Altrincham F.C. - Mission: Champions League
- Thread starter Hampus Silverholt
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Hampus Silverholt
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I've managed to expand our scouting range to worldwide and I'm a sucker for a regen so will be scouting everywhere to find wonderkids to bring in in the summer!
Even if we don't go up the season I'm not too concerned as I think getting promoted now would be too soon for us, so I'm glad we've finally got some money in the bank for a rebuild in the summer
Hampus Silverholt
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We’ve played all our February and March league games and, as it seems to have been throughout the entirety of the season, we are just about holding onto 6th place.
Goal differences is our friend but we’ve had a slight wobble in our most recent games to allow Birmingham City to catch up to us. We also may or may not have lost to Brentford because of a misplaced Pjanic pass...
There’s just 6 games remaining but it looks like our final 2 matches against Oxford (who are still in 2nd place!) and Blues will decide things.
As for the signings, whereas Pjanic was giving away points to Brentford, our Russian striker Kirilenko has scored 2 goals since joining. He hasn’t played that much because moving Zac Fryatt from the left wing to striker has worked a treat and he has 7 goals in his last 7 matches.
And midfielder Chay Cooper has been playing out of his skin all season.
He has 9 goals and 6 assists this season, all from a box to box role.
Also, our 3 big money departures are all back ups at their teams and have managed just 4 appearances between them. You love to see it!
So, 6 games to go...
Even if we don’t get to the playoffs I won’t be disappointed as we were only expected to finish mid-table. But, after spending so long in 5th and 6th position this season, it would be silly of us if we bottled it at the final hurdle.
Goal differences is our friend but we’ve had a slight wobble in our most recent games to allow Birmingham City to catch up to us. We also may or may not have lost to Brentford because of a misplaced Pjanic pass...
There’s just 6 games remaining but it looks like our final 2 matches against Oxford (who are still in 2nd place!) and Blues will decide things.
As for the signings, whereas Pjanic was giving away points to Brentford, our Russian striker Kirilenko has scored 2 goals since joining. He hasn’t played that much because moving Zac Fryatt from the left wing to striker has worked a treat and he has 7 goals in his last 7 matches.
And midfielder Chay Cooper has been playing out of his skin all season.
He has 9 goals and 6 assists this season, all from a box to box role.
Also, our 3 big money departures are all back ups at their teams and have managed just 4 appearances between them. You love to see it!
So, 6 games to go...
Even if we don’t get to the playoffs I won’t be disappointed as we were only expected to finish mid-table. But, after spending so long in 5th and 6th position this season, it would be silly of us if we bottled it at the final hurdle.
Hampus Silverholt
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Good Friday was bad for us as we lost at home to Nottingham Forest 1-0.
It was the 4th game in a row without winning and meant we dropped out of the playoff places for the first time in months.
But we resurrected on Easter Monday, beating Reading 1-0 and moving above Birmingham in the table who lost at home to Barnsley.
But after that win we decided to lose our next game against Bristol City and then give not one, not two, but three penalties away against Swansea in our match after that.
But somehow, despite those 2 losses, we were still in 6th position.
We went into our pivotal, season-defining game against Birmingham with both of us in the worst form we’ve been in all season. A win at St Andrews would confirm our playoff spot.
And so what did we do after losing 5-1 against Swansea?
We scored 4 in the first half and beat Blues 5-2. Of course we did!
A brilliant performance ensured that we made it to the playoffs. We’re alarmingly inconsistent, but beating Blues like that was impressive considering they were in the Premier League last season.
Our last game of the season was at home against Oxford, who needed a win to secure promotion to the Premier League after an incredible season.
We put out our strongest team and I wasn’t too fussed about the result.
Fairplay to Oxford. They came up from League One at the same time as us and were one of the favourites to get relegated this season so I hope they smash it in the Premier League next season.
It does mean that we’ll play Bournemouth in the semi-finals of the playoffs.
They were favourites to win the league and were playing in the Europa League last season, so I can’t say I’m expecting much.
But who knows what will happen. We’re just 3 wins away from the Premier League…
It was the 4th game in a row without winning and meant we dropped out of the playoff places for the first time in months.
But we resurrected on Easter Monday, beating Reading 1-0 and moving above Birmingham in the table who lost at home to Barnsley.
But after that win we decided to lose our next game against Bristol City and then give not one, not two, but three penalties away against Swansea in our match after that.
But somehow, despite those 2 losses, we were still in 6th position.
We went into our pivotal, season-defining game against Birmingham with both of us in the worst form we’ve been in all season. A win at St Andrews would confirm our playoff spot.
And so what did we do after losing 5-1 against Swansea?
We scored 4 in the first half and beat Blues 5-2. Of course we did!
A brilliant performance ensured that we made it to the playoffs. We’re alarmingly inconsistent, but beating Blues like that was impressive considering they were in the Premier League last season.
Our last game of the season was at home against Oxford, who needed a win to secure promotion to the Premier League after an incredible season.
We put out our strongest team and I wasn’t too fussed about the result.
Fairplay to Oxford. They came up from League One at the same time as us and were one of the favourites to get relegated this season so I hope they smash it in the Premier League next season.
It does mean that we’ll play Bournemouth in the semi-finals of the playoffs.
They were favourites to win the league and were playing in the Europa League last season, so I can’t say I’m expecting much.
But who knows what will happen. We’re just 3 wins away from the Premier League…
Hampus Silverholt
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Can't say that the playoffs went too well though...
Hampus Silverholt
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Bournemouth are a team that frankly should never have been relegated from the Premier League. Their salary is almost 10x the size of ours...
However, we did give them the shock of the season by beating them 4-1 in August. Christian Norton, who got a hat-trick in that game, is now warming the bench for Cardiff who face Brentford in the other semi-final.
8 of our starting XI for the first leg were under the age of 23 and we also had 9 English players starting.
The first leg was at home and could not have started any better.
However, that was as good as it got.
Bournemouth were clinical and at the end of the day their quality shone through.
We’re a decent side but Nikola Simonovic is top scorer in the Championship for a reason and there’s no way that Jayden Bogle should be playing in the Championship.
A miracle was needed in the second leg.
But we were abysmal.
5-0. Wow. Well that was the most underwhelming end to the season.
When their third choice striker scores a hat-trick and is on more money than your 4 attacking players who started the match combined you realise just how out of our depth you are.
And when their Brazilian regen right back, who they signed for £15m, scored a world-class solo goal you realise just how much out of luck you are.
We’ll be back for you Bournemouth. And revenge will be oh so sweet.
However, we did give them the shock of the season by beating them 4-1 in August. Christian Norton, who got a hat-trick in that game, is now warming the bench for Cardiff who face Brentford in the other semi-final.
8 of our starting XI for the first leg were under the age of 23 and we also had 9 English players starting.
The first leg was at home and could not have started any better.
However, that was as good as it got.
Bournemouth were clinical and at the end of the day their quality shone through.
We’re a decent side but Nikola Simonovic is top scorer in the Championship for a reason and there’s no way that Jayden Bogle should be playing in the Championship.
A miracle was needed in the second leg.
But we were abysmal.
5-0. Wow. Well that was the most underwhelming end to the season.
When their third choice striker scores a hat-trick and is on more money than your 4 attacking players who started the match combined you realise just how out of our depth you are.
And when their Brazilian regen right back, who they signed for £15m, scored a world-class solo goal you realise just how much out of luck you are.
We’ll be back for you Bournemouth. And revenge will be oh so sweet.
Hampus Silverholt
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They were massive favourites for the final and Bournemouth narrowly managed to beat Brentford to get promoted back to the Premier League.
I’m still disappointed by the way we folded against them, but it was still an incredible achievement to finish 6th in the league.
Our young, predominantly English squad is coming along nicely and it’s still easy to forget that we have the lowest wage expenditure in the division.
Incredibly, Ollie Fraser was named Championship Player Of The Year for the 2nd season in a row. Man Utd want to have a look at him next season so he may not be around for us next year.
He had the highest average rating in the league once again and it seems to be because of all the key passes he makes.
A strong end to the season for Felix Baker meant that he ended with 11 assists in the league. I still haven’t given him a new contract as I’m unable to get rid of the release clause but he is finally starting to play to his ability.
Abdullahi Ikechukwu was another standout for us with 11 goals and 11 assists. Despite that, I’m unsure if i’ll keep him on loan for a third season at the club.
That’s because I have been given £13m by the board to spend on the squad.
And that may become more if a high bid is put in for striker Paul McVeigh. He was limited to 7 appearances all season because of injury but is wanted by a number of Premier League clubs. I sense another Shane Ryan situation!
The main news at the end of the season was that our new stadium is to be completed in 2 years time. It’s named after Altrincham legend Mark Maddox who has been diagnosed with motor neurones disease in real life.
Finally, Miralem Pjanic is retiring in the summer after making 14 appearances in total for us. It means the average age of the squad will dramatically decrease.
Time for us to make the transfers that will enable us to get into the Premier League!
I’m still disappointed by the way we folded against them, but it was still an incredible achievement to finish 6th in the league.
Our young, predominantly English squad is coming along nicely and it’s still easy to forget that we have the lowest wage expenditure in the division.
Incredibly, Ollie Fraser was named Championship Player Of The Year for the 2nd season in a row. Man Utd want to have a look at him next season so he may not be around for us next year.
He had the highest average rating in the league once again and it seems to be because of all the key passes he makes.
A strong end to the season for Felix Baker meant that he ended with 11 assists in the league. I still haven’t given him a new contract as I’m unable to get rid of the release clause but he is finally starting to play to his ability.
Abdullahi Ikechukwu was another standout for us with 11 goals and 11 assists. Despite that, I’m unsure if i’ll keep him on loan for a third season at the club.
That’s because I have been given £13m by the board to spend on the squad.
And that may become more if a high bid is put in for striker Paul McVeigh. He was limited to 7 appearances all season because of injury but is wanted by a number of Premier League clubs. I sense another Shane Ryan situation!
The main news at the end of the season was that our new stadium is to be completed in 2 years time. It’s named after Altrincham legend Mark Maddox who has been diagnosed with motor neurones disease in real life.
Finally, Miralem Pjanic is retiring in the summer after making 14 appearances in total for us. It means the average age of the squad will dramatically decrease.
Time for us to make the transfers that will enable us to get into the Premier League!
Hampus Silverholt
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Another transfer window. Another Premier League club willing to pay ridiculous money for a young Northern Irish player we have that has made hardly any first-team appearances.
Paul McVeigh has moved to Watford for £12m.
We signed him for £20,000. It’s actually ridiculous the money that Premier League clubs spend on these players. We’ve made £22m from 2 young Northern Irish players in the last 7 months!
The board still only put half of that money into the transfer budget, but we went and spent it…
First up is record signing Diego Silva from Nacional in Uruguay.
£5.75m is a huge fee for us but we needed a right winger so met his release clause. He was one of the few summer signings who joined us without demanding a minimum release clause in their contract.
Silva also needed a Spanish speaking friend so I signed Miguel Rubiano for £1.9m from Deportivo Cali in Colombia.
His £14m release clause needs to be removed soon or else he’s going to get snapped up.
Next up is Julian Parker from Spurs. He’s young, English, only cost £2.5m and has Premier League potential so it made sense to get him as we needed depth at right-back.
Then I put in a speculative bid for 17 year old Danish striker Jesper Madsen.
And for some reason he decided to join...
… but I didn’t realise it was next summer when he joined! He’s only just turned 17 so to have stats like that is ridiculous but I spent most of my budget on him thinking he’d join us straight away.
So instead I have brought in a familiar face in Rio Corbett.
He was top scorer for us 2 seasons ago but couldn’t get into the Arsenal team so they decided to let him go on the cheap.
Finally, we also have an official wonderkid at the club in Adie Higginson. His growth has been stunted at Man United but he’ll be the main man for us in defence this season after joining on loan.
After all those signings, we’re still predicted to finish mid-table as the Championship is a very strong league.
If the new players gel quickly, then I expect a promotion push but there are so many strong teams in this league. I’m hoping at the very least that we can make it into the playoffs again.
Paul McVeigh has moved to Watford for £12m.
We signed him for £20,000. It’s actually ridiculous the money that Premier League clubs spend on these players. We’ve made £22m from 2 young Northern Irish players in the last 7 months!
The board still only put half of that money into the transfer budget, but we went and spent it…
First up is record signing Diego Silva from Nacional in Uruguay.
£5.75m is a huge fee for us but we needed a right winger so met his release clause. He was one of the few summer signings who joined us without demanding a minimum release clause in their contract.
Silva also needed a Spanish speaking friend so I signed Miguel Rubiano for £1.9m from Deportivo Cali in Colombia.
His £14m release clause needs to be removed soon or else he’s going to get snapped up.
Next up is Julian Parker from Spurs. He’s young, English, only cost £2.5m and has Premier League potential so it made sense to get him as we needed depth at right-back.
Then I put in a speculative bid for 17 year old Danish striker Jesper Madsen.
And for some reason he decided to join...
… but I didn’t realise it was next summer when he joined! He’s only just turned 17 so to have stats like that is ridiculous but I spent most of my budget on him thinking he’d join us straight away.
So instead I have brought in a familiar face in Rio Corbett.
He was top scorer for us 2 seasons ago but couldn’t get into the Arsenal team so they decided to let him go on the cheap.
Finally, we also have an official wonderkid at the club in Adie Higginson. His growth has been stunted at Man United but he’ll be the main man for us in defence this season after joining on loan.
After all those signings, we’re still predicted to finish mid-table as the Championship is a very strong league.
If the new players gel quickly, then I expect a promotion push but there are so many strong teams in this league. I’m hoping at the very least that we can make it into the playoffs again.
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Froug
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That's a really exciting team you've built! Looking forward to how these lads do in the champtionship. How are your finances looking compard to the rest of the league?
Also, you got Mejbri on a free from PSG and you don't even mention him... Is he just there to sell shirts?
Also, you got Mejbri on a free from PSG and you don't even mention him... Is he just there to sell shirts?
Hampus Silverholt
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Haha I was too focused on the regens! Mejbri is probably one of our best players but we have a lot of good midfielders and attacking midfielders so have been trying him out on the left hand side. 3 assists in 2 games for PSG last season!
The finances are healthy but we make hardly anything from sponsorship and ticket revenue so are going to keep on losing money if we don't sell players. That'll all change if we get promoted though.
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Hampus Silverholt
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In our first game of the season, we lost away against Crystal Palace who are a good side with good players.
And despite thinking our transfer business was done, it was not!
Right-back Richie Belcher wanted to leave and Everton came in with a bid of £11m.
So he has gone.
He cost us £13,000 just 18 months ago. Everton have spent £20m on 2 right backs from us in the last 2 transfer windows. How much money do these Premier League clubs have?!
So as a replacement we triggered the £4.2m release clause for Miroslav Malashevski from Ludogorets.
We have Thomas Bak at the club who is natural right and left back so seeing Malashevski’s release clause, technical attributes, and potential persuaded me to go for him as a replacement for Belcher.
But after the Crystal Palace result, I was beginning to think that the tactic might need tweaking after a poor end to last season as well as a bad start this time around. However, we dominated our next game against Fulham to ease our fears.
Diego Silva scored on his debut and ended up getting 4 goals in August.
We end August in 6th position, and this season is already starting to have a familiar feel to it.
Also, we’re finally not spending the least amount of money on player wages in the division.
So a decent enough start. We’re going to find out if our policy of investing in youth is going to pay off in the next few months.
And despite thinking our transfer business was done, it was not!
Right-back Richie Belcher wanted to leave and Everton came in with a bid of £11m.
So he has gone.
He cost us £13,000 just 18 months ago. Everton have spent £20m on 2 right backs from us in the last 2 transfer windows. How much money do these Premier League clubs have?!
So as a replacement we triggered the £4.2m release clause for Miroslav Malashevski from Ludogorets.
We have Thomas Bak at the club who is natural right and left back so seeing Malashevski’s release clause, technical attributes, and potential persuaded me to go for him as a replacement for Belcher.
But after the Crystal Palace result, I was beginning to think that the tactic might need tweaking after a poor end to last season as well as a bad start this time around. However, we dominated our next game against Fulham to ease our fears.
Diego Silva scored on his debut and ended up getting 4 goals in August.
We end August in 6th position, and this season is already starting to have a familiar feel to it.
Also, we’re finally not spending the least amount of money on player wages in the division.
So a decent enough start. We’re going to find out if our policy of investing in youth is going to pay off in the next few months.
Hampus Silverholt
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After an easy first 2 games in the Carabao Cup, we were drawn against Liverpool in the 3rd round and narrowly lost to them.
We’ve still not been past the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup or the 4th Round of the FA Cup in this save!
However, we’ve already had our obligatory crazy win of the season against Derby where we smashed them 6-0.
It was the start of a good run of results for us in October, where we won 4 of our 5 matches.
And it means that we are top of the Championship by 2 points.
The new signings are bedding in nicely. Miguel Rubiano has 2 goals 5 assists and was recently called into the Colombia squad for the first time.
And Adie Higginson has been a rock at the back for us and has chipped in with 4 goals already.
Our next few games are favourable but we have a tough run in December, so I’m hoping first choice keeper Alex Bass is back by then.
But for now, everything is looking positive. We look on course to gain promotion to the Premier League!
We’ve still not been past the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup or the 4th Round of the FA Cup in this save!
However, we’ve already had our obligatory crazy win of the season against Derby where we smashed them 6-0.
It was the start of a good run of results for us in October, where we won 4 of our 5 matches.
And it means that we are top of the Championship by 2 points.
The new signings are bedding in nicely. Miguel Rubiano has 2 goals 5 assists and was recently called into the Colombia squad for the first time.
And Adie Higginson has been a rock at the back for us and has chipped in with 4 goals already.
Our next few games are favourable but we have a tough run in December, so I’m hoping first choice keeper Alex Bass is back by then.
But for now, everything is looking positive. We look on course to gain promotion to the Premier League!
Hampus Silverholt
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We continued our good start to the season in November by winning every game we played 1-0.
It was part of a run that saw us keep 6 consecutive clean sheets, which ended when we lost to Sheffield Wednesday.
After an up and down December, we are still 4 points clear at the top of the league with a game in hand.
Brandon Cooper has been performing well at centre back this campaign, forming a formidable partnership with Higginson.
He’s wanted by Oxford in the Premier League but I want a quiet January window. However, I said that last year and it turned out to be anything but that…
It was part of a run that saw us keep 6 consecutive clean sheets, which ended when we lost to Sheffield Wednesday.
After an up and down December, we are still 4 points clear at the top of the league with a game in hand.
Brandon Cooper has been performing well at centre back this campaign, forming a formidable partnership with Higginson.
He’s wanted by Oxford in the Premier League but I want a quiet January window. However, I said that last year and it turned out to be anything but that…
Hampus Silverholt
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Unlike last year, January was a quiet month for us with only one new signing.
A few squad players have gone out on loan because they were frustrated with their lack of playing time so we have made a loan signing ourselves to add some depth. Wonderkid Silvio Martorana joins us from Liverpool until the end of the season.
We lost just one game in January but that was against relegation-threatened Fulham.
And it’s very close at the top of the Championship. Burnley and Brentford keep piling the pressure on us.
Despite it being the end of January, I’m already looking at our April games. We have 3rd placed Burnley, 4th placed Stoke and 2nd placed Brentford consecutively and those games will undoubtedly define our season.
We’re also probably going to play Burnley in the 5th round of the FA Cup after wins against Huddersfield and QPR in previous rounds.
It’s the first time in the save we’ve made it past the 4th round.
I’m going to be pinning a lot of hope on young striker Trevor Dickson for the remainder of the campaign. He has just 3 goals in the league this season all of which have come in his last 3 matches.
All of his attributes suggest he should be scoring a lot of goals for us and I’m hoping that is the case for the remainder of the season. He’s the last remaining Northern Irish player at the club after the previous two were sold for huge money and signed for just £28,000 last season.
Our next 5 league matches are against teams between 6th and 12th position in the league, so it will be interesting to see if we can keep up with Burnley and Brentford.
A few squad players have gone out on loan because they were frustrated with their lack of playing time so we have made a loan signing ourselves to add some depth. Wonderkid Silvio Martorana joins us from Liverpool until the end of the season.
We lost just one game in January but that was against relegation-threatened Fulham.
And it’s very close at the top of the Championship. Burnley and Brentford keep piling the pressure on us.
Despite it being the end of January, I’m already looking at our April games. We have 3rd placed Burnley, 4th placed Stoke and 2nd placed Brentford consecutively and those games will undoubtedly define our season.
We’re also probably going to play Burnley in the 5th round of the FA Cup after wins against Huddersfield and QPR in previous rounds.
It’s the first time in the save we’ve made it past the 4th round.
I’m going to be pinning a lot of hope on young striker Trevor Dickson for the remainder of the campaign. He has just 3 goals in the league this season all of which have come in his last 3 matches.
All of his attributes suggest he should be scoring a lot of goals for us and I’m hoping that is the case for the remainder of the season. He’s the last remaining Northern Irish player at the club after the previous two were sold for huge money and signed for just £28,000 last season.
Our next 5 league matches are against teams between 6th and 12th position in the league, so it will be interesting to see if we can keep up with Burnley and Brentford.
Hampus Silverholt
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The games have come thick and fast but we’re still managing to hold our own in the Championship.
4 wins in our last 5 means that we are 5 points clear of Burnley in the playoffs with just 8 matches remaining.
And to add to that, we have made it to the quarter final of the FA Cup after beating Reading in the 5th round.
We could’ve got Chelsea, Man City or Liverpool but will face Norwich City in that match.
They’re in a relegation battle in the Premier League, so we could seriously be in with a shot of going to Wembley!
We’ll hopefully have a fully fit squad to choose from including right-back Julian Parker, who has been one of our best players since joining from Spurs for £2.5m.
Trevor Dickson has finally started to get into the scoring mood after an extended run in the team with 11 goals in 13 matches.
But it is young Colombian midfielder Miguel Rubiano who is the best of the bunch. He averages 7.26 in the Championship and will be key to our promotion push for the remainder of the season.
However, I’m still looking at those April fixtures as they’re going to decide everything. To have the FA Cup quarter-final and then Burnley, Stoke and Brentford consecutively is going to be excruciating.
8 games to go, can we get to the FA Cup semi-final? Can we get to the Premier League?
4 wins in our last 5 means that we are 5 points clear of Burnley in the playoffs with just 8 matches remaining.
And to add to that, we have made it to the quarter final of the FA Cup after beating Reading in the 5th round.
We could’ve got Chelsea, Man City or Liverpool but will face Norwich City in that match.
They’re in a relegation battle in the Premier League, so we could seriously be in with a shot of going to Wembley!
We’ll hopefully have a fully fit squad to choose from including right-back Julian Parker, who has been one of our best players since joining from Spurs for £2.5m.
Trevor Dickson has finally started to get into the scoring mood after an extended run in the team with 11 goals in 13 matches.
But it is young Colombian midfielder Miguel Rubiano who is the best of the bunch. He averages 7.26 in the Championship and will be key to our promotion push for the remainder of the season.
However, I’m still looking at those April fixtures as they’re going to decide everything. To have the FA Cup quarter-final and then Burnley, Stoke and Brentford consecutively is going to be excruciating.
8 games to go, can we get to the FA Cup semi-final? Can we get to the Premier League?
Hampus Silverholt
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The promotion push was put on hold as we faced Norwich in the FA Cup quarter-final. A place at Wembley was up for grabs so a full strength side was put out.
Despite going down twice in the match, we managed to pull off a remarkable and deserved result to get to the semi finals of the FA Cup. We’re going to Wembley!
But we had to immediately forget about that Norwich game as we had two winnable league matches against Nottingham Forest and Barnsley before our run against Burnley, Brentford and Stoke.
I also didn't realise Brentford and Burnley played one another during that time and a 0-0 was a perfect result for us.
It meant that with just 4 Championship games remaining we were 6 points clear with goal difference also on our side.
So it was down to the dreaded 3 games I had been thinking about since January.
Only this time we had the added bonus of an FA Cup semi-final against Villa, who are 12th in the Premier League.
First up for us was an away trip to Turf Moor to play 2nd placed Burnley.
A draw was more than fine and also meant that out of nowhere Stoke entered the automatic promotion zone.
The very same Stoke who we played 3 days later where a win for us would confirm promotion to the Premier League.
Job done. Altrincham are promoted to the Premier League!
Now for an FA Cup semi-final and to win the Championship outright!
Despite going down twice in the match, we managed to pull off a remarkable and deserved result to get to the semi finals of the FA Cup. We’re going to Wembley!
But we had to immediately forget about that Norwich game as we had two winnable league matches against Nottingham Forest and Barnsley before our run against Burnley, Brentford and Stoke.
I also didn't realise Brentford and Burnley played one another during that time and a 0-0 was a perfect result for us.
It meant that with just 4 Championship games remaining we were 6 points clear with goal difference also on our side.
So it was down to the dreaded 3 games I had been thinking about since January.
Only this time we had the added bonus of an FA Cup semi-final against Villa, who are 12th in the Premier League.
First up for us was an away trip to Turf Moor to play 2nd placed Burnley.
A draw was more than fine and also meant that out of nowhere Stoke entered the automatic promotion zone.
The very same Stoke who we played 3 days later where a win for us would confirm promotion to the Premier League.
Job done. Altrincham are promoted to the Premier League!
Now for an FA Cup semi-final and to win the Championship outright!
