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Bidaia Barakaldora S03E01

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Hey there folks!. Happy 2022 for all of you.

Welcome back again, this time around I’m catching up with the Barakaldo save. If you need a memory refreshener to our last season, check it out here

Half the money won from last year will be spent in the club’s facilities. Good results attract fans so it’s all good. Expectactions have grown higher I guess.

As you see we finished 6th in the last season, which is by all means a decent result so I’m looking to be top 10 again.

To achieve that, we need a bit of depth in the squad as I will turn to a different formation. We are needing a defensive midfielder, a central attacking midfielder and attacking midfielders on both sides as backup in case of any injuries.
Unfortunately the attacking midfielder is gonna be very difficult to acquire due to only three players being natural AMCs within our set criteria (Guerrero, De Paula and Calvo Garcia). The latter is the easier to pick up but he isn’t very good. Therefore, we will have to accommodate Uribarrena in that role.

My targets are:

This man is pretty great but apparently Espanyol bid for him as well. Fingers crossed then

In case Bittor says no, Joseba is our plan B!

We only have Alexis Lamar in this role so we’ll definitely need a helping hand there.

In the next couple of days, they answer our calls.

Alright! We can tick off the list the left attacking midfielder and the sweeper

Now, let’s go for the defensive midfielder first:

Born in Vizcaya, Bilbao. In real life, he did most of his career in Alaves

I’m playing some friendlies to get a feel for the team before starting head-on with the season so it’s time to get the team set up.

I’ve been learning a few things here and there from twitter, so I’m sticking with this one.

Friendly 1

Ah yes, the good old Championship Manager treatment. 1 shot at target, 1 goal.

Anyway, we had good creativity and chances to make up for it. Nothing to be worried about

Good. Azkoitia’s in! One down, only one more to go.

Friendly 2

Ah, this is a far better outcome. Zamarripa with a solid display, sewns the game up and our fans go home happy, excited for the beginning of the season

Sixth place last season got us a place in the UEFA Cup, so I’m hoping to have a decent run

Yeah. Seems like a good matchup to begin with.

Meanwhile, I found a possible target for the right attacking midfielder slot:

Native of Zestoa, Guipuzkoa. Despite what you may see from his attributes, his numbers weren’t really all that good. He underperformed at Cacereño and in his former club, Maritimo. Anyway, there aren’t a lot of available options in the market so he’ll have to do I guess.

So, in the following days before the match for the UEFA Cup, we picked him up

OK. Having signed this lad, we take ourselves off the market. We will only look for replacements if anybody leaves.

Bummer! Still Beguiristain in the starting eleven I guess

UEFA Cup 1st Round Leg 1:

Barakaldo 4 – Asmaral Moscow 0

Lineup changes:

Aitor Beguiristain for Joseba Arregui

20.000 fans turned up for our debut against this Russian team. Thankfully, we had our revs in sync and we rallied to a tantalising win at home.

Game 1

Celta de Vigo 2 – Barakaldo 3

Good start, innit?. Despite Celta scoring first, we didn’t back down and just two minutes after we were pounding their door which resulted in Pier scoring an own goal. A header from Zamarripa just before half time put us on edge. He pops another goal in the 63th minute and rounding up the score Pier after his early mistake.

Game 2

Barakaldo  1 – Deportivo La Coruña 1

It’s a draw at Lasesarre. We weren’t shy of chances but Deportivo had the upper hand in this game so I consider us lucky to salvage a point.

UEFA Cup 1st Round Leg 2:

Asmaral Moscow 1 – Barakaldo 2

Lineup changes:

Oscar Gurria for Juan Zamarripa

Gorka Gonzalez for Joseba Lizaso

The Russian team came out on full force trying to overcome a 4-goal deficit but we displayed an efficient performance and we see them off thanks to Roberto Martinez. Off to the next stage!

Game 3

Oviedo 0 – Barakaldo 1

Gurria’s insistence kept our foot on the throttle throughout the majority of the match, making Mora one of the best rated players in the match. However he couldn’t keep his clean sheet as in the closing stages a long cross from Aldalur found Uribarrena with a magnificent chance (his only one in the game) which he didn’t miss.

Game 4

Barakaldo 2 – Merida 0

The fans at Lasesarre surely went home glad but maybe expecting any more goals. Our performance here was absolutely rampant, we barely gave Navarro Montoya a breather. Gurria again carried out most of the shots in the opposing GK’s goal but despite not finding the net, he was helpful enough to assist Uribarrena twice to give us a 2-0 win.

Before leaving, I’ll show you the standings as of now:

Man what a start!. Quite early yet I know but fans are all over the moon.

So that wraps up our first episode in this season with Barakaldo. Tune in next week where we will be playing for the UEFA Cup 2nd round (you’ll find out who we got in the draw) and the next 4 matches of Primera Division. See ya!

Seagulls Road To Glory S03E09

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Hey fellas! We have finally arrived to the last episode of the season.

We will be reviewing the end of the season until we reach July 15th.

APPEARANCES + AVERAGE RATINGS + GOAL ASSISTS + GOALS SCORED:

MAN OF THE MATCH AWARDS:

FINAL STANDINGS:

EUROPEAN WINNERS:

ENGLISH WINNERS:

  • Just in case you don’t remember LOL 🙂

EURO 2000:

Wales didn’t manage to qualify and for the god’s sake look at England, SMH!

And the winner is:

FIXTURE RECAP:

AWARDS:

Thank you so much!

TRANSFER NEWS:

These are the players whose contract will run before the start of the next season. I plan to let all of them but Davies to run their contract and not renew them.

Coughlin is 40 years old, Hodges is 37, Rees 35 and Van Den Hauwe 39 so I’m expecting them to retire and then pick up their regens.

So it’s a wrap-up for this episode, folks.

I hope you enjoyed this third season aboard Colwyn Bay. I’ll be back next year with the start of season number four where we will be in Premier League. See ya around 🙂

Seagulls Road To Glory S03E08

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Hi and welcome to this week’s episode aboard Colwyn Bay. We are going to finish the season and we still have the League Cup and FA Cup to deal with. Silverware time?

Before jumping right into it, we gotta deal with an offer for Carl Robinson.

As we have no use for him, we welcome the money.

Good lad. Thank you for your services!

League Cup Final

Coventry City 0 – Colwyn Bay 1

Tense affair under the shining Wembley lights. But Hodges rises up and rewards our set of travelling supporters as he settles the score in the first half. From then on we fight tooth to nail, forcing Hedman into a couple of important saves until the final whistle blew.

League Cup champions!!!

The only drawback is Maguire picking up an injury.

Bummer. He’ll be out of the FA Cup match.


FA Cup Semi-Finals

Blackburn Rovers 2 – Colwyn Bay 1

Lineup changes:

Mark Wright for Gavin Maguire

Still a bit dazzled by last Sunday’s win, our lads travel to Old Trafford for the semis. Unfortunately Blackburn had other plans and can’t recover. Anyway, it’s a very sweet run in the FA Cup (last year we made it until Quarter Finals) and we can always go for it in the following years. We are rewarded with applause at the end of the game

Game 39

Port Vale 0 – Colwyn Bay 3

It’s a minging Back to Division 1 action now and we do pretty well against one of the teams fighting for relegation. Wonderful game

Game 40

Coventry City 1 – Colwyn Bay 1

Important game as Coventry are three points behind us (with one more game played) and losing would reduce the gap between us. The start of the game couldn’t be any better as the first game play comes in the 5th minute of the game where a backpass from Campbell is mishandled by Hedman and Deniol Graham takes the opportunity to score. From then on, we just collapsed and Coventry forced us to retreat. Thomas was fantastic, saving pretty much anything thrown at him until Boland found a way through. So, it’s a draw in the end and we are still leaders.

Game 41

Colwyn Bay 3 – Stockport County 0

Great opportunity here as we’re playing the second-placed team which is 2 points behind us in the standings

We power through to a comfortable 3-0 victory, to the delight of our supporters. Like a copycat from the Port Vale game, Pike and Graham were the scorers

Game 42

Fulham 2 – Colwyn Bay 5

Lineup changes:

Nathan Wigg for Glyn Hodges
John Davey for Jason Goss

48 hours later (it was on a Monday, you’ll notice it says Saturday on the screen because I’d taken a wrong snapshot and while I was going through with the save I noticed the mistake and took it again at 15/07. LOL) we find ourselves playing again in Craven Cottage. The game goes bonkers in the second half. It all pointed to a narrow score but all hell broke loose. Felgate and Wigg both bag a brace and we run out easy winners, leaving the home crowd stunned and whistling their team for poor performance.

Game 43

Colwyn Bay 2 – Bristol Rovers 0

All business at the Drill Field where we keep Bristol Rovers at bay and the majority of the match was spent on Bristol’s goal area. Anyway, despite the 16 shots taken we scored just 2 but it was enough to get the crowd entertained and happy.

Game 44

Colwyn Bay 3 – West Bromwich Albion 0

Wednesday night arrives and the drilling never stops. West Bromwich deflated after having Flo sent off and we capitalized on that situation, cruising to victory.

With this win, we crown ourselves as Division 1 winners!

Fantastic job lads, I’m very proud of all of you!

Game 45

With the championship already decided, time for some changes

Colchester 2 – Colwyn Bay 4

Lineup changes:

Tony Norman for Brian Thomas
Ricardo Gabbiadini for Mark Cross

Relaxation? No such thing, boys! We came out on full force in the second half to kill Colchester. Devine opened up the score first but with a quick succession in attack we stepped on the gas pedal and we carried ourselves 3-1 up into the final 10 minutes of the game. Blake scored to bring Colchester closer with Graham adding another one to his tally three minutes later.

However, we’ll leave that for our next episode as we bring the end to this one.

Game 46

Colwyn Bay 2 – Barnsley 0

Nothing better to crown the season that a victory at home. Felgate rises to the top in the second half and quickly seals the deal against an underperforming Barnsley team which find themselves entrenched in the middle of the Division 1 table standings.

So, before the end of the episode, I’ll show the final standings:

Next Saturday, the final episode where I’ll be covering all stats from this season, trophy winners and the Euro results. Cheers!  🙂

Seagulls Road To Glory S03E07

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Let’s get our hands dirty and tackle it out.

Game 32

Colwyn Bay 1 – Bolton Wanderers 0

Not exactly a scintillating match, but we got the job done. A backs to the wall, ground out 1-0 win thanks to Felgate. Davey’s injury is the only setback from this encounter.

Well, it’s not the end of the world. We can manage!

Game 33

Colwyn Bay 0 – Ipswich Town 2

Lineup changes:

Jason Goss for John Davey

Ipswich at home looked like a good chance to pick up another 3 points but we’re actually pathetic. They dominated the second half and dismantle us pretty quickly thanks to Barclay and Battersby. A bad day at the office.

Game 34

Southend United 2 – Colwyn Bay 1

Lineup changes:

Tony Rees for Ricardo Gabbiadini

A bit flustered with the outcome here to be honest. Same amount of chances for each team, both teams enjoyed the control of the ball in equal percentages but nevertheless we picked up a defeat. It all started pretty well though with Hodges netting one on a breakaway play after an assist from Chris Pike. Just before the whistle blew at halftime, Southend took the lead and put a dagger through our hopes. We couldn’t overturn the score despite the man advantage

Game 35

Charlton Athletic 0 – Colwyn Bay 1

Our losing mini-streak is finally solved at The Valley thanks to Richard Barnes..

FA Cup Quarter Finals

Nottingham Forest 0 – Colwyn Bay 1

Lineup changes:

Brian Thomas for Wayne Russell
Mark Cross for Tony Rees

Our duo of strikers was a bit amiss in front of the opposing net but fortunately they still have the intelligence to deliver chances to their teammates when it’s needed, thus proving important against Forest. A pass from Felgate to Hodges ended up in the lone goal that puts us in the next round.

Game 36

Wolverhampton 1 – Colwyn Bay 0

We fell apart at the Molineux. A single shot in the entire match and we fail to muster anything of real significance. Garcia Sanjuan scores the solitary goal for Wolves.

Despite the loss, Coventry couldn’t deliver against Stoke City so we finally snatch the 1st place from them.

Game 37

Colwyn Bay 2 – Manchester City 0

We put the game to rest in the first half. We came out on a rampage with Deniol and Maguire banging in a couple of goals. City picked up their pace in the second half with Brian Thomas beautifully contesting every shot thrown at him. Score remained unchanged. No problem.

Game 38

Colwyn Bay 2 – Reading 0

Reading visit us next but they are no match for us and get dispatched by a 2-0 victory.

Before leaving, a quick look at the standings in Division 2.

Ah yes, we are racing 5 points ahead of Coventry. Still 8 matches to go but if we minimize screw-ups, we might we able to win the Division

We’re getting close to the end of the season, folks

Next Saturday, episode number 8. See ya 🙂

Seagulls Road To Glory S03E06

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Welcome back folks! Episode number 6 of this series.

We open up with a match against Norwich

Game 30

Norwich 0 – Colwyn Bay 1

Lineup changes:

Glyn Hodges for Nathan Wigg (suspended due to disciplinary points)

Not exactly our finest display at Carrow Road but Pike got the job done. Norwich had the control of the ball and tried their best to score but lacked the creativity to actually intimidate our goal. Russell stopped the 2 shots aimed at his goal, therefore earning MOTM

FA Cup 4th Round

Everton 1 – Colwyn Bay 1

Lineup changes:

Marcus Browning for Marc Williams
Mark Cross for Richard Barnes

We scraped a draw after a lot of hard work to make it happen. The first half was mostly for the home team and saw Everton taking the reigns thanks to a goal by Clint Easton. After a locker room talk with the lads, we came in the second half with a very different attitude, reflected in Everton’s GK rating. The draw came after a corner kick, a scramble in the area which saw Griffiths giving the ball to Hodges and BLAM!. Glyn didn’t hesitate and punished them. We’re still alive and all will be resolved at the Drill Field.

Game 31

Colwyn Bay 3 – Plymouth Argyle 3

Lineup changes:

Tony Norman for Wayne Russell
John Davey for John Goss

Boy, did we have to sweat for this one. It was an uphill task as we were always fighting them to avoid getting the game nicked from us. Unfortunately, Norman’s inactivity played a big role here and he hadn’t the best of games.

FA Cup 4th Round Replay

Colwyn Bay 2 – Everton 1

Lineup changes:

Marc Williams for Marcus Browning
Ricardo Gabbiadini for Andy Legg
Wayne Russell for Tony Norman

At some point due to Everton’s pressure, it seemed like it was going to be a frustrating affair. But, in a role reverse with Pike as a forward delivering twice to Mark Cross, we finally broke the deadlock. A big thunderous roar was felt on The Drill Field and there was 15 minutes still to hold on. Everyone held their breath in the last play when a corner kick executed by Bohinen met Mädar’s head, Russell stopped it, there was a scramble in the area and finally the ball went wide.
Off to the next one!

League Cup Semi-Finals Leg 1

Liverpool 2 – Colwyn Bay 1

Now, against the other side of the Merseyside derby. Despite Liverpool showcasing their utter dominance throughout the entire game, we escape with just a 2-1 loss so the sensations after the whistle blew are pretty good. We can pick up a narrow result at home and that could be enough for us to make it to the final.

FA Cup 5th Round

Tranmere Rovers 1 – Colwyn Bay 2

Lineup changes:

Pat Van Der Hauwe for Jamie Savage (suspended due to disciplinary points)

Now, in the FA Cup Tranmere did all the heavylifting, forcing Russell to a couple of brilliant saves and our clinical display gets the best out of Prenton Park. Hamilton scored with 20 minutes to end the game to put a little bit of spice but from then on, they struggled to finish their plays properly. We’re through!

Well, Gabbiadini in then.

League Cup Semi-Finals Leg 2

Colwyn Bay 3 – Liverpool 0

Now yes. The Big Game is here.

Prior to the match, I noticed that Felgate didn’t have the UNH sign any more (and his value had risen up), therefore I felt it was appropriate to get him back in the lineup.
An almost packed stadium saw THE absolute BEST performance of the year so far. Our own set of supporters were gladly surprised by our football display and the attitude that we showed on the pitch. Their fantastic duo of Pürk and Jardel were completely neglected at the Drill Field. Huge win and we’re through to the final where we will meet Coventry, who lost to Ipswich but qualified by away goals.

Before leaving, a quick look at the standings:

Well well well, we can catch Coventry if we beat Bolton who will be our next opponent.

But that will be covered in our next episode.

Stay tuned, folks. See you next week 🙂

Seagulls Road To Glory S03E05

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Good Saturday to you all!. This is the fifth episode of this season with Colwyn Bay.

Let’s get it underway!

Game 24

Sheffield United 0 – Colwyn Bay 2

Mmm-bop! Classic instrumental performance from Jamie Savage and Gabbiadini and Sheffield United are disposed of with ease. It’s a rather poor display from their side.

Game 25

Colwyn Bay 2 – Oxford United 0

Scrappy win to be fair. First half was mainly Oxford’s and in the second we came with a very different attitude. Felgate first and a penalty converted by Pike sealed the deal.

Just as the match finished, I went into the Squad menu and I noticed the UNH sign next to Damien. What’s going on, pal?

Ahh so you want out already. SMH

Anyway, I have a couple of prospects waiting on the wings in my shortlist so if he decides to leave, at least we’ll be covered.

Game 26

Tranmere Rovers 1 – Colwyn Bay 2

We seemed to be cruising around to a comfortable lead when Goss tripped Thompson in the penalty box and was ejected. Phillips brought Tranmere back one goal and the remaining minutes were filled with uncertainty. But we held on, and it’s a narrow win for us.



Game 23

Colwyn Bay 4 – Bradford 0

The injury bug has hit us. Davies I don’t mind that much because I’m not playing him regularly. I can use Barnes for Cross, but I hope he stays fit enough for a month. He’s the only right winger that I have as a backup.

Game 27

Colwyn Bay 4 – Nottingham Forest 3

Lineup changes:

Richard Barnes for Mark Cross

Holy moly, what a game! Van Hooijdonk had an inspiring night and managed to put Forest ahead at some point in the match. We looked doomed to be looking into the abyss but we bounced back and turned the tide in our favour thanks to the contributions of Chris Pike and Felgate.

FA Cup 3rd Round

Colwyn Bay 2 – Hull City 1

Lineup changes:

John Nogan for Jason Goss (red card suspension)

The visit to Millwall served as a remainder to avoid getting too cocky. Both teams failed in the accuracy department, but at least Millwall managed to score twice out of 12 shots they attempted at our goal. Bad day at the office, if anything.

A bit concerned here due to the fact that we played against a D3 team and we were hanging by a thread in the last minutes of the game. All the action was packed in the first half with Pike netting twice and Hull sucker punching us just a minute after the second goal was scored. The second half we traded blows but the score remained the same, with both goalkeepers doing a terrific job in saving their nets.

Hell, important games coming up and a month away. Well, chill it son and get ready

Game 28

Stoke City 0 – Colwyn Bay 3

Lineup changes:

Jason Goss for John Davey

The win away at Stoke is wonderful (not on a Tuesday’s cold night but still works LOL). Solid beating.

Too bad for him as he was regaining rhythm. Well, time for Andy Legg to come back.

League Cup Quarter Finals

Derby County 0 – Colwyn Bay 2

Gritty match against a team which is fighting to avoid relegation from the Premier League. After a very hard-nosed first half, we found two goals in succession (literally in the same minute) and we just waited in the shadows. Derby harassed us the remainder of the game but Russell had a great night and repeatedly denied their efforts. Onwards to the next round.

No big worries here. Maybe a break will cool him down from wanting to leave

Game 29

Colwyn Bay 2 – Birmingham 3

Lineup changes:

Aled Griffiths for Damien Felgate

The string of victories comes to an end against Birmingham.

It’s a lively start where we find ourselves leading with just 1 minute into the game. By the end of the first half we were tied up 2-2. Birmingham had turned the score around but they barely had time to regroup as a long pass from Barnes was converted by Griffiths. We only had one more shot in the second half while Birmingham was trying their best to reach our goal, which they eventually did and they managed to score one more time. Disappointed faces in our supporters but well, every once in a while I guess it’s fine to have a bad day at the office.

Before leaving, a quick look at the standings:

We’re catching Coventry steady and slow. Let’s keep our hopes up!

Do join us again next week as we play the FA Cup 4th Round against Everton and the League Cup Semi-Finals against Liverpool.

Seagulls Road To Glory S03E04

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Hi, glad you can join me today on this fourth episode of the third season aboard Colwyn Bay.

The first of our matches will be against Birmingham for the 3rd Round of the League Cup.

But before that…

Refused but with the Big Release Clause, I have that ominous fear. Let’s wait

League Cup 3rd Round

Birmingham 1 – Colwyn Bay 2

Against fellow division opponents, it’s an emotionally charged match. Our lead is quickly neglected by Vincent and the momentum for each team goes back and forth until it’s all levelled and we reached extra time. The introduction of fresh legs (Wright and Graham for Maguire and Pike) boosts our performance and Deniol sealed our fate. The latter part of the extra time was pretty much all Birmingham and Brian Thomas was absolutely brilliant in stopping their efforts. Much valued win with 10 men.

Meanwhile…

Get well soon Eric.

The writing on the wall was there…

Quoting Slipknot’s Wait And Bleed song. “Inside my shell I wait and bleed”.

So long, Barry! Thank your for your services!

Let’s go see what I can pick up on the market:

There isn’t really an abundance of options in his position. Nothing on the transfer list, moving to Free Transfer and one of my scouts recommends this lad:

We lead at half time through RostNot really keen on the Injury Proneness 20 but well, no other choice. Let’s go get him

Game 19

Stockport County 1 – Colwyn Bay 1

Wary about stability in defense as my other DMC is injured, I chose a more defensive approach for this game

Lineup changes:

Pat Van Der Hauwe for Brian O’Leary

Well, we picked up a point. Stockport were a tough cookie and the dominant team in the game, turning Brian Thomas in one of the key figures explaining the final score.

A few days later, John is presented as our new signing

Welcome, my friend!

Game 20

Colwyn Bay 2 – Fulham 1

Now with Davey, back to our usual formation

We salvaged a win over Fulham thanks to Wigg after in the second half our efforts were repeatedly denied by Maik Taylor. Anyway, we were dominant through some portions of the match so it’s a positive feeling after all

Meanwhile…

This comes at a bad time. Van Den Hauwe to the rescue then..

Game 21

Bristol Rovers 1 – Colwyn Bay 2

Due to the international fixture of the Euro, lots of changes need to be made

Lineup changes:

Wayne Russell for Brian Thomas
Pat Van Der Hauwe for Gavin Maguire
Ricardo Gabbiadini for Glyn Hodges (suspended due to a red card)
Kit Parrish for Nathan Wigg

Another hurdle negotiated, even with the lack of many of our usual starting players. We got it all sorted out in the first half thanks to Griffiths and Pike. Bristol had a horrendous night at the opposing end of the pitch and barely gave Russell any sort of trouble. Vital 3 points and we are pressuring Coventry by the day.

Game 22

Colwyn Bay 1 – Colchester United 1

A topsy-turvy game which ends all square thanks to Kit Parrish. We squandered a lot of chances compared to the little effort shown by Colchester. Let’s forget and move on.

We looked bound to stave off a bad performance by collecting a point from The Victoria Ground but Hunter shot down our hopes. Gabbiadini went out early with an injury.

Game 23

Barnsley 2 – Colwyn Bay 3

Lineup changes:

Gavin Maguire for Pat Van Der Hauwe

Nathan Wigg for Kit Parrish

Damien Felgate for Aled Griffiths

Good win against a stubborn Barnsley team who just wouldn’t stay beaten until Chris Pike sealed the deal in the 74th minute of the game, after a mistake from De Zeeuw. Good 3 points collected.

League Cup 4th Round

Chelsea 1 – Colwyn Bay 2

Absolutely fantastic result at Stamford Bridge. Young man Felgate rose up to the challenge and netted twice to give us the upper hand at the end of the first half. Despite the result, I was a bit wary about what could happen in the 2nd half but fortunately Chelsea had a bad night against our goal and only managed to beat us once through Heskey. Off to the next round it is!
 
We weren’t the only D1 team to make it though. Coventry beat Sunderland and Ipswich Town defeated Wimbledon, while D2 York forced Liverpool to the penalties where they lost

Before leaving, a quick glance at the standings

Glass half-full we could say, right? We’re 1 point closer to Coventry than last time and we have increased our distance with Norwich in the third place. If the form keeps going like this, we might earn direct promotion

See you next week with a brand new episode. Cheers 🙂

Seagulls Road To Glory S03E03

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Hey folks! New Saturday, new episode. Settle in.

We begin the episode with our match against Wolverhampton

Game 12

Colwyn Bay 4 – Wolves 1

After a shaky start which saw us draw at halftime, we released the hounds on the second half and we absolutely ran the show. Great win

League Cup 2nd Round Leg 2

Chesterfield 0 – Colwyn Bay 1

Dominance was pretty much on the home team side but we made the first impression after Wright scored from a corner kick. Unfortunately, seven minutes later he picked up an injury and I brought in Van Der Hauwe. From then on, we basically retreated with a brief momentum towards the end of the game where we recaptured our essence and we attempted to net another goal to secure the result. Didn’t happen but anyway picked up the win and we’re through to the next round.

Let’s see about Mark then..

No big worries.

Game 13

Reading 2 – Colwyn Bay 2

Lineup changes:

Marc Williams for Mark Wright

Gritty affair against the third placed team in the standings. We managed to get ahold of the match in the second half but unfortunately we messed it up towards the end and Maguire tripped Ardley in the box which of course resulted in a penalty. Reading tied it up and we picked up a point instead of three. Bittersweet feelings.

Oh snap. Well, we’ll have a few players ready

Game 14

Manchester City 1 – Colwyn Bay 1

Lots of changes due to International U-21 call-ups

Lineup changes:

Riccardo Gabbiadini for Andy Legg
Marcus Browning for Barry O’Leary
Eric Young for Gavin Maguire
Russell Coughlin for Jason Goss
Mark Cross for Aled Griffiths

Due to not having a natural right back available, I chose to improvise something like this:

Well, it’s a point after all so I’m not terribly bothered by the result. Fairly even game for both of the teams.

More injuries.. SMH

Game 15

Colwyn Bay 1 – Port Vale 0

A bit of a meek display in front of our opposition who goes last in Division 1. The lone goal was converted by our friend who was making his return to the starting 11, Chris Pike. That was just enough to clinch us the 3 points

Game 16

Plymouth Argyle 1 – Colwyn Bay 2

We dominated the first half hour thanks to Nathan Wigg. In the second half the home team came back alive and started to pound at our doorstep, eventually finding the draw. But just as play resumed, long pass from Wigg to Griffiths and he scores!!!!!!. Home supporters were left stunned and in desbelief. It was just a matter of hanging on to the narrow score and it’s 3 more in the bag

Game 17

WBA 0 – Colwyn Bay 2

Lineup changes:

Damien Felgate for Chris Pike

A great start to this match. Wigg to Pike and we found ourselves in advantage barely a minute into the game. That wasn’t all though. Still in the first half, a left hand side cross from Mark Cross (LOL) finds Pike open and he beats Miller. 2-0 and all the second half yet to go. We kept the foot on the throttle with WBA shyly emerging and attempting to reach our goal to no avail. It’s OUR victory.

Game 18

Colwyn Bay 1 – Coventry City  0

Toughest match of the fixture, against the leaders of the division who have only lost 2 matches so far.

Under the roar of almost 15.000 fans who went to The Drill Field, we took a massive win against Coventry City. Our lads weren’t in the mood of hiding and displayed pieces of very good football in the first half when Pike scored. In the second, Coventry pushed back in order to at least take a point from our humble stadium but they failed to deliver (and also Brian Thomas had a great night). 1-0. Well done!

Before finishing the episode, let’s take a look at the standings:

Looking pretty good! From playoff contention to 2nd place and 5 points clear of the 3rd placed team. If we keep the rhythm we can get a direct promotion this year. Fingers crossed!

That’s it for this update, folks

Join me again the following week for episode number four of this series. Cheers 🙂

Seagulls Road To Glory S03E02

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Hello friends! Greetings and welcome to the second episode of this third season aboard Colwyn Bay.

In this new update we will playing from matchday 6 to 11 in Division 2, and the first leg for the League Cup against Chesterfield.

After enjoying the chants from our fans, it’s time to go on the road as the next 4 games are on away territory.

Game 6

Nottingham Forest 0 – Colwyn Bay 2

After the poor display in the first half, I give the lads a little talk in the locker room urging them to “show some courage” (kinda like in modern FM haha). It seems to work as we find the net in the 56th minute of the game. Nottingham quickly set the pace attempting to find the elusive draw to no avail. The curtains were completely shut off by Thomas and we capped it off with Pike (who I had subbed in for Aled Griffiths) tucking in his own rebound after the ball hit the post. Good win.

Gutted. I’ll try to have a go at O’Leary and Nogan again to check if they are less pretentious this time around regarding their fees. However, we have a match now against Ipswich and I have to switch formations.

Game 7

Ipswich Town 2 – Colwyn Bay 1

Lineup changes:

Damon Searle for Marc Williams
Darren Davies for Jamie Savage
Marcus Browning for Jason Goss

This is what I intend to use:

The can of worms got opened in the second half, and we took advantage of a good display of accuracy of our players who managed to score 5 goals from their 5 shots on target.

Game 8

Birmingham 1 – Colwyn Bay 1

Lot of guys called up for International duty, so changes are necessary

Lineup changes:

Tony Norman for Wayne Russell
Carl Robinson for Glyn Hodges
Richard Barnes for Mark Cross
Chris Pike for Deniol Graham
Jamie Savage for Gavin Maguire
Kit Parrish for Nathan Wigg

Valuable point considering all the changes that had to be made. We quickly neglected Birmingham’s advantage as Chris Pike was tripped inside the box and converted the penalty ensuing. The second half was pretty much all favourable to Birmingham but between Mark Wright and Brian Thomas we managed to get the game under control.

Time to negotiate!

Still a bit higher than I would like to pay but I need them so I’ll agree.

Good. Welcome John and Barry to Colwyn Bay!

Game 9

Bolton Wanderers 1 – Colwyn Bay 2

Lineup changes:

Barry O’Leary for Damon Searle

Jason Goss for Darren Davies

Andy Legg for Carl Robinson

Kit Parrish for Marcus Browning

In the trip to Bolton we return with 3 points in the bag and we put the game to bed quite late. The home team played a little better than us but weren’t unable to convert their chances up until two minutes left when Stewart managed to beat Thomas. Anyway, there was little to do at that point and we took the victory.

League Cup 2nd Round Leg 1

Colwyn Bay 1 – Chesterfield 0

Lineup changes:

Nathan Wigg for Kit Parrish

Pretty “even Stevens” game like Martin Brundle, former F1 driver and now commentator would say. Both goalkeepers were put to the test and each responded well. However, we managed to break Chesterfield’s hold thanks to Griffiths. Narrow advantage to carry onto the second leg but a win is a win… I’ll take that every day

Game 10

Colwyn Bay 1 – Southend United 1

Not really our finest game. We managed to save the embarrassment for our fans in the last minute of the game when Pike captured a bad backpass from a Southend player and converted it into a goal. Big applause from the crowd and final whistle.

It’s showtime, Deniol!

Game 11

Colwyn Bay 2 – Charlton Athletic 1

Lineup changes:

Deniol Graham for Chris Pike

After some target practice in the first half, we corrected the bullseye and we managed to score twice. Charlton just barely managed to scrape by in this game and scored the goal of honour via Bradley Allen. From then on and one player down, they just retreated and the minutes went by until the whistle was blown.

Before leaving, a quick glance at the standings:

Three points adrift from getting automatic promotion.

Will have to focus on the 2nd spot as Coventry has run away and it will be very hard to catch them. It’s all quite tightened up there

And we reached the end of this episode, folks.

Join me next Saturday for the following episode in this series. Cheers 🙂

Seagulls’ Road To Glory S03E01

/ mardukowens / Deja un comentario

Good day to you all! Welcome back as we bring Season 3 with Colwyn Bay to a start.

As a memory refreshener, we won Division 2 last year and therefore we were directly promoted to Division 1. We’re looking to a defender who can play in the anchor role to bolster the squad and we found a potential one.

Judging for his last name and his attributes he could be just that, a Savage lad.

Welcome Jamie!


So, this is our squad for the start of the season

Griffiths, Goss and Savage are the new faces in the block

This time around as I’m not in the need to spend a vast amount of time shopping around, I programmed a friendly against Salamanca to test the waters a bit

On this season, my idea revolves around this formation:

Friendly 1:

Colwyn Bay 3 – Salamanca 3

A few conclusions to draw out after this one. Firstly, admiring that the team is able to comeback from a potential defeat. Secondly, Van Der Hauwe and Young might be a bit too old for the defensive role. Might need to go hunt for a younger one and provide them with some backup minutes. Even so, as Spanish league isn’t loaded up, the Salamanca team had a base core and a bunch of grey players so the performance in itself is a bit of a question mark.

SEASON BEGINS! GAME ON, folks!

Game 1

Colwyn Bay 4 – Sheffield United 1

Any doubts arised in the friendly were quickly dispatched as we tear Sheffield to pieces and throw them to the ducks.

League Cup 1st Round, Leg 1

Colwyn Bay 4 – Bristol City 2

Ahh much better than meeting a Premier League at this early stage!
It was a bit of a strange affair and we dragged our feet for about 60 something minutes and then a whirlwind came up and we changed our fortunes for good. And even when Bristol reacted and probably wondered “what the heck is going on here?”, we punished them again in the 89th minute to capture the win.

Ah, bummer. He’d been doing well so far. Don’t worry Chris. We got it covered

Game 2:

Colwyn Bay 2 vs Tramere 1

Lineup changes:

Aled Griffiths for Chris Pike

After the first half drought, we started putting pressure on Tranmere’s GK until we broke through and opened the score. Our pair of strikers stepped forward to give us an important win and within just two matches, we lead the Division table. Hewitt scored for the away team but there wasn’t any time left to keep going so it really doesn’t taint our performance.

League Cup 1st Round, Leg 2

Bristol City 0 – Colwyn Bay 1

Lineup changes:

Glyn Hodges for Kit Parrish

Pat Van Der Hauwe for Damon Searle

With the result from the first leg, It was a good chance to give guys some minutes. With a bit of effort, we came out unscathed from Ashton Gate. Griffiths was our scorer after tapping a rebound from Hume. Apparently the harmless play enraged the home team’s gaffer as Hume was immediately subbed out after that.

Game 3

Colwyn Bay 0 – Stoke City 0

An uninspired 0-0 draw against Stoke in a tough and gritty affair where the actual highlights were Savage and Vinny Jones’ regen hunting down opposition players. In the end, they got away with it without a yellow.

Ah, you’re getting spoilt, aren’t you? Don’t worry. Long road ahead

Game 4

Oxford United 2 – Colwyn Bay 0

We got battered and bruised and Oxford displayed all of their arsenal against us. I’m getting antsy about the lack of goals.

So, just in case there isn’t something clicking, I went back to basics.

Game 5

Colwyn Bay 1 – Norwich 0

Lineup changes:

Mark Cross for Marcus Browning

The start couldn’t have been better as our first attack in the game ends up in a goal by Graham. In the And, it does do the trick. Low score had to do mainly with Dudfield having a terrific game and stopping our barrage of shots. But we overpowered Norwich and forced them to retreat the most of the game.

Before leaving, a quick look at the standings so far:

It’s a decent start to the season. We could’ve shared the spotlight with Colchester if it hadn’t been for that defeat at Oxford but as a I said before, it’s a long road ahead and I feel we can make it to Premier.

Now yes my friends, time to close shop for today.

Tune in soon for episode number 2 in this third season with Colwyn Bay. See ya 🙂