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

[Punch]

APR 2032 - Match Day 43 - At Crewe Alexandra FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A brilliant hat-trick to Pat Millington, and another clean sheet John Hodgson book-ended a brilliant all-round performance as we took down The Railwaymen in their own house.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

With three games to play all the promotion and relegation positions are still up for grabs.

 

 

Up next...13th place Burton travel to The Bowl

[Punch]

APR 2032

 

 

With our last win falls a 60 year old League One record as we break the single season wins record.

 

 

Aston Villa's record had stood since 1972.

[Punch]

APR 2032

 

Two more pieces of The Championship puzzle have fallen into place

 

 

 

After thinking we could possibly lose all four loan players, we are going to end up only losing one, as Bonner and Henry have agreed to stay on loan for another season.

[Punch]

APR 2032 - Match Day 44 - Vs Burton Albion

 

Match Report

Spoiler

Another devastating performance as we put 5 passed Burton on our way to our 11th game unbeaten.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

None of the other positions have been confirmed with only two matches to play, but after being in such a strong position two months ago, Charlton's collapse continues as they have dropped out of the automatic promotion spot, and are not even yet assured of a play off spot.

 

Up next...our final away game of the season as we travel to Exeter.

[Punch]

APR 2032

 

Our record breaking season continues

 

 

QPR's 70 year old record falls as our goal scoring ways continue.

 

 

[Blarney]

You use your loans very well.  I guess I've just never really looked at loans as being a positive thing depending on the status of the club.  Especially as a smaller club or lower level I've always believed that it's best to use and train your own players rather than some other clubs.  Although it can certainly be a "cheap" way to grab better talent and help you win.

[Punch]

2 hours ago, Blarney said:

You use your loans very well.  I guess I've just never really looked at loans as being a positive thing depending on the status of the club.  Especially as a smaller club or lower level I've always believed that it's best to use and train your own players rather than some other clubs.  Although it can certainly be a "cheap" way to grab better talent and help you win.

These were players we sold to higher level clubs, that we put a loan back clause in the sale contract, and they pay the wages.

Sometimes they let you keep them for longer, sometimes they don’t, sometimes they want you to pay to extend the loan.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Punch

[Sonic Youth]

2 hours ago, Blarney said:

You use your loans very well.  I guess I've just never really looked at loans as being a positive thing depending on the status of the club.  Especially as a smaller club or lower level I've always believed that it's best to use and train your own players rather than some other clubs.  Although it can certainly be a "cheap" way to grab better talent and help you win.

The thing with this story is that it is youth only, and only Isle of Man players can be used. It’s not about getting cheap talent in this case, but homegrown talent. In this case, the clubs were happy to agree to the loan and the players agreed to the extension of the loan deal. Well, all but one (who still might decide later to come back).

[Punch]

29 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

The thing with this story is that it is youth only, and only Isle of Man players can be used. It’s not about getting cheap talent in this case, but homegrown talent. In this case, the clubs were happy to agree to the loan and the players agreed to the extension of the loan deal. Well, all but one (who still might decide later to come back).

Petrosino is one that I will be keeping an eye on to see how he develops, and if/when we make the Premier League, see if he has developed enough, and if he would be willing to come back.

Provided of course he hasn’t turned into a mega star and would break us to try and buy him back 

 

[Punch]

APR 2032 - Match Day 45 - At Exeter City FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

 

Exeter gave us a good fight, and it took a late Hodgson penalty to secure victory.

 

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Charlton claimed second spot back, and qualified for at least the play offs in the process, while Southend and Wimbledon also qualified for play offs at worst.

Tranmere are the first team relegated, while it will be down to the final day to decide the automatic promotion spot, play off spots, and the three remaining relegation spots.

 

 

Up next...we get to celebrate a title winning season at The Bowl, with Oxford traveling to the Isle for the final match of the season.

[Punch]

APR 2032

As the season winds down, the number of games has eased. The month started with a massive celebration as we took out the Pizza Cup, and then followed it up with 3 straight League wins, conceding only 1 goal.

 

The analyst is happy, defence good, attack good, xG smashed.

 

The three long standing League One records have now been broken, and the collapse of Charlton means we will win the title by a massive distance.

 

Pat Millington took out the Young player of the Month, John Hodgson came in third.

 

Our unbeaten month took me to another Manager of the Month award.

 

John Hodgson continued his perfect record for the season.

 

Just one game remaining in a massive season, and we get to celebrate at home with the fans.

[Sonic Youth]

Just goes to show that Isle of Man were too good for the league this season. Got some nice loot and neat records collected upon clearing this level 

I think you would have easily survived in the Championship this season as well, knock knock knocking on the playoffs door 

[Punch]

MAY 2032 - Match Day 46 - Vs Oxford United

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We make a winning end to an amazing season, dominating Oxford, and it was all over by half time.

We turned off the jets and turned on the party mode in the second half as we were able to soak in the celebratory atmosphere of the full house at The Bowl.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

We take the title by 32 points, as Charlton finally managed to wrap up automatic promotion.

Plymouth snuck into the play offs, jumping Huddersfield at the last moment, while at the other end, Wycombe and Scunthorpe jumped Crewe to safety.

 

 

 

So ends one of our best seasons yet, as we will now make the huge leap to The Championship. Reviews incoming.

[Punch]

23 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

Just goes to show that Isle of Man were too good for the league this season. Got some nice loot and neat records collected upon clearing this level 

I think you would have easily survived in the Championship this season as well, knock knock knocking on the playoffs door 

It will be a massive step up. If the kids keep developing and we have some luck, we should go OK staying there.

[Punch]

MAY 2032

 

 

Wonder how long it will take the Board to let me spend it

[Punch]

MAY 2032

 

Well this is interesting, the Board expects me to work within wage budget, which should be no problem.

The Board have plans to build a new stadium. This is the first time this has been brought up, but I am really excited by the prospect as we have never really had our own home, The Bowl, while it has been brilliant for us, is a council owned, mixed use ground. Will be very interesting to see what kind of plans the Board come up with for a new nest for The Ravens.

Then the really interesting one, the Board is expecting a top half finish in our first Championship season. This should be interesting.

[Punch]

MAY 2032

 

A new nest for The Ravens?

 

The next day this notification arrived, and while it literally tells us nothing, other than they are looking, it's exciting to think about the prospect of having a new home, for the club to call our own.

[Punch]

May 2032

 

We have upgraded our Youth Rating, and there will be a big cost associated with running it.

Just as well we have plenty of cash in the bank at the moment.

[Punch]

MAY 2032 - FA Youth Cup

 

In a stunning performance, our Under 18s have cause a boil over by beating Arsenal U18s to lift the FA Youth Cup for the third consecutive time.

Young forward Gary Gowdy is certainly showing he knows his way to goal.

 

Our name etched into history for the third consecutive season.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Punch

[Punch]

MAY 2032 - FA Cup Review

 

West Ham belted Liverpool to take out the FA Cup.

We were knocked out by Aston Villa in the 4th Round.

[Punch]

MAY 2032

 

Certainly a bit better than the 27k for winning the League

[Punch]

2031-2032 Season Review

 

[Punch]

2031-2032 Season Review

 

 

Marco Petrosino has shown this season what a loss he will be for us next season. But his performances have been instrumental in launching us into the Championship.

Young keeper John Hodgson has had a spectacular debut year, even breaking Jordan Jacks record number of clean sheets in a season.

 

Jordan Williams extended his all time goal scoring record. We are going to need a lot more form him next season with Petrosino gone.

[Punch]

2031-2032 Season Review

 

Best XI - All Time

 

Best XI - Season

 

Best XI - Where are they now?

 

Best XI - Where are they now? Team of 2022

[Punch]

2031-2032 Season Review

 

A record breaking season

 

[Punch]

JUN 2032

 

A reminder from the Board that they want a top half finish this season. Nothing like raising expectations for your first run at the Championship.

They also want to see us in the 4th Round of the FA Cup, and the 3rd Round of the League Cup.

 

Nothing like a bit of pressure then.

[Punch]

JUN 2032

 

There has not been a lot of progress this off season as I have spent most of it getting bogged down in upgrading contracts and fending off transfer offers, for players that I don't want to sell.

 

Transfers

 

So far the most interest is in Pat Millington, and Wes Heys. Both of these are going to be a huge part of the squad this season, especially with Marco Petrosino going back to West Ham to push for a Premier League spot. Millington and Heys are, along with Jordan Williams, going to be a massive part of our front three rotation. The fact that both can also play in midfield, or on the wing is also a massive bonus.

The good news is Heys, even though I am getting offers pushing 10 million, seems happy to stay at the club, and hasn't been upset by me turning down offers from Premier League clubs, he also recently signed a new 5 year deal. So I am fairly confident of keeping him.

Millington is a different story. Offers are pushing 15 million, which would double our highest ever transfer fee received, and he seems interested in talking to everyone. I have put my foot down and told him he's not going anywhere, and he needs to concentrate on playing football, as he is not going anywhere soon. He took this better than expected, and accepted that he wasn't going anywhere. It doesn't seem to have affected his happiness, and the following week he showed up on my list of best trainers. He only has a year left on his contract, but we have a three year option. If he won't sign a new deal, I will activate that option.

The Board have not yet made any interventions in this regard, and I am hoping they won't given that we have plenty of money in the bank. But that could change if they have to shell out cash for a new stadium, and we end up with loan repayments. That on top of our expenses for the newly upgraded Youth Rating, may start getting them interested in big money offers.

Those have been the biggest ones transfer wise that have kept me busy, while there have been a few minor ones going on, which I am answering based on my thoughts on their chances of contributing to helping us reach top half of the Championship, and dealing with each on merit. I will post further details soon.

 

Contract Upgrades

 

I am quickly developing a distaste for the attitude and demands of player agents. Some of them are quite pleasant to deal with, but some are just completely unrealistic with their demands.

I have no issue with rewarding players who have made an impact in helping us rise through the ranks, and even paying them a Championship level wage. We have had some players who were still carrying League Two contracts, and there were even some left over from the end of our time in the National League, which is one of the reasons we had been able to keep our wage costs down.

So far this off season I have nearly doubled the amount we are spending on our wages, bringing our total wage bill currently to just shy of 2.5 million a season. The closest to us is nearly 8 million, while there are clubs at the top end spending 40, 50, and Derby, just relegated from the Premier League are at nearly 70 million a year.

I have developed the tactic that for agents that annoy me, when I increase the offer for their player, I massively reduce the agent fee, simply for wasting my time. Usually after 2-3 times of cutting their fee, they change their tune quickly.

The hardest one to work on so far has been Jordan Williams. A long term player, who has been a wonderful servant, but in reality was the number three striker this season, and probably will be again in the Championship. He is currently on 700 per week, which while it's low, when he signed the contract he was our highest paid player in League Two. His manager wanted him om over 10k per week, and had an agent fee over 20k, which I immediately refused, and offered 5k per week. The agent went straight to orange and demanded that I better make a better offer. I didn't take too well to that kind of demand. So I offered 6k, non-negotiable (which would still make him currently the highest paid player), plus a few other extras, and I cut the agents fee from 20k, to 7.5k. As expected, the agent broke off negotiations and walked away. Bad move agent, Williams still has two years left on his contract, plus a three year option in our favour, which I immediately activated. So your player could have been earning 6k a week for 5 years, now he's going to spend the next 5 years on 700 a week. Don't mess with me, I don't have time for your rubbish.

Is it wrong that I actually took pleasure in that one? For his part, Williams still seems happy enough, it doesn't seem to have had much effect on his morale. But that has been my favourite story from the off season so far. Still time for more shenanigans yet.

[Punch]

Attribute Reviews

 

It's everyone's favourite time of year when we take a look at the attributes and CA/PA changes over the season.

 

Goalkeepers

After letting Jordan Jack move on, I am glad to see a full line of improvements from the remaining keepers.

Hodgson is the clear number 1, and by some distance now.

Foggarty unfortunately missed the chance to stake that claim, but is a very capable number 2, at least until Jensen gets a few more season of improvement.

Good to see we now have two players rated above 65 for the first time in goals.

 

Defence

 

Center

A lot of improvements in the center backs as Pearce becomes the clear first choice.

There are plenty of options now to support him and rotate when needed.

Slack and Abrahams have both shown massive improvement this season.

Dave Keogh is the exciting prospect, with one of the highest potentials at the club. Would be great if he can fulfill it.

 

Right

Two good options here in Wylie and Matthews, while the massively improved youngster Kearney is knocking on the door.

We do seem to look a little light on options beyond that at the moment.

 

Left

Bonner is easily the number one here, but seems to have reached his peak. He will spend another season on loan with us.

Smith and Wolfe will ably support him, although we are again a bit light on options beyond them.

We will need to hope the two Class of 32 Reid boys (Not related) can rise to their potential.

 

Midfield

 

Advanced Play Makers

Millington is now the highest rated at the club, and our highest ever rated player, first time we have had an 80 point player.

This explains why we are getting offers of 15 million from Premier League clubs. And also why I am rejecting them.

He will be supported by Riley and Peltier, while Halliwell, still on loan to us, appears to have reached his peak.

There are options available further down, but need to see some more growth from them.

 

Ball Winning Midfielders

Adams almost broke the 80 barrier as well, and is the clear first choice.

Taylor and Giscombe have improved nicely, while Powell seems to have reached his peak, and has fallen to 4th choice.

A little thin on options in this area.

 

Attacking Right

Surprisingly Tomlin is still our best choice on this side, easily first choice, but doesn't have much room to grow.

Suk-Kuen has improved immensely this season, resulting in him becoming our first senior international, while Perkins has seen a lot of game time, but doesn't have much improvement left in him.

Need to hope David Mutton can rise to his potential, as I can't see where we might see an 80 point player here.

 

Attacking Left

Another problem area where we may end up with strikers playing on the left wing as we need to see a lot of improvement on this side of the field.

Earl Lee (Who says the game doesn't have a sense of humor) looks the most likely, but it remains to be seen if he can get there.

 

Forwards

Lewis, Heys and Williams make a strong rotation in the front three, and they can also play on the wings if needed.

Gary Gowdy is the highest rated potential at the club, and we are going to need it from him.

John Wright is also rated highly, but has had a rough first year.

 

Best XI

 

We are seeing a lot more blue ratings now, and the best average has jumped over 75 for the first time.

We are going to need a lot of players to step up this season to cover when the first choice players are not available.

There is no Pizza Cup this season, so we have one less set of games to worry about, so the kids might have to have a run in the League Cup.

Overall, happy with how the team is coming together and improving, but I feel we are going to need some luck, in games, and with injuries to meet the Board expectations of a top half finish.

 

Up next...Off season things

[Punch]

JUN 2032 - Off season things

 

Internationals

Sheridan became our second senior international making his debut for Northern Ireland.

 

Dimos became our 41st international, while our 15th international, became our second senior international.

 

Southend won the play off and join us and Charlton going up, while Bristol, Palace and Derby came back down from the EPL.

 

We kick off the season at home, and face our first relegated EPL opponent in Derby, in round 4

 

The bookies fancy our chances of staying up, having us around mid table.

 

We face Mansfield in the League Cup. I may need to use this for the kids to play if we get too deep into it.

 

We have a reasonable record against them, including winning both our last meetings.

 

Some of our positions may look a bit shorter on depth in the last post, that's because we released 30 players.

These guys were not improving, not likely to improve, and/or no chance of being a part of a team in The Championship.

There were some good players, and long serving players released, but they were nowhere near our level anymore.

 

We have sold a player with Kris Best moving on to AFC Wimbledon. Another decent player, but was not going to be used at this level, so we sent him on his way.

 

Updated the list of current players, and Oscar Williams is getting close to the area where we should have kept his clause, although Derby have just been relegated, so his value may drop this season.

 

The most we've been paid for TV rights, and while it's not EPL money, it's not to be sneezed at.

 

We start the season in a decent position, but it will be interesting to see what effect the higher wages, cost of Youth Set Up, and the prospect of a new stadium have by the end of the season.

 

It's time to get friendly, and our first run in the Championship kicks off at the end of the month.

Cardiff, Leicester, and West Ham are all part of clauses from sold players.

[Blarney]

Good luck in the new season.  Nice haul of cash for TV rights. 

[Punch]

28 minutes ago, Blarney said:

Good luck in the new season.  Nice haul of cash for TV rights. 

Thanks! Should be a good fight. Not sure the Boards expectations are realistic. But we will see how it goes.

[Punch]

JUL 2032 - Friendly Season

Some brilliant form to get the ball rolling, and while I know they're only friendlies, we managed to beat Cardiff, hold Leicester to a draw, and then beat West Ham.

Two sell outs for friendly matches shows exactly why we need a new stadium though.

 

Marcus Slack played 4 internationals during the off season.

 

The training facilities have been upgraded.

The Youth Facility upgrade is due for completion next month.

 

Kohlert is a solid defender, but simply hasn't played enough in the last few seasons, and was unlikely to feature in the Championship equation.

So we sent him on his way with our best wishes.

 

With my contract due to expire at the end of the season the Board moved quickly to secure my services.

A nice pay bump from 1,900 per week for what we have achieved in the last few seasons.

Looks like you all get another 4 seasons of me rattling on about The Ravens.

 

After TV Rights, Season Ticket sales going through the roof, and some sold player installments coming in, not to mention selling out the ground twice in friendlies, we've made a very impressive start to the season.

 

Kick the tyres and light the fires. It's take off time for The Ravens first season in The Championship.

[Punch]

JUL 2032 - Match Day 1 - Vs Sheffield United FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

Handed a tough first up encounter against the opening day League favourites, Sheffield United traveled to a sold out Bowl, and left with a lesson the may have a few teams looking over their shoulders at this little club from the middle of the Irish Sea.

It was a tough fight, veteran Jordan Williams scoring our first ever Championship goal to give us an early lead, before United hit back just before half time.

The second half was a good old fashioned back and forth that had the crowd on their edge of the seat, but looked like ending up a hard fought draw, which to be honest, I would have been totally fine with, before Archie Adams drilled home and injury time winner to send the crowd wild with delight.

A very positive start to our campaign.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Not a lot you can tell from a table at this early stage, other than we've got the same number of points as everyone else that won.

 

 

Up next...after the excitement of a first up home win, our next match is a tough away game at Fulham.

[Punch]

AUG 2032 - Match Day 2 - At Fulham FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

Our first trip to Craven Cottage in front of over 20 thousand, was a decent performance. But while we managed more shots on target, we couldn't get through their defence, and it came back to haunt us when they scored a late winner to take the three points.

Fulham have been predicted for the play offs this year, so it was a pretty good performance despite the result, against a highly rated team.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

After two games we find ourselves exactly where the bookies predicted us, 14th.

Interestingly that after two games, there is only one perfect team left.

 

 

Up next...Reading have so far not scored a goal in two games, and we will be looking to keep it that way when The Royals arrive at The Bowl.

[Punch]

AUG 2032 - Match Day 3 - Vs Reading FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

This is a strange one, as I feel like we bossed this game, but just couldn't get the goal. The we finally got a late goal, which should have been the winner, only to concede and injury time equaliser, which was both Reading's first goal of the season, and their only shot on target.

It feels like a game we should have won, but at the same time I am happy to be accumulating points.

Good to see our second straight sell out at The Bowl as well. The Board are looking at options for a 10k-11k seat stadium. That may not be big enough, given the Isle's current brilliant support of this club.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

We are mid table, which I think is acceptable for our first season, but the Board want top half, so we are going to have to make sure we keep picking up those points.

 

 

Up next...Carabao League Cup 1st Round action as League Two Mansfield come to The Bowl.

[Punch]

AUG 2032 - Carabao Cup 1st Round - Vs Mansfield Town FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A confidence boosting win as Mansfield Town are hammered at The Bowl.

A good all round performance and a two minute brace from MIllington lead us to a 3-0 lead by half time.

Pleasing performances up and down the pitch.

 

 

Round 2 Draw

Spoiler

Wigan will travel to The Bowl for the 2nd Round.

 

While we have a 3-2 head to head record, Wigan won the first two games, and we have won all three since, including our most recent meeting in the same competition, 2 years ago.

 

Up next...we return to League action at The Bowl with a tough challenge as the Ryan Giggs managed Derby travel to the Isle.

[corinthiano]

Congrats on getting to the Championship! Solid start as well, seems like the team is not out of depth in the division so you should hopefully meet the boards expectation.

[Punch]

6 minutes ago, corinthiano said:

Congrats on getting to the Championship! Solid start as well, seems like the team is not out of depth in the division so you should hopefully meet the boards expectation.

Thank you!

I think we are going to need some luck to meet that target, but at this stage. we have certainly not looked to be in over our heads.

[Punch]

AUG 2032 - Match Day 4 - Vs Derby County

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A full house at The Bowl again as we take on the relegated Derby who are one of the favourites for promotion this season.

We gave them a good run, but couldn't take any of our chances as we fell to a late defeat.

It was really another game of missed opportunities, as we really should have gotten something more out of this game, but it's encouraging that we are competitive against the best teams in the League.

This loss ended a steak of 32 games unbeaten at The Bowl, stretching back to our first season in League One.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Our second loss in three, drops us to 16th and just 3 points clear of the relegation zone.

 

 

Up next...we travel to Fratton Park to take on 18th place Portsmouth.

[Punch]

AUG 2032 - Match Day 5 - At Portsmouth FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A good hit out in front of over 18 thousand at Fratton Park, as we managed to keep Portsmouth scoreless, while young striker Gary Gowdy, playing his first game of the season, struck the winner on 16 minutes.

We are playing well, and holding our own against Championship teams, but we really need to make more of our opportunities.

I have a feeling the monthly analyst report will be saying we are wasteful in front of goal.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

The win jumps us back to 14th place, now 4 points away from the relegation zone.

 

 

 

Up next...we are on the road again as we travel to Bournemouth to take on The Cherries.

[Punch]

AUG 2032 - Match Day 6 - At AFC Bournemouth

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We got absolutely pumped.

The xG suggests it should have been a much closer game, but Bournemouth were just far more clinical with their chances.

A very disappointing result, and probably our worst loss for many years.

 

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Despite the loss we stay in 14th spot, but now only 3 points clear of the relegation zone.

 

 

Up next...Carabao League Cup action returns to The Bowl, as we face League Two Wigan in the 2nd Round.

[Punch]

AUG 2032 - Carabao Cup 2nd Round - Vs Wigan Athletic

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We sent out a slightly rotated squad to rest some legs, and give a run to some players who haven't had a lot of game time.

It seemed to work a treat as we ran riot over Wigan, who had no answers.

A pleasing performance all round.

 

 

Round 3 Draw

Spoiler

Round 3 sends us away to Tranmere to take on the Rovers.

 

We have a brilliant record against them, winning all four meetings.

 

 

Up next...We return to League action against Bristol City, as the Robins travel to The Bowl.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Punch

[Punch]

AUG 2032 - Match Day 7 - Vs Bristol City

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A tight match in front of another sell out at The Bowl, as we got the points.

A brace for Millington got the job done, while Hodges made several important saves to keep us in it at 1-1 before we got the winner.

Was good to see us hang on to take one of these games against a team in a similar position on the table.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

We move up a spot to 13th, and move 6 points clear of the relegation zone.

 

 

Up next...a break for internationals before we travel to Queens Park to take on the last placed Rangers.

[Punch]

AUG 2032

A real mixed bag to start our first month in The Championship.

We have made our way into the League Cup 3rd Round.

 

As predicted the analyst shows us as very wasteful, although I am a little surprised to see us on the leaky side, as other than one game, it had been pretty good.

 

Including the first game at the end of July, we find ourselves mid table.

 

Our best ever season tickets result, and we have so far sold out every home League game.

 

After completing the training facility upgrades last month, this month the youth facilities have been completed.

 

A reasonable month financially although it has been skewed by sold player installments coming in.

Even selling out all our home games, it shows how much it's going to cost us now with increased wages and youth set up.

 

Taken from our facilities page, I am genuinely concerned that this planned stadium won't be big enough.

I hope the final plans end up with a bigger capacity, or room to expand, very quickly.

 

A scary illustration of what we are up against this season. Newcastle are spending 900k more...per week.

Even the second lowest, is still spending more than twice what we are.

We are more than 400k per week, below that combined average.

Those are some scary numbers.

 

With an international break at the beginning of the month, September is much less hectic than our first month.

[Punch]

SEP 2032 - Match Day 8 - At Queens Park Rangers

 

Match Report

Spoiler

QPR gave us a tough fight, and probably had the better of the chances, but Hodgson had a blinder in goal and pulled off a string of great saves.

It was Millington again to save us scoring an injury time winner. Showing why clubs are pushing towards offers of 20 million.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

We put together back to back wins for the first time, and moved up to 12th.

We are now 9 points clear of the relegation zone and only 3 from the play off zone.

 

 

Up next...a huge test for us as 4th place Barnsley travel to The Bowl.

[Cheez3y]

Nice start to the Championship.

[erikeagles]

Only 3 points behind a play off place.... 

[Punch]

1 hour ago, Cheez3y said:

Nice start to the Championship.

It's funny to think about, it's almost been our worst start to any season in our history, but we are playing one League below the Premier League, so I guess we should be happier that we are not getting pumped 0-4 every week.

Hopefully we settle in further and find some more of that consistency that we have been struggling with to start this season.

 

1 hour ago, erikeagles said:

Only 3 points behind a play off place.... 

Yes, but a lot of good teams to play between now and the play offs. It's always worth remembering in this division, you have to play 6 games a year against teams that were in the Premier League last year. And further games against teams who have been there in previous years.

As per above, need to work on that consistency, as while we are three points from the play offs, we are also only three losses from the relegation zone.

[Punch]

SEP 2032 - Match Day 9 - Vs Barnsley FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

Another full house at The Bowl as we managed to secure a draw against high flying Barnsley.

Both side produced limited chances, but neither could take any of them.

Both keepers had excellent games.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Our third game unbeaten sees us hold 12th spot.

 

 

 

Up next...we travel to Tranmere to take on The Rovers in the League Cup 3rd Round, where we will likely field a rotated squad.

[Punch]

SEP 2032 - League Cup 3rd Round - At Tranmere Rovers

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A good hit out for our rotated squad as we took on League Two Tranmere.

It took a while for us to take one of our chances taking a 1-0 lead to the break, before we finally killed the game off with two late goals to send us through to the 4th round.

 

Ahhh, what?!?!? Go home Alan, you're drunk

 

 

Round 4 Draw

Spoiler

The Bowl will play host to Division rival Sheffield United for Round 4

 

We have met once before, as we beat them in the first League game of the season.

 

 

Up next...we travel to Deepdale in a return to League action against 20th place Preston North End.

Edited February 10, 2022 by Punch