Part 42: Chapter the Ninth: Midtable dreams.

Chapter the Ninth: Midtable dreams.
April 1, 2016-May 1, 2016

Five games left. Depending on how we close out the season we can either make ourselves at home in the midtable or lose our foothold and go into our vacation having missed our goal for the year.



I was shortlisted for manager of the month for the first time this year. About time, and a sign that we're getting better as the season goes on.



The improvement in our league position also puts me in a very secure position job wise.



Don-Duncan is the one player I'm considering re-signing. He's been reasonably good for us, but also looks like he's maxed out his talent. McGuinness and Holtham are gone. On the staff side we don't need Upton, and we can find a better scout than Howard.



Let's see if we can teach Harrison how to beat the offside trap. It takes not just good pace and speed but anticipation, concentration, and off the ball skills. Harrison has world class speed, but he's much weaker in the mental areas. I'd also try for Coulson to learn this, but he's slower than Harrison and doesn't have even his level of concentration.

vs. Bradford , April 2, 2016
League Two


Big crowd today. Too bad the team is so exhausted they're going to see a lot of subs. We've got a lot of players with only high 80's stamina right now. It shouldn't hurt us too bad, and after today we have a full week before our next game, but it does mean we're going to be rotating in some players. Bradford's been pretty decent this season, they're on pace to finish mid-table, so we can't take this game for granted.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Poole, Don-Duncan, Simpson, McGuinness, Clarke, Franks, Price, Harrison.
Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Martin, Kadhim, O'Hanlon, Cooper, Morgan.

Bradford is put on their back foot from the very start. Harrison is unable to put it on goal in the opening minutes after a perfectly placed corner by Bailey, but makes amends for his earlier profligacy in the 7th minute when he sprints past the defenders to get onto a long ball from Thomas and beats the keeper. The score doesn't stay one-nil for long, Al-Beloushi makes a huge error and leaves the opposing striker Alfred Kofi with nothing between himself and the goal. 1-1. Kofi earns a more deserved goal, sliding the ball past three defenders and Al-Beloushi at a tight angle, as we near the half-hour. 2-1 Bradford. We aren't out of the game yet, but I'm stretching my vocal cords and getting into my Angry Bruce Banner mode late in the first half when an overeager Bradford player matches Al-Beloushi's mistake and puts the ball into his own net. 2-2. Kofi caps his day with a hat trick in the 62nd minute, scoring despite being well marked by Reid. 3-2, Bradford. We're able to answer once again in the 69th minute, as it takes all of four touches to go from Al-Beloushi's feet to Cooper's blast into the net. 3-3. The final twenty minutes are uneventful, and despite several corners in stoppage time we cannot pull ahead. I make clear in no uncertain terms that we should have won the game, but privately I'm relieved that we didn't lose it.




Wrexham 3-3 Bradford



The 23rd is our second to last game of the season. Which means Coulson and Bah might only be fit for the final game of the season as they'll still have to recover some after officially being declared fit to play.



Barnet has been stuck in the relegation zone since November. They've only won once in 2016, and that was back on January 5th.



How hard is it to just stay out wide? Just angle for the touchline!



They're back to bitching about the pitch. I wonder if that means...



Nope! Very poor, but not terrible. We might not get to terrible, we only have 2 more home games.

vs. Lincoln, April 9, 2016
League Two


Lincoln can clinch another season in League Two by getting a point from one of their next four games. Let's not be the ones who give it to them.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Franks, Cooper, Harrison.
Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Poole, McGuinness, Clarke, Price, Morgan.

The word of the day is squander. We squandered this match. Despite holding Lincoln to just five shots all game we can't put the ball on net. Harrison is the culprit, taking six shots and failing to put a single one on target. There is only one good thing to be said about this draw, and it's that it feels like those early games with Tackleford in the Skrill North where we just weren't quite clicking. If that's the case and I'm not just imagining things we're going to be in excellent shape next year.

Man of the Match: Daniel Thomas.




Wrexham 0-0 Lincoln



Barnet have nothing to play for anymore, and haven't won in over three months. We'd better win this game.



Yay.

At Barnet, April 16, 2016
League Two


As I said, Barnet is terrible, and I really want to end this season on a high note. We're now back in 16th place thanks to other teams playing games, but the whole mid-table is extremely cluttered. We could finish anywhere from 10th to 20th depending on how these last three weeks go. That's going to require us to start winning games again, and Barnet is the easiest opportunity we'll have for three points.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Martin, Ashton, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Franks, Cooper, Harrison.
Subs: Higgs, Don-Duncan, Poole, McGuinness, Clarke, Price, Morgan.

Liam Franks puts us ahead in the 20th minute when a ball rebounds to him from a corner, and we never look like losing. We handle Barnet with elan on our way to a two-nothing victory, icing the game on an Aidan Cooper goal in the 64th minute. It's exactly the sort of result I wanted to see, and it moves us back up to thirteenth place on the table.

Man of the Match: Justin Bailey.




Barnet 0-2 Wrexham



One day they're going to come to my apartment and discover a wall full of crazy made out of Tackleford press clippings.



Rest up for the next match, mein liebchen!

At Cheltenham, April 23, 2016
League Two


Coulson is on the bench for this one, he's at 89% stamina and not ready to play a full 90 minutes. Cheltenham has slunk to 18th place, while we're still at 13th. I have a good feeling about this match, we haven't lost in five games and Cheltenham's unimpressive form should give us a chance to continue that run.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Franks, Cooper, Harrison.
Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Poole, McGuinness, Clarke, Price, Coulson.

Luke Reid gets booked in the 5th minute, and gives up a dangerous free kick that Al-Beloushi is able to handle. Simpson gets carded as well in the 33rd minute, and we have to play even more cautiously than usual to avoid either of them getting a second card and going down a man. We're unable to create chances in the first half, but Cheltenham can't make anything of their own opportunities despite earning 13 corners. Harrison has the best look at goal of any player on the day in the 53rd minute, but puts it narrowly wide. I bring Coulson on in the 70th minute, hoping for some magic, but he's unable to get it in gear. Instead, as I'm pondering whether four draws in five games is really that bad a result, it's Liam Franks who saves the day. He scores in the third minute of stoppage time, and we take the victory.

Man of the Match: Liam Franks




Cheltenham 0-1 Wrexham



That's a tough drop for Bristol, which has been in the Football League since 1920.



Bah is back, but it's unlikely that he'll be selected for the final match of the season with Franks being awesome, Harrison being in pretty good form, and Coulson being healthy again.



Bailey is on the shortlist for League Two Player of the Year. Good for him!

vs. Torquay, April 30, 2016
League Two


Here we are, the final match of the season. We will end the season anywhere from 12th to 16th on the league table, with a win today we'll finish either 12th or 13th. Regardless of what happens, it's a significant improvement from where we stood last autumn, and much better than the bettor's predictions that we'd finish 22nd. We've avoided relegation, and the team is in good shape for the coming year. Our final opponent, Torquay, has dropped out of the promotion playoff chase, and the worst they can do is fall one spot on the table with a loss. They have nothing to play for but pride.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Al-Beloushi, Thomas, Reid, Martin, Don-Duncan, Kadhim, Simpson, Bailey, Franks, Cooper, Coulson.
Subs: Higgs, Ashton, Poole, McGuinness, Clarke, Price, Harrison.

Some things are not to be. In this case it's an end of the season victory. Torquay take the lead early, double it before the halftime whistle, and starve us of chances. They win, and it's a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do if we want to challenge for the league title next year. Coulson has an especially bad day at the office, earning a 5.9 rating, but no one distinguishes themselves in a game where the players appear to already be on vacation.




Wrexham 0-2 Torquay



Clearly there's a lot of work to do before next season begins, and that last game leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, but we're in strong shape for the next season and I believe that we can earn promotion to League One by this time next year. We finished on an 8 win, 6 draw, and 3 loss run over the last three months. If we can replicate that form next year we'll be on pace to earn automatic promotion. Now it's time to spend another week or two training, start sorting out who we want to sell and who we want to bring in, and see how all the leagues and competitions pan out. Grab a rest, you've earned it.