KibworthBull

August 2057 A routine win of HFX before Toronto FINALLY hit Daniel Brindley's release clause - they have been bidding for him for over 6 months and it's been a steady stream of rejections, but finally they have found the cash. We go into the NACL with the expectation (from my side) of qualifying from the group in the top 2 again. Craig Heard scoring twice to see us past Sporting Kansas - he's now played a record equalling 267 times for me. A lot of rotation and we fly past Cavalry. Left Winger/Left Back Kyle Davis had to play Right Wing against Vancouver (Inside Forward so should be okay with that) - he complained but scored twice and we won. 2 from 2 in the NACL. We've now reached 50 games unbeaten in the league. The top 4 has a familiar feel about it

July 2057 Pacific is first up. Just like June. This time they come to our house. We leave it incredibly late, but get the W. Saeed Al-Balawi scoring with seconds left. Al-Balawi makes it 78 goals with two more against Atletico Ottawa, before we go back to back against Forge. We lose the winning streak at 10, but the unbeaten run is in the 40s now. 45. Play-Offs are secured after match week 18, and the 5-1 win at Edmonton. 9 goal thriller at Cavalry. This has the potential to mean nothing, or everything, or something in between

June 2057 The month starts with a trip to the Pacific. Just two subs named due to International Call Ups. A professional job is done. The main focus right now is on Saeed Al-Balawi who has moved onto 75 goals for the club - only 27 needed to tick off Asian as a continent where we've had a player score 100 goals. Truth is he is a long way away still, but there is not much else going on - we win most of the games domestically. Erick Gómez has finally moved on - a fantastic player when we played with an attacking midfielder, sadly we don't anymore. £135k is small money for him but he was on £1k a week so one of the higher rollers. The reality this is just the warm-up for the NACL

May 2057 Rotation is the name of the game. Craig Heard enjoying himself in front of goal. To be fair everyone is, and the defenders are defending. 3 goals conceded in 8 games. 34 games unbeaten.

April 2057 As we had an early exit to the NACL we've had nearly 2 months between fixtures. Victory over Pacific was a very Saudi affair - a hattrick for Saeed Al-Balawi the highlight. After 3 very convincing victories, our first battle against Forge ended in a draw. We shall meet them in the Play-Off final in November no doubt. Just before the season started we signed Full Back Seydou Ouattara - he was wanted by PSG and came through at ASEC Mimosa - I've gambled that'll he will be a golden goose for us.

February 2057 I am legend. Thrice. In 2027 I became a legend of Fijian side Ba, in 2038 it was Club 1 de Agosto in Angola, and now in 2056, it's York United in Canada. A massive milestone in North America. Just need the NACL and I can move on. Just... Before we get into that. Let's introduce the new blood. Powerful Centre Back Tom Pérez is 20 years old and an American who was with Atlanta United last year. A very good prospect. He's joined by Abdullah Al-Rashoudi who is our 4th Saudi national, and he is 20 and a DMC. Another very good player. Not a transfer fee spent either Out the door go some squad players And we go back to the NACL. And the most terrifying opponent we could get. America. The side that beat us 5-0 in the Semi Final last year. We kept them out for over an hour but then the floodgates opened. 4-0 defeat. An improvement but still a massive challenge in the return leg. We managed to score 4 times in the return leg and win, but sadly they scored three times and we bail out early. The draw was very unkind on us.

October and November 2056 We've got 2 Saudi's on small wages and long contracts and it's lovely. Mohammed Al-Ghamdi scores a double and we overpower Vancouver. We now appear to be stronger than the MLS which is great. The Forge game was my 300th in charge at York. Comfortably more than anywhere else on this journey. We laid down a bloody marker. 7th heaven. We bought up 100 goals for the season for the first time as well. All of that means nowt, if we don't win the Play-Offs. We took a 4 goal lead from Vancouver and lost 5-1 !! Thankfully we won on penalties. Maybe I rotated a bit too much. Another milestone. The Pacific match was game No.1300 in my career. Not bad for 81. Late goals mean that Pacific still have a chance. 5-1 up with 5 left became 5-3. Drazen Pudić scoring twice We topped our NACL group as well Mohammed Al-Ghamdi power us past Pacific and then gets his leg broken. We wont see him until April next year. We will meet Forge again. But before that we have Toronto, and a professional display see's us go into the 2nd leg with a FLINT. Forge. Revenge! Although we have a long way to go yet We flirt with November ever so briefly for the 2nd leg of the Canadian Championship. Drazen Pudić makes it 25 goals from us 21 games with a hattrick and we do the double. Managerial Stats for the save

September 2056 Rotation is the buzzword for September. The squad is good enough and with the play-offs secured there is no reason not too. We've passed 6,000 minutes for our U21s - the minimal requirement was 2,000 Safe passage through the Canadian Championship - HFX are one of the worst sides in the league and have been for a while, Over the 2 legs, we give debuts to 3 academy graduates. All the focus is on the Atlanta United match at the end of the month, they sit top, we sit 2nd. Hassan Al-Abdan had a stormer, and we won. 3-0 Means we've qualified with a game to go as well.

August 2056 The business end of the season. The next 3 months are where it matters. League Play-Offs, Canadian Championship and NACL A decent start in the NACL became a brilliant start thanks to a double in stoppage time from Saeed Al-Balawi. A draw away at Toluca is a good result as well. Win your home games, and draw your away ones. Great news for our dependable Ivorian Centre Back The last league game of August is always decimated by International call ups - yet we are never able to postpone - despite postponing others. FM logic. 2 subs named. 6 goals scored. Drazen Pudić finding his feet nicely. Bubbling nicely.

July 2056 A striker was needed. A striker was found. American Drazen Pudić. He's alright, not as good as Torrico but should do okay domestically. He can't play until the 3rd game this month. Nathan Grainger scores a brace from left wing to see off HFX. We rotated heavily. Saeed Al-Balawi has moved past 50 goals for the club, with 2 late ones at Pacific. The new boy debuts against Cavalry. We play out a goalless draw. We get back on the horse away at Ottawa before the new boy shows his class with 4 at Edmonton. A victory that secures our place in the play-offs. Another sale - Dylan Richardson was never able to force himself into the squad and play well enough to keep him around. We signed him on a free and sold for a decent-ish amount within 18 months. Our standard sort of deal.

June 2056 Pacific, at home, time for revenge. And then some... 7 of the best, trousers down. Craig Heard enjoyed himself with a couple of goals. We are very much in that sweet spot of being better than our peers domestically - we just need to ensure we get the job done in October and November. Saeed Al-Balawi the next to score a double. Next up though, is 2nd and 3rd. Ottawa are swept aside. Honours even against Forge. A shame. Pavle Kojić, a 16 year old Canadian makes his league debut in Edmonton, gets MoTM and scores. We gift Valour a late own goal which means we end the month with a draw. Unfortunately, Saudi money talks. 145 goals in 218 games. The release clause was met.

May 2056 FC Edmonton are beaten at the start of the month. No dodgy refs for us, unlike Forge. Jorge Torrico, our Bolivian boy scores a hat-trick and Forge are beaten. A perfect month We should finish top again

April 2056 Can the incredible happen? No. But we can dream Or is it a nightmare? Without our 2 DMs we are over-ran and get a stuffing. We take our frustrations out on Valour. 9 of the best. Daniel Brindley and Craig Heard both get hat-tricks. We get some pride and some cash from the home game against America - furthest we've ever got. Hope for the future. I forgot that Lin Ziheng was on penalties - he scored in the HFX victory, before Pacific knocked us down a peg. When we get it right (see Cavalry at home) we are ruthless. Another superb victory. Saeed Al-Balawi with a treble. The hope is real, and it's what gets you in the end!

March 2056 All my strikers are fitness concerns and we have Tigres. Sigh. We may live to regret the fact we only scored 1 Nervy. Tough. Daniel Brindley gave us the chance to breathe. A late leveller on the night not enough. We progress. Officially the furthest we've gotten in the competition now.

February 2056 CS Herediano are from Costa Rica and our 2nd round challenge. Despite going a goal down early, a dominate display puts us 1/3 into the Quarters. Kayne Morgan getting two from the DMC position Job complete in Costa Rica. The only problem now is we HAVE to beat a Mexican side in the Quarters (and beyond)

2056 Season 10th February is when the transfer window opens. We had a busy day. We've gone hell for leather, and to hell with the ramifications. We may not be able to register anyone, but that's not a concern until after the NACL is done. Landry Diallo is a keeper and a cut above what we had last season - the £425k is across 6 payments so lessens the blow Hassan Al-Abdan is a Saudi Left Back or Centre Half and alongside Mohammed Al-Ghamdi (Right Winger) adds some real quality to that position Gary Lynch is a Canadian International Striker and will provide some depth. He's been out of football for over a year, and at 25 is drinking in the last chance saloon Graeme Wiseman and Myles Julienne are youngster who add depth to the defense. To help, naively try, and balance the books. We've given Forge our backup keeper and released some squad depth.

October and November 2055 These 4 games are a pre-amble to the NACL biggie. Twice around the Valour tree and two meaningless league games. Victory at home to Valour sets us up for the return leg - there should have been more and their goal was an Own Goal. The league? Two 4-1 wins with the same people scoring a goal apiece - annoyingly in the wrong order. We were able to pick a stronger side in the away game at Valour and Saeed Al-Balawi continued his good run with a double. The League Play-Offs see a trip to Cavalry. Lots of action in the away game, Charlie Ellis in goal, and he's not great. Everyone else is either not registered or injured. We let a 2 goal lead slip. Jack Addison hits a double from midfield in Los Angeles and we are able to pick up the draw we need. It's Addison again who led the charge in the Cavalry return leg. We are through to the Final. Our last 3 games of the season are all against Forge. In the Canadian Championship 1st Leg, we dominated and Alex Parmenter scored in stoppage time to give us a strong advantage. A two day gap between games does nobody any favours. A disaster in the League Final. Kayne Morgan sent off after 4 minutes, both Addison and Saeed Al-Balawi off injured. We never recover. Well beaten. We finish 22 points better than Forge but lose the vital head to head. We exact revenge by stuffing Forge in the 2nd leg as well. I am finally an Icon. After 36 season of this ridiculous challenge, this is the state of play

September 2055 The bulk of the squad are off on international duty for the Pacific defeat. Our 2nd string did okay. Before normal service was resumed against HFX and Forge - to my delight. In the Canadian Championship, Kyle Davis nabs a late winner before getting injured. A slim lead to defend in the 2nd leg. In the return leg, a joyous moment, Azarel Gittens scores a double and the Barbados is ticked off. #123 nation Jorge Torrico scores a double against Cavalry - we don't have a fit keeper, or at least a fully fit one, so Charley Ellis is playing... with a broken hand. An incredible victory over Chivas in the NACL puts us on the brink of qualifying automatically. We just need to avoid defeat in the final game Another player sold just to balance the books Barbados

August 2055 The Group Stages of the NACL is a complete free hit. We'll get other games later which could be good from a financial point of view. Its a New World and it's New England first - the late, late show secures us three points. 6 bookings may well cost us in the future. Tigres remind us of where we actually stand in the world - we get £200k for the trouble of the trip to Mexico. The Play-Offs are secured with a win in Edmonton. Financially we are screwed - Seko told me he was considering his options and would leave in 6 months, we offered him out and managed to get a bit of cash. It barely scratches the surface, Financially - yeah. It's not pretty. We can't seem to get/stay ahead of the financial curve.

July 2055 The month starts with a hard-earned point, and we are at the point where players are getting injured/need resting and generally struggling. But everyone else is in the same boat and we have a commanding lead. Cavalry are seen off. Revenge is nice. Barbadian Azarel Gittens made his debut in the HFX win, my hope is he can tick that nation off then I'll get him out on loan to continue his development. He's 18 and has a bit of potential. Two late goals turn a 3-3 draw against Forge into a 5-3 win. Lovely stuff. Gittens managed to score, however he hasn't ticked off the MoTM yet - he'll probably need to wait a bit now. The Play-Offs are almost secured, just in time for the NACL to start.

June 2055 The league was a two-horse race last year and it's likely to be again this year - Jorge Torrico sees off 3rd place Pacific. No sooner had I typed that sentence, Cavalry beat us. Before a return to form against HFX - 3 second half goals show our strength. Honours even against Forge - the point means we are still 5 points clear We manage to sneak a point from a fairly rubbish performance against Ottawa By rights we could have called off the last 2 games of the month, as we had 6 away on internationals but I felt we needed to play them. Dayle Winters got the winner to get us past Edmonton, and then scored a couple more against Valour. He's a Centre Back! The league table suggests that Forge have dropped off it

May 2055 Jorge Torrico spells goals... kind of. Another 2 against Ottawa and we continue our good start. 5 different goalscorers as FC Edmonton are put to the sword. Alex Parmenter gets his first senior goal. Valour punctures the optimism balloon slightly but we go into the early season break, well placed in the table, and over half-way to the U21 Player Quota.

April 2055 300th reply, and over 8,000 views of the thread. Never hit these numbers before. We celebrated with Kyle Davis scoring twice on his debut as we beat Pacific 5-1 Erik Gomez also scored twice in that one, and both players scored again to beat Valour. Cavalry was a bore draw but then we got back on the horse with victory at HFX - Antonio Bolognini scoring twice. The best result was left until last - a 2-0 win against Forge to stamp a marker down. Well and truly off and running now

2055 Season All change, please. All change. Not really, but there has been some movement. Over £1m comes in - Paul Siewe told me he wanted to leave on a free so had to get as much as possible for him, we've strengthened the rest of the league with some of these deals, but we need the cash. Coming In Gomez and Alvarez were on loan last year and have signed permanent deals. Lin Ziheng will battle with Guna Haas for the No.1 slot and Kyle Davis is a Left Back who adds Canadian depth. Bolognini was ours before we sold him to Valour, and comes back to offer a free loan option up front.

November 2054 Winning against a Mexican side is a challenge, doing it without Saeed Al-Balawi and Jorge Torrico is almost impossible. We've also got 6 players 1 booking away from a suspension, so potentially we could go through and be in an even worse position for the next game. What optimism! It went late but Víctor Caballero with a double has meant we have got through, HOWEVER we have another Mexican side Pachuca CF and we are without Alikem Seko, Ryan Hay and Craig Heard. It could be worse. Daniel Brindley is 18 and continues to impress - you'll remember as a 16-year-old he scored a very important NACL goal. He got the winner and we won the Canadian Championship for the third time in four years. The strikers returned for Pachuca, but we threw away a 2-goal lead to crash out. Gutting