Recent content by Danneskjold

The best laid plans of mice and me... Gaffer: "...or go to **** in a hand basket. Thoughts?" Kieran: "I like it. Rolling the dice a bit but..." Adam: "I can go along with it as long as the results aren't too bad." Connal: "You're nuts." Gaffer: "Your..." Connal: "We know." Gaffer...

Friendlies, Tactics and What the **** Just Happened... There is a problem with beating up on the Little Sisters of the Poor. It tells you nothing about your team or your own ability as a manager. In hindsight, 1-0 results against Seaham and Billingham Synthonia might have been a bit of a red...

Camp Footymad Connal, Kieran, Adam and I brought in everyone we knew to assemble a staff. I was pleased. I'll introduce them to you later. Players. The staff got on the phones to every Wannabe and Hasbeen they had ever associated with and invited them to Scarborough for a month long open...

Trimming the fat... Kieran Mitchell was appointed Scarborough U23's Manager in 2029. I was 14. Continental Pro License, bags of knowledge and an unmatched ability to motivate. He's all that's left of the previous staff. I could ask for no better. Connal Butts was a friend from the youth...

When I was considering the position Dr. du Sautoy asked just the kind of question I needed to hear. "What's the most important number in that level of football?" My answers were all wrong, Goal Differential or Points being perhaps the closest. "Attendance." Basically what it comes down to and...

'Math will always be there for you. It's actually a huge part of the game. A career in football? Those opportunities don't come along that often.' I was surprised to hear Dr. du Sautoy say that. Perhaps not as much as you would think, but still surprised. His classes were as fascinating as a...

Just an average Joe... named Joe. I never really imagined walking into a football club as a manager. Even at Flanagan's Onions I always saw myself as more player than manager. It was just a group of youngsters pulling on a kit and doing something they loved. Scarborough Athletic? This is a...

Friends, Roman and Countrymen... 24 September 2011 – Emirates (Dry, 19°) It’s back to the Emirates for a London derby and a chance to put our season on the right track against a good Chelsea side. Chelsea are missing Terry, Malouda, Anelka and Kalou. We won’t be able to call on Popov who is...

Old School versus Oldham 20 Sepember 2011 – Boundary Park, Oldham (Dry, 14°) After two tough losses we head to Oldham for our League Cup intro. This will be a day for our second eleven to pick us up. This is a matchup for the old First Division almost 100 years back. Fun for the historians...

Manchester Untied Us 17 September 2011 – Old Trafford, Manchester (Drizzle, 21°) A grey afternoon in Manchester as the Gunners face the first test of the campaign. We are missing Popov and long term injuries Wilshire and Ramsey. Manchester United won’t have the services of back two Vidic...

Aspirin, please. 13 September – BayArena, Leverkusen (Gusty, 12°) Our Champions League campaign begins in earnest on a windy night in Germany. Leverkusen are a solid side led by Simon Rolfes and Michael Ballack, an old adversary from Chelsea’s run a few years back. We welcome Bacary Sagna...

Everton 10 September 2011 – Emirates (Dry, 24°) A warm sunny afternoon at the Emirates as we try to pick up our first home win. This is never an easy task against Everton and I have to admit I admire David Moyes and the sides he fashions year after year on a shoestring. Today our task is...

Champions League Draw Group A Milan Chelsea Ajax Otelul Group B R. Madrid Lyon Partizan Kobenhavn Group C Arsenal Leverkusen CSKA Moscow Udinese Group D FC Porto Valencia Lille Trabzonspor Group E Bayern Zenit Rangers Haifa Group F Inter Olympiakos Shakhtar BATE Group G Barcelona...

Not my Friend! 27 August 2011 – Reebok Stadium, Bolton (Dry, 11°) A nice night in Bolton and a winnable game. Victory will keep us on target for 79 pts. I don’t want to pressure the lads by telling them this is a must, but it is. We can’t drop points like we did to a solid Aston Villa team...

**** Bendt for Somewhere I had asked Vitor Pereira at Porto to make me an offer for Nicklas Bendtner and he didn’t disappoint. £14.5m would let me start to rebuild the transfer kitty and add a few pieces. It was more than twice what I expected. My scouts had unearthed a solid 5th striker...