[FM24] The Stoke Way

[danyates8]

   

Lets set the scene... Over the last few years when starting a save I've tended to simulate 12 months into the future and taken over a team that has been relegated. I enjoy taking a dressing room over that isn't in the greatest place mentally, dealing with troubled dynamics and improving them. Whether that's moving on individuals causing more trouble than they are worth or proving to them that I'm the right man for the job.

This year that happens to be my supported team IRL Stoke City, in game they had a disastrous first season. Steven Schumacher getting sacked in October, his replacement Ole Gunnar Solskjær fared even worse and oversaw Stoke's relegation to League 1, this is where I step in. I've created an in-game manager called Ollie Pearson who will takeover at the end of May 2024, his main task getting Stoke back to the Championship with the longer term aim of improving on Stoke's best ever Premier League finish of 9th. Pearson has built up a reputation of play fast flowing, attacking football which is something Stoke fans will be desperate he can implement as they had serious goal scoring problems during the first season where they scored a measly 38 goals in the league. Youth development is another important factor in Ollie Pearson's arsenal, something Stoke have been somewhat successful with in the past few years with the big sales of players such as Nathan Collins and Harry Souttar.

Financials

Following relegation the financial side isn't looking to rosy either, deficit of £8 million in the overall balance which leaves us with a  transfer budget of £1.1 million and spare wage budget of around 40k. I've got hope that this can rectified rather quickly via outgoing transfers. I'm more than happy to offload any unhappy player as long as we receive reasonable bids. There is definitely scope within the current structure to get us to a place where ill be comfortable, the wage bill is due to go through a restructure as lots of the first team squad have 'relegation wage drops' in their current contracts, the board have currently set the transfer retention at 0%, however I'm sure once the books are balanced they will listen to any requests to raise that.

The Squad

As you can imagine the squad isn't in a very good place at all. Deep rooted unhappiness is commonplace throughout the side with multiple highly influential players making their feelings known. Ben Wilmot, Ben Pearson, Josh Laurent, Wouter Burger, Tyrese Campbell, Ryan Mmaee and Million Manhoef have all expressed a desire to leave following relegation, they are all very unhappy with the current situation and haven't got confidence in the new management team in place. Andre Vidigal and Mehdi Leris whilst unhappy only have slight concerns at the minute. Whilst the team dynamics are admittedly in a very poor place it does give me the chance to generate some very healthy transfer fees.

With 9 first team players informing the manager of their desire to leave that has created a real problem within the squad dynamics. Team Leaders Ben Wilmot and Wouter Burger are having a real negative impact on the squad, their influence is to strong at the minute and it would be sensible to look to move them on as soon as possible. Luckily they both have plenty of interest so moving them on shouldn't be to great of a challenge.

Iv'e initially identified two main transfer targets and they both reside at the same club. Ronnie Edwards and Harrison Burrows both of Peterborough. Edwards being a very technical ball playing centre back who has gathered up over 115 appearances despite only being 20 years of age, an England youth international with a very very bright future ahead of him. He wont be the cheapest to bring in but has the potential longevity to make it look like a bargain if we are able to agree a deal. Burrows only 22 himself has a similar number of first team games as Edwards, is adept at playing multiple roles in multiple positions something I really like having within my squads, his regular role has been at left back the last season or two and that is most definitely a priority position for Stoke.

As Ollie Pearson has a focus on youth, there are multiple players within Stokes U21's that will be given the chance to impress. Emre Tezgel and Nikola Jojic in particular look very exciting. Luke Badley-Morgan and newgen Michael Murray can provide some much needed depth in the first team and will be given time to reach their potential. They will all get game time in pre-season to prove their worth.

Hopefully you guys have enjoyed reading my first story post on the forum. Thanks for your time.

Edited Wednesday at 08:24 by danyates8

[Rick87]

Good luck with Stoke, I was always disapointed that Wesley didn't work out at Villa, though with those wages I expect you might try and cash in on him.

[danyates8]

1 minute ago, Rick87 said:

Good luck with Stoke, I was always disapointed that Wesley didn't work out at Villa, though with those wages I expect you might try and cash in on him.

Thanks for the response. Yeah he was looking promising for Villa before that really nasty injury. I was excited when we signed him IRL but he turned out to be a disaster to be fair. Stoke are a strikers graveyard IRL though, we haven't had anyone score 20 goals in a season for over 20 years. 

[danyates8]

Strategic Recruitment and Departures

After joining Stoke at the end of May new manager Ollie Pearson has been assessing the squad before the start of pre-season to identify any weak spots within the current structure. As mentioned previously there are lots of unhappy players and I think we can reasonably expect at least 50% of them will be leaving the club before the season starts. In an ideal world I would like to have the majority of his signings through the door before the first game of the season which is on the 3rd August against Stevenage at home. 

There are currently 18 members of the first team squad and half of those expressed a desire to leave, so with our expected 50% to leave that would leave us with around 14 members, if we include the 7 players promoted from the various youth teams that leaves us with a squad of 21. Its not reasonable to expect all of the youth players to perform after their promotion to the first team either especially Ali Hayder, Kahrel Reddin and Edwin Andersson because there is serious competition for places in the positions they play, so unless we sell players in those positions game time will be more limited.

There are certain problem positions such as centre midfield, where 3 players are demanding to leave following relegation so that becomes a priority in the transfer market. We are very light here and with no decent prospects in the youth teams a new centre midfielder is a must. Centre back is another position where we have only 2 first choice players and with one of them wanting to leave it becomes another area I must address, I've identified Ronnie Edwards as the top target for the centre back role, whether we can generate the funds to pull off the deal is another matter and finally the goalkeeper position is looking fairly light. Jack Bonham can play a decent back up role but we should be looking to add another goalkeeper to their ranks. These 3 particular positions are the initial focus for the time being, if we are able to dot his then we can focus on other areas of the team that could do with an improvement.

We have an abundance of attacking talent at the squad with 11 players capable of playing in a variety of positions however it must be remembered that they were the lowest goal scorers before their relegation so can we really have faith that they will deliver. Emre Tezgel, Nathan Lowe, Nikola Jojic and Bae Jun-Ho have some serious potential between them and are all 20 years of age or below so the future could be very bright. 

We are most definitely in need of some squad depth and they have made steps towards this by offering 5 players 2 week trial deals, these players will get their chance to impress in the first few friendlies to try and earn themselves a contract. They have all recently been released from Premier League clubs so they have a decent pedigree.

 

Pre Season + Transfer Activity

After the first 4 pre season games I offered contracts to 3 of the trialists;

Arthur Okonkwo impressed with a man of the match performance in the loss to Shamrock Rovers, he is a really ideal age and looks like the has the potential to go on a become at least a Championship level keeper. Has got potential re-sale value so it seems like a very sensible idea to offer him a deal.

 Alex Kirk made 3 full appearances and he was pretty impressive, admittedly against poor opposition, however he requires really low wages and with centre back being a priority position it seems like a sensible decision to offer a deal. 

Josh Davidson actually only managed a 20 minute spell against Nantwich Town in the 4 games shown but the versatility he offers as well as the very low wages seem like this is a fairly risk averse deal to make, he will initially go into the u21 side to get as much game time in his first season at the club.

It didn't quite work out for Dylan Stephenson or Byron Wilson, already lots of depth in those positions throughout all the squads and they wouldn't have a clear pathway to the first team. One thing I'm not that keen on doing is  blocking any potential pathways of youth players and with Junior Tcahamadeu having lots of potential in the right back slot and Emre Tezgel and Nathan Lowe having seemingly fantastic potential for the striker slots in didn't make much sense to bring in the guys in question.

There was also some movement out of the door during the first 4 fixtures. Michael Rose was sold to Rotherham United, they were relegated alongside us. He was one of the first team squad members actually not kicking up a fuss about relegation but a decent fee potentially rising to 600k and saving 8k per week on wages was to much to resist. Ben Pearson was the next out, Wolverhampton Wanderers find themselves in the Championship after their relegation from the Premier League and their bid of £3 million was swiftly accepted, 20k per week saved on the wage bill as well which helps to generate the funds for the marquee signing of Ronnie Edwards. Next out the door was Wesley Moraes. He just never recovered from his serious injury at Aston Villa a few years back, he was goalless in Stokes relegation from the Championship so when Espanyol came knocking with a bid of £1.1 million it was accepted in an instant. The 25k per week wage bonus arguably the biggest factor here, it now gives us some scope to now operate in the transfer market beyond free transfers. Daniel Johnson was the next to leave, Stoke didn't generate a transfer fee on this deal but freeing up the 10k per week wages was enough to convince me that it was the right decision to make.

 

 

 

Edited June 30 by danyates8

[danyates8]

Pre Season Continued

Now that we've been able to shift a few players out the door the wage bill is looking quite healthy, that fact boosted by the 'relegation wage drop' clauses throughout the various squads. The graphic in the previous post are the updated wages. There is around £5 million available in the budget so talks have opened with Ronnie Edwards. He is valued around £8 million so discussions are expected to be intense to figure out a deal that works for both clubs. Scouting has also intensified for the defensive midfield position. It will be interesting to see which of the unhappy players we can keep hold of whilst trying to avoid the team dynamics getting out of control.

In the early pre season games I have been working out a tactical style which best suits the players currently available and the early shape he has adopted is a 4-2-3-1 DM. It should also utilise the strength in the full back positions. Enda Stevens is the wrong side of 30 but his attributes are holding up well and he can provide good mentorship to promising youngster Michael Murray. Right back is well stocked with Junior Tchamadeu and Lynden Gooch, both will easily have enough quality for league one. We've got an abundance of attacking quality at the club that should thrive at this level with multiple players who can play in a variety of positions. The variations the 4-2-3-1 DM are another factor in its choice, whether its an inverted full back to provide an extra body in defence or inverted wing back for a body in midfield, wingers holding the width or cutting inside there's lots of options we can explore over the coming save. 

 

Back to the pre-season and at a glance it looks like we could be in some trouble come the start of the season but I'm not overly concerned so far. We are still dealing with squad unrest from the previous relegations and things haven't been helped by Ben Wilmot in particular, kicking up a fuss demanding to leave yet rejecting West Brom's advances when a transfer fee was agreed. Tyrese Campbell another who is really pushing to leave. Both players have gone the extra step of declaring their unhappiness to the public.

There was some very positive news after the Crewe game as we confirmed the marquee signing of Ronnie Edwards. £8 million fee potentially rising to £9 million, £3 million upfront and £5 million over the next 3 years, 500k after 50 apps and 500k upon promotion. Initially it can be seen as a gamble but really its very smart business. 20 years of age, extremely talented on the ball and England u20s experience. Most would argue this boy is destined for the very top. One of the first things that I set up when Edwards arrived at training ground was to get him working on his long range passes. As you can see from his attributes below he already has an excellent first touch, passing and composure. His physicals and mental attributes will naturally improve over time. He really does have the makings of a top, top centre back. 

Big shoutout to @CarrileroFM for his excellent templates.

We had around £2 million left to work with in the transfer budget and the scouts have identified Lewis Bate of Leeds. He has found himself on the periphery at Leeds since his arrival from Chelsea and hasn't got the game time he expected and now finds himself on the transfer list. A technically proficient deep lying playmaker, again excellent on the ball but not the most physical - standing at only 5'6. A bid has been accepted for 500k upfront and £1.5 million split over 3 years, 250k if we manage win League 1, a deal potentially totalling £2.25 million. It was 3 days after the final pre season game when Bate joined so he is going to find himself in the side without a pre season behind him and lacking tactical familiarity within the system. 

The squad now consists of 23 players we will consider 'First Team' players, they will be the main focus of playing time throughout the season apart from competitions such as the EFL trophy. I think  that particular competition as an ideal place to give promising youngsters game time. With a long gruelling season ahead there is going to be plenty of chances for players to impress. There is still possibilities that players could be heading out the door if any suitable bids are received especially the players pushing for an exit such as Campbell, Mmaee, Laurent, Wilmot and Manhoef. However if they don't get sold they wont be frozen out as their skillset should go along way to gaining promotion within this league.

 

 

Edited Thursday at 14:36 by danyates8

[leobiazzi]

Cool save, I enjoyed watching Stoke back when Rory Delap was around.

And good job on signing Okonkwo. I used him in Wrexham in all my seasons, including the one we won the Premier League. He's solid.

[Punch]

Looks like a fun save idea! Best of luck!

[danyates8]

10 hours ago, leobiazzi said:

Cool save, I enjoyed watching Stoke back when Rory Delap was around.

And good job on signing Okonkwo. I used him in Wrexham in all my seasons, including the one we won the Premier League. He's solid.

I can't see us having the long throw in the arsenal, got abit of a height issue in the squad at the moment so could actually be vulnerable to a long throw. 

Yeah I'm happy with the signing for free, seems solid. 

5 hours ago, Punch said:

Looks like a fun save idea! Best of luck!

Thanks for that. 

[danyates8]

Just a quick note that there is a high likelihood of me editing posts I've already created, adding a bit more information. With this being the first written career that I'm tracking there will be certain bits I forget or simply don't think of at the time. I hope this doesn't mess with you interacting in any sort of way and its something I'm looking to improve very quickly. For e.g I've added a screenshot of the formation alongside roles and TI's ill be using in the last post I made also adding a picture of the 23 man squad, in the previous post I said ill do this then simply didn't. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated 

[danyates8]

AUGUST - A fixture 22 years in the making

So the start of the league season really couldn't of gone any better, as you can see from the graphic above the season was started with a 5-0 thumping of Stevenage, the new signings were truly exceptional in this performance. A fine goal for Lewis Bate on his debut the perfect way to introduce himself to the fans. 5 different goal scorers is very eye-catching demonstrating Stoke have the ability to score from various areas of the pitch.

After the Stevenage fixture there were a couple of outgoings to detail. Firstly Josh Laurent left to join Swansea in a £1.2 million deal, saving around £8,000 per week in wages, the issue i've got with this deal is we are losing a lot of our physicality, there is only really Wouter Burger left in the midfield who can now offer us any and he is also unhappy. Ben Wilmot is another who is quite physical but he also has a desire to leave. If we aren't careful we are going to get bullied.

Heavy rotation against Barnsley in the ELF Cup first round and another excellent result, youngsters Michael Murray and Emre Tezgel both on the scoresheet, Tezgel notching for the 2nd game in a row even though he only came on as a substitution in the previous game.

Next up were fierce local rivals Port Vale, there is a deep rooted hatred between these 2 clubs with fixtures having the potential to cause crowd unrest. There was a fixture between Stokes U21 side and Port Vale in the Checkatrade Trophy in 2018 which infamously descended into chaos as seats were ripped up, bathrooms smashed to pieces as both sets of fans clashed. There were over 150 police officers in attendance that day, when you consider it wasn't even Stokes first team that indicates the level of desire both sets of fans show for their team to come out victorious. With this being the first league fixture between the two clubs for 22 years tensions are sure to be high.

A very dull first half was followed by and pulsating end to end second half which we were able to come out the better. Bae Jun-Ho making it 2 goal in 2 games with a accurate slotted finish to put us 1-0 up. Million Manhoef scored again 11 minutes later and it looked like we were cruising but when Vale pulled a goal back in the 77th that swung the momentum and we did well to hold on. Ronnie Edwards looking really assured at the back.

The next game against Burton was the complete opposite. 3-0 down after 30 mins the game was essentially out of reach by that point, We did create a lot of chances but the 4-4-2 of Burton seemed to really stifle the attack. Lewis Bate and Emre Tezgel were the only 2 players to come out of the fixture with any credit really, We really missed Ronnie Edwards who picked up a slight knock in the final training session before the game. 

It was becoming quite clear that we had a lack of depth in the defensive midfield areas, Lewis Bate having only just arrived at the club and without a proper pre season under his belt has played every minute so far. In the rigours of League 1 that just isn't sustainable. From the scouting reports Stoke had already generated Dominic Corness of Liverpool caught the eye and we've initiated transfer talks. Emre Tezgel, Ronnie Edwards, Lewis Bate and Bae Jun-Ho have all had really exciting starts the the season, it will be tough to keep it up as the games come thick and fast in this league so fatigue can become a real issue. 

 

Edited June 29 by danyates8

[danyates8]

AUGUST CONTINUED - Unexpected work permit problems

We were able to agree a deal with Liverpool for the transfer of Dominic Corness, he will give us some much needed cover in the centre of midfield and looks like a really good back up to Lewis Bate because they have a similar stature and play style.

 

So after last games 4-1 drubbing at home to Burton we we're looking to get back on track as soon as possible, unfortunately that didn't happen in the next game. We went behind in the 20th minute and Colchester defended resolutely for the rest of the game. The result could of got worse in the 90th minute as we conceded a penalty but Arthur Okonkwo pulled off a fantastic save. Poor performance as favourites to go up. 

We had an away fixture at Barrow in the next game, a chance for some youngsters to impress such as Michael Murray, Josh Davidson and Edwin Andersson. They all performed really well and contributed massively to a resounding 4-1 win. Bae Jun-Ho put in an amazing performance which makes the news I received after the game even harder to swallow. His and Nikola Jojic work permits have both been rejected (I allocated an ESC place to both players but neither worked, I believe this is a bug, not to worry we will intertwine it into the story as work permit failure).  So we are now down 2 players from our attacking options which is far from ideal. I will try to renew their work permits at the earliest opportunity. I'm going to look into loan deals for both players as to not hinder their development. I will be keeping an eye on the loan list over the next few days to hopefully find a short term solution for the work permit problems.

After the disappointment of the work permit situation we had a big game in the league, we're currently on a 2 game losing streak and this early into the season its imperative we get back on track. I don't want to find ourselves trailing the pack and playing catch up because honestly the squad morale is far to delicate at the moment to be dealing with that, the only way we will convince players to stay at this club is if we get performances on the pitch. The game against newly promoted Wrexham show's we've got grit and determination, seemingly cruising at 3-1 we had a lapse on concentration in the 60th minute to concede. This gave Wrexham some momentum and they capitalised on that by scoring in the 83rd minute to make it 3-3 and we were really looking in some trouble but we were able to ride the storm and snatch a late winner in the 87th minute. Obviously some very concerning issues are arising, we are conceding to many goals but to show the grit and determination to still win that game tells me we are capable of good things. Emre Tezgel is also clearly capable of good things, a 4 goal haul against Wrexham taking his tally to 8 already. He is a deadly accurate finisher and is quickly becoming a very valuable asset.

Edited Thursday at 14:35 by danyates8

[santy001]

Interesting situation and managing the morale of the players will be one of the biggest challenges, turning to youth to get passed some of these player issues is definitely a smart move too. However, with some of those older players a good start to a League One campaign could be the ticket to a higher value transfer in January. 

Potentially dropping Tezgel into the AMC role if that's where you utilised Jun-Ho you could then look at integrating Nathan Lowe. A physical presence across the front line is something that knowing those players is currently lacking a bit.

[danyates8]

12 hours ago, santy001 said:

Interesting situation and managing the morale of the players will be one of the biggest challenges, turning to youth to get passed some of these player issues is definitely a smart move too. However, with some of those older players a good start to a League One campaign could be the ticket to a higher value transfer in January. 

Potentially dropping Tezgel into the AMC role if that's where you utilised Jun-Ho you could then look at integrating Nathan Lowe. A physical presence across the front line is something that knowing those players is currently lacking a bit.

The morale is definitely balanced on a knife edge right now, the manager support tab is changing on a game by game basis. I've got faith in the players that only have slight concern to leave such as Vidigal and Leris, but neither have set the world on fire up to yet. In fact most of the senior attacking unit has struggled up to now but its still relatively early in the season so its not time to panic yet.

Yeah Jun-Ho has been utilised in the AMC role up to yet and with the issues that have come to light we actually are really light in that position now, I don't hate the idea of playing Tezgel there but with how he has started the season goal scoring wise I'm not entirely comfortable playing him outside of his best position, with that said I've got lots of faith in Nathan Lowe. He is in and around the first team picture even though he is yet to make an appearance. 

Thanks for your comment

[danyates8]

EARLY SEPTEMBER-Transfer deadline day deal

With the work permit situation discussed in the previous post I felt it necessary to dip into the transfer market to get some cover for the CAM position within the team, Jun-Ho's promising start to the season leaves us with a gap to fill. I checked over the scouting reports we had and Scott Twine really caught the eye. He was very mediocre in the previous season whilst on loan to Bristol City and finds himself on the loan list again at Burnley. They signed him for £5 million in the 22/23 season on the back of an excellent campaign in League 1 for MK Dons. He notched 20 goals that season to earn his move so he has proven pedigree at this level, our current scout report on him tells us he is a Championship level CAM and whilst we cannot totally rely on the scout report that eye catching season for MK Dons is what really peaked my interest. We don't have the money to sign him permanently but that's something that wasn't really on my radar anyway as I don't want to hinder Jun-Ho's development, but with our current situation a loan deal seems perfect.

We managed to secure the deal for no fee and 7.5k a week in wages. A real decent deal in my eyes that is risk free. He is a good age bringing experience to the table, has great pro's such as 'Enjoys big matches' and 'fairly consistent performer' and he also brings versatility to the table even though he will predominantly play the CAM position.

The Scott Twine deal wrapped up the transfer window. We've been able to keep hold of players such as Wouter Burger, Ben Wilmot, Tyrese Campbell and Million Manhoef. Hopefully they can know knuckle down and concentrate on their football and fingers crossed we can get enough out of them to see ourselves over the line this season and gain automatic promotion, with the players we have available it will be a serious disappointment if we don't achieve that. 

Back to the fixtures and we comfortably beat Aston Villa u21s in the EFL Trophy, I chose a fairly strong line up in this game and that was mainly due to the morale situation. Wins will improve morale and losses will make it worse, pretty simple reasoning really. We still got some game time in for youngsters such as Josh Davidson and Luke Badley-Morgan, the latter rewarding us with a really good 2-goal performance. Tezgel bagging twice again, he really is banging them in for fun right now. Scott Twine put in a good performance on his debut hopefully a sign of things to come.

Away to Peterborough next and my gut feeling was this was going to be a tricky test, they have some good young players and an attacking manager in Darren Ferguson, son of legend, Sir Alex Ferguson. However the pre match jitters we unfounded as we came away comfortable 4-1 winners. Leris scored twice and he is starting to put in some good performances, Tyrese Campbell notched his first league goal of the season  and Million Manhoef impressed, exactly what we are looking for as some of the senior players are now finding some form. Josh Davidson  is impressing me with his versatility and he has now been promoted to the first team. 

Another away game, this time at Stockport, we had an excellent start with Scott Twine scoring his first for the club, an excellent finish from outside the box. We weren't able to find the scoresheet again which was disapointing as we created an xG of 2.2 in the game. A pattern is emerging in these early games, we are either dominating and scoring plenty or struggling to find the net, clean sheets aren't our forte at the minute with only 1 kept so far this season. 

The draw away at Stockport also seemed to be the last straw for Ben Wilmot, a key team leader, he confronted me in my office with his lack of confidence in my leadership skills and his concerns surround insufficient squad support, adding to the complexity is Wilmot's desire to leave, it has created an awkward dynamic within the team because his potential departure could paradoxically lead to a more harmonious atmosphere within the dressing room as his ongoing unrest is influencing the squads morale.

Its really frustrating to have such an influential player to cause so many problems within the dressing room and in my mind there isn't really a way back into my long term plans now for Ben Wilmot. Other players such as Mehdi Leris and Andre Vidigal have got their heads down, performed well in training and have put decent performances on the pitch. Ben Wilmot on the other hand, whilst decent on the pitch has been nothing but a nuisance since I arrived. I tried to prevent the situation from getting worse by promising him the situation will improve going forward but to ensure that happens we have to keep playing well on the pitch. We've had a decent start to the season but we really have to kick on now to prevent the dressing room from turning against us as it will only take a 5 game run off poor form for that to materialise. 

Edited Thursday at 14:38 by danyates8

[danyates8]

LATE SEPTEMBER-Strange time to do a deal

To give ourselves the best chance of promotion we needed to at least not lose to the teams around us, so far we've only played Burton who fit in that category and we lost, the score line wasn't a true reflection of the game that day but people will only remember the result and that was a 4-1 loss. We had Charlton up next at home and they have had an excellent start to the season thus far only losing once and putting in plenty of dominant performances, their manager is former Stoke manager, Nathan Jones and he has had a massive impact at the club in his short time there. This is a big six pointer early in the season.

It didn't go to plan whatsoever and the performance was enough to push me into a slight tactical rethink afterwards. We went 1-0 up in the 7th minute, a great start but it was short lived, Charlton equalised 2 minutes later and dominated proceedings from that moment, limiting us to 2 shots the whole game. Their plan to not allow Ronnie Edwards to dictate from the back was evident and we didn't has the response to stop them. We got physically bullied, we couldn't match their pace and power and our attacking threat was minimal. Seriously concerning performance and it was sure to worsen morale in the dressing room.

So the tactical rethink was simply to allow the opponents more of the ball, I noticed with our high defensive line and high press we were becoming vulnerable on the transition, we are lacking the physicality but I don't think that's the main problem, its morale. The players that do offer physicality just aren't interested it seems. Wouter Burger is just stinking the place out with his performances in the middle of the park and our back ups Dominic Corness and Josh Davidson are 5'7 and 5'10 respectively and they both have strength, aggression, jumping reach and bravery attributes below 10. Its an oversight on my part for sure but in all honesty Wouter Burger's personality is 'perfectionist' so his poor performances caught me off guard slightly. He should be dominating this league but its just not the case. January can't come around quick enough so we can get some aggression in the squad. 

 

We've lowered the mentality to balanced, defensive line is now standard and we are employing a mid block rather than the high press. The idea is to let the opponent have more of the ball, force them into mistakes higher up the pitch so we can take advantage with our fast, agile attackers. It gives the ball playing players such as Ronnie Edwards and Lewis Bate to utilise their skill set. Counter press has also been removed so we can keep our shape a bit better if we do lose possession. 

We had Liverpool next up in the EFL cup, couldn't be any more difficult really and my thoughts from the get go were damage limitation we employed the new tactic but went with a cautious mentality and the right wing back on attack just became a standard full back. They put our a fairly strong team including Van Dijk, Nunez and Harvey Elliot and it was too much for us to handle. 3-0 after 10 mins the damage limitation plan failed so I reverted back the changes made and it really did make a difference, we were much much better. We nicked a goal from a corner and that gave us some hope, that hope was dashed just before half time as Niall Ennis earned himself a straight red for a clumsy challenge. Game over from that point really, we did okay with 10 men to be fair and whilst the score line looks bad as it finished 5-2, the lads did me proud with their efforts.

Next up Portsmouth who were doing well in the league, above us by 1 point. We employed the new tactical set up from the start and were rewarding with a demolition job everybody barring that man Wouter Burger played well, Tezgel got a low match rating but that was because he missed a few chances, he general play was excellent, his off the ball movement created havoc for the defenders allowing our other attackers to flourish, a much improved performance. 

Lewis Bate has been awarded the 'Young player of the month' award for September, his performances nothing short of sensational and he has become a key member of the side since his arrival from Leeds. Another positive is he 'dedicated the award to his manager' which indicates the growing rapport between us, its a great sign that the key players we have signed are embracing our leadership which hopefully can foster a positive dynamic within the dressing room. A quick mention for Nathan Lowe as well as he won the Premier League U23 'Player of the month' award. He is now knocking on the first team door with his performances.

 

Finally to wrap up the month was a transfer deal, not your usual time of year to do a deal and I was surprised when the bid came in to be honest as its never really happened to me before at the end of September. The man is question is Wouter Burger and the deal is a fantastic one for us considering how awful he has been. We agreed a fee of £12 million, with £6 million up front and the rest split over 3 years. The deal wont go through until January so it feels like a win-win situation, I know he has been poor but we need the midfield numbers right now. I don't feel comfortable with the Bate and Corness pairing because we would then have an average midfield height of 5'7.

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 10:26 by danyates8

[danyates8]

OCTOBER-Beginning of a gruelling stretch 

October didn't get off to the best of starts, we are struggling with consistency right now, we still haven't put together 3 wins on the bounce in the league and that sort of inconsistent form wont see us fighting for the automatic promotion places. We are creating plenty and the attacking unit is playing their part but defensively we're really struggling. Oxford had only won 1 game in 5 prior so I anticipated they would come out fairly cautiously, I went with the more aggressive tactical approach which failed miserably, 3-0 down at the break we switched it up with a few substitutions alongside the more balanced tactic. The 2nd half performance was much improved and despite pushing for the equaliser we were unable to find it. 

Some more bad news after the game, influential midfielder Lewis Bate has suffered an injury in training after jumping for the ball. Dominic Corness will now be given the chance to impress and as you can see from the graphic above that's just what he did. Its good to know we can lose one of our most influential players of the season and his replacement can step in and perform to the same level. 

EFL Trophy up next and another opportunity for a selection of youngsters to impress. Michael Murray and Luke Badley-Morgan have both put in really solid performances when given the opportunity up to yet, they've both been in the goals and their defensive performances have been solid.  We cruised to a comfortable, morale boosting 4-0 victory with Dominic Corness finding himself on the scoresheet alongside providing an assist. 

A really tough fixture against Blackburn next up, relegated alongside us last season and interestingly they have had a similar start to us. Struggling for any consistency as well as conceding far more than expected. I went with the more balanced tactical approach and other than a moment of sheer quality from Wouter Burger, his first moment of real brilliance this season scoring a 23 yard thunderbolt, it was a scrappy affair with minimal chances created. Ronnie Edwards grabbed our 2nd of the game early in the 2nd half from a set piece for his first goal for the club and we were in complete control. Blackburn did grab a goal back with around 10 minutes to go but we managed to stay defensively secure for the rest of the game to seal a huge, satisfying win. 

We seem to have become far more defensively stable since we've started using the balanced tactic, I'm using the opposition reports to get an idea of the playing style of the opposition manager and the tactical styles they prefer to employ then use that information to figure out which approach we should take. In the long run this is something I'm hoping we will grow out of for lack of a better phrase. Ideally I want a tactical style we commit too and make the opposition worry about us but I was wary that our inconsistency this season would be the downfall in our attempts to gain automatic promotion. Its pleasing that we are being rewarded with being brave and not being scared to change it up, the next result backed those claims even further. Our best defensive performance of the season so far we restricted Blackpool to the odd long shot and nothing else. Ronnie Edwards has been excellent as you can see in the graphic, the £8 million fee will look like a bargain in a few years I'm almost certain. Scott Twine scoring his 3rd and 4th goals for the club and he looks to be settling in nicely.

Edited Tuesday at 21:15 by danyates8

[CameronFM]

A fellow blogger got lucky with Stoke avoiding the drop, but it was still a great save to follow - I’m really excited with this one given the drop to League 1!

As you mention, a terrific deal for Burger - that level of income after a relegation is going to be massive in squaring the books, what is your retention like?

[danyates8]

3 hours ago, CameronFM said:

A fellow blogger got lucky with Stoke avoiding the drop, but it was still a great save to follow - I’m really excited with this one given the drop to League 1!

As you mention, a terrific deal for Burger - that level of income after a relegation is going to be massive in squaring the books, what is your retention like?

Who is the blogger in question? Id be interested to give that a read. As it stands the retention is set to 0%. Not ideal for the transfer activity I want to conduct but as you say the Burger deal goes along way towards balancing the books so I imagine they would entertain a conversation to increase it. 

Thanks for following, really enjoying myself up to yet, doing the blog has given me new motivation I've not had for years surrounding the game. 

Edited Wednesday at 10:17 by danyates8

[danyates8]

BACK END OF OCTOBER-Putting together some form

With us having picked up some real good wins at the beginning of the month since we implemented the more balanced tactical approach I was now looking to really kick on and put together a good run of form, we had Bristol Rovers up next who had recently played themselves into some good form, they hadn't conceded for 3 games prior to our game. We went 1-0 up within 6 minutes, Scott Twine again finding himself on the score sheet, his 3rd in 2 games. However despite creating many chances we weren't able to find the scoresheet again and we conceded on the hour mark, we huffed and puffed but couldn't blow the door down and I was disappointed with the draw, our inconsistencies are still present.

There was some positive news after the next game surrounding dressing room mischief maker Ben Wilmot, to remind you earlier in the season he came to us with his concerns around the management teams lack of support from himself and the rest of the squad, I promised him things would improve and that has duly happened, however his actions a week later go to show you what sort of character we've go on our hands here. He went public again, this time with a plea to current Millwall manager to rescue him from his current nightmare at Stoke. I'm done with Wilmot, its now #1 priority to get him out of the door at the earliest opportunity, we need our 'Team Leaders' to set positive examples not this nonsense. His game time is now going to be limited barring any injuries or suspensions.

We got off to an absolute flyer against Shrewsbury, 2-0 up within 2 minutes I thought we could end up with a cricket score, however we took our foot off the gas, the mentality of this group isn't as cut throat as id like yet, we go down a goal our heads drop and we struggle, we get ourselves in a comfortable position and we allow the opponents back into the game. We aren't ruthless enough yet, I think we're too nice. Scott Twine found himself on the score sheet again, he has taken the goal scoring responsibility while Emre Tezgel has hit a dry spell, 4 games without a goal now but that shows how well he has started the season, 4 games isn't a reason to worry yet. 

We were correct not to worry because 16 minutes into the last game of the month against Carlisle, Tezgel found his goal scoring touch again, his 12th goal of the season. I'm really impressed with Tezgel so far to the point where I'm becoming slightly concerned if we will be able to keep in him the long term. It was more of the same really though when we look at the performance on the whole, another early goal but again we cant hold on.  On a positive note that does make it 5 games without defeat in the league, we are turning those early season losses into draws and I'm hopeful that we can develop those into wins, we've got to bear in mind the morale situation too, the managerial support from the squad is still in the red despite the team cohesion and club atmosphere being is a good spot. The uptick in form does coincide with Lewis Bate's injury, Dominic Corness started really well as his replacement but I'm finding the lack of physicality still a problem and with Wouter Burger [6ft3] now having a transfer arranged, Ben Wilmot [6ft2] performing public pleas to other managers we are in danger of letting the issue get out of control. 

We have hit 20 games at the club now and the media rather than highlighting the inconsistencies I believe we have shown have actually mentioned the decent recent form instead, they have also focused on our spending and I don't mind that at all. Ronnie Edwards has been truly excellent since his arrival, we miss him when he doesn't play which shows the big impact he is having at the club. I'm currently deliberating whether to make him our long term captain when Ben Wilmot leaves, I've gone back and forth on the decision whether to remove Wilmot as captain now but his happiness is now sitting around the 'okay' level whereas it was before it was 'very unhappy'. He is a 'team leader' and is apart of the core social group so I'm not willing to risk the morale of the squad just as we are building some form.

Edited Thursday at 14:42 by danyates8

[danyates8]

So my initial plan was to go into some statistical details around performance every 15 games in the league, the first update is going to be after 17 games in the league though because someone was a little to engrossed in their save! 

First up was easily our best attacking display of the season, we were absolutley devastating. Vidigal and Leris were at their best and even though the opponent wasn't the most challenging any 8-0 win in a competitive game is a seriously impressive achievement, this is the kind of ruthless attitude I'm after for the longer term. 17 year old Michael Murray had a superb game topped off with a 25 screamer, he is having important contributions in the cup games he has played so far and he is working his way into my first team plans.

Tough away game against Exeter next up and we managed a good 1-0 win, we were unlucky not to score more, their goalkeeper had a great game but what pleased me most was our defensive resilience, we dug in when we had to and came away with a well earned clean sheet. We have found clean sheets hard to come by so far in the league, that was only our 4th of the season which is not good enough and its an area we have to look to improve. Despite the lack of clean sheets performances on the whole have been good barring the Charlton game which at the moment is an anomaly. 

So to some stats now and after 17 games we are sitting in 2nd in the league, we've scored the most goals but our defensive performances are great at all. There doesn't seem to be a standout team this year who is going to run away with the league its looking like its going to be a real scrap even for play-off spots.

The defensive issues are illustrated well from the data above. We are high pressing, aggressive with our attacks whilst having plenty of the ball and keeping it well however our defence is leaky even though we concede less chances than average. I'm fairly certain I've already identified the problems that are creating these issues and I've mentioned them previously. Physicality and Morale, we've made early steps into improving morale by agreeing the transfer of Wouter Burger but for the short term that exasperates the physicality issue. I'm not convinced that he is fully committed to our cause anymore after his transfer arrangement and we know full well that Ben Wilmot has his focus elsewhere. 

I've got some recruitment focuses set up for a centre back and defensive midfielder, we haven't got much transfer budget left to work with and currently the retention from transfers is set at 0% so the only benefit we will see from that deal is towards the wage budget. That should give us enough scope to operate and hopefully bring in some committed reinforcements. 

One player from the defence who can hold their heads high is Ronnie Edwards. He has dealt with the pressure of the large transfer fee and performed to a consistent basis for us so far. Supremely talented on the ball it has even crossed my mind as to whether he could operate higher up the pitch as our 'deep lying playmaker'. A long term partner for him is next summers primary focus for me but I've not really initiated scouting yet because its not certain which division we'll be playing in.

Another young player who deserves a mention is Emre Tezgel, he is a fantastic finisher capable from both feet which is an excellent trait to have. He isn't the most active in the press and sometimes he defensive duties can be rather underwhelming however I'm not placing the blame for our defensive frailties on a 19 year old striker who is banging goals in for fun, if he carries on this trajectory he is looking at 30+ goals in all competitions this season and when you consider its his first full season in professional football we cant really ask for much more. The only real negative im feeling from Emre's impact is the lack of game time for Nathan Lowe. I'm leaning towards loaning Lowe out as I don't want to hinder his progression.

 

 

Edited Thursday at 15:52 by danyates8