retired_destiny1124

17.8.04
Harrow Hill (1) Weymouth (1)
A few short days later we hosted powerful Weymouth at Larksfield Road. We gifted them a goal when our backline apparently thought the referee was going to call an offside and walked away from a live ball. We paid the price when they crossed it and Adam Wilde was in front to head it past Michael Jago. Steven Fraser evened the match with a strong header of his own. It was an exciting match, but a lot of uneven play from us as we started virtually an entire different lineup than at Bognor Regis. Both sides had chances to win it- but the draw was a fair result.

retired_destiny1124

21.8.04
Weston-super-Mare (0) Harrow Hill (3)
Weston-super-Mare is off to a stumbling start and we added to their woes with a 3-0 win over them. Ryan Ashington deflected the ball past Ryan Northmore to give us the first half lead. Adam Parker and Nathaniel Griffiths scored in the second half to help us score a big 3-0 win over the home side. It was a match that featured lots of excitement, but also had a lot of uneven play.

***

28.8.04
We made a morning announcement about our purchase on free transfer of 20 yr old SC Michael Husbands from Southend. They didn't want him and we needed another forward- it was a deal that worked out fine for both parties.

retired_bbcarr

not a bad start at all, results wise. hope it keeps going :thup:

retired_jgirl87

A good start here, Faramir. :thup:

I've never played a game where I've built a team from scratch, but I have considered it several times. Until I ever get around to trying such a venture, I will follow your efforts in the meantime. :cool:

retired_destiny1124

Simon- sad to say, but reality looms thanks for the encouragement

Spav- thanks as well, I had been meaning to do this (start from scratch) for awhile now and this seemed a good time to do it. Hope the story keeps your interest

***

28.8.04
Harrow Hill (0) St.Alban's (2)
Our backline play was disappointing as we lost to St.Alban's 2-0 at Larksfield Road. The difference in the match was that their keeper- James Robinson- played superbly and Daniel Austen didn't fare as well in his debut for us. We had more and better chances, but failed to convert well enough. They only had three shots in the match, but the first goal was because of poor defensive backline coverage and Kieron Gradwell contributed an own-goal in the second half. It was a match we didn't play badly in, but we also didn't play well enough to deserve a better result.

***

30.8.04
At the point of the transfer deadline, it is time to start taking a hard look at what our regular lineup should be. What I am planning on trying for the next several matches is:
GK- Michael Jago
DL- Lea Jones
DR- Mark Berry
DC- Kieron Gradwell
DC- Paul Moss
DMC- Carl Laurie
MC- Jamie McGowan
MC- Ryan Ashington
MC- Adam Parker
FC- Steven Fraser (Griffiths is hurt)
FC- Michael Husbands
I plan on using Jordan Fowler off the bench.

mrsevans7177

Doin much better thn I xpected Faramir. Dya reckon you could clear all squads in the football league and have all the teams bidding for free agents? might try that

KUTGW :thup:

retired_destiny1124

bartley- Sounds like something you should try My decrepit old PC is slow enough (took me most of an evening to get Harrow Hill edited into the ECS) that I wouldn't want to tackle that project. Thanks for the comments

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31.8.04
Even as I made that plan, the injury bug came calling and Husbands will miss two weeks. That leaves a starting spot for Danny Singh.

***

2.9.04
More adjustments needed as now Adam Parker is out for a couple weeks with a thigh strain. This leaves us with Singh and Fraser up front, though Nathaniel Griffiths is finally showing signs of healing. Fowler will also start in midfield for us.

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2.9.04
Hastings made a surprise 2K bid for Husbands. I gave them a counteroffer that included Ryan Peters- a midfielder that my scouts and I both like- but it is likely this will kill the deal. I am loathe to let Husbands go so quick after getting him.

***

6.9.04
The Hastings offer on Husbands fell through when they couldn't reach an agreeable contract with him. Ryan Peters had listened politely to our offer- but it was likely he wouldn't have agreed also, but the decision was spared as Husbands' decision was enough to finish the deal.

***

10.9.04
We added some depth at forward with the signing of promising 16 yr old AM/FC Shaun Smith. Smith hadn't signed an initial professional contract and was happy to have a chance to play on our club. For a youngster, he has a modest amount of talent, but I am not sure I would project much more than a spot appearence here and there for him.

***

11.9.04
Bishop's Stortford (2) Harrow Hill (0)
It was another wasted peformance as we travelled to Bishop's Strotford and fell 2-0. Their keeper, Robert Elliott was dazzling as we outshot them 11-7 in the match. It was another match where the other side capitalized on our mistakes as we allowed them a header off a throw-in in the first half and then Mark Berry was yellow carded for holding in the area and they converted the penalty kick in the second half for the two goals.

mrsevans7177

You alwasy seem to out shoot the opposition on this game

Lets hope you can stick a few in next time :thup:

p.s. trying that idea, should be interesting, will post within the next week :thup:

retired_destiny1124

bartley- Great Look forward to hearing about that try.

You're too right about our outshooting- playing with players who don't exactly open anyone's eyes with their abilities mean I also have to live with their lack of execution on gameplan. I am hoping I can sift through forwards and find one who has a goal scoring touch at least.

***

14.9.04
The injury bug continues to plague us as we lost Jordan Fowler for three weeks due to a sprained knee. We are having a difficult time gelling as a club when our lineups shift continually due to injuries.

***

18.9.04
Harrow Hill (0) Hayes (0)
Another disappointing performance as we were forced to settle for a 0-0 draw against visiting Hayes. It was very frustrating to watch us get 4 excellent scoring chances for Steven Fraser- and he missed the net on every one of them. We scored early in the second half as Danny Singh, who I had brought on for Fraser, headed in a wicked cross from Nathaniel Griffiths, but we lost that goal to a weak offside call on Singh. We almost wound up losing the match as Kieron Gradwell was called for pulling down Paul Symons in the area, but Symons missed the penalty. For our third match in a row the opposing keeper was MOM as Mark Bunn earned the honours despite missing the last 10 minutes of the match with an injury. Despite the fact they were forced to put midfielder Kevin McKenna in net- we couldn't score as both Ryan Ashington and Singh missed wide on shots that would have gone in if on net. I am disappointed by our play- we are finishing poorly and it is costing us better results. Hopefully Husbands and Adam Parker will get healthy soon.

retired_destiny1124

25.9.04
Maidenhead (0) Harrow Hill (2)
Finally a reward for a good effort as we edged Maidenhead at York Road by a 2-0 score. Our shooting overall was atrocious, but Adam Parker's hard work in the first half resulted in a goal when he knocked in a rebound after Nick Hart mishandled a lost dribble by Danny Singh. They came very close to evening the match several times, but Daniel Austen was superb in net today and the difference in earning three points for us. We finally clinched the match when their skipper Rob Paris knocked an own-goal past Hart while trying to dispute a through ball that Michael Husbands was challenging for. The result was well earned with tough backline play (even though they were occasionally wandering well away from their positions) and good backstopping by Austen.