[FM21] Return of the Phoe Nix - Rise of the Raven. FC Isle of Man Youth Save.

[Punch]

Return of the Phoe Nix

 

Phoe Nix has returned, looking for a new challenge.

After the loss of my Notts Co save (which I do hope to get back to at some point), I have been thinking up ideas for a new save.

Having come into FM21 pretty late, I am not that interested in jumping into FM22 yet, and after a lot of reading of other peoples updates here, I started to get inspired.

 

I have always wanted to do a really low league save, a youth save, and a save with the goal scoring goal keeper.

So after reading a lot of threads, like @Jimbokav1971's youth saves, and especially @Jtomsett11's Back the Bulls thread, I got the inspiration to have a go at all of those things, rolled into one.

 

So with my new computer up and running, and solving a few teething issues with getting low level databases into the editor data folder, I started scanning through the lower leagues to find a good fit.

I wanted to go a lower team, but high enough to already be semi-pro, but I wanted something that I found a little unique, and I wanted it to be in the English system.

So after scanning through hundreds of teams in many leagues at multiple levels of the English pyramid, lets see what I found...

[Punch]

Rise of the Raven

 

After scanning through all the different teams, leagues and divisions in the English pyramid, I came up with...

 

 

 

Football Club Isle of Man - otherwise known as FC Isle of Man, or the Ravens.

 

Why the Ravens?

As a newer FM21 player, looking for a new challenge, a brand new club really appealed to me.

FC Isle of Man were formed and ready to take flight in the Northwest Counties Division One South (which sits at Step 6 - Level 10 in the English Pyramid) in 2020, but the nasty C word ruined their season after the Isle of Man was closed to visitors, and anyone leaving the Isle had to quarantine for 14 days on return, making the playing of the season unachievable, so they ended up being suspended for the season.

 

Who are the Ravens?

FC Isle of Man are based in Douglas, Isle of Man.

Isle of Man is a self governing island, of British Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Douglas is the capital and largest city on the Isle, with a population of nearly 30,000 of the Isle's over 80,000 total residents.

The club are affiliated with the Isle of Man Football Association, with the backing of the clubs in the Manx football system.

FC Isle of Man play their home games at The Bowl in Douglas.

The Bowl is a 3,000 all seated capacity, mixed use stadium, with a new style synthetic field.

 

Hoping this will provide us with some good crowd numbers, especially when there is no TT on.

Oh yeah, the bike race that Isle is famous for...

It both starts and finishes in Douglas.

 

Up next...Phoe Nix signs.

Edited November 3, 2021 by Punch

[Punch]

Rise of the Ravens...a new club, a new beginning

 

Meet Phoe Nix

I made my experience club appropriate, so there is still some room to grow, as the club does (hopefully )

 

I've been given a one year deal to get this club off the ground...or crash and burn.

 

The media have high expectation, as do the board.

Hoping this doesn't turn into a one season save

 

Up next...club details and the pre-season

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by Punch

[Hootieleece]

Good Luck! The Raven symbol of Odin....

 

[Punch]

23 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Good Luck! The Raven symbol of Odin....

 

Thanks mate! This should be fun.

[Punch]

Rise of the Ravens

 

Flight of a new club:

 

As expected for a new club, the facilities are pretty basic, although the stadium is in good condition, even though it isn't ours.

 

The finances:

 

 

Well this is interesting, a small amount of cash, and currently spending wages three times the budget.

Looks like I have a challenge straight off the bat.

 

The squad:

 

 

Squad look to have some pretty decent options, although one thing I note is it's very young, I think there are only 2 players over 25, with the most being teenagers.

Looks like a new beginning in every way.

Of course, looking forward to seeing what the goal scoring goal keepers can bring to the club.

 

The flight formation:

 

 

I'm going with a slightly simplified version of the 4-2-4 that I was running in the Notts Co save which has been tuned down for the benefit of lower leagues.

Still plenty of work for the wide midfielders, so will need to keep an eye on their fitness and health.

 

The odds:

 

 

While the board are aiming high, the bookies have us about 6th.

Not sure the board will be happy with that result.

 

Our first attempts at flight:

 

 

Our first matches in the pre-season friendlies have been a real mixed bag.

After being beaten by ourselves, we had both high scoring and low scoring draws, before another loss to Ashton.

We finally seemed to be heading in the right direction with our first ever win over same Division Vauxhall Motors.

Also, impressed by the home crowd support, turning up to see a Step 6 team, Level 10 in the pyramid, with over 200 turning up to the games.

Not brilliant, but a pleasing start, at least the results are heading the right way.

 

Up Next...The test flights are over, it's time to spread our wings

[Ceching You Out]

Love the unique club angle and I’m in love with those kits. Seriously. Looking forward to seeing how you do!

[Punch]

24 minutes ago, Ceching You Out said:

Love the unique club angle and I’m in love with those kits. Seriously. Looking forward to seeing how you do!

Thanks mate! Yeah, those kits look amazing. Should be fun to see how far we can take this club.

[Punch]

Starting attributes review:

 

GKs:

Tremble the clear number 1, Appleton will be the back up available for U23s, and may get the odd game.

Fitzpatrick will be the U18s keeper.

 

Defence:

 

Center:

Diniz will be the main stay in the center of defence, with rotation for the other three

 

Right:

Light on choices at Right Back, both these guys will share the duties.

 

Left:

A few options available here, so might be some rotation. Munro can help out on the right if needed.

 

Midfielders:

 

BWMs:

On attributes alone, Lehmann is the best player in the club, but as we don't use and AM(C), he is actually better as a BWM, so will be retrained as such.

Fitzgerald and Rushton also look capable.

 

APs:

Suarez and McCreadie will share the roll, but all the center midfielders will be interchangeable when required.

 

Attacking Right:

Plenty of options here, and rotation shouldn't be an issue on this side of the pitch, and many of these guys can also help out on the left.

 

Attacking Left:

 

Good options available on this side as well, with help from the right sided guys when needed.

 

Pressing Forwards:

 

Taylor the obvious standout, with plenty of supporting options, and some young kids who might be future prospects.

 

Best XI:

 

A pretty decent looking lineup to get us started, although we could be a little light on the center and left of defence.

Looking forward to seeing what these guys can do.

[Punch]

The Ravens take flight

 

Our first ever League campaign kicks off

 

 

What a start!!!

Beat them all over the park, although we could use a little work in the tackles and headers departments.

A crowd of 552 is massive for this level.

If we can keep those crowds up, should go a way to helping the board keep calm over the wages budget

 

 

Chris Taylor broke a few records, also scored our first hattrick.

 

Up next...Our first month.

[Punch]

AUG 2020

 

 

We got off to a flyer, rattling off 11 goals in winning our first two games.

Then we lost our way a little losing the next two.

Considering the board want us to win the league, we will need to find more consistency to keep them happy.

Impressive crowd numbers though, should help the finances.

 

 

50/50 sees us literally in the middle of the pack. Again, consistency will be the key.

 

Goal Keepers

Our goal scoring goal keeper got off the mark and is 1 from 1.

Although it looks like he drilled it straight at the opposing keeper who parried it into the net

 

Defence

 

Midfield

 

Forwards

 

 

A few records were broken, but being our first ever games, I am guessing these will happen regularly.

 

The finances are looking a bit better, and the home crowd numbers are definitely going to be needed to help in that regard.

 

Up next...can we find the consistency, or will the wobbles continue. And our FA Vase campaign kicks off.

Edited November 4, 2021 by Punch

[Punch]

SEP 2020

 

 

A lot of away games this month, and we also got lumped with some pre-arranged friendlies, which I sent out the rotated squads to get some running in their legs.

As far as the league went, there were only two games, and we managed to win them both.

We also won both our cup games, making our debut in the FA Vase in qualifying round, and the NW Counties Division one cup.

Seems there is also a NW Counties Cup which also includes the NWC Premier Division teams.

Hoping to put in some good cup performances to help the finances.

 

Just the two league games but we have risen up the table, those around us seem to have struggled.

Looks like this might be a fairly tight competition at the top.

 

Goal Keepers

Still just the one League goal for our goal scoring keepers, however back up keeper Appleton got on the scoresheet in one of the friendlies.

Does like a strut after scoring as well

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

A few more players getting game time this month with cups and friendlies requiring some rotation.

Probably too early to read too much into the numbers yet though.

 

 

We've suffered our first player lost to injury, and it was in training, not a game.

Charlie hadn't yet played, so it's not going to have much of an impact yet.

 

 

We also got out first suspension for accumulation of yellow cards.

I actually had to go and check the game stats for this, as it occurred after our 5th game...Nico had been yellow carded in every game

He got fined, but I was secretly kind of impressed. Surely that sets some kind of record for a brand new club.

 

 

A lot of away games this month means the finances took a hit.

The home games just about covered player wages, but the other expenses, especially travel will bite us hard.

Those home crowds are going to to be so important to keeping us out of the red.

I've also noticed that we had a lot of 16 year olds on 5 dollar contracts, being automatically upgraded to 20 as they turn 17, which is pushing the wage cost even higher.

 

 

Two months into the season the board have decided to remind, politely of course, of their expectations.

Still expecting to win the League, and expecting the Final of the First Division cup...no pressure then.

Apparently I didn't get a shot but we also sold 70 season tickets, which is pretty impressive as some of our opponents are not even getting that many to a game.

 

Up next...can we build on a positive month and continue our push up the table? The cups continue, and plenty of home games to hopefully help the finances.

Edited November 4, 2021 by Punch

[Punch]

OCT 2020

 

 

An impressive three from three in the league this month, and we also qualified for the FA Vase proper, then went on to win the first round there too, even if it was in extra time.

A big win in the NW Counties Division One Cup rounded out a perfect month.

We are scoring plenty, but conceding a few too many for my liking.

 

 

We have put together 5 straight wins in the league, stretching back to last month.

 

 

Records are meant to be broken, and as we are a new club, we again continue to rattle off these little milestones.

 

 

Our perfect month and winning run in the League have jumped us up to second on the ladder.

We seem to be able to convert a lot of games into wins, where a lot of the teams around us are having a lot of draws.

Those extra points may come in handy at the back end of what is looking to be a very close season at the top end.

Two months in and there are still two teams who haven't won a game at the other end of the equation.

 

Goal Keepers

 

Tremble is doing a solid job, even though I'd like to concede less goals, they are not all his fault. He has some saved a few penalties as well.

Appleton made his debut in the high scoring Cup game against Congleton Town, putting in a decent shift. He may yet get some more game time through the season.

 

Goal scoring Goal keepers

 

 

Tremble made it 2 from 2, and then 3 from 3 from the penalty spot this month.

Almost identical spots, at least he didn't drill them straight at the opposing keeper these times.

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

A few more players have seen game time again this month, with plenty of numbers to like all around the park.

Will be starting to pay more attention to these stats over the next few months, and might have to see if any of the spread sheet gurus have any analysis sheets to make the data easier to read.

 

 

What a difference a few more home games make to the finances.

I expect this to be up and down depending on the number of home/away games each month, but getting 400-500 people at home games is going to make a huge difference going forward.

 

 

Up next...another busy month in the league and cups. Can we continue to soar?

Edited November 4, 2021 by Punch

[Punch]

NOV 2020

 

 

An up and down month as we went 3-2 in the League, but did win both our Cup games, one each in the Combined Leagues, and Division 1.

We are still scoring plenty, but also conceding them as well, with zero clean sheets this month.

 

 

The loss to Stone ended a 5 match win streak.

 

 

Even with the up and down month, we've jumped to first in the League, as some of our rivals at the top have also suffered through some patchy form.

 

 

The game against Sandbach gave us our first top of the table clash which we managed to turn into a fairly convincing win, although we did lose Davidson for two weeks from the match.

 

 

We also lost a few other players to long term injuries.

 

 

We had a new record for for the 1st Division Cup youngest scorer.

 

GKs

 

Another good month for the Keepers, despite conceding too many, they are still performing well.

Tremble is now 5 from 5 from the spot, and young Appleton got his first League game, and managed to make it a scoring debut, converting his first League penalty.

 

Defence

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

 

Another decent month financially, those home games are just tremendous.

 

Another busy month coming up.

[Punch]

OCT Goal Scoring Goal Keepers:

Tremble made it 4 from 4 from the spot in the League.

 

He then made it 5 from 5 in the next game with his first Cup goal.

 

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by Punch

[Punch]

OCT Goal Scoring Goal Keepers continued:

Young back up keeper Appleton made his League debut, and made it a memorable one by converting his opportunity from the spot.

Just like his goal in the early Friendly, he still loves a strut after scoring

 

Up next...the run to Christmas

Edited November 4, 2021 by Punch

[Punch]

DEC 2020

 

A busy month, and a perfect record spoiled by giving up two late goal, which did however result in our first ever League Draw.

We are still scoring plenty, and even managed two clean sheets this month.

 

 

This was stretched to 7 in a row before the Abbey Hey Draw.

 

We've held onto top spot, and even extended the lead a little. Getting wins over draws has been a huge help.

We are scoring a lot of goals, but conceding too many.

 

FA Vase action seen us take on Premier Division team Coventry Utd, which resulted in a comfortable come from behind win.

Our efforts will bring us up against another Premier Division team in the Fourth round.

 

We broke the Division winning run record.

We also set a team unbeaten record.

 

GKs

A massive month for Tremble this month. More on his goal scoring exploits in the next post...it's worth it's own.

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

 

 

Home games and good Cup form continue to be good for the finances.

 

Another busy month in January, in both the League and the various Cups.

 

Up next...goal scoring goal keeper update

[Punch]

DEC - Goal scoring goal keeper update

 

 

Tremble has had a huge month banging in 6 goals in all competitions, including his first and second from Free Kicks.

 

Second Cup goal.

Followed by his third Cup goal.

[Punch]

 

Goal scoring goal keeper updated - continued:

5th League goal

Followed by his first free kick goal.

 

A big thanks to @Jimbokav1971 for his suggestions, which made an immediate impact.

A few more tweaks to the tactics, per your suggestions might see a few more of these.

[Punch]

Goal scoring goal keeper update - continued:

 

 

Tremble had a massive cup game, netting his first brace, making 5 saves, 3 interceptions, and keeping a clean sheet.

 

First goal, scoring his second from a free kick situation.

 

[Punch]

Second of the match scored from the spot, keeping his record at a perfect 9 from 9 in all competitions.

 

Now up to 11 goals midway through the season.

 

I have now made some further twaeks to the tactics, thanks to @Jimbokav1971's suggestions, and hope to see him curling in a few more free kicks.

 

Up next...The after Christmas hangover? Or setting up the run to the line?

[Punch]

 

Youth Intake Preview

 

 

A striker and a center back, and no positional shortages.

Will be interested to see what our first intake will turn up when they arrive.

[Punch]

 

Mid-season attributes review

 

I like to take a look mid season at player attributes and see where players have increased / declined, and check to see if my Best XI has changed.

 

GKs

Not much surprise here, Tremble easily our number 1, showing slight improvement, while the U23 and U18 GKs have remained stable.

 

Defence

Centre

Diniz has shown impressive growth while Sebastian has overtaken Zeverona as our number 2 CB.

Positive growth from all players in this area.

 

Right

Positive result for both players, who have been sharing time at RB, with Duncan now becoming the clear number 1, with impressive growth.

 

Left

Miyazaki has pushed up into the 40's, while Chang-Hyun has show the biggest improvement and may soon be pushing for more game time.

Pleasing to see growth from all players.

 

Midfield

Centre

BWMs

Lehmann is still the best player at the club and has been performing well in the centre, while Fitzgerald will be pushing for time, when he isn't injured.

 

APs

Both players sharing time in the middle, very little between them, McCreadie closing the gap.

 

Attacking Right

Sulek has been the main performer on this side, showing progress.

Slight improvements from the younger kids is always pleasing.

 

Attacking Left

Not much to report here, although Wilton is a concern. Has spent a lot of time injured, so that may be showing up here.

 

Forwards

Taylor has been a beast up front, and becomes only our second 50's rated player.

Small progress among the others, although Liam Hay has been pushing for more playing time, and putting in some impressive performances off the bench.

 

Best XI

Not a huge amount of change with some slight increases, and now having to 50 rated players.

 

Up next...back to the after Christmas run.

[Punch]

JAN 2021

 

4-1 in the League this month, while there were a few high scoring games, we also managed some clean sheets. The less said about the Vauxhall game the better. They smashed us.

3-0 in the cups, with decent crowds keeps the finances healthy.

 

We stretched our winning run to 9 before the Vauxhall game.

 

We are holding onto our position at the top of the table, but with only three points between the next four teams, it could be a tight finish.

 

Goalkeepers

After a huge month last month, just the one goal for Tremble in January.

I think the pens faced/saved numbers must be reversed. Not sure how he has saved 10 pens when he has only faced 6...

But even saving 6 from 10 is still impressive.

Goal scoring goal keepers

Tremble scored a 4th Cup goal this month, maintaining his perfect record from the spot.

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

Good Cup runs, and big home crowds having a positive effect on the bank balance.

 

Up next...the title race starts to heat up, and the Cups head towards the business end.

[Punch]

FEB 2021

 

A tough start to the month with a first up League loss, and our FA Vase run coming to an end in back to back games.

We consolidated our League position with back to back wins and a draw before running riot over New Mills in the D1 Cup.

 

We continue to hold a 6 point gap at the top, with 8 games to play.

Still going to be a tight run thing among the next 4 teams.

 

Goalkeepers

Another goal to the tally for Tremble this month, and he has a few more clean sheets as well.

Tremble scoring his 5th Cup goal, making it 11 from 11 from the spot for the season so far.

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

Another good month financially, although there is one less cup now.

Will be interesting to see how it pans out for the rest of the season.

 

Records are made to be broken, but this one is going to take some beating.

 

A bumper crowd for Fan Day sets a record attendance.

 

Up next...the title race, NWC Combined semi final, and our first Youth Intake.

[Punch]

 

2021 Youth Intake

 

 

Looks a pretty decent first intake, some of these kids won't be far off steeping straight into the first team squad.

Attributes wise, Powell becomes the highest rated player in the club.

 

These are the top 6, 4 of which are Isle of Man natives.

 

These kids put our current 18s squad to the sword in the trial game.

All have been signed.

[Guest]

That's not a bad looking lot as far as potential goes.  Very young but some bright spots there.  Good luck.

[Punch]

3 hours ago, CallMeRichieB said:

That's not a bad looking lot as far as potential goes.  Very young but some bright spots there.  Good luck.

Be interesting to see how they develop, as there are some with high potential but low current ability. Have to get some work into them to get those currents up 

[Punch]

MAR 2021

An unbeaten March dropping only two points in the League.

Plenty of goals scored, still too many conceded, with only the one clean sheet.

 

We're off to the big dance in the NWC Combined League Cup after outlasting Division rival Camell Laird.

For our efforts we've been given hosting rights for the Final, against a Premier Division team, so will be a tough battle.

 

The title isn't yet won, but promotion has been achieved.

 

With promotion achieved we are within touching distance of our first trophy, but those pesky Vauxhall boys just won't go away.

 

Fans and Board happy that promotion has been achieved.

Board want promotion by winning the title, so the job is not quite done yet.

 

In good news, with the Board giving us a boost to the wage budget, I am no longer over budget.

This had gotten even worse with the addition of the Youth Intake, and the resigning of some of the better players, I was nearly 1K a week over the original budget.

 

The finances continued to improve slightly this month.

With the increase to the wage budget, the crowd support will continue to be very important.

 

Up next...the March player performances.

[Punch]

MAR 2021 Player stats

 

Goalkeepers

Tremble score his 7th League goal, 12th Penalty, and 14th overall goal.

Tremble scores 8th League goal, 13th Penalty, and 15th goal over all.

Still a perfect 13 from 13 from the penalty spot in all competitions.

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

Up next...the League title to be decided, and there are still two League Cups in play.

[Hootieleece]

Are you doing a "My Big Fat GK" scores challenge?

 

Hopefully you win the treble!

 

[Punch]

17 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Are you doing a "My Big Fat GK" scores challenge?

 

Hopefully you win the treble!

 

I loved the idea of the goal scoring GK in other threads, so borrowed it for this save. Has been fun to watch and report on it.

 

Three trophies in our first season would be something special, and a huge achievement, but also a big ask. Here's to hoping.

[abulezz]

I really like the looks of both Barbar and Potts - if they develop right they could be big boosts for the team in the lower leagues. 

[Punch]

4 minutes ago, abulezz said:

I really like the looks of both Barbar and Potts - if they develop right they could be big boosts for the team in the lower leagues. 

Yes, very keen to see how they all develop, especially being our first group of academy kids coming though.

[Punch]

APR 2021

 

The month started with us making our second cup final after beating Alsager on penalties.

The draw against Cheadle, and Vauxhall failing to win secured us the title with two games to spare.

I played the kids in the last two games to see what they were capable of, and the signs are promising.

 

We beat Vauxhall to the title by 5 points after the rest of the challengers fell away in the end.

Vauxhall have been promoted with us though.

 

It's Trophy season, and the club secured it's first title by winning the League, which was an expectation of the board.

 

As a result of winning the title, the board immediately summoned me to a meeting about a new contract, which I of course agreed to.

 

I re-signed at the same pay, but for two more years.

 

Powell appeared in the semi final, and in doing so became ours, and the competitions youngest ever player.

 

After securing the League title, I let the kids play in the final two games.

They broke the club, and League youngest player, and youngest scoring records.

 

Miyazaki will miss the first of our two cup finals after picking up a three match ban for accumulating 20 yellow cards.

This equates to about 1 every second game over the season

He served two games of the suspension in the last two League games, so will be available for the second cup final.

 

Up next...the April player stats.

[Punch]

APR 2021 - Continued

 

Goalkeepers

No further goals for Tremble to end the League season, but Jordan Jack made his debut and then nailed his first opportunity from the spot

Our keepers are a combined 15 from 15 from the spot for the season, with Tremble contributing 2 further free kicks.

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

Up next...Trophy season continues. First up the, the Division 1 League Cup, followed by the NWC Combined Leagues Cup just three days later.

Edited November 6, 2021 by Punch

[Punch]

MAY 2021 - North West Counties First Division League Cup Preview

 

 

The bookies have Bury AFC as favorites.

With two new clubs looking for trophies, it should be an exciting game.

We have the advantage of home ground.

[Punch]

MAY 2021 - Northwest Counties First Division League Cup

 

 

An amazing game where we took the lead in first half injury time, only to give up two late goals and looking like we were going down.

Up steps Allen to score a cracker in injury time to break their hearts.

We then took an early lead in injury time, only to give it up 10 minutes later.

We managed to hold our nerve, and lift the trophy after winning the penalty shootout.

An impressive 2,600 crowd helped us celebrate long into the night.

 

Next day we are back to the training ground, there is still one more trophy on the line.

Up Next...NWC Combined League Cup Final

[Punch]

May 2021 - North West Counties Combined League Cup preview

 

The bookies have us as outsiders again, although not by as much as the First Division Final.

Will be tough to back up again after only two days rest.

 

After picking up a card in the First Division League Cup final, we lose McCreadie for the second Cup final, however, we get Diyazaki back.

 

Up next...trophy season continues, with our second cup final.

[Punch]

May 2021 - North West Counties Combined League Cup Final

 

 

Our second cup final in 4 days turned out to be another heart stopper.

I a hard fought game, we scored on the stroke of half time, before they pulled out an injury time equaliser to send it to extra time.

We scored again just on extra time half time, before holding it together for the last 15 minutes.

We got to lift our second League Cup Trophy in front of out home fans in the space of four days, although a bit smaller crowd on a Tuesday.

Still amazing to see 1,800 plus at The Bowl.

Celebrations long into the night after the completion of an amazing first season.

 

Up next...end of season reviews.

[Punch]

2020-2021 Season Review

 

 

There's a lot to unpack here, but for our first season, while we seem to have performed above expectations, in reality, we have achieved what the board wanted, earn promotion by winning the League.

The Cup successes was a bonus, which, along with our brilliant crowd support, certainly helped us to also be profitable in our first year.

We are a young club, with a lot of young players, our oldest player being just 29, but a lot of teenagers in the squad. Will be interesting to see if this serves us well down the line, of hurts us when they improve and start wanting more money.

Our first Youth Intake seems a success, with quite a few of them already being involved in Cup and League games, and some of them looking right at home in the Senior squad.

After such a successful first season, it will be interesting to see if we can maintain the rage, or if we will come back to the pack in a higher division.

 

Up next...player stats.

[Punch]

2020-2021 Season Review continued - Player Stats

 

Goal Keepers

 

A solid season at the back for our keepers, although we probably concede too many goals, I believe this will improve as our defensive unit improves.

Tremble is the clear number 1, and also contributed an impressive 15 goals, going 13 from 13 from the penalty spot. This made him our third highest goal scorer for the season.

Plenty to like about this group so far.

 

Defenders

Diniz loves a header, Munro is a tackling and intercept machine, with solid contributions all around.

Plenty to like from the defensive unit, and if they can tighten it up next season, and help cut down the goals conceded, this team is going to be a handful in the new division.

 

Midfielders

I tend to ask a lot of my midfielders, and they have not disappointed this season.

Davidson turned into the surprise packet, not rating as our best AMR, his performances were immense.

Certainly a lot to like here, looking forward to seeing how they go next season against better opposition.

 

Forwards

While Allen started as first choice, Slater forced his way into the line up and ended up equal leading scorer.

Taylor was just brilliant for a 17 year old. Hoping he can back it up again next season.

Hay played a lot of minutes off the bench, and performed the role brilliantly. He is ready to go if any of the others slip.

Not a huge amount of opportunity for the others, but their time will come.

 

Hoping to get my hand on an analysis spread sheet so I can dive a bit deeper into these details.

 

Up next...end of season attributes review.

 

[Punch]

Season 2020-2021 Review continued - Player attribute reviews

 

Goalkeepers

No surprise to see Tremble as our number 1.

Appleton & Fitzpatrick showing progress, and academy prospect Jack still there abouts.

 

Defence

Right

Big improvement for Duncan who is easily number one on the right.

 

Center

Again a clear number 1 in Diniz, while the others are showing mixed signs of improvement.

 

Left

Miyazaki easily number 1 on the left, while Chang-Hyun has shown pleasing progress.

 

Midfield

Center

BWMs

Lehmann has been our number one here, but Powell is looking good and shown he can handle first team football in his few opportunities at the back end of the season.

 

APs

Suarez is the number 1, but all three are capable when required to fill in.

 

Attacking Right

Sulek was clear number 1 but found himself pushed to the left side, due to Davidson who's form demanded the starting role.

Plenty of rotation in this position so always good to see plenty of options available.

 

Attacking Left

With Sulek playing mostly on the left Mcrobert played back up, and didn't get a lot of opportunities.

Still a few good options if required here.

 

Forwards

Taylor has been the surprise packet and leads the front line, which is impressive for a 17 year old.

Allen has shown a big improvement, but has found himself coming off the bench a lot due to the form of Slater, and the partnership with Taylor.

Hay has also been a big improver, getting more minutes as the season went on.

Plenty to like about the options up front.

 

Best XI

Quite a bit of improvement in the Best XI, and plenty to be positive about going into a new season in a higher division.

One thing I did notice was that a lot of the Academy prospects went backwards in the last half of the season, and this may have been my fault, as for most of the season there was no Manager/Coaches in the U18's and I forgot to add them to the First Team in the mean time.

However, late in the season I employed a Manager, and since then have found an Assistant and a coach in the 18's team, so this should help sort that out going forward.

 

Up next...after a special first season for the club, what can we achieve after being promoted?

[Punch]

2021-2022 Pre-season

 

The Board are not expecting much from us this season, fight against relegation in the League, be competitive in all the Cups.

We get a run in the FA Cup as well this season, so there are plenty of cups to squeeze around the season.

 

The Northern League fixtures were released, we start away, but get three of the first five at home.

 

The Bookies are not fans and have us massive favourites to be relegated.

There is some extra motivation.

 

Transfers

 

We sent a few kids out on loan, who had not featured a lot to see if they can get some more game time.

The last one I was happy to be gone for a while...

He was upset that he hadn't been sent out on loan, two weeks after signing his new contract...

His attitude was bad, he didn't want to train, so maybe a change of scenery will do him good...but at least he is not my problem for a while.

 

Facilities

 

Easy report, no changes.

I have hit the Board up a couple of times to improve Youth Recruitment, but they are having none of it.

There is a report that the Chairman wants to step down soon, so I may have better luck with his replacement.

 

Finances

Gate receipts and match day income are our lifeblood at the moment. The crowd support for this club has been amazing, and long may it continue.

A transfer budget that we won't use, but at least we are now well under the wage budget, after being so far over for most of last season.

We are actually spending less for most of the same players as a lot of them accepted less money for a 2 year contract.

 

Friendlies

 

A pretty solid pre-season, FC United are several division above us, and we lead Ashton Town 3-1 before collapsing late.

Plenty of goals shared around, and a lot of players got game time to get some running in their legs

 

 

Up next...Up! Up! Ravens! Season 2 takes flight.

[Punch]

AUG 2021

 

Our season kicked off in fine form, making a mockery of the Bookies predictions.

Some tough fought out games though, We were down 0-3 against Shildon before 4 late goals got us a debut win.

 

 

It was a real mixed bag in the first game. We ended up scoring the winning goal a man down.

 

Our first loss

Our first loss of the season against the Bedlington Terriers...great emblem, poor result for us.

Also ended a long standing unbeaten home record.

 

A great start to the season has us up at the pointy end. Still a long way to go.

 

FA Cup

We are making our FA Cup debut, albeit in the Extra Preliminary Qualifying round.

We were drawn at home against division rival Consett.

 

We outplayed them to win our first FA Cup game, but after smashing the wood work 3 times, this score could have ended up anything.

But on another day, it's a game we could have lost.

A good crowd of 1,400 in at The Bowl to support us as well.

We'' take the win, the 1K prize money, and the solid gate and move on.

 

The next round seen us drawn against a Premier Division team, so should be a much tougher challenge.

 

A boost to season tickets, and a pretty solid gate takings for the first month have seen the finances make a good start to the season as well.

 

Up Next...the players.

 

Edited November 8, 2021 by Punch

[Punch]

AUG 2021 continued - Player Stats

 

Goalkeepers

No goals for Tremble this month, but he did start with 3 clean sheets in 6 games, so I will take that positive.

 

Defenders

 

Midfield

 

Forwards

Goals and assists being shared around at the moment.

 

Up next...A quiet month in the League, might have to put a friendly in there somewhere for the lesser used players, while our FA Cup campaign continues.

[Punch]

SEP 2021 - FA Cup Preliminary Round

 

In a stunning result we took down Bemerton Heath 3-0 in front of 1,400 fans at The Bowl.

We have our defence to thanks as much as anything as it was a pretty even game, but they kept turning their attack away, and we took our chances.

 

The prize money isn't huge, but the 16K gate takings will be a big benefit.

 

We've been drawn at home again to another Premier Division team, later in September.

 

Up next...September continues

[Punch]

SEP - FA Cup First Qualifying Round

 

In another stunning upset, we knocked over Premier Division team Boldmere St Michaels.

A tough match but I think we were probably just the better team.

 

A small prize money, but another 16K gate does wonders for the bank balance.

 

This looks to be a pretty tough road trip, but a challenge we look forward to taking on.

 

We also found out our FA Vase opponent. Also looks to be another tough match up.

[Punch]

SEP 2021

With our FA Cup antics, it turned out to be a pretty quiet month in the League.

We went 3-1 this month. The loss to Thornaby could be blamed on FA Cup hangover, but in reality, it was just bad all round.

Still conceding too many goals for my liking, not enough clean sheets, but I guess we are getting wins, so that is important at this stage.

Impressive home crowd  numbers as well, which look to be up by 150-200 on last year.

 

We've jumped to the top of the table, although it's still very early, and very close, but pleasing to be racking up points and staying away from the relegation area.

 

Goalkeepers

One more clean sheet for this month for Tremble, but no goals at this point.

We've not yet received a single penalty in any competition. Although we've also not conceded one. Apparently the Ref's in this division like keeping their whistle in their pocket in the penalty area.

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

Probably too early to read too much into the stats yet, but the usual suspects are doing what they do.

Good to see a few of last years Youth Intake getting a few opportunities.

There will probably be a few more coming soon, due to some of their development and performances in the 18's team.

 

The home cup games have made a massive difference to our finances.

We made a profit of about 60K last season, we've made two-thirds of that in two home cup games this month.

 

While there was no interview or offer, this was the first time in this save that I had been linked with another job.

While this will be a one team save, I will be keeping track of interviews/offers as they come in, like I have seen others do.

 

Up next...another quiet month in the League, but our FA Cup journey continues, and we begin our FA Vase campaign in the second qualifying round.

[Hootieleece]

Your team can score, but seems to have trouble keeping them out of your own net as well.

You are leading the league and are you worried?