FM: Harrogate's (hopeful) ascendency

[Eaglesfan27]

3 minute mark: Wall gets the ball deep in our zone.. long pass for Palmer.. he races to it.. Salmon and his good speed beat Palmer to the ball.

11 minute mark: Palmer gets the ball at midfield from Wall.. he sends a through ball to the edge of the box.. Farrell gets to it.. he is about to shoot.. flag.. late offsides call against Farrell.

16 minute mark: Karl Colley (DC) gets a yellow flag for a trip on Atkins.

23 minute mark: Atkins is tripped just outside the edge of the opposition's box. Fox takes the free kick from 21 yards out... shoots a shot between two defenders in the wall... the keeper is late picking it up.. it's heading towards the left corner.. it hits the back of the net... GOAL!!! 1-0! What a debut by Fox after a long layoff.

40 minute mark: Atkins intercepts a pass at midfield (I'm amazed at his level of play considering he has lost most of his speed).. he feeds it to Fox on the right wing.. Fox plays a ball up the field towards the left side of the box for Palmer.. Palmer gets to it.. dribbles once.. shoots.. heading towards the right side of the goal... the keeper tries to get to it, but he can't... it's in the back of the net!! GOAL!!!! 2-0.

44 minute mark: Scarsella stops a point blank shot by Gavin Knight.

Half Time: 2-0 us.

53 minute mark: Atkins seems hurt. I sub in Dunning for him. Farrell seems very tired, so I sub in Hunter for him. Palmer also appears to have an injury that is significant enough that I decide not to leave him in the game. I sub in Turley for him.

71 minute mark: Scarsella with a nice save on a Knight shot.

73 minute mark: Great tackle by Wood on Kewley in our box.

79 minute mark: Wall clears the ball after a flurry of shots on goal (2 of which reached Scarsella who blocked them) and he sends it to Hunter.. Hunter plays a through ball to Turley who still has great speed.. Turley takes it into the left side of the box.. gets the keeper to come out and challenge him.. dribbles to his left.. and unleashes a powerful high shot.. WOW.. it doesn't go over the net for once.. it's into the back of the net... GOAL!!!! 3-0.

Game over. 3-0 win for us on the road.

We both had 10 shots, we both had 4 shots on goal.

Stuart Wall wins MoM, 14 of 19 passes, 10 of 11 tackles, 7 of 11 headers, 2 interceptions.

[SirFozzie]

Dang. Unstoppable!

[Eaglesfan27]

December 22nd, 2005 -

Mr. Fotherby threw a huge party for the entire team. He states he is absolutely thrilled with the team's progress and he is fully expecting us to be promoted much to the shock of the pundits who predicted a mid table finish. The team baths me with champagne. I remind them that we still have half of a season to play.

In other news, multiple managers are fired during this joyous season, including several managers in the EPL. I'm too liquored up to worry about who is going where at the moment. Cheers!

[Eaglesfan27]

December 23rd, 2005 -

As I try to get over my hangover, I read that Harry Redknapp has taken over the Fulham job in the EPL. I find this to be a peculiar choice.

I try to figure out who is going to play in our upcoming match against Southport in 3 days. I'm worried that guys are starting to get tired, and I need to try to get myself to rotate some new faces in a bit more.

[Eaglesfan27]

December 23rd, 2005 -

Sweet, I just read that Nuneaton who are currently 2nd in the league, tied 22nd ranked Wakefield & Emley 1-1. Hopefully, we can continue to widen our lead on the league.

[Eaglesfan27]

December 26th, 2005 -

Today my 1st ranked team hosts 14th ranked Southport. We tied them 0-0 last year, and lost to them 2-1 the other game. Southport has Mark Devlin on loan from Macclesfield and the keeper Lewis Edge on loan from Blackpool. Their top DC, Neil Fitzhenryis suspended for this match. Lee Mulvaney has been their top scorer this year from the striker position.

Interestingly, the oddsmakers think they are the favorites with even odds betting.

Our lineup:

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Shepherd
DC: Wall
DR: Wood (for the injured Black)
ML: Wright
MC: Surey (giving Atkins a day off to rest him)
MR: Fox (for the injured Collett)
AMC: Kelly
SC: Palmer (for the still injured Smyth)
SC: Farrell

S1: Pettinger
S2: Curtis
S3: Dunning
S4: Hunter
S5: Turley

It's a rainy 35 degree day today.

[Eaglesfan27]

30 minute mark: Surey gets the ball at midfield.. he flicks a pass ahead into the box.. Farrell races to it.. dribbles to his right past the keeper.. is about to shoot.. whistle.. offsides call against Farrell.

36 minute mark: Surey gets the ball at midfield after stealing a keeper kick.. he sends it towards Palmer in the left corner.. Palmer gets it.. centers for Farrell.. Farrell jumps.. the keeper Lewis Edge pushes Farrell out of the way.. Penalty awarded!!!

Barnard steps up confidently to take the shot.. he looks right.. shoots a very hard shot to the lower left corner... the keeper dives, but isn't even close.. GOAL!!! 1-0.

Halftime: We lead 1-0.

46 minute mark: Wright gets the ball after a throw-in on the right side of the pitch.. he crosses it into the box.. Kelly jumps to head it, but misstrikes it.. it goes at a wierd angle off his head.. the keeper is stunned as it sails into the left corner of the goal.. GOAL!!!! Fluke goal puts us up 2-0.

50 minute mark: Kelly gets the ball at midfeild from Wall. Kelly flicks it towards the left corner of the box.. Palmer gets to it. He dribbles twice.. shoots.. Edge smothers it.

51 minute mark: Wall intercepts a long pass with a header and sends it to Surey at midfield. Surey sends it out to Fox on the right wing. Fox sends a long pass to Kelly.. Kelly beats his man to get to it.. he dribbles left twice.. shoots the extreme angle for the right post.. it's past the keeper... it's.. IN! GOAL!!!! 3-0, Kelly's 2nd!.

69 minute mark: Turley in for the slightly injured Palmer. Hunter in for the tired Farrell.

Game over. I notice one of our highest league attendances of 1440 people. We won 3-0.

We outshot them 10-4 (6-1 on goal)

Greg Kelly wins MoM, 16 of 22 passes, 2 of 4 tackles, 5 of 13 headers, 1 interception, 3 runs, 2 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

December 28th, 2005 -

Sean St. Ledger just signed with Chesterfield who are in 12th place in League 1. Least he kept his word and went for the higher quality league.

[Eaglesfan27]

December 28th, 2005 -

Today we travel to play 2nd ranked Nuneaton. We are currently 10 points ahead of them. They are led by the *amazing* Gez Murphy who has 32 goals on the year!! His partner Avun Jephcott has 11 goals of his own. Matt Collins is a dangerous right winger and is a key link to this high powered offense. Gary Fitzpatrick also has had quite a few assists in the midfield this year. Fortunately, their defense has been somewhat soft and Derek Slattery has been allowing about 2 goals a game.

Nuneaton is a slight 5:4 favorite.

We have won 2-0 at home, and lost 2-1 on the road against them last year.

Our Starting Lineup:

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Shepherd
DC: Wall
DR: Wood (for the injured Black)
ML: Dunning (want to give Wright a break since this game is only 2 days after our last game.)
MC: Atkins (giving Surey a day off to rest him)
MR: Fox (for the injured Collett)
AMC: Kelly (playing too well for me to sit him against a top foe.)
SC: Smyth (well rested after recovering from his injury)
SC: Farrell (also playing too well to rest him.)

S1: Pettinger
S2: Curtis
S3: Palmer
S4: Hunter
S5: Turley

It's a wet muddy 35 degrees today.

[Eaglesfan27]

6 minute mark: Matt Collins plays a nice through ball to Gez Murphy.. the guy shoots an unbelievably powerful shot towards the lower left corner. Even more amazingly, Scarsella dives and tips it just wide.

8 minute mark: Dunning takes the ball down the left side of the pitch.. past a defender.. crosses it to Kelly.. Kelly jumps to head it.. it's towards the center of the goal.. just over the bar.

9 minute mark: Smyth gets the ball in the left corner after Dunning passed it up the line.. Smyth centers it for Farrell who is by the far post.. Farrell jumps.. he misses it and it sails through the rest of the box.

11 minute mark: Kelly gets the ball at the edge of the box.. he passes to Dunning in the left side of the box.. Dunning shoots.. Slattery saves it.

14 minute mark: Gez Murphy receives a long pass in our box.. he shoots one of the hardest shots I've ever seen.. I let out a sigh of relief as I heard the loud clink of it hitting the crossbar. Shepherd clears the rebound.

30 minute mark: Farrell gets a yellow card for a trip on Gary Fitzpatrick.

39 minute mark: Dunning gets a yellow card for a trip on Gary Fitzpatrick.

45 minute mark: Smyth receives a Fox pass at the left edge of the box. Farrell centers for Farrell who heads it.. it bounces off the bar.. the defense clears it.

0-0 at the half.

47 minute mark: Wall with a key tackle on Gez Murphy inside the box.

50 minute mark: Kelly gets the ball at the edge of the box.. dribbles a few steps.. shoots.. Slattery blocks it.. Chris Farman clears it.

51 minute mark: Nice series of passes to move it down the field.. First from Barnard to Atkins.. to Dunning on the left wing.. to Atkins at midfield again.. to Dunning further up the left side of the field.. to Smyth in the left edge of the box.. to Kelly at the center of the box.. Back to smyth who is further inside the box on the left side.. Smyth shoots.. goes for the near left corner... low ... Slattery can't get to it.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

61 minute mark: Gez Murphy gets the ball inside our box.. Wall is closing in on him.. Murphy shoots.. Scarsella dives.. gets his body in front of the ball.. Wall clears the rebound.

On the ensuing clearance.. Smyth gets the ball.. dribbles up the field unimposed.. into tbe box.. he is in the left half of the box.. shoots for the left corner.. Slattery dives.. tips it wide.

Farrell has picked up an injury on the play. He has to be removed from the game. I sub in Turley for him. I also sub in Palmer for Smyth. Atkins looks tired as well. I move Shepherd up to MC, and bring in Curtis at DC.

On the ensuing corner, Fox takes the corner and curves it towards the near post.. Dunning outjumps his man.. heads it towards the near post.. Slattery can't get to it.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

71 minute mark: Scarsella saves a 25 yard shot by Gez Murphy.

83 minute mark: Wall bodychecks Gez Murphy.. no penalty.. Murphy is dazed and confused. He has to come out of the match.

88 minute mark: Wood is injured on a hard hit by Michael Love. Wood can't continue.

Game over. 2-0 win for us.

They outshot us 13-11 (6-6 for on goal)

Scarsella wins MoM for his amazing saves. The steak house is really getting to know us quite well now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

The Physio says that Richard Dunning has slightly seperated his shoulder. He will be out for about 2 weeks. Andy Farrell bruised his ribs and will need to miss a few days.

After the match, the 2 reporters approached me for a big story they are doing. They asked me about David Scarsella. They tell me that several clubs are interested in him, including several league 1 and league 2 clubs because of his recent sensational form. They asked me to comment on how confident am I that I will be able to keep him.

I replied, "David has shown himself to be one of my best players. No way will he be leaving."

Mr. Fotherby also made a comment to the reporter that he is thrilled with my management of the club, and he is quite confident that we will keep the team together and earn promotion.

[SirFozzie]

Uh oh.. Hope Scarsella doesn't have bigger ambitions, you may have opened pandora's box right there..

[Eaglesfan27]

December 30th, 2005 -

Mark Atkins reminds me of several players whose contracts are due to expire in 6 months:

Nick Buxton is a 29 year old backup to the backup keeper. I decide that I will not be renewing his contract.

Mark Atkins is a 37 year old player/coach. He is still very effective in the midfield due to great positioning and anticipation despite his poor physical skills. I decide to offer him a deal for another year as a player/coach. He has been making 300 dollars a week, I decide to offer a slight pay cut of 280/week.

Mark Barnard is a 30 year old left fullback who is an efficient tackler, a good position defender, and an excellent penalty shooter. He has been making 90 dollars a week, and is asking for 160/week. I decide to offer him 140/week.

Paul Pettinger is a 30 year old backup keeper who is currently making 550 a week. I've had him transfer listed for 6 months and no team has shown any interest. He is unhappy with all of the acclaim that Scarsella is getting. He makes it clear that he is uninterested in resigning if he isn't going to be a starter. I decide not to renew his contract at this time. With this decision, I realize that I will have to acquire a young backup keeper in the upcoming months.

Paul Shepherd is a 28 year old central defender/midfielder. He plays excellent position defense and is only making 110/week. He has played very well, and he wants 260/week. I decide to offer him 220/week.

Andrew Wright is a 27 year old left winger who is among the top 3 in the league with his average form of 7.88. He has played very well all year and is a highly skilled player. He has been making 90 dollars/week. He is requesting 280/week, and I decide to offer him 240/week.

Richard Dunning is a 24 year old left fullback/left midfielder who has played reasonably well at just about any position for me. He has excellent physical attributes, but is fairly technically limited. He has been making 110/week and is now requesting 140/week. I decide to offer him 120/week.

Christian Fox is a 24 year old attacking midfielder/right winger who plays very well whenever he gets on the pitch. He continues to improve in practice and is becoming a skilled passer. He has been making 150/week. He is requesting 240/week, and I decide to offer him 200/week.

James Turley is a 24 year old speedy striker who has poor accuracy. He is currently making 800/week. I haven't had any nibbles on him despite him being transfer listed for the last 6 months. I decide that I will not make a new offer to him and will let him leave the club on a free transfer.

Leigh Wood is a 22 year old sweeper/central defender/midfielder who has been mostly a backup for me this year before Black's injury. Wood's biggest fault is his lack of determination. However, he is a very skilled player. It's tempting to offer him a new deal, but he is currently making 480 dollars/week. He doesn't want to resign with us because we have been attempting to transfer him, and I decide ultimately that his lack of determination and work ethic makes him unworthy of being offered a renewal contract.

Michael Ord is a 24 year old central defender/midfielder who I have never really used. His physical skills have developed, but he is a very indecisive player on the pitch who makes critical mistakes at a position where I don't think we can afford them. He is only making 100 dollars/week, but I decide to let him go after his current contract runs out.

Dominique Krief is a 22 year old midfielder with good speed who has great determination. He lacks technical skill, but I love how he never gives up on a play. He isn't playing much for us, but I would use him in a pinch. He is currently making 110/week and wants 150/week. I decide to offer him 130/week.

Lennie Curtis is a 32 year old Sweeper/DC who is currently making 240/week. His physical skills are starting to deteriorate, but his determination is a nice thing that makes me want to keep him around for a backup. He wants 240/week, and I decide to offer him 200/week.

Jermaine Palmer is my 19 year old striker who has excellent speed. He is developing a nice touch around the net and he has 5 goals on the year with 7 starts and 14 reserve appearances. He is currently making 700/week which is high for a rotation guy, but I feel I need to keep this young potential superstar. He asks for 700/week, and I decide to offer it to him.

Andy Farrell is a 22 year old striker who doesn't look as talented as Palmer during practice, but Farrell has played well. In 22 starts, he has 7 goals and 8 assists. I decide I have to resign him. He is currently making 110/week, and he wants 280/week to renew (plus 30 dollar bonus per goal and 20 dollar bonus per assist.) I decide to offer him the contract he is requesting.

Greg Kelly is a 22 year old attacking midfielder who has been phenomenal for us. He has 13 goals and 7 assists in 23 starts. He is currently making 550/week. He is requesting 550/week again with a 30/goal and 20/assist bonus. I decide to offer him what is requesting. Of note, he is now "worth" 48,000 when he was only worth 12,000 when I acquired him.

Mark Smyth is my 20 year old left footed striker who is now worth 52,000 dollars (16,000 when I got him.) He is currently making 420/week. He has 16 goals and 8 assists in 21 appearances. He wants 420/week to resign as well as a 40/goal, 20/assist bonus. I decide to offer him what he wants.

Grant Black is my 22 year old right fullback who has played better in games than in practice. He has continually made great tackles. He has been making 110/week. He is now requesting 300/week. I decide to offer him 240/week.

Colin Hunter is a 29 year old attacking midfielder/winger/forward whose skills appear to be deteroriating. He is currently making 90 dollars/week. He is only requesting 110/week to be a backup, and I decide I will offer him 100/week.

Ben Surey is a 23 year old defensive midfielder who has played very well in relief and spot starts. He was one of my first big ticket signings and he is currently making 400/week. He is requesting 400/week, and I decide to offer it to him.

David Scarsella is my star keeper who is currently making 300 dollars/week. In 24 appearances, he has 15 clean sheets and only 11 goals conceded (8 league goals.) He is only requesting 300 dollars/week with a 20 dollar/cleansheet bonus as well as a 300,000 dollar release clause. I decide to raise the release clause to 1 million dollars and offer him the contract.

Marc Smith is a 20 year old left fullback who has excellent physical attributes but is still learning how to play the game. However, he has high determination and is only making 100 dollars/week. He wants 110/week, and I decide to offer it to him.

[Eaglesfan27]

Forgot to mention, I'm only trying to extend these contracts for 1 extra year as most of the guys are only asking for contracts to the end of this year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Uh oh.. Hope Scarsella doesn't have bigger ambitions, you may have opened pandora's box right there..

Don't I know it. That is the downside to having a young successful star. I doubt I'll be able to keep him, but I'm sure going to try.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 1st, 2006 -

Andrew Wright signed his new deal.

Greg Kelly signed his new deal.

Richard Dunning also signed his new deal.

Also in today's newspaper:

Thierry Henry has won the World Footballer of the Year award. Ryan Giggs came in 2nd and Jose Antonio Reyes came in 3rd.

Henry also won World Player of the Year, Kaka of Milan came in 2nd, Ruud van Nistelrooy came in 3rd.

Henry also won European Footballer of the Year. Reyes came in 2nd and, Giggs came in 3rd.

Juventus' Gianluigi Buffon won European Goalkeeper of the Year. Dida of Milan came in 2nd. Iker Casillas of Real Madrid came in 3rd.

Roberto Carlos of Real Madrid won European Defender of the Year. Lucio of Milan came in 2nd (OOC note: In CM 03/04 I "discovered" Lucio when I was coach of Man Utd [after advancing from Hull's coach to that job] and he was incredible for me. I'm glad to see him still playing well in FM) Marco Materazzi of Inter came in 3rd.

Reyes won the European Midfielder of the Year award. Giggs came in 2nd and Damien Duff also of Manchester Utd came in 3rd.

Henry won European Striker of the Year. Dimitar Berbatov of Bayer 04 Leverkusen came in 2nd, and Ruud van Nistelrooy came in 3rd.

[SirFozzie]

Not just that. If he does have higher ambitions, you may have just made him VERY unhappy.

Happened with a couple of my players, when I told the press it would take a killer bid to pry them away from me. Ruined their morale completely

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Not just that. If he does have higher ambitions, you may have just made him VERY unhappy.

Happened with a couple of my players, when I told the press it would take a killer bid to pry them away from me. Ruined their morale completely

Fortunately, at this point his morale is still "superb", but you bring up a very good point. I hope he takes the new deal I offered him. He does mention that he is flattered by the interest being shown in him.

[Eaglesfan27]

Later on January 1st, 2006 -

Marc Smith has signed his new contract.

Jermaine Palmer has signed his new contract!

Lennie Curtis signed his new contract.

Christian Fox signed his new contract.

Ben Surey signed his new contract.

Colin Hunter signed a contract with my new offer.

Dominique Krief signed his new contract.

Grant Black has signed his new contract.

Andy Farrell has signed his new contract!

Mark Atkins has agreed to play and coach for one more year and accepted his pay cut. Atkins indicates that he is likely to retire as a player after the 2006-2007 season.

Mark Smyth has signed his new deal!!!

[Eaglesfan27]

Even Later on January 1st, 2006 -

Today we host 11th ranked Accrington. This is our first match with them since they were relegated from the English National Conference last year. They were the English FA trophy runner-up last year.

They are being led by their keeper Jon Worsnop who is playing VERY well since recovering from a 3 month long injury last month. Lee McEvilly is a talented striker who leads their scoring efforts with 12 goals. Ian Craney is the midfield catalyst. Stuart Howson is an average defender who has been the main anchor of the defense.

Interestingly they are even odds favorites. Being at home, I would have expected our odds to be better this game.

It's a wet 39 degree day.

Our lineup:

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Shepherd
DC: Wall
DR: Wood (for the injured Black)
ML: Wright
MC: Surey (Atkins is now the guy getting a day off)
MR: Fox (for the injured Collett)
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: Pettinger
S2: Curtis
S3: Palmer
S4: Hunter
S5: Turley

[Eaglesfan27]

43 minute mark: Surey intercepts the ball around midfield.. passes it 15 yards up the field to Kelly.. Kelly passes between two defenders to Smyth who is at the left corner of the box.. Smyth dribbles towards the post.. shoots.. towards the right upper corner.. it's past the keeper.. in the back of the net!! GOAL!!!! 1-0.

Halftime attendance: 1556 (the highest I've seen yet.)

1-0 at the half.

61 minute mark: Wall intercepts the ball deep in our zone.. long pass down the field towards the left corner of the pitch.. Smyth gets to it.. centers to Farrell who is in the right half of the box.. Farrell shoots... going for the left corner.. just wide.

74 minute mark: Farrell is tired (and has had a bad game for the first time that I can remember for any of our guys in a long time - I hope he doesn't become complacent now that he has a new contract.) I sub in Hunter for him. Smyth is also tired, so I sub in Palmer. Kelly is also tired so I sub in Turley.

82 minute mark: Nifty passing by the opposition. Tucker takes it at midfield to Chris Butler to Shaun Tuck in our zone..Tuck takes it to the edge of the box.. passes around Wall to Lee Thompson. Thompson shoots.. lower left corner.. Scarsella dives.... he can't get to it. Goal. 1-1 tie.

Game over. 1-1 tie.

We outshot them 6-3 (2-1 on goal)

Matt Carbon (DC) wins MoM, 32 of 40 passing, 4 of 4 tackles, 7 of 8 headers, 9 passes intercepted.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 3rd, 2006 -

Mark Barnard signed his new deal.

Yes!!! David Scarsella signed his new deal with the 1 million dollar release clause.

Benjamin Collett is fully healed from his ankle injury.

I realized that Justin Jackson's contract is expiring. This 31 year old striker has never really impressed me. He is making 140/week, and I decide that I will not offer him a new deal.

Everyone else is either signed til June of 2007 or are the aforementioned guys who I will not resign.

Time for our half year in review now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Here is a look at the league table:

[Eaglesfan27]

- Of note, we are 9 points ahead of our nearest competitor.

- Our 13 wins leads the league.

- Our 46 goals is highest in the league. Nuneaton is 2nd with 42.

- Our 9 league goals allowed is lowest in the league. Burscough is 2nd best with 19 goals allowed.

- Our goal differential of +37 is best in the league. Stalybridge is 2nd best with +13.

- We are 14 points ahead of the pace for the last playoff spot.

- My big concern is that some guys will get complacent with their new contracts, however, I didn't want to risk losing them on Bosman deals.

- Andrew Wright leads the league with his 7.95 avg form. Gez Murphy is 2nd with a 7.76. David Scarsella is 3rd with a 7.75 form. Mark Atkins is 5th with a 7.69. Greg Kelly is 6th with a 7.68. Mark Smyth is 9th with a 7.65.

- Gez Murphy leads the league with 19 league goals (14 more in other competitions.)

- Mark Smyth is 2nd with 14 league goals. Greg Kelly is 5th with 12 league goals. We are the only team with 2 of the top 10 goal scorers in the league.

- Mark Smyth is 3rd in the league with 8 league assists. Andy Farrell is tied for 6 with 7 league assists. Greg Kelly is tied for 8th with 6 league assists. Andrew Wright is tied for 11th with 5 league assists. Halifax and Worksop are the only two teams to have even 2 guys with 5 league assists.

- We are also among the least penalized teams. Smyth is 96th in the league for league Yellow cards with 3. He is the only player we have in the top 100.


- Greg Kelly is 7th in the league with 4 MoM awards. Scarsella is 23rd with 3 MoM awards, Atkins is 32nd with 2 MoM awards, and Wright is also tied at 32nd with 2 MoM awards.

- Stuart Wall is 10th in the league with 4.25 tackles/game.

- Mark Smyth is 1st in the league with 3.16 dribbles/game.

- Jermaine Palmer leads the league in accuracy with 81% of his shots being on target. Mark Smyth is 18th at 52%.

- Mark Smyth is 15th with 84% of his passes being completed.

- Our attendance has continually rose throughout the year, and we are averaging 1428 fans in our last 5 home games. Our average last year was around 300.

- Thanks to the increased attendance, we are breaking even most months now, despite the high wage bill. We are still 60,000 dollars in debt, but we were 150,000 dollars in debt at the beginning of the season. The Oldham games really helped erase a nice chunk of that debt.

- Finally, the board is delighted with my management of the club. They would like the wage bill to be lower but they are satisfied with the finances. The fans are delighted with my management of the club. Both are quite pleased that we are performing better than their preseason expectations. My reputation is still obscure, but I'm becoming known as a media friendly manager who is very even tempered. I'm also viewed as a professional manager who is quite loyal to his players.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 6th, 2006 -

Darn it! Today Hartlepool (league 1) made an offer for Scarsella. They offered John Brackstone in a straight up exchange. John is a young promising D/DM L, but I don't want to lose my star keeper. I decide to turn it down, and cross my fingers that Scarsella doesn't become mad at me for preventing him from moving up into League 1 play.

Edited to add: They also offered 20% of next sale and a friendly match at our stadium in the deal. I'm still going to refuse it.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 7th, 2006 -

Today in our first match of the 2nd half of the season we travel to play 17th ranked Gainsborough. They have been led by Carl Alford's play recently. He has 11 goals and has played very well from his striker position. Chris Timons has played very solid defense at the DC position. Chris Dickman has played very well on the right wing, but only has 3 goals and 3 assists. Jamie Holmshaw has played fairly well in goal the last 5 games.

We've lost 1 game and tied 2 games in our past meetings with this team. Our last match was a 1-1 tie at home earlier this year.

We are 5:4 favorites.

It's dry and 42 degrees today.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Shepherd
DC: Wall
DR: Wood
ML: Wright
MC: Atkins
MR: Collett (back from injury)
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: Pettinger
S2: Curtis
S3: Palmer
S4: Hunter
S5: Surey

[Eaglesfan27]

10 minute mark: Wall clears a ball in our box to midfield.. Farrell receives it.. he passes between two defenders to a space just outside the box.. Smyth is racing a defender to it.. Smyth is just a step ahead of the defender.. he gets to the ball.. he shoots without breaking stride... heading towards the lower right corner from 20 yards out.. Holmshaw dives for it.. he can't get to it.. GOAL!!!! 1-0

14 minute mark: David Jervis gets a yellow card for a 2 legged slide into Farrell. Yellow card for Jervis.

18 minute mark: Adam Burley dribbles the ball down the left side of the field past Atkins.. into the left corner of the box.. crosses.. it looks like it is going towards the far post, but suddenly Luke Staton intercepts it in the middle of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. Scarsella looks surprised.. it's in the back of the net.. GOAL. 1-1 tie.

30 minute mark: Scarsella with a nice save of a hard Dickman shot.

44 minute mark: Atkins steals the ball in our zone, he sends it to Smyth on the left wing.. Smyth takes it across midfield and centers for Kelly who immediately passes it to Farrell who is just outside the box. Neil Allison tackles him from behind with a vicious blow.. whistle.. Red card for Allison. He is ejected. Unfortunately it was outside the box, and no penalty shot is awarded. Lee Ellington argues the call.. yellow card for him! Atkins takes the free kick from 20 yards... screaming shot towards the left lower corner.... past the keeper... just wide.

Half time: 1-1

52 minute mark: Wright takes the ball up the left side of the pitch. He centers for Kelly in the middle of the box.. Kelly goes for the upper right corner.. blistering shot.. just a little high and wide. Kelly buries his head in his hands. He clearly thinks he should have made that shot.

65 minute mark: Smyth is called for being offsides.. He argues with the ref. Yellow card.

70 minute mark: Wright is tackled hard. He looks hurt. He can't play any longer. I sub in Hunter for him. Also, I sub in Palmer for Smyth who is tired and already has that yellow card.

86 minute mark: Dickman tripped Atkins. Yellow card for Dickman.

91 minute mark: Farrell receives a pass from Kelly on the right edge of the box.. he dribbles towards the goal.. he shoots.. Holmshaw saves it.

93 minute mark: Wall intercepts a long pass deep in our box.. he sends a long long pass down the field.. Kelly gets it at about 35 yards from the goal.. takes two steps.. two defenders closing in on him.. he shoots from 30 yards out.. it's between the defenders.... the keeper isn't reacting to it.. he seems to think it's going to go wide.. it's heading towards the upper left corner.. it's just barely under the crossbar and inside the post... GOAL!!!!!!! 2-1!

3 seconds later the final whistle blows!

Game over. Finally a win against this team. 2-1 victory.

We outshot them 9-7. (5-3 on goal)

Stuart Wall wins MoM (I can't believe he is only 17!) 21 of 23 passes, 2 of 3 tackles, 6 of 7 headers, 2 interceptions, and 1 assist.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 8th, 2006 -

Peter Taylor was just hired away from Hull to manage Sunderland in the EPL. I must admit besides the big 3, Hull would be my other big lure. I have a big soft spot for Hull as it was the very first game I ever attended. I won't apply for the job, but if I somehow get offered it, it will be a very hard decision.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 10th, 2006 -

Today we travel to play 14th ranked Hednesford Town. They are led by midfielder Michael Keane who is on loan from Hull. New keeper Ryan Young has played well in his 2 starts this year. Steve Piearce is leading the scoring with 13 goals from the striker position.

We beat them 2-0 at home earlier in the year.

We are 6:4 favorites.

It's 50 degrees and muddy out.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Shepherd
DC: Curtis (The physio says I need to start giving Wall some rest )
DR: Wood
ML: Wright
MC: Atkins
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: Pettinger
S2: Marc Smith (young fullback needs to play well if one of my defenders are hurt this match - I'm trying to bring in some defensive reinforcements via loans.)
S3: Palmer
S4: Hunter
S5: Surey

[Eaglesfan27]

(OOC) Most of the 1st half details were obscured by my wife sitting next to me on the couch and asking, "How is this fun?" "It's just a bunch of bubbles chasing down a little bubble!" She then asked, "why aren't your bubbles chasing the little bubble?" (when my defender Curtis was missing a play on the ball) Most of the 1st half was uneventful, but I started saying "GOAAAAL!!" when Smyth finally hit Kelly with a cross for a goal.. she looked at me like I was crazy. She had to leave for work after that point, and she said, "Least I know you aren't out chasing women.. have fun!" /(OOC)


1-0 at the half, thanks to that Smyth to Kelly goal at the 44 minute mark.

60 minute mark: Farrell has had a bad game with a 5 for form. I really hope he isn't getting lazy due to the new contract. In any case, I sub in Palmer for him. I also sub in Surey for Atkins who is tired.

73 minute mark: Steve Piearce gets the ball at the right side of the box on a long pass from Michael Keane.. Piearce shoots.. Scarsella dives and tips it to his left.. Kevin McKinley the other striker gets the rebound and taps it into the net. GOAL. 1-1.

91 minute mark: Shepherd clears the ball to Kelly at midfield. Kelly plays it to the right side of the box.. Palmer races to it.. dribbles to his right.. around the keeper.. has the open net.. shoots it.. over the bar!

Game over. 1-1 tie.

We each had 9 shots. We each had 5 shots on goal.

Greg Kelly wins MoM, 16 of 18 passes, 1 of 2 tackles, 2 of 3 headers, 1 interception, 3 runs, 1 goal.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 10th, 2006 -

Today my scout pointed out a guy named David Morley who was just recently released on a free transfer from Doncaster. The tape and scout impressions make this guy appear like he might be a perfect answer to my recent defensive problems. The guy is rated at DC and DR and would be able to fill in nicely if Black was hurt again as well as provide some relief at DC. He has all of the things I look for in a DC: Good heading ability, decent physical strength, decent pace, good marking, good tackling, and good positioning. I'm going to contact him and see if we can work out a deal.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 11th, 2006 -

Today Guiseley just offered a loan deal from Leigh Wood. I want to sell this guy due to his salary. Guiseley is offering to pay 80% of his wages. This will get the guy some more PT and will relieve some salary, but it could hurt the club if we don't get Morley or a loan DC. I decide I will delay responding for now.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 13th, 2006 -

David Morley had asked for 360 dollars/week. I offered him 300 dollars/week for the next year and a half. He accepted. I see if Guiseley still wants to loan Wood as I find his lack of determination undermines his talent. Morley doesn't appear to have that problem from all of the information that I have. Hopefully, the information is good.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 13th, 2006 -

Guiseley told me they are no longer interested in loaning Wood at this time, as I took too long to get back to them. Although that will hurt the bottom line, I don't mind holding onto Wood as insurance for now.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 14th, 2006 -

Today we travel to play the Stafford Rangers. They are currently in 11th place. We are in 1st place with a 10 point lead on the 2nd place club. Stafford is led by right winger Robert Heath. Craig Wilding has 14 goals and is a dangerous striker. Chris Smith has played solid defense at DC. James Lindley has had a bad streak of games lately in goal. Neil Grayson their 41 year old striker is a dangerous player off the bench.

We have 1 win and 2 ties against them, with a 1-1 tie our last game on my pitch.

It's going to be a wet field and 44 degrees today.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Morley (time to throw the new guy into the fire - put him alongside my best defender)
DC: Wall
DR: Black (back from injury)
ML: Wright
MC: Atkins
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: Pettinger
S2: Wood
S3: Palmer
S4: Dunning (time to get super sub back on bench)
S5: Surey

[Eaglesfan27]

10 minute mark: Daniel Edwards dribbles up the left side of the pitch.. he crosses it towards the far post.. Craig Wilding is there.. he heads it by the far post.. it's past Scarsella.. GOAL. Down 1-0

25 minute mark: Wall with a key header to prevent Wilding from receiving another cross.

Half time: Down 1-0.

58 minute mark: Key tackle by Barnard on a Wilding breakaway.

60 minute mark: Wall sends a long ball to Atkins who is trying to break down the field.. he just doesn't have the speed. Chris Smith beats him to the ball and clears it.

65 minute mark: Surey for Atkins, Palmer for Kelly.

75 minute mark: Great header by Morley to prevent Grayson (who came on at 70 minute mark) from getting a good scoring opportunity.

80 minute mark: Despite the opposition keeping 10 men back.. we manage to pass the ball around through 4 different guys: Smyth to Surey to Collett to Palmer to Smyth.. Smyth gets the clean shot from 15 yards left side of the box.. goes for the far post on the angled shot.. past the keeper... it's... just wide.

Game over. 1-0 loss

Worse, we were dominated. They controlled time of possession and outshot us 15-5. (3-1 on goal.)

Craig Wilding won MoM, 29 of 33 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 3 of 10 headers, 2 interceptions, 1 run, and 1 goal scored.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 17th, 2006 -

Today Hartlepool offered John Brackstone plus 12,000 dollars. I've also had 3 other less serious offers. I wish all of these vultures would stop trying to pick Scarsella from me.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 21st, 2006 -

Today we host 9th ranked Lancaster City. Despite our loss last game, we are still 10 points ahead of the 2nd placed team. Lancaster's Paul Sparrow is the heart of that team this year. He plays a very strong defensive game. Mark Thornley has been bad in goal as of late. Steve Jones is a creative attacking midfielder. Peter Thompson is a striker who isn't very talented but scores a lot because of grit and determination.

We have 2 wins and a tie against them, with a 3-0 win earlier this season at their place.

We are 5:4 favorites.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Morley (I hope he steps up more this game)
DC: Shepherd (wall needs rest again - he will probably play every other game)
DR: Black
ML: Wright
MC: Surey (resting Wright)
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Farrell

S1: Pettinger
S2: Wood
S3: Palmer
S4: Dunning
S5: Krief

It's a rainy 60 degree day.

[Eaglesfan27]

16 minute mark: Morley with a big tackle on Peter Thompson to prevent a likely goal.

23 minute mark: Shepherd with a big header.. up the field to Surey.. Surey feeds the ball to Smyth down in the left corner.. Smyth crosses to Kelly. Kelly is alone in the box.. he shoots.. Thornley dives.. Thornley catches the shot cleanly.

27 minute mark: Wright gets the ball from Shepherd.. dribbles towards the left corner of the box.. shoots from 25 yards out.. Thornley saves it easily.

29 minute mark: Wright gets the ball on the left wing.. dribbles it up the field.. past midfield. passes it up to Smyth in the left corner.. Smyth crosses... Kelly gets it in the center of the box.. shoots.. Thornley dives to his right.. tips it.. just wide of the net.

35 minute mark: Farrell gets the ball in the right corner.. he crosses it to Kelly at the near post.. Kelly immediately passes it to Smyth.. Smyth shoots.. Thornley dives.. and catches it.

Halftime: Despite dominating the time of possession and shots (9-1), it's 0-0 at halftime.

59 minute mark: Surey plays a ball into the box.. Kelly gets to it.. shoots from 10 yards.. Thornley smothers the shot.

60 minute mark: I sub in Palmer for Farrell.

Game over. We dominated the action, but Thornley played VERY well in goal.

0-0 tie.

We outshot them 15-1 (9-1 on goal.)

Mark Thornley wins MoM for his 9 saves.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 25th, 2006 -

Hull hired former Macclesfield manager Brian Horton today.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 27th, 2006 -

Yes! Today I finally got an offer on one of my transfer listed players. Moor Green offered 4,000 dollars for Pettinger. They are in the English Conference South in the bottom half of the table. Therefore, I'll be selling him to a relatively non-threanening competitor. Furthermore, the money is better than what I would get if I just let him go at the end of the year, and I'll have his salary off the books.

I agree to the 4,000 dollar deal.

[Eaglesfan27]

January 28th, 2006 -

Hartlepool and Bristol Rovers (both League 1) made offers for Scarsella. One was 6,000 plus John Brackstone (again) and the other was 30,000 dollars plus 20% of next sale. I declined them both. I just hope that Scarsella doesn't end up becoming upset. So far, he says he is happy to stay with Harrogate.

[daedalus]

I see 'em vultures a-circlin', my good man.

What's Scarsella's current value? Have you tried setting his asking price to be fairly high and as 'not for sale'? I'm guessin' you won't quite be in trouble until the offers reaches 6-digits, though.

[MizzouRah]

Excellent read. I had to catch up today. You're doing quite well and I hope it continues!

Todd

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by daedalus

I see 'em vultures a-circlin', my good man.

What's Scarsella's current value? Have you tried setting his asking price to be fairly high and as 'not for sale'? I'm guessin' you won't quite be in trouble until the offers reaches 6-digits, though.

He is currently valued at 24,000, and I've set my asking price to 150,000

He also has the 1 million release clause which I'm certain will never be triggered. I'm hoping that I can get promoted this season and hold onto him at least that long before I have to let him go. Least then, I should be able to afford an attempt to acquire a new young keeper. Of course, my scout needs to find me a promising keeper like he did with Scarsella

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Excellent read. I had to catch up today. You're doing quite well and I hope it continues!

Todd

Thanks

[Eaglesfan27]

January 28th, 2006 -

Despite our tie last match we remain 9 points ahead of the new 2nd place team, Stalybridge. Today we host 9th placed Vauxhall motors. They have Andy White on loan from Crewe and the striker has scored 3 goals in 3 games. Anthony Wright is a dangerous striker alongside him. Alan Griffiths has played fairly well in the midfield. The defense has been average with Mike Kinsella giving up 7 goals in the last 5 games. However, the team recently acquired Matthew Gilks from Rochdale on loan. It will be interesting to see which keeper starts.

We have a 1-1-1 record against them with the tie occurring this season on the road. That was a 1-1 game.

We are heavy 4:5 favorites to win the game.

It's a sunny 46 degree day.

GK: Scarsella
DL: Barnard
DC: Morley (I hope he steps up more this game)
DC: Wall
DR: Black
ML: Wright
MC: Atkins
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Palmer (trying to give Farrell a wake up call.. 3 "5's" for form in the last 5 games (since signing his new contract.)

S1: Pettinger (transfer hasn't gone through yet.. probably his last game with us.)
S2: Wood
S3: Surey
S4: Dunning
S5: Farrell

S1: Pettinger
S2: Wood
S3: Palmer
S4: Dunning
S5: Krief

[Eaglesfan27]

11 minute mark: Morley intercepts a long pass with a powerful header from our box to about midfield.. Palmer gets it at midfield.. passes it up the field to Smyth.. Smyth races to the ball... runs into the left side of the box.. the keeper comes out to cut down the angle.. Smyth shoots for the far right corner.. it's past the keeper.. heading high.. it's just inside the net! GOAL!!! 1-0

20 minute mark: Morley with a great play to stop a potential Andy White breakaway, strips White of the ball.. plays it up to Smyth. Smyth is running into the box.. Mike Tomlinson the right fullback body checks Smyth!! Smyth is hurt on the ground. Tomlinson gets a.. Yellow card! Yellow!! F#!! A!#%^&! He should have gotten a red. Hopefully, Smyth's injury isn't too bad. I sub in Farrell for Smyth.

41 minute mark: The game has been very chippy.. Atkins just tripped Carl Nesbitt causing him to become injured. No card given.

Halftime: 1-0 lead for us.

51 minute mark: Morley with a nice interception of a pass. Morley passes to Farrell at midfield. Farrell sets up Palmer with a great pass.. Palmer burns his man.. running into the box.. shoots.. Kinsella blocks the shot.. Tomlinson clears the rebound.

62 minute mark: Kelly is tripped by Tomlinson.. no Card!!?! Kelly is hurt.. he is trying to play, but he can't. I sub in Dunning for him.

68 minute mark: Palmer gets a long pass from Wall in the right corner.. centers for Dunning.. Dunning controls the pass.. shoots for the lower left corner.. Kinsella saves it.

85 minute mark: Atkins steals the ball at midfield.. passes it to the right corner.. Palmer gets to it.. he dribbles two steps towards midfield.. he centers the ball towards the far post for Andrew Wright! Wright has come from his left winger position to attack the goal.. Wright heads the long crossing pass.. into the goal.. GOAL!!! 2-0.

92 minute mark: Wright steals the ball at midfield.. he passes to Dunning who is 30 yards out.. Dunning passes to Palmer who is at the right edge of the box.. Palmer immediately gives it back to Dunning with a crisp pass. Dunning is 20 yards out.. shoots for the lower right corner.. Kinsella dives.. he can't get to it... GOAL!!!! 3-0 That is Dunning's first goal ever for Harrogate!

Game over. 3-0 win for us.

We outshot them 14-9. (8-3 on goal)

Palmer wins MoM. 19 of 22 passes, 0 of 0 tackles, 0 of 5 headers, 3 interceptions, 3 runs, 3 assists!

[SirFozzie]

You may want to criticise him to the press, or give him an official warning if he continues to play below a 6.

that's some bad bad play...

[Eaglesfan27]

Post match info:

Farrell picked up a yellow card during this last game which was his 5th. As a result, he has received a ban for the next game.

Smyth hurt his thigh, but the physio believes he will be 100% in the next few days.

Kelly bruised his ribs, but he should be ready to go in a day or two.

Bill Fotherby continues to look absolutely giddy after our wins. He is gushing to the press about the team.

Wow.. after the game, I had a message from Hyde United's manager. He is offering 20,000 dollars plus 25% of next sale on Leigh Wood. I'm taking a chance on letting this talented youngster go, but his lack of determination and work ethic really bothers me. I decide to accept this offer.