Lord Crumb

It's about time I wrote another story. So here it is.

Notes.

FM2005 using 5.02 patch.
Edited Sutton Squad to reflect current team.

INTRO

Some said that he was getting stale. Others argued that the guy was doing very well, with limited resources. Sutton’s board of directors has always been frugal with the money; John Rains did well to get the U’s to the Conference. Sadly he lacked the ingenuity to keep them there. Since going down in 2000, Sutton have found it impossible to climb back up.
2003-2004 showed promise, despite a crappy start. The team brought in some excellent Youth players up. They propelled Sutton from mid table mediocrity to 2nd. Names like Jon Nurse, Nick Bailey, Tobi Jinadu and Ryan Palmer re-ignited the hope in Sutton’s fans hearts. Maybe 2004/2005 would be the year. A new season, indeed a reformatted league, for Sutton to shine in.

Then it happened.

Senior Conference scouts noticed the Sutton revolution. The exodus began with Nurse moving to Stevenage. Canvey swooped for Quinton and Barnet came in for Bailey. Jinandu and Palmer soon followed.

The fans weren’t too bothered. The team found talent before, they can unearth it again. However some of Rain’s early signings failed to satisfy.
Phil Wilson was brought in to understudy Iga. However all he had going for him was a certain Bulldog determination. Most worrying was his lack of strength and his dubious ability to handle crosses. A worrying combination.
John Scarborough helped out the defence. Or tried to. He lacked any skill as a defender whatsoever, only his ability to shrug of illness and decent pace helped him out.
Peter Fear added a touch of grit to the midfield. However at 31 he is past his best, his inability to pass a Pub by wouldn’t help his cause either.
Nigel Brake was an influential left-sided midfielder. Not what I look for in a winger, I prefer the ability to beat players and provide telling crosses.
Joff Vansittart is well known to the Sutton Faithful. He had a superb year with Sutton when they got promoted. He has been on his travels since and is now in the limelight of his career.

The Sutton fans were understandably worried that Rains was not recruiting decent players. A lot of the new signings were in the Twilight of their years. Gander Green Lane was being turned into Footballing’s ‘Elephant’s Graveyard’.
The Youth System hadn’t had a good year either. A lot of the recent graduates lacked the quality of previous years.
John Rains had grown used to criticism. Various fans had deluded him with their complaints for relative eons. However June 2004 saw his patience snap. The tea lady ambled into his office one day, to find the table cleared. The entire room had been cleared, even the Hob Nobs were gone.

Lord Crumb

SURPRISE SURPRISE

There was much speculation as to who would replace Rains. Sutton would also require a new coaching staff. Tony Rains went with his brother, so did the coaches and scouts.
Many were baffled as to how I was selected for the Role. My favorite was that the local Phone Book was torn up, with my name being selected from a hat. As if anyone has that amount of time on their hands. In any case, I’m ex-directory.

The first I knew of it was when I dined with Einstein and Amin. Seriously. My dreams have often revealed what the future holds, this one was no different. I was at one point of a triangular table, with Amin and Einstein at the others. Uriah Heep served tea. The scones were dreamy. I hadn’t contributed much to the conversation. Amin was grilling Einstein about physics. Apparently he wanted to make a bomb that could travel in time. I was feeling left out, which soon changed. Amin turned to me, a devilish twinkle in his eyes and said
“You are the boss now, send your Queen my regards”.
I instinctively knew what I was to be the boss of. My dreams never lie to me. So when the Phone Call came, it was no surprise.

Raptor

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Lord Crumb:
It's about time I wrote another story. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You got that right!


Good luck, could hardly have picked a worse team...

Peacemaker7

This is rubbish :thdn:

Lord Crumb

Being a fan of Sutton I knew that the squad was a little weak. I was shocked at how unimpressive the team was though.

Goalkeepers A very weak area.

Andrew Iga Our first choice keeper. A situation that makes me weep. Reasonable in the air and determined, his communication abilities are sorely lacking though. A liability.

Phil Wilson Similar to Iga, just worse. Very frail as well. Not awe inspiring.

Defence Also fairly weak.

Stuart Booth Can play or centre defence. Not bad, though not effective at holding the line. He never gives up and plays for the team. I prefer him as a right back. That is if I do not get anyone better.

Nixon Ajoge A fearless central defender with excellent leadership abilities. Is also a team player. He is decent in the tackle but is ineffective in the air. I think he’d be better as a fullback.

John Scarborough A new player and utterly useless. His only saving grace is his speed. I’ll look to get rid of him.

Matt Gray An aggressive Right sided Defender/ Midfielder who rarely gets distracted. His defensive abilities are lacking however. Also one to go.

Tony Quinton What a player. Works really hard and has decent passing ability. Not afraid to get stuck in. Can play in Central Defence or Midfield. His abilities make me favour him as a midfielder.

Lewis Gonsalves Reasonably fast, but no good. He’ll go, leaving a gap in the left side of defence.

Midfield Central Midfield gives me a nice headache. The wings are a bit weak though.

Scott Corbett A Defensive midfielder. He is the Club Captain and sets an excellent example. A born leader, he gives his all.

Peter Fear The most famous player in our team. Has got his drink problem under control apparently, still has quite a bit of his talent. Time will tell.

Paul Honey An excellent passer of the ball who is not afraid to tackle. Could push for a place in central midfield.

Graham Tydeman A central Midfielder. He is brave aggressive and determined. However the rest of his skill set is a bit limited. Off he goes.

Attack A lot of players, I’m unsure as to who’ll figure though.

Craig Watkins. A right sided attacking midfielder. Pacy and loses opponents well. Not so good at beating his man, or delivering the final ball.

Eddie Akuamoah A left sided attacker. Has all the attributes of an acrobat. Good finisher and loves to entertain the crowd. He has to convince me though

Nigel Brake Another left sided Midfielder. Can work well with the ball at his feet, reasonably fast. He lacks other Winger skills though and is on his way out.

Ian Douglas Very fast, never loses his concentration and plays well for the team. Can‘t finish to save his life though. Not my ideal striker.

Garry Haylock An experienced Irish Striker with a good set of abilities. Have to see how he plays of course.

Andrew Martin A towering striker. I’m surprised he wasn’t converted to defence, since he is unbeatable in the air. Not so good with his footwork.

Joff Vansittart. A fan favourite. Good in the air, gives his all. Seems to have lost his edge though. I don’t think he’ll be as prolific as in the past.


So that’s my team. Goalkeeping and defence are woeful. Central Midfield is very good. The wings are weak, the attacking line leaves me with uncertainty. The reserves are all crap and are going.

I have my work cut out. Looks like I’ll have to scour the market.

Lord Crumb

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Peacemaker7:
This is rubbish :thdn: <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for the kind words

Gricehead

First two posts: :thup: one of the best openings I've read.

Third post: a partial :thdn: : not enough clarity for me. Chuck in a bit of the old bold and my eyes would like it better.

Good luck with Sutton, though. May you knock many league teams out of the cup

Lord Crumb

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gricehead:
First two posts: :thup: one of the best openings I've read.

Third post: a partial :thdn: : not enough clarity for me. Chuck in a bit of the old _bold_ and my eyes would like it better.

Good luck with Sutton, though. May you knock many league teams out of the cup <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That was my bad with the bold. I deliberatly left it out in word, I was going to add it in the reply field. However I rushed too much and pressed reply.

I was going to Bold all player names and the various position names, I won't be so hasty next time.

Lord Crumb

Who Are These People

I had been informed that the coaching staff had all resigned. However I was shocked to discover a few cuckoo's in the nest.

A guy called Russell Fry was our coach. Chris Dunkley was the physio and it was Andrew Hawkins job to motor around the country and locate talent. To be good they were not good enough. My first decision as Manager was to fire the lot. It would cost the club 160k, it was a sacrifice I was willin to make. Shame the board would'nt agree. The cost concerned them and they vetoed it.
So now I'm stuck with rubbish staff, who know how bad I think they are. Oh the joy

Lord Crumb

THE NOVICE MANAGER

Hardly any time to mould the side into something better. The first friendly is against Halesowen. They are one of the stronger lower league teams and should provide a challenge.
With no trialists yet signed, I’d have to play some weak players. I like to play the
4-4-2 formation with two defensive midfielders. I also like to push the wingers forward.

GK. Iga
DL. Gonsalves
DC Quinton
DC Ajoge
DR Booth
DMC Fear
DMC Corbett
ML Akuamoah
MR Watkins
SC Haylock
SC Martin

Subs The rest of the first team.

In the first half I gave no specific instructions to my team. This was a mistake since Halesowen were playing a 3-5-2. My Defensive Midfielders were overworked, exposing my weak Defensive Line. Halesowen went 2-0 up within the first 8 minutes. Both goals exposed my defence’s noted weaknesses. The first goal was down to my defenders being caught flatfooted by Jason Moore. They tried to catch him up but seemed reluctant to tackle him. The second goal showcased their aerial weaknesses. Ajoge and Quinton went roaming, as Jimy Haarhoff powered in a header.
I decided to make no changes at this point. I wanted to see where this stony road took me. Jason Moores made space for himself again but Iga saved well.
The first twenty minutes were angst ridden viewing for me. Halesowen were very comfortable, the only shot they had to deal with was an awry Fear free kick. However on 25 minutes things changed. Fear, Gonsalves and Ajoge batted the ball between themselves. Gonsalves found himself on the edge of the area and chipped in a cross. Haylock headed it in to give us hope.
Hope isn’t eternal though. Ajoge brought Haarhoff down on the edge of the area. Ben Steane stepped up, struck the ball and put it past Iga. This was only 3 minutes after our goal. I wasn’t optimistic.
The first half seemed to be petering out to a quiet finish, when we were delivered a lifeline. Akuamoah delivered a free kick into the area, Watkins headed it past the despairing Halesowen keeper. We were back in the game.
With the first half at a close, we were 3-2 down. The game wasn’t that entertaining, the defending was just poor on both sides. The only poor player was Booth. He mislaid half his passes and didn’t make a single tackle. Ajoge wasn’t playing too badly but had been indirectly responsible for two of our conceeded goals. The rest of the team was playing reasonably well, especially Akuamoah who was getting into dangerous positions.
For the Second Half I decided to bypass the Central Midfield. I told my players to use the wings. I took off Booth because he was having a bad game. Fear, Martin and Iga also departed. In their places I installed Paul Honey, Joff Vansittart and Phil Wilson.
The second half got of to a very dull start. Nothing at all happened for the first twenty minutes, the only chance came on 68 minutes when Haylock latched on to a long Quinton ball, played a one two with Watkins and found himself clear on goal. He duly proceeded to put the ball over the bar. I thought this guy was supposed to be a decent finisher, changes needed to be made.

68 Minutes
Brake for Akuamoah
Scarborough for Ajoge
Tydeman for Corbett
Douglas for Haylock

It took about 8 minutes for the changes to gel. Brake missed a good close range chance, Vansittart was looking very industrious. We were looking more dangerous, I’m sure a breakthrough would come.

It did.

On 82 minutes a Matt Gray free kick on the half way line sailed over the Halesowen defence. Vansittart broke free and slotted the ball past the defender.
Seven minutes later Honey delivered a pinpoint cross from out right. Brake rushed in from the left and headed it in. We were now in the lead.
We were not troubled at all by Halesowen in the second half. They couldn’t even rally themselves for a comeback. The game was ours

Halesowen 3)3-4(2 Sutton Utd

I was very happy with the resilience the side showed. There was not one poor player in the second half, Akuamoah and surprisingly Wilson had good games. The test would be in the next tie though. Thats when the newbies would come in.