Anost Posted November 6, 2010 Share Posted November 6, 2010 Anosts' Journeyman Career Even though I'm a long time Tottenham fan journeyman is pretty much the only style of game I play in FM and so I figured it would be nice to have one that I keep updated on the forums to share my wonderful travels with others. The game will be played using pretty much only realistic play-styles (No player search, scouts only). I also try to be as heavily involved with my club as possible (Press conferences, team talks) and so it may take a wee bit to get some real depth to the thread. As for my setup: Version 11.1 26 Nations Loaded 66 Leagues ALL Leagues Loaded from the Following Africa: South Africa Asia: Australia China South Korea - Loaded only K-league due to no promotion/relegation system with N-league Europe: Belgium Denmark England France Germany Greece Holland Ireland Italy N.Ireland Portugal Russia Scotland Spain Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales North America: Mexico USA South America: Argentina Brazil Database: Large All current internationals loaded from Africa, Asia, South America and Europe 111, 000 Players loaded. I will be starting unemployed with a sunday league reputation, holidaying till December and then beginning my job hunt. Random Targets: Manage on all continents. Take either the Scottish or Welsh league above the English league through DLR. To win the Champions league with a club NOT from England, Germany, France, Italy or Spain. To take a country below 50th in the FIFA Rankings to World Cup Glory To become an awesome wheeler dealer. Possibly manage Spurs at some point in my game. Please bear with me while I try to adjust to a specific format of my posts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 6, 2010 Author Share Posted November 6, 2010 Reserved for records and honours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 December - June 2010 Come December I began my job hunt! It was a long wait and I was not approached until the 20th June 2011 by newly promoted Afan Lido in the Principality Welsh Premier League. They offered me a one year contract on £475 p/w. Transfer Budget: £0 Wage Budget: £3.6k p/w Current Player Wage Total: £906 p/w The club has no staff and only 13 first team players with 2 of them about to be let go on frees. Sounded perfect! So I took the job after negotiating my salary up to £500. Avoiding relegation is going to be a great test for my first club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 Founded in 1965, Afan Lido are a semi-professional Welsh club currently playing in the Principality Welsh Premier. The club play their home games at The Marston's Stadium and possess average training facilities and an adequate youth setup. The club also possess a youth academy and a limited youth recruitment network. The club is affectionately known as The Lido and retains a fierce rivalry with Port Talbort Town, Llanelli AFC and Barry Town. The club enjoyed probably their best spell of success during the 1990s. Although now enduring a seventeen year barren spell, having not won a single competition since 1994. The Lido still have a history of which they can be justly proud. Afan Lido finished runners-up in the Welsh top division for the only time in 1994, finished runners-up in the Welsh Cup in 2007, won the Loosemores League cup in 1993 and 1994, and finished runners-up in the Welsh 2nd tier for the only time in 1998. Season 2011/2012 Board Expectations: Avoid Relegation Media Prediction: 11th Odds on Winning Title: 2000-1 Finances: £31,562 In the black Transfer Budget: £0 Wage Budget: £3.6k p/w Current Player Wage Total: £906 p/w Squad Nothing much to say. Pretty lacklustre squad. Needs a major revamp. Fixtures A couple of friendlies to ease us into the season against opposition I really feel we should challenge at least. Global Updates: EPL: 10/11 1st. Chelsea 2nd. Man Utd 3rd. Tottenham Relegated: Blackpool, Wigan, West Brom Man City steals final CL spot with Liverpool 5th, Everton 6th, Arsenal 7th. La Liga: 10/11 1st. At Madrid 2nd. Real Madrid 3rd. Barcelona Relegated: Mallorca, Athletic, Zaragoza Serie A: 10/11 1st. Roma 2nd. Juventus 3rd. A.C Milan Relegated: Cesena, Bologna, Bari Inter came 6th. June - 2011 The first order of business was to place adverts for an assistant manager, physio, scout and coach as the club currently had no staff with the exception of myself. The squad was an absolute shambles. The first team consisted of 3 goalkeepers, 3 defenders, 4 midfielders and 3 strikers. Main priorities were cover for defence, a replacement goalkeeper along with cover for the midfield. With most of the wage budget at my disposal and the highest paid player only at £160 p/w, I had a bit of work to do. With the main goalkeeper aged 35 and his contract about to run out, a 16 year old GK named David Edwards was called up from the youth team. Due to such a shortage of manpower I began to scour for free agents using the news columns and transfer gossip as my main sources of information, due to my own personal limited knowledge of the Welsh transfer market. I also arranged a friendly match with the reserves before the end of the month in order to assess where we were at quality wise. Matches: Afan Lido 0 – 0 Afan Lido Reserves We picked up an injury within 2 minutes of kick off on our ML and with no replacement I had no choice but to force an AMR into the position. We then follow this start with a straight red card tackle after 34 minutes on one of our DC's. With no defensive cover, I choose to play a 3-4-2 and continue the game. After half time we manage to get rewarded with a penalty which is promptly fired over the crossbar. Thankfully, the reserves receive a red card and we see out the game to a draw with 10 men each. Key Players: Eammon Lynch - Striker that seems to have potential to bag some goals. Did very well for the team last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 July - 2011 This month I really tried to build depth in the squad and begin the process of helping them to gel. Due to the lack of staffing the beginning of the month required me to judge players based on trials. I finally managed to fill all the staff positions around half way through the month and scouting began and the final 2 weeks saw some major signings. Transfers A total of 13 first team signings and 2 Player/Staff roles as they would not accept non-player roles. Some of the youth that has been signed looks promising, especially the ex-Tottenham academy boys. Squad Much more depth to the squad now and enough to cover all but the worst injury crisis. Tactics I began to try and fit together some basic tactics for the lads to start getting used to that would be effective in the league. I didn't fancy my chances too much so I went for a stable counter attacking 4-4-2 formation with Lynch playing as the advanced forward and Lancaster playing in the poaching role ahead of him. The players were to pass short in order to try and retain possession along with disrupting the opponents flow of play whenever possible. Matches: Friendly: Afan Lido 4 - 2 Woking Things are looking good in our first real friendly until the 14th minute where we concede a sloppy goal from a counter attack. We create plenty of chances but the final finish doesn't seem to come. Another goal down by the 39th minute from a corner but manage to pull 1 back 2 minutes later. Our Tottenham youth striker manages to level it at 60 minutes iin and then we are unlucky enough to have 2 goals disallowed for offside. We score a 3rd in the 84th minute which gives me real hope that we might not die in the league. Another chance in the 89th minute seals our victory to make it 4-2. Scorers: Mernagh, Lancaster, Lynch (2) Friendly: Gloucester 3 - 2 Afan Lido I mix things up a bit this match and replace the Lancaster and Lynch strikeforce with Wade and White (Alliteration out the ass.) The game starts off poorly as we concede within 4 minutes and are 2 down after 16 minutes. We manage to pull one back 10 minutes later and are lucky to equalise 3 minutes after the second half begins. A late error then gifts Gloucester a 3rd and we finish with our first loss. Scorers: Wade, McAnespie Friendly: Weston-super-Mare 1 - 3 Afan Lido Reverting back to the old strike partnership of Lynch and Lancaster along with resting a few other first team members gives others a chance to impress. Things pay off immediately with Lynch scoring an early goal after Lancaster fails and has his shot deflected. A superb long distance free kick from Williams hits the back of the net 12 minutes from half time to put us 2 ahead. Weson-super-Mare manage to scrape one back after half time but are sunk only minutes later when Lynch extends our lead with another superb goal. Scorers: Lynch (2), Williams Key Players: Eammon Lynch - Our main goalscorer. 4 Goals in 3 Games makes him seal his place easily. Cameron Lancaster - A talented ex-Tottenham youth who seems to partner well with Lynch. He should hopefully go far in the team. Jack Munns - My ass man seems to reckon this 17 year old ex-Tottenham MC is the best thing since sliced bread so we will see how he develops. Adam Buxton - My ass man seems to think this 20 year old ex-Wigan AMC is even better than the best thing since sliced bread. Another one who will be important in the future maybe. Summary: Some decent signings and a good start to the pre-season. Tactics settled and now it's time to just play a rotation and see who are in my first team plans and how well they gel together. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 Anyone who wants updates on a team feel free to request and I'll take a look at how they're doing in my game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldjh1985 Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 sounds like you've got your work cut out here! Fairly good start though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 August - 2011 I began to try and finalise all my doings in the transfer market and with 1/3rd of my wage budget still remaining I wrapped up one last deal for an Irish striker that my scout had found who would be good cover for my strikeforce Lancaster and Lynch. With this done I could now focus on getting a running start to the league Squad The squad is looking a lot stronger now and hopefully the lads will gel very quickly and start playing some attractive football. Tactics I integrated 5 of the new signings into the first 11 with our new Irish striker on the bench. Matches: League: Afan Lido 4 - 1 Carmarthen Town We had a sensational start to the season. Lancaster had a good league debut as he powered in a header early in the game from a lovely cross provided by Mernagh, our right winger. Carmarthern equalised soon after however. We managed to take the league again on the 30th minute as our youthful MC Buxton fires a long ball forward with the opponents DL playing Lynch onside to run on and slide it past the keeper. Lynch fires another howler in minutes later to take us 2 goals ahead. The second half was largely uneventful with several wasted chances before Lynch earns his hatrick in the 5th minute of injury time. An injury to our young MC Buxton is cause for concern though. Scorers: Lancaster, Lynch (3) League: TNS 1 - 0 Afan Lido One of the hardest away games of the season comes to us early. Morale is good and we begin absolutely dominating possession early on. An injury to Lancaster sets us back however but gives us the chance to try out our new Irish striker. We fail to create any chances but prevent them from doing so as well and we enter half time at a stalemate. After 70 minutes we find ourselves 1-0 down after a sloppy mistake in midfield. I tell the boys to go on the attack as they have nothing to lose but we sadly finish with a loss. League: Afan Lido 1 - 1 Bala The game turns out to be a very equal match with rare chances for either side. Close to half time we start to pick things up a bit and Lynch puts a wonderful through ball to my new Irish ST Gorman who proceeds to fire it into their net. The game takes a nosedive later on as we are denied a penalty late on to follow up by missing an open goal. Bala equalises soon after this and the game ends in a disastrous draw. I am really disappointed with this result as I felt this was a game we should have sealed. Scorers: Gorman Key Players: Eammon Lynch - Great striker. Picked himself up a hatrick and provided a great assists along with 2 MoM performances. Cameron Lancaster -Very talented striker for only 18 years old and will hopefully get himself on the score sheet many more times over the coming season. Adam Buxton - Had a wonderful performance for the time he did play and bagged himself 2 assists. Jonathon Mernagh - Great winger, creates chances and is solid all around. Summary: A good start to the season in my opinion. 4 Points from 3 games will hopefully be a sign that we're not as hopeless as we were predicted. The team seems solid although I am concerned about the availability of cover on the left side of midfield but I'll monitor that situation closely. League Table Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 September - 2011 I felt that this would be the month that might give me an indication of where we were heading. After 22 games the Welsh league splits into 2 groups of 6, the Championship group and the Relegation group in order to play their final games. With any luck I am hoping to challenge for the former but not holding my breath. I decided to renew a couple of contracts and of particular note is Eammon Lynch. Even though he's getting old at 32 he's been playing well so another year extension was in order. After seeing a few wobbles from my goalkeeper in previous matches and silly mistakes I chose to sign a Scottish GK free agent that my scout had spotted. At 19 years old he has very good potential and he makes it straight into the first team. The Loosemores League Cup 1st Round Draw comes up and I watch it anxiously until...away to Port Talbot! Get in! The chance to knock out our fiercest rivals would be glorious. On their turf as well! We have them in the league this month though so will be focusing on that first and foremost. Squad Squad is doing well. Some good performances from some key characters as expected. Good goalscoring potential and now a solid GK. Matches: League: Prestatyn 1 - 1 Afan Lido The game starts well and we have constant chances and dominate possession. This continued until half time but we were unable to capitalise as their goalkeeper has the game of his life. We are rewarded after 53 minutes as our Irish ST manages to put one in the net after he fails his first attempt. Somehow after a game of almost no chances Prestatyn find their luck and level it with a stupendous goal from a rebound. They continue to press us a bit for the final minutes but we see it out as a draw. Not sure what happened. We dominated entirely and should have won. Scorers: Gorman League: Afan Lido 3 - 1 Neath We were not favourites for this encounter but I am not sure why as Neath were yet to win a game and we were at home. Either way I set my boys out looking for the win. The lead came early after some crazy actions from their goalkeeper who rushed out to collect a long ball but gifted our Irish ST a chance to get ahead which he took. Our opponents missed a golden opportunity 10 minutes later and our Irish ST got his second on the counter with a head supplied by our MR. Our Irish ST completely his hatrick after half time but we could not keep our clean sheet as we conceded a penalty in the 67th minute to finish the game 3 - 1. Scorers: Gorman (3) League: Port Talbot 0 - 0 Afan Lido A preview of our cup match to come! Away to Port Talbot in the league. They were favourites but I fancied my chances and so we went out looking for a win. They did however seem to press us the entire game while we had few chances. I brought Lancaster back into the side in place of our Irish ST in order to mix things up a bit but we just could not break through and the game ended a bore draw. The fans were satisfied though. Key Players: Mark Weir - Our new 19 year old Scottish GK. He's come into the role quickly and done well for the team. Adam Buxton - After returning from injury this MC has been solid in the league. Phillip Gorman - Our new Irish ST who I originally bought in as cover has claimed his place in the first 11 with 5 goals in 4 games. Eammon Lynch - Although he's on a but of a dry streak for goals he's still played well and created good chances. Summary: We're doing well in the league. At least better than I thought we would. Pleased to have got the 0 - 0 draw with Port Talbot but disappointed with the draw at Prestatyn. Hopefully we can start turning these into wins soon. League Table Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 October - 2011 Phillip Gorman our Irish ST was named Player of the Month for September! Hoping he can maintain this form and keep us in the top half of the table. The Welsh Cup 3rd Round Draw takes place and we get drawn against Taff Wells away. They are currently playing in the Welsh 1st Division. I also signed an 18 year old ex-Sheff Utd Striker that my scout found and he was willing to sign for £7 a week on a 5 year contract. Snapped him up quickly as my staff though he'd be better than our Irish mastermind. Squad Not much to note. Hoping Eammon Lynch can get on the scoresheet again soon. Lancaster is improving in training and may put pressure on him for a place. Matches: League: Afan Lido 1 - 0 Llanelli I made a lot of changes for this game. Resting Lynch and changing out our ex-Tottenham MC Manns. I also switched the defence about a bit as I didn't want to overwork anyone. The first half was largely uneventful with equal opportunities from both sides. Noone looked like scoring. I made a couple of changes at half time but I eventually decided it's unlikely we'd get anything from the game. We're given a penalty in the 83rd minute but our Irish star misses it and I resign to defeat. In the 5th minute of injury time however one of the MC's on his debut fires in a spectacular volley at the Llanelli goal to put us in front and win the game! Nice to win over one of our rivals. Scorers: Doolan Loosemores Cup 1st Round: Port Talbot 1 - 0 Afan Lido A cup match against our arch rivals on their ground. I put out the strongest line up I can to try and get something from the game. The first half flies by with no real chances and we enter half time at a total stalemate. We go down a goal by a deflection in the 63rd minute however and so I send the boys on the attack. Just when I think it's all over Eammon Lynch slides in a 92nd minute goal from a cross and just as I'm celebrating the referee calls it offside! Horrible way to end. League: Aberyswyth 1 - 2 Afan Lido The hardest game of the season. Aberyswyth were currently sitting top of the league on a six game unbeaten run having only lost once this season and winning the rest. We were going out looking for a draw at the very most. We enter the game expecting nothing but all of a sudden we dominate the first 15 minutes. Possession is totally ours and Aberyswyth create absolutely no chances. Luckily we score our first in the 16th minute as our Irish ST collects a messy balls and fires it at goal. For some reason things start to come apart and they equalise by the 36th minute. We get a few decent chances to take the lead again but nothing comes before half time. After the break Aberyswyth start to play how I expected them to and they harass our goal mouth for a while before our Irish ST puts us ahead after a lovely through ball down the middle. More wasted chances by Aberyswyth and I tell the lads to defend their socks off as the game closes and we claim a valuable win! No idea how we've come away with this! Scorers: Gorman (2) League: Afan Lido 2 - 0 Newtown Newtown were 9th in the league and had won only 2 of their games. I was hoping to capitalise on their poor form and our good form to steal another win. The game starts decently, we have a number of good chances and we earn ourselves our first goal in the 19th minute as Eammon Lynch slots one in ending his goal drought. Our Irish ST makes it 2 10 minutes later with a nice long range effort. We continue harassing their box until half time but are unable to extend our lead. We run into trouble at half time as our DL is sent off for a cynical foul. I change formation to a 4-4-1 and manage to defend out the rest of the game. Scorers: Eammon Lynch, Gorman League: Airbus 1 - 1 Afan Lido An away game had me looking to try and turn this month into 4 wins out of 4 but it would not be easy! Or so I thought! We take the lead with our very first chance of the game. Our Irish ST firing from inside the box to put us ahead. We have another chance a few minutes later but it's disallowed for offside. Things settle a bit before an Airbus player receives his second yellow and is sent off in the 49th minute. 3 minutes later disaster strikes as somehow they manage to fire a goal in from 35 yards to equalise it. I tell the boys to attack as I feel my perfect month slipping but we are unable to retake the lead. Scorers:Gorman Key Players: Phillip Gorman - Our Irish superstar. 9 Goals from 8 games and he's absolutely on fire. Great signing. Eammon Lynch - Age is starting to get the better of him but he's still playing well. Jonathon Mernagh - He's been good down the right side. A solid player. Summary: A great month overall. A bit disappointed with the final result as that would have put us in 2nd place on goal difference. Currently we are on course to reach the Championship group and I'm hoping it stays that way. We're performing well above expectation and are only 4 points off 1st place. With odds of 2000-1 on the title I still fancy our chances at this rate. League Table We sit 4th in the table. Comfortably in the Championship group by 8 points. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
crouchaldinho Posted November 7, 2010 Share Posted November 7, 2010 Top work so far. A good start to life with Lido. Another excellent looking journeyman save. Great way of playing the game! I must say, I also applaud your choice of team. I like Afan Lido as well - they seem to be my Welsh team on FM - and have had a few saves with them in the past. Looking forward to seeing you take them to glory (hopefully!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 7, 2010 Author Share Posted November 7, 2010 Top work so far. A good start to life with Lido.Another excellent looking journeyman save. Great way of playing the game! I must say, I also applaud your choice of team. I like Afan Lido as well - they seem to be my Welsh team on FM - and have had a few saves with them in the past. Looking forward to seeing you take them to glory (hopefully!) Ha thanks! Can't say managing them was really a choice! They were the first to come in with a job offer. I've really started to enjoy the team though, the derbies with Port Talbot have really got my adrenaline going. Chances are I'll either try and compete for the title over the coming years or see if any decent opportunities come in with a job offer for me. If we make Europe this season though I'll be absolutely amazed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 Looks like a great start. Really been holding your own up there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 8, 2010 Author Share Posted November 8, 2010 November - 2011 The main aim for this month is to keep up our superb form in the league to really cement our place in the Championship group. Along with this, the board want me to reach the fourth round of the Welsh cup which I feel shouldn't be much of a challenge. Squad Phillip Gorman our Irish ST is still the star of the squad. Matches: League: Afan Lido 1 - 0 Haverfordwest We outplay them everywhere early on but are unable to actually score anything before half time. After the break they get a man sent off for his second booking and I decide to give a debut to the youth striker that I captured on a £7 p/w contract. He comes on the pitch and scores within his first 2 minutes giving him a fantastic start to his career with us. Our opponents almost equalise late on but shoot it past the post when through on goal and we defend our way to the finish! Happy with another win! Scorers: Adams Welsh Cup 3rd Round: Taff Wellst 2 - 2 (p) Afan Lido I played a total reserve team not really caring too much about the result and thinking it would be an easy win. Our first goal comes after 25 minutes from a nice diving header one of our DC's puts in. Somehow they manage to equalise before half time but we're still creating chances but just having trouble converting them. Disaster again in the 87th minute as they put a header past my goalkeeper after I had assumed it would go to extra time. I tell the boys to go on the all out attack and within 2 minutes we're level again as Lynch slots in from 25 yards. Extra time commences and we waste some valuable chances and the second half is largely uneventful. It goes down to penalties but immediately they miss their first and 3rd while we power in all of ours to win the game and put us through to the next round. Scorers: Comyn-Platt, Lynch League: Carmarthen 0 - 2 Afan Lido Relegation threatened Carmarthen are yet to win in the league having gained only 3 points from 3 draws and losing the remainder. I was hoping this would prove an easy match but they do well to keep us at bay and have their fair share of chances while restricting us to long range shots. We go in at half time 0-0 and I begin to worry that we aren't going to get anything but things pick up in the second half and our Irish ST fires in from a cross at 54 minutes and we seal things 16 minutes later with another. We have some shaky minutes in the later moments but defend well and bag ourselves the 3 points. Scorers: Gormam, Woodward League: Afan Lido 0 - 1 TNS A crucial game against 3rd place TNS while we sat top of the table. I wasn't expecting to win or even draw this at all. If we wanted a shot at the title however this was the sort of game that we needed to get points from. As expected, TNS take the lead within 5 minutes. We begin to get in the game a little and have several chances before going in at half time a goal down still. The second half sees us unable to break through their defence and the game finishes 1-0. Key Players: Charlie Comyn-Platt - Had a fantastic debut and won us 3 points. He's going to do well at the club. Especially for the money he's on! Phillip Gorman - Still doing well. Got another goal and has been playing decently. Summary: 6 Points from 9 in the league is a great performance really along with progressing further in the Welsh cup. Couldn't ask for much more as we're still right up there after expectations had us fighting against relegation. League Table It's tight at the top but we're absolutely on fire at 2nd in the league and only a point off top! My only worries are if Gorman's form drops we're going to struggle to score goals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 8, 2010 Author Share Posted November 8, 2010 December - 2011 With only 9 games remaining in the first stage of the league I was quite confident of being in the Championship group as we started the month 10 points clear of 7th place. Squad Looking to give some fringe players a bit more time and rest some of our stars. Confidence Board definitely won't be sacking me any time soon with these performances! Matches: League: Bala 4 - 1 Afon Lido We have a horrible start with Bala scoring within 5 minutes. They score another on 9 minutes and I am oblivious to the obvious and terrible drop in form. Luckily we pull one back soon after with Lynch running through their defence before powering into their net. They begin to constantly barge into my players and I see some horrendous tackles take place but the referee is not pulling out a single card! As a result of this we pick up 2 injuries to our ML and MC and still no cards! The harassment continues as they trample their way through my team. Our replacement ML is then injured by another foul tackle and I am forced to play an ST out of position in his place. Bala score again soon after the break and finish with their 4th after 71 minutes. The dirtiest game I have ever witnessed and I have no idea what the ref was doing! Scorers: Lynch League: Afan Lido 1 - 1 Prestatyn With Prestatyn still unable to claim a win this season, I felt this game could provide us some easy points at home. We're rewarded early as some messy play in their box causes one of their players to score an own goal. They equalise from long range a mere 8 minutes later though and we're yet again on the search for the lead. However it wasn't to be and somehow we draw against opponents we should have well and truly beaten. Scorers: Own Goal League: Neath 1 - 0 Afan Lido We really needed to start picking up points now to bring this bad streak to an end. I swap the team around a bit to try and mix things up and spark some life into our play. The game starts badly as Neath have several chances on goal. We then concede our first shortly before half time. I try to rally the troops at half time but this doesn't pay off as one of my DC's receives his second yellow card minutes after returning and is promptly sent off. We have a couple chances but ultimate lose the game with our inability to convert them into goals. League: Afan Lido 2 - 1 Aberyswyth Another game I was really doubtful would go our way. Title challengers Aberyswyth were going to be a tough nut to crack in order to break our winless streak. I decided to let the lads just go out and have some fun in order to keep the morale up during this bad period. I gave our young ST Lancaster a place in the first team as he'd been stuck as back up for a while now. I'm instantly rewarded as he scores within 15 minutes and puts us ahead! We have several more chances but struggle to extend our lead until the 43rd minute when one of our MC's bangs in a header from a free kick. The match continues much in the same vein until the 86th and Aberyswyth pull one back but we defend well and they are unable to equalise. Scorers: Lancaster, Stewart League: Afan Lido 1 - 1 Port Talbot At home to our arch rivals Port Talbot! I was raring to go for this game and couldn't wait to watch them suffer. I decided to leave out our Irish ST for a further rest and give Lancaster another shot after his impressive performance against Aberyswyth. It pays off as he scores within 13 minutes to give us a nice lead. It wasn't to last though as Port TAlbot equalise with a screamer from 30 yards 20 minutes from half time. The 2nd half is end to end stuff but ultimate nothing is made of it and we come away with a draw. Darn. Scorers: Lancaster Key Players: Cameron Lancaster - Came back into the side with a bang, scoring some nice goals when we really needed them. Proving himself in training as well. Good one for the future. Summary: A pretty bad month. We drew games we should have won and lost games that we could have drew. The only upside was the unexpected win over Aberyswyth really. I don't think we're going to be contending for the title but we can certainly push for a place in Europe. League Table We're only 5 points safe of 7th place so I'm starting to worry that it's going to be a close call for the Championship group and Europe or the Relegation group. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anost Posted November 8, 2010 Author Share Posted November 8, 2010 January - 2012 This month is the final month of fixtures before the groups split. In order to qualify for the Championship group I have to reach a final position of 6th or higher after the 22 games. I reckon this will be eventful as we are only 5 points clear of 7th and on a bit of a bad run of form currently. I hop back on to my scout reports to see if there are any decent signings that can be made. We manage to snap up a 19-year old ex-Fulham DL who I think might be able to improve that side of the pitch and go straight into the first team. My ass man reckons he's the best player we've got now. I also signed another DC who is a free agent since his spell with Portsmouth and he looked like he might do well in the first team as well. Squad Happy with all the lads but will still look to strengthen if possible. Matches: League: Llanelli 1 - 1 Afon Lido League leaders Llanelli were predicted to pile on the misery for us and I expected just as much so I sent the boys out to just have some fun. We could withstand the loss and I didn't feel any pressure would help the lads at all. The game begins with chances at both ends and we have a goal disallowed for offside. Things stay pretty even and we go in at half time 0 - 0. I remind the lads that there is no pressure and 2 minutes after the break our Irish ST runs onto a through ball to slot home and give us the lead. Llanelli have a few golden chances wasted and we begin to look dangerous on the counter attack. As the game closes down it looks like we've somehow pulled out a win but a dubious goal on the 90th minute mark gives us a 1 - 1 draw. Scorers: Gorman League: Newtown 2 - 0 Afan Lido I decide to stick with much the same team as I had against Llanelli in the hope that against lesser opposition we can pull something out the bag. We go behind after 6 minutes however as my entire defence refuses to do anything but walk for 15 seconds. (Bug? Entire back line just froze and watched a striker go through them. I'm not one to complain but it seemed a bit suspect.) I make some switches at half time and demand the team improve but nothing comes of it and we concede again in the 92nd minute to finish with our loss. League: Afan Lido 2 - 1 Airbus After looking at the table I go into this game knowing that a win can secure us a place in the Championship group and so I play a strong team and look to really press them. Unfortunately we go 1 - 0 down to a 30 yard screamer (Again.) and things look bad. We approach half time not really managing a decent chance but we strike lucky and get a goal in the 46th minute courtesy of Eammon Lynch. A great run by Lynch allows him to set up Lancaster for our second after the break which puts us in the lead. A poor tackle by an Airbus defender on Lancaster sees him promptly sent off and I begin to grow in confidence so I give our new signings a chance to impress in the final 10 minutes and we hold out for the win. Scorers: Lynch, Lancaster League: Haverfordwest 0 - 0 Afan Lido Seeing as how we had already qualified for the Championship group I was not too caring about this game. I put my new signings on the field and told everyone to enjoy the match. The opposition have some good chances early on but our defence stays solid. After half time we have some golden opportunities but our strikeforce repeatedly fails to capitalise and the game ends in a bore draw. Welsh Cup 4th Round: Neath 2 - 1 Afan Lido This game wasn't really at the front of my mind after we had qualified in the league for the top group. I decided to put out a fairly strong team anyway, knowing that if we won the cup we'd get a place in Europe for next season which would make me ecstatic. The game didn't seem to go our way at all however as Neath piled on the pressure from the start and got their first goal within 14 minutes from a free kick. We fail to create anything and find ourselves 2 - 0 down after half time. We grab a consolation goal in the 89th minute after one of our DC's heads in from a corner. Scorers: Comyn-Platt Key Players: Lewis Tallack - New DC who looks to be a good one for the future. Michael Kamau - Ex-Fulham DL who we signed and looks to be a potential key member of the team. Summary: Poor performances compared to the start to the start of the season but results elsewhere went our way and we are through to the Championship group. Knocked out of the Welsh Cup which is a shame but I guess you can't win them all. League Table Amazingly still only 3 points away from top spot so still in the running for the title. I believe the next matches are going to be much harder though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.