The Life And Times of Jimmy Rowland

[maloneyscorner]

Hi all - I'm not 100% sure if CM stories are okay in here (I don't see why they wouldn't be, mind) so I won't be overly offended if this is deleted. I've written a story based on my recent playing of CM99-00, about the fictional Jimmy Rowland, as he attempts to manage at the very top, but starts his career in the English Conference. Hope you enjoy it - I will regularly update the story.

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Scarborough - The Beginning of The End

“We deserved to win this game after hammering them 0-0 in the first half”

- Kevin Keegan

10th July 1999

So here I am. After much discussion and deliberation, I’ve been appointed manager of Scarborough. I’ve always enjoyed holidaying in this town, even if the name does sound slightly terrifying. My ambition for the football club is to get them back into the Football League within the next couple of years, or at the very least to improve the squad, if a better job in a more affluent place comes up. Like Grimsby. Firstly – we need to build a squad and infrastructure to be able to challenge at the top. This being Scarborough, there isn’t millions of pounds knocking about, but the Chairman must own a arcade or something, because the funds I’ve got at my disposal are excellent for this level. We do have quite the wage bill though, so I don’t expect to spend even half of the £550k that has been made available to me for transfers. I’ll be looking to build for the future, as well as trying to source players who can play a role in the first team.

I’ll be assessing the squad as the season goes on, but looking at them on my first day, I see no reason why we can’t already mount a serious challenge. We may need some more depth in central midfield and perhaps another striker, but otherwise, I’m very excited. We have great young midfield prospects in the shape of 15 year-old Martin O’Riordin, 18 year-old Alex Gildea and 19 year-old Andrew Quinn. Experienced forward Steve Brodie can provide some genuine quality out wide and upfront and we have veteran Rochdale striker, Andy Morris, on loan. Sadly, I can’t terminate any loans it seems.

My first signing for the club, wasn’t a player, but a scout. Russ Kelsall comes highly recommended and I hope he’s able to unearth us some gems. Like they have in Argos. On a similar note, I’m also in discussions with Hartlepool scout, Tommy Miller. Current scout, Steven Higgins, has been released. I also brought in Italian coach Roberto Sassi. He’ll love the lifestyle in North Yorkshire. Joining me later was experienced coach, Derek Fazackerley, who agreed to become my assistant, as well as the aforementioned Miller. He’s a great fella is Derek, or Faz, he’s a top, top coach. I’m sure we’re going to have some good times at the football club.

With just a fortnight to go until the opening game, we’ve already got an horrendous injury list as FOUR players I had planned to start, look like they are going to be out. On the positive side – I make my first signing - Darren Caskey arrives from Reading for £170,000. The fee may be a bit extravagant for this level, but I see it as an investment - Caskey is easily a Second Division player and well worth the money, which we will undoubtedly reap the profits of in time, as well as shoot up that table with his contributions on the pitch.

My first match as a football manager arrives. Altrincham are the visitors to The McCain Stadium and despite our injury list growing ever longer, I hope we can chip away at them and come out with all 3 points. During a tense first half, we lost left-back Tyrell through injury after just 16 minutes, literally adding insult to injury. We managed to grow into the game and create a couple of opportunities, but nothing that truly tested the goalkeeper. If the first half was tense - we absolutely dominated the second. After 57 minutes, Altrincham goalkeeper, Ian Senior brought down Steve Brodie and the referee gave a penalty. Senior was dismissed and it was left to Darren Roberts to smash in the penalty and the first goal of my management career. Relief went around the stadium, as we were out of the frying pan. Things were to get more tense later however. After I took off Brodie and Milbourne, McAlindon pulled up with an injury, leaving us short and now on a level playing field with our ten-men visitors. Roberts was pulled out wide to fill in for McAlindon. I needn’t have worried though – Mournir Alkhatib, a 17 year-old French midfielder who replaced Brodie, scored the second, beating 2 men in the process before unleashing an unstoppable shot. The perfect result, but our injury list now reads 6 absentees from the original eleven I had in mind at the start of the season. Our next game is at Dover in 3 days time...

The line-up for that ‘historic’ first match was as follows: 1) Andy Woods. 2) Simon Betts. 3) Mark Tyrell. 4) Darren Caskey. 5) Marvin Harriott. 6) Marcus Jones. 7) Ian Milbourne. 8) Andrew Quinn (capt). 9) Steve Brodie. 10) Darren Roberts. 11) Gareth McAlindon

We needed replacements. I spent literally five whole minutes searching for players. After being turned down more times than a Conference player in a Premier League Disco, we managed to bring in Leigh Bromby from Sheffield Wednesday on loan for a month to fill in at left-back. To take the **** even more though, substitute goalkeeper Kevin Martin picked up an injury, leaving us with one goalkeeper in the squad. Off to Dover we go.

We ending up losing 3-0.

We were looking good, until centre-back Harriott gave away a penalty and was sent off. It was all uphill from there but I don’t think this young side deserved to lose by such a margin. We’ve got some hard work to put in. If these first few weeks are what being a manager is like, I’m not sure if I want to do this. Perhaps a role in ‘Theme Hospital’ is a better job for me, with all these injuries I have to deal with. They tend to experience the better discos too.

[EvilDave]

Welcome to the forums maloneyscorner! As far as I'm aware the old CMs are fine in here, it'll be interesting to see how you get on with Scarborough. Keep up the quality, lay off the Grimsby jibes (actually, don't bother. It's a dump ) and you'll be just fine. I'll be following along from here.

[mark wilson27]

Welcome to FMS malonescorner, As EvilDave has said their is no rule stating you cant use CM stories. After all its the older version of Football Manager. As a new member I recommend you look at the house rules which are linked to the top of the page. Good luck with the story mate

[CFuller]

Welcome to FMS, maloneyscorner. We're more than happy to accept stories from any version of the CM/FM franchise. Personally, I think it's great to see a new CM99/00 story on here - it was probably my favourite version of the series up until FM13.

Nice blast from the past with Theme Hospital as well. Let's hope none of your star players suffer from bloaty head!

[maloneyscorner]

Thanks for the welcome guys, I really enjoy reading the stories on here, so I'd thought I'd join in!

I've loved the 'CM3 series' of games ever since their release and was distraught when I snapped my copy of CM00-01 when lifting it out of the CD tray! I've got a copy of CM4 - but at the time my old PC didn't have the right specs - so I may dig it out and do a story based on that, in the future. I'm currently playing FM14 and have a story for that too.

Welcome to FMS malonescorner, As EvilDave has said their is no rule stating you cant use CM stories. After all its the older version of Football Manager. As a new member I recommend you look at the house rules which are linked to the top of the page. Good luck with the story mate

Yeah, I had a look and just saw it was 'FM Only' hence my self-inflicted confusion!

[tenthreeleader]

Outstanding to have a CM story here. Welcome to FMS and do please post on! I started playing the series with CM 01-02, so you're senior to me. Go for it!

EDIT: And I've fixed the house rules. Frankly, I never thought we'd see another CM story here so I didn't think to include it. Thanks for reading it first off, and thank you for asking.

[jdoyle9293]

The excitement of a 20th century Championship Manager story is huge. Great start mate and welcome to FMS!

[maloneyscorner]

The FA Cup is probably more important for non-league and lower league sides than it is for those in the Premier Division, who are realistically, the only sides capable of winning it. Each round has the potential to provide a club with financial rewards, both in prize money and gate receipts. It was vitally important that we have a run in the competition – it could be the difference in making a challenge in the league, the money helping us to make new signings and offering new contracts, or not.

The Qualifying Round saw us drawn at home to fellow Conference side Northwich. We had lost 2-0 at their place earlier in the season, so revenge was very much on the cards. Ian Milbourne linked up with Darren Caskey to blast us ahead after just 25 minutes. We were looking good and added a second – the clincher – as Caskey set up Darren Roberts to score just before half-time. We were through and a packed McCain Stadium went home happy. We were to play another seaside club at home next – in the shape of Second Division Blackpool.

6,778 squeezed into the McCain Stadium for ‘the seaside rivalry game’ (not a derby) against Blackpool. Many names were bandied about between my assistant Faz and I, the best of which being the ‘Chippy Classico’, so we stuck with the one already mentioned above. I never pretended we were comedy geniuses, we’re football coaches. Wimbledon loanee, Wayne Gray, put us ahead after just 13 minutes, with his first goal for the club. He’s a raw, pacey striker is Gray and I’m delighted that he’s finally broke his duck. Especially as it put us 1-0 ahead of a side two divisions above us. Blackpool were to put the pressure on, but we held firm and went into the break ahead. I kept things simple at half-time – by not changing anything. Andy Woods in goal was making some good stops and player-coach Lee Sinnott was looking imperious at the back. We were solid – and after the hour mark things got even better as Darren Roberts struck a free-kick that beat the Blackpool keeper, Adam Rachel, all ends up. 2-0 and the McCain was crackling – could we hold on though? Woods continued to look solid in goal, but Blackpool nicked a goal back when their captain, Dale Watkins, found some space in the box and scored with 9 minutes to go. Nervy times – but we held on to cause an upset. I felt relieved, but this was obviously followed by delight – what a result! The hard work really starts now though – we’re just one win away from drawing a Premier Division side.

What. A. Chance. Our ambitions of beating a Manchester United or an Arsenal in the cup was as close as ever, when we drew fellow Conference side, Yeovil Town, away in the second round. Yeovil, like Northwich, beat us 2-0 earlier in the season, so even though we knew that this was a great chance, we also wasn’t getting too over-confident. The game arrived and was another tense affair throughout. Like the home defeat earlier in the season, we were the better side and this time – managed to make it count as Darren Roberts put us ahead just before half-time. We held on for a place in the third round with a comfortable ease, Yeovil not really threatening to score past Woods. Who would we draw?

Doncaster. Away.

Yep, we were to play the form side in the Conference in the FA Cup third round. There’s a feeling that we’ve got a better chance to progress, but Doncaster have been going well in the league and them being at home, should make them overwhelming favourites. We just had to go there and hope for the best. After 65 minutes of the cup tie, I was wondering why I was worried – we were leading 4-0 and were more-or-less into the hat for the fourth round. Steve Brodie had set us on the way after 4 minutes, before Harriott and Quinn added goals either side of the break. Roberts completed the rout on 65 minutes and we spent the rest of the match coasting. Doncaster did get a goal back in injury time, but it didn’t matter. This cup lark was proving to be easy.

Finally, we got our ‘big’ tie. Sadly, only 17,000 turned up at White Hart Lane to see us take on Tottenham, denying us a better pay day. Spurs opened the scoring after just 2 minutes, when Steffan Iversen picked up a pass and scored past Woods. The game threatened to turn into a rout 10 minutes later when Les Ferdinand chipped a stranded Woods from outside the box. But, to our credit, we got better and held firm. It took them an hour to score the 3rd, as Darren Anderton found some space to drill the ball past Woods from just inside the area. 3-0 it finished, but I was proud of how we coped after losing those 2 early goals. We could have thrown in the towel, but we didn’t. Darren Caskey, playing against the side who released him earlier in his career, was particularly impressive, busy in midfielder, picking up a yellow for tugging at Iversen. That’s what I like to see.

The run earned us a few hundred grand and some pleasant memories, but it was back to the Conference for us. Let’s hope we take advantage of our good fortunes in the cup...

[maloneyscorner]

If the FA Cup draw was a little bit kind to us, then the draw for the FA Trophy was the equivalent of getting a nice present for Christmas, but a slap in the face afterwards. Apart from the second round, we drew out fellow Conference sides all the way - although we did receive that nice present of all of the games being at home. The second round saw us dispatch lower-league Dagenham and Redbridge 3-1, before a comfortable 2-0 win against Northwich. Next up to face off with the heat of the McCain, were Forest Green, who we hammered 4-1, with Darren Roberts climbing off the bench to score twice. The result put us into the semi-final – where we drew runaway league-leaders Doncaster Rovers. Even though we had put them out of the FA Cup, they had hit an even bigger patch of form since and were almost promoted, beating them would be a huge shock - considering our own league form had dipped more than a limbo dancer.

The first leg started in frantic fashion, we were at home and made all of the early running. Andrew Quinn ran into space and unleashed a shot that went straight in! The joy was short-lived however, as when Doncaster striker, Mirsad Bubalovic, found himself through on goal, Andy Woods brought him down, gave away a penalty and was sent off. 35 minutes had elapsed – and we had no goalkeeper on the bench. Darren Roberts took up the gloves, but could do nothing about the resulting penalty. We managed to come in at half-time at 1-1 and I made sure I protected our stand-in goalkeeper by packing the midfield. The second half started with a goal - from us! Marcus Jones volleying in, after the Doncaster keeper, Dean Williams, fumbled Gildea’s free-kick. The lead barely lasted a minute though – as Doncaster went straight up the pitch and equalised, Dean Walling slamming the ball past Roberts. The game petered out from there, with our stand-in goalkeeper barely tested. On the face of it, a 2-2 draw is a good result considering the circumstances, but I was unhappy with how we conceded our goals so soon after taking the lead.

We approached the second leg in the same manner as we approached the first – by attacking them from the off. After a decent enough start, they took the lead against the run of play when Ian Duerden scored. I didn’t panic, as from our start I knew we could get ourselves back into the game. It took us 12 minutes to equalise – Martin O’Riordin beating Williams to a free-kick into the box and scoring. It was a tense affair from there on in, with both sides having long spells of possession, without actually creating a clear-cut chance. The full-time whistle went and it was to be a replay, which I must admit that after two legs, seemed odd. Whatever though - we’ll be at home again and hopefully we can finish the job and get to Wembley.

I was screaming at the referee. He had given a free-kick when my centre-half, McNaughton had apparently ‘barged over’ Mike Newell. The screams were barely finished when Matty Cauldwell scored from the kick, giving Doncaster the lead in this semi-final replay. Thankfully, just 9 minutes later, we equalised once again – as Alex Gildea played a nice one-two with Caskey to slide the ball in from inside the area. Once again it was deadlock in this tie – and that’s the way it stayed. For 120 minutes. It was to be penalties.

Doncaster converted their first two with ease, sandwiched between these was a perfect strike by our own Danny Burton. Up stepped Darren Roberts next, our ever-reliable forward (and goalkeeper) – who saw his penalty saved by Williams. Doncaster would go on to convert the rest of their penalties with ease, so do we, but the miss had cost us. We were out of the FA Trophy at the semi-final replay stage, after extra-time, on penalties. I was inconsolable at the end – we had worked so hard in the 3 matches against Doncaster just to lose like this, especially with our poor performances in the league surrounding these ties, it seems the light at the end of the tunnel was shut out abruptly. I feel sorry for Darren, he’s worked hard for us this season and deserved better. I’m just frustrated that we lost like this, especially when we dominated the majority of the 3 games. It might take a bit of time to get over this - I’ll be in the bar if you need me.

[tenthreeleader]

I’ll be in the bar if you need me.

You may not realize it, but this quote shows you'll get along just fine here in FMS.

[maloneyscorner]

Despite our cup runs, my fantastic signings and tactics, our league performances towards the end of the season suffered and if I’m being honest, were truly awful. We ended up finishing 13th – losing more games than we won. We won only one game in our last ten. I made my feelings perfectly clear to the squad that I was embarrassed at our position and dissolved myself from any blame, because it clearly wasn’t any of my fault. In some games, we played teams off the park and scored some cracking goals – in others, we couldn’t string two passes together. We finished the season on a win though, which I hope, would go some way to save me from a very unjust sacking. I would just have to wait and see...

The summer saw a huge reshaping of the squad. As previously stated, I was very disappointed with our season and the board made it crystal clear to me that things must improve, or else I was out. Would my career be over after barely one season? The close season saw us sell Alex Gildea to Swansea for £350k, which is a club record and the money was very much-needed for us. Our swag was quickly re-invested, as I brought in young winger Dean Field from Wigan for £10,000. Other new signings include Scott Jones from Barnsley on loan, another centre-back, Ian Sampson on a free and attacking midfielder Wayne Graves, also on a free. David Bass has rejoined the club after briefly leaving at the end of last season, I felt his qualities would prove to be hard to replace and I’m happy that he’s re-signed for the club. In August, on the eve of the new season, I agreed a deal with St.Mirren to sign striker Barry Laverty for £250k. This is obviously a huge amount of money for a club like ours to part with, but like Darren Caskey last season, I feel that this is an investment that is sound – his free-scoring antics in Scotland should translate well to the Conference and earn him a move into the Football League, hopefully with us, but if not, then we’ve got a great asset on our hands.

We start the season well, opening up with a 4-0 demolition of Slough, which is followed by two more wins against Hednesford and Kidderminster. Things are going well it seems, the only disappointments were going out of the Conference Cup, and more importantly, the FA Cup at the first attempts. The FA Cup tie was lost 5-2 at Kingstonian, which saw me deliver the greatest rant nobody has ever heard. The rant worked – we went on an 8-match unbeaten run in the league, which came to an end when we were beaten 3-0. By Kingstonian.

We are in the top 3 all season, exchanging places with Stevenage and Kidderminster for most of the time. When December came around, we decided to cash in on two of our prized assets – Darren Caskey joined Bradford for £500k, which is also the same fee Torquay paid for centre-back, Marcus Jones. It’s always a difficult situation when your team loses key players, but at this level, players like those are a luxury and with £1m on the hip – they are easily replaceable for us. I immediately go out and sign three quality players – Micah Hyde joins from Watford for £275k, Bristol Rovers centre-back, Mark Peters costs just £60k, whilst West Brom striker, Mickey Evans is bought for £100k. I’m very pleased with the new signings and I believe everything is looking good for us to continue to mount a challenge for the top.

Then just a few weeks later, I had to make a decision that would change everything...

Wigan came calling. To be honest, I applied for the job on the off-chance and never really expected a call. We were doing well in the league at Scarborough, so I was more than happy to stay - but when a Chairman like Dave Whelan calls you, you have to listen. For ages. He was offering a large budget and after looking at the stadium and facilities, this was the job of a lifetime. Nobody has said that about Wigan with so much glee since George Orwell fond poverty there in the 1920’s. But unlike George, my ambition is to take Wigan Athletic into the Premier Division. He never did that. Everything about the club is geared towards the Premier Division and I wanted to be a part of it. This was my chance to achieve my dream of managing at the top level, my chance to build a club. I doubt that I would have left Scarborough for many other jobs – it was a wretch leaving mid-way through the season, leaving the job half-finished, but that’s how my cards have been dealt and I’m taking the money and leaving the table.

I wish Scarborough all the best, but it’s time to literally, ‘go west’.

[maloneyscorner]

Wigan Athletic - The Dream Continues

“There are two ways of getting the ball. One is from your own teammates, and that's the only way”

- Terry Venables

24th January 2001

I cannot believe the squad that Alan Ball has assembled. He may have won the World Cup, but he knows sod all about signing players. I wasn’t surprised old Whelan gave him the boot. Honestly, there are better players in my Scarborough squad than half of them here. What a mess. Thankfully, I have the funds to put things right. First thing I do is to sack the entire scouting team. I hire Peterborough’s Kit Carson and Bob Pearson from Millwall, easily two of the best scouts in the game, as their replacements. Next I put in a call to my mate Faz at Scarborough, who agrees to rejoin me as my assistant. I also secured the signature of promising 16 year-old Martin O’Riordin from my old club. He cost just £8,000. What doesn’t cost eight grand, is Ade Akinbiyi. I made the strong, pacey forward my first signing as Wigan manager for a very reasonable £600,000. Following him through the door, another forward who I’ve long admired – Andrew Mainwaring arrived from Newport for just £100k. If we are to move up the league (Ball left them in 15th place) we simply need goals. Along with the club’s current striker, Stuart Barlow, I feel that we have those goals now. We strengthen at the back too – Scott Wilson arrives from Glasgow Rangers for £300,000 and right-back Danny Boxall from Brentford for £50,000 (by the way - I don’t put the ‘k’ abbreviation for ‘thousands’ on single or double digit numbers because it looks more impressive that I managed to secure these top, top players for so cheap if I present the sum in full).

We were ready – and got off to the best possible start. 5 straight wins in the league, my first game being a 2-0 home win over Colchester. The only sour point in this period was going out of the Autoglass Trophy in the Quarter Final stage – a defeat on penalties to Darlington. I was furious. It was a competition that we could have realistically won – with a trip to Wembley and the chance to bury my haunting memories of going out in the FA Trophy Semi-Finals last season. My fury was short-lived however, as we shot up the table. Only a handful of defeats were suffered as we quailed for the play-offs in 6th place. Despite our position, I made us favourites; we were by far the form team going into the playoffs, turning over the points deficit like we did. We actually only finished in 6th because we only picked up 1 point from our final two games. And secondly, we’re the clear favourites because – I’m the manager.

Blackpool were the visitors to the JJB Stadium and like the league encounter earlier in the season – we demolished them. 1-0, with Akinbiyi netting the winner in the 82nd minute. The 2nd leg was a different story however, as despite racing into a 3-0 lead thanks to Mainwaring, Andy Porter and young midfielder Jim Mathieson, centre-back Barry Lea pulled one back for Blackpool, before our own centre-back, Jon Olav Hjelde was sent off for a foul in the box. Lea scored from the spot, leading to a finale that wasn’t as tense as it looked at half-time when we were 2-0 up. But we made it – and my dream came true. Wembley. The urine-soaked jewel in English football stadia’s crown. We were to face Brentford in the final, who had actually beaten us earlier in the season – Robert Quinn scoring an undeserved 90th minute winner.

I wouldn’t say I was nervous going into the final, with Akinbiyi and Mainwaring upfront, we surely were favourites. 50,000 supporters packed Wembley out for the occasion, the majority of them probably making the long trip from Brentford to watch a team that they’ve never seen before. We started well, so did they. It was 0-0 for 23 minutes, until Brentford defender Liam Daish decided he would push Mainwaring in the chest. The referee, correctly, sent him off. What a chance we have now, surely we can’t let this slip?

We did.

I can only call our defending an absolute disgrace as we came in 2-0 down at half-time. Just 3 minutes after going down to 10-men, Andy Scott got onto the end of a cross to give Brentford the lead, then on the stroke of half-time – Robert Quinn, our old nemesis, added a second. I blasted the players at half-time, which probably alarmed the people sat next door (to the changing rooms, obviously), but I didn’t care. They were an absolute disgrace and I wasn’t wearing it. I substituted Mathieson at half-time and brought on Akinbiyi, who had recently lost his place to the free-scoring Barlow. I went 3 upfront, absolutely no choice now.

Akinbiyi only got us back on terms! Just 3 minutes into the second-half, the big striker ran past at least 15 Brentford players to score. We were back in it and yet more good news was to come - on 62 minutes, Akinbiyi picked up a pass from Porter (not literally) bore down on goal and smashed in our equaliser. What a sub and formation change! We were pushing for a winner now, against 10 men. Surely now, this is our chance? Nope. It went to extra-time. We worked hard, made many chances, the Brentford goalkeeper producing some unbelievable stops. It was like putting on a condom when you’re drunk – it just wouldn’t go in. So it was no surprise to see Brentford, and that ******* Robert Quinn, score the winner on 117 minutes. We had no answer. We were to spend another season in the Second Division. Gutted.

Or am I? I’m not sure if I am to be honest. To do well in the First Division next season would mean doing a lot of surgery on the squad. Did we have the funds to do that at the moment? Not sure if we do. Another season in the Second Division, acquiring more bargain young players from lower divisions, alongside those discarded from bigger clubs, training them up to be better players, would be the order of the day. My personal order for next season was simple – I want the title.

[jdoyle9293]

I like your writing, great last update too, just a shame about the finale in not gaining promotion.

[maloneyscorner]

I like your writing, great last update too, just a shame about the finale in not gaining promotion.

Thanks mate

[maloneyscorner]

At least Alan Ball did one decent thing before he was sacked – and that was to secure Robbie Blake on a Bosman. The former Bradford man can play in a variety of positions in midfield and upfront and he’s exactly the type of player we’ve been searching for, since I arrived at the club. Left-back David Robertson also comes in from Bradford for a bargain £140,000 and another experienced player, Chris Marsden signs from Southampton for £250,000. Our major fault last season was the lack of experience in the side, with me having to rely on 16 and 17 year-olds to help us over the line. These new players have been there and done that, as the old saying goes. We also sign Millwall goalkeeper, Phil Smith, who impressed while on loan at Third Division Doncaster last season. Smith will compete with incumbent goalkeeper Ben Roberts for the goalkeeping jersey. We round off our signings, or should I say that I round it off, being that it’s me who is signing them, with Adie Moses, a versatile defender from Barnsley, who signs for £200,000.

We start off the season in frantic fashion – a 4-2 win at Scunthorpe. Mainwaring got us off to the perfect start, taking just 3 minutes to give us the lead. Robbie Blake scored on debut in the 74th minute to surely seal all 3 points. Scunthorpe only went and scored two quickfire goals to make it 2-2. I’m furious, I change the formation around, going 3 upfront again with Blake now on the left of the 3, and he goes on to score the winner in the 89th minute. Barlow adds another in injury time to seal it. It didn’t stop me from tearing a strip off them afterwards, though. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.

On the 7th August, after a 2-1 away first leg defeat to Brighton, I was sceptical about the League Cup. What is the point in playing two legs in the first two rounds? Is it worth risking injuries to my players for a competition that we’re not going to win anyway? After we overturned Brighton in the second leg and went on to beat First Division Nottingham Forest in the next round, I threw my earlier thoughts in the bin.

We were in the third round now. Which, funnily enough, is the round that comes after the second round. My first-ever League Cup campaign saw us in an unprecedented position – we were to play a fellow Second Division side at home, in the shape of Bournemouth. We made hard work of it. 0-0 at full-time, with nothing to suggest that this wasn’t going to penalties. I’ll ask you a question at this point - What do you get if you put a hot-head in a car on a school run – a massive BANG! And that’s exactly what happened here – FOUR goals in extra time as we put Bournemouth to the sword. A fourth round place was ours – and we would be at home to another First Division side, Birmingham City. Danny Murphy’s own goal set us on the road for another 4-0 victory, no extra-time needed this time. Two First Division sides beaten so far, proving that we were going in the right direction with our performances. When Watford, another First Division side, was drawn out alongside us for the Quarter Final - and us being at home again – we smelt blood. No extra-time or even a 4-0 this time as Allan Smart, himself a former Watford striker, signed from them by Alan Ball for £375k, climbed off the bench to put us through. I can see the headlines now – Allan makes the Smart decision. No – I made the Smart decision by putting him on the pitch against a tiring Watford defence, so shut up news.

When the semi-final draw paired us with Wimbledon, I must admit that I was perhaps a bit too over-confident. I suggested that we attack them in the first leg, which was away from home. Through no fault of my own - It didn’t work, we lost 1-0 with Carl Cort scoring the goal on 67 minutes. Feeling dented, but not broken – we had the second leg at home to come and 1-0 can be easily turned around. We just needed a good start. A full house at the JJB saw us match our Premier League opponents for the majority of the game - but we didn’t have that good start - Wimbledon did. Jason Euell put them ahead after just 10 minutes. Allan Smart, starting because of injuries to Akinbiyi and Barlow, got one back on 33 minutes to give us hope. We needed 2 goals to overturn the lead. Sadly, it didn’t happen. Georgiou Kinkladze struck on 69 minutes to make it 2-1, 3-1 on aggregate, to send Wimbledon to Wembley. I can’t be too harsh on the players, seeing as we’ve been excellent throughout this run (after a bad start at Brighton), we’ve got a few injuries to key players who surely would have made a difference and Wimbledon are going well in the Premier League, anyway.

Along with our run in the League Cup, we topped the league for the majority of the season, sealing promotion with a 3-0 win against Bristol Rovers. We then clinched the title, like I said we would, with 4 games to spare, following a 2-1 win against Burnley. I was absolutely ecstatic to experience my first league title and even more so, when I heard that Scarborough, with a squad and assets that I assembled, won the ‘Non-League Treble’ – the FA Trophy, the Conference Cup and promotion to the Football League after winning the Conference league title. I’m delighted for them and with our success too this season, just goes to show that I made the right decision in leaving for Wigan. I would have probably won promotion with Scarborough last season, though.

Our league record saw us win 31 of our games, drawing 11, losing just 4 and finishing on 104 points – a Second Division record. We scored 102 goals, conceding 40. I don’t know whether to be happy or furious that we scored less than our points tally. Andrew Mainwaring contributed 36 of those goals and the man he has to thank for bringing him here – me – walked away with the Second Division Manager of The Year Award. I was offered the Dundee manager’s job, but with a squad to shape up for a tilt at the First Division next season – I wasn’t interested. Plus, I’ve been told not to eat Toblerones and not to drive with no footwear on.

[tenthreeleader]

I signed Allan Smart for my Rushden team in CM01-02. One of my all-time favorite players. Good to see that name surface again.

[maloneyscorner]

We had a number of offers for our players in the summer. Still armed with a decent budget, I knew it wouldn’t be enough if we needed to sign players in the middle of season. We had to sell, so it was a goodbye to experienced pros, Marsden and Robertson. With the pair of them obviously being one year older, I figured that they would only deteriorate and it was best to go the opposite way – bringing in youth. After selling them (and making an healthy profit of course) I brought in Crewe defender, Carl Laurie for £825k, Motherwell defender Scott Young for a club record £1.3m, attacking midfielder Byron Bubb for £130k from Fulham and midfielder Tim Cahill, for £400k from Brighton. These players, with the ironic exception of Young, were all under the age of 23 and great prospects. At 26, Young was also a good prospect, if more experienced. Earlier in the close season, I had procured the signing of Alan Pouton who had played against us for Grimsby last season. He’s one of the brightest players in the game and I expect the midfielder to playing in the Premier League sooner, rather than later. We’ll have to see what happens though – Wigan has many decent chippys, but not as many as Cleethorpes.

We start well. Very well. Opening up the season win a 4-1 away win against recently-relegated Premier Division side, Cambridge United. We were 3-0 up inside 25 minutes as we instantly made our mark on the league, Robbie Blake scoring twice. Our next game, at home to Crystal Palace, saw us win 2-0 and even though we lost 3-2 at Crewe next, I was confident in my team’s ability to challenge for a top 6 place.

But we didn’t do that though...

We absolutely mullered the division.

I won’t drag this out...Played 46, won 34, drawn 10, lost 2. 112 points, 112 scored (which I was satisfied with this time, after deciding I was furious with last season’s total) and conceded 43.

What. A. Season!

The highlights from this season include a 5-1 hammering of rivals, Bolton. A 5-3 thriller against Crewe (which saw both sides having players sent off) oh and going on a 37-match (THIRTY-SEVEN-MATCH) unbeaten run, following that 3-2 defeat to Crewe in August. The run lasted until 9th April as Stockport came away from Fortress JJB with a 3-1 win. We took an early lead through Scott Young, but it was an uphill task after Kevin Street, a recent signing from Crewe, put in a two-footed tackle and was sent off. We held out until half-time when Stockport got an equaliser. They added a second just after the break and as we tried to push our 10 men forward, they wrapped it up with a third. It would have been nice to go all season undefeated, but even I can’t argue with our achievements. A defeat through no fault of our own ended the run. I made sure I fined Street 2 weeks wages for his red card.

So, Wigan Athletic will be playing in the Premier Division next season – just 2-and-a-half years after I made the trip from Scarborough, like a backwards seaside tourist lost on the way to Blackpool. You may have noticed that nobody has a higher opinion of myself, than myself, but even I’m stunned by our season. Then again, we would have been in the Premier Division one season sooner, if it wasn’t for Brentford and Robert Bloody Quinn. I’m delighted for my players – Andrew Mainwaring (36 goals) and Lloyd Owusu (27) contributed more than half our goals, with Robbie Blake chipping in with 13 and many assists. We were solid at the back – Phil Smith continuing to excel in goal and Scott Young and Scott Wilson forging a good partnership in the centre of defence. As Yazz (and the Plastic Population – never forget them) once screamed, The Only Way Is Up (except if we bottle it and get relegated, like Chelsea did this season) otherwise, there is no end to the possibilities for this football club. Being in the Premier Division means more television money, bigger crowds, bigger income in general and better players wanting to sign for you. I can’t wait, but in the meantime, myself and Faz (my assistant) are off to celebrate.

[EvilDave]

A belting season there Maloney, and the name of Alan Pouton brings back plenty of memories for this Grimberian emigré. Looking forward to seeing how you mix it with the big boys, and whether your manager's ego can indeed swell any larger!