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A rather busy month faces us. We have seven matches, six of which are league. We should also find out who we play for the FA Cup with the match set for early November.
Peter Smith is definitely one of those players who is playing in too low of a league. Almost everything had a red arrow and he had several drops. Plus he's been phoning it in during matches. His Personality is "Fairly Professional" so I wouldn't be expecting this. What a jerk.
Well, with no players sales going on we managed to lose £129,533 last month. Hopefully things will improve if we continue to win.
The fickle fans have caused my approval rating to drop to 82%. They just won't let go of the fact that I let M-I-C-K-E-Y go. Oh, and as an afterthought, I win Manager of the Month again.
Same, same.
The defenders did not do as well as the midfield and attackers so it was like…67% good.
Desmond Brizan's tutoring of Thamindu Noel is finally paying off. His Personality went from Fairly Sporting to Fairly Ambitious and his Determination went from 10 to 12. This is freakin' awesome.
Speaking of Brizan, his player card now shows he is Fairly Consistent. That tracks.
According to the my staff, Raymond Devlin is League One talent now. On top of that, his Free Kick Taking, Technique, Anticipation, Acceleration, Jumping Reach, and Natural Fitness each went up a point.
John Burns is improving unshockingly. His Dribbling, Tackling, Decisions, Leadership, and Stamina all improved.
I've got one word for the loan report: Yikes!
Chris Dryden gets the nod for Goal of the Month for that 30-yard blaster against Stevenage. Very nice. His Morale is only Superb so I congratulate him. He agrees it was freakin' awesome so now his Morale is Exceptional. :-)
Hot diggity-dog! In the morning before our match the U18s hosted Cheltenham's U18s and during the match George Bunn went to Natural at DMC. He might just get into the Seniors a lot sooner than I expected. Not bad for a kid that doesn't turn 18 until 26 April.
Oh damn. The Northern Ireland coach is dropping Burns down to the U21s because he only scored one goal in four matches. In the press item they mention that he may need to play for a bigger club before being reconsidered. Lovely. Now in January every team west of the Rhine is going try to poach him.
We clobbered these guys just over a month ago in the Checkatrade Trophy group play. The are second in the league so maybe they've improved in the last 32 days. We have too though. I'm fielding the best XI as I want no surprises.
vs. Crawley, 1 October 2022
Formation: Arrow (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (Regista), MC c (BBM), AMR, AML, ST r (DLF), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: Lee, Lawford, Evans, Brizan, Curran, Caffrey, Matthews, Smith, McGregor, Macey, Burns
Subs: Legg, Cosgrove, Cockbill, Noulas, Lemon, Leary, Marshall
I thought of a way to keep Burns from leaving. Let him injure himself. And he does so! Not 10 minutes in. A tight Achilles. Great. Also great? Eddie Macey's right foot, which sinks a rebound from a Smith long shot off the post after a David Caffrey corner; Smith somehow got credit for the assist. Guess who doesn't want to get demoted?! Stephen McGregor. He actually managed to score right before the first whistle. Feeling risk-adverse, I swap out Burns for Mark Marshall at 50' and Smith with his unimpressive 6.8 goes off for Gary Leary at 60'. Wanting to see Cockbill go Natural at DC, he comes on for Brizan at 68'. We would have seen the game go quietly in the night if not for McGregor clearing a ball toward our goal, perfectly placing it for their striker to get the easiest goal of a lifetime. Despite constant pressure for the rest of the match Crawley do not score again. I scold the gents for the Jekyll and Hyde performance and McGregor has the nerve to get stressed. Thankfully his contract expires at the end of this season.
POM: Luke Matthews 7.9 (1 assist, 3 key passes, 1 chance created)
Burns is out 1 to 3 days, no biggie. McGregor. Don't know what to do about him. Scores a goal, gives up a goal. Urgh.
I was not expecting a press conference before the Checkatrade Trophy fixture with Oxford. Maybe because they are in League One? As expected, quite a few trap questions. Not sure I got the right answers this time.
Some more Yikes news: Only Devlin got into the Team of the Week, and that was for a match at the end of September. Oddly, he was put in as the right central midfielder.
The scouting of the Irish Youth Intake is over and I'm not surprised nobody worth a darn wants to come to Brixton. Oh well.
Oxford is just outside of London, a quaint college town nobody has ever heard of. Their Kassam Stadium is west by northwest of ours, some 50 miles away. They are in a league above us but are just below mid-table there so they are pretty equivalent to us as far as roster strength goes. With a few of our lads tired, recovering from injury, or away on Internationals, I don't have the strongest of squads today. I hope that doesn't cost us a victory.
at Oxford, 4 October 2022
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: Lee, Lawford, Noel, Cockbill, Sterling, Noulas, Smith, Leary, O'Reilly, Devlin, Flitcroft
Subs: Legg, Nickson, Cosgrove, Lemon, Dryden, McGregor, Marshall
Slowly things start with no action until 15' but it's a corner and a doinging off the crossbar by Mark Flitcroft. He makes amends five minutes later after Leary feeds him a stolen biscuit courtesy of lazy defenders. It takes Flit less than five minutes to amend again with an assist for a pretty simple goal for Devlin. Then Noel extends the lead, heading a direct corner kick by Smith. We would have had four before the half if Devlin could have aimed a header a little lower but, alas, it too went off the crossbar. Amends are the theme today too as Devlin steals a backpass, takes it a little out to the right and crosses to center for a Ben O'Reilly header. We got our four goals anyways! For Oxford things go from bad to worse when they foul Cockbill during a free kick; Flitcroft proves reliable.
Almost immediately after the restart Devlin picks up a face laceration but no injury tag. Odd. That must have put all our guys on edge as we fail to challenge Oxford as they march down our field and we concede to a predictable cross. Urgh! The combo of Flitcroft and Devlin restore the lead and now I have two strikers on hat tricks; do I dare yank one? And it's Devlin with the hat trick! Leary was being mobbed but got a cheeky cross up high and Raymond was able to outleap everyone. He goes off for Marshall, who needs some more Match Fitness. And so it goes as we seal yet another victory. Yay us!
POM: Raymond Devlin 9.7 (3 goals, 1 assist, 3 key passes, 2 chances created)
We spent £100,000 on Devlin. Is he worth it? It's looking that way! (Last month I referred to him as Paul. Now I'm wondering if I knew a Paul Devlin in my real life.)
Well, this is interesting...
Of course all these products of Brixton came before I nuked our youth setup. Still pretty cool.
In international news, Brizan and Keegan had good matches, rating 7.2 and 8.7. Chris' rating was enhanced greatly by two goals.
Due to the International matches going on, we are out five starters. And because Chick Legg needs some match time we are really out six starters. Unregardless™ Fleetwood are not a strong opponent despite their 5th-place seeding on the league table. They are way up on the northwest coast, some 209 miles away, north of Liverpool, north of Southport, even north of Blackpool.
at Fleetwood, 8 October 2022
Formation: Arrow (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (Regista), MC c (BBM), AMR, AML, ST r (DLF), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: Legg, Lawford, Evans, Noel, Sterling, Lemon, Matthews, Smith, McGregor, Macey, Marshall
Subs: Lee, Cosgrove, Cockbill, Noulas, O'Reilly, Dryden, Flitcroft
Noel almost gifts Fleetwood a goal merely a dozen seconds in but Legg is quick enough to deflect the ball out of bounds. Three minutes later Thamindu makes amends when he kicks in a Macey nod-on from a Lemon corner kick. Macey is The Assistor today and it's Smith who is the recipient this time, just into the 19th minute. Eddie almost gets two more but Marshall seems to be a little off still in his recovery phase. He then sends a ball right to the goalie. Sigh. I buck him up in the locker room and send him out with a smile. I take off Marshall when his rating falls to 6.3 and replace him with Flitcroft. Macey moves to the left wing because McG is McSucking with a 6.5 so O'Reilly goes in as the right striker. So naturally, Flitcroft pulls his groin within minutes and then in the 90th Stephen Lemon injures his foot, leaving us with just ten men to secure our victory. Somehow we don't concede.
POM: Eddie Macey 9.0 (2 assists, 5 key passes, 4 chances created)
I tell the team it was a bit of a let-off and Marshall reacts appropriately. McGregor doesn't so I bitch him out. That gets his attention! Now onto the butcher's bill: Lemon, out 3 to 4 weeks with a twisted ankle; Flitcroft out 4 to 6 days with a pulled groin.
I can see Lemon not getting into another Brixton match. Somebody will be brought up to replace him but then he'll be in recovery in U23 matches and then by then it might be January and I'll look to offload him.
I'm going to cancel Rory Collopy's stint with Wrexham. They are down to 20th in the Conference National and Rory is not doing well with those bunch of losers. His ratings in 10 matches have been: 6.5, 6.3, 7.2, 6.8, 6.3, 6.8, 6.5, 6.5, 6.5, and 6.0. He can be our third DMC in place of Lemon.
With Flitcroft injured and Marshall possibly in a slump, I'm glad that we get a week off so we can have Burns and Devlin back and rested.
Ah, yes. One of the reasons I love Football Manager 2018: Players picking up the characteristics of those around them. Jethro Swain has seen his Determination rise from 13 to 14.
Oh yes! Another two goals for Chris Keegan in the Ireland U19 squad, as they beat Azerbaijan. Still wasn't good enough to win Player of the Match, which went to their goalie. That dude must have had a lot of saves to rate a 7.8.
The Team of the Week is a bit meh, with Legg in goal and Macey at left midfielder.
On the international front, Caffrey has a great game, 9.0, but Burns did not, 6.7. He's gonna have to do better if he wants to make it to the senior ranks for his country again.
I mentioned that George Bunn had a mediocre month of training in September. Still though, my AssMan thinks he has Championship potential. Nice.
So when Rory Collopy didn't show up in the squad roster I was a bit confused. I had the option to "Cancel Assignment" that I clicked on. That just cancelled the scouting of him. I can't recall him from loan outside a transfer window. Dammit. I call him to give him a pep talk and that increases his Morale. Now if we could just get Wrexham to actually win.
Our lads are back from international duty. Though they are Match Fit, they are only just. Seeing as we are home I'll let them rest and we'll go with more fit folk. Marshall will get a start to see if he can break his curse.
vs. Colchester, 15 October 2022
Formation: Arrow (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (Regista), MC c (BBM), AMR, AML, ST r (DLF), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: Lee, Lawford, Evans, Cockbill, Curran, Noulas, Matthews, Smith, McGregor, Devlin, Marshall
Subs: Legg, Cosgrove, Noel, Sterling, O'Reilly, Dryden, Macey
Okay, it takes 21 minutes but McGregor and Smith show they can play well with the former crossing and the latter striking the ball in. In the 15th, Devlin had picked up a gashed head but it must not be troubling him as he heads in a Luke Matthews cross in the 25th. Well, Marshall gets a goal but it was one of those cheap ones where the defender passes back to an inattentive goalie. He kind of gets a second goal but it's really just a cross that goes in off a defender; I guess he must have tried to kick the ball out of play because he got a credited for an own goal. Our fifth goal does come from Marshall, legitimately, on a cross from Smith.
Devlin gets an early shower, coming off at 50'. Smith and his 9.5 rating go off at 64' for Dryden and just before I can put Cosgrove in for Evans, McGregor has the nerve to score an impossible goal, way up top to the left from 18 yards out. And of course we let an easy one in when Matthews sends a horrible pass right to the Chesters.
POM: Peter Smith 9.5 (1 goal, 1 assist, 6 key passes, 5 chances created)
Well that was a fateful 10 minutes. Wow. Five in ten. Very happy to see Smith and McGregor put in top-notch performances.
OH DAMN! That is one hell of a head wound! Out 9 to 11 days. Dammit. Why are my strikers getting beat up so much this season?!
There's a journalist hanging around post-match and I'm sure he wants to talk about the effect Devlin's injury will have on us. But I'm wrong. He wants to ask about Eastleigh parting ways with their manager, who used to be the U18 Assistant Manager here. Too bad I can't hire him back.
We are finally at the time of year in which we enter the FA Cup. And for the First Round we...well, I wasn't expecting to be the second team chosen. We travel to either Basingstoke or Chorley. Should be an easy win. Would have rather had a big team at home to pad the bank account.
The Team of the Week is much more Brixton-centric this time. Lee (GK), Evans (DC l), Curran (DL), Smith (MR), McGregor (ML) and a triumphant return for Marshall (ST l).
Basingstoke overcame Chorley so we'll be facing them in the FA Cup First Round. Excellent. I like Basingstoke.
A new stadium we will visit today. It is The Proact Stadium, must be their sponsor, and it is another one up north, but way inland, 136 miles away. I'm bringing up Henson Debellotte today as I want another look before I decide what to do with him.
at Chesterfield, 18 October 2022
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF), ST l (AF)))
Starting XI: Lee, Lawford, Evans, Brizan, Curran, Caffrey, Smith, Keegan, O'Reilly, Macey, Burns
Subs: Legg, Nickson, Cosgrove, Sterling, Debellotte, Leary, Flitcroft
And there you have it kids, Chris Keegan's first Brixton goal at 2:28 into the match. And 67 seconds later he has an assist! And Macey has a goal. After that, Burns is shooting at their goalie and they are carving us up but can't finish, thankfully. Seventy-one seconds into the final 45, Burns finds himself way behind the defense, one-on-one with the goalie and sends it right to him. A goalie with ham hocks for hands as the ball bounces right back to Ferret Face and his second shot goes in. I give Henson his debut at 60' and he kind of goofs immediately but the Chesters have not brought their shooting boots today. Flit goes on at 64' and Nickson at 68'. It isn't until the 79th before they get a shot on goal (of 11) but it has no power and goes right to Lee. And then a little FMing just to keep me on my toes. Keegan steals the ball and keeps dribbling down to our endline then he panics and crosses to Lee only to send it directly to their right striker who simply heads it in. Idiot. Another Keegan mistake almost leads to another goal but Lee is on fire and leaps to save our two-goal lead.
POM: John Burns 8.4 (1 goal, 2 key passes, 2 chance created)
Despite an 8.2 today, Keegan did have that costly mistake and I express my derision. He gets inspired and motivated. Go figure!
The day is finally here, youth goalie Michael Stewart joins us from Northern Irish side Institute. My scouts found him back on 13 February and I was excited by his Driven personality, 18 Determination, 14 Handling, 14 Reflexes, 17 Bravery, and 5-star Potential Ability. I believe Gael Barbier could be The Answer but in case he isn't, Stewart should be. Or at least we sell him on for an amazing fee.
I find it interesting that he only saw improvements in his Balance, Jumping Reach, and Strength. We'll fix that.
York is at the bottom of the league and I have a lot of tired starters. So it's second-stringers to the rescue. And some U23s on the bench. What could possibly go wrong? I predict we'll win 4-2.
vs. York, 22 October 2022
Formation: Diamond Attack (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (DLP), MR, ML, AMC (AM), ST r (DLF), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: Legg, Nickson, Noel, Cosgrove, Sterling, Noulas, Dryden, Leary, O'Reilly, Marshall, Flitcroft
Subs: Lee, Peers, Thomas, Cockbill, Hoddle, Walker, Carolan
Two seconds before twelve minutes the Marshall Plan is working again. It was really more of the Defense Is Too Lazy with Their Back-Passes Plan but a goal's a goal. His second goal was neater. Hid did a little blind chip shot to his 8 O'clock from the arc to Dryden who'd just entered the 18-yard box to the right a little. Chris nodded it down to himself then shot with the ricochet going straight to Mark for a power shot from the 6-yard line. By the 40th some of the kids are nervous or complacent or down to a 6.5 rating. Before I can get a Shout, York start the action deep in our end but we quickly take control, with Chicken feeding Tasos Noulas. Tasos spots a sprinting Flitcroft and launches the ball from our arc right to Mark and his shot is from up close, going in under the goalie. Wonderful! I thought that would be it for the first half but on the restart we stonewall them around our third of the field and we march on up the pitch. We get a corner and Dryden's corner goes straight to Cosgrove, who I believe gets his first career goal.
So at the half we are on target with 7 of our 16 shots. York are 0 for 1. Yikes! As is common of late, another striker picks up a very minor injury. It's Marshall again but it's "just" a bruised shin. Off he comes at 60'. Dean Hoddle goes on at 65' for his debut then old-hat Sean Peers goes on at 68' for Noulas. And then we give one up at 72' because Sam Sterling's longball goes right to a defender and they return via air mail. This time I actually go to the Cudgel, in the 84th, to make sure my prediction doesn't come true. At 92:58 with 4 minutes of injury time Carolan gets fouled and now I have to decide if Flitcroft gets a brace or Carolan gets his first career goal.
POM: Chris Dryden 9.1 (2 assists, 2 key passes, 2 chances created)
What would it take to get a clean sheet? Go to the Cudgel at 60'? (By the way, Marshall's bruised shin disappeared.) Oh, and I was correct: Both Cosgrove and Carolan got their first career goals.
Collopy might be turning things around. While we were trouncing York, Wrexham were beating Macclesfield and Rory rated 7.7, winning 100% of his headers and making 10 interceptions. Alright!
I love these emails about players improving. Mark Curran has had the squad's general character rub off on him. His Determination went up to 13 from 12 but his Personality remains Fairly Ambitious.
I just learned (or relearned) something. Millwall is the closest "big team" to us. They are 3.91 miles to the northeast. I learned this by digging into why 4,337 fans showed up on a Monday night to watch our U23s. The game won't tell you how many fans are visitors for U23 matches though. Anyways, they are close, and we made £33,183 on the day. Go figure!
We're back to having good representation in the Team of the Week. Cosgrove (DR), Sterling (DC r), Dryden (MC r), Noulas (MC l), and Marshall (ST l). Crewe got one guy in and the rest are from Dag & Red, who put in massive results versus Accrington (6-0) and Stevenage (4-1).
I really just want to close out the month with a clean sheet. A Burns goal would be nice too. Poke that Norn Iron coach right in the eyes. Agedpork is way up to the northwest, one of the northeastern suburbs of Manchester. Their stadium is 168 miles away from ours.
at Oldham, 29 October 2022
Formation: Arrow (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, DMC (Regista), MC c (BBM), AMR, AML, ST r (DLF), ST l (AF))
Starting XI: Lee, Lawford, Evans, Brizan, Curran, Caffrey, Matthews, Smith, McGregor, Devlin, Burns
Subs: Legg, Nickson, Noel, Cockbill, Noulas, Leary, Marshall
After almost exactly 17 minutes we get a breakaway. I finally modified the tactic to have Devlin at an attacking Target Man and the wingers to actually target him. It works, he gathers a pass, sends out wide to the right, allowing Smith to run on to it and cross to Burns at the far post, all alone and able to score. After that I'm just shifting my eyes between Curran and Devlin's body language as both are nervous. In the locker room I give them some extra attention and they head back out smiling. Does it pay off? It does for Devlin, scoring from a Luke pass up the middle, but Curran is down to 6.4 by then. Mindful of conceding I go to the Cudgel at 67'. Devlin comes off as he's easing his way back and just picked up a yellow. Smith and McGregor go off. Marshall, Noel, and Noulas come on. Oldham get one corner but their header goes high; there was no other action. Phew!
POM: Luke Matthews 8.1 (1 assist, 3 key passes, 1 chance created)
Just another day at the office. Two goals, one from each striker, a clean sheet, and a midfielder with the POM. I like it. I'm happy to see Burns scoring after the Internationals. Tell that Northern Irish coach he chose poorly.
The end of the month goes quietly.
Again, no surprises here. Well, at least on the striker front. Marshall got a bit of a bounce-back and the scouts are starting to see what I see in Devlin. I'm not sure what Evans' Current Ability decline is all about. Caffrey's Potential Ability decline? I think another month of the scouts assessment of Shaquille Bailey made them realize he's gonna be better than David.
I may need to include a second GK in The Fourteen, or switch to The Twenty-three so I can show that this new kid, Michael Stewart, or even Gael Barbier, are breathing down Lee's neck.
So we had another successful month. Yet again though, we have trouble keeping clean sheets and all of our strikers healthy. I think I might actually start using the Cudgel in earnest. It'll be a good way to rest wingers and get Cosgrove, Cockbill, and Noel more match time.
Hopefully Burns will continue to prove the doubters wrong and put in a great November to get himself back with his Nation's Seniors.
It's been a while since I did one of these. Let's correct that.
In July 2019 I offered Glyn Davies a trial contract and he joined us on the 11th. I decided to keep him by the 25th and he started as a U23 body for us. That year he got into 13 games, scoring twice and assisting twice. In 2020 he got more time, 20 starts and 8 substitutions. In those matches he scored only once but assisted ten times. He was involved in fewer match in 2021, 12 and 5, but scored more, 4 goals, but assisted less, 7 times.
He was sold to Swindon on 16 January this year for £11,250. What's he done for them? Well, in the 2021/2022 season he had a very Chuck Woolery time, 2 and 2, neither scoring or assisting. This season? He's been in two cup matches and has done nothing in those.
I'd say we got one over on Swindon. Poor guy, he didn't even get to play when we faced them back 10 September.