[FM23] Another Island Life - Green Lion Pride - A Guernsey FC Youth Story

[Stuniverse]

1 hour ago, Punch said:

This years top rated prospect shares my last name in game, which is a pretty unique name, so other than that, I am not sure if there is a way to tell if there is any familiar relation or not.

5 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Look under information under the overview tab. There is a screen that will tell you who he supports, where he was born, and if you are his father.  It also has the information about who he is eligible for internationally , etc.

Yes, under the first tab on his profile, I think it’s the “Information” screen you want and then, like @Hootieleece it should say who is favoured people are and why.

[Punch]

59 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Look under information under the overview tab.

There is nothing under there about any familiar relations, so maybe just a coincidence that the game has given him the same last name as me.

[Hootieleece]

44 minutes ago, Punch said:

There is nothing under there about any familiar relations, so maybe just a coincidence that the game has given him the same last name as me.

That could happen. You would have been under Favored Personnel as Father and Head Coach.

[Punch]

27 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

That could happen. You would have been under Favored Personnel as Father and Head Coach.

Ah well, I guess the wait for the prodigal son continues

[Punch]

 

APR 2039 - Run to the line

 

The run to the title and promotion races are heating up with four or five games to play.

The press shows seven teams in the hunt, but in reality, there are probably as many as 11 teams that can still make the play offs.

It's been a close table all season, but this is going to be an insane end.

[Punch]

 

APR 2039

Four wins, two draws, and a loss from a monster month.

 

Regardless of what happens from here, we have guaranteed our highest ever finish, as we qualify for the play offs for the first time.

As you will see on the table soon, we can't take the title, or make the auto promotion place, but we will host a play off semi final, and are still in with a shot of making the Premier League.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

We came out of the blocks in a hurry at Rochdale, being three goals up by the break.

We were able to control the second half, and despite conceding a goal, we still sealed a comfortable three points.

 

We came from two goals behind early to have leveled by half time.

A tight second half, although we went behind again, but managed to score a late equaliser to take a shaky point at home.

 

We put in a good performance at Rotherham, but it took us a while to finally put the ball in the net.

It took us nearly an hour to put make our good work pay off, and we followed it up with a second not too long after.

The defence put in a great shift, securing another clean sheet, with a much improved performance after conceding three last time out.

 

Another solid performance gave us a two goal lead by the break.

We were able to cruise through the second half, and although we gave up a consolation goal late, we done enough to secure another three points.

 

We put an incredible 38 shots on goal, but were more in danger of hurting our fans than damaging the net, as we struggled to hit the target.

That wayward shooting came back to haunt us as the visitors hit back with a goal of their own on the hour.

We increased our attacking efforts to try and find a winner, but I think it made our shooting worse, and we had to settle for a share of the points.

 

A tight game at Forest, but it was our former player Luis Clapton who came back to haunt us, as he set up their first goal, and scored their second.

A disappointing result all round, as we were outplayed all over the ground.

 

The attack and defence clicked as we put it all together in front of a monster crowd for our final home game of the season...for the regular season at least.

Two goals to the good by the 10 minute mark, and four up by the break, we were then able to cruise home in the second half.

 

 

Play off place confirmed, and also 3rd place confirmed, as no matter the result on the final day, we can't reach 2nd, and can't be caught by 4th.

Birmingham and Forest will fight over the title on the final day, while Stoke will need to win, Peterborough to lose, and overturn an 11 goal deficit to make the play offs.

Burnley and Rochdale will also fight it out for the final relegation spot.

 

A dead rubber match to end the regular season, as we travel to Wigan.

[Blarney]

Heck of a season, good luck in the playoffs.

[Punch]

Just now, Blarney said:

Heck of a season, good luck in the playoffs.

Thanks @Blarney!

Regardless of what happens next, it's been a heck of a season, and we continue to improve.

[Stuniverse]

3 minutes ago, Punch said:

As you will see on the table soon, we can't take the title, or make the auto promotion place, but we will host a play off semi final, and are still in with a shot of making the Premier League.

Amazing job, @Punch Congratulations 

Good luck in the playoffs 🍀⚽️🤞

[Punch]

Just now, Stuniverse said:

Amazing job, @Punch Congratulations 

Good luck in the playoffs 🍀⚽️🤞

Thanks @Stuniverse!

It's been an exciting season, and while I am not sure we are ready for the Premier League yet, it's awesome to be so close.

[Vakama2619]

Good season, best of luck in the playoffs!

[Hootieleece]

Good work making the playoffs! May your dreams of promotion come true.

[Punch]

28 minutes ago, Vakama2619 said:

Good season, best of luck in the playoffs!

 

1 minute ago, Hootieleece said:

Good work making the playoffs! May your dreams of promotion come true.

 

Thank you both! Exciting times ahead.

[phnompenhandy]

Been following this monster marathon of a thread sporadically,  but finally read it from front to back. Currently in the early days of an Academy-Only career with a 13th tier potless amateur club (also an island), I wasn't sure if there'd be a glass ceiling.  You've shown us it's possible to go all the way with patience and perseverance.

[Punch]

8 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

Been following this monster marathon of a thread sporadically,  but finally read it from front to back. Currently in the early days of an Academy-Only career with a 13th tier potless amateur club (also an island), I wasn't sure if there'd be a glass ceiling.  You've shown us it's possible to go all the way with patience and perseverance.

Thanks @phnompenhandy, great to have you on board!

Its been a long ride, and it can test your patience at times, but you just got to keep fighting for those upgrades, even if the only upgrade you can get is a better coach.

I haven’t gone all the way yet, but we are getting closer 

Edited January 5 by Punch

[Punch]

 

MAY 2039

There will be no Premier League for us next season, as we make it all the way to Wembley, having to do it the hard way in penalties against Norwich, but we couldn't get it done against Bristol.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

We had to come from behind, even scoring two goals in injury time to secure the win.

 

We dominated the match at Norwich, but were not able to get the ball in the net.

A late goal for the hosts was enough to give them a lead heading back to the island.

 

We dominated the match again, getting the early goal to level the scores, but despite plenty of chances, we couldn't find a winner.

We pushed hard through extra time, Finnegan even hitting the woodwork late in the second period, but it wasn't to be.

So to penalties we went, where we would hold our nerve slotting home all five spot kicks, while Arani made two big saves to secure our spot at Wembley.

 

We made a really nervous start in front of a monster crowd at Wembley, although we managed to keep the scores level to the break.

The Robins came out firing in the second half, scoring two quick goals.

Being two down finally woke us from our slumber, and we played with much more freedom,  but we couldn't convert the chances we were creating.

It took until injury time for the ball to finally get in the net, but it was too little too late.

 

 

So it will be the Championship for us again next season as we fall just short of Premier League promotion.

 

We broke the Gate record for the third time this season, with a full house at the home leg of the Play Off Semi Final.

 

Finnegan wins back to back Championship Player of the Year awards. It might be tough to keep him next season, as he was not happy about not being promoted.

 

Arani claims the Golden Glove.

 

Both players made the Championship Team of the Year as well.

 

We have gone up the table, scored more goals, and conceded less each season, so I guess we are still showing improvement.

 

I have gotten the Board to agree to upgrade both sets of Training Facilities, and we will also be increasing our Youth Level from three to Two.

I had to argue for the Training Facility upgrade, but the Youth was approved with no argument.

 

I timed the upgrade approvals perfectly, because a few days after I got them, the take over stories started.

After two owners in 12 months, it's been 7 years of stability, so it will be interesting to see what, if any, affect this might have on the club.

 

A good month financially as we receive payments, and also get good gate takings, collecting over £2 million from our loss at Wembley.

 

Up next...time to review the season that was, so near, yet so far.

[Stuniverse]

49 minutes ago, Punch said:

There will be no Premier League for us next season, as we make it all the way to Wembley, having to do it the hard way in penalties against Norwich, but we couldn't get it done against Bristol.

Commiserations, @Punch. So close, and yet so far…

How are you feeling?

[shd34_216_42]

I bet the board will be expecting automatic promotion next season.

[Punch]

7 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Commiserations, @Punch. So close, and yet so far…

How are you feeling?

Thanks @Stuniverse.

To be honest, pretty happy with the performance, even though disappointed at the end result. I don’t think we are ready for the Premier League yet anyway, but another season in the Championship under our belt, another season of experience and development of the younger kids coming through, and who knows what we will be capable of.

 

4 hours ago, shd34_216_42 said:

I bet the board will be expecting automatic promotion next season.

At the moment it’s play offs, but we may have a new Board before the new season, so who knows what they’ll want to achieve.

The current owner was in a hurry and aimed high from the word go, so if we get a new owner, hopefully they will be ambitious too.

[shaunvamos]

Unlucky to miss out on promotion mate, but definitely good signs for next season and beyond as everyone keeps developing  

[Punch]

2 hours ago, shaunvamos said:

Unlucky to miss out on promotion mate, but definitely good signs for next season and beyond as everyone keeps developing  

Thanks @shaunvamos!

We are still developing well, and I have just been running through the end of season attribute changes, and there might be a few selection surprises needing to be made next season.

But yes, still happy with how we are developing and improving.

[Punch]

 

2038-2039 Season Review

 

[Punch]

 

2038-2039 Season Review - Stats

 

Goalkeepers

Arani is still our number 1, and had a pretty decent season, including winning the Championship Golden Glove, and was also named in the Team of the Season.

There is however, massive improvement from several of our young keepers, who may soon be pushing Arani to be the regular starting keeper.

 

Defenders

Lots of players used since we changed to 5 at the back, so rotation is required, but the defence had a big improvement this season.

Plenty of great performances, including three players gaining a 7+ Average Rating.

Another continued season of improvement, and we will be a tough nut to crack next season.

 

Midfielders

Great performances from our midfield, Pedreno the mainstay, while Tayler has been the surprise packet, pushing Bridge out of the starting line up on a regular basis.

Looking forward to seeing how they continue to progress next season.

 

Forwards

Finnegan was the stand out, but there were plenty of impressive performances from our forward line.

Finnegan scored 24 League goals, running 2nd in the Golden Boot, by a single goal, for the second straight season.

He now has 52 League goals in the past two seasons, which explains why he is attracting a lot of interest from EPL teams.

 

Easy to see why Finnegan was our Player of the Season.

 

The Club Records continue to be safe for now.

 

Just to show if anyone is close to breaking the records, among active players...

Sorted by League Appearances, Geall is closest to the Appearance record, but as a rotation player, is not likely to break the record.

The next closest is Arani, and while he is the most likely to break the record, he may soon be under pressure for his place, so he may not get there either.

 

And no one is close to breaking the Goal scoring record.

While Finnegan has netted over 50 League goals in the last two seasons, he could score another 200 goals, and still be 10 short of breaking the record, so that's not going to be an easy one to break.

[Punch]

 

2038-2039 Season Review - Attributes

 

The exciting part of the end of season where we get to review how our players have improved, or not, and see how this might affect the team for next season.

 

Goalkeepers

Arani is still the number 1, according to the attribute averages, but there is now real pressure being applied from the younger kids, and he may soon face some real pressure.

Although this area is the best example of showing the difference between attribute, and CA/PA scores.

While Hamilton is 4th according to the Attribute Averages, he is currently slightly ahead of Arani according to the CA, with Mason and Al-Habib just behind.

Going to make for some interesting decisions next season, and Al-Habib is already making waves about his lack of chances in the first team.

 

Defenders

Thomspon still our best defender, but there is now a solid selection of players to rotate with him as required.

Special mention of Copley, who has shown an incredible improvement over the season.

 

Midfielders

We have an embarrassment of riches in the midfield, with a massive amount of players who are genuine selection options.

Another disconnect of the attribute average to the CA/PA, with Pedreno showing as 10th on this list, but being one of our best players according to the CA/PA.

Might even need to cull a few players in this area.

 

Forwards

We score a lot of goals, so it's ironic that our Forwards are the area that show the lowest overall player averages.

Despite that, we still have a solid selection of players to rotate as needed.

We have also had some steady improvement from a lot of players.

 

Best Squad

 

A big jump in the squad average, while our average age has left the teens for the first time in 7 years.

 

Continued improvement leaves us a good selection of players, and has us looking good for next season.

Any improvement from 3rd place, would have us at least in the automatic promotion place.

[Punch]

 

JUN 2039 - Off Season Things

 

Internationals

We had several players spending their off season on International Duty, with Eddie Barker becoming our 6th Senior International to score.

 

A first job offer for a while.

 

The take over talk continues, although the Chairman as shot down one of the rumours.

 

We have made a profit this month with some new sponsorships kicking in, while the season tickets sales are off an running again.

 

Season Preview

Brighton, Derby, and Portsmouth are coming down, while Barnsley, Bolton and Hull are coming up, so it's going to be another tough season in the Championship.

 

We kick of at home to the newly relegated Portsmouth.

 

The Bookies have us massive favourites to take out the Title in the early season listing.

 

A busy Friendly season, including facing three Premier League opponents, including a massive clash with the red side of Manchester.

[Punch]

 

JUL 2039 - Pre Season Things

A brilliant run through the pre-season friendlies as we remain undefeated, including wins against three Premier League opposition.

 

Transfers

 

We have made a few player sales, mostly for players less likely to feature regularly.

 

Legg had been a rotation player, but had found himself lower down the order in the last few seasons, so he wanted to move on to find more regular first team football.

So he went to the newly promoted Birmingham...who have just been promoted to the Premier League, so no idea how he will be getting more playing time there.

 

Manuel had struggled to find a place in the team, so when the Spanish team came knocking with a crazy offer, we couldn't turn it down.

 

A former club captain had fallen down the pecking order, and wanted more first team football.

So he also went to the newly promoted team...again, not sure how that is going to work our for him, but we'll take the money.

 

Those sell on clauses will really pay off down the track

 

Strange that Finnegan, who is one of the leading scorers over the last two seasons, is not even rated by the Bookies this year.

 

Finnegan has also been the Player of the Year for the last two seasons, and he is not rated by the Bookies here either.

 

Our best squad looks like this to start the season, although no doubt there will be plenty of rotation over the course of the season.

 

Season tickets and player sales send us to a good profit, and a great position financially to start the season.

 

Speaking of season tickets, we are already nearly a hundred up over last years record sales.

 

A busy start to the season as we face 5 games in the League, and our League Cup campaign kicks off at Newport.

[Stuniverse]

Pre-season all green 👍

Looking good to start the season, @Punch

[Punch]

5 minutes ago, Stuniverse said:

Pre-season all green 👍

Looking good to start the season, @Punch

Now lets hope it translates into good form when it matters.

[Punch]

 

AUG 2039

We are off and running in our 4th season in the Championship, and the schedule had a change with our advancing in the League Cup.

We won three from four in the League, while playing a heavily rotated squad in the League Cup, we managed two solid wins.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

We kick off the season with a solid all round performance in front of a huge home crowd.

Two first half goals were enough to take the points, as the defence put in a solid shift to keep a clean sheet.

 

We put in a solid performance here, doing everything right, except putting the ball in the net.

It was a pretty tight affair all around though, but a late goal to the hosts were enough to give us our first loss for the season.

 

We got back on track pretty quickly, and although we gave up our early lead, we had done enough to secure the points by half time.

We were able to cruise through the second half without allowing Wigan to mount and serious threat.

 

A very similar match to what happened against Wigan, where we take an early lead, give up an equaliser, then run away with it by half time.

We were again able to cruise through the second half, securing another three points.

 

A heavily rotated squad put in a solid performance sending us through to the 2nd Round.

Three goals and a clean sheet as we meet expectations in getting the job done.

 

A smashing result as we put Wrexham to the sword, Finnegan smashing home 4 goals.

A clean sheet as we shut down their attacking line completely.

 

Drawn against Coventry for Round 3.

 

 

We find ourselves in 4th place, although not much can be read into the table at this early stage.

 

Transfers

 

We have managed to get through the transfer window without selling any further players.

There were plenty of offers for Finnegan, upwards of £30 million, while we received offers of over £40 million for Garai.

Thankfully the Board have stayed out of it for now.

 

We have no further sales than those we sold last month.

 

We still have plenty of clauses in play, so it will be interesting to see if any of them pay off over the next few seasons.

Would love to see Forest put Clapton on the block for £72 million.

 

Our wages continue to increase, but we have fallen back to second last.

We are still a long way behind the League average, and even further behind all the bigger clubs.

 

A typical month.

 

An International Break early in the month, before we face a further four League games, and our League Cup 3rd Round tie.

[Punch]

 

SEP 2039

We win three of four League games, while managing to advance in the League Cup.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

We dominated the match against the struggling hosts, but made really hard work of it.

Despite leading at the break, we were unable to put the game away, and it nearly cost us when we gave away a sloppy penalty late.

We kept fighting though and secured the three points in the shadows of full times when Finnegan smashed home a volley.

 

The game was a lot closer then the scoreline suggests, but we took our chances, including two from the midfield, while Arani was brilliant in goal, keeping the hosts at bay.

We took a two goal lead to the break, while a sealer late killed off any thoughts of a comeback.

 

A game that we threw away here as we should have had it wrapped up easily.

Instead, we wasted a raft of chances, only to give up two injury time goals, their only shots on target, to somehow lose the match.

Not a good day at the office.

 

Unfortunately for Blackpool, we took out our frustrations of the last match on them, giving them an absolute belting.

Two goals from each of our forwards, and a clean sheet made for a pretty special day.

It all started early in the match with a screaming volley from Chambers in the first minute, from outside the box, and it only got better from there.

 

A heavily rotated squad made pretty light work of League One Coventry, as we cruised into the 4th Round.

Despite their late consolation goal, we were pretty comfortable here.

 

We head to Charlton for Round 4.

 

 

We sit 2nd behind the still unbeaten Derby.

 

Our good form lead to players taking our both the Player of the Month, and the Young Player of the Month Awards.

 

Internationals

We had plenty on International Duty to start the month, including our 14th and 15th Senior Internationals.

 

The bank balance takes a hit this month.

 

We complete our upgrades to both Training and Youth Facilities.

I am going to continue chasing those as much as the Board will allow.

 

A busy month coming up, including Charlton twice in three days.

[Stuniverse]

1 hour ago, Punch said:

We sit 2nd behind the still unbeaten Derby.

Great start to the season, @Punch.

Derby got relegated then and are the current Yo-Yo team.

1 hour ago, Punch said:

Our good form lead to players taking our both the Player of the Month, and the Young Player of the Month Awards.

1 hour ago, Punch said:

We complete our upgrades to both Training and Youth Facilities.

I am going to continue chasing those as much as the Board will allow.

Fingers crossed.

1 hour ago, Punch said:

A busy month coming up, including Charlton twice in three days.

It is the Championship and Charlton are 16th, you'll be fine.

[Punch]

8 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Great start to the season

So far so good.

 

8 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Derby got relegated then and are the current Yo-Yo team

Yeah they appear to have become the new Norwich 

 

 

[Blarney]

Excellent start to the season.  Your player wages compared to the rest of the league are ridiculous, which is going to help in the long run, especially if you do make the jump this season.

[Punch]

3 hours ago, Blarney said:

Excellent start to the season.  Your player wages compared to the rest of the league are ridiculous, which is going to help in the long run, especially if you do make the jump this season.

Thank you!

They have gone up a lot, but still crazy low compared to the rest of the league.

[Punch]

 

OCT 2039

A mixed bag as we win three of our six League games, although we only lose one, but we also managed to advance in the League Cup.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

A game of missed chances as we drop points to Hull.

A late goal off the bench for Rooney rescued a point, as we dominated the match, but almost got nothing out of it.

 

Palace made us work hard for it, but we got the points, which was all that was important.

Despite the early goal, we made hard work of it before getting a second, which would be the winner late.

We then quickly gave up a goal to make the final 20 minutes a bit hectic, but we managed to hang on.

 

A really strange match as we dominated possession, but struggled to do anything with it.

We were down two goals before they had a player sent off just before the break.

We hit back almost straight away, but were unable to make our numerical advantage pay, going down in a disappointing result.

 

We bounce back with a devastating performance as Ipswich were just dominated out of the match.

Two goals in each half, while we only allowed the visitors one shot on goal, none on target.

That's how we can play when it all clicks. Now we just need to find that consistently.

 

A tight battle against Charlton as neither side were able to create much in attack.

Both sides defences were on point, despite giving up an early goal, we managed to hit back, but neither side could find a winner.

 

A really good all round performance as we suffocate Barnsley out of the match.

It took us a while to find the net, but two second half goals and a clean sheet made for a good finish to the month.

 

Three days after our League draw against the same team, we played a heavily rotated team who ran riot.

A big day out for Adams who smashed home four goals, sending us through to the Quarter Finals.

 

We will host Boro for a shot at the Semi Finals.

 

 

We find ourselves on top of the table at the month end, but we have been as low as 4th, so a couple of results either way can make a massive change.

 

Finnegan wins his second straight Player of the Month, continuing his brilliant form over the last few seasons.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

Arani is still our number one, but he is facing pressure from Hamilton for his starting spot.

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

Finnegan has continued his impressive few seasons, but the stats don't tell the full story.

Garai, while not getting the glory stats, has been an absolute menace among opposition defences, creating havoc, pulling defenders in, and creating the spaces for Finnegan and Chambers.

 

Internationals

We again had plenty of players on duty in the early month International break.

 

A pretty standard result for the month.

 

An unusually quiet month as we face only four League games.

[Punch]

 

NOV 2039

A small month in the schedule due to an International Break, but we managed to go undefeated, winning 3 and drawing the other.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

We had to come from behind in this one, but we ended up running away with a comfortable win.

The visitors scored the early goal, and we had to wait until first half injury time before we finally leveled.

The flood gates opened in the second half though, with Bolton unable to contain our attack.

 

We had to come from behind again in this one, but could only manage a share of the points.

We had plenty of chances, but their keeper had a blinder, and we were unable to get past him to secure a winner.

 

A really tight battle at Deepdale as we get away with a narrow win.

Breaking our recent tradition of conceding early, we managed to score first, and then hung on as both sides really struggled to make any impact.

 

We absolutely dominated this one against the struggling Rotherham, however they made us work hard for the result.

Despite plenty of attacking intent, they defended well, limiting us to a goal in each half.

But it was a solid win, with a clean sheet as well, so a decent day.

 

 

 

We maintain our place at the top of the tree.

 

Our continued good form leads us to a couple of awards.

Finnegan somehow failed to win his third straight Player of the Month, despite 4 goals in 4 games.

 

Internationals

Plenty of players in International Duty again this month.

 

A pretty standard month.

 

A consequence of a small November schedule means we have a massive 8 games in December.

[Punch]

 

DEC 2039

With the second Swansea match postponed due to Cup commitments, we only had to face seven games, and it ended up being a pretty good month as we win four of six.

We also managed to advance in a tight battle in the League Cup.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

The perennial yo-yo team Norwich have been struggling this season, and we'd blown them off the park inside 21 minutes.

We cruised through the rest of the match, although gave away a silly consolation goal late in the piece.

 

A tight first half seen us go to the break level.

They couldn't contain us in the second half as the flood gates opened and we ran away with the win.

 

A crazy first 30 minutes where we found ourselves down three goals despite dominating the possession.

We worked hard through the second half but left ourselves too much work to recover the deficit.

 

A tough battle against Derby as we were held to a draw.

We dominated and looked likely to score a bag of goals, but couldn't find a winner.

 

Another crazy game where we dominated the match, but it took a late winner to secure the points.

We could have scored plenty, but somehow managed to smash the woodwork on three occasions.

Luckily we done enough to get the points.

 

Another dominated performance, but Rochdale held us out through the first half.

We scored early in the second half, before sealing the deal late in the piece.

 

A massive fight back as we come from two goals down to level the score late.

We held our nerve through the penalty shoot out, where Hamilton stood tall, making two great saves to send us through.

 

We face the Red side of Manchester in the Semi, hosting them in the first leg, before traveling to Old Trafford for the return leg.

 

 

We hold on to first place.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

A pretty impressive performance for a kid who has been the back up for the last few seasons, but he is pushing hard to take Arani's place.

 

Another standard month.

 

Youth Intake Preview

The preview makes no great promises, but as long as we can churn out one or two players of great promise, we keep moving forward.

 

A busy month as we face 5 League games, the League Cup semi final, and our FA Cup campaign also kicks off.

[Blarney]

Having a great season.

[Punch]

6 hours ago, Blarney said:

Having a great season.

We have managed to cut out a lot of the inconsistency that has plagued us over the last few seasons...so far at least

[Stuniverse]

Great season so far, @Punch

[Punch]

5 hours ago, Stuniverse said:

Great season so far, @Punch

Going well, but still a long way to go yet 

[Punch]

 

JAN 2040

A win in the FA Cup 3rd Round seen us end up with a massive 9 games this month.

While we went undefeated in our five League games, we only won two of them, we gave Man U a bit of a fright in the League Cup Semi Final before crashing out, and we advanced twice in the FA Cup.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

A tight battle at Blackpool where neither side were unable to create a lot of genuine chances.

The two goals in the match were scored in the space of two minutes as the hosts took the lead and then we hit straight back.

We couldn't find a winner though, so we share the points.

 

It took us a while to make our mark on this match, but two late goals were enough to seal the points.

Both sides had their chances in the first half, but we put in a solid defensive performance to keep the hosts scoreless.

 

A disappointing collapse as we fell asleep after taking a two goal lead.

The hosts caught us napping scoring an injury time equaliser to steal a share of the points.

 

Second game in a row where we give up an injury time equaliser.

We played well to come back from behind, putting enough pressure on them to force an own goal to give us the lead.

We couldn't hang on though as deep into injury time they took advantage of some tired defending to take a point.

 

We rounded out the month with a brilliant all round performance, smashing Charlton.

Back to back goals for Finnegan sent us on our way to a solid win, allowing us to cruise to victory scoring two more goals along the way.

A good finish to the month as we had some tired bodies in the squad.

 

We surprised the visitors who were highly fancied, holding them to a draw in front of a full house at home.

We possibly had our chances as well, but they also had plenty of chances, but we at least were in a good spot heading into the return leg.

 

A big crowd at Old Trafford as the Red Devils flexed their considerable muscle to send us out of the League Cup.

They scored two, but could have scored a lot more, but we kept them honest in a decent performance against a much bigger club.

Well beaten, but not embarrassed.

 

A solid performance as we meet expectations in beating the Rovers in some style.

Plenty of rotation against the League Two outfit, but they got the job done.

 

Another dominant performance, with a rotated squad against a lower League team.

Plenty of solid performances up and down the park, as we get the job done, moving on to the next round.

 

After needing penalties to eliminate them from the League Cup, we a drawn against Boro again for our 4th meeting of the season.

 

 

We have extended our lead at the top of the table, not really with brilliant form, but the others falling over around us.

 

Finnegan continues his stunning form, taking his 3rd award for the season.

 

Transfer Window

 

Moves have been made as we say goodbye to a few players.

 

This was a tough one as I said goodbye to a fellow Australian.

Barker had become a back up defender, and while he was a solid choice, he wanted to move on for more first team chances.

Forest paid plenty, and we got a few extras in there as well, so they will keep paying for some time to come.

 

Dampc had been looking for a move for some time, and when Hoffenheim came in with this offer, it was too good to refuse.

We got in a few extras as well, so they will also continue to pay us for a while to come.

This one made the players a bit unhappy, thinking we were a bit short of quality in defence, but I was able to appease them, reminding that we have some exciting young prospects coming through to fill the void.

 

There were a lot of moving parts at the time this deal happened.

Arani, who had become our Club Captain, had just about been ousted by Adam Hamilton as our Number One keeper.

Prior to this, I had rejected a few offers for him from English clubs, but when the chance came to send him to an overseas club, and for a lot of money, it made the decision easy.

With a more than capable back up ready in Mason, we are well stocked for quality keepers, so with a good payment, plus extras to keep the money rolling in, it was a no brainer.

 

We still have plenty of sell on clauses in play, including some pretty high value ones, should they decide to sell.

We also are still receiving plenty of money for 'per League appearance' fees.

 

We break our single season transfer record with these sales.

 

Our wage bill actually went down slightly, with the sold players, and we are back to 2nd last, almost laughably behind a lot of the big clubs.

 

With Captain Arani leaving the Club, former Vice-Captain Finnegan has been promoted to Captain, while his strike partner Chambers, has been named as our new Vice-Captain.

While it will be a bit unusual to have our two leaders at the front of the park, there was not really any suitable choices further back at this stage.

 

A massive month as we clear the £60 million mark for the first time.

 

The busy schedule keeps coming as we face another 7 matches next month.

[Punch]

 

FEB 2040

A solid month as we win four of six League games, Finnegan continues to smash them in for fun, while we also advanced in the FA Cup.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

A dominant performance, and while the visitors held us out for a long time, we got two late goals to seal the three points.

 

We took the early lead, but had to come from behind to secure a point at Stoke.

A pretty evenly matched game as both teams played pretty attacking football, just the execution was lacking for the most part.

 

Another dominant performance as we brush Brighton aside.

With a two goal lead at the break, the visitors hit back just after the break to make the game more interesting, but we scored a sealer soon after to secure the points.

 

A tough beat as we gave up an early goal, hit back, and then gave up another goal almost straight away.

It was a pretty tight affair, but we were unable to find the goal a second time to get the points.

We lose our first game at home for the season.

 

We bounce back with a solid win, although we were made to work for it.

After a lackluster first half, the hosts scored first, but when we finally got the equaliser, we ran away with it from there, netting twice more to run away with the three points.

 

We round out the month with a dominant performance, but hard fought win as Bolton made us earn the three points.

Despite a mass of chances, we only managed the one goal, but it was enough to secure the points.

 

A great performance from a highly rotated squad get the job done in emphatic style.

Four different goalscorers kept the scoreboard ticking over, as we march on to the Quarter Finals.

 

We host Blackburn in the Quarter Final.

 

 

We hold our place at the top of the League, having an 8 point gap to Peterborough.

 

Finnegan has been smashing in goals for fun this season, winning his fourth Player of the Month award.

He has scored over 30 League goals already this season.

 

A contract extension sees me staying on the island for another three years, and with a decent pay rise as well.

 

Back to a standard month.

 

A busy month coming up again, including facing Blackburn twice in a week.

[shd34_216_42]

Game must be glitching, shouldn't be facing Blackburn twice at home.

Promotion is looking likely, can't wait for the ground sharing because of stadium expansion and where you end up when that happens. 

[Punch]

30 minutes ago, shd34_216_42 said:

Game must be glitching, shouldn't be facing Blackburn twice at home.

Promotion is looking likely, can't wait for the ground sharing because of stadium expansion and where you end up when that happens. 

One of them is the FA Cup Quarter Final.

Would only need an extra 2k seats, and we had 20k expansion room, so we may be able to stay at home while they add the extras.

[Punch]

 

MAR 2040

Our second Blackburn game was postponed due to Internationals, but what a month we put in.

Winning all four League games, conceding only one goal in the process, while we also advanced in the FA Cup.

Even more pleasing was that Finnegan failed to find the net for the entire month, and we still won everything in convincing style, showing we are not a one man team.

 

Match Reports

Spoiler

A really tight battle against play off hopefuls Watford, with the match decided by a single goal.

Chances were few and far between for both sides, with Brown's 18th minute effort being the decider.

 

Another tight battle as we get the better of Preston.

A goal just before the break gave us the lead, but it wasn't until deep into injury time before we scored the sealer.

 

A dominant performance against the struggling Rotherham.

We gave them nothing in a brilliant all around performance, keeping a clean sheet, and banging in three goals to make for a good day at the office.

 

An early goal, but the hosts hit back 20 minutes later, but the scores were level for only a minute as we took the lead again into half time.

A sealer in the second half made for a good performance.

 

A tough battle and we made hard work of it against Blackburn.

We had to come from behind, scoring a winner in the shadows of full time to send us through to the semi final.

 

We are off to Wembley for the semi final where we face Liverpool.

 

 

With a game in hand we have extended our lead at the top of the table.

With a play off spot at the minimum confirmed, we have one hand on the Championship Title, and one foot in the door of the Premier League.

 

We collect Young Player, and Manager of the Month awards for our winning run.

 

Stats

 

Goalkeepers

 

Defenders

 

Midfielders

 

Forwards

 

 

I spoke to the Board and they agreed to further upgrades.

 

We have a representative in the NXGN list, with 38a Dylan Mountney coming in at 49th.

 

Internationals

Two new Internationals as Haddock and Mountney earn their first Caps for Ireland.

 

The bank takes a hit as the Training Upgrades are paid for.

 

A busy month ahead as we face six League games, and the FA Cup Semi Final.

[Punch]

 

MAR 2040 - Youth Intake

 

The first intake of the new decade arrives, and while the preview offered very little in the way of promise, lets see what has been delivered.

 

One potential superstar defender, and a couple of possibly solid looking candidates makes for an positive start.

 

The attribute scores show plenty of potential, especially within the top 5, while there rest may not even be picked up.

 

While it's not an important part of this save, there were only two Guernsey natives in this intake.

 

The Best of them

Spoiler

A potential superstar in the making, the highest ever potential player to come out of our academy.

If we can get him to reach his potential, he is a potential leader within our defensive line for many years to come.

At over 2 meters tall, he has the potential to be huge in more ways than one.

 

A solid looking midfielder, and while not the out and out potential superstar, he does have the potential to make himself a useful part of the rotation.

 

Another player showing solid potential, at both forward and midfield, although he looks more like a midfielder, so will train him there.

 

A decent looking goal keeper, while he doesn't have the potential of our current two best, he does make a solid option, that maybe will either be a good back up, or make us some decent money down the track.

 

Another solid midfielder, again with rotation potential.

 

 

 

While not a huge intake to be excited about, there is at least one superstar, and a few potential rotation players.

Not impressive, but with development, enough to keep us progressing forward.

[Stuniverse]

1 hour ago, Punch said:

With a play off spot at the minimum confirmed, we have one hand on the Championship Title, and one foot in the door of the Premier League.

Don't get complacent now, @Punch... stay focussed and get the other foot through that door!

[shd34_216_42]

On 26/01/2024 at 17:56, Punch said:

One of them is the FA Cup Quarter Final.

Would only need an extra 2k seats, and we had 20k expansion room, so we may be able to stay at home while they add the extras.

That makes more sense than the screenshot claim.

I'm guessing that they are going far beyond expanding to the minimum, given you have money, the club can borrow more money if necessary, and that you would likely get more than 12.5k in attendance, so you'll probably be ground sharing for a season or so.

I like the representation of island nations in the youth intake.

[Punch]

On 28/01/2024 at 17:29, Stuniverse said:

Don't get complacent now, @Punch... stay focussed and get the other foot through that door!

I plan on kicking that door off it’s hinges