FM16: The Frozen Throne

[ManUtd1]

Who needs a keyboard?!

[Rikulec]

Who needs a keyboard?!

Screw the keyboard, but playing without a monitor would be quite difficult.

[ManUtd1]

Nah. The monitor is a crutch. Be hardcore. Go without one.

[Adonalsium]

At least there's one upside, namely not having to look at Gylfi the Ogre again.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - December 2051 - Rochdale

League 2





I'm not enjoying this at all.

I thought the Newport game could be a turning point for us, an opportunity to finally grab a confident win and get going like we did from the start. This was by far our worst performance since I took over, because this time we fully deserved to lose, I'd even go as far as saying the scoreline flatters us. The scoreline was opened in the 21st minute - a sliding tackle from Jon Dore delivered the ball to Peter Kane just outside the box, who managed to score despite starting with his back to goal and two defenders attacking him. Pure class. Funnily enough, we could have played a trick on our past achievements - we created literally nothing right until the 85th minute, when a scruffy, hopeless shot from Jackie Armstrong found its way in after bouncing off the post and the goalkeeper standing motionless on his line. Of course though, a draw couldn't happen - the very next minute Kevin Byrne made it 2:1 from a cross. We should be giving out refunds really.

Dude, what's that green thingy next to the Notts County scoreline? Why is it green? We got off to our usual start, the frequency of which is starting to creep me out - a couple of wasted chances, and then a goal from Adam Fagan to put the visitors in front after some cringeworthy defensive behaviour from Reis Higby. This time though I finally managed to get the lads properly fired up at half time. We were all over them right from the kick off, and in the 53rd minute it paid off - a wonderful passing move resulted in a cross being delivered to Jon Dore, who took two attempts to net the equaliser. And eleven minutes later a not exactly long throw-in from Scott Naismith was aimed at Fraser Foster, the striker let it go between his legs in a Suarez-esque body feint between scoring with a wonderfully placed effort. If he could play like that every week, we would have never fallen out of top three.

Celebrations over, we went back to our usual selves against Walsall. It was a horrible game of football really. We took nine shots in the first half, none of which ended up anywhere near the back of the net. Walsall took their first shot of the afternoon exactly in the 45th minute, and obviously it was Alan MacKenzie putting them in front, completely unmarked on the far post following a cross from the right wing. Funnily enough, the second half only saw us manage one shot - and it was a goal as well, Foster applying the finish to a nice long through ball from Neil Devlin. Let's just forget that this match ever happened.

A quickfire double from Jon Dore and Mark Elliott to make it 2:0 at half time has quite a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Prepare to laugh your ass off - it happened against Blackpool, and I just held my head in disbelief. Yes, you've guessed it - these two brilliant men put the wrong team in front with own goals in the 29th and 32nd minute. Just as I thought things couldn't get worse, they did. Ridiculous doesn't fully cover it. This is just something else, something that a word hasn't yet been invented for. I made two substitutions at half time, and the newcomers left their mark on the game immediately - a square ball from Alex Glassey was tapped into the back of the net by Fraser Foster, three goals in three consecutive games for the striker. Then we went on to blow some wonderful opportunities to equalise - Jake Taylor smashing the ball at the goalkeeper from point blank range being the best one - before Blackpool made it 3:1 through David Holmes in the 75th minute. I thought I was supposed to be playing FM, not the other way around.

The Exeter game really had them all. There were only three highlights shown in the first half, and all of them were goals for the hosts. In the 8th minute Tim Henry put them in front, assisted by a hoof from their goalkeeper (John James missing the ball mid-air). Eight minutes later Robbie Barton headed the ball home to double their lead, the assist coming from a free kick on the left wing. The third goal was scored about half a minute after the half time whistle was supposed to be blown, Anthony Craddock with an extremely precise effort from a tight angle. In the 72nd minute Liam Burns had nothing sensible to do with the ball, standing 25 yards away from goal, so he just had a punt - 4:0. I laughed through tears when Jordon Mercer gave us the consolation from Fraser Foster's pass. Remember, relegation is still an option.

FA Cup



Oh, nice.

We made it as ugly as possible. We parked the bus and hoped for the best. And we got something even better than that. We grabbed the lead in the 14th minute - Jackie Armstrong played a through ball towards Marcus Brook, who seemed to have stripped himself of his advantage over the chasing defenders with a poor first touch, but still managed to score with his left foot. Eight minutes later we made it 2:0, Alex Glassey rebounding his own shot after Jordon Mercer's cross. Apart from one shot that hit the post late into the second half, Leyton Orient barely created anything. Ratings across our back four ranged from 7,4 to 8,5 (Neil Curran, Player of the Match). So I guess we can play this bloody game after all.

Next up, Cardiff away. They sit in the Championship's relegation zone.

[Rikulec]

What a brilliant way to kick off the new year.

[Rikulec]

Apart from the wage rise, I also have a 20% promotion wage rise clause now.

[Adonalsium]

Nice! At least some good news for our favourite Icelander.

Not so nice on Rochdale's form, of course. Perhaps it's time for a tactical revolution?

No, not the 0-5-5. There's a new challenger in town. Having leakage issues at your back door? Can't stop the goals from raining in? Never fear! Adonalsium Vintage 5-5-0 is here to patch up your day! This new revolutionary strategy revolves around an idiot-proof defense, with three centre-backs at your defense line and three half-backs in the midfield making it near-impossible for the opposing attackers to know where to go! Meanwhile, your attacks are handled by your four wingers, including two pacey* wingbacks who may or may not get back to defend your flanks on time. Lazy slackers, those wingbacks!

Order now from Adonalsium Inc. for only 14,99€! **

*to measure paceyness, we use the new, revolutionary GIROUD-METER technology! Learn more from Olivier Giroud's FA performances.

** price may include parts or wholes of your soul

[Rikulec]

Nice! At least some good news for our favourite Icelander.

Not so nice on Rochdale's form, of course. Perhaps it's time for a tactical revolution?

No, not the 0-5-5. There's a new challenger in town. Having leakage issues at your back door? Can't stop the goals from raining in? Never fear! Adonalsium Vintage 5-5-0 is here to patch up your day! This new revolutionary strategy revolves around an idiot-proof defense, with three centre-backs at your defense line and three half-backs in the midfield making it near-impossible for the opposing attackers to know where to go! Meanwhile, your attacks are handled by your four wingers, including two pacey* wingbacks who may or may not get back to defend your flanks on time. Lazy slackers, those wingbacks!

Order now from Adonalsium Inc. for only 14,99€! **

*to measure paceyness, we use the new, revolutionary GIROUD-METER technology! Learn more from Olivier Giroud's FA performances.

** price may include parts or wholes of your soul

Jesus Christ. You should definitely start a thread, I'll be the first follower.

As for our form... I might have some long-awaited news on that.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - January 2052 - Rochdale

League 2





This league is so beautifully random.

Scunthorpe loomed on the horizon as the true make or break game. Fail to beat the worst team in the league at our place, and we would probably be doomed forever. The board decided to help us by making this match a fan's day. The first half made that seem laughable - it was goalless and utterly boring. We had a slight advantage, but nothing to get very optimistic about. The breakthrough came in the 57th minute. A failure to clear Scott Naismith's cross away allowed Marcus Brook to beat the goalkeeper with a powerful strike from a tight angle. From then on, everything suddenly became easier. Brook doubled his goal tally nine minutes later, Fraser Foster with a clever square ball to assist him. And so, we did it. Still, I was really unsure whether we had the ability to make this a start of a better run of form.

The Bradford City game naturally had to give me an answer. And it did - five minutes in I already knew. Five minutes in we were 2:0 up and well in control over things. It's not even like we created more chances than usual, we just took those we had. Brook opened the scoreline in the 2nd minute after a nice one-two with Foster rounded off with a powerful, yet extremely precise strike, and a few minutes later our other striker doubled our lead, again a one-two to set him up, Jake Taylor with the assist. The hosts had their odd chance on the break, but generally it was us who had more opportunities to make the win even more impressive. I'm far from disappointed though, at that point every win would have been immensely valuable.

Next up, Burton. Another decent showing from us, but with every wasted opportunity in the first half I was growing more and more nervous, which isn't really surprising if you look at what we kept doing for the past three months. Luckily this time we decided not to do anything stupid at the back, which paved the way for the emergence of an unlikely hero after the break. The second half started in a perfect way for us - Jordon Mercer headed the ball across the box, and Jackie Armstrong outjumped everyone to lob the goalkeeper with his head and find the back of the net only twenty-something seconds after the whistle. Armstrong doubled his goal tally in the 59th minute, finding the ball at his feet in front of goal and smashing it in without hesitation. The visitors got one back through Shaun Steel in the 79th minute, but they didn't have the time nor resources to pursue the equaliser. A confident result in the end, three wins in a row. Hello again, team. It's been a while.

God bless injury time. Had the referee not added anything, we would have left Grimsby with a big fat zero in the goals scored column. For the second time this season, they came up as a surprisingly tough opponent, and after quite an entertaining two-way battle they landed the first punch in the 35th minute, Craig Mowbray with a close range header following a corner. The home fans were probably thinking they would celebrate at half time, but it wasn't to be - right before the whistle an inch-perfect cross from Naismith was finished off by Foster's header. The second half was an interesting one as well, with us building a slight advantage, but looking unable to make it count. Right until the 92nd minute - Jake Taylor somehow squeezed a pass through an incredibly tightly formed defence, and Foster gave us the lead with one of the last kicks of the game. Oh, yes. We're definitely back.

And finally, Middlesbrough. The scoreline really flatters the visitors. They've hit a worse patch of form recently, and we took full advantage of that. We were all over them almost right from the start, but needed a rather lucky free kick and a close range rebound from Neil Curran in the 34th minute to finally get in front. A free kick working our way, see how we've turned things around? Four minutes later we doubled our lead with a perfectly constructed counter attack that ended with Mercer providing Foster with a wonderful through ball and our striker applying a classy finish to a beautiful move. Middlesbrough's goal came from a penalty given away by Iain Challinor and converted by Frode Holmedal in the 83rd minute, but our victory was never really under threat. This was our best game of this month, which leaves me very hopeful for the battles ahead.

FA Cup



It was fun while it lasted.

Another team came up against our double decker and really struggled to break through it. The problem was that Cardiff didn't allow us to come any close to their goal either, which resulted in two things. First, the game probably bored someone to death. Second, we simply couldn't score. Halfway line attempts were out of the question, although maybe if someone had tried... The turning point was the 54th minute. We might have stopped conceding silly goals in the league, but they unfortunately carried over onto the cup - a pinball situation in front of our goal ended with Vegard Simonsen smashing the ball past Jack Staunton and into the net. Still, we certainly didn't embarass ourselves. I'm happy with our campaign this year, we got further than expected.

Transfers

Simon Bannister - I can't resist a bargain. A very good, young central defender joins for £12K from Leyton Orient.

[nie jem frytek]

Nice! At least some good news for our favourite Icelander.

Not so nice on Rochdale's form, of course. Perhaps it's time for a tactical revolution?

No, not the 0-5-5. There's a new challenger in town. Having leakage issues at your back door? Can't stop the goals from raining in? Never fear! Adonalsium Vintage 5-5-0 is here to patch up your day! This new revolutionary strategy revolves around an idiot-proof defense, with three centre-backs at your defense line and three half-backs in the midfield making it near-impossible for the opposing attackers to know where to go! Meanwhile, your attacks are handled by your four wingers, including two pacey* wingbacks who may or may not get back to defend your flanks on time. Lazy slackers, those wingbacks!

Order now from Adonalsium Inc. for only 14,99€! **

*to measure paceyness, we use the new, revolutionary GIROUD-METER technology! Learn more from Olivier Giroud's FA performances.

** price may include parts or wholes of your soul

Unplayable. Hard countered by 0-5-5 Overload with all players having prefered move of gets forward whenever possible.

[Adonalsium]

Shh! Don't be giving away company secrets just like that!

We at Adonalsium Inc. do not know what this delinquent is talking about. Our experts have surmised that he must be somehow deranged. His words should not be taken into the True and Proper assessment of our World-Class services.

[Rikulec]

Shh! Don't be giving away company secrets just like that!

We at Adonalsium Inc. do not know what this delinquent is talking about. Our experts have surmised that he must be somehow deranged. His words should not be taken into the True and Proper assessment of our World-Class services.

Thank you very much, but I'm sticking to the 4-4-2 for now.

[Rikulec]

I almost forgot.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - February 2052 - Rochdale

League 2





Hello, ten in a row.

Similarly to our previous confrontation, Cambridge gave us a damn good run for our money. We weren't helped by the fact that for an unknown reason half of our squad looked nervous on the pitch, which probably affected our performance significantly. We didn't get off to a good start this time - there were dangerous attacks from both sides, and in the 21st minute the hosts got in front thanks to a goal from Tom Currie. The equaliser came eleven minutes later - a through ball from Brook was calmly finished off by Foster. These guys just work brilliantly together, and that's a joy to watch. This match really could have gone either way, with us presenting more quality, but at the same time giving away chances because of the nerves. We kept calm in the key situation though - in the 92nd minute a last-ditch cross attempt from Jake Taylor was poorly deflected by the Cambridge goalkeeper and Alex Glassey gave us the win with a close range tap-in. And so, our wonderful run was kept alive.

We stood up to our old demons against Everton, and we gave them the finger in the most convincing way possible. 4th minute, a free kick from the left wing, Les Maan, 0:1. I remember the times when that would have instantly sent us into the abyss. But no, we roared back, and equalised through Glassey's goal in the 24th minute, Brook with a drilled cross from the left to provide the assist. At half time I decided to move Jordon Mercer to the middle of the park, and I think that was a discovery that could decide our season at some point. We were unstoppable. In the 57th minute Scott Naismith put a cross in and Fraser Foster made it 2:1 with a header that went in off the crossbar. Three minutes later he doubled his goal tally with a very clever first time shot that caught the goalkeeper wrong-footed. Seven more minutes passed, and a corner taken by Glassey led to the first goal for the new club for Simon Bannister. And finally in the 83rd minute Foster completed his hat-trick with another header, Paul Little with the assist this time. That's 9:1 over two games against Everton. In League Two. 2052, eh?

The Cheltenham game was just about as straightforward as it gets. We set it up for ourselves nicely, getting in front in the 3rd minute - a shot from Ashley Arthur was deflected straight to the feet of Marcus Brook, providing him with the type of chance he just doesn't miss. We carried on with the pursuit of a goal that would allow us to calmly stroll towards the final whistle, and we got exactly what we wanted in the 42nd minute. Jake Taylor crossed the ball in from a free kick, and Neil Curran sent it home with a gorgeous header towards the far post from some twelve yards out. Four goals in the league alone, six in all competitions for our centre back. More than Neil Devlin, for instance. Who would have thought?

Next up, Forest Green. This simply couldn't have gone easily, given how many wins we had collected before and how easy this one looked on paper. My concerns found confirmation early on - the visitors looked very motivated as soon as the whistle was blown, and in the 15th minute a poorly aimed sliding tackle from Arthur allowed Sean Parry to tap the ball into an empty net, giving them the lead. Our response was quick, luckily - Jordon Mercer equalised with a classy tight angle strike from Fraser Foster's assist just three minutes later. Straight after half time we finally got everything under control - Arthur hoofed the ball upfield, accidentally exploiting a hole in the visitors' defence and allowing Brook to put us in front with a powerful shot. The final goal was just the confirmation of the inevitable - in the 87th minute Brook's cross was tapped into an empty net from close range by Taylor. We didn't look like we were going to stop.

And finally, Crawley. The big one. This was never going to be easy. And not only was it difficult and tight, but also extremely boring for the neutrals, with barely any shots and lots of midfield struggle for both teams. You can't really say any one of them emerged as the better one, the unpredictability of events on the pitch kept me right on the edge of my seat for the full ninety minutes. This time round, luck was on our side. The 79th minute of this match could turn out to be one of the most important moments of the season. Foster got dispossessed in the box by a defender making a return, but the ball rolled over to Brook, who gave us the winner. Thanks to this result, we look very firm in 2nd, and we have a shot at challenging Gillingham to the top spot. Gillingham, who we're going to face in the first league game in March. At our place. Bring it on.

Youth Intake



Not a very bright class.

[Rikulec]

Two in a row, three this season.

[Adonalsium]

Now all you need is to beat Gillingham and for them to get a bit of a slump in their form.

[deltablue]

Wow, you really kicked back in gear!

[Rikulec]

Now all you need is to beat Gillingham and for them to get a bit of a slump in their form.

Sounds easy.

Wow, you really kicked back in gear!

Cheers, it was a really pleasant surprise to see the lads play so well again.

[Adonalsium]

And don't you worry, there will be more strategies to come from the luxurious Adonalsium Inc.. Our development team has already spitballed a couple of ideas and we're working on the finer minutiae as I speak, all to bring you the latest cutting-edge football tactics! To conclude this sales pitch, a subscription to Adonalsium Inc. (AdoCorp) now only costs a quarter of your soul (on a monthly subscription basis).

Eh, I mean, let's see more greatness from the tired tried-and-tested 4-4-2! (well, at least it gets you results) Good luck!!

[Gizmo7]

That's more like it

[Rikulec]

And don't you worry, there will be more strategies to come from the luxurious Adonalsium Inc.. Our development team has already spitballed a couple of ideas and we're working on the finer minutiae as I speak, all to bring you the latest cutting-edge football tactics! To conclude this sales pitch, a subscription to Adonalsium Inc. (AdoCorp) now only costs a quarter of your soul (on a monthly subscription basis).

Eh, I mean, let's see more greatness from the tired tried-and-tested 4-4-2! (well, at least it gets you results) Good luck!!

We'll talk about that later.

That's more like it

Cheers mate.

[nie jem frytek]

And don't you worry, there will be more strategies to come from the luxurious Adonalsium Inc.. Our development team has already spitballed a couple of ideas and we're working on the finer minutiae as I speak, all to bring you the latest cutting-edge football tactics! To conclude this sales pitch, a subscription to Adonalsium Inc. (AdoCorp) now only costs a quarter of your soul (on a monthly subscription basis).

Eh, I mean, let's see more greatness from the tired tried-and-tested 4-4-2! (well, at least it gets you results) Good luck!!

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - March 2052 - Rochdale

League 2





Nearly there.

As you can see, we really showed Gillingham who's the boss here. We were all over them right from the start, and in the 14th minute we sent the crowd ecstatic - a beautiful cross from Alex Glassey was banged into the net by an even better header from Fraser Foster. Nine minutes later we had everything well and truly under control. Foster took a free kick from a perfect position to have a try, but instead he surprised the defenders by choosing to play the ball into the area, and Iain Challinor exploited a gap in their lines to get to the cross and apply the finish. The second half brought the third and final goal, and that was proper humiliation - Jack Staunton launched the ball upfield, one of the visitors' defenders failed to get his head to it, and allowed Marcus Brook to run free on goal and make it 3:0, giving our goalkeeper a direct assist. Gillingham's run of six games without conceding was brought to a very brutal stop. And we just kept going.

Next up, Blackburn. We did our best to dominate possession and generally keep things under control, but the hosts' approach turned this into an ugly and violent game, with a total of nine cards being shown between the two teams. We were on a wonderful run though, and one of the privileges of being on a wonderful run is the ability to tip the scales in such matches. In the 17th minute a cross from Marcus Brook slipped out of the goalkeeper's hands, and Fraser Foster was there to punish him for that mistake. The second goal was scored in the 75th minute, and it was Foster once again - Jon Dore made a perfect return from injury off the bench, assisting him from the right wing after a corner was cleared away. Afterwards we were fined £1K for picking up six yellow cards, but you know what? I don't care. It was worth it.

The Crewe game wasn't a straightforward one. Once again our force of character was tested - in the 16th minute a header attempt from the visitors' top scorer Keon Baker was denied by the crossbar, but a clearance from Simon Bannister hit him in the back before landing in the net. It was nothing else than bad luck really, I don't blame our defender for that. These things happen, but if we hadn't turned the game around, I'd probably be fuming. We got the equaliser five minutes before the half time whistle - Iain Challinor put the ball into the area, Foster very cleverly let it go and Alex Glassey applied the finishing touch, attacking the far post furiously. Foster was rewarded for his behaviour in the 58th minute, as he received a wonderful through ball from Challinor himself and applied a classy finish in a one-on-one situation. If all goes well, him and Brook will battle it out for the league's top scorer award. There are a few other strong candidates though, it's going to be really close.

Surprise, surprise - Morecambe played better than we did, and in all honesty, they should have beaten us. I've already said something about privileges - in opposition to the hosts, we barely created anything in the first half, but once we did, it was a goal by Foster from John Jones' free kick in the 34th minute. On the other end of the pitch, Jack Staunton was playing a blinder between the sticks, heroically holding onto the clean sheet. In the 82nd minute he finally gave in though - he did well to stop a powerful strike from outside the area, but he was helpless with John Da Costa's rebound. Still, it was us who somehow had the final say - in the 92nd minute Neil Curran scored his 5th league goal of the season, Jon Dore assisting him precisely from the corner flag. With that win, we matched the league's record for the most wins in a row, set by Chesterfield in the 2047/48 season.

And we didn't stop at that. The Carlisle game couldn't have started better from us - the 4th minute saw the great awakening of the sleeping beast. Brook likes to go on a goal drought from time to time, but he always comes back in style, and this time was no different as he applied a nice header to a good cross from Foster on the right wing. That didn't really stop the visitors from giving us a good run for our money. After all, they're a really decent team for League Two standards. But when Marcus Brook is on fire, there is no stopping him. In the 53rd minute he left everyone speechless - Jones played a cross in, and our striker hammered the ball into the back of the net with a spectacular overhead kick that landed exactly in the upper 90. How he didn't win Goal of the Month is truly beyond me. That was just something out of this world. Oh, and fifteen wins. Sorry, Chesterfield!

I was a little bit afraid of Wigan, but, as it turned out, there was really no reason to. We took our chance early on, with Bannister sliding the ball into the net in the 12th minute after Jon Dore played a good cross from a free kick on the right wing. Instead of the hosts throwing men forward and pursuing the equaliser, the rest of the first half saw us calmly control the flow of the game and create chances from time to time. In the 60th minute our situation was made even better as John McFadzean was sent off for a second yellow card. Seven minutes later we took advantage, Foster with another great cross and Brook with another great header. In the 69th minute we slipped up and allowed Phil Howell to get one back for the hosts, but in the dying minutes Brook grabbed a brace to kill them off, skinning past two defenders in a fantastic individual run from the byline before letting off an extremely precise strike towards the far post from a tight angle. Sheer class.

But our run stopped at sixteen with a proper buzzkill. You don't often see a half without any highlights, but neither us nor Kidderminster couldn't produce anything worthy enough in the first 45 minutes. Everything changed when I moved Mercer to the middle of the park at half time. That opened the game up, and we created an advantage quickly. Jake Taylor had a wonderful opportunity to put us in front, but he smashed it straight at the goalkeeper from close range. And when we least expected it, they struck. Twice. A quickfire double from Nélson Couto in the 76th and 79th minute suddenly brought our sensational run to an abrupt end. A result that will really help Kidderminster in their promotion bid, and will probably not hurt ours too much... I hope.

[Rikulec]

Keep them coming.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - April 2052 - Rochdale

League 2





Not as spectacular as before, but... who cares? We are the champions!

The Wycombe game... happened. That's about as much as I can really say about it. Out of the 14 shots we took, only three were on target, maybe we should have won, maybe we were slightly better than the opposition. We couldn't make it count though, as both sides played out for a rather boring draw.

I liked our performance against Scunthorpe much better. We had everything lined up after just quarter an hour. In the 9th minute a square ball from Foster was banged into the net from close range by Mercer to put us in front, and six minutes later our right winger grabbed an assist, setting up Jon Dore for a simple tap-in from close range. The hosts attempted to fight back and were held off by Jack Staunton a couple of times before a horrendous backpass attempt from one of their defenders was intercepted by Foster and converted into a 3:0 goal in the 31st minute. We rounded this whole chasing off straight after half time, and boy, we did it in style - Mercer picked up his second assist of the game with a drilled cross aimed for the edge of the box, and Dore hammered it back towards the far post with an incredible volley. We decided we didn't need more goals, so we stopped at that. Combined with other results, this victory clinched promotion for us.

The Exeter game gave us an opportunity to be crowned champions. An opportunity which we took, albeit not without trouble. The initial half an hour was incredibly boring, with not only not a single highlight being shown, but also each and every one of our defenders picking up a yellow card. Then in the 32nd minute a through ball from deep allowed André to put the visitors in front, and just four minutes later Simon Bannister was sent off for a second booking. Exeter must have felt complacent though, because we actually looked better and more threatening up front from then on. In the 59th minute we grabbed the equaliser - Paul Little received the ball on the left flank right after being subbed on, and immediately played it towards the far post for Foster to bang it in. We had a few chances to get in front, but in the end we had to settle for a draw. Fine by me.

Our final game of the month was meaningless to us, but I don't feel like playing reserves. Mostly because I don't really have any young players who I feel should be given playing time. They're all hopeless. Besides, we have the top scorer crown to battle for. Newport County were a tough opponent on paper, but we managed to neutralise them completely. We opened the scoreline in the 15th minute with Foster assisting Brook with a wonderfully timed through ball and the latter applying a very confident finish with his supposedly weaker left foot. Foster also grabbed a goal for himself ten minutes later, simply tapping it in from point blank range after a pinpoint delivery from Jon Dore. Finally in the 72nd minute Paul Little made it 3:0 after finding the ball at his feet in a goalmouth scramble following a throw-in. Foster is now sitting joint top of the top scorer classification along with Crewe's Keon Baker, 26 goals each. Brook is 5th with 22 to his name.

[Rikulec]

First, there was this...

[Rikulec]

...and then this.

[Rikulec]

Oh, yeah, and this too.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - May 2052 - Rochdale

League 2





It's official now.

I guess I failed to motivate ten of our players against Blackpool. The eleventh, Iain Challinor, soaked up all the motivation that was supposed to spread to all his teammates. As a result, he was so pumped up that he picked up two bookings in the 13th and 21st minute, making everything unnecessarily complicated for the rest of the team. And the visitors were just too packed with quality not to take advantage of our weakness. Darren Bain scored twice in the 47th and 65th minute to give his team a priceless victory that kept their play-off bid alive. Not that I was particularly bothered, but I was silently hoping for two wins to end the season and maybe get me the final Manager of the Month. Yeah, I know.

By all accounts, Notts County are a very good team for this level. They have the guy who - spoiler alert - became the regular season's top scorer among other classy players. And yet we destroyed them in a performance that just summed up our best moments of this season perfectly. The festival started in the 10th minute - Jon Dore played a wonderful cross into the area from the left wing and Fraser Foster attempted to keep the battle alive with a close range goal. Eight minutes later our support striker supplied Jordon Mercer with a wonderful through pass that allowed the winger to double our lead. Four minutes after that Mercer also grabbed an assist for himself, crossing the ball in for Devlin to volley it home from the edge of the six yard box. 3:0 up after 22 minutes, how about that? The rest of the game was just all about pursuing that finishing touch, and we finally applied it in the 82nd minute, with Dore assisting Marcus Brook with a wonderfully timed through ball. Thanks to that, our strike partnership ended the season with exactly fifty goals between them, more than each of the three bottom teams in the league.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - Season Review - 2051/52 - Rochdale

Sky Bet League 2

Results (Aug-Dec) - Results (Jan-May)

Competition Performance: Winners

Let me put it like this. If you exclude our disastrous run of form in the months of October, November, and December, we picked up 82 points in 32 games. Gillingham picked up 80 in 46. We were simply unstoppable most of the times, and we broke the record of the most league wins in a row. We had potential to crush a few more records, but, you know, the slump and all. Bring on League One.

FA Cup

Competition Performance: Third Round

We got one round further than expected thanks to a surprise win at Leyton Orient. I'm happy.

Capital One Cup

Competition Performance: Third Round

We made a wonderful effort of knocking out a Premier League side before crashing out against another opponent superior to us.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

Competition Performance: Second Round

Definitely the most disappointing of our cup campaigns, but not surprising if you look at the run of form we were on at the time of asking.

Squad

I'm not entirely sure how this compares to other teams in the league, but in my opinion we have one of the best squad out there, and, more importantly, these guys simply can play together.

Transfers - Finances

I love transfer windows. I'm beyond happy with the business we've done over the year. The overall quality of the players has skyrocketed, everyone (okay, maybe except for Taylor) made a great impact on our results, we made a lot of money. Pure joy.

Let's face it, a League Two club is never going to be swimming in cash. Hopefully the promotion will help pump the club's coffins, a massive increase in the wage budget could be a good sign of things to come.

Player of the Season

1st - Fraser Foster - the most goals, the most assists (along with Jon Dore), the highest average rating... does it surprise anyone that I chose him as the ultimate champion? Well, I was surprised to see him start the season so well, and he just carried on. An absolutely key member of the squad, I can't imagine Rochdale without him.

2nd - Marcus Brook - another wonderful goalscorer in our ranks. He tipped many games our way with his clinical and powerful finishing, some of his goals reminding the old man Elvar in the stands about the times when he managed Brinquedo at Hobro. At 29, he's just had the best season of his career so far. Is there more to come?

3rd - Neil Curran - I had to think long and hard to decide who should be honoured in this place, and finally I came up with the idea of choosing a defensive player. Neil has been rock solid at the back throughout the season, and with five goals in the league he also played his part in our attacking accomplishments. A possible club legend in the making.

Next Season

First, survive. Then, see what happens next.

[oriole01]

Congratulations on the promotion and league title. It sure didn't look on the cards when all of your results were in the red! Who won the playoffs? I'm hoping it was Kidderminster for my own satisfaction.

[Rikulec]

Congratulations on the promotion and league title. It sure didn't look on the cards when all of your results were in the red! Who won the playoffs? I'm hoping it was Kidderminster for my own satisfaction.

We had quite a slump, didn't we? Thanks mate. And I have some good news for you - Kidderminster did win the play-offs indeed, beating Carlisle in the final.

[Rikulec]

This is good.



This is not.

[Rikulec]

So satisfying.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - Season Preview - 2052/53 - Rochdale

Board Expectations:

Sky Bet League One: Avoid relegation

FA Cup: Second Round

Capital One Cup: Second Round

My Expectations:

Sky Bet League One: Everything above 20th will be a bonus.

FA Cup: I'd like us at least to match the last season's run.

Capital One Cup: Not important.

Budgets:

Transfer: £11,522

Wage: £39,419 (currently spending £23,271)

Balance: £72,178

[Rikulec]

Nothing like breaking a 34-year-old record to let you know you've had a good season!

[Rikulec]

Intriguing, but no.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2052/53 - Rochdale

Friendlies



Even better than last season.

Transfers



Selling our second choice left back for £500K has to go down as the best deal Gylfi has made in his career so far.

Patrick Abadaki - nobody is going to stop our front line now. Abadaki is a perfectly rounded player, I don't think I could find a better deep lying forward at this level.

Luke Smith - just a rotation option for the right back position.

Karl Burke - an absolute cracker of a deal. After a great season at this level at Charlton, the playmaker joins us on a free transfer. What a player.

Matthew Belford - another significant improvement, this time in the left back slot.

Duncan Millen - our new third choice centre back. He'll get his minutes.

Andy Palmer - he'll be providing cover in case something bad happens to Jordon Mercer.

Phil Egan - another left back to boost the numbers after Naismith's unexpected departure.

Neil Cromie - last but not least, a ball winner. A damn good one for this level, if you ask me.

[Adonalsium]

Congratulations on the successful spell! In your estimation, how many tries will it take for you to get promoted / relegated from League 1? I'll be taking a look at the new signings now, they'll play a vital role in your struggle.

[Rikulec]

Congratulations on the successful spell! In your estimation, how many tries will it take for you to get promoted / relegated from League 1? I'll be taking a look at the new signings now, they'll play a vital role in your struggle.

To be honest, I haven't thought about that too much yet. I firmly believe we have enough quality in the side not to go straight back down, but I don't think we're ready to challenge for promotion at this point. Maybe in two or three years. Or maybe we'll fluke it. The opening games will give me a better idea what to expect.

[Adonalsium]

My god. Karl Burke looks like an absolute beast of a playmaker. Those attributes are out of this league by a mile.

[Rikulec]

My god. Karl Burke looks like an absolute beast of a playmaker. Those attributes are out of this league by a mile.

And he seems to be finding his feet in the team quite well early on.

[Adonalsium]

Interesting... will you be changing your tactics to suit your players, now that you've moved up a league? Having such a strong playmaker could even warrant building a strategy around him. A diamond midfield or something.

[Rikulec]

Interesting... will you be changing your tactics to suit your players, now that you've moved up a league? Having such a strong playmaker could even warrant building a strategy around him. A diamond midfield or something.

No such plans at the moment, as for the future, who knows.

[Rikulec]

Gylfi Elvarsson's Management Career - August 2052 - Rochdale

League 1





Not the most spectacular of starts, was it?

I simply know that we are going to regret not beating Newcastle on the opening day. Maybe we already are. We had an absolute stormer of a half. 30,000 Geordies in the stands had no idea what's going on, and we just kept coming. In the 3rd minute we grabbed the lead to surprise everyone, Patrick Abadaki getting tripped in the box and Karl Burke putting us in front from the spot. And we didn't stop at that, oh no. We kept pushing, and in the 30th minute a square ball from Jon Dore following huge chaos caused by a corner was finished off by a very precise strike from Neil Curran. Finally, with just seconds to go in the first half, Abadaki fired an absolute rocket into the top corner from just inside the box, Burke with the assist. 3:0 up at half time, could it be better?! Unfortunately, we got way too comfortable. Newcastle sniffed their chance, and jumped at it. In the 52nd minute Matthew Belford gave away a penalty to allow Rodrigo Reis to get them back into the game, and then a brace from Hasan Hassoun in the 58th and 68th minute hit us hard. I guess from the second half perspective we were lucky to escape with a draw. All in all, it was a massive chance wasted.

We got really unlucky against Wolves. More precisely, it was the kind of unlucky that cost us a shedload of points last season. It was the kind of 4th minute free kick, failed interception, Miquel Valero into an empty net unlucky. We got back into the game quickly, dominating possession and creating some quality chances (the creativity of Burke and Abadaki being something I've never seen back in League Two), but the quality of our finishing was simply miserable. I don't even know how many times I wanted to kill Jordon Mercer, but he's damn lucky he's just a fictional being inside a video game. He could have given Abadaki a couple of assists and won us the game by himself.

The Northampton game turned out to be a proper thriller, a match that kept me right on the edge of my seat all the way until the final whistle. We got off to a dream start - in the 11th minute a poorly hit cross from Foster was sent flying towards the net, and the visitors' defender obstructed their goalkeeper under Abadaki's pressure, causing him to fail to get his hand to the ball. Our second goal, scored just two minutes later, was even more bizarre - first, a cross landed on Foster's head, and the striker's effort banged off the crossbar and hit the ground inches away from the line. Instead of smashing it in, Foster decided to stop the ball, take it back, allowing the goalkeeper and three defenders to overtake him and stand between him and the target, and then he finally laid it out to Abadaki, who luckily knew where it should go. Northampton got one back through Malachi Eggleston in the 32nd minute, and from then on it was a proper two-way battle. I'm happy with the fact there were no more goals, it was a game that really could have gone either way.

Next up, York. Well, I guess I will have to stomach a few such games before we finally settle in here - we had twice as many shots as the opposition and 57% possession, yet we gave everything away. The first half was rather dull and boring, with maybe one or two highlights shown. I made two substitutions at the break, and that opened things up, putting us in advantage. But it was the hosts that broke the deadlock - in the 69th minute we fell victim to a counter attack and Chris Sullivan's cross that turned into a shot that turned into a goal. Six minutes later an underhit backpass was intercepted and banged into the net by Abadaki to make it all square, but in the very same effin' minute Damian Judge put York back in front after we let a cross in. Oh, yeah, and Mercer did the Mercer thing once again. Abadaki probably wants to kill him as well.

Leyton Orient, on the other hand, was a game where we were lucky to escape with a point. The visitors were simply better than us, and after wasting a few opportunities early on they finally broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, Billy Ellis applying the finishing touch to a well-constructed passing move. Wait, did someone say passing move? Hey, we're the team with Burke and Abadaki in our ranks! And so, in the 33rd minute these two, among other players, took part in a tiki-taka-esque goal, the fans getting wild after Mercer finally laid the ball out to the Nigerian striker for an easy tap-in. In the second half both teams had their chances, with the visitors probably looking a bit more dangerous. In the end, it all played out for a draw, which... well, satisfies us, I guess.

Capital One Cup



We lost to a better opponent.

In a brutal counter to my silent hopes, we couldn't put up an organised resistance against Hull. Our defending wasn't bad, but we lost the midfield battle and, as a result, couldn't construct any interesting attacking moves that could potentially threaten the opposition. The inevitable happened right at the start of the second half, when a strike from the corner of the box by Michael Fritsch surprised Jack Staunton and ended its flight in the back of the net. There was not much story to that defeat, maybe apart from some of our last-ditch attempts in the dying minutes, all of which were more or less comfortably dealt with. We're not going to make money this way this season.

[Rikulec]

There goes our best player of the month.

[Adonalsium]

Well, damn. I guess it's back to Brook's shenanigans.

[deltablue]

League 1 looks tough this year with such big sides as Wolves, Newcastle and Ipswich.

[Rikulec]

Well, damn. I guess it's back to Brook's shenanigans.

Him and Foster scored 50 goals in the league between them last season, so I might as well be overreacting. Still, from what Abadaki managed to show before the injury, he was an amazing player, really performing up to his attributes.

League 1 looks tough this year with such big sides as Wolves, Newcastle and Ipswich.

It is tough, all the games I've played so far were really close and felt like hard fought battles. Makes up for a very interesting league, but I guess it also makes the results a little bit random at times. At the moment though, I'm loving it.