[FM 14] I've got the (Two) Blues: Bishop Auckland Football Club

Hello again, FMCUers.

This week, I discovered that, due to an unusual quirk in the edited database I was using, the average attendance at my Killorglin matches (2.5) was lower than the number of children in my household (3). Unlike my offspring, however, I was expecting at least thirty times as many.

Rather than try to figure out what I could do to set things right, I've decided to begin a new career. I'm going back one edition of the game; there are some things I enjoy about FM 14, which runs better on my middle-aged laptop anyway. I'm also returning to a database I've enjoyed before; it extends the English pyramid down to the county leagues, which are Level 9.

I'm continuing with my Chris Keohane character, and the club I've chosen to manage is Bishop Auckland Football Club.

The Bishops, or the Two Blues, were founded in 1886 by theological students from Cambridge and Oxford who were studying at the castle of the Bishop of Durham. (The "Bishop" half of the town of Bishop Auckland's name refers to the fact that the bishop made his residence there.) The students chose the light blue of Cambridge and the dark blue of Oxford for their club colors.

After playing for over a century at the Kingsway ground, Bishops moved to Heritage Park in 2010.

Bishop Auckland compete in the Northern League Division One. Division One contains 24 teams, and only the league champion will be promoted to the Regional First Divisions. It doesn't appear the bottom club are relegated, since the database doesn't go lower. I'd probably be sacked if that happened, anyway. We're expected to finish in a "respectable position," after all.

We are also entered in the FA Vase. We'll enter this competition in the Second Round, and the board expect me to lead the club into the Fourth Round, at least.

While I thought playing in the "fishbowl" of the Kerry League with Killorglin might be fun, I'm a lot more used to the challenges of a league that offers promotion. I also like playing in cup competitions, and it didn't seem that Killorglin was entered in any of those, either. Bishop Auckland will provide me with a more typical managerial experience.

I am under no illusions about taking the Two Blues to the top of world football. I'm a very, very average FM player, and if I can earn a couple of promotions I'd be delighted. Still, I'm hoping to have a good, long run at Heritage Park, and I'm looking forward to writing about my experiences there, too. Hopefully some of you will find the story engaging enough to follow. Please feel very free to comment! I enjoy interacting with any readers I have.

Time for Tactics

After looking over my squad, I decided to put them to work learning two tactics. The 4-1-2-2-1 seems like a good fit for the personnel I have in the club now; I have a very good DM and good AMs on either flank. The 4-4-2 is my usual "go-to" formation, but I don't have decent right or left midfielders on my roster.

I want to build a team that can, and will, do something other than hoof the ball up the pitch and run after it. I want them to build their attack in a patient, controlled fashion, but I don't want them passing the ball around for the sake of passing it around. I'm keeping the team instructions to a minimum; Play Out of Defence is the only one I keep "on" all the time. I've instructed the goalkeeper to pass it shorter, and distribute to his defenders.

Out With the Old, In With the New

I was surprised to discover that there were a number of unemployed backroom staff members who were willing to come to Heritage Park for what I could afford to pay them and, even more importantly, significantly better than the rubbish who were on my initial staff.

So, within three days of my employment, I brought in a new Assistant Manager, Chief Scout, and Head Physio, and hired a Coach.

My new right-hand man is Sam Morgan, most of whose coaching attributes are in the mid-single digits. He's a very good motivator, and he's especially good with young players. Plus, his ability to judge talent is three times as good as the fellow I sacked.

Joining Sam on the coaching staff is Anthony Cooke, the "veteran" of my staff at age 36. Anthony is a very well-rounded coach, and together with Sam gives us decent instruction in every area except Fitness and Goalkeeping.

Our new scout is Tom Woodhouse-Wroe, a youth of 22 who, nonetheless, has a good eye for talent--at least by County League standards.

Physio Alan Grant comes equipped with a 13 rating in his relevant attribute, which is scary good for our level.

I had to spend a few thousand pounds of our budget to pay off the dear departed, but I think it will be money well spent in the long run. The new staff will cost £45 more a week than the lads I sacked, but again, I believe they're worth every bit of it.

17 August 2013

I could quickly tell that I wanted to overhaul the Bishop Auckland roster, so I decided to wait until the beginning of the league programme to introduce you to the squad. Good thing, too; we ended up losing five players and signing nine others.

It was something that had to be done. We were very thin on the back line, and we had nobody over the age of 17 who was comfortable playing central midfielder.

We lost a good goalkeeper, David Beaumont, to a bigger club. He wanted more money (£100/week) to stay with us than I was willing to pay. Our wage budget is just over £500/week, and when I arrived, I had about £175 to spend. No way Beaumont, who was on a non-contract deal, was getting over half of that. I was able to find TWO 'keepers, one who will earn £45/week and one youngster who accepted a pay-as-you-play agreement.

That's typical of my approach to building the Bishop Auckland roster. I spent the pre-season trying to find players who fit the club well at a good price.

Our results during the pre-season were not promising. To be fair, we ended the season playing bigger clubs, so it's perhaps not as bad as it looks. On the other hand, we didn't get a single goal from a striker in six matches.

I was still adding players in the last few days, so the team that will take the field for our league opener today has never played together.

Here are the players in our senior team. I've written a profile of each of them, in exactly ten words.

Goalkeepers

Ged Boertien: Solid young backup. Lots of future potential. Quick like cat.

Jack Wesley: Our number one. Good, well-rounded keeper. Needs work on handling.

Defenders

Mike Carroll: Starting center half. Mentally tough. Slow, but has decent skills.

Reece Davies: Versatile youngster. Will play in rotation. Good stamina; poor marking.

Daniel Dawson: Venerable left back. Found Fountain of Youth. Tough, skilled. Boss.

Nathan Lane: Vice captain. Knows the game. Starting right back; joins attack.

Kola Obem: Exciting, athletic young reserve. Will play in cup matches.

Stephen Shead: Plays with attitude. Decent option at center half, with promise.

Midfielders

Bill Ferguson: Tough kid. Good pace; can pass. Valuable backup with promise.

Michael Fitzpatrick: Team leader. Can play any midfield role. Wears the armband.

Andy Ford: Versatile; will play left wing. Creative, skilled veteran player.

Dave Henry: Balanced young central midfielder. No real weaknesses. Will feature regularly.

Danny Hush: Can play left or middle. Has pace; that's about all.

Tom Jay: Slighty older version of Dave Henry. Great signing; excellent value.

Ron Walters: Tough, energetic wee youngster. Defensively sound; will concentration lapses hurt?

Strikers

Adam Bradshaw: Starting right wing. Club's high earner. Skilled, quick; can score.

Danny Llambias: Pacey young striker; tough, but still raw. Work in progress.

Joe Stewart: Cover up front. Athletic. Crosses, dribbles, good in the air.

I had fun with the Exactly Ten Words format. I think I'll do it regularly.

Daniel Dawson joined the club only yesterday, so as I said, it's hard to tell how this edition of the Two Blues will perform. The media have picked us for 12th in a 24-team league, with 50:1 odds against winning. Celtic Nation are the odds-on (1:3) favorites, with Spennymoor Town, Team Northumbria, and our local rivals from West Auckland not far behind (Evens).

This week, I discovered that, due to an unusual quirk in the edited database I was using, the average attendance at my Killorglin matches (2.5) was lower than the number of children in my household (3). Unlike my offspring, however, I was expecting at least thirty times as many.

Still higher than the number of children in my household (1).

Still higher than the number of children in my household (1).

I seem to remember reading about the birth of your little one not long ago...a daughter, right? Congratulations. My youngest is five now, which seems difficult to believe sometimes.

1 September 2013

To say the season is off to a less-than-rousing start would be an understatement.

I'm now known by such monikers as "Under fire manager Chris Keohane," and I can't say that's an unfair assessment. We're bottom of the table, after all.

After we shipped eight goals in our first two games, it became clear that neither Stephen Shead nor Reece Davies is ready for regular duty in the senior team. The poor lads were abused regularly, forcing Jack Wesley to face way too much enemy fire. I had to find a better player at center half, and quickly. And he had to be willing to play for very little money, too.

Scout Tom Woodhouse-Wroe told me about a likely prospect right away: Kyle Hawkins, a 20-year-old from over in Widnes who was without a club. Here's his attribute polygon:

Not a bad profile for a center back in the County Leagues, and he's content with £20/week.

The next day, we lost forward Joe Stewart on a free transfer to Eastwood Town, one level higher. In my initial meeting with the press, Stewart was identified as a player who might want out, and earlier in the summer, I thought I'd sold him for a portion of his selling-on fee, but he couldn't agree to a contract with his new club. Therefore, I wasn't too surprised to see Joe leave the club. The fans aren't happy, but he was making £70/week--our second highest wage--and he couldn't crack the first team.

Joe's departure left us thin up front. Although Richard Fitzpatrick banged in another goal against Newcastle Benfield, I'm still not sure he's ready for the senior team yet. I looked closely at two players--a veteran called Charlie Kendall and a younger player, Joe Price. I offered them both contracts, figuring one might sign and the other refuse, and what do you know? They both agreed to terms, and since I could have BOTH of them for 15 quid less than Stewart was pulling in, I decided to keep 'em.

Kendall, age 35, can do anything I'd ask a striker to do, except exhibit pace. He is also cash money from the penalty spot. He was without a club, so he came up from Southwick to join us.

Price, 21, is from Gloucester. He does no single thing brilliantly, but he can do almost everything fairly well.

More of a right winger than a striker, Price will play more on the right than in the center. He's decent cover at both positions.

The new men joined the club in time to make the trip with us to Newton Aycliffe, and Hawkins acquitted himself especially well as we kept a clean sheet. At home to Spennymoor Town, a very good side, we allowed an unfortunate goal; Wesley dove to parry away a shot at his left post, but the ball bounced back to a Moors player who tucked it away while Jack lay stretched out on the grass.

I think there's some potential here at Heritage Park. The team needs time to gel, to learn to play together.

I hope the board will let me stay around long enough for that to happen on my watch.

I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with Bishop Auckland, but if you are, you've probably noticed you don't recognize any of the players.

I'm using "fake names" for this save, as I often do. I doubt there are any shortlists out there containing good players to sign at Level 9, but in case there are, I'm removing the temptation to look them up when/if I am desperate for a key signing. And, most of all, I enjoy the fact that the players in my world have no "real" histories of their own. Whether they're stars or duds, icons or busts, they're all mine.

The task, then, of making them interesting to you readers, falls upon me. I hope I can do a good enough job that you'll enjoy following them, even if you can't see them play in the flesh.

1 October 2013

That pretty much says it all, doesn't it?

I'm still winless in ten matches in the Northern Division One, and we remain bottom of the league. Fortunately, it seems the lads are still behind me. That's a good thing, since my future at Heritage Park is very much in jeopardy.

For a while, it seemed like we'd discovered a secret formula for securing one point from every match. Twice, we conceded the first goal, and fought back for the equalizer. Then, at home to Penrith, we let in two goals in the final 8 minutes.

The highlight of the month was the thrilling extra-time victory over Cogenhoe in the FA Vase. Cogenhoe are a fairly good side--a mid-table club in the United Counties Premier, another Level 9 league--so it wasn't as if we were bullying a tiny team. The hero was Richard Fitzpatrick, the young striker who has provided almost all our goal-scoring thus far, bagging a brace in the extra period. Fitzpatrick has earned a spot in the starting XI, but he lacks the stamina to play more than one match in a week.

I decided to change to our 4-4-2, the other formation we work on in training. Right now, it seems like the best way to get the players who have been performing the best onto the pitch. Adam Bradshaw is still learning to play right midfielder, but his attributes are OK for the role. I think he'll be fine there...when he returns from the groin strain he suffered against Penrith tonight. He's keeping Danny Llambias company in the stands. Danny twisted an ankle in the Team Northumbria match, and he'll miss another three weeks or so.

We don't concede many goals anymore, but we're still struggling to score. I think it's partially a lack of confidence, as it seems we get some good , chances but simply fail to convert them. Not having Llambias isn't helping our attack, but the problems go beyond the absence of one player. It's not like Danny was scoring for fun before his injury, after all.

If I can't turn things around fairly quickly, this will be a very short chapter in my managerial career.

A nice read so far, Bobby. Good luck ahead!

A nice read so far, Bobby. Good luck ahead!

Thanks very much. I'm glad you're enjoying it, even if the results on the pitch haven't been very good so far. I do feel like the team is beginning to show signs of coming together. We've tightened things up considerably in defense, and if we can find a way to score a few more goals we'll be on our way.

Thanks for following along, and thanks for commenting.

11 October 2013

Team Northumbria manager Tom Tuohy resigned this week. That wouldn't have been all that relevant to me, had this tidbit not appeared in the news release.

Not surprisingly, the media is reporting that if I don't get a result against Sunderland Ryhope tomorrow, it might be my last match at Heritage Park.

Wish me luck...

2 November 2013

Well, I'm still in the saddle, holding on for dear life. The lads came through and won the match they had to win for me. They saw off Sunderland Ryhope, 4-2. Richard Fitzpatrick is too young to drink alcohol, or I'd take him out for a pint or two, or three...one for each goal in his hat trick tour de force. In that single match, we doubled the total number of goals we've scored in league play.

We've had a slightly better month, but we still have a long way to go.

I figured I needed to make sure I put my best eleven on the pitch for every league match, so I rotated a bunch of the youngbloods in for the FA Vase match. They held their own, and several of them played quite well. Well enough that I remembered their names, which would prove to come in handy before long.

Against Holmer Green, I brought Nathan Lane on for what I thought would be an easy 20-minute run. He ended up tearing a calf muscle, and he'll be out until February, at the earliest. I had to find a replacement for him, and quickly. Assistant manager Sam Morgan suggested a 25-year-old free agent called Dan McDonald, and within two days I had brought him into the team. Here's how his "polygon" looks:

He lacks Lane's ability to push forward and contribute to the attack, but he's a little better defensively and has lots more pace. Bringing Dan in put us over the wage budget by about £15/week, but I didn't feel like I had an alternative.

Then, on the 26th, we suffered even worse luck. Center back Kyle Hawkins tore his cruciate ligaments, and he might not play football for another year.

I don't want to give the board another reason to sack me, so I hesitate to add any more wages to the bill. So, for now, I'll try to make do with one of the kids I blooded against Holmer Green: Shaun Ingleby, a 17-year-old whom my staff think could be a star one day.

Adam Bradshaw and Danny Llambias are back from the injury list, which is a good thing. Now that I'm playing a 4-4-2, I need two strikers, and both Adam and Danny play well there. Adam is also decent on the right wing, but I'm also going to take a long look at a 17-year-old, Roger Grogan, who looked comfortable in the FA Vase match, too.

Here's the Northern Division One table as it stands today:

We're off the bottom now!

In fact, the situation isn't as dire as it seems. A decent run of form could move us a few spots up the table in a hurry.

And, why not see what the kids can do in the meantime? It's not like they could do much worse.

Still so close at the bottom! As long as the board give you the time needed to make the squad gel, you should be fine...

Still so close at the bottom! As long as the board give you the time needed to make the squad gel, you should be fine...

I haven't yet received that dreaded message from the board, telling me to win my next match or else...or the one that summons me to a board meeting where I will have one last chance to plead my case.

We collected eight points from our last five matches (two wins, two draws, one loss), with a goal difference of +2. If we'd played that well during our first ten contests, too, we'd be on 24 points with a +6. That would place us sixth in the table. That's why I'm somewhat more optimistic now. It would be a shame to get the sack when the boys are starting to come around.

Thanks for the comment!

That's not gone well!

That's not gone well!

No, it's not gone well at all. However, I'm having a really good time with this save, nonetheless.

I'm relatively new, not only to Football Manager, but to the sport itself. I played a lot of Eastside Hockey Manager a few years ago, and I knew about FM from there, but I don't think it was very easy for Americans like me to find/buy. Therefore, I'm not going to load up a save and begin conquering all before me, the way some of the truly talented managers on this forum can do. Still, I have a lot of fun. I learn something new every time I play and, therefore, I enjoy the game--both on the computer and on the pitch--a little bit more.

Thanks for stopping by to comment. I hope you'll all keep reading, no matter how well--or poorly--things turn out.

9 November 2013

I haven't been reporting on each match so far, but this one merits a post of its own.

On the 2nd, we traveled to Carlisle to face Celtic Nation. As you might remember, they were odds-on favorites for promotion, and they've largely lived up to that prediction--hanging around the top of the table all season. Facing them on their grounds was not exactly what I'd ask for when my job might hang in the balance. However, that's what the schedule called for, and to their credit, the players rose to the challenge.

We took a 1-0 lead through Adam Bradshaw on 66 minutes, and it looked like we might pull off a shock upset...until Celtic's Michael Weir grabbed the equalizer in stoppage time. It was Weir's eighth goal in league play, an example of a star player doing what star players do. We left Gillford Park with a well-earned point, earned at the expense of a club who fully expected to beat us.

Celtic are a big club for our league. A very big club. They pay Michael Weir £700 a week to wear their green and white hoops. Our entire wage bill is less than £600/week. That's why I'm perfectly satisfied with a point from that match.

Today, we traveled to Billingham Town, who entered the match third in the league. Once again, the Bishops were up against a formidable challenger, on their grounds.

Here's the lineup I chose:

I included three seventeen-year-olds on the team sheet: Richard Fitzpatrick, Shaun Ingleby, and Roger Grogan, making his first start for the Two Blues. Fitzpatrick made his presence felt in the game's opening minutes. He has pace, and lots of it. He made good use of this gift, blowing past Billy Town's center halves onto a nicely weighted through pass from Joe Price and hammering it inside Thomas Anane's right post.

Billingham Town pulled level almost immediately, but on 28 minutes, left winger Andy Ford found an open Price racing toward the middle of the pitch. Price looked to his right and saw Fitzpatrick on the move again. This time Joe lofted the ball ahead 25 meters or so, and Fitz showed his heels to the Billingham defenders once again. Anane came off his line to challenge him; Fitzpatrick fired from the edge of the area and beat the 'keeper with a low, hard drive.

On 42 minutes, Roger Grogan aimed a cross at the far post, where Fitzpatrick was lurking with two defenders close by. Anane leaped for it and missed. The defenders kept Fitzpatrick from getting to it. Left to its own devices, the ball caromed off the bar and into the net. Roger didn't mean it, but it counted anyway. 3-1 to the Bishops, and that's the way the score looked as we went in for the halftime break.

Joe Price, who had been such a good provider earlier in the match, had yet to score in over fifteen hours of football for us. Early in the second half, Joe finally got his first goal, converting a pretty pass from Ford at the end of a very attractive, flowing move.

Just after the hour mark, Price picked out Grogan with a pass as the youngster raced up the right wing. Roger had a good look at goal, but instead he continued dribbling to the byline. There, he paused on the ball while the Billy Town defenders, Fitzpatrick, and Price raced into the penalty area. They reminded me of a group of commuters trying to catch a train.

Roger, what are you doing....?

I found out pretty quickly. Roger coolly pushed the ball to Fitzpatrick, who beat the hapless Anane to complete his hat trick. When Richard scores, he tends to score in bunches; this was his third multi-goal game of the season.

Billingham Town scored late, but it didn't matter much. We walked off 5-2 winners, showing an offensive vitality we'd never displayed before.

I'm relatively new, not only to Football Manager, but to the sport itself. I played a lot of Eastside Hockey Manager a few years ago, and I knew about FM from there, but I don't think it was very easy for Americans like me to find/buy. Therefore, I'm not going to load up a save and begin conquering all before me, the way some of the truly talented managers on this forum can do. Still, I have a lot of fun. I learn something new every time I play and, therefore, I enjoy the game--both on the computer and on the pitch--a little bit more.

Hey, I'm Danish so grew up watching and playing football. I've also been playing FM since the earliest days of CM (20+ years). And I still suck at it. But that's a big part of what makes it fun and challenging for me (LLM all the way!), so totally with you there...

I seem to remember reading about the birth of your little one not long ago...a daughter, right? Congratulations. My youngest is five now, which seems difficult to believe sometimes.

Thanks Bobby. Yes, I have a beautiful little girl. She's ten weeks old tomorrow.

Thanks Bobby. Yes, I have a beautiful little girl. She's ten weeks old tomorrow.

I'm sure lots of people have told you this already, but enjoy every minute. She'll grow up so quickly, and every step of the way has its own delights (and not-so-delightful moments, too).

1 December 2013

It's a lot of fun to be the bearer of better news this time! For one thing, I don't have to cut and paste to make the league table long enough to show Bishop Auckland's position. The bottom four clubs aren't shown here. They're on 20, 20, 18, and 18 points, so the bottom half of the table is incredibly tight. One win, and a club moves up several spots. One loss, and back down they go.

For the first time since the opening week of the season, my job status is listed as Secure. As long as I'm no lower than 15th or so, I appear to be safe; if I drop lower than that, the whispers about my sacking begin again.

The most satisfying victory of the month was the decisive result over West Auckland in the Auckland Derby match. Their manager, Andy Taylor, seems to enjoy mind games, and his comments about my managerial talent seemed to get our lads fired up. I'd just been complimentary of his club's style of play, and after our victory, I decided to remain the bigger man and refuse to engage in a trash-talk battle with him. Andy still thinks we can become friends...I'm not so sure about that.

It is good to see that about half the club lists me among their Favourite Personnel. The lads have backed me, no matter where we stand in the table, and I think that's helped me avoid the sack when we drop toward the bottom.

Here's a list of the clubs in our league, ranked by total annual wage bill. We're right in the middle. The three big clubs, including our local rival, all spend at least twice as much as we do, and Celtic Nation spends five times as much. Their manager got sacked this month; I suppose their board won't settle for less than a championship as a return for that much investment in player wages.

Again, the four clubs at the bottom aren't shown.

Richard Fitzpatrick has been out of this world lately, with nine goals in his last five games. He's one goal behind Marske United's Luke Stimson in the league scoring race, although he's scored his 13 goals in 15 matches, as compared with Stimson's 14 in 17. Richard is also joint first (with Stimson) in Average Rating. I wasn't too surprised to discover bigger clubs showing an interest in him; Guiseley (Skrill North) and Nuneaton (Skrill Premier) have made public their desire to sign him. I approached him about signing a new contract with us, and he told me the club lacks the financial resources to get close to his demands. He's under contract with us until June 2015, but I'd be shocked if he's still in Bishops blue by then.

I can't attribute our team's improved form to a major tactical adjustment, because I haven't made any. I occasionally use a more direct passing style, and I might adjust our mentality from Defensive to Standard when we're playing a weaker side at home. Otherwise, I stick with the Defensive 4-4-2 I've been using since September. Our players are becoming very familiar with our tactics, and I think that's made a big difference in our results.

I always have to resist the temptation to change too many things when my sides hit bad runs of form. I'm proud of myself for being patient and letting the players bed in.

It sounds like the team is starting to function as a cohesive unit; nicely done! Ridiculously tight from 10th to the bottom, though:eek:

Does Jim Carrey have anything to do with Marske?

I'm sure lots of people have told you this already, but enjoy every minute. She'll grow up so quickly, and every step of the way has its own delights (and not-so-delightful moments, too).

I'm enjoying every minute, even the sick and dirty nappies.

Great start GB. Glad the board have stuck with you so far and the players seem to be slowly finding their feet. Sometimes slowly does it always wins in the end.

It sounds like the team is starting to function as a cohesive unit; nicely done! Ridiculously tight from 10th to the bottom, though:eek:

Thanks very much. You're right; a run of poor form, even a short one, would send us right back to the bottom and probably put me in danger of a sacking again. Even one loss sends my job status plummeting down to Insecure, or worse.

Does Jim Carrey have anything to do with Marske?

I didn't see him at the grounds, and the crowd was small enough that I think he would've stood out.

I'm enjoying every minute, even the sick and dirty nappies.

Good to hear, Nobby. We haven't had to change a baby in about three years now...after about eight years with a nappie-wearer in the house. I don't miss that part of fatherhood too much.

Great start GB. Glad the board have stuck with you so far and the players seem to be slowly finding their feet. Sometimes slowly does it always wins in the end.

Thanks, NF. I think I was one defeat away from the sack twice--before the matches against Sunderland Ryhope and Billingham Town. Good thing the lads came through, both times.

In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't have room in my wage budget, because that guaranteed I wouldn't try to reverse our bad form by bringing in a bunch of new players. Instead, I had to give the current squad time to learn to play together, and the recent results have been a lot more promising.

I have to wonder, though, what would happen if we were to lose Richard Fitzpatrick. Joe Price, his strike partner, has found his form and is starting to bang in a few, but how much of that is due to teams having to account for Fitz?

Thanks for the comments, everyone.

2 January 2015

Happy New Year from Bishop Auckland Football Club!

Even though I've started another thread about my career with FC Santa Claus Arctic Circle, I've decided to keep this one going, too. I still enjoy playing FM 14; there are things about it I prefer over FM 15. I've always enjoyed managing in the lower leagues of England. My son, who is taking an interest in Football Manager now, likes the Bishop Auckland save. And, I'm having fun with my efforts to keep the Two Blues in a good enough position to keep my job.

We had another good month, with only one slip.

Shildon caught us on the break for an early goal, and we couldn't nab the equalizer. What's more, we lost our talented young wide man, Roger Grogan, to an injury, and he only this week returned to training. Even without Grogan, however, we played very well in our last three matches.

It was especially rewarding to see off Bedlington Terriers, who are top of the league and who thrashed us at their grounds back in August. Richard Fitzpatrick was once again the star, bagging his fourth hat trick of the season. He took over the league lead in goals, too. Nuneaton Town is still expressing a significant amount of interest in Richard, and I'm fully expecting them to make a bid for him as soon as they can.

We picked up two more spots in the table and, perhaps more importantly, we've opened up a bit of space between us and the bottom clubs.

It's almost time to decide which players I'd like to offer contracts for next season. One I know I will want to bring back is the captain, Michael Fitzpatrick. His public show of support for me when we were struggling might very well have persuaded the board to give me time to turn things around. I respect that kind of loyalty, and Michael will have a spot in our team for as long as he wants one.

We had a match scheduled on the 28th, but it was postponed due to soggy grounds. It was scheduled as a Fan Day, too. Hopefully we'll get a good crowd out at Heritage Park for the rescheduled match.

After a long, tough autumn, things are finally looking up for us. Hopefully we can keep this run of good form going for a while!

Good to see it is coming together now

Well done on sticking with it, hope things continue heading in the right way.

There is a very special kind of satisfaction in teetering on the brink of disaster, only to turn it around. Some of my fondest FM memories are from saves where I had the board ready to kick me out but managed to keep them just happy enough to give me the time I needed...