Punch

APR 2042 - FA Cup Semi Final - Vs Brentford It was a tough battle at Wembley as we hard to work hard to overcome the Bees. With a lesser schedule, we were able to play a near full strength team, and that may have proved the difference, as we were able to hold off the Bees in the first half. We finally found our own attacking groove in the second half, with two goals in 9 minutes breaking the game open, and ending the fight from Brentford. The financial benefits continue. We enter our second FA Cup Final where we will face Chelsea, who overcame Manchester United to book their place. Once again, we will have to overcome a side we have never beaten. Up next Ironically our next League match is also against Chelsea.

APR 2042 - Match Day 33 - Vs Blackburn Rovers After 14 games without a win at our temporary home, we have now won three on the bounce. We made hard work of it, and it looked like we had given away points when we conceded a sloppy goal late in the second half. Our boys stayed at it, however, and were rewarded with all three points when a passage of quality passing resulted in a cracking goal from Finnegan, to complete his brace. This game showed how we have made improvement this season, as this was a game we previously would have settled for a draw, or even conceded another goal and lost all the points. There has been plenty going on in the 22 days since our last match. The end result of all of it is we stay 12th, but we have reached the magical 40 point mark, which is considered the minimum for safety. However, with 5 games to play, we are now 21 points clear of relegation, so we are now also mathematically safe, regardless of how our remaining results go. Up next FA Cup Semi Final time as we head to Wembley to face Brentford.

MAR 2042 - Youth Intake The next intake has arrived, and while the preview gave us very little to be excited about, I am actually pretty happy with some of the prospects that have arrived. While I am still never really convinced about the star system, there are a few players here who look like they could push for first team places. Guernsey native, Marshall, looks like a massive prospect. Marshall rates so highly that he could nearly push for a place in the first team next season. There are several others that also look like they have potential. The Best of them We welcome our first player from the USA, but only two Guernsey natives this year, with the majority coming from the English mainland. For an intake which promised very little, there is certainly enough potential there to keep me happy. With still some improvements available in our Youth rating and facilities, there is still room to these kids reach their potential.

MAR 2042 A cracking month as we win two of our three League matches, before advancing twice in the FA Cup, including our epic upset over West Ham in the Quarter Final. Impressive recognition for our Captain as he is named as our first ever Premier League Player of the Month. Our good form also lead to our young players scooping 1st and 2nd in the Young Player of the Month awards. Internationals An incredible number of players on Senior International duty to end the month, including five debutantes. We have two players in the NXGN awards this year, with regular 1st team defender Jack Brown coming in 12th, while Alhassan Kwame came in at 43rd. An impressive month continues to grow the bank account. With the first half of the month still being taken up by an International break, we have a very short schedule, with just two League games, while we face Brentford for a spot in the FA Cup Final.

MAR 2042 - FA Cup Quarter Final - At West Ham United A crazy match at London Stadium as we secure our first ever win over the Hammers and advance to the Semi Final. We come from behind three times, including injury time goals in both regular time, and extra time. Just when it looked like we were heading for penalties, we scored a second injury time goal to stun the hosts, and send them out of the Cup. A big day for the bank account as we progress. We head to Wembley to face Brentford, who we have a near perfect record against, including a previous FA Cup Semi Final win. Up next After an international break, we return to League action as we host 14th place Blackburn.

MAR 2042 - Match Day 32 - At Newcastle United Our winning run ends at at our furthest League road trip of the season, as the Magpies get the better of us. Despite being down at half time, we did manage to pull level, but we couldn't hang on as they ran over the top of us late in the game. Just a few teams in action this weekend, but we stay 12th, with an 18 point gap to the relegation zone. Up next Another tough task as we travel to London to face West Ham in the FA Cup Quarter Final. Having never beaten them, we will need to put in one of our biggest performances ever if we want to advance to the Semi Final.

MAR 2042 - FA Cup Quarter Final Draw West Ham thumped Arsenal, so we will head to London Stadium to take on the Hammers in the Quarter Final. We have a poor record against them, and they knocked us out of the League Cup as well earlier this season. A tough ask if we want to advance.

I think you already have the Youth thing covered. Just keep an eye on your Youth Team coaching and see if you can make any improvements. Even sending them on Coaching Courses can help some.

MAR 2042 - Match Day 31 - Vs Watford A stunning result as we hammer last place Watford. The Hornets were no match as we put together one of our best attacking performances, with Finnegan netting a club record 4 goals. It was also a solid defensive performance to suffocate the visitors attack, and keep a clean sheet. Not all good news though as we lose O'Connor for a few weeks, although we have plenty of quality options to help soften the blow. For the first time in our Premier League history, we win three games on the bounce, and after taking 15 games to win at our temporary home, we have now won twice in a row. We find ourselves in 12th place, and with a 19 point gap to the relegation zone, it would take a collapse of epic proportions in the next 7 games for us to not be safe. Up next A much tougher assignment as we face our longest road trip of the League season, heading to 7th place Newcastle.

MAR 2042 - FA Cup 5th Round - Vs Brighton & Hove Albion Short turn around between games resulted in a heavily rotated squad being sent out against the Seagulls. The kids put in a great effort, rattling the visitors as we smashed in two goals in the first 6 minutes, from which they never recovered. A third goal before the break, and the match was as good as over, despite their late penalty. Heavy rotation resulted in three debuts for the club, as more of last years intake get their first action in the first team. More money keeping the bank balance rolling, while we break the receipts record. Will be good to try an repeat this in our own stadium. We will travel to London either way for our Quarter Final tie, but we will have to wait and see who we face. The schedule is all over the place, so there are plenty of games still to be played. Up next Back to League action as we host last place Watford.

Usually when you get the email about the training camp, there will be a tan at the bottom giving different options.

In fairness though, we probably were fortunate, as they had an off day in front of goal, and our defence was immense late in that second half. Yes, very relieved to see the whistle go and we get the three points. You are correct, but two points per game is generally a pretty safe mark, and too much of a gap to catch up. Unless we fall in a heap and lose every game for the rest of the season. We are due to move back to Guernsey in May, so we may, like last season, get one game back on the island, if we are lucky. Hopefully the Board won’t do something stupid and pull the trigger on another upgrade, and we end up homeless again next season. I certainly won’t be asking for it.

MAR 2042 - Match Day 30 - At Leeds United A cracking result as we upset Leeds at Ellend Road, taking a massive three points. Young striker O'Connor scored a goal in each half, and the defensive effort was brilliant to hold out a Whites outfit that came back at us hard. We jump to 12th place, equal with plenty of teams, but our goal difference keeps us above them. With 8 games to play, we have a 16 point gap on the relegation zone, which should make us pretty close to safe. Up next We host Brighton in the FA Cup 5th Round.

Thank you! It seemed to be a long time coming.

FEB 2042 While we started the month with an FA Cup victory, our League run was shocking, losing three and drawing two of the first 5, part of an 8 match winless streak. We did managed to round out the month in style though, with a thumping win over Forest, which was our first win at our temporary Bournemouth home, in 15 League matches. Stats Goalkeepers While Al-Habib has shown some great form in the Cup games, it has not been enough to unseat Hamilton from the top job. Defenders We ask a lot of our defensive line, and as a group, I am pretty happy with the performances they have been putting in. Midfielders Buss and Brown have been leading the way in the midfield, but I am starting to see some glimpses of promise from my namesake, Nix, when he has been given opportunities. Forwards With 9 games remaining in the season, Finnegan has bettered his 19 goal mark from last season, although it's a little concerning to see that no one else is even close. Another good month financially as we continue to bank money, for when the inevitable wage demand hikes start arriving. A much quieter month coming up, with the Watford game being important. A win there would almost confirm our safety for next season.

FEB 2042 - Match Day 29 - Vs Nottingham Forest The duck is finally broken as we win our first game at our temporary home, in 15 attempts. The struggling Tricky Trees were no match as our attack finally clicked into full gear, while our defence shut out the visitors completely, in a brilliant all round performance. Finnegan was brilliant, scoring one, and setting up two more, showing he isn't just a scorer, as we put four names on the scoresheet. A first win in 9 games moves us up to 13th place, but more importantly, we put more distance to the relegation zone, now sitting 16 points clear, with 9 games to play. Up next Another tough match as we travel to 5th place Leeds.

FEB 2042 - Match Day 28 - At Arsenal We got off to another bad start, the Gunners were two up early, and three by the break. A half time rocket seemed to fire up the kids and they came out firing in the second half, pulling two goals back. It wasn't enough though as we ran out of steam, only just managing to keep the hosts from scoring further. This is our worst run of results for quite some time. A few further catch up games played, and we stay 14th, still with a 13 point break to the relegation zone. Up next A match that is a must win, as we host 18th place Forest.

FEB 2042 - Match Day 27 - At Manchester City Our double header in Manchester ends in a tough loss, although we did put in a brave effort against a much bigger team. Down 0-2 early, we managed to stem the tide, even pulling a goal back before the break. We held them out in the second half, and even mounted sustained pressure on them to end the match, but unfortunately could not grab an equaliser. The press think the fans are critical, but in the same story, managed to report they are optimistic We stay 14th, and 13 clear of relegation. Up next We are now 7 games without a win, and we welcome Arsenal, and it might be a bad time to play them, as they will be stinging after being upset by the then last place Boro.

FEB 2042 - Match Day 26 - At Manchester United We gave the Red Devils a run for the money at Old Trafford, despite giving up a half time lead, we ended up coming from behind to secure a late equaliser to steal another point on the road. Another brace for Finnegan, as our captain continues to lead from the front, literally and figuratively. Just a few teams in action, playing make up games from Cup duty. We stay 14th, but have moved 13 points clear of the relegation zone. Up next Our week in Manchester continues as we face the blue side of town, who are currently sitting 9th, undefeated in their last seven outings.

FEB 2042 - Match Day 25 - Vs Tottenham Hotspur We were always up against it with the high flying Spurs in white hot form at the moment. The visitors lived up to their form, running us in circles in the first half, and while we did pretty well to hold them back as long as we could, we found ourselves two down at the break. We had our moments in the second half, but were not able to mount enough pressure to make a comeback, and they cruised to victory. We have been on a tough run and find ourselves now 5 matches without a win. We drop to 14th, but still hold a 12 point gap to the relegation zone. Up next We travel to the 13th place Manchester United, who have been struggling this season, so this may be our best chance for some time to get points off them. Good they are in the bottom half of the table as we haven't beat anyone in the top half. We also need to make sure we score first, as so far this season, we have only won one of thirteen matches when conceding first.

FEB 2042 - Match Day 24 - Vs Middlesbrough We put in a massive performance against the last place Boro, but ended up with only a draw to show for it. Chance after chance was created, and the xG suggests we should have scored two or three goals, but the visitors keeper had one of those days, turning away everything we threw at him. While it was good to keep accumulating points, it is really disappointing to not manage to win a game we dominated so heavily, especially against a relegation bound team. A few matches played while we were on Cup duty, and then a few catch up games as well. We stay 13th, but we do have some games in hand over a few of the teams around us. Up next Almost mission impossible as we host the League leading Spurs.

Happy that we are staying far enough away from the relegation battle, but bemused about what could have been, if we were in our own stadium. We still have not won a League match at our temporary Bournemouth 'home', so if we had managed to win two or three of those, that could have pushed us up the the bottom of the top half of the table, and all of a sudden we are being talked about as contenders for a European spot, although I am not sure we are ready for that. We can't get back to the island soon enough.

FEB 2042 - FA Cup 4th Round - At Sheffield United A cracking result with a heavily rotated squad as the youngsters put on an attacking clinic to blast the Blades out of the FA Cup. Just as pleasing was the defensive performance to keep the hosts scoreless, as we book our passage into the 5th Round. Not all good news though as we lose another player for two weeks to a gashed leg. Along with the nearly £400k we received for our share of the gate, mate for a profitable day out. We host Brighton in the 5th Round, and with an excellent record against them, we will be hoping to continue our push towards the later stages. Up next We host last place Boro, who are without a win in 10 games. This is a crucial match to keep the distance between ourselves and the relegation zone.

JAN 2042 We manage only a win and a draw from our four League games this month, while we also exit from the League Cup at the Semi Final stage, although we do make a successful start to our FA Cup campaign. We made a player sale, and with a over stock of midfielders, when this offer came in for one that was unlikely to make it as a top prospect, it was easy enough to send him on his way. We keep making money as he plays, and get the usual sell on clause included. We collect some solid cash for a player we sold two years ago as Pamc makes another move. We will collect a total of £7.5 million, for just adding a simple clause into that sale. West Ham spend £6 million more per week than us on wages...mind boggling. We are still nearly £3 million per week under the League average. A great month financially sends the account over the £200 million mark. Another tough month coming up, with some enormous League games.

JAN 2042 - Match Day 23 - At Everton A heart breaker as we go down in injury time to the Toffees. Another Finnegan goal gave us the lead, however the hosts hit back to have it level at the break. A game short on genuine chances as both sides struggled to get out of the midfield. Just when it looked like the points would be shared, the hosts stole a goal deep into injury time to send us home with nothing to show for our efforts. It was made worse as we lose one of our midfield for a few weeks. Everton recovered from their shock mid-week loss to beat us, but we stay 13th, the gap to the relegation zone now back to 11 points. Up next We head to Sheffield for the FA Cup 4th Round.