The AEFA Premiership was a tough place to be in the second season. Great sides with great players fell by the wayside and struggled in what turned out to be an amazingly competitive division. Some of the top sides were as follows;
Matt Bunns’ Beaulieu FC – Yours truly clearly had a shot at the title, with quality players such as Guilherme, Dani Alves, Diego Milito and Martin Caceres. Possible pitfalls included a lack of a set piece taker and a lack of real power in the air.
Marc Thoms’ Theatre of Dreams – Marcs side underwent numerous transformations throughout the season, but included stalwarts such as Gilardino, Nani and Yaya Toure. Tough to break down, and bristling with talent, Theatre of Dreams were my pick of the sides to beat.
Simon James’ Wild Geese FC – Simon started with a solid side, including brilliant young forward Asamoah, talented playmaker Daniel Montenegro and young wonderkid Guy Assulin. His side pipped me to the Qualification title, and I fully expected a strong challenge for the title.
With other teams having the quality of players such as Ronaldhino, Adriano, Trezeguet, Carew, Dzeko, Bale and Kolo Toure, there was a real strength in depth in the premiership.
I got off to a terrible start in the league, getting destroyed 4-0 away to Theatre of Dreams. I then staged somewhat of a recovery, winning 6 out of the next 7. A midseason slump, starting with a 2-1 loss to AFC Carpathia, saw my chances for the title slip out of my fingers. However, after a humiliating 4-0 home loss to Wild Geese FC, I managed to pull my side together for a title charge, winning most of my final 12 games and finishing on a highly respectable 75 points.
The real surprise came from Monobrow FC. With a solid side including Bale, Dzeko and Adler, they were always in and about the top. Managing to do the double over me, they had an amazing final push which saw them finish on 80 points. The only side who could beat them were Wild Geese FC. Simon James was inactive for the entire season (which has since seen him relegated), but his side did him proud. With three games left, they needed three wins to pip Monobrow to the title, and they duly delivered. Inspired by the, quite frankly world class, playmaker Daniel Montenegro, the Geese took home the title. Unfortunately, Simons’ side is now being picked apart in the wage auctions and it looks unlikely that he’ll be making a swift return to the premiership
All Evening Cup
This was the scene of disappointment for Beaulieu FC. We made the Last 16 in swift time, where we took on Springfield Isotopes. Despite absolutely dominating the match, the blues lost 1-0 and were dumped out of the cup.
Silver Cup
An easy group stage saw my side dominate, easily qualifying for the knockout stages. Here, again, we got a relatively easy draw, but alas, it wasn’t to be. Hitting a period of midseason bad form, the side struggled to score and despite creating more than enough chances, were dumped out of the competition over two legs.
All in all, a year of so close but so far, with the squad failing to ignite in important matches. . I was happy, however, with my 3rd place finish, ensuring Gold Cup football for the following season and a firm footing for next season.
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