Sunday League to Champions League

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August
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Andrew Osei-Bonsu on his debut ruptured a cruciate ligament and is out for 9-10 months so 3 new arrivals arrived this month, one coming on transfer deadline day...
View attachment 1096128Joe Crowe, a central defender who will be number one back up for this position arrives on a free following his release from Norwich in the summer.
View attachment 1096129George Dobson, arrives on a season long loan from Fleetwood, will be back up as a defensive midfielder and central midfielder.
View attachment 1096130Deadline day brings Andy Cannon, on £170,000, most ive spent on a player. Can play defensive midfield or central midfield, Cannon arrives from relegated Forest Green Rovers and at 25 years can still improve as he reaches his peak in a few years time.

View attachment 1096131Portsmouth - What a game to kick off the season, an 8 goal thriller including a brace for Matthew Overton and goals from Harvey Rodgers and Johan ter Horst.
Millwall - Story of 2 halves, superb in the first half, 11 shots to there 1, completely dominant and then second half was shocking as the score line suggests.
Coventry - 2-0, didn't show up against promotion favourites Coventry as we fall to back to back defeats.
Tranmere - A boring dull game, ter Horst grabbing a goal.
Mansfield - 2-0 down at half time and we manage to get 3-2 ahead via a 90th minute goal for substitute Sam Surridge on his return until Cameron Stewart scored a 93rd minute equaliser for Mansfield.
Bristol Rovers - 3-0 up at half time through a brace from Overton, we gift them 2 goals until ter Horst seals our first win of the season.
Southampton U23s - Again we went 2-0 up until we let the back into the game and then getting stuffed 5-2.

View attachment 109613215th in the league, 5 points from safety although the only point both Mansfield and Portsmouth gained was against us! 2 points off play offs, if we can hold onto leads or stop giving ourselves mountains to climb then hopefully we can start climbing the table into a play off spot in months to come and hopefully we can keep a clean sheet.
 
September&October
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As my wifi was down last night, I've got September and October in one update...
View attachment 1096314
Yeovil - 3-0 down until we score just before half time and then a miraculous turnaround sees Overton net 4 and the winner in the 89th minute away from home.
Aldershot - Hugo Logan scores his first for the club as we go fall to a 2-1 defeat.
Doncaster - Back to winning ways including a ter Horst hat trick.
Crawley - A game we should have won as their equaliser came from Yann Songo'o only got booked for a disgusting tackle.
Morecambe - Another ter Horst hat trick sees off Morecambe.
Oldham - ter Horst and super sub Surridge gets us back to back wins.
Northampton - Steve Palmer scored a beauty and Surridge getting 2 in 2 gives our reserves a chance of qualifying out of the group.
Cambridge - Andy Cannon scores his first goal for the club in a game Cambridge deserved to win.
Wrexham - Fraser Franks get his first for the club but we fall to another defeat.
Burton - We somehow lost! they had 2 shots all game, 2!!! We had 4 clear cut chances alone and somehow fell to a 2-0 loss!
Rochdale - another game we should have won, 4 clear cut chances again to their 1. Surridge and Hazeldine both coming off the bench to score.
View attachment 1096315 We drop to 14th in the league however we are 10 points away from the relegation zone and 5 from the play offs. If we become more consistent and convert our chances then we should be pushing for a play off spot.
 
November

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View attachment 1096324Oldham - We draw at home against Oldham in the FA Cup meaning a needless replay.
Birmingham - We fall out of the Checkatrade trophy after a 3-2 defeat, Craig Hurren scoring his first senior competitive goal.
Carlisle - Another league defeat as we concede 4 again this season.
Oldham - A fantastic result, clean sheet and a 1-0 win away from home meaning we play Whitby in the second round of the FA Cup.
Hartlepool - Finally a league win!! Johan ter Horst scoring as always.
Scunthorpe - We go 2-0 down however another fightback sees us draw level thanks to summer signings Palmer and Overton.
Barnet - We go a goal up thanks to Overton but like we've done most of the season we concede and allow Barnet to share the points.
View attachment 1096325We rise a place to 13th, 9 points above of the relegation zone and 7 away from play offs now. We need to string a good run of results together especially as games come thick and fast in the month of December and hopefully we'll arrive in the new year in a play off spot.
 
December
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During our first game of the month, our goalkeeper, James Talbot fractured his wrist and was out for 8-10 weeks. Sub keeper, George Willis, then picked up a bruised shin in the same game, he managed to play through the rest of the game but was out for 10 days following the game. Therefore we have a new signing....
View attachment 1096370 Will Huffer, he's a young goalkeeper with potential to be just as good as Talbot. He isn't on much money a week and is ideal to be third back up choice.

View attachment 1096371
Whitby - Most dominant display I have seen this season but that was to be expected as I put out our strongest side to reach the third round of the FA cup.
Portsmouth - Not as exciting as the 4-4 draw we had in the return fixture as we fall to a 1-0 defeat.
Coventry - The Johan ter Horst show as he scores a first half hat trick to see off Coventry.
MK Dons - We faced Jack Munns and his new team mates and went a goal down before a brace each for Matthew Overton and Steve Palmer gets us the 3 points.
Newport County - Fantastic win as we play the last 25 minutes with 10 men as we hold onto our 1 goal advantage.
View attachment 1096372A fantastic month of results, high scoring and a few clean sheets in the mix as well as a FA Cup third round tie against Carlisle coming up. We are now 13 points clear of relegation and decreased the gap to just 2 to the play offs
 
January
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During the transfer window we failed to bring in any players however we say goodbye to one player, Kyle McDowell, the left back joined us in the summer but failed to impress when given first team opportunities and was on £600 a week therefore best to see him depart as he joined Bristol Rovers for £20,000 with 18 months left on his contract.

Spoiler alert... we beat Carlisle in the FA cup 3rd round which youll hear more about later on but that meant a fancy draw against Swansea City, a premier league club away!!
View attachment 1096612The lads done themselves proud today! We went away to the Liberty Stadium and had more of the possession and had more shots, equalling the same on target. Swansea started superior as you can see netting twice in two minutes however we reacted brilliantly and deserved to score before half time. Despite losing, we got a massive financial reward as a result and Michael Appleton, Swansea's manager, said after the game that we should be proud of our performance, a statement that I reiterated in my press conference.
View attachment 1096613











Stevenage - A fantastic win away from promotion challengers Stevenage, Logan and ter Horst with the goals.
Exeter - Johan again grabbing 2 goals as we let our lead go twice to draw 2-2.
Carlisle - What a comeback! 1-0 down with 10 minutes to go, we went 3-5-2 and it worked a dream as we scored twice in two minutes to earn a tie against Swansea in the 4th round of the FA Cup!
Tranmere - Another comeback this time won due to a Sam Surridge penalty with 3 minutes left on the clock.
Mansfield - At home to second bottom Manfield ended in defeat as we bottle a chance to get in the play offs.
Bristol Rovers - Back to back defeats as we fall to another 4-2 defeat although Surridge got his 4th goal in as many games.

View attachment 1096614After a productive month, we finish January in 13th place however only 3 points away from the play offs, despite having a inferior goal difference. 14 points off of relegation now and only 10 points away from the 50 that is rumoured to be enough for football league safety. A similar month to December and January in the coming months and I'm sure come May we'll be in and around the play offs.
 
February
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View attachment 1096637Yeovil - We win a 7 goal thriller as ter Horst grabs a hat trick.
Aldershot - 1-0 down at half time and we manage to turn it around thanks to a ter Horst goal and Steve Palmer free kick.
Doncaster - Disappointing to lose this one however we didn't play as well as we are capable of.
Crawley - Away to table toppers Crawley and we beat them 2-0, fantastic performance and result to match.
Morecambe - Absolutely dismantled Morecambe as Surridge, ter Horst and Truslove get on the scoresheet, Palmer makes it 3 in 4 for him!
Oldham - Typical Kidderminster, we go to relegation threatened Oldham and bottle it as we fall to a 2-0 defeat.

ter Horst and Palmer came runner up and third placed in player of the month for February and rightly soo.
View attachment 1096638Continued our good form and it shows as we are now 7th which is the last play off spot. Only one point separates us and Coventry in 8th and 6 points between us and 3rd placed Aldershot whom occupy the last automatic promotion spot. 20 points now separates us and the relegation places as its safe to say we have avoided relegation with 12 games to go.
 
March
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View attachment 1096674Cambridge - A hard fought 1-1 draw at home despite having the better of the chances.
Wrexham - ter Horst and Surridge with the goals but Wrexham should have won by about 8!
Burton - We beat struggling Burton thanks to Sam Surridge's second half strikes.
Rochdale - At 3-1 down at half time we swapped to our 3-5-2 formation and drew the second half 1-1 which wasn't enough to see us get any points.
Carlisle - Massively disappointing performance and result as we travel all the way up to Carlisle for a 2-0 defeat.
Hartlepool - That man Johan ter Horst grabbing the winner of course although it should have been at least 4.
View attachment 1096675A poor month sees us drop out of the play offs to 9th however still only 1 point away from them! 11 points separates us from the automatic places therefore they are long gone as is the possibility of relegation as we are now mathematically safe! I'm aiming for at least 12 points in the last 6 games to cement a place in the play offs!
 
Have had a read of this all the way through. It's refreshing to see a story where there are ups and downs throughout your management and not success all the way through despite you doing a excellent job.

Keep up the good work and I look forward to further updates.
 
Calder said:
Have had a read of this all the way through. It's refreshing to see a story where there are ups and downs throughout your management and not success all the way through despite you doing a excellent job.

Keep up the good work and I look forward to further updates.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate! Yeah was hard taking back to back play off defeats and an FA trophy final defeat alongside it aswell! But well worth it for the back to back league promotions.
Next update will be in about 30mins-an hour
 
April/May
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View attachment 1096778
Scunthorpe - We start off our critical last month of the season with a 3-0 win away at Glanford Park, superb start.
Stevenage - Another clean sheet and a 1-0 win sees us in the play offs.
Exeter - Daniel Wright comes into the side and scores to secure another win.
Newport - Our assistant manager, Ryan Clarke, left for Yeovil Town before this game and we failed to bring in one before kick off. We end up drawing 1-1 despite them having the better of the chances, Liam Truslove picked up an injury keeping him sidelined for 2-3 months!
Barnet - A 91st minute penalty from Sam Surridge means we secure a play off spot with a game to go!!
MK Dons - Surprisingly no Jack Munns for them and we finish the season confidently with a win which we can hopefully take with us into the play offs. ter Horst also scoring, somehow went the whole of April without one! Not all good news, Andy Cannon picked up an injury and will be out for 3 weeks.

View attachment 1096779There it is, 5th place! A fantastic run of form since December sees us finish 5 points ahead of 8th and only 4 off Cambridge in 3rd. The play offs will see us face Portsmouth, the first leg being away from home, we failed to win in either games this year against them including a 4-4 draw first game of the season. Burton managed to stay up only due to the fact Mansfield had a ridiculously poor goal difference. Tranmere also going straight back down after promotion last season.

Next Update: Play off semi final vs Portsmouth (Away)
 
An excellent end to the season, fingers crossed for the play-offs.

What's your position on leaving Kidderminster... are you planning to take them all the way to the top or are you looking to further your career at another club?
 
Calder said:
An excellent end to the season, fingers crossed for the play-offs.

What's your position on leaving Kidderminster... are you planning to take them all the way to the top or are you looking to further your career at another club?
Click to expand...

Yeah tell me about it, haven't hit that sort of form since my first few months at Kidderminster back in the Conference North. As for the future, I am looking to move onto bigger and better but after numerous interviews at bigger clubs I've yet to been given the opportunity. Had interviews at the likes of Sheff Utd and Birmingham but with no success. Also been offered ones at Notts County and Fleetwood but I didn't even bother attending as I don't see it as much of a step up as they were relegation threatened league one clubs
 
Play off Semi Final 1st Leg

View attachment 1096789​
Fantastic performance and result to match! As you can see the game itself was incredibly close as we just shade possession by 1% however they manage one more shot although both had the same on target. Johan ter Horst got the ball rolling after Daniel Wright crossed the ball in from the left. We then went 2-0 up when Portsmouth looked to counter us from a corner until James Hancocks literally punted the ball 50/60 yards to ter Horst who with his first touch looped a header over their goalkeeper, an incredible finish, where would we be without him this season! As we looked comfortable for 2 away goals and a clean sheet we let them back in it through a Luke Moran goal to make it squeaky *** time, however we managed to hold it out for a 2-1 win!

Not all good news though, as Steve Palmer picked up a knock with devastating consequences....
View attachment 1096790I was hoping we could have the option to give him injections to make it through the return leg but no such fortune as he is ruled out for 3-4 weeks meaning he'd miss the second leg and potential final along with 2 other important midfielders Truslove and Cannon.

Next update: Play Off Semi Final Second Leg vs Portsmouth (Home)
 
Play off Semi Final Second Leg
View attachment 1096791​
Not the greatest performance but we do what we needed to do in order to progress to the final! Portsmouth piled on the pressure throughout but we held strong and took the lead through that man Johan ter Horst just after half time, Liam Miller than equalised with 15 minutes to go where we then just aimed to retain possession for the remainder of the game with great success as we hold out for the win. We now face Aldershot in the final as they beat Wrexham 5-2 on aggregate.

In the lead up to the final, more injuries!
View attachment 1096794James Talbot, got a hernia a couple of days before the final meaning George Willis or Will Huffer will play in the clubs biggest ever game.
Then...
View attachment 1096795Fraser Franks, centre half colossal Franks fractured his cheekbone however thankfully he can play through the injury which is an absolute no brainer, hopefully it wont affect his performance!

However somehow Andy Cannon has made it back in time for the final. 90 minutes between league 2 football and league 1 football, a place Kidderminster as a club has never been before!

Next update:Play off FINAL - Aldershot (Wembley)
 
NathanITFC said:
Yeah tell me about it, haven't hit that sort of form since my first few months at Kidderminster back in the Conference North. As for the future, I am looking to move onto bigger and better but after numerous interviews at bigger clubs I've yet to been given the opportunity. Had interviews at the likes of Sheff Utd and Birmingham but with no success. Also been offered ones at Notts County and Fleetwood but I didn't even bother attending as I don't see it as much of a step up as they were relegation threatened league one clubs
Click to expand...

Great result, roll on the final! That sounds like the sensible option, see how you get on in the final and take it from there.
 
Play off FINAL
View attachment 1096801​
We start the first 20 minutes with all the possession but not creating anything whereas Aldershot are parking the bus and hitting us quickly and directly on the counter creating more chances. A corner whipped in and Josh Cogley decides to push Kwame Thomas and gift Aldershot a penalty which David Wheeler converts. Then just before half time, Hugo Logan, smashes in a screamer from 20 yards to make it 1-1 at the interval. Johan ter Horst then scores goal of the game smashing in a half volley from 20 yards before doubling his tally with a well executed counter attack finished off by the man of the season ter Horst with 7 minutes to go. We then go defensive, time waste and retain possession frustrating Aldershot until the referee blows the whistle meaning Kidderminster Harriers are now a Sky Bet League One side!!

View attachment 1096802No surprise here! Johan ter Horst wins player of the year and also gets golden boot! Liam Truslove and Johan ter Horst get into team of the year.

Johan ter Horst wins the clubs player of the year no surprisingly then Steve Palmer claims signing of the season, young player of the season and goal of the season for his goal against relegated Mansfield.
View attachment 1096811Following the play off win, I discovered that we broke a club record as we finished 5th meaning we have the highest ever league finish which will whatever happen next year be broken again following our promotion.

However I'm starting to think after 3 promotions and an FA trophy medal, maybe I have taken Kidderminster as far as I can and its best if I resign? Who knows whether I'll be here come August or not...
 
Pre-season
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I have decided to stay with Kidderminster as there were no jobs that interested me throughout the summer, Leeds and Sheff Utd (whom are both in League One following relegation) both hired two new managers the day after I applied. Throughout the season I will continue to look for new jobs as I need to find a new job where I can relish my dream of champions league football and progress up the football league ladder.

View attachment 1097087
Firstly, we accepted a bid of £750,000 from Bradford City for Steve Palmer however he turned them down after failing to agree a wage or appearance fee, despite them being in the Championship. Callum Grogan, Ben Clarke, Tommy Hope, George Willis and Jordan Tilson all leave following their contracts expiring. As does Andrew Osei-Bonsu who played 11 minutes for the club before rupturing his cruciate ligament. The usually youth players go on loan the majority to our affiliated club Nuneaton which the board kindly allowed me to have after fighting for it. Ryan Croasdale leaves for Barnet for £20,000 due to new signings and the step up looks to be a step to far for him despite everything he has done for the club. Lastly Scunthorpe put in a £10,000 bid for Harry Kyprianou despite his contract expiring in 3 days therefore I obviously accepted it and got a nice little fee for him.

The signings I have made are all high in work rate and determination to join with an already determined squad. My thinking behind it being that we may be less gifted than other teams but hopefully we will work harder and be more passionate meaning we'll pick up more loose balls. So here they are...
View attachment 1097064
Bradley Wood, 18 work rate and 15 determination alongside decent defensive stats made him my first signing. At only 2 and a half stars he will slot in at right back with 15 leadership he will give my team experience being one of the senior pros at the club at 30.
View attachment 1097065
Leon Ellis, a good centre half again with high work rate and determination, joins on loan from Brighton to give us a bit more quality at centre half.
View attachment 1097066
Declan Draycott, £70,000 from Southend United, he joins with 12 work rate and 13 determination but will be lethal off the bench with 14 finishing, composure and 16 acceleration. At 21 has a lot more years to progress as a player.
View attachment 1097067
Adam May, an all round good central midfield player. 12 for first touch, passing and tackling alongside good physicals and mentals was our highest fee signing at £130,000 from Scunthorpe. Note 14 for work rate and determination too.

View attachment 1097074
Elliott Johnson, a left back to compete with James Hancocks, again decent defensive and physical stats alongside 14 work rate and 11 determination.
View attachment 1097070View attachment 1097068






Two youngsters signed aiming to either be first team quality or be sold on for profit, e.g. Brock and Hickman.

The one that got away!
View attachment 1097075
Sam Mantom, a player I tried my hardest to get due to his league one experience and overall impressive stats. He may be lacking physically but mentally and technically gifted he turned us down to join league 2 Doncaster Rovers for less money!

View attachment 1097073
Pre season results were ok on the whole. We drew 1-1 to PSG reserves, Surridge scoring and getting injured meaning he'd miss the start of the season. We had our only loss to Port Vale where we played poor and a draw against AFC Wimbeldon whom we'll be playing against this season. We beat Cardiff, Stockport and the annual easy game before the season Black Country Rangers with Johan ter Horst doing what he does best and scoring 8 goals during pre season.

This season we will start with our 4-3-1-2 formation, exploiting the middle and working the ball into the box. I would shake your hands off now if we were to be guaranteed a 20th place finish. In league one 4 teams go down so hopefully there will be 4 worse teams than us this season which is unlikely as there are some big clubs in this league, Ipswich, Leeds, Sheff Utd and Birmingham to name a few.
 
Ipswich - We started the season playing my favourite team and got taught a lesson as we lose 3-1.
Gillingham - Our reserves lose in the EFL cup and deservedly so. Academy graduate, Craig Hurren scoring.
Sheffield United - What a win on our first home game, keeping a clean sheet and winning 2-0 against promotion favourites.
Southend - A game I was hopeful of winning however Southend hit us on the break and were ruthless in front of goal.
Notts County - Another defeat despite having good chances we again failed to convert them.
Chesterfield - All our failed converted chances were suddenly converted in this game as we were absolutely superb.
Oxford - Another game for the reserves which they took as Logan and Overton secured a well deserved win.
View attachment 1097106Good start to life in league one, currently 15th on 6 points, 3 points away from the play offs and two away from the relegation zone. Hopefully we can get two wins in a month every month and come May we will hopefully be ok!

Loanee Leon Ellis came second in the player of the month award.
 
Decent start, where are you hoping to finish?mid table or just stay up?
 
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