Park Ranger - Moyola Park

Why Moyola Park?
I wanted to manage in either Ireland, Scotland or Northern Ireland and preferably in the lower leagues. After looking through all the countries i had a shortlist of 5 teams, these were picked on; their badge, youth facilities and/or history.

Wexford
Annagh Utd
Moyola Park
Raith
Stenhousemuir

But after seeing Moyola Park won the first ever Northan Irish Cup and the rest of their long history there was no other choice except for Moyola. I have never managed in the Northan Irish league so i'm hoping this will be a different experience and a good end to FM19!

Current Squad



We've got a mix of some really old players (half of which are in the reserves) and some quite young players, hopefully in the future it will be mostly young as can't see any 36 year olds battling it out with some of Europe's best teams.



One of the better players we have in our squad is Aaron Young who was in our U18s despite being one of our best players according to scouts, if hes anything like what the scouts have said then he should be the focal point of our team for a long time

Aims

Obviously there isn't much time to the new Football Manager comes out so i expect this to overlap as the overall goal is to win a European trophy and move Northan Ireland up the international rankings along the way. But obviously that won't be completed anytime soon so iv'e set up a 5 year plan!

Year 1: Settle into the job and maybe get in a playoff spot if we're lucky

Year 2: Get promoted if we haven't already and recruit some young players from the future from a mix of the academy and maybe released players from top clubs.

Year 3: Battle for playoffs and start to integrate youth into the first team and maybe get a affiliate.

Year 4: Finish in the playoffs at a minimum and hopefully go up

Year 5: Just stay up to be honest

Season 1 - August/September

League






Good to see Sharvin, who i signed at the start of the season, leading the league in goals and joint on player of the match awards. Also good to see young player Young leading the league with assists

Steel & Sons Cup



Bet McLean Cup



An average start to the season, already played in 2 cups and there's still one more to get stuck into. Wish we were doing a bit better in the league but its only the start and hopefully we can push for the rest of the season

Brexit!

Season 1 - October/November



Too many cup games







Think 9-1 is the biggest win iv'e had on FM19 but our top goalscorer Sharvin is injured for 4 months ffs

Season 1 - December/January



Forgot to do December so here's a big list of results





Slowly cementing ourselves in the playoff position as well as us taking second division P.S.N.I to pens, looking promising going into the last 5 games, we play 1st placed Armagh last game of the season

New Contract!

Season 1 - February/March/April/May (Season Finale)







PROMOTION!!!!





And just like that we've got promotion in our first season! We had a chance to win the league on the last game of the season but unfortunately they were just simply better, we nearly let the playoff slip as well with their 2 goals coming close to the 90th minute but we managed to pull through on pens!

Season Roundup








We even had a 30k injection lol

Season 1 - February/March/April/May (Season Finale)







PROMOTION!!!!





And just like that we've got promotion in our first season! We had a chance to win the league on the last game of the season but unfortunately they were just simply better, we nearly let the playoff slip as well with their 2 goals coming close to the 90th minute but we managed to pull through on pens!

Season 2 - Pre-Season



It was a good pre-season for the team with they key match being against League One Blackpool who we managed to gather a 3-2 win over with Sharvin winning it in the dying minutes! The standout player throughout pre-season was Jack Sharvin who managed to get back to his pre-injury form with 12 goals in 5 matches!

Transfers



Dylan Stewart (19, GK) - The first of a few players that were released by Linfield was Dylan Steward who is a young goalkeeper that will provide backup to Ross Horner who continued his form across pre-season. He's not the best in terms of passing but a decent shot stopper with him having 11 reflexes. He will play with the U20s for most of the season.



Ronan Conn (19, DC) - With two of our main defenders retiring this season we had to find replacements, one of them coming in the form of Ronan Conn who is a young centre back that will mostly play in the U20s with Stewart but will be played if any injuries happen.



Matteo Lavorca (19, DC) - As soon as club captain McQuillan retired I had to go and find a replacement straight away! And after searching through released players I found Italian-Irish centre back Lavorca who will be a key player throughout the season with him being a best defenders stats wise in the whole team.



Ryan Jackson (19, DL) - I'm guessing you're starting to see a theme here, iv'e replaced all the old retiring players with young players who have been released by top clubs but anyways here is Ryan Jackson who will play in the left back spot, a spot which was the poorest in the squad last season. He's a good young left back that was released by Larne last season but i'm confident he can do a job.



Christopher Carey (18, MC, DM) - The only player that wasn't picked up after being released is Chris Carey who we got on a free from Dergview who sit in the same division as us. Even though Forrest and Mullen put in a good shift at the DM position I thought it would be good to find a player that could actually play the role with ease and just like that I found Carey who should fit in that role nicely.



I think this post has gone on long enough and I doubt you guys would know any of these so here's the list of players that have either retired or have been released, the only key player being McQuillian who leaves us after 10 years at the club

Season Two - August

Strap yourselves in because we’ve got a 5 match month!

Matchday 1



For our first game in the Championship we played Queens University at Mill Meadow, it was a rather even game but I would say that we had the better of the chances with McIllhatton and Mullen both being denied by the post, Moore also had a good chance with him having a 1 on 1 with the keeper but unfortunately he striked it straight at the keeper. The games first goal fell to Queens University’s Paul George who scored from the spot after Mullen handballed in the both from a Queens Uni corner. But as time ticked on we kept on pushing for a goal and eventually it came with debutant Lavorca striking it home after a scramble in the box from a corner. However in the dying moments in the game another debutant in Chris Carey committed a two footed lunge on goal scorer Paul George and was subsequently shown a straight red.

Matchday 2



We travelled to the Newry Showgrounds for matchday 2 despite being the underdogs in the terms of odds, but we managed to show up to the occasion with us being clinical with us converting our 5 shots on target to 4 goals. Our first goal came from Lavorca releasing a great ball to Sharvin who squared the ball to Robinson who managed to convert the shot first time from a late run into the box. Then came a quick fire double with Young scoring after a Newry defender headed the ball out of the box, and Moore tapping it in after a killer ball from Robinson. The final goal of the match came from Sharvin heading the ball behind to Robinson from a Horner goal kick.

Steels & Sons Cup 2nd Round



We got a decently easy draw in the Steel & Sons cup but my priorities laid in the league so I was going to rotate the team, but then I forgot. But we started the game well and goals came with Young converting a direct free kick close to half time. Most of our chances in the second half mostly came from free kicks from Mullen but unfortunately none of them came in. Other than that it was a decently nothing game, onto Linfield!

Bet McLean Cup 2nd Round



Due to me accidentally playing my first team in the last game I have decided to rest some key players like Young and Lavorca as to be honest I feel that it’s a low chance that our first choice team would win against Linfield who are predicted to finish 2nd in the first division. The first goal of the match came from a free kick from the left corner of the box which Linfield’s Andrew Micheall placed top bins. Substitute Scoltock came agonizingly close with him just miss placing a shot after a good piece of passing place. Overall I think that this was an alright result considering that some key players were rested and it gives us a chance to focus on the league.

Matchday 3



After a good match against Linfield we went into the match vs Ballinamallard United who managed to get European football dispite being in the second division by winning the Irish Cup last season. The first goal came in the 12th minute when Ballinamallard’s Hughes scored from 30 yards out with a weak shot that keeper, Horner, missed. They came close 8 minutes later when they hit the crossbar in a one on one. But we managed to grab a equalizer when Rob Robinson picked up a rebound from his previous strike which was a great striker but Ballinamallard’s keeper made a great save. Mullen managed to put us in league with him grabbing his first goal with a looped header with a great assist from young who whipped the ball in from a free kick. In conclusion Ballinamallard were the better team today but we still managed to get the 3 points which in the end is all that matters.





In conclusion, what a start this has been to the season with us sitting 2nd, I obviously don't expect us to keep this position but if we do I won't complain!

Key Player



Rob Robinson - Robinson is our player of the month who sits with the most goals in the division even though he is a central midfielder as well having two decent performances in the cup. He has had offers from all 3 divisions but at the moment we have been able to keep him, Larne to linger in the shadows though

Thanks mate!


Cheers! I hope we can keep up the form!


Cheers mate!

Season Two - September

You thought 5 was a lot of games? Here's eight!

Matchday 4



Our next match came against a tough Portadown who sat 5th, It took them a minute to score after the original shot hit the cross bar but their defender gets the rebound. Their second goal comes from the spot after McAllister, who simply hasn’t been good enough this season brings down a attacker in the box. Not far afterwards their 3rd goal is all that I can explain as a match engine error where the ball just tumbles to the back of the net. The second half brought no luck. Quite a bad result.

County Antrim Shield First Round



We faced CliftonVille in another trophy where we came off a 3-0 defeat and now we face a 1st division side, we came close to start off with when Young squared it to Moore but her narrowly missed the post, but Moore made it up for it by slicing the defense open with a through pass to Young who puts it home. Other than that it was rather uneventful but we come away with a win vs a Premiership side!

County Antrim Shield Quarter Finals



We jump straight into the quarters just 3 days after our great win vs Cliftonville and its against Premiership Crusaders. In terms of the first half there was little to no highlights or standout chances so the first major chance came in the second half when a Crusaders player managed to hit the target from a free kick from 25 yards out, luckily horner makes a great save to deny him. But we manage to get the only goal of the game when young prospect Mullen slams one home from the edge of the box! And thanks to great performances from all of our defenders we manage to hold on and get our 2nd 1-0 win against a Premiership team in 3 days.

Steels & Sons Cup 3rd Round



We feature a heavily rotated team against Queens Uni who we drew to on the first game of the season due to our two games in the Antrim Shield. But young winger Allen provided us the first highlight of the game with him nearly scoring a free kick but the shot got saved by the Queens Uni goalkeeper. Despite our great start the game the opposition get the opening goal at The Dub Pavillion from a tight angle. They then get a second because of a great run from their attacker who squares it to Ronan Young who tucks it away. Its also a moment to forget for new signing Burns who I brought in on loan to play in the right back position but he marks his debut with a red card! They get their final goal of the game due to a great ball from their defender and Macauley gets his 2nd of the game. And that’s how it ends and to be honest I don’t mind as if we really want to stay up we need to have a break between games and we’re still in 3 other cups.

Matchday 5



Finally we get back to league action against 9th placed Loughall. It does not get off to a good start with their striker managing to chip the keeper from the edge of the box. The rest of the game was rather dead but in the 92nd minute Kerr scores a header but it is ruled out for offside, rather dubious decision tbh.

Matchday 6



Hopefully we can get back on track with us plaining Armagh who got promoted with us last season. The match kicked off at fall spead Robinson scored the first goal then 3 minutes later Mullen got a red card for a two footed lunge on their attacker. Armagh’s goalkeeper managed to pull of a great save from a young shot that looked like a certain goal. They managed to equalize from a position that was very similar to youngs chance with their right back crossing it in for the striker to tap it in. We managed to score our second though when a injured young whipped it in for Moore to tap it in. But in the 60th minute Harkin tripped over the striker to give away a pen, to be honest he was going to score either way. Unfortunately towards the end of the game Sharvin continues his bad form when he loses the ball in our half and the opposition counter and score, we should have done better. Sharvin had a chance to redeem himself when he went one on one with the keeper but he put it wide.

Matchday 7



So its not been our month so far so we look to regain our form vs Dundela who sit at the bottom of the league. We got the first good chance when Moore had the chance to tap it in but hit it straight at the keeper. Overalll this game lacked in terms of highlights but a 0-0 draw is a decent result to get us off the losing streak! Onto the next match.

Matchday 8



So onto the last match of the month which due to great determination and never giving up, also the heroics of our goalkeeper, Horner, we managed to come back from 2-0 down to win the match vs Knockbreda. The first goal came just 20 seconds into the game when Downey gets disposed in the opostion box and their centre back punts the pall up to the striker who quickly counters and taps it in the net after Horner saves the initial shot. After a quick counter attack from Knockbreda Lavorca puts in a fair challenge on their striker which for some reason gets given as a penalty luckily he hits it down the middle and Horner saves the shot. Their second and final goal came when the ball was played to their left sided striker who whipped the ball in and Mckee got his second of the game. When we went into half time I knew there was changes to be made so I swapped from a 4-1-2-2-1 to a 4-2-3-1 with different tactics. We managed to get one back when Young got the ball on the left and crossed the ball in with his week foot to a late arriving Robinson who headed the ball in. We then keeped pushing for the equalizer and we nearly scored but their defender managed to clear it of the line. But Sharvin finally scored from a free kick after not scoring in 7 games. We managed to snatch the win when their left back made a horrendous pass back to the keeper who headed it straight to Robinson who tapped it in. What a win!




In conclusion, its been quite a shocking month but expectations weren't high for us coming into this season but i'm still confident that we can finish midtable at least

Key Player



Ross Horner - Just for the last match alone I think Ross deserves to be my key player for this month!

Thanks mate!




Luckily it did!

Season 2 - October

I've changed the name of this story as think it has a better ring to it! Sorry after the second match their isn't any notes on the games, i forgot to save my notes!

Matchday 9



Our first game of the month came against H & W Welders, who were top of the league! The first highlight of the game came in the 10th minute when their striker managed to tackle Lavorca (DC) to get himself into a 1 v 1 where he placed the shot straight at the keeper. But then out of no where Sharvin continues his goalscoring form from scoring a curling effort into the right corner from the left corner of the 25 yard box! Sharvin came close later on when their keeper saved a free kick from far out which nearly went in the net. For the rest of the match their was a lack of highlights until it came to the 90th minute when H & W Welders started a quick counter attack when the ball went down the right flank to their Right Winger who crossed it across to their left winger who easily tapped the ball in.

Matchday 10



After a decent result in the previous game we face Carrick who sat 2 points above us at the time. The first highlight came along with our first goal when Scoltock passed it to Robinson on the edge of the box who took a touch then placed the ball in the back of the net. Our second goal came when Lavorca got the ball in the box from a corner and opened up his body and placed the ball in the back of the net.

Matchday 11



County Antrim Shield Semi Final



Intermediate Cup 1st Round




In conclusion, we still remain in mid table which is what i'm aiming for and its a shame we got so close to a cup final but our main aim is always the league!

Squad