Toss a coin to your manager

[Constantine]

First stop. Third team to call me up for interview but first one to ring me back.

So here we go...

Quote

Hampton & Richmond Borough Football Club is an English football club based in the suburb of Hampton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. They were founded in 1921 and formerly known as Hampton FC until 1999 when they changed their name in an attempt to draw a wider support base from around the borough. They currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football.

Hampton & Richmond Borough remains the only senior-level football club to represent the borough of Richmond upon Thames, but arguably struggles in attendance due to the popularity of rugby union in the borough. The club has a core support base of around 500 to 600 people.

There's much room for improvements here.

 

Currently in the black though even my grandma and her cats know this will get ugly really fast.

 

Not that dire of a situation but board are ambitious. They're asking midtable position of me.

 

When i saw this, i kinda understood why The Beavers under-performed. They've got two whole squads in preseason. Yikes.

 

Few familiar names but not much to get excited about. This team is old, defense is slower than a snail but i can work with this.

Few players worthy of mentioning:

A fine goalie for this level.

 

As slow as a tortoise but it'll have to do...

 

Vanarama's Pirlo.

 

Poor man's Nani. I like him.

 

Old as the Bible but best striker we have.

 

Random beaver in holiday mood for the end of the opening post

 

 

 

 

[Constantine]

[Constantine]

Hampton's finest, ladies and gents...

[Nobby_McDonald]

Fourth from bottom is pretty dire to me Constantine.

[ManUtd1]

18 hours ago, Constantine said:

[Constantine]

4 hours ago, ManUtd1 said:

[Constantine]

Season 2018./19.

Overall, i'm pleased with how we did. Had a chance to get involved in fight for Play Offs but blew it with inconsistency and seven-game winless run from February till March.

Vanarama National League South

Middle of the table, just what board asked for. Going to aim higher next year, as impending squad revolution looms over us. Already got few players lined up...

 

The Emirates FA Cup

Never got a chance to try myself out in football's oldest competition in the world. Next season...

 

Buildbase FA Trophy

Backups lost out to Dartford in a match they've dominated. It's a shame but... Meh.

 

Transfers

Our best striker suddenly decided he's homesick and wanted to go home to Ghana while GDF picked up his non-contract backup. Replacements were brought in in young Allen and Lobjoit while Upton should improve our shaky defense. 

 

Finances

Not as bad as it could've been.

 

Squad

Defense will be overhauled as we need faster defenders to play the kind of football i want. Midfield won't be touched as much and we might need another striker in.

 

He was a standout performer in our struggling side. Fantastic output in such short time. Hopefully he'll carry this form in the next season.

 

Nani was great though he oftentimes struggled with finish. Frequently found himself in good, open chances but failed to score. His goal tally could've been much better.

 

[Constantine]

Season 2019./20.

Vanarama National League South

It was a long season. Having spent most of the season in the top 5 places, post-New Year results allowed us to take the top spot. Then March happened.

Our unbeaten record kept extending while our advantage over Bromley started to crumble and they finally overtook us following Billericay draw. Our bottle job was complete with a nil-nil draw v Hemel and we went into Play Offs.

Huge friendly victory over St. Neots one week before Promotion Semi Final snapped my players and they took all their frustrations on Hemel, which booked our place in the Final.

That game was exciting as finals usually are. Oxford was tough cookie to break whilst extremely dangerous on counters.

Yet...

We overcame them. Last place in Vanarama Conference is ours!!

Exhausting...

 

The Emirates FA Cup

Lady Luck was on our side as we only had to face Conference teams before getting dismantled at St. James' Park.

$$$

 

Buildbase FA Trophy

Backups did alright. But that Leamington defeat was embarrassing, as they've rapid-fired us out of the competition.

 

Transfers

I was very pleased with work being done over summer. Few really good players were signed and most of them carried us to the Final and promotion. Loans were used to plug holes in our squad and they did decently enough.

 

Finances

Yeah, it's bad. Never mind our PL away game, board randomly decided to shoot themselves in the legs with this.

Was this really that necessary?

 

Squad

To the last man, they were amazing. I'll try to keep most of them for next season. Might sign replacements for loanees and veteran Corcoran.

And just so you guys can see how good these boys actually are, i'll show you our best eleven.

 

Mark Smith

Tyrell Miller-Rodney   Harry Osborne   Regan Upton   Luke Rowe

Harry Middleton

Matty Whichelow                              Rhys Murrell-Williamson

Tom Dinsmore

Dan Cashman   Leon Lobjoit

 

Dinsmore and Spider-Man's villain were fantastic this year. Middleton too, he was rock at the back. Lobjoit had continued his cracking form, his scoring run from last season and was once again our top scorer. Cashman annoyed the **** outta me with his misses but when Leon went quiet in Play Offs, this lad scored and got us over the line.

 

And now you guys are fully up to date with this save. Summer window awaits.

[Rikulec]

Interesting start, I'll be following.

[Constantine]

  August & September 2020.

Transfers

So let's get through transfer window and done business first.

With most of the squad remaining the same (thanks to my board and their decision to build perhaps an unnecessary stadium), i restrained myself and went after only what was an absolute necessity. New starting fullbacks and left winger, adding talented AMC from Kettering into mix (Dinsmore is still my #1 choice there) and superb Telford loanee, who i'll be trying to sign down the road. Others are there for rotation.

 

My scouts kept bugging me about this kid from Kettering. Finally gave him a look near the end of last season and... Wow.

 

Middleton's backup.

 

An improvement on Tyrell Miller-Rodney and our new starting right back.

 

Jamaican kid is freaking rapid!! Thought i could use him as backup to Nani but he was so good in friendlies and that earned him a place in starting XI.

 

The Irishman will start over Rowe on the left.

 

His mentality is really dragging him down. Otherwise, he would be brilliant. Third choice CD for now...

 

Really struggled to get a proper left winger in. Many of my targets chose other clubs so i snapped up Iandolo. He'll do fine. I guess. Definitely an upgrade though...

 

The look of the squad right now. I'm pleased. There's a good core in there. Perhaps i should've went for better strikers but i wanted to give the guys a chance to impress. Well, that, and our finances being bad at the moment...

 

Vanarama National League

As much as we were brilliant in August, in September the meltdown mode went on with a full swing. With the irony being, we had much easier schedule (on paper) in September.

The table is looking good. But we must improve and put an end on our winless run ASAP. Before it become a bigger issue.

And last bit of news... Sadly, Boris did it. Brexit is happening. More info incoming...

 

 

 

 

[anagain]

Nice to see someone likes themselves a bit of Firefly! 

[Constantine]

October, November & December 2020.

Vanarama National League

Overall, this was a decent period for us. Got our groove back with a three win from four consecutive home games and our winless streak was a thing of the past. Until it briefly returned as all our strikers got in a slump at the same time. They've broke through but valuable points were dropped. Bromley lead the way. Again. Which is, honestly, a nice surprise.

 

The Emirates FA Cup

We took the longer route but we're once again in Round 3. Brentford will be the end of the road for us.

 

Buildbase FA Trophy

Backups routinely dispatched Truro. Stockport is our next opponent.

 

I have to mention the fact that other clubs noticed our good results as Ebbsfleet United, Wycombe, Bolton and most recently Burton Albion called me up for interviews. Rejected the former two but felt obliged to go with the rest of them. No one came back but it's encouraging, others noticing me. Not really sure if i'll stay with The Beavers past this season, as our financial situation worsens...

[Constantine]

January & February 2021.

Dan Cashman left us to join Championship (soon to be League One) side Burton Albion in 30k + 50% sell on fee deal. Fraction of that fee was used to permanently sign Jacob Givens from Telford. His contract was running out in the summer but due to Plymouth interest, i've decided to act early and get him for 3k and non-negotiable 30% sell on fee.

 

Vanarama National League

Another good month, as we kept up with Barrow. March will be a decider, seven matches to play and whoever comes out on top will be in great position to secure promotion in somewhat calmer April.

 

The Emirates FA Cup

Shockingly, we've lost. Juan Carlos Unzué took no chances, got his best players on the pitch and while we held out valiantly, their quality shone through.

 

Buildbase FA Trophy

Our second string got us to the Semi Final. Well done lads. Of course, they'll play in that match too, it would be unfair to them to do otherwise.

 

[Constantine]

March 2021.

In my last report, i forgot to mention this young lad. Joey Stevens, Aston Villa graduate who ended up at Hemel Hempstead for more than half a season before my scouts picked him up and we signed him as replacement for outgoing Cashman.

 

Vanarama National League

And with two defeats to close out March, we're effectively out of the title race. Shame, really, but few light injuries, couple suspensions and team fell out of rhythm which cost us. No hard feelings there since we're massively overachieving at the moment but lads need to get back on the winning track ahead of playoffs.

 

Buildbase FA Trophy

The boys are in the Final!! First game and undeserved defeat kick-started our fallout in the league but we showed them at Kingfield Stadium that we're not to be messed with. Dagenham and Redbridge awaits on May 16th.

[Constantine]

April 2021.

We're getting in the right mood before the playoffs, setting a league record and standing up to three possible rivals.  Due to our position on the table, we're getting one more week to prepare. Let's not waste it. Two most important games for H&R are coming; Semi-final for getting into Pro football and first FA Trophy final in history.

Vanarama National League

 

[Constantine]

May 2021.

Buildbase FA Trophy

I played backups all throughout this competition and while we had a week worth of rest following National League Semi final v Grimsby, i thought it would be disrespectful to all of the guys that brought us here had i chose to go into Final with our strongest eleven.

Yeah, i'm not the kind of guy to do that. Went once again with backups. They fought really hard (that ref hampered us badly despite the penalty) but sadly couldn't bring it home. It was close. So freaking close.

 

Vanarama National League

Following our six-game unbeaten (and without conceding a single goal), we went into Semi final with all hope of getting something v Grimsby. Slavisa Jokanovic dropped down the leagues to manage The Mariners and they gave us a fight every time we met. Both of our previous encounters ended with 0-0 draw.

So, yeah, weren't exactly expecting a classic...

And sure as hell we haven't got one. It went exactly as i expected it would go. Boring, drab game, waiting one another to make the first mistake. And it happened in the first minute of the extra time when my super sub scored a screamer from 20something meters after a misplaced header by Harry Davis. Our superb defense held on, lead by brilliant Spider-Man villain and into the Final we went.

 

The O's waited for us in there. After beating Hartlepool in a thrilling 5-2 encounter, Leyton Orient was first team to book a passage to Wembley. They also overtook us on the league table, despite us beating their arses 5-1 at Kingfield Stadium. We did drew 2-2 away back in March.

With more than two weeks since game v Jokanovic's Grimsby, our finest were back on the pitch. I was afraid there will be some rustiness to shake off but...

Nope. Dinsmore run the show and with two goals under the belt got us where he shouldn't have gotten had he accepted Notts County's offer. Middleton convinced him to stay and he was a key man to get us into the promised land. The Football League.

 

****... Now i'm conflicted whether to remain for another season or to go my way...

 

[Constantine]

Season 2020./21.

Vanarama National League

Finest defense of the league deserved to get promoted. The boys were brilliant through whole season and i can't tell you how happy i'm with them for bringing me all this way.

 

The Emirates FA Cup

Second season in a row we're stopped in 3rd Round. Can't complain about that, money definitely helped...

 

Buildbase FA Trophy

They fought to the best of their abilities, gave 110% but Dag&Red proved too strong for them in the final. Proud of you too, lads...

 

Squad

And these are the boys that did it all. Great bunch, this...

 

Transfers

All our business this year.

 

Finances

Two Wembley visits in a row boosted our finances. Back in black again after a whole season spent seeing red.

 

Best XI

Mark Smith

Joshua Webb     Harry Osborne     Regan Upton     Jack Connors

Harry Middleton

Jacob Givens     Tom Dinsmore     Ellis Iandolo

Taylor Allen     Leon Lobjoit

 

Tactics

If anyone cares, this is how we've been playing. Inspired by Dafuge (i've absolutely read both of his On Tour series while i was sick month or so ago), so i started to play around with wide diamond. While it was potent going forward, there were huge gaping holes better opponents could exploit. At the start of this season i started tweaking it and that's how i've came with second one. It's more compact, structured, very hard to break through and is one of the reasons for our much better defensive record this year.  And i'm so ****ing loving it how they look on the pitch; wicked and maniacal attacks of the first one and more patient but still lethal approach of the second one.

 

Time will come soon to decide about my fate at Hampton. I had my heart set out for this season's exit but this made things complicated...

 

And, yeah, spreadsheet is back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Constantine]

Went out to get dinner, watched season finale of HBO's His Dark Materials, got back into game and... I knew i wanted to go on high. That was it.

This side will need another rebuild to be competitive and with board burning through the money...

It's better we split on good terms.

At job center, i've found an abundance of open positions but two of them caught my eye.

Joey Barton was sacked from Coventry City, following yet another disappointing season where they've fought for survival in League 1.

Dmitri Halajko resigned from his post at Home Park in city of Plymouth, leaving The Pilgrims in the middle of League 2 table.

Got interviews with both of them and now i wait...

 

[Constantine]

Not gonna lie, Coventry was my favorite of the two but they've decided to hire Gabriele Cioffi, a man who got bang average Crawley side promoted to League 1.

But The Pilgrims... They chose wisely.

My adventure continue on the coast...

 

 

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

Quote

Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team competes in League Two after being relegated from League One in the 2018–19 season. They have played at Home Park, known as the "Theatre of Greens", since 1901. Argyle are one of two Devon clubs who compete in the Football League, the other being Exeter City, Argyle's local rivals.

The club takes its nickname, "The Pilgrims", from an English religious group that left Plymouth for the New World in 1620. The club crest features the Mayflower, the ship that carried the pilgrims to Massachusetts. The club has predominantly played in green and white throughout their history, with a few exceptions in the late 1960s and early 1970s when white was the colour of choice. A darker shade of green, described as 'Argyle green', was adopted in the 2001-02 season, and has been used ever since.[3] The city of Plymouth is the largest in England never to have hosted top-flight football. They are the most southerly and westerly League club in England and the only professional club named Argyle.

First time managing them though i always found them cool. Their colors, crest, nickname... All lovely.

Contrary to their RL counterparts, Plymouth Argyle got relegated last year. They were among favorites for promotion, to get right back to League 1 but Mark Robins and later Dmitri Halajko both failed.

 

Sky Bet League Two

I can't do worse than this... Right?

 

Finances

Not great, not terrible... Though WB will need some rework.

 

Squad

There's work to be done here, definitely, but i'm liking what i'm seeing.

 

Top quality goalie for this level. He's unhappy though, want to leave due to club getting relegated and i'll try to convince him to help us get back. If he's persistent and still want out, he can do that when his contract expire next summer.

 

Same can be said for this fella.

 

Finest CD we have. He's going to need a partner though...

 

Complete player in the heart of the midfield.

 

I remember this lad from when he played for Crvena zvezda. Rubbish player for them but our best striker.

 

Thing that worries me, we have no proper wingers. Yes, we have players that can play there but they're all either bang average or not suitable at all for that position. Also, Ollie Clarke and Yann Songo'o are dead set on leaving when their contracts expire. Shame, as i could really use them.

Anyhow, lots of work are ahead. Have to wait for June 30th and see how much wage budget i have available. Then transfer madness can begin.

Though that'll most likely wait till Liverpool and Sheff Utd are done.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Constantine

[Rikulec]

Interesting move, and a well earned one.

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

July & August 2021.

I'm struggling to remember when was the last time i spent almost two days planning and carrying out transfer window. Damn...

But The Pilgrims were in a bad shape, with most of the players demanding to leave with an excuse that League Two is way below level they should be playing, even though they're the reason we ended up here in the first place. Some i was happy to sell, with most of them i was delighted to get rid of and free up some space in wage budget.

But i was adamant that our #1 Joel Coleman and starting right back Conor McLaughlin are staying, even if we lose them for nothing next summer. And i stood by that. No matter the tantrums they're throwing since day one.

As for the rest... Well, the squad is almost completely rebuilt as twelve new players boosted our ranks.

Old habits die hard, as i'm yet to spend a penny on a players (with an exception of Givens back in Hampton, whom i've bought for 3k).

Let's see the new kids on the block.

 

Of course our first signing had to be a winger since we haven't had a soul capable of playing that. Former Preston youngling will do fine at this level.

 

Adam Lewis captained my three-time Champions League winning Birmingham side in an online save so this was a no brainer.

 

Needed someone flamboyant to fill an AMC slot and Georgie will do just fine.

 

Someone gotta challenge Lewis...

 

Best player in our club was courtesy of Premier League side, Leeds United. Kyle is just stupidly good for League Two and i expect him to tear it up.

 

Young Pole will easily slot in our starting XI.

 

A boy who can play pretty much anywhere in midfield, landed with us following unsuccessful spells at Watford, Exeter and Southend.

 

Decent player, signed for squad depth. He'll get a chance to show off his skills, for sure.

 

A natural striker whom i'm retraining to play as right winger. Couldn't find a better alternative at given time.

 

The lad will be a cover for defiant McLaughlin.

 

Needed a fourth center back and he was the best i could get for money we had left.

 

Another striking option.

 

Squad

Loving the looks of this, not gonna lie. We should make one helluva promotion candidate.

 

Sky Bet League Two

Not exactly lighting the league on fire at the moment... Mixed results but it was to be expected since i basically bought an entire new team. Boys are still getting used to each other and their lack of fluidity shows... Most of these games were pain in the arse to watch as guys kept frantically running like chickens with their heads cut off, not knowing where they should stand and where they're supposed to be, make runs, etc...

I'm the one to blame as it took me forever to finish these deals, putting Ed Woodward to shame. Don't think these players played one friendly all together.

But it will come with time, i'm sure.

 

Carabao Cup

A game that came at bad time... I'm ashamed we're out this early, since i pride myself on being good in cup competitions but...

 

Checkatrade Trophy

Good start in a competition no one cares about.

 

Finances

Still getting used to seeing seven-figure numbers in here...

 

And to close out this with everyone's favorite topic: Brexit

 

 

 

 

[Rikulec]

You've made some great transfers, it should only be a matter of time before they click and smash the league.

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

September & October 2021.

 

Sky Bet League Two

The boys apparently clicked together as we put the pedal to the metal and hulk-smashed nearly everyone in our way. If i had to nitpick it, which i most often do, we should've won that game v Cheltenham. The Robins themselves don't know how they've got a point there.

Aside from that, brilliant.

 

Checkatrade Trophy

We're through to the next stage.

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

November & December 2021.

Bit of a mixed period, as we were at time devastated by injuries. And it's almost always one particular position decimated. We were without CM's for about a month, without strikers about the same and two weeks without RB's, though Furlong came back just in time for FA Cup.

Sky Bet League Two

I wasn't wooed by our performances in the slightest but i could understand them due to injuries and ill timed suspensions. As much as we were of dodgy form, so were the rest of the teams as we increased our lead. By point, mind you, but still...

 

The Emirates FA Cup

Much easier than results shows, we've got to the 3rd round, where we'll be facing struggling Championship unit, Reading.

 

Checkatrade Trophy

Backups linched first place in our group by easily dismantling Walsall but our journey ended at the next obstacle, as Wycombe offed us in classic FM manner.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Constantine

[Constantine]

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done with Hampton & Richmond. Good luck with Plymouth.

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

January & February 2022.

Not exactly a great ending to this period, as we began to stutter in the league but we're so far successfully keeping Wimbledon at arm's length.

Three players left us. McLaughlin was allowed to leave once i've found a worthy replacement in Wales. O'Neill was a random youngster. But my board unnecessarily selling out top prospect, homegrown at club, it nearly drove me out. I planned to build a side around him, had him set to auto-reject but these dumbf***s overruled me. Strike one for them. One more and i'm out. I'm allergic to this sort of things. Zero tolerance, from now on.

 

One the other side of things, we've got two players in. A towering centre back from Wales who can't head the ball and an Italian diamond in the rough.

 

I don't understand how no one picked him up. Yes, he's close to his ceiling but he's very good. Will play at RB, until i get someone more suited to the role.

 

Brilliant mental attributes but everything else needs some work. Gribbin will be moved on the left, as Salmon's replacement, while this young fella will get his minutes paired with Henson in attack.

 

Sky Bet League Two

After strong start to the year, we've hit a bad patch. Even my former club stood us up. Still, our advantage is still holding up but i'd like us to end this winless streak ASAP, before things take a nasty turn.

 

The Emirates FA Cup

We're still in the Cup, boys!! Got the best of struggling Reading, fought it out with The Blades, eventually breaking them at our ground. Even Premier League side fell in front of us (though they did sent out their second string).

Next one is Arsenal, at Home Park. I suspect this is where our run end. But we will not go quietly into the night...

 

 

 

 

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

March 2022.

Not sure if it's a coincidence but it seems like my "misunderstanding" with the board affected my squad (i might or might not call them out in the media following Salmon's transfer) as we had our worst month since i signed up.

 

Sky Bet League Two

But despite us doing our best to sabotage ourselves, we're still few points away and with only six remaining games... I don't see us ****ing up so badly.

 

The Emirates FA Cup

It took penalties for The Gunners to eliminate us... I was speechless during that match and laughed my arse off when Walker equalized in 89th as we robbed London side who absolutely battered us. Nearly FM-ed them...

[Constantine]

Halfway through April and... We did it, boys.

And we've got nice war chest for the upcoming window.

 

 

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

April 2022.

It's actually May; we haven't played any games but i wanted to wait and see who would win the play offs.

 

Sky Bet League Two

Clinched the title in a most spectacular way, a bore draw with Barrow.

Hampton survived, that's nice.

 

The Emirates FA Cup

Rode our luck till Arsenal's quality shone through. Great campaign.

 

Carabao Cup

We don't talk about that here...

 

Checkatrade Trophy

Backups did alright.

 

Squad

Our #1 extended his contract, now that we're back in League One. Some other players too, Poole, Butcher and Aimson among others. Lewis is staying for another year, as does Walker. United is not interested in letting Lukasz Bejger stay while Leeds want to give Henson a chance in their first team. We'll miss him badly, our top scorer.

 

Transfers

All business done this year.

 

Finances

Those 575k meant the world to this club...

Yes, i'm still mad. And petty. Get used to that.

 

Best XI

Joel Coleman

Darnell Furlong    Lukasz Bejger    Will Aimson    Adam Lewis

Regan Poole

Josh Ginnelly                                               Callum Gribbin

Matt Butcher

Kyle Henson    Salvatore Gervasi

 

[deltablue]

Doing well so far with Plymouth

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

July, August & September 2022.

This time i went for a different approach, evolution more than a revolution, with keeping my squad as intact as possible while filling up holes made by returning loanees and strengthening our bench.

I think it was because of that our results didn't suffer as much as we started out really strong.

Transfers

We actually spent some money!! Foulds sale wasn't planned, it came on a deadline day and with Lewis being my first pick, it was only a matter of how much we can squeeze Wigan for him.

Now, newcomers...

 

Signed on Bosman as replacement for Man Utd's Bejger.

 

He's planned to replace Butcher down the line. Who knows, kid is good, it might happen sooner rather than later...

 

Someone to challenge Coleman.

 

An experienced replacement for Henson. He can do a good job for us for season or two.

 

I was honestly surprised went for us over Brentford. Brilliant signing, he's gonna give Poole a run for his money.

 

Outcast from Chelsea. He'll be in rotation.

 

Signed him mostly to spite Derby, who took two players right under my nose and had a bid for him accepted but he's actually pretty sweet player, with outstanding mental and physical attributes. Technical side needs some work but we'll get to that.

 

Lewis's backup.

 

Squad

The board are expecting top half, media had us at 6th... I think we'll be thereabout.

 

Sky Bet League One

We've had a great run for a while, cut abrupt by my fault, really, as i rotated the **** outta them. Cups have taken their toll...

Luton turned off their god mode about the same time we did so the chase continue...

 

Carabao Cup

Matt Grimes nearly knocked us out at the first step (again) with a stupid own goal where he pushed the ball into goal with his arse but then he redeemed himself, saving two penalties later on. We went on to drop Villa in a classic FM manner, with their former player opening the scoreline and now Bournemouth awaits.

 

Checkatrade Trophy

Backups did well v Chelsea's kids.

 

Finances

Looking good...

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

October 2022.

Well, that went sideways rather unexpectedly...

Sky Bet League One

One defeat in an even match was enough to completely derail a team who was mauling everything in front of them.

Alright...

 

Carabao Cup

Thanks to Scott Hogan and Eddie Howe, who came out with second string, we went past Bournmouth and that was when our journey ultimately ended. We've beaten two PL sides on our run and that's enough to make me happy.

 

Checkatrade Trophy

We've qualified for the next phase.

 

 

[Constantine]

Plymouth Argyle

November & December 2022.

We've recovered nicely following October's slump in form but...

 

Sky Bet League One

We started stumbling again. Was it not for Aimson's 90+2 goal, we would've had a crappy ending to an overall very successful year.

 

FA Cup 

Disheartening loss on penalties in a game we dominated which later started our shambolic run.

 

Checkatrade Trophy

After topping Group H, backups maintained their good work in the Knockouts. Charlton is next.

 

 

[Constantine]

This came kinda outta nowhere...

Attended it, i'm not the one to decline a chance to manage a Premier League club.

Funny thing is, the chairman wanted me to play possession football and sign high profile signings. Burnley way, is it??

[Constantine]

I'm a wanted man...

[Constantine]

Got my hopes up to soon...

[Constantine]

0/2

Meh... Realistically, i'm still leagues away from the Premier League.

But these interviews flatters me. Never expected them this early on...

[Constantine]

Another PL team... Learned my lesson, attended, expecting nothing.

[Constantine]

Bidding war for Gervasi is getting ridiculous. Negotiated with Brighton and Watford 5+5m over six month period and...

Jesus ****. West Ham came in with 3.5m rising to 11.5 with some clauses (don't like this one, **** off Michael Laudrup). Then Milan and random Napoli joined in. Holy fecking hell

Edited January 12, 2020 by Constantine

[Constantine]

****... They actually came back.

On one hand, PL football and 10 times bigger salary... On another, Fabio Borini leading their attack.

Saved the game and going to prepare something for dinner. Then i'll decide.

[Constantine]

Middlesbrough F.C.

Allure of the Premier League was too big for me to resist...

I'm going.

Quote

Middlesbrough Football Club (/ˈmɪdəlzbrə/ (About this soundlisten) MID-əlz-brə) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. They are currently competing in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since 1995,[5] their third ground since turning professional in 1889. The club played at the Linthorpe Road ground from 1882 to 1903 and at Ayresome Park for 92 years, from 1903 to 1995.

Middlesbrough were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992 and became one of the first clubs to be relegated from it following the 1992–93 season. The club came close to folding in 1986 after experiencing severe financial difficulties before it was saved by a consortium led by then board member and later chairman Steve Gibson.[6] The club's main rivals are Sunderland, Newcastle United and Leeds United.[7]

The club's achievements include winning the League Cup in 2004,[8] their first and to date only major trophy, and they also reached the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, losing to Spanish club Sevilla. Their highest league finish to date was third place in the top flight in the 1913–14 season and the club have only spent two seasons outside the top two divisions of English football.[9] The League Cup win and the UEFA Cup run was part of an 11-year consecutive stay in the Premier League, before a relegation in 2009. Although the club returned in 2016, instant relegation followed.

The club's traditional kit is red with white detailing. The home shorts and sock colours have interchangeably been shifted between red and white, complementing the red shirt that was adopted in 1899.[10] The various crests throughout the club's history, the most recent of which was adopted in 2007,[11] incorporate a lion rampant.

A challenge awaits. Not exactly an ideal situation otherwise they wouldn't hired me. Perhaps over-ambitiously, i've promised the board staying in the league. Should i fail to deliver, this journey will be a short one.

This team just screams average. Some of the players shown here would fail to get into my Plymouth side.

But it's not that bad. I just can be a bit of a drama queen sometimes.

 

Out best player, tied to the 2025. on a huge wages. Highest paid player, actually. Signed a week or so ago. No wonder they've sacked the last guy...

 

Experienced, reliable PL goalie. Will man the posts till we find someone to take over.

 

Decent player who'll start at RB.

 

Our finest CD.

 

He was a beast few years ago. Can still do the job.

 

Still weighing in where to use him...

 

Home grown at the club. Will give him a chance to shine.

 

Our leading striker.

 

Jesus duck... That's some welcoming party to the Premier League. Hopefully i'll last past those three opening games.

 

Finances are decent and most importantly, there's still money and time do make some deals. We better make it count.

 

As for The Pilgrims...  Left them on the top. Hopefully, my successor will keep them there and we'll meet soon. In the Prem. Not in Championship.

[samboing]

Good luck, by the looks of your opening 3 games you may need it!

[deltablue]

Good luck turning things around.

[Constantine]

Middlesbrough F.C.

January, February & March 2023.

I had planned to do an update as February ends but since we had just two games in March, i've decided to play them too and do one big-ish report.

Overall, our situation hasn't changed as much. One might argue it took turn for the worse since we're now 5 points away from safety; it was 4 when i took over.

Transfers

With little time available, i've went for improving three areas i thought it was in direst of state: Our defense, left wing and strikers. Decided to spend big because, frack it, if we get relegated, it's game over for me.

 

 

Serbian wonderkid was on my shortlist for a year or so. He was unhappy at Partizan after rejecting a bid from Saint-Étienne so i jumped in. He was transfer listed for 4 mill but i paid double so he could get enough points for work permit.

 

He'll be Miljanovic's partner in crime as we got Peruvian international, already smashing nets on such young age for peanuts.

 

Loaned in as an alternative to Rico Henry.

 

Transfer listed at Napoli, he'll easily be our starting CD. Best one we have at the moment.

 

Went for Alphonso Davies at first but we couldn't sort out a working permit for him so PSG Reserves regular became our last signing.

 

Premier League

A notable improvement visible since i've took over as we actually won some games. Unfortunately, in a duel with our direct opponents in Newcastle, we just randomly blew up and threw our progress down the well.

Nine games to go. It's going down the wire, i feel it...

[Constantine]

Middlesbrough F.C.

April 2023.

We won where we could've and crawled our way out of the relegation zone. But this race is far from over. Norwich has a game in hand and we're playing Burnley, Bristol and Southampton, all three teams with something to fight for, with survival on the line.

It's gonna be squeaky bum time, i'm sure of it...

[Constantine]

Round 36

Alright, guests has been thrown out, dinner is made, let's finish this.

 

Tough but well earned victory v naughty Burnley side. Norwich has drawn their game in hand, that's good. Everything is in our hands now...

[Constantine]

Round 37

We could've ended it all here, in the first half. So many chances missed, so, so many opportunities wasted only to get punished by a screamer, courtesy of Sean Longstaff...

 

Newcastle came back into play, with Norwich still in the game. We're going away to St. Mary's Stadium and will battle it out with already relegated Southampton. The Magpies are going to Burnley while Norwich has it toughest, as they'll lock horns with high flying Aston Villa.

One last round.

[Constantine]

Round 38

Well... ****.

I honestly do not know what the frack happened. We scored at the right time, controlled the game all the way through and just out of the ****ing nowhere Southampton turned on Barca mode, scored two goals within five minutes and... That was it.

Speechless...

****ing hell!!