[FM13] Travelling to Wembley in a Coach & Horses

[cerud]

Much better month. Hopefully it continues.

[AK22]

Done well to turn it around after that dodgy spell

[ashton321]

Good turn around mate. Some nice signings you have had there.

[chile_paul]

Much better month. Hopefully it continues.

Done well to turn it around after that dodgy spell

Good turn around mate. Some nice signings you have had there.

Thanks all, luckily my knack of performing well in October, November and December seems to be continuing............

[chile_paul]

This seems incredibly harsh, the guy has got an average rating of 7.21 with 8 clean sheers, which for a goalkeeper is more than good enough for my choice as first pick.

I have a feeling there might be a little bit of sabotage going on from Lewis Price who has fallen down the pecking order.

[chile_paul]

More improvements to our youth development, I'm hoping to see more Dronfield youngsters start to challenge for a place in the first team now that Junior coaching is rated as excellent

[chile_paul]

The month started with an away fixture in the FA Cup at League 2 side Walsall. In an incredibly tight game we really had to fight hard after going a goal down, but a Sam Gallagher equaliser just before half time gave us the impetus we needed and we moved on to score a 2nd in the second half. The fixture computer keeps on churning out away fixtures for us at the minute and as a result we've got a tricky but winnable tie away to Brentford in the second round.

In the league our sparkling form continued, indeed if Bristol City hadn't fought back from 2-0 down to draw with the last kick of the game we'd have had a 100% record. Things could have taken a turn for the worse against Oxford United, we were 3-0 up within 9 minutes but they fought back strongly to 3-2 at half time to make the half time team talk a tricky message to balance. The team responded well however and we went on to win a goal fest 5-3. From that point there was no turning back and we powered on to a fantastic run of results.

The table is looking very healthy now and the thought of a challenge for the play-off's is in the back of my mind. I'm also conscious however of my normal drop in form after Christmas and I need to develop a strategy to manage this otherwise we could quickly slip backwards.

[deltablue]

Hope you can keep that form up.

[chile_paul]

Hope you can keep that form up.

Thanks deltablue

[chile_paul]

December as always was going to be a long month with plenty of football to be played. The month kicked off once again with a cup game, this time with a journey in the FA Cup to League 2 side Brentford. We'd made a few changes to the starting eleven so it was perhaps no surprise that it was a tight fixture and it took until the 66th minute for the first goal to be scored thanks to substitute Darren Bent. From that point it was plain sailing and despite a goal back from Brentford our victory was comfortable.

So, onwards to the 3rd round once again, surely we'd get an away tie this year after virtually all my cup games this season have been away fixtures. Yes, this time we're not the home side......oh, who's that we're playing..... not Man Utd..... York City!! Well there go my hopes for a bumper gate receipt once again.

In the league our form started to slip a little, we were poor against Chestefield and the defeat away to Oldham was a real kick in the teeth, but interspersed between those disappointments we continued to collect some handy victories which help us to keep the pressure up on the top of the table.

Elsewhere I was gutted to see us drop out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy on penalties to League 2 side Morecambe. We'd fielded a strong side and had taken an early lead but they took the lead in the 72nd minute and we had to rely on Jonah Reynolds rescuing us and forcing penalties. Alas, despite having some great penalty takers in the team we actually have a really poor record in penalty shoot out's and we were knocked out.

[chile_paul]

One new marquee signing joined the club in January on a free transfer. Kevin Prince-Boateng is now well past his best but should still be a good player for this level.

I also turned down a £70k offer for Garry Nelson which I may live to regret as his contract expires in the summer and he is refusing to lower his wage demands to anything remotely within my budget

[chile_paul]

January started off with a disappointing result at home to Wrexham and I was gutted to lose to promotion rivals Wycombe Wanderers (don't forget Wycombe were promoted with me from League 2 last season via the play-off's). In amongst those defeats however we picked up 3 cracking win's as a result of new signing Sam Gallagher this season really starting to get in amongst the goals.

It remains very tight at the top, with only 12 games to go the 2nd automatic promotion place is within sight and the 8 point gap between us and 7th place, whilst not guaranteeing a play-off spot, at least gives me some room for error.

The FA Cup results were so poor I tried my hardest to blot them from my memory, unfortunately Nobby reminded me and I've had to post them......... We were up against York City who were flying high in League 2, but no matter how well they were doing there was no excuse for our terrible performance in the match as they completely outplayed us (it didn't help that Joey Jones got sent off for a second yellow card in the 42nd minute), as a result I was delighted that we scored from our only shot on target in the match and scraped through to secure a replay at our place. Unfortunately the result was even worse, despite being in more of the game they scored either side of half time and progressed to the 4th round - my second cup loss to a lower league side this season

[chile_paul]

A mixed month in February, a spirited 2-2 draw against league leaders Swansea. A point at the Liberty was the best I could have hoped for going into the game given Swansea were on a 21 game unbeaten run, but given we were twice in the lead a win was almost in our grasp. We followed this up with a horrific defeat against Northampton where we lost having taken the lead and we then reversed this with a comfortable 3-0 win versus Shrewsbury.

It remains tight at the top, automatic promotion is now a distant 5 points away, but Bournemouth would have to pick up 8 points versus us for us to miss out on a play-off place.

[AK22]

Still time to catch Coventry. Will need a decent run-in, though.

[deltablue]

Hopefully can secure a play-off place at least.

[Nobby_McDonald]

What happened in the FA Cup?

[cerud]

A playoff spot is a great finish. Hopefully, you get something out of it.

[chile_paul]

What happened in the FA Cup?

Thanks for spotting my deliberate mistake! You can probably guess it wasn't a great outcome though, updated in the January section above

[chile_paul]

Still time to catch Coventry. Will need a decent run-in, though.

Hopefully can secure a play-off place at least.

A playoff spot is a great finish. Hopefully, you get something out of it.

Thanks all, I think Coventry are long gone, but the play-off's are definitely in my sights now

[chile_paul]

Our form really started to stutter in March as the goals from my normally so reliable front men started to dry up. For the first time in a very long time I went for 2 consecutive games without scoring, firstly a no score draw against Exeter followed by an incredibly disappointing defeat to Rochdale in a game we really should have competed in.

We improved away against play off challengers Bristol City, managing to scrape a respectable 1-1 draw and things seemed to be on the up when Sam Gallagher came on as a substitute to grab his third hat-trick of the season with the winning goal scored from the last kick of the game to secure a valuable 3 points against Oxford. We slipped back then however rather than firing onwards to a disappointing 1-1 draw where we only managed to rescue a point from yet another last minute Sam Gallagher goal.

The top two are now clear of the rest of the pack and will be promoted automatically unless a miracle happens. Luckily for me, the rest of the pack in and just below the play-off places are just as erratic and I'm holding onto that play-off place for now.

[chile_paul]

My youth intake's are starting to show some signs of improvement now, although the junior coaching budget is starting to cripple my wage bill.

[chile_paul]

I really hoped to see a massive up turn in form as I headed into the final month of the season - last year I won every game in April to secure the league championship, so surely I could repeat that this year.........................

No, this was truly dire, we drew the first two games, including a very respectable draw away to Coventry City, but we then slumped to 2 painful defeats, in both cases falling behind early, fighting back to a draw and then capitulating late on. To make it even worse we were playing against 10 men for most of the game against Gillingham. We did finish with a flourish against Crewe Alexandra, but was it too little, too late.............?

Luckily, it was just about enough, as even though Gillingham and Hartlepool had put together a late charge the gap had been just too large and we managed to retain that play-off space. I can't see I'm too confident going through to the play-off's however with my current form!

[deltablue]

Glad you hung on to a playoff spot.

[chile_paul]

Glad you hung on to a playoff spot.

Thanks, form isn't exactly brilliant heading into (hopefully) 3 absolutely critical games though

[chile_paul]

We headed into the first leg away to Wycombe Wanderer's desperate to get a result that gave us a chance heading into the second leg at home. Away goals were not critical as they don't count in the play-off's for some old, outdated rule that I must admit I don't get - they apply in every other competition so why not in the play-off's - so any form of a draw would be a great result, if we got a win I'd be delighted as it would be a second win in a row and start to build some confidence in the squad.

In the end the game was boring, dull and eventful - they had 4 shots on goal, only one on target. I had 5 shots on goal, one on target, no goals scored - I was delighted, I couldn't have wished for a more boring game and the first part of the job was done. That just led to the second leg where we needed to win at home, something that incredibly we hadn't managed to do since the 26th January when we beat Carlisle 3-1!!!

This game was much, much more open but it was still incredibly evenly matched - last season in League 2 I'd had a good set of results versus Wycombe Wanderer's both times, but this season they'd reversed this trend and done the double over me, therefore despite the perfomances being very matched it was no surprise when they took the lead just after half time in the 50th minute. Trystan Smith had been injured in the run up to both of these games and was only at 75% fitness before kick off and therefore started on the bench, but with time running out I was forced to bring him on to replace Darren Bent, I also bought on Jonah Reynolds to throw in some his long throws into the penalty area as these always create opportunities for Smith - and with 4 minutes left on the clock that's exactly what happened as Smith headed in off one of their defenders on the line - we'd equalised.

Play remained tight throughout extra time, although by now we were just edging it even though 3 players had taken a knock, including Smith taking a further knock on his injury. The dreaded penalties arrived however, and we managed to disprove our previously horrendous penalty shoot out record and secure a trip to Wembley for the play-off final.

[chile_paul]

I can't say I was feeling particularly confident heading into the final, let's face it our form has been dire, we still haven't won at home since January and we'd only won twice in all competitions since the start of March. On top of that Trystan Smith was still in poor shape having played through an injury in the second leg of the semi-final versus Wycombe, Sam Gallagher was out injured as were a number of other regular players including central defender's Steven Sama and Joey Jones. Nevertheless, Bristol City hadn't managed to beat us in either of our previous 2 meetings this season, both had finished as score draws, and this was down to a single game shoot out, the winner goes up and anything could happen.

Towards the end of the first half however, it was clear this wasn't going to be our evening when Anto Lovric gave away a penalty which Craig Garner stepped up confidently to convert - then on the 44th minute when they made the same mistake and we were awarded a penalty our ever reliable penalty taker Scott Dunlop stepped up to see his effort brilliantly saved by Tom Heaton in the Bristol City goal. Then a minute before half time our star midfielder Evran Middleton was stretchered off injured, things couldn't get much worse.

All changed however on the stroke of half time, when Craig Gardner was sent off for a cynical challenge - he'd only just been yellow carded, but it didn't matter because this was a straight red. After the break we really came out flying and threw everything at Bristol City and Trystan Smith who I'd gambled on by starting the match over powered their star Argentinian defender who'd nullified everything we'd thrown at them all night to loop a header over Heaton and into the net. We continued to attack and dominate the game, but they were looking dangerous on the counter attack. Still over the course of the second half we were tiring them out and as we approached full time I was confident we'd find a winner either in normal or extra time. That was until it was our turn to commit footballing suicide and Jonah Reynolds saw himself sent for an early bath - idiot!

Both teams sat back in extra time, with both teams down to 10 men, retaining possession and playing safe were the key words, and so it went to penalties, in my case for the second time in a week - we couldn't win on penalties again could we!

Get in! We're promoted!

I'm not sure about this, but have any other teams been promoted via they play-off's without winning any of the 3 matches?

[chile_paul]

[chile_paul]

Some good news following the confirmation of our promotion...........

...........and some really unexpected news, I just don't think we've done well enough for me to have earnt this award?

[deltablue]

Wow, talk about a close call

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done going up again.

Fancy losing to York though.

[chile_paul]

Wow, talk about a close call

Tell me about it! Can't say I'm looking forward to next season, on the basis of my form in League One I think the Championship is going to be a very big step up!

[chile_paul]

Well done going up again.

Fancy losing to York though.

Thanks - losing to York hurt...........the one silver lining is that they didn't get a premier tie in the 4th round, so it's not as though I lost a huge amount of revenue

[chile_paul]

Chile_Paul's Career - Season Review - 2018/19 - Sheffield FC

nPower Football League One

Final League Position: 5th (Play-off winners)

Yet another incredible season for the club as we continue our rise up the leagues - we've now risen way above local rivals Rotherham and are now a league higher than Chesterfield with only Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday in our way in the Championship before we become the highest ranked club in the region. The season was tinged with frustration throughout however as we went through some absolutely dire patches of form, most notably in September as we looked to be set for relegation! Our normal spell of fantastic form kicked in during October and November as it does most seasons and we soared up the league only to hang on to a play-off place once the form dropped back off in the new year. Somehow we then went on to secure promotion via the play-off's without winning a game!

League Cup

Competition Performance: 3rd Round

Two fantastic results in extra time away to Championship sides Doncaster Rovers and Leicester City, but in the third round despite taking a 4-1 lead away to Premier League side Reading, we somehow managed to throw the lead away and then lose the tie on penalties

FA Cup

Competition Performance: 3rd Round

Yet another third round performance, but this time we really should have progressed through to the 4th (or even the 5th) round. Unfortunately we became complacent against League 2 York City and couldn't beat them, even with a replay at our ground.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

Competition Performance: Quarter-final

I was gutted to capitulate to League 2 side Morecambe on penalties and head out of a competition I felt was very winnable.

Squad

The squad continues to strengthen year on year, but I really do think I'm going to need a major overhaul before we're ready to compete at Championship level. Previously I've always been able to rely on 20+ goals from my front two to get me through any problems and at the lower levels they've produced this year on year and this has mitigated any deficiencies in other areas. However I think Smith and Dunlop (and now Gallagher) will be playing at their level next season and asking for 20+ goals from them may be a struggle - as a result I need to be looking to strengthen at all levels of the team ahead of next season.

Transfers - Finances - Board Review

The finances are now taking a major hit as our wage bill increases but our ground capacity is limited. I think there are going to be a few long, hard seasons ahead. Having said that though, whilst the terracing at the Coach & Horses ground is being turned into seating over the next 8 months I'm temporarily moving to Don Valley Stadium which has a capacity of 10,500 which should provide a boost.

My Top 3 Players

Trystan Smith - Trystan continues to be an absolute star up front and picked up 20 goals for the fourth season in a row in the league. He definitely was the best of my three strikers, although Sam Gallagher may push him all the way next season if he can remain injury free and get some consistency

George Taylor - Probably a surprise that Scott Dunlop doesn't make it into second place as he normally does, however Dunlop just hasn't been consistent enough this season. George Taylor however has been exactly that - consistent - since he joined us and has really made a difference to the creativity from midfield

Stephen Sama - Probably another surprise in this award, indeed I was very surprised how well Stephen did when I bought him back into the first team after he'd had a disappointing run in League 2 last season. I had thought he was on the decline and that he'd only be a bit part player in the squad - however when I gave him the chance he really performed and ended up being my first choice central defender.

Fans Player of the season - Trystan Smith

Best Eleven - 2018 / 2019

Best Eleven - All Time

What's Next?

Next season is going to be very tough. I think I can strengthen the squad enough to keep our heads above water but any more than that is going to be a very big ask

[chile_paul]

[chile_paul]

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

2017/18 - 1st Man Utd 2nd Chelsea 3rd Man City 4th Newcastle United - Relegated Burnley, Wigan Athletic, Milwall

2018/19 - 1st Chelsea 2nd Arsenal 3rd Liverpool 4th Man Utd - Relegated Leicester City, Sunderland, Ipswich Town

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

2017/18 - Winners Newcastle United Runners-Up Liverpool

2018/19 - Winners Arsenal 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

2017/18 - Winners Man United Runners-Up Man City

2018/19 - Winners Liverpool Runners-Up Chelsea

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

2017/18 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Valencia 4th Sevilla - Relegated Levante UD, Osasuna, Tenerife

2018/19 - 1st Real Madrid 2nd Barcelona 3rd Atletico Madrid 4th Sevilla - Relegated Deportivo de la Coruna, Alaves, Recreativo de Huelva

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

2017/18 - Winners Barcelona Runners-Up Villarreal

2018/19 - Winners Valencia Runners-Up Real Sociedad

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

2017/18 - 1st Juventus 2nd AC Milan 3rd Inter Milan 4th AS Roma - Relegated Empoli, Pescara, Catania

2018/19 - 1st Juventus 2nd AC Siena 3rd Napoli 4th AC Milan - Relegated Treviso, Reggina, Genoa

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

2017/18 - Winners Napoli Runners-Up Parma

2018/19 - Winners Juventus 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

2017/18 - 1st VfB Stuttgart 2nd Bayern Munich 3rd FC Schalke 04 4th Borussia Dortmund - Relegated TSV 1860 Munich, FC Augsburg

2018/19 - 1st Bayern Munich 2nd Borussia Monchengladbach 3rd VfB Stuttgart 4th Borussia Dortmund - Relegated Fortuna Dusseldorf, 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

2017/18 - Winners Bayern Munich Runners-Up Vfl Bochum

2018/19 - Winners Borussia Dortmund Runners-Up Eintracht Frankfurt

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

2017/18 - 1st PSG 2nd Lille 3rd Marseille 4th Saint Etienne - Relegated Valenciennes, Ajaccio, Arles-Avignon

2018/19 - 1st Lille 2nd PSG 3rd Saint Etienne 4th Marseille - Relegated Auxerre, Evian TG, Brest

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

2017/18 - Winners Monaco Runners-Up Stade Reims

2018/19 - Winners Marseille Runners-Up Dijon

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

2017/18 - Winners Monaco Runners-Up PSG

2018/19 - Winners Marseille Runners-Up Ajaccio

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

2017/18 - 1st Rangers 2nd St Mirren 3rd Inverness CT 4th Hibernian - Relegated Partick Thistle

2018/19 - 1st Motherwell 2nd Rangers 3rd Inverness CT 4th Celtic - Relegated Aberdeen

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

2017/18 - Winners Inverness CT Runners-Up Dundee United

2018/19 - Winners Hearts Runners-Up Dundee United

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

2017/18 - Winners Hibernian Runners-Up Inverness CT

2018/19 - Winners St. Mirren Runners-Up Falkirk

----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

2017/18 - Winners Real Madrid Runners-Up Inter Milan

2018/19 - Winners Newcastle United Runners-Up Porto

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

2017/18 - Winners Chelsea Runners-Up Tottenham Hotspurs

2018/19 - Winners Arsenal Runners-Up Cagliari

----------------------------------------------------------------------

World Cup

2014 - Winners Spain Runners-Up France

2018 - Winners Spain Runners-Up Belgium

European Championship

2016 - Winners Netherlands Runners-Up England

[chile_paul]

World Awards

2018 - 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

2017 World Player of the Year - 1st Lionel Messi 2nd Cristiano Ronaldo 3rd Meszut Ozil

2018 World Player of the Year - 1st Isco 2nd Thiago 3rd Gerard Pique

European Awards

2018/19 Best Player in Europe - 1st Lionel Messi 2nd Neymar 3rd Meszut Ozil

2018/19 European Golden Boy - Gordon McManus

2018/19 European Golden Boot - 1st Edinson Cavani 2nd Nicolas Audren 3rd Baba

English Awards

2018/19 Manager of the Year - 1st Antonio Conte 2nd Aykut Kocaman 3rd Luciano Spalletti

2018/19 Golden Glove- 1st John Ruddy 2nd Petr Cech 3rd Wojciech Szczesny

2018/19 Footballer of the Year - Eden Hazard

2018/19 Players' Player of the Year - Neymar

2018/19 Players' Team of the Year

2018/19 Players' Young Player of the Year - 1st Dejan Jakupovic 2nd Gradus Ibrahim 3rd Manuel Lecomte

[AK22]

Very dramatic playoffs there! Well done on making it through.

[chile_paul]

Very dramatic playoffs there! Well done on making it through.

Thanks, it was tighter than I would have liked!

[chile_paul]

The normal annual update on comings and goings from across the world of football:

• In Scottish football Celtic continue to have an absolute shocker, falling to fourth following on from a 6th place the season before in the Scottish Premier League. Despite almost weekly protests by fans outside the ground chairman Ian Bankier continually refuses to sack manage Stuart McCall asking the fans to remain patient with the beleaguered manager
  
  
• Rangers weren't able to build on their title last season, however and in the absence of the challenge from Celtic it was a non old firm team that lifted the title for the first time since Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen side were victorious in 1985. Motherwell's manager Sam Allardyce decided that this was the perfect opportunity to step down and retire from management at the absolute peak and in his absence Motherwell have gone for youth in the form of ex England defender John Terry to attempt to lead them on to a second title next season.
  
  
• Guardiola's Manchester United side also seem to be on the decline this season. After an incredible record in recent seasons including 3 consecutive Premier League titles and 4 consecutive Champions League victories Guardiola's men slipped to a disappointing 4th place, to really rub salt into their wounds the team also missed out on qualification for next seasons Champions League as 6th placed Newcastle United lifted the Champions League guaranteeing them a place in the competition next season.
  
  
• Newcastle are however going to find it much harder to win the Champions League for a second consecutive season however as Croatian billionaire chairman Dusko Grubesic announced that having accomplished his goal of lifting the Champions League he would be withdrawing his financial backing from the club and expected it to be self sufficient moving forward
  
  
• Manchester City's decline continued as they could only secure 7th place in the Premier League, their lowest position since the 2008/9 season. Manager Vitor Pereira unsurprisingly paid for this failure with his job and experienced manager Rafa Benitex was appointed to attempt to rescue Khaldoon Al Mubarak's ambitions
  
  
• With some of the biggest names in English football struggling it was Chelsea and Antonio Conte who were able to keep their heads whilst everyone else was losing theirs winning the title with ease by an extremely comfortable 15 point margin. Conte who was a regular at lifting title's with Juventus in Italy was delighted to have lifted another title and is now widely recognised as one of the best ever football managers in the world.
  
  
• In France Lille continue to challenge PSG for the title of the best club. Led by Lucien Favre, Lille have now lifted the Ligue 1 title for the 2nd time in 3 years. Ironically PSG had poached their manager Rudi Garcia from Lille which had made way for Lucien Favre to lead his revolution of Lille and PSG had to sack Garcia and replace him with Luis Fernandez as they saw their title struggle disappear.
  
  
• Feyenoord became the 5th different winner of the Eredivisie in Holland in 5 years as this incredibly competitive league continues to throw up surprises. Erwin Koeman had stepped down as manager at the end of the last season having led the club to 3rd, 5th and 3rd places in recent seasons, but the new manager Fernando Orsi who had been recruited from Sampdoria made a real impression in his first season storming home to lift the league title with a 12 point cushion
  
  
• In the lower leagues in England, 2 minnows with no history of note are really starting to make a name for themselves. Both Sheffield FC and Chester FC started off in the Northern Premier League 1st Division North and yet within 8 years of that lowly position Sheffield FC are now matching both of their name sakes Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday and Chester FC who are managed by George Fisher are fighting it out in League 1.
  
  
• Ex England international Stewart Downing is looking to establish a career as a manager at League 2 side York City. Having failed to ever live up to his hype as a youngster he's now trying to build a managerial career from the bottom and had an impressive first year with York City, reaching the 4th round of the FA Cup and making the play-off semi-finals in League 2
  
  
• In transfer news, exciting young English striker
  Daniel Kuhl
  moved from Aston Villa to Arsenal in a £17.75m move. Kuhl who scored 14 times in 36 games in his first full season with Villa and has scored once in 8 full caps for England is widely expected to have a bright future in the game and Arsenal fans will be looking forward to seeing him lead the line for the Gunners next season
  
  
• Transfer deadline day saw some significant sums being splashed around as most clubs attempted to strengthen their claims to their respective titles. In 2 of the more notable deals of the day Chelsea let experienced striker
  Andre Ayew
  leave to join AC Milan in a £11.5m deal after 7 successful years at Stamford Bridge. It was Manchester United who really burnt the cash however spending £35m on Brazilian left back
  Lucas
  from Sao Paulo with only hours left on the transfer clock.
  
  

[chile_paul]

Chile_Paul's Career - Season Preview - 2019/20 - Sheffield FC

Board Expectations:

nPower Football League Championship : Stay clear of relegation

FA Cup: Second round

League Cup: Learn from the experience

My Expectations:

nPower Football League Championship: Stay clear of relegation

FA Cup: Looking for a big third round tie against a big name again

League Cup: Enjoy the experience

Budgets:

Transfer: £389k

Wage: £40,883 p/w (Currently spending £38,887 p/w)

Balance: £179, 744

Friendlies

A comfortable build up in pre-season with a good draw at home to Blackburn. The defeat to Southend was a slight worry, but we'll put that down to a lack of fitness and hope it doesn't come back to bite us

Transfers - In

David Martin - Free - David joined on a free having left Championship team Milwall. David's had plenty of experience at Championship and Premier League level with Milwaal over the last few years and he should still have a few seasons left in him. He will take the number 1 jersey following the departure of Lewis Price. Lewis Hopkin's had a great season last year but isn't yet ready to make the step up to Championship football, he'll make a great deputy to David.

Jonathan Walters - Free - my marquee signing of the summer Walters is a great player who has had a great Premier League career. Having played for Stoke City, Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic I'm hopeful that he'll have a cracking season for us. At 35 this may well be his last season (and his coaching stats are awful) so he won't be with us for long. He can play on the wing or as a striker, but given my strength up front he'll probably start on the right hand side of midfield

Tommy Elphick - Free - an experienced centre back having played 5 seasons for Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League, Elphick will partner Steven O'Hara in the centre of defence.

Colin O'Brien - £85k -I'm very excited by this young 18 year old talent who has joined from Bohemians FC. My scouts reckon he has the potential to be a good Premier league midfielder and I agree. He will start on the bench in most games, but he has bags of potential should he choose to use it.

Stephen Ward - Free - Stephen has bags of experience after 13 years of playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers and will really strengthen my squad at left back. At 34 years of age he is definitely getting on a bit, but I'm hopeful of getting 1 more year out of him.

Bougounta N'Daou - Free - my first signing from Europe! Bougounta also plays at left back, but can also play in left midfield and with bags of pace he will be a great deputy to both Stephen Ward in defence and Garry Nelson in the midfield

Evran Middleton - Loan - Evran had a great season on loan for me last season and he rejoins the club for a second season. He will be my first choice in the centre of midfield.

Lewis Nicholas - Free - Lewis was released from Manchester United, but I think he has bags of potential. Much like Colin O'Brien he will probably start on the bench for most games but I'm very confident he will rapidly develop into a first team regular.

Transfers - Out

A lot of players moving out this season as I clear the squad of any also ran's who won't be able to cut it at this level. We've also got a growing youth squad now and a larger number of players are now moving out into the lower leagues to pick up regular football to help their development

[chile_paul]

Well, the time had come and we were ready to throw ourselves into the lions den once again in a higher and more challenging league. The squad was strong than last season without a doubt, but with odds of a 150-1 for promotion it was clear that we had a very long way to go to be able to compete. Oh, and just to enhance the difference in clubs at this level, we spend £85k on signing's this season whereas Swansea City who had also been promoted from League One spent £14m!!!

We kicked off the season with the normal Leage Cup fixture, this time a home game for once to christen our temporary new stadium at Don Valley and we did the ground proud with a comfortable 2-1 win against a regular rival in recent seasons Oldham Athletic. Later in the month we travelled to Sunderland's Stadium of Light, but this time we avenged our 2017 meeting at the same round of the competition by coming back from 2-1 down in extra time to win convincingly 4-2 thanks to 3 goals in 7 minutes. Next up we play Reading for the 2nd time in 2 years at this stage of the competition. Last time they fought back from 4-1 down to win the tie, hopefully we'll manage one better this time around.

In the league we had a tough start to the league with a 2-0 defeat to Huddersfield. We were completely outplayed for the first 15 minutes and they took an early goal, but the second was extremely harsh coming in the second half just as we were starting to match them all over the pitch. In the next game against Hull City we again fell to an early disadvantage, but this time we went one better and fought back to an equaliser thanks to a goal from Tommy Elphick thanks to a Trystan Smith flick on from a corner. That really helped our confidence and we stormed into a 4-1 victory in our third match against recently relegated Ipswich with an incredible hat-trick from Scott Dunlop.

Mid-table early on, couldn't ask for much more. Now we need to build on that Ipswich victory

[deltablue]

It was only Ipswich, not too much to get excited about

[Nobby_McDonald]

All three Sheffield teams in one division.

[chile_paul]

All three Sheffield teams in one division.

............but for how long?

[chile_paul]

September really brought life crashing down on all of us at the club as we realised how difficult staying in the Championship was going to be. First up in the month we faced local rivals Sheffield Wednesday and despite matching them throughout the game they scored from their only 2 shots on goal and we were left to console ourselves with getting one back thanks to Sam Gallagher's first game of the season.

In our home ties against bottom of the table Crystal Palace and fellow promotee's last season Coventry City we really should have won the games but had to settle for a draw, and then once again at home to Wigan we played well enough to at least earn a point but we conceded a goal just before half time and couldn't score at the other end

As a result we're now precariously perched above the relegation zone

We did however manage to lift the mood by getting revenge over Premier League Reading, reversing last seasons defeat at this stage of the cup and earning ourselves a tie against Fulham.

[chile_paul]

A really important announcement in the development of this small club

[chile_paul]

I'm not tempted in the slightest - a very easy decision to reject

[chile_paul]

October is normally the month when the team really hits top gear and starts an unbeaten run which continues until Christmas - well we got a good start in our first match of the month standing toe to toe with Peterborough throughout the game and then snatching a critical win with a Trystan Smith header at the near post from a corner. Unfortunately we then slipped to a heavy defeat at Swansea before Sunderland got their revenge for the extra time drubbing that I'd handed to them in the League Cup. This wasn't turning out to be the October I was hoping for............

...........in the next few games we had a complete turn around of fortunes after I promoted Jonathon Walters from right midfield to partner Trystan Smith in attack. Walters is by far the best player in my squad so I reasoned that he should be in one of the more influential roles in the team than on the right hand side of midfield. My changes paid off immediately as Walters scored a hatrick in a 5-2 thrashing of QPR and he was instrumental in a supporting role as Smith went one better by scoring 4 in an incredible 5-1 victory at Middlesborough's Riverside stadium.

We should have made it three wins out of three having taken the lead away to Portsmouth with Smith's 6 goal in 3 games, but we were left regretting 3 chances missed when clear through against the keeper as they equalised and then held on for a draw.

Up to 15th place, not my normal position in a league at the end of August but I'm not going to turn down 10 absolutely critical points.

In the league cup our challenge is over, we really pushed hard against Fulham. Smith scored once again to equalise after Fulham had taken a 5th minute lead, but Fulham re-took the lead just before half time. We countered strongly and even after Jonathon Walters was sent off for violent conduct (3 match ban ) we had a number of chances to equalise including a shot that cannoned off the cross bar, but eventually Fulham picked up a 3rd on the counter attack in the 88th minute to seal the win and a quarter final place.

[Nobby_McDonald]

You'll have to let us know who wins the mini Sheffield league.

[deltablue]

Looks like Wednesday will be the main power in the city for the moment.