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

[crouchaldinho]

Congratz on promotion and good luck in the football league

Thanks hrbfcrule!

[crouchaldinho]

I've just signed a new contract with the Saints to commit myself to the club until 2017.

[bouttifull]

Great Work Mate

[crouchaldinho]

Cheers bouttifull.

[AcidBurn]

Nice one on promotion to the football league Crouchy.

[crouchaldinho]

Cheers AB! Going all out for it now!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Winning the title despite having Vincent Pericard in your team is some achievement.

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks Nobby.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR AUG, SEP & OCT 2014:

Manager Comments for Aug, Sep and Oct 2014:

This was more or less the side we started the season with in a 4-4-1-1:

Very much the same side as last season. I didn't have much time to change the squad due to wage budget restrictions after we went professional during the summer.

We started fairly slowly but initially, I would suggest, looked strong enough to stay up fairly easily. A real early highlight was a 3-1 win over Southend, as detailed below.

_________________________________________________

League Two - St. Albans City 3 - 1 Southend

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

An extremely strong showing from Hewson and Somma in particular as we defeated the favourites for the title.

__________________________________________________

In October and September, I started to look at how we could strengthen the side. I was now able to scout France and so I sent my scouts out looking for talent and made a few signings to improve things. I will post about the new signings in the next post as otherwise this one will have too many images.

Anyway, we made a switch to a 4-3-2-1 Xmas Tree formation to incorporate a number of talented midfielders and started to make some very steady progress in the league. A number of wins and draws sent us shooting up the table to an impressive 6th place.

Snapshot of the league table:

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Oxford            |       | 15    | 8     | 5     | 2     | 23    | 12    | +11   | 29    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | MK Dons           |       | 15    | 8     | 3     | 4     | 20    | 11    | +9    | 27    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 6th   |       | St. Albans        |       | 15    | 6     | 6     | 3     | 21    | 15    | +6    | 24    | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Stockport         |       | 15    | 6     | 5     | 4     | 21    | 18    | +3    | 23    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Chesterfield      |       | 15    | 6     | 4     | 5     | 19    | 17    | +2    | 22    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

By the way, I recommend the following link for those struggling with the new layout on the forums - http://userstyles.org/styles/33293?r=1278493346

It increases the width of the forum (plus makes a few changes to colours etc.) which will really improve the look of screenshots and tables in this thread!

You need 'GreaseMonkey' to install it.

[crouchaldinho]

The French are Coming!

During September and October, I started to realise that certain players would need to be moved on and that I would need more quality in the side. I was now able to scout France and so I sent my scouts out looking for talent and made a few signings to improve things.

Transfers

The main players of interest are:

- Central defender, Giles Rouxel

- Central midfielder, Ali Battesti

- Central midfielder, William Le Pogam

- Forward, Yohann Agosta

In addition to this, I bought in an English goalkeeper called Adam Collin and midfielder Moustapha Salifou from Togo.

I now realised that I had a plethora of talent in the centre of midfield but lacked quality on the flanks. The obvious idea was to switch from the 4-4-1-1 to a formation which would enable us to utilise our main talents better. High on the nostalgic memories of Terry Venables and his Xmas Tree from the pre-Euro '96 era, I decided to go for a 4-3-2-1 formation. It worked for France in World Cup 1998, and more recently it has worked for AC Milan and Chelsea under Ancelotti. Could it work at St. Albans City?

This was now my strongest side:

At the back, I prefer to have one fullback and one wingback to get forward all of the time. In midfield, I have the ball-winner flanked by one player who will tend to support and sit more than the other who will get forward and add another threat.Up front, I use split duties for the AMs, resulting in one who sits in the hole more often and one who runs into the box from deep very often. Hewson would perform the latter duties, while Hetherington carried out the former. They also have oaming and wideplay settings to encourage them to create width and attack space as the play develops. For the striker, the deep-lying forward with an attack duty is a great setting for a strong striker who can hold and score goals like Somma.

The side quickly settled in this system and it started to bring out the best of the players we've got here at Clarence Park. I'll add some screenshots of key players and new signings in the next post.

[crouchaldinho]

Key Players and New Signings:

A big, strong powerful defender who is still young and could develop into a really great player who could make it at a higher level.

He adds real quality and experience to the midfield.

Hetherington is still one of our key players and should do well in his more advanced role.

Another quality youngster although I have slight doubts about his ability to handle pressure. We'll see how he develops but for now Somma is first choice.

[AcidBurn]

Nice to see you using the 4-3-2-1 Xmas tree I use it on the odd occasion in my Seattle game when the strikers are not available for the 4-3-1-2.

Agosta and Hetherington look like great players. On a few more promotions to go until I can finally see you managing a premier league team. Good luck dude.

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks AB. Hopefully I'll get there one day!

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR NOV & DEC 2014:

Manager Comments for Nov & Dec 2014:

Things started to come together really nicely during November. We put some strong performances on in the league and played some good football.

An early highlight was this win over Accrington:

_________________________________________________

League Two - Accrington 1 - 4 St. Albans City

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

An extremely strong showing all the more impressive as we were away from home. Somma scored a marvellous hat-trick.

__________________________________________________

As we reached the end of December, we had a couple of narrow 1-0 defeats which was a disappointment. The two difficulties we have with this squad is 1) the gelling is poor at this time, and 2) we seem to have a tendency to pass teams to death without taking our chances. We finished the year on a high, however, with a great 4-1 win over Chesterfield.

Meanwhile, in the FA Cup, we made the following progress:

We have reached the third round again and will face Everton at Goodison Park. A fine reward for us!

Snapshot of the league table: See Christmas update coming next.

[crouchaldinho]

CHRISTMAS 2014 SUMMARY:

League Two Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team              |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Weston-super-Mare |       | 26    | 14    | 8     | 4     | 39    | 21    | +18   | 50    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Bristol Rovers    |       | 26    | 14    | 7     | 5     | 38    | 17    | +21   | 49    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Luton             |       | 26    | 13    | 8     | 5     | 46    | 32    | +14   | 47    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 4th   |       | St. Albans        |       | 26    | 13    | 6     | 7     | 39    | 24    | +15   | 45    | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Exeter            |       | 25    | 11    | 10    | 4     | 37    | 21    | +16   | 43    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Stockport         |       | 26    | 11    | 9     | 6     | 36    | 26    | +10   | 42    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | MK Dons           |       | 26    | 12    | 5     | 9     | 36    | 26    | +10   | 41    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Oxford            |       | 25    | 11    | 8     | 6     | 32    | 22    | +10   | 41    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Rushden           |       | 26    | 12    | 4     | 10    | 42    | 36    | +6    | 40    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Mansfield         |       | 26    | 10    | 8     | 8     | 29    | 19    | +10   | 38    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Chesterfield      |       | 26    | 10    | 8     | 8     | 32    | 29    | +3    | 38    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Tranmere          |       | 25    | 11    | 4     | 10    | 32    | 32    | 0     | 37    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Southend          |       | 26    | 10    | 5     | 11    | 27    | 24    | +3    | 35    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Grimsby           |       | 26    | 8     | 11    | 7     | 32    | 30    | +2    | 35    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Wycombe           |       | 25    | 9     | 7     | 9     | 41    | 38    | +3    | 34    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Torquay           |       | 26    | 8     | 9     | 9     | 26    | 28    | -2    | 33    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Blackpool         |       | 25    | 9     | 6     | 10    | 32    | 35    | -3    | 33    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Dag & Red         |       | 25    | 6     | 10    | 9     | 28    | 28    | 0     | 28    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Hereford          |       | 26    | 6     | 9     | 11    | 23    | 40    | -17   | 27    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Leyton Orient     |       | 25    | 5     | 11    | 9     | 21    | 29    | -8    | 26    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Yeovil            |       | 25    | 5     | 4     | 16    | 18    | 51    | -33   | 19    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Morecambe         |       | 25    | 5     | 3     | 17    | 28    | 55    | -27   | 18    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23rd  |       | Accrington        |       | 26    | 3     | 9     | 14    | 24    | 51    | -27   | 18    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24th  |       | Stevenage         |       | 25    | 4     | 5     | 16    | 18    | 42    | -24   | 17    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics (all competitions):

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                | Position      | Apps  | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Rsv   | Adam Collin         | GK            | 21    | -     | -     | -     | 6.91  | 30    | ENG   | £20K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Wnt   | Laurence Gaughan    | D RC          | 28    | -     | 1     | -     | 6.86  | 24    | IRL   | £8K   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    | Yel   | Luke Hoyte YP1      | D/M L         | 29    | -     | 3     | 1     | 7.12  | 21    | ENG   | £14K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Rsv   | Mick Hodgson        | D C           | 19    | -     | -     | 1     | 6.81  | 21    | IRL   | £22K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Rsv   | Shaun Moore         | D C           | 12 (2)| 1     | -     | -     | 6.65  | 19    | ENG   | £475K | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | Inj   | Moustapha Salifou   | M C           | 14    | 1     | 1     | -     | 6.90  | 31    | TOG   | £9K   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | Lrn   | Ali Battesti        | DM, M C       | 14 (2)| -     | 2     | 2     | 7.06  | 21    | FRA   | £16K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | Wnt   | William Le Pogam    | M C           | 14    | 1     | 4     | -     | 6.96  | 21    | FRA   | £20K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Yel   | Steven Hetherington | AM LC         | 29    | 4     | 10    | 2     | 7.03  | 21    | ENG   | £35K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Yel   | Sam Hewson          | AM C          | 24 (1)| 9     | 5     | 2     | 7.04  | 26    | ENG   | £22K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | Lrn   | Yohann Agosta       | ST            | 3 (6) | 5     | 1     | -     | 6.86  | 21    | FRA   | £22K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | PR    | Robert Britton      | GK            | -     | -     | -     | -     | -     | 20    | ENG   | £14K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    |       | Ben Hoskin          | D RC          | 2 (20)| -     | -     | -     | 6.77  | 24    | ENG   | £6K   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Rsv   | Ignasi Miquel       | D C           | 16    | 1     | -     | 1     | 7.02  | 22    | ESP   | £8K   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Yel   | John Mousinho       | D R, DM, M RC | 15 (5)| 1     | 1     | -     | 6.92  | 28    | ENG   | £14K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | Yel   | Kirk Woods          | M C           | 5 (9) | 1     | 1     | -     | 6.83  | 19    | ENG   | £40K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6    |       | Kevin Harvey        | AM C          | 0 (12)| -     | 2     | -     | 6.69  | 18    | ENG   | £14K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7    | Wnt   | Davide Enrico Somma | AM R, ST      | 22 (1)| 15    | 2     | 4     | 6.91  | 29    | RSA   | £10K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Alfie Potter        | AM R          | 16    | 1     | 1     | 1     | 6.84  | 25    | ENG   | £9K   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Jonny Rowell        | M C           | 2 (3) | -     | 1     | -     | 6.87  | 25    | ENG   | £10K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Rob Taylor          | D/WB/AM L     | 1 (5) | -     | -     | -     | 6.53  | 29    | ENG   | £3K   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Craig Calver        | ST            | 2 (5) | -     | -     | -     | 6.65  | 23    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | David Langley       | AM RL         | 16    | 3     | 1     | 3     | 7.03  | 20    | ENG   | £70K  | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Gilles Rouxel       | D C           | 13    | -     | -     | -     | 6.95  | 20    | FRA   | £180K | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Danny Henderson     | AM L          | -     | -     | -     | -     | -     | 18    | ENG   | £250K | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

I'm obviously extremely happy with where we are at the moment and I'd settle with that come the end of the season.

In terms of the squad, Hetherington and Hewson are the real stars for us and are playing really well so far.

In January, I don't see myself doing too much. I have to sell some players on in order to lower the wage bill. If there is money available in the wage budget then I would like to bring in some wide players as I prefer to play with wide midfielders or wingers really.

By the way, Weston-super-Mare (who were with me in the BSS, of course!) have been taken over by a consortium of businessmen from Singapore. This is the team who have finished in a relegation spot three times in the last four years (if I recall correctly) and have been reprieved on each occasion! Quite what the Singaporeans wanted from them, I don't know, but they have created a very successful League Two club who are basically pushing for promotion now. They have two players in their squad who are earning more than my entire wage budget! They've spent about £1.7m on players since 2009/10. I was delighted that we managed to defeat them in December (see above)!

[crouchaldinho]

FA CUP THIRD ROUND

January brings our FA Cup tie against Everton at Goodison Park.

FA Cup Third Round - Everton 2 - 0 St. Albans City

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

I was very proud of the squad for this magnificent effort.

We held Everton for one half. In fact, we more than held them, actually creating chances of our own.

In the end, Everton's quality shone through and we ended up going two goals down in a disastrous spell early on in the second-half. Nevertheless, we can be proud of this performance.

That's our involvement in the cup competitions finished for this season. We were knocked out of the first rounds of the League Cup and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy but the FA Cup always remains a magical competition for me. Now we move our focus 100% to the league and to finishing as high as we possibly can in our debut season in the Football League.

[crouchaldinho]

FA CUP THIRD ROUND

January brings our FA Cup tie against Everton at Goodison Park.

FA Cup Third Round - Everton 2 - 0 St. Albans City

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

I was very proud of the squad for this magnificent effort.

We held Everton for one half. In fact, we more than held them, actually creating chances of our own.

In the end, Everton's quality shone through and we ended up going two goals down in a disastrous spell early on in the second-half. Nevertheless, we can be proud of this performance.

That's our involvement in the cup competitions finished for this season. We were knocked out of the first rounds of the League Cup and the Johnstone's Paint Trophy but the FA Cup always remains a magical competition for me. Now we move our focus 100% to the league and to finishing as high as we possibly can in our debut season in the Football League.

[crouchaldinho]

I should add that the FA Cup gate receipts from the Everton game has taken us out of debt at last!

[coldkohmew]

cool,good luck.

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks coldkohmew.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR JAN, FEB & MAR 2015:

Manager Comments for Jan, Feb and March 2015:

We've seen a lot of slow but sure improvement during this period. The improvement team gelling has really helped and we've ended up pulling off quite a few unexpected results.

27 points from 13 games is a brilliant return and it sees us challenging for an automatic play-off spot. With 7 games to go, it is very tight at the top and we will have to be at our very best in order to see this through.

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team              |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Bristol Rovers    |       | 39    | 22    | 11    | 6     | 60    | 28    | +32   | 77    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 2nd   |       | St. Albans        |       | 39    | 21    | 9     | 9     | 63    | 33    | +30   | 72    | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Luton             |       | 39    | 20    | 11    | 8     | 65    | 45    | +20   | 71    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Stockport         |       | 39    | 19    | 12    | 8     | 60    | 39    | +21   | 69    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Weston-super-Mare |       | 39    | 19    | 9     | 11    | 51    | 34    | +17   | 66    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[bouttifull]

Top work mate

[hrbfcrule]

Good Luck for another promotion

its always fun to see BSS/BSN get taken over and move up the leagues, it will be interseting to see what happens to WSM

[dburns647]

good luck for another promotion, hopefully you go up automatically rather than the play off's

keep it up

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks for the comments guys.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR APRIL 2015:

Manager Comments for April 2015:

This was a tough month as we lost our star player, Steven Hetherington, to injury. As a result, we switched to a 4-3-1-2 formation, replacing Hetherington with another forward in the shape of Agosta, who now partnered Somma up front.

Without Hetherington, we struggled to get going and lost vital points away to Leyton Orient. Luckily for us, other results were going our way. The struggle continued but we managed to force a win over Mansfield and then played our socks off to beat the top side, Bristol Rovers, 1-0 at Clarence Park.

Essentially, we are nearly there now, just needing one more win to be sure of automatic promotion. The tough thing is that we play moneybags Weston-super-Mare away first and then Blackpool at home for our last game of the season. Two very tough games. I have confidence in us to do it though!

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team              |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | P     | Bristol Rovers    |       | 44    | 24    | 12    | 8     | 65    | 32    | +33   | 84    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 2nd   | Pl    | St. Albans        |       | 44    | 23    | 11    | 10    | 69    | 38    | +31   | 80    | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | Pl    | Luton             |       | 44    | 22    | 14    | 8     | 73    | 51    | +22   | 80    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | Pl    | Exeter            |       | 44    | 19    | 19    | 6     | 56    | 31    | +25   | 76    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[AcidBurn]

Any chance you will be letting us know tonight Crouchy? I think and hope you can do it.

[crouchaldinho]

League Two, Match 45 - Weston-super-Mare 0 - 2 St. Albans City

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

This match confirmed our automatic promotion spot.

It was a strong performance but, in reality, on another day it could have gone either way. The luck was with us today and we got the result.

This result, along with the fact that Bristol Rovers lost, now puts us in the improbable position of playing the last game knowing that we could potentially be champions. It seems very strange to me because we have been far from the best side in the league and yet somehow we find ourselves in this position. I guess the fact is that there has been no strong contender this year for the title.

Bristol Rovers go away to Southend, while we are at home to Blackpool. We have to win our game and hope that Blackpool draw or lose in order to win the title. It's very tight at the top and anything could happen!

[crouchaldinho]

Any chance you will be letting us know tonight Crouchy? I think and hope you can do it.

Yes, I'm just getting some Saints time in now!

[crouchaldinho]

League Two, Match 46 - St. Albans City 3 - 0 Blackpool

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

I was watching this game with one eye on the Southend v Bristol Rovers match. I saw that Rovers had gone 1-0 up after 20 minutes and so switched off the live scores box feeling that they would go on to win from there.

Our game was pretty much over by half-time, such was our superiority, and so I happened to check the live scores again. Just to recap, we needed Bristol Rovers to draw or to lose in order to win the title. Just before half-time, Southend drew level in that game and I am not too ashamed to admit that I celebrated by thrusting both fists into the air and shouting 'get in!' In the second-half, I was celebrating again when Southend unbelievably went 2-1 up and that was how it stayed. We therefore romped home to an unlikely title, with the destination of the title having been decided on the last day!

The final league standings look like this at the top of the table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team              |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   | C     | St. Albans        |       | 46    | 25    | 11    | 10    | 74    | 38    | +36   | 86    | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | P     | Bristol Rovers    |       | 46    | 24    | 13    | 9     | 67    | 35    | +32   | 85    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | P     | Exeter            |       | 46    | 21    | 19    | 6     | 60    | 31    | +29   | 82    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   | Pl    | Luton             |       | 46    | 22    | 15    | 9     | 76    | 55    | +21   | 81    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   | Pl    | Stockport         |       | 46    | 21    | 14    | 11    | 67    | 48    | +19   | 77    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   | Pl    | Tranmere          |       | 46    | 22    | 7     | 17    | 68    | 64    | +4    | 73    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   | Pl    | Rushden           |       | 46    | 20    | 12    | 14    | 63    | 49    | +14   | 72    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

And so we had come from behind and achieved a quite improbable title win by the slim margin of a single point. We will be playing League One football next season.

Full end of season review to come tomorrow.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done Crouchy.

[AcidBurn]

Nice one Crouchy the Prem is getting ever closer.

[Raware]

Well done on reaching League One with St. Albans C. . Looks like it was a good decision to switch to 'El-Tel's' xmas tree!

[crouchaldinho]

Thanks guys.

[crouchaldinho]

END OF SEASON 2014/15 SUMMARY:

League Two Final Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team              |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   | C     | St. Albans        |       | 46    | 25    | 11    | 10    | 74    | 38    | +36   | 86    | [/b]
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | P     | Bristol Rovers    |       | 46    | 24    | 13    | 9     | 67    | 35    | +32   | 85    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   | P     | Exeter            |       | 46    | 21    | 19    | 6     | 60    | 31    | +29   | 82    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Luton             |       | 46    | 22    | 15    | 9     | 76    | 55    | +21   | 81    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Stockport         |       | 46    | 21    | 14    | 11    | 67    | 48    | +19   | 77    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Tranmere          |       | 46    | 22    | 7     | 17    | 68    | 64    | +4    | 73    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   | P     | Rushden           |       | 46    | 20    | 12    | 14    | 63    | 49    | +14   | 72    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Weston-super-Mare |       | 46    | 20    | 12    | 14    | 56    | 44    | +12   | 72    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | MK Dons           |       | 46    | 19    | 14    | 13    | 64    | 44    | +20   | 71    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Oxford            |       | 46    | 18    | 15    | 13    | 54    | 40    | +14   | 69    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Leyton Orient     |       | 46    | 17    | 17    | 12    | 48    | 44    | +4    | 68    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Chesterfield      |       | 46    | 19    | 11    | 16    | 62    | 63    | -1    | 68    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Mansfield         |       | 46    | 18    | 13    | 15    | 56    | 41    | +15   | 67    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Southend          |       | 46    | 17    | 15    | 14    | 46    | 34    | +12   | 66    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Grimsby           |       | 46    | 17    | 14    | 15    | 55    | 57    | -2    | 65    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Wycombe           |       | 46    | 15    | 12    | 19    | 68    | 73    | -5    | 57    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Blackpool         |       | 46    | 14    | 14    | 18    | 47    | 57    | -10   | 56    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Torquay           |       | 46    | 14    | 13    | 19    | 45    | 55    | -10   | 55    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Dag & Red         |       | 46    | 13    | 15    | 18    | 59    | 60    | -1    | 54    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Hereford          |       | 46    | 12    | 13    | 21    | 44    | 67    | -23   | 49    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Accrington        |       | 46    | 11    | 12    | 23    | 54    | 77    | -23   | 45    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Stevenage         |       | 46    | 6     | 12    | 28    | 30    | 73    | -43   | 30    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23rd  | R     | Morecambe         |       | 46    | 8     | 5     | 33    | 44    | 92    | -48   | 29    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24th  | R     | Yeovil            |       | 46    | 7     | 6     | 33    | 34    | 100   | -66   | 27    | 
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

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

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                  | Position      | Apps    | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    |       | Adam Collin           | GK            | 42      | -     | -     | -     | 6.83  | 30    | ENG   | £18K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Rsv   | Laurence Gaughan      | D RC          | 42      | -     | 2     | 1     | 6.94  | 25    | IRL   | £6K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    |       | Luke Hoyte YP1        | D/M L         | 40      | -     | 4     | 1     | 7.08  | 21    | ENG   | £28K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    |       | Gilles Rouxel         | D C           | 26      | -     | -     | 1     | 6.98  | 21    | FRA   | £18K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | Mick Hodgson          | D C           | 40      | 5     | -     | 3     | 6.96  | 22    | IRL   | £20K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    |       | Moustapha Salifou     | M C           | 31      | 2     | 7     | 1     | 6.99  | 31    | TOG   | £10K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | Wnt   | Ali Battesti          | DM, M C       | 35 (2)  | 2     | 7     | 3     | 7.17  | 21    | FRA   | £22K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | Wnt   | William Le Pogam      | M C           | 35      | 7     | 5     | 2     | 6.96  | 22    | FRA   | £22K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   |       | Sam Hewson            | AM C          | 45 (1)  | 14    | 8     | 4     | 6.97  | 26    | ENG   | £24K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Rsv   | Steven Hetherington   | AM LC         | 42      | 7     | 12    | 4     | 7.05  | 22    | ENG   | £45K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    |       | Davide Enrico Somma   | AM R, ST      | 41 (3)  | 24    | 5     | 5     | 6.89  | 30    | RSA   | £10K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | Wnt   | Stephen Greenwood YP4 | GK            | 0 (3)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.70  | 17    | ENG   | £1.5K | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | Wnt   | Ben Hoskin            | D RC          | 9 (27)  | -     | 2     | 1     | 6.81  | 24    | ENG   | £6K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    |       | Shaun Moore           | D C           | 20 (4)  | 2     | -     | -     | 6.67  | 20    | ENG   | £14K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    |       | John Mousinho         | D R, DM, M RC | 15 (17) | 1     | 1     | -     | 6.87  | 29    | ENG   | £16K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    |       | Kirk Woods            | M C           | 5 (21)  | 1     | 1     | -     | 6.79  | 19    | ENG   | £40K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6    |       | Kevin Harvey          | AM C          | 1 (20)  | -     | 3     | -     | 6.72  | 19    | ENG   | £14K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7    | Wnt   | Yohann Agosta         | ST            | 12 (12) | 7     | 5     | -     | 6.79  | 22    | FRA   | £24K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Alfie Potter          | AM R          | 16      | 1     | 1     | 1     | 6.84  | 26    | ENG   | £6K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Jonny Rowell          | M C           | 6 (7)   | -     | 2     | -     | 6.87  | 25    | ENG   | £16K  | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Rob Taylor            | D/WB/AM L     | 11 (5)  | -     | 2     | 1     | 7.13  | 30    | ENG   | £3.5K | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Craig Calver          | ST            | 2 (8)   | -     | 1     | -     | 6.68  | 24    | ENG   | £8K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Ignasi Miquel         | D C           | 16 (4)  | 1     | -     | 1     | 6.97  | 22    | ESP   | £5K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | David Langley         | AM RL         | 16      | 3     | 1     | 3     | 7.03  | 21    | ENG   | £8K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

Crouchy's Mighty Saints Save - St. Albans City in League Two (Season Six at Clarence Park - 2014/15)

End of Season 2014/15 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 slowly climbed the table and had a really strong second half and finish to the season.

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

League Cup - A disappointment as we are knocked out in the first round.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Out in the first round.

Transfers - We managed to raise £32.5k through sales. All new signings were free transfers. French midfielders, Ali Battesti and William Le Pogam, were easily the best signings this season.

Key players:

Ali Battesti - Had a great first season with us, quickly adapting to English lower league football.

Steven Hetherington - Great stuff again from our star midfielder.

Sam Hewson - The attacking midfielder scored some very important goals for us and performed very well.

Davide Enrico Somma - A strong season from the striker as he netted 24 goals.

Team of the Season - Pretty much spot on.

Overall Best XI - One or two odd choices.

Other Club Info:

Fans’ Player of the season: Steven Hetherington (for the second year in a row).

Signing of the season: Ali Bettesti.

Top goalscorer(s): Davide Enrico Somma 24 (21 in the league).

Most Assists: Steven Hetherington 12.

Most MoM awards: Davide Enrico Somma 5.

Best Average Rating: Ali Bettesti 7.17 (36 apps).

Average Attendance: 3,353 (over 2,000 up on last year!)

Season Tickets: 460 (more than double last season)

Club finances: Despite our money-spinning FA Cup tie at Goodison Park, we are still in debt of approx. 150k.

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, Crouchaldinho (that's right, I have been added as favourite personnel! )

Most League Apps for Club - Steve Clark 488 (all time), Laurence Gaughan 152 (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 needs some time on loan to continue his development next season.

Alex Cooke (YP5) - This was the latest offering from my youth academy.

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

Name                	Position  	Era             Apps	Goals	Achievements	
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Laurence Gaughan	DRC		2009-Present	152	3	Blue Square South (2012)
								Blue Square Premier (2014)
								Coca-Cola League Two (2015)

Sol Shields		MC		2009-2014	152	10	Blue Square South (2012)

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

Luke Hoyte (YP1)	DL		2010-Present	136	3	Blue Square South (2012)
								Blue Square Premier (2014)
								Coca-Cola League Two (2015)

Craig Calver 		ST 		2009-Present	122	45	Blue Square South (2012)
								Blue Square Premier (2014)
								Coca-Cola League Two (2015)

JJ O'Donnell		AMRLC		2009-2014	111	10	Blue Square South (2012)

Ben Martin 		DC		2010-2014	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)

James Quilter		DRC/DM/MC	2009-2013	102	1	Blue Square South (2012)

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

Alfie Potter		AMR		2012-Present	100	17	Blue Square Premier (2014)
								Coca-Cola League Two (2015)

Other News:

- The Big Boys:

o Man City retain the league title for a second season. Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are the other teams finishing in the top four. Hull, Fulham and QPR are relegated.

o Liverpool win the FA Cup. Man Utd win the League Cup.

o Barcelona win the Champions League title for the third time in a row defeating Lyon in the final. The Europa is won by Celtic.

- Local Interests:

o Bishop's Stortford finished in a mid-table position in the BSS. Boreham Wood have been moved to the South after a year fighting relegation in the North.

o Luton were beaten in the League One play-offs.

o Stevenage avoid relegation from the Football League by just one point.

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

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

My Manager Awards:

- 2014/15 Coca-Cola League Two Manager of the Year.

- 2013/14 Blue Square Premier Manager of the Year.

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

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

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

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

- 2012/13 Blue Square Premier 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 [2179 days])::

P 	W 	D 	L 	F	A	Win % 		Competitions Won
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
309	168	80	61	518	269	54%		Coca-Cola League Two (2015)
							Blue Square Premier (2014)
							Blue Square South (2012)									

Cups:

| Season 	| FA Cup	| League Cup	|  FL Trophy	| FA Trophy		
|-----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------  
| 09/10 (BSS) 	| 3rd Rnd    	| N/A		|  N/A		| 3rd Qual Rnd 
| 10/11 (BSS) 	| 1st Rnd    	| N/A   	|  N/A		| 1st Rnd
| 11/12 (BSS) 	| 2nd Rnd    	| N/A 		|  N/A		| 1st Rnd
| 12/13 (BSP) 	| 2nd Rnd    	| N/A 		|  N/A		| 3rd Rnd
| 13/14 (BSP)	| 3rd Rnd    	| N/A		|  N/A		| 1st Rnd
| 14/15 (L2) 	| 3rd Rnd    	| 1st Rnd 	|  1st Rnd	| N/A

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
2014/15		St. Albans City		CCL2		[b]1st		[/b][b]League Two Champions[/b], Manager of the Season

Misc. screenshots:

I am manager of the year.

Next Season: I expect League One to be a much greater challenge. The priority will be survival as we slowly rebuild the club to match the level that we have now reached.

[Standard liege!]

You put you have won League 1 'League One Champions' and on the hundred club players achievements.

[crouchaldinho]

Wishful thinking I think Standard Liege!

Thanks. Fixed now.

[Standard liege!]

Haha getting a bit ahead of yourself Well don on promotion, I am still reading! Best of luck.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Mystic Crouchy.

[crouchaldinho]

PRE-SEASON TRANSFERS:

Transfers

As we have progressed higher, the emphasis has been more and more on foreign players. Why? Well, basically, because they are much cheaper and easier to sign than their English or British equivalents.

In terms of the outgoing players, we said goodbye to players such as Alfie Potter, Craig Calver and Laurence Gaughan as their contracts came to an end. Also moving on were Sam Hewson and John Mousinho as I decided to cash in, bringing a total of £33k into the club.

Incoming signings were all on free transfers or loans. We strengthened in every position and also brought in a few signings for the future. I was also pleased to be able to attract a number of players from Premier League side Arsenal as loan signings. Striker Horacio Palomino was the best deal, while Georgi Filipov will also play a part in the first team this season. The other players will make good backups.

As the emphasis is now on foreign players, I'm determined to keep a local link and so I've taken the decision to make sure that we have at least one regular from the area. I'm also going to give players from our youth academy some playing time from the bench this season in the hope that we can develop some new local talent.

I was unable to really improve our options in the wide positions, so the 4-3-2-1 Christmas Tree formation remains our 'plan a':

We can also switch this to 4-3-1-2 as required.

Our 'plan b' side would probably line up in a 4-2-3-1 as follows:

UPDATE FOR AUG 2015:

Manager Comments for Aug 2015:

We started very well in the league with a credible opening day draw with Sheffield Wednesday followed by wins against Bournemouth and Preston later in the month. Early signs suggest that we should be more than capable of holding our own in this division and surviving.

We made good progress in the League Cup and ended up drawing Everton at Goodison Park in the 2nd Round. As you can see below, we put in a really hard-working performance and we made life tough for Everton and, although we didn't get the result, we can be proud of the performance.

_________________________________________________

League Cup 2nd Round - Everton 1 - 0 St. Albans City

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

In the end, Everton proved their superiority, but we played well and had chances of our own. We hit the woodwork and had a clear cut chance, so it could have been different on another day.

__________________________________________________

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos	| Inf   | Team           |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Bristol Rovers |       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 5     | 3     | +2    | 8     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Sheff Wed      |       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 4     | 3     | +1    | 8     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 13th  |       | St. Albans     |       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 4     | 4     | 0     | 8     | [/b]
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Walsall        |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 9     | 7     | +2    | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Gillingham     |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 10    | 10    | 0     | 7     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR SEP & OCT 2015:

Manager Comments for Sep & Oct 2015:

I believe that we are making steady progress. Over these two months, we appeared to grow in confidence and play very well, although it tailed off towards the end of the October as we lost a couple of away games and got a disappointing draw at home. Still, we look very much the part in League One and 19 points from 11 games is not a bad return at all. We also made good progress in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, which is very pleasing.

The highlight of the month was a 5-2 victory over Carlisle, in which Horacio Palomino scored 5 goals and got a match rating of 10. This is a first for me on FM10.

_________________________________________________

League One - St. Albans City 5 - 2 Carlisle

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

An incredible performance from the Arsenal loanee as we totally outplayed Carlisle to win 5-2.

__________________________________________________

The next update will be after Christmas!

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos	| Inf   | Team           |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th	|       | Preston        |       | 16    | 8     | 5     | 3     | 23    | 12    | +11   | 29    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th 	|       | Swindon        |       | 16    | 9     | 1     | 6     | 25    | 19    | +6    | 28    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 6th	|       | St. Albans     |       | 16    | 7     | 6     | 3     | 25    | 19    | +6    | 27    | [/b]
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th	|       | Sheff Wed      |       | 16    | 7     | 5     | 4     | 20    | 14    | +6    | 26    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th	|       | Notts Co       |       | 16    | 7     | 4     | 5     | 20    | 21    | -1    | 25    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[hrbfcrule]

Congratz on promotion and well done on your good start in league 1, lets hope it continues

[crouchaldinho]

Cheers.

[crouchaldinho]

UPDATE FOR NOV & DEC 2015:

Manager Comments for Nov & Dec 2015:

November started really poorly as we got knocked out of the FA Cup and generally humiliated by League Two side Southend.

In the league, however, we continued to play our best stuff and we managed 15 points from 9 games during November and December.

In the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, we made it all of the way to the Southern Section semis, where we met Southend again. I had hopes of revenge for our earlier FA Cup defeat. See below for details of the match:

_________________________________________________

Johnstont's Paint Trophy- St. Albans City 1 - 2 Southend

Line-ups

Overview, Match Details & Player Ratings

Southend are proving to be my bogey team as they once again inflicted an embarrassing defeat on us and knocked us out of another cup for the second time this season.

It all started well enough when we went 1-0 up but we lost our way in the second-half, let Southend back in the game and then lost our discipline. A very disappointing result as I felt we had a chance of going all of the way in this cup.

__________________________________________________

Snapshot of the league table:

Full league table coming up in the next post.

[crouchaldinho]

END OF 2015 SUMMARY:

League One Standings:

| Pos                           | Inf   | Team           |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st                           |       | Barnsley       |       | 25    | 19    | 4     | 2     | 41    | 14    | +27   | 61    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd                           |       | Cardiff        |       | 25    | 16    | 5     | 4     | 44    | 20    | +24   | 53    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 3rd                           |       | St. Albans     |       | 25    | 10    | 12    | 3     | 37    | 25    | +12   | 42    | [/b]
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th                           |       | Preston        |       | 25    | 12    | 6     | 7     | 33    | 26    | +7    | 42    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th                           |       | Plymouth       |       | 25    | 12    | 4     | 9     | 32    | 21    | +11   | 40    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th                           |       | Sheff Wed      |       | 25    | 10    | 10    | 5     | 35    | 25    | +10   | 40    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th                           |       | Swindon        |       | 25    | 12    | 4     | 9     | 36    | 32    | +4    | 40    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th                           |       | Notts Co       |       | 25    | 11    | 7     | 7     | 29    | 29    | 0     | 40    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th                           |       | Brighton       |       | 25    | 11    | 6     | 8     | 35    | 28    | +7    | 39    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th                          |       | Walsall        |       | 25    | 9     | 8     | 8     | 40    | 33    | +7    | 35    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th                          |       | Bristol Rovers |       | 25    | 9     | 6     | 10    | 27    | 28    | -1    | 33    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th                          |       | Bradford       |       | 25    | 9     | 6     | 10    | 27    | 32    | -5    | 33    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th                          |       | Rushden        |       | 25    | 9     | 5     | 11    | 25    | 25    | 0     | 32    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th                          |       | Brentford      |       | 25    | 7     | 9     | 9     | 34    | 35    | -1    | 30    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th                          |       | Carlisle       |       | 25    | 8     | 6     | 11    | 30    | 37    | -7    | 30    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th                          |       | Rochdale       |       | 25    | 8     | 6     | 11    | 30    | 37    | -7    | 30    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th                          |       | Exeter         |       | 25    | 7     | 8     | 10    | 20    | 26    | -6    | 29    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th                          |       | Bournemouth    |       | 25    | 7     | 7     | 11    | 27    | 31    | -4    | 28    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th                          |       | Shrewsbury     |       | 25    | 5     | 10    | 10    | 26    | 36    | -10   | 25    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th                          |       | Gillingham     |       | 25    | 4     | 11    | 10    | 31    | 36    | -5    | 23    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st                          |       | Wigan          |       | 25    | 8     | 8     | 9     | 24    | 29    | -5    | 22    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd                          |       | Oldham         |       | 25    | 4     | 10    | 11    | 34    | 45    | -11   | 22    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 23rd                          |       | Crewe          |       | 25    | 4     | 7     | 14    | 32    | 47    | -15   | 19    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 24th                          |       | Port Vale      |       | 25    | 4     | 5     | 16    | 20    | 52    | -32   | 17    | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10 points deducted from Wigan |       |                |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

First Team Squad Statistics (all competitions):

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name                | Position   | Apps  | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | HG    | Adam Collin         | GK         | 32    | -     | -     | -     | 6.84  | 31    | ENG   | £9K   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Sus   | Yassin Moutaouakil  | D RL, WB R | 32    | -     | 5     | 2     | 7.02  | 29    | FRA   | £40K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    | HG    | Luke Hoyte YP1      | D/M L      | 19    | -     | 1     | -     | 6.88  | 22    | ENG   | £22K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | PR    | Gilles Rouxel       | D C        | 27    | 1     | -     | 3     | 6.97  | 21    | FRA   | £10K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | Mick Hodgson        | D RC       | 22    | -     | -     | -     | 6.67  | 22    | IRL   | £24K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | Tut   | Steven Hetherington | AM LC      | 19    | 6     | 1     | -     | 6.79  | 22    | ENG   | £55K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | PR    | Ali Battesti        | DM, M C    | 27 (1)| -     | 6     | -     | 6.99  | 22    | FRA   | £30K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | HG    | Jonny Rowell        | M C        | 4 (11)| -     | 2     | -     | 6.93  | 26    | ENG   | £9K   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | HG    | Alan McCormack      | AM C       | 31 (1)| 4     | 3     | 1     | 6.73  | 31    | IRL   | £22K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMC   | Slt   | Georgi Filipov      | AM/F C     | 7 (10)| 1     | 2     | 1     | 6.74  | 19    | BUL   | £1.1M | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | PR    | Horacio Palomino    | ST         | 28    | 17    | 4     | 5     | 7.01  | 20    | ARG   | £1.2M | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | HG    | Nana Ofori-Twumasi  | D RC       | 13 (3)| -     | 1     | 1     | 7.09  | 25    | GHA   | £22K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | Slt   | Mohamed Mokhtari    | D C        | 9 (8) | -     | 1     | -     | 7.03  | 22    | MAR   | £16K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Slt   | William Carvalho    | DM, M C    | 25 (3)| -     | 5     | -     | 6.83  | 23    | POR   | £70K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Slt   | Moustapha Salifou   | M C        | 6 (6) | -     | 1     | -     | 6.76  | 32    | TOG   | £9K   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | PR    | William Le Pogam    | M C        | 11 (8)| 1     | 5     | 1     | 7.14  | 22    | FRA   | £35K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S6    | Lrn   | Alex Cooke YP5      | AM RC, F C | 0 (10)| -     | -     | -     | 6.48  | 17    | ENG   | £28K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S7    | Wnt   | Davide Enrico Somma | AM R, ST   | 1 (5) | 1     | -     | -     | 6.52  | 30    | RSA   | £4K   | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Yohann Agosta       | ST         | 14 (8)| 10    | 3     | 5     | 7.20  | 22    | FRA   | £35K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Siem Lammers        | M C        | 18 (3)| 1     | 2     | 1     | 6.79  | 23    | FRA   | £35K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | HG    | Mark Dean           | D C        | 0 (4) | -     | -     | -     | 6.77  | 18    | ENG   | £65K  | 
| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 

[crouchaldinho]

I'm getting interest from Championship sides now. This is the latest job offer to land in my inbox:

[Raware]

As a red dog myself, I say take it, take it, take it!!!