November 2012/13: Slipping Up?

We started the month with the signing of Director of Football Peter Simmons.

On the back of another great month of results, we were looking to get November off to a great start!

Our first game of November was against 16th placed Epsom & Ewell.

We made only one change to the starting XI, with C. Toner replacing A. Ahmed (Inj).

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D. Fazlic, C. Toner, 

M. Johnson, D. Bembo-Leta, V. Pericard, L. Head

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, D. Lee, T. Williamson, R. Limb

Djeny Bembo-Leta put us in-front after 27 minutes, when he was able to bring down Tom Williams' cross, and place the ball into the bottom corner. Dino Fazlic then doubled our lead, when he hit Bembo-Leta's knock-back from 25 yards, following a good passing move, into the bottom corner. The rest of the first half flew by, with Liam Head coming closest, hitting the left hand post with a header from Nzuzi's cross. Vincent Pericard then score a 3rd in the 64th minute, when he was able to get above the Epsom defender, and head Bembo-Leta's cross into the back of the net. Pericard then doubled his tally, when he was able to hit Bembo-Leta's knock-down from Fazlic's lofted ball forward, past the keeper, and into the goal.

This was a great result, continuing our 100% record, and showing how good we could be both up-front, and at the back.

Final score: Epsom & Ewell 0-4 Wembley

Our next game seemed like an easy 3 points, as it was against bottom of the table Hartley Wintney.

We made 2 changes to the starting XI, with T. Williamson and R. Limb replacing C. Toner (Fit) and 

V. Pericard (Fit).

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, T. Williamson, D. Fazlic,

 M. Johnson, D. Bembo-Leta, R. Limb, L. Head

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, D. Lee, N. Durrant, V. Pericard

Ryan Limb scored the first goal of the game in the 3rd minute, when, after a good phase of passing between the midfielders, Bembo-Leta was played in by Matt Johnson, who then pulled the ball back for Limb to fire home into the back of the net. Liam Head doubled our lead 3 minutes later, when he was able to bring down Williamson's long ball forward, and place the ball past the keeper. Djeny Bembo-Leta then scored a third in the eighth minute, when Head played a simple ball through the Hartley defence, and Bembo-Leta was able to hit the ball into the bottom corner. Hartley managed to pull it back, when Nzuzi gave away a penalty for a stupid tackle from behind, and Paul Purver put it just past Ranieri in the 31st minute. Bembo-Leta scored a goal in the 2nd minute of the second half, when he was allowed to turn in the box after receiving a pass from Tom Williamson, and place the ball into the net. Bembo-Leta then completed his hat-trick, when he was able to volley Fazlic's corner into the back of the net at the near post. 

Overall, it was a great win, but I was very disappointed with the penalty we gave away, as it was a needless challenge. Also, considering the start we had, scoring 3 goals in the first 10 minutes, I would have liked a LOT more goals.

Final score: Hartley Wintney 1-5 Wembley

Our next game was against Windsor, who were sat in 8th place.

We made no changes to the team that played Hartley Wintney, and were hoping for a similar performance.

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, T. Williamson, D. Fazlic, 

M. Johnson, D. Bembo-Leta, R. Limb, L. Head

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, N. Durrant, D. Lee, V. Pericard

Ryan Limb opened the scoring in the 13th minute, whene he was able to pounce on the rebound from his original shot, and place it past the scrambling Windsor goalkeeper. Bembo-Leta doubled our lead in the 42nd minute, when he was able to get on to Liam Head's deflected shot, and finish from a very tight angle. Tom Williamson almost scored his first ever Wembley goal, when his 18 yard free-kick, clipped the outside of the far post. Windsor started to come into the game towards the last 10 minutes, but failed to really trouble Ranieri.

This was a great result, and it just showed how dominant we could be, controlling the game, having 70% of possession in the 1st half, and 66% of possession in the 2nd half.

Final score: Wembley 2-0 Windsor

Our next game was against Barkingside in the Isthmian Ryman League Cup 3rd Round.

We made 5 changes to the squad, resting some key players. C. Toner, D. Lee, N. Durrant, R. Dennis and V. Pericard replacing D. Fazlic (Fit), M. Johnson (Fit), T. Williamson (Fit), L. Head (Per) and D. Bembo-Leta (Fit)

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, C.Toner, D. Lee, N. Durrant,
R. Dennis, V. Pericard, R. Limb

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, D. Fazlic, M. Johnson, D. Bembo-Leta

Ronnel Dennis put us in-front after 3 minutes, when he brought down Nzuzi's long throw from the right flank, was allowed to turn in the box, and slot the ball into the bottom right-hand corner. Ryan Limb doubled our lead in the 12th minute, when Dennis' shot hit Pericard on the back, before rolling to Limb, who hit the ball past the keeper, and into the back of the net. Limb scored the 3rd in the 23rd minute, when Pericard was able to win the ball from the Barkingside defender in the penalty box, but instead of shooting, he played the ball to Limb on his left, who out the ball in the back of the net. We scored again in the 31st minute, when Ciaran Toner won a 50/50 challenge in the box from a loose Pericard pass, before slotting the ball across the keeper, and into the far corner. Barkingside then forced Ranieri to make a world-class save in the 33rd minute, when Farnworth headed Stoke's cross toward goal from 4 yards, and Ranieri acrobatically tipped the ball over the cross-bar. We couldn't keep them out from the resulting corner though, when Stoke's corner was headed back across goal by Weaver towards Osborne, who volleyed the ball past Ranieri in the 37th minute. We replied instantly, when Vincent Pericard got on the end of Toner's 10 yard through-ball, and placed the ball into the bottom right-hand corner. Barkingside's Tyrone Stoke's then pegged us back again, with a spectacular 25 yard effort, that flew right into the top left-hand corner in the 43rd minute. Pericard then came close to extending our lead again, when he hit the cross-bar from 20 yards after receiving a pass from Matt Johnson. The Barkingside keeper then made a great double save, when Pericard's long-range effort was at a good height for him to save, but was too powerful for him to hold on to, and then Ryan Limb was able to poke the rebound goalwards, and the keeper was able to scramble across the goalmouth, and tip the effort wide. Dennis forced a great diving save out of the opposition keeper, who was having a brilliant second half, when his 20 yard effort was curling into the top corner, but the Barkingside keeper was able to push it wide for a corner.

This was a good win, and great match, with lots of goals, and some great saves, which I'm sure the neutrals would have enjoyed.

Final score: Wembley 5-2 Barkingside

The draw for the 4th round was the day after the Barkingside game, and we were given another home draw, this time, against Sussex County League Division One's Sidley United.

Our next game was against Egham Town, who were in 3rd place, way above their predicted finish.

We made 4 changes to the starting XI, with D. Fazlic, A. Ahmed, M. Johnson and L. Head replacing C. Toner (Fit), D. Lee (Per), T. Williamson (Per), V. Pericard (Fit)

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D. Fazlic, A. Ahmed,
M. Johnson, D. Bembo-Leta, R. Limb, L. Head

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, C. Toner, T. Williamson, V. Pericard

Bembo-Leta was the first to put the ball into the back of the net, but the goal was disallowed because of off-side in the 10th minute. Bembo-Leta was the first goalscorer, when he was able to receive the ball from Ahmed, turn in the box, skip past a defender, and place the ball into the back of the net in the 30th minute. Ryan Limb almost doubled our lead in the 54th minute, but he saw his 30 yard effort that was heading for the top corner saved by the Egham keeper. Limb then had a similar effort saved in the 79th minute, as we continued to pile the pressure on Egham.

This was a decent win against 3rd place in the league, where Egham weren't able to get a single shot off at goal.

Final score: Wembley 1-0 Egham Town

Our next game was against Highmoor Ibis in the FA Vase 2nd Round.

We made 6 changes to the starting XI, with T. Betteridge, B. Gayle, T. Williamson, C. Toner, V. Pericard and R. Dennis replacing P. Nzuzi (Inj), S. Galinski (Fit), M. Johnson (Fit), A. Ahmed (Fit), R. Limb (Fit),
D. Bembo-Leta (Fit)

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, T. Betteridge, B. Gayle, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, T. Williamson, C. Toner,
D. Fazlic, L. Head, V. Pericard, R. Dennis

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, A. Ahmed, M. Johnson, D. Bembo-Leta

Liam Head missed a good chance to put us in-front in the 22nd minute, when Dennis played a brilliant lofted through ball, which allowed Head to get one-on-one with the Highmoor keeper, however Head hit his shot straight at the goalkeeper. Tom Williams almost scored a spectacular effort in the 43rd minute, when his 35 yard free-kick skimmed the top of the crossbar. Dennis missed a good chance in the 62nd minute when we broke from a Highmoor corner, but Dennis failed to find the target, sending his shot horribly wide. Bembo-Leta hit a shot on the turn in the 71st minute, but it curled around the outside of the post, not troubling the Highmoor stopper. Vincent Pericard finally opened the scoring in the 90th minute, when Ahmed played a long ball forward into the box, which Pericard was able to flick past the keeper with his head.

All-in-all, this was a VERY poor result, and to be honest, I'm surprised I was able to write as much as I did, as neither team created many chances.

Final score: Wembley 1-0 Highmoor Ibis

We were given another home tie in the 3rd round of the FA Vase, against Corinthians FC.

Our final game of November was against Badshot Lea, who were sat in 16th place in the league.

Wemade 7 changes to the starting XI, with S. Opinel, S. Galinski, R. Beckham, A. Ahmed, M. Johnson,
M. McCammon and R. Limb replacing T. Betteridge (Fit), B. Gayle (Per), T. Williams (Fit),
T. Williamson (Fit), D. Fazlic (Fit), V. Pericard (Fit) and R. Dennis (Per)

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, S. Opinel, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, R. Beckham, C. Toner, A. Ahmed,
M. Johnson, D. Bembo-Leta, M. McCammon, R. Limb

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, N. Durrant, D. Lee, V. Pericard

Toner hit a good long-distance shot from 30 yards in the 10th minute, but the Badshot keeper was equal to it, pushing it wide for a corner. 2 minutes later, and we took the lead through Ryan Limb, who was able to volley in Ahmed's corner at the near post. Ryan Limb doubled our lead in the 21st minute, when after receiving a pass from Johnson, he was able to turn, and hit a 25 yard shot straight into the back of the net. McCammon put the ball into the back of the net following a knock-down by Limb from Johnson's lofted pass forwards, however, the goal was chalked off, as Limb was offside. McCammon then forced a good save from the Badshot keeper, when he got the ball following a clever flick on by Bembo-Leta, and hit the bal from 25 yards, which was just close enough for the keeper to get a solid hand on it. McCammon finally scored in the 48th minute, when he was able to hit a ball that was knocking around in the box follwing an Ahmed corner, straight into the top-left corner.

Back to our usual form following two poor games, and we also keep our 100% record!

Final score: Badshot Lea 0-3 Wembley

Overall, November was another great month. 7 games and 7 wins! My biggest worry was however, the two narrow 1-0 wins, one of which, we barely scraped through, scoring in the 90th minute.

We continued our dominance in the league, and finished November top, with maximum points, the joint best attacking record, the best defensive record and 15 points clear with a game in hand!

October 2012/13: Continuing The Run

We started the month with some good news after Vincent Pericard returned to full training following a twisted ankle.

The first game of the month was against Hanworth Villa, who were sat in 14th place with 11 points.

We made 2 changes to the starting XI, with B. Gayle and M. Johnson replacing T. Betteridge (Fit) and 

D. Fazlic (Fit).

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, B. Gayle, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, A. Ahmed, D. Lee, 

M. Johnson, L. Head, R. Limb, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, R. Beckham, D. Park, C. Wrigley, M. McCammon

We started well, and it took us 7 minutes to find the back of the net, when Matt Johnson found Bembo-Leta in the box, who placed the ball past the keeper, and into the bottom corner. Ryan Limb the doubled our lead, after he played a quick one-two with Bembo-Leta, before slotting the ball into the bottom-left hand corner. Ryan Limb then scored again, when Bembo-Leta knocked the ball back, and Limb was able to finish from 20 yards in the 43rd minute. Limb almost scored his hat-trick, when he hit a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty box, but it was tipped over the cross-bar by the Hanworth goalkeeper. Hanworth had their first shot of the game in the 69th minute, but  Shennan hit the shot over the cross-bar.

I was a little concerned with how our performance dipped in the second half, especially when going forward, but overall it was a good win, and another 3 points on the table.

Final score: Hanworth Villa 0-3 Wembley

Between the Hanworth game and our next game Patrick Nzuzi returned from injury, and we signed 18 year old Jamaican ST Ronnel Dennis.

Our next game was against 21st placed Horley Town, who had only won once in their last 10 matches.

We made two changes to the squad, with T. Betteridge replacing B. Gayle (Per) and D. Fazlic replacing 

D. Lee (Int). Vincent Pericard also returned to the bench.

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, T. Betteridge, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D. Fazlic, A. Ahmed,
M. Johnson, L. Head, R. Limb, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, B. Gayle, D. Park, C. Wrigley, V. Pericard

Liam Head put us in-front after 19minutes, when Johnson's cross was deflected goalwards by a Horley defender, and was then parried by the goalkeeper, into the path of Head, who placed the ball open goal. Ryan Limb then forced a brilliant save out of the Horley keeper, who was able to tip Limb's 25 yard shot wide. We were then given a penalty in the 24th minute, when Bembo-Leta was tackled from behind by Courbold. LB Tom Williams stepped up to take the penalty, and calmly placed the ball into the bottom-right hand corner, just out of the goalkeepers reach. The rest of the game was pretty boring, with neither team creating any real chances.

Overall, it was a good win against a poor team, however, we would have liked to have won by more.

Final score: Horley Town 0-2 Wembley

Our next game was against Heybridge Swifts, who played their football in the league above us.

We made 2 changes to the starting XI, with P. Nzuzi making his first appearance since returning from injury replacing T. Betteridge (Fit), and V. Pericard replacing L. Head (Per), making his first start since returning from injury.

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D. Fazlic, A. Ahmed,
M. Johnson, D. Bembo-Leta, V. Pericard, R. Limb

Subs: S. Locke, B. Gayle, D. Park, C. Wrigley, L. Head

Dino Fazlic put us in-front after just 2 minutes, when he got on the end of Ahmed's lofted through ball, before taking the ball around the keeper, and passing it into the empty goal. Matt Johnson missed a great chance in the 23rd minute, when Ryan Limb played him through, but Johnson hit the ball well over the cross-bar. Heybridge's Ryan Malton missed good chance to equalize in the 54th minute, when he headed Owinga's corner over the cross-bar. Liam Head missed chance to double our lead in the 85th minute, when after taking the ball around two Heybridge defenders, he clipped the outside of the post from 15 yards.

Despite the amount of good chances we missed, I was happy that we had managed to knock-out a team from the league above us.

Final score: Wembley 1-0 Heybridge Swifts

Our net game was against Ascot United in the 1st round of the FA Vase.

We'd played Ascot in pre-season, and beaten them 3-0.

We made 8 changes to the squad that beat Heybridge, with D. Lee, R. Dennis, S. Locke, L. Head,
M. McCammon, C. Wrigley, J. Baldwin and S. Opinel replacing D. Fazlic (Fit), D. Bembo-Leta (Fit),
M. Ranieri (Rest), R. Limb (Fit), V. Pericard (Fit), M. Johnson (Fit), A. Ahmed (Fit) and T. Williams (Fit).

Starting XI: S. Locke, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, S. Opinel, D. Lee, J. Baldwin, C. Wrigley,
R. Dennis, M. McCammon, L. Head

Subs: M. Ranieri, T. Williams, C. Toner, M. Johnson, V. Pericard

McCammon forced a good save from the Ascot keeper in the 2nd minute, when he got on the end of Chaz Wrigley's through-ball, and hit the ball from 10 yards. Ben Newland gave Ascot the lead when he got on the end of Marron's cross, and volleyed the ball past Locke. McCammon then equalized, when Dennis knocked on Baldwin's cross and found McCammon, who headed into the back of the net. Reice Carlin then put Ash United in-front again, when he was able to head Monelle's free-kick past Locke. Ronnel Dennis then pulled us level again with a debut goal, when he took down Opinel's long ball forward, and curled the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. Liam Head missed a good chance to put us in-front, when his diving header from McCammon's lofted through ball bounced straight into the arms of the Ascot keeper. Liam Head put us in-front for the first time in the game with a simple move, when Liam Head volleyed Tom Williams' long throw past the Ascot keeper. We scored again, when we broke on the counter, when from Raphael Branco's headed clearance, centre-back Stefan Galinski ran 50 yards with the ball, before squaring it to Vincent Pericard, who placed the ball into the bottom corner.

In the end, we won the game comfortably, and I was happy with the performance, and the determination to reply immediately to going behind, with Ascot not being in front for anymore than 5 minutes.

Final score: Wembley 4-2 Ascot United

The day after the Ascot game, the draws were made for both the Istmian Ryman League Cup 3rd Round, and the FA Vase 2nd round.

In the 3rd round of the Isthmian Ryman League Cup, we would be playing against Barkingside at home.

In the FA Vase 2nd round, we had been given a home tie against Highmoor Ibs.

Our final game of October was against Dorking , who were in 9th place.

We made 7 changes to the squad, with D. Fazlic, D. Bembo-Leta, M. Johnson, A. Ahmed, T. Williams,
V. Pericard and M. Ranieri replacing D. Lee (Int), R. Dennis (Per), C. Wrigley (Per), J. Baldwin (Per),
S. Opinel (Per), M. McCammon (Per), S. Locke (Per)

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D. Fazlic, A. Ahmed,
M. Johnson, D. Bembo-Leta, V. Pericard, L. Head

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, C. Toner, T. Williamson, R. Limb

We got off to a flying start, when Pericard's through-ball found Matt Johnson, who placed the ball into the back of the net after just 25 seconds. Bembo-Leta had a diving header stopped by the Dorking goalkeeper in the 34th minute. Vincent Pericard then doubled our lead in the 64th minute, when he was able to beat a Dorking defender to Head's through ball, and slot it past the keeper.

Overall, we were, again, wasteful with efforts, but we got the 3 points, and that's all that matters.

Final score: Wembley 2-0 Dorking

Overall, it was another great month, continuing our 100% record, winning in both the league, and the cup.

At the end of October, we were sitting comfortably at the top of the table, 13 points clear from the same amount of games.

September 2012/13: Setting The Pace

Our next two games concerned me. After a great first month winning five games out of five, I didn't expect to have such a good month this time around.

Our  next two games looked difficult as we played Guernsey, who were predicted to finish top of the table, and three days after that, we had Sandhurst Town, who, of course, were just two points behind us in the table.

Our first game of September was against Guernsey, away at Footes Lane.

We made only one change from our last game, with D. Bembo-Leta replacing M. McCammon (Per)

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, J. Anderson, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, A. Ahmed, C. Toner, 

M. Johnson, L. Head, R. Limb, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, S. Galinski, N. Durrant, C. Wrigley, M. McCammon

We started well, and Tom Williams had a good chance to put us in-front in the 11th minute, with a 20 yard free-kick, however his shot was hit straight into the wall, and cleared by a Guernsey defender. Djeny Bembo-Leta scored the first goal of the game in the 13th minute, when he hit Limb's pull-back first time, right into the bottom corner. Bembo-Leta then strengthened our lead, when he was able to get on the end of Ciaran Toner's through-ball, and slot it past the Guernsey keeper just before half-time. Adnan Ahmed saw his soft header from Liam Head's cross bounce into the arms of the goalkeeper from  yards in the 50th minute in the first highlight of the second half.

A good result against a team that we were expected to lose to, but it would be interesting to see how we would do fitness wise, with our next game just three days away.

Final score: Guernsey 0-2 Wembley

Our 2-0 win over Guernsey was our 6th consecutive win, and meant that we had officially broken the records for the club and league for Most Games Won In A Row, and we had broken the club record for Most Games Unbeaten.

Our next game was against 2nd placed Sandhurst Town

I wasn't expecting a big result, and was even thinking that we might lose going into this game.

We made five changes from the last game, with B. Gayle, C. Wrigley, D. Lee, N. Durrant and 

M. McCammon replacing J. Anderson (Fit), A. Ahmed (Fit), C. Toner (Fit), M. Johnson (Fit) and R. Limb (Fit).

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, B. Gayle, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, C. Wrigley, D. Lee, N. Durrant, M. McCammon, L. Head, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, M. Johnson, C. Toner, R. Limb

Sandhurst started brightly and Sandhurst's Jerome Passley forced a brilliant diving save from Ranieri, with a good diving header in the 3rd minute. Sandhurst then took the lead in the 11th minute after Passley was allowed to get on the end of Anthony's cross, and volley it into the back of the net. It took 5 minutes for us to find a reply, with Djeny Bembo-Leta getting on the end of Durrant's lofted through-ball, and slotting it past the keeper. A couple of minutes later, and we took the lead, with Dwane Lee heading home his first ever Wembley goal from Tom William's cross. Nigel Durrant then extended our lead 10 minutes later, when he blasted McCammon's pass past the keeper and into the back of the net. Kelvin Norman then pulled one back for Sandhurst in the 81st minute, when he was able to poke the ball into the back of the net after a goalmouth scramble. Rod Anthony then put the ball into the goal for Sandhurst from Chandler's cross, however the goal was ruled out for offside. We were able to hold on for the last 5 minutes, and get the result.

I was very impressed with our first half performance, but wasn't happy with how we played in the second half. Overall though, it was a great result against second place, with us resting some key players.

Final score: Sandhurst 2-3 Wembley

We had even more good fortune after the 3-2 win against Sandurst, when Dino Fazlic resumed full training following a twisted knee.

our next game was against 7th placed Ash United, and we need to win to stay 5 points clear of Sandhurst.

We made 4 changes from the squad that faced Sandhurst, with J. Anderson, C. Toner, 

M. Johnson and R. Limb all returning to the side. A. Ahmed also returned to the bench, but D. Fazlic was still not fit enough  to make the subs list.

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, J. Anderson, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, N. Durrant, C. Toner, 

M. Johnson, R. Limb, L. Head, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, S. Galinski, A. Ahmed, C. Wrigley, M. McCammon

We had a problem straight from the off, when Ciaran Toner had to come off because of an injury. Adnan Ahmed replaced him, and we tried to continue as usual. Nigel Durrant forced a good save out of the Ash goalkeeper, with a shot from 18 yards. Sean Pryce then denied Durrant again, after he was able to get down quickly at his near post to push Durrant's 25 yard shot wide. Matt Johnson broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute, when he was allowed to carry the ball  into the penalty box, and finish from a tight angle. Durrant forced another save out of the Ash United keeper with a shot from 20 yards in the 55th minute. Pryce denied Durrant again in the 58th minute from the midfielder's 25 yard effort. It just looked as though it wouldn't be his day. 

It wouldn't be Durrant's day, and he had no further chances. It was a poor result, but at least it was another win, keeping our 100% record going.

Final score: Wembley 1-0 Ash United

Defender Jordan Anderson would be out for 6-7 weeks after twisting his ankle in the game vs. Ash United. Ciaran Toner damaged his kneecap, and would be out for 5-6 weeks.

A couple of days before our next match, we were also hit with the news that Nigel Durrant would be out of action for 6-8 weeks after twisting his ankle in training

Our 9th game of the season was against Raynes Park Vale who were sitting 11 points behind in 5th place

We had to make 3 changes to the starting XI, with S. Galinski and A. Ahmed replacing J. Anderson (Inj) and C. Toner (Inj), and D. Fazlic made his first start since coming back from injury, replacing N. Durrant (Inj)

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D. Fazlic, A. Ahmed,
M. Johnson, R. Limb, L. Head, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, B. Gayle, D. Lee, C. Wrigley, M. McCammon

Djeny Bembo-Leta scored the first goal of the game in the 7th minute, with a great 25 yard effort, curling away from the keeper, and into the bottom corner. Matt Johnson then had a good chance to double our lead, when he found a gap in the Raynes Park defence, but hit his shot straight at the goalkeeper. Raynes Park's striker Mark Reeves then had a chance to level the game, when Raphael Branco missed a header, letting Reeves to head the ball towards the goal, however it was straight at Ranieri. Matt Johnson then did double our lead, with a 20 yard strike from Bembo-Leta's knock-back, straight past the keeper, and into the back of the net. We had to take full-back Patrick Nzuzi off in the 35th minute, because of injury, replacing him with Patrick Nzuzi. Bembo-Leta then missed a good chance in the 85th minute, when he broke through on goal, curled the ball around the keeper, but could only hit the post. Papworth then scored a consolation goal for Raynes Park in the 91st minute, when he was able to volley Hatcher's cross into the back of the net.

A good win, considering that we had quite a lot of key players missing through injury.

Final score: Raynes Park Vale 1-2 Wembley

Tom Betteridge would be getting a chance over the next few games, as Patrick Nzuzi would be out of action for 2-3 weeks after straining his neck against Raynes Park.

Our 10th game of the season, and final game of September was at home against Molesey FC.

We made 3 changes to the squad that played Raynes Park, with T. Betteridge, D. Lee and C. Wrigley replacing P. Nzuzi (Inj), D. Fazlic (Fit) and M. Johnson (Fit).

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, T. Betteridge, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D. Lee, A. Ahmed,
C. Wrigley, L. Head, R. Limb, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, B. Gayle, D. Fazlic, M. Johnson, M. McCammon

Tom Betteridge scored his first Wembley goal in the 5th minute, when his original shot was pushed straight back out to him by the Moseley keeper, and he was able to curl the rebound around the keeper. Moseley's Mark Baxter then broke through our defense and got one-on-one with Ranieri in the 15th minute, but he couldn't get his shot past the Italian who spread himself well and blocked the shot. Ryan Limb then doubled our lead in the 17th minute, when he was able to hit Liam Head's cross first-time, and into the back of the net. I saw that Farnham Town had taken the lead against 2nd placed Sandhurst, which meant we were 8 points clear at the top of the table as it stood.

This was a great result, extending our run of wins to 10!

Final score: Wembley 2-0 Molesey

Another good month, where we continued our 100% record with another 5 wins from 5 games. 

Our 5 wins this month moved us 8 points clear, after 10 games.

August 2012/13: The Beginning of an Era

With a great pre-season finished, apart from the 4-2 defeat early on, we were looking for a strong start to my first season in management in the Combined Counties League Premier Division.

Our first game of the season was against Bedfont Sorts FC, away at the Bedfont Sports Recreation Ground

We started the season with what I thought was the strongest starting XI in the league, and was looking forward to getting a big 3 points on the board from the first game.

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S. Galinski, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D, Fazlic, C. Toner, M. Johnson, L. Head, V. Pericard, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, A. Ahmed, D. Lee, M. McCammon

Matt Johnson scored our first goal of the season, after he was able to hit Head's pull-back, into the net from 15 yards. Bedfont CM Vinny Hodge forced Mirko Ranieri to make a brilliant save, getting down to his near post to tip the midfielders 25 yard effort wide. Mason Bowditch eventually pulled the game level just before the hour mark, after he was allowed to get on the end of Beeney's cross, and volley into the bottom corner.

Substitute Mark McCammon won us the game in the 88th minute, when Galinski's long ball forward bounced over the defence, and McCammon was able to run onto the end of it, and poke it past the keeper.

Overall, I wasn't too impressed with the performance, but it was still early days, and I couldn't really complain with a win in the first game of the season.

Final score: Bedfont Sports 1-2 Wembley

Our next game was at home against Cove FC.

Cove were sitting in 19th place after a 1-0 defeat to Croydon in their first game of the season.

We made four changes to the starting XI, with J. Anderson, A. Ahmed, J. Baldwin and R. Limb replacing S. Polinski (Int), C. Toner (Fit), M. Johnson (Fit) and Liam Head (Fit)

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, J. Anderson, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D. Fazlic, A. Ahmed, J. Baldwin, R. Limb, V. Pericard, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, B. Gayle, C. Toner, M. Johnson, L. Head

We took the lead after 16 minutes, when Ryan Limb played the ball into Vincent Pericard, who placed the ball past the keeper. We scored again in the 33rd minute, when Anderson was able to beat the Cove defender in the air, and head it into the back of the net. Cove almost replied instantly when Roger Blackwell was able to play in Jamie Brown, but Brown couldn't find the target. Cove then did pull a goal back, with a powerful 30 yard effort from Blackwell in the 41st minute. Cove's Robbie Monileux was sent off early in the second half, when he picked up a second yellow card after fouling Dino Fazlic. Fazlic was then denied his first ever Wembley goal, when the Cove goakeeper pulled of a spectacular, reflex save to deny the Bosnian from 8 yards. We then had to take Patrick Nzuzi off because of an injury, after a challenge from Roger Blackwell that went unpunished.

Another 2-1 win moved us up to 2nd place in the league, behind Sandhurst Town on goal difference

Final score: Wembley 2-1 Cove

The only downside of the 2-1 win against Cove, was that Dino Fazlic had suffered from a twisted knee after the challenge from Molinuex, and would be out of action for 4-5 weeks.

Our 3rd game of the season was against Farnham town, and I was a little pessimistic as to whether we would win this match.

Farnham were favourites, and we had some key players missing with injuries, and fitness issues.

We made 5 changes to the first team, with B. Gayle, M. Johnson, C. Toner, N. Durrant and L. Head replacing P. Nzuzi (Fit), D. Fazlic (Inj), A. Ahmed (Fit), J. Baldwin (Fit) and V. Pericard (Fit).

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, B. Gayle, J. Anderson, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, M. Johnson, C. Toner,        N. Durrent, L. Head, R. Limb, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, S. Galinski, A. Ahmed, M. McCammon, V. Pericard

It took 15 minutes for the ball to find the back of the net, when Liam Head finished Matt Johnson's long through ball with a right footed volley. We scored again in the 63rd minute, when Ryan Head intercepted Neville's poor back-pass before chipping the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net. Limb then found the net again, after Liam Head's headed ball over the top of the defence found him, and he placed the ball right into the bottom corner. There was then a moment of panic at our end, when Raphael Branco nearly headed the ball past his own goalkeeper, however Mirko Ranieri was able to pull off a brilliant reflex save and tip it over the crossbar.

This was a great result, against the odds with only a half-strength side, and it kept us level on points with top of the table Sandhurst

Final Score: Farnham Town 0-3 Wembley

Shortly after the Farnham game, we signed 23 year old ST Chaz Wrigley as back-up.

Tom Betteridge had also returned from injury.

Our next game was at home against Colliers Wood United, and we knew that if we won, we could take the lead if Sandhurst failed to beat Egham, or if we won by more goals.

We made 3 changes to the starting XI with P. Nzuzi, A. Ahmed and V. Pericard replacing B. Gayle (Per), N. Durrent (Per) and  D. Bembo-Leta (Per)

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, J. Anderson, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, M. Johnson, C. Toner, A. Ahmed, L. Head, R. Limb, V. Pericard

Subs: S. Locke, S. Galinski, N. Durrent, M. McCammon, D. Bembo-Leta

Both teams created early chances, but neither was able to take them, with Ahmed coming closest with a soft header straight at the Colliers keeper. The opener was scored in the 13th minute, when Ahmed skipped past the Colliers full-back, and put a cross in that was at a perfect height for Pericard to turn in with his head. Ryan Limb scored his 3rd goal of the season after heading in Tom William's cross in the 37th minute. We started the second half as we ended the first, with Adnan Ahmed skimming the outside of the post with his first time shot from Johnson's knock-back. Vincent Pericard then forced a great save out of Woodhouse, with an 18 yard shot heading straight for the top corner, which was acrobatically saved by the Colliers stopper. Ciaran Toner then scored his first goal of the season, and first goal for the club, with a brave diving header from Ahmed's corner. Toner then went close again, hitting the crossbar, after he hit McCammon's knock-down from 20 yards in the 81st minute, and then from the clearance, Matt Johnson forced a good save from the Colliers goalkeeper, with a scorching 25 yard effort, which Woodhouse was able to push over the crossbar.

This was a great result for us, and was our second 3-0 win, following two 2-1 wins.

Final score: Wembley 3-0 Colliers Wood United

A couple of days before our next game, we were hit with the news that Vincent Pericard would be out of action for 6-7 weeks with a twisted ankle after he tried turning sharply in training. This wasn't unexpected as Pericard was known for his injury proneness, but we were still worried as to how we would perform without a player of Vincent's quality.

Our next game was against Chessington & Hook United, who had just been left by their manager, who had just joined East Preston.

We only made one change to the starting XI, with Mark McCammon replacing Vincent Pericard (Inj).

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, J. Anderson, Raphael Branco, T. Williams, A. Ahmed, C. Toner, 

M. Johnson, L. Head, R. Limb, M. McCammon

Subs: S. Locke, S. Galinski, N. Durrent, C. Wrigley, D. Bembo-Leta

The game got off to a boring start, with Liam Head coming closest to breaking the deadlock in the 24th minute, when he broke through the Chessington defence, but hit his shot straight into the arms of the Chessington keeper. Time and time again, we drove forward, piling the pressure onto Chessington, but we were unable to find the back of the net. We got a great chance to take the lead, when Lawrence Hanson fouled Liam Head in the penalty box, and the referee awarded us a penalty.Matt Johnson stepped up to take the penalty in the 64th minute, and he calmly placed the ball down the middle, past the diving goalkeeper, and into the back of the net. Chessington ST Ian McLoughlin then forced a save out of Ranieri, with a 20 yard effort that was heading for the back of the net.

Overall, it was a poor attacking performance, and was a bit of a let-off. We would need to be much more clinical with our finishing against better teams.

I also noticed that we created a lot more chances when playing Djeny Bembo-Leta in the poacher role upfront, compared to when we played Mark McCammon.

Also, thanks to Croydon drawing with Sandhurst, we moved into 1st, two points clear of 2nd

Final score: Wembley 1-0 Chessington & Hook United

Overall, it was a very good month for us. Five games played, and five games won meant we had a 100% record so far this season, however, I thought we would be very lucky to keep this kind of form up with two key players out injured.

At the end of the month, we were sitting in 1st place in the table, with 15 points from a possible 15 and a goal difference of +9, the highest in the league.

Pre-Season 2012/13: New Beginnings

I joined Wembley at the start of pre-season, and I didn't know what a task I had ahead of me. Only two half decent players were at the club. Daryl Atkins, and Lee Pearce.

Immediately, I started looking for new players, focusing primarily on trying to balance the signings equally through-out the whole team. 

Immediate contract offers went to players suck as 20 year old GK Simon Locke, 28 year old CM Adnan Ahmed, and 20 year old ST Liam Head.

We arranged an intra-squad friendly against our reserves to gauge where our team stood performance wise, hoping we would find a gem.

The game against our reserves would be held behind closed doors, at Vale Farm, our home stadium that we shared with Hendon FC for some reason.

Our team sheet for this game was:

Starting XI: L. Pierce (c), J. Pruton, R. Beckham, K. Hirst, B. Gayle, J. Baldwin, D. Ganderton, N. Durrant,  C. Casson, D. Atkins, R. McCluskey

Subs: J. Seargeant, D. Parke, J. Joynson, T. May, E. Pass, E. Halliday

As you would expect, it was a very one-sided game with it being against our reserves, and we were able to score first, when McCluskey was tackled in the box, the ball fell to Daryl Atkins who fired the ball into the bottom corner. We came close again in the 57th minute, when Robert McCluskey hit the post after connecting with Casson's cross. After having to go down to 10 men because of injuries, Wembley Reserves pulled it level through Solako, after he was able to pounce onto the rebound of his original shot, and slot it past the keeper in the 81st minute. Solako then went close again, when his 25 yard effort hit the cross bar, and bounced back into the middle of the penalty box, to be cleared by Beckham.

I was disappointed with the fact that we couldn't beat our reserves, but at least I knew we needed a LOT of improvement, and I suppose you can't help injuries.

Final score: Wembley 1-1 Wembley Res. 

Our first signing of the season came the day after the game against our reserves, and was 18 year old, Polish CB Stefan Galinskion a free transfer. Of course, as we are only an amateur side, all of our signings would be free transfers.

Before the next friendly, we also managed to sign 31 year old RB/RM Tom Betteridge, 22 year old CM Matt Johnson, 20 year old GK Simon Locke, 31 year old LB Tom Williams, 35 year old LB Sacha Opinel, 19 year old RB Patrick Nzuzi, 20 year old CM Dino Fazlic, 20 year old ST Liam Head and 20 year old Ryan Limb

Our next game was away against Aylesbury FC 

With plenty of new signings, we were keen to show what we could do ahead of the new season!

We had made many changes to the match squad. This was the team sheet:

Starting XI: S. Locke, T. Betteridge, S. Galinski, K. Hirst (c), T. Williams, N. Durrant, M. Johnson, D. Fazlic, D. Atkins, L. Head, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: L. Pierce, B. Gayle, D. Park, T. May, E. Pass, J. Baldwin, R. Limb, J. Joynson, C. Casson, R. McCluskey, R. Beckham, S. Opinel

We got off to a shocker when, in the 2nd minute, Miah played through Craig Faulconbridge, who was able to squeeze it past Simon Locke, and into the back of the net. Faulconbridge then repaid the favour 10 minutes later, when he played a through ball over the defence, and Miah was able to loft the ball over Simon Locke and into the net. Brian Haule than added to our misery, when he was able to beat Galinski to Topliss' cross, to volley past Locke in the 28th minute. At half-time, I told the players exactly what I thought. We weren't good enough, and I expected a much better performance in the second half. We started the second half much better, and Liam Head headed Tom William's cross past the keeper in the 49th minute. Despite this, from the kick-off, Hedley played the ball to Haule, who placed the ball past Locke. Just 3 minutes later, and Djeny Bembo-Leta volleyed Betteridge's cross past the keeper. The rest of the game was just as eventful, but no further goals were scored.

I was devastated with the result, especially with the 61% of possession we had, and knew there was still much work to do before we started the season

Final score: Aylesbury 4-2 Wembley

We managed to sign 20 year old, Italian stopper Mirko Ranieri on a free transfer, but lost out on Aristote Nsiala to Crewe Alexandra.

We also managed to sign 20 year old CB Jordan Anderson, and 16 year old GK Raphael Richardson, and I had a funny feeling that we wouldn't be able to hold on to Daryl Atkins.

Our next game was away at Huntingdon Town, and we were looking for a big improvement following our poor defeat to Aylesbury.

We made a couple of changes to the starting XI for this game. Here's the team sheet:

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, S, Galinski, J. Anderson, T. Williams, N. Durrant, M. Johnson, D. Fazlic, D. Atkins (c), L. Head, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, B. Gayle, D. Park, T. May, E. Pass, J. Baldwin, R. Limb, J. Joynson, T. Betteridge,         R. McCluskey, R. Beckham, S. Opinel

We started poorly, and Huntingdon dominated possession for the first 10-15 minutes. After that, we started passing the ball around, and eventually scored the first goal of the game through Stefan Galinski, who headed in Dino Fazlic's corner in the 20th minute. Went scored again 8 minutes later, when Djeny Bembo-Leta pulled the ball back to Liam Head from the by-line, who turned the ball into the back of the net.

I was quite happy with our performance. We played much better than we previously had, and we managed to keep a clean sheet!

Final score: Huntingsdon 0-2 Wembley

Our next game was against Hendon FC, who were in the league above us, and who we shared our ground with. 

We rotated the squad a little, but were still hoping to be competitive.

This was the team sheet:

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi (c), S. Galinski, B. Gayle, T. Williams, N. Durrant, J. Baldwin, D. Park,

R. McCluskey, R. Limb, D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S, Locke, J. Anderson, D. Fazlic, T. May, E. Pass, M. Johnson, D. Atkins, J. Joynson, T. Betteridge, L. Head, R. Beckham, S. Opinel

We opened the scoring against the stronger side, when Ryan Limb headed Durrant's cross over the Hendon goalkeeper, just before half-time. We soaked up the pressure from Hendon in the second half, and they came closest to equalising just before full-time, when Hendon RW Carl McCluskey forced a great save from Mirko Ranieri. 

Overall, I was happy with the result, as we were against a better team, and we were resting some key players. 

Final score: Wembley 1-0 Hendon

A couple of days after the Hendon result, we signed 22 year old, Brazilian CB Raphael Branco, who had previously been contracted to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Before the next game, lost Daryl Atkins on a free, but we signed 33 year old ST Mark McCammon, 31 year  old CM Ciaran Toner, 29 year old ST Vincent Pericard, and 32 year old CM Dwane Lee.

Our next pre-season friendly was against Ascot United, and we were looking to see how our new signings performed.

Again, we made some changes to the match squad.

Here is the team sheet:

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, T. Betteridge, S. Galinksi. Raphael Branco, T. Williams, D. Fazlic (c), C. Toner, D. Lee, L. Head, V. Pericard, M. McCammon

Subs: S. Locke, J. Anderson, J. Baldwin, R. McCluskey, E. Pass, M. Johnson, D. Park, R. Limb,
P. Nzuzi, D. Bembo-Leta, R. Beckham, S. Opinel

We dominated from the off, but it took 36 minutes for the first goal to be scored, when Liam Head played a good through ball to Pericard, who walked the ball past the Ascot keeper, and over the line. We started the second half brightly, with Mark McCammon missing a sitter. Vincent Pericard scored the second, when McCammon was able to slip the ball into the box, and Pericard could bury the ball into the back of the net with Oguyundo sliding in. Pericard was then denied a hat-trick, when his 20 yard strike that was heading towards the top corner, was acrobatically saved by the Ascot keeper. McCluskey then managed a fluke goal, when his cross from the byline drifted towards the goal, and deflected in of the goalkeeper.

Overall, it was a good performance, and I was happy with how the new signings seemed to be bedding in.

Final score: Ascot United 0-3 Wembley

Just after the Ascot match finished, we confirmed the signing of 28 year old, Pakistani midfielder Adnan Ahmed on a free transfer from Nelson FC.

Our final friendly of the pre-season was against Lewes FC.

We rotated the squad a little to help with fitness levels, and to see how our back-up players could do.

Starting XI: M. Ranieri, P. Nzuzi, J. Anderson, Raphael Branco, S. Opinel, M. Johnson, A.Ahmed,
E. Pass, R. McCluskey, R. Limb (c), D. Bembo-Leta

Subs: S. Locke, T.Williams, D. Fazlic, L. Head, S. Galinski, C. Toner, M. McCammon, T. Betteridge,      V. Pericard, D. Lee, J. Baldwin, T. May

We got off to a great start, when just 2 minutes in, Sacha Opinel played a quick one-two with Ryan Limb, before slotting the ball past the keeper. Jordan Anderson then added a second when he was able to turn Ahmed's corner in with his head in the 28th minute. 10 minutes later, and Matt Johnson struck McCluskey's pull-back, right into the top corner from 25 yards. Liam Head added another in the 74th minute, when he was allowed space in the box to volley Dino Fazlic's corner into the back of the net. Head continued to pile on the misery for the travelling Lewes as he was able to head Tom Williams' cross into the goal in the 82nd minute.

A great performance, against a much better team!

Final score: Wembley 5-0 Lewes

With this big win, we looked as though we were raring to go for the new season, and looked as though we would be a force to reckon with!

@adunwoodie1995 - Co blogger

Hi all my name is Adam and Aaron has kindly asked me to post some posts along with him on this blog.

Ive been obsessed with football manager the past few years and really enjoy the FM community. Im by no means an expert at this game but am as passionate as you are.

I am an avid kit designer for FM and If anyone needs new kits designed for FM then don't hesitate to drop me a message at @adunwoodie1995 on twitter and I will create one for you.

My blogs will mainly be about my career save but will also feature some tactical articles, kit design articles and football history articles.

Once again thanks to Aaron and I hope you all enjoy reading my posts.

An Introduction

I'm basically an Football Manager addict. The first one I got was Championship Manager 06/07.

Man, I loved that game. I'd spend hours a day on it, usually from the moment I got home from school, until I went to bed. I remember the Harrogate Town save I had on it, where we won the Prem, and the Champion's League!

From then I didn't really have a great save until my Oviedo save on FM13, where I won La Liga and the Europa League and remained unbeaten in both competitions in my 7th season (2019/20).

I've been searching for a new save to do since my Oviedo one. I've been thinking of different countries to manage in, and originally settled for Bury, back on FM12. It was OK, I guess, and with some help from Mike from "FMCV", and "Mike's FM Stories", we achieved promotion through the play-offs, but it just wasn't as exciting as my Oviedo save.

This drew me back to FM13. I'd had an idea! Thanks to @adunwoodie1995 on twitter, suggesting that I manage his local team, I downloaded some additional leagues. Seeing that his team weren't on there, I started searching the surrounding leagues.

Something caught my eye in the final league I looked in. A team that I'd heard of vaguely. ESPN had done a special on them in the F.A. Cup and they had staff such as Terry Venables, and David Seaman.

I started, with Wembley FC.