[FM12] Que Sera Sera (Whatever Rhyl Be Rhyl Be)

FC Rhyl

After falling in love again with FM12 I've decided to go for something a bit more difficult after the River Plate save (which is only on hold) and decided to choose a nation that provides a long term challenge at least in terms of Europe. After narrowing it down to Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Wales I decided to go for Wales and to add to the difficulty I am doing this using the rules of the Gundo Challenge over in the Challenges, Sign-Ups & Experiments. This means only the Welsh Premier League is loaded and I am only using a large DB with nothing extra added (8,000 players in total). This is partly to go through the years quicker as I don't have as much time as I used to.

After Holidaying the first season Rhyl FC was the side that appealed to me the most of the 2 promoted sides (proof below)

Rhyl have 2 championships to their name 2003–04 and 2008–09, 4 Welsh Cups 1951–52, 1952–53, 2003–04, 2005–06 and 2 League Cups 2002–03, 2003–04 so there is a bit of history there but as you may know TNS tend to dominate the country not just in real life but in FM too so my immediate challenge is to knock them off their perch and build up a side strong enough to eventually help the side challenge with the big boys in Europe. Having only ever managed in Wales once before (FM14) with Haverfordwest I know just how hard it is to make the step up in Europe and after 20 years of that save I never came close to winning as much as the Europa League, this is something I aim to change this time around.

Rhyl FC in FM12

I've started as per Gundo rules with Sunday league experience

The squad is very short in terms of numbers and quality with these being the pick of the current squad

There is an assistant manager and a scout already at the club which was a big help as I could start straight away on improving the squad. In came in another 10 players either recommended, offered or snapped up in the youth trails over the summer

This has made our squad look a lot healthier now

One of the first things I did was to get the junior coaching improved as that is certainly something that will come handy after a few improvements as the quality willing to come to this division isn't the best

As funds are tight I arranged all the friendlies myself and whilst the results didn't go in our favour it has certainly boosted our banks balance

The only aim for this season is survival, as with any other promotion if you can stay up in the first season you always know there'll be at least 2 sides worse than yourself which allows you to be stable in the division.

Year       Position    Cup             League Cup     Europe              Top Scorer          Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/13    2nd         2nd Round       1st Round      N/A                 Richards (36)       Qualified for Europa League
2013/14    1st         Winners         Winners        Europa 4th Qual     Richards (46)       Treble winners
2014/15    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Group Stage      Richards (38)       Treble Winners, Turned Professional 
2015/16    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Group Stage      Willmot (28)        Treble Winners
2016/17    1st         4th Round       Finalists      Europa Q/F          Hegarty (31)        Champions
2017/18    1st         Winners         Winners        Europa S/F          Marlon (39)         Treble Winners                        
2018/19    1st         Winners         Winners        CL 1st Knockout     Murray (125)        Treble Winners, Perfect Season
2019/20    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Finalists        Murray (122)        Treble Winners, Perfect Season
2020/21    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Semi Finalists   Murray (200)        Treble Winners
2021/22    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (185)        Clean Sweep
2022/23    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (199)        Clean Sweep
2023/24    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (216)        Clean Sweep
2024/25    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (242)        Clean Sweep
2025/26    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (216)        Clean Sweep
2026/27    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (197)        Clean Sweep
2027/28    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (201)        Clean Sweep
2028/29    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (214)        Clean Sweep
2029/30    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (157)        Clean Sweep
2030/31    1st         Winners         Winners        CL Winners          Murray (149)        Clean Sweep

Rhyl FC August - December 2012/13

I've got to say i'm delighted with the way things have gone so far. We seem to be in a position of safety and have a possibility of being in the top half when the league divides towards the end of the season.

We started off slowly in terms of points but the reality was we were creating as many chances in that spell than we have been in recent weeks, it was the signing of Richards who has seen the results really pick up, he is absolutely magnificent at this level as his record of goals per games shows, if we can just tighten up at the back now then there is a real possibility with this side that we push on.

TNS have been a big shock this year, i've yet to see them not win the league during the first couple of years of a new save so it will be interesting to see how they do in the coming years if they don't claw it back this year as with them being the only pro side in the country they need to be in Europe each year just to make money.

Rhyl FC January - May 2012/13

A magnificent return for us in the top flight as we secured a 2nd place finish. This was unexpected but so was TNS' poor campaign where they only even secured European football due to shock champions Aberystwyth also making and winning the cup final.

As I said in my previous post the signings of Craig and Richards really did make the difference for us, we were playing well enough in most games but not finishing chances and those two transformed our season without a doubt and we ended up top scorers in the division. What I really need to work on over the pre season now is tightening the defence up, as the table shows though it isn't a problem limited to just us as all but 2 sides in the division conceded more than 50 goals.

The youth intake wasn't great but these 2 4 and half stars have been taken on and hopefully they'll get some chances over the next season

In terms of Europe there was some good news in terms of qualification in the Champions League but bad news in terms of the Premier's rankings with a huge drop

Finances as you can see were poor but again i've arranged a few big friendlies which should see us back in the black. As i've been writing this has also happened which could help our finances too

Obviously not as good as a consortium (certainly wouldn't want a tycoon) but if this goes ahead it should see some more funds to go in to the clubs coffers.

Finally my good work has been rewarded with a new 2 year contract

Takeover is complete

Good to have that out of the way within the space of 2 weeks of the announcement as we need to move quickly in the transfer market and already missed out on one target because of the restrictions which was disappointing.

The new chairman didn't put in as much as expected but with his loan and with money to come in from the friendlies arranged we should be reasonably comfortable for the time being.

That last round defeat has got to hurt, though. You would have been champions with a win!

Still, great season...

That last round defeat has got to hurt, though. You would have been champions with a win!

Still, great season...

Not quite, Aberystwyth won the game previous to be crowned champions and lost their final game so it was already decided. Still our run after Christmas was a lot better than I could have for so I am happy with the league form. We were disappointing in the cups, though in hindsight the squad wasn't strong enough for a big run in either competition and challenge in the league too so that was probably a blessing

Rhyl FC Europa League Qualifiers

2nd Round





3rd Round





4th Round

That was a fun campaign while it lasted, the shock win at Aberdeen was certainly the highlight. We were lucky to get as far as we did I think but our strike force shown the same kind of form in Europe as they have in the league so that always gives us a chance. The Levski home game was an absolute sickener, I thought we were through thanks to Richards 90th minute strike but not only was it bad enough to be pulled back when in that position but for it to be a minute after the allotted 2 really did knock the stuffing out of me and lots of curse words were said as it happened That said we did superbly well to get that far and when that draw was made I never expected us to even have a chance so now i've calmed down I can accept the result as we rode our luck in the previous 2 ties.

The money that run has brought in means based on the £160k expenditure last season we should be in the black for the next 2 seasons. It also enabled me to give the youth coaching a second upgrade

Rhyl FC August - January 2013/14

Transfers



League







Cups

A good start to the season as we head in to the Championship stage. We had a blip in December which seen us lose a bit of ground on Aberystwyth Town but the win there in the final stage of the regular table sees us back in with a chance of catching them. Again Richards is the main man passing the 40 goal mark already. Youngster Beech (who starts most games) and Wilmot have been getting chances to impress and have done better than expected when called upon which is very pleasing as we do need youngsters to step up in a bid to keep our wage bill down to a minimum.

The cups have been more impressive this year with a league cup final against Aberystwyth in the bag and we are safely in to the 4th round of the Welsh cup which i'll also be taking more seriously this year now we have a stronger squad.

Rhyl FC February - May 2013/14

Premier League





Welsh Cup





League Cup





Other







Youth Candidates









A handy intake this time with 4 players signed, Collins has gone straight in to the first team squad whilst the others i'll be looking to loan out to get a year playing under their belts.

A fantastic season for us as we collected our first trophies under my guidance. Aberystwyth continued to push us all season and we had to overcome them in every competition to complete our treble. After another disappointing year for TNS it seems that it will be ourselves and Aberystwyth who will be the main contenders in the country at least in the short term. I have enjoyed all our battles against them over the past 2 seasons, the fixtures in a way remind me of the Man Utd - Arsenal games in the late 90's - early 2000's in the sense that both sides are strong and you can't predict which way it will go, it's been good to at least have that rivalry so far and I do hope it continues in the future as I enjoy having the competition.

The aim for the coming season is to try and improve the squad obviously and retain the title, I feel even though there was a big improvement in defence there is still work that needs to be done, another CM would also be handy but not a priority. Europe will be a lottery but at least playing in the Champions section of the CL the competition tends to be more beatable in the early rounds than the lottery of the Europa where you as likely to get one of the big boys as you are a side of your level.

Fantastic treble!! Well done!

Fantastic treble!! Well done!

Cheers Deisler there's potentially some big news coming in my next report!!!

Rhyl FC June - August 2014/15



This was a huge boost for the country as being ranked in the 200's for too long could have really been harmful for the division and ability to keep the better players in the league.

Transfers

Happy with these dealings as we've improved the back 4 considerably and in Aaron Morris we have by far the best player currently in the squad, it was a real coup to get him in even if we blew a large chunk of the wage budget in doing so.

League





Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round

We were given a fairly tough tie against the Hungarian champions and I certainly felt at the time the draw could have been a bit kinder to us but thankfully a 3-1 away win set us nicely to finish the job at home. One thing I learnt a while ago from playing in lower nations is when you qualify for Europe fitness is just as, if not more important than ability in the early stages so my pre season was done with 7 games before this one to make sure the players were at a maximum possible level to enable us to have breaks in between the legs/ties and whilst this doesn't always work I do find it to give you an edge over opponents as a match reaches it's later stages.

Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round

This is where I felt we would see our Champions League campaign certainly finish, Basel as always are a handy side and have players of the quality we can only dream of at the moment and I was convinced we'd have to take some kind of lead back to Switzerland to have any kind of chance of progress so I feared the worst when we couldn't break them down in the 1st leg. We took an early in Switzerland which came as a shock but gave us a fighting chance, inevitably Basel leveled just before half time but the expected barrage never materialised and when Booth converted a penalty mid way through the 2nd half it seemed to knock the stuffing out of Basel and we were comfortable apart from the last 5/10 mins of the game where Basel started putting pressure on us.

Champions League Final Qualifying Round

Lech presented as tough a challenge for us as the previous round and our luck seemed to have run out once they took the lead, Richards got us level just before the break but Lech continued to look the most likely as they had a number of shots at our goal, somehow we made a rare attack towards their end where out of nowhere Crawford buried a 25 yarder to give us a narrow lead to take to Poland.

We went to Lech without star striker Richards who served a ban through a totting up of yellow cards which made a tough task even tougher. In a game that had everything we raced in to a 2 goal lead before Olejniczak pulled one back for the home side. Lech attacked but didn't really trouble the keeper for the rest of the half. 4 minutes in to the 2nd half Willmot (who does seem to have a temper on him) seen a straight red for a challenge on the half way line. It didn't take Lech long to level the score on the night and with us down to 10 it seemed to be a case of us hanging on but Noble struck a free kick from the edge of the box in to the top corner to put us back in the lead and leaving Lech 20 minutes to get 3. Even with that advantage I didn't feel confident especially when they took a 4-3 lead on the night to make it 5-5 on aggregate and 10 minutes to grab the goal that would see them through. They continued to attack but a move broke down and Noble went on a 40 yard run down the right wing before crossing low where Partington slotted from 6 yards to safely see us through to the group stage. It was an amazing game where you felt anything could happen so to come away from that with a draw was a fantastic result for us.

Qualifying for the group stage for the first time is always a big one for any club to move forward and the money in our bank would be enough to see us going for a couple of years.

With the huge balance I got straight on to the board with a number of requests.

Getting all 4 of my requests accepted was superb news for us. The 3rd youth coaching increase should dramatically improve the quality of player coming through the ranks. The youth facilities is also something that i've been wanting to get done from day one as the funding for this means they'll no longer be rented and gives us a chance to train youngsters properly. Finally going pro is always a big moment with any club, it'll allow better training for the players and increase our reputation to attract better players to the club too.

On to the group itself and obviously it is a tough one

I give us no hope of getting any points so these games will be used to give the fringe players a run out so we can concentrate on domestic competitions this year.

Rhyl FC September - January 2014/15









[imgur](http://i.imgur.com/CeANNxy.jpg)

Despite being in a good position domestically I can't help but feel we've lost our spark this season. I'm not sure if it is the amount of games we've had to go through, other teams have got stronger, we've got complacent or the absolutely dreadful CL group stage has played a part.

Benfica home - 1-4

City away - 0-9

Schalke away - 1-3

Schalke home - 0-5

Benfica away - 0-6

City home - 0-10

Whatever the reason is we certainly need to improve over the summer as it is obvious that we are just about getting away with it with this crop of players. Of course there is the obvious problem that it is hard to attract players down to this level. I am hoping that professional status will change that but at the minute we are struggling to attract players even that have been out of the game since July which shows that there is still a lot of hard work to be done.

Some harsh numbers in the group stage, but other than that you've some incredible European form, amazing stuff!

Cheers BoxToBox. Yes we did take some hammerings in the group stage That was partly down to me as I played reserves as much as I could to concentrate on the league, I did expect a few 4's and 5's put past us but the 9 and 10 was ridiculous. In all honesty since my last update i'm pretty much convinced now that it was these thrashings that has led to our dip in performances because in the championship stage we've really picked up and look more like our old selves so I think in future if we get to the group stages in Europe i'll be putting the strongest side out in that and rotate in the league if for nothing else but to keep the scores down a little

Rhyl FC February - May 2014/15

Welsh Premier League





Cups



Youth Intake

As I suggested in my last post it does seem the group stages of the CL dented our confidence massively as we really picked up the pace from February onwards and looked more like the attacking fearless side we were in the previous 2 seasons.

Happy to complete a second treble in a row and the improved performances does make it feel more deserved than if we had continued playing the way we were, Willmot has really impressed in recent weeks and is starting to become one of the most important players in the squad, just wish his temperament was a little better as he's a card waiting to happen in almost every game .

Good to see another DM thread. You're getting a stranglehold on Welsh football now, well done on making the CL groups too

Great name Be interesting to see how fast you progress in Europe as well.

The money from that CL group stage alone should allow you to dominate the league for years...

Rhyl FC June - August 2015/16

Transfers

It was set to be a disappointing window in all honesty with just 2 back up players signed early on, the frustration wasn't so much we couldn't get players in but more the fact that the wages were out of our reach in July, it was only once it was close to deadline day could we get any players that would improve us in on a reasonable wage, thankfully we got there in the end as after last season we were desperate to improve to be able to compete in all competitions.

Coefficients

Not a massive rise but a rise all the same which is all we could ask for really as the other Welsh clubs all fell at the first hurdle. If we are to progress as a nation we really do need other clubs to get through a round or 2.

Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round

We were seeded for this tie so got a slightly easier draw than last year. We won comfortably away which meant I could rotate in the 2nd leg which probably explains the closer score in Wales

Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round

Just a year after playing the Polish side we returned to Poznan and whilst the game itself wasn't as exciting as the 4-4 we were just as spirited and held on for a valuable 1-1 to take home with us. In the 2nd leg we looked accomplished and whilst Lech leveled twice I always felt there was another goal in us and that proved to be the case.

Champions League Final Qualifying Round

We got Scottish opposition for the 2nd year running and I felt this would be a much harder tie than last years and I wasn't wrong. We snatched a 93rd minute winner at home to give us what in all honesty was an undeserved lead to take to Ibrox, there our performance was even worse but we did somehow sneak 2 away goals that left Rangers with a little too much to do.

League

It's been a good start for us this year with plenty of players getting minutes on the pitch and the performances (Rangers apart) have been excellent. Whether we can keep that up whilst juggling big games in Europe with the league and cups remains to be seen but with the last minute transfers I feel we are a lot better equipped than we were last season.

With our 2nd group stage appearance in a row the club has more money than it presently knows what to do with

The intention is to keep improving facilities each year whilst the cash is there, there aren't many players around who we can buy from other clubs so the £2M transfer kitty is useless for a few years in all honesty so I feel the best way to carry on moving forward is develop behind the scenes. The youth coaching has had another increase as in all fairness to our youth system it has produced at least 1 player per season who has successfully made the step up to the first team and now it is this level we should be able to keep up being able to develop players who are at the top end of domestic level at least.

The reward for getting through the qualifiers again sees another tough group although Twente is certainly a kinder 3rd seed draw than Schalke was last year

Have you been trying to upgrade your youth recruitment too?

Good to see another DM thread. You're getting a stranglehold on Welsh football now, well done on making the CL groups too

Cheers mate, the aim is to dominate the division for a while, we are still miles behind TNS in terms of rep even though they've had 3 poor seasons and we've done so well in the last 2

Great name Be interesting to see how fast you progress in Europe as well.

Cheers, I was thinking of things that ryhmed with Rhyl and "will" popped in to my head and it went from there I'm not expecting quick progression in Europe in all honesty, if we can be in Europe until December for a few years whether that be in the CL or Europa then i'd be happy. I just don't see this team being able to compete in even a Europa group for a while yet but if we can get to either competitions group each year it should see our rep rise enough to bring better players in as i've seen in this summer window.

The money from that CL group stage alone should allow you to dominate the league for years...

The problem is that there's no players available to buy even with a great kitty for this level so i'vll be investing the money in development behind the scenes, the facilities will take a few years to get to even league standards by the look of it so I feel it's best to get them up to scratch early in to the save while things like wages, transfer fees and running costs are low.

Have you been trying to upgrade your youth recruitment too?

I've checked every couple of months and not been able to do it once yet, it's something i've always found hard to do on FM even when the funds are there, it is a shame that the philosophy option when renewing your contract isn't there really as that may have pushed it forward a bit

Amazing news on your two consecutive CL appearances. I'm yet to make the CL and you seem to be running away with it

Wow, unbelievable progress! CL group stages back to back so quickly, you could feasibly win it in about 10 years!

Amazing news on your two consecutive CL appearances. I'm yet to make the CL and you seem to be running away with it

I'm not sure about running away with it, we get hammered as soon as we are there There's also the difference that you are playing against sides from bigger nations in your qualifiers whereas i'm facing lower level champions so really you are playing against better quality sides (which is mad when you think about it)

Wow, unbelievable progress! CL group stages back to back so quickly, you could feasibly win it in about 10 years!

Thanks, i'd be happy just getting points on the board in 10 years time the rate we are going once we do make the group

Rhyl FC September - January 2015/16





Champions League



Man Utd H - 0-3

Twente A - 1-2

Benfica A - 0-5

Benfica H - 2-3

Man Utd A - 0-10

Twente H - 2-6



Cups

A slightly better campaign in Europe this time around but we are still light years away from making real progress on the continent. This is of course something I knew would always be the case and why I am so focused on building the facilities to enable us to attract better players and bring through our own talent so in the future these embarrassing results will be less frequent as it does get a bit soul destroying seeing it happen as often as it has

Domestically things couldn't be better, this time last season I was nowhere near happy about our standard in the league but I feel with the new signings and the way i've kept most of the squad involved there is a better attitude with the players this year.

Again i've been on at the board to get some improvements done

Getting 2 lots (5th in total) of youth coaching improvements this year has been fantastic and hopefully we can get a good intake in a few months time

2016 Youth Intake

By far our best one with four 4 star or above, obviously that doesn't mean a lot at this level but i'll take anything I can get if it means keeping a decent home grown quota for Europe. Will Hay does seem to be the standout of the bunch though so it should be good to see how he develops.

I made a few signings just before the intake too after my Scandinavian scout picked this lad out.

He looks a handy player for his age and wasn't holding us to ransom to join so decided to take a punt on him.

Marcus Gay is a fantastic signing for this level, he is way above anyone in this squad which says something as ours is obviously the strongest in our division

His pace alone should be a big asset domestically and i'm surprised he hasn't been snapped up sooner since his release from Man City but their loss is our gain and I am hoping for big things from this lad

Rhyl FC February - May 2015/16

Welsh Premier League





Cups

Much happier with this season as a whole, the team played a lot better throughout the year and even after some heavy defeats in Europe their heads didn't seem to drop like the previous campaign. What has been the most pleasing aspect of the season for me is the way Willmot, Collins and Vickers have all made their way through the ranks and doing well. Vickers is only a rotation player at the moment but with 16 assists and 5 goals in 19 games it has been obvious that he will be a key player in the not too distant future.

Though the CL campaign was only slightly better in terms of goals conceded but in domestic terms we were really impressive at the back which was pleasing as it is something I have felt was a big weakness for us. I still think we need huge upgrades at both full back positions though and it will be something I will be trying to address over the summer.

Finally I am already top of the Welsh hall of fame, it doesn't take much to get there I know but still nice to be there

More brilliance. Hoping for your first CL point this season.

Rhyl FC June - August 2016/17

Transfers

Probably the busiest window i've had since the very first one in my time at the club in terms of getting 1st team players in, Stephen Hegarty is someone that should bag plenty of goals for us, Steve Passmore was released by Man Utd and we managed to snap him up in late August. Svein Kvernoey can play center half but in Europe certainly he'll be right back because as I said earlier full backs are our weakest position and this lad is a huge upgrade there even if it isn't his natural position. Jason Roberts comes in as a number 2 but there isn't much difference between him and first choice Peter Richards so he'll get a fair amount of games in the league to keep him happy. With Kvernoey being brought in for RB duties Bradley Eatock was brought in for cover in the short term but I do think he can be a long term solution at CB, for the moment the current pairing of Morris and Fillery are ahead of him but Fillery had a couple of niggles last season so there was no way I could risk 3 players at CB, especially when 1 will be called upon in Europe to play RB.

Coefficients

This is a massive jump for us and we are catching up to the group of nations that get a side in the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa now which will rewarding for another side at least. There's already been a £10k increase to £30k in TV money for the division which doesn't sound a lot obviously but in terms of this division it cost about £120k to run the club for a year and we were the 4th highest wage payers at the time so to most other sides that money is invaluable to them.

Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round

We renewed acquaintances with Debrecen (It would be nice not to play the same teams every bloody year) it wasn't as comfortable as last time out which I am putting down to so many new faces in the squad at the moment but a 1-0 home win and the away goal ensured our progression.

Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round

Another tie against Scottish opposition seen us up against Celtic, unlike our ties against their Glasgow rivals last season we put in a decent showing in both legs, I did get worried for a little while when Celtic raced in to a 2-0 lead at Parkhead but after the half hour mark we got back in to the game and it always looked like we would score which we eventually did twice to get to the next round.

Champions League Final Qualifying Round

Finally we got a trip to a different country in qualifying and a trip to Bucharest. Steaua were probably just about the better side in Romania but it took them a late equaliser to deny us what would have been a great win there. We had an appalling start at home to them going 2-0 down just after the half hour mark but in my head it didn't really change much as after seeing how well they could attack in the 1st leg I always had the feeling we would need to at least score 2 to have a chance. Thankfully we pulled 1 back pretty quickly but were forced to wait a while to get back on terms, it was a frustrating period really as we were getting chances but not taking them, thankfully Morris struck in the 77th minute to give us the lead on away goals and then Willmot snatched a injury time winner to put the Romanians to bed.

Welsh Premier League

Very happy with the start so far we look pretty confident no matter what kind of side we put out, once the new players settle in I think we'll see this side takes things a step further. It would be nice to see us get some points in the CL this year but again it is going to be tough though we do play a side we have beaten before

After spending nearly £3M on training improvements our finances were looking a bit drained but with qualification to the group stage again it is looking healthy again which is vital as we are now paying £1M a year in wages, that sounds ridiculous and in reality it is because stupidly when I renewed contracts when we went pro many had highest wage clauses so now we have 5 or 6 that are earning far more than they are worth, thankfully I only gave that group of players 2 year contracts so it should be significantly reduced (or at least be spent on players who are worth it) next season.

More brilliance. Hoping for your first CL point this season.

Cheers Deisler I'm hoping for it too, I think Rangers gives us a chance of that after beating them last year but Chelsea and Marseille are obviously games I would just be happy keeping the score down

Halle- bloody-lujah!!!!!!!!

That felt as good as any time i've ever won the whole thing What was also pleasing was getting my 1st clean sheet in the group, i'd have snapped your hand off just for that

Absolutely gutted about this

I thought we could have hung on but we tired in the last few minutes, that said it's another positive step by us

Ahhhh this is fantastic, well done!

Gotta like the upward trend in green and orange attributes in transfers in, too!

EDIT: Just seen the Chelsea result, damn harsh, giving them a game is impressive, though!

Ahhhh this is fantastic, well done!

Gotta like the upward trend in green and orange attributes in transfers in, too!

EDIT: Just seen the Chelsea result, damn harsh, giving them a game is impressive, though!

Cheers BoxToBox The Chelsea one was a sickener as we deserved a point out of that but this probably makes up for it

We are 3rd after 4 games now on 4 points, Rangers have 3 and we play them next, win and we are still in Europe after Christmas

Halle- bloody-lujah!!!!!!!!

That felt as good as any time i've ever won the whole thing What was also pleasing was getting my 1st clean sheet in the group, i'd have snapped your hand off just for that

YYYYAAAASSS!! Brilliant!

We've only gone and ensured European football after Christmas!!!!!!

That result against Chelsea whilst a bit gutting at the manner I didn't think would be that important but now it could turn out to be a sickener though

If we had even held out for a draw that would have left us on 8 points and Chelsea 5 points going in to the final game which bar a big hammering would have likely seen us through to the CL knockout, instead we have to pull off a miracle and win at Stamford Bridge

They're playing the CL final in a rugby stadium??

Whatever happens at Stamford Bridge, well done for securing at least another two European games!

Yeah I thought it was a strange one Cheers, i'll know what competition we'll be in in 2 games time

Well as expected the result at home to Chelsea cost us, we battled bravely but eventually the pressure they put on us paid off. This is the draw for the Europa, could have been kinder really

We'll give it a go though and if we can add a player or 2 in before the registration we'll be in a much better position.

Incredible, well done on continuing in Europe!

Outstanding work, fella.

Incredible, well done on continuing in Europe!

Cheers, going to be tough to do anything against Sporting but glad to have improved in the CL after the last years where it was soul destroying watching us get hammered like that

Outstanding work, fella.

Cheers, just hope this means we can build on it in the future now

Rhyl FC - August - January 2016/17

Welsh Premier League







Cups

It isn't just Europe where we have stepped up our league form in the main has been excellent averaging over 4 goals per game, the slight blips are the the 2 defeats

and the shock exit in the cup but we are going to have moments like that and in a way it is good another team has a chance of some silverware.

We've had the first hint of problems in the squad with Willmot wanting to join a bigger club and has been constantly asking for a transfer all season, I could understand this more if anyone was actually in for him but at no point has there been an interested club let alone an offer for him. His actions have annoyed me really as he obviously thinks he's better than he is and I will let him go but it will be on my terms as Hay from last seasons intake isn't that far behind him now so it is just a case of me deciding when the egotistical so and so goes and not him!

With more CL money pouring in i've again got the board to agree to upgrades

The youth recruitment is still the one that has yet to see any improvement and it is getting a little frustrating now but at least with the rest we continue to build upon. Even in terms of attendance we've had an extra 200 people turn up for league games to take it to 700 average which is pleasing, there's still a long way to go before we need to worry about the stadium capacity (3000 as it stands) but at least we are getting somewhere.

One transfer in and that is at left back, Toke Daugaard is a big improvement on what we had which will help in Europe especially as I've found improving right back this year has coincided with us conceding a lot less than previously, I really wanted a DM too but nobody suitable emerged so we'll carry on looking out in the hope we can find one.

Daugaard looks like he is going to add a lot to your defensive line.

Daugaard looks like he is going to add a lot to your defensive line.

Left back was by far the weakest area in the team so getting him in is a massive boost, I noticed by improving at right back just how much the defence improved against the bigger sides so having someone on the left too should see us being even tighter now.

We have a slight advantage to take to Portugal, it was quite a nervy game as all the goals came so early and I was expecting Sporting to pull it back but it the game was pretty level in terms of decent chances and we hung on

What a victory in Portugal!!! I expected it to be tougher than it was but we still had to be at our best in both legs as Sporting on paper are miles ahead of us. With Juventus up next i'm under illusion that we can go any further but after the last 2 seasons to see such progress has made those hammerings worth while as i'm really appreciating what we have achieved this season. We have 3 league games before heading to Turin so I think it will be a case of wrapping the players who are likely to start in cotton wool and hope for the best

Mental! You'll have Rhyl a household name!