[FM24] [EN] LLM - The Oldest Club in the World - A Carlos Dolbeth Adventure

[Burkina2008]

November 9th, 2029 - A statue!

Dolbeth was in the news again…by his own words he had been surprised on the 6^th of October when his assistant called saying that they needed to be in the stadium at 10am as the board wanted to have a meeting prior to the game. It could not be related to the bad results of the team, as sitting on the top 8 of the table and coming from a 1-0 win away at Shrewsbury, there was no real concern in that field but the urgency in the words of Bruno made “me shake to the core” and at 10am there he was Carlos in front of the clubhouse and the pub  that was supposed to re-open today after a much needed enlargement. The whole place was still deserted, but then the pub door opened and the president came out with a serious face... quickly he guided Carlos to the inside of the pub and to his disbelief the whole room was filled with supporters, players and some reporters that began to cheer…even more surprised was when sitting in the corner of the pub was a statue…of himself, with a pint in a hand and his hand up as if complaining. A statue of the manager that brought the club back to fame! Well deserve!

Following this ceremony, it was back to the game as the stadium filled to witness another great display and against a historic club that had been in the EPL not so long ago. 6-2 with a lot of cheers and the 3 points, was just what the doctor had ordered to finish a day that will live in the memory of fans but mostly of Carlos Dolbeth for eternity. What followed was the second game of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy where in alignment with the board, the team presented itself with a very rotated squad which result in another loss…nothing really worrying as now the starting 11 was fresh to face and beat the league leaders Salford City, which were unlucky to see one of their best players get sent off just after 10 minutes, resulting in another very impressive win by the boys. After 3 straight home games it was back on the road to face Swindon Town, which were bottom of the table and resulted in another win, built completely in the second half of the game. At Chesterfield the boys managed to grab another win with a sole goal but tougher games were on the horizon…

Milton Keynes Dons was already a bit of a shacky performance which ended up in a fair draw, but the reality check came a few days after, as Northampton which was not doing such a good season, managed to trash the team completely by scoring four goals in Sheffield and for the first time in a long time, Carlos Dolbeth showed a bit of a worried smile to the crowd that still supportive could not disguise the feeling of a big loss. Of to the first FA Cup round, against a team that Sheffield FC knew well but which was not several division below, so the 3-0 win at the Horsfall Stadium was nothing more than pro forma. With games piling up, the fans were relieved to see the team getting back on the winning track in the next game at Aldershot, despite a far from convincing performance. 16 games in the season and there could hardly be any complaints as the team was sitting in a playoff spot and being the best attack of the division, also improving on defense from past seasons.

 

 

Cronica Leonina!

Desisto, como pode ser possível que não tenhamos ganho um único jogo em Outubro. Contra o Arsenal percebe-se, mas Arouca? Académico de Viseu? Vizela? E depois disto ninguém acaba despedido, que diabo se passa com o Sporting? A direção só podem ser um bando de velhos cegos e surdos!

 

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

[cadete]

Epah, assim lutas pela subida...

[Banks29]

Eu acho que ainda estás é na luta pelo título, 7 pontos nestas ligas não é nada.

[jacoslacon]

Excelente trajeto até agora. A subida não é uma miragem neste momento, está bem perto. Estou curioso para ver como a equipa se vai aguentar na fase mais complicada da época.

[Maffu]

Acabado de subir e quase a fazer back to  back to back. A equipa tem melhorado de mês para mês. Passaste ainda na FA Cup, tens tudo para surpreender ainda mais no que falta jogar.

[Burkina2008]

Citação de cadete, Em 10/06/2025 at 10:47:

Epah, assim lutas pela subida...

Sera mesmo?

Citação de Banks29, Em 11/06/2025 at 02:55:

Eu acho que ainda estás é na luta pelo título, 7 pontos nestas ligas não é nada.

Nao 'e nada mas nos somos estreantes

Citação de jacoslacon, Em 11/06/2025 at 03:29:

Excelente trajeto até agora. A subida não é uma miragem neste momento, está bem perto. Estou curioso para ver como a equipa se vai aguentar na fase mais complicada da época.

Sim la para Dezembro/Janeiro vamos ver do que e feita a equipa!

Citação de Maffu, Em 11/06/2025 at 07:31:

Acabado de subir e quase a fazer back to  back to back. A equipa tem melhorado de mês para mês. Passaste ainda na FA Cup, tens tudo para surpreender ainda mais no que falta jogar.

Vamos tentar surpreender!

[Burkina2008]

December 14th, 2029 - Half done

Not really disappointed but frustrated, that’s how Carlos felt according to a interview to the Sheffield Times. In his almost perfect English, Dolbeth complained that although there was money to spend and the team was doing as well as it was possible for a club that was 4 tiers down not that many years ago, all players that were decent enough, were “too expensive” or their teams asked for money as if they “were the new CR7”. The winter market was coming but without any further loan spots, the only players that seemed to be able to enter the team, were the youth squad who was not doing so well for many years now. “What is it about Sheffield F.C. that some players prefer to play for a team two divisions down? Didn’t we do enough to deserve to be here…?” Despite the coaches complaints the reality of the football played was much shinier. If we take out the rather poor, although with some intention, participation in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, with as many loses as games, nobody could point a finger at the team or at its coach.

An unfair defeat at the hands of Crawley Town at home, was followed by two good exhibitions against Barnsley, who were now the clear favorites to be last in the table, and York City away with a very tight defense (something that we did not get much accustomed till now with Dolbeth’s style of play). Away at Colchester the result could have gone either way and luck were not on the boys side but with 20 games played in the season, a playoff spot was much much more than anyone had hoped for from Sheffield. The month of November ended with one of those goal galore games that we are already accustomed to and the team grabbed another 3 points on top of Barnet who at that time had sot their coach and was playing without a manager sitting in the bench…something that sounded extremely amateur but was a reality in these kind of environments. That said, December was normally a bad month for the team and with the number of games and the short squad, some tiredness was visible.

This might have been the cause, why Dolbeth decided to field the away game at Cheltenham against a team playing one tier below, with a mixed squad of rotated and starting 11 players. The FA Cup was seen by many as the only cup worth playing, so a defeat at such an early stage on top of a poor performance, was like a bucket of ice on top of the supporters (and not because this was the ice bucket challenge). Still for the league another two good games, grabbing 6 points, which could easily be 6 against Bromley and Solihuil Motors putting Sheffield F.C. in an unbelievable 3^rd spot after the first round was played. Still the league was very competitive and the boys were tired, without any expectation of new arrivals in the winter market, it would be a very tough second round…lets just hope that the boys, including Adam Hilton who has been carrying the team, are able to finish the job in April!

 

 

Cronica Leonina!

Melhoras? Era dificil fazer pior do que no mes passado. Alias mesmo assim em Novembro ainda conseguimos empatar com o galo de Barcelos. Na Champions finalmente 4 pontnhos e pode ser que nao vamos ja de vela, uma vez mais. Nao fosse aquele Samed Bazdar andavamos a apanhar sabonetes...infelizmente vem por emprestimo!

 

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

[cadete]

Continua a boa forma e a luta pela subida direta. Começo a acreditar cada vez mais.

[Maffu]

Bem, as taças arderam.

No campeonato é altos e baixos. 3  vitórias, 1 empate, 2 derrotas. Importa é que estás na luta pela promoção, bem acima do esperado. A ver vamos se chegas lá directo.

[Burkina2008]

Citação de cadete, Em 13/06/2025 at 07:55:

Continua a boa forma e a luta pela subida direta. Começo a acreditar cada vez mais.

seria incrivel!

Citação de Maffu, há 22 horas:

Bem, as taças arderam.

No campeonato é altos e baixos. 3  vitórias, 1 empate, 2 derrotas. Importa é que estás na luta pela promoção, bem acima do esperado. A ver vamos se chegas lá directo.

Que se lixem essas!

[Burkina2008]

January 21st, 2030 - Unbrexit please

One topic that is not really discussed in the club but which hinders the team is Brexit…now more than ever it became apparent that despite the climb in money and status of the club, Sheffield was still far from the competition in both fields which made them now lack for much needed fresh players in the winter break. The scouts of the club were unable to find players in the United Kingdom that were good enough without asking for salaries of 50% of the club’s payroll or a transfer fee in the millions already. The only proper solutions that were presented were players from Portugal or second tier European leagues, like Belgium. The issue: since Brexit any foreign player had a hard time joining any club that was not in the EPL, so that meant that in the last scout report meeting, out of the 15 players analyzed, 10 could improve the team, but all needed a work visa, which given the fact that they were not internationals, meant losing time and hope in something that was never going to happen. Not really much that we can do except wait for a political miracle or for a unicorn player…

That said and even in the need of players, especially on the wings, to cover the starting 11 who were tired most of the month, the boys continued to push forward in the month of December, with sometimes, more heart than quality of play. Not getting very dominating results or performances, Sheffield did get lucky in quite a few cases, with the 1 goal difference being a result that could have gone to the adversary, like in the case of Shrewsbury Town. With wins against Colchester United, Wigan, in a highly expected game and Swindon Town, with one game to go in the civil year of 2029, Sheffield was close to getting back-to-back to back promotion. After that the team went down significantly with complicated games against the top teams of the league, the draw away at Salford against the local City, cannot be considered a bad result for the boys…

But the start of 2030 was far from positive. First at home against Chesterfield, the team was surprised with the visitors showing more than was expected and winning with merit but then at Milton Keynes, the Dons could have won by 4-0 or 5-0, making it a stretch of 3 games without wins for Dolbeth. Finaly and despite a tame performance, Sheffield managed to get back to his winning ways in Stoke-on-Trent against a mid-table Port Vale. That said, the poor results were not enough to take Sheffield F.C. out of the third place, but the top two spots seem to be decided with Salford City and Carlisle United having a 13 point gap with 14 games to go…the playoff spots got much closer and the advantage over Wimbledon is just one point (although with one game less) and there is a group of  another 8 teams within 10 points difference…another series of poor results can be absolutely fatal.

 

 

Cronica Leonina!

Bem isto não passa de toca o disco e volta ao mesmo! Bons jogos com o Mafra e mesmo com o Braga em casa, depois de uma vitoria a rasca também com o Academica da Serra da Estrela, para depois contra o Porto levarmos uma tareia. A equipa não consegue mesmo ultrapassar o básico e estamos nisto há 5 anos!

 

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

[cadete]

Wimbledon a pressionar e brexit foi sem dúvida um erro.

[Maffu]

Isso das licenças de trabalho é uma bela fodinha. Não te consegues safar com pessoal de Cabo Verdes, Angolas e assim que sejam internacionais e andem perdidos em Portugal? (ou das ex-colonias dutch p.e.). OU o rating nacional é tão baixo que nem assim assinam?

 

O top-2 já parece uma miragem. De resto, estão todos ai colados. É um pouco o que dizes, dependendo da sequência de resultados ou vais manter ou vais descer. É um belo trabalho, ainda assim.

[Burkina2008]

Citação de cadete, Em 14/06/2025 at 13:43:

Wimbledon a pressionar e brexit foi sem dúvida um erro.

Detesto o brexit

Citação de Maffu, Em 15/06/2025 at 05:26:

Isso das licenças de trabalho é uma bela fodinha. Não te consegues safar com pessoal de Cabo Verdes, Angolas e assim que sejam internacionais e andem perdidos em Portugal? (ou das ex-colonias dutch p.e.). OU o rating nacional é tão baixo que nem assim assinam?

 

O top-2 já parece uma miragem. De resto, estão todos ai colados. É um pouco o que dizes, dependendo da sequência de resultados ou vais manter ou vais descer. É um belo trabalho, ainda assim.

Complicado esses paises nao teem o ranking suficiente

[Burkina2008]

March 12th, 2030 - ESC? Yes, please!

Following the complaints of not being able to hire necessary reinforcements to complete the good season, the existence of the ESC work permit was a gift from heaven. Given that hiring players with enough status to get a work permit was unrealistic, the two spots given as ESC permits were really the only possibility, so following advice from the scouting team, in mid-January Sheffield F.C., saw two foreign nationals integrate into the team. To the right wing came Burkina-Faso international Issa Kabore, on free transfer after having played the last 3 season for Wrexham, while with the record transfer fee comes a young prospect out of the African continent: forward Dejmoussa Doumbia, arrives from Mali for a fee of 44k Euros and is a clear bet in the future of the team. Both players were already in the starting sheet of the next game against Gillingham at home…and that was probably a mistake. Clearly the worse game of the season so far, the boys did not seem to be able to defend, with various cases of shouting with each other and the sorts…

Things improved in the rest of the month, with Doumbia even scoring for the first time for Sheffield in a narrow win against Newport County. This seemed to be a new trend in the team, suffering many goals per game, something that looked to have been corrected in the beginning of the season. Similar was the game against a string side of Bradford City even playing at the Home of Football. With the winter transfer market closing there was little indication of any moves in the squad, but just in the last day, it seems like some good opportunity was opened with another record of purchases, when right back, Joe WormLeighton was presented by Dolbeth on the evening of the 31s of January. 50,000 Euros for a player coming out of a bench in the League One side of Exeter City… The fans were able to see his first performance coming out of the bench two days later in a draw at Northampton, but more is expected in the remainder of the season.

The rest of February and the beginning of March were a mixed bag of games, while better on defense overall, Sheffield F.C. was not able to pull the kind of exhibitions that were the norm in the first half of the season and most games seemed to be decided by a stroke of luck or one or other moments of brilliance from Nicolau, Hilton or Doumbia. The one goal defeat against Wimbledon saw the historic team, grabbing the 3^rd place firmly and Dolbeth seeing the top 3 from more than a one-win difference, but still with some space in the run for the playoff spots which seemed more and more a reality for the team and a reason of cheer among the crowds that became larger and larger as the season went on. Still 7 games to be played in the regular season, there are no certainties, but things look well on the way for a playoff spot and an extension of the season deep into May.

 

 

Cronica Leonina!

Isto contado ninguem acreditava...na Champions perdemos com o holandeses e depois vencemos uns do Leste quando a coisa ja nao contava para nada. De resto no campeonato vencemos o Rio Ave em Janeiro e desde ai estamos ha mes e meio sem uma vitoria...derrotas, empates contra equipas de bonecos e ninguem se demite crl?

 

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

[cadete]

Ai que está slipping away...já o Sporting, nem sei que dizer.

[Maffu]

Foi uma série ok. É uma pena teres sido ultrapassado e, agora, o resultado mais possível ser a ida aos playoffs. É, ainda assim, uma boa prestação. E esses reforços, a aproveitar a licença, podem ser o passo final para a promoção.

[Burkina2008]

Citação de cadete, Em 17/06/2025 at 01:37:

Ai que está slipping away...já o Sporting, nem sei que dizer.

o Sporting ninguem mete a mao naquilo

Citação de Maffu, há 18 horas:

Foi uma série ok. É uma pena teres sido ultrapassado e, agora, o resultado mais possível ser a ida aos playoffs. É, ainda assim, uma boa prestação. E esses reforços, a aproveitar a licença, podem ser o passo final para a promoção.

Pode ser que sim...esperemos!

[Burkina2008]

April 27th, 2030 - We almost fucked up...

It wasn’t uncharted territory, not really! After back-to-back promotions, it was not expected but Sheffield was finding themselves at least on their way to a playoff to get yet another promotion. 7 games to go and even a top three position was possible. It would have to be a perfect ending, but the 4 points difference was certainly nothing that the club had not passed before and with success in the past. The ambience was in a mixture of confidence and some disbelief as some pub old timers, although never really criticizing the club or Dolbeth, warned for quick rises that end up in even bigger falls, citing examples from the recent past like, Wigan, WBA, Swansea, Charlton or Blackpool, that after rises to the EPL ended up get demoted to the third and forth tier, leaving behind debts and dreams. That said, Dolbeth did not seem so worried as after signing another 2-year deal, his words were “I am confident, if not this season, then next or the one after! Nobody gave us a chance and here we are in March with more points than most of the favorites! I am not worried at all!”

 

It was with this confidence but with some luck that the boys gathered their first 3 points from what were expected to be 7 finals. Fleetwood Town even playing away proved to be a very tough opponent and Langstaff was the only that could break the deadlock. The visit to second placed Carlisle United promised to be a much tougher fixture, but surprising everyone and again with the luck that only champions are able to gather, Dolbeth and his boys made it seem easy and with this win the team secured the playoff spot. Back in the Home of the Football and against Barrow, sitting on the lower half of the table but relatively safe, the result was the same but the performance was enormous and at this point by the start of April Sheffield had climbed back to the 3^rd spot and truth be told, the promotion was now theirs to lose, as the best positioned team of the last 4 games, was sitting in 18^th place.

April started with a visit to last placed and already relegated Barnet, but it was far from an easy game, the team felt the pressure and despite being up 2-0, suffered a goal and Barnet was close to equalizing the game with Renshaw scoring in the 88^th minute to guarantee the win. Next customer was a Solihull Motors and this is the time when even the best start to shake and our boys were not immune to that, making a poor game and only managing to score in minute 88^th, with 33 year old Langstaff, becoming more and more relevant in this end of the season. 2 games to go and one win would be enough, but in a visit to 18^th place Barnsley, the legs seemed to be made of spaghetti and after 5 straight win and when the 3 points were needed the most, Sheffield fell flat and delayed all the decisions to the last round. At home against 21^st placed Bromley, the only thing needed was to do better than Wimbledon and after a weird first half with both teams drawing the game, the beginning of the second half saw Dolbeth taking the lead and everything seem to be going just right, until the injury of Langstaff, the third of the game, without any further substitutes…it was 25 minutes that had to be played against 10 men…until minute 80 when Joe Adams sees the second yellow… Sheffield was still up but down to 9 men and at minute 90 Bromley managed to equalize and win the game in injury time…Only one thing was on our side…luck as Wimbledon also lost and it was back-to-back-to-back promotions! Congrats boys!

 

Cronica Leonina!

Sporting? São uns verdadeiros losers, olhem para os meus meninos aqui em Sheffield que ganham num mês o que os do Sporting ganham em duas horas.

 

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta! 

[jacoslacon]

Excelente, mister Dolbeth! Mais uma subida! E esta de parar o pacemaker! Agora na League 1, mais uma etapa difícil. Será importante reforçar a equipa para um nível mais exigente, mas com a experiência que já tens das últimas épocas acredito que vais ter mais uma equipa competitiva! Parabéns!

[cadete]

Grande. Ainda tremeu naqueles dois últimos jogos, mas valeu que o Wimbledon não te ultrapassou. Parabéns.

[Maffu]

Back to back to back!

Bem... que final. Isso foi mesmo até ao ultimo jogo e a sofrer bastante com a derrota. É um feito brutal conseguir 3 seguidas. Agora é começar a pensar na 4ª.

[Banks29]

Mais uma moedinha, mais uma subidinhaaaaaa. Suada mas foi que é o que importa

[Burkina2008]

Citação de jacoslacon, Em 18/06/2025 at 16:24:

Excelente, mister Dolbeth! Mais uma subida! E esta de parar o pacemaker! Agora na League 1, mais uma etapa difícil. Será importante reforçar a equipa para um nível mais exigente, mas com a experiência que já tens das últimas épocas acredito que vais ter mais uma equipa competitiva! Parabéns!

o Dolbeth qualquer dia 'e Sir!

Citação de cadete, Em 19/06/2025 at 01:42:

Grande. Ainda tremeu naqueles dois últimos jogos, mas valeu que o Wimbledon não te ultrapassou. Parabéns.

Foi um final horrivel

Citação de Maffu, Em 19/06/2025 at 07:24:

Back to back to back!

Bem... que final. Isso foi mesmo até ao ultimo jogo e a sofrer bastante com a derrota. É um feito brutal conseguir 3 seguidas. Agora é começar a pensar na 4ª.

Sem duvida

Citação de Banks29, há 1 hora:

Mais uma moedinha, mais uma subidinhaaaaaa. Suada mas foi que é o que importa

Isso mesmo

[Burkina2008]

June 15th, 2030 - Unprepared

The celebration of the unexpected and incredible story of the club was despite everything far from sustainable. Out of the starting 11 there were 5 players on loan and there were no real youth prospects in the team or in the youth squads…quickly Dolbeth issued a statement of the players that were staying and the ones that were leaving the team with 3 retirements already planned, including Vela and Osborn, that were small icons of the team, but also older players, who it had been told were not accepting a new contract that would not guarantee them a place in the starting 11. Besides that, all the 5 loaned players would be back on their teams, and it would be unlikely that they would come back to the club next season. This left the squad with a mere 11 players, with Doumbia, Kabore and Earthy seeming to be the best of the bunch. Reinforcements were needed and this time it was not really a question of money.

 

Inglorious ending of the league for Wimbledon failed to win in the playoff final against a much weaker side of Gillingham who had a lot of luck and an excellent stricker in Jahmari Clark. Individually again mostly the players on a loan made the individual difference for Sheffield, with Hilton scoring 23 times, to grab the second best stricker of the season award and Nicolau (despite the number of injuries) and Hayes also up there in the league awards. The only player not on loan that made the top 5 lists is Langstaff, who with his experience was decisive in the last portion of the season. Not all is negative, as the favorite player of the fans was Earthy who ad ultimum sold an extension to his contract for another two years and given the lack of young talent in the u-19s team, Djemoussa Doumbia seemed to be an excellent signing for the future and the presence given his importance also in the last portion of the season.

It was all hands on deck to build a squad, so it does not seem that Dolbeth went on vacation this time, with a lot of deals being already signed in May, taking into effect at the opening of the market, this time not loans and not just free transfers, but also purchases of clubs from division above, including another record breaking transfer of Connor Rush from York City. It was rumored that another 5 players had already been hired when they finished their contract on July 1^st but the big deal was on the sale side with Issa Kabore being sold to Las Palmas for 1.8 million Euros again smashing another club record. While this was almost a planned sale, as Dolbeth was not a fan of the player, shortly prior to the return from holidays, a bomb reached the board room as George Earthy demanded to leave the club shortly after signing a new contract…this could mean even a bigger sale for the club, but at what cost? The whole team seemed to be centered around his skill…lets see what the future brings in relation to this Summer’s Telenovela at the Home of Football.

 

Cronica Leonina!

Sporting? São uns verdadeiros losers, olhem para os meus meninos aqui em Sheffield que ganham num mês o que os do Sporting ganham em duas horas.

Obrigado a quem segue e sobretudo a quem comenta!