FM: Harrogate - Will they hit the Ceiling?

[Eaglesfan27]

April 6th, 2008 -

I respectfully turned down the QPR job. The chairman asked me if I was crazy. I told him, maybe I was.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 9th, 2008 -

The quarterfinal round of the European Champions Cup ended today.

Arsenal beat Marseille 5-1 on aggregate.

Liverpool beat Olympiakos 2-0 on aggregate.

Milan beat Rangers 5-1 on aggregate.

Valencia beat Juventus 4-2 on aggregate.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 12th, 2008 -

I've just discovered according to soccer.com that I'm now known nationally as a good manager. My reputation has risen from local to national! WOO HOO! I'm also considered extremely loyal but somewhat unambitious.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 12th, 2008 -

We are currently in 1st witha 5 point lead with 4 games to go. We are hosting Lincoln which is currently in 14th place today. Lincoln's Ryan France is injured. However they have a talented striker in Gary Taylor-Fletcher who leads the team with 13 goals. Midfielder Richard Butcher has played very good defense and has helped set up the offense. Centreback Paul Morgan has played well in shutting down the opposition. Keeper Dean Morgan has been erratic at best. He has the talent to be a dominant keeper at this level, but he either has a clean sheet or gives up 2-3 goals/game. There are very few in between games.

We beat them 2-1 on the road earlier in the year.

We are 5-4 favorites.

It's raining today with temperatures in the mid 60's.

GK: O'Connor
DL: Barnett
DC: McShane
DC: Wall
DR: Morley
ML: Wright
MC: Mannix (freshly back from injury)
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Kennedy

S1: Scarsella
S2: Davies
S3: Mulligan
S4: Seyi Morgan
S5: Baker

Injured: Fox, Moore, and Palmer.

[Barkeep49]

What does the loyalty rating mean? Will it help you attract players who know that if they come to Harrogate they really will play for you?

[Eaglesfan27]

7 minute mark: Collett gets it at midfield.. perfect through ball for Kennedy.. he dribbles it in the box.. the keeper is backpedaling.. Kennedy shoots.. the keeper blocks it.

11 minute mark: Butcher trips Collett.. yellow card for Butcher.

22 minute mark: Smyth gets it at the left corner of the box.. passes to Wright behind him.. Wright shoots.. the keeper barely tips it over the bar.

26 minute mark: McShane with a nice interception of a pass into the box.

Halftime: 0-0 tie. 3404 fans at this game.

60 minute mark: Andrew Wright gets the ball from McShane at midfield.. passes it nicely to Smyth who has a breakaway.. he fakes going to his right.. dribbles to his left.. shoots the hard angle.. upper right corner.. it's past the keeper... GOAL!!!! 1-0.

62 minute mark: Mannix steals the ball.. passes it to Smyth on the left edge of the box.. he threads a pass between two defenders to Kelly at the middle of the box.. Kelly looks right.. shoots left.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 2-0.

65 minute mark: o'connor saves a Ryan header.

68 minute mark: Mannix is hurt by a harsh tackle. He has to come off. Davies on for Mannix. Seyi Morgan on for Kennedy. Mulligan on for Kelly.

81 minute mark: Futcher intercepts a clearance pass from McShane.. shoots from 25 yards.. it flies right past O'Connor who almost looked like he was screened by all of the guys in the box. GOAL. Up 2-1.

88 minute mark: Wall with a nice header to clear a corner kick.

89 minute mark: O'Connor saves a close range Richardson shot.

90 minute mark: Smyth gets called for tripping a defender after the defender stole the ball for him.

92 minute mark: McShane gets a yellow card for a trip on their striker.

Game over. 2-1 win for us. We outshot them 13-6 (8-4 on goal)

O'Connor is awarded MoM.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

What does the loyalty rating mean? Will it help you attract players who know that if they come to Harrogate they really will play for you?

Excellent questions. I wish I had the answer. I can only guess that it means players know I have their back and maybe they will be more likely to want to play for me? Or perhaps it is the team ownership that feels I'm particularly loyal?

[Eaglesfan27]

Post match info: Mannix twisted his knee and will be out a week or so.

Leeds won promotion to the EPL.

Everton won promotion to the EPL.

Bradford City have secured promotion the League One.

Darlington have been relegated from League Two.

Bury have won the English Conference National Title.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 15, 2008 -

Reading Chairman John Madejski offered me their manager job today. Reading is currently 20th in the English Championship and have several good players. I would have a transfer budget of 3.9 million next year, but would have to restrict weekly wages in the area of 200,000 dollars/week. It is a tempting offer, but I politely decline the offer.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 16, 2008 -

Norwich have been relegated from the English Championship and therefore will be one of my rivals next year.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 19, 2008 -

With 3 games to go, we are 5 points ahead of 2nd place Bradford City. With a win we definitely secure the league title. With a tie, we likely secure the league title. We have an outside shot at a 100 point season if we win our last 3 games. Today we travel to play Stockport which is currently in 17th place. Stockport relies mostly on loan players. Their top four guys are all from other clubs. Striker MArk Yeates is on loan from Sheffield United and he can be a dangerous scorer. He has 12 U21 caps and 3 U21 goals for Ireland in the past. Centreback John Fitzgerald is on loan from Blackburn and he is a very good centreback who can shut down the opposition. Right winger Jerome Watt on loan from Stoke is a quality player. Keeper Wayne Brown is a veteran who is adequate in goal. He has some very bad games in which he averages 3 goals conceded/game, but he also has quite a few clean sheets.

We crushed them 6-0 at home earlier in the year.

It's raining and temperatures are in the high 50's today.

We are 5-4 favorites.

GK: O'Connor
DL: Barnett
DC: McShane
DC: Wall
DR: Morley
ML: Wright
MC: Surey
MR: collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Kennedy

S1: Scarsella
S2: Davies
S3: Mulligan
S4: Seyi Morgan
S5: Baker

[Eaglesfan27]

1st minute: Surey gets a long pass from Morley who he kicked it back to.. he dribbles it into the box.. the centreback knocks it away from him.. he recovers.. beats the centreback.. dribbles it.. the keeper tries to take it away.. the keeper bobbles it.. Surey kicks it as it hits the ground.. around the keeper.. GOAL!!!! 1-0. That is Surey's first of the year.

3 minute mark: Mcshane gets a yellow card for arguing a trip call.

8 minute mark: Kelly intercepts it at midfield.. passes to Smyth on the left corner of the pitch.. Smyth centers towards the far post.. Kennedy heads it.. into the net! GOAL!!!! 2-0.

16 minute mark: Surey trips Griffin.. Griffin takes a direct kick from 30 yards.. hits a widely curving shot... Griffins puts it into the upper left corner.. GOAL. 2-1.

23 minute mark: Surey heads it to Wright... Wright passes it to Kennedy in the box with a really great pass.. right to Kennedy's feet... he quickly settles it.. shoots from the right half of the box for the upper right corner.. it's past the keeper.. GREAT GOAL!!!! 3-1.

25 minute mark: kennedy gets a yellow card for a trip on Best.

26 minute mark: McShane heads away yet another pass into our box.

27 minute mark: Barnett gets a yellow card for a vicious tackle on Watt.

30 minute mark: Fish gets it on the right corner of the pitch.. crosses for Watt who is by the near post.. he heads it.. past O'Connor.. GOAL. 3-2 game.

38 minute mark: Kennedy steals it at midfield.. plays a nice through ball to the middle of the box.. Smyth and the keeper racing towards it.. Smyth gets there first.. dribbles around the keeper.. shoots.. into the center of the net! GOAL!!!! 4-2.

Halftime: Up 4-2.

56 minute mark: Smyth is called for obstructing Daly.. yellow card.. he argues the call.. second yellow card.. he is ejected. I decide to sub Mulligan for Kennedy who already has a yellow card, Morgan for McShane who has a yellow card, and Davies for Collett who has a yellow card.

61 minute: Wall gets called for tripping Yeates in the box.. penalty awarded! Griffin steps up to take the shot.. he looks confident... he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL.. 4-3.

65 minute mark: Best passes into the box to Beckett who crosses for Daly in the center of the box.. he shoots.. upper right corner.. GOAL. 4-4 tie.

74 minute mark: O'Connor saves a shot by Lambert.

80 minute mark: Beckett gets a cross from Daly.. he shoots.. O'Connor blocks it.. he gets the rebound.. Beckett scores! GOAL. Down 5-4.

Game over. 5-4 loss. I was a little too overconfident and premature in removing McShane and the others for the last 30 minutes.

We were outshot 19-10 (12-8 on goal)

Kennedy won MoM, 16 of 20 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 1 of 2 headers, 1 interception, 2 runs, 1 assist, 2 goals.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Boston United's Kain Bond broke his leg and will need surgery. He will miss at least 5 or 6 months.

Mark Smyth has been banned for one match.

Chelsea have won their 3rd consecutive English Premiere Division Title.

Bristol Rovers have been relegated from League One.

Huddersfield have been relegated from League One.

Barnsley have won promotion to the English League One.

Welling have been relegated from the English Conference South.

Our defeat against Stockport was a new Harrogate record for total goals in a game from both teams.

The 9 yellow cards and 2 red cards received by Paul McShane throughout the season is a new Harrogate record.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 22, 2008 -

Jason Kennedy was selected to the English League Two team of the week.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 23rd, 2008 -

I watched the Milan vs Arsenal game that was live from Italy today. It was a real stinker as Milan dominated the time of possession and beat Arsenal 2-0. Dimitar Berbatov scored both goals in the first 10 minutes and then Milan played keep away the rest of the game.

Valencia beat Liverpool 2-0 in the later game.

It will be interesting to see how the second legs of the these fixtures goes.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 24, 2008 -

Seyi Morgan has suffered a partially torn groin muscle in training today and will miss approximately the next 4 weeks.

[condors]

I am glad you stayed with Harrogate. I am hoping you continue your winning ways into the EPL and then play in the champions league.

I took a league 2 team(rushden) to the epl but haven't enjoyed much success there i am hoping i could get some insight as it seems every year its a struggle just to be a midtable team for me.(9 seasons there top finish was 5th once never higher than 8th in the other 8 seasons)

[Eaglesfan27]

April 26, 2008 -

With two games to go we are 4 points ahead of 2nd place Bradford city. Therefore, we need one more win to secure the league title or two ties (I must have miscalculated before when I thought 1 tie would do it.)

Today we should hopefully get that win! We host Darlington which is in 24th place. However, Darlington has recently brought in a few good loan players and have gotten almost all of their 5 wins in the second half of the season. Darlington is led by strikers Phil Vaughan (on loan from Liverpool) and Will Johnson (American on loan from Blackburn.) The only player who is really playing well is centreback Joey Hutchinson and keeper Frank Talia.

We beat them 1-0 earlier in the year.

We are 5-4 favorites.

It's showering today with temperatures in the high 50's.

GK: O'Connor
DL: Barnard
DC: McShane
DC: Craig Morgan
DR: Morley
ML: Wright
MC: Mannix
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Barker
SC: Kennedy

S1: Scarsella
S2: Davies
S3: Mulligan
S4: Barnett
S5: Baker

[Eaglesfan27]

8 minute mark: O'Connor stops a shot by Vaughan.

20 minute mark: Collett gets a yellow card for tripping Hurst.

22 minute mark: Baughan crosses for McGoldrick.. McShane misplays it.. McGoldrick heads it.. into the upper right corner of the net. GOAL. Down 1-0.

35 minute mark: Barker looks hurt... but he wants to keep playing.

Halftime: Down 1-0.

I bring on Mulligan for Barker.

46 minute mark: The centreback barely gets back in time to stop Kennedy from having a great breakaway.

65 minute mark: Collett injured Hughes.. he'll have to go off, they have used their subs already and will be playing a man down.

81 minute mark: Kennedy gets it in the box.. he shoots.. the keeper blocks it.. the defense clears it.

Kelly is tired so I put on Davies for him. Also, Mannix is tried so I put Barnett on for him.

85 minute mark: Talia with a brilliant save of a point blank shot by Kennedy.

86 minute mark: Hutchingson gets a yellow card for tripping Kennedy just outside the box.

88 minute mark: Craig Morgan takes a direct kick from midfield.. long pass to Daies in the box.. he gets to it.. wide open with the keeper.. shoots.. upper left corner.. GOAL!!!! 1-1 tie.

Game over. 1-1 tie This is going to go down to the final game of the year to see if we get the title, unless Bradford City lost.

We outshot them 9-3 (6-1 on goal)

Morley wins MoM, 30 of 38 passes, 1 of 1 tackles, 7 of 7 headers, 5 interceptions, 1 run.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post match Info:

Grays have won the English Conference South title.

Sutton United have been relegated from the English Conference South.

Cambridge City have been relegated from the English Conference South.

Burton have been relegated from the English Conference National.

Grantham have won the English Conference North title.

Gainsborough have been relegated from the English Conference North.

Thurrock have been relegated from the English Conference North.

Leeds have won the English Championship Title.

Derby have won League One.

Notts Co have been relegated from League One

Scarborough have been relegated from League One.


NOW to TEAM SPECIFIC News:

Jason Kennedy bruised his head and will miss 5 days

Most Importantly:

We have won the title for League Two!!!!


Our fans are going crazy in the streets outside the stadium!

[Eaglesfan27]

Late Edition of the Local Newspaper:

Harrogate town are understandably delighted after their boss Christopher Engles beat all the odds to bring them glory in the English League Two.

As Town fans celebrated through the night, one fans' spokesperson commented that there were already plans afoot to rename their supporters' club after the great manager.

Harrogate Town board members were spotted celebrating amongst the fans after winning the competition.

[Eaglesfan27]

As a side note: Bradford City was beat by Brighton 2-0 despite being at home to help secure the title for us.

[Eaglesfan27]

April 30th, 2008 -

Arsenal tried to push the attack all day in the 2nd leg of the Semi Final of the European Champions Cup, but Milan played very defensive and the game ended in a 0-0 tie despite Arsenal outshooting Milan 12-6. Milan advances 2-0 on aggregate.

Liverpool also pressed the attack, and Valencia also played defensively. Liverpool pressed the attack the entire game and dominated ball possession, but they couldn't break through to score until the 90th minute when Anthony Le Tallec had a diving header of a cross by Andres D'Alessandro to make this game 1-0. Unfortunately it was not enough as Valencia won 2-1 on aggregate.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 1st, 2008 -

Blackpool's Paul Edwards won English League Two Player of the Month.

Richard Langley of Blackpool came in 2nd, and Stephed Roberts of Wrexham came in 3rd.

Shrewsbury Town's Thomas Spurr win young player of the month.

Michael Smart of Southend came in 2nd, and Mark Patterson of Port Vale came in 3rd.

Blackpool's Russell Slade has won Manager of the month. Keith Curle of Southend came in 2nd, and Paul Holleran of Grimsby Town came in 3rd.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 3rd, 2008 -

Our final game of the year has arrived. We travel to play Southend with supreme confidence as league victors. Southend is in 20th place, but has been playing well the last few games thanks to a few loan players. Right fullback Osei Sankofa (on loan from Charlton) has played very well this year in his 14 games for southend. Backup keeper Steve Coroudson has played well since taking over the for injured Stephen Ingram. Leftwinger Michael Smart plays a strong game based on speed. Striker Michael Kightly is their most dangerous scorer.

We beat them 4-0 earlier in the year.

We are 5-4 favorites.

It's going to be sunny with temperatures in the high 60's today.

GK: O'Connor
DL: Barnard
DC: Morgan
DC: Wall
DR: Onuoha
ML: Wright
MC: Mannix
MR: Collett
AMC: Kelly
SC: Smyth
SC: Palmer

S1: Scarsella
S2: Davies
S3: Mulligan
S4: Barnett
S5: Baker

[Eaglesfan27]

2 minute mark: Kightly gets it in the box.. shoots for the lower left corner.. diving save by O'Connor.

9 minute mark: O'Connor with a quality save of a Kightly shot.

27 minute mark: Mannix intercepts it at midfield passes it to Wright on the left wing.. Wright passes it to Smyth on the left corner of the box.. Smyth shoots... big left footed shot.. into the upper right corner of the box.. GOAL!!!! 1-0.

Halftime: up 1-0.

66 minute mark: Craig Morgan is hurt, he insists he can stay on the pitch but he looks like he can barely walk. I decide to sub someone in for him. Barnett is the only guy on the bench appropriate for the position, so in he goes.

I also put Davies on for Kelly.

75 minute mark: Barnett gets away with a warning after tripping Bryan.

78 minute mark: O'Connor with a nice save of a point blank shot from Bryan.

Game over. 1-0 win for us.

We were outshot 19-8 :O (8-3 on goal)

O'connor wins MoM with his 8 saves.

[Eaglesfan27]

Post Match Info:

Rotherham have won promotion to the English Championship.

Colchester have been relegated from the English League One.

Charlton have been relegated from the EPL.

Leicester have been relegated from the EPL.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 5, 2008 -

Mark Barnard and Andrew Wright were selected to the English League Two team of the week.

[Barkeep49]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

one fans' spokesperson

The first time I read that as one fan's spokesperson and was very impressed that each fan bothered to get their own spokesperson.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

The first time I read that as one fan's spokesperson and was very impressed that each fan bothered to get their own spokesperson.

Hehe

[Eaglesfan27]

May 11, 2008 -

Nottm Forest have been relegated from the EPL.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 19, 2008 -

Worksop have won promotion to the English Conference National.

Worcester have won promotion to the English League Two.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 21st, 2008 -

Milan and Valencia played an up and down game today in the European Champions Cup. Valencia pressed the attack the most but Milan's keeper Christian Abbiati was brilliant in goal and stopped every shot he faced. Dimitar Berbatov broke through with a goal on a breakaway rebound in the 79th minute for the decisive margin. Milan wins the European Champions Cup 1-0.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 26, 2008 -

Today Mr. Fotherby told me that the most the team can afford is the annual 32,000 dollars for transfers next year.


Crystal Palce won promotion to the EPL.


Looking at our finances, we actually lost 24,667 dollars by the end of the year and the current balance in the bank is 379,392. I find myself wondering if/when I will get bonus money for winning League 2?

[Eaglesfan27]

May 27th, 2008 -

Blackpool has won promotion to the English League One.

Mike Davies and Seyi Morgan have earned contractually mandated salary increases since we were promoted to league one.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 28, 2008 -

Benjamin Collett, Greg Kelly, and David Mannix were slected to the English Player's League Two Select team.

I won Manager of the Year. John Cunningham of Bradford City came in 2nd, and Russell Slade of Blackpool came in third.

Bradford City's Steven Gillespie has won the League Two Top Goalscorer award with 20 goals. Mark Burchill of Barnsley came in 2nd, and Adam Nowland of Grimsby came in 3rd.

[Eaglesfan27]

May 30, 2008 -

QPR has signed Stephen Constantine as their new manager.

McShane will be returning to Man City in a few days.

Moore and Mannix will also be returning to their teams in a few days.

All of my other loan players have already returned to their teams.

[SirFozzie]

after the playoffs you should earn money for final league position

[MizzouRah]

Fine job!!


Todd

[Eaglesfan27]

End of Season Individual Stats:

AVG FORM:

1. David Mannix - 7.70
2. Benjamin Collett - 7.67
3. Greg Kelly - 7.63
4. David Morley - 7.58
5. Paul McShane - 7.57
10. Mark Smyth - 7.52

We swept the top 5!


LEAGUE GOALS:

1. Steven Gillespie, Bradford City - 20
2. Mark Burchill, Barnsley - 18
2. Adam Nowland, Grimsby - 18
4. John Sutton, Boston United - 17
4. Greg Kelly - 17

13. Mark Smyth - 13


LEAGUE ASSISTS:

1. Ben Muirhead, Bradford City - 18
2. Danny Thomas, Boston Utd - 15
3. Mark Smyth - 14
4. Paul Brooker, Grimsby - 12
4. Chris Greenacre - 12

6. Greg Kelly was tied with 4 others with 11.

18. Collett and Palmer were tied with 8 others with 8.


MoM:

1. Frank Talia, Darlington - 10
1. Richard Langley, Blackpool - 10
3. Brad Jones, Wrexham - 8
3. Kevin Pilkington, Mansfield - 8
3. Greg Kelly - 8

11. Mannix was tied with 5 other players with 5.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

after the playoffs you should earn money for final league position

I hope so. We NEED that money

[Eaglesfan27]

June 6, 2008 -

Real Sociedad's Gaston Fernandez has won the European Golden Boot award with 22 goals this year. Mista of Valencia came in 2nd, and Djibril Cisse of Liverpool came in third.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Fine job!!


Todd

Thanks

[Eaglesfan27]

June 14, 2008 -

Mick Byrne (one of our physios) announced that he will retire at the end of the season.

[Eaglesfan27]

As the year ends, I thought some of the value changes were interesting:

24 year old Greg Kelly is now "worth" 460,000 (all of these are before we "officially" move to league 1)
23 year old Mark Smyth is now worth 400,000
21 year old Jermaine Palmer is now worth 320,000.
23 year old Benjamin Collett is now worth 140,000.
19 year old Richard O'Connor is now worth 140,000.
20 year old Stuart Wall is now worth 56,000.
19 year old Mike Davies is now worth 52,000.
29 year old Andrew Wright is now worth 52,000.
24 year old Andy Farrell is worth 40,000.
24 year old Grant Black is worth 32,000
25 year old Ben Surey is worth 32,000.
20 year old Joe Barnett is worth 28,000.
25 year old David Scarsella is worth 20,000.
30 year old David Morley is worth 20,000.
21 year old Seyi Morgan is worth 20,000.
23 year old Tom Baker is worth 12,000.
32 year old Mark Barnard is worth 10,000.
22 year old Michael Foulkes is worth 2,000.
27 year old Christian Fox is worth 2,000.
30 year old Paul Shepherd is worth 2,000.
Colin Hunter and Mark Atkins are worth 0 (32 and 39 years old - both retiring)

[Eaglesfan27]

June 19, 2008 -

Greg Kelly has been voted Harrogate Town's player of the year by supporters.

Today we were given 550,000 dollars for league one TV rights for the upcoming season.

I'm confused that we still haven't been given money for winning league two?

We are expected to fight bravely against relegation in League One this year.

[daedalus]

Other than the money for league position, you should also be getting TV money.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Other than the money for league position, you should also be getting TV money.

I got the TV money for league 2 at the beginning of last year, and the TV money for league 1 just now. But, I didn't see title money either season, unless it was just given without being announced? I did have 60,000 dollars in prize money last year with no clear idea where it came from (I know some of it came from a cup win, but not sure about the rest.) I know I have all announcements turned on, and I'm fairly certain I didn't miss any.

[daedalus]

That's odd. I would say you missed it. That announcement (prize money for finish) usually comes well before the actual promotion itself or the TV money.

[Eaglesfan27]

Interesting note:

We are now promoted and all of our players had an increase in value. Most of them were only 10,000 dollars or so. However, Smyth's value increased to 480,000 and Kelly's value has gone up to 520,000.