Can things get better?
We have a home game against
Boston United. We start with our best team and I tell them I believe in them with passion.
Boston take the lead in the 17th minute and we don't create any chances in the first half. At half time, I tell the players again that I believe in them. Nothing changes. After the hour mark, I make some changes and go to a 4-3-3. One of the subs,
Ferguson scores a free kick in the 81st. I push to Very Attacking but the game ends 1-1
This form is not good and I will have to think about how to improve this. While we are going through this slump, I get an email telling me that as we haven't won in 3 games, the fans are getting a bit grumpy. We are
16 POINTS AHEAD IN THE LEAGUE! 16!
The draw for the next round is made and we have got
Bradford PA away. Is it too much to want a home game now and again? They are bottom of my league whilst we are top. If
that doesn't ring alarm bells then you haven't played this game very much. I am hoping that as they stave off relegation they rest their best players. We also play them in the league a week before which is ideal to scout them out!
Lolos has to go back after his loan expired. He wasn’t great but he grabbed some key goals. If any of my strikers get a long term injury I will aim to go back in for him.
Back to the football. My next game is against
Gloucester. They are 17th but we are in poor form and had a midweek game. Doubts are creeping in my mind. I make 7 changes due to fatigue. We make a great start with
Maguire heading us into the lead in the 6th. Gloucester have 2 good chances but
Jameson is keeping us in it! At half time, I tell the team I am not happy with their performance. We nearly double our lead in the 57th but
Maguire is offside. We actually double our lead in the 79th when
York scores with a scissor kick from the edge of the box. We go on to win 2-0. Our first league win in 4 and it's much needed!
Wes York has a great game and he is starting to force his way into my plans.
Moke is certainly number 1 RM but
York has been impressive!
I have a sudden worrying thought. Im already
£2k over on wages so far and most of my players are out of contract this summer. If I want to keep them then I am likely going to have to offer them more money. This is tricky. I am going to HAVE to sell some deadwood and rotate using the youngsters. I can feel the 16 point lead start to slip away already.
I then have a great thought. I am going to use my scouting team to scout the
Under 23’s of EVERY TEAM IN LEAGUE 1 and 2 and the Conference. I don’t need any more players for this season. I have only 14 league games left and 4 maximum for the cup. I need to start planning for next season. Loans are going to be key, as are
outgoing transfers!
Back to the league, we have a game against
Hereford. There is a week gap until the next game so it is time to have the strongest team. We take the lead in the 13th minute, lucky for some! It's a long ball goal as they have a free kick on our box, it is won by
McLaughlin who then runs 20 yards and hoofs it up top for
Simons to run onto and we then take a 1-0 lead. At half time, I give them a change and tell them to play for the fans. We double our lead on 68 when a cross from
Green is converted by
Burrow.
Hereford have no response for us and we look to be on the way to a comfortable win. However,
Burrow gets an injury on the 85th. Hopefully, it won't be too long. We win the game 2-0 but that injury might be telling.
Burrow is out for
3 weeks. Luckily there is only 1 cup game in that time. It gives
Maguire and
Simons a chance to work on their partnership.
I am now spending
A LOT of time looking for players for next year. I am using trials to get some potential loan signings to see what they are like.
Our next league game is
Bradford PA. We will check them now before our important cup game. Having
Burrow out is a real blow but if
Maguire steps up I'll keep him for next season.
We start well with 2 good chances in the first 30 minutes. They have a shot after 40 to remind us they are still in the game. We need to perform better and I tell them at half time. They take the lead in the 47th when our
CB McNulty lets our striker slip through. We immediately change to a 3-4-3 and a well-worked build up takes us level. A cross comes into the box and
Simons heads it down for
Maguire to tap it home. We take the lead 3 minutes later, when a long ball is flicked on by
Simons for
Maguire to volley home from the edge of the box. As soon as it goes in, we move back to a 4-4-2. They hit the bar in the last minute of injury time. It is not going to be easy against them in the cup.
That was our
3rd win in a row, I think any rumours of discontent should be well and truly quashed by now. Coming up a local derby and a FA trophy game, wish me luck!
It would be great to know what the biggest points lead you have had in a league? Comment below!