[FM21] Generational Manager

[TerminalPortugal]

I decided that after my last save on FM22, not self-destructed itself but also self-destructed the game itself (I am unable to play FM22 at the moment and a fair bit of time with SEGA Support has yet to yield any results), that I will go back to FM21 and do another save, despite my mourning my last save and the inoperability of my copy of FM22.

This one I am calling Generational Manager since the goal is to have a string of managers that play different styles and see what they ultimately achieve.

As always with my saves there are self-imposed rules and this one is no different, but they are not as crazy as my Climb the Ladder Challenge which executes computers, the game it is played on, the computers those games are played on and possibly the world if a Higgs-Boson hits the computer RAM just right.

The rules of this challenge will come from a simple principle. I will play with an avatar that represents me, he will start his management career with no badges and no experience and will start at the closest club in the English pyramid to where I hail from. The main rule will be that I will in the background be tracking things like money, expenses and things like that and I will be required to make decisions around my career that I would logically make, which in football would mostly revolve around money, and opportunities once money is not really that important anymore.

Added to this, I will also only have responsibilities for the things in football that a manager would logically have control of. I am not sure that most managers actually have control of things like transfers, they probably aren’t qualified to hire the physios or scouts. So, with that end this challenge will have a severe element of the Director of Football tagged onto it.

FULL SYNOPSIS OF THE RULES

THE MANAGER

·        Manager must start with no experience or badges and manage the most local club to me.

·        I must track my finances and make decisions based on that and following that on the Maslow hierarchy of needs, opportunity, glory or whatever else.

·        When it comes to money I must treat it like a real job, sometimes wanting security, always wanting more money, instituting clauses where I can get more money.

·        I will also judge the club based on what they offer me, and there is the possibility of a stalemate on contracts if I were to feel that I am worth more or am being disrespected

·        If I am ever in a rolling contract then I will resign since that is what would likely happen in the football world

·        I must pick three tactics which I will use for the entirety of that managers career. I am allowed to amend a few roles and change the tactic for situation dependent scenarios but ostensibly I will play with a set style of play.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILTIES

I must hand over control of several elements of the running of the club to the people that are responsible for carrying out this function.

·        The Director of Football is responsible for making all signings and selling all players.

·        I will have a veto on a player sale if I really deem it absolutely essential. This veto will not be in force if the club are ever in debt by 50% or more of their revenue at any given point. Or where the projection shows the club going into a steady financial decline, at that point I will no longer be allowed to veto player sales

·        I am not responsible for carrying out the hiring of anyone that I would logically not be involved with employing, i.e., the Director of Football or Chief Scout will hire scouts, the Head of Sports Science will Hire Sports Scientists and the Head Physio will hire physios. If none of these people are in place, then a Technical Director or Director of Football will carry out this function.

·        The Head of Youth Development is hired by the Director of Football, as would be a loan manager.

·        I am responsible for hiring the First Team coaches, and the U23 and Youth Team Manager. However, the Youth Team Manager and U23 manager are then responsible for building their teams and the Technical Director and Director of Football are responsible for their contract renegotiations.

·        I can ask the Director of Football to renew the contracts of my direct staff, but he must do the negotiation not myself. If they don’t want to sign, then they will leave.

·        I am not responsible at all for player contracts. If the Director of Football does not renew a contract, then that is his choice.

·        To hire any staff, I must conduct put out an advert and the respondents and the respondents to that are essential those available for interview.

·        I am allowed however to headhunt anyone I have previously worked with, if I feel they are who I want.

·        I am not at all involved in Scouting, the meetings are run by the Director of Football or Chief Scout, and they report into the Director of Football who is responsible for player signings.

·        I can place players on the transfer list if I do not want them.

·        In very limited cases where we are lacking in a position, I can use the Director of Football recommendation for a position and would need to ask him to go after a transfer target. But I will only do this when there is an imbalance in the team that needs sorting out. If he has no recommendation, then it is tough for me.

·        I am responsible for training of the first team, but I am not allowed to run the training for the U23s or the U18s.

LONG TERM OF THE GAME

·        My manager will retire at some stage when most managers would normally retire and then I will continue with a new manager, likely a son or daughter of the subsequent manager until we have a dynasty of managers each after the other with hopefully some very interesting stories to tell.

UPDATE FREQUENCY

I think with this one I will probably update monthly and maybe the odd update for important games and finals and that kind of thing.

LEAGUES LOADED

So, for this it will be a Europe only save. I will load the top 7 leagues by coefficient. From the start of the game these will be in order of the coefficients in the game; Spain, England, Germany, Italy, France, Portugal, Russia and 3 Wildcards which are completely randomly picked from all available European nations. Every 5 years in the middle of the decade and start of the decade will reassess the coefficients and redraw the nations. Nations can repeat if pick either as a coefficient nation or wildcard nation every 5 years. There is no cooldown as such.

If we are managing in a wildcard nation, they become frozen nation until such time as we leave the nation.

Every league will be loaded in at least view only and the above applies for playable nations.

UP NEXT

Next up will be an introduction to the manager, the tactical philosophies and the team we will be starting with., as well as learning what leagues have been loaded in wildcard slots to start with.

[TerminalPortugal]

The following are the current leagues that are playable.

COEFFICIENT

UK flag represents England (could not find St George's Cross)

WILDCARD

[TerminalPortugal]

This is Joao Terminale, born in England with Portuguese heritage. Although he is very inexperienced, the main thing he appreciates is attacking football, hence he has some aptitude in the attacking phase of the game but really very little else going for him as a manager. At 34 years old he is a young manager looking to make his way in the game.

TACTICAL PHILOSOPHIES

As mentioned each manager will have three different tactical styles that he will look to deploy across his career.

The 4-5-1 is perhaps one of Joao's favourites. A very dependable formation, looking to pass the ball short and relying on the midfield to create the opening in the defence. The strike will look to be the point of the lance with the wingers, cutting inside to varying degree allowing the wingbacks to overlap. The tempo is high as it looks to mimic a counter pressing style that looks to win the ball back high up the pitch but also spring counter attacks where possible via the wings.

This is the second tactic and will look to deploy the inverted wing backs to essentially act as midfielders out of possession but look to become driving inside threats. The tactic looks to segment the midfield into different roles, with the wingers a bit further back to provide more defensive stability and acting to support attacks. This time around there are two up front and a traditional number 10 to hit the half spaces. Again we are looking at playing at a very high tempo looking to strike at the opposition and give them no time on the ball, while attacking ourselves at pace.

Perhaps the final stage of a Joao Terminale tactic might dispense with the strikers all together and instead operate with deep threats from shadow strikers that contribute to the build up but look to run into the box and create havoc late. Again the midfield acts as support for the front men and the wingers are again inverted in order to add even further support to attacks but cover defensively. This time around we have a dedicated midfielder to defend although he is support duty, with so many men in the midfield we should dominate the ball and create chances with through balls and smart counter attacks.

Excerpt from Wikipedia

Wealdstone Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, London Borough of Hillingdon, and affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They currently play in the National League, the fifth tier of English football, having been promoted as champions of the National League South for the 2019-20 season. While established in 1899, it has roots dating to 1887 and was created through a series of local mergers in Wealdstone, then in Middlesex. For most of its existence the club was based at Lower Mead stadium in Harrow, until 1991. After a long period of homelessness and ground sharing with various local clubs, since 2008 they have been based at Grosvenor Vale. Their traditional colours are royal blue and white, and they are nicknamed "The Stones" or "The Royals".

The club were the first to achieve the famed non-league 'double', winning both the FA Trophy and the Alliance Premier League (now the National League) in the same season (1984–85). The latter happened two years before automatic promotions to the Football League began; Wealdstone has never been a member of the Football League so far. The club also have the distinction of appearing in the first ever football match to be televised in the UK, when the BBC showed part of their league match against rivals Barnet in October 1946.

The Early Years

The club was formed at the start of the 1899–1900 season, joining Division Two of the Willesden & District League. A previous "Wealdstone F.C." existed, for workers at a local gunsmith in Wealdstone, a Middlesex village to the north of Harrow Hill - itself has its origins in a club called The Oaks. An article published by the Harrow Observer states that the Wealdstone football club formed in about 1890, playing home games in a field in Hindes Road (present-day Harrow) and meeting at the Railway Hotel, close to Harrow and Wealdstone station. This club merged into another local club called Harrow Athletic F.C. in September 1894, while other clubs bearing the Wealdstone name soon formed. The present Wealdstone F.C. formed in 1899 as Wealdstone Albion, a merger of Wealdstone Rovers and Wealdstone Juniors and using the same blue and white striped colours of the old Wealdstone F.C. - the Albion name was soon dropped. At this time their home turf was a field between Headstone Drive and Marlborough Hill, Wealdstone.

Their first game was a friendly match on 7 October 1899 against Northwood, which they won 6–1. They were promoted to the league's Division One for the 1900–01 season after Division Two was scrapped. In 1903 they moved to the College Farm Ground in Locket Road, Wealdstone, and soon after another nearby ground in what is now Byron Park. In 1905–06 the club won Division One, but on 20 October 1906 a notice was posted in the local newspaper stating that the club was to be disbanded due to 'a lack of interest' from players and supporters.

The club was soon reformed in time for the 1908–09 season, rejoining Division One of the Willesden & District League. In 1910 they moved to Belmont Road, and won Division One again in 1912–13. Following World War I the club joined the London League and the Middlesex Senior League.

At the start of the 1922–23 season, Wealdstone F.C. switched to the Spartan League and at the same time moved south to a ground called Lower Mead in what is now central Harrow; this would become the permanent home ground of the club for 69 years. The club had their record win on 13 October 1923, beating the 12th London Regiment 22–0 in an FA Amateur Cup game.

The Athenian League Years

In 1928–29 they switched leagues again, this time joining the Athenian League. In 1929–30 the club won the Middlesex Senior Cup and the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup for the first time. On Saturday 16 November 1929, Wealdstone played Dulwich Hamlet in the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round, with the match ending in a record-breaking 7–7 draw; there has never been a 7–7 scoreline in any other FA Cup match before or since, and none either in the top four divisions of the League Pyramid (including play-offs), the League Cup, League Trophy, FA Community Shield, FA Trophy or FA Vase. Four days later, Dulwich won the replay 2–1.

During World War II the club continued to play, playing at Wembley Stadium in the final of the Middlesex Senior Red Cross Cup in 1942. In December 1944, they recorded their heaviest defeat ever, losing 14–0 to Edgware Town in the London Senior Cup. In 1946 the BBC showed part of Wealdstone's Athenian League match at Barnet, the first time a live match had been televised. The club also appeared in the BBC's first two live FA Cup match broadcasts, with their games against Edgware Town in the third qualifying round and Colchester United in the fourth qualifying round being shown on television during the 1949–50 season. After beating Colchester, Wealdstone reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 1–0 to Port Vale.

In 1951–52 the club won the Athenian League, and went on to win the Middlesex Senior Cup in 1959, 1963 and 1964.

Amateur Cup win and turning professional

In 1964 they switched to the Isthmian League. In 1965–66 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 3–1 at Millwall, but went on to win the FA Amateur Cup, beating local rivals Hendon 3–1 in the final. The following season saw Wealdstone entered at the first round of the FA Cup, losing 2–0 at home to Nuneaton Borough.

The club joined the Division One North of the Southern League in 1971, turning professional. They were moved to Division One South the following season, and won the division in 1973–74, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 1977–78 Wealdstone progressed beyond the first round of the FA Cup for the first time; after beating Third Division Hereford United 3–2 at Edgar Street in a first round replay, they went on to defeat Fourth Division Reading 2–1 at home in the second round, before losing 4–0 at First Division Queens Park Rangers in the third round.

Conference and non-league double

In 1979 the club were founder members of the Alliance Premier League, the new national top division of non-League football. After finishing 19th in 1980–81 they were relegated back to the Southern League, but then made an immediate return after winning the South Division of the Southern League the following season; a play-off ensued against Midland Division champions Nuneaton, with Wealdstone winning on penalties after winning the home leg 2–1 and losing 1–0 away. Wealdstone's return to the Alliance Premier League was much more positive than their first stint, finishing 3rd in 1982–83, and then 4th the following season.

In 1984–85 the club had its most successful season to date. Under the management of Brian Hall, Wealdstone won both the Alliance Premier League and also the FA Trophy, beating Boston United 2–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium. This was first ever occasion that the non-league "double" had been achieved by any team. However, in spite of this Wealdstone were not promoted to the English Football League. Automatic promotion from the Alliance Premier League would not be introduced until two years later, and Lower Mead was not deemed to meet Football League requirements, so the club was not eligible to apply for election.

Following the double, a period of sharp decline soon set in; after finishing tenth the season after with an aging team, they finished 19th in 1986–87, and were eventually relegated at the end of the following season.

Decline and ground loss

By the end of the 1990–91 season financial problems caused by boardroom impropriety were seriously exacerbated by the owner selling the club's Lower Mead ground for commercial development, for which the club, after protracted legal wranglings, received only a very small share of the sale proceeds. They then signed up to an expensive ground sharing arrangement at Watford's Vicarage Road, and at the end of the 1991–92 season the club were relegated again, dropping from the Southern League Premier Division into the Southern League South Division.

Seeking to reduce expenditure, in 1993 the club began a two-season ground sharing agreement at The Warren, Yeading's ground. In June 1995, with the club in administration and only having two players to its name, Gordon Bartlett was appointed manager. Later that year, Wealdstone re-joined the Isthmian League in order to further reduce their travelling expenses, having to agree to drop a level into Division Three in the process, and yet again they moved grounds, this time beginning a ground share with Edgware Town at their White Lion ground that was to last ten years.

After winning the Isthmian League Division Three in 1996–97, they finished second in Division Two in 1997–98 and were promoted again, this time to Division One. However, after having finished third in Division One in the 1998–99, the Isthmian League then denied the club promotion to the Premier Division after required ground improvements at the White Lion ground were not completed until six days after a specified deadline.

Home search and recovery

The club attempted to redevelop the local disused Prince Edward Playing Fields at Canons Park, owned by the London Borough of Harrow, into a new home ground. Construction of the new stadium started in 2003 but, when over 30% completed, building work was suddenly halted in April 2004 when the private company who were co-financing the project in partnership with the club went into insolvency. Unable to afford to complete the new stadium on their own, Wealdstone were forced to leave the site unfinished for two years, until Harrow Council, frustrated that the site was still unused and falling into disrepair, eventually sold the site lease to Barnet F.C., who used it as a training centre before later moving permanently into what became The Hive Stadium in 2013.

In 2004 Wealdstone were promoted to the Isthmian League Premier Division as a result of the creation of the Conference North and South. The club faced Dulwich Hamlet in the playoff final, with the game finishing 2-2 before Wealdstone won 5-4 on penalties. The club's first two seasons at Premier Division level saw them steer clear of relegation, with back to back 18th placed finishes. Off the pitch, the club began a further new groundshare arrangement in 2005, this time moving to Northwood's Chestnut Avenue ground. In 2006 they were switched under FA reorganisation to the Southern League Premier Division for a single season, before returning to the Isthmian League the following season.

In January 2008, Wealdstone acquired Ruislip Sports and Social club and the associated lease at Ruislip Manor's Grosvenor Vale ground, starting the 2008-09 season there. With the ground share agreement at Northwood coming to an end and still no specific completion date in sight for the club's Prince Edward Playing Field project, Wealdstone instead decided to invest in the Grosvenor Vale stadium to upgrade the playing facilities as a priority, in order to meet the necessary ground grading requirements to play Isthmian League Premier Division football in the 2008–09 season. The club's first 3 seasons at the Vale saw the club fail to reach the playoffs, finishing 7th, 6th and then 12th. They did however reach the first round of the FA Cup in 2009-10, where they lost 3-2 at home to Rotherham United

2011–12 saw Wealdstone embark on a run the FA Trophy which saw them reach the semi-final and knock out three teams from higher divisions. A 2-1 win at home to Conference side Barrow and a 1-0 win in a replay against Dartford of the Conference South set up a quarter-final away at Cambridge United which Wealdstone won 2-1 thanks to a Richard Jolly brace, before eventually losing 3–1 on aggregate to Newport County in the semi-final. They also reached the promotion play-offs in the Isthmian Premier Division that year, but lost 2–1 to Lowestoft Town in the semi-finals. The following season saw them losing in the play-off semi-finals again, this time losing 2-1 against Concord Rangers. However, in 2013–14 did win promotion as league champions, with their promotion to the Conference South being secured with a 1-0 win away to Margate.

Wealdstone did not win any of their first 9 games in the Conference South, with the run ended by a 1-0 victory away to Whitehawk. An upturn in form meant that they finished the 2014-15 season in 12th place, and they would go on to finish 13th the following season. The summer of 2016 saw the club change ownership when Peter Marsden, previously chairman of Accrington Stanley, took over the club in late July. The 2016-17 season saw Wealdstone experience a greater degree of success on the pitch, with the club pushing for the playoffs. However, their hopes were dashed when it was announced that they would be ineligible to compete in the playoffs due to missing the cut off point to meet ground grading requirements. Wealdstone's eventual 8th placed finish would not have seen them compete regardless.

On 21 August 2017, Gordon Bartlett stepped down as Wealdstone manager after 22 years. A day later, Bobby Wilkinson, formerly of Hungerford Town, was appointed manager. Wilkinson's first season at Wealdstone ended an unremarkable 11th-placed finish in the league, although the club reached the semi-final of the FA Trophy, where they lost 3–0 on aggregate to eventual winners Brackley. In January 2019, chairman Peter Marsden was voted out of his position, and replaced by Rory Fitzgerald. On the final day of the 2018–19 season, Wealdstone rose from 10th to 7th on with a 2–1 win over Hemel Hempstead to ensure a place in the playoffs. Wealdstone began their playoff campaign with a win away at Bath to secure a semi-final against Woking, which Wealdstone narrowly lost 3–2. Wilkinson subsequently left the club at the end of the season.

National League

On 21 May 2019 Dean Brennan was appointed as new manager. 10 wins in the first 11 games of the 2019–20 season saw Wealdstone rise to the top of the league. On 26 March 2020 the season was suspended due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, with Wealdstone still top of the league. On 17 June it was confirmed that the club were to be promoted to the National League as champions of the National League South, on the basis of points won per game.

Club Crest

he club's crest first appeared on team shirts in the 1960s. It contains four quarters representing the traditional colours of the club (royal blue and white); the "Three Lions" representing England; a football representing the club's sport; and the emblem of Middlesex, the historic county of the London Borough of Harrow where the club is from.

Rivalries

Wealdstone's main rivals are often considered to be Barnet. The clubs were both founding members of the Alliance Premier League and played each other regularly throughout the 1980s, although games were rarely played after that with the clubs being in different divisions. The rivalry came back to prominence when Barnet moved into The Hive Stadium which was initially meant for Wealdstone. The two clubs do now play in the same division. Other rivals have included Harrow Borough (with whom the "Harrow Derby" is contested), Enfield, and Hendon, with Wealdstone beating the latter in the 1966 Amateur Cup final.

Notable Former Players

The club's all-time leading goalscorer is George Duck. Duck scored 251 goals for Wealdstone in 370 appearances between 1972 and 1979, and additionally set unmatched scoring records for penalties and hat-tricks. In every season he played for the club Duck was top scorer in league and cup competitions.

Amongst former players who have gone on to notable careers at the highest level of professional football are Stuart Pearce, Vinnie Jones and Jermaine Beckford. Harold Smith was the first ever player to leave Wealdstone FC for a professional career, joining Notts County in 1930.

Honours

Club Finances

Staff

Squad

Five Key Players

18. Alex Dyer - Probably the most gifted player at the club, and can play quite a few positions including central midifield and attacking midfield, and passable at right back, although better as a more advanced wingback. He should be a key player for us this coming season. He was born in Sweden and has played all over the place, from Sweden to Kuwait. He also has 13 caps for his country Montserrat.

24. Josh Meekings - Likely to be our main centre-back this season, although he is also very good at right back (his natural position). So he may be playing both positions this season. He was an Ipswich Town graduate, before spending the majority of his career in Scottish football at Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Dundee.

28. Matt Lench - Another very versatile midfielder that can play anywhere in midfield and even on the wing. He started his career at Chesham United and has been a non-league stalwart all his career.

4. Ashley Charles - Another central midfielder with a lot to offer in the centre of the park. He started his career at Watford before eventually being released and finding his way over to us. He also had a short spell on loan at rivals Barnet.

14. Danny Parish - This guy should be man up front for us this year. I certainly feel he has a nose for the goal and we will look to take advantage of his natural finishing. Danny started his career at Brentford, before passing through a host of non-league clubs before finding his way here.

Our Contract

As mentioned, managing money will be a part of this game so our first contract with Wealdstone sees us on £775 per week, which is £575 per week net. That is equivalent to just under £30,000 per annum. Not exactly a king's ransom, but not bad either.

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by TerminalPortugal

[TerminalPortugal]

September 2020

Transfers

Even before we could get a Director of Football in, the owner decided to agree a deal with Dartford to allow Michael Phillips to leave the club on loan. They are covering the majority of his wages and he was unlikely to get a huge amount of game time.

Eventually we did manage to secure a Director of Football, which the owner interviewed and hired. His name is George Morgan, and at this level of football he seems decent enough. Hopefully he makes decent enough moves for us with regards to the playing staff. My first appointment at the club was to bring a Fitness Coach to be part of my very small team together with Assistant Manager Stuart Maynard. Ben Nicholson joins us, having previously been at Bradford City before being released.

In another piece of staff business, the newly appointed Director of Football brought in Josh Smith as Chief Scout, and he has since been searching for an additional scout but not secured anyone as yet.

Part of my remit is the whole of the First Team coaching staff and part of that is also the performance analysis side. We really only have room for one analyst so we brought in Tom Warner as Head of Performance Analysis, if the club evolves an there is further need he will be responsible for expanding his team. For now he will be providing back reports on how we are performing on the pitch against the rest of the league.

Towards the end of the month the Director of Football eventually brought in a pretty good signing I would say in the form of Dean Ager. He fits our tactics pretty well, predominantly operating off the right wing or in behind the striker, he has plenty of quality and that is definitely a useful signing for us. Dean previously failed to make the grade at Colchester United.

Right at the end of the month we were looking to fill in the Under 23 and Under 18 Manager posts. Responding to advertisement was Marc Richards previously manager at Hereford United and for me the best candidate available. Added to that in the post of Under 18 Manager was Justin Luchford, who had previously been a coach at Tonbridge Angels. It is probably a decentish step up for Justin, in his first managerial role of any kind, and I am keen to see what he can do with the kids.

Director of Football George Morgan decided to agree the loan departure of Jacob Mendy to St Albans City for approximately £1.3k in loan fees. Again he was another peripheral player looking for game time, so not the worst piece of business. Finally Justin Luchford and Head of Youth Development Matthew Saunders successful brought in an understudy for Justin in Under 18 Assistant Manager Jody Brown, previously a coach at Dagenham & Redbridge and seems reasonable enough. Hopefully they make a good duo.

On the final day of the month, the Director of Football managed to agree a deal with Nottingham Forest to bring a bright young talent Ethan Dekel-Daks in on loan for about £1.6k loan fee. I honestly think he is a really prestigious talent for us this season. I can see him really having a good season from central midfield, and we already have a lot of good options there so it might allow me to deploy the likes of Alex Dyer and Matt Lench elsewhere. Certainly a good capture for the George.

Results

September was a month for friendlies and I must say I am very happy with the results and performances from the boys this month. We alternated between the 4-5-1 and the Diamond in games and the 4-5-1 seemed to have the better results and so it may well be our go to at the start of the season.

We started off the month at Bedford and beat them handsomely 5-0 with goals from Charles, Emmanuel, Parish, Smith and Slew to cap off a wonderful performance. Next we went to Aveley, and it was a tight one, as Slew gave us the lead before we were pegged back but Green gave us the winner late in the game to keep our perfect start to the pre-season. Then we went across to Peterborough Sports and we managed another big win 5-0. Cawley and Charles gave us a 2-0 lead, before Oluwu added two goals and Slew one in the final few minutes to flatter us a bit.

Then we had our first game at Grosvenor Vale up against Alfreton Town, Green gave us an early lead and Hughes made it safe late on to win 2-0. Finally we came to our final game of the month where we faced Stourbridge at the War Memorial Ground. A sharp start put us 2-0 up Dyer grabbing both goals, before they pulled one back only a few minutes later. However Meekings had other ideas a struck 7 minutes later to give us a 3-1 lead into half time. Oluwu then grabbed another in the second half to give us a 4-1 on the day.

Manager Thoughts

A good start to life with Wealdstone as we pick up a perfect pre-season record, as we now go into the league season. We play Eastleigh in our first game at the start of October and it will be a busy month as the schedule in the National League is pretty relentless. On a negative note, while we were able to get our Assistant Manager Stuart Maynard on a course for his next coaching badge, the board decided against allowing us to get our National C Licence. I have been told the decision will be open for review in 6 or so months time.

Manager Bank Balance

 £1,444.10 

I started with £500 and over the three months and from July to September we have managed to increase this balance, but it is a pretty basic life.
 

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by TerminalPortugal

[BoxToBoxFM]

Love the idea of this!

Edited April 28, 2022 by BoxToBoxFM

[TerminalPortugal]

4 hours ago, BoxToBoxFM said:

Love the idea of this!

Cheers mate, hopefully it will be good.

[TerminalPortugal]

October 2020

Transfers

Luchford and co, continued to expand their U18 team and brought in an Under 18 coach in Nathan Egan. He is a pretty young coach and should improve with time.

On the player front, George has been working hard on more loan signings. We missed out on youngster Jamie Fielding from Stevenage, who opted to head for King's Lynn Town instead. However he did bring in Phoenix Patterson from Watford. We have a relationship with them, where they give us preferential treatment on loans so George worked his magic to bring him in. He certainly has all the right qualities we need and can operate off the right or left. He is still very young, but I am sure he will get plenty of game time over the season.

Results

It has been a perfect start to the season for us. Despite being tipped for a relegation battle we have made a superb start. Our first game was against Eastleigh, and Parish was the man as he got one in the first half, then put away a penalty late in the 2nd half before Eastleigh got on the scoresheet to make things interesting but we held out. 

Notts County at Meadow Lane, I had expected to lose and would have been happy to take a point, but we taught them a lesson in quite possibly our best performance of the month as we won out 4-0. Ager, Oluwu, Parish and Wishart getting goals for us in that one.

King's Lynn Town were next at home, and we had just missed out on Jamie Fielding so I was keen to see if he was in the side, which he was playing at right back. We managed to get a hard fought 1-0 win with Josh Meekings getting the goal from a corner.

Sutton United were next way and we scored a pretty easy win as an early Charles double put us 2-0 up, and just after half time Parish scored to make it 3-0 and wrap up the match.

Boreham Wood at home was tougher than the scoreline suggests. We took the lead through Dyer early on and then Green made it 2-0 early in the second half. They did however peg us back to make it 2-1 and it remained like that until late on when they started to push men forward and we caught them twice on the counter attack firstly through Dyer and then Parish right at the end to complete a 4-1 win.

Chelmsford Town away in the FA Cup, was one we probably expected to win because they are a division below us, but they did not make too easy for us. We scored after just three minutes through Dyer but conceded after 5 minutes. We scored again on 10 minutes through Parish but they equalised again after 16 minutes, and it was 2-2 at half-time. The half time break saw me tell the boys that we needed to do more and we did in the 2nd half as Chelmsford's resistance faltered. Parish was a man on a mission as he bagged another 3 goals in the second half, including a penalty to make it 4 goals for him on the night, and 5-2 the final result.

Bromley away, was a game where we were in control for the majority of the game. Parish via a penalty gave us an early lead and half way through the second half Wishart made it 2-0 before Parish again added another later on to make it 3-0 on the night.

The final game of the month saw us host Halifax Town, and there was only one goal in the game, and Parish was the man to get it as we ran out 1-0 winners.

League Table

After our perfect start to the season we sit nicely at the top of the league on 21 points, and four points ahead of second placed Wrexham.

Players of the Month

Danny Parish, Alex Dyer, Daniel Green, Michael Efete, Jerome Okimo

Manager Thoughts

I could not have hoped for a  better start in my wildest dreams, as we really adapted well to instructions and managed to manage the games we played really well, even we faced adversity against Chelmsford, we stuck to task. Very surprised by our win against Notts County, it may have just been an off day for them, but we really them to the sword rather unexpectedly. In the FA Cup draw we will face Oxford United away in the 1st Round, which is going to be very tough for us.

Manager Bank Balance

 £1,805.47 

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by TerminalPortugal

[TerminalPortugal]

November 2020

Awards

I picked up the manager of the month for October, and Danny Parish picked up player of the month. Joseph Olowu was close to young player of the month. George has been heaping me with praise for our start and winning the award for the month. I wonder if he will be as supportive if things take a turn.

Transfers

Nothing official, but George is working on a few loan deals, one for a young centre back Brentford and another young centre back from Norwich, but nothing finalised. The deal with Brentford is looking unlikely due to the fee we would need to pay for the loan, and I don't think the owner is releasing the money for the transfer. With regards to the Norwich lad, we will wait a see what happens, but I think the fee is smaller.

No further additions to the staff this month.

Results

We came back to reality this month as we picked up our first losses of the season. We started with a home tie against Torquay United and I am little disappointed. We took the lead early as Wishart bagged a brace to put us 2-0 up, but we squandered it in the second half as they came back to draw the game 2-2.

Oxford United in the FA Cup, and it was always going to be tough, and it was made much tougher when we went 2-0 down inside the first 15 minutes. Parish did get a goal back via a penalty but we could not get the equaliser and we are out of the FA Cup this year.

Hartlepool away I thought would have posed a bigger challenge, but it was our best performance of the month as we won out 4-0 winners. Green got one and Parish got himself a hat-trick.

Aldershot Town away was a very frustrating match, for despite being the better side for the majority of the game and dominating the key stats we still managed to lose 3-0. It was very disappointing, the performance was okay the result was very bad.

Solihull Moors at home at we squeaked a tight 2-1 win. We actually scored two goals in the same minute just before halftime as Green put us ahead and Patterson scored his first goal for us to make it 2-0. They pulled one back in the second half but it finished 2-1.

League Table

We have actually managed to extend our lead at the top of the league despite losing one and drawing one this month, and we now sit 6 points clear of Notts County in 2nd place, who have played a game extra.

Players of the Month

Daniel Green, Danny Parish, Jerome Okimo, Dan Wishart, Harry Isted

Manager Thoughts

It was a tougher month for us. We had a few injuries to the likes of Alex Dyer this month that did not help us much, and we do not expect to win every game. I am still very happy with how the team is performing. To be in this position after a quarter or so of the league season is way more than I could have hoped for. I have now managed to get my National C Licence. I was initially mistaken when I said they had denied me the opportunity to study for it, but they are not currently allowing me to study for the National B Licence, despite my pleas.

Manager Bank Balance

 £2,052.83 
 

 

[TerminalPortugal]

December 2020

Transfers

George finally managed to get a loan deal over the line, and it was the deal with Norwich City for Saul Milanovic, a young centre back who has great ability for this level and is certainly a good addition to the team. He costs us around £1.5k for the loan deal. He came through at Huddersfield Town and was eventually snapped up by Norwich City when he was later released.

Youth Prospect Meeting

Matthew Saunders, the Head of Youth Development, convened a meeting with the the Under 18 manager and myself to go through what was coming through from the younger age groups and at this time the main draw is a striker that he thinks has good potential for the future. At this level the youth team is always going to be a bit of crapshoot, and you just hope you can bring through a player who will make a difference, or land the club some serious cash in the future for a transfer fee.

Media Stories

Former Wealdstone favourite Stuart Pearce has been getting in touch to state how well he feels the team is playing. It is nice to hear from former players especially when it is positive about the direction of the team.

The Non League Football Paper also ran a story profiling our start to our managerial career at Wealdstone which made for some good reading.

Results

A good start to month, was ruined a bit at the end of the month as we picked up just 2 points from 3 games.

We started the month at home to Dagenham & Redbridge and got a convincing 4-0 win with goals from Ager, two from Parish and one from Lench.

Chesterfield away yielded a very tight win as Parish got the only goal of the game from the penalty spot.

We were away again at Dover Athletic and again picked up a narrow 2-1 win, Parish with 2 goals before they struck back. New signing Milenovic actually got himself sent off around the 60 minute mark tom force us to play the last half hour with 10-men and make it a nervy finale.

We hosted Altrincham and lost to a 91st minute winner, when we had been the better team which was very disappointing

We then hosted Bristol Manor Farm to open up the FA Trophy, and we picked up a 3-0 win with goals from  Parish with two and Olowu with another.

We were away at Woking and trailed twice before we managed to finalise the result at 2-2.  Dyer and Lench got our goals.

Finally at the end of the month we played Stockport County at home and it was another draw this time 1-1. Emmanuel gave us the lead and they equalised with a couple of minutes to go, which was frustrating.

League Table

Yeovil have had a great Christmas as they only dropped 2 points in the month of December and they now sit only a point below us in the table.

Players of the Month

Danny Parish, Matt Lench, Jerome Okimo, Daniel Green, Michael Efete

Manager Thoughts

We are still doing well, but the end of the month saw us lose a bit of momentum as we just seemed to lose it a bit. Now it is going to be tough to stave off Yeovil as they are charging up the league. All we can hope is that we can keep it going and that they don't have another month like this December where they were almost perfect.

Manager Balance

 £2,055.20 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

January 2021

Awards

We finished second for December, in the manager of the month stakes as Darren Sarll took the honours for Yeovil's great performance all through the month.

Transfers

We lost Ethan Dekel-Daks, as he was recalled by Nottingham Forest which was a blow. Essentially Chris Houghton was seemingly a bit annoyed that we were not fulfilling the bargain that George had made with Forest with regards to where he would be played. He has predominantly played from central midfield and they wanted him in attacking midfield and I was unwilling to compromise the team to make this happen. We have had a fair few phone calls and he seemed understanding but ultimately they decided to take this decision.

Results

Another month where we started well but then got worse all the month went on. We started out away to Maidenhead United and picked up a 3-1 win. We had come from behind as they got an early lead but Patterson got himself two goals and Parish one as we came back to win.

Next we were away at Weymouth and we picked up a nice 2-0 win with goals from Parish and Wishart.

We were then involved in our third away game in a row as we went to Bath City for FA Trophy Fourth Round, and got a narrow 1-0 win. Patterson getting the only goal of the game in the first half.

We hosted rivals Barnet and it ended 1-1. Efete had given us the lead early but the equalised with about 10 minutes to go of the game. We had a chance to win the game in injury time but Parish missed the penalty. Disappointing result considering the situation and the performance. 

We then hosted Yeovil in a 1st vs 2nd tie at the top of the table and it would have pleased the neutral, as Parish got us ahead but then we dropped behind as Yeovil got a couple of goal just after half time to put the pendulum towards them. Parish struck again to make it 2-2 and then seemingly hit the winning penalty with just 7 minutes of the game to go but they got an injury time equaliser. I have feeling that goal could end up costing us dearly, when it all said and done.

We then went to Wales, and Wrexham for an away tie and it was always going to be difficult and it proved as much as we lost 3-2. We led twice, through Emmanuel but they pegged us back and it seemed to be heading for a 2-2 draw which would have suited me, but they scored again injury time to win the game. We seem to be making a habit of allowing last minute goals and it does not please me in the slightest.

League Table

We remain just one point clear of Yeovil Town in 2nd place. The results over the month have allowed Wrexham to close the gap a bit to us and Yeovil.

Players of the Month

Harry Isted, Danny Parish, Daniel Green, Moses Emmanuel, Dan Wishart

Manager Thoughts

We are beginning to get to the business end of the season and the pressure is mounting. We are still top of the league and that is the major positive but we are being hounded by Yeovil all the way. We seem to look like we might stride ahead and then the end of the month comes along and seems to put us in our place. We are struggling a little bit with keeping key players fit, such as in the case of Parish, where I have to give him a game off every now and then just to avoid injury and keep him operating at the level he is. The next month could well be crucial in this race.

Manager Bank Balance

 £2,346.57 
 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by TerminalPortugal

[TerminalPortugal]

February 2021

Media Sources

Stuart Pearce has once again gone into the news and talked up Danny Parish's ability. He is having a wonderful season, so if he was going to single anyone out, Danny is the logical choice.

Transfers

George has been working in the background to bring in a new face in the form of Sonny Lo-Everton, he is a Watford prospect that predominantly plays in attacking midfield but can also play central midfield and on the wing. He looks a really good player and may be what we need going into the run in for the end of the season.

Results

It was another up and down month, with more good than bad, but we are operating on fine margins when it comes to the title race. We started up the month with the home fixture against Notts Country, and once again they really struggled against us as we put 5 past them this time, to go with the 4 we put past them at Meadow Lane. Parish grabbed four goals and Ager one to complete the emphatic win.

We then went to Billericay Town for the FA Trophy Fifth Round tie, and we came away with a narrow 1-0 win, the goal an early one from Parish.

Eastleigh away was next up and we had a lot of players in need of rest so needed to rotate the team, for example giving Slew his first start up front of the season and it cost us as we lost 1-0 on the night.

King's Lynn Town away was next up and we got a narrow win 2-1. All the goals happened in 10 minutes in the first half as Patterson gave us the lead before they equalised but Parish put us back in front and it remained like that.

Sutton United at home was next and we managed a 3-1 win. Two from Parish and one from Patterson was enough.

Boreham Wood away ended up being a disappointing game for us as we lost 2-1. We scored early through Olowu, but we let the game slip through our fingers as they scored two.

Final game of the month was against Maidenhead United in the FA Trophy Quarter Final and we came through the tie with a 2-1 win after extra time. We took the lead through Patterson  but we were pegged back and it took until extra time when Parish found the winner for us.

League Table

We find ourselves in 3rd place now, although Wrexham have played a game more. The gap to Yeovil at the top of the league is three points. We need a really consistent March to put the pressure back on them.

Players of the Month

Danny Parish, Joseph Olowu, Jerome Okimo, Sonny Lo-Everton, Daniel Green

Manager Thoughts

Unfortunately for us we now find ourselves playing catch up to Yeovil Town, as we are made to rue a few results this month, particularly in my mind is the Boreham Wood result which I thought was very poor. We need to up the pressure on Yeovil now to reel them back in as they have been really consistent in the new year.

Manager Bank Balance

 £2,767.93 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

March 2021

Transfers

Connor Stevens, who George seems pretty happy to let go decided to reject a move to Hereford United. I can see the reasoning of not renewing his contract although he is young and can improve.

Someone who did get a move away was Connor Smith who joined Ebbsfleet United. I actually thought he was a good player, but we have a lot of quality in midfield so letting him go was not the worst option. 

Probably the worst decision so far from George was to not renew the contract of Alex Dyer, he is 30 years old so perhaps you can take the view that we can replace him with someone younger, but he will be heading to Kuwait to play for Qadasia. In fairness it might have come down to wages, since there is no way we could pay him £3k a week and since he knew he could get that in the Middle East I suspect that might have been a contributing factor.

Contract Discussions

The chairman came to me and sounded me out about a new contract and I was positive about it, but we did not reach an agreement. To be honest he pulled the plug very close to us reaching an agreement. We were arguing about what the increase in my salary would be if we managed to get promoted. I was reasonably happy with the increase per week, but I want to be compensated if we make it to the Football League. Anyway I suspect the contract negotiations may reopen at some point. He has annoyed me a bit over the past months rejecting my badges, which to be honest don't cost much money and will make me more effective.

Results

Not the best month but also not the worst, two losses interspersed in there which I am not happy about. We started the month at home to Bromley and we picked up a 1-0 win with a rotated squad. Emmanuel got us the only goal of the game.

Next up we travelled to Halifax, and we picked up a 2-0 win. Milanovic from a corner and Parish later on got us the goals.

We then hosted Hartlepool and lost 1-0, in a forgetable match where we were not very good.

Aldershott at home, was a return to winning ways with Patterson, Meekings and Ager getting the goals for us.

We travelled all the way to Torquay for the away match against them. They were around the bottom of the table so I was glad to keep to form and win 3-0. Emmanuel, Slew and Olowu picked up the goals as we rotated the team for this fixture

Solihull Moors away was another game we should be winning but we stumbled again losing 1-0, even with our first teamers back in the side.

We finished the month with a home tie in the FA Trophy Semi Final against Altrincham and we picked up a 2-0 win Emmanuel and Everton picked up the goals for us.

Parish had a quiet month as the games are catching up with him, hopefully he is back on the scoresheet soon enough.

League Table

We sit in top position level on points with Yeovil but they do have a game in hand over us. 

Players of the Month

Saul Milanovic, Michee Efete, Harry Isted, Joseph Olowu, Sonny Lo-Everton

Manager Thoughts

We are hanging in there and are now hoping that Yeovil start messing up. Wrexham are right in the mix as well. This title could come down right to the wire. I just hope we can keep our key players fit and some that have been stalwarts all season and key to our efforts such as Parish find their form again. In terms of the contract situation, we will wait to hear from the club again. Not too sure why they pulled the plug on negotiations as I felt we were pretty close to a deal.

Manager Bank Balance

 £3,054.30 
 

 

[TerminalPortugal]

April 2021

Youth Intake

Matthew Saunders, Head of Youth Development called a meeting to discuss the youngsters that would be promoted to the Under 18's this year and would be playing the Under 18's in a graduation game. The total class is above. He highlighted particularly Alex Steer as the future.

In the end when it came to those who actually got contracts it was the following players; Jason Joseph, Karl Browne, Joël Noah-Pajetat, Alex Steer, Herman Kipré, and Matthew Newey

Club Vision

In one of our meetings with owner Rory Fitzgerald and George this month, I was told that he was very happy with how we were doing and that we were four years ahead of schedule as we secured playoff place mathematically.

Media

Stuart Pearce does love to go in the press and talk us up. This time he was talking to Goal about Wealdstone's good form.

Contract Negotiations

Finally myself and the owner reached a compromise when it comes to my contract. Our new salary is £875 per week, but also includes a 20% wage rise if we were to be promoted, which would take us over the £1,000 per week mark, should we manage to pull it off. There is also a larger relegation clause, and it was explained to me that if we were relegated realistically the club would have to cut its spending and that would include the manager. It would also apply if we go up this season and get relegated next season. But it was a negotiation and I have to back myself as as manager. 

We also agreed a compensation package to the club should I be headhunted into another job. I guess the chairman wanted to safeguard some decent compensation should a bigger club come in for us. I am okay with that. It is only right that the club receives it's fair share if that were to happen. The contract is for two years and takes up to June 2023.

Results

It has been a good month. Only the one loss and we needed to do this if we wanted to capture that automatic promotion spot and put some pressure on Wrexham and Yeovil. We started off away at Dagenham and Redbridge and got the 1-0 win through Dean Ager.

We hosted Chesterfield at home and we suffered a disappointing loss 2-1. They took a 2-0 lead and Emmanuel pulled one back it was too late to gain parity in the game

Dover were up next at home, and that was another narrow 1-0 win Ager with the only goal and later Dover would have a man sent off to make it all the harder for them to come back into the match.

Away at Altrincham we managed a 3-1 win, Everton and Lench put us 2-0 up before they pulled one back and Ager scored again to make it 3-1.

We hosted Woking and got a 2-0 win, goals from Charles and Slew got us the points

The final match of the month saw us travel to Stockport and we picked up another narrow 1-0 win. Parish finally ended a huge run without a goal when he bagged one from the penalty spot.

League Table

With a few games to play it is very tight at the top of the table. We sit two points ahead of Wrexham and Yeovil are still within striking distance 4 points behind us.

Players of the Month

Dean Ager, Harry Isted, Moses Emmanuel, Sonny Lo-Everton, Daniel Green

Manager Thoughts

We are now very close to a great season, we have the final few games of the season and the FA Trophy to look forward, but the boys are very tired after a gruelling season and I would hate for it to end empty-handed at the moment, everything lies in our hands and we can probably draw a game and still win the league even if the others are perfect, so we just need to take it one game at a time and hopefully we can secure the league title.

Manager Bank Balance

 £3,421.67 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

May 2021

Transfers

The scouting team of George, the Director of Football and Chief Scout Josh Smith has been looking for a scout to hire for some time and they finally managed to get someone on the books. In comes Gary Brabin, who has previously managed at places like Tranmere Rovers, Southport and Luton Town, but now plies his trade as a scout. He has good knowledge of England and Wales and should help the team find targets.

Contracts Disputes

Ashley Charles is looking more and more likely to leave after rejecting two contracts from the club, mostly to do with assured playing time, and George knows that he probably has a fringe role at the club, but as a young player he could eventually play a key role in the team. However it seems that Ashley Charles is not willing to wait for his opportunity.

Player of the Season Voting

Player of the Season ballots were sent out to all managers and I decided to opt for Mason Bloomfield of Hartlepool. We cannot vote for our own players, but he seems to have had a good season bagging 23 league goals this season and key to most good things that they have been doing over there.

Results

In this crunch month we opened up the league season against Maidenhead United, and it did not start too well as we played out a bore draw, the game finishing 0-0.

Next we were in the FA Trophy final at Wembley against Eastleigh and Lench got the only goal of the game off a set piece as we won the game 1-0 and captured the FA Trophy.

We went away to rivals Barnet and it was a bad day at the office as we lost 4-1.  They took the lead and Jerome Slew got things back level from the penalty spot, but in the second half we really lost it and ended up on the end of a 4-1 hiding at the hand of our rivals.

At home to Weymouth next and got a crucial 1-0 win, with a goal from Cawley from a corner kick. This game was crucial also because both Wrexham and Yeovil had dropped points, which meant we held a 5 point lead after this fixture.

We went to Yeovil Town with very real prospect that we could clinch the league title here and now, and knowing that we would have to host Wrexham on the final day, also chasing promotion. We were very good on the day and won it 2-0 with goals from Olowu and Okimo, and we clinched National League title with this result.

The final game of the season and we were home against Wrexham and it was a thriller as we drew 3-3. We led through Parish early, but they equalised via a penalty. Then we took a 3-1 lead in 3 second half minute soon after the restart as Ager and Wishart got on the scoresheet to make it 3-1, but Wrexham fought back late and scored to late goals to make it 3-3.

League Table

Confirmation of the final table as we win the league by six points in the end from Wrexham in second place. Yeovil Town, Stockport County, Aldershot Town, Notts County and Barnet complete the playoff hopefuls.

Professional Status and Budgets

Following promotion to the Football League, Rory Fitzgerald owner of the club decided to call a meeting to sound out the prospect of going full time, which I was very happy to endorse as we really need to be able to train all week to be able to compete at the next level, so this will be done over the summer break.

He also announced the budget for next season for George to worry about, which is £12.5k a week for player salaries and a transfer budget of £38.2k

Players of the Month

Harry Isted, Joseph Oluwu, Michee Efete, Sonny Lo-Everton, Jack Cawley

Manager Thoughts

We managed to pull off the double in the end. It was a special season for us, as against all odds we managed to manufacture a league title charge and an FA Trophy charge. At the end of the season you could see we were just about hanging in there, but I felt the Yeovil and Wrexham boys were probably in a similar position and we managed to keep our heads better than they did. We will be moving up to League Two next season which should be an interesting challenge for us. I am looking to George to make us competitive next season.

Also my salary should be going up as we delivered on promotion so that is a very nice bonus at the end of the year.

Manager Bank Balance

 £3,911.03 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

2020/21 Season Review

Squad Overview

Team of the Season

GK: Harry Isted

DR: Michee Efete        DC: Joseph Olowu          DC: Jerome Okimo         DL: Dan Wishart

 

MC: Matt Lench         MC: Ashley Charles

 

AMR: Dan Ager                      AMC: Sonny Lo-Everton              AML:  Phoenix Patterson

 

ST: Danny Parish

 

Player of the Season

Danny Parish - I think I had to give it to him despite the end of the season not going well for him. He got himself 40 goals this season in all competitions and barely scored in the second half of the season.

Manager Career

 

[TerminalPortugal]

June 2021

Transfers

George has released five players from the club as their contracts ran out, they are Conor Stevens, Ashley Charles, Jacob Mendy, Daniel Green and Ross Lafayette

Later in the month George decided to allow the following players to leave, Moses Emmanuel, Dennon Lewis, Charlee Hughes and Jack Cawley

George signed Harry Palmer on a free transfer from Billericay Town. With Harry Isted finishing his loan spell at the club, George has opted to go for a permanent signing and he seems to be a decent keeper.  He has spent his entire career more or less in the non-league pyramid, so we will see if he can handle the step up.

There is still plenty of business for George to get done, next month and the following month to get us to the point where we have some semblence of a workable squad.

On the staff front Jack Stevenson came in as Head of Sports Science, George filling in the newly created post and soon after Leroy Gelsthorpe came in as a Sports Scientist for the first team underneath Jack. Hopefully they will be providing useful information on how to avoid injuries and keep fitness levels up. If last season is a lesson to go by, we need plenty of help there to better prepare the players for the rigours of the season to come.

With the additional coaching slot we were handed this season I put an advert out for a goalkeeping coach and the best interviewee was Ian Turner, the Scotsman had previously been at Tranmere and should now help provide some dedicated training to our goalkeepers this season.

Contract Renewals

George Morgan seems to have the backing of the owner and he receives a new deal at the club that will keep him on until 2023. I must say he has done a good job so far, this season will be the acid test. We have lost a lot of players and it will be up to him to make sure we have a good first 11 and good cover for the whole of the season. At the same time Chief Scout Josh Smith, who works with George also got a new deal at the club.

There were also some further renewals of many of my key staff including assistant manager Stuart Maynard, Ben Nicholson, Tom Warner, and both Under 23 Manager Marc Richards and Under 18 Manager Justin Luchford.

Coaching badges

We got the greenlight to start our National B Licence, which we have been hoping we could start for a good section of last season, and was a cause for concern for us last season. If we are to improve we need the club to back us with the qualifications.

Professional Status

We are now professional as of the 1st of June 2021.

Commercial Summary

Rory Fitzgerald sent round a Powerpoint presentation showing the current income streams that the club has using its commercial leverage. Match day income and retail is the biggest earner, followed by the prize money for our successful campaign last season.

Stadium Relocation

The owner has agreed a deal with the private owners of The Hive, that we could utilise the stadium for next year's League Two campaign. Grosvenor Vale did not meet the standards required by the league so we will be using the ground based in Harrow. It is the same stadium that Barnet use.

Staff Establishment

There have been some changes to the amount of staff in each team. The main squad and the Under 18s are being expanded. The Under 23s did not have an assistant or coach in post so although those posts are lost from the establishment that is largely because they were unfilled.

I am expecting Justin Luchford to do the appointments for the Under 18 coaching team and we will be looking for another coach. George will be responsible for bringing the Head of Sports Science.

Award Voting

We got through the ballot paper for the Manager of the Year and we opted to vote for Dean Keates of Wrexham. I think they were probably the second best team behind us and did end up getting promoted as well via the playoffs. In the end we won the award as was expected. Danny Parish also walked away with the Player of the Season Award and Top Goalscorer Award. Which is very nice for him.

Stature and TV Rights

We have been told that the brand of the club has improved due to our promotion into the football league which is unsurprising, but it is allowing us to have more productive conversations with sponsors and benefactors. This season we will receive £293k in TV revenue for participating in League Two.

 

[TerminalPortugal]

July 2021

Transfers

Alex Dyer officially left the club to join Kuwaiti outfit Qadasia. He will be missed as he was a good player for us, but George has other ideas about the make up of the side.

I was sweating it as I was thinking things weren't really moving, but eventually George got in motion and we started getting players in. Harry Forster was first in the door this month, and I like him. He is ostensibly a left winger, but can play in behind the striker. He looks a good player for us. He was on the books at Watford and had been on loan last season at Bromley but was released this season.

Callum Rowe was next in, again working along the left hand side, but best at wingback. He looks decent, if not amazing. I definitely can make use of him. He was a graduate out of Aston Villa, on loan last season at Hereford United, before being released.

Henry Wise, son of Chelsea legend Dennis Wise, was next through the door, again another Watford youngster released last season that George picked up. Like his dad he operates in central midfield. Looks a good player and will probably will start for us.

Connor O'Reilly, comes in after being released by Ipswich Town. The Irishman operates at right back, but can also play central midfield at a pinch. A decent player with room for improvement.

Phoenix Patterson, who was with us last season on loan joins us permanently this season. Again another Watford graduate released by the club. I am happy to have him back he was very good for us last season and I think he can kick on this season.

Andy Robinson, is another central midfielder, a bit older than the other signings that George brought into the club. Last season he was playing for Weymouth, so we know about him. He is good cover for the centre midfield position.

On the staff front, Brent Routledge ahs been brought in by the Under 23 team as a Sports Scientist and Reece Stevenson comes in as another scout from Brackley Town for £9k compensation, which I think is a bit steep but the recruitment team know better than me. Reece ostensibly has knowledge of English football, particularly the non-league scene, so should be useful.

Results

We started the month with half a squad, and we travelled to Dorking for our first friendly. It ended up a 2-0 win with goals from  Slew and Wishart

We were away to Grantham for the next friendly and we picked up another 2-0 win, this time goals came from Meekings and Parish.

We are at home to welcome Blackburn Under 23s and we got the 1-0 win with a goal from Parish from the penalty spot.

Next was a welcome for affiliate club Watford's Under 23s and we got a good win 3-2, Phillips and Wishart put us 2-0 up in the second half before they got a quick two, but Forster got a winner with 20 mins to go.

The next game was the season opener in League Two against Rochdale away and it did not go well for us as we lost 3-1. Parish gave us a dream start with a goal in the 1st minute, but they were level two minutes later and got two goals in middle of the second half.

League Table

We sit in 21st after the first round of fixtures. It could be a long season for us. We are predicted to come dead bottom, hopefully we can upset that prediction.

Players of the Month

Dean Ager, Michee Efete, Josh Meekings, Dan Wishart, Jerome Okimo

Manager Thoughts

We lost the opener in League Two but there is no reason to panic. We probably do need a few more signings from George before the end of the transfer window though to give us any chance this season. A like some of the signings he has brought in this season, and couple of loans in the right areas might make us competitive.

Manager Bank Balance.

 £4,850.17 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

August 2021

Transfers

This was the part of the window where George would either make us or break us. The first player in through the door was Williams Kokolo, coming in on loan from Middlesbrough. The youngster is a left back and has a lot of quality, a player that will be looking to start for us.

Ateef Konaté comes in from Nottingham Forest on loan. Glad to see there are no hard feelings between both the clubs after the recalling of one of their players last year, perhaps helped by the fact that Chris Houghton got the sack. This guy has serious quality for us in attacking midfield. Almost certainly going to be starting for us. Great find and a great player.

Malachi Talent-Aryeetey comes in from Reading on loan, and he is an upgrade in central midfield, really like the look of the boy. He has great physical attributes to dominate the midfield.

Zach Dronfield also comes in from Reading and  he is a little less talented than Malachi but again another good player. He will battling Wise for the starting spot alongside Malachi this season.

Terry Ablade comes in from Fulham on loan. He is a right winger and adds depth, he will be very useful if the likes of Patterson or Wishart go down and could probably play his fair share of games anyway over what is a long season.

Ethan Ingram comes in on loan from West Bromwich Albion and ostensibly a right back, he is a little rough round the edges, but again he is superb cover for us.

On the staff front, there was one addition as the Under 18 team brought in Trevor Grace to work with the Under 18 goalkeepers. He was previously working with the first team at Braintree as a goalkeeping coach.

Results

Our first game of the month saw us host Scunthorpe United at the Hive, and this game left me furious. We led 1-0 through Forster, before they pegged us back. Then it became the Patterson show as he bagged a couple before Scunthorpe made it 3-2 and then got his hat-trick to make it 4-2. It remained like that until the 93rd minute when Scunthorpe got back what looked like a consolation, until they got another in the 95th minute to equalise the game at 4-4. So disappointing to throw away what was a golden chance of a win.

We hosted Coventry City in the Carabao Cup First Round, and we could not get much done as we lost narrowly 1-0 on the night.

Next up we had a trip to Colchester and we squeaked a brilliant 1-0 win there, the only goal coming from Patterson.

We hosted Walsall next at The Hive, and we won out again 2-1. An own goal by Okimo had given them the lead but we came from behind to win with goals from Parish and Okimo salvaging a redemption arc from the game.

Next we travelled to Stevenage and we put in a hell of a performance away from home winning 6-1. Okimo and two from Konate, gave us a 3-0 lead before they got one back and then Wishart, Parish and Talent-Aryeetey added the remainder of the goals.

We travelled to Northampton for the Papa John's Trophy and got another stunning victory, winning 4-0 with Forster bagging two, and Ager and Dronfield each one.

League Table and Papa John Trophy Group

The table is looking a lot nicer now as we rise like a Phoenix to 5th place in the table. The boys started playing some amazing stuff towards the end of the month.

We are top of the table in Group H after our victory against Northampton Town. Southampton Under 23s sit un 2nd place having penalty win after a draw with Chalton Athletic.

Squad

With the transfer window closed now this is the squad going forward. I think George has done a good job building the squad. We are still predicted to go down but we at least look like we have a chance of avoiding that fate. We may be a little short when it comes to strikers. We are heavily reliant on Danny Parish, and I am not the biggest fan of Slew. Ablade can also play there and I know Patterson can also deputise there as well. Elsewhere I am pretty happy with the depth. Goalkeeper could be an issue, but it should be a place where we are unlikely to lose players you'd hope.

Players of the Month

Malachi Talent-Aryeetey, Ateef Konate, Jerome Okimo, Ethan Ingram, Harry Forster

Manager Thoughts

A great month for us all told. We really seem to have hit some form towards the end of the month, and it put the memory of that capitulation against Scunthorpe out of my mind. We should hopefully kick on from here. We need to be careful however as I know that a few bad results and we could be back down there fighting for our lives.

Manager Bank Balance

 £5,630.93 
 

Edited April 29, 2022 by TerminalPortugal

[Punch]

Congrats on the Cup and promotion. Good luck in League Football.

[TerminalPortugal]

September 2021

Awards

Pheonix Patterson came close to winning the player of the month and we finished in third place for the manager of the month stakes.

Transfers

A new staff member in at the Under 18's as they hired Andrew Monaghan as a physio for the side.

Results

We hosted Bradford City and got a very nice 2-0 win, with the goals coming from Parish and Patterson

We had a long journey up to Carlisle for our next match and it ended in a 1-1 draw, They took the lead before Dronfield got us back level just after half-time

We hosted Morecambe and we took them apart winning 5-1, Ablade got two, Dronfield and Parish each with one to give us a 4-0 half-time lead. They pulled one back after half-time before Konate got himself on the scoresheet for us for the final result.

Northampton came to town and it ended in a 1-1 draw, Ager gave us an early lead which they later cancelled out just before half-time.

League Table

It is still looking great for us as we sit in 3rd place and are three points behind leaders Portsmouth and Tranmere Rovers.

Players of the Month

Ateef Konate, Zach Dronfield, Phoenix Patterson, Jerome Okimo, Malachi Talent-Aryeetey

Manager Thoughts

A good unbeaten month for us keeps up the momentum we had coming into the month. Next is going to be a much longer one and so we need to be prepared for that. I am still only targetting survival, however riding this high, it would be tinged with disappointment if that was all we achieved this year.

Manager Bank Balance

 £6,477.70 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

8 hours ago, Punch said:

Congrats on the Cup and promotion. Good luck in League Football.

Thanks very much for the support.

[RizhiyKot]

Good start, but how you simulate the seasons so fast?

[TerminalPortugal]

October 2021

Coaching Badges

We managed to complete our National B Licence badge and have started work on our National A Licence badge, thanks to the board allowing it to happen.

Results

Our first game of the month saw us travel to Bolton Wanderers for a 1-1 draw, they took the lead in the 2nd minute through a penalty and Ablade got us an equaliser in the second half.

We went to Charlton Athletic for a Papa John's Trophy group game, we switched up to the Diamond just to give people a little time in that formation and to see how we would do. The game finished 2-2, they took the lead and then we scored a couple through Ablade and Konate, before they got one back with 10 minutes to go. We unfortunately could not keep our nerve in the ensuing penalties and could not get the bonus point.

We went to Southend and managed to get a 1-0 win through a goal from Konate.

We hosted Lincoln City and that was a bore draw, ending 0-0.

Next we hosted Grimsby and lost a tight game 3-2. We led through Parish, but they got a couple of goals to lead going into the end of the game. Parish then got an injury time equaliser, but in the 97th minute we allowed them to score again. Very frustrating.

We traveled to Oldham Athletic and we had a 3-3 draw. We were two 3-0 down in the first half and had to battle back for the draw. Dronfield, Patterson and Ablade with goals to bring us back from the dead.

We travelled to Cheltenham and got a 3-2 win, they took the lead, but a couple from Parish got us ahead. They then equalised, but Parish would complete his hat-trick with 15 minutes to goal and that is how the game ended.

Next hosted high flying Tranmere and we lost 3-1, We took the lead early via a Parish penalty but they then took control of the game and put 3 goals past us.

League Table and Papa John's Trophy Group

A pretty bad month sees us drop to 6th place, still in the playoff places but it has been a very tough month for us.

Still in the leadership of the group, as we still got a point for the draw with Charlton.

Players of the Month

Danny Parish, Ateef Konate, Phoenix Patterson, Josh Meekings, Harry Forster

Manager Thoughts

Not a good month for us, as early on we struggled for goals and later in the month we struggled to keep them up. We knew this would happen at some point in the season, and we need to remember that we were expected to be bottom of the table. We just need to keep ourselves as much as possible on the right path and get as many points as possible. I am not thinking about promotion as I think it is going to be difficult to do that this season and we have had a powerful reinforcement this month, that things are not easy in League Two.

Manager Bank Balance

 £7,292.47 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

16 minutes ago, RizhiyKot said:

Good start, but how you simulate the seasons so fast?

Instant Result is the main reason why I am able to get through things quicker. Also because the Director of Football is in control of a lot of things, I don't spend any time looking at scout reports, or signing players or looking for staff for the youth team, or setting up their training and that kind of thing. The rules of the save kind of mean that I am just responsible for a few key things so makes things a bit quicker.

[TerminalPortugal]

November 2021

Transfers

John Stokes came into the Under 18 team as a fitness coach. Justin Luchford continues to build his coaching team.

Awards

Danny Parish finished second for October in the Player of the Month stakes.

Results

We were at home against Barrow for the first game of the month and we got a 1-0 win, thanks to Konate with the goal.

We then travelled to Barrow to play them again for the second time in 5 days for the FA Cup First Round and we got a much clearer win, this time winning 5-0. The goals came from Parish with two, Forster, Dronfield and Rowe.

We hosted Southampton Under 23s for the final game of the Papa John's Trophy group stage and got a 1-0 win with the goal coming from Wishart.

We went away to Crawley Town next in the league and got a good 2-0 win, Parish and Rowe getting the goals. They had a man sent off in the second half to make things a little easier for us.

We welcomed Portsmouth next to The Hive and got well beaten 2-0. It was one of our worst performances of the season so far.

We then hosted fellow promotees Wrexham and got a 3-1 win. Koante and Ablade got two in the first half before Wrexham pulled one back in the second half and Phillips made sure of the points late on.

Finally we travelled to Lincoln City for the Second Round of the FA Cup and got a 3-2 win. They took the lead in the first minute of the game, then we struck back with three goals from Wishart, Parish and Patterson before the scored an injury time consolation goal.

League Table and Papa John's Trophy group

Portsmouth look like they are well past us now and over the horizon and I don't see us catching them, and Tranmere are close to the same. Crawley Town are just one point ahead in that third automatic promotion spot, so we are looking to chase them down. We have to remember it is only 6 points back to Carlisle United who sit just outside the promotion spots, so a bad month could derail things.

We won our group in the Papa John's Trophy and are now through to the next round where will play Wycombe Wanderers.

Players of the Month

Josh Meekings, Dan Wishart, Danny Parish, Ateef Konate, and Harry Palmer

Manager Thoughts

A much better month. We only lost to high flying Portsmouth, which was a bit expected to be honest, but elsewhere we have battled to victories all the way along. Long may it continue, but we need to be careful that we don't have a bad month and end up outside the playoff spots going into the new year. 

Manager Bank Balance

  £7,896.23 

[TerminalPortugal]

December 2021

Transfers

Samni Bedford, a youngster with what I would have a thought is a good potential was allowed to leave. He goes to Ebbsfleet. His contract had not been renewed by George.

The medical team have brought in Mark Manning as a Sports Scientist to support the first team

Youth Preview

The Head of Youth Development called a meeting to go over the coming entrants to the Under 18's. He highlighted a few players. A few wingers, a goalkeeper, central midfielders, and potentially a pretty good Romanian striker we have on the books. Later in the season we will learn more about their development and whether they will make the grade to earn professional contracts.

Results

We travelled to Leyton Orient and got a draw 1-1. Dronfield put us in the lead but Orient got back level in the second half

We then went to Forest Green and got a 3-1 win. Patterson put us 2-0 up before Forest Green got back into it. Ager got a very late goal to make things safe.

Next up we hosted Mansfield and won 3-0. Ablade got two, and Lench got another to win the game

We went to Scunthorpe United and won 3-1. Wishart, Konate and a Parish penalty put us 3-0 up before Scunthorpe got a goal back.

We played Wycombe Wanderers in the Papa John's Trophy and won 2-0. Lench and Okimo got early goals for us.

FInally we hosted Colchester United and drew 2-2. We led 1-0 through Parish, before they equalised. In the second half an own goal got us back in front, before Colchester scored a goal a minute from time to equalise.

League Table

We sit in 3rd place and have a game in hand over Bolton Wanderers in 2nd place. One of our fixtures in the League against Rochdale was postponed so we will need to play that game at a later date.

Players of the Month

Matt Lench, Michael Phillips, Danny Parish, Michee Efete and Zach Dronfield

Manager Thoughts

We have had another great month as we continued a good run in the league and put pressure on the clubs around us looking to get into the automatic promotion spot. Tranmere Rovers have been reeled in a little bit so perhaps second place is also perhaps still in place.

Manager Bank Balance

 £8,453.00 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

January 2022

Transfers

The transfer window slammed shut and George made completed one piece of business this month and that was to bring in Sam Dalby, once again exploiting our relationship with Watford. The young striker will be useful in backing up Danny Parish for the remainder of the season, especially since last season he went completely off the boil. Hopefully that should allow us to rotate a bit and keep him in form.

Results

League Table

We continue to sit in 3rd place and now have 2 games in hand over chasing Rochdale, and we continue a point ahead of them. I think Portsmouth and Tranmere Rovers are long gone in terms of any possible attempt to catch them. The best we can do now realistically is going to be 3rd place, and I would take that all day long.

Players of the Month

Michael Phillips, Andy Robinson, Connor O'Reilly, Danny Parish and Michee Efete

Manager Thoughts

Another good month for us as we keep the pace ahead of the chasing pack, now with two games in hand if we can take advantage we can open up a nice gap to them. We did exit the FA Cup away to Portsmouth, but they are flying. I was very happy with the boys for beating Championship Norwich City at Carrow Road. We also progressed in the Papa John's Trophy to the South Semi Final where we will face Arsenal Under 23s. Some the peripheral characters in the team have come to the front this month, with such a congested fixture schedule we needed them to do that and they have done that. The likes of Phillips and Robinson have done a great job this month for us.

Manager Bank Balance

 £9,224.77 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

February 2022

Transfers

The Under 18 team lost Assistant Manager Jody Brown to Dover Athletic as they appointed him as their new manager. Credit to Luchford and the team they got a new man in place quickly in Terry Fleming. Terry had previously been a coach at Walsall Under 18s amongst other clubs.

Coaching Badges

We finished up our FA badges and got permission to begin on the UEFA badges. We will be starting with the UEFA C badge.

Milestone

We have made it to 100 games in management, when we faced Oldham mid-month.

Results

League Table

It has been a tough month for us and we still sit in 3rd place, but it is a lot closer, now with Rochdale just a point behind us and Crawley Town if they win their game in hand will go level on points with us.

Players of the Month

Michael Phillips, Andy Robinson, Michee Efete, Connor O'Reilly and Matt Lench

Manager Thoughts

This has been a month for forget, the results have been pretty horrid for us. We haven't even been playing that badly, but we are not getting the rub of the green. The loss to Arsenal Under 23s may have affected the boys morale and we need to rectify it quickly or we are going to be settling for playoffs or worse.

Manager Bank Balance

 £10,066.53 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

March 2022

News

There have been some floating rumours that a consortium may be looking to purchase the club. The owner Rory Fitzgerald called a meeting to deny the rumours to the staff and players.

Results

League Table

We still sit in 3rd place and we are three points ahead of Crawley Town, having now played the same number of games. 

Players of the Month

Danny Parish, Malachi Talent-Aryeetey, Zach Dronfield, Michael Phillips and Williams Kokolo

Manager Thoughts

A fixture reschedule meant that we had a reduced fixture schedule this month. It was a decent enough month, as we won the games I expected to win and we lost against Tranmere Rovers as expected. We play Crawley Town next at home and that could well be the most important game we play this season. If we win, that probably means we will be promoted, if we lose, I think we may end up in the playoffs. It is crunch time now and we need to perform in the next month to make this unexpected promotion happen.

Manager Bank Balance

 £10,820.30 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

April 2022

Youth Graduation

The Head of Youth Recruitment Matthew Saunders finally released the list of players eligible to be promoted into the Under 18s this year and following their trial game the following players were signed Paul White, Flavian Fundulea, Alastair Hobbs, Gary Loughran, Frank Desmond, Rhys Bell, Ikechukwu Musa, Charlie Wrightman, Junior Malcolm and Augustine Addo

Results

League Table

Despite the draws at the end of the season, the point against Wrexham was enough to ensure our promotion as the teams below us floundered. We end up in 3rd place, the final automatic promotion place on 82 points, and crucially four points ahead of Rochdale in 4th. Rochdale, Crawley Town, Bolton Wanderers and Leyton Orient will be involved in the playoffs. Portsmouth end up as champions with a massive 106 point haul and Tranmere also go up with both us in 2nd place. Oldham Athletic are relegated out of the Football League and I believe Scunthorpe United are also down, although it has yet to be confirmed, to me it appears they will be relegated on goal difference from Morecambe, but there is still a game to play so unsure of whether that game between Barrow and Leyton Orient can still have an impact on this.

Budget for Next Season

With our promotion to League One next season, Rory told myself and George the key figures relating to the transfer budget and wage budget for the coming year. Needless to say, is is quite a big increase but we are probably still operating on the smallest budgets and George will have his work cut out next season to build a squad that will keep us up.

Players of the  Month

Danny Parish, Michael Phillips, Williams Kokolo, Harry Palmer and Zach Dronfield

Manager Thoughts

What an amazing way to end the season, as we managed to get a very unexpected promotion. We deserved it in the end, but we did not exactly storm over the line, it was more of a stumble over the line as crucially we became hard to beat and fought in every game and the draws in the end that we got mattered. The key win was against Leyton Orient, that one was needed as they were right on our tail, together with Crawley and Rochdale. Next season is going to be really tough, we were expected to finish bottom of the league and the gap in our expected ability and the rest of the league is only going to be exacerbated next season. George needs to build me a good squad next season or we will likely have no hope at all.

Manager Bank Balance

 £11,629.07 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

2021/22 Season Overview

Squad

Best XI

GK: Harry Palmer

 

DR: Ethan Ingram          DC: Michael Phillips         DC: Josh Meekings         DL: Williams Kokolo

 

MC: Zach Dronfield               MC: Malachi Talent-Aryeetey

 

AMR: Terry Ablade                AMC: Ateef Konate              AML: Phoenix Patterson

 

ST: Danny Parish

 

Player of the Season

Danny Parish - I think again I could not really give it to anyone else this season. He bagged us 31 goals in all competitions and pretty much was where the goals came from in our team. He has a pretty amazing goal scoring record with 40 goals last season and 31 this season. He is improving and has now proved himself at League Two level. Hopefully he can make the step up again

 

Manager Overview

[TerminalPortugal]

June 2022

Transfers

Lewis Everett, a young goalkeeper left the club for Sutton United. Not a great loss for us as we don't think that he has much potential. George did not renew his contract.

George worked on this deal quick and we bring in Lee Burge on a free transfer. He was the goalkeeper for Sunderland last season, who are now in the Championship and he is probably a better keeper than Palmer, so that is good work from George to finalise that one early in June.

George decided to splash the cash, albeit we are now a League One club so we were bound to break our transfer record. Jake Caprice comes in from Lincoln City for a record £22k. He is a good right back, probably a little better than what we had last year with Ingram, so I think it is a good purchase.

We did say goodbye to quite a few youngsters and reserve players who were clearly not going to make it at this level. They leave on free transfer after their contracts expired at the club.

Awards

Danny Parish was confirmed as the top goalscorer for League Two last season as well as making the team of the season. He was the only player from our side in the team. The team was pretty much dominated by Portsmouth players and to be honest they deserve after putting over 100 points on the board last season and strolling to the title.

Commercial Summary

Rory again sent out a report with the Commercial Summary for the club and everything seems to have gone up, which was not unexpected due to the larger capacity at The Hive and also the higher calibre of league we were now playing in. It is all positive for the club.

I was again informed that the club's brand has grown mostly due to our promotion to League One.

It has also been confirmed that we will be receiving £470k next season as part of the TV Rights deal for the league.

Staff Establishment

We were informed of a minor change to the staff establishment this season. The club have decided to open up the Performance Analysis team and allow for a Performance Analyst working underneath the Head of Performance Analysis. We have already put out the job advertisement and are waiting to hear back.

Coaching Badges

We completed our UEFA C Licence and have started work on our UEFA B Licence. It is expected that course will last 6 months and then hopefully we can move onto the A badge.

Results

Manager Thoughts

Plenty of action ongoing as George works to bring in the signings that might be the key to keeping us up this season. We have also continued on with our badges and are now approaching steadily the backend of our Football study. We did also have our first friendly of the season and got a win against Basford United, so a decent start there. We still have all our loanees who will be leaving the club soon. Hopefully George can work up some more loan magic as those youngsters were so key last season for us. I would not mind some of them back, or if possible even better prospects. I confirmed with the board also that the clause in my contract that increased my salary last season was a one time thing so our salary remains the same. However this season, I am going to be driving a hard bargain with Rory when it comes to my salary as I think I have been performing miracles. Obviously lets hope that we are not nailed to the bottom of League One when we have those discussions otherwise my negotiating position might be a little damaged or perhaps that meeting won't happen at all.

Manager Bank Balance

 £13,279.60 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

July 2022

Transfers

We had the interviews for the Performance Analyst role and Sam Thacker was head and shoulders the best candidate. He used to work at Derby County but was let go, so we are happy to add him to the team.

George had missed out on a few targets but he did manage to bring in on loan Xavier Benjamin from Fulham. The loan fee works out at around £8.7k for the whole season. He looks a very good player. He can play defensive midfield and at right back, but I think he will be best deployed as a centre back for us. Probably a starter to be honest.

 I was very excited when George confirmed that we had been able to secure Harvey Blair on loan from Nottingham Forest. The ex-Liverpool graduate comes in with a lot of ability and can play as a striker but also on the wing, where I think he will be best utilised. He can player either side which gives us some nice versatility with him.

Results

Players of the Month

Harvey Blair, Danny Parish, Jake Caprice, Dan Wishart and Michael Phillips

Manager Thoughts

George has got me a little worried as the season is just around the corner and I feel we are very light in central midfield, and we have no real backup for Danny Parish should god forbid he get injured. The signings we have made have been good but we need more of them. There is still  money to spend and wage budget available. He needs to work hard now for the remainder of August to make sure that we are up to scratch. The remainder of friendlies went pretty well although we did have an off night against Altrincham. In the one that mattered in the Carabao Cup against Crawley Town we did manage to win to book our place in the Second Round where we will face Wycombe Wanderers away.

Manager Bank Balance

 £13,716.97 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

August 2022

Transfers

We started off a busy August with the signing of Joel Lynch, from Mansfield for £6k and initially I was a bit muted about it, as he is already 34 years old, but I actually think it is a good acquisition. It adds a bit of experience into the team and I think he might well be the perfect partner for Benjamin at the back.

Next George got in Jack Wells-Morrison from Crystal Palace on loan. The loan fee will set us back around £12.75k which is hefty but he looks a very good player for us who immediately improves us in the centre of the park.

Cameron Green was the next acquisition from Hartlepool, he cost just £2,8k and is young, but he is probably not a starter just yet. He will provide some depth at across the entire left hand side of the pitch, which is good.

George then brought in a blast from the past in Freddie Sears, better known for his time at West Ham United as a youngster and was plying his trade at Bristol Rovers. We pick him up for £5.5k and he is a very versatile midfielder, who importantly can also play up front which will allow at least some rotation with Parish and can cover for an injury at the striker position. He is now 32 years old but he can certainly do a job for us.

George agreed a deal with Hull City for Connor Hodges, a youngster who will predominantly operate from the right wing. He cost about £4k in loan fees and I think he is a great acquisition. I think he immediately slots into that right wing spot and is probably better than anyone else we have at the club there.

Bobby Grant, came in from Wrexham for £17.5k, which is a fair bit for a 32 year old. But what he does have is a lot of experience, and certainly has some versatility as he can pretty much do a job anywhere across the midfield. I suspect that he will rather thrive in behind the striker, where we really need someone. If he can strike up a partnership with Parish it could strike gold.

Isaac Fletcher, comes in from Middlesbrough on loan, for a fee of around £1.5k. I think this is a good acquisition from George, he is cheap, has all the qualities to lock down a central midfield role and I think he will do well for us at the club.

George then brought in the very exciting Sean McGurk on loan from Wigan Athletic for a fee of £4k. He can play anywhere in midfield and he is exciting. I think I can see him on the left and filling in on the right as well. He looks an exciting prospect and I can't wait to see him turn out for us.

Results

League Table and Papa John's Trophy Group

After the first month of the season we sit in 16th place in the league and sit top of our group in the PJT.

Milestone

Apparently Parish has become the top goal scorer at the club surpassing Richard Jilly as the all time top goal scorer. I am unsure whether this is actually the case reading about George Duck and his time at Wealdstone, but perhaps those goals are not counted.

Squad

With the transfer window closing this our squad for the coming season.

Players of the Month

Joel Lynch, Lee Burge, Xavier Benjamin, Freddie Sears and Jack Wells-Morrison

Manager Thoughts

It was looking pretty bloody ominous for a while there when we lost a string of games on the bounce, but the win against AFC Wimbledon who were top of the league when we played them restores some confidence that we can survive this season. We did exit the Carabao Cup but that is of minimal importance to me and we did win the PJT, which is always nice. I think George left things a bit late. I think the squad might be good enough to survive despite the fact the bookies think we certainties for the drop, they thought that last season too and we got promoted, so let's hope the reversal happens again.

Manager Bank Balance

 £14,494.33 
 

 

[TerminalPortugal]

September 2022

Results

League Table

We sit in 16th place, three points above the drop zone.

Players of the Month

Michael Phillips, Connor Hodges, Xavier Benjamin, Callum Rowe and Lee Burge

Manager Thoughts

An unbeaten month, but one with the majority being draws. We are fighting hard to survive in League One and we need to keep plugging away. I would love a couple of wins to just push us a bit up the table. I am feeling the pressure of just a three point gap to the relegation zone. At times we are struggling for goals as quite often we have dominated possession and shots we are just not finding the net as often as I would have liked. We also have Burge to thank for keeping us in some games with his saves in goal.

Manager Bank Balance

 £15,383.70 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

October 2022

Awards

Connor Hodges was the Young Player of the Month for September. The boy has come in and really performed with his three goals in three games for us last month.

Job Offers

League Two Leyton Orient have made an approach for our services. I have attended the interview since fundamentally they may be able to offer me more, despite the fact that they are near the relegation places in League Two. It would have to be a good offer, since I do not fancy moving from my one bedroom apartment and the fuel alone is going to cost considerably more going to Orient, not to mention the time it will take to get over to East London from West London.

We have yet to here back from Orient as yet.

Results

League Table

We have moved up to 13th in table, now 7 points clear of the drop zone and only five points away from the playoff spots.

Players of the Month

Jake Caprice, Lee Burge, Xavier Benjamin, Josh Meekings and Dan Wilshart

Manager Thoughts

A very good month for us, especially towards the end of the month as we picked up an unexpected win against top of the table Huddersfield Town and beat MK Dons and Crewe Alexandra, to push ourselves up the table. We are closer now to the playoffs than we are to the relegation zone, which is great news. We did get interviewed by Leyton Orient of League Two for their vacant managers position. Orient are a bigger club, but they are division down from where we are so I would want a lucrative contract as compensation for going there.

Manager Bank Balance

 £16,202.07 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

November 2022

Retirement Announcement

Joel Lynch who arrived last season from Mansfield has announced that he will retire at the end oft the season. It is a bit of shame but understandable with him now reaching 35 years old. He actually triggered a contract extension due to the number of games he has featured in, but I don't think that will make much of a difference to his decision.

Job Offers

Leyton Orient did come in for this month, but unfortunately we could strike a deal. I was looking for around £2.5k down to £2k per week or some kind of sweetener for keeping them in the football league, they were more around the £1.6k mark without any bonuses for keeping us up. 

We did then go back to Wealdstone to talk to them about a contract renewal and they offered us what Leyton Orient were willing to give us anyway which ended up being £1.6k a week with a promotion wage rise as well as a big relegation wage drop should that come to pass plus an agreement on the amount of compensation were I to leave elsewhere.

Results

League Table and Papa John's Trophy Group

We have risen up to the playoff spots in the league now finding ourselves in 6th place, on the same points as Burton Albion just outside the playoff places.

In the PJT we got through in top spot ahead of Wolves Under 23s.

Players of the Month

Josh Meekings, Lee Burge, Joel Lynch, Jake Caprice and Sean McGurk

Manager Thoughts

We have been brilliant this month as we continued to charge up the table and now sit the final playoff spot. Added to that we have also negotiated our way into the FA Cup Third Round where we will play our affiliate club Watford in the next round, as well as having got through our group in the PJT and I believe we play Arsenal Under 23s in the next round of the competition. We have managed to become pretty steely in defence and have started to pick up some goals which has been key to our recent record. Relegation is not yet completely out of the question so we need to watch ourselves, a bad run could see us tumble down the table and into trouble, so we need to keep it up.

Manager Bank Balance

 £17,777.43 
 

[BoxToBoxFM]

Good decision staying with Wealdstone imo, Orient are a bigger club but they’re in danger of going down and are probably in a worse position, so it would be a big risk unless the wages were high which they weren’t. Another promotion or even just staying at this level and you’d imagine some bigger clubs will start coming in for you

[TerminalPortugal]

4 hours ago, BoxToBoxFM said:

Good decision staying with Wealdstone imo, Orient are a bigger club but they’re in danger of going down and are probably in a worse position, so it would be a big risk unless the wages were high which they weren’t. Another promotion or even just staying at this level and you’d imagine some bigger clubs will start coming in for you

Yeah I think it would have taken a better offer to take the Orient job and we got the same money they were offering anyway.

[TerminalPortugal]

December 2022

Awards

Sean McGurk got the Young Player of the Month last month and we picked up the Manager of the Month.

Transfers

George rejected offers for Connor O'Reilly from Waterford and Galway United from the Republic of Ireland. 

Youth Meeting

it was time for our meeting with Matthew, the Head of Youth Development to discuss the crop of youth players coming through and he is very bold about this group and is calling them a golden generation coming through. I will believe it when I see it. Either way if we can get a couple of youngsters through with good potential who can help out the first team I will be happy and I am sure George will be happy as it might save him some money in the transfer market.

Coaching Badges

We picked up the UEFA B Licence and we started work on the UEFA A Licence.

Results

League Table

We drop down to 8th place and now out of the playoff positions. But we are still in striking distance.

Players of the Month

Bobby Grant, Michael Phillips, Michee Efete, Callum Rowe and Jake Caprice

Manager Thoughts

Not really the best month, I was really disappointed with the loss to Salford, who are rock bottom of the league. We are getting unlucky in some of these games, but I think we are sometimes a bit wasteful in front of goal. We progressed in the PJT with a big win against Southampton Under 23s, however the FA Cup Third Round proved to be a bit of humiliation for us losing against Watford 5-1. Next month could be a key month, where we either stake our claim for a playoff spot or we fall away. I think we are now safe from relegation probably.

Manager Bank Balance

 £19,413.80 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

January 2023

Retirement Announcement

Jerome Okimo announced that he was retiring at the end of the season. He has been a fantastic servant to the club. He has been the captain since we have been at the club and although he has not really played much of an active part in team for a while, but we have still used his leadership in the dressing room. He will be missed when he is gone. I actually had to unregister him this month to make room for players who can help us on the pitch.

Transfers

Connor O'Reilly continued to attract attention from Ireland, with Finn Harps putting in a bid but George is not acquiescing with regards to the offer and rejected it. It remains to be seen whether Connor will remain with us going forward but for now George is keeping him here.

Sam Perry, came into the club this month again breaking our transfer record as he cost us £66k from Walsall. He is a good player with a lot of room to grow and importantly he is young. I am convinced its a good signing, but the transfer fee makes it a little bit of a risk for a club of our size.

Also through the door was Sam Burgess who comes in from Port Vale for £5.5k. He is a centre midfielder who can certainly do a job in there. I wonder if George is getting these guys in to cement down permenant players at centre midfield so that we can go after different areas in the loan market next year. Still we can make use of Sam.

The final entrant into the club this window was Scot Bennett. He comes in from Lincoln City for £5.25k and he is already in his 30's but he probably does provide us a little bit more strength and a commanding presence at the back. Hopefully he hits the ground running.

All these signings have prompted me to have to de-register a couple of players, club captain jerome Okimo, who never really plays and Adam Robinson, who is also not really of the standard necessary. I also put Matt Lench on the transfer list, hopefully George sees that and finds a new home of Matty who has been a great servant, but is not really good enough for League One football.

Results

League Table

We sit in 9th place, five points from the playoff positions.

Players of the Month

Lee Burge, Josh Meekings, Callum Rowe, Danny Parish and Xavier Benjamin

Manager Thoughts

It has been an up and down month. Those final two games really hurt us, losing to Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall. It leaves us with a decent gap now to the playoffs and I think it is looking a little unlikely unless we have an amazing month coming up where can close the gap. We are just not really good enough, and part of me does wonder if it would not be a lot better for the club to cement ourselves in League One before we even think of getting promoted. Obviously next season it can all go wrong and we could be relegated and there is no guarantee that we can keep improving the team, but I am getting the feeling that League One is probably where we belong at the moment.

Manager Bank Balance

 £21,297.17 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

February 2023

Results

League Table

We sit in 11th place in the league.

Players of the Month

Josh Meekings, Danny Parish, Michael Phillips, Isaac Fletcher and Dan Wishart

Manager Thoughts

Another month which really did not get us any closer to the playoff places. I think at this stage we just have to assume we won't be doing it and just focus on finishing as high up the league as we can. We did have a postponement this month so we do have a game in hand, but our form is really not good at the moment.

Manager Bank Balance

 £23,244.53 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

March 2023

Results

League Table

We sit in 10th place, four points below the playoff spots. Huddersfield Town have confirmed themselves and League One champions.

Players of the Month

Connor Hodges, Phoenix Patterson, Callum Rowe, Cameron Green and Jack Wells-Morrison

Manager Thoughts

We are just too inconsistent and that is what has cost us a potential playoff place. I really do not expect to get in there now. The gap may only be four points, but we just haven't look good for a good while now and we only see our quality in flashes and some games it is absent completely. Whatever happens it has been a successful season because we are staying up and it has not even been close. We have massively overperformed this season and we can be very proud of that.

Manager Bank Balance

 £25,162.90 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

April 2023

Youth Graduation

The golden generation was announced and to be honest it seems quite a far way off a golden generation if you ask me. The following players got a contract - Marvin Longstaff, Vaughan Collins, Callum Davis, Jackson Elmi, Michael Wilson and Calbert Sparks

Results

Criticism in the Media

League Table

We end up in 11th place in the league this season. Huddersfield are champions, Burton Albion are promoted automatically. Millwall, Portsmouth, Barnsley and MK Dons will be in the playoffs and Crewe Alexandra, Accrington Stanley, Tranmere Rovers and Salford are relegated to League Two.

Manager Thoughts

It ended up being a very abysmal, lazy and cowardly end to the season. We were one of the worst teams in the league in terms of form, and we have been for the second half of the season to be honest. It is almost like as soon as we felt safe we stopped playing. Still I have to consider that we were dead certainties to be relegated and that has not happened and we have not even been involved in a relegation battle so that is a massive positive and everyone at the club behind the scenes appreciates that. We personally started getting some criticism from the fans because we had deployed the 4-5-1 and they seemed to blame the fact we were not mixing it up so we decided to deploy "The Guardiola" and that did not work so we tried out the 4-4-2 Diamond and we did get a win at the end of the seaosn, so perhaps we might try that next season from the start of the season. The issue is that we don't really have a second striker, at least not anyone reliable, just Danny Parish.

Manager Bank Balance

 £27,128.27 
 

[TerminalPortugal]

2022/23 Season Review

Squad

Team of the Season

Club Best Ever XI

Player of the Season

Lee Burge - I think the goalkeeper was so important this season for us. He had plenty of man of the match performances. When you are one of the weaker teams in the league you need your goalkeeper to keep you in some games to give you a chance to pick up points over the season and he was able to do that. So he deserve from my perspective Manager's Player of the Season.

Manager Profile

Career Overview

Edited April 30, 2022 by TerminalPortugal

[TerminalPortugal]

May 2023

Budgets

Rory called myself and George together to discuss the upcoming budgets. The transfer budget is down but the wage budget is up for next year. We will see how George deals with the change.

Commercial Summary

Around the same time we got the commercial report for the year. Everything was up apart from prize money, which let's be fair we were fighting to remain in League One, so that is no surprise. A good increase in matchday income and obviously Broadcast Revenue, as well some new deals for the club in terms of sponsorships.

Fanzine Review

We got a special fanzine that highlighted that it had been the best ever finish for Wealdstone. I think to be fair it was a first ever time in League One, or what would be called the old Third Division. It is a good first season for the club and hopefully we can build

Retirements

The boys got together to wish captain Jerome Okimo a big farewell from the club. He had been captain throughout my whole tenure so he will be a big miss in the dressing room. He had two spells at Wealdstone, but he will be best remembered for his second one that lasted six years and brought with it 179 appearances.

Renewals

George had his contract renewed at the club. At one point I was starting to speculate as to whether the owner might decide to let him go. Had he fallen foul in his opinions. Some of the signings last season might by some be seen as questionable, but I have been happy to work with him and I think all in all he has done a good job for us over the years. Well he is renewing his deal to coincide when my next deal expires.

Job Offers

This one came out of the blue a bit. Recruitment Agents working on behalf of Queen's Park Rangers have been in touch to say that we are on a shortlist to be the next manager of the club. This came as a bit of shock, but it is great opportunity. QPR are in the Championship and have significantly better resources than we have at Wealdstone, not to mention that I expect I would get a pretty large wage rise. Not only that there appears to be quite a bit of media speculation that we are the frontrunner for the post, and one bookie even stopped taking bets for us to become the new manager at Loftus Road. Whether or not that turns out to be case we shall see. Importantly sources at QPR have not as yet come out and said anything so it is possible that we may not even be offered the job. 

 

[TerminalPortugal]

June 2023

Transfers

It became pretty obvious in early June that there were players that were going to leave. George wanted to renew their contracts after conferring with me, but they did not want to sign. In the end we lost five players from the first team squad in Josh Meekings, Andy Robinson, Michee Efete, Dan Wishart and Harry Palmer, with Harry Forster still at the club but on a rolling contract while he works out what he wants to do. Alex Steer a youngster which had previously been touted as having potential also left the club from the Under 23s. Along with that there were a host of Under 18s who also left the club.

My view on this is that to be honest we need to look past these guys, they were good players in our side, but were probably not at League One standard so if that means George now goes out there and replaces them with League One standard players then I am all for it. We had the likes of Meekings, Efete and Wishart back in the National League, and while they have done well for us, I think there time had come.

Interview Unsuccessful

We were informed in a brief call with QPR that we had not got the job. They were happy with our interview but decided to appoint Brann manager Kare Ingebrigtsen. Good luck to them, I think it would have been a good move for me, but we can now focus on our job at Wealdstone.

Brand Recognition

Again I have been told that the club is on the up and up when it comes to its national brand. Obviously we are still a small club in the grand scheme of things, but exposure on TV, is slowly beginning to have an effect and people are beginning to know who we are.

Record Attendance

We broke our record average attendance by quite a margin last season at almost 4,000 fans per game which is fantastic.

 

[TerminalPortugal]

August 2023

Transfers

Michael Strickland was the first player to come in this month. The centre back comes in from on loan. He looks okay, but I am a little bit wary of what he will offer us and whether he is cut out for our level.

Enzo Robise was the next player that George brought in and I am willing to say that I think this guy is a waste of money. He costs us £55k, plus £20k for his work permit application. He arrives here from Dagenham & Redbridge and I don't really rate him at all. But we will need to use him. Not great George

Connor O'Reilly left the club on loan to Welling United, as I had identified that he was just not going to be getting much football at the club.

Karl Browne came through the youth academy and he has a bright future. I promoted him to the first team this season but I just think he is not ready for League One football. George arranged for him to go on loan to Billericay Town.

Corie Andrews was the next player to come through the door. He cost £4k from Swindon Town and he is a passable player. Not the best but also not the worst, we can make use of him.

Matty Blair comes in for just under £6k from Cheltenham Town. I think he is probably an improvement at right back.

Louie Holzman was the next player in, coming in on loan from Reading for £3.6k. He looks a good defender, so happy to have him in.

Kris Moore comes in from Bradford Park Avenue for £10k. Another centre back and at best he adds depth to our defence.

Callum Gribin, the ex Manchester United youngster comes in for £3k from Walsall. He has a lot of potential but at the moment he is not League One standard.

Jack Earing is a good signing from George. He costs us £24k up front from Accrington Stanley but he is an improvement in central midfield.

Saul Milanovic comes in, after spending a year on loan with us when we were in the National League, he now joins permanently for £34k up front from Morecambe. He is a good player I think we can make good use of him.

Not the best window from George to be honest, I think we are a bit short. I think he needed to focus more on the top part of the pitch.

Results

League Table

We sit in 21st place.

Squad

That is the squad as the transfer window slammed shut. Matt Lench was put down to the Under 23s as we needed to make room for the new signings as was Freddie Sears, who just was no longer good enough for this level. I am very worried about the quality of this team

Expected Best XI

Manager Thoughts

It has been a really bad start and I really do fear that we will be relegated this season. We have been really poor so far, and we just don't have enough going forward. The very fact that we are relying on the likes of Ager and Patterson, really tells you that we are lacking in the attack and I think as mentioned we will have to fight tooth and nail to survive this season.

Manager Bank Balance

 £33,992.40