retired_karamelkel

Mark: Your original spelling fit the context better as the fiver accompanies the onion rings. But, no, I don't fine my players. Most of my guys make 5,000 pounds a year. The only time I actually even issue a reprimand is when a player turns up late for practice. If one of my starters plays like crap, he simply won't start the next game unless there are expectional circumstances. BTW, I can promise a full season of updates. I just finished the season this morning.


On Sunday, I appealed the FA’s three game ban against Mitchell. I figured a trip was worth maybe one game suspension. Tuesday evening saw us at Stonebridge Park. The evening was pleasant enough (20) and dry. None of the players who had played badly in the Chester game were selected for this game. In fact, most of the regulars got the night off. The only starters to see action were Browne, Thornber, Mitchell and Gordon. Everyone else in the lineup was a backup player. A big crowd of 3300 fans came out to watch the game.

The hybrid lineup for us seemed to work well early on as on 9, Kirkwood gathered in a loose ball from Gordon, dribbled it nearer to goal and blistered it in to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. Much like our last game, we spent the rest of the half scattering shots everywhere except the putative target. Unlike Chester in the last game, Gravesend weren’t able to muster any offense. They failed to advance the ball into our area much and never even took a shot, much to my relief. At the half, I subbed in Steve Ward for Thornber who was struggling. The second half belonged to Gravesend. They held possession an astounding 81% of the time in the half. They attacked voraciously, putting seven of ten shots on target. Our defense and Browne handled the pressure well until one minute before injury time. Kumber picked up a loose ball in our penalty area and put it past Browne to give Gravesend a well-earned tie: 1-1. The home team, with their stellar second-half performance earned the draw. With two straight draws and a quarter of the season played, we sat in fifth place. Our next match would be on Saturday afternoon at home against Forest Green.

retired_karamelkel

Since the game against Forest Green was on the weekend, the regular starters were all fit and ready to go. The only starter held out of the lineup was Thornber, who struggled in the last game. He was replaced by Stephen Thomas. The roof was covering the field, so it was comfortable and dry inside the ballpark. The 1407 fans that showed up got what they paid for.

Having stumbled in the last couple of games, it was nice to see the AXFC offense take charge from the get go. On 14, ex goats Mutchell and Howard combined on a nice team move as Mutchell sent a low cross to the near post to Howard. Howard closed in on goal, faked off his marker and buried the ball into the top corner to give us the 1-0 lead. Forest Green didn’t panic. The kept making forays into our territory and even put in a couple of shots on target. However their offense kept going offside and they failed to capitalize on their chances. Howard, who was having a brilliant half, made the Green pay on 28 when he took a pass from Durkin and zinged it into the top corner for a 2-0 lead. Since we were up by a comfortable margin, I instructed the team to play defensively the rest of the way. The second half was about as perfect as a defensive effort could be for us. The ball was in our area a mere 5% of the time, only spent 17% in midfield and was in the Forest Green area a whopping 78% of the time. Given that we controlled possession over half the time, it was a wonder were held scoreless, but our four attempts went for nil. The constant pressure did get to Forest and their right back Phillips was sent off on 86 for shoving Bradley. After that, we coasted to the win. Howard had redeemed himself with a spectacular performance as any good player should. It was a nice way to go into a week’s break as our next match was next Saturday afternoon at Exeter.

retired_karamelkel

Thought you guys might like to know that real-time wise I'm getting ready to start my second season with AXFC.

Monday October 1rst brought with it the monthly report from the board. They were pleased with my performance, but the finances were not good. The club had lost nearly 92,500 pounds for the month of September. The lion's share of expenses was the payroll just over 45,000 pounds and stadium upkeep which came to 66,000 pounds. It looked I we were going to have to get rid of the retractable roof at the next of the season, or even at the Christmas break. It was just too damn expensive to keep. The moral, of course is that you should only acquire technology if you can afford it. Our cash on hand was low and there was no doubt that we would go into debt. Well, we’d paid dearly for the roof folly and all I could do was corrected when I could. The news got worse on Tuesday when midfielder Chris Duffy broke his foot in training and would be out for four months. I called up 19 yr old Clark Fennelly, an Irish lad, up to fill the roster spot. Clark had done well in seven reserve games, bagging two assists. He would back up veteran Weddell, who moved up to the starting job at RMC. Wednesday, in what was turning out to be a busy week, brought the FA Cup qualifying round draw. We would play fellow Conference side Morecambe at Christie Park on October 13, a Saturday.

Saturday afternoon at St. James Park in Exeter was the first really cool afternoon we’d seen this year. It was 50 degrees, but it was dry. All the regular starters were in the lineup, though I did give young Fennelly the start at RMC, so that he could get acclimated quickly to the first team. Michel’s ban appeal had been unsuccessful, and his three game bans started with this game. I was not aware of that until I went out to give my lineup card to the ref, who told me the news. I quickly made Thomas the starter in central defense alongside Thornber. Just over 2,000 fans filled the park and they saw a very good first half for their home side.

Exeter’s defense was very good in the first half and they kept denying us chances. We would bring the ball into their half and fail to do much with any of the three shots we got. Exeter also dominated possession. All this equaled a frustrating half for AXFC, but we did do our part to keep the home side off the board. Our defense was as good as heir’s, though we only had to deal with one shot from Exeter. In short, they controlled their half, we controlled our half and the result, a 0-0 game at the half. At the half, I subbed in Dallas for Bradley, as the youngster was unable to crack the Exeter defense. We went back out hoping to change the ballgame around. The opening minutes saw Exeter regrouping on offense as they pounded Browne with a couple of shots. But Browne kept his cool and saved well. On 65, noting that Thornber was struggling again, I sent in Cooley in his place. Exeter continued to pressure us and we continued to hold them off. On 74, Dallas limped off with an injury and Purcell replaced him. With Purcell in the game, the AXFC offense began to pick up steam it had lacked for most of the game. We began to attack the Exeter zone with more authority and on 88 we broke through. Fatid sent a free kick into the area that Purcell deflected it off his noggin and into the goal to give AXFC the late win, 1-0. It had been a hard-fought contest and was a true test of our skill. The win kept us in fourth place as Conference action came to a one week halt. Our next game would be at Morecambe on the next Saturday.

retired_karamelkel

On Monday, the 8th, the scout covering Ireland called in a report recommending veteran Alan Byrnes as a good signing. I looked at the report and the tape and agreed. Byrnes would be a good player at the CMC spot. If signed, he would take Apilinga's roster spot, with Moses moving down to the reserves. To make room for the potential signing, reservist Hopkins, who had no talent to speak of, was released. Injuries continued to mount as Fennelly went down for a couple weeks with a damaged shoulder.

Morning in Morecambe on FA Cup Saturday was not the best of times, it had rained heavily during the latter part of the week and as such, the grass was wet and the pitch was pretty damp. The cool air, at 50 degrees, made the moisture feel colder. To make matters even better, we had drawn Norman Appleby, a very strict referee. In short, we were liable to see someone tossed out in this contest. Weddell made is debut as the regular starter at RMC in the lineup and all but two regulars joined him. Brook drew the start in goal and Ward got the nod in place of the struggling Thurber. Mitchell was still suspended, so Thomas retained his spot in the lineup. The 3300 fans who had decided to come to the game rather than sleep in, found themselves yawning through a dull first half.

There is really no other way to describe the first half, it was boring. Both teams looked like the morning starting time had thrown them off their games. Neither team showed much inclination to attack and instead, kicked the ball around and around the midfield merry-go-round. Both teams stumbled, half asleep, back to their dressing rooms having done nothing but raise the ire of the fans, who yelled derisive comments as the teams left the pitch. Fatid had not played well thus far and before we went back out, I replaced him with Lyne, who took over LMC as Young moved to CMC. The Morecambe manager must have blistered his players during the break because they came out on fire. They attacked us for the entire half and it worked as we were still sluggish. On 58, Rogan, the Morecambe forward, nailed a nice finish to put the home side up 1-0. We never really recover and on 75, I lifted Bradley, who was utterly unable to do anything today, for Kirkwood. AXFC was unable to create anything in the closing minutes and we were knocked out of the FA Cup. Even worse, from a mental standpoint, our next game wasn’t for two weeks, a Saturday October 27 at Hereford. We couldn’t do anything but stew and hope that our injured players got healthy again.

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Free agent Byrnes rejected our offer as we couldn’t meet his salary demands. It wasn’t a great loss at any rate and we tuned our attention to other matters. We quickly filled the vacant roster spot with young Irish prodigy Matty Byrnes a central defender who had been in Peterborough’s youth system. The 18 yr old looked to be a decent player at this level right now, though he would start out in the reserves to get a few games in. Before we knew what was happening, it was time to play again.

On Saturday, October 27, we traveled to Hereford for an afternoon Conference match. The day was clear and cool, an even 50 degrees on the thermometer I used to measure the temperature. All but two of the regular starters were penciled in on the lineup card. The exceptions were Brian Mitchell, who was serving the last game of his suspension and Lee Bradley, who had no been playing well recently. Thomas and Kirkwood took their places respectively. The 1500 fans that came out to witness the match got a great show for their money.

In one of those displays that are rare for Conference football, both sides came out playing well and attacking with reasonable competency. Hereford had an early goal nullified for being offside, so it was us, AXFC, who got on the scoreboard first. On 19, Gordon headed a ball down for Young, who turned quickly on the ball and hit a daisy-cutter into the goal to give us the 1-0 lead. We continued to be efficient with our shots for the rest of the half, generally causing the Hereford goalkeeper heartburn every time we took a shot. We added to our lead late in the half just after the half-hour mark when Howard put back his own rebound to give us the two goal lead. During the break, I told the players to play defensively. Though we were purportedly playing defense in the second half, I didn’t see much evidence of it. Hereford’s Johnson pulled them to within one with a fine strike on 63. Still, we grimly hung on, refusing to relinquish the lead. Then, on 79, as I replaced Weddell, who was having a game to forget, with Fennelly, Hereford midfielder Hunter buried a penalty in the back of the net to even up the score at 2-2. There the score remained as Hereford successfully ran out the clock on their well earned draw. For our part, I was frustrated that the defense had collapsed again. Our inability to hold a lead was quickly catching up with us as we had another week and half to stew about games that got away. Our next game was a home game against Tamworth on Wednesday November 6.

retired_karamelkel

A day after the match, I received a call from one of my youth scouts. As soon as I picked up the phone, he started talking a mile a minute. After he calmed down, he explained that he had been to a schoolboy match in one of the eastern counties. He had seen a 16 yr old forward named Richard Speight with special ability. This kid was already a physical specimen, he had blazing speed, a vertical leap to match the best, a superb first step and on and on. The scout said that Speight needed major work on his skills, but was the total athletic package. I asked, sensibly enough, why no big club had latched onto this guy. My scout replied that the prospect tended to be lazy during matches and was not the most durable- he would start to huff and puff fairly quickly. Still, there was no question that this guy had skills and so we offered him a contract. November arrived, and the stakeholders were none too pleased as American Exiles FC continued to hemorrhage money. This month’s loss was to the tune of 111,000 pounds. This time the roof was not the albatross, but rather salaries. There was nothing we could do except make the League and reap profits in the Sky. On a plus note, however, young Speight signed with us the next day.

Wednesday evening came soon enough to us as we prepared to play Tamworth that evening. The roof was open and the pitch was wet. It was a cool night in the mid-50s. All the regular starters save one were named in the lineup. The exception was Weddell who hadn’t played well in the previous match. Fennelly took his spot in the lineup. The 1913 fans who attended saw a corking offensive display.

Both teams came out at a blistering pace. AXFC and Tamworth both went up and down in the early minutes, attacking the goalkeepers with determination. We scored first on 24 when Gordon collected a deflection and blew it back past Whitehead to open the account 1-0 AXFC. We weren’t finished, however, and came back up two minutes later when Fatid made a run from midfield, leaping over one challenge and breaking down another to put the ball in the net to make the score 2-0. But the crazy 20’s weren’t done yet and two minutes later, Tamworth’s Whitman took a Powell lob and put it past Browne to make the score 2-1. The two teams settled down after that, but there was no denying that the 20’s had been examples of great offensive skills. If the first half had been offensively sublime with no wasted chances, the second half was offensively dull. Both teams played cautiously and were unwilling to chances until late. On 88, Tamworth’s Rowlett headed in the goal that knotted the game at 2-2. There the score remained and we were left to ponder another blown lead. This time we wouldn’t have time to brood though as we had a game in three days against Shrewsbury at Yankee Stadium.

retired_karamelkel

There was no local team news to report in the few days leading u to the Shrewsbury game. We decided to open the roof for this one and the result was a dry pitch and a cool afternoon at about 50 degrees. I decided to start a mix of regulars and backups for this contest. Chandler, Thomas (Thornber) Lyne, Apilinga, Purcell and Dallas (Bradley) were the non-regulars who got the starting nod. Our largest crowd to date 2229, showed up only to see us struggle.

To be fair, Shrewsbury were not unnerved by the hostile crowd and set about playing like the former League team they were. Their attack was sharp and their forwards were consistently on target. Those two factors made it inevitable that they would score and they did, opening their account on 23 when forward Cramb went on a run and ended it by nailing a well-chosen shot past Browne. The goal gave Shrewsbury the 1-0 lead. We didn’t panic, however and we came back with our own strong attack five minutes later in a quick strike. Gordon got to a Purcell header from midfield before anyone else could, and buried a shot past Howie to tie the game at 1-1. Shrewsbury barely noticed as, on the resulting kick-off, they scored again on 30 when Darby headed a cross from the left to regain Shrewsbury’s lead at 2-1. There the scoring ended for the first half; still, it looked like this game could be more of a shootout than we were used to playing. The second half saw a Shrewsbury deep-freeze that we were unable to crack. It didn’t help that all our second half chances were wide of the target. Endless to say, Shrewsbury got the win 2-1. Thomas and Mutchell had performed less than admirably and as such would be held out of the next game. That game would take place on December 1st at Yankee stadium against Leigh RMI. We had three weeks to get rid of the roof and analyze our latest loss.

retired_karamelkel

Over the next couple of weeks the workmen proceeded to dismantle the retraceable roof. Sure, it was just as expensive to remove as it was to build but our investors considered the one-time cost to be nothings compared to the white elephant it would have created had it stayed on top of the stadium. From here on out, the stadium would be like any other lower league park. On the afternoon of November 11, we were entered into the FA Trophy draw for the second round of the competition. We drew Forest Green at The Lawn on November 24. That gave us two weeks to regain health, fitness and form before we had to play them. Given our last entry into cup competition, my hopes were not high.

The month of November arrived in due course as we traveled to The Lawn to face Forest Green in the FA Trophy competition. The morning air was cool at 50 degrees, but the area was dry. The only two regulars who didn’t start was Browne as I gave Brook the start in goal and Mutchell, who was replaced by Cooley. The 380 bleary-eyed fans who attended did not get their money’s worth out of it.

Both teams slept walked through the first half. We had a few chances, but we were unable to covert as they wither went wide, or resulted in an easy save for the Green keeper. For their part, Forest was playing a conservative game that focused on stopping us more than trying to attack. As a result, the teams went into the break still scoreless, and a number of fans left the park for other and better games that afternoon or evening. The second half started out much like the first. Wasted chances by both sides resulted in an early resumption of the stalemate. On 58, I sent in Lyne for Gordon, hoping to break this fossil of a game. He had no luck in breaking the deadlock, so, ten minutes later, I put Fennelly in for Fatid to see if he could put something past the Forest Green keeper Craig Glover, who was on-form. The Green men failed to do anything in the last twenty minutes and we were unable to break Glover’s grip, so the game ended in a 0-0 draw. We would have to replay the game at Yankee Stadium the following Wednesday November 28.

retired_karamelkel

Off topic note: I know how you fans of relegation-bound football teams feel. My major league baseball team, the Kansas City Royals are just terrible. Six wins and twenty losses so far this seaon.


That Sunday we drew our possible opponent for the third round of the Trophy tournament. We drew Telford at the Bucks Head ground. Not the most favorable match up, but hey, I didn’t care too much about this damn competition. Speaking as an American, I feel all these extra cup games are a waste of time and that they are a distraction from what really matters, the division. On Monday, my scout who was trolling Northern Ireland called to tell us that he’d seen a pretty good 33 yr old in a pub league game by the name of Mark Todd. We did a bit of research and found that Todd had had a reasonable career, though he had retired a few years ago. We offered him a contract as we could always use more depth on the first-team midfield.

Wednesday arrived quickly. The evening was wet a cold (8), and for the first time in Yankee Stadium memory, the pitch was in miserable condition. But, then, we no longer had a roof over our heads. The overcast sky seemed to mock me as I stared up at it. So much for noble experiments. Wanting to rest my starters for the Conference game on the weekend, I fielded a lineup of all backups. Conditions were so damn bad that less than 100 people showed up for the match, which was a shame as they missed a good game.

Forest struck quickly on 3 when striker Grayson buried a header to give the visitors the 1-0 lead. We didn’t panic and we continued to attack efficiently. Our hard work paid off on 29 when Apilinga passed to Purcell in the area and then Purcell broke down his marker off the dribble and planting the ball into the net to tie the game at 1-1. The rest of the half was uneventful for either side, much to the consternation of the 95 AXFC family members who sat shivering in the stands. The second half saw both teams continuing to do well offensively. Forest racketed up their shot count, though they seemed more interested in spaying shots around Brook, rather than at him. Nevertheless one of Foster’s tries did succeed on 63 to pull Forest Green ahead 2-1. We were doing well ourselves, making our shots count for something and we kept fighting to make the score level again. On 82, Ward tipped in a header off a corner and the game was tied 2-2. The clock ran out and we went to overtime to settle matters. Both sides played defensively for the first 15 minutes of the overtime period. Both teams were bone weary by the break and I was thankful that it was the backups out there instead of the starters. My game plan for Saturday wouldn’t be affected. Neither team did much in the second portion of extra time. With score still at 2-2 by game’s end, another replay had to be scheduled for a week from the first replay. The game would take place at The Lawn. But, before we had that game to worry about, we had a division contest against Leigh RMI on Saturday.

retired_karamelkel

On the 30th of November, Todd agreed to our contract offer. In response to his arrival, I re-jiggered the depth chart. Weddell moved to backup CMC while Apilinga was dropped to the reserves. Todd would start at RMC until Duffy’s return, at which time Fennelly would go back to the reserves. But, Todd wouldn’t make it in time for the Leigh game. In other notes, bottom-dwellers Leigh, Vics and Halifax had all deposed, but not defenestrated them, though I’m sure some of the clubs’ supporters wouldn’t have objected the latter course.

Saturday afternoon, December 1st at Yankee Stadium was the first really cold day all year with the temperature reading in the high 30’s. But, the grounds and stands were dry and there was no wind to make things worse. As it turned out, Todd arrived in time to make his first start at RMC. All the other regulars got the nod except for Howard, who was battling a nagging bruise. Purcell took the AMC spot instead. 1300 souls came out to cheer their new heroes on.

Leigh came out in a freeze. They managed to keep the ball in midfield for the majority of the half. We had a few chances, but we kept wasting them until a half-hour was gone. Mutchell, who was in dire danger of being sent to the reserves, lobbed a ball into the penalty area. Bradley timed his leap beautifully and blasted the ball into goal via his head to give AXFC the 1-0 lead. At that point, Leigh thought it prudent to start attacking, and while they got in a couple of shots that Browne had to save, our offside trap snuffed most of their chances. At the half I pulled a fatigued Purcell off and sent Lyne out in his place. Purcell looked grateful or the rest and actually collapsed in the showers as the two teams went back out for another 45 minutes of action. Both teams continued to play patiently and cautiously during the second half. Once again, the game became a midfield battle that consumed everyone’s energy. On 68, looking to shake things up, I sent Weddell out in place of Fatid. Weddell had no impact whatsoever as Leigh gradually built up momentum and capitalized on it near the end of the game as McMaster scored on 83 to make the game a 1-1 draw. At least we hadn’t lost and now we turned our attention to the second replay against Forest Green that was to take place at mid-week next.