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04-05-2004, 03:55 PM
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#1 | ||
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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CM - QuikSand Back to Lincoln City
My third tour of duty with Championship Manager, the much-heralded soccer simulation – this time with version 03/04. I will return to familiar environs, taking up as manager of third division club Lincoln City, and seeking to guide the Red Imps up the ladder in the British Isles. I’m playing by my usual rules – a softly-stated version of lower league rules, where I won’t be using the “real player” database, and I won’t be using any complicated or imported tactics. I generally run a pretty simple twist on the standard 4-4-2 setup, but whatever I do use will be my own work.
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04-05-2004, 03:55 PM
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#2 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Getting Started
Here is the roster that we start off with – the printout from the game is a little clunky, but should serve its main purpose, I suppose. (I really liked the text printout from CM 00/01, but I guess that didn’t survive the upgrades) Code:
I confess, I’m not really wild about that supposed “printout” function – it provide an awful lot less than what we had in CM 00/01. I still don’t understand the concept of removing features from an evolving game… but this doesn’t seem too important to most players, I guess. As we prepare for the 2003/2004 season, my expectations are pretty simple. Our immediate success is probably fairly immaterial – what is post important is building a base from which to grow. If things work out for us like they have in my past attempts with this sim, then most of my initial store of players will be gone within a couple of seasons – out the door for cash to larger clubs, or else released for lack of potential. So, in short, we won’t get too attached to the group above until it makes some sense to really start paying attention. Code:
There is our staff – things look pretty good to me here. I’m not inclined to shake things up a lot, as I’m satisfied with our top assistants. Tom Fowler, team chairman, will become a familiar name as he is the mouthpiece for the board, who will give commentary on my job security and the state of the club. |
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04-05-2004, 03:55 PM
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#3 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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July 2003
As the season starts off, we have £25,500 available in our transfer budget – not really a lot of cash left around. By my usual mode in my first season or two is to only pursue free transfers – so I probably won’t even tap into that cash, unless I’m really moved by a player. Our wages are currently at £14,210/week – a shade over our budget of £12,750 – so we will be on a lean diet in the near future, I reckon. Steve O’Connor notches the first goal in our initial friendly, and then sets up Paul Kamara for the next, as we take a 2-1 win over Bradford, PA. We’re mostly just getting the side into shape here, not focusing too much on results – though we looked pretty sharp in the opener. We almost immediately get a nibble for one or our players, defender Simon Platt. I reject the offer, but we’ll watch him as a possible transfer out. Hereford wants to loan him to the Conference – I reject that as well. He seems like a pretty hot property already. We have a match with Div 1 Crewe – and expect to get shelled. However, trailing only 1-0, we manage to pull even at 77, and gain a PK from O’Connor at 81 to take the 2-1 edge. In our next friendly against Norwich, we get four goals from second-half substitute forward Paul Banks, and win 8-1. The club looks great – but I suspect we’re up against the scrubs from the higher division opponent, so we’ll hold off on popping champagne corks right now. The odds are released for the Third Division. Huddersfield and Northampton are the co-favorites, but we share a tier at 2-1 with several others. So, we are considered to be at least “in the mix.” Encouraging. We limp through our last friendly to a 0-2 loss, but are feeling pretty well primed for the start of our regular season schedule. Our first match is at home at Sincil Bank, against Bristol Rovers. Our first goal of the regular season comes from captain Chris Rowe, off a corner kick. We get a number of shots late, but their keeper holds fast. However, we make the one goal hold up, and come away with a home win to open the season. Lincoln 1, Bristol 0. Ur initial matchup in the League Cup is against Peterborough from the Second Division – we’ll use most of our first team here, as we don’t really have enough depth to contemplate major switches. Paul Kamara gets us the first goal with a nice strike at 35 minutes, and we hold that edge until well into the second half, when they draw even. We go into extra time level at one, and despite our possession edge – we go to penalty kicks. Our young keeper Saunders makes two saves, and we are even through five kicks. Two misses follow, and the deadlock continues. It takes until the 8th kick, but Michael Maher nails his, and when the Peterborough kick sails high – we clinch the very hard-fought win. We travel to Boston United, back in the league schedule. Steve O’Connor’s first half goal gets us ahead, but we lose him to an injury shortly thereafter. Boston Utd gets on a roll later, and pull away for the fairly easy win. Boston Utd 3, Lincoln 1. We look for a rebound back home against Leyton Orient. Dave Banks, in for injured O’Connell, scores off a nice feed from Kamara to get us ahead – but then he, too, goes down hurt. Scott Murphy scores on a second half follow-up, and we secure a solid edge, as we go on to take the shutout. Lincoln 2, Leyton Orient 0. At Bury, we have another league match, hoping to get our first road victory. Paul Baldwin, in his first match for us at striker, notches two goals and helps the cause, as we cruise to an impressive 3-0 win. Lincoln 3, Bury 0. I am a bit worried about our midfield, and I go looking for target players I might be able to bring aboard to help out. I’m looking for cheap acquisitions – not players I’d need to spend cash up front to take on. I make an approach to a Canadian youngster – we’ll see if he is interested (I doubt it). We wrap up August with a match against Cheltenham, who are just ahead of us in fifth place in the league table. It’s scoreless through 79 minutes, but they pull ahead on a freaky play, a follow-up chance after a fast break that we stopped. That goal is all they need to secure a nice win. Cheltenham 1, Lincoln 0. Blackburn approach us with a £30,000 offer for striker Paul Kamara – but it’s already pretty clear to me that he is one of our brightest lights. If he has to go at some point, so be it – but it won’t be without a fight, and it definitely won’t be for a measly £30,000. A young French player, Gilles Besson, I had pursued re-signs with his old team – ending my thoughts about an impact transfer. |
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04-05-2004, 03:56 PM
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#4 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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September 2003
The Lincoln directors are hopeful of a long and successful era with you at the helm. We start off the month hosting Kidderminster, and get an early lead off a brilliant goal from Paul Kamara, doing all the work himself. We end up with a comfortable win, after another dominant effort. Lincoln 3, Kidderminster 0. We agree to send defender Ian Briggs on loan to Halifax. This helps to relieve our salary problem, for a while at least. However, Halifax can’t take him after all – they are at their loan-in limit. We may find another home for Briggs, though. Aldershot comes up with another offer, to pay 100% of his salary, and we soon get that worked out. I am shocked when a standout Bolivian striker, Fernando Montaño, accepts our contract offer. He is only 15, but he looks like he might have loads of talent. We’re waiting for a work permit to come through – we’ve seen this be a problem before. But if he does come, he could be a major addition for us. ::crossing fingers:: We’re back to the pitch, visiting Yeovil Town. Our only goal comes from a free kick by Ben Cross, and we settle for a draw on the day. Lincoln 1, Yeovil 1. We come home and host Darlington at our place. Danny Morgan tallies his first goal on a beautiful play, and we get the lead until the 69th minute, when they draw level. At 77, Dave Banks nails a penalty kick, and we pull ahead again, and we hold that margin for the win. Lincoln 2, Darlington 1. We next have a league match – against Portsmouth from the EPL. Tough draw for us, and probably our exit. We’re in pretty good health and spirits, but I expect we will be badly outclassed here. We trail 1-0 behind the furiously fast Portsmouth squad, but manage to draw level on a PK after 86 minutes, and go into extra time. We manage, once again, to put the match into penalty kicks – with young Dave Saunders in the pipes for us. Saunders comes up with one block and forces another high shot, and we come away with the improbable victory! Lincoln 1, Portsmouth 1 – Lincoln advances. I’m not too surprised when we get the news that Bolivian wunderkind Fernando Montaño will not be coming to us after all – his work permit has been declined. We’ll keep trying, but I don’t expect to see if come through after all. Rats! We’re focusing back onto the pitch, as we visit Carlisle, who are about mid-table. We have Danny Morgan red carded after 5 minutes for an unfortunate incident, and we get run over on their pitch, losing badly. It’s a tumultuous first half, as we slide behind by three goals, and get into several scuffles – not like us, really. Carlisle 3, Lincoln 0. With a suspension and a couple injuries in our midfield, I need another body – and call up Luke Harrison, who has been playing on our 19u team. We wrap up September still in good league position, and surprisingly still alive in the League Cup. Things are going fairly well here at Sincil Bank, and we will try to keep the home fans happy with continued success. |
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04-05-2004, 03:56 PM
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#5 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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October 2003
Now that we have put together a few matches, and have a bit of a feel for our players – I’ll put together a familiar table. I’m simply not satisfied with the printout function of the game itself – so I’ll construct this from time to time instead. Code:
Actually, assembling that table was a very good “immersion” exercise for me – and has fueled my thinking about this side. At keeper, I don’t think either if these kids is the answer – and I’ll be looking for a player or two to add at the position. Defensively, though, I am pretty happy with our lot – I like Marsh on our left, and I think that Simon Platt might work into the starting role on the right side. That leaves the trio of Parry, Maher, and Rowe to tend to the middle spots – and they all seem to be okay. Solid, for now. My midfield seems a bit thin – but I have something to work with. Lee Connolly seems to be a good fit for my defensive center midfielder role – I like a tough tackler there. Ben Cross can play either side, and I expect to get him in a lot on the right. Morgan and Davison have both been getting time on the left side – but now I’m thinking that Davison might be better suited to go into the more forward attacking slot – he might be our best playmaker of the lot. On attack, Paul Kamara is clearly the cream of the crop. I don’t like the skill sets of any of the rest too much – maybe Tony Holt deserves more playing time that he has gotten. I’ll probably be looking for an addition here as well. Work to do – but so far, we are getting decent results even as we are just settling in. As we start off October, we stand in 7th place in the league table. The top three clubs seem to be Southend, Doncaster, and Cheltenham. We are four points out off the third spot – I have to think that our goal will be to stay in or around the 4th to 7th zone, where we’d make the playoffs for the final promotion spot. Okay – back to the pitch. At Doncaster, we trail early, but get a nice drop-in from Bradshaw to Holt to draw level. It’s even for a long time, despite them playing better in my view, but justice is served when they tap one in during injury time, and get the win. Doncaster 2, Lincoln 1. No surprise, but Fernando Montaño’s work permit has fallen through, and we simply won’t get the promising young striker. Disappointing, needless to say, but I’m used to this. We play host to Huddersfield, and I’d like to see us get back with a win. We are in control the whole way, and with two goals from Kamara put this one into the W column easily. Lincoln 3, Huddersfield 0. Club Chairman Tom Fowler declares his pleasure with the result. We’re up again, and we host Scunthorpe. We win an uninspiring match, with the only score coming on a stupid own goal by their defender – but we’ll take it. Lincoln 1, Scunthorpe 0. In our opening match of the Vans trophy, we visit Mansfield. They break a long-standing tie with a goal at 74, and hold on to get the win – abruptly ending our stay in that competition. Mansfield 2, Lincoln 1 – Lincoln eliminated. We head to Macclesfield, and immediately fall behind on a goal in minute 2. However, at 41, we pull even with a goal from O’Connor, set up by a great play from Paul Kamara. Not a great game for us, but we’ll take the point from the draw on the road. Lincoln 1, Macclesfield 1. I get inquiries about Paul Kamara, but unless they knock my socks off, I have no plans to let him go. He likes it here, and with our dearth of effective strikers, he’s our brightest light on the attack. In the League Cup, we are at Cardiff, a Div 1 club. Tough foe for us, again – but we’ve been fortunate thus far. We are outplayed badly this time, and take a tough beating from the much quicker side from Cardiff. Cardiff 3, Lincoln 1 – Lincoln eliminated. |
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04-05-2004, 03:56 PM
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#6 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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November 2003
Our first match of the month is at home with Cambridge. We give away the narrow lead late when keeper Carl Willis makes an unwise move, can’t handle an outside ball, and lets an open goal await the Cambridge striker for an easy score. Lincoln 1, Cambridge 1. We’re getting deep enough into the season that the standings actually have some meaning – let’s take a look at the league table: Code:
By my reckoning, we seem to be a full tier behind the top three or four clubs, but certainly belong right in the next group of eight or so who will be competing for a playoff position. Lots ore to shake out, of course, but that seems encouraging. We’re at Swansea, ready for a good showing in a road matchup. Carl Willis gets some redemption for us, as he puts in his best performance of the season so far. Regrettably, we cannot get onto the scoresheet either, as the Swansea keeper played very well, too. Lincoln 0, Swansea 0. Despite the decent showing from young Carl Willis, I feel that keeper is a need area. I have my sights set on an addition here – and we are in contract talks with 33 year old David Crowley. He’s got good leadership skills, seems to be a passable keeper, and would join as a player/coach. He also isn’t seeking a monster contract – which helps as well. We field a shaken-up lineup for our next match, at Cambridge in our FA Cup opener. Holt and Kamara strike for two early goals, and we take command early. Some of our subs play very well here, and we look exceedingly sharp. Lincoln 4, Cambridge 1 – Lincoln advances. David Crowley accepts the transfer from Doncaster, and comes aboard as our new player/coach. He has nice skills as a talent spotter, is good with young players, and is very good coaching goalkeepers. Plus, he might be an improvement for our current first team – all looks good for a pretty cheap (£10K) transfer in. I immediately get him in charge of the keeper training, and we will try to work him in as a reserve a few times to get him match fit. Back in league play, we play host to Northampton – a pretty big match for us. We trail by a goal at the half, but Paul Kamara gets his 10th goal of the season to pull us even – off a great feed by a recent youth pull, John Jackson. We end up even – not too bad, but a shade disappointing. Lincoln 1, Northampton 1. We are at Rochdale, and in a spot where we might be able to grab a nice road win. But Rochdale scores with 12 minutes down, and we are already in a hole. They go on to just bury us, and eliminate my hopes for an easy road spot here. Very disappointing. Rochdale 3, Lincoln 1. I give Paul Kamara a rest as we play at Southend, a tough spot anyway. Southend strike quickly to take the lead, and it is a disastrous affair for us all around. Southend 3, Lincoln 0. David Crowley now has come in as a sub twice, and has conceded four goals – not a great looking sheet (though I’m not yet ready to assign him blame). |
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04-05-2004, 03:56 PM
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#7 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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December 2003
We start off the month against Boston United in the FA Cup – and we are in a bit of a funk. We could use a good showing here. We are level through 90 minutes, but give up a terrible goal in injury time, and fall at home. Boston Utd 2, Lincoln 1 – Lincoln eliminated. Bad loss, we seem to be in free fall. 31 year old striker James Henderson looks like he will become our first Bosman transfer in, as he accepts a modest offer. He has been pretty effective with second division Brentford this season, and should still have a bit left in the tank. So, that should give us one more scoring option for next season, as we bring along a handful of emerging strikers. We play host to York, and need to get a home win to get this club back on track. This one stays scoreless for a while, but I sense we are being outplayed. York goes ahead on a nice goal at 75, and thought we get a few good chances late, we cannot pull even. York 1, Lincoln 0. This has been a very tough spell. Back home for Hull, we are in need of a rebound – eve against a major contender like them. Paul Kamara delivers with a great shot at the 3 minute mark to get us ahead. Kamara gets a couple more good looks, and then opens up with another great shot to put us ahead 2-0 before the half. Great effort – Kamara clearly earns MOM, and David Crowley gets a clean sheet in his starting debut for us. Lincoln 2, Hull 0. We follow up at Mansfield, looking to turn that win over Hull into a rally. Mansfield, though, looks sharp early, and earns a chance to take the lead on a PK. But Crowley blocks it, and we stay even – for now. Adam Davison connects after a free kick, and we have the lead despite being the ones under pressure. Lee Connolly gets a huge goal from the mid-pitch, and we cruise home to a convincing win. Lincoln 3, Mansfield 0. The two wins have vaulted us back up into 6th position – good for us. Barnet is haggling over their 20 y/o striker Tommy Senior, a guy I think could be very effective in our game plan. He is lightning quick – and has skills a lot like those of Paul Kamara. They ask for £20,000 – and I consider the deal seriously. I think I might unload most of my older strikers, and go with a youth movement. Senior, though, doesn’t like my contract offer – and he doesn’t want to leave Barnet. After debating whether he was worth a £20,000 transfer fee, I now find out he’s a homebody and wants to stay there for £120/wk rather than play here for £700/wk. Okay, pally. After I try three times, he calls of talks and stays put. We are back home for Torquay. We are “caught napping” and concede a goal off a corner pass in after a nasty tackle. Bt young Darren Hopkins, playing for Paul Kamara, evens things up with a nice finish. In the second half, Hopkins deflects a hard ball from Davison for another goal, and we take a solid lead, turning them away badly. Lincoln 5, Torquay 1. Even without our top striker Kamara, we were flying high on the attack this time. |
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04-05-2004, 03:56 PM
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#8 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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January 2004
While December wasn’t our best month, we might have something on the way back. The Board remains delighted with my performance as manager. Good show! Let’s look at the league table – following a shaky run by our club: Code:
So – we are right back into our sought position, in the playoff range. Not too bad, following a pretty desperate spot there. Let’s update the look at the roster: Code:
So, we are starting to see what we really have here. I feel like the midfield is the shallow and weak spot on the club – I’d love to add one solid player there, and a loan in is probably our best shot of getting that to happen. We head to Bristol Rovers to start off the new year. At 37 we commit a penalty, and they take the PK – but Crowley comes up with the save. But at 63, their strike is true, and the Rovers take the 1-0 lead. That’s all it takes this time – a tough match. Bristol 1, Lincoln 0. We are home for Boston United, and would like to get back on the winning side. But Boston gets out quickly, drawing a penalty off Lee Connolly, and hitting on a follow-up after the PK. But into the second half, after a pretty exciting affair, it’s 2-2 with plenty of time left. Each side has a couple good chances, but neither can break that tie. Lincoln 2, Boston Utd 2. We are on the road at Oxford, a mid-table rival. Paul Kamara is getting some rest – so we have O’Connor and young Darren Hopkins in at the striker slots. We get a fair degree of pressure in the late first half, but cannot get ahead. At 51, oxford connects for the first goal – and we area behind now. At 75, they pretty much seal it with another nice goal, and they go on for a good win. Oxford 2, Lincoln 0. We are on the road again, but at Leyton Orient we ought too stand a chance of coming away with a result. We struggle through the first half, but get ahead on a rebound kick-in by Dave Banks, who we just recalled from our reserve squad. But at 60, they draw level with a decent effort, and our goals of getting a road win here dwindle. At 83, we fall behind, and are in danger of not even getting a point here. They clinch it after another minute – and our awful fade is complete. Leyton Orient 3, Lincoln 1. So much for getting some real momentum – after ending December red hot, we have limped to a 1-3 record in January. Morale has really slipped, and this might be hard too get out of. I am still foraging for players to bring in for next season through the Bosman rule, but not having much luck. The majority of my players are already locked up through next year – we have a big bunch of contracts that end in June 2005 – that will be the big “rollover” for our roster, I suspect. Meanwhile, we get an offer for DM Lee Connolly, who has been working out quite nicely for us. No deal, of course, and certainly not for a £16K pittance. So, we are back home for Cheltenham, and would very much like to pull a food result here. We get two goals from Andrew Hussey, and a brilliant MOM performance from keeper David Crowley, and get a very solid win. Lincoln 2, Cheltenham 0. Crowley has been a good acquisition for us, I reckon – and now is pretty much our default option at keeper. At 33, he might have a couple more productive years ahead, even. At Kidderminster, we’ll try to get a road win, which have been scarce for us. We break a scoreless tie at 67 with a kick-in from Steve O’Connor, and we luck out when they botch a pretty easy shot in injury time – so we hold on. Lincoln 1, Kidderminster 0. |
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04-05-2004, 03:57 PM
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#9 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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February 2004
Still in league play, we host Yeovil Town. They score at 10 minutes, and we are suddenly in some trouble. But at 14, we get a goal from defender Lee Marsh, and draw level. From there, though, we dominate the match, add two more goals, and comfortably cruise to a solid league victory. Lincoln 3, Yeovil 1. We’re right back in action, hosting Bury – who have been on a great run lately and remain red hot. We have Paul Kamara back in action, after his rest period, and are hoping to give a good effort here. Scoreless at the half, we pull ahead at 63 when Paul Kamara makes an unbelievable play through heavy traffic to dish to O’Connor for a beautiful goal – maybe the best all year, in my book. We hold on with the 1-0 margin, until Kamara nails it shut in injury time to seal the great win. Lincoln 2, Bury 0. We are a little tired and worn out as we play at Darlington. I switch up a couple spots, but we want to keep our high morale players playing, mostly. We are not sharp here, but still have a chance to get even in the final minutes – but a shot from O’Connor comes off the post and we take the loss. Darlington 1, Lincoln 0. We are home for Doncaster, who lead the Third Division. A win here would be tremendous, but we are just hoping to make a solid showing. We fall behind early, but Kamara makes a nice open field play to get us even at the half. Early in the second half, they retake the lead, and hold it the rest of the way – we get our respectable showing, but no league points for the effort. Doncaster 2, Lincoln 1. We have Paul Kamara resting again as we hit the field for Huddersfield. We’re on the road, but would like to beat up on a relegation-bound club here. We don’t beat up on anyone, but our defense is very sound, and we accept a good road victory. Lincoln 1, Huddersfield 0. We make a minor personnel move, transferring in another quick-footed striker, David Rose. My scouts don’t think much of the 25 year old, but I love his speed, and hope that he can be a useful rotation player for us. At only £300/wk, he won’t be a strain on the wage budget, either. We receive an inquiry about reserve defender Stephen Murphy – and I set a fair price for him. I’d be willing to let many of my underused players go, and thin out the wage budget a bit (we are still well over the approved amount there). We are home to Carlisle, still in good position, and looking for a few points to put up on the league table. Carlisle are facing possible relegation – so we ought to have the upper hand here at home. We get Dave Rose in for some action after a scoreless first half, and he ends up putting in the put-away goal to seal our solid win. Lincoln 2, Carlisle 0. We suffer two injuries, though – so this win may not be a joyous day. Danny Morgan is the serious injury – he will miss several weeks, further depleting an already shaky midfield for us. Last edited by QuikSand : 04-05-2004 at 04:12 PM. |
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04-05-2004, 03:57 PM
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#10 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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March 2004
Our whole coaching staff is up for renewal for the coming season. Time to give a look at what they are really up to – and who should be retained. I decide to keep on Assistant Manager Adam Moran, who has decent skills across the board. I think I need new scouts, though, and I pursue an aging player who has good scouting skills – maybe he can step in for us. We add Steve Naylor as our new scout. He’s not a player, but a pro scout, and ought to be a step up from our current scout, who doesn’t seem too trustworthy. The team’s finances are in decent shape, despite my wage budget being a shade high: Code:
At Scunthorpe, we face a club trying to edge into contention – and playing on the road, this will be a tall order. Dave Rose scores the go-ahead goal, and earns MOM honors with an excellent performance, as we get the very welcome win. Lincoln 2, Scunthorpe 1. That certainly hurts their chances of moving forward into a contending position. Tom Fowler, our chairman, is thrilled with the win over our “arch rivals.” Lee Connolly, our hard working defensive midfielder, is going to rest for a week or two, and we have young Gareth Ricketts up from the reserve team to take that spot for a while. Ricketts has been pretty effective playing with the lesser club – we’ll see how he can do here. His debut is home for Macclesfield, who are battling relegation. 12 minutes into the contest, Ricketts drives and nails a nice shot to create a nice splash. They pull even, but Dave Rose hits another game-winner in injury time to give us the home victory. Lincoln 2, Macclesfield 1. So far, our new striker Dave Rose has hit the ground running, literally. He has three goals, one MOM honor, and a 7.67 average rating for his three appearances. And, I think, he represents the direction I plan to head with a good part of this team – Rose has very good speed (pace 18, acceleration 18) and I’m thinking that even if he doesn’t have great ball handling or tactical skills, if he can get loose on the attack from time to time, he might pick up some fairly wide open chances. So far, so good – Rose looks to me like he might be our top reserve for Paul Kamara (pace 17, acceleration 19, better overall skills) and take some of that job when Kamara cannot go. We may even put them together from time to time, though my thinking is that I’d rather have a more naturally complementary player with either of them. But I think I will be looking for high-pace players to be on the attack for us – which might set up nicely for a counter-attacking scheme down the road for the club. We head to Cambridge for our next league match. It’s scoreless through 65 minutes, but Cambridge breaks through with some good pressure, and gets the only goal they need. Cambridge 1, Lincoln 0. Shaky effort, especially by our offense, which didn’t generate much at all. As we hit middlemarch, here’s the league table, with nine matches left for everyone: Code:
So, Doncaster and Southend look very likely to retain promotion spots. I think it’s very unlikely that we can jump from our current spot to the third promotion slot – we’re nine points back right now. So, it seems as thought our main goal is to avoid being caught – and to try to land in the 4-7 zone and earn a playoff bid. With a five point edge on the clubs who might be able to do that – we probably just need to hold our own down the stretch. We head home to host Swansea – a club we ought to be able to bank three points against, if we are in form. We get Kamara and Connolly back into the lineup, and we’ll hope to have them fresh for the final stretch run. We get the win we want here, and look very solid. Lincoln 2, Swansea 0. In goal, Dave Saunders has really improved his performance, and is becoming a much better performer than early in the season – he earns a clean sheet this time. We are approached by Exeter about young striker John Jackson. They want to know what it would take to land him – I come up with a price of £80,000. He seems pretty decent, but doesn’t fit into my immediate plans – so I’d be okay getting some cash, which would make the board happy, I’m sure. Exeter backs off – but we do get another offer, which is £35,000 plus 40% of his next sale. I decline. We get another offer, also no good. Funny thing is – I wouldn’t pay £35,000 for Jackson right now, if he weren’t on my team. So, why should I be willing to keep him, when I can get that price for him right now? Odd – but I’m sticking with my decision. We are home to Southend, and would love to get a good result here against one of the league titans. It’s uneventful through the first half, and both sides miss chances in the early second half, but it stays scoreless. We end up dropping in a series of long shots, none of which make it, and end up with a score draw. Lincoln 0, Southend 0. Paul Kamara is awarded a stinky rating of 4 for the match – an aberration for him, by all means. |
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04-05-2004, 03:57 PM
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#11 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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April 2004
The transfer deadline comes and goes, and we make nary a peep. I’m getting comfortable with the current roster, nearly all of whom will be together through next season, and I’m not looking to add just “more of the same,” which seems to be just about all I can find in the transfer market. So, no moves here. Now we have a very important matchup – we face York, who are just five points behind us, and giving chase in the standings. If they can win at home here, they pull within two points of us, and become a real threat. I have our fast attackers, Rose and Kamara, in together for the first time here – we’ll see how that comes off. It’s scoreless for a long time, but Paul Kamara jukes the keeper for the first goal at 60, and we take the lead. At 67, he strikes again, and we are in command. In the space of ten minutes, we crack this one wide open, and assume a 4-0 edge. Lincoln 4, York 0. Ben Cross and Paul Kamara each get the coveted 10 rating for their efforts – a great match for us, maybe the best of the whole season. The board is delighted. I’m thrilled with what we’re getting from young defender Gareth Ricketts. I have used him in 5 matches now, as he came in first to sub for the tired Lee Connolly at my defensive midfielder spot. Upon Connolly’s return, the versatile Ricketts dropped back to fill in for injuries at center defense. In five outings, he has posted two goals and a 7.20 match rating average - he looks like he will be effective, and we know he is versatile. Great addition. Now we are at Northampton, facing a club who is out of the race. It takes us 87 minuets to break the scoreless tie, but we do – and get the goal we need from Kamara, as usual. Lincoln 1, Northampton 0. This nice run, well timed, has put us into a pretty good position on the league table, now. Code:
With five matches to go, we look to be secure in our playoff spot – it would take close to disaster to lose that, now. Could we catch Cheltenham for the third auto-promotion spot? Well, we have three of five at home, and only one among the clubs listed here in the “contenders” tier (at Hull) – so it might be an outside possibility. We’ll keep an eye on it, but it’s still a pretty slim hope, I think. We are back home, and face Rochdale – in 15th place on the league table. We get a solid performance overall, a nice goal from Colin Bradshaw (our pretty quiet but decent attacking middie) and come away with the needed win. Lincoln 3, Rochdale 0. Paul Kamara’s contract will expire in six months. Locking him up is a top priority – and I go immediately to work. He’s making £450/week right now, but I know he’s worth plenty more than that – he is pretty clearly our best offensive player, and might be our best player overall. At 20 years old, we’d like to keep him around. Now, we play at Hull – and this might be a huge match for us. A road win here would give us some real hope. We are even through 90 minutes, but in the final seconds of injury time, Hull strikes from far out, and they sneak away with the win at their place. Hull 2, Lincoln 1. The win probably kills any hope we had of taking the third position, and instead gives hull their chance to do so, if they can stay on a good pace. Tough loss for us. Striker Tony Holt is out of contract now. Interestingly, he has ratings that are generally very good, but he never clicked on the pitch for us. Compared to Dave Rose, Holt looks far superior – but on the pitch, Rose has played very well, and Holt was a total dud. I release Rose, helping to trim our wage budget (he was making £450, the same as Paul Kamara). Maybe he will catch on somewhere, I suppose. Speaking of the wage budget, Paul Kamara has rejectd our first contract offer, and is now saying that he doesn’t think we have the resources to meet his needs. This doesn’t sound all that good. I put up a pretty good signing bonus, in an effort to get him to look more favorably. We’ll try again. We are back home to Mansfield. Keeper Dave Saunders get hurt early on – we’ll watch that, as veteran David Crowley takes over. I have reserve strike Andrew Lochhead in the mix this time, to see what he can do for us. Lochhead misses a strike in the first half, and we are scoreless as we approach the break. However, Andrew Lochhead redeems himself with a nice goal just before the half. At 81, Lochhead strikes again, and helps us salt away the solid win. Lincoln 2, Mansfield 0. Lochhead gets the MOM in his debut – might be a good sign. Andrew Lochhead has been a standout with our reserve team, but I hadn’t really thought of him as a true option. His ratings seem very pedestrian, but this performance might encourage another, longer look. With two matches to play, we have 76 points, tied with Hull, but six behind Cheltenham. Indeed, the loss to Hull ended any hopes we might have had of getting automatic promotion this season – but we will continue to angle for a good spot in the playoff round. On our third try, we finally work out a new deal with our star striker Paul Kamara. It will pay him £1,200 per week, and we post a £50,000 signing bonus, locking him up through the 2008 season. The four year extension solidifies our offensive plans for the future. I am relieved. |
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04-05-2004, 03:57 PM
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#12 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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May 2004
Lincoln City’s Ben Cross has won the English Third Division Player of the Month award for April. Lincoln City’s Paul Kamara has won the English Third Division Young Player of the Month award for April. A good month, and these two have played a huge role in making it so. Cross has really pulled everything together, and has become a creative force for us on the wing – taking up much of the slack left by the rest of our mostly quiet midfield. We are at Torquay in our second last match, and will fight for the good position in the Third Division playoffs. We get what we need here, a solid road victory and a lock for a spot in the league playoffs. Lincoln 3, Torquay 1. Our last match is at Oxford – and I decide to keep momentum, rather than sub in a lot of reserves. We secure a very solid win at home, and ensure our team is crisp as we prepare for the postseason. Lincoln 3, Oxford 1. As the regular season ends, we have managed to land in fourth position with 82 points. We draw Cambridge as our opponent for the playoff opening round, and prepared to start off at their field for the first of two matches. Setting the lineup for the big match, I decide to keep Andrew Lochhead in at striker – his morale is super-high, and he has played quite well across from Paul Kamara. Dave Rose will be ready as the top reserve. I also keep Gareth Ricketts in the lineup – using him for the first time over on the left side of the midfield, alongside central defensive midfielder Lee Connolly. We’ll go with the veteran David Crowley in goal. At 14 minutes, we get a lead, as Paul Kamara scores off a rebound opportunity. We get a 2-0 lead for a while, but concede a goal at 89 minutes to make it more respectable, and then Cambridge surprises us with a great effort to pull even. After really dominating the match, we end up with only a draw to show for it. Lincoln 2, Cambridge 2. If they can beat us at our place, Cambridge will move on. Ben Cross was carried off, and will miss some time – he will not be ready for our next match with Cambridge. Hopefully, we will play again after that, and we’ll see him back on the pitch for us in the spotlight matchup. It’s our biggest match of the year, and we are home to Cambridge, needing a win or low scoring draw. At 18 minutes, though, Cambridge makes a beautiful goal, and they pull ahead. But at 41, Adam Davison strikes on a free kick, and bends one right into the corner of the net for the tie. Davison just misses at 54 – could have had a double on the day. At 72 minutes, disaster strikes – they get a break into our corner, cross over, and nail the go-ahead goal. Now it’s 2-1 Cambridge, and they have the lead, as well as their second away goal. Now, we need a goal just to tie in the overall. This is getting out of hand – we are getting desperate. I sub in Andrew Lochhead as a third striker, and we will hope to get a comeback goal – we need it now, badly. Lee Connolly takes a nice long shot at 87, but their keeper holds it. That ends up being our last best chance, and the clock winds out on us – a disappointing loss that sends us home, and back to the Third Division for another season. Cambridge 2, Lincoln 1 – Lincoln eliminated. I’m trying another transfer in – and pursue 30 y/o Croatian Mario Dadic. He is out of contract, but seems like a very solid player to me, at least on paper. He’s a left midfielder, and would fit nicely into a spot that I consider to be very much unsettled. There are several teams listing interest in him, but at the moment we have the only offer on the table. He’d be a potentially very exciting addition. After a few days, he accepts our offer, and the freen transfer in will take place in early June. Adding him to the midfield ranks ought to help us out, and we should not forget about James Henderson, a veteran attacker who will be coming aboard as well. In the league playoff final, Hull defeats Cambridge, and are promoted to the Second Division. We’ll be back next year, among the better clubs remaining from this year’s Third Division, we certainly hope. Code:
Next year, the Second Division relegatees will include Plymouth, Swindon, Bournemout, and Oldham – so they will all be in the Third Division with us. From the Conference, we will see Barnet and Dag & Red receive promotion. So – some new faces await us. Here is a year-end update of our player data: Code:
Some ups, some downs – but overall, it’s hard to complain about the results. Fourth place in the division is pretty good, and we are finding our way toward a more complete roster. I’ll need to keep working on the finances, though – I am getting way over my wage budget, which might not sit too well with the front office. Here’s how we end the season financially: Code:
In the Third Division Player Select, we have one representative: Lee Connolly. A little bit surprising, but positionally, he was a real standout. That wraps up our season – we’ll be ready to come out swinging in 2004-05. |
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04-05-2004, 03:59 PM
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#13 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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I'm sorry for using so much formatted text here, but I don't see any other way to present the information. I hate the new board's system of scrollgin windows rather than just showing the code-tagged text... but it seems there's nothing I can do about that.
*sigh* Hope it's still fairly easy to read through. Certainly doesn't look as nice as my version in MS Word. |
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04-05-2004, 04:36 PM
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#14 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: The State of Insanity
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Looks good.
Sorry, I was rooting for the CAM-BER-IDGE (my favorite English team  )
__________________
Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com |
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04-05-2004, 04:40 PM
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#15 |
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College Prospect
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Alexandria, VA
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Love this dynasty...the scrolling formatted text wouldn't be so bar if it scrolled bother ways. But with it just side to side, it doesn't seem to do much of anything useful.
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04-05-2004, 04:43 PM
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#16 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Jul 2001
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The scrolling does make it very difficult, but I will be following along up to the point that I get the urge to buy this(I just don't have the time to play it, I can't even juggle poker and FBCB). This is an improvement over what was available with CM4 initially at least. I think if it were not for the terrible scrolling in the new board it would not be an issue at all.
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04-05-2004, 05:24 PM
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#18 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Thanks for the tip, klayman. Forme, those pages are nearly unreadable (the white text is just a mismatch for the background) but I'll see what I can do about that.
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04-05-2004, 05:51 PM
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#19 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Edmonton
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Quote:
Ah yes, I forgot that it was pretty much unreadable outside of Solecismic Yellow. |
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04-06-2004, 08:34 AM
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#20 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Lincoln City, 2004-05 Season
After our first year toiling in Third Division, we were able to get into a playoff position, and will return as one of the top contenders in the league. Hopefully, the tailoring we continue to do to our roster will pay dividends for us, and we can keep moving forward. June/July 2004 We have some staff turnover – I have let a few contracts run out, deliberately. Here is the staff we have on hand as we prepare for the season: Code:
We complete our two offseason signings, forward James Henderson and midfielder Mario Dadic. Both are veteran players, and we expect them to help us out in short order. Henderson surprises us, though, by announcing that he intends to simply go one and out – that this will be his final year in football. Disappointing, but we’ll live with it. I work out a new contract with young keeper Dave Saunders. He actually accepts less per week than he was making, so the only risk here is the commitment. But, he came on late last season, and now fits into my plans as my second keeper option, I think. Under training from player/coach David Crowley, he seems to have taken wing a bit. But keeper remains a position where I’m very open to making an addition. One of my youth players, goalkeeper Brian Hardy, has left the team after his contract expired. But with my shallow situation at GK, I decide to bring him back – and he accepts a modest £75K new contract. A 17 year old, he will get regular playing time with my U19 club, and could get a shot with the senior squad from time to time. Midfielder Colin Bradshaw is seeking a new contract. It’s fair enough –he’s only making £90/wk, and got pretty regular playing time down the stretch for us last season. However, I really want him to be more of a supporting player – the position he plays (attacking midfielder) is one where I’m trying to upgrade anyway. He wants £675/week and we are already more than £4000/wk over our wage budget – so something’s got to give. Adam Moran says we ought to deny the new contract, and I agree – we turn him down, for now. His agent withdraws the request, and publicly apologizes. Looks like this is okay, for now. We receive £230,000 for television rights for the coming season, and have a new sponsorship deal for £12K over 4 years. The sponsorship seems less than we had previously – I don’t know why that would be. Our transfer budget for the year will be £35K – and we’ll get to recycle any transfer receipts into that spending allowance. I spent some money last year, but generally I prefer to bring in players via free transfers. We’ll see – but £35K probably won’t buy an impact player anyway. The board are very pleased with your performance as manager this season. The team is expected to achieve a respectable league position within the Third Division in the coming season. To help you achieve this the Lincoln board have given you a transfer budget of £35K. I really don’t need to be all that worried about the wage budget, in practice. Last year we were over budget all season, and still ran a handsome surplus. This year looks to be even more so – but we’re pretty stable, financially. Young goalkeeper Brian Hardy is apparently unsettled – right after re-signing with us. This might turn out poorly – but at least we don’t have huge cash invested in him. There are a number of pretty good players out there unsigned – but we simply are not a high profile destination for a veteran player. Eventually, we might be able to land a few more – but for now, we’ll do okay with our young lineup and our two veteran additions. Bristol Rovers make an approach for one of our young defenders, Ryan Williams. I accept the offer, and we prepare to see him depart. He doesn’t have the skills I want in a defender, so it’s little loss to us, I think. Brentford also comes in with their own bid – we’ll let him decide where he wants to go. Bristol ends up the destination, for a £4000 transfer fee. England wins the Euro football championship on penalty kicks, and Spain settles for the runner up spot. Immediately, Spain sacks their manager, of course. As we prepare for the season, here is my first draft of a depth chart. At each position, I want to have first and second options clearly defined, though we won’t follow this perfectly. Regardless, this is where we are right now, I think. Code:
This, of course, presumes that our two new acquisitions will work out, which is no certainty. Henderson is a strike by nature, but in the past I have had good results using well-rounded strikers in my attacking center midfield spot on (more or less) this offense, so I’m sticking with him for now. Dadic is an unknown, but if he doesn’t fit well, we might be able to work with Davison or Ricketts in that spot. If both Henderson and Dadic work out and improve those two roster spots, then we’d have something very nice going on – those are the two most concerning weak spots form last year’s roster, by my reckoning. We take the field for our first friendly. Dave Rose gets dinged up, but Andrew Lochhead comes in and lands two goals, and we win 3-2 over Scarborough. We’re putting together our club at this point – not worrying about wins. Next game, we will get Dadic and Henderson in for the duration, and see how they perform mixed in with our regulars. We get a nice result from our next friendly – Henderson gets an 8 rating and a goal while playing in the attacking middie spot, and Dadic on his left earns the MOM honors. That’s just what we’re looking for – good indications of success there. And a win over Brentford is fine, too. |
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04-06-2004, 08:34 AM
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#21 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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August 2004
We get a notice about players whose contracts are expiring – and the list is positively staggering: 19 players from our current senior club, plus four reserves and nine juniors. This will be a big year – both in terms of getting some success while we have these players locked up, but also in terms of seeing who is worth keeping around as we go forward. We ought to also be fairly free in bringing in Bosman transfers – as many of our current salaries are going to become voidable after this season. We kick off our regular season at home to York. At 48, we get a goal just the way I want it – a nice assist off the foot of new attacker Stevenson, and up to Andrew Lochhead for the strike. If Stevenson can start delivering assists and an occasional goal from that spot, our attack will be much better served. We fall behind 2-1, but Mario Dadic scores from midfield, on a weird shot that somehow slips past the keeper. At 85 minutes, Paul Kamara sets up Lochhead for the go-ahead goal, and we secure a thrilling win. Lincoln 3, York 2. I’m not wild about the somewhat suspect defensive play for a stretch there, but I like what I’m seeing from our attack. I’m also seeing a lot of playing time for Andrew Lochhead in the future, as he seems to be a pretty effective striker for us, despite fairly unimpressive skill ratings. I bring back the same lineup for our next match, our first round clash in the League Cup, at home against Yeovil Town. We jump out to a 2-0 first half lead, and carry it out from there – a solid win in the cup opener. Lincoln 2, Yeovil 0 – Lincoln advance. The win earns us £20,000 and a nice morale boost. Great match for David Crowley, too – he’ll stay in for a while, with Saunders nursing a bum foot. We’re home to Leyton Orient for our next league match, and I sub in several new starters to get some fresh legs out there. We concede a PK early on, and trail through the first half. I feel like we generally outplay them through the second half, but two good chances go begging, and we end up on the short side. Leyton Orient 1, Lincoln 0. I bring in another player/coach for us – striker Ian Reed. He’s 36, and not exactly a spring chicken, but I think he might be a useful occasional sub for us, and he comes pretty cheaply on his new contract. We’ll try to get him into shape, and work him in a bit at some point. Our rescheduled league match at Yeovil gives us a shot to bring back most of our starters. We have beaten them before, and we do again – a really great effort overall. Lincoln 2, Yeovil 0. David Crowley is again superb, and our attack looked pretty sharp to me. Back on the road, we travel to Barnet for a league match. Paul Kamara gets us ahead when he scores off Ben Cross’s corner kick at 6 minutes. We seem in control but yield the tying goal at 65, and it’s even again. We settle for a draw, after outplaying them nearly all the match. Lincoln 1, Barnet 1. |
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04-06-2004, 08:35 AM
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#22 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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September 2004
We have agreed terms with Simon Platt on a new deal – he will make £200/wk for us through 2007. He has been a very effective defender for us, playing mostly on the right side, and we’re glad to lock up this promising young player for a very affordable salary. Midfielder Colin Bradshaw is again lobbying for a new deal. My first offer fails, and it’s getting a little edgy. Thing is, I don’t think he merits becoming one of our top paid players – he’s decent and fairly promising, but not an anchor to the team. I boost my offer to £500/w, and hope that this does the trick. Andrew Lochhead has been called up to play with the New Zealand national team. This is a slight kink in our planning, but with the recent addition of veteran striker Ian Reed, we should have options in the attack side. We’ll also be looking at players from our young crop – especially Darren Hopkins. We play our first match of the month, home to Boston United. We get ahead fairly early off a long shot from Lee Connolly – a good sign. We drive out a three goal lead in the first half, and Crowley gets a clean sheet for the day in a nice win. Lincoln 3, Boston Utd 0. Colin Bradshaw signs for the £500/wk, and so he is now locked up. Our wage limit is becoming pretty meaningless this year – but we’ll clear out a lot of chaff for next season. We are at Bury, in another league matchup. We get some great early pressure, but fail to nail down the goal. At 24, we get a PK opportunity, but Ben Cross misses it – a first. Late in the match, Darren Hopkins breaks a tie with a nice header, and we take a 2-1 lead. However, we yield a goal five minutes later, and then another at 87 to allow them to pull out an improbable win over us, despite great pressure during the final fw minutes. Bury 3, Lincoln 2. We are home for Scunthorpe, and I rest our two new faces Henderson and Dadic. Dadic, in particular, has been outstanding for us – I love to see his ability to zip in a quick pass from the outside right to a challenging attacker. Both players have been effective for us thus far. In this match, we get a very early lead in the first minute, but yield a tying goal in the first half. It’s disappointing to settle for a draw here. Lincoln 1, Scunthorpe 1. This drops us to 9th position in the league table. Ben Cross the the latest players to ask for an improved contract. This guy is definitely one who fits into our future plans – and I want to keep him settled. I put a £900 contract on the table, and assure him he gets “key player” status. He is starting nearly every match already, and gets most of our set piece chances, too – he’s already key. At Dag & Red, we are looking for a road win – and have Dadic and Henderson back in. Paul Kamara makes a beautiful move to get us ahead at 19 minutes, and we make it hold up, with a good defensive effort, led by Dave Saunders in goal and Lee Marsh on the defensive wing. Lincoln 1, Dag & Red 0. We have a couple injuries on our defense – and will be without Steve Parry and Gareth Rickets for a few weeks. We’ll patch over, but if we lose one more player, things will get a little tough back here. Kettering want to take our reserve keeper Carl Willis on loan, and are willing to pay his wage. I hungrily accept the deal – I’d love to unload his £825/wk wage, of course. We are at home for Mansfield in the League Cup – and we’ll face them again in a few days in league play. I go with an “alternate” lineup here in the Cup match. At 78 minutes, we get a nice long shot from Connolly to draw even with them – I was very worried. In extra time, we get a lot of chances, but cannot come up with a goal, and the match goes to penalty kicks. We end up missing three of our first four shots, and Mansfield advances on PKs. Lincoln 1, Mansfied 1(p) – Lincoln eliminated. I’m a little bit frustrated – it looks like we are on target for another season just about like last year – we’re in 6th position right now, but not quite as far out of it as last year, admittedly. Regardless – with so many contracts expiring after the season, I feel like we have a sense of urgency – and if we don’t promote from the Third Division this year, I don’t know that we’ll have this good a chance right away. But it’s still pretty early to panic. I continue to struggle with a new contract for winger Ben Cross. I am up to £1,200/wk and £20,000 up front, but he won’t budge – we might end up with a hole here, if I can’t get this done. My scout says let him go, but I have seen him be very effective for us on the pitch, and I want him to stay. |
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04-06-2004, 08:35 AM
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#23 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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October 2004
Here’s a look at our player performance thus far: Code:
We’re getting outstanding play from lots of players – Kamara, Cross, Dadic, and Platt key among them. I’m thrilled with the performance from keeper David Crowley, too, in the early going. Here’s where this has us on the league table: Code:
We see Mansfield again – this time at their place for a league match. I use James Henderson for the first time in at striker. He misses two pretty open shots – and I’m resigned to slotting him back as our playmaker rather than finisher. We get a couple of goals and a MOM nod from Darren Hopkins, but we can only get away with a draw. Lincoln 2, Mansfield 2. After what must be our sixth offer, we have finally inked a new deal with winger Ben Cross – three years, at £1,500/wk. He’s now our highest paid player, but that’s just what it took to land him – and that was a priority. We have a big match at Sincil Bank – we host first place Northampton. I have our first team in, with top morale guys getting the call as needed. At 16 minutes, they convert a good forward pass into a goal to take the lead. Kamara’s goal at 43 is waived off, as we were offside. We get a PK at 81, and get a great chance to pull even – but Ben Cross sends it high and over. We end up fruitless, and lose at home. Northampton 1, Lincoln 0. At home to Rochdale, we are now really in need of a good effort. And we are tired – so we have some new faces in there. We finally capitalize on lots of early pressure with a PK goal by Steve O’Connor. At 87, Rochdale pull even, and we are in jeopardy of only drawing this game we have dominated. Lincoln 1, Rochdale 1. Very disappointing – without some of our offensive stars, we just didn’t generate good shots with our chances here. I have a slew of offers land in for reserve defender David Kay. He’s decent enough, but isn’t exactly my style of player – not a tough tackler, really. So, I am open to the offers – and five clubs make an approach. We are back in action, at Bournemouth. We haven’t won in weeks – and now are starting to panic a bit. We have command of the match, but miss several chances in the second half, and hold only a one goal lead. And once again, we yield a cheap goal later (here at 73 minutes) and lose our advatage despite seemingly dominating the opposition. Lincoln 2, Bournemouth 2. Very disappointing, once again. We are back home to Darlington, in league play once again. Cross and Dadic are back in, and each get a goal to help us get a real lead this time. Lincoln 2, Darlington 0. Maybe we can parlay this into a good run with some high morale – we could use a few points for the league table, where we are now down to 8th, even after this win. I make a move to pick up a new player – defender James Carter. He seems to be a pretty effective offensive player, which would be new for us, really. He is very fleet-footed, and might be helpful as another option out on the wing, even. Sunderland is interested, and we start to talk contract with the 22 year old defender. However, I am surprised when he accepts a loan instead of the transfer to us. Shame. In the Vans Trophy competition, we start out at home against Hull. This one is scoreless through 90 minutes, and we head into extra time. After 30 more minutes, we are still scoreless – so it’s to PKs. The kicks are even at 4-4 through five rounds, so we keep going on. Crowley saves their sixth kick, but James Handerson hits the bar with the could-be clincher. Painful. Hull is too high with their next shot, though, and we capitalize off the foot of Colin Bradshaw. Lincoln 0, Hull 0 – Lincoln advances. On the road at Oxford, we have the forst team plugged back in, and will look to get another boost. I want to see our offense rack up a few goals – we’re getting frustrsted with only one goal per game or so. But rather than lighting things up here, we allow two goals and fall way behind. Oxford 2, Lincoln 0. I now wonder where we really fit – we no longer look like a top contender at all. Oxford are solid, but we looked positively outclassed there. We drop to 9th place in the league table – and now have work to do just to get back into playoff contention. |
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04-06-2004, 11:32 AM
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#24 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Not too far away
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It's great to be reading about Lincoln once more.
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04-06-2004, 12:09 PM
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#25 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Troy, NY
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Great writing - really enjoy reading about Lincoln City!
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Quis custodiets ipsos custodes? |
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04-06-2004, 02:35 PM
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#26 |
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FOFC's Elected Representative
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: The stars at night; are big and bright
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Fear Plymouth.
Great read. I seem to miss where you discuss what tactics you employ.
__________________
"i have seen chris simms play 4-5 times in the pros and he's very clearly got it. he won't make a pro bowl this year, but it'll come. if you don't like me saying that, so be it, but its true. we'll just have to wait until then" imettrentgreen "looking at only ten games, and oddly using a median only, leaves me unmoved generally" - Quiksand |
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04-06-2004, 06:08 PM
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#27 | ||
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
I have a similar saying about Plymouth. Different F-word, though. Quote:
You haven't missed much. Pretty vanilla, but I'll try to expand at some poitn down the road. In the second season I switch to do a lot more counter-attacking -- that's coming up soon in the narrative, if I haven't already gotten there. But past that - there isn't a lot to reoprt. I have never been all that interested in deep tactics in this game -- I just determine a style of play, and try to find players who suit it in general. |
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04-06-2004, 06:13 PM
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#28 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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November 2004
So, we head home, to face Bristol Rovers. We pop in about six shots inn the first ten minutes – and get no goals. At 17, they turn tables, and we are behind again. Ben Cross gets us even at 31 with a long banana shot, and Henderson follows up with the gol ahead at 34. We come away with a good win, much needed, after our late first half scoring spurt. Lincoln 3, Bristol 1. I decide to tinker with tactics a bit. This isn’t a main focus of my game play here, but I am starting to get a feel for the players, and we’ll set things up a little better. Fewer long shots for Lee Connolly, who is just not reliable from far away. And we will try to get our forward players to be more attack-inclined. I decide to try the counter attack for a while – I think we might be well set up for that, especially with some speed from Kamara (who has been awfully silent lately). We are at Swansea, looking to steal a ron win against a lower-tier league foe. Kamara makes a drive, and pulls out the keeper – setting up an easly loft over to Murphy who buries it. Ben Cross draws a penalty, nailed by Dadic – and we are firmly in control. Murphy and Kamara each have two goals in a total romp – just what we wanted. Lincoln 5, Swansea 0. In the FA Cup, we are visiting Boston United. They make a great play at 10 minutes to move ahead. We trail 2-1 late in the second half, but unheralded defender Stuart Ward gets us a goal off a corner to pull even. We yield a PK, though, and they take the lead in the closing minutes. Boston Utd 3, Lincoln 2 – Lincoln eliminated. In the Vans Trophy, we are home to D2 Sheffield Wednesday. At Sincil Bank, we hope to stay in this one against the higher level club. At 69, while scoreless, we give up a PK goal, and fall behind. And that’s all they needed – we played tough, but could not get an attack on target. Sheff Wed 1, Lincoln 0 – Lincoln eliminated. We now play at Torquay, who are comfortably atop the league table. Do we have a major surprise in us here? We get the pressure on them early, and Dadic to Kamara works for a go-ahead goal at 8 minutes. We make that hold up, and despite a flurry of chances in the closing minutes, we come away with a great road win. Lincoln 1, Torquay. The win boosts us back up to 6th in the division. James Carter, the lightning-quick defender I had sought earlier, is now coming to Lincoln. It will occur in late January, after his current loan period ends, but he will come to us on a £20,000 transfer fee. I’m looking forward to his arrival – as I think he might help provide some more offensive spark for us. Home to sad sacks Maccelsfield, we are looking for a big win here. I stick with our top guns, wanting to stay in a high morale mode – but call up young striker John Jackson. It takes us until 56 minutes, but we get ahead on a nifty play by Jackson. We get away with just what we ordered up – a convincing win. Lincoln 3, Macclesfield 0. Now, a big match against Cambridge – we are currently in 3rd and 4th position, respectively – so this is a pretty important one. A win here, for either side, gets that club into a promotion spot at this point. Big match. John Jackson gets two shots in the first two minutes, but no dice there. It stays scoreless through 74 minutes, despite a few chances on each side. In the end – all this sound and fury signifies nothing. Lincoln 0, Cambridge 0. |
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04-06-2004, 06:13 PM
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#29 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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December 2004
Lincoln City’s QuikSand has won the English Third Division Manager of the Month award. We have advanced to fourth position, with four wins in our last five matches – so we are right back into the hunt, it seems. It is contract time. I have a long list of my own players who are due to be out of contract in six months, and the window has opened on a range of players who also expire on June 1 – and are eligible for a Bosman transfer. We put about ten Bosman offers on the table, nearly all to players who would come in at £1000-1500/wk salary. This will press our salary budget – but I expect that we might land one or maybe two of that lot. I will be doing a good deal of filling in, I’m certain. I also put in offers on several of our key players, but expect to let several others’ contracts run out. We visit Kidderminster, who are outplaying us through a scoreless first half. They get ahead at 49, and I am worried. That goal is all they need – it wasn’t out A team, but we had enough talent on the field to do better than this. Kidderminster 1, Lincoln 0. We need to be able to get points on the road against lower-half clubs if we are going to contend for promotion. Tough loss. We also lose midfielder Danny Morgan for three months with a broken foot. Tough loss there, too, though his role has reduced a good deal since Mario Dadic has taken the left wing spot mostly. Our first player to re-sign is left side defender Lee Marsh. He actually got less than some of his colleagues, but has been very stable for us at that spot, and could well lead the team in appearances again this year. Lee Connolly, our solid central defensive midfielder, is also locked up – and should be a regular starter into next season as well. A forward I really wanted was Barnet’s Tommy Senior, who has great speed and solid attacking skills. However, he has accepted their extension offer, and will stay with Barnet it seems. Disappointing – I still feel like we have a starting striker spot sitting wide open for next season. Actually, this first round of offers might not yield any fruit at all – I have a list of rejections already. We take on Swindon Town at home, in the kind of match that we need to be winning. But with Dadic and Cross both out, we just don’t have the presence on the wings that has helped our offense this season. Regardless, we get on track with pressure inside, and get a couple goals in the first half to take command. Lincoln 4, Swindon 0. We get great production from our “off strikers” (meaning the guy other than Kamara) as Dave Rose lands one, and then Ian Reed in on a sub gets two in the second half. Central defender Steve Parry is a new re-signing. Our current wage budget is strained beyond limits, but we need to lock up players where we can. Parry has been part of a very effective rotation at the two central spots for us – now we need to re-sign Michael Maher, too. We land our first Bosman deal, and a potentially good one. Mike Gordon is a 21 year old midfielder from Blackburn, who has been playing with Bristol Rovers on loan. I like what I see in him, and I see him as a strong candidate to step in and play at our attacking midfield spot. He has good overall skills – a versatile and fast player. I reckon he’ll be a better fit than the somewhat disappointing James Henderson (who has already announced his retirement after this year anyway). Adam Davison, a decent midfielder for us, has agreed terms with Port Vale, and will transfer there after this season. Fine with me – he’s okay, but didn’t seem to be a major factor for us last year when he was playing more regularly. Scott Murphy, our backup to Ben Cross on the right side of the midfield who has played very well this year, has accepted an offer from Farnborough, and he will be leaving, too. So – that’s a true hole to fill. We play at Plymouth, another lower-half side. This is another chance to grab some points on the road – we need to come through. Paul Kamara makes a dazzling move at 16 minutes to give us the early lead – a wonderful pivot to shake his defender and nail the 15-yard shot. But the hometown side strikes twice in the first half to get ahead of us. But this match is all about Paul Kamara, who gets his hat trick and then one – a fabulous performance that gets us the win we wanted. Lincoln 5, Plymouth 2. The board are delighted with the win, which pushes us momentarily into a tie for 2nd in the league table. We have played 22 matches to 21 for most others, so that is fleeting – but we are back in the hunt for a top three finish, at least. I work out a new deal with reserve defender David Kay, and call him up to the senior squad. We’ll get him training, and perhaps a shot or two to play with the big club. Oldham are in 12th place in the league – and traveling there isn’t an easy win, but one we’d love to get, of course. They get out ahead on a OK at 22 minutes, and we need to go uphill from here. Early in the second half, Paul Kamara works more magic – following up his own goal to strike for the equaliser. I make a triple sub at 75 minutes, hoping to spur a breakout goal. It looks like a draw, until they pop one in at 91, and secure their home win. Oldham 2, Lincoln 1. We have landed another Bosman transfer, Doncaster’s 28 year old midfielder Shaun Howe. He can play both the left and right sides, but my thinking is that he will step in to become the main backup on the right side for Ben Cross, assuming the role currently held by Scott Murphy. I don’t know that Howe will be an impact player for us, but he is pretty affordable and versatile – both of which will come in handy. We get bad news from the training fields – as defender Michael Maher has suffered a badly torn groin, and will be sidelined for a long while. We have a rotation there, but will have to go a little deeper – maybe getting Gareth Ricketts some time in the defensive middle. Paul Mills, a little-used right side player, has agreed terms with Oldham. One more salary out the door for next year. We take the field next at Sincil Bank, hosting Yeovil Town. Should be a laugher, if we are in form. We get our ahead, and when their defender trips Kamara on a break, they get the red card and we get the PK goal. Lincoln 3, Yeovil 1. Good showing on our part – and Mario Dadic again gets the MO for his stronog efforts on the left side. At Leyton Orient, we are looking to win if possible, but maybe pick up a point from a draw. They are a mid-table team – and shouldn’t be easy to beat on their field, especially without Kamara, who got dinged in his last match. Dave Rose, however, fills in well enough and gives us a first half lead with a breakaway goal. Rose’s main asset is speed, but he put a nice move on the keeper to finish the effort. Rose gets two goals on the day, but it is his assist to Ian reed in the 91st minute that seals the deal for us – a great win on the road. Lincoln 3, Leyton 2. |
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04-06-2004, 06:13 PM
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#30 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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January 2005
Lincoln City’s Mario Dadic has won the English Third Division Player of the month award. Here is where we stand on the league table now: Code:
So, we have benefited greatly from a very strong mid-season run, and we sit in a very nice spot at this point, with the best goal differential in the division. Here’s a snapshot of our player performance thus far: Code:
So, we head into our next match – home to Barnet. We get a solid win at Sincil Bank, and keep our momentum and spirits high. Lincoln 2, Barnet 0. With this win, we have achieved a first – we are in first place in the Third Division standings. We travel to Boston United – a tough foe. They are 6th right now – and at home they will be a tough out. We at least get Paul Kamara back off this injury – that might help. Kamara serves as a decoy on our first goal – as Bradshaw fakes the pass to Kamara, then drives the score in. We hold that lead until 61 minutes – and then give up a tying score. But we strike with two goals in the next ten minutes, and go on to put it away – a huge win on the road for us. Lincoln 4, Boston Utd 1. I’m a little surprised when my backup central defender Stuart Ward signs a new contract for next year with Wrexham. We’ll be okay without him, but I hadn’t thought he would be a hot commodity, really. Riding high, we now head home for another pretty big match – we host Bury, currently in 5th place. If we can keep winning against quality foes, we put ourselves in great position for the stretch run. We are, however, without injured Mario Dacic, so our left side penetration will be impaired. I don’t expect to see a whole lot of offense here. After 40 minutes, Scott Murphy scores – taking advantage of the piled defense on Kamara’s left side. After we withstand lots of pressure from Bury’s attack, we get a chance – and Kamara gets sit past the keeper for the two goal edge. Lincoln 2, Bury 0. Fabulous effort, once again. Now, we are on the road again, facing 15th place Scunthorpe. They are an up-tempo team, who score more and yield more goals than anyone else in the league. This one does not go our way – they notch two goals in the early second half, and we cannot muster much of anything. Scunthorpe 2, Lincoln 0. Sunderland approaches us about a player we had expressed interest in – defensive midfielder Peter McMahon. He is listed as worth £175,000 – but they are only asking for £30,000. If I can get him sealed up, he would be a nice advance Bosman deal. But, I have my doubts – he’s making £2,700/wk with Sunderland, and I can’t afford much more than half that. We’ll see. I put in the £30,000 offer, and McMahon’s asking price is only £1,500 per week. But, he is being approached for Bosman transfers from other clubs, too – so there is some urgency to make this happen now. I hope he accepts my offer, but I don’t expect it. At Northampton, I have 17 year old keeper Brian Hardy making his first start. Both my regular senior keepers are in bad morale, and his is great – so this seems to make sense. He survives his first test, and we settle in. At 33 minutes, we get a goal to take some pressure off the kid. They draw level after 52 minutes, and things are tight once again – Northampton are getting loads of pressure, and are really outplaying us. But at 83 minutes, Mario Dadic gets a ball through to Kamara, who lofts it past the Northampton keeper for the go ahead goal. Lincoln 2, Northampton 1. We are lucky to get out with this one – and Brian Hardy played no small part in that. Peter McMahon laughs off my contract offer – he doesn’t want to play in a lower division, and that’s that. Okay. I get an inquiry for Mario Dadic – a pittance of £35,000. I decline, saying he’s too important. I don’t know what it would take to get him away from us – but that’s nowhere near the ballpark. In a surprise to me, Dadic makes it known that he is unhappy that we rejected the proposal. That might portend bad things to come, if he wants out. Drat. We welcome James Carter to the fold – he’s the flashy, fleet-footed defender we have picked up from Sunderland. He’s been playing in the conference all season – and has been rather effective. He’s even scored eight goals from the defensive side – I’m hoping he can add some of that spark for our attack, too. Home against Mansfield, we drop Carter right in on the right side of the defensive line. I don’t expect him to be particularly tough on the defensive side, but if he can help give us some more attacking power on the right side, all the better. The game starts out hot, with a goal apiece in the early going. Carter gets a nice chance at midfield at 18 minutes, and quickly drops it ahead for an assist to Dave Rose. We get a solid win out of the effort, and I am tantalized by the potential for such a fast attacker coming from our backfield. Lincoln 3, Sunderland 1. |
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04-07-2004, 03:48 AM
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#31 |
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Pro Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Good to have a QS dynasty again. Good reading.
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04-07-2004, 07:17 AM
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#32 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
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always enjoy a cm dynasty, good luck on the promotion this year
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04-07-2004, 07:43 AM
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#33 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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February 2005
Lincoln City’s Paul Kamara has won the English Third Division Player of the Month award. Lincoln City’s QuikSand has won the English Third Division Manager of the Month award. Another very good month in the books for us – here’s how it adds up: Code:
Cambridge is still very much a threat for the top spot, but our solid play of late has us well positioned, of course. But it’s easy to see how a bad run of three or four matches could easily drop any team right off their pedestal – including us. Fortunately, we will be getting right winder Ben Cross back soon. Scott Murphy has played well in his absence, but Cross gives us a creative attacking presence on that side – which should help us even more. With James Carter attacking from behind him, we might start getting things going on that side – bad news for defenders. Cross is also a superior corner kicker – so that aspect should improve upon his return. We are at York – a tough matchup. And they come right out and score in the first two minutes, digging our hole even deeper. After 12 minutes, they lead 2-0 and we are in deep. At 81 minutes, we finally get on the board with a corner kick-in by Ricketts, but promptly yield a mirror image goal the other way. York 3, Lincoln 1. We welcome Ben Cross back to the lineup, as we host Dag & Red. They were once a red hot club streaking up the league table, but have since cooled off a bit. Cross and Carter are playing on the right side, but our scores come, as usual, from the left – Dadic and Kamara fill it up for the edge. We end up in a dominating state, and crush the Daggers easily. Lincoln 3, Dag & Red 0. James Carter twists a knee – and the attacking defender experiment will have to take a back seat for a while. Ben Cross, just back after a long injury, is down again – he is hurt in training, and will miss a couple more weeks with a hamstring. Scott Murphy will be back in on our right wing, where he has had a very solid season. We are now sitting dead even with Cambridge for the spot atop the league table. We have to travel to play at Rochdale. Still scoreless, each side gets a good chance in injury time, but neither one can connect. Lincoln 0, Rochdale 0. With that, we slide to second position behind Mansfield, winners in their match. I make a move for next season, signing 24 year old striker Paul Russell. I’m not totally thrilled with the corps we have to complement Kamara – I don’t know if Russell will add much, but he should be affordable and content for time. We host Bournemouth, a club we really ought to handle. But, despite getting many chances, we cannot break though their “circle the wagons” defensive tactic, and we settle for a score draw. Disppointing at home, of course. Lincoln 0, Bournemouth 0. Exeter have made an offer for young midfielder Andrew Hussey, and I promptly accept. I don’t think he is a good fit for us, and I’m glad to unload his contract. Now we face some pressure to deliver on the road – at Darlington. All hell breaks loose early, they get ahead 2-0 after 20 minutes, and we cannot dig out. Darlington 2, Lincoln 1. I fear that we are entering the kind of slide that we just cannot afford. |
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04-07-2004, 07:43 AM
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#34 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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March 2005
As we start the month, here is the table: Code:
We can’t like the trend line here, as we have all but walked away from the top spot, letting Cambridge open up a wide lead for the division title. Now, we are in a very tight race for the other two promotion slots, and with the way we have been playing… it’s tough to feel very confident. This would be a very disappointing collapse – we need to bounce back. Ten matches to go – there’s still time for this to shake out a lot more. Our chance to get the ship righted in a HUGE match at home, against Oxford. If we hold them off, we gain much ground on the team best poised to catch us for a promotion slot. If they win, they catch and pass us right now. We get a great outside shot from Davison to launch a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute. At 26 minutes, we get our third goal, and the onslaught looks impressive. Lincoln 4, Oxford 0. That has to be as big a win as we have ever had – and gets us back into a good position, of course. We head to Bristol Rovers, but we don’t want to lose a step. But, despite our efforts, we can’t get a thing going – and we fail to even get onto the board at all. So much for momentum – we lose valuable ground here. Bristol 1, Lincoln 0. Now we are at Macclesfield, and I don’t know what team will show up this time. Fortunately, it’s the hot team that does – and we easily swamp them at their place. Lincoln 3, Macclesfield 0. With the transfer deadline approaching, I try to make a move – I’d like to add a striker for the stretch run, if we could. I end up pursuing Stuart Thomson – who is not exactly a striker, but could help us with our offense, I think. He’s another blazing fast player – decent complementary skills, but very fast. We’ll see whather this team concept bears any real fruit. Ian Briggs, our right side swingman, has accepted a deal with Hereford for next year. He’s been a reserve for us mostly – not a huge loss. And now – we are home to Torquay, who are dead even with us for the third spot on the league table. Another huge matchup. It’s tight the whole way – we both avoid making a big mistake, and in the end, we don’t manage to separate at all. Lincoln 0, Torquay 0. I’m a little bit ticked off right about now. Peter McMahon, a pretty good midfielder I had been pursuing, has signed a new contract … with Dag & Red. He explicitly rejected us because he didn’t want to come down to Third Division. Now he signs with Tird Division Dag & Red for next year. In all likelihood, Dag & Red will still be toiling in Third Division next year, pally – and Lincoln has a good shot to move on up. What’s that all about? |
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04-07-2004, 07:44 AM
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#35 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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April 2005
Lincoln City’s Ben Cross has won the English Third Division Player of the Month award. I didn’t see that coming – our club was a bit shaky this month, but Cross’s return is welcome, of course. We are home to Swansea, and we need to get a win here, of course. I sound like a broken record, but the only way to stay at the top is to keep winning. Sometimes, we play well as a team, and sometimes we just drop back and let Paul Kamara win the match for us. This was one of those – his two goals, both on great individual efforts, are the whole scoreboard today. Lincoln 2, Swansea 0. And so, a few days into March, here is the leagyue table with everyone at a level number of matches played: Code:
Cambridge has all but locked up the top spot, but there is a mighty battle afoot for the remaining two promotion spots. It’s probably down to the next three teams for those two spots… but anything could happen with five matches left. On our remaining schedule, we have a few tough ones: Code:
Away at Cambridge looks awful, but the rest at least avoid the top seven clubs. I’m guessing that we’ll need at least 10 points form these five matches – and practically speaking, that might well mean three wins from the final four. Tough. We are rested and ready, but this is Cambridge. At their place. Tall order. We’re not playing conservatively, but they keep possession a lot through the first half. Our defense holds up, and it remains scoreless – so far, so good. Our one good attack got the ball into the side netting off Kamara’s foot – we need to straighten that one out. At 54, they score off a corner kick, and we are in some trouble. They extend to two goals, and we “have a mountain to climb.” No way. Cambridge 2, Lincoln 0. My young winger Danny Morgan is looking for a new contract. He’s thinking £1,100/wk… I’m thinking about half that. I’d like him around, but I don’t think he’s good enough to be paid like an anchor. I break off talks – hoping to get back to him later. Now, we need to get our act together – we are home to Kidderminster, a must win. We let out some real frustration, and mercilessly pound the Harriers, with Paul Kamara getting another hat trick and James Henderson on the cusp. Lincoln 7, Kidderminster 1. The seven goals is not only a club record, but a Third Division record. That’s a big win for us – and hopefully will swell morale for our final road matchup, coming up next. So, at this point, the league table has adjusted a bit, of course. Code:
So, we are guaranteed a playoff position, but the real race is for the auto-promotion spot. Our draw with York didn’t resolve anything, so we are still in a tough three-way battle for those last two spots. Good news, though – York is heading to Cambridge next, and we can certainly hope for them to get the same rude result we already did. That would certainly help us out. Torquay’s schedule looks a lot lighter – two at home, none in the top seven. All our remaining matches are very important, of course, but this is the most borderline of the lot. We are at Swindon Town, in 9th place – a solid team. And, for all intents and purposes, we need a win here. At 23 minutes, Ben Cross works some magic, weaving through two defenders and piping a shot right past the keeper. Wonderful! At 32 minutes, it’s Paul Kamara with anoter – and we look to be in good shape. Kamara strikes again in the second half – just a wide open chance that he drives right past their helpless keeper But after getting a 3-0 lead, we see an unbelievable collapse – and within 15 minutes it is all level. I am shellshocked. Ay 82, we have to rely on a save on a PK to avoid falling behind. In the final minutes, it’s edge-of-the-seat stuff as we try desperately to fend them off and hold on to our even score. But in injury time, 92 minutes on the clock, they tally the winner. Swindon 4, Lincoln 3. An absolutely unforgivable collapse – we lead 3-0 after 50 minutes in a must win game, and end up on the short end. Unthinkable. York did indeed lose to Cambridge, but that only serves to propel Oxford into the third spot now – we are now in fourth, down by two points. Unbelievable. |
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04-07-2004, 01:01 PM
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#36 |
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Pro Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Illinois
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Steve Parry, eh? Is he, by chance, a journeyman player?
*rimshot* Thanks everyone. I'll be here all week. |
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04-07-2004, 01:01 PM
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#37 |
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Pro Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Illinois
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Dola-
Seriously, excellent read as always QS. |
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04-07-2004, 01:02 PM
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#38 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: The State of Insanity
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Ouch. er, nice to see Cambridge going up???
*ducks*
__________________
Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com |
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04-07-2004, 07:34 PM
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#39 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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May 2005
Lincoln City’s Paul Kamara has won the English Third Division Young Player of the Month award. At this point, we not only need to win, we will need help. We sit in 4th place – not good enough, of course. We host Plymouth – in what ought to be a simple walkover win. Mario Dadic, after a dreadful effort last time out, is out of the lineup – and in foul spirits overall. Somehow, the club that folded like a tent last time out just looks sensational here, and we run out to a shocking four goal advantage in the first half. Lincoln 4, Plymouth 0. Where was this team in the second half last time out? Arrrgh! Oxford and York won this week also – so we didn’t gain any ground on them. However, Torquay lost, meaning they dropped to third place – and are now only one point ahead of us in the standings. So, if we win our final match, and either Oxfrod loses or Torquay loses or draws, then we can sneak into that final promotion spot. In our final match, we are home to Oldham (8th place) – which is no small task to begin with. Oxford finish at home to Dag & Red (13th place) and Torquay are home to 6th place Barnet. I feel that my best bet is for Barnet to put together the stinger over the reeling Torquay, and for us to get in that way. We’ll definitely be watching the league scoreboard as the match progresses. For the big final match, we have David Crowley in goal, and most of our first team activated. Mario Dadic remains in a terrible spirits, and I decide to go it without him. Paul Kamara and James Henderson will start at striker – Henderson has had a nice little run up there lately. We’re ready to go, morale is very high. We get to the half without a score either way, in a tightly played match. Meanwhile, both Torquay and Oxford are similarly in scoreless draws. The last 45 minutes will tell a lot of the tale, it seems. At 68 minutes in our match, still no score. Same for Torquay and Oxford both, oddly enough. York is ahead in their match now – so they are looking like a factor again. At 80 minutes, the situation is exactly the same – it’s as if the first team to score a goal can go on – almost a three-way sudden death situation. York has their game all but wrapped up, so they are actually looking good right now, wit ten minutes to go. I push us into attacking mode – a draw does us absolutely no good here, of course. At 87 minutes, Lee Connolly takes an outside shot that misses left by less than a foot. Close call, but no goal. They announce three minutes of injury time… but we can’t get anywhere, and end up in a scoreless draw – the most frustrating result I can imagine. Lincoln 0, Oldham 0. As it turns out, Torquay pulled out their match with a late goal, while Oxford faltered with a scoreless draw as well. So it’s Torquay and York who end up getting the two remaining auto-promotion slots. Awful result for us – it was all there for us. Now, we will have to regroup and try to work our way through the playoffs and hope to secure the promotion the hard way. We will face Barnet in a home and home for the semifinals – starting at their place. I’m going with Mario Dadic back in on the left side – despite his low morale, he has been awfully good for us this year. Lee Connolly is off with an injury in the first two minutes – reducing some of our flexibility. We get a first half goal, and a few saves from Crowley, to end up with a 1-0 lead as we get into the closing minutes. An injury to Kamara – no idea how serious yet – has us reeling, but we come away with the edge at their place, at least. Lincoln 1, Barnet 0. We choked at this stage last season – but we’ll hope for a better showing this time around. The physio’s report is eagerly anticipated – and bad news. Both Paul Kamara and Lee Connolly will have to miss the second stage. Awful news for us – our attack simply isn’t very solid without Kamara, we know that much. We head into the second match with Barnet, one goal up and playing at home. Dave Rose, in for Kamara, gets hurt himself – and we end up with Scott Murphy subbing in at striker, where he has played only sparingly. At 41, Barnet break through with the first goal of the match, leveling things up overall. It’s there until 70 minutes, when Ben Cross nails a free kick into the right corner, and we pull even for today – but ahead again overall. Huge effort! And that’s enough for us to limp it home, and take the 2-1 aggregate victory! Lincoln 1, Barnet 1 – Lincoln advances. And so, in the playoff final, we will face Oxford. Winner goes on, loser stays in Third Division. Can’t be stakes a lot higher than that. |
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04-07-2004, 07:34 PM
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#40 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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June 2004
Lincoln City’s Paul Kamara has won the English Third Division Player of the Month award. And the physio reports that Kamara is healthy enough to play in the finals. Great relief! We have a lot of contract-related issues to deal with – but the pressing issue is the match for the promotion spot. Bear with me as we resolve a few things on the contract front. These players’ contracts have expired: Andrew Lochhead, Steve O’Connor, and Chris Rowe. My thinking is that I want to get Rowe to return, but the others I am ambivalent about. Lochhead started the season on the first team, but his play didn’t really inspire a lot of confidence – and I consider the striker spot still up for grabs. O’Connor isn’t a strong choice there, either. All three are on month-to-month contracts for now. We have reached the transfer period – and we see a few roster changes. This is weird that it happens before our final match of the 04/05 season, but we will have to make do. We see these players departing: Adam Davison, Paul Mills, Scott Murphy, and Ian Briggs. Losing Murphy and Davison certainly thin out our midfield options – the other two were versatile, but not regular contributors. We bring in Paul Russell, a new striker, discussed previously. I’m hoping that he becomes a regular starter for us. A big blow is that Mike Gordon’s transfer in is cancelled – the transfer fee is too much for our budget, apparently. (I’m not quite sure what happened – is this the bonus we paid him? Or was there compensation to his old club? Either way, it’s off. Ouch.) I put in a straightforward offer for him, as he becomes a free agent – we’ll try to land him through the back door now – we really could use another productive midfielder. We have two honorees for the Third Division Select team – Paul Kamara and Mario Dadic. No surprises there – both had fabulous seasons. Kamara had the highest average player rating in the whole division, while Ben Cross was 3rd and Dadic was 5th. Outstanding! With the transfer window re-opened, and a few contract situations still pending – we have some work to do. Soon. But now, we have a match to go win! Our morale is pretty high, our injured players are back – and we are ready to roll. We play this one at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff – a big venue for us. After 30 minutes and a few back and forth opportunitites, we get a break. Mario Dadic, back to himself finally, makes a great forward play into the left corner, and sends a ball inside. Paul Kamara gets it, pivots nearly 270 degrees, and sends the ball into the pipes! It’s a 1-0 lead for the good guys! That lead holds up until halftime. At 52 minutes, we yield a counter-attack opportunity, as they get a ball clear ahead of midfield, and take it right in for the equalizer. It goes to 90 minutes without another score – things are looking very shaky right now, even though most of the pressure is ours. This one limps through 30 more minutes… and the final promotion spot will be determined on penalty kicks. I don’t think this bodes that well – it’s just not our strong suit, either side of this. Ben Cross is up first – his shot is firm, but their keeper makes the save. But Crowley responds with a save of his own! 0-0. Mario Dadic goes high and right, and pegs the corner. And David Crowley makes another great save on the center kick. Lincoln 1-0. Paul Kamara hits his shot to the left, and it fools the keeper completely for the score. Oxford hits their goal, too, tagging the right side. Lincoln 2-1. Simon Platt freezes the goalkeeper, and nails the shot on the right side. We are in good shape now, even though Oxford hits their shot, too. Lincoln 3-2. Ian Reed, veteran forward, is our last shooter. This one can clinch it! He goes center, while the keeper leaps to the left! The ball taps the back of the net, and we gain the win with a 4-2 edge! Lincoln 1, Oxford 1 – Lincoln advances on penalties.. All that effort, all that drama…and we end up advancing to the Second Division on the strength of a few penalties, and a couple clutch saves from David Crowley. Again… unbelievable! After taking a few deep breaths, it’s time to settle things up for the 2004/05 season. Here’s a final look at the league table, complete with our final adornment: Code:
And here is the grid for our player performance on the year: Code:
I think it’s a good time to do an inventory of this team – because I think we still have some holes to fill for the coming season. Keeper David Crowley remains a veteran leader and solid coaching assistant. But we need to bring in another option – I prefer to ride my keepers based on morale, and I want to have faith in a second player. Saunders doesn’t look like that guy, and young Brian Hardy is unsettled because he hates me so badly. Target area for a good acquisition. Defenders We have four starters returning already – so in intact foursome of Marsh, Maher, Parry, and Platt can be there. I’m trying to work out a new deal with Chris Rowe to be in the rotation at the center defense position. Gareth Ricketts is turning into a decent sub option – playing left or center, midfield or defense. James Carter is the attack-minded defender, and I still don’t know quite how to use him. David Kay seems to be moving up and has some promise – if things fall apart with Chris Rowe, he’ll see even more time. I think we are solid here. Wingers Mario Dadic and Ben Cross are standouts, though Cross seems a little injury prone, and Dadic is unhappy about not being dealt. I’m hoping that they can both return with another very good season for us in 05/06. However, we really have little behind these two as of now. Danny Morgan can play the left side, and I am re-initiating talks to lock him up for this season. But I think we need to have at least one more reliable option for the outside midfield spots – especially someone who can comfortably play the right side behind Cross. Priority. Central Midfield I’m comfortable with our defensive midfield spot, as Lee Connolly is a stable presence there, and I think we have pretty good backup from Gareth Ricketts. If we re-sign Danny Morgan, he can play some here as well. The forward attacking midfield spot is a concern. Colin Bradshaw was very adequate there late last season, and we could do plenty worse. But I really seek a difference-maker player in this position – someone who will rack up assists and notch goals of his own. Bradshaw doesn’t screw things up, but 5 goals and 5 assists is less direct production that I would expect from such an attack-inclined position. Our experiment with James Henderson, a versatile striker, didn’t pan out too well – I think we need a true attacking midfielder with the right skills here. It’s a good spot for an acquisition of note, if we could land one. Strikers Paul Kamara is beyond words right now – he had a fabulous season, and is the absolute cornerstone of our offense. Who should be playing beside him? James Henderson and Ian reed got lots of time down the stretch for us – and both have announced their retirement. Dave Rose seems okay, but doesn’t have many skills to complement his raw speed. Newcomer Paul Russell looks promising – and might be our first look when the new season starts. I am definitely open to adding a new face or two, and we expect to see a little more of Darren Hopkins this year also. Following hat analysis, I move to lock up two players we need – defender Chris Rowe and midfielder Danny Morgan. Both accept deals a bit less than their initial request, but will come back on good terms and should see plenty of playing time in the coming season. I make a few more approaches to free agent players who are out of contract. My hope is to land another impact player here – like we did last June with Mario Dadic. The first player we land is a defensive-minded midfielder, Gary Doyle. He’s a 27 year old Aussie, coming over from Aston Villa. He played on loan to Watford (first division) the last season, and was pretty solid. My scout likes his skills – he is very tough, a strong tackler, and a potentially effective offensive player as well. He can play either defender or midfielder – so he might step into a role comparable to that of Gareth Ricketts, as a top backup to Ben Cross and occasional starter at a few different spots. Assuming we have no problem with a work permit, we ought to be in good shape with this addition. (It won’t go through until late this month) Paul Kamara has been voted Lincoln’s Player of the Year by Lincoln supporters. A repeat performance, but a dominant one. The club got better, but so did he – our left side attack from Kamara was in top form through most of the year. Great season. That wraps up the 04/05 season – one with more than its fair share of drama. Work to do as we settle into the Second Division. |
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04-08-2004, 10:03 AM
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#41 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: The State of Insanity
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Congrats and good luck, I think you're going to need it!
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Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com |
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04-08-2004, 12:31 PM
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#42 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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NEW SEASON - July/August 2005
The Lincoln board are very pleased with your performance as manager this season. 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 £50K. We also receive £300,000 in television revenues. We continue to pursue free agent players – my ideal is to bring in one or two more players who could help right away. I’m shooting high right now – expecting to be turned down, but who knows? We receive, so far, a series of thumbed noses. The transfer of midfielder Gary Doyle is complete. Looking him over, I think he might very well be an impact player for us – a great passer, tough tackler, and hard worker. I expect to see him getting playing time at several spots. Striker Ian Reed has left the club and retired from football, as he had indicated was his intention. He served pretty well for us last season, especially as a substitute. He now stays on as a coach for us. We had expected fellow striker James Henderson to follow through on his retirement, but it looks as thought he may not do so. That would be fine by us – he’s making peanuts, and played pretty effectively for us as a striker last season (after we moved him out of the attacking midfield spot, where he was mediocre). Only 32, if he sticks around, he might have a few years ahead. I send out my scout to look at 20 y/o free agent keeper Ryan Parker, and they drool over his potential. He’s been on the bench for Man Utd – that’s not a bad bloodline. We put in a bid – but soon after see a number of other clubs following suit. I figure I’m a longshot – he looks great, but our rivals are all higher level clubs. As a backup plan, I put in an offer to another keeper – Irishman Jim Magill. He doesn’t have the great upside that Parker has, but looks to me like a very big improvement over Dave Saunders. Ryan parker signs a deal with Grimsby Town, another Second Division club. I’m disappointed, but not too surprised. On our second try, though, we land Jim Magill. So, we will have a new face between the pipes this season. Magill has one cap from playing for the Northern Irish club in international play, which might prove to be an issue for us through the season. But overall, my comparison suggests that Magill has better actual tools than David Crowley, and probably will become our first team keeper. We’re paying him appropriately for that role – so we hope to get some good results from him. This brings us to our first friendly match, at Chester. We get a solid win, and start the tuning-up process for our players. No injuries – good there. Our next friendly gives us a chance to see some of the new faces in action, including Jim Magill, who mans the goal for us. We get a decent effort all around – except for newcomer Gary Doyle, who looks a bit lost playing on the right side of the defensive line. |
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04-08-2004, 12:31 PM
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#43 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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August 2005
I have decided to extend a new contract with young midfielder John McGrath, and I expect that he might get called up to the senior squad this season. He has a few solid skills, including good pace and flair, and might be a pretty good fit with our system. The bookmakers have made Lincoln a 50-1 shot for promotion from Second Division this season. They don’t have any of our fellow promotees in the mix, either, at least. The top contenders are, apparently: Ipswich, Burnley, Chesterfield, Brighton, Watford, and Reading. At this point, I am back over my wage budget – though not by all that much. Regardless, we will once again be in our usual pinch – unable to offer a sufficient weekly wage to attract real impact players, by and large. We are approached by Wolves about defender Lee Marsh. I say he’s not available, and hope that’s the end of it. These things have a way of spiraling downhill, though. We have finally reached the regular season, and start out at home to Cheltenham. We break the tie after the half, with a nice goal fed in from Kamara to Paul Russell. Holding our 1-0 lead in injury time, we strike on the counter attack, and Kamara dishes to Russell again for the clincher. Lincoln 2, Cheltenham 0. Paul Russell gets off to a great start with us with a match rating of 10 and a MOM award – and probably clinches the starting striker spot across from Kamara right here. We play in the first round of the League Cup, against Grimsby Town. They gain the early edge as a shot slips right past Crowley. We draw even in the second half off the foot of Thomson, his first for us. James Henderson subs in and immediately makes and steal and scores on a breakaway goal – a great effort! Henderson’s second half earns him the MOM honors, with two goals making the difference. Lincoln 3, Grimsby 1 – Lincoln advances. So far, so good against Second Division competition. I don’t expect we’ll cut through like we did in Third Division, but I’m thinking we can steer clear of relegation – we don’t seem to be terribly outclassed, at least not yet. At Reading, we are looking to stay competitive against a highly regarded division rival. Might be a better test here. After a scoreless first half, I am pleased with where we stand – I’d even say we are outplaying the host club here. Down the stretch of this scoreless event, it’s our side getting pressure, and their keeper keeping them in it practically by himself. Lincoln 0, Reading 0. I’m pleased, basically – we played well and earned a tough point on the road. We now are at Southend, a club who are even with us on the league table right now. They are swarming and aggressive – this is my first eye-opener moment in the Second Division. They land one goal off a transition at 18 minutes, and we feel like we’re on our heels the whole way. At 69 minutes, a pass to Kamara is errant, and the Southend keeper comes out to get it – but Paul hastily rushes for the ball, gets to it first, and strikes right into the untended goal to pull even. We’re being outplayed, I think, but we are now even on the scoresheet. We make the even score last, despite late pressure, and get away with another hard-earned standings point. Lincoln 1, Southend 1. This was a fast and tough team – I expect to see Southend competing for a good league position this year. Striker Paul Russell comes from the match with a groin injury – and will miss a couple of months. So, we’ll be back to a rotation of players at the striker spot. We play host to a more familiar foe, York. We get several shots and chances through the first half, but come away with nothing on the board. We draw a PK at 62, but Dadic’s kick lands right in the lap of the keeper. Once again, we settle for a draw – we are undefeated, but are slipping backward in the standings. Lincoln 0, York 0. Ian Reed’s coach contract expires, and I let him go. We can bring in a better asset or £300/wk than him, I think – he gave us some solid play last season, but that was our main mission in landing him. Sorry, pal. We are home again, now to Port Vale. Ben Cross pops in a beauty after 33 minutes, but Port Vale puts theirs in at 67 to pull level. At 76 minutes, David Crowley is caught way out of position and yields an easy goal – a bad play all around. We lose this one at home, and fall from the ranks of the unbeaten. Port Vale 2, Lincoln 1. |
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04-08-2004, 12:31 PM
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#44 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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September 2005
Code:
So, in the early going we are holding our own – but the last match was disappointing. We need to get our attack in gear – so far, we have not been very effective with out offensive chances. The Lincoln board are very pleased with your performance as manager. We play at Notts County, back in league play. They are right next to us on the league table – we’ll try to get our first road victory here. Kamara drops a pass back to Bradshaw for our first goal at 31, and we take the lead. At 73, we extend to two goals with a follow-up kick by Ben Cross, and we look good. Notts responds right away with a great effort for a goal, and get back within one. James Henderson takes a long pass, and gets in for another goal. We get tagged with a flurry or cards, and give up one more goal – but come away with the win, regardless. Lincoln 3, Notts Co 2. Away at Watford, we have a shuffled defensive lineup, including James Carter for the first time this season. He’s our explosive attacker, slotted on the right side of the defensive line – we’ll try to get a little more pressure against a tough rival here. Our first goal comes off an improbable play – defender Michael Maher heads a corner kick in from ten yards out. Watford get even, but we regain the lead with a nice goal from Colin Bradshaw, who is reasserting his hold on the attacking midfield spot (despite my persistent efforts to replace him!). It’s a pretty exciting finish, and Watford have several attacking chances to pull even – but at 89 minutes, we get a counter attack goal to seal the deal. Lincoln 3, Watford 1. That’s a great win for us – locking up two straight on the road certainly helps our status – we leap up to 9th on the league table now. Gareth Ricketts’ contract is up, and I want to keep him. He’s not a star performer, but he is very versatile, and seems to give a solid effort at any of his possible positions. That’s worth a modest salary, which is all he’s seeking. Now that we are several weeks into the season, let’s have a look at player performance. Code:
We have to be happy with our overall effort so far, but there is still room for improvement. Dadic and Kamara have not yet been “clicking” on our left side – and we’ve been getting our goals on breakaways and follow-ups, mainly. Eventually, we will hope get our left side attack back in gear, which had been a real staple of our best efforts last season. We head home to host Torquay, a club who promoted along with us last season, and who have found great early success here in the Second Division. Lee Connolly wastes no time, and scores on our very first touch – in less than 45 seconds! At 74 minutes, still ahead by one goal, Colin Bradshaw commits a penalty and afford them a PK – but Magill comes through with the save, protecting our eventual margin of victory. Lincoln 1, Torquay 0. I make a press release about my pleasure with Ben Cross this season – he has been excellent, adding some outside shooting and opportunistic play to his typical slashing offensive style. Great effort thus far. The fans voice their agreement – apparently they didn’t think he’d cut it at this level. We stay at home, and face Brentford. We are getting all kinds of pressure in the first half, but can’t manage to get off even a good shot or two. Finally Henderson scores off of Dadic’s corner kick at 65, and we assume the lead that I think we have deserved. Off a free kick, Ben Cross taps right to lee Connolly, who sends it home, and we lead 2-0. Lincoln 2, Brentford 1. Jim Magill is injured, though – which might be cause for concern. Jim Magill, it turns out, will only miss a week or so, according to our physio. We ought to be able to scrape by okay without him, I reckon. Dave Saunders will be set to take the spot for our next outing. Our next match, it turns out, is in the League Cup – against Bury. I feel like we can shuffle things up a bit, though I don’t want to upend our momentum. We are the ones with all the pressure and chances, but the game goes into extra time still scoreless. At 116 minutes, their corner kick sails right into the goal (nice arc!) and they secure a 1-0 win to send us packing from the Cup. Bury 1, Lincoln 0 – Lincoln eliminated. That might be the last straw – I think I want Dave Saunders out of here, stat. He is listed immediately, and I expect to accept most any offer. |
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04-08-2004, 12:32 PM
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#45 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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October 2005
Lincoln City’s QuikSand has won the English Second Division Manager of the Month award. The award panel made their decision after the Red Imps boss guided his team to victory in all four of their league games this month. We get some bad news from the training field – right winger Ben Cross is down with an injury, and will miss a couple of weeks. This means that Gary Doyle will finally get his chance to step in and play for us – we’ll see what he can bring to the table. He has skills, but has yet to really earn my trust. We are in 3rd position on the league table, and now we get to face Rotherham. This one is pretty back and forth – but neither side is able to break through and get on the board. Lincoln 0, Rotherham 0. We head to Burnley, one of the clubs targeted for good things as the season started. They are having a tough go of it, so far, in 20th place. Magill gets caught running out early, and gives up an open net goal at 3 minutes. They had a good attack going, but his error made it a giveaway. We draw even at 8 minutes, but they strike right back, and it’s 2-1 after only 13 minutes. We simply aren’t used to seeing this kind of electricity. At 38 minutes, Kamara rushes to the left corner, and sends in a pass to Henderson who knocks it in for the equalizer. Henderson strikes again at 54 for a beautiful breakaway goal, and we assume or first lead in the match. We hold on to secure the hard fought win. Lincoln 3, Burnley 2. Henderson, who has really blossomed since being tabbed for regular starting time at striker, had two chances to tally a hat trick, but managed the side netting both times. Paul Kamara has been called up to the England Under 21s squad to face Iceland Under 21s. Great news for our exciting young striker, but it’s bittersweet for our club. If he is going to wander off every so often to play in international matches, we are probably going to need some more depth on our attack. We host Chesterfield, and once again get caught into a mess – we are getting pressure, but send ball after ball sailing over the top of the goal with our long shots. In the end, we cannot get the win that I think we deserve, and settle for a scoreless draw. Lincoln 0, Chesterfield 0. Lincoln player Brian Hardy has told his agent he is no longer unhappy with manager QuikSand and is willing to stay at the club. Well, that’s nice. I’m still not certain that he fits into our plans for the longer term, bit it’s nice to know that he isn’t grousing any longer. Now we head on the road to take on Ipswich. We are scoreless for a long time, and it looks headed to a nil-nil as well – but in injury time, Michael Maher heads in a corner kick from Cross, and we squeak away with a victory. Lincoln 1, Ipswich 0. The Red Imps performance so far this season warrant the top half position they currently occupy, but at this early stage of the season they must be aware that a few defeats would see them head rapidly towards the foot of the table. The might still be favourites to go down, but the start they have made to the season has certainly been encouraging. Wolves have made a £22,000 offer for Lee Marsh. Marsh is a stalwart for us on the left side of the defensive line, and I am reluctant to let him go – especially for such a pittance. I respond, affirming that he is an important starter, and decline the deal. Our next match is at Stockport, a struggling team near the foot of the table. They tally a goal at 35 to take the lead, but it gets called back by an offsides. Regardless, what we are seeing does not look like a 20th place outfit, they seem fast and organized. At 71 minutes, Paul Kamara sends in a gorgeous goal, arcing it right around the poised keeper, and we take the lead. That’s all the edge we need, as we shut things down in the second half. Lincoln 1, Stockport 0. One thing in this game that sometimes escapes main notice is the personal undercurrents. There are layers of notes for each player about their attitudes and happiness. Here is a little survey of where some of our players are. First – there are plenty who have a generically positive comment like “Content with conditions at the club currently.” Generally, I figure that these are players who are not too ego-driven, and enjoy being around on a club that is winning a lot of matches. David Crowley, our veteran player/coach, is just such a guy – he’s not making a ton of money, he’s not getting a lot of playing time, but he’s enjoying the ride. Several of our younger players include “Enthusiastic about his future at the club.” Simon Platt, our 20 year old starting defender, has been here for the whole time, and it’s nice that he considers this the place for him to be. Lee marsh, his counterpart on the left side, feels the same way, as do players like Lee Connolly and Colin Bradshaw. Another common comment is that the team is basically in awe of Mario Dadic. Several players include mention that they think he is talented – he is the aspirational leader of this club, it certainly seems. Paul Kamara puts up the big numbers, but it’s Dadic who gets everybody excited on the pitch. Dadic himself is “happy to stay at the club.” At one point, he was upset that I denied a transfer bid, but he seems to be past that, and is happy with us. Promotion will help there, I have found. Young striker Darren Hopkins seems to be capable of some good efforts, but has been inconsistent in his play – occasionally allowing a real stinker on the pitch. I see that we have added a note about him – he is “unambitious.” Not a hard trainer, not a hard worker – it all fits, really. His fellow young striker John Jackson has the same tag – and the same reputation, really. Neither one has a lot of my confidence. Paul Kamara, only a couple of years older, is the opposite. He is “driven” – and is clearly a guy who gives his all. Really, I don’t see that he has a whole lot more raw talent than a guy like Hopkins, but it’s perfectly clear that he is committed to the success of the club, and has been a huge part of it thus far. He, too, is “enthusiastic about his future at the club.” Fortunately, we don’t have any real malcontents on the club – which is nice. I have had clubs descend into chaos over various things – but generally, as long as the club is doing well and reaching expectations, the chemistry tends to stay strong, like a rising tide that lifts all boats. We play at Brighton, who are in the bottom half. A road win here would actually place us at the very top of the league table! Paul Russell I healthy again, and we have him slotted in to start at striker. At 43 minutes, Colin Bradshaw gets a steal, and sends it forward to Paul Kamara, who sends an open shot past the keeper. At 57 minutes, though, they get even. Colin Bradshaw makes another nice play to get us ahead – knocking in a solid pass-in from Mario Dadic. Lincoln 2, Brighton 1. Although the season has only just started, relegation candidates Lincoln City find themselves top of the league and playing superbly. Many feel that it won’t last long though, and that their slide down the table is just around the corner. This club might start adopting an “us against the world” mentality, at this rate. The points are well taken, but it’s very exciting for us to be on top of the Second Division league table. Might as well get a snapshot of this, since even I don’t know how long it might last: Code:
Woo. Hoo. We are at Rochdale in the Vans Trophy first round, looking to keep things going at full tilt. Paul Kamara gets two single handed goals in the first half, and has us ahead 2-1. At 42 minutes, Kamara makes another shot, which is partially blocked by the Rochdale defender and goes in – it’s counted as an own goal, but clearly was Kamara’s doing. Later on as we have the match well in hand, Kamara seals his actual hat trick with a goal off a corner kick. Lincoln 6, Rochdale 1. Paul Kamara, off to a lukewarm start by his high standards, has a breakout performance as he carries the offense here. The Vans Trophy is a dilemma for us – I don’t think we are really deep enough to properly maintain a solid Cup campaign, so we’re probably better off just playing our backups from here on out in that event. I think that’s our plan – though we might be a threat there, if we really committed. But I don’t want to be exhausted and end up losing league matches because we went all-out in the Vans Trophy matches. Much the same for the forthcoming FA Cup – I don’t see much point in putting out our best players there, since we’ll just get them too tired to play. |
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04-08-2004, 12:33 PM
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#46 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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And now, dear reader, you are essentially caught up with my real time play. You've been spoiled so far, but I am pretty enamored with this club at this point, and fully intend to keep chipping away when I can.
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04-08-2004, 01:16 PM
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#47 |
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High School JV
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: NH/Boston University
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Simply a PIMPTACULAR read!
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BU Hockey WHAT! |
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04-08-2004, 01:35 PM
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#48 |
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FOFC's Elected Representative
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: The stars at night; are big and bright
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That is a good point. What is the real incentive tiring or possibly hurting the players on the Trophy and Cup series that you have no real chance to win?
Do the starters get angry about this, the fans, or management? Are there any repercussions by tanking these games?
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"i have seen chris simms play 4-5 times in the pros and he's very clearly got it. he won't make a pro bowl this year, but it'll come. if you don't like me saying that, so be it, but its true. we'll just have to wait until then" imettrentgreen "looking at only ten games, and oddly using a median only, leaves me unmoved generally" - Quiksand |
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04-08-2004, 02:05 PM
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#49 | |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: The State of Insanity
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Quote:
Casssssssssh Money! All lower league teams DREAM of being drawn against a big money team like Man Yoo/Arsenal/Chelsea/Liverpool at their house. Why? They get half the money from the gate. In the big stadiums, that's quite a lot. A lot of teams have also used the springboard of the shock upset to reach higher then they normally could in league too
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Check out Foz's New Video Game Site, An 8-bit Mind in an 8GB world! http://an8bitmind.com |
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04-08-2004, 02:09 PM
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#50 |
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FOFC's Elected Representative
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: The stars at night; are big and bright
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Ahhh. Makes sense, should have thought of that.
Goes back to the old saying, "When you want to know why someone would do something, just follow the money."
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"i have seen chris simms play 4-5 times in the pros and he's very clearly got it. he won't make a pro bowl this year, but it'll come. if you don't like me saying that, so be it, but its true. we'll just have to wait until then" imettrentgreen "looking at only ten games, and oddly using a median only, leaves me unmoved generally" - Quiksand |
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