ashjm Posted August 22, 2020 Share Posted August 22, 2020 Southport FC I am new in these parts, well I say new I was around years ago but life got in the way and I cannot remember my logins. But here I am and I am taking control of one of my favourite clubs, as a boy I used to watch this lot a little bit and really enjoyed it so I thought I would take over the club and see how far I can take them. Its not the most of flashy saves in some of these far flung places you see it is just your basic English Lower League Save. This is our home Haig Avenue (I will not be calling it the Pure Stadium as it is presently known) its a place that has seen league football in the 70s and honestly some massive names of the past have played here. Stan Mortenson and Luther Blissett would have been some of the biggest names here to play for the Sandgrounders. I am hoping I can create some of my own legends as I bring the club through the leagues or at least I hope. ( Just a note I will be stealing some of the layouts from some off the other guys in here if thats ok) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 Southport FC Pre Season 2019-20 We had a busy Pre Season as I managed to get some friendlies against some much bigger teams, in no way was this done for purely financial gains. We had a busy time bringing players in. We needed some more depth in a few places as we have a very small squad and for some reason no under reserves or youth teams but I hope this will change. # I wont show you all my signings but one I was very pleased with was Jamie Gray. He looks excellent at this level, I am hoping he will score a few Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 Southport FC August 2019-20 What a great start to the season. We have only conceded one goal and scored a daft amount of goals. As I suspected Jamie Gray was stupendous every time the ball is played behind the defence he is on it. He runs at the defence and just frightens them. The only result that was of any slight concern was the draw but in fairness we still battered them so I am not too worried. We have signed a few more players as well, another keeper and a winger on loan from Blackpool. Both have made their way into the first team squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 Southport FC September 2019-20 The FA Cup began this month and Needham Market were the opponents, I took the chance to rest most of my first team as I felt we would still have enough to go through, in the end I had to bring three of the first team on just to get a draw, the first team returned for the replay and we beat them well. The league has gone ok, not as good as the start of the year we dropped some points but still find ourselves at the top of the table. We have added another midfielder and a defender who joins on loan from Sunderland Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 22, 2020 Author Share Posted August 22, 2020 Southport FC October 2019-20 I would say for the first time this year we actually met a couple of really good sides and did not do too badly. Two draws against teams near the top of the table is not too bad. We also got a great win in the FA Cup and we will go on to play Gateshead in the next round so I am hopeful we can go through to the 2nd round proper with a bit of luck. We have finally been knocked off the top of the table for the first time in a while, we will play Kidderminster in the next game which is going to be huge. We brought in one more play on loan at the end of the month who should add a little more quality to the squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Southport FC November 2019-20 This month was another good one. We managed to sneak through both rounds of the cup and we will play Newport County in the next round of the FA Cup, they are decent League 2 side so I am not sure if we will go through but potentially a money spinning third round tie could be coming. We also got through the Trophy which I am less fussed about. In the league we got a massive win over our nearest rivals but then a poor draw against a poor team. We just cant seem to shake Kidderminster off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Southport FC December 2019-20 Poor month, out of the FA Cup in a result which makes it look like we played better than we did. Two wins in the league followed in two games which I think that we were expected to win. Despite dominating the rest of the games that we played in this month we only recorded one win. We lost two league games in which we seemed to throw away chances. We are also out the Trophy, again we should have won this. This has not been great and we have dropped closer to Altrincham, but also Kidderminster who have a lot of games in hand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Southport FC January 2019-20 I lost a striker that I was not really a fan off and replaced him with a much better striker with a free transfer from Fleetwood. I also got a defender in on loan from Bolton. A great win started off the month against a very decent side and I was confident of doing well. Two draws followed and I was particularly annoyed with the Leamington draw as we should be beating them. We then went down to nine men against Brackley and predictably lost. I am very worried as I do not think we will hold on to top spot much longer our form needs a dramatic improvement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Southport FC February 2019-20 Two great wins to start of the month to also keep clean sheets in these was fantastic, we looked absolutely incredible in these games and I was very pleased. The game against Hereford was very poor we through everything at them and just could not seem to break them down at all, it was very frustrating. I think it affected our confidence somewhat as in the last three games although we won we did not look sparkling in any of them and we found them a huge struggle, but we did get the wins. Kidderminster really have not let up I would say it will be a two horse race but we are very much needing mistakes to be made by them and we need to win. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Southport FC March 2019-20 Three wins in the month and three very very good wins. The draw is one that I honestly believe that will cost us in the long run, Kidderminster our next up and it will be vital to win Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Southport FC April 2019-20 Gutted is not the word, I dont think I have recorded this many points in the lower leagues and not won the league. We managed to beat Kidderminster and at this stage I thought I would be able to do it especially when they drew there next one to. We dropped points in a very poor game before finishing off the year with a win. We just did not have enough to secure the title. I will now have to pick up the boys and take them into the playoffs hopefully we get promotion as we deserve it. Three wins in the month and three very very good wins. The draw is one that I honestly believe that will cost us in the long run, Kidderminster our next up and it will be vital to win Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Southport FC May 2019-20 So it was to be the playoffs, we played Blyth first they had not lost since February, it was a close game and we were a little lucky to get past them. In the final it would be Altrincham who are a very good side and for a time were up a long side us for a while. We battered them and the promotion we deserved has been sealed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 23, 2020 Author Share Posted August 23, 2020 Southport FC End of Season Well what a fantastic season for us, we had a ridiculous amounts of points but still had to go up through the playoffs but in the end we did secure it. We did nothing in the FA Trophy but I am not too worried about that. In the FA Cup we went through to Rnd 2 before loosing to a League Two side. Finances - Looking fairly poor to be fair but not as bad as they could have been at this stage. Transfers - A lot of new players came in but not all played much, I think we built a very good squad and I think by the end of the year I had learnt how to get the most out of them Key Players Raul Correia - played above himself this year, lost his first team spot a little towards the end but always looked good of the bench and still scored. Jamie Gray - its weird to think I am a little disappointed, he seemed to score a lot at the start of the season but dropped off a little. Still a great season though. Kevan Hurst - a superb player who did excellent this year for me on either wing, I worry I may need to replace him due to his age next year. Next Year I think to be fair we will do well to stay up, that has to be the first aim. I am not sure how well we will match against the others in the league, we did beat one team last year so we could potentially hold our own but a season of survival I would take. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC Pre Season As usual my pre season was more about making money than actually using it as a method to get the boys in shape. Although this pre season was great as we achieved both. Some great results in there should really gave me confidence for going into the next season. We have been given a pre season odds at 7-2 and a predicted finish off 5th which I personally think is a little ambitious even though we have had a good pre season. Transfers The only out was Jack Simpson who did not play too much last season and was going to have even less of a chance this year. Charlie Rowan - Joins on a free from QPR will more than likely play at centre back for me and I think is very good for this level. Conor Stanley - joins from Man Utd a winger I very much like, I think he will be able to play on both sides of the park for me Tyler Garratt - joins on a free from Stockport, I think he is excellent and will be a first teamer for me Kwame Thomas - another striker joining on a free Enock Asante - Tottenham striker who I think is far too good for this level great striker Jack Stobbs - super winger who joins from Sheffield Wednesday fantastic player James Clark - right back in from Chelsea will do a very good job Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC August 2020-21 First up was a game against our big rivals from last year this would be a great gauge as to how our team has come along. We had a fantastic win to start the year. Bromley was up next and they were a tough opposition they are a good side and held us. We lost our next game in a bad way and if I am honest I am not sure why. We finished with three wins and another draw which was not a bad way to finish. We have scored a lot which is normal for us, one thing I am not too pleased with is the amount we are conceding its ridiculous at this stage we need tighten up a lot. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC September 2020-21 A great win to start the month off put us right in contention at the top of the league. Two defeats followed in games that I thought we were the best side and could not believe that we did not win, I just hope that these lost chances dont come back to bite us at the end of the season. We finished off with two very good wins. The win over Wrexham was in particularly excellent as they are near the top as well. It is very tight at the top now I am not thinking about promotion yet I just want to keep in good form and then the table will take care of itself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC October 2020-21 An excellent month this month as we win every game. What was even more impressive was that we are not beating teams in and around us and we are also keeping the odd clean sheet. Sutton, Dover and Solihull Moors are all teams that are near the top of the league and would cause issues. We have got a good gap between us and the teams chasing the play off spots, there seems to be a good battle between the top 3 forming but we will need to keep it going. We also go into the first round of the FA Cup and we have drawn one of the bigger teams in League One Coventry away from home. Jake Askew - joined as a squad keeper, was released by Chelsea he has some potential so will be worth a watch Keith Asare - comes in on loan from Nottingham Forest a decent midfield player who will add some competition and certainly do a job for me at this level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC November 2020-21 Well the cup dream is over for another year we got taken apart and to be honest the score could have been much worse. The League was a little rough this month the game against Oldham was an absolute disgrace we were so much better than them we really should have grabbed at the very least a point. The big win at the end of the month was fantastic and hopefully sets us up well. There has been rumblings of other jobs at this stage, I am not exactly looking but I will listen to offers that come through. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC December 2020-21 It was a very poor start to the month as we dropped points in games that we did not really turn up for. We seemed to offer very little going forward which is very unlike this side and I was a little surprised by it. We soon changed that in the FA Trophy as we got a very good result. Three wins to end the month in the busy festive period kept us in touch with the top two. We will have a job to keep up with those at the top. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC January 2020-21 ] The League this month was awful. I could not get anything rolling in the league we seemed to concede an awful lot I am not sure as to why. We seemed to have now dropped any chances of getting automatically promoted given the amounts of points we would need to catch them. We did manage to go through to the next round of the trophy as well which is always nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC February 2020-21 We began the month by dropping points which was very frustrating as it was to a last gasp goal. We got a very good win after that before loosing to the league leaders. I think that is our title challenge over beyond a doubt now. A win in the league against a team that is also in the playoff spots was a great way to finish the league month. We are not going to get the title but by that same logic we should not really be dropping out of the playoffs. Two good wins in the trophy this month put us into the semis which I think now at this stage and with how the league is I may put a sharper focus on the FA Trophy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC March 2020-21 Not the best start to the month although we did soon turn that round by winning every game that was left. We did very well. I was especially impressed with defensively how well we did, we managed to really cut down on the goals that we concede so that is excellent news. We secured our play off spot, as mentioned we cannot win the league so to tie up a play off spot is great. The aim will be to finish as high as possible so we dont have to play every round of the play offs. In the trophy we got through to the final where we play a good Notts County. Zach Dronfield - came in on loan from Norwich I really like him and think he will be decent at a much higher level. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC April 2020-21 What a fantastic end to the season winning 6 out of 6 and winning them very well. Conceded two and we scored 15 and amazing result for us. Amazingly it sees us go up to 2nd in the league with an astonishing amount of points, that would win the league most years. Wrexham and ourselves did very well. Was is it not for the mistakes mid season we could have actually won the league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC May 2020-21 Great end to the season we managed to beat Halifax in a very close game before over coming a very good Wrexham to get promotion into the League system a long time coming for Southport. We also won the FA Trophy which was not a big aim for us. Get in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Southport FC End of Season A fantastic season where we really pushed all season long for the title but in the end we did not have enough. We did have a bit of a struggle mid way through the season which really put our title chances to bed really. In the end we did it through the play offs. In the cups we went out in the FA Cup to a very good Coventry team. The FA trophy was never on my radar but as we got through the rounds it became more important and we managed to win it to secure my first silverware as a manager. Finances - not looking great and will no doubt go down over the summer Transfers - busy but a lot of loans and the actual permanent signings that came in massively improved the general quality of the squad Key Players Connor Stanley - came into play down the left and was excellent has had interest in him but he will be staying Jack Stobbs - what an absolute brilliant player, has been amazing all year and is maybe our most talented player Charlie Rowan - I should not have favourites but I do. He is my favourite I really like him he is a rock at the back for me Next Year Next year I have to stay up and that is it. We will be outclassed next year so I will be looking to stay in the division. I have also been a man in demand with other jobs, I have not taken any interviews yet but as I said I will listen if the project is right for me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC May 2021-22 Pre Season We had a mix of different friendlies this time round. Some surprising wins that will no doubt help the confidence but plenty of games to help the boys get fit for the season. Denzelle Olopade - comes in on a free from Crystal Palace, I am not sure on him but I think he will be useful on rotation at the very least Michael Agboola - on a free from Wolves not the best but he is just a bit of a beast at the back Stefan Mols - came in from Blackburn he is a bit of a Spanish Technician I really like him Emmanual Sonupe - on a free from Stevenage I actually had him on loan in my first season and loved him so he can come back Keyendrah Simmonds - very decent young forward in from Man City he will improve but I think he is pretty decent already Tim Akinola - free from Huddersfield not sure he will play much but looks like a decent young winger So we are now ready for the season, I am not sure we have an overly better first 11 than last year but I think we certainly have a better squad than last year and sometimes improving the depth of the squad is whats needed. I would take survival this year I am not to fussed about anything else. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC August 2021-22 We did play Yeovil at the end of July which for some reason I have forgotten to include in the screen shot we won 2-1. We carried this on with an amazing win over Leyton Orient where I everything went right for us it seemed everything we touched worked. We lost our next game against a decent Crewe team in a game in that we did not really show up to. Norwich knocked us out of the Cup which we already knew would be a tough task. We won our next four games scoring 3 in each of them so going forward we are superb. We also have won in the prestigious Leasing.com trophy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC September 2021-22 We have really continued our fantastic form into this month. Two straight 3-1 wins to begin the month kept up our good record of scoring 3 a game. We got two more wins in the month and a really poor draw against Aldershot who are struggling this year, in this game I was very much FM'd and should have won by about 8. I have also had an interview with Swansea as I have said I am not actively looking but if a good project comes up I will consider it. I did not get the job though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC October 2021-22 Bolton are a very good team and they showed in the first game of the month by giving us a lesson in a game we did not really turn up to. We did manage to beat Oldham who were excellent last year in the National and much like us have carried that to the league above. Two more wins in the month was great before we hit a little sticky patch getting only 1 point out of 4, I am hoping that this is just a patch and we can come back to form straight away Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 I have been offered a very interesting project with Derby County. I am not sure on it I really do like the idea of it but it will take a lot for me to leave my team as I absolutely love them. I will need some time to think about it. Anyone else have any ideas?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC November 2021-22 Two wins in the League and a defeat was not ideal but its not too bad. We got beat by Burton Albion who are very good team and one that I think will get promotion this year. In the FA Cup we beat Colchester and Crawley in two very close games that see us into the 3rd Rnd where we will face Huddersfield I am not sure if we will get through this but it will certainly be a good game. We still have not yet made a decision on Derby and I am still thinking about it, proper in two minds over it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC December 2021-22 So some of you may think that it is weird that I have stayed but in the end I just could not leave I have really grown attached to the club and the players I have so I have decided to stay. With me not leaving for Derby I really dont know what job could attract me at this stage as I dont think any realistic job opportunity would make me want to leave. So with my new commitment at staying I started against Macclesfield and recorded a great win in which we were very free scoring. We got three more wins in the league and with two clean sheets to boot which is great. We have also gone through to the next round of the Leasing.com trophy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC January 2021-22 The League this month was awful. We got 2 points in the league which is just not good enough for a team that is fighting for promotion. I think with the poor form any dreams of actual titles has gone . We will need to pick this form up much more next month, this happened last season and I really dont know why. We did very well in the cups. We beat Championship Huddersfield to go through to the next round to face Derby it had to be them didn't it. They put us in our place as we got knocked out with ease. In Leasing.com Trophy we have some how managed to get further by beating two League One sides. We will face Liverpool Under 23s next Darren Harper - came in on loan from Birmingham, looks a very capable defender for this level. We actually sold some for money as well this month we got £23,500 for Jamie Gray, I did not want him to leave but he has only played 4 games for me this year and wanted to go, so thank you for your service. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC February 2021-22 Another tough month for us. I thought we had turned the form round with an early win in the month but then we seemed to struggle a lot. We worryingly seem to be conceding goals. We do still seem to be still scoring a reasonable amount. I was hopeful we could have got some more wins this month but we did not. I am hoping we can put some wins together because as things are we may well fall out of the play offs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC March 2021-22 Two wins to start of the month was really needed especially as one of them was against a promotion rival. We then lost to one of the best teams in the League. This was no real surprise as they are so much better than ourselves. We got one win and a loss to end the month. We are now in with a chance of automatic promotion if we keep up the form, we should now be pretty much secured in the playoffs. We have also had another job offer this time at Reading whilst they are a much bigger team than me there is just nothing that particularly that excites me so I will be leaving that one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC April 2021-22 3 wins and 3 very good wins. We dominated them but if I am honest they are some of the poorer teams in the league so should really be expected the two sides we played near the top we struggled and that put pay to any promotion hopes we had. For the third season running its the playoffs for us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC May 2021-22 Doncaster was not really a match for us as our attacking speed battered them annoyingly it was two pens which gave them their goals. We went into the final and we just looked amazing from the off and never looked in danger a 3-1 win seals promotion Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashjm Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 Southport FC End of Season Another season that was amazing. In the League we managed to go up via the playoffs and I think it was deserved as we spent much of the year in the top 3. It was once again a dodgy January and February that caused us issues. But in the end we went up. In the Cups we did well. We went out in the first round of the League Cup. In the FA Cup we got a Championship scalp but then got knocked out by a side who had offered me a job. We also had fun in the Leasing.com trophy but we were knocked out by a superb young side. Finances - looking much better but with my chairman retiring I will wait to see what happens with these Transfers - my first ever signing at the club left and we brought in a lot of good young talent Key Players Keyendrah Simmonds - what an absolute beast of a striker I love him scores a ton and also does a lot more work for the team Jack Stobbs - not as good as last year but has had some injuries when he has played he was brilliant Enock Asante - was only on the bench for me last year but he has improved no end and has become a proper player this year Next Year I am not sure what happens next year as I think that we are way above where we should be. I think survival will be too much for us and we may struggle. I also have noticed a couple of jobs that are on the verge of coming available that I may well want a closer look at. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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