The Red Devils - Not A Manchester United Story
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FM_TNSSO
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FM_TNSSO
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Thanks for reading mate and glad you're enjoying the story!
FM_TNSSO
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Our next two league games pitted us against two sides that were relegated from League One last season. They were two of the better sides in our league this year and both expected to make a promotion push.
So to come away from both games with a draw is probably seen as decent, although it was so gutting not to take all three against Cambridge as their equalizer came with the final kick of the game.
Bottom of the league Accrington were up next and this should be 3 points in the bag.
But it wasn't as we labour to our third 1-1 draw in a row! Disappointing.
Stockport were 3 points and 2 places ahead of us before we kicked off against them and I was keen to put a statement out there with a big win.
And the lads delivered for me as we record a comfortable victory which saw us leapfrog our opponents in the table and we're back in the playoff places again.
Our first venture into this season's FA Cup would see us take on League One opposition in the form of Burton Albion. We had already beaten them this season in the Papa John's Trophy, so had every reason to feel confident we could get something from this game.
And get something we did! We were all over them for the full 90 minutes and it was a fully deserved win for us, with Burton probably lucky to have only conceded twice in the game.
Sticking with cup football, our next game was our final group game of the Papa John's Trophy. We've played a lot of football lately with 2 games a week for a few weeks now, so I took the opportunity to rest most of the first team.
Even with the second string, we pull off a big win against the youngsters of Aston Villa.
We've absolutely stormed through the group stages of the competition this season!
Confidence was at an all time high right now and our following four league games saw us take another 10 points from 12 available. AFC Wimbledon and Forest Green are two sides currently in the running to contest for the playoff spots so they were particularly pleasing results.
Charlie Wyke was really starting to hit his stride up top now and he is closing in on 10 league goals for the season and has 15 in all competitions this year.
Over the course of the next week, we would play two cup games. First up would be our Papa John's Trophy second round fixture against Shrewsbury Town.
The Shrews are doing alright in the league above this year, sitting 8th, so to lose by the narrowest of margins isn't the worst result in the world and although we're out of the competition, we can be proud of our efforts.
I was hoping we could quickly put things right in the FA Cup against lower league opposition.
It's fair to say that we took our frustrations from the Shrewsbury game out on poor old Hampton & Richmond.
Back in the league, it was a case of 4th against 6th as we took on Grimsby Town. And it would be a warm up for the FA Cup 3rd round as we'd also drawn them there.
And we were on the wrong end of the result unfortunately!
It saw Grimsby jump above us in the table, but 20 games into the season and we are still very much in the playoff and promotion races!
So to come away from both games with a draw is probably seen as decent, although it was so gutting not to take all three against Cambridge as their equalizer came with the final kick of the game.
Bottom of the league Accrington were up next and this should be 3 points in the bag.
But it wasn't as we labour to our third 1-1 draw in a row! Disappointing.
Stockport were 3 points and 2 places ahead of us before we kicked off against them and I was keen to put a statement out there with a big win.
And the lads delivered for me as we record a comfortable victory which saw us leapfrog our opponents in the table and we're back in the playoff places again.
Our first venture into this season's FA Cup would see us take on League One opposition in the form of Burton Albion. We had already beaten them this season in the Papa John's Trophy, so had every reason to feel confident we could get something from this game.
And get something we did! We were all over them for the full 90 minutes and it was a fully deserved win for us, with Burton probably lucky to have only conceded twice in the game.
Sticking with cup football, our next game was our final group game of the Papa John's Trophy. We've played a lot of football lately with 2 games a week for a few weeks now, so I took the opportunity to rest most of the first team.
Even with the second string, we pull off a big win against the youngsters of Aston Villa.
We've absolutely stormed through the group stages of the competition this season!
Confidence was at an all time high right now and our following four league games saw us take another 10 points from 12 available. AFC Wimbledon and Forest Green are two sides currently in the running to contest for the playoff spots so they were particularly pleasing results.
Charlie Wyke was really starting to hit his stride up top now and he is closing in on 10 league goals for the season and has 15 in all competitions this year.
Over the course of the next week, we would play two cup games. First up would be our Papa John's Trophy second round fixture against Shrewsbury Town.
The Shrews are doing alright in the league above this year, sitting 8th, so to lose by the narrowest of margins isn't the worst result in the world and although we're out of the competition, we can be proud of our efforts.
I was hoping we could quickly put things right in the FA Cup against lower league opposition.
It's fair to say that we took our frustrations from the Shrewsbury game out on poor old Hampton & Richmond.
Back in the league, it was a case of 4th against 6th as we took on Grimsby Town. And it would be a warm up for the FA Cup 3rd round as we'd also drawn them there.
And we were on the wrong end of the result unfortunately!
It saw Grimsby jump above us in the table, but 20 games into the season and we are still very much in the playoff and promotion races!
Mr_Grieves
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Best story every year. Look forward to following!
FM_TNSSO
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Thanks mate! Really appreciate this!
FM_TNSSO
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Massive, massive game up next as we took on 3rd placed Wrexham who hadn't lost in 9 games.
But they didn't make it 10 unbeaten as we turn in a solid performance to take a big 3 points over one of our playoff/promotion rivals.
Bromley also came up last year with Wrexham and are playing in the EFL leagues for the first time in their history. And they're not doing terrible, sitting 15th.
But we were too strong for them! Another 3 points on the board!
We only beat Forest Green 2-0 a matter of 3 weeks ago, so we had no reason to think we couldn't turn them over again here in our Boxing Day fixture.
And we did repeat things by beating them again. By a slightly narrower margin, but a wins a win!
Our next two games over the New Year period came within just 3 days of each other and would be against both a Bradford side and a Grimsby side that have already beaten us this season! These two games could either propel us into the automatic promotion spots or possibly see us drop right down and almost out of the playoff positions.
4 points from these two games is good! Very good! Especially doing Grimsby with 10 men!
It was 4 points that moved us into the automatic promotion spots for the first time this season!
Meanwhile, the January transfer window is now open and there has been an immediate departure from the club. Enzio Boldewijn has been struggling for playing time and had become unhappy at the club. With only 6 months left on his contract, I was happy to agree to his wishes for a move and he joins Helmond Sport for £13k.
As Boldewijn leaves, another player signs.
NEW SIGNING: CALLUM MCFADZEAN
Signed from Wrexham
Fee: £38k
Nothing better than raiding one of your promotion rivals for a new players. McFadzean has been Wrexham's number one at left back this year, so this definitely weakens them.
Our next game was set for 2nd vs 3rd as we took on Doncaster Rovers.
It was a close fought encounter which could have gone either way, but it was Donny who got the better of us! It's a hard one to take after we had 18 shots at their goal and hit the crossbar twice in the game!
Another departure from the club up next as left back Nick Tsaroulla leaves for Nicosia. He agreed a pre contract deal to join them at the end of the season and I negotiated for him to go right away for a fee of £10k.
Our next league game against Sutton saw us get right back to winning ways, thanks to Charlie Wyke's 20th goal of the season!
In the FA Cup, we took on Grimsby Town, knowing that a win would see us into the 4th round and the potential to play one of the Premier League's big boys.
But it won't be us that progresses despite dominating possession and chances throughout the game. Brandon Mason had a shocker and two errors of his led to two of their goals and ultimately on the day, that cost us!
I was hoping we could immediately bounce back in our next League Two fixture against Walsall.
It wasn't the most convincing of victories but we got the job done.
28 games of the season now gone and we are sitting in the automatic promotion spots and just 4 points off leaders, Exeter City. We have opened up a nice 8 point gap back to AFC Wimbledon in 8th as we continue to make our push for at least a playoff spot this year and meet the board's expectations.
But they didn't make it 10 unbeaten as we turn in a solid performance to take a big 3 points over one of our playoff/promotion rivals.
Bromley also came up last year with Wrexham and are playing in the EFL leagues for the first time in their history. And they're not doing terrible, sitting 15th.
But we were too strong for them! Another 3 points on the board!
We only beat Forest Green 2-0 a matter of 3 weeks ago, so we had no reason to think we couldn't turn them over again here in our Boxing Day fixture.
And we did repeat things by beating them again. By a slightly narrower margin, but a wins a win!
Our next two games over the New Year period came within just 3 days of each other and would be against both a Bradford side and a Grimsby side that have already beaten us this season! These two games could either propel us into the automatic promotion spots or possibly see us drop right down and almost out of the playoff positions.
4 points from these two games is good! Very good! Especially doing Grimsby with 10 men!
It was 4 points that moved us into the automatic promotion spots for the first time this season!
Meanwhile, the January transfer window is now open and there has been an immediate departure from the club. Enzio Boldewijn has been struggling for playing time and had become unhappy at the club. With only 6 months left on his contract, I was happy to agree to his wishes for a move and he joins Helmond Sport for £13k.
As Boldewijn leaves, another player signs.
NEW SIGNING: CALLUM MCFADZEAN
Signed from Wrexham
Fee: £38k
Nothing better than raiding one of your promotion rivals for a new players. McFadzean has been Wrexham's number one at left back this year, so this definitely weakens them.
Our next game was set for 2nd vs 3rd as we took on Doncaster Rovers.
It was a close fought encounter which could have gone either way, but it was Donny who got the better of us! It's a hard one to take after we had 18 shots at their goal and hit the crossbar twice in the game!
Another departure from the club up next as left back Nick Tsaroulla leaves for Nicosia. He agreed a pre contract deal to join them at the end of the season and I negotiated for him to go right away for a fee of £10k.
Our next league game against Sutton saw us get right back to winning ways, thanks to Charlie Wyke's 20th goal of the season!
In the FA Cup, we took on Grimsby Town, knowing that a win would see us into the 4th round and the potential to play one of the Premier League's big boys.
But it won't be us that progresses despite dominating possession and chances throughout the game. Brandon Mason had a shocker and two errors of his led to two of their goals and ultimately on the day, that cost us!
I was hoping we could immediately bounce back in our next League Two fixture against Walsall.
It wasn't the most convincing of victories but we got the job done.
28 games of the season now gone and we are sitting in the automatic promotion spots and just 4 points off leaders, Exeter City. We have opened up a nice 8 point gap back to AFC Wimbledon in 8th as we continue to make our push for at least a playoff spot this year and meet the board's expectations.
TheStockportHatter1883
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I agree I love these lower division type saves especially around the clubs my team are in
FM_TNSSO
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FM_TNSSO
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One player we may be relying on between now and the end of the campaign is George Thompson. He hasn't been a first team regular all season, starting just 12 league games, but he is lately becoming one of the first names on the teamsheet as he leads the assist charts for the division, despite his lack of playing time.
However, he couldn't create anything for us as we were beaten by Cambridge. No complaints from my side - they were the better team and we didn't deserve to win.
And our next game would be a very difficult proposition as we faced off against top of the league Exeter!
Massive result!!
With the January transfer window winding down, it was time for a new signing and this one being more a youngster for the future.
NEW SIGNING: RYAN O'KANE
Signed from Dundalk
Fee: £275k
O'Kane has been immediately loaned back to Dundalk to see out the remainder of the season with them as part of my deal to sign him. He will be back here in the Summer to make a push for our first team though and I'm hoping he'll develop into a decent little player.
Meanwhile, one of O'Kane's fellow players from the Irish league will join up with the Crawley squad right away.
NEW SIGNING: JAMIE MULLINS
Signed from Derry City
Fee: £195k
Another 20 year old attacker who could improve and become a first team regular for us, I'll be looking to integrate Mullins into the first team during the back end of this season.
Back to the action and it was a really disappointing defeat to relegation battling Harrogate! The sending off of McLaughlin really cost us here as they hadn't had a shot up until that point!
I had to question if we were bottling our promotion push as we followed up the Harrogate defeat with another against Rochdale who leapfrog us in the table!
After two straight defeats, anything but a win against struggling Gillingham would be a disaster.
A second half Charlie Wyke double and a Jack Powell cracker ensured disaster was avoided! We must kick on from here though!
We had a 2 week gap to prepare for the clash against pre season title favourites, Salford City, who were having a very underwhelming season (sitting 13th in the table).
But they are steadily climbing the table and in all honesty, we couldn't live with them here and were well beaten! I don't think we were poor...I think they were just really good!
We bounced back right away with a good performance against Accrington Stanley which ensured we don't lose touch with the leading group.
Our form has been a bit indifferent lately though and we continued that trend against Stockport suffering a disappointing defeat, before back to back 2-0 victories to get us back on track!
We have just 8 games of the season remaining and we are very much in the mix for automatic promotion, but it's tight between 5 of us who are all sitting behind Exeter City who should go on to win the league from here.
However, he couldn't create anything for us as we were beaten by Cambridge. No complaints from my side - they were the better team and we didn't deserve to win.
And our next game would be a very difficult proposition as we faced off against top of the league Exeter!
Massive result!!
With the January transfer window winding down, it was time for a new signing and this one being more a youngster for the future.
NEW SIGNING: RYAN O'KANE
Signed from Dundalk
Fee: £275k
O'Kane has been immediately loaned back to Dundalk to see out the remainder of the season with them as part of my deal to sign him. He will be back here in the Summer to make a push for our first team though and I'm hoping he'll develop into a decent little player.
Meanwhile, one of O'Kane's fellow players from the Irish league will join up with the Crawley squad right away.
NEW SIGNING: JAMIE MULLINS
Signed from Derry City
Fee: £195k
Another 20 year old attacker who could improve and become a first team regular for us, I'll be looking to integrate Mullins into the first team during the back end of this season.
Back to the action and it was a really disappointing defeat to relegation battling Harrogate! The sending off of McLaughlin really cost us here as they hadn't had a shot up until that point!
I had to question if we were bottling our promotion push as we followed up the Harrogate defeat with another against Rochdale who leapfrog us in the table!
After two straight defeats, anything but a win against struggling Gillingham would be a disaster.
A second half Charlie Wyke double and a Jack Powell cracker ensured disaster was avoided! We must kick on from here though!
We had a 2 week gap to prepare for the clash against pre season title favourites, Salford City, who were having a very underwhelming season (sitting 13th in the table).
But they are steadily climbing the table and in all honesty, we couldn't live with them here and were well beaten! I don't think we were poor...I think they were just really good!
We bounced back right away with a good performance against Accrington Stanley which ensured we don't lose touch with the leading group.
Our form has been a bit indifferent lately though and we continued that trend against Stockport suffering a disappointing defeat, before back to back 2-0 victories to get us back on track!
We have just 8 games of the season remaining and we are very much in the mix for automatic promotion, but it's tight between 5 of us who are all sitting behind Exeter City who should go on to win the league from here.
TheStockportHatter1883
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Keep going I'm going to the FA Cup today but will there be any updates this weekend?
FM_TNSSO
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Hopefully! Depending on what the Mrs wants to do, I'm hoping to get the season complete by the end of the weekend and update posted
FM_TNSSO
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To be honest, he was brought in as a backup and won't play a lot unless there is an injury to Brandon Mason.
FM_TNSSO
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The first of our final 8 matches saw us take on Carlisle who were in the bottom half of the table and should present us with an opportunity to chalk up another win.
A Colm Whelan hat trick saw us cruise to a comfortable victory.
Whelan has been in scintillating form lately and 6 goals in his last 4 games was enough for him to lift the player of the month award.
Sending offs have cost us a few points this season and that was the case once again as we suffered defeat to Northampton in a game we probably would have won had we not had to play half the game with 10 men!
That defeat means that with 6 games remaining, we have now dropped 4 points off the automatic playoff spots and can't really afford to drop any more points.
A tough away day was up next against 8th placed Colchester who were still hunting down a playoff spot.
We got off to the perfect start with Jack Powell putting us in front inside 4 minutes as he scored a cracking volley from outside the box to record his 11th goal of the season. However, we were only in front for a few minutes before Colchester levelled. What followed was 80 minutes of back and forth football with both sides creating plenty of chances but neither was able to find the back of the net again and it was a case of spoils shared.
We had to get a result at home to Tranmere!
We weren't at our best but got the job done!
Our own form of late has been a bit up and down, but Doncaster are doing their very best to help us out as they have now lost 3 of their last 4 games, which has enabled us to jump above them into the automatic promotion places with 4 games remaining!
One thing we have struggled with in the first couple of years at the club is the youth intake. Last year's was terrible...this year's is even worse!
As the season is drawing to a close, games don't get much bigger than this! We will take on 2nd placed Wrexham, who knew that a win against us would cement their place in League One next season.
So there is no denying this could possibly be our biggest win of the entire season!
With our inconsistency recently, it would be just like us to go and beat 2nd placed Wrexham and then lose to 15th placed Bromley.
But not this time! Another step closer!
Three wins on the bounce was enough for me to lift the manager of the month award for April.
Now surely we wouldn't go and drop points in our penultimate game against bottom of the table, Newport County?
We nearly did!! At 2-1 down I was worried, but in the end the lads rallied and ground out a massive win under the circumstances.
Doncaster Rovers had only gone and lost away at Sutton, whilst Wrexham also lost at Stockport! It means that unless there is the most ridiculous final day goal swing, we will secure at least 3rd place and be going up automatically this season! And if we better Wrexham's result, we might even pinch 2nd place off them!
Our final game of the season...Walsall away.
And I won't lie...we were ****** awful!
Luckily, the job was already done and it's a 3rd place finish for us this season and we'll be playing League One football next season! I'm absolutely delighted! Meanwhile, it's a title win for Exeter City and back to back promotions for Hollywood club, Wrexham. Gillingham drop into non league football as Bromley stay up, meaning there is a new king of Kent football for the first time in a fair few years.
A Colm Whelan hat trick saw us cruise to a comfortable victory.
Whelan has been in scintillating form lately and 6 goals in his last 4 games was enough for him to lift the player of the month award.
Sending offs have cost us a few points this season and that was the case once again as we suffered defeat to Northampton in a game we probably would have won had we not had to play half the game with 10 men!
That defeat means that with 6 games remaining, we have now dropped 4 points off the automatic playoff spots and can't really afford to drop any more points.
A tough away day was up next against 8th placed Colchester who were still hunting down a playoff spot.
We got off to the perfect start with Jack Powell putting us in front inside 4 minutes as he scored a cracking volley from outside the box to record his 11th goal of the season. However, we were only in front for a few minutes before Colchester levelled. What followed was 80 minutes of back and forth football with both sides creating plenty of chances but neither was able to find the back of the net again and it was a case of spoils shared.
We had to get a result at home to Tranmere!
We weren't at our best but got the job done!
Our own form of late has been a bit up and down, but Doncaster are doing their very best to help us out as they have now lost 3 of their last 4 games, which has enabled us to jump above them into the automatic promotion places with 4 games remaining!
One thing we have struggled with in the first couple of years at the club is the youth intake. Last year's was terrible...this year's is even worse!
As the season is drawing to a close, games don't get much bigger than this! We will take on 2nd placed Wrexham, who knew that a win against us would cement their place in League One next season.
So there is no denying this could possibly be our biggest win of the entire season!
With our inconsistency recently, it would be just like us to go and beat 2nd placed Wrexham and then lose to 15th placed Bromley.
But not this time! Another step closer!
Three wins on the bounce was enough for me to lift the manager of the month award for April.
Now surely we wouldn't go and drop points in our penultimate game against bottom of the table, Newport County?
We nearly did!! At 2-1 down I was worried, but in the end the lads rallied and ground out a massive win under the circumstances.
Doncaster Rovers had only gone and lost away at Sutton, whilst Wrexham also lost at Stockport! It means that unless there is the most ridiculous final day goal swing, we will secure at least 3rd place and be going up automatically this season! And if we better Wrexham's result, we might even pinch 2nd place off them!
Our final game of the season...Walsall away.
And I won't lie...we were ****** awful!
Luckily, the job was already done and it's a 3rd place finish for us this season and we'll be playing League One football next season! I'm absolutely delighted! Meanwhile, it's a title win for Exeter City and back to back promotions for Hollywood club, Wrexham. Gillingham drop into non league football as Bromley stay up, meaning there is a new king of Kent football for the first time in a fair few years.
FM_TNSSO
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Congrats on promotion!Great to see my boys go back to back aswell
Thanks gents! Looking forward to League One football next season
FM_TNSSO
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END OF SEASON 2023/24 REVIEW
Sky Bet League Two = 3rd (automatic promotion)
Emirates FA Cup = 3rd Round (knocked out by Grimsby Town)
Carabao Cup = 3rd Round (knocked out by Southampton)
Papa John's Trophy = Southern Section 2nd Round (knocked out by Shrewsbury Town)
An excellent performance all round from my squad this year as we exceeded expectations to gain promotion to League One. Our strikers scored 41 goals between them, whilst the midfield were at their creative best and the defence was solid for the most part with a reliable keeper between the sticks.
It's fair to say the new arrivals proved to be great additions to the squad and all played their part. Rhys Bennett was an absolute rock at the heart of defence, whilst Charlie Wyke proved to be a goalscoring machine up top! Simon Eastwood was a cool head between the sticks this season and the experienced keeper was definitely the difference in some of those tight victories this season.
The Best 11...
The Awards...
Over the course of the season, we've seen the slightest shift in supporter profile with a small decrease in core and increase in fair weather. On a more positive note, we have gained over 37,000 followers on social media.
One of the big areas of our success this season was our shooting. Not only were we the most aggressive shooters in the league, but also the most clinical.
In fact, we had more shots than any other team in the division.
To be fair, out attacking performance all round was very impressive this season compared to the rest of the league.
The Commercials...
One thing is certain. I spent a lot of money last year with the budgets given to me and with investment in the club's facilities as well, there isn't a lot left in the bank, so the budgets for next season are minimal, with just £28k available for new players. I will have plenty of wiggle room in the wage budget though with more than an extra £10k being made available so the loan and free transfer market could be where I look for squad improvements over the Summer.
And moving into that loan market, may just be assisted by our new affiliation with Arsenal.
On the personal front, with my contract running down, the board were keen to sign me up for another couple of years after the success of this season.
Sky Bet League Two = 3rd (automatic promotion)
Emirates FA Cup = 3rd Round (knocked out by Grimsby Town)
Carabao Cup = 3rd Round (knocked out by Southampton)
Papa John's Trophy = Southern Section 2nd Round (knocked out by Shrewsbury Town)
An excellent performance all round from my squad this year as we exceeded expectations to gain promotion to League One. Our strikers scored 41 goals between them, whilst the midfield were at their creative best and the defence was solid for the most part with a reliable keeper between the sticks.
It's fair to say the new arrivals proved to be great additions to the squad and all played their part. Rhys Bennett was an absolute rock at the heart of defence, whilst Charlie Wyke proved to be a goalscoring machine up top! Simon Eastwood was a cool head between the sticks this season and the experienced keeper was definitely the difference in some of those tight victories this season.
The Best 11...
The Awards...
Over the course of the season, we've seen the slightest shift in supporter profile with a small decrease in core and increase in fair weather. On a more positive note, we have gained over 37,000 followers on social media.
One of the big areas of our success this season was our shooting. Not only were we the most aggressive shooters in the league, but also the most clinical.
In fact, we had more shots than any other team in the division.
To be fair, out attacking performance all round was very impressive this season compared to the rest of the league.
The Commercials...
One thing is certain. I spent a lot of money last year with the budgets given to me and with investment in the club's facilities as well, there isn't a lot left in the bank, so the budgets for next season are minimal, with just £28k available for new players. I will have plenty of wiggle room in the wage budget though with more than an extra £10k being made available so the loan and free transfer market could be where I look for squad improvements over the Summer.
And moving into that loan market, may just be assisted by our new affiliation with Arsenal.
On the personal front, with my contract running down, the board were keen to sign me up for another couple of years after the success of this season.