Buckinghamshires Palace - From rags to riches a Milton Keynes story

[robmkdon]

June2012
BreakingNews
As of the 26th​ June 2012 Karl Robinson has been relinquished of his duties and been replaced by the young outgoing rookie Robert Lewis. The replacement was required in the hope of Mk Dons being guided up the footballing pyramid and on the back of last season playoff disappointment Pete Winckleman felt the change may reignite the fire.
Manager Profile
Name: Sir Robert Lewis
D.O.B: 3/5/1989
Hometown: Bedfordshire
Previous experience: Semi - professional footballer
Favourite Club: Milton Keynes Dons
Social Networking: @robmkdon

Media Handling
Within 24 hours of being at the helm, Sir Robert Lewis attended both a press conference unveiling whereby a number of journalists and reporters alike fielded various questions but most impressively the new man took time out to directly communicate with MK Dons fans via online service MK Dons player.
Press Conference
Throughout the opening press conference it became apparent as the new man responded to questioning in various degrees of tone, the main focus is to continue with the MK way and adopt a controlled passing game however some tweaking will be installed such as more aggressive tackling through the spine of the team and the belief that Daniel Powell can be the true replacement and step into former Dons man Baldocks shoes. Sir Robert Lewis took time to reassure his team that there will not be any premature changes however the same cannot be said for first Team staff, whilst the academy staff will remain, the first team will have a complete overhaul. He also reassured players that he will always value them as people not only footballers and that he will continue to encourage and in still an attractive footballing philosophy.
MK Dons player interview
Good morning MK, few of you will be familiar with my face or credentials having not appeared in tabloids or through professional football.I am a local lad with a lot of love for this club to which I support whole heartedly therefore it’s a dream come true to be handed the responsibility of transforming this club from top to bottom. My goal is long term, it is simple really I aim to take MK Dons to the top of world football where riches and prestige go hand in hand. Now were a long way from the top, But day by day I will be installing block by building block on the road to success “from rags to riches.” I hope the footballing world will tune in and join me on my quest to write history with a club possessing very little.

 

[robmkdon]

July 2012
I have been getting to grips with the core of the squad over the first week with key areas needing to be taken care of. I have approached and finalised contracts for 5 new staff members these include:
Darren Cross – Assistant manager covering tactics training
Andrew Cole – coach covering attacking training
Steve Davis – coach covering defensive training
Hughie McAuley – coach covering ball control training
Alan Cork – coach covering shooting training
Unfortunately this meant Mick Harford, Ian Wright and Simon Dwight were surplus to requirements. However the following staff kept their positions:
Damien Doyle – coach handling fitness training
Paul Heald – goalkeeping coach handling goalkeeper training
Simon Crampton – head physio
Mike Dove – under 18’s manager
Paul Collins – under 18’s physio
Also behind the scenes I approached Angelo Balanta and Matias Sosa, the latter failing in a work permit attempt and the former opting to play championship football with Bristol City. This left me at a bit of a crossroads as I did not want to blow the miniscule wage budget on just anybody and I had identified the key need to invest in attacking midfield 3. Subsequently I will keep an eye on the loan market and see if any useful players come into fruition. For the time being I am content with my squad and will continue to develop them as a unit.

 

[robmkdon]

July2012
PreSeason
So that all important times come; the squad has beenevaluated, staff have been finalised, expectations of achieving a play off berthhave been confirmed therefore its due time to have an overhaul of the tacticalmentality and training of the team.

Tactics
The approach I haveopted for is a patient controlled passing game, with a deeper centre middictating play from the back alongside a centre mid that will look to receive theball in the middle of the park and dictate play further up the pitch, bothplayers will aim to recycle possession and both will dictate tempo. Further upthe field we have a bank of 3 typically different styled players complementingthe attack and fooling opposition defence. From the right we have a very attackminded winger aiming to beat the full back and drill crosses across the box.Behind the striker we have a trequartista who will pick the ball up and playthrough balls to the striker and get on the end of a one two or pick up theloose save. From the left we have an inside forward who will play a supportiverole aiming to cut inside and test the keeper or make a through ball to thelurking striker. The focal point of the attack is my predator strike who hasbags of pace looking to beat the offside trap, move into channels and link upwith the 3 men behind him, but first and foremost he's looking to get one on onewith the keeper. The team is set up rigidly. I have also started to drill theteam in this exact way but alternatively with an advanced forward striker as someof my backup strikers lack pace and we will see which comes out on top.

The alternative style of play will be adopted againststronger opposition who will have more effective ball retention and pressurethan us, for this we will adopt a counter style. The team will line uppositionally the same however the two central midfielders will be asked to beball winners and passages of play will be more direct up to the front men onwinning the ball back, the front 4 will line up similarly to previous trying tomaintain a clear philosophy of positional sense.

All tactics will be given rigorous time to become secondnature and I will be tweaking them as and when I come across a problem to tryand get the best out of the team.
Being a young manager in my first managerial position itwill all be a learning curve, there are no guarantees in football and I willgrow and learn on the job!

Training
I have a rigorous pre season schedule for the boys wewill begin the first 2 weeks in high intensity fitness training. On completionwe will be providing tactical match training and 2 weeks of team cohesion.Finally leading right up to the season and as long as it takes to notice theteam are tactically fully effective I will put them through their paces withtactical match training and tactical team training. All players will be put onan individual regime dependant on what their tactical role is i.e poacher,inside forward, winger etc.

 

[robmkdon]

PreSeason
An unbeaten run in pre season was welcome, it was noticeable the team are finding fluidity in tactic preparation. It was not a fair representation of where the team are at in terms of league chances due to the lack of quality within teams faced however I have been taught to respect your opponent and be ruthless in finding an objective way of beating them. My biggest disappointment on the back of pre season was leaking 3 goals against Bristol Rovers! Overall we experienced superior possession but failed to create an adequate amount of clear cut chances however if we can continue to defend stoutly and put away the odd ccc we make then we stand ourselves in good stead!
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[robmkdon]

Time to shake the season up
So the time has arrived we are set to start the season, realistically I would like to challenge for promotion, due to financial restrictions fast progression is a must. I will stick with the basic outlines tactically that have been put in place during preseason, adjusting as required further on. I have opted not to make any signings and reserve my budget instead of wasting money and unsettling team trying to raise cash, it could be tough with the current team but I have faith we can mount a challenge. I will be providing assessment at the end of each calendar month. So now all the nerves are mounting and we will be aiming to be up there with the big boys of the league. Its time to try and climb to the top of the footballing pyramid, I am Sir Robert Lewis and this is my story.