andychar

September 2025 Championship Sorry for the gap but we are back and September is now in the books. Did we continue our fine start or was a crash down to Earth? First thing we did was bring in a new loanee keeper. Honestly he is there to fill a slot in. He is cheaper than the one we forced away but he's not as good. Fingers crossed you will never see him. We will cross that bridge if we get there. We started the month with a game in the middle of the month. Got to get used to these International Breaks! A brilliant result saw us go away and come away with 3 points. The DKD 92nd minute goal was amazing because it was the first time I've seen their keeper come up for a corner and us score a 40 yard open goal. Was like watching Ice Hockey in the final minute. Brilliant result and amazing back to back away wins. Two winable games at home follows as we look to really show up the Championship. Wigan first. Its a great point. First half we were shocking and I told the lads that. Second half they came out and really took the game by the scruff of the neck, brilliant fightback and its a point to be proud of. Rotherham at home next and its an interesting one. My place of birth vs my current place of residence... I won't be able to show my face in the local pub! It wasn't a pretty game. Will Swan hasn't been great so seeing Kun go off early was a real blow and I don't think we really recovered. Not a pretty performance at all. Disappointing. Chance for players to get a bit of rest next as we hosted Wigan in the Carabao Cup. I've mentioned my lack of interest and it remains here. Changes will be made. I just can't seem to get myself eliminated. Great performance though including George Williams who I think just played himself back into the side. The draw... Oh my Word. A home draw against a League Two side. Madness at this stage. A real shot of getting to the Quarter Final...then maybe...just maybe...I'll have to take it seriously. Some games this season are free shots. No pressure, expecting nothing. We finish the month with one as we travel to Norwich. Expected nothing. Deserved everything. We had a period in between the sendings off where we could have got away but we didn't take it. This game was the ref screaming "Look at me!" and he capped it by giving them a soft penalty for 3-3. Proud of the performance but my God we deserved more! It means the table looks like this after 10 games... Its still unreal to think we are in the Playoffs. But...most importantly...10 points clear of the drop. Fingers crossed we can keep up this level of performance and keep our heads above water.

Our wages per week are 70k LESS than the nearest team, never mind the team at the top... Just a little difference then!

Mansfield Town Championship 2025-26 August We have said everything we need to say, we know its going to be tough, so lets just go out there and give it our all. Mini bit of housekeeping. Following the link with Chelsea I was able to bring in on more person with no worry about wage hit. And the Eagle eyed of you will see that I've already played most of this month... We started the season at home against a team we have already faced this save. We played Birmingham in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup Season 1 and lost but put in a good performance. Much different team now with only 7 surviving players from the team I inherited. Well that is certaintly how you start a new season! We blew them away. We even had time to miss a penalty in there. Brilliant start. It was County in the Cup next. I didn't want to lose but I also knew I had my priorities, even at this early stage I wanted to rest players. We dominated and were pegged back 3 times. Frustrating not to put them away in 90 minutes but it was satisfying to break their hearts on penalties in the end. We drew Barnsley in the 2nd Round. Winnable but it will likely be back ups still. Back to league action next and I was hoping to keep the good times going away to Sunderland. The biggest ground we would hit this season not counting cups. Another win and another deserved win. We aren't just rocking up and nicking it, we are controlling games. Its been the start of dreams. Sticking with that part of the Country we welcomed Middlesborough with dreams of making it 3 from 3. They had chance after chance but honestly had it not been for the penalty I didn't see them scoring. They were wasteful. DKD still proving I made the right choice sticking with him. Still unbeaten and we went to Peterborough with confidence at a high. Oh man I expecting a bump but not against the team we finished ahead of last season. This was a woeful performance. We had a goal chalked off just before half time that would have changed the game. They even missed a penalty so it could have been much worse. Back to Earth with an almighty crash. We hosted Watford as we attempted to get back to winning form. They had started the season poorly so a small part of me fancied our chances despite the previous game. A very good performance made sure we got all 3 points. I have a feeling our home form is going to be vital this season so to start it unbeaten at home is very encouraging. Again, not just a win but a performance to match. Barnsley in the cup next. Our back ups will see game time, although at this stage I don't have many fringe players. Uh-oh. I told him he should be recalled cos he ain't going to start, thinking it couldn't be done. I completely forgot we hadn't hit the end of the transfer window. We are going to be screwed. We don't have the finances to bring anybody in. I've scored a massive own goal here. We sleepwalk our way into the 3rd Round of the Carabao Cup. Furthest we have gone. Still not fussed about it, but its nice to win. Well its a home draw which is good for the finances. Its a draw against a fellow Championship side. Its a winnable game. Could we be heading to the Last 16? I still wouldn't care but maybe just maybe a kind draw there and I could start to dream? Swansea away to round up a bumper first month. Some games I look at and think "Yeah play well and get something from this." This isn't one of them. This is a free hit I think. Oh dear God this save. Lots to unpack. So the own goal that opened the scoring was a 35 yard looped back pass that went in. The 2nd was against the run of play and we went in 2-1 down, told the lads they were doing fine and they responded brilliantly. Then the penalty (both in the end) was harsh. The 4th came out of nowhere. At 4-4 I'm happy with a point but we had bossed the game up until that point. The last minute penalty was deserved. Brilliant win and we keep on rolling to start the season. It means the way too early table looks like this... STOP THE COUNT! Osula has 7 goals in 6 games this season, he's scored in 2 games.

The mini spoiler alert after 2 games is...if we got Covid 2 Electric Bugaloo we'd be Promoted...

Mansfield Town Squad Championship 2025-26 Goalkeepers Archie Mair will be the starter. I think he can get to the Championship level. Whitworth comes in as a backup and he's going to be mad he isn't going to get games! Palace aren't going to be happy with me either! Defenders Small defenders but capable. Kelland Watts and Edmunson will be the starting CBs with Kirk as a good back up. Kilgour won't get much time and he will be let go at the end of the season. Last bit of dead wood left I think. Sabanovic and Williams will split games and on loan James Morris will smash the LB. Midfielders This is pretty much my entire squad! Moxon and Ledson will be starting CDM with more playing time for Touaizi on the wing. DKD may not have the ability by stars but honestly I think he's going to be great. If not I can sell him for good money! Harry Anderson and Hartigan are the only deadwood left in my eyes. They won't be renewed at the end of this season. Maybe try and sell in January but I'd struggle replacing them so maybe not. Attackers Kun starts injured which is annoying however Swan and the onloan Osula will hopefully pick up the slack. Look at the wages on those bad bous, but they are locked in till 2028. The funny thing is we could be financially better off going down, a few players have a good release clause. If I sold I could have a good chunk to rebuild the squad. So the last post I mentioned new contracts. They were for Kun Temenuzhkov - He has so many bonuses and fees but I felt like I needed to bust the bank on this one Will Swan - No brainer, he's worth the most and can comfortably play at this level. George Williams - He's been a rock at the back and deserved a new contract. DKD - I said he wasn't good enough, then I gave him a 3 year contract. Yep. I know what I'm doing. Archie Mair - I think he will do between the sticks for a while. So here we go....Championship life awaits.

We can't have any more of them. Bare bones! Pre-Season 2025-26 Championship I used the money to "Improve" the Training Facilities. I also... The Senior is to get good players with no wages. I wanted two more players. I got one. Another player to cover 3 different positions. We have a favourite for Top Scorer! That's it. Nobody for best Player or Young Player which isn't a shock. Good Pre-Season but nothing too tricky. It was about building confidence. We are still predicted to finish 24th. By a County Mile. Its going to be a long season. We have no money to bring anybody else in and in fact we are over our wage budget by 14k. The reason why is I gave new contracts to That is a brilliant link. I'm delighted with it! Mansfield (Vitesse) Town!

Mansfield Town 2024-25 Off Season Lots to fill you in on including a bit of crap news. Our Training Facilities have been downgraded and with no chance in hell of affording the improvements that's just how they will stay. I've given up on keeping Bola. He's on the transfer list for 1.5m. We paid just under 20k for him so it would be a huge profit made and it would massively help our finances. I haven't sat on my hands either. Morris joins us on loan from Watford for only 3k p/m which I think for a player his calibre is a steal. Happy with that. Flint has retired. He didn't get much game time last season so won't really be missed much. Alex Kirk becomes Vice Captain. I am finding it a lot harder to find players to join the squad without absolutely breaking the bank! This feels like a huge off season for us. Another loanee comes in as a back up to Archie Mair, I need that much this off season that just getting a cheap and cheerful GK back up was good to get out the way. Ryan Ledson joins us on a free from Preston when his contract runs out. 11k a week and its made me violently throw up that somebody in the clubs earns more than 10k. But...needs must. He improves what I think is the weakest position. I needed strength in depth at the CB role and now I feel its 100% our strongest position with 3 players I'm more than happy with. I'm not happy with the wages mind. Besides...there's something in the works that might make me feel better about our transfer situation... The early predictions have me finishing absolutely rock bottom, by a distance, which shows the job I've got on this season. Holy crap on a cracker! That'll do pig! It will hopefully help us keep our heads above water financially anyway. Well well well look who it is. No way I'm taking first round of the Carabao Cup lightly this season. Not happy to see him leave...however... An unhappy player, with 12 months left on his contract and he was bought for 17.25k. You got to take that 100 times out of 100. Finanically we are looking good and now I can move all the transfer budget across to Wage Budget and we can continue to improve this squad. It made sense. I've now got 16k in spare Wage to hopefully bring 1 or 2 more players in. No surprises here. I would also be stupid if I didn't attempt this... It means we can get the Training Facilities to where they were before...woooooo. The squad is looking quite bare at the moment. We don't have much if any deadwood at all. Everybody is here because I want them here, although I think there are 1 or 2 who will be sweating over a new contract! I want to bring in 2 more people both loans, both squad players both can play numerous positions otherwise we could be left a bit exposed. On that note...its time for the friendlies to begin.

2024-25 Review Starting at the bottom... It was York who finally end their non-league nightmare and return to the football league for the first time since 2015-16. Oldham return after a short stint. Chesterfield narrowly miss out on a playoff place...shame while Fleetwood, Salford, AFC Wimbledon and Sutton all miss out on playing us next season. You might have spotted Peterborough promoted from the season review. They beat Blackpool 4-3 in the final. Great game. Always nice seeing Top 3 all go up, especially after the battle we all had. We swap places with some big clubs as Wednesday, Derby and Charlton all come down. Looking forward to playing Rotherham as that's my adopted home. Always a Stag though! United and Fulham bounce straight back up with Blackburn surprising everybody with Promotion. Leicester vs Mansfield has a nice ring to it don't you think! Forest stay up so we don't get a chance to be the biggest team in Nottingham. That will have to wait another year eh. Next season goal is very simple. Survive. By any means.

Was just too much in the end. We crawled over that line but I'll take it. Hard work starts here! Imagine goal of the season coming with the 2nd goal of the season. The finances are genuinely worrying me.

League One 2024-25 Gameweek 46 So its come to this. Promotion secured (right?!) and now we fight for the title. I wanted this wrapped up as we play Blackpool away, they are comfortably in the playoffs and can afford to rest some players maybe? The 3rd striker falls. Its a good job we aren't in the playoffs! Barnsley will have one eye on us for the title but its important to remember they haven't secured promotion yet. Posh can still steal the last place. They travel to Exeter in 16th place hoping for a miracle. Barnsley host 14th place Stockport. The team is tired and battered. One more push lads! It isn't our stongest XI by far. 1 point for the title. That's all we need. Barnsley take the lead, they are promoted as it stands. Doesn't matter what Posh do. We are still Champions on Goal Difference. Barnsley 2-0. Should be safe now for Promotion. Can we hold on? We are holding on but its not been great. Its been coming. One step too far. Too many injuries and too many players on their arse. We throw everything at it the last 25 but the players look dead on their feet. 67th minute and Will Swan takes a shot from 30 yards out that absolutely destroys the crossbar. That's how close we were. We gave it our all but it wasn't meant to be. Disappointed? Yes. But in the grand scheme of things we won Promotion and that's huge! This is pretty much what we have now. I know what positions I want to improve but honestly I think I'm happy with 7/8 players for next season. The final league table looks like this... Brilliant stuff. I'll go over the rest of the leagues when they have finished playoffs.

I'm telling you now. If I blow a 40 goal swing I'm never playing this game again.

League One 2024-25 Gameweek 45 It is our last game at home and a brilliant chance to all but secure Promotion. It all 3 teams at the top win it won't be guarenteed but it would take the mother of all GD swings for us to miss out. 15th place Oxford United stand in our way. I would like it done here because I know what our final game is! I'm not a fan of the fact its a midweek game either! More bad news in the run in. Kirk is out for the rest of the season. We are down our 1st and 3rd choice CBs now. Barnsley play before us on the Tuesday. They are away to Port Vale who are fighting for their lives... They go top. A point will take us back over them but it will also open the door for Posh. They play same time as us against Wycombe in 17th. The equation is simple. Match Posh's result and we are up (bar the shouting). Its not our strongest XI but its the strongest we have avaliable to us. No matter what happens here, we can't drop below 2nd, so there's that at least. Owen Moxon sends the crowd crazy with a brilliant strike. What a goal son! I said DKD wasn't good enough, and he took that personally. Brilliant goal, great stuff. Peterborough have taken the lead. They are going to push me all the way today. Touaizi gets the start ahead of the injured Kun and he bags his 3rd goal since joining in January. Suddenly there is a party atmosphere inside Field Mill. Couldn't have asked for a better half of football. Surely not? 86th minute we have a goal chalked off for offside... That won't be though, cheeky little OG after great work on the wing. We did what we needed to do in the first half and then just held on really. Posh went 2-0 before a fightback from Wycombe saw it at 2-2...and there was a winner... But it went Posh's way! So as long as we avoid a swing of 39 we should be up!

League One 2024-25 Gameweek 44 Leyton Orient away next. They currently sit 23rd but only 1 point away from safety. Huge game at both ends of the table and at this stage of the season its not straightforward at all. Barnsley are at home to 11th place Carlisle. Peterborough face a tricky game away to 8th place Bristol Rovers. For once we have the "easier" game. Lets take advantage and maybe, just maybe open up some daylight. For the first time in what feels like an age. We keep the same Starting XI. They are fighting for their lives. This will NOT be easy. 3rd minute and its an early penalty! What a start this could be for The Stags. Kun gets his 29th of the season and makes no mistakes. Brilliant start! Will Swan doubles the lead in a game where we have done nothing but score. Peterborough take a huge lead for them. Barnsley have taken advantage of two penalties to take charge of their game. Owen Moxon hits the scoresheet as we score 3 from 3 shots. Disaster for Posh, limbs for us. If this holds its huge. We are finding the back of the net at the most criucial time of the season. 55th minute and Kun is going off injured. Dickson on but fingers are kept firmly crossed its nothing serious. Dickson. Not long on. Makes it 4 and any nerves in the away end gone. And we will finish with 10 men as Will Dickson limps off. Bad news comes with an impressive victory. Big win and if results held up elsewhere we could realistically be 3 points away from Promotion. They did, thanks to that GD we are 1 win from 2 games away from promotion to the Championship. Technically the Title could be wrapped up next week! Both Kun and Will Dickson will miss the rest of the season. Bare bones time up front.

Its a lot more exciting than I was expecting. I thought I'd be IRing until the end at this point! League One 2024-25 Gameweek 43 14 days between fixtures. Perfect timing. Give us chance to heal and regroup. We take on 6th place Lincoln City at home. Not an easy game, they will want to cement their place in the playoffs. Barnsley are away to Reading the Friday night. So we will know if we have a chance to leapfrog them or not before we kick off. Reading won't be easy, they can't really make the playoffs but they will make life hard for the Champions elect. Peterborough are at home to 15th place Oxford United. A game they will be marking down as a must win. As are we. Thought the EFL Trophy was split into North and South until the Final? So quite how we got a Bolton v Barnsley Final I don't know. Anyway Barnsley won 4-0. Maybe it set them up to fail here! Big Friday night game and we go into our game with Lincoln knowing a win sends us top and a point at least keeps us 2nd. No first half updates. I'm going to start it running and then make a brew...priorities! We go in with what I believe is my strongest XI. Although DKD could easily be replaced at this point and I don't think he's good enough if we do go up, which is a shame because I thought he would be. Couldn't tell you how the game has gone but I'm sure as hell happy with the half time score! Peterborough went into the half 0-0. But not anymore. They finally break the deadlock. A nothing second half and I'm all for it! Peterborough added a 2nd. Blackpool in 4th can still go up automatically but they aren't worth adding to the screenshot. 3 to go.

League One 2024-25 Gameweek 42 We stay at home as we face 9th place Burton Albion. We've played them twice this year already drawing in the league and thrashing them in the cup, both away from home. I'll take the cup performance please. If I recall they were bottom when we played them last so they have come a long way since then. 9th place 8 points off playoffs. Maybe a bridge to far but they will be wanting to keep faint hopes alive. We however need to win, we forfeited any room for error with the loss to Barnsley. Barnsley are away to rock bottom Stevenage so we can't be expecting any favours there while Peterborough host 20th Preston so the same there really. We HAVE to win. Well that's good. I was getting slightly concerned! We are however, still 1.6m in the red. With no improvement on the horizon. There's not much else I can do to improve the coffers. I've not once been over budget...so....close my eyes, stick my fingers in the ears and go la la la la la. Only one worth looking at from Youth Intake. And he doesn't look amazing. Forced into one change as GK Mair is injured. Pym will come in and prove to me why I always need a decent enough back up! Kun back into the line up after Internationals. We missed him and the 26 goals he has bought this season. Boom! Bola gets only his 2nd of the season with a cool finish. Great start. 39th minute and its a penalty to Mansfield a chance to double the lead before the break...It will be Kun stepping up... And it will be Kun delivering! Big goal and really, we haven't done anything this half other than score. Its that man again! Bulgaria's finest. I said he was either going to be a brilliant signing or a massive flop. I like it when I get one right. This is what I meant. We have been clinical. That's been the difference. Both Peterborough and Barnsley are 0-0 at half time. We've seen 3 goal leads slip. This isn't over. Two early goals in the other games. Figures, can't grumble, I'd be annoyed not winning that game. Now then! I may have been slightly misleading saying they were at home to 20th. 20th being Preston. Good on paper still! Barnsley makes it comfortable, they aren't slipping up today. Now then, a nothing second half suddenly feels a bit nervy. 15 minutes is plenty of time to throw this away! We do manage to hold on. Good overall performance. Two late Stevenage goals made things interesting but Barnsley held on. Peterborough got an 87th minute equaliser to save a point. It means we are 2nd but GD. That sweet sweet GD could easily be the difference maker come 4 games time. Its going down to the wire this one.

League One 2024-25 Gameweek 41 We have 7 days to prepare for one of the biggest games in the Clubs History. Win and we have a gap over 3rd. Draw and we maintain a lead over Barnsley. Lose and they leap frog us into that Automatic Promotion place. Is this a good time to mention we will be down 2 players because of International Call Ups. One of which is our star striker and the leagues top scorer. Why haven't I been given the chance to postpone? Or does it require at least like 3 players? We are 2 players short of our strongest XI. Louis Reid is still recovering from an injury that has kept him out for 5 weeks and Kun is on International Duty. Swan is on a drought at the moment, be a great place to end it! We are the only game this Saturday. After this game the League will all be even and we will know where we stand with 5 games to go. By the way...win and we go top! Last time we played it finished 6-6. Now it has its own post 0-0 incoming... 2 minutes on the clock and we should be leading! Will Dickson is played through and he fluffs his lines! 14 minutes on the clock and Barnsley have their first shot in anger. Harmlessly over the bar. 31st minute. Barnsley have gotten stronger as the game has gone on, they force the first save of the game from Mair. 34th minute. We are having the chances. DKD should have squared the ball instead of shooting. Instead its a shot blocked and its still 0-0. And we are made to pay for it immediately. Barnsley go down the other end and make no mistake. can't say it hasn't been coming on the run of play. Some poor decision making is the difference at the break. We are still in this game but a huge 45 coming up. Not a single player can hold their hands up at the moment and tell me they are having a good game. 50th minute. Lewis in for the injured Reed forces a save from the keeper. 62nd minute. Changes are made. Anderson, Hatigan, Lankester all on. And I'd love to say it made the difference but it was Bola the LB who learnt from DKD's mistake in the first half and squared it for Will Swan to end his drought with the easiest of tap ins. Its been coming in the second half. Will this game see a winner? I'd take a point right now. I can say for a fact the subs didn't make the difference . Planned changes go ahead. Out of absolutely nothing. A curler from the edge of the box stuns the home faithful. Heads have dropped. Its been completely one sided this half then suddenly a killer blow. Defence and keeper have let the team down once again in a huge game. Really disappointing. And that's how it finishes. You look at those stats and you wonder how we didn't win, instead its a bitterly disappointing and quite frankly hard to take loss. We go down to 3rd and first the first time in while, with 5 games to go. Promotion is out of our hands.

March...ing On? League One 2024-25 March 2025 Big month. 10 games left, 6 of them this month including at least one game in hand I know of. There isn't an easy game, there isn't a game that isn't huge. Lets see where it takes us. Exeter up first, we beat them 5-1 at the Mill. Got to fancy our chances here right? This is why I didn't want Williams unhappy! He's been brilliant this season. But not this game! Defenders let us down massively. We deserved to take the lead in the first half then proceeded to lose our heads. Despite coming from behind twice in the second half I see this as 2 points dropped. We shouldn't have been in the position where Kun needed to claw us back time and time again. A disappointing result from what was a decent attacking performance. Reading away next, unlike Exeter they aren't really looking over there shoulders at the drop. Canter to the end of the season for them. Come on lads its a celebration! Carbon copy of the Exeter game. Came from behind twice but still see it as 2 points dropped. These games could have easily been 6 but they could just so as easily have been 0. Weird games! 8 to go. 4 this month. We return home against Shrewsbury in the game I know is the one in hand...although its played on a Saturday...so I don't know! They are fighting for their lives. So this won't be easy, by any stretch. It was an easy game and that's how you bounce back from 2 potentially depressing results. And with 7 games to go... Less said about the amount of goals conceded the better however. This guy we randomly got on loan from Cambridge on Deadline Day has been nothing sort of brilliant. 8 games 5 goals 4 assists 1 POM and an average of 7.47. He is good enough for the Championship? I dont know, last season he was on loan in Australia, but can't argue with those performances! A nice week rest now as we prepare for Port Vale away. They are one place above relegation so again, won't be straightforward. Ok so apparently the game in hand I have is Barnsley. Which at the moment is 2nd v 3rd. Cracking stuff! Well this is new! Oh my word I can't do this anymore! They hit the bar with the last kick of the game! A late sub and a dramtic winner. Welcome Nabil, the fans will love you forever if we go up. Table looks like this... 6 games to go and its tight. Huge game against Barnsley next. The run in deserves their own posts I think!

Busy February League One 2024-25 February 2025 Suddenly, out of nothing, February is both a huge month and a busy one. 6 games crammed into a short month but just look at it...5 games at home. This is the month we could take an absolute stranglehold of that 2nd Automatic Spot. Well you can say it was a good month! A great month! Like the best! Stockport (surprisingly) at home to start the month. They came up with us, they are in and around the playoffs. Won't be easy. Some players are a little tired, but they are just going to have to play through it. Yep you are seeing that correctly. 4 penalties, all dispatched. Kun is proving to be a brilliant signing while Lankester wasted no time introducing himself, albeit off the bench. Great win! Peterborough up next. 2nd v 3rd. If we win we open up a gap between ourselves and the chasing pack...well...with games in hand anyway...Could do without it being one of those pesky midweek games! There are some tired legs out there. Can we take a huge win? Oh boy do we not win. It wasn't a must win but I thought it was a must not lose, we were wasteful and they weren't. Gotta say it looks like we were robbed but watching it I didn't feel like it. We just didn't play well and were so wasteful. Was one of those games. Hopefully we move on quickly. It doesn't get any easy, a game on the Saturday away to Bristol Rover and the legs get even more tired. They are midtable, one of those games that's going to be hard to call. Very easily losable. The Shrewsbury game that was due at the end of the this month has been bumped to March because they decided to go on a nice cup run! I didn't realise we have hit a little bit of an injury crisis as well as fitness...should make for an interesting game. Strange game, don't know what to make of it really. Disappointed to go behind from a winning position. Happy to get a point? Its bizarre. 1 point from 6 isn't promotion material and a month that could have been us take a stranglehold is seeing us lose our grip on the Automatic places. We finally have a weeks rest between games. Fingers crossed we go into the next game against Bolton with no fatigued players. Although injuries are slowly mounting. Can argue 3 starters 1 on the cusp and Hartigan haha. Its highlighting area's we need better depth in, primarily CB and CDM. Despite the injuries we do bounce back and pick up a win. Close on the scorecard but a game we never really looked like losing. Great win. The postponed game against Carlisle up next as we round off February. Mini spoiler alert. 2 goals and 2 injuries in the first half. All my way. Just cut off is Touaizi getting his first goal for the club in a very impressive victory. We have bounce back well from middle of the month set backs. The two injuries to Bola and Swan resulted in no time at all out so we got lucky. It means the league table heading into March looks like this... I don't mnow what's happened to Barnsley but they have been in freefall! It means not only are we sitting in 2nd place but we have a chance to cement that place with games in hand! Nobody really near the top in amazing form. With 10 games to go (well at least for us) it could be anyvbodies from Peterborough down to Huddersfield!

Mansfield Town Squad January 2025 Time for the "Mid-Season" update. Good to take stock of what the club looks like after January Transfer Window had concluded. Goalkeepers Pym has accepted he will be back up until his contract runs out and he is released. While Archie Mair is looking like a steal. He will be getting a new contract in the Summer. He is somebody I want to keep going forward. Think he's Championship quality. Defenders A new RB was bought in with Williams looking like he was going to be unhappy. Well...he might be soon with lack of gametime. The biggest worry at the moment is Bola. I'm hoping a promotion will convince him to stay. Otherwise we might be forced to sell him in the Summer. He will be good enough to play in Championship as well if we go up. Watts and Kirk look to be great addictions. Kilgour I've decided to keep around another season, he can provide depth but Flint, Macdonald, Cargill won't be here next season. Aaron Lewis is a good Swiss Army Knife so I'm thinking of keeping him around for the forseeable. Midfielders You can ignore some players on this screenie as the won't play in CDM or AM roles. 3 loanees worry me but I've done what I thought I needed to in order to have a successful season. Portsmouth won't think about loaning Paddy Lane again because he's too good and they will want to cash in. Will Dickson won't join us because we aren't good enough, maybe a promotion might change his mind, he is good enough for the Championship. Suddenly CDM is our weakest position. Reed hasn't kicked on like I wanted him too and Hartigan is seemingly letting me down! Harry Anderson is great as a sub, when he comes on he does a job. Players like Boateng, Akins are either not going to be here or see their role all but disappear. Moxon has been a good signing, I feel I need to pair him up with somebody better. This is going to be priority in the Summer. Nabil I think has the makings of being a terrific signing as he can play 3 key positions to a high standard. One I think if we do go up will be vital in the Championship. Forwards You've seen all of these in the other screenshot. Will Swan is a beast. We will do well keeping him if we don't go up. Kun has been a brilliant signing as well. Adding Nabil is great, I'm not concerned about this position. Just wish I could convince Will Dickson to stay and we would be ready made for a good Championship run. Good to note the age of these players as well. We could be set for a while if things continue to progress in the right way.

Transfer Window League One 2024-25 January 2025 So we have played 3 games in January already and there have been some outgoings as well. Stephen McLaughlin and Elliot Hewitt leave for 5.5 and 45k respectively. James Gale going for 250k you already know about. The former two are players whose contract wasn't being renewed so I saw fit to get rid now while I could. You have also seen my failed efforts to bring Will Dickson here permenant. I was a little bit reluctant splashing the cash but thought it was best in the long run to do so. Turns out it mattered not. I also have a few unhappy players in the team. 4 out of 5 don't worry me but the Tolaji Bola one I don't like. Basically the story is, he wanted a new contract, I was more than happy to give it, but it turns out we were close to the Wage Limit for League One and complying with FFP. So we couldn't offer one and I had to break a promise. I asked him to wait until end of the season because I knew we would have more than enough...he didn't want to wait so instead I had to let a promise break and now he doesn't trust me. I have till the next of next season to convince him to stay otherwise I'm going to need a new LB. Anyway we "start" January with a very tricky away tie at Lincoln City, this follows a tricky away loss to PNE. We have the games in hand but honestly, I'd prefer the points. This is one of the games in hand. Midweek game obviously so fatigue isn't going to be at its best. The goal was a belter. The save was brilliant. This was a magnificent 3 points to pick up under difficult cirumstances. Proud of the lads. This month is huge. Next 3 games we have 11th, 6th and 5th. If we can come out of those games still with Top 2 in our hands or even not too far off it we will have done brilliantly. Get the feeling the next 3 games are slightly make or break. We start with 11th at home in the form of Carlisle. Must win in the context of the up coming fixtures. New signing but not until the Summer. I am preparing to lose Paddy Lane and Will Dickson and this guy can play both Winger positions and up front so I think its a no brainer. Happy with this one on a free. I could buy now for 120k but honestly I don't see the need. One loanee player replaced already. Will need a striker for sure in the Summer. I'll have a look what else I'll need once the deadwood has passed. We will see you next month. A much needed rest although it means a problem down the line as these games in hand continue to mount. It means Plymouth at home is our next game. Huge game in the context of the season. We will be fresher then them at least. He hasn't played much this season but I have this strange faith in him that has made me keep him around for next season. If we go up then boy, is he going to be out of his depth! Holy. Forking. Shirtballs. Outstanding. Truly outstanding. Best result of the save by far. What a performance! Shame it was only worth 3 points! We were leading the GD battle before, this won't hurt. Huddersfield away next, very tricky game and we will do well to get anything from it. What a point! What a fightback and honestly we deserved to win it. Brilliant result on the road this. We battled well. Will Swan is on fire at the moment. One more game to wrap up the month and its another away one. Portsmouth are at the wrong end of the table but still pose a threat on paper. It won't be easy. We might be making a few splashes in the market before the end. I have my eye on two players. My first job interview offer. Obviously turned down but its nice that I'm being headhunted. Well it wasn't a stellar performance but its another huge 3 points for us. Games are coming thick and fast at the moment but we are dealing with them well. Right. Deadline Day. We take part because there are a few loose ends to tie up before we race towards the end of the season. Showed you this guy before, well we decided to spend 40k to bring him in now. With injuries and fixtures piling up I figured I could do with him now. He will be a good addition to the squad and it means... We finally appease George Williams who is happy with our signings. Two birds one stone sorted with 40k. So this is new to me. We want to bring Halid to the club but he had work Work Permit appeals rejected. However we have something called an ESC, we have two of them and we are taking up on slot to sign him and he can still play. It means I can welcome... To the club. He's an improvement in a position I didn't 100% need but I liked the look at him for this level. I think he can improve to be Championship standard if we do go up. One more player eyeing up short term with the hopes of it just give me some much needed depth. Lankester gives me another player who can play AML just to boost numbers up front for the run in. Very little wages so feels like its guilt free loan. The permenant signing for this position I was hoping was going to be more upfront. That's me done with a flurry on Deadline Day. So now January is over here is what the table looks like... Barnsley are walking it but look how close it is between a few teams. Game in hand all over the place at the moment but we are where we dream of finishing. Currently 2nd. Huge game against Peterborough next month.

I've got a really good feeling about this transfer window and the way this save is going. Ouch...my pride.

December to Remember League One 2024-25 December I've played this month already (and 2 games in January) so thought I'd better catch up! We started with a competition I really just do not care about. It showed in my squad selection and it showed... In the performance. We were actually decent but we had too many "crap" players on the pitch and it showed. Nothing up front, wasted chances and once again we fall at the 2nd round. Shame. First up in the league is a tricky game on paper... But it was the best 90 minutes we have put together this season. It was over by 25 minutes but what a great game from Kun. I reckon this could be his breakout game. Brilliant performance. Blackpool are up there with us so this is a big game. This is 2 points dropped. Some points are better than others, this isn't good. We were in control most of the game but a lapse in concentration and suddenly a nice day at the office turns into one of frustration. Wycombe next and a chance to bounce back as these are down at the bottom. This is one of those games that if we are serious about promotion we need to be winning. 2-0 up and we threw it away, this one was hard to take. Add the missed penalty and it was just awful viewing. We went from promotion hopefuls to "are we frauds" in 45 minutes. We need a bounceback game and a bounceback performance... Obviously I new we had it but wow! What a brilliant game of football this was! I don't think we have scored 7 in a game in this save? A James Gale 97th minute goal is the one that's missing. I'm really regretting selling him, we will miss his goals. Will Dickson and Paddy Lane are brilliant and I want them both, I don't think we will get to keep either. The day is Boxing Day. The game is Notts County away. I could ruin Christmas for every single Stags fan, including myself. Lets destroy them. Get in! Huge win, the double over County. Hoping this is the last time we face them for a while. I do have dreams of Promotion and this helps a lot. We finish the year at Field Mill and a match with MK Dons, they came up with us and are up there with us going for back to back promotions. Big game. We finish 2024 with a good performance and a brilliant result. I can't show you the table cos I've played a league game in January so lets just catch you up with those... We started 2025 with another big league game, spoiler alert for the table but we came into this game 4th and we faced 3rd place Peterborough. This was a real test if we can keep up with the teams around us. What a performance! We were brilliant, we dominated from start to finished and showed the importance of playing till the final whistle! Next up was a cup game against Sunderland. Christmas period was tough, we were looking tired and I made the decision to treat the FA Cup like the EFL Trophy. I rested a lot of players. Started fringe players. I need to take promotion seriously if we are to do it... It didn't go well haha. I instant resulted so luckily I didn't have to watch it but can you imagine a more even 5-0 loss?! Crazy. Hopefully it doesn't have too much affect on morale. On paper the next game is tough, Preston North End have had a rough season even though they have a strong squad and are financially better off than every team in the division. Man we had chances! It should have been a win but instead they hit us twice against the run of play and we stare at back to back losses. Tough to take but we need to pick ourselves up and move it. So that's it. You are caught up to where I am! Table looks like this.. Don't really know why we have the games in hand but if we win them and teams around us in them then we are 3rd, 2 points off 2nd and a huge gap to 7th. But game in hand aren't points so at the moment we are 6th. I'd be delighted with a playoff place but we need to push for that automatic. We have a chance at it.

Spoiler alert for December! Its not looking good! How am I suppose to do that John?! How!?

Bumper Month League One 2024-25 November Honestly I took one look at November and said "You kidding me?" It feels massive (that's what she said). We start with a midweek game. You know how I feel about fatigue and midweek games...we have a lot of them this month! Away to Bolton will be tough and one of those fixtures I can't really expect anything from. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't entertaining but its a huge win! Maybe I'm not giving this side enough credit. Massive result. "Nobody gave us a chance out there"...yeah....me included! Shrewsbury away next. This is another game that can go either way. Its one of those if we were fighting at the bottom we would look at and think "Yeah a point would be good." But because we are fighting near the top at the moment I'm thinking, "Is it a must win?". I don't like it! James Gale is unhappy he isn't getting played. It escualted and now he's on the transfer market for 500k. If I could get 250k I would be delighted as he's reached his ceiling and selling him would fund a new striker in January. Lucas Akins came to me with the same issues and accepted the fact he's a squad player. He can stay till his contract runs out next season! Speaking of which. I believe its time I got some players who are starting XI a new contract. After looking at this, there's only 1 player I want to give a new contract too. The rest are mearly squad players and not good enough for the team at this point. Its the harsh reality of this buisiness. We are going to be losing some firm fan favourites as well. I can't be sentimental if I want to move forward. There are only a handful of these players good enough for the Championship which is where I see us in a few years time. I can't decide if this is two points dropped or one gained? For large portions of the this game we were second best. We deserved to be behind both times. Then amazingly, out of nothing we turned it around and looked like snatching all 3 points. A ridiculous wonder strike in added time put a stop to that. But I don't think we really deserved one point never mind three. So at this point I'm happy with a point here. Keeps our mini unbeaten run going and its 4 from 6 tricky away points. The huge talking point is Will Swan who went off injured... Doesn't seem long but that's like 10 games at the moment! Luckily we have a little bit of time to breath as this mid week game is a EFL trophy match that means absolutely nothing. 11 changes will be made! None of our players made the list this year. Will Swan was robbed. 18 changes betwen the two teams. Both sides through, neither really care. I don't know why I didn't just Instant Result to be honest but I didn't. I watched. Some youth players got a run out, some fringe players got a run out but at the end of the day we got battered. At least we got a consolation. Not nice but don't care really. Such an inspiring draw. Harry has done enough to show me he deserves another year playing for us. Been a good Squad member. Still a lot of players whose contract is up who will probably be let go. Gale going. 250k. I'm happy with that. With the way the wage budget works, I'll not be able to replace him but I don't think I need him really. If you look back to that very first squad post he was worth 0-60k. He had a good season in the division below and I've managed to get quarter of a million for him. I'll take that! Exeter City at home next. They are near the bottom so for the first time this season we hit a game I'm looking at and thinking "We really should be winning this." Course I sell Gale and he turns into Haaland. Well I'll be happy to take advantage of those goals for another month. Big win and a big statement I think. Down to our 3rd and 4th choice strikers and we scored 5. Can't grumble with that. Gale even missed a penalty before finally bagging his hat trick. We have a bit of time off. No midweek game! Before we face Oxford United away. They are the wrong side of the table and another game which, if we are serious about a playoff push, we need to be winning. Snatch and run yall! For the first time this season we have won just as many as we have drawn! Does this win prove we are serious about a playoff push? I don't think it quite does, it wasn't convincing in the performance but it was in the scoreline. I'm not complaining though! Amazingly, still two more games this month. One in the league one in the cup. We host yet another struggling side in Wycombe. Its a midweek game so anything can happen! Can we finish the league month with another big win and keep the pressure up at the top? Great performance. We are beating the teams at the bottom and convincingly which is great. We aren't going to be struggling to survive. Midtable at worst at the moment and that was all I wanted at the start of the season. Its been a brilliant month and we actually have a nice gap to 7th. Are we a playoff side? Maybe. There are games in hand all over the shot due to various competitions but the fact is we are 4th at the moment and breathing down the neck for automatic promotion. One more game to go and its one I'm taking seriously. We reached the 3rd round last season where we got Birmingham away, not a great draw. I want a big boy (that's what she said). Its a huge win, its a huge performance. Now give me a huge draw... Another Championship away side. Yay.

Back To Earth with a Bump? League One 2024-25 October We start this month with an absolutel huge game. Home to County. If we only won one game all season it needs to be this one. A very cagey first half, both teams feeling each other out but we came out like the clappers second half. Kun made himself a instant hero with the fans and what followed was 7 brilliant minutes. Take that County! EFL Trophy next, as you can imagine, changes galore. A little bit of revenge as Grimsby knocked us out last season. It wasn't a great game and we didnt look great until some late changes. One of those changes baging the winner and ensuring our place in the knockouts. Personally I don't care but it keeps the board happy. Back to league action next and a tricky trip to Milton Keynes. This game was that awful it warrented its own post. Like, literally, nothing happened, all game. It was dier! But its a point on the road. Can't grumble. Another tricky game against top of the table Plymouth. I'm not expecting miracles here. We won a lot of games last season by not nessessarily dominating but by taking our chances. Plymouth did that to us here. We played really well and I thought we were unlucky not to take anything, I told them that at full time and they were confused and annoyed!? Like really, on paper this is the hardest game of the season and you did really well! Well I promised to "not be as confusing in the future". Last time I yeeted a water bottle at you lot you called a team meeting. WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!? Anywya back to the Mill for a couple of games in a row and a chance to put that unpleasantness behind us. Got to be happy with this point. To come from 2-0 down at home against a team recently relegated is big. Sure Preston are the wrong end of the table but on paper they should be beating us. I'm taking this one as a positive point. And speaking of positive points... We were battered...for 90minutes. This one is certainly up there with a good point. Its another game avoiding defeat but we are now 4 games without a win to close the month of October. Cracks? Or good results against a tricky run? The league table speaks for itself. Drawn half the games so we are tricky to beat and we are staring at a playoff place at the moment. Its all so very tight though. 2 losses can send you tumbling down the league. Its also important to remember we are the same amount of points away from promotion as we are relegation. No time to rest up yet. Bonus game as I started the new month with a FA Cup match against League Two Bradford. We are the bigger team now so should be winning but its a banana skin. One we just about navigated. Away to Burton Albion in the 2nd Round. They are rock bottom of League One but its a tricky game. Would love to get to the 3rd round and face a big boy.