Motlhen

Great news! I was wrong about about playing in one competition next season. We'll be in the FA Vase - a chance for some prize money! Another facility improvement is very welcome! We're favourites, but I'm predicting some very high scoring games with our stacked attack and weak defence. & we are reunited with rivals Welwyn. This time it's their U21s. The board have kept up with the facility improvements. We're favourites and should be coasting to promotion this season.

Our CB Problem Our centre-backs are not up to the standard of the rest of the team (or league). We actually only have 3: To make improvements, or at least have more backups, we've been scouting for all U18 Enfield-born central defenders and this is who we've found: Any attempt at signing Bush Hill players has fallen down at personal terms. But as we are now a semi-pro club, any of the players who are interested in joining now want a wage. I always want to be the highest paid person at the club (self-imposed rule) and the board offered me a non-contract (& won't give me a new one yet) so we are stuck to offering non-contracts which means it is looking very unlikely we will make a signing any time soon. I am however hoping that we will be able to find someone to come in on loan.

Squads for Next Season First XI We have a wealth of talent, but only one decent centre-back. This means that even our first XI has someone from the club's first youth intake who has previously only played 1 game for the club. Second XI We only have one other centre-back on our books and a very weak defensive backup overall. Every other position, I am happy. Another thing to bare in mind is that Njoya's 19th birthday will make him ineligible to play for us on 16th Jan. Shields-Charlton & Njoya only turn 19 in April, so will be ineligible for the final month of our season. We are going to need to make defensive signings. Backups The idea here was to have one backup goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and attacker. But we've had to stick a midfielder in as the defensive cover. Top, third & fifth from our first intake have missed out on the squad as well as the more surprising exclusion of Nelson. Stafford & Rogerson will both become ineligible this side of Xmas. Nelson doesn't fit with how I want to play and hasn't impressed so has been omitted from the focus group. First XI The strikers are the only players not from the youth intake to claim a first team spot. Marques was with us from the start at Bush Hill and got 31 goals+assists in 24 games last season and will start up front alongside the legendary Bullman. Second XI We have a mix of strengths through our second team. Borrett is rated higher than I value him & Billington has never lived up to the level I would expect him to be at. Third XI These guys will mostly play in the U21 and U18 non-competitive games. Barker was the first L7 player to make the transition to Bush Hill so it is surprising to see him so far down the pecking order, but is also testament to the improvements we've managed to make in a short space of time. Backups The guys that are highlighted are going to be released. The rest are surplus to requirements, but I'm keeping them around for now to see how the squad develops up until the first games of the season. Suraj is unlucky to be this far down, but I just don't think his attributes fit his position. Plenty of clubs disagree with my valuation of him though, so I doubt he'll be around for much longer.

Squad The squad got bigger and bigger as the season went on with the additions from L7 and eventually the youth intake. Over the summer, I'll be looking to create a 1st team and a backup XI to keep the focus on, and then we'll consider what to do with the rest. We have to be considered as favourites to go up as Champions next season after all the improvements made this season. Records Competitions We touched top, but a dip in form early in the season let two clubs break away and we caught up to 3rd just when it mattered. Finances & Expectations Promotion is the expectation, but we've still got building a new stadium hanging over us in a financial sense - I am not sure how this will affect the club in the long run. One thing I think that could change once the stadium is built is the regional league we end up in. For now, our stadium is in Ware which is why we are in the Suffolk & Ipswich League. If we were to move back to Enfield, I think that we'd be back in the same league that L7 (and the rest of the Enfield teams) have played in. Transfers 3 more players have joined. I'm going to work out where everyone fits in my plans going forward now...

Squad These are the players who featured this season who still remain at the club, sorted by the number of apps they made this campaign. Quite a few players turned 19 (and were released) over the course of the season and we will lose a few more before another ball is kicked. Most notably our defence is starting to look very thin with Watson about to depart and Williams already gone. Records Watson (apps) & Bullman (goals) have set the bar for what I think will be two tightly contested records (as no player will ever be at the club for more than 4 years). Competitions After an opening day loss, we didn't look back. One blip mid-season wasn't enough to allow any other team close. Finances & Expectations As an U18 team, I didn't think we would be competing in the cups, but a small part of me did hope that we would be. Level 10 is where teams enter the FA Cup & Vase and we are only 'competing in one competition next season.' That'll give us more of a focus on the league and gaining back-to-back promotions. This decision will have big implications as we have not really had to worry about finances at all so far. I'm hugely disappointed to not be offered a wage myself. As well as potentially having wage expenditure increase, the most recent facility improvements have had a big impact on our financial forecast as we start to see a sharper decline month-on-month. Youth Setup Expenditure: Transfers Out We've had our first player poached by a bigger club. Devastatingly, it's a defender. Totton have just been promoted into Level 6, so I understand his decision. But I hope we are not about to see a mass exodus...

Apr 25 Fixtures It's been a phenomenal season and we wrapped it up in style. In a way I'm worried about our defensive work and disappointed at the 2 losses we had this season - but it's time to celebrate now & I'll try to sort out the issues for next season. Released Players Our defence will definitely be worse off without Williams. Devitt is now also a free agent & Swift moved straight to Central Ajax, instead of Bush Hill. Fixtures A solid end to the season sees us nip back into 3rd. Promotion has to be the aim for next season! Transfers In We've signed 3 ex-L7 players who will probably only be backups.

Mar 25 Staff In We have signed Enfield Town's old Assistant Manager as our new coach. We also made an offer to sign one of Bush Hill's new youth players. The "purchase" would essentially be a loan until the players 17th birthday dependent on personal terms. But unfortunately Happe wasn't willing to discuss terms with L7. Fixtures We haven't kept a clean sheet in 2 months now, but we're scoring plenty! Our defence fragility could become problematic for next season. Fixtures Jones didn't have a bad debut! We've played well but we're only fighting for 3rd place.

Awesome, thanks mate!

Youth Intake 2025 11 players from Enfield, with some great names! Comparing CA to the current squad, we can see that South, who is on loan from Enfield Town (via L7 FC) is still the highest rated player. But we have 3 players who are defensive that are supposedly the next best! Rhian Borrett is going to have a lot to do to prove his rating, but I'm very happy with Happe!

Youth Intake 2025 Only 9 players from the intake were from Enfield this time, which is less than we've had before. Does improving the recruitment increase the range the scouts look for players? Looking at the CA against our current team, we've seen another big jump in ability!

CHAMPIONS Halfway through March, with 6 games to go, we have claimed the title. It's the first silverware we've won and despite the inevitability of the result from halfway through the season, it still feels good. The board have celebrated by providing another facility improvement!

Feb 25 Released Another one of the heroes of our first few seasons has left the club. Fixtures The goals are absolutely flooding in! We haven't kept a clean sheet this month, conceding over a third of our total goals against. Transfer In Jones was signed by L7 as a backup with 2 months to go until his 19th birthday. His destination was always intended to be Bush Hill Rangers and he will be a starting centre-back for the remainder of the season. Fixtures Our late push for promotion is over. It was a 6-point game against Bacton and losing means we are 7 points off of 2nd, after having played a game more than the surrounding teams AND we've dropped to 4th. Mathematically, there's still a chance.

Jan 25 Every time I get this message about a young player signing a new deal on their 17th birthday, all it makes me think of now is that this message means I have exactly 2 years until the player leaves the club. Released Players (19yo's) None of the released players this month have yet been picked up by Bush Hill Rangers. Fixtures We lost a game! After being on a perfect run since the first day of the season, it is disappointing, but we got straight back to winning ways against Brimsdown in an all-Enfield derby so I'm not fussed about a little slip up. Fixtures A solid month! With 6 games to go, maybe a push for promotion is still on? Other Enfield Clubs Eventually, I think there will be a third club involved in this project. I think it's too soon to know now, but my current favourite is Cockfosters - mostly due to the fact that their reserves squad also plays in a competitive division.

I've changed the way I'm nicknaming my youth prospects. Managing two clubs, I want to make sure I have a distinction between who came from where without having to check. So the new format will be ([2-letter club name]-[Year][Letter ranked by potential]. E.g: Here we can see Wilkinson was 12th (L) in rank from the 2023 intake and Byrne was 1st (A) in rank from the 2024 intake. L7- will be replaced with BH- for Bush Hill Rangers' future intakes.

Dec 24 Transfers from L7 to Bush Hill Rangers Two more defenders have made the switch. Including Driscoll (YP1G) who came through the first youth intake we had at L7. Main has been released by L7 and we are trying to secure him for Bush Hill but we are having the same problem: he wants to be a Star Player, or he wants to be paid. We can't do the 2nd one and I am hesitant to sign many more star players. We have 4 already: Main remains a free agent for now, along with Swift (RB) and Walker (AML). The board have agreed to max-out our Junior Coaching as well as improving our Youth Recruitment (not sure I've seen above average as a description before). But the youth intake preview tells me we are getting more attacking right mids. We need more defensive players! Transfers In Jones will only be available for 2 months (before he turns 19), but in that time should provide decent cover. The long-term aim will be to get him into the Bush Hill Rangers starting lineup. Fixtures Halfway through the season, we've surpassed the previous highest goal tally by 7. We are on fire. Our players are way too good for this level. Will we keep them until their 19th birthday's or will they start to draw interest from bigger clubs? Youth Intake Preview Very, very happy about the wealth of defenders coming through the ranks. Fixtures We've been playing well most of the time, but we went 4-0 down to Stanton after 25 minutes which I think has ended any hope we had of nicking a promotion spot. The aim now, with only 8 games to play, will be to make 3rd place our own.

Nov 24 (Potential) Transfers Out Clubs have started to sniff around some of our players. Where I can, I have rejected the bids and no personal terms have been agreed yet. Player Released (19yo) Bush Hill Rangers have not agreed terms with Hams, so he has been released. Records You know we have been doing superbly well when we get this message in November! Fixtures We are romping the league. We've been superb since the 2nd gameweek of the season, long may it continue. & we still have to play point-less Hoddesdon Town Reserves twice this season. We have been trying to sign 3 players for a while now. The problem we have is that players will ask for money (which we cannot offer), unless I promise them that they will be a star player for us - which I do not think will be the case for these guys. I might cave in eventually and sign them with that squad status and hope they don't get upset when they aren't playing as much as expected. We'll see. Fixtures We got back to winning ways with a great victory over high-flying Bacton, but then threw away a 2- and 1-goal lead in the next 2 games. We need to improve the squad to make sure we can see out the full 90 minutes.

Today is a sad day for the club. We're losing Ade Bullman on his 19th birthday. Injury stopped him from playing in his final game, but he has been a staple in the first XI since the first season and will be missed. (The game isn't showing his ineligibility due to his injury, but once he recovered from injury, the ineligible icon appeared.) Records Bullman currently holds the following records at the club: Most league goals by a player - 57 Most overall goals by a player in a season - 28 Most league goals by a player in a season - 28 Highest average rating - 7.65 (26 apps) Most goals by a player in a match - 3 Most goals by a player in a league match - 3 Most player of the match awards in a season - 11 Oldest goalscorer - 18y 344d Rangers will be hoping they can sign Bullman, but talks are yet to be positive.

Oct 24 Transfers from L7 to Bush Hill Rangers There were three transfers this month, but first a loan move: South joined L7 on loan from Enfield Town at the start of the season, but had not featured in or around the first team. Bush Hill made an offer to take over the existing loan which was accepted by all parties and Rangers now have an exceptional young winger. I doubt it'll be the last time we employ this tactic to sign players for Bush Hill Rangers. Suraj joins his 3rd Enfield club after some decent appearances in a short stint with L7. Defender Billington is a great scoop for Bush Hill as he was still making appearances for L7 this season. We're short on Enfield-born defenders, so whilst L7 will miss him, Bush Hill will find him invaluable. Ajayi only featured for L7 in their first season. I don't expect him to be much more than a backup at Rangers either. Fixtures A perfect month, including scoring 6 twice in a row. Eliot has been on fire! Fixtures We've struggled this month. The new signings will need time to settle in and our strong start puts has helped to put us in a positive position despite the need to find a winning formula again soon.

[Note: there were some issues with my game crashing so I lost all of pre-season. I've gone back and updated the posts on this page with the updated version of events.] Sep 24 Loans In Two Enfield Town players agreed to join on loan. I rate South highly, so despite our overload of wingers already I thought I'd bring him in to see how he performs. Matthew has great jumping reach and is a centre-back, which we do not have a lot of. I imagine he'll be featuring often as cover and from the bench. Fixtures We were on the wrong end of a goal fest to open the season, but we've looked pretty assured from that point onwards. Our goalkeeper Kelly is our top goalscorer so far with 4 goals already this season. Fixtures We started with 3 wins on the bounce, only losing to Stanton due to an early red card. Both strikers have been in on the action, but Barker who never featured for L7 FC got a goal on his Bush Hill Rangers debut! Other Enfield Clubs I saw some strange staff movements at Enfield Town (I've never seen this before in FM): The DoF was sacked, the Manager moved to become the DoF and they are looking for a new manager.

Transfer from L7 to Bush Hill Rangers We've lost our first player to the academy's U18 age restrictions. Stewart has become ineligible to play for L7 on his 19th birthday and so was released and picked up by Bush Hill Rangers. He made 8 appearances in his first season, but was never a very remarkable player. Hopefully he can produce more at Rangers.

Pre-Season 2024 We were still relying on Bullman through pre-season to bag the goals. Eliot is back from injury for the first game of the season & Hien should also be fit in time (8 days). We have a healthy squad and despite the drop-off in quality to our backups, I rate our chances for a back-to-back promotion. The board matched L7 with two facility upgrades this month. Our pre-season has been all over the place. Tumber has been a consistent scorer, but we'll have to have other players chipping in to stand a chance of pushing on above the mid-table expectations. The squad is a bit bare, especially in defence. We're relying on there being some signings from L7 over the course of the season to flesh out the team.

Finishing in the top 3 places has changed to top 4 places, but with the board providing more facility improvements, the pressure is on the deliver! Staff We lost Sheringham-Cork, so replaced him with Raynor. Squad This is the starting XI, a backup XI and an emergency backup GK, defender, midfielder & attacker. These will be the members of the squad we use this season, barring any transfers in/out. The board have relaxed their expectations after the dust has settled on the agreement between the clubs. It is going to take some time for players from L7 to join us at Bush Hill as no one has yet turned 19. Players at L7, not in L7's Squad We will be looking to sign any of the players that are not listed in L7's 26-man squad. We were successful in signing Jonnie Stirling. Hopefully he is the first of many to add some depth to our squad.

Jun 24 Transfers from L7 to Bush Hill Rangers There have been two transfers from L7 to Bush Hill. First off was Hurst, who moved to become Rangers' Assistant Manager. Barker is the first player to make a transfer between the clubs under the new affiliation. Overlooked by L7, the Bush Hill Rangers staff believe he could provide squad depth and maybe even challenge for a first team spot. Comparing him to the 'best-rated' player in the same position, it seems Barker is a much more well-rounded winger. The transfer was of no monetary value as the player was on an amateur contract. If & when either club is semi-pro the 50% of next sale clause will be added to the transfer details.

Next Season thoughts: The board have some lofty expectations for our first season in the 11th tier. We had a brilliant season and have just had a phenomenal intake. I don't see us being able to improve on the quality of the squad too much through the transfer market over the summer. Our main aim will be to keep as many players at the club as possible to look forward to seeing how they fare in the league next season. The board expect us to bounce straight back up & they are investing in a new stadium too. I haven't been given much information on the impact the stadium build will have on our financial situation. The squad already contains a healthy number of Enfield-born players who we will keep for now. But there's a big drop in quality between the top 4 players and the rest of the squad. Once L7 players join Bush Hill Rangers, they will be favoured over the current squad.

This job offer was not accepted, rather a counter-offer was made. As part of the on-going project at L7 FC, an agreement has been made to allow: 1. Bush Hill Rangers have a first option to sign any L7 FC player on their 19th birthday for free (as they are no longer eligible to play for L7). 2. In return, L7 FC will be owed 50% of any future sales of these players. 3. Bush Hill Rangers will be limited to only sign players from L7 FC. Jenna Schillaci will remain in charge of L7 FC who will be playing in the 11th tier next season, and we welcome Michael Duberry to the project as Bush Hill Rangers manager who will start with a rebuild after their relegation to the 12th tier.