Nobbying Around FM18

[Nobby_McDonald]

AUGUST 2020

So... where did I end up?

Having attending interviews at York Road, The Gallagher Stadium and Prenton Park I was hopeful of getting a job two tiers higher in the National League.

It didn't happen. None of them offered me a job. Rather than go out of work, I reluctantly accepted the £150 per week pay cut and will remain at Bishop's Stortford, at least for now.
In an effort to shore up an under strength defence, I sign a couple of centre backs. One is a Gibraltar international but he will provide cover while the other is Andrew Hollins who will slot straight into the team. I now have two ginger centre backs named Collins and Hollins which is proving to be very confusing when watching the match.

And the season starts in spectacular fashion. Owusu scores the first goal of the season after only 2:16 and after 17 minutes we are already 2-4 up at Leamington. There's no more goals in the rest of the match, but next time out in our first home game we put seven past Hungerford, who were relegated last season.
Two more wins and a draw and we are the early pacesetters and Williams scores a hat-trick in three consecutive games.

Suddenly I'm glad I stayed.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Leamington 2 Bishop's Stortford 4 (Owusu, Drury, Collins, Williams)
Bishop's Stortford 7 Hungerford Town 1 (Drury, Owusu 2, Williams 4)
Truro City 0 Bishop's Stortford 4 (Williams 3, Owusu)
Bishop's Stortford 3 Worcester City 3 (Williams 3)
Bridport 1 Bishop's Stortford 2 (Grant, Richefond)

MATCH OF THE MONTH
To dominate any team is pleasing. To do it against a team relegated last season who are among the likely promotion contenders is tremendous.
(Picture will appear soon. I should be on the game again later this week so will get one then).

NEWS
Jason Williams is named Player of the Month with Adam Drury second and Tom Grant third. Ryan Richefond wins Goal of the Month for his winner at Bridport.
Barrow are the early leaders of League Two on their return to the Football League after 48 years in non league.

[Raware]

A fine start to the season.  Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that you've stayed.

[kevhamster]

Cracking start! 

[Nobby_McDonald]

Thank you @Raware and @kevhamster.

[Nobby_McDonald]

SEPTEMBER 2020

While August was a total goal fest, in September we turned into really mean bastards. It was a superb month, the type of month you wished you could clone and repeat. The only match we didn't win was an away FA Cup game at a team in the Northern Counties East League First Division... three tiers below us! The only goal we conceded was a penalty in an away Southern League Cup match at Tiverton. Absolutely brilliant, the only downer was that one half of my "ginger ninjas", Andrew Collins, suffers a groin strain in the final match at Tiverton and will be out for between 5 weeks and 2 months.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Bishop's Stortford 2 Hitchin Town 0 (Williams 2)
Tiverton Town 0 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Owusu)
Bishop's Stortford 3 Marlow 0 (Owusu 2, Rees)
Bishop's Stortford 1 St Neots Town 0 (Owusu)
AFC Totton 0 Bishop's Stortford 3 (Williams, Owusu 2)

FA CUP
FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND - Bishop's Stortford 2 Market Drayton Town 0 (Drury, Owusu)
SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND - Rainworth Miners Welfare 0 Bishop's Stortford 0
SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND REPLAY - Bishop's Stortford 4 Rainworth Miners Welfare 0 (Grant, Owusu 2, Williams)

SOUTHERN LEAGUE CUP
SECOND ROUND - Tiverton Town 1 Bishop's Stortford 2e (Williams 2)

 

MATCH OF THE MONTH
We travelled to third place AFC Totton towards the end of the month. Totton are likely to be up there at the end of the season and in three visits so far, we have lost every time.
Not this time as we record a comfortable victory to extend our early lead at the top of the table and cement our position as serious promotion contenders. We do lose Adam Drury to pulled ankle ligaments though he should only miss 2 weeks.

NEWS
I am named Manager of the Month.
Ryan Giggs is sacked as manager of Brentford with them 22nd in the Championship.
Monaco, Bayern Munich and Juventus are the last remaining teams in top divisions with a 100% record.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Something I meant to write at the end of the last season... if anybody wants me to profile a team of their choice then I will. The type of things I will include is their current manager, captain, star player, stadium, their performance so far in the game and any new records they have set.

I shall do one each game session on a first come, first serve basis. Bear this in mind if choosing teams from other nations.

These are the active leagues...
England to level 8 (level 10 activated for the start of season 4)
Scotland to level 5
Wales to level 2
Top leagues in France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Northern Ireland and Spain.
 

[Nobby_McDonald]

I did expect somebody to choose a club to be profiled, so I'm surprised nobody has. So as an example of what I mean, I shall do one.
I'm not going to include records as they take quite a lot of time to go through.

STOKE CITY

CLUB INFORMATION
Manager: Tony Mowbray
Captain: Itumeleng Khune (33 year old South African goalkeeper, 108 caps)
Vice Captain: Tommy Smith (28 year old English right back/centre back)
Key player: Bruno Martins Indi (28 year old Dutch centre back/left back, defensive midfielder, 36 caps)
Hot prospect: Shayne Bryne (19 year old English left winger/right winger)
Fierce rivals: Port Vale (local), Crewe Alexandra (local)
Rivals: West Bromwich Albion (competitive), Wolverhampton Wanderers (historic), Arsenal (competitive)
Finances: Rich
Season tickets: 17,251

FACILITIES

Stadium: bet365 Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
Year built: 1997
Capacity: 30,089 all seated
Corporate facilities: Good
Training facilities: Excellent
Data analysis facilities: Excellent
Youth facilities: Superb
Junior coaching: Adequate
Youth recruitment: Above average

LANDMARKS
14 March 2019 - New Chairman Ian Beech takes over (consortium)

PERFORMANCE
2019/20
Premier League: 19th (relegated)
FA Cup: Third Round (lost to Aston Villa)
League Cup: Second Round (lost to Grimsby Town)

2018/9
Championship: 3rd (promoted through playoffs)
FA Cup: Third Round (lost to Middlesbrough)
League Cup: Second Round (lost to Leeds United)

2017/8
Premier League: 19th (relegated)
FA Cup: Quarter Final (lost to Manchester United)
League Cup: Third Round (lost to Everton)

[BadManager]

Solid buffer at the start of the season. Hopefully you'll avoid playoffs this time.

Is there the depth to keep it going when the normal fixture madness of December hits?

[Nobby_McDonald]

I have decent depth now. I have two quality goalkeepers for this level and I have decent cover in the middle of the back four. Full backs are a bit weak though - if Calvin Sinclair (left) or John Neville (right) are out of action for a while then it will be a struggle there.
In midfield Ryan Richefond provides decent cover and plays well when coming on for a sub when required for Ian Rees or Teddy Ford. Fourth in line Christian Nicholls isn't up to standard though. Marlon Akyakwa provides decent cover for Adam Drury on the right wing and can also play on the left while a new loanee from Stevenage (so new I can't remember his name!) played well enough in the Southern League Cup match at Moneyfields to keep long standing left winger Tom Grant out of the team for the following FA Trophy match at Workington. Prior to his arrival, Simon Pennock who is a striker had to cover left wing.
Strikers are fine. Christian Owusu and Jason Williams score a bag load and Daniel Wakeham can grab goals covering and from the bench. Behind them are Simon Pennock (who did well when covering last season) and Tommy Genovese (who has played well for the reserves), both of whom are currently on loan at teams in lower divisions, though can be recalled.

As for December madness, we don't really have that in non league, it's mad from the start of the season with two matches most weeks. We played nine games in September and October.

[Nobby_McDonald]

OCTOBER 2020

And so we continue. Another absolutely tremendous month. In all my years of playing Football Manager, going right back to the original Championship Manager on the Amiga* I have never had a start of a season like this. Sure, I've been top and I've been top with a decent lead, but I've never had an unbeaten start to a league season go on as long as this.
We did lose our first match this month. The first match of the month saw us travel to Wealdstone in the FA Cup. An even match saw the mid table National League South edge it, suggesting we will be competitive if we go up next season. The following match was hardly any easier, as we travelled to second place Banbury. We earned a workmanlike draw, but lost goalkeeper Josh Egan to a broken collarbone, mirroring Cameron Jeffers' injury last season only days before Egan emerged from our youth ranks.
After winning at Poole Town in a great match, the rest of the month was plain sailing. We even beat our bogey team, Biggleswade Town, the first time we beat them at the seventh attempt.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Banbury United 1 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Owusu)
Poole Town 3 Bishop's Stortford 4 (Owusu 2, Richefond, Williams)
Bishop's Stortford 2 AFC Rushden & Diamonds 0 (Williams (pen), Richefond)
Bishop's Stortford 2 Chippenham Town 0 (Williams, Ford (pen))
Biggleswade Town 0 Bishop's Stortford 2 (Williams, Owusu)
Bishop's Stortford 4 Bristol Telephones 1 (Williams 3, Drury)
Bishop's Stortford 4 Hayes & Yeading United 1 (Owusu 2, Williams 2)


FA CUP
THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND - Wealdstone 3 Bishop's Stortford 2 (Williams 2)

FA TROPHY
FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND - Bishop's Stortford 2 Nuneaton Town 0 (Owusu, Wakeham)

MATCH OF THE MONTH
A very entertaining match on the South coast. We went 2-0 after 29 minutes and looked comfortable. However, Poole fought back and with 83 minutes on the clock took the lead. Richefond bagged an equaliser with a minute to play, before Williams grabbed the winner in the second minute of injury time. Queue fist pumping!

NEWS
Jermaine Defoe takes over at Brentford, who had sacked Ryan Giggs last month.
Two surprise packages in the Premier League after 10 games. Southampton are 4th with West Bromwich Albion in 5th.
Having interviewed me for the vacant Manager job in the close season, Maidstone United sack their Manager with them lying 23rd in the National League. Looks like they picked the wrong man!

 

*I've played every version except the standalone foreign leagues and FM17, 19 and 20.

[Raware]

Flying in the league!

I didn't actually realise that Rushden and Diamonds had been reformed!  They were always a favourite of mine

[kevhamster]

Good season so far!

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 12/02/2020 at 21:16, Raware said:

Flying in the league!

I didn't actually realise that Rushden and Diamonds had been reformed!  They were always a favourite of mine

We are indeed.

Supporters formed AFC Rushden & Diamonds in 2011 after Rushden & Diamonds were expelled from the Conference and were liquidated. Last season they finished 9th in the Southern League Premier Division Central.

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 12/02/2020 at 22:03, kevhamster said:

Good season so far!

Thanks Kev. Let's hope it continues.

[Nobby_McDonald]

NOVEMBER 2020

Very close to our first perfect month. However... after despatching Slough on their patch, we travelled to 6th place Basingstoke. We went 3-0 down on 46 minutes and succumbed to a 4-1 defeat. Our unbeaten start ends after 18 games and to make matters worse, Calvin Sinclair fractures his toe and is out for 3-4 weeks.
We then sneak a win at First Division East side Moneyfields in the Southern League Cup, having Teddy Ford sent off in the process before returning to our best at Workington in the FA Trophy. We finish with three 2-1 home wins. Very pleasing.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Slough Town 1 Bishop's Stortford 3 (Rees, Drury, Williams)
Basingstoke Town 4 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Ford)
Bishop's Stortford 2 Merthyr Town 1 (Owusu, Williams)
Bishop's Stortford 2 Leamington 1 (Owusu, Matthews)
Bishop's Stortford P Salisbury P - waterlogged pitch

FA TROPHY
SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND - Workington 0 Bishop's Stortford 3 (Williams, Cass (og), Neville)
THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND - Bishop's Stortford 2 Barking 1 (Collins, Beatson (og))

SOUTHERN LEAGUE CUP
THIRD ROUND - Moneyfields 2 Bishop's Stortford 3 (Owusu 2, Williams)

 

MATCH OF THE MONTH
It has to be the match at Basingstoke, despite it being for the wrong reasons for Bishop's Stortford. Our first league defeat of the season and tied in with the lucky win at Moneyfields, it could have been the catalyst for a bad run. Thankfully it wasn't.

NEWS
Wayne Rooney is appointed manager of Wigan Athletic, who are 22nd in League One.
Tottenham Hotspur sack Luis Enrique, lying 17th in the Premier League. Benfica boss Rui Vitória replaces him.
Southend United have just 3 points from 21 games in League Two.
I'm named Manager of the Month for the second time this season.

[DazRTaylor]

Rushden & Diamonds were a great away day when I followed Yeovil away from home.  The Diamond Burger.  OMG.  🥰

[Nobby_McDonald]

The new team don't play at Nene Park. They play at Hayden Road so I doubt you'll still get a Diamond burger.

[Nobby_McDonald]

DECEMBER 2020

We kick off the month with my 200th game in charge and win 2-0 at Hungerford. The next two games are also away in the league. Williams scores his 150th goal for the club in a single goal victory at Wantage before two late goals win us the game at fifth place Farnborough which was played mostly in a hail storm.
An excellent FA Trophy replay win at Havant & Waterlooville of National League South preceeded a home game against lowly Bridport. They didn't play in midweek. Our extra time exploits on the South coast showed as we laboured to a goaless draw. We were lucky Bridport shoot as well as an impotent old man.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Hungerford Town 0 Bishop's Stortford 2 (Williams 2)
Wantage Town 0 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Williams)
Bishop's Stortford P Truro City P - waterlogged pitch
Farnborough 1 Bishop's Stortford 3 (Williams, Rees, Owusu)
Bishop's Stortford 0 Bridport 0

FA TROPHY
FIRST ROUND - Bishop's Stortford 1 Havant & Waterlooville 1 (Owusu)
FIRST ROUND REPLAY - Havant & Waterlooville 1 Bishop's Stortford 4e (Owusu 3, Richefond)

SOUTHERN LEAGUE CUP
FOURTH ROUND - Hayes & Yeading United 2 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Williams)

 

MATCH OF THE MONTH
I was very pleased to win at a side 15th in the National League South. Both matches were even (though Owusu only equalised with one minute to play in the replay) until extra time arrived in the replay where we battered them on the counter attack. If we do win the league next season, it's going to be evolution rather than revolution.

NEWS
Ahead of the January transfer window, Calvin Sinclair is attracting interest from Barrow of League Two and Morecambe of National League. He also won't negotiate on a contract extension, saying he wants to join a bigger club. Looks like I'll lose one of my youth graduates sooner rather than later.
The board agree to increase the junior coaching budget, which rises to excellent. I'm hopeful of more quality youth graduates coming soon.
Chievo are the unlikely Serie A leaders in a tight division.
Paulo Dybala of Manchester City wins World Football of the Year.

[DazRTaylor]

Coasting.  

[Nobby_McDonald]

It is going very well @DazRTaylor. I hope it continues.

Thanks for the upvote @scott92507.

[Nobby_McDonald]

JANUARY 2021

We start off with a convincing win at Hitchin before we have two huge fixtures - away to third place Worcester and at home to second place Salisbury. We win both to go 13 points clear with 2 games in hand.
After losing on penalties to Boston United (second in National League North) in the FA Trophy, we win at St Neots thanks to Jason Williams scoring two in injury time. As Salisbury have won twice since we beat them, we are now 10 points clear with 3 games in hand.
We then travel to Marlow who score an injury time equaliser. Calvin Sinclair pulls his groin but thankfully our best player will only be out for 6-11 days. It's enough for him to miss the home defeat to Tiverton, only our second league defeat this season.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Hitchin Town 2 Bishop's Stortford 5 (Williams 3, Owusu 2)
Worcester City 0 Bishop's Stortford 2 (Williams, Owusu)
Bishop's Stortford P Slough Town P - waterlogged pitch
Bishop's Stortford 2 Salisbury 1 (Rees, Williams)
St Neots Town 1 Bishop's Stortford 3 (Owusu, Williams 2)
Marlow 1 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Owusu)
Bishop's Stortford 2 Tiverton Town 3 (Ford, Williams)

FA TROPHY
SECOND ROUND - Bishop's Stortford 0 Boston United 0
SECOND ROUND REPLAY - Boston United 1p Bishop's Stortford 1 (Williams)

MATCH OF THE MONTH
It comes as no surprise that it is the big game versus Salisbury. Salisbury equalised through a penalty shortly before half time before Williams got a priceless winner in the fifth minute of injury time to end Salisbury's 14 match unbeaten run and extend our lead to 13 points.

 

ELSEWHERE
Two non league teams reached the Third Round of the FA Cup. AFC Telford United narrowly lost to League One outfit Walsall at home while Gloucester City won a replay at League Two side Yeovil Town before going down 3-1 at Norwich City in the Fourth Round.

TRANSFER WINDOW
Grimsby Town came in for Calvin Sinclair. They offered a measly £1,700 plus 30% of future profit. Not a bloody chance. I asked for £17,500 (including clauses) plus 50% future profit. They wouldn't even counter it. Sinclair is staying put but given he won't even talk about a new contract, in all likelihood he'll be off at the end of the season even if we are promoted.

The big spenders and moves of the January window were...
1. Premier League £128,000,000
2. La Liga £90,000,000
3. Bundesliga £80,000,000
4. Primeira Liga £55,000,000
5. Ligue 1 £48,000,000

1. Real Madrid £63,000,000
2. Liverpool £57,000,000
3. Benfica £51,000,000
4. Manchester United £33,000,000
5. Bayer Leverkusen £28,500,000

John Guidetti (28 year old Swedish world class striker) moved from Napoli to Liverpool for £35,500,000
Elseid Hysaj (26 year old Albanian wing back) moved from Napoli to Manchester United for £26,500,000
Pablo Fornais (24 year old Spanish attacking midfielder) moved from Villareal to Liverpool for £19,500,000

Southend United sign the most players - 11

[Nobby_McDonald]

FEBRUARY 2021

After a really good start to the month, things started to slip when we lost to Truro even though Williams scored after 22 seconds and we were two up at half time. They are the second team from the South West peninsula we have lost at home to this season. We then drew at Merthyr, so not the best couple of results before we travel to Salisbury for the biggest game of the season.
We won, then followed it up with a win against AFC Totton. With a playoff position secure before we even hit March, I can feel promotion coming. Now we have to finish the job...

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Bishop's Stortford 4 Slough Town 0 (Owusu, Collins, Williams 2)
Bishop's Stortford 3 Wantage Town 1 (Owusu 2, Ford)
Bishop's Stortford 2 Truro City 3 (Williams, Rees)
Merthyr Town 0 Bishop's Stortford 0
Salisbury 1 Bishop's Stortford 2 (Williams 2)
Bishop's Stortford 3 AFC Totton 1 (Rees, Grant, Owusu)

MATCH OF THE MONTH
Of course it is the match at Salisbury. We go in at half time a goal down to the only team with any realistic chance of catching us. With twenty minutes to play we still trail to the single goal so I abandon the 4-4-2 and switch to a 4-1-2-3 long ball. Williams nets two to take him to 50 goals for the season and gets us a massive victory. It puts us 14 points clear with 10 games still to play.

NEWS
It's youth intake time. We have a decent batch come through, a few of which have potential to make the first team (squad) in the future. Just like the three previous years where we had Teddy Ford, Calvin Sinclair and Josh Egan come through, we have one player who goes straight into the first team squad. And this means Christian Owusu and Jason Williams who have been scoring goals like they are going out of fashion are now going to have some serious competition.



Italy have been announced as the host of the 2028 European Championship.

League One lower mid table outfit Crewe Alexandra have been taken over by a Puerto Rican tycoon.

[scott92507]

Is there a noticeable difference in play at this level? By that I mean, when you play a team in your league, does the match engine have the players running, passing, crossing, shooting with accuracy? In theory, these players would have low pass-completion percentages and low shot accuracy, etc. But when I have played lower-league games, I do not notice that drop in quality. That becomes apparent only when I play a team from a higher league. Then my team's inefficiencies become apparent.

But otherwise, good work!

Edited March 31, 2020 by scott92507

[Raware]

Easy peasy!  League title almost confirmed 

[Nobby_McDonald]

@scott92507 I don't know about stats in relation to pass completion etc. I don't tend to be much of a stat detail man. I look for goals, assists and average rating, the most important things. I don't tend to look at pass percentages etc. Saying that, I would have thought they would be a similar level as skills levels are relative. While the players won't be as skilled, by the same token the defenders won't be as good either. There are moments of (great) skill but they are hardly frequent. Goals are much more often breakaways, one on ones or more of a scrappy nature. There is the occasional screamer but not many.

@Raware Yes, nearly there...

[Nobby_McDonald]

MARCH 2021

We start well with a convincing win over Banbury at home before we slip up at AFC Rushden & Diamonds who score an injury time winner as youth graduate Jason Parsons makes his debut as a sub. Salisbury win to close the gap.
We have another comfortable home win against Poole before we travel to Chippenham the day after Salisbury win again. Owusu scores our 100th league goal of the season which is a late equaliser. We're not there just yet, but two wins will do it...

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Bishop's Stortford 3 Banbury United 1 (Owusu 2, Hollins)
AFC Rushden & Diamonds 2 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Williams (pen))
Bishop's Stortford 3 Poole Town 1 (Grant, Williams, Owusu)
Chippenham Town 1 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Owusu)

MATCH OF THE MONTH
Not the biggest choice with only four games played, so I picked the Banbury game mainly because of the milestones in the game. Christian Owusu's two goals saw him notch up 150 league goals for the club while one of the 'Ginger Ninjas' Andrew Hollins scored his first. Teddy Ford got his 15th yellow card of the season and picks up a three match ban.

 

ELSEWHERE
Manchester City lead Manchester United and Chelsea in a three way fight for the Premier League.
Bayern Munich are a massive 20 points clear in the Bundesliga.
Celtic have reached the Champions League Quarter Final while Rijeka have done so in the Europa League.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Thanks for the like @kidd_05_u2

Expect to find out next week if we win the league or not...

[TokyoWanderer]

Best of luck! Salisbury still looks like a real menace. 

By the way, I envy how you cope so well with coming up short of promotion.  I play lower league in England as well (in FM18 also) and by the time the long season is finishing, I'm so ready to leave the division behind that if I fail I have a hard time coming back. I enjoy reading about long careers where success is hard to come by, but I can't play a save like that without rage quitting. Maybe I should starting a career thread and see if it helps.

[kevhamster]

Good luck Nobby!

 

[Nobby_McDonald]

APRIL & MAY 2021

So can we do it, or will be blow it and face the playoffs for a third consecutive season?

First up was Biggleswade Town. A nervy first half saw us go in goalless. I settled the team's nerves at half time and Williams scored an early second half goal before bagging a second later on. Salisbury win 2-1 at Bridport after going behind.
We then travel to Bristol Telephones who have had a pretty decent season in their debut at this level. Salisbury drew 1-1 at home to next to bottom Hitchin the previous day. We know a win will seal it. We draw 0-0. One more draw in the final three games will win us the league...
We host Basingstoke. We were solid at the back but unusually lacklustre up front. Thankfully, Ian Rees pops up from midfield to score the only goal. We're champions and Salisbury's 4-4 draw at Slough is now irrelevant.
We then lost our next game at home to Farnborough with midfielder Charlie Russell score on his debut... only for the game to crash on the morning of the final game. The replayed game is drawn. Youth graduate Jason Parsons then scores his first goals of his career in the final game.
Salisbury go on to win the playoffs, deservedly so given they and us were so much better than the rest of the league this season.

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Bishop's Stortford 2 Biggleswade Town 0 (Williams 2)
Bristol Telephones 0 Bishop's Stortford 0
Bishop's Stortford 1 Basingstoke Town 0 (Rees)
Bishop's Stortford 1 Farnborough 1 (Hall)
Hayes & Yeading United 1 Bishop's Stortford 3 (Parsons 2, Grant)

MATCH OF THE MONTH
Despite a lack of exciting football, the occasion and the outcome meant there was only one match to consider as we see the title with two games to spare.

NEWS
I sign a one year contract extension once winning the league was confirmed.
Diego Simone of Manchester City enters the World Hall of Fame.
Crewe Alexandra, having been taken over by a tycoon managed to get relegated from League One.
Southend United notched up only 16 points in League Two.
Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga by 26 points, while The New Saints finish 24 clear in Wales.

Season round up will be done next time.

Edited April 20, 2020 by Nobby_McDonald

[kevhamster]

Quite the season!  Well done on the promotion!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Thank you at @kevhamster

[scott92507]

Good work on promotion. How many more levels til Premier League?

How do you get your images so big? They are easy to read. Mine are too small.

[Raware]

Never in doubt! 107 goals is pretty impressive too 

[kevhamster]

On 21/04/2020 at 04:05, scott92507 said:

Good work on promotion. How many more levels til Premier League?

How do you get your images so big? They are easy to read. Mine are too small.

I also get large images - I find the best way is to upload the screenshots to imgur, then you can copy and paste them into your posts once they're up.

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 21/04/2020 at 04:05, scott92507 said:

Good work on promotion. How many more levels til Premier League?

How do you get your images so big? They are easy to read. Mine are too small.

Thanks Scott. I'll be in National League South next season, which is level 6 in the English pyramid.

I use imgur for my images. Save screenshot in game, upload it to imgur, use the copy in forum feature there.

[Nobby_McDonald]

On 22/04/2020 at 21:19, Raware said:

Never in doubt! 107 goals is pretty impressive too 

Thank you fella.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Season by Season Summary

SEASON   TEAM                          DIVISION                                                                       POSITION   FA CUP                                             OTHER CUPS
2017/8     Bishop's Stortford    Southern League Premier Division                                 9th        Third Qualifying Round                 FA Trophy Third Round
2018/9     Bishop's Stortford    Southern League Premier Division                                 3rd        Fourth Qualifying Round              FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Lost in Playoff Final
2019/20   Bishop's Stortford    Southern League Premier Division                                 2nd       First Qualifying Round                  FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Lost in Playoff Semi Final
2020/21   Bishop's Stortford  Southern League Premier Division                             1st       Third Qualifying Round              FA Trophy Second Round

Note: Bold indicates promotion, italics indicates relegation

 

Trophy Cabinet

LEAGUES
Southern League Premier Division

CUPS
None

AWARDS
Southern League Premier Division Manager of the Year
4x Southern League Premier Division Manager of the Month

Edited April 27, 2020 by Nobby_McDonald

[Nobby_McDonald]

Highest rating: Christian Owusu 7.48
Top goalscorer: Jason Williams 54 in 58 games
Top league goalscorer: Jason Williams 45 in 44 games (top in league)
Most assists: Christian Owusu 23
Most man of the match: Christian Owusu 13

Player of the Year

Young Player of the Year

Southern League Player of the Year: Jason Williams
Southern League Player's Player of the Year: Jason Williams
Southern League Young Player of the Year: Tom Grant
Southern League Top Goalscorer: Jason Williams
Southern League Team of the Year: Andrew Hollins, Teddy Ford, Ian Rees, Adam Drury, Christian Owusu and Jason Williams

[Nobby_McDonald]

Roll of Honour

 

PREMIER LEAGUE
Champions: Manchester City
Champions League qualifiers: Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal (Europa League winners)
Europa League qualifiers: Leicester City (6th), Everton (7th), Middlesbrough (8th)
Relegated: West Ham United, Reading, Brighton & Hove Albion

CHAMPIONSHIP
Champions: Newcastle United
Promoted: Crystal Palace, Huddersfield Town
Relegated: Milton Keynes Dons, Fleetwood Town, Peterborough United

LEAGUE ONE
Champions: Shrewsbury Town
Promoted: Burton Albion, Barnsley
Relegated: Wigan Athletic, Crewe Alexandra, Cambridge United, Scunthorpe United

LEAGUE TWO
Champions: Coventry City
Promoted: Yeovil Town, Luton Town, Barrow
Relegated: Barnet, Southend United

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Champions: Salford City
Promoted: AFC Fylde
Relegated: Tranmere Rovers, Southport, Maidstone United, Spennymoor Town

NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH
Champions: Boston United
Promoted: Wrexham
Relegated: King's Lynn Town, Sutton Coldfield Town, Shaw Lane

NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH
Champions: Sutton United
Promoted: Whitehawk
Relegated: Concord Rangers, Bognor Regis Town, Greenwich Borough

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Champions: Royston Town
Promoted: Worthing
Relegated: Thurrock, Wingate & Finchley, Barking, Hendon

NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Champions: Altrincham
Promoted: Bradford Park Avenue
Relegated: Buxton, Mickleover Sports, Stourbridge, Matlock Town

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Champions: Bishop's Stortford
Promoted: Salisbury
Relegated: St Neots Town, AFC Rushden & Diamonds, Hitchin Town, Wantage Town

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION NORTH
Champions: Grays Athletic
Promoted: Hackney Wick
Relegated: Cheshunt, Fakenham Town, Romford

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION SOUTH
Champions: Hythe Town
Promoted: Ashford United
Relegated: Chipstead, Ramsgate, Molesey

NORTHER PREMIER LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION NORTH
Champions: Prescot Cables
Promoted: Ossett Albion
Relegated: Lancaster City, Newcastle Town

NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION SOUTH
Champions: Romulus
Promoted: Worksop Town
Relegated: Belper Town, Coalville Town

SOUTHERN LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION EAST
Champions: Thame United
Promoted: Boston Town
Relegated: Stratford Town, Bedford Town

SOUTHERN LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION WEST
Champions: Bishop's Cleeve
Promoted: Weston-super-Mare
Relegated: Bridgwater Town, Thatcham Town

TIER 9 PROMOTIONS
Walton Casuals, Ely City, Aveley, Highworth Town, Loughborough University, New Mills, Billingham Synthonia, Northwich Victoria, Phoenix Sports, VCD Athletic, Barton Rovers, Coventry United, Sholing, Street

 

FA CUP
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 Manchester United 1

LEAGUE CUP
Manchester City 1 Chelsea 2e

FOOTBALL LEAGUE TROPHY
Plymouth Argyle 2 Manchester City under 23s 0

FA TROPHY
AFC Fylde 3 Harrogate Town 0

 

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Monaco 1 Manchester United 2
Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid

EUROPA LEAGUE
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Arsenal 2e
Wembley, London

 

FRANCE: Paris-Saint-Germain
GERMANY: Bayern Munich
IRELAND: Dundalk
ITALY: Inter Milan
NORTHERN IRELAND: Glenavon
SCOTLAND: Celtic
SPAIN: Real Madrid
WALES: The New Saints

[Nobby_McDonald]

2021 Nations League
Hosts: Spain
Holders: France

SEMI FINALS
Netherlands 3p Italy 3
Spain 0 Portugal 3e

FINAL
Netherlands 1 Portugal 2e
Balaídos, Vigo

[Nobby_McDonald]

NEW CLUB RECORDS
Points in a season: 110
Wins in a season: 34
Fewest defeats: 4
Gate receipts: £24,280 v Market Drayton Town (FA Cup First Qualifying Round)
Games without losing: 14
Games without conceding: 8
Average attendance: 510
Worst discipline: 15 yellows, 1 red - Teddy Ford

NEW LEAGUE RECORDS
Points: 110 - Bishop's Stortford
Most wins: 34 - Bishop's Stortford
Lowest overall average attendance: 362
Lowest attendance: 53 - Bristol Telephones v Hayes & Yeading United
Wins in a row: 14 - Salisbury

[Nobby_McDonald]

Elsewhere

Diego Simone (Manchester City) enters the World Hall of Fame.
Southend United only managed 16 points in getting relegated from League Two.
Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga by 26 points.
The New Saints won the Welsh Premier League by 24 points.

 

Close/pre season

Preparations for our return to National League South have not been going well...
As expected, Calvin Sinclair left when his contract expired. Having had interest from League Two clubs, he makes a surprising move to University College Dublin, who are 9th in the Irish Premier Division. Sinclair played 91 games for us.
Then out of the blue, the board accept an offer worth £8,700 for Teddy Ford from Southend United. A meeting with the board makes no difference and Ford leaves having made 145 appearances for us. The sale includes another £1,800 after 50 league games and 40% of any transfer profit. I'm raging. I've lost my best play (which nobody could have done anything about), then the board sell out best midfielder.
One small piece of good news appears when Hampton & Richmond Borough enter administration and are deducted 10 points. We won't be bottom after our first match at Welling!

[Nobby_McDonald]

AUGUST 2021

Bishop's Stortford's return to National League South started very well. Starting off with a draw at Welling before beating debt ridden Hampton & Richmond bode well. Nathan Collins then twists his ankle 18 minutes into the third game and we lose our remaining three games of the month without scoring. Reality bites. Work to do.

NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH
Welling United 2 Bishop's Stortford 2 (Parsons (pen), Owusu)
Bishop's Stortford 2 Hampton & Richmond Borough 1 (Parsons 2)
Havant & Waterlooville 1 Bishop's Stortford 0
Bishop's Stortford 0 Boreham Wood 1
Dartford 2 Bishop's Stortford 0

MATCH OF THE MONTH
Fairly slim pickings... it has to be the club's first win back at this level. The win was deserved and Jason Parsons is already showing his tremendous promise. The trouble is he already has an agent who thinks the same thing so they won't even enter negotiations on his first professional contract for when he turns 17. I have a strong feeling Parsons won't be at Bishop's Stortford for too much longer.

 

ELSEWHERE
The transfer window ended. Top deals and spenders are as follows...

Ousmane Dembéle (24 year old French winger) - Barcelona to Paris-Saint-Germain for £196,000,000
Kylian Mbappe (22 year old French striker) - Paris-Saint-Germain to Manchester United for £147,000,000
Matthijs de Ligt (22 year old Dutch centre back) - Paris-Saint-Germain to Chelsea for £123,000,000

Paris-Saint-Germain £311,000,000
Chelsea £200,000,000
Manchester United £181,000,000

English Premier League £1,050,000,000
German Bundesliga £605,000,000
Spanish La Liga £435,000,000

Edited June 1, 2020 by Nobby_McDonald

[DazRTaylor]

A decent start at that level Nobby, though I see you have a moron as chairman.

[Raware]

Sounds like you need a new chairman!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Thanks Daz.

I'm furious. Days before the new season and the Chairman sells my best midfielder. If we'd have got a decent amount for him to help with the club debt then I'd have grinned and beared it. £8,700 is not even a dent in our debt so the move is more likely to harm us than benefit us.

The saga has given me itchy feet again.

[Nobby_McDonald]

SEPTEMBER 2020

We find our feet in National League South. Very good performances and results at home see us chalk up three wins and with two fan days should help to boost attendances long term. Jason Parsons is developing very nicely as the 16 year old bags six goals. An end of the month defeat at Braintree where veteran Curtis Weston scores his first goal for the club prevents a perfect month but I'm happy with it... except for an atrocious FA Cup defeat against North Ferriby who are at the bottom end of the Northern Premier League Premier Division.

NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH
Bishop's Stortford 3 Weymouth 1 (Wakeham, Parsons 2)
Bishop's Stortford 3 Chelmsford City 0 (Parsons 2, Wakeham)
Bishop's Stortford 2 Worthing 0 (Parsons 2)
Braintree Town 3 Bishop's Stortford 1 (Weston)

FA CUP
SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND - Bishop's Stortford 0 North Ferriby United 0
SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND REPLAY - North Ferriby United 2 Bishop's Stortford 0

MATCH OF THE MONTH
A convincing win over Chelmsford where starlet Jason Parsons bags two and fourth choice striker Daniel Wakeham finds the net in the absence of Christian Owusu and Jason Williams, all in front of a bumper crowd of 836.

NEWS
Jason Parsons wins Player of the Month, Young Player of the Month and Goal of the Month for one of his double against Worthing. His agent won't even discuss him signing a professional contract, so I don't thing young master Parsons will be staying with us for too long.
Leicester City are top of the Premier League.
Luton Town, Fleetwood Town and Exeter City lead the way in League One.
Salford City are 5th in the debut season in the Football League.
SPAL are a shock 2nd in Serie A.

[Raware]

Adjusting nicely to life in the National League South  even if you don't have Ford any more.  How's Owusu finding it?

[Nobby_McDonald]

He's been on the physio's treatment table more often than on the pitch... but as you'll see in a moment he's about to make his mark...