Nobby_McDonald Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 (edited) OCTOBER 2021 October looked like it was going to be a very tough month. Our first four fixtures were against teams in the top six. We came out of those with one win and three draws. Very happy, especially an excellent defensive performance at Wealdstone only to concede an injury time equaliser. Then we lost at home to Gloucester. Balls. NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH Bishop's Stortford 1 Eastbourne Borough 1 (Rees) Wealdstone 1 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Owusu) Hemel Hempstead Town 1 Bishop's Stortford 3 (Parsons, Matthews, Owusu) Bath City 1 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Owusu) Bishop's Stortford 1 Gloucester City 2 (Parsons) MATCH OF THE MONTH We travelled to Hemel Hempstead in the middle of the month with the hosts having won their last five games. Form was thrown on it's head very quickly when Jason Parsons netted after just 19 seconds, then winger Joe Matthews on the half hour. Hemel got one back soon after with a flukey rebound but despite the hosts being the better team, we bagged anotherthrough @Raware's favourite Bishop Stortford player Christian Owusu. NEWS Last March, Crewe Alexandra were taken over by a tycoon. They then got relegated to League Two. This season, they are 23rd when they sacked their manager. I apply. Crewe give the job to Stuart Pearce. Edited June 15, 2020 by Nobby_McDonald Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadManager Posted June 17, 2020 Share Posted June 17, 2020 That's some pretty solid progress. Nice stuff. Do playoffs beckon or the solid top half to mid-table finish? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 That question is about to be answered a lot sooner than you think... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 NOVEMBER 2021 (PART 1) November goes very well at Woodside Park. A thrilling game to start the month sees us edge out leaders Bromley in a nine goal barnstormer. We were two up after 9 minutes and three up after 12 only for Bromley to be level just after half an hour. Owusu bags us an injury time winner. We then get the better of old Southern League rivals Salisbury before grabbing a great win at Oxford City. Three wins out of three, and all looks great. NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH Bishop's Stortford 5 Bromley 4 (Parsons (p), Owusu 4) Bishop's Stortford 4 Salisbury 2 (Parsons 3 (1p), Owusu) Oxford City 0 Bishop's Stortford 2 (Matthews, Owusu) However, I've had itchy feet for a while, especially so since the board sold Teddy Ford at the start of the season for a paltry £8,700 (compared to the £350,000 or so we're in debt - it hardly made a dent). I turned down a couple of offers. Plymouth wanted me in League One but I turned down the interview as I feel the jump from National League North to League One is unrealistic when all I've won is the Southern League Premier Division. Aldershot in National League offered me a job, but I turned it down as it would have meant a 25% pay cut. Even so, the Oxford City game turned out to be my last at Bishop's Stortford. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted June 22, 2020 Author Share Posted June 22, 2020 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadManager Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Well, that isn't shaping up to be the answer I expected. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaneBramage Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Looks like you were doing well at Stortford, but if the board annoy you, you're always tempted to move on. Interested to see where you go next. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted June 29, 2020 Author Share Posted June 29, 2020 (edited) I'm off to South Wales. Newport County have dropped down to National League and are currently 15th. The club are £480,000 in debt, have £71,000 remaining on a Chairman loan, have no transfer budget and are overspent on the wage budget. Add to that the fact that Newport's two best players both want a move to a bigger club (combined value just short of the club debt) and I have a major challenge on my hands. Oh, and the first match is at home to Dagenham & Redbridge, who haven't lost yet this season in the league (22 games). I join on a two year contract on £700 per week (£100 less per week than at Bishop's Stortford). Newport paid Bishop's Stortford £12,000 for my services. Here is information on the club... Board: Top half Rodney Parade, Newport holds 11,676 (5,244 seats) Corporate: Adequate Training: Below average Data analysis: Poor Youth facilities: Basic Youth level: 4 Junior coaching: Average Youth recruitment: Basic There is no under 23 team. This isn't going to be easy... Edited June 29, 2020 by Nobby_McDonald 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazRTaylor Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 Good move and a lovely challenge for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 (edited) NOVEMBER 2021 (PART 2) As mentioned, Newport County is going to be a tough challenge. The club is in debt and the two best players want to move to a bigger club and there is no money to replace them if they leave or strengthen the squad. For the rest of this season at least, I have to work with what I inherit. Oh, and just to make things even easier, the first game is against the unbeaten league leaders and the second is against the team in second place. We host unbeaten Dagenham & Redbridge. I leave out our two best players Conlon and Foulston, partly because they are unhappy and partly because they are knackered. For ****s sake, they are supposed to be professional footballers. Things look bleak when we miss a penalty after only ten minutes. Things look a lot less bleak when we put in a fantastic workmanlike performance and inflict Dagenham & Redbridge's first league defeat of the season. FC Halifax come to South Wales next. I restore Conlon and his fellow unhappy colleague to the starting line up. We are on top in the match before Dugdale gets sent off for a two footed lunge on 55 minutes. I reshuffle and put on a right winger who frankly looks crap. He prooves me wrong as he gets the first goal of the game on 85 minutes and bags another in a remarkable last ten minutes of the game where four goals are scored. We win 3-1. What a start. NATIONAL LEAGUE Newport County 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 1 (Nouble, Dugdale) Newport County 3 FC Halifax Town 1 (Mottley-Henry 2, Brown) ELSEWHERE Southampton are 4th in the Premier League. Walsall sack Walter Zenga when 19th in League One. Wigan Athletic sack Wayne Rooney when 13th in League Two. Early in December he joins Chesterfield who are 23rd in the same league. Stuart Pearce is transforming Crewe Alexandra, as they rise from 23rd to 10th in just one month. With the transfer window not open, he's not even spent of their tycoon's money yet. It seems the sky is the limit for Crewe. Edited July 20, 2020 by Nobby_McDonald Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TokyoWanderer Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Incredible start and good to see you moved up to a professional team. I keep bouncing between semi-pro teams in my own career (FM18 as well). Still going with a 4-4-2? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 Thanks Kidd. Yes I am still going 4-4-2. It's nice and straight forward for a tactical simpleton like me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 20, 2020 Author Share Posted July 20, 2020 DECEMBER 2021 Despite the bubble bursting spectacularly in the opening match of the month where an abysmal first half saw us go in at half time 3-0 at lowly Gateshead, it was largely a very good month. We didn't concede another league goal for the rest of the month as we won three and drew one, all against sides in the top seven. It seems this team plays great against teams at the top but if the one game against a low side is anything to go by, much improvement needed on that front. However, the matches are boring. The squad I have inherited turns out to be very solid at the back, but seriously lacking up front. A lack of pace and creativity means goals are going to be hard to come by. Evidence of this was the match at Barnet, where the shot count was 26-12 in Barnet's favour and we won 0-1, and that was with Eddie Brown putting a penalty so far over the bar the referee nearly awarded him two points for a conversion. We're up to 10th though which is pleasing. Hopefully there will be funds available in the Summer to do something about the squad. We're already maxed out with loans before I arrived, well over the wage budget and have no transfer budget. I tried to try to sign Jason Parsons from Bishop's Stortford. He wanted a relatively low (for his talent) £600 per week but I couldn't offer anywhere near it). We were poor at home to York in the FA Trophy and were deservedly knocked out. NATIONAL LEAGUE Gateshead 4 Newport County 1 (Brown) Newport County 1 Notts County 0 (Brown) Wrexham 0 Newport County 0 Barnet 0 Newport County 1 (Kretzschmar) Newport County 2 Accrington Stanley 0 (Brown 2) FA TROPHY FIRST ROUND - Newport County 0 York City 3 ELSEWHERE Arsenal sack Ralph Hassenhüttl when 15th in the Premier League. His replacement is Zinedine Zidane. Charlton Athletic sack Ryan Giggs when 8th in League One. A Greek tycoon takesover at Ebbsfleet United who are 16th in National League Bishop's Stortford took their time finding a new manager, eventually appointing the Hendon Assistant Manager, Keith Rowland more than a month after I departed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaneBramage Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 Moving nicely up the table, the play-offs are surely within reach. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted July 20, 2020 Author Share Posted July 20, 2020 Thanks Dane, we've started very well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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