London City FC - A City On The Rise

[dani3w]

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London City FC - February 2024[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]Into February with our form looking better than its ever been in this division to date, we're top of the table and last two months we've opened a wider gap on the chasing pack. If we keep that up the season will be over soon and the title will be ours. We're also looking to reclaim the FA Trophy after winning it a couple years ago. Another six matches await us in February.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]A trip to Wrexham awaited us to kickstart the month but it wasn't to be three points for us, we came away with just a single point. Back at home we lost against Harrogate three one, probably one of our worst performances to date this season. A home game against Enfield Town in the FA Trophy saw us ease into the Fourth Round in a one nil win before we had a one all draw with Maidstone. The month ended four games unbeaten as we traveled to FC United and one three one, Hedges superbly netting a hatrick then beating ALdershot three nil, another brace for Hedges our man in form this year.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]And we've opened the gap up even more, now three months running where we've increased the gap on the chasing pack as we move seven points clear of second place side AFC Fylde. And its close in the remaining of the chasing pack as just five points seperate second place to tenth place Stockport who will believe they are still in the running for a playoff spot come the end of the season. Eleven league games to go this season, can we maintain our title hunt...[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - March 2024[/FONT]

 

[dani3w]

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London City FC - March 2024[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]We had now made it three months in a row where we have increased our points gap over the rest of the pack. This saw us go into March with a seven point gap There is stil two months of football to go though and as we continue our run in the FA Trophy trying to regain it for the second time in three years. Another eight games awaited us in March across the two competitions we remained in, we also had our youth intake.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]As normal I can't see any of these making the cut, once again they'll all sign a one year youth contract and after that I expect they'll all be released as I realise they all are completely rubbish.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]An eight game month and once again it featured more green dots than red and orange ones as we won five of our eight matches in March. It began with a trip to FC United in the FA Trophy fourth round and we comfortably beat them here, coming out four nil winners, Browne netting a brace. Back to league action saw us slip up at home against playoff chasers Crawley, losing three one before we welcomed Bristol Rovers four days later and beat the four two. The FA Trophy Semi Final drew us against Maidstone and saw us win one nil away from home, Bennett netting after seventy five minutes. But again as we returned to league football from the FA Trophy we lost, losing three one to Newport Co is a big blow for us. The Second Leg of the FA Trophy Semi Final saw us beat Maidstone three two at home as Brown netted another brace, this one three minutes apart to see us reach the Final. The month ended with four points from two games, as we only scored two, both from Ashby as we beat Nuneaton at home one nil and drew with York away one all.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Our lead at the top of the table has been cut from seven points at the start of March to just a single point at the end of March but I'm not too concerned. Only nine points seperate the top seven teams now as it truly is a tight title race and I'm hoping we can come out on top simply because we have a good run of fixtures for the final month, seeing us play just one side in the top ten currently, our final fixtures see us face: Forest Green (21st), Gateshead (11th), FC Halifax (14th), AFC Teflrod (23rd), Morecambe (24th), Stockport (6th).[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]And one more piece of news, that game against Forest Green to kick off April will be my four hundredth match as a football manager and in charge of London City FC. A little annoying I'm taking that milestone whilst still being in non league football, but its all part of the management game.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - April 2024[/FONT]

 

[dani3w]

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London City FC - March 2024​

Here we go then, the final month of the 2023/2024 football season and we are top of the table, we've been there for four months now without letting it slip but going into the final six games of the season we had to remain strong, we had perhaps the easiest set of fixtures for the final month that we've had in a while so honestly can't see us blowing it this time around. We also had the FA Trophy Final to look forward to.

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And four wins along with two defeats would be how we end the season, ending it on a league defeat as well. It looked rosey to start with celebrating my four hundredth game in charge with a two one victory over Forest Green. Cathline and an own goal had us two up at the break, luckily we held on after conceding. A trip to Gateshead followed with Pooni netting eighteen minute from time to seal all three point. FC Halifax were the first team to beat us in April as they won three nil at home. A third away trip on the bounce aw AFC Telford welcome up, Hedges netting in the second half sealed a one nil win. Morecambe, struggling at the bottom this season, lost out heavily to u, we won five one as all five of our goals came in the opening seventeen minutes with five different scorers. The month ended away at Stockport, losing two nil, but was that enough for the title, fourth time around...

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Yes! It was! We have been crowned Vanarama National League champions upon our fourth time of asking as we clinched the league title by six points in the end. AFC Fylde finished second with Stockport climbing to third on the final day, Wrexham and Harrogate all secured playoff spots. And it proved to be Stockport who would win promotion via the playoffs, entering them on the final day after beating us they fought their way to promotion and will join us in League Two next season. Forest Green go down on goal difference and are also joined by Southport, Nuneaton and Morecambe in relegation this year.

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Sam Hedges, who joined us in the summer took over Hassall's role up front and fired us to glory, he went on to be named player of the season for the Vanarama National League. He supplied the most assists in the league this season and also finished second in the top scorers charts so had a very good season, netting thirty goals. I was also named manager of the year.

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And come the end of May things had got even better, we were crowned 'double champion' this season as we scooped for the FA Trophy for the second time in three seasons. We beat Tranmere one nil in the FA Trophy Final, they have seemed to be our bogey side over the years, beating them just three times in ten meetings but we secured this win here. Dominated the game and it was that man Sam Hedges with the only goal of the game after ten minutes to secure the trophy.

Career History:
2016/2017: Vanarama National League South - 19th (49pts), FA Trophy - 1st Round
2017/2018: Vanarama National League South - 16th (49pts), FA Trophy - Third Qualifying Round, FA Cup - 1st Round
2018/2019: Vanarama National League South - 14th (58pts), FA Trophy - 1st Round, FA Cup - 1st Round
2019/2020: Vanarama National League South - 1st (73pts)

, FA Trophy - 1st Round, FA Cup - Second Qualifying Round
2020/2021: Vanarama National League - 7th (70pts), FA Trophy - 1st Round, FA Cup - 1st Round
2021/2022: Vanarama National League - 4th (78pts), Playoffs - Semi Final, FA Trophy - Winners

, FA Cup - Fourth Qualifying Round
2022/2023: Vanarama National League - 2nd (81pts),Playoffs - Runners Up, FA Trophy - 2nd Round, FA Cup - 3rd Round
2023/2024: Vanarama National League - 1st (88pts)

, FA Trophy - Winners

, FA Cup - 1st Round​

Next Update: London City FC - Pre Season Round Up 2024

 

[NathanITFC]

Quality season, league winners and FA trophy winners

 

[Tracz]

Great season mate! Good luck in league football. Hopefully the board will start to support you now.

 

[dani3w]

Thanks NathanITFC, its good to go up with both trophies thats for sure.

As always, thanks Tracz, the board are behind me now and we're finally entering league football.

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London City FC - Pre Season Round Up 2024​

Double winners in the end last season as we were crowned Vanarama National League Champions by six points in the end and went on to claim our second FA Trophy in three seasons. It proved to be a pretty good season and that finally meant we were heading to the footballing league, League Two awaited us. I knew this summer would be tricky, but not quite as tricky as it was. Three new kits once again to bring in some extra money.

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The biggest summer we've had news wise and its come at a good time. Firstly the board have decided to expand the stadium again, adding another one and a half thousand seats to the stadium which will now hold up to five thousand five hundred and full capacity. This has come at a cost though as the board have been forced to take out a bank loan to cover the cost. Secondly the board have finally agreed to go professional, the transition goes over a year but for contracts etc we're there now. Which saw me get offered my longest deal yet, I've signed a three year extension so all being well I'll be here until 2027 earliest.

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Due to everyone going onto permanent deals I've failed to sign anyone this summer as we're over spending on our wage budget by almost ten thousand pounds per week and I'm struggling to reduce that at the moment. So our first squad to face real 'league' football will be that of last season, I'm just hoping we have enough to do what it takes and stay up. The good thing is there are only two relegation spots.

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A strong summer on the pitch which shows we don't need to constantly swap and change the players, hopefully the team we've got already have that bond for us to be able to cope with the division and survive in League Two. Time will tell.

Next Update: London City FC - August 2024

 

[Tracz]

Sounds like a great summer mate.
Pitty about not being able to strengthen but was always going to be hard the first summer of being professional.
Good luck with l2

 

[dani3w]

The board have done their job this summer Tracz, its just important we do ours this season now and survive.

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London City FC - August 2024​

Finally we enter the 'football league' and our journey in the Skybet leagues begin here. A tough summer for us not being able to strengthen the squad throughout the transfer window could prove to cost us, but I was willing to see if these lads could do it on the pitch again this year around. The board had done their job, pushing the club forward with us going professional and the stadium upgrade, it was time to kick off season nine.

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Well I suppose that sort of form was expecting to kick off our first professional season but it turned around come the end. Life in League Two began with a trip to Accrington and we didn't even put up a fight, losing out three nil. It was the same story against Championship side Brighton, who knocked us out in our first ever appearance in the EFL Cup, First Round. Back to league football and a third defeat on the bounce as Cambridge beat us at home two nil, this season was proving to be difficult, three games played, no goals score. A slight turning point came as we battled against Eastleigh, still losing out those as they won four two, Hedges and Hassall netting our goals. But then a couple wins came to end the month positively. First we welcomed Port Vale and beat them two one, our goals from Ashby and Cathline before we traveled to the then league leaders Barrow and beat them by the same scoreline and strangely Ashby netted in the same minute as the game before, Hedges with our second.

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So a slow yet progressive start in the league doesn't see us bottom after month one, nor does it see us in the relegation zone. Infact six points from our opening five games sees us sit up in seventeenth position early on and sees us clear of the two drop places by five and six points as Grimsby have started slowly and Blackpool haven't picked up a single point yet. A long way to go but a promising turn around come the end of the month.

Next Update: London City FC - September 2024

 

[George The FM Addict]

Wow, you weren't joking when you said you'll be smashing through the seasons

 

[Tracz]

A solid start mate. Keep it up

 

[jamie2215]

Hey dani3w, I'm not usually a big fan of a create a club style story but this is excellent, by far the best I've seen. So good that it's taken a while and you are slowly progressing rather than the instant (dubious) success you see on other stories. Keep up the good work, its enthralling! Good luck!

 

[dani3w]

Thanks George, its the only thing I can really do at the moment!

Cheers Tracz, a little slow but we're moving now!

Thanks a lot jamie2215, I'm with you on that, don't like many create a club/editor stories but this seems different in the fact I've not loads of money nor success and its taking time, yet staying fun! Thanks for the kind words, hope you stick around reading!

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London City FC - September 2024[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]Into September and following a good turn of form come the end of the month I was hopeful that we could begin to get a run together and move ourselves away from the relegation zone early on just incase we do get caught up later on in the season. Following our exit of the EFL Cup last month, we'd now start our Checkatrade run this month.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]September saw us win three games, lose one and draw one as things looked much better for us. A home win against League One side Coventry in the Checkatrade Trophy group stage saw us triumph two one. Staying at home we welcomed Fleetwood who we beat four one and more astonishing, Hedges netted all four for us. A trip to Carlisle saw us narrowly lose out three two. Returning home we welcomed fellow promoters from last season Stockport and beat them one nil before a trip to Barnet saw us draw two a piece, losing two points late on following a Browne brace.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]And that good month in League Two sees us move up to eleventh in the league and now move ten points clear of Northampton and Blackpool in the drop zone who both have just three points each this season. We're also now only four points outside the playoffs, whilst I'm not expecting that this season, its great to see we're close to them.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - October 2024[/FONT]

 

[dani3w]

[FONT=&quot]London City FC - October 2024[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]We move into October in fine form following a very strong September which saw us lose just once and that brought us up to within touching distance of the playoffs and I began to think we could be there this season if we maintain the form we showed then. But then again there is a lot of football to be played still, league and cup football as this month we faced six games, one in the Checkatrade Trophy and five League Two matches, could we continue our march up the table?[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]No is the answer as our form turns horrible throughout the month. The team game me a birthday win with victory over Luton at home winning two one to kick off the month but that proved to be our only win of the month. We traveled to Rochdale and drew two a piece, Hassall netting from the spot and Musendo netting in injury time. But then we went four games without a win, first losing to Eastlight in the Checkatrade Trophy on penalties, drawing one all in normal time. Then three league defeats on the bounce, first welcoming Mansfield and losing three nil, losing three one away at Lincoln and then two one at home to Colchester, back to the form I expected from us.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]And so that leaves us in fifteenth in the Sky Bet League Two table after fourteen matches having accumulated seventeen points so far this season. We're currently six points above the drop zone and seven points off the playoffs as we're literally mid pack to date. Having a look back over the last few seasons it'll take around 50 points to keep us up this year, we're on target for that currently.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - November 2024[/FONT]

 

[Brane_Orsou]

Missed a few updates over the Christmas period but glad to see you secure the title and making positive strides in league 2!

 

[dani3w]

I appreciate you catching up neavie pops23, its been a good start indeed in league 2.

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London City FC - November 2024[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]Following a slightly slow October it was important we tried to bounce back throughout December and pick up a couple wins to ensure we don't drop towards the relegation zone. So far this season we were performing much better than I had expected. This month saw us compete in the Skybet League Two, the Checkatrade Trophy and begin our FA Cup Journey.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]The month of December started with a trip to Northamampton which saw us come out with a two one win, kickstarting the month. A trip to Worcester in the FA Cup First Round saw us knock them out with a narrow three two win, it certainly didn't nee to be that close. Our Checkatrade Trophy adventure came to an end as we lost to Southampton U23's four two, this eliminating us from the group stage. Four league games to end the month, first beating Stevenage four one with four different scorers before we traveled to Wycombe and drew one all after an early Hedges goal gave us the lead. We welcomed Ebbsfleet and narrowly lost two one before ending November with an eight goal thriller, Southend losing five three t home to us as Ashby sstruck twice, Hedges, Cathline and Hassall al on the scoresheet too[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]We're back up on the rise in the table as we move up to twelfth and this has also seen us move twelve points clear of the drop zone as each month is looking more and more likely that we'll stay here this season, its been a superb campaign to date, much better than I thought but still a lot of football to be played this season.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - December 2024[/FONT]

 

[dani3w]

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London City FC - December 2024[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]2024 is coming to a close as we enter the final month of the calendar year. Its been a great year for us, scooping the double last season and finally progressing into the footballing league as its known in England. We're still three promotions away from being in the top tier but we're making steady progress. December saw us face four league games and one FA Cup game as we seeked a spot in the Third Round of the competition for only the second time in our history.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Another very good month on the pitch saw us kick it off with us welcoming fellow league two club Cambridge in the FA Cup Second Round. We came out with a spot in the third round as we won three two, Ashby netting a brace with his second being the winner ten minutes from time. Our only away game of December saw us lose two one against Hartlepool. We finished the month well though with six points from nine as we beat Accrington two nil, Grimsby three one and then lost to AFC Wimbleon to end 2024.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]At the end of the calendar year we're up to eleventh and now only two points outside the playoff spots again as our good form continues in our first ever season of professional league football. Now thirteen points clear of the drop zone things are looking up rather than down. Still twenty three games to go this season but we continue to target the fifty points for safety this season.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - January 2025[/FONT]

 

[Brane_Orsou]

Great results so far mate, even more so considering the team is the same as last year following the contract change and overpayment on the wages etc.

How many has Hassall got so far this campaign?

 

[dani3w]

Following the summer we had, we're performing brilliantly Neavie pops23 and it just excites me for the next couple of seasons! Hassall doesn't feature much this season, like last we have better quality in Hedges and Ashby, but he has 4 goals in 8 start.

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London City FC - January 2025[/FONT]​

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[FONT=&quot]Another new year rolls in and if 2025 is anything like 2024 has been it could be another very busy year and successful one. We've had a very good season to date and are just outside the playoffs in League Two, I would of never thought that six months ago when we got promoted and couldn't strengthen the squad. But we're here and still fighting away in the League and FA Cup.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]A busy month for us saw us face seven games with six of those in the league and one FA Cup game as we were in the Third Round for the second time in our history. The New Year began on a winning note as we beat struggling Blackpool four two, Browne and Ashby both netting braces, Ashby's brace was in the final five minutes. A trip to Championship side Wolves saw us crash out the FA Cup Third Round, losing three nil but not embarrassing ourselves. Two more defeats followed as we lost three nil against Cambridge and four two at home against Eastleigh. We improved to beat struggling Port Vale one nil with Pooni netting before drawing one a piece at home against Barrow with Hedges scoring he was also on the scoresheet in our two one defeat against Fleetwood.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Twelfth in the league now and just ten points away from my pre season total points of fifty. We're still just outside the playoffs now sitting four points outside but I fear our poor goal difference could go on to cost us a chance if we got close due to the amount of teams on the same amount of points. However there is still seventeen league games to go this season so we could still fly or slip in the table.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Next Update: London City FC - February 2025[/FONT]

 

[BrizzleBelter]

Great story so far mate, Its amazing how far the team has come already.
I read from start to end last night on my night shift and its what kept me awake ^^)

 

[Tracz]

Fair to say its been a great first half to the season.
Its apitty about hassall not featuring as much but i guess he's been a victim of the clubs success.
Only four points from the playoffs is amazing. With 17games to go that is fairly possible to catch mate,
Even though im unsure if the club is ready for league1. What are the finances like now? I know in some stories
Ive read of people climbing through the leagues the finances dont build as quickly as the team. Eg. In prem/champ
With a wage budget of a league 2 club.
Keep up the great work. As you can tell youve got me hooked lol