chile_paul Posted May 27, 2013 Author Share Posted May 27, 2013 Sheffield FC Kidderminster Harriers will definitely be our toughest encounter - they currently sit in 5th place and are strong contenders for the play off places. Barnet and Ebbsfleet are both in mid-table and will be tough places to visit. This doesn't look like an easy run in....... Gateshead The worrying fixture is the last one - Dartford have been woeful all season and should be a push over on the final day. Port Vale have been disappointing and after having been expected to be promoted straight back into the football league after relegation last season have struggled in mid-table. Hereford are in the lower half of mid-table. My best hope is Gateshead slip up away to Aldershot Town, having been fighting at the top of the table when we played them at Christmas, they've now slipped to just outside of the play off's Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 First blood to Gateshead - they picked up a point against Port Vale, whereas we lost 1-0 a game that we dominated from start to finish against Kidderminster Harriers thanks to a comical own goal caused by my star central defener Stephen Sama and goalkepper Brad Friedel both challenging for the same ball and ending up knocking it into our own net The gap is down to 2 points......... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 Second round of matches and it's all square - I pick up a 2-0 win against Barnet and Gateshead beat Hereford - it all looks as though it might go down to the last round of matches. The gap is still 2 points........ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 Get in! In the end we didn't need to wait until the final game of the season. Instead, on a day in which the positions changed on virtually a minute by minute basis, we lifted the trophy with a game to spare. We started off poorly against Ebbsfleet and fell behind early to a wicked scissor kick goal after a scrambled clearance from a corner - over in Aldershot, Gateshead were winning and at that point we had surrenderred the top spot of the table for the first time since Christmas. It wasn't until the 72nd minute that we started to stage a fight back, first via a Trystan Smith goal, then thanks to an own goal we took the lead and regained top spot in the league. Finally with 7 minutes left on the clock Aldershot Town equalised from a penalty and that was that - they wouldn't be able to catch us in the final game - we were the champions! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 April didn't get off to the start that we needed, and this really started the jitters spreading through the squad as Gateshead closed the gap to the top of the table. We didn't play badly against Kidderminster, in fact we dominated the game and they hardly had a chance - however a cross into our box outfoxed both my top central defender and my goalkeeper and between the two of them they managed to put the goal into our own net. We definitely weren't on top form for the rest of the month as you could really tell that nerves were having an effect, however thanks to Trystan Smith hitting form again at exactly the right time as well as couple of calamitous errors from my oppositions defence, we crossed the line with a game to spare. The final game against Barrow was much more enjoyable with the pressure off, Barrow fought back twice from going behind but the third time they couldn't muster a response and we went on to tuck away a fourth goal just to finish the season with a flourish. A good thing that we did win all 3 of those final games as Gateshead did not finish far behind me - if Ebbsfleet hadn't have handed me that winner on a plate it would have been a very nervous final game of the season - Tom Phipp, you deserve a medal! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 A final manager of the month award, again it feels a little bit hollow as I just don't think we played well enough to deserve it........ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 It was always going to be tight between Dunlop and Smith and there were a few other contendors from other teams - in the end I'm delighted for him, he hit form at exactly the right time in the final 6 games of the season whilst Dunlop just seemed to be hampered by nerves towards the end Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 A few other bits of news to update you all on...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosama Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Congrats on promotion Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK22 Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Brilliant stuff! Smith had a blinder. Good luck in the Football League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Congrats on heading into league football! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 Congrats on promotion Congrats on heading into league football! Thanks you both Brilliant stuff! Smith had a blinder.Good luck in the Football League. He did! It came a little bit by surprise to be honest, he hit a bit of a barren spell in January and February when we were playing really well and winning every match we played, at this point it seemed that Scott Dunlop was going to develop into my main striking option - but when the pressure really increased at the end of the season it was Smith who performed when it really counted. He's just secured a new contract and is now our highest paid player as a result Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 Chile_Paul's Career - Season Review - 2016/17 - Sheffield FC Blue Square Premier Final League Position: 1st What an unexpected performance this season - I truly didn't believe that we'd be able to do anymore than challenge for the play off places, and after a dodgy first couple of results at the start of the season thought that even that might be too much of an ask. In the run up to Christmas however we hit a mean run of form and the teams all around us started to under-perform. Before I knew it after a couple of crucial wins in the Christmas period itself we hit the top of the table with a 9 point lead. Well surely we couldn't throw that away could we? We gave it a very good try, our form in 2017 slipped away and top scorer Scott Dunlop couldn't find the back of the net for love nor money. Behind us Gateshead were hitting form and didn't lose a match until the end of the season, eventually our form recovered thanks to Trystan Smith and with one game to spare we secured the title FA Trophy Competition Performance: 1st Round An ugly performance against lower league Grimsby - the least said the better, my only disappointment is that I won't get another chance to lift this trophy (unless we get relegated next season!) FA Cup Competition Performance: 2nd Round A brave performance by the team to take Swindon Town to a replay and we came so close to making it through to the 3rd round - ultimately Swindon were just too good for us in extra time. Just one round less than my expectations for the season, but not too disappointing. Squad Once again the squad will need a lot of work over the close season to make us ready for the football league. I feel I have a strong spine with a good defensive pairing (Sama and Jones), at least one decent central midfielder (Jack Lynch) and a devestating attack. However Brad Friedel is retiring and will be very difficult to replace, my left and right back places were plugged with loan signings last season and my wide midfielders also need some improvement - Stephen Hunt was masterful last season but is no longer the player he was and my first choice right winger was only with us on loan. Transfers - Finances - Board Review The finances are strong - we would have been in profit had we not upgraded the stadium at the end of the season, as it is we get a terrace conversion without our balance being significantly hit. The board were pleased with my performance, although not ecstatic which I thought was a little underwhelming given that I've got the team promoted to the football league for the first time ever - I'm guessing the cup performances were not quite as good as they would have hoped for? My Top 3 Players Ooh - this was a tough choice this season for the top 3 and there is going to be one player who just misses out who probably deserves to be up there........... Scott Dunlop - Okay, probably contreversial but I'm going to award my player of the season award to Scott Dunlop, despite the league recognising Trystan Smith. Dunlop is just such a good player and always seems to be in the right positions, even if his shooting was a bit wayward towards the end of the season - he had plenty of potential still to develop as well Trystan Smith - Recognised by the other managers in the league as the Blue Square Premier player of the season Smith has been fantastic and only narrowly falls behind Dunlop into second place Stephen Sama - a very tough decision between Sama and Jack Lynch. Despite a calamitous own goal at the end of the season which almost lost us the title Sama has been the rock in our defence all season and ensured that whilst we were up at the other end scoring goals that we wouldn't be caught out at the back Fans Player of the season - Scott Dunlop Best Eleven - 2016 / 2017 Best Eleven - All Time What's Next? Consolidation in the football league with maybe a late push towards the play-off's? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 What went on Elsewhere? English Premier League 2012/13 - 1st Arsenal 2nd Man United 3rd Newcastle Utd 4th Tottenham - Relegated Wigan, Southampton, Norwich 2013/14 - 1st Man United 2nd Chelsea 3rd Man City 4th Arsenal - Relegated Leicester City, Everton, QPR 2014/15 - 1st Chelsea 2nd Man Utd 3rd Man City 4th Stoke City - Relegated Wolves, Blackburn, Milwall 2015/16 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Arsenal 3rd Newcastle Utd 4th Chelsea - Relegated Swansea City, Wigan, Bolton 2016/17 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Man City 3rd Arsenal 4th Newcastle United - Relegated Southampton, Ipswich Town, Reading FA Cup 2012/13 - Winners QPR Runners-Up West Brom 2013/14 - Winners Chelsea Runners-Up Leicester City 2014/15 - Winners Man City Runners-Up West Brom 2015/16 - Winners Man City Runners-Up Blackpool 2016/17 - Winners Man United Runners-Up Chelsea League Cup 2012/13 - Winners Reading Runners-Up Bolton 2013/14 - Winners Man United Runners-Up Arsenal 2014/15 - Winners Man United Runners-Up Reading 2015/16 - Winners Swansea City Runners-Up Everton 2016/17 - Winners Liverpool Runners-Up West Brom ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Liga BBVA 2012/13 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Valencia 4th Getafe - Relegated Espanyol, Real Valladolid, Osasuna 2013/14 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Valencia 3rd Barcelona 4th Real Zaragoza - Relegated Rayo Vallecano, Celta Vigo, Deportivo de la Coruna 2014/15 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Valencia 4th Sevilla - Relegated Sporting Gijon, RCD Mallorca, Numancia 2015/16 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Valencia 4th Sevilla - Relegated Racing Club Santander, Osasuna, Alaves 2016/17 - 1st Barcelona 2nd Real Madrid 3rd Atletico Madrid 4th Valencia - Relegated Hercules CF, CD Numancia, RCD Mallorca Copa del Rey 2012/13 - Winners Valencia Runners-Up Real Madrid 2013/14 - Winners Barcelona Runners-Up Real Madrid 2014/15 - Winners Real Madrid Runners-Up Real Betis 2015/16 - Winners Barcelona Runners-Up Zaragoza 2016/17 - Winners Real Madrid Runners-Up Atletico Madrid ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Serie A TIM 2012/13 - 1st Juventus 2nd Fiorentina 3rd Napoli 4th AC Milan - Relegated Torino, Pescara, AC Siena 2013/14 - 1st Juventus 2nd AC Milan 3rd Fiorentina 4th AS Roma - Relegated Udinese, Chievo Verona, Sampdoria 2014/15 - 1st Juventus 2nd Fiorentina 3rd AS Roma 4th Parma - Relegated Empoli, Reggina, Cesena 2015/16 - 1st Juventus 2nd Napoli 3rd Inter Milan 4th Parma - Relegated Spezia, Chievo Verona, Atalanta 2016/17 - 1st Juventus 2nd Fiorentina 3rd Inter Milan 4th Napoli - Relegated Brescia, ASG Nocerina, Bologna TIM Cup 2012/13 - Winners Juventus Runners-Up Napoli 2013/14 - Winners Cagliari Runners-Up Udinese 2014/15 - Winners AC Milan Runners-Up Juventus 2015/16 - Winners Fiorentina Runners-Up Napoli 2016/17 - Winners AS Roma Runners-Up Napoli ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bundesliga 2012/13 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Borussia Dortmund 3rd FC Schalke 04 4th Bayer Leverkusen - Relegated Hannover 96, Fortuna Dusseldorf, Werder Bremen 2013/14 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Borussia Dortmund 3rd FC Schalke 04 4th Hamburg - Relegated FSV Mainz, FC Augsburg 2014/15 - 1st Bayer Leverkusen 2nd Bayern Munich 3rd Borussia Monchengladbach 4th Borussia Dortmund - Relegated Hamburg, Hertha Berlin 2015/16 - 1st Bayer Leverkusen 2nd Borussia Dortmund 3rd Bayern Munich 4th FC Schalke 04 - Relegated TSV 1860 Munich, Hannover 96 2016/17 - 1st Borussia Mochengladbach 2nd Bayern Munich 3rd FC Schalke 04 4th Borussia Dortmund - Relegated FSV Mainz, Werder Bremen, SpVgg Greuther Furth DFB Pokal 2012/13 - Winners Werder Bremen Runners-Up VfB Stuttgart 2013/14 - Winners Bayer Leverkusen Runners-Up Wolfsburg 2014/15 - Winners SC Freiburg Runners-Up Bayer Leverkusen 2015/16 - Winners Hamburg Runners-Up Eintracht Frankfurt 2016/17 - Winners Bayern Munich Runners-Up FC Nurnberg ---------------------------------------------------------------------- French Ligue 1 2012/13 - 1st PSG 2nd Marseille 3rd Lille 4th Bordeaux - Relegated Nice, Nancy, Ajaccio 2013/14 - 1st PSG 2nd Marseille 3rd Bordeaux 4th Lille - Relegated Bastia, Nantes, Brest 2014/15 - 1st PSG 2nd Lille 3rd Marseille 4th Lyon - Relegated Ajaccio, Stade Reims, Guingamp 2015/16 - 1st PSG 2nd Lille 3rd Marseille 4th Montpellier Herault - Relegated Clermont Foot 63, Lorient, Brest 2016/17 - 1st Lille 2nd PSG 3rd Marseille 4th Saint Etienne - Relegated Metz, Rennes, Le Havre AC Coupe de France 2012/13 - Winners Lille Runners-Up Lyon 2013/14 - Winners Sochaux Runners-Up PSG 2014/15 - Winners Lyon Runners-Up PSG 2015/16 - Winners Lille Runners-Up Vannes 2016/17 - Winners Montpellier Herault Runners-Up Bordeaux Coupe de la Ligue 2012/13 - Winners PSG Runners-Up Lorient 2013/14 - Winners Nantes Runners-Up PSG 2014/15 - Winners St. Etienne Runners-Up Troyes 2015/16 - Winners Lille Runners-Up Le Havre 2016/17 - Winners Stade Reims Runners-Up Lyon ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Clydesdale Bank Premier League 2012/13 - 1st Celtic 2nd Hearts 3rd Motherwell 4th St. Mirren - Relegated Aberdeen 2013/14 - 1st Celtic 2nd Hearts 3rd Hibernian 4th Motherwell - Relegated St. Johnstone 2014/15 - 1st Celtic 2nd Hearts 3rd Hibernian 4th Motherwell - Relegated Aberdeen 2015/16 - 1st Celtic 2nd Rangers 3rd Hibernian 4th Dundee United - Relegated Dundee 2016/17 - 1st Celtic 2nd Hearts 3rd Motherwell 4th Rangers - Relegated Ross County Scottish FA Cup 2012/13 - Winners Celtic Runners-Up Ross County 2013/14 - Winners Hearts Runners-Up Celtic 2014/15 - Winners Celtic Runners-Up Dundee 2015/16 - Winners Inverness CT Runners-Up Falkirk 2016/17 - Winners Inverness CT Runners-Up Celtic Scottish League Cup 2012/13 - Winners St Johnstone Runners-Up Motherwell 2013/14 - Winners Celtic Runners-Up Motherwell 2014/15 - Winners Celtic Runners-Up Hearts 2015/16 - Winners Ross County Runners-Up Motherwell 2016/17 - Winners St Mirren Runners-Up Celtic ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Champions League 2012/13 - Winners Chelsea Runners-Up FC Schalke 04 2013/14 - Winners Man United Runners-Up Real Madrid 2014/15 - Winners Man United Runners-Up Juventus 2015/16 - Winners Man United Runners-Up Real Madrid 2016/17 - Winners Man United Runners-Up Barcelona Europa League 2012/13 - Winners Newcastle United Runners-Up Tottenham Hotspur 2013/14 - Winners FC Porto Runners-Up Dynamo Kyiv 2014/15 - Winners FC Porto Runners-Up Galatasary 2015/16 - Winners Stoke City Runners-Up Fenerbahce 2016/17 - Winners Real Sociedad Runners-Up Sporting Lisbon ---------------------------------------------------------------------- World Cup 2014 - Winners Spain Runners-Up France European Championship 2016 - Winners Netherlands Runners-Up England Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 World Awards 2016 - World Team of the Year 2012 World Player of the Year - 1st Lionel Messi 2nd Xavi 3rd Cristiano Ronaldo 2013 World Player of the Year - 1st Lionel Messi 2nd Cristiano Ronaldo 3rd Eden Hazard 2014 World Player of the Year - 1st Lionel Messi 2nd Gerard Pique 3rd Juan 2015 World Player of the Year - 1st Cristiano Ronaldo 2nd Lionel Messi 3rd Neymar 2016 World Player of the Year - 1st Cristiano Ronaldo 2nd Fernando Llorente 3rd Sebastien Giovinco European Awards 2016/17 Best Player in Europe - 1st Lionel Messi 2nd Cristiano Ronaldo 3rd Neymar 2016/17 European Golden Boy - Richardson 2016/17 European Golden Boot - 1st Leandro Damiao 2nd Fernando Llorente 3rd Gonzalo Higuain English Awards 2016/17 Manager of the Year - 1st Josep Guardiola 2nd Tony Pulis 3rd Vitor Pereira 2016/17 Golden Glove - 1st Joe Hart 2nd Wojciech Szczesny 3rd David De Gea 2016/17 Footballer of the Year - Eden Hazard 2016/17 Players' Player of the Year - Yaya Toure 2016/17 Players' Team of the Year 2016/17 Players' Young Player of the Year - 1st David Alaba 2nd Mario Gotze 3rd Vaclav Kadlec Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRL88 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Great season and well done on promotion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 Great season and well done on promotion. Thank you kindly sir Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 A couple of tidbits from around the footballing world for your perusal: Pep Guardiola is rapidly closing in on Sir Alex Ferguson's position as the most succesful football manager of all time. Guardiola has just led his Manchester United team to a quite incredible 4th consecutive Champions League trophy and a 2nd consecutive Premier League title. All 4 of Guardiola's Champions League titles have been won 1-0 versus Barcelona, Real Madrid (twice) and Juventus Guardiola's Premier League title almost came crashing down around his ears though this season - with a comfortable 9 point lead heading into the end of the season his Manchester United side couldn't find a win from anywhere. In a near mirror of the 2012/13 season Manchester City were within seconds of snatching the league title out of United's hands when Wayne Rooney scored a 93rd minute equaliser to rescue a point from the final game of the season and prevent City from stealing the title from their fierce rivals After 6 years in charge Chelsea decided that Roberto Di Matteo had grown stale in his role as Chelsea head coach and sacked him at the end of the season having only managed to secure 7th place. Di Matteo will always have a fond place in Chelsea fans hearts after securing 2 Champions League titles but they recognised that recent performances hadn't been good enough. Chelsea moved to secure a proven title winner from Italy by appointing Juventus manager Antonio Conte after Conte secured a 6th consecutive league title for the Italian champions The new Chelsea manager didn't take long to ring the changes in his squad with Romelu Lukaku, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Cesar Azpilicueta amongst a list of big names leaving the club. In a sign that Roman Abrahamovic isn't prepared to throw his cash around in the same way that he was doing 10 years ago at Chelsea this money was re-invested shrewdly into the purchase of Sebastien Coates from Arsenal for £10m and Yohan Cabaye from Barcelona for £6m. Tycoon backed Newcastle United started out having a torrid season, mainly due to not having sufficient goalkeeping cover when long term number 1 Tim Krul picked up a serious injury. Newcastle's Croatian backers didn't accept this excuse from Rafa Benitez however and sacked him to replace him with AC Milan manager Javier Aguirre. AC Milan promptly asked Benitez to fill their vacancy. The move from the Toon definitely had an effect however and they recovered under Aguirre to secure 4th place and another season of Champions League football Steve McClaren opted to jump ship from Wigan to try and save relegation threatened Reading when they sacked Nigel Pearson. The move didn't pay off for McClaren however as Reading couldn't improve and confirmed their relegation whilst Wigan under the guidance of new manager Mark Hughes stormed to a 2nd placed finish in the Championship and have now been promoted above McClaren's new side. In Germany a number of shocks resulted in some managers losing their jobs. In February Borussia Dortmund sacked Alan Pardew and replaced him with Benifca manager Jorge Jesus and then in March FC Schalke sacked Roberto Mancini and Bayer Leverkusen sacked Carlo Ancelotti - with the 2 managers swapping positions, Mancini ending up at Leverkusen and Ancelotti in Schalke. All this disruption ended up in all 3 clubs having a disappointing season allowing Borussia Mochengladback stealing the title with Bayern Munich picking up 2nd place Liverpool managed to balance their books financially after some deft moves in the transfer market. They allowed ageing striker Luis Suarez who had been struggling over the last 3 years to move to Tottenham Hotspurs for £5.75m and Alex Oxlaide Chamberlain was also moved on to Man City for £16.25m 2 years after he had joined the club from Arsenal for £15m. In their places Liverpool manager Antonio Fernandez signed Danny Welbeck from Newcastle and exciting young midfield talent Dejan Jakupovic from Vitesse Arnhem Manchester United manager Pep Guardiola was clearly content with his squad after picking up both the Champions League and Premier League titles and chose not to strengthen his squad at all, he did however allow Shinji Kagawa to leave the club to move to Newcastle. The tycoon backed Newcastle United also splashed out on 2 new strikers to support the ageing Papis Cisse with Mattia Destro joining from Bayern Munich and young Belarusian Alexey Akatiev joining from Feyenoord. Newcastle finished off with new £24.5m central defender Kurt Zouma from Saint Etienne to complete their summer spending frenzy, confirming themselves as the highest spending Premier League club. Going the other way left back Davide Santon moved to Napoli for £10.25m and Tottenham finally secured a long term target in Hatem Ben Arfa for £6.25m Stoke City also looked to strengthen as they attempt to cement themselves as a top 6 club - having one the Europa League 2 seasons ago and reached the semi-finals this season they are starting to build a reputation for themselves under Tony Pulis and as such are starting to attract more ambitous players into the club. As such they persuaded Arsenal back up striker Lorenzo Insigne to join for £14.25m and Wolfsburg play maker Ku Ja-Cheol for £8m. They also strenghtened the squad with signings of Kieran Trippier from Fulham, 35 year old Phil Jagielka who returned to England after 3 years playing in France for Olympique Marseille and ex-Everton loanee striker Denis Stracqualarsi from San Lorenzo. The most expensive transfer of 2017 however took place in Germany as the Italian manager of Bayern Munich, Luciano Spalletti move to bring one of his countrymen to the Bayern arena with the signing of 24 year old midfielder Marco Verratti from PSG for a bumper £32m price tag 2017 also saw the retirements of such notable giants of the game as Robinho who finished his career with AC Milan after 227 appearances for the club, Wesley Sneijder who finished his career with Tottenham and Pepe who had moved to first Bayern Munich and latterly Hoffenheim following his successes at Real Madrid. Demba Ba hung up his footballing boots and is looking for his first backroom role travelling the world for a club as a scout. Fernando Torres has also retired from the game after a final unsuccessful spell at Southampton and is looking to try his hand at management as is ex Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic. Landon Donovan has also called time on his career after a successful spell at Genoa and is looking for a supportive back room role as Assistant Manager Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Well done! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Great season! Always enjoy reading what's going on in the rest of Europe too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosama Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Well Pep is so close to it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Well done Paul. The oldest club now in the Football League. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Well done! Well done Paul. The oldest club now in the Football League. Thank you both Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Well Pep is so close to it He is very close, expect he may well overtake Fergie next season if he has a good year Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Great season! Always enjoy reading what's going on in the rest of Europe too Cheers cerud - the footballing news is one of my favourite bits of doing these updates as well, good to see what the AI are up to! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Chile_Paul's Career - Season Preview - 2017/18 - Sheffield FC Board Expectations: nPower Football League 2: Stay clear of relegation FA Cup: First round League Cup: Learn from the experience Johnstone's Paint Trophy: Learn from the experience My Expectations: nPower Football League 2: Midtable with a late push for the play-off's FA Cup: Looking for a big third round tie against a big name again League Cup: Enjoy the experience Johnstone's Paint Trophy: Quarter finals Budgets: Transfer: £16.29k Wage: £17,623 p/w (Currently spending £14,449 p/w) Balance: £469,203 Friendlies A comfortable build up in pre-season with a resounding win in the final game to take us into the main season. We pushed Championship side Derby County all the way in the first pre-season game which was good to see. Transfers - In Serge Gnabry - Loan - A last minute decision to bring in this young loanee from Arsenal to bolster the right hand side of midfield. This area was looking really weak but with the arrival of Serge I've now got several options to play with. Jonah Reynolds - Loan - my other loan arrival for the right hand side of midfield. He has a really strong long throw attribute so I'll be asking my coaches to get him to develop a PPM for long bullet throws into the box, the first time I'll be looking to do this in FM13 so it will be interesting to see how effective this is. Raheem Hanley - Loan - Initially signed from Blackburn Rovers as a left back, he looks equally adept in midfield and way above the level he's going to be playing in at League 2. He should be a monster for us this year. Garry Nelson - Free - one of 2 Northern Irish players joining permanently this summer after the board allowed my scouts to travel across the UK last year. Some good competition for the left side of midfield given that Stephen Hunt is no longer the player he was. Steven O'Hara - Free - The second player to join from Northern Ireland O'Hara is only young but will go straight into the centre of defence and pick up the role of captain after Brad Friedel's retirment Lee Rooney - Free - I was impressed with Lee when he joined Chester FC on loan from Sheffield Wednesday last season and with him being available on a free transfer I picked up this left back as qucik as a shot. I'll be training him to play on the right hand side of defence as well and he will be my first back up for either of my two loan players at left and right back. Albert Rusnak - Free - Albert is a Slovenian midfielder who has had 2 seasons of experience on loan in the Blue Square leagues. I needed more depth in midfield so picking this guy up on a free transfer seemed a sensible move. Lewis Price - Free - an ex Wales international with plenty of experience....... What more could I ask for to replace Brad Friedel. Lewis played well for Dagenham & Redbridge last season and should do a good job for me for several season. Darnell Fisher - Loan - Darnell joins on loan from recently promoted Milwall. With Milwall playing in the Premier League Darnell wouldn't be getting any playing time so he agreed to join me on loan this season. With 2 previous seasons playing for League 2 sides he should fit well into my team at right back Transfers - Out Marc Oxley recognised he was never going to get any playing time with me at this level of the league and left permanently to join local club Worksop where he was on loan last season. I was sad to see Dominic Langdon leave who has been a great servant to the club and wish him well for the future. Dale Fulton had disappointed me over the last 2 seasons and so was also allowed to leave at the expiry of his contract. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Overall a very balanced month for August with a loss, a win and a draw - couldn't ask for much more from my first month playing in a higher league. We were really unlucky against Walsall in reality as we had twice as many chances as them (18 in total) but our finishing was appalling with only 2 shots on target. Walsall took the lead as early as the 11th minute and were then hanging on throughout as we improved. They had a chance to seal the win with a 71st penalty but Lewis Price made a great save on his league debut. Against Luton Town we were much improved and ran into an early 2-0 lead. Luton fought back to equalise the scores with goals just before and after half time and I thought we were going to through it all away, but Trystan Smith stepped up to the mark and scored 2 late goals to win the tie. In the final games we absolutely hammered Milton Keynes Dons and really deserved the 3 points but the one time our defence parted Fabian Broghammer ran right through us scored in the top corner with their only shot on goal. Comfortably in mid table after 3 games My first game of the season was in the League Cup with a challenging trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United. In an absolutely fantastic performance we thrashed Leeds 2-0 to secure a 2nd round tie against Premier League side Sunderland. Unfortunately we really struggled with that step up to the next level and Sunderland rang rings around us - we held out for the first half of the game, mainly as a result of Sunderland's poor finishing, but Connor Wickham's performance was too strong in the end and he twice ran through the channels to score. A more than respectable performance for our first run in this competition and a very healthy boost to our bank balance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 A really long month in the league with 7 games played as we really pile into the season. We started fantastically well with the first 2 games in the month catapulting us up to 3rd in the league after strong wins at home to Plymouth and then just down the road from us at Mansfield Town thanks to a brilliant performance by Scott Dunlop. The next 2 games brought us back down to earth however and league leaders Bradford City managed to sneak a win in what was otherwise a very tight and competitive game. Against AFC Wimbledon we took the lead but couldn't hold on for more than 7 minutes before they equalised and we built on that result by going to our opponents from the Blue Square Premier last season at Gateshead and picking up all 3 points. In the final game of the month against Cheltenham we really should have been home and dried by half time but we missed a couple of gilt edged opportunities to extend our lead and they came back to equalise in the second half. Sitting just outside the play-off place's, a very healthy place to be for the team who are favourites to be relegated! My only concern is the lack of goals we're scoring - when we're winning games we're relying on scoring one and then maintaining a clean sheet to pick up the points. I don't think the fans will be particularly excited by the attacking play! I felt the first round draw of the St Johnstone's trophy was winnable although it was a tough ask away to League 1 side Scunthorpe. We pushed them all the way and were competitive throughout, but they just pipped us to the post at the penalty shoot out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosama Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 You are close man Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Delighted for Trystan that he's going to get a chance to earn his first Welsh cap, but seriously, how bad must it be for Wales if a League 2 striker is making it into the squad? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 At last the board have seen fit to allow me to improve the junior coaching - still don't think it's going to do much in the short term to improve my prospects of getting any future stars through the ranks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 It seems as though half the league have sacked their manager! On top of the list below York City have just sacked their manager and replaced him with Dickson Etuhu whilst Luton Town have appointed Neil Young as manager. That makes it approximately one third of the league who've sacked or appointed a new manager in just over a week - let's hope that disruption helps me out!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Trystan Smith had a great pre-season! Hopefully, he can produce like that consistently. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Trystan Smith had a great pre-season! Hopefully, he can produce like that consistently. It always worries me when players have a great pre-season, it always seems to mean they really struggle when the league kicks off - luckily in this case that doesn't appear to be a problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 The squad is looking a little bit thin in places and my scouts pointed out that these 2 were available on free transfers. Januzaj had played for me on loan at the end of last season and had been ok if not exactly sensational. I wouldn't normally have moved for him on a permanent basis but when I offerred him a contract I managed to secure him for only £325 p/w so it can't really go wrong.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Great season last year! Looks like you've had a good start as well in League 2, the climb through the leagues just continues at a very steady pace. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 Great season last year! Looks like you've had a good start as well in League 2, the climb through the leagues just continues at a very steady pace. Things are just getting better as well - finances may well be a struggle this season for the first time however, we're losing money at a rate of £100k per month Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 Get in! This was so so close to being a perfect month - there isn't mush to say other than the fact the side just absolutely clicked for the first time this season and in all honesty the first time in 2017. Everything we touched turned to gold and there was some sublime play from both midfield and my two strikers. The only slight blot on the calendar was the defeat to Northampton, we had been playing well and despite going behind had fought back to equalise - as we moved into the second half I got a little bit over confident and started to push for the win when in reality I should have settled for the draw, with both my full backs pressing forward and with the instruction to look for the overlap I left myself overly exposed at the back and they snatched a winner on the counter-attack. The important thing is that we managed to get straight back to winning ways in the next match and I've learnt an important lesson (for now!) That great run of form has propelled us right up the league, I'm right in the mix for promotion now if I can maintain this level of performance. A well deserved award for youngster Scott Dunlop and I'm pleased to be able to lift the manager of the month award as well - for the first time in a while I feel I deserve this Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 Charlton are plummetting down the leagues at the minute and are in real risk of falling out of the football league, they begged me to help them turn the situation around and it was an honour to be considered by such a large club, but of course I rejected and they instead moved to appoint ex Man City and Bolton player Martin Petrov in his first managerial appointment. He looks like a decent appointment and I'm sure he'll be able to rescue them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerud Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Nice to see Trystan playing well in the league after a good pre-season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Great result at Leeds in the League Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Win win win, there's not really much to say here other than stating the constant overachievement. The other 2 Sheffield clubs are at what level now, I presume either the Championship or League 1? Starting to get close to having a few Sheffield derbies now, that might be fun. I presume you're annoyed at the financial issues but that's actually kinda refreshing in a twisted way to slow down your progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Wow, might go up again! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Nice to see Trystan playing well in the league after a good pre-season. I was worried he's struggle but both Smith and Dunlop continue to terrify opposition defences - long may it continue! Great result at Leeds in the League Cup. Thanks, it was a great start to the season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Win win win, there's not really much to say here other than stating the constant overachievement. The other 2 Sheffield clubs are at what level now, I presume either the Championship or League 1? Starting to get close to having a few Sheffield derbies now, that might be fun.I presume you're annoyed at the financial issues but that's actually kinda refreshing in a twisted way to slow down your progress. I've got my first local derby in the next couple of games against Rotherham (they've actually just moved into the new New York stadium, so they've moved back down the road into Rotherham where they belong, they had previously been playing in the Don Valley stadium in Sheffield). The other local rival outside of Sheffield is Chesterfield and they're playing in League 1 whilst both Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday are in the Championship where they've managed mid table results for the last 5 seasons or so. I wouldn't say the financial issues are annoying, it's just a fact of life at this level unfortunately. We'll turn it around with a good cup run Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Wow, might go up again! Fingers crossed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 Once again another stunning performance through November as we go unbeaten yet again. We were completely dominant against Bury and our nearest title rivals Oldham Athletic in the first 2 games of the month scoring 7 without reply, mainly thanks to the dominance of Smith and Dunlop - we then really saw the importance of Smith to our dynamic in the next 2 games as he was called back up to the Wales side, leaving us to struggle to draws against teams in the play off places. However with the return of Smith to the side we rebounded to our previous best, destroying Wycombe Wanderers within the first half before taking our foot off the pedal for the second 45 minutes. I do have to be careful however, we were on a very similar run at this point last year and we then dropped off badly after the New Year - I need to ensure that we don't have a similar drop in fortunes this year if I want to secure promotion - this time around the gap between 1st and 2nd place isn't as big........ This FA Cup tie was harder work than our league form suggested it should be. Morecambe totally dominated possession after we'd taken the lead, but they just struggled to convert opportunities with only 4 shots hitting the target from 16 opportunities. If they were less wasteful with their finishing this could have been a very different result. The second round tie is very favourable at home to the team propping up the league table. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 I asked more in hope than expectation, and was staggerred when the board agreed to my request - this won't help my bank balance but it is the right decision for the long term future of the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chile_paul Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 Wales have just qualified for the World Cup (as have Scotland and England) meaning that Trystan Smith will be hoping to make the trip to Russia this summer!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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