Stuniverse

👍

Saturday 31st December 2022 Preview: Harrogate Railway Athletic (away) Northern Counties East League Division 1 (22) We'll be without our captain, Tom Bell, who has flu. Right-back, Kane Patterson, is back in training which is great news, but he's not ready to start yet. With our captain, Tom Bell, missing through illness, new signing Lamin Jagne goes straight into midfield alongside Sam Wright. Another new signing, Sam Kellett, replaces Lewis Cox in goal. Isaac Baldwin, Callum Hope and Mitchell George all come onto the bench with Sam Agius (gk), Ryan Charnley, Waide Fairhurst and Sam Hughes (released) missing out.

Friday 30th December 2022 I've released two more players... --

Thanks, @KibworthBull. That's kind of what I've been trying to do, playing the in-form goal scorer (either Waide Fairhurst or Ryan Charnley) alongside one of the new strikers to try and integrate them. That coincided with our inconsistent recent form, although it wasn't the only reason for it. Last game, against Selby Town, I went for two of the new signings starting, D'Andre Wainwright and Sonny Best with no goals between them, and we won 2-0 with them both instrumental in forcing the own goal to give us the lead, and then Sonny set-up D'Andre for our second. I think I've created a situation where I have too many options... 😂⚽️🤣

Forwards I also have dilemmas with the Striker roles as well. Firstly, I bought Sonny Best to play left-wing (as explained in the Left-wing post above), but my backroom staff rate Sonny as, arguably, our best player and one of our best strikers. Secondly, whilst I've recently signed Sonny Best, D'Andre Wainwright, Mitchell George and Luca Nelson, three who are rated as better strikers than the those I started the season with, none of them have settled and started scoring goals, which leaves my original strikers Waide Fairhurst, Max Rhodes and Ryan Charnley as our leading goal scorers. Top Goal Scorers Strikers only But, in a nutshell, I have no idea who my best strikers are and I probably, no I do, have too many strikers at the football club. I'd be very interested in thoughts on what you'd do? Tagged: @JaytheGreat @KibworthBull @Pearomaniac @Punch @samboing @warlock -- -- Strikers who've been at Staveley Miners Welfare most of the season... Strikers who've recently joined Staveley Miners Welfare...

Left-wing I'll be honest, I have a real dilemma on the left-wing, specifically regarding Sonny Best. I'd be very interested in thoughts on what you'd do? Tagged: @JaytheGreat @KibworthBull @Pearomaniac @Punch @samboing @warlock -- So we signed Sonny Best as a Star Player to play left-wing but, what I missed, was that Sonny can play AML, AMR and SC very, very well but he cannot play ML at all which is the left-wing role we currently use. We're currently training Sonny as a ML and he's improved, slightly, to Makeshift but is still not suitable to the ML role. [Discussion on Sonny Best to continue on Forwards post] That means that, currently, on loan Ernest Ofosu and right-winger Nathan Waterston are competing for the left-winger starting role.

Right-wing Lewis Farmer is our starting right-winger. Nathan Waterston is his back-up but, as Nathan can play on both wings, he's currently competing for a start on the left-wing. Alex Wood probably doesn't have a long-term future at Staveley Miners Welfare, but he is providing cover and does have potential to improve a bit.

Central Midfield In central midfield, my captain, right-footed Tom Bell, is likely to start every week as long as he maintains his form. We've just signed left-footed, Lamin Jagne to, hopefully, form a central midfield partnership with Tom. Callum Hope and Sam Wright are our back-ups. I'm sure Lewis Farmer can do a job for us in midfield, but I see him more as a right-winger. Regan Upton is a back-up central defender (see Centre-backs post). Pat Lindley is my player / assistant manager, our vice-captain, and he's unlikely to see much playing time.

Ouch, indeed. Still you are out of the relegation zone, @Punch with half of the big six already played once!

Centre-backs On the left, there's nothing much to choose between Charlie Rutt and Steven Johnson-Fikula. Charlie currently has the shirt as he's been here all season and hasn't let us down. Steven is a new signing and will need to be patient for now but his Fringe Player status should mean I can keep him happy. Bolton Makwedza is the starting right-sided centre-back. David Richardson and very recent signing Regan Upton provide right-sided back-up. I hope to keep David around as he's young, with lots of potential, potential to be much better than Regan, but he's very unhappy at the moment as he's not getting Important Player playing time.

Left-backs There's very little to choose between Sam Sharrock-Peplow and recent signing Isaac Baldwin. For now, I'm going to give Sam every opportunity to try and keep him onside, but also because I think he has more potential. Liam Marrs is right-footed and more of a right-back, but he provides good cover.

Right-backs The starting shirt is Kane Patterson's to lose. After a shaky start, his performances have improved and I hope they will improve further with a settled team. Liam Marrs is his back-up and with his ability to play anywhere across the back-four, he'll always be in contention for a place on the bench as a minimum. Isaac Baldwin is left-footed, so more of a left-back, but with his ability to play anywhere across the back-four, and anywhere down both wings, Isaac will almost certainly be on the bench if not starting. Bolton Makwedza is my starting right-sided centre-back currently and Lewis Farmer, who covered at right-back recently when Kane was injured, I see more as a midfielder who can play right or central.

Goalkeepers I've got my fingers-crossed in the goalkeeping department. I've just signed Sam Kellett to be our Number One goalkeeper and he'll make his debut in the next game. If Sam works out, then everything else is set. Sam Agius is the back-up with good development potential. Chester Rowlands and Johnny Lawrence are both youngsters, training with the first-team, with bags of potential but nowhere near ready for senior competitive games yet. And the unfortunate Lewis Cox, who I recalled last week and he kept a clean sheet at Selby Town, is unhappy, I can't blame him as he was Number One, then dropped for nine games so Sam Agius could start, then recalled for one game where he did nothing wrong, and now I'm about to drop him again so Sam Kellett can start. Lewis is understandably unhappy and feels he has been treated unfairly. If Lewis wants to leave, I'll let him go but, for now, I'm keeping him hanging around the place in case I need him.

My thoughts on squad building... ... at Staveley Miners Welfare After learning some lessons about what squad status to offer players to try and keep them happy, bearing in mind how quickly one key signing can affect the star ratings, albeit that I have to take the opinions of my backroom staff (with Judging Current / Potential Ability of 2 and 3) with a large pinch of salt, I'm trying to build a more streamlined squad, of players with 2-3 stars, on a Playing Time status that's likely to be sustainable. Ideally, I want two players for each position, possibly three for key positions, and then rely on the youngsters or the best free agent I can bring in at short notice, for emergencies. I can still sign players until the end of March so there's no immediate panic anywhere. I thought now (next few posts) would be a good time to reflect on where the squad is at currently. I'm hoping to keep a settled squad for the remainder of the season, with minimal changes, because, if I can keep those players happy, I think a settled squad and team will give us the best chance of, hopefully, gaining promotion for Staveley Miners Welfare this season.

Thursday 29th December 2022 One central midfielder in, three out -- -- --

A good, solid start to life in the Big-Time, @Punch

Friday 23rd December 2022 One centre-back in, one centre-back out Being brutally honest, I see Regan Upton as nothing more than a stop-gap signing for now. I'm looking for two right-footed centre-backs and two left-footed centre-backs. Left-footed, I have them in Charlie Rutt and Steven Johnson-Fikula and Bolton Makwedza is my starting right-footed centre-back. Ideally, I'd like young David Richardson to be the second right-footer, he's made 6(0) appearances this season for an average rating of 6.90 so I believe he's good enough. Unfortunately, David's unhappy currently because we agreed he'd be an Important Player. I remain hopeful of winning David over but, if I don't, with the transfer deadline end of March, I've brought Regan Upton in as a right-footed contingency. -- --

Thursday 22nd December 2022 Staveley Miners Welfare sign Kellett Sam Kellett joins us after, surprisingly, not being picked up by anybody since his release from Blackpool's Academy. I expect him to establish himself as our Number One goalkeeper and he will go straight into the team. We've been working hard to find a Number One and have brought a lot of goalkeepers in on trial. Sam, without doubt, is the best we've had come into Inkersall Road.

Wednesday 21st December 2022 One left-back in, two out What I really like about Isaac Baldwin is his versatility in that he can play anywhere across the back four, as well as anywhere down both wings. I also like his attitude in that he was willing to listen during negotiations to how I'd like to play him and was happy to sign on a Fringe Player basis. To be fair, I see Isaac as my back-up to Sam Sharrock-Peplow at left-back and his versatility means he'll be the first outfield player named on the bench. I'm looking to build a smaller, more streamlined, happier squad here at Staveley Miners Welfare and I think Isaac will fit in very well. -- --

Saturday 17th December 2022 Selby Town v Staveley Miners Welfare Northern Counties East League Division 1 (21) Fairfax Plant Hire Stadium, Selby. This was a mixed bag of a game from our perspective. I thought we were solid, and never overly troubled, but despite having a lot more possession than Selby Town, they created a lot more chances than us, but we restricted them to long-range efforts in the main. I'm not sure if it's coincidental, or not, but Sam Agius had only kept two clean sheets in nine appearances. I reinstate Lewis Cox and we keep a clean sheet. We took the lead in the 8th minute from an own goal when their defender tried to cut out Lewis Farmer's cross, after good work from D'Andre Wainwright. At half-time, we made a few tactical changes to the roles in midfield and looked to focus play down the wings more. Our three new strikers had been struggling to settle. Today, was the first time I'd started two of them together and I thought Sonny Best and D'Andre Wainwright both had good games. On the hour mark, they combined well for our second goal with D'Andre calmly dispatching Best's cross. We did think about shutting up shop in the last 10 minutes but, as Selby Town weren't really threatening our goal, we left it as things were. All-in-all, a comfortable, and pleasing 2-0 away win.

Saturday 17th December 2022 Preview: Selby Town (away) Northern Counties East League Division 1 (21) No injury concerns, but two players we need to wrap up in cotton wool still. Our form has been a bit more inconsistent recently than earlier in the season so I'm making a few changes today. Tactics wise, I'm going to ask the lads to be More Disciplined as I'm not sure Be More Expressive was working that well for us. Team-wise, Lewis Cox returns in goal. This may be a bit unfair on Sam Agius, who has done reasonably well and saved a penalty, but our slightly iffy run has coincided with Sam's time between the sticks. Sam Sharrock-Peplow comes back in at left-back in place of Oliver Ritchie. New signing, Liam Marrs, comes in at right-back, allowing me to push Lewis Farmer forward to right-wing and switching Nathan Waterston to the left-wing. That also means, Sonny Best, can play up top alongside D'Andre Wainwright. The fallout from that is Waide Fairhurst drops to the bench. And another new signing, Steven Johnson-Fikula (DRC) gets a place on the bench, with Josh Bowkett (DC) missing out.

You can't really beat seven green dots for your first seven friendlies, @Punch. Good luck against Lens and then, fingers crossed for your Premier League campaign. Fixtures #3 and #4 look challenging!

Welcome, @RamEd. That sounds like a very interesting save idea. Good luck 🍀⚽️🐏 Let us know how you get on.

Tuesday 13th December 2022 Staveley Miners Welfare sign Johnson-Fikula

Tuesday 13th December 2022 One right-back in, two out -- -- --