MVP: wLl

Team DPs: 32

LBC are rivals to 0 teams.

Season 49 Update:

Hello! Season 48 was a bit more relaxed than usual, with the team avoiding our usual intense battles to stay afloat from the start. To be honest, we might have been lucky early in the season, but overall, it was a more comfortable season compared to the previous two in the top flight. But the most important thing is that we managed to survive and will be looking to kick on in Season 49.

Jo, David Silva and Andy Morrison are our only retirees, but several others are nearing retirement and might hang up their boots after mid-seasonaging. As always, we are very grateful to and wish all retirees the very best in their future endeavours.

Last season’s draftees Nicolás Otamendi (Sweeper/Defender), Tommy McCracken (Defender) and Johnny Crossan (Midfielder/Attacker) will need to step up their game this season and do so very quickly. We are all excited to see Nico O’Reilly (Utility), Jeremy Doku (a tricky Winger) and Damien Kelly (Midfielder) join from the draft and we know each of them will have a long and successful City career.

However, we need to keep an eye out for one or two more players during the season. Andy McDonald, Glyn Pardoe and Phil McDonagh now form the backbone of the team this season, but we will need senior players John Kennedy, Aaron Cochrane and Bernardo Silva to play key roles throughout the season.

As we head into Season 49, T11 is looking a bit doggy, but T17 is giving us a glimmer of hope. With T11 needing to take care of the challenging matches, this season will be a real test, but it’s essential if we want to avoid relegation. As always, we’ll need to make some smart moves during the season, but we’re still short on funds.

Our main goal is to stay in the big league, so the board has set the club one target: Division 1 survival. Let’s see if we can do it without the added pressure of a play-off this season. We really need to find ways to improve T11 and T17 to Division 1 standard, so we can escape this seasonal fear of relegation. We’ll be keeping an eye out for some good deals in the auctions and hoping to snag some reasonably priced CP and TP.

Season 49 update:

Hello, fellow SFLSL managers. Season 49 is here already, which seems hard to believe.

I’m now firmly settled into my sixties and still enjoying retired life, although I’m not entirely sure where all the spare time goes. Mrs O is still working hard, so I do my best to make myself useful around the house and keep out of trouble. I’m not always successful on either front.

My brief spell as a chess enthusiast has now come to a quiet end, which will not surprise anyone who knows my attention span. These days I seem to spend more time obsessing over gadgets, cameras, drones and the endless accessories that somehow become absolutely necessary five minutes after buying the last one. The battle with moss in the garden is also ongoing. At this stage I think we’ve moved beyond gardening and into a long-term territorial dispute.

My sporting loyalties remain as testing as ever. Manchester City still dominate my football mood, the Raiders continue to try my patience, and the Blue Jays still know how to offer just enough hope to keep me coming back for more. Supporting my teams remains excellent practice for managing expectations.

Family life is still the best part of all. I continue to enjoy spending time with my three wonderful granddaughters, Emma, Jess and Izzy, who keep us proud, entertained and on our toes in equal measure. They are growing up far too quickly, which is lovely to watch and a bit unfair on the rest of us.

After such a big holiday year in 2025, this year is looking a little quieter, with Tenerife once again on the agenda. That said, I’m never too far away from planning the next trip or talking myself into the next purchase.

I hope you are all well and ready for another good season. Best of luck to everyone and, as always, please be kind to us at Lisburn City, who are still in transition. Some things never change.