27. End of Season 3
Disclaimer:
The matters discussed in this post are NOT reflective of the real Morley Town FC. Remember this is just a game of Football Manager played through a laptop screen. Enjoy!
End of Season Review
End of Season Awards & Stats
Fan’s Player of the Season – Aaron
Smith
Young Player of the Season – Gabriel
Ellis
Signing of the Season – Luis Lacey
Goal of The Season: Jack Broadhead v
Squire’s Gate
Top Goalscorer: Aaron Smith 26
Top Assists: Aaron Smith 13
Most Player of The Match: Aaron Smith
5
Highest Average Rating Aaron Smith
7.40
Most Passes Completed per 90 minutes:
Sam Wright 45
Club Stats
Final League Position: 9th
Highest Attendance: 149 v Campion
Average Attendance 84
Biggest Win: 6-1 v
Ashton Town
Longridge Town win Promotion
Longridge
Town beat Daisy Hill 3-1 in the North West Counties League Division One North
play off final to win promotion to The North West Counties Premier Division.
Congratulations from all at Morley Town FC.
Marine U23s win the First Division
Cup
Our conquerors in the Quarter Finals, Marine U23s beat Holker Old Boys on penalties to lift The First Division Cup. The score was 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Lepton Highlanders win The Yorkshire
Amateur Supreme Division
Our friends
from the amateur leagues, Lepton Highlanders have won promotion to the North
West Counties First Division North after romping to the title with a 14 point
lead over second place, Middleton. I am looking forward to visiting their
social club and picturesque little ground in the foothills of The Pennines near
Huddersfield again next season.
Under 18s Season Round Up
I have taken my eye off the ball a little with our U18s, but they have gone one better than last season by finishing second bottom in the North Eastern Division. Braintree Town U18s had the ignominy of finishing four points below us. Standout results include landmark wins against York City (3-2), Scarborough Athletic (2-1) and Alfreton U18s (5-4) along the way, which are from bigger clubs higher up the pyramid. Well done boys!
End of Season Team Meeting Called
Like last
year a meeting was called at The Farriers Arms function room. Once again it was
to be a booze free zone, but unlike last year only the non-playing staff were
invited. No players were present for this meeting and there was no end
of season booze up planned. Something was wrong. Chairman, Bryan Wilkins had something
urgent he wished to share with us. In front of him was a laptop which was
connected to a TV screen behind him.
He started.
“We’ve had a
decent season on the field and 9th place is something that we can build on for
next season, but we have a problem and if Morley Town Football Club are to fulfil our long term aims
of promotion up to The North West Counties Premier, then a few things need to
be addressed.
Projected
from his laptop he revealed a graph, which showed the club’s financial
performance over the past 12 months.
“We started
the year OK in profit and for a club our size on a sound financial footing.
But.. over the course of the season the amount of money spent on wages has
become unsustainable. It is not the weekly wages that are so much of a problem,
but the bonus clauses within these contracts, unused substitute fees, goal bonuses,
appearance fees and so on.. It is these that are killing us. We are £36,000 in
the red and if this continues I will have no choice but to make us an amateur
club again, which none of us in this room want.
I am not blaming anybody for this situation as we are all adapting to being a semi-pro club . I get it we have to spend money if we are
to attract the right quality of players to achieve our aims of promotion up the football
pyramid, but we also have to at the same time cut our cloth accordingly.
Jonathan you have done remarkably well given the resources we have in getting
the team to finish in the top half of the table, but you must understand we
cannot afford to keep some of our highest earners, especially those who are not
regular members of the first team. Therefore, next season we have to promote
some of the younger players to the first team who we do not pay as much to take
their places and use the loan market to bring in extra quality in positions
where we need it most. We must focus on youth development and sort out the
playing squad from top to toe, if we are to balance the books. There are simply
too many players at the club and we cannot afford to pay them all.
I nodded. I kind
of knew.
A few names
popped into my head who this applied to. Callum Schorah, one of the club’s
highest earners had spent much of the season on the bench as a backup to
Makiessi before he left for Hemsworth Miners Welfare. Jack Broadhead, who I regret not playing more,
especially away from home where his experience would have been invaluable in
that holding role in midfield alongside Wright which had worked so beautifully
against Campion.
Some players
like Clappison, Ellis and Wright were needed to be kept on because they were
our most important players and formed the spine of the team. Aaron Smith too,
whose goals had propelled us into that top half place needed to be retained,
but the rest?
There were
too many players hanging around on £20 a week in the U21s and U18s which needed
to be moved on before we even look to bring new players in.
The meeting
ended and I felt a little deflated. This was not the joyous occasion of just over one year ago when our chairman had announced the exciting news that we were to
become a semi-pro club. Twelve months on and the financial realities of this decision
were biting the club hard...
I stayed for one drink afterwards and made my excuses. I needed time to think clearly. There were a lot of decisions to be made over the next few weeks.
Board Are Delighted That Objective has been met
A Few Difficult Conversations
I spent a couple of days after the meeting going through the squad with a fine toothcomb, looking at their contracts and their overall contributions to the club. Were they first team regulars or fringe players? Were they playing a prominent part in the U18s team, or were they just moseying about on the fringes not doing anything? What were their average ratings and how far down the pecking order are they in their respective positions. The below left the club the following day. It was not a day I enjoyed telling these players they will have to find another club to play for. Some were immediately snapped up by other clubs and in the case of Ben Clappison, he had already attracted interest from 7th tier side, Gresley and that transfer would have happened regardless. Luis Lacey was also quickly snapped up by Highgate after news got out he might be available.
Players Out
Ben
Clappison free transfer to Gresley
Jonathan
Tiernan (GK) Released
Nicky Hairyes-Lambton
(MC) released
Michael
Aremu (DC) released
Rob Hudson
(DMC) free transfer to Washington
Luis Lacey (DL) free transfer to Highgate
Paul
Thornton (DC/DMC) released
Chris
Longbottom (MR) Wombwell Main (free transfer)
Oliver
Leedham (MC) released
Valerio De
Martin (ST) released
Callum
Schorah (MC/AMC) released
Barry Woods
(MR) released
Steve Tanner
(MC) released
Joel
McGovern (GK) released
Aaron Davies
(AMC) released
Morley Town Offer New Contract
I have signed a new contract. Unfortunately paying the manager is not something the club has considered yet, made worse by our current financial troubles. Hopefully one day...
Josh Agbozo retires from football
Some sad
news from Italy as former Morley Town midfielder, Josh Agbozo was forced to
retire from football aged 25 after a recurring ankle injury. He made 35
appearances for us, scoring two goals and made 14 for Italian lower league
outfit, Pavia before his forced retirement. He does have his Yorkshire Amateur
League Premier Division Title winner’s medal, which I am sure he will treasure
for the rest of his life and tell his grandchildren about in the future...
Luke Clery – on loan from Burscough
Another milestone reached- our first loan player. I have brought in versatile full back from NW Counties Premier outfit, Burscough on a season long loan. He can play all across the back four.
Jack Greenwood free transfer from
Abbey Hutton United
I have
snapped up promising striker, Jack Greenwood on a free transfer.
Lorenzo Saponara (DC)
I have
snapped up pacy young defender, Lorenzo Saponara on a free transfer. His
previous clubs include Clevedon Town and RC Warwick after starting his career on
Leyton Orient’s books.
Board Expectations
The board
expect us the reach the playoffs in the North West Counties League Division One
North, reach the Quarter Finals of the Division One Cup and ohh what’s this... looks like we are in the hat for the First Qualifying Round Draw of the Isuzu
FA Vase.. How exciting!
New Fixtures Announced
Morley will
begin the 2025/26 campaign at home to Chadderton, before travelling to Bacup,
hosting Silsden Reserves and then playing god knows who in the FA Vase!
Board Confidence
To sum up the board are pleased with my performance as manager going into the new season and are looking forward to seeing the team on the pitch. They are pleased I got rid of Callum Schorah and that I have a strong backing from the players. Grade: B-
Meanwhile the Morley fans are also pleased with my performance and are happy with the transfers I have made so far. They are strangely disappointed with loanee, Luke Clery’s recent performances despite the fact he is yet to kick a ball in anger for Morley Town? Perhaps they thought I’d signed Julian Clary.....
Pre-Season Friendlies
Friendly 1: Morley Town v Morley Town
U18s
The annual
inter squad friendly is normally against the U21s, but as most of the rest of
the squad are U18, I couldn’t be bothered moving all my players to the U21s.
Anyway
here’s today’s teams.
Morley Town: Thompson, Croft,
Bentley, Saponora, Curl (trial), Wright, Henderson (trial) Smith, Gutzmore,
Ellis, Preston
Morley Town U18s: Marra, Francis,
Lamey (not real) Brooksby, Bentham, James, Haggett, Caffrey, Worsnop, Coubillay,
Caffrey
Match Action
It’s end to
end in the opening 20 with Haggett and Smith exchanging long range effort wide.
Then an innocuous looking corner from us results in a penalty. Jack Broadhead
steps up and sends the keeper the wrong way. 1-0. The U18s are playing well
though and Francis sends Lee James down the right, who squares for Oscar
Caffrey to tap home a simple equaliser. One each at the break in a surprisingly
even game. Into the second half and the first team and the kids trade blows,
with Haggett looking particularly impressive for the U18s. Then on the hour
mark we show a piece of quality. Trialist, Dominic Curl plays the ball up to
Aaron Smith who turns and slips in the onrushing trialist Ben Henderson who
places the ball into the top corner. Good goal. The kids though look alright
and have more than held their own against their first team counterparts. Lee
James skips past the full back and runs down the right, gets to the byeline and
fizzes in a low cross which is turned home by sub Lewis Kemp for a superb goal.
Danny Marra the U18s Australian goalkeeper punts a long kick downfield where
Callum Haggett latches onto and fires past McLachlan.. 3-2 to the U18s and you
have to say it is well deserved. We hit back though. Pappril intercepts and
feeds Smith who turns it onto Lennon Stead, who finds Smith who sends Bett
Wildsmith through and the youngster slots the ball under Marra for 3-3, which
is how it stayed. A fair result and food for thought for me, which is the way
it should be after these kinds of matches, Well played all.
Morley sign Ben Henderson
Friendly 2 Morley Town v Emley
We take on
our local rivals, Emley who despite being a few miles nearer the Lancashire
border than us ply their trade in the North East Counties League with all the
Yorkshire teams... Well I digress.. This is a warm up for the more exciting
friendlies we have in the pipeline.
Team: Thompson, Godwin (trial),
Bentley, Saponaora, Haylock, Broaadhead, Henderson, James, Coubillay,
Greenwood, Preston
Emley:
Lambton, Mansell, Lawrence, Heaton, Duke, Hart, Dunbar, Hornsby, Sheridan,
Gooden
We launch
the first attack. Godwin releases Lee James down the right. He passes infield
to Coubillay who finds Preston on the overlap who takes the ball into the area,
checks inside before curling a sumptuous finish into the top corner. Lovely
goal. On 19 minutes it gets better. Broadhead from 30 yards out larrups a free
kick into the top corner. 2-0 Morley. Emley hit back and Dunbar finds the roof
of the net after a fine passing move. 2-1 at the break. Emley start the second
half the stronger and Gooden is unlucky to have a goal disallowed fro offside
after a fine move. On 61 it is our turn to strike. A lovely passing move down
the left results in trialist sub, Dom Curl.... well curls the ball into the
penalty area where Lennon Stead stoops to nod home, beating the keeper to the
ball. 3-1. An upset is on the cards.. But.. on 75 Emley win a corner and Niall
Heaton rises at the near post and nails a header past McLachlan for 3-2. Then
on 83 we fail to properly clear a cross and Stefan Hornsby lashes the ball into
the corner for 3-3 Oops. Suddenly Emley look the most likely to win it and look
dangerous with every attack. The ball is played long down the left and Johnson
runs onto it. His pinpoint cross finds Gooden who slides in to put Emley ahead
for the first time in the game. In the dying moments of the game Jack Sheridaan
fires in a 5th. Suddenly Emley can’t miss. A disappointing end to
what had been until the last 5 minutes been a good pre-season performance.
Final Score: Morley Town 3-5 Emley
Preston 3 Dunbar 26
Broadhead
20 Heaton 76
Stead
62 Hornsby 85
Gooden 87
Sheridan 90
Yet another
milestone is reached. The first football league side will be visiting Glen Road
for a match in the shape of Mansfield Town. The Stags are in League 2, six
levels above us at Level 10 in what is effectively the English Fourth Division,
so this is big news. Whatsmore it is hoped this fixture will not only raise the
profile of Morley Town, but also raise some much needed revenue. As for the
score.. we’ll try to keep that down to a respectable one...
Team: Thompson, Croft, Sapanora,
Bentley, Morley (trialist) Wright, Broadhead, Smith, Grantham, Ellis, Preston
Mansfield: Smith,
Johnson, Kilgour, Collins, Guinness-Walker, Wiggett, Galbraith, Temple,
Pierrick, Hamilton, Bickerdike
We keep the
ball for all of four seconds before Mansfield break on us...but surprisingly
comes to nothing. Then amazingly we win a corner. Wright swings it in...
Penalty! Aaron Smith was pushed over in the box... Up steps Courey Grantham for
a shock lead......... Saved by the keeper! Unbelievable! Grantham has his head
in his hands... Amazingly we dominate possession, but it only takes one
moment... Galbraith to Wiggett, Wiggett to Temple.. who plants the ball past
Thompson.. Oh well it was fun while it lasted. Mansfield look the better side
as you would expect as we struggle to keep the ball, but have coped OK so far.
Three minutes before half time Cyril Temple picks up the ball in midfield and
runs forward before releasing a thunderbolt into the top corner. A great goal
at any level against any opposition and it’s 2-0 to Mansfield at half time.
Into the
second half and it gets scrappy. Sub Marlon Gutzmore looks enthusiastic, but
maybe too much so and earns himself two yellow cards in quick succession and an
early bath. We respond and Aaron Smith makes progress forward who finds Ellis
then right to Lennon Stead! His shot grazes the crossbar. The same player then
has a goal disallowed for offside in stoppage time which is a shame. The final
whistle blows. Just 2-0 against a football league side, i’ll take that, given
we had a man sent off and had Grantham converted that early penalty, then who
knows? Anyway the best game is yet to come.....
Final Score: Morley Town 0-2
Mansfield Town
Temple 20,43
Mansfield Game a Roaring Success
A massive attendance of 563 witnessed Morley Town take on Mansfield Town with a huge 396 Morley
fans (no doubt some curious Leeds fans as well) turning up on a hot, sunny
afternoon in mid-July, with Mansfield bringing 167 away fans from
Nottinghamshire to create a fantastic atmosphere at Glen Road.
Morley signs for Morley
It was meant to be! A player called Morley joins Morley, a bit like when Arsene Wenger took over at Arsenal... Anyway, Nathan Morley is a left sided player, who can play at left back and on the left wing.
Joe Wilkinson signs for Morley
I have added
a bit of experience to my back line in the shape of Joe Wilkinson, who is a
central defender who can also play at right back. He has played for several
local non-league clubs, including Emley, Ossett and Tadcaster Albion.
Friendly 4: Morley Town v Bradford
City
The hottest ticket in town is for the visit of Bradford City
who make the very short trip to Glen Road and become the second football league
side to visit little old Morley. Like Mansfield they are also in League 2, but
will, due to their locality, pull in an even bigger crowd. It is expected to be
a sellout as 700 fans pile into Glen Road to witness what will be a historic
game.
Find out how they get on next time on The Ultimate English Pyramid Game!
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