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Oh yes! Only five matches this month. Should fly right by. But we'll have a side adventure for Youth Intake Day, which should be around the 6th.
Yep. A tale as old as time. Maybe it's time to hand everything over to my AssMan.
Big loss last month. I guess I could look into the maths to figure out how we lost £208,128 but I'd start to cry. And use some of the £21,618,576 bills in the bank to wipe my tears.
Winning the league tends to get the board happy. That is why I'm up to 95% confidence.
Plenty of Influential Players these days. That makes me happy.
The goalies and central midfielders put in good performances. The defense not so much.
Mark Flitcroft at first seems to be the only Senior player with improvements.
Gary Leary hasn't improved in six month and has a metric F-ton of red arrows so I drop him to the U23s.
At least John Burns improved considerably, but that was totally expected.
Matthews signs his contract on the morning of the 4th. Thank you for sticking around! Could he be Vice Captain next year?
We've only faced them once before but for some reason I just don't like these guys. It's irrational but there it is. Let's put them in the ground so I can never think about them again. Wait, they are third in the league. I don't like competition. -_-
vs. Chesterfield, 4 March 2023
Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r (BBM), MC l (DLP), AMR, AMC (SS), AMR, ST c (P))
Starting XI: Legg, Lawford, Evans, Brizan, Curran, Matthews, Caffrey, Keegan, Devlin, Berkovic, Burns
Subs: Newton, Cosgrove, Cockbill, Noulas, O'Reilly, Leary, Macey
It's the Raymond and John show! The former gets the goal, the latter gets the assist. Or it's the Mark and Chris show? Curran crosses to Keegan and we're up two just after 5 minutes. Mark was a bit cheeky, deftly hopping a slide tackle in the box before crossing from the endline. We continue to dominate with another goal by Devlin and even Berkovic gets on the board in the 54th after being quite pedestrian throughout the whole match. And the obligatory Burns goal. And Devlin hat trick.
POM: Raymond Devlin 9.7 (3 goals, 1 assist, 7 key passes, 2 chances created)
Now that's what I call a victory!!!
So what does a total domination of a highly-ranked opponent do for us in the Team of the Week? Seven players. Legg (GK), Lawford (DR), Brizan (DC r), Curran (DL), Burns (MC l), Keegan (ML), and Devlin (ST r).
Much to my surprise, the Youth Intake doesn't happen on 6 March but 8 March. At least we got one great player!
The deliciousness continues into March. On the morning of 9 March I get I news item about Colin Cockbill developing, notably his Determination going up to 12, due to the general character of the squad.
Well, damn. We're about to lose another staff member. Tottenham are gonna poach our U18 Assistant Manager to be the same thing in northeast London. Rats!
While I set up the youth Tutoring, I also linked Crook up with Legg and Sterling with Brizan. I'm quite surprised that Berkovic can be tutored by McGregor so I leap at the opportunity.
York, not New York, are a lousy team down on their luck who play in a stadium way up north, The York Community Stadium, some 179 miles away. This should be a walk in the park. Also, in a bid to get Dryden Natural as a left winger to match his foot, and the opposite side for McGregor, they swap positions.
at York, 11 March 2023
Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r (BBM), MC l (DLP), AMR, AMC (SS), AMR, ST c (P))
Starting XI: Legg, Nickson, Noel, Cosgrove, Sterling, O'Reilly, Noulas, McGregor, Flitcroft, Dryden, Marshall
Subs: Newton, Peers, Thomas, Pike, Hoddle, Young, Macey
Cool! It's not often we get to wear our orange jersey so I'm glad to see the lads decked out that way today. In the first 18 minutes we only have two shots and neither are on target. But at 18:49 Marshall, still kind of mopey about not getting to go to Birmingham, redirects a McGregor cross with his noggin and we finally establish ourselves. (Glad to see McG can hack it on the right.) Flitcroft and Dryden have early yellow cards and as the opening half is starting to fade Dryden "trips" someone in the goal box and York tie the match on a penalty shot. Somehow Chris didn't get a second yellow. I thought we'd slink into the locker room but Dryden is on the road to redemption already, sending a free kick to O'Reilly who chips a shot up so Jason Cosgrove can head in our second goal.
Here we go again! Another goal let in from a corner. It was a bit of bad luck as a clearance went in off a Yorker. Paranoid the fix is in, I immediately pull Flitcroft and Dryden for Hoddle and Young. Can these lesser-used players make a difference? Ha! FMing goes both ways! Sterling throws the ball in way down by the left corner, it goes to Noulas, he passes to Hoddle for a cross, their left fullback tries to clear but it goes off McGregor's shin and into goal. Oddly, Sterling got the credit for the assist. I immediately go Control and take off Cosgrove, who had picked up a yellow 12 minutes earlier. The game ends in a classic way: York's left fullback picks up his second yellow for tripping McG as he zooms past. We only have to worry about 12 minutes but I want to be a little more defensive than the Spade so I go to the Diamond Control. Marshall and Young didn't get the message and we get a comfort goal.
POM: Mark Marshall 8.8 (2 goals, 1 key pass)
That was unnecessary grief. Sometimes the football gods taketh, sometimes they giveth. Dryden finished at 6.0 so I expressed my displeasure in the locker room. He responded the proper way so he won't be getting a fine. (I'm trying to turn over a new leaf by giving the youth below 22 years a little more leeway. If Macey had done that I'd definitely fine him.)
Ah yes, how long has it been since an underperforming player's agent shows up demanding a new contract? Today Flitcroft, he of a 6.4 rating, is upset when I tell his agent to go packing. Wait. Before I can outright dismiss the agent I see that he's not really asking for more money, per se. Yeah, £30 more for being an unused substitute and 35% promotion increase, plus an extra year. What? His agent would get a payment of £1,200 for his troubles. I can ask him to sack his agent but that might piss him off. I deny the offer and then Mark walks in. I wish I could tell him his agent is doing him a disservice but I can't so I tell him he has too much time left on his contract. (Plus I really only want him for one more year. Shhh!!!)
Yep, Wouter Bosma has left us to become the U18 Assistant Manager at Tottenham. Dammit. At least we get £65,000 in return. I'm finding it hard to find anybody who wants to replace him. But wait! I remember the filtering behind the scenes is a bit crap so I change "Assistant Manager" to "Coach" and turn off the "Realistic appointments - Youth Team". That does the trick. Gonna poach from a team we used to play back in the 2019/2020 season, Hereford.
On Sunday, the 12th, our youths face Liverpool's and it will be televised, earning us £7,500. It's a home-and-away arrangement so they'll travel up to the northwest on the 18th. We beat them 2-1 but three kids from the youth intake (DC Zeljko Soldo, AMR Steve Morse, and ST Shane Bull) performed horribly. Luckily Jethro Swain got POM for a 9.0 rating and 2 goals.
Bugger all. Only Chick Legg makes it into the Team of the Week. Lame.
On the flip side, U23 MR Gary Walker saw his Determination creep up to 9 due to the squad's general character. :-)
Oh, more international matches are coming up. We are offered a postponement of our 25 March match but I opt not to because we've already won the league and it's a perfect time to get some more debuts in. Cockbill and Lawford get to play for England U19s on 20, 24, and 28 March. Raymond Devlin and Michael Stewart show for Northern Ireland U21s on 23 and 27 March; David Caffrey, Chris Keegan, and Mark Curran play for Ireland U21s on the same dates.
Oh what a relief. Rob Dyer agrees on the morning of 15 March to become our U18s Assistant Manager. We have to pay Hereford £4,000. Should be money well spent.
Teams keep interrupting my proceedings with requests to take Tom Simpson on loan. Shove off, folks!
More international call-ups! Grenada play 24 and 28 March so Desmond Brizan and Henson Debellotte will be gone. John Burns will be representing Northern Ireland on 26 March. Maybe I should have asked for the postponement...
We're going full strength today as Oldham are mid-table and the normal starters are well-rested. As promised, Stewart is now in the Seniors and gets to start today.
vs. Oldham, 18 March 2023
Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r (BBM), MC l (DLP), AMR, AMC (AM), AMR, ST c (TM-A))
Starting XI: Stewart, Lawford, Evans, Brizan, Curran, Matthews, Caffrey, Keegan, Burns, Berkovic, Devlin
Subs: Legg, Cosgrove, Cockbill, Lemon, Flitcroft, Dryden, Macey
I think we are half-asleep because we really have nothing to prove in this league. Three highlights end in two Berkovic shots off target and one Burns shot WAY off target. With Yossi down to a 6.4 going into the 41st minute I being to wonder if a halftime dismissal is in order. But then he sinks a Caffrey pass. Words of admonishment are met with motivation but not enough as Yossi's header shortly after the restart hits the near post and follows the goal line to the far post. None our players pounce on it before it's cleared. But just a few minutes later Berkovic is moving well with the ball and passing to open players, culminating in a Burns to Curran set-up and a Devlin heading from a cross. My subs are strictly about players needing fitness; Lemon, Flitcroft, Macey. We are the definition of mediocre and the third goal, another FMing by weird deflections, is really just the lipstick on the pig. Said pig gets a tiara when Flitcroft gets smacked about in the box and Raymond gets a hat trick.
POM: Raymond Devlin 9.6 (3 goals, 1 key pass)
Okay, next match in which Devlin and Burns start we are going back to the first version of the Spade so Burns can get some goals.
Post-match there is a situation. Devlin's agent wants his client to get rewarded for fine play. He's been spectacular of late but he's got a good contract that goes for another season so...no. Maybe in the off season or once I get a better idea of crowd sizes in League One.
Well, despite a somewhat mediocre match, we sure did get a lot of players in the Team of the Week. Stewart in goal (his first I believe), Lawford at right back, Brizan at left central defender, Curran at left back, and Devlin at right central midfielder, unrightly so.
After that the International Reports start rolling in. Lawford and Cockbill did well for the England U19s, rating 7.3 and 7.7, respectively. The English beat the Italians, 2-0!
Next email up for bid is Player Development Advice. U18 DC George Bunn, says my AssMan, should be treated as a "Key Player" because he can become "better than David Caffrey." Interesting. He also believes Lee Beirne is a "Quality Player" because he can become "as good as David Caffrey." Okay. Well. There will not be any changes to the squads until the summer break.
A late International drop happens later that day. Richard Phillips has been called up by Trinidad & Tobago to face Suriname on the 28th. Go get 'em, laddie!
Remember DL Dean Rice? We sold him to Exeter (League One) and as part of that we get another £6,000 after he gets into 10 league matches. Just happened. Aint' much but better than a kick to the shin.
Ouch. The Irish ran into a German buzz saw, losing 4-1. Caffrey (6.4), Keegan (6.2), and Curran (6.0) did not have good performances. Northern Ireland somehow faltered against Cyprus. Devlin (6.2) did so poorly they yanked him after 58 minutes. Stewart lasted the whole match but only rated at 6.7.
Late in the month a late report comes in from my scouts looking at all the Northern Irish youth intakes. Again, they found someone seemingly good in a speck of a town. This time it's a Central Defender from Limavady United named Cameron Walker, Texas Ranger. He's tall, Driven, and has all the right defensive skills, except maybe just meh with a 7 Heading. Because he'll come to us in June 2025, I expected he'll start in the U23s so his contract will be made accordingly.
He accepts immediately and will join us on 9 June 2025. On my third view of him, I'm more encouraged. Look at those Attributes!
Know how to tell when a player has a low-ish Versatility? When he comes to you Natural at DC and Accomplished at MC so you train him at DMC. He goes Natural there and his MC drops to Competent. So you focus on MC and then his DC drops to Competent. Normally I'd panic and stop MC and go back to DC but he's only 182cm tall and his Jumping Reach is only 7. So he'll continue to train at MC.
Yikes! Antigua did to Grenada what Germany did to Ireland and in doing so Brizan (6.0) and Debellotte (6.3) embarrassed themselves. For England, Cockbill did wonderfully in their 2-0 win against Netherland, rating 8.2. Lawford only got 28 minutes of action so only rated at 6.6.
Our U18s beat Port Vale U18s the morning of 25 March thus winning the U18 Division 3 Cup Final. Third year in a row!
Maidstone aren't too different from Oldham plus I'm fielding a weakened squad so I'm expecting a struggle today.
at Maidstone, 25 March 2023
Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r (BBM), MC l (DLP), AMR, AMC (SS), AMR, ST c (P))
Starting XI: Legg, Nickson, Noel, Cosgrove, Sterling, O'Reilly, Noulas, McGregor, Flitcroft, Macey, Marshall
Subs: Cook, Peers, Pike, Lemon, Hoddle, Leary, Khinda
Well this is awkward. They have six shots on goal before we even get one off. Nobody is pulling their weight and all the highlights are for set pieces. The Maidens get a free kick but decide to get cute leading to Sam Sterling running away with the ball. He takes it all the way up the left side to the endline and fortunately for him Flitcroft is in pursuit up the middle so when Sammie's cross goes in, Flitty Flit's left foot is there to meet it for a goal. A McGregor goal not long after the restart gives us a cushion goal so I feel comfortable giving Sam Khinda he Senior debut; never mind the fact that Marshall is still being a pillock. Oh no! McGregor and Flitcroft combined to give Khinda the best chance for a debut goal ever but he misfired and shot it at the goalie who was leaping from right to left. He had three quarters of the goal at his disposal!
POM: Sam Sterling 8.3 (1 assist, 2 key passes, 1 chance created, 6 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 headers won)
Huh. I told the squad that it was a good win, well done, it really wasn't, and everyone got the green reaction and looked delighted or extremely delighted. Except Flitcroft. He nodded in agreement. Interesting.
Twas really cool to see Sterling get the POM. That sprint up the sideline to right our ship was crucial to our victory.
Burnsie had quite the bounce-back in a match against Macedonia, scoring a goal and rating out at 8.3 in 90 minutes of play.
Again, only two Brixtonites in the Team of the Week. It's good ol' Chick Legg at GK and Sam Sterling at right DC. SMH.
Caffrey, Curran, and Keegan rebound in their performance as Ireland takes out Malta, 3-0. Devlin not so much, as he gets yanked after 60 as Northern Ireland draw with Belarus for rating 6.4.
Pat Lawford gets a goal for the English U19s against Czechia and Richard Phillips gets one too against Suriname.
We man-handled Sutton that last time but only for 68 minutes, putting five on them. And then I went defensive and we coughed up two goals. I shall not make that mistake again. Despite not being match fit, I am giving Lemon a start. Really gotta think about possibly keeping him around for mentoring.
vs. Sutton, 29 March 2023
Formation: Spade (GK, DR, DC r, DC l, DL, MC r (BBM), MC l (DLP), AMR, AMC (AM), AMR, ST c (TM-A))
Starting XI: Legg, Nickson, Evans, Noel, Sterling, Matthews, Lemon, Dryden, Flitcroft, Berkovic, Macey
Subs: Stewart, Peers, Jenkins, O'Reilly, Noulas, Leary, Marshall
Macey's still got it! He beats a one-on-one before 10' and I start to think about his next contract. His second one comes less than 10 minutes later but this one was a cross from Berkovic, not a pass up the middle from Matthews. And less than 10 minutes before his third. This time the cross from Yossi went off a defender then to Macey so he gets no assist credit. We were 5 for 5 on target in the first half but only 2 more were on the mark in the second half out of 8 shots. We give up one because Sterling got an FMing of a First Touch but for some reason Nickson got the "credit," ending the match with a 6.2 rating; Sterling was 7.2. I point out their schizophrenic performance and almost everyone gain focus.
POM: Eddie Macey 9.5 (3 goals)
Generally speaking, it really was a pleasing match. Eddie "The Beast" Macey still walks the pitch in South London. That's 18 league goals for him this season plus two more in Cup matches.
Dryden has really stumbled of late. Since 21 January when he had a goal and rated 8.3, he's had no goals and no assists, and rated at (keep in mind these are all starts) 6.6, 6.3, 6.7, 6.8, 6.0, and 6.7. That's an average of 6.52. Exactly average. I call him in to the office and point this out and he admits he's not been the best but would try to improve. I think I'm going to drop him and bring Leary back up if Chris falters in his next start and Leary turns in a good month of training. Can't believe my scouts think he is currently League One quality.
Yes, gonna add a fourth striker so we will keep track of The Twenty-Four Who Will Lead Us To Glory. You can see adding Giannis Veloudos has a ripple effect.
I don't get why Lawford's Potential dropped. When there is unrealized potential that disappears it's usually when they turn 25. Pat's not even 19 yet. Same goes for Devlin. DOES NOT COMPUTE.
Curran's improvement isn't surprising. As is Cosgrove's decline, what, with all his lack of training effort. Matthews' rebound is kind of surprise, no idea what's going on with him.
Nickson's decline might lead him to being dropped in favor of NKOTB Michael Strutton, who has 3.5 stars of potential. I'm leaving Bunn as a DC for now.
Another pleasing month in the books. Would have liked a better Youth Intake, and no sloppy play. All in all, I shouldn't grumble.
