Hello friends, with five games left, we are favorites to go up to the Premiership if we can remain unbeaten for the rest of the games. We are currently lying in 2nd place and will be facing the teams in the bottom half. As long as we play to our normal game, everything should be fine. Alright long story short, lets get straight to the games.

Home against Crystal Palace

We started the month entertaining 19th place Crystal Palace to Ship Lane. As John Leonard and Jim Beardsley had just returned from injury and short of match fitness, i decided to stick with the same line-up. We got off to a great start when Gary Lewis received the ball from Harry Hermans and curled the ball in. We were controlling everything and Gary Lewis used his left foot to score another goal in 20th minute. Things became comfortable for us as Harry Herman scored from close range after an assist from his strike partner. We still have time to score the fourth with Gary Lewis claiming his hat-trick before the break. He’s absolutely on fire. We started to slow down the pace after the break and Crystal Palace managed to pull one goal back in 63rd minute. However we restored the four goal lead after they scored an own goal four minutes from time. It was a convincing performance by the players.

Away at Loftus Road

We continued our charge for the Premiership with an away trip to Loftus Road to face 14th place QPR. We were very good in controlling the ball and holding most of the possession in the first half, our first goal came from Gary Lewis after he was put through by Bastian Bruckner. A fine team move three minutes from time saw Gary Lewis clear on goal, but he unselfishly square the ball to Harry Hermans to slot it home. Second half saw QPR launching a slight comeback with Mark Randall scored a goal from 35 yards out of no where. This could be the goal of the season nominee. But Gary Lewis yes he again, killed off their hopes with a well taken goal after he was through from a counter attack. Two wins in a row put us in a favorable position to win promotion now.

Home against Nottingham Forest

We were at home to face the bottom team Nottingham Forest just two days later. Their form has been poor and they will relegate to league 1 if they lose this match. We can’t help them much as Jose Antonio Castellano headed us in front from a corner 17 minutes into the game. There was no more goals in the first half though we had numerous chances. We doubled our lead 10 minutes after the break and the scorer was Gary Lewis, a curling ball in to the far corner. They gave us a scare when they scored with eight minutes left, but we held on for the win and we will not see them probably in the next two seasons. With this win, we have 87 points now with Southampton 6 points behind us. there was no way that they can catch us as we have a huge goal difference.  Bristol City was having a poor run and they dropped off the pace in the initial months. So we are more or less going up. Just one more game to confirm.

Away at Hawthorns

Last game of the month was against 22nd place West Brom, we needed just a draw to confirm of going up. Just 3 minutes into the games, Jim Beardsley found himself lots of space and he was able to get a goal since returned from injury. I thought it would be a rout for us but we end up struggling to create any chances. We ended up scored the second goal through a Bastian Bruckner penalty in 33rd minute. West Brom tried to come back to the game but we were strong in defence to deny them any goals. The final whistle sounded and Thurrock finally made it to the Premiership. I was lost at words as it was a really long journey to reach there.

Fans Reaction

The fans were totally ecstatic as they were jumping up and down in The Hawthorns Stadium. We were given a heroes welcome when we returned to Ship Lane.

Board Reaction

The board was delighted with the unexpected promotion, they only expected us to finish in the top half. Anyway, i am waiting to see how they are going to bring the club forward now that promotion is secured.

Last game

Last game of the month was against 24th place Bolton who was confirmed of relegation to league 1. It was a routine match for us but we still played our best and ran out 2-0 winners. Goals were scored by Alexandar Lafuente and Jim Beardsley.

Table

This is the final standings of the teams in the Championship for 2020/21 season. Wolves won the title with a tally of 95 points while we are lying in 2nd place two points behind them. Bristol City won the play-off final against Reading in Wembley. The teams relegated are West Brom, Bolton and Nottingham Forest the last three teams that we faced. We have the best attack and one of the best defence, that contributed to us having the least losses in the league. Now lets take a look at the players stats.

Players Ratings

The players have done really well this season. Besides David Cook and Manny Smith, the other first team players have an average rating of 7.00 and above. Top five players who contributed to our success this season are Jim Beardsley, Colin Madden, John Leonard, Gary Lewis and Alexandar Lafuente. Most of the players will still be in Thurrock as i think they can adapt to the standard of Premiership football. But i don’t think we will see Gary Lewis here as most likely i won’t be bringing him on loan.

Stadium expansion

There is finally some good news for us while the players are having their holidays. The board had decided to expand our small stadium in order to comply with the Premier League standard. Its not a big expansion but we are improving slowly. While the stadium is under construction, we will co-share the ground in The Valley stadium, home of Charlton.

Burnley Approach

Burnley chairman approached me during the close season to be their manager in Turf Moor but i rejected. I was tempted by their wage budget but i believe i still yet to establish Thurrock in the Premiership. I want Thurrock to survive in the Premiership before i think of anything else.

Wrap up

Dear friends, after four seasons of trying in the championship, we finally have a chance to test our skills against the big guns. Our priority is to ensure survival. This depends on how much transfer and wage budget the board is willing to give me. But the “buzz” is already circulating in the air. The fans are looking towards the new season and everybody is excited about it. Seems like we need to order some more beer. Alright friends, thank you very much for your support and we are glad we didn’t disappoint this season. Thanks for reading and i will see you soon in my pre-season report.