[FM10] When The Saints Go Marching In - Crouchy's Mighty Saints Save!

crouchaldinho · April 24, 2010

UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2011:

Salisbury 0 – 1 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

A super win away from home but totally against the run of the play. Salisbury were all over us for large periods of this game but we hung on to claim the three points.

Our youth player, Luke Hoyte, scored the only goal of the game after 15 minutes and somehow we managed to cling on for the win.

City scorer(s): Luke Hoyte.

City MoM: Luke Hoyte.

Attendance at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium: 782.

SAINTS 2 – 0 Truro (Blue Square South)

Nice dominant performance here at Clarence Park and the score could easily be doubled. We didn’t give Truro a sniff. Marvellous stuff.

City scorer(s): Moses Ademola & Chris Dagnell (pen).

City MoM: Luke Hoyte.

Attendance at the Clarence Park: 367

Lewes 0 – 1 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

A Paul Hakim goal in the first minute of the game ended up being enough for us to win this match. I’m not quite sure how we did it, as Lewes created chance after chance, only for us to somehow hold on.

City scorer(s): Paul Hakim.

City MoM: Ryan Carolan..

Attendance at The Dripping Pan: 428.

SAINTS 6 – 1 Worksop (FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round)

We ended the month of September with this cup tie. Worksop were soundly beaten here in the FA Cup. It could easily have been more, such was our dominance.

City scorer(s): Ryan Hall x2, Paul Hakim, Craig Calver x2, Chris Dagnall.

City MoM: Craig Calver.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 720.

THE SAINTS DRAW ALFRETON AWAY IN THE THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND OF THE FA CUP.

SAINTS 2 – 2 Dover Athletic (Blue Square South)

October began with this draw at home to Dover. It was a very open game – too open for my liking – and we ultimately paid the price for some poor decision making.

They went ahead first, and George Baldock equalised just before the break to take us into half-time level.

Late in the second-half, as we went all out to try to win the game, Dover hit us on the break and we suddenly found ourselves staring a defeat in the face. However, the side showed some tenacity with JJ O’Donnell equalising. Nevertheless, I was disappointed to drop points at home against a fellow promotion contender.

City scorer(s): George Baldock and JJ O’Donnell.

City MoM: JJ O’Donnell.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 424.

Alfreton Town 4 – 5 SAINTS (FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round)

An absolutely extraordinary game.

We took the lead first of all only to concede a few minutes later. Then we went ahead again, and once again Alfreton equalised.

Finally, we went 3-2 and then 4-2 ahead, and finally the score was 5-2 with about four minutes left on the clock plus injury time.

Alfreton then proceeded to give us the shock of our lives by scoring twice in quick succession to take it to 5-4.

Judging by the stats and the general play, this ought to have been a lot simpler than it was, but we made life extremely hard for ourselves. The important thing, though, is that we are through to the 4th qualifying round.

City scorer(s): Paul Hakim x2, Craig Calver, Moses Ademola, Ben Martin.

City MoM: Paul Hakim.

Attendance at Town Ground: 413.

THE SAINTS DRAW HARROW BOROUGH AT HOME IN THE FOURTH QUALIFYING ROUND OF THE FA CUP.

Eastbourne Boro 0 – 1 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

For the third time in a row, we went away in the league and managed to get totally outplayed but still come away with a 1-0 win.

I don’t know how we are doing it at the moment because the performances aren’t particularly good but we are somehow coming away with the points.

City scorer(s): Paul Hakim.

City MoM: Craig Calver.

Attendance at Priory Lane: 560.

SAINTS 5 – 0 Harrow Borough (FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round)

I took this game extremely seriously and fielded a strong side to try to make sure that we progress to the 1st round proper.

In the end, it was extremely straight forward and we were totally dominant as the score line suggests.

City scorer(s): Sol Shields, Craig Calver x4.

City MoM: Craig Calver.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 662.

THE SAINTS DRAW GRAYS ATHLETIC AT HOME IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE FA CUP.

SAINTS 2 – 2 Bromley (Blue Square South)

With the cup games and various mid-week games coming up in this very busy month, I had to rest some players and rotate, and unfortunately it showed in our display today.

We twice went behind to Bromley and twice fought back. JJ O’Donnell was the hero today as he made it 2-2 in the last ten minutes. He is becoming something of a late goal specialist now.

In the context of the match, this was a good point, but in terms of our challenge, we should be disappointed by only drawing games at home.

City scorer(s): Chris Dagnall and JJ O’Donnell.

City MoM: Chris Dagnall.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 352.

Tiverton 1 – 0 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Our run of 1-0 wins on the road came to an end at Ladysmead. Tiverton maybe edged it but we can feel a bit hard done by.

I think the FA Cup has thrown us a bit off track in the league, as it does tend to, and the draw against Bromley knocked the wind out of our sails somewhat.

A disappointing result but not the end of the world.

City scorer(s): None.

City MoM: Ryan Carolan.

Attendance at Ladysmead: 236.

Manager Comments for September & October:

10 games in all; 7 in the league and 3 in the cup.

We managed 14 points from 7 games in the league, which was a pretty strong showing indeed. My target had been 13 points.

In the FA Cup, we made some terrific progress and have reached the first round proper for the third year in a row.

My Saints Player of the Month for September: Luke Hoyte.

My Saints Player of the Month for October: Chris Dagnall.

crouchaldinho · April 24, 2010

END OF OCTOBER 2011 SUMMARY:

20091026011547!St_albans.png

Blue Square South Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team            |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   |       | St. Albans      |       | 12    | 7     | 3     | 2     | 18    | 9     | +9    | 24    | [/b]
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Eastleigh       |       | 12    | 7     | 2     | 3     | 20    | 10    | +10   | 23    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Bath            |       | 12    | 7     | 2     | 3     | 21    | 15    | +6    | 23    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Staines         |       | 11    | 6     | 3     | 2     | 17    | 13    | +4    | 21    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Basingstoke     |       | 11    | 6     | 2     | 3     | 20    | 15    | +5    | 20    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Woking          |       | 12    | 5     | 4     | 3     | 21    | 16    | +5    | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Sutton Utd      |       | 12    | 4     | 7     | 1     | 18    | 14    | +4    | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Maidenhead      |       | 12    | 5     | 4     | 3     | 11    | 12    | -1    | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Tiverton        |       | 12    | 5     | 3     | 4     | 20    | 14    | +6    | 18    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Dartford        |       | 12    | 5     | 3     | 4     | 16    | 14    | +2    | 18    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Grays           |       | 11    | 5     | 3     | 3     | 10    | 8     | +2    | 18    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Dover           |       | 12    | 4     | 6     | 2     | 12    | 13    | -1    | 18    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Forest Green    |       | 12    | 4     | 4     | 4     | 12    | 8     | +4    | 16    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Bromley         |       | 12    | 3     | 5     | 4     | 11    | 12    | -1    | 14    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Eastbourne Boro |       | 11    | 4     | 2     | 5     | 10    | 11    | -1    | 14    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Dorchester      |       | 12    | 3     | 4     | 5     | 10    | 12    | -2    | 13    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Kingstonian     |       | 12    | 3     | 3     | 6     | 10    | 13    | -3    | 12    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Thurrock        |       | 11    | 3     | 3     | 5     | 8     | 13    | -5    | 12    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Merthyr         |       | 12    | 2     | 5     | 5     | 13    | 18    | -5    | 11    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Salisbury       |       | 11    | 1     | 4     | 6     | 3     | 12    | -9    | 7     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Lewes           |       | 12    | 2     | 1     | 9     | 7     | 21    | -14   | 7     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Truro           |       | 12    | 1     | 1     | 10    | 7     | 22    | -15   | 4     | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

First Team Squad Statistics (all competitions):

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name             | Apps  | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Rsv   | Simon Rayner     | 15    | -     | -     | -     | 6.74  | 28    | CAN   | £3K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Rsv   | Hassan Sulaiman  | 8     | -     | -     | -     | 7.00  | 26    | ENG   | £4K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    | Wnt   | Ryan Carolan     | 12    | -     | -     | 1     | 7.08  | 22    | IRL   | £9K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Tut   | Ben Martin       | 13    | 1     | -     | -     | 6.92  | 28    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    |       | Simon Dunne      | 4     | -     | -     | -     | 7.22  | 21    | IRL   | £2K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR    | Rsv   | Moses Ademola    | 11 (2)| 3     | 1     | -     | 7.16  | 22    | ENG   | £4.5K | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML    |       | JJ O'Donnell     | 12 (1)| 2     | 1     | -     | 7.00  | 20    | ENG   | £35K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | PR    | George Baldock   | 10 (5)| 1     | 4     | -     | 6.96  | 19    | ENG   | £3K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    |       | Sol Shields      | 14    | 1     | 3     | -     | 6.92  | 22    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | Wnt   | Craig Calver     | 9 (2) | 10    | 4     | 4     | 7.47  | 20    | ENG   | £120K | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | PR    | Chris Dagnall    | 10 (2)| 5     | 9     | 2     | 7.56  | 25    | ENG   | £9K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | Tut   | James Quilter    | 0 (8) | -     | 1     | -     | 6.46  | 28    | ENG   | -     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    |       | Wes Daly         | 0 (2) | -     | -     | -     | 6.60  | 27    | NIR   | £500  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    |       | Wes Fogden       | 4     | -     | -     | -     | 6.70  | 23    | ENG   | £500  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    |       | Ben Greenhalgh   | 1 (1) | -     | 1     | -     | 6.70  | 19    | ENG   | £500  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | PR    | Paul Hakim       | 11 (2)| 8     | -     | -     | 6.89  | 29    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Laurence Gaughan | 10    | -     | 1     | -     | 6.78  | 21    | IRL   | £3.5K | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     |       | Ryan Hall        | 2 (7) | 2     | -     | -     | 7.24  | 23    | ENG   | £4.5K | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Jason Norville   | 0 (4) | -     | -     | -     | 6.60  | 28    | TRI   | £4.5K | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Harry Arter      | 6 (7) | -     | 4     | -     | 6.95  | 21    | IRL   | £8K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Dylan McGeouch   | -     | -     | -     | -     | -     | 18    | SCO   | £40K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     |       | James Fisher     | 2     | -     | -     | -     | 7.35  | 27    | ENG   | £500  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     |       | Peter Smith      | 2     | -     | -     | -     | 7.25  | 26    | ENG   | £500  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Luke Hoyte YP1   | 9     | 1     | 1     | 2     | 7.31  | 18    | ENG   | £70K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

crouchaldinho · April 25, 2010

UPDATE FOR NOVEMBER 2011:

SAINTS 2 – 1 Forest Green (Blue Square South)

A narrow win in a very tight game.

Forest Green went ahead first when our goalkeeper scored an own goal. However, we replied just 10 minutes later and managed to get back in the game. With the momentum with us, we scored another to win the game.

A strong win here against the favourites for the division.

City scorer(s): Wes Fogden & Craig Calver.

City MoM: Chris Dagnall.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 338.

SAINTS 3 – 0 Grays Athletic (FA Cup 1st Round)

The all important FA Cup 1st round tie and we didn’t disappoint!

It was a totally dominant display to ensure that we were in the hat for the second round!

City scorer(s): Ryan Carolan, Moses Ademola and Craig Calver.

City MoM: Moses Ademola.

Attendance at the Clarence Park: 661.

THE SAINTS DRAW PETERBOROUGH UNITED AT HOME IN THE FA CUP SECOND ROUND.

SAINTS 2 – 0 Leigh Genesis (FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round)

No rest from the cups as we had to play in the FA Trophy next.

Leigh Genesis didn’t put up much of a fight and we booked our place in the 1st round for the second year running.

City scorer(s): Sol Shields and Craig Calver.

City MoM: Ryan Carolan.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 270.

THE SAINTS DRAW OXFORD UNITED AT HOME IN THE FA TROPHY FIRST ROUND.

Grays Athletic 1 – 3 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Back to the league and we got a fine win here away to mid-table Grays.

City scorer(s): Paul Hakim and Ben Greenhalgh x2.

City MoM: Ben Greenhalgh.

Attendance at Recreation Ground: 330.

SAINTS 0 – 3 Peterborough United (FA Cup 2nd Round)

Lineups

Match Details

I decided to adopt a 4-5-1/4-3-3 style formation for this game in the hope that an extra man in the midfield might help our cause. In the end, Peterborough’s greater fitness and quality showed after the 90 minutes.

That was after a rather marvellous first half in which we kept the score at 0-0 and even had a few chances of our own. The Posh must have been panicking after the first 45 minutes as we were right in it.

It took them until 60 minutes to open the scoring. By this time, my team of part-timers were looking tired. After the first went in the floodgates opened and we ended up losing another two.

I think this was an encouraging display and I was pleased with the lads. Unfortunately there was no romantic tale to tell like that of two years ago when we beat Stockport County at Clarence Park in this round.

I’m always prioritising the FA Cup and I think it’s a great achievement getting through to the 2nd round regardless and I’m delighted with our display in the cup yet again.

I seem to get this message every time I get knocked out of the cup and it never ceases to amuse!

City scorer(s): None.

City MoM: Sol Shields.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 2,419.

SAINTS 0 – 3 Staines (Blue Square South)

Utter disaster. This must be my worst home defeat as manager of the Saints.

I think maybe confidence had dropped after getting beaten by Peterborough. I also think I was too demanding in my team talk, probably putting too much pressure on the players.

All three goals were conceded in the first half. Try as we might in the second-half, we never looked remotely as if we would get back into this game.

On the balance of play, this scoreline hugely flattered Staines. On another day, we would have won it. Too many individual errors and bad performances on the day showed that the pressure had got to the players.

This is an especially disappointing result when you consider that Staines are currently one of the form sides in this division and that they are battling with us at the top of the league.

We must bounce back and quickly.

City scorer(s): None.

City MoM: James Quilter.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 372.

Manager Comments for November:

6 games in all; 3 in the league and 3 in the cup.

We managed 6 points from 3 games in the league, which was a pretty strong showing. However, my target for these games had been 7 points.

In the FA Cup, we made some great progress to make the 2nd round where we were eventually outshone in terms of fitness and quality by League One side Peterborough United at Clarence Park.

In the FA Trophy, we marched on and we look forward to a game against Oxford United in the 1st round proper.

My Saints Player of the Month for November: Ryan Carolan – the central defender had a typically strong and consistent month.

crouchaldinho · April 25, 2010

UPDATE FOR DECEMBER 2011:

TAKEOVER NEWS: A transfer embargo has been placed over the club as a consortium are in talks with John Gibson regarding a possible takeover. At the head of the consortium is Lee Harvey, a former non-League footballer, who played one season at Clarence Park in the late 90s. Harvey, a former centre-back, also had a long spell at our fierce rivals Boreham Wood after leaving the Saints, so I’m not sure how he will be accepted by our fans!

The embargo comes at a bad time, as I was looking to strengthen with one or two loan signings. December is the toughest month of the season and I wanted more bodies in the squad in order to make sure that we could get through the games. It is going to take some really excellent management to get us through this month now while keeping us in the title race.

Dorchester 0 – 2 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Dorchester are struggling at the bottom of the table this season and so I fancied our chances here.

An early goal really set us on our way and we more or less had it wrapped up by half-time when we went two up before the break. In the end, this was a very strong display against a side clearly lacking in confidence. We edged it but Dorchester made it hard for us all the way.

City scorer(s): Wes Fogden & George Baldock.

City MoM: Chris Dagnall.

Attendance at Avenue Stadium: 272.

SAINTS 0 – 2 Oxford United (FA Trophy 1st Round)

Well, we were knocked out by Oxford at this stage for the second year running.

Oxford are a top BSP side currently challenging for the title in their division and so this was always going to be tough.

In the end, we were outplayed and outclassed. We put up very little fight and that was really disappointing.

This marks the end of our cup campaigns for another year and it means that we can now focus on the league. I must confess it is a little bit of a relief as we really need to focus on the title challenge.

City scorer(s): None.

City MoM: Laurence Gaughan.

Attendance at the Clarence Park: 537.

Maidenhead 1 – 0 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

A disappointing result here against Maidenhead, especially seeing as we had more chances and probably should have won the game.

We conceded a goal late on in the game which meant that this hurt even more as a draw was within our grasp. Very disappointing.

City scorer(s): None.

City MoM: Moses Ademola.

Attendance at York Road: 311.

TAKEOVER NEWS: Lee Harvey and his consortium have taken over the club. He promises big changes but in my experience that’s often all talk and no action. He is also threatening to bring in his own manager to replace me.

SAINTS 1 – 0 Sutton United (Blue Square South)

This is the start of a very busy Christmas period where we will play 4 games in 7 days. Some careful squad management is necessary during at this time to make sure that we get the maximum we can from these games.

The squad is a bit stretched at the moment, with a few injuries, and the transfer embargo isn’t exactly helping. So my idea was to just do the minimum required here and win the game.

Today we struggled through and it was only the introduction of a young striker called Dylan McGeouch that won us the game. The big target man came on and scored within a few minutes of being on the pitch. The fringe player might be featuring a little more often now he has shown me what he can do.

City scorer(s): Dylan McGeouch.

City MoM: Ryan Carolan.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 302.

Basingstoke 1 – 1 SAINTS (Blue Square South)

Basingstoke are challenging for promotion this season and, with the squad looking pretty stretched at the moment, I decided to adopt a 4-5-1/4-3-3 style formation in the hope that the extra midfield player might help us in this match.

In the end, we put in a solid performance here and took a very decent point from this tough away match.

City scorer(s): Moses Ademola.

City MoM: Moses Ademola.

Attendance at The Camrose: 430.

SAINTS 2 – 1 Kingstonian (Blue Square South)

Injuries and lack of squad depth are really causing problems at the moment. Today, I adopted a 4-4-1-1 formation for this game.

Kingstonian scored first but we quickly equalised and then managed to get into a one goal lead before half-time.

In the second-half, I went to 4-5-1 to more or less shut up shop. It worked and we got a really good win here with a team who are injury ravaged and looking increasingly tired.

City scorer(s): Wes Fogden and Chris Dagnall.

City MoM: Wes Fogden.

Attendance at Clarence Park: 364.

Manager Comments for December:

6 games in all; 5 in the league and 1 in the cup.

We managed 10 points from 5 games in the league, which was an excellent record, especially during this challenging part of the season. My target for these games had been 9 points so we overachieved this month.

In the FA Trophy, we were knocked out Oxford United in the 1st round proper once again. I’m not too disappointed as we can now concentrate on the league.

Meanwhile, the drama over our new takeover continues. Lee Harvey says there will be no further investment and also threatens me with the sack. :rolleyes: :mad:

My Saints Player of the Month for December: Ryan Carolan – once again, the central defender had great month at the back for us, shining against Dorchester, Sutton United and Kingstonian.

crouchaldinho · April 25, 2010

END OF DECEMBER 2011 SUMMARY:

20091026011547!St_albans.png

Blue Square South Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team            |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   |       | St. Albans      |       | 20    | 12    | 4     | 4     | 29    | 17    | +12   | 40    | [/b]
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Staines         |       | 19    | 10    | 7     | 2     | 33    | 22    | +11   | 37    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Bath            |       | 20    | 11    | 3     | 6     | 32    | 22    | +10   | 36    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Maidenhead      |       | 20    | 10    | 6     | 4     | 20    | 17    | +3    | 36    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Basingstoke     |       | 20    | 10    | 5     | 5     | 36    | 28    | +8    | 35    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Bromley         |       | 20    | 9     | 6     | 5     | 27    | 20    | +7    | 33    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Forest Green    |       | 20    | 9     | 4     | 7     | 27    | 17    | +10   | 31    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Eastleigh       |       | 19    | 9     | 4     | 6     | 27    | 19    | +8    | 31    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Sutton Utd      |       | 19    | 7     | 9     | 3     | 30    | 22    | +8    | 30    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Woking          |       | 20    | 8     | 6     | 6     | 34    | 27    | +7    | 30    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Eastbourne Boro |       | 20    | 9     | 3     | 8     | 25    | 18    | +7    | 30    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Dover           |       | 20    | 7     | 9     | 4     | 21    | 19    | +2    | 30    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Grays           |       | 20    | 8     | 5     | 7     | 23    | 21    | +2    | 29    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Dartford        |       | 20    | 8     | 3     | 9     | 26    | 27    | -1    | 27    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Tiverton        |       | 20    | 7     | 3     | 10    | 26    | 29    | -3    | 24    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Salisbury       |       | 20    | 5     | 6     | 9     | 14    | 20    | -6    | 21    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Thurrock        |       | 20    | 4     | 7     | 9     | 20    | 27    | -7    | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Kingstonian     |       | 19    | 5     | 4     | 10    | 14    | 24    | -10   | 19    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Merthyr         |       | 20    | 4     | 5     | 11    | 18    | 31    | -13   | 17    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Dorchester      |       | 20    | 3     | 6     | 11    | 13    | 27    | -14   | 15    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  |       | Lewes           |       | 20    | 4     | 3     | 13    | 14    | 35    | -21   | 15    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  |       | Truro           |       | 20    | 4     | 2     | 14    | 14    | 34    | -20   | 14    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

First Team Squad Statistics (all competitions):

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name             | Apps  | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Inj   | Simon Rayner     | 27    | -     | 1     | -     | 6.75  | 28    | CAN   | £2.5K | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Inj   | Hassan Sulaiman  | 11    | -     | -     | -     | 6.96  | 26    | ENG   | £3.5K | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    | PR    | Ryan Carolan     | 20    | 1     | -     | 3     | 7.17  | 22    | IRL   | £10K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | PR    | James Quilter    | 2 (16)| -     | 1     | -     | 6.59  | 28    | ENG   | -     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | PR    | Simon Dunne      | 12    | -     | -     | -     | 6.83  | 21    | IRL   | £2K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR    | PR    | Wes Fogden       | 9 (1) | 3     | 1     | -     | 7.21  | 23    | ENG   | £500  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML    | PR    | Ryan Hall        | 5 (10)| 2     | 1     | -     | 7.13  | 23    | ENG   | £4K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | Inj   | Wes Daly         | 5 (4) | -     | -     | -     | 6.78  | 27    | NIR   | -     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    | PR    | George Baldock   | 19 (6)| 2     | 4     | -     | 6.89  | 19    | ENG   | £3K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    |       | Dylan McGeouch   | 2 (1) | 1     | -     | -     | 6.43  | 19    | SCO   | £55K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | Wnt   | Chris Dagnall    | 19 (2)| 6     | 12    | 4     | 7.25  | 25    | ENG   | £10K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    |       | Ben Martin       | 23 (2)| 1     | -     | -     | 6.80  | 29    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    | Inj   | Harry Arter      | 12 (9)| -     | 7     | -     | 6.88  | 22    | IRL   | £9K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    |       | Moses Ademola    | 18 (3)| 5     | 1     | 2     | 7.01  | 22    | ENG   | £4K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Inj   | Ben Greenhalgh   | 3 (4) | 2     | 1     | 1     | 6.90  | 19    | ENG   | £9K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    | PR    | Paul Hakim       | 16 (6)| 9     | -     | -     | 6.69  | 29    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Laurence Gaughan | 17    | -     | 1     | -     | 6.68  | 21    | IRL   | £3K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Jason Norville   | 1 (4) | -     | -     | -     | 6.63  | 28    | TRI   | £4K   | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Craig Calver     | 14 (4)| 13    | 7     | 4     | 7.27  | 20    | ENG   | £130K | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Sol Shields      | 18    | 2     | 4     | -     | 6.93  | 22    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     |       | Mike Lord        | 1     | -     | 1     | -     | 6.90  | 20    | ENG   | £2.5K | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     |       | James Fisher     | 6 (2) | -     | -     | -     | 6.89  | 27    | ENG   | £500  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | JJ O'Donnell     | 20 (3)| 2     | 2     | -     | 6.81  | 20    | ENG   | £45K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Peter Smith      | 6 (2) | -     | -     | -     | 6.78  | 26    | ENG   | £500  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | PR    | Luke Hoyte YP1   | 11    | 1     | 1     | 2     | 7.26  | 18    | ENG   | £80K  | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | PR    | Adam Sharp YP1a  | -     | -     | -     | -     | -     | 18    | ENG   | -     | 
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

hrbfcrule · April 25, 2010

Nice FA Cup run and top of the table about half way through the season KUTGW:thup:

crouchaldinho · April 25, 2010

I now have a huge injury list going into January. 8 players injured currently. :mad:

No sign of the transfer embargo lifting either which means I can't bring in any loans to cover for the injuries.

Nobby_McDonald · April 25, 2010

Surely having been taken over the embargo would have lifted?

crouchaldinho · April 26, 2010

Apparently not. The embargo is still on while the chairman decides on my future.

hayeseeboi · April 26, 2010

Well theres a shame. You should use some youth if you have anyone decent enough . Go for it !!!

crouchaldinho · April 27, 2010

Right, I've decided that it is time for a change of style in terms of updates.

I've decided to stick to monthly updates but I'm going to do an embedded screenshot of the relevant fixtures for the month instead of writing it all up. I'll also do a snapshot table of my team's place in the league and the surrounding teams.

Then, I'm going to do a Christmas and end of season update with a full table and full player stats, much as above.

The end of season summary will stay much the same.

Should make it a bit easier on me without reducing the content too much.

crouchaldinho · April 27, 2010

UPDATE FOR JANUARY 2012:

Manager Comments for January:

6 games in all and we managed to meet my target of 10 points.

To be honest, this was more or less a case of job done. Due to injuries, alongside the transfer embargo, and also the fixture congestion at this time of year, we were really struggling. It really was a case of playing for the draw away from home and trying to win the games at Clarence Park.

Most pleasing were the away draws at Eastleigh and Woking where I played a 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation in order to pack the midfield against two of the promotion contenders in this division. In truth, we might have won the game against Eastleigh, while the Woking game was as tight as ever. They are fast becoming our rivals in this division.

The takeover business finally got sorted this month and the chairman decided to keep me on. I was able to go back into the transfer market to loan Godfrey Poku from Luton Town. Also coming on loan was young defender Darren Watts from Brentford and young midfielder Jamie Dennis from Southend. All are signed on short-term 3 month deals and will just bolster us in this difficult run to the end of the season.

My Saints Player of the Month for January: Craig Calver - back from injury and firing on all cylinders once again. He got the man of the match in the games against Merthyr and Bath.

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team            |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Bath            |       | 27    | 16    | 5     | 6     | 48    | 27    | +21   | 53    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 2nd   |       | St. Albans      |       | 26    | 14    | 8     | 4     | 40    | 23    | +17   | 50    |[/b] 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Basingstoke     |       | 27    | 15    | 5     | 7     | 48    | 34    | +14   | 50    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Maidenhead      |       | 27    | 13    | 10    | 4     | 29    | 23    | +6    | 49    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Eastleigh       |       | 27    | 13    | 7     | 7     | 40    | 26    | +14   | 46    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

AcidBurn · April 27, 2010

Liking the update Crouchy. Hope you can win the game in hand that you have, also good to see that your scorers seem to be spread out pretty well. Good luck and I hope you can bag that promotion.

crouchaldinho · April 28, 2010

Bath have played more homes than I have, and we've played more aways, so I'm hoping that will count for something.

The truth is, I have a really strong first eleven, which is capable of challenging for the title. However, the rest of the squad isn't particularly strong. So injuries or fixture congestion are proving hard to cope with. If I can get a run of games with my preferred starting XI then I should easily challenge Bath at the top of the table.

hrbfcrule · April 28, 2010

I'm sure you can get that automatic promotion place, Good Luck:thup:

crouchaldinho · April 28, 2010

UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY 2012:

Manager Comments for February:

4 games in all and we managed to meet my target of 10 points. Well, we more or less managed to scrape together the points but were far from convincing.

If winning when you are playing badly is a sign of champions, as it is often said to be, then we should have this league tied up by the end of April.

We made life difficult for ourselves against Truro, Salisbury and Lewes, who were three sides that I expected to beat. In the game against Dover, we were the better side, but conceded an early goal and it was all uphill from there.

Still, we are winning games and getting the points on the board which is the important thing.

My Saints Player of the Month for February: Chris Dagnall - With two goals against Truro and a goal against Bath, Dagnall has been on superb form.

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team            |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Bath            |       | 30    | 18    | 6     | 6     | 53    | 29    | +24   | 60    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 2nd   |       | St. Albans      |       | 30    | 17    | 9     | 4     | 50    | 29    | +21   | 60    | [/b]
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Basingstoke     |       | 30    | 16    | 6     | 8     | 52    | 39    | +13   | 54    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Eastleigh       |       | 30    | 15    | 8     | 7     | 46    | 29    | +17   | 53    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Maidenhead      |       | 29    | 14    | 10    | 5     | 32    | 26    | +6    | 52    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

crouchaldinho · April 28, 2010

I'm sure you can get that automatic promotion place, Good Luck:thup:

Thanks for the vote of confidence hrbfcrule!

AcidBurn · April 29, 2010

Who the heck are Truro?

Very tight at the top there Crouchy.

williamshankley · April 29, 2010

Who the heck are Truro?
Very tight at the top there Crouchy.

Team in Cornwall?

crouchaldinho · April 29, 2010

WS is right.

Here you go Acidburn - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truro_City

AcidBurn · April 29, 2010

Four successive promotions and wanting to spend £12 million on a new stadium, bit crazy really.

Nobby_McDonald · April 29, 2010

They're obviously cheating and using the editor.

crouchaldinho · April 30, 2010

UPDATE FOR MARCH 2012:

(Please ignore the Dover game as that was in Feb - I accidentally included it in the screenshot. :o)

Manager Comments for March:

6 games in all, including a couple of tricky aways against Forest Green and Staines. We managed to smash my target of 12 points by recording 14 from a possible 18.

We were still going through the process of grinding out results early on in the month. After the Tiverton game, I decided that we really needed to have our strongest team out for every match now in order to try to win every game so that we could catch up with Bath. You can see the results improved dramatically! I think I had been doing too much tinkering. Just call me the tinkerman. :o

I also decided to change my approach to certain games, playing a little more direct and countering more away from home.

We lost our top scorer Chris Dagnall to injury this month but young Scottish target man Dylan McGeouch came in and has done a fine job up front with Craig Calver. It's a typical big man, little man combo. A target man alongside a poacher. And it is working a treat.

We finished the month by scoring 9 goals in two games, including two hat-tricks for Dylan McGeouch, which is a great return from the side.

Bath are still ahead but we have a game in hand. As we go into the last month of the season, we have the huge bonus of playing 4 games at home and only 2 away. Bath have to play 3 away and 2 at home. Our run-in is also a lot better than Bath's, as they have to play a couple of top sides, and I'll be hoping that they drop some points in those games.

My Saints Player of the Month for March: Dylan McGeouch - Seven goals from the big man this month, including two hat-tricks. An awesome return from the young striker.

Snapshot of the league table:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team            |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Pl    | Bath            |       | 37    | 24    | 7     | 6     | 70    | 34    | +36   | 79    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 2nd   |       | St. Albans      |       | 36    | 21    | 11    | 4     | 67    | 32    | +35   | 74    | [/b]
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Eastleigh       |       | 37    | 19    | 9     | 9     | 60    | 36    | +24   | 66    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Dover           |       | 37    | 18    | 12    | 7     | 49    | 35    | +14   | 66    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Basingstoke     |       | 37    | 19    | 7     | 11    | 60    | 44    | +16   | 64    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

crouchaldinho · April 30, 2010

I think that it's going to go right down to the wire between us and Bath. I'm feeling quietly confident because we have the advantage of playing more home games.

Bath finish with a really tough away game against Forest Green, while we finish the season with a winnable home match against Dartford. So I think that really could be key.

We need to win our game in hand and then keep real pressure on Bath right up to the final game.

AcidBurn · April 30, 2010

Good to see the big wins to help the goal difference, hoping for promotion this season Crouchy. The home games are a big help as you said.

hayeseeboi · April 30, 2010

come on crouchy, Keep it up. Gain promotion push that squad to be all in can be

crouchaldinho · April 30, 2010

UPDATE FOR APRIL 2012:

Manager Comments for April:

6 games in all and this was the run that decided the title. We managed to record 13 points which was just shy of my target of 14 out of a possible 18 points.

We definitely felt the benefit of having mainly home games to end the season but we really missed an opportunity against Grays by dropping two points. That was our game in hand and it left us with quite a bit to do.

In the next game, we then went and lost to Sutton United away from home. It was a really unfortunate game for us, as we were the better side but conceded a couple of soft goals and then just couldn't manage to pull ourselves level. Luckily for us, Bath also lost.

A couple of rather standard wins against Basingstoke and Maidenhead at Clarence Park kept us right in it. Bath were dropping points and were only one point clear going into the last two games.

At this point, I was watching the games with the 'live scores' up at all times, desperately hoping that we could sneak up from behind to capture the title.

We went away to Kingstonian in our penultimate game and found ourselves drawing 1-1 late on in the game. Bath were only drawing their game at home to Tiverton and, as the results stood at this specific moment in time, we would go into the last game having to rely on results going our way.

I was beginning to feel that this game against the Kingstonian was going to be a real missed opportunity for us. I pushed the wings up to make a 4-2-4 formation, with four strikers spread across the pitch. We went to 'overload' in the last minutes, taking the risk that we wouldn't end up beaten on the counter. I couldn't quite believe it when George Baldock headed home the winner from a corner in the 94th minute of the game! :eek: I'm not too ashamed to admit that one minute, I was grumbling under my breath, cursing my players with unmentionable words, and the next I was actually punching my fists in the air and celebrating like a madman. This is what FM can reduce you to. It really isn't just a game. :o

Anyway, this meant that we went into the final games at the top of the table. We were 1 point clear of second-placed Bath. A win for us in the final game would win us the title after six years of hurt for the Saints, and two years of painful play-off losses for me as manager.

When I say six years of hurt for the Saints, that was since the last time the club was promoted to the Blue Square Premier. If we are looking at actual trophies then we are looking at 26 years of hurt! But I digress.

The final game for us was against lower mid-table side Dartford, while Bath had to play play-off contenders Forest Green away. Our fate was in our own hands. A win would do the business for us. Our goal difference meant that Bath absolutely had to win their match. Regardless of the result, a draw wouldn't be enough for them.

In the end, we comfortably won against the Darts at Clarence Park in front of a crowd of 666. Bath lost their game at Forest Green, sending us 4 points clear and meaning that the title was heading to Hertfordshire!

We did it! We came from behind to win this title. It's one of the more satisfying titles I've won on FM to be honest. In the past, I've often led the whole way and had very little challenge. But to fight to win it and to come from behind like this is pretty special.

So the Saints go up to the top flight of non-League football for only the second time in their history.

My Saints Player of the Month for April: Dylan McGeouch - An unbelievable return of 6 goals from the last 6 games from the big man this month. Memories of FM07 for me, when a target man called John Dawson was key to my success at the Saints. McGeouch has been just as sensational and, despite only emerging towards the end of the season, he has managed to get his tally up to 15 league goals. Very impressive.

Snapshot of the league table: Coming up in the end of season summary next!

hrbfcrule · April 30, 2010

Congratz on winning the BSS :thup: , come join me in the BSP it's really fun

crouchaldinho · April 30, 2010

That's what I've heard hrbfcrule!

Thanks! :thup:

crouchaldinho · April 30, 2010

END OF SEASON 2011/12 SUMMARY:

20091026011547!St_albans.png

Blue Square South Standings:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team            |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 1st   | C     | St. Albans      |       | 42    | 25    | 12    | 5     | 80    | 40    | +40   | 87    | [/b]
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | P     | Bath            |       | 42    | 25    | 8     | 9     | 76    | 42    | +34   | 83    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Dover           |       | 42    | 20    | 13    | 9     | 55    | 39    | +16   | 73    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Grays           |       | 42    | 21    | 9     | 12    | 62    | 38    | +24   | 72    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Basingstoke     |       | 42    | 21    | 9     | 12    | 66    | 47    | +19   | 72    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Eastleigh       |       | 42    | 20    | 11    | 11    | 69    | 45    | +24   | 71    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Staines         |       | 42    | 19    | 14    | 9     | 59    | 47    | +12   | 71    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Forest Green    |       | 42    | 19    | 12    | 11    | 60    | 35    | +25   | 69    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Maidenhead      |       | 42    | 18    | 12    | 12    | 50    | 47    | +3    | 66    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Sutton Utd      |       | 42    | 17    | 12    | 13    | 60    | 52    | +8    | 63    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Salisbury       |       | 42    | 16    | 11    | 15    | 44    | 38    | +6    | 59    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Bromley         |       | 42    | 15    | 11    | 16    | 57    | 62    | -5    | 56    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Eastbourne Boro |       | 42    | 15    | 10    | 17    | 56    | 51    | +5    | 55    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Woking          |       | 42    | 12    | 15    | 15    | 54    | 53    | +1    | 51    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Dartford        |       | 42    | 14    | 8     | 20    | 47    | 58    | -11   | 50    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Lewes           |       | 42    | 13    | 9     | 20    | 46    | 69    | -23   | 48    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Kingstonian     |       | 42    | 10    | 12    | 20    | 32    | 55    | -23   | 42    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Dorchester      |       | 42    | 9     | 13    | 20    | 36    | 61    | -25   | 40    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Tiverton        |       | 42    | 11    | 6     | 25    | 39    | 64    | -25   | 39    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Thurrock        |       | 42    | 8     | 12    | 22    | 34    | 63    | -29   | 36    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 21st  | R     | Truro           |       | 42    | 10    | 5     | 27    | 39    | 74    | -35   | 35    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 22nd  | R     | Merthyr         |       | 42    | 9     | 6     | 27    | 32    | 73    | -41   | 33    | 
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

First Team Squad Statistics (all competitions):

| Pkd   | Inf   | Name             | Apps    | Gls   | Ast   | MoM   | Av Rat| Age   | Nat   | Value | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK    | Inj   | Simon Rayner     | 49      | -     | 1     | -     | 6.74  | 28    | CAN   | £2K   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR    | Inj   | Hassan Sulaiman  | 17      | 1     | -     | -     | 6.86  | 26    | ENG   | -     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL    | Wnt   | Ryan Carolan     | 38      | 1     | 2     | 5     | 7.20  | 22    | IRL   | £12K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    |       | Ben Martin       | 44 (2)  | 2     | 1     | -     | 6.87  | 29    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC    | Wnt   | Laurence Gaughan | 34      | 1     | 3     | -     | 6.84  | 22    | IRL   | £2K   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MR    | Wnt   | Moses Ademola    | 35 (6)  | 10    | 5     | 3     | 7.08  | 22    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ML    |       | Ben Greenhalgh   | 7 (8)   | 3     | 1     | 1     | 6.77  | 19    | ENG   | £1.5K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    |       | George Baldock   | 30 (7)  | 3     | 8     | -     | 6.90  | 20    | ENG   | £30K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC    |       | Sol Shields      | 26      | 2     | 9     | 1     | 6.92  | 22    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | Wnt   | Dylan McGeouch   | 13 (7)  | 15    | 4     | 5     | 7.52  | 19    | SCO   | £65K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST    | Wnt   | Chris Dagnall    | 30 (3)  | 15    | 13    | 6     | 7.25  | 26    | ENG   | £14K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1    | Wnt   | James Quilter    | 4 (26)  | -     | 2     | -     | 6.64  | 28    | ENG   | -     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2    |       | James Fisher     | 7 (15)  | -     | 1     | -     | 6.76  | 28    | ENG   | -     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3    | Wnt   | Wes Fogden       | 12 (8)  | 4     | 2     | -     | 7.01  | 24    | ENG   | -     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4    | Wnt   | Craig Calver     | 28 (5)  | 24    | 15    | 6     | 7.32  | 21    | ENG   | £40K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5    |       | Paul Hakim       | 18 (10) | 10    | -     | -     | 6.68  | 29    | ENG   | £12K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Simon Dunne      | 13      | -     | -     | -     | 6.82  | 22    | IRL   | £1K   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Tut   | Ryan Hall        | 7 (14)  | 2     | 2     | -     | 7.01  | 24    | ENG   | £3K   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Wes Daly         | 5 (4)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.78  | 28    | NIR   | -     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Jason Norville   | 2 (4)   | -     | -     | -     | 6.70  | 28    | TRI   | £2.5K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Jamie Dennis     | 1       | -     | 1     | -     | 6.60  | 20    | ENG   | £1K   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Harry Arter      | 22 (9)  | 2     | 10    | 1     | 6.94  | 22    | IRL   | £12K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Rsv   | Mike Lord        | 2 (3)   | -     | 1     | -     | 6.60  | 21    | ENG   | -     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | JJ O'Donnell     | 37 (4)  | 2     | 4     | 1     | 6.79  | 20    | ENG   | £50K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Wnt   | Peter Smith      | 10 (10) | 1     | -     | -     | 6.83  | 26    | ENG   | £1.5K | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -     | Inj   | Luke Hoyte YP1   | 15      | 1     | 2     | 4     | 7.30  | 18    | ENG   | £80K  | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Bliop · April 30, 2010

Congratz Crouchy It's really enjoyable read

crouchaldinho · April 30, 2010

Thanks Bliop. Very kind of you to say so.

I'm looking forward to building for the Blue Square Premier now.

Very pleased to have got a couple of ex-Saints who were retiring added to the staff.

Legendary 'keeper Paul Bastock joins as a goalkeeper coach, while ex-Saint Jonathan Hunt joins as a normal coach.

Nobby_McDonald · April 30, 2010

Well done Crouchy.

crouchaldinho · April 30, 2010

Cheers Nobby.

crouchaldinho · April 30, 2010

Crouchy's Mighty Saints Save - St. Albans City in the Blue Square South (Season Three at Clarence Park - 2011/12)

20091026011547!St_albans.png

End of Season 2011/12 Screenshots:

League Table

League Positions Graph

FA Cup - an excellent run to the Second Round proper.

FA Trophy - got to the first round but beaten at home to Oxford.

Transfers - Best signing was either Dylan McGeouch, who scored 15 league goals, or Moses Ademola, who had a really solid season for us playing wide right. We kept things pretty stable this season, which really helped us, I feel.

Key players:

Ryan Carolan - Another great season from our reliable defender. He played either at centre-back or left-back and was as consistent as ever.

Craig Calver - We scored the most goals in the league and so I have to name four forwards in my key players of the year. Calver was superb for us playing number 10 most of the time. A few injuries stopped him from hitting 20 goals plus in the league, which he undoubtedly would have done if he had played in more of the games.

Chris Dagnall - The same as above applies to Chris Dagnall. He would have scored far more if it wasn't for injuries keeping him out.

Dylan McGeouch - Super stuff from the target man. He came in and looked as though he would only feature as a bit part player. Due to injuries to the other two strikers, Dylan got his chance, and cemented his place in the team with some great performances.

Team of the Season.

Overall Best XI - Chris Dagnall, Moses Ademola, Harry Arter, George Baldock and Luke Hoyte were selected to become part of the club's history.

Other Club Info:

Fans’ Player of the season: Craig Calver (2nd year in a row).

Signing of the season: Dylan McGeouch.

Top goalscorers: Craig Calver 24 goals in all competitions and 15 in the league. Chris Dagnall and Dyland McGeouch also got 15 league goals.

Most Assists: Craig Calver 15 assists.

Most MoM awards: Craig Calver on 6.

Best Average Rating: Craig Calver 7.35.

Average Attendance: 506 (slightly down from last season)

Season Tickets: 81 (down from last year).

Club finances: We're quite a way under the wage budget. However, the club is still around £100k in debt. Hopefully this will improve now we have been promoted. We should be getting bigger gates in the BSP.

City Legends: Wilfred Minter, Steve Clark, Phil Wood (no new additions).

City Icons: Colin Lippiatt, Lee Clarke, Peter Risley, Kevin Mudd, Richard Evans, Paul Bastock (no new additions).

City Favourites: Paul Hakim, Ben Martin, Ryan Frater, Luke Thurlbourne, Sol Shields, Godfrey Poku, JJ O'Donnell, Gary Cohen and Craig Calver (no new addition).

Most League Apps for Club - Steve Clark 488 (all time), Paul Hakim 196 (current).

Most League Goals for Club - Steve Clark 322 (all time), Paul Hakim 64 (current).

Youth academy products season reports (the youngsters that my assistant recommended):

Luke Hoyte (YP1) - Luke's second season was hugely held up with an injury that saw him play only 15 games.

Ryan Jones (YP2) - Ryan didn't play any games. I'm extremely concerned by his poor mental attributes. Although he has potential to improve, I think it is unlikely that he will make it with us.

100 club (players that have made 100 apps for the club under my management): None that qualify at present. The closest is Sol Shields who needs just one more league game to reach the centenary! I'm determined to get the likes of Peter Smith, James Quilter, James Fisher and Paul Hakim to this level before letting them go.

Other News:

- Blue Square South: We win the league. Bath City are promoted via the play-offs. Thurrock, Truro and Merthyr relegated.

- The Big Boys:

o Man Utd win the league title. Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea finish in the top four. Liverpool finish 9th. Benitez is still in charge. Bristol City, West Brom and Bolton are relegated.

o Arsenal win the FA Cup. Man Utd win the League Cup.

o Man Utd win the Champions League defeating Real Madrid in the final. The Europa is won by Chelsea who overcame Man City in the final.

- Local Interests:

o Bishop's Stortford were relegated from the Blue Square Premier next season.

o Meanwhile, Luton were enjoying life back Football League, finishing in a comfortable mid-table position. However, Stevenage were fighting relegation this season and narrowly survived.

o Watford finished in another mid-table position in the Championship.

- Ex-Saints: Jake Beecroft and Luke Thurlbourne are currently with Rushden who had a great first season in League Two, finishing in mid-table. Jake is a key member of their squad, while Luke is still working his way in.

Manager Awards:

- 2011/12 Blue Square South Manager of the Season winner.

- 2010/11 Blue Square South Manager of the Season third place.

- 2009/10 Blue Square South Manager of the Season runner-up.

Career Overview:

My managerial record at the Saints:

P	W	D	L	F	A	GD
151	81	41	29	246	140	106

Cups:

| Season 	| FA Cup	| FA Trophy		| 
|-------------------------------------------------------|
| 09/10 (BSS) 	| 3rd Rnd    	|   3rd Qual Rnd 	|
| 10/11 (BSS) 	| 1st Rnd    	|   1st Rnd 		|
| 11/12 (BSS) 	| 2nd Rnd    	|   1st Rnd 		|

League:

Season      	Team      		League      Position   	Achievements & Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2009/10      	St. Albans City   	BSS	    4th      	FA Cup 3rd Rnd, Play-off semis, 2nd in Manager of Season 
2010/11		St. Albans City   	BSS	    2nd      	Play-off finalists, 3rd in Manager of Season 
2011/12		St. Albans City   	BSS	    1st      	BSS Champions, 1st in Manager of the Season

Misc. screenshots:

We set a record for Blue Square South goals.

And also a record for Blue Square South points!

Next Season: We've got to go for survival next season. That's the only aim.

Some of the old boys, like Peter Smith, James Quilter, James Fisher, Peter Smith and so on are not good enough for the step up. The mission is to get them to 100 games under my management before letting them go.

Next season will be tough and we will have to strengthen. The aim is simply to make sure we are stay in the division.

crouchaldinho · May 1, 2010

I've signed a new deal with the Saints which will keep me at Clarence Park until 2015.

Jason the Yank · May 1, 2010

Well done. :thup:

williamshankley · May 1, 2010

Dylan McGeouch, Touted as the next John Dawson. Great stuff Crouchie

Bliop · May 1, 2010

Next season will be tough and we will have to strengthen. The aim is simply to make sure we are stay in the division.

Yeah i was thinking the same about myself and my Newport County side.We finished 1st in BSS in our first season.I thought it would be a very tough season in BSP, but we are now 2nd after 25 games looking for another promotion .Don't underestimate yourself.Listen to your staff, they recommend some really good players

crouchaldinho · May 2, 2010

I think it is going to be tougher for me because I'm intending on keeping a number of players on who aren't really good enough for the division.

I'm hoping to get a few of my favourites up to 100 games under my management before I think about moving them on or whatever.

So this season is going to be literally about survival and about giving some of the original players some playing time in the Conference. Next season, I can be a little more ruthless and bring in some quality to properly challenge in the division. Having said that, there are one or two original players who I really want to see their careers out with the club, so we'll see how it goes.

It certainly won't be a fairytale second promotion though. I'm aiming for survival and a decent lower to mid-table position.

I also want to enjoy playing in the top flight of non-League football for a few seasons. I'm intending on building things slowly, letting some of the older players see out their careers at Clarence Park, and I hope bringing through a few youth players too.

crouchaldinho · May 2, 2010

PRE-SEASON 2012/13:

Pretty standard pre-season really. Beaten by the bigger sides and half decent wins against the smaller ones.

Click here to see my transfers. I did quite a bit of work in the summer actually with some good deals heading our way.

As usual, the saga with Godfrey Poku was at the forefront of my thoughts. As has become usual, I failed to get him to come to Clarence Park permanently but will continue to keep tabs on him during the season.

I released a number of youth players who had been promoted to the reserves but weren't going to make the first-team. Four or five fringe players like Wes Fodgen, Wes Daly and Jason Norville were also released as they had come to the end of their contracts.

I worked quickly to bring in some good young players who would add to the squad. The likes of Alfie Potter (a right-sided midfielder) and Vincent Pericard (a striker) will likely come straight into the first-team. Alex Stavrinou (a defensive midfielder) and Justin Hazell (a versatile midfielder) were also signed and are likely to feature. A major moment of weak willed nostalgia saw me bringing Gary Cohen back to Clarence Park but the ex-Saints striker will probably only play a bit part this season. The other players were largely youngsters who could have a good future with the club and add a much needed squad depth.

Manager Comments for Pre-season:

This is the first team squad for this season:

| Pkd     | Inf     | Name             | Position      | Nat     | Height  | Weight       | Age     | Value   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| GK      | HG      | Simon Rayner     | GK            | CAN     | 6'5"    | 15 st 3 lbs  | 29      | £7K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DR      | Wnt     | Laurence Gaughan | D RC          | IRL     | 6'2"    | 12 st 1 lbs  | 22      | £7K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S1      | HG      | James Quilter    | D RC, DM, M C | ENG     | 5'11"   | 11 st 11 lbs | 29      | £1K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S2      | HG      | James Fisher     | D R, M RC     | ENG     | 5'11"   | 11 st 11 lbs | 28      | £1.5K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | HG      | Ryan Carolan     | D LC          | IRL     | 6'1"    | 13 st 3 lbs  | 22      | £16K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DL      | HG      | Luke Hoyte YP1   | D L           | ENG     | 5'9"    | 11 st 11 lbs | 18      | £80K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Ben Martin       | D C           | ENG     | 6'7"    | 13 st 7 lbs  | 29      | £16K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DC      | HG      | Derrick Bassi    | D C           | CAN     | 6'1"    | 10 st 1 lbs  | 20      | £40K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Hassan Sulaiman  | D/WB/M R      | ENG     | 5'8"    | 11 st 13 lbs | 26      | £1.5K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S4      | HG      | Peter Smith      | D/M L         | ENG     | 5'10"   | 11 st 0 lbs  | 26      | £2K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC      | HG      | Harry Arter      | DM, M LC      | IRL     | 5'9"    | 11 st 6 lbs  | 22      | £14K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| DMC     | HG      | Alex Stavrinou   | DM, M C       | CYP     | 5'9"    | 10 st 5 lbs  | 21      | £2K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| MC      | HG      | Sol Shields      | DM, M C       | ENG     | 5'10"   | 11 st 13 lbs | 22      | £18K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Ryan Hall        | M LC          | ENG     | 5'10"   | 10 st 3 lbs  | 24      | £2K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | George Baldock   | M C           | ENG     | 5'10"   | 12 st 8 lbs  | 20      | £40K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AMR     | HG      | Alfie Potter     | AM R          | ENG     | 5'7"    | 9 st 4 lbs   | 23      | £4K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Justin Hazell    | AM RLC        | ENG     | 6'0"    | 12 st 10 lbs | 20      | £65K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Will Hatfield    | AM RC         | ENG     | 6'0"    | 12 st 10 lbs | 20      | £50K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Ben Greenhalgh   | AM RL         | ENG     | 5'7"    | 11 st 6 lbs  | 20      | £2K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| AML     | HG      | JJ O'Donnell     | AM RLC        | ENG     | 5'10"   | 11 st 9 lbs  | 20      | £60K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Craig Westcarr   | AM R, ST      | ENG     | 5'11"   | 12 st 6 lbs  | 27      | £3.5K   | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S3      | HG      | Gary Cohen       | AM R, ST      | ENG     | 5'11"   | 11 st 0 lbs  | 28      | £1K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Chris Dagnall    | AM R, ST      | ENG     | 5'10"   | 10 st 9 lbs  | 26      | £20K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Moses Ademola    | AM R, ST      | ENG     | 5'6"    | 10 st 12 lbs | 23      | £12K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| S5      | HG      | Paul Hakim       | AM/F C        | ENG     | 5'9"    | 11 st 2 lbs  | 30      | £1K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Craig Calver     | AM/F C        | ENG     | 5'10"   | 11 st 13 lbs | 21      | £26K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | Rsv     | Dylan McGeouch   | AM/F C        | SCO     | 6'2"    | 13 st 7 lbs  | 19      | £85K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| ST      | PR      | Vincent Péricard | ST            | CMR     | 6'1"    | 13 st 5 lbs  | 29      | £8K     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| -       | HG      | Karl Collier     | ST            | IRL     | 6'2"    | 13 st 3 lbs  | 18      | £28K    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

It's a good and fairly strong squad with the focus predominantly on youth. As the squad stands, it probably needs a few sales, so I will be keeping an eye on players that might not have a future at the club in order to reduce the numbers slightly. I like to work with a medium sized squad really of somewhere around 24 players. Some of the original players are not good enough for this division but I am keen to give them a taste of glory in the top flight of non-League football before moving them on.

I'm basically looking at survival this season and ideally targeting a comfortable mid-table place. I would think that we have enough quality to achieve this.

This season is really a transitional year, giving the longer-serving players their chance in the Conference, and seeing how some of the younger players get on in this league. In some ways though, this will make it quite a fun season, with no pressure other than to keep clear of the relegation zone, which I am fairly confident that we can do.

crouchaldinho · May 2, 2010

UPDATE FOR AUGUST 2012:

Manager Comments for August:

5 games in all, including three tough aways. The game against Mansfield in particular was, to my mind, a big challenge and a measure of the step up that we had taken. Overall, we managed to meet my target of 7 points this month, which I think is a pretty good return from these games.

Our first game in the Conference under my management was to be Mansfield away and I knew that we would have to play really well to get anything from this game. To win was way beyond my expectations and everything went perfectly on the day. It was great to mark what I hope is the beginning of a new era with such a strong result.

We followed it up with a disappointing performance against Chester at home. To go from beating one of the favourites for promotion away, to getting beaten by a lower half of the table side, was a bit of a disappointment really.

We bounced back away to AFC Telford, with a terrific result. Then we ended the month with a draw against Nuneaton at Clarence Park and a narrow loss away to Histon but our performances were good in both games and we were unlucky not to have got more from both matches.

It has been a steady start but we really must get the home form sorted out as soon as possible.

My Saints Player of the Month for August: Vincent Pericard - our new number 9 from Cameroon, an ex-Football League star, got off to a decent start and I feel that he will regularly score goals in this division once he has got settled in.

Snapshot of the league table:

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Grimsby       |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 3     | 3     | 0     | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Southport     |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 0     | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 13th  |       | St. Albans    |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 5     | 6     | -1    | 7     | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Ebbsfleet     |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 4     | 6     | -2    | 7     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Histon        |       | 5     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 3     | 4     | -1    | 6     | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

AcidBurn · May 2, 2010

Well played on the promotion, how does your team measure up to the rest player wise?

crouchaldinho · May 2, 2010

I've just this moment noticed that Weston-super-Mare are the holders of the BSP! :eek:

They are now a Football League side worth an estimated £8m! :eek:

They got taken over by a tycoon from Singapore!

Something bizarre like this always seems to happen on my saves ever since they introduced it. And always the most unlikely clubs as well. (Last year it was Team Bath who ended up extremely rich with Paul Merson as manager!)

crouchaldinho · May 2, 2010

Well played on the promotion, how does your team measure up to the rest player wise?

Cheers AB. :thup:

A hodgepodge really. Some talented enough for the level, some average and a few of the old boys who are well below the quality required.

AcidBurn · May 2, 2010

I wish I could see a low team get so much cash, on FM09 when I saw Rochdale had tonnes of cash I went straight there. Although I cannot see a single job taking you from the mighty Saints.

Nobby_McDonald · May 2, 2010

You have Vincent Péricard.

crouchaldinho · May 3, 2010

Quite a fall from grace for Monsieur Pericard - from Juve to the Saints!

crouchaldinho · May 3, 2010

Did I tell you guys about the World Cup winners in 2010? I think I must have forgotten.

Ivory Coast. Obviously. Beating Russia in the final. Obviously. With Chile as the third placed team. Obviously. :eek:

A World Cup of shocks!

The Euros of 2012 were a little more sane. Italy beating France in the final.

crouchaldinho · May 4, 2010

UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER 2012:

Manager Comments for September:

7 games in all, including some potentially winnable homes, but also some very tough aways. The target was simple: try to win the homes and nick a result while on the road. I made a target of 12 points and we ended up beating that by recording a very pleasing 13 points from a possible 21.

The beginning of the month was quite unbelievable really. Getting the result against Wimbledon was great and the scoreline doesn't reflect on how close that match actually was. Then the draw against Kidderminster was more than I expected us to get but it is a measure of how well we played in that match that I was actually disappointed with just a point after the game. We actually had more chances and deserved to take all three but ended up conceding a late goal and only coming away with a solitary point.

We kept momentum going by winning our trio of home games. Then, unfortunately, things fell apart at the end of the month, as we lost both aways to really bring us back down to ground. The Newport County game was unfortunate because we probably deserved the point. The Chelmsford one, however, was just disappointing quite frankly, because we were very poor on the day.

All in all, I think we can say that it has been a very satisfactory month. We are way ahead of where I expected us to be and, in general, we are performing well. Long may it continue.

My Saints Player of the Month for September: Vincent Pericard - our new striker scored 8 goals, including a hat-trick against Wimbledon. It looks as though I was right to take a chance on the Cameroonian striker and it seems that he will be key to our fortunes this season.

Snapshot of the league table:

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Mansfield     |       | 12    | 8     | 2     | 2     | 15    | 4     | +11   | 26    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Burton        |       | 12    | 7     | 1     | 4     | 16    | 15    | +1    | 22    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b]| 5th   |       | St. Albans    |       | 12    | 6     | 2     | 4     | 19    | 14    | +5    | 20    | [/b]
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Crawley       |       | 12    | 4     | 7     | 1     | 15    | 9     | +6    | 19    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Aldershot     |       | 12    | 5     | 4     | 3     | 20    | 15    | +5    | 19    | 
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

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