[FM10] Dosthill Colts from lvl 10 to the prem - Own Youth Products Only

[hrbfcrule]

This is my first Career story/update so go easy on my season summarising skills

FM Version:

-FM 10, with 10.2.0 patch

Database:

-I have downloaded Super Bladesman's lvl 10 pack, so big thanks to him

-Small

Leagues Loaded:

-England down to level 10

In this game i will be attempting to follow the rules of the FM 10 " Give youth a chance" challenge

I chose Dosthill Colts, a side in the English Midland Football Combination Premier Division (which is in level 10 of the English League Pyramid).

A Little History

They were founded in 1990 as a Boys Junior League Club when a group of parents and youngsters who had a regular kick around in a local field formed the club to allow their youngsters to participate in organised and structured matches within the Tamworth Junior League.

Dosthill Colts Senior Team was formed at the start of the 2006/07 season, now in their fourth season in the Midland Combination having secured promotion in the last three seasons to play in the Premier Division this season. They have basic youth and training facilities as well as a 2000 capacity stadium, 500 of which is seating.

They also play in The FA Vase, Birmingham Floodlit Cup but unfortunately did not qualify for the preliminary rounds of the FA Cup this season.

I will be doing a month by month update from August to May. Since there is no need to do month by month updates during the summer, especially considering I can't buy any players.

Also the 1st season updates were done while i was just starting the 2nd season so I can't put up any screenshots of the squad at the beginning or league tables aftere every month. But there will be more screenshots for the 2nd season and beyond.

Pre-Season

I started off with a resaonable sized squad, however half of them were aged 17 or under.

I also only started off with an Assistant Manager, Coach a Physio.

The club is "Amateur" which means there are no wages but this means anyone can come in and offer your players a contract. This was not ideal because since i can't buy anyone to replace them i could end up with a much weaker squad come the end of the season. Luckily at least the youth players had youth contracts for 2 or 3 years so i had a control on them leaving or staying.

My aim for this 1st season is to get promoted because i think we could really suffer if we stay too long with an Amateur status.

Media predicted us 17th but also gave us 5-1 odds to get promoted. I didn't expect either to be accurate because most teams at this level are very similar.

My Assistant Manager obviously stayed on holday too long and forgot to arrange any friendlies. I had to make do with playing my reserves and the standard one against GH Academy.

We managed to sell a whopping 45 season tickets

Dosthill Colts 1-1 Dosthill Colts Reserves

We dominated against our reserves,but couldn't finish our chances and a late equalizer ended my chances of a win in my first game, although i was happy with what i saw.

Dosthill Colts 1-2 GH Academy

Very disappointing, we went 2-0 down early on, never fully recovered, still managed to get one back but we were always 2nd best and they held out.

August 2009

League: Castle Vale 0-1 Dosthill Colts

An ideal start to my competitive Dosthill debut, a second half penalty sealing the win despite the pretty even match.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Brocton

Looked to be heading to a bore draw until we scored a 91st min penalty, we were then denied our 1st home win by an equally suspicious 93rd min which their striker scored to give them a point

League: Heath Hayes 1-0 Dosthill Colts

They were the slightly better team but again a 91st min peanlty gave them a well earned victory. So far all goals in the league in my matches had been scored from the spot.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Heather St Johns

They didn't have a single shot in the match so the result is justified we also managed to score our first goal not from the penalty spot (it was from a corner instead:D)

Note: The number of penalties seem to be a common theme at this level, same with the increased amount of cards, I am guessing this due to the players' poor takling abilities

September 2009

FA Vase 1st Qual: Lydney 0-3 Dosthill Colts

My first cup match ended very well mainly due to them having a man sent off early in the 1st half

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Massey Ferguson

A comfortable win thanks to a brace from our striker, Robbie Carr either side of half time.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Walsall Wood

Our september got better and better with another league win, this win moved us up to 2nd in the league and into the playoff spot

League: Southam 1-2 Dosthill Colts

The run continued, somewhat fortuitously as we scored a late winner to give us 4 strainght league wins

FA Vase 2nd Qual: Greenwood 1-0 Dosthill Colts

We had been playing above ourselves for some time and this brought us back down to earth. In a match with little chances they scored in the 83rd minute after we had a guy sent off half way through the 1st half

League: Pershore 0-2 Dosthill Colts

Our incredible league form continued with another lucky win, we took our chances they didn't.

League: Bartley Green 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Our 4th away game in a row ended with another victory, this time it was well deserved

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Nuneaton Griff

It had to end somewhere but annoyingly, after playing so well away, we drew thanks to a late goal at home

Just writing updates for October through to August of next season, bear with me

Any feedback is appreciated, good or bad.

[hrbfcrule]

October 2009

League: Bolehall 1-0 Dosthill Colts

A poor result for us made worse by our dire performance

League: Dosthill 2-0 Castle Vale JKS

Comfortable victory against the then bottom of the table, hopefully we could go on another good run like before. This result put us top of the league for the 1st time.

League: Pelsall 1-2 Dosthill Colts

Should have been a bigger victory in all honesty, Dave Brackenridge (DC!!) got both our goals 1 from the spot, but he also missed a penalty early on as well. He wasn't the only culprit though, many of my team could not find the net. 32 shots 13 on target 6 CCC's.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Knowle

Another easy victory, we started to establish ourselves as 1 of the best in the league.

An early penalty and a goal in the 2nd half sealed the points, keeping us in top spot.

League: G.S.A Sports 1-1 Dosthill Colts

We were the slightly better team, scored first and looked to be cruising towards a 4th straight win when they caught us on the counter to make it 1-1. They then pushed forward more and we were lucky to hang on.

Birmingham Floodlit Cup 1st Round: Bustleholme 1-3 Dosthill Colts

Despite this cup being just season filler, it looked like a good chance to get some silverware, so i decided to take it seriously, unlike the opponents manager who put out their reserves and the score reflected that

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Coventry Copsewood

I think the midweek cup match took it's toll on the players, thats my only theory to why we played so poorly.

November 2009

League: Pilkington XXX 1-0 Dosthill Colts

We had a week between the last match and this one so no fatigue excuse this time. They scored the winner in the 94th min despite only 1 min being added on by the ref

League: Dosthill Colts 3-0 Cadbury Ath

We outplayed them in every department, and 100% deserved to win. Great improvement on recent form.

League: Meir KA 0-0 Dosthill Colts

This result showed we weren't out of the bad form quite yet. We dropped out of the playoff place by 3 clear points now, and had a worse goal difference

Birmingham Floodlit Cup 2nd Round: Cadbury Ath 0-3 Dosthill Colts

Played them just before this time away, but the result was the same we scored 2 in the 1st half before getting our keeper sent off mid way through the 2nd half. Despite this set back we still managed to score a 3rd and pile the misery onto Cadbury Athletic

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 RC Warwick

We ended October on a high, beating under acheiving RC Warwick, an early penalty set us in our ways, we bombarded their goal with shots from everywhere, only 1 more made it in though. Haven't seen such a 1 sided match in a long time

December 2009

League: Continental Star 0-0 Dosthill Colts

We had to wait 18 days for this match got cancelled twice. When it was finally played a bet everyone involved wish it had just stayed cancelled. The most boring match ever, 3 shots were managed during the whole match only 1 of them on target.

League: Brocton 0-0 Dosthill Colts

The complete opposite of the previous match in terms of chances however the result was the same. A very open, end to end game but the quality of both team's strikers really showed

League: Dosthill Colts 3-1 Castle Vale

Much more like it, despite not creating a single CCC we still managed to score 3 including a 93rd min screamer from our marauding left back

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Heath Hayes

Just our 2nd home league loss but boy it hurt us, Heath Hayes are also promotion contenders and with this win they leapfrogged us in the table

[hrbfcrule]

January 2010

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Heather St. Johns

We bounced back perfectly with a goal in the 1st min and it looked to be going our way until the 88th min when they equalized. This result meant we were starting to lag behind the top 2 (Brocton and Heath Hayes)

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Southam

Our 3rd match without a win in the league and it was starting to worry me, no matter what in this game we just couldn't find the net. Actually thats not true, we found the net twice but were twice disallowed for offside.

League: Massey Ferguson 1-0 Dosthill

Oh Dear!!! I thaught promotion was on the cards all throughout the season but it was at this point I started to doubt it. We were 5 points of 1st and 2nd with them both having a game in hand

Birmingham Floodlit Cup Quater Final: Dosthill Colts 2-1 Bartley Green

A welcome distraction to the league, if only we could carry this sort of form to our next league match. This cup was turning into the most realistic chance of silverware this season.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Bartley Green

Exactly the same teams. Exactly the same stadium. Different competition, our mental block in league matches was starting to get really frustrating. Club captain Dave Brackenridge missed a penalty in the 3rd min

League: Walsall Wood 1-0 Dosthill Colts

This result ended an incredibly poor january leaving us with only 1 win, that being in the cup. It also left our promotion hopes in tatters

By this time most of my players not on youth contracts were being nicked by level 9 clubs, with there being nothing i can do about it. This may have accounted to our poor form as i had only 5 or 6 senior players left, and they were the ones who had played so badly no other club wanted them.

February 2010

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Pershore

Our 2010 became even worse and left us without a win in 7 in the league, and i knew there was no chance of us being promoted this season.

League: Nuneaton Griff 0-2 Dosthill Colts

FINALLY!!!!! We ended our 7 league games without a win by beating rock bottom Nuneaton Griff. Them scoring 2 own goals helped

League: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Bolehall

My aim now was to finish in the top 4 because they get slightly more prize money than the rest of the league. This result gave us hope of that as we moved back into the top 4...........

League: Castle Vale JKS 2-1 Dosthill Colts

.......... maybe not, we slipped back out of them with yet another poor performance. 8 points from the playoff spot now, 10 from the Automatic place.

[hrbfcrule]

March 2010

League: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Pelsall

Wooo back inside the top 4. A very nerve wracking match, we were on the back foot for most of it except a 5 min patch before half time in which we scored. Then we hung on for dear life and claimed the 3 points

Birmingham Floodlit Cup Semi Finals: RC Warwick 1-0 Dosthill Colts

our last chance of silverware has gone and we were very unlucky too. We matched them for the 1st hour but our defence's concentration slipped just for a second as their striker slipped in behind and slotted it under the keeper to finish off a magnificent move

League: Knowle 2-2 Dosthill Colts

We went 1-0 up early on and held it till the 80th min when they scored a stunning volley from 25 yards, I thaught we had done enough to win it when our captain Dave Brackenridge leapt to head home from a corner but they scored with the final kick of the ball with a curler from 20 yards.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 G.S.A Sports

The result our performance deserved, we swept them aside with minimal fuss. Another penalty sent us on our way and a scrappy second sealed the points

League: Coventry Copsewood 0-1 Dosthill Colts

A laboured victory, we stumbled over the line, 3 of my back four were injured in this match, thankfully only 1 was long term and he was only a fringe player. We were now just 4 points from the playoffs was promotion back on?

April 2010

League: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Pilkington XXX

Now just 2 away from playoffs with a comfortable home victory which should have been more, we needed to be as we didn't have a better goal difference over our rivals

League: Dosthill Colts2-1 Meir KA

4th straight win and we have picked up 16 points in the last 6 league matches. We had moved to 1st place on goal difference, but had played one game more than our 2 rivals

League: RC Warwick 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Revenge for our semi final cup exit from them, and i would much rather win in the league than the cup. This put us in 1st place by 1 point over our rivals, all of us have played 39/42 games

League: Cadbury Ath 1-0 Dosthill Colts

Having beaten them 3-0 twice this season, we somehow lose this very important meeting. This ended our win streak, but had it ended our promotion hopes........

May 2010

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Continental Star

The draw was enough to see us get the playoff spot but we lost out on the Automatic place by goal difference

Playoff:

We were given a nice home draw against Canterbury City. We definately saved the best till last, having never scored more than 2 goals in match, we destroyed them 4-2. We were 1-0 up at half time scored early on in the 2nd half to put us in a comfortable lead and despite a flurry of goals in the last 10 mins we hung on and finished it off with a 4th goal in the 93rd min

[hrbfcrule]

Dosthill Colts, Midland Combination Premier 09/10 - Season Summary

League: 2nd, Promotion through playoffs

FA Vase: lost 1-0 to Greenwood in the 2nd Qualifying round

Birmingham Floodlit Cup: Lost 1-0 to RC Warwick in semi final

League Table, League Graph

Squad

Finances: Nice and Healthy

Season              League                        Position        Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10         Midland Combinations Premier       2nd         Prmoted via Playoffs

[hrbfcrule]

Dosthill Colts, English Midland Football Alliance 10/11

Youth products were all terrible, having said that 3 or 4 made it straight into the first team due to the squad being small from last season, we slowly had our older players taken away from us by level 9 clubs, thank god this season all my players on contracts. The club has turned semi proffesional.

Board will not allow improvement of youth or training faciltities, both being stuck on basic

Season ticket holders have gone up from 45 to 58

Wage Budget: £809/week

Current Wage: £188/week

Transfer Budget: £0

Preseason

Barwell 0-0 Dosthill Colts

Rainworth MW 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Tipton 3-0 Dosthill Colts

Dosthill Colts 0-0 Coalville

Dosthill Colts 0-2 Leek CSOB

Friar Lane and Epworth 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Highgate 2-2 Dosthill Colts

A relatively good pre season looks like we might struggle on the scoring front though.

Media have predicted us 6th

Bookies price us at 5-1 for promotion (3rd favourite)

Yet my board allowed safe mid table position, i went for the lowest one possible

Squad

August 2010

FA Cup Preliminary Qual 1: Dosthill Colts 3-0 Yaxley

A comfortable win and a good start to the season, they were in the level below us so i expected that result. Board were happy to note that it was our 1st time in the FA Cup.

League: Coventry Sphinx 1-1 Dosthill Colts

A respectable start to our league campaign, all im expecting is to avoid relegation. We managed to take the lead but faltered after half time and they promptly equalized and probably should have got the win were it not for our fantastic keeper

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Gresley

I feel sorry for the supporters, despite it being August, it was apparantly 4 degrees and pouring with rain. The result would have dampened their spirits if the rain hadn't got there first

League: Dosthill Colts 2-2 Coalville

Drew with them in pre season, and did the same again here this time making it slightly more interesting for the fans. They managed to equalize in the 93rd min, very annoying. Looked like we were becoming the league's draw specialists.

FA Cup Preliminary Qual 2: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Cradley

Helping a lot with the finances, i hope we can really go far in this tournament, i really want to improve the club's facilities.

September 2010

League: Cradley 0-2 Dosthill Colts

3 days between the 2 matches against them, this time we went 1 better and beat them 2-0 at their place. Our 1st league win and we are comfortably midtable with 6 points from 4 games.

League: Causeway United 2-0 Dosthill Colts

Our 1st league loss this season, and what a depressing one at that, we played as bad as i have ever seen us play and were rightly beaten.

FA Cup 1st Qual round: Coalville 2-0 Dosthill Colts

Coalville piled on the misery and we were out of the FA Cup, dammit it was a very good source of income, I wouldn't have minded going on a few more rounds.

League: Daventry Utd 0-0 Dosthill Colts

Still can't score, now been 285 mins since we did. We had the chances, just not the strikers

FA Vase 2nd Qual Round: Dosthill Colts 3-0 Coulsdon Utd

An impressive victory and hopefully this can instill some confidence into my team which mainly comprises of 17 year olds now. Also another £900 to add into the finances every little helps.

League: Dosthill 2-1 Heath Hayes

Finally a win, and who better against than last years promotion rivals, beating us to the crown on goal difference

League Table at end of September

[hrbfcrule]

October 2010

FA Vase 1st Round: Hamble 1-0 Dosthill Colts

We were really unlucky not to make it further in the Vase. Their goal came in the 88th min, we had dominated the first 87.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Friar Lane and Epworth

We scored 2 goals early in the 1st half which made it look like a real hammering was on the cards but the second half was pretty dull. I'll take the win though

League: Alvechurch 2-0 Dosthill Colts

Again poor concentration meant we conceded 2 late goals in a match where we really should have got at least a point.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-1 Wildenhall

2 penalties gave us a deserved lead but when they pulled 1 back in the 84th min it lead to some nervy times but we held on to gain a deserved win against Wildenhall who continue to prop up the rest of the table

League: Highgate 1-0 Dosthill Colts

We are in serious need of a striker, we had 6 CCC'S and 18 shots 12 of which were on target yet still couldn't score. hmmmmm

Birmingham Floodlit Cup 1st Round: Dosthill Colts 3-2 Nuneaton Griff

We were expected to win this with odds of 1-33 to win. We started off proving those odds were justified but after just over half an hour they took the lead on the counter attack. Two goals in 6 mins right at the end of the 1st half made the score fair. Second half was dull until the 87th min when the scored a late eqauliser despite not managing a shot since their 1st goal. Just when i thaught it was going to go into extra time (which i did not need, my team was completely shattered) Thompson, our 1 decent striker popped up out of nowhere to turn in a cross from 6 yards.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Kirby Muxloe

In a match of few chances, it was a wonderstrike that separated us. That came from My midfielder, Williamson. He took 1 touch to take it past the defender then just on the edge of the area he smashed it accross the keeper into the far bottom corner

League Table: As it Stands

[Nobby_McDonald]

Oooo, Dosthill, a friend of mine used to live there before moving to Wilnecote.

Well done on promotion in the first season.

[hrbfcrule]

Oooo, Dosthill, a friend of mine used to live there before moving to Wilnecote.

Well done on promotion in the first season.

Thanks. Did your friend play for Dosthill?

[bobatwal]

great stuff mate

[hrbfcrule]

@bobatwal: thanks, I'm glad you are enjoying it

November 2010

Midland Alliance Cup 2nd Round: Friar Lane and Epworth 2-2p Dosthill Colts

A very one sided match in everything except the result, they scored the opener in an otherwise boring 1st half. The second half sprung into life, although not in a good way, Just 2 mins 33 seconds from the kick off their guy lunged in 2 footed on my striker, resulting in a straight red. Thankfully he wasn't injured but discipline went out the window, 6 more yellow cards followed before another red this time for my central defender for "violent conduct". Interspersed with all this fouling we managed to equalize from a dubious penalty which did not exactly help ease the tension between the 2 sides. In extra time it seemed to calm down a bit, this helped the quality of football and with 5 mins before going to penalties a lovely worked move involving 5 players set up Slater (ml) to slot it passed the keeper. This lead lasted all of 71 seconds as my defence went to sleep, and their striker ran unmarked into to the box to power an unstoppable header into the net. Penalties were comfortable in the end due to them missing their 1st and 2nd penalties. We comfortably put away the 4 that we needed to seal a "lively" victory.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-2 Loughborough D

The midweek cup match seemed to have taken it out of us. We hung on till the last half an hour or so of the match but the tiredness of my players kicked in and we went down for the 1st time at home this season.

League: Oadbury 1-1 Dosthill Colts

We led for most of the match and were always the better team but again we conceded a late goal and again it has cost us.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Royston

A small gap of 10 days between this game and the game away to Oadbury really allowed us to play to our best. We had our rest and we were ready to go again. Although we had nothing to show for our efforts at halftime, 2 late second half goals sealed a well earned victory and put our home form back on track after a loss last time.

Birminham Floodlit Cup 2nd Round: Bolehall 0-1 Dosthill Colts

We were against lower league opposition so it was up to us to put on a performance. The problem is the cups, the sheer number of cup ties is destroying my team. There are 4 cups this season and they are all around the start of the season so the fixture list is very heavy in the 1st half of the season. We played well, not our best but good enough. We didn't look good up until our goal which seemed to take the life out of their team. From then on it was played like a friendly, they didn't seem too fussed to be 1-0, we just sat back and soaked up any attack they could muster

League: Barwell 3-0 Dosthill Colts

Our poor away form in the league continued making it without a win in 6. We were the better team in the 1st half but we were hit with a sucker punch when they took the lead, it took the life out of us, they then rounded off the victory with a penalty after my DC got his marching orders for a proffesional foul. Having to play a midfielder in defence to accomodate the hole my DC had left, it was no surprise they scored a 3rd. One of the most disappointing results Dosthill Have produced

Never seen this before

League Table: At end of November

Hoepfully with our games in hand we can push away from the relegation zone as we are getting dangerously near it

If there is any way i can improve these updates, just say and i will try and incorporate it into my next update

[hrbfcrule]

December 2010

League: Coalville 1-2 Dosthill Colts

The month started well, with 2 goals before halftime, their reply came in the 93rd min but it was too little too late. 1st league away win in 7 attempts

League: Gresley 0-0 Dosthill Colts

It may have been a bore draw but it was a good result for us. They were in 3rd place and were the league's in form team with 5 straight wins. To be honest we were lucky to hang on to the draw in the end.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Cradley

Losing against the bottom side at home is unforgiveable, especially when we were outplayed by them like we were. The only reason i can think why this happened is that it was our 3rd game in a week

League: Dosthill Colts 2-2 Long Buckby

We went down 1-0 in the 1st half and probably deservedly. But my inspirational team talk gave my team the confidence to go and score 2 in 5 mins at the start of the 2nd half, however we were pegged back later on and thats the way it stayed

League: Dosthill Colts 4-2 Coventry Sphinx

What. A. Result. We went 1-0 down again by half time but we then went on to completely dominate the 2nd half putting 4 past their poor defence. They didn't even have anyone sent off. Only the 2nd time we have scored 4 in 1.5 seasons.

League: Daventry 1-1 Dosthill Colts

Yet again we threw away points by conceding another late goal. We looked good value for our lead up until 2nd half stoppage time when their keeper hoofed the ball forward which was flicked on by their striker and then their other striker looped a header over my keeper. Last kick ( header) of the ball in the match. ffs

Midland Alliance Cup Quater Final: Long Buckby 1-2 Dosthill Colts

Almost a carbon copy of the Coalville match. We went 2 up by half time, stayed like that till 85th min when they got 1 back but couldn't find an equalizer

I thaught this month was tough number of matches wise, January has 9 games and thats if i lose the cup games.

League Table: End of December

Again we still have games in hand on everyone else, I don't know how since we play twice a week almost every week

[hrbfcrule]

January 2011

League: Long Buckby 1-0 Dosthill Colts

2nd time we are playing them in 4 days. It's amazing how much difference those days made though, we sunk without trace in this match. We seem to play much better in cups than in the league, i wish it was the other way round

League: Studley 1-1 Dosthill Colts

An even match, we scored in the 14th minute with a curling shot from just outside the "D". It was an absolute stunner which set the tone for the match, there were some great passing moves, runs and shots but both keepers were equal to it until the 55th min where another fabulous move which contained 14 passes and ended with a 18 yard shot into the top corner, unforunately it was against me but if ever the were a goal to concede then it would be that one.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Causeway United

A thoroughly disappointing result, it was a 50 50 match but an evident lack of quality strikers on my part meant we couldn't score. A deflected goal was enough for Causeway to nab the win.

League: Tipton 2-2 Dosthill Colts

High flying Tipton were 2nd in the league, they showed this with an exquisite goal mid way through the 1st half. I didn't expect my team to get a result after the 1st goal went in as we were being played off the park. However a few tactical tweaks at half time saw us score twice in quick succession. This was just a flash in the pan though as they continued to dominate after that and scored with 10 mins to go. It ended as a draw and we counted ourselves very lucky with that.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-1 Daventry United

A goal just past the half hour mark gave us a well deserved lead going into half time, but come second half we were a completely different team. they took advantage of this and scored an equalizer on the hour mark. This brought us back into life and we continued to boss the rest of the game, scoring a 2nd to round off an impressive display, and give us our 1st win in 6.

Birminham Floodlit Cup Quarter Final: Dosthill Colts 3-0 Boldmere

They were going well in the league below us but despite that i expected us to get a result here. My team showed their superior class and comfortably dispatched a distinctly average Boldmere side.

League: Coleshill 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Marks the 1st league meeting between us, the 2nd was just 3 days later. We hoped to bring some of our cup form into the league and we did just that breaking the deadlock in the 73rd min to gain a well deserved victory.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-2 Coleshill

To be honest I expected another win considering we beat them with ease away a few days later, however this was not the case all 3 goals were scored in the 1st half. They went 2 up within 7 mins and we never recovered.

League: Dosthill Colts 3-0 Tipton

We had played them earlier in the month, gaining an undeserved draw, we always knew this was going to be a tough match but it was made even tougher when Tom McCoy brought down their striker in the box earning himself a straight red and them a penalty. They scored the penalty and any little chance we had of getting a result had gone as they romped to victory. 2 home defeats in a row now, not impressed and only 2 wins in 9.

League Table: At End of January

Lol 10 wins, 10 draws 10 losses

I also made a massive profit of £6 in January

[Nobby_McDonald]

Thanks. Did your friend play for Dosthill?

Somehow I doubt it... as she's female.

[hrbfcrule]

Somehow I doubt it... as she's female.

Well with the quality of players i started with, she probably could have made it into the 1st team

[hrbfcrule]

February 2011

League: Heath Hayes 1-4 Dosthill Colts

Only the 3rd time we have scored 4, but the 1st time we have scored 4 in one half. Ther half time score was 0-0 believe it or not, but at half time I made 2 subs one of them scored 1 13 minute hat trick and the other scored the last to round off an impressive 4-1 away victory

League: Friar Lane and Epworth 3-0 Dosthill Colts

I probably should have expected this after a 4-1 win we go and lose 3-0 in one of the worst performances. We had played them 3 times previously, winning 2 of those matches. It was not to be this time though

League: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Studley

Finally a home win, it was a very nerve, edgy performances but we got the win and thats all that matters

League Table: At the End of February

[bobatwal]

Keep up the good work mate, i am enjoying the format you have

[hrbfcrule]

@bobatwal thanks, i think the format makes my progress clear and easy to read

March 2011

Birmingham Floodlit Cup Semi Final: RC Warwick 0-3 Dosthill Colts

An easy win in the end against lower league opposition. The score was very harsh on them who at times played some very good football. But eventually our fitness showed through (we had only played 3 games in the past month) and the damage was done late in the second half, setting up our 1st final in any cup.

League: Willenhall 3-0 Dosthill Colts

Oh Dear. we always seem to not show up the match after we get a good result. It happened again we conceded two goals early on and a 3rd before half time really destroyed our confidence. Second half was more of the same from them and we were really lucky to keep it at 3-0

Midland Alliance Cup Semi Final 1st Leg: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Daventry

We scored first and looked in control but the tie turned around with a single penalty decision, it saw our defender get sent off and them score the penalty and left us hanging on for dear life in tie i was really hoping to get a good lead to take in the away league

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Highgate

They were 2nd bottom of the division and i really expected us to get the 3 points but this being our 3rd game in 9 days it looked like fatigue took over. Since we didn't manage to take an early lead our performance slowly diminished leaving me very frustrated.

Midland Alliance Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg: Daventry p1-1 Dosthill Colts

A surprisingly easy match, i expected us to get battered considering the result in the 1st leg. This was backed up when we conceded in the 3rd minute but we played well and got an equlizer almost straight away. The rest of the match was pretty uneventful. Extra time came and went. Into penalties: we missed our 1st two while they scored both theirs, we both scored our 3rd and missed our 4th. This meant we had lost the shootout 3-1.

League: Kirby Muxloe 0-0 Dosthill Colts

Again an uneventful match just like the Highgate match. Not much to say really except a few more injuries to defence.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Alvechurch

A much more entertaining match, we seemed rejuvanated from the previous match. We took an early lead and despite my fear of losing the lead, we further strengthened it but scoring a second. This was the first time we had scored more than 1 goal in 6 matches, scoring only 2 goals in the previous 5 matches.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Oadby *100th match

Media hyped up the match as it was my 100th game in charge of Dosthill. We couldn't have played better but we just couldn't finish and late on in the 2nd half they took the lead, even a few tatical changes couldn't salvage anything from match. I'm very disappointed as i always like to get a result in my landmark games

Birmingham Floodlit Cup Final: Dosthill Colts p0-0 Wednesfield

This fixture saw a bumper crowd of 1557 (absolutely massive ) They will all be very disappointed with the lack of goals. We were always on the backfoot due to the massive number of games we had to play, all my players were completely knackered. We held onto penalties and they missed 2 out of their 5, we didn't need to take the 5th as we had already scored all of our first 4. This was a great achievment for the team, which they thorougly deserved, it takes the gloss off the achievment when all the other competitors were in the league below. The board were thrilled with the trophy nonetheless.

League Table: End of March

[hrbfcrule]

April 2011

League: Dosthill Colts 3-0 Daventry

An exceptional win, all 3 goals coming late on in the 2nd half. These last four matches don't really matter bar a few places up or down in the table. We are safe from relegation and don't have a chance for the playoffs but its nice to win big.

League: Royston 0-0 Dosthill Colts

A bore draw, definately not one for the neutrals. No shots on target and only 3 shots. Probably why only 89 fans turned up

League: Loughborough D 0-0 Dosthill Colts

We were slightly better than we were in the last match but still not good enough to win or even score. I'll be optimistic and say at least the defence was solid for the two goalless draws

League: Dosthill Colts 2-2 Barwell

I put out a reserve side for this match since we were guaranteed 14th place no matter what. We had a slow start and conceded a goal early on but we came out totally different in the 2nd half and scored 2 great goals. The lack of match practice kicked in though and the last 10 mins was all them, they backed it up with an equalizer late on. Not too fussed with the final result though.

I will post a full season review tomorow, getting kinda late now

[hrbfcrule]

Dosthill Colts, Midland Football Alliance 2010/11 Season Summary

League: 14th

FA Cup: Lost to Coalville 2-0 in the 1st Qualifying Round

FA Vase: Lost in 1st round 1-0 to Hamble

Midland Alliance Cup: Lost in Semi finals on penalties after drawing 2-2 on aggregate with Daventry

Birmingham Floodlit Cup: Won!!! Beat Wednesfield in the final on penalties after 0-0 draw AET.

League Table, League Graph

Squad

A reasonably succesful season, we slightly underperformed in the league but we made up for it in the cups.

Player/s of the Season

Owen Slater - Despite getting an average rating of only 6.88 he was one of our best players scoring 18 in 50 from midfield which, in this league, is very impressive.

Josh Norton - A solid season from the everpresent defender, also managing to get on the scoresheet 4 times. Considering my 3 strikers got 6,8 and 9 goals i think he was very potent.

Finances:Getting better, need them to improve to so the board can improve the youth facilities.

Season              League                        Position        Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10         Midland Combinations Premier       2nd         Promoted via Playoffs
2010/11         Midland Football Alliance          14th        Birmingham Floodlit Cup

[hrbfcrule]

Got 1 good youth product this season, Glenn Stamp. The lowest board expectation was top half finish, which i chose so i am aiming for 11th or higher.

Wage Budget: £757/week

Wage: £209/week

Transfer Budget £0

Preseason

Dosthill Colts 3-1 GH Academy

Walsall Wood 1-1 Dosthill Colts

Dosthill Colts 1-1 Swindon Supermarine

Heath Town 1-0 Dosthill Colts

Dosthill Colts 0-1 Leek CSOB

Gornal 1-3 Dosthill Colts

Westfields 3-0 Dosthill Colts

Dosthill Colts 0-0 AFC Liverpool

A mixed bag this preseason, some very good results against GH Academy and Gornal. But mainly draws and losses, looks like it could ultimately be a long hard season.

[hrbfcrule]

August 2011

League: Long Buckby 0-1 Dosthill Colts

The perfect start to the season. A well deserved win, the game itself was quite scrappy at times. We took the lead mid way through the first half and thats the way it stayed. Owen Slater got the crucial goal, he was our star player last season and looked to continue his fine form into this season.

FA Cup Preliminary Qual 1st Round: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Loughborough University

Complete domination of the Lvl 10 side, they could only manage 1 shot in the whole match and that went well wide. All we needed to do was score, we managed this in first half stoppage time. John Kenworthy, our new striker from the youth ranks scored it.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-1 Sutton Coldfield

A fantastic win over recently relegated Sutton Coldfield. We were somewhat lucky though, especially in the 2nd half. We managed to take the lead through John Kenworthy just after the half hour mark. The 2nd half was all them though, they got a penalty from a foul by Tom McCoy, who is starting to get a bad reputation with his consistent fouling. A fabulous save by my keeper, Jason O'Grady, kept us in the lead. However it only lasted 9 more minutes before a long ball over the top found their striker who placed it into the bottom corner. It stayed like this untill the 95th min when Glenn Stamp headed home from a corner

League: Coleshill 1-0 Dosthill Colts

Back to our usual selves, missing chance after chance while the opposition have just a handful but they take them. A disappointing result in a match we really should have won.

FA Cup Preliminary Qual 2nd Round: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Trafford

An easy match against lower league opposition. We scored both goals in the 1st half, after 33 mins our right mid Troy Graham scored from 6 yards. Just 12 mins later Scott Parkes, another striker who came through the youth system this year, doubled our lead. The 2nd half was pretty uneventful, both teams cancelling each other out in the midfield.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Kirby Muxloe

Same story as the Coleshill match, except this time we managed to score 1. John Kenworthy put us in the lead after an hour, but in the 80th min they equalized with a scrappy goalmouth scramblewhich was turned into the net by our own defender .

League Table: End of August

Player of the Month: John Kenworthy - Finally i seem to have an in form striker,he has scored 3 in 5 now, may not seem that good to you but that is incredible for a Dosthill Colts player.

[hrbfcrule]

Septemeber 2011

League: Barwell 0-0 Dosthill Colts

A close match, we were very lucky to hang on in the end. First team to knock points off the then leaders.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Oadby

We were the better team and took a desreved lead through Troy Graham. Yet again a goal in the last 10 mins stopped us gaining a victory.

FA Cup 1st Qual Round: Cowes 0-4 Dosthill Colts

Performance of the season so far. We were outstanding in the 1st half. A Danny Thompson brace on 33 and 37 mins put us 2 up. But more was to come Scott Parkes got in on the action putting us 3 up going into half time. We let off a bit in the 2nd half but that still didn't stop us scoring a 4th courtesy of Terry Hartley.

FA Vase 2nd Qual Round: Needham Market 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Didn't expect us to win this one. But Needham were very poor throughout, they kept passing straight to us (not that i'm complaining). We took advantage of this right after half time, Andy Jones intercepted a pass from their defence and slotted it through to Richard Barnes to score his 1st of the season.

FA Cup 2nd Qual Round: Staines 3-2 Dosthill Colts

An incredible match, one I expected us to get thrashed in. Staines were 60 places above us in the "League Ladder", in the dizzying heights of Blue Square South. We had an incredible start, John Kenworthy scoring a brace after just 6 mins. It was all downhill from there though. They scored 1 before half time, and then a brace from Jack Redshaw turned the game on its head. However I am hugely proud of my team though, they put in a solid performance, just need to transfer it to the league

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Coventry Sphinx

A dull match which sparked into life with 5 mins to go. A John Kenworthy penalty helping us take the lead, but jou can probably guess what happened next. We conceded another late goal. In the 93rd min this time, another 2 points dropped.

League Table: At the end of September

Player of the month: Matthew Hughes - An average rating of 7.40 in these 6 matches, condeding just 5 in them.

[hrbfcrule]

October 2011

FA Vase 1st Round: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Mile Oak

A comfortable win, John Kenworthy scoring the winner late in the 1st half.

League: Coventry Copsewood 1-0 Dosthill Colts

Very disappointing, same old story, we create chances but can't finish

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Causeway Utd

Again better team but we couldn't make our chances count.

League: Loughborough D 2-0 Dosthill Colts

We got played off the park, they walked it. They scored 5 mins either side of half time, never having to move out of 1st gear. We just didn't turn up.

League: Heather St Johns 1-1 Dosthill Colts

A Matthew Hughes penalty separated the 2 teams at half time. It was our first goal for 261 mins of football. However as usual we couldn't hold the lead, conceding in the 48th min.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Royston

........... I have nothing to say on this match, thats how boring it was. Nothing went on at all. Meanwhile 5 games without a win in all comps, 10 without a win in the league, 3 of them losses.

League: Wilenhall 0-0 Dosthill Colts

Same as Royston match, I feel sorry for my fans, we get some of the biggest crowds in the league, and we have scored something like 7 league goals in 13 matches. 6 without a win, 11 in the league

Birmingham Floodlit Cup 1st Round: Lye 1-1 Dosthill Colts

How embarassing, we lost to lower league opposition, no goals in the 90 mins. Extra time was uneventful except for a 2 min spell where goals at either end canceled each other out. Before extra time we had managed to score just 1 goal in 678 mins of football :o. Without a win in 7, 11 in the league. Could be getting the sack soon......

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Daventry

Played 21st place, 20 shots to 2 in our favour, they didn't manage a shot on target yet we still couldn't win. An own goal our downfall this time. Without a win in 8, 12 in the league, sack is imminent.......

League Table: End of October

Player of the Month - You gotta be kidding me they were all complete ****

[hrbfcrule]

November 2011

Midland Alliance Cup 2nd Round: Dosthill Colts 3-2 aet Studley

After going 2 down in just over half an hour I thaught here we go again. But we fought back bravely to earn a deserved victory. Owen Slater opened the scoring with a penalty in the 54th min. Matthew Hughes added the equalizer in the 74th min, sending the Dosthill fan(s) into raptures. During extra time Owen Slater scored his 2nd and Dosthill's 3rd to give us our 1st win in a month (9 matches).

League: Gresley 1-1 Dosthill Colts

We are becoming quite the draw specialists to my frustration. Despite seeing the lion's share of possesion in the 1st half we just couldn't break through, thankfully neither could they. That was untl the 50th min, a dodgy backpass gave their striker an easy chance to put them ahead. Our possesion finally paid off in the 74th min when Troy Graham scored a bullet of a header. Without a win in 13 in the league.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Atherstone

Finally!!!! We dominated the match and this time we didn't throw away our lead. But it wasn't any of my players who found the net first, an unfortunate own goal put us 1 up on the stroke of half time. A Matthew Hughes penalty sealed victory in the 2nd half. 1st win in 14 the league. We hadn't won in the league since we won the opening 2 games in mid August:(.

FA Vase 2nd Round: Irlam 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Helping the finances a lot this season. They were 6th in their sub division (lvl 9). So we knew we were in for a tough time. But somehow all our luck (or lack of unluckyness to put it another way) comes in the cup not the league. John Kenworthy scoring his 1st goal in over 9 hours of football. What!?! 2 wins in 2 matches, thats unheard of .

League: Coalville 2-1 Dosthill Colts

Didn't expect us to get a result against the league leaders, and I wasn't disappointed. We conceded in the 4th min and it got worse from there. After making all 3 subs at half time to try and get a result we then got both centre mids injured and ended up playing the last 15 mins with 9 men. They took the advantage and scored again. To make the scoreline look slightly better their keeper fumbled the ball into the net from a corner.

League: Dosthill Colts 3-2 Heath Hayes

We had one of the best 1st halfs ever, scoring all 3 of our goals. Tom McCoy heading home from a corner after just 4 mins. John Kenworthy doubling our lead after 36 mins. Troy Graham then heading in from a corner after 40mins. In the 2nd half my team did their best to throw away the 3 goal lead but it was too much for them and they could only concede 2.

League: Daventry Utd 2-1 Dosthill Colts

Back to our usual selves, wasting chance after chance, making me want to punch the computer screen in frustration. Things didn't start well when we conceded a penalty in the 3rd min and it was duly scored. We equalized in just 43 seconds through Scott Parkes. But we conceded in the 81st min to lose again.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Studley

We couldn't make our possesion or chance count..........again

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Long Buckby

Owen Slater put us in the lead half way through the 1st half but as usual we couldn't hold onto the lead and conceded with 15 mins to go

League Table: At the end of November.

Player of the Month - Tom McCoy - Was very impressive this month, Missed the Coalville and the Midland Cup match both of which we conceded 2.

[bobatwal]

Still enjoying this, you are doing a decent job and i think you will go far in the FA Vase

[hrbfcrule]

Still enjoying this, you are doing a decent job and i think you will go far in the FA Vase

I'm not too sure about that, we got a favourable draw against rock bottom(in their league) Bournemouth FC (Poppies), after drawing 0-0 at home, we lost on penalties in the replay. Over the two ties we had 34 shots 7 CCC's they had 6 shots 0 CCC's its unbelievably frustrating

[hrbfcrule]

December 2011

FA Vase 3rd Round: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Bournemouth FC (Poppies)

A game with many chances, all of them fell to us. As usual we didn't take any of them. Taking them to a reply, hopefull we can learn from our mistakes this time

League: Kirby Muxloe 0-3 Dosthill Colts

Out of the blue, we managed to take our chances against relegation threatened Kirby. Tom McCoy netted after 22 mins from another fabulous header. Terry Hartley doubled the lead and sealed the victory on 72nd min. John Kenworthy put a gloss on the scoreline from a very tight angle

FA Vase 3rd Round Replay: Bournemouth FC (Poppies) p1-1 Dosthill Colts

We didn't learn from our mistakes, we again missed loads of sitters and when we did eventually score 1, thanks to Troy Graham, we had already conceded. We then went on to lose on penalties they didn't miss a single one whereas we missed our 1st.

League: Sutton Coldfield 0-0 Dosthill Colts

We were lucky to hang on, one of the matches I would actually be happy to get the draw.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Tipton

This however was not a match I wanted to draw, we had the chances to win and dominated possesion and the midfield. I have now intensified the training in the attacking and shooting sections.

Midland Alliance Cup Quarter Final: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Heath Hayes

Embarrasing. Not only does it make it 288 mins without scoring but we also lost to the bottom club. Out of all cups now, can concentrate on the league now.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Barwell

Not our usual domination, we were on the back foot for most of the match but we still should have been able to nab a draw. Goalless for 378 mins now.

League Table: At end of December

Player of the Month - Glenn Stamp - Average Rating of 7.26, Conceded just 2 goals in the 6 matches he played in (missed out on Barwell)

[hrbfcrule]

This result epitomises our season. I just don't know what else i can do to make my team more prolific. I have tweaked the tactics endlessly, changed the training to make it focus heavily on attacking and shooting etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated

[hrbfcrule]

January 2012

League: Oadby 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Typical, the one match we don't deserve to win, we win. Football eh. We scored very early on, through a Tom McCoy header from a corner, he is getting a reputation from scoring from corners now. 3rd of the season for him and a priceless win for Dosthill.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Coleshill

Epitomises my season as I said in my previous post. We played much better than them, couldn't finish then they nick a win in the 93rd min. ffs

League: Dosthill 1-2 Loughborough D

A 2nd home loss on the trot. This one was slightly more deserved. We went 2 down within 20 mins. I was proud the team didn't just give up, we pushed them and were rewarded for our troubles in the 73rd min with a penalty. John Kenworthy stepped up to smash home, couldn't find that elusive equalizer though.

League: Tipton 1-2 Dosthill Colts

Danny Thompson put us 1 up after 11 mins, scoring a close range tap in. Terry Hartley nipped in with his 3rd of the season to double our lead. We kept tight at the back in the 2nd half as Tipton threw wave after wave of attack at us. When we countered one of thier attacks their defender mistimed his tackle getting himself sent off for being the last man. Even with this 1 man disadvantage they managed to peg one back in the 89th min.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Coventry Copsewood

After 2 home losses on the trot we needed to put in a performance. We did so Danny Thompson scoring early on to give us the best possible start. Then "golden oldie" Stuart Sullivan (at age 25 he is 2nd oldest player at the club) scored from the edge of the area in 1st half stoppage time. Things are finally looking up with 3 wins in 5 matches.

League Table: At end of January

Player of the month - Glenn Stamp - another solid month, has been attracting the attention of a few clubs now but seems to be happy to stay

[hrbfcrule]

February 2011

League: Coventry Sphinx 1-0 Dosthill Colts

Probably shouldn't have said things are looking up in my last post. I've paid the price. It was a game with few chances. It looked like it was heading to another 0-0 ( would have been ourr 9th of the season) But in the 91st min they scored from a corner. Gutted

League: Causeway Utd 3-2 Dosthill Colts

Wow was not expecting that scoreline. Things were going well until the 69th min, we were one up thanks to a Josh Norton strike. Conceding 3 in 9 mins took the fight out of us. Don't know how we managed to get one back, morale is very low at the moment but Scott Parkes got the consolation in the 86th min

League: Dosthill Colts 3-1 Coalville

Just when I thaught things couldn't get worse, we had to play both 1st and 2nd at home in the next 2 matches. First up was Coalville, I feared the worst when we went down 1-0 at half time but a superb 2nd half fightback with goals from Josh Norton, Glenn Stamp and Dean Richardson saw us come out unlikely victors

League: Dosthill Colts 0-2 Heather St Johns

They were 12 pts clear at the top after their recent tycoon takeover. Yet we outplyed them on every level, they had 3 shots, 2 were goals. We had 14 shots yet wecouldn't find the net.

League Table: At end of February

Player of the Month - Josh Norton - despite being a central defender he managed to score 2 this month, more than any of my strikers.

[hrbfcrule]

Just noticed this result in the FA Cup quarter final . I thaught I should put a screenshot of it beacuse it is such a rare result, haven't seen in all my time of playing fm.

[hrbfcrule]

March 2012

League: Royston 0-0 Dosthill Colts

Neither team did much on the attacking front and when they did the final shot was not on target. 15 shots in the match none on target, not one for the neutrals.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-2 Willenhall

We were very lucky to escape with a point here. We went down 1-0 on the half hour mark and it stayed like that till half time. The second half was very eventful, firstly Troy Graham equlized for us. The scores weren't level for long, just 4 mins later they took the lead again. We chipped away at their defence and the constant pressure payed off, a long shot was dropped by their keeper into the goal, the funniest of own goals

League: Daventry 0-3 Dosthill Colts

A very even match, not like the scoreline suggests. Both teams having 10 shots but we had much better chances. Most of their shots were from outside the area. We were given the best of starts when John Kenworthy after just 31 seconds with an exquisite lob into the top corner. Danny Thompson doubled the lead on the 36th min with a 25 yard screamer. Owen Slater rounded off the victory from the penalty spot.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Gresley

Back to our usual selves this match, very disappointing. They are below us in the table as well

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Daventry United

John Kenworthy opened the scoring for us again this time in the 16th min. This was quickly followed by a second from Glenn Stamp. Despite incresing pressure from Daventry we hung on to claim victory.

League Table: At end of March

Player of the Month - Glenn Stamp -................Again, he is just so solid in defence and occasionally gets a goal as well, great player for this level

[hrbfcrule]

April 2012

League: Heath Hayes 1-1 Dosthill Colts

We were very unlucky, we conceded early on and despite dominating the remaining 80 mins we couldn't find 2 goals. We only managed 1 John Kenworthy getting it in the 21st min

League: Atherstone 0-2 Dosthill Colts

A sensational performance, showing what we really are capable of in this league. Danny Thompson finding the net after a good passing move. Then an own goal doubling our lead just before half time.

League: Studley 0-1 Dosthill Colts

We were lucky to get the 3 points in this match which saw us leap frog Studley to take 12th spot on the final day. An 87th min John Kenworthy strike sealing victory in a match which could have gone either way.

Player of the month - John Kenworthy - rediscovered his form from the start of the season scoring 2 in 3 matches this month, 4 goals in the last 6 matches.

[hrbfcrule]

Dosthill Colts, Midland Football Alliance 2011/12 Season Summary

League: 12th

FA Cup: Lost to Staines 3-2 in the 2nd Qualifying Round

FA Vase: Lost in 3rd Round 1-19 to Bournemouth FC (Poppies)

Midland Alliance Cup: Lost in Quarter final to Heath Hayes 1-0

Birmingham Floodlit Cup: Lost to Lye p1-1 in the 1st round

League Table, League Graph

Squad

A slight improvement on last season but not quite the top half finish I promised the board.

Player/s of the Season

Glenn Stamp - Came in from the youth system and impressed on his debut season

Matthew Hughes - Solid right back, Just check his history, he's been solid for 3 seasons now

John Kenworthy - You can tell when he was in goal scoring form from the league graph. (At the start and at the end.)

Finances: Slowly getting better

Season              League                        Position        Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10         Midland Combinations Premier       2nd         Promoted via Playoffs
2010/11         Midland Football Alliance          14th        Birmingham Floodlit Cup
2011/12         Midland Football Alliance          12th        N/A

[hrbfcrule]

Overall Best Eleven - From last season

A few good youth prospects this season, most notably Jamie Wood (DL) apparenlty one of the most gifted players to come through the youth system in recent years, and apparently is already one of the best at the club. Two others who go into the 1st team squad are Matthew Goodwin (DC, DMC, MC) and Mark Franklin (DC). The problem I am faced with is I have an overload on Defensive players and I am struggling in attack, it looks like Franklin will be competing very hard for a place. I think Goodwin will be fine as he is quite versatile.

Season Tickets (difference from last season): 57 (0)

Ticket Price (difference from last season): £4 (+ £0.10)

Board's lowest expectation was "Top Half Finish" so I went for it. They gave us a slight decrease in wage budget but I am nowhere near it at the moment so that's not important. No transfer Budget either but again not important.

Facilities both still on basic due to "Lack of Funds"

Wage Budget: £ 709

Wage: £ 235

Transfer Budget: £0

Media Prediction: 10th

Preseason

Dosthill Colts 0-0 Bicester

Dosthill Colts 1-1 GH Academy

G.S.A Sports 1-3 Dosthill Colts

St Andrews 2-0 Dosthill Colts

Borrowash 0-0 Dosthill Colts

Barrow Town 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Dosthill Colts 3-2 Parkgate

A very good pre season bar the loss to St Andrews, we definately have a better squad than last year so I am expecting an improvement, not necessarily promotion though.

[hrbfcrule]

August 2012

FA Cup 1st Preliminary Qualifying Round: Winterbourne 0-1 Dosthill Colts

A comfortable victory against lower league opposition. However we just couldn't find that goal. The drama came late on though, I thaught we had lost the tie in the 92nd min but their goal was ruled offside. Then from the resulting free kick a route one ball over the top found Owen Slater to lob the keeper perfectly from 20 yards.

League: Cradley 1-0 Dosthill Colts

A disappointing start to our league campaign not our usual unluckyness, this time we were outplayed by a far superior Cradley side. We were lucky the score wasn't more embarrasing

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Boldmere

I should have expected this really, after going 1 up thanks to Simon Carty's 1st goal for the club. We couldn't capitalise on our total dominance of the match and their 1st shot in the match found its way into our night to end yet another day of disappointment and what could have been.

League: Dosthill Colts 4-0 Coventry Sphinx

An incredible reply to our earlier poor performances/results. We totally destroyed Coventry, it was all over by half time. It was the day of the new kids today firstly Matthew Goodwin getting the 1st on 13 mins. Then Simon Carty got his 1st and 2nd to put us 3 up at half time. Simon Carty sealed his hat trick in the 56th min with a superb curling shot from just outside the area. Great Match!!!

League Table: At the end of August

Player of the Month - Simon Carty - Had to be him really, up from the youth squad this year and has scored 4 in his last 2 matches.

[hrbfcrule]

September 2012

FA Cup Preliminary Qual 2nd Round: Gosport 1-1 Dosthill Colts

The month started off with a tough away match against lvl 8 opposition. We put in a very good account for ourselves showing what we can achieve when we play at our best. Simon Carty continued is great form by opening the scoring in the 55th min. We were just minutes away from the next round before some slack defending let them equalise.

FA Cup Preliminary Qual 2nd Round Replay: Dosthill Colts 1-1p Gosport

We were desperately unlucky to draw last time, this time we proved it wasn't a fluke performance this time John Kenworthy scored in the 56th min. Again we couldn't hold on and conceded just 10 mins later. No one could find a break through in extra time so it went to penalties. Both teams scored the first 4 but we missed our last and they scored theirs. Despite going out of the FA Cup I am proud of the team if we continue to perform like that all season we could well get ourselves promoted. Almost forgot to mention a massive crowd of 778 came to watch this over doubling our previous highest.

League: Sutton Coldfield 0-0 Dosthill Colts

A bore draw. We should have won it to be honest, they were bottom of the league with 3 losses before this match.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Coleshill

Two goals in two mins, 1 for each team. It was a pretty dire match neither team kept the errors out of their games. They scored first on the 63rd min we replied quickly, Scott Parkes getting the equaliser.

League: Gresley 1-2 Dosthill Colts

We dominated but it looked like it would be one of those matches we drop points in because we fail to take our chances. They scored in the 24th min and it stayed that way until the 78th min when Owen Slater put us level with a close range header before John Kenworthy gave us a deserved win in the 84th min.

FA Vase 2nd Qual Round: Atherton LR 1-0 Dosthill Colts

Embarrasing. :o Not only were they rock bottom of a 10th level league (I'm in the 9th level) but on the 9th min they had a man sent off for violent conduct. We pushed and pushed for a goal but when it finally came it was at the wrong end as far as I was concerened. They had countered us perfectly and somehow ended up with their 2 strikers on just my keeper, he was left no chance as Atherton pulled off a fabulous smash and grab at our expense.

Midland Alliance Cup 1st Round: Dosthill Colts 4-2 AET Atherstone

I was expecting a much better performance after our poor result in the FA Vase. I was not disappointed however the match was far too open for my liking. Simon Carty put us 1 up right after half time Andy Jones doubling that lead on the 58th min. We seemed to be cruising to victory however 2 goals in 3 mins from them forced the game into extra time. In the end it was an easy win as our quality paid off Andy Jones got his second in the 103rd min before Owen Slater got the 4th.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Loughborough Uni

Our 2nd straight league win John Kenworthy put us 1 up after just 13 mins. Nervy times followed, despite us dominating, as I knew all too well how easy it is to throw away the match. We sealed the victory in the 91st min with Jamie Wood getting his 1st for the club.

League Table: At the end of September

Player of the Month - Andy Jones - A "veteran" in terms of our squad, he has been in scintillating form (Av Rating of 7.44 in last 5 games)

[hrbfcrule]

Lol look at the attendance (apparently lowest ever for a FA Vase match)

[LUHG]

Lol look at the attendance (apparently lowest ever for a FA Vase match)

I've seen more in the toilets at Spotland!

[hrbfcrule]

October 2012

League: Barwell 1-1 Dosthill Colts

John Kenworthy put us 1 up on the half hour mark. Barwell fought their way back into the match and it payed off as they got an equaliser on the 55th min. Even so I see this as 2 points dropped

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Coventry Copsewood

Definately 2 points dropped for this one, we dominated from start to finish we just couldn't find the goal with our shots. We seem to be having the same problem as last season, drawing games we should be winning

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Oadby

A fantastic victory, at half time it was 0-0 and looked to be going to another draw for us. But the 2nd half exploded into life first Andy Jones was on target then 7 mins later, half time substitute, Scott Parkes doubled our advantage.

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Coalville

A very even match, I will definately take the point against the league leaders. Not much happened of interest. Our 3rd 0-0 draw of the season. We had around 11/12 last season.

League: Eccleshall 1-2 Dosthill Colts

Never underestimate the club at the bottom of the league, more often than not they will get a result against you no matter where you are in the league. It looked like it was going to be the case here as we conceded early and couldn't get into our stride. Dunno what happened at half time but we started to become clinical in front of goal, our only 2 shots of the 2nd half found the net. First from Matthew Hughes, second from Tom McCoy.

Birmingham Floodlit Cup 1st Round: Castle Vale JKS 1-0 Dosthill Colts

Again we were knocked out in the 1st round of the Birmingham Floodlit Cup for the 2nd year running. Really embarrassing considering every other team is in the league below. However I have an excuse this time, I played the fringe players/reserve team players because this was the 3rd game ina week and I had another game just 4 days after this one.

League Table: At the end of October

Player of the Month - Matthew Hughes - Solid month for the 1st choice right back. Average rating of 7.48 for the 5 games he played in the month. Including the equalizing goal in the Eccleshall match

[PaulHartman71]

this looks like it could be very interesting once you make it to the 6/7th tier, especially since it's with your own youth products. Have you ever visited this thread in CSE out of interest? It's all about youth products that come through everyone's club and play regularly, admittedly not to this extent, but still worth a look.

[hrbfcrule]

this looks like it could be very interesting once you make it to the 6/7th tier, especially since it's with your own youth products. Have you ever visited this thread in CSE out of interest? It's all about youth products that come through everyone's club and play regularly, admittedly not to this extent, but still worth a look.

Thanks. I saw the fm09 version of the thread but I haven't checked the fm10 one yet. I will post my own youth players on there in a few seasons. Thanks for pointing it out to me, I had completely forgotten about it.

[68_Grandad_99]

First of all, well done on the progress you're making, wish i had this sort of patience to start a svae with my local side Maldon Town! And, have you changed the name of the thread?? If so, how?

[hrbfcrule]

First of all, well done on the progress you're making, wish i had this sort of patience to start a svae with my local side Maldon Town! And, have you changed the name of the thread?? If so, how?

Thanks. Yes i did change the name, ask a mod in this thread stating the thread and the name you want to change it to

[hrbfcrule]

November 2012

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Studley

As unlucky as you can get 26 shots to 2 but they came away with all 3 points. Very disappointing

Midland Alliance Cup 2nd Round: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Daventry

Comfortable victory, John Kenworthy giving the lead after just 22 mins. Matthew Hughes added to that just 5 mins later to give us a well deserved lead and a little extra prize money.

League: Dosthill Colts 3-0 Long Buckby

Again a very comfortable victory. We have only lost once to them in the 5 meetings against them. John Kenworthy scored after 3 mins. Then he doubled his and Dosthill's tally on the 35th min. Danny Thompson wrapped up victory in the 78th min with a great solo effort, rounding 2 players before slotting it accross goal into the far bottom corner.

League: Bedworth 0-1 Dosthill Colts

We were extremely fortunate to hold onto the 3 points in this match. John Kenworthy opened our scoring for the 3rd time in the last 3 matches. He is on fire at the moment. But it all turned sour when Mark Franklin got himself sent off for us. We managed to survive the 55 odd mins left with a great defensive performance from the whole team.

League: Royston 1-2 Dosthill Colts

Our 4th win in a row and again it was very lucky but to be honest we have deserved a bit of luck, especially after last season. All the action happened in the 2nd half, Tom McCoy scoring a bullet of a header from a corner. John Kenworthy scored a penalty in the 70th min to get his 5th in 4 games. A late fightback from Royston was not enough and we ran out 2-1 winners

League: Dosthill Colts 1-1 Daventry

Less than 3 weeks from beating them easily in the cup we struggled this time around, not to create the chances, but to finish them. Andy Jones scored with a quarter of the game gone and it looked to be going the same way as the cup match. We couldn't find the second though and this left us vulnerable to an equaliser, they eventually found it in the 82nd min, ending a run of 4 straight wins.

League: Atherstone 1-1 Dosthill Colts

We were victims of a poor referee decision in the 3rd min, he gave a very dubious penalty to Atherstone, which was duly scored. We fought our way back into the match and who else but John Kenworthy grabbing a late equaliser. I think overall this was a fair result.

League Table: At the end of November

Player of the Month - John Kenworthy - It couldn't be anyone else, 6 goals in the last 6 games and 6 goals in the 7 matches this month. Incredible considering we only scored 10 all month.

[hrbfcrule]

December 2012

League: Coventry Sphinx 0-1 Dosthill Colts

A surprisingly easy match considering their good form recently. Danny Thompson scored after 37 mins and we never looked back. Their hopes of getting anything from the match were ended in te 56th min when they had someone sent off for a cynical foul.

League: Dosthill Colts 2-2 Cradley

Despite it being a draw I am still happy with the result and the preformance. Cradley were top of the league when they came to visit. It was an eventful opening 10 mins, after just 29 seconds John Kenworthy opened the scoring. Then just a few mins later we had a penalty shout waved away by the ref, Cradley promptly turned this into a counter attack and scored from it. John Kenworthy then doubled his and Dosthill's tally just before half time with an audacious 25 yard effort which bounced off the underside of the crossbar and in. The scoring wasn't done yet, mere minutes after the restart Cradley got back on level terms. The game died down a bit, both teams had burnt themselves out and both settled for a draw.

League: Boldmere 0-1 Dosthill Colts

Another close match which saw us scrape victory, these games are the difference between this season and last season. Tom McCoy getting the only goal of the game in injury time in the 1st half.

League: Coleshill 0-0 Dosthill Colts

We had a chance to move into the playoff spot (2nd) but blew it. It was one of our less exciting games both teams struggling to create chances, getting bogged down in midfield a lot. However 0-0 wasn't the worst result for us

I should also mention 9 games unbeaten in the league now.

League Table: At the end of December

Player of the Month - Tom McCoy - Only conceding 2 goals in the 4 games it had to be a defender for Player of the Month. Since he got the winning goal in the Boldmere match I have picked Tom McCoy

[hrbfcrule]

January 2013

Midland Alliance Cup Quarter Final: Boldmere 3-2 Dosthill Colts

We didn't get off to the best start, they were all over us and we conceded in the 5th min. After that goal things calmed down a bit, we slowly worked our way back into the game, Danny Thompson scoring our 1st in the 32nd min, he then turned the game on its head by scoring his 2nd in the 37th min. We couldn't hold onto the lead till half time though. In the 41st min they were awarded a penalty which was slotted away. A highly entertaining match unfortunately ended by the half time whistle. The 2nd half was poor in comparison, they scored the winner in the 66th min but I'm not too disappointed since its only a cup match. With an outside chance of promotion, the league is more important.

League: Willenhall 2-0 Dosthill Colts

Our dismal month conintued with a 2-0 loss at Willenhall. They were top of the league at this point, but if we ever want to get promoted we need to perform much better in these matches.

League: Dosthill Colts 5-0 Sutton Coldfield

What. A. Reply. Sutton Coldfield were rock bottom when we played them and their performance showed us why. 4 goals in the 1st half 3 of them from John Kenworthy, the other from Michael Coleman. John Kenworthy added his 4th of the match in the 2nd half to make the final score 5-0. John Kenworthy broke a few records after the match, including most goals in a game and most league goals in a season.

League: Dosthill Colts 3-0 Gresley

A pretty uneventful first half, but an explosive second half. We started the scoring in the 51st min Scott Parkes getting the goal. We didn't have to wait long for the 2nd, John Kenworthy getting it. He got another late on as well to make it 3-0. We have now scored 8 in 2 matches

League: Causeway Utd 1-0 Dosthill Colts

The 1st of 3 trivky away matches in a row. This one did not go to plan. We fell apart after we went down to 10 men. We didn't get anyone sent off we just had someone injured after I had made the 3 subs. They took advantage of this and scored the winner in the 93rd min.

League: Oadby 0-2 Dosthill Colts

A surprisingly easy victory. We always looked comfortable, the goals didn't come as quickly as I would have liked but we were patient and finally John Kenworthy got the opener. Danny Thompson then sealed the victory with the second.

League: Tipton 0-1 Dosthill

A very lucky win against promotion rivals Tipton. We had a man sent off in the 1st min but we matched them throughout the rest of the match. We got the only goal of the game in the 79th min, who else but John Kenworthy getting it. He has 20 goals in 36 appearances this season. Could promotion really be on? With this win we are top of the table for the 1st time

League Table: At the end of January

Player of the Month - John Kenworthy - An incredible month for him, scoring 8 in the last 5 matches.

[hrbfcrule]

February 2013

League: Dosthill Colts 2-0 Barwell

Andy Jones put us 1 up just 6 mins in, Terry Hartley then got his first of the season to give us a simple victory and keep us at the top of the table by 2 pts.

League: Dosthill Colts 3-2 Willenhall

Big game!!! 1st vs 2nd the winner would go 3 clear at the top and 5 clear of 3rd. We drew 1st blood on 14 mins, Matthew Hughes with a stunning header. Andy Jones doubled our lead on 37 mins. The game was going better than expected until they got 1 back just before half time. A stupid tackle by Tom McCoy gave them a penalty which they put away leaving the game poised at 2 a piece with just over 10 mins to go. Andy Jones then hoofed a ball over the top of their defence for John Kenworthy to run on to. He made no mistake with the finish to give us a great 3-2 win

League: Loughborough Uni 0-1 Dosthill Colts

We were lucky to get anything from this match, they missed 2 penalties in the opening 15 mins. We hung on for dear life until Scott Parkes scored a scrappy goal from 2 yards to give us a priceless victory in the title race. We were now 5 clear at the top as Willenhall could only draw.

League: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Atherstone

Another close match but our luck stayed strong (with a bit of skill in there as well). Andy Jones scored in just 2 mins, we pushed for more goals so we could breathe more comfortably but it didn't come. Thankfully we didn't need it. Still 5 pts clear

League: Dosthill Colts 0-0 Causeway Utd

Ruined what could have been a perfect month. We had used up all our luck in the previous 2 matches. We couldn't do anything right in front of goal in the end neither could they. Down to a 3 pt lead at the top after Willenhall won.

League Table: At the end of February

Player of the month - Matthew Hughes - Solid at the back as well as getting a goal

I also managed to get Manager of the Month

[hrbfcrule]

March 2013

League: Coventry Copsewood 3-2 Dosthill Colts

We got off to a bad start conceding in the 2nd min. We managed to get 1 back (Kurt Belton) before the half hour mark and were starting to get ourselves back into the game. Then disaster struck, again Tom McCoy gave away another penalty leaving us 2-1 at half time. We managed to equalise for the 2nd time after half time thanks to a Danny Thompson screamer, but when they scored again all the fight was taken out of us and we slumped to a 3-2 defeat. Thankfully my promotion rivals had away days to forget as well

Rival Watch:

Oadby (10th) 2-1 Willenhall (2nd)

Coalville (8th) 1-1 Cradley (3rd)

Studley (17th) 0-1 Tipton (4th)

 
Position---------------------Team------------Points------------------Goal Difference
1st                   Dosthill Colts             65                            +27
2nd                   Willenhall                 62                            +24
3rd                   Cradley                    58                            +18
4th                   Tipton                     57                            +16

League: Coalville 0-2 Dosthill Colts

Coalville were 8th in the league when I played them so the result was very surprising John Kenworthy scoring the 1st after 65 mins and Danny Thompson getting the 2nd.

Rival Watch:

Barwell (11th) 0-0 Willenhall (2nd)

Studley (18th) 0-1 Cradley (3rd)

Long Buckby (5th) 1-3 Tipton (4th)

 
Position---------------------Team------------Points------------------Goal Difference
1st                   Dosthill Colts             68                            +29
2nd                   Willenhall                 63                            +24
3rd                   Cradley                    61                            +19
4th                   Tipton                     60                            +18

League: Dosthill Colts 0-1 Eccleston

:o Totally embarrasing, being beaten on our own turf to rock bottom Eccleston. It's not like we didn't have the chances. We just have to hope it doesn't cost us. We lost ground on all of our rivals as they gained easy victories against bottom half teams.

Rival Watch:

Willenhall (2nd) 2-0 Daventry United (13th)

Cradley (3rd) 3-0 Bedworth (14th)

Tipton (4th) 2-0 Royston (10th)

 
Position---------------------Team------------Points------------------Goal Difference
1st                   Dosthill Colts             68                            +28
2nd                   Willenhall                 66                            +26
3rd                   Cradley                    64                            +22
4th                   Tipton                     63                            +20

League: Studley 1-2 Dosthill Colts

Back on track again. This game was all wrapped up by half time..... or so I thaught. Goals by John Kenworthy in the 12th and 44th min plus their keeper being sent off after 27 mins gave me full confidence we would get all 3 points by a comfortable margin. As it turned out they made us work really hard for the 3 points and even got a goal back leading to a nervy last 30 mins. Good week, all teams dropped points, except us.

Rival Watch:

Loughborough Uni (19th) 1-1 Willenhall (2nd)

Long Buckby (6th) 2-0 Cradley (3rd)

Daventry United (13th) 0-0 Tipton (4th)

 
Position---------------------Team------------Points------------------Goal Difference
1st                   Dosthill Colts             71                            +29
2nd                   Willenhall                 67                            +26
3rd                   Cradley                    64                            +20
4th                   Tipton                     64                            +20

League: Dosthill Colts 1-0 Bedworth

Few chances in this match. Luck was on our side this time and we were awarded a very dubious penalty. Kurt Belton stepped amd cooly slotted home giving us another valuable 3 points in the title race.

Rival Watch:

Willenhall (2nd) 0-0 Tipton (4th)

Cradley (3rd) 2-0 Royston (9th)

 
Position---------------------Team------------Points------------------Goal Difference
1st                   Dosthill Colts             74                            +30
2nd                   Willenhall                 68                            +26
3rd                   Cradley                    67                            +22
4th                   Tipton                     65                            +20

League Table: At the end of March

Player of the Month - Kurt Belton - A great month for him, scoring some crucial goals.

One last thing, I got this message, could be a takeover soon. I'm excited