I’m back! So let’s correct this…
That’s better.
Firsty, thanks Johnny for a fantastic job on completing and securing the Championship title in emphatic fashion. Some of those results were amazing, and I can only hope that the squad can do as well in the Premier League back under my leadership. As for me, holiday’s went brilliantly! Went to Peurto Banus, Spain first. Lovely sunshine, which I didn’t really see much of in all honesty as I spent most of the day in bed recovering from the nights before-hand ;). Also came back FIFA champion which was nice, although my girlfriend wasn’t as lucky when she smashed her head on the sink (drunkenly I might add). There is a story behind that, but I don’t think it’s in good taste!
Went to Sweden in one piece though and had a great time as usual. Of course, I was always looking out for some Varberg BOIS stuff on the sly and I came across this at the local newsagents:
Looking good lads! If you didn’t know, they got promoted last season into the Swedish 3rd tier. They won that game against FC Trollhättan 4-2 and are sitting at the top of the 3rd tier! Talk about following in my footsteps, cmon lads :D. Thinking about getting one of their ridiculously sponsor filled shirts? Haha. Anyway, enough about that! We have a pre-season to go over..
The first match to kick our pre-season off was against Falkirk. I’m pretty sure that Tony Coton arranged the exact same fixture last season? Still, we can batter them again I guess ;). First 30 minutes wasn’t actually showing that though and it was only until afterwards we found a hole in the defence. Rodrigo sliding it into the path of Alex who slotted in from inside the area. After half time, the lads really put themselves about and should have doubled their advantage during the first 5 minutes but it wasn’t to be and it was all-evens in the second half. Malcolm’s header cancelling out Bushy‘s cool finish almost instantly. (Click here to see the highlights)
Northampton away for the second fixture of preseason! The league two side fell behind after just 47 seconds when Bushy smashed home from outside the area. He will have to thank Brazza for that one though, as he won the ball from inside the FMS half and played a sublime ball through the heart of the defence. That’s how it stayed unfortunately, and I’m not surprised with a colour clash like this:
I wouldn’t know who was who either… (Click here to see the highlights)
Another away fixture, and this time it was against north London club Barnet. Things didn’t get off to the best of starts though as the Patriots fell behind within the first 30 minutes due to sloppy defending which left their striker with a free header. Von Karma hit the bar straight from the restart though, and this seemed to kick start the lads as Brazza equalised to make it 1-1. Bizzare goal really, as Karp managed to smash the ball into the defender and lob it over their back line. Trick shot? Even with 19 creativity Johnny, I doubt that your little pixelated character meant it ;). Liam101 stuck us infront just shy of the half from a Rodrigo cross, before McLean found him again unmarked inside the area to put the game beyond any doubt. (Click here to see the highlights)
Blimey, Coton really knew how to travel as he organised our 4th successive away friendly, this time against Northern Irish side Dungannon. We took the little club to the cleaners, smashing a couple of goals past them before half time courtesy of a tap in from Bushy and a direct free-kick from Johnson (which frankly my gran could have saved ;)). After the break it was much of the same as Bushy grabbed his second tap-in of the match, before Yank rounded off the rout with a brilliant header through a Karp freekick. (Click here to see the highlights)
It was time for some home games as St Mirren were next in line for the Patriots. Again, we dominated for large spells of the game but didn’t really seem to be as clinical in front of our own fans. A few hit and misses during the first half led me to believe that this was going to mellow out into a bore draw but luckily Alex managed to add a touch of magic and secure the only goal of the game to give the fans a little entertainment. (Click here to see the highlights)
Then we got to have a taste of what we were in for next season as we welcomed Premier League Champions Manchester United to Patriots Park. Obviously being a City fan, I didn’t want them within 10 miles of our ground but needs-must I guess. Park gave United the lead just after the half hour mark when a Giggs corner floated his way, but we did grab an equaliser before the half. Bmwdestroyer finding half a yard on the edge of the box to fire home past the keeper. Second half saw a number of chances go begging for the away side but the FMS keeper stayed defiant, leading the Patriots to a historic result. (Click here to see the highlights)
Last friendly game of the year, and it was against recently relegated Wigan at the DW stadium. The players looked tired, and this did show as the first half was about as entertaining as watching paint dry. Seriously. Luckily, it was brought to life midway through the second half as Plobdork managed to head home from a Brazza corner. Moses capitalised on some woeful defending to dribble round at least 4 players before striking the top corner from outside the area to draw Wigan level. It looked like it was going to be second successive draw, only for a Dami freekick to get deflected into the net in injury time by the head of what looked like Boyce? I will leave that for you lot to decide.. (Click here to see the highlights)
So a pretty good pre-season for the Patriots there I have to say, especially getting results against United and Wigan. Hopefully, this will mean that we have enough to see us survive the Premier League next season but you know what they say.. Never predict on the basis of your pre-season results. I guess we will just have to see how that pans out, although I’m confident that we have enough strength in the squad to at least get one over on the newly promoted sides.
Lastly before you flick over to the next page, there are a couple of awards to hand out that weren’t previously mentioned in the last post:
Take a bow Darren Smith as you have been voted player of the year. Fully deserved, smashing that record for Championship goals in a season is bound to win you the fans respect and I can only hope that your little pixelated character can continue it! Next is the team of the year:
Realistically, I would have expanded this to 30-odd players but unfortunately we can’t do that. Instead, I would like to say most of the players who played a couple of games over the season performed very well and I hope that we have as much competition for places as we had last year for this coming one!
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story…
Srujun Gupta
13 июля, 2011 at 18:22
Good to have you back Excessive!
The pre-season went pretty well and the draw against United was amazing! I was hoping to play against my favourite team Arsenal, but well, I hope I’ll play in the return fixture…
And a very nice U-19 world cup for England. Good to see our Patriots score so many goals for their national team.
Let the first Premiership season begin!
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:29
Thanks pal, glad to be back.
Haha, let’s do it!
vaibhavc
13 июля, 2011 at 18:38
Hey Excessive
Good to see you had a good holiday.Good to see that Varbergs Bois got promoted, but I don’t think they will follow in your footsteps, even in 2026! Pre-season was good, and good to see that we won the England U-19s.
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:29
You never know ;)
Sammy
13 июля, 2011 at 18:48
I would like to go out on loan please.
I think i performed well in the reserves and under 18s but was fairly average in the last few games of the season in the first team, so i feel that i will rot away in the reserves this season so a loan would be best if that is possible. :)
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:30
No problem, i’ll stick you on the loan list mate :)
Laxeyman
13 июля, 2011 at 18:57
Nice to see you back mate, and a good pre season there. I think a successful campaign is around the corner, mid table at least :) Good luck!
P.S Nice to see my virtual self scoring for Eng U19’s :)
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:31
Cheers Laxey, I hope so too! :D
Sibo
13 июля, 2011 at 19:44
«Seriously, what is it with Derby and good Scottish players? Haha! I’m enjoying it here though, hopefully it will help me develop into a better player and challenge for a first team role at FMS next season!»
:D
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:32
«That’s the reason I sent you there son, Scot’s are always best around the midlands!»
:D
plobdork
13 июля, 2011 at 19:59
welcome home excessivt a e but well done johnny 4 promotion i have 1 request a full season loan to a club
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:36
You sure? Your my first choice RB?
plobdork
14 июля, 2011 at 16:19
in that case no but if i dont get enough games ill be leaving in january :)
Wolfman
13 июля, 2011 at 20:04
Loaning out your captain! haha! If the financial situation worsens and you don’t see me becoming part of the back 4 next year feel free to sell me. So long as it’s not to Ajax….
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:37
Haha, I won’t go selling you.. Just seemed like it was best as competition for the back-line has increased.
Darren Smith
13 июля, 2011 at 20:17
Welcome back mate and a very eventful holiday by the sounds of it. Your girlfriends injury sounds extremely dodgy and probably best not to tell over the net :)
Back to FMS Patriots and we had a wonderful pre-season. Some great form and to see the U’19’s complete a great tournament was brill, especially with myself and Matt smashing opponents up. That bodes well for the future….yey I got fans player of the year. :)
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:39
Probably not ;)
I hope so, if you lot can continue that momentum there will be no stopping you! Well done for FPOTY, you were always going to win it though ;)
Ana Garcia
13 июля, 2011 at 20:58
Welcome back Jake!!!!! :)
Am glad you had a great holiday, Johnny did a good job in your absence will be interesting to see how this team gets on in the premier league.
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:39
Thanks Ana! :D
Hopefully we can continue the job that he started!
martinm
13 июля, 2011 at 21:20
Hey Excessive
Glad you had a good holiday! Johnny done a great job when you were away and it’s good to see you back in charge. We have had a good preseason and Im sure you will steer us up the Premier League. If we get off to a good start we could surprise alot of the teams in the league. With the squad depth we could use the League cup to include other members of the team.
On a personal note Im please that I made the team of the year also making my Scotland debut (do you know which country I played against?) A good finish to my first professional season. Im sure we will have more success this year :)
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:42
Thanks bud :)
Absolutely, I will be using squad rotation for the League Cup. Yep, you played your first match against Italy and got subbed with 15minutes to go with a 6.8 rating!
Desmo Wenning
13 июля, 2011 at 22:24
Welcome back!
Preseason results were nice and I hope we’ll perform good in the first couple of fixtures in the Premier League. Very difficult start, but with my corners and crosses it shouldn’t be a problem :D Also glad to see that I was in the team of the year, did expect it though ;) Also: are there any teams who want to buy me?
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:43
Haha, with any luck you should be our top assister!
At the moment, there is no interest from anyone ;)
JeanPaul Borg
13 июля, 2011 at 23:40
Hello Excessive, great results in the pre-season but I was a little disappointed seeing as I made most appearances quite late in the friendlies.
I would like you to check out and run over my player profile and see if I have any chance of playing in the first-team, if not, I’d like to get loaned out please! Prefereably to a low level EPL team or a Championship side.
JeanPaul Borg
13 июля, 2011 at 23:41
Glad to see that I scored the first international goal as well, and against Wales too! Amazing..
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:46
No problem, your most promising position is Left Back where Tony Coton rates you 3rd best. I can go about trying to loan you out if you want?
Woo! Well done :)
JeanPaul Borg
14 июля, 2011 at 19:10
Can you please loan me out to a team that can give me some first team experience please? Thank you very much.
Excessive
16 июля, 2011 at 12:21
I’ll do my best!
Taylor091
14 июля, 2011 at 01:28
Great to see the club doing well. Any chance of loaning out my player Taylor091 as he seems to get 8’s and 9’s for the reserves but only 6’s when given a chance in the first team.
Cheers.
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:46
I’ll stick you on the loan list no problem :)
Lye
14 июля, 2011 at 01:42
Hi Jake,
Welcome back. Good pre-season results there. Arsenal is still keeping me and i am on loan . Think i must have some potential.
All the best for the Premiership and can’t wait to see it getting started.
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:47
Absolutely! Hopefully we can get a foothold into the league, but it’s going to be tough…
CsAtlantis
14 июля, 2011 at 02:18
Brentford? BRENTFORD? okay…..no idea what that club is, time to do a small bit of research
Anyway looking good for the Premier League, mid-table should be somewhere within reach i think, Matt and Darren have the goals in them
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:48
Haha, well CS.. I wouldnt have sent you there.
I agree, but it all depends on how the lads can perform in the new league.
liam101
14 июля, 2011 at 05:22
Welcome back jake. Happy i scored two for the first team. Club is looking amazing
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:49
Thanks pal :)
Johnny Karp
14 июля, 2011 at 10:09
I don’t want to play for England… It seems that my toon’s personality came out wrong :)
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:49
Haha.. Sorry Johnny ;)
nielsneutron
14 июля, 2011 at 11:08
Didn’t see much action in the preseason, hope that will improve when the season starts.
Excessive
14 июля, 2011 at 11:50
I’m trying to get the squad rotated as much as I can, so with any luck you’ll have a couple of apps to your name :)
nielsneutron
14 июля, 2011 at 12:46
And fire that sucky assistent manager. I am sure I’m the fourth best right midfielder not the fifth. He must be crazy.
kristianrm
14 июля, 2011 at 15:25
hhow did Bambinis first season in Arsenal went? any games, any youth caps etc.
thinking about loaning me back if im available on loan or have I broken through at the gunners?
Excessive
16 июля, 2011 at 12:24
They are loaning you out at the moment, having spells at Newcastle and now Millwall.
No games for the gunners yet, although you have had 3 apps for Millwall getting a rating of 7.00 :)
Tom Miller
14 июля, 2011 at 15:48
BMWDESTROYER ; SUPER SUB ;D
Excessive
16 июля, 2011 at 12:25
Woo! :D
Sears
14 июля, 2011 at 21:56
Yippee, I’m the captain again, cheers Jake :-)
Excessive
16 июля, 2011 at 12:25
Your welcome mate, think you deserve it ;)
Nicholas Phipps
15 июля, 2011 at 23:08
Hi this is Nick.
Great results there , especially the friendly matches against Wigan and Man-U! My career seems to be running pretty smoothly and now I’m on loan at Swansea after doing well at Huddersfield last season :-D it would be great to rejoin the Patriots sooner rather then later though ;-) . Btw, how is my international career going? Last time I heard, I had been selected in the England under 19s squad. Thanks!
Excessive
16 июля, 2011 at 12:29
Hey Nick!
Your developing really nicely mate, did amazing at Huddersfield (42apps, 2 Goals, 1 assist and a rating of 7.32!). Let’s hope you can keep the same form against Swansea, so I can consider getting you back to FMS! :D
Internationally, you have got 2 youth caps to your name!