Career KTS Does it with the locals

[BatiGoal]

Duthie & Dods twins 

Looking good so far. Decent-looking squad by now. Hopefully they develop into solid players soon.

[Cockers2505]

Hi @kts365 I kind of made a challenge up like this back in 2015 but I didn't really get any interest so it slowly disappeared, but I like your attempt and will keep my eyes on how you get on.

 

[kts365]

1 hour ago, Cockers2505 said:

Hi @kts365 I kind of made a challenge up like this back in 2015 but I didn't really get any interest so it slowly disappeared, but I like your attempt and will keep my eyes on how you get on.

 

It's a shame it didn't take off mate. I'm really enjoying this myself.

[kts365]

Season 3

After two years of hitting the playoffs and failing to be promoted Talent's Homegrown is desperate to earn his boyhood club promotion by any means necessary. Will this year be the one?

The season begins, as always with the betfred cup group phase. This year it was as tough as ever. With the draw throwing Annan in with:

St Johnstone (championship)

Hibs (championship)

Dumbarton (League 1)

Spartans (non-league)

They had a difficult time with the higher league teams which immediately threw them out of the cup. Unfortunate but expected.

Next up we have the Scottish cup, the big one. Annan waltzed through the first few rounds of non-league opposition and met Alloa Athletic in the 4th round.

In a close and hard fought game, the better side won but Annan really showed grit here.

The final cup competition is the challenge cup. The one where Annan have gotten furthest in the last two seasons. Let's follow their whole run this year. They begin in round 2 facing league 1 side stranraer.

A nice rather dominant display secures them passage to the final. This team seem to do well against league 1 opposition. However this competition also includes Northern Irish and Welsh clubs.

The third round throws up yet another league 1 side, Queens Park.

Annan smash them, making the most of the opportunities they were given. The squad really is gelling and new call up Dods has managed 5 goals already in this cup. Onto round 4 where the opposition is a championship side, a one Annan have beaten before, St Mirren.

A third win in this competition and another 2 challenge cup goals for Dods who has 7 in 3. Can both he and the team keep it up?

Quarter final time and Annan are set to face Northern Irish boys Portadown.

This proved to be the toughest test yet as the northern Irish lads had 2 goals disallowed and Annan only managed the one goal. It was enough though and they reach the semi finals to face another league 1 side, Queen of the South.

A good display and a 1 goal win lead Annan to their first final under this manager. The fans are ecstatic at this run and all eyes are on the final. Can this little club of local lads do it? Can they win the cup? In their way is the championship side Morton FC. Will they overcome the odds?

Yes! An amazing cup triumph. This team has proven they can defeat top opposition.

The match was a close one with each team having opportunities but Annan took the cup home. 

Manager Mr. Homegrown was quoted as saying he was "Thrilled to bring silverware" to his home and "this is only the beginning". 

So that's the cups out of the way. Could Annan bring this mentality to the league too? They're aiming for a playoff place.

The league campaign started well enough

Annan opened with 8 played 5 won 1draw and 2 losses. Could they keep this form up? They did, and more.......

League champions! Not only promotion but automatic promotion. Amazing stuff. Talent's Homegrown could not give an interview as he was in floods of tears having secured a cup and a league title.

Annan ran away with the league having sorted their goal scoring issues. Where did these extra goals come from?

New boy Dale Dods played out of his skin. 33 goals in 36 was amazing for his first season. He even spent a month injured and in this first game back came on as a 70th minute sub.

And scored a hat-trick!

The contribution of other new boy Jay Duthie cannot be overlooked though. He managed a goal every other game whilst mostly being a late sub. He even scored the cup winning goal.

Once again the defence must be praised for their great performances too.

Season 3 has been a massive success for Homegrown. However he has one complaint.

Why do the press see him as having a bias towards non-domestic players when all his team are Scottish?

We will leave with that mystery unsolved.

There were also some awards this year.

[Brenty92]

Congratulations on some silverware mate, the boys have their work cut out for them next season no doubt lol Dods was outstanding!

[kts365]

Reject Corner

Here we have a look at those poor souls who could not make it at Annan. Those who were released. And where their careers went after release. This year there were 4 releases. Steve McInnes, Rhys MacDonald, Rory Goodfellow and Simon Linton. They all found clubs, let's see where they went.

Two stayed in Scotland and the other two moved to newly promoted Welsh teams.

Rhys MacDonald managed to get signed up by league 1 side Peterhead. Maybe they see some potential in him? We will catch up with him in a few years and see if he's lived up to his signing.

Rory Goodfellow moved to League 2 Berwick Rangers and seems to have settled at this level.

Steve McInnes moved to Porthmadog hoping to revive his career in Wales. And looking at his form he may do that in the next few years.

Finally, Simon Linton also hoped to prove his mettle in Wales. He appears to have played rather well and we wish him luck.

Well the first set of rejects are a mixed bunch but we will catch up to them in due course.

 

[kts365]

8 minutes ago, Brenty92 said:

Congratulations on some silverware mate, the boys have their work cut out for them next season no doubt lol Dods was outstanding!

Dods was amazing mate. Top signing of the year. Duthrie has the potential to outdo him though.

[mcandrew003]

Stellar year mate! A domestic double is nothing to frown at, a massive congrats. Dods looks phenomenal, looking forward to seeing how he develops.

[kts365]

Season 4 New Prospects

Last season we had some decent and one fantastic prospect called up. Let's hope this year is a good batch too.

Academy Graduates

There were 2 prospects this year who I saw fit to promote and one who I released (we will catch up to him in the reject corner).

First we have Goalie Andy Carswell.

Not so great but he's 16 and has a lot of development in him and he could come good.

Next we have a guy who can play through all the CM positions in Steven Hay.

He looks to have blue stats in good areas and has pace to burn, that stamina stat is a little worrying but I've no doubt it will improve with training. Decent prospect.

There didn't appear to be any reserves worth promoting this year so we go on with just 2 new recruits.

[BatiGoal]

Decent prospects mate. 16yo .. if they show decent improvements for the coming 5 years they're still only 21. 

How big's your squad atm? Not all youngsters have what it takes to make it to the top so I usually keep a pretty large squad when I play young guns only.

[kts365]

3 minutes ago, BatiGoal said:

Decent prospects mate. 16yo .. if they show decent improvements for the coming 5 years they're still only 21. 

How big's your squad atm? Not all youngsters have what it takes to make it to the top so I usually keep a pretty large squad when I play young guns only.

I have a squad of 35 right now. And almost all of them get some game time throughout the season

[BatiGoal]

6 minutes ago, kts365 said:

I have a squad of 35 right now. And almost all of them get some game time throughout the season

A Louis v.Gaal approach good stuff.

[kts365]

9 minutes ago, BatiGoal said:

A Louis v.Gaal approach good stuff.

Even if someone only gets 5 games it's better than 0 and I've had a couple out on loan.

[kts365]

Season 4

Last year was incredibly successful for Talent's Homegrown and the Annan boys as they win league 2 and the challenge cup. This year would be tough with the team now in league 1. Homegrown has made it known that he wishes to secure a playoff position immediately as last year's cup run proved his team can "hang with league 1 opposition".

The betfred cup group stage opens the year and Annan are drawn in a group with Hamilton Academicals, St Mirren, Queen of the South and Lowland league side Spartans.

As Annan dropped to 4th in the group, it seems the team have spent too long celebrating last year's successes as many players look to be struggling for fitness. 

Could the team pull themselves around? We will see their Scottish cup run next, they swept aside early non-league opposition to hit the fourth round where they faced old League 2 buddies Clyde.

The original game ended 1-1 with Annan not looking themselves. How would they fare in the replay?

Annan breathed a sigh of relief as their team, missing their unfit star man Dale Dods, managed a comprehensive 4-0 victory to go onto round 5. 

Round 5 threw up an interesting draw as Annan were to take on Celtic. How would the lads fare a year on from their 3-0 defeat to the bhoys?

Annan played a tight, counterattacking game against the top opposition and it almost payed off as Annan held Celtic to 0-0 then took the lead on the 63rd minute. Celtic simply could not get a goal but it all changed when a penalty was awarded on the 79th minute. The game looked to be going to a replay until the 90th minute when Sam McGuigan was sent off for a rash challenge to Leigh Griffiths. The same man who broke the hearts of the Annan faithful in the final minute tapping in a rebound.

The Scottish cup was eventful but could the local lads win the Challenge cup again?

We join them in the 3rd round where they faced old friends Clyde. 

And the game went to extra time after a 1-1 draw. The team then seemed to go onto overdrive scoring 3 goals to secure the win and a ticket to round 4 where they fave Championship side Alloa Athletic.

What a disappointment, Alloa dominated the game and took a 1-0 win. Annan fail to retain.

Cup competitions out of the way, how did Annan do in the league?

The campaign began steadily with mostly wins.

Including this absolute smashing of Stranraer

The team quickly picked up pole position and after 22 games the league looked like this.

A nifty 6 point lead as Annan were defying all expectations. However there was a drop in form late on...

Far too many draws popping up as the league table tightened

32 games in and the lead was down to 4 points when it had been as high as 11 could Annan hold on to the top spot?

Yes! Outstanding. Back to back promotions send Annan up to the championship! What a season.

The team managed to open that gap back upto 9 points in the end. This also won a few awards.

Annan picked up all the league player and manager awards. Who were the top men this year for out heroic champs?

Dale Dods again proving to be top man fighting through fitness and injury issues to score 27 in 32 games. His understudy Duthie did ok again as did a few of the defenders. 

What a year! What a team! Annan Athletic, your league 1 champions!

[kts365]

It's just occurred to me I forgot rejects corner

There were 2 releases this year and one failed youth graduate released. So here is the updated list.

First we have Shaun MacDonald who just didn't develop at all since season 1 and got picked up by Bethesda.

Next is Ian Grant, a player who couldn't seem to enjoy any training regime at all for more than 6 months. He ended up in Wales at a team I'm not going to even attempt to spell 

And finally we have a rejected youth graduate who went to Elgin in league 2.

There have been no major developments in the previous rejects to announce. Once there are it will be reported. I'm kind of hoping for one reject to prove himself elsewhere sometime.

[mcandrew003]

Another great season mate, well done!

[kts365]

6 hours ago, mcandrew003 said:

Another great season mate, well done!

Thanks man. The team were ridiculously good this year considering the step up. Not long before the championship update arrives.

[BatiGoal]

Good call getting rid of dead wood. No time for emotional ties, show 'em the door, mate

One title in, another one coming? Excellent work!

[kts365]

20 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

Good call getting rid of dead wood. No time for emotional ties, show 'em the door, mate

One title in, another one coming? Excellent work!

2 titles and a cup mate. It appears you missed an update ?

[kts365]

Season 5 New Prospects

This year Annan have got into the Scottish championship and Talent's Homegrown is hoping the new academy prospects can slot into the first team picture as soon as possible. 

He was presented with 3 youngsters. 

There are 2 fantastic and 1 underwhelming prospects here and Homegrown decided to promote Cooper and MacIver while releasing Booth.

So how do these players look?

First is left wing back Kieran Cooper.

He has plenty of pace and can knock a cross in pretty well. All in all, he has plenty of potential and could easily break into the first team in a year or two.

Next up is striker Eddie MacIver.

He has some decent stats there and could develop quite a lot, his stamina really needs to increase though.

Again there were no reserves promoted this year. 

[Brenty92]

Seems you're starting to get better youth come through now, that'll only help in the future once you reach the prem

[kts365]

So I've not posted due to the problem with pictures as of late. However I'm back with.

Season 5

Two years, two promotions and one cup. Annan have really defied the expectations upon them. With manager Talent's Homegrown showing that his "local club, local players" philosophy pays off. This year they attempt to do their best in the Scottish championship.

We again begin with their performance in the betfred cup. Could the team finally make it out of the group stage? They were drawn with Albion Rovers, Kilmarnock, Sterling and St Johnstone. 2 tough teams in that group how would Annan fair?

They didn't make it out of the group. A couple of poor results really did them damage. The team have yet to prove they can handle early season pressure in this cup.

Next is the Scottish cup. How would Annan perform this year? Lets see as they draw a non-league side in Selkirk for the 3rd round. This should be easy.

And it should have been but Selkirk force a replay with a good display and 2 late goals.

The replay goes the way you would expect but only by the one goal. Lucky escape for Annan and they move onto round 4 to face Queen of the South.

Who thoroughly outplay them and send Annan packing from the cup. A disappointing run.

Let's see if Annan can, however, win another challenge cup to add to their first 2 years ago.

Joined in the 3rd round we see Annan taking on Edinburgh City.

A dominant display and a comprehensive 3-1 victory shows how Annan should be dealing with lower league opposition. They move onto round 4 and face Welsh top boys The New Saints. A team not to be overlooked.

Annan took the win despite conceding plenty of clear cut chances. The opposition strikers struggles to get the ball past the Annan keeper as Greig was in great form. This moved Annan onto the quarter finals where they would run into Dumbarton, a team who have provided problems in the past for Annan.

And it proved so yet again with the score at 2-2 just after the hour mark. Dumbarton then took a late lead which looked like it would secure them a place in the semis. It was not to be though as Jay Duthie, subbed on for Dale Dods with 10 minutes to go, equalised in the 90th minute and then hit the winner in the 5th minute of added time. What a dramatic finish!

This sent Annan through to the semis where they faced fellow Championship boys Hibs. 

Whom they soundly smashed 4-2 to make their second final in 3 years. Could they take the cup again? Trying to stop them was Motherwell. Could Homegrown and his boys take the trophy home?

Yes! A second challenge cup title for the local lads. The fans are thrilled, the players are ecstatic, the manager proud.

In a free flowing attacking game Annan eventually took the 2-1 lead and held it until the final whistle. What an achievement.

This brings us finally to the league it's self. Newly promoted Annan Athletic hope to upset the pundits by not only staying up but pushing for a playoff place too. Mid season they were defying all expectations by sitting in the final playoff place nipping at the heels of the bigger teams.

Could they hold on to this spot or even take a higher one?

Both Annan and Dunfermline managed to leapfrog Hibs and those three teams would make the playoff.

Annan were drawn up against Hibs in the first playoff game.

They won the 1st leg 2-1 away from home. Could they hold that lead back in their own territory?

No. They went 2-1 down for extra time and then pens, luckily they hit all 5 penalties to push on through to the playoff final to face Dunfermline, who had defeated their Premier league opposition.

The first leg was a 6 goal thriller, both sides throwing caution to the wind. Ghis set up a tense second leg. Could Annan achieve a 3rd consecutive promotion?

No no no. After taking an early lead then going 2-0 up via an own goal, a second own goal the other way made it 2-1. The second half went mostly the way of Dunfermline and they equalised on the 75th minute. This was good to send the game into extra time. At the crack of Hal time in the extra time James Keatings scored his second goal which Annan could not answer meaning they will stay in the Championship. So unlucky.

Well that was an amazing season for the local lads. They did themselves proud.

Who were their top performers?

With Dale Dods suffering with injury much of the year Jay Duthie stepped  up netting 20 goals whilst Elliot Gaden picked up double figures too. New boy Keiran Cooper also gave a good account of himself this year.

Annan players also picked up the player of the year and runner up awards whilst Talent's Homegrown took the runner up spot in the manager of the year category. 

So that was season 5. Perhaps Annan can gain promotion to the premier league in season 6?

[BatiGoal]

Another year in the Championship but surely they gotta be one of the top favorites for the title next year. And amazing cup runs too. Annan are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the seasons to come.

[Tim bryant]

Would it be possible to see the player values and some stats of the key players mate? Love the series so far.

[kts365]

17 minutes ago, Tim bryant said:

Would it be possible to see the player values and some stats of the key players mate? Love the series so far.

Got a few injuries at the moment but I'll show you some of the guys who are fit. For I stance Duthie and Dods are both injured right now so I'll show them once they're fit.

Spoiler

First is the guy who made the number 1 shirt his own.

Next is a consistent centre half 

And his partner

We have a winger who has has managed to stay relevant in the squad from day 1

And a guy I play just behind the striker here. 

 

[Taff]

Fantastic work dude, taken me a while to catch up but another truly steller career from you dude KIU

[kts365]

1 hour ago, Taff said:

Fantastic work dude, taken me a while to catch up but another truly steller career from you dude KIU

Thanks man.

@Tim bryant here's another guy who's been good

Spoiler

 

[Tim bryant]

Class mate cheers for that! Gibbs looks like a class keeper, really intersting to see you develop the worst reserve team players into a decent team, keep it up

[kts365]

1 hour ago, Tim bryant said:

Class mate cheers for that! Gibbs looks like a class keeper, really intersting to see you develop the worst reserve team players into a decent team, keep it up

It's a constant battle mate. So many hate training of any kind it's unreal.

[Taff]

16 hours ago, kts365 said:

It's a constant battle mate. So many hate training of any kind it's unreal.

I know @AndersJ was having issues with an unusual amount of players hating their training, seems strange