withnail316 Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 August WPL Haverfordwest 5-0 Prestatyn A great way to start the new season, but there were a couple of disappointments along the way. An early red card for central defender Naylor was frustrating, but more so was yet another Richards injury. He missed 4 months last season, and now he's out of action again...luckily only for a couple of weeks, but enough to miss the European tie. The goals were scored by Hopkinson (2) Loy, Robinson and Rooney. Champions League Play Off first leg Shamrock Rovers 2-2 Haverfordwest A cracking game, although how we didn't lose it I'll never know. 2 goals from Rory Loy put us in a decent position, although the injury problems continue, with Loy picking up a knock. I'll have to play the second leg without 2 of my 3 first choice strikers. WPL Carmarthen 1-2 Haverfordwest Goals from Martin Reilly and Simon Basham ensured another three points. Champions League Play Off second leg Haverfordwest 1-0 Shamrock Rovers Fraser Robinson was the difference in a really tight game. Felt very fortunate to progress. Uploaded with ImageShack.us WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 Aberystwyth Goals from Bridge-Wilkinson and Fraser Robinson ensured another three points. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 Shamrock should be fairly easy. Must confess I thought the same when the draw was made: anything but! Very, very lucky to go through. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 OK, I'm getting really frustrated with Richards and his injuries. He's far and away my best striker (image below) but he's ALWAYS injured! Uploaded with ImageShack.us In his two years he's picked up EIGHT different injuries, and he's spent more than nine months of his Haverfordwest career in the physio's room. He's going to miss another 4 weeks now, which means he'll be out of some of my Champions League games too. :mad: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Ouch! Hopefully he's the only injury and it doesn't cascade like it always seems to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted March 31, 2012 Author Share Posted March 31, 2012 September WPL Bridgend 0-4 Haverfordwest Two each from Loy and Richards, but yet again Richards has picked up another knock. CL Group F Olympiakos 4-0 Haverfordwest A truly awful performance sees us hammered in Europe again. An early red card for skipper David Cowan did us no favours, but we were utterly spineless. WPL Haverfordwest 4-0 Afan Lido 2 from Loy, one from Robinson and Naylor's first ever goal secured the victory. However, Cowan got his second red card in two games... WPL Bangor City 0-1 Haverfordwest Tim Hopkinson with the only goal of the game, ending a 10 hour drought in the process. CL Group F Haverfordwest 0-3 Arsenal The final score was harsh as they scored twice in the final 5 minutes, but no complaints at the defeat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Olympiakos must have hurt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Olympiakos must have hurt. Very much so, especially as we just didn't turn up. I'm targeting the home game against them as a great chance for my first ever CL point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 October WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 Llanelli Goals from Rory Loy and Phil O'Halleron continued our perfect start to the league season. Loosemore League Cup Bridgend 0-7 Haverfordwest Is it possible to get bored of winning? Yes. Bridgend are the equivalent of us against Barcelona... goals from Higgins, Hopkinson, Richards, Loy, Mitchell, Robinson and an OG. WPL TNS 0-1 Haverfordwest Nathan Rooney won this one with a screamer from 30 yards. CL Group F AC Milan 6-1 Haverfordwest First time I've tried all out defence in the CL. It was only 3-1 with 15min to go, and then Pato ran riot. Ouch. Richards with our goal. WPL Haverfordwest 3-1 Neath Goals from Richards, Higgins and Hopkinson secured another three points and maintained our perfect start. Loosemore League Cup Quarter Final Haverfordwest 1-1 TNS (aet, 4-5 on pens) Yet another penalty shoot out defeat, as Fraser Robinson missed the decisive kick. Much like my defeat in the League Cup final of a couple of seasons back, we should have buried them in normal time. Another year that the treble will pass us by. WPL Bala 1-1 Haverfordwest Gah. Richards with the goal, but a late red card for Matty Hughes allowed Bala to grab a leveller from the spot. However, YET AGAIN we lost Richards for another 4 weeks. It's just ridiculous! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Seriously considering selling Richards. 50 goals in 85 games, but he spends so much time on the sidelines. He's been at the club for 30 months, and for 10 of those he has been injured.... I don't think I've ever had such an injury prone player. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAtty__B Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I'd sell him. Having a solid striker available will make a huge difference in your group stage efforts. I tend to steal a a couple results just because I land one solid scoring chance during games, plus there is always that annoying U19 rule... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Sounds like the sort of player who is injured for a month from a hangnail... Might be time to make some money off of him. Time to sell. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 November CL Group F Haverfordwest 1-3 AC Milan No disgrace in this one, we even took the lead through Tim Hopkinson, but Milan were just too strong. Welsh Cup Holyhead 0-3 Haverfordwest Goals from Loy, Hopkinson and Reilly see us safely through. WPL Port Talbot 1-3 Haverfordwest One from Hopkinson and two OGs secured another win. WPL Prestatyn 0-1 Haverfordwest Fraser Robinson was the difference in a weakened side ahead of our Champions League encounter in midweek. CL Group F Haverfordwest 1-4 Olympiakos Gutted. I had this targeted as my first point, but after just three minutes I was behind. Hopkinson got us back into it, but ultimately we just weren't good enough. Feel quite disheartened, and I'm beginning to think about taking my 'World Class' reputation elsewhere... WPL Haverfordwest 4-1 Carmarthen 2 for Hopkinson, 1 for Loy and one for Robinson ensure we hammer our rivals and get the CL game out our systems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 I'd sell him. Having a solid striker available will make a huge difference in your group stage efforts. I tend to steal a a couple results just because I land one solid scoring chance during games, plus there is always that annoying U19 rule... Yeah, it would probably help, but I keep thinking "he's only 20, he'll get stronger..." plus he just keeps scoring when he's fit. Sounds like the sort of player who is injured for a month from a hangnail... Might be time to make some money off of him. Time to sell. And yeah, I'd get a decent fee for him, but with £15m in the bank I'm not too motivated by money right now. I might just try and find another striker anyway and accept that Richards will spend half the season out every year.... to be fair to him, despite his injuries he's still got 20 goals a season! Can't grumble too much... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Pity you're so far off the pace in Europe, as the Olympiakos games brutally showed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 2, 2012 Author Share Posted April 2, 2012 Pity you're so far off the pace in Europe, as the Olympiakos games brutally showed. Yeah, they're just miles ahead of me. It'd almost be beneficial if I didn't qualify next year and went into the Europa, but if I make the play off i'll want to win it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 December WPL Aberystwyth 0-3 Haverfordwest Goals from Loy, Richards and Hopkinson secured another league win. CL Group F Arsenal 3-0 Haverfordwest Another one of those games that was pretty rough on us. It took them 65mins to break us down, and the other 2 were scored in the 85th and 90th minutes. Much better performances against Arsenal than the other sides. Uploaded with ImageShack.us WPL Haverfordwest 3-0 Bridgend Goals from Hopkinson, Reilly and Basham secured another league win. WPL Afan Lido 0-3 Haverfordwest Goals from Hopkinson and Robinson (3) kept up our great league form. WPL Haverfordwest 3-0 Bangor City Two for Hopkinson and one for Richards secures yet another win, and is a good way to finish the year... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Uploaded with ImageShack.us Mid season report 2015/16 Despite my disappointment with how Europe has gone, it's been a fairly decent half of the season. Still unbeaten in the league and bags of goals scored sees us flying at the top of the league. The league cup was disappointing, but penalty shoot outs are always a lottery. I'm considering making some significant squad changes in the Summer, and completely overhauling the squad, especially in midfield. Both Higgins and Bridge-Wilkinson are likely to be leaving, and perhaps Mitchell as well. I'm also going to need to consider replacements for Murphy (33) and Cowan (34 in March), although both are still quality. Uploaded with ImageShack.us Off the field there's £15m in the bank, and the board have announced plans to expand the stadium. Hopefully that means extra seats, which will help for European games. In other news, there's a hell of a lot of interest in my record goal scorer Hopkinson, but hopefully I can keep him. He's still got plenty of time left on his contract, but it might just be worth me offering him another. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Hope it's a big stadium increase, got loads of money for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 Hope it's a big stadium increase, got loads of money for it. Can't see it being huge, especially as my average gates aren't even 50% of the current capacity, but any increase in seating has to be a good thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 January WPL Llanelli 0-4 Haverfordwest Two own goals, one from Basham and another from Richards put our closest challengers to the sword. WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 TNS Richards and Alan Lynch's 1st of the season secure another win. Lynch had gone FIFTEEN hours without hitting the net beforehand. WPL Neath 0-2 Haverfordwest An OG and a Richards header secured the points, and although we lost our goalkeeper to injury after 10 minutes without a sub on the bench, we still kept a clean sheet. It was also the 200th win of my career. WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 Bala Robinson and Hutchinson grab us another win. WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 Port Talbot A double from Richards secures yet another win. Welsh Cup 4th round Haverfordwest 4-0 Waterloo Rovers A solid win in the cup, inspired by Steven Richards (who inevitably hurt himself later!) He scored 2 and made 2 more, including an OG and Joe Jones' first of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 4, 2012 Author Share Posted April 4, 2012 February WPL Llanelli 1-4 Haverfordwest Another win at Llanelli, and Rory Loy finally ended his drought with a hat-trick. Tim Hopkinson also got his 20th of the season, the fourth season in a row he's scored 20+. WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 Neath Two goals for Richards ensure the run goes on, and also... Uploaded with ImageShack.us The title was retained on 13th February, and after 24 games. It was the same date as Bridgend got relegated, too. WPL Port Talbot 1-0 Haverfordwest Incredibly poor performance which brought our unbeaten league season to a shuddering halt. Welsh Cup Quarter Final Haverfordwest 3-0 Bryntirion Goals from Hopkinson, Basham and Higgins see us safely through and into the semis. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 March WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 Bangor City Higgins and Richards were the difference here. WPL Aberystwyth 3-2 Haverfordwest Not a great performance, but we should NEVER have lost this. Our goals came from Richards and Hopkinson. WPL Haverfordwest 2-1 Llanelli A pretty poor peformance, but a second half leveller from Richards and a stoppage time winner from Robinson ensured the points. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Congrats on retaining the title! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Congrats on retaining the title! Cheers, man. Big changes planned for next season though! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 April WPL Haverfordwest 3-3 Port Talbot Mental game. Started awfully and found ourselves 2 down, only for Richards and Loy (2) to turn the game on it's head. We then conceded in stoppage time. Since winning the title, performances have dropped big time, as has morale. Welsh Cup Semi final Haverfordwest 3-1 Afan Lido Goals from Rooney, Hopkinson and Loy see us safely into the final once again. WPL Bangor City 1-0 Haverfordwest Another one of those shocking performances where we just can't put the ball in the net, and they had one great chance and took it.... WPL Neath 1-3 Haverfordwest Much better performance, goals from Rooney, Higgins and Richards secure three more points. WPL Haverfordwest 3-0 Aberystwyth Changed all three strikers ahead of the cup final, and all three scored. Reilly, Lynch and Robinson on the scoresheet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Uploaded with ImageShack.us The Welsh Cup Final Saturday 7th May 2016 The New Saints Vs Haverfordwest County AFC Esbjerg Atletikstadion, Esbjerg (DENMARK!!! Hmm) Well, I'm pretty sure the venue is a bug. Welsh Cup final in Denmark? Interesting! Anyway, back to it. As ever I'm feeling pretty confident of my chances of winning a fourth Welsh Cup, especially against a side I finished 32 points clear of in the league. However, our form has been pretty average in the last few months, although they did beat me on penalties and made the League Cup final. I pretty much have an entire first XI to choose from, and it might just be the final appearance for several of them. Still, hopefully they'll leave with another shiny medal... First half What a first half! We started the game very brightly, and after just 12 minutes we were in front. A great through ball from Rooney split the TNS dfence wide open, and Tim Hopkinson smashed in from 18 yards. Seven minutes later it was two, Danny Murphy's curling near post cross was fired in on the volley by Rory Loy and just before the break it was three. Steven Richards' header came back off the bar and then just over the line off the unfortunate Steven Lynch for an OG. Cruising. Half time: Haverfordwest 3-0 TNS Second half Very quiet second half, but nine minutes from time Steven Richards put the icing on the cake, sliding home from close range Full time Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Uploaded with ImageShack.us Haverfordwest County AFC: Season Summary 2015/16 League Media prediction: 1st Finished: 1st (champions) Cups Welsh Cup: Winners League Cup: Quarter Finalists Top scorers Steven Richards (33 apps/ 25 goals) Tim Hopkinson (47 apps/ 24 goals) Rory Loy (39 apps/ 22 goals) Fraser Robinson (37 apps/ 14 goals) Positives Well, another season, another two trophies. Really strong in the league again, securing the championship after 24 games, although a little complacency crept in towards the end of the season which explained our late slump. If I look solely at our domestic form, it's very different to be anything other than positive, and just for good measure we've now gone 6 years without losing a domestic match at home (penalty shoot outs aside, that is!) Concerns Continuing to struggle in Europe is still a concern, although qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League for a third time in five seasons isn't to be sniffed at. Still, I'm intending on using this summer to make several changes to the squad, with players such as Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Higgins and Andrew Mitchell on the way out. I'm also considering devising an 11 who sit out of the domestic cup competitions, playing only in the league and in Europe, and I also need to work on our shape for those huge European clubs. Going to devise an Italian style system so we sit in, rather than leaving ourselves wide open. Might take a bit of tweaking! Ambitions Win the league, and finally take a point in the Champions League! Adding some real quality to the squad is high on the agenda too, which will see some loyal players on the way out the door. (Ruaidhri Higgins has made more than 100 league appearances in his 4 years, but at 31 his time is now up. I MUST add quality to midfield to stand any chance in Europe, as well as a dominant defender. I'm just hoping that this time I can finally make some headway in the transfer market.) League table Uploaded with ImageShack.us Player of the season Steven Richards Average attendance 530 in league (increase of 21) 663 overall (decrease of 2) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Just thought, being 3 games away from my 300th at the club, it seems a good time for a roll of honour... Uploaded with ImageShack.us Honours League Champions: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Welsh Cup Winners: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 League Cup Winners: 2011, 2013, 2015 Runners Up: 2014 Top scorers: Tim Hopkinson (237 apps/ 128 goals) Alan Lynch (153 apps/ 77 goals) Rory Loy (117 apps/ 71 goals) Steven Richards (104 apps/ 67 goals) My record Played 297 Won 212 Drawn 37 Lost 48 Win ratio: 71% Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Good season once again. Strange to see the final in Denmark! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I burst out laughing when I saw that, Esbjerg's an even more random place to have it within Denmark itself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAtty__B Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I'm also considering devising an 11 who sit out of the domestic cup competitions, playing only in the league and in Europe, and I also need to work on our shape for those huge European clubs. Good call on this strategy. I have done it with my Haverfordwest squads in the past and it works out quite well. Its awesome for developing players for future top 11 or just to build up their rep to sell on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Good call on this strategy. I have done it with my Haverfordwest squads in the past and it works out quite well. Its awesome for developing players for future top 11 or just to build up their rep to sell on. Yeah I thought so. I'd have done it earlier but I was trying to keep squad numbers to a minimum. Having said that, I'm beginning to regret not adding any other leagues, especially as I think with our rep increase we'd have a great chance of unearthing some corkers from the continent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 You can always add them using the add league feature, it just takes until June for them to appear. I think France would be a good one to add. You should also scout Croatia as they often have some hidden gems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 You can always add them using the add league feature, it just takes until June for them to appear. I think France would be a good one to add. You should also scout Croatia as they often have some hidden gems. I'm playing FM11 fella, so I can't I'm afraid. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Now then, decisions.... Can I take a vote here please folks? Now this season is over do I: A) Continue with this career as I am, or.. B) Start again at H/west, but open more leagues giving me a chance to find more talent. Would be pretty tough to leave this one, but the other leagues would certainly open a few more targets that could improve the squad... Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Tough choice, but if it was me I wouldn't feel right starting all over again so going for A) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Going to leave this open til this evening and see what the vote suggests, and go with that. Fingers crossed it doesn't have to be decided by 'paper, scissors, stone'! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Keep going. I done what you did on FM 11 with only Wales and England loaded and still managed to become a decent european team i.e making the 1/4's of the champions league. It took a bit longer than it does on FM 12 but its very much do-able. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Keep going. I done what you did on FM 11 with only Wales and England loaded and still managed to become a decent european team i.e making the 1/4's of the champions league. It took a bit longer than it does on FM 12 but its very much do-able. Good advice. I guess I'm perhaps underestimating the value of making the group stages (even if I'm getting hammered) because that's still a good achievement from a Welsh side, it's just a little disheartening at times that I can't attract the type of player who'd greatly improve us. Having said that it's only 6 years into the career, so very much early doors! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 6 years is still very early in the grand scheme of things. By 2025 i recon you'll be a regular in the group stages and should be challenging 2nd/3rd. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 On a completely unrelated note, Tim Hopkinson is getting better and better. Very decent strike record for a player signed in the first weeks of the career... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tho Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Been following this for a while now (along with JackJCFC's progress too) and just thought i would have to made an account to stay stick at it. Myself and a friend are currently attempting to take the welsh league by storm via a network game (does not help that he lives in Korea, the time difference is killing me) and it may seem tough, but you have to remember that you are barely a club compared to the other clubs in the Champs league. May have to start a thread about our adventures. I do believe we have just started our 6th season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 Been following this for a while now (along with JackJCFC's progress too) and just thought i would have to made an account to stay stick at it. Myself and a friend are currently attempting to take the welsh league by storm via a network game (does not help that he lives in Korea, the time difference is killing me) and it may seem tough, but you have to remember that you are barely a club compared to the other clubs in the Champs league.May have to start a thread about our adventures. I do believe we have just started our 6th season. Cheers for the comment Tho, and good luck in your game. Welcome to the board, btw. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAtty__B Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I've replayed with Haverfordwest about 3 times. I find the saves seem to follow the same pattern because when I play I make all the same moves or similar moves. The most recent restart I did, I changed a few things about how I played the game and it has been pretty enjoyable. That's my advise for what its worth. You could also sim a head a few years and pick up Haverfordwest 2 years into the game. Although, they may not be in the Principality anymore :-| Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 6, 2012 Author Share Posted April 6, 2012 OK, from those that have responded there's a clear consensus for me to continue, so that's what I'll do. Back onto it then! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackJCFC Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 OK, from those that have responded there's a clear consensus for me to continue, so that's what I'll do. Back onto it then! Good luck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Hope that choice pays off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted April 7, 2012 Share Posted April 7, 2012 Good choice on continuing Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us Pretty pleased with the announcement about the ground. Didn't want anything too big that would take about 100 years for me to sell out, but that does increase our capacity for European ties by 100%. Still trying to twist their arm to the training facilities again too, but alas, no luck as yet. The youth facilities at least is a good start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
withnail316 Posted April 8, 2012 Author Share Posted April 8, 2012 And cheers for your well wishes, lads. Back on the case... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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