Carlisle: Taking the Cumbrians to the Top...

[khodder]

This is my first attempt at a story for FM on here, hopefully I can get a couple of people to follow it. I decided to do a bit of a random club.

I decided on;

Carlisle United of League One in England.

Carlisle United

Manager: Kent Hodder
Goal: Mid Table Finish
Home Ground: Brunton Park
Capacity: 18,000 (8,000 seated)
Tactics

I am playing a 4-5-1, I have tried to set it as a formation that can attack well, but is really strong up the middle. Thus I have two DM's, and my fullbacks will act as Wing-Backs.

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Right now my defense looks like it is pretty solid with a few good older heads with some good younger talents. It is my attacking force that needs some help, a new striker or two and some players who can fit into the the Attacking Midfield slots.

My Transfer Budget has been set at 0, so it looks like I will be scouring the market for some good players on a free transfer and looking to loan a few players....

More to come when I get into the game a little bit including transfers and maybe some preseason results.

Enjoy...Any tips on the layout would be good to.

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[Aannddyy]

Good luck mate, nice layout by the way

 

[khodder]

Preseason

As Carlisle entered into a long preseason the first game on the list was an Intra-Squad friendly to allow the new boss to get a look at the talent on offer. In what turned out to be a disappointing performance by the members of the first team, a few reserves players such as Marc Bridge-Wilkinson were able to push their way into the first team squad.

The first team came out on top in the end with a 1-0 scoreline, but the Manager was worried with the small number of chances the squad was able to create...

This was followed by two further below par performances against the Glenn Hoddle Academy and Altrincham. Even though the games were won 2-0 and 3-0 respectively, a tactic change was needed. The 4-5-1 was not creating enough chances and the congestion in the middle of the pitch just made it hard for the Carlisle players to find some space...

Hodder decided a new 4-3-3 formation was the way to go, and the rest of the preseason gave him plenty of confidence in the way he now had his team playing.

The first game with the new tactics was a huge success, an 8-0 victory over Kendall followed by a 6-0 win over Forest Green and a 4-0 win over Workington, all underscored by performances of top notch quality by the team.

The final two games of the preseason saw the Cumbrians pitted against Scunthorpe from the Championship and world footballing superpowers Chelsea. The team battled hard and came away with a well deserved 1-0 win over Scunthorpe. before a near full strength Chelsea side rolled into town. The boys performed admirably, defending well and creating a handful of chances at the same time. However the class of the opposition shone through and three goals in the space of 11 minutes essentially put the tie to rest. Down 3-0 at the break the Cumbrians came out and played some of their best football of all preseason in the second half managing to win the half 1-0 despite coming out 3-1 down in the grand scheme.

The gaffer has got to be pleased with how the preseason shaped up, the only goals the team conceded were at the hands of Giants Chelsea, while the number of chances the team was creating was tremendous.

Transfers

The new boss was also quick to get his feet wet in the transfer market, despite the lack of funds Hodder got to quick work scouring the free transfer market, looking at trial games and even finding a couple of talented footballers on a holiday to the Netherlands Antillies.

He strengthened the squad with 8 players, five making the permanent move to Brunton Park.

Paul Dickov is a big signing for the club, his ability to put the ball into the back of the net is hopefully going to propel the Cumbrians to a successful season.

Dimitri Lesueur was found after Hodder too a trip to watch the France Trial games...Dimitri scored two goals and impressed the gaffer with his ability to finish.

Jongsma and Henriquez are both members of the Netherlands Antillies international team and were spotted during Hodder's holiday to the island. Jongsma a creative midfield player will likely hold down a first team spot for most of the season while Henriquez will be an impact player off the bench with his ability to score goals.

The trio of loan signings is headlined by De Leat a strong centrehalf. He, despite his young age will lead the defensive line for the Cumbrians this season.

Key Players

There are three players who will be keys to the success of the Cumbrians this season they are;

Pidgeley was the backup keeper when Hodder arrived, but his performances in the preseason have cemented him a spot in goal come the League 1 season.

A name all football fans will know Ian Harte is a veteran player, and will provide a cool head at the back. He is likely to play most of his football on the left, but can cover in the middle if needed.

The aforementioned Paul Dickov will be a key to the success of the Cumbrians this season. His goals are what will power the team to the top of the table or have them floundering near the floor.

Monthly updates to come as each month progresses.
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---------- Post added at 07:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:00 AM ----------

August

The start of August bought about the beginning of the league season. Carlisle were looking primed for a good season and were aiming to far outweigh the expectations of the media who have predicted them to finish 17th in League One this season. The Cumbrians had 6 fixtures lined up for August, 5 in the league and the final game the first round of the League Cup, in which they had a tough draw against rivals Preston.

First up was Brentford in the league. The Cumbrians dominated the fixture having the lions share of possession and creating chance after chance, but were unable to come away with the points, the finishing was poor and the team were forced to b e happy with 0-0 draw and the single point.

Following the Brentford game the squad was getting prepared for the big League cup fixture against Preston. But the squad never fired, the ball was given away far to cheaply in the middle of the park, and the few chances that were created were wasted by the strikers. The misery was compounded when loanee Riche De Laet was ordered from the field. In the end Preston came away with a well deserved 2-0 win and Carlisle left to ponder where their first goal of the season was going to come from with a trip to Millwall waiting next.

The game against Millwall was a tight affair, but Carlisle always seems to be in control creating all of the clear cut chances in the game, but the teams went to the break tied with no goals coming either way. It was the 56th minute when loanee striker Rhys Murphy got his account started at Carlisle with a headed finish to give them the lead. As the match progressed it looked like the Cumbrians had done enough to escape with a 1-0 victory, but in the 88th minute the Lions veteran striker Neil Harris steadied himself over a free kick 35 yards from goal. He struck it sweetly and it thundered into the underside of the crossbar and into the net, nothing Lenny Pidgeley could do about it, and Carlisle and the team had dropped two points they should have had....That was until a poor clearence from the Millwall defense gave Carlisle the ball, and Paul Dickov was able to cooly slot the ball home from 12 yards with that last kick of the game. A big 3 points for the team away at Millwall.

Stockport, Exeter and Leyton Orient were the three remaining games in August and the team was aiming for the full compliment of 9 points, but again despite dominating the games against Exeter and Stockport the poor finishing let the side down. Carlisle still managed to come away with 4 points from the two games, but the 1-1 draw and 2-1 win were far from the expected results.

The poor finishing has forced Manager Hodder into pulling another striker into the squad, at late notice he arranged a 3 month loan spell for Febian Brandy. His pace should provide a good injection up front for Carlisle...

The final game of the month was a game full of goals, a 3-3 draw was the end result, but the standard of defending from the Cumbrians was more like that of a schoolboy side, a penalty and two terrible early mistakes had Carlisle on the backfoot...After coming back from a 2-0 deficit just 10 minutes into the game to square the game at 2-2, a penalty in first half injury time gave Orient the lead heading into the break...After changing both Centerhalves at half time the Cumbrians looked a lot more assured at the back, but again their shakiness in front of goal cost them with a handful of golden opportunities thrown away which could have given Carlisle all three points.

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Despite their below par performances in the league they are still undefeated and are sitting 6th in the table after 5 games.

Heading into September the Cumbrians and particularly the manager will be looking for some improved performances especially in front of goal where Carlisle have cost themselves points so far early on in the season...

The biggest tests will come in back to back games on the 26th and 29th with games against Leeds and Southampton.
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[khodder]

Can someone please close this...****** saved over the file with a Tactic Test...

 

[James67]

Paul Dickov,Mark Viduka, Hatam Trabelsi, Dejan Stefanovic, Michael Ball.

Great Frees.