[FM10] When The Saints Go Marching In - Crouchy's Mighty Saints Save!

[Mark Heath]

good work crouchaldinho, and unlucky missing out on promotion. I started a St Albans save recently, although they are in no danger of getting promotion under my management so far!

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks Mark Heath. Good luck with your Saints save! I'm sure you'll get there in the end.

[Griffo1989]

Great stuff will be following for sure

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks Griffo1989.

I'll be coming back to this save for a season or two after I've got Verona promoted (hopefully!)

[crouchaldinho]

Time to come back to my Saints save and perhaps apply some of the lessons my alter ego has learned in calcio.

I think I need to be more ruthless in this save. Nobody will be safe any longer. The legends who aren't good enough will likely have to go and I'll be looking to rebuild the team to challenge for promotion to the Football League.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Go on Coruchy... be a bitch.

[crouchaldinho]

Go on Coruchy... be a bitch.

I will!

[crouchaldinho]

First things first, lets get the transfers out of the way.......

[crouchaldinho]

PRE-SEASON 2013/14:

I'm not sure that anyone is remotely interested in the pre-season so I'm going to skip it. Needless to say, we played the usual suspects and won some, lost some and so on and so forth.

So let's get straight to the transfers. As per usual, I released a number of youth players who had been promoted to the reserves but weren't going to make the grade. I'm not going to detail any of the youth players released as there are much more interesting transfer activities to discuss.

OUTS:

| Date               | Person             | To                 | Fee                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Adam Sharp YP1a    | Staines            | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Clarke, Lee        |                    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7.7.2013           | Ryan Jones YP2     |                    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.7.2013          | Martin, Simon      | Canvey Island      | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.7.2013          | Quilter, James     | Canvey Island      | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.8.2013          | Hakim, Paul        |                    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.8.2013          | Smith, Peter       |                    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.8.2013          | Quilter, James     |                    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13.8.2013          | Sulaiman, Hassan   |                    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.8.2013          | Cohen, Gary        |                    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.8.2013          | Martin, Simon      | Maidenhead         | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.8.2013          | Carolan, Ryan      | Llanelli           | £12K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15.8.2013          | McGeouch, Dylan    | TNS                | £75K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16.8.2013          | Bassi, Derrick     | Cambridge          | £75                | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23.8.2013          | JJ O'Donnell       | Harrogate          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26.8.2013          | Rayner, Simon      | Kettering          | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26.8.2013          | Sol Shields        | Kingstonian        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26.8.2013          | Martin, Ben        | Northampton        | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26.8.2013          | Stavrinou, Alex    | Burton             | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 26.8.2013          | Westcarr, Craig    | Woking             | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.10.2013          | Fenwick, Adam      | Wealdstone         | Loan               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.10.2013          | Welsh, John        |                    | Free               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total              |                    | £87K               | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

So as you can see, I decided to have a big clear-out this summer. I was sad to have to let the likes of Paul Hakim, Peter Smith, James Quilter etc. go but they were no longer of the required quality for our football club as we looked to move forward. I also cashed in on players like McGeouch, Carolan and Bassi, bringing in a total of £87k to help reduce the club's debts. Finally, I sent a whole bunch of unwanted players on loan as I was unable to find buyers and needed to reduce the wage bill down to a more acceptable level. All of these changes allowed me to add some real quality to the squad.

INS:

| Date               | Person               | From               | Fee                | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Poku, Godfrey        | Luton              | £2K                | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Hewson, Sam          | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Johnson, Jemal       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Mousinho, John       | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Welsh, John          | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.7.2013           | Hetherington, Steven | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 31.8.2013          | Taylor, Rob          | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1.9.2013           | Oldfield, Chris      | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.9.2013          | Ramage, Steve        | Brighton           | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11.10.2013         | Madden, Simon        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12.10.2013         | Rowell, Jonny        | Free Transfer      | Free               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14.10.2013         | Neal, Richard        | Charlton           | Loan               | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
|                    | Total                |                    | £2K                | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

I finally managed to land Godfrey Poku from Luton Town, which I was delighted with! In addition to this, I strengthened in nearly every area, making a few mistakes along the way unfortunately. John Welsh was a bit of a disaster, not fitting in to the squad and getting the hump. I quickly corrected this mistake and released him with a mutual termination of his contract.

The main names to look out for (apart from Poku) are goalkeeper Chris Oldfield, who will go straight in as our number one, and Steven Netherington, who is a player that I will be building the team around as we will see shortly (probably in another post).

Some of the changes I made left us a little short at the back and so I also had to bring in some loan signings as cover.

Manager Comments for Pre-season:

This is the first team squad for this season:

| Pkd     | Inf     | Name                | Position      | Nat     | Height  | Weight       | Age     | Value   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK      | Wnt     | Chris Oldfield      | GK            | ENG     | 6'1"    | 11 st 9 lbs  | 22      | £12K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR      | Inj     | Laurence Gaughan    | D RC          | IRL     | 6'2"    | 12 st 1 lbs  | 23      | £22K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL      | Inj     | Luke Hoyte YP1      | D/M L         | ENG     | 5'9"    | 11 st 11 lbs | 20      | £70K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | Wnt     | Richard Neal        | D C           | ENG     | 6'2"    | 13 st 9 lbs  | 19      | £50K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | Rsv     | Ignasi Miquel       | D C           | ESP     | 6'4"    | 12 st 3 lbs  | 20      | £40K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR      | Wnt     | Alfie Potter        | AM R          | ENG     | 5'7"    | 9 st 4 lbs   | 24      | £12K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML      | Wnt     | David Langley       | AM RL         | ENG     | 5'8"    | 11 st 2 lbs  | 19      | £65K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC      | PR      | Godfrey Poku        | DM, M C       | ENG     | 5'10"   | 11 st 11 lbs | 23      | £6K     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC      | Rsv     | Steven Hetherington | M LC          | ENG     | 6'0"    | 13 st 0 lbs  | 20      | £60K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST      | PR      | Vincent Péricard    | ST            | CMR     | 6'1"    | 13 st 5 lbs  | 31      | £18K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST      | Rsv     | Chris Dagnall       | ST            | ENG     | 5'10"   | 10 st 9 lbs  | 27      | £22K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1      | Inj     | Simon Madden        | D RC, WB R    | IRL     | 5'10"   | 11 st 11 lbs | 25      | £3K     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2      | Rsv     | Jonny Rowell        | M C           | ENG     | 5'7"    | 11 st 0 lbs  | 24      | £2K     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3      | Wnt     | Will Hatfield       | AM RC         | ENG     | 6'0"    | 12 st 10 lbs | 22      | £10K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4      | PR      | Justin Hazell       | M RLC         | ENG     | 6'0"    | 12 st 10 lbs | 21      | £12K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5      | Wnt     | Craig Calver        | ST            | ENG     | 5'10"   | 11 st 13 lbs | 22      | £26K    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Rsv     | John Mousinho       | D R, DM, M RC | ENG     | 6'1"    | 12 st 6 lbs  | 27      | £9K     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Sus     | Rob Taylor          | WB/AM L       | ENG     | 6'0"    | 12 st 8 lbs  | 28      | £2.5K   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Rsv     | Sam Hewson          | AM C          | ENG     | 5'8"    | 12 st 10 lbs | 24      | £6K     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Inj     | Ben Hoskin          | D RC          | ENG     | 6'0"    | 11 st 11 lbs | 23      | £4K     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Rsv     | George Baldock      | DM, M C       | ENG     | 5'10"   | 12 st 8 lbs  | 21      | £6K     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Rsv     | Steve Ramage        | D RC          | ENG     | 6'3"    | 13 st 12 lbs | 18      | £3K     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

It's a fairly strong squad with the focus predominantly on youth. As the squad stands, it probably needs another few signings to strengthen in defence, so I will be keeping an eye out for one or two players to come in.

I'm basically looking at mid-table at the very least and ideally targeting a shot at the play-offs. I would think that we have enough quality to achieve this.

In some respects, this season is going to be another transitional one, as we have a lot of new players coming in who will need time to gel. If the squad can gel quickly then I imagine that we can be very successful this season, otherwise we may be looking at a struggle. Finding my best XI will also be an early challenge.

[crouchaldinho]

Tactical Approach:

It has taken me a while to get my tactic approach right. Essentially, I'm going for a classic 4-4-2 and I am building my tactic around this player:

He is a quality midfield player, who would easily make the step up to the Football League, and so I am going to deploy him as an advanced playmaker in our 4-4-2 formation.

This is probably my best starting XI:

Most of the sides in English non-League and lower league football play 4-4-2 so it remains a stable and solid formation to use.

I'm using a standard back four, with St. Albans youth product Luke Hoyte playing the wing-back role.

In midfield, there is a classic creator and destroyer partnership in the centre. The playmaker should always be one of the most talented and creative members of the squad and we have that in Hetherington. Alongside him, I am deploying a ball winning midfielder in the shape of Godfrey Poku. Out wide, there are two standard 'wingers' in the wide midfield positions.

Up front, I usually like to look for a target man/poacher combination. However, I sold Dylan McGeouch because I wanted to look for a player who could contribute more in terms of goals. I will be using Vincent Pericard as a DLF and Chris Dagnall as a poacher. Pericard could also come in as the poacher, with Craig Calver on the bench also able to play DLF or poacher.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR AUGUST, SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2013:

Manager Comments for August, September and October:

We had a mixed start to the season as I struggled to find my best team and formation. I flirted with 4-4-1-1, 4-1-3-2 and even 3-4-1-2 as I tried to get an idea of my best side. In the end, I settled on the 4-4-2 and found my strongest XI as detailed above.

By October, things had started to come together and we quietly went about our business climbing up the table. Pericard has been on good form up front and Hetherington is just starting to find his rhythm. It has been a steady start and I'll be looking for continued improvement as we head towards Christmas.

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Grimsby       |       | 17    | 10    | 3     | 4     | 25    | 12    | +13   | 33    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Macclesfield  |       | 17    | 9     | 5     | 3     | 27    | 21    | +6    | 32    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 3rd   |       | St. Albans    |       | 17    | 9     | 4     | 4     | 26    | 15    | +11   | 31    |[/b] 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Histon        |       | 17    | 9     | 3     | 5     | 26    | 17    | +9    | 30    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | York          |       | 17    | 9     | 3     | 5     | 19    | 12    | +7    | 30    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

Paul Bastock has just left his post as goalkeeping coach at the Saints to become the manager of BSN side Hednesford.

Good luck to Bazza in his first manager job!

[hrbfcrule]

Good Start in the league, Steven Hetherington looks like a great player for the BSP.

[crouchaldinho]

Forum curse has struck hrbfcrule. Hetherington got injured in our last game.

[hrbfcrule]

Forum curse has struck hrbfcrule. Hetherington got injured in our last game.

Sorry How long is he out for?

[crouchaldinho]

I think it was a month.

[Griffo1989]

Sad to see Carolan leave.. I brought him into my Stafford team because I saw how well he did here, also interesting to note your formation is pretty much the 4-4-2 Baboon

[crouchaldinho]

I liked Carolan but felt that his personality wasn't fitting in with the rest of the side. I'm really trying to build a team of professional and ambitious players and he didn't quite fit in to my plans.

What on earth is the 4-4-2 Baboon? :confused:

[Griffo1989]

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=179640

I use this and im going to implement some of the stuff from that link you put in your 4-4-2 thread from FM-Britain

How much of an effect have you found personality to make that choice?

[crouchaldinho]

My 4-4-2 is quite different to that. I'm using a defend and support combination of duties in midfield. Up front I have a poacher and a DLF. I'm also using rigid philosophy with most of the defaults except zonal marking.

As for personality, I have a theory about bringing in certain types of players and trying to create a certain culture.

The following is from a post I made a while ago on the tactics forum:

By buying new players, by tutoring, through disciplinary procedures. But I also create a culture. Let me explain.

This comes from a book by Sven Goran Eriksson. In the book, four personality types A, B, C, D are identified, as below.

A - high ambition & high performance anxiety.

B - high ambition but not afraid of failing.

C - little ambition & afraid of making mistakes

D - little ambition but not bothered about failing.

D achieves least. He has little ambition and low performance anxiety and is therefore not going to generate any kind of energy.

C is next. He will mainly use his energy to avoid making mistakes.

The footballers we are most interested in are the ones with ambition.

A has great ambition which gives him drive but his performance anxiety pulls him in the opposite direction.

However, B makes the most of himself. He is a winner and dares to excel when it really matters.

Erikkson says that only around 20% of players he has worked with are B types.

So my idea is to create a B culture around my team. That is, to stimulate ambition and to reduce fear.

I think about this when I am giving team talks. Am I being ambitious enough and challenging my players (team talks like 'expect a win', 'expect a performance' etc.) or do I need to reduce fear (team talks that are more encouraging and supportive)?

Getting the balance right is what makes a great football manager in my opinion. That is the culture I try to bring to the club that I am managing.

I basically try to build a squad with ambitious and professional players who can handle the pressure. The idea is to build a team of winners, not just in terms of ability, but in terms of attitude and personality.

The definite difference it makes in the game is twofold in my experience. On the one hand, you can be more demanding with your team talks and ask the players for more, and you are more likely to get a positive reaction from them. On the other hand, I have found that having similar personality types together speeds up the gelling process and it probably helps with squad harmony etc. as well.

[crouchaldinho]

I should add that doing this is harder at non-League level because you more often find that players are flawed in different ways. At the top level, if you are managing a top club side, you can easily build this kind of team.

[Griffo1989]

So how do you judge the not afraid to fail

[crouchaldinho]

So how do you judge the not afraid to fail

Assistant manager feedback and the motivation widget in the game. I take care to note how players are feeling during the game and always check the feedback from my assistant after it. The pressure aspect will affect the player’s ability to perform under pressure in certain match situations, so it is really a case of watching out and trying to get to 'know' your players.

The priority is to find the players with ambition, which indicates how hard the player will work to be the best he can be and can affect his motivation in certain match situations. Obviously, finding the professional players is important as well.

Then I try to stimulate ambition and to reduce fear with my team talks as necessary. With more ambitious and professional players who can take the pressure, you can stimulate ambition more often and demand more from them.

My managerial style is very much to be more demanding of my players. You quickly find out who can't hack it by their reactions.

[Griffo1989]

Im picking up what your putting down now! Great stuff cant wait to see how you go with the team changes

[crouchaldinho]

So far going quite well. The team has gelled much quicker this time around. Improving all of the time right now.

[Julije Cezar]

Nice work in BSP. This season you will definitely make it a promotion.

[crouchaldinho]

Cheers Julije Cezar!

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2013:

Manager Comments for November and December:

24 points from 10 league games is pretty superb. We were on fire in the league from the very start of November and finished the year off sitting top of the pile.

The squad is very strong but we don't have much depth so I've been switching between a traditional 4-4-2 and a 4-4-1-1 formation as required depending on the players I have available. The stars of the month have been Alfie Potter playing wide right, Steven Hetherington the midfield playmaker, and Chris Dagnall the poacher who just can't stop scoring at the moment.

The real highlight of the month has come in the FA Cup. In a bizarre run, we have managed to reach the 3rd round again. I say bizarre because it has involved a crazy 6-3 win away to Havant & Waterlooville. Then, in the 2nd round, we played at home to League One side Plymouth Argyle. Again, a totally wacky scoreline got us through, as we managed a 5-3 victory. Chris Dagnall's hat-trick took us through. In the third round, we will meet Premier League side Stoke City at Clarence Park!

Finally, there was one major disappointment as we were knocked out of the FA Trophy on penalties by Chelmsford City after a replay. To be honest, it means we can concentrate fully on the league after our FA Cup 3rd round match which, given our small squad size, is probably no bad thing.

Snapshot of the league table: Coming up in the Christmas update next!

[crouchaldinho]

CHRISTMAS 2013 SUMMARY:

Blue Square Premier Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   |       | St. Albans    |       | 27    | 16    | 7     | 4     | 46    | 21    | +25   | 55    | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Macclesfield  |       | 27    | 16    | 7     | 4     | 47    | 30    | +17   | 55    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Wrexham       |       | 27    | 13    | 10    | 4     | 36    | 19    | +17   | 49    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Grays         |       | 26    | 14    | 7     | 5     | 32    | 19    | +13   | 49    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Histon        |       | 26    | 14    | 6     | 6     | 37    | 22    | +15   | 48    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Cambridge     |       | 27    | 12    | 9     | 6     | 25    | 20    | +5    | 45    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Grimsby       |       | 27    | 13    | 5     | 9     | 34    | 26    | +8    | 44    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | York          |       | 26    | 12    | 6     | 8     | 29    | 21    | +8    | 42    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Aldershot     |       | 27    | 11    | 8     | 8     | 31    | 27    | +4    | 41    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Newport Co    |       | 27    | 11    | 7     | 9     | 34    | 31    | +3    | 40    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Kidderminster |       | 27    | 9     | 10    | 8     | 31    | 34    | -3    | 37    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Chester       |       | 27    | 10    | 7     | 10    | 23    | 27    | -4    | 37    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Barrow        |       | 27    | 10    | 6     | 11    | 31    | 31    | 0     | 36    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Northampton   |       | 27    | 7     | 13    | 7     | 34    | 32    | +2    | 34    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Bromley       |       | 27    | 7     | 11    | 9     | 30    | 29    | +1    | 32    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Northwich     |       | 27    | 7     | 10    | 10    | 34    | 33    | +1    | 31    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Ebbsfleet     |       | 27    | 7     | 9     | 11    | 29    | 33    | -4    | 30    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Barnet        |       | 27    | 5     | 12    | 10    | 17    | 24    | -7    | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Crawley       |       | 27    | 7     | 6     | 14    | 35    | 50    | -15   | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | AFC Wimbledon |       | 27    | 6     | 9     | 12    | 29    | 45    | -16   | 27    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Southport     |       | 26    | 5     | 8     | 13    | 22    | 30    | -8    | 23    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Alfreton      |       | 26    | 5     | 7     | 14    | 26    | 39    | -13   | 22    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23rd  |       | Bath          |       | 27    | 4     | 7     | 16    | 30    | 58    | -28   | 19    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24th  |       | Chelmsford    |       | 26    | 2     | 9     | 15    | 28    | 49    | -21   | 15    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics (all competitions):

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                | Position      | Apps    | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Wnt   | Chris Oldfield      | GK            | 26      | -     | -     | -     | 6.88  | 22    | ENG   | £16K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Wnt   | Laurence Gaughan    | D RC          | 31 (1)  | 1     | 1     | -     | 6.92  | 23    | IRL   | £16K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    | Wnt   | Luke Hoyte YP1      | D/M L         | 17 (1)  | -     | 2     | 1     | 6.91  | 20    | ENG   | £85K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | Ben Hoskin          | D RC          | 16 (3)  | 2     | 1     | -     | 6.93  | 23    | ENG   | £3.5K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | PR    | Ignasi Miquel       | D C           | 26      | 1     | -     | -     | 7.08  | 21    | ESP   | £5K   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR    | Wnt   | Alfie Potter        | AM R          | 26 (3)  | 8     | 10    | 4     | 7.29  | 24    | ENG   | £20K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML    | Wnt   | David Langley       | AM RL         | 21      | 3     | 3     | 1     | 6.96  | 19    | ENG   | £85K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | PR    | Godfrey Poku        | DM, M C       | 18 (3)  | 1     | 4     | 2     | 7.04  | 23    | ENG   | £6K   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    |       | Steven Hetherington | M LC          | 27 (1)  | 3     | 10    | 3     | 7.34  | 20    | ENG   | £70K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | PR    | Sam Hewson          | AM C          | 22 (3)  | 5     | 6     | 2     | 7.01  | 25    | ENG   | £16K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    |       | Craig Calver        | ST            | 10 (10) | 6     | 3     | -     | 6.65  | 22    | ENG   | £35K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | Inj   | Jonny Rowell        | M C           | 1 (6)   | 1     | -     | -     | 7.00  | 24    | ENG   | £6K   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | PR    | Justin Hazell       | M RLC         | 7 (22)  | 2     | 4     | 1     | 6.75  | 21    | ENG   | £10K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Slt   | Rob Taylor          | D/WB/AM L     | 12 (4)  | 1     | -     | -     | 7.01  | 28    | ENG   | £2.5K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Slt   | Will Hatfield       | AM RC         | 5 (8)   | -     | 1     | -     | 6.69  | 22    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | Wnt   | Chris Dagnall       | ST            | 20 (3)  | 17    | 6     | 3     | 7.32  | 27    | ENG   | £30K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | John Mousinho       | D R, DM, M RC | 14 (6)  | -     | 3     | 1     | 7.05  | 27    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Vincent Péricard    | ST            | 18 (2)  | 13    | 5     | 4     | 7.21  | 31    | CMR   | £22K  | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Simon Madden        | D RC, WB R    | 2 (4)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.90  | 25    | IRL   | £2.5K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Richard Neal        | D C           | 14      | 1     | 1     | -     | 6.98  | 19    | ENG   | £110K | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

Going to be quite busy in the January transfer window as I have a few players to move on as well as a few positions in which I would like to strengthen in order to bolster the squad for this title challenge.

[crouchaldinho]

The bizarre FA Cup 2nd Round tie against Plymouth:

Team Line-ups

Match Details & Player Ratings

I decided to attack Plymouth from the off and it brought early rewards. It was a feast of attacking football in the end as we managed to win 5-3 to take us through to the FA Cup 3rd round for only the second time in our history! We will face Stoke City at Clarence Park.

[crouchaldinho]

I finally have untouchable status:

[crouchaldinho]

FA Cup 3rd Round: St. Albans City 0 - 2 Stoke City

Team Line-ups

Match Details & Player Ratings

Absolutely dominated and well beaten by Stoke. This ends our interest in the cups, which means that we can concentrate on the league now.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Absolutely dominated and well beaten by Stoke.

That's what I like to see.

[crouchaldinho]

That's what I like to see.

[Griffo1989]

St Albians have gone on a FA Cup run in my save as well Ill let you know how far they go

Whats your wage budget by the way

[crouchaldinho]

How far have they got so far Griffo?

Wage budget is around £5k or £6k.

[Griffo1989]

Man I can only dream of those wages... Im at 1.6 lol I think im doing well all things considering..

They have reached the first round and I think they have a favourable draw from my memory

[Griffo1989]

Ok their run so far..

b Hillington

b Hemel Hempstead

b Luton

The win over Luton was a pretty special effort and they drew Tamworth in the First Round so they have a great chance of making the second round

[crouchaldinho]

Awesome. Beating Luton as well.

[crouchaldinho]

During the January transfer window, I decided to strengthen the side in attack with the following signing:

Should do the business in the number 10 role in our 4-4-2.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR JAN & FEB 2014:

Manager Comments for Jan & Feb:

A nice solid couple of months, winning at home and mostly drawing away. A total of 18 points from 8 games makes us comfortable league leaders at this stage. During this month, we have been playing well defensively, keeping clean sheets and generally keeping things tight.

Wide midfielder, Alfie Potter, has been in sensational form, scoring goals and putting in man of the match performances. We're looking really strong at the moment all over the pitch. Hopefully we can keep it up to make history by securing promotion to the Football League.

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   |       | St. Albans    |       | 35    | 21    | 10    | 4     | 58    | 25    | +33   | 73    |[/b] 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Histon        |       | 35    | 19    | 8     | 8     | 55    | 30    | +25   | 65    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Wrexham       |       | 35    | 16    | 15    | 4     | 45    | 23    | +22   | 63    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Grimsby       |       | 35    | 19    | 5     | 11    | 49    | 32    | +17   | 62    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

My captain and right-back, Lawrence Gaughan, has just injured himself and will be out for the rest of the season.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR MAR 2014:

Manager Comments for March:

We're grinding out the results. 1-0s and 2-1s. What matters is that we are winning.

I switched from the 4-4-2 that we have used most of the season to a 4-4-1-1 after an injury to Vincent Pericard. Sam Hewson stepped up to play off the front man and scored 4 important goals for us from the AMC position.

A key point was the 1-0 win away to Grimsby, as detailed below.

_________________________________________________

Blue Square Premier - Grimsby 0 - 1 St. Albans City

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

We managed to grind out a win like all champions tend to do when it really matters. We started with the 4-4-1-1 but played a 4-5-1/4-3-3 shape in the second-half. This seemed to be key and we ended up scoring in the last 10 minutes to win the match.

__________________________________________________

We're nearly there now and just a few more wins will do it.

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| [b]
| 1st   | Pl    | St. Albans    |       | 41    | 26    | 11    | 4     | 68    | 28    | +40   | 89    | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Wrexham       |       | 40    | 19    | 17    | 4     | 52    | 25    | +27   | 74    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Grimsby       |       | 41    | 22    | 7     | 12    | 59    | 34    | +25   | 73    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | York          |       | 41    | 22    | 7     | 12    | 59    | 34    | +25   | 73    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Histon        |       | 41    | 20    | 10    | 11    | 62    | 38    | +24   | 70    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

THE TITLE RUN-IN:

With five games to go until the end of the season, we found ourselves well clear at the top of the league knowing that a couple of wins would make us Blue Square Premier champions.

Blue Square Premier - AFC Wimbledon 1 - 2 St. Albans City

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

After going 1-0 down, we managed to turn this one around to win the game 2-1. We really showed the spirit and determination of this team.

This result meant that we just needed a draw in our next home match against Histon to win the title with 3 games to spare.

Blue Square Premier - St. Albans City 2 - 0 Histon

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

It wasn't the best display to be honest but we managed to get through this one thanks to a Sam Hewson brace. The title is ours and all that remains is to play out the final games of the season!

\o/

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   | C     | St. Albans    |       | 43    | 28    | 11    | 4     | 72    | 29    | +43   | 95    | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Wrexham       |       | 42    | 20    | 18    | 4     | 55    | 27    | +28   | 78    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | York          |       | 43    | 22    | 8     | 13    | 60    | 36    | +24   | 74    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Grimsby       |       | 43    | 22    | 8     | 13    | 60    | 37    | +23   | 74    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

How cool is this:

[crouchaldinho]

I'll do a full season review once I've finished the final games including player screenshots etc.

I'm utterly delighted with my second title as Saints boss. I'm now up to 'National' reputation.

[crouchaldinho]

END OF SEASON 2013/14 SUMMARY:

This is how we finished off the season:

As you can see, we finished in style!

Blue Square Premier Final Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team          |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   | C     | St. Albans    |       | 46    | 30    | 12    | 4     | 77    | 30    | +47   | 102   | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Wrexham       |       | 46    | 22    | 19    | 5     | 63    | 32    | +31   | 85    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | P     | Grimsby       |       | 46    | 23    | 10    | 13    | 65    | 41    | +24   | 79    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Grays         |       | 46    | 22    | 12    | 12    | 53    | 40    | +13   | 78    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Histon        |       | 46    | 22    | 11    | 13    | 75    | 45    | +30   | 77    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | York          |       | 46    | 22    | 10    | 14    | 63    | 41    | +22   | 76    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Macclesfield  |       | 46    | 22    | 10    | 14    | 67    | 55    | +12   | 76    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Aldershot     |       | 46    | 18    | 16    | 12    | 53    | 43    | +10   | 70    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Bromley       |       | 46    | 18    | 13    | 15    | 67    | 53    | +14   | 67    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Cambridge     |       | 46    | 18    | 13    | 15    | 47    | 49    | -2    | 67    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Newport Co    |       | 46    | 18    | 12    | 16    | 57    | 56    | +1    | 66    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Kidderminster |       | 46    | 16    | 15    | 15    | 56    | 59    | -3    | 63    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Barnet        |       | 46    | 13    | 19    | 14    | 39    | 40    | -1    | 58    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Northampton   |       | 46    | 13    | 18    | 15    | 54    | 56    | -2    | 57    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Ebbsfleet     |       | 46    | 14    | 14    | 18    | 57    | 59    | -2    | 56    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Barrow        |       | 46    | 15    | 10    | 21    | 45    | 59    | -14   | 55    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Southport     |       | 46    | 13    | 13    | 20    | 53    | 58    | -5    | 52    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | AFC Wimbledon |       | 46    | 11    | 19    | 16    | 52    | 71    | -19   | 52    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Northwich     |       | 46    | 12    | 15    | 19    | 58    | 63    | -5    | 51    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Chester       |       | 46    | 13    | 12    | 21    | 39    | 52    | -13   | 51    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  | R     | Alfreton      |       | 46    | 11    | 10    | 25    | 49    | 79    | -30   | 43    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  | R     | Crawley       |       | 46    | 11    | 9     | 26    | 54    | 91    | -37   | 42    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23rd  | R     | Bath          |       | 46    | 8     | 14    | 24    | 51    | 85    | -34   | 38    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24th  | R     | Chelmsford    |       | 46    | 6     | 16    | 24    | 43    | 80    | -37   | 34    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics (all competitions)- sorted by average rating:

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                  | Position      | Apps    | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | Wnt   | Steven Hetherington   | AM LC         | 42 (1)  | 3     | 16    | 4     | 7.35  | 21    | ENG   | £20K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR    | Wnt   | Alfie Potter          | AM R          | 46 (3)  | 13    | 13    | 5     | 7.23  | 25    | ENG   | £22K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | Rsv   | Chris Dagnall         | ST            | 24 (6)  | 19    | 6     | 3     | 7.18  | 28    | ENG   | £26K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Vincent Péricard      | ST            | 25 (4)  | 16    | 5     | 5     | 7.14  | 31    | CMR   | £20K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Wnt   | Sam Hewson            | AM C          | 32 (4)  | 12    | 6     | 4     | 7.08  | 25    | ENG   | £20K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | Wnt   | John Mousinho         | D R, DM, M RC | 34 (6)  | -     | 8     | 2     | 7.06  | 28    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | Ignasi Miquel         | D C           | 41 (1)  | 1     | -     | -     | 7.06  | 21    | ESP   | £5K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Wnt   | Simon Madden          | D RC, WB R    | 16 (4)  | -     | 1     | 1     | 7.05  | 26    | IRL   | £2.5K | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    | Wnt   | Luke Hoyte YP1        | D/M L         | 35 (1)  | -     | 3     | 2     | 7.01  | 20    | ENG   | £130K | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | Wnt   | Godfrey Poku          | DM, M C       | 18 (7)  | 1     | 5     | 2     | 6.99  | 23    | ENG   | £6K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML    | Wnt   | David Langley         | AM RL         | 41      | 3     | 8     | 3     | 6.97  | 20    | ENG   | £100K | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | Wnt   | Davide Enrico Somma   | AM R, ST      | 16 (2)  | 9     | 3     | 3     | 6.96  | 29    | RSA   | £7K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | Wnt   | Ben Hoskin            | D RC          | 26 (4)  | 2     | 1     | -     | 6.95  | 23    | ENG   | £3.5K | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Wnt   | Rob Taylor            | D/WB/AM L     | 14 (17) | 2     | -     | -     | 6.94  | 29    | ENG   | £2.5K | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Laurence Gaughan      | D RC          | 37 (1)  | 1     | 1     | -     | 6.91  | 24    | IRL   | £14K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Rsv   | Richard Neal          | D C           | 29 (1)  | 1     | 1     | -     | 6.85  | 19    | ENG   | £100K | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Chris Oldfield        | GK            | 44      | -     | -     | -     | 6.85  | 23    | ENG   | £14K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Jonny Rowell          | M C           | 6 (14)  | 2     | 1     | -     | 6.81  | 24    | ENG   | £7K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Wnt   | Stephen Greenwood YP4 | GK            | 2       | -     | -     | -     | 6.75  | 16    | ENG   | -     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Wnt   | Justin Hazell         | M RLC         | 7 (36)  | 3     | 6     | 1     | 6.74  | 22    | ENG   | £8K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Craig Calver          | ST            | 13 (13) | 8     | 4     | 1     | 6.72  | 23    | ENG   | £28K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Will Hatfield         | AM RC         | 5 (14)  | -     | 1     | -     | 6.66  | 22    | ENG   | £16K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[hrbfcrule]

Congratz on promotion and good luck in the football league

[crouchaldinho]

Crouchy's Mighty Saints Save - St. Albans City in the Blue Square Premier (Season Five at Clarence Park - 2013/14)

End of Season 2013/14 Screenshots:

League Table - see above post for the full league table. Our first place finish was a record high for the club:

League Positions Graph - as you can see, we came really strong at the halfway point and never looked back from there.

FA Cup - A great run to the third round for only the second time in our history.

FA Trophy - A disappointment as we got knocked out early on.

Transfers - Best signing was without doubt Steven Hetherington. I let quite a few old faces move on and also made £93k with a bit of wheeling and dealing in the summer.

Key players:

Steven Hetherington - Has a super season in the middle of the park as our 'advanced playmaker', setting up a lot of goals and playing very well indeed.

Alfie Potter - A great wide player who used his pace, acceleration and dribbling to excellent effect for us on the right side of the midfield.

Sam Hewson - Played a lot early on and really came into the side towards the end of the season when I switched to 4-4-1-1. The attacking midfielder scored some very important goals for us and performed very well.

Vincent Pericard - Another strong season but injuries meant that he didn't play as much as we would have liked.

Team of the Season - Very weird indeed. I never played this formation so I don't know what is going on here!

Overall Best XI - This is a bit messed up now. Still stuck on the 4-2-3-1 for a start.

Other Club Info:

Fans’ Player of the season: Steven Hetherington.

Signing of the season: Steven Hetherington.

Top goalscorers: Chris Dagnall 19.

Most Assists: Steven Hetherington 16.

Most MoM awards: Alfie Potter 5.

Best Average Rating: Steven Hetherington (43 apps).

Average Attendance: 946 (slightly down on last year)

Season Tickets: 173 (4 more than last season).

Club finances: The club is still quite badly in debt - approx. 200k.

City Legends: Wilfred Minter, Steve Clark, Phil Wood (no new additions).

City Icons: Colin Lippiatt, Lee Clarke, Peter Risley, Kevin Mudd, Richard Evans, Paul Bastock (no new additions).

City Favourites: Steven Hetherington (for some reason, a whole bunch of the favoured personnel have suddenly been wiped. :confused:)

Most League Apps for Club - Steve Clark 488 (all time), ??????? (current).

Most League Goals for Club - Steve Clark 322 (all time), Craig Calver 45 (current).

Youth academy products season reports (the youngsters that my assistant recommended):

Luke Hoyte (YP1) - Luke has become first-choice for left-back. It has been nice having a local lad in the line-up all season.

Ryan Jones (YP2) - Ryan has been moved on as he wasn't going to make the grade.

YP3 - I'm afraid I didn't even bother recording who YP3 was. The whole in-take was a complete dud. Not one decent player.

Stephen Greenwood (YP4) - He obviously still has a lot of improving to do but he may make the grade and become a decent player given time. I actually gave him a couple of games this season after we had won the title so that he could get some playing experience.

100 club (players that have made 100 league apps for the club under my management):

Name                	Position  	Era             Apps	Goals	Achievements	
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Quilter		DRC/DM/MC	2009-2013	157	3	Blue Square South (2012)

Sol Shields		MC		2009-Present	152	10	Blue Square South (2012)

Ryan Carolan		DLC       	2009-2013	137	3    	Blue Square South (2012)

Laurence Gaughan	DRC		2009-Present	115	3	Blue Square South (2012)
								Blue Square Premier (2014)

Craig Calver 		ST 		2009-Present	112	45	Blue Square South (2012)
								Blue Square Premier (2014)

JJ O'Donnell		AMRLC		2009-Present	111	10	Blue Square South (2012)

Ben Martin 		DC		2010-Present	109	4	Blue Square South (2012)

Peter Smith		DL		2009-2013	105 	4	Blue Square South (2012)

Paul Hakim 		FC		2009-2013	102	27	Blue Square South (2012)

Luke Hoyte (YP1)	DL		2010-Present	101	3	Blue Square South (2012)
								Blue Square Premier (2014)

James Fisher		DR/MC		2009-2013	100	2	Blue Square South (2012)

Other News:

- Blue Square Premier: We win the title. Grimsby win the play-offs. Alfreton, Crawley, Bath and Chelmsford are relegated.

- The Big Boys:

o Man City win the league title. Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea finish in the top four. Wolves, West Brom and Burnley are relegated.

o Wolves win the FA Cup. Man City win the League Cup.

o Barcelona retain the Champions League title defeating Arsenal in the final. The Europa is won by FC Bayern.

- Local Interests:

o Bishop's Stortford finished in a lower mid-table position in the BSS.

o After going up to League 1 as Champions last season, Luton came straight back down as they were relegated in second from bottom place.

o Stevenage finished three points from the relegation zone in League Two.

o Watford finished in yet another mid-table position in the Championship.

- Ex-Saints: Nothing of any real significance to report.

Manager Awards:

- 2013/14 Blue Square Manager of the Year.

- 2013/14 Blue Square Manager of the Month for April.

- 2013/14 Blue Square Manager of the Month for March.

- 2013/14 Blue Square Manager of the Month for December.

- 2012/13 Blue Square Premier Manager of the Year third place.

- 2012/13 Blue Square Manager of the Month for December.

- 2011/12 Blue Square South Manager of the Season.

- 2010/11 Blue Square Manager of the Month for September.

- 2010/11 Blue Square South Manager of the Season third place.

- 2009/10 Blue Square South Manager of the Season runner-up.

Career Overview:

My managerial record at the Saints (2009 - Present [1814 days])::

P 	W 	D 	L 	F	A	Win % 		Competitions Won
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
258	141	68	49	428	253	55%		Blue Square Premier (2014)
							Blue Square South (2012)

Cups:

| Season 	| FA Cup	| FA Trophy		| 
|-------------------------------------------------------|
| 09/10 (BSS) 	| 3rd Rnd    	|   3rd Qual Rnd 	|
| 10/11 (BSS) 	| 1st Rnd    	|   1st Rnd 		|
| 11/12 (BSS) 	| 2nd Rnd    	|   1st Rnd 		|
| 12/13 (BSP) 	| 2nd Rnd    	|   3rd Rnd 		|
| 13/14 (BSP) 	| 3rd Rnd    	|   1st Rnd 		|

League:

Season      	Team      		League      	Position   	Achievements & Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10      	St. Albans City   	BSS	    	4th      	FA Cup 3rd Rnd
2010/11		St. Albans City   	BSS	    	2nd      	Play-off finalists
2011/12		St. Albans City   	BSS	    	[b]1st		[/b][b]BSS Champions[/b], Manager of the Season
2012/13		St. Albans City   	BSP	    	5th      	
2013/14		St. Albans City		BSP		[b]1st		[/b][b]BSP Champions[/b], Manager of the Season

Misc. screenshots:

I am manager of the year.

St. Albans City turn professional.

Next Season: We'll go into League Two looking to make sure that we stay in the Football League. The priority this summer will be to tie down our best players to long-term contracts, sort of the financial situation and hopefully establish ourselves as a Football League club next season.