dafuge's FM21 challenge

[goonergez]

I think I have settled upon Hednesford for my next attempt. 

[hyrule_king]

My first attempt at this challenge.

 

[MikaelS]

1 hour ago, hyrule_king said:

My first attempt at this challenge.

 

Good luck

[Faramir]

@Dons Great work on the promotion. Good luck in Championship!

[Steebear]

@Dons Best of lukc in the Championship! Let us know if you find any PRM prospects!

@hyrule_king Good luck

@goonergezLooking forward to seeing how you get on, you'll go up first try now you watch

[Dons]

@MikaelS @Faramir @Steebear Cheers for the congratulations!

@MikaelS Ye, am using a pretty decent gaming rig. The skin is Flut, with the removal of additional attributes panel.

[kingjericho]

Starting with Morpeth.

First order of business was to request coaching qualifications, which the board gladly agreed to, funding the massive amount of €653.

[MikaelS]

13 hours ago, Dons said:

@MikaelS Ye, am using a pretty decent gaming rig. The skin is Flut, with the removal of additional attributes panel.

Are you using sunglasses when playing?

[goonergez]

7 hours ago, kingjericho said:

Starting with Morpeth.

First order of business was to request coaching qualifications, which the board gladly agreed to, funding the massive amount of €653.

I looked at Morpeth and was put off by a couple of big earners when you first take over. In the end I didn’t go with Hednesford and floated around about five or six different teams. I settled upon Whitby Town and have started fairly well. Not going to update until I’ve got further through the season. Funnily enough I inherited a number of big earning players here too, which I managed to resist the urge to quit the game.

[hyrule_king]

On 10/12/2020 at 00:00, MikaelS said:

Good luck

If you get sacked, you can either take over a newly promoted club that satisfies the original criteria (check the club's league history), or just start again.

 

We go again

[CMU Chips]

Season 6 - Vanarama National - 1st

 

Still haven't gone up via playoffs in a couple versions of FM, but we were able to win the league on the final day. We started the year with 3 losses in our first 6, so I was quite concerned that we had regressed. We corrected a bit by going 12 unbeaten but then lost 3 of our next 5. It was a season of streaks as another long unbeaten run was followed by another set of 3 losses in 6 that dropped us to 1 point back of Newport County. On matchweek 45, they managed only a 1-1 draw (after missing the first of two penalties they were awarded) while we won 3-1 to move into the top spot. All that was needed was a win at Northampton in the final matchweek to guarantee promotion, or at the very least matching Newport County's result. Newport County had a tough game against 3rd placed Hereford. Things went bad almost immediately as Newport County grabbed a two goal lead within the first 15 minutes. We went behind after 31 minutes and I could see everything slipping away before the league's top scorer made his mark with goals in 41' and 45+1' to give us a halftime lead. With one hand on the trophy, we spent 45 minutes with our backs to the wall (I think we had 3 off target shots the entire 2nd half) but our league best defense held firm and we ended the day as champions.

 

Grabbing the win on the final day doesn't show just how dominant we were for most of the year; we finished with the most goals scored, the fewest conceded, and (obviously) the best goal difference at +57. Promotion means the board has seen fit to let us turn professional, but only 4 of our players have been given full-time contracts. One has departed over the summer as Sunderland unsettled him and we had to take £325k rather than try to keep him here for 12 months on a part-time deal. The rest of the players we have may be some way short of league standard, but we have a few offers out and hopefully can improve the squad. The players are concerned about relegation, but with only two teams going down we should hopefully be fine. Our stadium didn't meet football league standards, so we took out a loan of almost £1m to expand, so we'll have to ground-share with Crawley (and Brighton's u23s) until November at the earliest. I've made it to the point where only 6 of the players who will still be here next year are real players, soon it will be newgens only. I am interested to see if (with only basic facilities) our young players will start to develop a bit. We had one youth prospect come through who looked like he could make the jump to being a Football League quality player, but he broke his leg in the first game of the most recent season and hasn't started developing yet.

League Table -

Squad Stats -

Transfers -

Year

League

Position

Cups

Training

Youth

Junior

Recruitment

Attendance (Cap)

Badges

Transfers (In-Out)

Top Scorer

Most Assists

Av. Rating

Clean Sheets

May balance

Total wages

2026/2027

Vanarama National

1st

FA - 1st round, FAT - 4th round

Basic

Basic

Average

Adequate

1935 (4155)

Continental A

11 - 5 (+£14.5k)

Scott Wilson - 42 (44)

Harry Warwick - 16 (16)

Scott Wilson - 7.44 (48)

Luke Bell - 17 (17)

£284k

£14.8k p/w

2025/2026

Vanarama National

6th

FA - 4th qual., FAT - Quarter Final

Basic

Basic

Average

Adequate

1721 (4155)

Continental A

17 - 8 (+£9.5k)

Harry Warwick - 40 (44)

Scott Wilson - 16 (17)

Harry Warwick - 7.34 (52)

Tom Smith - 14 (14)

£220k

£11.6k p/w

2024/2025

Vanarama National

14th

FA - 3rd round, FAT - 4th round

Basic

Basic

Adequate

Adequate

1871 (4500)

Continental A

14 -2 (£10.25k)

Harry Warwick - 32 (38)

I don't know, this is bugged

Jamie Harrop - 7.34 (38)

Tom Smith - 12 (14)

£200k

£9.2k p/w

2023/2024

Vanarama South

1st

FA - 3rd round, FAT - 2nd round

Basic

Poor

Average

Adequate

1200 (4500)

Continental B

6 - 5 (£0)

Harry Warwick - 44 (48)

Charles Sagoe - 15 (17)

Harry Warwick - 7.41 (50)

Tom Smith - 19 (23)

£88k

£7.4k p/w

2022/2023

Vanarama South

5th

FA - 2nd round, FAT - 4th round

Basic

Poor

Average

Adequate

1310 (4500)

Continental C

15 - 6 (+£26k)

Connor Hall - 15 (Powell - 23)

Jesse Starkey - 11 (12)

Aarran Racine - 7.49 (44)

Tiernan Parker - 5 (5)

£138k

£6.2k p/w

2021/2022

Vanarama South

7th

FA - 1st round, FAT - 3rd round

Basic

Poor

Average

Adequate

1123 (4500)

National B

14 - 4 (£0)

Euan Pollock - 26 (34)

Jesse Starkey - 10 (11)

Aarran Racine - 7.48 (51)

Tiernan Parker - 20 (23)

£14k

£5.1k p/w

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by CMU Chips

[G_D_K]

    

Season Review (Season Two, 2022-23)

Table / Position Graph / Squad / Finances / Transfers / Manager Attributes / Manager Character / Facilities / Annual Injuries / Competitions / Reputation / Club Vision

 

SUMMARY

Season Two was a bit of a step back from the past season.  Despite an outstanding start, we struggled to maintain any consistency once the season started in earnest.  Too many draws (both losses that we claimed a late goal to equalize, or, at it's worst, a 58 minute Crook hat-trick and 3-0 lead squandered just left too many points on the board to make a serious run at the playoffs.  In fact, it wasn't until about Feb/Mar that we made a 9-match unbeaten run (7w2d) that even gave us a faint hope of repeating last years excellent run --- 7 points out w/ 5 to play) --- but 3 straight losses at the end put paid to that hope.

There really wasn't a lot to talk about this season, other than maybe Callum Crook, who claimed his second consecutive top-goalscorer award, grabbing 36 league goals and 4 cup goals, putting his two-year total at 77 goals for the team.  The assists came primarily from my two wingers this year, with Kyran Henderson getting 10 assists (and 7 goals) and Andrew Sealy-Harris getting a further 8 assists (and 1 goal).  Late addition striker Oliver Sanderson managed 4 goals in his 11 appearances, and I hope a redesigned 2-striker tactic with him on the left and Crook on the right will pay off next season.

Defensively, we just were not the same without last-years loanee Fouche in the ranks.  Bailey-Dennis was still a serious aerial  beast, but all in all we were not very good.  Bailey-Dennis is also retiring from playing this season (staying on as a u-18s manager for me) so I really have to sort out something for defense this year.  I did find a nice little gem hidden in the defense however, as I was reviewing mentoring teams and realized that Daniel Magill was my (perhaps) first-ever model citizen!  In the goalkeeper department, I signed 2 youngsters and had one come from my academy that I tried out for the first month or so --- the two youngest (at 17) each were moderately good in several areas, but both had one glaring weakness (each in their own way) that made them not quite ready for a full-time start.  The elder of the three, at only 18, had no stand-out areas but no true weaknesses either --- a perfectly average keeper for this level.  After letting the three rotate for a month or so, my scouts finally found Peter Crook, who ended up as my No. 1 keeper for the season.  At 47 conceded in 34 appearances w/ 3 clean-sheets and an AvR of 7.00, he was solid but not spectacular.  The jury is still out on whether he's back for another season or not.

After our starting chairman retired, the new board took over last season.  Then, this season, come March timeframe, we started getting takeover rumors....again.  Nothing come of it yet, but it's looming again.  Currently £200K in cash debt, with 2 loans (one the current chairman took out when he took over in order to clear our debt --- and charged to the team), and another just taken out to finally get our stadium to standard (bringing it to 1000 seats).  Hopefully that will jump our attendance a bit, as it actually was down from last season for most of the year.  We're losing £12k-£25k a month (depending on number of home matches) so a small attendance boost will go a long way.  I was fairly certain that we would actually make money this season --- but I was expecting our attendance to go up slightly, not down.  We'll see how that plays out.

 

Promotion / Playoffs

Not this year.  Hopes for the coming season tho! 

Cup Competitions

The FA Cup run was very similar to last season ---  couple lower-league teams in Bishop Aukland (handled easily at 4-0), and Rushall (not so easily handled, requiring an extra-time 4-3 thriller) set us up in the FAQ4QR against another VNL team (same as last year) -- this time Hemel Hempstead, recently promoted to the VNL and struggling.  Another thriller looked to be going to extra time after Crook sealed his hattrick in the 84th minute, but an 89th minute penalty awarded for us saw us go thru to the FAC1R once again.  I had hopes of advancing this year, as we drew another VNL team, this time Ebbsfleet, at home --- but we were seriously outclassed, and the 0-1 scoreline flattered us just a bit.  Oh well.....there is always next year!

The FAT was a (mild) disappointment (can it every be a major disappointment???) as we opted for extra time in the home match vs Darlington --- and got it after a 0-0 regulation match.  Then proceeded to concede two goals in extra time to drop us out and fail the club vision in our first and only match.

Additional Details

Team of the Season

Best XI Inductees  New GK Peter Crook highlighted the four players inducted to the top XI this year, with DL Butterfill, AMC Donnelly, and DC Rudette-Gregory also joining in the honours.

Historical Best XI

Fans Player of the Season  Callum Crook with 40 goals -- again, of course!

Signing of the Season  Again, Crook, hands down!  Probably be in the league signing of season mention as well.

Young Player of the Season  Peter Crook, the newly signed keeper, made some really good saves, giving us some extra points thru the season!

Goal of the Season -- Midfielder Jonas Kalonda's goal early in the season was called out on my stream as a potential goal of the season, and it made the cut for the team!

Youth Intake Preview/Intake/ Top Graduate

Spoiler

Preview  Season 1  Ken Ward, A left back that with just a little development might crack the first team next season.  (incidentally...coincidentally?  2nd edition of FM in a row that my "top graduate" was named Ward!  FM20 was Karl Ward!

Preview  Season 2  Maxwell Gard, (not my pick as top youth!) is a multi-role potential player that looks good enough to fill in immediately in a pinch.  Whether he develops or not will be the deciding factor.

 

TEAM, INDIVIDUAL, AND LEAGUE RECORDS

A host of records were set or broken this year:  (* denotes ongoing record -- bold indicates record broken this year)

Spoiler

Needham Market -- Team Records

Highest League Position -- 7th in Vanarama North (2021/2) / Previous record 

Lowest League Position -- 14th in Vanarama North (2022/23) / Previous record -- 7th in the Vanarama North (2021/22)

Most Points in a Season -- 76 (2021/22) / Previous Record -- 

Fewest Points in a Season -- 61 (2022/23) /Previous Record -- 76 (2021/22)

Most League Wins in a Season -- 22 (2021/22) / Previous Record -- 

Fewest League Wins in a Season -- 16 (2022/23) /Previous Record -- 22 (2021/22)

Most League Defeats in a Season -- 17 (2022/23) / Previous Record -- 14 (2021/22)

Fewest League Defeats in a Season -- 14 (2021/22) / Previous Record -- 

Most League Draws in a Season -- 13 (2022/23) / Previous Record -- 10 (2021/22)

Fewest League Draws in a Season -- 10 92020/21)

Most League Goals in a Season -- 81 (2021/22) / Previous Record -- 

Fewest League Goals in a Season -- 68 (2022/23) / Previous Record -- 81 (2021/22)

Highest Attendance -- 1556 (vs FC Halifax, FAC4QR, 16 Oct 2021)

Highest Gate Receipts -- £26.04K (vs FC Halifax, FAC4QR, 16 Oct 2021)

Average Attendance -- 479 (2022/23) / Previous Record -- 457 (2021/22)

Lowest Attendance -- 254 (vs Scarborough (H), VNLN, 2 Aug 2022 / Previous Record -- 299 (vs Gloucester (H), VNLN, 14 Sept 2021)

Biggest Win -- 6-1 (vs Merthyr (A), VNLN, 5 Mar 2022) / Previous Record -- 

Biggest Defeat -- 1-4 (vs Chorley (A), VNLN, 27 Aug 2022) / Previous Record -- 0-3 (vs AFC Telford (A), VNLN, 23 Apr 2022)

Highest Scoring Match -- 5-2 (vs AFC Telford (H), VNLN, 27 Nov 2021) / Previous Record -- 

Highest Scoring League match -- 5-2 (vs AFC Telford (H), VNLN, 27 Nov 2021) / Previous Record --

Most Matches Won in a Row -- 4 (25 Feb - 11 Mar 2023) / Previous Record -- 3 (31 Jul - 7 Aug 2021)

Most Matches w/o Losing -- 9 (25 Feb - 10 Apr 2023) / Previous Record -- 7 (11 Sept - 16 Oct 2021) 

Most Matches Lost in a Row -- 5 (18 Apr - 30 Jul 2022)  / Previous Record -- 4 (18 Apr - 3 May 2022)

Most Matches w/o Winning -- 6 (15 Apr - 30 Jul 2022) / Previous Record -- 5 (15 Apr - 3 May 2022) 

Most Matches w/o Scoring -- 2 ( 28 Dec 2021 - 1 Jan 2022)

Most Matches w/o conceding -- 3 (2 - 16 Oct 2021)

Needham Market - Individual Records

Most League Goals by a Player -- 73 -- Callum Crook*

Most Overall Goals by a player -- 40 -- Callum Crook (2022/23) / Previous Record -- 37 -- Callum Crook (2021/22) 

Most League Appearances by a player -- 162* (Kyle Hammond) / Previous Record -- 

Most League Goals by a Player -- 37 (Callum Crook (2021/22) / Previous Record -- 

Highest Average Rating -- 7.41 (Josh Fouche (Colchester loanee) (2021/2) / Previous Record-- 

Youngest Player -- Lawson Warner -- 16y239d (vs Gateshead (A), VNLN, 7 Aug 2021)

Oldest Player -- Rossi Jarvis -- 33y 362d (vs Guisley (H), VNLN, 8 Mar 2022)

Fastest Goal -- Kieran Henderson -- 23s (vs Kettering (H), VNLN, 1 Apr 2023) / Previous Record -- Andrew Sealy-Harris -- 25s (vs Buxton (A), VNLN, 29 Jan 2022)

Most goals in a Match -- 3 -- Callum Crook (4-0 vs Merthyr (H), VNLN, 31 Aug 2021) / Previous Record -- 

Most goals in a League Match -- 3 -- Callum Crook (4-0 vs Merthyr (H), VNLN, 31 Aug 2021) / Previous Record -- 

Most Assists in a Season  -- 11 -- Finlay Barnes (2021/22) / Previous Record -- 

Must Shutouts in a season -- 14 -- Olivier Eto'o (2021/22) / Previous Record -- 

Most PoM Awards -- 12 -- Callum Crook (2022/23) / Previous Record -- 8 -- Calum Crook (2021/22)

Youngest Goalscorer -- Lawson Warner -- 17y 94d (vs Alfreton (H), VNLN, 15 Mar 2022) / Previous Record -- 

Oldest Goalscorer -- Adam Bailey-Dennis -- 32y 204d (vs Alfreton (A), VNLN, 10 Apr 2023) / Previous Record -- Adam Bailey-Dennis -- 31y196d (vs Scarborough Athletic (H), VNLN, 2 Apr 2022)

 

The Rest of England

Spoiler

Promoted from the Regional Premier Divisions

Gosport, Halesowen, Kingstonian, Chesham, South Shields, Nuneaton Boro, King's Lynn, Cambridge C

LEAGUE WINNERS (Promoted / Relegated)

EPL:  Man City (Crystal Palace, Brighton, Nottingham Forest)

Championship:  Sheffield Utd (Sheffield Utd, Blackburn, Derby / Barnsley, Rotherham, Peterborough)

League One:  Salford (Salford, Walsall, Middlesbrough/ Gillingham, Carlisle, Swindon, AFC WImbledon)

League Two:  Wycombe (Wycombe, Crawley, Grimsby, Newport Co/ Solihull Moors, Mansfield)

Vanarama National League:  Rochdale (Rochdale, Hartlepool / AFC Telford, FC Halifax, Wealdstone, Hemel Hempstead)

Vanarama national North : Chesterfield (Chesterfield, Chorley / Bradford PA, Scarborough Athletic, Lowestoft, Witton)

Vanarama national South:  Dover (Dover, Bromley / Braintree, Tonbridge, Farnborough, Truro)

CUP WINNERS

English FA Cup:  Man City (vs Burnley)

Carabao Cup:  Chelsea (Vs Leeds)

Community Shield:  Liverpool (vs Man City)

Papa John's Trophy: Man Utd U23s (vs Tranmere)

English FA Trophy: Leyton Orient (vs Chorley)

EURO QUALIFICATIONS

Champions Cup Group Stage:  Man City (EPL), Liverpool (2nd in EPL), Chelsea (3rd in EPL), Man Utd (4th in EPL)

Euro Cup Group Stage:  Arsenal (5th in EPL), Tottenham (6th in EPL)

Euro Cup 2QR Leeds (7th in EPL)

CONTINENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Arsenal -- Eliminated from Club World Championship Quarter Final (by Paris SG)

Man City -- Eliminated from Club World Championship Quarter FInal (by Real Madrid)

Tottenham -- Eliminated from Club World Championship Quarter Final (by FC Bayern)

Liverpool -- WOn Club World Championship (vs Real Madrid)

Arsenal -- Eliminated from EURO Cup 2nd Knockout Round (By Bayer 04)

Liverpool -- Eliminated from Champions League First Knockout Round (by FC Bayern)

Man City -- Eliminated from Champions League Quarter Final (by Barcelona)

Chelsea-- Eliminated from Champions League Quarter Final (By Zebre)

Man Utd -- Eliminated from Champions League Quarter Final (by FC Bayern)

Tottenham--Eliminated from EURO Cup Quarter Final (by Inter)

Leicester  -- Eliminated from EURO Cup Semi-Final (by Inter)

What's Next

Survive another takeover?  Find some fans???  Oh....improve my defense!  I've got the attack working fairly well.... I just need to concede fewer (and convert some of those last-minute draws into wins) in order to make the playoffs again and have a chance at promotion.

Career Overview

                Season                      Team                                    League                            League Position(Predicted)              FAT           FAC        JPT        LC      UEFA      CL

• Spoiler

  2021/22          Leiston                          Vanarama North                              7(24   )                             2rd          1R

  2022/23          Leiston                          Vanarama North                             14(24)                               2rd          1R

   

   

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by G_D_K

[goonergez]

@G_D_K I suffered similar problems during my Lancaster save..... attack works and defence doesn’t or vice versa. If I was scoring goals I was conceding plenty and when I tightened up the defence we stopped scoring too. Like you I was just lucky to have a striker who wouldn’t stop scoring. Good luck next season, hopefully promotion will be yours!

[Abaddon879]

Farnborough - Vanarama National League South - 2021/22

Early season predictions had us expected to finish 24th, with odds of 400-1.
A quick look at the squad revealed that we only had a squad of 11 players.  Four of these were on paid contracts, while the rest were on appearance only deals. To make matters worse, there was no recognised goalkeeper at all. Clearly we had a big rebuilding task ahead of us

League Table -  A good start that saw us climb as high as 2nd in the early part of the season, but a wobble during December and January saw us drop points and fall away from the leading pack.  After spending the first part of the season solidly within the playoff positions, this slump in form saw us drop to 11th. Despite a recovery in form, it seemed the gap back to the playoff and promotion places was too great. We were constantly just outside the playoffs and spent just a single week inside the playoff placed after this. That was up until the final day of the season when, thanks to a 2-1 victory over 2nd place Braintree and results elsewhere going in our favour, we clinched 7th position, and with it the last playoff spot. 

Playoffs - Despite having the odds stacked against us with every leg being an away fixture, we managed to overcome each of the higher placed teams and book our place in the Vanarama Nation League with an excellent 4-0 victory in the final.

FA Trophy - Completely outplayed, and coincided with the beginning of our drop in form around December and January.

FA Cup - The less said, the better. Loosing to a team from the league below was not ideal, and the lack of any cup run hampered our efforts to keep the finances in check.

Squad - This was the final squad we put together. Overall they performed well, but there was not enough depth outside of the first eleven. Definitely something to consider next season.

Transfers  - A lot of ins this season, but that was to be expected with a playing squad of just 11 to begin with. Next season should hopefully see a bit more stability in terms of transfers, hopefully building on the good foundations put in place.

Finances - The finances are a real concern, especially considering we were never profitable or close to breaking even throughout the entire season. The preseason fixtures against bigger clubs are the only thing that saved us from even further financial issues.

Key Player Profiles:

Louis Dunne - Predicted to be our best player for a distance, and didn't disappoint. Challenge now is to see whether we can stop him leaving on a free at the end of the season.

Mazeed Ugungbo - Our star defender. Despite being one of the lowest earners, he bossed the defensive with his physicality.

Erik Bugarin - Despite joining on non-contract terms as a breakthrough prospect, he soon broke into the first team and finished as our joint top scorer with 16 goals in 30 (5) appearances.

Career Overview:

Season      League                       Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22     National League South        7th          Playoff winners  

Edited December 26, 2020 by Abaddon879

[Amarante]

I decided to start over this challenge. Hopefully this time i can handle how stupid my players are. 

 

[dafuge]

 

Met Police - Vanarama National League - 2025/26

We lost out in the playoffs last season so I was hoping we would be able to go one better this time.

League Table - we topped the table for most of the season before collapsing due to tired players.

Playoffs - we got really lucky as Aldershot had two players sent off in extra time but we saved our best for the final.

FA Trophy - we gave this a go this time, but it turned out to be a big mistake as our squad just couldn't cope with the fixtures.

FA Cup - we beat Premier League West Ham 3-0!

Squad - I probably should have signed a few more players, but at least it was easy to keep everyone happy.

Transfers - a small number of quality signings.

Finances - the FA Cup run has put us in a great position.

Key Player Profiles:

Oscar Thorn - far too good for this level, this was a massive signing.

Sonny Hilton - one of our two great midfielders.

Kwaku Oduroh - a quality defender.

Career Overview:

Season      League                       Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22     National League South        14th           
2022/23     National League South        1st          Promoted as champions
2023/24     National League              14th
2024/25     National League              7th
2025/26     National League              2nd          Promoted via playoffs

Next Season:

We are turning professional soon now we have reached the Football League, so next season should be interesting.

[goonergez]

Morpeth Town FC: Takeover Report

I began my FM21 journey with an enjoyable yet ultimately unsuccessful attempt at this challenge with Lancaster City. I love this challenge even though I actually only started it on last years edition of the game. I haven't experienced much success yet, but the enjoyment is unfathomable. After deciding to cast Lancaster aside I have spent the last couple of days furiously trying attempts with different sides to try and get back into a save. Numerous attempts weren't stickers with me, but now I have found one. Funnily enough a team that I had previously been put off attempting.

Morpeth Town FC were founded in 1909, and are based in Northumberland, northern of Newcastle. In game promotion means they will play in the Conference North, with a previous highest league of the Northern Premier. In the 1998/99 season they made a record run in the FA Cup reaching the 4th and final qualification round. The club are nicknamed 'The Highwaymen' and play their home games at the 2,000 capacity Craik Park. The stadium has been there home since 1994 and has a seated area of 100 seats.

The inherited squad actually looked pretty strong, although there were several high earning players on the books. Defender Jeff Henderson looked very solid for this standard of football, but it was in midfield where the strongest options lied. 27-year olds Connor Oliver and Ben Sayer looked strong enough to play in the centre, but attacking midfielder Liam Noble looked the best of the bunch.

The 30-year old would slot perfectly into the centre of my three attacking midfielders, and has been on the books at a number of football league clubs. He joined Morpeth from Hartlepool United, and would have to be a really key player if we were to have a good season. I also liked 31-year old striker Liam Henderson, although would hunt around for a backup option quickly upon my arrival.

The options in midfield meant the squad was set up perfectly for my favourite style. A 4-2-3-1 formation aimed to sit back win the ball and quickly dispatch it forward to attack on the counter. I would need to bring in a few new players, but the core of the squad was already there to play in that way. I did plan on shifting a few of the high earning players, aiming to replace them with younger options on much cheaper wages. My weekly expenditure of around £7,000 was under the £8,500 I was provided, but far too high for my personal liking. I wasn't able to shift many players on, but long term cutting that wage bill is one of my targets.

My early days at the club were busy, as I set about personalising the football club to my liking. The board immediately accepted my request to fund myself a coaching course, something which will benefit this club going forward. They also put together an affiliation with Peterborough United of League One. This brings in around £12,000 a year for us, and also give us the opportunity to loan in players without the need to spend money on wages. We didn't put that to use during my first window here, but longer term I am sure that will be beneficial to us. I relinquished all existing staff members and replaced them with my own team. Tyrone Mears was brought in as a coach, and former Lincoln City and Tamworth man Paul Green came in for his first staff role as my new assistant manager. A new goalkeeping coach, scout and physio also arrived at the club.

Transfer wise I didn't go mad, bringing in six new players and allowing one to leave. Former Huddersfield Town youth player Michael Roxburgh came into the club, allowing me to shift high earning Dan Lowson out of the club with a capable replacement. Lowson joined Oxford United in a £1,500 deal, and 18-year old Roxburgh looks more than ready to play at this level for us.
Young full back Jude Swailes was picked up after his release by Newcastle United, and we also signed young striker Mitchell George after he was let go by Burnley. Our most exciting signing is probably that of Corey McKeown though.

The 18-year old was released by Chorley Town in the summer but started his career on the books at Newcastle. He will slot straight onto the left flank for us, and I am confident he will be a very big signing indeed. I expect him to be a real creative spark on the left flank.

We're not fancied to enjoy a good campaign, with a relegation battle fancied for us. Board expectations are merely to battle bravely against relegation, although I am expecting more. I expect us to be pushing towards the top-half of the table, especially as our squad now looks pretty good for this level. A top-half finish would represent a solid opening campaign at the helm, and set us up well for a successful future. I'd also love a decent run in one of the cup competitions. Financially the squad isn't in too bad of shape, but the high weekly expenditure is something that worries me. I can't quite get that under control yet, but a cup run would go a long way to helping that. The FA Cup would bring in more funds, but to be honest I would be happy with either. I have played through a chunk of the season already, but i will return with a detailed review when my first season draws to a close.

 

[goonergez]

I really don't like to do a one game update, but I was just too happy with this one. After comfortably reaching the FA Cup First Round with a couple of victories, we were drawn against League One side Wycombe Wanderers. The first game was played away, and we scored a late goal to rescue a replay with a 1-1 draw. A bit smash and grab, but defensively we were brilliant to restrict them to just the one goal. The replay came a week later, and we produced a sensational performance to complete a remarkable upset.

Another fantastic defensive display helped us to a famous victory. The club had never reached the First Round before, and we've now found our way into the Second Round and one game away from a potentially huge fixture. We were fantastic throughout, and Corey McKeown scored the goal that will long live in the memory of all Morpeth fans. A capacity 2,000 watched it and the game was televised too. £35,000 in from TV revenue plus the £20,000 for the win and the gate money from a capacity crowd. That was huge for this football club it really was. We've got a home tie in Round Two, and will play more League One opposition in Bristol Rovers.

[Dons]

Needham Market

Season 28/29
Sky Bet Championship

Squad - Table - Transfers - Finances - Profile - Injuries - Accolades - Financial Overview - Data Report - Moments to Remember - Season to Remember - Financial Report - Club Info

First season in the Championship proved a lot harder than expected. Not only is our wage budget and limited facilites at large, compared the other contenders. Still with a media prediction of 19th, we manged to end the season in 10th place. The season started of fairly decent seeing us rising to 9th place. This was followed by a series of losses and draws, which put us all the way down to 18th, before slowly rising to the 10th place.

The highlight of the season was finally getting started on a new stadium. Needham Market Stadium with a capacity of 15.766 will be finished in 2031. Could have wished for a larger stadium, but still a nice increase of 10.000 compared to our current. 
Didn't sell as many players as I had hoped for, still the finances looks decent, mostly due to most players are still on fairly low wages, especially compared to the competition. 

The Cups were living up to board expectations, where the best game was a loss in the FA Cup in 5th round, where mighty Man Utd paid us a visit. For the second time in 2 seasons, we manged to keep the loss to 1-0. In the Carabao Cup, it was exit in 4th round to Nott. Forest, who ended the season in 4th place in the CH.

2 signings this season I have high hopes for. Callum Nash, was purchased from Man Utd for 375k and looks like a great future IF. Michael Kennedy was purchased from Leeds for 350k and seems like a potentially great MC. Not a first choice player, but should be able to net a good price in a season or two. Noel Martin will arrive next season from Bournemouth for only 105k, seems like a bargain deal for a great prospect.

Yet again this season the chairman fended off potential takeovers. We had upgrades all over, with both facilities and an increase to youth level. Most of our players saw a good increase in stats due to playing better opponents, but also thanks to this video

Notable players of the season:

Joel Freeman: GK - Keeps on impressing. Also impressed Ryan Giggs, as he was given international debut this year. Luckily got him on a long contract as well.
Will Akpele: DC - Saw a nice increase in stats, and and increase in playtime.
Joe Haigh: IF - Had a decent season this year, with a few games as double goal scorer. CH seems his max level.
Emmanuel Bello: IF - Signed in 27 from Fulham. Upcoming great IF. Perfect replacement for Joe Haigh.
Kevin Wilson: MC - The rock on midfield. Doubt I can keep the larger clubs from poaching him in near future.
Ben Voisey: SC - Had a brilliant season, mostly due to his partner up front had a 4 month injury. Got him locked down on a long contract. Expensive but worth it.
Tony Ellis: SC - Scored 7 goals in 12 league games in the start of season, until he had his injury. Still seems a great partner for Ben Voisey.

Season	League	Position	Ch.Leag	Eu.Leag	FA Cup	Car. Cup	PJT	FAT
28-29	CH	10th	*	*	5th rnd	4th rnd	*	*
27-28	L1	1st	*	*	5th rnd	2nd rnd	Semi	*
26-27	L1	3rd	*	*	4th rnd	2nd rnd	2nd rnd	*
25-26	L2	1st	*	*	5th rnd	2nd rnd	Quater	*
24-25	L2	5th	*	*	2nd rnd	2nd rnd	Final	*
23-24	VN	1st	*	*	2nd rnd	*	*	Final
22-23	VN	10th	*	*	3rd rnd	*	*	S.Final
21-22	VNN	3rd	*	*	1st rnd	*	*	Q.Final

[DazRTaylor]

End of Season Review

Season 2024/25

FC United of Manchester

League Table - Going into the final game, we were level on points with Millwall, who did the double over us.  Needing a win at Oxford United to secure the title, we produced a fantastic performance, winning three one and winning the league on goal difference.

League Fixtures 1 & 2 - We wobbled a bit after January, as we lost a number of key players, but we maintained our top place throughout.

F. A. Cup - We met the boards expectations by reaching the fourth round, before losing at home to Manchester City.

Carabao Cup - A fantastic run all the way to the semi final, before losing to Manchester United over two legs.  The quarter final win away to Arsenal on penalties, after being two nil down, was particularly pleasing.

EFL Trophy - We qualified for the knockout stages with just four points from our group and despite being two nil up at half time away to Liverpool Under 23's, we went out, losing three two.

Pre Season Friendlies - Mainly home games against bigger clubs and we won quite a few of them.

Squad - A good squad, though depleted by player sales courtesy of the board.

Squad Dynamics - Exceptional, as you would expect.

Transfers In 1 & 2 - Not as many arrivals this year, mainly loans and young players.  Due to the high cost of English players, I have been forced to look at the Northern Irish & Irish leagues for talent.

Transfers Out 1, 2 & 3 - Quite a few key departures for large fees, a few of which were by the board over my head.

Youth Candidates - A decent intake with Charles Jacobs YP25A17 looking like a real find.

Finances - Very healthy indeed, largely due to the player sales.

Key Players

Harry Goodwin YP23A6 - My academy graduate continues to improve and is now rated at Championship level, talent wise.

Ian Wynne - Teenage Northern Irish central defender now firmly established as our best defender.  Had a cracking season.

Joe Hegarty - Versatile Northern Irish midfielder who had a good campaign.

Jacques Heraghty - Scottish goalkeeper signed from Queen's Park for a bargain £125,000.  He didn't put a foot wrong all season.

Luke Gamble - He has now completed two seasons at the club on loan from Southampton and he has topped thirty goals in both seasons.  Will be a huge loss if I cannot sign him for a third year.

Next Season

A safe mid table spot would be tremendous.

Personal Coaching Data

Season     Reputation          Qualifications         Att   Def   Fit   GkD   GkH   GkS   Tac   Tec   Men   WWY   Ada   Det   PlK   YoK   LoD   MaM   Mot
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At start   Minimal   (0.25*)   None                     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     4     1     1     1     4     1     1     1
2021/22    Minimal = (1.25*) ↑ National B ↑↑            7 ↑   6 ↑   3 ↑   1 =   1 =   1 =   6 ↑   5 ↑   6 ↑   4 =   1 =   5 ↑   5 ↑   6 ↑  11 ↑   7 ↑   7 ↑
2022/23    Minimal = (2.25*) ↑ Continental C ↑↑         9 ↑   8 ↑   3 =   1 =   2 ↑   1 =   8 ↑   8 ↑   8 ↑   4 =   1 =   7 ↑   7 ↑   8 ↑  14 ↑   8 ↑   9 ↑
2023/24    Nominal ↑ (2.75*) ↑ Continental A ↑↑        11 ↑  12 ↑   5 ↑   1 =   2 =   1 =  11 ↑  11 ↑  11 ↑   7 ↑   1 =   9 ↑   9 ↑  11 ↑  20 ↑  12 ↑  13 ↑
2024/25    Okay    ↑ (3.25*) ↑ Continental Pro ↑       13 ↑  13 ↑   6 ↑   1 =   2 =   1 =  13 ↑  13 ↑  13 ↑   7 =   1 =  11 ↑  11 ↑  13 ↑  20 =  13 ↑  14 ↑

Club Facilities

Season     Training Facilities  Youth Facilities  Youth Level  Corporate Facilities  Junior Coaching  Youth Recruitment  Club Reputation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Start   Basic                Basic                  4       Adequate              Average          Fairly basic       Local      (1.00*)
2021/22    Basic =              Below average ↑        4 =     Adequate =            Good ↑↑          Average ↑↑         Local =    (1.00*) =
2022/23    Basic =              Below average =        4 =     Adequate =            Exceptional ↑↑   Exceptional ↑↑↑    Local =    (1.00*) =
2023/24    Basic =              Below average =        4 =     Adequate =            Exceptional =    Exceptional =      Regional ↑ (1.50*) ↑
2024/25    Basic =              Adequate ↑             4 =     Adequate =            Exceptional =    Exceptional =      Regional = (2.00*) ↑

Season Record

Season     Played     Won     Drawn     Lost     Goals For     Goals Against     Goal Difference
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22      57        43        5        9         147              52                 +95
2022/23      54        38        8        8         138              54                 +84
2023/24      59        46        5        8         138              34                +104
2024/25      61        37       13       11         125              59                 +66

Overall Career Record

After Season   Played     Won     Drawn     Lost     Goals For     Goals Against     Goal Difference     Time At Club
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22          57        43        5        9         147              52                 +95              323 days
2022/23         111        81       13       17         285             106                +179              667 days
2023/24         170       127       18       25         423             140                +283            1,045 days
2024/25         231       164       31       36         548             199                +349            1,409 days

Trophy Haul

Season     Competition Won
--------------------------
2021/22    Vanarama National League North
2022/23    Vanarama National League
2023/24    Sky Bet League Two
2024/25    Sky Bet League One

Trophy Cabinet

League Titles
-------------
1 x Sky Bet League One (2024/25)
1 x Sky Bet League Two (2023/24)
1 x Vanarama National League (2022/23)
1 x Vanarama National League North (2021/22)


Cup Competition Victories
-------------------------

Career Overview

Season     Champions League    Europa League    Europa Conference League             League                             Position     F.A. Cup                    League Cup        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22           N/a               N/a                    N/a                       Vanarama National League North        1st       Third round                     N/a           Promoted as champions.  Fifth round of the F. A. Trophy.
2022/23           N/a               N/a                    N/a                       Vanarama National League              1st ↑     Third round =                   N/a           Promoted as champions.  Fifth round of the F. A. Trophy.
2023/24           N/a               N/a                    N/a                       Sky Bet League Two                    1st ↑     Third round =               Second round ↑    Promoted as champions.  Semi Final of EFL Trophy.
2024/25           N/a               N/a                    N/a                       Sky Bet League One                    1st ↑     Fourth round ↑              Semi final ↑      Promoted as champions.  Second round of EFL Trophy.

Record Number of Appearances (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                    Cumulative Number of Appearances
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22    Ben Bright YP22A1                         3
2022/23    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                      8
2023/24    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                     54
2024/25    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    102

Record Goal Scorer (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                    Cumulative Number of Goals
---------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22    Ben Bright YP22A1                      1
2022/23    Ben Bright YP22A1                      1
2023/24    Ben Bright YP22A1                      1
           Harry Goodwin YP23A6                   1
           Ade Ibe YP24C13                        1
2024/25    Ben Bright YP22A1                      1
           Harry Goodwin YP23A6                   1
           Ade Ibe YP24C13                        1

Record Number of Assists (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                    Cumulative Number of Assists
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22    No one                                  0
2022/23    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    1
2023/24    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    4
2024/25    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    4

Record Number of Clean Sheets (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                    Cumulative Number of Clean Sheets
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22    No one                                     0
2022/23    No one                                     0
2023/24    No one                                     0
2024/25    No one                                     0

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2020 by DazRTaylor

[Faramir]

Good job @Dons  you finished higher than I did in the first season up!

[CMU Chips]

Season 7 - League Two - 2nd

Preseason goals of a mid-table finish were thrown out once we started playing. Never had a chance at the title as Salford ran away with it, but with three auto-promotion spots, I don't really care. All free transfers over the summer as usual. We lost our LM for 325k but his replacement did fine. Best of the bunch were Håkon Olavesen and Jeremy Myers. I was shocked when Myers joined as he had 55 clubs interested in him. We again relied heavily on our two strikers, with no one else scoring more than 5. I'm a bit worried about this going forward as one is only a non-league quality striker according to my coaches. Despite signing a goalkeeper, it was our keeper from last year who got most of the starts. The new guy let in a terrible shot in our first match to cost us two points, and after a serious of mediocre performances I made the swap. His replacement ended up getting team of the year. We also got our first non-financial benefit as our parent club saved us during a January injury crisis by loaning us two defenders. They ended up being two of our better players and I'll try to get them back next year. 

League Table -

Squad Stats -

Transfers -

Year

League

Position

Cups

Training

Youth

Junior

Recruitment

Attendance (Cap)

Badges

Transfers (In-Out)

Top Scorer

Most Assists

Av. Rating

Clean Sheets

May balance

Total wages

2027/2028

League Two

2nd

FA - 2nd round, Carabao - 2nd round

Basic

Basic

Average

Adequate

3055 (5405)

Continental A

13 - 9 (+£327k)

Scott Wilson - 29 (29)

Harry Warwick - 11 (11)

Harry Warwick - 7.28 (48)

Luke Bell - 14 (15)

£247k

£21.3k p/w

2026/2027

Vanarama National

1st

FA - 1st round, FAT - 4th round

Basic

Basic

Average

Adequate

1935 (4155)

Continental A

11 - 5 (+£14.5k)

Scott Wilson - 42 (44)

Harry Warwick - 16 (16)

Scott Wilson - 7.44 (48)

Luke Bell - 17 (17)

£284k

£14.8k p/w

2025/2026

Vanarama National

6th

FA - 4th qual., FAT - Quarter Final

Basic

Basic

Average

Adequate

1721 (4155)

Continental A

17 - 8 (+£9.5k)

Harry Warwick - 40 (44)

Scott Wilson - 16 (17)

Harry Warwick - 7.34 (52)

Tom Smith - 14 (14)

£220k

£11.6k p/w

2024/2025

Vanarama National

14th

FA - 3rd round, FAT - 4th round

Basic

Basic

Adequate

Adequate

1871 (4500)

Continental A

14 -2 (£10.25k)

Harry Warwick - 32 (38)

I don't know, this is bugged

Jamie Harrop - 7.34 (38)

Tom Smith - 12 (14)

£200k

£9.2k p/w

2023/2024

Vanarama South

1st

FA - 3rd round, FAT - 2nd round

Basic

Poor

Average

Adequate

1200 (4500)

Continental B

6 - 5 (£0)

Harry Warwick - 44 (48)

Charles Sagoe - 15 (17)

Harry Warwick - 7.41 (50)

Tom Smith - 19 (23)

£88k

£7.4k p/w

2022/2023

Vanarama South

5th

FA - 2nd round, FAT - 4th round

Basic

Poor

Average

Adequate

1310 (4500)

Continental C

15 - 6 (+£26k)

Connor Hall - 15 (Powell - 23)

Jesse Starkey - 11 (12)

Aarran Racine - 7.49 (44)

Tiernan Parker - 5 (5)

£138k

£6.2k p/w

2021/2022

Vanarama South

7th

FA - 1st round, FAT - 3rd round

Basic

Poor

Average

Adequate

1123 (4500)

National B

14 - 4 (£0)

Euan Pollock - 26 (34)

Jesse Starkey - 10 (11)

Aarran Racine - 7.48 (51)

Tiernan Parker - 20 (23)

£14k

£5.1k p/w

[Faramir]

Needham Market - season 6, 2nd season Championship

We aren't the lowest spenders in Championship anymore.

The addition of Will Jaaskelainen in goal and two new fullbacks gave us a more solid defense, but we only have three players over 25 on the entire side- so we are very young.

Midseason found us fighting our way into the Playoff race.

 

[goonergez]

Morpeth Town FC: 2021/22 Review

My first season in charge has come to an end, and in the end it was a season that leaves a very bitter taste in my mouth. We mixed the brilliant with the woeful, and are left wondering what might have been. We actually started the campaign in very good form. Five wins and three draws helped us fly towards the top, as we avoided defeat until a trip to Lowestoft Town in our ninth league contest. That first defeat didn’t really cost us though, and despite an initial blip we bounced back well and kept ourselves in the hunt. An unbeaten run through December and most of January had us sat in 3rd spot, and just four points off the league leaders York City.

At this stage our form turned though. We lost our last league game in January, and wouldn’t taste victory again until the penultimate match day of the season. A run of 15 matches without a win dropped us right off of the pace and down into the bottom half of the table. A lack of goals killed us, and we annoyingly slipped out of contention for a play off spot. A spot that we had looked set to gain for a solid half of the season.

A win on the penultimate day at least secured a top half spot, but it should’ve been so much more. For a first campaign at this level we should be happy, but I’m definitely not in a mood to celebrate about it. The lack of goals killed us. Main man Ryan Viggars (picked up on a free in October) managed a disappointing tally of just 11, and backup Mitchell George only scored 7. Experienced midfielder Liam Noble impressed in the attacking areas, scoring 9 goals himself. Central defenders Luke Cox and Jeff Henderson were probably our best performers, although we shipped 53 league goals. Disappointingly we will lose Henderson, as he’s agreed on a contract to join Derry city on a free transfer.

We suffered mixed fortunes in the cup competitions, although pleasingly raised some good funds in the FA Cup. We dispatched Shildon 4-1 at home, and then Brightlingsea 3-1 away to reach the fourth qualification round of the FA Cup. Fellow conference north side Ashton United were our opposition, an early goal from winger Patrick Jones giving us a 1-0 win. A spot in the first round for the first time in our clubs history gave us an exciting away trip to League One side Wycombe Wanderers. We produced a superb smash and grab display to rescue a replay with a late strike from Liam Henderson. In the replay we were even better. A goal from Corey McKeown early in the second half gave us a famous 1-0 victory in front of the tv cameras and a capacity crowd. More League One opposition awaited us in the second round, but we couldn’t repeat the feat. A less impressive but valiant display saw us lose out 1-4 at home to Bristol Rovers to end our run. In the FA Trophy we crashed out disappointingly, losing 0-2 away to another Conference North side in Leamington.

A solid if unspectacular first season draws to a close, and I feel dejected about how it went. The fifteen match run without a win ruined what looked like being a superb debut campaign at this level. Annoyingly we still sat in the play off places for most of that run, and if we’d snapped the streak earlier we could’ve scrambled in. We’ve laid a foundation for the future though, and with a good summer of recruitment I feel we can improve next season. The big disappointment was bitter rivals Blyth Spartans doing the double over us, with stoppage time winners in both games. A hard pill to swallow for our fans.

The summer will be intriguing, as I look to strengthen certain areas. Financially the cup run has helped, and money isn’t a huge issue. Especially as even bringing in new faces I’m expecting to chop a fair chunk off of our weekly wage expenditure. We’re still in the black, and will only dip slightly into debt over the summer months. The board have delayed a required stadium expansion until next summer, meaning that a good cup run next season will help to fund it. Excitingly we’ve picked up a decent player through our youth network though.

He looks a bright spark, and I’ve already got him training with the first team here. Hopefully we can develop him into a solid first team player, and if not then sell him on for a big profit.

The groundwork is there for a really successful future here. I’ll be looking to bring more goals into the team for next season, and if we can score more I fancy our defence to improve with experience. I’m confident we can push up the table next season, but a lot will depend on who we manage to bring into the football club. Exciting times, but the hard work starts now for us really.

[DazRTaylor]

With the Bexit rules now in place in game, I am finding it harder to spend money.  I cannot attract anyone who significantly improves my squad in the Championship, yet have a transfer budget of over £20m.

[goonergez]

Morpeth Town FC: 2022/23 Season Preview

A first season finish of 11th spot was solid enough, but had threatened to be a whole lot more. We spent the majority of the season sat in the play-off places, but eventually ran out of steam and fell off of the pace. When the season ended I was left disappointed and frustrated, but having had a summer to try and settle the squad I have grown a bit more pride towards them. For a first season at this level the players performed pretty well, and it was only the one run of poor form that cost us. I was confident in my ability to strengthen the squad over the summer, and that would give us a solid base to push on towards actually gaining a play-off spot this time around.

As I laid out from the moment I arrived here, the wage expenditure was something I wanted to get some control over. I spent all season trying to shift on some of the high earners, but with no luck. This summer gave me the perfect opportunity to do that, as contracts expired and it was down to me to decide who to keep and who to let go of. In the end I released a total of nine players. This freed up a truly ridiculous £4,000 per week, bringing our wage bill back in line with where I wanted it to be. Of the players released only three of them featured regularly for us last season, and I was more than confident that we could replace the necessary ones with much cheaper options. At the same time not reducing the quality of our squad.

The board had given us the expectations of avoiding the tussle of a relegation battle. To do so they presented me with an outrageous weekly wage budget of just over £11,000. I had no plans of spending even half of that, and if I did I am pretty sure I would cripple this football club pretty quickly.  We brought in eight new players this summer, and the expenditure sits at just under £5,500 per week. Firstly we renewed some expiring contracts, and then I set about bringing in some new faces. I want to push towards the play-offs this season, and to do that we needed some more quality in midfield, as well as a more prolific goal scorer. I offered a new deal to Ryan Viggars, but in came a new option to play as his backup. 24-year old Paul Blackett came in after he was released by Gateshead, and looks a more than able backup at worst.

In defence I moved to bring in a new left back in 18-year old Joel Green, after he was released by Newcastle. We also picked up 19-year old Connor Teale after a successful trial with us at the back end of last season. He was released by Leeds United halfway through the campaign, and comes in as a straight replaced for Jeff Henderson who completed his pre-arranged free transfer to Derry City. The midfield was probably where we added the most quality though, which is good because I felt that was where we were lacking last season. 21-year old winger Vinnie Steels arrived after his release by Sunderland, and looks a good option on either flank. In the centre we snapped up Benjamin Cheklit from York City on a free transfer, moving after he completed a fairly successful loan deal with us last season. We also snapped up 18-year old Jamie Miley after his release by Newcastle United. Our best signing of the summer was also a central midfielder.

22-year old Keaton Ward looks like a simply sensational signing for this football club. We moved quickly to sign him after he was released by Barnsley after their promotion to the Championship. He never made an appearance for them, but I can't wait to see him pull on a Morpeth shirt. His £475 per week wages are more than I really want to pay anyone at this level, but I honestly believe he will take us to a new standard of play.

The media predict a finish in the league of 10th place, which is a little lower than I am hoping for. I genuinely feel we've added some real quality to our ranks, and should be looking at a play-off spot this time around. Keaton Ward is a sensational signing, and I feel like he could force a brilliant partnership with Liam Noble. Noble had a good season last year, and I have moved to give him the captaincy this time around. Young full back Jude Swailes enjoyed a brilliant breakthrough season with us, and he was rewarded with the vice captaincy. My main hope is that we can score enough goals. Defensively I expect us to be pretty solid, but hopefully we can add some goals to that this time around. Ryan Viggars needs to find the net on a more regular basis, and I feel that he will do. He definitely possesses the quality to score regularly at this level. I'm pleased with our squad, and I am very excited for the season to get underway. Financially we should be in much better shape now. Attendances of around 800 was good last season, but the high wage bill prevented us from making any money. We begin this season with a bank balance hovering around £0. Not in profit but not in debt either. Hopefully the reduced expenditure on wages will help our bank balance to improve. It's a big season for us, but there is a lot of excitement around Craik Park.

[Faramir]

Needham Market, Season 6 - 2nd season Championship

We reached the 32 match mark on the heels of our biggest win since our opening match defeat of Wolves. We couldn't afford to have Derby take all three points if we wanted to have a chance for an automatic promotion spot. It was a taut match that we won when our loanee striker from Arsenal, Ross Douglas, made it a brace for the 3-2 win.

 

We reached the final four matches of the season dueling it out with Aston Villa for 2nd place (Wolves were out of sight at the top

[Faramir]

Needham Market, Season 6- 2nd season Championship-

With two matches remaining, we got our biggest goal of the season when Kurt Brooks scored a late, late injury-time goal to give us a 2-1 win over Reading. It doesn't show on the graphic below, but Villa drew 1-1 in their televised match with West Brom and we were now in control of our own destiny in the 2nd automatic promotion spot.

That destiny was decided pretty quickly as we thumped Coventry 3-0 in our penultimate match and Villa lost 3-2 at home to lowly Peterborough and we clinched promotion to Premier play for next season.

A new stadium was finally approved (the Board had already started planning around mid-season for Bloomfields to be replaced.

The key players for us in our Promotion to Premier

GK- Will Jaaskelainen (signed on free after Crewe let him go)- We desperately needed a steady keeper that could play at Championship level and Will was the one keeper I could get. He played steady, occasionally spectacularly in goal, in backstopping our campaign. 

DC- Kenneth Opoku (loaned for the 2nd straight season from Watford)- The 20 year old English Under-21 International was one of the two key center defenders as we offered more support to Jaaskelainen than we did for Scott Moloney last season. 

DC- Giorgos Antoniou (signed on free after Chelsea let the Cypriot DC go two seasons ago)- The 20 year old improved a lot this season and he and Opoku worked really well together in a more solid combination than they were in their first season together as 19 year old starters.

DL- James Maxwell (purchased from Aston Villa for 875K before the season)- 25 year old pacey left back who really blossomed as a starter.

ML- Emmanuel Arthur (19 year old on loan from Arsenal) pacey winger proved a huge upgrade on our existing wingers and helped provide us the width we needed in our attack.

MC- Reiss Dean (20 year old on loan from Wolves for 2nd straight season)- Assist leader in Championship last season wasn't quite as good this season, but still chipped in with 9 assists.

MC- Chris Williams (21 year old on loan from Crystal Palace)- I tried hard to sign the Welsh MC before the season, but then was able to loan him at mid-season. He provided 5 key assists in the 13 matches he played.

SC- Tony Rostock (signed on free from Ross County two seasons ago)- The 21 year old showed signs of the promise last season, but this year really developed into a fine strike partner with Kurt Brooks. Rostock scored 24 goals, had 12 assists and 9 MOM awards as the highest rated player in Championship. Losing him for three weeks during the final stretch was a blow, but we had the depth to survive.

SC- Ross Douglas (18 year old on loan from Arsenal)- Really stepped up and provided us with some important goals when Rostock was down with injury.

SC- Declan Thompson (signed on free from Ross County two seasons ago)- the 18 year old also showed signs last season, but really shone in limited opportunities this season with 11 goals, 4 assists and 2 MOM awards in 17 matches. Still hard to believe that Ross County had two brilliant youngsters that I was able to nab on free transfer. 

SC- Kurt Brooks (signed on free from Welsh side Haverfordwest three seasons ago)- The 21 year old was last season's Championship Player of the year and continued his fine work this season with 27 league goals as he scored the key goals including a late injury-time match winner against Reading in the 44th match that really was the key to our promotion. He scored his 100th league goal during the season. 

[goonergez]

Morpeth Town FC: 2022/23 Review

My second season with 'The Highwaymen' has drawn to a conclusion, and its fair to say that things didn't go at all to my plans. We flattered to deceive, and never looked remotely like reaching the levels we showed last year. We never found ourselves in danger of getting close to the drop zone, but unfortunately didn't get close to where we wanted to either.

We started the season slowly, drawing two of our first three matches and only scoring in one. The goal scoring problems of the latter end of last season were showing face again, and panic was beginning to set in. Defeat to Lowestoft Town seemed to be a bit of a spring board, and we followed it up with three straight victories. That climbed us up the table, and confidence in our preseason targets began to grow. Unfortunately that was about as good as it got until the new year, as inconsistency hit us hard. Ryan Viggars was scoring goals for us but despite an impressive 12 in the first 15 league matches frustration was beginning to grow. He was simply proving far too wasteful in front of goal and to be honest should've had at least double that tally.
For that reason I decided to bring in a new option. Summer signing Paul Blackett was sacrificed, sold to Ashton United for £2,500 after managing three goals in twelve appearances for us. His replacement was a 21-year old released in the summer by Middlesbrough. Rumarn Burrell was picked up on an 18-month contract, and I was excited to see how he would improve us. We also snapped up 30-year old winger Jordan Slew after he was released by League Two side Morecambe. I hoped that his experience would help us, and he could prove a creative spark to help our goal scoring issues.

Initially the transfer activity seemed to boost us, and the new year started with us looking much better than before. Unfortunately we simply couldn't produce the required consistency, and never put ourselves even close to closing in on a play-off spot. I was disappointed with how our season went as we went through spells of being unable to score, or simply conceding too many. Frustratingly we seemed to go on little runs of victories, before following up with a run of defeats. That prevented us from ever getting close to our pre-season targets. Central defenders Luke Cox and Connor Teale formed a consistent partnership at the heart of our defence, but unfortunately the full backs couldn't reach the same levels. In goal Michael Roxburgh was solid, keeping 16 clean sheets. Ryan Viggars was a key early goal scorer, finding the net a total of 17 times. A fair few of them came after he was shuffled out wide to accommodate the signing of  Rumarn Burrell, who managed 23 goals after his mid season arrival to end the campaign as our top league goal scorer.

We enjoyed a really good FA Cup run last season, as I took the club into the proper stages of the competition for the very first time. A cup upset against League One side Wycombe Wanderers put us into the Second Round, before Bristol Rovers eventually ended our efforts. I hoped for more of the same this time around, with the opportunity to raise some funds very much of interest. The first two qualification rounds were navigated easily enough, as we saw off Radcliffe Borough 2-0 at home, and then Yaxley 4-0 away. That put us into the Fourth Qualifying round and a tough looking tie away against Stockport County of the league above. We produced a superb display, as a goal in each half from winger Vinnie Steels saw us win 2-0 and reach the First Round proper again. For the third time in my reign we drew League One opposition, as we would play the MK Dons at home. 

A fantastic display in front of a sold out Craik Park gave us another upset, and a spot in the Second Round for a second season in a row. We drew Chorley Town of our division, a team we had never scored against under my management. Unfortunately that would continue, but shockingly that saw us take the game through ninety minutes, and then through the entirety of extra time. We spent the majority of the game on the back foot, but clung on to take the game into a penalty shoot out. Thankfully we held our nerve, and a save from Michael Roxburgh saw him cap of a wonderful display to give us the victory. I prayed for a big money spinning tie, preferably away to Premier League or Championship opposition. To get this far was a sensational effort, and now it was about trying to make big money from a big tie. We didn't get rewarded with that, but instead were handed Championship side Blackburn Rovers at home. The game was televised, presenting us with an extra £70,000, a real boost to our coffers.

As expected, we got a really tough game out of them. A stunning free kick ended our resistance just before the 40 minute mark, but to be honest that didn't tell the story of the first half. Ryan Viggars hit the post inside two minutes with a stunner that would've given us a shock lead. As expected the second half saw us produce a spirited display, even though we fell two goals behind. Ryan Viggars got his legend moment with a goal, but unfortunately despite a red card we simply couldn't create that one last moment to force a replay. We produced a committed display though, and can be very proud of even getting this far in the first place.

The FA Trophy wasn't such a success story for us, although we did match the expectations of the board. We entered with a home tie against AFC Telford, and produced a great comeback to progress. A penalty in extra time helping us complete a 2-1 turnaround to make the Third Round. We drew another tough looking tie away at Gateshead, amid a packed schedule. I made a number of changes, and was impressed as we produced a solid performance. Unfortunately a goal in the first minute of extra time undid our hard work though, and we were eliminated after a 0-1 defeat.  Despite my reign bringing two very positive runs in the FA Cup, I simply haven't managed to crack the FA Trophy yet. Definitely room for improvement in that respect.

A really disappointing season comes to a close, as we never got close to achieving the pre-season targets I set of challenging for a play-off spot. The inconsistency we showed was unbelievably frustrating, and at times left me scratching my head. On paper our squad looked more than capable, but on the field they were hugely disappointing. The only positive was the financially rewarding run we strung together in the FA Cup. To have reached the proper stages of the competition would've been pleasing enough, but to get as far as the Third Round is exceptional for this level. The run brought in about £400,000, which leaves our bank balance comfortably in the black. That run sets us up for next season really pleasingly. It's going to be a busy summer here though, as I look to push this football club forwards. It's nice to be a solid mid-table side, but I want us to look towards a play-off spot at worst next time around. We're going to have to make considerable improvements to make that a reality. At least the finances are there to enable me to go out and bring new players in. By no means am I planning on splashing the cash, but we definitely need a number of new faces. I want a play-off spot at least next season, and I will spend all summer trying to improve our squad in order to get us to that level.

[goonergez]

Morpeth Town FC: 2023/24 Season Preview

I'm now through two full seasons as manager of this football club, and it is time to make some progress. We've completed two safe mid-table finishes, with 11th and 14th so far. Two superb FA Cup runs have sorted our finances out, and now is the time to look at moving this football club up the league table. I wanted to push for the play-off places last season, and we never got remotely close to that. Disappointingly we couldn't find the required consistency to compete, hence the very average finishing position. I was confident with the right recruitment over the summer we could improve though, and we were in a good place to make moves. The board kept the wage budget at £11,000ish, although I didn't intend on spending anywhere near that much. In fact my aim was to actually trim our wage bill slightly whilst conducting our business.

The summer began with news that we were to move our home games out of Craik Park. The board managed to delay a necessary capacity increase last summer, but still don't want to go ahead with it this time around. For that reason they've decided to pay £17,000 a year to Whitby Town to make Hillheads Park our new home ground. The 4,500 capacity is more than double our own home, and there are also 450 seats within it. I'm hoping that we will get our home back at some point, but for now I hope the change will help if we manage to put together another decent FA Cup run. Slightly more positively the club agreed to pay for me to go on another coaching course, my third one. That takes me to 'National B' level, and I am pleased the club are willing to back me in such ways.

I decided to allow a total of seven players leave at the end of their contracts, as room was freed up on the wage budget. Regulars Benjamin Cheklit, Joel Green and Jordan Slew (after his mid-season arrival) were hard choices, but my plan was to replace them with new players who could potentially perform much more consistently. Fringe players Corey McKeown, Patrick Jones and backup keeper Henry Hampshaw were much easier options to release. I spent a chunk of the summer trying to clear the £800 per week wages of midfielder Liam Noble. He was fantastic in my first season, but struggled for form last time around. He's entering the last year of that huge deal (signed before I arrived at the club), and is now only a squad player for me. If an offer comes in then I will allow him to leave, but we go into the season with him here as a squad player. We did accept an approach from newly promoted South Shields, but the player rejected the contract from them.

After contracts had been dealt with and players allowed to leave, I shift focus to which areas we needed to look at recruiting. For me there were a number of priorities, with four key positions highlighted. We conceded too many goals last season, despite the central defenders performing really solidly. I wanted a new goalkeeper as a main priority, as well as a left back. I had allowed last season regular Joel Green to leave at the end of his contract, meaning a left back was absolutely essential. Further to that I wanted to add a couple of new wingers to our ranks as well as a central midfielder. We had allowed Slew, Jones and McKeown all to leave after limited performances last season, and that left us a bit short of options on the flanks.

A busy summer of recruitment saw us add a total of six new members to our squad. I'll cover a few of them here. The first arrival of the summer was actually probably our most exciting.

I had set that role just behind the striker as one I was desperate to bring some quality in. Benjamin Cheklit hadn't done enough for me, and I wanted someone of real quality. In the end my scout recommended Josh Lindsay, and we fought off interest from a number of Football League clubs to grab his signature. He looks an unbelievable prospect, and came through the ranks at Scarborough Athletic. I expected him to move to a level higher than ours, but we managed to convince him to sign for us on a free transfer.

In goal I managed to bring in some more genuine quality, as we picked up Matt Hall on a free transfer. The 25-year old was released by Fleetwood of League One, and will slot straight in as number one relegating Michael Roxburgh. Hopefully he can help us to stop conceding as many goals. 18-year old left back Luke Garner was also snapped up to come straight into our line up after his release from Newcastle. I said I wanted more quality in central midfield, and I found it.

The young Argentine joined after his release by Leeds United and looks a really good player for our level. He will slot straight into the centre of our midfield, and pleasingly could also fill in at centre back if needed. I'm really confident that we've grabbed a top player and can't wait to see him play in a Morpeth Town shirt.

Our shortage of options on the flanks was solved too, with the arrival of two young options. Vinnie Steels had a decent campaign last time around, but having released a number of players we needed a couple more options. In came two new wingers, both picked up on free transfers. 18-year old Italian Pedro Meneghello was signed after being released by Leeds United, and 19-year old Harrison Nejman was picked up after being let go by Barnsley. Both of them are raw, but both also clearly possess some talent. Hopefully we can nurture that out of them and get them performing in the black and yellow strip.

Despite all of our summer business, the FA Cup run from last season ensures that financially we're in pretty decent shape. Our bank balance is around the £100,000 mark, despite now having to pay rent for our home ground. That figure is expected to reduce over the season, but I am confident we can actually grow that with another decent cup run. It would be nice to put together a run in the FA Trophy this season too, as so far we've disappointed in that competition. Although we didn't manage to shift the high earning Liam Noble, we've actually managed to reduce our weekly expenditure on wages. For me that is a huge bonus, especially as I feel our squad possesses some real quality. It also means if we find any gaps within the squad that need filling, the money is there to do so.

I want us to push on this season, and aim for a spot within the play-off places. In stages over my time here we've shown we are capable, but this year I want much more consistency. We've got a talented bunch of players, and some of them have got some real experience behind them now as well. The board only want a safe mid-table finish, which I am more than confident we can achieve. The media predict us an 8th placed finish, showing that we haven't many reasons to fear getting dragged into a relegation fight. Hopefully this year will be ours.

[dafuge]

 

Met Police - Sky Bet League Two - 2026/27

We should have won the league last season, so I was confident we had enough to do reasonably well in this league.

League Table - we were top for the first six games, but then fell away as the season went on. We snatched a playoff spot on the final day of the season.

Playoffs - we deserved the win, but we left in very late in the final.

League Cup - we knocked out Championship Cardiff but came up short against Premier League Villa.

FA Cup - we were denied a good cup run by Championship Middlesbrough.

Squad - this is a great squad for League Two, I'm not so sure about League One.

Transfers - I splashed out on two late signings that seemed to make a big difference.

Finances - we had lost about half of our cash before the playoff final restored our decent finances.

Key Player Profiles:

Oscar Thorn - still outstanding.

Antef Tsoungui - one of the late signings is our most valuable player.

Owen Hesketh - a big upgrade on a position that was already strong.

Career Overview:

Season      League                       Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22     National League South        14th           
2022/23     National League South        1st          Promoted as champions
2023/24     National League              14th
2024/25     National League              7th
2025/26     National League              2nd          Promoted via playoffs
2026/27     League Two                   7th          Promoted via playoffs

Next Season:

I was getting the squad ready for another season in League Two, so I might have to offload a few contracted players to make space to improve the squad.

[goonergez]

Pretty good going there @dafuge. Definitely showing some of us how to do this challenge! Could you imagine Met Police in the football league!

[DazRTaylor]

End of Season Review

Season 2025/26

FC United of Manchester

League Table - We were in the bottom half at the end of November but recovered somewhat to finish fourth and secure a play off place.

Play Offs - We played Reading over two legs in the semi final and after a fine two all draw at The Madejski Stadium, I was optimistic about the second leg.  Alas, it wasn't to be, as we lost two one at home, for a four three aggregate defeat.

League Fixtures 1, 2 & 3 - We started like a train, winning our first three games, but a dreadful October, where we didn't win a point and November, where we only won one game in five, meant we were only ever going to obtain a play off place at best.

F. A. Cup - A very tough draw in the third round, away to Chelsea, saw the club eliminated.  We played very well, but were always up against it and lost by two goals to one.

Carabao Cup - There was no repeat of last season's heroics, as we went out in the third round, losing on penalties at home to Stoke City.

Pre Season Friendlies - A perfect record of thirteen wins from thirteen games set the squad up nicely for the campaign ahead.

Squad - Our squad is very young and they are developing nicely.

Squad Dynamics - The harmony is good, which is nice.

Transfers In 1 & 2 - Some big deals as we broke our transfer record twice.

Transfers Out 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 - A huge amount of departures, including some club record sales, though it was mainly youngsters I have let leave on loan.

Youth Candidates - My preview was dreadful, though the intake itself wasn't too bad.  Goalkeeper Fraser Rowe YP26B24 looking like the best player in the group.

Finances - Very healthy indeed, largely down to the player sales.

Key Players

Harry Goodwin YP23A6 - The homegrown defender continues to improve.  Has been in a foul mood all season after I turned down numerous bids from Premier League clubs.

Javier Pérez - I actually signed this Uruguayan several seasons ago though he only got his work permit this season.  I recalled him from his loan at Peñarol and he has been sensational ever since.

Chris Hamer - Central defender signed on a season long loan deal from Wolverhampton Wanderers.  He was clearly the best defender we had.

Paul Glatzel - German striker  who is aged 25 now and on his day, he is great.  Unfortunately, he is far too inconsistent.

Jack Flynn - Signed for a then club record £3.7m from Southend United, the striker had an impressive year, considering his tender years.

Next Season

At the very least, another play off place though I hope we can mount an automatic promotion push.

Personal Coaching Data

Season     Reputation          Qualifications         Att   Def   Fit   GkD   GkH   GkS   Tac   Tec   Men   WWY   Ada   Det   PlK   YoK   LoD   MaM   Mot
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At start   Minimal   (0.25*)   None                     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     1     4     1     1     1     4     1     1     1
2021/22    Minimal = (1.25*) ↑ National B ↑↑            7 ↑   6 ↑   3 ↑   1 =   1 =   1 =   6 ↑   5 ↑   6 ↑   4 =   1 =   5 ↑   5 ↑   6 ↑  11 ↑   7 ↑   7 ↑
2022/23    Minimal = (2.25*) ↑ Continental C ↑↑         9 ↑   8 ↑   3 =   1 =   2 ↑   1 =   8 ↑   8 ↑   8 ↑   4 =   1 =   7 ↑   7 ↑   8 ↑  14 ↑   8 ↑   9 ↑
2023/24    Nominal ↑ (2.75*) ↑ Continental A ↑↑        11 ↑  12 ↑   5 ↑   1 =   2 =   1 =  11 ↑  11 ↑  11 ↑   7 ↑   1 =   9 ↑   9 ↑  11 ↑  20 ↑  12 ↑  13 ↑
2024/25    Okay    ↑ (3.25*) ↑ Continental Pro ↑       13 ↑  13 ↑   6 ↑   1 =   2 =   1 =  13 ↑  13 ↑  13 ↑   7 =   1 =  11 ↑  11 ↑  13 ↑  20 =  13 ↑  14 ↑
2025/26    Okay    = (3.25*) = Continental Pro =       13 =  13 =   6 =   1 =   2 =   1 =  13 =  13 =  13 =   9 ↑   1 =  11 =  11 =  13 =  20 =  15 ↑  15 ↑

Club Facilities

Season     Training Facilities  Youth Facilities  Youth Level  Corporate Facilities  Junior Coaching  Youth Recruitment  Club Reputation
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Start   Basic                Basic                  4       Adequate              Average          Fairly basic       Local      (1.00*)
2021/22    Basic =              Below average ↑        4 =     Adequate =            Good ↑↑          Average ↑↑         Local =    (1.00*) =
2022/23    Basic =              Below average =        4 =     Adequate =            Exceptional ↑↑   Exceptional ↑↑↑    Local =    (1.00*) =
2023/24    Basic =              Below average =        4 =     Adequate =            Exceptional =    Exceptional =      Regional ↑ (1.50*) ↑
2024/25    Basic =              Adequate ↑             4 =     Adequate =            Exceptional =    Exceptional =      Regional = (2.00*) ↑
2025/26    Below average ↑      Average ↑              3 ↑     Adequate =            Exceptional =    Exceptional =      Regional = (2.00*) =

Season Record

Season     Played     Won     Drawn     Lost     Goals For     Goals Against     Goal Difference
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22      57        43        5        9         147              52                 +95
2022/23      54        38        8        8         138              54                 +84
2023/24      59        46        5        8         138              34                +104
2024/25      61        37       13       11         125              59                 +66
2025/26      52        27       12       13          99              52                 +47

Overall Career Record

After Season   Played     Won     Drawn     Lost     Goals For     Goals Against     Goal Difference     Time At Club
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22          57        43        5        9         147              52                 +95              323 days
2022/23         111        81       13       17         285             106                +179              667 days
2023/24         170       127       18       25         423             140                +283            1,045 days
2024/25         231       164       31       36         548             199                +349            1,409 days
2025/26         283       191       43       49         647             251                +396            1,784 days

Trophy Haul

Season     Competition Won
--------------------------
2021/22    Vanarama National League North
2022/23    Vanarama National League
2023/24    Sky Bet League Two
2024/25    Sky Bet League One

Trophy Cabinet

League Titles
-------------
1 x Sky Bet League One (2024/25)
1 x Sky Bet League Two (2023/24)
1 x Vanarama National League (2022/23)
1 x Vanarama National League North (2021/22)


Cup Competition Victories
-------------------------

Career Overview

Season     Champions League    Europa League    Europa Conference League             League                             Position     F.A. Cup                    League Cup        Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22           N/a               N/a                    N/a                       Vanarama National League North        1st       Third round                     N/a           Promoted as champions.  Fifth round of the F. A. Trophy.
2022/23           N/a               N/a                    N/a                       Vanarama National League              1st ↑     Third round =                   N/a           Promoted as champions.  Fifth round of the F. A. Trophy.
2023/24           N/a               N/a                    N/a                       Sky Bet League Two                    1st ↑     Third round =               Second round ↑    Promoted as champions.  Semi Final of EFL Trophy.
2024/25           N/a               N/a                    N/a                       Sky Bet League One                    1st ↑     Fourth round ↑              Semi final ↑      Promoted as champions.  Second round of EFL Trophy.
2025/26           N/a               N/a                    N/a                       Sky Bet Championship                  4th ↑     Third round ↓               Third round ↓     Lost in promotion play off semi final.

Record Number of Appearances (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                    Cumulative Number of Appearances
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22    Ben Bright YP22A1                         3
2022/23    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                      8
2023/24    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                     54
2024/25    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    102
2025/26    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    139

Record Goal Scorer (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                    Cumulative Number of Goals
---------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22    Ben Bright YP22A1                      1
2022/23    Ben Bright YP22A1                      1
2023/24    Ben Bright YP22A1                      1
           Harry Goodwin YP23A6                   1
           Ade Ibe YP24C13                        1
2024/25    Ben Bright YP22A1                      1
           Harry Goodwin YP23A6                   1
           Ade Ibe YP24C13                        1
2025/26    Charles Jacobs YP25A17                 4

Record Number of Assists (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                    Cumulative Number of Assists
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22    No one                                  0
2022/23    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    1
2023/24    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    4
2024/25    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    4
2025/26    Harry Goodwin YP23A6                    6

Record Number of Clean Sheets (Players From The Academy Only)

Season     Player                    Cumulative Number of Clean Sheets
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22    No one                                     0
2022/23    No one                                     0
2023/24    No one                                     0
2024/25    No one                                     0
2025/26    No one                                     0

 

 

 

 

[CMU Chips]

Season 8 - League One - 4th (Won playoff final)

 

Pre-season issues of not being able to sign anyone were alleviated a bit as I managed to loan in 4 really good players. Two (GK and RB) would go on to make team of the season. The strike force slowed a bit, but I loaned in a striker in January who managed 11 in 20. First couple months had us firmly mid-table, but we climbed to the playoff spots by mid-season and were there for the rest of the year (bar matchweek 26+27). We ran into Oxford in the playoff first round at the perfect time. They had won just one of their final six games, and in the away leg we won 2-1, so it should have been easy for us in leg two. Not so, as our team of the year GK injured himself in training between legs. We would be relying on last year's #1, [redacted]. He was quite good last year, and we were at home so I was expecting a pretty tense but overall dominant game for us. What I got instead was one of the wildest games in club history:

The first half went as expected, we went into the break with a 3-1 aggregate lead and had only allowed 0.66 xG. Oxford's manager must've said something wild in the dressing room as they came out and absolutely pounded us in the second half. We didn't have a highlight until 90+2' when we thought we had won it, only for an offsides to be called in the buildup. Our xG didn't go up for the entire 45 minutes, I've never seen a team dominate us like this. The first half of extra time was particularly boring, with no real chances, until one of my players decided to get two yellow cards. Now, facing a team who hadn't allowed a real chance in almost 90 minutes down to 10 men, we went back into a shell. I (perhaps foolishly) subbed off our best penalty taker when extra time started as he was very fatigued and on a 6.3 It didn't look like it would matter as a brilliant counter attack saw us ahead in the 119th minute. All it would take was about 90 seconds of the defending we had done for most of the season. Instead they played a ball over the top that no one reacted to and our keeper was beaten again. To penalties we went, and our potential hero had his attempt saved. It was a good penalty, he smashed it hard, but their keeper guessed correctly. I was worried from there as he was our only pen taker with a rating above 10. Instead the hero ended up being the keeper, as he saved the 4th and 5th penalties to give Jeremy Myers a chance to step up. He only has 6 taking, but 16 technique and is our highest rated player by value and CA (excluding the 5 loanees, who top our team). He curled one slow into the bottom corner and their keeper guessed wrong. Our (formerly) backup GK won man of the match with an 8.3 rating, despite allowing 3 goals.

The final had us against Colchester, who beat us 1-2 at our own stadium but whom we had beaten 4-1 away in December. Our backup was in net again and ended with a 7.4 rating and a clean sheet, but it was much easier as they only ended with 1.08 xG. We had an incredibly high xG of 1.60 considering we had 9 shots and only 1 was on target. It only takes one, though, as loanee Roger Craig (never gave him a real face, rip) showed his quality with a placed finish.

I have no idea what to do next year, I was expecting mid-table based on the loans we were able to get, but they really carried our team. I've never had a keeper finish an entire season with a 7.22 rating before, and were it not for our top scorer leading the team, our top 3 in average rating would've been loan players. (A bit of an interesting fact, in my squad page the playoff games do not count towards "League" stats, but on the player's page it does). Next time I play, I'll need to look into improving the team. We only have 12 players who aren't on expiring deals (or loan contracts), and of those 12 I think 5 are not good enough for the Championship. We also sold our best CB in January, as 1.5m rising to 3.5m was just too much to turn down. CB was certianly our strongest position too, so it made things slightly easier.

League Table -

Squad Stats - 

Transfers -

Year

League

Position

Cups

Training

Youth

Junior

Recruitment

Attendance (Cap)

Badges

Transfers (In-Out)

Top Scorer

Most Assists

Av. Rating

Clean Sheets

May balance

Total wages

2028/2029

League One

4th

FA - 1st round, Carabao - 1st round

Basic

Basic

Adequate

Adequate

4900 (5405)

Continental Pro

10 - 3 (+£1.5m+)

Harry Warwick - 25 (25)

Scott Wilson - 10 (10)

Harry Warwick - 7.34 (43)

Gavin Mullins - 17 (17)

£635k

£33.3k p/w

2027/2028

League Two

2nd

FA - 2nd round, Carabao - 2nd round

Basic

Basic

Average

Adequate

3055 (5405)

Continental A

13 - 9 (+£327k)

Scott Wilson - 29 (29)

Harry Warwick - 11 (11)

Harry Warwick - 7.28 (48)

Luke Bell - 14 (15)

£247k

£21.3k p/w

2026/2027

Vanarama National

1st

FA - 1st round, FAT - 4th round

Basic

Basic

Average

Adequate

1935 (4155)

Continental A

11 - 5 (+£14.5k)

Scott Wilson - 42 (44)

Harry Warwick - 16 (16)

Scott Wilson - 7.44 (48)

Luke Bell - 17 (17)

£284k

£14.8k p/w

2025/2026

Vanarama National

6th

FA - 4th qual., FAT - Quarter Final

Basic

Basic

Average

Adequate

1721 (4155)

Continental A

17 - 8 (+£9.5k)

Harry Warwick - 40 (44)

Scott Wilson - 16 (17)

Harry Warwick - 7.34 (52)

Tom Smith - 14 (14)

£220k

£11.6k p/w

2024/2025

Vanarama National

14th

FA - 3rd round, FAT - 4th round

Basic

Basic

Adequate

Adequate

1871 (4500)

Continental A

14 -2 (£10.25k)

Harry Warwick - 32 (38)

I don't know, this is bugged

Jamie Harrop - 7.34 (38)

Tom Smith - 12 (14)

£200k

£9.2k p/w

2023/2024

Vanarama South

1st

FA - 3rd round, FAT - 2nd round

Basic

Poor

Average

Adequate

1200 (4500)

Continental B

6 - 5 (£0)

Harry Warwick - 44 (48)

Charles Sagoe - 15 (17)

Harry Warwick - 7.41 (50)

Tom Smith - 19 (23)

£88k

£7.4k p/w

2022/2023

Vanarama South

5th

FA - 2nd round, FAT - 4th round

Basic

Poor

Average

Adequate

1310 (4500)

Continental C

15 - 6 (+£26k)

Connor Hall - 15 (Powell - 23)

Jesse Starkey - 11 (12)

Aarran Racine - 7.49 (44)

Tiernan Parker - 5 (5)

£138k

£6.2k p/w

2021/2022

Vanarama South

7th

FA - 1st round, FAT - 3rd round

Basic

Poor

Average

Adequate

1123 (4500)

National B

14 - 4 (£0)

Euan Pollock - 26 (34)

Jesse Starkey - 10 (11)

Aarran Racine - 7.48 (51)

Tiernan Parker - 20 (23)

£14k

£5.1k p/w

Edited December 17, 2020 by CMU Chips
redacting and removing real player names

[hyrule_king]

Really struggling with this challenge this year. 

 

Think i have restarted 4 times.

[hyrule_king]

Here we go again :):

[goonergez]

@hyrule_king I must say I’m finding the challenge a lot more difficult as well. Seems harder to get enough consistency to get that valuable first promotion. Keep with it mate, at some point it’ll click!

[Dons]

Needham Market

Season 29/30
Sky Bet Championship

Squad - Table - Transfers - Finances - Profile - Injuries - Accolades - Financial Overview - Data Report - Moments to Remember - Season to Remember - Financial Report - Club Info

Overall this was a very good season. Didn't win anything or get promoted, but we kept a good form and managed to stay in top half finish, as was the boards aim. With 4 games to go, we had ourselves placed somewhat comfortable in 6th place, but 2 losses and a draw slipped us down to 7th place. In the final game of the season we needed a win and Millwall a loss. We got lucky and everything aligned, as we beat Reading 2-1 away and at same time Millwall lost heavy 4-0 to Derby. In the following playoffs we drew Everton. Over 2 games we lost both, with a final score of 6-2. Everton then went to the finals, where Birminham got the better of them, and gaining promotion. Come next season, we will hopefully avenge the Everton misery.

In the Cups we didn't impress much either, which was due to unlucky draws and playing PRM teams. In the FA Cup we exited in 4th round, where Blackburn beat us 1-0 at home. Carabao Cup we lost 2-0 away to Watford.

We picked up a few players this season for a decent price, that should be able to turn into good profit. Gordon Martinez from Barnet for 375k, versatile IF/SC. Keaton Conroy from Derby for 525k, could be a new midfielder for us. Ken Lee from Newcastle for 185k, interesting DL. Callum Bailey from Sheffield Utd for 215k, promising DC and finally Lawrence Lawal from Chelsea for 375k, he is already a first team regular.

We also got our hand on a famous coach. Despite not having the best of stats, Lionel Messi is welcome at Needham! Our former top goal scorer Zahore must be rather annoyed not to be at the club anymore, atleast he has no problem slacking off his former manager in the news...

With a few good sales, as well as cashing in on buyout clauses, the finances are starting to look great. Some reinvested into facilities and we got another youth level increase. Did get some other high offers on first team players. Hazeldine offer was rejected, as I cannot currently get better player. The Will Akpele offer was accepted, but he didn't was to change clubs.

Noteworthy players of the season:

Joel Freeman - GK - Had the best season. 21 clean sheets in the league and only conceding 36 goals.
Will Akpele - DC - Despite almost being sold, he does show a lot of promise.
Kane Lockwood - DL - Starting to show promise, and did great in terms of assists.
Jerrome Champion - IF/MC - Our best attacking part of the midfield, with 13 goals and 2 assists in the league.
Ben Voisey - SC - Despite being favored pre season as topscorer, he didn't play well when starting in, but he did really well as super sub.

Overall we didn't score many goals with our defensive tactic, only 50 goals over the season, but we also only conceded 31 goals, if we take the playoffs out of the equation.

Season	League	Position	Ch.Leag	Eu.Leag	FA Cup	Car. Cup	PJT	FAT
29-30	CH	6th	*	*	4th rnd	4th rnd	*	*
28-29	CH	10th	*	*	5th rnd	4th rnd	*	*
27-28	L1	1st	*	*	5th rnd	2nd rnd	S.Final	*
26-27	L1	3rd	*	*	4th rnd	2nd rnd	2nd rnd	*
25-26	L2	1st	*	*	5th rnd	2nd rnd	Q.Final	*
24-25	L2	5th	*	*	2nd rnd	2nd rnd	Final	*
23-24	VN	1st	*	*	2nd rnd	*	*	Final
22-23	VN	10th	*	*	3rd rnd	*	*	S.Final
21-22	VNN	3rd	*	*	1st rnd	*	*	Q.Final

 

[goonergez]

Top season @Dons. I can only dream of getting that close to the prem. surely next year is your year.

[Dons]

53 minutes ago, goonergez said:

Top season @Dons. I can only dream of getting that close to the prem. surely next year is your year.

Cheers. That would be great, should it happen. So far, the "top" teams of CH have been quite a lot stronger in comparison to meagerly Needham.

[goonergez]

Morpeth Town FC: 2023/24 Review

My third campaign has come to a close, and yet again we endured a frustrating one. We started well enough, but once again inconsistency stopped us ever getting close to the play offs. Rumarn Burrell scored 33 league goals to help us comfortably into mid table, but defensively we shipped too many to ever push on as we wanted. It’s not that we conceded ridiculous amounts, just too much to counter act the goals we were putting in at the other end. Centre backs Connor Teale and Luke Cox once again impressed, as did new goalkeeper Matt Hall despite of that. Unfortunately the full back positions disappointed again, and our midfield didn’t chip in with enough goals. Our young wingers flattered to deceive with little bursts of decent form, but it was only really Rumarn Burrell who stood out for us.

A solid enough campaign, but we never got close to the play off spots like I had wanted. Pre season goals of competing for promotion initially looked possible, but quickly faded off. We got some good wins, but also lost some poor games. Inconsistency was a real killer for us. I’m struggling to find a solution to this issue. We win some games we really shouldn’t, but the lose to teams we shouldn’t be dropping points too.

The cup competitions were a mixed bag, although roles reversed. For the first time during my reign we disappointed in the FA cup but impressed in the FA trophy. In the FA Cup we best Cheshunt 2-1 at home before losing 2-3 away at Tamworth to crash out. In the FA Trophy we beat Cinderford Town, Scarborough Athletic and Stockport County to reach the round of 16. Unfortunately despite holding a lead in the last half hour, we slipped to a unjust 1-4 defeat at home to Barnet of the league above. 

Not a bad season, but once again inconsistency put a stop to our ore season hopes. I wanted to push towards a play off berth, but we really never got close. We didn’t miss out too much points wise, but spend the majority of the season firmly wedged in mid table. The only bonus was that once again we never looked in any trouble for relegation. We’ve successfully turned ourselves into a comfortable mid table side.

The summer will be busy, but I don’t feel we need to do too much. I’ll be letting a number of people leave the club, but arrival wise won’t look to conduct too much business. We definitely need new options at full back, and the midfield could do with a little freshen up I feel. I’ll finally be able to clear the £800 a week wage of Liam Noble as his contract expires, and that’ll help significantly. Financially we’ve lost a lot of money, and sit in the red as the season ended. The lack of an FA Cup not helping on that front. The best news has been that Rumarn Burrell has signed a new two year contract with the club. He’s managed 56 goals for us in 72 games, and that sort of return is pivotal as we look to show more ambition going forwards. I want a considerable improvement next season, or else I’m starting to drift back to what happened with my Lancaster game. 

[hyrule_king]

19 hours ago, goonergez said:

@hyrule_king I must say I’m finding the challenge a lot more difficult as well. Seems harder to get enough consistency to get that valuable first promotion. Keep with it mate, at some point it’ll click!

[goonergez]

Morpeth Town FC: 2024/25 Season Preview

My three completed seasons with this club haven't been impressive. An 11th placed finish in our first season at this level has been followed by 14th and 15th, showing a steady decline. The finishing positions don't tell the full story, but it's definitely time for a really positive campaign. Pre-season hopes of reaching the play-offs never materialised last season, but it really is time now to start to show some improvements. The summer began with news from the chairman of intentions to build a new stadium. I'm pleased with that, but by the looks of things it will be a long process. They can't find a site to build one, and so for the time being at least, its just a waiting game.  I negotiated terms on all my staff members to keep them here again, although one was replaced. Club legend Liam Henderson joined my backroom team as a new scout. The 34-year old is the clubs all time record goal scorer, and so his arrival was a bit of a sentimental one really.

Following last seasons disappointments I decided that this summer would see some significant changes to our first team. Contract expiry day saw a total of five players leave. Firstly I was pleased to finally rid our wage bill of Liam Noble. His long term £800 per week deal came to an end, and he departed in a very easy decision. Last seasons number two goalkeeper Michael Roxburgh and fringe player Jordan Helliwell both left, and I allowed backup striker Ryan Viggars to depart as well. I said in my review of last season I was disappointed with our full backs, and so right back Jude Swailes was also refused a new deal and left the club. Fringe midfielders Marc Williams (to TNS on a free transfer) and Harrison Nejman (to Spennymoor Town on a free) were also allowed to depart. Another goalkeeper was also allowed to leave, as Louis Jones left for a season long loan deal to Eastleigh in order to free up some more room in our weekly wage budget.

Arrival wise I kept our activity pretty short, bringing in a total of six new players to the club. My main priority was to find us two new full backs who would hopefully perform a lot more consistently than other my time here so far. 18-year old right back Martyn Bove was picked up after his release by Manchester City, but I was more excited by our new first choice left back. 
22-year old Matty Rain had a solid campaign for Scarborough Athletic, and we moved quickly to snap him up once his contract expired with them. In midfield we brought in a couple of new faces too. 20-year old central midfielder Caelen Kilheeney looks a good pickup after being released by Sheffield Wednesday, and lacking options on the flanks we also snapped up a new winger.
18-year old Lwazi Baatjies had a successful trial with us at the back end of last season, and we moved to sign him quickly on a free transfer from Preston North End.

Finally we signed young goalkeeper Shannon Close as backup after his release by Newcastle, and also 18-year old striker Christian Meekings after he was let go by Rotherham United. Both of them are very  much backup options, but both look like they could develop into decent players for us.

My hopes for the season are very much the same as they were at the beginning of the last campaign. I want us to start pushing on, and preferably reaching the play-offs this time around. It'll be all about consistency as we definitely have the quality here to beat anyone in this division on our day. The board would be happy for us to pick up a fourth consecutive season of mid table solidarity, but I definitely expect more than that. The media predict us a 7th placed finish, which is nice. It's very pleasing that they see our transfer activity in a positive light and expect us to be better this time around. We could also do with a cup run this season, as the finances are starting to decline steadily. We're about £100,000 in the red now, and that definitely needs to improve over the campaign.

Just after the season begun I was left fuming though.

The board went over my head to sell Jason Lindsay for a club record fee of just over £8,000. I didn't want to sell him but definitely would've done if we'd picked up a fee probably double of that. The Northern Irishman had been so consistent for us after signing from Scarborough, and I really didn't want him to leave. I can understand taking the money, but the board should definitely have held out for more than that. On the plus side they did at least add a clause, meaning that if he's sold we will pick up a nice 40% of any profit. Hopefully he will be sold on in a couple of years for a nice big fee. As the season had already started I had to move quickly to replace him as we were left with a gaping hole in our squad. 18-year old Irishman Sean Williams was the man to come in, picked up on a free transfer after being released by Manchester United in the summer. Hopefully he can go on and be as much of a success with us as Lindsey had been.

[VP.]

Will probably start this sometime later today.

[VP.]

[goonergez]

I think my time at this challenge is nearly up, as much as it pains me. I just can’t gain any sort of success. Yet again my team have started the season fantastically and then just completely forgotten how to play football. I started with sort of 15 wins in first 20 odd games. Then a run of like 10 defeats in 11 and no end in sight. My striker started with 20 goals in first 9 games and has since scored like 3. I can’t figure out why it keeps happening but that’s happened across seven seasons with Lancaster and now 4 with Morpeth. I think it’s about time to call it quits.

[dafuge]

2 minutes ago, goonergez said:

I think my time at this challenge is nearly up, as much as it pains me. I just can’t gain any sort of success. Yet again my team have started the season fantastically and then just completely forgotten how to play football. I started with sort of 15 wins in first 20 odd games. Then a run of like 10 defeats in 11 and no end in sight. My striker started with 20 goals in first 9 games and has since scored like 3. I can’t figure out why it keeps happening but that’s happened across seven seasons with Lancaster and now 4 with Morpeth. I think it’s about time to call it quits.

[dafuge]

 

Met Police - Sky Bet League One - 2027/28

Two successive promotions have put us in a position we were not really ready for, this season was all about survival.

League Table - we made a late surge to make the playoffs.

Playoffs - we lost out in the semis in the worst possible way.

EFL Trophy - the reserves had a great run, but it ended in heart-breaking fashion.

League Cup - we lost to lower league opposition in our first match.

FA Cup - the Premier league team was too much for us.

Squad - this squad is decent for this division.

Transfers - the usual free transfers.

Finances - we are in a bit of trouble.

Key Player Profiles:

Oscar Thorn - top scorer again, but he's found his level.

Josh Thomas - we broke the bank to sign this forward.

Anesu Crowther - another big money signing.

Career Overview:

Season      League                       Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22     National League South        14th           
2022/23     National League South        1st          Promoted as champions
2023/24     National League              14th
2024/25     National League              7th
2025/26     National League              2nd          Promoted via playoffs
2026/27     League Two                   7th          Promoted via playoffs
2027/28     League One                   6th          

Next Season:

We've got a decent squad, but the finances are a worry. If I can afford it, a couple of key signings could be enough to challenge for the title next season.

[goonergez]

Morpeth Town FC: 2024/25 Review

A fourth season in charge has drawn to a close, and to be honest it was more of the same for us. We produced a sensational start, a woeful middle, and a mediocre end to finish firmly within mid-table. The latter stages never saw us push close to the play-offs, and in the end a fourth season of mid table mediocrity was the best we could achieve. On the plus side we did gain more points and pick up more league victories than in any of the previous campaigns. At least there was a little progress I guess, even if the league table doesn't really show that.

One positive for us was the arrivals of new full-backs Martyn Bove and Matty Rain last summer. Both of them produced much more consistent performances for us, and that was a real boost. Our midfield struggles continued though, and again I will have to look to address that over the summer months. Unsurprisingly striker Rumarn Burrell yet again produced for us. He managed 45 goals in his 46 league appearances to consistently pick us up points, and in the process has now become the clubs all time leading goal scorer. We've got him under contract for next season, but I don't think we will be able to keep hold of him after that. If he does end up going then we are going to seriously struggle.

The cup competitions were again a mixed bag. In the FA Cup we beat Brightlingsea 2-0 away, and then Gainsborough 3-0 also away. The Fourth Qualifying Round gave us a tough looking tie against Gateshead at home. We completed a superb second half turnaround to win 2-1 and reach the First Round proper once more. Hartlepool United of the Conference National awaited us in a home tie. We secured a replay in a tight game with a stoppage time goal to clinch a 3-3 draw. The replay wasn't so good for us though, and we lost out 0-2 to suffer elimination.
In the FA Trophy we didn't perform quite as well as last season. A 2-0 victory at home to Ashton United was followed by a 0-2 defeat in the replay.

All in all it was a disappointing campaign, as a strong start gave way to a poor end to the season. After a fine start I honestly felt we could make a push for the play-offs, but we never managed the consistency required. A run of just one win in fourteen matches saw us fade off the pace and we simply never got any consistency back. It's also worrying just how reliant we are on the goals of Rumarn Burrell. Our second top league goal scorer was left winger Pedro Meneghello, and he managed a measly 8 goals. The season did end with a bright piece of news, although it leaves me with a little bit of panic.

It's exciting to be getting a new home, and a welcome boost. The finances of the deal worries me though, although my weekly wage budget has been kept the same for next season. Hopefully the repayments on the loan won't see our financial situation nosedive, because it already looks a little bleak. We lost about £100,000 again this season, and that included a decent run in the FA Cup. I'm just praying that I won't be forced to sell our best players in order to keep the repayments under control.
A busy summer lies ahead as I look to shift some deadwood whilst still improving our squad. Defensively I am happy, and with Rumarn Burrell goals will never be a problem. Our midfield needs work though, and that's where I will be focusing our summer activity.

[dafuge]

 

Met Police - Sky Bet League One - 2028/29

A 92nd minute goal knocked us out of the playoffs last season, so this time we were looking for revenge.

League Table - we just got better and better as the season progressed, winning the title with a game to go.

EFL Trophy - this result was a shock, even with our reserves playing.

League Cup - we took a Premier League team to penalties, but lost yet again.

FA Cup - we got our revenge over WBA to set up a dream match against Liverpool, just a shame it was at home.

Squad - I'd imagine a lot of this squad will still be here for next season.

Transfers - the board sold my left back, but it was a pretty good deal.

Finances - even with the player sold and the board putting in £500k, we are still in a bit of trouble.

Key Player Profiles:

Oscar Thorn - his place was under threat this season but he responded in great fashion.

Gary Ridgewell - a quality player, but he suffered a nasty injury in our title winning match.

Josh Thomas - finally I've found someone who is effective as a supporting striker.

Career Overview:

Season      League                       Position     Achievements
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22     National League South        14th           
2022/23     National League South        1st          Promoted as champions
2023/24     National League              14th
2024/25     National League              7th
2025/26     National League              2nd          Promoted via playoffs
2026/27     League Two                   7th          Promoted via playoffs
2027/28     League One                   6th       
2028/29     League One                   1st          Promoted as champions

Next Season:

I suspect next season is going to be a tough one as we will struggle to compete financially with the bigger clubs.