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Hey, Nineteen (The Saga of FMS FC)


tenthreeleader

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FMS 3-0 Staines Town – 20th February 2013 – BSS #31

Fuller, Clarke, Conleith Corcoran, Adie Whitbread, Aden Flint, Marks, Connor Hughes, Preece, von Lichtenstein, Ben Strevens. Subs: van Liefthuizen, Kowalski, Dubb, Baroni, Hochstetter.

Goals

FMS – Warner 20, Clarke 66, Ben Strevens 72

Staines Town – check, please

Man of the Match – Clarke

Cierán Clarke was at the top of his game. Mike Kowalski was in the back of an ambulance.

The Scotland u-19 left with a concussion late in the easy win over Staines Town, while the Ireland u-19 chalked up one of his best all around games of the season.

Prior to the match, Clarke learned he had been selected as the new captain of his country’s u-19 side and celebrated in the best way possible.

He got forward for a goal and for a change, didn’t give way to Dubb in the late going as had been the case in many previous matches.

Meanwhile, we’ll avoid any jokes about Kowalski and brains, because we’re scared of him.

McCracken, who had just recovered from injury, became the next full-time professional player on the same terms as Clarke and Bo Jose.

FMS 3-1 Gateshead – 23rd February 2013 – FA Trophy Semifinal Second Leg (9-2 aggregate)

Fuller, Dubb, Mathieson, Conleith Corcoran, Aden Flint (captain), Hochstetter, Fantu, Preece, Charlie Teller, von Lichtenstein, McCracken. Subs: van Liefthuizen, Clarke, Kieran Lawal, Baroni, Marks.

Goals

FMS – McCracken 4, von Lichtenstein 6, 36

Gateshead – David Gold 24; David Gold m/p 24

Man of the Match – von Lichtenstein

Ulrich von Lichtenstein made his case for a more regular inclusion in the side by scoring a brace as FMS reached the FA Trophy final by 9-2 on aggregate over Gateshead.

Phil McCracken celebrated his return from an injury by needing just four minutes to score the opener, with von Lichtenstein making it 8-1 on aggregate after only 96 minutes of total time in the tie. He completed his brace before halftime as the Fightin’ Writers cruised.

As good as von Lichtenstein was, Blankley still substituted him while he was on a hat trick, bringing in Baroni with a seven-goal aggregate lead. He evaded questions from media after the match, instead preferring to focus on the Pens’ first-ever trip to Wembley for the final.

Can’t imagine why he’d want to do that, would you?

There was some good news for defenders in the Nineteen, as Aden Flint finished his loan spell at the club, returning to Swindon after sixteen matches and two sendings-off.

Next up: a rematch with Bath City, one of two teams to beat the Fightin’ Writers.

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Bath City 1-0 FMS – 27th February 2013 – BSS #32

Fuller, Dubb, Mathieson, Clarke, Conleith Corcoran, Marks, Fantu, Preece, Hochstetter, Warner, Baroni. Subs: van Liefthuizen, Kieran Lawal, Leigh Elliot, Ben Strevens, von Lichtenstein.

Goals

Bath City – Lamar Powell 76

FMS – none

Man of the Match – Marks

League leaders? No problem.

Bath City completed the double over FMS at Twerton Park thanks to Lamar Powell’s goal, against the run of play, in the 76th minute.

The bad news was compounded by an injury to Hochstetter, who broke his arm just after halftime. Yowch. That’ll be a month on the sidelines, but at least the injury won’t end his season.

The writers dominated the possession with 62 percent, but couldn’t push one across the line when it mattered most.

Injuries, the return of Flint to Swindon and a decision to rest Whitbread meant the first FMS appearance for Clarke at centre-half. He played well there, but the team couldn’t find a goal.

And yet another name was added to the injured list.

Injured Writers (through 28th February)

Law Martin (broken foot, 4-5 months)

Edward Nygma (separated shoulder, 2-3 weeks)

Joel Hochstetter (broken arm, 4-5 weeks)

Oscar Rudyard (sprained ankle, 3-4 weeks)

Lee Rothery (broken toe, 2-3 weeks)

Jose Bo Jose (bruised ego, permanent)

February record – 3-1-1 (10 points)

Blue Square South: 23-6-2, 75 points, first place by sixteen points over Boreham Wood

FA Cup: Eliminated

FA Trophy: Finalists

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March on.

FMS 2-1 Hayes & Yeading – 2nd March 2013 – BSS #33

Fuller, Kieran Lawal, Conleith Corcoran, Clarke, Adie Whitbread, Marks, Connor Hughes, Preece, Charlie Teller, Baroni, McCracken. Subs: van Liefthuizen, Mathieson, Dubb, Warner, von Lichtenstein.

Goals

FMS – McCracken 24, Preece 39

Hayes & Yeading – Daniel Wishart 25

Man of the Match – McCracken

McCracken continued his late-season charge, finding the range as the Poison Pens dismissed Hayes & Yeading.

Still in a struggle for match fitness, the striker notched his 20th goal in all competitions in 31 apperances, with Preece finishing off the visitors just before the half.

The knock against McCracken at the start of the season was that if you stood close enough to him, you could hear the ocean roar. Decision-making and creativity weren’t his strong points – but through the season, he had dramatically improved.

He was making it very difficult for Blankley to leave him out now, and playing in the only outfield area of the squad that Blankley hadn’t elected to at least partially fill with major new signings, he had done well.

Yet for this match, with five of The Nineteen injured and several others in desperate need of rest, half the outfield was made up of Blankley’s Boys.

There was a time when that wouldn’t have sat well with some of them, but with the exception of Mathieson who was on the fringes of the first team now, some of the boys spent as much time sleeping as they did worrying about anything else.

They were tired. And the final sprint was still to come.

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The club does have some pretty significant injury issues. And since some of you are playing a lot of matches at a very young age, I do wonder if that makes you more injury prone at this stage of your careers.

As for the issue of inclusion: I try to write something about everyone when you do something positive. If you're injured, or worse yet blocked from the first team, that does make it a bit more difficult.

Too, it should be noted that this is not the typical FMS sign-up, where the entire team is made up of our signups. The addition of an AI manager and the ability for him to pick and sign his own players is an added twist.

Bear in mind that this is a career save, so if you aren't playing this season, when others move on or you yourselves move to other clubs, the amount of ink you get in this space may change. I said at the beginning of this signup that there were no guarantees. Your fate is in the AI's hands and I am merely your humble correspondent.

___

Bromley 3-3 FMS – 9th March 2013 – BSS #34

Fuller, Dubb, Mathieson, Clarke, Adie Whitbread, Marks, Fantu, Preece, Charlie Teller, von Lichtenstein, Warner. Subs: van Liefthuizen, Kowalski, Conleith Corcoran, McCracken, Baroni.

Goals

Bromley – Ali Chaaban 12, Ali Fuseini 15, Dan Beall 24

FMS – von Lichtenstein 11, McCracken 45, Baroni 63; Clarke s/o 21

Man of the Match – Marks

Clarke put FMS squarely behind the eight ball after earning a straight red card from Simon Long 21 minutes into match to help cap off the club’s worst fifteen-minute stretch of the season.

After von Lichtenstein put the Writers ahead in eleven minutes, the home team scored three goals in twelve minutes while Clarke was also sent off in the same stretch.

Yet, to their credit, the Writers hauled back their second two-goal deficit in less than a month, scoring not just once but twice with ten men through McCracken and substitute Baroni.

Having qualified for a playoff place through other results before the match began, FMS was sluggish and what was easily Fuller’s worst performance of the season in goals didn’t help at all.

Marks was again the man of the match, and his running was the topic of praise from both managers after the contest.

Others could score goals, but Ashley Marks was starting to get some credit. He felt it was a long time in coming and it was hard to disagree.

Mike “Scrambled Brains” Kowalski made his return to the side in this match, coming on for Clarke after his sending off. Blankley now seemed determined to make a centre-half out of him and the Irishman didn’t mind that. He did, however, mind the long walk to the showers after being sent off.

And now, Blankley was addressing the squad rotation issue again.

Mo Sharif came in from QPR on a free, right in the center of midfield. He figured to slot into the eleven – Blankley’s Boys always did – and it remained to be seen how he would fit in.

The latest international callups included:

van Liefthuizen (Holland u-21 v Sweden and Finland)

Kowalski (Scotland u-19 v Faroe Islands and Lithuania)

Nygma (Scotland u-19 v Faroe Islands and Lithuania)

Mathieson (Belgium u-21 v Romania and Slovenia)

Clarke (Ireland u-19 v Turkey and Italy)

Baroni (Italy u-19 v Spain and Ireland)

Marks (Wales u-21 v Montenegro and France)

Fuller (England u-19 v Japan and Bosnia/Herzegovina)

Dubb (England u-19 v Japan and Bosnia/Herzegovina)

Preece (England u-19 v Japan and Bosnia/Herzegovina)

Bo Jose (Norway u-21 v France and Macedonia)

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I'm kinda curious to see how this story does go on once people start leaving the club and playing elsewhere- I had enough trouble just following three or four in one of the previous stories I started.

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I'm kinda curious to see how this story does go on once people start leaving the club and playing elsewhere- I had enough trouble just following three or four in one of the previous stories I started.

If you've read the story about The Bandits in the CSE forums (it's very good, I highly recommend it), I reckon this could go somewhere similar.

On the JBJ front, at least I'm still playing for Norway.

I'm appreciated, man! Damn you Blankley! I don't need you!

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FMS 1-0 Eastleigh – 16th March 2013 – BSS #35

Fuller, Dubb, Mathieson, Adie Whitbread, Kowalski, Marks, Fantu, Preece, Charlie Telfer, Baroni, McCracken. Subs: van Liefthuizen, Conleith Corcoran, Kieran Lawal, Warner, von Lichtenstein.

Goals

FMS – McCracken 14

Eastleigh – none

Man of the Match – Kowalski

When Kowalski gets a chance to play, he almost always does well.

Second only to Marks (8.21) in average rating for the Writers at 8.14, Kowalski earned another man of the match award with a towering performance in the air.

At 5-11, 220 pounds, Blankley joked that getting Kowalski off the ground was something akin to watching a barrage balloon being hoisted, but he was his usual effective self once he got there.

The rest of the Fightin’ Writers dominated an indifferent Eastleigh side at The Love Shack but only managed a single goal through McCracken. Nevertheless the win was quite comfortable.

The match was pedestrian. There wasn’t a single booking and there was only one substitution by the home team, which looked very much the champions as they held off their visitors seemingly with one hand.

They almost looked bored.

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Next it was time to face the other Blue Square South side which had defeated the Writers during the season.

FMS 3-0 Welling – 20th March 2013 – BSS #36

Fuller, Dubb, Nygma, Conleith Corcoran, Adie Whitbread, Marks, Fantu, Preece, Mo Sharif, McCracken, Warner. Subs: van Liefthuizen, Mathieson, Kieran Lawal, Baroni, von Lichtenstein.

Goals

FMS – McCracken 10; Warner 13, 86

Welling – maybe next time

Man of the Match – Warner

Warner reached the thirty-goal mark for the club by knocking home a brace as the Writers earned some sweet revenge over Welling at The Love Shack.

There was heartbreak for his day’s strike partner, McCracken, though. He suffered a concussion just ten minutes after opening the scoring for the day – an injury which would rule him out of the FA Trophy final.

McCracken’s personal goal count stood at 23 at that point, but to be ruled out for the final was a devastating blow for the boy.

With players heading out for international matches, it remained to be seen who would be left for the final against Forest Green on the 24th March.

Counting the Trophy final, there were only seven matches left in the season. The Nineteen were starting to play for next season’s places – or next season’s place with another club.

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International summaries

Friday, 22nd March

Dubb (England u-19 2-0 Japan) – late substitute

Preece (England u-19 2-0 Japan) – second half substitute, MR 6.5

Fuller (England u-19 2-0 Japan) – DNP

Mathieson (Belgium u-21 1-1 @ Romania) – full match, MR 6.9

Bo Jose (Norway u-21 2-2 France) – full match, MR 7.0

Clarke (Ireland u-19 2-0 Turkey) – full match, MR 8.3

Nygma (Scotland u-19 3-0 @ Faroe Islands) – full match, MR 8.8

Kowalski (Scotland u-19 3-0 @ Faroe Islands) – DNP

Baroni (Italy u-19 0-3 @ Spain) – full match, 6.2 MR

van Liefthuizen (Holland u-21 3-0 Sweden) – full match, 7.5 MR

Marks (Wales u-21 4-2 Montenegro) – late substitute

It was also announced, as the remainder of the FMS squad assembled for the trip to Wembley for the FA Trophy final, that about 31,000 tickets had been sold, or roughly the same number of members as in the Chester Fantu Teenage Girls’ Fan Club.

Forest Green entered the match in fifth place in the Blue Square Premier, and with eleven of the Writers on international duty, the match was really a crapshoot.

And on the way to the stadium, the boys learned that other results had given them the championship- - and the automatic promotion Blankley had predicted earlier in the season.

FMS 0-1 Forest Green – 24th March 2013 – FA Trophy Final

Paul Hider, Kieran Lawal, Conleith Corcoran, Adie Whitbread, Leigh Elliot, Ben Strevens, Charlie Telfer, Mo Sharif, von Lichtenstein, Izale McLeod, Warner. Subs: Aaron Wells, Kevin Beardsley, Bobby Hopkinson, Rothery, Joe Broad.

Goals

FMS – none

Forest Green – Magno Vieira 63

Man of the Match – Anthony Furlonge, Forest Green

It came at the worst possible time, the final.

Only two members of the Nineteen – von Lichtenstein and Warner – were in the starting eleven and only one other – Rothery – was in the squad. All played, but the understudies succumbed to Magno Vieira’s goal in the 63rd minute before 31,695 at Wembley.

The understudies still dominated – with 52 percent possession, 12 shots to six and six on target to three – but nothing would go in the goal, and the club returned home as runners-up in a competition they were never expected to win.

It was a helpless feeling. The Nineteen had gotten FMS to the title match but Blankley’s Boys couldn’t bring the trophy home.

The eleven included Izale McLeod, on loan to the club from MK Dons, but such had been the dominance of the regular strikers that the match, a cup final, marked his FMS debut.

Oh, and Blankley's one-year contract was about to expire.

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26th March international results

Bo Jose (Norway u-21 0-1 @ Macedonia) – DNP

van Liefthuizen (Holland u-21 2-0 @ Finland) – full match, 7.7 MR

Clarke (Ireland u-19 1-1 Italy) – full match, 7.3 MR

Baroni (Italy u-19 1-1 @ Ireland) – full match, 6.7 MR

Mathieson (Belgium u-21 4-1 Slovenia) – late substitute, 6.6 MR

Marks (Wales u-21 0-2 France) – late substitute

Dubb (England u-19 2-0 Bosnia) – full match, 7.4 MR

Fuller (England u-19 2-0 Bosnia) – DNP

Preece (England u-19 2-0 Bosnia) – late substitute

Nygma (Scotland u-19 3-0 @ Lithuania) – full match, 7.3 MR

Kowalski (Scotland u-19 3-0 @ Lithuania) – full match, 7.7 MR

Havant & Waterlooville 1-2 FMS – 30th March 2013 – BSS #37

Bo Jose, Clarke, Nygma, Adie Whitbread, Kowalski, Marks, Fantu, Preece, Rudyard, Izale McLeod, Rothery. Subs: Fuller, Mathieson, Dubb, Warner, von Lichtenstein.

Goals

Havant &W – Ed Harris 70

FMS – Marks 2, Rothery 28

Man of the Match – Clarke

This was more the way the squad was supposed to look, in terms of the Nineteen.

Blankley ended Bo Jose’s exile from the squad by starting the Norway u-21 keeper in an away win at Westleigh Park.

The transfer-listed keeper hadn’t played a competitive match for FMS in calendar 2013, but the keeper looked good throughout.

Ed Harris finally solved him in the 70th minute after he was persuaded to come home from fighting against Jude Law in Stalingrad, but by then goals from Marks and another prodigal, Lee Rothery, had decided the issue.

When asked how Bo Jose had played in his eyes, Blankley asked, “who?” before ducking a flying shoe thrown from the changing room.

Clarke’s excellent performance earned him another sponsor’s award as the Fightin’ Writers, the title in the bag, prepared to play out the string.

And Marks became the latest to sign professionally – two years, £100 per week. Don’t spend it all in one place.

March record – 4-1-1 (13 points)

Blue Square South: 27-7-3, 88 points, champions

FA Cup: Eliminated First Round

FA Trophy: runner-up

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Being champions is great, but I'm most annoyed about missing a place in the FA Trophy Final due to international call-ups as I'd been a regular starter in the competition up until that point.

Great work with this, 10-3. :thup:

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Thank you, Spav ... I would, as always, blame Blankley. :)

___

April started with a sweep.

Blankley won the boss award again, for the third time this season, once less than Ian Allinson of second-placed Boreham Wood.

Marks was also named player of the month, marking the second time an FMS player had done it and was the first such honor since Rudyard back in September.

FMS 2-0 Basingstoke – 1st April 2013 – BSS #38

Fuller, Kieran Lawal, Mathieson, Clarke, Conleith Corcoran, Hochstetter, Charlie Telfer, Dubb, Mo Sharif, von Lichtenstein, Baroni. Subs: van Liefthuizen, Nygma, Preece, Warner, Dean Wood.

Goals

FMS – Baroni 29, von Lichtenstein 42

Basingstoke – wait til next year

Man of the Match – von Lichtenstein

Again, it was a bit of a different look.

Mathieson hoped to finally get his run in the side, and Dubb played midfield for the first time all season.

Mo Sharif found a place again, but Telfer left with concussion midway through the match to provide a debutant place for Dean Wood, who at 15 was younger than any of the Nineteen.

Baroni and von Lichtenstein scored in the first half to finish the job before the break, and the team kept the ball for nearly the entire second half to cement their latest victory.

Von Lichtenstein earned another man of the match award, and, with sixteen goals on the season, was already starting to make a bid for increased playing time next season. For that, he got his first professional contract.

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FMS 2-0 Eastbourne Boro – 6th April 2013 – BSS #39

Fuller, Dubb, Nygma, Adie Whitbread, Kowalski, Marks, Fantu, Rudyard, Bobby Hopkinson, Izale McLeod, McCracken. Subs: van Liefthuizen, Clarke, Preece, Warner, Hochstetter.

Goals

FMS – McCracken 31, 63

Eastbourne – none

Man of the Match – McCracken

Before a season-high crowd of 2,835 at The Love Shack, McCracken continued to pump home the goals as the Fightin’ Writers dismissed Eastbourne Boro.

The striker scored on either side of the interval in another match that showed why the club was easily the class of the league.

Kowalski had his usual strong match in defense paired with Whitbread, but McCracken’s brace was enough for him to steal the sponsor’s award. At least that’s how Kowalski put it.

McCracken’s personal count was now up to 25 goals in 35 matches, and if Warner continued to sit as he had in recent matches, perhaps his team-leading total could be overhauled.

One player who was having trouble getting a game was Baroni, who didn’t seem to have that issue for his country. His talk with Blakely about how to get back into the eleven – or even the sixteen – appeared to fall on deaf ears.

Fantu, meanwhile, got his new contract, for the same amount as the others. He did say, though, this his contract was better because he was paid in newer bills.

And now the players had something else to argue about.

Clarke, Warner and McCracken were all on the media’s shortlist for the league Player of the Season award.

Argue amongst yourselves, gentlemen.

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