Sunday League to Champions League

[NathanITFC]

September
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Another new addition however not a goalkeeper that you were probably expecting....
View attachment 1094190
His agent approached me following his release from Liverpool and at only £210 a week with 4 and a half potential stars, I thought it was well worth the risk. He immediately joined Welling on loan to aid his development.

View attachment 1094194
Newport - the perfect result, 3 goals and a clean sheet against a promotion challenger.
Woking - All three of our strikers on target as we coast past a struggling Woking side.
York - A fantastic away performance capped off with another clean sheet and 3 goals.
Chester - Top of the table and you can see why, very organised and hard to beat as we fail to break down their 5 defenders.
Dagenham and Redbridge - another 1-0 defeat, a game we deserved more from.
Barrow - A comfortable 2-0 win, a fantastic month for Ryan Croasdale who bagged 3 goals this month, Truslove netting the other after coming off the bench.

View attachment 1094196
We have moved up to 9th and are now only 3 points off the play offs. I hope we continue this reasonably good form and push for a play off spot along with a nice run in the FA Cup.

 

[NathanITFC]

October
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We started the month with a new goalkeeper....
View attachment 1094273
George Willis, we signed the ex Sheffield United graduate to be backup to James Talbot in goal, 2 and a half star with 4 potential and only costing us £1,500 from Gainsborough.


View attachment 1094274
Halifax - we run out 2-1 winners infront of the television cameras as ter Horst and Hazeldine bag the goals.
Eastleigh - We throw away a 2-0 lead but manage 2 goals in the last 15 minutes as ter Horst grabbed his hat trick.
Gateshead - A poor performance away from home sees us fall to a 2-0 defeat against Gateshead away.
Halwsowen - I put our reserves out to give them first team experience and a chance to impress, a chance they completely blew as we ran out deserved 1-0 losers.
Eastbourne - We smash them 5-0 at home, Truslove getting a brace and all 3 of our strikers on the score sheet.
AFC Fylde - We lead 2-0 and again let in 2 goals until a goal for Josh Cogley, his first career goal, gave us a 3-2 win.

View attachment 1094275
We end the month in a play off spot, 7 points off Chester at the top of the league. Hopefully we can maintain this form up and keep our play off position, especially as there will be no cup run following our defeat to Halesowen.

 

[NathanITFC]

November
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We started November with horrendous news that Johan ter Horst is out for 3 months after tearing his hamstring.
View attachment 1094292
Southport - A comfortable 3-0 win against Southport including a goal for Neil Brock replacing the injured ter Horst.
Sutton - A 2nd consecutive clean sheet and a winner for Jake Cassidy gives us 3 points.
Ebbsfleet - Brock with another goal and Liam Truslove secure the 3 points for Kiddy.
Cheltenham - we fall to a 1-1 draw after being 1-0 up and against 10 men, reasonably disappointing.
Maidstone - Back to winning ways as we thump bottom of the table Maidstone 6-2.


View attachment 1094293
2nd in the league, two points off top. A fantastic month, unbeaten, hopefully we can carry on this form throughout December.

 

[NathanITFC]

December​

View attachment 1094299
AFC Telford - id take a clean sheet away from home every single time!
Bristol Rovers - big game where we ran out deserved winners despite being 10-1 to win before kick off.
Spalding - Cup game where we played the youths and reserves and won in extra time, Clayton the stand out player.
Boreham Wood - fall to a 2-1 defeat, deserved a point in my eyes.
Torquay - should've won more convincingly, Clayton with a brace.
Dartford - Lucky to win, only thanks to a Hazeldine penalty.
Grimsby - Clayton ends a superb month with another brace.


NOTE- the Grimsby game came ONE day after our Dartford game which was 2 days after the Torquay game. Ridiculous scheduling but our squad depth showed as we got 9 points in 4 days!


View attachment 1094302
A superb month sees us go top of the table heading into the new year by a point but with a much superior goal difference! Hopefully more of the same this new calender year to see us gain back to back promotions.

 

[NathanITFC]

January
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Started the month with even more injury news, Max Hazeldine out for 5-6 weeks and ter Horst also rejoins him on the injury table as he is also out for 7-8 more weeks following a reoccurring injury picked up in an U23 game whilst trying to get him back to match sharpness.
View attachment 1094346
Accrington - Dunkerley comes off the bench to grab a brace and seal 3 points for Kiddy.
Newport - Dunkerley turns super sub again with another goal for him and Neil Brock.
Woking - We fail to beat struggling Woking despite bombarding their goal with clear cut chances, 2 points dropped.
Macclesfield - FA trophy game where again I made 11 changes which didn't matter as Clayton grabbed a first half hat trick.
York - Clayton kept his place in the side following his hat trick and scored a brace securing a 3-1 comeback.

View attachment 1094347
Top of the league by 5 points and a massively superior goal difference! It is ours to lose now but how many times have I said that over my career! Next game is 2nd place Chester away where we will look to gain an 8 point advantage over them!

 

[NathanITFC]

February
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View attachment 1094374
Chester - We lose the clash at the top of the table 3-2, should've deserved a point at least but that's football.
Dag & Red - A Croasdale screamer earns us a point.
Bristol Rovers- We lose in the cup after extra time, a goalscoring return for Hazeldine.
Barrow - A goal and assist for Joe Cogley earns us the 3 points.
Eastleigh - Again 1-0 down but we fight our way back battering them 4-1.
FC Halifax - Two absolute screamers by Hazeldine twice get us level away at Halifax infront of the cameras.

View attachment 1094376
Still top with a 6 point lead, again its in our hands, ours to lose now!

 

[NathanITFC]

March
​

View attachment 1094520
Eastbourne - The worst result of the season so far, a shocking result conceding 3 goals against relegation threatened Eastbourne.
Gateshead - Back to back defeats and failing to score in both games is worrying form.
AFC Fylde - A brace for Hazeldine gets us back on track.
Southport - Callum Grogan scoring his first goal of the season to seal 3 points for the harriers.
Sutton - Back to back clean sheets and Grogan getting his second goal in 2 games.

View attachment 1094527
7 points clear with 5 games to go, anything other than the title would be a complete and utter disaster!

 

[NathanITFC]

April/May
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View attachment 1094633
Ebbsfleet - We fall to a 2-1 defeat, ter Horst scoring and getting injured again!
Cheltenham - Huge win as Brock comes off the bench and seals a 91st minute winner!
AFC Telford - Poor result as we fail to score again.
Maidstone - The result that clinches us the TITLE, we hammer Maidstone with 3 first half goals.
Bristol Rovers - I change the line up including a few youngsters which backfired as we get thumped 4-0.

View attachment 1094634
Despite our inconsistent form come the end of the season we clinch the title by a point securing back to back league titles!! Bristol Rovers get promoted beating Chester in the final of the play offs. Bradley Reid of Newport County claims the player of the year and I swoop manager of the year!

After we claim back to back league titles, Max Hazeldine claims back to back player and young player of the year, Phil Egan won signing of the season and Liam Truslove claimed goal of the season for his thunderbolt against Maidstone in our promotion winning game.

 

[NathanITFC]

Pre-season

​

View attachment 1094649
As you can see most of the outgoings were youth players on loan. Hopefully first team experience elsewhere we'll aid their development and come back ready for football league action. The only major departure was Neil Brock who left for Blackburn Rovers for £125,000 potentially rising to £200,000 with a 30% sell on fee, which was just to good of an offer to not accept.

For the arrivals...
View attachment 1094650
Jack Munns, a free transfer following his release from Cheltenham Town, his attributes for an advanced playmaker really stood out so was a no brainer in my eyes.
View attachment 1094651View attachment 1094651
Harry Krypianou, left back who was cheap and has potential, released by Lincoln following their relegation, will go ahead of James Hancocks in the pecking order.
View attachment 1094652
Jordan Tilson, ex Exeter and Crewe defender, brings league 2 experience to the side and can play both centre half and as a defensive midfielder.
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Kisimba Kisimba, so good they named him twice! No attribute that is amazing but no attribute that is shocking, a cheap defensive midfielder who is bound to improve at the age of 22, hopefully 7/10 each week with no real flaw to his game.
View attachment 1094655
Rhys Murphy, ex Arsenal academy graduate joins on a free following the sale of Neil Brock to add healthy competition to our strikers.
View attachment 1094656View attachment 1094656
Dylan Williams, back up midfielder who has average ratings and adds league 2 experience to the side. Young and has the potential to improve.

View attachment 1094657
Unbeaten in pre season including a win against Barnet and a clean sheet, hopefully something to build on. This season we will play 4-4-2 narrow diamond standard and flexible, looking for overlaps and whipped crosses. We will be aiming to avoid relegation, 22nd and above this season would be a great feat for the club!

 

[NathanITFC]

August/September
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For some reason or another I couldn't sign onto my account to do the August review so here is two months slotted in together and as you can see two very contrasting months.
View attachment 1094708
August
Wrexham- In our first game of the season we were unfourtunate to lose 1-0, our performance merited at least a point.
Shrewsbury - Our second string team run out winners via penalties and a hat trick for Hazeldine.
Cambridge - Somehow we didn't win this game and let a 2 goal lead slip with 10 minutes to go!
Forest Green - Day to forget, shambolic all round!
Oldham - Another game we somehow failed to win, 5 clear cut chances compared to their 2. A 93rd Ousmane Fane winner for Oldham robbed us of a point.
Wolves - Our second string side again play in the cup away at Molineux and take the lead through Jake Cassidy against his old club but we fail to hold onto our lead.
Stevenage - Double the amount of clear cut chances created but again we fail to convert them and fall to a 1-0 defeat.

At this point, we were bottom and 2 points away from safety. I was perplexed that we had failed to get a win in the league yet, we dominated games stats wise but failed to convert chances. I decided to make our wing backs, defensive fall backs and took off the look for overlap instead trying to exploit the middle as I thought itd make us more solid at the back and we have enough creativity in the middle of the pitch to be alright. I also signed a player...
View attachment 1094709
Martin Craine, an ex FA youth cup runner up with Southampton, we bring him in for much needed experience and his stats are better than Callum Grogan who was struggling with the step up from the conference.

September
Bristol Rovers - We run out 2-0 winners, our first win and clean sheet of the season!
Crawley - Back to back clean sheets as we manage to draw against 10 man Crawley away from home.
Doncaster - Big game at the bottom of the league which ended level, Munns grabbing a goal from a free kick.
Exeter - A real thriller, a game we probably didn't deserve to win but Phil Egan and Liam Truslove scoring goals from midfield, both have been different class this season.
Burton - 3-0 against promotion hopeful Burton who were reduced to 10 men. Another goal for the prolific Truslove!

What a turnaround, a month getting one point followed by a month where we were unbeaten!
View attachment 1094711
14th in the league as it stands, 3 points off relegation and 5 off the play offs, next step is to be closer to the play offs than the relegation places but as I said at the start of the year, the target is just to finish 22nd or above

 

[NathanITFC]

October
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View attachment 1094725
Carlisle - a draw away from home is a good result as Jack Munns scores another free kick.
Wolves U23 - A weakened side run out comfortable 2-0 winners to give us a chance of qualifying.
Morecambe - A game which we could and should have won but we failed to create any real clear cut chances.
Aldershot - Smashed them 3-0 after Pelly Ruddock got sent off for the visitors.
Leyton Orient - 4-2 win, Hatfield and Murphy coming off the bench to score along with regular scorers Truslove and Hazeldine.
Colchester - We fall to our first defeat in 9 games as we lose 1-0 at home, a game where we could've snatched a draw if it wasn't for poor finishing.

View attachment 1094727
We climb three places up to 11th in the league and have reduced the gap to the play offs to 2 points and are now 5 points away from the drop zone. Hopefully we can maintain this position and be comfortably safe come the end of the season and potentially push for play offs if possible.

 

[NathanITFC]

November
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View attachment 1095118Boreham Wood - A thoroughly impressive victory, a clean sheet and a 1-0 win thanks to Max Hazeldines goal, we will play Fleetwood in the round of the FA Cup.
Wigan - We finished 3rd in our group after we fall to a 1-0 defeat, a game in which we deserved more out of the game as our reserves and youths failed to find an all important goal.
Plymouth - We nearly threw away a 2-0 lead at half time before Mr Magnificant Liam Truslove grabbed his second of the game to secure a dramatic 3-2 win away from home.
Scunthorpe - An impressive draw against strong opposition, Jack Munns scoring his third free kick of the season.
Mansfield - We went a goal up through another goal for Phil Egan. Shocking defending particularly from Martin Cranie then meant Mansfield took a 4-1 lead before an inspiring fightback from ter Horst and a screamer for Jack Munns, 2 in 2 for him, nearly meant we gained a point from the game.
Yeovil - We went into half time 2-0 down but a better second half performance meant we grabbed a goal back through Max Hazeldine but it wasn't enough as we fall to a 2-1 defeat.
View attachment 1095119
Back to 12th again however we are still closer to play offs (5 points) than we are relegation (7 points). Liam Truslove has the best average rating in the league currently but is sidelined for 3 weeks with an injury. Jack Munns grabbed goal of the month for his strike against Mansfield and Johan ter Horst came runner up for player of the month. A little bit more consistency and converting more of our chances and we have a real chance of gaining a play off spot which is a superb achievement considering we were favourites to finish bottom at 1000-1 to be champions.

 

[NathanITFC]

December
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View attachment 1095165
Fleetwood - Start the month away at Fleetwood in the FA Cup and played magnificent limiting them to two chances in which they took before a screamer for Croasdale gave them a nervy last few minutes until they managed to hold out for the win.
Rochdale - Worst performance of the season so far summed up by the hideous score line.
Northampton - Unfortunate not to get anything from the game as they sucker punch us with a goal from a corner in the last 10 mins of the game.
Crewe - Away to top of the league and I fear the worse, no need to though as we keep a clean sheet and smash 3 past them including a 25 yard half volley from Phil Egan.
Barnet - Back to reality as we then go and lose 2 days later to Barnet as we play poorly aswell.
View attachment 1095168
19th, now 9 points away from a play off spot and only 4 away from a relegation spot. May be I got carried away looking at the play off spots and we are most certainly in a dog fight to beat the drop looking at recent form. However January is approaching and I will be looking at signing a few players in order to bolster our chances of staying up.

 

[dani3w]

Just read through this, superb work so far, tough on the back to back losses in the Playoff finals but promotion finally came and then the FA Trophy too! Good to see you up into League Two now!

 

[NathanITFC]

Just read through this, superb work so far, tough on the back to back losses in the Playoff finals but promotion finally came and then the FA Trophy too! Good to see you up into League Two now!

Cheers mate, yeah been struggling with consistency since making the step up into the football league

 

[NathanITFC]

January
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I will start with the two new additions I have acquired....
View attachment 1095347
Sam Surridge, a striker joins following his release from Bournemouth in the summer, hasn't had any first team football in recent years however his stats are still promising and has room to improve.
View attachment 1095348
Daniel Wright, another free signing, just like Surridge, been without a club since the summer following his release from Sunderland and has played very little first team football in recent years, 3 and a half star current ability which could rise to 4 in the near future.

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Wrexham - We dominated the game but failed to take all 3 points.
Cambridge - A game we deserved to lose, Cambridge played very well and were clinical in front of goal.
Forest Green - Absolutely livid, 2-0 up with 5 mins to go and we concede 2 to end up drawing the game.
Oldham - Another game where we start well, scoring inside 10 mins but again throw the game away losing 3-2, Sam Surridge scoring his first for the club on his debut.
Stevenage - Finally a WIN! Ter Horst got the ball running until they equalize, Josh Cogley then got sent off and I fear the worst until Daniel Wright on his debut set up Sam Surridge on his home debut to score the winner and give us the win.

View attachment 1095350
Another poor inconsistent month sees us drop to 19th. Still 9 points off play offs however now only 5 above the relegation places. With our new signings I feel we will score more however we have conceded goals for fun this month so I will continue to look for a shrewd defensive signing as we can still aquire free agents.
Phil Egan came runner up in the young player of the month and Johan ter Horst again came runner up for the player of the month award.

 

[NathanITFC]

February
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View attachment 1095366
Bristol Rovers - battle of the promoted teams ends up with us running out as 2-1 winners, another goal from midfield for Liam Truslove.
Crawley - Somehow we kept a clean sheet in a game where we truly robbed Crawley who thoroughly deserved more from the game.
Doncaster - Big win as we go away to relegation threatened Doncaster and win 3-1, Harvey Rodgers grabbing his first goal of the season.
Exeter - We go a goal down inside a minute but the players react fantastically winning 4-1, Martin Cranie scoring his first goal for the club.
Burton - We go to Burton where a certain Ashley Young now plays and draw 1-1 after Sam Surridge scored his 4th goal in 3 games.
View attachment 1095368
A month where we go unbeaten leaves us 11th in the league, 6 points off play offs but more importantly now 12 points away from the drop zone. Sam Surridge came runner up in player of the month in his first full month for the club and I manage to bag myself manager of the month.

 

[NathanITFC]

March
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View attachment 1095379
Carlisle - We draw 1-1 against Carlisle which was probably a fair reflection of the game.
Morecambe - A chance to close the gap to the play offs which we bottled as we didn't show up and deservedly lost.
Aldershot - Worse defensive display of the season, despite having more clear cut chances we fall to a 5-1 defeat as our defence couldn't handle Kristian Dennis air threat as he scored 4 in the first half.
Colchester - We manage a 2-0 win and deservedly so.
Leyton Orient - Can see why they are bottom as we trump them 4-0.
Plymouth - We went 3-0 all goals from either free kicks or pens and manage to throw the game away and draw 3-3 AGAIN.

View attachment 1095380
We remain 11th however 6 points off play offs and now 12 points clear of relegation zone. We have reached our 50 point mark so I think its safe to say we have avoided relegation with 7 games to go and 13 teams below us!

 

[NathanITFC]

April&May
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View attachment 1095664
Scunthorpe - A fantastic win away from home as Josh Cogley bends in a superb free kick.
Mansfield - Another game where we score 2 goals, Phil Egan enjoying the license to get forward from midfield again.
Yeovil - We fall to a 4-1 defeat, closer than the score line suggests.
Barnet - Play off hopes are back as we beat Barnet 1-0 at home, ter Horst getting his third in 3 games.
Rochdale - A game we deserved to lose, Rochdale well and truly battered us but a Sam Surridge goal gives us a point.
Crewe - 0-0, says it all about this game, boring, dull and uneventful as nothing is at cost for either teams.
Northampton - End our first season back in the football league with a 4-1 drubbing despite having 4 clear cut chances to their 0!

View attachment 1095665We finish dead in the middle of the league, 12th. 18 points clear of the relegation place! My aim of 50 points at the start of the year would have been enough as Leyton Orient and Forest Green go down on 45 and 46 points. We end up 6 points away from the play offs which could've been reached if we started and finished the season better. Crewe, Plymouth and Colchester all got promoted alongside Northampton whom won 2-0 against Wrexham in the play off final.

Liam Truslove rightly claimed our player of the year, with 70% of the votes, followed by Max Hazeldine and then Johan ter Horst. Jack Munns won goal of the season for his strike against Mansfield. Young player of the season went to Max Hazeldine who at 24, I think shouldn't be able to win! Signing of the season went to January recruitment Sam Surridge.

 

[NathanITFC]

Pre-season
​

I will start by looking at the transfers we made during the summer...
View attachment 1096097
Martin Cranie retired after one season at the club. Charlie Dunkerley, Rhys Murphy, Jake Cassidy and Bradley Clayton all left the club following their contracts expiring. Will Hatfield and Kisimba Kisimba also departed as they failed to make the cut in the football league. Ross Holloway, Robbie McDonnell and Tommy Hope all leave on season long loans again. Jack Munns left for MK Dons who put a £40,000 bid in which was too good to refuse as he had 11 months left on his contact. Youngster Sammy Hickman, whom we signed last year, left for £375,000 plus 25% sell on fee, I was gutted to see him leave as his stats were exceptional, especially his mentals for a 19 year old. The other departures were youngsters that saw out their contracts. Now for the arrivals...
View attachment 1096098Hugo Logan, arrives to replace the departed Jack Munns, he joins following his release from MK Dons and at 22 with bags of potential was a key signing this summer.
View attachment 1096099Kyle McDowell, another youngster that joins following his contract expiring at Portsmouth, 4 and a half star potential at 22 years old.
View attachment 1096101Steve Palmer, another youngster that joins as his contract expired at Man City. Impressive all round stats and at 20, he is most certainly going to improve with 4 and a half star potential.
View attachment 1096102Fraser Franks, £45,000, highest fee I have paid for a player. He had impressive stats for a central defender and a much needed experienced central defender to replace the departed Sammy Hickman and the retired Martin Cranie.
View attachment 1096103 Matthew Overton, released from Doncaster Rovers in the summer, at 21 he had 5 stars potential so was a given. Despite having low work rate and determination, his off the ball, finishing, dribbling, heading, anticipation, decisions and acceleration were all high and impressive.
View attachment 1096105Andrew Osei-Bonsu, following Kisimba Kisimba's release, we needed a central defensive midfielder and he fit the foil with high potential and decent marking, tackling, positioning, work rate and determination stats.

I will look to bring in further players before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

View attachment 1096106
An unbeaten pre season including a win against FC Halifax and Hamilton. 4 clean sheets out of 5 games is promising. Goals aplenty for Matthew Overton, Johan ter Horst and Sam Surridge until his injury disrupted his pre season.

We will start the season in familiar style 4-4-2 diamond narrow. Work the ball into the box and exploit the middle due to the creativity and strength being in the middle of the park for us. Fall backs to be defensive fall backs to ensure we have 4 solid defenders and allow more freedom for the midfielders with one defensive midfielder sitting preventing counter attackers.