[FM24] Darlington - the long road back

[warlock]

3 hours ago, Carambau said:

You´re on track for another promotion!

Steady on, old boy . Anything better than lower-mid table would be great this season.

But I'll do my best 

[Jogo Bonito]

Good luck maestro! 

[lfds89]

Good luck, Warlock!

[warlock]

The Long Road - October 2025

I'm not sure how it happened, but I appear to have played through an extra month between updates. I can only blame the pressures of lower-league management 

In the event, things have progressed rather well. Although September proved to a stern test of our ability at this level:

Although the win against Crewe of L1 in the Bristol Street Paint Pizza Plate - otherwise known as the EFL Trophy - was a good result for us, there is little money or prestige in it until and unless you have a shot at the final at Wembley. Our league form is much more important and, sadly, we fell quite a way short this month with only one win, one draw and two defeats. Those results saw us slip back to mid-table, still above our pre-season prediction but worrying nonetheless. It would be important to pick ourselves up in October. Happily, we did just that:

Ignoring the defeat to Salford in the Trophy, a run of five wins and a draw in the league was a great achievement for the club and included some impressive performances. Swindon and Doncaster have a track record at levels higher in the pyramid, and Fleetwood were top of the table when we played them. We also showed great spirit in the win over Doncaster as we gave up two early goals before staging a magnificent fightback.

It was a month that propelled us back up the table:

We are, again, a one-man squad. After losing star Cedric Main when we couldn't renew his work permit at the end of last season, we had some pretty big boots to fill. It looks as though Finley Thorndike has his sights set on filling them:

Largely thanks to his efforts, we boast the best attack in the division with 29 goals from 15 games. The good news is that October saw a number of his team-mates step up their own game and, hopefully, that bodes well for the remainder of the season.

[warlock]

This might be important:

The club was obliged to expand the ground to meet L2 requirements and while the expansion was happening we had a reduced capacity. Now that the work is complete I'm hoping we can keep up this level of support. The increased gate receipts could be crucial to our finances. Ground capacity is now 5,500, so we've a way to go but we're on the right track!

So far this season, we've increased our gate receipts from £688k last season to £590k this time with more than half the season to go. Need to keep that money rolling in 

[SixPointer]

Catching up. League two already!! Your flying! And sitting third already!! Doing unbelievable especially when you consider the difficult transfer windows and losing the main man. 

[Jogo Bonito]

Excellent work here in the current campaign, settling in better than you may have anticipated. Thorndike is a good asset to have at that level, and the stadium and attendance news is encouraging.

Keep it going my friend!

[CameronFM]

Thorndike laying down the gauntlet to the rest of the league already - got to love it!

[warlock]

The Long Road - November 2025

On the pitch things continue to go well; off the pitch things are rather more mixed. We're still slightly over our wage budget - although the board don't seem to mind too much since they've just given me a two-year contract extension. Attempts to move on some of the deadwood have so far proved fruitless - we're offering several players out for free, which I hoped might attract some interest from Vanarama clubs who aren't subject to the transfer window, but so far without interest. In better news, though, the expanded ground capacity is paying dividends as our home attendance is now topping 4,000.

We exited the FA Cup in the first round proper, losing to a Bristol City side that is now in L1 but still features a Championship-level squad so no shame there and a decent payday into the bargain. We did much better in the league, picking up wins against Crawley, Tranmere and a high-flying Leyton Orient side, and managing to grab a couple of points away at Rochdale and from another trip to Bristol, this time against Rovers.

Thorndike picked up another couple of goals and remains our leading source of assists, and is now closing in on the L2 record:

Results this month keep us in contention at the top of the table, although Cambridge are proving to be pretty relentless in first and, for some reason, Fleetwood continually have games in hand. But the generous L2 promotion picture - with three teams winning automatic promotion - gives us hope for another step up through the leagues. 

[warlock]

The Long Road - December 2025

A mixed month, notable for the fact that we lost our long unbeaten league run, which was just short of 20 games. But generally, things continue to go well at Blackwell Meadows:

As often seems to be the case, the defeat came against a team we should have been capable of beating. FGR started the season well and were regularly in the promotion hunt but their form slipped badly in November and they were well down in the bottom half of the league. But we produced our worst performance of the season:

There was very little in it, but our usually-reliable attacking unit was toothless here, mustering just a single shot on target.

It was one of those mystery performances since we'd been scoring well before this game, and soon got back to winning ways, closing the month with back-to-back 3-0 wins. If Forest Green was the low point, the game against league leaders Cambridge was definitely the high. Coming off the back of the defeat and a frustrating home draw, I naturally feared the worst against a side who had occupied the top spot almost the entire season but we were great as MR Corbett, backup striker Jolley and the ever-reliable Thorndike put the East Anglian side to the sword.

Transfer business

As we headed towards New Year there was, at last, some movement of the squad's deadwood. First to go was midfielder Jonny Ngandu. He'd been very good in our first season, struggled in the National League, and simply couldn't handle the step up to L2. He moved to Scunthorpe on a free transfer, which at least got his £500 p/w wages off the bill. Even better we got rid of two loans. Izac Khan, from Preston, looked like a promising young DM but it quickly became obvious he wasn't up to the required standard. Similarly, I had high hopes for MR Ryan Huke from Charlton but he was eventually fourth choice in the position. Unfortunately, we had no option to terminate the loans but both parent clubs recalled them on January 1, saving us another £1k p/w in wages.

Another National League signing who hadn't made the step up was LCB Scott Wilson and he'd been available for a free move since the autumn. We finally got a bid from VNN side Rushall Olympic, who offered to match his current wage, but he rejected the move .

With the window now open we remain hopeful of moving on another couple of players, but we already have enough spare wage budget to sign one or two reinforcements. With Wilson unreliable, we need a signing at CB, and we're particularly weak at RB  where first choice option Mathew Mallon is just coming back from a 6-week ankle injury that appears to have hit his ability quite badly. He's still only 21, so has time to recover, but we're watching him carefully.

The squad currently shapes up like this:

CB Ben Radcliffe is currently on trial and a contract has been offered - if he signs that should solve our problem in central defence. A glance at that squad view should reveal how much we're over-performing this season:

If we can win our game in hand, we'll move up to second, just one point behind Cambridge. 

[warlock]

The Long Road - January 2026

There was mixed news in our transfer business. We did manage to move on two more players as Michael Spellman joined Jonny Ngandu at Scunthorpe, while Caden Kelly went to Southend. Both were free moves but the reduction in our wage bill was definitely welcome. Unfortunately, CB Ben Radcliffe, who would have been an excellent signing, rejected our contract offer to join Southend in the National League on the grounds that their squad was much stronger than ours.

In better news, we did manage to strengthen on the left of midfield:

Roberts is a former Plymouth youngster who has spent the majority of his career in the MLS and was released by Chattanooga. We offered him a quick trial and he impressed the coaching staff. With the money we'd saved in wages, we were able to offer him £1.1k p/w and he accepted, becoming one of our better players and first-choice at ML.

Meanwhile, on the pitch it was a very good month:

After our win over Cambridge last month, they seemed to lose momentum while our run of victories - particularly against second-placed Fleetwood - allowed us to leapfrog both to the top of the table:

Of course, for every silver lining there's a cloud and ours came against Stockport when star man Finley Thorndike limped off with a hamstring injury that will keep him our for 4-6 weeks. Fortunately, we have a capable backup in Amadou Diallo, who grabbed his opportunity and scored twice this month.

We now have a 12pt cushion in the automatic promotion places - we just need to keep this run going as long as possible.

[Jogo Bonito]

Considering how much every last penny counts in your wage budget, this is an incredible season so far. Absolutely no chance of missing out on yet another promotion. Hopefully the absence of Thorndike won't see you hit the buffers.

[warlock]

58 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

an incredible season so far

It really is . Predicted to finish rock bottom but been in the promotion spots pretty much all season. Even in games where we don't play to our best, we still manage to scrape a draw more often than not.

Thanks, as always, for your continued support 

[warlock]

The Long Road - February 2026

February was a poor month by our usual standards, as the winter schedule, general fatigue, and a number of niggling injuries took their toll:

Just one win in four but - as mentioned in the previous post - we still manage to scrape a result. But let's talk about the new name on the scoresheet, the exotically-named Oakley Cannonier. He's a Yorkshireman, obviously, and came through the Liverpool academy. After the transfer window closed, we had wage budget available when the scouts flagged his availability on a free transfer. Our backup striker, Charlie Jolley, had shown flashes of ability this season but is generally below the required standard for League Two. So I decided to take a punt on the Anfield graduate:

He was happy to join as a breakthrough prospect on bargain wages, but he looked like a good player now with a lot of potential. He got 20 minutes against Gillingham and looked good, came on as a late sub against Crawley and grabbed a late equaliser, so I decided to give him a start against Tranmere. He repaid my confidence by netting what proved to be the winner. Can't ask for much more than that.

Despite our struggles this month, we're playing at a high level, confirmed by some of our analytics:

All of which is very promising but the number of dropped points this month cost us our lead at the top of the table:

With a game in hand, we have a good chance of reclaiming the top spot but all that matters is clinching one of the automatic promotion places, and we're well-placed to achieve that.

We've settled - for now  - on a kinda 442, mid-block, lower tempo, that has perhaps cost us some attacking thrust but looks more secure at the back:

If we had someone who could play as a volante we might get some joy, but we don't. I'm considering switching the AMC from the right to the left to provide a bit more threat down that side of the pitch. The tinkering never stops 

[Dong21]

Incredible season so far, especially considering the relative ability of your squad. Great work @warlock 

I signed Cannonier at Oldham on FM22 but didn’t give him the playing opportunities he deserved, so keen to see how he does for you. 

[SixPointer]

Another promotion is in the air 

[warlock]

2 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Another promotion is in the air

Anyone who's followed my posts for a while will know I'm a very pessimistic manager, but I'll allow a note of optimism here 

4 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Incredible season so far, especially considering the relative ability of your squad

You're right and I have to keep reminding myself of that. Our foundation is getting the best out of limited resources, and not asking the players to do things they're not capable of. So far, so... well, incredible really.

[Jogo Bonito]

Almost there now mate, even with your pessimism to the fore, it's very clear this isn't going to end badly!

[warlock]

The Long Road - March 2026

The game gives, and the game takes away. Just as we had Thorndike returning from injury his backup, Amadou Diallo, suffered broken ribs in training and will miss the rest of the season. RB Mallon came back from injury, then backup LB Brandon Mason suffered a hernia and would miss half of this month and at least a week or so of April. 

Despite the adversity, we put together another great run of results, until...

We weren't scoring many but we were conceding fewer. I thought we could afford to be a little more expansive and made a couple of tactical changes - the 7-goal thriller against Chesterfield was the result and it took an injury-time goal from AF Westley to secure a late win.

I gave up on the expansive stuff, reverted to our usual system and we promptly lost for the first time in ages. What made the defeat particularly annoying was that a draw would have been enough to secure promotion. But as we need just one point from our remaining 5 games I'm confident we'll get the job done. And we're still top of the league.

And, sure enough, our first game of April was enough:

We weren't great but were on top for the whole of the game. It took a late penalty scored by Thorndike to give us the win. So the hard work begins again and we'll have to do it on the cheap:

That represents a £0 increase in wage budget which, given a number of promotion pay rises in the squad, will translate to a wage cut in real terms. Time to unearth some hidden gems!

Edited July 14 by warlock

[Carambau]

I knew it   Congratulations!

[warlock]

The Long Road - Season 3 wrap-up

With promotion secured and a chance of claiming the title still in our hands, the question was whether the players could maintain their focus. They couldn't:

We were poor against Barrow and abysmal against Cheltenham. The latter were battling against relegation and simply wanted it more than we did. Orient were also fighting, for a playoff spot, and we did well to pick up the win, although it took an Orient own-goal to secure the three points.

Cambridge and Fleetwood were also inconsistent behind us so it was all to play for on the final day. In the event, we all struggled to a draw and we hung on at the death:

 

Looking ahead

I have a number of concerns. First is the financial state of the club:

A loss of £264k on the season isn't good, and for the first time we're firmly in the red.

Second is the quality of the playing staff, and particularly this screen:

Despite being club captain all season, Stephenson has only just stepped up be a team leader. I certainly agree with the feedback about the need to recruit more leaders but, with little reputation and no money, that is difficult. Beggars can't be choosers and my focus has been on recruiting players who can perform on the pitch, rather than off it. We'll see whether we can make improvements in the coming transfer window.

On the subject of transfers, we'll certainly need a few. One of our key players has been right-winger Alvaro Ruiz Rente, but his loan is about to expire and so far Birmingham aren't interested in renewing. With a value of £130k-£6m () he's far beyond our reach for a permanent move. Backup RB Owusu-Gyimah is our other loan signing who'll be leaving, while first-choice RB Mallon, backup LB Mason and left-sided utility player Longelo are all on expiring contracts and don't merit new deals.

There are two or three others who are transfer-listed, either because we've grown far beyond their ability or because they're suffering a severe attitude problem. A special case is first-choice striker Joe Westley. He picked up a bonus in March for reaching 20 goals for the season, and until then he had regularly been our top performer in training. After that he simply stopped trying. When I first encouraged him and then criticised him, he took the hump.

Our third problem is the quality of the backroom staff. We've had pretty much the same people since the Vanarama North days, although I did upgrade my assistant manager last year. This time we might need a clean sweep, particularly in coaching:

Much to do!

[warlock]

Some end-of-season news:

 

[warlock]

Flattered, but declined

[Dong21]

Congratulations on the promotion and title win @warlock! 

Going to be a big challenge to pull together a suitable squad for life in League One - but we like challenges don't we 

[warlock]

28 minutes ago, Dong21 said:

we like challenges don't we 

We do. As long as we overcome 

[warlock]

The Long Road - season 4, League One

In 1985 Darlington won promotion to the old Third Division (the equivalent of L1 today), so we have now matched their previous high in the league. They also managed to survive for two seasons at that level, which presents our next challenge - to avoid relegation. And beyond that, we need to avoid the fate of the club at the end of the 1980s when they suffered successive relegations and returned to the then Vauxhall Conference (equivalent to today's Vanarama National League).

Transfer window

Ending last season with the club in the red and our smallest transfer budget of the save, this was always going to be our trickiest window. However, we did receive a boost as we doubled our season ticket sales, generating £1.3m, doubled our sponsorship from £43k to £88k, and pocketed £482k in League Two solidarity payments. None of which made it into our wage budget because we're limited by L1 financial sustainability rules but the board did add a few thousand to our transfer budget, which allowed us to pay some signing bonuses and the like.

We also took advantage of the positive balance to ask the board to improve our youth training, which they agreed at a cost of around £300k. Generally the club facilities are still poor, but it's a first step.

At the end of last season I highlighted the limited ability of our backroom staff. Happily, the board responded positively and increased the numbers of coaches and scouts we're able to hire and we've made significant improvements there:

In terms of player recruitment we faced problems with reputation - as a newly-promoted side expected to be relegated we lost a lot of potential targets to rival clubs; and the budget was a limitation as many players who might have joined wanted wages we couldn't - or wouldn't - afford. Our current highest-paid players is Finley Thorndike on £1,700k p/w and I was reluctant to go much above £2k p/w; we had several prospects who wanted £3-5k.

We faced another general problem: we had been too successful. Successive promotions left much of the squad scrambling to keep up with our progress, notably at GK and striker. GK Kie Plumley had been a star for us in the Vanarama but he could barely get a game in L2, while his successor Jake Barrett suddenly looked more like a good backup than a starter. Up front I had doubts about Joe Westley, despite his top scoring achievement in L2. And we urgently needed a replacement for winger Alvaro Ruiz Rente, whose loan had expired.

In the end, we made 6 new signings, plus a couple of youngsters who look like good long-term prospects.

Our new GK is very exotic by Darlington standards, a Chilean who had been on the books at Norwich. He's perhaps a little better than Barrett but at 22 he has plenty of time to develop.

Our new starter at RB is formerly of Burnley and joins us from Bradford City. He's not great, but he was the best we could find for the money we had available.

Forde was formerly of Watford and comes in - I hope! - to be our new starting striker. The scouts were very impressed with him, but it took until the final week of the window to convince him to come to Blackwell Meadows.

To fill the remaining gaps we turned to loan deals with our Big Brother neighbours, Middlesboro and Sunderland.

Broggio is a quick, old-school winger and, while there are gaps in his attributes, looks like he'll develop into quite a player. He's had a great start with a goal and two assists in his first four appearances.

Obando becomes another of our South American youngsters, the Colombian will play backup - and possibly overtake - Thorndike in the AMC spot. I have my doubts about playing an enganche in L1 but Sunderland insisted and I wasn't about to argue.

Last of the noteworthy recruits, Middlemas comes in to provide some playmaking ability, something we've been lacking in central midfield. His versatility could be very welcome, too.

Tactically, we'll be setting up like this:

Balanced mentality, mid-block looking to counter-attack. Against tougher opposition I expected we'll drop the wide AMs back to midfield.

Early form

First games of a promoted season are a nervy process but generally we've done well:

We were unlucky to draw Boro in the opening round of the Carabao Cup, but things have been better than expected in the league. And opening day draw against Carlisle was more than acceptable before we picked up our first win against newly-promoted Stockport (who the media believe will finish the season far above us in the table). Birmingham, relegated from the Championship but with a squad better suited to the higher division, was always a tough prospect but we weren't embarrassed, and we did brilliantly to end the month with an away win at Plymouth, who had also dropped down from the league above.

With 8pts from our first 5 games - and having the 8th best attack and the 8th best defence - it seems entirely reasonable that we sit in 8th place in the table .

If we can bed in the new signings quickly, I'm positive about our prospects this season, and certainly think we can do better than the media's expectation of a nailed-on relegation.

[Dong21]

Excellent write-up as always @warlock and a strong start to life in League One with your young squad. Keep up the good work! 

[Jogo Bonito]

Congrats on another title, I assume that you and Mrs Warlock have had to upgrade your home many times over the years to store all these trophies 

Solid start to the new season with a somewhat new-look side, keep up the good work!

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

I assume that you and Mrs Warlock have had to upgrade your home many times over the years to store all these trophies 

Yeah, we can't even get into the garage these days 

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Solid start to the new season

It was. Now it isn't. Update incoming... 

[warlock]

The Long Road - September 2026

We've over-performed every season of this save, but it looks as though the law of gravity has finally taken effect - we're sliding down and down. 

Granted, it was always going to be a tough month. Millwall were recently a Championship side, Wycombe are unexpectedly top of the league, and we all know about the rise of Wrexham. But these fixtures have made clear just how far away we are in terms of player quality. Here's where we are on wages spend:

Bottom of the list, but at least we're currently sitting ahead of Stevenage, Cambridge and Exeter in the league itself. Even if we manage to beat our peers in the poverty league (and we couldn't beat Shrewsbury at home) we're going to struggle to avoid the drop.

I have - of course! - been tinkering with tactics but so far nothing has made a difference. We've gone from Top 10 for best attack and defence, to bottom 10 for both. One cause for optimism is our fixture list for October - we play many of the teams around us at the foot of the league, including Burton, Cambridge and Notts County; if we can pick up a few points from those games it will make a big difference. My rule of thumb for relegation battles is to earn a point-per-game and we're right on that ratio now.

We need to improve!

[Jogo Bonito]

After years of success, it seems your over-achievements have (maybe) caught up with you and the squad. Hopefully you can grind out enough points and results, but in a way this will be a good challenge for the club to take on. Best of luck mate, am sure you'll turn the corner soon.

Edited July 17 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

3 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Best of luck mate, am sure you'll turn the corner soon

Cheers - I hope so! I'm a stranger to failure 

[Jogo Bonito]

3 minutes ago, warlock said:

Cheers - I hope so! I'm a stranger to failure 

Indeed you are. I can help you on that level 

[Carambau]

Oh oh... tough times ahead? I don´t really believe that - you will find a way to sort that out soon  

[warlock]

The Long Road - October 2026

After posting the last update I had a bit of a ponder before I went to bed, and woke up this morning with one thought: desperate times call for desperate measures. So I switched us to a 343 system, something I haven't used for at least a couple of years and no real idea whether we had the squad for it. Turns out the squad isn't ideal - there's a lot of square pegs in round holes - but we could probably, maybe, make it work.

Some thoughts:

* Three defenders is better than two. Although we talk about "back four" systems, often the FB/WBs are not defending when we need them to.

* With two DMs shielding the defence, we should be pretty secure at the back while allowing the wingbacks to support the attack.

* Two of our best players are AMCs, and we're stronger at AML than AMR.

* It's a bottom-heavy shape that suits the counter-attacking style we're obliged to play because of the lack of quality throughout the squad.

* We have three very poor strikers so we're committed to single-striker systems, ruling out a 352 shape.

And here's what I came up with:

Simple roles throughout with the exception of the SS/Enganche we're obliged to use in AMC. I'd love to use some of those fancy roles in central defence but we don't have anyone capable of doing it. They're barely capable of standing up and kicking the ball. With the AMC inset towards the centre, an attacking wingback gets up alongside him to provide width on the right. The AML is given the attacking winger role but told to cut inside with the ball, making space for the left wingback on the overlap.

So much for the theory; would it work?

Not bad, I think. I was disappointed that we couldn't find a winner against Cambridge, who were one of the few teams below us in the league, but the home win against Notts County was a definite endorsement of the new system. Against Reading and Cardiff - both in the promotion places - the system actually did very well:

Against Reading we were perhaps the better team but two things conspired against us: their 'keeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke pulled off save after save and finished with an impressive 8.0 match-rating, while on our side, striker Joe Westley produced an absolute stinker, finishing with a 5.8 match-rating.

The Cardiff result wasn't quite so upsetting:

A very even game and with 10 minutes to go the score was all square. We had a promising position just outside their area but a misplaced pass allowed them to launch an excellent counter-attack and we gave up the winning goal.

Ultimately, it was another disappointing month, but there are signs of improvement and I think the tactic is worth persisting with. Our big problem is the form of our forwards- the coaches tell me that Westley is inconsistent, but he isn't... he's consistently poor. I hoped for great things from Shaq Forde but his goal against Cardiff was his first in the league. In previous seasons the attacking midfielders would pick up the slack but this season they haven't done that.

We're still - just! - ahead of my point-per-game target but the margins are tight (and with four relegation places):

We can only hope that the bottom five continue to struggle even more than we are.

[warlock]

The Long Road - November 2026

[For some random reason, the forum software is not allowing me to upload the usual header pic; says it must be of an acceptable file type including .jpg, but rejects it even though it is a .jpg ]

I don't want to give any hostages to fortune, but we might have turned a corner. As the team have increased their tactical familiarity with the new system, our form has been excellent:

After criticising Forde in the last update, he was a man transformed this month, scoring in five consecutive games. After I mentioned that the AMs were not picking up the goalscoring slack, suddenly they were, with Thorndike, Broggio, Diallo and Obando all finding the net.

In fact, our only disappointment this month was the FA Cup draw away at Aldershot, who were firmly mid-table in the National League and should have been relatively easy opponents. Pre-match scouting claimed they were poor at pressing, poor in the tackle, and poor at attacking and defending set-pieces. They were none of those things. Three times we had the lead and three times they equalised, and at the finish I was glad to get away with the draw. Let's hope they're less resilient away from home in the replay.

Off the field I've had to deal with some personnel issues. Not for the first time, Diallo complained about his lack of game time, even though I'd emphatically pointed out he wasn't playing well enough. After the Carlisle game - when I hauled him off and Broggio almost immediately scored - he complained again. Harsh words were exchanged but I agreed to give him the opportunity to earn his place. He responded with an excellent performance against Bradford so we'll see if he can keep it up.

I had a similar conversation with AMC Thorndike, who hasn't been anywhere near as good as he was in claiming Player of the Season last year. But he continues to show flashes of quality, whereas on-loan Obando has been pretty ineffective, his goal against the Shots notwithstanding. Thorndike will be first choice going forward and if Sunderland aren't happy they can take Obando back.

Our performance in the league is reflected in the table:

We're now well ahead of our point-per-game target and 10pts above the drop zone. No room for complacency but we're in a much better place than we were a month ago.

Finally, before I started this save I said it would be a while before I managed in England again because of the utterly brutal schedule. I'm an idiot... the state of this December fixture list :

[Jogo Bonito]

A great improvement there, good to see you back on track mate. Good luck with your light December schedule, the English calendar is indeed brutal! At least you haven't had any issues with the ESC work permits bug like I did!

Edited July 20 by Jogo Bonito

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

A great improvement there

Yes, night and day from the start of the season.

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

At least you haven't had any issues with the ESL work permits bug

No problems. Reyes was refused a work permit, and an appeal, but we had two ESC spots which went through without a hitch. I do resent those WP costs though - £25,000 for a club like ours is a huge cost.

[Jogo Bonito]

1 minute ago, warlock said:

Yes, night and day from the start of the season.

No problems. Reyes was refused a work permit, and an appeal, but we had two ESC spots which went through without a hitch. I do resent those WP costs though - £25,000 for a club like ours is a huge cost.

Indeed it is a huge cost for a club like yours. And you're right I did mean ESC not ESL slots 

[warlock]

The Long Road - December 2026

Our brutal December schedule turned out slightly easier than we expected as a serially waterlogged pitch at Blackwell Meadows caused two games to be postponed. Unfortunately, that only stores up problems for the future... as of now, our January schedule is up to 10 games.

December's seven games were still a challenge and we did well to reach New Year with an extended unbeaten run in the league:

Given the nature of the fixture list I was more than happy to exit the EFL Trophy and avoid the extra games. But I was delighted to get past Aldershot in the FA Cup replay to set up a R3 tie away at Tranmere and the chance to pick up around £100k in prize money, which would be huge boost for us.

In the league, it was green all the way. We're not scoring many but we're conceding even fewer and those results pushed us right up the league:

And those postponed matches mean we have games in hand on the teams around us. Automatic promotion is probably beyond us, but we have a shot at the playoffs if we can maintain anything like our current form.

Off the pitch, December was problematic. We've been without club captain and star DM Luca Stephenson since the week before Christmas after he was injured in training, and on-loan AML Ben Broggio sprained his ankle ligaments a few days later and will be out until the final week of January. To compound our problems, as I feared, Sunderland recalled AMC Juan David Obando as soon as the transfer window opened. All of which leaves the squad stretched to breaking point until Stephenson and Broggio return to fitness.

I have made one signing already, a loan deal to help out at DM:

Can't go wrong with a name like that, and the young Scot joins us from St Johnstone for the rest of the season.

We badly need more signings - we've been using players out of position for cover in both wingback positions since we made the tactical switch to the back three. But we can't do much, if anything, until we free up some wage budget by moving on some of the remaining deadwood. Fingers crossed we see some movement soon.

[Carambau]

What an impressive month again Pity about the EFL Trophy but what can you do... 

Alex Ferguson "tries to play way out of trouble" doesn´t really sound like his famous namesake though 

[danyates8]

Great form in December, any run put together during the busy Xmas period is always very impressive! Take advantage of those games in hand and you are looking in a real strong position

 

[warlock]

4 hours ago, Carambau said:

What an impressive month

27 minutes ago, danyates8 said:

Great form in December

Cheers, both! Don't know how long we can keep this run going but we'll do our best.

[warlock]

The Long Road - January 2027

This fixture schedule is getting beyond ridiculous. I don't know about the players but I'm utterly shattered 

Actually, I do know about the players... they're just about dead on their feet. And in that light, our results in January look more than satisfactory. If you don't count the players who simply aren't good enough for selection, we have a squad of about 18. With two games every week for the last three months, everyone who plays has to be rested for two days just to get a team on the pitch. Which means a lot of players simply aren't training at all.

Of the results, Posh, Reading and Millwall all have demonstrably better squads than us so there's no shame in those defeats. And we were unlucky against Millwall who bagged two goals from man mountain defender Jake Cooper, who is 6'7"... unless you have a 6'8" defender, he's hard to stop.

We've also played a lot of away games lately, which seems rather unfair of the fixture computer, but 13pts seems like a decent return from the month.

If you're thinking that fixture list doesn't look too bad, I should point out that it's missing two FA Cup ties. We opened the month with a trip to L2 side Tranmere and came away with a narrow victory:

When you get through the R3 you're praying for a big match in the R4, and we were duly rewarded with a game against Chelsea. Unfortunately, we were drawn as the home side so we missed out on the share of the PL club's attendance. Or did we...

No we did not! The lads produced a superb, battling performance to steal a draw and a replay. Which could be huge for our financial prospects. The Premier League side, now managed by Didier Deschamps, are averaging around 40,000 ticket sales for home games so our share of the gate receipts could be anywhere upwards of £400k. Even better, it's been picked for TV coverage, which guarantees us another £70k. Win or lose, it could transform our season.

Meanwhile, the transfer window has another couple of days to run. There's been little movement in or out so far, but I'm hoping for some action on deadline day.

[Carambau]

BIG result vs Chelsea 

Enjoy the money !!

Edited July 22 by Carambau

[danyates8]

The Nov/Dec/Jan period in league 1 is brutal, done supremely well to manage it and rewarded with an insane result vs Chelsea. Well done indeed

[warlock]

The Long Road - February 2027

The schedule might be catching up with us. After more than three months of twice-weekly football, our form in February took a sharp downward turn. But first, let's talk about the FA Cup replay at Stamford Bridge. Of course we lost, but I expected nothing less. More importantly, we didn't suffer a morale-destroying annihilation:

We kept it level in the first half, but Chelsea came out all guns blazing after the interval and we went down 0-2. We managed to claw a goal back through Forde but an equaliser was beyond us. But the most important thing was the money. Although the game was probably Chelsea's lowest gate of the season, some 25,000 fans turned up and we took home more than £600k as our share of the gate receipts, plus £70k in TV money. I hit the board with a request to improve our training facilities (which were still at non-league level) and they immediately agreed:

A £400k upgrade paid in cash, no loans necessary. Thank you, Chelsea!

Back in the league things were less satisfactory:

We opened the month with a home match against 2nd-placed Wrexham and I feared the worst, but the lads produced an outstanding display to secure an excellent victory. Three days later, 7th-placed Plymouth turned up at Blackwell Meadows so I was hoping for a repeat performance. I didn't get it and we lost by the reverse scoreline.

We then became a model of inconsistency, alternating draws and wins but - sadly - more of the former. It goes without saying that we continue to overperform massively, and it would be unfair to be too critical of the squad, especially since they're running on empty right now. I'm hopeful that an easier schedule in March - just 5 games in 4 weeks - will allow us to recover some fitness.

We're just holding on to a playoff spot with Barnsley and Millwall hot on our heels, but three of March's five fixtures including games against Stockport, Barnsley and Birmingham so points will likely be hard to come by. Should be an interesting end to the season 

[Jogo Bonito]

That was a great financial boost from Chelsea (and result to get the chance of doing so). The season end looks like it will be quite exciting for you as there's quite a few contenders in the mix.

[warlock]

32 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

The season end looks like it will be quite exciting for you

Quite so. I doubt we can improve our position much, but we can certainly find ourselves bounced out of the playoff places if we're not careful.

I must admit, though, I have mixed feelings about the possibility of promotion. The ground doesn't meet Championship requirements so we'd have to spend a fortune or move to a groundshare, and I've seen some saves where North East clubs end up playing home games in Lancashire . And I can't see the squad as other than the league whipping boys if we go up.

Current 'guaranteed' transfer budget for next season is currently £649 

[DefinitelyTaylor]

Well... fully caught up! A terrific rise up the pyramid in relative ease it has to be said. I thought that League One may prove to be the stumbling block and the early season form suggested that I ought to be correct in making that assumption. However, kudos to the tactical changes you have made. It has completely transformed your fortunes and you are, once again, looking to cause a stir at the top of the division. Let the good times (continue to) roll!

Edit: Great effort against Chelsea too!

Edited July 22 by DefinitelyTaylor