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Chapter the Eleventh: Live from Wembley, it's the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final on Sky Sports! March 26, 2017 Preamble: Welcome to the League Trophy final, sponsored by Johnstone's Paint! Lead free since 2015, honest! We've got a match up of League Two sides, with minnows Wrexham and Gillingham having outlasted fallen giants like Wolverhampton and Sunderland to reach the final today. The match comes as both teams are fighting for promotion, so it will be interesting to see how the managers take that into account when it comes to picking their sides. Gillingham skipper Calvin Richardson has said he's treating this as he would any other game, while the Dragons have made no bones about how much they want to bring the Trophy back to The Turf pub in Wrexham. The other big story of this match for lower league bragging rights is the fact that some maniac has been busy the last couple of months taking out players from each team. Wrexham's manager, Scott Brown, whinged about injuries piling up in his press conference yesterday, but while Wrexham are missing three or four players* from their starting eleven poor benighted Gillingham will have five players out. Worse, Gillingham have two more players from their starting team out for the game, attacking midfielder Ismael Traore is with the Cote D'Ivore U20 team and fullback Tommy Blair is cup tied after coming over from Walsall during the January window. Still, even a wounded Gillingham should be a match for Wrexham, who embarrassed themselves less than a month ago against a Lincoln team on their way out of the Football League. Will they triumph and lift the trophy for a second time, or will the Gills win a cup competition for the first time since Clement Atlee was implementing the NHS? * Depending of course on the status of Michael Coulson, whose status Brown danced around at his press conference. The Teams: Gillingham, Treating this game like any other, with two youth team subs and one youth team starter: Karl Cunningham, Ian Bonnar, Jack Montgomery, Paul van Grinsven, Trevor Arnison, Bartolomeo Bianconi, Sam Wood (captain), Daniel Young, Noel Butler, Jim Griffiths, Jack Broad. Subs: Ed Sullivan, Andrew Dawson, Archie Butler, Graham Neill, Nathan Newton. Wrexham, with a surprise Michael Coulson sighting!: Daniel Higgs, Daniel Thomas, Luke Reid, Stewart Lewis, Ashti Kadhim, Richard Cobb, Justin Bailey, Tony Price, Yohan Netala, and William Harrison (captain). Subs: Ioan Peters, Chris Todd, Neil Jenkins, Michael Coulson, Shaun Spilsbury. Referee: Neil Swarbrick. Starting Whistle: And we're off! 2': The ball has been bouncing back and forth between the teams, neither has yet been able to sustain possession for verly long. Price is able to spring Thomas but three blue jerseys mug him inside the area, no penalty called. Jack Broad takes the ball well up the field and Luke Reid runs right by him! A huge mistake, but Broad can't make the Dragons pay. 3': Oh dear, a tough tackle by Ian Bonnar takes out Netala and injures him. It looks like he'll be able to play on, while Gillingham's defense packs the penalty area and clears a cross. 5': Another surging run from Broad as he earns a corner, which bounces around in front of the net before being cleared. William Harrison is one on one with Bonner now, but Bonnar tackles him from behind, another dirty play and already Gillingham's third foul in just four minutes. 7': It's clear that Gillingham is planning on parking the bus and hitting Wrexham on the counter attack, the question will be whether Wrexham can break them down without making a mistake. So far Wrexham has 66% possession but Gillingham have taken all three shots. 8': GOAL! Gillingham's Sam Wood finds himself unmarked in the area and scores! What a mistake by Wrexham! 1-0 Gillingham. 10': A foul by Reid gives Gillingham a great free kick, but Wrexham is able to clear the ball. They've been giving Wrexham repeated frights, while letting Wrexham waste possession. 12': Gillingham is playing rugby today, they've already picked up five fouls in just under 12 full minutes. This time it's on Sam Wood. 14': A Mr. Llynyrd Skinnerd of Wrexham writes disparagingly "This is exactly the reason we're never going to get anywhere. We're way too nice, and nice guys finish last. Look at Gillingham, playing good, pound your face into the wall football." As I copy that, Gillingham picks up their 6th foul, still no yellow cards. 18': Wrexham's more or less lost their possession advantage, and it's clear that Gillingham is the team that's more up for the match. A shot from Griffiths is only just parried by Higgs, and Wrexham's defense is shambolic. 20': John Paul Jones writes in response to Mr. Skinnerd "The phrase nice guys finish last was coined by Baseball coach Leo Durocher, who was one of the meanest, miserable bastards ever. He was so bad that one of the all time great players, Arky Vaughn, chose to sit out a year rather than play for him. If that's what it takes to win, I'm a proud loser." And with that, Harrison almost breaks one free but for a last second diving effort by Montgomery that concedes a corner. Wrexham can't make anything of it. 21': Gillingham gives up another foul, this one by Griffiths, to give Wrexham a free kick about 3 meters from the touchline. Bailey's cross is easily cleared however. 23': "I tuned in to watch a footy match with my boys, not a wild rumble, or whatever that wrestling nonsense is. What is wrong with today's players?" gerns Amanda Moncton. It's true, Gillingham are on pace for a whopping 28 fouls, and yet not a single yellow card has been shown. Meanwhile, Wrexham has stabilized and looked better defensively. And then Griffiths commits another foul. 8 in just under 24 minutes. 28': What's shocking is just how badly Wrexham has been outplayed today, Gillingham has seven shots on goal to Wrexham's one. Wrexham's fast paced route one offense has been completely ineffective so far. 29': Guess what Gillingham just committed? If you said anything other than a foul, shame. That's nine now in less than half an hour. Still no yellow cards, the Ref must assume that boys will be boys. 31': Every time Wrexham seems to be setting up some nice play, they get fouled. Gillingham seems to have picked a great tactic given the laxity of the ref in handing out yellow cards. We're on pace for thirty fouls in a single game by Gillingham. Still no change in the score however. 33': The ball rattles around in the Wrexham box for what seems like an eternity before it's finally cleared. Wrexham are able to earn a corner, but are still sitting on just one solitary shot when the corner is easily cleared. 37': A man signing off on his email only as "Stronk" tells me to quit talking about the fouling. "Who ain't kicked a tosser that beat em on the pitch in the nards? It's good proper English decorum." Stronk must be loving this game, as Gillingham adds two more fouls to their total with Jim Griffith's third of the match. 39': Wrexham is frankly lucky to even be in this game, Gillingham could easily be up by four right now. 41': I've just gotten a text from Stronk, I'm not sure how he has my mobile number, that says "srsly quit it about the fouls wanker. u suk." He's an exceptional specimen whoever he is. 43': Wrexham almost strike lucky when a pass goes beyond the Gillingham defense, but Harrison isn't quite able to get to it in time. 45': We'll have two minutes of stoppage time, and if I were the players I'd surreptitiously put some earplugs in right now as Brown looks furious on the sidelines. 45'+2: Higgs makes a briliant save on a shot from 35 meters out by Young, and Wrexham is still only a goal down. And that's the halftime whistle. It's been all Gillingham so far, but it's still just 1-0. Halftime Thoughts: Gillingham are clearly inside Wrexham's head right now. Wrexham haven't been able to string together any sort of attacking movement thanks to the American gridiron football display put on by their opponents. It's a telling sign that the side that has fewer shots than fouls at the half is actually Wrexham, with only one shot against three fouls, compared to fourteen shots and fouls each from Gillingham. Given the referee's reluctance to show any cards I'm expecting that to continue, even a McLaren can't go very fast if there's speed bumps that force them to a near halt every 50 feet. 45': Lets see if Wrexham can turn this game around, they've been well and truly schooled by the Gills so far today. The whistle starts the second half, and Gillingham quickly takes possession. 49': Wrexham have clearly decided that the long ball isn't there for them today, and are playing a much less direct game. It pays off in their second shot of the game when Thomas feeds Harrison, and only a diving stop by Cunningham keeps the match from going level. Corner to Wrexham. 50': GOAL! Bailey delivered a perfect corner kick to the waiting head of Luke Reid! Tie game! 1-1. 55': Llynyrd writes again to say "I'm glad that those Gillingham lads have stopped fouling so much. It's much more pleasant a game to watch." And just then Gillingham fouls again, though it does appear that they've eased off their bloodlust since the half. 57': A huge error by Wrexham goes unpunished once again, Broad finds himself all alone with the ball and shoots it straight at Higgs. 58': A yellow card for Ian Bonnar. It was for his fifth foul of the match. 59': It looks like Michael Coulson is off the bench and warming up. Is he really going to be coming into the game? 60': Yes, yes he is. He's coming on for Netala, who never quite shook off that early knock. 61': Stronk texts "only girly men are hurt in football. u want sum m8?" 63': Andrew Dawson has come on for Trevor Arnison. Arnison acquitted himself quite well today, but clearly the manager wants more experience out there in the final half hour of a cup final. 65': William Harrison has been nearly invisible all game, and when he has appeared it's usually when he's turning the ball over to the other team. Not an inspired performance by the 20 year old wearing the captain's armband. 69': PENALTY! Ashti Kadhim is called for a foul on Jack Broad at the very edge of the area. A soft penalty, shocking that it's been given. Referee Neil Swarbrick has not covered himself in glory today. 69': GOAL! Jack Broad scores from the spot and puts Gillingham back on top! 72': A horrific pass back to Cunningham goes beyond the byline and results in two successive Wrexham corners, neither of which amount to anything. 75': Oh, I've realized who Stronk is. It's my mother. That last text was asking if I wanted some dim sum. Explains so much about my life, really. 79': Wrexham have thrown themselves into the attack but can't show anything for it. With just 12 minutes of regulation remaining they need to step up if they want a chance to claim the cup. 80': Spilsbury will be coming on for Price, with Harrison dropping back into the left winger position. The last few minutes have been all Gillingham, though, they sense the blood in the water. 81': Jenkins is coming on for Kadhim, who may have cost his team the game with that penalty in the 69th minute. 83': Gillingham don't seem prepared to just sit back and take the pressure, they're continuing to fight for another goal. It's resulted in Wrexham being unable to create much offensive pressure late in the game. 85': Another curious offsides call against Harrison, who had at least two defenders before he would actually be offsides. It's getting down to desperation time for Wrexham. 87': Bailey unleashes a volley from long range that just goes over. Wrexham is pressing, while Gillingham is remaining composed. Has the pressure gotten to the lads from Wales? 88': Oh and another clear chance from Harrison is saved. That might be it for Wrexham. 90': There'll be 3 minutes of stoppage time. 90+1: Harrison is all alone on the far left side of the pitch with plenty of time to cross the ball, but he can't get it to Spilsbury. 90+3: Harrison is onside to the goal in the dying seconds of the match and takes the shot... and puts it into the side netting. Game over, 2-1 Gillingham! Congratulations Gillingham! Enjoy that trophy! habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 20:45 on Feb 16, 2014 |
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Feb 16, 2014 18:59
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B A B
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Feb 16, 2014 19:01
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AAA I knew I had that election in the bag  (quietly folds resignation letter saying 'gently caress you, I'm out' into his pocket).Oh poo poo live blog! 
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Feb 16, 2014 19:36
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This live blog is awesome.
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Feb 16, 2014 20:23
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Oh boy, getting hosed over by a lovely penalty in a key game. Vintage Football Manager!
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Feb 16, 2014 20:30
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AAA, since we've got the money we should spend it. Though saving up to improve the training facilities might be handy, but hopefully promotion will give us a cash boost. Penalty? The referee's a wanker!
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Feb 16, 2014 20:32
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Well that sucked.
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Feb 16, 2014 20:45
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We can't win them all, but the team need a kick up the backside ahead of the closing stages of the promotion push!
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Feb 16, 2014 20:49
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beru04 posted:We can't win them all, but the team need a kick up the backside ahead of the closing stages of the promotion push! We did play much better in the second half. At the half-time pep talk 6-7 players were nervous, I think they got freaked out by the big stage given how young our team is on average. I was able to kick them in the rear end and still tell them I had faith in them, and if we'd played that way all game we'd have won. Still. Argh.
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Feb 16, 2014 20:58
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I hope you bitched about the ref in the postgame so much that you got a touchline ban.
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Feb 16, 2014 21:11
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Seriously, someone paid that ref off. 11+ fouls on one side uncalled, one foul on yours jumped on madly. Madness.
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Feb 16, 2014 22:58
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Bah. Without that trophy, you know what you must do. Silverware or bust, win the league or die trying!
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Feb 16, 2014 22:59
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AAA Take us to the promised land.
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Feb 17, 2014 01:54
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I believe it's obvious Sky Shadowing As to votes 1. A) Fully staff our squad! 2. A) Will it get us wins? Then the answer is ovious. 3. Yea gently caress those guys. Get another club And Gilligan's a bunch a fuckin hooligans. We really should have won that one. Jenner posted:Seriously, someone paid that ref off. 11+ fouls on one side uncalled, one foul on yours jumped on madly. Madness. It's so obvious, it hurts
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Feb 17, 2014 05:32
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KDavisJr posted:I believe it's obvious Sky Shadowing I admit to nothing here's lifetime season tickets to keep quiet.
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Feb 17, 2014 08:08
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TRIPLE A SOCCERBALL
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Feb 17, 2014 10:57
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Jenner posted:Seriously, someone paid that ref off. 11+ fouls on one side uncalled, one foul on yours jumped on madly. Madness. Yeah, they also had several tackles that looked a little iffy in the penalty area against us. The game gave the ref a rating of 7.8 for the game, which means he did an OK but not great job. We did get a lot more physical in the second half, we had four fouls in the first half and finished with 13, while Gillingham finished with 20. Given that there were only two yellow cards all game, and one came from the penalty call, it was a very loosely officiated game. One thing I haven't talked about is how all the refs have different tendencies, some call games like this guy where you can get away with hacking down your opponents constantly, some are really bad at giving penalties to the home or away team (or in general), and some give out cards like it's valentines day in an elementary school (everyone gets one). I'll try to do a primer on that at some point, it's one area that can affect the game a good deal if you get to know your refs. Now that we're in the football league we're going to have the same refs for the rest of the game, so it's actually worth getting to know who we're dealing with. What's crazy is how much there is in the game that we haven't seen yet. I haven't gotten super deep into the tactical side of things, in part because I'm saving it to still have stuff to talk about in a season or three and in part because it's my weakest area, and I haven't even started talking about individual opposition instructions yet.
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Feb 17, 2014 17:16
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Zip! posted:TRIPLE A SOCCERBALL The Americas have Major League Soccer. There's a connection I KNEW IT!!!!!  habeasdorkus posted:*About refs* So it's actually possible the refs may have it out for a particular team? I'm pretty sure that's kinda illegal.
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Feb 17, 2014 19:40
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KDavisJr posted:So it's actually possible the refs may have it out for a particular team? I think it's more that the refs can be intimidated by a boisterous home crowd and can let it affect their judgment. It happens in every sport whether the officials want to admit it or not. And yeah, there have been cases where a ref will have it out for a certain player or team (Joey Crawford tossing out Tim Duncan for laughing on the bench is a prime example), and it is illegal and immoral but it's a matter of proving it, which is easier said than done.
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Feb 17, 2014 20:18
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Chapter the Twelfth: Titletown, UK March 27, 2017-May 1, 2017 Well, that sucked. We certainly didn't deserve to win given the way we played in the first half, but to lose on a penalty at the far edge of the left post side of the area was gutting. We ended up actually having 13 fouls of our own, I turned up the tackling as high as I could when I realized the ref was letting us get away with murder. Now we have five games left, and we need to make sure we finish the season and get promoted. Losing a minor cup competition in the finals is one thing, I will cry if we're stuck in League Two another year.  Enjoy the bonus, you guys earned it.  Netala's minor injury turns out to be a twisted ankle. Surprised that he could continue for as much of the game as he did, that's some gritty work. The game really does need to do a better job diagnosing the seriousness of the injury when it happens, I would have removed him from the game immediately if I'd known it was this rather than a bruised rib or sprained wrist. It's a good thing Coulson is back.  I might be a bit to blame for our players being so nervous to start the game. I built up the match in my response to media questions, then told them to get out there and win the trophy for the fans. The team is young, and they looked really nervous in the first half.  Really? More injuries? He'd miss the next two games without injections, so I give him a cortisone shot. He might end up missing the second of those two games but should be back for the final three matches.  Finally, I'm no longer going to suffer for stupidly choosing to be judged based on set piece goals. Hurrah.  I'm a bit less secure than before, due to our loss at the Trophy final and the recent middling form we've been showing.  Mujkic bounced back quickly, which is a good sign. He was really starting to show some greatness when he got hurt, racking up four assists in five games. At Colchester, April 4, 2017 League Two  We're mostly healthy again, which really helps. Colchester is a decent team, but they don't have anything to play for anymore while we do. Hopefully the players have come back from the letdown at Wembley focused on taking the league title. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Higgs, Thomas, Todd, Reid, Smissen, Kadhim, Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Harrison (c). Subs: Al-Beloushi, Peters, Lewis, Simpson, Jenkins, Price, Spilsbury. Things get off to a horrible start as Ashti Kadhim makes his second huge mistake of the last half-hour of play by scoring an own goal before the second minute has elapsed. That's the last good thing that happens for Colchester, however, as we hit back immediately with a William Harrison goal. I tell the players that I know they can pull off a victory here, and Harrison rewards me with a second goal in the 69th minute. A late score from a corner by Luke Reid seals the victory, and Kadhim especially redeemed himself after his recent errors, earning a very good 7.3 rating despite scoring for the other team. Man of the Match: William Harrison   Colchester 1-3 Wrexham  Simpson got back shortly before the Colchester game but needed some time to get his stamina up. It's good timing, given that Cobb is now out for the next week and a half. At Bury, April 8, 2017 League Two  Bury has fallen out of the promotion playoffs for the moment, and sit three points back of 7th place right now. This is likely to be our toughest match, as Bury will be motivated to win this game and have home field advantage. I'm expecting them to come out attacking, so we're going to try and keep things neat at our own end first before pushing forward for a goal. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Defense Starting 11: Higgs, Thomas, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Simpson (c), Jenkins, Bailey, Price, Mujkic, Harrison. Subs: Al-Beloushi, Peters, Lewis, Kadhim, Baker, Coulson, Spilsbury. Bury batters us around for the first 25 minutes of the game and goes up two-nil. Knowing that our only chance of coming back is to go on offense I switch to an attacking mentality, and while it keeps Bury from scoring more we don't halve the deficit until Price scores in the 57th minute. He scores again in the 74th minute to equalize, and while both sides have some real chances in the closing minutes and make things quite exciting we're able to salvage a draw from what looked like disaster. Our entire defense played poorly, and if it hadn't been for Price we'd have lost. This is not the first game he's saved for us on his own, but the draw leaves us in 2nd place two points behind Shrewsbury. Man of the Match: Tony Price   Bury 2-2 Wrexham   Lincoln and Dartford are relegated with three games left to play. This is good for us, we play Dartford in a week and a half, and they'll have nothing to play for. It should mean we can focus on the Scunthorpe match, which is just two days prior.  Only Netala's left on the long term injured list, one advantage of having a 19 Physio team doctor is that your players will have better prognosis's to start and also tend to come back at the earlier end of their expected recovery time. It still doesn't help much if they tear their ACL or break their spine, but even then they can shave weeks or months off of the long road to recovery. At Scunthorpe, April 15, 2017 League Two  Scunthorpe has had a better year, they're not even close to relegation this time around, but are going to finish higher than mid-table. We really need this game, and as I said Dartford is going to have nothing to play for while we've got everything to play for. Thus we send out what's almost our entire preferred eleven for the first time in ages, the only missing part is Richard Cobb, who's still a day or two away from full recovery. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Poole, Smissen, Simpson (c), Price, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Harrison. Subs: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Todd, Kadhim, Jenkins, Franks, Spilsbury. Mateo Mujkic starts the scoring in the 24th minute with a goal against the run of play. Scunthorpe has the better of the half, but we have the lead. We add to that lead after a very strong bit of play to start the second half, with Poole scoring on a header. Scunthorpe responds by regaining control of the game, and launches a blistering attack that produces a goal in the 63rd minute. Their eagerness gets the best of them in the 83rd minute, though, when we break through for another goal, this one from Coulson. It's a good win, and well earned, and puts us back atop the table with two games to play. Man of the Match: Michael Coulson   Scunthorpe 1-3 Wrexham  Err, he missed like 10 days. I'm not sure if he'll be 100% ready for the Dartford match, but he'll have to be given how tired everyone is at this point. vs. Dartford, April 17, 2017 League Two  Any type of result here will secure our promotion, but only a win will ensure that we stay atop the league. The only problem is that we have some tired legs after a match just two days ago, and I'm truly puzzled at what scheduler decided that it would be a good idea to have two games in three days but then give us eleven days off before our final match. I'm only starting one youth player, Michael Upson, but if we can take a big lead there's plenty of them on the bench who could get some time in. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Attack. Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas (c), Todd, Lewis, Smissen, Kadhim, Jenkins, Bailey, Franks, Mujkic, Upson. Subs: Higgs, Peters, Curran, McCarthy, Cobb, Rainey, Spilsbury. If we're tired, Dartford is exhausted. When the game started nearly half of them had stamina %'s in the mid-80s. We can't make it count in the first half, though. I harangue the team, and they respond with a blizzard of strikes that just can't find their way into the net. It's all Dartford can do to keep us from scoring, and even a draw will send us to League One, but to not take a victory here would be a disappointment. So it's with great relish that I watch Michael Upson finally knock one over the goal line in the 86th minute. We're going to League One. Man of the Match: Stewart Lewis   Wrexham 1-0 Dartford  Shrewsbury also won, so we remain one ahead of them for the league title. I guess I won't be able to play a full youth squad in twelve days.   Two promotions in three years. League One is the highest level Wrexham has played at since 1982. I'm guessing my drinks are comped at all the bars in Wrexham.  He's been better than I'd have ever expected, even with a slump in February and March he's one of our very best players.  That's a shockingly large crowd! vs. Yeovil, April 29, 2017 League Two  The only thing on the line today is the league title. I want it. If we win, we take it. That's why I'm sending out the first team, rather than giving youth players some time. Yeovil is finishing off a disappointing season, so it will be interesting to see if they send out a full squad or not. Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Starting 11: Higgs, Tench, Reid, Lewis, Smissen, Simpson (c), Cobb, Bailey, Coulson, Mujkic, Harrison. Subs: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Curran, Kadhim, Sinclair, Rainey, Read. The game is a romp nearly from the start. Harrison puts us ahead after 8 minutes, Coulson doubles that in the 12th minute, and then Smissen trebles it in the 22nd minute. After 45 minutes we're ahead four nothing, and I start putting in youth players as Neil Sinclair comes on for Richard Cobb. Coulson earns his hat trick in the 54th minute, and comes off to a standing ovation, while Yeovil can only muster a consolation goal. We've won the league title, and in fitting fashion, with a great show before a crowd of nearly 11,000 screaming supporters. It's a great finish to a great season, and will leave everyone eager for more come the late summer. Man of the Match: Michael Coulson   Wrexham 5-2 Yeovil   Why yes, I am quite wonderful if I do say so myself.  While I'm at it, let me  I guess that everyone in the league gets the same £250,000 participation fee, instead of it being pro-rated based upon finishing position. Still, I won't turn up my nose at money.  LOL at answer choice #3.  Harrison has returned very well from his midseason injury.  About damned time.  We're on a real high at the moment. That was a great finish to the season after the disappointment of the League Trophy final. But now we've got decisions to make. I already know in a general sense what we're going to need next season. I'll be looking to bring in a backup keeper, offensive and a defensive central midfielders, and a fullback, and that's just off the top of my head. But we also have to start thinking about signing new contracts with out best prospects, Todd and Mujkic, to keep them at the club longer or at very least increase the amount we'll get for them if a bigger club comes a-poaching. But all in all a very good season, the run to the fifth round of the FA Cup was a major high point, and given how we did this season I wouldn't put back to back promotions out of the realm of possibility. Also, Camoes, you win the season guessing game with your prediction of 84 points and 24 wins, one more draw and one fewer loss and you'd have been dead on predicting our season. I don't have Platinum, so I can't get private messages, so please post what you'd like to have me do ingame. I can't promise I'll be able to do it, and I retain the right to veto your suggestion if it would be too unbalancing (e.g. giving us a player with 20's in every attribute, or 100m pounds in cash), but I should be able to make plenty happen.    BOARD VOTESWe've got five more votes ahead of us, all pretty simple. As per usual, majority wins, and if there is not a majority on a vote a compromise will be made based upon number of votes each option received. But first, our financial status:  (Accountant-ly) We're in healthy shape financially, we're in line for a £250,000 deposit from League Two, but the balance doesn't yet include what we paid for young phenom Scott Shirra. We'll still have to pay salaries for May and June, and pay out bonuses for league performance, but with the income from the league we'll still have about £500,000 on hand when the next season begins, and that of course doesn't count our season ticket or season television rights income. Keep in mind that last year's income and expenditure was artificially inflated by my adding and subtracting 2m from our balance sheet in order to test a game mechanic, so we really only earned £4.1m and spent £4.9m last year.  (Happily) We have already significantly eclipsed our income from last year. Total turnover last year was £4.1m, this year we're already at £4.9m and should finish somewhere around £5.2 to £5.4. Given that we're playing in an even higher league next season, with a greater number of season tickets, greater league payments, and greater television revenue I think we can expect at least a 10% bump in revenue, which should put us anywhere from £5.8m to £6.5m in revenue next year.  (Mathematically) Expenditures are on pace to be slightly lower than last year's sum of £4.9m, we currently have spent £4.4m this season and between squad bonuses and player/staff salary we should expect another £500,000 or so before the calendar rolls over into the 2017-2018 season. We're also in good shape regarding future salaries, only six of our first team players have either promotion or yearly salary raises, so our current weekly wage bill won't be significantly affected by promotion. VOTE 1: WAGE CAP (Assertively) We currently have a wage budget of £1.9m a year, or £36.5k/wk. At present we are spending £1.7m yearly, or £32.5k/wk. This budget would have made us the third lowest salaried team in League One this year. I've provided three options for the board to consider. A) This budget is fine. Trim some fat if you need to, but we're not increasing the budget. (Budget cap remains £36.5/wk) B) We agree that the budget is low, but we still don't have a great deal of income. An increase to the 33rd percentile, or £2.2m annually, of current League One budgets is appropriate. (Budget cap rises to £42k/wk) C) You gotta spend money to make money, but we're not going to compete with the likes of Tackleford or Sunderland on budget. We'll make us middle of the pack for salary, at £2.5m a year. (Budget cap rises to £48k/wk) VOTE 2: TRANSFER BUDGET (Calmly) Our current transfer budget is at 4.5k after the purchase of Scott Shirra. I would like it replenished to £125,000, especially seeing as agent fees are paid out of the transfer budget. I don't know that I'll need the whole £125,000, but having it in the budget makes us capable of signing talent as it becomes available. A) We need at least some money to hire players with agents, so you can have a small sum for that purpose. We're uncomfortable earmarking more for the transfer budget after we've already spent so much on one player. (£25,000 added to the transfer budget) B) We don't see it as prudent to provide that much more for transfers at this time, but we will agree to provide some money for agent fees and transfers. (£75,000 added to the transfer budget) C) Of course! We trust your eye for talent and we agree that it's good to have the money in your pocket in case you see something worth buying. (£125,000 added to the transfer budget) VOTE 3: TRANSFER INCOME AVAILABLE (Earnestly) Currently 60% of the income from our sale of players is put into the transfer fund, the rest is kept to improve club finances. I would like that increased to 100% of transfer income being made available for player purchases as I believe the club is financially sound enough to not require income from our player sales. A) We're allowing you to keep 60%? Who let that happen? For the health of the club we need to reduce that, immediately! (Percentage of transfer income available reduced to 50%) B) We agree that the club is financially healthy enough to reduce the amount we save from transfers of players, but disagree that the club should allow all of the income to be used in future transfers. (Percentage of transfer income available increased to 80%) C) You're right. We don't need to sell players to make ends meet, there's no reason to keep the current policy at this time. (Percentage of transfer income available increased to 100%) VOTE 4: MATEO MUJKIC CONTRACT (Pleadingly) As you know, Mateo Mujkic is currently signed with us through the 2019 season. His contract is £2,300 a week, with a 20% yearly increase and a 30% promotion increase, making his salary for next season £3,450 a week. He also has a £5,000,000 release fee for higher division clubs. I would like to renegotiate his salary in an attempt to lengthen the number of years and increase the size of his release fee in an attempt to keep this extremely brilliant young player with us as long as possible and reap the greatest financial reward possible. However, the current wage structure does not allow me to offer more than a £200/wk increase in his base salary. I would like the board to remove the wage structure in his particular case. I do not seek any increase in the overall wage cap, any increase in Mujkic's salary will not increase how much I'm permitted to spend overall. A) No. The wage structure is there to prevent the team from putting too many eggs into a single basket. (Stick to the wage structure.) B) We agree that the wage structure in this unique case is prohibitive, but we do worry about spending too much on a single player. We will therefore modify the wage structure in this one case. (Mujkic may be offered up to £5,000/wk in base salary) C) Absolutely. Mujkic is a brilliant player and we need to make sure we keep him for as long as we possibly can while getting every dime we can for him. (Mujkic may be offered any base salary that does not exceed the available total wage budget) VOTE 5: MY CONTRACT (Aggressively) My current contract is up at the start of February of 2018. It pays me £900 a week. I want a new one. I want five years at £1,100 a week, with a yearly salary increase of 10% and a promotion salary increase of 25%. I've lead this team to two promotions in two years, you want me here to bring us to the highest echelons of football. Please respond with your offer of years, pay per week, annual raise, and promotion salary increase. The totals shall be summed and averaged, I reserve the right as always to throw out any outliers. Voting Closes on Wednesday, February 19, at 5pm EST. Lastly, neat! 50,000 views! I'm glad that this is finding at least some audience, I was a little worried as a first time LPer given that this is a pretty niche game. habeasdorkus fucked around with this message at 23:08 on Feb 17, 2014 |
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Feb 17, 2014 22:47
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C. Everett Koop posted:I think it's more that the refs can be intimidated by a boisterous home crowd and can let it affect their judgment. Yeah, this is the case here. And some refs are just more prone to giving penalties, screwing up offsides calls, giving bullshit bookings, or ignoring blatant fouls. So if you know your ref ingame you can do things like change your team's tackling style (go in studs up, boyos!) or play the guy on your team who constantly dives (you're starting today, Pepe, don't let me down) to try and get an advantage.
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Feb 17, 2014 22:51
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AAAA 4 years, £1,100 a week, with yearly increases of 5% and a promotion increase of 20%.
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Feb 17, 2014 23:02
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BBBC Let's not go overboard on any of this, and we may need funds for youth facilities and coaches. I see no reason not to push the boat out and Mujkic, as anything we spend on his wages is likely to be recouped tenfold if we can get the best buyout for him. The C is absolutely contingent on getting a buyout clause significantly higher than its existing level. Oh, and you've earned that contract you've requested.
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Feb 17, 2014 23:09
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CCCC. We've been successful throwing money around so far, so let's keep the spending train rolling all the way into Premier League station! Choo-choo! As for the contract: 5 years, 1000 quid a week, 0% yearly increase, 100% promotion increase. You want money for yourself? Earn it!
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Feb 17, 2014 23:15
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BBBC for sure, and a 3 year contract, £1,050per week, 10% and 20%
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Feb 17, 2014 23:18
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I don't have opinions on the others, but for #4, I absolutely vote C. Shower him in riches, he's served us well.
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Feb 17, 2014 23:19
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1. C - Moving to a mid-pack budget during a consolidation year is completely within reason. 2. C - What? I don't understand what you're talking about but I'm sure you know best.  3. C - Sorry, what was that? Do whatever it is that you do. 4. C - But if he does re-sign with us, make sure that his buyout is stratospheric. As for your contract, 6 years, £1,100/week 5% yearly, 25% promotion. Cover yourself in glory, and we'll rain cash all over you. Quit voting for short contracts, you idiots! If we make it to Premier League three years from now and his contract runs out he'll skin us alive.
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Feb 17, 2014 23:27
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BBAC, take the contract you asked for. We need to lock that Mujkic kid down immediately (so we can embezzle huge amounts of the money we get from his inevitable, eventual sale).
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Feb 17, 2014 23:29
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BBAB 5 years, £1,100 a week, with yearly increases of 5% and a promotion increase of 20%.
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Feb 17, 2014 23:36
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BBBB, and take your contract. Mujkic is good, but ideally we shouldn't break the bank on the off-chance of a payday. If we're extending his contract it should be because we want him to play, so raising that release fee is a must: just bribe his agent with the 75k we're giving you in budget and it'll be gravy.
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Feb 17, 2014 23:38
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Vote 1: B Don't go so fast into a debt spiral, let's see how the squad holds up in the first season. Vote 2: A Again, same reasoning. Vote 3: None of the above options 65% is a reasonable income amount Vote 4: C But we must keep a burgeoning superstar to attract fans and sponsors. Keep him. Vote 5:3 years, £1050/week, yearly raise 8%, promotion increase 30%
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Feb 17, 2014 23:43
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CBBC - I'm caution with raising the wages bill, just because I'm worried our finances would become unglued. We need to make sure that the club is accumulating a war chest every year so we can spend up to survive when we really need to. If we can lock my fellow Australian up on a 5 year deal or similar do whatever it takes - he's professional right? That means he's less likely to get huffy about transfers or similar? With the Managers salary, Take your salary but if I need to vote higher to balance out some of the lowerballers, I propose: 1,200 quid a week 4% yearly automatic increase (inflation levels, but I'm starting from a higher base than your offer) 35% promotion increase 10% promotion bonus 10% League Win bonus 5 year deal. That will make you one of the top 5 paid managers in league 1 with the longest guaranteed contract. It will make you a competitively paid manager in the championship league and if you get to the premier league we'll probably have to re-negotiate. For the board members Average league two contract is ~2 years so when we are offering him a 5 year deal that is huge on the part of the club. His salary demand (1.1k) is middle of the pack for a league two manager. Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Feb 18, 2014 |
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Feb 18, 2014 00:12
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BBBC. The first three we must be a little cautious with, even as funds should increase for promotion into League One. I vote C for Mukjic because I have faith in you to do right by the club even without limits, and don't want to bind you to a strict number when it could be he wants only a little more.
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Feb 18, 2014 00:19
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BCBC, and take your contract. I want this club to be the next ManU!
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Feb 18, 2014 00:21
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BCBC I'm prepared to give you your head, more or less, but we cannot completely lose sight of what lies ahead of us. As to your contract, a five year contract at 1,100 per week with a yearly increase of 8% and promotion increase of 35% is what I propose. Not far from what you requested, but with slightly more emphasis on results instead of automatic pay raises.
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Feb 18, 2014 00:36
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CCCC If football has taught us anything, it's that you can throw money at any problems to make it go away. Go nuts and get a new contract too!
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Feb 18, 2014 00:40
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1. B. We need to increase the budget a little to keep up with the new league, but our income just isn't sufficient to justify a large increase at this point. 2. Again, B. We need to keep an eye on our finances. 3. I feel like this might end up being a straight B vote. The club needs to start making more from TV money before you can get all of the transfer money for team purposes. 4. B again. Mujkic is brilliant, but don't blow everyhting on it. 5. Four years, 1000 a week, yearly salary increase of 10% and promotion salary increase of 25%.
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Feb 18, 2014 01:07
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VOTE 1: WAGE CAP B : (Calmly) I approve of the way the teams finances have been managed this year. I don't support the policy of "Making it Rain" like a certain purple garbed team, but we are agreed that more money is necessary given the higher league. VOTE 2: TRANSFER BUDGET B (Aggressively) You spent HOW much on one transfer? I may not know much about football, but spending that much on one transfer while keeping Mujkic may be putting too many Fabergé Eggs in an all too common basket. I don't want to hamstring the transfer budget, but if I give you the world you'll just spend it. VOTE 3: TRANSFER INCOME AVAILABLE A (Calmly) In accordance with decision two, loosening the purse strings is not necessarily the answer to every situation. The budget rules are there for a reason. (Is keeping it the same an option? I'd vote for that, but my hands are tied by the choices) VOTE 4: MATEO MUJKIC CONTRACT C (Excitedly) For a once in a lifetime player, managed by a clearly outstanding manager such as yourself? Go Nuts. VOTE 5: MY CONTRACT (Concern) Didn't we discuss this last year? Didn't you get everything you wanted then as well? I don't mind rewarding promotion, but I don't want to address this subject every year as I think we can come to a mutually acceptable long term agreement. 5 Years. £1100/week. 15% Annual Raise. 30% Promotion. In return for providing everything you asked for and more, I request a Club Option for 5 additional years at a 15% Annual Raise and Dismissal clause for Relegation. Also, I'm not entirely sure how contracts work for ladder teams in football. Are they guaranteed, like a coaching contract in the US would traditionally be? How much leeway does the game give on negotiations? Does it allow for Club Options the same way it would with player options?
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Feb 18, 2014 01:11
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ThePenIsMightier posted:
I don't think you can have club options but not sure. However they are guaranteed, you get a huge boost to your stability at the start of a new contract because the board doesn't want to pay you out the remainder. How's the US coaching job? Can you snag a national coaching job anywhere yet? Is there any cost to the main team if you coach a national team? Like, is the international schedule synced to outside of the League one schedule? If there is no cost, I think the board should also Formally encourage you to see a national coaching job to expand your horizons, and bring back international best practices, experience and scouting to the domestic team Cthulhu Dreams fucked around with this message at 01:32 on Feb 18, 2014 |
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Feb 18, 2014 01:24
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ThePenIsMightier posted:Are they guaranteed, like a coaching contract in the US would traditionally be? How much leeway does the game give on negotiations? Does it allow for Club Options the same way it would with player options? If you sack me you owe me the full amount. Same thing for player's contracts, if you want to dump salary you have to find someone willing to take the player off your hands. I'm not sure if club options are available for the team, but I wouldn't accept a contract with one, personally. The five year thing is a long contract, and will make me very hard to fire considering if you fire me in year two it'll run you over 200,000 pounds. On the other hand, if I keep winning promotions at the current pace you'll have me as a premier league manager for a year at 2,500 a week, which is vastly below Premier League standards. Basically this deal works very well for the team if I'm successful, and OK but not great if I kick around League One for more than two years.
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Feb 18, 2014 01:25
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