From the Hamptons

[Manxie_Ash]

Right, I've been playing Football Manager since 2006. I have largely presided over either big teams, international teams and "sleeping giants" such as Leeds etc. I'm bored of that now, truth be told I was bored of that in 2006 but I just never had the patience to manage a club in the bottom few divisions of a league structure, and take them to the top. Time for change after I've been reading this forum and it's pretty amazing careers.

I'll be playing on FM2012 with the 12.2.2 patch and no moderations to the database. I have all the leagues from England, Spain, Italy, Scotland, Germany and France loaded and I will be setting myself as a Sunday League manager as is the norm, and randomising my team selection.
I've set myself a few "basic" challenges to keep myself entertained, and so as not to make it stale:

1. Gain promotion with any club.
2. Manage a team from each of the nations I have selected
3. Win a major trophy in each of the nations I have selected (Domestic, not European)
4. Win a European competition.
5. Get hired as Wales manager and take them to a International competition (2nd round at least)
6. Sign only players from the nation that I am playing in (any players not from that nation who are at the club when I take over will be retained, but I'll have no hesitation in selling them if the right offer comes along.)
7. Manage my "local" team (I'm from East Sussex, but I was born in Cardiff so it'd be neat to manage them

Hopefully this'll be a lot of fun, and I hope you guys enjoy the ride Any hints, tips or suggestions from more experienced members are very, very welcome And if anyone has some challenges to add to my list, feel free to put them forward

My PC specs are fairly good, and normally I can maintain a 5 star rating but with as many leagues as I am loading and on a Large database, it's dropped down to two stars. So I apologise now if updates are slow

[deltablue]

Welcome to these parts. I go way past when it drops to half a star and I manage fine to 2 star speed should be plenty. Good set of goals, and only signing domestic players as a challenge.

[DazRTaylor]

I normally have about 15 nations and over 40 leagues loaded and it runs fine

All the best with this. A career game is the best FM game IMO.

My tip for you would be: Always recruit your maximum permitted scouts and maximise their Judging Player Ability & Potential stats. Learn to trust your scouts as with any club (but especially smaller ones), these earn you your crust. They win you promotions and get you money spinning cup runs. We all love splashing out on a ready made superstar, but what if your scout found him when he was 17 and was available for £50,000?

[Manxie_Ash]

HAMPTON AND RICHMOND BOROUGH F.C

Ooookay! Our first job will be with The Beavers!
CLUB INFORMATION (2)

CLUB LEAGUE HISTORY

FINANCES

SQUAD

SEASON EXPECTATIONS
Board
Blue Square Bet South: Avoid Relegation
FA Cup: Fourth Qualifying Round
FA Trophy: First Round

My Expectations
BSS: Safe Mid-Table
FA Cup: Meh
FA Trophy: Meh

Key Players:

James Simmonds: One of many young players at the squad, Left Winger with good flar and pace for the league.

Charlie Moone: 20 year old striker with a good first touch. Will be relying on him for goals this term

Dean Inman: 20 year old central defender. Good in the air, brave and aggressive.

Overview

We have a good, young squad. Hopefully I can tie a couple of our better players down to contracts, but we'll see how it goes. I think we can make mid table easily. Our training facilities are at an "Adequate" level, and our Youth Facilities are pretty much non-existent. But before I can make changes to them, we'll need to find some money from somewhere.

[cerud]

A good a place as any to start. Don't discount those cup runs! A decent run can offer you a lot of money to build a squad in the lower leagues

[deltablue]

As cerud says, cup runs can be useful so don't throw them away.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Especially the FA Cup. That can be a gold mine if you go through a few rounds or get lucky with the draw. Even if you get to the first round you might get drawn at somewhere like Sheffield Wednesday.

[Dan BHTFC]

Good luck, Hampton have a lot of potential on FM

[Manxie_Ash]

Cheers for the welcome, and advice everyone! Maybe I have been a bit to harsh on the cups. It's my first foray into lower league management, so I'm still getting used to the little things you overlooks

*****

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES

Vs Reserves 1-1: A match strewn with yellow cards, the first team picking up five and the reserves four. It was the reserves that took the lead on the 14th minute thanks to a Tom Reynolds penalty, the equaliser came thanks to an own goal on the 93rd minute, Billy Jeffery's getting the honour.

Vs Walton Casuals (a) 3-1: A brace from Dave Tarpey and a late Matt Ruby goal gave us the win in Walton-on-the-Tames.

Vs Walton & Hersham (a) 1-2: Shouldn't have gone down so easily. 2-0 down within twenty minutes, Charlie Moone scored just before half time, but we couldn't build on that.

Vs Bognor Regis (a) 1-0: A boring game for everyone involved, with ten shot ins total. Luckily, Ashley Robinson managed to convert one of them.

Vs Aldershot (h) 1-2: Ashley Robinson on target again, but it didn't prevent us from going down to the League 2 club.

Vs Chertsey (a) 2-0: A Dave Tarpey penalty and a Stuart Duff piledriver gave us a win to end our pre-season on.

Friendly Results: Played 6 W:3 D:1 L:2 Goals For: 9 Against: 6

Not a half bad pre-season, I am angry that we played so gutlessly against Walton & Hersham. Hopefully we have generated enough momentum to get off to a good start in August.

TRANSFERS:

Conor Derkin: A 17yr old Left Back, stats look fairly decent for a 17 year old, hoping he will grow into the role, as we need a decent player in that position

Anthony Hilton: Highly rated by my scouts, the 21 year old defensive midfielder will play a big part in my new 4-2-1-2-1 formation.

[Manxie_Ash]

August

6/8/2011 Vs Eastleigh (H) 0-4: Horrendous first game in charge, we were dominated from start to finish. It also resulted in a 3 week layoff for Dean Inman.

9/8/2011 Vs Chelmsford (A) 0-0: A point on the board, but we were outplayed yet again. 16 shots to 5 in their favour, plus our central defensive crisis deepens as Matt Ruby was sent off, deemed to be the last man. Still waiting to register our first goal as well.

13/8/2011 Vs Dover (H) 1-1: Our first goal! Pietro Palladino latching on to a lovely pass from James Simmonds and smashing high into the top corner early in the second half. Unfortunately we were pegged back later on. Signs of improvement though, we put ourselves about more in this game. We looked better.

20/8/2011 Vs Havant & Waterlooville (A) 1-3: A terrible defensive display, Havant had three set-pieces and scored all three. We look fantastic going forward though, our finishing let us down today, as well as our defence, apart from an utterly delightful chip from Dave Tarpey.

27/8/2011 Vs Sutton Utd (A) 1-2: Simmonds gave us the lead early on, but two second half goals, one in the last freaking minute, gave Sutton a win despite having a man down. It was a bitter blow, and another loss.

30/8/2011 Vs Woking (H) 1-1: After going down 1-0 very early on I had that sinking feeling once again, and as Woking piled the pressure on I felt it was only a matter of time before we let four or five in. But we didn't, and Dave Tarpey scored a late equaliser to give us a valuable point against much better opposition.

August Review: Played 6: W:0, D:3, L:3. Goals for: 3 Goals against: 11.

A poor month, and my prediction of a mid-table finish is looking like it will never come true. As the month progressed we looked a lot sharper going forward, playing some good passes and getting into some good areas but our finishing let us down. Defensively we were awful, one clean sheet in the month is not good enough, and I expect more.

League Table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team               |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Eastbourne Boro    |       | 6     | 4     | 2     | 0     | 14    | 2     | +12   | 14    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Tonbridge          |       | 6     | 4     | 2     | 0     | 13    | 5     | +8    | 14    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Sutton Utd         |       | 6     | 3     | 3     | 0     | 9     | 3     | +6    | 12    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Dartford           |       | 6     | 4     | 0     | 2     | 10    | 5     | +5    | 12    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Boreham Wood       |       | 6     | 2     | 4     | 0     | 9     | 7     | +2    | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Dover              |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 9     | 9     | 0     | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Woking             |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 9     | 10    | -1    | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Staines            |       | 6     | 3     | 0     | 3     | 12    | 9     | +3    | 9     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Havant & W         |       | 6     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 10    | 7     | +3    | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Eastleigh          |       | 6     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 10    | 8     | +2    | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Salisbury          |       | 6     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 6     | 5     | +1    | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Basingstoke        |       | 6     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 7     | 7     | 0     | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Farnborough        |       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 8     | 11    | -3    | 8     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Weston-super-Mare  |       | 6     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 7     | 7     | 0     | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Maidenhead         |       | 6     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 7     | 10    | -3    | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Welling            |       | 6     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 6     | 9     | -3    | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Dorchester         |       | 6     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 5     | 9     | -4    | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Truro              |       | 6     | 1     | 2     | 3     | 6     | 7     | -1    | 5     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Chelmsford         |       | 6     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 2     | 5     | -3    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Bromley            |       | 5     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 4     | 12    | -8    | 4     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Hampton & Richmond |       | 6     | 0     | 3     | 3     | 4     | 11    | -7    | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Thurrock           |       | 6     | 0     | 2     | 4     | 4     | 13    | -9    | 2     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

[Manxie_Ash]

September

3/9/2011 Vs Dartford (A) 0-0: A drab draw, but it's a valuable point and it lifts us up to 20th in the table, level on points with 19th place Chelmsford.

10/9/2011 Vs Staines (A) 1-2: Still waiting for our first win, another shocking defensive display means we get zero points for the fourth time in eight games. Also, Dave Tarpey will be missing for four weeks.

16/9/2011 Vs Boreham Wood (H) 0-2: Okay, I really think the footballing gods are against me. We had double the chances against Boreham, but they managed to convert theirs. Tearing my hair out already.

TRANSFER UPDATE: Yes I know, I've broken my own rules already.

20/9/2011 Vs Salisbury (H) 3-2: I celebrated as if we had won the league. Our first three points thanks to goals from Akinbiyi, and two late goals from Collier and Morgan gave us a dramatic win over mid-table Salisbury. Hopefully this will be a platform to a bit of a run.

24/9/2011 Vs Welling (A) 1-2: Charlie Moone scored an audacious lob in the dying moments to equalise, but as usual we were doomed to defeat thanks to a rocket in the 94th minute. Ho-hum, we can take a lot of positives out of this result though. The injury list continues to rise, this time Dean Inman and Ashley Robinson out for four weeks.

September Review: Played: 5 W:1 D:2 L:2 GF: 5 GA: 8

Okay we have our first win on the board, which is good., and we conceded less goals and scored more. I definitely think we're moving in the right direction, I'll be twiddling things around to try and stem the flow of goals that seem to be scored against us, and hopefully the addition of the experienced Akinbiyi will help out on the goal scoring front.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team               |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Tonbridge          |       | 11    | 8     | 2     | 1     | 28    | 10    | +18   | 26    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Eastbourne Boro    |       | 11    | 8     | 2     | 1     | 24    | 8     | +16   | 26    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Boreham Wood       |       | 11    | 6     | 4     | 1     | 18    | 11    | +7    | 22    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Dorchester         |       | 11    | 6     | 2     | 3     | 12    | 12    | 0     | 20    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Eastleigh          |       | 11    | 5     | 3     | 3     | 21    | 14    | +7    | 18    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Sutton Utd         |       | 11    | 4     | 6     | 1     | 15    | 9     | +6    | 18    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Staines            |       | 11    | 6     | 0     | 5     | 18    | 14    | +4    | 18    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Farnborough        |       | 11    | 5     | 3     | 3     | 20    | 18    | +2    | 18    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Truro              |       | 11    | 5     | 2     | 4     | 15    | 10    | +5    | 17    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Dartford           |       | 11    | 5     | 2     | 4     | 13    | 8     | +5    | 17    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Welling            |       | 11    | 5     | 2     | 4     | 15    | 15    | 0     | 17    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Woking             |       | 11    | 5     | 2     | 4     | 13    | 14    | -1    | 17    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Salisbury          |       | 11    | 3     | 5     | 3     | 18    | 15    | +3    | 14    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Havant & W         |       | 11    | 4     | 2     | 5     | 14    | 12    | +2    | 14    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Maidenhead         |       | 11    | 4     | 2     | 5     | 11    | 18    | -7    | 14    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Weston-super-Mare  |       | 11    | 4     | 1     | 6     | 12    | 13    | -1    | 13    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Dover              |       | 11    | 4     | 1     | 6     | 14    | 24    | -10   | 13    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Bromley            |       | 11    | 3     | 1     | 7     | 15    | 23    | -8    | 10    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Basingstoke        |       | 11    | 2     | 3     | 6     | 9     | 20    | -11   | 9     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Hampton & Richmond |       | 11    | 1     | 4     | 6     | 9     | 19    | -10   | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Chelmsford         |       | 11    | 1     | 2     | 8     | 6     | 16    | -10   | 5     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Thurrock           |       | 11    | 0     | 3     | 8     | 9     | 26    | -17   | 3     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|       |       |                    |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

[DazRTaylor]

Ade Akin-panic-biyi?

At least you have your first win

[deltablue]

Tough start but not in deep trouble.

[hrbfcrule]

Good luck with Hampton. I hope you do them proud

[cerud]

Congrats on teh first of hopefully many wins

[Manxie_Ash]

Panic buy, I have no idea what you mean Thanks for the support, all. I will try and do Hampton proud, but it's not looking good...

*****

OCTOBER

1/10/2011 Vs Molesey (A) 0-1: Anger does not begin to describe it. No revenue from the F.A Cup this season, despite fielding a full strength team. I use full strength in the loosest possible sense.

8/10/2011 Vs Eastbourne(H) 4-4: Unbelievable game, we go one up very early thanks to Simmonds, then manage to lose four goals to go 4-1 down only for Akinbiyi, Simmonds and Tarpey to haul us back into the game. A very good point, against a much fancied Eastbourne side.

11/10/2011 Vs Tonbridge (A) 0-1: Another loss to add the many, we didn't deserve it this time. Tonbridge were far worse than us (Which is saying a lot) and thanks to some sloppy defending got the breakthrough.

22/10/2011 Vs Truro (H) 3-1: The lads stormed to a victory, and it was about time. Goals from Akinbiyi, Tarpey and an own goal gave us a vital three points.

OCTOBER REPORT: Pl:4 W:1 D:1 L:2 GF:7 GA:8

Okay, F.A Cup disaster aside, I thought that was a pretty solid month. We banged in seven goals and played some very pleasing football. I think given the fact we scored four goals in one game and didn't manage to win shows how much luck plays into this game. one point separates us and Basingstoke, and freedom from the relegation zone.

[deltablue]

I'm sure you can make it out of trouble soon.

[Manxie_Ash]

NOVEMBER

1/1/2011 Vs Dorchester (A) 1-1: Ade Akinbiyi continues to prove that he is more than just a panic buy, hauling us back into the game single handidly. Okay, maybe he was a panic buy, but I'm glad to have him right now

5/11/2011 Vs Farnborough (H) 0-2: Horrendous, we were fantastic going forward again but TWO OWN GOALS cost us the game and left me with my head in my hands again.

9/11/2011 Vs Bromley (A) 0-2: Again. nothing we could do to prevent them steamrolling all over us, dominated the first half but two quick goals inj the second half killed off any chance.

19/11/2011 Vs Maidenhead (H) 2-1: Palladino has been second choice behind Tarpey, but he saved us here. Two goals in the second half gave us a much needed three points, especially, given that the team above us, Chelmsford, pulled off a shock against top team Tonbridge.

26/11/2011 Vs Corby (Fa Trophy) (H) 3-0: A bit better from a cup performance, goals from Palladino, Darren Powell and Dean Inman giving us a victory against a lesser team. The draw for the first round pits us against BSP side Braintree.

NOVEMBER REVIEW - Pl:5 W:2 D:1 L:2 GF:6 GA: 6

A goal difference of zero for the month! (Okay, that's thanks to the FA Trophy... but shh) two wins in a row as well, confidence seems to be getting better. But there is a heck of a lot of work to do as we sit in 21st, three points off Chelmsford and four points off safety. December is going to be a crucial month for the club with fixtures against the lower teams.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team               |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Boreham Wood       |       | 18    | 10    | 6     | 2     | 29    | 16    | +13   | 36    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Tonbridge          |       | 18    | 10    | 3     | 5     | 35    | 22    | +13   | 33    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Eastleigh          |       | 18    | 10    | 3     | 5     | 31    | 20    | +11   | 33    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Dorchester         |       | 18    | 10    | 3     | 5     | 29    | 21    | +8    | 33    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Woking             |       | 18    | 10    | 3     | 5     | 28    | 21    | +7    | 33    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Eastbourne Boro    |       | 18    | 9     | 5     | 4     | 33    | 20    | +13   | 32    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Sutton Utd         |       | 18    | 8     | 6     | 4     | 26    | 17    | +9    | 30    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Dartford           |       | 18    | 9     | 3     | 6     | 23    | 15    | +8    | 30    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Farnborough        |       | 18    | 8     | 4     | 6     | 32    | 31    | +1    | 28    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Maidenhead         |       | 18    | 8     | 2     | 8     | 21    | 24    | -3    | 26    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Staines            |       | 18    | 8     | 1     | 9     | 25    | 27    | -2    | 25    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Havant & W         |       | 18    | 7     | 3     | 8     | 28    | 24    | +4    | 24    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Truro              |       | 18    | 7     | 3     | 8     | 24    | 21    | +3    | 24    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Salisbury          |       | 18    | 6     | 6     | 6     | 27    | 26    | +1    | 24    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Welling            |       | 18    | 7     | 3     | 8     | 20    | 23    | -3    | 24    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Weston-super-Mare  |       | 18    | 7     | 1     | 10    | 24    | 28    | -4    | 22    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Basingstoke        |       | 18    | 6     | 3     | 9     | 21    | 26    | -5    | 21    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Bromley            |       | 18    | 6     | 2     | 10    | 26    | 31    | -5    | 20    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Dover              |       | 18    | 6     | 1     | 11    | 23    | 42    | -19   | 19    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Chelmsford         |       | 18    | 5     | 3     | 10    | 15    | 25    | -10   | 18    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Hampton & Richmond |       | 18    | 3     | 6     | 9     | 19    | 31    | -12   | 15    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Thurrock           |       | 18    | 1     | 4     | 13    | 14    | 42    | -28   | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

[cerud]

Tough on finding the form. Hope that fortunes change soon.

[Manxie_Ash]

The hope is always there

DECEMBER

3/12/2011 Vs Basingstoke (A) 1-1: A last gasp equaliser from James Smith gave us the point, but we lost ground on Chelmsford and Dover as they both snatched victories.

10/12/2011 Vs Braintree (A) 2-1: A shock win for us in the FA Trophy first round, goals from James Simmonds and Palladino giving us the win, and a second round tie with BSN playoff pushing Histon.

17/12/2011 Vs Weston-Super-Mare (H) 2-0: The unbeaten run continues! That makes it five games unbeaten, goals from the in-form Palladino and Charlie Moon getting us a vital three points

26/12/2011 Vs Thurrock (A) 2-1: The season of good cheer continues! A hard fought win away to the bottom club Akinbiyi giving us both goals.

28/12/2011 Vs Eastleigh (A) 1-2: Overpowered by the top club, they snatched a victory that was far more clear cut than the score-line dictates. Esmond James getting the goal in the 2nd minute of stoppage time.

31/12/2011 Vs Chelmsford (H)1-1: I think the congested fixture list is starting to show, a very slow paced game. The only excitement coming from the goals, James Simmonds grabbing ours after Chelmsford opened the scoring.

DECEMBER REVIEW - Pl: 6 W:3 D:2 L:1 GF:9 GA:6

One loss in the entire month of December claws us to within two points of clearing the relegation zone. It's also the first month where our GD has been in the black. Over all a fantastic month for the club, hopefully we can carry the form into January.

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Farnborough        |       | 23    | 9     | 5     | 9     | 38    | 38    | 0     | 32    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Dover              |       | 23    | 10    | 2     | 11    | 36    | 45    | -9    | 32    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Havant & W         |       | 23    | 8     | 4     | 11    | 32    | 36    | -4    | 28    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Weston-super-Mare  |       | 23    | 8     | 3     | 12    | 31    | 37    | -6    | 27    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Basingstoke        |       | 23    | 7     | 5     | 11    | 28    | 33    | -5    | 26    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Staines            |       | 23    | 8     | 1     | 14    | 27    | 37    | -10   | 25    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Hampton & Richmond |       | 23    | 5     | 8     | 10    | 26    | 36    | -10   | 23    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Chelmsford         |       | 23    | 6     | 4     | 13    | 20    | 35    | -15   | 22    | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Thurrock           |       | 22    | 1     | 4     | 17    | 16    | 52    | -36   | 7     | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

[deltablue]

Looking good to climb out of trouble, just.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Safe to say you won't finish bottom!