Football Manager
Re: Football Manager
What cosmic event has happened that made this insanity come to pass?!
Re: Football Manager
Season 5 - first season in the Conference National
So here we are, after 4 years of trying, finally in the promised land of the conference national! It's going to be tough no doubt, with the 2nd smallest wage budget and one of only 4 or 5 teams who are part-timers. I started the season hopeful of staying up though, despite the lack of quality signings. I only really made one, Robert "JCB" Duggan, a left-winger.
The season started off fantastically, with 4 wins 2 draws and one defeat. Things got tougher then though, with only 3 league wins in October-December and I was getting drawn into the relegation fight. Around here I made my 2nd good signing, Matthew Herriott, to address severe deficiencies in my central midfield.
Soon enough the FA cup came around. I beat a team in my league to make it to the 1st round proper, were I had a great draw, away to a team in the league below me (Dartford). However, I lost that match, which felt like I had blown a major chance to progress and play a big team. I went out in the first round of the FA Trophy, having been drawn against one of the big teams.
As we went into Jan & Feb, my form picked up a bit, James Constable and Dan Fitchett scoring lots of goals. Then a striker by the name of ROss Elsom became available. I couldn't believe how good he was & that he was willing to join me. This was a guy who had made a premiership appearance only 2 years ago. He wanted what was for me a lot of money... I was a bit uneasy a bit it bit I signed him up. It took him a while to get up to fitness but he still scored 6 goals in 9 starts (& 6 substitute appearances).
January-April I went on a good run, leaving me always some way clear of relegation. In that time I won 5, drew 8 and lost 1 out of 14 matches. The season ended with 2 defeats, ending my chances of finishing in the top half of the table, but finishing in 14th with 59 points (W15 D14 L 17) was impressive for a team on my budget.
Would I be able to attract any more talent, or persuade the board to take the club go full-time? Without either of these things I can't see how I will challenge for another promotion. For now though, it was most definitely a season well-done.
So here we are, after 4 years of trying, finally in the promised land of the conference national! It's going to be tough no doubt, with the 2nd smallest wage budget and one of only 4 or 5 teams who are part-timers. I started the season hopeful of staying up though, despite the lack of quality signings. I only really made one, Robert "JCB" Duggan, a left-winger.
The season started off fantastically, with 4 wins 2 draws and one defeat. Things got tougher then though, with only 3 league wins in October-December and I was getting drawn into the relegation fight. Around here I made my 2nd good signing, Matthew Herriott, to address severe deficiencies in my central midfield.
Soon enough the FA cup came around. I beat a team in my league to make it to the 1st round proper, were I had a great draw, away to a team in the league below me (Dartford). However, I lost that match, which felt like I had blown a major chance to progress and play a big team. I went out in the first round of the FA Trophy, having been drawn against one of the big teams.
As we went into Jan & Feb, my form picked up a bit, James Constable and Dan Fitchett scoring lots of goals. Then a striker by the name of ROss Elsom became available. I couldn't believe how good he was & that he was willing to join me. This was a guy who had made a premiership appearance only 2 years ago. He wanted what was for me a lot of money... I was a bit uneasy a bit it bit I signed him up. It took him a while to get up to fitness but he still scored 6 goals in 9 starts (& 6 substitute appearances).
January-April I went on a good run, leaving me always some way clear of relegation. In that time I won 5, drew 8 and lost 1 out of 14 matches. The season ended with 2 defeats, ending my chances of finishing in the top half of the table, but finishing in 14th with 59 points (W15 D14 L 17) was impressive for a team on my budget.
Would I be able to attract any more talent, or persuade the board to take the club go full-time? Without either of these things I can't see how I will challenge for another promotion. For now though, it was most definitely a season well-done.
Re: Football Manager
I'm into season 8 now. Here's season 6 & 7. Football manager is a good thing to play when your baby is in one arm falling asleep/being fed. 
Season 6 - second season in the Conference National
Writing partially from memory here and partially from reading the fixture list for the season.
I made a couple of signings, not many. It's still really hard to get players who can really move the club up a level to join, we're too small, or they want the sort of money that will bankrupt a club whose regular attendance is around 750. The season kicked off with 2 defeats, two wins (including a 4-3 win where I was 3-1 down with half an hour to go) and carried on in that vein, some wins, some losses and some draws, I never got on a really good run or a really bad run. There were however loads of goals scored and conceded which led to some utterly bonkers games, maddest of all is the 6-6 draw I posted above. Amusingly that was followed by a 0-0.
For the FA Cup I got a relatively easy first round draw away to FC United, who I stuffed 5-1. Then comes the first round draw, and I'm away to... Newport county, who are in the league above me and a much better team, with some quality experienced pros there. I set my stall out to defend, and in the 66th minute nicked a goal through start striker Ross Elsom, and managed to hold on for the win! They had 25 shots and 12 on target, I had 3 with 1 on target, yet I won 1-0. The fans went mental for this fantastic result. 2nd round I drew Dag & Red, who are in the same division as me. I went 1-0 behind in the first minute, but plugged away and got a 2-1 win, so it was into the third round! This is where the teams in the top 2 divisions enter, it's every non-league team's dream to get this far. So I sat down to watch the draw - and I was first out of the hat, home to... Reading! Of the Premier League! Fan-flippin'-tastic. The date for the match was set for 4th Jan, and the town got very excited about it, selling out all 4,000 tickets for the first time since I took charge.
As the calendar year came to an end my form dipped somewhat and I looked like I'd be in a relegation fight again. But still with the Reading match on the horizon, morale stayed high. The day of the match came, and a packed stadium saw a heroic effort from the team, losing one goal to nil and even having a few chances of their own. Everyone was very proud of their team, and the bank balance was pretty good too, enabling me to make a few more good signings, such as ex-Arsenal winger Duncan "Urgh" McClurg. Reading went on to the cup semi-final this season. In the FA trophy, I lost in my first match.
After the Reading match I bounced back with a ridiculous victory over Welling. I was losing 2-1 after 78 minutes, then 5 goals in the next 7 minutes (!!!) made if 4-4 before I scored the winner deep into injury time. 2 more victories followed but then came 4 defeats which threatened to suck me right back into the relegation fight. Fortunately my record in the remaining 11 games read 5 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats, ending the season with 58 points (exactly the same as the last year), and 79 goals scored (25 more than the previous year!). I finished 3 places lower in 17th but was 21 points clear of relegation. The awesome Ross Elsom finished the season with 29 goals, and finished 3rd top scorer in the division.
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Season 7 - third season in the Conference National
The season started off full of hope. Many new players had arrived to improve my team, some with experience from leagues further up the pyramid. My creaky defence had been revolutionized, and Frank "Right" Ansah - an England U19 international - would make for a great ball-winning central midfielder. Of course I already had the excellent Ross Elsom up front. And all on affordable wages as well. Not sure why I couldn't attract players of this calibre before, but I could now.
So then, when the season kicked off with 4 losses, a draw, a loss and another draw, it was rather disappointing, to say the least. The natives were restless. Squad morale hit a real low as the players revolted due to being unhappy about a player being fined. In fact this actually led to me being fired but I reloaded it and avoided being fired... it seemed wholly unrealistic given I had just won my last game and drawn the one before that (against the team in 2nd)... AND since the squad had come to me saying they weren't happy and I apologised & expressed regret for my actions. Anyway, slowly the team turned it around, however as late as 17 games into the season I was still dipping into the relegation zone before finally leaving it behind for good.
In the FA cup I drew a team in the division below mine, which I finally won on a replay. Into the first round, and I was drawn at home against... Wolves!! They're a team with great pedigree who somehow found themselves in the third tier and thus in the first round of the cup. Then some great news - we would be on TV!!! Fantastic. The match came around and it was a really dull 0-0 draw. Still, I didn't care... £70k TV money, £50k from the attendees (tickets, merchandise etc) and a replay away at Wolves. We lost 2-1 after extra time, after being ahead and conceding a stupid penalty. I was a bit sad we lost from that position, but a check on the finances showed £105k in gate receipts - my share of the 13,000 attendance at Wolves' stadium. Fantastic, one match (plus replay) had trebled my already all-time-high bank balance. I spoke to the board & we agreed to invest most of it in improving my pretty terrible training facilities. Awesome. They would be installed at the end of the season and be done by Christmas. Around this time of the season I set a league record 11 games unbeaten.
With the money I also signed a new star striker, Joseph Dodoo, swiftly re-christened "The Dodo". He scored 10+ goals a season for the 3 prior seasons, in the division above mine. and at the age of 25 should have many good seasons ahead of him. I had to pay him £850 a week though... compare this to the third highest-pad player in my team on £450 and... yeah... kinda broke the bank for him. But he is my best player. He made himself a favourite with the fans early on as I repeatedly came back from behind to snatch a last-minute 4-4 draw with The Dodo scoring all of them. He finished the season was 16 goals, 9th top goalscorer in the league despite not joining until a third of the way through.
Going into the last day I was in the most congested mid-table ever, I could finish 8th-15th. I drew and finished 11th, my first top-half finish int he division and a while 4 points more than I scored in the previous two seasons. A bit of progress, and it kept the fans happy, but I need more with the squad I have really. But then, the season where I got promoted last time came from almost nowhere. Perhaps next season will be the one where I make a serious promotion challenge. At the end of the season I let 7 players go who were on contracts... I can't sustain 20 players on weekly contracts, it should only be 13-14 players with the rest on pay-as-you-go deals... Leamington's monthly budget is still pretty tiny.
Season 6 - second season in the Conference National
Writing partially from memory here and partially from reading the fixture list for the season.
I made a couple of signings, not many. It's still really hard to get players who can really move the club up a level to join, we're too small, or they want the sort of money that will bankrupt a club whose regular attendance is around 750. The season kicked off with 2 defeats, two wins (including a 4-3 win where I was 3-1 down with half an hour to go) and carried on in that vein, some wins, some losses and some draws, I never got on a really good run or a really bad run. There were however loads of goals scored and conceded which led to some utterly bonkers games, maddest of all is the 6-6 draw I posted above. Amusingly that was followed by a 0-0.
For the FA Cup I got a relatively easy first round draw away to FC United, who I stuffed 5-1. Then comes the first round draw, and I'm away to... Newport county, who are in the league above me and a much better team, with some quality experienced pros there. I set my stall out to defend, and in the 66th minute nicked a goal through start striker Ross Elsom, and managed to hold on for the win! They had 25 shots and 12 on target, I had 3 with 1 on target, yet I won 1-0. The fans went mental for this fantastic result. 2nd round I drew Dag & Red, who are in the same division as me. I went 1-0 behind in the first minute, but plugged away and got a 2-1 win, so it was into the third round! This is where the teams in the top 2 divisions enter, it's every non-league team's dream to get this far. So I sat down to watch the draw - and I was first out of the hat, home to... Reading! Of the Premier League! Fan-flippin'-tastic. The date for the match was set for 4th Jan, and the town got very excited about it, selling out all 4,000 tickets for the first time since I took charge.
As the calendar year came to an end my form dipped somewhat and I looked like I'd be in a relegation fight again. But still with the Reading match on the horizon, morale stayed high. The day of the match came, and a packed stadium saw a heroic effort from the team, losing one goal to nil and even having a few chances of their own. Everyone was very proud of their team, and the bank balance was pretty good too, enabling me to make a few more good signings, such as ex-Arsenal winger Duncan "Urgh" McClurg. Reading went on to the cup semi-final this season. In the FA trophy, I lost in my first match.
After the Reading match I bounced back with a ridiculous victory over Welling. I was losing 2-1 after 78 minutes, then 5 goals in the next 7 minutes (!!!) made if 4-4 before I scored the winner deep into injury time. 2 more victories followed but then came 4 defeats which threatened to suck me right back into the relegation fight. Fortunately my record in the remaining 11 games read 5 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats, ending the season with 58 points (exactly the same as the last year), and 79 goals scored (25 more than the previous year!). I finished 3 places lower in 17th but was 21 points clear of relegation. The awesome Ross Elsom finished the season with 29 goals, and finished 3rd top scorer in the division.
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Season 7 - third season in the Conference National
The season started off full of hope. Many new players had arrived to improve my team, some with experience from leagues further up the pyramid. My creaky defence had been revolutionized, and Frank "Right" Ansah - an England U19 international - would make for a great ball-winning central midfielder. Of course I already had the excellent Ross Elsom up front. And all on affordable wages as well. Not sure why I couldn't attract players of this calibre before, but I could now.
So then, when the season kicked off with 4 losses, a draw, a loss and another draw, it was rather disappointing, to say the least. The natives were restless. Squad morale hit a real low as the players revolted due to being unhappy about a player being fined. In fact this actually led to me being fired but I reloaded it and avoided being fired... it seemed wholly unrealistic given I had just won my last game and drawn the one before that (against the team in 2nd)... AND since the squad had come to me saying they weren't happy and I apologised & expressed regret for my actions. Anyway, slowly the team turned it around, however as late as 17 games into the season I was still dipping into the relegation zone before finally leaving it behind for good.
In the FA cup I drew a team in the division below mine, which I finally won on a replay. Into the first round, and I was drawn at home against... Wolves!! They're a team with great pedigree who somehow found themselves in the third tier and thus in the first round of the cup. Then some great news - we would be on TV!!! Fantastic. The match came around and it was a really dull 0-0 draw. Still, I didn't care... £70k TV money, £50k from the attendees (tickets, merchandise etc) and a replay away at Wolves. We lost 2-1 after extra time, after being ahead and conceding a stupid penalty. I was a bit sad we lost from that position, but a check on the finances showed £105k in gate receipts - my share of the 13,000 attendance at Wolves' stadium. Fantastic, one match (plus replay) had trebled my already all-time-high bank balance. I spoke to the board & we agreed to invest most of it in improving my pretty terrible training facilities. Awesome. They would be installed at the end of the season and be done by Christmas. Around this time of the season I set a league record 11 games unbeaten.
With the money I also signed a new star striker, Joseph Dodoo, swiftly re-christened "The Dodo". He scored 10+ goals a season for the 3 prior seasons, in the division above mine. and at the age of 25 should have many good seasons ahead of him. I had to pay him £850 a week though... compare this to the third highest-pad player in my team on £450 and... yeah... kinda broke the bank for him. But he is my best player. He made himself a favourite with the fans early on as I repeatedly came back from behind to snatch a last-minute 4-4 draw with The Dodo scoring all of them. He finished the season was 16 goals, 9th top goalscorer in the league despite not joining until a third of the way through.
Going into the last day I was in the most congested mid-table ever, I could finish 8th-15th. I drew and finished 11th, my first top-half finish int he division and a while 4 points more than I scored in the previous two seasons. A bit of progress, and it kept the fans happy, but I need more with the squad I have really. But then, the season where I got promoted last time came from almost nowhere. Perhaps next season will be the one where I make a serious promotion challenge. At the end of the season I let 7 players go who were on contracts... I can't sustain 20 players on weekly contracts, it should only be 13-14 players with the rest on pay-as-you-go deals... Leamington's monthly budget is still pretty tiny.
Re: Football Manager
Season 8! The fourth season in the Conference Premier!!
More signings abounded in the summer! Most importantly/impressively, is "Cables" Prescott who I had been pursuing for most of 2021. He was out of work and had 40-50 appearances in the second tier of english football, a talented hard-working central midfielder. After two failed negotiations his agent rebuffed all attempts at further negotiations. However at the end of June the player and agent split, and I got in there and signed him up for 2 years at a pretty low price. Woohoo! I signed a few other decent central midfielders too. I also let Jamie "Rock" Tank go. He was my captain, chief centre-back, been with me since I joined Leamington, and last season became Leamington's all-time league appearance record holder, but no longer good enough for my first team. We shall not forget you sir!
As the fixtures were drawn, the media predicted a 6th place finish. This seemed pretty high but when I looked at my preferred starting 11 this season compared to my best 11 from 2 seasons ago, only Ross Elsom was in there. Over the last 2 years I'd assembled a lot of decent talent together at a reasonable price. Also I was able to loan a couple of players from big teams. Previous seasons I had been met with "we don't want our players playing for such an awful team" but they were more open now. Maybe because of other signings, or maybe because my reputation was now 1.5 stars/5 (it was 0.5 when I started, so woop woop). Anyhow, yeah, good set of players, how far could they go?
The season started off alright. A few wins, but lots of draws. In the early part of the season I was 6th-10th, but never felt out of range from the top teams, it was all pretty tight. The Dodo endeared himself even more to the Leamington faithful scoring all 4 goals in an astonishing performance as I fought back from 2 goals behind twice to snatch a 4-4 draw.
Meanwhile my two top strikers - The Dodo and Ross Elsom - appeared to have their own private contest going on to see who could score the most. Good news for the team as a whole. They went goal-crazy and could usually be seen in the top 5 scorers in the league. The Dodo was also top in assists. Leamington were top scorers in the league too.
I had lots of draws but few losses. Indeed by November I had only lost 3 matches, all away from home, but had drawn almost as much as I won. Still, this season was definitely a big step up from previous seasons, I'd started pretty well and I had real hopes of mounting a promotion challenge.
But first! It was time for the ever-exciting FA Cup! First match was against a team in the division below me, I got a late equalizer to make it 1-1, and then won the replay. Phew. Next I was in the first round proper... and an easy draw, home to a team 21st in my division! But we nearly ballsed it up, again needing a late equalizer, but fortunately sneaking the replay 1-0. 2nd round will be away to Plymouth (division above me). Lots of money banked already and more to come from that match. Good effort lads (eventually).
However as November came on, disaster struck. Ross Elsom got a 3 month injury, then my 3rd choice striker got injured straight after that, so the hopes of a town rest on The Dodo. 3 other first-teamers got substantial injuries too
But through a series of tough matches, I had not been defeated and was on a club record-breaking 12 matches unbeaten. 2nd in the league, though 4 pts off top and only a couple of points ahead of 6th. Would the few remaining still-fit players cope with the challenges to come? Lots more tight matches to come - would I be able to turn some of my (many) draws into wins? Could I get a play-off place.... or even win the league? And a cup double-header to come - FA Cup & FA Trophy - would I progress in any of them? Would the soon-to-be-finished upgraded training facilities make any difference? (probably not)
And now, you're right up to date! Come on you Brakes!
More signings abounded in the summer! Most importantly/impressively, is "Cables" Prescott who I had been pursuing for most of 2021. He was out of work and had 40-50 appearances in the second tier of english football, a talented hard-working central midfielder. After two failed negotiations his agent rebuffed all attempts at further negotiations. However at the end of June the player and agent split, and I got in there and signed him up for 2 years at a pretty low price. Woohoo! I signed a few other decent central midfielders too. I also let Jamie "Rock" Tank go. He was my captain, chief centre-back, been with me since I joined Leamington, and last season became Leamington's all-time league appearance record holder, but no longer good enough for my first team. We shall not forget you sir!
As the fixtures were drawn, the media predicted a 6th place finish. This seemed pretty high but when I looked at my preferred starting 11 this season compared to my best 11 from 2 seasons ago, only Ross Elsom was in there. Over the last 2 years I'd assembled a lot of decent talent together at a reasonable price. Also I was able to loan a couple of players from big teams. Previous seasons I had been met with "we don't want our players playing for such an awful team" but they were more open now. Maybe because of other signings, or maybe because my reputation was now 1.5 stars/5 (it was 0.5 when I started, so woop woop). Anyhow, yeah, good set of players, how far could they go?
The season started off alright. A few wins, but lots of draws. In the early part of the season I was 6th-10th, but never felt out of range from the top teams, it was all pretty tight. The Dodo endeared himself even more to the Leamington faithful scoring all 4 goals in an astonishing performance as I fought back from 2 goals behind twice to snatch a 4-4 draw.
Meanwhile my two top strikers - The Dodo and Ross Elsom - appeared to have their own private contest going on to see who could score the most. Good news for the team as a whole. They went goal-crazy and could usually be seen in the top 5 scorers in the league. The Dodo was also top in assists. Leamington were top scorers in the league too.
I had lots of draws but few losses. Indeed by November I had only lost 3 matches, all away from home, but had drawn almost as much as I won. Still, this season was definitely a big step up from previous seasons, I'd started pretty well and I had real hopes of mounting a promotion challenge.
But first! It was time for the ever-exciting FA Cup! First match was against a team in the division below me, I got a late equalizer to make it 1-1, and then won the replay. Phew. Next I was in the first round proper... and an easy draw, home to a team 21st in my division! But we nearly ballsed it up, again needing a late equalizer, but fortunately sneaking the replay 1-0. 2nd round will be away to Plymouth (division above me). Lots of money banked already and more to come from that match. Good effort lads (eventually).
However as November came on, disaster struck. Ross Elsom got a 3 month injury, then my 3rd choice striker got injured straight after that, so the hopes of a town rest on The Dodo. 3 other first-teamers got substantial injuries too
But through a series of tough matches, I had not been defeated and was on a club record-breaking 12 matches unbeaten. 2nd in the league, though 4 pts off top and only a couple of points ahead of 6th. Would the few remaining still-fit players cope with the challenges to come? Lots more tight matches to come - would I be able to turn some of my (many) draws into wins? Could I get a play-off place.... or even win the league? And a cup double-header to come - FA Cup & FA Trophy - would I progress in any of them? Would the soon-to-be-finished upgraded training facilities make any difference? (probably not)And now, you're right up to date! Come on you Brakes!
Re: Football Manager
Season 8 part 2 of 3
So! December came round. FA Cup second round, away to Plymouth. It was a surprisingly equal game. However I went 1-0 down. but got an 81st minute equaliser! Replay it is... and it was chosen to e on TV! Thanks for the £37k. But before the replay I had my first round of the FA TRophy, against some rubbish team. I twice went behind and twice fought back to 2-2. Then we had extra time, and I scored twice, winning 4-2. My players were knackered but at least I didn't have to play a replay. However after 120 minutes of play and 2 days' rest they were out again playing Plymouth at home. 2,000 players turned out to see a heavyweight epic of a match. We traded ed blow for blow but no-one could make the breakthrough. Extra time came, my assistant was yelling at me to substitute THE ENTIRE TEAM as they were exhausted after Sunday then Tuesday. Time was almost up and I subbed on a good penalty taker. THen in the 119th minute The Dodo scored a cracker! I was going to win 1-0! BUt wait - a late corner for Plymouth, but I cleared it, The DOdo ran half the length of the pitch (how?! he was dead on his feet) and scored in the 121st minute. A 2-0 win resulting in the Plymouth manager getting fired, and Leamington taking their place in the 3rd round fot he second time in 3 years, amazing stuff. The big guys enter at the third round - who would I get? Oh, Plymouth away, another team in the league above mine, not great but maybe I could win and get to the 4th round?
With a break from the cup I had some league fixtures again. 3 matches in a row I scored winners in the 89th minute or later. Lucky? Maybe, but it just reinforced the feeling that this season would be something special. Without his buddy Elsom, The Dodo wasn't playing so well. He missed his partner Anyhow I was 3rd in the league for most of this time.
Then - the cup again! First the FA Trophy, which got postponed due to heavy snow and -9 temperatures, which was good as the fixture congestion was getting crazy. So the FA Cup match got played first, away at Porstmouth. The team played fantastically and ended the match with 6 clear cut chances to Portsmouth's 1... but I lost 6-3 after being 3-1 up!!! They just scored some crazy goals, whilst I was unable to put away easy chances. We had 22 shots each. A bit sad but hey, the £80k in gate recipes helped. Then came the third round of the FA Trophy, away to Slough (league below me). My team tried to balls it up again but got an 85th minute equaliser, which meant for the 4th time this season I would have to play a replay. The team again put their fans and manager through the wringer, and after being behind twice, up popped Ross Elsom (on his way back from injury) to score a 92nd minute winner! 3-2 Leamington and I was into the quarter finals. Unfortunately around here, I lost my two best players to injury for a couple of months! Tim "Cables" Prescott my central midfielder engine, and The Dodo. So the dream strike partnership again could not play together. In fact my striker injuries got really stupid, there was a point where my 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th choice strikers were injured (I only had 5). So I got one in on loan, who after 3 games got injured (thankfully #3 was almost back from injury at the time). When he came back from injury he got injured again. Absurd!! So I had to get yet another striker on loan. He's not got injured (yet).
In the transfer window I signed a left-back who had made 7 substitute appearances in the Premier League, on insanely low wages, so I was very pleased with that. It meant I now had at least 3 players who could definitely cut it in the next league up, should I get promoted.
Meanwhile the league was a bit up and down. I felt a bit like Leicester - scoring goals for fun early in the season, but now I was down to scraping 1-0 or 2-1 victories. I also slipped up with draws and losses occasionally, all of which meant I was still third but wasn't really gaining on the top 2, and was in danger of dropping out of the play-offs. Still, with the promotion challenge continuing and a quarter-final place in the FA Trophy it was all set for an exciting last third of the season..... Maybe Prescott and The Dodo will come back from injury to take the team to glory? Feb-April still to come!
So! December came round. FA Cup second round, away to Plymouth. It was a surprisingly equal game. However I went 1-0 down. but got an 81st minute equaliser! Replay it is... and it was chosen to e on TV! Thanks for the £37k. But before the replay I had my first round of the FA TRophy, against some rubbish team. I twice went behind and twice fought back to 2-2. Then we had extra time, and I scored twice, winning 4-2. My players were knackered but at least I didn't have to play a replay. However after 120 minutes of play and 2 days' rest they were out again playing Plymouth at home. 2,000 players turned out to see a heavyweight epic of a match. We traded ed blow for blow but no-one could make the breakthrough. Extra time came, my assistant was yelling at me to substitute THE ENTIRE TEAM as they were exhausted after Sunday then Tuesday. Time was almost up and I subbed on a good penalty taker. THen in the 119th minute The Dodo scored a cracker! I was going to win 1-0! BUt wait - a late corner for Plymouth, but I cleared it, The DOdo ran half the length of the pitch (how?! he was dead on his feet) and scored in the 121st minute. A 2-0 win resulting in the Plymouth manager getting fired, and Leamington taking their place in the 3rd round fot he second time in 3 years, amazing stuff. The big guys enter at the third round - who would I get? Oh, Plymouth away, another team in the league above mine, not great but maybe I could win and get to the 4th round?
With a break from the cup I had some league fixtures again. 3 matches in a row I scored winners in the 89th minute or later. Lucky? Maybe, but it just reinforced the feeling that this season would be something special. Without his buddy Elsom, The Dodo wasn't playing so well. He missed his partner
Anyhow I was 3rd in the league for most of this time.Then - the cup again! First the FA Trophy, which got postponed due to heavy snow and -9 temperatures, which was good as the fixture congestion was getting crazy. So the FA Cup match got played first, away at Porstmouth. The team played fantastically and ended the match with 6 clear cut chances to Portsmouth's 1... but I lost 6-3 after being 3-1 up!!! They just scored some crazy goals, whilst I was unable to put away easy chances. We had 22 shots each. A bit sad but hey, the £80k in gate recipes helped. Then came the third round of the FA Trophy, away to Slough (league below me). My team tried to balls it up again but got an 85th minute equaliser, which meant for the 4th time this season I would have to play a replay. The team again put their fans and manager through the wringer, and after being behind twice, up popped Ross Elsom (on his way back from injury) to score a 92nd minute winner! 3-2 Leamington and I was into the quarter finals. Unfortunately around here, I lost my two best players to injury for a couple of months! Tim "Cables" Prescott my central midfielder engine, and The Dodo. So the dream strike partnership again could not play together. In fact my striker injuries got really stupid, there was a point where my 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th choice strikers were injured (I only had 5). So I got one in on loan, who after 3 games got injured (thankfully #3 was almost back from injury at the time). When he came back from injury he got injured again. Absurd!! So I had to get yet another striker on loan. He's not got injured (yet).
In the transfer window I signed a left-back who had made 7 substitute appearances in the Premier League, on insanely low wages, so I was very pleased with that. It meant I now had at least 3 players who could definitely cut it in the next league up, should I get promoted.
Meanwhile the league was a bit up and down. I felt a bit like Leicester - scoring goals for fun early in the season, but now I was down to scraping 1-0 or 2-1 victories. I also slipped up with draws and losses occasionally, all of which meant I was still third but wasn't really gaining on the top 2, and was in danger of dropping out of the play-offs. Still, with the promotion challenge continuing and a quarter-final place in the FA Trophy it was all set for an exciting last third of the season..... Maybe Prescott and The Dodo will come back from injury to take the team to glory? Feb-April still to come!
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