(PAUSED) FM23 - Poles Apart, Let's Czech on how it's going. Youth Only - Czech Republic, Chapter Three

[KibworthBull]

13 hours ago, Raycast said:

Getting sacked on a 65% win rate is extremely harsh! This board don't know a good manager when they see one! Fingers crossed for Banaszak! 

The positive is that its lowered expectation slightly and allows the narrative to cull some players

[Raycast]

Every cloud and all that!! 

[KibworthBull]

December 2028

2 matches, both in the "winnable" category. And also, a first look at an intake.

Nikola Ćirić (4O) got us off to a flier, but sadly it was a case of scoring too early. Varsim B coming back to get the Double U..

And yeah..

Tatran were in the relegation zone. A bad defeat.

We are 8 points clear of the drop zone. Relegation surely should NOT be on the cards from this position.

The intake is classed as "Excellent", strength all over the pitch. We never seem to get left backs.

[KibworthBull]

January 2029

It's the battle of the louns to start of 2029.

Our in-ability to hit a barn door with a banjo right now is costing us. A third straight loss.

Rado showing his teeth by releasing one of the 1st intake, Tomáš Dort (1A), after 94 games, he's not featured for two seasons and is not likely again. He was on an amateur deal too, so no money was saved, it was just a chance for Rado to be mean.

The other match in the month was at home to Sokolov B - 3rd in the table.

Petr Polák (6C) came in for his debut in goal - the decision to drop Vladimír Vostárek (4A) was not an easy one, but it feels like the correct call. A victory and even Tomáš Kotrba (4M) helped himself to a goal.

A massive victory.

9 more matches remaining. I would hope 30 points will be enough, so that will mean 7 points from those 9 matches. 

 

[KibworthBull]

February 2029

A nice quirk in this save, we are unable to arrange friendlies between November and the end of January which means that match sharpness falls off a cliff. Something to do with when the youth teamers go on holiday. It's a pain in the arsenal.

In February we can put friendlies in and give the squad some football.

Away to Benesov is a tough place to start, they sit 3rd. It was not even a contest...

Only 3 of our players are considered "Good" for this level. I don't see why the board think anything better than Relegation candidates is where we are at.

Vltavin B are in the relegation zone so it's a point which does us more favours than them. They bought travelling numbers though which was a nice boost. Record attendance.

6th is probably our ceiling. 7 games to go, we play both of the bottom two again as well as the side top of the table.

[KibworthBull]

March 2029

I'll write off the first game of the month.

Ústí nad Labem B are top by some distance. A 2-0 defeat makes it sound a lot closer than it was in reality. Men against Boys.

Sometimes you get a result that could be huge. 2-1 down to Cizova with 20 to go, when Tomáš Kotrba (4M) bundled the ball into the net, we looked at it, and said, yep a draw will be a good result here. When Jerry Petitjean (6F) stepped up for a 95th minute penalty, nerves jangled.. He rarely misses...

A busy month... 3 games..

Semily, in 4th provided our final challenge, and 3 points pretty much secures our survival.

4 games remain. Mathematically Tatran can catch us, but there are 6 teams between us.

Intake came and went.. Only 10 of them were signed, which is the lowest we've had before.

We have a new No.1 keeper - from next season due to registration rules.

Jan Beran (7A) is better than what we already had

Jaromír Smrkovský (7B) will come into the picture as one of our starting DMs

[KibworthBull]

April 2029

All bets are off now we have secured our 4th tier place.

Eirik Andreas Toftaker (6H) ticks off Norway in the defeat to Tochovice. Fairly unlikely that he will feature often going forward. Very much not good enough currently.

We went back to full strength against Chomutov, the usual front pairing both getting on the scoresheet.

Just 2 more games to go. We've pretty much met the expectation.

[KibworthBull]

May 2029

Let's bring the curtain down on 2028/29

A semi-rotated side entertained Dobris for the last home game of the season. Jan Štochl (4N) playing one of the first games as a striker this season hits a double within the first 10 minutes and we see it out and give the home fans something to sing about.

Bohumin are relegated and dead last, and this is how we play when the shackles are completely off. 5 star showing. Talgat Suleimenov (6B) with the double this time.

6th place - middle of the pack

[KibworthBull]

2028/29 review

• If  we ignore the elephant in the room it was a good season - the board initially wanted a top half finish and that was what was delivered - just about.
• The sacking... it still feels a bit harsh on Boothby. We were 9th when it happened, and had picked up 2 points out of the previous 21 available, but still clear of the drop. Maybe the face didn't quite fit.
• Rado came in and won the first 3, before a run of 4 points from 21 points, but the season ended with 5 wins from 6
• Highest Attendance achieved - a near sell out, this contributed to the average attendance being the best, and we also gained 3 more twitter followers.
• A year of being Semi-Pro has only meant a £7k loss - not scary, but does mean we are currently unable to improve any of the facilities.

Goalkeepers:

Vostarek was king, but the crown has slipped slightly and his missed a few games. Jan Beran is better and will start as No.1 next season.

Defenders:

Left Back is still a problem, Lecocq was the main player but just hasn't performed, he struggled last year and didn't get better apart from a good opening game. There isn't really anything behind him that's better so I think I need to see what I can do tactically. Zdeněk Cibulka (4C) continues to be strong on the right hand side, a 6.94 puts him top 5 for player of the year. In the middle, Michal Šelicha (2B) and Patrik Grygar (4G) were the preferred combination, but neither excelled. They were okay.

Midfielders:

On the face of it, Dimitris Nikolopoulos (6A) had a good season, 2 goals, 6 assists, but an average rating of 6.66 suggests that when he wasn't contributing a goal or an assist he was woeful. He's still our best winger and will retain the slot for next year by default but some consistency would be nice. His personality is poor (Easily Discouraged) but I have no way of mentoring anyone yet as they are all too young. Pavel Koubek (5A) did a decent job but there wasn't anyone alongside him for long enough that gave our centre some bite, and on the left it was a striker for most of the season! We got a couple of half decent looking wingers in the intake so one of the them will hopefully step up.

Strikers:

Oh... if only Tomáš Kotrba (4M) was more consistent in front of goal - he goes weeks without scoring and then has little bursts. He's a goal every third game type of guy. Jan Štochl (4N) was our left winger, probably for too long to have any real impact on goal, the real star was Jerry Petitjean (6F) who takes a mean penalty (4 from 4) and got 14 across the year. To compete higher in the table, one of this trio needs to be a 20 goal a season player.

Challenge:

• Stochl got his 50th goal of the season, only another 250 to go on that challenge..
• Selicha is the main man for appearances and has moved to 130, a mere 870 to go there..
• We've had 16 nationalities, of which 13 have appeared for the first team, so another 87 there.
• Slow progress...

[KibworthBull]

July 2029

Here we go again.

Expectations are simple:

1. Mid Table 4th tier finish
2. Reach FA Cup Proper Round (win 1 tie..)

The Bookies make us 4th favourites, which is nice.

Chomutov is where we start things off.

Jan Štochl (4N) got 5 in 26 last season, well he got 4 in about an hour today, where the hell, an 8-0 win came from I do not know, but we will take it. We were very impressive, although Chomutov are considered one of the weaker sides at this level.

In Game Week Two, Slany got Slan (so much abuse of the English language here...), a second half display in front of 445 people. A fantastically strong attendance to start the season.

Back down to earth with a bump in the 3rd match. A defeat but a decent start to the season.

Both sides we beat are in the bottom two.

 

[KibworthBull]

August 2029

The FA Cup is our only chance at making any money, and we need a decent run before we hit the point where we can start to earn.

Cesky Krumlov is our preliminary round match-up, They were no match for Jerry Petitjean (6F) who bagged a treble, also a debut goal for Senad Agić (7C).

We will get our reward later in the month.

Zdeněk Cibulka (4C) has a host of 3rd and 4th tier sides whispering sweet nothings into his ears, fortunately he is currently immune to their words and doing the business, a couple of assists help secure victory over Semily.

The reward arrived in the middle of the month, in the shape of Zapy, a third tier side.

It was ugly, boy it was ugly.. But Petitjean (6F) found the only goal in a drab ugly, (did I mention it was ugly) win. We don't care..

A bit of rotation and Varney Laffor (7F) made his debut against Dobris, that's Liberia ticked off.

Admira Prague flit between the 3rd and the 4th tier, and we caught them at a low ebb, 3 more points to put us into 2nd place.

A real reward this time in the cup, home to Hradec Kralové, who were playing in the top flight two seasons ago, they are currently a strong 2nd tier side.

The assistant manager doesn't fancy our chances..

A bit disapointed that only 435 fans attended the game. Was hoping for a near sell out. They had a second gear in the second half and pulled away.

We are the only A side in the Top 6. Usti nad Ladem are not allowed to get promoted unless their senior side (T3) get promoted as well. Too early for 2nd to be enough!

[KibworthBull]

September 2029

It's a B month.

All 4 games are against B teams. So it's games versus the current top 6. This month will go along way to showing where we are this season.

Before we get to the action though - this could be either:

1. Interesting
2. Non Event

Our Belarussian has gotten increasingly annoyed at the lack of starts and has decided to move sidewards

The opening game of the month saw a debut for our Czech/Camerounian Franklin "Saxtys" Ipoua (6M) - given the nickname in tribute to Guy Ipoua who played for Hereford United in the 2005/06 season and was instrumental in our promotion that year, the fact he probably spent longer in the local wine bar (Saxtys) just adds to the legend. Franklin probably isn't good enough long term but he scored within 2 minutes of his debut, so will give him his moment in the sun.

The month has not started well, a draw, then defeat to Sokolov B by the odd goal in 5, then we face the top 2.

It Rumbles on...

I predict, absolutely nothing will change.

Varnsdorf B scored in the 91st minute, I don't like THOSE type of late goals. A point against the Champions, Champions Elect Ústí nad Labem B feels like a win.

A month that shows where we are:

Slap bang in the middle

 

 

[KibworthBull]

October 2029

After a winless month last month, the games start to slow down as we hit the colder months of the year.

Cizova sit 3rd and will be a tough test.

A point is a good result, especially away from home. 2 unbeaten, or 5 without a win depending on your mentality.

All the talk of a takeover was in fact... talk.. as you were then..

Those that have followed for a while will know that we pipped Roudnice nad Labem to the title two years back, well they won their league last season and we renewed our friendship and played out a 1-1 draw. 3 unbeaten, or 6 without.

Jerry Petitjean (6F) is still only 17 but he is developing the knack of scoring important goals - a double against Tochovice. He's now scored 36 for the club. 2nd place in the all-time chart.

It gives us an unbeaten month.

I think it's 3rd place for the 1 promotion slot as the top two have 'A' teams in the tier above.

[KibworthBull]

November 2029

Urgh..

A home defeat.

Not the best start. The only positive news story from the day is that Michal Šelicha (2B) has become the all-time league appearance maker for the club. 

It didn't get much better against Chomutov, yes we drew, so technically the result was better but they are in the relegation zone so it should have been a win.

The Left Back slot has been a problem for a while - no one performs in that area, technically our "best" player according to opinion was Antoine Lecocq (4F) but he hasn't featured all year, after 2 very poor seasons, he has decided to move on. 76 games, average average rating of 6.68

[KibworthBull]

December 2029

We will never have a better chance to pick up a win. Away to Slany - bottom of the pile.

We powered into a 2-0 lead and somehow contrived to lose the match. 

I've also been having a lot of conversations like this.

I wish I could bottle up how we perform in July and let it loose in the winter months.

Vlasim B were next, another team below us in the table. 

Mr All Time Appearance (Michal Šelicha (2B)) got us off to a perfect start and we were able to see it through!

And the final game of the decade?

When Jan Štochl (4N) is on form, he's lethal. Semily didn't see him coming. He also became the clubs leading scorer in process

In the end a good month.

Well this is nice.. apart from them being tier below

A standard screen..

Edited December 29, 2022 by KibworthBull

[KibworthBull]

January 2030

A little sprinkling of form going into 2030, 2 straight wins, 7 goals, no conceded. 8pts off 3rd - which could be the promotion spot this year. It's do-able.

Dobris are that side in 3rd.

A point against a higher placed side isn't a bad result, but it's another game ticked off AND we haven't narrowed the gap so the "it's do-able" phrase has taken a slight dent.

The board don't have much faith in the squad, they predicted we would lose to Admira Prague... I've got faith in my boys.

8 games for us - 5 behind Dobris - that's the challenge.

[KibworthBull]

February 2030

February is a month where little happens.

1 game - other than friendlies. One friendly did end 10-1 to us, but it was against a side several levels lower than us, outside of the pyramid.

As for the competitive match?

It was a laptop smasher..

A record attendence no less - I'm sure they all enjoyed the first 91 minutes.

The next 4 matches are against 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th - but not in that order.

 

[KibworthBull]

March 2030

A horrid month on paper.

2 very tough games.

Sokolov B, both teams could do with a victory if they have promotion ambitions. It was a dull 0-0. Sokolov A are in the relegation zone of Tier 2 so I don't think they will be allowed to be promoted. Despite being officially 6th, we are actually 3rd.

Victory over Varnsdorf B was tempered by the fact their "A" side are top of the 3rd tier so are likely to get promoted, so it doesn't matter what we do as mathematically they need 1 more point and we wouldn't be able to catch them.

Youth Intake

The 2030 intake will possibly go down as one of the worst looking initially.

The best is Radek Kindlmann (8A) but he doesn't look better than the players we already have. I can probably refresh my wingers as we've got good depth now so perhaps some tricky conversations need to happen with whoever is already here.

No new nationalities got deals - there was a Portugese player but wasn't good enough.

[KibworthBull]

April 2030

The Champions are Usti nad Labem, but they are unable to get promoted.

They were also unbeaten in the previous 24 matches... well not anymore...

Lukáš Kindlmann (4H) pulling the DM strings behind the scenes and picking up the man of the match acolade.

His partner for most of the season has been Pavel Koubek (5A), until he broke his foot in the 5-2 win over Cizova.

His partner for most of the season has been Pavel Koubek (5A), until he broke his foot in the 5-2 win over Cizova.

Up to 5th in the table. We are either 2pts off the 1 promotion spot OR Varnsdorf B have already secured it but are keeping quiet. All I know is next month needs 3 wins.

[KibworthBull]

May 2030

Victory over Roudnice nad Labem and results went our way - Jerry Petitjean (6F) with a treble - put us 3rd before we got the gut wrenching news that Varnsdorf B were promoted.

It's Jerry's month, with a double against Tochovice which secures a top 5 finish.

The unbeaten run came to an end in the last match - just to dampen down expectations for next year. We finish 4th.

[KibworthBull]

2029/30 Season Review

• Best Ever League finish - 4th place - although miles behind the promoted side and the champions
• Set new highest attendance - 676
• Twitter followers and Season Tickets hit new heights
• Decent FA Cup run

Goalkeepers:

Jan Beran was the main man, which has put Vostarek's nose well and truly out of joint. Both are wanted by bigger sides.

Defenders:

Selicha returned to form and had a very good season alongside Grygar who has made his spot his own now and is actually rated higher than Selicha. Martin Marek had an okay season at LB, but still hasn't cemented the spot, maybe Zitny could be the man next year. On the right, Cibulka keeps others at bay.

Midfielders:

Arifovic established himself as the Left Winger which was nice, Koubek and Kindlmann in the middle, and it's been that way for a while. The Right side has become a problem, Dimi Nik has failed to adapt to the fourth tier, Rehak has done better but is still not quite there. We've got a lot of new wingers in the intake, one of these may come through and take the crown.

Strikers:

Stochl and Petitjean contributed nearly 50 goals between them this year, both can still get better as well. Kotrba has completely gone off grid, and Suleimenov is potentially missing the boat as well. We've got 2 fabulous strikers, but nothing much behind them.

Nothing new to report in the achievements:

[KibworthBull]

July 2030

We had a bit of a cull at the end of last season.

Gone are Kim Cahill (1D), Miroslav Mejer (1E), Oqbah Al-Shaar (2E),  Jan Vajs (4D), and Caner Can (4E) and a bucket load of players who featured in maybe the odd game at best. We shouldn't miss any of them.

The expectation is mid-table again and have a fair cup run. I'm hoping that we can take that 2nd place and get ourselves into the 3rd tier.

And.. well we've had worse opening days...

10-0...

wow...

Dimitris Nikolopoulos (6A) with a hattrick of goals and assists. League and Club Record victory.

I'm not getting too carried away as we always start the season well. It's when the weather turns that we fall to pieces.

Jerry Petitjean (6F) helps us past Chormutov before he goes nuts against Tatran Rakovnik.

He has 10 goals in 3 games.

We look rather good at home.

Surprisingly we are top..

[KibworthBull]

August 2030

After the goal fest of July, fully expecting a 0-0 or two now the season really starts.

In the FA Cup it was the early show with 3 goals in 20 minutes securing safe passage, a debut was given to Stefanos Chrysostomou (7H) so thats Cyprus ticked off the list.

Nearly a 0-0 against Benesov, but Jan Štochl (4N) ruined the fun with the winner.

Jerry Petitjean (6F) going for the golden boot this year, another hattrick, and Semily are smashed. He sits 8 goals ahead of 2nd.

Domažlice are a 3rd tier side and their gaffer thought this would be an easy tie.. it was to be fair..

Ústí nad Labem B have won the league every season we've been in it, this will be the acid test to how good we are.

Losing Lukáš Kindlmann (4H) to injury was not needed, but a convincing 3-0 victory certainly puts a marker down. Lukas will miss 2 months.

Just like last year we faced 2nd tier in the 2nd round and came out 2nd best. It's all about the league this year.

A nice lead.

[KibworthBull]

September 2030

Smart money suggests that Dobris will be in and around the challengers this year.

A bit of a late show with both our goals coming in last 20 but another 3 points to add to our total.

International call ups could impact us over the next 3 months, we will lose 3 for one game each month. Dimi the greek was away so Jiří Smetana (8B) made a debut. Thankfully Haiti haven't noticed Jerry Petitjean (6F) - another 4 for the tally. 21 for the season. He's going big.

Poříčany are 15th in the table so it was merely a question of how many we would score, settled for three with Centre Back Patrik Grygar (4G) getting a double, that's 8 for the season in 12.

A perfect month, 10 games gone, a perfect season so far.

We play Cizova and Admira Prague in October. Could be a pivotal month.

 

[KibworthBull]

October 2030

Biggest month ever..

Admira Prague in 3rd. The hard work was done in the first half, second half they through the kitchen sink at us but only 1 goal breached the defences. A big win.

International week ties in with the Cizova match, they are 2nd. It's also our 1st fans day.

354 witness our 5-1 victory. Our names on the trophy this year.

Jerry Petitjean (6F) is human. He missed his first penalty. Yeah, okay he has 23 goals already this season so I doubt he will be too concerned.

Another unbeaten month

[KibworthBull]

November 2030

Vlasim B were hit for 10 earlier in the season. So of course they inflict our first defeat of the season.

Luka Arifovic (7D) has recieved a call up for Austria U21s and the Haitian sides are starting to take an interest in our Jerry. Ironically his debut is against Bosnia - his 2nd nationality.

Back on the horse with goals from Stochl and Petitjean, coupled with Cizova losing mean the gap is back to 12 points. 722 attended which is a new record.

More rumours... 

The oppo are resorting to dirty tricks to try and stub out Jerry

Back to Back victories finish the month.

13 clear

[KibworthBull]

December 2030

Dynamics has been horrible trying to control so it's great that we finally have some players on here

Błażej Kujawa (8H) made a strong debut against Chomutov, that's Poland ticked off as a nation who has played.

Vladimír Vostárek (4A) has played twice this season, and we've lost them both. A frustrating post Christmas game.

10 more matches and we sit 14 points clear - 15 clear if you remember that Usti nad Labem B can't get promoted.

Traditional picture

[KibworthBull]

January 2031

New Year.. Same Stuff..

Jerry Petitjean (6F) wracks up his 30th goal of the season. Semily are near the drop zone so wasn't expecting much of a challenge.

The other January game will be the tougher one.

Away to Ústí nad Labem B - back to back champions.

For 87 minutes it was the perfect performance. The last 5 were not..

It shouldn't matter. Only the top 7 can catch us. 

[KibworthBull]

February 2031

February is traditionally a friendly month as all teams try and get some match sharpness back.

Dobris and Us shared 9 goals in the first hour, the remaining 30 was a cagey affair with a lack of goals. 5-4. A thriller. Luka Arifovic (7D) the star of the show.

Libis at the end of the month, were undone by the usual strikers.

We are almost there. 18 points ahead of 3rd.

March has 1 game, against a side with 11 points..

[KibworthBull]

March 2031

Promotion Party?

A comfortable victory. 

Breaking News..

Usti could actually get promoted. There "A" side are top of the table, so we need a further 5 points. Champagne is on ice. We'll have to do it in April.

Intake Day?

What's not to love..

2 defenders have come through the intake, not regular starters but improve the back-ups

[KibworthBull]

April 2031

5 points is all that stands between us and the third tier.

Sokolov B is where we start this month.

2-0 down, we drag it back to 2-2 and then give away a late penalty. Not the best start.

The run in's for both. Fairly even.

A much better performance against Admira Prague, Jerry Petitjean (6F) does the business to move to 38 goals for the season. 

We now need 2 points from the 3 games in May.

[KibworthBull]

May 2031

Our first World Cup player - even though it's only the U20s

Cizova (4th) - a tricky trip. Or not as the case turned out to be.

Another fan day to try and entice the locals in

Our first draw of the season, called a resounding success so lets hope we see more numbers through the door.

The Chairman has had enough. We've never really warmed to each other. He keeps saying No to me..

Our final match in the 4th tier and debutant Václav Kilián (8G) gets a double.

The final standings.

[Raycast]

Congratulations on the championship and the chair leaving. Hopefully the new chair is decent. 

[KibworthBull]

13 hours ago, Raycast said:

Congratulations on the championship and the chair leaving. Hopefully the new chair is decent. 

He's already turned down the idea of improving any facilities, but he has allowed me to take a coaching course. So that's something.

[KibworthBull]

2030/31 REVIEW

The Story so far..

Highlights:

• 13 straight wins at the start of the season provided a gap that allowed us to win the league without any major alarm. It took us until week 26 to secure the title as there was a minor wobble (10 wins from 15..)
• A near full house of 722 helped push the average attendance to 351.
• Twitter followers continue to rise nicely
• The finances hit a record low of -£89k, although a loan with the new chairman and a 24k sponsorship deal have reset things for next season.

Goalkeepers:

Jan Beran was No.1 all year, I gave Vostarek two chances and we lost both of them. I suspect the 4th tier will prove to be his level. Vostarek has not been a happy bunny so he may well move on during the season.

Defenders:

Patrik Grygar has become our best defender, a goal scoring one at that - just the 10 for the season. Jaromir Vosahlik is a wanted man with some top flight sides casting an eye on him. Those two will start the new season as the Centre Back pairing as Selicha is injured for a few weeks. Martin Levcik has moved on.

Zdenek Cibulka has the Right Back spot nailed down still, not only is he the best option by a distance, he is also performing well. The Left Back spot is still tricky, Martin Marek and Petr Zitny will battle it out for the starting spot. 

Midfielders:

Dimi Niko has finally come to the party, he had two very poor seasons before smasing it last year, he hasn't yet broken into the Greek U21 squad but is a regular at U19/U20 level. Luka Arifovic broke into the Austrian U21s after a solid season on the left wing. In the middle it was Pavel Koubek when fit and Lukas Kindlmann. Jiri Smetana from the 8th intake has had a few chances and performed well.

Strikers:

On paper Tomas Kotrba is our best striker. The goalscoring record suggests otherwise. Jerry Petitjean (39) and Jan Stochl (18) were a big reason why we cantered to the title. Vaclav Killian got a double on debut so I am going to try and incorporate him into the squad next year. I can only register 25 players which means a lot of players are not going to get football this season. We have no U19s side - the game never puts fixtures in for them - so this could be a blocker for development.

The Challenges:

We had our 17th nationality come through the intake, with a Ukrainian defender who is yet to make their debut. Hopefully by the end of the next season we will have our first 100 goal player from the academy, and maybe have our first 200 appearance maker.

[KibworthBull]

July 2031

We've played some 3rd tier sides in the FA Cup and so far have an unbeaten 100% record, so I am fairly confident we will be okay. All sides are similar financially and no-one appears to be paying wages for players, so it looks like everyone is in the same boat. The B sides look strong so that could be a blocker.

Pardubice B is where this chapter begins in the 3rd tier.

Start as you mean to go on Sylvanus Adekunle (9A), came on 56th minute, and by the 78th minute had picked up two bookings and was walking off in a very short debut. Good job we won! The traditional Stochl/Petitjean combination with the goals.

We probably would have beaten Bohemians B last season - if that makes sense - neither side could find a goal, in the 4th tier we probably would have done, but an unbeaten month, albeit two games, is not to be sniffed at.

Ah well.. The downside of not being able to give players contracts. That's our first player that has been poached by a top flight club.

Safe passage in the FA Cup - a semi rotated side beat the 5th tier opposition. Vladyslav Kolesnyk (9C) made his debut to tick off the Ukraine as a nation produced.

A nice league start:

[KibworthBull]

August 2031

If a big club came in for Jan Štochl (4N) or Jerry Petitjean (6F) we could find ourselves in a spot of bother. 

Both of them on form and we beat Rakovnik.

We beat Zapy in the FA Cup a couple of seasons ago, and they were quiet pleased with their afternoon until Stochl popped up with a winner in the 95th minute.

Lower league oppo again in the Cup - Velka Bites. Bites by name, Bites by nature, a tough afternoon which was heading to extra time before Talgat Suleimenov (6B) popped up with a late winner. Lots of late goals and they are dropping our way at the moment.

The only question will be, which 2nd tier side will knock us out in the next round? Answer next month..

Jablonek B make us look ordinary. The first time this season we've looked a bit out of our depths.

Chrudim are 2nd and look very good. A tough day at the office, but we are still well placed.

Back on the horse, and end the month with a victory, another very late goal from Talgat Suleimenov (6B).

5th. If that's where we end the season then I'll be happy.

[KibworthBull]

September 2031

Traditional dictates that we will fall at the 2nd Round hurdle, to a 2nd tier side.

We did ourselves no favours. 2 red cards in 4 second half minutes killed off any hopes we had. We faded.

I think we had a hangover for the opening 30 minutes at Hradec Kralove B, 2 down and poor, but the usual two up front got us, not only back, but also ahead. Before they sneaked back into it with an injury time equalisier. Possibly a good point.

Looks an outstanding point as Varnsdorf smash us in the next one.

Mladá Boleslav B are one of the favourites for the league so losing their is no shame. 

We are in desperate need of a victory, just to release the pressure a little bit.

The unlikliest goalscorer in the team - Tomáš Kotrba (4M), our non-scoring striker, pops up with a winner against Rosice. A big win.

Any hopes of back to back promotions has probably faded. 

 

[KibworthBull]

October 2031

Huge match to start the month. Trutnov are 15th and in the relegation zone.

Jan Štochl (4N) chose the perfect moment to score his 100th goal for the club, and another 3 goals to secure victory in that one.

A fair 24 hours for Dimitris Nikolopoulos (6A), a return to the Greece U21 squad, and then the winner against Kozlovice. Another side that is below us in the table, so another game that feels like a must win.

Teplice B are the reserves of a 1st tier side so it's not a fair contest.. shouldn't have conceded 6 though.

Near enough the halfway point. We should be okay. There's enough points on the table for us to pick up enough.

[KibworthBull]

November 2031

Start with your toughest challenge and the rest will be easier?

Slovan Liberec B at home. I feared the worst but Jan Štochl (4N) had other ideas, a hat-trick and the points came our way. Jaromír Vošahlík (6D) was in the opposition squad after his early season move.

We win the one where I don't think we have a chance, so of course we lose the one I thought we could win. Pardubice B take revenge on our opening day win.

Based on previous seasons, Jerry Petitjean (6F) has found things tough at this level, a double against Bohemians B has bought him to 9 in 15. That GPG ratio is not too shabby of course, it's just based on what he did last year, it looks poor.

We are picking up enough points and the bottom two are starting to get adrift.

[KibworthBull]

December 2031

I'm never quite sure which side of us will turn up this season - and that's how it should be when you get promoted. We turned up against Rakovnik 1903 and dominated the stats... and lost 5-1..

Radosław Banaszak bought up game no.100 against Zapy, who sit 3rd in the table and are on quite a roll. So naturally we won.

Another month of winning the games we shouldn't, and losing the ones we should win.

All of a sudden we only have 11 games left this season, between NOW and May..

The intake preview is as pointless as ever. Tells you nothing.

[KibworthBull]

January 2032

Middle of the table clash against Jablonec B helps us see in 2032.

It could have gone either way, just didn't go our way and our unbeaten start to the year falls before it's even started.

Chrudim sit 2nd and are fighting for promotion, we have the least optimisic board and fans on the planet. The best we expect is a draw..

For once they were not wrong..

Not a good month..

For the season, we have done enough.

[KibworthBull]

February 2032

2 league matches in February, both very much in the winnable category.

Velvary are a side in worse form than us, and an end to end match was finally settled when Patrik Grygar (4G) bundled in a winner.

Our Cypriot boy has decided that Cyprus is a better place to play football. Not a huge loss.

Talgat Suleimenov (6B) was an attacking midfielder in a side that doesn't play that role, so has been learning how to play as an Advanced Forward, he's getting there nicely, a double to secure victory over Hradec Kravlove B gives us an 100% month.

Will settle for anything that is Top 10

[KibworthBull]

March 2032

Yeah Baby... it's March.

Beautiful month.

It's the intake month.

The hope that you get someone or two that can walk into your side masks the realisation that you might get one who could, at some point, add something to the overall squad.

In terms of on the pitch, Varnsdorf have a small lead at the top of the table..

We never stood a chance.. 0-2 after 10 minutes. They are a bit good.

Similar story for the match against Mladá Boleslav B, we took the lead, but they over powered us as the game progressed.

9th feels about right

As for the intake.

Tadeáš Hampl (10A) looks to be a player that will be involved in the squad next season.

Milan Onofrej (10B), i think Milan is better than 2 star current ability - decent finisher, good composure and determined. Just needs to work on the physicals a bit.

Possibly a couple of additional nationalities in the future.

Samuel Elias (10F) is an Ethiopian/Czech, Heading = 3 for someone 6'5 is a concern - he's got a deal for the possibility of switching to Ethiopia.

There's also a Brazilian on the books but is unlikely to get a deal. 

 

[KibworthBull]

April 2032

5 games left, split over 2 months.

Squad Rotation is the aim, I've got 25 players registered and need to work out who is not good enough.

Which probably means we wont win many.

Rostice were the first to take advantage, putting 3 past us with only a reply from Jerry Petitjean (6F).

Trutnov are all but relegated, a 2-0 victory which all but secures a finish of 9th at the lowest for our first at this level.

An exciting promotion race, which we have a small say in - Teplice B come to our place next month.

[KibworthBull]

May 2032

Kozlovice are another side staring down the barrel of relegation, but they have at least a chance. It becomes tough as we smash 5 past them.

Teplice B have jumped to the top of the table before their visit, in a very exciting three way at the top.. their victory takes it down to the final day.

Sloven Liberec B on the last day, a draw was a good result

We secured 8th position. Vansdorf won their game and won the game.

Martin looking to step aside - only been in the job 12 months! 

[KibworthBull]

Reached the point in the save where I need to take a break and do something a bit different for a small time.  This journey will continue, it might be a day, might be a week, might be a month, but the story is not finished.