facman Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 7 hours ago, noikeee said: Thanks everyone! Everton hater or Liverpool FC hater? I couldn't possibly say... although I am partial to a bit of Toffee! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holdii Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 Just caught up with this. Solid first season and well done being top of the table now, best of luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abulezz Posted October 30, 2016 Share Posted October 30, 2016 That's been an excellent first half of a season - can we get a screenshot of the man with four names' attributes circle graph? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Costly Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Double double-barrelled name! Good job he's a pretty handy footballer... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 21 hours ago, oohlala111 said: Hmmm... I know it's not Charles-Anthony Weston-Hayles... but who could it be? Nice save so far, just read it in one go- I'm doing this challenge with Dulwich Hamlet (I'm only in November 2017 but I'm progressing fast- it's going really well!) 21 hours ago, BoxToBox said: I remember him being at Bradford Park Avenue in 2014, scored me many goals in non league. 20 hours ago, DB08 said: Superb first half of the season. The new formation is definitely working well. 19 hours ago, Black and Yellow said: Things may not be so dour in Stourbridge after all! 18 hours ago, JMA said: Fantastic start mate. Well done 13 hours ago, Holdii said: Just caught up with this. Solid first season and well done being top of the table now, best of luck! Bloody hell, I've never had this many comments! Thanks everyone for jinxing me, we're losing the plot in the 2nd half of the season! 15 hours ago, facman said: I couldn't possibly say... although I am partial to a bit of Toffee! I don't know how I missed the "fav team" part below your avatar.. 10 hours ago, King Costly said: Double double-barrelled name! Good job he's a pretty handy footballer... 11 hours ago, abulezz said: That's been an excellent first half of a season - can we get a screenshot of the man with four names' attributes circle graph? Here's Long Name Guy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMA Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Sorry mate didnt mean to jinx you. Comments are great they really do make you want to keep updating people on the story Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 hahahahaha, I got a good chuckle out of this: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 2018/2019 - End of season update - Stourbridge Transfers (Transfers) The only transfer in the 2nd half of the season was backup defender Ben Middleton being poached by Wingate & Finchley. FA Trophy We nearly pulled off a shock away win at Tranmere. 2 Weston-Hayles goals had put us 2-0 up within the first 15 minutes, but eventually the superior home side turned the match around, finally sealing the win with a 83rd minute goal. It was a good effort against a team that's a division above us, so I can't complain. National League North We continued the great form that we had ended December in, with 3 more wins to kick off the year. There was a bit of a wobble as we drew 4 matches in late January/early February, but we managed to avoid defeats for a superb run of 13 matches in a row. That is, until the 9th of March. A narrow home defeat to Nuneaton looked pretty inconsequential, as we still held a decent advantage over everyone else in the league, but this opened the gates of hell for us. For the next 7 matches, we would lose 6 and only draw 1, an unbelievable run of dismal form as Weston-Hayles went on a goal drought, our defenders looked like clowns, and the team just didn't perform. I watched powerless and incredulously as Hednesford slowly crept up on us on the league, and finally overtook us for 1st. We finally stopped our run with a win over Skelmersdale in the penultimate day, but now Hednesford had the advantage. With a better goal difference than Hednesford, and a 2 points difference, we had to beat Stockport away in the final day but only needed Hednesford not to win their match at home vs Harrogate. We did our part with Weston-Hayles scoring twice after chasing long balls, and Davies adding a 3rd goal; but on the other match Hednesford was winning 1-0 since minute 4, and regardless of how much swearing I directed at my laptop, Harrogate wouldn't score an equaliser. It stayed 1-0, we finished 2nd, and have booked a playoff place, facing North Ferriby in the semi-final. Summary This was so hard to take. We had everything absolutely in control for so long, and then suddenly entered a spiral of doom that ruined everything. Again 2nd place and finishing only 2 points away from the top is an excellent season for our pre-season ambitions, but we've gone from having automatic promotion almost nailed on, to just 1 chance in 4 of going up, as we're now in equal standing with 3 other clubs. We are, however, back to good form and good morale - can we still salvage promotion? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMA Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 That is tough. Hate it when this happens. March and April stunk mate Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 8 minutes ago, JMA said: That is tough. Hate it when this happens. March and April stunk mate This game is brutal sometimes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 2018/2019 National League North - playoff semi-finals, 1st leg We face North Ferriby without left wing-back Ryan Wilson as he's recovering from a recent injury, but he's been out most of the season anyway so we're used to playing Louis Moss in place of him. No other noticeable absences beyond Ryan Higgins who's still out for damaged cruciate ligaments and hasn't played since November. Paul Marshall gets the nod on central midfield ahead of Jacob Evans due to his recent good form. This went to perfection. A scrappy combination between my 2 forwards gave Adam Boyes the first goal still in the first minute, and this is exactly what I want as we're so much better when opponents have to chase games and are forced to give us space. Weston-Hayles added 2 more in a cross by Louis Moss and in a long ball, and although we still conceded a goal, we're in a great position for the 2nd leg and I don't expect us to throw this away. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 2018/2019 National League North - playoff semi-finals, 2nd leg These matches are played in quick succession, and with my players still tired from Wednesday's first leg, there are a few changes: Joe Doyle comes in for Daniel Emerton, Jacob Evans for Paul Marshall, and Macauley Davies for Adam Boyes. I retain my trust as usual in my 3-5-2, only switching Doyle to a supporting duty. This started well with Weston-Hayles scoring his 30th goal of the season in a well planned counter, but we would be on an awkward position after their striker Bradley Reid scored twice with two headers. At half-time I brought in Adam Boyes, dropping him to a AMC/Shadow Striker position to help us retain possession and defend better, and this went well as he scored our 2nd, Jacob Evans' 2nd assist. Centre-back Jean-Yves Koué scored our 3rd in a corner, sealing a turnaround win as North Ferriby capitulated. Our playoff final opponents are Kidderminster. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
deez0r Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Good luck in the final! Following this now for updates. Look forward to it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadCatPT Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Good luck. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPQR Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 congrats on the great performance so far! Good luck in the final Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 2018/2019 National League North - playoff final So here we are for the big final - which is played in only one leg to my surprise, and at our home which is an even bigger surprise (before a capacity crowd of 2000). We have beaten Kidderminster twice this season, but I'm not counting on a third time just yet. We pick pretty much our strongest 11, with Louis Moss getting the nod ahead of Ryan Wilson on LWB. Kidderminster field a 4-4-2, which is a formation I usually like to face - but again, I'm not counting on a win yet. This didn't get off to a great start. We were playing better than Kidderminster, but a cross by their left-winger Jacob Fletcher went straight into the net - 0-1. A little later, we equalised as Tom Molyneux rebounded on a Sam Sheridan freekick that the keeper had parried; but a couple of minutes later ANOTHER Kidderminster cross fluked his way into our goal, this time by Ryan Croasdale. Their relentlessly goalscoring striker Andre Brown made it 1-3 in a corner, and we just about grabbed one back again through Weston-Hayles just before half-time, after a great pass by Jacob Evans. Kidderminster had barely done anything to deserve their 2-3 advantage at half-time. The 2nd half was quieter. By now I had pulled back Adam Boyes to AMC as we searched for a goal, trying to outpass Kidderminster through the middle of their 4-4-2 formation. The goal came in the 68th minute - a quick counter was held on just about long enough by Weston-Hayles who crossed it low to an unrushing Jacob Evans. 3-3 and the match was getting tenser and tenser, and we went into extra time. Extra time was tough for us. Our midfielders were getting tired and we could no longer outpass Kidderminster, who grew on the game. These extra 30 minutes were mostly played within our half, despite this there were no clear chances for them. This game was going to get decided on penalties. Lewis Collins shoots first for Kidderminster... saved by Marcus Beauchamp!! Adam Boyes shoots for Stourbridge... saved by Thomas McGill!! Ashley Carter for Kidderminster... 0-1! Charles-Anthony Weston-Hayles for Stourbridge... 1-1! James Hancocks for Kidderminster... 1-2! Paul Marshall for Stourbridge... 2-2! Jordan Davies for Kidderminster... 2-3! Tom Molyneux for Stourbridge... 3-3! Keith Lowe for Kidderminster... 3-4! Jean-Yves Koué for Stoubridge... 4-4! Ryan Croasdale for Kidderminster... 4-5! It hit both posts but the referee counts it in! Daniel Emerton for Stourbridge... 5-5! Will Annan for Kidderminster... saved by Marcus Beauchamp!!! If Stourbridge score they win! Alan Massey for Stourbridge... 6-5! STOURBRIDGE ARE PROMOTED TO THE NATIONAL LEAGUE! I'm delighted! What a crazy match! We deserved it in the end but really had to sweat for it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPQR Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 congrats! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadCatPT Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Congrats. I'm sweating each game and it's mid season trying to stay in the playoff race until form dips or injuries arrive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Well done! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
facman Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Huzzah and Hurrah! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcxD Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Congratulations!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 2 hours ago, LPQR said: congrats! 2 hours ago, MadCatPT said: Congrats. I'm sweating each game and it's mid season trying to stay in the playoff race until form dips or injuries arrive. 2 hours ago, BoxToBox said: Well done! 49 minutes ago, facman said: Huzzah and Hurrah! 27 minutes ago, MarcxD said: Congratulations!! Thanks for the support everyone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 2018/2019 - Season review - Stourbridge Tactics My 3-5-2 for this season that I've talked about long enough - specially on the Tactics forum, where I've explained it in detail and all the alternatives. Finances (Finances) Continues to be a serious problem as after 2 cash injections from the board, the balance has dropped to an even more damning -265K€. I also believe we're about to be forced to increase our stadium capacity due to the Conference's rules, which would usually be a good thing, but will cost money. On the positive side, thanks to our promotion I'm getting a substantially bigger wage budget for next year. Player statistics Starting eleven GK: Marcus Beauchamp (21, ENG) - 51 apps, 19 clean sheets, 1 assist, 6.88AR (New signing) A good season on loan, I ended up trusting him for the whole year. I could've done with him keeping the "crosses" out of the back of the net in the playoff final, though. DC: Alan Massey (30, ENG) - 47(4) apps, 2 goals, 6.89AR (New signing) My 3 starting CBs were all new signings and this older lad was the least impressive of the 3. Lacks a bit in pace for my liking. DC: Jean-Yves Koué (26, FRA) - 44(1) apps, 1 goal, 6.98AR (New signing) Absent for the first couple of weeks due to injury, I expected huge things of this French guy who also lacks in pace but is brilliant in the air. He turned out a bit unconvincing. By the end of the season his form was picking up though, and he ended with joint best average rating out of my defenders. DC: Louis John (25, ENG) - 48(2) apps, 1 goals, 6.98AR (New signing) I hired him thinking he'd be a backup to Gradi Milenge who was supposed to retain his place instead, but he claimed the position rather assertively. A positive surprise. WBL: Louis Moss (26, BRB) - 31(4) apps, 7 assists, 6.94AR This wasn't supposed to be his position - I'd hired Ryan Wilson for the spot. With Wilson out for 5 months with a broken leg, I was forced to bring Moss back to the starting 11. And you know what, he continued to overperform, now pushed up to WBL over DL. He actually had better ratings than Wilson. DM: Tom Molyneux (24, ENG) - 48(1) apps, 1 goal, 3 assists, 6.96AR (New signing) A quality signing that I never even considered to drop all season long. Scored his first goal for the club in the playoff final. WBR: Daniel Emerton (27, ENG) - 30(12) apps, 1 goal, 5 assists, 6.85AR Let me get this straight - he's a winger, not a wingback. This was the best way I could fit him into my new system because he was great last year, but the reality is that Ryan Higgins was proving a better fit. Then Higgins damaged his cruciate ligaments, missing the rest of the season, and I was forced to return to Darren Emerton. MC: Jacob Evans (21, ENG) - 32(9) apps, 2 goals, 6 assists, 7.03AR Lost momentarily his place earlier in the season to veteran Chris Birchall, and I also occasionally played Paul Marshall instead, but at the end Jacob turned out to have a good year, improving from last season and finishing the playoffs on excellent form. MC: Sam Sheridan (29, IRL) - 38(11) apps, 3 goals, 1 assist, 6.91AR (New signing) Yet another solid player I hired, however there was quite a lot of rotation in here as I also routinely played Paul Marshall (who could do either the BBM role or the AP role), and Paul ended with marginally better ratings and substantially more assists (7). Nevertheless they're different players as Sam's more defensive. ST: Charles-Anthony Weston-Hayles (21, ENG) - 51 apps, 31 goals, 10 assists, 7.21AR (Player of the season) Top goalscorer, highest average rating, most assists, most player of the match awards, best pass completion, played every single match as starter without getting injured or suspended. I don't think my choice of Weston-Hayles as player of the season should be a huge surprise. I also suspect he could be a centre-back, goalkeeper, kitman, gardener, but for now I need him as poacher. ST: Adam Boyes (28, ENG) - 38(11) apps, 22 goals, 4 assists, 7.00AR (New signing) I doubted this signing quite a lot early in the season as he wasn't scoring or contributing a lot. But as the year went on he became more and more a key figure, and turned out to score a heap of goals too, whilst also proving a versatile player, which was hugely useful as I often needed him to drop to AMC, or even to play target man instead. Top prospects I think this just isn't going to be a key feature of this career for a while, there's not much of a point to talk prospects when our younger players aren't ever going to reach the Premiership or anything, and our youth intakes aren't great. For the record, this was this year's intake. Career progress table Season League Cups Europe Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16/17 National North - 12th FA Cup 2ndQRnd, FA Tphy 3rdQRnd (n/a) 17/18 National North - 2nd FA Cup 3rdQRnd, FA Tphy 2nd Rnd (n/a) Promoted through playoffs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted October 31, 2016 Author Share Posted October 31, 2016 As expected - having moved up to the Vanarama National, the minimum stadium capacity is 4000 so we'll have to build space for an extra 2000 people, and also convert 250 spots to seats. We will play at Keys Park for a few months until work in the War Memorial Athletic Ground is completed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Costly Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Thrilling end to a great season, well done. Kidderminster is only down the road from Stourbridge so no doubt you're already considered a Glasboys legend for beating the local rivals in a play-off final! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadCatPT Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Charles-Anthony Weston-Hayles, the tragic history of parents who couldn't decide on a baby name. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CityAndColour Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Love the formation - I am using basically the same thing with Hungerford, although I have a shadow striker in the AMLC position instead of a second striker. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darius1998 Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Didn't comment before you played the play-offs as I was afraid of jinxing you. Now that you have played those games, congrats on promotion and good luck in the Conference. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Great work going up Noikeee. Stourbridge to Hednesford is a bit of a trek though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keano16 Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Congrats on promotion! CAWH was a beast! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Costly Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 21 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said: Great work going up Noikeee. Stourbridge to Hednesford is a bit of a trek though. Kidderminster, Halesowen or Bromsgrove would make a lot more sense. Worcester already share at Bromsgrove, though, Halesowen's ground isn't exactly the best and I doubt Kiddy would be too welcoming after just being beaten in the play-off final! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 On 01/11/2016 at 00:28, King Costly said: Thrilling end to a great season, well done. Kidderminster is only down the road from Stourbridge so no doubt you're already considered a Glasboys legend for beating the local rivals in a play-off final! I had no idea, the only rivals listed in my club page are Halesowen and Stourport (who?). On 01/11/2016 at 00:36, MadCatPT said: Charles-Anthony Weston-Hayles, the tragic history of parents who couldn't decide on a baby name. It's funny because that's actually completely normal here in Portugal, the vast majority of us have 4 names (as I do), some more. Nobody uses their full name as their "football name" though... Otherwise Cristiano Ronaldo would be Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro. Imagine having to write all that on the back of his shirt. On 01/11/2016 at 07:53, CityAndColour said: Love the formation - I am using basically the same thing with Hungerford, although I have a shadow striker in the AMLC position instead of a second striker. As I am often also, as I answered you in the tactics forum. On 01/11/2016 at 16:26, DB08 said: Didn't comment before you played the play-offs as I was afraid of jinxing you. Now that you have played those games, congrats on promotion and good luck in the Conference. 6 hours ago, Keano16 said: Congrats on promotion! CAWH was a beast! Thanks! 23 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said: Great work going up Noikeee. Stourbridge to Hednesford is a bit of a trek though. 1 hour ago, King Costly said: Kidderminster, Halesowen or Bromsgrove would make a lot more sense. Worcester already share at Bromsgrove, though, Halesowen's ground isn't exactly the best and I doubt Kiddy would be too welcoming after just being beaten in the play-off final! I'm going to agree with you guys on the expert basis of having just looked up those places in Google Maps. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 2019/2020 - Pre-season transfers - Stourbridge 10 new faces (technically, 9 new faces, as we re-signed Wilfred Gnahore!) join us as we prepare for life in the Vanarama National: We didn't lose any particular key figures, although you might recognise midfielders Lloyd Kerry and Carl Kennedy who were starters 2 years ago, and left wing-back Ryan Wilson who was important for a while last season before breaking his leg. I was also a little disappointed to lose goalkeeper Charlie Andrew although I managed to renew the loan of Marcus Beauchamp, who's our starter, for another 6 months. Key signings Mason Watkins-Clark (DC) - I've seriously reinforced my defence with 3 different players that can play centre-back, and this Irish guy looks the star out of them. Miko Virtanen (ST) - The former Everton striker is a bit of an unnecessary signing as he can only fit as poacher... where I already have our top performer Weston-Hayles. Nevertheless if I can get even more goals out of Virtanen, I am ruthless enough to drop Weston-Hayles if it's an advantage. Mike Green (D/WBL) - Quality wing-back that should be a big upgrade for the position, I am however slightly concerned that he has "gets forward whenever possible" which I don't need ALL the time, particularly in the more restrained role I give to my left wing-back. Lee Noble (DM, MRC) - A last minute signing, this veteran has some excellent mental skills, and although my staff rate my other signing Dinesh Gillela higher for the position, I reckon he should be our starting DM now - Tom Molyneux has a lot of work to do to retain his place in the squad. Other signings Peter Kioso (DRL, WBR) Luke O'Reilly (GK) Dinesh Gillela (DC, DM) Pelayo Gómez-Pico (M/AMC, ST) Wilfred Gnahore (MLC, AMRLC) Jack Deaman (DRC) Goals for the season With a pre-season predicted place of 21st, the press aren't backing us to rock this division. I wasn't expecting a huge step-up in opponents quality, however after browsing a few player profiles, from the little I could tell from half-scouted players I'm now a little apprehensive, this might be slightly tougher than I thought. Meanwhile after a little advice in tactics forum I'm experimenting with slight changes to my 3-5-2 roles, namely a midfield duo of AP/S-CM/A to try to get more goals out of my midfielders. Let's see if this makes us too open, particularly with both new wingbacks (Green and Kioso) prone to getting forward whenever possible. This makes it doubly crucial for me to trust my centre-backs, but with 3 quality new signings that can play that position, I am reasonably confident. We did concede 5 goals in a friendly vs Birmingham that we lost 3-5, but Birmingham are in the Championship... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 You missed one goal for the season... ensure the driver of the team bus improves his fuel efficiency. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
facman Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 22 hours ago, noikeee said: Goals for the season With a pre-season predicted place of 21st, the press aren't backing us to rock this division. I wasn't expecting a huge step-up in opponents quality, however after browsing a few player profiles, from the little I could tell from half-scouted players I'm now a little apprehensive, this might be slightly tougher than I thought. We can rebuild them. We have the technology. We can make them better than they were. Better, stronger, faster. Anyone who recognises the badly plagiarised opening of the 6 million dollar man is showing their age! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 2019/2020 - Mid-season update - Stourbridge Transfers (Transfers) A season that's not been going particularly great has pushed us to hire some extra players already: Colby Bishop (AMC, ST) - Perhaps a slightly stronger alternative to Adam Boyes, as 2nd striker/shadow striker, but whilst he's looked promising, a handful of injuries have stopped him from claiming a first team spot permanently. Kevin Roberts (DR) - Potentially a better right-wing-back than the alternatives, although he needs some extra training to get used to the position. Meanwhile we also hired goalkeeper Marcus Beauchamp permanently, after a year and a few months on loan. There was also a handful of exits: centre-back Gradi Milenge was poached by Dartford, striker Macauley Davies and right wing-back Ryan Higgins were deemed unnecessary, and forward/midfielder Pelayo Gómez-Pico was let go after just a couple of months for the club, in which it was clear we had stronger alternatives. FA Cup We are now a division above Alfreton, so they looked like good opponents to kick off our FA Cup participation. However we had a very poor match against them at home, and were a little lucky to salvage a goalless draw and therefore a replay match. And things seemed to be going great on the replay as we claimed a 3-1 lead by half-time. Unfortunately RWB Kevin Roberts, who was having an excellent debut match for the club, got himself sent off for a reckless tackle, and this unsettled us enough to concede 2 goals in quick succession and let Alfreton tie the match. We held on with 10 men to take the match to penalties, but in there Miko Virtanen was the only one to miss, and Alfreton were through. FA Trophy Our FA Trophy participation was also poor. Hartlepool were never going to be easy opponents, and indeed proved themselves the better team on the pitch, as we were defeated 3-1. National League A 3-0 defeat to kick off our season hinted at difficulties at adapting to this level, but a 3-0 win next over Dulwich Hamlet, with a Weston-Hayles hat-trick, reassured me. That was pure illusion - we'd go on an awful run of 6 defeats in a row, as we tanked to a dead last 24th place. The recovery started with much needed back-to-back wins over AFC Fylde and Barrow, but this was followed by another 3 defeats. This was proving extraordinarily difficult, but October/early November gave us some much needed oxygen to breathe with 3 wins and 2 draws, enough points for us to dip just above the relegation zone, climbing to 20th. Unfortunately, we've not been as lucky since. From mid-November to the end of the year, we've only managed to win once, over Stevenage with a Weston-Hayles brace, and have dropped back to 21st, on a tight fight to avoid relegation. Summary This has been very tough and not the season I was hoping for. I have tried several different tactical tweaks but it is clear that no matter what I do, the difference in quality to many of our opponents will present itself on the pitch, and I've not found any clear winning formula. We will fight as hard as we can to avoid relegation for the rest of the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
facman Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Ouch! Fingers crossed for a decent run in the spring to keep you up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 14, 2016 Author Share Posted November 14, 2016 4 hours ago, facman said: Ouch! Fingers crossed for a decent run in the spring to keep you up! I think I finally figured out a breakthrough in tactics that I hope will push us over the line. Fingers crossed. Meanwhile... about this match I played yesterday. Backup keeper gets poached by another club. I urgently pick up a random guy on a free. He's hired just in time of the next match. Marcus Beauchamp breaks his arm. No problem, that's exactly why I urgently picked up a 2nd keeper and left him on the bench. Nope, maybe there's a problem. 55 minutes in - backup keeper breaks his shoulder. Cue centre-back Adam Massey going in goal for 35 minutes and turning our win into a defeat. And now I have to hit the market again as I don't have a single keeper for the next few weeks. I'm going to report the PKM as potential buggy behaviour by the way - maybe I was just exceptionally unlucky, but the odds of both my keepers breaking bones in the same match seem proportional to winning the lottery and being hit by lightning in the same day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Still in with a fighting chance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 On 14/11/2016 at 22:40, Nobby_McDonald said: Still in with a fighting chance. We're definitely not going down without a fight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Costly Posted November 16, 2016 Share Posted November 16, 2016 Best of luck for the rest of the season. The goalkeeper situation is far from ideal but hopefully if you can string a few results together, you'll climb up the table. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 Our fans are a cheerful bunch: ... there's 13 matches to go and we're on equal points with the team above the relegation line in 20th. I love social feed, this feature is so much more entertaining than it looked on paper. The depiction of extremely fickle, clueless fans is perfect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 16, 2016 Author Share Posted November 16, 2016 We drop back to the relegation zone with 9 matches to go, after a couple brief weeks of relief, but at least we're not doing as badly as this lot who are right behind us in 22nd: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
facman Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 10-1, that's an U11s score line! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted November 17, 2016 Share Posted November 17, 2016 And four goals were scored by a woman. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 2019/2020 - End of season update - Stourbridge Transfers (Transfers) A momentary massive goalkeeping crisis forced me to hire... 3 of them: Onofrio Montenegro (GK) - An Italian teenager out of Man Utd's youth setup, and I actually think he's better than Beauchamp and our best keeper now, even if my staff doesn't agree. I also loaned Rory Brown, and momentarily had Bradley Comins as well, before releasing him on a free as we now had too many keepers. Keegan Bridge (SW, DRC) - Decent teenager CB on loan from Man City, who arrived too late to make any difference for us. Bridge's arrival was necessary due to us offloading two CBs in Mason Watkins-Clark (a massively disappointing signing this season), and experienced man Alan Massey who was complaining he wasn't playing enough. Keeper Luke O'Reilly was picked up by Hemel Hempstead, and wing-back Louis Moss was released due to not being good enough anymore (despite 2 good years for us previously). National League January was decent as we followed an early defeat with 2 goalless draws, a much needless away win, and a home win over Gateshead - in between these two matches there was the infamous 3-4 defeat at Boreham Wood where we were dominating, but couldn't survive two serious injuries to goalkeepers Marcus Beauchamp and Bradley Comins, forcing us to put centre-back Alan Massey in goal! These results were sparked by a couple slight tactical changes and I thought I had finally found a good enough formula to stay up, indeed we were up to 20th and just barely within the safe zone. Unfortunately, this was misguided. A very bad run would begin here, as we went on a record 12 matches without winning that doomed us. We were now 8 points behind Chelmsford who was the team in 20th - with 3 matches to go. We needed an enormous miracle, but did still have the chance to close down Chelmsford by beating themselves in the next match. And that was what we did, although it took a 90th minute goal by Adam Boyes and we were playing against 10 men! But 5 points to recover in 2 matches was still far too much, and a home draw to Tranmere confirmed relegation. We finished the season just barely failing to spoil Stevenage's party as VNL champions. Summary I'm obviously disappointed, this was a poor season and I didn't expect to go back down. I think I just didn't have a clear plan to take advantage of any clear strength. We went up on the basis of a good striker partnership and a 3-man defence that could be trusted to clear up any avalanche of crosses, but neither my striker pairing nor my centre-backs trio was good enough for this level. I ended up spending the 2nd half of the season telling my strikers to track back, and whilst this improved my defence to almost-acceptable levels, we finished the season with the worst attack in the division. My board aren't too fussed as they never counted on us avoiding relegation, and I'm still stable in my job. I will therefore continue, but I need to have a bit of a re-think here on how to improve, and how to get promoted back to this level ready for it. The fact a couple key players contracts are about to expire doesn't help. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 2019/2020 - Season review - Stourbridge Tactics One of my many narrow, wingless tactic variants, not that any of them worked particularly effectively this season. Finances (Finances) Only -131K€ in the red, which is actually an improvement. Obviously, this is all due to constant board investments/gifts and not out of any sustainable model. Player statistics Starting eleven GK: Onofrio Montenegro (19, ITA) - 14 apps, 2 clean sheets, 6.86AR (New signing) Marcus Beauchamp was the starter for most of the year, but when he got injured (and his backup at the time!) I was forced to hire this Italian teenager, who overall I thought was slightly better. DC: Dinesh Gillela (20, ENG) - 43(5) apps, 1 assist, 6.79AR (New signing) More of a DM than a CB, but he fit my shape better as CB. Not a very impressive season but my staff rate him as the most talented player out of my entire squad now. DC: Jean-Yves Koué (27, FRA) - 46 apps, 2 assists, 6.94AR (Player of the season) I expected big things of him last year but he didn't stand out, now at this level he was one of the few players to appear to make the step up well. With the highest average rating, and with 6 player of the match awards (more than anyone else), I think he's earned a bit of recognition from me, hence the player of season tag. DC: Jack Deaman (26, ENG) - 41(2) apps, 1 goal, 1 assist, 6.74AR (New signing) A poor season but unfortunately the alternatives were worse - I thought Watkins-Clark looked great on paper, but he was so terrible I had to dispatch him by January. WBL: Mike Green (30, ENG) - 36(2) apps, 1 assist, 6.69AR (New signing) I think a major reason why we went down was that my wing-backs were so poor - particularly damning when the wings are being covered by a single player in each. Mike was a particularly disappointing signing. WBR: Peter Kioso (20, COD) - 41(8) apps, 1 goal, 5 assists, 6.76AR (New signing) Was definitely a little bit more convincing than the guy on the other wing, but still not good enough. MC: Wilfred Gnahore (24, CIV) - 44(3) apps, 4 goals, 3 assists, 6.84AR (New signing) I brought him back to the club on the belief a more central role would suit him better than the wing role he played for us 2 years ago. The result wasn't as good as I expected, I needed more goals and assists. Sometimes played a little higher up as AMC. MC: Lee Noble (32, ENG) - 35 apps, 1 goals, 1 assist, 6.82AR (New signing) This experienced player did a decent job as the most defensive of my midfield trio, but I could've done without the 3 red cards. MC: Jacob Evans (22, ENG) - 24(14) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 6.86AR It's not a surprise that his performance dropped a little after being promoted to a higher level, but it's pretty impressive that he ended the season with the highest ratings out of my midfielders, despite playing so many more shortened matches out of the bench. ST: Charles-Anthony Weston-Hayles (22, ENG) - 32(11) apps, 16 goals, 4 assists, 6.93AR Double-double-barrelled name guy resisted serious pressure for the place by Miko Virtanen (10 goals) to remain as our most dangerous forward, although it wasn't a surprise that he got only half the goals he scored last year. ST: Adam Boyes (29, ENG) - 34(6) apps, 6 goals, 8 assists, 6.77AR I don't think he made the step-up as well as his striker partner - just isn't good enough at this level. I thought Colby Bishop would be an upgrade but he wasn't and Adam remained in the side. Top prospects Prospects at this level? You're having a laugh. Here's this year's youth intake. Career progress table Season League Cups Europe Other ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16/17 National North - 12th FA Cup 2ndQRnd, FA Tphy 3rdQRnd (n/a) 17/18 National North - 2nd FA Cup 3rdQRnd, FA Trph 2nd Rnd (n/a) Promoted through playoffs 18/19 National League - 22nd FA Cup 4thQRnd, FA Tphy 1st Rnd (n/a) Relegated Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
facman Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 Very disappointed for you. Fingers crossed for next season! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
noikeee Posted November 19, 2016 Author Share Posted November 19, 2016 Sooo... as for the first match of the new season... Seriously?? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CityAndColour Posted November 20, 2016 Share Posted November 20, 2016 On 18/11/2016 at 09:38, Nobby_McDonald said: And four goals were scored by a woman. Didn't think you could score with cutlery though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.