[FM23] Another Island Life - Green Lion Pride - A Guernsey FC Youth Story

[Hootieleece]

Your Conceded goals are less than expected you ARE doing well defensively, and it is less than goals scored. You are doing well!

 

[Punch]

1 hour ago, Hootieleece said:

Your Conceded goals are less than expected you ARE doing well defensively, and it is less than goals scored. You are doing well!

 

It could always be worse, but we have the equal worst defensive record, outside those teams fighting over relegation.

Mind you, we have score more goals than everyone in the League, with the exception of Crewe, who have scored 4 more.

We have always been a pretty good attacking team, just need to close down some of those defensive lapses which have been costing us points, and we should be looking good next season.

[Punch]

 

MAY 2030 - Match Day 46 - At Weymouth FC

 

Bob Lucas Stadium - Weymouth

Spoiler

 

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A dominant performance, but we struggled to hit the target, and it was mostly up to the heroics of keeper Sejdini who got us over the line in this one.

Despite dominating possession and shots, our accuracy was way off, and it nearly cost us as we gave the host plenty of chances as well.

We somehow managed to scrape together a win, to finish the season on a high note.

 

 

 

Table

Spoiler

We finish the season in 13th place, with more wins than losses, which is pretty impressive for our first season in the National League.

At either end of the table, nothing changed as Dorking stayed in the last play off spot, and Fylde were relegated.

 

 

Up next...we have a few friendlies before taking on Rochdale in the FA Trophy Final.

[Punch]

    

 

MAY 2030 - FA Trophy Final - Vs Rochdale AFC

 

Wembley Stadium - London

Spoiler

 

 

Match Report

Spoiler

Our second trip to Wembley in three years results in a massive upset, as we come from behind to run the highly fancied Dale down in the final 10 minutes, and then held our nerve in the shoot out.

Rochdale dominated the first half, and took a deserved lead at the break, and to be fair, we were probably lucky to not be further behind.

We went a second goal behind not long after the break, and they appeared to be cruising to victory, and they may have been to their detriment.

We woke up late, scoring twice in the final 10 minutes to shock Dale into a penalty shoot out.

Having come from behind to lose in shoot out three years ago, the boys held their nerve this time around, hammering home all five shots, while Sejdini came up with the big play to make the save.

Pepe then stepped up to hammer home the final penalty, to send the Green Lions fans into raptures on an historic day for the club.

 

 

 

 

Up next...time to review the season that was.

[Punch]

 

MAY 2030

We rounded out the League season with a win, before throwing in a few friendlies to keep the legs fit before we stunned the punters to knock over Rochdale on the FA Trophy Final.

 

A reasonably happy Analyst this month.

 

We finished the season in 13th place, while Yeovil upset the play offs coming from 6th place to win their way into the Football League.

 

We took a big hit to the finances this month, as we talked the Board into spending some of our bank balance.

 

I first went after an upgrade to the Youth Facilities, which they initially declined, but after some smooth talking, they finally agreed that it was a good idea, and approved the upgrade.

 

After that, I decided to try my luck further and requested an upgrade for the Training Facilities, which the Board agreed to, without argument.

 

Hopefully we will start to see benefits from these upgrades next season.

[Hootieleece]

Great Job winning the Trophy! It's time to Party!

[Punch]

25 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Great Job winning the Trophy! It's time to Party!

Thank you! We came from the clouds to win that one

[Punch]

 

2029-2030 Season Review

 

[Punch]

 

2029-2030 Season Review - Stats

 

Goalkeepers

A lot of games for Sejdini, but he is the only goalkeeper up to the standard at this stage. He also managed to cross the 200 League game milestone this season.

 

Defenders

Three newcomers really stepped up into the rotation this season as Jones, Wigman and Kidby all forced their way into regular first team selection.

Plenty of games shared around as we needed a lot of rotation to get through the season, particularly with deep Cup runs.

 

Midfielders

Alexandrou and Jones stepped up to lead the midfield, while Geall is earning plenty of minutes, and Salmon has seemingly embraced his position as a part of the rotation.

 

Forwards

Massive amounts of rotation required here as well to get through the season as well.

A big come down for Docherty, after scoring over 70 goals in the last two seasons. Hopefully just an off season, or there are new kids starting to push their way through.

 

I thought Docherty might be a chance of breaking Allen's records, but with the slow down of this season, he has a long way to go.

[Punch]

 

2029-2030 Season Review - Attribute Review

 

That time of the year where we get to review the progress, or not, of the players this season.

 

Goalkeepers

Sejdini is so far ahead of the rest, it's going to be a while before he gets challenged.

Our youngest, Arani, looks like he could be the next serious challenger, but there will need to be some big growth before then.

 

Defenders

A massive improvement from Wigman, as he becomes a regular in the first team, and our highest rating defender all in the same season.

Plenty of solid choices to pack the rotation, which is well needed with the number of games we played through the season.

 

Midfielders

We have a really solid rotation of central midfielders coming though, with some decent back ups to help out the rotation as well.

 

Forwards

Kirkpatrick and Pepe continue to lead the line, but it's interesting to see that Docherty has fallen so far down the line.

Plenty of kids coming through that will be pushing for more time as well.

 

Best Squad

We have some really solid choices coming through in all positions now.

If we can keep these kids improving, and work on their consistency, and we have the backbone for a seriously talented squad.

 

We had a big spike in the average attribute this season, jumping from below 46, to over 48, while our average age has crossed back over 20, for the first time since we started playing only academy players.

 

Overall, the squad is coming along very nicely. We fought hard this season, although lacking a little consistency, but we held our own in our first National League season, and took out the FA Trophy.

Things are really looking up for the Green Lions.

[Punch]

 

JUN 2030 - Off Season things

 

It's moving season, and there was plenty of movement as we let go of 17 players.

With a large group of players, I said we needed to get ruthless about which academy players we kept, but I have had to make the same decisions with some of the players in the squad.

These players had not improved, reached their potential, or had been surpassed by players with more potential.

 

Some good teams coming up and down to join us in the National League for the new season.

 

We kick off the season against newly promoted Dover.

 

No massive expectations from the Board, avoid relegation, be competitive in the Cups.

 

That will cover a weeks wages

 

Massive favourites for the drop again, not even in the same park as the rest of the field.

 

A decent month financially as we have good early Season Ticket sales.

 

Friendly season arrives with plenty of games, to get some early season fitness into the legs.

[Punch]

 

A new season - new beginnings - new adventures

 

The new season will bring a presentation shift, as I will be switching back to monthly (or so) updates.

These updates may become a bit randomly timed for a while due to a lifestyle change, which is going to result in more traveling.

This may result in less playtime, and a less regular internet connection, which may effect how often I update.

 

Thank you to those that have been following along, and commenting, and I will continue to provide updates as often as I can.

Stay safe, and have fun all.

[Punch]

 

JUL 2030

A cracking series of results as we go through the July friendlies unbeaten, while keeping four clean sheets in six games.

 

A great month financially as the season ticket sales continue to be impressive.

 

An increase of nearly 100 tickets sold on last season.

 

After a month of pre-season, we are now even more highly fancied to be relegated.

 

One more friendly before we kick of the season proper at home to Dover, we also face some tough games, Rochdale will be keen for revenge after the FA Trophy Final, and Notts are always a tough opponent.

[Punch]

 

AUG 2030

A heavily rotated squad went down in the final friendly, before we made a blistering start to the season, hammering Dover and Boston, then back to back come from behind draws.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

Absolute domination as we score a half dozen to open the season, and even managed to save a penalty along the way.

 

The hosts scored first but from then on it was all one way traffic as we ran over the top of them, managing to keep their late pressure at bay.

 

A really tight battle as Dover, looking for revenge after their FA Trophy defeat, and probably should have won comfortably, but we scored an injury time equaliser to steal a point.

 

Notts Co dominated the first three quarters of the match before falling asleep at the wheel, allowing us to score two late goals, stealing another point away from home.

 

 

A very happy Analyst as we outperform expectations.

 

We find ourselves in the surprising heights of third place.

 

Massively outperforming the xG which suggests we should be down closer to the relegation zone than the play off zone.

 

Stats

 Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

A hit the the bank balance this month before the Cup games kick in.

 

The fans are unhappy that we let go some of the long term players, but so far the results show that we are not missing them.

 

Some tough matches in the month ahead.

[Punch]

 

SEP 2030

A real mixed bag as we alternated losses and wins through the month.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

Too many mistakes in this one, and we got punished. This is one that got away form us.

 

A really great performance in this one as we dominated from the start, and continued through the second half, running out solid winners.

 

Even though we took an early lead, we were outplayed for the majority of this match, and while we had chances to get something out of this, we probably didn't deserve it.

 

A good old fashion battle in this one, but we held our nerve, got a goal, and kept a clean sheet to secure three points.

 

We should have been belted in this one as we were outplayed all over the park, but we hung tough in defence, and were almost unlucky to not get something out of this one.

 

 

A very happy Analyst as we continue to perform above expectations.

 

We have fallen out of the play off spots at the moment, although we were probably over achieving being up that high last month.

 

Even though we are outperforming both for and against, the xG still thinks we should be closer to the relegation zone than the play off zone.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

Another hit to the finances this month, as we had only two home games.

 

The Board rewarded me with another contract extension, including a small pay rise.

 

The fans are not as easy to please as the Board.

 

Training Facilities upgrade has been completed, with the Youth Facilities still underway, to be completed soon, so it will be interesting to see what benefits we receive from our £1.3 million investment.

 

Another busy month coming up, but there will be a change when the FA Cup is drawn.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2030 - FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Draw

 

We will host Chichester to kick off our FA Cup campaign.

 

Our match against Gillingham gets moved back a few days.

[Punch]

 

The Docherty V Pepe move

 

Joe Docherty has long lead our front line, being the leading goal scorer. However, last year he really struggled to adjust to the step up to the National League, were he was under a lot of pressure, and seemed to be snatching at chances that did come along, and as a result, his shooting accuracy plummeted below 40%.

Meanwhile, Pepe, who had been cutting his teeth on either wing, was chomping at the bit to get forward.

Midway through last season I made the change to swap them around, and it had a remarkable effect on both players.

Docherty seemed to enjoy the freedom that was afforded to him with more space, and started turning provider, as much as scorer.

While Pepe became an absolute pest in the front line, making a complete nuisance of himself among the opposition defenders, sometimes dragging two or three markers, which created space and chance for others.

 

 

 

While Pepe's form has been down a little bit, they both combined have been much improved since the change was made.

Docherty has turned into the provider, Pepe has turned into the scorer.

 

The change seems to have been positive so far, even if it makes it less likely that Docherty will break Ross Allen's scoring record, so it will be interesting to see how this dynamic progresses.

 

[Jtomsett11]

On 02/07/2023 at 11:37, Punch said:

 

2029-2030 Season Review

 

What a great season! I've been struggling to find time to play let alone read on the forums so saved your posts for one go and very pleased to see the cup win! Am I right that's the first cup win of this save? Excellent season overall and I bet you'll be challenging for play offs next year!

[Punch]

44 minutes ago, Jtomsett11 said:

What a great season! I've been struggling to find time to play let alone read on the forums so saved your posts for one go and very pleased to see the cup win! Am I right that's the first cup win of this save? Excellent season overall and I bet you'll be challenging for play offs next year!

Thank you! Good to see you still around, even if only occasionally. I may have the same lack of playing time issue coming soon, so making the most of it while I can

Yep, first Cup win for this save, which was a great ending to a season where we really over achieved.

Not sure if we will be ready for the play offs yet, but as long as we keep showing improvement, then I will be happy.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2030

An up and down month as we won two, lost three, and had a draw in the League this month, although we did also advance in the FA Cup.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

A really disappointing result as Kettering smothered us, and despite dominating possession, they let us do nothing with it.

 

All of a sudden we remembered what to do with the ball, Docherty finding all the space in the world on the wing, scoring goals at will.

 

We got away with one here as we snatched a late point, which was probably not deserved, although they did switch off in the final 10.

 

Dominated out of the game, we could have been further behind if not for Sejdini, who saved his second penalty in as many attempts this season.

 

They had a player sent off early, but it took us until late in the second half to really make the advantage pay. A solid performance to take all three points though.

 

We dominated the match but could not get the ball in the net, the hosts making us pay after the break, scoring a goal from which we could not recover.

 

A heavily rotated squad against the lower League opponent, and the kids didn't let us down, dominating the game as we belted them on our way to the 1st Round proper.

 

We will face Eastleigh, who we don't have a great record against.

 

 

The Analyst is happy despite the up and down month, as we are still outperforming expectations.

 

We find ourselves in the mid table, with the win-loss-win-loss results sending us backwards at the moment.

 

The xG suggests we are about where we should be at the moment.We are well ahead on goals scored, and outperforming goals against.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

This month has seen a lot more players get on the pitch, as we are already seeing early signs of player getting fatigued, as seven matches this month, and it's only going to get worse over the next few.

 

 

A good crowd in the Cup game sees us turn a good result financially this month.

 

The fans are still harder markers than the Board at the moment.

 

Another seven games incoming, while we also appear in our second televised League game at the end of the month.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2030 - Analyst Spotlight

 

The Analyst highlight keeper, Jeton Sejdini to take a closer look at this month.

He has had a pretty good start to the season, despite a few errors leading to goals, he has also saved the two penalties he has faced so far.

 

He has conceded slightly more goals than expected, but his numbers in the other areas are very impressive.

Would like to see some more clean sheets though.

 

 

Sejdini continues to turn out good numbers, which is just as well, because we don't currently have a keeper with enough quality to challenge him.

[Punch]

 

NOV 2030

A busy month as we mix five League games, for two wins, two losses, and a draw, around two wins in the FA Cup, including a boil over at Rotherham.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

A real tight tussle in this one as both sides had their chances to win, but we had to settle for a point each.

 

One of the craziest games I've seen, as we gave up a 3-1 lead for the visitors to come back to 3-3, but we then went on a tear scoring three more goals to take a 6-3 win

 

Outplayed in this one as Crewe dominated the game to take a comfortable win.

 

Dorking have been killing it in the League this season, and they dominated this one to take a comfortable win. Sejdini saved his third penalty in as many attempts.

 

We were massive underdogs in this one, and we held our own, upsetting Boreham with a late winner.

 

A really tight battle but we got the better of League rival Eastleigh, with the match decided by a single goal.

 

We then drew a trip to League One Rotherham, who were massive favourites, and took a comfortable lead into the half time break after dominating the first 45.

But they fell asleep after the break allowing us to level the scores, and while they were putting the pressure on for a late winner, we caused a massive upset by scoring an injury time winner.

 

We are off to the Hotspur Stadium for another crack at the 3rd Round.

 

 

The Analyst is pretty happy with our performances, as we still out perform expectations.

 

We sit 12th, with a game in hand.

 

The xG has us closer the the relegation area than mid-table.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

A great month financially as the FA Cup receipts and prize money give us a big boost.

 

 

Another upgrade completed. Hopefully the combined upgrades will provide future benefit.

 

An enormous month coming up, beginning with the moved TV game against Radcliffe, and our FA Trophy Title defence kicks off against Spennymoor.

[Punch]

 

NOV 2030 - Analyst Spotlight

 

The Analyst has highlighted young central midfielder Luc Geall for me to take a closer look at this month.

An outside prospect at the beginning of the season, he has managed to push his way into regular playing time with excellent performances.

 

He is putting up some great numbers in comparison to the League averages, although could do some work on his tackling.

 

 

His progress has been so good, that he has managed to push long time first choice, Dennis Salmon, down the pecking order.

If he continues to improve, we have a prospect of a genuinely talented midfielder, who will serve the team well for a long time to come.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Punch

[Punch]

 

DEC 2030

A massive month as we fit in seven League games, starting off with three straight wins, before three straight losses, ending the month with a surprise draw against The Magpies.

We also advanced in the FA Trophy, with a close win to start our title defence.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

 

Despite the mixed results, the Analyst is still pretty happy.

 

We find ourselves in 11th, the goals conceded is still a concern.

 

We are still outperforming expectations in all areas though.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

We make a decent loss this month with minimal Cup games.

 

 

The hectic schedule continues through the new year.

[Punch]

 

DEC 2030 - Youth Intake Preview

 

 

While the Youth Intake preview usually leaves you wondering why they bother, as it rarely matches up to what you end up receiving, this one is a concern, as I think it is one of the worst I have ever seen.

There are no predicted decent prospects in any position.

Looks like we better hope a few of the previous years kids step up help us push forward.

[Punch]

 

DEC 2030 - Analyst Spotlight

 

This month, the Analyst has highlighted central midfielder Evgenios Alexandrou.

Coming out of the academy as the player with the highest attribute rating we had seen, he did however, have minimal room for growth.

 

He is producing some really good numbers this season, and takes control of the midfield, getting us going forward into attack.

 

 

Approaching 100 appearances for the club, he will still be a mainstay in the center of midfield for a while, he has already nearly at his maximum potential, although as the younger kids improve, he may find himself ending up playing the support player if we want to advance through the Leagues.

[Punch]

 

JAN 2031

Two wins, two draws, and a thumping loss at York from our five League games this month.

We exited the FA Cup at the hands of Tottenham, while we continued on our Trophy defence, with a shoot out win.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

We are still over achieving in most areas making the Analyst happy.

 

Still sitting in the mid-table in 12th place. While we haven't yet reached the magical 50 point mark, we are a long way from the relegation zone.

 

Although the xG suggests we should be a lot closer to the relegation zone still.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

Defenders

 

Midfiedlers

 

Forwards

 

 

We took over £1 million for our share of the FA Cup gate at Spurs, making for a massive month financially.

 

 

One less Cup to deal with, but still plenty of games coming up.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Punch

[Punch]

 

JAN 2031 - Analyst Spotlight

 

The Analyst has highlights Myles Wigman to take a look at this month.

The young defender has quickly established himself in the first team, being not only one of our best defenders, but quickly become one of the best players at the club.

 

Attempts and wins a lot of tackles, although as he stands only 176 cm tall, he doesn't win a lot of headers, but still throws himself in to make plenty of blocks.

Having just turned 20, he puts up plenty of good numbers, and still has room for improvement.

 

Some really impressive numbers being put up by a young player, who has the potential to be a mainstay in our defensive line for some time to come.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Punch

[Hootieleece]

53 minutes ago, Punch said:

Some really impressive numbers being put up by a young player, who has the potential to be a mainstay in our defensive line for some time to come.

Is he playing Centerback or Fullback? If he is playing Fullback I'd be worried about the lack of crosses completed.

[Punch]

16 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Is he playing Centerback or Fullback? If he is playing Fullback I'd be worried about the lack of crosses completed.

He does play both, but we are not a team that hits a lot of crosses, we play into the box more than hitting crosses.

[Punch]

 

FEB 2031 - The future's so bright...

 

Our Under 18's squad wrap up their third straight title...but it was the devastating fashion in which they achieved it which is making for an exciting future.

 

How would you like to come up against these monsters?

26 straight wins, smashing in an unbelievable 121 goals, with a 93 goal differential.

These kids must give opposition players and managers nightmares.

 

If these kids keep improving, look out, the future for the Green Lions looks amazing.

[Punch]

 

FEB 2031

A reasonable month with two wins, two draws, before a disappointing loss to end the month. We did break our League attendance record in the draw with Gillingham.

We also advanced our FA Trophy defence with a tight win over Oldham.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

 

The Analyst is still happy as we continue to out perform expectations.

 

We currently sit 11th, now having passed the magical 50 point mark, which should confirm another season in the National League.

 

We are still out performing according the xG.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

We manage to turn a small profit this month, mostly on the back of impressive gate receipts and match day income.

 

The fans still harder to please than the Board.

 

The schedule is starting to calm down, but still some very important matches to come.

[Punch]

 

MAR 2031

Two wins, a draw and a loss through our four League games this month, while our FA Trophy defence continues, as we outclassed Chelmsford in the Quarter Final.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

The Analyst is pretty happy as we continue to outperform expectations, and even League averages in a few areas.

 

We find ourselves in 10th place, now confirmed safe from relegation with 5 games to play, but we also find ourselves just 4 points behind the last play off spot.

 

Which is a shock for the xG which suggests we should be much closer to the relegation fight.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeeper

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

A massive loss this month as I talk the Board into spending some of our FA Cup money again, and investing into the club.

 

I had to fight to get the Youth Facilities upgraded, but they eventually went with me and agreed to open the cheque book.

 

They had no arguments about upgrading the Training Facilities however.

 

We shell out about £1.4 million to upgrade the facilities for the second year in a row.

 

 

Four of our five remaining League games coming up, along with the FA Trophy Semi Final.

[Punch]

 

MAR 2031 - Youth Intake

 

The class of 31 has arrived.

The preview promised one of the worst intakes we have ever seen, so it will be interesting to see what arrives.

 

 

It's hard to read too much into the star ratings, but there is very little to get excited about here.

Rainey, however, is a nicely unexpected surprise, an attacking forward with massive potential.

 

Rainey will soon be in the first team with those numbers, which was completely unexpected.

There are a couple of handy players, but they will reach their ceilings pretty quickly.

 

Plenty of dual citizens again, and we welcome our first from Ghana, Kenya, Ivory Coast, and Estonia.

 

 

The reality is, there is only one player worth looking at.

A young Irish attacking forward, comfortable on either side, with some already excellent looking ratings.

 

For an intake which promised absolutely nothing, to have discovered one potential superstar makes it worth it.

Some of the others may bolster the under 18's for a couple of years, but will probably struggle to make first team status.

[Punch]

 

APR 2031

A win, a draw, and two losses in the League this month, but we will defend our FA Trophy title after coming from behind to defeat Dag & Red in injury time.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

 

The Analyst continues to be happy, despite our poor month.

 

With one game remaining, we sit 12th, giving us possibly a better finish than last seasons 13th.

Cheltenham are heading back to the Football League as Champions, while the final day will see teams fighting out the final relegation, and play off places.

 

The xG suggests while we should be closer to the relegation zone, than mid-table, we would still have survived.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

We turn a tidy profit this month.

 

 

With just one League game remaining, I will probably throw some friendlies in, before we head to Wembley to defend out FA Trophy title against Dover.

[Hootieleece]

Midtable again for a youth only team isn't a bad achievement. I suspect you will be in the playoff places and vying for promotion soon.

[Punch]

3 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Midtable again for a youth only team isn't a bad achievement. I suspect you will be in the playoff places and vying for promotion soon.

Next season could be very interesting after the end of season player reviews. I think there will be some regular starters from the last few seasons who might be struggling to get a game with the improvement some of the kids coming through are starting to show.

[Punch]

 

MAY 2031

A brilliant month as we rounded out the League season with an upset win over Accrington, before we played a few friendlies to keep the legs moving before our big day at Wembley.

In front of nearly twenty thousand we defended our title, becoming the first team since Grays Athletic in 04-05/05-06 to go back to back, and while the game wasn't particularly memorable, just a single Kirkpatrick goal to decide the difference, but the result was all that mattered, and we add another trophy to the cabinet.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

 

A happy Analyst as we finish the season on a high note.

 

We finish the season in 11th place, a new high for us.

 

While Dorking upset the apple cart to come all the way from 7th to earn promotion to the Football League.

 

A great month financially with gate receipts and prize money for the FA Trophy victory helping the bank account.

 

Rumours of a take over have begun circulating, and Mark has confirmed them by advising he is looking to step aside.

 

Up next...time to review the season that was.

[Hootieleece]

Another Trophy is always a good thing. 

Will be waiting with bated breath about the Takeover!

 

[Punch]

12 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Another Trophy is always a good thing. 

Will be waiting with bated breath about the Takeover!

 

Minnows no more

Will be interesting to see how that shakes out.

[Punch]

 

2030-2031 Season Review

 

[Punch]

 

2030-2031 Season Review - Stats

 

Goalkeepers

Sejdini played all but the first two FA Trophy games this season, as he is simply the only one up to the standard. Hopefully some of the younger kids will keep improving to challenge him.

That we only kept 12 clean sheets this season goes to show our defensive struggles this season, but the numbers Sejdini put up, show that he is still well and truly up for the challenge.

 

Defenders

Jones, Wigman, McPherson, & Tyrie made up the core of our back four this season, with plenty of other players helping out in the rotations.

It's good to see players like Kelly, Turner, and Batchelor starting to push for more time, and if they can keep progressing, we have the potential to have a very impressive defensive formation going forward.

 

Midfielders

We used five in the center this season, the most we've used, but just showing how improved Geall and Kallon have become, long time starter Salmon has been pushed down the order to a back up role.

Geall and Kallon look to be forming a very formidable partnership for a long time to come.

 

 Forwards

Plenty of players used in the rotation this season, lead by Pepe's 20 goals, while Player of the Year, Kirkpatrick, had 28 goal involvements.

Long time forward leader, and active games and goals leader Docherty, still plays an important part, but his game time may be getting less after the rise of younger players such as Cass, Vita, Lewis, and in particular, our newest academy graduate, Rainey, who has shown flashed of class in limited chances.

 

No individual records broken this season.

 

Docherty is the closest to breaking the League record appearances, but is still 35 games behind, while is a long way from breaking the goals record.

[Punch]

 

2030-2031 Season Review - Attribute Scores

 

The favourite time of the year where we get to review the attribute growth, or not, of our players, and see how they are progressing, or not.

 

Goalkeepers

Sejdini is by far an away our number one keeper, and still improving.

Thomas has made massive improvement this season while out on loan, which is unusual, as loan players I have tended to find develop slower than at the club.

Young Arani is also a very exciting prospect who is already being recommended for promotion to the first team set up. While he might have some work to do before he displaces Sejdini, he may soon at least give him a challenger.

 

Defenders

Two defenders in the 50 point range now, and plenty of growth happening.

With a lot of players in the rotation, if the improvement keeps up, hopefully we can tighten up some of our defensive frailties next season, which may help us challenge for a play off spot.

 

Midfielders

This area took me by surprise somewhat, as we now have six 50 point rated players.

Geall and Kallon look like they may be our midfield partnership for some time to come, but there are also plenty of options for the rotation.

Sampson has come from nowhere to  be looking at first team time, while pushing long time player Salmon, almost out of consideration for the rotation.

 

Forwards

Plenty to be happy about here as there are a massive amount of players capable of stepping into the rotation, which is good as this is the area where we will burn up the most players with the tactic we use.

Docherty is going to provide an interesting prospect next season, as he doesn't even score in our top 15 forwards, but wanted a new contract as a star player, which I refused. We didn't even get as far as discussing money, so I have exercised our contract extension, but unless something changes between now and the end of next season, he may leave at the end of next season.

However, with plenty of players pushing for playing time, that blow may be lessened if they are able to continue improving and take his expectations down a few pegs.

 

Best Squad

 

 

The squad has improved immensely this season, as we cross the 50 point barrier for the first time.

Interesting to note that while the average score went up, the average age went down for the first time since we started playing only academy kids, and we dip below the 20 years old again.

 

It's interesting to compare the improvement of the squad, to the improvement in our finishing positions.

This season we improved two places, and score 5 more League points, but while we scored 1 more goal, we also conceded two more goals than last season.

But quite a few of the players in the best squad, played minimal minutes this season, so hopefully we see the benefits of their improvement next season as they push up into more regular minutes.

 

Overall, pretty happy with the development of the squad, and very keen to see what they are capable in the coming season.

[Punch]

 

JUN 2031 - Off season things

 

Well since the end of the season, it's been the only talk on the island, as our Chairman announced his decision to retire, and rumours began circulating that the club was for sale.

 

 

And it all happened very quickly.

Mark Le Tissier is out, Marc Cunneen is in.

 

Apparently a local business man who has decided he likes what he sees of our club, and decided to invest his money into our future.

He immediately dropped £100k into our bank, and then increased the wages for the coaching staff, so he isn't mucking around getting things going.

Lets see how this plays out.

 

We have produced our first senior international, with up and coming midfielder Kallon, making his debut for Sierra Leone.

 

He performed well across their two wins, even scoring his first senior international goal in his second appearance.

 

A decent start to the season financially as we new owner deposits money into the account, while the season ticket sales kick off as well.

 

We will try not to spend it all at once

 

The upgrades to the Youth Facilities are now completed, with the Training Facilities to be completed in a few months.

 

Yeovil and Aldershot come back down from the Football League, while a few familiar faces, and a few surprises join us from the North/South.

 

A pretty tough run to kick off the season.

 

The usual expectations from The Board.

 

For something different, we are not last...but still expected to be in the relegation fight.

 

Friendly season kicks off with plenty of games to get some running into the legs.

[Punch]

 

JUL 2031 - Pre-season thngs

Friendly season kicked off with a bang as we ran unbeaten through a series of games designed to get plenty of squad members minutes in their legs.

While the minutes were more important than the results, the results were certainly impressive.

 

This is about the closest I have ever seen both The Board, and The Fans in terms of happiness.

 

A solid start to the season financially as the season tickets provide a massive boost to the bank balance.

 

We have currently sold 2 more season tickets than last season, so that's an improvement I guess.

 

With the friendlies out of the way, the first team squad is going to look something like this to start the season.

Docherty finds himself on the verge of being pushed back to the bench, while the big change will be in midfield, with Geall and Kallon pushing Alexandrou back to the bench, as both have now surpassed him.

As always, there will be plenty of rotation before the season ends, so plenty of players will see game time, but we have a pretty strong looking squad, with plenty of room for growth still.

 

We have one more friendly, before we kick off with a pretty tough run of matches to start the season proper.

Edited July 14, 2023 by Punch

[Punch]

 

AUG 2031

I said it was a tough start to the season and so it proved to be, as we went winless through the first month.

We gave up late goals in the first two games, before scoring a late goal in the third to have three draws to start the season, we then gave up a late goal at York to finish the month with a loss.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

Scoring less than expected, conceding more than expected...not a great start to the season.

 

The news doesn't get any better here as we find ourselves out of the relegation places on goal difference only.

Interestingly, after four rounds, we are one of five teams still yet to win a game.

 

After spending last season with the xG table showing we should be fighting for relegation, now we are near the relegation zone, and it shows we should be fighting for promotion.

 

The takeaway for now is that we started like a house on fire last season, then fell away spending most of the season battling out in the mid-table. With 42 games to play, we have started poorly, but still have plenty of time to get it back together and push up the table.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

The stats don't make for pretty reading either, but hopefully we can dust ourselves off and pick up the performance levels.

 

 

A decent loss this month, hopefully we can recoup some of those losses when the Cups start.

 

Another tough month coming up.

[Punch]

 

SEP 2031

A much better month, as we keep our first clean sheet in getting our first win, before getting thumped by Crewe, who probably could have scored many more.

After upsetting Rochdale, we rounded out the month with two brilliant 3-0 performances, in a massively improved performance from last month.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

A much happier Analyst this month as we put up some much improved numbers from last month.

 

Winning four of five games launches us up ten places to 9th, 9 points clear of the relegation zone, but also only 1 point out of the play off spots.

 

The xG table suggests we should be pushing Crewe for the League lead.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

Plenty more players getting minutes already, and we haven't even reached the hectic part of the schedule.

 

 

Another loss this month.

 

The Training Facility upgrade has now been completed, which along with the recent Youth Facility upgrade, has now raised our facilities to the Adequate level for both.

 

The new Boss is moving fast, not wasting any time in locking me down with a further two year contract extension, which came with a small pay rise as well.

 

The schedule starts to ramp up, the Boreham game will be moved with the FA Cup draw to come.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2031

A mixed month with 2 wins, 2 losses, and a draw, but we did score a big win in the FA Cup.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

 

The Analyst is very happy with our current performances.

 

We hold down 10th place, within striking distance of the play off places, but importantly, well clear of the relegation battles.

 

While we have fallen a few places, the xG still has us in the play off places.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

Plenty of rotation required already this season, and that is only going to increase as the schedule heats up over the next few months.

 

Internationals

Kallon played two further Internationals this month, adding to the fatigue management requirements.

While he put in two reasonable performances, they were both in losing efforts.

 

I started the month reaching the 500 game mark, but as seems to be custom for milestone games in this save, we were beaten.

 

Long term midfielder, Dennis Salmon, was unhappy at his lack of playing time.

He had been on the transfer list for a while, as other options were simply better players than he was able to provide.

He was not going to be retained at seasons end, and having played only one game, we thought it best to send him on his way now, with our blessing, rather than force an unhappy player to languish in the U21s.

 

Another hit to the bank balance, despite the decent turn out for the Cup game.

 

And so it begins...a monster schedule, including a home double header against Weymouth, seeing us play 8 games next month.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Punch

[Punch]

 

NOV 2031

A monster month on the schedule required some creative accounting on the player rotation, but didn't it work out amazingly.

Five wins and a draw from our six League games, as well as easily dispatching Weymouth in the FA Cup 1st Round, before we were handed a tough match in the 2nd Round.

Charlton proved to be a step too far as they ended our run of four years in the 3rd Round.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

A very happy Analyst this month on the back of some excellent form.

 

That great run through November has seen us emerge as play off contenders, rattling up to 4th place, with a game in hand.

The attack has been impressive, but we have tightened up defensively, with only the high flying Crewe conceding less goals.

 

We have caught up to the xG, which also has us placed in 4th.

 

 Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

We continue the heavy rotation, with plenty of players getting game time.

 

Internationals

Kallon collected his 6th cap in a 0-4 thumping from South Africa.

At only 19, he requires much fatigue management.

 

Our excellent month leads me to my first Manager of the Month award in the National League.

A very happy new Chairperson as well.

 

The Board are a bit upset about some of the players I have sent out on loan, believing we should be getting more for them, but they are covering the wages, and getting playing time, so that is all that I am interested in.

 

Gate receipts and prize money gives the bank balance a big boost this month.

 

Another crazy month incoming, including the kick off of our back to back FA Trophy Title defence.

 

[Jtomsett11]

I wonder if this could be the year for promotion or a play off finish. Obviously so tough with only 1 automatic promotion place!