Yeahyeahyeah

great story has kept me reading from the start to know cant wait to see how you fare this season.

Amaroq

Thank you both! It keeps a fella motivated to know that folks are still enjoying it!

Amaroq

Thursday, 7th July, 2005.

The biggest news of the week came when I allowed Welsh player/coach Lee Nogan to leave for Torquay United on a free transfer. His 4 goals and 1 assist last season hadn't justified his team-high £40,000 p/a salary, and I didn't have much respect for his coaching skills.

For our long-time number 9, it was an emotional departure: he had joined the side in 2001, and had scored 36 goals in 192 matches as a Minsterman. The fans all think of him as a cornerstone of the club, but I have to think of it as a business. Even if allowing him to leave makes me a despised man in York town, I think it was the right decision for the club.

Lee Nogan, FC, 36: Jaunary 2001-July 2005: 5 seasons, 192 games, 36 goals

I followed up that deal by selling Bryan Stewart to Irish side Shelbourne for £40,000. The deal would drop a much-needed £16,000 into my transfer kitty to allow me to bring in some other players while simultaneously slashing another £22,000 off my wage bill, all in all a tremendous week financially for us.

The 19-year-old left wing had been described as 'A player with the world at his feet' by an ebullient Viv Busby when I took over the side, and finished the season with 3 goals and 5 assists with the senior side, but the money was just too good to pass up.

For Stewart, it was a big step up: Shelbourne were playing in the Champions League in just six days!

Bryan Stewart, AML, 19: June 2002-July 2005: 3 seasons, 40 games, 3 goals, 5 assists, 6.63

Most of the players I had offered contracts to rejected my offers, which was unsurprising, since I had to offer a bit less than the market would bear to keep the club under budget. We did, however, gain one signing from the first round, Irish left wing John McGrath.

AML John McGrath, 23, Irish, 5 U-21 caps: Once considered a top prospect for the Irish national side, McGrath had languished on the sidelines during Doncaster's promotion season last year, making only 9 appearances with a very low average rating of 5.67 as the side earned promotion from League One to the Championship. However, top scout Dave Colley still regards him as a player with potential, and he certainly should perform better on the left than any of my incumbents: he's reasonably quick, with good acceleration and crossing. He is fairly weak in the air, however, and honestly isn't much of a shooter.

Amaroq

Author's note: I was stunned to learn, after arranging that transfer, that York City had added John McGrath for real over the same summer - sometimes the game is spooky-close to reality!

WolvesNicky

KUTGW, i started reading this morining and have read most of it, it's a great story keep it up!

Amaroq

Thursday, 14th July, 2005.

The players reported for the first day of training today, and there's nothing like the first day of summer training to start building excitement for the upcoming season: the smell of the grass, the sound of a boot striking a ball, followed shortly by the whipping sound of a net billowing out.

I started the players on my intense pre-season fitness regime. They certainly needed it, as they were all thoroughly out of shape - its amazing how much the players can let themselves go during the off-season.

If there was fat on their bodies, however, there was none on the squad, for we had gone under the knife over the offseason. We were down to just 23 players, and about £80,000 per-annum under the wage budget, though I hoped to bring that back up with a few more key signings over the remainder of the offseason.

We had precisely a month to work up to match standard, and I had 7 friendly matches scheduled between now and our first Conference National tie, plus six more friendlies between the Reserve and Youth sides.

A number of young players had joined the side for trial periods; they would get some of the playing time during the numerous pre-season matches. We were also joined by schoolboy goalkeeper Kevin Butler, who signed a professional contract with us for the season.

GK Kevin Butler, 16, English: Determined and hard-working, this kid has a lot of natural ability, with fine jumping and acceleration. He has a lot of rough edges, and needs to work especially on his communication, his punching, and his positioning, but for a youth keeper he is fairly impressive.

In his debut match with Shelbourne, Bryan Stewart started in the Champions League first qualifying phase against Armenian side Pyunik. From York to Continental football in only six days! However, it was a nightmare start for the youngster, as Pyunik scored twice in the first eleven minutes, and he was subbed off after seventeen without even making a touch. Thanks to a second-half red card, the Irish side crawled back to make the final 1-2, but losing the home leg makes the second leg infinitely more difficult.

Amaroq

Friday, 15th July, 2005.

We made a big addition today, 19-year-old centre back Liam Fontaine.

DC Liam Fontaine, 19, English: This brave centre back is already a master of the art of positioning, and has everything I would look for in a back: tackling, marking, fitness, heading ability. He makes good decisions, and works well with his team mates, and honestly I expect him to be the sort of solid presence at the center of the back line which we were so sorely missing last season. If he had a bit more pace, stamina, or concentration, he'd be too good for the likes of a Conference National side.

Fontaine had been a part of the Fulham youth organization since 2002, but they had let his contract expire, and I outbid several other teams for his services after realizing that he would slot directly into my starting lineup. My scouts unanimously agree that he has the potential to improve well beyond the Conference level.

Amaroq

Thanks, WolvesNicky! Hope I can sustain your interest once you're all caught up

Amaroq

Saturday, 16th July, 2005. Friendly, vs Sheffield United.

Our first friendly of the season was at home against Championship side Sheffield United - a club that had heartbreakingly missed promotion to the Premiership on penalties just seven weeks earlier. I didn't really expect to offer them a competitive match, but was looking forward to the gate receipts the larger side should draw to Bootham Crescent.

My starting XI certainly indicated how much this side had changed since last year. There were some familiar faces, such as David Stockdale in goal. Scottish left back Paul Parkin was our new first choice at that position. Liam Fontaine donned the #3 jersey and started in the centre of defense next to trialist Paul McShane, who - oddly - wore the captain's armband. Graeme Law resumed his familiar place at right back, while Gary Pearson played the central defensive midfielder role. 19-year-old Adam Arthur looked like the best bet at right wing, and new signing John McGrath made his debut on the left. Joe Foote partnered with crowd pleaser Tappa Whitmore in the attacking midfield, and it was last year's leading scorer Andy Bishop at the point.

Fully 9,332 - just shy of capacity - stood crammed into the terraces for a glimpse of the better side, and our new signings got the chance to show their mettle right from the start. Fontaine made a precise last-line-of-defense tackle in the box merely 36 seconds into the match, and McGrath sprang Andy Bishop on a breakaway in the fourth minute of the match. Unluckily, it came to nothing. Tappa Whitmore forced a few saves, but most of the first half was dominated by the Sheffield United regulars.

It was well against the run of play when Joe Foote got the ball to Whitmore on the 30th minute. The Jamaican dribbled around a defender and into the box, to the right of the near post. With the keeper focused on him, Andy Bishop snuck to the far post unmarked, and the creative midfielder put a ball across the goalmouth right to him. Somehow our top scorer failed to lay a foot on it for the simple tap-in, and the ball rolled agonizingly clear of the far post!

Six minutes later, we were ruing that mistake, as Steve Kabba darted past Fontaine and into the box, to drive it home past David Stockdale from fairly close range. That gave Sheffield United a 0-1 halftime lead, and it was wholesale changes for my side: not a single starter would take the pitch to start the second half.

Though the fans needed the match-day programme to figure out who was who, the side played fairly well through the second half, limiting the Blades' tiring starters and less talented substitutes to far fewer shots than we'd conceded in the first half. In fact, we steadily took control of the game, and by the 80th minute, Sheffield were camped in front of their goal defending.

With eight minutes to play, striker Robbie Haw drew a tripping call a bit beyond the arc, and it was Darren Dunning's chance to stake a claim to a first-team spot. The left wing took the free kick from 25 yards out, curled it artistically over the wall .. and into the back of the net at the near post! A spectacular strike to equalize at 1-1, and the crowd were vocal in their approval!

It was our turn to camp in front of goal, and though our Championship opponents threw men forward desperately, ten minutes of solid defending - and a few nice saves by new goalkeeper Mark Zawadski! - saw us run out with a surprising 1-1 draw!

York 1, Sheffield United 1
Dunning 82; Kabba 37
MoM: Zawadski

The lads were cheered off the pitch to a standing ovation - though I suppose that's not saying much, as only a third of them had had seats to begin with. Still, a draw was better than anybody had hoped we could manage, and the lads fully deserved the applause.

I headed out to the centre circle to shake Neil Warnock's hand, a definite treat, and was surprised by the booming voice of the older gentleman who came with him.

"Well done, lad, well done!" he offered, his voice cutting over the crowd noise as we shook. I certainly hadn't been expecting a handshake from Sheffield United Chairman Derek Dooley when I scheduled the match, but he's apparently very active in the club!

"Thank you, sir."

"I'll be keeping my eye on you," he promised. "Good luck this year."

Second-half goalkeeper Mark Zawadski was named Man of the Match in a game which had few true heroes, though I was very fond of Dunning's free kick. Honestly, only trialist defender Paul McShane had seemed to struggle against a side several divisions above our own.

Panpardus

Excellent as always Amaroq, looking forward to seeing how the season goes, especially seeing you have made a few changes