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FA Trophy, Semi-Final, 2nd leg: Doncaster Rovers v F1 Power

Almost from kick-off, we take it right up to our hosts as we look to build on our 2-0 lead from the first leg. Pitcher and Michael Schumacher go close early on, and as we pass the quarter-hour mark, Pitcher (again) and Ritchie Humphreys could have done better. Finally, on 23 minutes, we gain due reward for our good work when Ralf Schumacher sends a ball sizzling across the Doncaster box, and Pitcher, in true Paul Scholes style, slams it home. We keep attacking for the remainder of the half, but Richardson stays cool in the goal of Doncaster and we only have one goal in the first half to show for our exertions. The second half is more successful as we put on two goals in the space of three minutes to guarantee passage to the final. We earn a corner as Doncaster’s Atkins knocks Michael Schumacher’s cross out of play. Pitcher lofts it into the box, and Wallwork heads it home, beating Hawkins to the ball. Three minutes later, Adolfo picks up the ball from Pitcher’s knock-on and guides it past Richardson for our third goal. That will do us for today.

Doncaster Rovers (4-4-2): Richardson; Hawkins, Ryan, Powell, Atkins; Watson, Tilson (McIntyre 52), Larusson (Cox 63), Marsh (c) (Whitman 77); Campbell, Alford.

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, Panis (West 72), Button; Wallwork; Humphreys, R. Schumacher; Pitcher; Villeneuve (Adolfo 72), M. Schumacher (c).

Final score: Doncaster Rovers 0:3 F1 Power
Aggregate score: F1 Power 5:0 Doncaster Rovers
MoM - Geoff Pitcher

A couple of days after we successfully negotiate our way into the FA Trophy’s final, Birmingham City makes an offer of £140,000 for Rubens Barrichello. I want £500,000 over six months for the former Jordan, Stewart and Ferrari driver.

Just a short update, but this is still going!

Keep smiling!

Dixie Flatline

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"And here comes Berger, out of Tabac and into the swimming pool"

Unsurprisingly, these terms are too much for Birmingham City.

Autoglass Trophy - Final: F1 Power v Stoke

We managed to defeat Stoke City in a friendly at the start of the season, but the stakes are much higher in our second-ever meeting, so obviously Stoke are a little more stoked (if you forgive the pun) about this game. After a bright start where Nicky Mohan’s shot is beaten away by Filan on five minutes, only to be matched by Villeneuve’s low drive which is saved by Hollund. However, the action soon slows down at Old Trafford, and it isn’t until the 23rd minute when Michael Schumacher hits the post that we all wake up. We make a meal of maintaining possession seven minutes before half-time, but we eventually work enough space for Michael to hit a half-volley, but Hollund has that shot’s measure. Seven minutes into the second half, Stoke strike when Kavanagh pounces on Fear’s through-ball and putts it through Filan’s legs. But we’re level on 67 minutes when we work a fine move this time that culminates in Räikkönen hitting a pass into the area towards our talisman, Michael, and he doesn’t let us down. The chances come with regularity for both teams as we approach and pass full-time, but we don’t break the deadlock in 120 minutes of football, so it’s penalties to decide this one. And it’s decided fairly quickly. After Kavanagh converts the first spot-kick for Stoke, they go on to miss three other penalties, so we wrap things up courtesy of Michael, Riedle and Villeneuve 3-1 on penalties.

F1 Power (4-3-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, Wallwork, Button; Räikkönen, Alonso (Humphreys 65), R. Schumacher; Pitcher (Riedle 65); Villeneuve, M. Schumacher (c).

Stoke (3-4-1-2): Hollund; Gislason, Gunnarsson, Mohan; Clarke (Dorigo 65), Fear (c), O’Connor (Iwelumo 82), Risom (Hansson 105); Kavanagh; Thorne, Dadason.

Final score: F1 Power 1:1 Stoke (3-1 on penalties)
MoM - Martin Hollund

Conference Cup - Final, 2nd Leg: Kingstonian v F1 Power

Holding a 4-0 lead from the first leg, I don’t think it likely that we will be seriously challenged today, so I take the opportunity to rest a tired Michael Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen, with Karl Heinz Riedle and Ritchie Humphreys taking their places in the eleven. As expected, the match is largely uneventful, brightened only by two goals to Riedle on 62 minutes thanks to a good cross from Jenson Button, and to Adolfo on 66 minutes when Ralf Schumacher crosses accurately into the box. A 6-0 aggregate victory is a fair reflection of our dominance, I think.

Kingstonian (3-5-2): Warner; Smyth, Beard, Allan (c); Pitman, Odunsi, Bass, Sampson, Neill; Partridge (Winston 77), O’Connor.

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, Wallwork, Button; Alonso; Humphreys, Schumacher; Pitcher (Adolfo 65); Villeneuve, Riedle (c).

Final score: Kingstonian 0:2 F1 Power
Aggregate score: F1 Power 6:0 Kingstonian
MoM - Karl Heinz Riedle

Keep smiling!
Dixie Flatline

(a very quick update this time around! )

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"Oh that's the Forti, and, it looks like, err, its Roberto Moreno's car, the err, Brazilian... I was going to say the elderly Brazilian, he's only 36 but he's actually the oldest driver in the race at the present moment, though he's just retired from it!"

Once more, I miss out on the manager of the month award, which goes instead to Hereford United’s Graham Turner. Geoff Pitcher maintained our honour by taking out the player of the month award. Northwich’s youngster Ged Kimmins is the young player of the month.

Conference - Game 40: F1 Power v Telford United

It’s been a long time since we’ve played a game in the Conference. Our last four games were all matches in the cup competition, and we have three games to catch up in the space of a week, beginning tonight with a game against Telford. For about two-thirds of the game, we take this one in our stride. Geoff Pitcher finds the back of the net in an impressive return to form to open the scoring on 19 minutes, after good work from Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello then gets himself on the scoresheet after picking up on a loose clearance from Moore, nutmegging McGorry and then lashing home from 25 yards on the half-hour mark!

Four minutes into the second half, Adolfo adds a third with a simple header from Webber’s pinpoint cross. We’re officially in cruise mode and as the match winds down towards the finish, we fall asleep at the back. Gez Murphy nips in for Telford on 79 minutes behind my defence to turn in Moore’s low cross. Then with two minutes to play, Telford set up an unexpectedly exciting finish when Richard O’Connor heads home Malkin’s cross. I drag off the floundering Nick Heidfeld and send Coulthard on to stiffen the back line and it holds together long enough to get us to the final whistle and the three points.

F1 Power (4-3-1-2): Firman; da Matta, West, Heidfeld (Coulthard 88), Button; Webber, Wallwork, Barrichello; Pitcher; Adolfo, Schumacher (c) (Montoya 57).

Telford United (4-4-2): Price; Potter (McAvoy 72), Sharps, Preece, Moore; Jobling (O’Connor 57), McGorry, Fitzpatrick, Murphy (c); Martindale, Malkin.

Final score: F1 Power 3:2 Telford United
MoM - Chris Malkin

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Well, that marks the fortieth game in the Conference, so even though we only have two games to play, I’ll put up the league ladder:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C F1 Power 40 19 1 0 55 14 15 3 2 32 8 106 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Scarborough 41 13 6 1 29 10 10 4 7 23 17 79 3rd Hereford 42 16 1 4 45 21 6 7 8 22 21 74 4th Doncaster 42 12 7 2 33 14 8 4 9 21 22 71 5th Dag & Red 42 13 6 2 33 14 6 8 7 22 25 71 6th Southport 42 14 5 2 30 8 5 7 9 21 30 69 7th Stevenage 42 13 4 4 32 13 7 3 11 20 29 67 8th Telford 42 13 6 2 32 13 5 5 11 23 28 65 9th Kingstonian 42 12 3 6 32 22 7 3 11 23 33 63 10th Northwich 42 9 6 6 26 21 7 7 7 22 24 61 11th Kettering 42 8 6 7 31 28 9 3 9 27 26 60 12th Forest Green 42 8 6 7 23 29 8 6 7 27 26 60 13th Nuneaton Borough 42 5 7 9 24 31 9 7 5 22 15 56 14th Chester 42 10 5 6 30 16 5 5 11 26 36 55 15th Hayes 42 6 6 9 29 38 6 4 11 25 39 46 16th Hednesford Town 42 8 2 11 27 27 4 7 10 18 30 45 17th Yeovil 42 10 1 10 27 23 3 4 14 24 42 44 18th Boston Utd 42 6 6 9 20 21 4 6 11 18 31 42 19th Leigh 42 6 6 9 20 28 4 5 12 19 33 41 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20th R Woking 41 5 5 11 13 25 4 2 14 16 35 34 21st R Morecambe 42 4 11 6 14 20 1 5 15 5 34 31 22nd R Dover 42 5 4 12 13 30 2 5 14 10 34 30 </pre>

Lens see the potential in the ex-Ferrari team boss Jean Todt to add to their coaching panel and approach the Frenchman to return to his home country. I’m not keen to see him go, particularly given his rapport with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. So I’m forced to offer Todt confidentially a new contract to head off the interest from Lens.

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Conference - Game 41: Scarborough v F1 Power

We’re back in action a few days later and we begin well with Michael Schumacher tapping in Adolfo’s low, scything cross after just three minutes. But we fail to build on our lead, despite the numerous opportunities we make for ourselves to do so, and we’re punished for our profligacy. Scarborough find and exploit worrying holes in our defence and really test the Formula One-bred reflexes of stand-in keeper Ralph Firman. The Irishman does well to withstand the onslaught until the 69th minute of the game, but Dunn puts together a perfect run to take him past Coulthard to shoot accurately. The winning goal comes seven minutes from time when Scarborough heap the pressure on to force us into making a mistake and Windross heads home Ingram’s cross. This is a game that could have gone much better for us.

Scarborough (4-4-2): Ford; Brunton, Thompson (c)¸ Ellender, Lester (Betts 72); Ingram, O’Riordin, Dunn, Clarke (Russell 57); Windross, Brodie.

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Firman; Trulli, Coulthard, Wallwork, Willmott (Button 65); Heidfeld (Alonso 33); Webber, Barrichello (R. Schumacher 65); Pitcher; Adolfo, M. Schumacher (c).

Final score: Scarborough 2:1 F1 Power
MoM - Paul Ellender

Jean Todt signs on the bottom line for a new contract with F1 Power.

Conference - Game 42: F1 Power v Woking

This is our last game in the Conference - hopefully, forever. I decide to pick a mixture of first-team regulars and fringe players as I look towards the FA Trophy final next weekend. It only takes us seven minutes to successfully pierce the Woking defence when Alonso plays the ball forward to Adolfo, who takes it past several Woking defenders with ease before potting the ball home. We waste a couple of more opportunities in the first half, but we’re lucky to still be one goal up at the break as Akrour breaks up an attack and tries a long-range drive that has Filan scrambling. We jump back on the accelerator immediately into the second half, but Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher can’t find the back of the net. Time ticks away without further goals being forthcoming, until the 84th minute when substitute Karl Heinz Riedle superbly controls Wallwork’s 35 yard pass, takes it past Brown and thunders a low drive into the back of the Woking net! With a minute to play, we string together some sublime passes to tee up Räikkönen and he is left with a simple finish for his first ever goal for F1 Power at the death! To be sure, 3-0 is probably a little flattering, but we’ll take it! :cool:

F1 Power (4-3-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, Wallwork, Button; Räikkönen, Alonso, R. Schumacher; Adolfo; Villeneuve, M. Schumacher (c) (Riedle 72).

Woking (4-4-2): Babbastock; Redmile, Gridelet (Martin 74), Brown, Smith; Timothy, Butler, Stott (c) (Roddis 74), Zevenbergen (West 85); Druce, Akrour.

Final score: F1 Power 3:0 Woking
MoM - Adolfo

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So, that wraps up our Conference campaign, so let’s post the table one last time:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C F1 Power 42 20 1 0 58 14 15 3 3 33 10 109 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Scarborough 42 14 6 1 31 11 10 4 7 23 17 82 3rd Hereford 42 16 1 4 45 21 6 7 8 22 21 74 4th Doncaster 42 12 7 2 33 14 8 4 9 21 22 71 5th Dag & Red 42 13 6 2 33 14 6 8 7 22 25 71 6th Southport 42 14 5 2 30 8 5 7 9 21 30 69 7th Stevenage 42 13 4 4 32 13 7 3 11 20 29 67 8th Telford 42 13 6 2 32 13 5 5 11 23 28 65 9th Kingstonian 42 12 3 6 32 22 7 3 11 23 33 63 10th Northwich 42 9 6 6 26 21 7 7 7 22 24 61 11th Kettering 42 8 6 7 31 28 9 3 9 27 26 60 12th Forest Green 42 8 6 7 23 29 8 6 7 27 26 60 13th Nuneaton Borough 42 5 7 9 24 31 9 7 5 22 15 56 14th Chester 42 10 5 6 30 16 5 5 11 26 36 55 15th Hayes 42 6 6 9 29 38 6 4 11 25 39 46 16th Hednesford Town 42 8 2 11 27 27 4 7 10 18 30 45 17th Yeovil 42 10 1 10 27 23 3 4 14 24 42 44 18th Boston Utd 42 6 6 9 20 21 4 6 11 18 31 42 19th Leigh 42 6 6 9 20 28 4 5 12 19 33 41 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20th R Woking 42 5 5 11 13 25 4 2 15 16 38 34 21st R Morecambe 42 4 11 6 14 20 1 5 15 5 34 31 22nd R Dover 42 5 4 12 13 30 2 5 14 10 34 30</pre>

Even Bernie and Max are mightily impressed that we managed to finish 27 points clear of second-placed Scarborough in the Conference. That should really boost our confidence leading into next season, our first in the league proper.

I pick up Nottingham Forest’s defender Tony Vaughan for free on a Bosman transfer. He should be a real boost to our defensive stocks and I think we’re putting together a very strong squad for Division 3.

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F1 Trophy - Final: Scarborough v F1 Power

It’s the last game of the season and I hope that we can finish this one in style. But Scarborough defeated us the last time we played, and they take the lead in front of just over 21,000 fans at Old Trafford when David Dunn, on loan from Blackburn, feeds Brodie, and the latter rifles home a half-volley past Filan on 12 minutes. But it doesn’t take us long to find the equaliser when Wallwork puts the ball in front of Adolfo, and the Spaniard delightfully bicycle kicks the ball into the back of the net! It’s a great way to bring up the equaliser. We hit the lead on 38 minutes when Villeneuve picks up the loose ball in our attacking half of the pitch and hits a lovely cross towards Michael Schumacher, who couldn’t miss if he tried! Schumacher has the ball in the net three minutes later, but that’s ruled out for off-side. But it doesn’t take us long to make it 3-1 when Button sends it forward to his former BAR teammate Villeneuve, who finally hits the back of the net with an excellent low drive off his left foot. To cap off a great half, Clarke fouls Wallwork inside the box and Trulli easily converts the penalty to make it 4-1 at the break. Scarborough begins the second half brightly, with Dunn hitting the post right from the get-go, while Brodie almost pulls it back to 4-2 on 64 minutes. But we make the game safe, once and for all, when Adolfo scores his second goal of the game, and his 15th of the season when he bends a shot into the top left corner on 72 minutes! We then decide five is enough and we take the foot of the accelerator and cruise to the finish.

Scarborough (4-4-2): Waterstone; Brunton, Rennison, Ellender, Ingram; Thompson (c), Dunn, Clarke (Harris 53), Russell; O’Riordin (Windross 53), Brodie.

F1 Power (4-1-2-1-2): Filan; Trulli, Coulthard, West, Button; Wallwork; Räikkönen, R. Schumacher; Adolfo; Villeneuve, M. Schumacher (c).

Final score: Scarborough 1:5 F1 Power
MoM - Ronnie Wallwork

Apparently, there was another game played, in a competition called the FA Cup. Liverpool beats Chelsea 2-0 to win the trophy.

So, in our first complete season, we win the FA Trophy, the Conference Cup, the Autoglass Trophy and, of course, the Conference! Bernie and Max are very happy about all the silverware we lock away in our new trophy cabinet (generously donated by Michael Schumacher, who seems to have stocks in a company that makes them in Switzerland! ). We finally decide to have a good party to commemorate our first season in the leagues. It’s very interesting to see the growing camaraderie between the ex-drivers who, in Formula One, would not have given each other the time of day, but now our successful first tilt has brought everybody much closer together. Still, managing the egos of twenty (well, it’s 19 after the departure of Fisichella) ex-Formula One drivers still take some doing, because there are some rumblings in the squad that not everything is as it should be.

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To examine all this in closer detail, let’s have a quick scan through the players, beginning, of course, with the goalkeepers:

Goalkeepers

John Filan (31 y/o, AUS 2 caps, GK - 52 apps, 31 conceded, 1 assist, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.35): 52 apps, 31 conceded, 1 assist, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.35: Filan is clearly our number one keeper and I don’t foresee that changing in the near future. He was a calm, reliable keeper through the season whose unruffled play during the season reassured the defenders in front of him. He will look forward to stepping up a grade into Division 3 next season, I’m sure.

Ralph Firman (?? y/o, ENG, GK - 12 apps, 7 conceded, av. rating: 7.00): 12 apps, 7 conceded, av. rating: 7.00: A good back-up keeper, he is still learning his trade and I don’t think he’s ready yet to take over the mantle of number one. He should concentrate next season on continuing to traverse that learning curve, and perhaps we’ll reassess at the end of next season. However, he did quite well when I threw him the opportunity to pull on the gloves, so I’m confident that he will progress in this sport, rather than returning to motor-racing.

Antonio Pizzonia (?? y/o, BRA, GK - 0 apps): 0 apps: Spent the season in the reserves and apparently did quite well. However, Antonio is a little unhappy about the fact he didn’t get a look-in during the season, and he’s muttering to himself that he made a mistake throwing his lot in with F1 Power rather than exploring other options, such as racing in the USA. He has potential, however, so I would like to hold on to him for a while, at least.

Defenders

Olivier Panis (?? y/o, FRA, SW/D/S C - 8(1) apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.00): 8(1) apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.00: Only a bit-part player in the first team this season, but Olivier did a reasonable job when I gave him the chance to show his wares. I think he will be pushed down the order a fair bit with the defenders I’m bringing into the club next season, but I don’t want to let him go just yet, basically because he is a very versatile player, and players with his versatility don’t come along every day.

Jenson Button (?? y/o, ENG, D RLC - 43(7) apps, 3 assists, av. rating: 6.52): 43(7) apps, 3 assists, av. rating: 6.52: A little too inconsistent for my liking, but Jenson did offer good value during the season, mainly at right-back. He is another versatile player, capable of holding down a position anywhere along the back four, and I like that in a player. He could work on his defensive capabilities a little bit over the summer, but I think Jenson is a player with a future and he should think that he has made the right choice to throw in his lot with F1 Power, rather than retreat to the USA and IndyCars, or British Touring Cars.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen (?? y/o, GER, D RC - 3(1) apps, av. rating: 6.75): 3(1) apps, av. rating: 6.75: The biggest problem with Heinz-Harald is that he thinks he is better than he actually is. Frentzen isn’t a bad player, but his ego is in his way from realising that he isn’t quite good enough to play every week. Consequently, Frentzen is seeking to move away from F1 Power. If it comes to the crunch, and the offer is good enough, then I might let him explore his options. I know that Bernie and Max would like to keep the core group of ex-drivers together, but they saw the light when I explained to them that Fisichella wasn’t good enough for my plans, and I think they will see the same light if Frentzen is offered the opportunity to move on.

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Chris Willmott (23 y/o, ENG, D RC - 31(1) apps, 2 goals, 2 assists, av. rating: 6.69): 31(1) apps, 2 goals, 2 assists, av. rating: 6.69: I think Chris has done quite well since joining the club at the start of the season. I decided to essentially alternate him with Jenson Button, and in the end, Willmott has slightly edged the ex-BAR, Renault and Williams driver in terms of his form spread over the season. However, Chris is sometimes prone to shocking lapses of concentration and that can lead to us shipping goals. In a cut-throat battle next season in Division 3, I would like to rule that out, if I could.

Jarno Trulli (?? y/o, ITA, D L - 49 apps, 5 goals, 2 assists, av. rating: 6.73): 49 apps, 5 goals, 2 assists, av. rating: 6.73: Essentially made left-back his own, and I’m happy that the ex-Renault driver was capable of settling himself down to the business so quickly. He also assumed the pressure mantle of taking penalties, and converted four from four, which is a great record. His form in the Conference was quite impressive, although slightly let down in our cup runs, and I think he will be a good player in Division 3 next season.

Taribo West (27 y/o, NIG 25 caps, D LC - 43(2) apps, 2 goals, 4 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.69): 43(2) apps, 2 goals, 4 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.69: West adds some international pedigree to our defence and he has on occasion played like a man who could recapture the form that made him a player of both AC and Inter Milan in the past few seasons. However, he hasn’t always been on the same form all the way through the season, which was on occasion blighted by injury. His experience should be of benefit for us next season, I believe.

Cristiano da Matta (?? y/o, BRA, D LC - 4 apps, av. rating: 6.50): 4 apps, av. rating: 6.50: Cristiano played less than a handful of games this season and I don’t think his opportunities will improve next season, either. However, unlike Frentzen, Cristiano is happy to work at his game in the hope of attracting my eye for more regular appearances, and I’m happy to give him the opportunity to do so.

David Coulthard (?? y/o, SCO, D/DM C - 60(1) apps, 1 goal, 3 assists, av. rating: 7.16): 60(1) apps, 1 goal, 3 assists, av. rating: 7.16: Coulthard is probably one of the biggest success stories in terms of converting from Formula One to football. He was a rock in the defence through the season and was always very consistent in the level of his play. He therefore deserves all the success that has come our way this season, because he has played a big role in it. I look forward to him building on that next season.

Nick Heidfeld (?? y/o, GER, D/M C - 8(1) apps, 1 assist, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.78): 8(1) apps, 1 assist, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.78: Heidfeld is a promising player and could turn into a very good player for the club in the medium term. However, I decided to let him mostly look towards the reserves for his game experience, only to see him injured for a fair amount of the season. Consequently, the amount of time spent on the pitch has been sharply reduced when compared to the other players around him, so it makes it difficult to judge just how far he has come along this season. I’m a patient man though, and I’m willing to let the ex-Sauber and Jordan driver continue his development.

Justin Wilson (?? y/o, ENG, D C - 0 apps): 0 apps: The ex-Minardi driver needed to be content with playing exclusively in the reserves this season. He is still very rough around the edges, and they need to be smoothed off before he will come into contention for a regular first-team place in my team. He has time on his side, and the work ethic to do it, but the talent needs to come through for it to happen for him.

Keep smiling!
Dixie Flatline