London Irish: Football, Not Eggball

Jan and Feb

The signings of Duffy and Hoban have had the desired effect as we look considerably tighter at the back. Consequently we are unthinkably edging towards a possible Europa League spot!

We have also progressed in the FA Cup but missed a good chance to edge past Southampton at home. We have to go to St Marys now which is obviously tougher.

To make matter worse we've lost Patrick Bamford to a broken toe (several weeks) and Glenn Whelan to a cruciate injury (10 months). At 32 it is unlikely Glenn will be back. We added free agent Aiden McGeady to the squad for some more depth.​
Click to expand...

View attachment 164460

View attachment 164459
 
A perfect month.. we are on our best run ever and booked ourselves a first ever trip to Wembley for the FA Cup semi final against Bournemouth - a great chance to reach a maiden final.

In the league we haven't conceded in 7 games now. Our January transfer business has turned out to be outstanding.
Click to expand...

​
View attachment 164443

​
View attachment 164442
 
-- FA CUP SEMI FINAL --

View attachment 164433

Deary me! I was honestly expecting a fairly easy win but we had to rely on penalties after an epic ding dong clash with Bournemouth.

We face Stoke in a shock FA Cup final.

Stoke were relegated last season but have well clear in the Championship so it will tough.
Click to expand...

View attachment 164431


-- League --

View attachment 164430

View attachment 164432

We looked like we were starting to wobble as the goals dried up but we have regained some composure. However, even after beating Spurs, we find ourselves too far behind to challenge for a Champions League spot.

Considering it is our first season in the Prem I think we could be satisfied with maybe a Europa League spot..
Click to expand...
​
 
End of Prem 2016/17

View attachment 164412

View attachment 164414

View attachment 164413

View attachment 164411


A TRULY REMARKABLE SEASON!! Following promotion last season we were just aiming to be better than 3 other teams. Instead we overachieved big time, even briefly threatening to steal a Champions League spot.

Whilst we fell short in that respect we still secured a Europa League spot for next by finishing a lofty 6th.

Oh, and just the same matter of an FA Cup final coming up..
Click to expand...
​
 
The-FA-Cup-trophy.jpg



-- FA CUP FINAL 2017 --


View attachment 164403

View attachment 164402



UNBELIEVABLE!! Despite our lowly stature we went in as favorites.

An early goals settled the nerves and I thought we would cruise to victory. However, Stoke rallied and showed why they will be back in the Prem next season. But we held on to claim a first ever Cup win and a place in history.
Click to expand...
 
I did something similar with a club called Belfast United but with Northern Irish players. Started in the Scottish Championship and win promotion through the playoffs in my first season to the SPL. Managed to sign the bulk of the NI team but i did allow myself to sign foreigners too.
 
2017/18

-- Academy 2017 --

View attachment 164322

Some good prospects, none Irish qualified though. I'll allow myself to use UK born academy graduates but only when no Irish player is available.


-- Transfers --

View attachment 164323

Some good business done with more of the international squad acquired. Coleman and McCarthy are the only main ones left to acquire.

With the Europa League this season I have signed more players than I otherwise would have as I know from experience that too many signings at once disrupts the squad harmony and usually leads to a slow start to the season. Time will tell..
Click to expand...


-- Community Shield --

View attachment 164324

OK... We aren't adding the Shield to our newly built trophy cabinet.
Click to expand...
 
What a suden run of form that was. Superb work well done.
 
Attaboy!
Amazing what you've done in only two years.
Also you've made some amazing additions there like those of Pat Bamford or Shane Long, will you consider the possibilty of adding players of Irish descent (like Jack Grealish or Harry Kane for instance) in the future or you'll still stick to the Irish declared players?

Good job so far and good luck in Europe ^^

.P.S.: Won't you have trouble with the player registration for Europa League? I don't think that you still have any player that can be considered as London Irish's homegrown after all...
 
Zlatan Lumic said:
Attaboy!
Amazing what you've done in only two years.
Also you've made some amazing additions there like those of Pat Bamford or Shane Long, will you consider the possibilty of adding players of Irish descent (like Jack Grealish or Harry Kane for instance) in the future or you'll still stick to the Irish declared players?

Good job so far and good luck in Europe ^^

.P.S.: Won't you have trouble with the player registration for Europa League? I don't think that you still have any player that can be considered as London Irish's homegrown after all...
Click to expand...

Cheers.

At first I will only sign player declared for the national team. If I am short of available players then I will look to people with dual nationality.

And I play FMT so squad registration isn't an issue
 
Aug/Sep 2017

-- Europa League Draw --

View attachment 163895

What we've been looking forward to all summer.

A glamour tie against the mighty Napoli is of course the highlight but the draw allows us a good chance of progressing through to the next round I think.
Click to expand...


-- Results --

View attachment 163893

View attachment 163894

A bit rocky to start with. Out of the League Cup and a slow start to the European campaign but we end in the period in the top 4 - I'll take that at the end of season!
Click to expand...

​
 
Oct and Nov 2017

We are consistently inconsistent and our defenders are all over the place!

We need to tighten up at the back otherwise we won't kick on from last season even though we should really just be looking to consolidate in the Prem for a couple of season.
Click to expand...

​
View attachment 163121


Despite a sluggish start to the European campaign we banged out 3 straight wins that see us qualify for the next round.
Click to expand...
View attachment 163123

​
View attachment 163122

​
 
Dec and Jan

Infuriating doesn't even begin to describe my feelings during the last two months!!

Spankings handed to us by Spurs and Man Utd but beating Man City twice and also qualifying further in Europe show once again how inconsistent we are sometimes.

Maybe a change in system is needed to halt our slide towards mid table nothingness
Click to expand...

View attachment 163100

View attachment 163101​
 
Europa League Quarter Final

-- 1st Leg --

View attachment 162929


-- 2nd Leg --

View attachment 162930

Wow wow wow!

Dreamland. Knocking out the German giants Borussia Dortmund is undoubtedly one of our greatest achievement in our very brief history. Next up in the semis are local rivals Tottenham.

We are also holders of the FA Cup and find ourselves with another semi final trip to Wembley and setting records along the way...
Click to expand...

View attachment 162928​
 
End of Season

After our Euro adventure was ended by Spurs we held our good league form but the biggest disappointment is definitely the FA Cup semi final defeat to Derby.

It was a typical (FM16) defeat. The opposition scoring with their only shots on target after we squander chance after chance. Happens FAR TOO OFTEN!!

Nonetheless, despite a slow start, we ended 5th but only a point off 2nd. Progress progress progress..
Click to expand...


View attachment 162850

View attachment 162849​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Top