[FM24] [EN] LLM - The Oldest Club in the World - A Carlos Dolbeth Adventure

December 3rd, 2027 - Not unbeatable but dreams can come true!

15 wins in 15 games and by this time the only thing that the supporters had on their mind was the automatic promotion. Still there are still 2 thirds of the league to go and there are cups to be played so team management became even more a priority than previously. Away at Southport another good win for the boys making it 16 out of 16, but 3 days later and clearly with a logical step of fielding a “weaker” side due to the FA Cup game coming next, at home against King’s Lynn finally Sheffield F.C. failed to win. It was not a bad game, and a fair result would have been a draw which was close to happen as having been 0-2 down at half-time, the boys were much better in the second half and Mintus saw the 2-2 being disallowed, with the 1-3 coming up already when it was all on attack. It was a wonderful run, but we all knew it would not last forever…now is time to regroup and get back out there…

…to the first round of the FA Cup in Stockport. Playing home, Stockport County sitting 7th in League One, was mission impossible for a club like Sheffield and Dolbeth mentioned that “we just want to make a good impression”. What nobody was counting on was that Stockport did not value the game enough and decided to play with a rotated squad which evened up things…better even, on the field Sheffield played a better form of football and was superior in all aspects of the game, ending up with a fair 0-2 win to give Sheffield the most important victory of the last 100 plus years and almost 55k in cash. Despite the success on the FA Cup, that competition was not the main objective of the team, so on the first game of November visiting Altrincham, the boys were extremely unlucky and recorded and unfair defeat, gathered in the last minute, once again against the flow of the game. 3 in a row would put a question mark to the automatic promotion, so 3 days later against Oxford City it was all hands-on deck in a decent performance that sees the team back to victories!

Until the end of the month, there was the start of the FA Vase, something where the board and the fans are expecting a deep run and which started with an easy win over lower league Bury and followed up with another 4 league wins, with more or less ease, including away at second placed Gloucester City and in Manchester against FC United, to create an even greater gap on the first place in the general table. But that was not the highlight…after the unexpected win against Stockport County, Sheffield F.C. needed another miracle in the 2nd FA Cup round. Dolbeth now had home advantage and Crewe Alexandria was “only” in League Two but they would not do the same mistake as Stockport and field a weaker team, so it was up to the boys to pull up another amazing performance, coming up from behind and managing to turn the game close to the 90th minute, leaving a lot of money in the club box, a lot of beer drunk and a dream…promotion was now expected and who could say how far Sheffield could go in the FA Cup…

Cronica Leonina!

Estávamos a ir tao bem…mas tínhamos de empatar com uns marrecos de Viseu que acabaram de subir e depois de ainda conseguirmos vencer o Porto, tivemos um Novembro horrível. Sim na Europa contra o Arsenal e o PSV aceita-se, mas depois levamos do Braga em casa…epa inaceitável. Vamos lá ver que Dezembro com os lampiões e o Ajax pode ser decisivo! De resto crl, vamos la deixar de perder com os pequeninos!

January 21st, 2028 - Winning the day

We cannot always be lucky and this time for the FA Vase which was seen as an important cup for which Sheffield should be aiming for a quarter-final, in the 3rd round Dolbeth had to face already a team from an upper division. It was not Crew Alexandria or Stockport but Tranmere Rovers was in the Vanarama National and they had home advantage…well it was a tough match but for the third time this season, the boys managed to win against a theoretically stronger opponent and then got some lucky draw as the next team they are facing is from the lower leagues. Being still in both cups, combined with a lot of league games, meant a very packed schedule, so it was not surprising when 3 days later at home against the always difficult team of Bradford Park Avenue, and after being up 2-0, the team collapsed in the second half and suffered the 3rd defeat of the season.

At the same time, the winter market was getting close, and bids were expected to come…the first one was for Daniel Rigge who mainly was coming from the bench and agreed to join York City for 30k, followed by Eathen Ingram who had all agreed with Stevenage for 145k, when the deal fell due to a takeover of the League Two club. Always careful and looking for a new face, Dolbeth in the meantime brought a free transfer, central midfielder Joe Rothwell having left Wycombe Wanderers in the summer and being without club ever since. He was quietly and slowly introduced to the team who in the remainder of the month of December manage to build another winning streak, including a trashing of Radcliffe and secure wins over Morpeth Town and Boston United in Boxing Day. The last game of 2027 was home with another big win follow by the beginning of 2018 with another win, this time a bit tighter for a good reason…

…that being, every single player of the starting 11 wanted to be extra fit to face Everton in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup. A dream come true, a team from the EPL was coming to Sheffield and not to play United or Wednesday but to play our boys. It was certainly the end of the line in the competition but the whole thing was a celebration with a packed Home of Football and many fans not able to get tickets which were selling in the black market for 150 pounds. Everton did have some of the regulars like Pickford, Branthwaite but mixed up the team, which made some fans dream when Scott Barnett put Sheffield ahead…the minutes passed, and it was a very even game most of the time with Everton only managing to draw in the second half and taking the game to extra-time. Another 30 minutes with both teams showing a lot of fatigue and with Everton bringing in some starting 11 players, which took the lead 1-2 in the first half of extra time, but Dolbeth’s team kept fighting and in the second 15 minutes Ingram coming from the bench drew the game once more and took the match to penalties. It was a lottery, and it was clear that whatever the result on the field, Sheffield F.C. had won the day…it didn’t go their way, but everyone was crowded with applause and cheers on a day to be remembered in the years to come. The next couple of games were a bit tamer but still wins with Sheffield F.C. going to the round 16 in the FA Vase and being closer to automatically claim the league title and the promotion!

Cronica Leonina!

Que miséria! Nem uma vitoria para o campeonato em Dezembro e chegando Janeiro levamos na pa de uma equipa que nem salários paga…valha-nos a Europa! Já chega, presidente e treinador RUA!

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

March 6th, 2028 - Mathematical Champion?

Everyone at Sheffield F.C. has a standard 12-month contract and it was that time of the year when the club could still make some money in getting some players sold and that was the train of though behind the departures of both right and left starting wing backs. Logan Pye went to Salford City for 40k while Ethan Ingram was the biggest ever sale of the club by joining Stevenage for a whooping 140k on a second try after the first failed due to a transfer embargo. It was not easy to replace such players but there were old-timers in the free transfer market that could fill the gap for the remainder of the season, which at this point was Sheffield’s to lose, so veterans Tyler Blackett with 130 games under Rotherham United, was the solution for the left back, while 32 year old Jason McCarthy after 9 seasons at Wycombe Wanderers was snatched for the right defensive back. They were “downgrades” but should be enough for the rest of the season, was what transpired from Clubhouse talks…

These changes seem to make no real difference in the team, which kept on winning games in the remainder of January, only losing points on an unfortunate draw at home against Merthyr Town. February started with one of the board objectives, getting to the quarterfinals of the FA Vase. The boys had already won against Gloucester City by 3-0 for the league, so with a home advantage, this was expected to be a relatively easy win, but the foreigners were tough and maybe the boys started the game a bit too cocky. Being down 0-1, the second half was all Sheffield, probably due to a harsh team talk from Carlos, but despite the never-ending offense, only managed to draw the game after 90 minutes, which meant that for the second time this season, there would be penalties deciding who was going through. Here this time and after the first series where everyone scored, on the sixth penalty, Sykes-Kenworthy managed to stop the Gloucester strike and put Sheffield in the quarter finals.

The first game of February for the league was another win at Braintree Town, which had the importance of mathematically put the boys in the playoffs, as at this time, the difference to Bishop’s Stortford in 8th place was a staggering 40 points! The rest of the month were more games with Sheffield not being at their best but still managing to win all except an away match at Chorley, a team who was also heavily into playoff contention. With 8 games to go, 17 points already separated Dolbeth from second placed Gloucester Town, meaning that 7 points would be enough to mathematically secure the title, the promotion and a record of points and wins. Still there was the FA Vase and March started with the quarterfinals. If at first Carlos was dismissive about such competitions, by this point it seems to have become a priority and with a full-strength team, Sheffield managed to beat yet another team from a higher division, with Tamworth being eliminated at home by a clear 1-3. Semi-finals will be held only in April and Sheffield will visit an old “friend”: South Shields…

Cronica Leonina!

O que nos vale ‘e que o resto das equipas também são uma cambada de marrecos. Acabamos Janeiro bem e começamos Fevereiro a eliminar os lampiões, tendo conseguido passar pelos escoceses (sempre gostei do Celtic desde os anos 60) na Champions, mas conseguimos empatar com o Casa Pia e Moreirense e mesmo assim estamos em segundo. Ok, o campeonato esta entregue ao Porto, na Champions já fomos, depois da primeira mão, mas ainda podemos vencer a taca e fazer uma época…não terrivel!

May 15th, 2028 - Two Cups

It was expected…at this point and with so many points difference in the table, a complete tragedy would have to happen for Sheffield to miss the title and promotion, so it was not a surprise that after a win home against Southport, and with 6 games still to be played, away at King’s Lynn in a relatively boring game, a 1-0 result was enough to secure the first place and for the party to start in Sheffield. Dolbeth did get a song from the supporters who from old to young, smiled, sang, drank and cried with happiness as the team was with the Vanarama National next season. The remaining league games were more in decompression than anything else, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses in the last league games. In some these games, Dolbeth even had the “audacity” to get Bruno Profirio to manage the team, not always with the best results. Record of points (116) with 139 goals scored and 58 conceded it was season to remember for the club. The second team promoted was United of Manchester who had an amazing late season run.

But besides this competition there was also the FA Vase still to be played. A competition that was deemed unnecessary by Dolbeth by the beginning of the season and only through a formal request by the club president, was taken a bit more into consideration, with the team slowly winning games, saw Sheffield face South Shield with a field disadvantage. Now it was serious, and this was also a bit of rival for the boys. A team who managed to get promoted on top of Sheffield in the past season and who trashed Dolbeth retentively, vengeance ended up being served cold and the team left South Shields by 5-0 and off to the final. The final ended up being a major event, played in Wembley stadium, this would be for many the first and only opportunity to play in such a venue. The other contender was kind of a surprise (as was Sheffield), a team from the Vanarama South, Erith & Belvedere had reached the playoffs of the league but failed to go through and was also not a real challenge for Dolbeth, who grabbed a win (despite two conceded goals close to the end) to make it “gold over blue”…as they seem to say in Portugal (according to Carlos).

Overall, this was a record league across the board, so it was only expected that also in terms of individual awards, the whole thing would be dominated by Sheffield. Dolbeth won the Manager of the month 6 times and was without a surprise Manager of the Year. Individually, it was no so much the attack but mostly the midfield that was decisive with Pye, Forsyth, Taylor and the departed Ingram making the top 5 of the best average rating, while Mason having the 3rd best assist record. Still going into the next season, the question that everyone was thinking about was “will we turn professional?”. And with the poor academy prospects, a small stadium and not a lot of money in the bank, would Dolbeth be able to create a team that will not be automatically relegated from the Vanarama National. One thing was for sure, a lot of changes were expected for the beginning of the 28/29 season.

Cronica Leonina!

A saída da Europa foi com a cabeça erguida e estando em segundo lugar ainda tínhamos a taca, mas de novo conseguimos foder tudo outra vez! Primeiro com empatezinhos de merda, com o Estoril, aqueles labregos de Barcelos e com Benfica B e mesmo vencendo os lampiões eles mesmo assim ficaram a frente e nos caímos para quarto lugar. 5 anos com as mesmas moscas! Esta na hora de mudar!

July 30th, 2028 - Professionalism

The news arrived with cheer, the club was turning professional and that meant that changes would happen in the next weeks. Professional contracts would need to be signed, including with the staff and the decisions of which players to keep for next season and which to cut came down quickly as in contrast to last season, Dolbeth announced that 13 players would be offered a professional contract. One of the players who would move on was Mintus…a player that was a fan favorite during the first 4 seasons of Dolbeth in charge of the team, last year had lost space and played very few minutes, it was an emotional goodbye as he moved to an old rival, Boston United. The biggest surprise was nevertheless the sticker with more minutes last year, McGuckin, announcing that he did not want to sign a new contract and was put on the transfer list and he was quickly moved to Stavenage for a record 250k fee. From the youth team there was once again little to hang on, so the external market had to be the solution once more.

Professionalism was good in some ways but bad in others, the pool of players interested in joining the club grew exponentially but so did the salaries and the request from players which now came with an agent and many demands. Still 8 new faces arrived at the Home of Football in early July, with both Sheffield main clubs providing loans, including right winger Cameron Mason who would be doing a second season at the club and who had become one of the fan favorites. The remaining players were mostly youngsters that had talent but also had a lot to prove and Dolbeth had gained a bit of fame in working with 17- to 20-year-olds and being able to deliver the best they could give during these early senior stages of their career. That said probably the biggest and most talented player to arrive was Matheos Ferreira, who after 8 seasons at Newcastle United, only had 5 appearances and was without a contract…it was also rumored to have been extremely expensive salary-wise, but so was McGuckin 2 season ago, a that turned out fine.

Mas Merrick was also hired for substitute goalkeeper in a team where Dolbeth reinforced shortly prior to the first official game of the season, “which still lacked some depth in the defensive wings and a starting goalkeeper”. In the pre-season the home of Football had an important visit of a historic club, Coventry City. It’s true that they did not field their best team, but it was a real party where the fans could see all the new faces. Overall, the whole month of July was a mixed bag of games, with a lot of goals scored but also many conceded and despite good results, there were also poor performances against weaker teams, like Bishop’s Stortford and Basford United. For the first time, Sheffield F.C. was also fully ranked in the bookies across the country with the average house putting Dolbeth’s boys in a mid-table finish, with the biggest favorites for promotion being Walsall, AFC Fylde, Halifax Town, Tranmere Rovers and Oldham. Good luck once again Carlos!

Cronica Leonina!

Bem a liga portuguesa agora esta cheia de treinadores vedetas…Papin no Gil Vicente, Nesta no Casa Pia, Tite no Farense e até o Klopp foi para o Benfica por troca com o outro alemão que foi treinar a seleção depois de mais uma prestação de m*rda. Fizemos uma boa fase de grupos e depois fomos comidos pelos croatas no Euro…enfim, mas também mais uma vez no Sporting nada muda!

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

September 22nd, 2028 - Surprising the pundits

In theory the schedule had been kind to Sheffield as their first fixture was home against a team that had very moderate expectations for this season…still it was the first time most of these boys played at the Vanarama National and the nerves were normal. With 5 new faces on the starting 11, it was a very torrid affair, with the first real chance only coming up after 30 minutes. Not much happened in this game and in the end despite expectations, the 0-0 is a fair result given how poor both teams played. Even prior to the following game, a new arrival for the goal was seen in Sheffield and already started in this next game. Craig Agnew from the Aston Villa academy was seen as the starting 11 at goal for the rest of the season but at 20 years old, it was not easy. He did well as the boys won for the first time in the division away at Dagenham and Redbridge with Stewart Lopez on the attack already showing that he is a player who can achieve great things at higher levels with two goals, but Agnew ended up getting injured…

The injury was worse than expected and after making a single game Agnew would not be available for the next 6 to 9 months, so another market incursion was needed for another goalkeeper. In the meantime, and with some surprise, Sheffield did beat at home one of the title candidates in an enormous day in the office for Stewart Lopez (again), this time scoring a poker! Sam Paul was another player arriving in mid-August, a backup for the right back position it might be long before he gets minutes while there was already noise that Leeds u-21 goalkeeper was available in the loan market. The loan ended up happening in time for the last game of August, which resulted in a 2-0 win home against Woking, after some a previous 3-3 draw in the Bee Arena in Peterborough in what was dubbed as a possible “game of the season” but where the boys failed to keep a 2 goal lead.

September had a more packed schedule, starting with a visit to Aldershot Town which only had 2 points after 5 games and to the disbelief of many pundits, the boys kept on winning, a tight 1-2 result here but followed by another goal galore at Eastleigh. The following two game were against teams that were positioning themselves in the promotion/playoff pack, but even these two teams were no adversaries to Sheffield as Scunthorpe United was completely ran over and the 3-1 results end up being a tad unfair for the boys who deserved more, while against Cheltenham town, the tune was different, an even match where Carlo’s boys were extremely effective and managed to score 5 times in an excellent defensive performance. The only negative about these 9 first games was the number of injuries as the games pilled and the lack of solutions in the left back…but for now Sheffield is even being referenced in “Match of the Day” being in first, losing only 4 point until now…is the future that bright?

Cronica Leonina!

Não há explicação para isto…tínhamos vendido esse Debast por 15 milhoes para o Newcastle há 4 anos (e ainda bem) e agora fomos buscá-lo por quase o dobro, mas que gestão de merda. Alem disso fomos vender o Inacio e o Susic para comprar um bando de marrecos…continua aquela gestão de taberna em Alvalade. O que nos salva por agora são as prestações em campo, na Champions la conseguimos passar depois de vencermos o Zelensky e termos de ir a penalties com os vikings…no campeonato apenas um empate e tudo o resto vitorias…vamos ver!

October 27th, 2028 - Stewart Lopez: A star is born!

All good things came to an end and in the 10th league game, Dolbeth went to Southend-on-Sea and the boys had a hard time with very little chances and the first lost of the season happened. Another away game followed at Torquay and this was a complete antithesis of the earlier one, with another goal galore (which had always been kind of a tendence in the team in the last few seasons) and Stewart Lopez scored a “manita”. 5 goals on top of the other 10 he already scored this season which put the youngster already way ahead in the goalscorers table of the Vanarama National. A star had been born in Sheffield, at only 19 years old and with games only in the U21’s of the Sheffield United team, this player on loan had exploded at the Home of Football and concerns were already being raised if their United would not want the player back mid-season. Born in Solihull from German and Polish parents, the youngster was a shy boy but not in front of goal!

With many games at this time of the season, October would see Sheffield take on 8 different teams and the rotation needed to start happening…so against a very difficult team of Kidderminster Harriers the final 15 minutes were not pretty and the Dolbeth suffers the first defeat at home this season in a game where Sheffield had always been in front. It was also the time for the cups and this time for the FA Cup Sheffield only needed to go through one qualifying round by beating mercilessly Gateshead from a division below, 8-2! Next game would only be by the end of the month and Sheffield would visit another theoretically easy adversary, the lower leaguers of Basingstoke Town. Before that there were another 4 league games to be played and Dolbeth managed to improve even more.

Gaining chemistry in the back, against opponents in all parts of the table, Sheffield conceded only 2 goals in the following four games, all against Rochdale at home, after being up 4-0 and relaxing in the late second half. Halifax Town was a good game for the boys but the exhibitions against the like of Sutton United and United of Manchester were top class with Stewart Lopez scoring another 6 goals, to put the tally at 21 goals in 14 games, with an average of 1 goal every 53 minutes (Craig Healy was also doing well with 9 goals). Maybe even more surprising than the lead scoring is the table position as despite the defeats Sheffield was first…remarkable for a team that had secured promotion just a few months ago and is in this level of the English pyramid after a century of absence!

Cronica Leonina!

Depois de uma pausa de seleccoes de 3 semanas (sabe Deus porque diabo a federação insiste nesta palermice), voltamos a ter alguns bons resultados, pelo menos sem derrotas, passamos as eliminatórias nas taca e empatamos com o Dortmund para a Champios…enfim esta a ser uma boa época, mas ainda não tivemos jogos difíceis fora da Europa.

That National League has so many former Football League sides in it. Brilliant to be ahead after a third of the season gone, but plenty of hard work needed to gain promotion to the promised land.

Out of interest, who are PSLFC?

Yeah it was unexpected but got really lucky in the loans

PSLFC is Peterborough Sports Parkway FC

December 1st, 2028 - Another promotion?

As expected the First round of the FA Cup even playing with some youngsters and with a complete rotated squad away from home, was an easy win versus a team from the lower leagues who was already overachieving in this league, so it was another 55k in the pocket and wait for the next round with a mixture of confidence and the knowledge of having already achieved what was expected in this specific competition. The league games were not getting any easier in this end of the first round with a lot of the games against the top contenders falling in November and December, starting with a visit to Oldham. Despite another great performance from the boys, two important squad members, Mason and Healy got injured for quite a few weeks and with a relatively short squad and a lot of games, this was cause for concern, especially knowing that a week later Sheffield would play the strongest team of the league away…Walsall.

But prior to that there was a visit from last placed Boreham Wood. Again, with a rotated team, Dolbeth’s boys were still able to score 5 times yet again and won easily. What also had become a concern was the number of players that were being targeted for an easy in the winter market. McCarthy, Adam Long and Brad Hills, all defenders would be extremely hard to substitute while Manning in midfield was a leader and having a great season the only player that Sheffield could afford to lose would be substitute right winger, Kerry Dyke. Well, let’s see in a month’s time! The biggest game of the season in Walsall was quite a complicated match for both sides. Very even to the extreme, despite the home team scoring first twice, Sheffield was always able to come from behind and draw the game. In the last minute, Walsall scored the 3-2…which was disallowed to the cheer of a small number of Sheffield fans who travelled to Poundland Bescot Stadium. It was a close win, more of a point won than two lost in this case.

The following home game was what was already seen at this point as a standard 4-0 win over a team sitting in the second half of the table, 4-0 over Harrogate Town. 4 days later the challenge was expected to be of a higher difficulty as Harrogate Town playing at home would were a tough nut to crack and despite scoring 7, Sheffield only really had the game secured when at minute 86 Adian Manning managed to make it 4-6, in another great game of football, with Lopez getting another 2 goals. The FA Cup second round had given the boys an easy draw and Carlos as usual and in a month with 7 games, wanted to spare the starting 11. It was a mistake, Chippenham went at all force, like Sheffield in the previous season and managed to draw at the end of the full time and extra time, taking the game to penalties where for a second season in a row, the boys did get their exit from the cup. In the last game of the first round, the Carlo’s and his players went to Maidstone and after the worst first half of the season, the team rallied for a good second half that turned the game into another win, putting Sheffield F.C. strongly in the lead of the division, still shocking many pundits.

Cronica Leonina!

Estava a ver que era só jajão…aumentaram o nível das equipas e já não damos uma para a caixa. Na Europa estamos em risco de nem ficar nos 24 primeiros depois de levarmos dos turcos e daqueles da bebida que das asas. No campeonato com os lampiões e os tripeiros apenas 1 ponto…mais um que ganhamos, ou melhor dois que perdemos nos Acores. Não da…e ninguém mete mão nisto!

January 12th, 2029 - Losing players

With the good performance and the good table position came the sharks enticing some of our better players to leave for wealthier pastures and not the board or Carlos could avoid that with the opening of the winter market, a total of 6 players would go to clubs in divisions higher than the Vanarama National, Adam Jackson was a solid defender although at 34 years old and not being a starter, these would be an almost irrelevant sale both economically as for the team, but all other 23 players were either starting 11 (Long and Manning) or the main backup of a certain position (Tony Weston was only coming from the bench due to the good performances of Stewart Lopez. That said, Dolbeth had to go into the market this December and see if filling such position without counting on more loans, would be possible as the number of loaned players was at the limit allowed.

December had an easy start with the defense of the FA Trophy title against the Minnows of Stourbridge and again with a relatively weaker squad fielded, it was a relatively easy win. For the league the results in December were few of a lesser quality when it comes both to goals as well as the performance of the squad. 1 goal wins against Dagenham & Redbridge as well as with Tamworth were not good displays but Dolbeth was able to the grab the most important thing, the 3 points, but then away at Kirkham against AFC Fylde, the draw could easily have been a defeat and things did not improve in the next match at home against Aldershot Town, with the boys having to come from a losing performance and barely (for the second time in a row) saving one point. It was the first series of two games without a win this season for Sheffield FC and some “sources” were saying that the squad was worried about losing some of the players in the Winter break, given that until mid-December only one new player had been secured in the free transfer market, West Ham academy, George Earth, who left the Londoners in the Summer and was still searching for a club.

His first game was already the 2-2 draw against Aldershot Town where he showed some positives in the midfield, but it was clearly too early to tell if this would be the player Sheffield needed. The team quickly recovered with easy wins over Peterborough Sports, Woking and Cheltenham Town, in what was yet again a quite positive Christmas and New Year, to the point of having Carlos no leaving the country and having his Portuguese family over, including on the pitch with the players during the home game against Peterborough Sports…but then the news came that regular Goalkeeper after 23 appearances was being recalled from the loan for being played out of position…a lame excuse for Leeds needing a 3rd goalkeeper at the moment. So, at this point of the season 5 players left on the 1st and 2nd of January and only 2 new faces arrived at the Home of Football. The first place was secure for now, with an unbelievable 15 point difference to second placed Walsall, but a deep in form could make things complicated for the boys…were there going to be some dips in the market, at the least there was money in the bank and the team also easily passed the new FA Trophy round…

Cronica Leonina!

Um dia ainda vou ser eu a treinar estes bonecos. Inaceitavel como a equipa não consegue ganhar dois jogos seguidos para o campeonato. Ok o empate com o Bayern não foi mau mas de resto continuamos a perder pontinhos aqui e ali, sendo que mais uma vez vamos ficar pelo terceiro lugar ou pior…que sina!

March 9th, 2029 - Injuries, sales and suspensions

Deep into January and there were no signs of any new faces joining the club, which also faced a round of injuries so bad, that in certain games Carlos had to rely on under 19 players with little quality just to fill the bench. In defense the team was close approaching bare bones, when following an already difficult win at the Attis Arena against Scunthorpe United, the club saw yet another player who was going to miss games due to a sendoff in a draw 1-1 home against bottom of the league Eastleigh. The situation got even worse in the next two home games, both against strong teams in the playoff contender spots when, yet again a double yellow card against Southend United, left the team without Brad Hills, another defender, and fell apart in the back for a defeat that could have been much worse than the 0-2 result. A few days later another defeat home against Torquay United, already playing with one adapted central defender, also Jason McCarthy go injured…

The advantage gained until mid-January was still good enough for Carlos not to worry about being caught in the first spot of the table, but at Aggborough Stadium against a Kidderminster Harriers in the relegation spots, another two players got injured on top of another loss of points in what would have been considered a relatively secure 3 points, had the match been played in December last year. 5 points of advantage had vanished, and the 1st place was now only “secure” by 10 points, with the FA Vase still to be played. And the draw hadn’t been particularly kind in this round of 16. With the board expecting the team to reach at least the quarter-finals, playing 6th placed Tranmere Rovers away, was far from the desired game with a team that had 5 injured starters…but in this case and for once, luck and Lopez were on Sheffield’s side, as without playing well and being dominated during most of the match, one goal from a single opportunity out of the youngster’s feet gave the club an important victory and the ticket to the quarter-finals where the boys will play home against Rochdale.

It was not enough for the team to go back to wins in the league and against another promotion candidate and again having a hard time fielding a complete team, the loss at home against Halifax Town ended up being a fair picture of what happened on the field…what the fans were not counting on was that after a much needed 10 days break, in a visit to Sutton United, struggling to stay afloat finished with a horrible result which triggered a shouting round at the end of the game as Dolbeth went berserk on the referee and on the players… Something needed to change and the rescheduling of the last game of February couldn’t come at a better time for the team to heal. March started better although not perfect as Sheffield faced Rochdale twice and showed a bit more than in the past 2 months. In the end the FA Vase game ended up in a 4-4 draw with the boys this time winning the penalty draw and a 0-0 draw away for the league in a game where victory was close. With one game less and still 4 points up from second place, the title was still Sheffield’s to lose

Cronica Leonina!

No final na Champions fizemos uns míseros 5 pontos em 8 jogos…sim já sei que não temos dinheiro, mas isto acaba por ser miserável ate porque o Porto fez 16 e o Braga 11…Também fomos de vela na taca das caricas…contra o Moreirense e no campeonato mais uns resultados de m*rda com o Gil Vicente e Moreirense mesmo assim ainda estamos a 4 pontos do topo…de resto ainda estamos vivos na taca também.

May 27th, 2029 - Without injuries...it works

After already having performed much better in both games against Rochdale, the team seemed to recover as the injured players slowly returned and the amount of home games also helped. Actually, the game against Oldham was decisive as Sheffield was down 2-1 with 5 minutes to go and two late goals by the boys gave Dolbeth the first win in the league since January 13th. It was as if a stone had lifted out of their backs and next games against two teams in the relegation zone were against goalscoring shows and 6 points that managed to give some breathing space at the top. To close the month of March which turned out to be the best month of the year until now, another very difficult game at home against AFC Telford, which again was only resolved following a late game that puts the boys in the final for the second year in a row.

April started with a difficult one, despite the good tally against Tranmere Rovers, it was a team playing home and fighting for a playoff place. That said it was a masterclass and with another 3 points, promotion was now 5 points away and depending on the results could even be achieved next game. It was back in good form as the team seemed to be gaining back confidence and despite a few rescheduling’s due to flooded pitches, the whole thing was just a question of time. It could have been against Harrogate when Sheffield beat them in the Home of Football by 4-0, but at the end of the 90 minutes, due to the other teams results, the boys were still missing one point, which came just two days after in a 3-3 thriller at Nailsworth, with the team coming from behind to draw 3-3 and waiting a couple of minutes after the final whistle to see how the other teams had done…it was over, back-to-back league wins and promotions! Unbelievable feeling in the bus back to Sheffield where a crowd of almost 500 people cheered for the club and sang diverse songs with the players and the manager’s names. The remaining two games ended up in wins, including a final home match against second placed Walsall, who deserved better than to lose promotion to Aldershot Town in the playoff finals.

In the 10 points advantage, scoring 136 goals, meaning that attack was definitely where Sheffield once again came on top of everyone else. To this Stewart Lopez was the main contributor, with 40 goals, a 7.59 average rating and the clear winner of player of the season…it will be hard seeing him going back to Sheffield United. Dolbeth also won manager of the year and Craig Healy, Jason McCarthy or Ryan One, were all players above the average for the Vanarama National. Still the season was not over, yet as the 3 weeks later, there was the FA Trophy final to be played. A competition for which Sheffield would not be competing next season, it was a chance to make it two in a row, which happened last time in 2025 with Grays Athletic. In the regular season Cheltheham United, had been a punching bag to Sheffield F.C., two wins 5-0 and 7-1…but this was a different game and despite having been by a long margin the best team, somehow it was not enough to do more than a draw at full time, at extra-time and on the penalty spots…it was defeat…

Cronica Leonina!

Mais uma vez, terceiro lugar…final de época completamente miserável, especialmente os últimos 3 jogos que tivessem acabado em vitorias ter-nos-iam dado o campeonato. Mas claro tudo se mantém na mesma e contentinhos com um canecozinho da taca de Portugal…Por outro lado vamos ao Mundial de Clubes, num grupo com River Plate, Esperance de Túnis e UNAL Tigres…vamos ver se fazemos alguma coisa!

August 3rd, 2029 - The "Ferreira" Soap Opera

The climb to League Two was anything but smooth. Reality did bite quick to show that the club was ill-prepared to face a higher level of opponents and infrastructure. The first board meeting of June was to decide on a stadium expansion which would bring a couple of more thousand seats, still far from any other club in the 4th tier of English football. In worse shape even was the academy with the players now having most of the pre-season at the Sheffield United training ground. If that was not enough, for the 5th year in a row, there was not much coming out of the youth team, who also performed very averagely in their league in the past seasons. With some “older” players leaving the side at the end of their contracts, the most influential players returning to their clubs on loan and some small “sharks” trying to poach the best player, the start of the season had a 13-man squad.

Of course, I was talking about Matheos Ferreira, who had no less than 7 League One players placing bid on the youngster on a daily basis…the club did try to resist and a three weeklong soap opera, including some local news crews and some banners from the newly formed Home of Football ultras ensued. In the end it was too much cash to refuse and following 3 bids at half a million Euros, Matheos accepted a contract with Carlisle United. It was rumored that a loan-back for a single season would still be on the table but it ended up not materializing. It was one less player and in terms of new faces, very little was seen besides some good prospect youngster arriving once again from the other two Sheffield-based teams. Stricker Adam Hilton seems to have the capability to forget Stewart Lopez, who went back to United and Renshaw has everything to become the main pass distributor in the center of the field. That said the squad only has 15 players at the start of the first official game and taking out the midfield, there is a lack of players in every other position.

The same could not be said from the staff, which now totaled almost as many coaches, scouts and physiotherapist than players, with Carlos opting to bring another Portuguese coach into the technical team, in Helder Batista. The pre-season friendlies were tough, Coventry City and Sunderland were teams clearly above Sheffield F.C. in the packing order, so the defeats were as expected, but a 1-4 result against Wealdstone saw some of the usual pub pundits raise a few eyebrows…the last two wins were solid on attack, but defensively the conceded 18 goals in 6 games, 3 per game on average which is worrisome. Starting this year in 3 cups and the League Two, the board had high expectations of a mid-table finish which was far from what the bookies were expecting, putting the boys in second to last in a league that had as favorites, Salford City, Shrewsbury Town, Barnsley and Wigan. At least in the cups, the expectations were not big…

Cronica Leonina!

Não há maneira de mandarmos o Amorim as couves, ainda por cima até fizeram uma figura razoável no Mundial de clubes, passamos o Inter nos oitavos e só perdemos nos quartos contra o Madrid que venceu aquilo. Agora nada disso desculpa os sucessivos terceiros lugares e gastarem 30 milhões de Euros num defesa esquerdo…enquanto que por menos os lampiões foram buscar o Trincão e o Bernardo Silva!

Great achievement so far, how much transfer funds have you been allocated? Sure you're not doing this on a shoestring budget?

Hopefully you're a full time professional outfit now. Be interesting to see how you go on at this new level.

Yes now we are 100% professional and the transfer budget is not bad. 250k, salaries running at 75k month!

The problem is that any good player wants 20k+ salary or cost an arm and a leg, so loans and free transfers have to be the way to go

September 28th, 2029 - Oh these competitions.

It was another historic day for the club as on the 4th of August for the first time in their history, Sheffield F.C. played a League Two game. It was true that there were only 15 games from the senior team and Dolbeth had to play with 6 youth players on the bench. Fleetwood Town playing at home had been far from courteous to the team with their coach, EPL legend Wayne Rooney, stating that “Sheffield would struggle to stay up”…It seems that these words were what the team needed for a performance that will be long in the memory of the fans, as despite a even game, out of 11 shots on target, the boys managed to convert it in 7 goals, for a terrific 1-7 win that left the fans of Fleetwood waving white clothes at the team! Nothing could have prepared the Sheffield supporters for this fiery performance, but was it just the first game or was the team really that good? Well it was certainly not the game against Premier League side Norwich City away in the club’s first ever participation in the Carabao Cup that would prove so…1-4 defeat and not much to say in a very unbalanced game.

Back in the league, slowly some reinforcements started to arrive, but more to fill the squad than anything else, as all the free transfers did not seem to be at the level of the already present players for that position. That said it was good not to see 75% of the bench full of youngsters just to fill the quota. The first game of the regular season in the Home of Football, was another good display against historic Wimbledon, followed by another draw, with the team letting a 2-0 advantage go to waste in the last few minutes of injury time. So, it seemed that the first initial victory was more of a one-time-thing than anything else, especially in the 4th league match when at home the boys could not match the technical and physical superiority of Carlisle United, which grabbed the 3 points deservedly. August was gone an Sheffield FC was still lacking a proper right wing and some backup in defense, so the team still felt short when in September 1st the boys visited Gillingham.

Still, it was a very decent performance with Dolbeth experimenting a bit and the 3-1 victory although excessive was a fair result. Also, for the first time, Sheffield was going to be playing at the Bristol Street Motors Trophy (Papa John’s in the past) and here Carlos did field a more rotated squad, which could not provide a challenge against the likes of West Bromwich Albion. It was not a competition where anyone was expecting much from the boys, especially given their next amazing display home against one of the title contenders and 100% victorious until that game, Port Vale. Great game and a very good result that brought the team to the playoff spots. The next two games were of a lower quality with a very boring and unexpected defeat against Newport County and for the third time in the last few months another big lead wasted in the last few minutes as Sheffield managed to be up 3-0 in Bradford, only to let the home team comeback to a 3-3 draw in the last minutes of the game. Still no real complaints as Carlos has the team in a very decent 9th place!

Cronica Leonina!

Mais um início de brandar aos céus… perdemos a super taca para os morcões, depois perdemos na primeira jornada com os lampiões, com o Boavista uns dias depois, com o Braga para a Champions e com o Farense para a taca da caricas. Ou seja, se não for contra os coxinhos não conseguimos vencer um jogo. Pior, este ano vamos em quinto lugar e mais uma vez parece que ninguém quer saber disto!

November 9th, 2029 - A statue!

Dolbeth was in the news again…by his own words he had been surprised on the 6th of October when his assistant called saying that they needed to be in the stadium at 10am as the board wanted to have a meeting prior to the game. It could not be related to the bad results of the team, as sitting on the top 8 of the table and coming from a 1-0 win away at Shrewsbury, there was no real concern in that field but the urgency in the words of Bruno made “me shake to the core” and at 10am there he was Carlos in front of the clubhouse and the pub  that was supposed to re-open today after a much needed enlargement. The whole place was still deserted, but then the pub door opened and the president came out with a serious face... quickly he guided Carlos to the inside of the pub and to his disbelief the whole room was filled with supporters, players and some reporters that began to cheer…even more surprised was when sitting in the corner of the pub was a statue…of himself, with a pint in a hand and his hand up as if complaining. A statue of the manager that brought the club back to fame! Well deserve!

Following this ceremony, it was back to the game as the stadium filled to witness another great display and against a historic club that had been in the EPL not so long ago. 6-2 with a lot of cheers and the 3 points, was just what the doctor had ordered to finish a day that will live in the memory of fans but mostly of Carlos Dolbeth for eternity. What followed was the second game of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy where in alignment with the board, the team presented itself with a very rotated squad which result in another loss…nothing really worrying as now the starting 11 was fresh to face and beat the league leaders Salford City, which were unlucky to see one of their best players get sent off just after 10 minutes, resulting in another very impressive win by the boys. After 3 straight home games it was back on the road to face Swindon Town, which were bottom of the table and resulted in another win, built completely in the second half of the game. At Chesterfield the boys managed to grab another win with a sole goal but tougher games were on the horizon…

Milton Keynes Dons was already a bit of a shacky performance which ended up in a fair draw, but the reality check came a few days after, as Northampton which was not doing such a good season, managed to trash the team completely by scoring four goals in Sheffield and for the first time in a long time, Carlos Dolbeth showed a bit of a worried smile to the crowd that still supportive could not disguise the feeling of a big loss. Of to the first FA Cup round, against a team that Sheffield FC knew well but which was not several division below, so the 3-0 win at the Horsfall Stadium was nothing more than pro forma. With games piling up, the fans were relieved to see the team getting back on the winning track in the next game at Aldershot, despite a far from convincing performance. 16 games in the season and there could hardly be any complaints as the team was sitting in a playoff spot and being the best attack of the division, also improving on defense from past seasons.

Cronica Leonina!

Desisto, como pode ser possível que não tenhamos ganho um único jogo em Outubro. Contra o Arsenal percebe-se, mas Arouca? Académico de Viseu? Vizela? E depois disto ninguém acaba despedido, que diabo se passa com o Sporting? A direção só podem ser um bando de velhos cegos e surdos!

December 14th, 2029 - Half done

Not really disappointed but frustrated, that’s how Carlos felt according to a interview to the Sheffield Times. In his almost perfect English, Dolbeth complained that although there was money to spend and the team was doing as well as it was possible for a club that was 4 tiers down not that many years ago, all players that were decent enough, were “too expensive” or their teams asked for money as if they “were the new CR7”. The winter market was coming but without any further loan spots, the only players that seemed to be able to enter the team, were the youth squad who was not doing so well for many years now. “What is it about Sheffield F.C. that some players prefer to play for a team two divisions down? Didn’t we do enough to deserve to be here…?” Despite the coaches complaints the reality of the football played was much shinier. If we take out the rather poor, although with some intention, participation in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, with as many loses as games, nobody could point a finger at the team or at its coach.

An unfair defeat at the hands of Crawley Town at home, was followed by two good exhibitions against Barnsley, who were now the clear favorites to be last in the table, and York City away with a very tight defense (something that we did not get much accustomed till now with Dolbeth’s style of play). Away at Colchester the result could have gone either way and luck were not on the boys side but with 20 games played in the season, a playoff spot was much much more than anyone had hoped for from Sheffield. The month of November ended with one of those goal galore games that we are already accustomed to and the team grabbed another 3 points on top of Barnet who at that time had sot their coach and was playing without a manager sitting in the bench…something that sounded extremely amateur but was a reality in these kind of environments. That said, December was normally a bad month for the team and with the number of games and the short squad, some tiredness was visible.

This might have been the cause, why Dolbeth decided to field the away game at Cheltenham against a team playing one tier below, with a mixed squad of rotated and starting 11 players. The FA Cup was seen by many as the only cup worth playing, so a defeat at such an early stage on top of a poor performance, was like a bucket of ice on top of the supporters (and not because this was the ice bucket challenge). Still for the league another two good games, grabbing 6 points, which could easily be 6 against Bromley and Solihuil Motors putting Sheffield F.C. in an unbelievable 3rd spot after the first round was played. Still the league was very competitive and the boys were tired, without any expectation of new arrivals in the winter market, it would be a very tough second round…lets just hope that the boys, including Adam Hilton who has been carrying the team, are able to finish the job in April!

Cronica Leonina!

Melhoras? Era dificil fazer pior do que no mes passado. Alias mesmo assim em Novembro ainda conseguimos empatar com o galo de Barcelos. Na Champions finalmente 4 pontnhos e pode ser que nao vamos ja de vela, uma vez mais. Nao fosse aquele Samed Bazdar andavamos a apanhar sabonetes...infelizmente vem por emprestimo!

January 21st, 2030 - Unbrexit please

One topic that is not really discussed in the club but which hinders the team is Brexit…now more than ever it became apparent that despite the climb in money and status of the club, Sheffield was still far from the competition in both fields which made them now lack for much needed fresh players in the winter break. The scouts of the club were unable to find players in the United Kingdom that were good enough without asking for salaries of 50% of the club’s payroll or a transfer fee in the millions already. The only proper solutions that were presented were players from Portugal or second tier European leagues, like Belgium. The issue: since Brexit any foreign player had a hard time joining any club that was not in the EPL, so that meant that in the last scout report meeting, out of the 15 players analyzed, 10 could improve the team, but all needed a work visa, which given the fact that they were not internationals, meant losing time and hope in something that was never going to happen. Not really much that we can do except wait for a political miracle or for a unicorn player…

That said and even in the need of players, especially on the wings, to cover the starting 11 who were tired most of the month, the boys continued to push forward in the month of December, with sometimes, more heart than quality of play. Not getting very dominating results or performances, Sheffield did get lucky in quite a few cases, with the 1 goal difference being a result that could have gone to the adversary, like in the case of Shrewsbury Town. With wins against Colchester United, Wigan, in a highly expected game and Swindon Town, with one game to go in the civil year of 2029, Sheffield was close to getting back-to-back to back promotion. After that the team went down significantly with complicated games against the top teams of the league, the draw away at Salford against the local City, cannot be considered a bad result for the boys…

But the start of 2030 was far from positive. First at home against Chesterfield, the team was surprised with the visitors showing more than was expected and winning with merit but then at Milton Keynes, the Dons could have won by 4-0 or 5-0, making it a stretch of 3 games without wins for Dolbeth. Finaly and despite a tame performance, Sheffield managed to get back to his winning ways in Stoke-on-Trent against a mid-table Port Vale. That said, the poor results were not enough to take Sheffield F.C. out of the third place, but the top two spots seem to be decided with Salford City and Carlisle United having a 13 point gap with 14 games to go…the playoff spots got much closer and the advantage over Wimbledon is just one point (although with one game less) and there is a group of  another 8 teams within 10 points difference…another series of poor results can be absolutely fatal.

Cronica Leonina!

Bem isto não passa de toca o disco e volta ao mesmo! Bons jogos com o Mafra e mesmo com o Braga em casa, depois de uma vitoria a rasca também com o Academica da Serra da Estrela, para depois contra o Porto levarmos uma tareia. A equipa não consegue mesmo ultrapassar o básico e estamos nisto há 5 anos!

March 12th, 2030 - ESC? Yes, please!

Following the complaints of not being able to hire necessary reinforcements to complete the good season, the existence of the ESC work permit was a gift from heaven. Given that hiring players with enough status to get a work permit was unrealistic, the two spots given as ESC permits were really the only possibility, so following advice from the scouting team, in mid-January Sheffield F.C., saw two foreign nationals integrate into the team. To the right wing came Burkina-Faso international Issa Kabore, on free transfer after having played the last 3 season for Wrexham, while with the record transfer fee comes a young prospect out of the African continent: forward Dejmoussa Doumbia, arrives from Mali for a fee of 44k Euros and is a clear bet in the future of the team. Both players were already in the starting sheet of the next game against Gillingham at home…and that was probably a mistake. Clearly the worse game of the season so far, the boys did not seem to be able to defend, with various cases of shouting with each other and the sorts…

Things improved in the rest of the month, with Doumbia even scoring for the first time for Sheffield in a narrow win against Newport County. This seemed to be a new trend in the team, suffering many goals per game, something that looked to have been corrected in the beginning of the season. Similar was the game against a string side of Bradford City even playing at the Home of Football. With the winter transfer market closing there was little indication of any moves in the squad, but just in the last day, it seems like some good opportunity was opened with another record of purchases, when right back, Joe WormLeighton was presented by Dolbeth on the evening of the 31s of January. 50,000 Euros for a player coming out of a bench in the League One side of Exeter City… The fans were able to see his first performance coming out of the bench two days later in a draw at Northampton, but more is expected in the remainder of the season.

The rest of February and the beginning of March were a mixed bag of games, while better on defense overall, Sheffield F.C. was not able to pull the kind of exhibitions that were the norm in the first half of the season and most games seemed to be decided by a stroke of luck or one or other moments of brilliance from Nicolau, Hilton or Doumbia. The one goal defeat against Wimbledon saw the historic team, grabbing the 3rd place firmly and Dolbeth seeing the top 3 from more than a one-win difference, but still with some space in the run for the playoff spots which seemed more and more a reality for the team and a reason of cheer among the crowds that became larger and larger as the season went on. Still 7 games to be played in the regular season, there are no certainties, but things look well on the way for a playoff spot and an extension of the season deep into May.

Cronica Leonina!

Isto contado ninguem acreditava...na Champions perdemos com o holandeses e depois vencemos uns do Leste quando a coisa ja nao contava para nada. De resto no campeonato vencemos o Rio Ave em Janeiro e desde ai estamos ha mes e meio sem uma vitoria...derrotas, empates contra equipas de bonecos e ninguem se demite crl?

April 27th, 2030 - We almost fucked up...

It wasn’t uncharted territory, not really! After back-to-back promotions, it was not expected but Sheffield was finding themselves at least on their way to a playoff to get yet another promotion. 7 games to go and even a top three position was possible. It would have to be a perfect ending, but the 4 points difference was certainly nothing that the club had not passed before and with success in the past. The ambience was in a mixture of confidence and some disbelief as some pub old timers, although never really criticizing the club or Dolbeth, warned for quick rises that end up in even bigger falls, citing examples from the recent past like, Wigan, WBA, Swansea, Charlton or Blackpool, that after rises to the EPL ended up get demoted to the third and forth tier, leaving behind debts and dreams. That said, Dolbeth did not seem so worried as after signing another 2-year deal, his words were “I am confident, if not this season, then next or the one after! Nobody gave us a chance and here we are in March with more points than most of the favorites! I am not worried at all!”

It was with this confidence but with some luck that the boys gathered their first 3 points from what were expected to be 7 finals. Fleetwood Town even playing away proved to be a very tough opponent and Langstaff was the only that could break the deadlock. The visit to second placed Carlisle United promised to be a much tougher fixture, but surprising everyone and again with the luck that only champions are able to gather, Dolbeth and his boys made it seem easy and with this win the team secured the playoff spot. Back in the Home of the Football and against Barrow, sitting on the lower half of the table but relatively safe, the result was the same but the performance was enormous and at this point by the start of April Sheffield had climbed back to the 3rd spot and truth be told, the promotion was now theirs to lose, as the best positioned team of the last 4 games, was sitting in 18th place.

April started with a visit to last placed and already relegated Barnet, but it was far from an easy game, the team felt the pressure and despite being up 2-0, suffered a goal and Barnet was close to equalizing the game with Renshaw scoring in the 88th minute to guarantee the win. Next customer was a Solihull Motors and this is the time when even the best start to shake and our boys were not immune to that, making a poor game and only managing to score in minute 88th, with 33 year old Langstaff, becoming more and more relevant in this end of the season. 2 games to go and one win would be enough, but in a visit to 18th place Barnsley, the legs seemed to be made of spaghetti and after 5 straight win and when the 3 points were needed the most, Sheffield fell flat and delayed all the decisions to the last round. At home against 21st placed Bromley, the only thing needed was to do better than Wimbledon and after a weird first half with both teams drawing the game, the beginning of the second half saw Dolbeth taking the lead and everything seem to be going just right, until the injury of Langstaff, the third of the game, without any further substitutes…it was 25 minutes that had to be played against 10 men…until minute 80 when Joe Adams sees the second yellow… Sheffield was still up but down to 9 men and at minute 90 Bromley managed to equalize and win the game in injury time…Only one thing was on our side…luck as Wimbledon also lost and it was back-to-back-to-back promotions! Congrats boys!

Cronica Leonina!

Sporting? São uns verdadeiros losers, olhem para os meus meninos aqui em Sheffield que ganham num mês o que os do Sporting ganham em duas horas.

June 15th, 2030 - Unprepared

The celebration of the unexpected and incredible story of the club was despite everything far from sustainable. Out of the starting 11 there were 5 players on loan and there were no real youth prospects in the team or in the youth squads…quickly Dolbeth issued a statement of the players that were staying and the ones that were leaving the team with 3 retirements already planned, including Vela and Osborn, that were small icons of the team, but also older players, who it had been told were not accepting a new contract that would not guarantee them a place in the starting 11. Besides that, all the 5 loaned players would be back on their teams, and it would be unlikely that they would come back to the club next season. This left the squad with a mere 11 players, with Doumbia, Kabore and Earthy seeming to be the best of the bunch. Reinforcements were needed and this time it was not really a question of money.

Inglorious ending of the league for Wimbledon failed to win in the playoff final against a much weaker side of Gillingham who had a lot of luck and an excellent stricker in Jahmari Clark. Individually again mostly the players on a loan made the individual difference for Sheffield, with Hilton scoring 23 times, to grab the second best stricker of the season award and Nicolau (despite the number of injuries) and Hayes also up there in the league awards. The only player not on loan that made the top 5 lists is Langstaff, who with his experience was decisive in the last portion of the season. Not all is negative, as the favorite player of the fans was Earthy who ad ultimum sold an extension to his contract for another two years and given the lack of young talent in the u-19s team, Djemoussa Doumbia seemed to be an excellent signing for the future and the presence given his importance also in the last portion of the season.

It was all hands on deck to build a squad, so it does not seem that Dolbeth went on vacation this time, with a lot of deals being already signed in May, taking into effect at the opening of the market, this time not loans and not just free transfers, but also purchases of clubs from division above, including another record breaking transfer of Connor Rush from York City. It was rumored that another 5 players had already been hired when they finished their contract on July 1st but the big deal was on the sale side with Issa Kabore being sold to Las Palmas for 1.8 million Euros again smashing another club record. While this was almost a planned sale, as Dolbeth was not a fan of the player, shortly prior to the return from holidays, a bomb reached the board room as George Earthy demanded to leave the club shortly after signing a new contract…this could mean even a bigger sale for the club, but at what cost? The whole team seemed to be centered around his skill…lets see what the future brings in relation to this Summer’s Telenovela at the Home of Football.

Cronica Leonina!

Sporting? São uns verdadeiros losers, olhem para os meus meninos aqui em Sheffield que ganham num mês o que os do Sporting ganham em duas horas.

August 7th, 2030 - Preparing for a tough one...

The telenovela that was promised involving Earthy did not really materialize with Stoke City putting in yet again another record-breaking offer to the oldest club in the world and the board accepting it without speaking with Dolbeth. Almost 4 million Euros for the young attacking midfielder that summed with the sale of Kabore made for almost 6 million in sales. It was as rich as the club had ever been, but that did not mean that Carlos was going to splurge in the transfer market…far from it. The strategy was once again, joining the players already hired at the end of last season, the concentration on free transfer end-of-contract players and some purchases of relatively low value here and there. Only two loans this year and nothing from the other Sheffield clubs who were now closer and closer division wise, it was Middlesbrough and Liverpool that provided some young talent, especially Julius Chell is expected to shine in the midfield of the team. That said the money was spent on another foreigner, that substitutes Kabore, with Spanish Nigerian left back Christian Mohammed and QPR attacking midfielder Dudziak showing good things on the field.

The pre-season was as expected, full of new faces and with some good games and some poor displays, it’s clear that defensively the boys are not yet working well together. The highlight not so much in terms of results, but more in terms of the acknowledgement for the growth of the club is the visit of Aberdeen, in what was the presentation of the team to the fans in a 2-2 draw. The last game of the pre-season raised the alarm bells in what is expected to be a very tough year. League One is already full of teams with name and stature much higher than our boys, with Preston North End, Bolton and Plymouth, clear favorites to go up, while Wrexham, QPR and Rotherham are also contenders. In the bottom of the bookie’s odds, Sheffield F.C. (tied with Bristol Rovers) shows up in the relegation zone, only above Carlisle, Gillingham and Cambridge, which clearly sees what the world is expecting from the team. The ambience is nevertheless calm…but warry that this will definitely be a very complicated season.

Cronica Leonina!

Ano de Mundial e Portugal que até joga em casa neste mundial monstro entre Espanha, Marrocos e Portugal, teve um grupo acessível e acabou por passar sem problemas pela fase de grupos contra os laranjas e uns desgraçados do terceiro mundo… Depois foi aviar as equipas da América do Sul, primeiro o Chile, seguido dos Argentinos (que não são nada sem o anão) e depois o Uruguai…nas meia fodeu…Franca outra vez e levamos 4! Depois ainda perdemos com os espanhóis para o terceiro lugar…começou bem, mas acabou mal!

September 20th, 2030 - The Canadian scorer?

As expected, this season was not to be an easy one for the boys. After 3 straight promotions rise, which was rarely seen in England, Dolbeth found himself in League One and with a first game at Portsmouth, a team that he remembered well from their time in the Premier League. Still with a brave fighting team full of new players, completely renovated, Sheffield managed to score his first goal in the division and draw a tight affair. Defensively there was now a consistency that had rarely been seen in the teams of Carlos and if it is true that they seem not to be able to hold a clean sheet, it was also true that in August there was not a single game where the boys let more than a single goal in. Wrexham and Rotherham United at home were to 1-1 draws which could have gone either way, while after a defeat at the hands of Preston North End at the beautiful Deepdale, finally and 5 games, Sheffield F.C. managed to go to Loftus Road and beat Queens Park Rangers by 2-1 in London. This was for Dolbeth who was almost in tears at the end of the game, a glorious achievement and a warning to the other clubs that Sheffield was not in the league just to watch and get automatically relegated.

As said if there was something that the team was not showing capabilities like in previous seasons, was the attack and the scoring, Doumbia and Joseph-Luke, seemed to be outclassed by the opposition defense, while Langstaff was entering his veteran days…still there was no real sign of a new signing, so it was with surprise than in the last day of the market, the club announced in its twitter page, that they had secure 31 year old stricker, Ike Ugbo. With Sheffield experience (playing at Wednesday in 2023-2024) the Canadian international that holds also British and Nigerian passport is the coup of the season so far. With 72 goals in his last 7 seasons playing between the League 1 and League 2 in France, this seems to be the man to come up with the much-needed goals. Still, we would have to wait a week to see the player in action as prior to that, the annoying competition of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy was about to start.

Clearly not a fan of these cups, Dolbeth had already chosen to field a weaker side for the 1st Round of the Carabao Cup which resulted in a defeat in penalties against Lincoln City and in this competition, it would not be different. Facing Man United U21s, at home and with the calendar getting fuller by the day, it was a defeat waiting to happen but somehow even with a young inexperienced squad the result was a surprising 4-1 win!!! The good displays continued in the league in the next couple of games with Ike still scoreless but with some tight one goal differences that materialized in 6 points against teams who Sheffield F.C. could only dream of beating 5 seasons ago like Reading and Charlton, to give a comfortable high mid-table post after 7 games. Its just a good start, we do wish the boys and Carlos were able to keep the pace, but realistically there are no big illusions either.

Cronica Leonina!

Continuamos na mesma cegada em que Amorim, Varandas e Hugo Viana lideram a seu bem querer o clube e depois de vendermos meia equipa e encaixarmos 100 milhões de Euros, apenas gastamos 25…e vamos ver o que vem dai. Um defeso interessante viu o Xabi Alonso mudar-se para lampião e iniciar a época a comer o Sporting de cebolada… Se na Champions já tivemos prestações piores, no campeonato estamos horríveis com 9 pontos em 6 jogos e demasiado empate contra equipas de agricultores.

November 1st, 2030 - Mid table objectives

Once again Sheffield F.C. was beating all the analysts’ expectations with a team who was clearly tipped for relegation to be in a very decent mid-high table post after 7 games. But the fans were not under any illusions as the team was not “that” good and most of the wins had been in very tight games where our boys have had a bit of luck. Well, this luck started to run out by the end of September with another tight even game at Accrington where this time Stanley were the ones that came out on top in a goal galore (although not to the levels seen by the team in the non-league season a few years ago). It did seem like a fluke as one week later, Dolbeth led his team to a big important win in Gillingham, with the team being consistent both in the front and in the back, but maybe that was more to deal with the poor performance of the home team this year, facing some financial issues, than in the improvement of Sheffield F.C. team on the pitch, especially in the front.

Actually, after some enthusiasm with the arrival of Ike Ugbo, the reality is that after a few games coming out of the bench, little has been seen in terms of goals or quality of play from the Canadian international. First game in October at the home of Football was yet another one decided by the tightest of margins, with Blackpool taking all the 3 points with a late goal to break the draw. Back in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy and this time against York, there was not “Man United surprise” as the starting 11 was once again rested and some youngster had the opportunity to get some experience. Third straight home match was a visit from Notts County and here the boys did until now the best performance of the season, fresher than the away side, maybe 6 goals is a bit too much for what the team did but in front of goal the team was flawless, and it was a well-deserved victory. After 3 home games it was back on the road for our players and at Exeter they managed to yet again surprise the pundits with another high goalscoring game and a 0-4 win.

At this point it began to be clear that simply fighting against relegation would not be a target anymore and it was announced already in October that Dolbeth had a locker room talk to announce another monetary bonus for the team to get a mid-table finish. It was not really certain when this talk happened, but the next two games did not assure the fans, that such had been a good strategy. The defeat against promotion contenders Grimsby Town away, did not really surprise anyone, but a bit more was expected from a home game against Bolton, besides a 2-0 defeat. No love was lost there and in the last game of October it was back to the wins, with another excellent performance at Carlisle, against a team that will for sure be relegated this season. One third of the season is completed and Sheffield F.C. is sitting comfortably with 24 points just short of the playoff spots and much better than what was expected by anyone. That said it’s a very tight league and from 7th to 18th place only 6 points…

Cronica Leonina!

Devem estar a tentar fazer a pior época de sempre. Na Champions mais duas derrotas contra equipas que deviam ser acessíveis. Na taca perdemos com uma equipa que nem nunca tinha ouvido falar e no campeonato continuamos de empate em empate com uns m*rda e estamos no quinto lugar…f*dasse!!!

December 9th, 2030 - Even in the cups

November started on a high. The FA Cup was a competition where just for the monetary awards, the board insisted that Dolbeth put some meat behind the bones and while it was not expected that the team would go far, the first and second rounds were “must wins”. That said and in his usual fashion, Carlos put all of that aside and in the Home of Football against a team that was once in the same league as our boys, but that was deemed nowadays quite inferior, the mix of youngster plus less rotated players was used, with a surprisingly good result, as Ike finally scored and the team is through with authority for what is expected to be a much tougher second round against Mansfield Town. On the other cup, the Bristol Street Motors Trophy and using a similar selection on the starting 11, Sheffield also managed to grab a second win (following the first-round result against the Man United youngsters) and is also surprisingly through to the next round of 16.

This is all good and well but without rotating the team, it would be impossible for the boys to play so many fixtures. November had 9 games scheduled and December at least another 9…too much for such a small squad. Still following the FA Cup win, Dolbeth managed to grab another impressive result as league leaders Lincoln City were surprised by a 6-1 trashing which left the fans wondering if another promotion was really outside the realm of possibilities. It was just a few days of this kind of talk at the club bar, seeing that on a visit to Mansfield for the first game of the month facing that team, reality did bite on a 0-1 defeat. The secondary Bristol Street Motors Trophy achievement was not really a celebrated event, but the following away fixture, saw another 3 points being gathered away, on a difficult 0-1 win at Salford. At this point and for the first time in the season, Sheffield was in a playoff spot. 5th place with 30 points in a very tight table but only 5 points away from league leaders Lincoln City and with a favorable end to the first round, the sky seemed to be the limit for the team.

It was not completely constant, but the boys did have better games than most, being able to win 5-1 against Plymouth Argyle in a game that looked from a completely different league and the a few days later, get beaten by Burton by the slimmest of margins which was quite unfair for the home team which was much much better that day. Dolbeth did get his revenge over Mansfield Town, to see the team progress to the 3rd round of the FA Cup for the first time and they even got lucky on the draw with Newport County being a much better chance than against some of the higher-level adversaries possible. On the other hand, and after the surprise in the Bristol Trophy, eventually the enormous number of games had to give and at home in the quarter finals, a mixed team could not make it better than getting complete trashing from Notts County. Almost finishing the first round another slender win at Bristol to make it to 3rd place at a very packed table and keep the dream alive.

Cronica Leonina!

Impressionante, uma vitoria em 6 jogos, em casa a rasca contra o Chaves…sim não foram os adversários mais fáceis do mundo e um empate com o Atletico de Madrid e os morcões não esta horrível…mas empatar com o Feirense, perder com os franciús? E com isto tudo nem sinal que alguma cabeca va rolar…enfim!

January 10th, 2031 - Terrible new sponsor...

Once again things were going swell at Sheffield and it was in a cheers climate that on the home game against Cambridge in the mid of December, a new jersey was showed to the fans. Well, the jersey was not new, but the sponsor was. It was know for a few months now, that Carlos Dolbeth run in England was now also echoing in his home country, but it was still a surprise that a Portuguese brand would want to sponsor a team in League One. Worse was that it seemed like the club was completely unaware of the brand which is a cigarette one… Portugues Suave we were told, is one of the oldest brands of Portuguese tobacco, is and was never sold in the UK and will only sponsor the home jersey. Not sure how long this would last given that this kind of product according to the law of our country is not allowed, but for now it stands…and it did not hurt the team which grabbed another good win in this game.

Next challenge was expected to be at the same level but with Gillingham fighting to not getting stuck in the relegation battle made for a very interesting challenge and consequently a loss of 2 points. Blackpool mid table at home proved to be an even greater challenge with Carlos resting some players given the amount of games in the month of December and the club recorded a fair defeat. Closing in on the Christmas/New Years game galore, the Home of Football saw another great display of the team which managed to grab 3 points over Exeter City and then going to Meadow Lane to perform well and getting another win which for the first time put the team in a place of automatic promotion. It seemed like Christmas had brought not only fatigue and points but also goals which had been a problem at the beginning of the season. Last game of 2030 was back home in a cold 29th of December and we could not have asked for a better end of the year. Another strong attacking display with 6 games scored over Grimsby Town.

2031started with a visit to Bolton where the boys on the 1st day of the year, gave another goal festival with Josh Martin scoring yet again and climbing to the top of the goal scorers table. When the ex-Accrington winger who arrived on a free transfer after having started in only 11 games and scoring just one goal last season, arrived, there were no big expectations besides a useful bench player, but as of now it seems one of the best hires of the club. A few days later another 4 goals scored by our boys for a swift passage on the 3rd round of the FA Cup against Newport County. 100k Euros in the bank and a chance to face Brighton playing in the EPL by the end of the month is just the cherry on top of an amazing cup run. Finally, and with the fatigue setting in again, QPR visited Sheffield for a 1-1 draw. But this was not the end of the report…at the half-time out of the blue, Sheffield’s president announced that a new player was joining the team. In an unprecedented move, Milan academy left attacking midfielder was joining on loan until the end of the year…what a time to be alive, a Milan player at Sheffield!

Cronica Leonina!

Finalmente um período sem derrotas…enfim também contra um grupo de mancos, mesmo assim não conseguimos vencer os ilheus e na Champions vencemos contra uma equipa que deve se ter qualificado nalgum sorteio de cereais. Continuamos na mesma…

February 28th, 2031 - The Dilemma

Once again and surprisingly so, Sheffield was finding themselves well into the season and close to yet another promotion. Who could have imagined something like this, 5 seasons ago? But we were still in January so anything was possible in a league where 1 point could make a 5 places difference in the table. The next couple of league results ended up disappointing the fans that were by now expecting that the team would be able to win consistently besides the beginning of the season expectations. A draw at Reading was not a bad result, but the defensive performance against Charlton where the boys let 6 goals in was uncalled for and after being a few round in an automatic promotion place, the team was back down to the playoff spots. Further there were some rumors of a couple of players that wanted to leave…including some that had joined the team recently. The 4th round of the FA Cup was more a party for the fans who saw the visit of a Premier League side than anything else and the 2-0 defeat was a good an expected result which closed the cups season, to the happiness of Dolbeth.

Sheffield managed to go back to the wins, at home against Accringtion, but was not really convincing given that after being up 3-0, the team barely escaped with the 3 points following a big second half from the visitors. End of January and the last few days saw some surprising exists, Ike Ugbo ended up not being the player everyone expected and left for a cheap fee to French side Sochaux, while Stearn was loaned out and third goalkeeper Max Merrick went to Leeds (quite a surprise for a player that barely had minutes on the team). Still there was still some backroom noise that other players wanted to leave but were either not let go by Dolbeth or no club made offers…without being able to confirm, these seem to be isolated cases in the front of the attack, namely Mohammed, that lost space to the new arrival Barbaro and Langstaff… The start of February saw the boys beating last place Carlisle United and climbing back up to the second spot on the table with 12 games to play.

Finally and after almost three months of continuous non-stop fixtures, there was a small 2 week break in the league and when the boys visited Plymouth in the middle of the month, a complicated win gave the team the first spot in the table. The whole speech of taking things easy and calming down was starting to make little sense but maybe the overconfidence of the team 3 days later in the Home of Football, struck a blow when after relegation battle contenders Wycombe Wanderers scored 3 and put a stop to all the cheer. A few days later and against Lincoln City, a team with real aspirations to go up, another loss, this time due mostly to bad luck sees Sheffield in the 3rd spot on a very tight table, 1 point short of the first spot. The last 9 games will be decisive and with a complicated schedule, facing 4 of the top 10 spot teams, will for sure make things very entertaining all the way till the end.

Cronica Leonina!

Mas não se cansam de perder…entre meio de Janeiro e final de Fevereiro, fomos eliminados da Champions depois de mais duas derrotas, levamos tareia na taca da caricas e no campeonato apenas uma vitoria contra uns desgraçados que não teem onde cair mortos. 4º lugar do campeonato com uma diferença maior para o primeiro Porto do que para o 15º lugar…f*dasse quando muda esta história?

April 27th, 2031 - Virtual Champions at HT

9 games and 1 point away from a story that would be an even bigger fairy tale than what Sheffield F.C. has done under Carlos Dolbeth in the last 7 seasons. The official speech was still that “we did better than expected and whatever happens now, we are fine with it”, but deep down the fans, the players, the management and the board all knew that they could almost grab a promotion once again and return Sheffield to its former glory. Queens Park Rangers was the main favorite now and a team Dolbeth had spoken highly of since the biggening of the season. Unfortuantely there were no more games between the two sides, and it would all depend on the last games, which were in less hectic calendar than in the past months, but still with teams with much bigger financial power and prestige. March started with a visit from Mansfield who were unlucky not to get a draw and like that lose the train to the promotion and even the playoff spots. The boys followed to another good win in Wales as Wrexham was more and more close to getting a relegation.

The series of wins continued, this time in a very complicated match home against surprising underperformers of Portsmouth and similar to the game with Mansfield town, Sheffield F.C. had the luck of the game when in the last 15 minutes, the adversaries could only convert one of the five golden opportunities they had to score. Luck would not last forever and in Rotherham against a team desperate to get points to secure a playoff spot, the 4th game in 2 weeks and the pressure did get to the boys, who lost a couple of points. For different reasons from March 15th till April 5th there were no games, with some international breaks and a flooded pitch, April was the decisive month, and things did not start well. Preston North End would have to a win, but in a very high intensity game, Sheffield did not manage to defend well, and 4 away goals were too much for the team who lost 3 important points and let QPR gain a 3-point lead. A similar result could have happened in the next matchday but this time it was an inverted and deserved result with Dolbeth getting the 3 points but with the defense feeling very shacky for Sheffield.

Nervousness did take over the team and with 3 games to go, another 2 points were lost in the visit to Cambridge United. Still luck seemed to be on Carlos side, as QPR lost their game and with 2 matches to go, Sheffield had secured at least a playoff place and were 1st in the table. The next game was decisive, home against 3rd placed Salford City, the win would be enough for a direct promotion and when in the 88th minute Carl Owen put the boys in front 2-1, the Home of Football exploded…but…substitute goalkeeper Robert Henery kick the ball one minute later to an away stricker and in extra time Salford reversed the result… We were going to the last gameday needing a result at High Wycombe to seal the promotion spot, with Exeter and Salford just one point behind…Everything was going well at halftime, the boys were winning, QPR were losing and Salford drawing, giving Sheffield not only the virtual promotion but also the title. Until a very doubtful penalty was awarded to the home team (1-1) followed by a goal from Salford and Sheffield was down to third place. Nothing moved for 35 minutes and the automated promotion dream was now over…last minute from heaven to hell. Playoffs coming!

Cronica Leonina!

Agora já não vale a pena. Parabens 9 jogos sem perder para a única competição onde ainda não foram eliminados…e mesmo assim com 2 empates contra equipas de outro campeonato…querem palmas com esses quarto lugar?