After a disappointing campaign last year, scraping by in Division 3A, Bucks Revolution's Manager CM1991 took a long, hard look at himself and his team.
11 seasons at the club had come and gone just like that. He'd seen much in his time since he and Revolution started in what was then known as the 7th Division. He'd witnessed the rise of Bucks' greatest ever player Drew Coles, as well as his retirement. He'd seen Shaun Chuter develop from a sprightly teenager into a measured yet majestic midfield-maestro, and more importantly, he'd experienced the elation of 2 league titles in this time, as well as 2x2nd place finishes and the notable record of never having been relegated from a Division.
But something just didn't sit well with CM1991. Despite surviving their second year in Div3, it felt like the Revolution train may be struggling to climb the hill and was starting to slip backward.
The hill, as it turned out - was time.
During his tenure, CM1991 had frequented but not totally exploited the youth market. Early signings like Shaun Chuter and Casper Hartelius blossomed into quality players, and the Revolution youth academy was nothing to be sniffed at, producing the marvelous defensive due of Shane Trought and Stewart Harrington, as well as current star striker Harald Greillinger and first choice keeper Gregory Colleau, but for every young star given a chance another was cast aside. This caused ire among fans last year when CM sold 2x 16/4 midfielders in the space of 1 month (a decision he now thinks he must have made whilst heavily intoxicated). The logic at the time was that the hefty sums a 16/4 midfielder could demand would afford Bucks the chance to head back into the market with the intent to make big, instant-impact signings to complement their ever-strengthening squad. Whilst midfielder Oskari Mustajärvi has undoubtedly made a huge impact, CM admits that his short term vision for success was flawed, and ultimately time was catching up on an aging Revolution squad.
So now, it was clear to CM1991 that time was the enemy, and youth was the solution. So for the first time in Bucks Revolutions' history, at the start of this season, the man in charge decided to cast aside good results to invest heavily in youth players who could learn from the current crop of starters.
A mix of youth academy recruits and purchases joined the team before the season began. CM's plan was to give these young guns enough game time to see them develop, whilst trying to minimize the negative impact of playing a bunch of 16/17 year-olds against top-quality opposition. Needless to say, CM1991 and his management team braced for the inevitable downturn in results...
But it never came.
In fact, Bucks have started this campaign better than almost any other, unbeaten in all competitions with 8 wins and 2 draws in 10 and sitting second in 3A without conceding a goal in the league as of yet. The youths are developing handsomely whilst the old guard continue to grind out results.
Revolution have of course been here before. 2 seasons ago they started fantastically well in 3A, only to drop in the second half of the year with a disappointing set of results.
Their toughest test is approaching, with 4 straight games against the two teams who look most likely to challenge Lightnights to the title - FC Modo and Lokomotiv Sparrow. As with many seasons before, the middle section of the campaign looks to be the most difficult, and despite coming out of their opening matches unscathed the odds are certainly stacked against them. But even a mid-table finish won't disappoint CM1991, for one simple reason...
Bucks Revolution now have the one thing they didn't have before.
They have time.