[FM24] Discovering Britain & Ireland while winning some trophies (1/49 | we've got a start)

[AM23]

9 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

I hope you win the Six-Pointer against Conwy. Even if I started my save with them.

Thanks for the support. They have been doing pretty well in this save, as since their last promotion to our division 3 years ago they have been in the the top half every season.

5 hours ago, Navelgazer said:

Can't wait for next update. Another year in Cymru North would be tough

It would definitely be nice to finally win the league, especially as we have already been runners-up 3 times now.

[AM23]

April 2023

So these are the matches in which we will need to step up. No easy opponents for us anymore, as we travel to 1st and 4th place, and meet mid table Guilsfield at home. First up is the huge match against Conwy though. Usually I would only have done the live commentary for the last one or two games, but since it is a clash at the top of the table I will do it for that match too. 

                    

Conwy - Llanidloes (Matchday 28)

It is going to be tense, it is going to be tough. This match is so, so important for both teams, as they are only separated by goals scored at the moment. We played Conwy twice in a row at home earlier in the season, and kept a clean sheet both times. We won the league game 1-0 in a match that had close to no chances for 90 minutes. In the cup game we had a scoreless draw and won after penalties, where we should have decided the match in normal time despite red card for us.

Both Holyhead and Aberystwyth Town might have some very slim hopes of the title still, but with both of them 6 points behind us I won't be focussing on their matches too much.

No surprises in our starting XI, as we line up in a 4-3-3 formation with Neil Millette as our defensive midfielder. Another thing of note in this match is that the joint top goal scores of the league face of here, with both Matthew Dennis and their captain Nathan Sandison having scored 16 goals so far.

Kick-off

08:14 - We have the ball around the halfway line on the left side but Daniel Ola losses it when he tries to cut inside with a dribble. Conwy move it to their right winger who puts in a cross. Ben Davies losses the aerial challenge, but luckily for us their header is not dangerous and goes over our goal.

11:39 - A free kick for us on the left side. It's pretty wide and looks like one to cross, although a shot can't be ruled out from this position around 25 meters away from their goal. Youngster Sam Michael is over it. He does go for it and tries to put the ball in the top left corner at the near post for him. It's hit perfectly and the ball goes just over the line after hitting the post! We go 1-0 up with our first shot of the day!

26:06 - It's Conwy with a throw in on the right wing. They move the ball to the other side of the pitch and dribble into our penalty box from there. A low pass from there finds one of their midfielders completely free at the penalty spot, a huge opportunity. He shoots it wildly though and the ball flies high over our goal. We escape the equaliser.

Halftime - Just like in our two matches with Conwy earlier in the season chances have been very scarce. Only 4 shots for Conwy, with none them on target, while we had even less with just 2 shots. 

57' - Nothing has happened still. We are going to make our first changes of the day. Daniel Ola has not had a good match and is on a booking, Stuart Wilkinson comes on and will be our striker, which means Matthew Dennis moves to the left wing. The same as for Ola goes for David Roberts, he is replaced by Livesey Barkhuizen.

58:34 - A corner for Conwy is crossed to the near post. Lots of bodies looking to get to the ball there, but none of them do, as Maxwell Edwards has made a foul. It's a penalty! Louis Valere has saved 3 out of 6 penalties he faced this season in the league, can he do it again? No he can't, the scores are back level.

62:27 - A goalkick for us and we swiftly move forward with it. Chris Owen can't keep hold of the ball on the right wing though and now Conwy are coming our way. A through ball gets behind our defence and suddenly their top goalscorer Sandison is in a one-on-one! Louis Valere saves it, some very good goalkeeping. 

73' - We haven't been able to come up with anything in attack this game and are lucky the scores are still equal. To be honest I wouldn't mind just keeping it at a draw here now. Meanwhile Billy Osborn comes on for Neil Millette in defensive midfield.

73:20 - Immediately after our subsititution another highlight starts. Conwy play a long ball that finds no one and is instead picked up by our goalkeeper. A quick buildup from us and Stuart Wilkinson gives the ball to Matthew Dennis who moves into the box. He goes for the shot from a difficult angle with two defenders in front of him, but does get it on goal! It's not placed well enough to beat their goalkeeper though, who tips it wide. Our first real chance of the match though.

82:33 - A throw in for Conwy on the right side near our goal line. They move into the box after a one-two and find a player at the near post. He shoots it quickly but Louis Valere comes in clutch with another good save!

91:17 - 6 minutes of added time and now it's a corner for Conwy. Maxwell Edwards heads it away but it comes back to their corner taker who finds someone on the edge of the box. He goes for the shot and it looks to be flying towards the top far right corner! Just over, we escape again.

93:42 - A long ball by them is picked up by Ben Davies, who goes for a long ball too. They head it away but it falls to Joel Hart, who sends Matthew Dennis into space on the right side. The latter dribbles into the box and holds of two defenders in the process. Stuart Wilkinson has ran into the middle of the box in the meanwhile and is completely free there. Dennis finds him and he has an almost open goal from 7 meters! He misses it! Unbelievable. The whole goal was free but he puts it in the hands of their goalkeeper. It looked a certain goal.

Full time - We end the game thinking what could have been had we scored that last chance, but overall we should be the happier team with the draw here. We took an early lead through a magnificent free kick by Sam Michael, but they deserved the equaliser they eventually got from the spot. In the end Conwy had the better chances and we can't complain with the draw here, with our goalkeeper Louis Valere picking up the MOTM award by making some crucial saves.

Both Holyhead and Aberystwyth Town won their respective games, though they are still 4 points behind us. One win from either us or Conwy and they are out of contention for the title.

Because we are still equal on points, it is already a certainty that the championship will be decided on the last day of the season. With that given, I won't be doing live updates of the next match against Guilsfield. It's our last home game of the season, so one we should be able to win.

                     

Llanidloes - Guilsfield (Matchday 29)

xG: 1.95 - 0.69;  Shots: 8(6) - 9(6);  Possession: 62% - 38%

We move into the driver's seat! Conwy extend their winless streak to 6 games with a draw against Mumbles, and we have control now. We play a pragmatic game to entertain our fans with an 11th home win of the season in the league.

We could have been in the lead by halftime, but didn't let the absence of a goal bother us. Shortly after the break it was that man Sam Michael who dribbled into the box and put the ball on a plate for our striker to get us in front. A header by Maxwell Edwards from a corner doubled our lead not much later and we didn't get in trouble after that.

                     

Had we not won, that last matchday could have turned in to a real spectacle with four times fighting for the championship. We did our job though, and have our best chance at winning the league we have had.

There is only one thing I'm worried about now. This is the 4th time this season we've moved up to first place, and all previous times we couldn't hold on for even one game. The same thing happened the only other 2 times we ever became league leaders.

[AM23]

Championship?

So this is what it all comes down to. One more match. We have been in a title fight up until the last matchday one time before. That was two years ago. That time was different though, as we needed to rely on another result, which did not go our way. This time around we are the team leading the way.

These are the different scenarios:

• Win - The best option for us of course. No relying on other teams, just get the championship by using our own ability.
• Draw - Here it gets a little more complicated. If Conwy lose or draw, we will still be crowned champions. If they win by one goal we will get the title too on goal difference. In the case of a two or more goal margin for Conwy they will end up on top though.
• Lose - Not preferrable, but if we do we will still ge the title if Conwy lose or draw.

A title win would mean this would be the last game of my current period as a Llanidloes manager. I really hope it will be.

                    

Aberystwyth Town - Llanidloes (Matchday 30)

We travel to 4th place in the table for our final push towards the championship. Definitely not an easy game, especially as we have not liked our awaydays this season, with only 6 wins from 14. We will need to keep a grip on our nerves and be at our best to get a result here today.

In our home game against them earlier this season we were left in disbelief, as we gave away a 2-0 lead by conceding an injury time equaliser.

Conwy have an easier fixture and at home too. Not a walkover for them by any means though. Porthmadog are a good team but have been just a tad too inconsistent this season. They are in 7th place.

We are playing with the exact same starting XI as in our last league match against Guilsfield. Maxwell Edwards playing as a defensive midfielder means Neil Millette starts on the bench, while Kai Ludvigsen is one of our two central defenders. For the rest the most notable thing is Abraham Odoh being back in the matchday squad. I thought his season was over after his injury, but have been told he can play 45 minutes today.

Kick-off

Goal alert - There has been an early goal at Y Morfa and it's in our favour! Porthmadog have taken the lead against Conwy.

21:04 - A corner for Aberystwyth is headed away by us. It comes to them end eventually gets to one of their players an odd 20 meters away from our goal. He goes for glory and strikes the ball very well! He hits the post. Phew... We have started this match nervously and are yet to get in a shot.

25:34 - A free kick for them this time on the right wing. We get it away from our goal and they build up again from the halfway line. A ball over the top towards the right side of our penalty area drops down just before our goalline and it's one of their attackers who gets to it first. He immediately crosses it and perfectly finds their striker's forehead. It's an easy header, we're 1-0 down.

Goal alert - More bad news as I get back to the dugout. Conwy have just equalised too.

28:46 - They have another set piece. It's a corner again, and again we head it clear. It does come to one of their players on the edge of our box once again too, he hits it. Outside of the post! Aberystwyth Town are all over us at the moment.

35' - We have not been dangerous at all so far. I've decided to make some small changes so we will press a little bit more.

Goal alert - It's a horrible 15 minutes for us. The news of Conwy taking the lead has just come in. They are now the virtual champions!

40:47 - A goal kick for Aberystwyth Town and after some buildup Maxwell Edwards puts in a very good tackle around the halfway line to win the ball. We move it to Chris Owen on the right, who makes a short run with it before he crosses it into the box. There it is Daniel Ola rising up high above everyone else and he gets his head against the ball! Outside of the post! We hit the woodwork this time.

41:46 - Straight into another highlight with their goal kick again. Some slower passing play gets them over the halfway line, but this time it's Ben Davies who intercepts. Now we move the ball up the field. Joel Hart plays a high pass over 25 meters to Daniel Ola, who now has it on the left wing just outside their penalt box. He dribbles inside and looks to be in a good position to play a short pass to the center. He opts for the shot from a tight angle though. It's in! Ola surprises their goalkeeper with a shot just past the near post. We are back on top of the table!

Halftime - We had a hard time in the first half an hour before finally getting into our groove a little bit after that. Neither team had a lot of chances. All to play for still in the second half. Currently we are in front of Conwy by just one goal. 

46:32 - A throw in for us on the right wing. Some quick passing play leads to a small chance with a header for Matthew Dennis. Just over the goal.

Goal alert - Emotions are screaming as two goals have quickly followed each other up at Y Morfa. Porthmadog scored an equaliser but gave it away just minutes later.

62:16 - A free kick for us with Sam Michael over it. A similar position from which he scored it against Conwy, can he do it again? No, not this time. It's flies over the crossbar.

Goal alert - Another goal and again it's Conwy. They are back on top of the table now on goals scored!

65' - Our first substitution as left back John Foster leaves the field. He was on a booking and not great this match. Ben Davies moves to his spot with Livesey Barkhuizen coming in of the bench at right back.

72' - Nothing happening here still. We need a goal right now. I have moved up our defensive midfielder one place so that we now play with three central midfielders. Maxwell Edwards has moved to center back where I have taken off David Roberts who was having a difficult time out there. Neil Millette is the one coming on to the pitch in midfield.

75:13 - A throw in for us on their half. Our midfielders pass the ball around and eventually Sam Michael goes for glory with a shot from 25 meters. He hits it well and it's flying towards the top left corner! Their goalkeeper dives and fully stretches himself to tip it wide. The following corner results in nothing.

79:49 - We have the ball at the back but lose it when we cross the halfway line. Twice we stop their progress going forward, but both times we can't keep hold of the ball. In the end a very similar situation arises from how their first goal was scored. Again a perfect cross is put in immediately. We lose the aerial challenge and it's headed home! We're 2-1 down. Our situation is looking very bleak now.

80:48 - Wait a minute! The linesman has his flag up, it's disallowed! We still have a chance, though in need of a goal.

82' - We immediately go for our last subs. Matthew Dennis comes off for back-up striker Stuart Wilkinson. On the left wing Daniel Ola looks absolutely knackered, so he will be replaced by Abraham Odoh.

88:18 - One last highlight? A cross from Aberystwyth is intercepted by goalkeeper Louis Valere. He plays a long ball and it's absolutely chaos with possession changing between teams. Now Louis Barkhuizen makes progression on the right side of the field. He finds Sam Michael who is left unmarked at the near post with a low cross. The youngster takes on the volley for glory! Just over the bar. That was a real chance.

91:32 - We've been given 6 minutes of added time. They put in a cross from a free kick which is headed away by Kai Ludvigsen. We try to catch them on the break but lose the ball and are outnumbered at the back now. Captain Ben Davies has to stop them with a foul, which gets him a second yellow. We have 4 more minutes to get that goal, but are down to 10 men now.

Full time - It's over. Another season at Llanidloes is what will follow.

We were by far and away the better team in the second half, but couldn't get the goal we were desperately looking for.

                    

Same amount of points, same goal difference, less goals scored. A cruel, cruel way to miss out on the title.

[AM23]

Season review 29/30

You can't come much closer without winning the league than we did this season. I really feel deflated after having lost the title on that final day. We had our faith in our own hands but couldn't deliver, while Conwy did exactly enough. Looking at the points we accumulated, we actually had the second worst amount for us in the last 5 seasons. It mostly had to do with us losing to many points due to inconsistency in the middle part of the season. Also, our problem kind of lies the fact that in those last 5 years our worst points total has been 54, and our best 64. This shows that after our fast rise from relegation candidates to title challengers, we haven't been able to make real improvements. In the last two seasons moaned about the fact that there was one time that was clearly better than the rest of the league. This season I did get the competitive league I had hoped for, but didn't make use of it well enough. I fear that the league will get stronger again next season, as this year we were lucky not to get any from the relegated teams in our division. Maybe we should just step up ourselves as the dominant team now.

                    

Competitions

We had a very good start to the season with 4 straight wins to get us top of the table. Gresford got us of cloud 9 when they dealt us our first defeat, but a good draw and another win saw us back on top after matchday 7. It was then that inconsistency kicked in. In the nest 11 matches we won 4, drew 3 and lost 4. Only once did we get back-to-back wins in that streak of results. We did go top once more after beating Conwy, but again gave that place away immediately again. Some bad luck was also involved in that streak, as we didn't get what we deserved in some matches, while also being the victim of late goals on numerous occasions. On matchday 18, in early January, we lost at home for the only time this season against Holyhead. After this loss we were 8 points behind league leaders Conwy, and our title hopes were slowly fading away. From then on we started winning again though, with 5 wins on the bounce. When Conwy then started dropping a lot of points in March we were suddenly level with them on points at the end of that month. Well, the rest is history. 

In a season like this you can literally point at every goal against and every chance missed as the difference maker. One match I really think we gave it away in though, was that against Baglan Dragons on matchday 27. 3 points behind Conwy at the time, who went on to lose a day later, we knew that there was a very realistic possibility of the title being decided on goal difference. We were 4-0 up at halftime, but gave away 2 goals in the second half, one of them in injury time. To me it feels like those goals were the difference.

The furthest we have ever gotten in the Welsh Cup, though I can't say we had a special run really. Thrice we played non-league opponents and we knocked all of them out without too much trouble. The other two games were against good teams in our tier and twice it came down to penalties. To be honest, we were the better team in both of those games, although we were the ones needing a late goal to even get it to a penalty shootout against Pontypridd. In the end I am mostly happy about the money we got from this run.

This game was just awful. 3-0 down at halftime in our season opener. It was a warning by Blaenavon Blues for the rest of the season as well. As we only managed a draw at home in the league, and they were the only team that beat us in our last 12 games.

Similar to the League Cup game we were three goals behind at halftime. We had a good run in this cup last year for the first time, but this time around all went back to business as usual.

                    

Squad

• Louis Valere: I've been real happy with him as our goalkeeper. He did have little bit of a tough start, but after that proved himself to be a solid player to rely on. Also, he has shown to be a real penalty killer.
• Ben Davies: Led the team as our captain again this season, and performed very well from his right back position. Scored some crucial goals too.
• David Roberts and Maxwell Edwards: I did expect a little bit more from the both of them. They had good matches, but also too many bad ones. They need to become more consistent.
• John Foster: One of the best transfers from last year. After battling for the starting left back spot with Danny Williams early in the season, he eventually found some very good form and showed to be a real improvement in his position.
• Neil Millette: He honestly wasn't great as our defensive midfielder.
• Joel Hart: Our best player for me. In games we lost he was often our best player on the pitch, really someone that can carry the rest of the team on his back.
• Sam Michael: A little bit surprised that he has made this team over Sonny Lewis due to him only breaking into the first team squad in the second half of the season. Still well deserved though, as he scored some very important goals for us. He also developed well in recent months.
• Chris Owen: Didn't score nearly as much as last year, but he has shown that he isn't a one season wonder. 
• Abraham Odoh: Was a good regular starter for us, but will be leaving as he wants too much money.
• Matthew Dennis: One goal too little to become the league's top scorer, but a good season by him. Not sure if he will be back next year either though due to his wage demands.

                    

Awards

                    

Next season

Budgets stay around the same. I am actually looking to get the wage budget down though, as we are still slowly leaking money.

Every year I feel like I've gotten the average ability in the squad a little higher, but still our performances haven't really improved in recent years. I need to really take my time for transfers this year, as to get a squad that should win the title.

                    

Progress

[AM23]

Pre-season 30/31

In the last 5 seasons we have been runners-up four times. We made the jump from relegation candidates to title challengers fairly quickly, but it has stayed at that for far too long now. Of course things could have just as well gone our way last season with that dramatic last matchday. However, our problem has been that we can't make the step from a good team at the top to a dominant team. We just keep getting around 60 points, while there have regularly been teams getting the title in our league with closer to 70 points. I promised to stay until we win the title, but my patience is slowly running out.

Although we have not had a single summer transfer window with a complete squad overhaul, I do feel like we have managed to get a better squad every season with a few very good newcomers. That does however make it more striking that we haven't been able to get better on the pitch. This transfer window hasn't been any different so far, although I do once again feel like we are very capable of getting that championship.

I'm happy with how our friendlies went. First up we had got an easy win against a non-league side, before we hosted three top tier teams in a week, including Conwy who we lost the title to on goals scored last season. Two good draws in matches where we arguably were the better team in both, after which we had an expected result against TNS. I was espescially pleased with the performances of attacking reinforcement Aaron Baker, who showed he can be a crucial player this season.

                    

Finances

More of the same here with the wage budget being a little bit higher again, with us still not making full use of it. Over the years the spending on wages has increased slowly though. I've not necessarily started handing out bigger contracts, but I have given more players relatively high salaries.

The biggest news of our pre-season comes here. After a few years of rumours and two temporary transfer embargos in the past year, we have finally had a takeover. The new board immediately took out a €100k loan to get us out of debt, although the balance has turned red again already.

                    

Transfers

5 players in so far, one of which does not show up on the above as he already joined the club in June. First the notable outs though, with two very interesting ones:

• Billy Osborn: The first real long term player that leaves the club. He actually just pipped Ben Davies for most club appearances by a squad member after last season with 166 league matches. I have let him go on a free after 6 seasons though. After being an important player in his first 4 years at the club, and even the best player at the club in his fourth year, he gradually started getting less playing time in the last two seasons, with only four league starts last year. He has been a great servant of the club.
  
• Wayne Staines: Another long time servant leaving the club on a free transfer. The right back came in at 17 years old halfway through my first season, and was immediately one of our best players back then. But through the years our squad improved, while he didn't as much. He slowly became more and more of a rotation player, and now the time has come for him to continue his career elsewhere. 151 league appearances for him.
  
• Danny Williams: After two good seasons as our starting left back he got passed by John Foster last year. He did well for us though.
  
• Abraham Odoh: He came in last summer as a rotation winger and started around half of our games in the end. Was a good member of our squad in the title race, but was asking for too much money for his ability.
• Kai Ludvigsen: Another player that came in last year. He never really convinced me at center back, so I decided to let him go after just one season.

And now on to the fun part! The 5 newcomers:

• Makai Welch: A very decent defensive midfielder with some experience as well. 24 years old he has been under contract at Leyton Orient for his whole career before, where he made 44 appearances in the Football League over the years, though most of them came of the bench. Had a few good loan spells in the Vanarama Regional Leagues as well.
  
• Jack Preece-Davies: A very well-rounded and versatile player, which is always nice to have. He comes from Gap Connah's Quay, where he made 80 Cymru Premier appearances in total. Was one of their biggest talents and even was a regular starter for some time, but he couldn't fulfill his potential there.
  
• Aaron Baker: another very versatile player, although I mostly see him as a right winger. He played very well in pre-season, and is probably the one I am most excited about.
  
• Josh Beecher: a player who can rush the right flank. Pleased to get this wing back in as I have been looking at a 5-3-2 formation for games against better opponents. He fits in perfectly for that.
  
• Zack Ali: a nice back-up at center-back. Not great mentally, but he definitely has some good defensive qualities.
  

I'm already quite happy with the squad now, although I won't pass on a player if I think he would be a good fit for us.

                    

Squad

Louis Valere still the obvious first-choice here, though he will miss some games due to international duties.

The star ratings look a bit underwhelming here at the moment, but I actually think we have got some quality players here. Maxwell Edwards and David Roberts showed to be a good duo at the back towards the end of the previous season. Ben Davies can join them when we play with three center backs, while also being able to compete for a spot with John Foster and Josh Beecher at both sides of defence. Some younger players in there too, although a few might be demoted back to the under 19's.

Midfield is where we are at our best right now. A good mix of quality and talent there. Joel Hart has been amazing for us last season as a playmaker, and I hope Makai Welch can be the one to relieve him of some defensive work. The third position is up for grabs, although youngster Sam Michael was very impressive there at the end of the last season.

Our attack will probably see a lot of different combinations this season, with all the versatility there. Matthew Dennis took a long time to renew his contract, but I am very happy he did so in the end. 

                    

Season preview

We really missed an opportunity last season as there where no teams that came down that year. This season there are two again, with Bala Town the big favourites once more. We are one of only 4 teams that have been in the Cymru North from the start of this save together with Guilsfield, Porthmadog and Gresford.

 

Edited January 20 by AM23

[AM23]

July 2030

We play the same opponent in the League Cup as last year in the first round! That time around didn't go so well, and we didn't beat Blaenavon Blues in our other two fixtures either, so an immediate test for us. Things don't get much easier in the league as we play recently relegated Llandudno first, before traveling to our bogey team Porthmadog.

                    

Blaenavon Blues - Llanidloes (League Cup)

xG: 1.27 - 0.82;  Shots: 12(5) - 13(5);  Possession: 56% - 44%

Not the way I hoped it would go, but we do get through as Louis Valere once again shows how much of a penalty killer he is stopping for in a penalty shootout where we had some very bad misses too.

We conceded early on but pegged them back with Aaron Baker getting his first goal for the club immediately, continuing his good pre-season form. The best man on the pitch was playmaker Joel Hart and he helped us get the lead with an assist too. It looked like we would be the team going through after that, but a late goal made it that we needed penalties for it.

                    

Llanidloes - Llandudno

xG: 1.09 - 1.01;  Shots: 11(8) - 8(3);  Possession: 54% - 46%

It's a shame we concede the 2-2 in the 89th minute for the second time in a row, as we played a very good game. 

For the first time we started in our 5-3-2 and it really helped us restrict Llandudno's attack to just a few chances. It was Aaron Baker again who scored our first goal of the match, this time playing as a striker. They got the scores back level through a corner and were the better team for a while after that. Momentum slowly shifted back to us though, and it was Sam Michael who seemed to give us the win. The game ended in disappointment though, as we passed the ball to them for no reason at all to give them the equaliser.

Not a bad result against one of the favourites for promotion, but given the way the match went I feel like we should have gotten the win. It's also the first time in 6 seasons that we don't start the league season with 3 points.

                    

Porthmadog - Llanidloes 

xG: 1.73 - 2.24;  Shots: 12(5) - 12(6);  Possession: 41% - 59%

How is this possible! Three times in a row we concede a 2-2 at the death, while it is the second time that it came after we thought to have scored a late winner.

Our first half wasn't great, and things almost got worse shortly after the break when Porthmadog missed a huge opportunity to double their lead. Luckily we got ourselves together and were very dominant in the rest of the match, with Daniel Ola and Chris Owen chipping in from the bench with a goal and an assist respectively. A first league win looked certain, but complacency got the better of us again.

                    

Could've been 6 points, should've been 4.

[AM23]

August 2030

A very busy month now. The game against Bala Town could be a big one, but we do need some league wins before that. Those 5 games are all very winnable, and should probably yield at least 10 points if we want to go for the title. We meet Cymru South Ammanford in the League Cup. We met them twice before in the cups and don't have good memories of those games, as we lost both with the last kick of the game.

                    

Llanidloes - Ammanford (League Cup)

xG: 2.96 - 1.04;  Shots: 24(9) - 8(4);  Possession: 56% - 44%

I was getting ready to give this team a lot of compliments, but then they decided to let 10 men score twice against them. Our defence has been a problem so far this season.

Their goals didn't hurt us, as we had been simply phenomenal before that. Sam Michael just keeps surprising me as he got two more goal contributions, with the second leading to Daniel Ola scoring his third goal of the season already after being unlucky to hit the post twice earlier in the game. In the end we were still much better and fully deserved our first outright victory of the season here.

We go to the last 16 where we will host top tier Haverfordwest.

                    

Llanidloes - Gresford

xG: 2.69 - 1.21;  Shots: 21(8) - 7(3);  Possession: 58% - 42%

This time we are the team to get the late goal! We deserved it too and get our first league win of the season with it.

We were trotting along nicely early on, but it was Gresford who created their only big opportunity of the game and capitalised immediately in the 28th minute. We were dazzled for a little bit after that. After the break we dominated again and eventually got the equaliser through a penalty. We kept on piling the pressure and after they were reduced to 10 men we finally got the winner through Sam Michael once more.

                    

Guilsfield - Llanidloes 

xG: 0.92 - 0.90;  Shots: 7(3) - 10(5);  Possession: 42% - 58%

Another win and a clean sheet for the first time this season too! Great result in a difficult away game.

There was not much happening in the first half, but we did take the lead shortly into the second half. Ben Davies crossed it to left winger Jack Preece-Davies, who controlled the ball and calmly put it past the goalkeeper. We kept Guilsfield at bay for most of the match, but after the 80th they suddenly started having some opportunities and we needed goalkeeper Louis Valere to make some saves.

                    

Llanidloes - Flint Town

xG: 3.95 - 0.26;  Shots: 30(11) - 2(1);  Possession: 53% - 47%

Simply amazing. Could just as well have ended in 6-0 as we gave Flint Town a horrible evening. I was a bit worried that our inability to get a second goal would come back to bite us, but we were so strong defensively too that we didn't even give up a shot in the second half.

Sam Michael is already the best player from the own academy we've had since my appointment at the club and he only made his debut a few months ago. It is absolutely ridiculous how he is performing. Our best player in this match was left back John Foster, who created 6 clear cut chances. He was very unlucky to not even get one assist, and it is probably Matthew Dennis who should be blamed the most for that. The striker has had a difficult start to the season and is still searching for his first goal.

We've started getting wins this month and it would be nice if we could continue this form. Next match we will travel to Mumbles, who have had an unexpectedly good start to the season with 4 wins from 5.

                    

Mumbles - Llanidloes

xG: 1.87 - 1.17;  Shots: 18(9) - 7(3);  Possession: 37% - 63%

That was quite awful really. Very lucky to come away with a point from that match.

We were completely outplayed in the first half. Luckily we were very effective as we only needed one good attack to get a goal, with Daniel Ola putting it on a plate for Aaron Baker. We switched to a 5-3-2 after the break to get more grip on the game and that worked well, although we still gave away one more big chance.

                    

Llanidloes - Denbigh

xG: 3.34 - 1.53;  Shots: 18(10) - 10(6);  Possession: 60% - 40%

Wow! What a spectacle! To be honest I am quite annoyed about the fact that we conceded 3 against the team in last place, but I have nothing to complain about our attacking performance at least.

With a 4-0 lead at the break, it might look like we put on a show in the first half. The truth is different however, as we actually didn't create too much there, but somehow managed to score each of our first four shot. Giving away 3 goals after that is just inexcusable, but some late goals from our side still made it a comprehensive victory in the end.

No rest for us as we travel to Bala Town in a few days. At the start of the month I said this could be a big game if we managed to get some wins before that and this is exactly what happened. We are level with them both in points and in goal difference.

Ouch.. He had to be subbed of in the first half which denied him the chance at a hattrick. He already had an assist too at that point. He is somehow the league's top scorer currently playing from central midfield. Unreal by the youngster.

                    

Bala Town - Llanidloes

xG: 0.93 - 1.10;  Shots: 4(3) - 11(2);  Possession: 36% - 64%

First loss of the season and it was not necessary at all. We were very good defensively giving nothing away, but the penalty ruined the clean sheet for us. On the attacking side we should have scored at least one. Our biggest chance came in the dying seconds of the game, but Neil Millette headed over the goal from a few meters away.

                    

Good results this month, but that last defeat leaves a bit of bad aftertaste. 6 points of top already now.

                    

Awards

Our two top goal scores so far. Both have 5 league goals.

                    

Transfers

One more player has joined the club. Jesse Ayoola is a real improvement for us at the back. He arrived at the start of the month and helped us stop conceding as much as we did early on.

[AM23]

September 2030

Knock-out games everywhere before we go back to the league. Lots of home games too, so a good opportunity to get through in at least 2 of the cups. In the league we need to get wins to stay near the first place.

                    

Llanidloes - Guilsfield (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 1.51 - 0.66;  Shots: 12(5) - 9(3);  Possession: 58% - 42%

A fairly easy win gets us through to the next round. We gave them a few chances too many to my liking, but that was only after we had taken a comfortbale lead. Jesse Ayoola scored his first goal for the club when the ball ended up on his head from a corner.

We will play Bala Town away in the next round, so an early chance for revenge after our league loss.

                    

Llanidloes - Llanfair (Welsh Cup)

xG: 3.60 - 0.37;  Shots: 20(10) - 6(2);  Possession: 53% - 47%

As expected, a non-league side proves less of a challenge. No trouble for us winning this one, as new striker Darren Williams became man of the match with a brace on debut.

We have a third cup fixture in a row coming up now against Haverfordwest. A win would put us in the quarter final of the League Cup.

                    

Llanidloes - Haverfordwest (League Cup)

xG: 0.92 - 0.80;  Shots: 8(1) - 14(4);  Possession: 51% - 49%

We manage another famous cup win over Haverfordwest. The third time we knock them out in 4 meetings in the past 6 years. Another penalty shootout meant another chance for Louis Valere to become the hero and he did just that. This time around he only needed one save as we took our penalties well.

When they scored mere minutes into the match I thought back of our last meeting, when we got humiliated being 5-0 behind at the break. We bounced back well this time though, and got the equaliser after some good counter-press and anticipation from our attackers. We only gave up one more big chance after that and deserved to get it to penalties.

Back to the league now. Morale is high so let's keep it that way!

                    

Llanidloes - Ruthin

xG: 2.24 - 0.34;  Shots: 19(12) - 4(2);  Possession: 57% - 43%

A great month so far! We got off to the best of starts thanks to Joel Hart who banged in a free kick from 30 meters out. It was a prelude for what was to come from him, as everything he touched turned into gold. After Ruthin had been reduced to 10 men Hart almost repeated his first minute heroics and it was his assist that doubled our lead. He assisted the only player that might have been better than him so far this season, as Aaron Baker got his seasonal tally up to 9 already.

                    

Hay St. Marys - Llanidloes

xG: 1.93 - 1.90;  Shots: 11(1) - 18(10);  Possession: 41% - 59%

A perfect month even! This time he played as a central midfielder, but Aaron Baker didn't let that stop him from deciding the match within 15 minutes. Another player that performed well here was John Foster, who got his 5th assist of the season from left back today. We are lucky to get the clean sheet as we completely fell apart in the second half and were only saved by the fact that they had a hard time hitting the target.

                    

Holyhead are still winning which means we are still 6 points behind them. We did move up a spot as we have taken over Bala Town again.

                    

Awards

Could have been anyone of us.

Could have been Aaron Baker just as well with nothing to really separate them. He is currently the league's top scorer with 9 goals.

Dominating here after those two big league wins.

[AM23]

October 2030

Similar to last month, we have more cup than league games in October. Both league games are very winnable as they are against opponents lower down the table. The cup draws are a lot harder, with us meeting two Cymru Premier sides as well as one of the best sides we could have drawn in the Tier 2 League Cup.

                    

Caersws - Llanidloes

xG: 2.02 - 2.03;  Shots: 12(4) - 12(6);  Possession: 43% - 57%

We blew them away in the first half! It's a shame that we stopped doing anything again after a big lead, because that has brought us into trouble multiple times this season already. All in all though, it was an untroubled win.

Aaron Baker has been a sensational signing really, and his third brace in a row put us in front twice early on. Someone who is giving early signs of being just as good a transfer is Darren Williams with 5 goals in his first four games now. 

Welsh Cup second round up next. We meet Holywell, who were promoted from our division 5 seasons ago after scoring a late goal against us on the last matchday. We have not beaten them in any of our previous five meetings. They have had a horrible start to the season though, with only 1 point in their 11 Cymru Premier games. Based on that, I might even say we are the favourites for this one.

                    

Holywell - Llanidloes (Welsh Cup)

xG: 0.86 - 3.58;  Shots: 8(1) - 25(10);  Possession: 34% - 66%

What. A. Game. We completely outplayed them in their own backyard. It could've been 5-0 at the break. Just an incredible match by us, one of the best under my reign definitely. We needed a penalty for the first goal, but should've been up already by then. After Daniel Ola had doubled our lead, we never looked in doubt again either. Simply amazing.

In the third round we will host Cymru South title favourites Afan Lido.

Just dropping this here. Aaron Baker is amazing.

                    

Bala Town - Llanidloes (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 0.47 - 1.33;  Shots: 4(3) - 12(5);  Possession: 36% - 64%

We just keep on going and get one over Bala Town this time! A convincing win as we played very well allround. A solid defence laid the foundation today, with Aaron Baker keeping his superb form going with two decisive assists. Jesse Ayoola has shown to be a weapon through the air so far, having already scored 3 goals for us now.

No easy draws in this competition for us as we meet our league's leaders Holyhead in the quarter final.

Two more games this month, with the League Cup quarter final coming up first. Our opposition Colwyn Bay are in the top half of the Cymru Premier and have qualified for European football in the past two seasons. It will be a tough ask, but we have provided surprises before of course.

This is some bad news... We don't have a lot of depth there either.

                    

Llanidloes - Colwyn Bay (League Cup)

xG: 1.02 - 2.35;  Shots: 4(1) - 13(6);  Possession: 52% - 48%

There is no shame in admitting that Colwyn Bay were just a lot better than us. It means the League Cup is the first competition we go out of this year.

We somehow managed to take the lead, as we scored our only shot in the first half with it being Matthew Dennis' first goal of the season. They just completely outplayed us all the way through though, and they got their deserved semi final spot in the end.

Another important player injured for quite some time... He had to leave the pitch 15 minutes before the end just after I made our final substitution, which meant Jack Preece-Davies had to put on the gloves at the end.

                    

Llanidloes - Aberystwyth Town

xG: 0.52 - 3.44;  Shots: 7(2) - 14(7);  Possession: 42% - 58%

Oh no... This was awful. Biggest loss of the save and that too at a time where we seemed to be smooth sailing for the most part. I can't really comprehend how this happened. Back-up goalkeeper Dylan Shanahan had a howler of a game, but even if he hadn't, we would still have lost it. Truthfully, I did feel hard done by at the break, as they had to thank the referee for at least two of their goals. Their first was a clear 2 meters offside, while the second goal came from a penalty given after a clean tackle. To make matters worse, their third goal was 50/50 for offside too.

But to be honest we only have ourselves to blame, as we let everything happen and didn't manage anything in attack.

                    

We had gotten the gap to first place back to 4 points, but with that disasterclass against Aberystwyth it is up to 7 points now. We still have Holyhead to play twice though, so everything can happen still. That last match wasn't great for our goal difference either of course.

[AM23]

November 2030

After winning 8 games in a row in all competitions, we got put with both feet back on the ground at the end of October, as we were dealt two home losses in a row. Especially the 5-0 humiliation against Aberystwyth is one that we will have in our mind for a while. There is no option to think about it for too long though, as we need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible again. Prestatyn Town is a team we should beat, while Caernarfon might be a tougher fixture. In the cups both games could go either way.

                   

Prestatyn Town - Llanidloes

xG: 1.46 - 1.33;  Shots: 9(4) - 12(4);  Possession: 45% - 55%

After that last match I hoped we would be focussed in this one. However, it only took them 16 seconds to create a huge chance and they finished it well too. A perfect Chris Owen assist got us a quick equaliser and we were much better in the rest of the first half. We couldn't keep that going after the break though, when neither team created a lot. In the end a draw was a fair result here.

Afan Lido at home in the Welsh Cup now. It's definitely not an easy game in our current form

                   

Llanidloes - Afan Lido (Welsh Cup)

xG: 0.36 - 2.11;  Shots: 4(2) - 13(5);  Possession: 53% - 47%

This is a game we can lose, but the way in which we did is unacceptable. I just don't understand how after one loss, a team winning game after game can turn into a team that is too scared to look their opponents in the eye.

We did get a good start thanks to a perfect through ball from Jack Preece-Davies. For some time after that we looked in control, but that changed quickly just before the break when they could have taken the lead already, missing a big chance shortly after the equaliser. Everything went south defensively in the second half and we only mustered one shot in there as well.

                   

Llanidloes - Caernarfon

xG: 0.76 - 1.37;  Shots: 8(2) - 9(4);  Possession: 59% - 41%

Deflated. Just giving away the whole season in a few games again. I started in the 5-3-2 and thought we were actually the better team in the first 30 minutes. Darren Williams should have put us 1-0 up, but instead some bad luck saw us two down, which even became three. The worst thing is that all teams above us have been losing points. Had we won our two games this month, we would only be two points away from first place.

I am seriously thinking about resigning at the moment. We have almost certainly given the league away again, so the only thing to play for now is the Tier 2 League Cup. If we lose in the quarter finals against Holyhead next game I will probably hand in my contract.

                   

Holyhead - Llanidloes (Tier 2 League Cup)

xG: 1.45 - 0.56;  Shots: 11(4) - 8(3);  Possession: 47% - 53%

Acquiescence and relief is what I felt during this game. I felt it when we were completely outplayed in the first half and when they eventually took the lead. I also felt it when they scored a 94th minute winner, before I knew that it would be ruled offside. The last time I felt it was when Daniel Ola was the first to miss in the penalty shootout with only two more penalties to go. 

The game ends in mixed feelings. I had already given up on Llanidloes, and now I feel like I have to stay for this cup at least. Some weird kind of disappointment is what I feel. Produced by their keeper gifting us the equaliser, and by Louis Valere once again turning out as a penalty killer deluxe.

12 league games now before we play the semi final against Llandudno. I expect us to have an anonymous rest of the league season before crashing out in that same semi final. The least I can do is try though, right? 

                   

Wins in our league games and we would have been right up there. Now it is a necessity to not lose our next match against Holyhead, as that would make the rest of our league campaign a painful road.

[AM23]

December 2030

No easy games this month.

                    

Holyhead - Llanidloes

xG: 1.64 - 1.14;  Shots: 14(5) - 6(3);  Possession: 47% - 53%

Awful again. We drop down to 5th place.

                    

You know what, I'm actually done here. I'm not going to struggle through another half a season just to lose a cup game.

I might try and go back to Llanidloes later in the save, but I just can't go on like this.

The lack of progress is what deflated me. Four 2nd places in five years. Especially giving the title away on the last matchday last season was a big blow.

[AM23]

Job hunt

After leaving Llanidloes halfway through the season in December, I decided not to look for a new job immediately. I didn't feel like joining a club halfway through the season, and I also felt like it would be quite realistic for a manager to take some time of after 7.5 years at a club. So instead I holidayed to the end of the 2030/31 season to find a club in need of a new manager.

I've seen enough of the Welsh Leagues for now so I thought I'd look in the other playable leagues with low reputations. The two lowest besides the Cymru North/South were the Vanarama North/South and the Northern Irish Premier Intermediate League. As I didn't really feel like going to England just yet, I decided to focus on the latter. A perfect opportunity arose when the team relegated from the second tier decided to sack their manager. I applied for the job at Warrenpoint Town FC, became the leading candidate and eventually got appointed.

                   

The club

Warrenpoint Town FC was established in 1987. The club is based in Warrenpoint, a town populated by around 9000 that lies close to the somewhat bigger town of Newry. Warrenpoint sits at the head of the Carlingford Lough, which is a fjord in the southeast of the country, next to where the Newry river flows into the inlet. At that same point the river also forms the border to Ireland, where Dundalk is not for away on the other side.

After its founding, 'The Point' spent 23 years in the regional leagues, before finally being elected for promotion to the third tier after winning the Mid Ulster Football League for the third time in ten years in 2009/10. The club quickly rose to new heights from there, as they immediately won their division losing only one game in the process. After a year of adapting to the NIFL Championship where they fought against relegation, 'The Point' finished runners up in their second season and won the promotion play-offs to get them to the NIFL Premiership. So after 3 promotions in 4 years the club suddenly found themselves back in the top tier of Northern Irish football. After 3 seasons of fighting relegation the inevitable happened, but a championship in the next season meant the start of a second spell at the highest level from the 2017/18 season onwards. This time it took five seasons of playing at the lower end of the table before relegation finally happened again in 2021/22. In total 'The Point' played 8 seasons in the 12 team top flight, but they never managed any high positions (3x 10th, 3x 11th, 2x 12th). They did manage to win the Mid Ulster Cup twice in this time (2017 and 2022). In 2022/23 the club ended 2nd in the Championship and were set to play in the promotion play-offs, but instead they got relegated due to licencing issues.

So at the start of this save game the club found itself back in the third tier, the Premier Intermediate League. They initially had a very good time though, winning the division and coming 5th in the 12 team Championship the following season. In 2025/26 they even ended in 2nd and only lost out on promotion to the Premiership by losing the play-offs 3-2 on aggregate. Another top half finish was reached in the next year, after which a decline started. The next few seasons the club ended in 9th, 9th and 10th respectively. Last season went even worse, as the media prediction of 7th proved far too high, with the club only winning 5 of their 38 league games and getting relegated in last place.

                   

The project

After 6 years in the Championship the club now find themselves back where they started the save. The season update has not yet happened, but I suspect that we will be favourites for promotion. It's a perfect opportunity for me to finally win my first trophy. A lot still needs to happen before the season starts though, as most players have expiring contracts and don't want to stay at the club. It's going to take a lot of summer transfer window work. The good news is that financially the club has a very healthy balance, which was boosted last season by a famous Irish Cup run where the semi final was reached.

[AM23]

Pre-season 31/32

A very different situation for me from when I was at Llanidloes, as I was dealt the task of bringing in an almost completely new squad. At Llanidloes the way I used to work was getting in 4/5 players who should be good enough for the starting XI so that I could slowly get the club to new heights, but here I was mostly on the lookout for any decent players at all times. After contracts expired, there were only 8/9 first team players left, which meant a lot of business immediately. I have already gotten more than 10 players in, but am still on the lookout for a few more as we don't have much depth yet especially in the more attacking areas.

I have noticed that we do have a significantly larger wage budget compared to all other teams in our division. This means I have been able to bring in some top players who are probably too good for our rivals. It does also mean that we really should be winning the league and bounce straight back to the Championship.

The way our friendlies went is a sign of how good we are. I was still very busy in the transfer market throughout July, but despite that we immediately turned up. Our only loss came against top tier Ballymena United and could've been an even better result for us. We also met the side that got the Intermediate League Championship last year in Dergview and completely outplayed them to go back home with a 3-0. We ended our pre-season with a match against our big rivals Newry City, who are one of the better Championship sides, and got a draw there too despite being three goals down within half an hour.

                    

Finances

Unlike the way I went around at Llanidloes, I did decide to make a lot of use of the wage budget here. This is partly due to the fact that a lot of the players I was looking at as reinforcements where asking for salaries in excess of €7k. To be honest, I didn't really realise how this budget compared to other teams in the division, but after just looking at it I see how ridiculous it is. The other big spenders are all in the €60k-€70k range, so we are spending double as much.

The healthy bank balance is the big reason I haven't really tried to keep the spending down. If I am correct that big spike came because of an unlikely cup run in the otherwise horrible season for the club. They reached the Irish Cup semi final where they played in front of 10,000 at a neutral venue.

                    

Squad

Just the two goalkeepers currently. Paul Moore is a big talent who came from AFC Wimbledon and got on my radar as he was apparently at the club before he came through the youth intakes. He will be the first choice if no other goalkeeper comes.

Defence is where we have most depth already. I often have a hard time getting in some good backs, but that was not the case this time, as Aaron Paul and Trevor McLaughlin were the first two players that came into the squad. They will be rushing the flanks. In central defence Matthew Carmichael is a good left footed option next to big talen Jude Neill who was at the club already. The only position I might actively look to strenghten here is right back as there isn't much depth there yet.

Not a lot of midfielders yet, but I am very happy about Odhran Casey as a more defensive option. Especially because he has agreed to a salary that isn't that high for his ability. Josh Andrews the other player I got in here.

We could still use some more players in attack too. On the right side big talent Jack Kehoe has come in as our top earner, so hopefully he will live up to expectations. Ben Magee looks like a useful striker, while captain Aodhan Doherty is first choice on the left wing.

                    

Important players

• Aaron Paul: A young right back who is very good allround. I have high expectations of him.
  
   
• Matthew Carmichael: Not the tallest of players but at the moment I still prefer him to play as a central defender.
  
   
• Odhran Casey: Defensive midfielder with some experience under his belt.
  
   
• Jack Kehoe: Young winger with a lot of potential. Already our top earner, though I don't think he is the best player in the squad just yet.
  
   
• Ben Magee: My main striker. Also a bit more experienced and he has scored 10 goals in his past 5 seasons in the Championship, which is a tier higher than we play now.
  

                    

Tactic

This is a little bit of a crazy tactic I came up with in pre-season when not a lot of players where at the club yet. A very defensive formation with some attacking minded players and most notably some very high wing backs. Somehow it worked very well in our friendlies though, so I'll give it a try in the league too. I do suspect we might switch to something else quickly though.

                    

Media prediction

It's clear that we should win the league. A 14 team league so only 26 matches.

                    

Board expectation

They are quite mild with only second place necessary. In the Irish Cup they expect us to get through four qualifying rounds while they want us to survive one round in the other cups. For some reason we are one of only two teams from our division that don't play in the NIFL League Cup, but I won't worry too much about that. 

Edited January 23 by AM23

[AM23]

August 2031

A new adventure starts here. The easiest game on the season on paper to get the season going, as we host the sky high favourites for relegation. The other league fixtures are against teams predicted mid table at least.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Rathfriland Rangers

xG: 1.95 - 1.24;  Shots: 23(9) - 13(7);  Possession: 67% - 33%

Couldn't have asked for a better start! It didn't end up being the monsterscore I was secretly hoping for at halftime, but a very convincing win nonetheless.

Gerard Black was our starting right winger as top earner Jack Kehoe was suspended for this first game. He showed that he can be valuable to the team immediately when he found the head of striker Ben Magee with his first cross. We quickly expanded our lead in the first half, with Black scoring the last one himself.

                    

Moyola Park - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 3.38 - 1.72;  Shots: 10(6) - 13(6);  Possession: 69% - 31%

A first loss already and we can only blame ourselves for it. They only had 4 chances all game, but it isn't unjustifiable that all of those went in, as together they accounted for 3.12 of their xG.

We started the game very well actually, though we shot ourselves in the foot by giving away a penalty. Ben Magee then scored one of the best goals I've seen in this FM save, by dribbling into the box and putting it straight into the net of the top corner. They immediately took back the lead though, and we took a lot longer to equalise after that. It was the man with the beautiful name who came on as a second striker and scored within 4 minutes who got the scores back level. Sadly we gave the goals away late in similar fashion to how we did earlier in the game. 

                    

Newtowne - Warrenpoint Town (Irish Cup)

xG: 0.20 - 2.84;  Shots: 2(1) - 20(14);  Possession: 55% - 45%

We get past lower league opposition without too much of a fuss in the first qualifying round. A brace for midfielder Odhran Casey to get him the man of the match. For the rest the most notable thing was newly arrived goalkeeper Colin Armstrong finding himself unable to save the only shot on target he faced today.

                    

Newington Youth - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 1.21 - 2.83;  Shots: 13(5) - 25(12);  Possession: 48% - 52%

We're providing a lot of entertainment, that's for sure! I keep having this problem that my teams just completely switch off after being a few goals up, although it doesn't usually lead to any real disasters in the end.

We were looking dangerous from the start today and although our first couple of chances went begging, we kept our head cool and found the breakthrough eventually after a perfect cross from Aaron Paul. 13 minutes later and we had quadrupled our lead already. Captain Aodhan Doherty was the big man today with a brace and an assist, while the best goal came from right back Trevor McLaughlin with a 25 meter screamer. We made it hard on ourselves in the second half but did pull through in the end.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Limavady United

xG: 1.96 - 2.24;  Shots: 17(9) - 15(6);  Possession: 45% - 55%

I don't know what it is we're doing but it certainly doesn't look like it has anything to do with football. Somehow we get another win with a defence that has now conceded 12 goals in their first four league matches. I need to start looking at a change of tactics already.

After a little bit of a shaky start which could have seen us trailing, Gerard Black put us in front. He was back as a right winger as top earner Jack Kehoe has not been good enough there yet, and showed he can do a good job there today getting two assists as well. The title of MOTM went to striker Ben Magee though. He has had a sensational start to his time at the club scoring in his first 5 competitive fixtures now. Today he got us an injury time winner which got him a hattrick too after we had just given up a three goal lead in the last 10 minutes of the game.

                    

9 points from our first three games can't be called a bad start, but something definitely needs to change. On paper there is a big gap in quality between our players and those of other teams, so we should make that clear in the matches too. 

                    

Awards

I'm sure I'll win one of these in the near future.

Just an amazing first month by him.

                    

Transfers

Another three players have joined the club. 

• Colin Armstrong: a new first choice goalkeeper who has not had a fun time so far. 8 goals conceded in his first 3 matches.
• Andrejs Piedels: a versatile player who can play at rigth back as well as in midfield. He will get enough starts as he looks like a good first back-up in multiple positions.
• Lyndon Kane: plays in the same positions as Piedels, but is a direct reinforcement. He might even be the best player at the club. Quite an interesting player actually, as he is already 34 years old but has only played at one club before coming to us. He spent 17 seasons at mid table Premiership side Coleraine, where even last year he started in the majority of their matches.
  

Edited January 24 by AM23

[AM23]

September 2031

New month, new tactic. I've decided to make the change to a more conventional 4-3-3 counterpress system. Our opponents in the league have both decent starts but nothing special, so they should be beatable. In the Irish Cup we will play another lower league side, while we meet the team currently leading our division in the regional Mid-Ulster Cup.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Banbridge Town (Mid-Ulster Cup)

xG: 1.54 - 1.13;  Shots: 17(8) - 12(6);  Possession: 56% - 44%

If I had to use one term to describe our season so far it would be 'deadly effective'. It's astonishing how high our chance conversion rate has been up to this point. It has also distracted attention from our underperforming defence, although they did look more solid today aside from giving away chances with personal mistakes.

We were cruising early on as we quickly doubled an early lead when Gerard Black found Aodhan Doherty with a cross, after which a thunderous header followed. The former has now started three matches this season and got 7 goal contributions in those games. I'm starting to wonder why I even attracted another right winger. A Curtis Nimick mistake gave away our clean sheet and got them back into the match, but we held them of quite well after that.

We have gotten another home draw for the quarter final, but that is the only positive thing about it as we meet what is probably the toughest opponent we could've had in Premiership side Glenavon. They won 3 of the last four editions of this cup.

                    

Bangor FC - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.24 - 1.55;  Shots: 4(1) - 12(4);  Possession: 40% - 60%

This game looked destined to end in stalemate for most of it, and I was gonna say that at least our defence finally came together. We did however try to go for the win at the end, after the second half hadn't produced a single shot from either side by the 80th minute. From then the game suddenly broke loose.

It was young center back Jude Neill who became the matchwinner by heading home from a corner, mere minutes after Ben Magee had missed a golden opportunity to put us in front from the penalty spot. In the end some controversy surrounds Jack Kehoe, who came on off the bench and looked to have the referee on his hand. First he won the penalty with a clear dive, while the goal he scored looked to be about a meter offside. He won't complain though, as it was his first real contribution for the club.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Queen's University Belfast

xG: 3.24 - 1.11;  Shots: 24(13) - 9(4);  Possession: 66% - 34%

Our sixth win in a row in all competitions sees us move into top spot. We did make it very difficult for ourselves, but it was Ben Magee who helped us get the win once again, as he was involved in all of our goals.

Defensively we were still asleep when their goalkeeper played a goal kick long and suddenly we were one down early. We turned things around though with an utterly dominant performance on the field and got the lead eventually through a Josh Andrews shot from distance. A quick to goals kept the margin as it had been, before we almost gave it away again in injury time when our opponents let a massive chance go begging.

                    

Chimney Corner - Warrenpoint Town (Irish Cup)

xG: 0.12 - 3.90;  Shots: 1(0) - 30(7);  Possession: 42% - 58%

Lower league opposition brushed aside easily. Jack Kehoe must have felt like he was the only man on the pitch today given the space he got the make his dribbles. He only got denied a few assists by a miracle.

The third qualifying round sees us travel to another lower tier side.

                    

Where we want to be, and definitely where we should be.

                    

Awards

I predicted I'd win it soon and did just that.

[AM23]

October 2031

We start the month with a very exciting fixture in our regional cup. We will meet the side who are currently looking most likely to prevent Larne from winning a 9th league title in 10 years, as they are leading the Premiership. I'd think this match will at least be good for the finances. In the league we will meet the team in last place first, before playing against the current second place.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Glenavon (Mid-Ulster Cup)

xG: 1.00 - 1.98;  Shots: 6(5) - 16(6);  Possession: 62% - 38%

Incredible! The best result of this save so far! There was definitely some luck involved but this is just amazing.

Our corners have been great this year, with center back Curtis Nimick being the main finisher. He did that twice today to become the architect of this unlikely victory. Veteran Lyndon Kane showed the way from midfield today and had gotten both assists to have us 2-0 up at the break. The match had been quite even up until that point, and although we somehow added a third, the second half mostly consisted of them piling on the pressure. It was goalkeeper Colin Armstrong who had his first real standout performance with some good saves to keep Glenavon far away from us on the scoresheet.

In the semi final we will travel to Dollingstown, who are currently low in the Championship table. There is a real chance of us making the final now!

                    

Dundela - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.15 - 2.42;  Shots: 3(1) - 14(5);  Possession: 25% - 75%

An easy game against bottom of the table Dundela to get our third 3-0 win in a row! Captain Aodhan Doherty led the team as he provided two assists today, one of which from yet another corner.

4th placed PSNI up next as we look to extend our winning streak to 10 games.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - PSNI

xG: 3.26 - 1.23;  Shots: 25(13) - 7(3);  Possession: 78% - 22%

I can't believe we didn't win this... We were utterly dominant in the first half and didn't even allow a shot from them. Complacency crept into the team again though, and based on the second half it can't even be called that unfair a result.

It seems like every time I start Gerard Black on the right wing he makes something happen. Today it was a tremendous shot curled into the left top corner from an odd 20 meters out. We had shot out of the starting gates and already missed a penalty too by then. Josh Andrews put it on a plate for our striker to double our lead and we looked to be cruising to yet another win. A loss of focus in the second half led to our first point loss at home instead.

In the Irish Intermediate Cup we have somehow drawn Banbridge Town out of 127 possible opponents. We already played them in the first round of the Mid-Ulster Cup, and they are also our closest rivals in the league being level in points with us.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Banbridge Town (Intermediate Cup)

xG: 2,19 - 0.90;  Shots: 21(5) - 11(0);  Possession: 59% - 41%

We beat Banbridge by three goals for the second time this season. Will be interesting to see how they handle those defeats in our league games against them.

We started the game furiously again but forgot to score early on, after which the game quickly died down until halftime. We came out of the dressing room the same way we started the game though, and this time around it did result in goals. Our captain Aodhan Doherty was at his creative best today getting all three assists.

The only bad news from this match. Back-up Gareth Deane came in for him in the 35th minute and kept a clean sheet. He didn't have to make any saves for it though, since Banbridge were unable to get their shots on target.

                    

It's safe to say now that I was an idiot for thinking I could get that crazy 4-1-4-1 tactic to work at the start of the season. We have looked so good since switching away from it with the highlight of course that 3-0 victory over Glenovan.

                    

Awards

Second time for him already. 10 league goals now in 8 games.

[alan_strong1983]

Loving this story. Iv just recently started the same challenge myself finished 8th in first season with Trefelin BGC currently 18 games into second season and 3rd in the league although I’m 7 points behind the leaders.

 

Its definitely a challenging save and one that I look forward to completing 

[AM23]

10 hours ago, alan_strong1983 said:

Loving this story. Iv just recently started the same challenge myself finished 8th in first season with Trefelin BGC currently 18 games into second season and 3rd in the league although I’m 7 points behind the leaders.

 

Its definitely a challenging save and one that I look forward to completing 

Sounds good! I've generally been enjoying it too, although losing the league title on goals scored with Llanidloes did bring down my motivation for a bit.

I hope you can have a more succesful time in Wales than I've had so far 

[AM23]

November 2031

An interesting month with fixtures in all three cups. In the league Crewe United is our most difficult opponent. They are in 4th place only three points behind us at the moment. For the rest the Mid-Ulster Cup semi final is pretty exciting of course. 

                    

St. Pat's Y.M. - Warrenpoint Town (Irish Cup)

xG: 1.04 - 2.79;  Shots: 7(4) - 23(6);  Possession: 42% - 58%

A semi-rotated side makes light work of amateur opposition. The best was saved for last, as Lyndon Kane set the final score at 5-1 with a beautiful free-kick. 

The last qualifying round has given us an away game to lower league opposition for the fourth time. That game will be played at the end of this month.

                    

Portstewart FC - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.66 - 2.37;  Shots: 8(1) - 23(7);  Possession: 46% - 54%

That man Ben Magee just can't stop scoring! He got us a deserved lead on the brink of halftime, after which we forgot to score more. It lead to some squeaky bum time in the end, but our defence stood strong to keep the clean sheet. Our best man at the back today was left back Trevor McLaughlin.

Next up the Mid-Ulster Cup semi final. It's only the second semi final for me in this save. We play Dollingstown who are fighting relegation in the 12 team Championship, currently being in 9th place. I feel like we have a pretty good chance of beating them to be honest.

                    

Dollingstown - Warrenpoint Town (Mid-Ulster Cup)

xG: 2.69 - 3.64;  Shots: 12(8) - 24(7);  Possession: 42% - 58%

Unbelievable... We get the short end of the stick as Dollingstown complete a crazy comeback.

My first cup final seemed to be certain at halftime, after midfielders Josh Andrews and Lyndon Kane had put on a show together with 2 goal contributions each to build forward on the early lead that was thrown into our lap. An incredible first half in which they only got in one shot and we where already in the final. Complacency came into play again though, and even worse, personal mistakes. Goalkeeper Gareth Deane had a howler as he was responsible for two of their goals. Suddenly we found ourselves in extra time, and even there our fall continued. We even missed an open goal opportunity (0.68 xG) to at least get the game to penalties with the last kick. 

For the second time a semi final ends in heartbreak for me. Last time it was conceding an equaliser in the last minute of the game, this time, well... somehow a lot worse.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Crewe United

xG: 1.55 - 1.14;  Shots: 12(6) - 7(4);  Possession: 63% - 37%

A closely fought battle at the top of the table. We're leading and looking good to increase the margin between us and 4th placed Crewe United to 6 points. Four minutes of extra time are given. Time is up, one last attack, it's a free kick. 20 meters away from goal, our wall 5 men strong. The shot is bad, straight into our wall, somehow it hits a leg and gets through though, goalkeeper misled by the changed ball trajectory and it trickles past him. 2-2.

In a game where halftime looked to come without any chances, it was yet again Curtis Nimick's forehead that was found from a corner to put us in front instead. After escaping a precarious situation where Crewe hit the post two times from a scrimmage, we still conceded the equaliser minutes later. Immediately Gerard Black came in and directly he made things happen again winning us a penalty. The game ended undecided though, and now Banbridge have the chance to take over first place from us.

                    

Dundonald - Warrenpoint Town (Intermediate Cup)

xG: 0.15 - 2.90;  Shots: 4(2) - 28(12);  Possession: 53% - 47%

An easy win for a mostly second string side in this midweek cup game. Of course it was Gerard Black again who took home the MOTM award as he was involved in our first two goals. He restored our lead himself after we conceded a ridiculously good free kick. After that we finished of the game in the first half (although we have learnt to never be sure about that no matter the margin).

One more cup game to finish the month against lower league opposition again. A win would bring us into the main draw of the Irish Cup.

                    

Glebe Rangers - Warrenpoint Town (Irish Cup)

xG: 1.05 - 3.11;  Shots: 5(1) - 28(8);  Possession: 44% - 56%

We've been strolling past all these amateur sides really. This time the tone was set early with Curtis Nimick heading home from yet another corner. He stands 1.99 meters tall and has 16 jumping reach, which has proven to a big weapon for us.

In the first round proper we will meet mid table Championship side Institute at home. Not a bad draw given all the possible opponents to be honest.

                    

That late Crewe United equaliser has not only seen Banbridge Town pass us, but it also means there are still too many teams close to us for my liking. Next month is big though, as we meet both Banbridge and Moyola Park in our first two games.

[alan_strong1983]

15 hours ago, AM23 said:

Sounds good! I've generally been enjoying it too, although losing the league title on goals scored with Llanidloes did bring down my motivation for a bit.

I hope you can have a more succesful time in Wales than I've had so far 

I can imagine!!

I just finished my second season and there was 3 points between the top 4 heading into the last game of the season and although I managed to win 5-0 I still finished 2 points behind the leaders in 3rd place and lost 3-1 to TNS in the Welsh cup final. Gonna give it one more season at Trefelin and if no title I’m gonna move on and come back to Wales at another time.

 

Only signing British & Irish players does add to the challenge but fingers crossed 

 

[AM23]

15 hours ago, alan_strong1983 said:

I can imagine!!

I just finished my second season and there was 3 points between the top 4 heading into the last game of the season and although I managed to win 5-0 I still finished 2 points behind the leaders in 3rd place and lost 3-1 to TNS in the Welsh cup final. Gonna give it one more season at Trefelin and if no title I’m gonna move on and come back to Wales at another time.

 

Only signing British & Irish players does add to the challenge but fingers crossed 

 

Good luck in your battle for the title then! Very impressive that you managed to get to the final of the Welsh Cup too. I only managed to get past the quarter final of any of the three cup once in my 8 seasons and that was the Tier 2 League Cup.

I've personally decided that I will allow myself to sign all nationalities, although at this stage of the challenge that doesn't come into play too much.

Edited January 26 by AM23

[AM23]

December 2031

After three months with an abundance of cup games we can focus on the league for a little bit now. We meet our two closest rivals first. We have beaten Banbridge comprehensively twice already this season in cups, though those games were both at home. Moyola Park were the team that dealt us our only league loss so far though. 

                    

Banbridge Town - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.36 - 1.54;  Shots: 3(1) - 13(7);  Possession: 33% - 67%

We beat them again and it's a huge win! We replace Banbridge again at the top of the table. Our defence was the key in this one, as we had to wait patiently for the first goal.

A tense first half whizzed past, until all of a sudden Banbridge looked to have gotten themselves the lead. We were relieved to see the linesman have his flag raised, but not fully recovered from it yet, as we gave away a big chance a few minutes later. Still, 0-0 was a fair scoreline at the break, as neither team had a lot to say in attack. We decided on a higher pressing game for the second half and it worked wonders. Defensively we didn't concede a single shot, while creating more in attack. Eventually it was Ben Magee who received a ball over the top and finished calmly to put us in front.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Moyola Park

xG: 1.98 - 1.34;  Shots: 17(11) - 8(2);  Possession: 61% - 39%

We get our revenge on Moyola Park and with that we create a big gap to them in the table. They helped us into the driver's seat in the first half by giving away a penalty and through a big defensive mistake in the run-up to our second goal. Center back Jude Neill came on from the bench in the second half and decided the match from a corner after our lead had been reduced to one earlier in the half.

Best player on the pitch today was Lyndon Kane. Usually bringing in older players is frowned upon in FM, but his transfer has looked like a very good choice so far. The 34 year old has been an integral part of our squad in midfield, whilst also being a dead-ball specialist.

                    

Exactly a year after I handed in my contract at Llanidloes, my successor has been fired. After 7 points in the first three games they have been having a horror streak. They find themselves near a relegation battle now in 12th place. Sad to see.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Donegal Celtic

xG: 2.02 - 0.10;  Shots: 22(6) - 2(0);  Possession: 71% - 29%

One goal was comfortable enough today as our defence left them without any chances. Right back Aaron Paul appeared on the edge of the box from his inverted wing back role, and scored with a well placed shot in the bottom right corner.

Our next game is against Belfast Celtic. They are pretty high up the table too and in very good form.

He will be out for a few games which isn't great as we don't really have any depth at left back.

                    

Belfast Celtic - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.35 - 2.32;  Shots: 7(2) - 20(7);  Possession: 30% - 70%

An early Lyndon Kane corner turned out to be of big value for us here. Our opponent kept us in check pretty well after we had taken that early lead, though the red card naturally saw a flurry of chances follow. For a second game in a row a one goal margin felt pretty comfortable, and again it was Aaron Paul who took home the MOTM award.

                    

Limavady United - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.76 - 0.50;  Shots: 7(2) - 8(3);  Possession: 51% - 49%

For the first time in a long while we were dominated for a long period of our match. We had no say in the game from the start which eventually led to the 1-0. We managed to peg them back quickly though as right winger Jack Kehoe finally contributed again. From there neither team got some real chances, although we did think we had snatched away the win for a moment in injury time, but the linesman had his flag raised.

                    

More than halfway through the season and things are looking very good for us. Wins against place 2-4 in the last month have given us a little bit of room for error too. Only Banbridge Town and Moyola Park remain looking as if they could stop us from winning the title.

                    

That's number two.

[AM23]

January 2032

Lots of home games here. In the league we meet teams of mixed stature, with Ratfriland Rangers the worst on paper, and Newington Youth the best. We just need to continue the way we are going there. In both cups we are playing for a spot in the round of 16 of the competition, with home games against a Championship club in the Irish Cup and an amateur side in the Intermediate Cup.

                    

Rathfriland Rangers - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.12 - 2.33;  Shots: 2(1) - 24(6);  Possession: 21% - 79%

It took us a lot of work, but in the end we get past their defence for a third 1-0 win in four games.

They parked the bus from the start, and to be fair to them they did a very good job of it. We got nowhere in the first half, after which we decided to go for more of a high press game. That small change of tactics gave us a little bit more to work with in attack, but still no abundance of chances. In the end Jack Kehoe helped us out massively by creating a massive chance out of nothing which was finished by Ben Magee. The former looks like he is finally starting to find some form, which is needed for him to justify his salary.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Newington Youth

xG: 1.94 - 0.83;  Shots: 21(8) - 11(5);  Possession: 56% - 44%

Two injuries in the first ten minutes can't keep us from continuing our great form. Six wins in our last seven games and only two goals conceded in them now.

One injury meant back-up striker Luca McGreevey Couchman came on early and he showed to be able to do a very good job. Only twenty minutes later he had given us a two goal lead which we didn't give away after.

Institute up next in the Irish Cup. Will be a tough one as they are still fighting for promotion to the Premiership with currently a 4th place. We will have to miss experienced midfielder Lyndon Kane as he was one of the injured players this game.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Institute (Irish Cup)

xG: 3.79 - 1.16;  Shots: 30(11) - 8(3);  Possession: 55% - 45%

This was amazing! Perfect start and we didn't lose concentration for a moment. These games against higher tier opposition have really shown how good this squad is for our level.

Midfielder Odhran Casey had his best match of the season after he got the ball put on a plate by striker Ben Magee. The latter scored two himself too and got away with the man of the match award. Three goals up at halftime I told the players not to get complacent, as that had cost us dearly in the Mid-Ulster Cup. They listened and actually finished the match directly after the break to leave no doubt for me.

We get a very lucky draw and a great chance to move on to the quarter final! We will host division rivals Moyola Park in early February. 

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Portadown B.B.O.B. (Intermediate Cup)

xG: 5.09 - 1.48;  Shots: 39(15) - 10(6);  Possession: 70% - 30%

A very easy win against a lower league side. Luca McGreevey Couchman was the man of the moment with his hattrick.

I have to say I don't really understand this cup. It consists of a lot of amateur teams, all Intermediate League teams and half of the Championship teams. For some reason though, it's the six teams that performed best in the previous season that get selected from the Championship. We will meet one of them in the next round in Carrick Rangers. They are currently in mid table.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Bangor

xG: 2.11 - 0.45;  Shots: 17(3) - 4(2);  Possession: 61% - 39%

We are reminded of what losing feels like with an unexpected defeat. We had the upper hand throughout the game, but they took the lead when our goalkeeper Colin Armstrong made a mistake in going for the ball. When they got reduced to 10 men because of a direct red card I was quite confident that we would turn things around. We couldn't make it happen though, as it seemed as if all of our shots went high over the bar.

It's honestly a very disappointing result especially as Bangor are sitting low in mid table. Sometimes you have these games though, so the most important thing now is to bounce back quickly.

                    

We had gotten ourselves a little margin over the two chasing teams, but with that defeat the gap is now back to two points. Both Banbridge and Moyola Park are in very good form as of late. The race for the title can be very interesting still with 8 games to go in the season.

[AM23]

February 2032

We've got all to play for still in multiple competitions. In the league we play three teams that we should win against of which PSNI is the most difficult opponent. We drew them in our home game, but they have not been in great form after they had a good start to the season. Our most exciting fixture this month is the first one. A huge opportunity to get into the quarter final of the Irish Cup. We were really lucky to draw Moyola Park there, as they are one of only three clubs from our level (and below) remaining including ourselves. Still, we need to play a good game to get past them.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Moyola Park (Irish Cup)

xG: 2.05 - 0.48;  Shots: 20(11) - 9(0);  Possession: 50% - 50%

Simply phenomenal! We showed no sign of nerves playing in front of more than 1000 fans for only the second time this season as we completely overwhelmed Moyola Park in the first half.

Striker Ben Magee excelled yet again today as he got his seasonal tally of goals up to 20 in all competitions. He gave us a very early lead by receiving the ball on the edge of the box and dribbling past his man like he wasn't even there, before placing the ball in the far corner past their goalkeeper. We kept the pressure high and doubled our lead when right back Aaron Paul chipped the ball over their defence for his second assist. Shortly after the break a good shot from outside the box made an end to any tension there still was.

Again we have a home draw, and again we get very lucky with our opponent. We meet Loughgall, who are currently bottom of the table in the Championship. I honestly think we are the favourites for this one.

                    

Queen's University Belfast - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 1.76 - 1.34;  Shots: 11(4) - 11(6);  Possession: 43% - 57%

The scoreline suggests we had an easy time out there against second to last in the table, but I can assure that this was not the case in the slightest. This might actually have been the worst game we played all season. In the end all is well though, especially as both our rivals at the top dropped points this matchday.

Our opponent was on top in the first half an hour and that culminated in them scoring a goal which was just centimeters offside. That looked to have gotten us awake finally, as we immediately scored within a minute from their disallowed goal. We finally got to playing football and quickly expanded our lead after the break. After our third goal we fell apart again though, with our clean sheet only thanks to some good saves from Colin Armstrong.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Carrick Rangers (Intermediate Cup)

xG: 1.51 - 1.80;  Shots: 11(3) - 13(3);  Possession: 49% - 51%

We lose out on penalties after a game that could've gone either way. I could go on and write a whole essay about it here, but it wasn't a classic really. There were barely any chances and it took an extra time penalty to break the deadlock. I thought that the end result had been decided after that, but somehow we find some energy to get the scores back level immediately.

I'm not too bothered by going out of this cup to be honest, although I do think we had some chance of winning it. I am unhappy about the extra time we played though. The players were absolutely knackered which means I probably have to rotate more than I'd like in our upcoming league game. 

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Dundela

xG: 2.31 - 1.73;  Shots: 19(5) - 15(3);  Possession: 70% - 30%

We decide the match in a matter of minutes after Dundela missed an open goal opportunity to take the lead. Curtis Nimick getting a second yellow meant we had to keep our cool, which we did quite well. Our best performers today were left winger Aodhan Doherty and Josh Andrews, who both got an assist and the former a goal as well.

It looks like Banbridge Town have been taken out of the equation in the title race after Moyola Park scored a late winner against them. We have a four point gap over the latter with only 6 games left to go.

                    

PSNI - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.46 - 2.45;  Shots: 7(5) - 23(6);  Possession: 34% - 66%

We end the month with a comprehensive victory away from home. I'm getting very close to that first trophy now to finally get the count going.

We started the game with the most beautiful bit of combination play I've seen all season which was finished of well by Jack Kehoe. An own goal helped us restore our lead after a sudden counter had led to an equaliser. In the second half Aaron Paul shined once again with a goal and an assist. The right back plays a crucial role in my tactic as an inverted wing back and has been amazing this season with 10 goal contributions in the league alone.

                    

Moyola Park have lost their last game of the month and the title looks all but certain now! 5 more games to play.

                    

Awards

A month full of big victories gets me my third award of the year.

Edited January 27 by AM23

[Hootieleece]

Glad to see you doing well after your struggles in Wales. Keep it up and get promoted as Champs! Trophies always look good on a resume.

[AM23]

2 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Glad to see you doing well after your struggles in Wales. Keep it up and get promoted as Champs! Trophies always look good on a resume.

It's certainly a nice change! It shouldn't be to difficult to get that title now. I don't expect it to come down to the last matchday this time which would be nice for my sanity.

[AM23]

March 2032

A very quiet month with only one league game means we will have to wait for a possible title until April. The quarter final in the cup is naturally very exciting, though we do miss right back Aaron Paul due to him having accumulated too many yellow cards in the league. I don't really understand why this leads to suspension in the cup to be honest.

                   

Warrenpoint Town - Loughgall (Irish Cup)

xG: 2.03 - 0.86;  Shots: 20(7) - 9(7);  Possession: 67% - 33%

Massive! A second Irish Cup semi final for the club in two years. Of course the draw has been kind to us, but still an incredible run for a third tier team.

After a good chance for either team and a disallowed Loughgall goal in the first 15 minutes the match died down for a bit. It broke loose again after the break though, starting off with an amazing Ben Magee solo from the halfway line to get us in the lead. A goalkeeping mistake led to the equaliser, but only 10 minutes later we had gotten ourselves a two goal lead after two indirect free kicks taken by Aodhan Doherty were finished. We kept ourselves together well at the back and only had to worry for a minute or two after the injury time goal.

The other teams remaining in the competition are the top 2 of the Premiership (Linfield and Glenavon), as well as our main rivals Newry City from the Championship. We have been drawn against Glenavon in the semi final which takes place on neutral ground. We have already beaten them earlier this season in the Mid-Ulster Cup.

                   

Warrenpoint Town - Portstewart

xG: 2.29 - 0.23;  Shots: 16(9) - 2(1);  Possession: 68% - 32%

In these matches against teams in the bottom half of the table there is just such an obvious gap in quality that is showing more and more as we advance through the season. Another brilliant performance to get an easy win here. Lyndon Kane the best man on the pitch, while center back Curtis Nimick scored his 10th goal of the season in all competitions with yet another header.

One more game has been added to this month due to it being rearranged after us advancing in the cup. It's not an easy one though, as we travel to 4th placed Crewe United. Two more wins would secure the title for us.

                   

Crewe United - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.61 - 2.26;  Shots: 8(4) - 20(7);  Possession: 30% - 70%

We are just better than all other teams in this division. Crewe were able to keep up with us for almost 40 minutes today, but all resistance was gone from the moment we had taken the lead. A nice, quick combination was finished by Josh Andrews and that was that.

                   

It would take a miracle now for us not to end up on top. We are in the weird situation now that after next week's Irish Cup semi final we could step off the pitch to the news that we have won the title. This is due to us playing earlier in this matchday. It would require both Moyola Park and Banbridge to lose points though.

[AM23]

April 2032

A very exciting month coming up. First of course that semi final, where Glenavon will not want to be surprised by us for the second time this season. Presuming that we won't have gotten the title thrown into our lap by then, our first chance to wrap up the league is at home against Banbridge Town, a team who we replaced on top of the table twice this season.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Glenavon (Irish Cup)

xG: 0.90 - 2.02;  Shots: 8(1) - 13(6);  Possession: 44% - 56%

Glenavon make an end to our dreams early in the game. Unsurprisingly, they were just the better team. Of course giving away a penalty so soon didn't help our cause. They scored their second with a header from an indirect free kick and with that our hopes were gone. We did get a consolation goal and €42k in gate receipts for our troubles.

We quickly switch our focus back to the league. We can win title in front of our own fans, so no reason not to win.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Banbridge Town

xG: 2.70 - 1.84;  Shots: 16(7) - 18(8);  Possession: 72% - 28%

Finally the wait is over! Banbridge might have nightmares of us for some time as we convincingly beat them for the 4th time this season and might have cost them the play-offs after knocking them out of two cups before.

It was Ben Magee again who did everything today. He started of with a perfect through ball on Jack Kehoe, who also got an assist later on. Just before the break he made sure there was no doubt left with a quick double strike, one of which came from a magnificent volley with his wrong foot. We were already in a festive mood in the second half and didn't do a whole lot anymore. Goalkeeper Colin Armstrong should be credited for still keeping the clean sheet, which was his 11th in the league season.

                    

Donegal Celtic - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.41 - 2.45;  Shots: 4(1) - 19(9);  Possession: 41% - 59%

We cruise to our 20th league victory. Early goals helped us a lot in this one. Ben Magee looks to be on a mission to become the league's top scorer. Our best man today was left back Matthew Carmichael, who was did perfect in defense.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Belfast Celtic

xG: 1.19 - 0.63;  Shots: 12(7) - 8(4);  Possession: 72% - 28%

We treat our fans to some goals for the last time as we grab a league record too with our 8th consecutive win. Even more special to me is the fact that we managed a 5th league clean sheet in a row too. Jack Kehoe showed his value today as he contributed to all 3 goals.

                    

In the end we win the league by a big margin. We don't get a point record as Bangor got to 70 points a few seasons back, but still we got a whole lot. Our biggest achievement is only conceding 23 goals after the count was already at 12 after four games.

Moyola Park will have a chance to finally get out of this division after 25 seasons through the play-offs.

                    

Awards

It's 4 for the season.

[Hootieleece]

Way to Go! Winning the League comfortably.

[AM23]

Season review 31/32

So all it took to finally get that first trophy was to leave Llanidloes. Of course joining a club where financially a lot more was possible than for their division rivals also helped my cause quite a bit. Still, I think we had an exceptional season with only two losses in the league and two cup semi finals aswell. After a very busy summer transfer window a change of tactics came early in the season, after which we never really looked back. The wins came easily and in the end we won the league by a 9 point margin to show our dominance. Our team actually only seemed to get better as the season went on. Testament to that is the fact that we only conceded 5 goals in our last 16 league matches, as well as winning our last 8.

                    

Competitions

Not a lot of fluctuation in our league position this year as we were just clearly the best team. Starting of with a crazy tactic the balance after the month of August was 3 wins and 1 loss with a goal difference of 16-12. Despite us getting a good amount of points, it was clear that we were gambling way too much with this tactic. For the first time in this save I went for a good old gegenpressing system and it worked wonders. In the autumn and winter months from September to January we only drew 3 league games out of 14. Our only loss came as a surprise at the end of January at home against Bangor, in a match where we were by far and away the better team. Despite all those wins the gap to second place was still only 3 points at that moment. However, while both of our rivals Banbridge and Moyola Park dropped points in the next month, we never did so anymore. We won 8 games in a row to express our quality and did so with the goal difference of 25-2.

An amazing Irish Cup run was a highlight too this season. We easily dispatched of four amateur sides to get to the tournament proper, even though we played all matches away from home. Our fortune with the draws came from then, as we got three home games in a row without meeting a Premiership side too. Still, beating two Championship sides was a great achievement, especially that resounding 5-1 victory over Institute, who ended their season in 3rd place. Glenavon proved too much for us with two early goals in the semi final, but it did make us a lot of money.

Our regional cup was a tournament of big ups and downs. First we easily dispatched of division rivals Banbridge, after which the best result of the season came. We beat Glenavon who were leading the Premiership at the time and by three goals too. In the semi final we looked set for the final when we where somehow beating a Championship side 4-0 at the break. Everything fell apart in the second half though, after which we had to concede an extra time winner to leave us in disbelief.

The Intermediate Cup was the least spectacular competition we participated in this season. We did once again beat Banbridge in the first round, after which easy games against lower league sides came. In the end our game against Carrick Rangers didn't deserve a winner in normal time, and we were unlucky to lose out on the quarter final through penalties.

                    

Squad

• Colin Armstrong: he was the last transfer of the summer and proved to be a good one in the end. He needed some time to settle at the club and was guilty of a few mistakes early in the season, but at the back end he did make some very good saves to help us. With 13 clean sheets in 22 league games he was an important player for this team.
• Aaron Paul: the player with perhaps the most important role in the team, as he needed to be active both in defence and attack with his inverted wing back role. He filled that role perfectly, and got a whopping total of 10 league assists.
• Curtis Nimick: he had a solid season at center back and contributed in attack a lot too, with 10 goals from corners. A small sidenote to this is that 6 of those goals came against amateur sides in the cups.
• James Forrest: for me probably the find of the season. He was already at the club when I came in and after contemplating for a while I decided to renew his contract. He was 4th choice at center back at first though, and only came into the team due to injuries halfway through December. Coincidence or not, it was from that point onwards that our defence barely conceded any goals anymore, so he never got taken out of the starting XI again.
• Matthew Carmichael: not a bad season from him, although he does have the lowest average rating here. He started out at center back and eventually replaced Trevor McLaughlin at left back.
• Odhran Casey: a decent defensive midfielder, although he did lose his place in the starting XI towards the end of the season to Andrejs Piedels.
• Lyndon Kane: getting him in despite his age (35 now) might have been my best decision on the transfer front. His experience of playing almost 500 games at the top level helped us out massively, together with his qualities as a dead-ball specialist. Together with Paul and Magee one of my top 3 players for sure.
• Josh Andrews: he started the season quite anonymously, but turned into one of our best goal scorers in the end. He really made the box-to-box role his own in midfield.
• Jack Kehoe: was a little bit disappointing early in the season, especially given the fact that he was the club's top earner. At times he was even demoted to the bench with Gerard Black being our right winger instead. He settled at the club more and more though, and does show some nice stats in the end.
• Aodhan Doherty: our captain who I might have underappreciated a tad. A massive number of assists for him and our second best goal scorer too. Due to the lack of a real alternative he started nearly every match too.
• Ben Magee: I was happy to get in a striker with more than 10 goals in each of his last 5 seasons in the Championship, even though it meant he only scored around one goal every three games. It was however clear that he was able to practice his trade at a lower level this year. He became the league's top scorer with 20 goals.

                    

Awards

Great season by him.

                    

Next season

The board have increased the budgets a little bit. To be honest, I feel like the squad we had this year would already have been able to compete around mid table in the Championship. This means my plan is to keep in most of the 15 players that we really used a lot and build the team around them. A bigger squad is necessary as the Championship has a 38 game season with quite a few midweek games in there. But given the fact that around €100k is still available, it should be possible to get in the required reinforcements.

All transfer talk aside though, I am not yet certain if I want to stay for another season. With the required players coming in I think top half would be very possible, and maybe even competing for promotion, but I do fear that I might become too attached to this club quite easily. I haven't renewed my contract yet, so if I do see another interesting club to manage, I might jump ship.

                    

Progress

Llanidloes had their worst season since the start of the save ending in 12th with only 29 points... Seems like all building I did there has been for nothing.

Finally some green on this list!

[AM23]

Pre-season 32/33

In the end the decision to stay was not a difficult one. No job that I actually found interesting became vacant, so I put my signature under a new contract quite easily in the end. What followed might have been the most exciting transfer summer I've experienced so far in this save. First of all, I managed to keep all of the starting XI at the club as well as a few important back-ups. On top of that, with still a month to go in the window I have already gotten most transfer business over with and it has been good.

When the season refresh happened I finally got the conformation that our squad last season was already of a level that could compete around mid table in the Championship. With no reinforcements having come in yet at that point, the media prediction already had us in 6th place. Now, as we still had a lot of budget available, we were able to get in some very good reinforcements, which means expectations have only risen since.

The friendlies have also shown me that we might have another exciting season ahead of us. First we played some away games against teams in tiers below us and barely had to concede any shots in each one of those games. The real tests came in the last week, when we met two Premiership sides at home. We actually managed to beat both of them with especially the big win against Ballyclare Comrades as a statement.

                    

Finances

A higher wage budget than last season of course, and we are making use of it pretty well already. There might be room for 2 more players to come in. As for the league, we are the 5th biggest spender currently.

The Irish Cup run helped us keep the balance stable last season in what would have been a bad financial year otherwise. Not a big surprise given the fact we were spending way more on wages then other teams in the Intermediate League.

                    

Transfers

Seven players have come in so far, while no real interesting players from last season have left the club. The newcomers:

• Chris Mellon: a young striker who came through the academy of Larne, who have been the best Northern Irish team in this save.
• Matt Connolly: we had him on loan already for the second half of last season. He didn't play too much then, although he was good on the pitch. The playmaker will get enough playing time this season though, as we play 38 games in the league alone, which will mean we need to rotate more.
  
• George Beaumont: not a bad looking winger who can play on both sides. We missed some depth at both positions last season so a very welcome reinforcement for us.
  
• Raymond Caldwell: will probably be our main center back this season. Looks strong defensively and is not on a big wage either. He played a full season in the Championship last year while he has also played quite a few Premiership matches before. Despite his age, this is already his 9th club.
  
• Brian Quinn: a left back who is especially strong defensively. He had a good season in the Championship last year, and he too already has some Premiership caps to his name.
  
• Eoin O'Reilly: another winger which was needed for the squad depth. He came from the Cymru North, which is of course a competition I know very well by now. Last season he scored a goal every two matches.
  
• Oliver Jefferies: I saved the best for last as this guy is a true coup for us. The Welsh U21 international comes directly from the Manchester City academy and immediately looks to be our best player. He is most suited to be a playmaker, but could fill in every midfield role for us really. His only downside is his less than ideal personality. Also, look at that transfer value 
  
   

                    

Squad

No reason to search for a new goalkeeper after the season Colin Armstrong had. We could use another back-up here though.

Defence is looking very good for me. Aaron Paul will stay in his important role while Brian Quinn will be the man at left back. In the center Raymond Caldwell is a given while three players will have to decide who gets the second spot there.

A balanced midfield, although an extra defensive option wouldn't hurt us. For now Andrejs Piedels will fill in that role, as he did quite well there last season. Lyndon Kane will stay in the team as a deep lying playmaker, while Oliver Jefferies is our go-to as box-to-box midfielder.

I think I will start the season with the same attack that won us the league last year. Ben Magee has already played a lot in the Championship so he should be able to lead the rest here. Jack Kehoe only got better over the course of last season, and Aodhan Doherty is our captain who was involved in 31 goals last year.

                    

Media prediction

According to the bookies we have a good chance at another promotion. We should at least finish in the top half I think.

                    

Board expectation

Nothing special here. We don't have to play the qualifying rounds in the Irish Cup this year which means our journey there only starts in January. Our best chance at a trophy might be the Mid-Ulster Cup, although there are four Premiership teams in there now.

Edited February 1 by AM23

[Hootieleece]

Great Work! I almost never start the predictions other than dead last after a promotion, even after bringing in new faces. This should be another good season.

[AM23]

23 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Great Work! I almost never start the predictions other than dead last after a promotion, even after bringing in new faces. This should be another good season.

Yeah it just shows that this club never should have been relegated from the Championship in the first place. I really came in at the right time here.

[AM23]

July/August 2032

We have a lot more league games this season as we meet every team either 3 or 4 times. After 33 games the table is split after which you play all teams in your half one more time.

We start with a month of mixed difficulty in the league. Most exciting fixture is the home game against Newry City. They are our rivals, which means after almost 10 years in managment I will finally experience a derby.

                     

Warrenpoint Town - Ballymacash Rangers

xG: 2.40 - 1.17;  Shots: 18(10) - 7(5);  Possession: 67% - 33%

Incredible! What a way to start the season! Couldn't have asked for anything better than this really. We immediately show our competition that we are not here to fight against relegation.

It didn't take our new star man in midfield Oliver Jefferies long to make a difference. He put Ben Magee in front of the goalkeeper four times in the first half, with the latter finishing three of them to defeat his former club before the match had well and truly started. Magee the hero, Jefferies the star. That was the story of the day. 

                     

Carrick Rangers - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.61 - 0.70;  Shots: 7(3) - 12(3);  Possession: 46% - 54%

Not a spectacle at all this. A fair result in the end in this pretty boring match. We took the lead through Ben Magee again as he capitalised on a defensive mistake. We kept the shop closed pretty well at the back, but they did manage an equaliser pretty late in the game.

                     

Ballinamallard United - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 1.37 - 1.36;  Shots: 8(4) - 12(5);  Possession: 37% - 63%

A very unlucky first loss of the season. A screamer and a penalty brought them the lead in a for the rest awful first half. After the break we finally got to playing some football, but were unable to finish our chances. Overall, I think we were the better team today, but we have got nothing to show for it.

Our focus now moves on to two quick matches in succession. The first of those is my first ever derby against Newry City. The second is in the league cup, where we have been unlucky in the draw as we have to travel to Glenavon. They are the current holders of the competition, and we have of course met them twice last season.

                     

Warrenpoint Town - Newry City

xG: 1.29 - 0.64;  Shots: 12(3) - 7(2);  Possession: 55% - 45%

A hardly fought Mourne Battle in front of almost 1,700 spectators ends undecided. It was probably a fair result looking at the flow of the match.

We attacked more in the first half but couldn't really break through and only got to long range shots and some weak headers. This time around we were lucky to get a goal gifted to us through a penalty though. We didn't give any real chances away either, with Raymond Caldwell our best defender, but it was another shot from distance that hurt us in the end.

                     

Glenavon - Warrenpoint Town (League Cup)

xG: 1.84 - 1.90;  Shots: 15(8) - 17(6);  Possession: 38% - 62%

A real rollercoaster of emotions this match was and in the end we fall just short of beating Glenavon in their own backyard. We put up a great fight and even dominated in possession, but forget to reward ourselves for our troubles.

After a first half in which both teams were pretty equal, we quickly took the lead in the second part. Lyndon Kane had come off the bench during the break and from right back he got an assist on our captain to get us the lead. With only 15 minutes left, substitute Chris Mellon won a penalty, and had the chance to double our lead himself, but he failed to do so. 5 minutes later the scores were equal. Extra time didn't bring any chances with it, which meant a penalty shootout was needed to decide the winner. Colin Armstrong kept us in it after our young striker had failed from the spot for a second time, but our hopes ended when our 6th penalty hit the post.

                     

Institute - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.60 - 0.55;  Shots: 6(3) - 6(1);  Possession: 40% - 60%

A scoreless draw means we remain winless for our fifth game in a row. No team deserved to score, let alone win in this one. In an awfully boring match Jack Kehoe created the best chance of the first half for himself with a dribble but his shot went just passed the outside of the post. The best chance in the second half was for Institute close to the end of the game, but they too couldn't get it on target.

                     

We couldn't replicate our spectacular start of the season - when we were 3-0 after 21 minutes - in the games after. It has to be said that we may have been a bit unlucky, but also that we just met some good teams already. What did surprise me a little bit is the lack of overall entertainment in our recent games, where both sides found it hard to create real chances.

                     

Transfers

I've made one last transfer on deadline day. We were in need of an extra striker, so I'm very happy to welcome Corey Smith, who has played in the Premiership for most of his career and scored 10 goals there last season. 

[AM23]

September 2032

4 home fixtures this month which should make for some wins. In the matches against Lisburn Distillery and Loughgall we will be the favourites as both of them have less quality and are below us in the table. In the Mid-Ulster Cup we've been unlucky for our second cup draw in a row as we take on one of the Premiership sides in the first round. Dungannon Swifts actually one the thing last year so our second cup game in a row where we will play the holders.

                   

Warrenpoint Town - Lisburn Distillery

xG: 0.99 - 0.27;  Shots: 11(2) - 3(0);  Possession: 56% - 44%

A solid performance gets us our second win of the season. A beautiful bit of football led to the only goal of the match where Ben Magee only had to put his foot against the ball to get his 5th league goal of the season. After that the spectacle remained absent once again, but we won't complain about that. Center back Curtis Nimick was our best defender today.

                   

Warrenpoint Town - Dungannon Swifts (Mid-Ulster Cup)

xG: 2.00 - 0.29;  Shots: 16(6) - 3(2);  Possession: 50% - 50%

A dominant win! I expected us to have a chance, but not to walk over them like this. It's the second year in a row that we knock out the holders of this cup!

Ben Magee is really making us look like a one man team at the moment, as he seems to be the only one who appears on the scoresheet. Today he was by far and away the most dangerous man on the pitch, as he also had a goal disallowed. I can't just look over our defence though, with them keeping a clean sheet for the third game in a row. Defensive midfielder Andrejs Piedels was the most important man there today with his interceptions.

For some reason we just can't stop drawing Glenavon in these cups... We meet them at home in the quarter final. It will be our fourth cup meeting in two seasons, with the current record being 1-1-1.

                   

Warrenpoint Town - Harland & Wolff Welders

xG: 1.42 - 1.08;  Shots: 19(6) - 12(5);  Possession: 52% - 48%

A good result against the title favourite, although we are getting into a habit of not winning these games where we are slightly better than our opponents.

Just when it looked like an entertaining first half would end without goals, right winger Eoin O'Reilly pulled off a cheeky shot that kept low from a wide position inside the box. He surprised their goalkeeper with it to get us in front. A beautiful free kick got the scores back level in the second half. We had lots of shots today, but most of them weren't dangerous to be honest, as we didn't really create any big chances.

                   

Ards - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 1.49 - 1.67;  Shots: 15(10) - 10(5);  Possession: 38% - 62%

We hold onto our lead by the grit of our teeth to win this difficult away fixture. We were second best in this game, but do take the three points home which is all that matters.

We took the lead early as midfielder Oliver Jefferies scored his first goal for the club with a great volley from the edge of the box. He immediately got his second too, as we got the chance to restore our lead from the spot. After that Ards had the upper hand for most of the game and it felt like we were waiting for the equaliser. Things took a different turn though, thanks to substitute left back Brian Quinn delivering a perfect cross in the 77th minute. It meant the goal Ards finally did score wasn't enough for them to get anything from this game.

                   

Warrenpoint Town - Loughgall

xG: 2.38 - 0.70;  Shots: 18(11) - 6(2);  Possession: 59% - 41%

We get a big win, even though it took us until after halftime to really get going. Our fans were entertained with some beautiful goals today.

Aodhan Doherty and Ben Magee linked up for our first two goals which both gave us the lead. The best one was the second, as Magee brilliantly chipped their goalkeeper. We eventually got the big score through Eoin O'Reilly, who scored for the third match in a row. 

                   

A great month as we collect 10 points in the league, while also getting a surprise win in the Mid-Ulster Cup. We have moved up to 3rd place, although the table is still very close. We do have the best defence in the league so far, which is great to see. Ballinamallard have been the big surprise up until this point, with the media expecting them to finish in the lower half of the table.

                   

Awards

First of the season!

[AM23]

October 2032

Busy month October is. Yet another attempt at hindering Glenavon in a cup, while also playing 5 league games. Four of those league games are against teams in the lower half of the table, while Carrick Rangers is looking like an early season rival for us. First up is Dollingstown, a team I don't have fond memories of playing. In the semi final of the Mid-Ulster Cup last season we gave away a 4-0 lead against them after the break.

                    

Dollingstown - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.45 - 2.36;  Shots: 7(3) - 12(4);  Possession: 37% - 63%

We give them no chance and book a second comprehensive victory in a row. Aodhan Doherty was the best player out there today with two assists, while Oliver Jefferies assisted our striker Ben Magee for the 5th time this season. They have been linking up very well.

We go into our home game against Glenavon filled with confidence, and also knowing that we should have beaten them in the League Cup earlier this season. Will be a fun one.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Glenavon (Mid-Ulster Cup)

xG: 1.57 - 0.88;  Shots: 16(4) - 10(4);  Possession: 68% - 32%

We can only blame our inability to finish our chances for this loss. We actually dominated Glenavon for 90 minutes, where they only mustered 4 shots in total, but in extra time our players were too exhausted to keep it going. We had 2 or 3 good chances to take the lead and should have won this one in normal time.

He came off injured in the first half and might be what we missed in our finishing. Will be a big miss the rest of this month.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Dergview

xG: 1.88 - 0.50;  Shots: 17(6) - 7(3);  Possession: 52% - 48%

Our fifth league win in six games! We are looking very good on the pitch at the moment and have moved up into second place now, three points behind the league leaders.

We had a bad start to the game, but it didn't cost us as Dergview couldn't score their early chances. Lyndon Kane then missed a penalty, but still became the man of the match as he scored the first and assisted the second. Winger George Beaumont got his first goal for the club.

                    

It has been a few years since my last course, but I will get one step closer to completing all of them with this one.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Carrick Rangers

xG: 0.96 - 0.68;  Shots: 9(5) - 3(1);  Possession: 48% - 52%

New striker Corey Smith saves a point for us with his first goal for the club. In yet another match where chances were scarce, our opponents didn't even try anymore after going up, while we finally got into our groove halfway through the second half. It is worth noting that since the start of this save these teams have met 13 times, and Warrenpoint haven't been able to win any of those games (7 draws, 6 losses). With me in charge the meetings have resulted in 1-1 three times now.

In our next game we play our second Mourne derby of the season against Newry City, which is another team that has dominated this club over the course of this save. At the moment we are 6 derbies without a win, with the last victory more than 3 years ago.

Second noteworthy injury of the season. He is a back-up winger so we should be able to go without him for a few games.

                    

Newry City - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 2.33 - 1.04;  Shots: 17(9) - 8(3);  Possession: 41% - 59%

We are lucky to draw them for a second time in what was our worst game of the season. We were absolutely horrible in the first 20 minutes and could well have been 3-0 down at that point.

Two big chances early wasn't enough warning for us as we gifted them a penalty right after for them to take a deserved early lead. An Aodhan Doherty assist provided a quick reaction from us with our first shot of the game, though we were still being completely outplayed. After we had finally stopped their flurry of chances a little bit we even grabbed a miraculous lead when the ball fell to midfielder Oliver Jefferies. The equaliser came before the break, and after that nothing much happened as we made some much needed tactical changes.

                    

Ballymacash Rangers - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 1.27 - 1.03;  Shots: 9(2) - 6(1);  Possession: 36% - 64%

Our streak of 10 unbeaten games in the league ends here. It was another match where we had trouble creating chances, while giving away too much space at the back.

Ballymacash were the most dangerous team overall and probably deserved the win. They let two massive chances go begging in the first half while we were unable to put anything against that. At halftime Ben Magee came on back from his injury, but it was clear he missed some games as the ball looked to fly out of the stadium when he got our only real chance of the game.

                    

We have been very hard to beat so far, but aren't winning enough of our games. We played 7 of our games against teams in the top half and only managed to win one of those, although we did hold our opponents to a draw five times. Still, we are in a very good position and if we win our games in hand we would be in the play-off spot.

Ballinamallard have finished mid table in the Championship nearly every season in this save apart from one shock promotion via the play-offs. They look set for a second surprising season as they just keep winning.

                    

Awards

[AM23]

November 2032

Due to a rescheduled match we play Ards back-to-back at the start of November. They are the only top half team we have beaten so far. Also, Ards and Institute are both above us in the table, but we have games in hand on both of them too. Winning games against them could get us into second place.

                   

Warrenpoint Town - Ards

xG: 0.73 - 1.41;  Shots: 7(3) - 10(2);  Possession: 55% - 45%

We needed some individual brilliance to avert our first home loss of the league season in this match. We played awfully bad for most of the game, only getting any pressure on them in the last 20 minutes when we tried something different tactically with Oliver Jefferies as a shadow striker. He dribbled past 3 men and slotted home for the equaliser in the 80th minute.

                   

Ards - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.85 - 1.21;  Shots: 12(6) - 5(1);  Possession: 38% - 62%

Same result, and probably the right result for this match. It does mean we have now failed to win in our last 5 games. Also, we are on course to equal the record of draws in a season as we have now drawn exactly half of our games.

We started out in a 4-4-1-1, which is different from our usual 4-3-3. I hoped to get some more grip on the game by playing in a more defensive counter attacking system, but it honestly didn't work that well. We did get in front through a penalty which meant Oliver Jefferies continues to bother Ards as he scored his 4th goal against them. They couldn't get close to our goal either, but did get the equaliser shortly after the break with a screamer from distance.

                   

Harland & Wolff Welders - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.87 - 1.35;  Shots: 4(3) - 18(5);  Possession: 45% - 55%

Yeah... What can I say after a match like this. We were dominant from start to finish but were up against it early when we conceded yet another amazing goal from outside the box. They had 2 shots and 0.04 xG until they scored their second goal from a rebound after a counter. 

                   

Warrenpoint Town - Institute

xG: 2.12 - 1.22;  Shots: 24(8) - 5(3);  Possession: 58% - 42%

A much needed win! Another match in which we were dominant and this time we do get the scoreline to prove it.

We did make it harder for ourselves again as Curtis Nimick gave away a penalty after a first 30 minutes we should have taken the lead in. A good indirect free kick got the scores back level quickly though, and we became clear favourites after a horror tackle just before the break. It took us some time to break down their ultra defensive formation in the second half, but we eventually managed it courtesy an Aaron Paul wondergoal.

                   

Loughgall - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.88 - 2.71;  Shots: 7(6) - 22(3);  Possession: 37% - 63%

Ruud van Nistelrooij, ketchup bottle, with one comes two. We're back on track. A third good game in a row, although we did make it way harder than it should've been once again.

A lack of concentration early and we were trailing. Our failure to get shots on target meant it took us long to turn things around. Ben Magee was the catalyst, first seeing a goal disallowed before delivering a great assist. Our best man on the pitch was left back Brian Quinn, who got the winning assist a mere two minutes after our equaliser.

                   

Around halfway through the season we are still close to that play-off spot. It wasn't a great month but it does look like we have now overcome our dip in form.

Edited February 3 by AM23

[AM23]

December 2032

Three easier games on paper, as well as two very interesting home games agains league leaders Ballinamallard and against rivals Newry City. Hoping for at least 10 points here.

                    

Lisburn Distillery - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.41 - 0.93;  Shots: 3(0) - 13(4);  Possession: 34% - 66%

Set-pieces get us a third win on the bounce and also our first clean sheet in 9 games. Raymond Caldwell headed us into the lead from a corner with his first goal for the club. The second goal was a great free kick by our star midfielder. The match wasn't of high quality for the rest, but we aren't too bothered by that. 

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Dollingstown

xG: 2.03 - 0.62;  Shots: 22(8) - 6(2);  Possession: 61% - 39%

We entertain our home fans with a big win to get us back into second place. Good performances all around the pitch today.

It quickly became clear why Dollingstown are bottom of the table, as the provided us with no resistance in the first 20 minutes which meant we got to a comfortable lead early. Corey Smith got the nod as our striker today and quickly paid back faith, while Aodhan Doherty was the man of the match with a goal and an assist.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Newry City

xG: 1.37 - 1.37;  Shots: 19(8) - 6(2);  Possession: 57% - 43%

My first derby win at the third time of asking! We made it more difficult than necessary for ourselves once again, but in the end we get our 5th win in a row.

The tone was set early with an awful tackle which reduced Newry to 10 men. When we capitalised almost immediately through left back Brian Quinn, I thought it would be an easy game. That was not how it went though, as we didn't create enough chances and had to take an equaliser 15 minutes before the end when we gave away a penalty. Luckily we kept fighting and got in front quickly again as Lyndon Kane hit the ball well from the edge of the box. 

This is really bad news. He was getting better and better but will be out for most of the season now.

                    

Ballinamallard United - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 1.48 - 1.30;  Shots: 17(5) - 10(5);  Possession: 51% - 49%

Our firs home loss of the league season sees Ballinamallard disappear in the distance at the top of the table. They started the game a lot better and got a comfortable lead by scoring 2 headers in quick succession. Colin Armstrong didn't look good with their second goal. After that we took over initiative, but couldn't finish our chances. Ballinamallard didn't even have a shot after the break, but that didn't matter as we forgot to score.

We were scheduled to play against Dergview now, but that match has been postponed.

                    

After that last match I thought 2nd place should be our goal, just to see Ballinamallard lose twice in a row all of a sudden. If the wheels come of there we might still have a chance at a trophy this season. At least the fight for second place is very tight with 5 teams competing.

[AM23]

January 2033

An interesting game on New Year's Day as we meet a team who we haven't been able to beat in our previous two meetings this year. Against the other teams we meet in the league we have won four out of five games. Our bad luck in the cup draws continues as we meet mid table Premiership side Glentoran in the first round of the Irish Cup.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Harland & Wolff Welders

xG: 2.45 - 0.54;  Shots: 16(7) - 6(4);  Possession: 54% - 46%

An impressive win to put a close rival at a distance in the table! They provided no trouble for us this time around and even created the chances for us quite a few times.

A converted penalty was the perfect start to the game for us and with Harland & Wolff Welders unable to get dangerous in attack it became an easy game for us. What made things even easier was that they started playing the ball to our players in front of goal. None of our goals came with an assist. Corey Smith has recently gotten into the starting XI over Ben Magee and is justifying that decision with his 4th goal of the season today.

                    

Dergview - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 1.51 - 1.30;  Shots: 10(4) - 15(8);  Possession: 49% - 51%

The first time this season we lose points against one of the four teams fighting relegation. A fair result too, as we were second best for a good part of the match after getting of to yet another perfect start through Eoin O'Reilly scoring his 8th goal of the season. Dergview was dominant for a long time after that, and we only managed to create chances again from the 60th minute onwards.

Irish Cup coming up next. I don't have any expectations of it really with the draw we have gotten.

                    

Glentoran - Warrenpoint Town (Irish Cup)

xG: 0.51 - 1.25;  Shots: 4(1) - 15(7);  Possession: 42% - 58%

What a performance! We dominate one of the most historical clubs in Northern Ireland for 90 minutes straight in their own stadium. I feared another cup exit despite tied scores after regular time like we experienced twice against Glenavon, but a late corner let the away section erupt. An amazing defensive showing laid the foundation for this result, so it was only fitting that center back Curtis Nimick became the matchwinner. 

We have had better luck in the draw this time, as we will travel to Loughgall in the second round. They are fighting relegation in our division.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Lisburn Distillery

xG: 1.52 - 0.24;  Shots: 12(5) - 5(1);  Possession: 59% - 41%

Deja vu! Just like in the cup game we dominate but forget to score, only to be saved by an 87th minute corner scored by one of our center backs. This time around Raymond Caldwell was the man who ran away celebrating. We really did miss a few huge opportunities in this match, especially in the first half. In the end we get our 3rd win over Distillery in as many games this season.

                    

Institute - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.54 - 2.52;  Shots: 6(0) - 16(4);  Possession: 41% - 59%

It's another great showing! Arguably our best match in a month, as we slowly took the game away from Institute and never let them back in it.

The first 20 minutes went by quickly, but from there on we slowly started to take initiative. We already had a big chance to go 1-0 up towards the end of the first half, but Corey Smith couldn't get it past their goalkeeper from short range. We got our opening shortly after the break, when Oliver Jefferies hit the woodwork from a free kick and Aaron Paul was the quickest to react for the rebound. After getting the second goal we didn't get into trouble anymore either.

                    

A very good way to start the year this was, especially as Ballinamallard have continued slipping up and are now well within reach for us. Things are only getting closer at the top of the table though, with Ards and Harland & Wolff Welders in great form too. The latter might be the most dangerous team in the league right now and were pre-season favourites too. Only makes it more impressive that we beat them by three goals.

We are also approaching the league split with only 6 games left to play before it. No real excitement there though as it looks quite clear which teams will end up in the top and bottom half. The top 6 playing an extra game against each other at the end is definitely an interesting prospect looking at how close things are.

                    

Awards

Edited February 5 by AM23

[AM23]

February 2033

A month full of opportunities for us, where the first match against Carrick Rangers is the most exciting one. We drew them 1-1 twice this season, while the club is yet to beat them in this save after 13 matches. After that we have gotten a draw that should see us get through to the quarter final of the Irish Cup, and three more league matches all against teams fighting relegation. Should be another good month.

                    

Some disappointing albeit not surprising news. Oliver Jefferies will join Larne on a free transfer next summer. It was already a sensation we even managed to get him in last summer, but we could only get him on a one year deal and he never felt like renewing his contract. Will be a big miss though as he has just been our best player this season.

                    

Carrick Rangers - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.37 - 0.69;  Shots: 6(3) - 6(3);  Possession: 51% - 49%

No better feeling than this, an injury time winner! Can you still call something luck when it happens time and time again? For the third time in four matches we grab a late, very late 1-0 victory through a corner. This time around it was a short corner variant that did the trick as Curtis Nimick was left completely open at the far post. For the rest it was a match which would have been forgotten about by every single spectator had we not scored that goal, as no team made a real claim for a victory today.

The best thing about that late goal is that it has sent us past Ards, who lost today, and into the play-off spot.

                    

Loughgall - Warrenpoint Town (Irish Cup)

xG: 0.83 - 0.87;  Shots: 7(2) - 13(4);  Possession: 52% - 48%

No cup run for us this season. We just weren't at our best today and fair play to Loughgall who are bottom of the table in our division to keep their defence together so well. For the third time under my reign at Warrenpoint Town we go to penalties, and for the third time we lose. Not a great record.

The match did start very well for us, with the short corner variant working for the second game in a row to put us in the lead early. I already had the quarter final in my head at that point, and that complacency might have been present for some players too. Our lead was immediately erased and after that there just wasn't anything happening. The stats tell the story of the game, with so little shots and xG after extra time. 

Full focus to the league now. Dergview have been the only team to take points of us so far in the new year and we meet them again next week. This time at home, so a good opportunity to bounce back.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Dergview

xG: 2.02 - 2.77;  Shots: 16(5) - 15(8);  Possession: 51% - 49%

After such a good run of form everything comes crashing down all of a sudden. A horrendous performance as we get battered by 9th place Derview for our second home loss of the season. Shameful.

That first half was something I had not seen before from this team. Nothing worked in attack, opponents were left unmarked at the back, stupid tackles were made. Ben Magee brought us back in the game on the brink of halftime with his first goal in what seemed like forever, and after that we actually looked to have a good chance to at least get a draw. We improved our game in the second half and were a tad unlucky as we hit the crossbar twice, while Corey Smith shot the ball miles wide one on one with their keeper. At the end they scored from their first two chances of the half and that was that.

                    

Dollingstown - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 0.35 - 2.38;  Shots: 3(2) - 18(7);  Possession: 37% - 63%

We struggle, but we fight and take three points with us in the end. When the early goal came, it felt like our season could be decided very quickly all of a sudden, but we hit the switch early this time around and got a very deserved win in the end. Captain Aodhan Doherty took his team by the hand in the second half as he scored the first goal and created multiple chances too. Finally, it was Ben Magee who got us in the lead to get us some relief. Great to see him scoring again after such a long time with no goals from him.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Loughgall

xG: 2.51 - 0.95;  Shots: 19(13) - 10(4);  Possession: 56% - 44%

One man show! Ben Magee shows he really is back into form. His second first half hattrick of the season gets us some revenge on Loughgall in what turned out to be our biggest win of the season. Just an incredible performance and he got an assist too.

The thing that has irritated me most about FM this year is the amount of complacency. I feel like no matter what you say at halftime, when you have a big lead your team just stops playing football at all or something. It has happened so many times that I've conceded two or more goals after the break when up by a big margin. I should probably stop being bothered by it, but I really can't as I feel like the complacency in real life is really not this obvious.

                    

Things still looking good here. We still play Ballinamallard United twice too. I was recently thinking that Harland & Wolff Welders would be our biggest rivals for promotion as they were the team in form, but their two losses this month have set them back.

                    

Awards

Couldn't have asked for a lot more from him.

Edited February 6 by AM23

[AM23]

March 2033

Just the two matches so far this month, though I expect 1 or 2 more to be added once the league is split. Our first match is very exciting, as it could see us go top of the table with a win. 

                    

Ballinamallard United - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 1.53 - 1.62;  Shots: 7(3) - 11(6);  Possession: 38% - 62%

Wow! This could be a season defining comeback. An incredible way to take over first place from Ballinamallard. I don't think they'll get back there either, as they have really been struggling lately with only 11 points in their last 10 games.

Both teams started the game nervously, but our opponents were the team that got rid of those nerves the fastest. We already lost both previous matches against them this season 2-0, so when that scoreline reached that exact score again I was already demoralized. My players weren't though and 10 minutes after their second goal Aaron Paul already scored the equaliser. Immediately after they missed a huge chance to get back the lead, which turned out to be their last. We came out of the dressing room well and kept them in check quite easily after Andrejs Piedels had put us in front.

Despite three different goalscores today, the man who took home the man of the match award was good old Lyndon Kane. The 36 year old has been so important for us yet again this season starting in about 70% of our matches.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Ballymacash Rangers

xG: 2.75 - 0.35;  Shots: 21(11) - 4(1);  Possession: 67% - 33%

A statement in the last game before the split! We get our biggest win of the season against the best team of the bottom half. Captain perfect Aodhan Doherty helped us get to a comfortable two goal margin with a goal and an assist before half an hour had passed, after which both midfielder Oliver Jefferies and winger Eoin O'Reilly scored their 10th goal of the season. The latter was especially good in this game as he created multiple chances for himself and got two goals in the end. What surprised me the most this game is that we didn't let complacency creep in after halftime.

                    

The league is split now, though it was already clear for a long time which teams would be on which side. In our half things are very close with every team still at a shot for promotion. Results have been very good for us on that previous matchday, which means we can afford to lose at least one game and probably more as I expect some competitive matches between all teams.

                    

Awards

Second of the season after those good wins this month.

Edited February 7 by AM23

[AM23]

April 2033

We go into the deciding month in pole position, knowing that 4 wins would definitely be enough for the title, but we would probably still get there with only 3 wins. No easy games though, so some good form is necessary. We meet the two teams closest to us first.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Ards

xG: 2.14 - 1.43;  Shots: 12(7) - 10(7);  Possession: 58% - 42%

A weird match that didn't contain any chances from open play leaves us in disappointment. A fair result, but it's always regretful to give a lead away, especially so late in the game.

Nothing happened in a suspenseful first half, after which two penalties put us in the driver's seat with Lyndon Kane continuing his good form by scoring both of them. Things were looking good as our defence kept Ards quiet, but they created chances from three corners in the last 15 minutes, two of which eventually went in. Their equaliser was made possible by our goalkeeper Colin Armstrong being unable to keep hold of the ball, dropping it in front of an attacker for an open goal chance instead.

The gap grows to five points as Ballinamallard loses again. The season seems to be just a few matches too long for them. It does look like there are a lot more teams in contention now however, with both Institute and Harland & Wolff Welders coming closer after a win.

                    

Ballinamallard United - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 2.01 - 2.08;  Shots: 13(6) - 13(5);  Possession: 43% - 57%

Oh come on! I don't know whether to be happy or sad after this game. Another comfortable lead given away as that awful complacency comes into play again.

We were trotting along nicely and had Ballinamallard down and out of the title race just after halftime. Aodhan Doherty had provided the first danger as he hit the post after just 4 minutes. He also got an assist on Eoin O'Reilly for our second goal, after the former had already put it on a plate for our star midfielder a few minutes earlier. A corner looked to seal the deal in this match, but a crazy ten minutes came and suddenly the scores were level again. Things only got worse as Hynds scored his fourth goal to get Ballinamallard within 2 points of us on the virtual table, but one of the weirdest goals I've seen in a while saved us from that. In the last second of the game left back Trevor McLaughlin went for the shot with his wrong foot, and somehow the ball ended up in the back of the net after hitting no less than three opposition players.

Institute win again and look like our closest title rivals. The door stays open for Ballinamallard, while the rest of the teams look to be too far away to give us any trouble.

                    

Harland & Wolff Welders - Warrenpoint Town

xG: 3.13 - 2.19;  Shots: 12(8) - 16(7);  Possession: 41% - 59%

Everything is falling apart! Our defence is suddenly letting us down game after game and goalkeeper Colin Armstrong is piling on the mistakes after a solid season. Is the pressure too much for us? In all honesty, it wouldn't even have been weird had this game ended in a draw, but it ends with us giving away our valuable goal difference as well.

At 0-0 a penalty was given to us, but Lyndon Kane couldn't convert and at that point I already felt it coming. We were able to nullify their first goal, but two goalkeeper mistakes around the break later we were two goals down and we never recovered.

Something inexplicable has been happening as of late. After 28 matches in the season, it was clear why we were so high up the table. Our attack didn't look anything special with 45 goals scored, but our defence was by far and away the best in the league with only 23 goals conceded. Now, 8 games later, our goal difference is 70-43. 25 scored and 20 conceded in eight games. I don't understand how such a bit turnaround can happen, but I can tell you I don't like it at all.

To make matters worse, Institute have booked their fourth win in a row and might be the favourites for the title now. We play them next week at home in what will be a huge match. Meanwhile, we seem to have held on to our goal difference just about enough for that to be in our favour.

With the next matches being so decisive, they will of course have their own posts.

[AM23]

Warrenpoint Town - Institute (Matchday 37)

Our last home game of the season might be the most important one of them all. A win here and we go three points clear of Institute with a better goal difference, though not one impossible to overcome. A draw would keep us in first place too, but a loss would do big damage to our title dreams. 

Institute are the team who have got everything to win. When the league was split they were three points behind the play-offs and seven points behind us. Now, three games later they have all but caught us already, while one more win in the last two games would at least get them a shot at the play-offs. The one thing we have to hold on to is our record against them this season. A 0-0 away draw was followed by a 2-1 win at home and a 2-0 win away most recently in January.

Looking at the other teams, Ards and Harland & Wolff played before us and have drawn each other 1-1. Neither of them can win the title anymore. The only team still with a chance besides us and Institute now is Ballinamallard, but they would need us to draw now and both lose our last match, while also making up a massive amount in goal difference, so that's not going to happen.

No big surprises in our starting XI. Most notable name is Matt Connolly, who came back from injury at the start of the month and is in the starting squad for the second time again now. For the rest I've made one change in central defence, where Curtis Nimick has been replaced by Matthew Carmichael. I was pretty consistent in my choice there, but with all the goals conceded I felt like something needed to change.

Kick-off

07:16 - A corner for Institute is floated into the box where goalkeeper Colin Armstrong is strong in the air to catch the ball. A slow build up finds Aodhan Doherty a few meters over the halfway line, fairly central in the field. He sees a gap and gives a through ball to put Ben Magee one on one with their goalkeeper! It's a difficult angle and the shot is straight at their goalkeeper, behind for a corner.

12:52 - We win the ball on the edge of our own box and Matt Connolly dribbles forward with it quickly arriving at the halfway line. We pass the ball around on their half where eventually Ben Magee picks it up an odd 30 meters away from their goal. He turns around, decides for a dribble and leaves three man in the dust! He is through on goal again, difficult angle again, but this time from his preferred right side! The ball flies towards the far corner, the net moves, it's in!

15:28 - Matt Connolly dribbles again, this time on their half. Towards the box where Ben Magee is left unmarked, finds him and the latter shoots directly! It's in again, but the flag is up. Clear offside.

Halftime - The rest of the half went by without any chances. We've been doing well in keeping Institute away from our goal, though I have experienced that things can change very quickly.

49:28 - We have a free kick around 25 meters away from goal. It looks a good position to go for the shot, but Oliver Jefferies surprises their defence by opting for a short ball to Eoin O'Reilly who is left unmarked outside the penalty area. He gets to the edge of the box and shoots! Just over.

59:09 - A goalkick for Institute is played high and we win the header in midfield. It falls back to one of there defenders at the halfway line. To quick passes and they sent a ball over the top, where their striker is quick to get there! One on one he easily slots it past Colin Armstrong. First chance of the match for Institute and the scores are back level.

66' - Last game was a midweek fixture and we are at the end of a long season, so there are some players getting tired. Aaron Paul has been replaced at right back by veteran Lyndon Kane, while in the center of defence Curtis Nimick comes in for Raymond Caldwell.

80' - The match seems to be in a stalemate. More changes for us with Corey Smith replacing left winger Aodhan Doherty, and Josh Andrews coming in at defensive midfield for Andrejs Piedels.

83:55 - A long ball from their goalkeeper is picked up by us in midfield. We get it to Matt Connolly who gets all the space he needs to dribble. He opts for the shot from 20 meters, but it is an easy save.

Full time - 6 minutes of injury time result in nothing either, which means we will stay in first place. We can call ourselves a little bit unlucky not to have gotten more out of this match to be honest. Institute only had one chance, but they did score it which is what was needed for them. It will come down to the last matchday.

                    

It's a two horse race at the top. The team that doesn't win the title will go into the play-offs, though a promotion from there won't help my cause with the challenge of course. The one positive I can find, is that we won't be losing the title on goals scored this time around.

[AM23]

Carrick Rangers - Warrenpoint Town (Matchday 38)

So for the third time in this save the final matchday will decide if my team gets the title. The first time we needed a result to go our way which didn't happen. The second time still wakes me up in my sleep sometimes. A win would have been enough, but we got a draw. That meant thing went down to goal difference, which was somehow equal as well. In the end I didn't get the Cymru North title with Llanidloes that I was longing for, as we scored less goals than Conwy. This time we are ahead on goal difference, and a win would put us in a very good position to win the championship.

We will be playing Carrick Rangers away from home. In our previous games against them this season we got a 1-1 draw twice, and won the most recent game 1-0. I expect another close game. Institute will be playing Harland & Wolff Welders at home, so I will be keeping an eye on that match as well.

No changes in our starting XI from the last match, as I thought we looked solid in that game.

Kick-off

Goal alert - Early news from the Institute game. They have gotten the lead through an early penalty. Looks like we are going to have to do thing on our own.

11:19 - We build up and keep hold of the ball after some struggles. Eoin O'Reilly cuts inside from the right just over the halfway line and finds Aodhan Doherty on the other side of the pitch. The latter opts for a quick shot from distance! It grazes the bar but ends up out of play.

29:13 - Carrick Rangers have a corner on the right side. They take it short and after a one-two it is passed to the end of the box where we have left one of their players completely free. It's a simple opportunity for him and he gets it in the back of the net. We have been the better team here, but our opponents score with their first shot.

34:23 - A free kick for Carrick Rangers now. Around 30 meters away from our goal but it's shot very well! Flying towards the right top corner! The sound of the crossbar is loud, some relief, but not for long. The ball bounces from the bottom of the bar just over the goalline. We're 2-0 down.

Halftime - If any team has been better, it would be us. Two set pieces have put us in a very precarious situation though. I fear another final matchday disaster will be added to the list in 45 minutes.

45:00 - Immediately from the kick-off we build up towards their goal. We don't really get close though, and in the end Aaron Paul goes for a shot from distance which goes far wide of the goal.

Goal alert - No help is coming for us. Institute are two goals up and we need a miracle.

54' - One change as I have taken off defensive midfielder Andrejs Piedels. On comes Lyndon Kane into central midfield, where we have three players now.

Goal alert - Harland & Wolff Welders have gotten one back. If they draw, a draw is enough for us too. That still looks far away though.

68' - All stats are in our favour. We are playing more attacking and getting quite some shots of, but it hasn't resulted in any big chances so far. I have taken both wingers off. In their place we now have Corey Smith on the left and George Beaumont on the right.

85' - Nothing is happening anymore. I have given up hope.

Goal alert - Is a miracle coming? An injury time goal equaliser at the Institute game.

Full time - No. We can't do the job today. We actually won none of our games after the league split and that is where we have given things away. No trophy for me this season as we lose the title by one point.

                    

I have no words for this really. We were 7 points clear of Institute when the league split, but could only muster 3 draws from there. Especially the two comfortable leads given away in the games against Ards and Ballinamallard feel like they have made a difference, although we were also unlucky to lose this last game and not to beat Institute. 

We still have the play-offs to play now to at least get the club promotion to the Premiership. For me it isn't really worth anything at the moment. We will meet Portadown there. They are last year's Championship winners.

[AM23]

Play-offs 32/33

We have to switch our focus fast now. The disappointment of losing the title is still fresh, but there is only 6 days between our last league match and the first play-off game. Our opponents Portadown have known that they would need to play in this for a while already, as they finished 12 points above 12th place, but 19 behind 10th.  They just got promoted from the Championship last season after spending 9 seasons there, so I don't think they would want to get relegated back immediately. 

History is on Portadown's side, as they have won 19 of 28 games played between both team since the start of the save, with Warrenpoint only winning 6. Warrenpoint Town have been in one promotion/relegation play-off in this save. It was back in 2025/26, when they also ended 2nd in the league. That time around they lost 3-2 on aggregate against Harland & Wolff Welders.

                    

Warrenpoint Town - Portadown (First leg)

xG: 1.04 - 1.47;  Shots: 7(1) - 10(5);  Possession: 55% - 45%

We played in front of 2,000 spectators in a sold out Milltown for the first time with me in charge, but couldn't do enough to make them happy. We will go into the second leg with a disadvantage.

In the first 30 minutes both teams put in one cross. Portadown scored their header, ours went over. It feels like every match has gone this way in the past month. Eoin O'Reilly did get the scores back level, but it didn't last long as a through ball put their striker in a one on one with Colin Armstrong who failed to trouble him.

                    

I have just announced I will leave Warrenpoint Town at the end of the season. I don't want this to become another Llanidloes where I don't want to leave, but can't win anything either. I was thinking about staying for one season if we do go up, as to try and help the club settle in the Premiership and make their stay there sustainable, but I'm not really in the mood for that right now.

Also, I hope that announcing it at this point might set something in motion for us to still get that promotion.

                    

Portadown - Warrenpoint Town (Second leg)

xG: 0.75 - 1.63;  Shots: 10(4) - 11(4);  Possession: 41% - 59%

Oh yes! We turn around the deficit with our first win in 7 matches! Warrenpoint Town back in the Premiership after ten years.

An early penalty helped us settle the nerves as Lyndon Kane converted it to get the scores level on aggregate. Suddenly we were the team on the front foot, though we couldn't create big chances. After almost an hour was played, Aaron Paul filled everyone affiliated to Warrenpoint Town with joy as he put in a thunderous effort that beat Portadown's goalkeeper. Still, there was a long way to go, and in the end our 3-0 in injury time turned out to be extra important as Portadown got one back after. 

What a moment to turn around your fortunes! Just an amazing end to the season, even though it didn't get me a trophy.

                    

The end of a chapter.

 

Edited February 7 by AM23

[ToMexico!!]

I've really enjoyed reading through the thread, so much so it inspired me to start my own British and Irish save albeit less England.

Where are you looking to move to next? What jobs are available? 

I'm now in 2029, started at Afan Lido; won promotion in 2024/25, took the Haverfordwest job in 2026/27 and won the league in all three seasons I was at the club. Just taken over at St Pats Athletic in Ireland who were in 9th place and facing relegation from the top tier. Heavily in the red on the balance but have managed to move up to 7th with 12 games remaining and the outside chance of a playoff spot. I may use St Pats as a stepping stone to a bigger Irish club. 

[AM23]

1 hour ago, ToMexico!! said:

I've really enjoyed reading through the thread, so much so it inspired me to start my own British and Irish save albeit less England.

Where are you looking to move to next? What jobs are available? 

I'm now in 2029, started at Afan Lido; won promotion in 2024/25, took the Haverfordwest job in 2026/27 and won the league in all three seasons I was at the club. Just taken over at St Pats Athletic in Ireland who were in 9th place and facing relegation from the top tier. Heavily in the red on the balance but have managed to move up to 7th with 12 games remaining and the outside chance of a playoff spot. I may use St Pats as a stepping stone to a bigger Irish club. 

Great to hear! My plan for the save is to keep the career path at least a little bit realistic, so I want to work my way up the leagues based on league reputation more or less. With the Cymru North/South still having the lowest reputation there is a good chance that I will be returning to Wales. The Vanarama North/South is low down too, so that might be an option, but I am looking to steer clear of England for now.

As of now, I'm not eyeing any specific jobs. I'm also fidgeting with the idea of staying without a club until halfway through next season and take over somewhere then to change things up a little bit.

Your career sounds great so far! Impressive that you immediately managed to topple TNS in Wales. They have won the league every single season in my save. Good luck with St Pats or elsewhere in Ireland, St Pats have actually been very succesful in my save winning the league three times so far.

[ToMexico!!]

10 minutes ago, AM23 said:

Great to hear! My plan for the save is to keep the career path at least a little bit realistic, so I want to work my way up the leagues based on league reputation more or less. With the Cymru North/South still having the lowest reputation there is a good chance that I will be returning to Wales. The Vanarama North/South is low down too, so that might be an option, but I am looking to steer clear of England for now.

As of now, I'm not eyeing any specific jobs. I'm also fidgeting with the idea of staying without a club until halfway through next season and take over somewhere then to change things up a little bit.

Your career sounds great so far! Impressive that you immediately managed to topple TNS in Wales. They have won the league every single season in my save. Good luck with St Pats or elsewhere in Ireland, St Pats have actually been very succesful in my save winning the league three times so far.

Yeah, realism is for the best, making an unrealistic move could always derail the save. I was offered the Linfield job before taking the St Pat's job, they would have given me £4k p/w personal wages, an £18m transfer budget and a £200k p/w wage budget. A far cry from where I was with Haverfordwest. Glad I walked away in the end. 

TNS imploded in my first season with Haverfordwest, they finished 4th behind Barry and Penybont, they seemingly are back on top so far this season. 

Good luck with finding your next club, I look forward to seeing where you end up. 

[AM23]

Season review 32/33

What a season it was in the end! Back-to-back promotions really is something special, even if I couldn't get a trophy of the list this year. We lived up to the high pre-season expectations of us immediately settling in the top half, and just got better and better as the season went on. Sadly we couldn't hold on to first place after the league split, but in the second leg of the play-offs we gave it everything for one last time to get this season the ending it deserved. It also meant the end to my very succesful spell at the club. I hope they can do well in the Premiership next season without me, though it will be difficult as the wage budget of Larne for example is 12x bigger.

                    

Competitions

This graph really shows how we slowly worked our way towards the top. We started our stay in the Championship perfectly with a 3-0 home win, but failed to win any of our next 4 matches, which meant we were mid table after the start of the season. We then went on a very good run with 16 points from 6 matches, after which we hit a wall again failing to win the next 6 games. Halfway through November we were also halfway through the 'normal' phase of the league, and found ourselves in 5th place. From that point onwards things really started clicking, and to be honest I'm only noticing just how good our form from there was now. From next 16 matches we won 13 and only lost 2. At the end of that series the league was split, with us just having overtaken first place and already being 5 points clear at the top. But things had started changing already. Our defence wasn't as solid anymore as in the first 28 games of the season, and we felt that in the last five matches. We only got three points, all from draws, and gave away the title on the last matchday, while conceding 16 in those 5 matches. In the end, we still got the promotion we deserved via the play-offs.

A great away win in the Irish Cup first round was followed up by a disappointing performance against Loughgall. No spectacular run this year.

We got a very unlucky draw in the League Cup, although we were close to surprising Glenavon again. We missed a chance to double our lead from the spot and were made to pay for it.

We first knocked out Premiership side Dungannon Swifts here, before once again failing to get the win we deserved against Glenavon in normal time. Nothing special in the cups this season really.

                    

Squad

• Colin Armstrong: Was a solid goalkeeper for most of the season, but he did have a bad run of form when it mattered the most, making some mistakes that might have cost us the title in the end.
• Aaron Paul: Another spectacular season from the right back, who filled an important role in my tactic. Being involved in a goal every three matches on average is very good for a defender of course.
• Raymond Caldwell: A solid season for the new central defender. He showed that he was a boost for the squad in quality.
• Curtis Nimick: Found his way back into the starting XI after initially being dropped with Matthew Carmichael being favoured. Not a bad season from him.
• Brian Quinn: A new left back with a decent season. Didn't really stand out.
• Andrejs Piedels: The defensive midfielder hasn't been talked about a lot, but has been very important for us as he started almost every match.
• Oliver Jefferies: He was the star signing we needed to really be able to battle at the top. Lots of goals and assists from midfield for him. A real shame for the club that Larne has snatched him away now.
• Lyndon Kane: The 36 year old kept his first XI spot in favour of Matt Connolly, although a long injury for the latter didn't help his cause. What a decision it has been to sign this man two years ago though.
• Eoin O'Reilly: Our best winger this season. Jack Kehoe was even more underwhelming than last year, but barely found his way into the team at the end of the season due to O'Reilly's goal scoring qualities.
• Aodhan Doherty: Another season where the captain was important with goals and assists.
• Ben Magee: Not as good a season for him as last year, but he fought his way back in the team after being dropped for a while, and still got a very respectable amount of goals.

                    

Progress

Previous Clubs

Llanidloes had a good start to their season, but fell far back and ended well below the media prediction of 5th place. On a positive note, they did manage to win some silverware in the Tier 2 League Cup. 

[AM23]

Game world - 10 years

As that last season marked the 10th year of this save, I thougt it would be a nice addition to the thread to do an update on the game world. I always like to look around at what is happening at other clubs myself, so below here I'll give a little overview. I am mostly going to focus on the British and Irish leagues, as those are of course relevant to the challenge.

                    

National teams

World Cup

No surprising winners here. Argentina became the first country to retain their title since Brazil did so in 1962, after which France became the world's best for the third time in 2030.

In 2026:

• The expanded 48 team tournament saw four teams make their debuts: Thailand, Equatorial Guinea, Uzbekistan and Suriname. Not unsurprisingly, all teams came from the less succesful federations which had seen a significant increase in their participants.
  • Of those debutants, Suriname were the only team to get to the knockout stage, which they did in style. In their final group game they got their second win of the tournament over no other than Brazil. It meant they finished in second place, with the latter only going through as a best placed third.
• China made their second ever appearance, but got the exact same result. Just like in 2002, they were sent back without scoring while conceding 9 goals in a group with Uruguay, Belgium and Costa Rica.
• All three North American hosts got through their respective groups.
  • The second round saw Mexico take on the USA at the Azteca and beating them 3-1. Beating the Netherlands in the next round, Mexico got to the quarter final for the first time since 1986 and the third time in total, after having lost 7 consecutive round of 16 fixtures in previous tournaments. All of their three quarter final runs have come in home world cups.
  • The third host became the surprise package of the tournament. After topping a fairly easy group, Canada consecutively beat Saudi Arabia, Portugal and Spain to reach all the way to the semi final, where eventual winners Argentina beat them 1-0.
• Japan famously beat England in the second round, but were harshly dumped out of the tournament with a 5-0 loss to Italy, who finally returned to the biggest stage of world football after 12 years.
• The final was decided in extra time, with all three goals being scored there and Argentina beating Germany 2-1.

In 2030:

• Both two debutants came from Africa, as Guinea and Burkina Faso got into the tournament. Another team that got through qualification for the first time was Qatar, but they have of course made their first appearance in 2022.
  • Guinea even got through their group in second place, but were beaten in the next round by Colombia.
• Host Türkiye left the tournament in disappointment. They only got through in third place with 4 points in a relatively easy group with Switzerland, Algeria and Jamaica, and were beaten by Spain in the second round.
• Despite a lack of surprises in the group stage, the tournament turned out to be real eventful on that front. Two German speaking countries got into the quarter final, but Germany were not one of them. The 2026 finalists were knocked out after penalties in the second round by Australia, who also beat Italy in the round of 16. They were eventually sent home in the quarter final by Switzerland, who had shocked everyone by beating Argentina the round before. 
• The final was once again decided in extra time, after 1-1 was the score at the 90 minute mark. Randall Kolo Muani finally freed himself of his 2022 world cup nightmare by scoring a 118th minute winner to keep England from their second ever title.

 

Euros

England finally ended their trophy drought in 2024 by winning their first ever Euros. In the next edition Norway used their golden generation to their advantage, while Portugal win the most recent tournament. The Dutch were left disappointed twice in this time.

In 2024:

• Both Estonia and Israel made their debut in Germany. The latter left without scoring a goal, but Estonia managed to sneak through as a third placed team thanks to a win against Romania. They then proceeded to shock Italy with a 2-1 win, before being beaten by the Netherlands in the quarter final.
• Hosts Germany had a tournament to forget. They got through a group of death with France, the Netherlands and poor Iceland in third place, but were knocked out by England in the round of 16.
• Austria beat France in the round of 16, but in the quarter final they too were knocked out by England.
• In a huge rivalry Croatia got the better of Serbia after penalties in the round of 16.
• The finalists knocked out the Iberian countries in their respective semi finals, after which England came out on top in the final with a 3-1 victory.

In 2028:

• Georgia were the only debutants. They proved their value to the tournament by getting through their group over Poland and Austria, before Germany beat them in the round of 16.
• Türkiye hosted their first of two consecutive big tournaments, but were left disappointed here too. They got through their group in second place, only to be knocked out by the Netherlands in the next round.
• To everyone's surprise, the group of death containing England, Portugal and the Netherlands was topped by Slovenia. Title holders England left the tournament winless in 4th place in this group.
• Norway got their first tournament win by easing past Switzerland in the second round, before two very close 1-0 wins over Spain and Italy. In the final Erling Haaland was the big man with a brace, as they won 3-0 against Portugal to lift the title.

In 2032:

• Kosovo participated for the first time and got through their group with 4 points, which included a draw against eventual winners Portugal.
• Hosts Spain topped a group were world cup bronze winners Switzerland were knocked out off, but lost in the second round to France.
• Ireland participated for the first time since 2016 and reached all the way to the quarter final.
• Denmark was the surprise package as they knocked out the last two winners. England was sent home in the round of 16 with a 2-1 and Norway found the same faith in the quarter final. In the end Portugal was too good for them in the semi final.
• The Netherlands had overcome France on pens in the semi final after a scoreless draw, but lost another final by two goals as it ended in 4-2.

 

Copa America

• In 2024 hosts USA got two shock wins in a row by knocking out both Brazil and Argentina, before being heavily beaten by Uruguay in the final. Bolivia also surprised in this tournament, as they got to the semi final.
• In 2028 the USA got to the final again, but Brazil got their revenge there.
• In 2032 Ecuador made their nation proud, as they won their very first Copa America.

 

AFCON

No surprise winners in the African cup of nations so far. Ivory Coast have been very good recently, while Angola and Mali look like the most surprising finalists.

 

Asian Cup

Nothing special in the Asian Cup either. China got to the semi final in the most recent edition, which seems like a good sign for them.

                    

International Club Competitions

Club World Cup

Don't really know what to make of this competition so far, but it's clear that the European teams are dominant. If I'm correct 12 teams from Europe qualify every time, and only three times has a team not made it out of the group stages. In 2025 Argentinian rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors reached the quarter final, with the latter even going a round further, but after that no non-European team came past the round of 16.

 

Champions League

No big surprises in Europe's biggest club competition. The first two years of the save did see to new teams win it in Arsenal and PSG. Bayer Leverkusen looks to be the biggest shock in the final, while Juventus recently found there way back there too. Even in the semi final no real special teams have made it. Most notable there is Aston Villa in 27/28.

 

Europa League

Tottenham the only team to win it twice, while Sevilla didn't even manage a final somehow. Two French teams winning it looks like a nice bit of variety. Feyenoord getting to the final twice as the only team from outside the big five leagues. LaLiga and Bundesliga teams are awfully scarce here, with only Valencia having reached the final once.

 

Conference League

A good amount of variety in the conference league. AZ might have been the most surprising winners, but look at Pafos from Cyprus and Adana Demirspor from Turkey making the final! Great to see.

                    

England

Premier League

No surprising champions in England were Man City have continued being the dominant team. Arsenal have also established themselves well in this save.

For the rest here are some things that caught my eye in English football:

Premier League

• Manchester United only got into the top 3 once, although they were pretty stable just in or out of the UCL spots.
• Tottenham have become more of a lower top half side with 5th place as their highest finish, while also having ended their season in 9th (2x), 10th and 12th in recent years.
• Crystal Palace had an amazing season in 31/32 and got 4th place and a UCL ticket to show for it.
• No real interesting things have happened on the lower side of the table. Bristol City probably the least expected regular participant in the league, though they have been yoyoing with 3 promotions and 2 relegations.

Championship

• Oxford United have become a regular here after a promotion in 27/28, though they have been very close to relegation for all of their 5 seasons with an 18th place as their highest finish.
• Both Wrexham and MK Dons got promoted from League Two in 24/25, quickly became stable in League One and both got promoted to the Championship in 31/32. However, neither of them managed to stay up in the previous season.

League One

• Stockport County have done really well after their promotion to the Football League in 21/22, and after yoyoing between League One and League Two for a while have just gotten themselves up to the Championship by winning the 32/33 League One title.
• QPR have experienced an eventful decade with Championship relegations in 24/25 and 27/28. Things got even worse with a relegation from League One in 29/30, but they went straight back up and even got automatic promotion back to the Championship in the previous season.
• The third promoted team in 32/33 is the real surprise story of the save so far. Bromley won promotion to the Football League in the first season of the save and went up to League One in 27/28. Despite a relegation in 30/31, they have now gotten back-to-back promotions which means they will be making an appearance in the Championship next season.

League Two

• Sheffield Wednesday fell all the way back to League Two in 28/29, and even finish 21st in their first season there. They have just won the title after 4 years of struggles to go back up to League One.
• A tycoon takeover at Tamworth helped them get up into the Football League with back-to-back promotions in 27/28 and 28/29. Although funding was withdrawn right after, the club have been steady in League Two for 4 years even reaching the playoff final once.
• Bristol Rovers had some slow growth in early years of this season getting close to promotion to the Championship a few times, but things went downhill quickly for them. Two relegations in three years mean they find themselves back in the National League next season.

National League

• The Bury phoenix club played their first season in the National League North in 27/28, got promoted three years later and have continued a steady rise. They only missed out on promotion to the Football League by two points last season. 
• All of Northampton Town, Cheltenham Town and Cambridge United quickly went down from League One to the National League and have been stuk there for several years now.

National League North/South

• Crawley Town continued their slow downfall that started with a League One relegation in 15/16 and now find themselves towards the lower end of the Vanarama South table.
• The league positions graph of Newport County is a continuously downward sloping line with only one exception. They too are playing in the bottom half of the Vanarama South now.

                    

Scotland

• The Scottish Premiership is, unsurprisingly, still dominated by the Old Firm. The battle for third place has been as exciting as ever though.
• Falkirk started the save in League One, won back-to-back promotions to get to the Premiership, and in the remaining 8 years went up and down thrice. They will start their 4th Premiership spell in a short timespan next season.
• The famous Queen's Park of Glasgow continued their rise since turning professional and won promotion to the Premiership in 25/26. Two years later a 4th place finish saw them achieve European football for the first time in the club's long history. In that same season they also won the Scottish Cup for the first time in 135 years. After that they have remained steady in the bottom half of the league.
• In 10 years only two teams have been relegated from the Football League through the relegation playoffs. One of the teams promoted is Brora Rangers, who have gotten themselves up to League One by winning the League Two title twice.

                    

Northern Ireland

• After winning their first ever Premiership title in 22/23, Larne quickly became dominant in this save with 7 championships in the next 8 years. Their streak has been halted after I arrived in Northern Ireland, though I did not have anything to do with that of course.
• Record champions Linfield have had a hard time winning only one title, while also finishing outside of the top 3 regularly.
• North Belfast Derby side Crusaders won three titles in four years between 14/15 and 17/18, but showed decline in this save. They even spent the 26/27 season in the Championship, and have been a bottom half team since their Premiership return.
• Annagh United won promotion to the Premiership in 27/28 and had some very succesful times. Two top 3 placements followed quickly for them.
• Ballymacash Rangers provided a big shock by beating Larne in the Irish Cup final in 29/30 and thus winning it while playing in the Championship.
• Warrenpoint Town are of course the biggest risers since the save started as they are now back in the Premiership.
• Knockbreda started out in the Championship, but did not have a great time. Twice they even got relegated from the Intermediate League, although they are back in there now. 

                    

Ireland

• Incredible how much variation there has been in the champions here.
• The 2026 season was just crazy. Drogheda United won their second ever title, only three years after having suffered a relegation. They won it on goal difference over Waterford, who had just bounced back from a 2024 relegation in the previous season. 7th placed Cork City finished the season only 7 points behind the champions.
• Drogheda United didn't build on their success, but got relegated in the next season instead. They ended 2027 one place below, of course, Waterford.
• In that 2026 something else happened. Dundalk, who won 5 titles in six years in the 2010's, were relegated and are yet to find their way back into the Premier Division.
• In the First Division, Bray Wanderers managed to finish second five times in six years, before finally winning the title in 2031.
• Also, Kerry FC have finishid bottom of that First Division in eight of the ten seasons. Often by quite a margin as well.

                    

Wales

• Yeah... Complete dominance from TNS. They did 'only' win the Welsh Cup five times though.
• It has proved very hard for promoted teams to establish themselves in the Cymru Premier. Colwyn Bay has been the only team to really do it, after their 23/24 relegation was followed by a dominant Cymru North win in 25/26.  They also won the Welsh Cup twice.
• Six teams have remained in the Cymru Premier every season, and together with Colwyn Bay a mix of them almost always forms the top half.
• Haverfordwest turned professional as the second team in Wales in 2028, but it didn't make them any better and they have since gone back to being a semi-professional club.
• Penybont finished 5th in 23/24, but slowly declined since then and have now spent five years in the Cymru South.

                    

European Top Leagues

Spain

• Real Madrid dominates with Barcelona behind them. No surprise to see that.
• Atletico have slowly declined and have now got a 7th place as their best finish in the past four seasons.
• For the rest things have remained similar to how they were in Spain.

 

Germany

• The giants from Munich still hold a strong grip on German football, although they have been halted a few times.
• RB Leipzig won their first title in 31/32, even though they have only finished in the top 3 four times in this save.
• Bayer Leverkusen finished in that top 3 nine out of ten seasons, but they keep their 'Neverkusen' nickname. Four times runners-up in the league, once in the cup, once in the UCL and twice in the Supercup. Their infamous 2002 season still haunts them, as their last silverware is still the 1993 DFB Pokal.
• Both HSV and Schalke 04 have found their way back to the Bundesliga. The latter even reached the Champions League in 31/32.

 

Italy

• The Serie A is as exciting as ever with five different champions in the past decade. Lazio is the most surprising of them all of course.
• AS Roma are the obvious absentee in the top 3. They have really fallen off and failed to get into European competitions in half of the seasons.
• Udinese saw a 34 year period in the Serie A end with a relegation in 29/30.

 

France

• PSG are easing through the league almost every season. A 4 point gap was the smallest margin back in 30/31.
• Still, French football has been improving with multiple clubs doing well in European competitions.
• Lorient have seen themselves rise towards being regular contenders in Europe in this save.

 

Portugal

• The big two teams still battling it out here.
• Sporting haven't been very good in this save and finished below Braga in the majority of seasons.
• The biggest surprise here is a third tier club in AVS SAD winning the Portuguese Cup in 30/31.

 

Netherlands

• A healthy mix of champions here. AZ have been very good to get up to six titles in total.
• PSV have fallen off quickly and missed out on European football multiple times.
• 09/10 champions FC Twente suffered a relegation in 27/28 and haven't returned to the Eredivisie since then.