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What?! Nobody is phoning it in?! YES!!! So happy!
DR Pat Lawford's improvement was mostly on the Technical and Physical side. His Acceleration, Agility, and Stamina are all now 15s. (On his Information tab, under Happiness, he is "beginning to get frustrated at a lack of opportunities in the first team." That will quickly go away once he realizes he's getting most of the starts.)
Well, we lost £184,709. Hopefully with the upcoming real games we'll bring in some serious money.
Picking up where I left off, "Untouchable" at 88%.
Because James Jefcoate is now gone, Eddie Macey is the sole team leader. I make Stephen McGregor the Vice Captain and hopefully it won't take him too long to get up there with Eddie. Next year Alex Rae and Chick Legg (still the best name ever) will be gone so I need some others to step into the Influential Players group this year so they can graduate to Highly Influential next year.
Chick Legg's tutoring of Gael Barbier is already paying dividends with his Determination jumping 2 points, from 10 to 12.
Colin Cockbill, who I once believed was The Answer at left centreback, had a tremendous month of training. Again, green for all Technical attributes, all Physicals but Natural Fitness, and about half of his Mentals. Delicious.
Also down in the U18s, right centreback Jason Cosgrove continues to impress. His 15s are Agility and Balance while his Teamwork is 16 and Work Rate is 14. He needs to get Marking (7) and Tackling (8) up to double digits before I contemplate elevating him.
My two fullbacks, Pat Lawford and Mark Curran also had phenomenal training the previous month. For Lawford, it's important as he's the new starter at DR, and he is also now rated as League Two quality according to my AssMan. AssMan.
Dean Rice has recovered his Bravery up to 10.2; only 2.2 more points to get back to normal!
I don't understand why FM2018 zeros-out my scouting budget every 1 August. It's annoying. I know it's linked to how much is in the transfer budget but why can't the game ask me, "Hey, knucklehead, you're about to get FMed if you don't move some money over from transfer budget to scouting budget." There's probably an answer somewhere (google?) but I can't be bothered, I've got matches to get to!
Again we have quite a bit of turnover in our starters. I really don't like that but we are improving and that's what matters. Pope may be better than Smith but Smith is cheaper by far. I'm very pleased to have David Caffrey as my DMC. Heck, I’m happy with everyone but Davies. I hope to find a better AMC at some point this season. O'Keeffe will be gone next season and Marshall is going to be supplanted by John Burns at some point this calendar year. A long-winded way of saying that we should have ten returning starters next year.
Well, we made it through the pre-season with just a few niggling injuries. Then in training before our first match Alex Rae injuries himself lifting weights. His abs are so strained he'll be out 3 to 4 weeks. Ouch. Don't anybody make him laugh!
The morning of 7 August, before our first match, I'm reminded of "playing time equals contract extensions" for three players: Alfie Barnes, 5 league matches and promotion; Eddie Macey, 10 league matches and avoid regulation; and Rory Collopy, same as Eddie. Woof. I for sure want Alfie but not the others.
We start the season at home. I'm hoping that we average more than 2,000 witnesses to our awesomeness. Fylde are projected to finish fourth so I don't expect this to be an easy match, despite having finished the pre-season strongly. Oh wow! Over 3,300 paying fans today!
vs. Salford, 7 August 2021
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP-S), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF-A), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: O'Keeffe, Lawford, Ferreira, Barnes, Curran, Caffrey, Smith, McGregor, Marshall, Morris
Subs: Parker, Peers, Lemon, Leary, Macey
I didn't expect Glyn Davies to score the first goal. I also didn't expect us to take 61 minutes to do so. I also didn't expect Mickey Morris to rate 6.4. But then exactly 5 minutes later new lad Peter Smith crosses from the byline and Morris nods in our second goal. I switch to the Cudgel at 70' (but it takes until 75' for the actual changes to happen) and take off McGregor and his 6.3, and put in Macey for Marshall. I'm proven a genius when Davies gets an assist and Eddie gets a goal at 81'.
POM: Glyn Davies 9.0 (1 goal, 1 assist, 3 key passes, 2 chances created)
I wasn't expecting an hour of trying my nerves or that our new Vice Captain would struggle but a win's a win. Plus we made £38,283 from 3,346 butts-in-seats. (I don't expect attendance to remain at that level.)
I really should have done this sooner but better late than never. Time to extend some chaps! Pat Lawford is the first one as he is a starter now and needs starter money. We have him until June 2023 and his contract has a two-year option but fair is fair. I start at £400/week, £200 appearance bonus, and 10% promotion rise and 20% wage rise because for some reason I can't up his salary after X number of appearances. I can for international appearances though, so I make his base £750 for 1 international cap. His agent immediately deems the offer "very acceptable" meaning it SHOULD be accepted right after I hit the "Continue" button. Sure enough, he agrees 12 minutes later.
And right after Lawford's signing we get the final numbers on season tickets sold. We got 904 Brixtonites signed up, 231 new fans have joined the ranks. Get in, folks, while the getting's good!
Next up is Mark Marshall. He's the starter at right striker right now but by the first snow fall he'll be second choice as John Burns will have arrived and settled in and claimed the starting left striker role, which will push Morris to the right. Still, I'm going to offer near-starter money. And then I see his salary demand starts at £3,900 per week. SKIP!
Onto GK Adrian Lee then. He's on £130/week and his contract ends at the end of this season, though we have a 1-year option. Let's see if we can graduate his salary after so many games. (He should be our starter next year as O'Keeffe will be gone for sure and Chick Legg won't be good enough for League Two, I think.) I offer £300/week until 2024, with £100 appearance fee, £200 clean sheet bonus, and graduations up to £500 (5 league matches), £750 (15), and £1,000 (30). He doesn't accept immediately though. Ingrate.
Our less-than-perfect opening match sees only one player named to the Conference National Team of the Week, Glyn Davies.
This Davies lad...he came to us with an Unambitious personality and a 6 Determination. Despite absolutely no mentoring his personality is Fairly Professional and his Determination just went up to 13. All by the "Squad's general character has had a positive effect lately." So freakin' cool. I love FM18.
We're expecting a good crowd for the Coventry match, 3,900 fans expected, of which 900 are visitors. I'm thinking we'll turn a profit this month.
But first, a cup draw! For the Second Round of the FA Trophy we travel to Harrogate, who are in the Conference League North. Kind of bad luck for us as there are lots of weak teams in the pool.
The report on Coventry brings some good new and some bad news. They are a pretty good team but they play a sole striker formation and their preferred player there is not fast, a 13 Pace. He however has good Finishing and Composure but only an 8 Determination. His Bravery is only 6 so maybe we'll play a physical game. Damn, I just looked at their starting advanced midfielders and their Determinations are 5, 5, and 7. If we can get an early goal they'll fold?
vs. Coventry, 11 August 2021
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP-S), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF-A), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: O'Keeffe, Lawford, Ferreira, Barnes, Curran, Caffrey, Smith, McGregor, Lemon, Marshall, Morris
Subs: Peers, Rice, Noulas, Leary, McLeish
Cool! 500 more fans than expected! I wasn't expecting a Morris goal before 4 minutes in. Or a second for Mickey just after 8 minutes. Or a Marshall goal less than a minute later!!! I did expect them to claw one back after 30'. But that's alright, because 11 minutes later, McGregor does the unexpected, scoring after a counter-attack up the right side. I also didn't expect that second half to go by so boringly even when I switched to the Cudgel at 70'. Of course, we give up a long shot, like 30 yards out, in the 90th to a goon with an 8 Long Shot attribute. SI programming...
POM: Mickey Morris 9.3 (2 goals, 1 assist, 2 key passes, 1 chance created)
That was a good match and on top of that we made £33,309. On the down side, Caffrey bruised his head and will be out 7 to 11 days. (Another annoying thing about SI programming, he never had an injury marker show up next to his name during the match. How the hell did that happen, Miles?)
Having got past Coventry, we have to find out who is gonna destroy us. Oh. Yeah, we are going to get destroyed by Brentford, in the Championship. At least it'll be at home and should be a full stadium as Brentford is not too far away, in the northwest burbs of London.
Shortly after that draw, Adrian Lee signs his contract. Now, who else to sign? Out of curiosity I decided to see what Marshall's demands are after a week, plus I saw in my original text form the other timeline it was only £1,900. Sure enough, it IS only £1,900. Maybe I need glasses. Don't know what the hell I saw.
(Borrowing from the initial timeline...) I make it £2,000 and £300 with normal other bonuses and escalators. I also agree with his £5,500 bonus for 20 goals after adding an option year. He accepts the first offer and goes away to contemplate putting his John Hancock on it. (Of course, none of the lads in the squad are going to understand that expression.)
Now for our first league away match. Barnet are projected to finish 6th so it should be more of a challenge than Salford. Their stadium is called The Hive, so I guess the are the Barnet Bees? They are in North London, 13 miles to the north-northeast. We have a lot of rotation today as some players are still not match fit.
at Barnet, 14 August 2021
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP-S), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF-A), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: O'Keeffe, Peers, Evans, Collopy, Rice, Noulas, Pope, Leary, Lemon, Macey, McLeish
Subs: Parker, Barnes, Ferguson, McGregor, Flitcroft
Derek McLeish has two perfect chances to score and misses on both attempts, hitting the left post once. Good thing is though he can spot a passing lane, supplying Eddie with an easy goal. A few minutes later Pope gets pushed from behind and Eddie gets his second goal. Lemon is absolutely shattered from so many minutes so far this season so I pull him for Flitcroft at 53'. It only takes Flitty five minutes to botch a pass that leads to a counter ending in a goal for Barnet. Jerk. Somehow we still win. The two most annoying things? EVERY SINGLE action sequence started with Barnet in possession. Also, accurate on 2 of 17 shots.
POM: Eddie Macey 8.8 (2 goals, 2 key passes, 2 chances created)
Gary Leary, Dean Rice, and Mark Flitcroft all had ratings of 6.4 or 6.3. Stern warnings are afoot.
Sunday, Sunday, la la, la la la la. Draw day, draw day, cool, cool, cool, cool. Cool because we host Margate, a weak team in the Conference League South. I like our chances.
Again, only one Brixton player in the Team of the Week, just Mickey. Whitehawk dismantled Maidenhead 5-0 so they got seven players named.
On 17 August my AssMan opines upon Lawford's potential, which he deems Potential Championship level. I still think he's destined for Premier. Also, I see that his current ability is now three stars. Excellent.
Marshall signs his new contract before the Billericay match. Excellent. Now on to...Jordan Nickson. Hopefully, provided we don't get an awesome DR in Youth Intake, he might surpass Sean Peers next year to become DR2. Fingers crossed. Ergo, I'm going to offer him £450/week, graduating to £600 after 10 league matches, to keep him around until 2024.
Billericay are an old foe from last season. We are 4-6 favorites. Will we find our offensive footing in this match?
vs. Billericay, 17 August 2021
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP-S), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF-A), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: Legg, Lawford, Ferreira, Barnes, Curran, Ferguson, Smith, McGregor, Davies, Marshall, Morris
Subs: Peers, Parker, Leary, O'Reilly, McLeish
Wow! We got a free kick in the 5th way over near the technical area and Curran sends it way over towards the far corner. Peter Smith tracks it and takes it to the end of field and crosses. Mickey is able to out-leap the goalie and score a point-blank header. Nice! Ten minutes later my worries about McGregor's mediocre start to the season evaporate as he boots in a low cross Davies sent from the right corner of the six-yard box. McG's brace is up the middle from a channel pass from Ferguson. But just before that happened Marshall strained his calf and had to be yanked, with McLeish replacing him. I then switch to Control.
The second half is more Brixton dominance. Our fourth goal is a Morris brace. It was so simple. McGregor sends a long one up to the left, McLeish retrieves it, crosses it along the grass and a trailing Mickey taps it in near the right post. And the moment I've been waiting for comes right at 79:50 -- a Mickey hat trick. And it came from another McG cross. Beautiful stuff! Not to be outdone, McLeish and Davies recreate Mickey's second goal almost to the tee. I'm glad to see the bounce-back match. Dammit. Again we give up a cross. Why do our central defenders and goalie suck so bad?
POM: Mickey Morris 9.7 (3 goals, 5 key passes, 3 chances created)
What's the deal with all the injuries all of a sudden? It's like the match engine didn't like our hubris from a relatively clean pre-season.
Well, I may have over-reacted. Who, me?! Marshall's calf strain disappeared before the end of the match.
Blackpool were relegated from League Two and are projected to finish sixth. They have only one win so far and currently lie in 17th. Hopefully their home, Bloomfield Road, isn't a hard place to win. Said stadium is up on the northwest coast, north of Liverpool, 204 miles away.
at Blackpool, 21 August 2021
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP-S), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF-A), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: O'Keeffe, Lawford, Ferreira, Barnes, Curran, Noulas, Smith, McGregor, O'Reilly, Marshall, Morris
Subs: Parker, Rice, Caffrey, Leary, Macey
Once again Morris bounces the ball off the woodworks but this time Angelino Ferreira is right there to kick the rebound into goal. But he's offside, whomp, whomp. Just a few minutes later though McGregor again show's his crossing chops and Marshall shows his heading skillz, finally putting us on the board. Curran picks up his third yellow of the season before the half and I'm having some serious second thoughts about him. And lovely, Morris is rating at 6.3 as is Ben O'Reilly, on his first action of the season. I'm absolutely loosing my mind because Ben and Mickey continue their underachieving and even Alfie Barnes seems to have gone off the deep end. Then Marshall gets us a score. But that is still not enough to allow me to breathe. I can breath at 75' when Ferreira dribbles a Smith corner out wide and finds an open Caffrey near the 6-yard line and his shot goes in. Woohoo!
POM: Mark Marshall 8.8 (2 goals)
Well, Mickey bounced back to a 7.0 but O'Reilly floundered down to a 6.2. I called him out in the locker room in lieu of an official warning.
Nickson signs his contract on Sunday, 22 August. It's a pretty good deal for a backup. Time to move on to Steve Pike now. Oh. He wants £575/week. Skip! How about Jose Parker? He wants £500/week, I want him until 2023 plus an option. Seems he's amenable to that.
Team of the Week balance has been restored! We have five players named: O'Keeffe (GK), Ferreira (DR), Smith (MR), Davies (MC r), and Morris (ST l).
On 25 August six of our players get international call ups: Ireland U19s (David Caffrey and Mark Curran), Wales U19s (David Doran), England U21s (Gareth O'Keeffe), Ireland U21s (Chris Dryden), and Wales U21s (Mickey Morris). Because of this I have the option to postpone our match against Wrexham on 30 August. I opt not to because it just causes congestion later on.
And finally on 28 August, a future star, John Burns, joins us. He's not quite ready for Prime Time so he'll be in the U23s for a moment or two.
Projected to finish 7th, Forest Green are currently 11th. Let us hope that we aren't sleepwalking through the match.
at Forest Green, 28 August 2021
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP-S), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF-A), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: O'Keeffe, Lawford, Ferreira, Barnes, Rice, Caffrey, Smith, McGregor, Davies, Marshall, Morris
Subs: Peers, Evans, Ferguson, Leary, Macey
A goal at exactly 100 seconds in is a great way to start a match. Thank you, Mark Marshall. That's the only good thing in the first 45 as Mickey, Lawford, and Rice and doing poorly. After the restart Morris continues his form of hitting the woodworks and is down to a 6.0 before McGregor scores our cushion goal, and ultimately the final goal. Looking at the match stats, Morris was off target on five shots.
POM: Mark Marshall (1 goal, 6 key passes, 3 chances created)
The three miscreants improved, Lawford up to 7.3, Rice up to 6.8, and Morris a whopping 6.1. Mickey gets to donate £1,000 to the club's slush fund for that performance.
I looked at Mickey's performances the last two matches. He's hit the woodworks three times, right at the goalie five times, and tipped aside three times. I guess he used all his skill on that hat trick. He accepted his fine, by the way.
We had a press conference to introduce John Burns. It was only two questions long and they were both about how I spend money. What was the point of all that?!
This match against Wrexham will be my 300th coaching Brixton. That boggles my mind. That means I've written about 300 matches. Maybe one day I'll be good at this. Like Forest Green, they are low and not much is expected of them. I need to make sure the lads don't treat them lightly. On top of that, two starters (Caffrey, and Curran) are away on international duty. Oy.
at Wrexham, 30 August 2021
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP-S), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF-A), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: Legg, Peers, Evans, Parker, Sterling, Noulas, Pope, Leary, Lemon, Macey, Rae
Subs: Barnes, Collopy, Ferguson, O'Reilly, Burns
In his first action of the season, Rae scores a header early in the fifth minute. That's what he gets the big bucks for! A half hour goes by before we get another shot but coming from Macey's foot, it's a sure thing. (Mostly.) As we approach 70' I switch us to the Spade and bring on Collopy. Bad choice. He tries to clear a ball from the box but does so towards the penalty spot and Peers was not expecting it. Their left midfielder does and his chance goes in off Chick Legg's arms. A third goal, again off Macey's foot, ensures our victory in the 82nd.
POM: Eddie Macey 8.8 (2 goals, 2 key passes)
That was a mediocre match. Good to see Macey be more consistent. U23 DL Sterling did not perform well though.
Wow, the Conference National league must not have well-performing goalies if Legg is named to the TotW. Ferreira (DC r), Smith (MR), Davies (MC l), and Marshall (ST l) join him.
Ferreira gets called up to face Ethiopia. I'm quite sure he'll acquit himself well.
Throughout the day Derby keeps making offers for Barnes. They do increase in value but I do not increase in willingness. Then QPR gets in on the act. Dammit. I don't need teams giving him ideas! Then Sheffield United start offering! He stays.
We've got some new players and some improved players. Caffrey and Smith are The Answer at their respective positions. Ben Evans is Premier League quality but I'm not having him supplant Ferreira , who I think also is really a 5-star player. Also, because Cosgrove is an Academy product he "out ranks" Evans. Morris continues his awesomeness and I now fear he will be gone in a year as he is eventually gonna attract attention. Yeah, Flitcroft is improving and I might actually move him back to AMC if I sour on Davies, who is not The Answer.
Though we go the month with only wins there still is evidence we're not fully jelled. About half of the matches have players with concerning performances, mostly on defense. But we have most of the pieces and we're destined for not exactly greatness yet (so goodness?) but in a year, after another Youth Intake and an offseason, we'll be exactly where I think we need to be for League football.
The Original 16, where are they now? Well, first, a little egg on my face. I had it wrong the whole time. We had 17 original players. Yeah…
Anyhoo...let us look at where those original 17 players are now?
Interesting that so many went to League Two. If we play our cards right, we might get to face them next season. I'm a little bit surprised that Taylor and O'Donnell haven't lit the world on fire.