Altrincham - The great journey

Sorry for none updates since last week... Been busy with training and matches with my team between all my finals etc. But I'm going to try to update more often in the future, starting tomorrow (hopefully)! Stay tuned!

Take your time! :-) No rush.

As the next season is approaching we in www.altrinchamfc.co.uk has talked to Lee Sinnot about the upcoming season. The club was promoted from The Skrill North last season, and the media is expecting them to fight for survival in their return to The Skrill Premier. We have asked Sinnott about last season, transfers and the next season.

Altrinchamfc.co.uk (A): Hello, Mr. Sinnott. First of all: Congrats with the title! how does it feel?

Lee Sinnott (LS): Thank you very much! It was a really great feeling! I can't describe how much it meant to us. We've fought for this since 2010, and when we finally managed it... It's incredible! And we deserved it!

A: You say that you deserved to lift the trophy. Why did you deserve it, instead of, for example, Colwyn Bay?

LS: It's simple. We were the better team throughout the season, we played the best and most entertaining football, we grabbed most points, we had the best defense and the best attackers. We dominated almost every game we played. Everyone who watched The Skrill North last season can agree that it was a deserved winner, Altrincham FC!

A: As you are saying: You had the best players in The Skrill North. How much does the team need to improve to manage to stay in The Skrill Premier?

LS: Nothing! I'm serious. I watched some games in TSP last season, and to be honest: The difference between the two divisions are minimal. There is some really great players and teams in TSP, but the team that finished in the top of TSN and got promoted should be able to stay at last at the middle of the table in TSP. That's my opinion.

A: So you won't do any signings? Except from Dillon and Dixon?

LS: No, unless we find a player who'll improve the starting XI. We are looking at a couple of players at the moment, but I won't give you any names. And we obviously has to be looking for a goalie, since Coburn is no longer in the club. But as I said: This squad is capable for TSP, just wait and see!

A: What do you expect for the next season?

LS: I expect to be placed at the middle of the table. Everything above that would be excellent, but I'll be, in a way, happy as long as we keep away from relegation. I'm not concerned about relegation, but we are the new team in the division, and to stay in the league would be great, even though we have a great squad.

A: That's all I got. Good luck in the upcoming season! I'm looking forward to the new season, and I'm a bit more optimistic after this interview. Thanks again, Mr. Sinnott!

LS: Thank you! We'll do our best not to disappoint you, our fans!

There are three weeks until Altrincham is making their comeback in The Skrill Premier. Stay tuned here for the new season, and feel free to take the trip to Moss Lane and support the Robins in their comeback season!

Altrincham's pre-season is coming to an end. They can't be to happy about their start to the new season. The pre-season started with two 0-0 draws against Harrogate and Vauxhall, two teams they met last season in TSP (Vauxhall's season ended up with relegation). In their next game they lost 0-1 to Solihull Moors, also a team they met last season. That means that the newly promoted team from The Skrill North, Altrincham, had a goal difference of 0-1 after three games! Nothing seemed to work in the attack for the Robins, but the defense seems to have done their work during the summer. But 46 0-0 draws won't be satisfying for the fans in the next season. Therefore something has to be done before the next season at the Moss Lane.

The next game was against Tamworth, a team that was relegated from The Skrill Premier last season. The game seemed to be just like their previous games, a loss without scoring a goal, but just before full time, Matty Dixon managed to score Altrincham's first goal during their pre-season, after more than 360 minutes with football. Soon everything was better for Altrincham, when they played against the Sky Bet League 2 team Northampton. They managed to score two goals, AND secure their first victory during the 2014/15 season. And like this wasn't enough they managed to score three goals against Manchester United U21, the reserves for the champions in the Premier League last season. More than 3000 fans watched the Robins beat a team with players like Nani, Büttner, Darren Fletcher, Subotic and Rio Ferdinand. Altrincham's pre season didn't start out too convincing, but they ended with two impressive victories. Now their fans will be looking forward to the start of the season, looking forward to more goals and great football.

Welcome to Moss Lane! It has been four years since we saw them in the Skrill Premier last time, but now they are back. Altrincham was promoted from the Skrill North last season after capturing impressing 96 points in 42 games. This season is going to be much tougher for the Robins as they are expected to be fighting to stay up. Their opponent today is expected to finish at 15th spot. Aldershot was relegated from Sky Bet League 2 in 2012/13, and had a tough first season in the Skrill Premier, where they only managed to finish 12th. There is no doubt that the first game in Altrincham’s comeback to the Skrill Premier is going to be entertaining. We are only a couple of minutes away from the kick off to the 2014/15 season, enjoy!

1’: Aldershot kicks off the new season!

10’: A rather boring start to this match. Nothing interesting has happened yet.

15’: GOAL, Aldershot! It starts with a great cross from Ball into the box, and Burke is really close to scoring an own goal! Edwards with a brilliant save, but the second ball ends up in Jake Robinson’s foot, and Altrincham has conceded their first goal in the Skrill Premier since 2010!

20’: GOAL, Altrincham! And they are back! It starts with a great pass from Wafula to Matty Dixon. Out at the left Dixon crosses the ball to Damien Reeves. Just before the ball crosses the line to a goal kick, Reeves manages to pass it 45 degrees out to Josh Sumner. With almost clear goal he has no struggle with putting the ball into the net. 1-1 at Moss Lane!

30’: Josh Sumner with a brilliant pass to Damian Reeves. Alone with the goalie Reeves misses. Altrincham really close 2-1 there!

31’: Altrincham gets a free kick. Sumner shoots, but misses the target.

39’: INJURY: Josh Sumner has to leave the pitch after a tough challenge.

39’: Sub Altrincham: Josh Sumner out, John Dillon in.

42’: Dillon makes an immediate impact. A great pass to Richman, but alone with the goalie he misses.

45+2’: It’s half time at Moss Lane. The game had a disappointing start, and nothing happened in the first 15 minutes. But then we got two goals, and after that Altrincham has been the better side. Aldershot has to do some changes if they want to take all three points back to The Recreation Ground. 45 minutes remaining, and we can still get more goals in this game!

46’: Sub Altrincham: Matty Dixon out, Nicky Clee in.

46’: Sub Aldershot: Tristan Plummer out, Mike Symons in.

46’: Altrincham kicks off the second half.

51’: GOAL Aldershot! It’s Jake Robinson with a brilliant pass through the Altrincham defence. Jason Lampkin with a great finish, and Aldershot is in the lead again, an shows how unfair football can be. 1-2!

57’: GOAL, Altrincham! And they are back, again! And it’s because of horrible defending from Aldershot! Aldershot looses the ball to Clee on their way forward. A great pass to Reeves opens up the Aldershot defense. Clee continues his run, and Reeves plays the ball back to him. The sub has an easy task with putting the ball into the open goal! We’re back at square one, 2-2!

58’: Aldershot looses the ball straight after the kick off. Clee with a great pass to Richman, but he misses alone against the goalie, again.

65’: Sub, Aldershot: Harry Beautyman has to leave the pitch after an injury. Jake Rose comes in.

70’: Sub, Aldershot: Jake Rose has to leave the pitch only five minutes after he replaced Beautyman. David Fitzpatrick replaces him.

79’: Ohh, what a chance for Reeves! Played through by Richman, but the shot is blocked. The following corner is headed away from Williams.

85’: Today’s attendance at Moss Lane is 1 068!

90+4’: The match is over. Aldershot managed to get a point an two goals, even though Altrincham was the better team. Two comebacks from Altrincham shows great mentality, but they have to manage to convert their chances to goals if they want to stay away from relegation. They impressed at some times, but are at the same time too ineffective. Aldershot didn’t impress today against the newly promoted team from Manchester. But it is only the first game of the season. There are still 45 games to go. This is going to be a really great season. And it'll continoue already at Tuesday, when Altrincham is going to visit Dartford while Aldershot is welcoming Alfreton to the Recreation Ground. This was all I had to say today. See you next time, good night!

Jake Robinson

Altrincham has finally made their return to The Skrill Premier, and their comeback started out pretty well. In their first six games of the season they grabbed eleven points. Their first game ended with a draw against Aldershot at home. They deserved three points, but were too ineffective on the final third to decide the match. Their two next matches couldn't have been better, with six points and goal difference of +5 against Staines and Dartford they impressed experts and fans. Another draw followed, this time against Gateshead away, 2-2. The biggest game so far was the one against Dag & Red was played only four days after Altrincham's draw against Gateshead. This game was the first game Altrincham lost in this division since 2010, and they got their feet back on earth after a flying start to the season. They ended the month impressively with a 3-1 victory against Wrexham. After the first month of the season Altrincham has impressed, and could be found at 8th spot in the league. They can't complain after 3-2-1 and GD of +5 after five games. It'll be interesting to follow Altrincham for the rest of their season, and their fight to stay in the league!

Fun read man, best of luck... I've also been playing LLM lately but considering I'm a bit rusty with Football manager (haven't played since 2012) I was struggling in the first matches, have had about 5-6 losses in a row, then changed tactics completely and I'm currently on some 15 games without a loss... Just curious, how do you handle your finances? I've signed a bunch of players (because of injuries mostly) and I'm recording a loss every month so I'm a bit worried about that... How much did you get for the promotion?

footie1234:Thank you! It's very fun and challenging to play LLM! That's a really great streak, what team are you managing? Regarding my finances: It hasn't been a difficulty yet, mostly because of the big stadium, I guess. The promotion also helped, so the economy are not too bad. I have no idea how much I got for the promotion actually...

There is no doubt that Altrincham has surprised everyone in their first two months back in the Skrill Premier! They were eight in the league after August, and started September in the same way as they finished August, with a two goal victory. After beating Hereford 2-0 they traveled to Macclesfield to secure another two goal victory (4-2). In the third game of a long month The Robins visited Colwyn Bay, their promotion rivals last season, and they impressed at the final third of the field! Six goals scored by Reeves (3), Dillon (2) and Williams gave them a 6-3 victory in a very entertaining match. Southport at home was not a huge challenge for the newly promoted team, as they won 4-1 at Moss Lane.

Then they played two poorer games, and lost 2-0 to FC Halifax (H) and Nuneaton (A). Damian Reeves got a minor injury and was unavailable for those games, but managed to come back to the match against Alfreton. And what a comeback by the 28 year old striker, winning the match ball after his hat-trick and helped his team to a 5-1 victory. The last match of the month was played three days later, and goals by Damian Reeves, Nicky Clee and an own goal by Jordan Hodder gave Altrincham their sixth victory of the month. Six victories that made Altrincham climb the table and placing them 2nd, just two points behind Luton, and one point ahead of Grimsby with Kidderminister in 4th, two points behind Altrincham with one game less. Altrincham has been good so far, but the real challenge starts in the next month. Their first three games is against Luton, Grimsby and Kidderminister. Will they stay in the top after October?

Before this month started Altrincham knew what they were heading towards. Maybe on of the greatest challenges they have ever faced. The Robins was promoted from The Skrill North last season, and now they are fighting in the top of The Skrill Premier! Lee Sinnott said that the squad were good enough to fight on the middle of the table after their promotion, maybe fight on the top half, but nobody, not even the greatest optimist would have thought that they were going to fight bravely in the top of the league. Before October they were placed on 2nd spot. When facing 1st, 3rd and 4th placed Luton, Grimsby and Kidderminister in their first three matches of October they wasn't favorites, but they wouldn't just lie down and fall down the table. Altrincham really fought with their hearts outside of their kits.

Their first match of the month couldn't have started worse. Luton took the lead within the first 15 minutes of the game. It took Altrincham and Matty Dixon ten minutes to answer. Then Luke Rooney scored Luton's second goal, before Damian Reeves and Josh Sumner turned the game around. Altrincham was in the lead in three minutes before Peter Cavanagh scored the sixth goal in the first half. Everyone needed a break after the first 45 minutes, the game were wide open, and both managers needed to talk to their players. The second half started really well for The Robins, and Matty Dixon scored his second goal for the game - Altrincham's fourth. Then Altrincham fell down in defense, and Luton did all they could to get a goal. And in the 71st minute they managed to equalize, 4-4. Four minutes later John Dillon secured Altrincham an amazing victory, 4-5 against the former league leader, Luton!

After the game against Luton Altrincham went to visit Grimsby. Grimsby took the lead early in the game, and Altrincham didn't seem to manage anything. The top goalscorer in the league, Damian Reeves had a bad game, and after Lee Sinnott had had enough after 64 minuted. Inn came Ryan Doble. He used thirteen minutes to score two goals and turn the game around, and Altrincham secured another incredible victory. Then they had to prepare for the home game against Kidderminister. The guests were the best team, but didn't manage to convert their chances into goals. It took 69 minutes before we got the first goal of the game. The former Bolton Wanderers player, Simon Richman scored the only goal of the game, and gave Altrincham three points, their third in three attempts this month!


They had faced their toughest opponents of the month, Altrincham, and it seemed like they started to relax. 0-0 at home against Halifax isn't good enough by Altrincham, and they had to wake up before their rematch, something they managed. A 2-0 victory after goals by John Dillon and Jonathan Wafula and with that progressing to the next round of the FA Cup (where they are facing Fleetwood). They lost two points this month, and those were lost against Chester FC, a team that finished 7th in the Skrill Premier last season.

Altrincham has had an incredible month, and managed to win three out of four league matches in October, and progressing in the FA Cup. They also managed to climb to the top of the league, two points ahead of Forest Green and Luton.

Altrincham has impressed everyone in their comeback to The Skrill Premier. The Robins is one the top of the league, after some great results in the past couple of months. They are in the top of the league, but they are conceding too many goals. Lee Sinnott has acknowledged this, and has signed three defensive players. The first one was the former Liverpool FC goalie, Yusuf Mersin. During his four seasons in Liverpool he didn't get a single game for the senior team, but he managed to get some valuable experience.

The second player to join The Robins was the defender Alex Coleman. The Englishman has been a Burnley player since 2010, but didn't get a match for the senior team. He was on two loan spells during these years, the first to Droylsden in the 2012-13 season, where he played 11 games. The next season he played for Accrington in Sky Bet League 2, securing one MOTM, and one assist in his ten games for the club.

The third and at the moment last signing for Lee Sinnott and Altrincham is the former Derby player Rhys Sharpe. Sharpe didn't get a single match for Derby's senior team. He has been a Derby player since 2010, and only secured himself two loan spells. The first spell was to Mickleover, where he didn't get a single match. When joining Braintree on a season long loan he played 11 games in the Skrill Premier, and got one assist. These three signings are exciting, they are young and talented, with experience from Premier League and Sky Bet Championship clubs. It could be interesting to see how these players will improve The Robins. Lets just hope Altrincham continue as they've started, by scoring more goals than their opponents!

Good signings man! And I like how you include the screenshots, doesn't ruin the feel of a an actual news message

Thanks mate! I'm glad you like it! Hope you'll like my next update as well, the November update!
Spoiler alert: The update after November will contain big news for the club! Stay tuned

2014-07-04 10:32#182666 oddsiton : footie1234:Thank you! It's very fun and challenging to play LLM! That's a really great streak, what team are you managing? Regarding my finances: It hasn't been a difficulty yet, mostly because of the big stadium, I guess. The promotion also helped, so the economy are not too bad. I have no idea how much I got for the promotion actually...

I'm managing Guiseley, which is an OK club but it has only about 15 players at the start of the season and since I've been riddled with injuries from the very beginning I was forced to sign quite a bit of new guys and now I'm not sure whether to terminate some of their contracts or wait for the (presumed) promotion. We'll see

Good signing, former EPL players are always handy.