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

May 19th, 2031 - Dropping of the ball 101

Of course, everyone was sad…45 minutes from the end of the regular season Sheffield was promoted as champions and then one hour later, they were “only” 3rd and had to fight in the playoffs for one last spot in the Championship. Forget about the fact that the team was expected to be relegated at the beginning of the season, the fact is that after being so close nobody is happy to let go. Still there were still the playoffs to be played and this time the semi-finals would be home and away matches against Burton who finished the regular season in 6th place, but only 3 points below our boys. The regular season had already shown that both teams were close in terms of quality with the Brewers from Burton-On-Trent, winning the first game 1-0 and Dolbeth making it even in the second half of the season with a 4-3 result.

The first game at the Pirelli Stadium was a strange one where Burton managed to score first against the tide of play and where Sheffield was awarded a penalty for drawing the game in the 25th minute. Things would theoretically become easier as Burton’s defender Kyle John was sent off at the 27th minute, but once again without anyone expecting it, Mubama managed to score again and at half time, it was 2-1 for Burton. The second half was completely dominated by Carlo’s team, but the dominance was only turned into a late equalizer again from the playoff spot that would take the decision to the Home of Football. Given the dominance in the first game, spirits were high once again for the home game, but things did not start well with the visitors scoring after only 9 minutes and not letting the boys have the ball…shortly before halftime a penalty to Burton gave them a 2 goal advantage. You could have heard the screams from Dolbeth at halftime and the team was definitely better in the second half but still missed scoring more than a single goal and against all expectations and justice not managing to get a spot in the playoff final.

With all the drama gone from Sheffield, the boys could only sit and watch as Exeter won after extra-time and grabbed the last promotion spot joining Salford and QPR. Individually there was a lot to be happy about, especially for Josh Martin who won player of the year with the best average rating and most goals, which ends up being an overachievement for someone who isn’t even a stricker! Dudzak also deserves a mention as a player who left QPR to join our boys but once again most of the work is from Carlos Dolbeth, who promised to fight tooth and nail to get the team promoted next season…but now it was time to relax and prepare the next season in a Summer without national competition.

Cronica Leonina!

Isto contado ninguém acredita. Nos últimos 3 jogos da época, todos contra equipas menores, conseguimos apenas 1 ponto! 1 ponto e ficamos no quinto lugar a quase 30 pontos do Porto! Finalmente fala-se na saída do Amorim! Mas a direccao também tem de sair. Bruno de Carvalho, volta que estas perdoado!

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

August 1st, 2031 - With promotion in mind

The last stretch of the past season had left some marks on the team. From being promoted as champion to be in the playoffs was just a 45-minute half difference and on the playoffs, things were far from good… With that in mind and with promotion as an absolute objective, there were changes about to happen in the team. The spine was kept intact as the only players leaving the team at the end of June had been Kerry Dyke, who after 5 years could not deliver on the young start promises and Jamie Mullins. The was a small back and forth with starting Goalkeeper Phillip Marshall, but in the end the player decided to renew for one more year, to the happiness of the fans. Chistian Mohammed, who held one of the foreigner slots was sold after a mediocre season and new faces started popping up as soon as the market opened. South and Donovan joined from Championship clubs and Alfie Harrison remained the flag carrier of the good partnership with Sheffield United as a loan. Bruno Goncalves was the most surprising purchase as the English-Cape Verde defender was supposed to be happy at Barnet.

The biggest issue with the good performances is that some sharks try to get the best players, and Sheffield was not immune to this when Morty Madle decided to pull a tantrum for not being able to move to QPR and was eventually sold for 1 million Euros. Less dramatic and for less money was the departure from Millward to Notts County. Sticking with the approach of getting only chirurgical players to the team, somehow Dolbeth managed to convince Barbaro that had been on loan from Milan in the last 6 months to join the team for good and another 2 players joined the squad on free transfer, all with some Premier League experience, except Kosovar national Kladji Jemini who will probably dispute the goalkeeper position for most of the season.

Also the friendlies seemed to be targeted for a difficult but heavy goalscoring season, with an impressive win over Scottish Premier League Aberdeen and a lot of goals scored against the U 18s as well as Chorley and Kings Lynn. The match against Derby County ended up being a bit of a shit show with a lot of red cards and inbalance, but against Bromley Sheffield already displayed well once again. Now the moment of truth starts at the Home of Football against Mansfield Town. The bookies show the team as mid table finished, but Dolbeth, all the players, the board and the fans, know that the real objective is to get promoted in first place as we don’t want to have anymore playoffs…ever!

Cronica Leonina!

Por alguma razao que a razao desconhece, o Sporting decidiu que o treinador que ia levar esta equipa a patamares mais altos, seria...Carlos Tevez....um gajo que tinha treinado em Portugal o Boavista e o Arouca. Nao sei o que se passa na cabeca destes dirigentes, mas um decimo lugar com o Arouca dificilmente o torna um treinador de topo (como jogador era excelente). Com vendas de 170 Milhoes seria bom formar uma equipa...

September 20th, 2031 - The start for glory

It was not really a now or never season as Sheffield F.C. had progressed significantly in the last 5 seasons for things to be rosy for the next decade even if they never managed to get out of League One, but after the bittersweet end of the previous season, the expectations were high in the boardroom and within the team and the start of the season could not have been better. First win on home ground to start the league. No real fireworks here but a decent performance and a win that ended up being natural and which was followed by the Carabao Cup where this time Dolbeth did not fall in the same trap as last season and with a strong 11, probably the strongest possible, the team managed to grab their first win ever in this competition. The boys stayed in Portmouth another 3 days, to defeat the same team right after for the league in a slender 1-0 result. So 3 wins to start with the only real question mark being the short results as all the games ended up being 1 goal lead results...and in the 3rd league game, things did not go so well...
 

...in the Home of Football against Charlton, this should have been another win, but a poor performance in the first game of a new arrival to the goal, Pierre Andre's exibhition was not good enough to save a team that could only score once. It was not the end of the world but more a bite of reality, showing that the team would once again be facing a very difficult season if they really were to  battle for the title. Much better were the results in the next 2 league games, with 2 strong wins against teams that were not really on the league contention level. In the middle, the run for the Carabao cup came to an end, almost as quickly as it came to a start with a visit to Premier League Nottingham Forrest ending up in a fair 4-1 defeat. Job done! In the last day of the transfer deadline, there was yet another unexected news, but this time at the departures side, with stricker Doumbia, having lost a lot of space this year, moving to Swindon Town.

September started with the Bristol Street Motors Trophy and similar to last year, Carlos decided to rotate the team in this competition and even with that a nice 1-0 was achieved against the youth team from Manchester United. For the league another solid performace and result, including the third clean sheet in a row for the league, against relegation candiates Crawley Town, was only overshadowed by a rather unfair draw in the field of Crewe Alexandria which pushed the team into the second spot of the table with no single individual performer worth noting but still with a lot of games ahead and only two points away from league leaders Preston North End

Cronica Leonina!

Ora vamos la ver...na epoca passada fizemos 150 milhoes em vendas, este ano ja vamos nos 26 e com isto tudo conseguimos comprar apenas 5 jogadores de equipas de merda brasileiras e de equipas portuguesas de terceiro nivel? Normal que depois tenhamos sido eliminados logo pelo Tondela da Taca das Caricas, por uns vikings da Liga Europa e que nao tenhamos ganho um jogo nas primeiras 4 jornadas...enfim Tevez vai mas e para o caralho!

November 1st, 2031 - Alone at the top!

It was a good start but was not perfect and this was something on the mind of Dolbeth when in pre-game conference of the next home game against Sunderland, was asked about the chances of Sheffield F.C. this season: "There are too many good and even teams in this division, the difference of a first place and a mid table finish is minimal and every loss of points can be crucial. We started well but not perfect and who know if a draw and there will not decided if we get promoted or go to the playoffs...it happened last year. We will keep our heads down and keep working!". And teamwork is really what was seen in the rest of the month with the boys winning both games, both at home and defeating a team that would have been a dream to come up against 5 years ago, Sunderland and beating by 4-2 Accrington Stanley in a game where the win was expected .

October started with one of those games that the fans will cherish for year to come. At the Home Park in Plymouth on good weather sunday afternoon everybody seemed to be disappointed by the weak first half and the 0-0 result...but out of the blue the home team started to fire and with 12 minutes inside the second half Plymouth had taken the 2-0 lead. Dolbeth was furious and took advantage of an injury that took a couple of minutes to shout heavily at some of the players and to bring in a few substitutes. From then on, it was all Sheffield and on the 89th minute Nabil drew the game. But more drama was to come as one minute after Plymouth was awarded a second penalty...which they missed and in the last minute of injury time, again Nabil made it 2-3 and gave Sheffield the 3 points in the best game of the season so far. The team proceeded to get beaten by Grimsby Town, while fielding the usual second tier in the Bristol Competition but returned to the wins in a clear 3-0 win over Hull.

Sheffield seemed unstoppable, but the amount of games, some injuries and players going away on national team duties (one of the pains of growing), the boys could not reapeat the comeback against Plymouth on the home game against Bolton Wanderers and suffered the second league defeat. A bit of rotation did help and 4 days later it was back to the wins, againt in Sheffield over Wrexham but it was not the beginning of another series of wins as Nabil again in extra-time already saved the team from another defeat In the Select Car Leasing Stadium in Reading. The last game of the month was theoretically the easiest one, as Blackpool had failed to win a single game in the league after 14 rounds and were dead last with only 7 points. It did not look like a battle between the first and the last and close to the end the game was tied 1-1...but the last 10-15 minutes were brilliant and the boys scored 3 times to grab the 3 points and maintain the isolated 1st place in the table.

Cronica Leonina!

Ena pa um mes so de vitorias...depois do que andou a fazer ao principio tambem era melhor...enfim so equipas de nivel...Feirense, Estoril, Olimpico do Montijo (nem foi o clube de onde saiu o Futre) e na Europa o ilustre Tobyl dum pais qualquer acabado em ao...ai Tevez ai Tevez

December 16th, 2031 - The title is ours to lose

The FA Cup was far from being a competition for which Sheffield had any strong hopes…still it was money that the team could earn and the chance to have a Premier League team visit the Home of Football, so contrary to other competitions, it was taken completely seriously. The run was not long, entering already in the 1st Round (a luxury that would have been a dream half a decade back), the game away with Leyton Orient, was not easy and the win was only achieved by the minimum margin. But that was basically the whole run as in the 2nd Round, Bolton playing home was the better side. Ironically, although Dolbeth was always rotating the squad for the other cup (Bristol Street Motors Trophy), a win on penalties after the 0-0 draw in regular time against Carlisle United, had the boys going through the group stage for the second time and then beating Bradford by a clear 4-0 on the round of 16 from the North Zone.

It is unexpected but early January, in the time of the season where games seem more and more packed, Sheffield will play Preston North End of the quarter finals…will Carlos here field a better 11? For the league, things were close to perfect in the month of November, only with Notts County being able to beat Sheffield F.C. in another thriller with 7 goals and an epic ending. The rest was win after win, over historic teams like Birmingham or Rotherham United and even a trashing by 5-0 at Barnsley. Around this time, it seemed that it would require something very strange for Dolbeth to get the team promoted to the Championship, as the difference to the third spot grew to 12 points. That said, the first place was very much up to discussion as a surprisingly strong Lincoln City was coming up in pursuit and the lead was only 5 points away from the The Imps at the end of the month

As the club grew, also more and more “fans” and some curious folk were joining in on the games, with 5000 spectators being a regular occurrence to see games like the first league match of December where Fleetwood Town suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat in the Home of Football or to watch Preston North End lose 1-0 in a much lower key affair. It was not just a small pub club with 200-300 fans quietly watching some lower league games, now there was a new club shop where young players coming from all around Sheffield wanted their parents to get a Sheffield F.C. jersey with the “Nabil” name in the back and fans waiting for an autograph from Carlos Dolbeth on the parking lot. Things had changed and even in games away, like the one in Accrington, 720 fans made the journey to see the boys get another good win and consolidated the 1st place in the table. Half of the season gone and the distance was already 15 points to the playoff spots and 6 from the second place. The title was ours to lose!

Cronica Leonina!

Entretanto a coisa parece ter mesmo melhorado para lados de Alvalade. O campeonato parece ja perdido devido aos jogos iniciais mas neste mes e meio tivemos 8 vitorias e apenas uma derrota com os galos de Barcelos. Dito isto andamos na Conference League onde apenas jogamos com equipas da cagagesima liga e neste mes e meio nem um grande...vamos ver de facto do que esta equipa e feita em finais de Dezembro e principios de Janeiro!

January 27th, 2032 - Not safe yet

The breathing space at the top of the table was something that Dolbeth did not feel for such a long time…that said there were another 5 games to play in the league in December (on top of the 4 already played) and the injuries combined with the usual fatigue were noticeable in the game home against Plymouth Argyle, where the boys let the lead slip at the end of the second half. No cause for alarm said most pundits as just 3 days later, Sheffield did get an historic result at Bolton, trashing the historic club by 5-1. But even there, the result had been better than good, but the performance was average with the finishing being decisive…and when that failed in the next 3 games, Carlos only managed to grab 3 points as the away games at Cambridge and in Wales saw an extremely tired side that could not score.

At the same time entering 2032 there seemed to be some debate in the boardroom as Dolbeth wanted to sell a few players and bring a couple of new faces while the board believed everything was going well, and such changes might disrupt the team. Well, the end of the year showed that a quality depth was still lacking the squad and only one loan from a left midfield from Portuguese side Braga, had been secured. Negotiations came at a standstill and with the first win of the 2032 civil year against Preston North End for the “Mickey Mouse” Cup which saw the team entering the quarter final of the competition, was seen as a white flag from Dolbeth…but the news articles and columnists were wrong. The second week of January amid crucial win over second place Lincoln City away and an unexplainable defeat against Burton also away, a lot happened in terms of players coming in and out.

First it was central defender Fritzmartin who having lost some space in the starting eleven was sold to Birmingham and then 3 players that had been relegated at the beginning of the season to the reserve squad also found new homes. Surprisingly was the departure of left midfielder Barbaro, who returned to his home country (although not much transpired it is believed that the player wanted out despite being a steady starting 11 player). In came on the same day, two young players from Stockport and left defender Pfefferkorn from Birmingham on a record-breaking purchase for 1.2 Million Euros. It a gamble…Maric did pay off from the start, while the others remain to be seen with the first game with all new faces being an encouraging 3-1 win over Crewe Alexandria that keeps Sheffield at the top of the table, with the same points of second placed Lincoln and 3rd placed Charlton but with 2-3 games less.

Cronica Leonina!

Ha coisas que a razao nao explica. Como tinha previsto, as coisas estavam a correr bem ao Tevez ate apanhar adversarios mais complicados. Ainda em Dezembro vencem os austriacos para terminar bem a fase de liga da Europa e depois empatam contra os lampioes na Luz, o que tendo em conta como a equipa esta, nao pode ser considerado mau. Janeiro, tumba derrota em casa contra o Braga e Boavista...safaram um pouco a coisa ao vencerem no Dragao, mas ja voltaram de novo para o septimo lugar...

March  5th, 2032 - So close...

The fans could almost taste it, Sheffield F.C. was close to be in the second tier of English football and to the respect it once gathered more than a century ago. Still there were hurdles in the way and despite the good results, promotion was not a certainty and in the mind of Carlos was last season’s debacle. For sure anything was better than the last 45 minutes of last season… Still there was a second competition in the books, that was far from being at anyone’s radar at the start of the 2031/32 season. The Bristol Street Motors Trophy. Mostly playing with a much-rotated side, Sheffield found themselves in the quarter finals and playing an U21 team of Chelsea, full of talents. This time it was too deep into the competition for the Dolbeth to not care, so he went all in, and the boys grabbed a 6-2 win on the training grounds of the EPL giant to make it to the semifinals, where Reading awaits.

This could be the cherry on top of a good season, but there were still 15 games to be played in the league and the foot could not be taken of the gas. First still in late January a good win home over the likes of Blackpool, which was followed by a very complicated match in Sunderland where the historic team did manage to dominate the game and win, having even deserved a better scoreline. The return to the wins, was just around the corner as contenders Preston North End got beaten last minute, similar to the home game against Reading. If there was something that the games of Sheffield always had, was entertainment. This was especially true during the month of February, where none of the matches could have been considered dull. Such thing was good for the casual viewer and even for some fans, but you could see Carlos biting his nails and almost having a heart attack a few times during the month as the boys left the last winning goal for the last minute of extra-time or were against the ropes for the last 20 minutes of play.

So were the wins over Crawley and Birmingham City. Even the 2-2 result against Barnsley, breaking a 4 straight win run was not without emotion, with Nabil Ajoughlal only getting the goal to grab the draw at minute 91. That said the more emotional tail at the end of the month was in the technical team. Following 6 seasons at the side of Dolbeth, Bruno Profirio decided to take a job as a Manager of Hartlepool United, where he will have the mission to save the team from relegation in the Vanarama National. This was an emotional time and despite getting ex-Charlton manager Michal Pujdak as a replacement, Profirio will be missed. Already with the new assistant manager on the bench, the boy managed to secure another win in the first match of March, 3-1 over Portsmouth, leaving the team already mathematically secure in the playoffs and with 10 points of breathing space at the top of the table with 7 games to go.

Cronica Leonina!

O Sporting, quando tem adversarios faceis ainda la vai, Fevereiro foi so mesmo bater em mortos, como os Academicos de Viseu da vida. Mas quando a coisa aperta voltam a fazer a mesma m*rda. Bem pelo menos estao quase na final da taca e bem encaminhados na taca da terceira divisao da Europa. Mas nada desculpa esse sexto lugar no campeonato!

April 25th, 2032 - The Double

On the top of the table and in another competition, the season could not have been going better for Dolbeth and the boys. Still the final stages of last season lingered in the heads of the players and the fans, so nothing was to be left for last stages. 7 games to go and not really 7 finals but Dolbeth wanted to secure the promotion as fast as possible. A visit to Mansfield Town brought Sheffield even closer to reaching that objective after a very tough battle with a good first half and a second part which could have been disastrous were not for the amazing saves from the team’s goalkeeper. 3 days later and in a half effort team, for the semi-finals for the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, Patrick Maric already in extra time, making sure to get the victory and bring Sheffield to a very unexpected final. Finally playing home a few days later, another good win, over Wycombe Wanderers that brough the fans to put up a banner, just asking for another 5 points in the next 5 games. At this moment that was all that was needed to secure promotion!

The international break of more than 2 weeks was not good for the team. It was not clear if they started to doubt themselves with so much time to think but away against 3rd placed (and one of teams fighting for the promotion spots) Charlton United, the boys made the worst game of the season, losing by 4-1 and bringing in the ghosts from last season. The shouts from Carlos were heard meters away after the team stayed one hour after the game for a long team talk, which seemed to make a difference given that the visit to Rotherham ended up in a good win and it was now just 2 points to the title. That said, April, always the decisive month, started with the final of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. It was unexpected to be there, but since the boys were at this stage, the game was to win…and win they did! In a half full Wembley stadium, the boys gave a lesson to the Welsh side and secured this cup for the first time in their rich history.

Still in a party mood and knowing that a win would suffice, at the Home of Football against a weaker Cambridge United, there was little doubt in the fans minds that this would be the title game…but on the field, things did not really go according to plan and despite some good moments, Cambridge had the luck of game and manage to grab a win. It didn’t matter in the end as the other teams did not win their games and even with the loss, Sheffield secured the promotion. There were still two games, and 1 point would give Sheffield the title but yet again, the boys didn’t even need to play as Lincoln had a game they had still to compensate, and Sheffield celebrated the win in the league without even playing. The last two games ended up in a win and a draw but were irrelevant. More than 100 points, this time the boys did not choke and are now in one of the top 20 leagues in the world.

Cronica Leonina!

Podemos quase dizer que estamos perante um milagre leonino, o Sporting já não perde há mais de 4 meses. Também não joga com grandes equipas há uns jogos, mas a recuperação na liga acaba por ser espantosa, sendo que apesar de estar longe to título, consegue recuperar para a terceira posição. De resto final da taca e meias-finais da liga caricas da Europa contra uma equipa acessível…ainda vão salvar a época.

June 20th, 2032 - The Improvements

Everyone was still in euphoric mood when the chairman announced, just a couple of days after the end of the season, that the club would expand its stadium, build a youth academy and improve the facilities overall. It’s not certain how that will affect the beginning of next season, but it is definitely a step into a more professional club and in a future that could be even brighter. The last promotion spot was gathered by the team of Plymouth quite surprisingly after beating Charlton in the playoff finals. Carlos Dolbeth was crowned, quite deservingly, as Manager of the Year, but individually despite good seasons of Wormleighton and Dudziak, there were no awards for the boys this time.

What did exist was again the necessity to renew the club. Of the 4 players that were on loan at the club only Patrick Maric was certain to return as the club did opt for the agreed purchase fee but everyone else was going back. Certain were also the 6 players that did opt to leave the club as they had close to no space in the squad, but also cases like Wormleighton and Tahj Coutain, that were pillars of the team but decided not to accept a proposed renewal. This left a lot of vacancies to improve on, and the market did start soon, with Dolbeth wanting to hire players to join the pre-season, which for the first time would be away from the club ground….in Scotland.

No less than 5 players already joined the boys for those highland games, with two foreigners creating the biggest fuss. Rigoberto Hernandez, 27 times international by Panama, comes to a midfield in clear need of reinforcement and Stanislas Menzan arrives from the Ivory Coast to the attack. That said, the biggest or most well-know of the bunch was Tremaine Rawlingson, that arrived from Aston Villa, after only 3 games in the EPL last season. The fact that the club could now attract players of that caliber speaks for itself. Lets get the pre-season going!

Cronica Leonina!

Basicamente salvos por uma boa segunda volta. Alias o Sporting de 2031 parece uma equipa completamente diferente do de 2032. No campeonato tem um final em que vence Boavista, Braga e empate com os lampiões ficando num seguro terceiro lugar, perde a taca para o Porto, mas acaba por fazer um brilharete na Europa depois de ter vacilado na Noruega e apenas conseguido passar a final numa reviravolta da segunda mão e para surpreender tudo e todos ao bater o Valencia na final. Vamos fazer destes últimos anos o standard!

August 4th, 2032 - Championship

While it was true that a lot of changes had already happened in the squad during June, the real start of the season would certainly bring more and more surprises, and the month of July was hectic in the transfer market. Besides the permanent move of ex-loan Patrick Maric, Sheffield fans saw the arrival of another 10 players. Some with a fee attached as it was the case of Isaac Obeng, coming directly out of Africa after some scouting in the country and filling an ESC place, other on a loan, this time from Premier League teams and free transfers after the contract ended or because the club wanted to get rid of them. All areas of the team were reinforced and the total spent was far less than was expected early on. That said the biggest achievement would have to be secure of a loan of a U-21 Portuguese player from Leicester City. Carlos Alvares is expected to be boss in defense this season and showed good signs in the pre-season.

Despite the growth of the club there were, nevertheless, players that decided to move to other (even if not greener pastures). The case of Nabil, last year’s top stricker of the team, who decided to go back to his home country where he will be in a team with title chances, is understandable but did hurt Dolbeth, reports said. The pre-season in Scotland can only be seen as very positive, with the boys winning all 3 games, including against tougher opponents Aberdeen and reasonable strong Dundee. The return to England saw the team lose their only game of the pre-season against Birmingham, but much was correct later in the win over Belgium title contenders Gent. The last game was a dull affair with the first official game already in the minds of the players, who will, as traditionally, start their season in the Carabao Cup, to the displease of Carlos, who is known to dislike such cups.

In the first round, the boys will play in a Home of Football still being renovated and are expected to win over League Two Cheltenham Town, even if not fielding the best 11 possible. Of course, the top competition and the one where all the efforts will be put in is the Championship. Dolbeth is expecting to face a fierce relegation battle as the team is tipped by the bookies to finish dead last. This is not news to the team and in the past, they managed to go “against all odds”. This time, they are really facing top competition with Brighton being clear favorites to return to the EPL after spending 70x more money on transfers than Sheffield and the likes of Fulham, Ipswich, Wolves, Blackburn and Bournemouth will all be very hard games. The most interesting affair will nevertheless be Sheffield Wednesday…yes, Sheffield FC caught on to one of their neighbors and the games are expected to be highly interesting affairs. Let’s see if Dolbeth and the boys can gather some points there!

Cronica Leonina!

Vai ser um Europeu de má memoria para Portugal…em Inglaterra apanhamos um grupo acessível e desde o princípio parecia que a luta seria entre nos e os espanhóis pela vitoria no grupo. Ninguém estava era a contar com uma derrota contra aqueles indivíduos de kilt…mesmo assim passamos em terceiro, para perder com…a Irlanda nos oitavos. Alias a Irlanda acaba por ser a grande surpresa e apenas perde na final com a Franca. Pelo menos os ingleses também foram de vela cedo com os ucranianos e os espanhóis também não passaram dos quartos!

First of all, congratulations on getting the League 1 title to the trophy cabinet. Now for another step up in standard.

Like the idea of a mini pre-season tour outside of where you play. Always good to also try and throw in a couple of prestigious home friendlies if possible to get some revenue in before season starts. The more your reputation as a club grows, the better the chance of attracting a high quality opponent but it will obviously cost more in a fee for the opponent to play. Swings and roundabouts.

That said, what's capacity of home stadium now? I know I'm pre-empting here but are we looking 20K as a minimum capacity should we make the elite PL or one like for example: AFCB, Luton Town?

Either way, keep up the good work on this exceptional save 👍

Thank you, it was not easy, after a very damaging prior season.

Well the stadium has a very limited capacity atm. About 5200, but there are “refurbishments” being done by the board to bring it to 12k. Not sure how this would work in real life, but sooner or later the club will need a new stadium I guess.

September 14th, 2032 - 500th game

The start of the season with the Carabao Cup saw for the first time in this competition, Dolbeth on a happy note. Happy because Sheffield was clearly favored to win and happy because this was as close to a field of dreams as anything for the 78-year-old coach. The home atmosphere lacked a bit with only 3,000 strong making it into the stadium currently being remodeled, but those that did come had a very nice spectacle with a total of 9 goals to start the season. Cheltenham, being in League Two, had a good display and even managed to draw the game 3-3 but the final 25 minutes were all Sheffield who saw themselves through to the next round. A bit more anticipated was the first league game. A visit to Watford would never be easy but when in the 22nd minute, Shefield F.C. was awarded a penalty which Ramiro Garcia converted, a light of hope for a great start entered the minds of the fans…Shefield did manage to hold on heroically until the 70th minute…but the 30 shots from the home side in the end made two dents and Watford won it fair.

It was just the first game and in the second match, playing at home, the visitors were of a more accessible kind. After a boring 0-0 at half time, it was only in the 70th minute that once again the boys started to play well to finish scoring 4 goals in the last 20 minutes and grab the first club win in the second tier of English football. Winning against Lincoln City was one thing, but in the 3rd round of the league, going to London and beating promotion contenders Fulham away, was quite another level of achievement. It was not pretty, Sheffield was not the better team on the field, but somehow with a bit of luck and a lot of passion, Dolbeth’s team managed to grab what can be considered the best achievement in the last 100 years for the club. They almost did another unexpected result as in a full Home of Football, the boys managed to hold on to a 2-2 draw against Wolves, for 85 minutes. It was not to be, but the loss 2-3 did not embarrass anyone and the team left the stadium to a standing ovation.

It was not all league games, and the second round of the Carabao Cup was just around the corner. Playing at Salford, this was supposed to be a tight game with Dolbeth rotating a bit which result in a 1-0 defeat that left no one feeling sorry…but the league games were no so unimportant and the next 3 matches ended up in defeats, some of them quite damaging as the away result at Oxford, giving Carlos, the players and the fans a harsh slap of reality on what would not be an easy season. On September 11th tough, for the 4th time in a row, there wasn’t a single seat unsold for the home match against Bournemouth…but watching this Championship game was not the sole reason for another sell out: it was Carlos Dolbeth’s 500th game in charge of the club. What a milestone for the Portuguese coach who saw the team beat AFC and climb to the 14th place on the table. This is what football is all about!

Cronica Leonina!

Desta feita o Sporting resolveu investir e gastou quase 15 milhões em compras, tendo vendido quase nada…isto era um sinal de que mantínhamos a espinha dorsal da época anterior! O problema foi mesmo que os rivais ainda investiram significativamente mais e no início da época, levamos logo uma tareai dos morcões. Para o campeonato também já andamos a vacilar contra equipas medianas…enfim mais uma época que se espera difícil!

November 5th, 2032 - Remodeled stadium

Despite a patch of 5 straight loses between August 21st and September 4th, the fans had little to complaint as with 8 games into the season, the club was comfortable in a mid-table spot and the ones that managed to do the trip to Huddersfield were awarded with another thriller and with the late goal of Dominik Schulmeister, which gave Sheffield F.C., the forth win one the season. Better even was the dominant 3-0 result when Peterborough United visited the Home of Football which might have been exaggerated in terms of a goal difference, but certainly not undeserved in any way. That said, the good results were just starting to pile up. Following a month of only international and cup games, the boys went to Coventry to get a 0-2 win with all the goals appearing in the last 10 minutes, but even more surprising 3 days later they went to the coast where Dolbeth managed to beat the biggest contenders for a promotion by the same result. Truly an amazing feat by all measures, it is good to mention that Brighton has a squad with a value 30x higher than our boys and just spent 70 million Euros in the transfer market…

5 straight wins and this was an amazing time to be a Sheffield fan, as the remodeling of the stadium was now complete and more than doubled the number of seats, to a total of 12,000. Still shy of all teams of the division, more than the stadium size, what began to be a worry was the quality of the youth system and the training grounds as a whole. The pains of growing too quick for sure. So, the first team to play against the boys in the renovated Home of Football was a mid-table team of Millwall and it was clear that a win would be the cherry on top of the first game of this renovated historic ground. It wasn’t meant to be. Sheffield was the better of the two sides, outpacing the foreigners in all aspects, except the one that mattered. The boys even scored first but could not keep the 1-0 for long…still the fans did party, the are just happy to be in this division.

Until the end of the month, the results were not as good, but the crowds were getting larger and larger as Sheffield played three straight games home. 7900 watched a good win over the Welsh side of Cardiff City and close to 8400 saw a 3-4 thriller against Blackburn Rovers, in a game of back and forth that could have gone to any of the two sides but where the boys only managed to be effective in front of goal in the first half. Finally and to finish a 6 game tally in just 18 days, a very tired side made the trip to Wales and managed to secure one point at the Swansea.com stadium, that leaves Carlos with a lot of breathing space in the higher middle of the table. This is what Championship is all about! A ton of very even teams with every game being a fight for the points and absolutely no favorites.

Cronica Leonina!

Não se aprende nada da época passada. A coisa até parecia estar a ir…até vencemos para a Champions contra os otomanos, mas depois saímos da taca contra uns do Porto que já não cheiram a primeira liga desde os anos 90 e a partir dai começou de novo o descalabro. Últimos 3 jogos, 3 derrotas por 1-0…se contra o Inter se entende, contra o Académico de Viseu e o Feirense nem por isso. Mais uma época em que já vamos em quinto…

December 17th, 2032 - The new Sheffield Classic?

Sitting comfortably in 9th place, the month of November was good enough to not drop any places and on the live table for a few minutes Sheffield was even in the playoff spots. The game in Luton was a very even affair with the 3 goals scored by the home team in the first half, ending up being too much of a mountain to climb for the boys, but home with another close to record-breaking attendance, Dolbeth manage to get a win that will remain in the heads of the 8300 fans present in the grounds (and the ones watching on tv) as Sheffield beat 4-1 Ipswich Town, a team that under Sir Bobby Robson was once UEFA Cup winners. A lucky win at Stoke City followed but again playing at the Home of Football against Plymouth Argyle, by some miracle the visitors managed to grab the 3 points. 20 shots, 12 of them on target was not enough to score more than once, as the team in green with just two shots on target managed to score twice…kind of a traumatic experience there.

December started with what was anticipated as the game of the season (or at least the first half of the season) for Sheffield F.C. as the boys travelled only a couple of miles to play against one of the two big clubs of the city. The Owls had a rich history with winning 4 First Division titles, the last one more than a century ago and three FA Cups. They were also a yo-yo team that was always between the EPL and the Championship in the last decades and were by far favorites not only in this game but also to get promoted. There was no history beyond some loaned players in the past, but it was still a match between two teams sharing the same fans in a lot of cases, so tensions and passions were high. Close to 30,000 fans watched a lively game where only the goals were missing. Sheffield Wednesday scored in the 20th minute and then Dolbeth’s team needed to run after the result. In the last 10 minutes, Sheffield F.C. hit the bar twice but that was the closer they got to drawing the game. At the end the Hillsborough was not a lucky field for Carlos but there will be a second round in March…

Another two defeats in the next two games, with the home advantage not being enough to defeat the club from the capital in yet another of the famous thrillers with 7 games and with QPR scoring twice in the end to turn the result, while against Middlesbrough with the stadium attendance beating another record, the boys looked tired and were defeated in a fair way… After 4 straight losses, there was a small alarm ringing in the sub conscience of the Dolbeth and the win by a clear 2-0 result at home against Coventry was something that the boys definitely needed to finish to enter the second round of the season. The 12th place, right in the middle of the table is a comfortable place to sit at, but in this league anything can happen and playoffs are just 4 points away, while the relegation is also not so far…

Cronica Leonina!

Apenas 6 jogos neste mês e meio demonstram como o futebol em Inglaterra acaba por ser bastante mais intenso…e mesmo assim apenas 3 vitorias. Na Champions mais duas derrotas e com Barcelona e Dortmund nas últimas duas jornadas, apenas um milagre nos salva da eliminação, enquanto no campeonato vai se fazendo o mínimo para manter o terceiro lugar mas os morcões já levam 11 pontos de vantagem…

February 4th, 2033 - So many changes

Mid of the table was more than what was expected at the beginning of the season, so there was nobody really complaining when the team loses a few games here and there…still in the mind of the players was the idea, that the playoffs were not really that far away and a revenge win against Plymouth Argyle by a solitary goal from Patrik Maric, did little to convince the players otherwise. The club was also growing, with the boxing day match home against Huddersfield Town, seeing yet again another record attendance. The 12,500-stadium capacity might be enough if the crowds keep growing and if the club keeps climbing up the ranks like they did recently. The game itself was yet another thriller, 3-3 result with the boys being a man down since very early in the game, making it a small heroic result. The civil year ended with a visit to Peterborough, a team which was also performing better than anyone expected and was sitting in a playoff space. Not a good game… 2032 which was a great year for Sheffield F.C. ends in bittersweet way.

The professionalism of the club and the number of better players also caused a few problems, and the beginning of the market sees 4 players leaving. While Junior Cesar, Garcia and Menzan, never had a spot in the starting 11 and wanted to go to greener pastures, Tylor Golden was past his peak, but the biggest transfer was Rigoberto Hernandez who forced the move to Nottingham Forest. With that money the club also tapped into the market and broke their incoming transfer fee for central defender Ken Campbell who had been shining in one of the overachievers of the league. The rest of the players coming in were loans from Burnley and Portugal, with Dolbeth making use of his Portuguese connections to reenforce the defense and the sticker positions in the team. Unfortunately, none of these players made it through the first game of 2033, which was a very early exit from the FA Cup against a League Two team. If it is true that Carlos rotated the squad, it is also true that the quality difference should have been enough to not even bring the game to penalties…

But now this was water under the bridge and the first game for the league in 2033 was a visit to giants, Blackburn Rovers. The historic home team was sitting on the top of the table and with Sheffield being one man down since the 17th minute, they can count themselves lucky to leave Ewood Park only 2 goals down. The reality was that Sheffield only shot the ball once on target and it was not an easy game at all. The other two fixtures of January were also far from perfect with the draw home against Brighton coming to the last minute and the defeat at Milwall being again a bad game. Still looking for their first win in 2033, Dolbeth and his boys are now down to the 15th place, but still comfortable…

Cronica Leonina!

Uma altura com jogos complicado em que mais uma vez faltou a solidez que o Sporting necessitava. Para o campeonato frente a 3 candidatos ao título apenas 2 pontos em 9 possíveis, atiram a equipa para fora da luta pelo título definitivamente. Na Champions uma surpreendente vitoria contra o Dortmund faz com que a equipa tenha garantido uma ida aos playoffs…contra o Benfica. Os morcões fizeram um brilharete e ficam em primeiro! Querem ver que vou voltar a ser temporariamente dragão pela primeira vez desde 2004?

March 15th, 2033 - The first real crisis

15th place with two thirds of the league games played, was a relatively safe place to be at. While it was true that the impossible dream of a playoff place was not just miles away from reality, it was also truth that the relegation spots were more than 10 points away in a very tight middle of the table. That said, 2033 had not been kind to Dolbeth who was yet to win a game. Actually, the last win had been December 18th…February started off again in the wrong foot with a visit to Derby County and a very poor performance from the boys, who at this point did look like a shadow of themselves back in October 2032. With the crowds also dwelling, the next home game was important, but after a miserable first half, Sheffield managed to turn around the game only to get scored again injury time and lose 2 points. Even worse was the next home performance with little fire in the attack and an overall grey game under terrible weather that brought the count to 9 games without a win in all competitions.

For the first time, some fans began talking about “necessary changes” which was even more notable when the boy’s loss a 0-1 lead at Bournemouth and left 3 goals in within the last third of the game, making it only 2 points in the last 9 league games and the team getting closer to an unexpected relegation battle. Under pressure, the visit to Cardiff, a team in the relegation spots gained way more importance than it should. It was notable that there was more will in trying to get back on track but even with complete dominance, Sheffield did struggle to score, and the first goal only came in the first half injury time. The second 45 minutes were as frustrating as the first half and even when the boys scored in the 81st minute, the referee signaled for offside, so it was a struggle all the way to the last minute, when finally, almost 2 months since the start of the year, Sheffield F.C. finally got to win a league game.

Now the objective had to be to return to a winning form and a few days later, the Home of Football received the other Welsh team, curiously also struggling in the relegation battle like Cardiff. That wasn’t meant to be a despite for the third time this season, clearly up by 1-0 for most of the game, the whole team fell apart in the later stages and suffered another defeat. March started much better, playing home against a Luton squad that is very close to getting already relegated with still 8 games to go and the trashing 5-1 was exactly what the team needed. Still the boys did not manage to follow through when playing against a tougher opponent, Ipswich Town…in a game where for the first time they got to ride on the renovated team bus, now with a phrase from king Pele “without Sheffield F.C. there wouldn’t be a me”. 8 games to go, 19th place, 8 points out of the relegation spots, let’s see if Carlos can bring the team to safety soon and start planning next season.

Cronica Leonina!

Mais uma vez acordaram depois do Ano Novo. Primeiro vencemos finalmente os morcões, depois ainda vencemos os lampiões para dar uma esperança na continuação da Champions…dito isto na Luz levamos uma tareia. Apesar de tudo para o campeonato estamos com 6 vitorias consecutivas, que acaba por ser mais do que pensava possível há uns tempos. Já só estamos mesmo na liga e podemos f*der os encarnados…que seja um objetivo!

May 22nd, 2033 - Safe bottom half

The fans were a bit less worried but still wary of what can happen in such a tight league. 19th place, 8 points above the relegation line and 8 games to go, was a good buffer, but another losing streak like the one in January-February could still be fatal. That said March ended on a positive note. While a bit more was expected from the visit to Lincoln, where the boys were down 2-0 after 10 minutes and could only tie up the game in the second half, could easily have been another 3 points, but one was still something. The same cannot be said from the visit of Watford, where unfortunately the Home of Football was half empty, but where Sheffield F.C. showed its true colors by beating Watford by a more than fair 2-0, which put the The Hornets for sure out of the fight for a playoff place.

The start of April was much tougher with a visit to the Molineux in Wolverhampton, where the title contenders did manage to get a win. It was, what I can call, a classic match for the boys this season: managing to score first but then not being able to sustain the pressure of a stronger side and losing it all in the last 10 minutes of the game. A bit more surprising was the great result home over Fulham, 5-1 was completely unexpected from Carlo’s boys with The Cottagers being already 4-0 at the 26th minute…more than a brilliant display, this result saved mathematically the team from relegation this season, which is why in the following game, again at home, the renovated stadium filled up completely for the first time. Well, the adversary probably also had something to do with it, as a small revenge was the aim of Dolbeth in the second official match against neighbors Sheffield Wednesday. Similar to the away game, it ended up being a very tight match which was only resolved by the goals and in the form of Fernando Gonzalez and Sheffield F.C. will probably have to wait another season to beat their new rivals.

The last games were mostly for honor and the team played well on another visit to the capital by beating QPR by a clear 3-0 and putting the last nail in the coffin of Stoke City who got mathematically relegated after suffering a heavy defeat at the Home of Football. That said the last game at Middlesbrough was one where winning was a must for the home team and that could be seen in the field as Boro managed to get into the playoffs which they ended up losing in a most unfortunate fashion by penalties in the final against Wolves. Overall, for the first season in the Championship, there is little to complain about. 16th place, 17 points above the relegation line, it would have been crazy to think Sheffield F.C. was going to do much better. Also overall, on the individual level Schulmeister was the fourth best goal scorer, while Gonzalez and Obeng will make team of the season. Let’s build upon this season!

Cronica Leonina!

Depois do bom inicio de 2033 ainda pensei que pelo menos ultrapassávamos os lampiões…mas nem isso, um final de época horrível, indiscritível com apenas 4 pontos nos últimos 5 jogos incluindo uma derrota na Luz, acaba por f*der por completo a recuperação e mais uma vez não passamos de um misero terceiro lugar. Mesmo assim e para verem como sou magnânimo, parabéns ao Porto que deu uma tareia a toda a gente e quase chegou as meias da Champions!

August 3rd, 2033 - Aim: Middle of the table

One year in the Championship and a finish in 16th place, cannot be said that Sheffield was already a stronghold in the second tier of English football, but after a meteoric rise, not much more could be demanded from Carlos Dolbeth, who in June already defined the objective of the following season to be: “solidify our position in this division and be at least 15th in the table…small improvements is all I can ask for”. The financial power difference between Sheffield F.C. and the other clubs in the division remained enormous and the money from the TV rights as well as the departure from Louis Jackson to QPR and Pierre Andre to the Arabian market, were crucial to open a buffer for bigger salaries and transfers. The target was really the defense this time. Last season the team suffered many goals and only the good attack was able to compensate... things had to be more even.

Still in June two new faces right in the start of the pre-season, stricker Jayden Danns from Hull and the new goalkeeper to substitute Pierre Andre, Olissa Emmanuel, young Nigerian where a lot of good saves are expected. During July another 7 new faces, mostly of players that were finishing their contract or out of contract all together. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect this time was the arrival of a single loan player, Jesus Largo from Tottenham, getting away from a model that did work in the past, but was probably too little for the quality of this league and a splurge of 2.7 Million Euros on a relatively unknown central defender out of a league that has little interchangeability, the MLS. Will this strategy work for Dolbeth? We will have to wait to find that out but the friendlies in the pre-season gave an excellent indication of improved quality in defense, with 6 wins in 6 games and only 2 goals conceded. This included also a brilliant victory over Birmingham City and a season presentation game where Sheffield did manage to beat the second placed team of the Belgian league last season.

Looking at the betting market, it also seems that the boys have a much better valuation at the moment and a mid-table finish is an expected result for the team. Favorites are two of the EPL relegated teams, Brentford and Norwich City but what makes this even more interesting in the city of Sheffield, is that for the first time, the 3 clubs of the season are joined in the same division, after Sheffield United got relegated last season. Will this be the year that Shiffield F.C. manages to beat one of their (younger) town rivals…we will see, but for now the first game of the season will be for the Carabao Cup
 

Cronica Leonina!

Desta vez queria falar de outra coisa…sim verdade que o Sporting não esteve nesta edição, mas depois do Porto não ter passado dos oitavos de final em 2025, de tanto Benfica como Sporting terem passado a fase a eliminar, sendo que o Sporting apenas perdeu para o campeão Real Madrid nos quartos em 2029, na edição de 2033, teríamos de novo duas equipas do Tugão. O Benfica teve uma prestação lastimável…pela primeira vez uma equipa portuguesa não passa da fase de grupos tendo sido eliminados num grupo com o Manchester City e uns sauditas do Al-Ettifaq. O Porto, tal como no campeonato e na Champions esteve bastante melhor e passando a fase de grupos em primeiro contra Wydad, Tigres e Belgrano, acabou por perder com o Inter nos oitavos, com o PSG a vencer a competição disputada na Turquia.

September 13th, 2033 - Disaster

The official start of the season with the Carabao Cup, was far from a favorite from Dolbeth, but it was not certain that the fans were also too keen on such games as only 25% of the Home of Football was filled to received League Two side, Cheltenham Town. The game itself was entertaining, if not for the fact that Sheffield F.C. was the better side, but was never in front during the 90 minutes. The whole affair was resolved to the boys in the penalty spots in what was clearly more a pre-season game than an official start. Really counting would be 3 days later the visit to historic Marcus Stewart Stadium in Ipswich which ended up in a decent 1-1 result for starters against another team that was far from being a promotion candidate this season despite their glory days in 80s. At home for the league Sheffield did get their first visitors in a team that was gunning for a promotion season and after a heavily fought midfield match, Derby could not get better than a draw.

On the third league game, so question marks started popping up, as Sheffield could not score in Bristol and after 3 games had no wins and only 2 points…but the worst was yet to come as without anyone expecting it, on August 20th, Dolbeth suffered one of the worst, if not the worst defeat of his beloved team. Against Middlesbrough, a 0-3 half-time result, turned into a heavy 2-7 defeat with the new goalkeeper Olisa Emmanuel taking the blame for a significant portion of the goals. Things did quiet down a bit as the Carabao 2nd round game got more attention than it initially deserved and Sheffield did manage to go through to the third round of the competition by beating Leeds again on penalties. Maybe Dolbeth should have let this one go as the next round just a week later ended up in a defeat against Barrow, a team in the relegation zone of League Two, with one draw home against relegation contenders Lincoln City convincing nobody…something would have to be done!

The only two wins in August had been on penalties, but there was still an open market and although Sheffield did lose two players to Swansea, pocketing a nice chunk of change, Carlos did manage to negotiate Sporting wonderkid, Francisco Mendy on loan and ex-Watford midfielder Trevan Sanusi. Both players were in action in the first game of September in a visit to The Den, where the boys, despite some good action, suffered another defeat. A week later against Oxford United a response was expected but despite having been the best team on the field, Dolbeth’s boys were not able to score more than one goal, making it 7 games without a win in the league and all the alarm bells ringing. Nothing is lost as the last place in the table does not mirror the performance of Sheffield F.C., which according to the xG table would sit mid table with 11 points instead of 3, but it’s the first time that Carlos is facing a real relegation battle start.

Cronica Leonina!

Pouco a dizer, mais uma época em que o Sporting vende três dos seus melhores jogadores Bazdar, Lavega e Dedic por mais de 100 Milhões, para depois ir buscar apenas restolho (ao contrário do Porto que vai buscar Vitinha), que lhe confere mais uma vez um arranque medíocre do campeonato. Derrota em Guimarães, empate a entrada de Lisboa com o Casa Pia e uma derrota no primeiro jogo da Champions não auguram nada de bom, num clube em que nada nunca parece mudar!

November 4th, 2033 - Slow recovery

Things were looking desperate with only 3 points in 7 games and got even worse when a visit to London’s Craven Cottage dictated another loss that put Sheffield F.C. rock bottom of the table with some folk questioning if Dolbeth was still what the club needed now that they were in the second tier of English Football. This made the game home against city rivals Sheffield Wednesday gain even more importance than it normally would and this did not start well with the visitors scoring in the 9th minute and trying to pile under the pressure of Carlo’s boys. That said the response came only 9 minutes after when Gonzalez drew the game followed by Sanusi getting F.C. to half-time with a slim 2-1 advantage. It was something already, but a packed stadium erupted in the 80th minute as Wednesday scored and own goal putting the boys 3-1 up. The Owls still managed to get another one in, but in the end, this was a kick in the crisis and what a kick. For the first time Sheffield F.C. defeated their city rivals!

The cheering did not go for long, with almost a month without games, the reality quickly settled in that the team needed much more than just beating their city rivals and on October 8th in the Home of Football Shefield received  Charlton Athletic and almost managed to grab a second win, would it not be for the late equalizer from the visitors. Back in the road, and back to London two damaging results once again. The defense didn’t seem to be able to coordinate itself and first against Queens Park Rangers and then Plymouth Argyle, the boys suffered 7 goals becoming the worst defense in the league a quickly going back to the last place with only 7 points in 12 games. Something really needed to be done, and it was noticed at training that some new tactic was being employed by Dolbeth. That same tactic in a different 4-2-3-1 was then used for the first time in Sheffield against Watford and became an instant success by winning and scoring goals while only allowing one in.

It was the second win in the league and much more was needed, being that the next game against 3rd placed Bournemouth would probably be a much tougher ladder to climb…but no, surprising even Carlos himself, the team played by far the best game of the season so far and trashed the visitors by 4-0. The boys managed to impress once again in the visit to Sunderland and with that also obtaining the first win abroad and the third win in a row, more than doubling the points in the Championship table just in the last 3 games. At this point Sheffield F.C. already find themselves 4 points over the relegation zone…was it just a bad start or are the boys now simply getting lucky. Let’s hope that the first one is true!

Cronica Leonina!

Eu acho que o Sporting deve ter contratado algum bruxo…de um momento para o outro começaram a jogar bom futebol. Alias neste momento vamos em segundo, a 4 pontos dos morcões, mas com menos um jogo e seguimos vivos em todas as competições apesar de um empate manhoso com o Benfica B da Reboleira. Alias na Champions 7 pontos em 4 jogos parece quase milagre! Vamos la ver se desta feita não acontece como no passado recente em que chegado ao Natal vai tudo com o caralho!

December 11th, 2033 - A small miracle

In and out of hell, was how the short season had been so far, with the team taking nine games to gather the first win, losing a few more after that and then changing the tactic and playing a completely different type of football that resulted in 3 straight wins and a climb from the bottom of the table to a half okayish lower mid table place. And this only with one third of the season played. Hopefully the month of November was bringing mostly games against teams that were similarly struggling, and it started with a visit to Norwich who were at that time dead last on the table. A very peculiar case of a team that had been recently in the EPL, had a huge budget but still was on the verge of being relegated at this point. Continuing the good form, Sheffield F.C. this time, only the second time in the season, managed to not concede a single goal and score 3 times at Carrow Road, for the disbelief of the Canaries fans who thought this was the game to go back to winning.

That said nothing could predict the game 2 weeks later in the Home of Football. Peterborough had been having a decent season, placed midtable so nobody could have foreseen that 15 minutes in, the boys were already leading by 4-0. Further at half the result was 6-1 with a bit quieter second half finishing up the game with a 8-2 victory, more like a hockey game than anything. With the fans gaining new hope with 5 straight wins the home stadium started to finally get some more pundits in and 4 days later another win over relegation battle contenders Huddersfield, followed by another win by the same result over the team of Coventry City, this time at the Building Society Arena, bringing the count to 7 straight wins! At this point miraculously, Dolbeth was now only 5 points away from the playoff places and 12 clear of the relegation zone and he had this to say to the reporters “Well if we could improve in defense, I think we have a chance at a quiet mid table spot”

That had been in reality the real improvement point as the team only had 2 clean sheets in 19 games…Last game of November was also against a team struggling for points and at the Peninsula Stadium the boys did not start in the best of fashions and were early behind after Salford scored early on. Sheffield did recover and at half the game was a draw that turned into total domination and another win in the second half. Already in December for the second time there was the visit of another team of Sheffield. Again, with a sold-out at the Home of Football, Dolbeth with a cagey tactic managed to win the second city derby in a row by a solitary goal of Rachid Kouda bringing the team more and more into an upper table position. As usual the visits to Wales have been good for Sheffield F.C. and the away game at Swansea was the 10th win in a row for the boys. The series ended 4 days after with Brentford finally finding a way to beat our Carlos but with half the season played, after a horrible start, Sheffield is now not only the best team in town but 7th in the table, only two points away from the playoffs!

Cronica Leonina!

Estávamos a ir tao bem…tinha que tudo ir com o crl…começou com um empate contra os Mouros para depois perdermos com o Boavista, levarmos 3 duns turcos e nova derrota com os lampiões. Epá nos últimos 40 dias a única vitoria foi por penalties contra o Penafiel para a taca…como crl não se consegue manter continuidade nesta equipa????

February 3rd, 2034 - Calm market

A miracle had happened in Sheffield, after an awful start, the boys had risen from the ashes and were now gunning for playoff spots. Basically, in two months and 10 straight wins later, Sheffield went from the last place to being a few points from the top of the table. This was as spectacular as it was unexpected and despite the draw in the last game of the first round against Brentford, the team was alive. It was unfortunately also around that result that some discontent was coming out of the locker room, reached some internet pages who now had people specialized in following the club. Some guys wanted to play more, while other found the rise to the top as an opportunity to move to an EPL club, so some disruption was expected over the winter market. Still in December there were three games to be played, starting out with a visit from Fulham where Dolbeth managed to get a point, against a team that was clearly mounted to gun for promotion. There was quite a long interval, unusual for December and the team could not even play during boxing day, due to a waterlogged pitch.

Finally, a date was found and this time it was Sheffield F.C. that went to Hillsborough to gather another historic win in a packed stadium, making it 3 wins in 3 games against the town rivals. The year closed in Bristol on the 31st of December for the FA Cup in a very complicated game against Rovers which ended up being dictated by penalties. Luck was on Carlos side who will face QPR later in January for the 4th round of the competition. With so much written over players discontent, it was quite extraordinary that win the opening of the market on the 1st of January, not a single arrival or exit was recorded in the club and the first game of 2034 was an 84th minute winner at home over Queens Park Rangers, which was followed by the first away game of the year where Sheffield could count himself unlucky to not have gone out of The Valley with a better result than a tasteless draw. The boys deserved the win on this one!

Despite the slight delay the moves in the market started to happen in the meantime with two of the less utilized defenders, Ogundare and Rawlingson being loaned out with possible buyout clauses to lower division clubs and two new faces arriving from Colombia and Belgium on advice from the scouting team. Posetano as a young stricker will try his luck again in Europe after failing to shine for Porto, while midfielder Michaux leaves his club after 10 seasons. For now, despite interest from various clubs, Dolbeth was able to hang on to Isaac Obeng, but for how long? Already with the new faces, Sheffield received Plymouth and could not get more than a draw again…while for the FA Cup, in the second game of the month against QPR, and once more it is clear that this team is not cut for the cups. The close of the market was calm with only a sparsely used Colwill leaving and Dudziak being loaned out…the team was a bit short on defense but that was not the reason why the boys lost their last game of the month against Watford and again in what should be an easy win against Lincoln but the boys are still close to the playoffs with one game less than the opposition.

Cronica Leonina!

Tempos difíceis e jogos difíceis, a verdade foi que não conseguiram ganhar um único de 3 jogos contra os tripeiros e apesar de um bom resultado contra o Tottenham que mete a equipa nos playoffs da Champions e contra o Braga, continuam a perder pontos com os Estoris e Rios Aves da vida. Mais uma época em que com sorte ficamos em terceiro!

March 13th, 2034 - Yo-Yo for the playoffs

At this stage and even if this was far from a season objective and completely unthinkable with one third of the season gone, the reality was that the change of tactic and the increased number of goals and points had brought Sheffield to a zone where playoffs were not as farfetched as initial thought. Still, it was 16 long games for the season end and with the quality of the team in this division and a packed midtable, anything would be possible. Following the defeat against Lincoln, quite unexpectedly in the beginning of the month of February, the remainder of the month was much better. At the Home of Football against a Salford in trouble the boys managed to get again one very high score with 3 points and then in a continuation of the games home did a decent result against league leaders Millwall by drawing to one.

Against the teams at the bottom of the table, the difference to Dolbeth’s team was significant, with red lantern, Coventry City getting more and more into trouble after visiting Sheffield. February despite only 28 days was overpacked with games and a few days later it was a visit to Oxford, where Carlos managed to grab another 3 points, while only scoring the winning when Jesus Largo headed the ball to the net 5 minutes already into injury time. By mid-February, Sheffield was now in the playoff spots…but not for long as a visit to Bournemouth was a waste, with Sheffield F.C. being 0-2 up at half-time but not managing to grab on to the lead against an adversary that is really in the tight battle for the first two spots of direct promotion together with Millwall and Middlesbrough. At this time, it started a bit of a yo-yo series for the team who alternated being in and out of the playoff spots, with Brentford and Oxford.

6 straight points with a very difficult win, achieved by only one single goal from Godwin Moses at home against Sunderland and again pilling under a team under pressure in the relegation battle, did put the boys once again in a very good position inside the playoff spots, but a visit to Peterborough, which together with Sheffield F.C. were the big surprises of the league, also in the fight for a possible promotion chance, saw Dolbeth once again drop to the 7th spot, 2 points away from the new objective of the team. If we account for the xG, Sheffield F.C. would be at this time in the top of the table…it does not count though, and we will see in the next 8 crucial matches if a new miracle is possible.

Cronica Leonina!

Provavelmente a única coisa positiva nesta época acaba por ser mesmo a participação na Champions. Já não chegávamos aos oitavos de final há muito e depois de termos ultrapassado o Mónaco, acabamos por apanhar o Real Madrid e ficar por ali…. De resto, o campeonato continua a mesma m*rda, com a equipa a empatar contra equipa menores e mesmo contra Vizelas da vida fica tudo a rasca. A coisa esta tao mal que estamos mais perto do Gil Vicente em quinto do que do Boavista em terceiro…

April 29th, 2034 - Up until the last breath

Even if initially, this was not really in the cards, 8 games to go and Sheffield was a real contender to playoff spots. That said the calendar had some tough games with other teams up in the top, so the bookies still considered Dolbeth to only have a marginal outside chance to grab a slot. So, the truth is that although nobody would be demanding any resignation for not reaching that stage of the competition, the fans were hopeful that the boys could come up with a miracle in the 8 games left in the months of March and April. It did not start well though, with a visit to a struggling Derby counting ending up in an unfair 1-1 draw. Things improved in the next game at home with the team beating once again the likes of the historic team of Ipswich Town who were already in a middle table place without any expectation of improving significantly or getting into the relegation. It was a game where it was clear that Sheffield F.C. was the only team that really wanted to get the win.

Unfortunately, there were another 15 days between games. One of the biggest complaints of Dolbeth has always been the number of fixtures in some periods of the season that get mixed with longer 2-3 weeks periods without a single game…and these were normally not beneficial for Sheffield. In this case the first game in April was against title contenders Middlesborough and the first half was disastrous with the boys going to Half-Time 2 goals down. There was an improvement in the second 45 minutes, but in the end Dolbeth can count himself lucky with a draw. Another draw a week later in Bristol, was the other way around, with the boys getting unlucky to only grab a single point. Already 5 points away from the playoffs the next game across town against rivals and probably relegation team of Sheffield United. In a very full stadium, Carlos managed to not only get the win to bring the team back into playoff contend but also finish the “Sheffield League” with 4 wins in 4 games!

3 finals to go and the first was a visit from a bottom league (but safe from relegation) Swansea. Again, with the xG showing 2.73-0.44, luck was not on the side from Dolbeth with the team only scoring once and conceding also once, for a bitter draw. At Huddersfield, another very cagey affair with a solitary goal from the Portuguese Francisco Mendy being the difference which put Sheffield with one game to go, 2 points from the playoffs and depending on a bad result from both Charlton or Sunderland. That said the boys were also playing a team in a playoff spot above them and Brentford had been the favorite to get promoted at the beginning of the season. The game did not start well and by half-time Sheffield was down 0-3. Dolbeth tried to shift things a bit and the team scored right after the start of the 45th minute, but a few minutes later was down 1-4 and then 1-5. Starting from minute 80, something shifted in the team, and they reduced by 4-5…which was not enough to avoid the defeat and so Sheffield finishes their second season in the Championship in the 8th spot.

Cronica Leonina!

6 jogos seguidos a marcar apenas 1 golo contra equipas de merda, faz com que o meu clube do coração continue na mesma toada da última década…alias desta feita nem já nem apanha o terceiro lugar e ainda pode ficar em quinto…logo foi necessário. O Tevez, boa pessoa, mas não para um clube da grandeza do Sporting. Que venha alguém que consiga melhorar o clube e voltar a colocar a equipa todas as épocas na luta pela subida!

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

June 24th, 2034 - Early arrivals

It was again a hard pill to swallow that last game, which could have seen the team go into a possible promotion to the EPL, but in all fairness, nobody was expecting that at the start of the season, let alone after 10 games when Sheffield was dead last on the table. Bournemouth and Millwall did manage to secure promotion in, again, one very tight table and the executioner of Dolbeth’s dreams, Brentford, got the third spot after winning the playoff final 1-0 over Middlesbrough. Sad ending for two historic teams, Coventry was bottom of the table and Sheffield United was not even close to salvation as we will head into the next season with only 2 Sheffield teams. On the way down will be Brighton, after a single season in EPL, as well as WBA and Blackburn.

Once more the attack was really where Sheffield F.C. was strong. Schulmeister, Obeng (a contender to player of the season), Gonzalez, Sanusi and Mendy were extraordinary with Dolbeth also being a contender for manager of the year, while the new arrival of Goalkeeper Olisa Emmanuel had brought a lot of expectations, but ended up being average at most. The plan for next season was clear, maintain the best players and make sure to get a few new faces for the defense, midfield and a new goalkeeper. Easier said than done, to be fair, but we know that Dolbeth normally did start to plan very early on, so there was definitely confidence in his capacity to improve on the team for the 100th of time. Maybe even with a squad that would be able to bring Sheffield across the playoff line next season, even if that would not be the goal officially.

And things did happen quick, right in the market open, the club disclosed that they had sold one of the most important assets of the club, by a record breaking 17.5 million Euros, Isaac Obeng was unfortunately leaving to Sporting Lisbon, the club that Dolbeth supports and with that money, not one, not two, but 6 arrivals for even more money than was received. For free comes left defender Olesen from Portuguese side Boavista, but then all the rest were transfers are various prices, from 1.6 million to 9.5 million with Irish central defender Ross Flood making his way across Sheffield to play for F.C... Among the arrivals there is the expected goalkeeper, in Norwegian U-21 international Erik Murvold, as well as players for both defense and midfield. The market is still open for the next months, so more arrivals and departures are expected. That said the pre-season is just starting with a trip to the Algarve and the team seems to have found the fresh blood it needed. Let’s hope…

Cronica Leonina!

Isto com o Joao Pereira como treinador interino ainda foi pior do que com o anão argentino. Derrotas com o Boavista, segundo classificado final e os lampiões, ditaram um quinto lugar horrível atras de uma equipa de Barcelos…

June 11th, 2034 - Everybody wants them

After that very intense June when Sheffield managed to secure many good players, July was clearly calmer in the arrivals. That said two new faces joined the club, Maquet on the end of the contract with Belgian side Paulus Maquet was one, but the big arrival was a free transfer, u-21 international and ex-Chelsea player Sean Thomas. After a few seasons with Chelsea and constant loans the young attacking midfielder was finally ready for another challenge and Sheffield will be his home for the next couple of years to the delight of the fans. The biggest challenge of the market ended up being really on the constant bids for the players. Dolbeth had his hands full of proposals for both selling and loaning a significant percentage of the players on the squad. In the end only 6 sales with the most relevant exists being captain Vincet Ogudare and Patrick Maric. In both cases the club saw the buyers getting away with the price in the clause.

That said, there are limited complaints as the team seemed to have gathered a lot of good new faces and the results in the pre-season were as usual of good quality. Following 15 days in the Algarve the team came back to England, to beat the u21s and drew against Crystal Palace. After that in 10 days another 4 games, all resulting in high scores (a trend very particular to the Dolbeth squads since the beginning) and all wins against some stronger opponents. Particularly celebrated was the presentation game against Anderlecht which ended in a beating of the Belgian Champions, 5-1 to the delight of 4000 fans present. For the league this year, the bookies see the team as contenders for a playoff spot and 6th favorite to win the division. Of course, Carlos tried to brush off these predictions and stated that the team had a mid-table objective…lets wait and see what happens, as Brighton, Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn are deemed to be clearly more favorite than our boys. 
 

That said even prior to the first league game, home against Oxford, the boys had to play the first Carabao Cup round at home against Rotherham and the expectation this season was for the team to take this seriously. And this time with a lot of new faces making their official debut, the quality of the play in the friendlies transported to this competition. It was just a pity to see a very empty Home of Football, because the result and performance were top notch in this 4-1 result with newcomer stricker Suclupe scoring a poker on his debut! I have a feeling this will be a great season!

Cronica Leonina!

Ano de Mundial, e mais uma vez ficamos como o Sporting, abaixo das expectativas…num grupo com México, Peru e Guine, só vencemos os africanos tendo assim passado aos 16-avos em terceiro no grupo. Depois ainda vencemos a Servia, mas ficamos no lado mais complicado do bracket, perdendo nos oitavos com os cabroes dos espanhóis no prolongamento, que foram eliminados depois pela Argentina, que acabou por vencer isto na Coreia…vem a Argélia (onde andas Slimani?) que chegou as meias!

September 22nd, 2034 - Fire Starter

Following a quasi-perfect pre-season and a brilliant start in the Carabao Cup, the first league game at home against Oxford United was a bit of a downer. The boys had a horrible first half with too much overconfidence and ended up down by 2 goals at the start of the second 45 minutes. There was a correction in the late stages of the second half and one point ended up being salvaged from the penalty spot…far from brilliant. It is unknown if the rocky first games were the reason why Dolbeth entered again into further negotiations in the transfer market by selling Sandeman and Posenato and bringing to bangers…first on loan a Man City youngster that was disputed by a significant number of sides and a few days later, a promise from Porto that wanted more minutes. Jordi Garcia from Uruguay grabs the last ERC place and costs a record breaking 15 million…many times the budget Sheffield F.C. would have from 5 seasons in previous divisions.

Still without these players, the second league game away from Watford was better, although not perfect and Carlos grabbed the first win of the season for the Championship. Just 4 days later in a very tight schedule, it was back to the Home of Football for a reception and tight win over Lincoln City. All good for now, but as always Wales seemed to be a lucky place for Sheffield F.C. and just 72 hours later, the boys went to Cardiff and finally the fans could see similar displays as the pre-season and a 6-0 trashing with a poker from Maquet! The new faces were starting to shake things up for the team and in the second round of the Carabao Cup, Sheffield had once again home advantage, beating with ease the team of Grimsby Town and making the board happy in a competition for which Carlos did not really want to invest a lot in…

September started with a bang as the favorites to win the league, Brighton slipped in the Home of Football, continuing the unbeaten run of our boys. The Carabao Cup 3rd round was a bit more complicated with a lot of rotation in the starting 11 but with Sheffield coming up on top and booking the ticket to the round of 16 where they will face Leicester, but what was really noticeable was that the team was playing like a very well-oiled machine and the next 3 wins resulted in another 3 wins, bringing the run to 7 consecutive league wins and bringing on a statement that Sheffield wanted to achieve promotion. At the moment, were it not for one game less than Blackburn, Carlos would have achieved the league lead. Yes, its early still and there are another 36 games to be played but contrasting this start with last season is day to night and even the fans are feeling it!

Cronica Leonina!

Bom com o final da época, o Joao Pereira que estava a interino la fez as malas e foi treinar para a segunda divisão, mas quem chegou acaba por ser uma surpresa…Farioli, sim esse mesmo, depois de andar pelo Qatar, Turquia e Nice vem para Alvalade e o início tem sido longe de perfeito. Muitos empates e já uma derrota com o Porto em casa, fazem com que tenhamos poucas esperanças de voltar a lutar pelo titulo que já nos foge há 14 anos…enquanto que o Porto ainda com Sergio Conceição, já vai em 10 títulos seguidos…

November 24th, 2034 - Virtual First?

Despite the numerous successes and progress of Sheffield F.C. under the reign of Carlos Dolbeth in the last 11 season, it never ceased to amaze the fans and the pundits what else was possible with the oldest but forgotten club in the world. Yes, it was just the beginning, but it seemed likely that the boys would be fighting for promotion or even for the title this season with 7 straight wins and an unbeaten season until now. Alas, the run did continue in the last game of the month, with Sheffield beating Stoke with a clear 5-2 result at the Bet365 Stadium, making it 8 wins in a row and for the first time ever, the first spot in the league. One of those long international breaks did not come at the best of times as it could take the team out of the “zone” they were in…no worries at first as close to 3 weeks later than the game at Stoke, the boys went to West Bromwich Albion and gathered yet another win. It was now 9 in a row and no loses after 10 games, more if you count the Carabao Cup!

But nothing good lasts forever and in Norwich against a team that was also guns ablaze to get promotion this season, Dolbeth faced his first defeat of the season. In reality it was a very even match that could have gone either way, but Norwich was a bit better where it counted and it was able to break Sheffield’s run and climb close to the top, which, after 11 games, looked like a 3-horse race between our boys, Norwich and Blackburn. The result gave even more importance to the next home fixture, the Sheffield derby against Wednesday. Last season Carlos was able to get 12 points out of the 4 games against Sheffield teams, but this one in a sold out ground did not start well with Wednesday scoring first…Sheffield F.C. did react well and drew the game just 7 minutes later but the after a complete massacre with 32 shots against 4 from the foreigners, the result did not move and the draw is a very bitter result that saw Carlos drop to the second place on the table.

Sheffield got back to its winning ways on the visit to Bristol and once again went back into the first spot on the table by the end of October. Prior to yet another away league match, there was the round of 16 where the boys went to the stadium of 10th placed Premier League side of Leicester and gave a good account, by losing by a single goal close to the end in a very even match, still it was the best ever participation from the club in the Carabao Cup and management was happy. Unfortunately, 3 days later another loss of points was not avoided in the visit to Huddersfield with the boys’ showing signs of fatigue. Finally having a 7-day break between both games was positive as the visit from Ipswich resulted in a return to the wins and with 15 games played, Sheffield is second, one point from Norwich but one game less. The boys are also dominating individually the league ranking, so things look good!

Cronica Leonina!

Sinceramente não dá para entender. Mesmo com um novo treinador continuamos na senda de mais uma época miserável. Depois de um resultado relativamente bom contra o Porto, na taca somos eliminados por um time de várzea e depois perdemos em casa contra o Rio Ave…assim fica difícil. Houve melhorias em Novembro, mas já vamos com 12 pontos de atraso para o Porto. Algo tem mesmo de mudar em toda a linha neste Sporting!

December 22nd, 2034 - Clean sheets on top

Well, on course for a wonderful season that could see the ex-minions promoted to the Premiership, the reality was that a full 2 thirds of the season were yet to be played. The squad had proven they could do it, but due to some unfortunate scheduling, the end of the first round would be even more packed than in previous years and in the next 30 days, Sheffield would have to play a total of 8 matches and that could be an issue when depth and the youth squad were simply not an option for Dolbeth. Especially the latter had been for a few years a highly debate affair, as the club grew and grew but in terms of the under 21 and under 18 squads, they could not get out of the regional divisions. Even the field looked tamed in comparison to the high-flying status of a Championship squad, so obvious improvements were agreed to start now and to be finished by the end of the season. Not that it would help in the present season or even in the next one, but in the long run for sure…

Still in November a very good result the team for the first time in many years to have a solid defense in place, defeating Charlton 3-0 and without leaving any doubts to the home crowd on who the best team was. The visit to Hull proved a bit more difficult just 3 days later, but even there the boys did not concede and took one important point from a difficult stadium. Already in December it was back to the winning ways, this time again away at Derby, with another clean sheet making it a record of 5 games without a single goal conceded. You can say it’s a lot of merit from Myrvold and for sure he is crucial in the goal, but the whole defense must be proud of the wall they constructed. Unfortunately, at home the clean sheet was running over, but Carlos managed to get another win over Blackburn and at this point was clearly on the top of the table uncontested.

In a loop of every 3 days a game, fortunately it was not just our boys that seemed tired on the pitch and with an even injured squad of Fulham making the trip from London, it was another relatively easy 3 point. All good runs came to an end eventually and in this a rather unexpected expulsion from Sean Thomas in the 51st minute when Sheffield was in front, ended up being fatal as the Royals managed to even the match and turn the result around, for a rare defeat of the Dolbeth this season. Not one to cry about these things, just a few days later and back in the Home of Football, once again a good clean sheet and a victory clinched with ease over Middlesbrough…that said Blackburn was able to take revenge on the lost game earlier in the month and show that they are a real title contender and that Sheffield still has a long way to go despite a Christmas in the first spot!

Cronica Leonina!

Pelo menos não houve derrotas nestes últimos 30 dias e na Europa vamos fazendo um bom percurso, mesmo assim não conseguimos vencer os lampiões e continuamos com um atraso que vai ser muito difícil de recuperar no campeonato. Agora a pergunta acaba por ser se a culpa e do treinador, dos jogadores, dos dirigentes ou de todos!