alec6247 - Comments

Fair enough then! Good signings though, I'm sure that they will massively improve the side and provide some of that much needed experience! Looking forward to seeing your next season!

Great signings, not cheap though! £117,000,000 for the two! Where did you get that money from?!

Press Alt+F9 on the screen you want and it pops up in My Documents-Sports Interactive-Football Manager 2013-Screenshots.

Once you have done that, the one I use is Imgur, which is the black,white and green 'i' at the top when writing a post. Create a free account and then it is just simply upload from your documents onto that. Once you've uploaded them, click on the picture, click on it again so it opens a new tab with the photo then copy and paste the web address into [img.] [/img.] (without the full stops in the brackets) and your screenshot will appear in your text wherever you put it!

Hope that helps!

Looks like some great results there, particularly the 7-0 against Man City, and as a Newcastle fan, its always nice to see Sunderland on the wrong end of a heavy scoreline so 8-1 makes me very happy! Unlucky with the CL, but the results don't look bad. Good luck with the last 8 games, I'm sure you will get back to the top of the table. There's only a point between you!

We moved onto our second month of league games, hoping to continue the good start we had made. This was a busier month for us with 8 games having been played, both in the league and also in the cups as well.



We began the month by welcoming bottom of the table Limerick to Turner's Cross and in a game we dominated, we were 2-0 up by the break, goals coming from David O'Connor in the 14th minute, and Gerry Byrne getting a second in the 36th minute. Unfortunately John Mourtney was injured in the first half, resulting in him missing 3-4 weeks of football, and with limited squad depth in his position, the sooner he returned the better. The second half was less entertaining, particularly after James Kavenagh was sent off for two bookable offences in the 58th minute. We held on though and claimed all 3 points with a solid 2-0 victory.

Our next game was against Longford. We traveled there with form high, and expectations of being able to take all three points. Unfortunately the curse of injuries and also missing James Kavenagh through a suspension saw us particularly lacklustre in attack, although defensively we were very strong. With a 0-0 draw looking the most likely result at half-time, thats how it finished and both teams took back a well earned point.

Our third game of the month was our first venture into the Irish League Cup for this season, and once again for the second season running we were drawn against Shamrock Rovers. In a thoroughly pleasing performance we went ahead through Carl Finnigan scoring his first goal for the club in the 18th minute. Jacques Morley extended the lead in the 60th minute and David O'Connor sealed the victory in the 78th minute to make in 3-0. It was a very good result, and we let them have very few chances throughout the match, and also managed to tuck away our chances when they fell, meaning we advanced into the third round.

Onto our second cup game in succession and we faced Fairview Rangers in the Munster Senior Cup. A professional performance saw us go 2-0 up within 10 minutes, goals from Kalen Spillane and Ian Sweeney before we consolidated and allowed some youngsters the opportunity to play some first team football. A 2-0 victory saw us advance through to the next round where we would face Douglas Hall.

Back to the league games now, and our next game was at home against league leaders Dundalk. A fantastic first-half performance saw us leading 3-0 by the break, with John Sullivan grabbing 2 within 5 minutes of each other before Sean Maguire got in on the act grabbing a 3rd in the 27th minute. Although Dundalk grabbed one back early in the second half, we never looked like being caught, and Sean Maguire restored our 3 goal lead in the 91st minute to make the scoreline a much more reflective 4-1 victory.

An away game against Shelbourne was next, who had been underperforming so far this season, so we traveled to Tolka Park with slight anxiety. Shelbourne made a good start scoring in the 11th minute, and as much as we tried, we just seemed unable to create chances. Some poor performances by some players was partly down to this, however we can't take anything away from Shelbourne who defended very well. An 89th minute penalty took the game beyond our reach, and although I was disappointed and unhappy with the performance, Shelbourne had played very well.

Back to a cup tie, and we faced Douglas Hall in the Munster Senior Cup, and a 17 minute hat-trick, either side of half-time from Sean Maguire saw us run out 3-0 victors. Having already won this cup last season, I am using it to give some of the younger players an opportunity to experience some first team football, whilst also playing some senior players as well. It has been a successful cup campaign so far, and hopefully it will continue as we move into the next round where we face U.C.C.

Our last game of the month saw us face U.C.D. back at Turner's Cross. Sean Brosnan gave us the perfect start, scoring within 2 minutes, before he had to come off injured in the 17th minute. U.C.D. pulled level on the half-hour mark and the scores at the break were 1-1. A John Mourtney goal on his comeback from injury in the 56th minute took us ahead again, and David O'Connor scored against his old club in the 77th minute to confirm the victory and make it 3-1.



At the end of a busy month, we had been playing some very pleasing football, and also showing some very good form. The league table saw us sitting in 3rd on 17 points. A much better start than we had made last season. The victories against Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk had been particular highlights of the month, and we moved forward into May with high hopes of continuing our form and consolidating our position in the league.

Good preseason and some good signings made! That 8-2 victory looks like some of your players had some fun! Good result against Newcastle too, must have been the fact it was in the Czech Republic, at St James Park they would have thrashed you

So the start of the season was upon us, and we needed a good start to the season to have any hopes of fulfilling our ambitions of playing European football next season. In a fairly quiet opening month we faced 4 games, with a 3 week gap due to internationals.



We began the season by travelling to Waterford Utd, and in a positive first-half display, we were 2-0 by the break, goals courtesy of Gerry Byrne and Sean Maguire. After half-time the game continued in much the same way, with us dominating possession, and it resulted in us getting a third in the 64th minute, Sean Maguire grabbing his second of the game. Waterford grabbed a late equaliser in the 81st minute, but the damage had already been done and we ran out 3-1 winners.

Our second game was against Derry City, and we continued our problem against them the same as we had last season of being incapable to beat them, and it was only due to a very late equaliser from new signing John Sullivan in the 92nd minute that we rescued a point in this game after going behind just after half-time.

Our third game of the season was our toughest game, against Shamrock Rovers. In a very good first-half performance by the team, we should arguably have been 2 or 3 goals up at half-time. Unfortunately we were only 1-0 up, thanks to a 25 yard drive from Sean Maguire. After the break, Shamrock Rovers came out all guns blazing, but it was two set pieces that let us down, both their goals coming from corners within 10 minutes of each other midway through the second half, condemning us to our first league defeat of the season despite a very gutsy performance from the players.

Our final league game of the month was against Mervue Utd and two goals in 3 first-half minutes from John Sullivan put us 2-0 up at half-time. A third goal came through Ian Sweeney with 13 minutes left to play, and we should have grabbed a fourth when Gerry Byrne grabbed the ball near the halfway line following a corner, and despite being clear through, decided to pass the ball rather than continue running which gave them an opportunity to re-organise and the attack came to nothing. Despite that, we ran out comfortable 3-0 winners to end a very pleasing opening month.



At the end of the month the league table looked like this, with Dundalk having already created a gap at the top of the table, but they had played 1 game more than most teams. We were sitting in third, at the top of a group of teams who had already managed to get 7 points, on goal difference. If we were able to continue our good form that we had shown so far, then we would be able to make that spot our own, and potentially look higher up the league as the season wore on.

Good luck with your second season mate! I've found the same problem in Ireland with patchy form, strikers going weeks without scoring and losing my best players to other teams! Try and tie down your best players to contracts as soon as possible and then at least you will get some money for them!

I would say as they each have their own separate football associations then you could only pick players from one particular country and not a mixture of UK nationalities.

A busy preseason on the outgoing front saw 9 young players leave as well as 3 players from the first team squad due to them not being good enough for the squad. 4 players were brought in to increase the squad depth and quality within the squad to hopefully give us a good chance of pushing on for a Europa League spot this season.



The players that were brought in were striker Carl Finnigan, who despite being 30 still has a couple of years of playing time left in him, and will provide competition to the current strikers in the side.



The next player who was brought in was David O'Connor to replace retired Dan Murray at the back, costing €5k from U.C.D.



John Mourtney was brought in on a free from Longford to provide cover for our attacking midfield positions.



Our final signing was that of John Sullivan from relegated Drogheda Utd, who despite costing €30k will help sure up our midfield, and also provide flexibility due to the positions that he can play.



We only had two preseason games before the start of the season, both against our affiliate clubs, and despite winning both of them only by a 1-0 scoreline, the overall play was good as the new players began blending into the squad.



With all the transfer activity, the clubs finances were still in good shape, €330k in the bank and currently with €164k profit, although it is projected to be by the end of the season a profit of €53.2k and a balance of €196k.



It was important that we started the new season off on a high note, and with a tough opening month of fixtures, if we could start well, then we should be in a good position to advance from our position last year and qualify for European football.

So with the season coming to an end we faced our final five games with a very slight chance of still making the European spots in the league, and with that the extra finances that would come our way. Although it was very unlikely, and we would need plenty of results to go our way, it was something that we needed to push on with and just hope that it would happen.



We began the month extremely well, with a fantastic 4-0 victory against St Pat's Athletic, going 3-0 up by half-time, goals coming from Jacques Morley and Sean Maguire grabbed two goals. After the break Sean Maguire grabbed his third and our fourth to leave the result in no doubt whatsoever and we moved onto the next game in good form and high spirits.

In our second game of the month, we traveled to Limerick hoping that our good form would continue and two goals before the break coming from Sean Maguire to grab his fourth in two games in the 11th minute, and then a Ian Sweeney goal 7 minutes before the break had the game decided before half-time. We continued to press in the second half, but were unable to extend our lead, but another good victory and another vital 3 points.

Our next game and we welcomed Shamrock Rovers to Turner's Cross. With our form having been good going into the game, there was a slight chance of an upset happening, but it was not to be. A poor touch by Johnny Dunleavy allowed them to break through the defense and open the scoring on 35 minutes before they extended their lead, grabbing another three in the second half to condemn us to a 4-0 victory, and also guaranteed that the title would be theirs.

Our penultimate game of the season saw us welcome Longford, and in a good performance, Sean Brosnan grabbed a brace, one coming either side of half-time to put us 2-0 up before they grabbed one back with 9 minutes left, making for a nervy final 9 minutes, but we managed to hold on and claim victory.

Our final league game of the season we traveled to Dundalk, with European qualification now out of our reach, but wanting our final league table position to look more respectable, we were hoping for a win. We fell behind in the very first minute, and we were unable to respond throughout the whole game, making for a very disappointing end to the season.




The final league table looked like this, and despite us improving on our position last season, and also getting a greater points haul, overall it had been disappointing, only managing to achieve one piece of silverware. A case of too many draws, and being pegged back from winning positions during the season had cost us, but hopefully with the players more experienced, they wouldn't make the same mistakes again next season, and perhaps we would be able to challenge for a European place, or possibly even the title next season.

It had been a good season for our young striker Sean Maguire and he was duly awarded the Young Player of the Year award for his performances during the season. He had been linked with numerous clubs during the season, including Shamrock Rovers and some Scottish Division One sides, but I had been able to tie him down to a new contract meaning that he would be going nowhere for next season, one that we would require him to be able to bang the goals in on a more regular basis if we were to improve.



The financial situation of the club at the end of the season was good. We were €247k in the black, and had made a profit of nearly €200k during the season. Hopefully this will mean that I will have a transfer budget and a slightly higher wage budget to play with during the season as we look at improving the squad.



Dan Murray and Brett Ormerod decided to hang their boots up at the end of the season, meaning that we would need to find adequate replacements for them in the transfer market, but with a young squad who had improved over the season, the influx of just a few new players to help provide competition and a little bit more class in key positions, next season could be a good one for us.

Has been hit and miss all season, they just can't get any consistency! Gets quite frustrating after a while!

A truly frustrating month saw us play six games altogether in both league and cups, beginning with a run of cup games.



We started off by welcoming Shamrock Rovers in the Senior Challenge Cup quarter-finals, and after a good defensive performance, we got a goalless draw. Arguably we should have won the game having had by far the better chances, yet our strikers couldn't seem to hit the target at all, and the tie was taken to a replay. We then traveled up to their ground, and with a similar tactic of concentrating more on defensive responsibilities and hope to hit them on a counter worked well for all of about 15 minutes before they went ahead. At half-time the score was 1-0, and I was very disappointed in the performance shown by the players. 3 more goals followed in the second half, and we were comprehensively beaten 4-0.

Our next game was the important Irish League Cup final against Shelbourne, and in another poor display by the team, we fell behind to a cheap goal just before half-time, and then a second with 10 minutes remaining as we pushed forward trying to find an equaliser to take the game into extra time. A disappointing performance to go along with a disappointing result, that would mean it would be at least another year before I could tick off another trophy off the list.

We played our first league game of the month, and it was the third time we had faced Shamrock Rovers in 11 days. Despite going behind shortly after the restart, the players bounced back well, Gerry Byrne seizing upon a loose ball in the box and bundling it over the line at a corner, and then Ian Sweeney put us ahead in the 73rd minute. Shamrock were unable to find a reply, and we managed to win 2-1.

Hoping that we had finally come out of our rut of form, we traveled to struggling Derry City with hopes and expectations of making it 2 wins on the bounce, however, infuriatingly the players didn't put in the performance that they had done in the previous game, rarely threatening the scores, and allowing Derry far too many chances. It was not the performance I was after, and a loss would have been more befitting of the game, such was the extent that Derry outplayed us.

Our final game of the month was against Sligo Rovers, and we welcomed them knowing that it was going to be a hard challenge. We started the game off very brightly, and looked by far the more dangerous of the two sides. Sligo went ahead midway through the first half, but we were quickly back on terms, Kalen Spillane heading in at a corner. As we pressed for a winner towards the end of the game, a 35 yard free-kick in the 90th minute won the game for Sligo as the goalkeeper completely misjudged the ball and it ended up in the back of the net.



The league table looked like this with 5 games for us left to play. Although we were comfortably mid-table, and had also achieved a higher points haul than we had last season already, I was very disappointed as we had dropped an awful lot of points. It was also clear that for us to have a chance in challenging even the top-four the following season would require some serious investment in the squad, money which the board wouldn't allow me. Ireland was also beginning to increasingly frustrate me due to the two-tier system within the league, with the professional clubs (Shamrock and Sligo), running away with the league almost every season looking back at the history, so for me to have a chance of winning the league, it appeared that I would need to be at one of those two clubs. I can see Ireland taking me a long time to do at this rate, so it might be a case of moving on to somewhere else for a while before returning to try and complete conquering Ireland...

Unlucky with the preseason form, however I'm sure you will be able to turn that around once the season starts! Looks like your putting together a good squad as well for the season. Good luck!

Great start to the season buddy, fantastic result in the CL as well against Sevilla! As long as you win your home games, you should be able to get through that group, maybe able to nick a draw away from home?

A busy August saw us play 7 games, and our inability to really continue a small run of good form affected us badly during the month.



We began the month off well, where we played Wexford at Turner's Cross in the League Cup semi-final, and three goals within 5 first-half minutes settled the game before the half-time whistle, goals coming from Sean Maguire and a brace from Sean Brosnan. Although []b]Wexford[/b] managed to pull one back in the second half, there was too much for them to do, and we ran out comfortable 3-1 winners, progressing to the final where we would face Shelbourne.

An away game against Mervue Utd was up next, and a single Garry Buckley goal with just over 15 minutes was enough to decide the game, giving us our first league win in three games, and slightly closing the gap on the European football places.

Our next game was the first of two consecutive home games against Waterford Utd in the Senior Challenge Cup and in a brilliant first half performance, saw us leading 3-0 at the break, goals coming through a Johnny Dunleavy penalty, a Kalen Spillane header and an unfortunate own goal for their keeper, the ball bouncing back off the post from a Sean Maguire shot, onto the keeper and into the net. Although the second half was not as action packed, we kept the pressure on, and didn't allow them to score, the game ending 3-0.

Four days later we welcomed Waterford Utd back to Turner's Cross, this time in the league, and after playing so well previously, we needed to ensure that complacency did not become an issue. The players played fantastically and were extremely unlucky not to be 2 or 3 up by half-time. We continued the same after the break, dominating almost every aspect of the game, and our deserved goal came with 8 minutes remaining as Kalen Spillane headed in from a corner, and the game ended 1-0.

Our third home game on the bounce saw us welcome bottom of the table Drogheda Utd, and after some fantastic performances against Waterford over the last couple of games, morale and expectations were high. Unfortunately the players completely let me and the fans down, losing the game 3-0 as we were completely dominated from start to finish.

Our next league game was against Shelbourne which also brought up my 200th game in management, however I wanted to ensure that the players didn't pay too much attention to the milestone, and instead concentrated on getting the result that we needed.



In an even first half, we went in at the break 0-0, and 3 minutes after the restart we went ahead through Sean Brosnan. The lead didn't last long however, with Shelbourne equalising 5 minutes later. They further extended their lead in the 66th, 79th and 88th minutes to leave the scoreline at 4-1, before Sean Brosnan scored a late consolation goal in the 91st minute and we ended the game in another disappointing defeat.

Our final league game of the month saw us travel to Sligo Rovers, and in an eight goal thriller, breaking records along the way, the game ended 4-4.



We fell behind after 27 minutes, however 4 minutes later we had been able to completely turn it around to lead 2-1 until Sligo equalised right on the stroke of half-time. We went ahead again through Sean Maguire, but our inability to keep a lead let us down yet again as we were firstly pegged back in the 59th minute, and then went behind in the 73rd minute. James Kavenagh grabbed his second of the game in the 77th minute to pull us level, and as both teams went looking for a winner the game became really end-to-end, however the finishing, which had been so good for most of the game, suddenly became a problem and the game ended 4-4.

A thrilling but disappointing end of the month saw us lose a position in the league table to Waterford Utd and fall further behind the teams in the European spots. Our patchy form was really hampering us, with us seemingly incapable to string together a run of 3 or more good results.



An important September started, as we were to play Shamrock Rovers in the Senior Challenge Cup before playing Shelbourne in the Irish League Cup final a couple of weeks after, as winning the League Cup now seemed to be our only opportunity of qualifying for the Setanta/All-Ireland Cup, which is one of the other cups necessary to win here. Hoping for a reversal of fortunes, we carried on hoping for the best...

Cheers mate, that's number 5 ticked off now, only 31 more to go!

July was an important month for us, as it gave us our first opportunity for silverware this season, as we faced the Munster Senior Cup final, alongside four further games in the league.



With the final our first game of the month, it gave us a fantastic opportunity to start the month on a high, and hopefully continue our form through the rest of the month. The players didn't disappoint in the game against Fermoy, getting off to a fantastic start with Sean Maguire putting us ahead after 10 minutes, and grabbing a second before the break. In the second half Ian Sweeney made it 3-0 in the 71st minute, before Sean Maguire completed his hat-trick 3 minutes later to ensure that the cup would be heading back to Cork. Fermoy did manage to pull one back in the 86th minute, but there was no way back for them and at the full time whistle, we had won the game 4-1 and also won the cup!



Following the high of winning the cup, we returned to a league game, away against St Pat's Athletic. In a poor first half display we were trailing 2-0 at the break. After giving the players the hairdryer treatment at half-time, they came out and performed much better and Ian Sweeney grabbed a goal shortly after the restart, lobbing the keeper from the halfway line to pull us back into contention. We continued to get stronger through the game and were very unfortunate not to take anything from the game, losing it 2-1.

A home game against Derry City was next, and another fantastic hat-trick from Sean Maguire saw us comfortably win the game 3-1, the only moment of danger being when Derry pulled it back to 2-1 midway through the second half.

We then traveled to Longford and after a brilliant start, we were ahead through Ian Sweeney within 2 minutes. We were playing well and restricting Longford to only long-shots which were very few and far inbetween, but the only real opportunity that they had throughout the entire game they converted, earning them a point and leaving us feeling a bit disappointed with only taking away a point.

Our final game of the month was a home game against Dundalk, and in a game where both sides created some good chances, neither side was able to convert and a goal-less draw was probably a fair result at the end of the match.



That left us sitting comfortably in mid-table still, within striking distance of the European spots, but the title was almost certainly out of our grasp now. If we were only able to turn some of our draws into wins, we would begin making a charge up the table.

Overall it had been a good month, securing our first trophy in Ireland, and with a semi-final to look forward to in the Irish League Cup, we still had plenty of silverware to play for.

A quiet month during the mid-season break saw us play a friendly against affiliate club Douglas Hall and then play two cup games.



The friendly against Douglas Hall allowed a few fringe players to be given a game as well as maintaining the match fitness of the first team squad. Thomas McKee grabbed his opportunity with both hands, scoring a brace within 10 minutes of the start of the game and Brett Ormerod grabbed a third in the 67th minute to give us a comfortable 3-0 win.

Our next game was the semi-final of the Munster Senior Cup where we faced Everton. We went ahead in the 6th minute thanks to Kalen Spillane scoring from a corner. Everton defended well, and it took us until the 34th minute to grab a second as man of the match Sean Brosnan grabbed his first of the afternoon. With the score at 2-0 at half-time, we were in control of the game, but with a potential to push on in the second half and grab a few more goals. A second goal from a corner came in the 63rd minute as Dan Murray scored with a header, before in the final 10 minutes, Sean Brosnan grabbed two more goals to complete his hat-trick and give us a well deserved 5-0 victory. We were rewarded by meeting Fermoy in the final.

Our last game of the month was against Drgoheda Utd in the quarter-final of the League Cup. A good first half performance saw Sean Maguire announce his comeback from injury with a goal in the 23rd minute, before Kalen Spillane grabbed a second 8 minutes later. Drogheda Utd managed to pull one back with 20 minutes left, but we were able to hold on and advanced to the semi-finals of the competition, leaving us with a real possibility of winning two cups at least this season!

Another busy month on the playing front saw us play 8 games in all as our patchy form continued.



We began the month with a good away victory against Limerick F.C.. We fell behind in the 22nd minute, but a good response from the players saw them turn the deficit around, goals coming from Sean Brosnan in the 28th minute, and a second goal in the 43rd minute from Sean Maguire. In the second half Limerick continued to press for an equaliser, as we attempted to get a third to put the game beyond doubt, but neither side could find the back of the net and we earned 3 points to begin the month well.

A credible away victory against Waterford came next in a game we were extremely unfortunate not to win having dominated most of the game. We went ahead in the 8th minute through an Ian Sweeney goal. With the scoreline at 1-0, we were very susceptible to being hit on the break as we tried to find a second whilst remaining responsible at the back, and Waterford grabbed an equaliser in the 87th minute to destroy the hopes of the traveling fans and the game ended 1-1.

A home game against fellow strugglers Mervue Utd was next up and after falling behind in the 13th minute, we pulled it back in the 26th minute with a booming free-kick from Dan Murray to go in at the break with the scores locked at 1-1. As the game wore on, it looked like a draw was on the cards until Kalen Spillane put us ahead with 9 minutes remaining from a corner. 4 minutes later Mervue Utd conceded a penalty, and Johnny Dunleavy made no mistake from the spot, extending our lead to 3-1. There were no major scares in the last 5 minutes, and we picked up our second win in three games.

A poor performance against league leaders Shelbourne at home followed, going 1-0 down in the 17th minute. Despite creating some chances, we were unable to find the back of the net, and they put the game beyond doubt in injury time, grabbing a second to win the game 2-0.

Perhaps still reeling from the defeat to Shelbourne, we traveled to bottom of the table Drogheda Utd, and in a game of extremely few chances, in the entire match there were only 7 shots on goal, it ended 0-0. Not the best result, but at least it wasn't a defeat.

We then faced Longford in the Senior Challenge Cup 2nd round. After falling behind again in the first half in the 8th minute, we managed to pull level through Sean Maguire in the 28th minute to go in at the break with the scores at 1-1. As the second half progressed, neither side was able to create any clear cut chances and it finished as a draw, meaning a replay would be needed to find a winner. The replay back at Turner's Cross played out very much the same. In a game of few chances, after 90 minutes the game was tied at 0-0 and extra time would be needed to find a winner. Garry Buckley scored his first goal for the club in the 93rd minute to grab us that all important goal for us to advance through to the next round.

Our final game of the season saw us play Limerick F.C. for the second time this month, and fresh from scoring his first goal for the club, Garry Buckley added a second, scoring the only goal of the game in the 25th minute to give us a very fortuitous victory, the defense having played brilliantly to ensure that we didn't concede. We unfortunately had 2 injuries in this match to key striker Sean Maguire, ruling him out for 4 weeks, and also Danny Morrissey, ruling him out for a minimum of 3 months.



As we went into the mid-season break, we were sat in mid-table, with a small gap beginning to open up between us and Longford below us, yet we were only 3 points off a European spot for next season. With a quiet June, hopefully our injury problems would not affect us too badly and we would be able to advance in the cup games that we had to face.

April was another busy month for us, with no fewer than seven games for us to play.



We began the month by traveling to Derry City, and in a game that had plenty of chances for both sides, neither side was able to find the back of the net mainly due to the fine form that both goalkeepers were in. It wasn't the best start to the month, but was at least a foundation to push on from and hopefully get a few wins to move up the league.

Four days later we welcomed Douglas Hall to Turner's Cross for the first round of the Munster Senior Cup. A thoroughly professional performance saw us run out 3-0 winners, goals coming from Sean Maguire with one in both halves, and a first goal for Jacques Morley 8 minutes from time.

An away game against Dundalk in the league was up next, who we had thrashed 5-1 last time we faced them, and this game didn't disappoint either, with 5 goals coming in the first 21 minutes. We fell behind in the second minute, before Sean Brosnan equalised for us in the 6th minute, and then put us ahead in the 9th. Sean Maguire then placed us further ahead with a well executed finish, which won goal of the month in the 11th minute. We were pegged back by Dundalk in the 21st minute, and at half-time the score was 3-2. Dundalk equalised 4 minutes after the restart, and after that neither side could grab what would have been a vital goal to grab all 3 points. Although disappointed not to be able to hold onto a 3-1 lead, it was a good game with some good performances from most of our players.



A home game against Sligo Rovers was up next, and in contrast to our previous game, there were very few chances for either team and a 0-0 draw was played out.

We then traveled to Ballynanty Rovers for the second round of the Munster Senior Cup, who had managed to grab a very credible draw during preseason. This time round, with the players more prepared was no such contest, with us comfortably 2-0 up by half-time, goals coming from Ian Sweeney and Danny Morrissey. A late third goal from Ian Sweeney capped a very good performance and advanced us into the quarter-finals of the competition.

A home league game against Shamrock Rovers was next, and despite a very good performance from the side, controlling most aspects of the game, the difference between the two sides was their ability to score, with their only goal coming almost immediately after the start of the second half. It was a disappointing defeat as we really deserved something from the game, but it showed that we were capable of pushing a very strong team, boding well for our league form after this game.

Our final game of the season was the quarter-final of the Munster Senior Cup where we welcomed Blarney, another side we had played during preseason. Although the game on that occasion had been quite close, this game was completely different. We spent most of the game camped in their half and were only able to get 3 goals, coming from Ian Sweeney, Sean Brosnan and Brett Ormerod, before they pulled one back in the 77th minute. There was no way we were going to let that lead slip and we finished the game well, winning 3-1 and progressing into the semi-finals of the cup.



Our league form during the month has been a case of simply not being able to win matches. We have been picking up points through draws, but we need to start picking up wins if we want to move up the table. The position we are currently in could see us move up the table quickly with a couple of wins, but could also put us in trouble if we continue our run of bad form.

March brought a busy month with games in the league and also in the Irish League Cup.



We began the season at the end of February away against Mervue United. In a pretty dull first half, neither team really threatened the scores and at half-time the scores remained 0-0. As the second half kicked off, it looked like both sides were raring to go, and James Kavanagh opened the scoring in the 47th minute to put us 1-0 ahead. Mervue Utd equalised 5 minutes from time and it looked like they had rescued a draw until Brett Ormerod popped up in the box in the 91st minute to bury the ball into the back of the net, and give us an opening day victory.

Our first home game of the season saw us welcome Waterford Utd to Turner's Cross, and two first half goals from Ian Sweeney and Sean Maguire saw us race into a 2-0 lead by half-time. In a second half which was all about retaining the lead, Waterford managed to pull one back with 8 minutes remaining, but were unable to find a second goal to earn them a point.

3 days later we traveled to Shelbourne, and in a poor display, none of the team really performing to the levels they had been over the previous couple of games, fell to a 2-0 defeat, goals coming in both halves. Although the defeat was disappointing, Shelbourne are among the favourites for the league, and any sort of result against them would have been a good achievement.

Two disappointing home draws came next against Drogheda Utd and fierce rivals St Pat's Athletic, games in which we were expected to win. Falling behind in the first half against Drogheda, adjustments were made at half-time, which although made us more threatening, we were unable to grab a goal until the 84th minute, coming through Sean Brosnan and with little time left to find a winner the game ended 1-1. In a difference against St Pat's Athletic, we started the game very well, and Dan Murray scored with a fantastic free-kick in the 5th minute. Unable to hold onto the lead, we were pegged back 8 minutes after the restart, and again we failed to find the back of the net to grab all 3 points.

A resounding 5-1 victory in the Irish League Cup against Dundalk away from home was perhaps the highlight of the month. After falling behind in the 10th minute, a first-half hat-trick from Sean Maguire saw us leading at half-time 3-1. Two further goals after the break from Kalen Spillane and Sean Brosnan saw us run out as comfortable victors, and we were rewarded with a tough game against Shamrock Rovers in the second round.

A home game against Longford in the league was up next, and we got off to an absolute flyer, Sean Maguire scoring in the first minute of the game. The lead didn't last long however, being pegged back 2 minutes later. Despite our ability to create chances, we failed to convert them and the game finished as a 1-1 draw.

Our second Irish League Cup game of the month saw us welcome Shamrock Rovers. In a game that was going to be a tough ask to win, the players played fantastically, and first-half goals from Kalen Spillane and Sean Maguire saw us leading 2-0 at half-time. In the second-half we were more conservative, keen to ensure that we retained the lead, and a goal for Shamrock Rovers coming in the 79th minute threatened to take the game to extra-time, however an Ian Sweeney goal in the 90th minute settled the nerves of the home fans and saw us win 3-1, advancing to the quarter finals!

In a month of mixed form, we had progressed well in the cups, however our league form had been a bit hit and miss and we sat mid-table, with a gap already forming to the top 4 teams. With a good run of form we would be able to close the gap and get right into the mix, but we would have to wait and see what happened.

A rather long preseason with Cork City, having got the job at the end of November, and the first league game not being until the end of February gave me plenty of time to evaluate the squad and dip into the transfer market.



The transfer market was not a particularly busy one, only 3 players arriving, and 3 players leaving. Unfortunately the 3 players leaving were among the best players in the squad, the bigger clubs coming in to take them away from me.

As replacements we brought in Ian Sweeney and Jacques Morley to provide competition for the winger positions and also brought in Sean Brosnan as an understudy to leading striker Sean Maguire.




With the squad's main weakness now covered we could move forward to some preseason friendlies to try and begin lifting the confidence of the team, following a poor previous season, and also for them to start getting to grips with the new tactics that I had brought in.



Overall it was a good preseason, going undefeated, and also recording some very good wins over Tramore and Janesboro, but we also had a fairly poor draw against Ballynarty Rovers.

With the new season just about to start, we were given odds of 200-1 on the title, meaning that it looked like our focus would be on one of the cups this year rather than the league.

So after a 3-4 month break from football, a job opportunity finally came up in Ireland, following the end to their domestic season, to be the manager of Cork City after their poor showing in the league that season, which allowed me to move to Ireland in an attempt to tick off some of the trophies there, and also gave me the opportunity to get the elusive Munster Senior Cup only playable by 3 teams currently.



A short background on Cork City:
Founded in 1984, Cork City are a semi-professional Irish club playing in the Irish Premier Division. The club play their home games at Turner's Cross and possess adequate training facilities and basic youth facilities. The club also has fairly basic junior coaching and an average youth recruitment network. The club is affectionately known as The Rebel Army and retains a fierce rivalry with St Patrick's Athletic and Shamrock Rovers.

The Rebel Army have a history they can be proud of, having won twenty-eight competitions. Boasting a total of twenty-eight competition wins, here are just some of their highlights. Cork City won the Irish top division in 1993 and 2005 and finished runners-up on five occasions, won the All Ireland Cup in 2008, won the Irish 2nd tier for the only time in 2011, and won the Senior Challenge Cup in 1998 and 2007 and came in second place three times.



A quick overview of the squad saw that there was some work to be done, although there was a lot of potential also, particularly in defense, with a pretty solid looking back-line!



It also saw me reunited with Brett Ormerod, who had signed for Cork City following his release from Wrexham 18 months ago. Although the defense looked good, the midfield needed some work done to it, and some new faces brought in if we were going to improve.

Was always going to be a big ask, Bournemouth were flying high near the top of League One, and some of the players they had playing as well were just a class above my players, so was never going to be a likely one this time round.

April brought about the last 5 league games of the season, and also saw us take a trip to Wembley, our third in two seasons, to contest the final of the Johnstone Paint Trophy.



With the gap at the top of the table so close, in fact it couldn't be closer, it was imperative that we continued our good form to carry us through to the end of the season to end as champions.

In our first game of the month against Bury, we did just that, playing very well indeed in front of our home fans and finishing the game 4-0 in our favour, goals coming from Leon Clarke, Hamza Bencherif and a second half brace from Craig Moore ensuring we retained our top spot for at least another week.

Our second game of the month was the long anticipated Johnstone Paint Trophy Final against Bournemouth at Wembley. After our fantastic run to reach the final, would we be able to pull off an upset and win the trophy? We set out with a defensive outlook, in an attempt to try and limit the creative talent at the disposal of Bournemouth's manager Gus Poyet, but we fell behind to an unfortunate own goal from Derek Doyle after 20 minutes, the ball bouncing off the post and onto Doyle before going into the net. With the half-time score at 1-0, if we were to have any chance of winning the game, we needed to go out and attack to try and nick a goal back. With this came an obvious weakness to a counter attack, and we fell further behind from a penalty following a counter attack. With the odds stacked firmly against us, it now looked like we would unfortunately not be winning the trophy this time. The final whistle came, and although the players had given their all, the difference in class had been evident, losing 2-0 on the day. Unfortunately Dan, the double was a little bit out of our reach this season, but there's always next time!

Back to the league, and with the title still to play for, we needed to ensure that our loss against Bournemouth didn't knock our confidence against Accrington. Unfortunately this wasn't the case, with the players low on confidence, and Accrington playing extremely well, we went down 4-0. Fortunately for us York had failed to capitalise, Kidderminster doing us a favour and playing out a 1-1 draw.

A good showing at home to Cheltenham and another 3 points to keep the pressure on York came next, with 2 first half goals coming from Leon Clarke and Jeffrey Monakana putting us 2-0 up. A late consolation goal made the game look a lot closer than it was, but we were able to hold on for the win.

Our penultimate game of the season, and our final away game saw us travel to Kidderminster. Knowing that if we failed to win and York won their game the title race would be over, I had hoped for a decent start to the game, which we got, Jeffrey Monakana scoring after 3 minutes. We were unable to retain the lead, and the performance after that was truly abysmal, seeing us go on to lose 4-1, and it looked as though we had lost our chance to win. A check of the York scoreline however, saw that they had drawn 1-1 against Chesterfield meaning that they were 2 points ahead of us with one game to play!

Going into the final game of the season, and the title was still very much up for grabs.Three teams were still capable of winning the title. For York anything but a loss would almost certainly see them win, Northampton needed to win by a large margin, and for there and for there to both Wrexham and York to draw, and we just simply needed to beat York to ensure that the title would be ours!

The fixture couldn't have been better, with first and second place playing each other on the final day of the season, with the winner going onto win the league. On a massive day for the club, with an opportunity to gain back-to-back promotions, and also for me to clinch that first title, we welcomed York to the Racecourse. Things couldn't have got off to a worse start for us, as almost immediately from the kickoff we were behind, Carl Watts scoring in the 3rd minute to leave us with a mountain to climb. The players responded fantastically, and for the next 10 minutes we were camped in York's half, creating chance after chance but failing to convert them until Neal Trotman headed in at the near post from a header in the 18th minute. Although we were once again level, the job was only half done as we still needed to go out and find a goal. By this time as well, Northampton had fallen 2-0 down, and it looked as though it was a straight shoot-out between us and York for the title. The game became very end-to-end, both teams creating a number of chances until the 41st minute when Ryan Mason smashed home only his 2nd goal of the season from the edge of the penalty area to give us the lead! The second half was once again very end-to-end, York looking for the equaliser that would secure them the title, us looking for a third goal to put the game beyond doubt. Despite some chances, neither side was able to grab another goal, the game ending 2-1 and meaning that we were crowned nPower League Two Champions!





The league couldn't have been closer, with us winning it by only a single point from York, who had led for most of the second half of the season. I was so proud of the team, and the board were also extremely happy with me, going above all expectations to win the league.



Some good news also came for winger Adrian Cieslewicz as he was awarded 2nd place in the nPower League Two Goal of the Season competition for his effort against Wycombe back in September.



With my contract ending in June, the board immediately wanted to offer me a new contract to stay on at the club and guide them to safety the following season, however I felt it was time to move on, and take on another country before returning to England to continue with the mega-challenge this was turning out to be! I rejected their contract offer, and started scouring the job market in the hopes of finding a job perhaps in Ireland.

March saw the run-in towards the end of the season begin with 4 league games being played. With the gap only being 4 points at the top between us and York, it would only take one slip up for us to catch up and start applying some real pressure.



The first game of the month was an important top of the table clash at home to Northampton. After a strong first-half performance, we led at the break 2-0 thanks to a first career goal from Jonathon Bateson and a second from Leon Clarke. After the break Northampton looked much the better side, eventually pulling level in the 76th minute. With time running out, Leon Clarke grabbed his second of the game to give us a slightly fortuitous 3-2 victory in what I'm sure was a thrilling match for the neutrals, and also allowed us to keep the pressure on York.

Our second game of the month was against struggling Southend and it really was a game of two halves, with us powering to a 3-0 lead within the opening half hour, goals coming from George Donnelly, Craig Moore and Joe Bryan to show for some fantastic attacking football. In the second half, I'm not quite sure what happened as we let Southend back into the game, and also let a 3-goal lead slip, their equaliser coming in the 91st minute to break the hearts of the travelling support.

A better defensive showing the following week saw us hold onto a lead after racing ahead 2-0 against Torquay, two quickfire goals coming from Leon Clarke and George Donnelly. Although Torquay managed to pull one back, we managed to hold on for 3 points.

Another two first half goals from Leon Clarke and George Donnelly was again enough to secure all three points for the Red Dragons, playing away at Dagenham and Redbridge, with the defense being rarely tested, and we arguably should have won by more.



By the end of the month we had caught up with, and overtaken York at the top of the table, albeit on goal difference. With only 5 games left of the season, would we be able to hold onto our spot and make it memorable back-to-back promotions as well as being crowned champions of nPower League 2?

A busy February saw us face 6 games in a short 4 week period, including the Johnstone Paint Trophy regional final against Shrewsbury over two legs.



Our first game of the month was the home leg of that tie, and in a good defensive display, we managed to keep the scores level, and make it all to play for in the second leg.

An away game against much improved Portsmouth in the league was up next, and in a close game, they took the lead in the 64th minute. We had an opportunity to level with 5 minutes remaining, but unfortunately Craig Moore couldn't bury the penalty that we had been awarded and the game ended 1-0.

Our following game against Burton had been postponed an incredible 4 times since the beginning of January, and we were finally able to play them. Although we dominated the game, a mistake from a free-kick from Mark Creighton, failing to clear the ball when he needed to allowed them to grab the only goal of the game in the 69th minute and condemn us to our first back-to-back league defeats since before Christmas.

We then had the challenge of the second leg of the Johnstone Paint Trophy final, and we traveled to Shrewsbury full of anticipation and nerves, but hoping I would be able to channel it into a good performance. In a very nervy first half, we were very slow to get going and were very fortunate to still be in the game at half time, with the scores somehow remaining level. After the break we started playing much better, and got a just reward, Craig Moore scoring 10 minutes after the restart to leave Shrewsbury needing 2 goals to win the tie. We went defensive, hoping that we could hold out for the win, and despite Shrewsbury scoring with 10 minutes to go, to make it a very nervy last 10 minutes, we were able to hold out and qualified for the final of the entire competition on away goals where we would face Bournemouth. A fantastic achievement, and we could potentially be ticking off one of the trophies I had thought we wouldn't stand a chance with this season!

After the high of reaching the cup final, our good form returned as we traveled to Plymouth. In a game that would have been thrilling for the neutrals, we took the lead twice, only to be pegged back twice, before Jeffrey Monakana asserted his authority on the game, coming away with a well earned hat-trick. The other goal in the game came from Craig Moore, ending his recent goal drought in the league.

In the final game of the month, we welcomed Gateshead to Wales, and in another tight game against them, we ran out 2-1 winners. All goals were scored in the first 30 minutes, Craig Moore giving us the lead after 14 minutes before we were pegged back 5 minutes later. Ryan Mason scored what turned out to be the winner and his first for the club on the half hour mark to make the scores 2-1. Both teams had chances in the second half, but both sets of strikers were unable to convert.



Thanks to his hat-trick against Plymouth the nPower League 2 Young Player of the Month was awarded to Jeffrey Monakana, and hopefully he would be able to continue his run of good form through the final 9 games of the season.



At the end of the month, and with 9 games remaining, we were sitting comfortably in the automatic promotion places, 4 points behind league leaders York. With our last game of the season being York at home, the title race could well come down to the very last game of the season!

Congrats on getting through to the group stages of the Champions League, fantastic achievement with the budgets you were working with! Maybe you can pull another couple of shock results out? Who knows!

Good preseason for you there buddy, good luck with the start of the league!