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#562065 2020/21 Premier League
Eric Portapotty
That is all
#561347 [FM17] Climbing Jacob's Ladder (Part Deux)
Eric Portapotty
#557157 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
A far less convincing start compared to last season, as I (rather naively) persisted with the 3-5-2 that had served us well in the cup, despite significant absences to Andargachew Kadir and Juma Getamesay.
Despite playing most of our supposed best-equipped position with a back 3 we only managed a single clean sheet in 9, which doesn't bode well at the best of times.
Bottom half, but not the end of the world with our buffer from the drop zone, and with time for me to pull my finger out my arse and revert to the trusty 4-4-2.
Couple of transfers -spoiler alert, not good ones:
Yep Kadir's gone; Banaadir offered him a part-time contract, we'll probably never be able to offer a player any more than non-contract terms, and that was that.
Left back Omar Abukar also left but I'm not as fussed about that.
A panic buy on a free, scouted him quick and got him the moment I saw his Technique.
Turns out it doesn't matter if you've got technique if the rest of your game is utter gash - got pace but no acceleration so he couldn't latch on to balls like Getamesay when the latter was out, and without good ball control or passing ability he was useless in the centre as well.
Like his personality, like his stamina - will he rise above and make the LB spot his own, or languish in the squad as a non-playing schmuck? Only time (and my capacity to remember his existence) will tell.
#555491 2019/20 Champions League
Eric Portapotty
I'll have you know Arsenal Women were the last team alright
#552970 2019/20 Champions League
Eric Portapotty
Aged brilliantly
#551447 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Preseason this time round was a mixed bag, as we tried alternatives to last season's 4-4-2, which was really effective in playing on the break but was found wanting when trying to break defences down.
The priority was to take advantage of the sudden emergence of quality in the centre (Kadir and Olad Arab are both dead cert starters despite being well under 20) we went with a 4-1-2-1-2 and 3-4-1-2. The 3-4-1-2 came through as the preferred formation, due to 1) having a number of passable centrebacks; 2) having virtually no passable rightbacks; and 3) Halgan Asari and Dawit David - dropping my winger pair should never have been on the agenda tbh.
Only 1 signing was made this window:
Ali Essa returns to his first club, where he was whisked away before making his debut.
Already our quickest fullback, though that's nothing to write home about.
We started off with a 2nd hack at the Somalie Cup:
The 3-4-1-2 was deployed to devastating effect, with 11 goals put past in our 1st 2 games. Frustrating not to keep clean sheets in either game though.
Having qualified for the knockout rounds I rotated the team, and proceeded to play dearly for it against newly promoted Horseed.
Bit of a disappointment that we couldn't qualify top after our start, but at least we made it out at all this time.
Business as usual in the quarters, though we did ride our luck with their early penalty miss.
Nothing lucky about Ismail's opener though, a howitzer of a volley from outside the box - that set the scene for an eventually comfortable win.
Time for vengeance against Horseed, though they sure as hell weren't going to roll over - they scored mad early and hadn't it been for our strike pair's best efforts, we'dve been down and out.
So penalties it was, no better time to bring on the supposed penalty specialist Shirwa Ahmed for this specific occasion - what does he do? Miss his spot kick smh
Oh and if you were wondering how their penalties went:
That's what you get for being more interested in collecting cards than playing football.
Banaadir in the final, and we rightly reverted to our hoofball 4-4-2.
Worked like a charm, Getamesay doing what he does best and bagging the winner.
Nothing much else to report really, other than our bus parking.
But as if I care about turgid games, we've won the Somalie Cup! Hell of an achievement considering we couldn't even make it out of the group stages last season.
It does provide me with plenty of optimism ahead of the league campaign, even if the bookies continue to have us nailed on to go down.
Away from Gaadiika, we also had the East Asian Cup qualifiers' Preliminary round robin:
You know it's some bottom of the barrel quality when it's a qualification on the qualification.
And even then our opponents were comfortably better than us, so it was back to the 4-3-3 wide.
It started well enough when Jeffrey opened the scoring against Macau, but unfortunately we couldn't hold out for even a point.
Guam were Guam, and it was a similar story against Mongolia with the early goal and inability to hold on for 3 points.
So we finished bottom, not unexpected but I do wonder if we could've come with a more positive game plan.
Had a series of friendlies as well, and we were promptly dicked by every one of them.
Players' outlooks are still very positive, but heaven knows we need to play someone our own size if only to get that winning feeling back again.
#551162 The Lower League Thread
Eric Portapotty
#549020 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Way to crash the season eh.
Right as we started the 2nd half of the campaign, boom a thrashing at the hands of a midtable Sahafi. What followed were 2 more defeats at the hands of title challengers Banaadir and Heegan.
We gathered ourselves for a couple of results the next 2 games, but any hopes of a title were definitely gone with the loss to Waxool.
3 straight wins helped to end the season on a good note, and prevented us from sinking into midtable irrelevance.
We deserved to win the title based on our form in the 1st half of the season, but on a similar note 3 straight losses in that fashion was asking for relegation if we didn't have that buffer.
All things considered... For a 1st season where we were expected to go back down? I'll take it.
So yes, overperformance with a (let's be honest here) terrible squad, and some more cash coming in - can't complain.
It's a tried and tested formula really, stick a guy with pace and jumping ability up top and you'll get goals - elementary.
Dawit David and Halgan Askari were 1st choice wingers throughout the season, and I wasn't in a hurry to drop them looking at their form.
Next season they might see less game time though, as I look to take advantage of our newfound talents in the centre and play a more possession-based game.
So that's the 1st season with Gaadiika completed, and we finish off with a single friendly with the Northerrn Marianas:
Went all in a 3-4-3 and played with 3 very capable strikers, still only 1 goal against (an admittedly higher-ranked) Brunei.
Oh well, seeing as our next games include the East Asian Cup preliminary qualifiers against superior opposition I'm better off going back to the playing on the break that yielded much success previously.
I'm also considering loading the Northern Marianas league system (2 tiers incredibly) to give myself some more scouting opportunities and a bigger pool of players to choose from.
#548123 2019/20 FA Cup
Eric Portapotty
#547796 [FM17] Climbing Jacob's Ladder (Part Deux)
Eric Portapotty
#545197 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
First stop was international duty with the Northern Marianas, with a couple of friendlies to gear ourselves up for the Pacific Mini Games.
Not an encouraging 1st game, losing to Eritrea with our wide 4-3-3 being worryingly ineffective.
Bhutan was about to go the same way, but a deal with the devil and shifting to the accursed narrow 4-3-3 gave us a late win.
Our last game went about the same way, which kinda reinforced the fact that the best form of attack is well, throwing all our strikers on.
Well not every time - it's Guam, we still had to play on the break, and play we did.
Opener from a fast break + a set-piece goal - smash and grab baby.
YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT FORMATION MICRONESIA FIELDED
Also, Chloe Paul is a 30-year old winning his 9th cap - he scored his first 4 national team goals.
That Micronesia shitshow put an absolute dent on our hope of finishing top spot and qualifying for the knockouts - we needed Guam to beat them, but only by 2 goals tops.
Well at least we had the weakest team in the group in Kiribati, who didn't even bother calling up their only actual player.
Despite facing a fellow 4-3-3, we were at least best them, albeit being less than convincing.
Well Guam did do us the favour, though they overdid it way too much with a 6-2 win.
So that's that for our 1st tourney with the Northern Marianas, we were expected to get thrashed pre-tournament but the Micronesia game aside, we did pretty well.
Going forward and looking at our national pool as a whole, I'll probably have to double down on the overload and go with a 3-4-3, making use of our strikers and (lack of) fullbacks.
Back to Gaadiika:
Well I never, an unbeaten start! The bog standard long ball 4-4-2 has worked like a charm so far.
There's really only 1 standout in this half season:
Juma Getamesay has proven yet again that pace and height is all you need at this level, 9 goals in 2 games obviously proving the statpadding, but overall he's been our primary outlet for those long balls.
Still top, but with Banaadir rising back up to challenge after a poor start to the season we'll be in for some trouble for the rest of the season.
A quick word of appreciation for the fixture boffins as well, beautiful a-game-a-week scheduling, much welcome after the fixture pileups I've had to deal with previously.
We've also welcomed our new youth intake (rather unusually at the midway point of the season, but I'll take what I can get):
Olad Arab already has good technicals for his age, not sure if I'm tearing up a settled midfield after such a good start to the season though, maybe the 2 week break will givs us opportunities to rejig the setup.
The rest of them would most likely be sign to prop up what was a non-existent youth squad - I might pay for it with a bloated squad in the long term, but hey, as the say I'm here for a good time not a long time.
A couple of signings were also made to shore up the aforementioned dearth of youth, with one standout as well:
Andargachew Kadir fell out with Dekedaha for some reason, and was released.
I couldn't say no to his apparent star rating, but again, with our settled midfield he'll be cutting his teeth with the U20s for now.
Olad Arab's emergence might have dented the significance of Kadir at the club, but I'm sure we'll work things out.
#545091 [FM17] Climbing Jacob's Ladder (Part Deux)
Eric Portapotty
Wait to see if the Dinamo manager does move clubs, then maybe apply for that? Try to get them back to the top.
#544683 2019/20 Premier League
Eric Portapotty
Why do you do this to me
In other news, bottom half hype train choo choo
#543821 2019/20 Premier League
Eric Portapotty
Imagine caring about football
#542804 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Well, yikes.
A game against last season's relegated team and we were comfortably outplayed.
Admittedly I'd set the team up to play on the counter (in anticipation of getting beaten in the league, so I did call it in a way) but we never looked like scoring a goal.
So it's just a matter of when we'd crack, and we did unfortunately.
Game 2 was copy and paste, except against lower league mainstays Alba.
At least we scored here eh.
Funny how our only clean sheet came against Somali giants Banaadir - I suppose all that sitting back would work once in a while.
Well that was a wake-up call and a half, our strikers need to stop being useless if we're going to stay up.
And that was pretty much it at Gaadiika, until the league starts in a month or so anyway...
And I'd end it there, had it not been for a bolt out of the blue:
Hmm... I'd applied for the job, I think after I left Latinos? It was for shits and giggles really, didn't expect them to get back to me, not to mention after what, 5 years?
Ok so they've got the Pacific Mini Games coming up, cool:
Of the four only Guam is a FIFA-affiliated national team, so I'd automatically make them favourites.
Kiribati also only has 1 player that's not greyed-out, so I'd definitely expect to beat them at the very least - at least the other 3 of us have some semblance of a national pool to choose from.
Finally, let's just take a look at where both my teams are based:
https://www.google.com.sg/maps/dir/Mogadishu,+Somalia/Saipan,+CNMI/@8.199504,77.1698451,4z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x3d58425955ce6b53:0xbb20eaaa52cc59d9!2m2!1d45.3181623!2d2.0469343!1m5!1m1!1s0x66d8b0ca8db5aac7:0x916f06076a050b76!2m2!1d145.7550616!2d15.2193638
It's not quite halfway round the world, but having to cross the Asian continent is quite something in itself.
Makes you wonder what the transits will be like, maybe 3 or 4? I don't think there's an airport in the world that would have flights to both Somalia and the Northern Marianas.
#542802 [FM17] Climbing Jacob's Ladder (Part Deux)
Eric Portapotty
#541777 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
So, Gaadiika:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaadiidka_FC
There's next to nothing about them online, other than they're a Somalian club - well if nothing else I can at least provide some insight on the players that we have:
This is the best 24 or so players at the club - I know assistant managers aren't necessarily the best gauge of talent sometimes, but the top 10 are all defenders hmmm...
A few of them annoyingly have the Tight Marking trait despite possessing neither the marking ability or concentration to pull that off.
I think I've sorted my centreback pairing for the season, but with this group it's going to be a toss up anyway.
Ismail has something closest to a pedigree, having started his career at Sheffield United before returning to Somalia with Elman in 2017. He's not really good, but I'm banking on getting him as a coach when he's ready/willing.
Yussuf was transfer listed when I arrived, and granted he's not much good either but at least he can pass with both feet.
We end with the worst-rated player in the team:
To add to his woes, a Google search of his name returns a namesake, the "second known American suicide bomber", and no actual information of the footballer at all.
Still, he's not the worst player in the team, so swings and roundabouts.
So let's end with the actual worst player in the team:
Evaluation of the team was done through preseason, which went well enough considering we went unbeaten, a highlight being the game against Somalian champions Heegan, where we came back from 2 goals down.
Finally, unlike the other countries I've been in so far, we get the Cup out of the way first:
Bariga Dhexe and Alba are lower league sides (the former having been relegated last season), while Banaadir are title favourites, so we should be looking at 2nd place as a minimum.
#540770 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Haha, thanks man!
--------------------------------------------------------
A final hurrah for us before we go our separate ways.
And I have departed indeed.
Absolute hilarity that the club could come back begging for me though
Loyal ones, though if previous staff were of any indicator they probably won't want to join me in another country, let alone another continent.
As time passed the job list became bigger, though this time I've decided to not whore myself out as much and stopped at the 1st two that were available.
One of them did get back to me;
And that's that really.
They've recently been promoted again, having been a yo-yo club for the past 4 seasons.
As an amateur club they've inevitably been stocking up on players, which has led to me having to find my way through 55 first-team players - not even during the days of Latinos (where my Chairman signing youth players for fun) have I encountered this excess.
As usual, an assman will be needed for easier evaluations as I look at who I can rely on.
#540550 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Haha why? I mean yeah, they're top dogs and all, but at least we did one over them already.
------------------------------------------------------------------
As expected, we dominated the game and came away with 2 goals.
Another (relatively) easy draw against nearly-relegated Dynamos, and just as comfortable.
This game was reminiscent of our season opener - 18 shots but only 2 on target.
However, instead of holding on to the goal to nil we were actually punished this time.
Thankfully the punishment wasn't to its fullest extent as we saw off yet another victorious penalty shootout.
It was a bizarre repeat of last year's cup final, as the league champions faced off against the relegated team again (Nassau beat Western Warriors last season).
Unfortunately for him, Johnson Mareus was ineligible due to the terms of the loan and couldn't face his parent club - sorry my G.
As far as the game was concerned, it was about as easy as it could get - 63% possession, 23 shots, and 3 goals to show for our efforts.
Can't think of a better way to end my stint at the club, with a domestic double.
Future Stars commendably bounced back from their relegation to put in a fairytale run, so you know, apologies for being the party pooper.
(I don't know what they were smoking, but playing Mullins and Forbes as wrong-footed wingers in a 4-4-2 is just wrong)
Players of the Season
4 assists in 8 league games, average rating of 7.86, a mainstay of our backline, what's there to complain about really.
And he was another one who didn't disappoint, coming off the bench to grab crucial openers and earning himself 2 MotMs in the process.
Nothing much has changed about him, but it's his already present scoring ability that enabled him to lead the line as he did with great success last year.
Well I suppose I have to give credit where it's due, he also provided a great threat out wide, and was rewarded with an assist and goal each.
Having realised that, I played him as a Shadow Striker, and we never looked back - a goal/assist a game-ratio is a decent return, and if he stays he'll be able to lead the club for the next 2 decades easily.
-------------------------------------------------
So there's that for the Bahamas then, a couple of contract renewals for the players and it'll be my own resignation afterwards.
That said there aren't many teams to choose from - well I say that, literally only 1 club team has a vacancy, hmm...
#540427 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Oooooo revenge is sweet - dominated them at home, and aside from the (admittedly frequent) counterattacks we weren't looking like relinquishing the lead, even if it took us a bit late to add some gloss to the scoreline.
Could've done without another midfielder's injury though, Adderley out of the playoffs with a twisted ankle.
YES GET IN - this was the beast we needed to slay if we wanted a title win.
We were under the cosh for much of the game, but we proved to be the more clinical finishers on the day - Mullins with 2 great finishes.
On a related note, the midfield injuries have turned into something of a blessing apparently - I decided to remove Thompson Palmer from being meh up top to being serviceable in CM.
And Kevin Barry has proven his worth yet again, becoming the line leader with the requisite finishing ability.
(Though I'd appreciate it if the injuries could stop - Travis Godet with concussion to add to Carlton Forbes' and Encuma Wood's knocks in training)
We were well in control away to Lyford Cay, but up top we were found lacking, Mullins being a main culprit.
So he was hauled off for a still half-fit Carlton Forbes, and well I never - a vital opener despite being at sub-80% fitness.
Barry finished them off after a fast break, and we've got one hand on the title.
Well that's both hands on the trophy now, after Nassau failed to beat Lyford Cay - GET IN
We finished off in style, Barry yet again repaying the faith shown in him with a brace.
So that's the Bahamas done, and in some style - 22 goals scored in 8 games, with only 6 conceded and 6 clean sheets.
Particularly impressive was only 2 let in in the Playoffs, we really turned it up to 11 here.
All that's left now is the small matter of the President's Cup:
Winning this is the preequisite - it's about the number of goals we score.
Well I say that, having won the Cup already I couldn't care less if we crashed out at the first hurdle again.
We also had a new intake of youths:
Well it can't compare to the quality of the 1st batch or the volume of the 2nd, but it's still got some potential.
#540318 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
26 shots and only 3 on target speaks for itself, not to mention the 3 times as struck the woodwork.
That said we probably won't ever be as comfortable against Lyford Cay, and that we eventually did score for the win was the icing on the cake.
We finally turn on the style, and Palmer finally finds his scoring boots after a season and a bit of awful finishing.
How the tables turn - from being dicked for 6 2 seasons ago, to completely dominating and likely condemning Baha Jrs to another season in the relegation playoffs. (Yeah I'm a bit salty)
Moment of the match was definitely Tre Christie's howitzer in stoppage time.
Unfortunately, it's not all good:
Guess who broke his ankle? Ex-Cavalier Michael Joseph - twat.
I could beat 1 shithouse front 3, but not both.
I tried to get a grip on their 4-3-3 with our 4-1-2-1-2, but despite our early lead we weren't able to wrestle control of the game.
Eventually they made their control count and equalised after Ryan Christie conceded the penalty.
After that we were always on the back foot, and once the 2nd and 3rd goals went it we were done.
Thankfully Lyford Cay then gave Bears a wake-up call to demonstrate to the rest of us that the latter weren't unbeatable.
Nassau though, they ripped another one in their group, and with 12 straight wins in all competitions going back to last season they'll be the Goliath yet again.
COB just about scraped through to join the championship playoffs.
We get an immediate chance for revenge against Bears, this time at home.
Not exactly ideal that the Nassau and Lyford Cay games are away, but we'll deal with it the best we can I suppose.
#540113 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
We'll start with the conclusion to the takeover 'saga':
Well.... How can I summarize this:
Good - I'm not sacked
Bad - They rejected my request for new facilities
Good -
They're basically Ed Woodwards
Bad - They've rejected my request for improved youth coaching
Good -
They're sending me to a new coaching course - Continental License in the Bahamas WHOOP
Preseason featured the introduction of 2 new formations: 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-2-1-2 to complement the ol' faithful 4-4-2, which unfortunately can't open teams up as well as I need it to. Both formations are also a clear sign that I'm banking on my newfound wealth of talent in the AMC area - we've come a long way from having no centre mids in the squad.
The friendlies highlighted a few teething problems as we failed to convert our control of games to goals a times - either beatdowns or draws across the 8 games, no tight wins that we could've done with.
A few transfers as well:
Michael Joseph agreed to a non-contract deal at the end of last season; fast forward a couple of months and he's gone to Baha Jrs and another part-time deal.
Meh, he was certainly important when he was one of our only centre mids around, but his technical ability is severely lacking for a starter of his age - might as well develop a youth player.
Johnson Mareus wasn't going to start over Ambroise and Sean Mareus last season, and was loaned out to Future Stars last year.
Same scenario this time round, so he goes again, hopefully troubling fellow title challengers for us.
Durand was a veteran of Superstars but left of Bears last season, but quickly found himself surplus there.
I had signed him to be a good tutor, but with our short league season he wasn't allowed to, for some reason.
No matter, despite his lack of speed he's sufficiently versatile to be an important part of the squad.
So that's another pair of shithouse front 3 teams in our group, so annoying.
I hope we'll be able to fight fire with fire and unleash our AMCs against (what I hope will be) their soft underbellies.
We find ourselves 3rd favourites this season, which if Superstars' struggles continue makes us the prime challengers to Nassau - no pressure then.
#539542 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Given how our league campaign ended with a whimper, it was only apt that our Cup ended in similar fashion.
1st XI, proactive mentality, all the works against a relegated team, and we go out on penalties - par for the course then.
Players of the Season
Unfortunately he's nearing what seems to be the peak of his abilities - not that I'd let him go or anything though, if nothing else I do have experience with deceptively incompetent left-wingers.
He's already at his prime, so I'll just manage my expectations with him and rejoice at anything extraordinary.
Given the sheer amount of talent we've got at the club though, I'm inclined to give him guaranteed game time with a loan for next season.
Thompson Palmer and Mullins really dropped the ball this season, though as they are still teenagers we're bound t encounter more than a few teething problems.
#539464 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Well that's a terrible start for our playoff campaign.
We prioritised stifling their front 3 again but couldn't get our own attack going, and while we did keep their attack quiet in open play we then let all that go to waste with the winner conceded off a corner.
2 games against the weaker sides in the playoffs, and only 1 point to show for it.
I'd mistakenly rested the 1st-choice backline in view of another game 2 days later (it was five days) and paid dearly for it, if it wasn't for Kevin Barry bailing us out again.
But we've found ourselves in needing to win both our remaining games to even have a sniff of the title, against Lyford Cay and Nassau no less.
Well we've put paid to that ourselves, losing to the 10 men of Nassau after going ahead and having 2 penalties.
At least we've ended the league on a high of sorts, showing some steel to beat Lyford Cay.
Well there's always next year for us eh, as if we've got any other choice.
At least I can boast of being the only team to beat Nassau this season.
On a lighter note, we've welcomed our next batch of youths:
Valin Adderley is the star of this intake, and will in all likelihood be the crown jewel of our midfield next season, and while Carlton Forbes is some way off Valin's ability, a left-footed forward is always welcome.
I haven't signed all of the others, but having learned from my mistakes of last season I've definitely put pen to paper for some of the defenders, if only for squad padding.
Lastly:
I doubt this'll affect me really, we've got 800k in the back at the moment, and aside from a couple of upgrades (youth recruitment and facilities, one each) it's not been dented significantly.
That is if he doesn't sack me and brings in his own guy like he's some sort of Big-time Charlie who'll get his team relegated with his ego.
#539170 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
We dominated the game, got only 1 goal for it, but most importantly also secured the 3 points in an opening day win (finally too, apparently - last time the team won an opening game was 7 seasons ago).
Well that was a real downer.
Ryan Christie got us started with a great right-footed shot, but we got pegged back immediately with a similar (arguably better) effort.
Then we shot ourselves in the foot with 2 penalties conceded, absolutely terrible tackling undoing what was otherwise sound defending.
This game had terrible defending of the more conventional sense, though we gave away a 3rd penalty in 2 games for the opener.
We equalised before the interval, but Mullins got himself sent off as if we didn't have enough on our plates.
So massive credit to the team for fighting back after then going behind twice more in the 2nd half, before we take some of that credit away for their awful defending throughout the game.
No Mullins? No problem - he was not on form anyway and it was a good excuse to drop him really:
But Kevin Barry proved to be a more than capable stand-in, playing the Poacher perfectly with 2 goals against Nassau.
Roche-Nerelus conceded his 2nd straight penalty (and our 4th in 3 games incredibly), but luckily for us the bar came to the rescue, setting the scene for a vital win.
Our group was the tighter one be some distance, with Superstars blowing a 2 goal lead against Bears to draw and send themselves into the relegation playoffs, whereas we recovered from a horrific bump in the middle to finish top.
Lyford Cay did a number on their group, and with Future Stars also unexpectedly winning their other 3 games, they could well prove to be bloodthirsty opposition.
Lastly, some transfer news:
Mareus wasn't bad, but with better and younger players he wasn't and wouldn't be starting games going forward, so more power to him for going for game time.
Chanlatte would be decent replacement cover on the right flank anyway.
#538960 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Look at that disrespect to the Cup winners, shocking.
We'll be looking to add that that boost this season, thank you very much.
Well at least we've been given credit for our survival in the league, so there's that.
We've also signed a couple players over the break:
Paul Chanlatte is a current U20 international for Haiti, so he can't be all that bad right?
And he's really not bad either, decent speed complemented with some aerial ability.
He'll still be second fiddle to Tre Christie of course.
I'd realised too late that I hadn't signed enough centrebacks from last year's youth intake and I'd loaded out another prospect, so I was left with only 1 for the youth team.
In comes Gavin Thompson on loan from Lyford Cay, in a move that I've been given plenty of stick from the fans for.
You can see why too, he's not actually 1st team ability and would only make it there if he's our last resort.
Another unbeaten preseason, with our only draws coming against Lyford Cay and Boca - the latter was a bit of a worry, seeing how we weren't able to break down inferior sides, though it was a second string side that played...
But with more than a few sides deploying that ridiculous 3-striker formation, and yet others who are just better really - one of them being Nassau, our opponents for the Charity Shield incidentally:
Get in! Hardly a vintage performance, but I'll be damned if we care when it's resulted in another trophy in the cabinet.
Another penalty shootout where we held our nerves better, which can't hurt.
Looks like a pretty decent group - only 2 of last season's championship playoff sides in here, along with newly promoted Dynamos.
Better yet, we've managed to avoid Lyford Cay and that accursed Baha Jrs. front 3.
Then again... Superstars are the bookies' title favourites, and with Nassau being higher rated than us that's 2 title favourites in or group.
Add to that a Dynamos team that isn't an automatic favourite to go down and Bears (who despite being 2nd favourite for relegation still did qualify for the Championship Playoffs last season, and deploy that mad 4-3-3 as well).
Will be interesting, but there's no doubt I was feeling much better about my group before I saw those odds.
#538492 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
1st round went about as expected, and COB didn't put up too much of a fight.
Meeting a lower league side in Breezes Eagles prompted me to rest most of the squad who had just beaten COB 3 days before.
Nearly paid for it in classic fashion - couldn't finish, couldn't keep onside, scored a goal only to get pegged back almost immediately, then endure more than a few nervous moments.
We even missed 2 of our 1st 3 penalties, but we managed to pull through that, somehow.
In the semifinals Baha Jrs. await:
What'd I tell you.
Granted it was off a pinball situation during a corner and he did spend the rest of the game a bag of nerves, but a 1st senior goal is a 1st senior goal, no taking that away from him.
Instead it was Palmer who did the hard running, and he came through with a goal of his own to add to the assist.
We did concede inevitably, but our shithouse tactics worked just about well enough.
In fact it was such a shithouse, I finished the game with this formation - beautiful isn't it.
On to the final:
GET IN, and a 2nd defensive performance for the President's Cup at the first time of asking.
Palmer came in hot yet again, as did Cenecharles who stopped Farquharson's penalty to keep us in the lead.
As favourites Nassau suffered with nerves the same way Baha did, and we underdogs managed to ride it through to the very end.
Magnificent effort from the players, pretty turgid football most of the time but hey, if it works it works.
Players of the Season
Tre Christie - don't know why he left in the first place, and now that he's back the fan favourite has earned another PoTY gong.
Can't dribble, but he has speed and crossing ability, and he somehow managed 2 goals as well.
Dwayne Thompson Palmer was supposed to be a backup to Travis Godet, but common sense prevailed and his pace was used to devastating effect up top.
He's not clinical by any means, but when you're able to create so many chances for yourself you're bound to bundle in a few.
It's probably a consequence of the number of competitive games we have, but no one really stood out beyond them.
Till next season, ta
#538253 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Tight win against COB who managed to be worse than us somehow.
Could've been more comfortable given our chances and the late penalty, but hey credit to the team for holding its nerve to the end.
We couldn't continue that defensive solidity against Superstars, but Palmer came in hot (and for the injured Dwayne Mareus) to save us a draw.
Ambrose was also ruled out for the rest of the playoffs due to concussion unfortunately.
We coped more than well enough though, with a great smash and grab against Lyford Cay.
Early goal and sitting back, that's the name of the game.
We finish the playoffs on a real high, a late late penalty won by Palmer and tucked away by Godet.
So Baha Jrs. lose the title (haha) and COB do go down after Lyford Cay scored their only points of an underwhelming playoffs to secure their own survival.
We finished unbeaten and best of the rest, pretty unthinkable at the end of the regular season wasn't it.
Season's not over yet though, we still have the Bahamas President's Cup to deal with:
Whoop, Round 1 against COB - now I'd say we have a good chance against a relegated side, but with the factor revenge on the table in addition to the cup format factor I'm not going to jinx myself with any expeciations.
We also had a new intake:
Jokes about the "GOlDeN GenERAtIoN" aside, we should have a look at Harvey Mullins:
SPEED (and set piece ability)
I look forward to playing him up top and watching him take revenge against Baha Jrs while I set up the barricades for their inevitable front 3.
Shemord Forbes is also a very good midfielder, and while he hasn't rendered Michael Joseph's signing pointless, he'll definitely play a part in the 1st team next season.
Tre Collie has incredible reflexes for his age, but that's also pretty much all he has as well.
Signed for his Professional mentality, Determination and versatility, Dwayne Massey still has a lot to improve on to make it into the big time.
I hope that the aforementioned qualities will lead him in that direction.
Travis Bode is a great finisher, but like Collie needs work. I don't doubt that he'll do bits in the U20s though.
These were the ones I've signed, I'll have to evaluate the rest while they're still at the club.
#537899 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Eric Portapotty
Does anyone have any advice on learning German? I've been using Duolingo only so far, but I've heard that it's not a sustainable tool for long-term learning.
#537898 [FM18] The Ultimate Jacob's Ladder
Eric Portapotty
Did I ever mention how much I hate defending against 3 strikers?
Stuck 3 centrebacks with my own 3-4-3, but man for man our backline was completely unable to keep up and we got toyed with time after time.
Wood and Nerleus got sent off on their debuts, rather aptly given how the rest of the day went.
1st half, front 3 v back 3, got done again.
Jordan Da Costa hadn't scored in 20 matches (2 YEARS), bags a brace in this game.
It was then a wonder why they switched to 4-5-1 after the break, at which point we were able to revert to a more comfortable 4-4-2 and grab 2 goals to threaten a comeback.
A threat that all was though, as we failed to find the leveller.
Lyford Cay played a 4-4-1-1 thankfully, but that didn't stop Hepple tearing our defence a new one on the break to make it 1-0.
We hit back immediately, and went back to sitting back for our 1st point.
Great combination play saw us take the lead in a game for the 1st time this season.
We'd look good value for it too, defending just about enough while creating (and missing chances)... and then a lapse in concentration let them through to equalise.
Still, a point is a point, not that it mattered anyway since we were cast to the relegation playoffs by then.
Really bad stuff from us, but I can at least take solace in that both teams on bigger odd to go down did just as bad if not worse than us.
Still, we need serious work on both ends of the pitch if we're to stay up, especially with Lyford Cay being way too good to be in with us - they can tear us a new one on their day.
Playoffs are dealt with in under 4 weeks, and joy of joys our last 2 games are within 3 days of each other - do I play the B team and set up the barricades against Lyford, then play the strongest team against Western Warriors?
Decisions, decisions.
We've also signed a couple of guys:
Michael Joseph requested a transfer due to feuding with his manager, at Bears, and we swooped in to boost our ranks at CM.
Physically imposing and being sufficiently proficient everywhere else, he'll slot right in replacing Wood.
Another player from Haitian Superstars, Azea Mevril was released, and we picked him up on a youth contract.
Same deal, increasing CM numbers particularly among the youth ranks.
We'll end this on a bit of a downer:
Godspeed my legend, I'll probably never have another one like you, punching so far above your calibre.