Avoiding the rage quit at Boro

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I'm not convinced with the effectiveness of the counter approach by TBH, at least not with the players I have, so I'm replacing it on my match prep with cautious approach. If I get to the Premeir, then I'll be needing it on a regular basis.

Went to Leicester and played the cautious approach :D, Ok it was nailbiting stuff but I seem to remember in my last deleted attempt with the Boro that counter never really clicked.
 
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Well 20 games in and maybe Bruce Rioch would look at the table now. Could be better and could be worse. Had a few problems with Brighton who play a narrown 4-1-2-1-2, TBH's approaches are all narrow approaches bar the control approach, which I tried but could see that it was going to get me beat so I changed to cautious.
Fixtures so far:-

Just had a look at a few other stories and some read like comedy sitscoms. Don't expect too much of that here, this is basically therapy for me and seeing how long I can play without deleting. ;)
 
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Ok, there seems to be a problem uploading images to the site so I'll just have write. Ignore (Picture - inbox) as this is just a guidline for me where to insert my images.
There is also a problem viewing my uploaded images as well. Makes the reading a little incoherent, my apologies.
 
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DECEMBER 2011
FA Cup time and Boro have a home tie against the local team on ‘tuther’ side of the Tees, Hartlepool. Did you know that Cleveland County boasts that’s it’s a nuclear free zone, even when Hartlepool has a nuclear power plant !

Since the Brighton match the Boro are on a unbeaten run and keeping clean sheets, a good 2-0 win at home against Soton, 2-0 again away against Donny, Ipswich at home was too difficult a nut to crack ending 0-0.

And then on New Years Eve a cracking 1-0 win away from home at West Ham. We’ve now climbed into the play-offs, 4th placed and are 6 points behind Blackpool in 2nd.

The Transfer window fast approaches but with only £480k transfer money and £20k on the wage budget, little is going to happen. I have to decide who to offer a new contract…..done.

Barry Robson - I’ll have to let him go at the end of the season, his wages are too high for the Championship and he’s not good enough for the Premeir. I’ve opened up negotiations with Yaya Sanogo, keeping my fingers crossed there, a real bargain as a free. Also found Tom Soataers in Olympia Wijgmaal

He’s signing on a free on the 1st Jan, wish I’d found him sooner, natural fitness isn’t super but he looks good statistics wise as an inside forward.
As usual after every month, the report of who has been training good or bad comes in, I always take time to talk too those who have been underperforming in training. It amazes me that the youth players can at times deny they were rubbish, but they soon find out that I do not suffer fools gladly. Goodbye Shane Bland, contract cancelled after this conversation.

On a lighter note Yaya Sanogo is coming into form, winning the Player of the Month Award for December.

Still, he’s not my top scorer, Peter Magnusson with 8 goals leads the way. Boro are also top joint scorers with Ipswich when getting goals from corners, 8 each.
 
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JANUARY 2012
Yes ! Sanogo has signed. You can call me a wheeler dealer or just plain skinflint, but I don’t like paying out millions when I can snap ‘em up for free.
All good runs come to an end but I wish it was never at home, a poor performance, topped of with Jose Baxters’ suicidal pass giving Simon Church a free run at goal. Boro 1-2 Reading. SBC (****, Bollocks and ****).
Fa Cup 3rd Round, starts off really well and Boro take a 2 goal lead thanks to Yaya, but in true to life fashion, why make Hartlepool seem like a League One (why oh why can’t we say third division, that’s what it ****** well is isn’t it !) when you can make them look like AC Milan.

4th Round draw an away tie to Fulham or Leeds…uh, don’t fancy either of those.
I wasn’t planning on going for anybody in the transfer window, but Newcastle have put in a £2,2m bid in for Stephen ‘Mick’ McManus and it seems now I have to find a replacement - Cesar Arzo - I had him before and he’s quite useful, and of course he’s cheap.
Bristol City (home) - remembered last time I met them at Ashton Gate, we both managed to create a lot of chances, no different this time either, after 60% possession and 1-0 lead, we were pegged back almost immediately. Now I did something instinctively, cautious approach - something I use away from home or in the last 15 min, I used now, and how it worked !

Tom Soataers on the other hand hasn’t exactly impressed me (2 matches and an average of 6,55). Early days but maybe not one of my best buys

TRANSFER UPDATE
McManus rejects Newcastle - who can blame him ! And after leaving him out against Bristol he’s back in the side for Peterboro (away).

Another thumping good win and the Boro are chasing the the top two.
Not anything to do with my managerial career, but the bigger they are, the harder the fall.
And it’s Wolves who get past Spurs in the other semi, a good old meeting of 70’s heavyweights. Brilliant.
FA Cup 4th - Fulham away, Jose Baxter has returned to Everton, Scott McDonald is on the bench for the first time since 7th October. Boro line up with a cautious approach.

You know when some matches you just don’t want to watch, we take the lead against the run of play and then it’s shooting practice at the Alamo, with Jason Steele and his goal posts/bar as the target. Time for a soothing cup of tea.
We survive up too half time 1-0, but the defence can’t hold out 1-1 Ruiz and then Senderos gets sent off.

5th Round draw ………wait for it Man Utd at Old Trafford (I refuse to call the Theatre of Dreams).
And in true Boro form after a great result, a dire performance against bottom side Coventry at home 1-1.
End of January table
 
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FEBRUARY 2012
Another successful journey to the capital, Yaya is really finding his form, only setback is ‘Mick’ McManus is out for 6-7 weeks with a broken arm.
Forest at home was an easy 3-0 win, Sanogo is in a rich streak of form.
Too confident obviously, but I started with cautious at Portsmouth but to no avail 3-0 defeat and not much too write home about either. Terrible preparation for the up and coming FA Cup match at Man Utd. Still I’m 4th and 4 pts behind West Ham(2nd) after 31 games played.

Unsurprisingly a defeat in the Cup by a clear 3-0.
With the push to the automatic promotion place in danger of stalling, it’s a Yorkshire derby at Leeds. Now for the very young or non-British out there, before Thatcher came along and rearranged boundaries and counties so she could get more seats in parliament, Middlesbrough was the most northerly town in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Now we lie in the County of Cleveland, but Yorkshire County Cricket Club played one home match each season until 1996 at Acklam Park in Middlesbrough. We still count ourselves as Yorkshiremen.
And after my little local history lesson, the match result.
Now maybe a bit late, I’d thought I’d mention how I choose my sides on match day. I look at fitness levels, never below 92% and morale in the backbone of the side should be from fairly good and upwards. The backbone being GK- 2DC- DMC- 2MC-ST.
Teamtalks - Since Mark Venus is good at Man Management (17) and motivation (17) I let him do the team and I give individual talks as seen below.
Well in this match I was at my clueless best, started off with standard but after the first half with roughly 60% possession but Burnley had more chances, I go to control(attack) approach - Burnley create even more and go up 1-0. Against all logic I go to the only approach left - cautious and win 2-1 - how did I do that ? You would think that attack would have been best but who am I to know how these things work ?
The cold month of February has been and gone, Sanogo wins an award.

 
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Now all the images are missing on the first page, I won't carry on the story until this is fixed.
 
I think the missing pics is an issue related to the server migration-think it's being looked at. Wouldn't worry too much
 
I forgot to present my coaching staff, so better late than never. I don’t have any first team coaches or youth coaches, preferring that my coaches train both squads. Due to wage budget restrictions some coaches train several schedules.
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*** manager Mark Venus - trains Attacking and Shooting (Att 17, Tac 10, Tec 13)
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Nick Grantham trains both strength and aerobic (fitness 15)
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Stephen Pears trains both shot stopping and handling (goalkeepers 19)
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John Murtough trains ball control (mental 14, tech 19)
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Colin Cooper trains tactics (tactics 15)
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Dave Parnaby trains defending (def 20, tactics 15)​
 
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MARCH 2012
Begins with a tough away match against league leaders Blackpool, the home side were slightly better but we come away with a point after 1-1. Bad news injury wise is that Elias Hernández is out for 5-6 months with a broken leg, which is a bummer since he has 27 apps, 7 goals, 9 assists and an average 7,09.
Watford at home, 2-2 and what a rollercoaster game, went down 1-0, great comeback to 2-1 and then lost two points with 3 mins to go. Derby away next
Disappointing draw against Brum at home, disappointing due to the fact that we were in the lead 1-0, but Blackpool have dropped points lately and now we are equal on 67 pts, ‘Pool have 4 goals better in goal difference. Cardiff away next game, now with only 9 games left in the season the decision is whether to go for it away from home or to go cautious.
Glad my 7 year old is downstairs at the neighbours as Boro play terrible and my swearing knows no ends. Cardiff 3 Boro 1. SBC !
Frustrating this is Leicester 0-0 but it’s exciting for the neutral if you look at the table.
But Rhys Williams, by far my most versatile player (can play DR, DC, DMC and MC) is out for 3-4 weeks with a pulled hamstring.
Remaining fixtures
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Emergency Loan of Vaagan-Moen for 3 months.
And now for the first time in this saved game, if it hadn’t of been for the story I would have deleted the file when Palace took the lead 1-0. And again when we went 2-1 down. Still got back to 2-2 and with 6 games left I’m 2pts behind 2nd placed Blackpool. But now Sanogo is out for 6-7 weeks with a fractured wrist. Sometimes you just feel like the game is taking the micky, I mean 5 first team players out for the rest of the season……..sod off.
 
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just a wee reminder that when the server decides to find my uploaded pics and lets me up load some more then I'll fill in the annoying gaps.
 
APRIL 2012
Barnsley next, funny how they never call this a derby match when Barnsley are in Yorkshire like us. I’m not used to being in this situation, every other time I’ve managed the Boro (before rage quitting, mind you rage quitting is not solely limited to my beloved Boro, oh no really ? you say amazed) I’ve been sitting comfortably top of the Championship.
Nicky Bailey has a finishing attribute of 15, can’t we change that to a ‘always hit the goalkeeper’ 20.
You sometimes wonder if the game realizes that it needs to encourage you a bit more, 3-0 up after 15 mins certainly made my spirits higher.
On a sad note, one of my favourite players Faris Haroun, who has played so-so and his morale has been rubbish the last 2 months - hence no playing time, has put in a transfer request. Now I might be taking this a little bit personally, but when a player says he wants to go, he’s in the reserves before he can say ‘Jack Robinson’ and offered to clubs just as quickly.
A gutsy performance and some brilliant counter attacking football, 4-1 win away at Hull. The promotion race hots up.
And after a good performance……a **** one, barely getting 1-1 at home to Brighton. Three games to go now, Soton (away), Donny (home), Ipswich (away). One win would guarantee a play-off place, but I’m only two points behind Blackpoll in 2nd.
A real nailbiter at St Marys but the Boro juggernaut keeps on rolling. Win 2-1.
Good win at home 2-0 against Donny. Here are the last fixtures of the season.

 
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And here we go, Ipswich at Portman Road, a long round trip for the team and supporters. Even if we win today, it could still be the play-offs or promotion or even the title. You can’t write it better than this.
9 mins Soton 1 Blackpool 0 (Barnard, L)

11 mins Soton 1 Blackpool 1 (Phillips, K)

33 mins West Ham 1 Forest 0 (Nolan, K)

37 mins Ipswich 0 Boro 1 (McDonald, S)

38 min West Ham 2-0 (Carew, J)

39 min goal disallowed for offside against Boros’ McDonald.

Half Time W Ham 2 Forest 0, Soton 1 Balckpool 1, Ipswich 0 Boro 1. League standings, West Ham 86pts, Blackpool 85, Boro 85. (Blackpool have +31, Boro +28)

54 mins Emnes for the Boro 2-0 . Come on the lads !

72 min West Ham 3-0 (Carew, J)

74 min Soton 1 Blackpool 2 (Ferguson, B) no, no, no, !

79 min Blackpool 3-1

Full Time and it’s the play-offs that’s beckoning.
Steele wins the Young Player of the Month Award for April.
 
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MAY 2012
First leg of the play-off against Watford away
It’s of course a little bit early to be thinking about it, but if the Boro don’t get to the Premeir, then I’ll have to sell off the big earners and look for bargains. We are well in debt, which I must say is unusual, I’ve kept under budget all the time and the Boro are still running at a £2m deficit this season.
0-0 at the Riverside and so on to Wembley to meet Reading in the play-off Final.
We haven’t beaten Reading in the two previous meetings. 1-2, 0-0.
So it’s match time. Line ups
Yes, Sanogo is fit to play since being injured and 15 mins in 1-0. Come on Boro ! Yaya ! Yaya !
70 mins and Yaya strikes again ! 2-0
The Premeirship here we come​
 
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PRE-SEASON
Well now the planning time arrives. Boro will not have too much money to spend, so it’s free transfers, bargain buys and promising players I’m on the lookout for. If we don’t manage to stay up then I’ll still have a good inexpensive (wage wise) side in the Championship. At this point the “planning me”, does not take into account the “rage quit me”, if I did the I wouldn’t talk about relegation because I would have deleted long before then.
The initial budgets are set, £250k/week in wages and £20,27m in transfers.
So where do I need to strengthen ?
GK - Steele is a star in the Championship and can be good in the Prem. Still need a back-up or someone to challenge for his place.
DL - Joe Bennett has potential but rarely fulfills this. A good left back is needed
DC - McManus and R.Williams are good but I need another at least.
DR - Hoyte is good enough but could do with another.
DMC - R.Williams, Thomson, Geremi
MC - Thomson and then just a load of nearly good enoughs.
AML - Emnes - need to find quality here
AMR - Hernández, Kink
ST - Sanogo, McDonald - need one other
I’ll strengthen my coaching staff with one goalkeeping coach, one fitness and an attack or shooting coach - again not too many in case we go back down.
 
TRANSFERS IN
Chris McCann (DM,MC) from Burnley for £1,3m and Ryan Bennett (DC) from Peterboro’ for £1m
New fitness coach Adie Stovell (fitness 18) , a goalie coach Jason Pearcey (goal 20) and Neil Ardley (attack 14, tactic 16)
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I’ve now adjusted the budgets to £350k wages and £13m transfers. At the moment the scouting range hasn’t been altered so I can’t scout players outside of Europe.
Alexander Dragovic (DC,DM) from Basel for £2,7m in.
View attachment 228201
Jan Lecjaks (DL) from Young Boys for £850k. and of course Yaya (ST)on a free.
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JULY 2012
IN - Jerson Cabral from Feyenoord (AML/R) for £2,4m
SEASONS GOAL - avoid relegation (and of course rage quitting - which isn’t easy since a lot of these games, the Boro will have no chance at all) The tactics I have now are standard, counter and cautious counter á la TBH (The Better Half).
I’m offered a new contract and I gladly accept.

TRANSFER UPDATE
IN - Rade Prica (ST) signs from Rosenborg for £850k, Peter Pekarik (DR) £850k from Wolfsburg.
OUT - Jonathan Franks to Soton for £1m

As usual I get carried away when I’ve been buying in, (possibly) too many new players.
Friendlies about to start Vitesse (home). A good solid win 2-0, goals from the new boys (hardly surprisingly, with so many !) R, Bennett and Prica.
Alloa Ath (away) 2-0 win Prica (pronounced ‘Preacher’ in Swedish) 2 goals.

Right lets look at the squad again
GK - Steele, I’m looking for a loan goalie as a back-up or someone to challenge for his place.
DL - Joe Bennett. Jan Lecjaks(new) - on many wonderkid lists
DC - McManus and R.Williams. NEW - Ryan Bennett and Dragovic are young but have excellent stats.
DR - Hoyte. NEW - Pekarik.
DMC - R.Williams, Thomson, Geremi, NEW - Dragovic and McCann
MC - Thomson and then just a load of nearly good enough. NEW McCann, maybe another loanee.
AML - Emnes - NEW - Cabral maybe one more AML with right foot
AMR - Hernández, Kink - NEW - Cabral
ST - Sanogo, McDonald - NEW - Prica

TRANSFER UPDATE - Luís Guilherme (GK) signed on loan for the season, cost £0, wages £525/week.
Dortmund (home) 1-1 Bailey (pen), only problem was that Cabral and Geremi were carried off in the first half.


Now before the season starts I put up partial goals for the team (purely in my head), this is so I don’t get frustrated with losing a lot. The first goal will be 10 pts.
In training Rade Prica seems to ba walking disaster as he injures both Cameron Park and Dragovic in one session.

 
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AUGUST 2012
TRANSFER UPDATE
IN - Fredrico Macheda on loan (cost £0) for the season. I’ve also put a bid to bring back James Morrison from West Brom for £1,6m.
The friendlies finished off and some pretty good results.
TRANSFER UPDATE - West Brom ask for £1,6m and then decide to ask for £3,2m. Don’t like getting farted about like that, so James will have to wait to come back home.
First game of the season starts off with Spurs at home. 3-0 defeat and this is going to be a long season, mind you I had 6 new signings in the first eleven. Now an easy away game against Man Utd.
Half time at Old Trafford, 4-0 to Man Utd, and I start to question how much fun is this game when it’s so realistic. Final score 6-0. Great fun this game isn’t it ?
I had chats with everbody under 6.0, saying that their effort wasn't good enough, several players disagreed, I fined them and only one complained again. Unfortunately the player I thought was a bargain wants to be transferred after just 2 games, now he’s sitting in the reserves and won’t be playing for me unless he crawls back and kisses my boots. The player - Rade Prica.
August finishes with a struggling win against Leeds(away) 3-2(ET) in League Cup.
 
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