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September 22nd, 2028 - Surprising the pundits

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

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

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

Cronica Leonina!

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

July 30th, 2028 - Professionalism

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

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

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

Cronica Leonina!

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

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

May 15th, 2028 - Two Cups

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

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

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

Cronica Leonina!

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

March 6th, 2028 - Mathematical Champion?

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

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

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

Cronica Leonina!

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

January 21st, 2028 - Winning the day

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

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

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

Cronica Leonina!

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

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

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

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

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

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

Cronica Leonina!

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

October 22nd, 2027 - 15 straight!

September came full of hopes and dreams, Sheffield had 8 wins in 8 games and seemed unstoppable. Stadium attendance was getting better, there were no injuries and despite a few offers for some of the best players of the team, Dolbeth was able to convince them to stay (at least for now). That was the spirit when on the 4th of September the boys entered the Home of Football to play recently promoted Ilkeston Town. Unexpectedly it was the worse game so far of Carlos’s pupils, which still ended in a win although by a single goal this time. For the first time in a long time there was a whole full week without games followed by the first game of Sheffield in the 2027/28 FA Cup, this time starting on the 2nd Qualifying round against the very weak Romulus team. Even playing away from home and with none of the usual starting 11, the boys dominated the game from beginning to the end to grab an easy win that would bring them to the next phase of the competition.

The 10th straight win for the league was another relatively easy game, after some words of Braintree Town manager, which expressed some doubts to the quality of Sheffield F.C., his team left the Home of Football with a 3-1 loss. A few days later it was back on the road after another short 3 day break to play at Alfreton. It was yet another relatively easy win by Dolbeth’s team followed by another visit to Merthyr Town with a meagre result, but the same number of points gathered, making it now 12 wins in 12 games, to grab a lead on the table already 9 points away from second placed Gloucester City. Soon there would be a small league break and 2 players of the team would be out for international games, namely Scott Barnett, doing amazing on loan from Sheffield United and now representing England U-20s and Reeco Hacknett which although mostly coming to games from the bench was representing his home country, Saint Lucia.

But prior to that there was the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup, with the difficulty level going up and a dilemma of what team to field against 8th tier Gainsborough Trinity. Easy win with a rotation squad and more good new on the international front with Forsyth being called for Scotland U-21s! The 4th Qualifying Round against Peterborough Sports ended up in another win and Sheffield was in the main round of the FA Cup late October against a much harder opponent, Stockport County. In the league another 3 wins to make it 15 straight, only with the last one home against AFC Sudbury having caused some concern as especially in the first half, the team was playing poorly and only in the second portion of the second half could the boys dominate and turn the result in their favor. It was all smiles, top of the table and 15 points ahead of second place Gloucester City, what more could Dolbeth want. Well, with great performances there was more and more interest on the Sheffield players and a total of 6 were being already enticed to leave for a higher division in the winter break…that would probably be the biggest challenge as everyone was on one-year contracts.

Cronica Leonina!

Bom..na Europa não estamos tao bem como no ano passado. Também os adversários são diferentes e perder com o Real Madrid não envergonha ninguém, nem empatar com o Dortmund. Vencemos o Leicester e isso já acaba por ser suficiente. Bem estamos no campeonato, podíamos não ter perdido o jogo em casa com o Estoril, mas não se consegue ser perfeito e depois de darmos uma tareia nuns mancos da Vidigueira, vamos em segundo no campeonato. Será este o ano?

September 3rd, 2027 - 8 out of 8

The first game of the league and Sheffield had a new tactic and 8 new faces in the starting 11. Only left defender Logan Pye, midfielder Gabe Forsyth and stricker McGuckin had been there in the playoff final last year…but the team had a different, if not better feel to it and in the Home of Football with a scarce crowd the boys dominated Morpeth Town from minute one with 29 shots (13 on target) against 5 shots from the visitors (only 1 at target). The result of 2-0 ended up being short for the quality and the quantity of play from the boys, but 3 points are 3 points. The second weekday was just confirmation but with a twist, playing away with our old friends Bradford Park Avenue, the boys were up 3-0 after 8 minutes, but a red card led to a much more defensive side and the end result is just confirmation of how much difference a defender can make in the outcome of a game.

At Telford things got even more complicated with the boys down 1-0 and playing poorly, all the way down to minute 74, only to end up scoring another 4 goals and win the match comfortably. It was not an amazing display but did the trick. With the games pilling up, 3 days later Sheffield received Boston in our field, a game that should have been played a week ago but got postponed due to bad weather (something that seems way too common on the league), but the result was the same, a solid victory, scoring 4 goals for the 3rd time in a row and getting the 4th straight win for the best start ever under Dolbeth. And the series of wins was not over, first at Radcliffe a 5-1 trashing of the local team followed by a better performance than result against Bishop’s Stortford (1-0 was way too little for the quality displayed) while 2 extra defensive players (Adam Long and 2 times Zimbabwe international Brendan Galloway) arrived in the squad, to give depth to the back of the team which had seen already some earlier injuries which made Dolbeth have to adapt players to a different position.

Stourbridge was the next challenge for the boys. It was a team that was playing well and above expectation, sitting at the 3rd place in table. The game started well for the visitors as they were quickly in front, but this was just a false start as Sheffield started playing at the standard level this season after the 20th minute and at the end despite a red card, another 3 points with another 4 goals scored. The team was unstoppable, but this time there was an away game only 48 hours after and Dolbeth had to field a rotated team. It did not really matter as Spennymoor Town was facing the same stress of consecutive games and was beaten 5-2 to finish the month of August with 8 wins out of 8 matches played in 30 days. The sky could not be bluer for Dolbeth and the boys, which for the first time in the last 3 years held on to the lead in the table with an incredible offensive record of 27 goals. Only excess of games, followed by injuries seem to be able to stop Sheffield now…but with success also come the players wanting to leave…lets hope for the best!

Cronica Leonina!

Começa mais uma tragedia…. Alias começamos bem, já não mexemos muito na equipa em Agosto e passamos na Champions para a fase de grupos depois de eliminarmos uns chocolates suíços e os árabes. No campeonato entramos com 3 vitorias seguidas, mas depois tínhamos de perder pontos com o Benfica dos Acores. Tínhamos possibilidade de uma supertaça…e tumba 3-1 derrota com o Porto. O Sporting mantem-se o calvário do costume!

June 30th, 2027 - A new tactic

With a clear objective in mind this next season, promotion by getting into first place directly in the league was all that mattered to Dolbeth, so mid-May, the club already had announced the players who would not stay in 2027/28. Five of them were in the club on loan, so it was expected, a few others were already reaching a stage in their career where the quality of play was decreasing, like Bradley and the rest either there was no agreement on amounts or on function within the squad. In the end half of the team had to be renewed once more. Besides these changes there was something boiling in terms of tactics or else there would not be many sketches and boards on the pre-training calls. That said, things seem to be a bit under the sheets and all a bit hush-hush so we would have to wait and see on the friendlies if there was any real change from the traditional 4-4-2 used by Carlos since his arrival.

With the usual zero budget and no real money made with any transfer as only Adam Thompson was in fact sold (for no fee), the loans and the free transfers from higher division clubs were the usual targets. This time both Sheffield United and Wednesday are providing some youngsters on loan, with left winger Scott Barnett being the most exiting prospect of the three. Further Forsyth comes back for a second season on loan from Norwich and five new players arrived during the month of July covering all the positions but mostly for bench warming places in the team. At least from the initial impressions from the training ground, the team seemed more even than in the past seasons. All these players came slowly into the squad in a short pre-season of just 5 weeks and the biggest surprise was indeed the tactical change to 4231, which provided many goals and improved the team defensively.

At least that was what was expected, with some good friendly results, like the Maidenhead 7-0 trashing and a bit more goals conceded than the fans would expect, but this seem to always be a characteristic of Dolbethball…Well this time the bookies had Sheffield as the biggest favorite by far to win the league and get promotion, with Gloucester City, Macclesfield and Altrincham following behind, so it was only natural that the question was on the pre-conference to the first season games with Carlos answering “Yes, this has to be the season to get a promotion! I don’t want to find myself dealing again with playoffs, I can’t stand those games anymore” Well, the fans are behind the team, with a record of season holders, so if its up to them we will get the promotion. Good luck boys!

Cronica Leonina!

Eh la, desta vez até conseguimos contratar jogadores que eu conheço! Mason Greenwood emprestado do Bayern e gastamos forte e feio no Al Musrati que volta a Portugal depois de uns tempos em Inglaterra. Claro que tivemos de vender o nosso guarda-redes e o treinador não muda, mas enfim temos de ter fé. De resto o Porto consegue ir buscar o Diogo Jota ao Liverpool e o Trubin sai do Benfica para o Bayern. Portugal estava tao bem, mas na final da liga das nações levamos uma abada dos espanhóis…

May 30th, 2027 - Unlucky until the end!

This was the last breath of the season and if the boys were to put superhuman performances, there was no time like now. The last minute third place gave Sheffield direct access to the semi-finals of the playoffs, as well as home advantage and as expected 4th place AFC Telford had beaten Spennymoor Town (7th) to make it into our tie. No real harsh words or anything similar had been spoken pre-game as with home advantage and a 7-day break, Sheffield were deemed to be slight favorites Nevertheless it was expected to be tight, so tight as the two regular season games which in both cases ended up in draws (2-2 and 1-1). The game went underway in a sold-out, Home of Football with a very tense start which slowly built up to a home dominance which resulted in a McGuckin volley to put Dolbeth ahead at half-time. In the second half AFC Telford seemed to want to get a draw but in the 51st minute, in a counter, McGuckin scored again from 30 yards, making the result 2-0. The rest of the match ended up with the away team not able to ever create real danger and Sheffield was deservedly marching into the final.

In the do-or-die game, we got again home advantage, and the fans were in high spirits on May 2nd as Chester had lost one game and drew the other against the boys during the regular season and has played three times in the last 10 games, having always struggled to win by a 1 goal margin. But finals are always unpredictable, and this was certainly also the case as for the first 20 minutes there wasn’t even a shot at goal. First blood was drawn by the visitors at the 25th minute and they did get a small advantage during the rest of the first half, managing to score at the 44th minute. Nothing was lost and in the second half, Sheffield started dominating the match and McGurckin was close to tie the ball hitting the post at the 62nd minute. Unfortunately, the referee failed to see Mazwi tackled inside the area only to give a penalty for a ghost push inside Sheffield’s area with Cottrell making the 0-2. There was still a good 15 minutes to go and Dolbeth kept shouting and pushing, but the ball did not go in…unlucky until the end.

There were no cheers in the end, just sad faces and the sense of injustice to a team that more time than not was the unlucky side. The feeling of being so close and then losing everything from one day to the other was just not in the players and in the fans, but also in Dolbeth who even refused to make any statement at the end of the game. Again, the best attack of the league but suffering way too many goals…again losing in the playoffs. Individually the salary effort made to bring McGuckin was the correct decision, with the player being second in the average rating of the season, scoring 23 goals and getting MoM for 7 times, but the best player had been central midfielder Sanders, someone that was on loan from Birmingham and would not be part of the team next year. It was again time to rebuild, maybe improving on defense…maybe using a different tactic. What was certain is that Dolbeth was here to stay.

Cronica Leonina!

No final o Pote e o Larsen que parecia um Gyokeres da Temu quando chegou, acabaram por dar 6 vitorias seguidas aos nossos leões e assim recuperar para um segundo lugar no campeonato, se tivéssemos começado a jogar mais cedo tínhamos batidos os morcões e sobretudo de vencer a taca no final, 3-0 aquela equipa do Benfica B. Para o ano temos de acordar mais cedo…

April 21st, 2027 - The sad ballad of Snowdon

At this point of the season and still with 8 games to go, the playoffs were a certainty, but the league win and the automatic promotion were a mirage. That said, Dolbeth always had the mentality of winning any game, irrelevant if it was decisive or if it was a mere formality, so the Home of the Football received Boston United, in clear recovery with their new manager and with a poor display could not grab a single point…but the result was not the most important thing on that Saturday afternoon, but what really mattered was that after two major injuries with a broken leg, Joe Snowdon was going to come from the bench and finally grab a few minutes after 11 months away from competition. A central defender that had been important in the last two seasons, Joe had 73 games for the club and 11 goals, making him at only 23-year-old one of the clubhouse favorites.

And that was also one of his issues. Unable to train, especially during this season, Joe was seen many times, grabbing one too many pints with the supporters after (and before) the games, which caused concerns beyond his physical abilities. In reality he could have started recovering from the injury some months prior, but his head was not in the right place and there were even rumors of arriving drunk to trainings… The exibhition agains Boston coming out of the bench was poor but the following visit to Chorley, which resulted in another defeat, was disastrous and at the end of the game there was a shouting match between Dolbeth and Snowdon, with the player receiving a transfer list note quickly after. Snowdon was not the same quality player anymore both on and off the field. Without him the team returned to victories against Ashton United at home and against King’s Lynn Town, in what was seen as small revenge, to mathematically guarantee the playoff spot.

Now the only possible challenge was that in the 4 remaining regular league games, Sheffield gathers enough points to be in 2nd or 3rd place and avoid having to play 3 fixtures to achieve promotion.With that in mind, the boys started strong against arguably easier opponents than the ones faced in March and won the first tow games of April, scoring 10 and only conceding  twice. With two games to go, Sheffield depended only of themselves to keep the second place but a terrible performance home against mid-tier and nothing to win, Braintree Town, made for an exiting last weekend, with the boys putting a last nail in the coffin of Hitchin Town and grabbing the 3 points to finish third with the same points of Telford United and Chester and only second to the winners and automatically promoted Shouth Shields and Blyth Spartans, who made superior season finish. 3rd place allowed our boys to skip the quarter finals, making promotion two “simple” wins away.

Cronica Leonina!

O Santa Clara já não nos deve poder ver a frente..bem pelo menos estamos no final da taca e contra o Braga so pode ser para ganhar. Alias esta fase foi boa ate empatarmos com o Rio Ave. Dito isto, a verdade e que o melhor que podemos fazer no campeonato seria ficarmos em segundo, já que os tripeiros estão demasiado longe com apenas 5 jornadas para o final…mais um ano a ver os outros a jogar!

March 12th, 2027 - So many draws...

The end of a slim hope of getting into the first spot of the league could be decided in the next game. South Shield was first and deservedly so, and the team was almost unbeatable. It was probably one of the most tactical games seen by our Sheffield team in a long time. A penalty at the end of the first half made the boys get the lead and then it was a parking the bus second half which resulted in a deadly counterattack already in extra time which put the game 2-0 and beyond recovery by the visitors. It was all cheers and joy after the referee whistle, but Dolbeth was quite cold stating that “Its not impossible, but we are still 12 points away from the top and the objective is exactly what it was at the beginning…a playoff spot. But now we need to concentrate in the next game for the FA Vase or whatever is the name of that competition”. And already deep into February, that was the next challenge.

Having arride at this stage, it was not anymore, the case of fielding a weaker team, also because there was a 7-day interval since the last game, so with a normal starting 11 went to Woking, to face a team in the mid-table of the Vanarama National. The game was more even than expected, but the home advantage and the finishing decided things on the side of the Working and Sheffield is out of the cup. Still the best performance yet in this competition by the boys! Coalville Town and Banbury United were the two next league games which were dealt with in good fashion despite only with a late goal in the away game long into extra time…but the ones in the front of the table were not losing point either so, the three remaining games of February, all against teams in the top 5 were crucial at this stage. On the 20th of February, Dolbeth’s boys were once again unlucky at the Neben Stadium in Radcliffe, given that despite the clear superiority on the field, two disallowed goals and some peculiar decisions, the game ended up in an unfair draw.

More important even was the home reception the 5th placed Chester only 3 days later where again and this had been a trend all season, despite the good performance and hitting the bar twice, Sheffield gathered another draw… AFC Telford United was the last game of this three hard matches and that was a really good football game for anyone that enjoys goals, at a certain point Sheffield was down 4-1, only to make it 4-4 at the end of the game and missing a penalty in extra-time that would have given Dolbeth the second spot on the table. The lack of luck was clearly visible in the x table, where the teams in front of us had +17 and +8 more points than statistically warned…but also in the squad with the left defender Logan Pye and one of the lead strickers, Trey Ogunsuyi getting injured for a couple of months. Prior to the end of February, Billan also left the club, the left midfielder had been an important player for the squad in the past but hardly registered minutes this season. March started with two wins but with 8 games to go, only a miracle would see Sheffield fighting for automatic promotion at this point.

Cronica Leonina!

Vergonha da prestação europeia? Nenhuma, fomos aos oitavos, perdemos com o Liverpool, quando se tem os Beatles e dinheiro fica mais fácil, mas no campeonato…os empates com os morcões e com os lampiões assim como resto dos jogos no inicio de Fevereiro, pouco a dizer, mas depois perder com o Académico de Viseu e empatar com o Guimarães…epá quinto lugar e já a 8 do topo…mais uma época e m*rda e nada muda no Sporting?

January 29th, 2027 - From great to worst

The second round of the league was proceeded by new faces in the team. With the known fact that Dolbeth was not counting on anyone from the youth squad due to the lack of capabilities, it was down to observed players by the scouting staff that have been without club since last summer. Mostly in the defensive end was where the quality needed to be improved and Bent Garratt, ex-Swindon, was brought for the goalkeeper position while Brad Hill from Norwich Youth Academy arrived as a central defender. Also due to the number of injuries in the midfield, Adian Manning ex-Wycombe Wanderers was acquired. All 3 players started in already on the next game at Alfreton Town, but little improvement on the typical dominance but poor defensive effort was seen in this game which resulted in one of the most common result for Sheffield F.C., the 2-2 draw.

That said, the next 3 games ended up with clear improvements in defense, only suffering 2 goals in 270 minutes of play and with good performances, especially in a 3-0 win at home against Blyth Spartans which saw the boys climbing up to the second place in the table in the dawn of the new year of 2027. It was not all good news as more and more players now felt that they were not given fair chances and some offers started coming in resulting in the sale of Harrison Holgate in early January for 35,000 Euros…it was not a starting 11 player anymore, but his performances coming from the bench had been good on and off, resulting is a weaker bench in the midfield for the rest of the season. The first game of the new year was the 4th FA Vase Round, against Eastleigh at home, where once again Dolbeth, made things harder than they should have been…

With a mix of starting players and rotated ones, the team did well but broke in the second half and had to go into penalties to secure a place in the next round at Woking. In the league the wins continued, with another goal feast in the Home of Football against mid table Oxford City, but the real challenges started in the visit to Merthyr Town who sat in the 6th place of the table, but did little more than defending deep against our boys, who also failed to net a single goal and ended a series of 4 straight league wins. One week later there was the visit from the league leaders in what was expected to be a definition of a possibility to still gun for the first spot…but before that another visitor, relegation struggling Scarborough Athletic and this should have been an easy win for the boys which turned out to be a horrible nightmare when the visitors came from behind to win at the last breath of the game. Sheffield’s hopes for an automatic promotion seem no more than a dream at this point…

Cronica Leonina!

Desta feita nem foi o Natal…foi antes. Como pode ser possível que depois de vencer o Chelsea, se consiga perder com o Portimonense, Estoril e Gil Vicente, sendo que dois destes jogos foram em casa. Da taca da liga ninguém quer saber, mas…uma equipa completamente bipolar, porque logo de seguida vence o Boavista duas vezes, o Porto, o Braga e o PSV. Na Champions ficamos em nono…a uns golos de diferença do playoff directo…no campeonato em quarto lugar mas apenas a 3 pontos do Porto que lidera! Tomem mase a medicação!

December 18th, 2026 - No youth prospects

The growth of the status of Sheffield has brought many positive things (and no, not really talking about the coffee bar), but also brought players with a different mindset. As in the truly amateur leagues, most players were happy to just get minutes here and there, now close to profitability some of the players were keen on moving to bigger clubs or leaving due to having very sparse playing time, most of the time deservedly so. While Mintus was happier after starting a few games and coming in from the bench in as many other games, Charlie O’Connell made the club promise that a 350k fee would be accepted for his departure (in what would beat the highest transfer fee received in 7 fold), Reece Devine, clear second choice for the left back position, asked to be transfer listed, the same as Keey Dyke, who is still only 18 years old but thinks too highly of himself and even the third choice goalkeeper wanted to be loaned out. So not all was swell in the team atmosphere…

…although you would not notice it given the 3-0 win over Chorley, to stop a 4-game drawing streak and continue a now 8 game winning streak. Scoring was never an issued with our Sheffield F.C. boys but defense was always the weaker part of the team and this was clearly the case during the month of November with tight goal galore wins for the league and during the first FA Trophy (still with a weaker fielded side) and a second loss of the season in a game where Dolbeth’s boys were on top for 80 minutes and slipped in the end to let two easy goals in a lose three points, which might prove important to the team at the end of the season. The runs cannot last forever and 9 straight games without defeat were already a good series, which the team was aiming to rerun following a return to convincing wins against Bradford Park Avenue in a revenge over last season’s result.

December started with an exhibition that was as bad as it was unexpected. All other defeats until now had been even if not unlucky breaks, but this time against overachievers King’s Lynn Town at home, the whole thing was a debacle with midfielder Forsyth getting a straight red and Sheffield being completely overrun by a team that was inferior on paper. That was maybe the reason why in the second FA Vase game of the season, Dolbeth decided to go all out with the best 11 possible and win with a slender 1-0 result that got the job done. The first round ended with 2 expected wins and 6th place that was far from the top of the table where South Shield had been absolutely dominating, but only 4 points away from the second place, meaning that the playoff objective remained strong. That said there was some bad news…the youth team was once again below par and needing to refresh some parts of the squad and already planning for next season, there was no player that can grow into the first team, leaving Dolbeth again criticizing the lack of investment in the youth ranks…

Cronica Leonina!

Isto há coisas que a razão não consegue explicar, na Champions, mais duas vitorias com o Chelsea e o Napoles…ou seja nada de adversários fracos, no campeonato, empate com o Rio Ave e derrota com o Portimonense em casa…ou seja estamos mais uma vez a fazer melhor exibição na Europa do que em Portugal. Sera que devíamos ir jogar para o campeonato espanhol caralho?

Being the first and the oldest are two different things. 

Foot-ball club was the first, but only existed for less than 20 years during the 19th century. Sheffield F.C. is the oldest, being more than 170 years old

November 6th, 2026 - Early Cup Exit...

More than 3 years had passed since Carlos had arrived in England but despite that there seemed to be always the feeling that the stay in Sheffield was at best medium-term, if not temporary, so the manager never got settled properly, living out of a hotel and flying whenever possible back to Lisbon. But somehow in October 2026 Dolbeth was looking for an apartment in the center of Sheffield, a news that was worth cheering for at the clubhouse which now had evolved into a trendier coffee bar but still keeping its old charm. Despite hopes that Carlos would get an apartment right next to the club grounds were a bit of a stretch as being from a big city the move was to a new apartment complex in North Sheffield by the river and within relative walking distance from the town center. It was a clear statement in the end when asked about the move “I am here to stay”.

On the field things did not look so good in early September. Fan favorite and long-time squad stricker, Mintus expressed his unhappiness at not playing frequently and despite Dolbeth caving in on the request and Mintus scoring, Sheffield F.C. lost its first league game of the season against Coalville Town. Worst even was a bit of a miscalculation on the capabilities of FA Cup first opponent, Mickleover which ended in a fielding of an uneven team and a well-deserved defeat in one of the worst games ever under the management of our Portuguese coach. There was an improvement in the remainder of the month and the 3 straight wins brought the team back up into the playoff spots, with a particularly good exhibition and performance of McGuckin, who was now making sure there were no doubts about the price being paid to him.

There was an unusually long break during October and only 19 days after the last game against Chester was Sheffield back on the road to grab an unfair draw in a game that should have resulted in an easy win against Morpeth Town. The following match at home was a battle for promotion, with AFC Telford sitting in 2nd place but with a much tired squad due to a midweek game, our boys dominated and grabbed a 2-0 lead at half…which was insufficient mostly due to the lack of luck in the second half and despite the quality of the opponent the game was clearly seen as a loss of 2 points. Away against Boston United the game was similar as well as the result finishing October with 3 draws for the same result (2-2). Already in November another game where the boys did enough to win but which ended up again in a draw to get to only 1 loss in 16 games but a lot of draws that are keeping Sheffield from a real contender to the automatic promotion

Cronica Leonina!

Isto parece quase mentira…o Sporting parece que se dedicou apenas a fazer bons resultados na Europa e foi dormindo no campeonato. Depois de ter começado bem, agora vai empatar com o Guimaraes e o Benfica…pior perder com o Moreirense para mais uma vez estar num quarto lugar (se bem que a apenas 3 pontos do topo e com menos um jogo). Valha-nos a Europa onde conseguimos vencer o Red Bull e empatar com Inter de Milao e Arsenal, bom se ganharmos na Europa que se f*da o campeonato!

September 4th, 2026 - Zero losses

Slowly slowly Sheffield F.C. was more and more on the favorite list from the bookies together with AFC Telford, Chester, South Shields and Boston United. That said, as everyone knows, in the Vanarama divisions anyone can beat anybody on any given day, so the first games in a visit to Blyth, Dolbeth really wanted to grab a win against the Spartans. It was a relatively bad display in the first half, with a big improvement in the second 45 minutes…and when the win seemed secure, in the last minute of extra time, the home team managed to get the draw. It was not the result Carlos wanted specially because similar to the past season, Jow Snowdon got injured this time for 8-9 months, but 3 days later there was the first home game with the expectation of a win…which despite a good display ended in another draw. Finally on the third game, again in the Home of Football and despite being closed to suffering another draw, the boys pulled up in the last minutes to defeat Spennymoor Town.

5 points in 3 games was not a bad start but was also further from where a title contender wants to be. Worst was that now also Sheffield’s starting goalkeeper got injured with the boys really needing to grab points in Oxford. It was time for McGuckin to finally start showing why the club made such a financial investment on him and for the first time this year, Sheffield F.C. did look like a team and trashed City 4-1. Climbing up the table only 4 days after, Gloucester City a team that had beaten the club last season in the promotion playoffs, was visiting the Home of Football in what was announced in the local paper as the “revenge game”. For the first time in years there was a crowd that seemed to want to beat up the visitors’ bus on their arrival. It’s uncertain whether it was the crowd and the ambience created by the fans or another proper display by Dolbeth’s boys, but the game ended in a more than fair, 2-0 win and Sheffield was back in a playoff spot for the first time this year.

Things were improving but still with 3 important players injured and with the amount of games piling up, a deal was struck to bring Norwich central midfielder and Scottish U-19 international Gabe Forsyth on loan and we did not have to wait long to see his capabilities as a couple of days later at the Flamingo Land Stadium, Sheffield gathered further 3 points on Scarborough Athletic. While some on the injured players started to become fit for 45 minutes, defensively the team was similar to last season, having serious troubles, which were visible in the home draw against Merthyr Town and even more evident in the visit to the league leaders and promotion contenders of South Shields in a 4-4 thriller that should have resulted in a win, given that the boys were up 2-4, 10 minutes to the end of the game. Obviously and as expected, the table is tight at the top (all over), but Sheffield with no losses yet, sits in a good 5th place, 4 points from the top…still something was bothering some of the players as higher league teams were trying to pouch the stars of the team.

Cronica Leonina!

Epá parece ser milagre, um início só com vitorias no campeonato e conseguimos voltar a Champions. Deve estar para nascer algo esquisito. Bem vamos ficar contentes, demos tareis nos austríacos e conseguimos virar a eliminatória com os franceses…bom não vamos embandeirar em arco. E que diabo se passa na seleção, sim não estivemos ao melhor nível mas contratar esse alemão para selecionador? Não há treinadores em Portugal?

July 31st, 2025 - Old acquaintances coming back!

After 3 seasons where Sheffield managed to maintain a decent continuity of players from one year to another, 2026-2027 with many players retiring and many others leaving the club, would be a real challenge for Dolbeth, who at this time was getting more and more engaged with life in South Yorkshire, to the point that for the first time, his grandsons came to spend the summer and watch the world cup in Sheffield. And contrary to last Euro, this time the Portuguese National team had the last laugh by eliminating (once more), England in the round of 16 by 2-0. It was nevertheless a short-lived happiness as Portugal faced and lost (also once more) by penalties against the French in the quarter-finals. France went all the way to beat Ivory Coast in the final in the first time an African team managed to reach such late stage in the competition, with Nigeria losing the third place to Italy on penalties. In the end it was neither glorious for the Portuguese or the English, so the jokes at the club were kept to the minimum…

International competitions aside, Sheffield F.C. began their pre-season with only 13 senior players and there was a bit of panic showing in some of the supporters that came to see some new faces on the first day. Slowly the squad grew with loans out of Birmingham, including the return of Mazwi for the left midfield position, where he performed so well last season, as well as some new faces with experience at higher levels of the pyramid. Timi Davies a stricker from Blackburn (with origins in the Arsenal academy) was from the start seen as a very good attacking option, while Cody Johnson arriving from Stockport on loan quickly established himself as the midfield distributer that the squad missed last season. Still the best was yet to arrive. Only 3 days away from the first official game of the season, Ciaran McGuckin was announced. Having scored 18 goals in 42 games in the previous season, the player had been released by Rotherham United, and the club made a big financial effort to bring him onboard to the delight of the supporters.

While there had been a lot of business in incoming players, on the outgoing there was barely any movement, with little to no interest from the other team, something that Carlos was happy about. The friendly matches were also a mixed bag, never with a complete starting 11, the boys managed to win the games where they were superior and did not make a bad impression on the other matches with a very decent performance against Bristol Rovers. With the league about to start, the president while speaking with the local reporters made it clear that “…the least that I expect is a playoff run…”. The bookies also share the same sentiment with Sheffield F.C. tipped as one of the favorites for promotion, but Carlos Dolbeth wanted to remain cautious and reminded everyone “that there are professional teams in this division, so I don’t want to have any extra pressure on the boys! Lets take it one game at the time”. Well…good luck boys!

Cronica Leonina!

A azia já me tinha passado depois de perdermos outra vez com os franciús. Eder volta que estas perdoado, não jogas boi, mas contra Franca fazes falta. Mas depois começou a mexer o mercado em Alvalade e alem de ainda não terem mandado aquele Amorim as favas foram vender o Trincão e comprar dois gajos na Alemanha que ninguém conhece? Mais uma vez deve ser para ficar em terceiro!

May 18th, 2026 - Missed opportunity

So, Sheffield F.C. was guaranteed a playoff spot but it was not time to just relax in the last 3 league games, because getting to the 3rd spot would give the boys a direct entry in the semi-finals. With only 9 points to be played, a difficult schedule and a 4-point disadvantage, this seemed complicated but not impossible. But the first game was a visit to the second placed team AFC Teleford and with a clearly tired team our boys were completely outplayed by a fresher team with the 1-0 defeat being a positive result considering everything that happened on the field. After this there was little to play for in the last two regular season games, so the team was heavily rotated against Bishop’s Stortford, resulting in a boring 0-0 draw and finishing with a rested squad beating Alfreton Town by a clear 3-0.

This meant that if Sheffield was to do back-to-back promotions, they would need to win three straight playoff games. The fourth place in the league meant that the quarter finals was a home game against 7th placed Gloucester City, a team which Dolbeth had won in the two league games, by 3-0 and 8-4 in that amazing game of the year, but these were playoff games, so anything could happen. With a full fit team once again, the boys had a shacky start conceding after just 9 minutes which put the pressure on until a penalty was conceded by Gloucester getting the two teams to be drawn at halftime. The second period saw a much stronger Sheffield, but the injury from the starting goalkeeper saw Patrick Boyes conceding two goals because of poor defending. Sheffield was the better side but only at the 85th could they score to tie the game to 3-3 and force extra-time. Those 30 minutes were a big overstretch on Dolbeth’s boys and Mbick doing an enormous game Gloucester scored a single goal for the visitors and the dream was over…Gloucester ended up being trashed by South Shields who was surprised (as everyone else by 5th placed finisher Peterborough Sports, who manages to get promoted together with the champions Macclesfield.

The season came to an end and everyone, including Dolbeth knew that the team needed a big transformation for the next season, if they were to make another run for promotion. Mintus was not the stricker it was 2 seasons ago, Lund and McConville were retiring, with the club outgrowing a lot of other players that were important in the last few seasons, like Earing or Pritchard with their contracts running out and not going to be renewed. Also the best players of the team this season, Ajay Matthews with 23 goals and Menzi Mazwi with 7 Man of the Match awards were players on loan and from the youth team there were no real talents that could been seen as potential starting XI players next season, so the market was prepared already in May with 4 new players getting signed, all under observation for some time and all without a club for many months, which means that they wont be having a summer break like Carlos, who will enjoy his time-off in the sunny beaches of Portugal and watch the World Cup.

Cronica Leonina!

Já não estava a espera de grande coisa no final da temporada, mas depois de 5 vitorias seguidas ainda pensei que pelo menos passar os lampiões podia ser possível, mas o Sporting continua com aquela mentalidade de porcaria e assim, fica muito difícil, quando nos últimos dois jogos da época e a necessitar de vencer…pumba duas derrotas. Nem um caneco esta época e mesmo assim continuamos com a mesma direção e o mesmo treinado…inacreditável!

April 9th, 2026 - Playoff Challenge

It was 8 games to go till the end of the league and Sheffield had an 8-point cushion from the last playoff place. That said, experience had taught Carlos Dolbeth that the last portion of the season is anything but easy or simple, so it was a clear “all-hands on deck” thing in the home game against relegation fighters Chester. Starting out with a quick goal against, it was mostly an uphill struggle for the boys, who only managed to get in front close to the end of the game and like this achieve a bigger cushion. But more than just that room for maneuver and already thinking ahead, the upper table the better. A week later at Peterborough a much tougher opponent was expected and against 6th placed Peterborough Sports, Sheffield had a very good but was betrayed by a late goal when the 3 points seemed secure. It was an important point on the way to the playoffs which were now an almost guaranteed reality.

Brackley Town was the next game at the Home of Football. Sitting dead last on the table, this seemed like an easy 3 points as Sheffield was on good form. And it was in fact the easiest game in the last few months. The result was “only” 3-0, but the visitors weren’t even able to make a single shot on target. All Sheffield needed was 5 points to keep preparing for the next phase, but the first game was a visit to Bradford Park Avenue, a team 1 point away from the playoff zone, so an easy win was hardly expected. But prior to that a big change in staff as after almost two seasons Dolbeth’s wingman, Pedro Cruz accepted an offer to leave for Newport County and in a rather diplomatic change of guard, the Portuguese ex-Hendon assistant manager Bruno Porfirio joint the club and was welcomed with expectations of a good end of the season.

The game at Bradford was as difficult as it was expected and the boys were on top earlier in the game, but the home team with a lot more pressure managed to turn the result and even after Sheffield managed to draw the game, a last minute goal made Dolbeth must wait for next round to secure the playoffs on a home game against Ashton United. Better result than the quality of the football played, the 3-0 was more than enough to get the 3 points and mathematically make sure the team was in a playoff spot. Now the next objective would have to be to try to reach the third spot to enter directly into the semi-final of the playoffs, which is easier said than done with 4 points to recover with only 9 to be played.

Cronica Leonina!

Fomos de vela…na Europa em casa ainda por cima. Vamos empatar em Italia para depois não conseguirmos melhor do que este resultado miserável em Alvalade? Pior…o resto do mês ainda pior! Derrota nos Acores, mais um empate com o Moreirense e depois uma vitoria de caca com o Moreirense! Tudo perdido…sim estamos apenas a 6 pontos do topo mas com esta equipa a jogar assim, so mesmo um milagre!

Thanks for your comments! Really appreaciate it!

Regarding the comments ill go 1 by 1

1 - The problem with an even slower narratives is that I would stop enjoying playing the game…basically losing pace, which sometime its already an issue.

2 and 3 - The financial and injury topics, I can defently add a bit more into the story…on tactics is really not something I am an expert in, so it gets complicated to go into details especially as my tactic is very much keeping the same tactic by getting stronger and stronger players.

I like more a charachter view of the game, how the personal life of the manager interwines with football

Ill try to improve in the upadtes of the next season, since the ones for 2025/2026 are all written already. Thanks again for the praise and the constructive criticism!

March 14th, 2026 - Sheffield F.C. can taste the playoffs...again!

The game home against Darlington should have been a relatively easy win and again the boys were by far the best side, but luck has not been on Sheffield’s side, with Joe Snowdon getting injured close to the end of the game and conceding late consequently…this together with the injury turning out to be 7–8-month affair. It was not the easiest time for Dolbeth and the next match was probably the lowest point the old Portuguese coach found himself ever, at Chorley a dreadful defensive performance and the worst defeat of Sheffield F.C. in decades…7-1. Something needed to be done! Well, a few days later, the news came of a short-term loan for the midfield position to substitute for Snowdon who would not play until next season; the name chosen was Gilligan from Burton with 7 appearances in League Two this season.

It was one of the worst months of the last years for Sheffield, so February could only have been better. And indeed, the supporters could feel the chemistry of the team and the new players improving from game to game and resulting in two important wins, first home against Stourbridge and then at Ashton-under-Lyne. The good performances continued mostly on the offensive end against Bunbury United in the Home of Football but despite the easy win, it was still clear that defensively there was a lot of improvement possible. Nevertheless, its important notice that only 15 days after the biggest loss ever under Dolbeth, by 1-7, Sheffield managed to win the 3 following games, culminating in a 7-2. There was more time between games, and this was also visible in the freshness of the starting 11, with the visit to Braintree Town, only confirming the fact on the 4th straight win.

Up until now it had been a perfect month of February, but on the 25th of February, Sheffield F.C. would face the undisputed league leaders and despite the 0-3 win for the boys in the first round, this would always be game where Dolbeth’s boys were not tipped to win. For waterlogging the game was called off and a few days later against Boston United, the boys had the chance to do a perfect month. It wasn’t meant to be due to a late equalizer from Boston, but that did not impede Dolbeth from getting coach of the month and two of the boys being in the top3 players of month. On to March came the big game. Not particularly well played, Sheffield started well but ended up once again conceding in a game where despite all, it was clear that Macclesfield was the better team in the division. A few days later in a visit to 8th placed Gloucester, the boys came back with a clinic by scoring 7 goals in the first half on an 4-8 goal galore that puts Sheffield very close to guaranteeing the playoffs with 8 games to be played in the regular season.

Cronica Leonina!

Dessas tacas e tacinhas quero la saber. O que importa estamos bem, no campeonato são 6 pontos que são difíceis, mas não impossíveis e nestes últimos tempos vencemos os lampiões e apenas empatamos com os gajos do major valentão! E depois temos a Europa, bom resultado nos oitavos, empatados com os pizzas da Atalanta, em casa temos de ganhar e vamos com isto para a frente. Mal posso esperar por este final de época. Se formos a outra final, vou la ver!

Its always a struggle in these leagues!

January 17th, 2026 - Very tight at playoff spots

Without having to think about the cups, the month of December seemed a bit calmer and more apt for continuing with the good performances. Only league games from now on, starting with a visit to Bishop’s Stortford, a team which is almost a synonym to the league, and which was as usual mid-table. Very solid performance and win from the boys who above all seemed fresher than the opposition. Surely the next game against 5th place Gloucester would be a harder challenge even if Sheffield F.C. was playing home with more and more supporters coming to the Home of Football as the season progressed. Even so, the boys made it look easy and with Mazwi in good form this month Sheffield grabbed the 3 points with a clear 3-0. Still on a pack schedule, the next 4 games would all be away, meaning that Dolbeth would only play again home already in January next year.

Starting this streak of 4 away matches was the last game of the first round at Ashton-under-Lyne with the local team struggling in the relegation spots and who just got a new manager. Maybe due to the new coach and despite the superiority in all aspects of the game of our boys, a goal close to the end saw Sheffield dropping 3 points in what should have been an easy game. No time to cry as 4 days later there was another away league game and for the second time in a row and maybe already thinking about Christmas, Sheffield left points on the table. Finally, there was a bit of a pause for Dolbeth to eat his Christmas Codfish in Lisbon and without games on boxing day, it was on the 28th of December that Sheffield visited Hereford where it became clear that the break was good for the boys as they trashed the home team by 0-4! The following game and the last from an away streak as well as from the calendar year of 2025 was also a good result with Oxford with a 2-2 against a top 5 team!

2026 started with some gossip at the club bar, with some supporters swearing that Dolbeth was trying to get some new players for the defensive side. The same was later confirmed by the manager but in the first game of the year, there were no new faces in a very important win against another top 5 team that saw Sheffield F.C. for the first time in third place. During the week three new players were seen in the training ground and while one of them was from the youth team, Harrison Holgate central defender and central midfielder Jack Earing, started from the bench on the visit to King’s Lynn with Sheffield already down 3-1 at half time. The result did not improve in the second half, in a game where the boys were the better team despite the poor result. The two players started in the 11 on the next game at home against Spennymoor Town where Sheffield F.C. disappointed once again, not so much in the quality of play but on the result, resting now in the 4th place with many teams chasing from behind.

Cronica Leonina!

Mas isto cabe na cabeça de alguém? Quem anda a gerir o clube? Então depois de levarmos 3 dos morcões vamos vender dois dos melhores jogadores da equipa para eles? Epá perder com o Porto, empatar com o Casa Pia e o Braga já esta mal o suficiente e ainda temos de lhes dar mais abébias. La esta pela segunda época consecutiva só mesmo na Europa não estamos a ser uns autênticos ridículos. Quando mudamos estas moscas!!??

December 9th, 2025 - Out of the cups and happy

November started with one of the most anticipated games of the last century to Sheffield F.C., the stadium was packed for their first entry in the FA Cup main round in many decades and the team on the other side was Accrington Stanley, at the moment in a promotion spot at League Two. Dolbeth was clear “It’s an impossible task, against a professional player…but miracles do happen in football!”. And he was right, after an initial 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, on extra time, the boys gathered strength from somewhere and went up 4-1, only to finish the extra time suffering 2 goals in the last minutes. It was not enough and another beautiful page in the history of the club was written with the club getting 50k for the win and facing another big challenge next: Rotherham United.

Despite the amazing run in the FA Cup, the reality was that the league was the priority and there the roller coaster of results continued to be the norm, with Sheffield F.C. being able to play well and win comfortably in some games and then even at home, against a theoretically poorer opponent, getting trashed by 0-3. It also did not help that for 2 months it had been a non-stop of fixtures, 3 or 4 days apart each, but these are the conditions of a higher league and the same for everyone. On top of all, still in November started also the FA Trophy and the compromise there was really to present a squad of youth and less rotated players as the competition was not deemed to be a priority. Against Kettering Town away that is exactly what happened with the team going down 2-0 only to recover and turn the game around after 5 substitutions at half time.

It seemed at this point that there were more cup games than anything else, but the league still squeezed some fixtures in the middle as the boys received and won, although unconvincingly, the team of Bradford Park Avenue by 2-0 and edged closer to the top of the table. But clearly the next fixture, the 7th game of the month, in the visit to Rotherham United from League One for the second round of the FA Cup. 2000 Sheffield F.C. did the short 30-mile trip north to see Dolbeth stating prior to the game “We just need another miracle!”. It was not meant to be this time and the boys lost against a much stronger opponent by a slim margin but kept their heads high and were received in Sheffield with a small party! The exit from the FA Trophy followed, this time against a smaller opponent but again with none of the best XI starting, something that did not seem to bother the supporters given that for the league, the points kept on coming and the team was more and more a playoff candidate.

Cronica Leonina!

Continuamos a perder pontos em joguinhos de m*rda…primeiro em casa com o Famalicão, depois em Arouca…assim não da mesmo, assim nunca la chegamos. Podemos ganhar os jogos todos na Europa que efectivamente esta a ser pelo segundo ano, bastante acima do esperado, mas depois no campeonato continuamos assim e la esta não passamos do terceiro lugar! Certo, os lampiões vão em quarto mas o Porto já ta 7 pontos!

October 30th, 2025 - Just even

Dolbeth had said that the squad was closed but given the defensive difficulties of the team and probably a good business opportunity, even prior to the first FA Cup game, there was the arrival of central back Charlie O’Connell, who given his experience at Peterborough United was expected to be the back boss of the team. With such a packed end of September the worse that could happen would be to have to play a replay game already in the first FA Cup round…but that is exactly what happened when Dolbeth decided to field a rotated team which dominated the lower leaguers of Stratford away but could not get a win. 3 days later at home the situation was resolved in the first 20 minutes and the boys were through to the next round. Very packed schedule and 4 days later it was off on the road again for a very good performance against Banbury United.

Always short break, this time less than 72 hours after the game at Banbury, Sheffield F.C. faced home, Curzon Ashton who was having a very hard time this year and the boys piled on their misery with an easy 5-1 win. Prior to an international break, there was the third FA Round and again Dolbeth this time at home decided to field a rotated 11, this time with a few under 19 players that had never played for the first team, but the result ended up being a good win against a clearly inferior team of Mickleover and basically fulfilling the minimum requirements for board in this competition. The 10-day break (with the team having for the first time 2 players called to their national teams, both on loan, but Richards to Gibraltar and Phuthi to Zimbabwe) was welcomed and already deep in October the Home of Football received another struggling team, Braintree Town who seemed to be an easy target…but it was not meant to be and in the end a 2-2 result left a sour taste in the supporters mouth.

With a bit of luck in the draw, the fourth qualifying round of the FA saw Sheffield F.C. facing an easier opponent in the team of Southport with a game ending in a 5-1 trashing making the club achieve the main round for the first time in many decades. Returning to the league there is no bigger statement on how even the league is as the next 4 games with the boys going from a crazy draw (that could easily have been a defeat) against last placed Boston united, to winning by a clear margin against league leaders Macclesfield, only to lose to mid-low table Spennymoor. This is the kind of emotion that is good for the league fans but bad to the heart of Dolbeth and co. 15 games gone and Sheffield F.C. keeps surprising the country and sits in a playoff spot, “only” 5 points from the top of the table (although with one more game played.

Cronica Leonina!

Estava tudo a correr tao bem em Setembro…estávamos ate em primeiro lugar depois de vencer os lampiões na Luz! Mas em Outubro tínhamos de foder tudo, contra uns bonecos la do Vizela fomos perder e de seguida mais 2 pontos de vela com o Moreirense. Na Europa por enquanto tudo bem, vencemos dois perdemos um, não há muito que nos podemos queixar, mas no campeonato não vamos ficar outra vez em terceiro!?

Septmeber 12th, 2025 - No chemistry

On the first official game of the season, Sheffield F.C. team was still waiting for a couple of more new players, but on the starting 11 there were already 7 different new faces, with the goalkeeper and all the back 4 being completely new. Lund was also playing in the right wing which was unusual. Away in Wales at Merthyr Town the most important thing was not to lose and after getting in front Sheffield conceded twice and had to grab the draw from behind on an entertaining but not really well played game. Three days later, Sheffield had their first ever home game in the new stadium and with another new face joining the team, right-wing McFadden on loan from Bolton, entering directly in the starting eleven. Both Dolbeth, the new chairman and the players expected a much bigger crowd than the 520 people that came into the new 4000-seater…it was their first ever game in such a high division for more than 100 years and the boys managed to get a slim win over Oxford City.

Another 4 days later, Sheffield hosted Hereford, with Dolbeth telling the press shortly before the start of the game “this is one which I don’t want to lose…come on, they have a cow on their badge!”. And in all honesty, it was a complete dominance from beginning to the end still with the stadium only at 20% of its capacity. At least defensively Sheffield was doing a much better job than in the past seasons with 2 clean sheets in 3 games…it did not last long, in the 4th league game, a defensive disaster and a heavy defeat by 5-1 at the hands of the league leader South Shields. Nothing worked well in that game, but the boys needed to keep their heads high! King’s Lynn Town at home was also not the best team to make a recover against as they had 4 wins in 4 games and in the end the result was a 0-2 fair defeat in a game where another 2 new faces played although having joined the team only a few days prior – we are talking about Mazwi a left winger from Birmingham and Ajay Matthews, a stricker from Middlesbrough who is being brought in as Pennant decided to leave for Sutton United for 20k.

The team had the players, but the new faces were lacking chemistry…and this was clear in the following games. True that 6 points out of 9 was not bad, but especially on defensive level, the boys seemed lost on the field. The situation can only get better now that Dolbeth said that the squad was “closed” at least until the winter break with the departure of Kamga which was one of the poorer performances last season and Tommy Williams who had not played for the main team for more than a year. It was still a team with too many players on loan (7 when only 5 can be used per game) and in need of better defenders, nevertheless the place in the upper half of the table after being promoted was not a bad result for Sheffield F.C. who was now going to play their first cup game of the season.

Cronica Leonina!

Pois eu vi logo, tinha de haver mãozinha da mafia dos agentes da FIFA…la se foi o ganha pão do Sporting e ainda por cima por uns míseros 43 Milhões de Euros para o Barcelona. Esses gajos não estavam falidos. Estava tudo tao bem, tínhamos equipa para atacar a liga e a Europa League a agora viu se logo pelo primeiro mês, em 4 jogos já perdemos 3 pontos contra aqueles morcões do Major Valentim…não espero nada de bom para 2026!

Yeah, I also do not understand why Alfreton, its not even that close…

Expectation from the board is a mid-table finish, but without any proper re-inforcements especially on the defensive end, that might be herculean task…

August 4th, 2025 - Endless Embargo Summer

There were signs still while all the players were on vacations, that something important was about to happen…or Dolbeth would not have interrupted his vacation to come to Sheffield at the beginning of June. One first thing that was announced to the cheer of the supporters was that Dawson, a club symbol, would continue his career at Sheffield F.C. as a scout. But it was with a mixed feeling that Richard Tims announced that the club supporters wanted to take control of the fans, and the negotiation would mean that exactly during the transfer window in the summer, there would be an embargo on the transfer market. Dolbeth initially was “fine” with the situation but when we entered July, and the situation was still a standstill there were rumors that the coach would quit and go back to Portugal.

In the meantime, and with a team composed of only 15 players including a few youth ones, Dolbeth started preparing the boys for an upcoming season in a division where professionalism was already present and where a fight for escaping relegation seemed to be the only path. It was something of a hard and tumultuous pre-season with some inconsistent results and most of all, very unconvincing performances all the way till the last two games against weaker opponents. So it was with a big joy that on the 21st of July was announced that the club had been sold to the fans and the new chairman Paul Williams quickly lifted the embargo. With less than 3 weeks left to the first league game, the targets had been identified long ago, and soon new faces joined the team…

McGuckin and Phuthi arrived from the parent clubs of Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday, one for the attack and the other for the right back. Soon also from Coventry came another central back, Callum Perry as well as a free transfer Jordan Moore-Taylor to the same position, which was by far the most urgent one to fill. Another free transfer, Tom Leak, again to the central back position but more as a reserve player, making it now a priority to reinforce the wings on the attack. Far from optimal this pre-season in anyone’s opinion, but tomorrow the boys need to out and give their best…another factor this season with Sheffield being surprisingly tipped to get to the middle of the table, is that the Home of Football stadium was now too small for the competition, so the team will play at home this year in another field which was also be renamed as Home of Foottball

Cronica Leonina!

Estiveram melhor do que o Sheffield F.C. no defeso até agora, já que conseguiram contratar jogadores que parecem bons jovens, especialmente aquele Stanisic que vem do Bayern e apenas venderam um jogador semi-titular que também não estava a fazer nada…o Edwards deve passar a vida na noite! Mas depois também nos amigáveis não mostraram nada…4 jogos apenas e com umas equipas que ninguém conhece…uma que se chama Retro. Enfim fica o bom resultado na Corunha!

May 30th, 2025 - Glorious Playoffs

Third place in the table and in this league the playoffs were only played in a single game. The draw saw Sheffield F.C. playing Radcliffe, the team that led the league all the way till the last game and who managed to lose it all after only making 4 points in the last 7 games. This is where Dolbeth, was expecting to hit Radcliffe given that Sheffield was growing in form. With all the players available, our boys also had the home advantage, and they took it, by scoring right in the first minute and continue the pounding on Radcliffe. Unfortunately, and despite the dominance, the half-time result was still 1-0. But then in their first shot at goal, Radcliff drew the game at the beginning of the second half and although the game did not change it was only in the 79th minute that Mintus scored his second goal to put an end to the match and take our boys to the Playoff final!

In the final and somehow surprisingly Sheffiled F.C. kept the home advantage as favorites Marine had lost in extra time at home against our adversaries tonight, Leek Town. It was team with whom the boys had lost both league games, but this was an all-or-nothing game and again with a full fit team, the words from Dolbeth entering the game were clear “Its not if we want to win or can win. We will win. Period”. It seems that the boys heard it loud and clear and entered the field dominating still if like in the semi-final game, the goals did not seem to fall…until the second half where after 1 minute Sheffield F.C. was leading and they never looked back to make it a very fair 3-0 result in the end and achieve a promotion that 2 months away was completely out of the map! In the end, it was really a truly great display of attack during the season, and this is visible on the individual awards where Mintus and Billam shined above everyone else

No time like now, the day after the final, Dolbeth sat down with the board to negotiate professionalism for the team. It was a “no” for now but a promise for next year if the maintenance was a success! With the objective set for next season, it was back to the drawing board and the announcement of renewals of Mintus, Billam and Lund were all well received by the fans. At the same time, it was also a sad time, to see an historic and important player like David Dowson to retire. It was not forgotten in his last training the importance he had to the team in 2023/24. But of course, besides players leaving, there were announcements of new faces for next season, starting with Jack Barrett, coming out of Canada for the goal to substitute Hewitson who was going back to his club after a successful loan. Also announced already this month were the signings of backup 36-year-old midfielder Sean McConville and left back Reece Devine!

Cronica Leonina!

Aquela derrota ainda por cima em casa com os lampiões deitou tudo a perder…pelo menos o campeonato e não fosse a Europa estaria aqui hoje a pedir a cabeça do Amorim e do Varandas, mas enfim…a vitoria na Conference acaba por ser mais importante do que isto tudo e quando vencemos os turcos la, sabia que estávamos na final. A final com o United essa ninguém esperava que conseguíssemos vencer ainda por cima na Polonia. Tivemos algum chouriço, tivemos sim, mas nunca estivemos a perder e no final chega o segundo caneco europeu da nossa história e foi tudo para o Marques!