Following two straight promotions, scoring over 100 goals in each season, gaining 100+ points and winning the Auto Windscreen Shield twice we embark on life in Division one aiming to go three for three and maybe another couple of 100s in the bag.

The rules are simple, we can only spend 75% of the money we make, and we can’t cheat the game using the loan trick to circumvent the big club release clause.  Our aim, to see how far we can get after five seasons starting in Division three with no players.

Some sad news breaks in the close seasons as we say goodbye to three good, if not slightly ill-disciplined eggs.

I take my mind off the sad news but diligently searching for regens (mostly free ones) to bolster the squad.  In keeping with the tried and tested playbook of stocking up on young Man Utd players I spend a record fee of £1,800,000 on John Curtis, who somewhat surprisingly chooses Gateshead over Stuttgart.

My final order of business is to re-offer contracts to players with big club release clauses in the hope that now we are in Division one they won’t want them any more and in the main in works a treat.

So we begin Season three against another newly promoted side, Blackpool and it’s a positive start, a 3-1 win.  With no Shield trophy we be attempting to get a good run going in both the League and FA Cup.  The League Cup first round is against familiar opposition, Charlton, who we beat in season one to progress.  We are a better side now and put six goals past them across the two legs, we do concede three, but two of them come when we are already 5-1 up on aggregate so no harm really.

The second round is a local tie against Middlesbrough, thanks to Notman we travel back to The International Stadium with scores level and an away goal.

We make the most of this slight advantage in the home tie, Sebby smashing home a hat-trick as we progress to round three.

The league matches are a familiar story of the 12 played it is 10 wins and two loses a strong start scoring 30 from a possible 36 points.

While the second page of fixtures/results tick over I trade up, or down, depending on preference at the DMC position.  Phil Charnock was signed for £575k in season two and has now attracted interest, so I see him for £1,800,000 and bring in a young Jamie Carragher for just less than half the price at £850k.

Just before the end of page two we reach the halfway point in the league season as the results summary will confirm we are sitting pretty at the top of the table and on course for another double 100, points and goals.

The halfway point stats sheet shows the continued ill-discipline that has been our trademark so far along with Sebby and Christmas Williams leading the way in assists and goals.  I can’t help thinking again that Sebby should be doing better that he is, I would love to cash in but the AI doesn’t like to spend big on players with the FGN tag, who would have thought?

Notty is also having a solid season, backed up by a midway average of 7.73, highest of the regular starters.

There is continued success in the League Cup as we make it to the Quarter-Finals beating Carlisle in round three and Stoke in round four.  Ipintza is the regen of some decent old Spanish FRC who I picked up for free on a regen hunt.

Just before the second page round up I conduct another piece of excellent business, one of my favourite full backs in the game is not being played down the road in Newcastle and after harassing him for over six months he finally agrees to swap black and white for white and black, an absolute steal.

So here is the summary sheet, based on the league and cup runs, you already know it is some pretty reading despite a little bit of November rain.

Despite solid progress being made in the League and League Cup we fall at the first hurdle in the FA Cup.  Palace come to The International Stadium and leave with a ticket to round four.  Despite Palace proving problematic in the FA Cup, Derby cause us few problems in the League Cup as we book our place in the Semi Finals against Chelsea.

The Semi Finals are a tight affair, in score line only, we batter Chelsea home and away and just about manage to avoid a “Champ-ing” on the way to the Final.

Leg one

Leg two

The summary sheet continues to show the strong performances.

After winning eight, drawing two and losing one we enter the final page of the fixtures/results screen top of the league, but in a very close battle with Forest for the number one position

Unfortunately, a couple of weeks later Sebby gets himself injured in training for a couple of months so he will miss the rest of the season, including the League Cup Final.

The League Cup Final is against the most difficult of domestic opponents.  Despite me systematically poaching their younger talent they still boast a plethora of stars.  We give it a good go but ultimately lose our 100% Wembley record.  I can’t help but feel a little disappointed, but I think on the day they deserved the victory.

After watching us lose in the final, Sebby decides he wants to move on, in all honesty I would love to cash in on him.  I think he is erratic in front of goal and blows too hot and cold.  Unfortunately, I can’t see anyone coming in for him, nevertheless, I humour his request.

With six games left it is all to play for, we are nine points and two goals short of the 100 mark and still only three points clear of Forest, with our superior goal difference probably counting for an invisible extra point in tie break scenario.

After a win and a draw in the following games Forest have closed the gap to just a single point.

Our next match is away at Wolves, who are fourth.  It’s a funny old game, we take an early 2-0 lead thanks to a brace from Spanish FRC regen Ipintza, he has really stepped up in Sebby’s absence. The two-goal lead only lasts four minutes and then after 25 minutes we are back level due to Dougie double.  Dougie then gets himself sent off just before halftime, thankfully.  A close second half follows, until we finally break the deadlock, Christmas Williams with the winner. 

Forest win again too, we are guaranteed promotion now, but I want that League title.

Oh, well that’s strange, I’m pretty sure there are three games left, is this allowed?  We accept the money and hope to avoid an inquest at a later date.

We win our next game, but so do Forest, this leaves us three points clear with two to play.  Ipintza continues his rich vein of form, propelling us towards the title, having helped us break the double 100 again.

Because of our superior goal difference, a win away to Luton will effectively secure top spot.

Come on, Forest needing to score 24 more goals than their opponents, and for us to lose doesn’t seem likely.

Local lads Sunderland are our final opponents, and despite looking like we might need that goal difference after all, we finally kick into life for the last 30 minutes and come from behind to ensure a positive end to the campaign.

Along with top spot, an odd second helping of significantly less prize money, what is going on?  It’s all good for the PSR though.

A look at the end of season showing I made another purchase from Man Utd, bringing in Wes Brown towards the end of the season, before the window closed.  Some high value players in the team now, but also a number of players who will need to be moved on as we strengthen for the Premier League.

Dirtiest bunch of players I’ve ever assembled!

Assists and goals, Christmas and Ipintza stepping up at the end of the season with Sebby out of action.

Another set of strong average ratings.

The annual awards for the year, Joe Kinnear pipping us to the managers award after being sacked by Spurs and taking over Wolves is an interesting choice.

The club decide to spend £1,900,000 on 5000 new seats, I was not expecting to have to factor that into the PSR figures.

The balance sheets shows a healthy £10 million to play with.  I’m off to hunt some more regens and persuade some talented players to come and bolster the squad in preparation for life in the Premier League.

Join us next week for season four.