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

[Punch]

SEP 2032 - Match Day 10 - At Preston North End FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A solid performance as we put Preston to the sword.

We were much more clinical with our chances in this game, which is pleasing to see that improvement.

 

And this was and absolute cracker for Hodgson's 1st goal of the season.

Still no penalties received.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

3rd win in 4 games moves us up to 11th, and we also wiped out the negative goal differential.

 

 

Up next...Our biggest challenge yet as League leaders Newcastle travel to The Bowl.

[wildecooke]

hodgson amazing

[Punch]

7 hours ago, wildecooke said:

hodgson amazing

Kids still only 19 as well. Has a massive future in front of him.

[Punch]

 

Newcastle are flying high in the League, and their form is pretty good. Their last match:

 

Lets hope they used up so much energy celebrating goals that they are fatigued against us

Edited February 10, 2022 by Punch

[Punch]

SEP 2032

A quieter month due to internationals at the beginning, but we turned in a solid month winning 2 of 3 in the League, and winning through to the 4th Round in the League Cup, exceeding the Board's expectations of at least a 3rd Round result.

 

The analyst is happy that the defence has improved immensely this month, while the attack is still wasteful.

 

Our goal scoring Goalkeeper got off the mark for the season with this stunner.

 

The 8th goal of his career, but we have not received any penalties so far this season.

 

His efforts also earner him the Young Player of the Month award.

 

We find ourselves just above mid table, which is where the Boards expectations are. Hopefully we can keep improving the consistency and stay there.

 

Internationals

The month started with an international break, and we had a lot of players away representing their countries.

 

Plenty of good performances at Youth level, while we also had our two senior internationals represent their countries again.

 

Suk-Kuen has now made 6 appearances for South Korea, while Sheridan made his 2nd appearance for Northern Ireland.

David Kearney became our 41st Youth international.

 

A lot of away games made for a bad month, only slightly rescued by sold player installments.

 

October begins with a monster match against League leaders Newcastle, while we also face division rival Sheffield United in the League Cup 4th Round.

[Punch]

OCT 2032 - Match Day 11 - Vs Newcastle United

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A stunning result in front of a full house at The Bowl see Newcastle suffer their first defeat of the season.

My wish came true as Newcastle seemed to be suffering the after effects of too celebrating so many goals in their previous match, and we caught them napping as Pat Millington stole and early goal, before Newcastle equalised soon after.

But they ran out of steam as we capitalised on mistakes to score a winner just after half time, and and injury time sealer to ran out 3-1 winners, and send the home crowd home delirious.

 

Their fans are not happy, and neither is the manager.

 

It's not all good news as we lose promising young striker Earl for a month.

 

In better news, we have now reached 5 games unbeaten.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

The win rockets us up to 8th place, just one point out of the play off positions.

We knocked Newcastle off top spot, and we have also beaten the current leaders this season. Some pretty good results so far.

 

 

Up next...an international break as we have 14 players away, before Middlesbrough travel to The Bowl

[erikeagles]

Great result against Newcastle United!! 

 

[Punch]

5 minutes ago, erikeagles said:

Great result against Newcastle United!! 

 

Yeah I was surprised by that one, they were cruising at the top of the table, one of the promotion favourites, and they'd just put 10 goals past Middlesbrough.

If we had been flying under the radar a bit, we're not anymore. I think we just made the other 18 teams stand up and take notice.

[Sonic Youth]

Good start to the Championship. Some great results mixed in with your run too. There’s also no welcome to the league type results too 

[Punch]

22 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

Good start to the Championship. Some great results mixed in with your run too. There’s also no welcome to the league type results too 

We did cop a hammering from Bournemouth, but other than that, we have at least been competitive in most games, even if we didn't get a result.

A long way to go yet though.

[corinthiano]

Great result against Newcastle! It's a long season but some very encouraging signs so far.

[Punch]

5 minutes ago, corinthiano said:

Great result against Newcastle! It's a long season but some very encouraging signs so far.

Yes, we are certainly holding our own up here, which is very encouraging.

[Punch]

OCT 2032 - Match Day 12 - Vs Middlesbrough FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

Another full house at The Bowl as we dispatch Boro with a clinical display.

This one was a strange game, as I am not even sure we were the best team in this game, but we sure made the most of our chances.

Hodgson was brilliant in goal again, while Millington continues to play very well, and just increasing the interest in his services.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

3 wins in a row and unbeaten in five has rocketed us to to 6th and into the play off places.

 

 

Up next...we travel to Stadium MK to take on the 12th place Dons.

[Punch]

OCT 2032 - Match Day 13 - At MK Dons

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A tough fight as we went down in a close one at Stadium MK.

The Dons snuck an early goal before we'd settled, and from there on it was a very close game.

Millington leveled with a screamer in first half injury time, but a bad pass from Bonner let them get back in front, and we were unable to find an equaliser again.

 

Some decent results in that run. Now to start again.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

The loss drops us out of the play off positions, but it's still been an incredible run to start the season.

The signs are positive that we belong here.

 

 

Up next...another tough match at The Bowl as we take on Crystal Palace.

[Punch]

OCT 2032 - Match Day 14 - Vs Crystal Palace FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We done everything right in this game, except put the ball in the net.

We had three times as many shots on goal, but only two more on target.

They were a tough opponent, but we really should have gotten more out of this match, and the xG agrees.

This is why the analyst keeps calling us wasteful.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

With Southend beaten, we jumped back up a place into 6th, and the final play off position.

However, only one win separates 6th to 13th.

 

 

Up next...we switch to League Cup mode as division rival Sheffield United, who have been fighting for 1st place in the League, make the trek to The Bowl.

[Punch]

OCT 2032 - League Cup 4th Round - Vs Sheffield United

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A stunning result as we almost stole the game here.

Sheff Utd took the lead in the first half, and looked to have the game under control before Ryan Lewis scored deep into injury time to send the full house at The Bowl wild.

Extra time was a struggle as neither side was able to make any break through, so we went to penalties.

Nine in a row were scored before Hodgson saved their 5th penalty which sends us through to the Quarter Final for the first time.

 

 

Quarter Final Draw

Spoiler

We have been drawn against the only League Two as Peterborough will travel to The Bowl.

 

We won our only meetings against them in League One.

 

 

Up next...back to League action as we travel to Rochdale.

[Punch]

OCT 2032 - Match Day 15 - At Rochdale AFC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A defensive masterclass as we shut Rochdale down completely, although we struggled with our chances again.

Was good to see Jordan Williams get on the score sheet, scoring just his 2nd goal of the year.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

We are still holding 6th place, which seems crazy that we are that high up.

 

 

Up next...we travel to Southend.

[Punch]

OCT 2032

A pretty good month in the end, as we win three, a draw and a loss.

We are keeping our good start to the season going.

 

The defence is still going well, while the attack is still on the wasteful side.

 

Still flying high to the start of the season sitting in a play off position.

 

Williams had been suffering a goal drought before scoring a cracker in our last match, which won him the goal of the month award.

 

Millington is on fire this season, and won the Young Player of the Month.

 

Hadn't seen any job speculation for a while after signing a new contract recently, but this was the first time I had been linked to a job outside England.

 

Internationals

 

 

Another busy month with plenty of players involved in international duty.

 

Another profit this month, boosted by the sold player installments.

 

A quieter month coming up.

[Punch]

NOV 2032 - International call ups

 

17 players called up for this months international break.

[Punch]

NOV 2032 - Match Day 16 - At Southend United

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A frustrating result as our defence limited them to three shots on target, only to see two of them go in, while we launched raid after raid, and had 25 shots on goal. but could only get two in ourselves.

They took the lead just after half time, before 2 goals in 7 minutes fired us back into the lead, before they caught us on the counter to equalise with 10 to go.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

We hold in 6th place although there are a lot of teams log jammed around that area.

 

Up next...the international break before 15th place Ipswich travel to The Bowl.

[Punch]

NOV 2032 - Internationals

 

Another international break and we had a large number of players representing:

 

 

Both Suk-Kuen and Sheridan represented again at senior level, while Logan, Evans, and Keogh, became our 43rd, 44th, and 45th Youth internationals.

[Punch]

NOV 2032 - Match Day 17 - Vs Ipswich Town FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

In front of a full house at The Bowl we turn in one of our best performances in The Championship.

Millington scored our first Championship hat-trick, while our defence shut them down completely.

It was a brilliant all round performance, and we just monstered them out of the game.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Still holding 6th place, still plenty of teams hanging around the same area.

 

 

Up next...League action continues as we welcome 23rd place Cardiff to The Bowl.

[Punch]

NOV 2032 - Match Day 18 - Vs Cardiff City FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

It was one of those days.

We just couldn't get the ball into the net, while they had two shots on target, that both went in.

It was a scrappy affair, highlighted by their second goal, which was a goal line scramble, with poor defence and poor attack, but somehow the ball ended up across the line.

We must to better against 23rd placed teams.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

The loss sees us drop out of the play off spots and back to 7th.

 

 

Up next...we travel to Charlton, to take on the 23rd place team for the second match in a row.

[Blarney]

17 hours ago, Punch said:

NOV 2032 - International call ups

 

17 players called up for this months international break.

17 players up. Wow. That's just a testament to some good maneuvering on your part.  The future is bright. 

[Punch]

1 hour ago, Blarney said:

17 players up. Wow. That's just a testament to some good maneuvering on your part.  The future is bright. 

I think it ended up at 19 or 20 after a few extra's were called up as well

[Punch]

NOV 2032 - Match Day 19 - At Charlton Athletic

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We dominated the match but it took a 74th minute winner from our first senior international Suk-Keun, scoring his first senior goal to secure our victory.

It wasn't one of our best performances, but it was good to see us stick at it and take the three points.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Victory sends us back up the table to our highest ever position of 4th, but there is a long way to go before we get too carried away.

 

 

Up next...struggling Birmingham travel to The Bowl.

[Punch]

FA Cup 3rd Round Draw

We join the FA Cup in the 3rd Round, where we have been drawn away to Luton Town.

 

We have only a slight lead in the head to head.

[Punch]

NOV 2032

Just the four games this month, and we picked up two wins, a draw and a loss.

The Ipswich game was probably our best of the season, and then we followed it up with one of our worst against the 23rd place team.

Still trying to find that consistency, and we are still struggling to hit the target.

 

The analyst shows out defence is still in the good side, while our attack, which is still on the wasteful side, has moved closer to the center than it has been for a while.

 

Pat Millington has won his second straight Young Player of the Month.

He is also starting to make noise about wanting to move to a bigger club. While we still have him contracted for three years, which is just as well, as he refuses to negotiate a new contract. We may have to consider selling him in the next few years to prevent him running it down.

 

We hold 4th place, but only on goal difference. We are performing well above expectations, as I seen us struggling to make the top half Board expectation.

 

Our first month for a while with no player installments, and probably a good measure of where we are at, even with only two home games.

 

A busier month in December, with 6 League games, and the League Cup Quarter Final. A lot of away games this month.

[Punch]

DEC 2032

 

 

The Board were in a good mood so I hit them up about upgrading both the Training and Youth Facilities.

Surprisingly, they agreed to both, without question.

There is a good way to knock nearly 4 million out of the bank account.

This will be the upgrades to both in back to back off seasons, so hopefully we see some benefits from this.

[Punch]

DEC 2032 - Match Day 20 - Vs Birmingham City FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A solid all round performance as we do enough to get passed Birmingham, in a tougher encounter than it should have been.

Plenty of chances created, but it took and early second half goal, and an injury time sealer to get the job done.

Happy with the clean sheet though.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

We continue to hold 4th place.

 

 

Up next...a tough challenge against Watford, as we travel to Vicarage Road.

[Punch]

DEC 2032

 

A neat little personal milestone coming up against Watford, reach 700 games in charge.

[Punch]

DEC 2032 - Match Day 21 - At Watford

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We played very well, but didn't convert chances. Starting to sound like a broken record on that one.

One thing noticeable is that you can usually get punished in this League, but even though our attack wasn't firing, our defence held firm and kept another clean sheet so we picked up an away point.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

The draw keeps us in 4th place, with a massive pack chasing us, and the top three have bolted away now.

 

 

Up next...we face 14th place Sunderland at The Bowl.

[Punch]

DEC 2032 - Youth Intake Preview

 

 

Looks like there is not much to get excited about this year. Hopefully we can find one or two amongst them that mine turn into something decent.

[Hootieleece]

At least you are in the playoff contention with a chance to play in the most important playoff game in football!

 

[Punch]

20 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

At least you are in the playoff contention with a chance to play in the most important playoff game in football!

 

A lot of games between here and there yet.

[Punch]

DEC 2032 - Match Day 22 - Vs Sunderland AFC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A tough match in front of another sell out at The Bowl.

We conceded early but Hodgson scored a screamer before half time.

We then couldn't break them down to get the winner.

 

Hodgson's bullet leveled the scores.

 

We have lost our AM(R) for a month.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Still in 4th among a log jam of teams.

 

 

Up next...League Cup action returns to The Bowl as we take on Peterborough in the Quarter Final

[Sonic Youth]

Your doing well. An extra ten goals would make all the difference to your season so far. Those draws and some of the defeats must be frustrating.

Pat Milligton is the next eh? Hopefully big money when he does.

December is the start of a busy couple of months, especially if you progress in the cups.

[Punch]

13 minutes ago, Sonic Youth said:

Your doing well. An extra ten goals would make all the difference to your season so far. Those draws and some of the defeats must be frustrating.

Pat Milligton is the next eh? Hopefully big money when he does.

December is the start of a busy couple of months, especially if you progress in the cups.

The inconsistency of our attack has made it an up and down season. Yes it's been frustrating to see us have 30 shots on goal and not be able to score, then see the opposition only manage 1 shot on target and get a 1-1 result. But that's football some days.

 

We've so far seen offers of nearly 20 million for Millington, so he is going to attract some bigger offers next off season, especially with the way he is playing at the moment.

 

Big few months coming up indeed, trying to manage the fatigue to keep us alive in the League. I think at this stage, the Cups will just be a bonus for the fringe players.

[Punch]

DEC 2032 - League Cup Quarter Final - Vs Peterborough United FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

The attack clicked as we ran over League Two Peterborough to book our spot in the Semi Final.

A brilliant hat-trick to Williams while the ever improving Earl scored a brace and picked up 3 assists.

 

 

Spoiler

The smei final draw was probably the kindest it could have been, of all the three Premier League clubs, we face home and away matches against Wolves.

 

 

Up next...A tough match up away to Blackburn

Edited February 14, 2022 by Punch

[Punch]

DEC 2032 - Match Day 23 - At Blackburn Rovers FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We got away with one here as Blackburn gave us a really tough match.

Neither side produced much in the way of opportunities as the game bogged down in the midfield.

Blackburn to the lead just after half time, before we finally got our first penalty of the season.

But we were unable to make the most of any of our other chances.

 

Hodgson smashes in his first penalty of the season.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Our third consecutive draw and we lose a place on the table, but there is only two games between 4th and 12th.

 

 

Up next...we travel to Sheffield United for another tough match up.

[Punch]

DEC 2032 - Match Day 24 - At Sheffield United

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A disappointing loss as we go down to a 96th minute goal.

It was a tough match, but they took the better of their chances.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

A loss drops us to 6th, still among a massive log jam of teams.

 

 

Up next...a one day break before we travel to Reading.

[Punch]

DEC 2032 - Match Day 25 - Reading FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We got into a shootout with Reading which blazed three goals inside the first 10 minutes, including a 2 minute brace to Earl.

Reading hit back before half time, before McBurnie hit the winner after half time.

Reading probably played the better, but we made the better of the chances, which made a nice change.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

Our first win in five games takes us back up to 5th spot.

 

 

Up next...another tough match as Fulham travel to The Bowl.

[Punch]

DEC 2032

A mixed bag of a month, but we did manage to keep our good record in TV games.

 

THe analyst is still singing the same tune, defence is going good, attack is still on the wasteful side, but improving.

 

While the top 3 have bolted, the next 10 are separated by the same margin.

 

John Hodgson has been in great form, and won himself the Young Player of the Month.

 

He got his first penalty of the season this month.

 

A big spending month, as we pay for off season upgrades to the Training and Youth Facilities.

 

A big month to start the new year as we have League Cup Semi Final, and our FA Cup campaign kicks off.

[Punch]

JAN 2033 - Match Day 26 - Vs Fulham FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

A disappointing result, albeit against one of the top 3 teams.

Another one of those frustrating games where they scored two goals on two shots on target, where we got one on nine.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

We hold 5th place. still in the log jam of traffic in and around the play off spots.

 

 

Up next...League Cup Semi Final 1st Leg, away to Wolves.

[Punch]

JAN 2033 - League Cup Semi Final Leg 1 - At Wolverhampton Wanderers

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We put in a solid performance against a Premier League team, even leveling the score at one point before their extra class showed through.

Still shows us the level we need to aim for.

 

 

Up next...our FA Cup campaign kicks off away to Luton

Edited February 14, 2022 by Punch

[Punch]

JAN 2033 - FA Cup 3rd Round - At Luton Town FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

An early goal for Riley set us on the right foot before a Williams brace sealed our passage through to the 4th Round.

We didn't play our best but got the job done.

 

 

 

4th Round Draw

Spoiler

Division rival Ipswich Town will make their way to The Bow for Round 4.

 

We had a big win in our only meeting earlier in the season.

 

 

Up next...Another tough match up as Bournemouth travel to The Bowl.

[Punch]

JAN 2033

Our first washed out game of the season.

Hoping the new ground has better drainage.

 

Up next...Portsmouth travel to The Bowl...if the pitch has dried out.

Edited February 15, 2022 by Punch

[Punch]

JAN 2033 - Match Day 27 - Vs Portsmouth FC

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We went back and forth with Portsmouth, but probably should have gotten more out of this with the number of chances we crated.

 

 

Table

Spoiler

With Cup duties and washout's we fell two games behind and out of the 6, but this was one of the catch up games which jumped as back to a play off position, and still a game to be made up.

 

Up next...we travel to Prode Park to take on Derby

[Punch]

JAN 2033 - Match Day 28 - At Derby County

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We were very disappointing in this game, and just gave Derby to big a head start to run down.

 

Table

Spoiler

Three losses in our last five have dropped out of the top 6.

 

 

Up next...Wolves travel to The Bowl for the 2nd Leg of the League Cup Semi Final, we are trailing 1-2.

[Punch]

JAN 2033 - League Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg - Vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

 

Match Report

Spoiler

We held our own over two legs against a Premier League team, but they proved to be too strong for us.

While disappointed with the result, not with the effort.

We were well beaten, but not humiliated.

 

 

 

UP next...back to League action as we travel to Ashton Gate to take on 13th place Bristol.