retired_bmitchell

Quality read, the only one i religously come back to. Good luck in League 1, just don't hammer Port Vale to badly, assuming they weren't relegated!

retired_teju

Thanks a lot Gadam, that's great to hear. I don't know where the f**k Port Vale are at the minute I can't remember coming across them much, will check out where they are.

League One is well underway, and it's been an interesting ride so far , will update ASAP.

retired_teju

4th August Burnley vs Notts County
It's our first outing in League One, with the following team: Guatelli, Richardson, Morrison, Pettigrew, Edwards, D'Laryea, Morais, Johansson, Ebanks, Cooper, Biruk.
I have a feeling we might miss our injured midfielders, not helped by going behind fifteen minutes in. A wonder strike from Ebanks levels it (22), only for us to give away a bad goal 10 minutes before the break. I bring on Rezek and Nuno Morais but another mistake makes it 3 for the home side just after the hour. They add an insult goal on 93 minutes, and I am pretty irritable. Bad defending cost us dearly, against an ordinary side we should beat.

Burnley 4-1 Notts County ATT: 14182

7th August Preston vs Notts County
I drop Guatelli and bring in Fulop, Nuno Morais replaces Edwards, and Sparv replaces D'Laryea.
We're outshot 7-1 in the first half, but improve markedly when I bring on Rezek (ML) and Nisja (MR). It all ends in a bore draw, but it's vital to get our first point on the board, and in that sense I am pleased.

Preston 0-0 Notts County ATT: 16210

Morrison is out 1-3 weeks with an elbow injury, which we could do without, Anthony Lloyd will step in for the next game.

11th August Notts County vs MK Dons
A gem of a cross from Biruk gives us the lead, when Filipe Morais nuts it in sweetly (24). Our lead is deserved throughout the game, but we can't finish them off. I shut up shop after 75 minutes, and we hang on easily enough. I just tell the lads well done. I don't want them getting carried away. Biruk and the big goalie Fulop were outstanding.

Notts County 1-0 MK Dons ATT: 7941

I mention in the press conference afterwards that the attendance was rather disappointing. We haven't exactly captured the imagination of the locals yet.

18th Notts County vs Rotherham
Our unchanged side concedes after 4 minutes, but The Big E conjures an instant response with a tremendously skillful curling shot. Shockingly though, the visitors then tally with a shot from roughly 30 yards, which seemed to have all the speed and swerve of a Morris Minor, but it still went in. The boys get a hell of a bollocking at half-time, and despite a disallowed goal from Rezek, we don't raise too many threats. The lads just weren't good enough.

Notts County 1-2 Rotherham ATT: 7531

Concerned about our back four, I decide to take promising Czech DC Radim Kopecky on a 4 week trial. He's curently without a club.

21st August That concern prompts me to flog Mike Edwards to Luton for 180k. He was exposed a few times already this season, so I set the price and offered him around. I don't think he's higher division material, and we want to go two divisions higher than we are now eventually.
Brighter news also, with Calliste, Jones, and Harkins back in training.

22nd August QPR vs Notts County LG Cup Rd 1
Jones, O'Hara, Tandy, Rezek and Evans all come in, and it looks like a handy move, as Rezek makes a quick break, crossing for Ebanks to score (16). Again we create lots with no finish, and on 72 minutes the hosts equalise. Cutting a long story short this time, it goes to penalties, and we lose.

QPR 1-1 Notts County (QPR Pens) ATT: 13030

23rd Once again, I have to go through the tiresome process of fending off totally unacceptable bids for my players, this time from MK Dons and Leicester for Richard Jones.

25th August Luton vs Notts County
The players are knackered. I'm forced to play Sparv for Jones and Johansson returns for O'Hara. We are ambushed with 2 goals (10,43). Then comes a fightback led by Jan Rezek who poaches 2 (45,81) to give us a point we actually deserved.

Luton 2-2 Notts County ATT: 9740

27th August Sadly, I arsed up my notes and don't know who we were playing here, but Ebanks and Rezek were unfit, prompting the recall of Calliste and Cooper. We dominate this one, but the un-named visitors get a dodgy penalty (43), which is brilliantly saved by Fulop. Just on half time, Jones strolls through their defence and finishes neatly. Despite further dominance, that's all the scoring, but we won, and that's all I care about. ATT: 5371

30th August Riggy has been raving about Radim Kopecky in training, and I kind of agree, so we sign the lad up, managing to beat him down to 1900/week for a 4 and a half year contract. He was stellar in the reserves, and he's free, so it represents the type of good business we have been doing.
The club rakes in a profit of 405K for the month, which is the type of good business they have been doing.

retired_teju

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Ipswich | | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 16 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Reading | | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 4 | +9 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Burnley | | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 12 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Brentford | | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 11 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Yeovil | | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 11 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Q.P.R. | | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 11 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Peterborough | | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 10 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Luton | | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 10 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Scunthorpe | | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 10 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Blackpool | | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 9 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Rotherham | | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 9 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Cheltenham | | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 9 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Preston | | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 8 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Port Vale | | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 8 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Notts Co | | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | -2 | 8 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Bristol Rovers | | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 7 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Hartlepool | | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 7 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Swindon | | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 5 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | MK Dons | | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 5 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Grimsby | | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 4 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Swansea | | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 | -9 | 4 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Colchester | | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 | -9 | 4 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | | Bristol City | | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 3 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | | Northampton | | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 11 | -7 | 1 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_teju

It's not been a particularly memorable start, but I retain total faith in the players. My teams always start slowly and finish strongly it seems, so I'm not really concerned, but I'll be expecting to make a big move next month.

retired_bmitchell

Your below Vale, thats all that matters!!

retired_teju

Yes indeed we are, I think I play them in the next update, let's see what happens shall we

retired_teju

1st September Fernando Luis Saritama arrives on his slightly delayed Bosman. Riggy and me think he will light up this division, though he's seriously unfit, and we'll have to plough him through the reserves for a couple of weeks to get him ready.
He doesn't have a stitch of English on him, so we pay for a Spanish exchange student to translate for him for the first few weeks. Riggy and I manage to get our point across, mainly Riggy though, as I spend more time eyeing up the translator. She's a right bit of stuff, though I have to remember that I am a married man with two kids, in a relatively high profile job. I can just imagine the embarrassment if I get caught in the News Of The World with my flies undone, with some young Spanish foreign exchange student tart.

Our scheduled game against Swindon is called off due to our increasing number of international commitments.

8th September Notts County vs Yeovil
The West Country side are exceeding expectations in 6th. We shade a dreadful 1st half. I bring Calliste and Harkins on, and after yet another disallowed goal, the game peters out into a draw.

Notts County 0-0 Yeovil ATT: 6188

Tim Sparv joins the injury list, out 1-4 weeks with a thigh strain.

12th September Swindon vs Notts County
I keep thinking we'll finally start playing quality stuff, but my hopes are dashed in another dreadful 1st half. Then in the 89th minute of a truly dire encounter, we get a 3-on-none breakaway, Johansson crossing for Calliste to tap in. We outshot them 10-4 and deserved the win in that sense. The defence were excellent, with young Evans MOM.

Swindon 0-1 Notts County ATT: 4323

I guess we can't have been playing that badly. That's 3 clean sheets in a row, though in that time we've only scored 2.

15th September Brentford vs Notts County
The B's are another high-flyer in 4th. They are all over us like a drool on a baby, until a defensive error allows Ebanks to give us a completely undeserved lead (29). I go defensive, and things improve greatly. A slick team move is excellently finished off by Harkins (37). Then the home side peg us back 8 minutes after half-time, only for Calliste to fashion an immediate response, finding Nisja unmarked on the back stick to head in his first for the club. The B's respond again (59), this time Calliste answers with a cracking 20 yarder two minutes later. Things get hairy when they score with 7 minutes to go, then Nisja gets injured with no subs, and we have to battle it out for the last few minutes with 10 men. But battle it out we do. What a result, and more importantly, what a game!!

Brentford 3-4 Notts County ATT: 6625

After that, not surprisingly the injuries mount up. Nisja is out 3 weeks to 2 months with a badly sprained ankle. Ebanks will miss 1-4 weeks with a foot injury, Lloyd 1-2 weeks with a rib, Fulop 1-2 weeks with a shin, Pettigrew 1-2 weeks with a wrist, and Guatelli 2-4 weeks with a hamstring. It's like a f**king hospital ward in that changing room!

19th September To add insult to injury, so to speak, Biruk is down for 2-4 weeks with a groin pull.

22nd September Colchester vs Notts County
The 18th placed home side would be a good bet to lose to us normally, but our team is decimated, and I am expecting a loss. Fulop plays 90% fit, Tandy is in for Biruk and Morrison for LLoyd. Many of the others are playing not much more than half-fit. Surprisingly, Calliste is on deadly form, scoring after 6 and 24 minutes. But we flag immediately, and they help themselves to 3 quick goals (25, 29, 35). There's little we can do to comeback with the lads in that state, and we fall to our first defeat in 6 games.

Colchester 3-2 Notts County ATT: 3182

25th September Notts County vs Bristol City
Jones and O'Hara are completely worn out and can't play, Harkins starts, and Saritama finally makes his debut, more out of necessity than anything else. Rezek starts on the left, and Lloyd returns at DL.
Calliste scores with a rasping strike from a tight angle (10). The visitors equalise on the half-hour, before Kenny Cooper latches on to a long ball to slide home (39). An unmarked Calliste gets his second just before the hour, Saritama shows his class passing one into the net from 20 yards a minute later, and Cooper heads in a near post cross (68), in an utterly devastating 10 minutes of total football. That's what I'm looking for!!

Notts County 5-1 Bristol City ATT: 9681

Calliste now has 6 goals in 6 games this season. Unfortunately, Saritama's debut exertions strained a rib (1-2 weeks), and Rezek took a shot in the face (1-2 weeks). The board are delighted with that performance and so am I, but the lads won't be allowed to rest on their laurels.

29th September Notts County vs Scunthorpe
O'Hara and Tandy come in for Saritama and Rezek.
We get a 5th minute penalty, coolly slotted home by Evans. We are fully in charge, but can't finish until the 70th minute, sub Hjalmar (remember him? getting a chance due to injuries), volleys home from a chipped in free kick. The visitors were outshot 13-4. Lloyd was MOM, and has been quietly stellar this season, keeping Morrison out of the side when both are fit.

Notts County 2-0 Scunthorpe ATT: 8803

Attendances are climbing slowly, which is better than no climb at all. We still make a profit of 82k, though it should be higher.
I am worried by one piece of news. The Southampton job is open, and one of the candidates is none other than my assistant, Mike Rigg. This annoys me on two levels. First, if anybody should be getting linked with jobs, it's me, not my assistant, which is slightly insulting. Secondly, I don't want Riggy to go. He'a vital part of the set-up here, he's the Peter Taylor to my Brian Clough. We're friends as well as colleagues. We have a chat about it in my office after training, on the day the story emerges. The conversation goes like this:

"Look mate, I know you're good enough to get a management job under your own steam, and I can't keep you here forever as an assistant, but you'll have plenty of time to pick and choose who you want to manage. Don't just jump at the first chance you're offered."

"Well what if I never f**king get offered one again?"

"That's not likely to happen. For one thing, when I leave here, I'll be recommending that you take over, and I have it on authority that the board think that way too, not that you can totally trust a director. But you're a shoo in here in the future."

"Let's just see what happens skipper. I haven't been offered it yet."

"Well if they do, talk to me first. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you here."

"I will."

I'm sweating it over the weekend, torn between wanting Riggy to be successful, and selfishly hoping to keep him here. He's as close to irreplacable as you can get.

retired_teju

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Reading | | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 7 | +19 | 32 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Ipswich | | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 9 | +14 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Burnley | | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 15 | +12 | 24 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Notts Co | | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 15 | +5 | 21 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Preston | | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 13 | +10 | 20 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Blackpool | | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 19 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Brentford | | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 18 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Q.P.R. | | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 18 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Luton | | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 18 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Peterborough | | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 16 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Yeovil | | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 16 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Rotherham | | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 18 | -1 | 16 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Scunthorpe | | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 16 | -3 | 16 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Colchester | | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 20 | -4 | 16 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | MK Dons | | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 15 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Swansea | | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 15 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Port Vale | | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 15 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Hartlepool | | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 15 | -2 | 14 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Cheltenham | | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 16 | -10 | 13 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Swindon | | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 16 | -5 | 12 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Bristol Rovers | | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 11 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Bristol City | | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 21 | -9 | 10 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | | Grimsby | | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 9 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | | Northampton | | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 25 | -14 | 8 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_teju

After a slow start, and with much, much room for improvement, it's clear that we have enough class to seriously challenge for promotion. The question is whether we've let the likes of Ipswich and especially Reading get away from us. Maybe, but if we can't make the playoffs, I will consider this season a very ordinary performance indeed, as Richie Benaud might say.