Graeme Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 We have now played 15 games and are still top, but only by virtue of Kettering having played a game less than us. This is very disappointing, but the table looks like this: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Altrincham | | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Kettering | | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 10 | +13 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Stafford | | 15 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 20 | 11 | +9 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Barrow | | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 15 | +7 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Alfreton | | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 18 | +11 | 26 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Vauxhall Motors | | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 17 | +4 | 26 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Hinckley | | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 9 | +6 | 24 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Worksop | | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Hednesford | | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 20 | 18 | +2 | 23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Worcester | | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Hucknall | | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 20 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Lancaster | | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 18 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Burscough | | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 26 | -3 | 18 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Gateshead | | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Moor Green | | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 16 | -2 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Harrogate | | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 16 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Northwich | | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 18 | -2 | 15 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Redditch | | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 19 | -5 | 15 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Leigh RMI | | 14 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 16 | -6 | 13 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Bradford PA | | 15 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 11 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Stalybridge | | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 23 | -17 | 8 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Gainsborough | | 14 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 23 | -14 | 6 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 During the week before our next game at home to bottom half Gateshead, I got some good and bad news. Midfielder Chalmers has returned to training, but is a couple of weeks away from any return to action, good. Jody Banim then went and spoke to the press about his disappointment of being left out of the starting lineup on a few occasions recently. I replied that if he trained well, he'd get his chance, but with his form having been awful when selected I was angry at his statements. For the Gateshead game, I brought Whittington into the midfield, pushed Porter up front with Lloyd and dropped Daly and Hallows to the bench. The game started evenly, but we looked the more likely to score. We didn't early and the rest of the first half descended into a dull midfield battle full of endeavor but little quality and it ended at 0-0. We needed a spark in the second half, but when Murphy took a knock 5 minutes in I replaced him immediately with Hallows. 10 minutes after that I replaced Porter with Daly, and Whittington with Byrne and we then looked to have a better balance in the side. Chances were still at a premium so when Byrne put a header over unchallenged from 6 yards everyone was getting frustrated. As the game reached it's conclusion, Adams picked up a knock but had to carry on as I had used all our subs and the game finished in a dismal 0-0 draw. Poor finishing is one thing, but now we were failing to create good chances too against a mediocre side. Our form is now a worry to me, and we must start picking up wins soon. Fortunately Kettering lost and whilst they had won in midweek to put themselves top, we were now 1 point behind and still in second. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 In the lead up to our FA Trophy first round tie away to Rushden, Adams knock was going to keep him out for a couple of weeks, and Porter fell victim to flu so I sent him home. I made numerous changes to the side, Barnard replaced Adams, Banim replaced Porter, Munroe was selected instead of Band and Byrne started ahead of Dutton. I hoped a shake up would give us impetus. Rushden are a big club compared to Alty, and this showed early on. We spent the opening minutes chasing the Rushden players and ball, largely not getting near either. They were however restricted to long range pot-shots until 14 minutes when a good bit of skill from the Rushden right-winger gave him a good crossing position. His excellent delivery was matched with an equally impressive header to give Rushden the advantage. The game then reverted to Rushden taking pot-shots, but we did muster a couple of efforts from range ourselves. With half time approaching, Rushden attacked down the right again and used the same formula to extend their lead on 42 minutes. This proved to be the last meaningful action of the half and we went in 2-0 down. I made an impassioned plea for work-rate for the second half, and when we came out we looked as though the fight was in us now. We started to match Rushden in the midfield until the flanks again caused our downfall in the 62nd minute. A left wing move from Rushden produced a magical through ball that the Rushden striker could not fail to score from and did so for 3-0. We have a lot of pride as a squad, and we kept battling manfully against the professional lads from Rushden. I brought on fresh legs as the game wore on, but we tired as a unit and a long ball caught us outon 83 miutes and left a Rushden striker with a run-in on goal to make it 4-0. We pleasingly carried on till the final whixtle, but Rushden had now eased down and the game petered out. 4-0 at the final whistle and not a lot to really crow about. Rushden are a good side comparitively, and it was no surprise that we lost. The lads were crestfallen though and very low on morale after this defeat. This was the third game on the trot we had not won, and something needs to change quickly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 Hucknall away next for my beleaguered squad as I attempted to pick them up from the beating by Rushden. Daly replaced Lloyd up-front, Johnson came onto the bench and Band replaced Munroe in the heart of the defence. Fish had returned to training a couple of weeks earlier and took his place on the bench, Hallows started in place of Whittington and Dutton replaced Byrne. Most of these were down to the players being very tired, but some were tactical. Early on at Hucknall, we didn't click in an attacking capacity. Near post runs were met by far post crosses and vice versa. We were not on the same wavelength. As the first-half wore on, a couple of chances fell our way but poor finishing again cost us. We were getting frustrated, and allowed Hucknall a couple of late chances in the first half. Fortunately they couldn't take them either so the half ended 0-0. I tried to shake them up at half time, attempting to get a real reaction going forward. The second half though continued in the same vane, with us as the better side but unable to finish a chance off. Fish made his long awaited return from injury from the subs bench, Byrne and Johnson both had a go also but nobody seemed able to score and the final whistle heralded a 0-0 draw. Another disappointing failure to win a game. I am now left scratching my head wondering what the correct formula might be for getting us going forward effectively. Whatever it is, I had better find it soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 Hinckley away provided the next test, and without us having won in several weeks, we needed to get back to being victorious as quickly as possible. I brought in Johnson for Daly, and moved Lloyd to the bench for this one. The game started with both sides on an even keel. We perhaps had the better of the chances, but with no finish looking likely for either side another battling game ensued. The game was largely played in the midfield, and little real craft was shown by either side. It was perhaps inevitable that a set piece would break the deadlock. On 37 minutes, a right wing corner was met with a bullet header from the middle of the goal to give Hinckley the advantage. Some slack marking had lead to the goal, and we were clearly deflated from having gone behind. So much so that on 45 minutes, Hickley strolled straight down the middle with many 1-2's and slotted a second. Beleaguered, we trooped off at half time 2-0 down and in need of something special. I tore into the lads at half time, something that was becoming increasingly necessary due to some abject performances. With fleas in their ears and covered in teacup shards, we went out for the second half. Being the last game before Christmas, we had to get something here. My lads started just like I wanted them to, going forward with more purpose than we had shown in recent weeks. Our failing though was again finishing with Daly and Johnson particularly culpable. Hinckley though self-destructed on 68 minutes when a woeful back pass caught the Hinckley keeper out of his area and stranded, leaving Johnson with an open goal. Fortunately he hit it, and we were now only 1 goal down. I then made use of 3 subs, refreshing the forward line and midfield, and we continued to come forward. Hinckley were now dropping deeper and deeper, trying to hold on. As time went on the game became attack on defence, but we just couldn't hit the bit of space between the posts and under the bar. Several of the spectators were getting bruised with our wayward efforts, and even a late Daly strike that rattled the frame could not get us the goal we needed so the match finished 2-1 to Hinckley. Another disaster. With the sides around us not being astonishing either though, we only have to recreate our early season form to start to get back into the running again though. Anyway, suffice it to say that I am really unhappy currently, and something needs to change and soon. I have started to bid for strikers on free transfers, and hope to offload some of my more useless players at the earliest opportunity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 With the Christmas turkey still fresh in our bellies, a boxing day game at home to Worksop was next for Alty. I decided to make wholesale changes here, especially the defence. We lined up as follows: GK: Smith RB: Rose LB: Adams CD: Stirling CB: Munroe DM Dutton RACM: Winn CACM: Porter LACM: Murphy ST: Lloyd ST: Daly Johnson and Whittington made the bench along with Coburn, Craddock and Byrne. Well, what a reaction. After an even early period where Worksop looked dangerous on set pieces, an excellent move down our left culminating in a well placed Daly goal from a Porter throughball gave us a lead on 8 minutes. On 14 minutes, Adams played the ball down the left for Daly to chase. His cross found Porter on the edge of the area whose right foot volley scorched into the top left corner for 2-0. More chances followed, but the Worksop keeper was starting to get into his acrobatics and stop some shots. Worksop were trying to work at us on the break, but our pressure told again on 32 minutes when a low Dutton right wing corner found Winn on the edge of the box and his first time effort thundered into the top left corner. Worksop were being battered by us again and again and in injury time, a break and cross by Winn down the right found Porter unmarked on the penalty spot. His control and finish was sublime, and sent the long suffering home crowd into raptures. The half time whistle went soon after to bring to a close the best 45 minutes football produced by one of my sides, excellent stuff. At half time, I encouraged the lads to keep going, and announce to the league in the most emphatic terms possible that we were back on form. After the break though, we were struggling to live up to the performance we put in in the first half. This was partly due to Worksop having parked the bus in-front of the goal for the second half, but also due to our old problem, finishing. Lloyd in particular was wasteful on numerous occasions, but the rest of his play had been excellent so it was had to criticise him too much, especially at 4-0 up. We toiled and struggled to find a fifth until the ref brought to an end the game that hopefully marked the start of a great run of form. 4-0 to Alty! My shake up had worked, and we were looking hungry again for points. Some more performances like this and we'll find our way back to the top of the table. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 Our 20th league game of the season saw us travel to Leigh RMI just down the road. Leigh are a team in decline, and we must secure a win here to keep our momentum going into the new year. I decided to keep the same side as had faced Worksop, despite them being a little tired due to the packed Christmas schedule of games. We created a good chance in the first minute, with Daly heading straight at the Leigh keeper when well placed. When Leigh countered a couple of minutes later though, Munroe let his man get on the wrong side, pulled him back and was booked. Nothing came of the freekick, but when he did the same on 6 minutes, he was sent off for his second bookable offence. Disaster, 6 minutes gone, down to 10 men away from home. I brought Craddock on for Lloyd to fill the hole left by Munroe. The game then settled down to an even affair. Leigh's chances were perhaps better in the first half, but in fairness there was nothing clear cut created by either side. The whistle then brought an end to a relatively dull half, marked only really by Munroes indicretions. Having gven Munroe a piece of my mind, I told the lads to get the ball forward early then get up in support of Daly as quickly as possible. It would be tricky, but Leigh are not a masterful side so a win is possible. When a ball from Dutton was flicked on by Daly in the 51st minute, Porter ran through only to be brought down on the edge of the area by the Leigh right-back. He was the last man by a distance and was rightly sent off for his professional foul. Now 10-a-side, we had a real chance of the win. The first half had taken a lot out of the lads though, and as the game wore on we looked more and more tired.I threw on my last 2 subs, and pushed Porter up-front to try to get at Leigh, but they had now settled for a point and dragged the entire team back to defend their point. This they did effectively and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Anotehr clean sheet is the positive, especially when playing a man down for a half. Having someone sent off for 2 bookings in 6 minutes and also drawing another blank in front of goal was the downside. A couple of free transfer bids for strikers had not come off, and it was looking possible that I would have to go into the rest of the season with the lads I have. Another disappointment then, but were not completely out of it yet after 20 games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 20 games gone, and the table was as follows: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Kettering | | 19 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 16 | +13 | 38 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Altrincham | | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 16 | +14 | 36 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Vauxhall Motors | | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 36 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Alfreton | | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 33 | 21 | +12 | 33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Stafford | | 20 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 24 | 15 | +9 | 33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Worcester | | 19 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 26 | -2 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Barrow | | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Lancaster | | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 16 | +7 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Hinckley | | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 29 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Worksop | | 20 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Hednesford | | 19 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Harrogate | | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Moor Green | | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 22 | 23 | -1 | 26 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Hucknall | | 20 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 26 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Redditch | | 19 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 24 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Gateshead | | 20 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 20 | -2 | 23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Burscough | | 19 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 26 | 30 | -4 | 22 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Northwich | | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 27 | -7 | 22 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Stalybridge | | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 25 | -8 | 21 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Leigh RMI | | 19 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 17 | -6 | 18 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Bradford PA | | 20 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 35 | -17 | 15 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Gainsborough | | 20 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 32 | -20 | 8 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> There's some points to be made up, but the lead is hardly insurmountable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 New years day sees an exhausted Alty squad travel to Redditch for the first game of 2007. We need to start the year off right, and get back to picking up wins right away. Fatigue was the driving force behind numerous changes necessary, Fish came in for Porter, Whittington for Murphy, Hallows for Winn, Band for Munroe and Banim for Daly. We retained posession well, and probed the Redditch defence with patience early on. Banim was lively, but ran out of options in the final third. Both sides created a good chance, with Redditch firing wide, and Lloyd forcing a good save from the Redditch keeper. After these efforts, both sides seemed to clam up a little, and only long range efforts were possible for both teams. The game continued in this way until a dull first half was brought to a close. Loyd had gone down injured just before the break however, with Johnson coming on as his replacement. The lads were very tired, but I tried to gee them up for another push in the second half.From the kick off, redditch attacked with purpose, they were patient until their striker was tackled and the ball broke to his strike parter who rifled home in the 47th minute. The game was then cagey again until a long ball found Johnson in space on the left who laid the ball inside for Hallows to cross for Whittington to volley home on 55 minutes. By this time, Fish had run out of steam and Byrne replaced him. A couple of chances were then created by both sides, but in each occasion the keepers were not worked. As the game wore on, Redditch seemed to tire more than us. Johnson was foiled by 2 great saves, and Banim shot over when well placed. Redditch did connect with 2 crosses, but the player headed wide on both occasions. The game was then ended with a 1-1 scoreline, not the worst result but not a good one either. It's wins we need, and we are now at the half way point of the season. I estimate we might need 5-10 more points in the second half of the season than we amassed in the first to win this league, and the sooner we get them the better. Kettering drew also, leaving the gap teh same at the top. After the game, the pysio came to see me about Lloyd. He had torn his calf and would be out for 3-5 months. This basically means the end of his season disappointingly. Before the next game, Barnard went down with the flu, and Adams with a cold. Both players were sent home to recover. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 Lancaster away were the next opposition for my faltering Alty boys. Daly came in for Lloyd, Munroe for Band, Porter for Fish, Winn for Hallows and Murphy for Whittington who made the bench. As so many changes had been made for the last game due to fitness, I changed many of them back. Adams had just about recovered from his cold so retained his place, but we now had to cover for Lloyd's injury. We started well at Lancaster, and Banim was put through early only to fire over. Lancaster then tightened up a bit, but we were still the dominant side. On 22 minutes, a left wing counter attack from Lancaster produced a good cross, eluding Munroe in the middle. The Lancaster strikers control and finish was a lesson to our misfiring forwards. Now behind, we surged forward again only to find Lancaster having dropped deep in numbers and we were left frustrated until half time, 1-0 down. Creativity was lacking in the midfield, so I asked the boys to really up the tempo and play the ball longer, hopefully bypassing a lot of their increased numbers protecting their back 4. The second half was, in truth, a dismal half of football. We were by far the better side, but had resorted to more direct football which was effective but not good to watch. Banim had 2 sitters that he failed to take, and the subs werejust as ineffective at getting the result we so desperately need. So, the game finished with us unable to score, and a 1-0 loss was the result. We didn't really look like scoring, despite Banim having had a trio of opportunities that I think my mother would have scored from. I have finally lost patience with Banim, and he will not start for Alty again unless we are desperate, and I duly placed him on the transfer list. I also decided that we needed to get rid of several fringe players. We were operating just under our wage budget, but this could be improved and hopefully leave Alty better off financially. Bids came in for Burns, reserve left winger, and Hussin. I accept them both gratefully. I am going to have to completely rebuild the squad sooner or later, so I might as well get started now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 Now back in 4th place, we need to start clicking again and pick up some results quickly. Our next game was Harrogate at home. I had called up striker Lee Hendley from the reserves, and decided to give him a game on the bench to drop Banim. Johnson started up-front with Daly, Whittington came back in for Murphy, Hallows was picked on the bench, and Byrne replaced Dutton on the field. I needed a performance, or at least a result. Our 3rd game of 2007 had to be the one where we would open our accounts for the calendar year, and start being positive once more. We were a bit tentative as we started the game, not entirely sure about ourselves. We were low on confidence and it showed. When a Rose cross from deep found Porter breaking into the area unmarked to head bast a stranded Harrogate keeper on 17 minutes, I thought our form had finally been turned around. I expected us to now go on and win the game hansomely. We pressurised Harrogate almost continually after the goal, but were failing to really create chances. On 43 minutes a Porter finish was ruled out for a dubious offside call that I ranted to the 4th official about. It was all to no avail though as the goal remained disallowed and we finished the half 1-0 in front. Finally, we had gotten into half time with a lead. I warned against complacency against the distinctly average Harrogate side, and urged the boys to go out and kill the game early. Bouyed by a decent first half display, we came out with all guns blazing after the break. It was far more than the Harrogate defenders could cope with, but unfortunately we found a goalkeeper in the mood for a virtuoso performance. His acrobatics kept Harrogate in the game time after time as we surged forward in waves. As the game wore on, we started to be less effective going forward, slightly down as all our great play and pressure in the second half had as yet yielded no result. That changed though on 84 minutes when a left wing break from Whittington resulted in a cross that Daly poked home from close range to finally put the game beyond most doubt. We relaxed after scoring the second, and Harrogate accepted their defeat. The game petered out to a 2-0 victory that was most welcome. We had finally reversed an awful run of form and got ourselves back on the front foot. We had climbed into third, and amazingly were still in good touch with the pace setters. We just need to keep up the fight and verve that we beat Harrogate with and Alty will be successful this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 After the positive result beating Harrogate, next up was possibly the toughest game of the season on paper, Stafford Rangers away. Johnson had gone down with a virus midweek and I sent him home, Burns agreed a contract with Kettering and went on a free, meaning we saved £300/week in wages. Hussin also agreed a contract with Grantham, and he signed for them netting us £1000, and saving another £50/week in wages. For the Stafford game, Johnsons absence was filled in the starting XI by Hendley, and I brought Banim and Fish onto the bench. I didn't want to make any other changes, so sent the lads out hoping to continue our form from the Harrogate game. The match was very tight early on, and both teams were evenly matched. This I was pleased with as Stafford are a decent side, big, strong and fit. After the tense opening period, we came to the fore, with Daly forcing the Stafford keeper into several good saves. With us still on top, the half time whistle blew without us having managed to take an advantage into the break, but not having conceeded any good chances was a bonus. I roused the lads for more of the same in the second half. If we could build some real momentum, we would climb back to the top of the tree and be in with a real chance of winning the division. We continued where we left off after the break, with Daly again foiled by the keeper a couple of times. From one such effort in the 52nd minute, the ball was cleared to the half way line. From there a long deep cross was put in to our area and a deft header gave Stafford an unlikely lead. Yet again we had fallen behind after being the better side in a match. The goal really rocked us, and the game became much more even afterwards. Stafford tightened up and the game descended into being a midfield battle with little or no chance of either side actually scoring a goal. And so the game ended in a 1-0 loss, after having dominated large parts of the match. Disappointed, I told the lads in no uncertain terms that we had to improve and start capitalising on the situations we create in games. After the lads had gone home, I called in my scout and assistant manager and started to go through player lists and bid for strikers. We have to start being more clinical in front of goal, it's imperative. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 I got news shortly before the naxt match against Worcester at home that one of the strikers I had bid for had accepted our offer and would become an Alty player. Mark Gilhaney, a young quick striker from Hamilton agreed a £625/month contract and will join in April when his loan at Stalybridge expires. This is good news, but it does not solve my immediate shortage of goals. For the Worcester game, I sent the lads out knowing that only a win would be good enough, and failure 'was not an option'. I brought Craddock in for Rose, and replaced Murphy with Whittington for the game. From the kick off, Worcester attacked and this culminated in a foul by Adams on the edge of our box. The free kick was dispatched with Becham like accuracy and we found ourselves 1-0 down inside a minute. Hells teeth lads, that's suicide! This goal proved to be the peak of Worcester as an attacking force though, and we then strolled forward with purpose, creating many chances. It wasn't to be though, and Hendley missed a trio of excellent opportunities on 4, 16 and 36 minutes and our first half was another of frustration as it ended 1-0 down. What was worse than this though, was what could I say at half time? We had done everything but score and a first minute lapse had cost us the half. We had actually played well, so I went easy on the lads whilst encouraging the strikers to be more clinical. The second half started in a similar vane with us by far the dominant force in the game. Our strikers though were becoming a dominant farce as Daly had good opportunities saved. Thornley Fish and Dutton replaced Hendley, Murphy and Winn as we continued to create good chances. It wasn't until 82 minutes that we finally managed to break our duck. A Craddock cross from deep was met with a powerful Dlay header. A rebound from a good save was then poked in by Dutton for his first Alty goal. We now had 10 minutes to win the game, but Worcester who had defended manfully since taking the lead were no pushovers. We only really managed a couple of mis-hit shots before the referee brought the game to a close with the score at 1-1. Realistically, the performance had been wonderful apart from not actually being able to score. Something has to be done about our lack of goals, especially given the fact that we have been creating some great opportunities. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherm Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 stiil going strong graeme. great story, KUTGW Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 The table having now played 25 games was as follows: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Alfreton | | 25 | 14 | 3 | 8 | 46 | 29 | +17 | 45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Kettering | | 24 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 31 | 20 | +11 | 43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Altrincham | | 25 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 34 | 20 | +14 | 41 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Lancaster | | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 31 | 18 | +13 | 41 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Barrow | | 25 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 39 | 33 | +6 | 41 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Worksop | | 25 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 40 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Stafford | | 25 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 40 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Vauxhall Motors | | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 40 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Worcester | | 25 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 31 | -3 | 38 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Hinckley | | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 26 | 21 | +5 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Moor Green | | 25 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 31 | 29 | +2 | 36 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Northwich | | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 33 | 31 | +2 | 35 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Hednesford | | 25 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 35 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Hucknall | | 24 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 23 | 26 | -3 | 31 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Harrogate | | 25 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 22 | 26 | -4 | 31 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Gateshead | | 25 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Redditch | | 25 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 28 | 32 | -4 | 30 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Burscough | | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 29 | 38 | -9 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Stalybridge | | 25 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 23 | 34 | -11 | 25 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Leigh RMI | | 24 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 25 | -8 | 23 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Bradford PA | | 25 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 23 | 47 | -24 | 17 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Gainsborough | | 25 | 0 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 41 | -24 | 11 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> We're still in touch, very much so, but there's not a lot to choose between probably a dozen clubs. Also, if Alfreton go on a good run the league could be over, something we cannot afford to happen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 There were 2 weeks between the WOrcester draw and the next game, away at Vauxhall Motors, so that provided an excellent opportunity to try to refresh our squad and negotiate out some of my less successful players. Jody Banim was one of my main disappointments this season. I offered him out to clubs on a free, hoping to get his £190/week off the wage bill. Nuneaton and Kettering came back and offered Banim a contract from the end of the season. He accepted which is good, but I will have to wait until the end of season now to finally be rid of him. Darlington made an unexpected bid for defender Craddock. I didn't really want to sell, but with Darlo being a league club, and with our financial problems, I could hardly refuse. I managed to negotiate the offer up to £16,000, and Craddock unsurprisingly accepted the contract offered and he went to Darlo, saving £275/week on the wage bill and putting £16,000 in the coffers. Darlo also have to play a friendly at Moss lane during pre-season. Moving the other way was an exciting attacking player called Anthony Peacock on a 3 month loan. Peacock can play as an attacking central midfielder, a right winger or a forward. Hopefully his pace and skill will be of great benefit during the run-in. From Tranmere, young forward Steven Davies also signed a 3 month loan deal. He is over 6ft, good in the air and looks a keen finisher. Hopefully he will be just the player we need to fire us forward. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 Away to close challengers Vauxhall Motors was next up. Needing to win, and refreshed by the addition of 2 more loan signings, I felt a bit more confident going into this one, but we would find it tough against the Motormen. For this game, I put Davies on the bench, Rose came in for the now departed Craddock and Peter Band filled the defensive bench position. We started the game positively and looked the most likely to score. Hendley missed two chances on 8 and 21 minutes, the second of which when clean through, and Murphy missed a good chance from inside the box on 23 minutes. Our early pressure brought no reward though and Vauxhall then started to come back into the game. Little more was created until Vauxhall forced a left wing corner off Rose in the 41st minute. The corner was met with a powerful header that rocketed past Smith to put Vauxhall up. I couldn't believe that it was happening again, a game we had largely dominated and then fallen behind. I had some slace in frst half injury time though as a Murphy left wing cross was converted by a good header from the on-rushing Porter for 1-1. We played 5 minutes of first half injury time due to some stoppages for injuries to Vauxhall players. After scoring in the first of them, we managed to score in the fourth also. A Porter header from a Winn left wing corner was saved only for Daly to poke home the rebound. My half time team talk had changed in the space of 4 minutes, from 1-0 down to 2-1 up. I told the lads they had to be tight in the second half. We couldn't afford to let this one slip, especially considering Vauxhall were riding high in the league. The second half started cagily, with us seemingly nervous about the outcome of the game. After 15 minutes though, we started to open out. Hendley missed a good chance on 61 minutes, and after Davies and Fish replaced Hendley and Winn, Daly spurned good chances on 67 and 71 minutes. Then came another disaster. A left wing counter attack from Vauxhall resulted in a cross that Munroe inexplicably headed past Smith for a comical own goal on 73 minutes when he was under no pressure. I then replaced Murphy with Byrne to add a little steel to our midfield, and on 83 minutes a long clearance from a Vauxhall corner fell to Davies who ran through and crossed for Daly to head our third. Back in front, a tense finish to the match occurred with Vauxhall piling forward and putting us under considerable pressure. Fortunately they failed to carve out any clear cut chances and we managed to hold on for a 3-2 win. We had created enough chances to win 2 games, and still found ourselves under pressure. I told the lads we had to start putting games to bed earlier and not concede silly goals. Adams had now reached his yellow card limit and would be suspended for the next game. Amazingly, we were now just 1 point behind Kettering and Alfreton in third place having played the same number of games. This league seems to be one that nobody wants to win. We must start to win consistently and get a lead at the top. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 A midweek home game against Moor Green was next for my Alty boys. Needing to build on our win against Vauxhall, I put Davies in for the beleaguredHendley, Whittington in for the tired Murphy, Barnard in for the suspended Adams and brought Hallows and Peacock onto the bench. We started brightly enough, with Daly being tackled last ditch when through on 8 minutes, and Porter heading over when well placed on 10 minutes. Barnards lack of pace was exposed though on 14 minutes as a long ball in behind him left the Moor Green winger through. His cross was converted by the Moor Green striker jumping in-front of Smith in our goal. We came back strongly though and were awarded a penalty when Davies was tripped just inside the area on 19 minutes. Whittington stepped up and dispatche dthe spot kick comfortably. Daly then missed a good chance for an Alty lead on 24 minutes, before Whittington was fould running at the Moor Green back line for a second penalty on 29 minutes. Whittington stepped up once more but this time the keeper made a good save to his left. Moor Green then forced a good save from Smith 5 minutes later, and the rest of the half was open without there being any clear cut chances. Half time, 1-1. We had to go forward with better purpose in the second half so I asked the lads to be a bit more direct. This was certainly the case early as Daly was put through only for his shot to be palmed away on 51 minutes. Daly collected up the rebound and crossed for Porter to put us into the lead for the first time. Now tighter, we worked a long range opening on 62 minutes that Daly put over, and now tired I replaced him with Hallows. On 67 minutes, a long ball found a Moor Green striker through on goal. His shot went in only for it to be disallowed for a dubious offside call. We had gotten away with one, and I brought Byrne on for Winn and Peacock for Porter. Moor Green were really puching for an equaliser now but we were holding firm. On 77 minutes, a poor backpass from Moor Green was intercepted by Hallows. He was tackled but the ball broke to Davies whos 45 yard finish went in off the post for 3-1 to Alty. 3 minutes later, a poor headed clearance by Barnard from a left wing cross was met with a cracking shot that left Smith with no chance. Our lead had been halved. The game then became very open, with us pushing for the killer goal and Moor Green desperate for an equaliser. Chances appeared at both ends but neither keeper was really troubles in a frenetic close to the game. Fortunately be held on for a 3-2 victory that could prove vital in our promotion push. So, 2 wins on the trot and 6 goals scored. We had however conceeded 4 in that time and the defence is starting to cause me real concern, just as our lack of composure in front of goal is. Before our next game, Chalmers agreed to go on loan to Droylsden for 2 months having not really featured in our first team much this year, and reserves left midfielder Sean Smith signed for AFC Telford on a free. This gave us a wage bill nearly £900 under the budget, something that will hopefully help the club financially. I will look to maybe recruit a couple of new faces though as greater quality in some areas is definitely required. Goalkeeper Smith had also been called up to the Scotland U19's again, an experience that should only benefit him long term. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 Next up was a real crunch game, away at Kettering. This was a game that neither side could afford to lose with it being very tight at the top of the table. Having been beaten 3-0 at home by Kettering unjustly, I also wanted to avenge that defeat. Adams had returned from suspension and replaced Barnard at left-back. Hallows came in up-front for a very tired Daly, and Murphy replaced a tired Winn. This game should be a very tight affair, and so it proved early. Neither side were giving an inch, and the only real action were mis-directed crosses from both sides that almost found the back of the net. Murphy missed a snap shot on 32 minutes left side, and Davies looked bright when getting in a crossing position on 45 minutes only for Murphys header to be well saved. In terms of real action, that was about it for a very even first half. At half-time I told the players to keep it tight. We had been marginally the more likely to score in the first half, and we couldn't really afford for the game to open up with the incredibly dangerous Elding up-front for Kettering. The second half was even again early. The first chance fell to Kettering on 54 minutes when a goal kick started a move down their right. The ball was slipped in to Elding who wriggled his way through and finished well for 1-0 Kettering. Tight again afterwards saw me make 3 changes, Daly Peacock and Porter replacing Hallows, Whittington and Murphy. We were now comitting more men forward, but Kettering were reducing us to long range efforts. As the game wore on, Kettering looked more likely to add to their lead on the break than we were to equalising. The full-time whistle blew with the score at 1-0 to Kettering and we had lost. It was a good effort, and in a game where there were only 2 real chances, Kettering took theirs and Murphy didn't take ours. It was disappointing, but this was always going to be a massively difficult place to come and get a result. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 After our defeat to Kettering, sub keeper Cobrun went down with a cold and I sent him home. Jon Smith came on as a sub for Scotland U19's, did OK and fortunately will be available for the next game at home to Burscough. After the last game, I decided to ring the changes for Burscough. Daly came in for Hallows, Peacock for Whittington, Winn for Murphy with Johnson Murphy and keeper Cleoherty on the bench. Needing to get our season right back on track, we seemed deflated from the start against a tight Burscough team. Daly missed a decent chance on 8 minutes, and Porter fired over from distance on 21 minutes. Following a Daly header into the side netting on 27 minutes, we dominated posession without really being able to break down Burscough and create too many chances. The first half therefore ended in a frustrating 0-0 stalemate. I encouraged the midfield to be more creative aafter half-time, and impressed the need for the forwards to up their movement. Somehow, we had to break down Burscough and win the game. The second half saw us massively on top but still unable to carve out any clear cut chances. Johnson and Murphy replaced Davies and Peacock. We retained the upper hand, but were still unable to really break Burscough down. Byrne replaced Porter to hopefully create a more dynamic midfield, but it was only a defensive error that eventually let us in. On 87 minutes, a woeful clearance from teh Burscough keeper found Johnson clean through. As he ran on goal he was felled by a reckless challenge and a red card and penalty was the result. Adams stepped up and struck home for an 87th minute goal that could be priceless. 10 man Burscough then threw everything forward and deep into injury time we switched off to allow a Burscough forward onto a hopeful long ball and run through to score a 94th minute equaliser with the last kick of the game. A draw in this game was simply not good enough. 3 points were essential here and we had all but won the game then switched off at the vital moment. I was depressed and vented my displeasure at the lads. More lapses like this and we'll struggle a lot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 Our 30th game of the season saw Alty make the trip to Stalybridge, who had our soon to be new striker in their team, Gilhaney. He is on loan from Hamilton and will join us when his loan expires. Gilhaney started on the wing, a position he can play as well as his more natural strikers berth. I brought in Fish for Peacock who replaced Johnson on the bench. We looked sluggish from the start at Stalybridge, and the home side missed a good chance wide in the first minute as we struggled to get to grips with the game. After that early lapse, the game was more even although Stalybridge remained the most likely looking side to score. It took us until 40 minutes to really create an opportunity. Davies fired over from 10 yards, then repeated the feat 2 minutes later as we started to impose ourselves a bit on the game. We couldn't break the stalemate however and the half finished at 0-0. Looking better towards the end of the half, I sent the lads out for more of the same but with the proviso that they must be more clinical in front of goal. It took us until the 63rd minute to create another great chance, this time Fish heading over from 6 yards with a free header. I relaced Fish with Byrne and Daly with Peacock, hoping a bit more pace would aid us going forward. This seemed to work well as Peacock ran through on 69 minutes and had a fierce shot turned over the bar. From the resulting corner, Byrne crossed for Davies on the back post whose header back accross goal went in at the post. Finally we had gotten ourselves a lead again. Stalybridge stepped up again, and whilst not really creating chances, worked their way back into the game somewhat. Peacock put one over on 83 minutes as Stalybridge continued to come forward. On 89 minutes after Gilhaney had been switched to a strikers role, a long clearance from an Alty corner found the pacey Gilhaney running through and he slotted at the near post for the equaliser. An even injury time period ended with us again frustrated in drawing 1-1. To drop points again to a late goal was very disappointing, especially as the scorer is effectively our player. Hopefully it will be an indicator of things to come though and he can fire us towards promotion when he does eventually join the Alty revolution. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 Having played 30 games, the table was as follows: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Alfreton | | 30 | 17 | 4 | 9 | 54 | 35 | +19 | 55 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Barrow | | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 54 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Kettering | | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Altrincham | | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Stafford | | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 37 | 28 | +9 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Vauxhall Motors | | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Lancaster | | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 36 | 24 | +12 | 46 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Worksop | | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 45 | 39 | +6 | 46 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Hinckley | | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 35 | 30 | +5 | 45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Worcester | | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 31 | 36 | -5 | 45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Moor Green | | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 38 | +3 | 44 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Northwich | | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 42 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Redditch | | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 35 | 37 | -2 | 40 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Hucknall | | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 30 | 32 | -2 | 40 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Hednesford | | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 34 | 38 | -4 | 38 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Gateshead | | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Harrogate | | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 31 | 32 | -1 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Stalybridge | | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 30 | 41 | -11 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Burscough | | 30 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 33 | 45 | -12 | 32 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Leigh RMI | | 30 | 4 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 34 | -14 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Bradford PA | | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 29 | 51 | -22 | 24 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Gainsborough | | 30 | 1 | 11 | 18 | 22 | 49 | -27 | 14 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> The defeat to Kettering followed by 2 draws had cost us dearly. We need to pick up our game considerably, and fast as were entering the run-in with only 12 games remaining. The fact that we're still in touch though indicates that a good run of form could see us leap right back into real contention for the title. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 At this point, I decided to look in on Almansa to see how they had fared since I left last summer. What I saw was utter decimation. They were 1 place off the bottom of the table, but only 2 points from safety to be fair in a close relegation battle. The squad though was paltry to say the least. Only 16 players remain at Almansa, with the club having sold big players such as striker Estecha and keeper Aranda. Almansa's situation really depressed me, as what could have been a good season with what I thought was a squad capable of challenging for the top half looks like ending with few players left and relegation. On teh plus side, they had appointed a manager, something that did seem unlikely when I left, and with player transactions etc. they must now have over £1 million in the bank. This means nothing of course if Almansa are relegated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishregan Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 good work Graeme have enjoyed this story. I remember thinking a while back you should try and snipe that guy Estecha for Altrincham, but I guess you couldn't afford to buy his shoelaces. Keep it up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseylee Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Yep very good graeme, am gonna follow your story plus the one on another thread about east stirling which is also brill! I am really interested if you watch the game in full or just watch highlights? And what training and formations do you use? And how are your resereves and u19's doing? Do you really build a structure behind your 1st team? I go to the lengths of bringing in like 200 trialists so i can check all there abilitys and take the best from it after adding up the abilitys of the most promising players and seeing if there better than what ive got! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 I've just read all of this over the past few days, Graeme. It's a very good piece of writing and I've enjoyed your time in Spain and England. Good luck with getting Altrincham into the top spot and clinching promotion. Well done so far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by irishregan: good work Graeme have enjoyed this story. I remember thinking a while back you should try and snipe that guy Estecha for Altrincham, but I guess you couldn't afford to buy his shoelaces. Keep it up! </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Thank you! Glad you're still reading mate. As for Estecha, if there was one fella I could have taken with me from Almansa, it would have been him. Unfortunately I had a £150,000 minimum fee release clause set into his contract so Alty could never have afforded him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: Yep very good graeme, am gonna follow your story plus the one on another thread about east stirling which is also brill! I am really interested if you watch the game in full or just watch highlights? And what training and formations do you use? And how are your resereves and u19's doing? Do you really build a structure behind your 1st team? I go to the lengths of bringing in like 200 trialists so i can check all there abilitys and take the best from it after adding up the abilitys of the most promising players and seeing if there better than what ive got! </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Interesting questions, I shall try to answer them all here. Tactics: I am using at this point a 4-1-3-2 system, developed by myself but with the help of the kind folks in the tactics and training thread. This evolved through a 4-4-2, a 4-2-2-2 to a 4-1-3-2. Training: There is little stuff around concerning training for part timers, so again this is something I have developed myself. There is lots of aerobic and strength for all players, but mainly split into 2 groups, attackers and defenders a la the Jep training regimes. They are generally similar, but with attackers more focussed on attacking and defenders more focussed on defending, naturally. Games: I watch extended highlights. Especially at this kind of level, a lot of the extended highlights is stuff that breaks down sooner or later and doesn't actually end up in a chance, so it's a fairly good indicator of the game as a whole. Also having spent ages watching full games whilst developing tactics, I know generally how most of the dull bits will go with the shape I am playing. Reserves/youth: At Almansa there was no reserves, only a youth team. I didn't really get the chance to develop this as firstly nobody wanted to go to Almansa for ages, and secondly I only had about a month pre-season and the January windo to really do something about it and couldn't. At Alty, financial constraints are such that really I need to cut out all unneccessary expenditure. At the end of the season irrespective of how it goes, I will have to completely rebuild the squad. This will basically mean kids with potential on frees as they will be the only players I can really afford. Until Alty is back in the black, speculation on players is going to be tricky if I have to actually pay them anything. Above all, what I want to do is leave the clubs I manage in a much better position than when I joined, both financially and in terms of squad talent. I will take better jobs if they come up though, as my aim is to be the manager of England and the biggest club in the country at the time, whoever that may be. I hope that answers your questions mate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spav: I've just read all of this over the past few days, Graeme. It's a very good piece of writing and I've enjoyed your time in Spain and England. Good luck with getting Altrincham into the top spot and clinching promotion. Well done so far. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> High praise indeed, thank you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 For the next game, Bradford Park Avenue at home, we desperately needed to record a victory for our slightly flagging promotion hopes. For this game, I put Peacock in for Winn, Whittington for Fish and Johnson had a place on the bench alongside well again Coburn who replaced Cloherty on the bench. We started the game brightly, with Davies forcing a good save from a header on 2 minutes. Whittington had a shot well saved on 16 minutes as we again looked like we would struggle in front of goal. We were dominating posession, and Bradford PA never looked like establishing a foothold in the game, but as they dropped deeper we struggled to break them down. Yet another frustrating 45 minutes was brought to an end in a 0-0 stalemate. I have to admit it, I had a rant at half time and the players were in no doubt as to what I expected in the second half. Bradford PA brought out the bus in the second half, and parked it in front of the goal. They rarely touched the ball, much less cross the halfway line. A Daly chance was saved on 52 minutes before I replaced Davies, who had taken a knock first half, with Johnson. Dutton cracked a shot wide from the edge of the box on 61 minutes following a corner, and again on 72 minutes as Bradford PA defended for their lives. Murphy replaced a tiring Peacock, and late on Byrne came on for Dutton as Bradford PA continued to show no ambition other than holding out for a stalemate. This is what they managed as the referee brought a very one-sided game to an end at 0-0. Something has to happen, and soon. Teams are coming to Moss Lane only to defend, and we have to be able to break them down. Too many times are we frustrated either by not creating chances, not finishing them or letting in silly goals to drop points. With this in mind, I signed John Alexander, a young striker from Darlington on loan for 3 months nd Barnsleys defender Ryan Laight also for a 3 month loan. Hopefully the added competition at both ends of the park will prove successful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 Desperately needing things to roll our way, we welcomed Northwich to Moss Lane next. Northwich are a tough proposition, a big and strong side who are very hard to beat, and we will need to show better form if we are to triumph today. New loanee Alexander started in place of Daly who dropped to the bench, fellow new loanee Laight replaced Stirling, Murphy replaced Whittington and Band came in to parter Laight at central defense for Munroe. I also gave Byrne a start instead of Dutton for this one as he is a more aggressive player. I sent the lads out to attack, but in the second minute Peter Band tripped a Northwich striker on his route to goal conceding a penalty. The striker picked himself up and lashed the ball past Smith for a disastrous start to the game. We took our time to get into the game, out first chance being a long range Porter effort well saved on 17 minutes. On 21 minutes Porter headed goalwards from much closer in but again found the Northwich keeper up to the task. Sloppy play again in the 25th minute was punished when a long ball was nodded down by the Northwich striker in front of Smith, his partner tucking the knock down into an open goal. Another individual error, another goal conceeded. Davies then started to get going up-front, and a long range drive narrowly missed with the keeper beaten on 30 minutes, and a close range shot was parried on 32 minutes. Northwich then tightened up and dropped a bit deeper seeking to protect their advantage, and we toiled away to no real effect. On 44 minutes, Adams went down injured and had to be replaced by Munroe, another disaster really, and the first half ended with us 2-0 down. Another rant from me at half time really failed to pick the players heads up. They looked down and out, dead and buried as they trooped out for the second half. We started the second peiod brightly enough, and had several half chances blocked by the Northwich defence. We made our 3 substitutions to freshen things up, and had a headed chance from Porter that went wide on 67 minutes when he should have done much better. We were looking increasingly under-confident when a left wing Northwich break and cross was headed back where it came from for a classic counter-attacking goal on 76 minutes. We then did the amazing, actually putting the ball in the opposition net. A decent passing move found Munroe in space on the left. His cross was flicked goalwards by Porter and the Northwich keeper could do nothing about it on 78 minutes. This goal proved to be nothing more than a consolation though as Northwich shut up shop and happily sat on their 3-1 lead. The game therefore petered out to a desperate defeat. Yet another game where we had more chances to convert than our opponents, but just couldn't. Yet again we had made individual errors at crucial times giving goals away that would cost us points. After the game, I sat down with my assistant Dalton Steele and we discussed ways that we could turn the situation around. Not only was the title so far away now, but we were even in danger of slipping out of the playoff places such was the poorness of our form. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 The result of the long chat Dalton and I had about our plight was that we must play in a more attacking way. Many sides we play against both home and away come just to defend against us, then individual errors crucify our ambitions. We decided to change formations and go with an attacking 4-4-2, with the wingers in an advanced potition, but detailed with adequate defensive responsibilities too. We also decided to change around the personnel somewhat, and push top scorer Porter up front. Byrne had been injured in training, ruling him out for most of the rest of the season unfortunately. The team for Barrow away, our next game, was therefore as follows: Smith GK, Rose RB, Laight & Band CB, Barnard LB; Fish and Dutton CM; Peacock RW; Murphy LW; Davies and Porter up front. The subs were Coburn, Stirling, Whittington, Daly and Winn. Eager to see whether this could change our fortunes, and needing a win against one of the sides around us, I sent the lads out with a positive attitude. We had a lot of early pressure, but this failed to materialise any real chances as we again toiled without much success. Barrow then came back into the game but couldn't really create much of anything themselves. The only real chance of the first half for either side came on 32 minutes. Porter was played through by Fish, forcing a wonderful parry by the Barrow keeper. Porter managed to keep the ball in and crossed for Davies to poke home the first goal of the game. Establishing a lead in games like this is important, as the opposition need to then push more people forward the longer you are leading, thus creating more space at the back for us to exploit. This was far from happening yet though, and a very even first half was brought to a close with us still in front with Davies goal separating the sides. For once I didn't have to dish out a rollocking at half time. Confidence was still low after our last few performances, but it there were signs of life starting to creep back into the lads. They went up with their tails slightly raised, knowing that we couldn't afford to let this lead slip. The second half started as evenly as the first half had been, and chances were slim to non-existant for both sides. I freshened things up with my allocation of 3 subs, when as predicted, Barrow started to come at us more. We were defending stoutly until the 72nd minute, when Murphy needlessly tripped his man to concede a penalty, how many penalties do we need to give away? Scotsman Shields stepped up for Barrow to equalise, the dangerous stiker having been kept quiet by Laight until now. We now had to have more urgency, and I also told the lads to be more direct as we desperately needed a winner. On 83 minutes, Daly performed a miracle by robbing the Barrow keeper leaving Porter to run the ball into an empty net and restore our advantage. For once, the opposition had contributed to their own downfall and gifted us a goal rather than the other way round. Barrow then had to revert to throwing men forward once more, but again we were deturmined in defence. We were hanging on a bit, but looked dangerous on the break as the final whistle went much to my relief with the score still at 2-1 Alty. Excellent, we had won a tricky away game against one of our rivals and most of what we had implemented as the way forward from our recent poor form had come off. Whether this would work in the longer term, we will have to wait and see, but for now the lads were starting to rediscover the confidence that had been shattered in the past couple of months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 After the morale boosting victory at Holker Street, Barrow, our next game saw us travel to Gainsborough keen to build on our win. Adams had recovered sufficiently to be given a starting berth in place of the terribly slow Barnard, but I kept the same team apart from this change. We kicked off in good spirits, and Gainsborough had clearly come to play football to so the early exchanges were even and well mannered. On 8 minutes, Davies worked a bit of space on teh right wing and crossed for Porter to head down. Fish was running into the box unmarked and poked the ball past the dispairing Gainsborough keeper for an early Alty lead. Gainsborough kept up their attractive style of play and had a couple of efforts blocked before Fish slid a pass through to Davies who neatly slotted home on 23 minutes to double our advantage. In bouyant mood, we started to play with real confidence and when an Adams cross was headed home by Davies on 31 minutes, I couldn't have been happier with us. We had had 3 real chances, scored 3 goals and were looking a much more formidable side. Late on in the first half, we contrived to concede a couple of chances. Both were fortunately put over the bar and we ended the first half with a seemingly unassailable 3-0 lead. The lads were clearly delighted at half time, so I tied to bring them down a bit by saying that we were only half-way there. If we let Gainsborough back in now, it would be to the massive detriment of our entire season. Straight from the kick off, my fears were realised as Laight needlessly held back his man in our box, and was yellow carded as well as conceding a penalty. The Gainsborough striker ran up and struck a powerful shot wide left of the goal much to my relief, but we had now had the scare we just didn't need. We were now looking nervous accross the pitch, and while Gainsborough were struggling to fashion real chances, the confidence with which we entered half-time with was slowly ebbing away, despite our 3 goal advantage. I then decided to change things and introduced 3 new players to the fray, hopefully to regain the initiative. When a long Band free kick from our own half was met by a good header from Porter in the 68th minute, the Gainsborough keeper could do nothing about it and we allayed my fears to go 4-0 up. Gainsborough really came forward then, and penned us back quite considerably. We were struggling to keep the ball as the tempo of the game was raised by the home side. We were manfully coping with the pressure though until a right wing cross was headed home on 78 minutes with Smith left as a bystander. More pressure followed, but we always seemed to find a tackle, a block or a save when we really needed it and a relatively fraught second half was brought to a close. We had won 4-1, but the scoreline barely reflected what an even game it had been really. I couldn't be too down on the lads though, as back-to-back victories had gotten us back in the hunt a bit, 5 points behind the leaders Alfreton. A continuation of this form would possibly see us finish there or thereabouts in the hunt for the Conference North title. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 A 2 week break was the reward for back-to-back victories, as international duty inexplicably claimed the following weeks Conference North fixtures once again. Whilst the last fortnight break had been good for the lads to recouperate, this one left me feeling uneasy as we were starting to find some form. Our challenge could easily be derailed in the next game, at home to leaders Alfreton, whereas a win could see us really back in the hunt. For this game, and nicely recouperated, I kept the same squad that had beaten Gainsborough. Hopefully the higher morale would see us win through against a decent side. On 3 minutes, my work was undone though as an untidy Alfreton attack was only half cleared, played back in and struck home to cap a woeful piece of defending. Davies had a good chance saved on 5 minutes as we sought to get back into the game, but 2 mintes later an Alfreton break down the middle was met by only half challenges, with the ball breaking to an opposition striker to sweep it home for a 2-0 lead in 7 minutes. With a more attacking formation, we knew that we would probably concede more goals, but laughable defending was not part of our gameplan and we had been undone twice by it already. This goal seemed to shake us up a bit though and we went forward with more purpose. A free kick taken by Peacock from the right wing was headed home by Laight for his first Alty goal on 9 minutes to halve our deficit, and make up for some of our sloppy defending. 2-0 down and really annoyed, my frustration was added to when Porter went down injured on 15 minutes and had to be replaced by Daly. The breathless start to the match continued however when a good passing move on 18 minutes resulted in Peacock laying Daly through on goal. He rifled the ball home to equalise and send the home fans into disbelieving rapture. Our poor defending was to let us down again though as a run from an Alfreton striker was not tracked by Laight, but a good cross found him in space to calmly head Alfreton back in the lead on 31 minutes. 2 minutes later, a back pass from Rose was collected by Smith, only for him to slip and present the onrushing Alfreton forward with an empty net to run into for 4-2. I was now livid. Having given away 2 early goals, only to fight our way back in, we had now given away another 2 soft goals to find ourselves back to sqaure 1. A pulsating first half continued with the play being end-to-end, and both sides missing chances. When the referee finally brought the first half to a close, I was livid and breathless in equal measures. Nobody in the dressing room was spared from my wrath at half time. Teacups, kettles and assorted furniture were thrown about along with the expletives. How could we be such an embarrassment in front of our own fans? They all knew their jobs as they emerged from the tunnel for the second half. We started well, denying Alfreton posession and dictating play. Daly had good chances saved on 52 and 55 minutes as we tried to get back into this one. Whittington replaced Fish, and now all the play was with Alty. Davies forced excellent saves from the Alfreton keeper on 72 and 75 minutes, before a Rose cross from deep was headed back accross goal by Davies for Daly to poke home on 76 minutes. Alfreton were clinging on by their fingernails, and Laight had 2 headers cleared off the line by Alfreton defenders from successive corners. To be fair, we had played very well in the second 45, but just failed to make it count enough. In the closing stages, Alfreton dropped everyone back to defend and we just couldn't force an equaliser. When the final whistle went, we had lost 4-3, but had actually played some of the best football we have produced all season in the process. The problem was that we had also produced some of our worst defending too in the first half and conceeded 4 goals as a result. Given the way the match had gone, I felt that I had said all I needed to at half time, and the response had been great. Sure we had lost, and automatic promotion now seemed a distant dream, but we looked like a very dangerous side now, and one that should be a match for anyone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 We had now played 35 games, and while we were still vaguely in the mix, it would take only one of the sides above us not to suffer a collapse for us to already be dead and buried. The table was as follows: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Alfreton | | 35 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 61 | 38 | +23 | 64 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Barrow | | 35 | 19 | 6 | 10 | 60 | 44 | +16 | 63 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Kettering | | 35 | 18 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 62 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Altrincham | | 35 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 52 | 36 | +16 | 56 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Vauxhall Motors | | 35 | 16 | 7 | 12 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 55 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Worcester | | 35 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 43 | 47 | -4 | 53 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Moor Green | | 35 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 55 | 45 | +10 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Stafford | | 35 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 42 | 36 | +6 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Hinckley | | 35 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 43 | 40 | +3 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Lancaster | | 35 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 40 | 28 | +12 | 51 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Worksop | | 35 | 14 | 8 | 13 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 50 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Northwich | | 35 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 46 | +1 | 49 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Gateshead | | 35 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 35 | 33 | +2 | 47 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Hednesford | | 35 | 14 | 5 | 16 | 41 | 43 | -2 | 47 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Redditch | | 35 | 10 | 16 | 9 | 43 | 45 | -2 | 46 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Hucknall | | 35 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 33 | 36 | -3 | 45 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Harrogate | | 35 | 12 | 7 | 16 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 43 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Stalybridge | | 35 | 12 | 6 | 17 | 37 | 48 | -11 | 42 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Burscough | | 35 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 38 | 51 | -13 | 37 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Leigh RMI | | 35 | 5 | 18 | 12 | 25 | 41 | -16 | 33 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Bradford PA | | 35 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 32 | 58 | -26 | 28 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Gainsborough | | 35 | 2 | 12 | 21 | 29 | 60 | -31 | 18 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> On a different note, I have offered 2nd keeper Coburn a new contract, one he has gratefully accepted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 a great read mate keep it up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tree: a great read mate keep it up </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Thank you, I will. 7 games left now, a big push for promotion! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseylee Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Estecha </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Hi graeme thanks for aswering the Q's I had there, but just a couple more if you dont mind as it really increases the interest in the story. 1, when you have a 2 week break why dont you arrange a friendly game or 2 for 1st and 2nd string. 2. How many players do you have in your entire squad? 3. Do you bring in trialists and try them out in your reserves? 4. Do you have a u19 side? And how are your reserves and u19's doing in the league? Any 1 performing well enough for a 1st team call up? 5. And why do you do these stroys online like this? Do you enjoy telliong them cos im sure the many readers do!! inc me! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 5, 2006 Author Share Posted April 5, 2006 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Estecha </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Hi graeme thanks for aswering the Q's I had there, but just a couple more if you dont mind as it really increases the interest in the story. 1, when you have a 2 week break why dont you arrange a friendly game or 2 for 1st and 2nd string. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I don't do this for 2 reasons really. Firstly because I don't have enough real players to make 2 full teams plus enough subs to be worthwhile, and secondly because I keep picking up injuries, and the squad need to recouperate anyhow and a 2 week break is a good thing, especially for a part-time team like Alty. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: 2. How many players do you have in your entire squad? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Excluding loanees, I have inherited a squad of 20 odd. Most of these guys won't play, and are only there because I can't get rid of them without paying them off. There are a lot of contracts up at the end of the season, so the whole squad will be restructured then. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: 3. Do you bring in trialists and try them out in your reserves? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I havn't done so far, basically because the players you can get for a Conference North club in on trial are not the greatest anyway, and I need to bring in Conference National and League 2 standard players to really progress, something that is very difficult for a Conference North club with fairly heavy debts. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: 4. Do you have a u19 side? And how are your reserves and u19's doing in the league? Any 1 performing well enough for a 1st team call up? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> At Alty we have a reserve and U18 side. There are no real players currently in the U18's as I am very restricted as to budgets for bringing young talent in. I have only signed 2 players on contracts (admittedly with 1 more coming in April) so the squad I have is basically the opne I inherited. When the end of season restructuring kicks in, most of the entire squad will probably be young lads as the wages demanded will be much lower. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: 5. And why do you do these stroys online like this? Do you enjoy telliong them cos im sure the many readers do!! inc me! </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Like many folk out there in the world, I am a wannabe novelist but am just too darned lazy to actually go out and do it. I am passionate about FM, and am part of the research team, and reading some of the other stories gave me the idea to write my own, just to see if anyone would read or like it really. This is my first attempt at an FM story, but hopefully not my last. I wanted to write it in sort of a conversational style, the kind of way you would describe a game if you were writing a report to a fans forum. Anyway, I'm enjoying Alty, but hopefully full-time teams will come knocking soon and league clubs too. This is a career game, and I want to try to get to the top, Alty is really a stepping stone for that. Hopefully this answers your questions fella. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 5, 2006 Author Share Posted April 5, 2006 Needing to hop back on the good foot, we travelled to Hednesford for a midweek league game next. After our excertions against Alfreton, I made a few changes to the starting lineup. Winn came in for Peacock, Whittington for Fish and Daly for Davies. I asked the guys to go in hard and try to win the game early, but it was Hednesford who had the early advantage. They pressured us forcing several corners, but only one chance came of them that was well saved by Smith. Our first chance came on the counter-attack in the 30th minute, but Daly fired wide left when well placed. Hednesford then created a few half chances, but had nothing clear cut as a relatively dull first half came to an end. We looked sluggish, not entirely into the game, so I tried to wake them up at half-time and inject some urgency into the lads. This seemed to work as we came out fighting in the second half, with Winn heading against the bar from a Daly cross on 47 minutes. We were awarded a penalty when Winn was pushed in the box on 58 minutes. Adams stepped up fro left back and fired home top left for a slender Altrincham advantage. Things got even better in the 68th minute when Daly broke through on a mazy dribble, played in Murphy wide left and his cross was flicked home by Whittington arriving unmarked in the centre for 2-0. I sent on Davies, Fish and Peacock for Daly, Whittington and Murphy and reverted to my 4-1-3-2 ormation used for most of the season. We couldn't afford to let Hednesford back in here, so adding more midfield cover in front of the back 4 was the order of the day. The game became very tight, only Dutton having a chance which he fired over from a corner on 78 minutes. Hednesford pressed, but could only forge half chances and rarely troubled Smith in our goal. When the final whistle blew, we had run out fairly comfortable 2-0 winners after a solid second half performance that countered the slightly nervey first 45 minutes. We had done well, and getting straight back on to winning ways after a woeful defensive performance was good, especially keeping a clean sheet into the bargain. Satisfied, I sent the lads home happy. We're now into April, and Gilhaney will join soon. His pace and dribbling will hopefully be a big advantage in the run in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 5, 2006 Author Share Posted April 5, 2006 We seemed to be getting somewhere in negotiations for other new players, and hopefully we will be able to unveil a few new signings soon. In the mean time, Easter Saturday brought Hucknall to Moss Lane to face the hopefully rejuvinated Alty side I was building. I made 2 changes to the starting lineup, Whittington making way for Fish, and Peacock replacing Winn. All went to plan early as we burst out of the blocks and put Hucknall under immediate pressure. Fish flashed a long range effort narrowly wide on 4 minutes as the away team struggled to make any inroads into the game. On 8 minutes, Peacock clooected the ball on the halfway line and burst through wide right. His cross found Porter whose header was placed beyond the Hucknall keepers reach for an early lead in the 8th minute. Our concentration waned shortly after wards though as lax marking created space for a Hucknall breal on our left side, and the resulting cross was finished neatly on 13 minutes to peg us back almost immediately. Given this foothold in the game, Hucknall were not about to let it slip, an competed for every ball in an even period. In fact, it wasn't until late on that we managed to create real problems again in the Hucknall defence with Porter firing over in the 43rd minute. Fortunately Hucknall had only really created the one chance though, as both sides held firm for a nicely poised 1-1 scoreline at the halfway point. I got the lads together at half time and reminded them what the goal was for the season, promotion. We need to beat sides like Hucknall to have any chance of progresssing, especially at home. With that in mind we started the second half the way we had started the first, with Porter having two great chances early on. One came back off the left post, and the other was well saved as Hucknall looked to ride out the storm. Murphy took a slight knock, and I replaced him with Whittington, and brought Winn on for Fish, and Davies for Daly. Hucknall had now regained ther composure and were proving very hard to break down once more. I got more nervous as time went on, hoping for the one chance that could swing the game in our favour. This came in the 90th minute. A good passing move ended with Dutton threading a ball through for Davies to run onto. His cross was brought down well by Peacock, and then lashed into the roof of the net to restore our short lived advantage. In the 4 minutes of injury time, the game opened up so much that the ball was flying from box to box almost, but fortunately no real chances came about and the final whistle heralded a second win on the bounce for Altrincham, 2-1. Back-to-back wins had been achieved by us at several points this season, but they had been generally followed by a dip in form. We now needed to really push on and mount a charge that the sides above us hopefully cannot resist. The following day, Easter Sunday 2007, Gilhaneys Stalybridge loan finished and he returned to tie up his affairs in Scotland. He would join us Easter Monday when the squad would face a trip to Gateshead for the second game in 3 days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseylee Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 Thanks for your answers! But you must be runnung the game on blow database then cos there are many free transfers and u-18 players you can bring in on free's that would be on very low wages and if they was good enougfh you could train them to make them even better and then sell them to make good profit! 2. And bringing in trialists costs nothing and if you arranged many friendlies aswell im sure you would fing a gem there somewhere! Or is your budget really that low that you dont want to risk it? 3.Do you have all the players pics downloaded and stadium backgrounds etc? 4. ANd whats your main aim in the game? And will the story ever end? 5, And you should beable to charge people to read on from now on cos I bet many are glued but havnt said anything yet! Thanks and I hope you dont mind answering my q's ! If im annoying you let me know its just I love to ask questions especially if it makes the picture of the story become clearer! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 Let me try and answer your new questions. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: Thanks for your answers! But you must be runnung the game on blow database then cos there are many free transfers and u-18 players you can bring in on free's that would be on very low wages and if they was good enougfh you could train them to make them even better and then sell them to make good profit! </div></BLOCKQUOTE> This is true. I run either a medium or a large DB, I can't remember which. There are a considerable amount of freebies available at certain points of the year, but by the time I got to Alty and nabbed 2 DM's, the rest had been thoroughly cherry picked, and I only had £35/week to play with in terms of wage budget. When you get well into the season, there are not that many hanging about, and none of them really matched my criteria. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: 2. And bringing in trialists costs nothing and if you arranged many friendlies aswell im sure you would fing a gem there somewhere! Or is your budget really that low that you dont want to risk it? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I don't disagree with you here, but I feel the situation here is different to a general one. Firstly, the club has it's agenda, which is winning the league at all costs to get back to the much more lucrative Conference National where hopefully they can dig themselves out of debt. They're not really concerned about building U18 sides, just getting the club into a position where they can survive in the league above. Secondly, my agenda is that I want to progress as a manager and move on to bigger and better things. I am therefore more concerned with getting the best first team I can out on the pitch rather than building for the future with young trialists the club cannot really afford. The club are about £170,000 in debt, and this figure is growing month-on-month. Unless they can stay in the Conference national for 2-3 seasons, they won't really dig themselves out of the doo-doo financially. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: 3.Do you have all the players pics downloaded and stadium backgrounds etc? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I play the game out of the box as it were, but on a complete install and fully patched to 6.0.3. I do have the standard player pics load, but nothing else. The only mod really is that I have done it so the German and Dutch national sides are available. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: 4. ANd whats your main aim in the game? And will the story ever end? </div></BLOCKQUOTE> The main aim of the story (well, career really) is to reach the top of the profession. To be the national manager of your own country winning international competitions having won everything there is to win at club level. The story will inevitably end when FM07 hits the shelves, as my time will then be given over to that. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: 5, And you should beable to charge people to read on from now on cos I bet many are glued but havnt said anything yet! </div></BLOCKQUOTE> Whether they are or not is not for me to say, but publishing anything in the public domain is just that, public information. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cruiseylee: Thanks and I hope you dont mind answering my q's ! If im annoying you let me know its just I love to ask questions especially if it makes the picture of the story become clearer! </div></BLOCKQUOTE> I don't mind really. To be honest, I'm just glad that people seem to be taking an interest in my story, something that I wasn't sure would happen when I started it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 After 2 wins on the trot, it was important to keep the pressure on those above us. Currently, Kettering were standing firm, but Barrow and Alfreton were showing signs of nerves. For the game against Gateshead away on Easter Monday, Gilhaney needed a week to bed into our system so wasn't included. I did make some changes though, bringing Davies in for Porter, Winn for Peacock and Whittington for Murphy. Knowing what was required, the lads went out on a warm day in the Norht-East in good form and sprits. Early on, Gateshead were playing very defensively, and seemed very wary of leaving themselves open at the back. Davies missed our only chance ealy on when he headed wide after good work from Whittington. It took until the 34th minute for us to really break Gateshead down, and then only because of a defensive howler. A very ill-advised backpass left the Gateshead keeper in difficulty with Davies bearing down on him. Davies managed to get a tackle in and Daly latched on to the loose ball and ran the ball into the empty net. Barely 2 minutes later, we managed to double our advantage. Excellent passing saw us drag Gateshead back and forth accross the park, before Whittington layed the ball through for Daly to run on to. Daly got there and floated a cross into the back post that looped over the keeper and in by the post. He didn't mean it, but we'll take a goal to put us safer in teh game with open arms. Gateshead posed little threat in the game, and their only chance of the half came in injury time, but they were denied by a good Smith save. Half-time, 2-0 Alty and looking fairly comfortable. We hadn't really played well, but were 2-0 up and not looking in the least bit under pressure. I encouraged the lads to really kill the game off and then relax, and sent them out for another 45 minutes battle. The second half started in what can only be described as a gritty fashion. There was little room for either side to express themselves, and even less chance of seeing a goal. This changed though on 64 minutes when Gateshead really shot themselves in the foot once more. We were on the attack, but not looking very likely to score when the ball was played in and Gateshead made 2 or 3 real hashes of clearing it. Eventually, the ball landed at the feet of Davies and he lashed in home off the inside of the left hand post. With the game as good as over, I replaced Davies, Winn and Fish with Porter, Peacock and Murphy. The lads were sent on with instructions for the team to not give anything away here. This they managed well, but a dull game was the result. Gateshead weren't up to much, but with more restricted ambition neither were we. As the final whistle approached, a needless handball gave us a penalty in the 91st minute. Whittington stepped up and had his shot saved by the keeper to his right. No more real action happened for the remainder of the game, and we had cruised to a pretty comfortable 3-0 victory. We had now won 3 games on the bounce, and were looking a much more formidable side that that which had drawn so meekly against far too many sides this season. It isn'y the losses that have hurt us, it's the excessive amount of draws that's done it. Still, to be in with a chance after some woeful form is pleasing, and I am grateful for that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 Transfer news was good before our trip to Worksop on the weekend after Easter, we had managed to successfully negotiate 3 players into coming to Moss Lane to join the promotion push. The first player to sign was 22yr old Liam Cockerill from Woking (the Woking managers son) on a free transfer. He is a left sided player, primarily a left back, but can also play in a more advanced role. The second player to join my squad was Triston Hamilton-Hendricks on a free from Crewe. Triston is a young striker who can also play on either wing, and hopefully one more for the future than the present. Finally, Gary Brown, a 21yr old right fullback signs on on a free from Rochdale. He might only be 5'3", but he has a lot of talent and will be a good acquisition at Conference level. With the squad now refreshed by 4 new players in a week, I decided to change the linup around for the Worksop trip. Murphy came in for Fish, with Whittington dropping into his more familiar central role. Porter replaced Davies, with Gilhaney making the bench. I also brought in Cockerill and Brown for Adams and Rose. We started slowly against Worksop, but built in confidence quickly as we realised we could really get at them. Dutton flashed a shot wide on 9 minutes, and Whittington forced the home keeper into a good save a minute later. The Worksop keeper was in good form, and denied Porter well on 17 and 19 minutes. We were playing well again, but becoming frustrated at the lack of reward for our dominance. Worksop first opportunity came on 34 minutes, but fortunately the forward shot tamely wide when well placed.Porter hit the side netting on 38 minutes, and 2 chances came and went in the 41st when Murphy shot over and Daly shot wide. Our control and pressure continued into injury time, as Porter and Murphy again had chances, but both shot over. The half-time whistle went with the score at 0-0, and Worksop must have been wondering, as we were, how on Earth we were not leading. A frustrating first half, but one resplendant with good work until the finish. I encouraged the team to carry on, whilst impressing upon the forwards the need to be more clinical in front of goal. Worksop must have had a rocket at half time though, as they came out a much different side for the second perion. They created chances in the 50th and 54th minute, but found Smith in decent form. Worksop were causing us problems all over the pitch now, in a stark contrast to the first half, and I had to change the game by bringing on Fish and Gilhaney for Murphy and Daly to hopefully alter the tide of Worksop pressure. It didn't immediately as Worksop continued to press, creating a couple of half chances in quick succession. We eventually managed to push Worksop back again though in the 68th minute, when Porter found Gilhaney in the box, but he fired over when he should have done better. On 71 minutes, a long clearance from Brown deep in our half was nodded down by Porter, and Gilhaney picked the ball up and sprinted clear. He slotted the ball into the near post for a run and finish almost identical to the goal he scored against us for Stalybridge some time earlier. Now 1-0 up, Worksop were more desperate to go forward, but the holes at the back were being exploited by Gilhaneys pace. One such hole was close abruptly in the 75th minute when Gilhaney was scythed down when through on goal. A red card followed for a prefessional foul but we couldn't score from the resulting free-kick. On 79 minutes, Porter headed over when well placed as we seemed to return to our wasteful shooting. A couple of Worksop half chances were dealt with well by Smith before I decided to replace Whittington with Peacock and drop the side back to a 4-1-3-2 formation. This calmed the game down somewhat until the 91st minute when a Peacock break culminated with a delightful ball inside to the onrushing Fish who finished neatly to kill the game off, finally. The game was now definitely dead, but unfortunately Cockerill went down injured with only 10 secons of injury time remaining, but Worksop had no time to exploit the man advantage and game finished at 2-0 to Alty. A fourth successive win, and one where we could, and probably should, have had a hatful. We had coped well with the Worksop revival in the second half, and again looked good going forward. I was especially pleased with the debutants. Brown, Cockerill and Gilhaney all performed very well, but Cockerill was ruled out for probably the rest of the season with the injury he picked up late on. With 3 games to go, Kettering had maintained their charge and had signed many quality players in the last month. They were 5 points clear of a faltering Barrow, with us having overtaken Alfreton and moved into 3rd position, just a point behind Barrow. The loan spells of Peacock and Davies were due to end soon, and I have made requests to loan them for the rest of the season. With the new players though it makes their potential loss easier to take though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 6, 2006 Author Share Posted April 6, 2006 Next up for Alty was struggling Leigh RMI at home, as we looked to add more pressure to Barrow and especially Kettering above us. We were full of confidence now because of our recent form, and I made only two changes to the side that beat Worksop in the last game. Adams replaced the injured Cockerill, and Fish replaced Whittington. We started well today, and put Leigh under some early pressure. The Leigh keeper did well to keep out a Winn freekick on 5 minutes before Leigh ahd really got going. Once they did though, they provided a much sterner test than that which they had presented in the opening exchanges. They frustrated us going forward, and caused us problems at the back only really remedied by some excellent last ditch tackles from our defence. Leigh were slightly on top when Daly was injured in nthe 24th minute. Another injury blow, but we now have good cover in the form of Gilhaney, who replaced Daly. This proved to be somewhat of a turning point, as Leigh were presented with a different challenge defensively and dropped a bit deeper to cope with Gilhaneys extra pace. Fish saw a long range effort sail over before a good passing move saw the ball switched side to side, ending up a the feet of Adams who swung in a great cross for Porter to head the opening goal on 37 minutes. Perter wasted a similar opportunity on 43 minutes, heading over, and a Murphy long shot in injury time wrapped up the first half action with the score at 1-0 Alty. We weren't playing particularly well, but had a lead to go at now and I sent the lads out to try and kill the game off early in the second half. This we tried to do, but were unsuccessful as Leigh were defending for their league survival manfully. Without having really created a lot ourselves, the first big chance of the half fell to Leigh on 64 minutes. Fortunately the underconfident looking Leigh striker shot wide when well placed. I brought Murphy on for Whittington to hopefully give us a more natural wide outlet on the left, and Murphy fashioned a chance for Fish in the 74th minute that was well saved by the Leigh keeper. Peacock had replaced a tiring Fish, before the decisive moment of the match came in the 86th minute. Porter collected the ball and burst through into the area only to be felled by his marker for a penalty that Adams blasted into the roof of the net. Looking comfortable at 2-0, neither side posed a threat to each others goal in the remaining time, and we had run out 2-0 winners when the final whistle brought the game to an end. 5 wins on the trot had now guaranteed us a playoff spot. Kettering had won again though, as had Barrow, and we remained in 3rd place, 6 points from the top with only 2 games left. Our goal difference could see us through if we can overhaul the points gap, but Kettering look far from a side about to wobble at the crucial moment. Bad news time now, with Daly now confined to a 2 week injury layoff, effectively ruling him out for the rest of the season, news came back that both Peacock and Davies had rejected an extended loan stay at Moss Lane. They therefore returned to their clubs, with Peacock agreeing a permanent move to Worksop. Now 3 atatcking players down, we must keep up the pressure to hopefully gain promotion, either automatically or via the tortuous playoff route. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 My penutlimate game of the season was Hinckley at home. At Alty, I have become used to being favourites for league games, and was surprised that Hickley were given the shorter odds for this midweek tie. Needing to win the last 2 games, and have Kettering lose theirs, I had to make a few changes based on how tired the lads were. Hamilton-Hendricks (hence forth referred to as HH) and Gilhahey came in for Daly and Porter. Whittington played instead of Murphy, and Chalmers, Murphy and Porter made the bench. We looked anything but underdogs early, as HH fired wide after a great move on 3 minutes, and Dutton had a goalbound effort charged down on 8 minutes. Gilhaneys pace and movement was causing the visiting defence all kinds of trouble. We were dealt a sucker punch though on 15 minutes when a clearance from an Alty corner found a Hinckley striker in space on their right wing. We managed to get a tackle in, but they reacted first to the loose ball and whipped in a cross that was headed comfortably past Smith for a Hinckley lead. This is a situation I have seen too many times this season, we have a lot of pressure but can't score, then get done on the break and find ourselves in trouble. Hinckley were clearly overjoyed that they had taken the lead, and re-organised slightly to make themselves more defensive. We were now more wary of counter-attacks, and consequently the game became more of a cat-and-mouse affair. Only 2 more chances came in the first half, both free kicks, one for either side. Hickley wasted theirs by firing over, but ours was dealt with by a marvellous acrobatic save, worthy of a much higher level than this.. Anyway, the half-time whistle went with us 1-0 down and slightly frustrated. The lads were tired, and I knew that Hinckley were feeling the same. Still, we had to get ourselves back into this one, if for no other reason than to try and get the runners up spot to give us a slightly easier ride in the playoffs. The second half started as cagily as the first had finished. Something had to give, and it seemed to be Hinckley who were tiring the most. HH found space on 57 minutes but again fired wide when well placed. On the hour mark, Adams took an attacking throw down the line for Whittington who crossed first time from the byline. The cross looped into the 6 yard box and Fish nodded home at the back post for an equaliser. We had done it, but now needed to push on for the win. I replaced Gilhaney, Winn and Fish with Porter, Murphy and Chalmers to freshen things up, and Hinckley also made 3 subs. Their manager recognised that we had more in our legs than they did, and dropped their team deep, keen to hang on to a point. The last 20 minutes therefore turned into an excercise of attack on defence, but one where we couldn't break them down. In this sort of situation we could probably do with some genuine height, but don't really posess it. As both teams approached exhaustion, the final whistle blew for a 1-1 stalemate. Given the context of the performance, I wasn't too displeased with the lads efforts. I sympathised with them as they were clearly knackered. Hopefully we can galvanise ourselves for the last league game of the season on the weekend. Our draw meant that whatever the Kettering result, we couldn't catch them. Barrow had lost promoting us to second place on goal difference. Kettering had won though, meaning they were now 8 points clear of us with one game remaining. They had won the league, and fair play to them. Kettering had been the most consistent side in the league, so probably deserved it overall. We now know we are in teh playoffs, so have to prepare for an extra 3 games beyond the end of the league season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 Redditch were the visitors to Moss Lane for the final game of the season. A win for Alty should see us through to second place in the league behind Kettering barring a Barrow miracle. Redditch have little to play for as they are safely mid-table, but they should still provide a reasonable test for us before the playoffs. Porter came back in to the starting line up for HH, who took a place on the left wing. Whittington moved to the bench with Johnson. We started brightly enough, but couldn't create much in the opening salvos. On 4 minutes, Redditch tried their luck from distance but put their shot well over the bar. A freekick 30 yards out gave us our forst opportunity on 8 minutes. Porter whipped in a shot to the near post that the Redditch keeper made a bit of hash of to give us the opening goal. The game then became all action but no real chances were created until a 27th minute Fish corner found Laight on the back post to double our advantage. We'd had 2 real chances and scored twice, very pleasing. The game swung our way completely as Redditch heads dropped with the second goal. Porter had a shot well saved on 29 minutes, and put a header over on 40 minutes when he should have done better. Fish lashed one over on 42 minutes from the edge of the box, before Redditch broke and hit the side netting a minute later. An end to end game saw us break back forward, and some scrappy play from both sides ended with Gilhaney skinning his man and playing a short cross for the unmarked Porter to side-foot home for 3-0 on 44 minutes. A rash challenge by a Redditch midfielder in first half injury time gave him his second booking, and the innevitable red card. That proved to be the final action of the second half and it ended with us a man and 3 goals to the good. I sat the players down at half time and told them to just be patient, not go out at break neck speed, but continue to go forward and pressure Redditch. This patient approach gave us chances with Porter heading over on 51 minutes and Adams having a shot blocked on 58 minutes. On 63 minutes, Brown crossed and the ball was headed clear. Adams colelcted it and picked out Porter who shot home for our fourth goal. Playing against a beleagured and desparate Redditch team now, I decided to rest some players for the playoffs. Johnson, Murphy and Whittington replaced Porter, HH and Fish. We continued to have our pressure though, and a Band header from a corner on 66 minutes went narrowly over. Gilhaney then had a shot beaten out by the Redditch keeper on 68 minutes, and Adams blasted wide from the resulting corner. We seemed to back off until late on then, comfortable with our 4-0 lead. On 88 minutes though we were back in the grove. Adams broke forward on the left and crossed for Whittington to head home Alty's 5th. On 90 minutes, Gilhaney broke clear and unselfishly pulled the ball back for Whittington to lash home his second in 2 minutes for 6-0. Delighted, the match ended with the score still at 6-0. We had finished the league season with a bang, and our best result by a distance. Why we couldn't have done this kind of thing earlier and more often is quite beyond me. Granted, the opposition had a player sent off, but we were already 3-0 up at the time. Surprisingly, Kettering lost their last game, so the gap at the end of the season was 5 points. Our emphatic win ensured our second place finish, and it was necessary with Barrow also winning. Alfreton came in 4th, and Worcester rounded out the playoff places with a 5th place finish. Their reward was a 2 legged tie with us for a berth in the playoff final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 So, the final league standings were as follows: <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Kettering | | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 58 | 36 | +22 | 80 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | Pl | Altrincham | | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 70 | 38 | +32 | 75 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | Pl | Barrow | | 42 | 23 | 6 | 13 | 73 | 53 | +20 | 75 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | Pl | Alfreton | | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 73 | 52 | +21 | 73 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | Pl | Worcester | | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 52 | 53 | -1 | 66 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Lancaster | | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 63 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Stafford | | 42 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 53 | 44 | +9 | 63 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Worksop | | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 62 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Hinckley | | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 62 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Vauxhall Motors | | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 56 | 61 | -5 | 61 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Moor Green | | 42 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 63 | 53 | +10 | 60 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Northwich | | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 52 | 57 | -5 | 57 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Redditch | | 42 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 52 | 59 | -7 | 56 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Gateshead | | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 55 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Hucknall | | 42 | 12 | 18 | 12 | 42 | 43 | -1 | 54 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Harrogate | | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 43 | 45 | -2 | 52 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Hednesford | | 42 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 44 | 51 | -7 | 51 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Stalybridge | | 42 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 45 | 61 | -16 | 51 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Burscough | | 42 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 42 | 59 | -17 | 46 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Leigh RMI | | 42 | 7 | 18 | 17 | 30 | 53 | -23 | 39 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | R | Bradford PA | | 42 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 40 | 63 | -23 | 38 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | R | Gainsborough | | 42 | 5 | 12 | 25 | 39 | 71 | -32 | 27 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre> Lloyd was now back in training after a lengthy layoff, but was unlikely to be fit enough to play a part in our playoff campaign. Our preparation had begun for the first leg, away to Worcester. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 So, the 2006-2007 Conference North playoff start with us visiting Worcester for the first leg of our semi final. Barrow were hosting Alfreton in the other tie. We have a mostly fit squad going into the playoffs, something that is very pleasing. Worcester are no mugs, but we have to be confident of progressing here to face either Barrow or Alfreton in the final. I decided to keep the same team that beat Redditch 6-0 in the last game for this one. If it ain't broke, don't fix it eh? I sent the lads out to get at Worcester early, and this was the case as we came roaring out of the blocks. Band had a header well saved from a 3rd minute freekick, and Porter also found the Worcester keeper in decent form on 4 minutes with a placed shot. On 6 minutes, Fish played a wonderful throughball for Gilhaney to run on to. Run on he did and he chipped the Worcester keeper delightfully to put us 1-0 up. Worcester then reacted to our terrific start and dropped deeper to cope with our game. The match evened out somewhat and Worcester slowly began to play their way into it. They flashed a 21st minute drive wide, as did Fish in the 25th minute. A good save from Smith from a Worcester cross that almost drifted in on 35 minutes was followed in the 44th by a good save from a Porter header after Gilhaney had crossed. A decent and enjoyable first half then ended with us 1-0 up, but the game could still go either way as it was now relatively even. We needed to re-establish our superiority, so I tried to rouse the lads to finish the tie here. Worcester had clearly had a rocket from their manaer though as they came out renewed for the second half. They pressured us without creating too much until the 55th minute when a left-wing Worcester corner was headed in at the far post for an equaliser. We reacted well to this set back, and on 65 minutes a good run and cross from HH left Winn with the simplest of headers at the back post to restore our advantage. Now back in front, we eased off slightly but Worcester looked rather like a spent force and created little or nothing. We only managed 2 more efforts ourselves though, a Whittington shot that was saved in the 79th minute after replacing Fish, and a Gilhaney shot that went wide deep into injury time when he should have scored. Still, the final whistle went with us in the ascendancy, and with a 2-1 advantage to take back to Moss Lane. A satisfactory result from a potential banana-skin of a game. We had the advantage, and would need to press it home in the return leg. In the other tie, Barrow had beaten Alfreton 3-1 at Holker Street, and would be favourites to win the tie going into their away leg. On the injury front, Byrne and Daly resumed training, but only Daly might have a chance of playing as he is closer to match fitness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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