So after checking out several sides I have decided to go with AFC Fylde. If you had asked me this morning what division they were in I wouldn't have had a clue yet they are predicted to finish 2nd in the Vanarama National League apparently.
So why Fylde? A club with little history as they were only formed in 1988 and even then they were called Kirkham & Wesham, I thought it would be good to take a club with no history and to make our own. They have a small stadium, not got great facilities etc yet they have a couple of players that I think I can get a tune out of so they ticked a lot of boxes for me.
The hopes for the save is to climb up the leagues, develop the manager (myself, starting with lowest possible stats) and the end goal is Champions League glory. If we can do that and lose to Newcastle every now and then that would be good lol.
So naturally I had a busy summer. What with getting to know my squad, hiring my backroom team, signing new players and generally trying to put the foundations in place for the season.
The squad I inherited was decent enough but it lacked depth although in Danny Rowe I think I have a top striker for this level while Zaine Francis-Angol, Tom Brewett, the on loan Tim Odusina and James Hardy should be key players for me.
That being said I brought in several players and I am excited about a few of them.
As for my backroom team I got in Tony Adams as a coach, Terry Butcher as a director of football and somehow Carles Puyol as a scout amongst others!!!
I haven't sold anyone so let me introduce you to my new players.
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PLAYERS IN
I will go by position so first up is my new keeper. I originally signed Robbert te Loeke on a non-contract basis and he promptly got injured for 4 months so I cancelled his contract. Then I got Millwall as a senior affiliate so brought in Tom King on a season long loan. View attachment 12332
I am most excited about my midfielders though. Lewis McGugan came in which is a great coup as he should be playing at a higher level and I also brought in Tunisiain international Issam Ben Khamis who will partner McGugan in CM. View attachment 12328View attachment 12327
Khalid Abdo was brought in to compete in the AMC position and 18y/o Venancio Monteiro has been brought in to play as my LW. View attachment 12326
An entertaining start to my time in charge!!! We took the lead early on when Hardy nodded in at the back post and then Tom King had a nightmare as he was robbed of possession to gift them an equaliser. Lowe put us back in front, Abdo added the 3rd and Hardy scored with his head again to finish things off.
Then in stoppage time my RB who has already made an impression by wanting to wear the No. 11 shirt got sent-off for his 2nd bookable offence.
A boring match with neither team deserving to win in truth. On loan Man Utd defender Thomas Sang and on loan Norwich striker Mason Bloomfield made their debuts here.
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v Havant & Waterlooville 1 (Gosling 23) AFC Fylde 4 (Rowe 66, 75, 79, 90)
We fell behind thanks to a fantastic free-kick from Jake Gosling and 65min in it looked like it would be one of those days but then Danny Rowe decided to put on a one man show and he scored 4 goals in the final 25min!!! Cole Kpekawa made his debut here.
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AFC Fylde 5 (Monteiro 24, Hardy 34, McGugan 38pen, Boot 60og, Rowe 63) Solihull Moors 1 (Hawkridge 51)
Solihull Moors came into this game bottom of the league and they will remain there after we trounced them here. That's 13 goals in 4 games and we didn't score in one of them!
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v AFC Fylde 2 (McGugan 41pen, Abdo 54) Dover Athletic 0
Dover have made a strong start to the season but they never really troubled us here. McGugan converted a penalty to put us in front and Abdo settled things shortly after the break. Brewitt got sent-off in stoppage time for us.
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v Sutton United 1 (Beautyman 72) AFC Fylde 1 (McGugan 56)
Most of my first choice players were unfit for this match so that didn't help us here but we still managed to come away with all the points against the bottom side. I was livid when we threw away a 2 goal lead but fortunately we got a penalty and Hemmings slammed it home.
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SUMMARY
I am happy with how things have started. 5 wins and 2 draws from 7 matches sees us top the table after the 1st month of the season. We have scored plenty of goals too with us scoring 4 past Bromley and Havant & Waterlooville plus 5 against Solihull Moors.
I am still learning about my players naturally. Danny Rowe is a fantastic goalscorer but if he doesn't score he contributes very little. Lewis McGugan has impressed however 2 red cards for 2 different players during the month is a slight concern.
Not good enough. Our 1st defeat of the season and of my career. We were pitiful and were lucky to get within a goal of Ebbsfleet. That being said our goal was a great team goal.
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AFC Fylde 2 (Monteiro 30, Rowe 69) Salford City 0
View attachment 12307
Both of my left backs were missing for this huge game as they were away on international duty so I was both shocked and angered and will have to try and bring in another to cover now. In the end Cole Kpekawa came in there.
In the first half we were fantastic. We had 19 shots to their 2 but we only had Monteiro's strike to show for it. The 2nd half was a dull affair but fortunately Rowe added the 2nd and we held on to go back to the top of the league.
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v Eastleigh 0 AFC Fylde 2 (McGugan 22pen, Odusina 67)
Very nice. McGugan got his 4th of the season (3 of them have been pens) and Odusina hammered home for the 2nd. They had a man sent-off and that was that. Abdo was away with the Sweden U21 side.
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This was a hard fought win with Mason Bloomfield scoring the winner in the 6th minute of stoppage time. It came at a cost though as Abdo got injured and is out for 4 weeks, Bradley picked up a knock and is out for a week but even more worse than that Issam Ben Khemis broke his wrist and is out for 2 months!
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Another stoppage time winner!!! Danny Rowe was our hero here. He put us in front early on and then headed home the winner in the 3rd minute of stoppage time. After the last game we had 3 CMs injured and before the match Lewis McGugan picked up an injury and will be out for 3 weeks so my CM and AMC area are decimated at the minute.
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v FC Halifax Town 1 (Duckworth 30) AFC Fylde 4 (Monteiro 11, 51, Odusina 63, Hardy 87)
I wasn't expecting this result!! We were excellent here. Monteiro headed the opener then they brought it level at half time but once Monteiro struck home his 2nd after a Rowe free-kick got blocked we dominated and added another 2 goals.
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AFC Fylde 3 (Rowe 7, 40, Hemmings 77) Braintree Town 3 (Henry 2pen, 75pen, Maloney 28)
View attachment 12281
While I am naturally disappointed that we dropped 2pts I am proud of my players for battling back as we played most of the match with 10 men and finished the match with 9. To make matters worse Monteiro got injured and will be out for 6-7 weeks.
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SUMMARY
We ended this month 3pts clear at the top of the table which is some achievement considering the amount of injuries we have had. My first choice CMs, LW and AMC are all currently out injured so for results not to be overly affected is some going.
We did lose our 1st match of the season to Ebbsfleet but after that we picked up 5 straight wins including a great 2-0 win over moneybags and title challengers Salford. We ended the month with a 3-3 draw with Braintree when we had 2 men sent-off.
I brought in a new left back during the month as Andrew Fox came in on a non-contract basis. View attachment 12280
A great victory. Chesterfield manager John Sheridan recently won the manager of the month award so we duly showed them who should have won it here. Even without 6 or 7 players we trounced them here.
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AFC Fylde 6 (Hemmings 16, 52pen, 80, Hardy 63, 67, Haughton 70) Maidstone United 1 (Biggins 27)
Its safe to say I didn't see this scoreline coming at half-time. We destroyed Maidstone in the 2nd half. Hemmings got a hat-trick (his 3rd coming from the rebound of his own missed penalty), Hardy scored 2 quick goals and Haughton fired in a free-kick.
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FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round v
Marine 1 (Edge 9) AFC Fylde 4 (McGugan 5pen, Haughton 44, Brewitt 47, Hardy 85)
We left it late here but we won and that's the main thing. Hemmings scored from a free-kick and Mason Bloomfield came off the bench to get the clincher.
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v AFC Fylde 3 (Rowe 17, 69, McGugan 47pen) Gateshead 0
This is turning into a bit of a procession. 6pts clear and we were never troubled here against lowly Gateshead.
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SUMMARY
A very good month as we won every game. We won every match very easily and although Maidenhead United made us wait a bit. We are 6pts clear at the top of the table and are threatening to run away with the league tbh.
In the FA Cup we knocked out Marine but in the 1st round proper we have a tough tie against MK Dons.
I sold 32y/o midfielder Andy Bond during the month for £6,000. My first sale!
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AFC Fylde 5 (Hardy 8, Rowe 16, 44, Abdo 45, 81) Leyton Orient 2 (Bonne 7, Lapslie 51)
At the start of the season I had expected Leyton Orient to be challenging for promotion but they are struggling in the bottom half of the table and we put 5 past them here.
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FA Cup 1st Round v
MK Dons 3 (Walker 38, Agard 50, Gilbey 77) AFC Fylde 3 (Kenlock 6og, McGugan 44, 56pen)
MK Dons are challenging for promotion from League 2 so this was going to be a good barometer for my side and we acquitted ourselves really well. We took the lead 3 times but unfortunately threw it away 3 times too. Monteiro and Ben Khemis returned from injury here.
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Dagenham & Redbridge 0 AFC Fylde 2 (Hemmings 28, Burke 39)
Dagenham sacked Peter Taylor a couple of days before this match and we added to their misery here with a comfortable win. Haughton had an early goal disallowed for us.
We march into the next round after beating MK Dons here. We fell behind early but we kept plugging away. Rowe had a goal disallowed but fortunately we levelled through a McGugan penalty. Bloomfield quickly headed home a 2nd and Monteiro wrapped it up.
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v AFC Fylde 1 (Hardy 47) Boreham Wood 0
We didn't deserve the win here. They battered us in the 1st half and missed a host of chances and in the 2nd half we weren't much better although we did get the goal early doors and clung on. Monteiro went off injured and will be out for 6-7 weeks.
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Hartlepool United 1 (Salmikivi 35) AFC Fylde 1 (Rowe 4)
After 7 straight wins in the league we drop some points here. When we took an early lead I expected us to go on and get a few more but it was not to be.
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SUMMARY
This month saw us increase our lead at the top of the table as we have an 11pt advantage over 2nd placed Chesterfield. The way things are going we could win the league by about 30pts at the end!!!!
Our main focus though was on the FA Cup and we managed to defeat MK Dons after a replay to go into the 2nd round where we have a home tie against Tranmere Rovers so we have a great chance to make it through amongst the big boys.
AFC Fylde 2 (Odusina 15, Hemmings 16) Tranmere Rovers 0
View attachment 11987
We make it into the 3rd round with a comfortable win here. That's 2 League 2 sides we have played against this season and we have done well against them both which gives me confidence.
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Dover Athletic 1 (Pavey 80) AFC Fylde 3 (McGugan 18pen, Hardy 36, Rowe 41)
View attachment 11993
Dover came into this match 3rd in the table but we showed just how far ahead of them we are with this win. Our first half performance was a joy to behold.
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AFC Fylde 3 (Rowe 11, Hardy 21, 27) Sutton United 0
View attachment 11994
Another strong first half performance here takes us 16pts clear at the top. Hardy had a hat-trick goal disallowed in the first half. It wasn't all good news though as Rowe got injured and is out for 6 weeks.
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FA Trophy 1st Round v
Hartlepool United 1 (Kabamba 13) AFC Fylde 3 (Ben Khemis 21, McGugan 72, 77)
This was an even match until they had a man sent-off. McGugan scored a great free-kick then got his 2nd from the edge of the area. Hardy picked up a knock and will be out for a couple of weeks.
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AFC Fylde 1 (Prohouly 22) Ebbsfleet United 3 (Cheek 10, Kedwell 27, 81)
Our 2nd defeat of the season and both at the hands of Ebbsfleet and I can have no complaints as we were truly awful.
We went into this match without Rowe, Hardy and now Bloomfield who is on loan from Norwich and is out for 10 months although I cant terminate the loan so Philliskirk came in as my only striker left in the ranks.
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v Barrow 2 (Rooney 79, Angus 90) AFC Fylde 3 (McGugan 62pen, 76, Prohouly 70)
For an hour this was a dull and boring match but it exploded into life in the last 30min as 5 goals were scored. McGugan got a double to take him up to 14 for the season while Prohouly has 2 in 2.
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v Harrogate Town 0 AFC Fylde 1 (Philliskirk 45)
View attachment 11991
We were poor today and just sneaked it. Harrogate missed a penalty in the 2nd half too.
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SUMMARY
A hectic month!! In the league we lost our 2nd game of the season and for the 2nd time this season against Ebbsfleet but we have still managed to extend our lead at the top to 16pts despite being without Rowe, Hardy and Bloomfield for much of the month.
In the FA Cup we knocked out Tranmere and although I wanted a huge team away to help our clubs finances I didn't quite get it - Chelsea but at home!!! That's where our run will end.
I brought in a new CB during the month as 2 are leaving in January. Shaun Donnellan came in on a non-contract basis from Maidstone United. View attachment 11988
We need to bring in a striker sharpish though. I had one agreed but we couldn't afford the £11,000 to seal the deal!!
It’s great so far mate - nothing to worry about! The logos are fine and the posts are good length, the story is really well formatted and very interesting as well. Well done and good luck!
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AFC Fylde 3 (Philliskirk 32, Hemmings 63, Prohouly 80) Barrow 0
View attachment 11931
An easy win. We welcomed back Hardy, Ben Khermis and McGugan into the side but were without both my fullbacks from the last match. Donnellan made his debut.
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Quite simply my best ever result in any of my saves ever. Even with Chelsea playing a 2nd string side they should still have slaughtered us. They missed so many chances in the 1st half and in the 2nd it was more even. We won yet another penalty and McGugan tucked it home so I went ultra defensive and we held on for a famous victory.
This was a bilt like after the lord mayors show after our exploits in our last match. We struggled throughout and they had a goal disallowed but I thought we were going to sneak it when Abdo scored but it was not to be.
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AFC Fylde 2 (Hemmings 77, 90) Wrexham 2 (Thomas 10, Grant 90+6)
View attachment 11928
Not happy. We were very poor here. They took the lead and had a goal disallowed and that looked to be it but Ashley Hemmings came off the bench to score 2 free-kicks and we had it won only for us to concede in the 6th minute of injury time. Harvey Knibbs, my new striker on loan from Aston Villa, made his debut here.
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FA Trophy 2nd Round v
Gateshead 1 (Dowling 57) AFC Fylde 2 (Knibbs 21, McGugan 89pen)
I will say this now - the FA Trophy is my goal for the rest of the season as the league campaign is all but over and I want to win every trophy that I can as we push up through the leagues (hopefully). Knibbs got his 1st goal for us and then they equalised but they had a man sent-off and we got a penalty once again which was converted as ever by McGugan - his 11th successful penalty this season!
The run is over. When we took the lead after 3min I was thinking that we were onto something but within 10min we were 2-1 down and they had had a goal disallowed. We almost pulled level but they killed us off with 20min to go.
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SUMMARY
Chelsea.
The whole month will forever be remembered for that match as we beat them 1-0 in the FA Cup. Sure we went on to lose to Derby County in the next round but for the sheer joy that my bunch of vagabonds took on and beat a side like Chelsea made me not only scare my girlfriend with my celebrations but also give me an ecstatic feeling from FM that I haven't had in many a year.
There was some transfer activity. Jordan Tunnicliffe left for £3,300 and Neill Byrne left for £3,800. Incoming was Harvey Knibbs on loan from Aston Villa. View attachment 11923
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AFC Fylde 2 (McGugan 15pen, Haughton 19) Havant & Waterlooville 2 (German 49, Cordner 72)
We had the game won after 20min so to come away with a draw is not acceptable. Another penalty for McGugan though lol.
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Maidstone United 1 (Romain 90) AFC Fylde 3 (Hardy 22, Knibbs 76, Hemmings 88)
A good win although Matthew Lock made his debut for us here and duly got sent-off!
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FA Trophy 3rd Round v
AFC Fylde 3 (Hardy 22, Rowe 53, 82) AFC Telford United 2 (Cowans 18, Dinanga 39)
We got lucky here. AFC Telford are a division below us but they still took the lead and then had a goal disallowed. It was only when they had a man sent-off in the 2nd half that we took advantage.
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AFC Fylde 4 (Abdo 53, Knibbs 72, 76, 78) Chesterfield 1 (King 71og)
I have never seen a player come off the bench to score a hat-trick before but Knibbs did that here unbelievably. Rowe has got a serious challenger now for the striker position.
Monteiro better stay fit as Hemmings got injured in training and will be out for 2-3 months.
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Leyton Orient 0 AFC Fylde 0
For only the 2nd time this season we fail to score in a match - at least we didn't concede!
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v AFC Fylde 1 (Haughton 50)
Maidenhead United 0
One nil doesn't do justice to how dominant we were here. Nick Haughton scored from outside the area and that was that.
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SUMMARY
We slipped up a few times this month but we can afford to draw a couple of games when you have such a lead like we have. We are still 16pts clear at the top and it will be interesting to see how much we can extend that.
In the all important FA Trophy we defeated AFC Telford and will play Aldershot Town in the quarter-final.
The all important youth intake is up next - considering I cant afford to upgrade anything I am not holding out any hopes whatsoever!!
FA Trophy Quarter-Final v
AFC Fylde 2 (Rowe 37, 90) Aldershot Town 1 (Butterworth 32)
Relieved is the word!! We fell behind but quickly levelled however within a minute we were down to 10 men as Burke got his 3rd sending off of the season. Fortunately Rowe struck home a free-kick in stoppage time to see us through.
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Boreham Wood 0 AFC Fylde 1 (Rowe 17)
Rowe had went 7 appearances without scoring in the league (add another 5 when you take into account when he was injured) but he scored the winner here when he tapped in from approximately 2 inches lol.
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AFC Fylde 3 (Rowe 13, 26, Abdo 48) Hartlepool United 1 (Noble 86)
Another game another win. Danny Rowe has hit a real strong vein of form just now.
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v
AFC Fylde 3 (Justham 2og, Hardy 66, Abdo 80) Dagenham & Redbridge 1 (McQueen 37pen)
Tom King, my keeper on loan from Millwall, was missing for the 1st time this season so Russell Griffiths came in for a game.
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Gateshead 0 AFC Fylde 2 (Rowe 38, 53)
I am pleased with this win as we were without several players here. Danny Rowe was the hero with 2 goals.
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FA Trophy Semi-Final 1st Leg v Eastleigh 1 (Meite 53) AFC Fylde 1 (McGugan 1pen)
Not great but we still have a chance of progressing into the final and that's all we could have asked for considering we were once again missing some key players but I am still confident of making it through.
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Aldershot Town 2 (Durrell 3, Haughton 42og) AFC Fylde 2 (Rowe 66, 90)
A crazy match. They went 2up including an own goal from 30 yards, we had a goal disallowed, they had 2 men sent-off and we pulled it back to 2-2. A win could have won us the title but we will have to wait.
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FA Trophy Semi-Final 2nd Leg v
AFC Fylde 2 (Abdo 16, 84) Eastleigh 0 (Agg: 3-1)
We reach the final with a good win here. Eastleigh only had 2 shots on goal such was our dominance. Abdo now has 12 goals for the season which is not bad. However in other news there was a round of league games while we were playing...…..
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SUMMARY
..................….CHAMPIONS!!!!
With 5 games left to play we have secured the title and league football for AFC Fylde for the first time. Not only that but we have reached the FA Trophy final where we will play York City who are in the division below us so we have a great chance for a league and cup double.
My transfer budget if I put it to the max for next season is a decent (I think) £850,000. Lots to be done though.
In the youth intake Fraser Goodall was my best prospect.
v
AFC Fylde 2 (Rowe 56, Abdo 75) Eastleigh 2 (Boyce 45, Williamson 83)
Not the best match for the newly crowned champions but I don't really care lol. We have now reached 100pts.
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v Braintree Town 0 AFC Fylde 1 (Monteiro 55)
It seems as though we are seeing out our league campaign with minimal fuss and just scraping along. McGugan missed an early penalty here and Abdo got sent-off midway through the 2nd half.
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AFC Fylde 2 (Rowe 29, Haughton 50) Barnet 1 (Elito 90pen)
Another 2 goals here means we are 3 goals away from breaking the record at this level as top goalscorers. 2 games left to get 2 goals and if we avoid defeat we set the record for the fewest defeats too!!
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v Salford City 2 (Rooney 11, 34pen) AFC Fylde 2 (Rowe 36, 75)
It took us to go 2-0 down before we started playing here and once we did we dominated and in truth were unlucky not to win. Moneybags Salford haven't even made the playoffs this season.
Abdo got injured and will be out for 3-4 months.
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AFC Fylde 3 (Hardy 5, Ben Khemis 35, Knibbs 85)
FC Halifax Town 1 (Hunt 49)
This match rounds off our league campaign and it was a near perfect final day. We got the win and broke the goalscoring record for the league.
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FA Trophy Final
v York City 0 AFC Fylde 4 (Rowe 12, 55, 79, 81)
Not a bad way to win a final!!! We claim the FA Trophy thanks to a wonderful individual performance from Danny Rowe who scored all 4 goals for the 2nd time this season.
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SUMMARY
We rounded off the season by breaking all sorts of records in the league including most wins, points, fewest defeats and most goals scored. Add to that the FA Trophy after we beat York City 4-0 at Wembley means that we really enjoyed this month.
A season review is to come and then I have a huge summer in front of me.
Not a bad season was it? We won the Vanarama National League to get league football for next season and in doing so we smashed records for most points, most wins, most goals and fewest defeats.
We only lost 2 games (both to Ebbsfleet United) throughout the league campaign and ended the season with 110pts which was 20pts clear of 2nd placed Chesterfield.
We also won the FA Trophy and beat York City 4-0 in the final thanks to Danny Rowe scoring all 4 goals which took his final tally of goals for the season to 40.
However despite all that it was our antics in the FA Cup that was the highlight of the season. We defeated Marine in the final then edged out MK Dons after a replay before defeating Tranmere to reach the 3rd round and that was where the unbelievable happened - we beat Chelsea 1-0!!!!!
It will be hard to ever top that result tbh as to defeat Chelsea with a non-league side is incredible. We narrowly lost out to Derby County in the 4th round.
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FIRST TEAM SQUAD
Goalkeepers - Tom King, on loan from Millwall, was my main man and di OK. His contract is up in the summer so I may try and bring him back to the club permanently.
Defenders - My first choice back 4 were a class above at this level tbh. Burke (who I am desperately trying to tie down with a new contract) did great at RB although he was sent-off 3 times. Odusina and Brewitt were solid at CB while Francis-Angol did well at LB although he did miss a few games due to international matches.
Midfielders - Lewis McGugan was my star signing in the summer and he was immense. He scored 19 goals in total with 14 being penalties and he scored the winner from the spot in that magical match against Chelsea. Ben Khemis was ok as was Nick Haughton who also played well got a lot of games.
At AMC Abdo was decent enough and he scored 13 goals. At LW we had Monteiro and the teenager was decent too but he suffered from injuries and Ashley Hemmings filled in then and he also did great and he scored 12 goals which is decent from the wing.
James Hardy was immense on the RW and he scored 17 times for us and also got the most assists with 14. Prohouly was a decent backup but only featured intermittently.
Forwards - Danny Rowe, possibly the best player in the league, scored 40 goals in all competitions which included 32 league goals and none were penalties. He also missed a month or two with injuries!! Philliskirk, Bloomfield and Knibbs all got the odd match but not enough to make a firm impression although Knibbs did come off the bench to score a hat-trick in one match.
My Player of the Season - Danny Rowe My Young Player of the Season - James Hardy Must Improve - Venancio Monteiro Donkey of the Year - Dan Bradley
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SUMMER PLANS
So much to do. My starting XI should be good enough to compete at league 2 level as we seen last term and by the dominance of the National League I feel we should be in the top 10 however its my backups that are no way near good enough so I have to bring in a shed load of players plus try to get rid of my dross.
Fortunately the chairman invested £1.2m to help with running costs so I have been able to improve some things and I do have nearly £1m to spend but I will have to spend wisely.
Well I have certainly been busy. So far I have brought in 11 players and have let 7 go but it has been a nightmare trying to bring in players as so many rejected us to join other clubs but overall I am quite happy with my business so far.
My assistant manager got poached so I nicked Ebssfleet's to gain revenge on them defeating us teice last season lol. Carles Puyol was also stolen from us for £14,000.
In the cups we have been drawn away to Norwich City in the Carabao Cup while in the Checkatrade Trophy we will faceoff against Burton Albion, Tranmere Rovers and Manchester United U23s.
Here are my transfer dealings...……
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PLAYERS OUT
Cole Kpekawa got me the highest amount as he joined Lincoln City for £63,000. I signed him on a free last season and he only played 14 times for me so I was happy to take the money.
Somehow I received £48,500 for Danny Philliskirk from MK Dons who only played 8 times last season and he scored twice so that was a great deal.
Ryan Croasdale joined Sutton United for £16,000 while Dan Bradley joined Hereford United for £7,500. Both played 23 times for me last season and both were surplus to requirements.
Shaun Donnellan and Andrew Fox left on free transfers while Tom Crawford's loan deal ended.
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PLAYERS IN
I will go through them via position...……….
GOALKEEPERS
I managed to bring Tom King back to the club from Millwall on a free transfer. He played every game bar one last term so I was delighted that he wanted to join us permanently.
DEFENDERS
I have brought in 2 RBs. Jamie Sterry has come in on loan from Newcastle United and Matt Olosunde came in from Manchester United on a free. Sterry was rated at 100 by my scouts so he was a must buy while Olosunde looked decent enough and I really needed to get a RB in.
Tim Odusina has rejoined the club from Norwich City on loan. He was transfer listed for £10,000 but he wasn't interested in joining permanently so in he came on a season long loan again.
MIDFIELDERS
My best signing was Tom Adeyemi who joined from Ipswich Town. He will partner McGugan in midfield and at £1.3m he is valued twice more than the next most valuable player in the division so I am delighted with this signing.
Also at CM I brought in Ethan Robson from Sunderland on a free while Tom Dinsmore joined from Bournemouth but at 18y/o he was signed for the U23s. Robson however will get a load of games for us at CM I would think.
Danny Redmond has joined from TNS on a free and he will provide cover for LW and AMC and CM. He looks to be a really good player at this level. Finally Callum Gribbin has joined from Man Utd on loan and he will compete with Abdo and Redmond for the AMC position. His stats look to be really strong for this level.
FORWARDS
Paul Glatzel came in from Liverpool on a free and he will be backup for Rowe. He is only 18y/o and looks to have great attributes for us.
In from Everton came Korede Adedoyin who will join the U23s.
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SQUAD
I am still not happy with my squad. I desperately need another CB as I only have 3. Lewis Burke looks set to leave as he is constantly unhappy and a deal has been agreed but is yet to be completed.
King will be my keeper, Sterry RB, Adeyemi will certainly partner McGugan in midfield while Gribbin and Redmond will do battle for AMC.
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HOPES FOR THE SEASON
The media predict 7th and the players were happy for us to be challenging for the play-offs so that's what we are aiming for. I think my starting XI is going to be really strong for this division it will just be whether or not my backups can fill in adequately.
v Carlisle United 1 (Larouci 15) AFC Fylde 3 (Hardy 27, Adeyemi 59, 87)
A fine introduction to league football as we get a win away from home. Tom Adeyemi was amazing on his debut as he scored two goals from long distance to win us the match.
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v
AFC Fylde 3 (Monteiro 20, Rowe 38, Odusina 77) Forest Green Rovers 0
Very nice. We dominated from start to finish and McGugan had a first half penalty saved so it could have been more. Forest Green were predicted to finish 6th so I think this is a massive victory.
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Carabao Cup 1st Round v Norwich City 4 (Idah 11, 20, Cantwell 31pen, Van La Parra 88) AFC Fylde 1 (Hardy 13)
No cup heroics here!! Norwich battered us in truth and although we were naïve in our defending for their first two goals I can have no complaints over the final score.
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v Bristol Rovers 3 (Clarke-Harris 41, Lines 77, Rodman 90) AFC Fylde 3 (Hardy 21, Robson 26, Rowe 52)
I am raging at this result. At 2-0 and 3-1 up the game was all but over but we let it slip away and they even had a goal disallowed.
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v
AFC Fylde 2 (Prohouly 10pen, Monteiro 16) Mansfield Town 0
A solid win with 2 early goals and a clean sheet. Mansfield created some opportunities but the woodwork denied them a few times.
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v
AFC Fylde 3 (Hardy 18, Glatzel 63, 90) Macclesfield Town 1 (Stephens 89)
We were without Danny Rowe here but Paul Glatzel came in and got his first goals for us in his place. James Hardy has scored in each of his 4 appearances this season.
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v Northampton Town 1 (Barnes 23) AFC Fylde 2 (Prohouly 8, Gribbin 45)
Our strong start to the season continues and once again my right winger scored as they have done every match this season! Callum Gribbin got his first goal for us here.
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SUMMARY
Our first month of being a football league team was largely successful. We end the month top of the table and barring a collapse against Bristol Rovers when we threw away 2pts we would have had an 100% record. Now whether or not we have been facing up against weaker sides in the division I don't know but things are going really well.
We didn't fare well in the Carabao Cup though as we were brushed aside by Norwich City 4-1.
I did however bring in 3 new players. Josef Yarney from Newcastle on loan, Michael Ihiekwe from Rotherham on a free and Charlie Oliver from Man City on a free. All 3 were to add depth to my CB area as I only had Odusina and Brewitt in the squad for that position when they signed!!
Leaving the club was Lewis Burke who joined Sheffield Wednesday for an initial £75,000 and Luke Griffiths joined Raith Rovers for £11,000.
Great start to life in the football league there mate! Some really great looking signings as well and I think you'll be very strong again this year in League Two!
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