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!

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!

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!