PaulHartman71 Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 Not a huge summer compared to previous years, but 7 players joined the club nonetheless. The summer was dominated by the Phil Kerr to Bristol City saga, that lasted all of July. He wanted to move to a Championship side, fair play, I wanted £150K or so but Bristol City were very hesitant to pay it. Initially they offered £80K which was a complete joke so I told them where to go, Kerr kicked off, I said I'd take £160K, they offered it and it seemed like he'd be gone. But then they low balled his contract and it seemed to be the end. It got to the point where I started signing loan players rather than actual players with the money I'd make up in wage budget/transfer from him leaving, but then they came back in and eventually at the end of July they got their man. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 (edited) So Frank Lampard's decided to start beefing me... Edited May 13, 2017 by PaulHartman71 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
argento Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 looking forward to the Lampard V Hart rivalry. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 14, 2017 Author Share Posted May 14, 2017 August We got really unlucky against Norwich, especially since we had a man sent off after 10 minutes. To take it to penalties with 10 men for 110 minutes of the game was pretty good, just a shame it was for nothing in the end. We got off to a pretty poor start with 3 losses in a row, but since then I tweaked our tactics a little and our form has picked up, we beat Hartlepool 5-2 and just absolutely demolished Barnsley 6-0 away from home. Hopefully this can be the turning point of what was a poor start to life in League 1. Obviously 4 go down from League 1 so it's always gonna be hard to stay up as a promoted side, but we'll do our best. Good to see Frank Lampard's Gillingham currently sitting rock bottom though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim owen Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 Good to see Oldham still surviving in league one Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
argento Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 Lampard wishing he kept his mouth shut now.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 14, 2017 Author Share Posted May 14, 2017 September A 3-3 draw against my old foes Wrexham kicks off our EFL Trophy campaign, with Preston and Liverpool U23s still to play. It was cool to win this one on penalties though. A fairly decent month which saw two wins against Barnet and Crewe, we also got a point at home to Charlton. We weren't so good away from home though, with losses to Bristol Rovers and Carlisle. Still hard to really say how we're doing as it's so early on in the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgeeD Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Outperforming both Lampard's expectations and Lampard is good enough for now surely Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjoe Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 It's just really sad to have Frank Lampard managing Gillingham in League One in year 2043, the same league as a manager who thought his father wanted him to accept any offer resulting in him roller coasting the lower divisions.. And "Lampard, 65, has accumulated twenty-two years of experience with the likes of Colchester United and Carlisle United"... Just so incredibly sad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Less sad, as much as delightful, hopefully Gillingham are relegated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjoe Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 2 minutes ago, BoxToBox said: Less sad, as much as delightful, hopefully Gillingham are relegated. Aye, I didn't mean sad as in I was feeling pity for him. I was more referring to him having a sorry excuse of a career with his reputation in mind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 October A loss in the EFL Trophy to Liverpool U23s derails our campaign a bit, but I'm not too fussed really. A fairly rough October saw us 4 and win 2, with the wins coming against Oldham thanks to an Aaron May double and a 5-1 demolition of 2nd place Luton. We got a bit unlucky against Cardiff but didn't really deserve even a point in the other 3 games we lost. This poor form has seen us drop to 18th and it's looking clear as day that we will be heavily involved in the relegation battle this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltablue Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Looks like a heck of a survival race going on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Looks like it will be Hartman 1 Lampard 0 by the end of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 November A 4-0 drubbing of non-league side Tividale sees us through in the 1st Round of the FA Cup. We've got quite lucky and got another non-league side, Rugby, in the 2nd round. We're at home so I think we should avoid an upset, although you can never be too careful in the FA Cup. I didn't expect to make it through in the EFL Trophy, but we beat Preston 2-0 and for the first time in my career I'm in the next round. We will play Liverpool U23s again, we lost the other game 1-0 so I imagine we may well lose this one too, but we'll give it a go. A few disappointing away losses to Leyton and Coventry, but we got a solid home win against Northampton and then fought hard for a point against fellow relegation battlers Cambridge. We've now entered the relegation zone and we're well and truly fighting for our lives. We'd get out the drop zone if we win our game in hand, but that's a big if. It's actually against Frank Lampard's Gillingham so I really hope we can do them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim owen Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 13 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said: Looks like it will be Hartman 1 Lampard 0 by the end of the season. Commentators curse? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintrainhard Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I think you forget to improve coaching badge so far in your journey Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdanbartlett Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 54 minutes ago, saintrainhard said: I think you forget to improve coaching badge so far in your journey Can usually only do this when the club is not in the red, which has been tricky during his career. He has done some badges. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 Yeah I've been pretty stuffed at Blackpool. Not sure we've been less than 500K down the entire time I've been here Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 The board have come to me asking if they think it's a good idea to give me a new contract now. I was somewhat hoping to get poached by a slightly bigger club, but I'm happy enough at Blackpool and more than happy to sign a new deal at this point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 Done deal. They've given me the longest contract I've had in my career, as it isn't just until the end of next season, but the end of the one after that. This obviously puts a bit of a price on me for clubs to come in, but it gives me a solid foundation to build on here at Blackpool until a bigger club come in for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 December We had a big 6 point game at the weekend against Bradford so I rested most of the first team for this one, unfortunately Liverpool U23s beat us again to progress. We beat non-league Rugby 2-1 in the FA Cup, they did give us a good game but we just about had enough for them. We've got lucky and have yet another non-league side in the 3rd Round, this time we're at home to Aldershot. We had a really good end to 2043, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. In our 4-1 win against Bradford, we actually had 2 late penalties which were both missed by Neil Dallas who was on a hat-trick. 20 games to go and we're out of the drop zone, but it's still extremely tight down there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 I had a bit of extra wage budget so I have got in Ross Taylor on a free. He's a good striker who will compete with Taggart and May for a starting slot. I'm hoping between the 3 of them they can get enough goals to keep us up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 **** sake. 20 minutes into his debut and he's injured already Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 January It took a late equaliser to drag Aldershot to a replay, then in the return match we required penalties to get past them, but get past them we did. We then got Newport County in the 4th Round, whilst they're not a non-league side, they're rock bottom of League 2, so they probably will be next year. We beat them 2-0 to get through and now find ourselves in the 5th Round! We've got another home draw and will play Championship side Birmingham City in the next round. We probably won't beat them and I would've rather got one of the big boys, but it should be fun as it's the furthest I've got in the FA Cup so far in my career. A month of all 1-1 draws in the league. We trailed in 3 of them so we've done quite well I think, if we can draw every single game remaining 1-1 I think we'll just about stay up. Easier said than done, mind. 2 points off 21st with 15/16 games to go. It's gonna be oh so close. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 A big result in the FA Cup as we've grounded out a 1-1 draw with Birmingham City, to force a mid-week replay at St Andrews. I'm expecting a 2/3-0 dubbing at their place even if we did give them a decent game at home, but this has now turned into an even bigger game as not only would we make the FA Cup Quarter Final, but a potential away draw with Manchester United awaits us if we win, although it could be relegation battling Fulham if they win their replay with Darren Fletcher's United side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 A pretty much full strength side lines up for us in Birmingham in-front of 21,100, with just under 1,500 of our fans making the trip. Let's try and give them something to shout about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 1st minute: Birmingham have kicked off, they're looking to get at Blackpool from the start here. Blackpool you'd assume will adopt a similar style to the home match, sit on the counter and hope for the best. It's Stanley for Birmingham with a ball into the box, but Swift deals with it and hits it out left to Ewing who's come back into his own half. Ewing to Thompson who's just past the centre circle oh and he's hit a powerful diagonal ball out wide to Kennedy who is an absolutely acres of space! There's not a blue shirt within 10 yards of him! Kennedy has Taggart and May running into the box...it's towards TAGGART!!! HE GOT AWAY FROM HIS MARKER AND SMASHED IT HOME FROM CLOSE RANGE! AN UNBELIEVABLE START FROM BLACKPOOL! It's BIRMINGHAM CITY 0-1 BLACKPOOL within just 49 seconds!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black and Yellow Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Can't ask for a better start than that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 5th minute: Birmingham with a corner. It's Thiel to hit it into the box. Stanley gets a flick on towards the back post... it's Smart...Smart holds it and it's THIEL!!!! The corner taker got back into the box and fired home an equaliser! Blackpool's early momentum is wiped out already and that's a big goal! BIRMINGHAM CITY 1-1 BLACKPOOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) 10th minute: Ryan Kennedy launches the ball forward for Blackpool, it's towards Taggart who is up for the header. He's not got there and it looks like he's hurt himself here, he's flagging to the bench, he's done something to his jaw and I think he will have to come off here! A huge blow for Blackpool to lose their top scorer and goal scorer on the night to injury so early on. Birmingham will be very pleased with that. It's the loanie striker Dickie Kemp who will replace Taggart, he's got big shoes to fill! Edited May 17, 2017 by PaulHartman71 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 14th minute: A throw in for Blackpool on the right hand side of Birmingham's half. It's Ap Dafydd to take it. He finds De Groot who's further infield outside the box, he passes it to Thompson who's alongside him, Thompson holds the ball up and May is running through into the box...Thompson finds MAYYYYYYY....OH HE'S ABSOLUTELY SMASHED THAT ONE IN!!! A ROCKET OF A SHOT FROM AARON MAY AND BLACKPOOL ARE BACK IN-FRONT. IT'S BIRMINGHAM CITY 1-2 BLACKPOOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 34th minute: Birmingham are pushing for another equaliser. They've got men forward here, they've come back from Blackpool before today and at the weekend, they know they can do it and Blackpool will know that too. Smart has 3 blue shirts ahead of him, but De Groot makes an excellent interception. He passes it to May who is just inside the Birmingham half and he's hit a big long ball which will give substitute Dickie Kemp a chance to run at it...there's 3 blue shirts chasing the ball but I don't think they're going to catch Kemp! Kemp's into the box with just the keeper left... OH AND HE'S PLACED IT JUST OUT OF THE KEEPER'S REACH INTO THE BOTTOM CORNER!!! A FINE FINISH AND A BIG GOAL FOR THE AWAY SIDE AS IT'S NOW BIRMINGHAM CITY 1-3 BLACKPOOL!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 46th minute: The referee has blown for half-time here and there are boos all around at St Andrews! The Birmingham fans are not happy with this at all, as Blackpool who are battling relegation in League 1 have put 3 goals past them and could be on the verge of a big cup upset here! They had their top scorer go off after 10 minutes but that hasn't made the slightest bit of difference! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 51st minute: Birmingham have come roaring out this half. They know if they get an early goal they'll be right back in this and put huge pressure on a Blackpool team who will surely tire from having played twice in four days. Shackell towards Thiel, but De Groot is there to make yet another interception, he's been everywhere today. De Groot finds May in the Birmingham half, back to De Groot who hits it high and out left to Kennedy who has some space on the left flank, he hits the ball into the middle where it's Kemp...he can only flick it on but EWING IS THERE AT THE BACKPOST!! EWING FIRES HOME AND IT'S BIRMINGHAM CITY 1-4 BLACKPOOL!! THIS IS INCREDIBLE! Birmingham have left themselves well and truly exposed several times now and Blackpool have taken full advantage of it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 59th minute: Birmingham with a free-kick in a decent position here. If they're going to get back into this game they need a goal soon. It's Dominic Smart to strike it...OH AND YOU WON'T SEE MANY GOALS BETTER THAN THAT IN THE FA CUP THIS YEAR! HE'S SMASHED THAT IN FROM 30 YARDS! They're ushering the ball back to the centre circle now as they've got half hour to get 2 more goals. It's BIRMINGHAM CITY 2-4 BLACKPOOL Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 82nd minute: Birmingham are still pressing for that 3rd goal. If they get one soon you would fancy them to equalise against this tiring Blackpool side. Shackell hits it upfield towards 4 blue shirts, but Naudts heads it down for Blackpool. He hits it out left to Kennedy who once again finds himself with far too much space, he could get another cross in here, it's Kennedy to Cannon...he mis-hits it but he's got the chance to set it up FOR MAY!!! IT'S 5!!! AARON MAY SURELY SEALS A FAMOUS VICTORY FOR BLACKPOOL! IT'S BIRMINGHAM CITY 2-5 BLACKPOOL! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 90th minute: Not long left to go now. The Birmingham fans have deserted St Andrews in droves, not many have stayed for the closing moments. They've got a throw in here with Bexfield to take it into the box...Goncalo clears it from danger to May who's outside the box. And Blackpool could break again here...Cannon now who hits it wide left to Kennedy who's absolutely exploited that flanl all night...he's through again...it's towards May who's on a hat-trick...he's missed the ball completely but CANNON IS THERE!!! The away fans cannot believe this. It's BIRMINGHAM CITY 2-6 BLACKPOOL!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikulec Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Mental. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 93rd minute: The referee has blown here! It's all over for Birmingham who have been well and truly embarrassed by League 1 Blackpool here tonight. It's Adam Hart's side who will go through to the Quarter Final, where they could well end up with an away tie to top of the Premier League table Man United! An amazing win. I'm not sure what happened to Birmingham but they didn't really turn up. We did really well playing on the counter but they were just awful. We dispossed them in midfield so much so often. I'm not sure if they had a youth player playing at RB or just had a really attacking right winger who offered no support, but we absolutely murdered them on that side of the pitch. Time and time again we got in and they did nothing to address it. We'll have to wait 2 weeks to see whether we get Granit Xhaka's Fulham or Darren Fletcher's Man United in the next round, but happy days really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saundersauras Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Just read the whole thread - thoroughly enjoyable! Great run in the cup, surely that must be helping the finances will both gate receipts and prize money? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 We've clawed it back to around £-600K. I'm not sure what sort of money we'd be looking at getting from a trip to Old Trafford, but I imagine it would boost us a bit. I'm not sure if it would be enough to break even, but then if we don't lose too much money before the end of the season, when we get the sponsorship deals etc in the summer, it might just about be enough to boost us out of the red if we stay up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Amazing, what a game! 1 minute ago, PaulHartman71 said: We've clawed it back to around £-600K. I'm not sure what sort of money we'd be looking at getting from a trip to Old Trafford, but I imagine it would boost us a bit. I'm not sure if it would be enough to break even, but then if we don't lose too much money before the end of the season, when we get the sponsorship deals etc in the summer, it might just about be enough to boost us out of the red if we stay up. IIRC, it should be 2m, give or take for a visit to Old Trafford. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 Just now, BoxToBox said: Amazing, what a game! IIRC, it should be 2m, give or take for a visit to Old Trafford. Oh. I didn't think it would be anywhere near that much! Better hope that Xhaka's Fulham doesn't pull off an upset now then Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 12 minutes ago, PaulHartman71 said: Oh. I didn't think it would be anywhere near that much! Better hope that Xhaka's Fulham doesn't pull off an upset now then Been a while since I managed in lower league England, but once I managed to get a draw with Arsenal away, then a surprise home win, and next round was away at OT where we got mullered but between the two away fixtures, we'd bankrolled the club's long term future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdanbartlett Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 18 minutes ago, PaulHartman71 said: Oh. I didn't think it would be anywhere near that much! Better hope that Xhaka's Fulham doesn't pull off an upset now then I think 2m is overall for a full house, you are probably looking at 600k to 1m for your 50% share. (say 60,000 turn up at £30 a ticket - £1.8m, so 900k). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 2 minutes ago, BoxToBox said: Been a while since I managed in lower league England, but once I managed to get a draw with Arsenal away, then a surprise home win, and next round was away at OT where we got mullered but between the two away fixtures, we'd bankrolled the club's long term future. Yeah it would be nice to give us that financial cushion to not be too screwed even if we do go down. I've just seen that Xhaka's ditched 18th place Fulham for a cushty mid-table Bournemouth job though, which means by the time the United game comes around then Fulham may have a new manager. It's all set up for the new manager syndrome to do United in Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHartman71 Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 Just now, mrdanbartlett said: I think 2m is overall for a full house, you are probably looking at 600k to 1m for your 50% share. (say 60,000 turn up at £30 a ticket - £1.8m, so 900k). Ah I see. Tbf that woulds till be very very appreciated at this point. I think Old Trafford has been renovated now to around 95K on the game, but I doubt they'd get anywhere near that sort of numbers for a FA Cup game against a League 1 side. Although I suppose with it being a Quarter Final they may do alright. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black and Yellow Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Mad win! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim owen Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 what a goal fest Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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