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Dias posted:Within reach of the Johnstone's Trophy AND the League 2 championship, and it looks like we might get promoted? I'd be optimistic if years of following soccer didn't teach me that I should always expect the worst. Still, hell of a good run so far. We're two points out of first! With any luck we could win League 2! Scott Brown for Manager of the Year! Personally I could care less about Tackleford. They are struggling without Brown, and we are on the rise. Regardless of their success (or lack thereof) we'll mow them over on our way to World Conquest! Also I think it's a good decision to let Walsh go. With 13 injuries over the past 40 months (granted two were the flu and one was food poisoning), he appears to be injury prone. And injury prone players never become as good as they could be. I believe however that you already know this. And the Harrison injury is a major hindrance. KDavisJr fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Feb 6, 2014 |
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Feb 6, 2014 21:30
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KDavisJr posted:We're two points out of first! With any luck we could win League 2! Scott Brown for Manager of the Year! Two points out with a game in hand, no less. And after going through a veritable murderer's row of a schedule. Of course, games in hand only matter if you win.
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Feb 7, 2014 00:31
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Looks like your predictions about needing a consolidation season before really taking off were right on the money 
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Feb 7, 2014 03:10
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/\/\/\ Time for a game rigging scandal. 
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Feb 7, 2014 06:21
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I've found that after starting in the North/South, I need a consolidation season once I hit League 2, and one again in the Championship before making that extra push into the Prem. It all really depends on how good you are at spotting/acquiring talent, balancing the budget, and getting the most out of your players via your tactics. So far, we're doing pretty great. These deep runs in the FA Cup before crashing out to big Premier League teams for a paycheck is about all you could ever want at this point.
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Feb 7, 2014 08:52
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This game has actually made me a bit curious to try a game of my own, but honestly, I would have no idea where to even start. Are there any other good FM LPs like this one? I tried reading the one linked in the Op, but it doesn't go into details like this one does.
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Feb 8, 2014 04:27
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Tithin Melias posted:This game has actually made me a bit curious to try a game of my own, but honestly, I would have no idea where to even start. Its not an LP but this is all you'll ever need: http://www.guidetofootballmanager.com/
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Feb 8, 2014 14:58
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Yeah, I'm tempted as well, but I know nothing about Football. In fact, this thread has already taught me more about football than I had learned in my entire life prior. I wish there was something like this for Hockey, but I probably wouldn't work as the leagues / promotion etc. don't work the same way.
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Feb 10, 2014 23:14
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PotatoManJack posted:I wish there was something like this for Hockey, but I probably wouldn't work as the leagues / promotion etc. don't work the same way. Franchise Hockey Manager 2014 exists.
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Feb 11, 2014 07:54
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PotatoManJack posted:I wish there was something like this for Hockey, but I probably wouldn't work as the leagues / promotion etc. don't work the same way. There's also Eastside Hockey Manager made by SI (the same people who did Football Manager). I've only played a tiny bit, and the last official release was 2007, but people have been doing roster updates, so it must have some kind of following. If I could find a cheap copy, I'd probably think about it. e: Good LP thus far habeasdorkus! One of the better FM ones I've seen. ABen fucked around with this message at 09:55 on Feb 11, 2014 |
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Feb 11, 2014 09:53
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PotatoManJack posted:Yeah, I'm tempted as well, but I know nothing about Football. In fact, this thread has already taught me more about football than I had learned in my entire life prior. Yeah, this is something that I've often thought/wondered about with regards to US leagues. I mean, sure, getting relegated is crushing* but the whole thing keeps most aspects of the league thrilling right up until the final day, that whole shifting league table between 3pm and 5pm, the frantic last minute goal that keeps you up/sends you down, the joy of making a European/promotion play-off place, etc. Without these other things to play for, it's hard for me to imagine there can be much excitement to be had if you're a fan of a middling/bad team. Of course, I totally appreciate that starting up from scratch meant it was impossible to implement a traditional system, alas. * loving hilarious when it's those bastards down the road instead.
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Feb 12, 2014 00:14
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The last time I checked, FHM was buggy as hell. I think it still is. Which is a shame. EHM owns, or so I heard. They do massively overrate  because the developers are Finnish though. So Antero Nittymaki is the best player in the game. Which is cool, because he owned when he had functioning hips. RIP.
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Feb 12, 2014 02:52
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Chapter the Ninth: Wembley or bust. February 2, 2016-March 2, 2016 By the end of the month we'll know whether we're going to Wembley for a chance at our first non-league hardware. Before March arrives we have a set of games that present modest difficulty. The hardest League game will be against AFC Wimbledon, who are perched atop the league for the moment. After that we go up against a couple of mid table sides and a pair of patsies. If we can take 10 points from those five games I'll be pretty happy.  I've gone from “Very Insecure” to “Very Secure” in the space of four months. You guys are fickle.  Who's going to take down Sky Shadowing? Someone promise me the world! vs. Southend, February 4, 2017 League Two  Southend's mid-table, but we're on a good run and at home. My only concern is our stamina levels, it seems like half the team just got back from international duty and the other half haven't quite recovered from our last game. This is going to be a recurring problem, we won't get a real break in the action until late in the month. Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas (c), Reid, Poole, Smissen, Jenkins, Cobb, Bailey, Price, Mujkic, Read. Subs: Higgs, Tench, Lewis, Sinclair, Kadhim, Netala, Spilsbury. Price gets the match started off right with a goal in the 6th minute, but we give it right back on a dubious penalty call when third string midfielder Neil Jenkins challenges for a cross. We fall behind on a well struck free kick later in the half, and then fall further shortly after halftime when Southend's counter attack gets behind our defense. It's looking like our streak of league games without losing is about to end, except Southend hadn't reckoned on a career day from Tony Price. Price adds his second goal of the game in the 71st minute and completes his hat trick in the 76th on what the game announcer called “A MAGNIFICENT INDIVIDUAL EFFORT.” And no, the game doesn't usually go all-caps. We are unable to find a fourth goal, but coming back from down two to salvage a draw is still impressive. Man of the Match: Tony Price   Wrexham 3-3 Southend  Stuart Martin who? Selling him off worked perfectly. He's gotten just a cameo at Crystal Palace this season while Poole has taken on his role and done a thoroughly excellent job of it for a third the price.  Speaking of Price, he's the reason we took points from our last match. Rather than letting him go for nothing at the end of the season I extend his contract a year. I'm not sure if Netala will be back next year, Liam Franks is going to be leaving the club, and Price can fill in at four positions so I can rationalize the decision instead of admitting to myself that I've been swayed by his stunning performance in the last match.  That Watkins, always trying to start a spat. I've had two press inquiries and a press conference before the upcoming game. I have no idea why we're getting so much press in the run-up to what's a bog standard League Two game. That being said, Cheltenham's coach is being a jerk. At Cheltenham, February 7, 2017 League Two  He's especially being a jerk considering that we're at the top of the table right now and they're barely keeping their heads above water. Maybe he should focus on not sucking before he starts talking about how we're not really that good. Fatigue sees me give a start to Neil Sinclair, who's one of our youth players and who's acquitted himself well in the time I've given him this season. Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Lewis, Poole, Thomas, Kadhim, Jenkins, Sinclair, Coulson, Netala, Harrison (c). Subs: Al-Beloushi, Smissen, Todd, McCarthy, Price, Franks, Spilsbury. We run Cheltenham off the field. Coulson strikes early to put us ahead, and we go up two-nil before the half when Cheltenham performs a Keystone Kops routine while trying to clear a corner kick and instead put the ball into their own net. They present no threat in the second half, and other than a late injury to Sinclair that earns the offender a straight red card the day is unmarred beauty for Wrexham supporters. Of course, they're from Wales, so a day of unmarred beauty is probably one where the sun actually comes out for a whole ten minutes and the mud doesn't swallow your shoe. Still, good result, and a nice performance from Coulson to continue his Jekyll and Hyde season of great performances alternating with dreck. Man of the Match: Michael Coulson   Cheltenham 0-2 Wrexham  The hard tackle late in the match cost's us Neil Sinclair for a month and a half. I don't like seeing youth players injured, they're not on the first team because they're not good enough yet and they're not going to get any better if they're not on the practice pitch.  Says the guy in 21st place to the guy in 1st place.  I want piles of trophies! Piles I say! vs. Accrington Stanley, February 11, 2017 League Two  Now that we're at the top of the league we have to stay there. We've got two points on our closest competition, and given how bad Accrington Stanley has been we should be able to maintain or extend that lead. Ioan Peters, another of our youth players, will get the start so that the Tenchman can get the day off. It's also just three days before our away leg of the League Trophy semi-finals, so I'm resting some first team players. That means Eoin McCarthy, a centerback/central midfielder, and Gareth Rainey, a winger, are on the bench and looking to get into the game if we pull away with the lead. Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Peters, Todd, Lewis, Smissen, Jenkins, Cobb (c), Bailey, Subs: Higgs, Thomas, Reid, McCarthy, Price, Rainey, Read. I may have been a bit optimistic in my pre-match comments. We're level at two-all going into half-time, but after going up two-nothing on two goals by Spilsbury we let Accrington right back into the game. Worse, Neil Jenkins continues to make me wish that I could will Stuart Simpson back to health as he scores an own goal himself to tie the match. We're unable to muster anything in the second half, and I'm much displeased at coughing up a two goal lead to a team like Accrington. Man of the Match: Shaun Spilsbury   Wrexham 2-2 Accrington At Chesterfield, February 14, 2017 Johnstone's Paint Trophy, North Final Away Tie  No time to dwell on the Accrington result. We're headed to Chesterfield for the second part of our semifinal. Because Chesterfield scored a goal when they played at the Racecourse Grounds in the first half of the semifinal we need to either win or score at least two goals in a draw to advance to the finals without having to endure a penalty kick shootout. Moreover, if we draw 0-0 we'll lose due to Chesterfield having the away goal advantage. Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Kadhim, Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Harrison (c). Subs: Thomas, Todd, McCarthy, Price, Spilsbury. We're given a gift in the form of a terrible penalty call in the 14th minute. Cobb calmly converts, and we take the lead. Reid adds to our advantage in the second half with a goal off of a header. Coulson is hurt and has to come off, but we keep them off the scoreboard throughout the rest of the first 45. I spend the mid-game pep talk urging them to go out and finish the job, and within five minutes we've added a third goal from another corner, this one by Matthew Poole. Expecting an all out offensive by Chesterfield, I bring in McCarthy for the fatigued Cobb and switch us to a defensive format. The final half hour is manic. Just as McCarthy is waiting to come on Chesterfield scores after Sam Smissen gets his pocket picked, and less than a minute later they've scored again. I had been confident that they couldn't score four times in thirty minutes, as they needed to win else we go to the final on away goals, but I wasn't nearly so sure about not scoring twice in that amount of time. The run of play turns on a dime, though, and we spend the next ten minutes earning corners. It pays off in Poole's second goal of the game, and I can relax. Chesterfield score one more time in the 73rd minute, but we win both the match and the semifinal. We're going to Wembley, again. Man of the Match: Matthew Poole   Chesterfield 3(4)-4(5) Wrexham  The victory comes at a price, Michael Coulson will miss most of the rest of the season. That means more playing time for Price and Netala, Mujkic has cemented himself as my first choice at left wing over the last two months with regularly solid play.  You are a terrible politician, Sky Shadowing. At Dagenham & Redbridge, February 18, 2017 League Two  Dag & Red are lurking around the edges of the promotion playoff, so this isn't going to be an easy game. We've got a full week before our next fixture, so I'm going to use largely the same lineup as we used in the last match. Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Todd, Poole, Smissen, Kadhim, Cobb, Bailey, Price, Mujkic, Harrison (c). Subs: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Lewis, Jenkins, Franks, Netala, Spilsbury. Harrison scores in the eighth minute, and that's about the last good thing that happens in this game. Dag & Red take the lead just after thirty minutes, and the only reason we're still in the game at the half is yet another own goal, this time when the defender volley'd in a cross from Mujkic as well as any of our strikers could. It's not the only moment that would see a player hanging their head in shame. In the second half Matthew Poole serves up his own target of mockery when he deflects a shot directly into his own net. I have to pull Poole, who has been as atrocious today as he was great prior, but we can't force an equalizer. Stewart Lewis, Poole's replacement, caps off this farce with yet another own goal, this time heading in a cross. It's a game where half the goals come from players in the wrong jerseys, and it's a humiliating way to lose.   Dag & Red 4-2 Wrexham  The streak had to end sometime, but losing in that fashion is a disgrace. It's also troubling that our previously stout defense has given way to a deluge of goals over the last five games. Allowing two goals a game makes for exciting football when our offense is clicking, but it's deeply disappointing after the extended stretch of excellent team defense we just had.  Finally, a chance to stop and catch our breath. We haven't had more than three days between matches since mid-January, and with the additional time for players on international squads we've been unable to run out my first choice for our starting eleven often. vs. AFC Wimbledon, February 25, 2017 League Two  Wimbledon is tied with us on points, but occupy second place thanks to a better goal differential. Gillingham is once again atop the league table, ahead of us by three. The outcome of this game islikely to determine whether we're likely to challenge for the league title or will have to content ourselves with just the joys of automatic promotion. Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Kadhim, Cobb, Bailey, Price, Mujkic, Harrison (c). Subs: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Todd, Jenkins, Franks, Netala, Spilsbury. Wimbledon plays directly into our hands in the first half. They patiently try to work the ball into the penalty area while we play disciplined defense and with a lightning quick counter attack. We earn a whole lot of corners early, but are unable to convert on them, while Wimbledon gets a lone, off target, shot on goal in the first half. Harrison scores twice in the second half, both on runs where he uses his incredible speed and acceleration to leave the opposing defense in the dust and on both occasions he was sprung by excellent through balls, one from Smissen and the other from Mujkic. Man of the Match: Billy “The Kid” Harrison   Wimbledon 0-2 Wrexham  Haha, look at the biggest underachievers. It's like no one thinks we have any business beating a Championship side. Oh, they'll learn to expect defeat at the hands of the dragon. They'll learn or they'll burn.  My scouts turned up this Irishman. He's going to replace Spilsbury as our backup striker next year, if he can develop quickly enough he could be with us all the way up the promotion ladder. Gavin Baker Striker  He's raw at the moment, but tall and strong enough that he could work as the big lug that we hammer crosses towards. He's got a ways to go before he's that good, but at just 21 he still has several years of development ahead of him. If he doesn't work out it's not a huge hit financially, he came in on a free and is only getting £550 a week. He'll join the pile of potential first team strikers in our youth system.  We're at the top of the league, though just barely. We're ahead of Gillingham on goal differential. But with AFC Wimbledon out of the way we only face two more teams that are currently in the top 7. If we can get two points from those games and handle the rest of our schedule as we should I think we'll win the title with a game or two in hand. And that's not to mention competing for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley stadium in late March, if we can accomplish the Lower League double they're going to be naming babies after me in North Wales. 
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Feb 15, 2014 22:52
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Neither habeasdorkus nor Scott Brown strike me as suitable Welsh names. Still, nice work topping the league so far. And without the massive monetary advantage that Tackleford (  ) had last year.
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Feb 15, 2014 23:12
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Torrannor posted:Neither habeasdorkus nor Scott Brown strike me as suitable Welsh names. Well, it doesn't have to be suitable, since he seems to be blooming in his role as "that Yank in Wales".
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Feb 15, 2014 23:25
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Keep that Win-Draw-Lose ratio, it's going perfectly with my prediction!
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Feb 15, 2014 23:38
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Also, I'll be doing a liveblog of our Johnstone's Paint Trophy match at 4pm EST tomorrow, assuming I get through the game time before then and have the other update up.
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Feb 15, 2014 23:49
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I'm throwing my name in the ring to replace Sky Shadowing. Firstly, because he's a terrible drunk who's wholly responsible for the loss to Dag & Red, and secondly because we deserve a president who isn't currently divided into 10,000 carefully organized scientific slides in a filing cabinet on an alien world. Also, if we win promotion I'll build us a new stadium and form a squad of hooligans and rowdies who will brutalize Tackelford fans whenever they dare to show their face at Racehorse Ground. I believe in this squad, and I believe in our boys. 
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Feb 16, 2014 00:18
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What crack is Sykes on?  Not only is his team is playing like utter poo poo, they got shut out. His comments are probably a good reason why they are as bad as they are. He's going to get fired by years end.I'll throw my name in to replace Sky Shadowing. I'm from the states, but I can get us known worldwide. After we crush Tackleford like the overachieving peons they are, we will begin to take over the world Wrexham Ain't Nothing to Fuk Wit!
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Feb 16, 2014 00:32
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I haven't really cared much for football but it's fair to say I'm hooked. I think I even have a copy of FM10 lying around somewhere... I would like to run for president, and if elected I intend to continue running the club as it has been and I will not be drawn into making grandiose election promises in a bid to secure additional votes. 
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Feb 16, 2014 01:04
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If 'I' win re-election do I stay president, or will you give it to someone else? If I stay tell me- do you really want someone coming in and spending your transfer and wage budgets on something ridiculously unnecessary? VOTE SHADOWING 2016 FOR A BETTER CLUB
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Feb 16, 2014 02:17
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I offer myself to the fine fans of our club as your new President with but one promise: I'll use my connections in the cartels to import the most energetic, thunderously voiced Mexican announcer in the Americas to shout "GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAL!" every time we score. He'll also stab opposing players if we provide him an alibi.
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Feb 16, 2014 02:25
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I will be your new president. I will use my stature as club president to get laid at cocktail parties.
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Feb 16, 2014 02:38
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Huh, at this rate you won't have to die trying.
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Feb 16, 2014 03:11
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I would run for president, but I prefer to manipulate proceedings from the shadows and don't need people poking into my finances.
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Feb 16, 2014 03:51
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Oh right, the election. Elect me and I will promise you Glory! I guarantee an appearance at Wembley itself, the Valhalla of football, not this decade, not next season, but this very year itself! That's not all: I guarantee a competitive team at the very top of the league, dedicated to claiming first place, or having the manager die trying! Blood, my fellow dragons, blood and trophies will be poured at your feet!
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Feb 16, 2014 04:29
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Sky Shadowing posted:If 'I' win re-election do I stay president, or will you give it to someone else? If I stay tell me- do you really want someone coming in and spending your transfer and wage budgets on something ridiculously unnecessary? Yeah, if you win you stay Prez. Same for the board of directors. I think we're a bit more than full up on candidates for the election, there's usually 4 candidates. Mad Wack, AJ_Impy, and C. Everett Koop have first priority if we have a changing of the guard on the board of directors, while I've assigned the others to candidates: Zeroisanumber-Jamie Wood KdavisJr-Francis Smith Disproportionation-Phil Bell Zaodai-Ian Baker
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Feb 16, 2014 06:26
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Am I on the list for people to be executives? I should be because I almost won that pitch condition contest that one time.
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Feb 16, 2014 11:27
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I'm going to do the executive thing fresh every time the elections come round, otherwise I'll have to go back and hunt through all the posts to see who put their name in when. I am giving preference for people who haven't been named as a director/president yet, and considering weighting their votes extra when it comes to board decisions. For the Prez I might ask for people to list something that they want to see if they become prez and have that become something their character supports doing ingame as well. Also, League Trophy Live Blog is at 1pm, EST today. Be there or be somewhere else! There'll be an update with board votes presently. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Feb 16, 2014 |
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Feb 16, 2014 14:56
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Chapter the Tenth: Flashing the cash. March 1, 2017-March 26, 2017  We only had two home games last month, which is why we lost some money. The good news is that we're drawing much bigger crowds than we had even at the start of the season. The last few games have seen 5,500 people coming out for regular League Two matches, whereas at the start of the season we had about 3,500 attendees. That makes a big difference in our bottom line. We also will get a nice shot in the arm from the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final late in the month, it'll be our second biggest crowd of the year after the Newcastle game.  I was worried this might happen. Todd has something like half of the premier league snooping around him, so naturally he's had his head turned. I'm not fully opposed to selling him but it would take at least a £5,000,000 transfer fee for me to agree to let him go.  Players who get their heads turned can become unhappy, and start doing things like skipping practice to try and force an exit from the team. You don't have to sell them, they're under contract after all, but it can become a huge headache and they'll refuse to re-sign with you, which can have big financial implications. You can mitigate this by making them promises, but they expect you to hold up your end of the bargain or they'll be even more upset than they were to start. Players can also be completely crazy about wanting to move on to bigger clubs, I once had a guy want to leave my team after we had just won the Champion's League the previous season- the best possible competition a player can win outside of the World Cup- because Chelsea and Barcelona were interested in signing him as a backup. I mean, I know Halifax, England isn't the height of culture, but c'mon dude. Todd is mollified by my promise for the time being. I do love that he says careers are short and thus he can't wait, the dude is only 17. vs. Lincoln City, March 4, 2017 League Two  Gillingham and AFC Wimbledon are playing each other, the best result for us is a draw where each of them only gets a point but any outcome will be good for our title hopes. Lincoln, on the other hand, has a goal differential of -37 through just 36 games and are in last place. (Fun fact, only 6 teams in the league have a negative goal differential. The bottom three have been astonishingly bad, being outscored by a combined 92 goals over 108 games).  We need to take all three points from this game, but at the same time it's as much of a gimme as we have on the schedule. So of course I'm going to give a couple youth players a look and rest a lot of the first team for our next match against mid-table Plymouth Argyle. While this is decidedly not our best team, it still should be able to handle Lincoln. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Higgs, Thomas (c), Curran, Poole, Smissen, Jenkins, Cobb, Holt, Rainey, Netala, Spilsbury. Subs: Al-Beloushi, Peters, Reid, Kadhim, Bailey, Price, Morgan. We concede an easy goal in the 9th minute, and it's not the fault of the rookies. Our entire team plays lethargically in the first half, and my half time pep talk has to straddle the line of expressing my disappointment in strong terms while not crushing the young players on the field. It seems to work, we equalize shortly after play begins anew, and I make the order to swap out two of the rookies at the 60 minute mark. But rear end Reid and Bailey warm up, we concede another goal, and when the match ends I've got egg on my face for fielding a weakened squad. Worst Man of the Match: Daniel Thomas   Wrexham 1-2 Lincoln  Smissen's got the work rate, speed, and stamina to run up and down the field all game long, and playing a role in attack as well as defense. I'm comfortable having him do so, his last game aside he's been quite a good signing for us.  Yeah, don't worry buddy. You're not in my long term plans. I'm planning on releasing five players from our current team that will free up £5,850 a week, and I'm torn on whether to give Daniel Thomas a new contract. On the one hand, he's one of only three players left that I inherited when I took over the team. On the other hand, he's basically a backup at the League Two level, and we're probably getting promoted. On the third hand, he's still got a fair amount of potential, and is only 22. Whether he stays depends on what he's willing to take come the close season. vs. Plymouth Argyle, March 7, 2017 League Two  I'm getting a lot more press conferences now as the title hunt heats up. By the time we're in the Premier League we'll be having one before and after every game. They can get repetitive, so if you get really bored with them you can delegate a manager with a “media friendly” personality to handle them for you, but I prefer to do them myself even though it means giving the same answers over and over. I imagine myself as Bill Belichick when I repeat for the thousandth time that I'm pleased with one of my players good performances. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Lewis, Smissen, Kadhim, Cobb, Bailey, Price, Mujkic, Harrison (c). Subs: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Todd, Jenkins, Franks, Netala, Baker. The start of the game is all Wrexham, but it's Plymouth that scores with a corner against the run of play. Harrison has a look at the net that leaves the crowd puzzling at how he could could miss, but Price picks him up with a very nice bit of play off of an indirect free kick where he times his move past the defense perfectly. We take the lead off of another set piece after the break, this time a corner from which Lewis scores, and the board's confidence in our set pieces remains at zero percent. Price nabs his brace just before the hour mark, and I'm enjoying the match. I take out Mujkic and Harrison to keep them fresh for the Port Vale game a few days from now, and give Gavin Baker his debut, telling him there's no pressure. He proceeds to get hurt just before stoppage time, leaving us with ten men for the final two minutes. It's no problem, and we looked like a different team today than we had against Lincoln. Of course, we were a different team since only three players started both games. Man of the Match: Tony Price   Wrexham 3-1 Plymouth  Gillingham drew and Wimbledon lost, so we're atop the table by two points again. Shrewsbury has bumped Wimbledon from third place and are now three points behind us.  Read's probably our best bet after Harrison to be with us for a long time. He was quite impressive in the first couple games he played for us last fall, but had slumped by the time Harrison returned from his injury. I sent him back down to the Youth team, but being a useful member of the senior squad as a 16 year old bodes well for his future.  Upson, on the other hand, is certainly talented but hasn't gotten a chance to play with the senior squad as he's our fourth option for our youth striker behind Read, Anthony Morgan, and the soon to be departed Anthony Hay. He's been fine at the U18 and U21 level, scoring 7 goals with 6 assists across 34 games, but it's a sign of how deep our youth system is at the position that he's almost an afterthought.  Holt's a youth player that I expected to have on the first team as a backup midfielder for part of the year. Instead he suffered a bad injury just before the start of the season and saw his place usurped by Neil Sinclair. Now that Sinclair was hurt he's my first choice for an offensive central midfielder, but he won't get into games if he can't stay healthy.  None of this interferes with my plans, though I really wish they'd cap my players so I could sell the ones I don't plan on using for more money.  Hey, it's Chuckles Nsangou. Tackleford looks like they'll avoid relegation, they're five points above the drop with eight games to play. We'll get to kick their asses next year! At Port Vale, March 11, 2017 League Two  This is one of two tough matches left. Port Vale is in the hunt for promotion, they're just five points behind us, and we're playing in their house. I'd be happy with a draw, but a loss wouldn't be a shock. Given our remaining schedule I'm unconcerned if we do lose. We've got another week off after this game, so I'm able to play our best team without fitness concerns. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Defense Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Lewis, Smissen, Kadhim, Cobb, Bailey, Netala, Mujkic, Harrison (c). Subs: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Todd, Jenkins, Price, Franks, Spilsbury. The 14th minute sees us take a 1-0 lead when the own goal demon raises it's head again. Port Vale's centerback is in good position to deal with a cross from Netala, but accidentally slices it into his own net. Reid gives us some deserved offense off of yet another set piece goal (still at 0% confidence). Port Vale piles on pressure, but our defense plays well and we take the two-nil lead into the half. Mujkic is hurt in the 50th minute when he's clattered, and I really wish this game gave you information on how bad an injury was during the game rather than making you wonder how serious it is until after the match. Port Vale scores late, but we win. We've only got one tough match left in our league schedule, and we gain a point over our nearest competitors. Man of the Match: Luke Reid   Port Vale 1-2 Wrexham  Not that bad an injury, but it'll keep him out for all but the last game or two of the season. He's had a successful first season with us, after his initial troubles settling in he's racked up six assists in the last twelve games, for a total of twelve assists in thirty-two games. It does mean that we're down both first choice wingers for the Johnstone's Paint Cup Trophy final, but with Price in good form and Netala having been decent all year it's not a huge concern.  Elections are coming up. Time to finish making backroom deals with the various members of the supporter's trust, [strike]Phil Bell[/strike] Disproportionation.  It's time to play my favorite game: “Find the awesome teenager playing for some local semi-pro team!”  I only sign four of our youth academy players, we've got a deep enough youth team now that having filler is a waste of wage budget, even at just £80 a week per player.  No! I'm going to be dropping the vast majority of our transfer budget on this kid if he deigns to sign with us, he's already very good and he's going to be awesome. But now his club, Falkirk, is wise to my designs on him.  I'm not joking when I say that I'm totally throwing my hat in the ring to coach the USMNT when they fail to make the World Cup for the first time in 25 years. vs. Rochdale, March 18, 2017 League Two  League Two is very compressed, only five points separate the final playoff spot from thirteenth place. Rochdale thus has everything to play for with seven games remaining as they're just three points off a chance to go up to League One. They're going to have to go through us if they want to do that, and I have no intention on making it easy for them. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Kadhim, Cobb, Bailey, Price, Netala, Harrison (c). Subs: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Lewis, Jenkins, Sinclair, Franks, Spilsbury. We push Rochdale around from the start of the game, but a foul in a dangerous area by Smissen allows them to score from a free kick. The team responds from the moment of the next kickoff, with Harrison scoring exactly two minutes later after an impressive challenge by Cobb for the ball and a very nice piece of passing between Harrison and Netala to set up the goal. Another foul from the same dangerous spot on the left wing returns Rochdale to the lead, and we go into the locker room down one. It stays that way throughout the second half despite multiple opportunities to pull even. When Rochdale caps the day by scoring in the fifth minute of stoppage time it's almost a relief to be put out of our misery, except that it puts us in third place thanks to hurting our goal differential. How we can go from playing so well against Port Vale to playing so poorly against Rochdale is going to occupy my mind in the lead up to the next match. Worst Man of the Match: Matthew Poole.   Wrexham 1-3 Rochdale   : It was like watching the worst of the old team's profligate habits. We're going to be spending a lot of time on the training pitch to nip that in the bud. This means our youth fullback Ioan Peters is now backup, and presses Daniel Thomas into the starting role. Injuries are starting to take their toll just as we approach the finish line.  I've asked Kadhim to withdraw from his international team for this match, as we desperately need him at Defensive Mid for our Johnstone's Paint Trophy final. I've never tried this before, so I'm not sure how it'll work out. I'm guessing that there's a chance he refuses and gets angry at me, but we'll see. I also don't realize that Harrison is included in this group of players and forget to withdraw him from his team. He's back in time for the Trophy final, but at only 94% stamina. I'm dumb, and lucky that he's back in time for the game.  We got our man! It's by far my biggest transfer splurge since that first summer with Tackleford, and it nearly wipes out the transfer budget, but he's so very worth it. I've only found one other youth player that will sign with us that I consider worth signing, but if we can capture just one talent like Shirra each year we're going to be one of the best teams in the world in a decade from that source alone.  Johnston is our other signing, a very raw midfielder from Port Talbot in Wales.  Our pitch finally oozes into it's native state, a mud pit. vs. Carlisle, March 21, 2017 League Two  Carlisle has dropped all the way to 19th, meaning that this should be a good chaser to the unpleasantness of the Rochdale match. We're only a point away from falling into the promotion playoffs and we've got four injured players and another two on international duty, so it's all hands on deck and damned fatigue.  And let me tell you, we're pretty fatigued. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack. Starting 11: Higgs, Thomas, Reid, Lewis, Smissen, Kadhim, Cobb, Bailey, Price, Netala, Harrison (c). Subs: Al-Beloushi, Ratcliffe, Poole, Jenkins, Franks, Spilsbury. Carlisle is punchless, but so are we. We have a chance to take the lead on a penalty kick, but Tony Price makes like Jason Puncheon:  It turns out to be the only real chance at goal all game for either side. Worse, our physio's office gets even more crowded when Richard Cobb goes down in the 37th minute. We gain a point, and move up to second place, two off of late charging Shrewsbury, but it's time to call in the players for a little talk to get us back on track. Man of the Match: Daniel Thomas   Wrexham 0-0 Carlisle   Well, that had absolutely zero effect.  Where's Nate Silver to tell me the probabilities of who'll win?!  23,000 is a bit less than I expected, but it's still going to be a good amount of cash as I believe we split the gate and concession haul.  Hey, maybe you're not such a bad politician after all. Congratulations. Congratulations to Mad Wack and AJ_Impy as well, both join the board of directors.  Poole has a Dribbling of 5 and a Technique of 7, we really don't want him holding the ball any longer than absolutely necessary.  Lots of first team playing time equals lots of improvement for most young players. Al-Beloushi is still probably a smidgen better than Higgs, but the difference is smaller now and Higgs still has a lot of room to grow whereas Al-Beloushi has more or less maxed out his skills. Press Conference, 12:15pm March 25, 2017 The Racecourse Grounds  : (With Great Respect) Gillingham's manager seems remarkably blasé about the importance of this match. Do you agree with him that it's no more important than any other?: (Calmly) I think he's trying to convince himself that there's nothing riding on the match. I don't think it's working.: (With Great Respect) You certainly seem confident, and I know you've proven in the past that you have every right to be, but is there a danger you're underestimating him?: (Assertively) No, no. Gillingham will be a tough challenge. That said, I am confident that we can take home the hardware. (With Great Respect): Will there be any changes to Wrexham's lineup before the match?: (Calmly) We're going to have to look at the players fitness and performance in training before choosing who'll start. If you haven't noticed we've been run a bit ragged by injury.: (Fawningly) This is a big match for Wrexham and the fans have high expectations, but you aren't nervous, are you?: (Pedantically) I wouldn't be human if I wasn't at least a little nervous, but we've been in big games before. : (With Great Respect): So can you tell us how you plan on playing tomorrow?: (Slyly) I can't give away too much, but I think fans will be pleased with the style of football on display. We're going to show the whole country why we deserve to win the trophy. : (Stentorianly) Coach? Dylan Edwards from BBC Radio Kent. You could make a real statement by going on the attack from the opening whistle. How will you approach this game?: (Giving Side Eye) Didn't you hear what I just said about not giving away too much?: (Huffily) I may have nodded off for a moment.: (Laconically) I'm not discussing tactical plans at a press conference.: (Probingly) Word is around town that Michael Coulson has been spotted in training for this match, is he available for the match?: (Mendaciously) It's going to be touch and go right up to the kick-off, I couldn't say either way.: (Quizzically) Hey, what is your relationship with Gillingham's manager like anyhow?: (Bemusedly) We don't really have one, and it's not exactly relevant to the match. Any real questions? No? OK, see you guys tomorrow. That was a disappointing set of games. Beating Port Vale was very good, but the draw with Carlisle and the loss to Lincoln makes it much harder to win the title this year. We're still in very good position to get automatic promotion, so don't get too worried about this slight slip in form. The next match will be in liveblog form at 1pm EST, today. It's time to start adding to our trophy collection.   BOARD VOTESSo that we don't have too many things to vote on at the end of the season, I'm going to put up a couple votes now. We've got a lot of cash in the bank, even with 105k for Shirra we've a balance of over £725,000. Finances are good, we're on pace to turn a profit of about £900,000 this year. VOTE 1: (Matter of Factly) We still need to add one more coach, a fitness coach, so that Craig Brown is not doing both strength and aerobics training. If we hire him our first team and U21 reserves will be fully staffed. It will cost about £300-£400 a week. A) Get Mr. T on the line! B) How hard could coaching 26 players in both strength training and aerobic exercise be? No. VOTE 2: (Calmly) We've improved our youth academy recruiting, but they're still arriving at the club woefully under-trained and thus will take longer and have a harder time meeting their potential. I would like to increase funding for junior coaching to remedy this problem. A) Absolutely, there's no point in spending on the Youth Academy without making sure the players are coming to the club with as much training as possible. B) No way, we already spend too much on our Academy, especially seeing as we haven't seen any fruits of that spending yet. VOTE 3: (Disdainfully) Norwich sucks as a parent club. They're not much of a draw for our friendlies- the last one drew fewer than 3,000 fans- and their players refuse to come play for us. They pay us a little shy of £40,000 a year, which would likely be matched or exceeded by whoever we replace them with. I would like to cancel the link with them and search for a new parent club. A) To the devil with Norridge. Consider the call canceling our relationship made. B) No, I'm sure that their players will come play for us when we're only one league below them. Voting will close Monday at 10am EST.
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Feb 16, 2014 15:44
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I've spent enough time doubting Coach Brown and I won't make that mistake again: 1. A 2. A 3. A
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Feb 16, 2014 15:55
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AAA (Calmly) You've taken us to the verge of automatic promotion, so we're inclined to back your judgement. Just don't expect to get the transfer budget expanded.
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Feb 16, 2014 16:00
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AAA As your new director, it is important that we spend as much money as possible so I don't look stingy and cheap at the country club.
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Feb 16, 2014 16:30
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All the A! And looking forward to the live blog, there's no chance down the road that it could turn into a livestream is there?
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Feb 16, 2014 17:00
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beru04 posted:All the A! It's possible, but seeing as I've never done one before probably not that soon  I'll consider it when we reach the finals of the FA Cup, or either the Europa or Champion's league.
habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Feb 16, 2014 |
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Feb 16, 2014 17:16
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AAA. More coaches! More training! MORE OF THAT poo poo.
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Feb 16, 2014 17:16
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AAA (Assertively) If you're still alive, I'm more than happy to back you to the hilt. Tell you what, I'll even ease up on the 'Win the league or die trying' if you get us the paint pot and automatic promotion, It'd be a glorious day in Wrexham if we can do that.
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Feb 16, 2014 17:49
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We need to build on the foundation of future players, therefore AAA
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Feb 16, 2014 18:20
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BBB What kind of board keeps giving it's manager everything he asks for? This isn't the LLM experience I know and hate!
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Feb 16, 2014 18:43
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About time to get this started. I'm going to flip the page so people can see their own commentary and the liveblog at the same time.
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Feb 16, 2014 18:59
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