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08-04-2003, 10:57 AM
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#1 | ||
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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CM4 - Lincoln City, 2006-07
Lincoln City, 2006-07
This thread continues my career as manager of Lincoln City, a Third Division English club in Championship Manager 4, started following the release of expansion pack #4. I’m playing with a fairly restricted game: all fictional players, no fancy/downloaded tactics, a small player database, and running only England. So far, we’ve advanced pretty well – getting out of the Third Division in two seasons, and now we seek to move forward as a fairly legitimate contender after two years in Second Division. Thread History: Lincoln City, 2002-03 Lincoln City, 2003-04 Lincoln City, 2004-05 Lincoln City, 2005-06 Team History: Code:
From here, we will start up in June/July, and kick off preparations for the new season. As a refresher, is a recap of our player performance from the 05-06 season: Code:
We continue to have our deepest struggles in the midfield, but we have some help on the way. I’ve got two more midfielders arriving in June, and they will be added to the mix to try to help out. I’m also hoping that Matthew Harris’s late season form improvement was a sign of things to come – if he can step in and play well on our left wing, it will be a huge boost for us. We do have a number of players on expiring contracts, and I’m reluctant to re-sign many guys with £1,000+ raises. So, we’ll see who’s willing to play on a month-to-month deal, and who’d rather bail out. Midfielder Paul Harper and defenseman Andy Davies are the two highest-profile players in this situation, along with several others, too. Stay tuned. |
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08-04-2003, 10:57 AM
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#2 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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June/July 2006
We’re still tying up a few details from last season, but mostly focusing on the year ahead. We’ve still got a couple of weeks to use the 05/06 transfer budget, and to see stats from the 05/06 season, so this is a ripe time to at least check out the transfer market. SO far, my “big” acquisitions have been a mixed bag – so I’ll be focused more on players who are either proven on the pitch, or come highly recommended by my scouts. (With thanks to some of this dynasty’s readers, who have helped remind me that discipline is needed here) I made it through the 05/06 season about £5,000/wk under the overall wage budget – so we will have posted another very profitable season. This also means that we have some flexibility to expand the payroll if needed. I could afford to grant the big raises some of my players are asking for, but right now feel that what this club needs is one or two serious impact players, rather than more guys of the same caliber we already have. If I can land a big fish or two, great. Otherwise – I’m pretty content to go into next season with minimal changes. We had a disappointing start to the 05/06 season, exacerbated by our strong late run – which could have really mattered had we not already played ourselves out of contention. And there’s one more thing – I’m disappointed that we don’t have a real ace on the squad to take penalty kicks. With a low-scoring team like ours, missing half of our PKs is a real liability – we can’t afford to take as many draws as we did last season (14) – we need to squeak out all those opportunities as best we can. Lincoln City’s QuikSand has won the Second Division Manager of the Month award. Winning this in May, as the club moves from 14th to 13th position, just rings a shade hollow. The transfer window has re-opened, so we get to take a look around at players who might be available. We have some £400K in our transfer budget – it’s not out of the question that we try to land an impact signing here. Our first signing is completed – Stephen Nicholls joins us from Stockport on a £40,000 transfer (agree to several weeks ago). The 20 y/o midfielder has been very effective with Stockport in the second division, including posting a 7.58 average match rating last season. He is very quick and has good technique – my thinking is that he might end up seeing some time at several positions. I don’t know if he’s a great fit for the forward midfield spot as he isn’t a great passer – but we’ll see where he works out. His new salary of £2,200/wk makes him our second-highest paid player – so there will be a financial fallout here, too. I make a new contract offer to defender Andy Davies. He wants £2,300/wk, but I’m offering £1,600/wk – still a big increase for him. He accepts the offer, and we lock him up through 2009. I still have Andrew Cross seeking a deal, but with three solid central defenders signed now, I can allow him to roll. Cheltenham inquire about midfielder Alan Lynch – and I put a £90K price tag on him. I reckon he’s a decent player, but certainly not a standout for us. He gave us some time at the forward mid spot last season, but wasn’t nearly as valuable there as Richard Lewis has been. I’d be happy to let him go, if they pursue the offer. Lincoln’s Lee Williamson has been voted Player of the year by supporters. Deserving, once again – he just flourishes in the forward spot, where he was able to play all season this year. We’ve got four promotions from our youth academy, who will join our U19 side: Neal White, 15, M R/C – good physical skills, needs to work on technique Michael Walker, 15, GK – solid all around, and our scouts love him Ian Burke, 15, GK – has very nice skill set already, might be promising too David Hewitt, 15, DM R/C – Hard worker, determined – good teammate We’ve inked a new sponsorship deal – 5yrs for £140,000/yr – a nice boost from our previous deal. That should certainly help the finances a bit, too. The Lincoln board are very pleased with your performance as manager. The team is expected to fight bravely against relegation from the Second Division in the coming season. To help you achieve this, the Lincoln board have given you a transfer budget of £675K. Swell – we aren’t really getting any heat from the ownership to succeed right away. I feel this ought to be a season where we contend for a promotion spot, but they don’t have as lofty goals. That’s encouraging – we can hardly fail them. Cheltenham are haggling over one of our players – they are now offering one of their own straight up for Alan Lynch, the midfielder they covet. Dean Cox has been a solid forward for Cheltenham, and looks to me like a better fit for our forward midfield spot than Lynch is/was. I accept their terms – and we’ll hops to secure a contract with Dean Cox (who is 29 – I lose in the age differential here). Financially, we ended last season ahead by about £500,000 – good enough to boost our total bankroll to over £3 million. I suspect I’ll spend more on wages this season, but we’ll still maintain our prudent fiscal approach, overall. Cheltenham have worked out a contract with Alan Lynch, but Dean Cox balks at our offer – which was about as generous as we can afford here in Lincoln. Trouble here, it seems. We’re into the second round of the World Cup. Here are the results of the first level of tournament play so far: Code:
We bring aboard Darren Evans, our newest midfielder signing, over from Chelsea. He has spent the last two seasons playing on loan in the First Division, and doing very well there. We’ll drop him down, but the commitment from our club should keep him happy. I don’t know if he has the fitness to play every match, but I suspect he’ll have success – probably adding to our attack from the right wing, primarily. Paul Harper, another right-side midfielder, is released to take some pressure off the wage budget. Gary Webb, basically our starter at the right wing, is about to let his contract roll – so his spot on the squad is a little tenuous as well. We‘ll be counting on Evans. We set up four friendly matches, mostly at home, which should suffice to get our group into match condition. I field offers for Alan Lynch, and am surprised to receive a solid £200,000 offer from Rotherham, which I quickly accept. It’s a complicated, tiered proposal – with £65,000 up front and payments after that, plus a share of the next sale. Could work out fine, we think. They quickly agree terms, and Lynch is transferred. In the quarterfinals of World Cup play, there are some surprises: Code:
Nobody expected either Romania, Greece or Congo to be here, but they march onward. Congo has been playing some fabulous football, but now must face Germany. In the World Cup finals, it will be Germany against Greece in the finals. Germany are considered the favorites, of course, but Greece have played guttily throughout, with a boost from striker Manolis Iliadis, whose four goals have made a huge difference. He plays for Birmingham with his club contract. Greece come through with a 2-0 win over Germany to accept the top spot. It’s Kiros Pappas of Olympiakos who drives home the two strikes, and leads the Hellenic triumph. Our first friendly match is at home to Norwich, and we get our first look at Steven Nicholls and Darren Evans in the midfield. Both Evans and Nicholls get match ratings of 8 in their 45 minutes of play – solid from both. We get goals from Matthew Jackson and John Garner, and manage a solid 2-0 win. Garner, however, suffers a broken collarbone – and will miss a month. We get acceptance from Derby on a transfer bid for on of their young midfielders, Colin Charles. This guy has topped my scout’s lists for several months, and when Derby went into financial chaos, we pushed to get him. He has played well in First Division, and can play the left side – two good things for our current needs. I make him a lucrative contract offer – this would be our biggest investment in a player to date. However, he accepts a deal with Wimbledon, a First Division club, instead. We host Burnley in another friendly, and pour it on in the second half for a 4-0 win to the delight of our home fans. No injuries, and another good showing from striker Matthew Jackson – two good signs. I’ve got most of our returning first team in at Morecambe, trying to see how everyone will do. We end up on the short end of a 3-0 tally, but nobody is hurt – far more important. Well, my efforts during this offseason to bolster the forward attack have gone for naught. I’ve let go Alan Lynch, so we’re actually down a man from our forward rotation from last season. Richard Lewis remains unsettled – so if he leaves, we’ll have that become our new “top priority” position. I have approached easily a dozen solid forwards and strikers, but so far nobody wants to come play in Second Division, understandably, or else they reject my modest financial inducements, also understandably. We get some really bad news, as one of our new midfielders, Steven Nicholls, has injured his groin in training, and will miss some two months. With him figured as a solid contributor all around the midfield, that will give our other players a chance to earn their playing time as the season gets started. Guys like Matthew Harris, Lee Burns, and Stephen O’Connell are gong to benefit, I suspect. |
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08-04-2003, 11:03 AM
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#3 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Dayton, OH
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Congrats on post #10,000 here... and another great Lincoln dynasty.
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My listening habits |
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08-04-2003, 11:48 AM
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#4 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Fairfax, VA
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It looks like the board is being very patient about moving up in the league, is that true for the fans as well? I'm curious if they have higher goals in mind for the team.
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08-04-2003, 01:10 PM
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#5 | |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
I got a message about fan anxiety late last season (when we were sitting in about 15th place) - something along the lines of "it's nice not to be relegating, but we'd like to do better." I'll update on their status next chance I get - don't have the game open right now. |
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08-04-2003, 02:53 PM
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#6 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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August 2006
We’re preparing for the start of the new season – all too aware how important it can be to hit the ground running. Last season, with many new faces abuzz in the lineup, we started off poorly, suffered morale problems, and basically languished mid-table the whole year. We’re looking to do better this season. We get a post from our front office – we have quite a load of players in the final year of their contracts this season. The list includes stalwarts lie Lee Williamson and Martin Gibbons, as well as relative newcomers like David Francis and Danny Douglas. The list includes 17 members of our senior squad. We’ll have some work to do in December, I reckon. We host Reading for a friendly, and pull to a scoreless draw with most of our first team getting 45 minutes of action. We escape unscathed by injuries – the most important thing. Lee Williamson damages his neck in training, and will be sidelined for a couple of weeks. We can live with that, but will miss him for our first match or two. The bookmakers have their lists for Second Division – and we are not favored there at all. Bristol Rovers at 7-4 are the top pick, with Brentford and Cambridge each at 2-1. Hull is at 5-2, then there’ a big drop to Grimsby (10-1) and Gillingham (12-1). Lincoln are at 40-1, not much respect. We face Plymouth in our league opener, at home in Sincil Bank. It’s our usual tight game, we play conservatively and hold the game scoreless through 70 minutes. A shot whistles right over our goal at 86, and that’s as close as we see to a challenge, as it ends with a whimper. Lincoln 0, Plymouth 0. We get an offer for midfielder Matthew Harris. He disappointed me for most of last season, but I’m hopeful that he can get things going – I reject the £70,000 offer. He finished last year pretty well, and has looked good recently – if he turns it around, e could be very valuable to us, I believe. I get two more offers, turning them both down. I eventually respond that it would take £250,000 to lure him away from us, which I expect to calm the pursuers. Forest Green, however, are after Paul Price. That’s a deal I’d love to make – he has been a major bust for us. It’s £22,000 plus 20% of the next sale – I’d have let him walk for nothing. He quickly accepts a contract, and moves on in a transfer. Our next match is at preseason league favorite Bristol Rovers. They get a goal as the shot deflects off one of my defenders, and lead 1-0 after 15 minutes. They are outplaying us by far through halftime – we need something to get it turned around. They add on another at 73, and it’s out of reach, as our attack is simply not getting any chances. Bristol 2, Lincoln 0. Our front threesome each are awarded match ratings of 6, for their flat efforts. Next we face Swansea, and get Lee Williamson back into the lineup, finally. With zero goals in two matches – we need some help on the attack, for certain. After we blow a couple of chances, we yield an easy goal to Swansea and fall behind. We play pretty well, and finally draw even at 89 with a tap-in from Williamson. Lincoln 1, Swansea 1. Darren Evans is out with injured shins – he’ll join our other newcomer on the shelf for two months. Ouch. And once again, Gary Webb remains as our top option on the right side of the midfield. He’s steady but not that exciting – we’ll scale back the role a bit form what we had envisioned for Darren Evans. Martin Gibbons is now out for three weeks with a twisted knee. I think this is something that has happened every single season – an early fall injury to Gibbons that tests our resolve. Nothing new here. At Barnsley, we are once again getting desperate. Three matches, two points – that’s not a recipe for anything but a disappointing season. We need wins to get the engines fired up. An early Barnsley goal puts other thoughts into our minds, but Lee Williamson finishes off a crossing pass from Harris to get us even. We’re lucky to hold it there for the remainder of the way, as things slide badly, but we hold off any goals. Lincoln 1, Barnsley 1. Adrian Francis, our intriguing young defender, is the latest to go down injured – he’ll miss two months also. I am beating the bushes for a player to bring in to help this offense. Matthew Jackson has been disappointingly flat so far, and I’m very worried that when one guy plays poorly, we simply don’t even threaten to score. We need one more option – preferably a guy who can play the forward mid spot as well as striker if needed. |
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08-05-2003, 09:09 AM
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#7 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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September 2006
We are home to Hull – and just aching for a win. Matthew Jackson is reinstated to the lineup, and we’ll be looking for him to light things up this time around. He gets one off the post at 6 minute – maybe a good sign, eh? At 53, we get ahead as Matthew sends one in for Lee Williamson, who does not miss. Lee returns the favor later, and we go up 2-0 – much more like it. Lincoln 2, Hull 0. The win pushes us up to 15th position – not great, but clear of a relegation projection. Our “expectations” this season are just to stay clear of relegation—both from the boar and from the fans. That said, I feel like we have enough talent to contend in Second Division, and I think that a playoff position is a very reasonable goal. We need some wins, and probably one good long run of good form during the season, to get there. Now we are at Cambridge, looking to continue the run with the same lineup as we fielded against Hull. Still scoreless at 89, Matthew Jackson gets a shot off, but it goes just high. Lincoln 0, Cambridge 0. Martin hill plays well enough to get MOM, but again our offense is empty at the end of the day. We get Martin Gibbons back, in time for our match at Bradford, in the first round of the League Cup. We have failed to do much in this competition in prior years – maybe we can get something done here on the road against a First Division side. We go through 90 minutes – no goals, but each side takes two injuries. We get our third injury at 114, and have no more subs to fill in. We go to penalties, where we always lose out. But here, each side sends shot after shot home, until Bradford misses on their sixth strike, and we gain the win on PK. Lincoln 0, Bradford 0 – Lincoln advances. Keeper Darren Baines will miss two months, while the injuries to Lee Burns and Danny Douglas are short-term. Jason Wilson gets an international call-up, as he is now part of the New Zealand national team. Good for him, but this will leave some temporary holes to fill in our roster. We are at Stockport in league play – a preview of our forthcoming second round match in the League Cup. Still scoreless at 61, we try the counter attack to get things livened up a bit – while we don’t get a goal we do get a few shots off with that tactic. Lincoln 0, Stockport 0. I decide to make the counter attack part of our stock strategy for a while – we’ll see if we might be able to get a few more goals up in transition. We need to do something, that much is certain. Third Division Carlisle is the latest club to be in a financial problem, and since we aren’t completely settled, I check them out. I make an offer to their 34 year old strike Brent Wise – who is winding down his career after being pretty successful in the EPL with Blackburn. He’s looking for a pretty fat deal – I don’t want to pay him £3,000/wk, but I offer £2,000/wk. My hope would be that he could become a solid rotation player in our attack, and perhaps help us with a little spark right away. We play at Brighton, and get ahead when Matthew Jackson threads the needle with a nice shot at 37 minutes. At 67, Jackson follows up on a Williamson shot to add another, and we have pretty tight control to this point. Brighton get a goal at 88 and get us worried a bit, but we hold on for the important league win. Lincoln 2, Brighton 1. We get a nice little press splash for the effort – some folks saying that we might be ready to exceed preseason expectations. It’s still early, but that win gets us to a league record of 2 wins, 5 draws, and 1 loss—11 points puts us in 10th position on the table. We obviously need to get some clutch goals to get out of this drawing business, but we’re in pretty much every match, at least. Carlisle’s Brent Wise sticks to his guns, and walks away from our contract negotiations. I was trying to land him on the cheap, and he’s not listening. Oh, well – have fun foundering in Third Division on a team that’s already on the rocks. We play host to Rotherham, and get ahead on a weird own-goal after 9 minutes. Matthew Jackson gets in a nice shove on Alan Lynch, our former player, and gets only a talking-to. Jackson puts in a goal at 36 minutes, and Jones strikes at 49 – we’re in good shape. Lincoln 3, Rotherham 0. Good effort all around – perhaps a morale boost, too. |
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08-05-2003, 09:21 AM
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#8 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Colorado
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It must have been frustrating to have your defense pitch all of those shutouts and 1-run games and yet can only manage ties.
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08-05-2003, 09:31 AM
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#9 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Fairfax, VA
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Looks like Jackson is really lighting things up this season. Have you noticed any significant improvements to his ratings over the last season or two? Since he's a young player, I'm curious how noticeable his skills are improving under your training program getting as much action as he seems to be getting.
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08-05-2003, 09:49 AM
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#10 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Matthew Jackson, now 18, is showing good development with heading and finishing - the things that make him effective. I believe he has moved up 3 poins in each over the time I've been running the game. He's also bumped up a bit in his support areas - he's generally got ratings in the 8-14 range for most things - and that would probably have been 6-12 when we started. Solid development -- I don't yet have much context to place this though. But at 18, I figure he still has a few more years to improve.
Jackson is on a decent pace, with 4 goals in 7 appearances - but I think he's capable of better. With our use of the counter attack, we might be ble to get him more breakaway chances, and I think he could potentially end the season with a goals/matches ratio approaching 1.0. |
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08-05-2003, 10:03 AM
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#11 |
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Pro Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Illinois
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I don't recall if this came up before, but a few folks over at sigames (aside: I always get a nifty headache when I try to read their forums) were complaining about their players constantly losing ground in their "positioning" ratings. Have you noticed anything like that with your players?
Oh, and Marc, if you're reading this, please please please make it easier to track player ratings changes in-game. Thank you. |
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08-05-2003, 11:46 AM
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#12 | |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Calgary
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Quote:
Agreed. Why did they ever remove color-coded attributes? Simple and easily conveyed information.  |
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08-05-2003, 12:20 PM
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#13 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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I confess that it's such a pain to follow ratings movements, that I basically don't do so. My team generally has pretty lousy ratings in "positioning" but that may well be because I don't consider it too highly in acquisitions except on defense (where I am mostly stil using my stock players).
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08-05-2003, 12:43 PM
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#14 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Fairfax, VA
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It would help if you could print out the players with their skills at the end of every season.
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08-05-2003, 01:30 PM
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#15 | |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
Being able to print things out would help a LOT in this game. I'm not muh for emoticons, but i share yours. |
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08-05-2003, 01:32 PM
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#16 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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October 2006
We’re two months into the season, and it’s time for a status check, I reckon. Code:
So, it’s easy to see that we are once again “doing it with defense.” Our goals have come up a bit since we started the counter attack – that might prove to be a useful strategy for us, especially as we have improved our speed a bit in the midfield. Plus, we are down two midfielders right now – so there’s even a chance that we’ll improve in a few weeks when we get them into the mix. Here’s our player performance thus far: Code:
So, we are taking lots of draws, but overall we are playing pretty well. With a seven match unbeaten streak and two wins in a row – we will hope for a continued run of good form into the autumn months. We receive some very bad news, though – Lee Williamson has a groin injury, and will be out for about two months. The pressure will be on guys like Alan Jones and John Garner to get it done, as our offense has been shaky – even with our best offensive player in great form. We lose him, and could be in real trouble. We hot the road to Dag & Red, and it’s pretty even until they score at 37 to gain the lead. We get a couple of late chances, but cannot even up, and lose this one. Dag & Red 1, Lincoln 0. Jason Wilson I back from his international duties, and we will promptly get him back into the lineup. He’s a stabilizing influence on us, I think – a bit like Martin Gibbons on defense. A player I have been pursuing for some time, midfielder Joe Miller, is suddenly being pursued by several clubs. I match the consensus £100,000 offer – I’d at least like a shot to talk to him about a contract, if he’s going to be available. In the League Cup, we are in the second round, hosting Stockport. We have rotated the squad a bit, trying to get some experience shifted around – but we still hope to be there for this one. At 61, Stockport get ahead on a corner kick, and we have to work to get back even but our pressure backfires and sets up a counter attack goal for Stockport. Stockport 2, Lincoln 0 – Lincoln eliminated. Pretty drab effort all around, really. I have to up my offer to £150,000 to get Joe Miller, but agree – and put a lucrative contract offer onto the table for him. He has been very effective in Second Division already, and can play the AM sot on the left side, and also the forward position. He’d be perfect for while we are missing Williamson, and a great complementary player afterward. However, there are a number of competing offers... could be trouble. Joe Miller signs with Crewe, rejecting several other offers including ours. Tough break. We are without injured Martin Gibbons as we return to play, hosting hated Wigan. Alan Jones hits a PK to give us an early lead, but we are racking up yellows like crazy through the rest of the first half. Michael Kelly lofts a huge long pass to Matthew Jackson to set up our next goal, a beautiful play for the assist. Lincoln 2, Wigan 0. Good effort for our group this time – hopefully this will help get us rolling. Steven Nicholls gets into the lineup, as we take on Tranmere. We finally get some offense going, with goals from forwards Morgan and garner before the half for a 2-0 lead. Nicholls comes off injured in the second half, but we are well ahead on this one. Lincoln 3, Tranmere 0. John garner, off to a very slow start this season, posted a much-needed good effort this match, with two goals. The win places us into 4th position on the league table – we’re into the contenders hunt after all. Six goals allowed in 12 matches is a league best, also. We’re thinned out at keeper – James Anderson joins Darren Baines on the injure list, so we will use Craig Austin for a while. Steve Howarth now need to get ready, as he’s vaulted back up to #2 on our depth chart for right now. In our opening match in the Vans Trophy, we travel to Doncaster – looking to beat up on the Third Division side. I have midfielders Nicholls and Evans in, playing together, trying to get them into the swing of match play after their injuries. It takes until 67 to get on the board, with Alan Jones topping off a nice effort to lead 1-0. Jones to Garner sets up the next goal, from Stephen Nicholls – very nicely done by the forward trio. Jones finishes another to seal his MOM recognition. Lincoln 3, Doncaster 0. We travel to top-ranked Cheltenham, and are under pressure early from them. They strike three times in the first half against our usually-reliable defense, and put us away heartily. We manage to get closer as the game closes out, but not enough to get the draw. Cheltenham 3, Lincoln 2. Cheltenham sit atop the league, and it’s because of their explosiveness, it seems. Even with the loss, we are still feeling pretty good about our overall play and position – sitting in 6th place and on target for a playoff role is what we’re shooting for this year. |
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08-05-2003, 03:07 PM
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#17 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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November 2006
Cheltenham’s forward Dean Cox wins his third straight player of the month award – I’ve never seen anything like it. I tried like hell to land this guy during the offseason, to no avail. Now, he’s practically single-handedly vaulted them to the top of the standings (including two strikes against us a week or so ago). We have a good match up next, as we host Blackpool. We strike right away, in the first minute, as the newly healed Matthew Jackson gets two rebound shots before finding the net. He strikes again with a header at 8 minutes, and we are comfortably ahead – and his hat trick is looming. We get another goal when Adrian Francis drives to the corner and crosses it in for Lee Burns, who heads it in. At 54, Jackson gets his hat trick with an easy finisher, and at 88 he narrowly misses on a fourth goal, hitting the post on a 25-yard shot. Lincoln 4, Blackpool 0. That should help boost morale a bit, I’d think. Matthew Jackson get a rare match rating of 10 for the game. We now are up against Kidderminster, an old rival from Third Division who have promoted this year. Jackson is out with a strained groin, and it shows in our punchless offense. It’s scoreless through 50 minutes, when the Harriers strike for the lead. Alan Jones finishes off a move to get us even at 57, but they score at 61—suddenly the dam has broken. Kidderminster 2, Lincoln 1. We host Sheffield Wednesday, who were a top club until a mid-season collapse last year. Garner beats the keeper for a nice goal at 58, and at 76 Garner sets up Alan Jones for our next. We seem to be back on track with a solid win here. Lincoln 2, Sheff Wed 0. Defenseman Andy Davies gets the MOM honors, but I love what I’m seeing from defender Adrian Francis, too – he’s our most aggressive defender when he gets the ball, and is unafraid to challenge, drive, and even shoot. For the Vans trophy, we face Northwich Vics, who won the Conference last year. Richard Lewis strikes to give us an early lead, and gets another at 46 to put us comfortably ahead. As we are well in command, we get a shot from Matthew Harris that I cannot believe made it in – a long, arcing shot that just peeled inside the pipe, unbelievable. Lincoln 4, Northwich Vics 0 – Lincoln advances. Midfielder Stephen o’Connor is injured again – he’ll miss two months. These older players are having a terrible time staying in position. It’s mid-November, and I probably ought to lock up some contracts, lest we be forced to lt some wanted players depart though Bosman deals. My top concerns are Lee Williamson and Martin Gibbons, but I’d like to keep young goalkeeper James Anderson as well. I put in healthy offers to Williamson and Gibbons – putting £2,500/wk plus incentives on the table for our two best players. I think Gibbons will accept – but I’m worried about Williamson, whose initial thinking was over £5,000/wk. Our first FA Cup match is against Macclesfield, a third division side. James Anderson returns in goal, and starts off with a lightning save to keep us even early. At 32, we fall behind, but manage to get even in the early second half. At 71, we get ahead off the toe of Matthew Jackson, and put away the feisty foes. Lincoln 2, Macclesfield 1 – Lincoln advances. Lee Williamson accepts our new contract, and will be with us through 2009, which is very good news. I was worried about his response here – he has been as effective as anyone on the club, needless to say (the mantleful of MVP trophies should say so). He is also now back in training, and should help out our offense pretty soon. Excellent. We have a huge match against Brentford – they are in 6th, we are in 7th, so this has playoff implications even this early in the season. Matthew Jackson strikes with a great header after 6 minutes, and we like the early advantage of course. They get even at 34, and seem to have momentum on their side, and capitalize at 46 to go ahead. Brentford 2, Lincoln 1. Steven Nicholls I hurt now – he will miss three weeks with a groin strain. Tough – he has been effective for us, in his 7 appearances so far. We are home to Oxford, and in need of a morale booster. We get two early goals from Jackson and Evans, and secure a good early position here. James Anderson gets well out of position and concedes a cheap goal, and they score again quickly – it’s a flurry of activity that gets us drawn at 2-2 after only 13 minutes! At 17, we go ahead again, and definitely need to slow things down. We manage to cool it off, and wrap it up from there. Lincoln 4, Oxford 2. |
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08-05-2003, 05:41 PM
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#18 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Not too far away
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Great to see that victory against Wigan. Even w/o your normal printing of the stats this has still been so much fun to check in on every day.
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08-06-2003, 03:49 PM
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#19 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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December 2006
Lincoln City’s Matthew Jackson has won the English Second Division Player of the Month award. Good showing for him, and just when we really needed a good run of efforts. Martin Gibbons has signed a new deal to continue to play for us through 2009 – so we have locked up the second critical piece of our puzzle. We are still about £2,000 below our overall wage budget, so there’s room to do more work. We have pretty much our entire first team on the field as we take on 8th place Peterborough. Matthew Jackson steals the ball right off the opening kick, and drives by himself for a one-on-one, which he wins for the opening goal. What a salvo! We have solid control of the match, and get Darren Evans in for a follow-up goal in the early second half to lock up a solid advantage on the scoreboard. Lee Williamson gets one in late, part of his welcome back, as we cruise to a very impressive home victory. Lincoln 4, Peterborough 0. Lincoln chairman Martin Knowles could not hide his delight following his team’s 4-0 win over rivals Peterborough United. A top half finish for a team who were considered relegation candidates would be a fine result. But there’s a long way to go, and this season is bound to hold many more surprises. If the Red Imps continue to perform as they are at the moment, say the critics, there is nothing to prevent them from finishing in the top half. Fair enough – top half would be good, top six even better. I like this lineup an awful lot – this is probably the best group we can field. We’ve got Baines in goal, with Gibbons anchoring our solid defense – all of whom are playing well. In the midfield, we have Jason Wilson center back, and Richard Lewis playing forward. Left is Matthew Harris (who has really redeemed himself in my eyes) and on the right is Darren Evans, who is clearly a presence better than any we have had, I think. Up front, we have Lee Williamson and Matthew Jackson, both prolific playmakers. Right now, with that group healthy and in great spirits – we are looking very sharp. We bring this group to Chesterfield, to take on a playoff position team – they are in 5th place, right ahead of us by one point. Chesterfield hit a nice outside shot to lead after 38 minutes, and they are playing very well to have us in hand. At 53, they hit again, and our first team lineup is losing steam rapidly. At 83, Matthew Jackson sets up Lee Williamson for a goal, and we are within striking distance. However – that’s all we can do. Chesterfield 2, Lincoln 1. We’re back in the FA Cup, and our 2nd round match is home to semi-pro club Wealdstone. In theory we ought to put a hurt on them, but I have no idea what to expect. They are a hard working team, and while we have a good tactical advantage, they run like crazy to keep with us. Their goal just before the half makes it 2-1, but we stay very much in control. Lincoln 3, Wealdstone 1 – Lincoln advances. We are home to Huddersfield, this in the Vans Trophy northern quarterfinal. Matthew Jackson’s header at 6 minutes holds through 50, when they pull even. We have chances down the stretch, but cannot capitalize – and it goes into extra time. At 100, Darren Evans hits one, and we win on the golden goal! Lincoln 1, Huddersfield 1 – Lincoln advances. Home to Gillingham, we have Darren Evans starting in the forward midfield spot, for a change of pace. We get first half goals from Williamson and Harris to get comfortably ahead, and get another solid win with a good defensive effort. Lincoln 2, Gillingham 0. Evans and Harris both come off injured – so there may be bad with the good news, too. Harris needs 2 weeks off, and Evans 3 weeks – so we will have to reshuffle the midfield for a while, as those two recuperate. I hope this doesn’t deep-six our momentum. We head to Grimsby Town, with Steven Nicholls in on our left wing spot. Things are not going well, especially for Nicholls, as we limp to a scoreless halftime break. We are lucky to get away with a draw here, as our play was pretty flat across the board. Lincoln 0, Grimsby 0. Next we are at Plymouth, and looking for something to break through on offense – even without Matthew Jackson, who should be ready to return for our next match. We allow a preposterously easy goal at 32 minutes – a leisurely crossing shot just fluffed right over to the striker, who brushed it in. That’s all that ends up on the scoreboard – all we can manage from then on is a series of yellow cards. Plymouth 1, Lincoln 0. Our midfield woes just stepped up another notch – Richard Lewis out 2 months, and Lee Burns out 2 weeks. This is crisis mode, suddenly. I don’t really have a reserve midfielder to pull here, so we’ll need to get something going in some other way. We pitch a transfer offer to Tranmere for one of their young midfielders, Neil Scott. I put together what I think is a very generous contract offer – at least within my constraints. We’ll see if we can land him on an intra-league transfer. We host Bristol Rovers, and I literally only have one healthy midfielder on my bench. John Garner gets very lucky as an errant pass lands in his lap, setting him up for an easy go-ahead goal. At 69, Lee Williamson gives not one but two stutters before drilling a shot past the keeper, and we salt this one away. Lincoln 2, Bristol Rovers 0. Let’s see – what is the one thing I can’t take right now? Gary Webb will be out for 2 months with a torn group muscle. All these groin injuries have me a little concerned… do we need to start up a coordinated groin massage program here at Lincoln? This is the kind of thing that fetches untoward headlines, it seems. Neil Scott rejects my initial offer, but might be willing to be coaxed. I up the ante, now feeling even more desperate to bring in a player for our midfield. We urge Matthew Harris to come back, through not quite healthy, and head to Port Vale for a quick turnaround matchup. At 19, Chris Morgan (also fresh off the bench) gets us ahead with a rather nifty goal right past the keeper. A Port Vale defender lofts a forward pass some 70 yards, and it manages to drop in on a total fluke – to draw them even. When you play such tight ball like we don, you are just more vulnerable to that kid of tripe – we settle for the draw. Lincoln 1, Port Vale 1.. Fortunately, the worst of our midfield woes are past – as we now have Harris and O’Connor back and ready to play. I still feel like adding a usable player would be wise. It won’t, however, be Neil Scott – who rejects yet another offer and we’re done talking. What we do manage is a loan in, getting Mark Wood from Man Utd for the remainder of the season. It’s really not what I wanted to do – I would much rather depend on our own players, but this probably makes sense given all our injuries. Wood needs to get into game shape, but he can play left or right, and looks like he’ll be a solid addition to either wing. We wrap up December at Swansea, with Jason Wilson now healthy and back in the lineup. We play well defensively, but cannot muster a great attack effort, and come up empty there. Lincoln 0, Swansea 0. Another draw – the curse of the defense-powered side. Sitting in 8th in the league, we are still in position to go and claim a playoff spot with some good efforts. Actually, it’s not unrealistic that we could even get as high as 3rd place – we’re currently only 7 points out of 3rd with 20 matches to go. Our +19 goal differential is 3rd best in the league, so there is some reason to think we belong in that conversation, at least. |
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08-06-2003, 03:50 PM
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#20 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Fairfax, VA
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About freaking time. I didn't think we were getting an update today.
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08-06-2003, 03:57 PM
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#21 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cincinnati, OH
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I've been waiting ALL DAY to read something on Lincoln... : )
Thanks! Regards, Chas
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Email: [email protected] |
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08-06-2003, 04:01 PM
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#22 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Tough day - tomorrow may be worse, even.
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08-06-2003, 05:02 PM
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#23 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Colorado
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Quote:
I would make a comment but I would be hypocritical. |
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08-06-2003, 05:28 PM
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#24 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Calgary
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Beyond the fact that some players are injury prone, here are some things to consider:
- Are your training facilities good, adqequate or awful? - Are you overworking your players in training? - Are you playing players that are less 100% fit (or close to)? Do you keep them in beyond the 70% mark? - Are your physios 20 in physiotherapy and have you assigned them to the training schedule? I'm sure you've considered these things but I've found a major reduction in injuries by making a few of these adjustments. |
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08-06-2003, 05:44 PM
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#25 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Not too far away
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Hey look at what I just found at the Reuters Oddly Enough News Desk…
Lincoln, England-- A mid-level English soccer team has a most unusual solution to its recent injury plague: a groin therapist. “We had been having quite a few groin pulls,” explains Lincoln City Red Imps manger Quiksand, “and so this seemed like the right solution.” The solutions name is Richard Inguen-Guinis, who bills himself as “the groin massager to the stars”. “For the past fifteen years I’ve been specializing in groin injuries and have a great track record. Preventive therapy is really the most effective way of avoiding injuries, and I am quite confident that Lincoln’s problems in this area are all over,” Inguen-Guinis said at his introduction. |
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08-07-2003, 07:20 AM
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#26 | |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
There is a difference between having five minutes to read a thread and make a response or two, and having an hour and a half to fire up the game, recall your last moves, and run a month's worth of activities. But I see your (implied) point. |
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08-07-2003, 07:42 AM
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#27 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Fairfax, VA
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Well if you'd quit your job, you'd have a lot more time to spend on the dynasty.
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08-07-2003, 10:29 AM
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#28 | |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
Thanks for the pointers - and please don't assume that I'm fully up to speed on all the well-worn conventions of playing CM - because in all likelihood, I am not at all. I've opened the game to check ou the things you mentioned... - Are your training facilities good, adqequate or awful? I successfully got an upgrade a couple of seasons ago, and now we are rated as "good." Should I press for another upgrade? - Are you overworking your players in training? Is there a particular way I'd know about this? I have delegated trainig to my AM... is there a way to check to see if he is handling this well? (I'd be willing to invest in an upgraded AM - I'm not all that keen on my current guy anyway) - Are you playing players that are less 100% fit (or close to)? Do you keep them in beyond the 70% mark? On the first part, I do a good job-- I rarely start anyone rated less than 99% in condition. On the second part, maybe not so good. Most of my players stay above 70%, but I do have some guys who seem to drop more rapidly (lower stamina players, I reckon) an sometimes I ride them down to 60% or so. I know that this will cometimes cause injuries - and those I set in a different basket than the guys who aren't being overplayed, and still get hurt (a lot). - Are your physios 20 in physiotherapy and have you assigned them to the training schedule? I have two physios, both rated 20 - but I don't know if they are involved in training. How can I check that? |
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08-07-2003, 10:40 AM
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#29 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Sweden
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When you open the "Training" tab, you get a screen with three tabs, "Overview", "Schedules" and "Coach assignments". Open the last one, and you see your coaches and physios in the right-most column. Drag their names over to the player groups in the middle ("First team", "Reserves", "Goalkeepers") to assign them to that group.
"Overworking your players in training" - you get a message about this if you click on player in the "Training overview" screen. A hint on which players that might underperform is the red/green arrows and the training grade (1-5 stars) shown here.
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San Diego Chargers (HFL) - Lappland Reindeers (WOOF) - Gothenburg Giants (IHOF) Indiana: A TCY VC - year 2044 - the longest running dynasty ever on FOFC! |
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08-07-2003, 10:53 AM
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#30 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Okay - so I now have both a coach and a physio assigned to each segment of team training. Hopefully that will help - it wasn't the case before.
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08-07-2003, 10:57 AM
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#31 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Colorado
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Great, now you have eliminated one house rule. First Division, here you come. [pretend there is a smily thingy here]
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08-07-2003, 11:10 AM
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#32 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Well - my assistant is still running the training schedule, all I did was fill in the gaps in my assignments (which may have occurred just due to contract lapses). I'm still not getting hand son with training - deciding which day they lads will play "pig in the middle" or anything.
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08-07-2003, 11:37 AM
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#33 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Fairfax, VA
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Thanks 3ric. I haven't messed with training at all. I'll need to check that out.
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08-07-2003, 02:52 PM
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#34 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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January 2007
Lincoln City’s Andy Davies has won the English Second Division Player of the Month award. Wow – didn’t see that coming. In five matches, he posted two 8s and a 9 – not bad at all. His season AvR is 7.55, which is also very solid. We are home to Barnsley, and each side flashes early for a 1-1 draw after 9 minutes. A rare goal from defenseman David Francis seals it, and Francis earns MOM honors. Lincoln 2, Barnsley 1. I am remiss for omitting my planned player update at the start of this month – so I’ll do it with one match expired. Code:
Well, our midfield is looking much improved – but it’s the matter of health that is holding them back right now. But with five guys posting 7+ rating averages, I feel like we have addressed our serious needs there, at last. Richard Lewis has really dropped off since he became disgruntled with us – I now don’t know what it would take to get him back to being a contributor, but this obviously isn’t working out. In our third round FA Cup match, we host Cheltenham, who are powered by the Second Division’s most electric player, forward Dean Cox. Cox heads in a goal at 19 to put them ahead, then adds another at 24 – he is truly sensational. We’re on the board at 33 off the toe of Steven Nicholls, and are trying to keep pace. We put forth a solid effort, but that margin holds. Cheltenham 2, Lincoln 1 – Lincoln eliminated. We are back at Sincil Bank to host Cambridge, back in league play. Steven Nicholls and Lee Williamson score early, and we hold a two goal edge only 30 minutes in. With this game well in hand, we get Mark Wood some playing time again, trying to build up his fitness – but he’s not showing much in his stints so far. Lincoln 3, Cambridge 0. The league win puts us into 7th place on the table – only two points behind 5th place Stockport and 6th place Plymouth. Plus – we have played only 28 matches to their 29. If we can continue this good form, there’s no reason to think we cannot contend for a playoff spot. Cheltenham is still atop the division, lead by super-striker Dean Cox. Just to offer a sense of perspective, Cox currently has an average match rating of 8.33, which practically dwarfs Lee Williamson’s 8.11 (which is by far the highest we’ve ever seen on our club, and is second best in the league). Cox has scored 37 goals so far in league play, with the second-highest scorer in the league standing at 15 (and a teammate of Cox’s sitting in third with 14 goals). Incredible! After weeks of wrangling, we have landed a pretty big Bosman signing for next season. Alex Lewis is a 21 y/o midfielder, currently playing very well for Blackpool (AvR=7.29). It’s a pretty fat deal, but I feel he can step right in and become a solid starting player. He is a center midfielder by listing, but he has a variety of good skills, which could make him versatile. At that age – I’m glad to lock him up through 2010. He will join up in late June. We head to Wigan, to face our hated rivals. The early play seems to favor us, but we cannot capitalize, and are scoreless at the half. We try to make a push late, but this one stays knotted as 14th place Wigan are content to deny us the three points. Lincoln 0, Wigan 0. We hate Wigan. As of right now, here are the players who would be departing after this season – or at least slipping to a rolling contract: GK James Anderson, DM Stephen O’Connor, M Paul Warner, DR Michael Kelly, DL David Francis, S Chris Morgan, M Danny Douglas, DL Ryan Hughes, and D/M Andy Allen. From that lot, I really need to nail down one of the left side defenders, and preferably both. David Francis is having a career year, and at 25 should still have many good seasons ahead. I move to offer new deals to David Francis and Paul Warner, and get both locked up through 2010. The latest addition to our still-lengthy injury sheet is Lee Williamson, who will be sidelined two weeks. With Chris Morgan already out, we’ll have to go with Alan Jones for full-time duty for a while (which has sometimes been too much for him). Two days later, we get word that Alan Jones will miss a month with fractured ribs. So much for that plan. Now, our forward setup will likely have to be Matthew Jackson and John Garner – two guys I prefer to use as pure strikers, rather than in the left side role, which has typically been more playmaker than finisher. We’ll see how Garner can do there. I scour the unemployed player ranks, but have no luck finding anyone who can really help is in any meaningful way – at least not anyone who would deign to join our ranks. After all that hubbub, we head home to host Stockport, back in league play. We get a lead off winger Matthew Harris, and are sitting in good shape, despite a weak attack overall. At 68, Matthew Jackson finishes off a counter attack breakaway chance. Garner gets an assist to Nicholls, and we put this one away comfortably enough. Lincoln 3, Stockport. That’s a big win for us, sending Stockport to 8th as we take their spot in 6th position. We are into the North Semifinals of the Vans Trophy, and face Carlisle United at Sincil Bank. I have most of or first team in – we’re to the point where this is worth playing for. We are even at the half, but I’m not pleased. Still tied at 92, we get a huge goal from Steven Nicholls, and secure the 2-1 final margin with the golden goal. Lincoln 2, Carlisle 1 – Lincoln advances. It looks like we will face Second Division-leading Chesterfield in the regional final. We are home to Brighton in a huge league match – Brighton stand in 3rd place, but only 7 points ahead of us (and with one more match played). Mark Wood is getting his first start for us, as Matthew Harris is once again shelved with an injury. We will need something from Wood – he has been decidedly unimpressive in five sub appearances to date. Still scoreless after 55 minutes, we sub in John Garner to try to offer some offensive punch. We are basically unable to get out of the rut, and rely on our defense to ice down the scoreless draw. Lincoln 0, Brighton 0. A win would have been much better, of course, but this isn’t so bad. With our current status at forward/striker so uncertain, I decide to bring in some reserves – and make an offer to Third Division Leyton Orient for their top striker, 29 y/o Alan Thomson. Despte the fact that he’s currently earning only £950/wk, Thomson says he doesn’t believe that we (Lincoln) have the adequate financial resources to meet his demands. I put an offer on the table that is pretty solid – but we’ll see whether his sights are set too high for us. We travel to Rotherham, facing yet another contending team – they are currently in 10th position. They head in a goal at 29 to lead, and I am not feeling goad here on the road. Craig Austin lets a long shot in just before the half, and it’s a two goal deficit. Matthew Jackson halves that with a fancy shot at 75, but that’s all we can muster. Rotherham 2, Lincoln 1. Alan Thomson rejects our offer – he says things about being part of the community and such – but it’s really about the money, after all, I’m certain. We finish up January, and the league standings remain very volatile: Code:
With 13-14 more matches yet to play, this looks like the field of meaningful contenders. We’re a match short of most, so we have a slight edge there as well. I’m still optimistic that we can play well and stay in the hunt. Last edited by QuikSand : 08-07-2003 at 02:52 PM. |
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08-07-2003, 03:40 PM
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#35 | |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Calgary
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Quote:
This should be good. 3ric covered the major points. Assigning physios to the training schedules was an important move. I don't think you have to worry about over-training anyone with the default schedules. Facilities sound fine as well. Another thing to check, especially with young players, is their physical attributes. High strength and high stamina guys (15+)can usually handle the grind of a long season better than others. |
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08-08-2003, 12:27 PM
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#36 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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February 2007
Mark Wood is now our with a two month injury – so much for that loan in. I terminate the loan contract. Lincoln City’s Lee Williamson has won the English Second Division Player of the Month award. Odd, since he missed half the month with injuries – but he was very effective when he did play, as usual. We are home to Dag & Red, and strike early – Adrian Francis, our precocious defender, penetrates and sets up Darren Evans for a monster banana shot. Our keeper Austin was out of position, allowing a leveling shot at 29, but Matthew Jackson soon gets us back on top with two strikes at 32 and 36. Lincoln 5, Dag & Red 2. Good win for us – we applied good offensive pressure throughout – albeit against a pretty weak side. Our offense seems to have gotten a real shot in the arm since we installed Steven Nicholls in at the forward midfield spot. His strengths of technique and flair seem to fit well in that role, and we even have seen him hit the board for 8 goals. He’s not a superb distributor, but his addition there gives us three potential finishers usually upfront, which makes us tougher to defend, I reckon. Next up is a visit to Hull, expected to be a top club this year but instead floundering in 12th place. They aren’t completely out of the hunt yet – but they need to get things going and soon. We gain the lead as Martin hill nails a PK for the early edge. We suffer two injuries, but manage to hold on to the narrow lead to pick up a critical league win. Lincoln 1, Hull 0. Now we’ll try to keep our 5th place position on the road at Tranmere. However, a free kick goal put then ahead at 22, and we’re having trouble breaking through to even up. Chris Morgan finally gets one past at 49, but it’s called back – drat! Baines is WAY out of position and yields a terrible goal, and we let this one slip away. Tranmere 2, Lincoln 1. Dreadful – we lose to a thoroughly overmatched squad there. My hart warms as I hear that Wigan are in financial distress – and I have a look to see if we can rescue anyone from their sinking ship. I approach their pissed-off striker Josip Vranjes, and they agree to a modest £20,000 offer. Vranjes is upset that they recently brought in another striker – and he’s looking to get out of Dodge. I cannot meet his lofty terms, though, and we have to let him fester at Wigan. At the same time, I have another offer in to a young player – versatile 19 y/o Mark Butler from Newcastle. My scout loved him when looking for promising youngsters, and Newcastle had not locked up his contract – so we moved in. He’s got a variety of skills, and can play both defender and midfielder. he could end up being a great super-sub for us next season, after he joins us in June. We have another big match – this one home to Cheltenham. They have slipped from their top spot from a few weeks ago, but are still fighting – now in 5th place, just ahead of us. (They lost their one-man-gang Dean Cox to a month-long injury, and have been hapless without him) Matthew Jackson, fresh off a little rest, nails an early shot to give us a goal edge after only one minute. We extend to a big lead, only to watch them crawl right back onto the match with two second half goals. Fortunately, we withstand the pressure, and get the needed victory. Lincoln 3, Cheltenham 2. We’re up for the North Final in the Vans Trophy, taking on Chesterfield, with the first leg at our place. This crowds our fixture list a bit the next couple of weeks, but it would be nice to get through to the Trophy final. Matthew Harris arcs in a great shot to give us an early jump at 3 minutes, and we have lots of pressure early – but have two goals called back from offsides violations. After a very strong effort, we yield a fluky goal, and settle for a disappointing draw. Lincoln 1, Chesterfield 1. Steven Nicholls will now miss four weeks with fractured ribs – we are just limping along in our midfield. We do get Richard Lewis back from his long term injury – just in time, though he is in such poor spirits that he may be irretrievable. We are at Blackpool. The match is very quick early – pressure both ways, and we concede a goal on a transition to slip behind very early. It takes until 59, but we get even off a header from Matthew Jackson. But at 82, Steve Howarth gives up an easy goal, and we lose our edge completely. Blackpool 2, Lincoln 1. Next, we are in the second leg of our Vans Trophy Northern final, against Chesterfield. We come in level, after drawing 1-1 at our place. This one is restrained the whole way, and our best chance goes begging when John Garner misses a good shot from a breakaway. We end up scoreless, and lose on the away goals differential. Lincoln 0, Chesterfield 0 – Lincoln eliminated. So, the month ends on a bi of a sour note – which doesn’t bode well. We are down with morale a bit, and really need a good win to get stoked up again. We stand in 9th position, but still only one point behind the 5th place team – so it’s a crowded mess. Regrettably the first tiebreaker on the table is goals scored (where we are a little weak) rather than goal differential (where we are quite strong). |
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08-08-2003, 02:09 PM
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#37 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Colorado
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Quote:
I did not follow that. You offered 20k and they agreed to it. But then you said you cannot meet his lofty terms. |
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08-08-2003, 02:28 PM
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#38 | |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
In futbol, making a transfer is a two-part process. First, you must get the current team holding the player's contract to agree to the transfer. That's what the 20K accomplished. Then, you have to work out a new contract with the player, that suits his desires. If you can't do this, the player can veto the deal. In this case (and many others) I get past step one, but get stuck on step two. i have cash to give for the transfers, but I have a combination of small facilities (revenues) and a tight-fisted board, which limit what I can offer in salaries - and most good players balk at my pittance contract offers. |
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08-08-2003, 02:28 PM
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#39 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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March 2007
We have more injury troubles with our strikers, and I make an effort to bring in some help. However, once again, the players I target don’t want to come even for the fattest contract that we can afford. We do get Gary Webb back from his long-term injury, as well as Lee Burns. Both will get called right into action, as some of our midfield guys who have been playing every single match really need a rest. We host Kidderminster, and playing at home could really use a solid win here. John garner botches an attack, but the rebound goes right to Lee Williamson, who does not miss. Matthew Harris adds to the lead at 22, and we are in good shape early on. Garner gets some redemption with a nice shot at 72, and we put this one away easily. Lincoln 3, Kidderminster 0. We get the morale boost that we wanted from that – a good shutout win at home. Now we head to Sheffield Wednesday, looking to snag three standings points on the road. Matthew Jackson dumps to Lee Williamson for a nice goal at 16, and we hold that until 64, when they strike to get even. We remained in control most of the way, but could not get another score to put it away. Lincoln 1, Sheff Wed 1. Our curse, it seems, is settling for too many draws. After the win and draw, we have moved to 7th position, but two points out of the playoffs. We have 7 more league matches – so it will all be decided here down the stretch. We next are home to Brentford, who sit in 3rd position right now. Big match – a win would be he here, but they are plenty motivated, too. We do well, control possession, and stay out of trouble – everything but sore a goal. Lincoln 0, Brentford 0. Alan Jones is the latest injury victim – two months with the dreaded groin injury. We are perilously thin at forward/striker at this point. I’m trying to work out terms with Stephen Rose, a solid midfielder from Leyton Orient. I finally get him to agree to our terms – and he will join up and lend us some help. I put up £160,000 in transfer fee, and a little more than that as a signing bonus to him – but he will come aboard and should help immediately. I haven been feeling desperate to make a move, and finally get somebody who would accept an offer to join Lincoln – with only a week before the transfer deadline. Our next match is at Oxford, where we should be the superior side, but are playing on the road. Steven Rose dons his jersey, #14, and we are underway. We also have Steven Nicholls back into action, after his injury. John garner goes down with an injury – and we are now down another striker. Consistent with our track record – we play well overall and especially on defense, but cannot muster a score. Lincoln 0, Oxford 0. Now we have lost John Garner and Darren Evans – for 4 months and 2 months, respectively. This is a nightmare. Karl Booth, our assistant manager, might end up being the scapegoat for all this – it’s downright ridiculous. We are home for Chesterfield – a really tough time to be playing the league’s top team and likely champion. We’ve gotten to know them pretty well through our Vans Trophy series, but we’d rather face a lesser side, honestly. After playing on our heels for 35 minutes, we mount a good attack, and Williamson finishes off a pass from Jackson for the lead – except that Williamson is called offside, and it’s voided. Ouch. Gary Webb, though, nails a shot from 25 yards out at 55 minute, and we do have our 1-0 lead. Chesterfield get even on a looping pass that hangs over the goalie, and tumbles right in. Lincoln 1, Chesterfield 1. We really should have won this one – and it’s just another draw where we end up saying “woulda, coulda, shoulda.” The transfer deadline passes in the last days of March, and we again will go without attacking help. I like the players we have, but we really would stand to benefit from a veteran striker – but sitting in Second Division, and with our modest finances, we simply cannot lure anyone of any stature here. I’m guessing our best bet will be to get a youth player to promote. As we wrap up the month, here is the table snapshot once again: Code:
Rotherham has all but dropped out of the race, but we still are nine strong heading into our final 4-5 matches. Practically speaking, it looks like the top two spots are sewn up, and the battle is really seven squads for four slots (or perhaps six for three, if you figure Bristol is likely already in). For us, our fixtures list remaining looks includes matches at Peterborough, home to Port Vale, then at Gillingham, and finally home to Grimsby Town. That’s only one contender on the list – so there’s some reason to think that perhaps we can get 7 or 8 points out of these final four matches. If we get lucky with maybe 9 or 10 points, we might well eke into 5th or 6th position. Last edited by QuikSand : 08-08-2003 at 02:29 PM. |
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08-08-2003, 03:30 PM
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#40 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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April 2007
We get word that our old pals Rushden & Diamonds are on their way down from the First Division. So, we’ll likely be seeing lots of them again next season – unless we get a great turn of luck here. Brighton defeat Chesterfield in the Vans Trophy final, on penalty kicks (7-6). We got very close this time – if we’re still at this level, maybe next year. At Peterborough, we are fairly rested, but not very healthy. We get a breakaway after 79 minutes, and shatter the scoreless tie with a great effort, Williamson to Jackson. With our defense clicking on all cylinders, that’s all it takes for us to grab a huge win on the road at a rival club. Lincoln 1, Peterborough 0. Cheltenham also won, by Plymouth had a scoreless draw with Barnsley, so we gain a little ground. We are now in 8th position, only two points behind Plymouth. That loss probably ended Peterborough’s slim hopes. Chris Morgan, one of our few healthy strikers… is now a formerly healthy striker, as he’s out for two weeks with a shoulder injury. This is downright absurd! We’re now home to Port Vale, in a match that we should have a good chance to win. Matthew Jackson knocks in a 20-foot header, which just freezes the Port Vale keeper. At 29 minutes, Jackson completes his hat trick, and we have the match firmly in hand. I pull Jackson for the second half, as he has been tired, and he already has had a wonderful effort. Now, we can give young Kevin Clarke a taste of play – he’s been buried on our reserve squad, but is now our #3 attacker. Excellent win overall. Lincoln 4, Port Vale 0. Checking our rivals – Plymouth lost to Hull, but Cheltenham won. We move past Plymouth into second place, and are only one point behind Brentford, and two points behind Bristol Rovers (whom I recently had all but granted a playoff spot). Matthew Jackson has set the season goal records for the club now, with 26 total goals and 23 in league play. Of course, these were his own records he broke, but this has been his best season overall. He has 26 goals in 33 matches – approaching that mythical 1:1 ratio that I don’t think is out of reach for him. Now we are at Gillingham, and our squad is bubbling with confidence. We just need to score – no more of these “great defensive effort” 0-0 draws. At 31, Darren Baines is drawn way out of goal on a long pass, and get strapped too far – gives up an easy loft for the Gillingham lead. We get five or six good shots in the second half, but cannot get one in, and then Baines gives up another easy goal to drop us behind 2-0. We played okay – not great – but didn’t deserve to get crushed like this. Gillingham 2, Lincoln 0. And with that, we slide back to 8th position, two points behind Plymouth and one point behind Brentford, with but one match left to play. We need to be the only winners of the trio if we are to get into the 6th and final playoff spot – a very unlikely scenario, at this point. |
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08-09-2003, 02:09 PM
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#41 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Calgary
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These injuries are perplexing. Everyone can't be injury prone! Maybe it is time for a new assistant manager with a fairly high physio rating and a preference for fitness-based training.
I've noticed several times that you mention your goalkeepers giving up "easy" goals but it's not a position you've considered upgrading. Is it just a choice of words or do they really have trouble stepping up in big games? |
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08-09-2003, 04:06 PM
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#42 | ||
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
I am planning to re-evaluiate the front office this offseason, and my AM position is considered up for grabs. Does a high rating in physiotherapy matter in this regard? Quote:
Don't know. When I see what seems to be an easy stop, I sometime make note of teh fact that I'm disappointed. But overall, I still largely depend on the stats to tell me how guys are doing. Keeper seems to be an abundant position - there are just tons of guys out there. But my guys have been getting ratings that are comparable with all but the very highly-paid players at my level, so I haven't felt like I needed to make a big investment there. When I can get three or four guys to play for 300/wk or less, why fight it? Plus, now I have two rather promising youth keepers, so my long term plan may be resolved that way regardless. |
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08-09-2003, 05:16 PM
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#43 | |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Calgary
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Quote:
Honestly, I don't know. Man management is supposed to be the key stat for assistant managers. Handling youngsters is important if one doesn't want to run the youth teams. By reading some of the work at SIgames.com, it is also apparent that coaching style impacts on player development. For instance, you don't want a coach with a cautious mentality training your strikers. I'm running out of ideas QuikSand. I've never seen a string of injuries like yours in any of my careers. |
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08-09-2003, 05:43 PM
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#44 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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May 2007
The Lincoln board are absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment you continue to show the club. Our final league match has us against Grimsby town, at home in Sincil Bank. Adrian Francis penetrates, and draws a penalty – which Gary Webb drills for the early lead. Darren Baines didn’t learn his lesson – e again rushes out for a ball, leaving the net wide open for the leveling goal. This frustrates us to no end, as we lose a victory we had all but wrapped up. Lincoln 1, Grimsby 1. Fortunately, Brentford won their match – so the loss was just a matter of placement, not a matter of playoffs. Regardless, Darren Baines is not going to be on this club much longer, after those mental errors. Here is the final league table: Code:
What’s especially disappointing is that our goal differential—which ought to be a fair proxy for how good the team really is, in my mind—turns out to be a +34, which would place us 4th overall – even higher than Chesterfield! But as we settled for a league-high 15 draws, and draws aren’t worth half a win, we end up on the outside looking in. Take 8 of those draws, and turn them into 4 wins and 4 losses, and we’re in the playoffs. Ouch. With their star forward Dean Cox healthy again, I make Cheltenham the favorites to make it out of the playoffs and gain promotion. They were chewing up the league at one point, and even after missing a couple of months, Cox managed to tally an insane 50 league goals! Here’s the final analysis on our players’ performance: Code:
Darren Baines had another solid season, but his footing is shaky with the poor performance in the last two critical matches. I think Austin is the best of the three young guys, but we do have two youth keepers working their way up, also. The defense was sensational – Martin Gibbons was again the anchor, but we got a surprisingly strong showing from Adrian Francis, who became a real factor for us on the right side. Injuries forced our hand a lot, but we got good efforts out of practically everyone who played. The midfield came together this season, despite so many injuries. Matthew Harris joined Jason Wilson as a guy I want on the field all the time, and we got good efforts from Evans and Nicholls, our two new additions for the season. With Stephen Rose landing and more transfers in expected, we ought to be deeper and better yet. Lee Williamson again notches the visible leadership role, posting great numbers all season long and helping our striker position a great deal. Matthew Jackson capitalized on record numbers of goals, and was clearly our best finisher. We probably need a third serious weapon up front – Jones and Garner are adequate, but not impact players I don’t think. After doing some hunting, and having talks break down with one coach from the Arsenal staff, I make a reach to select a new Assistant Manager. James Piri is 40 years old, and has most of his experience in scouting up to this point. I’m impressed with his overall grasp of football, and his solid ability in both assessing talent and managing younger players. He’s my selection to become Lincoln City’s new assistant manager – and I bring him on with a contract running through 2011. This spells the end of Karl Booth’s tenure with Lincoln, and we release him a week in advance of his anticipated contract expiry. James Piri takes over the wide range of duties, including managing the lower clubs for us. He will be my main consult on player personnel decisions – I will have more faith in him than I did in Karl Booth, I’m sure. Stockport are the winners of the Second Division playoff, and will be promoted to First Division for the 2007-08 season. For our 8th place final position, Lincoln is given £350,000. Not bad, but we did fall short of our essential goal. This wraps up May, and also the coverage of the 2006-07 season in this thread. We’ve got more to come, as Lincoln head into next season with our sights set on even higher ground – a promotion to First Division. |
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