Season four, most likely the penultimate season in this adventure/challenge.  We started with Gateshead in Division three and a team full of greys.  We have made it to the Premier League after back to back to back promotions.  Worrying about big club release clauses are a thing of the past but we still have our PSR rules to worry about.

I find the regens of Trevor Steven and Gary McAllister on free transfers.  I’ve had my eye on a guy called Tarantino from Italy who can play behind the front two for a while and he finally joins for £775k.  I also find the regen of Thomas Ravelli (I think) and get him in for £110k.  Currently my most expensive purchase is 5000 plastic seats so I change that by bringing in another ex-Man Utd youngster E. Nev, for £2.9 million.

I counterbalance all this by selling M.M.Ipintza for £4.6 million who has decided he “wants to move to a bigger club” and attracted attention after his solid end to last season.

Some of this transfer business wasn’t concluded until after our first few games of the season, hence Ipintza’s presence of the score sheet in out first Premier League match, away at Spurs and our first home match against Crystal Palace.

Our second home game of the season against Blackburn is another 4-0 victory with new boy E.Nev getting a goal.

After finishing as runners-up in the League Cup last year we start the strongly against Exeter in the first leg of round two before holding on in the second, to make it through 6-4 on aggregate.

The top two sides in the Premier League over that past few seasons have been Man Utd and Newcastle and we face them in back to back fixtures that couldn’t have gone any better for us.  I have to admit the Man Utd win was a real Champ Manning by us, but they all count.

I sign a couple more players to add depth to the squad, an Italian CB called Graziano Barbiero, whose big club release clause I was able to activate and Roberto Stellone, who had moved to Parma but wasn’t getting any game time, spending £1.3 million on the pair.

Stellone comes up trumps in the third round of the League cup, it looks like we are heading out until CM Millesi scores an equaliser in the 82^nd minute.  Stellone then steps up in extra time to send us through with his first goal for the club.

Below is a round up of all the results from our first 15 games and despite a disappointing loss at home to Villa, it’s all gone rather well.

As we sit atop the Premier League after 12 games it is important to point out that Rozental, Noel-Williams and Jimmy Paton (maybe Gordon Strachan’s regen) all want to move to “bigger clubs”.  I know it is only a game, a nearly 30-year-old, game but it still annoys me that a player in a team at the top of the Premier League would announce that they want to leave when their club is in this position.  Oh well.

After our excellent start to the season and despite some of the squad believing we are not a big enough club yet, out of favour Real Madrid right back, and in my opinion one of the best full backs on the game Chris Panucci is happy to swap the Bernabeu for the International Stadium.

He makes an immediate impact as we spank Leeds at Elland Road, thanks to three goals from our full-back pairing.

It is a less than ideal start to the Christmas period when versatile captain and brother of Doctor Who, Andy picks up a month long injury.  John Curtis is promoted to captain in his stead.

A great start to John’s captaincy as we beat a Liverpool side who are currently in the relegation zone.

A League Cup 4^th round tie away to Plymouth allows for some squad rotation and the lads don’t let me down.

Jimmy Paton (I think Gordon Strachan regen) has been amazing for us, and despite being only 18 he has attracted the attention of some of Europe’s top clubs.  I need to ensure we keep those books balanced and so I make the difficult decision to sell him.  French midfielder Nic Savinaud has also been courted by a number of clubs and after getting his price up to £6.75 million I have to part company with him too, I forgot to screen shot that one.

Cyril Rool is brought in for a small fee to provide midfield cover.

As we reach the midway point in the Premier League season we are remarkably top of the table and five points clear of Man Utd.

After busy Christmas period where we go unbeaten, second division Oxford are our FA Cup third round opponents, I rotate the squad again and we brush them aside easily.

Beardsley’s regen, Frank Clapham is out on loan and attracting interest from across the border.  That’s positive news, but he’s not for sale.

Our League Cup Quarter-final is against the now second-best team in the northeast.  After taking a comfortable three goal lead big Tony loses his head and brings Shearer down in the box, with no keeper on the bench Pistone fills in, Shearer, clearly intimidated by his luscious locks blasts the penalty high and wide and we progress to the Semi-finals.

Ten days later we confirm our place as the northeast’s top dogs with a solid display at St James’s in the league.  Quentine has been ace since he’s signed.

The final game of this middle third is an FA Cup 4^th round tie against Man Utd.  After Champ manning them earlier in the season at Old Trafford manage to best them again at the Internation Stadium.

It’s a more even game this time around, but we are flattered by the scoreline.

Here is a summary of our past 15 games, it’s been quite the middle third, 13 wins and two draws.  Can we keep this up and make a little bit of history?

Sandwiched between a pair of Man Utd cup ties is a match against West Ham that we can only manage to draw 1-1.  Not the best preparation for a Semi-final.  This match is a repeat of the last years final.  We fair even less well than previously, leaving ourselves with a lot to do at the International Stadium.

Before we can try and turn around our two goal deficit in the League Cup head to Villa Park for a 5^th round FA Cup tie.  It’s a close game and we need an 86^th minute equaliser from explosive full-back Chris to force a replay.

I head into the second leg of the League cup tie hoping for a lot but not expecting very much.  Shockingly the football gods are shining down on us, Man Utd reject E. Nev’ goal sends us through to the final after a nervous final 18 minutes.

The FA Cup replay goes equally as well as we breeze past Aston Villa at the International Stadium.

We finally lose a League match, after an 11 game unbeaten run Man Utd do to us what we did do them earlier in the season.

After this loss we can only manage a draw at home to Leicester, before heading to Elland Road for an FA Cup Quarter final clash.  As has been the story of this FA Cup run so far we can only manage a draw away from home, leading to another replay.

After managing to string together a couple of league wins, one away against Blackburn and the other at home to Wimbledon we face Leeds in out Quarter Final replay.  Despite a strong showing we are wasteful in front of goal.  Fortunately, two goals in extra time are enough to take us through to the Semi-Final, what a draw!

A week and a half after making it to the semi-final of the FA Cup we head to Wembley for a second League Cup Final in two years, this time Birmingham are our opponents.  For some reason all three of my fit strikers have low moral so I choose Sly and Seb to start and put Christmas on the bench. E.Nev is out for a couple more weeks.

In the end I needn’t have worried, the ever-consistent Quentine bags a brace and we pick up our first “major” trophy and a cool half million.

After the highs of League Cup victory we lose to Arsenal 0-1 before facing our reverse kit local rivals in the FA Cup Semis.

Despite going a goal behind in the second minute we fight back to be leading 3-1 at the break.  A 56^th minute goal, and second of the game for Hojer puts me on edge until Sly finds the net in the 84^th minute to send us back to Wembley for another final.

That game take us into the final throws of the season and completes another results screen.  A lot more red and orange on this one, however we managed to get the greens when in mattered.

With all the replays needed to get us through to the final we enter the last phase of the League season two points behind Man Utd with two games in hand and eight to play.  It’s close at the top with Arsenal only two points further back.

In our first game in hand, we can only manage a draw, not ideal.

However in the following match we manage to beat Sheffield Wednesday, while Man Utd lose and we are back on top with six game left.

It’s a Saturday, Monday match week and while our draw against Leeds is disappointing, bottom club West Ham help us out by beating Man Utd 1-0, leaving us three points clear with five to play.

We head to Anfield for a spicy match, it looks to be heading for a 1-1 draw until Nicky Sturgess scores in the 82^nd minute, however we switch off and Liverpool equalise again straight from the kick off.  Disappointed!

Man Utd and Arenal both capitalise on our floundering form and it’s tighter than a gym bro’s t-shirt at the top of the table.

We finally manage to get a victory at home to Coventry, but Man Utd also win.  Arsenal slip up and it looks to have become a two-horse race again.

Disaster strikes, Quentine has been excellent behind the front two, scoring and creating goals, the guy might cover the ground like he’s wading through treacle but he’s and absolute gem.  He’s out for the rest of the season with a torn hammy.

Despite missing Quentine, we manage to record back-to-back wins for the first time in a while, despite Neil Alexanders best efforts and going 0-1 down after 11 minutes.

That win means that if we can win one of our final two matches we are guaranteed to be champions and up next is Bolton at the International stadium.  It’s an absolute disaster of a game, 2-3 flatters us.

Our final league game is away to Man City, surely they will just roll over, rather than allow Man Utd another chance at a League title.

Well.

No, they do not.  A rather annoying time to fall victim to a smash and grab victory.  So close.

Say what now?!

Moral of this story, score more goals!

It’s still not enough for John, some people are never happy.

The FA Cup final is rather anti-climatic after all that, however with the pressure off and a second trophy in the bag Everton are pushed aside easily.

Here is a summary of our final eight league matches and some end of season player stats.

The final balance sheet shows a healthy profit made.

I thought this would be a five-season project, however division three to treble winners in four seasons seems like an appropriate point in which to call it a day.  I never expected it to go this well, it probably never will again, however, whenever someone asks me about Championship Manager in the future, I’ll probably just say….