A Cardinal Sin - Woking our way to the top

Think it was always going to be harder but you're doing well enough, you've got a solid base to build on

On the field

Late goals aplenty again in another tough and ultimately disappointing month for the boys


In the first few games the late goals went in our favour as we picked up 5 points from 3 games in the league before we comfortably beat Hornchurch in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying round 3-0 to get to the 1st round for the 4 straight season. This time we have Spennymoor of the Vanarama North.

However, after that FA Cup game it all started to fall apart as we hit 3 back to back defeats in the league which has seen us drop down the table to a position that i have not been accustomed too since the start of my save. Billericay were first scoring a 90th minute goal to beat us 3-2, Maidstone than did the same thing as they won 1-0 before Halifax were awarded 4 penalties in their 4-1 victory over us. Yup, 4 penalties. The ref was a C***.

More work to be done and i might even change back to the 4-4-2 as i just dont seem to be able to get Luer firing this season and Miller is still to adapt. More tinkering needed for sure.

A bright young spark

Every season, i always take someone from the youth intake from the year before and incorporate it into my first team squad. First it was Russell Hessenthaler and we all know what happened to him. Than it was Craig Liddle who made a handful of appearances in the defence before seeing himself out on Loan for more game time. This season we have been using Jack Lockwood and the youngster hasn't done too bad with 4 assists to his name already as he shone in the FA Cup game against Hornchurch.

Woking's October player of the month

Nathan Moriah-Welsh just nips it ahead of Lockwood purely down to goals as both wingers are the bright sparks in an otherwise drab month for the club.

It looks like mid-table mediocrity could be on the Cards this season.

On the field

An undefeated month is just what the doctor ordered as we look to get our season back on track and to avoid the mid table mediocrity that is threatening our season


Still in mid-table but on a surer foot and we are now the most consistent inconsistent team that you can ever find but 8 points from 4 games including a vital victory over local rivals Aldershot which was just a little bit satisfying. However, nothing has been as satisfying as our FA Cup run. As i mentioned, in the last update we had Spennymoor in the 1st round giving us our best chance of progression and we took it nicely with a 2-0 victory secured within the first 15 minutes. That led us to an away trip to Plymouth who were flying high in League 2 and what a game that was as George Miller scored on a counter attack to score the only goal of the game.

The 3rd round awaits us and we got a humdinger of a tie. Liverpool at Anfield. Let the spanking commence. Score Predictions from you guys could very well be interesting?

Back to ol' 4-4-2

Back to basics but with a tweak to a counter attacking format given our quality. 5 clean sheets from the 6 games in November is what we can build from and goals are starting to come back to our game as well. I am going to stick with it for a bit longer to see if it is enough to get us out of the mire we find ourselves in.

Woking's November player of the month

We are starting to get the best out of Gareth Miller, he isn't a Hessenthaler figure but the signs are that Luer and Miller are forming a partnership that might just get enough goals to secure us more points.

A much better set of results to really kick start your season!

Slowly getting back on track mate, keep it going!

On the field

Treading water as progress is slow and potentially non existent.


Only 6 points from the 5 league games as we struggled for goals. In both the York and Boston games we should have won easily, dominating possession and shots but missing simple chances to pick up the points. Leyton Orient than came to town and comfortably beat us before the FA Trophy gave us a handy tie against lower league opposition where we could smash them 4-0.

That victory than seemed to spur the team on as we battled to a 1-1 draw against Newport (We should have won having missed a penalty) before beating high flying Tranmere 2-0 in what was a relatively easy victory.

Again it was a month where we looked better but not necessarily getting the results to push us back up the table. Lots of clean sheets and in fact we are 3rd in the table for clean sheets which shows goals is now the problem for the first time in this save. Normally at the new year point my strike force are pushing towards 40 goals between them, this season they have 15. Oh how i miss Hessenthaler

Just Liverpool up next.... that will be fun

Woking's December player of the month

Gareth Miller steals it again for me mainly because of the last two games after Christmas but once again competition is a little scarce

Well it seems to be a rather boring season haha. A way off the playoffs, but also a fair distance off of the relegation battle too. At least you have an exciting FA Cup third round tie to look forward to!

Nooo, Torquay, get out of the drop zone!

On the field

Let's get it over with, the FA cup tie at Anfield was on New years day and i was expecting a pumping. We got this though


A very respectable result indeed and even more annoyingly we conceded in the 1st minute. Now the Liverpool side was heavily rested and the AI had clearly decided to send every fringe player and youngster out but we held on by just parking the bus and hoping. We did have the odd chance but the result and a giant killing was never truly on the cards.

It meant we could turn our attention and focus on the league, especially when we got knocked out of the FA Trophy to Oxford City in a poor 1-0 defeat. That cup defeat was not as well received by me. Back to the league, it was more of the same inconsistency, picking up 7 points from 4 games.

I wouldn't have minded but we lost to bottom of the table Dartford 2-1 who had only won one game all season but managed to beat Port Vale 3-2 in the very next game. It means all i can see from the season is mid table obscurity and right now i would be ok for this season to end so we can start again. For those that want to know, here is the table.

One in, one out (Sort of)

Some more transfer business was completed as we managed to sign Max Haygarth from Bromley in a £70k deal. I had been chasing this guy for 3 seasons after he got let go from Man Utd but he now joins our midfield as a 4* player and should be a step up.

In terms of outgoings, Kane Gayle who joined just on a free in the summer, already attracted League interest with Swindon paying £150k for his services but agreeing to keep him here for the rest of the season. A nice tidy little profit for someone who was playing sub par if i am truthfully honest.

Woking's January player of the month

I'm going to go Miller again but it is a poor pot to choose from. Again for no other reason than for his two goals against Torquay which won a crucial match for us

Hugely respectable result against Liverpool. Memories that will last for a long, long time for the supporters.

Still well within a fight for a playoff spot, you can do it!

On the field

An almost completely positive month as we start to find some grit and determination to try and claw our way back into the play-offs. 7 points from the 4 league games and now up in 11th position.


However, is it enough. We battled to a 2-2 draw with Greg Luer showing up finally to score two goals but again it was a match we should have won. We than decimated Harrogate in our best game of the season before battling to a 1-0 win over Boreham Wood.

Things were looking positive and we have a play-off 6 pointer against Chesterfield to finish the month off. We got smashed 4-1 in what proved to be an almost laptop smashing match. Its always 2 steps forward and than 1 step back with this team and although we are now just 9 points off of the play-offs (1 point better off than a month ago) the progress is potentially too slow.

By my reckoning we should be aiming at 75 points for a play-off spot. That means 27 points from 36 available. A very tough ask when we are so inconsistent.

Chalk & Cheese

So why are we inconsistent. Well look at these tables showing our home and away form


It is complete chalk and cheese. The 4th best home record in the league but the 5th worst away at the same time. Our away form is basically as good as the bottom 4 and that is where we need to change as unless we have 12 home games from our final 12 games (I did check and that isn't the case) than we are going to struggle to be consistent enough to make up that gap.

What i do differently in away games.... I have no idea. Ideas always welcome

Woking's February player of the month

Greg Luer wins his first prize of the season with 4 goals to his name. Certainly not as prolific as previous seasons but his 124 goals in 199 appearances is an almighty record. Fully recommend this lad for anyone doing a LLM save in England.

That is a real difference and one that definitely reflects your current position. To have such a fortress at home has been pivotal this season. The gap is possible to close down, but the odds are stacked against you, personally. Prove me wrong!

I don't comment much anymore but I've read all your story!

Loving it mate, bit of a dip this season but sort of expected with losing your main man and still being semi-pro, massive disappointment that the board wont let you go pro

How is Hessenthaler doing at Southampton? Guessing he hasn't played for the first team yet?