[FM07] Overtaking Colin

[DaneBramage]

[FM07] Overtaking Colin

Introduction

Neil Warnock has never been the most popular man in English football, but he has set one impressive record – he's led his various clubs to eight promotions over the years. This puts him one ahead of Dave Bassett, Graham Taylor, and Jim Smith.

Neil Warnock's promotion successes

1986/87 – Football Conference champions with Scarborough

1989/90 – Third Division play-off winners with Notts County

1990/91 – Second Division play-off winners with Notts County

1994/95 – Second Division play-off winners with Huddersfield

1995/96 – Third Division play-off winners with Plymouth

2005/06 – Championship runners-up with Sheffield United

2010/11 – Championship winners with QPR

2017/18 – Championship runners-up with Cardiff

The aim of this save is to achieve more promotions than Neil Warnock. That's it. Winning things along the way is cool, but not essential. Promotion is the only way that we're measuring success here.

All English leagues are turned on, as well as the rest of the Home Nations, though I'll only be managing in England. Large database.

Here's the manager I'll be using. Starting unemployed, then going on holiday for a season before returning and seeing what's available.

 

[DaneBramage]

2006/07 - Promotions

In the gap year before I start, here are the managers who earned promotions.

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

2007/08 pre-season

Hednesford Town have just been promoted into the Conference North and are without a manager. I apply for the role and get hired straight away.

Division: Conference North

League prediction: 7^th

Balance: £53k

Transfer budget: £5.3k

Wage budget: £3.9k

Board expectation: Safe mid-table

Fan expectation: Safe mid-table

We link up with Colwyn Bay and Stourport as their parent clubs, and as a feeder club to West Brom.

Pre-season friendlies were a mixed bag, a couple of wins in there but a goalless draw against the (greyed out) under 18 squad isn't great.

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - August + September 2007

Appalling start to the season. In all four games where we scored, we had the lead, but then collapsed. Worksop was expecially bad, only getting a point after being 2-0 up. Droylsden are the only team below us in the league, but they massively outplayed us and we were lucky to take a point and remain above them.

Got a goalkeeper on loan from West Brom, then got our first win of the season. A couple more wins followed at the end of the month, including in the early rounds of the FA Cup. We're still in the relegation area, but at least we're scoring goals and have a little bit of form going.

Edited April 12, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - October + November 2007

A great start to the month saw our winning streak extend to five games, and we leapt out of the relegation area. This run was ended by a defeat in the cup to Conference South side Tamworth. The loan GK then picked up a knock in training, meaning the second choice goalie played against Hucknall and had his usual terrible outing. We ended the month in 18^th place. Another loan signing from West Brom, a centre back, was integral to this improvement.

An unbeaten month saw us rise to the top half of the table, and progress in the FA Trophy.

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - December 2007 + January 2008

Got properly FMed in the Chelmsford match, my fifth choice striker scored an own goal two minutes after coming on in the 80^th minute, then they scored with their only shot on target in the 87^th minute. We bounced back though with two strong away results, to end the year in 11^th place.

What was turning into a good month came to an abrupt halt with an extremely poor loss against Droylsden, where we didn't manage a single shot. I was furious with the squad and I let them know about it. Catching up with the teams in the play-off spots is looking like a long shot at this point. Beating Conference National side Rushden in the FA Trophy was an encouraging result though.

[DaneBramage]

 

Hednesford Town - February + March 2008

A poor month here with a series of lame performances leading to us being knocked out of the FA Trophy, and the chances of promotion drifting further away. The last two draws were especially bad as the opposition were down to ten men for the majority of the game.

I received a warning from the board halfway through the month for fining the players too many times, but given that they're currently on a run of just 3 wins in the last 13 games, it seemed completely warranted to me. It's constantly one step forward, one step back in terms of performances and results.

 

 

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town – April 2008

A strong end to the season, three wins in the final month to clinch a top-half finish.

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town – 2007/08 End of Season Review

 

Predicted 7^th, finished 8^th, so ended up near enough where we were expected to. A frustrating journey getting there though, as we were inconsistent all year.

 

Top Scorer – Darren Alexander and Adam Le Fondre - 17 goals - A slightly underwhelming return from ALF, who was brought in taking up a large chunk of the wage budget, but frequently went missing for several games at a time. Impressive tally from Alexander though, he only has a 5 for finishing so I wasn't expecting much from him.

Most Assists – Adam Cottrell and James McPike – 8 assists - Cottrell was picked up on a free in October when I got fed up with the previous incumbent at right back, McPike was the loan striker from Birmingham (though I mainly played him as an attacking midfielder)

Highest Rating – Adrian Manchester and Jamie Hand – 7.32 - Manchester was the centre back on loan from West Brom, Hand was brought in on a free transfer to rival/replace the other defensive midfielder.

Fan's Player of the Year – Adam Le Fondre - They clearly rated him more than I did.

My Player of the Year – John Bateman - The goalkeeper on loan from West Brom conceded 32 times in 36 games, and kept 14 clean sheets. A massive improvement over the only other goalie at the club.

Waste of Space – Gary Connaughton and Darren Leech - Connaughton was the useless goalkeeper. Conceded 27 times in 14 games, with an average rating of 5.93. Leech started just one games after a number of sub appearances, then got himself sent off after 6 minutes.

Edited April 13, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

My History

 

[DaneBramage]

2007/08 Promotions

Promotion Race

 

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town – 2008/09 pre-season

Division: Conference North

League prediction: 6th

Balance: £3k

Transfer budget: zero

Wage budget: £4.3k

Board expectation: Respectable league position

Fan expectation: Respectable league position

Expectations have slightly risen this year, and we're predicted one place higher.

A pretty much perfect set of warm-up games.

Edited April 18, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - August + September 2008

 

August was a pretty encouraging month with three wins putting us in the play-off spots early on. Four clean sheets in a row looked good, but results took a turn for the worse in September, a lack of goals being the main problem and we fell down the table a bit. We were lucky to remain in the FA Cup, King's Lynn missed a penalty and an open goal late on.

 

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - October + November 2008

 

A month of two halves. The good half was the cup games, as despite making hard work of it and needing a couple of replays, we've made it to the first round proper of the FA Cup, where we'll be rewarded with a game away at Grimsby. The bad half was the league games, with a pair of miserable failures at the end of the month. The problem is the misfiring forwards, they're missing a huge amount of chances. Only two of the goals this month were scored by strikers.

 

The bad league form continued into November, and we were predictably knocked out of the cup by Grimsby. Basingstoke also knocked us out of the FA Trophy straight away, leaving us with just the league to concentrate on. A change of formation before the Slough game from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1 brought about a big win, and followed this up with another at the end of the month.

 

[Nobby_McDonald]

Good first season Dane.

Why on earth were Chelmsford in Conference North?

[DaneBramage]

On 13/04/2020 at 22:20, Nobby_McDonald said:

Good first season Dane.

Why on earth were Chelmsford in Conference North?

Thanks. It was one of those seasons where the end result actually looks pretty decent, but wasn't particularly enjoyable along the way.

Slough, Vauxhall, Carshalton, Merthyr Tydfil, and St. Albans are all pretty suspect too. But there aren't many outliers in the Conference South they could swap with, just Tamworth and possibly Cambridge look out of place.

                        "The North"                                                                            "The South"                                                                                

    

 

 

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - December 2008 + January 2009

December was a short month, as a couple of our scheduled opponents were still in cup competition so matches were postponed. And we handled it nicely, gaining all nine points available.

January had a couple of shambolic performances. Against Telford my best defender gave away two penalties, then my left-back joined in, getting sent-off giving away a third. Then against Leigh we failed to score from 13 shots, but conceded from their only shot on target. But with three wins and a draw elsewhere, this had to be considered a decent month, and it left us just outside the play-off spots.

Edited April 16, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - February + March 2009

An excellent month here, as we go undefeated with four wins and plenty of goals. This sees us sitting in the final play-off spot, a nice six point cushion above the 6th place team. 

Another enjoyable month, as we went unbeaten again, taking the run to 11 games. We're now pretty much guaranteed a place in the play-offs, and if Gateshead slip up, we could be in the mix for top spot.

Edited April 16, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - April 2009

The same day we beat Merthyr, Gateshead lost. That put us top of the table. We fell back to second after the Carshalton draw, so it went to the final day. 

And we bottled it. Gateshead drew, so a win would do it for us. But we never really turned up and although we did score late on, Telford grabbed an 88th minute equaliser to snatch all hope away from us. Into the play-offs we go.

Edited April 16, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - April 2009 - Play-Offs

Semi-Final Leg 1

A rollercoaster of a game and it really looked like things weren't going our way, then a massive few minutes near the end turned things round completely. A good way to celebrate my 100th match in charge.

Semi-Final Leg 2

Le Fondre had been on a bit of a goal drought (four games), so this was a welcome time for him to get back on the scoresheet. A 4-2 aggregate win, we're heading to Wembley the Pirelli Stadium.

Edited April 16, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - May 2009 - Play-Off Final

Our opponents are Leigh. They beat us 1-0 both times in the league this year.

 

And they beat us again. A massive let down, we just didn't turn up. We had a late goal ruled out for offside, but it would have made no difference at that point. 

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - 2008/09 End of Season Review

A really good season and we overachieved compared to expectations, but a real shame to get so close and fall at the final hurdle, not just once but twice.

 

Top Scorer – Adam Le Fondre - 22 goals - Second year in a row - An impressive year from ALF who far outscored everyone else. Came into his own and thrived in the new tactic as the lone striker. Unfortunately hit a dry spell at the most important part of the season though, couldn't come up with the goods when it really mattered.

Most Assists – Jack Compton - 12 assists - Was sent to us on loan from West Brom and quickly made the left wing spot his. 

Highest Rating – Jack Compton - 7.31 - Also picked up nine man of the match awards. Next highest was four.

Fan's Player of the Year – Adam Le Fondre - Second year in a row - These fans love ALF. Also became the club's highest ever league goalscorer.

My Player of the Year – Keenan Meakin-Richards - My first choice defensive midfielder got injured very early in the season. KMR stepped up and performed very well, making more appearances than anyone else.

Waste of Space – n/a - There was no-one truly offensive this year, I was happy with most players throughout the year. If I had to pick I would say Fleetwood and Alexander failed to take their chances when given opportunities up front.

[DaneBramage]

My History

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

2008/09 Promotions

 

Promotion Race

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town – 2009/10 pre-season

Division: Conference North

League prediction: 2nd

Balance: £37k

Transfer budget: £13k

Wage budget: £4.3k

Board expectation: Respectable league position

Fan expectation: Respectable league position

The same expectations from the board and the fans, but media prediction has us going for promotion again.

Unbeaten in pre-season, including a draw with Championship Stoke and a win against League Two Exeter.

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - August + September 2009

We gave up a 4-1 lead to share the points on an opening day goalfest, then the less said about the Worcester game the better, but can't complain too much as we claimed full points from the other five matches to leave us top of the table at the end of August.

A great month in the league, as 10 points from a possible 12 kept us at the top. Star man Compton couldn't play in the FA Cup per the terms of his loan deal and without him we lacked a cutting edge. Should have battered Cambridge in the replay but ALF missed several big chances. It went to a shoot-out in the end, Cambridge missed all three of their pens and we scored ours to sneak through.

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - October + November 2009

Compton got injured in early October (just after the Shepshed game), and without him we've forgotten how to score goals (ignoring the Burscough game, where their keeper had an absolute mare). We've hit the net just three times in the last seven league games,

Despite that, we're still hanging on to top spot, but the gap has shortened and I don't see it lasting much longer. 

Edited April 19, 2020 by DaneBramage

[Nobby_McDonald]

Unlucky in the playoffs Dane.

The geography is definitely screwed.

[DaneBramage]

23 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said:

Unlucky in the playoffs Dane.

The geography is definitely screwed.

Thanks, hopefully I won't need that process again this year. 

Hednesford Town December 2009 + January 2010

We've gone out of the FA Trophy early again, but a narrow defeat against a Conference National side didn't damage the team at all. We managed four wins out of five in the league, with goals being split out amongst the attacking players, each of them stepping up and making the difference.

The new year started with an unbeaten month and some very important wins. Merthyr Tydfil and St. Albans each held second place when we went up against them, and we managed to take full points from both matches to extend our gap at the top. Le Fondre bagged a couple of winners, but stars of the month were Ellis (back-up ST) and McDonald (AMRC). After the dodgy spell in October and November, we raided West Brom again for a couple more loans and they've been producing the goods, six goals and four assists so far between them.

 

[DaneBramage]

This is the formation I've been using and the squad for the win over St. Albans. As you can see, the West Brom link has a pretty beneficial impact on our attacking options at the moment.

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - February + March 2010

A great undefeated month, bringing the winning streak to six in a row, and eight games unbeaten. A couple of big wins in there, the Stalybridge result particularly highlighted the West Brom influence with Compton and McDonald both scoring twice.

But apparently I'm the only person who wants to be promoted. Complete collapse, pathetic form and a major lack of effort. At the end of the month eight different players received fines for poor performance.

Despite all that, our lead at the top has extended to 10 points. Merthyr Tydfil, St. Albans, and Guiseley have also dropped a lot of points over this period, leaving us in an excellent position at the top. We're guaranteed at least the play-offs, but it really shouldn't come to that.

Edited April 22, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Jack Compton - April 2010

At the start of the month Compton dislocated his shoulder in training, ending his season early. Given the number of clubs interested in him, including Premier League sides Reading, Blackburn, and Crewe, there's no chance of us getting him back next season (although it's equally unlikely that I'll still be here). He's played a massive part in our success so far this year.

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - April 2010

Rogers picked up his second red card of the season early on, but we had enough in the tank to earn a win with Le Fondre finding his first goal since January. The title race appeared to be over as St. Albans were down to 10 men and 2-1 down, before lady luck was on their side with an own goal and then a 96th minute winner to keep them in it. Merthyr Tydfil and Guiseley knocked each other out of contention.

St. Albans kept the pressure up with a big win, and it looked like that would be enough as we were behind against Harrogate for a long-time. But Fleetwood and Ellis came off the bench and each scored in the last ten minutes.

With a ten point gap and only three games remaining, it's time to find the champagne...

The final three results didn't really matter, but a win at home on the final day of the season gave the fans another chance to celebrate.

 

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - 2009/10 End of Season Review

Last year we missed out on winning the league on the final day of the season. This time we wrapped it up with three games to spare, our form from December to February when we really built up a sizable gap over the play-off teams.

 

Top Scorer – Adam Le Fondre - 18 goals - Third year in a row - Not as prolific as the previous year, but still bagged a goal pretty much every other game. Had decent support from the rest of the team with a couple of others also reaching double figures.

Most Assists – Jack Compton - 13 assists - Second year in a row - As mentioned in the post a couple up from here, had a great season on loan from West Brom. Is clearly much too good for us and destined for bigger things.

Highest Rating – Jack Compton - 7.68 - Second year in a row - Also picked up 11 man of the match awards. Next highest was four.

Fan's Player of the Year – Adam Le Fondre - Third year in a row - Nope, they got this wrong. It should be Compton.

My Player of the Year – Kristian McDonald - Joined in December and really added some attacking impetus to the team, in a position where we were a little weak. Scored six goals and set up seven more, and would have rivalled Compton's figures had he been with us all season. Shoutouts as well to Coyle who had a strong first half to the season, although at 33 his best days are now behind him, and McNamara who started every game.

Waste of Space – Lewis Callaghan - Was only a back-up option to cover the defensive and midfield positions, but never did well when called upon.

[DaneBramage]

My History

Edited April 22, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

2009/10 Promotions

Promotion Race

 

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town – 2010/11 pre-season

Division: Conference National

League prediction: 19th

Balance: -£16k

Transfer budget: £9k

Wage budget: £7.6k

Board expectation: Fight bravely against relegation

Fan expectation: Fight bravely against relegation

I was conflicted about staying with Hednesford, as the prospect of back-to-back promotions seems pretty slim, so I did initially turn down a contract extension. I had a look around to see what else was available, but there was nothing at this level open. So for now I'm sticking around to see what the new season brings. 

A bunch of back-up players were allowed to leave at the end of their contracts. If they weren't good enough for the Conference South, then there's no need for them in the Conference National.

 

Just the one permanent signing (a DC/MC), and two more loans (a DL/ML and a GK).

The most important news doesn't show on that screenshot though, we managed to get both McDonald and Compton back for another year from West Brom. These deals being agreed were a big part of what convinced me to stay.

We are a bit low on numbers now, especially in the forward positions, as my scout just can't find anyone worthwhile and I don't like to use the player search screen. Will be hoping for luck avoiding injuries, if not then some of the youth players will have to step up. At the moment Chris Jericho (YP08) is the only one with any real first team experience so far.

We beat a bunch of small teams and managed creditable results against Southampton and Notts County, which at least put our finances back in the black (temporarily).

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - August + September 2010

Goalscorers: Le Fondre 6, McDonald 3, Bostwick 1

We made a dream start to life in the new division. We began with three straight wins, before a stumble against Lancaster where we were unlucky not to get anything out of it, but recovered to to end the month strong. Considering he's been our top scorer three years running it seems a bit odd to say I haven't always been convinced by Le Fondre, but he's adapted perfectly to the promotion, netting in each of the wins, including a hat-trick against Northwich.

Goalscorers: Le Fondre 3, Compton 1, McDonald 1, Frost 1, Own Goals 3

We took an absolute beating against Peterborough, the only reason it looks so close is they conceded two shambolic own goals, both from dreadful backpasses over 30 yards out. Then we gave a Stafford a battering and scored from every shot on target. We took an absolute beating against York too, but the difference was that Le Fondre scored from his one shot, whereas their striker failed with all 10 of his efforts. We followed that up with giving Havant a battering, but were completely ineffective in front of goal (13 shots, only two on target). We were miserable against Leigh and deserved to lose, Mackenzie put in a performance so bad his loan deal would have been ended immediately if it wasn't for the fact our squad was so small. We were miserable against bottom side St. Albans, but they were even worse. It was a travesty to lose this match, a game that was heading towards a boring draw until Dodds handed them an open goal with a shocking backpass late on.

A month of massively inconsistent performances and varying results sees us remain high in the table, much higher than anyone would have predicted, but with a tiring squad that seem determined to ruin their own good work.

Edited April 26, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - October 2010

Goalscorers: Le Fondre 3, Cottrell 1, Compton 1

Fines for poor performance: Chapman 1, Stein 1, Dodds 1, Le Fondre 1

The two losses at the end of September quickly escalated into six losses in a row, and we plummeted down the table. It looked like we were going to go the whole month without scoring, until a change of tactic mid-month helped a bit and we picked up a few points in the league, but we crashed out of the FA Cup without putting up any sort of fight.

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - November + December 2010

Goalscorers: Le Fondre 2, Bostwick 2, Trainor 1

A short month with one win, one draw, and one loss. Le Fondre is listed with the concern 'personal problems', but while he's the only regular scorer we have we can't afford to give him any time off to deal with this.

Goalscorers: Le Fondre 3, Trainor 3, Frost 1, Jericho (YP08) 1, Own Goals 1

An unbeaten month sounds good, but there were too many draws here. We should have beaten Hinckley comfortably, but Chapman and Oliver both made mistakes to let them back in it. Same story against Newport, this time a mistake from McNamara and an own goal from Hand giving up another two goal lead. At least we made easy work of them in the replay, and ended the month with an win.

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - January + February 2011

Goalscorers: Le Fondre 3, Trainor 1, Doherty 1, Jericho (YP08) 1, Own Goals 2

Just the one league win this month, but the points total kept increasing with a few draws as well.

Goalscorers: Trainor 1, Bostwick 1

Very nearly a month of binary scorelines. Another early exit from the FA Trophy. 

With 12 games to go we're 12 points adrift of the play-off spots, but 12 points clear of the relegation area.

 

[Nobby_McDonald]

Very well done winning promotion. Did Chris Jericho share a little bit of bubbly?

[DaneBramage]

On 27/04/2020 at 21:52, Nobby_McDonald said:

Very well done winning promotion. Did Chris Jericho share a little bit of bubbly?

Of course, nothing but the finest for Le Champion!

--------------------------------------------------------

Hednesford Town - March + April 2011

Goalscorers: Trainor 2, Le Fondre 1, McDonald 1, Frost 1, Bostwick 1

A big win to start the month, then it all fell apart. Just two points from the next six games, with the record loss against Rochdale being a particularly harrowing low point. All 11 players received a two week fine after that match. 

Goalscorers: Le Fondre 4, Storm (YP09), Own Goals 1

We made hard work of the Margate game, Le Fondre missing two penalties (maybe it's time to go with goalkeepers on pens...), but these vital three points were enough to clinch survival with three games remaining. That gave us a bit of momentum to at least pick up a few decent results in the last month of the season.

Edited April 28, 2020 by DaneBramage

[Carambau]

Love your FM07 career! Keep it up, well done getting promoted. Then again, you got ALF, my nemesis in my FM07 lower league careers

[DaneBramage]

40 minutes ago, Carambau said:

Love your FM07 career! Keep it up, well done getting promoted. Then again, you got ALF, my nemesis in my FM07 lower league careers

Thanks, it's enjoyable and frustrating in equal measure. There are spells when it feels like we may never win again, then ALF goes on a goalscoring run and all is good with the world.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Hednesford Town - 2010/11 End of Season Review

The early weeks of the season were a bit misleading, when we were flying high in a position that was never sustainable. We quickly fell from that spot, but although there were some horrible runs of form along the way, we were never in any danger of relegation and spent most of the year comfortably in midtable.

The reserve and under 18 squads both took part in league competitions for the first time this year. Unsurprisingly, both finished bottom.

Top Scorer – Adam Le Fondre - 25 goals - Fourth year in a row - His best tally so far, stepping up to the new division nicely. This was even with personal problems most of the season. During the summer break he's been given a month's holiday to hopefully get his head right, though it hasn't been holding him back at all.

Most Assists – Stef Frost - 9 assists - During his first season he was mainly a backup option, but this time around he made a lot more impact and became first choice on the right side.

Highest Rating – Jack Compton - 7.30 - Third year in a row - Also made it into the Conference National team of the season. I'm not entirely sure why the rating is so high though, I was disappointed with his contribution, just one goal and seven assists was a big step down from the last two years.

Fan's Player of the Year – Stef Frost - In a shocking result, we have a new fan favourite. I'd have put money on ALF taking this again.

My Player of the Year – Adam Le Fondre - First time I've selected him, but it really has to be. Consistently banging them in and he's now up to 82 goals for the club. Shoutouts to Dodds (who played every game) and McNamara, the centre back pairing who both averaged over 7.00 for the season.

Waste of Space – Michael Chapman - Hated him. Only ever one game away from a howler that would cost us points. The stats screen says he only made three mistakes leading to goals, but there's no way that's true. He's off to Peterhead for £20k in the summer, and I can't wait to be rid of him.

[DaneBramage]

My History

[DaneBramage]

2010/11 Promotions

Promotion Race

Edited April 28, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town – 2011/12 pre-season

Division: Conference National

League prediction: 15th

Balance: 284k

Transfer budget: £6.5k

Wage budget: £41k

Board expectation: Invest in new players and start rebuilding the team.

Fan expectation: Invest in new players and start rebuilding the team.

Slightly higher expectations this year. I've not seen this particular one before, I suppose it means steer comfortably clear of relegation again. Finances are now in a solid position.

Clearing out the dead wood. Chapman was the only first team player and I'm glad to be moving him on, let alone receiving any cash to do so.

McDonald's back for another year, but we couldn't get Compton again as he's been promoted to the West Brom first team squad.

Probably more quantity than quality here but hopefully one or two will be useful. Judge will compete for a centre back spot, Butler is back up for the left back role, one of N. Williams and Weir will take up the gloves, Cassidy and Broadbent add options in attacking midfield and on the right wing, Watson is another striker, and Jones and A. Williams will aim to fill Compton's boots on the left wing.

Beat all of the small sides and a worthwhile trip to Scotland.

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - August + September + October 2011

Goalscorers: Le Fondre 2, Watson 1, Meakin-Richards 1

Depending on how you look at this it's either four games unbeaten, or five without a win.

Goalscorers: Trainor 3, Le Fondre 1, Bostwick 1, A. Williams 1

Mixed fortunes, but more wins than losses so can't complain too much. Poor to only get a point against bottom of the table side Workington though.

Goalscorers: Le Fondre 2, Trainor 1, Watson 1, Meakin-Richards 1, Jones 1

Through to the next round of the cup, but a bad month in the league. Just the one win, and more points lost against a lowly ranked side, this time 23rd placed St. Albans. The one positive is that at least they we're only losing by small margins, we're not getting thumped on a regular basis.

Leigh have really turned into our bogey side. Back in 2009 they beat us in the play-off final, and we've lost to them on the last six occasions.

I'm checking the jobs page on a regular basis. I did apply for the Peterborough job (12th in the Conference) but this was given to Chris Wilder.  They then beat us in the very next game.

Edited April 30, 2020 by DaneBramage

[DaneBramage]

Hednesford Town - November + December 2011

Goalscorers: Watson 3, Le Fondre 2, McDonald 1, Broadbent 1

An encouraging month here. We pulled a cracking performance out of the bag to beat top of the league Aldershot, and smashed Accrington at the end of the month. Although we lost fairly heavily to Millwall, conceding the first goal in less than 30 seconds, we weren't embarrassed and they had to work for it.

Goalscorers: Watson 3, Broadbent 3, Trainor 2, Le Fondre 1, Bostwick 1, Cassidy 1, Jones 1

The good form rolled over into December, as we picked up three more big wins. In the Trophy Conference South side Crawley got a battering, equalling our biggest win to date. Watson's on a good goalscoring run, six goals in these two months bringing him up to eight so far this season, top of our scoring charts with Le Fondre.

At the halfway point of the season we're 12 points adrift of the play-off spots, and 14 points clear of the relegation area.

Edited April 30, 2020 by DaneBramage