Danny21237

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Welcome to The Journeyman


This Story is my Journey through the Leagues with The Mighty AFC Telford United.

I have just had a new Laptop off the wife for Xmas so have finally been able to get back to the game we all love and adore... I tried several times to play FM touch and FM mobile, however it just wasn't the same. So here we are!

I have been reading all of the stories over Xmas and am itching to start mine and keep you all updated throughout my save.

I have started with Nation C coaching badge and as a former Sunday League Player so my stats are extremely low.

My Wage Budget is set at £5,692 with a Transfer Budget of £10,000

The squad I have inherited is in need of tinkering and as for my youth prospects... 'Nuff said haha!

I will keep you guys up to date by the month (in game)

Wish me Luck :)
 
Are you gonna stick with Telford mate or move around? Will be following either way
 
Are you gonna stick with Telford mate or move around? Will be following either way

Hey mate, I have really enjoyed yours. In fact it was reading yours that got me hooked on the manager stories.

I intend to stay and build with Telford to be fair. Really like the idea of building something...

Thanks for taking a look. I look forward to your next instalment :(
 
Hey mate, I have really enjoyed yours. In fact it was reading yours that got me hooked on the manager stories.

I intend to stay and build with Telford to be fair. Really like the idea of building something...

Thanks for taking a look. I look forward to your next instalment :(

Cheers fella...appreciate that comment!
 
Starting from scratch!!

Much to do


Well well well, I knew being away from this game for so long was going to be interesting... Holy **** haha.

I am slowly but surely building myself a squad that I am hoping will be capable of pushing for a Play-off place come May time.

First and foremost I brought my own back room team in (Bringing in the Legend that is Ally Mccoist as my right hand man proves somewhat of a coup for the club) I also completely revamped the Scouting team and Physios. The Chairman insisted in hiring a DOF, I'm not overly bothered as I was able to pick and chose what his role within the club would be.



As soon as I had sorted the staffing side of the team out, I decided it was time to take on the mammoth task of building my squad. Now the toughest part was and still is getting the squad size down.

I managed to pick up a gem of a player in Christian Hill who is a left sided player who can play the entire left side.

I found a young chap called Brandon Barzey who is a right back and has decent enough stats to play and improve in the team.

Next I signed Ryan Barnett from neighbouring Shrewsbury Town who is a very good player in CM and will be likely to start there a lot this season.

Next I found a pacey left winger in Jordan Adekunle with pace of 17 is sure to light up the division.

Next up and a controversial signing with the fans, 41 year old Gary Jones... Admittingly his career is more then on the slope now... However, his stats are great for the division he plays in and I think he will be key in bringing some of the younger CMs through the youth ranks.

Finally I signed Wealth Da Silva who was on a championship teams radar (Rotherham) this lad plays on the right wing and provides extremely good competition with the lad I already had there at the club.


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So Pre-season went ok with a win against Harrogate who are in the Div above us followed by a couple of thumpings against lower teams. Then came a right hiding off our Parent Club Wolves ( I am thinking it was a case of tough love ;) ) then back to winning ways against another smaller side...

This brings us up to our first game of the season at home against Southport.

I will provide an update for the end of August in the next couple of days.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

Taraaa!
 
Nice! I'll be following. It will be of much interest to me as I will also be playing as Telford!

Interested to see how Jones gets on.
 
Slow out of the blocks, Didn't matter! 2L 5W

Well, The season started with a complete horror show!

At home to Southport we went down 3-0 with Morgan-Smith Getting sent off just after half time, If I'm honest the hardest part was feeling completely powerless due to the sending off at 1-0... needless to say I let the lads know that the I expected so much more.

Onto the next game ' A chance at redemption ' Away at our rivals in Kidderminster... what a crock of ****, After sticking with the team that lost bar Morgan-Smith who was suspended, I was let down massively and with a 1-0 loss and just 23% of possession, I was seething and went with the controversial method of aggressively letting them know just how angry I was. Players actually left quite fired up.

Next up was a trip away to 6th in the table Guiseley and I decided that although it was only the 3rd game that it was time to change the team a wee bit, I Kept faith with my formation of 4-2-3-1 but changed some personnel. So in come the fit again Udoh up top with Wealth Da Silva on the right, Christian Hill at left back instead of Left Winger with Adekunle replacing him on the wing, Ross white coming in for the inexperienced Barzey at right back and finally Henry Cowans (GOD) in for Gary Jones (actually older than GOD). I set the instructions and waited to see what we could do... SUCCESS we won 3-0 and I don't mind telling you that the score line actually flattered Guiseley a little. Udoh with a poachers strike, Knights with a long range strike and an own goal (which Udoh I thought should have been awarded it) It didn't matter as we were finally off the mark!

Brackley at home followed and I was keen to not make any changes to a winning team (even with both CB being 82% fit) The gamble paid off with us racing in to a 2 -0 lead by the 30th minute thanks to goals from Knights and Adekunle! at half time I just calmly told them they were playing well and let them go back out. the game was put to bed by the 69th minute thanks to a second goal from Knights and a Daniel Udoh tap in. The only sour note was an own goal from the keeper which was calamitous. other than that 2 wins in a row.

We were away at Spennymoor next who were playing a formation of 4-6-0 (I'm not joking) I fancied my chances here due to them being bottom of the league without a win. 2-0 up in the first 24 mins thanks to a fine Wealth Da Silva solo goal and a goal from Adekunle but he 52nd minute the game was over with Udoh grabbing another tap in and them being forced down to 9 men due to injury. I did not care as I had my 3rd win in a row!!!

My next fixture was against Chester city at home and I was feeling quite nervous about this one as they had made some great signings and had George Green who in the lower leagues is quality. Well... George Green did me a favour by getting sent off in the previous game so I was feeling a lot better about our chances. So I played this one cautious but kept the SAME 11 again! by half time we were 1-0 up thanks to another Wealth Da Silva goal, at half time I told the lads to guard against complacency but switched to a positive mentality. This paid off as we smashed them the 2nd half finishing the game 4-0 winners thanks to goals from Udoh, Cowans (GOD) and an own goal. I was Chuffed as the lads played fantastic and the switch seemed to work in the second half.

The final game of the month was away at Leamington Spa. They were 2nd bottom in the league and this was only 2 DAYS after the thumping of Chester. So I had to make changes to the team. IN come Morgan-Smith (due to speaking up about lack of game time) Grandfather time Gary Jones replaced Barnett, Barzey came in for White (my very own Gary Neville) and Dawson for Wealth Da Silva (who might I add wants to leave already due to not Starting any games) Well, Me making the changes had a really negative effect as we struggled to win 1-0 and played terribly in my opinion. We won the game thanks to a 3rd minute Penalty from Morgan-Smith. However the positive thing here was THIS WAS MY 5TH WIN IN A ROW! Fantastic month and more than I actually hoped for.





Mangers Player of the Month



My player of the month was Henry Cowans (GOD) I keep referring to him as GOD as he has been fantastic for me and the ratings haven't really done him justice. But he scored a pearler of a free kick and seems to break up everything.



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Big month coming up with away trips to Darlington and Top of the Table Blyth also an F.A Cup 2nd Qual. Round to contend with.




View attachment 25559


I'm very happy to be sitting 2nd in the table after what was a horrible start. Part of that I think was due to the team being completely changed from the team that played last season. before my signings I know that AFC Telford had already signed 7 lads to the team, so I kinda expected them to take time to gel. However 5 wins in a row is fantastic and put us in a great position.




View attachment 25557

Squad Ratings

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Upcoming month target


Ideally I want to use the fringe players for the cup and keep some happy... The points target for me is 7 points. I think Ashton and Stockport at home are winnable games its the away ones I am feeling a little nervous about. We will see.

Back to work after the break so I am hoping to upload my next months Fixtures Friday evening...

Thanks for taking the time to read...

Taraaaaaaaaa
 
A solid start there and good to see you quickly recovered from a couple of bad results!
 
Decent mate. I was impressed to see the sqaud turned it around after two back to back defeats. The aggressive stance obviously worked! 2nd in the table after the hectic month of August is tidy. Especially with a 5 straight win to finish it off. Good job!
 
Decent mate. I was impressed to see the sqaud turned it around after two back to back defeats. The aggressive stance obviously worked! 2nd in the table after the hectic month of August is tidy. Especially with a 5 straight win to finish it off. Good job!

Cheers mate. The only problem I face is my squad Is too big and the unrest will start soon I think.

Are you gonna get on it?
 
Already on it mate.

Have to say, I've not done as well as I'd have hoped. I will happily post my month compared to yours asap.
 
Already on it mate.

Have to say, I've not done as well as I'd have hoped. I will happily post my month compared to yours asap.

I'll post September up this evening... just got 2 games left to play in the month.
 
The Run Goes On! In the league that is...

Septemer you Beauty ( in the league that is)

Well I am happy to announce that the great form in the League goes on... For now ;) However the ****** FA Cup and the riches that come with it is done and over with :( more news on that to follow!



View attachment 25251

The Month started with a hard fought win over Ashton Utd at home. They battered us in the first half and it was no surprise to me at all that they took a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute through a Liam Tomsett scrappy goal. To be honest I didn't panic at that point and just slightly tweaked the tactics a little and used the hit early crosses option as opposed to working the ball into the box. Funnily enough, my wing Wizard Wealth Da Silva got the equalizer with a mazy run and finish in the 68th minute followed by a header in the 83rd minute by Andre Brown.

Nextup was a trip to Darlington and this was in my head the potential banana skin, so I went here and played a cautious game and was really happy to get away from there with a 1-0 win thanks to a Henry Cowans (GOD) free kick - a nice low one into the corner.

I had Stockport at home next and this was a lucky escape to be honest even though I went 1-0 up with a nice Adekunle finish in the 13th minute I knew we were not going to have a great game. They equalised pretty sharpish in the 19th minute with a Kallum Mantack finish and were all over us from start to finish.

After this game I said goodbye to Adam Dawson who had been pretty vocal about not playing, even though I informed him that Wealth Da Silva was in great form, this wasn't enough for him and after publicly slating my ability I decided that enough was enough and offered him mutual termination to his contract which he accepted. good stats but wasn't willing to be a squad player.

Now next up I had the F.A Cup 2nd round Qual. match against the mighty Bamber Bridge. For this, I decided to give some squad players the chance to impress me, so I selected quite a changed team. THIS WAS A MISTAKE. They let me and the fans down. we went 1-0 down in the 40th minute to a Jordan Darr strike, I equalised in first half stoppage time with a Morgan-Smith Penalty, I then started the 2nd half brightly and went 2-1 up with an Ellis Deeney strike. danger over I though... NOPE 2-2 straight from the resulting kick off with a stunning strike from Jordan Darr. misery turned to Anger in the 78th minute when that man Jordan Darr completed his hat trick and won them the game. I was FUMING.

However it was time to get back to league action against 3rd place Blyth Spartans, Now after giving the squad players a chance and only 1 really impressing in Ellis Deeney, I made whole sale changes back to the team I was having such a great run with.

Away at Blyth I knew we were in for a battle so played the cautious tactic again (becoming my fav to use) Now this wasn't the classic I hoped for... in fact the first half yielded just 1 shot a piece both off target, It looked like we both were playing the same sort of game. I told the lads to do this one for the fans (All 135 of them) It got to the 70th minute and we were starting to dominate the possession so I decided to go for it and go Attack Attack Attack. This paid off when Darryl Knights scored a well placed finish in the bottom corner in the 82nd minute! The win was ours and the unbeaten month in the league was complete! Hoooorah!!!

The League Table

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Managers Player of the Month



My player of the month was Ross White at right back (say that 5 times fast) he was quality at the back and to be honest has deserved his place in the team over the young Barzey. his stats have decreased which I think is due to the level we play at and the fact we are part time... Despite that I am chuffed with the Lad.



View attachment 25248


Finances



The finances are getting better and better and we are well over the £300k mark with the only real issue being that the wage budget is so bad. But if I need to strengthen the team I will only really look to loan players in. But as I said Happy other than that.


View attachment 25247


The Squad



Here is the squad after the September games, the lads are doing great an to be 2nd is quite an achievement! However... My worry at the moment is that we are relying on everyone lese scoring with Udoh having somewhat of a poor month in front of goal ( 0 goals in 4 games ) however if you'd of offered me 2nd at the end of September with a 10 point cushion over 8th place, I'd of snapped your hand off.



View attachment 25246


The Board




The board are happy with me, other than the embarrassment of being dumped out of the F.A Cup. They are happy with the signing of Adekunle which i'm happy with BUT they are a little annoyed with the wage budget being £300 over the limit ( big ****** whoop )




View attachment 25244


Upcoming Month

So here is the fixtures for the month October and other than Hereford I have some more tricky fixtures coming up with 3 of the top ten coming up and York who are top of the table and have the top scorer of the league in Jon Parkin playing for them. so it is going to be a very important month for the team. I am not even thinking about the run going on... I would be happy to walk away with 6 points this month. Lets see what happens!



View attachment 25240


Thanks for stopping by to have a look...

Till next time...

Taraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
 
Going well so far! Can't believe how much money you've got....I'm not jealous at all lol!!
 
Rolling.... Rolling... Rolling on a River

Another Unbeaten Month


Well... Yet another unbeaten month for us and we are flying at the moment!


View attachment 25020


First up for us was a home match against Chorley who were in 7th place and in good form. To be honest we started at 150mph and 3 nil up in no time at all with goals from Morgan-Smith, Ryan Barnett and Adekunle! At half time I rather foolishly Showered the lads with praise and to be honest it nearly back fired as the 2nd half they were ****** awful, in fact I would say that it was the worst 45 mins since I took over with Alex Newby getting 2 goals in quick succession. I told the lads that I expected more at the end of the game.

Next up was an away game with Curzon Ashton who again were chasing the Playoffs, I went into this with a cautious game plan as I didn't want to be caught. We scored first with a goal from Henry Cowans (GOD) then it all went a bit flat and we were under the cosh for a long while. 2nd half I played with a positive mentality and it work when Shane Sutton score on the 70th minute followed by Wealth Da Silva on the 90th.


The big game was upon us with 1st vs 2nd... We were at home against top of the table York, I had attended their previous game to have a look at them myself and watched them destroy Chester 3-1. So... Off we went, pretty soon we raced into a 1-0 lead with Darryl Knights scoring a screamer from 30 yards!!! now what happened next really annoyed me! We had a corner, it went high into the box and our captain scored a thumping header!!! 2-0!!!! nope, it was disallowed wait for it... for offside? anyway 2nd half and we were all over them. we were minutes away from going top when disaster struck with an own goal from Dominic Smith! 1-1 however I was proud of the lads and to be honest for a part time side against a big spending full time side, I couldn't of asked for much more.


Our final game of the month was against 18th placed Hereford who were struggling a wee bit in the division, So I decided to give a couple of the lads who hadn't played much a game in Ellis Deeney and Gary Jones (grandfather time) We started very strongly and after 17 mins my left winger Adekunle scored a well placed finish in the bottom corner. we absolutely battered them and this was the easiest 1-0 I had with us having 72 percent of the possession and to be honest I was a little annoyed that we only won by 1! Never mind the unbeaten run continued!!!




Managers Player of the Month


View attachment 25016



This guy has been simply fantastic this season, He scores goals and assists and is everywhere... He has been my signing of the season so far! Love the bloke! My main focus now is to get him signed up for next season as he is only on a 1 year deal!

(Little side note - I managed to trigger an extension for Henry 'GOD' Cowans with him staying on £200 a week )





The League Table



View attachment 25015



The big thing for me this month was the fact we have now opened a 14 point gap between us and 8th place and for me that is huuuuuge considering how early in the season this is AND the fact we had played most of the big boys in our division already... However I am not about to let things get to my head as I know that a loss is only around the corner... Surely???





The Sqaud




View attachment 25013

The Squad have been brilliant this month and I really can't ask much more from them at all. A couple of little hiccups with some of the squad wanting to play first team football... I spoke to Shane Sutton ( The Captain ) and asked him to speak to them and see if he could calm them, He did this and it settled down.

ANOTHER SIDE NOTE!!!!
Adam Dawson, the lad who I released as he was too impatient to wait for his chance in the team... He has just left Chester in real life due to being too Impatient! Seems I was right haha




Finances are going from strength to strength and I am so ****** chuffed about it. my main aim if i'm honest is to go full time next season, so I'm thinking if we can keep making money and hit the 1 million mark before the end of the season... We should be in a great position to do this!

Wage budget is frustrating me so much at the moment as you would think with the money coming in that the board would back me a little bit more... But such is life!





The Board


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The board seem to be happy with me other than the embarrassing FA Cup exit... The fact the managerial support is so high is what I am chuffed about.





The Month Ahead



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This month we face 3 of the teams in the mid-bottom half of the table so with that said, I would be chuffed with 9 points from 9 however... I have a horrible feeling we have a slip up on the horizon. However lets see what happens!

Thanks for stopping to have a read!

Taraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
 
Unbeaten... Finding the Positives

Slowing Down...



Well... we did it, another month unbeaten in the league although, we did not have it all our own way.


View attachment 24821

We started the month with a really REALLY boring dore draw against Alfreton and to be honest it doesn't really deserve to be talked about... So NEEEEEEXT

Next up we had a home game against The Sleeping Giants in Boston Utd, Darryl Knights with an early goal followed by Andre Browns tap in put us 2-0 up at haf time with little resistance from Boston, the 2nd half they rallied a wee bit but my defence held firm and we hit them on the counter whilst they were throwing the kitchen sink at us with McQuilkin smashing home a through ball.

Our final fixture of a short month was extremely frustrating for us as we were all over them, Darryl Knights smashed home a superb goal in the first 10 mins, then what followed was annoying for me. Shot after shot followed by shot but no 2nd goal. 2nd half we did exactly the same and attacked looking for the 2nd goal and were caught in doing so when Kurt Willoughby (no relationship to Holly I'm assured) hit us with a counter attacking goal. We huffed and puffed but could not get that 2nd goal.




Managers Player of the Month



View attachment 24820

Darryl Knights has been unlucky the last couple of months not to get Managers Player of the month as he has been so good for me, in fact he is my top scorer now. He just seems to pop up with important goals for me everywhere... What's great is, he was never really in my plans in pre season and I did think about getting rid of him.




The League




View attachment 24819


1st place has eluded me all season, and what is annoying is I was top for half a game until I conceded... Maybe it would be too much pressure on the lads if we were top this early in the season haha. However the positive is 16 points clear of 8th position, so I can't complain too much.





The Squad



View attachment 24818


The Squad were has performed really well this season as you can see, the hardest part for me has been not wanting to change the team so much and with that problem has come people wanting to play more football, This month I had to speak to Grandfather time aka Gary Jones about his playing time as well as Stephen Morely. However I didn't have to issue promises and they haven't been an issue. My only problem has been the Strikers... They don't seem to like scoring goals, I will be giving them until January before making any major decisions.




Another month goes by and more money goes into the account, One thing I have definitely changed about my Lower League Challenge this year is not going gung ho with the finances... I have decided not to over spend pointlessly and because of this I have reaped the benefits with my finances looking healthier by the month.






Big month of fixtures coming up with a game against Stafford in the FA Trophy 3rd Qual. Rnd against the local team Stafford followed by some tricky fixtures up and coming. Altrincham and Chester are in brilliant form and will provide 2 tough tests but I am hopeful that we can take at least 10 points from these games with 2 games against the 2 of the bottom 7 in there.

We will see though!!

As Always, thanks for Stopping by!

Taraaaaaaaaaaa
 
The Show Must Goe Onnnnnn!

Alas... The Run is over :(



Well, Well, Well... It had to happen, It was always going to happen! After 17 games in the league our Fantastic Unbeaten run has come to an end! I think it kind of takes the pressure away from us now, I'm just keen for us to not slip down the table!

We started the month in cup action against Stafford Rangers in the FA Trophy, it was a terrible game if i'm honest, like a fool I rotated the squad to give some of the lads a bit of playing time and it nearly went All Pete Tong... we went behind in the first 20 mins to a Izak Reid strike, we equalised in first half stoppage time with a sweet strike from Grandfather Time Gary Jones. In the early stages of the second half they went down to 10 men and I capitalised with Ellis Deeney scoring a goal in the 79th minute to take us into the 1st round of the FA Trophy.

Next up we Played Bradford PA and i'll be honest I wasn't feeling this, but with my Strong side back out, we demolished them with Shane Sutton heading us into the lead in the 17th minute. Second half and we battered them with Henry Cowans (GOD) and Darryl Knights getting 2 quick fire goals to give us a 3-0 win.

Up next and it was a fellow Bloggers team (TheNotSoSpecialOne) Altrincham away... I have to be honest from the moment he took them over I knew that it would be just my luck that we would lose our run to this lot... Low and behold, We did. We played ****** awful and found ourselves 2-0 down in the first 30 mins thanks to a John Johnston strike and a Jordan Hulme stunner. I did try to rally the lads for the 2nd half but the damage was already done with James Poole finishing the Hammering in the 55th minute. A sole Darryl Knights goal in the 72nd minute give us the smallest bit of hope, But the damage was done. RUN OVER!!!

Chester away followed and I honestly couldn't have picked a worse time to go away to there! So off we went and this was a real spectacle for the neutrals with the game being 4-4 draw! We started the strongest with Wealth Da Silva putting us 1-0 up and Darryl Knights putting us 2-0 up before the end of the first half. The 2nd half started and this is where it went mental!!! A Sinclair-Smith strike in the 54th minute gave Chester hope... However another Da Silva goal put us 3-1 up and we looked good for it. into the 85th minute and I was thinking how great we had played and recovered. Wrong... WRONG!!!! Matty Hughes scores in the 86th minute to make me sweat, However... James McQuilkin scored a 89th minute goal to put us 4-2 up with a minute to play! Cameron Healy then scored 27 seconds later to make it 4-3 and then deep in stoppage time... ****** John Pritchard scored the equalizer and caused me to throw a trop midway thorough Corrie!


Next we had the chance to get a feel good factor back with Yaxley at home in the FA Trophy First Round. I decided not to make many changes to try and get the positive form back. We won 1-0 with Daniel Udoh scoring for the first time since the start of September!

Next up was A leamington Spa team who were really out of sorts with no wins in 5 at home. We had the best possible start when Ellis Hudson received a red card in the 4th minute. We laboured to a 2-0 win and much needed morale booster when Darryl Knights scored a brace taking him to 12 for the season.




Managers Player and Player of the Month


View attachment 24798

With 5 goals this month, Not only is he my player of the month but he is the National League North Player of the Month. He has been Unplayable this month and quite rightly so gets the plaudits coming his way! Ladies and Gents Darryl Knights :)




The League




View attachment 24804


Well al things considered I am actually really happy with the League table after this month, With the run coming to the end and that soul destroying 4-4 draw, we actually opened up a 17 point gap between us and 8th place which is Fantastic considering it is now January! Really feeling confident about the Playoffs now.. Not mentioning the P... Word just yet haha.




The Squad




View attachment 24799

The squad have done well this year and I honestly couldn't of asked for much more from them, They've performed well consistently and I haven't had any major issues other than Ellis Deeney who has now put in a transfer Request as he wants to play more games, even after doing that he has still played well for me.

However I did say goodye to Royle (CM) Francis (CM) and Barnes-Horner (ST) who all took wanted the first team football I couldn't offer so all left on free transfers. This actually freed up £800 quid a month extra for me to bring in more players IF I needed them.

I have decided that a new Striker is a must as mine have not done it for me this season.





Finances



View attachment 24797

Nearly at the £600k mark now and its been a strong month financially... Which is great and keeps alive my hopes of having enough cash at the end of the season to turn Professional. With a few games coming up we should really reap the benefits of cash coming in. Also with a very winnable 3rd round game in the FA Trophy that could be a bit more cash for us.




Upcoming fixtures



View attachment 24796



7 games coming up in a tough month coming up with away games at Ashton Utd and Southport... However the first 3 games are against the bottom 2 teams so that could give me the solid start that I really want for January.




The Board



View attachment 24795


Well I must be doing something right as the board have seen it fit for me to be offered a new contract taking me through to the end of next season AND more importantly they upped my wage budget and give me a 40k transfer budget!

Chuffed and raring to go!

Until next time...

Taraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
 
Look like you could go up in what is a great first season! Cowans is definitely performing better for you than he currently is for me! That nigerian winger looks like a great player also!
 
All going good so far mate, league position strong, finances looking healthy. KIU
 
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