Saturday, 19 April was also a hole in our fixture list so I arranged a friendly. Ideally, in the future when we get to the Premier League, Crystal Palace will be our archrival so I chose them. But there is no way in hell they’ll accept a friendly but their U21 manager was amenable. Also, I have hopes of making some extra cash and want some fans to show up.
Well look at that! I made £13,007! I guess that’s what happens when 1,177 fans show up for a friendly! Which we won, by the way. We got a free kick in the middle of the field about 40 yards out from the Palace goal. They were snoozing so Allan took a quick kick to a streaking Ward who was collapsing in from the wing. He sends in a screamer from about 15 yards out. I get a good scare from Miles who goes down in extra time in the first half. Turns out it was nothing. Harrumph!
The Week Between
Gary Todd, AML, ST (Stars: 4.0/4.0) I was still looking for U18 bodies and found this unemployed Norn Iron lad. Aside from the nice Attributes, he is also Professional. I think he might have somewhat of a future but there’s one thing that really stands out: his low Balance. I’ve noticed this a bit, especially in FM2022, where a player looks pretty damn good but the Balance is out-of-character low. I’ve wondered if it’s an indicator that they really aren’t that good. Maybe that their CA is really close to their PA. Maybe I’ll keep him around just to test that theory. He too will join on 6 June.
at Deal, 26 April 2014
Starting Formation: 4-4-2 Control
Starting 11: Madley, Walker, Mumba, Osborne, Miles,
Ward, McMath,
Smith,
Dunne, Allan, Bowerman
Subs:
Mason, Bodin,
Barness,
Egan, Hill
Ho-hum, another Two-Nil “hammering.” Another easy header by Allan off a simple cross from Bowerman opens the scoring. Late in the game, Mason tries to cross to Bowerman who is on the six-yard box line but gets sandwiched between two goons. Allan easily scores from the spot.
And best of all? We win the Division! We’re going up! I can take my foot off the gas now and start more squad rotation to get more youngsters experience for next season. Maybe even shoe-horn in a new formation.
It’s been a good season since Youth Intake. No losses, no ties. We’ve outscored our opponents 21 to 2. And six straight shutouts. Allan leads the scoring with 10 goals while Bowerman has 4, to go along with 5 assists. Also of note, both gentlemen have an average rating above 8.00. Pretty darn good, if I say so myself.
The Week Between
Dale Dunphy, DC (Stars: 2.5/5.0 ) Another week, another body for the U18s; meet Dale Dunphy. Well, actually I think he might be better than Bodin. I’ll probably use him as a DC c when I add a 3-5-2 formation if McConachie is Tired. And probably second-choice DC r in my four-back sets. I mean, look at his Heading, Bravery, Jumping Reach, Natural Fitness, Strength and height! Still can’t believe all these youths are on the scrap pile. Maybe he never pans out for the Premier League but for sure he’ll get us up the pyramid. He’s Fairly Ambitious so if I can find him a mentor to get that Determination up he’ll be perfect and reach his max potential. See you on 6 June, Dale!
This week also sees us entering into May meaning we’ll finally get some progress bars of players’ Development. So the month training report indicates that Dunne, McMaths, and Barness made good progress in Tactics, while Egan, Bowerman, and Hill regressed in Fitness. McMaths improved A LOT, not surprising really. Hill’s drops are vast and significant. This is where FM14 really falters and I think the programmers of FM really did a disservice to the fans. When you have really good coaches (Brixton does) and phenomenal facilities (Brixton does) we shouldn’t have to wait until the end of the month to find out someone is struggling bigly. It’ll be months before Hill recovers his Attributes back to the beginning point, if not a year or more.