2011-12 Rochdale Coca-Cola League 2 Board Expects: to escape relegation, i say we will
Media Predicts: 23rd
Season Tickets Sold: 2164 hurrah!
Finances: As Amy Winehouse would say,
back to black! (but without the crackpipes)
The squad was far too good for the conference and I'm confident they will fare well here too. My scouts go a wandering and dig up a few interesting prospects. I manage to coax a couple of Man City's reserves they find to play for me on loan, and I sign three or four young prospects from Ireland and Wales. the squad is young and hungry and I'm still pleased with the balance. oddly, random Spanish clubs keep offering me players I have never heard of. one has an immensely amusing comedy name that I cant pass on (think first name:' latino food stuff' second name: 'bullfighter')
I sign him up and he plays well in def mid. my striker is once again a monster. I cant understand why, as his stats are ongly good/average, but he is unstoppable.
Cups FA Cup: 2nd Round. loss vs Wycombe (A)
Johnson's Pants: we wont be winning Mr. Johnson's pants this year im afraid
beat Bradford 2-1 but then lose to their W.Yorks rivals Huddersfield on pens in the next round
League Cup impressive 2-1 win vs. Sheffield United followed up by narrow loss to Birmingham 0-1 in next round. Good experience.
As predicted, the squad adapts very well to League life. (I had essentially taken over a league-quality squad that happened to be in the conference) The defence was stout again and my young aquisitions belnded well. Explosive striker became Rochdale's all-time top scorer in an impressive season and we were there or there-abouts all season long. Early form hinted at an automatic promotion, as we floated between 3rd and 6th. A couple of key injuries in early February (just after transfer window slammed shut! typical) brought home the lack of depth in the squad to me, as i was forced to play a young striker i had picked up from the welsh divisions up fornt for a whole month. understandably, we faded, to the extent that we were in danger of missing the aply-offs with a month to go. luckily the return of my star striker prompted a resurgence and we secured a play-off spot with a game to go, finishing a respectable 5th. The cups had been harsh on us, drawing us against a few much better teams, but we had permormed well, and my honeymoon period continued!
Play-Offs
We lost 0-1 away to Rotherham in the first leg of the semi, in what was a tight affair, but came back well in the home leg, spurred on by an amlomst capacity crowd of approaching 10,000 (!) legendary striker put us 1-0 to the good, early in the game, forcing extra-time. With penalties in the offing, my young midfielder blasts home a direct free kick in the 116th minute forcing me to roar my approval and scaring the living bejesus out of the missus, who was curled up reading a book beside me! what a moment! there was still time for my young Welsh centre-back to give away a penalty but i was strangely calm, as i half expected their striker to miss. he duly obliged, crumpling under the pressure and blasting over in the 119th minute! WEMBLEY!!!!
The final vs Yeovil was another nervous affair, 2-2 at FT, neither side had exerted control. i was playing deep and defensive and each goal scored was quickly replied to in kind. Extra-time was a goal free zone and the agony of penalties awaited. An epic shoot-out, was settled 5-4 in my favour when the afore-mentioned Welsh centre-back almost burst the net with the final kick of the season! unbelievable!! one of my best ever FM moments.
I finished the season as 3rd place manager of the year, and earning a year extension (they offered two)
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...eague21112.jpg Final Position: 5th and
promoted!
Oggersheim watch:
Another year of obscurity beckons in the hard to escape regional divisions:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...rsheim1112.jpg 
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