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(FM11) A most excellent adventure (or a very bogus journey!)


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December (cont)

WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 Prestatyn

A goal each from Basham and Hopkinson secured the points. Pretty poor performance, but a win is a win...

WPL Haverfordwest 1-2 Bala

Awful performance, first loss of the league season and a first domestic defeat at home in my entire career. We're playing nine games in December, and I think tiredness got the better of us. Fraser Robinson with our goal.

WPL Haverfordwest 4-0 Aberystwyth

Very happy with this response. Much better after I read the riot act at the end of the last game, and goals from Rooney, Richards, Hopkinson and OG put us back on track.

WPL Afan Lido 0-1 Haverfordwest

Pretty poor performance, but Steven Richards' 25th of the season secured another three points.

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We have Everton running wild on our save. They knocked Real Madrid out in the semi finals.

They seem to be in the Champions League every year on mine, although they won both the Europa League and FA Cup last year.

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Mid season report 2016/17

What a season so far, could be my best yet of this career. Although we didn't make the Champions League this time, progressing through the Group Stage of the Europa League is going to give our reputation a nice little boost, which hopefully means we'll be a more attractive proposition for players. The bit of cash I spent in the summer has certainly helped, with both Bradley and Morgan really improving the side. I'm expecting January to be quiet, but who knows?

As for our domestic form, I can't complain. Into the final of the League Cup, still in the Welsh Cup and flying at the top of the table, my only disappointment was losing that long unbeaten home record to bloody Bala of all sides (our first defeat against them in 18 games!) Still, that's a fairly minor complaint really...here's the league table:

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Off the pitch, things are looking good. Still have plenty of money in the bank, with the stadium upgraded, the youth facilities up to a good standard, and the training ground in the planning process. Happy days...

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Despite having £12m+ in the bank, for the second time my chairman has accepted an offer over my head. First time was for a youngster, this time it's for my best defender Nick Morgan for £975,000. Not impressed...

*lackofambitionangrysmiley*

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January

WPL Bangor City 1-3 Haverfordwest

Two from Garton and one from Richards gave us a huge win.

WPL Haverfordwest 4-1 Barry Town

Two from Hopkinson, one from Garton and an OG condemns Barry to another defeat. They're fifty points behind me after 21 games...

WPL Bala Town 1-6 Haverfordwest

Sweet, sweet revenge. A hat-trick from Tim Hopkinson (the first goal being his 150th for the club) and one each for Richards, Garton and Bradley.

Welsh Cup

Denbeigh 0-3 Haverfordwest

A goal for all three strikers (Hopkinson, Garton, Richards) send us nicely through.

A good month then, although we did lose Morgan to Bohemians in the end. Very frustrating, but there we go.

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February

WPL TNS 0-1 Haverfordwest

Tim Hopkinson with the only goal of the game.

WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 Neath

Garton and youngster Dave Farrar's first senior goal secure another win.

EL Last 32 first leg

Haverfordwest 1-2 Udinese

A harsh one, this. Ultimately we just couldn't take our chances, and they were clinical. Still, a late Bradley penalty gives us a tiny tiny chance...

EL Last 32 second leg

Udinese 4-0 Haverfordwest

Tried to play defensively, but after half an hour we were two down. Decided to go for it, conceded 2 more. Not to worry, it's been a good ride.

Welsh Cup

Haverfordwest 3-0 Llanelli

A great response to the European exit, goals from Richards, Higgins and Hopkinson send us through.

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March

WPL Haverfordwest 3-0 Carmarthen

One from Barreto, an OG and yet another from Hopkinson gave us a thumping victory.

WPL Bangor City 1-0 Haverfordwest

Awful, awful display. We got exactly what we deserved.

WPL Haverfordwest 2-0 Port Talbot

One from Garton, one from Robinson. Sorted.

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WPL Haverfordwest 1-0 TNS

Steven Richards' 30th of the season secured another win...

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Cheers lads. I'll confess I'm getting itchy feet again though. As much as I'm enjoying the European side of the career, total domination of the domestic league is getting on my nerves, so I might yet tender my resignation and move on in the summer....

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April

WPL Neath 1-2 Haverfordwest

Largely toiled in this one, but late goals from Richards and Hopkinson turned it around for us.

Welsh Cup Semi Final

TNS 0-1 Haverfordwest

Awful performance, but Fraser Robinson's 91st minute winner ensured our place in yet another cup final.

WPL Haverfordwest 3-0 Bangor City

Bradley, Richards and Barreto give us yet another win. Two games left to play, and two wins will break our record of 84 points. On the record front, 2 more goals from Richards will break Alan Lynch's record of 33 goals in a season.

WPL Port Talbot 1-0 Haverfordwest

One of those games where we couldn't take our chances. Still, I had made 8 changes ahead of the cup final.

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The Loosemore League Cup Final

Saturday 29th April 2017

Port Talbot FC Vs Haverfordwest County AFC

The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

A second cup final against Port Talbot then, the side who had beaten me just three days prior and have had a really good season, sat in 3rd in the league. I've a pretty decent record against them, with just 4 defeats in 20 matches, but this is their 4th Cup Final appearance in my career. Could be an interesting one... Luckily after making my changes for the league game, most of my squad are in perfect condition, so we've every chance of securing a second trophy of the season, and a fourth League Cup of my career.

First half

Not much to report other than constant pressure. Tim Hopkinson also had a goal ruled out by the referee's assistant's flag, but other than that it's been pretty dull.

Half time: Port Talbot 0-0 Haverfordwest

Second half

Even less to report in the second half. Does "zzzz" count as a report? Awful final.

End of normal time: Port Talbot 0-0 Haverfordwest

Extra time

More of the same. Chance after chance, but we just couldn't score. Horribly familiar....to pens it is.

Final score

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WPL Carmarthen 1-3 Haverfordwest

Had a touchline ban for this one after criticism of the ref in the cup final. My assistant is quite reliable though, and Loy, Richards and Robinson secured the win. Richards' goal was his 100th for the club.

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The Welsh Cup Final

Saturday 6th May 2017

Haverfordwest County AFC Vs Goytre United FC

Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli

So just a week after the painful penalty defeat, we have another opportunity for silverware. Not going to comment on this cup final in case I jinx it! Squad wise, everybody is fit other than Sam Garton (injured) and Rory Loy (suspended).

First half

Chillingly similar to the league cup, we had an early Tim Hopkinson goal ruled out. Very much on top again, but nothing to show for it.

Half time: Haverfordwest 0-0 Goytre United

Second half

Relief. Two Danny Murphy crosses met by Tim Hopkinson, both found the back of the net for his 30th and 31st of the season. Ghosts of the week before exorcised, a fifth Welsh Cup won.

Final score

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Stupid chairman. I don't think I've had a player sold on me by the chairman. I kind of want this to happen, but also not happen... conflicted.

Awesome work on the save. Got to love the Media confusion. Seeded but underdogs. 3rd seed but favourites :-|

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Thread hijacking time again because I know someone will have the answer in this thread.

What is the actual date of birth cutoff for the U-19 rule in Wales? It appears to be after the first Thursday in August, but I cannot find anything about it online

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Thread hijacking time again because I know someone will have the answer in this thread.

What is the actual date of birth cutoff for the U-19 rule in Wales? It appears to be after the first Thursday in August, but I cannot find anything about it online

It's definitely early August, I can't remember the exact date mind. It's caught me out a couple of times, especially when I signed Basham (his birthday was the end of July, which I thought would be fine!)

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Haverfordwest County AFC: Season Summary 2016/17

League

Media prediction: 1st

Finished: 1st (champions)

Cups

Welsh Cup: Winners

League Cup: Finalists

Top scorers

Steven Richards (50 apps/ 33 goals)

Tim Hopkinson (54 apps/ 31 goals)

Sam Garton (32 apps/ 15 goals)

Rory Loy (27 apps/ 12 goals)

Positives

This has probably been my best season to date, with qualification through the group stages of the Europa League as the clear highlight. Getting those two results against PSG have perhaps been the best results of my time playing FM11. Winning two of the three trophies is always a bonus again, just a shame I couldn't secure the treble thanks to another penalty shoot out. Ah well. My new signings gelled pretty well too, so all in all the club is in a pretty healthy state.

Concerns

The chairman. Selling Morgan at such a crucial time was extremely frustrating, and it wasn't exactly mega bucks he sold him for. I'd paid £500,000 for him, so it was less than double of what I'd paid. Extremely disappointing, especially as he was a major reason for our improvement in Europe. In other news I've already said I'm considering my position at the moment, and I've just about come to a decision.

Ambitions

Now I've had a little taste of European success, I want some more...

League table

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Player of the season

TBC

Average attendance

League average 662 (increase of 132)

Overall 842 (increase of 181)

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Honours

League Champions: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

Welsh Cup Winners: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017

League Cup Winners: 2011, 2013, 2015

Runners Up: 2014, 2017

Top scorers:

Tim Hopkinson (291 apps/ 159 goals)

Steven Richards (154 apps/ 100 goals)

Rory Loy (144 apps/ 83 goals)

Alan Lynch (153 apps/ 77 goals)

My record

Played 353

Won 255

Drawn 42

Lost 56

Win ratio: 72%

Goals scored: 831

Goals conceded: 319

Difference: +512

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Sad to see you depart. Maybe for the best with it being FM11 though. What level of job you hoping to get next though?

Ideally top end of the Championship/ Non Old Firm SPL job. I want a club I can build up rather than just going to a Man United or something (although I've been linked to the United job all season)

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Just to offer a couple of other details, Villa finished 12th in the PL last year, are worth £55m with £105m worth of debt. Sheff United finished 3rd in the Championship and have £43m worth of debt with a value of £18.5m. Both of them look like there's going to be an issue financially in the not too distant future...

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Morning all. Well, my laptop clearly didn't want me to leave Haverfordwest, hence why I've not continued yet! It shut itself down yesterday, so I'll need to resign again and get back to you!

As for Newcastle's debt, they had major problems. It'd probably take 4 or 5 years of Champions League football, let alone Championship football!

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Well, after resigning again I had a choice of three clubs. One of whom were Newcastle (whose situation I've already described) the second were Sheffield United, and then there was the club I chose. Update on the way...

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Chapter Two

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Everton Football Club

The English Premier League

From Wikipedia

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. They have competed in the top division for a record 108 seasons, they have played more top-flight league games than any other English team and have won the League Championship nine times—the fourth most of any team.[3] Everton have remained in the top division since 1954, and were founding members of the Premier League in 1992.

Everton have a notable rivalry with neighbours Liverpool F.C. and the two sides regularly contest the Merseyside Derby. Liverpool F.C. were formed in 1892 by a breakaway group consisting of Everton's former president and a few players. The dispute also resulted in Everton leaving Anfield, their home ground at the time. The club have been based at their current home ground, Goodison Park, since 1892. Plans to move to a new 50,000 seater expandable stadium in Kirkby on the Liverpool city border were blocked by a public enquiry in 2009.

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Not quite what I originally expected to take, but it was the kind of offer I'd have struggled to refuse.

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Were you getting any of these offers when you were still at Haverfordwest?

No, I wasn't offered a single job at Haverfordwest, although I was linked to loads of them. The offers all came after I'd quit.

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Everton look like a good choice.

Yeah, I thought so, and even more so after arriving. There's plenty of debt, but there's also £56,000,000 in the bank before we've started selling season tickets. Not bad at all.

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Sad to see you leave the bluebirds. Understandable though as it gets really frustrating. Team reputation does not climb as quickly as it should and therefore its not possible to attract better players, let alone top players. Good Luck with Everton.

Btw, ever checked your coach reputation on Genie scout ?

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Sad to see you leave the bluebirds. Understandable though as it gets really frustrating. Team reputation does not climb as quickly as it should and therefore its not possible to attract better players, let alone top players. Good Luck with Everton.

Btw, ever checked your coach reputation on Genie scout ?

Cheers, man. It was more the league that was the problem, to be honest. I was able to attract a few quality players, hence the European run, but in 7 seasons (224 league games) I only lost 20 league games. Ultimately that wore me down, so I wanted a new challenge. Hopefully I'll get that at Everton.

As for Genie Scout, I'll have to offer my best Manuel impression..."Que?" Not got a clue what that is, fella!

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Everton FC: Season preview 2017/18

Media prediction: 7th

Board expectation: qualify for Europe

Upon arriving at the club, my first job was to appoint a new assistant manager as the old one left with Steve Round. Luckily, my old assistant from Haverfordwest had left with me, so I thought it would be realistic to bring him with me, especially as he's been my assistant since 2011. Hopefully it'll be a Clough/Taylor thing! I also signed my old goalkeeper coach, but that's been it as Everton already have a massive backroom team. In other news, we've also managed to get Trabzonspor as a feeder team, which gives us a decent club to send our youngsters to.

It's not been the busiest of transfer windows at Goodison Park, largely because I want to give the players already at the club a chance. However, I did want to add a little quality, and that costs money so I've spent a bit. Well, I say a bit, but I mean A LOT, £29m to be exact, on just two players. Considering I don't normally play at this level, it's very unusual for me to spend anything, so spending that on two players is most unlike me! The top one at £16.5m is 21 year old Polish striker Lukasz Mihalowski, who arrived from Panathinaikos. The other was 25 year old Italian midfielder Daniel Kofi Agyei for £12.5m from Palermo. Anyway, I'm hoping both will be brilliant. I've also signed Brazilian midfielder Bernardo on a free from Dynamo Kyiv, and I'm still scouring the Bosman market now.

Here's a couple of images, anyway...

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To say I've high hopes for Michalowski would be a massive understatement!!!

Right, now I have a South American tour to play as we gain some fitness. Argentina first, and to finish we go to Chile to play the other Everton.

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