I have read the whole story from the beginning till the now in last weeks and just feeling like... wow! This is the best I ever saw/read about FM and I hope this never ends and I'll always wait for a new part, this is just undescribely fascinating and enthralling! Gonna support this thread till the end, honestly...
The Alfa Romeo Metaphor
- Thread starter Enrico Pucci
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Enrico Pucci
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jimintriples, First off, thank you. This must mean you're still in beautiful Cadiz. Ah, Cadiz. Well, you're in for a few surprises.
Thanks so much, dainis.
Since I typically buy a new FM every two years, I think you'll be quite pleased to know that this might continue for a while. It seems that I can get through a season each quarter so if everything works out this story arc might continue past the game year of 2020.
MatthewElphinstone
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I think it's fantastic too.
My only gripe is that the games seem to be one every 3 or 4 updates.. i know this is to build story and everything (which i completely understand why you'd do that btw) but i fear you might not get as far as you want to achieve as you aren't getting the games in the locker.. Enrico said Anna and Gwen about maybe moving to a bigger club but i definitely fear that may not happen due to the amount of story builders..
don't get me wrong i do believe this is the best story going on FM currently (i would say ever but stonecold's Aberdeen save last year beats it because i am an Aberdeen supporter)
My only gripe is that the games seem to be one every 3 or 4 updates.. i know this is to build story and everything (which i completely understand why you'd do that btw) but i fear you might not get as far as you want to achieve as you aren't getting the games in the locker.. Enrico said Anna and Gwen about maybe moving to a bigger club but i definitely fear that may not happen due to the amount of story builders..
don't get me wrong i do believe this is the best story going on FM currently (i would say ever but stonecold's Aberdeen save last year beats it because i am an Aberdeen supporter)
Enrico Pucci
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Point noted. This story is EPICALLY slow maybe even glacial. If I was a painter I would be a realist, maybe a pointilist or maybe like the landscape painter Canaletto. Too much detail but pleasant (I by no means intend to compare myself the the master, Canaletto, btw).
I hope to emulate some of my favorite authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Umberto Eco and Neal Stephenson. Once you're hooked, it's like meth ... you're not about to stop. This is the effect I hope to create.
Enrico Pucci
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Sunday, 25 January 2015 noonish
"Smith is probably out for a week tops, it's just a stubbed toe," Physio Jon Whitney said stepping out of the treatment room at New Malden, Wimbledon's training ground. "So relax. You all hovering out here like a bunch of expectant first-time fathers is pathetic. Pathetic."
"So he misses Barnet and Northampton," I said.
"Yes, you understand proper English, your parents will be so proud to hear this now quit chewing your nails to the bone don't you have anything better to do?" Whitney continued. "You know they can all see you don't you?"
"Wee bit tetchy this morning?" Assistant Manager Sean Hankin said.
"It's afternoon and, yes, I'm a wee bit to busy can't you see?" Whitney retorted.
The treatment room was overflowing. To be honest, this is typical. Long-term injury Pat Baldwin sat patiently to the side. He'd get his hip massaged once training started. Michael Smith sat in chair with his foot in a bucket of ice. Daniel Barlaser was getting his hamstring massaged when Whitney stepped out to talk to us. Leandro Depetris was waiting for his compulsory concussion after-effects tests which Whitney would run. Kris Thackray was taking an ice pack off his groin and was about to put a hot water bottle in his crotch to make sure it got all the way loosened up. George Francomb was doing some stretches to make sure the muscles around the ribs he'd bruised loosened up all the way. Stephen Gregory, Andy Frampton, Reuben Hazell and Daniel Lincoln were all icing bruises.
In other words, Whitney didn't really need us bothering him just then. We all slunk away to get the training drills prepared.
"Smith is probably out for a week tops, it's just a stubbed toe," Physio Jon Whitney said stepping out of the treatment room at New Malden, Wimbledon's training ground. "So relax. You all hovering out here like a bunch of expectant first-time fathers is pathetic. Pathetic."
"So he misses Barnet and Northampton," I said.
"Yes, you understand proper English, your parents will be so proud to hear this now quit chewing your nails to the bone don't you have anything better to do?" Whitney continued. "You know they can all see you don't you?"
"Wee bit tetchy this morning?" Assistant Manager Sean Hankin said.
"It's afternoon and, yes, I'm a wee bit to busy can't you see?" Whitney retorted.
The treatment room was overflowing. To be honest, this is typical. Long-term injury Pat Baldwin sat patiently to the side. He'd get his hip massaged once training started. Michael Smith sat in chair with his foot in a bucket of ice. Daniel Barlaser was getting his hamstring massaged when Whitney stepped out to talk to us. Leandro Depetris was waiting for his compulsory concussion after-effects tests which Whitney would run. Kris Thackray was taking an ice pack off his groin and was about to put a hot water bottle in his crotch to make sure it got all the way loosened up. George Francomb was doing some stretches to make sure the muscles around the ribs he'd bruised loosened up all the way. Stephen Gregory, Andy Frampton, Reuben Hazell and Daniel Lincoln were all icing bruises.
In other words, Whitney didn't really need us bothering him just then. We all slunk away to get the training drills prepared.
Enrico Pucci
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League Two: AFC Wimbledon v. Barnet FC
View attachment 385866It's a cold Tuesday night in London. 2 ****ing degrees Celsius (37F). You all know me by this point; I'm bundled up in nearly everything I own. Thankfully, no rain and no wind.
Though it's cold, we are hoping to have a hot night against Barnet. They are not having a good season. They probably won't be relegated but that might be more due to Exeter and Morecambe sucking that bad. Everyone in the lower reaches are grateful for that.
Barnet have scraped themselves off the bottom, they'd been dead last for September and October and were now in relative safety.
Chief Scout Lil Fuccillo predicted they'd play a conservative 4411, defend with more hope than skill and further hope to hit us on the counter.
We're playing well in front of Daniel Lincoln so I'll stick with him between the sticks. Jim Fenlon needs night off so Brad Smith starts at left back. Mark Tomlinson serves his 2nd match suspended for accumulating 10 yellow cards so Stephen Gregory starts at defensive midfield. James Loveridge gets the start up top. Neither Jack, Midson or Redshaw, have done much to convince me they'll be better. So there's my line-up.
As I gave my pre-match talk that I wanted us to relax, focus and play our game, I watched Stephen Gregory get that bored look. You know the look. The ****-I've-never-heard-this-line-of-drivel-from-the-boss look. How is a seasoned veteran who needs to win his place back from a teenager, a guy who knows he needs prove to me he can get stuck in and control a game not motivate himself to win his place back and lead his team to a league triumph?
I think I'm steadily becoming a better judge of a room, of how what I'm saying goes over. How would Gregs play? From his body language pre-match, it looks like I'm right to trust Mark Tomlinson over him.
Barnet showed why they're near the bottom quite quickly. In the 7th minute, their goalkeeper mishit a goal kick. This happens at all levels. Better players exert themselves to clean up after their brother, so to speak. Not Barnet. Daniel Barlaser headed it up to James Loveridge. Lovers gathered in the ball, spun and ran at the defenders.
Lovers had gone 11 hours without scoring. That's since November of last year. So I was as shocked as everyone when he slowed, looked down and tried to chip the keeper. He floated the ball toward the right post. It looked like it would go high.
Then it started to drop.
Then it's as if he pulled a string and the tug nestled the ball softly into the side netting after nicking the crossbar.
1-0
Lovers threw a couple of gut punches into an imaginary opponent then kissed his badge as his teammates mobbed him. The fans serenaded him with Joy Division's Love, Love will tear Barnet apart, again to celebrate. They'd been waiting a while to sing that.
We continued to dominate.
In the 10th, Cameron Dummigan lasered a pass down the touchline for George Francomb to race onto. Geo saw Lovers making a near post run and curled in a cross. Lovers tried a back-heel flick as he'd mistimed his run slightly. His redirection hit the keeper and went out for a corner.
During the melee in the penalty box during the ensuing corner, Matteo Nole fell down as Geo whipped in his cross. The ref blew his whistle.
PENALTY!
What? The ref was running upfield.
"What did he call?" I politely asked the fourth official.
"Nole pushed Feely," the fourth offiical replied.
"So let me get this straight as I've never heard about this part of the official FIFA rule book," I replied. "A player has his shirt untucked and nearly ripped from his body as the defender throws him to the ground and the foul is on him?"
"I don't like your attitude Pucci, go sit down," was the only reply I got.
In the 27th minute. Geo whipped in yet another corner. It got headed right back to him. Everyone stayed put expecting another cross. Geo saw Danny Boy standing about 25 yards out. I have Danny Boy out their because he has the best long-range shot on the team. Geo hit a grass burner to Danny Boy.
And Danny Boy absolutely unloaded. He hit a shot about 2 feet off the ground that nearly ripped the netting before anyone could blink.
2-0
Then he just stood there waiting for his teammates to engulf him. **** glad to have you back, Danny Boy, **** glad.
In the 33rd minute, Adam Pepper mis-timed a tackler and tripped Barnet's Craig Tanner. Tanner is the attacking midfielder sitting in the hole behind the striker. He hadn't seen much of the ball so far and the few times he had, he'd been given the special sauce much like what Pepper had just done.
Daniel Lincolns lined up his wall to protect the near post as Barnet's Anton Rodgers placed the ball and stood over it. Then Lincoln slid over to the far post confident his wall would stop all but the most perfect shot. Rodgers was about 25 yards out, well left of center.
Lincoln shouldn't have been so confident of his wall.
2-1
Geo was the right-most guy in the wall, the guy guarding the post. The problem is he's only 5'11". Normally, Michael Smith (6'4") stands here. Next over was Adam Pepper, he's 5'6". Next was Nole who's only 5'10". The tall man in the wall was Lovers (6 ft). Obviously, he was not in the correct position. Rodgers blazed the ball just over Pep's head. While it was a truly well-taken free kick, Peps isn't supposed to be in walls for obvious reasons. He's supposed to be marking another midfielder, preferably a short one. Furthermore, Daniel Barlaser is 6 feet and he wasn't in the wall.
I turned and looked at Goalkeeping Coach Paul Rachubka. Paul was busy contemplating the palm of his hand from very close up. We were going to give everyone a refresher course on defending free kicks before the next match.
The remainder of the first half was dull and cold.
"Alright boys, well played," I said to begin my half time talk. "That was some cheeky ****, Lovers, well taken goal there. Nicely done. Now we can finally all relax that wait is over. Next, Barlaser, we've got to work on the celee. Seriously? Just standing there after unleashing a Stephen Gerrard Special is not appropriate. Kiss the badge, run to the fans, punch the corner flag, we'll have to work on that in training tomorrow."
Loveridge who was sitting next to Danny Boy gave him a push. This actually helped as the towel that Francomb threw missed because he'd tipped over a bit.
"But as for that free kick goal," I continued. The room got silent. "That **** just can't stand. Tall guys in the wall. Seriously. We'll work on this tomorrow, too."
"Now when we get back out there, continue harassing them," I said.
"Foot on the throat boys," Captain Andy interjected as he sometimes did. "Foot on the throat. Don't let up. Don't let up."
"Ball on ground boys," Matteo Nole said. Everyone looked over in shock. He never said anything. His English was getting better. "Keep ball and win."
"Now get out there," I said as I gave them the double thumb's up of approval.
We didn't start out that well. We were cold and the night seemed to have gotten colder.
In the 49th minute, Reuben Hazell got in tight on Barnet's striker Tom Hopper. I only mention this because, first, Haz had been carded in the 9th minute and, second, because he looked like he was about to foul him right in front of the ref.
"Don't foul Haz, don't foul Haz," I muttered under my breath. He didn't and Hopper played a slide rule pass into the path of Tanner. We quickly converged on Tanner and his only option was to shoot right at Lincoln. Which he did. And which Lincoln deflected out for a corner.
"COME ONE! COME ON!" Matteo Nole screamed at his teammates. Matteo never says anything. They all noticed.
Somebody in blue won the header in the melee at the top of the six yard box and the ball floated clear. Nole was first to it and raced upfield. he ran a full 60 yards then fed a pass to Lovers. Lovers tried an Around-The-World fake then stepped on the ball and fell over.
In the 55th minute, Peps played a pass up to Lovers. Lovers redirected the pass into the corner behind the left back for Nole to run onto. Matteo first timed a cross in for Lovers who was making a near post run.
His flick hit the goalkeeper from point blank range and Barnet cleared it for a throw.
We promptly lost the ball and Barnet rushed upfield on the counter. Gregs ended the counter by fouling Tanner about 40 yards out on our left flank. Very smart foul, cynical, too. Got away without a card as well. Nicely done, Gregs.
Rodgers mis-kicked his free kick and Nole controlled the one-skip cross and set out on another run upfield. Nobody could challenge him until he cross midfield. Then they didn't challenge him. It was 2 on 3. He and Lovers. Lovers just kept running next to the defender. He should have cut across Nole. I could see that Matteo was tiring. He looked up again, saw that Lovers was not doing anything and tried to chip the keeper.
The only problem was he was 30 yards out and this was his third lung-busting sprint inside 3 minutes. He waffled a shot well high and well wide then put his hands on his hips and tipped his head back to try and get oxygen into his lungs quicker.
I was watching Danny Boy as I knew he shouldn't play more than 60 minutes. I yanked him for Leandro in the 68th.
Then Barnet put the ball in the back of our net twice in quick succession. Luckily, both were ruled out for offside.
I told the boys to play narrower and settle down.
Peps was looking tired so I replaced him with Simon Johnson in the 73rd minute. Hopefully, fresh legs in the middle of the park would shut them down.
It did.
View attachment 385863The only other excitement was Haz chopped down Graham Cummins, Barnet's replacement striker, in the 78th minute. The ref called him over. If I could have gotten my jacket unzipped and my scarf undone, I would have clutched my cross on it's chain and said a few Hail Mary's. But thankfully, the ref only lectured Haz.
I immediately replaced Haz with Kris Thackray who needed a few minutes to regain his fitness now that his groin strain had healed.
The Nole-Lovers connection finally paid off in the 86th minute. Lovers had time to control the cross and smashed a near post shot past the Barnet keeper.
3-1
Ice ice, baby. Both literally and figuratively. The temperature was plummeting.
Cheltenham (2nd) and Hartlepool (3rd) both won tonight as well. But also as importantly, we gained some more cushion. 4th place Southend lost away 22nd place Bristol Rovers. Crucial points for Rovers as they are now 4 points above Exeter and relegation. York were the 1-0 victims of Cheltenham's good form. We now have an 8 point cushion in our quest for automatic promotion.
View attachment 385862
View attachment 385861
View attachment 385866It's a cold Tuesday night in London. 2 ****ing degrees Celsius (37F). You all know me by this point; I'm bundled up in nearly everything I own. Thankfully, no rain and no wind.
Though it's cold, we are hoping to have a hot night against Barnet. They are not having a good season. They probably won't be relegated but that might be more due to Exeter and Morecambe sucking that bad. Everyone in the lower reaches are grateful for that.
Barnet have scraped themselves off the bottom, they'd been dead last for September and October and were now in relative safety.
Chief Scout Lil Fuccillo predicted they'd play a conservative 4411, defend with more hope than skill and further hope to hit us on the counter.
We're playing well in front of Daniel Lincoln so I'll stick with him between the sticks. Jim Fenlon needs night off so Brad Smith starts at left back. Mark Tomlinson serves his 2nd match suspended for accumulating 10 yellow cards so Stephen Gregory starts at defensive midfield. James Loveridge gets the start up top. Neither Jack, Midson or Redshaw, have done much to convince me they'll be better. So there's my line-up.
As I gave my pre-match talk that I wanted us to relax, focus and play our game, I watched Stephen Gregory get that bored look. You know the look. The ****-I've-never-heard-this-line-of-drivel-from-the-boss look. How is a seasoned veteran who needs to win his place back from a teenager, a guy who knows he needs prove to me he can get stuck in and control a game not motivate himself to win his place back and lead his team to a league triumph?
I think I'm steadily becoming a better judge of a room, of how what I'm saying goes over. How would Gregs play? From his body language pre-match, it looks like I'm right to trust Mark Tomlinson over him.
Barnet showed why they're near the bottom quite quickly. In the 7th minute, their goalkeeper mishit a goal kick. This happens at all levels. Better players exert themselves to clean up after their brother, so to speak. Not Barnet. Daniel Barlaser headed it up to James Loveridge. Lovers gathered in the ball, spun and ran at the defenders.
Lovers had gone 11 hours without scoring. That's since November of last year. So I was as shocked as everyone when he slowed, looked down and tried to chip the keeper. He floated the ball toward the right post. It looked like it would go high.
Then it started to drop.
Then it's as if he pulled a string and the tug nestled the ball softly into the side netting after nicking the crossbar.
1-0
Lovers threw a couple of gut punches into an imaginary opponent then kissed his badge as his teammates mobbed him. The fans serenaded him with Joy Division's Love, Love will tear Barnet apart, again to celebrate. They'd been waiting a while to sing that.
We continued to dominate.
In the 10th, Cameron Dummigan lasered a pass down the touchline for George Francomb to race onto. Geo saw Lovers making a near post run and curled in a cross. Lovers tried a back-heel flick as he'd mistimed his run slightly. His redirection hit the keeper and went out for a corner.
During the melee in the penalty box during the ensuing corner, Matteo Nole fell down as Geo whipped in his cross. The ref blew his whistle.
PENALTY!
What? The ref was running upfield.
"What did he call?" I politely asked the fourth official.
"Nole pushed Feely," the fourth offiical replied.
"So let me get this straight as I've never heard about this part of the official FIFA rule book," I replied. "A player has his shirt untucked and nearly ripped from his body as the defender throws him to the ground and the foul is on him?"
"I don't like your attitude Pucci, go sit down," was the only reply I got.
In the 27th minute. Geo whipped in yet another corner. It got headed right back to him. Everyone stayed put expecting another cross. Geo saw Danny Boy standing about 25 yards out. I have Danny Boy out their because he has the best long-range shot on the team. Geo hit a grass burner to Danny Boy.
And Danny Boy absolutely unloaded. He hit a shot about 2 feet off the ground that nearly ripped the netting before anyone could blink.
2-0
Then he just stood there waiting for his teammates to engulf him. **** glad to have you back, Danny Boy, **** glad.
In the 33rd minute, Adam Pepper mis-timed a tackler and tripped Barnet's Craig Tanner. Tanner is the attacking midfielder sitting in the hole behind the striker. He hadn't seen much of the ball so far and the few times he had, he'd been given the special sauce much like what Pepper had just done.
Daniel Lincolns lined up his wall to protect the near post as Barnet's Anton Rodgers placed the ball and stood over it. Then Lincoln slid over to the far post confident his wall would stop all but the most perfect shot. Rodgers was about 25 yards out, well left of center.
Lincoln shouldn't have been so confident of his wall.
2-1
Geo was the right-most guy in the wall, the guy guarding the post. The problem is he's only 5'11". Normally, Michael Smith (6'4") stands here. Next over was Adam Pepper, he's 5'6". Next was Nole who's only 5'10". The tall man in the wall was Lovers (6 ft). Obviously, he was not in the correct position. Rodgers blazed the ball just over Pep's head. While it was a truly well-taken free kick, Peps isn't supposed to be in walls for obvious reasons. He's supposed to be marking another midfielder, preferably a short one. Furthermore, Daniel Barlaser is 6 feet and he wasn't in the wall.
I turned and looked at Goalkeeping Coach Paul Rachubka. Paul was busy contemplating the palm of his hand from very close up. We were going to give everyone a refresher course on defending free kicks before the next match.
The remainder of the first half was dull and cold.
"Alright boys, well played," I said to begin my half time talk. "That was some cheeky ****, Lovers, well taken goal there. Nicely done. Now we can finally all relax that wait is over. Next, Barlaser, we've got to work on the celee. Seriously? Just standing there after unleashing a Stephen Gerrard Special is not appropriate. Kiss the badge, run to the fans, punch the corner flag, we'll have to work on that in training tomorrow."
Loveridge who was sitting next to Danny Boy gave him a push. This actually helped as the towel that Francomb threw missed because he'd tipped over a bit.
"But as for that free kick goal," I continued. The room got silent. "That **** just can't stand. Tall guys in the wall. Seriously. We'll work on this tomorrow, too."
"Now when we get back out there, continue harassing them," I said.
"Foot on the throat boys," Captain Andy interjected as he sometimes did. "Foot on the throat. Don't let up. Don't let up."
"Ball on ground boys," Matteo Nole said. Everyone looked over in shock. He never said anything. His English was getting better. "Keep ball and win."
"Now get out there," I said as I gave them the double thumb's up of approval.
We didn't start out that well. We were cold and the night seemed to have gotten colder.
In the 49th minute, Reuben Hazell got in tight on Barnet's striker Tom Hopper. I only mention this because, first, Haz had been carded in the 9th minute and, second, because he looked like he was about to foul him right in front of the ref.
"Don't foul Haz, don't foul Haz," I muttered under my breath. He didn't and Hopper played a slide rule pass into the path of Tanner. We quickly converged on Tanner and his only option was to shoot right at Lincoln. Which he did. And which Lincoln deflected out for a corner.
"COME ONE! COME ON!" Matteo Nole screamed at his teammates. Matteo never says anything. They all noticed.
Somebody in blue won the header in the melee at the top of the six yard box and the ball floated clear. Nole was first to it and raced upfield. he ran a full 60 yards then fed a pass to Lovers. Lovers tried an Around-The-World fake then stepped on the ball and fell over.
In the 55th minute, Peps played a pass up to Lovers. Lovers redirected the pass into the corner behind the left back for Nole to run onto. Matteo first timed a cross in for Lovers who was making a near post run.
His flick hit the goalkeeper from point blank range and Barnet cleared it for a throw.
We promptly lost the ball and Barnet rushed upfield on the counter. Gregs ended the counter by fouling Tanner about 40 yards out on our left flank. Very smart foul, cynical, too. Got away without a card as well. Nicely done, Gregs.
Rodgers mis-kicked his free kick and Nole controlled the one-skip cross and set out on another run upfield. Nobody could challenge him until he cross midfield. Then they didn't challenge him. It was 2 on 3. He and Lovers. Lovers just kept running next to the defender. He should have cut across Nole. I could see that Matteo was tiring. He looked up again, saw that Lovers was not doing anything and tried to chip the keeper.
The only problem was he was 30 yards out and this was his third lung-busting sprint inside 3 minutes. He waffled a shot well high and well wide then put his hands on his hips and tipped his head back to try and get oxygen into his lungs quicker.
I was watching Danny Boy as I knew he shouldn't play more than 60 minutes. I yanked him for Leandro in the 68th.
Then Barnet put the ball in the back of our net twice in quick succession. Luckily, both were ruled out for offside.
I told the boys to play narrower and settle down.
Peps was looking tired so I replaced him with Simon Johnson in the 73rd minute. Hopefully, fresh legs in the middle of the park would shut them down.
It did.
View attachment 385863The only other excitement was Haz chopped down Graham Cummins, Barnet's replacement striker, in the 78th minute. The ref called him over. If I could have gotten my jacket unzipped and my scarf undone, I would have clutched my cross on it's chain and said a few Hail Mary's. But thankfully, the ref only lectured Haz.
I immediately replaced Haz with Kris Thackray who needed a few minutes to regain his fitness now that his groin strain had healed.
The Nole-Lovers connection finally paid off in the 86th minute. Lovers had time to control the cross and smashed a near post shot past the Barnet keeper.
3-1
Ice ice, baby. Both literally and figuratively. The temperature was plummeting.
Cheltenham (2nd) and Hartlepool (3rd) both won tonight as well. But also as importantly, we gained some more cushion. 4th place Southend lost away 22nd place Bristol Rovers. Crucial points for Rovers as they are now 4 points above Exeter and relegation. York were the 1-0 victims of Cheltenham's good form. We now have an 8 point cushion in our quest for automatic promotion.
View attachment 385862
View attachment 385861
Last edited:
brooksey84
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Ive read this story through 3 times so far. Its brilliant! Just wish you'd update it more but I understand it is difficult to!
Keep it going!
Keep it going!
Enrico Pucci
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Thanks so much. My actual paying job is keeping me extremely busy, but the project will end and my workload should return to normal and so should my posting.
I await the inevitable breakfast scene with monologue on how to eat Cap'n Crunch with interest.
Enrico Pucci
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Thank you so much.
LOL ... I'd completely forgotten that from Cryptonomicon. Also, how the **** could I top that. For anyone who doesn't know what kewlwarez is talking about, read this excerpt: Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon
Enrico Pucci
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As I entered the backroom at the restaurant, Daniel Barlaser was precariously balanced on top of a chair doing a Anglo-Turkish mangling of a Brasilian samba to a Daft Punk song. His teammates were encouraging this by tossing money at him. Apparently, they weren't going to wait until tomorrow for the celee lessons. He wasn't doing all that well as a quick survey of the floor and the bills on it or floating downward toward it indicated they'd thrown less than fifty pounds at him. Also keep in mind that this lot wasn't on Premier League wages and needed to be fairly careful with their discretionary spending.
"Barlaser," I hollered. The room quieted down some.
"Get down from there," I ordered. He complied. He stood there looking sheepish. The room got quiet.
"That's the worst ****ing samba I've seen in ... well ... let's put it this way, I'll never be able to unsee that," I continued with a straight face. "Now someone get me a ****ing pint and I'll show you club-footed fools how to samba."
I climbed up on the chair. The veterans like Captain Andy, Haz, Dunn and Leandro snickered quietly. Everyone else except for Matteo Nole just stood their awkwardly. Nole stood there awkwardly because he'd likely understood nothing of what I'd said.
I stood atop the chair with my arms crossed looking around the room.
"Well?" I asked. A few awkward glances were exchanged. "When the boss demands beer and climbs up on a chair, you ****ing get him one. What the ****?"
Mark Tomlinson raced over and handed me his. The veterans showered me with around twenty to twenty-five pound's worth of notes. The party resumed.
"Barlaser," I hollered. The room quieted down some.
"Get down from there," I ordered. He complied. He stood there looking sheepish. The room got quiet.
"That's the worst ****ing samba I've seen in ... well ... let's put it this way, I'll never be able to unsee that," I continued with a straight face. "Now someone get me a ****ing pint and I'll show you club-footed fools how to samba."
I climbed up on the chair. The veterans like Captain Andy, Haz, Dunn and Leandro snickered quietly. Everyone else except for Matteo Nole just stood their awkwardly. Nole stood there awkwardly because he'd likely understood nothing of what I'd said.
I stood atop the chair with my arms crossed looking around the room.
"Well?" I asked. A few awkward glances were exchanged. "When the boss demands beer and climbs up on a chair, you ****ing get him one. What the ****?"
Mark Tomlinson raced over and handed me his. The veterans showered me with around twenty to twenty-five pound's worth of notes. The party resumed.
Enrico Pucci
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Enrico Pucci
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- 63
League Two: Northampton Town FC v. AFC Wimbledon
View attachment 38371111 degrees Celsius (51F) feels practically springlike. Add to that a short bus ride up the M1 and a Tuesday evening match doesn't seem rough at all.
Sixfields Stadium is relatively new, opened in 1994, so we have a reasonably sized changing room with all the amenities.
The big news is that Michael Smith is still unavailable due to his stubbed toe. Consequently, James Loveridge is starting alone up top. I also decided to give Chris Dunn a start in goal. Also Kris Thackray is ready to go after nearly a month out because of a groin strain. Reuben Hazell drops to the bench.
I told them to keep the run going and that I had faith they'd be able to do the business against Northampton.
Daniel Barlaser got in two shots that forced Town's Matt Duke to make diving saves inside three minutes.
Matteo Nole's cross in the 8th minute took a bad, late hop and hit George Francomb in the face. George was wide open at the back post and poised to open the scoring.
Then the game got dull.
Northampton got their first chance in the 35th minute when they launched a long ball over the top from deep inside their own half. Personally, I think it was a lucky clearance. Their lone striker Danny North reacted quickest and was in alone on Dunn. Thankfully he shot wide.
"ANDY! KRIS! HOW DID HE GET BEHIND YOU?" I yelled as Dunn fetched the ball for the goal kick. Captain Andy raised his hand to acknowledge the mistake.
We then brought the ball up the right side and they cleared George's near post cross a split second before Lovers arrived. Town raced upfield and North shot right into Dunn's stomach.
And that was it for the 1st half.
"We can still win this," I said at half time. "They had the free kick and hit the wall then shot wide. They had the lucky chance with the ball over the top. They haven't created anything. Look at Dunn -- not even a smudgee on him. If we keep playing our game, they won't create much more in the second."
"Just keep the ball on the ground and stay patient, we'll get our chances," I said. "We always do."
"Leandro can't continue," Whitney said. "Sore shin and ankle. Probably nothing, but ..."
"Peps, get loose," I said.
While we were defensively sound, we didn't create many chances. A few long-range shots. When Matteo Nole is the most dangerous player in the box, our chances of scoring aren't good. He let a corner bounce right past him and had a shot blocked.
At the hour mark, I sent Brad Smith on for Jim Fenlon. Fenlon was gassed. At 70 minutes I sent Simon Johnson on for Barlaser. Now we had fresh legs in the middle of the park.
The game to a crucial turn in the 79th minute. Mark Tomlinson had followed North out onto our right flank. When North got the ball, he dove in for a tackle and missed. North tumbled over him and the ref blew for the foul.
But Mark lay on the ground clutching his knee.
Whitney sprinted over to him and started to signal to swap him out then remembered that I'd already used my three subs. Mark hobbled off with Whitney's assistance.
"ANDY, PEPS! FOUR FOUR ONE," I yelled. "NO DEFENSIVE MID. FOUR FOUR ONE!"
Both players acknowledged me and Town hoofed their free kick to safety.
Despite being a man down, we still kept the ball just like before. But I expected my players to be smart and make sure we left Northampton with a point. I checked my iPhone. 2nd place Cheltenham were leading 6th place Southend 3-2 and 3rd place York were giving Cambridge United the business 3-1. 4th place Burton were beating Scunthorpe.
This all meant that we'd be in 2nd place because we're tied on goal difference and we lost away to Cheltenham. Our cushion would only be 7 points over Burton.
Then something amazing happened.
In the 87th minute, George Francomb had the ball in the right corner. He passed back upfield to Cameron Dummigan. Cam fed a pass up to Peps at the upper right corner of the box and kept on running. Peps gave the ball to George who one-touched a pass back to Cam at the top of the box.
Cam one-touched a pass over to Matteo Nole inside the box on the left side. Matteo shot but hit a defender. The ball fell directly to the feet of Lovers. I involuntarily kicked an imaginary ball as I yanked my hands out of my pockets. The traveling Wombles behind the goal all rose to their feet screaming.
But Loveridge didn't shoot. He played the ball square to a wide open Simon Johnson who tapped in from 6 yards.
View attachment 3836480-1
Simon ran over to the fans, kissed the badge on his shirt then turned around and pointed at his number twelve on the back of his shirt. The stewards all rushed over and prevented a pitch invasion by happy Wombles.
Soon after the restart, the fourth official signaled there would be standard 4 minutes of extra time.
I checked my phone. Southend had scored to tie the match with Cheltenham at 3. We'd lead them by 4 and our cushion would now be 9.
Providing we could hold the lead.
We not only held the lead but Northampton's defensive midfielder Ibrahim Farah handled in the box and Simon converted for his second goal of the game.
This was our first late, late show of the season. We usually didn't score that all important late goal. The players were jubilant in the locker room. It was good to see that our patience had paid off.
View attachment 383646
View attachment 383644
View attachment 38371111 degrees Celsius (51F) feels practically springlike. Add to that a short bus ride up the M1 and a Tuesday evening match doesn't seem rough at all.
Sixfields Stadium is relatively new, opened in 1994, so we have a reasonably sized changing room with all the amenities.
The big news is that Michael Smith is still unavailable due to his stubbed toe. Consequently, James Loveridge is starting alone up top. I also decided to give Chris Dunn a start in goal. Also Kris Thackray is ready to go after nearly a month out because of a groin strain. Reuben Hazell drops to the bench.
I told them to keep the run going and that I had faith they'd be able to do the business against Northampton.
Daniel Barlaser got in two shots that forced Town's Matt Duke to make diving saves inside three minutes.
Matteo Nole's cross in the 8th minute took a bad, late hop and hit George Francomb in the face. George was wide open at the back post and poised to open the scoring.
Then the game got dull.
Northampton got their first chance in the 35th minute when they launched a long ball over the top from deep inside their own half. Personally, I think it was a lucky clearance. Their lone striker Danny North reacted quickest and was in alone on Dunn. Thankfully he shot wide.
"ANDY! KRIS! HOW DID HE GET BEHIND YOU?" I yelled as Dunn fetched the ball for the goal kick. Captain Andy raised his hand to acknowledge the mistake.
We then brought the ball up the right side and they cleared George's near post cross a split second before Lovers arrived. Town raced upfield and North shot right into Dunn's stomach.
And that was it for the 1st half.
"We can still win this," I said at half time. "They had the free kick and hit the wall then shot wide. They had the lucky chance with the ball over the top. They haven't created anything. Look at Dunn -- not even a smudgee on him. If we keep playing our game, they won't create much more in the second."
"Just keep the ball on the ground and stay patient, we'll get our chances," I said. "We always do."
"Leandro can't continue," Whitney said. "Sore shin and ankle. Probably nothing, but ..."
"Peps, get loose," I said.
While we were defensively sound, we didn't create many chances. A few long-range shots. When Matteo Nole is the most dangerous player in the box, our chances of scoring aren't good. He let a corner bounce right past him and had a shot blocked.
At the hour mark, I sent Brad Smith on for Jim Fenlon. Fenlon was gassed. At 70 minutes I sent Simon Johnson on for Barlaser. Now we had fresh legs in the middle of the park.
The game to a crucial turn in the 79th minute. Mark Tomlinson had followed North out onto our right flank. When North got the ball, he dove in for a tackle and missed. North tumbled over him and the ref blew for the foul.
But Mark lay on the ground clutching his knee.
Whitney sprinted over to him and started to signal to swap him out then remembered that I'd already used my three subs. Mark hobbled off with Whitney's assistance.
"ANDY, PEPS! FOUR FOUR ONE," I yelled. "NO DEFENSIVE MID. FOUR FOUR ONE!"
Both players acknowledged me and Town hoofed their free kick to safety.
Despite being a man down, we still kept the ball just like before. But I expected my players to be smart and make sure we left Northampton with a point. I checked my iPhone. 2nd place Cheltenham were leading 6th place Southend 3-2 and 3rd place York were giving Cambridge United the business 3-1. 4th place Burton were beating Scunthorpe.
This all meant that we'd be in 2nd place because we're tied on goal difference and we lost away to Cheltenham. Our cushion would only be 7 points over Burton.
Then something amazing happened.
In the 87th minute, George Francomb had the ball in the right corner. He passed back upfield to Cameron Dummigan. Cam fed a pass up to Peps at the upper right corner of the box and kept on running. Peps gave the ball to George who one-touched a pass back to Cam at the top of the box.
Cam one-touched a pass over to Matteo Nole inside the box on the left side. Matteo shot but hit a defender. The ball fell directly to the feet of Lovers. I involuntarily kicked an imaginary ball as I yanked my hands out of my pockets. The traveling Wombles behind the goal all rose to their feet screaming.
But Loveridge didn't shoot. He played the ball square to a wide open Simon Johnson who tapped in from 6 yards.
View attachment 3836480-1
Simon ran over to the fans, kissed the badge on his shirt then turned around and pointed at his number twelve on the back of his shirt. The stewards all rushed over and prevented a pitch invasion by happy Wombles.
Soon after the restart, the fourth official signaled there would be standard 4 minutes of extra time.
I checked my phone. Southend had scored to tie the match with Cheltenham at 3. We'd lead them by 4 and our cushion would now be 9.
Providing we could hold the lead.
We not only held the lead but Northampton's defensive midfielder Ibrahim Farah handled in the box and Simon converted for his second goal of the game.
This was our first late, late show of the season. We usually didn't score that all important late goal. The players were jubilant in the locker room. It was good to see that our patience had paid off.
View attachment 383646
View attachment 383644
MatthewElphinstone
Member
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- Jul 27, 2013
- Messages
- 639
- Reaction score
- 41
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- 28
Heart in Mouth stuff here!
Thought you were going to blow your chance for breathing space!
Thought you were going to blow your chance for breathing space!
Awesome story, signed up just so I could tell you how much fun I've had reading this. Just gutted that I'm going to have to wait for updates now after reading the lot in 3 days!
Looks like you're doing really well this season as well. I was actually genuinely annoyed about the situation last season!
Looks like you're doing really well this season as well. I was actually genuinely annoyed about the situation last season!
Enrico Pucci
Member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2013
- Messages
- 2,187
- Reaction score
- 225
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Back in the good old days, ManU would do this all the time. Score two in the last 10 minutes. But we ain't no Red Devils and I'm not knighted. Well ... at least not yet ... LOLz ...
Thank you so much.
Cadiz was a cluster. I knew it was going to be tough when I saw that the D stunk and all of them had low determination and my job depended upon staying in the promotion race. The rub was I was always so close to promotion. I knew that FM14 was going to fire me after that loss, but it was nonetheless quite a shock!
MatthewElphinstone
Member
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- Jul 27, 2013
- Messages
- 639
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- 28
How are Cadiz doing anyway? hope they don't get promoted cause they sacked a manager that's taken Wimbledon to the top of League 2
Enrico Pucci
Member
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- Nov 22, 2013
- Messages
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- 63
View attachment 383438"Esteban."
"My friend, how are you?" I asked.
"Very good, very good," he replied. "Business is good, the gossip is good and the Yellow Submarine is still top. by four points now. Hold on, I have the paper right here. One moment ... We got the best offense by far and the third best defense. 47 scored and 21 conceded."
"That's great to hear," I replied.
"We're still not the best home side," Esteban continued. "We lost to San Fernando at Ramon de Carrenza again. Nobody was sick this time, though. But I go to all the away matches now. Only 6 conceded. One loss, one draw. Simply sensational away form. I can hardly believe it."
"Some things never change, eh?"
"No," he replied. "I see that Wimbledon are still top as well."
"We are doing rather well, thank you very much," I replied. I then told him of the latest goings on with the club.
"You know that Ana Maria stopped by the other day," Esteban said. "She said to tell you hello."
"Thanks, I should email her," I replied. "Say hello and all that. Is everything well with her and her family?"
"Seemed so," he said.
"When this season ends, I'm definitely coming down to visit," I said. "This English weather is literally and not figuratively trying to kill me."
"I don't know how you survive," Esteban replied. "All those years in Italy and now a year in Cadiz and you are a pansy, no offense to my gay friends."
"Hah!"
"I have a customer, must go," Esteban said.
"Great to talk to you, Ciao."
MatthewElphinstone
Member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2013
- Messages
- 639
- Reaction score
- 41
- Points
- 28
so good/bad news i see with Cadiz.. they're top.. just not with you!
you should try and arrange a pre-season friendly with them next season!
you should try and arrange a pre-season friendly with them next season!