Feeder AFC (English Team)

[SimplySimon]

Season 2 - the story so far

A new season is underway, the first full season for Feeder AFC under its new ownership. Season objectives are to win the league and get as far as possible in the knock out competitions - chances look good in the CL as Feeder are the highest rated team in the competition but less good in the cup where most teams are at Level 4/5 and high quality

Day 1,2 and 3

The cup is where we start and Feeder played a superb opening game, against the far more experienced Oren FC who have had two seasons more to build their team. The teams are evenly matched in quality terms, but despite dominating possession we only managed a single goal lead to take to Israel

A 1-0 defeat after a very close game in the return leg, the first under the new owners, and a tense period of extra time with no further goals means that Feeder's hopes of progression are left to the lottery of penalties

Oren missed their first attempt, but French playmaker Zenadi misses Feeder's third to even things up. Kaplan, the impressive Oren DC, misses the fifth penalty for the home side leaving Feeder one kick from the next round - but it's put wide! Sudden death and Oren see their penalty saved by the keeper. The sixth man steps up for Feeder, this time there is no mistake and the penalty is slotted home - Feeder prevail and the season is off to a flying start

Day 3 brought the start of the league season and the first ever Champions League game. A 1-0 win against Napoli put three early points on the board, but it was in the CL that Feeder provided a big surprise when welcoming Raphael FC of Brazil then promptly thrashing them, recording a massive 9-0 victory

Spanish forward Andres Gretener gets 4 goals, with his strike partner Vitali Puzin of Russia and Englishman Sam Cook - the only player remaining from the first side put out by this management - both hitting two

Day 4, 5 and 6

Next up was another cup game against Leonora RMA of Albania, a Level 4 team who played in an unusual 3-2-4-1 that included two wingbacks behind a standard flat four across midfield

Feeder played a 3-5-2 in an attempt to pack out the middle. At first this seemed to be working as within 10 minutes we were a goal and a man up - our new ML, Chomchaipon of Thailand, scoring the opener and the opposition losing a CM to two quick bookings. But despite this, and Feeder having the majority of possession, Leonora made more chances and came back with two second half goals to win 1-2

A 5-1 win away at Iwona FC of Singapore later the same day helped to ease the feeling of disappointment. That was followed by a 2-0 home win against Arrancacepas of Spain before a shock defeat at English side inkypoolutd fc in the CL, where our underperforming strikers managed to hit the target with just 3 of their 13 attempts at goal

Day 6 saw a 4-0 win at Derudaf FC of Denmark, featuring a hat-trick from Argentinian DMR/MR Hernan Garcia, and the crucial return game against Leonora

Feeder revert to their familiar 4-4-2 and secure an excellent 3-0 victory to progress to the next round. Nerves were settled after an early Zenadi goal, with two more coming quickly either side of half time - Colombian ML Enrique Cardona setting up the first and putting the second in himself

Day 7 and 8

Confidence is running through the side now and when Danish team Morfar FC come to town the next day they are smashed off the park, a record 12-0 victory being recorded. Chomchaipon grabs a hat-trick but the star of the show is Romanian MC Marius Panzaru, who bags four himself and assists two more

A 4-1 win at Bonn United of Germany in the CL, another 4-1 win at Daimjo from Hungary in the cup and a 3-0 win at Giuseppe FC of Italy, one of two identically named teams in the league, keeps the run of form going as the squad nears completion for the season

The owners make a small investment to reward the good start to the season, meaning a few transfers can be made - although some players also have to be sold to balance both the books and the squad. Notable new players include Jesper Demirel, a 19 year old Dutch DC, and Arljind Andreoli, an 18 year old Swiss who can cover both MR and DMR

Day 9 and 10

Feeder complete an easy 8-1 win at Sao Paulo, a new club record, before a 3-2 friendly win against Try Hard FC from England decimates the fitness of the team prior to a key game in the CL. A scrappy 1-0 home win against a team with a 1-on-1 specialist keeper who plays a 9 is good enough, as Bonn United are once again defeated

Daimjo come to Peterborough for the 2nd leg of the cup game, again playing their lop-sided 3N-1W-3N-1W-2 formation that includes a left wing back and a left winger but no players covering the right. Despite this, and Feeder's attempts to exploit the space on their left wing, the Hungarians take the lead midway through the first half and it needs a quick equaliser and a late winner to see out the fixture

A 3-1 win at home against Rodrigo FC from Uruguay later in the day is notable for the two strikes by James Watson, an 18 year old Nothern Irishman playing his first game for the club since signing as he has been given some intensive training. He looks to have a bright future and his progress will be closely watched

His development means the departure of Gretener, who despite hitting many goals and a quality level of 30 is still held partly responsible for the poor performance at inkypoolutd FC earlier in the season. In his place arrives Martin Tuchsen, a giant Danish DC, to balance the squad with two players for every position

Day 11 and 12

Tuchsen makes his debut in a a comfortable 6-0 home win against maxouFC of France in the league. Young James Watson is the star of the show, making two goals and netting four himself, while Brazilian strike partner Yuri De Moraes scores one and creates 2 - including a goal for the returning Sam Cook who has been out injured for several days

Later on Feeder travel to Raphael FC in the fifth game of the CL where a victory will secure qualification. A straightforward 3-0 win is marred by a knee cartilage tear suffered by Watson, which will see him out for 4 days, but with a big cup game tomorrow against a better quality team the medical unit are considering bringing in a specialist to get him ready for that match

Feeder start Day 12 with a 6 - 0 win at home against Turkish side CR7 FC. It's an easy victory where there's even a chance for the big Paraguayan DC Julio Colman to waltz up the field, skip past the keeper and roll it into the net. It's a good win, but greater challenges await for this ambitious side

The evening brings the big cup match that everyone has been waiting for. Watson returns from injury and makes the starting line up that travels to face RAVENS FC, a Level 3 team from Spain with world class players and a squad quality over 30 - the first time Feeder have faced such a powerful opponent

Despite playing well and creating chances, the home team proves too strong - the game finishes 1 - 0 and Feeder are consigned to their third defeat of the season. The coach is disappointed at failing to grab an away goal, but the tie is still very much in the balance

Day 13 and 14

A club record 9 - 0 away win at lowly Danish team Wiberg, featuring a hat trick from Arljind Andreoli, continues Feeder's 100% league record. The down side is a broken leg for top scoring midfielder Marius Panzaru, which could leave him out for 20 days. With the return leg of the cup game coming tomorrow, a specialist will probably be brought in so that he's fit to play

In the second game of the day Feeder avenge their only CL defeat against inkypoolutd FC, winning 4 - 2 to finish top of the group and advance to the knock out stage

Next up is the Cup and the home stadium is packed out as Feeder welcome RAVENS FC. Despite giving away 3 points in team quality (29 v 32), the home side start well and open the scoring after 27 minutes. A great through pass from Andreoli puts star youngster James Watson in on goal and he slides home for the lead

Then, with half time approaching, Andreoli unleashes a pile driver from distance and Feeder are ahead on aggregate. After the break RAVENS increase the pressure, so after 67 minutes Feeder drop their attacking style in favour of a more balanced approach. Despite some scares, they avoid conceding the goal that would put them out and at the final whistle scenes of jubilation engulf the stadium as the team make the QF

The fans are going nowhere as, just 20 minutes later, 1st plays 3rd in a crunch league match. The home side, featuring 10 changes from the previous game, dominate from the first whistle - scoring after 6 minutes and rattling in a further four to leave their Italian opponents Giuseppe FC floored. This time it's Russian striker Vitaly Puzin who takes home the match ball

Day 15

Feeder face Italian opposition again, with the league leaders travelling to their closest rivals Black Diamonds. A first minute goal starts the ball rolling and, despite conceding an equaliser, an easy 4 - 1 win takes the team 6 points clear at the top

This is followed by a comfortable away win in the first leg of the CL round of 16 against Fire Monkeys, which should see Feeder into the QF of that competition too. The French side are beaten 3 - 1 to complete an excellent few days for Feeder that has fans beginning to hope for a clean sweep of trophies

Feeder then complete three new signings - one on one specialist GK Ashley Preddie making his debut in the evening game and ML/AML Moti Ahmed, who has shadow striker ability, signing a contract just afterwards. They replace De Cabooter and Cardona respectively, increasing the number of players with SA at a net cost of just £300k. Also joining is German DC/DL Dominik Munz - a direct replacement for Solovjov, but nine years younger and costing the club another £1m net

Day 16, 17 and 18

The new signings have to be ready for action as the games keep coming thick and fast. A 3-0 home victory against yasak of Turkey in the Cup Quarter Final puts Feeder in a great position to reach the Semis. This is followed by a 3-1 win at napoli in the league, a game the manager misses only to find both Chomchaipon and Skoglund have suffered injuries after scoring goals

The following day a 6-1 home win against Iwona FC continues the great league form, Puzin again scoring three, and later on another 3-1 win against Fire Monkeys in the home leg of the CL sees progress made without too much fuss. One sour point is a red card for James Watson, who has been so prolific since breaking into the team. It means he will miss both legs of the Quarter Final

Day 18 brings another new signing, this time 18-year old Edvard Karapetyan who is an Armenian DC/DMC, meaning Rabienda can be sold - he fetches 1.5X his value, concluding more good business in the market. It also brings another 6-1 win in the league, away to Arrancacepas, with de Moraes, Panzaru and, surprisingly, Israeli DC/DR Harel Shoresh all scoring two goals. A 1-1 draw at yasak gets Feeder into the Cup Semi Finals, with Munz grabbing his first goal for the club