retired_karamelkel

On Saturday evening, Wigan manager Johns was the next to be sacked as they resided in 24th place in Division One. I applied for the job as they were a “rich” team with plenty of money to work with, much more than I currently had with AXFC. The FA Cup First Round was drawn and we got lucky with a Yankee Stadium game against D2 side Preston.

The afternoon of Saturday, October 23rd was a cool dry day in London. Autumn and definitely arrived as the days were consistently in the mid 50’s, but at least, the usual fall rain was being held in abeyance. We had faced Shrewsbury four times so far in the series and each team had identical records of two wins and two losses apiece. All the regulars except for the suspended Mills were penciled onto the lineup card, with Adamson filling in once more for Mills. The seats at Yankee Stadium were less than half-full for this match.

We opened the match by dominating possession from the very start. In addition, we pounded the Shrewsbury keeper with a high number of on-target shots. It was evident that we would score at some point, so no one was surprised when, on 13, little guided a Brock parry back into the net to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We focused on keeping the ball at midfield after that and succeeded for the most part. Shrewsbury was only able to get two chances off their attack and Browne coolly dealt with both. We added to our lead late in the half when Bunce tapped in a rebound to make the score 2-0 at halftime. The second half was a cakewalk. We controlled the ball an astounding 70 percent of the time during the half and we continued to hammer Brock with shots. On 72, little created himself room off of an Asser pass and blasted the ball past Brock to make the score 3-0. Seven minutes later, I sent in Moran for Martin and ten minutes after that, Little bagged a hat-trick in injury time when Asser fed him a cross from the left that Little simply shoved into goal to make the final score 4-0. We had the next two weeks off, until we had to face Halesowen at the Grove.

During the two week break between games, I resolved to sell Martin. He had been a pure bust all right. It isn’t that he was playing badly; it was that he seemed to be incapable of playing well. I put him on the market at a reduced price and a couple of clubs were interested. Near the end of the week, Wigan announced that they had hired Walter Smith as their new manager. Smith had a mixed record. He had been hired as Walsall manager back in 01 and had stayed there until 03, when he moved to Kilmarnock. Smith had made a hash of that job and was sacked two years later. He had been unemployed for three months when Wigan hired him. At the end of October I won the Conference Manager of the Month award and little won the Conference Player of the Month. In early November the board met and claimed they were delighted with the job I was doing for AXFC. They seemed pleased that the crowds were starting to come out to the Yank once more. However, the team was not making money this year. In fact, we were losing about twice as much as we were earning. Our balance was still over 3 million pounds, but it wouldn’t be for much longer if the current outgoings kept their frenetic pace.

Saturday afternoon, the sixth of November was dry and cool in Halesowen. While the weather was all right, we had drawn one of the harshest refs in the Conference, so I figured someone would be ejected, given that both teams tended to tackle hard. We had played Halesowen four times in the series and we had won three and lost one. All the regulars got the start as Mills was able to return from his suspension to take part in the match. For the fourth time this season, a record, we wore our red uniforms. 1750 showed up for the game.

The first half was not much for brilliant play. Both teams got a number of chances, but failed to put all that many on-target. The teams spilt possession on relatively equal terms, though the ball itself spent most of the half in the Halesowen zone. Neither team seemed to want to open an account until 35 when Asser passed to Morgan, who moved the ball in and took a vicious shot that found the net to give AXFVC the 1-0 lead. The last ten minutes of the half passed without comment and everyone slunk off to the locker-room. We ratcheted up the offense during the second half, operating together a much more stable attack and we blew the game wide open on the hour mark. I subbed out little and Mills, who were off-form for Munster and Moran respectively. A minute later, on 58, Kavanagh whipped in a corner that connected with the head of Dawson, who nodded it into goal to give us the 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, Asser took the ball at midfield, made a weaving run through the defense and firmly planted a shot into the net for a 3-0 lead. That lead held up as Halesowen spent the next thirty minutes shooting wildly. We let them shoot and ran out the clock ourselves. Our next contest was in a week at home versus Stalybridge.

The Vans Trophy draw gave us D2 side Swindon at their County Ground on December 7. The backups would play the game since the Trophy was irrelevant to me. Saturday evening saw Nottingham Forest sack their manager Chris Turner. I immediately applied for the job. On Sunday afternoon we were entered into the FA Trophy draw. We would get Barnet at Yankee Stadium on Saturday November 27. This game posed a lineup puzzle. Ordinarily, I would play our backups in the game, but Barnet is a rival of ours. That meant, no one would be happy or understand if we lost. So, a challenge and a decision were in hand. I’d figure it out later. On Friday, the day before our next game, Watford fired Graham Taylor and I applied for the job. It seemed to me that a lot of Division One teams were getting fed up with their managers this season.

retired_steffani

Heh its interesting from a story POV not by LLaMa standards :thup:

retired_karamelkel

Fair enough Barman, but I should point out that I follow 90% of LLM precepts.

November 13 in London was damp [, wet and cool. We had never faced Stalybridge before ago the faithful at Yankee Stadium were seeing the opposition for the rest time. We also drew one of the harshest referees in the Conference. All the regulars except for Mills got the start. Adamson replaced Mills. 1815 fans, which was a disappointing turnout in my opinion, came out on the very wet day. The empty seats were the majority, which was a shame as the home-side lads put on a nice show.

The game was over just 25 minutes in. We only took five chances, but all were crisp, on-target and they all gave the Staley keeper trouble. Little got the ball rolling on 12 when he ran through, collected a Fleming pass, and smashed it in low to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Morgan added to the lead when he nailed a rebound back to make the score 2-0. Then, ten minutes later, Morgan hit a glancing header off a Dawson lob to get his brace and ice the game 3-0. Stalybridge didn’t provide much for the rest of the half. They only got two chances and neither was converted. The game devolved into a midfield battle as we tried to burn clock. The second half was not noteworthy as we didn’t do a thing but keep the ball at midfield. Staley got a few more shots, but didn’t do anything with them. The two sides played out the game in silence, and twenty minutes from the end, I pulled Asser and Morgan for Roddie and Munster. The game need without controversy and we turned out attention to our next game. It would be FA Cup weekend and we would face Preston at Yankee Stadium.

That night, Nottingham announced that they had hired former English international Nigel Clough, who had been managing, at Scottish side Stranraer, as their new gaffer. Mid-week saw an unusual situation. We had young Scottish goalkeeper Mark Peat of Hearts on our short-list. Two English Divisions one teams, Crystal Palace and Coventry made transfer offers for the lad. Hearts accepted both offers, but Peat rejected both contract offers. This showed tremendous loyalty to Hearts, to whom he was a backup keeper. On Friday Watford hired Nigel Martin from Division Two side Chesterfield.

FA Cup Saturday in London was a dry and cool day as we prepared to take on Preston at Yankee Stadium. This would be the clubs first ever meeting. Preston was struggling in D2, currently in the top-most relegation spot, so they would be a dangerous team as they looked salvage the season with a good Cup run. All the regulars, except for Kavanagh who was injured, got the nod for this one. Kevin Mason got the start at right back. The fans responded to this game by filling the stadium to just one short of capacity at 4999.

Preston showed the ultimate when on 9 they took their one shot of the half and made it count, Robinson driving the ball past Browne to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We fired shot after shot, but the Preston keeper never wavered. He held firm and broke our attack time after time. Paul Gerrard, the former Everton keeper was schooling our young players. I hoped my reserve keepers were in the crowd taking notes. At the half, I sent in Holmes for the struggling Bunce and I told my team to go on the attack. We came out in the second half determined to test Gerrard. He gamely hung on and made save after save, showing why he had been a Premier Division keeper. Meanwhile Preston was trying to add to their lead, but was hardly giving Browne much difficultly at our end. Finally, on 88, Little gathered in a loose ball, Gerrard was caught out of position and our forward smashed in the shot low to make the score 1-1. We survived the last few minutes and emerged with a draw. We would have to replay the round at Deep dale. The next game would also be at Yankee Stadium against Barnet in the FA Trophy match.

On the Friday before the game with Barnet, Derby County announced that they were sacking George Foley from his job as manager. I naturally applied for the job. On Saturday morning, AXFC lost a coach to Nottingham Forest, for which we were compensated with 24,000 pounds. Also in the morning came bids for Martin; the bids were negotiated.

Saturday afternoon in London was dry and cool. All the backups started this game as I usually have it for these competitions. Under a thousand showed up for the game, which says it all about the meaning of the game.

The first half was full of offense. Barnet’s Beadle opened the game five minutes in. He took a Coppinger feed and blasted it past Robinson for a 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, Holmes took a free-kick, launching it toward Munster, who leaped and headed the ball in to tie the score 1-1. The offensive fireworks continued. On the half-hour, Roddie pounced on a loose ball and stuck it into goal to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. The lead helps up til the end of the half. In injury time. Barnet’s Williams put in a low cross into the box that Clark sent screaming past Robinson. Both teams got plenty of chances and made good on them. This was a rare treat as usually one team on and one team off. This half at least, both were on. The display continued into the second half. Both teams continued to attack up and sown the pitch, taking a myriad of shots. With twenty minutes left, Adamson laid off a ball for Roddie, who ran up and blasted it in to give AXFC the 3-2 lead. On 79 Barnet were awarded a comer. Heath sent it in and Graham nodded it in to knot the score once again, this time 3-3. We weren’t done and on 87 when Adamson lay off another ball. This one for Mortimer, who carried it forward a bit, planted his feet and let fly to give us the 4-3 win. Munster told me after the game that he would be out three weeks after suffering damage to his foot during the match. Our next contest was the FA Cup replay on Wednesday December 1.

The Trophy draw as on Sunday and we found out that we would play Droylesden at their park. The day after the draw, I began looking for a new coach and a new assistant manager. I found candidates for the jobs and began interviewing. In addition, Paul Groves was hired as Chesterfield manager. In addition, Mick McCarthy was sacked from his second go-round with Sunderland. On Wednesday morning, Sunderland announced that they were hiring Livingston’s Alex Totten as their new boss. I then applied for the Livi job.

Wednesday evening in Preston was the coldest match day of the season so far, but it wasn’t really all that bad as it was the high 40’s. In addition it was dry as we prepared to face Preston in the FA Cup replay. The first-team squad had suffered a rash of injuries lately so a couple of regulars weren’t able to go. Both Kavanagh and Fuff were battling injuries and were held out, Mason and Goodwin taking their places in the starting lineup. Every other regular made it into the lineup as this was a reasonably important game. Only about 6450 showed up, an indication that Preston fans weren’t about to take us seriously.

Boy, did we prove those fans wrong. We thoroughly and surprisingly took control of the half. We attacked fairly often, putting three of our five chances where we wanted them. We managed keep the ball at midfield or in Presto’s side for most of the half and Browne never even had to contend with a shot. We took the lead 28 minutes in when Asser took a Morgan pass, slipped past his marker and blasted the ball into the net to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Preston looked discouraged and unorganized. The second half was much the same. We had the game well in hand and on 74 Mills lofted a pass to a sprinting Morgan, who gathered it in and shot true to give us the 2-0 lead. A few minutes later, I made a triple substitution. Smith came in for Asser, Moran came on for Dawson and Holmes came in for Mason. Two minutes later, Browne received a red card for a professional foul in the penalty area. Instantly, the game shifted. I had to put little in goal and pack the defense. Preston got two goals in the last tem minutes then they scored twice more in overtime to win the game 4-2. To say I was hopping mad would be the understatement of the year. U lost my cool as I chewed out Browne in the locker room. Not only that, but I fined him a month’s wages for his bone-head decision. He was the sole reason we lost. He had to know that I had made a triple sub and to play cautiously as a result. He would have been better off letting the goal score than make a foolish challenge.

retired_karamelkel

Naturally, Browne thought I had gone over the top, and perhaps I had, but I didn’t care. The only thing I did to support Browne was to complain about the ref in the post-game press conference. The FA certainly found Browne at fault as they banned him for three matches. But we had more immediate concerns as we had a home game against Kettering on Saturday afternoon as we resumed Conference play. As it transpired, the FA thought the referee had made the proper call. On Wednesday evening, the board met and gave their usual positive reviews of my job performances. The finances were continuing to decline, but we still had just over 3 million pounds in the bank. On Thursday, Martin was sold to Stockport for 22,000 pounds and I began to look for another AMC. By the weekend, we had our two new staff in place. Alex Denver came over from Newry to be my assistant manager and Tom Kelly cam from Crusaders to be the coach. We had also decided to bring up Adam Johnson from the reserves to rotate with Moran at the AMC spot. Johnson was too talented to sit in the reserves when we had a vacancy at the position.

Saturday afternoon in London was full of showers, but the temperature was reasonably warm for this time of year. This was our first-ever meeting with Kettering. All the regulars except for the injured Kavanagh and Fuff got the start. Mason and Goodwin continued to fill for those two players. Moran got the start at AMC, pursuant to the rotation policy I had set up at that position. Over 2050 fans came out to Yankee Stadium, a sign that the fans were starting to take more of an interest in the team.

Despite being tired from playing three days earlier, the AXFC regulars managed to control the game from the opening kick-off. Ten minutes into the half, Moran delivered a beautiful ball to little, who headed it into the Kettering goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We prevented the visitors from scoring, limiting them to one shot all half. The action, however, was not static. Play was up and down the pitch as neither team had a significant possession edge. We did pound away at the Kettering goal, but failed to add to our lead. The free play continued into the second half as neither team was able to hold the ball for a decisive chunk of the time. Ten minutes in, Moran stuffed back a redound to make the score 2-0. However, a few minutes later, Kettering answered when Nowland stuffed a rebound past Browne to make the score 2-1. At that point U signaled for the AXFC to play defensively and ten minutes later, I sent in Bradley for little and gave Johnson his debut as he came on for Moran. Kettering didn’t do much in the last fifteen minutes or so and we went away with the victory. Our next game would see the backups playing at Swindon in the Vans Trophy match on Tuesday evening.

In the short run-up to the match there was some news in the national press that actually caught my attention. First, Craig Brown was sacked from his second go-round with Preston, due to a series of losses. Derby County hired Ian Thompson from Grimsby. Thompson was a hot young manager. He started the same year I did in the same league as me with Chester. Now, roughly three years later, he was manager of Derby, a rich Division One team and I was still stick in the Conference. On Sunday, e aggressed to terms with Stoke central defender Wayne Thomas, who would join us on a Bosman in the summer. That evening, the managerial sackings reached into the Conference as Telford boss Jones was let go. Also, Stoke hired Frank Yallop, who had been without a managing job for two years after being fired by MLS side San Jose back in 2002.

Tuesday evening arrived and we traveled to Swindon, where it was bitter cold, below freezing, but it was dry at least. This would be our first match against Alan Shearer’s boys. They weren’t doing particularly well in D2, sitting in 15th place. We started all backups which is the usual policy for lesser cups. Shearer, however, made the start for Swindon, which made me nervous. I wasn’t sure how my team would react to playing again an England legend. Nearly 4000 showed up to watch Shearer.

We didn’t play badly as a team. Our keeper Robert Robinson had a nightmare of a game. Swindon took 5 shots all game and netted goals on four of those shots. The game was effectively over at the half-hour mark when Swindon scored their second goal. After that, it was a mere race to the finish. We, AXFC, got a number of chances and put a reasonable number of them on target, but were stymied by a stout keeper for the home side. To make a long game short, we lost 4-0, with Shearer scoring a goal late to send the home fan away happy. After the game I gave Robinson a lecture about motivating one’s self for matches. Robinson bitched about my lecture, which earned him a spot on the transfer list. I was eager to get rid of him that I offered him for free to anyone who would take him. Our next game was on the weekend as we faced Hayes at their park.

Saturday afternoon, the 11th of December, was rainy and cold in Hayes as the temperature was just above freezing. We had never faced Hayes before. They were sitting in 20th place, the highest spot in the relegation zone. For the first time in a long while, every regular was fit to start, with both Kavanagh and Fuff recovering from injuries in the last few days. Moran drew the nod at AMC as it was his turn to start there. Just over 1800 loyal supporters turned out on a miserable day to watch their outgunned team perform.

The game was essentially over after just twenty minutes of play. AXFC opened the scoring just four minutes in when Moran headed down a pass for little, who took the pass and buried it into goal to give us the 1-0 lead. The next few minutes flew by as neither team managed to dominate the ball. Both teams were getting chances and being very accurate with them. Then on 20, Asser got clipped by Mathers as Asser tried to go past him. Mathers was sent off with a red and we were awarded a penalty. Morgan converted it to give us the 2-0 lead. At that point we began to play defensively, but that didn’t prevent Morgan from adding a rebound goal to his total just two minutes later to make the 3-0 lead. Even down a man and three goals, Hayes fought on. On 31, James Allen went on a run that broke our defense and potted a shot to make the score 3-1. We spent the last fifteen minutes of the half playing keep-away. We took charge of the ball for most of the second half, but Hayes continued to fight hard. They picked up another goal on 51 when Henry sent a free-kick deflection whizzing past an out of position Browne to make the score 3-2. We were shaken out of our defensive torpor and began to probe the Hayes defense again as well as press and trap them. Thus, we managed to hold them off. Twenty minutes from the end, I sent in Adamson and Johnson for Dawson and Moran to get some dress energy on the field. Four minutes from the final whistle, Asser ended hopes of a Hayes comeback when he hit a pass intended for Johnson. The ball overshot Johnson and gently bounced across the goal line to make the final 4-2. Our next game would be in a week, a home game against Northwich Vics.

retired_karamelkel

Saturday evening saw the next English manager sacked from his post. This time it was Mansfield manager Spakeman who got the boot. This was one firing that made sense as Mansfield seemed destined to drop from the League and into the Conference. Telford hired former English international Mark Wright as their boss. Wright had taken a year off from pro football after being sacked by Southend in December 2003. Preston appointed Dave Jones to be their new gaffer two months after Wigan had let him go. On the night of December 16, Grimsby announced that they were hiring St. Johnstone’s Allen Pardew. St. Johnstone was third in the Scottish First Division. On Saturday, we received word that Hough was ready to begin light training after recovering from his fractured skull.

Our game with Northwich was the Conference Game of the week and as such, we had to be ready to play them Saturday morning. The weather wasn’t really cooperating in London. Rain and cold were felt on the pitch as we went through pre-game warm-ups. In six games against the Vics, we had split the contests 2-2-2, giving each side eight points in the series. All the regulars, except for Browne, we had begun his suspension, got the nod for the lineup. Robinson got the start in goal with Fuller backing him up. Johnson took his turn at AMC. Only about 1950 fans came out for the match.

We dominated the ball from the onset, controlling it for 60% of the half. We took good shots and the game was pretty much finished by the half-hour point in the game. Johnson scored his first goal of his first-team career on 21. He took a pass from Mills on the right and hit a beautiful half-volley to give AZFC the 1-0 lead. Johnson added a second goal a mere five minutes later when he put back a rebound to make the score 2-0 AXFC. But we weren’t done just yet. On 30, Morgan made his contribution to the score, heading in a Kavanagh cross to make the score 3-0. At that point, I told the team to play defensively. No reason to deliberately run up the score. Northwich only managed a token attack for the half as they got one shot off. We punctuated our win less than five minutes into the second half when Morgan headed in a Johnson lob to make the score 4-0. We spent the rest of the game making sure that the Vics didn’t do much with their attacks. They got five shots, but only made Robinson work on one of them. They looked a bit better organized, but it came too late for the visitors. At 70, I pulled Johnson and Morgan for Moran and Munster. The last twenty minutes passed without note and we got yet another convincing win. Our next game was on Wednesday evening at Stevenage. That game would mark the half-way point of the season.

On Sunday, the next managerial casualty was announced as the Lincoln board fired Scots international Paul Lambert. On Tuesday we completed the signing of 23 yr old Crewe defender Ryan Moran for 45,000 pounds. Moran would step into the starting lineup in place of Fuff. To make room on the first-team roster, Vowden was released.

Wednesday evening arrived in good order. The evening in Stevenage was not a pleasant one as the temperature was below freezing. At least it was dry. In six games against Stevenage, we had the decisive edge having won three and drawn three with this opponent, giving us 12 points to Stevenage’s three in the series. We started all the regulars in this game, including new acquisition, Ryan Moran. Browne was serving the second game of his suspension, so Robinson, once again filled in for him. Moran took his turn at AMC. Nearly 2800 fans came out to watch this game.

We came out smoking on offense. We nailed 8-10 chances for the half, keeping the home-side keeper Westhead busy. Furthermore, we had an edge in possession, which allowed us to pressure Stevenage in their third of the pitch for about a third of the half. Given this, it was not surprising that we scored early on 14 when Ryan Moran sent in a cross from the right that was perfectly placed. All little had to do was tap the ball in to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Roughly fifteen minutes later, Asser hit a cross into the box for Mills, who fluked in a shot to make the score 2-0. Ten minutes after that, our lead increased to 3-0 when Dawson’s feet found a free-kick deflection (from Morgan) and sizzled it low into the net to give us the 3-0 lead at the half. For their part through all the carnage, Stevenage did produce a bit of offense, but their there shots were surprisingly snuffed out by Robinson, who seemed to be reasonably on-form. At the half, I pulled Morgan, who had a potential foot injury in favor of Munster. I instructed the lads to play defensively in the second half. We bottled up the ball in midfield in the second half. We took only to additional chances, missing on both, and kept Stevenage from pulling together their attack. Mills went down with an injury right before injury time, and Adamson replaced him, but that was it for events in the second half.

The first half of the Conference season was over and it was clear that we had dominated it this season. After the match, Wayne Standard’s agent called to say his client would sign a new two year deal with us. A day or so later, Mansfield hired David Platt as their new manager. Platt had previously managed NI side Glenavon for a spell. Our first match of the second half quickly arrived. It was a Sunday contest, a day after Christmas. We would face Nuneaton Borough at Yankee Stadium.

The Sunday in question was wet and one degree above freezing. The pitch was damp and crunched underfoot. We had beaten this team earlier in the year. All but three regulars were penciled into the starting lineup for the game. Browne was serving the last game of his suspension, so Robinson got the start once more. Asser was slightly unfit and was replaced by Roddie and Mills was injured, replaced by Adamson. It was also Johnson’s turn to start at AMC. A crowd of 2350 came out, a good omen for crowd size in the second half.

We should have done more in the first half than we accomplished. We had 11 shots on goal, six of which landed. In addition, we piled a ton of pressure on the Nuneaton side, keeping the ball in third of the pitch about 40% of the time. Despite this, we only managed to score in the opening minutes. On 9, Johnson picked up a goal-kick, went on a run and capped his superb play by driving the ball low into goal to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Nuneaton came right back, however. They scored on their sole shot as on 17 as Jackson laid a beautiful ball for Meade, who crashed it into the net to tie the score at 1 all. We were unable to break the deadlock in the remainder of the half and went into the break feeling frustrated with our lack of success. During the intermission I subbed in Munster for Morgan, who was still nursing a foot injury even though he was playing through the pain. Just four minutes into the restart, Bunce found Johnson with a pass and the youngster immediately went on another superb run, crowning it with a vicious top-comer blast to break the impasse and give AXFC the 2-1 lead. From that moment on, our priority was keeping Nuneaton from drawing level again. It was quite a task as Nuneaton gamely fought on. They controlled the ball for most of the half, putting pressure on our defense and Robinson. They got five minutes all told and three of them were on-target. However Robinson managed to guard the goal well and we survived to the on-slaught to pull out another win. Our next game would come in a hurry as it was on Wednesday evening at Dag and Red.

The next managerial sacking came that evening. Talk about a lousy Christmas present as Steve Evans was relieved of his duties as Wolves manager. Evans became the ninth or tenth D! Manager to be sacked this season. I applied for the job. A couple days later, Lincoln hired ex-Norwich boss Peter Reid their new manager. On Tuesday, we confirmed that we have signed Glasgow Rangers forward Stuart McLean on a Bosman. On Tuesday evening, Iain Dowse was sacked from Aston Villa.

retired_karamelkel

Wednesday evening in Dagenham was below freezing, but mercifully, dries. We had beaten Dag and Red in our first game of the season. With Browne back from suspension, only two regulars were held out of the starting lineup. Kavanagh was slightly unfit and replaced by Mason. Mills was still out injured and was replaced by Fraser Smith. Sean Moran took his turn at AMC. I would continue the rotation policy at AMC unit the last ten games or so. I didn’t want Johnson to get overload in his rookie season even though he was playing just fine. Nearly 2500 came out for the game.

It was a frustrating half for AXFC. We got plenty of chances, but couldn’t hit the broad side of a bench with a shotgun blast from five feet out. We had only one shot on target and that one was an easy save. For their part the home team focused on defense, concentrating on keeping us from doing any damage. They only got one shot the entire half. The combination of lousy shooting and good defense meant a totally clan sheet at halftime. We continued to spray shots wildly in the second half. We simply could not shoot straight. Dag and Red kept their defensive posture, though, sensing weakness, they were more aggressive in their attacks. But Browne and the offside trap kept the home side from grabbing a goal. At 66, I subbed in Roddie for Dawson, hoping to spark the offense. It never happened and AXFC had to focus on keeping Dag and Red from sneaking in a goal. That we managed to do and got out of there with a scoreless draw. We would open 2006 on Saturday afternoon with a game against Tamworth at home.

On the 31 of December, Stephen O’Donnell of Dundee United agreed to join us on a Bosman during the summer. He made the third Bosman signing of the season with one or two more possibly forthcoming. It was the cheapest way to upgrade the roster for entry into the League which seemed reasonably assured. The end of December brought the awards. Johnson won the Young Player of the Month award.

The afternoon of New Years Day was windy and rainy, but in compensation, the temperature was markedly warmer than it had been. We had endured a scoreless draw the last time we had played Tamworth. Only three regulars were fit enough to take the field for this game, Browne, Kavanagh and Dawson. The rest of the lineup was filled out by the backups and Johnson took his turn at AMC. Just over 1900 fans crowded into Yankee Stadium for this game.

For the second game in a row, we couldn’t shoot straight. We got a number of chances, but were woefully inaccurate with them. Tamworth was willing to allow us to dictate the tempo of the match and this we did by controlling the ball for most of the half. But our attacks came to nothing. Tamworth was defense-oriented, only attacking occasionally. Their last try in the half did get a result as Butler nailed a volley off a Joyce pass to give Tamworth the 1-0 lead just before half-time. The second half was a repeat of the first. We dominated the ball, even more so than we had earlier, but we continued to be inaccurate with our shots. At 54 I subbed in Munster for Bradley and ten minutes later, subbed Sean Moran for Johnson. Neither move made much difference as Tamworth tenaciously guarded their lead. They spent most of the half hoofing the ball up field out of their zone. The tactic worked and the got out of Yankee Stadium with the 1-0 win. I wasn’t overly concerned about the loss and I turned my attention to our next game which was a week away. We would face Telford at New Bucks Head on the 8th.

On January 3, we signed our fourth Bosman signing, getting Andrew Lawry from Falkirk. On Friday, Aston Villa announced that they were hiring Mick McCarthy as their new manager.

Saturday afternoon in Telford was wet and cold, an abrupt return to the usual January weather. We had beaten Telford earlier in the season 2-0 in the home leg of the series. All but two of the regulars, plus Moran, were penciled into the starting lineup for this game. Bunce and Mills were still nursing injuries and were replaced by Fuff and Adamson respectively. 2500 fans came out to watch this match.

Our offense, after two games off, CAE roaring back with a vengeance. Actually, both teams were on top of their games offensive as there was nary a missed shot. All of Telford’s four and our five shots were true. Both keepers certainly earned their paychecks. Oddly enough, however, most of the action was at midfield as the teams conserved their attacks until they were sure of the outcome. Telford struck first on 19 when Hulbert finished off a nice run by avoiding Asser and burying the ball into the net to give the home side the 1-0 lead. We didn’t panic and ten minutes later, made the scores level when Adamson stuffed a rebound back past Potter. Ten minutes after that, AXFC took the 2-1 lead on 38 when little, shaking off a slight slump, sent another rebound whizzing past Potter. All in all, it was one of the more entertaining halves of the season. At the half I subbed Morgan and Dawson for Munster and Mortimer. The two regulars had possible injuries. I was getting worried about Morgan. Hr had seemed hobbled by a foot injury in his last few outing and it seemed that he was trying to tough it out. But I was going to have the trainer look the foot over and tell me what was wringing. We didn’t need Morgan to win games and if shelved, he would be ready for our probable League campaign next season, when we would need him. The second half saw Telford attack with frantic haste as they attempted to tie the game once more. They held possession for most of the half and made us sweat particularly as our offense was non-existent. However, Browne coolly handled everything and we went out the 2-1 winners. Our next match was the FA Trophy third round match at Droylesden the following weekend.

All three trainers examined Morgan and found nothing seriously wrong with the foot. It was just one of those nagging things that would clear up in time.

On Sunday, Wolves accounted they were hiring Cambridge United boss Martin Ling as their new boss. On Monday, Peterborough announced that they were hiring veteran Sheffield Wednesday player Steve Showery as their new manager. On Tuesday, we added our fifth Bosman of the year, striking a deal with Stirling Albion forward Steven Kerrigan. A day later, we completed our sixth Bosman signing, getting Kevin Martin from York.

Saturday the 15th, was a wet and windy afternoon in Droylesden as we prepared to take them on in the FA Trophy Third Round. This was the first-ever meeting between the two teams. As our opposition didn’t seem all that brilliant, I started an all-backup eleven, using the game to get the part-timers some playing time. The 600 fans who came to watch saw there home side play well.

Droylesden were not intimidated by us and they came out firing. They put the majority of their chances on the money and it was they who scored first, twenty-five minutes into the game. Haarhoff sent in a pass that Streeter gathered in, turned on, and then sent it screaming into the net to give the home side the 1-0 lead. Just a few minutes later, we caught up with them when Bradley launched a free-kick that Munster nodded into goal to make the game 1-1. The rest of the half went by swiftly as both goalkeepers showed good skills in saving a number of chances. Droylesden get control the tempo of the half and made us work to catch up to them in terms of possession. During the second half, Droylesden fought to keep the score level. They focused entirely on defense and filed to launch a single chance for themselves. To be fear, we had open-ended up the offensive throttle and were putting all sorts of pressure on their keeper. Despite all this, the home side managed to hold on to the draw until 74 when Munster put back a rebound to make the score 2-1 AXFC. Just two minutes later, Munster wrapped up a hat-trick when he drilled in a high shot off a Standard cross. At that point, Droylesden seemed to wilt and the two sides spent the last fifteen minutes kicking the ball around as we coasted to the 3-1 finish. Our next game was a return to Conference action as we faced Macclesfield at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday evening.

On Sunday we drew a home game against Weymouth in the fourth round of the FA Trophy competition. On Sunday evening Cambridge United announced the hiring of Crewe’s John Askew as their new manager. On Wednesday evening, the match with Macclesfield was re-arranged due to bad weather, meaning our next game would turn out to be on Saturday afternoon at Morecambe. In the entire hubbub, no one noticed me quietly applying for the Crewe job. On Thursday, the new Cambridge United manager made his presence felt personally as he offered one of my coaches, McCabe, a job on their staff. On Friday morning, in what was proving to be an eventful week, Luton came in with a bid for Asser. I told them to revise their offer significantly upward if they wanted to deal.

Saturday afternoon in Morecambe was dry and cold, one degree above freezing. Morecambe had beaten us 1-0 in our last match with them. All the regulars except for the injured Bunce got the nod for this game as Fuff continued to hold down Bunce’s lineup spot. We had drawn a notably harsh ref, so everyone was expecting fireworks. I suspect that was why 2500 fans came through the turnstiles.

If they were expecting fireworks, the first half was a major letdown. Defense ruled in the half as neither side got that many chances to work with. We reverted to shooting wildly, and missed all but one of our chances. Morecambe, shooting one fewer than us, was more accurate in their tries. The game action was spread all over the field and possession was virtually equal. This resulted in a lot of action, that bored the fans as their was little offense. AXFC lucked out late in the half when, on 45, Asser struck a fierce shot off a Kavanagh cross to give the visitors the 1-0 lead going into halftime. At the half, I subbed Adamson in for Mills, who had possibly picked up another injury, this time to his thigh. The second half wasn’t much of an improvement. There were fewer chances for either team and we proved we were incapable of landing a shot on-target. Morecambe increased their possession of the ball, but failed to capitalize and harry Browne all that much. Just before the hour mark, I subbed out little, who was having a pedestrian game, For Munster. The moved changed nothing about our inept offense. However, on 74, Morgan managed to direct a free-kick into the net to give a 2-0 lead and eventual win. It was not a win to be proud of as it was quite possibly our worst win of the year. My thoughts turned to our next game, which would be on Wednesday January 26 at home versus Macclesfield. This was the rescheduled game from earlier in the week.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * American Exiles Football Club - Wednesday 22nd December 2004********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2004/5 Senior Club Stats============================================= ================================================== =No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adamson, Carl 7 (4) 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 6.82 - Asser, James 21 7 0 0 9 0 0 2 7.62 - Bradley, Lee 4 (4) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 - Browne, John 22 0 9 0 0 0 1 0 7.32 - Bunce, Che 20 2 0 0 1 4 1 0 7.00 - Campbell, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Campbell, Thomas - - - - - - - - ---- - Collins, Chris - - - - - - - - ---- - Cooper, Gordon - - - - - - - - ---- - Dawson, Andy 21 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.90 - Donnelly, Darren - - - - - - - - ---- - Doyle, John 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Fleming, Derek 19 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 7.21 - French, Scott - - - - - - - - ---- - Fuff, Glen 20 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 6.95 - Fuller, Gareth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Gallagher, John - - - - - - - - ---- - Goodwin, Gerry 6 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 6.67 - Holmes, Phillip 2 (4) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.83 - Hough, Dave - - - - - - - - ---- - JP Mills 19 2 0 0 7 3 1 2 7.42 - Johnston, Adam 2 (2) 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.25 - Kavanagh, Gary 19 0 0 0 5 2 0 2 7.63 - Little, Ian 22 18 4 0 3 1 0 7 7.86 - Mason, Kevin 7 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7.29 - McCullough, Mark - - - - - - - - ---- - Milne, Scott - - - - - - - - ---- - Moncrieffe, Prince 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 - Moran, Ryan 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8.00 - Moran, Sean 6 (11) 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 6.76 - Morgan, Bari 21 14 0 2 (2) 2 0 0 5 7.62 - Mortimer, Paul 5 (2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 - Munster, David 3 (11) 4 0 0 2 1 0 0 7.14 - Murphy, John - - - - - - - - ---- - Naylor, Phil - - - - - - - - ---- - O'Connor, Liam - - - - - - - - ---- - O'Neill, Jonathan - - - - - - - - ---- - Robinson, Robert 4 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 6.25 - Robson, Russell - - - - - - - - ---- - Roddie, Andy 5 (2) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.43 - Rose, Ben 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Rowland, Andrew - - - - - - - - ---- - Simpson, Jamie - - - - - - - - ---- - Smith, Fraser 1 (5) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.33 - Smith, Mark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Stannard, Wayne 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.71 - Turner, Harry - - - - - - - - ---- - Watson, Gary - - - - - - - - ---- - Watson, Paul - - - - - - - - ---- ************************************************** ********************************************** English Conference - Wednesday 22nd December 2004********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2004/5 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st AXFC 21 9 1 1 24 4 9 1 0 24 4 56 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Dag & Red 21 7 1 2 22 12 6 2 3 19 12 42 3rd Stevenage 20 5 2 2 17 9 6 3 2 14 8 38 4th Chester 21 7 3 1 26 16 4 2 4 14 12 38 5th Hereford 21 8 1 2 20 10 3 3 4 10 12 37 6th Northwich Vics 21 5 3 2 15 11 6 0 5 17 16 36 7th Morecambe 20 5 3 3 15 10 4 4 1 7 5 34 8th Halifax 20 5 2 3 14 14 5 2 3 17 16 34 9th Tamworth 21 3 3 4 9 10 6 3 2 23 11 33 10th Scarborough 21 4 5 2 16 14 4 3 3 11 8 32 11th Shrewsbury 21 4 4 2 13 12 2 3 6 10 15 25 12th Halesowen 20 3 3 3 10 13 4 1 6 11 16 25 13th Canvey Island 21 5 2 4 14 8 1 4 5 5 11 24 14th Barnet 19 3 4 4 9 11 3 1 4 10 12 23 15th Nuneaton Borough 21 2 4 4 15 18 3 4 4 14 17 23 16th Kettering 21 3 4 3 12 13 2 2 7 11 19 21 17th Macclesfield 21 2 2 7 8 20 3 3 4 10 13 20 18th Farnborough 21 3 2 6 12 20 2 2 6 10 18 19 19th Telford 21 2 3 6 8 20 2 3 5 9 13 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20th Stalybridge 21 2 3 5 7 11 1 5 5 10 18 17 21st Hayes 21 2 1 7 5 14 2 3 6 10 17 16 22nd Exeter 21 2 2 6 11 15 1 4 6 19 29 15 </pre>

retired_karamelkel

On Monday, Crewe hired Hamilton manger Mark Rankine. On Tuesday, McNab left for Cambridge United and we were 6,000 ponds in compensation. I immediately set about hiring a new coach. After a couple of interviews, I decided to offer 39 yr old Welshman Andy Edwards the job.

Wednesday evening in London was breezy and the sky let loose with showers, but warmer than it had been. All the regulars were fit for the contest and got the nod. We had beaten Macclesfield earlier in the year. Nearly half of Yankee Stadium for the game, which says a lot about the fans. They sat in the rain, watching an opponent that was trying to stave off relegation.

Once again, the game was not a pretty sight. Our offense, as it had done so often lately, kept misfiring. We were piling up the chances, but seemingly couldn’t hit the target. Macclesfield wasn’t much better. They were focusing so much on defense that they forgot to attack and therefore only got one shot off. We controlled the pace and tempo of the game, which was the only saving grace of the half for us. On 23, Asser, who was on fire right now, took a Fleming knockdown and drilled it into goal to give AXFC the 1-0. Asser seemed to be justifying the high fee I had asked Luton to pay for him. The second half was even less of a contest. Macclesfield failed to muster any kind of attack or service, basically going through the motions. We weren’t much better as we couldn’t hit a cow’s backside with a banjo. On 88 we iced the game when Morgan headed in a free-kick from Bunce to give us the 2-0 win. It was yet another uninspiring performance, but a win is a win. We had a week off before having to face Hereford at home on the following Wednesday evening.

On Thursday morning, we completed our seventh free agent to be signing, getting 23 yr old midfielder Neil Quinn from Cliftonville for a measly 5,000 pounds. A couple of days later, Richard Edwards accepted our offer of a coaching position and arrived soon thereafter to take up the task of coaching tactics and our keepers. At the end of the month, Kavanagh won the Young Player of the Month award for January. On that day, Preston made the national headlines when it was announced that a new board of directors had taken over. The board review came along with the beginning of February. They were, as usual, extremely happy with my performance and the rapport I had built with the fans. However, the club with still losing money hand over fist and our finances dipped to under 3 million pounds in the bank. We desperately needed to get to the League, where revenue flowed in like a river and not a dry stream.

Wednesday February 2, or Groundhog Day arrived. It was a clear cold evening as we prepared to take on Hereford at Yankee Stadium. We had beaten them earlier this year, 2-0. All the regulars were selected in the starting lineup with the exception of Dawson, who had been injured during practice a few days earlier. In his place was Mortimer. Johnson took his turn at AMC. Nearly 2500 fans, of which I estimated 500 as band wagon fans, filled Yankee Stadium to half-capacity.

We came out shooting well. We battered the Hereford goal time and time again, taking 12 shots. However, the Hereford keeper, David Williams, was in the zone and blithely stopped everything kicked his way. His performance inspired his teammates who began to take charge late in the half. They attacked often, getting three shots for their efforts. It paid off for Hereford in injury-time play as Francis whistled a shot past Browne off the Crawford pass to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We continued to pound away sat the Hereford goal in the second half, eventually shooting 15-23. With numbers like that, it was perhaps identifiable that we would score. This we did on 54 when Morgan blasted back a rebound to tie the game at 1 all. Hereford and Williams desperately tried to salvage the draw, but we were just shooting much for that to happen. The Hereford defense was simply incapable of stopping us. On 74, Mills took a corner and sent it Mortimer’s way and the midfielder slotted it into goal to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. At 80, with ten minutes left, I made a triple sub, sending in Munster for Bunce, Adamson for Mortimer and Moran for Johnson respectively. The fresh legs helped us to kill the clock and grab yet another victory. Saturday would bring the FA Trophy fourth round against Weymouth at home.

Saturday afternoon in London was dry and cold, just one degree above freezing. We had never played Weymouth before, but as they were a non-league side, I wasn’t expecting much difficulty from them. I started and all backup side. Just over 700 came out for the match.

Weymouth set about making me eat my words from the previous paragraph. They crisply outplayed us, countering with efficiently. They grabbed the lead on 24 when Kalmia, an 18 yr old forward with legit finishing skills, blew a shot past Robinson to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We continued to play sloppy football, and were unable to put any of our chances on-target. As a result, we went into the half still one down. Matters got worse just five minutes into the second half as Goodwin went down, forcing me to send in Fleming. We dominated the possession game, but were just unable to put many of our chances on-target. It didn’t help that Weymouth was playing their hearts out, determined to win the game and beat the Conference leaders. AXFC, on the other hand, was just not playing well. We looked uninterested and lethargic. Given all this, it was no surprise that when the final whistle blew, Weymouth had pulled off the 1-0 upset, beating us in our own stadium. Our next game was a return to Conference action against Exeter at their park on Wednesday evening.

Wednesday evening in Exeter was windy and warmer than usual as it was in the mid-forties. We had hammered this team 4-0 in our previous encounter. All the regulars, save for the still injured Dawson, were fit to play and get the nod. Mortimer replaced Dawson and Johnson took the AMC spot. Nearly 2400 filled St. James Park for the contest.

We regained our offensive touch quickly in the first half, pressuring the Exeter defense from the get-go. We hounded their keeper with shot after shot, and the lad, Matthew Ghent, held up reasonable well. Exeter was set back on their heels, unable to create much offense, though they did have a couple of chances. It was a wonder we didn’t run riot on them. But, we only had one goal to show for our efforts as on 32, Bari Morgan drove in a header off a Mills cross from the right to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Things got far more interesting for the spectators in the second half. We finally began to really expose the cracks in the Exeter defense as we poured in shot after shot, eventually shooting 11-16 for the game. The increased offense paid off for us on the 65 minute when the referee awarded us a penalty. Johnston converted to make the score 2-0 AXFC. At the resumption of play, I sent in Smith for Mortimer. Exeter supersede their fans by nailing a comeback goal about team minutes later as Brisling sent in a soft volley off a Copier pass to make the score 2-1. We would playing too well to be denied however, and we sealed the outcome in the 80’s as first, Johnson took a long ball from Smith, broke down several defenders and planted the ball past Ghent on 82. Then, seven minutes later, Mills fired in a low cross that little gathered in and shot true to make the final a 4-1 AXFC rout. Our next game would be on the following Saturday afternoon at Farnborough.

retired_karamelkel

On Friday the 11, Leicester offered a contract to Kavanagh. That was fine with me as I wasn’t planning on resigning the lad. Kavanagh has all the physical attributes to be a top-flight fullback, but he has extremely poor on-field judgment. He was dominating the Conference through brawn, not brains. Leicester would find out soon enough for them while we would take the 36,000 pounds in compensation and laughing.

Saturday afternoon in Farnborough was windy and cold. We had beaten them 1-0 in our last game. All the regulars were fit enough to play and the same lineup used against Exeter, with the exception of Moran in place of Johnston, took the field. Only about 1650 showed up for the game.

Neither team was brilliant offensively as both sides strove to attack, but each time faltered against a tough defense. Chances were far and few between as neither team could really get within shooting distance. Farnborough was able to take advantage of a counter on 28 when McMahon raced down the left and delivered a ball to Belgrade who slotted it past Browne to give the home side the 1-0 edge. We did not react well to being behind and we continued to **** about the pitch and seemingly going though the motions. At the half, the trainer informed me that Asser had a potential foot injury so I replaced the lad with Smith. We managed to pull ourselves together in the second half and began attacking well, getting a few chances and putting them on the target. However, Masalin was on-form and turned away all our efforts. Meanwhile, Farnborough did a great job of eating up the clock and before we knew it, there was only 15 minutes left in the game. At that point, I sent in Holmes for Ryan Moran, but the move failed to spark any changes and the game wound down to a 1-0 Farnborough victory. We got a week off before having to face Chester at Yankee Stadium on February 19.

The major news of the week was that Van Gaal had finally resigned as manager of Fulham. He had been on the hot seat for abut a year and when the news broke that the Fulham dressing room was close to revolt, the embattled Dutchman had finally had enough. On February 16, Hough returned to full practice after recovering completely from his fractured skull. On the evening of the same day, Kavanagh agreed to terms with Leicester and the deal was slated to go through on June 10.

London was suffering through a drizzling rain as we prepared to play Chester at home. At least the day had warmed up to the mid-forties again. We had drubbed Chester at the Deva Stadium 4-1 in our last game against them. All the regulars except for Dawson were fit for the contest and got the nod. Johnston took the AMC spot. Slightly more than 2100 people decided to turn up for the game.

We were dominant from the start of the game. We controlled possession 60 percent of the time and we made five of our seven first-half chances out. The game was pretty much done fifteen minutes into the thing. On ten, little buried a rebound back past Wilson to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, Morgan knocked the ball down for Johnston, who carried it though and hit a screamer past a hapless Wilson to give us the 2-0 lead. We eased up a bit after that, but Chester looked stunned and disorganized. They were unable to attack and find any sort of rhythm. Little sealed the win for us on 39 when he blasted a Fleming square-off high and hard past Wilson to give us the commanding 3-0 lead. At the half I put in Sean Moran for a fatigued Johnston. Chester shot them in the foot gain just ten minutes into the half when a frustrated King yanked on Lytle’s jersey and was promptly sent off. We had eased up quite a bit on our opponents, so we didn’t make hay at the time. However we did add a goal on 6665 when &lt;Morgan took a free-kick that defected off the wall and into Ryan Moran’s path. Ryan quickly took a shot and it went past Wilson to make the score 4-0 AXFC. There the score remained and twenty minutes to the end, I sent in Munster for Little and Holmes for Fleming. The game ended without further note. We would next play Canvey Island at their place on the following Saturday.

The Chester game saw a new AXFC club record set as Ian little earned his eighth man of match award of the season. On Sunday evening, my coaches informed me that Gary Campbell had, once again, turned up late for training and was not in shape. I had had trouble with Campbell ever since he joined the club. It seemed that the youngster had let professional football go to his head. I called him to my office, closed the door and handed Campbell his release. I then wished him luck and motioned him to get off the premises. Since he was still young at 18, I figured Campbell would return to Northern Ireland and play there. I made a note to check up on him in a year or so. On Thursday, Fulham hired Dundee Unity’s Ian McCall to be their new manager.

Conditions at Canvey Island on Saturday afternoon were dry and pleasant. The temperature was slowly beginning to warm up as spring advanced. We had drawn nil-nil with this team the last time we had met. All the regulars, including the just recovered Dawson, were penciled into the starting lineup. Just over 1700 filled {ark Lane.

By rights we should have blown out the Islanders early. We had ten chances in the half and put seven of them where they should have gone. But, Gary Baker made save after save, with a bit of help from his defense. CI was focused on defense for the entire half and only managed one shot of their own. But, we were frustrated as well, proving unable to net a goal despite our sterling performance. We did finally break through Baker five minutes before half-time. Asser took a Fleming pass twenty-five yards out, then went on a run that saw him beat two or three defenders and then slam the ball home to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. We essentially sealed the game with two quick strikes in the opening minutes of the second half. On 47, Morgan took a grounder from Little, turned on the ball and sent it flying past Baker to make the score 2-0. Then, five minutes after that, Mills laid the ball off to an onrushing Fleming who used his momentum to pelt the ball goalward for the 3-0 lead. At that point, I told the team to ease up. CI took advantage of this to score a goal on 58 when Gregory rounded Browne to brig the home side back one, 3-1. About twelve minutes later, I sent in Smith for Asser and Munster for Little. Three minutes after the sub, Canvey chipped away some more at our lead, when Junior beat Browne for a jump-ball and nodded the ball in to make the score 3-2. Canvey’s comeback ended there however and we were able to kill the last fifteen minutes off the clock to preserve our win. The next game on our schedule would be in a week on March 5. It would be a derby contest with Barnet at Yankee Stadium.

On the last day of February the monthly awards were announced. I had won the Manager of the Month and Johnston had won the Young Player of the Month. As March began, the board met and discussed my job performance. As usual they were quite happy with me, but again, as usual, reiterated their concerns about the finances, which were dwindling rapidly. On Wednesday, March 2, I got a surprise report from my assistant, Alex Denver, telling me that I should give reserve midfielder Scott Milne some first-team action. The 18 year old Scot had been impressive in reserve games, playing in 19 contests and earning four Moons. Regardless of that, I decided to wait until next season to give Milne first team playing time. He looked like he could be the CMC of the fattier and I did not want to rush the lad’s development. Just before the weaken, Crystal Palace announced that the were hiring the currently unemployed Iain Dowse as their new boss.

retired_karamelkel

Saturday afternoon in London was warm and wet. For the first time this year, the temperature was in the 60’s. The warmth was counter-balanced by the wet as the pitch was still a bit sodden from the overnight rain. We had beaten Barnet 4-3 in that wild game earlier in the season. Being that this was a derby game, all the regulars were fit and penciled into the starting lineup. Just over 3700 filled Yankee Stadium for the game, a club record for a non-Cup match.

The fans weren’t disappointed. The fireworks started early as Barnet’s Beadle opened the scoring just four minutes in when he headed in a Way pass to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. Not to be outdone, we responded just three minutes later. Morgan took a pas from Mills, dribbled in, and planted the shot to tie the game at 1-1. The action settled down a bit as we took control of the game. We were getting a ton of chances and what’s more, we were more accurate with those chances than our previous form would warrant. On 24, Moran, backing up Little on an attack, had the ball come to him and the Irish AMC, struck a skimmer that went into the lower left-hand corner to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. From that point we continued to control the game and shooting well. Barnet were unable to attack much and the highlight of their half remained the opening goal. We clinched the win ten minutes into the second half. Moran knocked down a ball for Morgan, who turned and hit a high hard one towards the top corner to give AXFC the 3-1 lead and win. I told the boys to ease up on the opposition and the rest of the half was a desultory midfield slog as we played keep-away. Barnet managed to get only one shot off during the second half and seemed to have lost their fire. As a result, they never threatened us and we go an easy win. We would have a short layoff for our next game, a Tuesday evening match at Shrewsbury.

Tuesday evening in Shrewsbury was cool and dry, an exceedingly pleasant night. We had whipped Shrewsbury in our last game against them by the score of 4-0. A mix of regulars and backups fill the lineup card as Standard, Roddie, Adamson, Munster and Bradley replaced unfit regulars. Johnston took his turn in the AMC rotation. For the fifth or sixth time this season, we had the opportunity to war our red uniforms. The 1300 fans that turned out didn’t really get their money’s worth from the game.

From the onset, defense was dominant on both sides of the pitch. The ball was moving well as both teams probed the other’s defenses, but shots were difficult to come by. Shrewsbury had three chances, AXFC two. The ball however, was traded almost equally by the two teams and each Sid managed to get deep in the other’s zone before coughing the ball up. On 18, Shrewsbury took the lead, 1-0 on a fine strike by lower-league veteran Duane Darby. We were unable to tie the game as our offense seemed anemic. The second half saw both teams, particularly Shrewsbury, amp up production on the offensive end. We managed to tie the game on 54 when Johnston converted a penalty. We were unable to gain momentum from the goal as Standard, Bunce and Adamson were all having terrible games. As a result, near the hour mark, I sent in Holmes for Bunce and prayed that the other two poor pardoners would pick up their games. They didn’t and they continued to undermine our play. This became glaringly apparent after Shrewsbury pulled ahead 2-1 on 68. Traer hit a shot that hit Ryan Moran and deflected into our net for a fluke own goal. With that, our confidence and desire waned and we struggled through the last twenty minutes of the game. I hoped the loss would serve as a wakeup call. Promotion was not yet assured for us and we needed to play well until we had secured the championship. Granted, we were ahead of the second-place team by 18 points, but that was no excuse to get sloppy. Our chance to get back on track would come on the following Saturday afternoon with a home contest against Halifax.
On March 11, we signed 25 yr old NI midfielder Richard Clarke to add depth to the first team midfield corp. The day after Clarke joined us was the match day. Saturday afternoon in London was wet, damp a slightly chillier than I would have liked. We had beaten Halifax 2-0 in our last encounter. All the regulars were fit for this game and all but the struggling Bunce got the nod, Fuff taking Bunce’s place. Nearly 2300 fans came out to watch.

Our shooting problems plagued us once again in this first half. We got plenty of chances, but couldn’t shoot straight. Halifax got one less chance than we did and they were far more accurate with their tries. Neither team rally had an edge in possessions the ball moved up and down the pitch, providing plenty of action. Halifax opened the scoring on 26 when Gary Lynch blasted a loose ball past Browne to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, little took a Mills pass and hummed it into the goal with ease to tie the game at 1-1. Both sides periodically launched attacks during the rest of the half, but neither team could draw blood. The second half saw the first half trends continuing. Both teams again had plenty goof chances and to do all that much with them. AXFC did, however, take a dominant share of second half possession. We kept the ball in midfield for moist of the half as we patiently waited for good attacking opportunities. We broke the game open on 52 when Morgan put back a loose ball to give AXFC the 2-1 advantage. As play resumed, I sent in Sean Moran for Johnston, would was having a pedestrian day. We grimly hung on while Browne turned back the Halifax on-slaught several times. We iced the game in injury time when Kavanagh had a loose ball fall his way. He stuck it into the net to give us the 3-1 win. Our next game would be against Scarborough. It would be the Conference game of the week, so it would be played in the morning, always a joy. In other game day news, Chester found themselves in the Conference record books for highest scoring game as they beat Barnet 6-4.

A few days later, Swansea announced that they were hiring Paul Lambert as hirer new manager. On March 16, I had to release reserve forward John Gallagher as the youngster took issue with a warning I gave him about turning up late for practice and not being in shape. On Thursday evening, we lost one of our Bosmans, Andrew Lawry due to injury. He’d broken his leg during the Falkirk resave match and would be out six months. He wouldn’t get medical clearance in time to join us in time so I canceled the transfer. Later that evening, the news reported that Shrewsbury had hired Dean Blackwell to be their new manager. Blackwell had been managing in the Welsh League.

Saturday morning in Scarborough was rainy and chilly, though since the rain had only arrived during the night, the pitch was still in good condition. We had bean Scarborough in our last game by the score of 2-1. All the regulars were penciled on the lineup card and Moran took his turn at AMC. 2300 find came out to the McCain Stadium to watch an absurdly dull first half.

Neither team could really even get a chance in the first half, nor when a shot did arise, did the player shooting it most likely shank it. Each side had just one shot on target and each goalkeeper made the save. With possession being almost even, both teams managed to threaten an attack, but invariably lost the ball. It was not a game that many people were likely watching on TV as the half sputtered to a scoreless end. The second half was, possibly, even more dull. Scarborough held onto the ball 70 percent of the time and kicked the ball around midfield. We did get a couple of shots, but Wilson managed to save them and the game ground out to a 0-0 draw. The Sky Television execs were probably swearing loudly by the end of this tepid affair. For my part, I was already thinking about purr next game. We would play Halesowen at home in a weeks time.

On the Friday before our Saturday match the transfer deadline passed without much action. Saturday afternoon soon arrived as we prepared to face Halesowen in London. It had rained the on Friday evening and as such, the pitch was still damp and the grounds wet in general. At least the temperature was in full spring mode and in the balmy 60s. All the regulars were fit and got the nod for the starting lineup. We had crushed this team 3-0 the last time we had faced them. Only 1680 fans came out, which was a disappointing crowd given that we were routinely drawing around 2000 for most of our second-half games.

We battered Halesowen with a ton of chances, Time and time again we pounded the ball at the general vicinity of the net, only to see the shots go wide or the on-form keeper turn them away. We were dominating the baling all areas of the pitch and we constantly pushed the ball into the opposition’s zone. For their part, Halesowen soaked up the pressure and looked to counter-attack. This they did with efficiency, making the most of their shots. In fact, they were the ones to open the scoring on 21 when Gleason pounced on a Browne parry and sent it back through to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We continued to rain shots at the Halesowen keeper and he finally cracked three minutes before half-time. Mills sent in a cross from the right which little turned on and drove past Book to tie the game at 1-1. Our elation at tying the game was short-lived as less than a minute later; Morgan went down hard and had to be helped off the pitch. In went Bradley and two minutes later, the intermission arrived. The second half was a case study of a team completely losing their composure. First, on 52, little gathered in a loose ball and drove it high past Book to give AXFC the 2-1 lead. Then, three minutes later, Little took another shot that deflected off of Bryan and bounced past the goal-line for a 3-1 advantage off an own goal. Five minutes late Furlough upbraided the referee for awarding us a free-kick and was ejected for his tirade. By this time we had settled down into a defensive posture and were controlling the ball with ease. Things weren’t rosy though as Kavanagh went down on 68 and was replaced by Smith. We got one more goal to complete the rout as Johnston converted a penalty late to give us the 4-1 victory. After the game, the injury reports came in. Both Morgan and Kavanagh had suffered strained knee ligaments, however, Morgan would be out for a week and a half while Kavanagh would be out a solid three weeks. Furthermore, the win clinched the Conference championship for us. We had won it with five games left to play. All this meant was that the backups would get more playing time over the final stretch, beginning with the next game, an away contest at Kettering on April 2.

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The run-up to the Kettering game provided a bit of excitement. First, my Scotland scout noticed a right back at Partick Thistle who was talented and not getting much playing time. The 24 yr old had more games for his native land, Ivory Coast, with six caps than games with Partick Thistle over the last two years, three. If he signed with us, and it seemed likely, Jean-Yves Anis would be the seventh Bosman signing of the year. As the calendar turned into April, the board met as usual. They were happy with our performance and happy that the fans were turning out to see the team. However, we were still leaking money at a horrid rate. We were down to roughly 2.7 million dollars. The only good thing was that the season was almost over and that we would be soon earning even more revenue.

Saturday afternoon in Kettering was cool and wet. The pitch as still damp from the morning rain. We had beaten Kettering 2-1 the last time we played them. The entire starting lineup I handed to the ref was filled with all backups. It was time to give them a couple of games now that we had won the title. Sean Moran drew the start at AMC. Nearly 2700 came out to watch the game.

It was a midfield battle from the start. Neither team was able t put many chances away and so resorted to kicking the ball around midfield. We opened the scoring early on 11 as Bradley nailed a header off a Clarke lob to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Kettering patiently built an attack that saw them score at the half-hour mark. Haren converted a free-kick off a bad decision by the ref, to tie the game up at 1. The last fifteen minutes saw a reversion back to the midfield slugfest that had characterized the early action. Neither team had really gotten anywhere when the half-time horn sounded. If possible, the second half was even duller than the first. Everyone seemed content with a draw and both sides began to go through the motions. On 63, I sent in Moncrief for Munster and at 76, Mills for Roddie. Neither move made much difference as our shot-making was not particularly good. We ran the clock out on the 1=1 draw with nary a whimper. We would play Hayes at home on Monday evening, just two days later. The Kettering game also saw us set a rather dubious Conference record. Our 35 yellows and three reds were the worse discipline in the league’s history.

On Sunday, Anis agreed to terms with us and would join us in the summer. He would be only the second full International in AXFC history. On Sunday evening Chelsea beat Charlton 3-0 to win the League Cup. Also, several teams made offers for Ian little, who I had put on the block while his value was high.

Monday evening in London was dry and warm. It was the first real perfect day for football of the New Year. We had beaten Hayes 4-2 in our last encounter. All the regulars except for the injured Morgan and Kavanagh got the start. Holmes and Moncrief filling in for the injured pair. 2200 or nearly half he capacity of Yankee Stadium came out to watch us play the doormats of the Conference.

From the very beginning the outcome was never in doubt. We knew we were going to win; the question was by how much. We answered that question starting on 21 when Ryan Moran, who was filling in a right back, sent in a pass to little, who promptly bagged AXFC’s first goal. Two minutes later, Moran sent in another pass from the right that found Johnston, who dribbled in and volleyed the shot to make the score 2-0. At that point I signaled the team to play defensively. Even doing that, we added another goal late in the half as Bunce buried a loose-ball corner kick into the back of the net for the 3-0 lead at halftime. We shot 6-9 for the half and held a considerable edge in the possession game. Hayes was so uncompetitive that they failed to even take a shot. Hayes made a token stand, scoring with a Hodges strike just one minute into the second half to make the score 3-1. But that was the extent of their heroics. We continued to shoot well. Johnston sent in a [ass that little crushed into the net to make the score 4-1 an hour in. Moncrief then got into the act on 73 when Ryan Moran lobbed in a pass that the Prince drilled to make the final a gaudy 3-1. I really hadn’t intended to run the score up like that and I felt bad for Hayes, but a win is a win as we attempted to reach a 100-point season now. We had a game against Stalybridge at their place on Saturday April 9.

As it turned out, we were the big bad wolf that eliminated Hayes from the Conference. We also set two records with that game. First, we set the Conference record for most punts with 95. Second, little set a new season record with 27 goals. In a shock announcement, seven AXFC players were chosen for the All-Conference team. Browne, Kavanagh, Fleming, Asser and Little were in the first 11 and Bunce was on the bench. It was a high honor indeed and was full testament to our domination in the league this season. That same day, I put Dawson on the transfer list, where several teams showed immediate interest.

It was cool and wet as we took to the Stalybridge pitch on Saturday afternoon. The pitch was damp due the rain that had fallen earlier in the day. We had beaten this team 3-0 in our last battle. This time, I started an all backup lineup. For the sixth our seventh game this year, we had to wear our red uniforms, an informal club record. Just over a 1000 showed up at Bower Field.

Stalybridge had a lot to lose in these last couple of games as they were fighting to get out of the relegation zone. They came out inspired, forcing us to keep the ball at midfield for most of the half. Staley only got one shot all half, but they made it count. Twenty minutes in, Steele pounced on a loose ball from a goal-kick, dribbled in a bit and beat Robinson to give the home side the 1-0 lead. Our offense proved to be generally unreliable as we couldn’t put most of our chances on-target. Therefore, we concentrated on keeping Staley from doing a more damage, which we succeeded at doing. The second half saw both teams improving on offense. We managed to be more accurate, but to no avail as the Staley keeper Ryan Browne, an 18 yr old, was having a career day. He stopped everything AXFC threw at him to keep the 1-0 Staley lead intact. I didn’t really care all that much about the result. Staley needed the win and we didn’t so if we helped them avoid relegation that was fine with me. We had two weeks off before our next match, a home game versus Stevenage.

I’ll admit that I don’t see the logic of a two-week break this close to the nod of the season. With only two games left, it would make more sense to play them on the weekend like usual. That way the season would be over by May. Why force a team to play a game in May when it could be safely scheduled in late April. But, I’m not the schedule maker. The only real big news of the first off week was the news that Bristol Rovers decided to sack Phil Batter. They seemed to be safe from relegation from the League, but the board wasn’t taking any chances it seemed. On Sunday the 17th, West Ham beat Brantley 3-1 to win the Vans Trophy. The next manager to be let go was Watford’s Nigel Martin. Watford’s board was clearly panicking as the club tried to avoid relegation with only three games left in the season. A day later, Bristol Rovers announced that they were hiring Neil Lennon as their player/manager.

The afternoon of Saturday April 23 was dry and cool in London. We had pounded Stevenage in our last meeting 3-0. The only regulars not fit for the last home game of the year were little and Johnson, both out with nagging injuries. Bradley and Moran took their places. Only around 1800 die-hards saw the contest, which to me was a lousy turnout.

But maybe the ones who stayed away knew something was a-foot. The game was over by the half-hour mark. We opened the scoring on 13 when Morgan took a throw-in delivered from Kavanagh, dribbled it in ands banged it past the keeper for the 11-0 AXFC lead. Eight minutes later, we passed the shoreline when Mills delivered a ball that Sean Moran chipped into goal. Then, on 28, we sealed the game with an Asser blast off a Morgan head-down to give us the 3-0 margin. We eased off and began playing defensively and slowly, trying not to do anything fancy. Stevenage had a few chances, but they were unable to crack Browne and we went into half-time with the three goal margin intact. During the break I subbed Munster in for Morgan who looked like he had a foot injury. Three minutes into the second half Sean &lt;Moran went down and I had to send in Fraser Smith to take his place. We burned clock in the second half as Stevenage failed to get a shot off. They had more or less given up and were letting us control the game... On 74 Mills swung in a corner that found Monster’s foot and the young Northern Irishman drove it into the net to give us the final score, 4-0. That was it for highlights of the second half. We had one more game to play in the Conference season, an April 30 match at Northwich Vic. I stand corrected; this Conference season would end on the last day of April.