Blarney

Haha, I promised myself I wouldn't mess wth any of the player attributes but you are correct, Kent needs to be much more aggressive ----- I might change it, I might, it is my save so I guess I could make one change and he is 30 so it's not like it would make a ton of difference and it fits his profile better. I'll think about it. As far as Tartt, I actually had already changed McShane's name to Tartt shortly after I posted the players... not sure why I didn't do it in the first place.

Lasso meets the Press Dale Sparks - Club Press Officer Welcome ladies and gentlemen. We'll keep this short and sweet. Chairperson Le Bars will speak and then you'll get a chance to hear from our new manager, Ted Lasso, and he'll answer a few questions. We'd like to move this along and keep it orderly. So we'll begin with Mr. Le Bars. Jacques Le Bars - Richmond AFC Chairperson Welcome. You're not here for me so I'll be very brief. Today Richmond turns the page on what's come before and we look to the future with Ted Lasso. Ted comes to us from America with a winner's personality and a winning pedigree. We are ready to move forward under his leadership... we are ready for the Ted Lasso way. Ted Lasso - Manager Howdy y'all, I can't tell you how excited I am to be here today. I ain't got much to say, I know y'all have questions but I'll address the rather large elephant in the room to begin with. Yes I am American. I was born and raised near Kansas City, Missouri. That's a far cry from England. It's a little town in the heartland of our United States. I grew up there playing what we call football in the states. I was pretty good, good enough to get a scholarship and play for Wichita State University in Kansas. Unfortunately I suffered 2 injuries and after spending a lot of time on the bench and learning how to coach, I decided to take off the players uniform and put on the coaches hat. I spent a couple of years as an assistant before my head coach stepped down mid-season one year due to his health and I took over and lead the Wichita State Shockers football team to a Division 2 Championship. The next thing I know I'm getting a call from Mr. Le Bars and being asked about coming here to London and managing his team. Now I've never played soccer - what you call football - but I've seen it. That's doesn't quality me to be a head coach, not by a long shot. But what does is my passion and hopefully my skills at leading men. It might be a different sport played on a different field but the game is the same between the lines. That's what I know. So fire away. Trent Crimm - the Independent Ted Crimm, the Independent. That was a fantastic presentatioon, Mr. Lasso. Ted Lasso Call me Ted. Just Ted. Trent Crimm - the Independent Okay, Ted. Fantastic presentation. I'm sure you're a fantastic... American football manager. Just fantastic. You say you've never played football - our football. I assume you've watches matches on tv, maybe in person. You talk a good game when it comes to what one looks for in a manager - we call them managers here. But I have several questions. Do you know anything about the English Football pyramid? Do you even know what league Richmond AFC is in? Do you know anything about our rules? And last but certainly not least... is this a joke? It's a joke, right. Just answer that question. Charles Townes - the Non-League Paper Can you even name any players in your league, on your team? How about any football players on any club in the Premier League? Any players at all, at any point in history? Ted Lasso Pyramids? English pyramids? I thought those were in Egypt. What league? Ummm, how many leagues are there? Maybe the top one? Or Division 2? I'm sure we're good. Let's see, players... I mean there's Messi and that spice girl's husband, I think they made a movie about him. I'm sure I'm missing something. Jacques Le Bars My my. We're all worked up today aren't we? Let me help. Richmond AFC is in the National League South, the 6th tier of the football pyramid and outside the Football League by 2 stages. We've been in the National League South for 7 seasons. When was the last time we won anything? 2015 when we were promoted from the Isthmian League? We've never won a major cup or trophy or competition, ever. So go ahead and tell me what we're risking here? We've had accomplished managers come here and we've still never been promoted from the National League South. What are we risking? I'll wait. Tell me. You're not even giving Ted a chance. We've lost all common sense. He at least deserves a chance to prove himself. Don't you think? I thought we were better than this. Dale Sparks I think that's all the time we have today. There will be other opportunities to ask more questions as the season approaches.

Media Reactions the London Times An American In London football? Did Ryan Reynolds just purchase another club? Richmond hires a Yank. talkSport When you talk about countries or a people that know the beautiful game... the Americans are far, far down that list. When you talk about Ted Lasso, he apparently knows even less. the Non-League Paper An American Football player (of American football) come to Richmond to lead a REAL football club. What could go wrong? Richmond & Twickenham Times Supporters besides themselves after the announcement of Ted Lasso - an American who managed AMERICAN football back home - has been hired to manage the Richmond Royals. BBC Radio 5 We don't know anything about Ted Lasso other than the viral video of him dancing with his team after winning their Division 2 college AMERICAN football title... and neither do you. The Independent We have so many questions. So many. We hope to get answers soon. Podcasters and Social Media the Richmond Royal Podcast So we've just given up? Is that it. We're just a joke now? @theRoyalOneRichmond Who? What? Where? When? Why??????? @IamRichmondFan Does this mean I have to change my tag to @IamNoLongerRichmondFan? @RichmondRoyals4Lyfe I don't understand. I just don't understand. @KingsCourtFan An American? I don't mean to sound mean... but an American? @WeAreRichmond4Ever Is it April 1st?

This is a Joke, right?

Introducing Ted Lasso Your Manager Born April 28th, 1999, in Lee's Summit, MO, a small suburb outside Kansas City. Ted spent most of his life growing up in Lee's Summit playing football -- AMERICAN football. He played quarterback and was a sophomore starter for Lee's Summit West High School and went on to play 3 seasons, being named All-State his Junior and Senior seasons, while leading LS West to a state championship his Senior season. He had offers to play at several universities in and around Missouri and Kansas; including the University of Missouri, Kansas State, the University of Nebraska, Oklahoma University and Wichita State. Ted ultimately decided to commit to Wichita State - which was his father's alma mater - even though it was a Division 2 school compared to the others being Division 1. In reality Ted was a good high school football player but not great. He also knew deep down that he probably wasn't going to get as much of an opportunity to start or shine at those other programs and probably would have even been the backup QB even if he was being recruited by them. The Shockers (Wichita State) offered him a chance to start and live his dream of being a college player since he most likely was never making the pros. He didn't end up starting his Freshman year however, playing backup to the Senior starter. Hie Sophomore season however, he finally got his chance... and then broke his leg in his 3rd game of the season - missing the rest of the season, while watching from the bench. What he learned though, was that there was more to the game than being on the field. He learned tactics. He learned how to coach. He helped with practice. He wrote plays. In essence he was an Assistant Coach while recouperating. He came back stronger than ever his Junior season and was announced as the starter once again. He was 6-2 through 8 games in the season and a big part of the turnaround in the program - with a school that previously had only had any success in basketball - when while being sacked in the 4th quarter of a close game, another defender awkwardly rolled into him, buckling Lasso's knee - on the same leg he had broken the previous season. Season over, again. Ted sat down with his coaches and his parents during the off-season while recovering and made the decision that his playing career was over, however the Head Coach offered him a place on the bench to continue his education into coaching. Which he did... and he loved. It became his new passion.

Let's look at the Club I've seperated the guys into the positions they are capable of playing, which means that some players may be listed on more than one spreadsheet. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll play at that position, just that they can. I'll be taking a longer look to see who's actually best suited for what role, depending on squad depth. Strikers Have to say this looks like a decent lot up front. McShane is young and capable... very quick, decent finish. His vision and decision making needs work but he's only 17. Seymour and Bloomfield both are okay as well. I don't think we'll have many problems scoring. hopefully. Attacking-Mids Kurran-Browne isn't bad. Good decision making, determination, work rate. Passing is acceptable and he can score. Hall and Dunne.... eh, they're backups at best. Wingers Kurran-Browne can also play on the outside, so I'll have to decide where I like him best. Deadfield and Hall are alright, but nothing special. None of the guys here are particularly great... and none of them are really good at crossing the ball. I'll have to decide if I even want to play with wingers given the 'quality' I have here. I might be better suited playing with 2 strikers and an attacking midfielder instead. Center-Mids Nobody here really stands out but there might be something I can put together. Kent is older but a good passer, excellent defensive guy. Hunt may grow into something acceptable, he's pretty quick and makes good decisions. Everyone else is just depth at best. Not an overly impressive list. Defensive-Mids Kent definitely grades out to be a better defensive-midfielder, which may be what I play regardless instead of center-mids. Hunt's strength is just terrible and his tackling isn't much better. I don't really have a lot to work with here. Center-Backs Eh, Revan is tall, but needs to learn how to head the ball. He tackles okay and has good strength. Fernandez is only 21 and is decent in about every category. Full-Backs I like Revan on the inside much better than outside. What I'm noticing is a horrible lack of depth on the defensive line. That's going to have to be improved. Pitblado is mildly intriguing given his crossing ability but he's not particularly quick so getting up the pitch might be a problem. Keepers Yuck... and more yuck. I guess Desbois is okay but he's certainly not good. His reflexes are very concerning and his aerial ability isn't much better. Overview Didn't expect much from the squad and not really getting much. We do have a few youngsters that might carry the club, especially up front. Our lack of good defensive players is concerning so we'll have to make a couple of changes there. It already looks like some sort of 5-2-1-2 formation is best suited for what we have available. I can't see trying to play with wingers as our quality isn't quality. I don't even think we have enough defenders for that formation but we can find a couple of guys in free agency to help out. All in all the squad is okay, it's what you'd expect from a Naitonal League South club. I think we'll be able to score, we just need to be able to stop from getting scored on.

Premier League Let's meet our London competition up close... and yes I know we're not in the Premier League but this is what we aspire to be. Arsenal Brentford Chelsea Crystal Palace Fulham Tottenham West Ham One can dream, can't they?

We Are Richmond And we will rule London Did you all know that there are like 100 football clubs in London? It may be, I don't know, it's a lot. They seem to be on every corner. London is by far the football capital of the world, with a multitude of large clubs. In fact there are 7 Premier League Clubs in London alone. Just to put this in perspective.... New York City has nearly the same population as London and has 2 American Football Clubs. Granted in land size London is twice as big.... but they have 7 top flight football clubs compared to just 2 in New York City. And actually if you want to get really technical... both New York City clubs play in the same stadium and it ISN'T even in New York... it's in New Jersey. There isn't a football stadium in New York City. And if you dive even deeper, London has several other football clubs, beyond those in the Premier League. A couple of Championship clubs. A couple of League One clubs. A couple of League Two clubs. And even some down in the National League. So those are the 17 professional clubs in London. Richmond AFC falls below that in the National League South. Welling United play in the NL South as well. So that would make 19 clubs in the top 6 tiers of the pyramid. And then add maybe 99 more below that. Something like that. It's a lot. That's just insane to me how many clubs play in one city.

**I am still on vacation (see my last failed save) so my postings will be few and far between over the next week or so but I wanted to get this idea down on "paper" before I got busy having fun again. So if I don't write much, that's why. I have a lot of ideas on how to take this forward, I just need to sort them out in my head**

So how did I set this up? What changes are being made or what's staying the same? Most everything is the same. All I did was create Richmond AFC... and their logo. They will be known as The Royals and they will play at Kings Court. We're using Hampton and Richmond's stadium in the game to start until we grow big enough to build another one. I suppose it doesn't matter where we're actually playing.... we're calling ourselves Richmond AFC because we're in the Richmond Upon Thames borough of London. Hampton and Richmond's home field is actually in Hampton. They absorbed the old Richmond club years ago and formed Hampton and Richmond... so now technically Richmond doesn't have a squad and Hampton and Richmond are the only professional club in the borough. I DO have the editor on. It is in fact the first time I've ever used the editor - I purchased it for this save because I had to change some things. But I'm not changing anything or looking at anything I don't want to know. I just wanted to go in and change a few names to put Coach Beard and Nate Shelley and Roy Kent in the game. That's it. Well I wanted to change the owner also but I can't figure out how to do that, so I'm guessing that's not possible. So we'll be in a little bit of an alternate universe with the save but it's not like I could recreate everything anyway. I'm not going to change any of the other players... I thought about it but it's a lot of work and I do not want to get that involved and risk seeing who's good or not. I want to play the save out like I do all the others - and that's blind. I don't want to know anything about the players. The only one I changed was Roy Kent - which was funny because Hampton and Richmond already had a player/coach so I just changed him and that was that. Oh I did cheat a little and changed my coaches loyalty... especially Coach Beard. I didn't want him jumping ship 1 year into the save by getting a different offer. So I cheated there a little. But I didn't change anything else. And that's it.... that's my save. Ted Lasso will be the new manager from America. Coach Beard is coming along with him just like in the show. Nathan Shelley is my other coach from England. Roy Kent is a 30-year old player/coach from England. Richmond AFC is the club. The Royals are the name. Kings Court is their home-field. Let's see how quickly I can mess this one up!

I am a HUGE fan of Ted Lasso. Most of you probably aren't... well maybe some of you aren't. I've heard (if you believe what you hear) that the show isn't nearly as popular across the world - especially in England - compared to the hit that it was here in America. I'm not sure why, I didn't think it made fun of the English at all. I know it wasn't the best indicator of the quality of football in Europe, let alone England... in fact it was just plain humorous at times how bad the football was. But that's easily overlooked because it's just a show. Personally I thought the depth of characters and the presentation itself was what made it as good as it was. The fact it centered around a football club was just extra to me, it was just part of the humor in the show. Americans love sports stories, even when that sport isn't as popular here as it is around the world. Welcome to Wrexham is a huge hit and there are people watching that that have never even been to a football match here in the states. That's not to say that "soccer" isn't popular because it is becoming more so here in the past 10 years than it was before. It's way more popular now than it was 20 years ago... so we're learning. But it's still way back from American football, baseball and basketball... and in fact is just slightly ahead in most polls of popularity over Hockey. But it's changing. Anyway that's neither here nor there and not really part of the story. As I said I am a huge fan. In fact I've watched it 3 times now... and each time it makes me laugh and each time I pick up something else that maybe I didn't see before. There is something else that I noticed - unless I just completely missed it or it was done a LONG time ago and that's that nobody has done a Ted Lasso or AFC Richmond save. I went back and searched the forums and couldn't find anything along those lines. Now, obviously AFC Richmond doesn't exist... so unless one were to create a club and put them in the game, they're not there. Hampton and Richmond is... and in fact was allegedly the basis of the fictitious AFC Richmond - although AFC Richmond was a Premier League club and H&R is struggling down in the National League South. Anyway I decided, being a fan of Ted Lasso that I would do an AFC Richmond save - at least as best I could - and see how far I could take them. But... I'm going to do it from the starting point of Hampton and Richmond. I'll replace them in the game - keep their staff and players - but create AFC Richmond and put them in their place. Or at least I thought I would. The game won't let me create AFC Richmond... or Richmond FC. So I ended up having to name the club Richmond AFC. And that will be the starting point for this story. AFC.... errr Richmond AFC come to life. Ted Lasso come to manage. What could go wrong?

I apologize for the lack of updates over the past week as I've been away on vacation (holiday, I think is what you all in the UK call it and maybe other parts of the world.) I've also sort of hit a brick wall -- well more than a brick wall -- in the save. I'll explain. While I've been away I've continued playing the save, just not posting. I made it all the way through my first season in League One and finished in 19th place. Respectable as far as I was concerned. Actually up until the final 6-7 weeks I was sitting in 11th place and then a couple of injuries hit -- 2 at the same time to both of my main strikers. I ended up losing 8 of my last 9 matches, drawing the other one and fell way down the table. The board wasn't entirely happy but not overly upset as they wanted me to just stay up for the most part. The supporters as expected weren't quite as happy but again, we were safe and that's what mattered. I went into the next season with just a few changes made as I expected my young players to continue their growth. We won our first 2 matches and then lost 4 in a row. Over the course of the next 2 months we lost way more than we won and we were sitting in a relegation battle 3 months into the season. The board asked me to meet with them and said things needed to change. They didn't. I argued with them (which is always a problem of mine) and 2 matches later - 1 draw, 1 loss - they sacked me. I come from America. I'm well aware of the "what have you done for me lately" aspect to sports but this is like the 3rd time I've been fired in a Notts save I've tried to do. To me back-to-back promotions and a mid-table finish should earn a little bit of trust, but that doesn't appear to be the way the game works, at least not for me. But I do think that I'm partly to blame and that I argue with the board too much instead of just begging for my job or capitulating to their requirements. I'm probably really like that in real life so it's hard to be something different even in the game. So I had a conversation with a couple of people that I trust on this forum and explained what happened and said that I still had the game saved from before I was fired, even all the way back to the mid-season the year prior and could just go back and redo it since I hadn't posted anything... but that's not me. I don't "fix" things in the game. I don't change what's happened, ever. But I was tempted because I wanted the save to work........ yet my heart really wasn't in it, just because I think I'm somewhat fed up with trying to make Notts work. As I've said, Notts County was the first club I fell in love with when I lived in England just by chance of going to a match when I visited Nottingham once and then just sort of followed them. But I'm an outsider, it's not like I know much about them other than what I've read. I feel like calling them my club is like someone from Minnesota claiming the New York Yankees as their baseball team even though they've never lived in New York City. We call it being a bandwagon fan here in the states. I actually do have a local club where I live in the USA.... but I'm not a big fan of American soccer. I don't hate it, but it's not the same. So I've tried and tried to make a Notts save work and something always goes wrong... almost like the game is telling me to stay away. So I will. Fact is I already have another idea, something that's been brewing for awhile. Long before I started this save, in fact probably been brewing for the past year or more, just not something I seriously entertained just because I'm not sure how it would work... but I want to try. So I will based on the advice I received from some people I trust on the forum. I look forward to posting about that and wish Notts all the luck in the world in real life..... but here, I just can't with them any longer.

Interesting twist but I guess if you're going to go old.... there's no better place the OLDham.

I'd say unlucky in this one.

I'd play the youngster myself. Not much between them and the potential is there to get better.

A Talk With The Gaffer Nottingham Post Back-to-back promotions since taking the helm at Notts County must have you feeling pretty good but you find yourself in League One now. Most would say that you start to see a step up in the talent level at this tier, just one step away from the Championship. How do you think your club stacks up? Eddie Sirrel Well.. we're going to find out, aren't we? We're very excited. We're probably ahead of the schedule that most had us on by a year. Maybe it would have been nice to stay down another year and let some of our kids grow up before throwing them to the wolves, but I don't think anybody is upset about the promotion. Nottingham Post So does that mean you're concerned that maybe you're not ready for this level? Eddie Sirrel Not concerned. I know the quality we have on this club. They're going to be tested and they know it, but they've been tested each of the past 2 seasons and have come through it. Nottingham Post Another promotion coming this season? Back-to-back-to-back? Eddie Sirrel We're going to go out there and do what we always do and that's leave it all on the pitch. I would be ecstatic with a mid-table finish this season, just keep us out of a relegation battle and that's a win for us right now. Nottingham Post You've got a bit of a reputation as someone that is ready to move anybody at any time, while continuing to bring in young players to restock the club. Are you concerned that maybe this shows that you have no loyalty to anybody on the club? Eddie Sirrel I don't think that's the case at all. Look, with respect to everybody that's been around here for a few years, this club was going nowhere. We fell out of the Football League and spent years in the National League unable to win a playoff game to earn promotion. I'm not trying to be harsh but changes had to be made and we made them. We brought in some younger players and we moved on from others that we thought didn't fit the future of the club... but that doesn't mean we thought any less of those lads. We just let Matt Palmer go who's been outstanding for us for the past few seasons but it was a deal we just couldn't pass up. I look at each deal on the table individually and make decisions based on what I think is best for the club. We're getting better and that's all I care about. Nottingham Post Yes, but that's a business point of view. For your players, many might be sitting there wondering if they're going to be around here in a month or 3 months or at the end of the year, contract or not. Don't you think that affects their attitudes and how they play? Eddie Sirrel I see that point of view also and to any player that feels that way, my door is open. I'm not actively trying to get rid of anybody and if I am I have that conversation with that player so they know what's going on. But the fact is everybody in that changing room means something to this club, each and every one. In the end, we have to do what's best for us but it doesn't change how we feel as people. Nottingham Post Best of luck this season.

Pre-Season What's always most important to me in the pre-season is that we get in shape and come out on the other side healthy. We did end up with a few small injuries but nothing that I think is going to set us back. On top of that we worked on a new formation...... Which seems to have worked pretty good considering how many goals we scored. But like I said... I don't put much stock in the actual games, generally.

Palmer Out! BBC Radio Nottingham Supporters are a little set back that Matt Palmer has been transferred? He's one of your most important players in the middle and has been a stalwart each of the past 2 seasons, helping you earn promotion while being a fan favorite. What was the reasoning for accepting this offer considering he was under contract for the rest of this season? Eddie Sirrel I hope I've earned a small bit of trust with the fans but I understand the sentiment. Palmer has made 122 appearances for Notts over the past few seasons and was an excellent player for our club. He has been a fan favorite for a good reason and he will be missed. But, unfortunately, this is a business and sometimes hard decisions have to be made. Sunderland came calling and made us an offer that made sense considering the depth of our squad and the direction we are trying to go. We wish him the absolute best of luck going forward and will watch the rest of his career, knowing it will be a good one.

League One Season Preview Final Standing Predictions The people that place the bets seem to think we're safe. We're a solid pick to finish mid-table which would be fine by me. Coventry is the good money to go back up after falling last season although Sheffield Wednesday isn't far behind in the money. Golden Boot Langstaff is the betting man's pick to win his FOURTH straight Golden Boot. Wouldn't that be something. Top Player They don't like any of my players for Player of the Season and I'm not sure that I can disagree here. There is some fantastic competition and Coventry particularly looks very strong. Managers I am tied for 3rd longest time on the job but have the best winning percentage overall compared to every other manager in the league, for whatever good that does.

Transfer News Out We liked Sam but he just didn't fit the squad. Francis told us that he wasn't going to stay so with our hands tied on this one, we let him go.

Awards and Recognition Golden Boot We had 2 of the 3 best shooters in the game on our club with Langstaff winning his 3rd straight Golden Boot.

League Two Season Review League Resuts Certainly different resuilts than we managed in the National League the year prior where we hardly lost.... but we expected better competition and while we got it, we still managed a 2nd place finish and an automatic promotion. How We Lined Up This isn't accurate since Langstaff started more games than Williams did... and for some reason he's not even listed as one of our best eleven when he had the 3rd best per game average. League Two's Best 3 players represented here. Transfers In We didn't sign a lot of big contracts this season. We did bring in a few youngsters that got some starts. Mair was probably our biggest signing for the season in terms of what he meant to the club. Barlow and Browne were late acquisitions so we'll see how they do going forward. Hosannah was good on the wing for this season but we'll need an upgrade. Transfers Out We did move quite a few players out with Bostock probably being the biggest name for what he meant to the club. Bajrami was another one that we thought had a future but didn't want to stay. We wonder if he feels differently now. Commercial Summary Curious how our match day commercial and retail sales were down this season considering our attendance was much better.

Fighting with the Board **intended results in an unintended way** This is the 2nd time this season that I requested our youth facilities to be upgraded and the 2nd time I've been turned down. I of course met with the board to stress how important this was and each time was told that I could turn in my resignation or accept their response. I wasn't going to walk away from my job (this time - at least not yet) so I gave in. However, there was one slight difference this time. This time I decided to leak it to the press... not sure what would happen when I did but curious nonetheless. I accepted a request to answer a question from BBC Radio Nottingham. Then this happened. That was it. No other word. No repurcussions -- at least within the week that's past after this. Just.... 'here you go, you get what you want.' Interesting.

End of Season Presser Nottingham Post With the season over can you talk about the goals you set and how you accomplished what you did against all odds? Eddie Sirrel Our goals this season weren't any different than most I'll set at the start of each new season. Our goal is always going to be to be as competitive as we can be. That's what we train for. That's what we work for. I can't imagine that's much different than how most clubs approach the new year. We don't necessarily discuss promotion chances or playoff chances because those things come with hard work. So we talk about working hard. We train to be competent on the pitch. Limit mistakes. Those things we can control. Everything else is just day-by-day. BBC Radio Nottingham Is there any concern about bigger clubs swooping in with your success and trying to take away some of your players? Eddie Sirrel There's always that concern when you have good players whether you're winning or losing. You just hope that you've done enough as a manager and as a club to show how much the boys mean to you and that they'll want to stay. BBC Radio Nottingham So can you comment on if there's been any conversations or transfer requests put in for your players? Eddie Sirrel No. Nottinghamshire Live The 2014 season was the last time that Notts County was as high as the 3rd tier. They had spent 5 seasons in League One before being relegated. Do you think you can stay up, first and second, is there any thoughts of another promotion? Eddie Sirrel Well you're going to get sort of a day-by-day response. We're going to go into this next season just like we did this one, with the expectation of being competitive. There won't be any talk of promotion or relegation beyond planning on staying up. Magpie Weekly Can we expect much the same group out there next season or will we see some changes? Eddie Sirrel With each promotion or really with each new season comes new opportunities for players to impress or for us to get better where we can. We've had 2 full years now of evaluating guys that were here or that I've brought in and we'll continue those evaluations and have conversations about where we think we can get better. Magpie Weekly One can assume that with the promotion more cash will be made available for transfers and for the wage budget. Will we see more money being spent compared to where you've been the past 2 seasons? Eddie Sirrel Much like in your home life or in any business you have to balance whether spending money makes sense. Just because you have it, doesn't mean you just throw it around. We've done a decent job the past 2 seasons of bringing in guys without spending a lot of money so even if there is money there it doesn't mean we open the checkbook without a care in the world and spend it. We'll continue to be smart and that starts with player evaluations and finding guys that fit our club within our budget.

Final Table Colchester, Notts and Bristol up. Port Vale, Mansfield, Walsall and Stockport fighting for the final spot. Gillingham and Swindon down. **In real life 2 years ago Wrexham won the National League with Notts finishing 2nd -- while in my save those 2 were reversed but still scoring over 100 points each and setting records. And this past season it was Wrexham with 88 points finishing 2nd in League Two and earning promotion and Notts County with 66 points finishing in 14th place. In my save it was nearly reversed again with Notts in 2nd with 86 points and Wrexham in 12th with 65 points. Art imitating life!**