[FM10] It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Be a Swan) - Featuring Pile o'Stats

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2020/21

• Attendance
  
  • Highest: 6,012
    
  • Lowest: 478
    
  • Average: 1,663
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 5-0
    
  • Biggest Loss: 1-4
    
  • Highest Score: 4-4
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 5
    
  • Lost in Row: 3
    
  • Without Losing: 8
    
  • Without Winning: 7
    
  • Without Conceding: 3
    
  • Without Scoring: 4
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 19 - Liam Thornley
    
  • League Goals: 17 - Liam Thornley
    
  • Most Assists: 11 - Andy Pritchard
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.40 - Tony Hoyle
    
  • Most MoM: 9 - Tony Hoyle
    
  • Player of the Year: Tony Hoyle
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 12,750 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 26,000
    
  • Balance (End): -180,000 (140,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2020/21

England

1. Aston Villa
   
2. Man City
   
3. Arsenal
   
4. Chelsea
   
5. Man Utd
   
6. Liverpool
   

Italy

1. Juventus
   
2. AC Milan
   
3. Udinese
   
4. Napoli
   
5. Genoa
   
6. Cagliari
   

Spain

1. Barcelona
   
2. Getafe
   
3. Racing
   
4. Atletico Madrid
   
5. Villareal
   
6. Valencia
   

Real Madrid finished 8th(!)

Champions Cup

Barcelona - Chelsea p1-1

EURO Cup

Man Utd - Stuttgart 3-2

[Pangaea]

2021/22 - Walton & Hersham

League One

Board expectation: Try to avoid relegation

Media expectation: 23rd

Odds: 40-1

Season tickets: 702 (up 375)

Transfers

The hope of finding new and better players now when we had progressed one more level in the English League Pyramid disappeared like perfume in the wind. Instead I opted to increase our strength in depth. In January, however, two great youngsters are signed. Niall Fitzpatrick from St. Pat's looks like a fine prospect. In a year or two he should be ready. With an ageing midfield this is perfect. But the big signing is Michael O'Hara. I blow almost our entire transfer budget on him, and splash out 22K. Yes, we're filthy rich! Have big hopes for this kid. Potential is "good Championship player".

League

The start is incredibly promising. We spring straight to the playoff zone. Reality soon hits, however, and we slowly but steadily descend down the table. Once again the long autumn and winter is hard on us. But when we hit 19th the rot stops. We must have some Mediterranean blood in us, cause when the sun started warming we found form and finished the season with 3-2-0. This brought us up to 16th. I'm happy with that. Despite the slide down the table we were never in serious danger of relegation. The closest we got was 6 points ahead of the drop.

Preston, Bradford and Charlton are promoted to the Championship. I'm getting nosebleeds just writing that...

Notts County, Colchester, Blackpool and Port Vale are relegated down to League Two. Port Vale in impressive fashion with just 9 points.

Cups

League Cup: Ipswich from the Championship humped us long and good and didn't let us go until the scoreboard said 1-5. Ouch.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy: Finally a good cup run. Not really had one since we won the regional Isthmian Cup about a decade ago. On the way to the Southern Final Peterborough are beaten 6-3. Quite a match. New highest scoring record for us.

Shrewsbury face us in the final. They beat us 1-0 in their place, and we return the favour in ours. Unfortunately they are better from the spot and progress to the proper final. Still, a good run and we fetch some money here and there.

FA Cup: A big win in the 3rd round against Championship side Sunderland. Jackpot!! Arsenal away in the fourth. Wooooooh! We are incredibly lucky to get away with a 0-1 loss. But the main thing is the finances. Before the match and after the match. We made close to a million. That will keep us afloat for a fair few years

League Graph - Great start, and we survive without too many bitten nails.

Transfers - 22K for a very fine-looking striker.

Squad - Thornley carried us. All other strikers were misfiring. He is terribly inconsistent though. 8.5 one match and 5.7 the next. Hence 'only' 7.12 average.

Finances - Arsenal saved our budget for years to come.

Pile o'Stats - Don't know why I bother with this, I never check it any more anyway.

Key Players

Scott Brown - Best on paper, but Holt actually concedes less.

Lewis Wyatt - Played almost every match. Solid.

Fraser Kerr - Best DC, which doesn't say much as the others are a bit pish.

Tony Hoyle - Another good season on MR.

Andy Pritchard - ML the most dangerous wing this season. 8 goals, 9 assists.

Michael O'Hara - Played at the end of the season and did pretty well. 6 goals in 16.

Liam Thornley - Probably single-handedly saved us from relegation. Player of the Year.

Team of the Season

Historic Team

Next Season

First season and we survived. Our midfield is now in a transition period as 3 of our core players are getting old. Think this should be fine next season, but we need to find good replacements in the near future. Hopefully Fitzpatrick can be one of them. Will try to blood him in more next season. Goal is to survive and hopefully finish around mid-table.

Other News

Big news!!!!

With the influx of FA Cup money I went to the board and asked to upgrade our youth and training facilities. Finally they agreed. It will cost us 150K but our current "basic training facilities" need to be upgraded. I'm hoping we can retain enough money to get another upgrade next summer too.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2020-21/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2020/21[/url]  League Two               7th P   1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2021-22/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2021/22[/url]  League One              16th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT South Final.

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Dan BHTFC]

Well done with the progress, I'm hoping to do the same with Burgess Hill

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2021/22

• Attendance
  
  • Highest: 6,018
    
  • Lowest: 1,090
    
  • Average: 3,870
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 4-0
    
  • Biggest Loss: 1-5
    
  • Highest Score: 6-3
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 3
    
  • Lost in Row: 3
    
  • Without Losing: 8
    
  • Without Winning: 6
    
  • Without Conceding: 4
    
  • Without Scoring: 2
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 21 - Liam Thornley
    
  • League Goals: 16 - Liam Thornley
    
  • Most Assists: 12 - Liam Thornley
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.14 - Andy Pritchard
    
  • Most MoM: 6 - Andy Pritchard
    
  • Player of the Year: Liam Thornley
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 22,500 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 28,000
    
  • Balance (End): 560,000 (120,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2021/22

England

1. Arsenal
   
2. Man City
   
3. Aston Villa
   
4. Tottenham
   
5. Chelsea
   
6. Southampton
   

Italy

1. Genoa
   
2. AC Milan
   
3. Juventus
   
4. Udinese
   
5. Inter
   
6. Atalanta
   

Spain

1. Real Madrid
   
2. Barcelona
   
3. Atletico Madrid
   
4. Villareal
   
5. Sevilla
   
6. Racing
   

Champions Cup

Man City - Arsenal 2-1

EURO Cup

FC Bayern - Genoa 3-1

[Pangaea]

Well done with the progress, I'm hoping to do the same with Burgess Hill

Thanks. It's gone quite well so far. Difficult to progress further now as I can't find better players willing to join. But I'm enjoying the challenge.

How are you doing with Burgess Hill?

[Pangaea]

2022 - World Cup

Hosts: England

Out in group stage: Argentina (holders out!), China, Chile, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Japan, Germany (!), USA, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Iran, Romania, Uruguay, Ireland, Australia, DR Congo.

Qualified

A: Algeria, Wales

B: Croatia, Mexico

C: Brazil, Costa Rica

D: Portugal, Nigeria

E: England, Peru

F: Russia, South Africa

G: Spain, Cameroon

H: France, Turkey

Group A-D

Group E-H

Second Round

Algeria - Mexico 2-3

Wales - Croatia 1-2

Nigeria - Brazil 1-4

Costa Rica - Portugal p 3-3

South Africa - England 3-2

Peru - Russia 2-1

Turkey - Spain 2-1

France - Cameroon 2-3

Quarter Final

Mexico - Costa Rica 2-0

Croatia - Brazil 1-2 e

South Africa - Cameroon 5-2

Peru - Turkey 1-3

Semi Final

Mexico - Turkey 2-2 p

Brazil - South Africa 4-2

Third Place

Mexico - South Africa 2-1

Final

Turkey - Brazil 0-3

Knockout stage

Some big surprises here too. Holders Argentina go out in the group stage, payback from last World Cup perhaps, and extra sour given this one is held in England. Germany also out of the group stage. Italy didn't even make the World Cup as Spain beat them in the playoff. Holland shared the same fate.

Brazil seemed to be a step above the rest in the end, but I love seeing 'untraditional' teams doing well. Just seeing Wales qualify if a rarity, never mind getting through to the second round. Dennis Wise got sacked from England after failing in the first knockout match.

[Pangaea]

Oh nuts!!

This worries me a lot

Let me quote from the last update:

Probably single-handedly saved us from relegation. Player of the Year.

It's good money, very good money for a bloke worth 130K. 250K up front and 100K over 12 months. But Thornley is our attack. More weight on young O'Hara's shoulders now I guess. Hopefully Gemmell or Kenny can step up (both were crap last season) as I don't see any good affordable potential recruits right now.

[jackripper]

wow suprised Algeria and Wales got out of that group with Argentina...Come on Wales!!

[Dan BHTFC]

looks like I'm going to miss the Play-Offs this season, my team is so inconsistent it's scary!

[Pangaea]

Well, here's a surprise! :confused:

No idea why he would turn down a move to Bolton and Championship football. Or benchwarming. He makes 1,400 a week here. I suspect it's another case of player wanting a huge payrise over his current deal, club gives him big rise but not quite as much as he wants, so he turns them down in favour of crummy wage instead. Makes a lot of sense, eh?

Naturally I'm very glad he is staying. Not that it's helping a great deal. If this continues it will be with our back against the wall all the way through. Still early though so I hope we can stop the rot at some point and drag ourselves out of the relegation spots.

[Pangaea]

wow suprised Algeria and Wales got out of that group with Argentina...Come on Wales!!

Amazing what the game comes up with at times. Title holders Argentina knocked out in the group stage while Wales goes through would have given decent odds

Waves to France :whistle:

[Pangaea]

looks like I'm going to miss the Play-Offs this season, my team is so inconsistent it's scary!

You're up there and plugging it out then. Get a few good runs and you should secure some extra matches. Good luck

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done on staying up and good on Thornley for staying put.

[AK22]

Just caught up on this, well done on making it to League One

That was one weird World Cup. Brazil would have been laughing all the way through the knockout rounds.

[Pangaea]

2022/23 - Walton & Hersham

League One

Board expectation: Stay clear of relegation

Media expectation: 20th

Odds: 50-1

Season tickets: 763 (up 61)

Transfers

We clearly need better players to improve, but nobody are willing to join. It's been like this for some seasons now, which is frustrating. Thankfully Thornley rejected the contract after his bid. Though in hindsight I think we'd have possibly been better off with the money as he has been very on and off, and more often off this season. Spearing left the club after a fine career with us. His physicals were in freefall and he could no longer get through matches properly.

Then some BIG NEWS!

Michael O'Hara is very talented, rated as 4 stars. Although he hasn't played well so far this season he was in my plans as the key man for the future. Those plans got a bit mucked up when the board saw a big pile of money on their desk. Leeds came by and laid 400,000 in a dollar-marked bag on the scabby chairman's desk, plus a promise of another 200,000 the next few years. He left the club in January after only staying one year. Stepping stone? Check.

We didn't find any replacements until just before the free transfer window closed. In March two very fine strikers in Daniel Sherwood and Facundo Corbucci found their way from unemployment to Stompond Lane.

League

It soon became clear this season would not be one marked with giant leaps of improvement. We didn't score until our 4th league match, in a 1-1 draw at home to Cambridge. Last season's hero, Thornley, must have had the contract talks on his mind and doubted his decision. He was quite dire. This affected our results as nobody else could carry us. Overall results went from bad to worse. With the season half-done we were deeply entrenched in the relegation battle, sitting 23rd with only 4 wins. Defence wasn't too shabby, but we couldn't score as the only male in a brothel.

At this point I broke into the tactics room again. With the press laughing at my hardnecked approach it was time for a change. I changed a few instructions and roles and tried again, basically going back to what worked for us 3 or so seasons ago. Improvement wasn't instant, but I'm amazed at how little it can take to transform a clutterf-ed tactic into a pretty decent one. No wonder my tactics prior to the Tactic Creator were a long row of miserable failures!

Throughout this transformation period we did go 13 games without a win, but many of those were draws so it wasn't as bad as it sounds. At the end of that no-win streak we had 6 straight draws, so when we started winning the odd one we actually went 11 without losing. This didn't exactly rocket us up the table, but we did gradually put the worst relegation fears to rest. With two matches to play we were safe. We finished 17th, 9 points clear from relegation.

Especially Sherwood was a good addition to the squad. With Thornley misfiring quite grotesquely, Kenny did a fine job - until he got injured.

Sheffield Wednesday and Shrewsbury got directly promoted to the Championship, while Cambridge joined them a few weeks later.

Gillingham, Accrington, Doncaster and Bournemouth got relegated to League Two.

Exeter were together with us in Blue Square South not that long ago, but now they are pushing for a spot in the Championship. Quite a fantastic achievement after their fall from grace.

Cups

League Cup: The season started with a fantastic 2-1 win over Championshippers Crystal Palace in the League Cup. Then we followed up with another Championship side's head in our belt after Wolves bowed their head in extra-time in the 2nd round. EPL Swindon Town ran rings around us in the 3rd round, however, and beat us 1-4.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy: Affairs went well in the JPT too. Fellow League One competitors Plymouth and Barnet were sent out. It was therefore somewhat paradoxical that League Two side Southend romped us 1-4 in the Quarter Final.

FA Cup: So what about the Financial Awards Cup? Could we get another lucky draw this season? Last year we got rich after a trip to Highbury, or whatever Arsenal call their venue these days. Not so much this time around. It started well with sending BSN team Eastwood back with 0-3 in the bag, but then L1 Sheffield Wednesday did a number on us in front of a pretty vacant Stompond Lane. They beat us 1-2 in the 2nd round.

League Graph - Never ventured higher than 15th, but at least we survived to see another day in League One. After O'Hara left I was pretty sure we'd get relegated.

Transfers - O'Hara out for 600K is the big news. Blew our transfer record to smithereens.

Squad - Nobody played great, but I have hopes for Sherwood as a tank and Thornley chasing his balls next season. Snigger.

Finances - Sobering to see that massive transfer fee only lasting for 2 months.

Pile o'Stats - Finally grown tired of "our best defender" Lucas. He's had four despicable seasons. Didn't play after Xmas and is off to Hamilton on a free in July. Damn bastard didn't even choose an English side so we at least could have gotten back the money we paid for him (7K). Apart from a little low jumping, he looks stunning for this level (not to mention League 2) so have no idea why he's been such an unmitigated disaster. It's great this can happen in the FMiverse however

Key Players

Scott Brown - Still not playing every match, but our best goalie.

Lewis Wyatt - Wanted away this season, but thankfully took to his senses by Xmas and wanted off the transfer list again.

Fraser Kerr - Worst DC on paper, but has consistently played well for us for a decade now. Has overtaken the (starting) record and has now played 339 league matches for the club.

Alan Rioch - Not as good as in previous years, but got 7 assists this season. Enters his 10th season with us over summer.

Andy Pritchard - Good contribution from left wing with 7 goals and oddly only 2 assists. Player of the Year.

Liam Thornley - Played crap most of the season, but did end up as our top goalscorer with 12.

Daniel Sherwood - Have big hopes for him. Will probably use this pairing in a tall-short striker partnership, with Sherwood as the giraffe.

Team of the Season

Historic Team

Next Season

Looked to be a season of regression, but ended up one of consolidation. The goal is to improve next season. Hopefully our new striker partnership can ensure that. We need new blood in midfield, however, as everybody are ageing there.

I was seriously starting to look for other jobs, primarily in Italy, as it was frustrating to seemingly have hit our ceiling and not being able to get better players. But Sherwood blew some life back into the club. Will stay now and see where this takes us. Would probably have been a terrible mistake to leave anyway. It usually is.

Other News

The board gave me a new contract. They are still holding back on wages, but managed to get it up to 1,000 a week. We got some new sponsorship deals too and are now making 80,000 a year. Hardly big money, but better than previously.

Thankfully our board agreed to improve the poor training and youth facilities last season after the influx of money from the Arsenal FA Cup match. They have now been upgraded. Still not much to write home about though.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2020-21/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2020/21[/url]  League Two               7th P   1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2021-22/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2021/22[/url]  League One              16th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT South Final.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2022-23/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2022/23[/url]  League One              17th     2nd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract. Facilities upgraded.

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2022/23

• Attendance
  
  • Highest: 6,500 (full)
    
  • Lowest: 856
    
  • Average: 3,404
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 3-0
    
  • Biggest Loss: 2-5
    
  • Highest Score: 2-5
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 3
    
  • Lost in Row: 6
    
  • Without Losing: 11
    
  • Without Winning: 14
    
  • Without Conceding: 3
    
  • Without Scoring: 4
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 12 - Liam Thornley
    
  • League Goals: 11 - Liam Thornley
    
  • Most Assists: 8 - Liam Thornley
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.12 - Mickey Kenny
    
  • Most MoM: 6 - Mickey Kenny
    
  • Player of the Year: Andy Pritchard
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 25,000 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 55,000
    
  • Balance (End): 130,000 (100,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2022/23

England

1. Man City
   
2. Arsenal
   
3. Man Utd
   
4. Chelsea
   
5. Aston Villa (complete collapse last matches)
   
6. Southampton (a new guy!)
   

No clear dominating force in England. But after finishing 2nd 4 seasons in a row, City climbs to the top.

Italy

1. Lazio
   
2. Roma
   
3. Udinese
   
4. Cagliari
   
5. Genoa
   
6. AC Milan
   

Genoa has actually been the most dominant Italian team, with 6 league titles since 2012/13

Spain

1. Real Madrid
   
2. Barcelona
   
3. Racing
   
4. Villareal
   
5. Valencia
   
6. Sevilla
   

As expected Real Madrid and Barcelona have shared most titles. The only exception is Atletico's title in 2017/18. They have fallen a bit from grace now when Agüero is 35 and can no longer carry them.

Champions Cup

AC Milan - Aston Villa 3-1

EURO Cup

Werder Bremen - Chelsea 2-1

[Pangaea]

Forgot to mention that Ross Draper has hung up his boots now, retiring in the club he served for 10 years. He helped take us from Blue Square South to League One in that period. Think he got a worthy exit by playing more matches this season than last. He played 20 matches for us, starting in 17 of them.

Draper has turned into a multi-purpose staff, but for the moment looks pretty dire. Club icon Tadgh Purcell is a scout now and keeps commenting on matches and players from the sidelines. Would like to take him on as a scout, but he isn't much useful right now. Hopefully in the future

Very happy former team captain Rob Gier has become an amazing coach though. Those attributes are EPL material.

Think many of the fading stars will become staff members as I've done my best to persuade them. Only time will tell.

As mentioned above in the summary I strongly considered leaving Stompond Lane for Italy or Spain because we looked set on not going any further. It was frustrating to see the team age and not being able to replace them - never mind strengthen the team. But there is new wind in the sails now with the entrance of some new strikers and soon some young midfielders. Hopefully the generational shift goes well.

The biggest problem is hopelessly low attendance numbers, which means we cannot do much in terms of wages. I suspect we need to move up to the Championship before we can fill out the stadium, and that is quite a bit off at the moment.

Despite the frustration at times, however, I am very glad this save has not turned into a march through the divisions

[iHeadHunta x]

Well done in League one buddy

[Pangaea]

Well done in League one buddy

Thanks. Glad we survived in the end. It looked bleak for a while.

[Pangaea]

Been working on getting a Top 100 Club - a record of all players with 100 matches or more for the club. Would like to get in what period the players did that too, but need to give it a think first so Excel does that automatically. Can't be arsed to edit it every single time. But this is a start.

Thanks to SnakeXe for this idea

Have also put together a top goalscorer list. Surprised not more people have netted 20 times.

Walton & Hersham 100 Club

[b]Name                 Pos        Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kerr, Fraser         D C        SCO     388      14       7     10
Draper, Ross         M RC       ENG     344      46      36      9
Rioch, Alan          M C        SCO     344      10      67     37
Paterson, Kris       D RL       SCO     325       2      11     13
Marshall, Marcus     ST         ENG     309     135      67     35
Turnbull, Paul       M C        ENG     261      21      29     17
Taiwo, Tom           DM, M C    NGA     258       1      31     11
Ogogo, Abu           D/M R      ENG     254       5      20      9
Purcell, Tadgh       ST         IRL     244     126      57     58
Holt, Daniel         GK         ENG     228       0       0      5
Pritchard, Andy      AM L       ENG     198      25      33     22
Nelthorpe, Craig     AM RL      ENG     194      20      49      9
Connolly, Reece      AM R, ST   ENG     183      40      12     11
Wyatt, Lewis         D RL       ENG     183       0       7      6
Williams, Rob        GK         WAL     180       0       0      2
Charnock, Kieran     D LC       ENG     160       0       5      3
Vilhete, Mauro       M C        ENG     160      12      18      9
Clark, Matthew       M RLC      ENG     158      15      21      8
Lucas, Adam          D C        ENG     158       6       1      1
O'Neill, Ryan        D C        NIR     157       4       1      2
Cowen, James         D C        ENG     153       4       1      4
Davies, Craig        AM R, ST   WAL     149      57      41     11
Kenny, Mickey        ST         IRL     149      46      21     18
Breakell, Ben        D R        ENG     144       1      13      7
Darby, Ashley        M C        ENG     143      12      26      9
Gier, Rob            D R        PHI     143       0       3      6
Evans, Martin        D C        WAL     140       4       2      0
Cross, Jack          DM, AM LC  ENG     133       9      13      3
Ashford, Tony        D C        ENG     131       6       1      3
Brown, Scott         GK         SCO     131       0       2      3
Gemmell, David       ST         SCO     130      32      25      3
Smith, Jamie         AM C       ENG     127      19      25      6
Thornley, Liam       ST         ENG     122      52      29     13
Grimes, Harry        D C        IRL     121       0       3      3
Spearing, Jay        M C        ENG     120       4       9      2
Bramble, Tesfaye     ST         MSR     119      31      22      7
Brathwaite, Elliot   D C        ENG     105       6       2      6
Brown, Ryan          D/WB L     ENG     105       1       4      2
Leslie, Steven       M L        SCO     102       9      21      5

Walton & Hersham Top Goalscorers

[b]Name                 Pos        Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Marshall, Marcus     ST         ENG     309     135     67      35
Purcell, Tadgh       ST         IRL     244     126     57      58
Davies, Craig        AM R, ST   WAL     149      57     41      11
Thornley, Liam       ST         ENG     122      52     29      13
Draper, Ross         M RC       ENG     344      46     36       9
Kenny, Mickey        ST         IRL     149      46     21      18
Connolly, Reece      AM R, ST   ENG     183      40     12      11
Gemmell, David       ST         SCO     130      32     25       3
Landais, George      ST         ENG      98      32     21      14
Bramble, Tesfaye     ST         MSR     119      31     22       7
Pritchard, Andy      AM L       ENG     198      25     33      22
Turnbull, Paul       M C        ENG     261      21     29      17
Nelthorpe, Craig     AM RL      ENG     194      20     49       9

[Nobby_McDonald]

Doing well surviving in League One.

[Pangaea]

Jeisus. Only late January and we've just had our FOURTH postponement due to a waterlogged Stompond Lane. I fear one wild pileup of matches in March and April

[Nobby_McDonald]

You'll have to play every day to compensate.

[Pangaea]

2023/24 - Walton & Hersham

League One

Board expectation: Safe mid-table

Media expectation: 21st

Odds: 50-1

Season tickets: 767 (up 4)

Transfers

Our backup goalie the last years buggered off and some others left including striker Mickey Kenny for 100K. Experienced midfielder Paul Turnbull left on a free to Stockport. Buggered central defender left on a free too. I hope Scotland will treat him like dung.

In came Garry Grant (DR), Stewart Reid (great ST!), Tony Quigley (DMC), Richard McNally (DMC), Ben Breach (DC) and the mentioned backup goalie Ben Reid.

League

The season started much better than last season. We positioned ourselves in the middle of the table early on and were very stable there until the half-way point. We had been chasing a playoff spot the whole season. Thornley were playing better again this season, and together with Reid scored aplenty. The big problem last season was a lack of goals. Now they came a lot more frequent, which helped us in the latter half of the season. As winter slowly turned to spring we gained steam and started to climb up into the playoff zone. It was very close, however. A good result send us upwards, and a bad one easily sent us downwards again.

Ahead of the next last round we had an outside chance of direct promotion, and I felt quite confident we had made the playoff. It looked like we'd go into the last round only 2 points behind Coventry, but then we conceded and they scored the winner in the last moments of our matches, so that decided our fate. Now we instead had to win to make sure to prolong the season. We did that and climbed up to 3rd on the very last day. Yay!

We actually only lost one match less than last season. But a lot of draws were turned into wins, and that proved crucial.

Playoff

Reading (A): It was a lively first half. When we finally equalised their early 1-0 lead I felt quite confident because we were creating the most chances. Then they scored two quick goals just before half time. That always suck. We were the best team tbh, but it was just one of those days... They ran out 3-1 winners. We needed 2-0 at home to go through.

Reading (H): This time we took an early lead. The match was pretty even, however, but we kept chasing that second goal. With 20 minutes left we finally got it. Thinking this would be decided on away goals in our favour, I closed up shop and tried to see it out. Thankfully that worked. But to my great surprise the ref sent us back out for another half hour of football. Neither team could find a winner, even though I sent everybody forward attacking in the last minutes. So penalties it was. Reading were not ready for that (sorry!) as they went on to blow 2 of their 3 penalties wide. We scored on all four. 3-3 agg and 4-1 win on pens. Woooh! Can we get promoted again??

Charlton (N): Our record against Charlton did not promise great things. We haven't beaten them in any of the eight outings. They were quite intent on keeping it that way. According to the stats it was an even match, but we felt on the back foot from the start. They took the lead after 15 minutes, and doubled it to 2-0 before half-time. The tea and yelling didn't help a great deal, and they sealed our fate in League One with 3-0 in the 66th minute. It was nice to get a consolation goal 5 minutes on overtime though. Fitzpatrick ripped off a belter from 30 yards that whipped into the top right corner. Great goal. Shame it didn't matter. 1-3 loss and we stay put on level 3 of the pyramid.

Always disappointing to lose a playoff final. But we had taken a big step forward this season so I'm looking forward to the next.

Derby, Coventry and Charlton are promoted. Barnet, Walsall, Plymouth and Blackpool go down.

Cups

League Cup: We started the season in good fashion by beating Championship side Crystal Palace 3-2. West Brom showed us up in the 2nd round and we lost 0-2.

FA Cup: This didn't go very well. It was perhaps a bad omen of things to come (playoff final) that Charlton beat us in the 1st round. We luckily managed 0-0 in their place, but then failed on penalties after a 2-2 draw in ours.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy: Not a big cup season. We crash out in the first round here too. Rushden from League 2 beat us 1-0. On our turf too. Not good.

League Graph - Happy with this season. We started good and finished better. Hope we can take that trend into next season.

Transfers - Spent 12K on a right-back. Got 100K for Kenny and small change for Gemmell and Tate.

Squad - Not impressive stars ratings in midfield, but overall I think the team is pretty decent now. Need new midfielders though as we are ageing there.

Finances - 51,000 in the playoff final saved our financial year. But we still lost 50,000.

Pile o'Stats - Happy with both Reid and Thornley scoring a lot. Will be looking to improve central defence and midfield in the summer. Our wingers run an awful lot. Don't know if that is down to the tactic or FM. But they are usually the player I have to sub.

Key Players

Scott Brown (GK) - Good season again, he saved a fair few points for us. Sadly clubs are sniffing and he isn't entirely happy.

Garry Grant (DR) - Took over on DR and did a very good job.

Chris Joyce (DC) - He took over as our most trustworthy DC this season.

Tom Taiwo (DMC) - At 34 he is getting on, but I hoe he can make one more season.

Alan Rioch (MC) - Back to his previous good self. 5 assists and 6 goals.

Tony Hoyle (MR) - Dangerous from the right wing. Created 7 goals and scored 8 himself.

Liam Thornley (ST) - Great season again with 26 goals in 35 matches. Player of the Year.

Daniel Sherwood (ST) - He does pretty well as the creator. 11 goals and 14 assists.

Stewart Reid (ST) - At times difficult to keep on the bench. 18 goals in 24 starts.

Team of the Season - Not many complaints here.

Historic Team - Odd Marshall got dumped to the bench, but nice to see Thornley finally made the starting 11.

Next Season

We finished 3rd this season, which indicates we are good enough to get promoted. I'll go out on a limb here and say I want promotion next season.

It's getting difficult with players wanting out at times and clubs sniffing at them, so we probably need a promotion to keep them all. Contracts are running out and some are not interested in renewing. Reid's reluctance worries me. He is class.

Other News

Abu Ogogo didn't play much this season. At the end of season team meeting he stood up and announced he was hanging up his boots. He has had a nice career with us. I wish him luck as a manager or coach.

Cordoba in Spain set up a link with us in pre-season, but I've not heard a word from them since.

Must admit it hurts to look how great O'Hara has become after 18 months of Premiership football. We got good money for him (600K), but now he is worth almost 6 million (5.75M atm). Not easy to be a small fish with sharks sniffing around... We have secured a 25% sell-on fee though, which can prove extremely valuable if he does move on from Leeds.

Think it's awesome that the Premier League can look like this "only" 15 seasons into the game. Aston Villa, West Brom and Oldham (!) go into Europe. Meanwhile, Man Utd and Chelsea are out of Europe, and Tottenham are relegated. Great stuff!

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2020-21/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2020/21[/url]  League Two               7th P   1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2021-22/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2021/22[/url]  League One              16th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT South Final.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2022-23/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2022/23[/url]  League One              17th     2nd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract. Facilities upgraded.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2023-24/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2023/24[/url]  League One               3rd     1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     Playoff final.

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2023/24

• Attendance
  
  • Highest: 6,500 (full)
    
  • Lowest: 838
    
  • Average: 4,598
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 4-0
    
  • Biggest Loss: 0-3
    
  • Highest Score: 4-3
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 5
    
  • Lost in Row: 3
    
  • Without Losing: 6
    
  • Without Winning: 5
    
  • Without Conceding: 3
    
  • Without Scoring: 3
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 26 - Liam Thornley
    
  • League Goals: 23 - Liam Thornley
    
  • Most Assists: 14 - Daniel Sherwood
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.45 - Liam Thornley
    
  • Most MoM: 10 - Liam Thornley
    
  • Player of the Year: Liam Thornley
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 27,500 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 200,000
    
  • Balance (End): 80,000 (90,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2023/24

England

1. Man City
   
2. Arsenal
   
3. Aston Villa
   
4. Liverpool
   
5. West Brom
   
6. Oldham (!)
   

Both Man Utd and Chelsea are out of Europe after finishing 7th and 9th. Tottenham are relegated.

Italy

1. AC Milan
   
2. Genoa
   
3. Udinese
   
4. Juventus
   
5. Roma
   
6. Cagliari
   

Perhaps not so shocking results here, but the notable is Genoa being the most successful Italian team.

Spain

1. Barcelona
   
2. Atletico Madrid
   
3. Real Madrid
   
4. Racing
   
5. Villareal
   
6. Betis
   

Hardly any earth quakes here, although Real did finish behind rivals Atletico this time round.

Champions Cup

Man City - Arsenal 3-2

EURO Cup

Genoa - Southampton 3-2

Any So'ton fans here?

[Pangaea]

Walton & Hersham - Most Matches

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
Kerr, Fraser            D C             SCO     413      14       9      10
Rioch, Alan             M C             SCO     384      15      73      39
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Paterson, Kris          D RL            SCO     325       2      11      13
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Taiwo, Tom              DM, M C         NGA     299       1      39      11
Ogogo, Abu              D/M R           ENG     265       5      22       9
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     243      31      35      24
Holt, Daniel            GK              ENG     228       0       0       5
Wyatt, Lewis            D RL            ENG     210       0       9       7
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM RL           ENG     194      20      49       9
Brown, Scott            GK              SCO     183       0       3       3
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Williams, Rob           GK              WAL     180       0       0       2
Ashford, Tony           D C             ENG     168       8       1       3
Charnock, Kieran        D LC            ENG     160       0       5       3
Vilhete, Mauro          M C             ENG     160      12      18       9
Clark, Matthew          M RLC           ENG     158      15      21       8
Lucas, Adam             D C             ENG     158       6       1       1
O'Neill, Ryan           D C             NIR     157       4       1       2
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     157      78      37      27
Cowen, James            D C             ENG     153       4       1       4
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Breakell, Ben           D R             ENG     144       1      13       7
Darby, Ashley           M C             ENG     143      12      26       9
Gier, Rob               D R             PHI     143       0       3       6
Evans, Martin           D C             WAL     140       4       2       0
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     136      21      30      19
Cross, Jack             DM, AM LC       ENG     133       9      13       3
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Smith, Jamie            AM C            ENG     127      19      25       6
Grimes, Harry           D C             IRL     121       0       3       3
Spearing, Jay           M C             ENG     120       4       9       2
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Chapman, Jonathan       D RL, WB L      ENG     109       2       2       0
Brathwaite, Elliot      D C             ENG     105       6       2       6
Brown, Ryan             D/WB L          ENG     105       1       4       2
Leslie, Steven          M L             SCO     102       9      21       5

Walton & Hersham - Top Goalscorers

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
Kerr, Fraser            D C             ENG     309     135     67      35
Rioch, Alan             M C             IRL     244     126     57      58
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     157      78     37      27
Paterson, Kris          D RL            WAL     149      57     41      11
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     344      46     36       9
Taiwo, Tom              DM, M C         IRL     149      46     21      18
Ogogo, Abu              D/M R           ENG     183      40     12      11
Turnbull, Paul          M C             SCO     130      32     25       3
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              ENG     243      31     35      24
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            MSR     119      31     22       7
Holt, Daniel            GK              ENG     261      21     29      17
Wyatt, Lewis            D RL            ENG     136      21     30      19
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM RL           ENG     194      20     49       9

Roll of Honour

[b]          England        Italy           Spain           Champions Cup   EURO Cup
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
2009/10   Arsenal        Lazio           Barcelona       Barcelona       Arsenal
2010/11   Chelsea        Juventus        R. Madrid       R. Madrid       At. Madrid
2011/12   Man Utd        Juventus        Barcelona       Man Utd         Tottenham
2012/13   Arsenal        Genoa           Barcelona       R. Madrid       AC Milan
2013/14   Chelsea        Juventus        R. Madrid       R. Madrid       AS Monaco
2014/15   Man City       Genoa           Barcelona       At. Madrid      Man City
2015/16   Chelsea        AC Milan        Barcelona       Juventus        AC Milan
2016/17   Arsenal        Genoa           R. Madrid       Barcelona       Bordeaux
2017/18   Man City       Genoa           At. Madrid      Chelsea         AC Milan
2018/19   Chelsea        Genoa           R. Madrid       Barcelona       Man Utd
2019/20   Aston Villa    AC Milan        Barcelona       AC Milan        Sporting CP
2020/21   Aston Villa    Juventus        Barcelona       Barcelona       Man Utd
2021/22   Arsenal        Genoa           R. Madrid       Man City        FC Bayern
2022/23   Man City       Lazio           R. Madrid       AC Milan        Werder Bremen
2023/24   Man City       AC Milan        Barcelona       Man City        Genoa

[Jolanthustrel]

Excuse me, I think I just slipped in a puddle of my own drool reading through all these wonderful stats. :o

It's even more awesome when there is a great story to acompany all these wonderful stats.

[Pangaea]

Another stats fan? I love just browsing through stuff in the game. So figured it was about time I stuck some in here too.

[AK22]

Another good season with solid progress

Bad luck in the playoffs, but I reckon you'll be there or thereabouts next season.

[Pangaea]

Thanks. Hope we are more successful this year if we wind up in the playoff.

Coming up to the January threatfer window now. I'm worried. Both my main strikers Sherwood and Reid are refusing to renew their deals. Both expire in 6 months. Thankfully Thornley renewed, so if both of Sherwood and Reid leave we will at least have one quality striker left. Just hope no foreign teams come in now in January so I'll get a second chance later in the season to renew. January is always a nailbiting months.

Managed to P off the 4th man Corbucci now so am expecting a transfer request sooner rather than later from him.

Arsenal moment here :/

[Nobby_McDonald]

Losing in the playoff final. Never nice.

[Pangaea]

This is quite interesting.

Should I take it?

Would certainly be a big change of scenery.

Lazio offers me 24,000 a week; 27.5 million transfer kit; and 1.4 million wage budget

Walton pays me 1,000 a week; this season we had a 200,000 transfer kit; and a wage budget of 32,000

Slight increase, that.

[Nobby_McDonald]

No brainer. Fast cars, fast women, fast money.

[jackripper]

i would take it deffo.

[Pangaea]

2024 - European Championship

Hosts: Italy

Out in group stage: Portugal, Ukraine, Germany, Croatia, Serbia, Denmark, Hungary, Russia

Qualified

A: Italy, Switzerland

B: England, Slovenia

C: France, Turkey

D: Spain, Romania

Group stage

Quarter Final

Slovenia - Italy 0-1

England - Switzerland 3-1

France - Romania 1-2

Turkey - Spain 1-2

Semi Final

Italy - Spain 0-1

England - Romania 4-1

Final

Spain - England 1-0

Knockout stage

Not a great deal of surprises, perhaps, but Germany going out in the group stage is always unexpected. Romania did very well coming to the semi final. I remember when they had a great team in real life. England overperforms as usual, but this time Spain got the better of them.

Spain has done quite well btw, winning the World Cups in 2010 and 2014, but this was their first trophy since that WC win in 2014.

[Pangaea]

2024/25 - Walton & Hersham

League One

Board expectation: Top half finish

Media expectation: 6th

Odds: 33-1

Season tickets: 804 (up 37)

League Cup: The season started in quite normal fashion - by bombing out of the League Cup at its first sight. We were lucky to hold on, but we took Cardiff to penalties after a 2-2 draw. We lost 5-6 when a nervous Ashford blasted it right at the goalie.

FA Cup: For some reason luck has really smiled on us in this competition over the years. Forest Green and Watford went off the pitch with bowed heads, before former parent team Torquay did the same - although it did take a replay and we were lucky to get through. PL outfit Stoke waited in the 4th round. We were sooooo close to beating them at Stompond Lane, but they equalised our 2-1 lead in the 89th minute. Off to Britannia Stadium we went. Our fans went home smiling as we went on to shock them in an unlikely (and fortuitous) 2-1 win. The press labelled it a heroic victory. We were lucky.

When the news from the 5th round draw reached the Stompond Lane club house, people were seen running around naked and cheering with beer in hand. Arsenal away. Again. Ca-ching!

We had a lot of injuries at the time, but thankfully Arsenal took easy on the match and sat this beast of a striker in the stands. Just as last time we met them they took a very early 1-0 lead, which left me expecting a 5+ goal trouncing. But we kept it 0-1 to half-time. Then silence in the almost full stadium when a fine raid from Reeves up the left wing found Sherwood in the box, who squared it over to Reid on the back post for an easy tap in. 1-1.

T'was a funny old match though. In the next highlight Sakho in Arsenal dribbled past 2 players and sent off a rifle shot that the net miraculously managed to stop before the guy behind the goal was killed in action. It looked like our equaliser sent Arsenal up a gear or two as they continued to pummel us from thereon and in. Thankfully we kept them out though, and came away from it with a very respectable 1-2 loss. Not that our fans cared, of course. You'd think they had never seen anything but wins in their lives.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy: One cup left to play. This was the only one we had a chance to win. Team after team bowed out and before you knew it we faced Luton in the South Final. They pummelled us pretty good in the first leg, but we somehow kept it 2-2, and then went on to beat them 1-0 at home in a boring match. Barnsley awaited us in the proper final - our first final since the Isthmian League Cup win back in 2011/12.

Barnsley was the most dangerous team out on the big Wembley surface and took and early 1-0 lead, but they struggled to test our goalie throughout. We came back and scored twice before half-time. We tried to conserve energy in the 2nd half, and not much happened. We ran out 2-1 winners for our first trophy in a generation. The press called it a fortuitous win, and they were right.

League

Last season ended in heartache in the playoff final when Charlton humped us 3-1. This season we all wanted promotion, so I put a lot of money on the table to try to achieve just that. The campaign started in erratic fashion. We jumped all over the table the first 20 matches. But after that our results stabilised. In mid-January we had taken a narrow lead ahead of Stockport and the rest of the chasing pack. The success in the cups took its toll, particularly when a brilliantly-playing Fitzpatrick torn his hamstring and was out for three months, including the important last months. But we kept up pressure pretty well.

The 43rd match against playoff chasing Cardiff was crucial, because our last three matches were away to relegation threatened teams. We had to win this one! It was nervy, and I put everybody in attack at the end, which resulted in a Reid goal for a 1-0 lead. Then catastrophe. With 89 minutes on the clock Cardiff's Watson was clean through on goal. Ste up Gaffney, chase that f*cker down!! Couldn't help but laugh hysterically as Gaffney did perfect copy of Solskjær's hacking down of Beardsley (?) in a crucial game for Man Utd way back in time. He legged after him, came shoulder to shoulder, and then hacked his legs away. Red card, of course, but as they missed the ensuing freekick we ran out 1-0 winners and were 5 points ahead of the playoff spots with 3 matches left.

I had been pretty sure of promotion for quite a while now, but a Sheffield Wednesday that crushed all in their path at the end really tested my faith. Particularly when we lost the next match and they pummelled yet another team. They now were only 2 points behind with better goal difference. Stockport were still within reach for the title, but I had my eyes worryingly set on the midweek team. Next up was Shrewsbury away, who we only drew 2-2 when Shrewsbury equalised in the 79th minute. Nuts! Sheff Wed won and overtook us on goal difference. Now they had Shrewsbury left in the last match. We had JPT finalists Barnsley away. Nails were bitten as we both went into the most important match in our club's history. We could only hope for a Sheffield mess-up, as there was no way we could overtake their 7-goal difference lead.

We sure did try though. Maybe tearing into the Barnsley manager pre-match helped, I don't know. I stay well clear of the press if I can help it, but figured it was worth a last desperate attempt. Whatever happened, we were all over Barnsley in the first half. The clock only showed 21 minutes, but the scoreboard said 0-3. To my great surprise Sheff Wed were 0-1 at half-time, putting us in the Championship with 45 minutes to play. Reid continued plaguing Barnsley defence as he sat a new club record by scoring 4 in one match. We beat them 5-1. They scored a consolation goal in the 90th. Nervously I clicked on the league table panel......

F*ck me! They lost! We're UP!!! \o/ \o/

Lady Luck had been grinning from ear to ear again. Sheff Wed should have won that match, but somehow found themselves at the end of a sour 0-1 loss. We couldn't care less though, and celebrated like it was 1999.

Sheffield Wednesday later won the playoff final and got promoted together with us and Stockport. Our humping of Barnsley sent them down on the last day (they were never in a relegation spot before that). Peterborough, Stevenage and Southend also went down.

League Graph - Very close run in. Glad we got up without a playoff adventure as it's a lottery.

Transfers - Three players came in which were more or less first teamers. Sad to see long-time servants Fraser Kerr and Andy Pritchard leave, but they were surplus to requirements now.

Squad - Hope we can get buy in the Championship with the current team, cause it's difficult to locate players within our reach that are willing to join and who will strengthen us.

Finances - The spike in 2022 was due to playing Arsenal away, and the even bigger spike this season was to playing them away. We made about a million from this draw. Pre-Arsenal finances and post-Arsenal finances.

Pile o'Stats - Corbucci was actually the most efficient goalscorer this season, but he is fourth choice and had to await his chances when the others were fit. 20 year old Fitzpatrick really stepped up this season. Can't wait to see how he gets on in the Championship. Assman keeps saying we are weak in central and right midfield, but the players are doing well so think they'll stay on my good side.

Key Players

Scott Brown (GK) - Played almost every minute of football. But unhappy and currently on the transfer list after requesting it himself. Hope he stays.

John Gaffney (D RLC) - Can be played all over defence and did a good job doing it.

Mike Walker (D LC) - Another new signing in defence. Did well and is our best defender on paper, but he too wants away.

Richard McNally (DM, MC) - Has gradually taken over the holding position after now 35-year old Taiwo.

Matthew Stansfield (DM, AM LC) - Third new signing, who did very well on the left wing.

Tony Hoyle (MR) - Don't understand the 2-star rating. He is doing well and is still in my plans.

Niall Fitzpatrick (AM C) - Stepped up in a big way this season. 16 assists before he was injured. Almost certain he would have broken the record on 17 assists if he could have played the last 10 or so matches.

Liam Thornley (ST) - Not the clear first choice pointman anymore, but still does the deeds with 14 goals in 25 starts.

Daniel Sherwood (ST) - He is creative, just as I wanted. 17 goals and 13 assists isn't to be chuffed at.

Stewart Reid (ST) - Has largely taken over for Thornley. Took his chances and scored 28 goals plus 12 assists. Player of the Season.

Team of the Season

Historic Team - Nothing special changed. Connolly makes a re-appearance for some reason.

Other News

Was sad to see Kerr leave, but he did set a new club record in league apps before leaving (361). Always a little torn when such great servants are no longer good enough to hold down their place.

I was all the more torn when I checked out Michael O'Hara, the player we sold to Leeds for 600,000 a few seasons ago. The bastard is a Wonderkid now! Argh! Hope he is sold at some point as we have a 25% sell-on fee and he is now worth 6 million.

Scott Brown made it into the Team of the Year, and yours truly came 2nd in the Manager or the Year awards. I'm getting on too. 44 winters old now, as the Vikings would say.

Reluctantly I signed a new contract at the start of the season, although the cheeky board didn't increase my 1K a week wage. Then Lazio called at the end of the season. That budget was very tempting. I gave it a serious think -- but not for long. It felt wrong to jump ship now when we had reached Base Camp. And going from such a small budget to a seemingly bloated one would have felt undeserved and 'wrong'. Here I am battling it out at level 3 in England, and then a Serie A title chasing team comes with a wheelbarrow of money and asks me to take over after their old guy retired. No thank you. I'll stay put here. Maybe later.

Must say I'm pretty disappointed I'm not even on the favourite personnel list yet -- after taking the team from level 8 to level 2. I suspect it's because we have mostly gone up after playoffs instead of after winning titles, but still, that is pretty poor by the game. Our 6,500 stadium can't be expanded either, so that means a self-named stadium is a long way off. Perhaps for the best. "Honningsvåg Stadium" doesn't ring too well, does it? We don't have any legends so far actually, so if that persists when/if we get a new stadium it will be interesting to see what the plunks name it.

Last, but not least, the board has finally agreed to upgrade our training facilities. That's another thing I can thank the Arsenal money for. It's currently "fairly basic". I assume it will just be upgraded to "basic," but it's a start.

Next Season

With that settled, what awaits us next season? The Championship will probably be a tough challenge for our young squad (Taiwo has signed on for one more year, as the Grand Old Man). When we are finally up here, however, we want to stay. So the goal next season is to not get relegated.

It looks difficult right now, but I hope we can find some players over the summer that will improve our squad. If not, our current batch should give us a fighting chance, as they showed in the FA Cup against good opponents. Brown, Walker and Ashford wants away, but I'm not selling unless teams offer at least 1 million, and more likely 2 million. So far they're not even in the ballpark, so as long as my chairman remains calm they will hopefully stay.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2020-21/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2020/21[/url]  League Two               7th P   1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2021-22/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2021/22[/url]  League One              16th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT South Final.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2022-23/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2022/23[/url]  League One              17th     2nd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract. Facilities upgraded.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2023-24/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2023/24[/url]  League One               3rd     1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     Playoff final.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2024-25/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2024/25[/url]  League One               2nd P   5th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Winners. New contract.

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Pangaea]

Wow. That was quite a block of text.

Short version.

Cups: Did well. Won one. Got rich.

League: Got promoted.

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2024/25

• Attendances
  
  • Highest: 6,500 (full)
    
  • Lowest: 980
    
  • Average: 4,538
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 5-0
    
  • Biggest Loss: 1-3
    
  • Highest Score: 5-3
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 9
    
  • Lost in Row: 1
    
  • Without Losing: 11
    
  • Without Winning: 4
    
  • Without Conceding: 3
    
  • Without Scoring: 2
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 28 - Stewart Reid
    
  • League Goals: 22 - Stewart Reid
    
  • Most Assists: 16 - Niall Fitzpatrick
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.23 - Daniel Sherwood
    
  • Most MoM: 8 - Stewart Reid
    
  • Player of the Year: Stewart Reid
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 31,000 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 210,000
    
  • Balance (End): 880,000 (70,000 loan)
    
    • (The balance should be lower (sponsorship), but I've made the
      
    • same mistake every season so might as well just stick to it)
      

Roll of Honour 2024/25

England

1. Arsenal
   
2. Man City
   
3. Chelsea
   
4. Southampton
   
5. Aston Villa
   
6. Middlesbrough
   

Arsenal didn't draw for the whole season -- until the last match. W28 D1 L9.

Man Utd 10th, Liverpool 14th. Tottenham came up again after their relegation last season.

Italy

1. AC Milan
   
2. Genoa
   
3. Juventus
   
4. Lazio
   
5. Udinese
   
6. Roma
   

Are Milan taking over for Genoa? Two titles in a row now.

Pisa have actually gone all the way. Started in Serie C2/C in 2010/11. Now they are in Serie A. No tycoon either.

Spain

1. Barcelona
   
2. Atletico Madrid
   
3. Real Madrid
   
4. Racing
   
5. Sevilla
   
6. Real Sociedad
   

Same top four as last season. Atletico Madrid splits Barcelona and Real Madrid again.

Champions Cup

Arsenal - Man City 1-0

Amazingly, this was a repeat of last season's final. But this time Arsenal ran out winners.

EURO Cup

Inter - Wolfsburg 1-0

Nice to see a German team get to the final. But like last season the Italians lifted the trophy again.

Walton & Hersham - Most Matches

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
[b]Kerr, Fraser            D C             SCO     417      14       9      10[/b]
Rioch, Alan             M C             SCO     415      15      80      40
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Paterson, Kris          D RL            SCO     325       2      11      13
Taiwo, Tom              DM, M C         NGA     324       1      39      11
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Ogogo, Abu              D/M R           ENG     265       5      22       9
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Wyatt, Lewis            D RL            ENG     244       0      11       7
Brown, Scott            GK              SCO     241       0       3       6
Holt, Daniel            GK              ENG     228       0       0       5
Ashford, Tony           D C             ENG     212      12       2       4
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM RL           ENG     194      20      49       9
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     194      92      43      29
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Williams, Rob           GK              WAL     180       0       0       2
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     177      26      42      23
Charnock, Kieran        D LC            ENG     160       0       5       3
Vilhete, Mauro          M C             ENG     160      12      18       9
Clark, Matthew          M RLC           ENG     158      15      21       8
Lucas, Adam             D C             ENG     158       6       1       1
O'Neill, Ryan           D C             NIR     157       4       1       2
Cowen, James            D C             ENG     153       4       1       4
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Chapman, Jonathan       D RL, WB L      ENG     147       2       4       3
Breakell, Ben           D R             ENG     144       1      13       7
Darby, Ashley           M C             ENG     143      12      26       9
Gier, Rob               D R             PHI     143       0       3       6
Evans, Martin           D C             WAL     140       4       2       0
Cross, Jack             DM, AM LC       ENG     133       9      13       3
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Smith, Jamie            AM C            ENG     127      19      25       6
Grimes, Harry           D C             IRL     121       0       3       3
Spearing, Jay           M C             ENG     120       4       9       2
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     110      32      28      11
Reeves, Michael         M L             ENG     108       9      11       6
Brathwaite, Elliot      D C             ENG     105       6       2       6
Brown, Ryan             D/WB L          ENG     105       1       4       2
Leslie, Steven          M L             SCO     102       9      21       5

Walton & Hersham - Top Goalscorers

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
[b]Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35[/b]
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     194      92      43      29
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Reid, Stewart           AM/F C          SCO      85      46      19      17
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     110      32      28      11
Landais, George         ST              ENG      98      32      21      14
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     177      26      42      23
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM RL           ENG     194      20      49       9

Roll of Honour

         [b]England        Italy           Spain           Champions Cup   EURO Cup
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
2009/10   Arsenal        Lazio           Barcelona       Barcelona       Arsenal
2010/11   Chelsea        Juventus        R. Madrid       R. Madrid       At. Madrid
2011/12   Man Utd        Juventus        Barcelona       Man Utd         Tottenham
2012/13   Arsenal        Genoa           Barcelona       R. Madrid       AC Milan
2013/14   Chelsea        Juventus        R. Madrid       R. Madrid       AS Monaco
2014/15   Man City       Genoa           Barcelona       At. Madrid      Man City
2015/16   Chelsea        AC Milan        Barcelona       Juventus        AC Milan
2016/17   Arsenal        Genoa           R. Madrid       Barcelona       Bordeaux
2017/18   Man City       Genoa           At. Madrid      Chelsea         AC Milan
2018/19   Chelsea        Genoa           R. Madrid       Barcelona       Man Utd
2019/20   Aston Villa    AC Milan        Barcelona       AC Milan        Sporting CP
2020/21   Aston Villa    Juventus        Barcelona       Barcelona       Man Utd
2021/22   Arsenal        Genoa           R. Madrid       Man City        FC Bayern
2022/23   Man City       Lazio           R. Madrid       AC Milan        Werder Bremen
2023/24   Man City       AC Milan        Barcelona       Man City        Genoa
[b]2024/25   Arsenal        AC Milan        Barcelona       Arsenal         Inter[/b]

[iacovone]

Good decision I feel pangaea

All about keeping these careers as realistic as possible, and I don't believe IRL Lazio would offer a League 1 manager a job. (No disrespect )

Good luck next season

[AK22]

Won done on the promotion and JPT win. Glad you stayed put, you wouldn't have liked it much in Italy anyway

[Pangaea]

Thanks guys.

It would have been and felt wrong to leave now, especially for a team like that. If I were to move it would be to a team further down the chain. Will stay put here now and try to survive in the Championship

This was my first ever offer btw. Odd that it should come from such a big team.

[Nobby_McDonald]

I would say well done but you beat Stoke in the Cup.

[Deisler26]

Wow! Congrats!

[Pangaea]

2025/26 - Walton & Hersham

Championship

Board expectation: Avoid relegation

Media expectation: 24th

Odds: 50-1

Season tickets: 1266 (up 462)

Haven't played for a long time now, but off we go in pre-season matches. After being promoted through playoff I want some new players to help us stay up, but it's hard to find anything willing to sign. We sign a couple of goalies and a backup midfielder. Geoff Jones, the backup midfielder, doesn't stay long and leaves for 120k after half a season. Some others leave for free too.

League Cup: Not the best start as League 1 Leyton Orient burn us at the first hurdle. 0-1 and we're out.

FA Cup: This goes better. We need replays in both the 3rd and 4th round, but go through. Then high-flying Man City greet us at their ground. The crowd goes silent as we take the lead in the 7th minute. Then they utterly pummel us and we're actually lucky to not lose more than 1-4. The pay is good, however. We make about 700,000 from the trip up north.

League

The most important matches in our calendar are of course the league matches. The start is respectable, as we beat future winners QPR 5-2 at Stompond Lane in the 2nd home match. The winter approaches and results are almost predictably worse. Not sure what it is about us and cold weather - or orange balls.

We slide down the table and look to go into a relegation battle. We are only three points above the red zone in 20th. Having 3 of 4 strikers out for months on end doesn't help. Thankfully, when winter turns to spring, results improve. Five straight wins effectively takes us out of any real relegation threat and up to midtable obscurity. We win more than we lose in the latter half, but then only pick up 1 point in the last four matches. We finish 12th, which I am more than happy with.

QPR and Preston go up, with Ipswich taking the last spot. It's very tight at the top. Five teams, including all four playoff contenders, get 80 points and are only separated by goal difference.

Bristol City and MK Dons are relegated, plus Wigan due to bankruptcy.

League Graph - Midtable obscurity in the end, and a wild dogfight for promotion.

Transfers - Not a lot to report. But goalie Alan Jones will prove to be a good acquisition.

Squad - Thornley doesn't seem to cope with Championship football, but Reid continues to shine. Fitzpatrick in midfield has become very good and influential.

Finances - Profit of 1.8 million, partly due to the away encounter with City. Pre-City and post-City finances.

Pile o'Stats - I'm playing on my laptop now, which has only a 1366x768 resolution. Therefore the juicy widescreens for my squad and stats don't work. Sorry guys.

Key Players

Scott Brown (GK) - Still main goalie, but Alan Jones will take over next season.

John Gaffney (D RLC) - Versatile and good defender.

Lewis Wyatt (D RL) - Played 50 matches this season, all from the start. Solid left defender.

Matthew Stansfield (DM, AM LC) - Solid left winger that is fairly dangerous.

Tony Hoyle (MR) - Holding on to his right-wing position and had a good season. Still, Tidswell is lurking in the shadows.

Niall Fitzpatrick (AM C) - Playmaker and main man in midfield. Looks brilliant on paper and does well on the pitch too.

Daniel Sherwood (ST) - Was injured for 4 months this season, but still contributed with 13 goals in 20 starts. Not bad.

Stewart Reid (ST) - Without doubt our best striker now. 25 goals, 12 assists and 13 MoM in 41 games. Player of the season.

Team of the Season

Historic Team - Five players are inducted according to the news message, but this isn't always correct.

Other News

Mike Walker has been a pain in the back for some time now, playing badly and acting up. When he wanted to leave I said it depended on the price. Quickly two teams came in, and four others followed shortly after. They all bid 625K plus future sales income. Except Hibernian who gets the 6 month Bosman chance. Guess where the fruitloop went?

Training facilities are upgraded, but they are still not great for a Championship club. Thankfully the board is willing to invest.

Two long-serving servants will leave the club. 36-year old Tom Taiwo will hang up his boots. Tom still looks decent, and has had a good career, spending 10 seasons in Walton.

Alan Rioch has come to the end of the road for us too. He will be sold in the summer, after spending practically his whole career here, beating the club record for most matches.

Finally, the chairman is looking to step aside. This will have dire consequences...

Next Season

Stable first season in the Championship. The goal next season must be to further improve. Hopefully a few good summer signings can move us into the playoff zone.

Career Summary

[b]
Season   Division                 Pos     FA Cup     League Cup   Other Achievements[/b]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2009-10/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2009/10[/url]  Isthmian First South    19th       -            -        Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2010-11/EnglishIsthmianLeagueFirstDivisionSouth.png"]2010/11[/url]  Isthmian First South     3rd P  2nd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2011-12/League42.png"]2011/12[/url]  Isthmian Premier         2nd P  3rd Q Rnd       -        Won Isthmian League Cup.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2012-13/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2012/13[/url]  Blue Square South       17th    3rd Q Rnd       -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2013-14/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2013/14[/url]  Blue Square South        9th     2nd Rnd        -        FA Trophy Semi-final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2014-15/BlueSquareSouth42.png"]2014/15[/url]  Blue Square South        1st P   1st Rnd        -        New contract. Consortium takeover.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2015-16/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2015/16[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd     2nd Rnd        -
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2016-17/BlueSquarePremier46.png"]2016/17[/url]  Blue Square Premier      2nd P   2nd Rnd        -        New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2017-18/Coca-ColaLeague46.png"]2017/18[/url]  League Two               8th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2018-19/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2018/19[/url]  League Two               9th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2019-20/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2019/20[/url]  League Two              11th     2nd Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Semi-Final
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2020-21/Coca-ColaLeague2-46.png"]2020/21[/url]  League Two               7th P   1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2021-22/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2021/22[/url]  League One              16th     4th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT South Final.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2022-23/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2022/23[/url]  League One              17th     2nd Rnd     3rd Rnd     New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2023-24/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2023/24[/url]  League One               3rd     1st Rnd     2nd Rnd     Playoff final.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2024-25/Coca-ColaLeague1-46.png"]2024/25[/url]  League One               2nd P   5th Rnd     1st Rnd     JPT Winners. New contract.
[url="http://i898.photobucket.com/albums/ac183/Pangaea666/FM2010%20-%20Walton%20and%20Hersham/2025-26/Coca-ColaChampionship-46.png"]2025/26[/url]  Championship            12th     5th Rnd     1st Rnd

P = Promotion, R = Relegation 

[Pangaea]

Club Records 2025/26

• Attendances
  
  • Highest: 6,500 (full)
    
  • Lowest: 6,066
    
  • Average: 6,422
    

  [*]Results

  • Biggest Win: 5-0
    
  • Biggest Loss: 1-6 (QPR got their revenge for our 5-2 win)
    
  • Highest Score: 5-3
    

  [*]Sequences

  • Won in Row: 4
    
  • Lost in Row: 2
    
  • Without Losing: 6
    
  • Without Winning: 4
    
  • Without Conceding: 2
    
  • Without Scoring: 2
    

  [*]Players

  • Top Goalscorer: 25 - Stewart Reid
    
  • League Goals: 20 - Stewart Reid
    
  • Most Assists: 12 - Stewart Reid
    
  • Highest Rating: 7.44 - Stewart Reid
    
  • Most MoM: 13 - Stewart Reid
    
  • Player of the Year: Stewart Reid
    

  [*]Finances

  • Wage Budget: 52,000 p/w
    
  • Transfer Budget: 250,000
    
  • Balance (End): 2,780,000 (55,000 loan)
    

Roll of Honour 2025/26

England

1. Man City
   
2. Arsenal
   
3. Aston Villa
   
4. Leeds
   
5. Fulham
   
6. Chelsea
   

Man Utd 8th, Liverpool 13th, Tottenham 16th (they got promoted).

Italy

1. AC Milan
   
2. Genoa
   
3. Lazio
   
4. Reggina
   
5. Inter
   
6. Roma
   

AC Milan with a third title in a row now; they seem to have taken over for Genoa. Juventus down on 13th.

Spain

1. Barcelona
   
2. Villareal
   
3. R. Madrid
   
4. Betis
   
5. Espanyol
   
6. Sevilla
   

Spain really isn't very interesting in the top, apart from the Barca-Real battle, but they are split again this season.

Champions Cup

Arsenal - Genoa 1-0

Arsenal have gotten a knack for doing well in Europe. Two CL triumphs in a row, and four finals in five years.

EURO Cup

Aston Villa - Inter 2-1

Inter make the final again, but this time they lose it to Aston Villa.

Walton & Hersham - Most Matches

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rioch, Alan             MC              SCO     432      15      81      40
Kerr, Fraser            D C             SCO     417      14       9      10
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Taiwo, Tom              DM, M C         NGA     336       1      39      11
Paterson, Kris          D RL            SCO     325       2      11      13
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Wyatt, Lewis            D RL            ENG     294       1      12       8
Brown, Scott            GK              SCO     287       0       3       8
Ogogo, Abu              D/M R           ENG     265       5      22       9
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Ashford, Tony           D C             ENG     257      13       3       5
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Holt, Daniel            GK              ENG     228       0      0        5
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     228     100      50      29
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     217      30      50      26
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM LR           ENG     194      20      49       9
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Williams, Rob           GK              WAL     180       0       0       2
Charnock, Kieran        D LC            ENG     160       0       5       3
Vilhete, Mauro          M C             ENG     160      12      18       9
Clark, Matthew          M RLC           ENG     158      15      21       8
Lucas, Adam             D C             ENG     158       6       1       1
O'Neill, Ryan           D C             NIR     157       4       1       2
Chapman, Jonathan       D RL, WBL       ENG     153       2       4       3
Cowen, James            D C             ENG     153       4       1       4 
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Breakell, Ben           D R             ENG     144       1      13       7
Darby, Ashley           M C             ENG     143      12      26       9
Gier, Rob               D R             PHI     143       0       3       6
Evans, Martin           D C             WAL     140       4       2       0
Fitzpatrick, Niall      AM C            IRL     135      11      35       8
Cross, Jack             DM, AM LC       ENG     133       9      13       3
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     133      45      30      15
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Grant, Garry            D R             SCO     130       1       6       4
Smith, Jamie            AM C            ENG     127      19      25       6
Reid, Stewart           AM/F C          SCO     126      71      31      30
Grimes, Harry           D C             IRL     121       0       3       3
Reeves, Michael         M L             ENG     120      10      12       6 
Spearing, Jay           M C             ENG     120       4       9       2
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Brathwaite, Elliot      D C             ENG     105       6       2       6
Brown, Ryan             D/WB L          ENG     105       1       4       2
Joyce, Chris            D C             ENG     103       2       1       1
Leslie, Steven          M L             SCO     102       9      21       5
McNally, Richard        DM, M C         IRL     101       3      14       1

Walton & Hersham - Top Goalscorers

[b]Player                  Pos             Nat     Apps    Gls     Asts    MoM[/b]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marshall, Marcus        ST              ENG     309     135      67      35
Purcell, Tadgh          ST              IRL     244     126      57      58
Thornley, Liam          ST              ENG     228     100      50      29
Reid, Stewart           AM/F C          SCO     126      71      31      30
Davies, Craig           AM R, ST        WAL     149      57      41      11
Draper, Ross            M RC            ENG     344      46      36       9
Kenny, Mickey           ST              IRL     149      46      21      18
Sherwood, Daniel        ST              ENG     133      45      30      15
Connolly, Reece         AM R, ST        ENG     183      40      12      11
Gemmell, David          ST              SCO     130      32      25       3
Pritchard, Andy         AM L            ENG     254      31      35      24
Bramble, Tesfaye        ST              MSR     119      31      22       7
Hoyle, Tony             AM RC           ENG     217      30      50      26
Turnbull, Paul          M C             ENG     261      21      29      17
Nelthorpe, Craig        AM LR           ENG     194      20      49       9

Roll of Honour

         [b]England        Italy           Spain           Champions Cup   EURO Cup
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b]
2009/10   Arsenal        Lazio           Barcelona       Barcelona       Arsenal
2010/11   Chelsea        Juventus        R. Madrid       R. Madrid       At. Madrid
2011/12   Man Utd        Juventus        Barcelona       Man Utd         Tottenham
2012/13   Arsenal        Genoa           Barcelona       R. Madrid       AC Milan
2013/14   Chelsea        Juventus        R. Madrid       R. Madrid       AS Monaco
2014/15   Man City       Genoa           Barcelona       At. Madrid      Man City
2015/16   Chelsea        AC Milan        Barcelona       Juventus        AC Milan
2016/17   Arsenal        Genoa           R. Madrid       Barcelona       Bordeaux
2017/18   Man City       Genoa           At. Madrid      Chelsea         AC Milan
2018/19   Chelsea        Genoa           R. Madrid       Barcelona       Man Utd
2019/20   Aston Villa    AC Milan        Barcelona       AC Milan        Sporting CP
2020/21   Aston Villa    Juventus        Barcelona       Barcelona       Man Utd
2021/22   Arsenal        Genoa           R. Madrid       Man City        FC Bayern
2022/23   Man City       Lazio           R. Madrid       AC Milan        Werder Bremen
2023/24   Man City       AC Milan        Barcelona       Man City        Genoa
2024/25   Arsenal        AC Milan        Barcelona       Arsenal         Inter
2025/26   Man City       AC Milan        Barcelona       Arsenal         Aston Villa

[Nobby_McDonald]

Excellent season Pangaea.

[Pangaea]

Excellent season Pangaea.

Thanks Nobby. Always nice to survive the first season after promotion.

[AK22]

Well done, really strong showing in your first season in The Championship

Any news on a stadium expansion yet? 6500 isn't a lot.

[Pangaea]

Thanks.

6,500 is very little and is starting to really hold us back. No news of an expansion though. Or rather, the stadium can't be expanded so I guess our only choice is to build a new one. No sign of that so far.

[Pangaea]

2026 - World Cup

Hosts: Australia

Out in group stage: Denmark, South Korea, Australia, Honduras, Iran, Ecuador, Mexico, Finland, USA, Germany, France, Tunisia, Japan, Colombia, Chile, Uzbekistan.

Several giants fall out already in the group stage, including Germany and France. Hosts Australia let themselves down too and go out without a win to their name.

Qualified

A: Brazil, Ivory Coast

B: Belgium, Nigeria

C: Russia, Italy

D: Ghana, Argentina

E: Spain, Algeria

F: Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia

G: England, Holland

H: Portugal, Romania

Group stage

Second Round

Nigeria - Brazil 2-3

Belgium - Ivory Coast 2-0

Argentina - Russia 0-2

Ghana - Italy 1-6 (wow!)

Saudi Arabia - Spain 2-4

Algeria - Czech Republic 2-1

England - Romania 2-3 (quell surprise!)

Holland - Portugal 4-0

Quarter Final

Brazil - Italy 1-2 e

Belgium - Russia 2-3

Spain - Holland 2-1

Algeria - Romania 2-3

Semi Final

Italy - Romania 3-1

Russia - Spain 2-1

Third Place Playoff

Romania - Spain 2-4

Final

Italy - Russia 1-3

Knockout stage

Always nice to see poorly known footballing nations do well in the big tournaments. Saudi Arabia have actually done remarkably well, qualifying to all four World Cups so far (don't think they had a chance for 2010) and getting to the Second Round on three occasions. They even have a Quarter Final in 2018. Algeria have gotten to three World Cups, and made their best performance by getting to the Quarter Final stage. Romania was a great footballing side back in the 90s. They have now qualified to the last three World Cups, and nearly won the thing by going to the Semi Finals.

Russia were runners up in the 2020 European Championship so success on the big stage is not unknown to them. To win the World Cup, however, is something else. They've qualified to all four World Cups they had a chance to qualify for, but not progressed past the Second Round before. Now they go all the way and lift the famous trophy.

The group stage was straightforward enough, where they bested Italy, Iran and Ecuador. On the way to the final stiff competition are fought off from Argentina, Belgium and Spain, before Italy are sent packing in football's biggest match. Against such opposition Russia are certainly worthy winners.