As the January window opened, the board were jubilant with my achievements so far, a far cry from the dark days of October. I had remained undefeated until January, conceding the least goals in the league, and lots of goals from midfield for when my strikers didn't turn up. The fans were still suspicious, but I aimed to prove them wrong with a few well thought-out signings. But there was a little matter of the January matches to contend with.
On the 1st day of January, we had a home game against Exeter in the league. I had just released Craig Mahon back to Wigan, and I wasn't looking to be proven wrong on that decision. Thankfully we won pretty comfortably, 3-0 in fact, to keep York and Oxford off our backs. Antony Griffith scored a brace, and Nick Gray got the other goal, in a match that greatly pleased the fans.
The next game was against Hartlepool (A) in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. I still remembered the pre season defeat; my first game in charge, and I wanted revenge. The only problem was that we had an injury crisis, with 7 first teamers out, so I had only 1 substitute. We held on 0-0 until half time, when I threw on Adam Quinn for Rob Scott to firm up our defence a touch more, and to give the midfielders more attacking freedom. It worked well, as Lewis Killeen and Tomi Ameobi both scored at the beginning of the second half to give us a brilliant 2-0 win. We were through to the 4th round of the FA Cup! Halifax, a Blue Square Premier side, facing Championship leaders Sheffield United! But while we were celebrating our win, York knocked us off 1st place, making us have to win our game in hand to go back top...
Our next game was potentially the key game of the season, with us facing York (A). I knew that a slip-up could allow Oxford back into the title race, and I also wanted to protect our unbeaten record. No signings had been made as yet, so we had to rely on the players we had. Somehow, we completly destroyed them on the match day, despite them having the top scorer in the league in their ranks. York opened the scoring on 10 minutes, but 2 injuries really slowed them down. At half time it was still 1-0 so I berated the squad, telling them that we had to get a result. This seemed to have woken them up, Ameobi in particular, as he scored a marvellous second half hat-trick. Soon to be sold, Cortez Belle got the other goal on 87 minutes. We had moved ahead of York by one point, with a game in hand. Oxford had drawn as well, so we were 2 points ahead of them as well. The future looked very bright!
Our next 2 games were against Banbury (H) in the FA Trophy Second round, and Woking (H) in the league. We secured a 1-0 win against Banbury, with Ameobi scoring to extend his run of form. But we won at a price, with Ameobi himself injured indefinately. And with Belle, Steve Bushell, and Jon Shaw all leaving a day before the Woking game, and only Antony Griffith brought in permenantly, we were very threadbare, and it showed, us getting yet another 0-0 draw. This was also our game in hand, so we ended up only 2 points in front instead of 4.
Come the Sheffield United (A) FA Cup game, we still had not brought anyone in, and were on the end of a crushing 4-1 loss. They ran away with the game, with 3 goals within the opening half an hour. Rob Scott scored a consolation in the 67th minute, but they scored again in the 88th minute to compound our misery. Our unbeaten record in all compititions had come to an end. But we had more important things to concentrate on, with the transfer window only remaining open for 1 week and 4 days, with 5 players still needed. With only 1 game left in January, I had no distractions and successfully got 4/5 players in time for the Rushden game on the 30th. We won it 2-1, with both goals coming from debutants; Kevin Kyle (ST) and Nathan Ashton (DL). Only concern was Griffith's sending off, but we had already brought in good cover in Robert Bayly (MC).
February came, and the transfer window slammed shut, with us making a last minute signing in Chris Day (GK). This improved our squad very well, and we finally had an almost full strength squad, everyone back from injury but Griffith carrying a 1 game suspension for his red card. Our first 2 games were both against Exeter, both at home, yet neither in the league. One was the FA Trophy 3rd round match, and the second was the Setanta Shield 5th round clash. The FA Trophy match we won 2-1, thanks to goals from Tomasz Cwyka and fan favourite Geoff Horsefield (on his debut). The second game wasnt nearly as comfortable, with us scraping a 1-0 win in the 90th minute, courtesy of Lewis Killeen. I had to admit that this was a lucky result, as Exeter were destroying us for most of the game. But I took it nonetheless!
We had our 3rd and 4th game in just 8 days, against Stafford (H), and Weymouth (H). Stafford was a very easy game, with goals from Robert Bayly and Killeen propelling us to a 2-0 win. Weymouth, on the other hand, was a much tougher contest. Our defence took a hell of a beating, but somehow we managed to scrape a 1-0 win, thanks to Bayly's second goal in as many games. We then had 2 more games within 4 days of each other, Histon (A), and Torquay (A), both in the BSP. It was a very fruitful 2 games for us, securing two 2-0 wins, Kyle and Griffith scoring against Histon, Matt Doughty and Cywka doing the business against Torquay. So we had a 6 game winning streak in February out of 6 games, conceding 1 goal in the process. But February wasnt done with us yet, with 3 games still to come before March arrived...
The first 2 were cup compititions, Altringham (H) in the Setanta Shield 1/4 final, and Ramsgate (H) in the 4th round of the FA Trophy. Altringham was a very physical game, not many chances being made whatsoever. Halifax took the lead in the 14th minute due to a brilliant Tomasz Cywka finish, and it remained that way until half time. I threw on Tomi Ameobi for Kevin Kyle, and Rob Bayly for Griffith, and demanded a win. It all went pretty well, until the 66th minute, when Tom Kearney got sent off for a disgusting challenge on the Altringham goalie. I put on Adam Quinn for Kelvin Etuhu, and employed defensive tactics to ride it out. Altringham looked berift of ideas against a 5 man defence, and our time wasting tactics worked. Our second game against Ramsgate was also 1-0, but this time I was left wondering why we couldnt score more. Chance after chance after chance came our way, and we finally made a breakthrough on the 65th minutes, with Cywka continuing his good run of form to score. On the flip side, Tomi Ameobi collected another injury which would put him out for 3 weeks. Our last game of February beckoned, with a number of injuries and suspensions keeping us stretched in key areas of the field. It was against Forest Green (H), who had been on a run of good form recently, moving up to 6th in the league table. We won it 1-0 (our third in a row!) thanks to ANOTHER goal from Tomasz Cywka, our hero in February. But only then did I check the league table for the 1st time since Torquay...
As March arrived, I stared dumbfounded at the league table, unaware that York and Oxford had played 2 games while I was in the cup games. I was confused as both were in the Setanta Shield, and Oxford were still in the FA Trophy, but the table did not lie. They both had put together a run of wins together, putting us back down to 3rd, but with 2 games in hand. Oxford were 3 points ahead of us, and York were 4 points ahead. I knew that my last game in hand didnt go well (Woking 0-0), so I got slightly worried. I could not afford to be though, as we had 10 games in March (3 in cup games), so I set ourselves a 6/7 win ratio for the league games. Only time would tell if we would achieve that or not...
Our first 2 games were against Farsley (A), and Crawley (H), both in the league. We won both 2-0, Kyle and Killeen getting the goals against Farsley, Kearney and Geoff Horsefield (ending his barren patch) scoring against Crawley. We had moved closer to Oxford, with them getting a draw to put us only 1 point behind with 2 games still in hand. But York were still 4 points ahead, and crushing teams left, right, and centre. We knew that we had to keep winning, as they would slip up sometime, and we would wait and steal back the number 1 spot. But we slipped further behind fixturewise, as we had 3 cup games consecutively.
Our first game was against Stevenage (A) in the 1st leg of the FA Trophy Semi Final. We put in a frankly pathetic performance, somehow managing a 1-1 draw, Kevin Kyle grabbing a late equaliser after Stevenage put us under the cosh. Our next game was the Setanta Shield Semi Final (no legs this time) against Weymouth (H). We managed to scrape a 1-0 win, courtesy of a 55th minute Antony Griffith strike into the top corner. I took off key players near the end, due to the impeding Stevenage 2nd leg game, at home.
Match day arrived, and most of our players were back from injury, still only Kelvin Etuhu out for another 3 weeks yet. Stevenage took the lead on 12 minutes, but not without a hint of controversy. All of my players were adamant that the goal was offside, but all the referee did was to book 3 of my players for protesting! As half time approached, we were still 1-0 down, but on the last minute of injury time, Robert Bayly popped out of nowhere to sidefoot the ball past the Stevenage goalie, to give us a 1-1 half time score. I sympythised with my players, but still sent on Kevin Kyle in place of the ineffective Geoff Horsefield. Kevin did not disappoint me, with a last minute winner in the top corner of the net to send us to our second Cup final this season. I was a little worried about the finals though, having to face York in the final of the Setanta Shield, and Oxford in the FA Trophy. But for now, I was just jubilant to get into the final of both Cups!
My joy was increased by finding out that while I was playing 3 cup games, York lost to Cambridge, and Oxford drew to bottom club Farsley to put us 4 points behind, but with 3 games in hand. 2 of those would come in the tail end of March. Meanwhile, we beat Burton (H) 2-0, with Bayly, and an own goal putting us in the driving position for the title. York drew with Oxford to put us 2nd, 2 points behind York and ahead of Oxford on goal difference. York lost again, while we drew 0-0 to Oxford (H), to put us just 1 point behind them with better goal difference. And even another 0-0 draw with Northwich (A) for our 1st game in hand didnt stop us getting the top spot back. Our second game in hand closely followed, a 1-0 win over Droylesden (A), with Kyle grabbing the goal. We were now 3 points ahead, with a game in hand. Oxford were still 2 points behind York, despite Yorks bad form. Our last game of March was against Ebbsfleet (A), and a thumping 3-0 win (goals from Horsefield, 2, and Etuhu) coupled with a York draw and an Oxford loss, put us firmly as favourites to win the league. The new signings were playing exceptionally well, we were dealing with injuries brilliantly, and our defence was rock solid. We were in both Cup finals, and we were coming strong at the end of the season, to give us a good chance of collecting all 3 pieces of silverware.
April came upon us, and the squad was buoyant following a very successful 2 months. Our fixture list was eased out, following less Cup games, and everyone injured had come back to full fitness. Our last game in hand came against Altringham (A), a team that we had beaten every time this season. This time proved to be no different, as Tomi Ameobi's comeback from injury saw him score a brilliant goal in the 6th minute to give us a 1-0 win. We were now a collosal 8 points clear at the top with just 4 games to go. We knew that 1 win and a draw would put it beyond doubt who would win the league. And who could forget that we were STILL unbeaten in the league! And that our only defeat of the season in 60 games (all compititions) came at the hands of a Championship club in the FA Cup? We carried on our unbeaten record against Aldershot (H), drawing 0-0, with York drawing too, and Oxford losing. We extended the record against Cambridge, drawing 1-1 to make it 44 games unbeaten in the league. This also signalled the end of a remarkable record; 14 consecutive clean sheets in the league, dating back to the game against Rushden on January 30th. Killeen scored an excellent goal in the 48th minute, and agony in the 93rd minute as Cambridge denied us the chance to win the league with a win. But the league was ours, and our jubilancy was rife! But we had to concentrate on the next game, as it was the most important one we have had for a long long time...
The Setanta Shield final against York, with our captain Sean O'Hanlon injured, and Tomi Ameobi suspended. As the match approached, I wished them good luck, but it obviously came to no avail. York took the lead on the 41st minute, but we hit the woodwork twice before half time, and it was evident that we were still very much in it. I threw on Horsefield, Griffith and Etuhu for Kyle, Bayly and Nick Gray respectivly. Griffith in particular made an immediate impact, grabbing the equaliser on the 73rd minute. The match went to extra time following a tight finish, both teams getting chances. We hit the post in the first half of extra time, and York had a penalty saved in the second, and the match went to penalties after a score of 1-1 AET. York were first to take the penalties, and their star striker blew it wide of the post! Nathan Ashton scored his penalty confidently, sending the keeper the wrong way to give us an immediate advantage. York messed up their second penalty as well, whereas Geoff Horsefield scored his, blasting it down the middle. York scored their third, but when Kelvin Etuhu scored, you got the feeling that it was too little too late. This was proved when their 4th penalty taker scuffed it over the bar, handing Halifax their first Cup win in 10 years! Halifax Town have won the Setanta Shield!!
As the hangover from the Cup win continued, we drew our third consecutive league match against Kidderminster (H). A jaded performance turned into a disappointing 0-0 draw, but with York losing and Oxford drawing (again!) we moved 9 points clear at the top, with 1 game to go. This game was a win as well, over Salisbury (A). Salisbury took the lead, but a brilliant second half performance brought us a 3-1 win (Cywka 2, Horsefield 1). So that was that. The league was ours, by a clear 9 points, and the Setanta Shield was ours too. One game remained of the season; the FA Trophy final aganst Oxford at Wembley. We were 100% at Wembley this season (Setanta Shield), and Oxford have been on an alarming slide in the league, so we were very confident about adding a third piece of silverware to our trophy cabinet. We were having an injury crisis, so I had to call up want-away reserve striker Steve Torpey up to the bench for arguably the biggest game of the season for us. No pressure then!
Captain Sean O'Hanlon returned to our starting line up for the game, and boy did we need him! We barely survived for most of the first half, clinging on to a 0-0 scoreline as half time loomed. But then disaster! Rob Scott made a terrible mistake to let an Oxford striker through on goal, and an exquisite chip made it 1-0 to Oxford on the stroke of half time. I was crushed at half time, and threw on Ameobi for Kevin Kyle, and Torpey for Rob Bayly. This brightened up our play to no end, and we were starting to dominate Oxford. In the 54th minute we got our reward, as Lewis Killeen scored a fantastic team goal to equalise. And just 2 minutes later, Adam Quinn scored a free kick to put us 2-1 up, and firmly in control of the tie. Oxford roared back though, and on the 69th minute, Yemi Odubade got his second goal of the game; and his 42nd goal of the season, to tie the match at 2-2. A nervous finish followed, as both teams went all out for that crucial winner. But defences were on top, and the match went to extra time. I put on Tom Kearney for Tomasz Cywka, to keep us a bit defensive minded, so the attackers could freely attack without worrying about the back 4. It seemed to not work at first, with Oxford all over us, and Cywka's absense making us berift of ideas. But, in the 118th minute of the game, Oxfords midfield gave the ball away, and we were on the counter attack. Killeen gave it to Ameobi, Ameobi gave it to Etuhu, and Etuhu gave it to Torpey. Torpey dribbled past 1 defender and sweetly struck the ball into the goal from 20 yards out, to send our fans ballistic! We held out for 2 nail-biting minutes and Halifax had won the lower league treble for the first time in their 93 year history!! The board were ecstatic, the fans won over, all doubts from the players vanished. I had become a Continental manager, and all through May and June, I recieved job offers from League 1 and Championship clubs. I politely refused all of them, so I could get on with my aim; to get Halifax into League 1. It would take a lot of work, some new players, a new assistant manager (mine was frankly rubbish), but I knew I could do it. After this season, I felt that the sky was the limit!
Oxford were the other team that got promoted to league 2, via the playoffs. My next season will be a month to month (in game not real life) blog, rather than 4 long sections. I will scrap the 1 blog for transfers and 1 for matches, unless you guys really want me to keep it. I hope you enjoyed my Halifax story! Season 2 will be coming very VERY soon!
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Halifax Town story: Season 1 Part 3
As the January window flew open, I was sitting proudly at the top of the league, 1 point ahead of nearest rivals York. I knew that I had to hold onto my better players, and hopefully get 1 or 2 in. The board recieved £100k for being in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, and they put £75k in my transfer budget. With a little budget adjustment, had now £175k to spend in January, and a £4k wage budget. Plenty!
I released 2 more reserve players, to free up my wage budget to £5k, but I remained pretty quiet for a while. On the 14th of January, I decided to make Antony Griffith's loan from Doncaster permenant, which meant shelling out £18k. Just a day after, disaster struck as 3 of my first teamers became hot property. Our board accepted all bids over £30k for captain fantastic Steve Bushell, bids over £15k for back up defender Cortez Belle, and offers over £20k for supersub Jon Shaw. I was devestated as I had already sent Craig Mahn back to Wigan, and on the 20th of January, all 3 went their seperate ways, Bushell to Doncaster, Belle to Dagenham and Redbridge, and Shaw to the MK Dons. I now needed 5 players to take my squad size to 20, and I needed to act fast, as the deadline loomed.
Kevin Kyle (ST) was the first to arrive from Coventry (reserves). He demanded wages of £2k per week, but I had no time to lose so I had to give him whatever he wanted. He was very unhappy at Coventry and I was very happy at bringing in a (scout report) decent League 1 striker. Next to come was fan favourite Geoff Horsefield. He was released by Sheffield United back in December, and when I found out he was available I snapped him up on a £800 a week contract, despite his growing years (34). I knew that I needed a decent goalkeeper, a central midfielder, and a left back. So I set to work, making enquiries for every player I thought looked decent in those positions. I bought Nathan Ashton (DL) from Fulham for a cool £26k, then a day later brought in Robert Bayly (MC) from Leeds for £10k. I had almost finished my work, but on the 30th of January, I still needed a good goalkeeper.
I settled on Chris Day from Millwall, and focused all my energies into getting him. After some negotiating, I settled on a fee of £20k, but with personal terms still having to be thrashed out. With exactly 1 day to go, I offered him a £600 a week contract, which he refused, but wanted £1k a week instead. My budget would not allow it, so with the clock at 19.30, I offered him the highest I could give; £780 a week. He accepted the offer and he was signed with the clock at 22.45. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I knew that my squad was not only adequate, it was better than before January.
Although my wage budget now rests at £1k a week, and a transfer budget of £70k. I did some budget adjustment so I had £4k a week, but with £10k transfer money. I figured that I wouldn't need transfer money for the loan window, so it was the logical decision. Below is my full January signings and offloads:
IN:
Antony Griffith - £18k - £490 p/w (but was already on wage bill)
Kevin Kyle (ST) - Free - £2k p/w
Geoff Horsefield (ST) - Free - £800 p/w
Nathan Ashton (DL) - £26k - £720 p/w
Robery Bayly (MC) - £10k - £500 p/w
Chris Day (GK) - £20k - £780 p/w
OUT:
Craig Mahon - loan terminated
John Allen - released
Nigel West - released
Jon Shaw - £20k
Steve Bushell - £30k
Cortez Belle - £15k
All in all, a good transfer month. Part 4 will be about the the matches, and the rest of the season. Thanks for reading!
I released 2 more reserve players, to free up my wage budget to £5k, but I remained pretty quiet for a while. On the 14th of January, I decided to make Antony Griffith's loan from Doncaster permenant, which meant shelling out £18k. Just a day after, disaster struck as 3 of my first teamers became hot property. Our board accepted all bids over £30k for captain fantastic Steve Bushell, bids over £15k for back up defender Cortez Belle, and offers over £20k for supersub Jon Shaw. I was devestated as I had already sent Craig Mahn back to Wigan, and on the 20th of January, all 3 went their seperate ways, Bushell to Doncaster, Belle to Dagenham and Redbridge, and Shaw to the MK Dons. I now needed 5 players to take my squad size to 20, and I needed to act fast, as the deadline loomed.
Kevin Kyle (ST) was the first to arrive from Coventry (reserves). He demanded wages of £2k per week, but I had no time to lose so I had to give him whatever he wanted. He was very unhappy at Coventry and I was very happy at bringing in a (scout report) decent League 1 striker. Next to come was fan favourite Geoff Horsefield. He was released by Sheffield United back in December, and when I found out he was available I snapped him up on a £800 a week contract, despite his growing years (34). I knew that I needed a decent goalkeeper, a central midfielder, and a left back. So I set to work, making enquiries for every player I thought looked decent in those positions. I bought Nathan Ashton (DL) from Fulham for a cool £26k, then a day later brought in Robert Bayly (MC) from Leeds for £10k. I had almost finished my work, but on the 30th of January, I still needed a good goalkeeper.
I settled on Chris Day from Millwall, and focused all my energies into getting him. After some negotiating, I settled on a fee of £20k, but with personal terms still having to be thrashed out. With exactly 1 day to go, I offered him a £600 a week contract, which he refused, but wanted £1k a week instead. My budget would not allow it, so with the clock at 19.30, I offered him the highest I could give; £780 a week. He accepted the offer and he was signed with the clock at 22.45. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I knew that my squad was not only adequate, it was better than before January.
Although my wage budget now rests at £1k a week, and a transfer budget of £70k. I did some budget adjustment so I had £4k a week, but with £10k transfer money. I figured that I wouldn't need transfer money for the loan window, so it was the logical decision. Below is my full January signings and offloads:
IN:
Antony Griffith - £18k - £490 p/w (but was already on wage bill)
Kevin Kyle (ST) - Free - £2k p/w
Geoff Horsefield (ST) - Free - £800 p/w
Nathan Ashton (DL) - £26k - £720 p/w
Robery Bayly (MC) - £10k - £500 p/w
Chris Day (GK) - £20k - £780 p/w
OUT:
Craig Mahon - loan terminated
John Allen - released
Nigel West - released
Jon Shaw - £20k
Steve Bushell - £30k
Cortez Belle - £15k
All in all, a good transfer month. Part 4 will be about the the matches, and the rest of the season. Thanks for reading!
Friday, 6 February 2009
Halifax Town story: Season 1 Part 2
While I ploughed on, trying to wheel and deal in the transfer window, there was a small matter of friendly matches to play. Our first match was against Hartlepool, who were in league 1 at the tim. After picking the strongest team I could, I went into the match quietly confident about our chances. I honestly thought that the worst outcome would be a 1-0 loss, but boy was I proved wrong.
At half time we were 2-0 down, virtually dead and buried. Kelvin Etuhu (our loanee from Man City) was having a nightmare, as well as most of the first 11. I threw on Nick Gray (AMR) for Kelvin, and Andy Campbell (before he was sold) for Jon Shaw (ST). Although it got us more possesion due to Campbell's height and passing techniques, we still could not muster up any chances of note. And in the 89th minute, our misery was compounded by another Hartlepool goal, after a calamity from our then 1st choice goalkeeper, Craig Mawson.
Our next few results did nothing to appease the worried fans, with a 3-2 loss to Inverness CT (both our goals were penalties), and a gut-wrenching 1-1 draw to minnows Airbus, firmly putting us in our place. We then finally got a clean sheet but could not sneak a goal to win against our second minnow opponents Dundalk. By this time the fans were firmly on our back, and when August arrived, the board were VERY disappointed, and felt I should be doing a lot better.
From then, until our last friendly match against Wrexham, was the period in which most of the transfer activity happened. So when the match day came against Wrexham, a league 2 team, we had a completly different outlook on our team. I even changed the formation to an attacking 4-1-4-1, which I have kept to this very day. After a solid first half, that ended 0-0, I threw on Kelvin Etuhu and Jon Shaw, after their calamitatious performances saw them relegated to the bench. But boy did they respond! Chance after chance after chance for Halifax, with Wrexham confined to their own area. Their goalie was having surely one of the best games of his life, as he marvellously saved countless shots from Shaw, Lewis Killeen, and Cywka. But in the end, super sub Jon Shaw broke the deadlock with a screamer from the edge of the area in the 78th minute. After that, we calmed down a bit, and were just content to keep possesion rather than go all out for the second goal. And it worked! A brilliant 1-0 win against higher league opposition, pleased both our board and our fans. But I knew I had a long way to go until I could really change their minds about me.
The beginning of the Blue Square Premier season loomed, and I still needed a centre back and a right back. The bookies gave us no hope of promotion, with odds of 50-1. I bought Sean O'Hanlon (DC) about 2 days before our first league match against Exeter (A), and a man of the match performance brought us a battling 0-0 draw. The second match was even better, a 2-1 win over Stevenage (A), with Cywka opening the scoring, and Jon Shaw scoring the winner from the bench. We had 3 games to go until the transfer window slammed shut, so I set a target for 4 points out of a possible 9.
First up out of the 3 were Grays Athletic (H), the bookies outside tip to win promotion. It was our first home match in the league, and I desperately wanted a win to please our fans. And I was not disappointed, with a 1-0 lead at half time, courtesy of Etuhu's 16th minute strike. In the second half, a crazy 6 minutes brought 3 goals, thankfully 2 for us. We raced into a 3-0 lead, with substitute Jon Shaw, and Cywka scoring within 3 minutes to clinch the points. Grays scored a consolation 1 minute later, and there was no furthur scoring, with Halifax going up to 3rd place in the league.
A 0-0 draw with promotion favourites York (H) followed, and if we avoided defeat against Woking (A), we would have surpassed my target for these 3 games. It was a close, scrappy game, with the only goal of the game coming in the 88th minute. And it was a Halifax player, Cywka to be precise, who got the decisive goal to clinch us 3 valuable points. We sat proudly in 2nd place in the league, with only York ahead of us, 2 points in front on 13.
After Brendon Moloney came, our defence became almost inpenetrable, with us getting a hatful of clean sheets, and never conceded more than 1 in the BSP for the rest of the season. Our next game against Rushden (H) saw us win 2-1, courtesy of Tomi Ameobi and Tomasz Cywka. Unfortunately, York also won, from a last gasp penalty to keep us off the top spot. Even a 2-0 win over Stafford Rangers (A), with goals from Tom Kearney and Ameobi, couldnt knock them off, as they had won over Weymouth comfortably.
Our next 2 matches were a disaster, slipping down to 3rd and losing ground on York with 2 consecutive 0-0 draws with Torquay (H) and Weymouth (A). This left us behind York and Oxford, and 4 points off the pace. We looked short of ideas, and desperately needed some inspiration.
I then got my second loan signing from Wigan, youngster Joey Waterhouse as cover for left back, as Matt Doughty was the only senior left back available. I gave him a start against Histon (H), where he made 1 crucial error to gift the Histon a 1-0 lead. I replaced him at half time with Doughty, and we went on to win 3-1, Ameobi, Etuhu and Killeen getting the goals. I was appeased, but apart from Waterhouse, I was concerned about Killeens missed penalty so I made Ameobi our new penalty taker.
2 hard-fought 1-0 wins over Forest Green (A) and Farsley (H) boosted us back to 2nd, this time only 1 point away from York. Oxford were 3 points away from us, but with better goal difference so we had to be wary. I knew that if I won against Crawley, I would pose a good chance of going top, with York and Oxford playing each other at the same time.
The Crawley match incidentally was the last game of September, so I figured that a win would really put me in the boards good books, especially if we went top, so I played my strongest team possible, even though 3 players were unfit. We went 1-0 up from Cywka's brilliant solo goal, and held on the lead until half time. I warned the team to not get complacent and made us a little more defensive. This proved to be a good decision, as we didnt concede for the first 30 minutes. I was beginning to get nervous, as Crawley launched attack after attack at our shaky defense, with Waterhouse's side being exposed time and time again. We finally cracked in the 92nd minute, with Carl Ikeme parrying a shot straight at a Crawley striker, who just had to simply tap home. The crushing disappointment of that goal became even more real, as York and Oxford had drawn their game 3-3, so if we had just held on for 1 more minute, we would have been leading the table at the end of September.
After this result, the board were less than pleased, despite a successful month. They told me that most of my signings have been bad, and that we should be in a higher position in the league. I was outraged, as the bookies said we should be around mid table, and my pre season expectations were mid table too! The fans were also unhappy, and protesters had gathered up around The Shay (our home ground) to get me sacked. Nethertheless, I lumbered on; we had 6 games in October and I could not afford many slip ups. Our first 2 matches were at home against Droylesden and Ebbsfleet. I had brought in my last of the Wigan loanees for the season, young striker Craig Mahon. He made an immediate impact, scoring with Cywka to get us a comfortable 2-0 win against Droylesden. Against Ebbsfleet though, he was anonymous, so supersub Jon Shaw had to rescue us with both the goals in another 2-0 win.
At this point we were still 1 point adrift, due to York's recent good results but that was all about to change. While we had an infuriating 0-0 draw against Burton (A), York slipped up 2-0 against Woking to give them their first defeat of the season. They remained ahead on goal difference, but after a 2-1 win over Northwich (H), with Cywka and Antony Griffith getting the goals, and York's 1-1 draw with Stevenage, we finally went top of the league. Our joy was short lived though, as a 0-0 draw with Oxford, coupled with a York win, threw us off the top again.
Our final game of October came as a FA Cup 4th Qualifying round against Droylesden, whom we had recently beaten 2-0. This time only 1 goal was needed, a 6th minute goal by our usual supersub Jon Shaw. Due to injury to Tomi Ameobi, and Mahon's inconsistent form, I gave Shaw a start and it payed off. I made a mental note to start him more often.
At the beginning of November, I sent Joey Waterhouse back to Wigan, as I felt he gave us nothing that our U-18 left back Bruce Futcher couldnt. Mahon I kept, but only because of his debut goal. The board were now mildly satisfied with my performance, and the fans were slowly but surely starting to come round. Our first 2 games were against Altringham (H) in the league, and minnows Gateshead (H) in the FA Cup first round. We secured a fine 1-0 win over Altringham, Ameobi coming back from injury to score on his return, and a dominating 3-0 win over Gateshead, Ameobi scoring again, alongside Nick Gray and Antony Griffith.
Back to the league, and we battled to another two 1-0 wins, over Aldershot (A), and Cambridge (H). Centre back Adam Quinn scored against Aldershot, and Ameobi scored against Cambridge, to thrust us to the top of the league, now 3 points clear of York. But Oxford were only 4 points adrift, so I had to watch their results now as well as Yorks, as December loomed.
Our first match in December was against Peterbrough (A), a League 2 side, in the FA Cup second round. In the first half we were really up against it, with Peterbrough scoring 1 goal, and really should have had more if it wasnt for our heroic defence. At half time, I put on Jon Shaw and Lewis Killeen for Griffith and Tomi Ameobi. We looked brighter after that, and got our reward in the 51st minute, Killeen equalising from a free kick. That goal really woke Peterbrough up, and they started to go all out for a second goal in front of their own fans. We managed to scrape through it 1-1 to earn a replay at The Shaw, but at a cost. Peterbrough had injured Carl Ikeme, Sean O'Hanlon, captain Steve Bushell, and supersub Jon Shaw. As we only had 20 members of the first team squad as it was, this was a devastating blow, but thankfully, all would recover in time for the replay 11 days later.
We then had a mixed 2 games. We blew away Kidderminster (A) 3-0 (Cywka 2, Killeen 1) but then stumbled to another 0-0 draw against Salisbury (H) with the replay at home to Peterbrough next. Will our inconsistent form put us out of the FA Cup?
The answer is no, but it took a while to get there! In the 3rd minute, the opposition was reduced to 10 men, for a cynical challenge to immediately give us the upper hand. Despite this though, Peterbrough opened the scoring in the 10th minute, following a mistake by our goalkeeper Carl Ikeme. Although we made a lot of chances, the scoring remained the same until the 49th minute, when Craig Mahon scored only his second goal for us to bring us level. This time, we were the ones who started dominating, but although the woodwork was hit 3 times, we could not find a breakthrough, and the game went to extra time. From then, we pegged them back further, and O'Hanlon scored in the 95th minute to put us ahead. Peterbrough had a little fightback, and looked dangerous, but in the 113th minute, captain Steve Bushell scored to put the game beyond doubt, in front of the adoring Shaymen (Halifax fans). We were through to the 3rd round of the FA Cup, but drawn against a team that posed the biggest challenge we have had this season, League 1 side Hartlepool.
Our next 2 games were both against York, the first away and second home, and both in the FA Trophy 1st round. In the first match, we battled our way to a 1-1 draw, with a late own goal by York's central midfielder in the 91st minute. The replay was of a different contrast though, plain sailing as we eased our way to a 2-0 victory, courtesy of a brace by Jon Shaw. Our next match was another cup match, this time the 4th round of the Setanta Shield.
We were facing Havant and Waterlooville (A), and this one also went to extra time. Tomasz Cywka opened the scoring in the 19th minute, but H&W equalised in the 70th minute. In the 88th minute they were down to 10 men, via a leg breaking tackle on Kelvin Etuhu. That ruled him out for a good 4 months so I was very disappointed by the end of 90 minutes when I had to put Nick Gray in his place. H&W lost another player to a red card, this time for a deliberate handball. Their misery was compounded as their right back scored an own goal, and Lewis Killeen added insult to injury with a 119th minute penalty. We still had 2 league games to go until the end of the month, but things were looking good. We were still in all cup competitions entered, and top of the league to boot! But that was dependant on the next 2 games...
These 2 matches were against Stevenage (H), and Grays Athletic (A). We almost lost top spot against Stevenage, getting a 0-0 draw, to put York just 1 point behind us, but we claimed a battling 1-0 win over Grays, with Tomi Ameobi ending his dry patch and getting a 90th minute goal. We were top of the table after 25/46 games, 1 point ahead of York, and 3 points ahead of Oxford. As the January transfer window beckoned, I knew I would need to hold on to my better players, and get bring some new ones in. So far I had been lucky with injuries, but you never know, and I wasnt going to lose the top spot because of a few injuries!
Part 3 will be about my wheelings and dealings in the January window, and part 4 will be about the rest of the season. Sorry for the length!
At half time we were 2-0 down, virtually dead and buried. Kelvin Etuhu (our loanee from Man City) was having a nightmare, as well as most of the first 11. I threw on Nick Gray (AMR) for Kelvin, and Andy Campbell (before he was sold) for Jon Shaw (ST). Although it got us more possesion due to Campbell's height and passing techniques, we still could not muster up any chances of note. And in the 89th minute, our misery was compounded by another Hartlepool goal, after a calamity from our then 1st choice goalkeeper, Craig Mawson.
Our next few results did nothing to appease the worried fans, with a 3-2 loss to Inverness CT (both our goals were penalties), and a gut-wrenching 1-1 draw to minnows Airbus, firmly putting us in our place. We then finally got a clean sheet but could not sneak a goal to win against our second minnow opponents Dundalk. By this time the fans were firmly on our back, and when August arrived, the board were VERY disappointed, and felt I should be doing a lot better.
From then, until our last friendly match against Wrexham, was the period in which most of the transfer activity happened. So when the match day came against Wrexham, a league 2 team, we had a completly different outlook on our team. I even changed the formation to an attacking 4-1-4-1, which I have kept to this very day. After a solid first half, that ended 0-0, I threw on Kelvin Etuhu and Jon Shaw, after their calamitatious performances saw them relegated to the bench. But boy did they respond! Chance after chance after chance for Halifax, with Wrexham confined to their own area. Their goalie was having surely one of the best games of his life, as he marvellously saved countless shots from Shaw, Lewis Killeen, and Cywka. But in the end, super sub Jon Shaw broke the deadlock with a screamer from the edge of the area in the 78th minute. After that, we calmed down a bit, and were just content to keep possesion rather than go all out for the second goal. And it worked! A brilliant 1-0 win against higher league opposition, pleased both our board and our fans. But I knew I had a long way to go until I could really change their minds about me.
The beginning of the Blue Square Premier season loomed, and I still needed a centre back and a right back. The bookies gave us no hope of promotion, with odds of 50-1. I bought Sean O'Hanlon (DC) about 2 days before our first league match against Exeter (A), and a man of the match performance brought us a battling 0-0 draw. The second match was even better, a 2-1 win over Stevenage (A), with Cywka opening the scoring, and Jon Shaw scoring the winner from the bench. We had 3 games to go until the transfer window slammed shut, so I set a target for 4 points out of a possible 9.
First up out of the 3 were Grays Athletic (H), the bookies outside tip to win promotion. It was our first home match in the league, and I desperately wanted a win to please our fans. And I was not disappointed, with a 1-0 lead at half time, courtesy of Etuhu's 16th minute strike. In the second half, a crazy 6 minutes brought 3 goals, thankfully 2 for us. We raced into a 3-0 lead, with substitute Jon Shaw, and Cywka scoring within 3 minutes to clinch the points. Grays scored a consolation 1 minute later, and there was no furthur scoring, with Halifax going up to 3rd place in the league.
A 0-0 draw with promotion favourites York (H) followed, and if we avoided defeat against Woking (A), we would have surpassed my target for these 3 games. It was a close, scrappy game, with the only goal of the game coming in the 88th minute. And it was a Halifax player, Cywka to be precise, who got the decisive goal to clinch us 3 valuable points. We sat proudly in 2nd place in the league, with only York ahead of us, 2 points in front on 13.
After Brendon Moloney came, our defence became almost inpenetrable, with us getting a hatful of clean sheets, and never conceded more than 1 in the BSP for the rest of the season. Our next game against Rushden (H) saw us win 2-1, courtesy of Tomi Ameobi and Tomasz Cywka. Unfortunately, York also won, from a last gasp penalty to keep us off the top spot. Even a 2-0 win over Stafford Rangers (A), with goals from Tom Kearney and Ameobi, couldnt knock them off, as they had won over Weymouth comfortably.
Our next 2 matches were a disaster, slipping down to 3rd and losing ground on York with 2 consecutive 0-0 draws with Torquay (H) and Weymouth (A). This left us behind York and Oxford, and 4 points off the pace. We looked short of ideas, and desperately needed some inspiration.
I then got my second loan signing from Wigan, youngster Joey Waterhouse as cover for left back, as Matt Doughty was the only senior left back available. I gave him a start against Histon (H), where he made 1 crucial error to gift the Histon a 1-0 lead. I replaced him at half time with Doughty, and we went on to win 3-1, Ameobi, Etuhu and Killeen getting the goals. I was appeased, but apart from Waterhouse, I was concerned about Killeens missed penalty so I made Ameobi our new penalty taker.
2 hard-fought 1-0 wins over Forest Green (A) and Farsley (H) boosted us back to 2nd, this time only 1 point away from York. Oxford were 3 points away from us, but with better goal difference so we had to be wary. I knew that if I won against Crawley, I would pose a good chance of going top, with York and Oxford playing each other at the same time.
The Crawley match incidentally was the last game of September, so I figured that a win would really put me in the boards good books, especially if we went top, so I played my strongest team possible, even though 3 players were unfit. We went 1-0 up from Cywka's brilliant solo goal, and held on the lead until half time. I warned the team to not get complacent and made us a little more defensive. This proved to be a good decision, as we didnt concede for the first 30 minutes. I was beginning to get nervous, as Crawley launched attack after attack at our shaky defense, with Waterhouse's side being exposed time and time again. We finally cracked in the 92nd minute, with Carl Ikeme parrying a shot straight at a Crawley striker, who just had to simply tap home. The crushing disappointment of that goal became even more real, as York and Oxford had drawn their game 3-3, so if we had just held on for 1 more minute, we would have been leading the table at the end of September.
After this result, the board were less than pleased, despite a successful month. They told me that most of my signings have been bad, and that we should be in a higher position in the league. I was outraged, as the bookies said we should be around mid table, and my pre season expectations were mid table too! The fans were also unhappy, and protesters had gathered up around The Shay (our home ground) to get me sacked. Nethertheless, I lumbered on; we had 6 games in October and I could not afford many slip ups. Our first 2 matches were at home against Droylesden and Ebbsfleet. I had brought in my last of the Wigan loanees for the season, young striker Craig Mahon. He made an immediate impact, scoring with Cywka to get us a comfortable 2-0 win against Droylesden. Against Ebbsfleet though, he was anonymous, so supersub Jon Shaw had to rescue us with both the goals in another 2-0 win.
At this point we were still 1 point adrift, due to York's recent good results but that was all about to change. While we had an infuriating 0-0 draw against Burton (A), York slipped up 2-0 against Woking to give them their first defeat of the season. They remained ahead on goal difference, but after a 2-1 win over Northwich (H), with Cywka and Antony Griffith getting the goals, and York's 1-1 draw with Stevenage, we finally went top of the league. Our joy was short lived though, as a 0-0 draw with Oxford, coupled with a York win, threw us off the top again.
Our final game of October came as a FA Cup 4th Qualifying round against Droylesden, whom we had recently beaten 2-0. This time only 1 goal was needed, a 6th minute goal by our usual supersub Jon Shaw. Due to injury to Tomi Ameobi, and Mahon's inconsistent form, I gave Shaw a start and it payed off. I made a mental note to start him more often.
At the beginning of November, I sent Joey Waterhouse back to Wigan, as I felt he gave us nothing that our U-18 left back Bruce Futcher couldnt. Mahon I kept, but only because of his debut goal. The board were now mildly satisfied with my performance, and the fans were slowly but surely starting to come round. Our first 2 games were against Altringham (H) in the league, and minnows Gateshead (H) in the FA Cup first round. We secured a fine 1-0 win over Altringham, Ameobi coming back from injury to score on his return, and a dominating 3-0 win over Gateshead, Ameobi scoring again, alongside Nick Gray and Antony Griffith.
Back to the league, and we battled to another two 1-0 wins, over Aldershot (A), and Cambridge (H). Centre back Adam Quinn scored against Aldershot, and Ameobi scored against Cambridge, to thrust us to the top of the league, now 3 points clear of York. But Oxford were only 4 points adrift, so I had to watch their results now as well as Yorks, as December loomed.
Our first match in December was against Peterbrough (A), a League 2 side, in the FA Cup second round. In the first half we were really up against it, with Peterbrough scoring 1 goal, and really should have had more if it wasnt for our heroic defence. At half time, I put on Jon Shaw and Lewis Killeen for Griffith and Tomi Ameobi. We looked brighter after that, and got our reward in the 51st minute, Killeen equalising from a free kick. That goal really woke Peterbrough up, and they started to go all out for a second goal in front of their own fans. We managed to scrape through it 1-1 to earn a replay at The Shaw, but at a cost. Peterbrough had injured Carl Ikeme, Sean O'Hanlon, captain Steve Bushell, and supersub Jon Shaw. As we only had 20 members of the first team squad as it was, this was a devastating blow, but thankfully, all would recover in time for the replay 11 days later.
We then had a mixed 2 games. We blew away Kidderminster (A) 3-0 (Cywka 2, Killeen 1) but then stumbled to another 0-0 draw against Salisbury (H) with the replay at home to Peterbrough next. Will our inconsistent form put us out of the FA Cup?
The answer is no, but it took a while to get there! In the 3rd minute, the opposition was reduced to 10 men, for a cynical challenge to immediately give us the upper hand. Despite this though, Peterbrough opened the scoring in the 10th minute, following a mistake by our goalkeeper Carl Ikeme. Although we made a lot of chances, the scoring remained the same until the 49th minute, when Craig Mahon scored only his second goal for us to bring us level. This time, we were the ones who started dominating, but although the woodwork was hit 3 times, we could not find a breakthrough, and the game went to extra time. From then, we pegged them back further, and O'Hanlon scored in the 95th minute to put us ahead. Peterbrough had a little fightback, and looked dangerous, but in the 113th minute, captain Steve Bushell scored to put the game beyond doubt, in front of the adoring Shaymen (Halifax fans). We were through to the 3rd round of the FA Cup, but drawn against a team that posed the biggest challenge we have had this season, League 1 side Hartlepool.
Our next 2 games were both against York, the first away and second home, and both in the FA Trophy 1st round. In the first match, we battled our way to a 1-1 draw, with a late own goal by York's central midfielder in the 91st minute. The replay was of a different contrast though, plain sailing as we eased our way to a 2-0 victory, courtesy of a brace by Jon Shaw. Our next match was another cup match, this time the 4th round of the Setanta Shield.
We were facing Havant and Waterlooville (A), and this one also went to extra time. Tomasz Cywka opened the scoring in the 19th minute, but H&W equalised in the 70th minute. In the 88th minute they were down to 10 men, via a leg breaking tackle on Kelvin Etuhu. That ruled him out for a good 4 months so I was very disappointed by the end of 90 minutes when I had to put Nick Gray in his place. H&W lost another player to a red card, this time for a deliberate handball. Their misery was compounded as their right back scored an own goal, and Lewis Killeen added insult to injury with a 119th minute penalty. We still had 2 league games to go until the end of the month, but things were looking good. We were still in all cup competitions entered, and top of the league to boot! But that was dependant on the next 2 games...
These 2 matches were against Stevenage (H), and Grays Athletic (A). We almost lost top spot against Stevenage, getting a 0-0 draw, to put York just 1 point behind us, but we claimed a battling 1-0 win over Grays, with Tomi Ameobi ending his dry patch and getting a 90th minute goal. We were top of the table after 25/46 games, 1 point ahead of York, and 3 points ahead of Oxford. As the January transfer window beckoned, I knew I would need to hold on to my better players, and get bring some new ones in. So far I had been lucky with injuries, but you never know, and I wasnt going to lose the top spot because of a few injuries!
Part 3 will be about my wheelings and dealings in the January window, and part 4 will be about the rest of the season. Sorry for the length!
Halifax Town story: Season 1 Part 1
My first season as manager of Halifax Town started very badly, with the fans unhappy at my appointment, and the board not pleased at my pre season results. To top it all off, I had a £0 transfer budget, and I had £3k to spend on wages. I knew some wheeling and dealing had to be done.
My first priority was to offer everyone a new contract with the pay from £25-£50 less. This worked a treat as my wage allowance rocketed to £6k, giving me room for some free transfers or loanees.
I then decided to let go of a large number of my first team and reserve team squad. 7 players were sold for a tidy sum of £100k, and 2 of the reserve team had finished their contracts and were subsequently released. These were:
Darren Stamp (ST) - £10k
Jake Wright (DLC) - £15k
Danny Forrest (AMR/ST) - £10k
Jonathan Hedge (GK) - £10k
Lee Butler (GK) - £15k
Andy Campbell (ST) - £30k
Greg Young (DLC) - £10k
Micah Bleau (AMR) - released
Simon Rawnsley (MC) - released
After this, my squad looked very threadbare, so I desperately needed to get some recruitments in. On a £90k transfer budget, I wouldnt have got too many players, so instead I put forward a request to the board to get a parent club. Thankfully they chose a Premier Division club, Wigan Athletic, which I immediately reccommended to them. A new partnership was formed the next day.
Using Wigan as a loan signings pinata, I got Tomasz Cywka (MC) on loan, having to pay nothing in wages, and getting a great player for a season. I took no more from Wigan at this stage, but I would sign 2 more loanees from them until the January window.
I signed 2 other players on loan in the summer as well. Kelvin Etuhu (AMR) arrived from Manchester City and Carl Ikeme (GK) came from Wolves. Then I bought (yes bought!) 3 players from League 1/2. Tomi Ameobi (ST) was the first to arrive from Leeds for £10k, then I bagged Sean O'Hanlon (DC) from MK Dons for a cool £30k. The last to arrive, on deadline day, was Brendon Moloney (DR) from Nottingham Forest for a fee of £25k. This left me with a £6k wage budget, and a £25k transfer budget. So far so good.
Part 2 coming up! I will move on to the first half of the season and how I won over the fans and the board with some decent results. Read all about it!
My first priority was to offer everyone a new contract with the pay from £25-£50 less. This worked a treat as my wage allowance rocketed to £6k, giving me room for some free transfers or loanees.
I then decided to let go of a large number of my first team and reserve team squad. 7 players were sold for a tidy sum of £100k, and 2 of the reserve team had finished their contracts and were subsequently released. These were:
Darren Stamp (ST) - £10k
Jake Wright (DLC) - £15k
Danny Forrest (AMR/ST) - £10k
Jonathan Hedge (GK) - £10k
Lee Butler (GK) - £15k
Andy Campbell (ST) - £30k
Greg Young (DLC) - £10k
Micah Bleau (AMR) - released
Simon Rawnsley (MC) - released
After this, my squad looked very threadbare, so I desperately needed to get some recruitments in. On a £90k transfer budget, I wouldnt have got too many players, so instead I put forward a request to the board to get a parent club. Thankfully they chose a Premier Division club, Wigan Athletic, which I immediately reccommended to them. A new partnership was formed the next day.
Using Wigan as a loan signings pinata, I got Tomasz Cywka (MC) on loan, having to pay nothing in wages, and getting a great player for a season. I took no more from Wigan at this stage, but I would sign 2 more loanees from them until the January window.
I signed 2 other players on loan in the summer as well. Kelvin Etuhu (AMR) arrived from Manchester City and Carl Ikeme (GK) came from Wolves. Then I bought (yes bought!) 3 players from League 1/2. Tomi Ameobi (ST) was the first to arrive from Leeds for £10k, then I bagged Sean O'Hanlon (DC) from MK Dons for a cool £30k. The last to arrive, on deadline day, was Brendon Moloney (DR) from Nottingham Forest for a fee of £25k. This left me with a £6k wage budget, and a £25k transfer budget. So far so good.
Part 2 coming up! I will move on to the first half of the season and how I won over the fans and the board with some decent results. Read all about it!
Halifax Town story: Introduction
Hello hello! Let me introduce myself, my name is Mike Aram, I am 14 years old, and I live in Manchester. I support Man City, have done for about 11 years. I bought Football Manager 2008 back in July, as it was cheap due to the impeding 2009 version, and I had heard rumours over 2009's faults.
I began with Manchester City (of course) but as the board had high expectations, and this was my first Football Manager game, I didn't do well. In my first season I finished 17th and subsequently got sacked. I thought it was time to turn a new leaf, and started a new game with Leeds United (15 points deduction so not so high expectations). This was better as in 4 seasons, I had got Leeds to the Premier League, and had finished 15th, a good 6 points above relegation.
Then, I got pretty bored of the Leeds game, because I couldn't attract anyone to take me higher on my shoestring budget (2 million!!). So I decided to start again, this time with Halifax town. The reason I chose Halifax was because I had heard of them when I was 10, and always had a soft spot because of the banks (not the football club) entertaining adverts. I am currently just starting my second season, but I will give a recap of my first seasons exploits.
Hope you enjoy my blog!
I began with Manchester City (of course) but as the board had high expectations, and this was my first Football Manager game, I didn't do well. In my first season I finished 17th and subsequently got sacked. I thought it was time to turn a new leaf, and started a new game with Leeds United (15 points deduction so not so high expectations). This was better as in 4 seasons, I had got Leeds to the Premier League, and had finished 15th, a good 6 points above relegation.
Then, I got pretty bored of the Leeds game, because I couldn't attract anyone to take me higher on my shoestring budget (2 million!!). So I decided to start again, this time with Halifax town. The reason I chose Halifax was because I had heard of them when I was 10, and always had a soft spot because of the banks (not the football club) entertaining adverts. I am currently just starting my second season, but I will give a recap of my first seasons exploits.
Hope you enjoy my blog!
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