FMS Patriots — January 2011

Hello folks, I’m happy to bring you my very first FMS Patriots update. As you know Jake is on a well-deserved vacation so he handed me the job until his return. I hope that we’ll work together at least as nicely as you did with Jake, I’ll do my best to grant your requests and lead this team to victory. I have to admit that the first month was quite surprising for me, I didn’t know the squad in detail but I can say that all our players have great potential and this team will have a bright future. Now let’s see what I managed to do in January.

Before going to the actual matches, just a few quick statements:

— I didn’t change the tactics, I kept using Jake‘s 4-2-2-2 as I didn’t want to change something that was working well.

— Since I didn’t know the squad too well I spent some time to study the assistant reports and each player profile. As I said, all the players have great potential but I picked to play only the best and fittest of the bunch.

Now let’s finally see how it went…

FMS vs Barnsley (Championship)

My first test was at home against 11th placed Barnsley and I really didn’t know what to expect. But the team eased my fears quickly, centre back Sears played a pinpoint long pass for Matt and the striker fired home! It was his first goal for the club and that came on his very first appearance in the starting eleven, way to go! The team was playing very well and the second goal was the natural outcome of that, Adam Johnson fired into the bottom corner from inside the penalty area. We could have made it 3-0 before half time but Bushy was quite unlucky to hit the crossbar. The second half started with Sears in the spotlight again, Plobdork whipped in a corner kick cross and our ruthless centre back nodded home. We kept piling on the pressure and Rodrigo managed to score the fourth goal with a cold-blooded finish. Bushy‘s bad luck continued as he was denied by the woodwork again but fortunately the ball bounced into Matt‘s path and he scored his second goal of the game. Matt‘s special afternoon ended with a hat-trick, he received a clever pass from McLean and slotted home. Matt was the man of the match but Sears also had an impressive game. (Click here to watch the highlights.)

Leeds vs FMS (Championship)

Leeds were down in 19th place before the match but I was quite confident as the game was just two days after the previous one and we had a big fitness advantage because of our huge squad. I changed most of the starting eleven and the move really paid off as we totally outplayed our opponents and created an impressive amount of chances. Now let me give you a quick recap of the goals, we scored no less than eight of them! :) The first goal was scored by Darren Smith but credit must go to Jon Crosby for setting it up and then Crosby did it again but this time Pepper was at the receiving end of a perfect assist. Then Smith went on to complete a hat-trick, first he fired one in from an impossible angle and then tucked away a fine assist from Pepper. The next goal was on a set piece, G bent in a good free kick cross from deep and MRNDRA pushed it in and then managed to double his tally on a pinpoint Jon Crosby cross. Smith wasn’t too happy with a hat-trick so he went on to score a fourth, a beautiful goal as he weaved past two defenders before powering in. The last goal of the match was scored by Pepper on a counter attack, he made an awesome run and ended it with a perfect finish. I was shocked by my start in charge of the Patriots, 14 goals scored and none conceded in the first two games! As you can see from the stats, Darren Smith was close to a perfect 10 rating this time! (Click here to watch the highlights.)

FMS vs Swansea (Championship)

Promotion contenders Swansea were in 7th place before the match so we needed a good result against them to boost our chances of going up. Things started out nicely with Darren Smith and Rodrigo working well together to produce the first goal, the Argentine forward slotted home to give us the lead. Then Sears stepped up again, Dami bent in an inviting free kick cross and our captain made no mistake with his header. The team was playing beautifully again and we managed to increase the lead on a counter attack, McLean‘s shot was parried but Adam Johnson slotted home on the rebound. Compacency kicked in at half time and we conceded two minutes after the interval but that was just a minor setback as Rodrigo restored the three-goal lead with his 10th goal of the season, a powerful shot from inside the penalty area. Last but not least substitute Johnny Karp volleyed home his first ever goal of the season after receiving a clever cross from McLean. Rodrigo was the man of the match this time but the whole team played extremely well again. (Click here to watch the highlights.)

Preston vs FMS (Championship)

The last game of the month was at last placed Preston, I was looking forward to watching a number of goals again! :) This time Dezmo opened the scoring on a counter attack after receiving a perfect pass from Pepper and then he returned the favor on the second goal, Dezmo crossed and Pepper volleyed home. Some rather poor defending from G allowed the hoem side to pull one back but we had nothing to worry about as Dezmo restored our two-goal lead with a clinical finish on a counter attack. Then Dezmo continued his impressive display with an assist for Darren Smith who managed to score again minutes later but that time it was after a fine through ball from McLean. McLean scored one himself later on but the assist came from Dezmo again, a fine cross and a beautiful half-volley. We had two players ready for a hat-trick on that afternoon but just one of them managed to pull it off as Dezmo was denied by the goalkeeper but the rebound fell to Smith who put it away. Darren was the man of the match again ;) (Click here to watch the highlights.)

The good run gives us some breathing room at the top of the table, we’re five points clear of Ipswich and I will surely do my best to make that margin even bigger at the end of February.

Although our strikers had a fabulous month it was our right back who claimed the honors at the end of January, Jagginman was elected Championship Player of the Month! He surely deserved it though, a very consistent performer and already one of my favourite players.

February will be a bit more crowded, we’ll have six games to play including a tough last one against second placed Ipswich.

We could seal our promotion next month but until then please move on to the next page to see how our reserves and under 18s did this month. There are some transfer news as well, so it’s well worth a click ;)

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

The first team battered every opponent in January and the Reserves wanted to prove that they are just as good, they pulled off a few demolition jobs as well!

First Samlar, Ross Gilchrist and Bmwdestroyer did the damage…

… and then Erick Wolf added himself to the scoresheet along whith an Erick Wolf double and a Bmwdestroyer hat-trick!

The last game of the month saw another impressive performance with Ross Gilchrist, Liam101 and Jimmy finding the back of the net.

The Under18s pulled off similar results, we’re dominating every competition! The first match saw both Bmwdestroyer and Jimmy achieving hat-tricks with Wilfred Von Karma and Billy also scoring…

… and the second saw Jimmy bagging a hat-trick again with Big O and Taylor091 scoring two apiece and Liam101 adding another goal to his tally.

And now brace yourselves for some news in pictures!

Club News

The board was persuaded to invest in our talented youngsters’ future, I was quite pleased with that.

Transfer News

First, some strange behavior from Jenko :) He requested to be transfer listed on January 6th…

… and then changed his mind two days later! Both requests were granted :)

Billy, you were listed for loan so I accepted the offer. However, I gave up on the fee so that I can recall you if needed.

Niller joins Bolton until the end of the season, I remember that you requested to be loaned out so I offered you to several clubs.

Arsenal‘s Bambini joins Newcastle on loan, I tried to buy you from the Gunners but they want too much money :)

Last but not least Samlar had a loan offer accepted but he refused to join Brighton.

Injury news

(I have selected only the important injuries, not every flu or food poisoning)

January 9th

January 20th

January 20th

There you go folks, I hope that you enjoyed my first update. I’m here to listen to your requests so don’t be shy, post them in the comments!