Bouncebackability: "The ability to bounce back or recover from bad circumstances"

[Edd2020]

January 2029 - May 2029

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18 years old, already pretty good but looks like a prospect and will go out on loan for the rest of the season to Troyes.

Having received a bid of £8m for Soonsup-Bell, I up Beijing to £29.5m thinking they will turn it down...they don’t. He’s been one of our best players in the last few seasons, so only time will tell whether selling him turns out to be a good move or not, but it does bolster the kitty and we still have Stewart.

And we use some of that money to bring in a replacement for Soonsup-Bell, with Dutch U21 International Jens Jansen coming in for a fee of £12m.

And he gets a goal on his debut…

The facilities and the staff have just kept getting better and pestering the board regularly really is paying off as I’ve managed to persuade them to fork out on both the training & youth facilities again to be completed before the end of the season. This is really starting to feel like progression.

Oduor was an Oldham youth product, but a natural winger and not really a fit for the 4-3-2-1 we’re currently playing, so Brentford’s bid of £18.5m, rising to £21.5m, is too good to turn down. After 'board deductions’ that leaves us with £20m in the transfer kitty which is nice.

After 81 league games, although never really much more than a bit-part player, Herbie Kane leaves for pastures new. He’s just not been able to match the quality of new players coming in.

Having spent the whole transfer window trying to find a suitable centre-back, which we couldn’t, Benkovic is brought in on loan for the rest of the season. The knock-on effect of this is that Abadaki can move into one of the carrilero roles, which is much more suited to him and we can continue to look for a decent centre-back for the longterm.

That was a much busier transfer window than I was anticipating. Mostly not good enough kids and loans out, but Soonsup-Bell & Oduor are the big out transfers.

...yup, that’s what I thought.

FA Cup - A really tough third round draw and after scoring two in two minutes at the death to salvage a draw, I did think the luck was with us. We pushed them in the replay, but the extra quality showed in the end.

Championship - Those first 3 games in April probably put paid to the chances of a ridiculously unlikely automatic promotion. We are the only team of the top six who have not been in the Premier League this time which shows the challenge at hand.

Our 94 points would have been good enough to win the league last year and would have got us automatic promotion in every other season so far, but it’s a record season for us - 10 more wins than last season, 4 fewer draws and 6 fewer losses. 10 more goals scored, 15 fewer conceded.

Blackburn’s run of wins at the end of the season really did for us and pushed us out of the top two where we had been pretty much all season.

...playoffs, here we come...

 

[Edd2020]

May 2029 - playoffs

We’ve drawn 1, won 1 against Derby this season so over a two legged tie, I’m optimistic.

That was a pretty low quality game and Gaspar’s 30 yard strike really was the only high point. That feels like a missed opportunity and, to make it worse, Flynn’s injury is a broken foot and keeps him out for 3 months.

Newcastle overcome a 1-0 deficit to win their leg 3-1 on aggregate.

Another 30 yard screamer and another entirely ineffectual performance from us. If I’m being honest, between those two games, we didn’t deserve to get anything out of them - two really poor performances. Between the losses at the end of the season and these games, we really bottled it when we needed to step up. It is telling that we have one of the poorest leadership ratings in the league.

A very short-lived attempt at the playoffs there but, overall, the team have done brilliantly. I’m still a bit annoyed that our 94 points would have won us the league last year.

GK:

Vickers is our mainstay and that’s another season under his belt. 7 seasons and 313 appearances and no sign of slowing down...he has a great shout for being my best signing. Cuffaut-Lachor has been the cup keeper and played a couple of other games, but he could be ready to step into the first choice if needed.

DEF:

Quansah, Kennedy, Doyle and Benkovic have rotated the centre-back partnerships. Quansah in particular, has been key to our success and popped up with some goals. Montes’ value has risen to £8.5m having been signed on a free 2 seasons ago, but won;t be going anywhere. Borthwick-Jackson & Bainbridge have been solid, if not spectacular, in the left-back position.

MID:

​

Abadaki has been moved into a central midfield position and has been playing carrliero, along with Flynn, Emery and Kone. Davenport & Flanagan have played the more defensive role in the middle of the park. There aren’t enough natural carrilero’s in this group if we want to stick with this set of roles, which I think we do, as it has been successful over the season.

AM:

Helm has had something of a resurgence and its showed in his goal return. Wilson & Cain have been solid and Henrique has lacked consistency and a big game temperament unfortunately. He has the stats in all the right place, but can’t seem to get it right on the pitch.

ST:

Jansen has more than filled Soonsup-Bell’s shoes and we’re not missing him at the moment. Between he and Layton ‘Mr Reliable’ Stewart we are well stocked for strikers.

The players who have been out on loan are a mix of promising youngsters getting first team experience and un-wanted players and it’s a bit hit and miss who will end up making it.

 

[Edd2020]

June - July 2029
​

9th June means the transfer window opens, and we bring in two players:

Mulenda is bought in for £4.5m from PSV, which is a bit of a coup for us - he was wanted by bigger clubs and his leadership addresses one of our weaknesses.

Sinclair was transfer listed by Chelsea and comes in to be loaned out again. He could be a player in due time. That brings our seasons spending to £18m, which is a record for us.

The first team players who we could look to lose over the summer are Borthwick-Jackson, who is struggling to be good enough in the league and Kone who is just not suited to the carrilero role I want him to play.

That season had a record average attendance - 12,698 which is only 900 off capacity which is pretty good going.

Due to the limited funds provided by the board, the first team is on a strict 1 in, 1 out policy this summer.

Kone is dropped into the U23s and transfer listed - he’s replaced with Gutierrez and, whilst central midfield isn’t his preferred role, he’s a far better option than Kone was. Gutierrez was signed for £50k and has spent loan time at Southend and Charlton. This is a step up, but I think he’ll be okay.

Having been a good squad rotation option, others just overtook Cy Goddard in terms of quality. After 179 league games, he leaves with my blessing.

The end of the transfer window is incredibly frustrating as we miss out on 6 targets who all move to other cubs after we made our bid...gazumped.

But...we do have to bring in a loan keeper as Vickers is ruled out for 5 months with a knee injury. Rajkovic is a very good stop gap choice.

The other player we bring in, as a direct replacement for Borthwick-Jackson, is transfer listed Logan Pye who comes in from Brentford. Borthwick-Jackson has 2 years left on his contract and Pye is 6 years younger and a definite upgrade, so this seems like a good piece of business.

We’ve got 2 bona-fide wonderkids in the squad now - striker Jansen could push to be first choice striker this season. Antonio is currently in the development squad, but he’s the reason I’m not too bothered about the vultures circling around Montes at the moment...not that he’ll be allowed to go cheap.

...hmmnnn...

 

[Edd2020]

August 2029 - December 2029
​

The transfer windows are becoming increasingly difficult to get through without losing players, or having them distracted by better teams. Speaking of which, the board accept a £29m bid for right-back Montes. I would usually be pretty annoyed at this, but it just so happens that I have a wonderkid in the wings ready to come in.

What I am annoyed about is that only £4m ends up in the transfer kitty.

But, the final day of the transfer of the window is the one that almost causes me to quit as the board agree to sell 20yr old Emery for, to be fair, a significant fee of £40m...rising to £50m...but only £800k is added to the budget. I would rather have kept him.

It does leave us a central midfielder down, so Tom Emberson, with Championship experience, is signed from a free, on a 2 year deal. He will do as a stop gap with no viable alternative in the reserves or youth set-up. I also go to the board to ask them to up the amount of transfer revenue to be added to the transfer budget...which they refuse to do. My mood is not improved.

We seem to have found a particularly rich seam of quality right backs, and Guob is the latest in line of our potentially world class options for that position. The 19 year old is first team ready, but is out for a work permit.

The players out have been a mix of youngsters who haven’t progressed (Loeffen, Murray, David and Abdullahi), players who have been left behind by the first team (Goddard), a range of loans and those two very large transfers of Montes & Emery. The £69m earned this year is a record, though and up £20m on last year.

We are slowly moving up the wage list.

Even though the money has not gone into the transfer budget, I do push the board to improve the youth level and the training facilities...which they do.

Oh, it’s the good old golden generation of a youth intake. Time will tell, but a good central midfielder would be very welcomed.

Carabao Cup - Having just scraped past League 1 Nottingham Forest, we comfortably dispatch Port Vale but just don’t do enough against Hull and only make the scoreline look semi-respectable in the last minute. Not good enough.

Championship - This has been the first half of the season that we threatened at the end of last season. 20 year old wonderkid Jansen has propelled us to the top in fine fashion, but every single player has played a valuable part. Overall, we have been outstanding and the younger players in particular have really stood up and been counted. The formation, with the 2 carrilero’s seems to be playing to our strengths with Antonio, Brooking, Pye, Bainbridge and Borthwick-Jackson offering the width from full-back positions.

​

We surely can't blow it from this position?

New signing from PSV, Mulenda, is really too good for this team so we need to take advantage and push on this season. Jansen, my most valuable player at £15.5m, has been first choice striker and leads the club charts with 17 goals, which puts him second in the league charts. Left-back Pye and attacking midfielder Cain jointly lead the assists. Quansah, in his 9th season at the club has been as consistent as ever.

In terms of poor performances, Henrique has had two and a half seasons to impress me and has failed miserably. I think his chance has gone, especially as we have N’Diaye returning from loan who plays in the same position. Emberson was only really signed as cover for the midfield and Brooking and Kennedy really only offer bit-part or injury cover.

Rajkovic was signed on loan to cover Vickers injury, but has performed reasonably. His contract is up in the summer, so some thought is being given to signing him on a free.

N’Diaye, Caparros and Guob all return from loans in January. N’Diaye will replace Henrique, who will be transfer listed, with the other two going back out on loan.

18 year old attacking midfielder Ibrahim looks like he good be a player but will benefit from first team football as will 20 year old Sinclair. Rodriguez, Walker and Fior are all 21 and probably now never going to be good enough to make the breakthrough and at risk when they return from being on loan.

 

[andy_14clark]

Cracking story. Why though were you only given £800k of a £40m sale? How bad are the clubs finances for that to be so low?

 

[Edd2020]

Cracking story. Why though were you only given £800k of a £40m sale? How bad are the clubs finances for that to be so low?

Yeah - it was a weird one. We were in debt, but not horribly and it was only when they said I could have £800k I went to look at the transfer budget retained figure and it was at 5% which I'd never noticed before. Since then (after the first time) I've asked the board to increase this at every opportunity and have asked for training/youth facilities to be upgraded which they have done every time, so the money must still be somewhere!!

 

[Edd2020]

January 2030 - May 2030

Including August/September last year, that’s another transfer window where we have made a shedload of money - that’s £14m, £24.5m, £45.5m and £73m in the last 4 windows...and barely any of it has been put back into the budget, but we have massively improved facilities, so I suppose there is that.

In: Two early door signings and both prospects for the future. Both go on the loan list.

Out: I make a ****-up in relation to N’Diaye’s contract as I forget to renew it with him being out on loan so often. Chinese side Henan come in and approach to sign him offering a ridiculous wage of £64k which we can’t match so I have to sell him early to get some money in. His games have been mostly on loan trying to et him to a place where he can play regular Championship games for us, but oh well.

Welsh attacking midfielder Harri Conlan is promoted from the under 23s to replace him.

And, after 3 seasons of mediocrity, we accept a bid for Henrique from Nottingham Forest. Knowing my luck, he’ll now turn into Ronaldinho, but he just wasn’t consistent enough for me.

And then, after the transfer window closes, Montpellier come in with a bid for centre-back Doyle. He was only ever back-up, so £4.5m with add-ons is not a bad fee, especially with ready-made replacement and new signing Cesar just come in.

The Chinese teams are desperate for players - we reject bids for Flynn, Cain, Vickers, Quansah and Stewart...leading to mass unhappiness in the ranks, which coincides with poor performances in January with a heavy defeat at Bournemouth, followed by a loss at the league leaders, Aston Villa.

Nothing to write home about.

FA Cup - Comfortable 3rd and 4th rounds were almost topped off with a 5th round ‘giantkilling’ but Newcastle scored once in normal time injury time and then again in extra time injury time to knock us out. That was frustrating as we fail to hold on to the lead….twice.

​

Championship - After 5 years of steady-ish progression, decent signings and investment in the facilities, promotion is achieved with 4 games to spare. Ridiculously, we only managed one more point than last season, have lost more games and had a worse goal difference!! Overall though, what a season that has been, despite the shellacking on the last day of the season. I’m going to put that down to complacency.

Mulenda, for a fee of £4.5m looks an absolute steal and his 9 goal return is ridiculous. He’s wanted by a number of Premier League clubs, but since we’ll be with them next season, he’s not going anywhere.

Stewart and Jansen have picked up the bulk of the goalscoring duties and Helm has his best scoring season of his career. Jansen & Antonio are both labelled as wonderkids and I’m hoping their values will rocket when we step up a league.

A lot of nagging has led to some upgrades, so we now have excellent training facilities, great youth facilities and exceptional junior coaching and youth recruitment, so I’m looking forward to that coming to fruition.

The board have also provided £50m to bolster the squad ahead of the challenge to stay in the Premier League. I think the priority has to be a keeper, a very good centre-back and ideally a defence minded central midfielder...all tough asks.

Charlton are the team who end up triumphing in the playoffs and join us and Norwich in the big league next year.

I don’t want to disrupt the squad by overhauling it, but this could be a busy summer.

 

[Edd2020]

June 2030 - July 2030

Having said I wasn't going to overhaul the squad, the temptation to build with s very healthy transfer budget is difficult to turn down, but not all signings are first team ready. Lerda is signed from Juventus. He’s equally as good in the Carrilero role, but may need a couple of season’s development.

On paper, McFarlane is an upgrade on both Vickers and Cuffaut-Lachor, but it’s difficult to tell until we get him in the team. He’s been back-up keeper at Chelsea for 9 seasons, so he should have the pedigree. The board and fans seem reasonably happy.

Torres adds to the Spanish contingent at the club and joins as the third Spaniard and wonderkid at the club. This will mean a bit of a rejig in the structure though.

£90m for TV revenue and an immediate visit to the board to improve the youth facilities pays off and a stadium expansion, to 16,453. Still not huge, but we’re getting there!!

Sangalli comes straight into the first team in one of the Carrilero roles as Davenport leaves and Abadaki moves into a more defensive role.

Marin & Ludwig are both potential prospects and will be placed on loan.

Thompson has come in on a free from Man Utd. He’s a bit more attack minded than Bainbridge, but could do with a loan spell.

Spanish keeper Daniel Martin comes in for a fee of £18m and is probably our first genuine ‘proper’ Premier League signing. His £65k a week makes him comfortably our top earning player, but he’s on a long contract with extension, and he will be first choice for a while.

Keeper done…

After 236 league games, 7 seasons, 13 goals and a number of assists, Jake Cain is subject to a bid that is - frankly - too good to refuse. Potentially, it leaves us with a gap in the MC role, but Emberson can come back into the first team although we are looking for a new signing.

There is not a lot of value in the market for centre-backs, which is now our most pressing position, so it’s either pay over the odds for a recently relegated defender, or take a gamble on an unproven option.

It’s a very young squad and there are a lot of players that are only recommended as good, or decent Championship level players and these are the ones that are going to have to be phased out in time but the squad that’s going to make embark on the mission to survive in the Premier League is as follows:

GK:

In goal, new signing Martin will be first choice. Neither of our keepers from last season survived as Vickers isn’t good enough to make the step up and Cuffaut-Lachor ended up going to Birmingham

RB:

Antonio is one of the wonderkids in the squad and, when fit, first choice. Time will tell whether Brooking is able to make the step up, but I suspect his days are numbered.

CB:

Mulenda looks like an inspired signing from last season and will be the starting centre-back along with Quansah probably, but we are still looking to strengthen and have the finances to do so.

LB:

This is definitely a spot that is up for grabs. Pye is the more attacking outlet on the left hand side and better going forward and Bainbridge a reasonable second choice, but vulnerable if good options become available.

MC:

The top 3 players - Flynn, Abadaki, Emberson are likely to be the starting 3 in midfield, although Gutierrez’s creativity and ability to strike from distance makes him dangerous. He did well last season, so we will see. Flanagan/Abadaki are the more defensive minded players in the middle of whichever three that turns out to be.

AMC

Helm scored 15 goals from AM last season, so it will be interesting to see if he can carry this form into the Premier League. Otherwise, Wilson and wonderkid Torres are strong options with Welsh youngster Conlon appearing to have all the right stats on paper and room to improve.

ST

It could be tough to choose the starting striker out of these two, but Jansen probably gets the edge. He’s the better striker, but Stewart appears to be the more consistent - time will tell, but both seem pretty reasonable.

And this actually doesn’t compare too badly with the rest of the league, with only our midfield vision being worst in the league, which is not too bad - although clearly, who knows how this will actually turn out.

But in stark contrast, our staff lead the league in a number of coaching areas. Our ability to recruit decent goalkeeping coaches has been severely hampered by lack wages for coaching staff, but I’m hoping this will now improve, along with the ability to bring physios in.

 

[MidKnightDreary]

What's your backroom staff building strategy?

 

[Edd2020]

What's your backroom staff building strategy?

It's easier the further you go, but basically:

1/ Ask the board for extra coaches at every opportunity - and if you can find their weak spot, use it. I discovered with this board that when they refused and I responded with 'But we'll be left behind our rivals', they always caved in!!

2/ Have coaches doing as few schedules as possible.

3/ Prioritise Determination, Discipline & Motivation for the mental stats.

4/ As soon as you have enough coaches, have them doing one schedule.

5/ Send them on coaching courses!!

I'm a bit further on now, but my comparison and schedule are below.

​

So - Jedi (actually Mile Jedinak) has been chosen to only take the Defending-Tactical training because that's where his attributes are best. If I allocate him to Defending-technical, it drops to 4 stars...which is still pretty good, to be fair.

 

[Edd2020]

August 2030 (Back to monthly updates)

The pre-season has gone unbelievably well, although not against the most taxing of opposition, it has to be said and the opening fixture list has not been too unkind, although starting with an away game is not ideal...BUT, after so long out of the Premier League, it’s hard to be fussy!!

Possibly not surprisingly, all 11,056 season tickets get sold out. We also appear to have made £3.4m in TV revenue just for the first game which bodes well.

Harwood-Bellis was relegated with Sheffield United last season, so this could be the kiss of death for us, but the desire to strengthen at the back means that he comes in and is one of our better defenders almost immediately. A record transfer for the club at £32m.

With League 1 Walsall drawn in the Carabao Cup.

West Ham (a) - Premier League - Welcome to the Premier League lads. Actually, not a bad performance there but beaten by a player worth £77m with 35 England caps and 46 goals in 111 league games for West Ham. this is what we’re up against. Honourable mention to Martin in goal who kept it down to 2.

Leicester (h) - Premier League - The most unlikely of goalscorers sets us on the way as right-back Antonio opens his account. We make very hard work of it after that, until pushing on late on when Torres sealed the victory on the counter attack.

Norwich (h) - Premier League - One of the teams promoted with us, so even at this early stage, very much a must win game to get points off those likely to be around us at the wrong end of the table. Jansen opens his account for the season, but it took some drastic tactical changes at half-time to secure that one.

Walsall (h) - League Cup 1st Rd - It's almost all change and it shows as we struggle to put 2 passes together and, deservedly, lose the game on penalties.

Southampton (a) - Premier League - We had the chances to make an impact in that game but they just fell to the wrong players as Jansen and Helm missed very presentable opportunities. Disappointing result overall, but once again, Premiership quality showed up...just not for us.

A very decent opening month and we have every right to be happy with that. Spurs have started on a shocker though and find themselves bottom of the league. They were only 6 points above the relegation zone last season and don’t appear to have improved.

 

[Edd2020]

September 2030

Well, we’re not at the bottom of the commercial income list, but we’re not far off…

In:

Torres - the wonderkid attacking midfielder has already started to prove his worth and that could be a bargain.
Thompson - A young left-back bought in for the future. Attempted to loan out without success, so will be in the U23s.
Sangelli - Another youngster, but a natural Carrilero which was required. Only 19 but is in and around the first team.
Martin - the goalkeeper, expensive signing, but a Premier League level one and needed.
Harwood-Bellis - Club record signing from recently relegated Sheffield Utd. Has not started terribly well.

Out:

Cain - £40m for the 29 year old was a no-brainer, but he may be missed. 7 seasons of outstanding service at the club.
Cuffaut-Lachor - was only ever back-up and with Martin’s introduction and the free transfer of McFarlane was not needed. Could be a good Championship keeper.
Holmes - Youth product who was never going to be good enough.
Caparros - signed as a youngster but never got a work permit so cashed in whilst the offer was there.
Ibrahim - Another youngster who was not good enough to play first team football - but would have been - but kicked up such a fuss about not playing that he needed to leave. That fee for a player valued at £200k isn’t too bad.

Manchester United are probably the first of the big-big clubs we have to face this season but a short month due to the International games.

Kennedy (Northern Ireland), Cesar (USA), Flynn & Conlan (Wales), Abadaki (NIgeria) and Jansen (Netherlands) are the first team players travelling.

Wolves - Premier League (a) - Started ultra-defensively and, not only did we not create anything, we didn’t defend very well and conceded. Went to business as usual and utterly outplayed Wolves and should have won that one. I’d have taken an away point before kick-off though. Another Jansen goal, another Helm assist.

Manchester United - Premier League (h) - Jansen was a thorn in the defence’s side for the whole game and was unlucky to have a goal VAR’d out. We restricted them to 4 shots on target and the defence were very good. For a team where the oldest player was 28, that was an effort to keep them down to 1.

Blackburn - Premier League (h) - Our first live televised game of the season and it’s against a team languishing at the bottom of the league so we try and capitalise on their lack of form, starting with an attacking mentality. Even so, I did not see that coming as we absolutely spank Blackburn.

It’s fair to say he deserves those.

 

[MidKnightDreary]

Thanks for the staff tips! Comfortable Mid-table form

 

[Edd2020]

Thanks for the staff tips! Comfortable Mid-table form

Yup - the lads have started pretty well, but we're heavily reliant on one player to score the goals which means we're probably one injury from a crisis!!

 

[Edd2020]

October 2030

Another short month due to Internationals and another set of tough games, although Spurs are rock bottom of the league. It does look as though they have had keeper injury problems with 2 of their 3 first team options injured.

Tottenham Hotspur (a) - Premier League - We start with the same slightly revised formation and attacking mentality as we played against Backburn which worked brilliantly for 5 minutes.

Attacking midfielder Torres is ruled out for 7 weeks with a stress fracture which considerably reduces our attacking threat. We’re only a couple of injuries from full on implosion as we do suffer from a lack of depth.

I decide that none of the affiliate clubs - all based in the Vanarama league - are actually any good for us. I’d like to get our loaned players playing at a higher level than that so they’re all cancelled and new ones requested.

...and Layton Stewart finds himself in the physio’s room for a couple of weeks, as well with a damaged foot.

Everton (h) - Premier League - Conlon, Torres’ replacement, pretty much sabotages any chances we have in that game as we utterly capitulate without creating anything ourselves. That was the first time we looked out of our depth in the Premier League, but the sending off made it look worse than it was...I think.

Watford (a) - Premier League - We had to move to a 4-3-1-2 formation due to injury and having the second striker paid off handsomely as Gutierrez puts a clinical finish into the bottom corner with time running out. We were rarely the better team there, but ground out a win.

 

[Edd2020]

November 2030

Brighton (h) - An injury crisis means that both first choice keepers are ruled out and 18 year old Matthew Broad has to make his debut. Considering this, a goal-less draw is not the worst result as attack definitely meant keeping the ball as far away from the debutant as possible, which seemed to work. Not a great point, but a point.

And I’m already counting the points down and working out what we need to survive. The last 3 seasons have been:

2029/30 - 33points to stay up.

2028/29 - 33pts

2027/28 - 35pts

The injuries continue to pile up as Mark Helm now misses a number of weeks with a double hernia. This is getting a bit silly.

Charlton Athletic (a) - In 6 games in the Championship, we beat Charlton everytime so, surely, the momentum is with us? Martin returns in goal. We open Charlton up time and time again, but Jansen’s relative lack of pace means he gets caught by quicker defenders until he does finally escape the defensive clutches.

Striker Jansen is the deserved man of the match again and he’s looking every part a Premier League player and it may not be long until bigger clubs come sniffing along.

Spurs sack their manager as the languish at the bottom of the league with just 6 points after 12 games. They only finished 6 points above the relegation zone last season…

And that’s, obviously, turned down.

And back-up striker Layton Stewart is the latest to join the physio’s for 3 weeks....again, What is going on?

Crystal Palace (a) - Premier League - Penalty, a scrappy goal from a corner and hit on the counter attack as we pushed to equalise. A generally bad day at the office there.

Youth facilities upgraded and all the facilities are starting to look deserving of a Premier League club, but we still have a couple of levels to go.

Chelsea (h) - Probably the second of the ‘big’ teams we’ve faced this season and they sit top of the league. The less said about that, the better.

Not a great month and that Chelsea result was painful....but on reflection, actually, if we just keep topping up the points we should keep clear of the bottom 3.

 

[Edd2020]

December 2030

This is a horrible month in terms of fixtures and morale has the potential to take a battering.

And the team needs some strengthening with most of the squad being considered as good Championship players at best, with only Antonio, Torres, Jansen, Harwood-Bellis, Martin and Mulenda being considered to be Premier league standard. The necessary recruitment, however, is rather hampered by a lack of available funds.

The FA Cup pitches us away to Championship level Newcastle.

Manchester City (h) - even a full on defensive park the bus attempt falls flat as Haaland runs riot and we just couldn’t cope with him.

Burnley (h) - Torres makes a very timely return from injury, putting the first on a plate for Jansen, but where would we be without him this season? He has scored 11 of our 19 goals in the league which is ridiculous. Any 3 points was key this month.

Jansen’s 11 goals means he’s the joint 3rd scorer in the league. Helm’s 5 assists means he’s joint 4th and my right-back wonderkid Antonio leads the league for tackles attempted and key tackles. He’s another one who is receiving admiring glances from elsewhere.

Bit of a set of conflicting messages coming through the youth intake preview this year - "terrific group of players" but I'm not quite sure where!

And as quickly as Torres is fit again, he’s injured as both he & attacking midfielder Wilson are ruled out.

West Brom (a) - I replaced one of the AMs with a DM and made some changes to constrict the play and while we conceded quite a lot of the possession (and 14 corners) we came out with a point. Possibly a bit fortunate there.

This could be a painful couple of days...away to the 5th placed Gunners then at home to 3rd placed Liverpool.

Arsenal (a) - Where would we be without him? The DM remains and Emberson chooses the perfect time to get his first for the club, even though he’s nowhere near Premiership standard and in the end, it was disappointing to come away with one point rather than three as we miss good chances to nick it at the end.

LIverpool (h) - A pleasing performance, but disappointing result as we had a goal chalked off for offside and actually played okay.

If you’d have offered me 5 points out of that month at the start of it, I would have absolutely taken your hand off. That Arsenal result was a massive bonus.

Probably not a surprise this, as he is literally single-handedly winning us points at the moment.

Spurs have made a resounding revival under the management of Diego Simeone and I’m expecting them to keep climbing. They looked in danger at one point there.

 

[Edd2020]

January 2031
​

The year starts with the board wanting to change the expectations which I wholeheartedly agree with, going with avoiding relegation. I get an extra £75k a week added to the wage budget as well...bonus. It's moved into the transfer budget and the board chuck another £15m in as well which gives me a bit of leeway to bring players in.

A new Premier League potential midfielder is signed from Koln. I’m looking for him to the long term replacement for possibly Emberson in one of the Carrilero roles.

Leicester (a) - New Years day games, who needs them? I’m taking a bit of a gamble and restoring the 4-3-2-1 without a DM which pays off as we get the goal and then really dig in to withstand the Leicester onslaught. In fact, Jansen could comfortably have scored a hat-trick had his finishing been as composed as it was for the goal. Leicester’s high line really played against them. Frustratingly, Torres injures himself again and seems unable to put a run of games together.

One time wonderkid Trausti Guobjartsson returns from his loan at Columbus. He is a step up from Josh Brooking in the right back position and it’s a straight swap. Brooking, who is League 1 standard at best, is placed on the transfer list.

In one respect, looking for players during this window is easy - any premier league standard player will improve the squad, but finding value is tricky.

Newcastle (a) - FA Cup - McFarlane and Guob make their debuts and Jansen is given a rest, which in itself is a move that might cost us any chance of winning this. Flynn scores an excellent long range goal, Helm misses a penalty and we blow the chance to progress whilst it’s in our hands. A draw isn’t terrible, but we could have won it then.

We also strengthen our attacking midfield options by bringing in Chelsea loanee Lautaro Ramirez who will add some quality in the final third

West Ham (h) - Ramirez makes his first start, but it’s business as usual elsewhere. Abadaki is off at the African nations which is frustrating as I could really do with his defensive ability in the middle of the park. We absolutely batter West Ham but they just block everything in the 18 yard box. Bainbridge has probably his best game in an Oldham shirt and Ramirez did well but it’s not enough to get us the 3 points we deserved.

Newcastle (h) - FA Cup replay - It’s the same part second string as the first leg, but we won’t have an easier game than that all season. Newcastle barely managed to string 2 passes together and didn’t have a shot on target. I’m a very happy manager.

The gradual improvement continues with another centre-back. Alex Calatayud was expensive at £24m, but he’s an upgrade on Simon Kennedy who is only considered as a League 1 player. Kennedy is transfer and loan listed.

That’s £90m spent this season in an effort to stay up and £50-odd million on centre-backs.

Southampton (h) - A number of the usual players missing through injury, but our game winners are all available. Sangelli is playing in an unusual CM(d) role, but he is versatile so this shouldn’t be a problem and a shortage of attacking midfielders means we’re playing with 2 strikers, not that either get in on the act. 2 corners, 2 centre-backs, 2 headers, 2 goals...3 points.

Manchester United (h) - Top of the league, 1 loss all season and 22 games unbeaten in a row so this was always a very tough ask. We did well to keep that down to 3 and keeper Martin picks up a very deserved man of the match award. He was brilliant and even £18m is looking like a snip.

After 327 league games and Calatayud’s arrival, Quansah is subjected to a £20m (rising to £25m) bid, which is accepted as we’re over-run with centre-backs and the money can comfortably used elsewhere.

Stoke City - FA Cup 4th Round - the Championship opposition provide a bit of a chance for some rotation and Calatayud makes his debut. Routine, but it took a half-time telling off to get the best out of them. Stewart makes the most of another cameo. Could really have done without Flanagan picking up an injury though.

But that’s where our luck runs out with kind draws...Liverpool it is in the 5th round.

Norwich (a) - Stewart’s reward for goals in the cup and as a substitute is a start against Norwich and he takes his chance. Pye adds his 1st of the season with a clinical finish from just inside the box. That win lifts us into a very healthy 11th place.

Two more lots of facility upgrades are agreed to.

And the transfer window closes with just Psorianos & Calatayud in and Quansah out which is an upgrade...an expensive one, but an upgrade. A load of youth loans out as well.

​

 

[Edd2020]

February 2031

Short month due to the International games.

Wolves (a) - Abadaki returns from Nigeria duty which is a bit of a relief as it restores some solidity in midfield and we’re missing 3 first team midfielders. Jansen returns up top and, obviously, gets his goal but it’s the defence who get all the plaudits as they dominate the Wolves forward line. Sangelli wasn’t bought to play the central midfield defensive role, but the 19 year old is making that position his own.

Blackburn (a) - Given Blackburn’s lowly position, this should have been relatively comfortable but that was a shocking performance as we let Blackburn back into the game after looking dominant. Not impressed.

The injuries are really starting to take their toll and stacking up which is not ideal as both Emberson & Flynn are ruled out. It’s getting frustrating this...

Tottenham (h) - If you’d have said that after 26 games, you would be going into a game with Spurs and 8 points ahead of them, you may well have been sectioned, but here we are. We huff and puff, Jansen has an off game and just as it looks like the game is petering out to a draw, substitute Layton Stewart pops up to seal the win. How far can this team go? Unbelievable.

Whisper it...but we’re only 3 points off the European spots.

Liverpool (h) - FA Cup 5th Rd - Probably not a tougher 5th round game out there, so this is a real challenge. Some of the team are rotated to give them a game as keeper McFarlane & Leyton Stewart start - Stewart returning to his old club. But it was difficult to be too hard on them after that, as we did have a few chances to score and were competitive until the last minutes.

 

[Edd2020]

March 2031

Watford (h) - Stewart’s good recent form means he has to start but the game doesn’t really kick off until he’s swapped for Jansen and the on-loan Ramirez who take the game away from Watford in the final 15 minutes. What a result that is.

Worryingly, Pye is added to the injury list as the left-back is ruled out for a month. We do have cover, but that’s a loss.

Everton (a) - The players who made the difference from the bench against Watford start, but this is a far tougher proposition with Everton sitting in 5th place but morale is up, we’re on a good unbeaten run and we’re confident. And how it shows in the performance. Jansen will get the plaudits, as he often does, but Wilson and Torrres in the AM positions were also very good.

That takes Jansen to 20 league goals, matching his total for last season, and that’s 50 goals in 81 games overall - I wonder how much longer I can keep him before the vultures start circling. How hasn’t he had an International call-up either.

Brighton (a) - We absolutely stole a point from Brighton there as we had just the one shot on target which, thankfully, fell to our main man. I don't know where the team that put 4 past Watford & Everton were, but we were terrible. Still, onwards and upwards.

Northern Ireland international Aaron Wilson scored against both Watford & Everton and producing the assist for Jansen’s goal. The £600k fee from Crusaders looks like a bargain as he looks comfortable in either of those 2 positions behind the striker. 142 league games, 21 goals.

So, it’s not great - but, there are a couple of potential future players in the youth intake...although not in the natural formation we currently have, so some retraining may be required to get the best out of them.

Charlton (h) - Plumb bottom of the league, so this should be straightforward. And it was. That win mathematically means that we can’t be relegated, which already makes this is a pretty stunning season.

At my last contract signing, the board snuck in an agreement that I would look to sign players from the lower levels of the domestic game, which is proving tricky, but we do have a transfer window coming up to try and resolve this. We’re in need of a squad rotation right-back and Carrilero, so the lower leagues could provide some fodder for these positions.

What a month that has been.

And the month is topped off on a real high with Jansen winning player of the month and all 3 young players of the month coming from Oldham.