[FM21] Climbing the Football Pyramid

[iccilja]

Deciding on what kind of save to do is always kind of tricky. My two preferred countries to play in are either England or Italy and although I like doings saves whilst managing big clubs like Juventus and Tottenham, my most preferred save is starting unemployed, with no badges at all and climbing up the ladder - keeping it as realistic as possible. Usually I stick to one country and spend a number of seasons before I actually turn my interest to something else or lose touch with the save.

Enough of the blabbering and for this save I am opting to start unemployed with no badges and no experience in England's top six leagues. The uncertainty of how long a club might take to come seeking my services is always very intriguing and then choosing your first club (especially if there is more than one option) can definitely be mind-blogging and full of uncertainties - shall I take this challenge? is it a risk? is it a safe bet? how fast can I showcase my abilities and raise both my profile and that of the club I am managing. So far I am not sure whether this will be a one club save or a  journeyman adventure. Will have to wait and see!!

The Beginning - August 2020

Upon starting this adventure, there were 5 clubs who were seeking someone to lead them. Who am I not give them a knock on their door and see what they say:

• One in League One - Northampton Town
• Three in League Two - Leyton Orient & Colchester United 
• One in Vanarama National League - Wealdstone FC - and,
• One in Vanarama National League North - Spennymoor Town.

Immediately (and quite understandably) the clubs from the English football League dismissed my application - a foreign manager with no experience … no way! However, it was just a matter of days and both Wealdstone FC and Spennymoor Town approached me with an offer. That adreline feeling kicked in - Wealdstone a newly promoted club to the 5th Tier having won the VNLS whereas Spennymoor Town had finished 6th in the VNLN the previous season. Both clubs are on Semi-Professionals Status and no transfer budget was put on the table.

Finally the choice fell on WEALDSTONE FC - with the primary reason being that they are one tier above the other. And so it began, on the 8th of August 2020, I signed a one year contract with The Stones. Wealdstone FC play their games at the Grosvenor Vale which holds a capacity of 3,200 (709 seated) and I found it to be in quite a good condition. 

The vision was set in place and the targets set where:

Also it was agreed with the chairman that I start working on my badges and got enrolled to study for the National C License.

Edited September 30, 2023 by iccilja

[iccilja]

Preseason – The Squad

During the month of August, I had the chance to take a long look at the situation at the club. Staff wise, there were only two professionals contracted to the club – an Assistant Manager and a Physio. Meanwhile there was a Head of Youth Development supporting the youth system on a non-contract. So I started a recruitment process which culminated in contracts being offered to 5 staff members in various roles – 2 coaches (52 yr old Martin O'Connor & 60 yr old Mark Newson), 2 scouts (Joe Taylor & Kevin Lee) and 1 Head Physio (Jamie Croswell).

As with regards to the crop of players, I found a good group of individuals with significant potential. In total there were 21 players – 17 on part time contracts, 2 on a non-contract whilst the 2 loanees where on full time contracts. Average age stands at 26 years which is just one year above the divisions average & the total wage bill is €8,162 p/w.

Goalkeepers

• Harry Isked (23 yrs) – on loan from Luton and in his second season with The Stones
• Jake Askew (18 yrs) – joined on a non-contract from Chelsea

Defenders

• Josh Meekings (28 yrs) – joined on a non-contract following 3 seasons in the Scottish Championship/Premiership with Dundee – quite an experienced lad for the VNL
• Miche Efete (23 yrs) – the Congolese who was instrumental the previous seasons in the title winning race with 7 goals
• Joseph Olowu (21 yrs) – on loan from Arsenal following another loan at Cork City in the Irish Premier Division
• Jack Cawley (28 yrs) – joined from Concord as a back-up player
• Jerome Okimo (32 yrs) – the captain who is in his 4^th season with The Stones and a very experienced lad
• Jacob Mendy (24 yrs) – another lad who contributed a lot – 7 goals – the previous season.
• Connor Stevens (24 yrs) - in his third season at Wealdstone but suffered a serious injury and having to spend around 8 months on the sidelines

Midfielders

• Michael Philips (23 yrs) – in his 2^nd season at Wealdstone having played 31 times the previous campaign
• Dan Wishart (28 yrs) – joined from VNLS side Maidstone
• Connor Smith (27 yrs) – the Irishman is also in his 2^nd season with The Stones
• Alex Dyer (30 yrs) – the only internationally capped player in the squad as he represents Montserrat
• Ashley Charles (21 yrs) – a promising youngster with considerable pace and acceleration (14) who is also in his 2^nd season with the club
• Matt Lench (28 yrs) – joined for his 2^nd stint with the club following his short stint in the 2018/19 season

Attackers

• Dannon Lewis (23 yrs) – a versatile individual who bagged 11 goals in the previous campaign
• Daniel Green (30 yrs) – the longest serving player for the club in the current squad as he is going to start his 5^th year at the Grosvenor Vale
• Moises Emmanuel (31 yrs) – another experienced striker who played a part role in the Title winning season
• Jorome Slew (23 yrs) – a Sheffield United product who is rejoining The Stones for a 2^nd stint having already played his trade in 8 different clubs
• Danny Parish (22 yrs) – a goal scoring machine for Maldon & Tiptree in the Isthmian D1N with 30 goals
• Charlee Hughes (24 yrs) - joins from Maldon & Tiptreeand yet to prove himself on such a big stage
• Ross Lafayette (35 yrs) – the oldest individual in the club is in his 2^nd season with the club (3^rd in total)

Edited September 30, 2023 by iccilja

[iccilja]

Pre-season Matches & Starting XI - September 2020

Coming September, we needed to start thinking about the best starting XI to use in the upcoming season. Thankfully, pre season games were round the corner and had the chance to test a 4-3-3 DM Wide formation which I thought suited our players best. Results were very satisfying with 4 wins and 1 draw. Also the fact that we conceded only in two of those games was quite encouraging as I wanted to focus on having a solid defense.

Not knowing much about the players, I encouraged them to showcase their abilities and impress as obviously I was going to rely on the data and results obtained to pick my first XI coming October. Parish grabbed the opportunity as he scored 7 goals in 5 matches and he missed finding the back of the net only in the final friendly game. Emmanuel and Meekings were two other lads who shined during these games with a good average rating and thus cemented their place coming the first batch of league games.

(Don't take note of the partnership lines as the shot was taken at a later stage)

[iccilja]

October 2020

And here we are, it finally kicked off, and what a first month it turned out to be. In a way it was what we were expecting - as a newly promoted side I didn't expect to win all the games - on the otherhand - I was expecting a battle in each and every one of them. The first two games at the Grosvenor in front of an avg attendance of 1,200 we suffered our first two defeats - a reality check that the Vanarama National wasn't going to be an easy ride. However to note the 5 clean sheets that we managed to keep which promise good for the future. Would have liked to be more accurate infront of goal but will settle for these 4 league goals scored (2 Parish, Okimo & Emmanuel). To note also the dramatic defeat again Dag & Red as Clark found the net in the 92nd minute - gutted!

Also kick started our adventure in the FA Cup with a tie at home against Kingstonian - expected a bit more than just a 1-0 but the 61" goal scored by Philips secured our presence in the next round.

By the end of October we were in a solid mid-table position - 11th - with a good 10 points in the bag!

November 2020

One win in five is the outcome of this month - we need to pull our act together but there is still a long way to go. Stockport dominated the game against us and I believe we were lucky to go home with a point as throughout the whole match we didn't manage to shoot one on target. Parish's brace against Woking was the first time we managed to net twice in the same game following pre season - an improvement on the attacking front. Another point against Aldershot - another match where we were over powered but took the lead in the final 10 minutes but lacked the discipline to keep the back line tight and conceded another late goal. On the other hand, despite the defeat against Notts Co - who are favourites to challenge for the title - I was pleased with the performance and compactness that the squad showed. We managed to threaten our opponents a number of times and had 6 attempts on target as well. Finally we succumbed to a 77th minute lone goal. Parish was once again the key player this month scoring all four league goals. 

Back to the FA Cup once again but this time round we were eliminated against the League Two side - with our only goal scored by Lewis.

By the end of November we were still in a good mid-table position - 13th - with 15 points. 

December 2020

Time to mix it up a little bit and first signs of dressing room disgruntlement!! 

After a run of 7 games without a win and during which we managed only 3 meagre points, the squad started showing signs of unhappiness at the current form. Had to call for a team meeting and challenged the players to do their part whilst we as staff were going to explore a change in tactics to try and shake up things and possibly bring a positive change. Performance wise we weren't doing that bad but 3 games with no goals scored pushed me more to change and give more attacking options. 

As a result, for the FA Trophy game against Boreham Wood - we shifted from the 4-3-3 formation so far utilised and implemented a 4-4-2 formation with the focus still being on the wings considering that both Emmanuel and Wishart were fast and could cause problems with their runs.

This gamble brought the desired change as we won the final two games of the year scoring 5 goals whilst conceding 3. Defense wise this formation leaves more to be desired as the open gap between midfield and defense poses a substantial risk which I need to address in the coming weeks during training. Also we had three different goal scorers this month with Parish still taking the lead with another 4 goals, whilst Emmanuel scored 2 and Green opened his account for this campaign.

Coming end of December, we were still in a mid-table, 13th - with which I was quite satisfied and the board seemed happy as well. The main concern however was still the lack of goals scored especially when compared to those close to us. With 13 league goals scored, we were second bottom as only Weymouth found the back of the net fewer times (6) than us.

December also saw me making our first ever signing in Ollie O'Dwyer - the central defender was one of a number of trialists and impressed to the point where we opted to offer him a short term contract till the end of the season. The Reading product - who also played at Crystal Palace's academy - signed for The Stones on the 10th of December and made his senior debut two days later against Sutton. Meanwhile, during the same month, due to lack of opportunities at hand, Charlee Hughes was loaned to St. Albans in VNLS hoping to find more game time. 

Edited September 30, 2023 by iccilja

[iccilja]

January 2021

Happy New Year and Happy Goals. The change in formation really clicked in terms of scoring opportunities as we managed to net 15 times in 6 games but at the other end of the spectrum we conceded 14 goals in total. Experienced a couple of thrilling encounters with the win against Halifax – making a superb comeback from 3-0 down by the 60” with Slew opening his account and scoring a brace – as well as the 5-3 win against Boreham Wood – with 7 goals being scored in the first half and Parish taking the ball home with a hattrick.

 

Wealdstone went for the FA Trophy 4^th Round to Cray and emerged victorious thanks to another brace from Slew who looked really inspired following the festive period.

January ended with Wealdstone dropping slightly in the standings – 16^th – with both Slew and Parish scoring 5 goals each. During this month we wanted to give more competition to our 1^st choice keeper and brought in 21 yr old Adam Parkes on loan from Watford (with the Hornets being our Senior Affiliate). He debuted in the chaotic match against Boreham Wood.

February 2021

Super February we have to say. A month in which we won 5 out of 6 games which shot us straight up in the standings bringing us closer to the play-off places than the relegation zone. The fans are buzzing, the players are full of confidence and we feel like we can take anyone who comes our way. Defense wise we also managed to settle down in this new formation as we conceded just 3 goals. Parish remained our consistent goals scorer bagging another 4 goals along the way. New keeper Parkes took on the no 1 shirt for this month and had some excellent performances.

As a result, by the end of February we rose from 16^th to 9^th with 43 points and that is bordering play-off zone. The only negative note was the elimination from the FA Trophy at the hands of Yeovil following that we went one goal up – we take it as a lesson learnt and an opportunity to focus on the league.

On an individual level, we had some honours to collect at the end of the month as Dennon Lewis won the ‘Goal of the Month’ for his goal against King’s Lynn – Amazing.

It was also my turn to collect my first award in my early career days. I got nominated and won the VN Manager of the Month as I beat the competition of Dean Keates and John Askey of Wrexham and Solihull Moors respectively. Let’s keep them coming.

All of this brought some positive public praise from our Chairman. It is always a pleasure hearing the boss praising the work that are doing on training and during matches. I am aware that I also have got a few months left on my contract so hopefully these results will convince the Chairman to prolong this working relationship.

Contract wise we suffered a blow as Alex Dyer opted to make a move to Qadsia in Kuwait at the end of the season. It’s a blow as he was an influential and important member of the squad but with this agreement sealed to note that he will be earning more than 6 times what he is currently on. Good Luck mate! This unfortunate event made us realise more the need to start tying down some of the players for the foreseeable future thus the following individuals were given a new 1 year contract – Connor Smith, Michael Philips & Daniel Green – whilst the rest were given 2 year contracts – Dan Wishart, Jorome Slew, Danny Parish, Jerome Okimo and Matt Lench.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by iccilja

[iccilja]

March 2021

One win in six games is a stark contrast to our previous month. We went from winning to not being able to keep a winning advantage. In the game against Solihull Moors we went 3 nil up in the first half to be reached back with two of their goals coming in the 88” and 91”. Similary in the game against Stockport – from a 2-0 advantage they score twice in the final 7 minutes and last but not least the game against Aldershot in which we thought we had scored the match winning goal through Emmanuel in the 92” only for our opponents to level the score immediately.

It was a month of highs and lows as we suffered a major blow in the injury suffered by Parish in the game against Stockport which put him for 3 weeks on the sidelines. In order to counterattack this loss I shifted Emmanuel upfront with Slew and it seemed to make the trick as Emmanuel scored 4 in the game against Woking. In fact he was our goalscorer of the month with 7 goals. Also we brought in Tom Fielding – a promising pacey youngster - on a free transfer as 35 yr old Lafayette was terribly out of form.

Unfortunately our positive streak had to come to an end in the mismatch against Notts Co. Still very happy with the run that we made and positive vibes it brought with it.

And as I was hoping for, these positive results and the excellent form that the club was showing, brought a contract offer on the table which I gladly signed. I feel that we have a long way ahead of us but there is a lot of potential in the club. I signed a two year contract. Also as part of the agreement I continued my studies and went on to start the National B Licence coaching course.

At the of March, Wealdstone improved their standings in the table by one place moving up to 8^th and remaining very close in contention for the play-offs.

Finally we gave another batch of 2 year contracts to Moses Emmanuel, Miche Efete & Ollie O’Dwyer.

[iccilja]

April 2021

Very satisfied with this month. Had tough games on schedule and managed to perform quite well. Only one defeat against Hartlepool in a very balanced game. Our opponents scored the only goal in the 11^th minute and they managed to keep us at bay. Meanwhile 8 points in these 5 games is slightly more than I was expecting as Chesterfield, Hartlepool and Yeovil (who were in a good run at the moment) were all challenging games.

Not so many goals scored – 6 (Parish with 2, Lewis with 2 whilst Lench and Dyer netted once each) – but similarly only 5 goals conceded.

By the end of April we managed to keep the same position as last month – 8^th – but Maidenhead managed to gain two points more. Still game on for a place in the playoff with Chesterfield, Maidenhead and Barnet our main rivals in this chase.

Finally both 24 year olds - Ashley Charles and Dennon Lewis - were both handed a two year contract. Lewis more for his performances this season whilst Charles still showing potential thus not worth losing him for nothing.

May 2021

We started the final month of this thrilling season with a message from the board showing their delight that with the work done this season we are already one year ahead of schedule in establishing Wealdstone in the Vanarama National League.

Also it was time to evaluate the new Youth Intakes. Amongst the money trialists that we had 16 yr old Larry O’Donoghue – a defender who can play across the various positions in defense - shined the most and by the end of the trial period he was given a contract together with 15 year olds Ola Friday and Junior Acheampong. The rest of the trialists were released.

What a topsy turvy month. By the 15^th of May, following a great win against Altrincham, The Stones had destiny in their own hands. A win against direct rivals for playoffs Maidenhead would nearly secure a place in the top 7 places. And everything seemed to be going our way … until half time! We started the game brilliantly and adopting a similar attacking approach to the previous game – First Parish, then O’Swyer and eventually Slew put us 3 goals in front at the break. During the break we focused on keeping our discipline and focus, changed to more counter attacking and wanted to slow down the pace. Yet Maidenhead came at us like there is no tomorrow by the 66” they had narrowed the gap to just one goal. The final seven minutes were heartbreaking with our opponents scoring twice to book their place in the play-offs instead.

Our morale was very low during the following week. We knew that we had to rely on Chesterfield not winning whilst we had to win at all costs. It wasn’t to be – on the final day of the season, Chesterfield won 2-0 whilst we lost 3-1 at home in front of our fans!

We finished the season in 9^th and overall when one considers the early season predictions we should be happy and satisfied but actually it is quite a bitter sweet feeling at the moment. Yoevil surpassed us on final day as they continued with their fine run. 66 points in total it is. Now we know that we need at least 70 points to be with a realistic chance of making the play-offs. Not giving up!

As a kind of consolation award, our Danny Parish won the Player of the Month Award for his performance with the 22 year old bagging 5 goals in 5 games whilst providing 3 assists for his team mates.

[O1] 

Finally as the month of May reached its end, striker Lafayette’s contract ended and he opted to leave the club whereas, Mendy & Stevens stayed on a rolling contract.

[iccilja]

End of Season Review - 'In pictures'

[iccilja]

Preparations & Pre-season 2021/22 (End July 2021)

Whilst the players went on holiday for their summer break, the club kept working hard in order to improve its financial situation. These two kits sponsorships signed for one year each will provide an additional €12k more than the previous year with a total of €34.5k. 

Changes kept on taking place also with regards to the backroom staff. The physio’s contract was terminated and a replacement identified in Katie Simmonds - the only female staff present who signed a one year contract. Two year extensions were also given to coaches Newson and O’Connor. Meanwhile scout Kevin Lee joined Port Vale for a €16,750 fee and his place was taken by 39 year old Shane Gone who signed a one year contract. 

Also the board of directors opted to postpone the expansion of the Grosvenor Vale and will wait another year to see how the upcoming season unfolds prior to commit to a financially heavy project which will increase the capacity of the stadium by at least another 800 seats - thus reaching the minimum requirement of 4,000 seats.

The aim for the upcoming season is to once again focus on staying in the division. I know we have the capabilities to fight for something more but our priority remains that. The board for this year also would like us to play high tempo pressing football – something which we tried implementing last year with various degrees of success.

An effort was also made to strengthen the team from the previous season. We were aware that the defensive area needed more work in light of the fact that we had no keepers apart from young Askew. Also we were unsure of Cawley, Stevens and Mendy thus wanted to up the game and bring more quality players – eventually these three players were released from the club together with Charlee Hughes who was out on loan last season. Midfield wise more or less we were okay and up front we want to add one or two more to have greater competition and a good back up.

So we looked around and throughout the preseason period we managed to sign up the following:

·         Emmanuel Idem – 22 year old Goalkeeper – who was on the books of Derby in the championship but failed to make any appearances.

·         Adam Parkes – resigned the keeper we had on loan the previous season this time on a permanent basis for one year

·         Alan Massey – 32 year old Central Defender – brought in on a free after several years at Maidenhead where he featured prominently. Also a return at the Vale for the experienced defender.

·         Tobi Omole – 21 year old Left Back – following spells with Arsenal and Tottenham where he played in the reserve teams, we sign the Nigerian on a free.

·         Michael Tait – 20 year old Forward – who is a product of Aston Villa but never featured for the senior team yet had a good season with the reserves last year.

·         Morgan Williams – 21 year old Central Defender – brought on loan from Coventry

·         James Clark – 21 year old Right Back – brought on loan from Mansfield following spells in the League Two and Vanarama North.

So whilst we kept looking around for a bargain signing, the players came back from their holidays and started focusing on our preseason games. 4 games in total and a very positive outcome. A 2-1 loss against League One side Exeter showed potential and then the following three games we dominated with several goals scored but on the other hand conceding once in each game. Parish and Slew showed that they were ready and firing with 6 goals and 4 goals respectively. Also we tried to book a friendly against our senior affiliate Watford but couldn’t find a slot in July during preseason so it was agreed for the game to be held mid-week during the month of August.

And with that we kicked off our second season in the Vanarama National League. A game in which each side played for or less for 45 minutes with Sutton dominating the first period and scoring twice but a good reaction from the boys in blue to come back and level. We could have also snatched a win in the dying minutes but our attempt on target went wide from close range. Daniel Green came on in the 66^th minute for Wishart and changed the game as he scored the leveler following that Parish had reduced the deficit to one goal.

[iccilja]

August 2021

A start we only dreamt of! Following the draw against Sutton on the opening day of the season, The Stones went on 5 win run which propelled the top the top of the table. Four consecutive 2-1 scores against teams which are more reputable than us such as recently relegated Scunthorpe and last season playoff achievers Hartlepool and Maidenhead. The negative highlight came in the last game of the month against newly promoted Flyde where we lost 3-2 having been infront in the early stage of the second half – could have managed the score in a better way.

As a result following the first seven games of the season, we find ourselves in third place level with Bromley and Yeovil on 16 points but with worse goal difference. Also our star striker Parish took the Player of the Month award for his 8 goals scored (out of the total 11) during this month. Well done Danny!!

Finally on the 11^th of August managed to play the much anticipated friendly game against Watford. The result was quite positive with a 1-1 drew. Our Slew opened the score whilst to note that a number of key players played for the Hornets. This was also an opportunity to generate some money as we generated €40k out of this which definitely helps our cause.

September 2021

Started the month with two defeats against in form Stockport and Bromley thus making it three defeats in row. Feared that our positive run during of the previous month was more of mirage rather than the true potential of the squad but belief is the key. Eventually managed to change this negative course with a 4-1 win against Barnet and even better a 4-0 win against Wrexham with Jorome Slew taking the spotlight as he managed to score an amazing 7 goals in two games. Definitely a striking partnership up front between Slew and Parish which is working wonders so far.

Despite collecting a total of 7 points out of a possible 15, Wealdstone managed to keep the pace with the league leaders, as Stockport and Bromley (coincidentally the 2 teams we lost against). Also to note that by end of September we have the best attacking force in the league as we managed to score a good 23 goals nearly two goals per game. Need to work a little bit more on our defensive department but as long as wins keep on coming I won’t complain.

On the transfer market, we kept looking around for individuals who can improve the squad and during this month we signed 19 yr old Adan George on loan from Birmingham. The idea is that he plays a backup role together with Tait and Fielding was dropped to the reserves squad. Also 25 yr old Tom Whelan, midfielder, who last year played for Chesterfield was signed on a one year deal.

October 2021

It’s a deju vu once again – August but better. Six wins on the trot with 4 consecutive clean sheets. I cannot ask more from the lads, they are giving it all in each and every game. We are also through to the First Round of the FA Cup but now I have a choice whether to give the cups a go or focus on the league considering the performances we are having. To note the 4-1 away win against relegated Morecambe who were expected to give us a beating but instead Parish scored a hat-trick.

Did a similar run like Stockport and remained two points behind them on second place with 38 points. Very happy and satisfied with how things are going at the moment. Kept our scoring form as we scored 16 goals in 6 games whilst conceding just 3 times.

And Parish keeps them coming. Another Player of the Month award for the 22 year old as he bags 8 goals in six appearance for the second time. Will have to make sure we keep him happy at the Vale!

[iccilja]

November 2021

What a shame lads – the elimination at the hands of Spennymoor in the FA Cup First Round was not on the card. Opted to rest a few players and give some minutes to others who have been eager to showcase what they can do but it backfired. Not starting Parish and Slew but going with Tait and George we lacked firepower. Unfortunately we soon conceded an own goal by our keeper yet we brought the game level through George five minutes later. Still we were chasing the game and an absolute stunner from outside the box in the 87^th minute ended our hopes of making it to the next round.

We suffered from that Cup exit and didn’t perform at all against Dag & Red with our defense being the best department. Apologies to the fans and will try better in the coming weeks. Then came two good wins and a draw which felt more like a defeat against relegation candidates Havant & W.

All of our goals this month came from our strikers with Parish netting a poker against Yeovil and another two FC Halifax whilst Slew scored twice. This run kept us in 2^nd place but Stockport had a massive month and opened an eight point lead at the top of the league. Still we are with a game in hand and hopefully can make it work.

Following our strikers in form run in front of goal – I’m showing a snippet of the leading goal scorers so far in the Vanarama National League. Our Danny Parish lead the charts with an astonishing 23 goals in 22 games followed by James-Taylor of Hartlepool and Bingham of Ebbsfleet with 17 and 16 goals respectively. Our Jorome Slew stands at 5^th with 13 goals netted.

December 2021

For the time first time in a year and a half we went through a month without a defeat. It was great as it was not just the wins but also the performances. Grinding a 1-0 win against Sutton sitting in the bottom places showed enormous determination and resilience. Also we got 3 wins away from home which highlights our away form as we won 11 out of 13 games.

We also won in the FA Trophy 3^rd Round against Concord. We started George upfront instead of Slew and once again he scored. We struggled and had to go to extra time with the score level on 2-2, twice levelling from going down. Yet goals from our ever green Parish and Omole – who scored his first ever goal of his career – gave us a 4-2 win and through to the next round.

And for the first time we lead the table by the end of the month. Stockport suffered defeat in their last match but they still have two games in hand. Yet sitting with 58 points after 27 games is something we dreamt of at the start of the season. That also means a good 18 point lead within the play-off places.

 

Throughout the month of December I also managed to conclude successfully my National A License and started the Continencal C Licence. On a dire note our two coaches failed to get their Continenal Pro Licence.

I received two job offers from Morecambe and Stevenage. The offer from Morecombe was easy – I refused outright as what we had going on at Wealdstone was not worth leaving. Also Morecombe was challenging for a place in the play offs whilst we were chasing the dream. With Stevenage it was a surprise as they were 17^th in League Two so that would mean a step up in the football pyramid. Still I have a contract here for another 18 months and I wanted to keep on going here and see where it goes – so there goes another refusal.

Danny Parish made it a hattrick of Awards in terms of Player of the Month. Scoring 9 goals in 5 games is amazing and he easily took home this award once again. Also we managed to finalise a signing I have been chasing for the past couple of months, 28 yr old Luke Gambin, was signed on a free transfer on an 18 month contract. This signing was given priority also in view the injury suffered by Wishart who is going to be on the sidelines for approximately 6-8 weeks. Gambin was given the shirt no 27 and made his debut in the goalless draw against Hartlepool coming on as a sub in the 70^th minute.

Edited October 21, 2023 by iccilja

[iccilja]

January 2022

Started the month with a fatigued Danny Parish so opted to rest him for the game against Maidenhead. George took the role but Slew took the scene with a double and Phillips opening the score to make it 3-0. Then we had a shaky period. Defeat in the cup in extra time against King’s Lynn saw us losing points against Scunthorpe and Flyde in the following matches. 2 defeats against Flyde is hard to take. Nonetheless a promotion challenger encounter against Stockport was won by the Stones with Parish and George scoring at the Vale.

January was characterized by a number of injuries to a number of players within the team mainly Slew, Gambin & Emmanuel.

By the end of the month Wealdstone are still top of the league with 65 points, matching the points tally of last season but still with 15 games to go. Stockport are second with 62 points but they have two games in hand and important to highlight Yeovil’s fine form as they climbed to 62 points as well. We need to keep the pace.

In the meantime our Head Physio, Jamie Crosswell, signs another two year deal whereas scout Shane Gore extends for another year with the Stones.

Also during the recent months there have been rumours of a possible takeover but so far Chairman Fitzegerard denied any of these. We want to avoid any potential instability at this key stages of the season.

Finally two other job offers from the League Two, first by Cambridge who at that time sat in 7^th place, and secondly by Oldham who were bottom of the table. I refused Oldham’s offer but was really tempted by Camridge’s offer. Attended the interview and was clear that I had no intention of leaving Wealdstone mid-season. Interview unsurprisingly was unsuccessful.

February 2022

Our shaky form continued in February. Not much to say or praise as one win in four matches seems to be taking its toll on this long season. A defeat against Barnet wasn’t on the card but they definitely deserved it as we barely came close to their goal anytime during the whole 90 minutes. In the following two games, a draw was the fair result despite it not being what we wanted. Two scorchers from Lench against Bromley, one to open the score and the other to level it, were the bitter sweet highlight. Finally another hattrick by Parish game us our only win of the month. Need to improve … and soon.

Unsurprisingly we lost the lead at the top of the table and Yeovil for the first time this season took 1^st place with 72 points. Wealdstone follow on 62 points wheras Stockport are still there but lost further ground and are on 69 points. Hartlepool are also closing the gap making it a tough finale but we are still 16 points within the play off places.

[iccilja]

March 2022

 

The Board of Directors through the Chairman Fitzgerald, expressed their delight that the club’s vision was being implemented ahead of schedule, by 2 years. Meanwhile discontent amongst players started cropping up with Massey expressing the need that the first XI needs strengthening. This was a result of the fact that Meekings was sold for €3.6k to Billericay leaving some gaps in the defensive positions. Also O’Dwyer also expressed his wish to be sold due to lack of game time and it was agreed that should a fee of €11k be received, then he will be sold. This discontent affected the morale at in the dressing room and had an impact on the first couple of matches during this month.

In fact Wealdstone suffered two consecutive defeats which pushed us down to 3^rd place in the table, yet the resilience and fighting spirit that The Stones showed winning 4 wins on the trot helped to keep the pace with Stockport and Yeovil. Daniel Green scored a brace against Altrincham whilst Parish and Slew were the sole goalscorers in the following two matches. In the final match of the month against Dag & Red, Parish was rested, a rarity but he was suffering from fatigue, and his replacement in Tait – fresh from a two year contract extension – scored in the dying minutes following that Wishart had opened the score.

 

End of March and Wealdstone find themselves in 3^rd on 82 points, 3 behind Stockport and Yeovil whilst enjoying a four point lead over Hartlepool who managed to enter this thrilling end of season finale. The positive goal difference which we managed to build up along the months might come in handy coming the end of the season seeing that with a 3 point advantage there is a real possibility that two teams end the season with the same points. 5 more games to go with tough away games against Morecombe and Yeovil but everything is possible … Believe!!

Also following the departure of Meekings, we went to our senior affiliate in Watford and brought in George Langston as a backup central defender for the remaining few matches.

April 2022

We did it!! We did it!!

What a fairytale ending to the season, a topsy turvy month which saw the league standings changing till the last day of the season, but Wealdstone managed to emerge on top and are now declared CHAMPIONS of the Vanarama National League.

Facing 5 games in 4 weeks, we knew that the first two games were crucial to keep the pace and put pressure on our opponents. At home against Morecambe, our Danny Parish opened the scored but they levelled through Hall – a game which was evenly matched with 9 shots on target (5 for Wealdstone). Then came what turned out to be title winning clash against Yeovil. A game which remained blocked till the 91^st minute when a free kick from outside the area, bended beautifully by Green, ended in the back of the net with all the staff, players and the 278 travelling fans ecstatic at this much anticipated win. A double by Parish gave us a hard fought win against Havant & W and with Yeovil losing three games in a row and Stockport dropping points again we were in the mix of it once again.

What was then supposed to be an easy games turned into a nightmare. Wealdstone faced FC Halifax having already been relegated and sitting bottom of the table. Yet despite the glaring difference in form and expectations – the visiting team dominated the opening stages and opened the score from the penalty spot on the 33^rd minute. With The Stones missing glaring chances and Parish and Lench not featuring in the starting XI due to not being fit, we struggled to regain control. Momentarily we brought the score level through Slew but one minute later Rees scored for FC Halifax in an open goal following a good save by Parkes. Fortunately for Wealdstone, both Yeovil and Stockport lost against Barnet (1-0) and Bromley (5-2) respectively.

And we come to the final game of the season. Wealdstone stood on top with 89 points joined by Stockport. Yeovil one point behind on 88 points with Hartlepool out of the equation on 84 points. We faced Boreham Wood, and encouraged the lads to take control of the match and try to score as early as possible to settle the nerves. Yet it was Stockport who took the lead first against Eastleigh after just four minutes of game play. Anxiety and anticipation kicked in but the team reacted brilliantly and Green and Parish scored in each half to give us a win in a game we dominated and a game which gave us the title. Meanwhile Stockport drew the game 2-2 – leaving The Stones alone in first place on 92 points.

As a side note during the first week of April, we enlarged our backroom staff with the signing of Liam Youngs – Head Performance Analyst on a part time contract, Greg Tindle – Chief Scout on a part time contract as well, whilst Ben Nicholson as the Fitness Coach and Austin Kalambayi as a Sports Scientist were signed on Full Time contracts for one year.

Finally following our now official promotion to the Football League (it has a sweet sound to it), the Chairman asked for a meeting to discuss the possibility of turning the club ‘Professional’ and eventually it was announced by the Chairman himself that plans for the club to turn professional were in place and this was to be announced in less than two months.

Soon after it was announced that Wealdstone FC will no longer play their home matches at the Grosvenor Vale due to the fact that it doesn’t meet the basic requirements of the Football League in term of capacity. As such the club will be hiring Barnet FC’s stadium – The Hive – which has a capacity of 6,500 spectators.

[iccilja]

Season Review in Pictures

… continued

… continued

[iccilja]

May 2022

May turned out to be quite a calm month for us. The play-offs ended with Yeovil being promoted together with us. At the end of the season awards, our Danny Parish featured prominently as he won the Vanarama National League Player of the Season as well as the Top Goalscorer Award. With regards to his goal scoring spree this season, Parish also broke a 12 year old record held by Matt Tubbs. Parish scored 45 goals with the previous record standing at 37. Finally on a personal note, I proudly received the Vanarama National League Manager of the Year Award. Very happy to achieve this accolode at just my second season in coaching. Meanwhile continued my coaching badges and we are currently studying for a Continental B Licence.

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by iccilja

[iccilja]

Transfer Market - Sumer 2022

IN:

1.       Aubrel Koutsimouka – bought for 11.25K from Bath. Featured 44 times and scored 3 times in the past season.

2.       Tyler Caton – first free transfer of this transfer window. Was on the books of Fulham. More of a future buy and I aim at loaning him out for him to get regular football.

3.       Alex Pike – brought in to replace James Clark in the right back slot - who was on loan last season. Already has 61 apps in League two with Celtenham and Cambridge.

4.       Junior Quitirna – confirmed from his loan spell last season. A dynamic midfielder with international experience who has a lot of potential.

5.       Amrit Bansal-McNulty – 22 year old who we had our eyes on for the last few months. Never played at this level and lacked competitive games with QPR. Still hope that he will feature prominently for us.

6.       Liam Gordon – brought in for free after featuring 20 times last season for Bolton and providing 2 assists. Will replace Okimo who is past his prime.

7.       Muhammadu Faal – 25 year old Gambian who was on the books of Bolton last season yet failed to find the net.

8.       James Rowland – substitute appearances in both the Championship and League One with Shrewsbury for this young 20 year old midfielder who will provide competition for our packed midfield.

9.       Callum Gribbin – one of the latest deals which arrived following the win against Leyton Orient. Very dynamic midfielder who can play in various role. Played 11 times for Barrow last season scoring once and provided 4 assists.

10.   Kai McKenzie-Lyle – back up keep brought in on loan from Cambridge. Not expecting him to feature much but definitely need a good alternative to Parkes just in case.

11.   Morgan Williams – managed to renew the loan deal for the 22 year old for another season from Coventry. Was solid for us at the back last year and hopefully he will be in a position to repeat his form.

OUT:

1.       Ollie O’Dwyer – sold for €7.5k to Wrexham. Was considering keeping him as a backup but he wanted to play more regularly.

2.       Ashley Charles – sold for €8.25K (can increase to €10.25K) to Barrow. Had too many midfielders and he would have struggled to find minutes.

3.       Moses Emmanuel – sold for free to Farnborough. Needed to offload a couple of players to balance the books. Also his form last season declined drastically.

4.       Dennon Lewis – sold for free to Airdrie. Although he featured regularly for us and was a great back up for his team mates, couldn’t see him making the step up in League Two.

5.       Alan Massey – released on a free transfer. Wanted a 3 year contract and he is 33 years old. Wasn’t keen on tying him down for so long.

6.       Emmanuel Idem – attitude issues last year due to lack of playing time. Opted not to offer a renewal and he didn’t want either. Eventually signed for Burton.

[iccilja]

Preseason & End of July 2022

Wealdstone geared up for a long pre season and with 6 friendlies scheduled we opted to test a few things for the upcoming season in League Two. So far the 4-4-2 formation worked for us but I thought of putting more men in midfield positions and opted to try and work with a 4-2-3-1 formation for the coming year – thus the transfer market focused on strengthening those positions.

Overall satisfied with the outcome of preseason – 3 wins, 1 draw and two defeats the overall summary. Didn't manage to keep a clean sheet which can be of a concern but I was more worried about our goal scoring opportunities now that we shifted with just a one man up front – still 11 goals scored with seven different players is not bad.

Morgan Williams impressed a lot in the heart of the defense and seems to be taking more control and leadership despite his young age – also managed to score three goals which bode well for him for the upcoming year. The only two negatives are that Pike picked an injury which will have him miss the opening games of the season and should be back in action towards the end of August. Also Gambin’s form and ability declined drastically and started thinking of moving him off our books being that he is the highest earner – still so far no one interested.

And off we go. The first two games of the season. A curtain raiser against Bournemouth which saw us go 3 goals behind in the first half and completely closed the encounter. Yet we can take some positives from the second half which saw the team putting in a solid performance and Parish scored twice to open his account.

Then we had the season opener against Leyton Orient and what a match it turned out. The opposite of the previous game took place. Faal scored his first goal for The Stones and Parish followed with a brace in the first half to go 3-0 at the break. Tried to focus more on our defensive duties and mid-way shifted the AMC to DMC but this seemed to back fire a bit as a penalty on the 68^th minute opened the game once again and they reduced the deficit further more on the 85^th minute. Thankfully we managed to survive the last minute attacks to claim our first win of the season.

[iccilja]

August 2022

Ouch, it’s gonna be tough! But before delving into the difficult sequence of games experienced by The Stones, the Papa John’s Trophy Southern Selection was drawn. Wealdstone was drawn in a tough group together with Aldershot, Brighton Under 23s and Coventry with the first match at home against Coventry - a League one side.

Back to our league form which turned out to be awful. Four league games and just one point collected. Performance wise the squad performed well but lacked that cutting edge to gain that point to give us the needed confidence. Belief is key in this division and with a number of new faces I needed them to gel as quickly as possibly not to get engulfed in a relegation battle - even though I am pretty aware of our capabilities.

A 4-4 draw against Accrington gave us the only point of the month in a thrilling encounter. Going two goals down in just a minute was a blow but Parish kept us in the game till half time scoring from the spot. Another goal by the hosts within a minute of the second half made us think for a minute that the game was all but closed yet Efete, Parish (one minute after they scored the fourth) and Lench scored for The Stones to put the score on 4-4 level. 

Wealdstone also played the yearly friendly against parent club Watford. We got beaten 5-2 in front of a large crowd - 6,421 fans. Looking forward to play in front of so many fans and hopefully be able to deliver more. 

Closed the month of August with a 2-1 defeat against Coventry. We managed to hold on tight with Green bringing the score level on the 69th minute yet a penalty was awarded to the visitors soon after which sealed the score. 

End of August and we are in 22nd place on 4 points equal with Port Vale and Yeovil. Defense wise we need to focus more with 11 goals conceded in four games - an average of 2.5 per game.

September 2022

And here we go! Finally we kick start properly and the team starts showing its true side with three consecutive wins - all on home soil. Victories against Oldham, Cheltenham and Aldershot propelled Wealdstone up in the table and by the end of the month The Stones sit more comfortable in 10th place with 13 points in the bag. Still a long way to go but taking it step by step and enjoying this progress.

Newbies Koutsimouka and Gribbin opened their accounts, while Faal scored twice. Yet the highlight of the month for The Stones was once again the evergreen Parish scoring a hattrick in the 3-0 against Cheltenham whilst adding another 3 goals in the other two games. This, rightly so, led him to win the Sky Bet League Two Player of the Month Award with an average rating of 7.80!

The only negative came in the final game of the month against Port Vale as we lost 3-0 away from home. The hosts were superior throughout the game and had more chances. They opened the score from the spot and added two more goals by the 56th minute. Unfortunately it was the best days for us and we had little to no reaction.

October 2022

Let’s keep on marching on. October brought with it the first away victory for The Stones in League Two as well as four wins on the trot. Started with a 2-0 defeat against Fleetwood - just relegated from League One - superior quality. But then went on to edge Brighton Under 23s in the Papa John’s Trophy in a tense penalty shootout with our boys scoring all their kicks whilst Brighton missed twice. A goal in the dying minutes by Jahmal Hector-Ingram denied us an important win against Stevenage but following that we had some bum squinching finale to our games - especially the 2-1 wins against Newport Co and Swindon with Parish and Lench scoring the winners in the 91st minute. 

Important to highlight the contribution that Jorome Slew gave following a period of playing second fiddle to Parish. Still when he was given the chance he performed well and scored the winner against Yeovil as well as in the game against Cambridge. Finally we labored to a 0-0 draw against Rochdale in a very busy month where we experienced some minor injuries but overall very satisfied with the performances and results attained.

And play-off zones it is - we are not rushing to conclusions but we can dream, right! Finished the month on 27 points in 6th place same as Leyton Orient, 5 points from league leaders Bolton on 32 points whilst keeping a safe distance from the relegation zone by 15 points! 

[iccilja]

November 2022

Started November with Accrington offering me a job interview. At the time they lingered towards the bottom half of the table and with the Stones performing quite decent I wasn’t tempted at all. I could still see a lot of potential in the squad and wanted to continue this adventure we started two years ago.

However we managed to earn just one victory in the league throughout this period in the final game of the month against Carlisle. A brace by Faal and Parish gave us a much needed three points following two defeats and a draw. The game against Notts Co was quite dramatic to say the least with the score level at 1-1 by the 85^th minute. Then another brace by Parish on the 85^th and 88^th felt like we had the win in the bag but lack of concentration from our end and good fighting spirit from the hosts saw them bring the score level with goals scored on the 89^th and 92^nd.

Meanwhile in the cup competitions we had positive results, as two wins in the back to back games away at Aldershot saw us progress to the Second Round of the FA Cup as well as draw (win on penalties) in the Papa John’s Trophy match. A match which Wealdstone dominated but failed to find the winning goal and ended up being eliminated on goal difference to the advantage of Brighton U23s. Finally a 2-0 victory against Morecambe in the FA Cup Second Round gave us the opportunity to face once again Coventry, this time at The Ricoh Arena in the next round. An amazing feat as the Stones never managed to reach so far in this prestigious competition.

End of November and with 20 games played so far, Wealdstone are just one point beneath the play off zone. Consistency is key to continue challenging for something unexpected yet also keep our distance from the red zone.

December 2022

Another two job offers to start the month with. Both quite interesting as both Crewe and Walsall play in League One. On one hand Crewe where lingering in 21^st place whereas Walsall were pretty much close to playoff positions. Still my intentions were very clear that I wanted to remain part of the Wealdstone family and focus on leading them on this new era of success. As a result of my commitment to the club, Stones chairman offered a two year contract extension. At the end it was agreed and I signed a one year extension at the club. The one year extension had the purposes of exploring first where we will playing our football next season (with one eye on those play offs) and should we remain in League Two whether the squad will be competitive enough or face tougher times.

Taking a look at the financial side of the club we can see how at present Wealdstone are financially doing okay and their balance is a positive €65k. As the bottom two charts show, the promotion brought with it a net increase in income but also the expenses increased significantly. Also now one has to keep an eye on the transfer market which is different from that of VNL as all the business needs to be conducted within January.

Three consecutive defeats characterized the start of the month. Very disappointed with the defeat against Harrogate as they were nowhere close to us in the table but instead ended up dominating the match with eight shots on target. To make matter worse, Wishart was sent off in the dying minutes of the games. In the games against Bolton not much was expected and a 2-1 defeat was quite on the cards. This time pleased with the performance as overall it was an even contest. Their early goal put them in a comfortable position and the Stones left it late to narrow the margin as their only goal came from Whelan in the 91^st minute with the score already at 2-0. Salford was an embarrassment. Two quick goals from Efete and Faal gave us a surprise but deserved lead. Yet our inability to be grounded and protect the result helped Salford’s determination in making a thrilling comeback with Swan scoring a brace including the winning goal.

With the game against Leyton Orient we started the second round of games for this season. We managed to make it two in two against them and a 3-1 win was a breath of fresh air. A brace by Slew was the highlight of this game. Then another 3-0 win this time against Mansfield where Quitirina scored his first goal for the club. This run of results kept us in the top half of the table on 11^th place with 37 points. Still very close to playoff places as just 3 points separate the Stones from Northampton and Port Vale.

January 2023

Happy New year once again. The first two games not optimal. A 1-1 draw against Accrington with Parish levelling soon after going behind. Had the whole of the second half to find a winner yet despite the 8 shots on target we couldn’t get the 3 points on the day. An away trip to Oldham was the most disappointing match of the month as what was expected to be least challenging encounter, with the Latics sitting in bottom place, turned out to be a frustrating afternoon. The Stones had the control during most of the 90 minutes yet Oldham scored two of their three shots on target whilst Wealdstone failed to be clinical infront of goal.

Still we then had a great change of form and went on to win four games on the trot, two at the Hive and two away. 10 goals in total with Parish scored four and Gribbin netting twice. Important victories also against Grimsby and Port Vale against whom we had lost in the first round. Another win against Aldershot made it 4 in a row this season and finally a nice 3-1 victory away at Cheltenham.

By the end of January, we climbed to 8^th place tie on points with 7^th place Colchester with the Stones having a game in hand. Still January and we reached our initial target of 50 points which is massive and now we can look at other targets, including the possibility of making it to the playoff places or being within close reach. 15 games left and the stakes are quite high.

 

Finally, being January, the transfer market was open, yet Wealdstone opted not to delve too much into changing the squad. 25 year old Jodi Jones, was signed on a free, having been on the books of Coventry the previous years. He also came as a replacement of Gambin who was sold to Boston Utd for € 1.1K and with him being out of the squad, Wealdstone managed to reduce the wage bill.

Also Callum Cockerill-Mollett was brought in on loan till the end of the season from League One side Walsall with the left back showing a lot of potential. On the other hand, Tobi Omole was sold to Tranmere for € 4.8K following that ex-Spurs left back wanted more minutes to play. The final transfer of the month was sending 21 year old James Rowland to Dulwich Hamlet on loan till the end of the season for him as well to get more playing minutes.