I am Nobody
S1, Ep7 – I am Altering my Perspective on Cups
(December 2019 – Spennymoor Town, VNN, 15th)
Prior to becoming a football manager, I’d always considered cup runs from lower league sides to be largely superfluous. Whenever I played through cups on FIFA or FM, I reasoned that the low likelihood of a memorable upset or, even more fancifully, a trophy, made playing a strong side too much of a risk when balanced against the demands of day-to-day league football. Given Spennymoor Town financial situation, however, and the opportunity to add tens of thousands to the coffers, our progression to the second round of the FA Cup had altered my perspective quite radically.
Thus, despite an unfavourable Away fixture against League One’s MK Dons, we trained and lined up with a winning mindset. With a victory over Farsley in the FA Trophy under our belt, we went to Stadium MK with a 13-game unbeaten streak and a full strength side, determined to achieve a giant-killing.
(2 – 1e) Farsley (H) FA Trophy Q3
(1 – 4) MK Dons (A) FA Cup R1
(1 – 2) Guiseley (H)
(5 – 1) Kettering (A)
Sadly, we were outmatched by MK Dons, and I made several key tactical errors during the game which contributed to this result. Even so, it was generally considered that my side had played a positive game right until the end, and despite a heavy defeat, we received some gracious plaudits from various commentary sources. I was certainly not disheartened by the result; instead, determined to solve this latest puzzle for our next cup run.
The strong outfit at MK Dons meant we fielded a weakening XI against Guiseley, and the resulting loss – our first in the league since September – was more concerning. Fortunately, our next game saw the return of Oliver Finney from almost a month on the injury list, and we were able to end the last game of the first-half of the season with a bang: Glen Taylor (2) and the exceptional Brandon Thomas-Asante (3) put us 3-0 up within 10 minutes on the way to our biggest victory of the season.
S1, Ep7 – I am Altering my Perspective on Cups
(December 2019 – Spennymoor Town, VNN, 15th)
Prior to becoming a football manager, I’d always considered cup runs from lower league sides to be largely superfluous. Whenever I played through cups on FIFA or FM, I reasoned that the low likelihood of a memorable upset or, even more fancifully, a trophy, made playing a strong side too much of a risk when balanced against the demands of day-to-day league football. Given Spennymoor Town financial situation, however, and the opportunity to add tens of thousands to the coffers, our progression to the second round of the FA Cup had altered my perspective quite radically.
Thus, despite an unfavourable Away fixture against League One’s MK Dons, we trained and lined up with a winning mindset. With a victory over Farsley in the FA Trophy under our belt, we went to Stadium MK with a 13-game unbeaten streak and a full strength side, determined to achieve a giant-killing.
(2 – 1e) Farsley (H) FA Trophy Q3
(1 – 4) MK Dons (A) FA Cup R1
(1 – 2) Guiseley (H)
(5 – 1) Kettering (A)
Sadly, we were outmatched by MK Dons, and I made several key tactical errors during the game which contributed to this result. Even so, it was generally considered that my side had played a positive game right until the end, and despite a heavy defeat, we received some gracious plaudits from various commentary sources. I was certainly not disheartened by the result; instead, determined to solve this latest puzzle for our next cup run.
The strong outfit at MK Dons meant we fielded a weakening XI against Guiseley, and the resulting loss – our first in the league since September – was more concerning. Fortunately, our next game saw the return of Oliver Finney from almost a month on the injury list, and we were able to end the last game of the first-half of the season with a bang: Glen Taylor (2) and the exceptional Brandon Thomas-Asante (3) put us 3-0 up within 10 minutes on the way to our biggest victory of the season.
