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Setup: Portuguese (2b and up), English (Conf N&S and up) and Sweden (First and up) on a Large Database with all Icelandic players.
Start date is July in England. Introdution
After finishing my career as a football player, at the age of 35, I decided to go on into the Football Management one. With a fresh coach diploma in my hands, here I go offer my skills to any bidder. It’s my first job so i will not be picky.
InGame Story
July 5, 2004 - Carshalton, Sutton
Billy Smith, Carshalton Manager, just resign his contract to go manage some other team, so I took this opportunity to send in my info and hope for a contract…. Crossing my fingers!
July 11, 2004 - Carshalton, Sutton
I’ve got it by phone this morning – I can say now that I am the new Carshalton Athletic Football Club Manager. Glory, glory, I got my first contract.
That is the good news. The bad news comes in as a personal note from Steve Friend (Carshalton Chairman). Besides the expectation of getting a mid-table classification at the end of the season, the sad news is that I got no transfer funds, because the club is in serious finance troubles. Oh well! Its time to look at the squad and try to sort it out.
Between the main team, reserves and u-18 I got 25 players, 5 of them already listed for transfer. On the finance front I am 56£ below budget. I can get another 235£ if I get rid of the listed players asap.
The Team
Goalkeepers:
Not much to say here, one clear selectable keeper, and 2 weak ones.
Ricky Bell, age 21 – Already transfer listed, probably with good reason. His stats are pure rubbish Paul Borg, age 27 – Not much better then Ricky. Handling 7 is not a good thing Stuart Searle, age 25 – This will be my main keeper, whithout a doubt. Miles away from the other 2, but a very weak keeper.
Defenders:
We are in need of 2 central defenders with the utmost urgency.
Colin Hartburn, age 19 (DR) – Nice youngster that probably will be a good backup for John Hamsher. Aaron Cole-Bolt, age 19 (DL) – Another nice youngster to play as backup of Peter Wood Ellis Hooper, age 17 (DL) – Not bad, not good, lets see what comes out of this youngster Mark Costello, age 32 (DC) – Veteran with poor stats, very aggressive, but since I have no one else to play, he will pair with Gary Elliott. Gary Elliott, age 30 (DC) – A little better then Mark but also very weak all over! Peter Wood, age 30 (D/DM L) – This guy will run the left side of my defense. John Hamsher, age 26 (D/DM R) – Looks like a very nice player with 20 on penalty shooting, 19 in Composure and Natural Fitness and 18 in Determination. The only problem is the 8 in tackling and 6 in marking. Sounds more like a winger then a defender.
Midfield:
I’ve got a nice array of players in midfield. Looks likely to be my teams stronger point.
Tim Murdoch, age 19 (DMC) – I consider him a great Hot Prospect. good passing and Tackling, great Determination and above average Long Shoots. Des Boateng, age 24 (MR) – Already transfer listed when I arrived, and I fully endorse the guy that did it! Matt York, age 25 (MR) – Another one already transfer listed that leaves no doubts in my mind… he is gone! Tutu Henriques, age 22 (MR) – Fair player, young, maybe he can develop into something. Danny Carrol, age 28 (MRC) – This guy’s stats point him to be a great Team asset (20/19 Teamwork/Workrate). He has the stats to become the driving force in my team. Lets hope. Neil Le Bihan, age 28 (MLC) – Nice player but lazy. Dale Marvell, age 18 (MC) – Young but no “marvell”. Poor stats. Mark Hawthorne, age 30 (MC) – Already transfer listed before I got the job, that will stay that way… probably will save some money by letting him go for free. Sam Saunders, age 20 (AMR) – Not much to tell about him. Probably will be transfer listed because his stats are very poor. Marlon Patterson, age 21 (AML) – Same thing as Sauders.
Attack:
Five players available here, all of them Strikers. I doubt I have a good striker among this bunch.
Kevin Cooper, age 29 (SC) – Getting old, but still a above average finishing. Nic McDonnell, age 23 (SC) – Great finishing (16) and Decisions (18) but the rest is pure rubbish Kevin Lock, age 22 (SC) – Low stats, maybe he can develop Adrian Stone, age 24 (SC) – Good jumping and nothing else Conrad Kane, age 40 (SC) – Dead meat.
After analising this setup, I got my tasks split 3 ways:
1 – Bring in fresh U-18 meat to make a competitive team ASAP
2 – Search for 2 DC’s, 1 ML and 1 SC ASAP
3 – Search for potential good players for the 05/06 season so I can dream with promotion – Long term plan!
STAFF:
One Assistant Manager, one physio and one scout. All of them with very poor stats.
InGame
More bad news in the fixtures panel. With most players unfit, I got a friendly today (11 July). There are 5 more friendly games on the 14, 18, 23, 28 and 1 of August. Season games start on the 14 August. Cancelled the friendly games at the 14, 18 and 23 so I can recuperate my players fitness.
My first friendly opponent is Woking. Then I will play Leyton and Barry. All fixtures are at home, so maybe some cash gets in.
First day task is to dive into the market in search for new players… free! No time for scouting, so I will follow my guts in this and try to grab as much as possible, even exceeding my wage budget. Also need to find half a dozen coachs, one good physio, and one or two scouts.
Targets:
Good free signings out of my budget like Frank de Boer, Witschege, Mostovoi, Mutiu, Tsiartas, Marquinhos and others.
Offered contracts to John Burwood, 19 (DC), Jermaine Brown, 21 (AM/F RC), Chris Batt, 23 (AMLC), Gavin Skelton, 24 (MRLC), Lewis Tozer, 19 (DC), Callum Flanagan, 18 (SC), Matty Warner, 18 (AML), Daniel Perry, 19 (DR), Phillip Gilder, 16 (AMRL), Nick Robinson, 20 (MRC). Also trying to contract some outfield coaches, goalkeeper coach, physio and a good scout so I can discover some hot prospects in Iceland!!
That’s all for now. I will be back with a resume of my first week.
Surprise, surprise.. First frendly and first victory. Maybe i was unfair to my players in my first evaluation.
Nothing was ready at the War Memorial Sports Ground in Carshalton. I had just arrived, and had to make a team to play a frendly game with Wokin (Conference National). The fans started to arrive, and i was still undecided to what my first eleven would be. Looking at the stands i counted around 70 fans ready to watch the game. And the game started with a great goal for... CarShalton!!! 2" in the game and Kevin Lock scores after a free kick pass from Costello. Couldn't have wished for a better start. Game was one sided in first half as we dominated scoring twice more by Ellis Hooper and Neil Le Bihan. After some subs the second half got away with one more goal from Sam Sauders. Game ended 4-2 to us! What a great start!
Match Stats
Carshalton 4 - 2 Woking
Kevin Lock (2)
Ellis Hooper (19)
Neil Le Bihan (36)
Sam Sauders (88)
Adrian Stone injured 2 weeks.
12 July 2004
Having put all my players on Pre-Season trainning, i had to come up with a trainning for my keepers and for my outfield players. Meanwhile there are a couple of new signings at Carshalton:
Ray Clemence - Keepers Coach David Jarret - Scout Paul Balsom - Physio Stefan Stefansson - Physio Atli E valdsson - Outfield Coach Kevin Moore - Outfield coach Gavin Skelton - 24 years MRC Clive Saunders - Keepers Coach Matty Warner - 19 years AML Phillip Gilder - 16 years AMRL Callum Flanagan - 18 years SC Jermaine Brown - 21 years AM/F RC Chris Batt - 23 years AMLC Elliott Ward - 19 years West Ham DC on loan Franklin Simek - 19 years Arsenal DC on loan
17 July 2004
Things are starting to look better around here. Players are trainning hard to get back to full fitness. On the bright side, John Burwood (19 years DC) just accepted Carshalton contract offer. This guy boasts 19 heading and 16 jumping with 12 Marking. Good prospect. Meanwhile had to refuse 3 offers for Chris Batt (just arrived some days ago).. Is this a prelude for a good player? another DC just signed with us - Lewis Tozer, 19 years old.
21 July 2004
Just a quick note to report a strange thing. Burwood, Batt, Flanagan, Tozer and Brown, all new players at Carshalton, are targets for other teams. We have received alot of proposals for them. Very strange and a good sign in my opinion.
28 July 2004
Now we are ready to face another frendly, this time against Leyton Orient from Division 2. I built a 4-5-1 defensive tactic that i think i will use during the season. My team is weak, and staying in the midle of the table is my main objective.
Meanwhile my finances are going down the drain. We are already 56k in debt, and the wage budget is about double what is allocated by the board. Next target is to get some funds in by selling players.
Match Stats
Carshalton 3 - 3 Leyton Orient
Kevin Cooper (26)
Jermaine Brown (36)
Kevin Lock (64)
Leyton scored at 33, 62 and 65 minutes. Very disputed game with the score advantage going up and down. We were very close to win this game with a very solid performance. Theyr keeper got 8 and MOM. Tutu got a 5 days injury setback.
All in all, i am seeing my players put up some consistent performances, but this is only the second game of the season, and a frendly one.
1 August 2004
Another frendly game coming in, this time home against Barry Town a wales team. The game started with us on the losing side with a early Barry goal due to a dubious penalty at 10". But we answered very fast and got the equaliser at 12". Then at 36" Matty Warner put us 2-1. But the best was reserved to last with a long range screamer by Kevin Lock at 72". Another solid performance with the MOM on our keeper Stuart Searle.
Match Stats
Carshalton 3 - 1 Barry Town
Callum Flanagan (12)
Matty Warner (36)
Kevin Lock (72)
Next game is for serious!! Resuming our frendly campaign, in 3 games we got 2 wins and 1 draw, 10 goals for and 6 against. If we can keep this kind of scoring and manage to close better the ways to our net, i think we can seriously dream with a confortable mid table position.
Next update will be about my debut in the conference, by the time of our first game!
This is the D Day. We are going to debut in the Conference South against Hornchurch away. Meanwhile, Man. United trashed Arsenal 5 - 2 in the English Community Shield game with Nistelroy scoring 4 goals!!
Bad luck stroke at us as John Hamsher (D/DM R) our main DR player suffered a injury. I draft the following players for the first eleven:
GK - Searle
DR - Skelton
DL - Wood
DC - Simek
DC - Burwood
DMC - Murdoch
MR - Carroll
ML Warner
AMC - Brown
AMC - Batt
FC - Cooper
Hornchurch has been given 5-4 odds to take the match, we are stuck with 7-4. They are the favorites.
Match Report
Hornchurch - Carshalton 17" - Hornchurch striker shoots and hits the post 22" - Mustafa centers on the left, Elam shoots, Keeper saves but Schofield takes the rebound and scores for HornChurch! bah 1 - 0
33" - Schofield beats the offside and shoots so close. Not looking good! 36" - Carshalton Freekick from 30 yards. Batt shoots, wall deflection and its IN!!! Batt scored on is debut! 1 - 1
46" - Hornchurch with another post shot! Nice aim! :-)
Half Time
Skelton out with injury, replaced by Ward. Carroll out, Gilder in. My right side completely revamped. Batt looks tired (70%)
69" - Warner picks the ball in midfield dribbles Mustafa, runs into the box, keeps West of the ball, centers the ball to the penalty marker where Cooper scored with a left foot volley! Great goal!! 1 - 2
70" - Flannagan comes in to replace Brown (59%) 74" - Gilder with a long ball, Cooper beats the offside, runs alone on the keeper but shoots against him. Corner. 78" - Hornchurch switches to a 2-5-3 very attacking formation looking for the equalizer. 86" - Hornchurch counter with 5 men against 3, great shot on target and great save by Searle. Corner. 91" - Hornchurch gets caught with only 2 defenders against 5 of my players. Warner goes on the left side till the finish line and centers to Batt, Batt nods the ball to Cooper taking the keeper out of the way, and Cooper is left with a very simple finish! GOAL! GOAL!!! Cooper second of the game! 1 - 3
94" - Game Over! We started with the right foot and away from home. Chris Batt got the MOM and a rating of 8. Strange thing is that he ended up with condition at 72%, when at half time he had 70%. Go figure that! Maybe its the coffee we make our players drink :-)
Match Stats Hornchurch 1 - 3 Carlshalton
Chris Batt (37)
Kevin Cooper (70, 90)
Great game. Our lads were fantastic. The new guys did very well. Day off for everyone! Celebrating time.
Game 2 Home - (13-8) Carshalton vs Grays (6-4 Fav)
The doors are open as we prepare the reception to Grays Athletic. I am going to make some changes on the team. Hartburn (DR) comes in to replace Skelton (MRLC). Skelton will play as DMC replacing Murdoch (Tired 82%). Also Flanagan (SC) will replace Cooper (SC). Simek (DC) is also out in an international game, and has to be replaced by Tozer (DC). Only 3 days rest is tought on my team. The day is dry and sunny, and about 350 fans come to see our team play. That got us about 1k in gate receipts. To low to counter the huge wage bill i have.
First Eleven:
GK - Searle
DR - Hartburn
DL - Wood
DC - Tozer
DC - Burwood
DMC - Skelton
MR - Carroll
ML - Warner
AMC - Brown
AMC - Batt
FC - Flanagan
Game Report
2" - Brown alone hits the keeper 4" - Flanagan unmarked hits rugby bar.. 10" - My keeper Searle hits a long range, ball goes up, up, hits the ground, goes up, hits the keeper, goes up once again to hit the bar! What a goal that would have been !! 12" - Flanagan sits Dobson, picks Brown unmarked, Brown gets the pass, runs on the keeper, dribbles the keeper and its IN!! Great play by my team!!!! Brown scores! 1 - 0
17" - Free kick. Flanagan finds Batt alone, Batt receives and shoots, to hit the side net. 19" - Warner takes one, takes two, puts the ball in the penalty marker where Flanagan shoots to score... but he was offside! :-( 40" - Powell (SC) picks up his 2nd yellow card and takes an yearly bath :-) 43" - Indirect free kick, Warner centers and Flanagan hits a header to the bar.. very unlucky! Grays switch to a 4-4-1.
Half Time
Gilder (AMRL) comes in for Carroll (5).
63" - Gilder picks the ball on his half, runs with it, passes up front to Brown, Brown unmarked runs into the area, shoots, keeper saves, turning the ball away to the path of Warner, that shoots for Carshalton second goal of the game!!! Grays were caught with theyr panties down!!! 67" - Substitutions: Batt (65%) out, Le Bihan in. Woodwards in to play DMC, Brown (66%) out, Skelton advances on the pitch to AMC. 86" - Tozer misses an header, Remy (Grays) beats the offside, goes away and shoots for a great defence by Searle, uff... that was close.. 92" - Game Over - We totally dominated this game with 12 shots (5 on - 7 out) against 4 shots.
Match Stats:
Carshalton 2 - 0 Grays
Brown (12)
Warner (65)
Brown (8) picks the MOM for this game. Great display by Carshalton. The board congratulates me for winning against all odds. On the financial front, things are going very badly as we are now 80k on the red! Next month i need to start to do some cutting on wages, even by dropping some players out of the team. Some potential targets are Elliott Ward (DC) on loan (1,4k Monthly), Simek (DC) on loan (900 monthly) if Tozer keeps a good performance. Also need to drop one scout (50k in compensation, less 800 a month). My wage budget is about 10k, and i am running on 21k...
I decided to terminate Elliott Ward (DC) loan and send him back. My wage bill dropped to 18,6k a month. I have Simek (DC on loan) and Tozer to cover the DC spot along with Burwood (DC). I have sent a press release to the media telling them that "I got the tactics right on that day" and that "we deserved to win". That got half of my team on high moral.
My scouts are a bunch of old ladies and can't seem to discover any player that will sign for free. They are supposed to know that we don't have a transfer budget right? Anyway, my team is performing well and John Hamsher (D/M R) is back from injury and fully fit to play!
21 August 2004
Game 3 away - (6/4 Fav) Cambridge City - Carshalton (13-8)
This time i had 4 days to get my players back to full fitness, and again that was not enough. Flanagan (68%) had to be replaced by Cooper. Hamsher gets his debut replacing Hartburn. Simek back from international call up replaces Tozer. Kevin Lock (SC) is called up to the bench. Once more i release a "We fear no one" press release, motivating my players even more.
Its a cold (12") dry day, and the stadium is packed with about 450 hostile Cambridge fans...
First Eleven:
GK - Searle
DR - Hamsher
DL - Wood
DC - Simek
DC - Burwood
DMC - Skelton
MR - Carroll (last chance to show something)
ML - Warner
AMC - Brown
AMC - Batt
FC - Cooper
Game Report
12" - Cambridge is one up with a defense error by Burwood, who forgot to mark the Cambridge striker 1 - 0
30" - Cambridge is pilling on the attack and we can only defend. 39" - Langstrom (Cambridge defender) runs over Cooper. Direct free kick in the frontal zone. Batt prepares to shot... he runs... hits.. ball deflected on the wall.. and ITS IN!! 25 yard screamer. Second direct free kick goal for Batt!! 1 - 1
40" - Cambridge switches to a 4-4-2 attacking style
Half Time Brown comes out with a minor injury to be replaced by Gilder.
56" - Warner gets a yellow card. Cambridge is praticing target shooting with my keeper :-( 64" - Carroll hits the bar. How unlucky!! Time for some changes... 65" - Substitition: Lock (SC) replaces Cooper (SC). I am bringing in some fresh legs. 77" - Warner picks the ball in our midfield, leaves first Swonnell, then Miller and finally Scott behind, reaches the edge of the area and shoots a well placed strike... GOAL! Oh my! what a goal. Fantastic strike from Warner! 1 - 2
78" - I adjust my tactics for a more defensive formation, and i am going to try to explore the counter attacks. 87" - Lock receives a wonderfull pass by Batt but the Cambridge keeper Roberts stops the shot. Cambridge switches to a 3-4-3 very attacking formation. Its all or nothing for them! 89" - Cambridge keeper Roberts comes out of his area to intercept a ball, the ball ends up in Gilder feets, he advances and shoots from 35 yards to score an incredible GOAL! This ends up Cambridge game for sure!! 1 - 3
93" - Game Over. Another great game and 3 more goals. Also we proved we can resist very well to heavy pressure. I must congratulate my players for once more rising above the average. They were fantastic!!
Simek (8) picked the MOM for this game. Simek is a solid defender, having impressed me so far. We are now sitting in 2nd place with 9 points in 3 games, along side St. Albans (better goal difference) and Havant & Waterlooville. Bognor Regis and Newport Co are just behind with 7 points. Hornchurch and Thurrock fall in 6th place with 6 points. I can say that we are having a wonderfull league start, and i pray we can maintain that. I now have about 7 days to recover my players for the next home game against Lewes.
My board chairman Steve Friend declared himself "extremely pleased with the result" although he is concerned by the huge wage budget!!
I am trying to sign Chris Payne (AM LC) and Ronnie Bridges (DL) for free, promising good % on future transfers.
Chris Payne (16 years AM LC) just signed for my team in exchange Elliott Hooper (17 years DL) and 35% future transfer fee. Payne will be Warner backup player for the left side.
This time around i got 7 full days to recover the condition of my players, and that worked wonders. All the guys are fully fitted (95% or more). Also i got into some media bashing with Lewe manager incrising to 13 my media rating. Also i saw my professionalism drop to 9. Pressure, Ambition, Loyalty and Temperament remain at 10. My reputation is Obscure... lol!
28 August 2004
Game 4 home - (Evens Fav) Carshalton - Lewe (9-4)
Flanagan is back at 100%. He comes in to replace Cooper. Going to test a new MR replacing Carroll with Gilder. Tozer (DC), Woodards (MC), Payne (AMLC), Carroll (MRC) and Cooper (SC) sit in the bench.
The weather is getting colder but still dry. The War Memorial Sports Ground, with capacity for 8000, is once again packed with... 354 fans! I need to motivate our fans even more, so i can get better gate receipts. Going to use the media some more.
First Eleven
GK - Searle
DR - Hamsher
DL - Wood
DC - Simek
DC - Burwood
DMC - Skelton
MR - Gilder
ML - Warner
AMC - Brown
AMC - Batt
FC - Flanagan
Game Report
8" - Batt gets a yellow card for diving. Must explain to my players that they are not playing in the swimming pool! 37" - Warner falls in the area (looked like a dive). The ref points to the spot. Penalty. Hamsher stepst up, shots and GOAL!! Hamsher first goal of the season. Perhaps i will let them dive just a little *G*
1 - 0 45" - Warner receives a lovely pass from Wood, leaves a defender behind, goes to the line and centers to Batt in the six yard box. Batt has time to ask the keeper where he wants it and shots for another GOAL!! Nice team play, and once again Warner is wrecking havoc in the other teams area!!
2 - 0 47" - Indirect free kick by Wood with a pass to the box where Burwood receives the ball and gets trashed by a defender. The ref points again to the spot. Hamsher steps up and GOAL!! Second goal of the game for Hamsher, and again from a penalty. Maybe i have here a penalty specialist.. so far i gets 2 on 2!
3 - 0
Half Time
I will take this opportunity to give some playing time to some less used subs. So Payne gets hes debut replacing Warner and Toser replaces Simek. 65" - Brown gets a lovely pass from Flanagan, he runs alone, but wastes the opportunity hiting the sky!! 67" - Batt heads the ball to Flanagan, Flanagan shots, keeper saves, Brown clear on target hits the side net! What a waste... 88" Once more Brown alone with the keeper but he shots right into the keepers hands.
Hamsher (8) got the MOM, but Skelton in midfield got an impressive 49 passes (38 completed) and 6 in 6 tackles won. Also won 4 in 5 headers. Seems that this guy runs the midfield for our team. Gilder was very disapponting ending with a rate of 4. His next stop.. the bench.
Meanwhile Margate (tipped for promotion) crashed again sitting now in 12th. On the top of the table the 3 leaders are still the same.
We will have now 14 days to recover and prepare our away game with Margate. Maybe we can explore the bad run Margate is having and bring another victory to Carshalton.
I just decided to alter the story format to a more compact one. So i will be reporting the monthly games and news instead of every match game.
September, Season 2004/2005
This month we will have our first serious test against Margate (A - 11/9) (promotion contenders). There are another 3 games against Weymouth (H), Newport Co (H) and Redbridge (H). Those home games will improve our financial situation for sure. Talking about finances, Carshalton ended up the month with:
Wage Budget: 9,500 month Current Wage: 18,648 month
Things are looking pretty dark on the financial front.
In the League front we are battling for 1st place with St. Albans and Havant, all with 12 points. Newport Co comes behind with 10 points. Although my objectives are mid table, i am quite pleased with fantastic league start.
Our first game of the month is quite dificult, since while we are classified by media as "battling against relegation" our contender Margate is "battling for promotion", and the game is at Margate's home. For this coming game i exchanged Gilder again with Carroll, since Gilder failed to show me he deserves the place.
Margate started with a 4-3-3 atacking formation against my 4-5-1 defensive formation. All my players were 100% fit and i was looking forward, if a bit afraid, to this match. Margate started the assault at my "castle" right from the start of the game. Our first shot on target got in at 22" in the game with a long range effort by Warner, that missed the target. Flanagan got a yellow card at 36" for pushing a defender. Half time comes in and we managed to hold Margate out, and even scared them with some fast paced counters. Our right midfield side is our weak link. Carroll and Gilder can't perform well and i don't have anyone else. So i try once more Gilder for Carroll (5).
Second half started with our team on the offensive but a fast Margate counter puts them 1 up at 55". I decide to bring some attacking fresh legs by replacing Flanagan (6), with cooper, and tweaking our 4-5-1 to a more offensive stance. 65" Margate scores a long range direct free kick. Oh well, this game is over! Batt is out with a minor injury and Woodards comes in to replace him. Until the end we keep failing the finishing touch.
18/9 Game 6 home - (7/4) Carshalton 0 - 1 Weymouth (5/4 Fav)
After last game poor porformance of our right midfield side i decide to bring in Tutu Henriques (MR with low stats) for this game. This will be an experience to see if i can level up our game flow down both flanks instead of always down the left flank. The rest of the team stays the same. Our attendance for this game reached a good number with 1120 watchers giving us about 5k in gate revenue.
Weymouth started with a 3-5-2 Attacking style. I maintained my faith with my 4-5-1 defensive tactic. Game started and they go straight away to the attack with 3 shots on target in the first 5 minutes. 15 minutes into the game and Burwood jumps unfairly on the attacker causing a penalty. Weymoth doesn't fail to convert and get 1 up. We need to do something, since we are being runned over by Weymouth. Meanwhile Tutu suffers a minor injury and i have to get Gilder in to replace him. I also take the opportunity to change to a 4-4-2 Atacking style. 60 minutes into the game and still no shot on target from Carshalton. We are being totally dominated. Anyway, lost for 1 or 2 is the same, so i get into a 4-1-2-1-2 tactic that trasnforms itself on the attack into a 4-3-3. Also i replace Flanagan (4) with Cooper and Warner (5) with Payne. Game over for Carshalton with only 3 shots, all of them off target. Poor performance from my team, or maybe i just hit the good league teams!!
Back to the drawing board for next match. I am still 3rd place 4 points behind 1st (Newport Co, my next opponent) and 3 points from St. Albans. Next game is crutial for my aspirations as we are going to play 1st place Newport Co.
25/9 Game 7 home - (7/4) Carshalton 1 - 1 Newport Co (5/4 Fav)
Cooper, Carroll and Tozer in, Simek, Tutu and Flanagan out. Tutu and Flanagan are unfit. The FA Cup Second Round put Rothwell (non league team) in our path. It shouldn't be difficult to get thru. On the tactic side, i have transformed my 4-5-1 into a 4-4-1-1 more solid in the midfield and built on the counter attack. Lets see how it goes in its first serious test.
Newport Co uses a standard 4-4-2 attacking tactic. They have a strong team and theyr 1st league position is the proof. Newport scored first at 32" and we got an equalizer late in the game at 74" by Flanagan that replaced Cooper in the 2nd half. The game ended a draw in goals, shots and boredom.
The stadium got a nice croud of 1124 fans, that left about 6k of precious money in our gates.
28/9 Game 8 home - (Evens Fav) Carshalton 2 - 0 Redbridge (9-4)
Going to try the new 4-4-1-1 tactic once more with the following linup:
GK - Searle
DR - Hamsher
DL - Wood
DC - Simek
DC - Burwood
DMC - Murdoch
MC - Skelton
MC - Le Bihan
MC - Chris Batt
AMC - Brown
FC - Flanagan
The oposition is weaker this time, so i will take this chance to test more solutions to my limited team. Redbridge plays a 4-4-2 atacking line up with a pacey attack, or so tells me my scout. 31" and Ben Lewis, Redbridge defender gets its second yellow card and goes for an earlier bath. 53 minutes and Flanagen ends a run that started in our midfield with a fantastic goal on the counter attack. The second half is one sided. 68 Minutes and another counter attack results in 2-0 with Flanagan scoring its second of the game. I replace Flanagan and Brown, both very tired with McDonnell and Carroll. Batt goes to the AMC position. 74 minutes sees Batt getting injured and replaced by Woodards (MC on loan). Meanwhile McDonnell wastes two clear opportunities, adding up to my jumping heart. Game ended with our team dominating with 13 (8 on, 5 off) shots against 6 (1 on, 5 off). Fun thing is that both teams got 100% tackles won. Flanagan (9) got the MOM due mainly for the two goals. Chris Batt picked up an fractured wrist and will stay out for a month. This is a serious blow to my team since this guy was a first team player, and a very good one.
In other games, Newport trashed Hayes 6 - 2 at home, St. Albans lost 4 - 1 away to Cambridge and Margate lost home 1 - 2 to Havant.
After this last game in this month the table looks like this:
My main objective for next month is to win the FA Cup matches, and try to stay between 4th and 9th. I am sure i am going to miss Chris Batt, and i hope the replacement is up to the task.
This month we have 4 games scheduled, 2 home and 2 away. First game is against Rothwell for the FA Cup second round, then we go to Basingstoke and Hayes, ending the month on a home game against Eastbourne. All the games are pretty well within our reach, so i expect a very rewarding month.
2/10 Game FA Cup 2nd Round Qual. - (1-10 Fav) Carshalton 3 - 1 Rothwell (15-1)
The only change in my team is the inclusion of Chris Payne and the exclusion due to injury of Chris Batt. Simek opens Rothwell defence at 18" finishing a team play inside the box after Le Bihan assist. 37" Brown finishes a superb pass by Flanagan for the 2 - 0. 52 minutes both Simek first and Hamsher later fail to intercept a long pass leaving the Rothwell striker with a simple finish for the 2 - 1. I take this chance to bring in some fresh legs, replacing Le Bihan and Murdoch with Carroll and Woodards. 71" corner by Woodards at first post where Carroll flicks the ball in for the 3 - 1. Match ends with 22 shots on goal by my team against only 4 from Rothwell. We need to improve our shooting % because 3 goals in 22 shots and only 9 of those on target is very poor by my standards. On a sad note, Chris Payne got injured with a strained wrist and has to stop for one week. On the bright side we had 1530 fans watching the game and leaving 8k at the gates and a prize money of 4k.
Just released Sam Saunders and Mark Costello from the team paying 4k and saving 380 in monthly fees. Next going out will be Marlon Petterson, but he wants 5k compensation. Maybe next month.
Anyway we are thru to the next qualifying round where we will play Gateshead (another non league team) at home. The game is scheduled to 16 this month. This is good news because it will allow us to increase our income this month.
Another injury, this time for Carroll, with a demaged shoulder that makes him stop for two weeks.
16/10 Game FA Cup 3rd Round Qual. - (6-4 Fav) Carshalton 3 - 0 Gateshead (13-8)
For this game i bring in Warner to replace Murdoch with Skelton going to the DMC position. This should be another easy game, coming our way. 7" and Brown scores a header after a bad ball from defence resulted from a cross by Flanagan. 10" Brown assists Flanagan for the 2-0. Warner injured has to come off, replaced by Woodards. Half time, Flanagan is replaced by Cooper. First half ended with a 14 shots on goal, 5 on, 9 off. My guys are going on target practicing for some weeks!! 75" Le Bihan assists Cooper for the 3-0. Game ends with Le Bihan (10) receiving the MOM! Skelton and Brown also played very well. Carshalton are thru to the 4th Round. Gate receipts registered about 900 fans. We received 5k in prize money and Warner got 2 weeks stop with a twisted ankle. Looks like i am getting one injury every game.
The 4th round draw put Eastbourne in our path. The game is away and we are playing a team that belongs to our league, incrising this way the chances of getting to the 5th round.
I have to take Warner out due to injury and bring Woodards in. The rest stays the same. Basingstoke presents themselves with a 4-4-2 attacking formation. The game starts with my team on the attack. 4" into the game and Flanagan picks a ball from my keeper after a defender failure to intercept it, bores down on goal, rounds the keeper and scores. Can't have wished for a better start. 8" and Wood passes the ball to Le Bihan, the men shoots a long range banana shot from 25 yards scoring the second for my team. Great goal from Le Bihan. Fantastic start! at 17" Basingstoke answers back with a shot outside the area for another good goal. Its 2-1 for my team. The game is very open. 23", Le Bihan takes the corner, puts the ball in the penalty area and Burwood heads it down for another goal. 44" and Basingstoke scores again after a nice play. This game is very open with chances for both teams. Half time comes in with Basingstoke shooting 9 times against 12 shots from my team. Woodards and Payne pick a yeallow card for diving. Payne has to come out at 59" with a minor injury, Gilder takes his place. 70" Brown hits the bar from inside the 6 yard box. 75" Basingstoke striker gets the second yeallow card for diving and goes out. I replace Woodards (tired 65%) and Flanagan (saving him for next match) with Murdoch and Cooper. Until the end my boys waste 5 more goal chances, ending up with 23 shots, 11 on, 12 off. My new tactic creates alot of shots but the scoring line is always low compared to the amount of shots taken. Anyway, it was a good game and my team showed some nice moves. The defense needs a new central defender and a good DMC. We are conceding to many goals. Next stop, Hayes. In other games the good news is that St. Albans lost to Hornchurch. We are now 3rd.
23/10 Game 10 away - (13-8) Hayes 3 - 4 Carshalton (6-4 Fav)
We are the favorites once more. Tozer, Gilder and Payne are unhappy, because i have lowered theyr status on the team from first team to rotation, and want to leave the club. Tozer and Payne are good players for the future, so i need to motivate them to stay. This time i have to take out Payne (unfit 80%) and bring in Murdoch. Hayes plays a 3-5-2 scheme. The hayes midfield is very well populated, but i think they are vulnarable on the defense. 1" and my team goes for another fantastic start. Free kick from Le Bihan, header by Flanagan and goal! Hayes go on to the offensive, since they are one down right from the start. I am hoping to explore the counter attack. 15" Hayes striker lobs the ball for a nice goal. All level now. 31" Le Bihan takes a corner on the right, crosses to the 6 yard box where Skelton heads it for one more goal. 2-1 to Carshalton. Another nice and fast paced game by both teams. 33" Woodards intercepts a ball in our defence, makes a long pass to Flanagan, he takes out the last defender and goes straight down the goal where he scores another one. Second goal of the game and a nice performance. Our counter attack is very dangerous. 40" Brown picks up a serious injury and has to come out. Cooper replaces him. Also Hamsher has a minor injury, but i will let him play some more. Second half starts with a long range effort by Hayes that hits the bar. 54" Tozer comes in to replace the injured Hamsher. Cooper first, and Flanagan after, lost two great counter attack chances shooting the ball to the stands. 74" Wood puts the ball on the right flank on Skelton, he runs to the line and crosses to the second post where Le Bihan heads it down for another good team goal. Its now 4-1 to my team and i can rest now, because this one is mine! I take Le Bihan out (tired 66%) for a standing ovation and bring Gilder in. Le Bihan was outstanding today. Hayes changes to a 2-3-5 formation, in an all or nothing bid for more goals. 79" Simek jumps unfarly on the Hayes striker. Penalty and goal reducing the advantage to two goals. 83" Hayes scores again from a long range shot. Now i am worried. We are letting them run the midfield. Maybe Le Bihan substitution was an error, since it appears that he was running our midfield, something Gilder is failing to do. Pinnock, Hayes striker got the 3rd goal in this match. We spend the last 10 minutes of the game defending with 10 men and Searle our goalkeeper puts in some brillant saves. Game ends 4-3 to us. I will make this a lesson.. The game is never won before the final whistle. Flanagan (10) got the MOM. He made 14 runs, got caught offside 7 times, made 9 shots on goal, 7 of them on target, and scored 2 goals. Fantastic game for Flanagan. Hamsher picked a groin strain and faces a 2 week stop, Brown has a twisted knee and faces 1 week stop. Next stop, FA Cup 4th round qualifying away against Eastbourne Boro.
30/10 Game FA Cup 4rd Round Qual. - (9-4) Eastbourne 1 - 3 Carshalton (Evens Fav)
The English FA Trophy first round draw put Rothwell again in our path. The game will be played next month in our home ground. Just sold Gary Elliott (30 years DC) to Harrow Boro for 3k. Burwood my best central defender picks a groin strain in trainning and is out for two weeks. Fans are concerned by this and think we have suffered a serious blow to our campaign. I share theyr opinion and hope that Tozer is up to the task of replacing Burwood in our defence. I release a statement to the media saying we will try to beat Eastbourne, to offset the injury of one of our best players.
Eastbourne defence is classified by my scout as "rock solid". Tozer replaces Burwood and Hartburn replaces Hamsher in the defence. Also Payne replaces Brown, all of them injured. Carroll is back from injury and fully fited, so he sits on the bench. Eastbourne plays a 4-4-2 attacking formation. I maintain the 4-4-1-1 tactic that has been showing some excellent results. First half is pretty quiet with Eastbourne on the attack and our defence showing itself very solid and lauching several counter attacks where we lack the finishing touch with 7 shots all of them off target. 56" Skelton crosses the ball, Flanagan receives the pass, dribbles one defender and scores. Nice move and nice finishing. I bring Cooper in to replace Payne (tired 68%). 64" nice Eastbourne play with a cross the my defenders failed to intercept and an easy goal for Scott Ramsay, Eastbourne striker. 68" fast counter attack started by Cooper, long pass to Flanagan, he dribbles past one defender, rounds the keeper and scores his second of the game. 70" Murdoch passes to Flanagan, he runs with the ball, enters the box and shoots for his hat-trick. 3-1 for my team and Flanagan is showing up how fantastic he his. He had a slow start, but now scores for fun. Flanagan is a nice striker with 20 in heading, good accelaration and pace, and 10 in dribbling, finishing and creativity. 70" out comes Flanagan (tired 62%) and LeBihan (tired 64%), replaced by Stone (SC) and Carroll (MRC). The game ends and we are celebrating our victory and the fact that we are in the FA Cup 1st round. Flanagan(10) picks another MOM with his hat-trick. We get 10k in prize money. Our finances were stable for this month, and we managed to lower our wage bill and have some profit in the end.
The month ends very well for us with 5 victories in 5 games, scoring 15 goals and taking in 7.
The Conference South league table looks like this:
Newport mantains the winning streak and leads the Conference South. We are up in 2nd place followed by Weymouth and Dorchester. St. Albans lost alot of points this month dropping to 6th.
Next month we have 8 games to play, some of them very though like home with Havant and St. Albans and away to Welling. Also we have two cup matches schedule that we must win, so we can continue to recuperate our finances.
Average attendance for the league is 926, Carshalton average attendance is 920. Highest for the league is 1527 from Carshalton vs Redbridge, and for Carshalton is 1567 in the FA Cup Carshalton vs Rothwell. Pretty low. Income goes around 2 to 8k a game.
This is my first time story and i am enjoying it very much.
(FM)Carshalton - A true challenge 
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