks the penalty. At 60’ I bring on some players who just need some match time. During the 73’ Maguire sends in another prayer and Kemar can’t beat the goalie one-on-one and sends the ball high and to the outside. After the match I tell the lads that they did well and I was happy with their performance. Kemar, who squeaked out a 6.3 rating, was delighted. Nobody else had any kind of response. Jesus, kid, you need a lesson. POM: Ben O’Donnell (4 goals, 2 key passes, 2 chances created)  Even though his Happiness is Perfect I still have a talk with Kemar. He acknowledges he sucked and promised to do better. His happiness did not drop. The Days Between Having elevated Duggan (temporarily) and Kirkpatrick (permanently) to the Senior team I wanted to check Dynamics to see what effect this had. I am shocked to see that everyone but Duggan in the Core Social Group. I guess Nixon moved up and Kirkpatrick was a natural to fit. This is cool. Macey and Day have not seen any increase of late though. In FA Cup news, League One club Bury weren’t satisfied taking down Liverpool, they’ve now notched their belt again taking down Chelsea. Bury scored in 70’ and Chelsea had a man sent off at 81’ so the victory seems fair and square. Bury isn’t even top of their league, they are 8th! Up next is the return of the Leathernecks. No, not the U.S. Marines, but English football club Corinithian. Mmm...sexy leather... I am switching things up again to get players some Match Fitness and rest some important starters for the upcoming FA Vase Quarter Final. Southern Counties East vs. Corinthian, 14 March 2018  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard Starting XI: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Jones, Nixon, Cullen, Martin, Taylor, Kirkpatrick Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Pearson, Donaldson, McAdam, Duckett, Rae In the 7th minute Taylor get us ahead after we had some fancy passing off a free kick and Martin sends in a good cross. 8 minutes later Kemar shows what he can do as a Deep Lying Forward, sending a carpet level cross that bounces off Taylor’s foot for a slow-mo goal. Spot on 24’ Kemar gets his first career goal after a Martin cross pinballs off a falling Taylor. Almost 3 minutes latter Kirkpatrick feeds Taylor for his hat trick. Holy crap! A fourth from Taylor though he was offsides. I guess this low in the pyramid the refs aren’t that good either. A B.S. penalty in the 37’ is Corinithian’s only hope. Which really pisses off Kemar and Paul with the first one repeating that super low cross to Taylor for his fifth FIFTH!!! goal of the first half. At the half I take off Taylor, move Kemar over to the Advanced Forward and bring on Rae. A little jealousy must be in the air as Kemar nets his brace courtesy of Rae. And then he gets his hat trick. In the 68th the lads were patiently probing and Donaldson found Kemar all by his lonesome in the middle of the arc and his shot was soft but too high in the corner for the GK to have a chance. Just before 80’ we get a make up call from the ref and Jefcoate gets his second penalty shot of the season. POM: Paul Taylor (5 goals, 1 key pass) And a perfect 10.0 rating!!!  (A couple of days after the match I was looking at Kemar’s Player Card to see what it was taking him so long to recover from the match and I noticed that he has the “Places Shots” trait. That would explain his “soft shot” to get his hat trick. I wasn’t able to figure out the fitness mystery though. His Stamina is 12 and his Natural Fitness is 14. Maybe because he’s only 15?) The Days Between The scouting report for Hampton & Richmond comes in and actually we have very comparable squads. I’m not worried about this match now. Kind of annoyed that we are only drawing 919 spectators to a semi-final match in a cup. C’mon! FA Vase Quarter Final vs. Hampton & Richmond, 17 March 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Jones, Nixon, Martin, Rae, Taylor Well it didn’t take long for the Macey to Pearson to O’Donnell triad to work, just 80 seconds. The rest of the half is barren excitement as we trade opportunities and Macey again shows his lack of Composure when he’s alone. Oddly though, when he’s in heavy traffic he sinks, like he did at 41:25. Just before the half Duckett gets a bruised foot and I swap him out at the half for Martin. After 10 minutes I have to bring off Barlow who has a strained knee and right off the restart Macey feeds Benny at the top of the box and we have a comfortable lead. At 65’ I swap out all the Smith, O’Donnell, and Macey, and nothing at all happens for the rest of the match. A comfortable win and we are onto the Semi-finals! Unfortunately we will face a Conference South team as they all won. Dreaded Dartford is in that group. Le sigh. POM: Ben O’Donnell (2 goals, 5 key passes, 2 chances created)  Of note, Barlow had 10 key passes. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that many for any player before. The Week Between Oh praise Cthulhu, we get to host Poole Town, 20th in Conference South, and don’t have to travel to Dartford. Excellent. On 22 March, our Tactics Coach, Defending Coach, and Attacking Coach bag the Continental Pro Licenses. Excellent, Smithers. They are all currently 4 stars rated, hopefully now they’ll creep up higher. Southern Counties East at Cray Valley, 25 March 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Kirkpatrick The scoring starts just after 5’ with another Macey goal amidst heavy traffic. The ball ping-ponged for a few seconds and I couldn’t quite track its course. Benny gets us number two right at 18’ from some fancy traffic negotiation. And spot on 31’ heavy traffic deflects a Barlow long-range shot right to a free Duckett at the left post and we get our third. Four minutes later Cray get FMed when one of their DCs slide-tackles Macey and the ball goes to Pearson who does not miss. At the half I swap out everyone but Chick Legg and switch us to 4-4-2 Standard. I wasn’t hoping to score but Martin sends in a long shot from the left flank and totally surprises the goalie in the 57th. And at 67’ Rae gets in on things. After that I switch everything I can to a defensive posture just to see the match out without any injuries. It was good to see that no player had multiple goals. Spread the love around a little, you know. POM: Ben O’Donnell (1 goal, 1 key pass)  The Week Between On 27 March another player development email comes in from my AssMan. This time I learn that James Jefcoate has the potential to be “League Two talent”. On 29 March no less than 13 teams came looking to sign or take on trial Brian Carey, an Irish midfielder I signed back in late October to round out the U18 squad. I accepted the offers and by the afternoon he is gone. The next day another player, Aidan Collins, also a late October Irish find, draws interest from two clubs and I accept an offer. I make no money off these transaction but that is alright as they weren’t in my plans. Also on the 30th two teams came sniffing around a left-footed Central Defender, Rory Collopy, but I need him for U18 DC depth so I say no. Just before the U18 match on the 30th Alex Rae injured himself in training. A pulled calf muscle will keep him out 2-4 weeks. Kemar will get Rae’s minutes. The Collins saga continues into the 31st as do more rumors about Collopy. C’mon, dudes, I’ve got a match to win! Said win against Deal will see us winning the league. Despite that I’m going to start the Second XI as a lot of the players are losing match sharpness now that we are down to one match per week. Now we’re down to only 888 sold tickets. We gotta turn the beat around. Southern Counties East vs. Deal, 31 March 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Kirkpatrick Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O'Donnell, Duckett, Macey The lads are a bit nervous. Despite dominating possession and a lot of activity in Deal’s third we just can’t accurate shots off. That is until 13’ when Martin leads a counter-attack down the left side and launches an early cross in hopes of catching out the goalie. The goalie was partially caught off guard and can’t control a bounce and the deflection goes right to Kemar and he doesn’t miss the wide-open net. Ten minutes later Kemar gets his second when an attack on the right flank see Day overlapping Jones and Day’s cross is perfect to the near post area where Kemar’s right foot eases my concerns. Afterwards Martin develops a case of the complacencies and I have to give a stern talk at half to not let your guard down. The lads channel the spirit of Chuck Woolery and score in two and two, this time it’s Clark and his big foot sending in a cross to the far post where it meets Kemar’s big head, earning him his second hat trick of his 3-game career. At 70’ I throttle things back and decide to let the starters stay in for the full match. I hope this doesn’t affect morale. POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (3 goals)  Turns out I need not worry as everyone’s Morale is now Perfect. In Summary What a wonderful month! We won the league; there was never any doubt about that really. Our prize youth turns out to be fan-damn-tastic! In a weird development, teams way down the pyramid came looking for our players. None offered money so it wasn’t that hard to say no except the two I didn’t see having a future here. Now I gotta think about the rest of the season. We have eight league matches to go and at least two cup matches. I’m normally inclined to give some of the U18s game time but I’m torn on whether to do that or not. Only time will tell.  |
Congrats! Great league season...
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Thank you, Chas! I may have over-Sugar Daddied things, a valuable lesson, but I'm having fun. I hope my readers are too.
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Movin' right along
Oh Robbie Jones, why must you forsake me? I give a pep-talk and he seems to have gotten the message. Barlow, Spearing, Duckett…I heart you.  Financial Matters We lost £178,000 last month. We’ll dip below £12,000,000 for our balance next month. Board Confidence Huzzah! I’m now Untouchable. My approval rating is only 77% but that is “Untouchable” somehow. Player Matters A note about Aidan Collins, who hasn’t gotten the message and accepted that bid yet. He joined the team on 8 November and not one Attribute has increased by one point yet. He’s had some minor improvements. Tackling has gone from 3.6 to 4.4 and that’s the best he’s had. Please leave! (His Personality is Fairly Professional so I have no idea why he’s sucking.) On the 1st, Colney Heath declare their interest in him. Make up your mind kid! Collopy is drawing more and more interest. On 2 April three teams express interest in him and a fourth makes an offer of a whole whopping zero pounds so I deny them. Player Development Good news! Connor Smith is a Potential League Two talent. Better news is Mark Nixon is a Potential League One talent. Also good news is that Tom Johnstone is also like Nixon. In related news, I get notice on 3 April that a slew of teams are fixing to release some youth players. I give them a gander but none have double-digit Determination; I’m scouting them anyways. Coach Development On 1 April I get another email about coaching badges. This time it’s my Shooting coach bagging a Continental Pro license. Next victim up is Tunbridge Wells. They are second in the league but only 1 point ahead of Erith Town. Though the difference between second and third is irrelevant, because only the top team gets promoted, the game engine certainly will have them fighting for a higher position. Right? RIGHT?! (Let us hope.) Southern Counties East at Tunbridge Wells, 4 April 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Kirkpatrick, Cullen Pearson and O’Donnell start out the match nervous for some reason but after 13 minutes Pearson shakes that off when he sees an overlapping Maguire and that kid takes it to the endline for a trademark cross to the far post where Duckett heads it in for his 16th goal of the season. Four minutes later the action comes from the left side with Duckett sending a low cross to Macey at the near post, who delivers with surety. Up two-nil at half I dial things back, naturally. I feel a trap coming. The feelings are unfounded as 5 minutes in Tunbridge almost score but the rebound finds Pearson who sends it Route One to Macey. Eddie outruns the defender and sends it through their goalie's crotch for our cushion goal. At 60’ I bring on Nixon, McAdam, and Taylor; the first two because they need match fitness, and Taylor because O’Donnell is phoning it in again. A minute later they get one by Legg on a counter-attack. Here they come, those the feelings again? Nope. Macey gets his hat trick 10 minutes later. POM: Eddie Macey (3 goals)  Really bummed about conceding a goal. Legg has 11 league clean sheets which is only best in the league by one. I hope he ends the season with the most by a good margin. |
The Days Between
Another bid comes in for Collopy, this time for a whopping £110. I opt to keep him. Speaking of bids, Collins rejects South Normanton and will stay with us. For now... It’s time to see if we can still maintain being in the cup competitions. Bath has a team that’s pretty good. Luckily they only have one 5-star player and that is their goalie. Southern League Cup Semi Final at Bath, 7 April 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Kirkpatrick, Cullen The first 30’ is predominantly us trying to exploit the left flank but despite many great Duckett crosses, nothing comes of it mostly because Macey is easily dispossessed. But in the 33rd minute the kids try the right side and then cut in to the middle of the field, feeding O’Donnell who feeds Macey who once again shows he’s better in the thick of things than by himself. At half I give Ye Olde Speech, Passionately, “Things are going well, but I know you’re capable of even better” Spearing gets motivated but Chicken Fucker gets stressed and “Looked to switch off.” Eight minutes into the second half Bath’s lone striker gets past our central defenders and Legg’s speech reaction jumps to the forefront of my mind. Ye of little faith; he stonewalls the Bather. At this point I dial things back and choose the Control philosophy, and drop the defensive line back some. At 65’ I take out my wingers and the Jordanian Prince as they are getting tired. At 68’ their left winger lobs in an early cross and Legg once again comes through defending a point-blank shot, but Jefcoate evidently fouled the striker during the post-rebound melee. To quote Harry Vanderspeigle, “This is some bullshit.” Immediately afterwards I sub out the rest of the outfield, I have Nixon as the Shadow Striker as he’s really, really good. And of course The Jamaican Wonder, who almost draws us even immediately. In the 88th Kemar almost gets us the win but he can’t get a header on target. After full-time I thought we’d get a replay at home but instead we go into extra time. Should have thought about that. I’m sure our players are still more fresh than theirs… At 101’ Martin was two yards out and all alone and manages to hit the upright. Jesus. The team plays uninspired from that point on. On to the penalties! Dammit. Nixon, our only player on the pitch with double-digit Penalty Taking rating, sinks the first salvo. And Legg blocks Bath’s first shot! But then Jefcoate flubs his chance (7 in PT). It sure isn’t Martin’s day. He skies his chance. And so goes our chances at a trophy. POM: Teddy Cullen (5 key passes, 4 chances created)  Martin is gutted. I’m really to blame though. I should have been more strategic about my selection. Gah! The Days Between A couple hours before our home match against Croydon, AFC Mansfield show up with a pail of money for Derek McLeish, a U18 Striker. Unfortunately for them the pail only has £825. Negative, Ghost Rider. With the FA Vase Cup Semi-Final coming up I’m giving the Second XI the start. I’m also switching to the 4-4-2 to give Martin a chance to get Natural in ML and Nixon at MC. I also hope to give Rae some minutes on his road to recovery. Southern Counties East vs. Croydon, 11 April 2018  Formation: 4-4-2 Standard (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MR, MC r, MC l, ML, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Jones, Nixon, McAdam, Martin, Taylor, Kirkpatrick Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Pearson, Donaldson, Cullen, Duckett, Macey, O’Donnell, Rae Luckily the start is pretty quick with a Kirkpatrick-Nixon combo working just before 5’. It’s pretty dead until Kemar gets a brilliant shot off in the 39th but the GK is unimpressed. And just before half he has another chance but botches it. He seems to be a streaky player. I Assertively tell the squad that they were just alright and I expected to see things improve. It’s like I’m a prophet, though a 20-minute delayed one. Kemar playing as a Deep Lying Forward receives the ball from a Day launch out of our 18-yard box and tips it forward to Taylor, who is outpacing everyone; he sinks it with a low lob over a falling keeper. I then swap out the MCs and a few minutes later new arrival Cullen affords Taylor an opportunity for a brace and he delivers. I give Rae the last 15 minutes of Kemar’s time. My pre-game plan was to bring off Taylor and make Rae a Poacher but I decided to give Taylor a chance to get his hat trick. POM: Paul Taylor (2 goals, 1 key pass)  |
The Days Between
Another day, another Collopy offer, another no. The scouting report for Poole Town comes in and they are not as good as our squad, but just by a hair. They are however riddled with injuries so I fancy our chances. Damn, a cup Semi Final and we still can’t pull in a thousand fans. FA Vase Cup Semi Final vs. Poole Town, 14 April 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Kirkpatrick, Cullen Nothing happens in the first 39 minutes except Al-Ziod, Barlow, and Carroll draw yellows in quick succession. I chastised the lot of them at half and ask the young offenders to Calm it down. I switch us to Attack, to vary our passes to Mixed, and stop the players from getting Stuck In. It takes a while and a Shout of Show Some Passion but finally Smith starts a counter with a long shot forward to Macey, who launches one in from 20 yards out. I switch us back to Control and short passes. At 65’ I take out the kids with yellow and bring in suitable players with Nixon being on because he’s actually pretty good at taking penalties. At 69’ their DMC gets his second yellow. At 75' I switch us to 4-4-2 and take off some players who can be replaced by better options in case we do go to penalties. And shortly thereafter Pearson sends a long pass into O’Donnell who embarrasses the goalie and now I feel comfortable. I immediately switch to Defensive and start wasting time. At 85’ their right-back gets his second yellow and it’s game, set, match. In the 92’ we get a free kick near their box and Duckett softly feeds it to Day and he gives it a go. The ball hits the underside of the crossbar and eventually bounces into goal. POM: Daniel Duckett (1 assist, 2 key passes, 2 chances created)  The Week Between We get to face East Thurrock United in the FA Vase Final at Wembley. That match won’t happen until 19 May and you can bet your sweet bippy that I’m going to field the best possible, rested team I can. Another offer for McLeish comes in, this time for Weymouth, who look like they may be promoted to Conference South. Still, £750 ain’t gonna cut it. A couple of days later Clevedon come in with the same offer so they get the same answer. An offer comes in for Collins but I don’t accept this time as the requestor is from a league down and there ain’t no way he’s gonna accept the move. Southern Counties East at Bearsted, 21 April 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Jones, Kirkpatrick, Martin, Rae, Nixon This is the most boring match ever! The players just aren’t doing anything. That is until 46 seconds into 60 seconds of injury time when finally Duckett gets some freedom and sends a low cross to O’Donnell who sinks it. Ten minutes into the second half, and after a Demand More shout, Duckett gets his second assist, this time Macey is the beneficiary. Or so I thought; Eddie was offsides. But a minute later Maguire’s cross finds Duckett way out left and his cross ping-pongs around the 6-yard box before Pearson pokes it in. A couple of minutes later there is a strange goal. We get a free kick but the wall blokes it and it goes flying toward the midline and Spearing kicks it sky-high towards the goal and Macey is able to track it over-the-shoulder and one-times the ball with his right foot. I do my trademarked full outfield swap and switch to 4-4-2. Our fourth goal comes off a corner. Donaldson sends it in to Jones who is straight out from the left upright 9 yards. He heads it to Kemar who sends in a screamer from 12 yards out. POM: Steve Pearson (1 goal, 3 key passes, 3 chances created)  With this clean sheet Chick Legg pulls in the lead again over the keeper from Beckenham; that dude allowed in 4 goals today. |
The Week Between
More interest in Derek McLeish, Rory Collopy, and Aidan Collins comes in. I really don’t want to have to find another DC for the U18s and even though these offers come from teams one and two levels above I still say no. Until he complains about this I’ll keep saying no. Southern Counties East vs. Sevenoaks, 28 April 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Kirkpatrick, Cullen Since winning the league the players have been really stale in the first half of games. Case in point, we have no opportunities in the first 25 minutes but Sevenoaks do, almost scoring after some sloppy defensive play. Finally, in the 40th minute Smith and Pearson surprise with an attack up the middle and Pearson does a good job of not botching the chance. At 66’ we finally look competent and the O’Donnell-Macey up-the-gut attack works. And that’s all she wrote. I didn’t tinker at all with the tactics all game except after 5 minutes when I remember we have problems with having too high a defensive line. I also didn’t do a full outfield swap once our fate was sealed; I wanted Pearson and Duckett to get the full 90 in hopes of getting them over the hump of being Natural at Attacking Midfielder. POM: Connor Smith (1 assist, 3 key passes, 1 chance created)  My plan of keeping the wingers in partially worked; Duckett is now Natural at Attacking Midfielder Left. The Week Between Two offers come in, one for McLeish and one for Collopy, neither of which blow my socks off. In Summary Well, we’re down to just one cup competition and I believe it will make us some money as we should keep half the gate receipts for Wembley. I still can’t believe some of our youths are drawing interest. I figure once the Transfer Window opens more teams will come for our “Seniors” with O’Donnell and Kirkpatrick being the most obvious targets. I have faith that in the next league up I can get by with Macey, Taylor, and Rae. Now, if Duckett also gets pilfered…  |
May 2018
That was easy Excellent training news! I’m especially glad to see an increase in Strength in my defenders.  Financial Matters As expected, we lost just over £200,000 during April and face the same fate for May unless that match at Wembley attracts enough fans. Yes, we are now below £12 million in the bank. Board Confidence Still Untouchable, still at 78% approval. Dynamics Excellent news! Ben O’Donnell is now an Influential Player alongside Chris Day. While looking around the Dynamics pages I notice that our Match Cohesion is Abysmal. What the heck? Off to the Internets! I guess I didn’t realize that flip-flopping 11 players all at once and not spending time training Match Cohesion would drag it down. I remedy that instantly and wonder if that’s why our early match ineptitude developed. Player Development Oh how neat! Recent Youth Candidate Bill Taylor now has a Media Description of “Hard working midfielder.” I think this is because his Teamwork and Work Rate both climbed to 15 each. He’s gonna probably make the Seniors this summer. The challenge for him is getting his Marking, Tackling, and Positioning up to respectable levels. The Week Between More offers are coming in for our players. Canvey Island, on a reclaimed island on the north side of the Thames, east of London, offer £650 for ST Derek McLeish. I pass. Also, of course, are two additional offers for Collopy and of course I say no. With only five matches left in the season I want to get Kemar some game time so he starts today over Macey, who is the twelfth sub just in case something goes pear-shaped. Southern Counties East at AFC Croydon, 5 May 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Macey My pre-match speech draws no favorable reactions, which is a bummer because I had been on a good streak. Nothing’s doing until the 20th when Croydon get a corner despite us owning them in possession and shots so far. After 30’ I have to Demand More and switch to Attacking in the hopes of getting something to happen. Within two minutes it works when a Kemar-Pearson-Duckett-Kemar combo pulls us ahead. In the 37th I have to take Pearson off due to a knee injury. Dammit, I really want him to get his AMR up to Natural! After the half it takes 15 minutes for us to get in gear again and Al-Ziod gets his first career goal, a blast from 21 yards out. At 65’ I take off Carroll and his yellow, my midfielders so Nixon and McAdam can get more playing time, and O’Donnell so Rae can get his Match Fitness up. With this I drop Kemar down to Shadow Striker. The rest get swapped out at 70’. Despite switching to Defensive at 80’ we give up another late goal and mostly it’s Legg’s fault as it came right to him with very little velocity. Therefore the squad get the Don’t Get Complacent speech and they surprisingly don’t ignore me. POM: Daniel Duckett (1 assist, 3 key passes, 3 chances created)  And the butcher’s bill on Pearson is…drumroll…Bruised Knee, Out 1 to 2 days. Oh praise Cthulhu! The Week Between Macey’s mentoring of McNulty comes to an end. His Personality went from Balanced to Resolute and his Determination went from 12 to 17. McNulty was “delighted at the results of his link-up” and so am I. Obligatory offer report. McLeish, £525, no, x2. |
I’m really hoping we snap out of our “funk” and dominate from whistle to whistle. We now are drawing only 800 fans. Fudge...
Southern Counties East vs. Sheppey, 12 May 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Donaldson, Cullen, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Kirkpatrick Things seem to be working. I Demand More after 10 minutes of nothing and two minutes later Carroll gets a boot on the ball from a corner kick and we’re up one. Ten minutes later a Maguire cross goes errant but so did one of Sheppey’s defenders and Duckett sinks the penalty. And 5 minutes latter Duckett gets an assist off a Benny goal. Second half was tame with just me subbing out players in a strategic fashion. Literally that was all the happened; there were no highlights whatsoever. Good to see us come out of our funk. POM: Daniel Duckett (1 goal, 1 assist, 5 key passes, 4 chances created)  Sheppey had two strikers go off with serious injuries, one at 17 minutes and his replacement at 78 minutes. Out of curiosity I looked at their player cards. The second one has a pulled groin and will be out for six weeks. Ouch! The Days Between Before the match I get the weekly (or bi-weekly?) Player Development email and the moment I’ve been waiting for is finally here, the suggestion of my AssMan for Macey to tutor Kirkpatrick. I’d love to see Macey’s Driven personality transfer to Kemar to say good-bye to his Balanced personality. Also, to get his Determination from 12 to 19 would be swell. Thankfully, the initial meeting went well. Fifteen minutes before the match begins Kevin Parker is removed from the injured list. I make him my 12th sub and might bring him in for 15 minutes if things are going right. Southern Counties East vs. Canterbury, 15 May 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Nixon, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Kirkpatrick Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Donaldson, Cullen, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Rae, Parker Oh my god, this is so what the doctor ordered. A quick start with Martin crossing to Kemar for an easy goal just before 4’. Thirty-five minutes later Taylor gets an assist when he sends an early cross to Kemar who is free and clear, out-juking the GK. Just over two minutes later in stoppage time Clark gets an assist and Kemar gets a hat-trick. The second half passes quietly with strategic substitutions, including Parker getting his 15 minutes of fame. POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (3 goals, 1 key pass, 1 chance created)  |
The Days Between
The scouting report for East Thurrock comes in and we have a better team. We should win this match. Other pre-match emails flow in. Only 4,000 fans are expected and there goes my dream of a nice payday. But on the bright side, we are 5-4 odds to win. Their manager is acting all calm in the pre-match presser. This is my least favorite part of Football Manager. Some questions are just dumb and there’s never any good response so I tend to use “No comment” a lot. Bath win the Southern League Cup so I guess things are a little less bitter losing to the eventual champ. Oh well, what could have been. Though I’ve run out of money for scouting packages my scouts occasionally request meetings to go over players they somehow have found. The players are generally above our reach or are just bad, i.e. someone with a single digit Natural Fitness, really low Determination, and/or bad Personality. This kid gets a rating of 82 according to my chief scout and I learned over the previous month that really good players who are playing Championship or Premier League level with PL potential are around 94 to 96. I think he might be worth a stab come June. If I sign him I’ll get his DMC up to Natural because he’d make a great Anchor Man, something I like to use in my Defensive formation. (He’s from Gravesend, about 20 miles down the Thames from London, so he’s kind of local but he plays way out in Bristol on the “west coast” of England, across the River Severn from Wales. That should help?)  Woohoo! Forty-three hundred spectators! Come on big money! No whammies, no whammies, no whammies! FA Vase Final vs. East Thurrock (at Wembley), 19 May 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Rae, Kirkpatrick Nothing is going our way: missed chances, dispossession, and then a Barlow injury at 35’. Finally in 44’ Smith finds his old self again and steals the ball, sends it up to O’Donnell who spots a streaking Macey and he gets us on the board. We enter the second half with orders to Attack but the kiddos ain’t attacking. I shout for more creativity and get a corner shortly thereafter. It leads to a goal that went from Duckett’s foot to Spearing’s head to O’Donnell’s head to Spearing’s foot and down the chute. I dial us back some. Spearing picks up a yellow but I keep him in as things are going quite well. At 80’ I go full defensive in hopes of sealing the victory. I also take off Donaldson for McAdam and make him a Ball Winning Midfielder with a Defend role. Hallelujah! There were some tense moments in the final 10 minutes including a free kick that almost went in but we did it! Our first cup trophy! POM: Ben O’Donnell (1 assist, 5 key passes, 3 chances created)  Barlow’s injury is moderately bad; twisted ankle, out 3 to 5 weeks. He’ll only miss one game because that’ll all there is. I’ll give his start to Nixon. We made around £12,500 from the match but we are still running a deficit for the month. Bummer. |
The Week Between
A Dynamics update! Chick Legg is now an Influential Player. He’s on par with Chris Day (our Vice Captain, for now) and Ben O’Donnell. Eddie Macey, our Captain, is still a Highly Influential Player but not a Team Leader, the highest tier on the Dynamics pyramid. Come the new season I’m pretty sure Day will be gone, especially if we get that Shane Pilcher kid, so I’ll probably make Chick Legg Vice Captain as I think O’Donnell might get pilfered. Alright, it’s the last game of the year. Can we sweep the league? In the pre-match press conference I said we’d win. What? Me worry?! Southern Counties East at Lordswood, 26 May 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Clark, Day, Duggan, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Jones, Taylor, Martin, Kirkpatrick, Rae Princesprick almost draws first blood as they out-Controlled us in the third minute. It’s been a while but the Duckett-Pearson combo for a score rears its lovely head(er) and we take Control after 11’. The D-P Combo strikes again 18 minutes later and the boys are having fun out there. Smith even gets in on the action sending in a squeaker from 17 yards out. Five minutes after the restart I begin making subs as I want everyone to get a chance to play today, even Webb. I start with Macey (6.5) and Maguire (so Clark can get some before Parker comes in). I move O’Donnell up to ST and put Taylor in at AMC. At 55’ it’s DL and the MCs. At 60’ it’s the ST and DCs. At 65’ it’s the Wingers and Goalie. Then at 75’ it’s Clark off and Parker on. The good thing about all these starts-and-stops is that Knightsknob never get any momentum going. Just on 81’ a free kick on the left side makes its way to the right side where Jones sends in a cross aimed for Kemar’s noggin. I don’t know if he plays pool but he sure knows how to get English on a football using his head. I’ve never seen a Beckham bend off a header! POM: Daniel Duckett (2 assists, 4 key passes, 4 chances created)  In the post-match email dump I get notice that the manager of Wolverhampton was in the stands watching O’Donnell. I knew the big teams would come. Though calling the Wolves a “big team” is a bit of a misnomer in this Alternate Universe FM2018 as they finished 21st in the Championship, 4 points above regulation. Gulp. The Days Between Our players certainly dominated the league. I really didn’t expect Macey to score more than O’Donnell but that path was set even before I adopted the Spade formation; in the 4-4-2 Standard, Macey was the Advanced Forward so he was being fed the ball more. If Benny is still with us come the next season I’m going to change that up. I’m also quite relieved to see Chicken Legg win the most clean sheets battle.  After sending the lads off for the summer the board request a meeting. They want to discuss club improvements, youth level more specifically. Turns they want to improve our youth system to qualify as a Level 1 setup. I couldn’t be happier. Season Review The final Board Confidence comes in. I’m still Untouchable but now I’m at 88%. Not too shabby. As far as player development, I was really bummed that Pearson could not get to Natural at AMR. I want to institute a 3-2-3-2 formation but I don’t want to do that until Pearson is done with learning AMR then I can use him and Duckett as Mezzalas. End of Season Awards The only surprise here is Day making the cut. I guess I waited too long for Spearing to get that spot.  The players will not report back until 2 July, which equals 5 weeks of pre-season. I was hoping for more. Oh well, fewer matches to get my formation familiarization up to snuff. In Summary Well, that was an easy season. Hopefully my readers didn’t mind it too much. I knew having a Sugar Daddy was going to make things go smoothly but not that smoothly. It’s a valuable lesson learned about the database and game set-up. A lot of teams in the County League levels of the English pyramid don’t have any real players, just the Greys, because I didn’t select the “Add Players to Teams” button when starting the game. A quick examination of the league we’re going into shows that about half the teams are 100% real players and the other half are 75% real players. So things should be tougher. I’m going to continue on with this team, naturally, but if for some reason I have to restart things I’ll make adjustments so I don’t walk away with things from the start. I’m really intrigued by Kemar, Benny, The Jordanian Prince, Chicken Legg, and Connor Smith. If I’m being realistic, Kemar, Benny, and Daniel Duckett have no business being this far down and teams should come hunting for them. I originally thought that teams high up wouldn’t look this far down based on how the game engine is built but having that Wolves manager watch Benny I guess proved me wrong. If they do get sold Brixton will struggle. If it turns out that we start off the season easily then I’ll make it a point to change the formations frequently so we don’t get too good at any one. That should level the field.  |
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June 2018
Hot fun in the summertime Financial Matters We lost £2.1 million over the season. Wow. This is not sustainable. Even though we have a Sugar Daddy I’m not sure what happens if we run out of money. Looking at the finer details it appears that £1.9 million of our losses are taxes, almost all of it “Corporation Tax”. I’m not sure if we’ll get a lot of that back having run a deficit for the year. Frankly, I don’t remember if that news will come in soon or on 30 June, which is technically the end of the season. Turns out that news comes in on 17 June. We avoid a tax hit but we don’t get a refund. I don’t understand English taxes, no surprise! Also on that day we get news on kit sponsors. We’re going to get a grand total of £16,000 for the season. A mere drop in the bucket... The chairman scales back our transfer budget to £149,000 and I’m sure we won’t get anywhere near that. He also injects £110,000 into the coffers, bringing us just an RCH above £2 million. (A few days later I realize that £149k is our scouting budget. Our transfer budget is still around £6 million.) The 27th of June sees us publishing our losses for the season. An interesting line item is that £275,000 is ground maintenance for our “new stadium.” I don’t know if that is for Brockwell Park (our current stadium and future U23 stadium) or Windmill Gardens (our future stadium), or both. New Players On 2 June I go to make an offer for that kid out on the “West Coast,” Shane Pilcher. For some reason I can’t make an offer. I poke around for a while (cuz FM18 is still kind of new to me) and then watch some YouTube videos. I didn’t find an explanation why I can’t make the offer but I do discover that I can instruct my Director of Football to do so. I don’t actually have a DoF but my AssMan handles things. I promise the kid Rotation because he will def be our third best DC and allow the AssMan to offer up to £10,000 and £450 per week, what my chief scout says would be his highest wage demand. (Full disclosure: My scouts are notoriously wrong about wage demands…) A couple of days later Bristol Manor Farm accept a bid of £0 (what the fuck?!) so my AssMan offers Pilcher £425 until 2020, with a one-year club option. I don’t like that he offered a 25% promotion wage rise and 5% yearly wage rise. I wish I knew why I couldn’t do the negotiating. New Staff Also on 2 June I address the matter of expiring staff contracts. My two crappy scouts are due to expire at the end of the month (JK, they aren’t that old) so I offer Mutual Terminations, which they accept for £1,000 apiece. They were emergency hires back a year or more ago; neither scout is really that good. One had 7 and 6 for Judging Player Ability and Judging Player Potential, while the other had 5 and 7. Yeesh! I make an offer to Paul Gordon is who is 15 and 15 in JPA and JPP. I also make an offer to Ron Bunce who is rated 14 and 13. Quite the improvement! Within a couple of days they both sign. As we advanced to the new season on 25 June I got notice that we are now in a U23 competition. I did not expect that. I had to hire a U23 Manager and find a pretty good one sitting on his thumbs. Offers Sure enough, O’Donnell is a target. The first offer comes in on Sunday, 10 June from Chesterfield, a mid-table League 2 team. They offer a whopping £3,000 and 40% of next sale. I do not accept. Four other teams are interested in him but the only ones that have a chance are Wolves and Queens Park Rangers. Four days later Chesterfield try again but they don’t even bother to up their price. This is one of the failings in Football Manager. Year after year this has not improved. (Your results may vary, I’ve yet to put much time in the 2020-2022 versions and have not even bothered to buy 2023, and 2024.) Carlisle, in League Two, offer £3,000 for O’Donnell on 17 June and of course I say no. Leyton Orient shows up on 15 June with the hats in their hands wonder if Duckett is available for £2,500. Oh! So close! In a twist, a Championship team, Barnsley, asked to take Duckett on trial for a week. Nope. He’s with us until 2020 and is Indispensable. You got your own youths! A bit jealous I suppose QPR asks a week later to take O’Donnell on trial. Final tally: O’Donnell, 5 teams, £8k highest offer Duckett, 3 teams, £3.1 highest offer. Pearson, 4 team, £4k highest offer. At one point O’Donnell got pissed that I denied him an opportunity to go to QPR. Their bid was pathetic so I couldn’t accept it. Hopefully he’ll calm down once we start the season and win some games. Hopefully. Team Rankings For the EPL fans in the house, here are the ranking in this AU: 1. Liverpool 2. Man City 3. Man United 4. Chelsea 5. Arsenal (you can’t say “Arsenal” without saying “Arse.” 6. Tottenham 7. Southampton 8. West Ham 9. Leicester 10. Newcastle We are 694th. :-D Sundry Items Shadi Al-Ziod comes to me right after Pilcher was signed asking for a new contract. He’s making £200/week and really deserves more but I don’t want to start a trend so I give him a “Don’t mess with the good dressing room atmosphere” speech. He agrees and backs off. He’s due for a 15% raise due to a new contract year coming up and a 15% raise due to our promotion. He also is under contract until 2019 plus Brixton have an option to extend. Once the season starts and our new season ticket numbers come in I’ll probably offer new contracts so long as we can afford it. (Later in the month I get an email showing early indications are that our new ticket prices average £6.) And Now The Bad(?) News I did not set up the database correctly. Under the Clubs section there is a subsection for “Regional Divisions” which is where you set up the progression up the pyramid, I guess. I left that blank. Brixton should have been moved up to the Isthmian League First Division South but instead when the game advanced to the 2018/2019 season we were moved to Southern League First Division West. I checked out my other computer where I ran the simulation for 3 game years to make sure the database wasn’t broke and to make sure the Brexit variable wouldn’t make the game unenjoyable. I never thought to check the league progressions. It doesn’t “break” the game but it does “break” the immersion of the game as we’ll be playing out west and not in the London area. I’m going to continue ahead and chalk it up to a learning experience. I have since fixed the database. On the flip side, all the cup competitions appear to be right. (On the Ironic News Front, the league we promoted into is home of Bristol Manor Farm, the original team of our new DC Shane Pilcher.) Let’s commence preparations for rumbling!!! The start of the season is right around the corner! The kiddos report on 2 July and we are going to do wonderful things. |
July 2018
We have liftoff! Financial Matters Huzzah! We made a profit in June! We made just over £81,000. The cash infusion by the Chairman plus the new kit sponsor money helped that immensely. In looking at the various tabs I noticed in the Expenditure tab that there is a line item for “Director Emoluments” and that figure last season was £14,057. I mean…he is the Chairman after all? On 8 July we get an email saying that we’ve only sold 129 season tickets so far and another 100 are expected. That is bad news. Last season we had 250 season ticket holders. Oh boy. Board Confidence Still Untouchable but down to only 80%. Dynamics As the lads come back our squad’s “Dressing Room Atmosphere” is still Very Good and “Managerial Support” is still Excellent. If memory serves me correctly, I should have a team meeting foisted upon me when the team returns but that doesn’t happen. I then try to hold a meeting (from the Dynamics tab) but am told there is no suitable reason. I hope I get an opportunity to talk about season expectations. (I wonder if this means the database is broken. I suppose we’ll find out.) Daniel Duckett moves up to the Influential Player level on 10 July. Excellent, cuz I have no idea how much longer I’ll have O’Donnell. A week later our starting left central defender Robert Carroll moves up to Influential Player, which is great cuz Day is going away. I wanted to shit-can him already but things really haven’t played out that way. The same day as the Carroll news he complains that there’s not enough depth in the defense. Message received! O7 Player Matters On the transfers front Tranmere (Conference National) ask if they can take U18 midfielder Bill Taylor on trial. Three minutes later Macclesfield (also Conference National) make a transfer offer of £0 for Bill. This is going to be the state of affairs until late September. And the final tally is... Player, Number of Offers, Highest Offer: Bill Taylor, One, £0 Steve Pearson, Four, £4,500 Daniel Duckett, One, £1,800 Robert Carroll, Three, £1,500 Ben O’Donnell, Thirteen, £17,250 Dean Rice, Two, £0 Declan McNulty, Four, £0 New Players On 1 July I get an email from my Press Officer that a bunch of teams released some players so naturally I send my scouts out to take a gander. On the new player front, I realized pretty quickly that I needed at least one more central midfielder for the U18 teams. In the process of looking for one I found two that I like, but one of them is good enough to start for us in the Seniors. I still have my dreams of Mezzalas and this guy excels in that department. Bonus: He’s got experience at all three Core positions. He signs with us on 24 July.  This guy is kind of like Noah and he signs with us on 19 July and goes into the U18 team.  I also need a second AML in the Seniors but I’m having problems finding one. Then this guy shows up in a scouting report:  I can’t believe all those Naturals and Accomplished ratings! He’s like the ultimate sub! He trained at Liverpool in his youth and must have been one of those released kids I told my scouts to take a look at. He has no negative personality traits and is Level-Headed when handling the media. I’ll take a stab. Whomp, whomp. He chose Tranmere (Conference National) and their £925/week offer. I abandon my search for a back-up left winger as I remember that Nixon can play AML and Jones can play ML. I might still try to bring in another DC because of Carroll’s complaints. I really need to dump Day, which becomes more difficult on 31 July when he moves up to Highly Influential. Drat! I waited too long. Player Development On the first of every month I update all the player deets in my spreadsheet. One of the items I enter is a player’s current assessment on their playing level. Kemar Kirkpatrick is now rated as “very well-suited to Championship football.” Amazing. He’s gonna ask to leave real soon I bet. Another holy-moly with him is that his mentoring is going great; his Determination is up to 18 by 31 July. Not really development but every player saw his Value decline by half when the team came back, except Rory Collopy who went from £45 to £230. My theory is that on 1 July we entered a new contract year and years remaining is part of the maths of determining Player Value. Our starting right midfield, Terry Barlow, is now deemed a “Potential League One Talent.” Then I get notice that our right winger Steve Pearson is now a “Good League Two Talent”. From The Funny Names File You’d think Jack Daniels would give you higher Bravery and not be Balanced.  Friendlies This is generally how I run my friendlies this far down the pyramid: start with three walk-overs, get a little tough competition for three matches, take on a heavy to make some money, then close out with a bunch of patsies.
A pretty good month. We made a bit of dosh, £12,568 to be exact, thanks to that West Ham sellout. (Half the crowd came in from East London.) We found some good talent in the midfield with each already having the makings of a Core player. We’ve won all our matches and only Rae is stinking up the joint. There are many callers for our players and luckily O’Donnell is the only who is unhappy for not being able to flee. |
August 2018
And I guess that's why they call it the blues Spoiler alert: This update will be sad. Excellent! Another good training report. Having great fitness coaches sees us having good performances on the Physical Abilities side.  Financial Matters More excellent news! We made a profit of £22,734 last month. Our season tickets sales helped contribute but the visit by West Ham’s U23 really made the difference. Despite the puny profit, having that Sugar Daddy allows us to offer £105k for a squad bonus if we win the league. For cup competitions we are allowed up to a crazy amount of £525k but I selected the Low end of £225k. Quite the nice bonus! Board Confidence No change seeing as we are still in the pre-season. Dynamics It’s good to have more Influential Players. Going to need them when O’Donnell flies the coop.  Player Matters I’m gonna take a moment here to examine the differences between our start-of-the-season Starting XI and how things changed from last year.  The first difference you’ll notice is the switching of the preferred formation. Then you’ll notice that changes are strictly on defense. Pretty neat that one of the changes came from a kid working his way into the lineup. The other two are imports. At GK, Legg was just sitting out there ripe for the plucking so I could not resist. Primarily I snagged him because in Training Camp next season he should be old enough to tutor Webb, or, preferably a wunderkind who comes in on Youth Intake Day. Despite being our Vice Captain, I moved on from Day as our starting right DC half way through the season as he just wasn’t all that good. He was kind of a desperation purchase I suppose. Al-Ziod was a minor upgrade at DL but at this point I view him as a potential large profit yet to be realized. Our midfielders remain static as do our attackers though I eventually moved O’Donnell to AMC. If I were a betting man (I’m not) I’d wager next year we won’t have Kirkpatrick, Pearson, and Duckett. I can see Paul Taylor, Andy Robinson, and Ashley Hibbert moving into those starting spots. Hibbert will have to work on his AML (Accomplished right now) unless we get a Youth at the end February who blows me away and keeps Hibbert on the right. Cup Draws It’s time to kick off the cup season and we have the Southern League Cup up first. Drumroll, please… We travel to Newmarket, two levels below us on the English football pyramid. Wish we got a harder team and at home; I need those fans in the stadium. Friendlies Before we can get to that match and the league fixtures, we still have two friendlies to wrap up.
|
Regular Season
And now the real games begin. I feel confident of winning the league but not keeping O’Donnell (obviously) and Kirkpatrick. Southern First Division West at Bishop’s Cleeve, 11 August 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Pilcher, Day, Jefcoate, Harding, Cullen, Hodgson, Nixon, Hibbert, Taylor, McAdam My worries of O’Donnell phoning it in are relaxed in the 9th minute. As they are with Kemar one minute into extra time in the first half. We do get a little sloppy in the second stanza but that’s alright when 13 of your 19 shots are on target. POM: Steve Pearson (1 assist, 6 key passes, 1 chance created)  The Days Between It’s FA Cup draw time! We get to host Glossop North End who are in a league at the same level of the pyramid as us. None of the players in their senior squad are Greys so they should present somewhat of a challenge. We beat Salisbury last year 4-1 in the Third Round of the FA Vase. Let’s hope we can do the same or better. Southern First Division West at Salisbury, 14 August 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Pilcher, Jefcoate, Harding, McAdam, Hodgson, Nixon, Rae, Kirkpatrick, Thompson Macey is healthy so he gets the start and also starts the scoring 1:10 into the match. Smith of all people gets a brace in under two minutes, the second being a beautiful header in traffic from a Duckett free kick. That height of his is a real difference maker. In the second half Benny scores, showing again that his desire to leave doesn’t affect his play; high Professionalism that one. POM: Connor Smith (2 goals, 2 key passes)  |
The Days Between
Another draw! This time for the FA Trophy. We travel to Liverpool. Don’t worry, we are taking on AFC Liverpool, the minnows of the Mersey. In order to avoid further headaches about young, promising players wanting to leave, I am now offering contracts to the kids who turn 17 and are worth keeping. Case in point, Connor Smith now makes £425 but I didn’t get an extra year out of him. It’s more realistic this way. So many offers have come in for Benny that I’ve given up keeping track of them. The good thing is that after each offer the following team ups the ante by £5,000 while still maintaining the 40% of the next sale and £5 million buy-back clauses. Now onto our first cup match. Southern League Cup First Round at Newmarket, 18 August 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, O’Donnell, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Pilcher, Nightingale, Day, Jefcoate, Thompson, Cullen, Jones, Donaldson, Macey, Taylor, Harding It takes almost 30 minutes but Duckett finally gets us on the board with his first goal of the season. A few minutes later Kemar gets his second of the season, both have been headers. Repeat that sentence but with “third” instead…for realz! What I’m saying is that it was a convincing win, as expected. POM: Steve Pearson (1 assist, 5 key passes, 4 chances created)  The Week Between Two more cup draws come our way. We’ll host two matches: Beaconsfield Town in the Southern League Cup and Guernsey in the FA Vase. Mo’ money, mo’ money! (Guernsey is a pretty neat team. They play on one of the Channel Islands, English islands just off the French coast around the bend from the beaches of Normandy. I’d like to get there one day.) As I expected, offering that new contract to Connor Smith has opened the gates for others wanting in on the good stuff. Spearing is one of them. I made him our starting right central defender back in January and he has been solid ever since. I promise I’ll offer him a contract, figuring he’ll be cheaper now. Speaking of expected…21 August 2018 will go down as a very sad day. Ben O’Donnell a wunderkind who cut his teeth in Brixton is heading for the south coast of England. He has signed with Brighton & Hove Albion. I’m sad to see him go but this is what he wanted. In return we get £45,000 and 40% of any sell-on fee. Once we get to the Premier League I will activate his £5 million buy-back fee. I do not know if that will be available if Brighton sell him on though. Bugger. (He’s making £775/week and was immediately dumped into their U23s. Le sigh.) Al-Ziod wants a new deal too. I’m thinking that because he didn’t come from Brixton’s Youth Academy he might ask for more money so I’m going to hold off until the end of the season. (His contract runs out at the end of the season but it has a one-year option.) I promise him a contract at the end of the season and he goes away happy. He’s already League Two quality so I hope someone comes swooping in, if I’m being honest with you, Ricki. Oh yeah! Big crowd expected today! Almost 2,300 fans! FA Cup Second Preliminary Round vs. Glossop, 25 August 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, Nixon, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Pilcher, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Donaldson, Harding, Jones, Cullen, Macey, Rae, McAdam A strange thing happened on the way to the Forum. I had my first tunnel interview. They wanted to know why Daniel Duckett got the Captain’s armband. I didn’t have an option to say, “I need Eddie as a left wing sub and Day is also a sub...so..." My faith in Duckie is rewarded as at 6’ his cross to Pearson’s head bounces off the underside of the crossbar and into goal. Four minutes later we get a penalty shot and Duckie converts. In the 24th Pearon’s free kick from 19 yards out goes to the upper right where maybe only Bigfoot could have stopped it. Kemar wasn’t impressed so one-ups him with a placed shot from 19 yards out on a great breakaway. And it’s not even the half! The rest of the match is Duckie and Pearson schooling Glossop and by 54’ we’re up 7-0 so I do a full squad swap less Legg. Wow. Just wow.  POM: Daniel Duckett (3 goals, 2 assists, 2 key passes, 2 chances created)  In financial news, that big home crowd alone brought in around £25,000 in gate receipts and concessions. We are running a good profit, mostly due to the sale of Benny. Woe is me. |
The Days Between
Okay, that was a slaughter. Brixton is just too good for this level even with O’Donnell’s departure. I think to level the field I’m going to change course and bring in two new tactics so at least we won’t be so Fluid. That should make us not such a threat. I’ll wait until the start of September; still trying to get Pearson Natural at AMR. Another week, another draw. For the FA Cup First Qualifying Round we get to host Stocksbridge or Waltham Abbey, both are theoretically equal to us. Well, this is good news: 805 fans attended our U23s match against Barnet’s U23s on a Monday night. We netted £6,000 for that. We might actually make a profit this season! So more good news rolls in just before our match against Evesham. Eddie Macey is now a Team Leader. Excellent. Looks like I’ll be making him a regular starter again. Now that Ben O’Donnell is gone I’m going for heavy rotation again as some of the non-starters are down in the low 80s in Match Fitness. Also I hope to make the game a bit more of a challenge. I also don’t suit up the max number of subs. Southern First Division West at Evesham, 29 August 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Thompson, Donaldson, Jones, Cullen, Macey, Rae Subs: Legg, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, McAdam, Hodgson, Nixon, Taylor, Kirkpatrick In the 7th minute it appears like this might be another easy game. Hearing about the 19-yard special in the previous match, Donaldson matches that effort. Rae’s header off a Cullen cross in the 16th adds insult to injury. Rae gets a brace 16 minutes later. But just before 45’ Eveshame draws blood on a counter-attack! Cullen restores our three-goal lead right at 49’ and Macey makes it 5-1 exactly 10 minutes later. After some midfield swapping Rae picks up an injury in the 69th and I have to bring in Kemar. Things get exciting in the final 10 when Evesham strike again off a slow build-up. Don’t know why the defense turned off there. A few minutes later Hodgson gets his first Brixton goal and victory is sealed. POM: Teddy Cullen (1 goal, 2 assists, 5 key passes, 4 chances created)  The news on Rae is almost bad. Damaged foot from being tackled, out 11 days to 2 weeks. Yikes. The Days Between Something is wrong with my save. I keep getting £4,500 offers for Pearson so I always so no and select the option that reads, “Reject all offers of equal or lower value” but teams keep coming in with the same offer. (This is not happening with other players.) I manually change his asking price to £100,000 and then I get successive offers of £8.5k, £9k, then £9.5k. You’re getting closer, chaps, just at a glacial pace. Then things get real weird a few hours later. Offers of £12.25k, £13k, £13.75k. By 1900 hours Reading is offering £21,000. The transfer window is closing. Will someone offer £100k before midnight? Turns out the answer is no. In Summary So much sad. Good bye, Benny. I hope you make millions so you can build that Spaceship. Spaceship! Spaceship! At least we had a good month on the pitch.  |
September 2018
Everything's cool Mixed training news. I can’t believe Duckett had a poor showing, he’s been developing so nicely.  Financial Matters Huzzah! We made £21,388 in August! Now I have to realize that sale of Ben O’Donnell was the reason. Dangit. Board Confidence Still “Untouchable” but down to 77% mostly because of O’Donnell’s departure. Really? You realize that was an inevitability, right? Dynamics Everything’s cool on this front.  Player Matters A first for me happened. I got an email about a player completing an intensive language course. Al-Ziod is now rated Good at speaking English. New Tactics So as I mentioned earlier, I’m switching up our formations to make it so we don’t dominate so easily. The first new formation is the Club.  |
Now let’s see what we can do with this new formation against Didcot.
Southern First Division West vs. Didcot, 1 September 2018  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Day, Nightingale, Smith, Parker, Jefcoate, Cullen, McAdam, Donaldson, Taylor, Pearson, Duckett It takes just over 15 minutes but our new formation “worked.” We didn’t Control our way up the field, we had three players hoof it forward which lead to a Macey and Kemar breakaway, the first getting the assist, the second getting the goal. Another change I made was making Harding our Corner and Free Kick taker. He proves I made the right choice after he sends in a kick to the box where Nixon passes it to Kemar and it’s two-nil. Two minutes later we are gifted a soft penalty and Kemar converts. And two minutes later another breakaway sees Kemar returning the favor for Macey. This is too easy. At 60’ I do Ye Olde Outfield Swap™ and switch back to the Spade in hopes of getting Pearson up to Natural in AMR. (Is there an echo in here?) Duckett to Taylor, Pearson to Duckett, all in a day’s work. In a rare moment, I get the post-game speech right. I tell them they did great but not to let it get to their heads. 13 of the 21 players who played “Seemed motivated” or “Seemed to gain focus”. POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (3 goals, 1 assist, 3 key passes, 2 chances created)  The Days Between Another player turns 17 and immediately gets a contract offer. This time it’s our first-choice sub at goalie, Robert Webb. He was only asking for £220. Southern First Division West vs. Cinderford, 5 September 2018  Formation: Club Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Day, Nightingale, Smith, Parker, Jefcoate, Cullen, McAdam, Donaldson, Taylor, Pearson, Duckett An early Carroll card worries me and is followed soon after with one for Shady. At 11’ my worries skyrocket as Barlow is injured and has to come off; it looks like it’s an upper body injury. Five minutes later Smith gets an assist feeding Macey an easy layup. Ten minutes later it’s a future trend: Macey feeds Kemar for a slam dunk. Then a reverse to make it 3-0. After the restart Kemar gets another placed shot and after the swap out and move to the Spade, Pearson gets on the scoreboard courtesy of Duckett. POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (2 goals, 1 assist, 3 key passes, 2 chances created)  Oh boy, we might have to go back to the Spade. Barlow’s gonna be out for 3 to 5 weeks with “Fractured Ribs”. |
The Days Between
On the “Players Requesting New Contracts Though They’re Signed to 2020 Front” Maguire’s agent harassed me right after the game, saying he needs a new contract. Maguire doesn’t turn 17 until the penultimate day of the season but in this case I think he deserves the new contract as he’s only making £110/week. OH YEAH! We have 2,290 fans in the stadium. Another tunnel interview, I wonder what dumb question they’ll ask today? They wanted to know why I am fielding a whole new starting eleven. I explain that they all deserve to play. No idea how this will be accepted by the players and if I’ll even be able to tell. FA Cup First Qualifying Round vs. Stocksbridge, 8 September 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Pearson, Cullen, Duckett, Taylor Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Thompson, Harding, Hodgson, Nixon, Jones, Macey, Pilcher Oh jesus. Just before 6’ Duckett has to come out. It seems to put a damper on the mood as it takes until after 22’ to finally show signs of life and this Donaldson chap really shows how to take single-touch, long-range shots, this one a 17-yarder from inside the box. That was all the happened in the first half, which introduces me to a rare emotion: Worry. Our opponent comes out on fire but are a bit off target. At 65’ I have to swap out Jefcoate, Day, and Taylor who are underperforming. It does nothing for us and in the final minute Stocksbridge get a breakaway but Webb is able to swaddle the shot. At least the lads know they underperformed, especially Jefcoate with his 6.3. Luckily they all get Fired Up by my speech. POM: David Donaldson (1 goal, 2 key passes)  Oh man, I’m gonna get FMed. Duckett is out 2 to 3 weeks for pulled ankle ligaments. Ugh. On the flip side, we made almost £29,000 for the match. The Days Between For the FA Cup Second Qualifying Round we get to travel to Ascot. They are a league below us so I feel confident. This time I’ll field the Starting XI, can’t risk getting bounced out of the FA Cup! For the FA Trophy we get Frickley, if we get past AFC Liverpool. FA Trophy Second Round at AFC Liverpool, 12 September 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Harding, Smith, Pearson, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Thompson, Cullen, Hodgson, Taylor, Jones, Rae, McAdam After 42 minutes of golden opportunities and opponent golden cards we finally strike gold with a Macey cross to Kemar's head. We are really missing Barlow and Duckett. A stern yet Calm talking-to during the break gets ‘em Fired Up. However, nothing happens in the first 20 minutes so I do an outfield swap and demand they put on a show which sends everyone into Deep Thoughts (by Jack Handey) and Rae gets Stressed. In the 75th we finally get a sequence of action. Cullen poorly tries a free kick and the rebounding eventually finds Hodgson alone in the box to the right and he amazingly gets it past the keeper. I immediately make a COVID-level lockdown and jigger everything to the most defensive I possibly can. POM: Andy Hodgson (1 goal) Well that is a rarity! A sub getting the POM award. Relish that, young man!  |
The Days Between
Appleton and Cullen both turn 17 but Cullen is the only one worth signing to a new contract. He is now making £230/week. FA Vase Second Round vs. Guernsey, 15 September 2018  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, Smith, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Day, Nightingale, Jones, Parker, Jefcoate, Thompson, Donaldson, McAdam, Taylor, Rae, Pearson I think one of the cool things about Football Manager is that you can actually see the players’ roles shine through in the match engine. Case in point is our first two goals. Harding as a Mezzala has drifted wide to receive a pass, he spots Macey and gets the assist on the goal. Two minutes later Maguire as a Wingback is about halfway into Guernsey’s territory when he receives a pass from Macey. He dribbles in a bit and spots a charging Kemar. His cross is inch-perfect and Kemar’s right foot rockets the ball home. Did I mention we’re going to get FMed? Smith goes down just before 59’ with a potential foot injury. Naturally, I do Ye Olde Outfield Swap™. That pays off with a Rae goal. Shortly thereafter our opponent’s midfielder gets his second yellow and it’s easy street from there out. POM: Mark Nixon (1 goal, 5 key passes, 1 chance created)  Fuck. Another ankle ligaments incident. Connor Smith will be out 3 to 4 weeks. Another bit of interesting news came in. Everton are sniffing around Robert Carroll. Though Everton are in the Championship, last season they were in the EPL. Methinks Carroll is a Premier League talent? The Days Between We have another draw, this time FA Vase Third Round. We’ll travel to Trafford who are in a league comparable to ours. In other words, should be a cakewalk. There’s a gap in our schedule on 28 September so I offer a friendly at Brockwell Gardens to the Fulham U23s and they accept. We should make some money off the match. Another week, another youngster turning 17. This time it’s our Professional Angolan, Angelino Ferreira. With a Determination of 15 and a Professional personality I thought of maybe keeping him around long-term so he could be the leader of the U23s and be a habitual mentor. I offer him a low-wage contract that could keep him in South London until 2021, at least. Southern First Division West at Bitton, 18 September 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Day, Nightingale, Parker, Harding, McAdam, Pearson, Donaldson, Macey, Taylor Subs: Webb, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Nixon, Cullen, Hodgson, Thompson, Jones, Rae, Kirkpatrick An early goal helps things along but it’s over 30 minutes before we strike second blood. On the kickoff we get complacent and they score immediately. And then they go and commit a penalty on Taylor after the restart! Just like that, Noah Harding gets his first Brixton goal. In the second I bring on some players who are getting low on Match Fitness: Cullen (BBM), Thompson (SS), Hodgson (AML) and Rae (Poacher). It’s only a matter of a few minutes when Hodgson sends a corner kick right to McAdam near the penalty spot, spelling the demise of Bitton. POM: Simon McAdam (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 key pass)  |
The Days Between
Even before winning a POM award, Billericay offered me £1,000 for Simon McAdam. They come asking again and again I say, “No.” FA Cup Second Qualifying Round at Ascot, 22 September 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Harding, McAdam, Pearson, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Legg, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Thompson, Donaldson, Jones, Cullen, Hodgson, Rae, Taylor Another slow start, Pearson scores in the 20th after intercepting a pass from Ascot’s left central defender in the 6-yard box. That opens the floodgates as Macey, Kemar and Kemar quickly strike true. It’s been a while since a DC scored off a corner so it’s nice to see Carroll get one, though it was with his foot, not his head. After Kemar’s hat trick just after 58’ I make major swaps to get the other gents up to scratch. POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (3 goals)  The Week Between More draws! Good bit of luck, we get to host two games! We get to host Gosport in the Southern League Cup, supposing we get past Beaconsfield, and Harrogate in the FA Cup. Harrogate are in the Conference National North so they pose a problem. Hopefully that also means a bigger crowd. Billericay continue their pursuit of McAdam but they have yet to up their offer so I deny them. On 26 September I get an email that the United Kingdom left the European Union and rules changes will be announced in the coming weeks. While setting up the database I ran 3 multi-year simulations to see what effects Brexit would have on this save. The rules shouldn’t change at all. I guess we’ll find out soon. It’s time for that friendly against Fulham’s U23s. I’m hoping to get a lot of people and make some money. It ended in a 2-2 tie but many starters, most notably Maguire, Nixon, and Kemar, performed poorly. We attracted over 6,100 fans and made over £46,000. Hopefully morale doesn’t take a hit. The match was on a Friday so they already have Saturday off but I also give them Sunday as I don’t want any jadedness creeping in. In Summary I tried to institute new formations to make the games more of a challenge but the easy victories still came. That is, until the injuries to three starters changed things. We persevered though there were some close calls. We remain in all the cups. Everything's cool.  |
October 2018
The right stuff Simon, Simon, Simon…I had so much hope for you. Get it together, man!  Financial Matters We made over £23,000 last month, bringing our season total to a smidge over £89,000. Such a relief! I was very worried we’d be in the red all season, again. On the 1st our U23s hosted QPR’s U23s. We lost, big whoop. Over 5,000 fans showed up and we almost made £32,000. That is mindboggling! The large U23 crowds are keeping us afloat. Board Confidence Still “Untouchable” and still at 77%. I wonder what it would be if we hadn’t sold off O’Donnell. Dynamics No changes, which is good. I don’t want Chris Day to move up to Team Leader as he won’t be with us next season. I’m just a little bit worried about the ding to Dynamics that will take. I should really start thinking about his replacement as Vice Captain.  Player Matters One thing I’ve not been good at this year so far is getting the U18s trained up properly in their new positions. I’ve been too focused on making sure everyone is Match Fit. I have too many kids in that squad. Now I’m going to prioritize players who actually have a future in the Seniors squad. New Tactics As part of our switch away from the Spade formation I’ve also added the Diamond. Spade, Club, Diamond. What would a Heart formation look like? Four strikers, one advanced midfielder? Anyhoo…I like the 4-4-2 Diamond because we get to have two strikers, and I have two good ones, pull a DMC as I like to use the Regista role.  |
Now off to the matches!
Southern First Division West vs. Beaconsfield, 3 October 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Harding, McAdam, Pearson, Nixon, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Barlow, Donaldson, Hodgson, Cullen, Jones, Macey, Taylor We jump out early, before 3 minutes, with a Maguire cross to Duckett. And it take less than another 3 minutes for a Harding pass up the middle to Kemar. It takes 7 whole freakin’ minutes for Duckett to cross to Harding’s head for our third. Well, then the goals just kept coming, including a hat trick for Kemar and a hat trick of assists for Duckey. (Is that a thing?) POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (3 goals)  Finally! Pearson is a Natural at AMR now. Take that and add that Barlow is back and Smith will be back by our next match and I’m going to finally abandon the Spade for the most part. Another Championship team, Barnsley, comes sniffing around Carroll now. It’ll be interesting what kind of offer we get and if it comes before the January transfer window. The Days Between WHOA! It looks like Kemar Kirkpatrick is going to declare for England. He’s been called up by the England Under 19s for three matches in mid-October. I was wondering if Jamaica would call him up first. He’s barely 16 and already getting the call-up. Pretty darned cool. I now fear that he’ll become a transfer target in January. Oh, and Simon McAdam has been called up to join the Northern Ireland Under 19s for the same period. Pretty darned cool. The scouting report on Harrogate indicates we should have a problem as they have many highly-rated player. But almost all of them are very tired from a recent match or have match sharpness of 61% or lower. Should I embrace hubris and say we are going to win? Alright, lads! Let’s keep our FA Cup dreams alive! FA Cup Third Qualifying Round vs. Harrogate, 6 October 2018  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Nightingale, Day, Smith, Parker, Jefcoate, Thompson, Cullen, Donaldson, Taylor, Rae, Hodgson One of their midfielders gets two yellows in the first 12 minutes. Despite the advantage it takes us 15 minutes to score; Spearing cleans things up after a corner kick. Or so I thought. He was offsides. I have to chide the crew at half time about their lackadaisical attitude. Despite their getting Fired Up they don’t really shows signs of life but we’re saved by a penalty opportunity after one of their central defenders pulls Macey down from behind. Nixon sends it right to the goalie’s gut and it goes right back to Nixon who doesn’t botch his second chance. Nixon gets a second goal spot on 59’ so I switch us to the Diamond counter-attack and make some swaps. Five players have earned yellows so they come off. We get an insurance goal with 7 minutes left in the match from Rae, via Cullen. And then another insurance goal with a penalty shot, courtesy of an overzealous ref. The offender got a red card for his efforts. POM: Mark Nixon (2 goals, 1 key pass)  |
The Days Between
It’s time to see who we play in the next round of the FA Cup. …rolls the dice… We’ll play either Coggeshall (same level as us) or Lowestoft (a level above us); either way we have to travel to them. Remember how I said I’d be dropping the Spade formation? Well, with two starters out for international matches, I’m going to revert. We’re going up against the absolute worst team in the with zero points after 6 matches. What? Me worry?! Southern League Cup Second Round at Winchester, 9 October 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Nixon, Smith, Pearson, Barlow, Duckett, Macey Subs: Legg, Pilcher, Day, Nightingale, Parker, Thompson, Donaldson, Hodgson, Cullen, Jones, Taylor, Rae In the 6th Duckett almost scores from a free kick but the goalie’s last-second desperation lunge keeps things clean. It takes another 61 minutes for us to get a chance and Taylor sends it right to the keeper’s knees. In the last minute of regulation we get a lucky score when Cullen sends a free kick to Nightingale’s noggin; he did a wonderful job of rising above everyone and nodding it in. POM: Ricky Spearing (1 key pass, 1 chance created)  Whew! What a fucking embarrassing performance. Looks like I jinxed myself. Macey, Duckett, and Barlow were all 6.4 or under. Looks like a fine for Eddie and an official warning for Barlow are due. Luckily both accept their punishments. The Days Between International reports come in. Kemar had a great first match, scoring a goal. Not so hot second match. McAdam had a not so hot first match but had a very good second match, scoring a goal. FA Vase Third Round at Trafford, 13 October 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Nixon, Smith, Pearson, Barlow, Duckett, Taylor Subs: Webb, Parker, Pilcher, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Harding, Thompson, Jones, Cullen, Macey, Rae, Donaldson This match is all about hazards of the command Work Ball Into Box with so many passes in the 18-yard box instead of shooting. Luckily it’s Pearson’s head and feet that make the difference, though he missed two absolute sitters. Many of our “on target” shots were right to the goalie, plus we had several hit the crossbars; 11 out of 29 shots were Clear Cut Chances. POM: Steve Pearson (3 goals)  |
The Days Between
Billericay force my hand on McAdam by offering a contract, straight up. I don’t know how much they are offering him but if he signs they’ll have to pay Brixton £170 for each league appearance he makes for the first 40 matches. I do not like this. I offer him a professional contract. Oh, and yes, another draw for a cup. In the FA Vase Fourth Round we host Droylsden, who are in a league similar to ours. On the international front, McAdam had a less-than-stellar performance against Germany but Kemar had a spectacular performance against the Faroe Islands, an 8.1 with a goal. I can’t believe Al-Ziod is almost in automatic suspension territory for having too many yellow already this season; he gets to ride the bench. I’ve started formally training Jones as AML now so he gets a start there. FA Trophy Third Round vs. Frickley, 16 October 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Parker, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Harding, Smith, Hodgson, Barlow, Jones, Macey Subs: Webb, Pilcher, Day, Nightingale, Al-Ziod, Thompson, Cullen, Pearson, Donaldson, Duckett, Rae, Nixon We have a slow start again and a tremendous Chick reflex save in the 7th keeps us afloat. Our first opportunity comes 15 minutes later but first Macey kicks it right at the goalie then bounces the rebound off the crossbar. After some more sloppy crossing and crossbar action I have to get the team to go Attacking after the break. It takes 60 minutes but finally a fast break allows Hodgson to cross to Macey who finally terminates his rectal-cranial inversion and scores from six yards out. At 65’ I do almost a full swap as I switch to Counterattack in the Diamond formation. It only takes 3 minutes to work. Macey gets a breakaway but his shot was blocked but the rebound went to Pearson who had an open, undefended net in front of him. These late-game heroics are doing wonders for my blood pressure. Pearson gets a brace with 15 minutes to play to seal the victory. Mostly. We give one up late, which kind of proves my point (that I’ve only made to myself) that the Counter is a horrible tactic. And Germans love David Hasselhoff. POM: Noah Harding (1 assist, 5 key passes, 1 chance created)  The Days Between For the next round of the FA Trophy we will host either Matlock (Matlock! /Grampa Simpson) or Harrogate. That’d be crazy if we got Harrogate again. It’d be great for our bottom line methinks. Later that day it’s confirmed, we get Harrogate. Ahahaha David Donaldson is the next item up for bid, for a new contract. He didn’t complain or turn 17, this was because of the weekly (monthly?) transfer and contracts advice summary email. I know what you’re thinking: Don’t we already have enough Strikers? A) You can never have enough strikers because you never know when one of your favs will go into a slump and B) they usually sell well on the secondary marker. I think I’m going to grab this guy. There are many things to like about him: height, quickness, set pieces, and dribbling. By the new year Macey will have finished mentoring Kemar so he can work on Marcus’ Determination and Balanced personality. He’ll also be insurance if Kemar leaves. I don’t believe the scouts’ assessment that he’s only 1.5 stars.  |
FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round
at Lowestoft, 20 October 2018  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Smith, Day, Nightingale, Parker, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Thompson, Taylor, Rae, Jones Another game with a horribly slow start and several woodworks hits and unbelievably acrobatic saves by our opponent’s keeper. But finally after 35’ Kemar finds himself in a one-on-one and cracks the seal on this one. Just before the halftime whistle Carroll gets a rare by-the-foot goal and my idea of chastising the lot during the break changes. The ref left enough time for us to get in a quick counter and Kemar showed he’s not selfish when he and Macey are on a two-on-one. The second half by contrast starts quickly with a Harding free kick to the upper left corner from 30 yards out. Barlow robs a defender in Lowestoft’s box and passes to Macey for his brace. I then do my trademarked swap at 60’ but before the instructions can get processed, Macey gets his hat trick from some great passing after Harding’s corner goes astray. Fifteen minutes later our job becomes easier when a Tofter hacks down Thompson and gets a straight red card. POM: Eddie Macey (3 goals, 2 key passes, 1 chance created)  The Days Between Our prize for beating Lowestoft is a trip up north to Nuneaton who play in the Conference National North. The FA Cup First Round sees the introduction of League One and League Two teams (3rd and 4th rungs of the football ladder in England) so we lucked out, all things considered. Nightingale picked up a knock very late in the last match plus my wingers are losing match fitness so I’m going to have a one-game return to the Spade. Southern First Division West vs. Taunton, 24 October 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Parker, Pilcher, Day, Jefcoate, Donaldson, Smith, Hodgson, Cullen, Jones, Rae Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Thompson, Harding, Pearson, Taylor, Duckett, Macey, Nixon Our scoring starts with a penalty shot after Jones is pushed to the ground trying to get on the end of a Hodgson cross. The push results in a straight red. Hodgson, denied the assist, scores the goal. Later Parker overlaps Hodgson, receives his pass and sends in a cross from way over in right field. A charging Rae introduces his forehead to the ball at the six-yard line and just like that we’re up two. Rae’s noggin makes a second appearance in the second half and shortly afterward his chest gets a goal, but for Taunton. Whomp, whomp. We also allow a legit Taunton goal after 90’ when Spearing sends a sloppy back-pass that Carroll wasn’t expecting and though Webb stonewalls the opposing poacher, the rebound goes right back to the striker who one-shots it in. POM: Alex Rae (2 goals, 3 key passes, 3 chances created)  I notice an interesting situation: Brixton isn’t technically top of the league table. Totton has played two more matches than us and have yet to lose, with 2 draws. Our next match is against the third-place team, Horndean, funny name, who have only one loss and one draw. In theory, we could fall to third place ourselves if we lose that match. Even weirder, St. Ives has somehow managed to only play 6 matches so far (they’re in 5th) and two teams further down have played 11 matches already. The problem with all the lower-level cups, I suppose. |
The Week Between
Another Brexit email comes in on the 26th. No changes are expected but the formal details have yet to be confirmed. We aren’t the only ones interested in Thirlwell. Goole, in the Northern Premier League, one level above us, have made him an offer. I don’t know the details so I’m not sure what we’re up against. I’m banking that the full time contract plus full time coaches and outstanding facilities will give us the edge. Southern First Division West vs. Horndean, 27 October 2018  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Nightingale, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Pilcher, Smith, Day, Parker, Jefcoate, Thompson, Cullen, Donaldson, Taylor, Rae, Jones Oh my. 1:26 in and Harding sends in a screamer of a free kick from 30 yards out. Things are clicking just fine with Macey goals in the 14th, 20th and 32nd minutes. The middle one was assisted by Harding with a tremendous no-look back-heel pass. Wondeful stuff! Best signing, ever! We continue to pile things on and all my pseudo-fretting about not being top of the table are washed away. (Totton finally lost.) POM: Eddie Macey (3 goals)  Frohawk?! What kind of name is Frohawk?! A funny one, thats what kind of name it is. The Days Between Marcus Thirlwell signs with us on the morning of 28 October. Good thing we have a U23 match the following day as his Match Sharpness is all the way down to 47%. In Dynamics news, James Jefcoate is now an Influential Player, which further cements my thoughts about off-loading The Jordanian Prince. Now let’s see how the new kid on the block handles being a sub for the seniors. His debut with the U23s was a 6.5 in 71 minutes of action. Southern First Division West vs. Norwich United, 31 October 2018  Formation: Club Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Nightingale, Day, Jefcoate, Smith, Jones, Duckett, Taylor, Thirlwell, Rae, Jones I’ve been on a streak of unmotivating speeches of late but I nail this one and it pays off just at 9’ when Harding gets another long-range goal but this time from open play. Second goal comes 90 seconds later when Pilcher gathers a rebound off the goalie, then the post, during the melee post-corner, courtesy of Harding. We march into the locker room after a Macey tight-angled header and the only thing bugging me is Kemar being complacent. I give him a pep-talk and he gets motivated. In the second half nothing happens in the first 20 minutes so I swap out the lads and move to the Diamond. Thirlwell misses an opportunity but Duckey doesn’t. Marcus manages only a 6.5. I can’t expect him to be jelling already, right? POM: Noah Harding (1 goal, 1 key pass)  Just before the end of the month Nixon comes to me asking for a new contract. I promise I’ll offer him one “soon” meaning after the first of the month. In Summary Holy smokes! Nine matches in 31 days! That’s a lot of football, my friends. Luckily we won them all but there were some close calls. We definitely got a lot of help from the referees too. We added a potential steal in Marcus “Thriller” Thirlwell who has yet to show I made the right choice but, much like that ant, I’ve got high hopes.  |
November 2018
‘Cause this is thriller It’s never a good sign when your Captain and Vice Captain both have bad training reports in the same month.  Financial Matters Oh praise Cthulhu! We made almost £71,000 last month, bringing our season total to £156k. I can work with this! Board Confidence Well isn’t that something… Still untouchable but now only 76% rating. I wonder what caused the drop? The “Matches” sub-section is only at 98%. I doubt I’m being judge on our U18s, who are not the greatest in their group. Dynamics As I mentioned in the last update, James Jefcoate is now an influential player.  The Days Between I offer Nixon that new contract he wanted. He’s gonna be costly but if he gets that Stamina up to a respectful level then he’s going to be well worth it. He’s gonna make £1,300 a week! That’s about $89k a year for us ‘Mericans. The next victim is Gosport, who are bottom of the league. However, the last time we took on the worst team in the league we won on a last second header by Florence Nightingale so maybe I shouldn’t be all hubris-y. Southern League Cup Third Round vs. Gosport, 3 November 2018  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Thompson, McAdam, Pearson, Taylor, Duckett, Thirlwell, Smith When a match starts and you get to continue watching the pitch instead of the in-between-action info you know you’re in for something. I get to watch the entirety of the 46 seconds it takes for us to score. Macey caps off the action with a short, sharp strike from 8 yards out. The restart action continues and aside from about 30 seconds between the first goal and restart I’ve seen all the action. Yes, first goal. Because on the restart we quickly earn back the ball and Macey gets his brace at 1:43. So the day goes. His hat trick comes at 3:53. SMDH. To get us into double-digits, Marcus “Thriller” Thirlwell gets his first club goal on a penalty shot. Let’s talk ratings real quick. Macey got a 10.0, which I think is the highest we’ve had in a competitive match. Gosports right back got a 3.7 and that has to be the lowest I’ve ever seen EVER. POM: Eddie Macey (5 goals, 1 assist, 3 key passes, 2 chances created)  |
The Week Between
For the fourth round of the Southern League Cup we get to host Fleet Town, same level as us and in a league we should be in had I set up the database right. D’oh! One of those things that I’ve always wondered about Football Manager, and really football in general, is when do players get paid. I’ve said to myself, “I’ll look into that sometime” but I’ve never looked into it. But then I found the answer by accident: Around noon on Sunday. I was looking at the Finance screen the day after the Gosport match and hit Continue and the game stayed on the screen when it returned from processing and I saw a large drop. We pay just over £12k in player wages and just under £10k in staff wages per week. Nixon signs his new contract on Monday, 6 November. I have some trepidation about it as that’s a lot of money. He’s eventually gonna be worthy but for now I’m worried about our bottom line. It’s the 10% yearly raise and 25% raise for winning the league clauses. More international call-ups for Kemar and McAdam with the former in two matches and the latter in one. Somehow we are being treated as the favored ones for this FA Cup match, with 4-6 odds. FA Cup First Round at Nuneaton, 10 November 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Harding, Pearson, Nixon, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Smith, Hodgson, Jones, Thompson, Thirlwell, Rae, Macey Nuneaton gets the first action that leads to their right midfielder collapsing in on our box but a brilliant slide tackle by Carroll ends that notion. A minute later Kemar’s sloppy cross leads to a lot more sloppy crosses but when the goalie punches the ball away it lands right in front of Harding 25 yards out and he sends in a rocket. Brixton up 1-0. Aside from a botched Kemar attempt, that was all the action in the first half. During the intermission I give the most stirring speech ever given. Histories will recall and analyze for generations. “We have nothing to fear but complacency itself.” Everyone gains focus or gets motivated. Except Kemar, who’s not having the best of games. I give him a personal word on the way out, “You weren’t that bad but I believe you can still improve. I have faith in you.” He looked happy. But it’s the old Duckett to Pearson connection that gives us the comfort zone at 60’. At 68’ I go to the Diamond and swap out some tired lads. At 75’ the rest of the walking dead come off. My tactical genius pays off within two minutes when Jefcoate launches a cross from way out yonder in the minor key and it finds Thriller’s head and victory is ours. POM: Noah Harding (1 goal, 1 key pass)  Kevin Parker was injured in the 84th minute with a gashed head, which will keep him out for 8 to 14 days. That’s one hell of a gash! The Days Between Sunday, 11 November, Veteran’s Day, marks the end of Macey mentoring Kirkpatrick. The email said Kemar was a little disappointed, which makes absolutely no sense to me as his Determination climbed all the way up to 19 and his Personality is now Driven, just like Eddie. FM18 is drunk again! Immediately after that was the draw for the FA Cup, we get to host either Doncaster (League 1) or Yeovil (League 2). Just before the Harrogate match I get notice that Al-Ziod has been called up for international duty for a match on 20 November. Look at little Brixton with the worldly squad! Can we keep ourselves alive for all the cups? Based on how we pasted them previously I’m confident we can. And I believe we can do this with Kemar on the bench. He at 92% Conditioning and has an international match in two day and I want him wowing the crowds so the name of Brixton rings in everyone’s ears for two countries. (Bugger! Not even 900 tickets sold.) FA Trophy Fourth Round vs. Harrogate, 13 November 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, McAdam, Smith, Pearson, Taylor, Duckett, Macey Subs: Webb, Maguire, Day, Nightingale, Al-Ziod, Thompson, Harding, Hodgson, Cullen, Jones, Thirlwell, Kirkpatrick It takes 16 minutes for the first action shot and it ends in a familiar way: Duckett to Pearson to goal. Our second goal comes from an odd combo: Pilcher to Duckett. He was way over on the touchline half-way into Harrogate territory and crossed it all the way to the far post. This from a guy with a 3 Crossing! Duckett is possessed today! Goal three comes from another Duckett/Pearson combo. Pilcher gets a second assist in the second. Duckett, Macey…I’m sensing a theme here. Pilcher does screw up though and his poor first touch leads to a Harrogate goal. There is no excuse for the second goal. All of a sudden we can’t win headers. But newly-arrived, newly-subbed Thirlwell restores balance to the Force and gives us a four-goal lead again. (NB: After the match I noticed that the first goal was credited as an own goal. I don’t believe it. Looked like a rocket by Pearson. FM18 is drunk again!) POM: Paul Taylor (1 goal, 1 assist, 4 key passes, 2 chances created)  Yep, those two goals were evidently Chick’s fault; he rocked a 6.3 rating. We won so I don’t think an official warning is in order, that and I chastised him in the locker room and he responded appropriately. We made £5,300 from the match. |
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Contract and cup draw time! We get to travel to some weird placed called Ossett Albion in the FA Trophy Fifth Round. This causes a match versus Totton to get pushed back to Boxing Day. Now we’re growing up just like we’re a real English football club. On the same day Paul Taylor turns 17 I offer him a contract. He has League One potential so this is a no-brainer. He only asks for £325 per week but he really deserves more. I offer £500 until 2020 plus a 1-year club option. He immediately accepts and I tie a bow on the matter. The next day is Terry Barlow’s 17th birthday. He too is League One potential talent so he’s getting a contract too. I offer him the same contract as Taylor but he doesn’t accept it immediately. Kirkpatrick did not score a goal in his international appearance but he did rate a 7.7. Let’s keep with the cup momentum and send Droylsden home with a more open fixture list. If things go right, one of our youth candidates may get his Senior debut at DL. If I’m being honest, I’m a little worried I made too many changes to the starting lineup. FA Vase Fourth Round vs. Droylsden, 17 November 2018  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Webb, Nightingale, Day, Smith, Maguire, Jefcoate, Donaldson, Cullen, Thompson, Thirlwell, Rae Subs: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Rice, Barlow, Harding, Hodgson, Taylor, Jones, Macey, Nixon With a Rae header off a Thompson corner at 2:46 my worries fade away. Fully confirmed 35 minutes later with Rae getting his brace. I bring on Rice at 55’ as Jefcoate’s a little tired and Rice needs some WBL time. No hat trick for Rae but he did get POM. POM: Alex Rae (2 goals, 1 assist, 5 key passes, 2 chances created)  The Days Between Another day, another draw. This time the FA Vase Fifth Round, which sees us traveling to Darlington in the Conference National North, 15 spots below Harrogate on that table. McAdam and Kirkpatrick were merely okay in their matches on 19 November, each getting a 6.5. Kemar is Jaded after the match and he’ll probably return to us and get some time off. The next day sees the mentoring of Thirlwell by Macey commence. I’ll be floored if Thriller’s Determination goes all the way up to 19 (from 4) and his personality makes it to Driven. That would be epic. And then Pearson comes into my office, hat in hand, asking for a new contract. He’s under contract until 2020 so I kindly tell him no and he admits he’ll have to wait. He’s already League One quality and I’m afraid of how much he will ask. This match is against Pilcher’s old team, Bristol Mother Fucker. What? Oh… Bristol Manor Farm. Of course he gets a start to show them what they missed. Southern First Division West at Bristol Manor Farm, 20 November 2018  Formation: Club Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Jefcoate, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Taylor, Macey Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Rice, Smith, Pearson, Jones, Thompson, Thirlwell, Rae, Donaldson Because my tall strikers are tired or unavailable I immediately switch Macey from Target Man to Defensive Forward as that is his best role. Luckily he scores before 10 minutes is up with the assist coming from Paul Taylor. The MFers are pretty good at dispossessing our troops but we generally recover them quickly. Courtesy of a GK with small hands Taylor scores at 23’ with a close-in shot. (I check, his handling is 9. Hahaha his name is Scott Lamb, the best DM ever who ran a campaign I played in.) Nixon was getting jealous so he decided to get his shots on target and takes us up three. We get a scare in the 51st when an MF free kick ping-pongs around the big box before dinging off the crossbar. Macey picks up a knock 5 minutes later so off he comes for Thriller. They continue to be a threat until in the 70th when one of their midfielders does the lunging, two-footed slide on Donaldson from behind and gets a red. POM: Noah Harding (1 assist, 5 key passes, 3 chances created)  That is Noah’s fourth POM. Wasn’t I saying something about how he was the best signing ever? |
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Not to be out done by his teammates, The Jordanian Prince also rocks a 6.5 rating in 76 minutes of field time. :-\ Barlow signs his contract ensuring he’ll be with us until 2021, if I activate the option year. This should be an interesting game with gale-force winds and a downpour. Maybe I’ll have to switch things up and just go Route One. We’re going with a lot of rotation today as there are many tired bodies. Southern First Division West vs. Bideford, 24 November 2018  Formation: Club Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Parker, Jefcoate, Thompson, Cullen, Donaldson, Thirlwell, Rae Subs: Webb, Smith, Day, Nightingale, Maguire, Rice, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Taylor, Macey, Jones Luster isn’t the only thing the first half was lacking, it was devoid of action and on-target shots. Until just after 45’ when Rae scores off a Parker cross. But there was still enough time left for a Cullen corner that Spearing connected with perfectly and I have to ditch my plans for a brutal chastising. After the restart we do get another goal when Thriller sinks a penalty shot following a foul against Thompson during a free kick. POM: Teddy Cullen (1 assist, 3 key passes, 1 chance created)  The Days Between Huzzah! The Brexit final-say is in and nothing in the football world will be affected.  Cirencester is fourth in the league so they should present-hahahaha I can’t even finish that lie. Southern First Division West at Cirencester, 27 November 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Al-Ziod, Barlow, Harding, Pearson, Nixon, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Smith, Hodgson, Jones, Cullen, Taylor, Macey, McAdam It takes 14 minutes but we finally get a chance because Nixon was fouled in the box chasing a Duckett cross; Nixon does not miss. I can’t believe the number of penalty shots we’ve been given this year. We win but the performance was a big lump of meh, especially Kirkpatrick who manager a paltry 6.4. Many of the subs were garbage too. POM: Mark Nixon (1 goal, 1 assist, 5 key passes, 3 chances created)  I give Kemar a talking to and he admitted he sucked. Hopefully he improves next match. I kept him in the whole match so I might not actually play him in the next one if he is too tired. In Summary Well our run continues and things haven’t really been that close. We signed what appears to be a steal in Marcus "Thriller" Thirlwell. If his mentoring goes as planned I’ll be much pleased. A couple players got better contracts, which they fully deserved. Three of the lads got some more international time but none of them shined. My only concern is Kemar Kirkpatrick has seemingly lost the plot. I sure hope he turns that around.  |
Still following and enjoying! :)
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December 2018
No new tales to tell Well, to be fair, Mr. Donaldson isn’t getting a lot of playing time so his poor training performance is not too surprising. On the positive side, Nixon’s Stamina is improving.  Financial Matters We lost £14,000 last month but are sitting pretty at positive £145k for the season. Those new contracts, plus not having an FA Cup match at home, played a big role in the negative cash flow. Board Confidence Oh sweet Baby Jesus! My Untouchable-ness is now up to 80%. Hot damn! Dynamics Nothing new here, which can be good news or it can be bad news.  New let’s see what some of the second-teamers can do. A lot of players are getting low in match fitness so that’s what prompts the rotation. Southern First Division West at St. Ives, 1 December 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Parker, Day, Pilcher, Al-Ziod, Thompson, McAdam, Hodgson, Cullen, Jones, Rae Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Donaldson, Harding, Pearson, Taylor, Duckett, Thirlwell, Macey The first half is absolutely devoid of any action sequences and I fear this does not bode well for us. By 67’ there still hasn’t be a single action sequence so I switch to the Club and swap everyone out except Pilcher because I don’t have enough defenders for the formation. It takes until 70:28 for the first action and some fancy passing sees Thriller one-on-one but his shot is weak. Five minutes later he redeems himself but again shows me he’s not to so Thrilling. Holy fucking shit! Three minutes and forty-five seconds into six minutes of injury time St. Ives gets a free kick deep in our end. The shot is errant, intercepted by Jefcoate who sends a long boot forward to Macey. He chests it down and has an inch-perfect pass to Thriller who jukes the GK, rounds him, and sends the winning score in. POM: St. Ives DR Steve Thompson (4 key tackles)  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a match take so long to show actual game play. I have the Highlight settings set to Key but that is just ridiculous. In their previous two matches St. Ives was outscored 11-0, including an 8-0 drubbing by the 11th place team. Sigh. The boss of Blackpool was present at the match to watch Shadi Al-Ziod. Luke Green, give me a call! He’s available! |
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The crazy crowd biz continues. Our U23s played the U23s of a County Leagues level club. Got that? The backups of a team from below us. The NINTH level of the English football pyramid. Over 1,800 fans. On a Monday night. In a drizzle at 13°C (55° F). Unreal. Thankfully. Made us £14,000. Southern First Division West at Fairford, 4 December 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, Nixon, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Al-Ziod, Thompson, McAdam, Hodgson, Donaldson, Jones, Macey, Taylor Well here’s a surprise, it only took 1:46 to get our first highlight. Hahahah But after 41 seconds of some great passing and ball control, Kemar gathers his own rebound and gets a goal from a tight angle. Good to see him get off the snide. He gets his brace spot-on 12’ after a sweet pass from Nixon. This Shadow Striker and Poacher combo has worked charms, twice today and dozens of times since I first instituted the Spade formation. And so it goes with his hat trick, this time with Nixon getting all Tricky Dick with a fancy back-heel pass while staring toward our goal. Fairford do get one late when their beautiful cross from the left gets cleared by a diving Jefcoate header that unfortunately goes to their striker, catching Chicken Legg by surprise. The other bad news is that in the 76th Hodgson has to come off for a foot injury. And then Fairford gets a second by going Route One. But Taylor gets his revenge. And then they get third blood. What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on out there?! POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (3 goals)  This is the first time we’ve allowed 3 goals in one match. I’ll chalk this up to my refusal to change to Defensive mentality when we are up safely. On the Hodgson front, once again we get hit by sprained ankle ligaments. Out 4 to 5 weeks. Poor guy. I was hoping to ship him off in January for a loan spell. Right after the game I get another email saying we’ll face Yeovil in the FA Cup as they got past Doncaster. This is good news for us. The Days Between My enthusiasm about Yeovil is short-lived. The next night their scouting report comes in and they are quite well stacked. Especially their strikers, who are loanees from Swansea and Birmingham. Also comes news of a rumor that Al-Ziod may make a move to Accrington Stanley (weird name) in League Two. Throw an offer my way, chaps. A journalist comes asking about the rumor and I reply, “I’d be willing to let him go, for the right price.” The next day Maguire felt the need to opine to the press, saying he’s not surprised and he hopes Shadi doesn’t let his performance drop. I’ve never seen such an email so I have no idea what this might portend. During Wednesday’s Backroom Staff Meeting I get the advice I always get, recommended staff to fill open staff positions. I generally ignore them because we don’t need them and they usually suck. Sometimes I’ll take a look to see if there is a quality person to sign. I found one this time! He’s a Physio with 20 in Physiotherapy and double-digits in Determination, Level of Discipline, and Motivation. I make an offer. The day before the Yeovil match we get all the press business. First, notice that we’re 5-4 odds to win. That’s just crazy! Second, the hated press conferences but I feel it’s “wrong” to send my AssMan. I try to be as Calm and bland as possible knowing that my words will be twisted somehow. FA Cup Second Round vs. Yeovil, 8 December 2018  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Al-Ziod, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Smith, Pearson, Duckett, Cullen, Taylor, Thirlwell, McAdam It only takes two minutes for us to strike first when Harding sends a corner straight to Spearing’s head. Yeovil prove to be no slouches though when they get a header from open play not 5 minutes later. This is an uncomfortable state. We get two good chances over the next 20 minutes but Macey and Kirkpatrick are not dialed in yet. But Nixon is! He receives a pass after a throw-in, does his best thing, Dribbling, and sends one in down Yeovil’s throat. I highly recommend to the lads to not get complacent. Will they listen? After 68’ I have to remove Macey and Kirkpatrick as they are rocking 6.4s. At 80’ I bring in the rest of the subs and switch to the Diamond in the hopes that fresher legs will win the day along with the counter. Just before full time we get that counter-attack with Taylor on the right side of the box looking to cross to Thirlwell in the middle but he gets pushed down so we get that crucial penalty shot. Thirlwell is now a perfect 3 for 3 on penalty shots and we’re onto the Third Round! POM: Noah Harding (2 assists, 6 key passes, 4 chances created)  We brought in 3,000 spectators so we made around £30k from them plus another £51k in prize money. |
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That really good physio, Dan Hudson, signs with us the evening after the Yeovil win. I now know where our FA Cup run ends: Millwall. They are a Championship team and we are well and truly fucked. It was fun while it lasted! It will also be good for our pocketbooks: Brixton will receive £64,800 just for appearing. FA Vase Fifth Round at Darlington, 12 December 2018  Formation: Club Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Jefcoate, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Al-Ziod, McAdam, Jones, Duckett, Cullen, Taylor, Thirlwell, Smith Okay, so this is going to be a good Kemar game. We get a counter-attack with Nixon fulfilling the Mezzala role perfectly; he drifts out wide, takes the ball almost to the end line and sends in a low cross to Kemar whose first attempt hits the goalie’s ham-hands but he gets his own rebound. His second goal is also from a cross, courtesy of Maguire, but he uses his head near the penalty spot this time. Macey gets in on things too, getting the ball from Jefcoate but I’m not sure if it was a lob-pass or a cross. It came from deep and crossed roughly a third of the field, left-to-right. At 58’ I do Ye Olde Outfield Swap and move to the Diamond. I only get about 90 seconds of that before Paul Taylor gets injured bad enough that the game auto-stops for a substitution. I bring on Smith and move to the Spade. A Darling gets a break-away but he’s minorly injured so can’t sprint all-out so he’s caught by Day who makes a great sliding tackle to clear it out to the left flank. On the ensuing counter Parker sends in a cross but before anyone can get to it Duckett gets pulled down. Yet another penalty shot for Brixton! Two minutes later Jones puts an exclamation point on things and we see out the game comfortably. POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (2 goals)  Now let’s go look at Paul Taylor’s “lower leg injury.” No Whamies, no Whamies, no Whamies! Shin splints?!?!?!? Out 2 to 3 months?!?!?! Oh fiddlesticks! I send him to a specialist, which I’ve been assured means he’ll only be out 2 months. Immediately after the match Kevin Parker’s agent comes in with a demand for an improved contract. He’s making £170/week and is asking only for £375. I drop it to £350 cuz I need that kind of symmetry. What can I say? I’m a Libra. The Days Between We are getting close to the Transfer Window opening. So it’s time to see what interest my players are drawing:
Southern League Cup Fourth Round vs. Fleet Town, 15 December 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Al-Ziod, Thompson, Smith, Pearson, Cullen, Duckett, Rae Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Macey, Harding, Jones, Thirlwell, Kirkpatrick I was worried we’d have a no-highlight game again, what, with all the swapping. But Rae settles my nerves, scoring from a Duckett cross before 5’. Sadly that’s all Rae does in the first half; he must have already spent his luck points. Just before the half whistle Duckett gets his second assist from a Cullen goal that wasn’t so much of a shot as it was a redirection. Rae must have renewed his luck at half as he scores 3 minutes into the second half. Things are made easier for us 10 minutes later when a Fleet midfielder picks up his second yellow murdering Cullen. Then 5 more minutes pass when another Fleet midfielder picks up his second yellow. Such a permissive environment allows Rae to get his hat trick. With 20 minutes left the slaughter is complete when Duckett gets his FOURTH assist from a Day header for goal. The sole Fleet goal is fully on Webb. Parker sent a pass back with little velocity but Webb’s First Touch roll failed him and then he just stared at the ball. Imagine my anger that we give up a goal while two men up! Rae isn’t finished yet and gets his fourth. Incredible! POM: Alex Rae (4 goals, 4 key passes)  Yep, you read that right, I made no substitutions. Imagine that! Also, I’d like to point out that Duckett had a spectacular match too with his 4 assists, 6 key passes, and 5 chances created. |
The Days Between
We have two more draws to watch. The first is for the Southern League Cup Fifth Round, which only has 16 teams left. One of the best-named teams is still in it and I wouldn’t mind going down to South Park. Nope, we’re going to host the Hunger Games. That should bring in some dosh as they are in the Conference National South. Oh. My advisors have advised me the team is called Hungerford. What a silly name! The second draw is for the FA Vase Sixth Round. Fleet are still in it and I wouldn’t mind a repeat against them. Nope, we travel to Chester who are in the Conference National North, not the best draw for us. Parker signs his new deal, which in theory could keep him with us until 2022. FA Trophy Fifth Round at Ossett Albion, 18 December 2018  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Parker, Harding, Barlow, Pearson, Nixon, Jones, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Smith, Day, Nightingale, Maguire, Jefcoate, McAdam, Cullen, Donaldson, Macey, Thirlwell, Duckett Just before the 12th Kirkpatrick gets dispossessed in the box after some nice dribbling but the stray ball makes it to Pearson’s right foot and there is nobody in the way to even have a chance to block the shot. Not two minutes later Pearson chases a long ball that Barlow cleared from a corner in our end. His unselfishness shines through when he spies a lonely Kemar and just like that we are in a command position. For fucks sake! We are very vulnerable to Route One attacks and that’s how Albion draw one back. Our two-goal lead is restored when about half the team plays keep-away around Albion’s box until Kemar sees an unmarked Nixon; he sends a rocket in from 8 yards out. If it weren’t for the amazing play of their goalie we’d be up probably 7-1 at the half. The second started with not much action and I figured it’d be a dull close out but instead I got to witness the shortest cross I’ve ever seen. The ball was above the ground so it counts as a cross, right?  Not even the full width of the 6-yard box. Why he didn’t go for goal? I don’t know. POM: Steve Pearson (1 goal, 1 assist, 4 key passes, 3 chances created)  There is a small butcher’s bill to pay. Jefcoate picked up a twisted knee in the 90th minute and will be out 3 to 4 days. In the stands today we had the bosses of Barnsley and Brentford, both in the Championship, watching Carroll and Pearson. Steve’s performance is certainly going to amp up interest now. Hopefully it starts a bidding war. The Days Between Now that we're on to the next round of the FA Trophy, it’s time to find out who we next play. We get to travel to Weston-super-Mare to challenge that Conference National South team. In contract news, Tom Johnstone, in the U18s these days, gets a new contract offer. The kid has League One potential so it’s the wise thing to do. Shadi Al-Ziod gets another international call-up. This time for the Asians Nations Cup on 10 January 2019. Go Slim Shadi! I do not know what Swindon Supermarine is all about. Swindon is nowhere near the ocean. Is it another company team like Cray Valley Paper Mill? Wikipedia says it has to do with the merging of clubs, one of which started as a social club associated with the Supermarine aircraft company. They made the Spitfire fighter planes of WWII. C’mon lads! Let send the fans home with an early Xmas gift! Southern First Division West vs. Swindon Supermarine, 22 December 2018  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Magurie, Al-Ziod, Donaldson, Barlow, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Rice, Harding, Pearson, Duckett, Cullen, Rae, Thirlwell, Smith On the first day of Christmas, my players gave to me, a goal at 8 by Macey. On the second day of Christmas, my players gave to me, a fine Kemar header, and a fine two point lead. On the third day of Christmas, my players gave to me, an injured Barlow, just before that Nixon, gives us a solid three point lead. On the fourth day of Christmas, my players gave to me, switch to Dia-mond, in Dean Rice, no further action, and we left with a solid victory. POM: Mark Nixon (1 goal, 2 key passes, 1 chance created)  I tried to do the full 12 days of Christmas but there just wasn’t a lot going on. :-D Terry Barlow’s injury is enough to keep him out for a week with a twisted knee. What’s with all the lower body injuries?! Aside from Parker’s cracked skull late last year I’m pretty sure they’ve all been knees, shins, or ankles. Oh right, Parker also had a gashed head and Barlow had some cracked ribs. That Injury History tab of the Medical section sure is handy. Pearson’s agent came in again demanding a new contract. This time Pearson was rocking a 6.7 as a sub. Go away, Dan Haworth! It’s almost certain I’m selling Pearson in a few week because he’s going to become a grump soon. |
The Days Between
Johnstone signs his contract, keeping him with us until 2022 in theory. Also, on the Dynamics front, Spearing and Smith move up to the Influential rung. Too bad Spearing will probably be gone in a month. But if Smith could move up some more, maybe he can replace Day as the Vice Captain. Nope, just checked, his Leadership is only 7. Next up is our first match against Totton, who are third on the table. In theory this should present a challenge? Al-Ziod is busy being an internationaler for this match so Rice gets on the bench again. Southern First Division West vs. Totton, 26 December 2018  Formation: Club Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Magurie, Jefcoate, Harding, Smith, Nixon, Macey, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Rice, McAdam, Jones, Duckett, Thompson, Rae, Thirlwell, Donaldson It takes more than a third of the match for us to get some action. From a free kick Harding doesn’t go for the killer shot but sends a pass to Nixon whose shot somehow makes it through the masses, bouncing to Macey’s foot and we’re up. Smith, filling in for Barlow, later tries some of the long shot magic but it hits the corner of the post and crossbar right to Kemar and easy-peasy, we’re up two. It doesn’t take long after the restart for another Brixton opponent to pick up a second yellow giving us an advantage for like the tenth time this season. I don’t wait too long before the switch to the Diamond as several players are below 90% for Match Fitness so they need the minutes. Before the changes can take effect though Maguire hoofs a long cross in to Kemar but the ball drifts way to the side where Totton’s right back tries to head it back to the goalie only for it to be intercepted by Macey. That leaves plenty of time for Rae, Thirlwell, and Day to add to Totton’s misery. POM: Eddie Macey (2 goals, 1 key pass, 1 chance created)  It wouldn’t be a Brixton post-match without some kind of situation going on. This time it’s not an agent wanting a new contract but Spearing wanting to move on to Carlisle, who are currently 21st in League Two. Buddy, you can do better than that. Hopefully he’ll see that better teams want him and he’ll go to League One. Or better. The Days Between It’s Jefcoate’s turn for a new contract. He’ll be important if and when I can sell Al-Ziod. I offer him £450/week so I can keep him until 2021, 2022 with a club option. This will be my 100th game in charge of Brixton. It’s been a phenomenal start and I hope to continue winning despite what I predict will be a January Sell-Off Bonanza. Rice impressed me the last match with an assist and a 7.1 rating so he’s going to get his first start. Part of that is I didn’t realize how long Shadi is going to be out. I thought it was just one match. He comes back on 12 February. I sure hope I can sell him while he’s away! Southern First Division West vs. Bishop’s Cleeve, 29 December 2018  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Webb, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Rice, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, Nixon, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Legg, Maguire, Day, Nightingale, Parker, Donaldson, Harding, Macey, Cullen, Jones, Thirlwell, Rae It’s been a while (I think?) since we had the Duckett-Pearson connection but it happened in the sixth minute so I heap some praise on the kids. A minute later a Bishop gets a red card from tackling Kemar as he tried to receive a pass. Kemar sinks the free kick from about 20 yards out and I’m not sure anybody moved in reaction before it was in the back of the net. As per usual, Pearson returns the favor to Duckett, this time waiting until the thirty-ninth minute. Two minutes later we get a Kemar goal that is reminiscent of his early months with us: A slow-speed, placed shot into the upper left corner from 16 yards out. His hat trick is fulfilled a few moments later and I’m thinking of a full swap at half. It was a header set up by a Pearson cross after he skipped over a sliding tackle. He does that with shocking frequency. I do the full swap but you can’t color me impressed as there isn’t a single highlight sequence and I constantly have to berate The Replacements. POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (3 goals, 2 key passes, 1 chance created)  |
The Days Between
The morning of 29 December sees the arrival of an email with all the expiring contacts, players and staff. Most of the players won’t get new contacts as they are mostly in the U18s and not that good. If my youth intake isn’t good I’ll maybe extend some of the ones who haven’t already signed pre-contracts. I’m pretty sure all the staff will return except that stop-gap scout I picked up last year. I offer Macey a new contract. My AssMan isn’t impressed with his skills but he is my captain and scores a lot. In Summary Kind of a month reminiscent of the previous month. Not much variance except some lackadaisical performances. But hopefully next month will be different with me unloading some players. It’s a good feeling still being in all competitions as we enter the new year but I sure would like to get a chance to type “The Week Between” in earnest.  |
January 2019
Breaking up is hard to do Excellent! Kemar and Nixon have stepped things up and newly, quasi-elevated Dean Rice is impressing. McAdam and Harding are dead to me.  Financial Matters More good news. We made almost £20k in December bringing our season total to £165k. Board Confidence Whoaaaa. Still Untouchable but now up to 87%. Let’s see how that drops when the transfer window closes. Dynamics As mentioned in December, Spearing and Smith are now Influential. At least Smith’s chances of leaving are pretty low.  Player Development Oh snap! Those shin splints had a tremendous effect on Paul Taylor. His Bravery dropped 3 points (from 10.8 to 8.2 to be exact)! I’ve never seen that before. Holy cow. Two of our Irish players are being sniffed about by some Irish teams now that their window is open. Val Waters got an offer from Sligo Rovers and Declan McNulty from St. Patrick’s Athletic. I want Val Waters to go and I am on the fence about McNulty; Declan’s desirability will be affected by our Youth Intake Day. Scotland gets in on things too. Ross County want Derek McLeish and offer him a pre-contract. More offers come in from English teams. Barnsley want Steve Pearson and we negotiate £16k, 25% of sell-on fee, and a £2.5 million buy-back clause. Accrington make an offer of £1,600 for Al-Ziod but my minimum is £5k plus other clauses and they back out. Nothing like a New Year’s Day match! It’s breezy, 5° C, and there’s a drizzle. How…English. Southern First Division West at Wimborne, 1 January 2019  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Jefcoate, Cullen, Smith, Nixon, Rae, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Rice, Harding, Hodgson, Jones, Barlow, Macey, Thirlwell, Thompson Luckily our opposing goalkeeper has frozen hands as he can’t handle shots allowing us to retain possession on a poor cross that leads to Rae getting two shots in rapid succession with the second one going in. Ten minutes later Kemar’s off-target shot ricochets off a central defender and into goal, but just barely; he doesn’t get credit for the goal. Kemar has been looking like he’s ready for a slump with his Complacent attitude. Cullen continues with the fine Brixton tradition of long shots by central midfielders and we’re up three. I forgot to drop our line back after establishing the cushion and they beat us with some give-and-go. The cushion is restored shortly thereafter with a close Spearing shot after some crazy pinballing in the box. Then Carroll commits an unnecessary foul in our box, tripping an opponent who had no hope of catching up to a ball headed out. The exclamation on the half is Kemar missing an easy header. Oy vey. And of course another Rae goal. After the first 45 minutes are up I express my dismay to the squad. The Defense (Legg 6.3, Carroll 6.2) get a scolding and Kemar gets a pep-talk though he deserves a scolding too. Too many players are complacent. We do get a late goal courtesy of Macey but generally the subs didn’t do much. POM: Alex Rae (2 goals, 1 key pass, 1 chance created)  I fine Legg a week for his 6.3 and Kemar would have received an Official Warning for his 6.4 if the game gave me an option to do so. Instead I had a one-on-one. My Kemar consternation wasn’t just for the 6.4 but for the complete Jekyll and Hyde routine he’s taken to of late. He was non-plussed and wanted to talk about it and I told him to shut up and get on with his job. He seems to have stepped back. |
The Days Between
Cardiff and Brentford also come in with offers for Pearson, the same as Barnsley's, and I accept after I jacked up the price to £20k. Waters shoots down Sligo Rover though so he might not actually go anywhere. The same goes for McLeish and Ross County. Notts County, League Two, make an offer for Connor Smith but I shoot them down as he’s in my future plans and not that hot of a commodity that it wouldn’t be unnatural for him to stay. Portsmouth, League One, want Carroll but offer only £1,500 so I say no. Blackburn also want to play the “can we” game but they want Pilcher, someone I consider quite the find and our best central defender when Spearing and Carroll leave. It doesn’t help that they low ball us with a miserly offer of £500. For our next match we get to play a club from one of those super English-sounding places: Mangotsfield. I’m pretty sure his is one of those matches that kept getting moved back due to cup fixtures getting in the way. For the final match of the year we get to host them and I’d like them to get used to losing to us so we close out the season on a high note. Southern First Division West at Mangotsfield, 5 January 2019  Formation: Club Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Parker, Rice, Harding, Barlow, Thompson, Macey, Thirlwell Subs: Webb, Maguire, Day, Nightingale, Jefcoate, Donaldson, McAdam, Hodgson, Cullen, Jones, Rae, Smith After 5’ Pilcher gets a close-range opportunity from a corner but his header bounces off the crossbar. Three minute later Macey steals a ball way out wide and is faced with the decision of whether to dribble in and shoot or cross to Thirlwell. He opts for the cross but Thirlwell’s header goes right to the able-handed goalie. That’s all that happens in the first. I give the crew a pep-talk, “I know you can all do well and win” but only Thompson and Legg are enthused. Not-So-Thrilling is rocking a 6.4 so I give him a direct confidence booster and he just stares at me. I switch to Attacking but make Macey a Defensive Forward on Defend duty in the hopes he has a better chance to steal a ball. So of course that means he has to come off ten minutes in with a damaged heal. But that does the trick! We get some nice build-up play with Harding sending the ball way off to the right where a prancing Parker sends in a cross to Rae’s lovely dome and we get on the scoreboard. I go back to Control and make Rae a Target Man - Support, but in the 78th minute Maggotfield get a header from a corner. I switch us to the Spade, keep our mentality of Attacking, and swap on fresher legs. In the 86th it works the charm. Oddly, it’s Cullen being a thief that wins the game for us. Rae was slide-tackled just beyond the circle, the ball rolled all the way to the 18-yard box but the DC who recovered had poor First Touch ability and Cullen pounced on the rebound and shot one past the keeper from 7 yards out. We almost got a cushion but Donaldson’s header from a corner goes off the crossbar and way back up field. In the locker room I didn’t want to focus on what was just another squeaky-bum match so I told the lads to switch focus to the next match and not get complacent. Interesting, most players responded positively but the youngins who played poorly (Thirlwell, 6.4, and Rice, 6.2) got stressed. POM: Teddy Cullen (1 goal, 1 key pass)  Again with the foot injuries! Macey is out 10 days to 3 weeks with a damaged heal. This is bad. Kirkpatrick and Thirlwell are streaky and Taylor is still injured. We might lose a match. Dammit. I have a chat with Rice and Thirlwell about their performances and thankfully they both agree they sucked. I didn’t do official warnings or fines because they are still young and new to the first team. No point in alienating them already. The Days Between I realize pretty quickly we are going to have to go back to the Spade, not because I fear losing but I just don’t have the strikers to do the Club or Diamond. Taylor is out for another 2 to 5 weeks still. I believe Nixon as a Shadow Striker will pick up the slack and score plenty. Of course the ghouls, I mean journalists, come around asking how ever will I deal with the loss of Macey for the Millwall match. I take the high road, “I prefer to be optimistic; this is a chance for someone to step up and grab the headlines.” Had Kemar been around I would have been staring at him the whole time. Speaking of Millwall, they want to take Pilcher on trial for 1 week. Noooo. We need him to play YOU. The next day Wigan and Fleetwood, both in the Championship, drop stacks of cash on my desk for the privilege of acquiring Shane. Both are less that £1,500 so I of course say no. How pissed will he be? And Dundalk over in Ireland want to take Duggan for a test drive. Another no. Declan McNulty stiff-arms St. Patrick’s Athletic, something that pleases me. In player development news, in the weekly advice summary email I’m informed that U18 midfielder Bill Taylor is a potential Championship talent. Great news. His media description is “Hard working midfielder” so I look forward to his elevation to the Seniors. Now for the bad news. Pearson has agreed to a deal with Brentford. I ask to delay for a week so I can at least have him with us for the Millwall match. I feel confident in this match as they are 20th. Regardless of how we are doing I’m going to do an early full swap to keep the troops fresh for the Millwall match. I’m hoping the questions about Macey being out and a new hero emerging means the game is going to make Kirkpatrick king for a day. Southern First Division West vs. Slimbridge, 9 January 2019  Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r, MC l, AMR, AMC, AML, ST c) Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Barlow, Smith, Pearson, Nixon, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Parker, Day, Nightingale, Rice, McAdam, Hodgson, Jones, Cullen, Rae, Thirlwell, Harding The pre-game starts out wonderfully with my speech inspiring Duckett and Kirkpatrick. Our first action comes 17’ in with a pacey Duckett priming up for a cross as Kirkpatrick is coming up the middle. But he takes the shot himself and blows the great opportunity. Another 17’ goes by before we get another corner which was initially unsuccessful but the physical play afterwards sees Barlow tripped by Bridge’s defensive midfielder and Nixon gets a penalty shot. Nixon gets us the lead but I was afraid he wouldn’t as he had rolled his ankle 5 minutes into the game and hasn’t quite recovered. My half time speech of “you’re doing well but you can do better” sees Spearing, Carroll, and Kemar switch off. This is not good. I speak of my faith in Kemar and praise the defense for their solid work. Everything’s cool. As promised, I switch to the Diamond at 55’ and swap everyone. (Nixon came off at half due to those fitness concerns; Cullen came on.) Rae continues to show his worth as he really takes the Work Ball Into Box instruction to heart, dribbling to the right post and scoring from a tight angle two yards out. POM: Daniel Duckett (7 key passes, 6 chances created)  |
The Days Between
More offers and trial offers come in. I say no to Carroll going to Cardiff. Millwall make a straight-up offer for Pilcher but I can’t let him go because I’m sure Carroll and Spearing will be gone by the end of the month. Blackburn make the same pitch for him and get the same reply. I knew we are going to get boned by Millwall and when the scouting report comes in the evidence is on full display.  The pre-match presser is tricky and I just try to maintain a positive attitude. The Millwall manager agrees with me that it’ll be a fun occasion. FA Cup Third Round at Millwall, 12 January 2019  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Carroll, Jefcoate, Harding, Smith, Pearson, Barlow, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Pilcher, Day, Nightingale, Parker, McAdam, Hodgson, Jones, Nixon, Rae, Thirlwell, Cullen I have a slight glimmer of hope at the outset as most of the Millwall squad start the match tired, mostly in the 90-80% range on Condition. Amazingly we get the first shot but it’s a weak effort by Barlow that is off target. OH MY EFFING LORD! In the 23rd we get a free kick in Millwall’s end. Duckett manages to get the ball to the middle of the scrum around the penalty spot and super-tall Smith is able to rise above everyone and head in the goal! Unbelievable! But then Maguire gets called for a penalty for kicking their left winger who was breezing right past him. Miracle of miracles, Legg deflects the shot out of bounds. He then collects the ensuing corner with aplomb and a sense of dominance. We control possession back up the field and eventually Kemar tries a placed shot but misses by a good margin. (At this point I notice Millwall’s goalie is “Disenchanted.” Wonder why? His Determination is 12 so maybe his Pressure is super low?) We again get possession and play keep-away for a minute but that ends when Pearson’s perfect cross to Kemar results in some more woodwork doinking. So of course at this point someone has to break a lower body part. It’s Carroll with a Damaged Heal. At half I praise the lot of them, Jefcoate and Legg get all giddy. I admonish Kemar for his 6.4 and he gets Fired Up. We can do this! I should have brought Carroll off as he didn’t recover much during the half but it’s Spearing who’s asleep at the wheel and lets the ball get past the backline. The striker’s brain must be broke because he tried a 40 yard attempt once he realized Carroll was going to beat him to the box. The shot was way worse than Barlow and Kirkpatrick’s earlier. At 51’ I bring off Carroll for Pilcher. Millwall begins piling up yellows but then we get our second, courtesy of Smith. Off he comes for McAdam. Just as I’m starting to think of shaking things up and going Diamond, our short passing style and wide play pays off. McAdam spies Harding, who sees a sneaky Pearson skulking forward, passes through the corner of the box, Pearson picks it up out wide, crosses it to Kemar but Barlow intercepts it with his right foot and we are up two! At 72’ I make my final substitutions. Kemar is down to a 6.3 so I bring on Marcus, which Kemar should see as a major indictment of his current play. It doesn’t take long but the Diamond combo of a Deep Lying Forward, played by Rae, and a Poacher, played by Thirlwell, works to perfection when Thriller bounces in a goal off the bottom of the crossbar. This is unreal! Ten minutes later we get a slight repeat but now it’s Thriller’s 26-yard desperation shot that stuns the crowd. And just like that, we’re on to the next round. POM: Steve Pearson (1 assist, 4 key passes, 3 chances created)  Amazing. I had an inkling the game engine was setting us up for victory but this will go down as the largest upset in FA history, it doesn’t matter that it was “only” a Championship-level opponent. And we make almost £130k in prize money! With Pearson getting POM it makes my decision to delay his transfer a week look like I’m a managerial genius. :-) I take the opportunity to praise Chick Legg in private conversation. That penalty stop really got us to stop worrying and play with confidence. I also pull Kemar aside for a private chat. He says he’ll improve but I fine him a week’s salary just to drive home the point. He’s been all over the map recently. Back to the positive side of things, Carroll’s damaged heal cleared up by the end of the match so he won’t be on the shelf. Also, I did not realize it but at this stage in the FA Cup the gate receipts are split evenly so we made an additional £123k from this match. Right now our profit for the month is just over £200k, putting us over £366k for the season. The Days Between So who are we going to take down in the next round of the FA Cup? We get to host Bolton, who these days are only League One. We really lucked out. There was one Conference National team still in the mix but most of the teams left are Premier League or Championship. The match will be 2 February just after the transfer window closes and several key players might be gone by then so our odds will be pretty long. Oh wow. Shadi Al-Ziod in Jordan’s match against Oman failed to score but rated a 9.1. What a baller! More offers come in that are laughable. For example, Barnsley believe a non-negotiable offer of £1,500 is gonna go over well at our corporate offices. One offer isn’t so laughable. Millwall really want Pilcher, offering up to £17,000 for him. I still say no. Will we have a FA Cup hangover in the cup match? I sure as hell hope not! With a couple of players Tired and several more getting close to that I do worry my rotation will be rife with bad omens. FA Trophy Sixth Round at Weston-super-Mare, 15 January 2019  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Parker, Pilcher, Day, Jefcoate, Harding, Smith, Hodgson, Nixon, Duckett, Rae Subs: Webb, Maguire, Spearing, Nightingale, Rice, Donaldson, McAdam, Thirlwell, Thompson, Jones, Kirkpatrick, Cullen We start off with lots of good passing and tackling though it takes three minutes for the odd combo of Duckett-Hodgson-Nixon-Duckett to get our first goal. The second goal comes a minute later with another odd combo of Duckett-Rae-Hodgson-Nixon. Our passing in the box is phenomenal. Rae and Nixon gets us our third goal at 11’ and the hangover is not a thing today. POM: Alex Rae (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 key passes, 2 chances created)  After the match Duckett’s agent demands a new contract for Duckett. I say no, Duckett gets mad, we have a face-to-face. He understands that he has too much time on his contract to get a new one. Honestly, I figured he’d be gone by now but turns out only League One team Rotherham want him. I withheld Pearson from the match as I figured his departure was imminent and I’m not wrong, it was after the match. I have a good talk with him before he leaves. I tell him he was a great servant for the club and he is welcome back anytime. He thanks me and admits he’d like to return. “Oh, you will once we make it to the Premier League as I’m sure you’ll be good enough for us then.” (I maintain an Excel spreadsheet as part of playing Football Manager. It’s epic. Holds a ridiculous amount of information. I decided to create a History tab to keep track of departed players, like Ben O’Donnell. Did you know that “History” is reserved by Excel as a tab name? I didn’t! I called it “Histree”. Also, I checked in on Benny. He’s made 4 sub appearances for Brighton, scoring once. Still sitting in their U23 team. I wonder if he regrets the move.) |
The Week Between
Now Fleetwood want in on Pilcher but their offer is a mirror image of the previous one. So is my response. Walsall, League Two, want Al-Ziod for £1,200, an embarrassing offer. Several teams have chosen to come in with non-negotiable offers, which leads to an auto-denial by me. These cups are really cramping our schedule. This week we don’t have a Saturday match so the lads will be able to recover from any jadedness that has built up. A peek at the fixtures list shows that our first week without a mid-week match is in early March. Right after Youth Intake Day. Will a newly arrived lad get a start in our Winchester match on 9 March? Shadi Al-Ziod does well in a match against Syria, rating in at 7.3. Not so well against Japan with a 6.7. For the seventh round of the FA Trophy we get to host York, of the Conference National league. It’s not the best draw but not the worse either. In the Southern League Cup Quarter Finals we host Billericay or Swindon Supermarine if we get past Hungerford. I’m hoping for Billericay for the Ian Dury references. Finally, for the FA Vase Seventh Round we host Fleet Town when we get past Chester. I’m reminded on a Tuesday to praise some players. I normally don’t praise players when they have Perfect Morale but Rae has been an absolute beast recently so I heap the praise upon him.  Now on to some more cup play in which we play a higher level team but I’m not scared. Southern League Cup Fifth Round vs. Hungerford, 23 January 2019  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Caroll, Jefcoate, Harding, Smith, Hodgson, Nixon, Duckett, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Pilcher, Day, Nightingale, Parker, Thompson, McAdam, Macey, Donaldson, Jones, Thirlwell, Rae My pre-match speech inspires Kirkpatrick and I hope that is a sign of great things to come. I tell you what, our Box-to-Box Midfielders sure are good scoring from distance. Duckett sends a corner directly to Barlow, he dribbles forward a smidge and sends in a screamer from 21 yards out, just squeaking it in past the left post. Another corner sees us get a penalty chance and I switch Kemar in to take it instead of Nixon. I want his confidence up. That almost backfires. (His Finishing is 14, Composure 11, but Penalty Taking only 4.) He sends it right to the goalie who can’t handle it and Kemar beats everyone to the ball and he sinks it from a tight angle. We then swap goals off corners with Duckett getting one for us and Brian May getting one for our opponent. Sorry, Hungerford, but we are the champions, my friend. Our fourth comes from a fast counter but Kemar’s slack attitude sees him too far back to receive Duckett’s cross but Barlow is the man of the hour. The sixth and final goal is a bizarre one. Macey runs down the right side, leaps over a sliding tackle, shrugs off a shoulder bump and crosses from the endline. Donaldson flies through the air and heads the ball into the crossbar, deflecting it downward. The GK can’t recover it though and goes chasing it, fumbles it, Donaldson tries to slide-tackle it into goal but misses. The ball is just sitting there. Donaldson gets to his feet between the ball and the goal, puts his foot on the ball and rolls it backward into the goal. B-zar. POM: Daniel Duckett (2 goals, 2 assists, 2 key passes, 1 chance created)  The Days Between Shadi’s performance declines as the Jordan team runs into increasingly tough completion. Against South Korea, best Korea, he rates 6.0 and gets a yellow card. Offers keep coming in for the usual suspects but the offers don’t increase and neither does my willingness to accept them. That is until Millwall comes in with an offer for Pilcher that could be worth £28,500. I’m really tempted but I’m so proud of my find that I don’t want to let him go. Spearing and Carroll are available, Millwall. It’s nice to return to league matches. I can relax more and enact more rotation. Webb hasn’t played in a while so he gets a start. As it goes with Thriller. Southern First Division West at Cinderford, 26 January 2019  Formation: Spade Starting XI: Webb, Parker, Pilcher, Nightingale, Rice, Harding, McAdam, Hodgson, Barlow, Jones, Thirlwell Subs: Legg, Maguire, Spearing, Caroll, Jefcoate, Donaldson, Cullen, Macey, Thompson, Duckett, Rae, Kirkpatrick Now it seems Barlow is on fire. Today he gets the starring role of Shadow Striker, putting him in the perfect place to head in a Hodgson cross when just the two of them get a breakaway against four Cinderford defenders. Nothing much happens until the 85th when Donaldson stabs the enemy up the gut with a precision shot. And with that we maintain a perfect league record. POM: Terry Barlow (1 goal, 3 key passes)  |
The Days Between
On the transfers front the only new news is Ebbsfleet, Conference National, trying to unsettle Duckett, tipping a journalist that they might offer up to £2,100 for him. That ain’t gonna cut it, bubs. Dagenham & Redbridge (a.k.a. Dag & Red), in League Two, also start some shit about Smith. Sigh. I still think it’s pretty ridiculous that we are favored against teams two or more rungs above in the ladder. FA Vase Sixth Round at Chester, 29 January 2019  Formation: Club (DC r, DC c, DC l, WBR, WBL, MC r, MC c, MC l, ST r, ST l) Starting XI: Legg, Pilcher, Spearing, Carroll, Maguire, Jefcoate, Harding, Barlow, Nixon, Rae, Kirkpatrick Subs: Webb, Smith, Day, Nightingale, Parker, Rice, Cullen, McAdam, Donaldson, Macey, Thirlwell, Jones I find it pretty funny when Barlow sends a ball to the right corner for Rae, as a Poacher, to chase down. What is he supposed to do, cross it to our Target Man Kirkpatrick? What? It worked?! Kemar really used his head there! Later Harding sends a free kick into the box where I expected Spearing to get a goal but he heads it down to Rae two yards to his left and Rae threads the needle into the back of the net. By 63’ we’re up three so it’s time to do some swapping. The third goal comes from another Rae to Kirkpatrick cross. This time the duo are two-on-four, something that doesn’t seem to bother our attackers at all. POM: Kemar Kirkpatrick (2 goals, 1 key pass, 1 chance created)  The Days Between Excellent! We get to face Billericay Dickey! And Fleet Town again. The Jordanian Prince is back early as his national team washed out of Asian Nations Cup. He’ll probably get the start against Bolton. He now has 5 caps. Pretty darned cool. It’s quite a shame that Sports Interactive can’t program transfers more accurately. The last week of the month was a lot of £1,500 offers for Carroll. With no exaggeration, I probably rejected 25 offers. Also, we kept getting offers for Pilcher on the last day but at least each offer was better than the previous. Even a couple of teams came looking for Liam Roberts, MC in the U18s, but they were really low, around £500. In summary, I didn’t sell anybody, sadly. Summary We suffered through some injuries up front but were able to overcome. Rae really came on strong at the right time while Kemar faltered. Barlow also had some key moments and of course who could forget Pearson’s performance in the FA Cup win? It was sad to say good-bye to him but we were holding him back. Let’s take a look at our competitions. In the Southern First Division West we are undefeated and atop the table. The board rate me at 80% for that. For the Southern League Cup we are in the Quarter Final, which rates a 55% board confidence because we are expected to win it. For the FA Trophy, 55% for being in the Seventh Round when we need to reach the Quarter Final. The FA Vase is another competition we are expected to win and we’re in the Seventh Round, scoring 55%. Most importantly, we have far exceeded our expectations in the FA Cup where we’re in the Fourth Round. We only had to make the First Round so we have pleased the board 85%.  |
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