The appointment of the new Supremo was no lucky break. Rather it was a carefully planned manoeuvre that the desperate had hatched over two years previously. It was then that the incumbent gaffer had happened on a starry eyed Norfolker when he conducted a graduate interview of one .

Tales of World Cup glory in exotic locations were more than sufficient to tempt the youngster to sign on Logica's dotted line rather than those of the IT consultancy's more generous competitors. This was followed up with a shrewdly plotted campaign using both carrot and stick to lure the unsuspecting winger into the fold. was given just one minute on his debut in March 1999, but a tantalising combination of starts and spots on the bench during the following campaign had the youngster just where wanted him.

The handover of the Supremal reigns was thus just a formality, but there was no curbing 's enthusiasm as he remarkably insisted on an initial 5-year deal. In fact, may not have needed to be quite so Machiavellian with his exit plan. It soon emerged that Groom Senior, Keith, was a seasoned and successful gaffer at non-League Reepham Wanderers (and indeed would later go on to achieve notable international managerial success with the England Nippers). Consequently the requisite combination of affliction genes and naïve optimism genes were already present and correct in the Norwich novice.

duly set about his task with a zest and childish pleasure not uncommon to a newly crowned Supremo. But what would set him apart from many of his predecessors is that he would maintain this level of unstinting eagerness combined with dedicated hard work for the next five years and counting. Indeed both his love of the club and the regard in which it held him was recently the reflected in the offer of a new ten year deal.

Despite being installed in the hot-seat just days before the sixth ever Logica World Cup in Manchester, the new gaffer oversaw a creditable fifth place finish (out of 14) for the England Pups. The Lags did even better when perhaps their best ever chance of World Cup glory stalled at the penultimate hurdle as they lost on penalties to Holland in the semi-final. This was the same fate that had scuppered the Pups in the quarters, and the somewhat impertinent attempts by the youngsters to claim parity with their elders and betters were given some weight when the two England sides fought out a 3-3 draw in 's well-deserved Testimonial Match. The Lags, though, were perhaps still recovering from the their own glorious assault on Europe, an audacious heist that saw them return from France laden with silverware.

wasted no time in addressing the somewhat unsatisfactory issue of the modern footballer's diet, quickly re-establishing that satisfying and well proven combination of curry and beer as he revived the Logica Football Club Annual Awards Dinner. As a youngster well-tuned to the latest trends, was quick to take advantage of the internet technology offered by this very web-site, and the various awards were all voted for using on-line ballot papers. The prestigious gourmet West End eaterie, the Raj Tandoori, was packed with a bumper audience of fifteen players and fans who vociferously indicated their approval as was voted Footballer of the Year.

On the field it proved a stop-start season [2000-01] as an unusually persistent period of inclement weather decimated the fixture schedule between November and February. 's penchant for attacking football was clear for all to see as the club banged in no fewer than 53 goals in just 14 games. But whilst the new gaffer was justly hailed for this approach in notching up 10-0, 7-0, 5-0 and 5-1 victories during the campaign, there also seemed to be a symmetrical cost at the other end as Logica also suffered 0-10, 0-7, 2-7 and 2-5 defeats. A 6-6 draw against bottom side Arab Boys after leading 4-1 at the break epitomised the pit-falls of the young Supremo's idealistic stratagems. The neutrals loved the entertainment of course, but a trophy-hungry board were less enthralled when Logica's serious spring-time hopes of promotion evaporated in an end-of season goal-fest that saw them lose their last four games.

Still, a final placing of fifth represented a significant improvement on the seemingly endless relegation battles of recent years, and spirits were high around the club's modern new Stadium, the Stade d'Ilea. had shown himself prepared to take risks in the pursuit of victory, and also able to handle the modern demands of the global transfer market as he signed brilliant French midfielder and the pacey and unpredictable Brazilian winger alongside the more terrier-like English qualities of . It seemed the new gaffer could do no wrong and he even bagged himself a goal, a 20 inch howitzer that nearly ripped the net.

The following season [2001-02] was a marathon rather the preceding sprint, as Logica's best Cup run for years saw them rack up no less than 25 games in total. It was a glorious trail of vanquished Goliath's as Logica first dispatched World's End (two tiers above them) before cleverly fooling fellow second division side Racing Club Santos. Typically, just as had booked himself into a trophy-lifting evening class, Logica crashed out in the quarter-finals to Division One leaders South Wimbledon after a ding-dong cup-tie ended 2-3.

The league campaign again saw thrills and spills in equal measure as the new Supremo continued to place the emphasis on attack. Logica banged in even more goals (60) than last time out, but again the defensive details were somewhat overlooked as the club suffered 4-10, 2-8, 1-6, and 5-6 defeats on their way to conceding a humungous 73 goals in the league. A run of three wins and a draw in April briefly raised optimistic hopes of promotion, but the net-bulging pendulum quickly swung back to the other end as Logica lost their last two games 0-5.

Logica could take no little pride in completing an extensive league fixture list of 22 games, and a large and eager squad ensured that in his second season, 's problem was invariably who to leave out rather than how to make up the numbers. Nine league wins had ensured a top half finish, and the fast-learning Supremo seemed able to inspire the old as well as the young. After a couple of indifferent seasons, returned to top goal-scoring form as he reclaimed the Golden Boot with 11 goals in just 14 starts, bagging his 150th club goal on the way on the occasion of his 219th Logica appearance against Townmead. Elsewhere, experienced defender won the Footballer of the Year Award, whilst the Flora inspired refused to be written off as he claimed the Football Writer's equivalent, not least for a remarkable 10 assists.

's care for the elderly in tandem with a burgeoning youth policy stood England in good stead at the 2002 World Cup in Prague. Both the Pups and the Lags produced a series of outstanding displays to reach the semi-finals before melting in midday temperatures of 36 degrees against Italy and the hosts respectively. Even the Nippers produced their best ever World Cup showing under the astute tutelage of Groom Senior, topping a group that included France before losing in the quarter-finals. The Pups even managed to beat the Lags for the first time ever in a third-fourth play-off match which was certainly not meaningless to them.

Buoyed by this international success, Logica hit the following season [2002-03] running as they rattled off three straight wins and a draw to leave them second in the table and nursing genuine title ambitions. But then came ShabbyGate. Shabby hole merchant was booked late in the draw against Everyman for unCorinthian-like behaviour. But a small mole-hill became a mountain of Himalayan proportions as a petulant refusal to pay the GBP 6.00 fine became entwined in a shady property deal as the Logica club found themselves suspended by the league and then the London FA.

When this massive web of mandarinal punishment had been served, and the appropriate vast sums of money had finally changed hands, all impetus had been lost. Logica did not play a game for 70 days, and the ten men who were finally mustered to resume battle in the week before Christmas put up a brave fight before losing their first game of the season 0-4. endeavoured to re-establish our Autumnal authority, and indeed Logica managed to lose just one of their first six games in the New Year. However the wheels finally came of our promotion challenge as a pair of consecutive double-headers yielded just 4 points out of 12 against moderate opponents. An emotionally draining season ended disappointingly with four straight defeats and a 7th place finish.

Although the England Pups managed a second consecutive third placed finish in the summer's World Cup in Rome, a disappointing semi-final exit to the unfancied Mancunians seemed only to accentuate the downward curve begun at the end of the previous domestic campaign. Logica began the new season [2003-04] with three narrow defeats, but poor form quickly degenerated to the abysmal as they crashed 1-10 to title-chasing West Ten. Remarkably worse followed as November saw three consecutive thrashings in which Logica conceded 25 goals whilst failing to trouble the scorers, including a record-equalling 0-11 reverse in return against West Ten.

For the first time during his reign, the pressure was on for as Logica found themselves rock bottom on New Year's Day with precisely zero points. The rash of long-term injuries to his experienced stars showed no signs of healing, the pack of tabloid hounds were slavering at the door, and the Grim Relegation Reaper was not even bothering to sharpen his scythe such was the inevitability of Logica's destiny.

sensed that his squad was becoming a little stale, not least because there had been practically no change in personnel since early in his reign, and he moved quickly and decisively to pep it up. Most notably, cultured midfielder and pacey wide-man were brought in on free transfers to add some punch, whilst some attempt was made to shore up the haemorrhaging defence as full back and a new keeper were drafted in.

The team received an unexpected boost when they miraculously won their first points of the season by beating Spectraprint 3-2, but normal service seemed to have resumed with two more defeats thereafter. But revealed some of his leadership qualities when he unveiled his radical Survival Roadmap to brain-wash his charges into believing that they could still stay up. February was a crucial month with vital six-pointers against relegation rivals Inter Wandsworth and Everyman. The former produced a good performance but only one point, but the latter yielded a season-turning 4-1 triumph that took Logica off the bottom for the first time that season.

But with three games left the pressure was still on. A nervy but vital 3-2 win against Deportivo Galicia set up a crucial return match against the same side a fortnight later. It was crunch time for , and an early Deportivo goal did not bode well. But the Norfolk man inspired his team to an awesome response that made a mockery of all that gone before. A hat-trick from and goals from Hoyland and Banoub saw Logica run out 5-1 winners and a miraculous escape of Houdini proportions was soon confirmed in the corridors of power down at Sportsmans League HQ.

Strangely, the euphoria of avoiding relegation in such miraculous circumstances produced an adrenaline rush far greater than a more accomplished but less exciting mid-table finish would have triggered. The England sides travelled to Utrecht in Holland for that summer's World Cup champing at the bit. As in Prague, both the Lags and the Pups reached the semi-finals, but unlike two years earlier, they were both desperately unlucky not to take that Final big step – the Pups going out in a penalty shoot-out after dominating Holland; the Lags falling to a decisive goal deep into extra time after matching four-times Champions Italy all the way.

Despite these disappointments, optimism was high come September [2004-05], not least because had moved shrewdly in the close season transfer window. , a dynamic and competitive forward, or attacking midfielder, had impressed during summer trials and was thrown straight into the first team. Meanwhile, with double Footballer of the Year, still suffering greatly from a long-lasting foot injury, the Supremo also snapped a prodigious young defensive talent in on the recommendation of part-time scout .

Logica were vastly improved from the previous campaign and produced some excellent football that had the beating of anybody on its day, as comprehensive victories against high-flying Spectraprint and Croydon Red Star amply demonstrated. helped tighten up the back significantly, as Logica conceded just 39 goals in 18 games - exactly half the number from the previous season. Up front, added some much needed pace and threat, and finished joint top-scorer with and the rejuvenated , the latter inspired by the Supremo's shrewd appointment of him as skipper. But the fact that this trio of Golden Boot wearers bagged just six each highlighted the team's main problem, that of scoring goals. Just 31 in the league saw them struggling at times to see off inferior opposition, and the anticipated promotion challenge fizzled out into a mid-table finish.

The fizzling noise could still be heard in Germany come June, where both the Pups and the Lags exited the 2005 World Cup in Speyer rather limply in the quarter-finals, continuing a pattern of one good tournament followed by one poor one. And form oscillation was very much the name of the game when the new domestoc season got under way [2005-06], as the team took consistent inconsistency to new extremes by winning and then losing alternate matches until two consecutive defeats at the end of November broke the sequence. More worrying was that the defeats all coincided with home games, the pressure of expectation from the demanding Stade faithful seemingly having an adverse effect as Logica failed to win a league point at home until 12 March.

There was a famous Cup victory at the Stade before this, however, as an injury-ravaged and Supremo-less Logica held their nerve to beat high-flying West Six 2-1 with an ice-cool penno in the last minute of extra time. But the pendulum swung wildly even in the Cup, for the team went on to crash out of the Little Ron Cup, thrashed by 4th Division AFC Wandsworth in the quarter-final. would go on to top the scoring charts for the fifth consecutive season, although his somewhat paltry total of just eight evinced the team's main problem, that of scoring goals.

A haul of just 36 for the team in 21 games failed to improve significantly on the previous season's record, and again meant that Logica failed to kill off games when they were dominant, as well as rendering them unable to nick those games in which they spent much of their time defending brilliantly. As ever, was quick to diagnose the symptoms and take preventative measures. The promise of excellent young striker seemed to be being fulfilled early doors when he bagged three goals in his first three games, but sadly the player was unavailable for the rest of the season. Attacking wide midfielder added pace, edge and threat, and scored two excellent goals in the 5-2 win over the Lions of Atlas. But again, was only available for 5 games, before securing a big money transfer to Switzerland at the end of the campaign.

In all, the season closely resembled the previous one, with more apt to look nervously over his shoulder rather than gaze ambitiously up the table. The defence was by and large tight, especially if you ignore the 0-8 and 0-10 blips at either end of the campaign against the promoted sides. Despite first choice keeper making his biggest number of appearances (13) in a season, there were still six other players who were called upon to don the gloves during the campaign (, , , , , and, perhaps most notably, , a veteran of the 1982 World Cup with Algeria). , , and amongst others continued to enhance their individual reputations, and the pundits were all agreed that player for player, Logica have their best squad for many a decade: they just need to start playing a brand of football that confirms this fact!

The need for a more assertive, possession-based style of football was voiced more strongly after another disappointing showing by both England teams in the St.Andrews World Cup. The Pups won their group in impressive fashion, but once again failed to overcome the 12-yard hoodoo as they lost a shoot-out against Reading. The Lags reversed this performance, as they failed even to qualify from their group after a mixed showing on the Saturday. But three excellent displays of passing football on the Sunday saw them lift the Tier Two Plate with a composed penalty shoot-out victory over Calor Gas in the Final.

[History Last Updated: August 2006]