Darren Trott's Managerial Journey!

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View attachment 201988
Perfect set of results and we didn't even play
We were preparing for the JPT final where as other teams played in the League. Here's how it turned out:
View attachment 201987
Perfect! Oxford, Portsmouth and Plymouth all lost points. This gives us a chance to tighten our grip on the automatic promotion spot by winning our game in hand. This is how the league table looks right now:
View attachment 201986
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View attachment 201949
This game started interestingly. Most teams usually start finals cautiously, trying to be solid at the back. But Gillingham came out of the blocks flying and made a wonderful start to the game. It took them just over 3 minutes to go 1-0 ahead. I felt that we didn't deal with it particularly well. Flinders made a great block on the first shot but the rebound fell to Garmston, who tapped the ball into an empty net. We really should've cleared the rebound.

Less than 10 minutes after that incident, Hyde equalized with a brilliant goal. His run was spotted perfectly by Coulson and the out-of-form striker took his chance very well. 1-1 after 13 minutes and the game was off to a great start. No short of drama! Unfortunately for us, Gillingham turned on the style after that. Flinders was tested quite a lot in the remainder of the first half. It took some fantastic saves by our keeper to keep it at 1-1.

I asked the defense to show more determination and play with more passion. I just yelled at them to put on a better show in the second half. They reacted positively!

Things went from bad to worse when Ilesmani scored an own-goal just after restart. A harmless cross into our box was dealt with a lot of panic and the ball rolled past the line after a deflection off Ilesmani. Poor defending. Thanks to our creative attacking players, the game stayed in balance.

Gillingham were creating chances due to our shoddy defending while we were creating chances due to our creativity. But we couldn't put the finishing touches to our moves. This was frustrating to watch from the touchline, because I can't bring on more attackers considering how weak our defense was looking.

But I did it anyway as the game approached the 90 min mark. Same old, same old. We carved open Gillingham a few times but the ball just refused to cross the line. After 5 mins of added time, the ref decided he had enough and called time on the final. Gillingham players, staff and supporters alike were delighted.

I was disappointed because our defense, which has been our strongest aspect this season failed us in one of the biggest games of the season. Our wingers and strikers did reasonably well, but we should've defended better to boost the confidence of the team.

View attachment 201947
It has been a great journey to the final and we've managed to pull off quite a few upsets. But no trophies to show, which is what people remember. Better luck next time, I guess!​
 
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Bad luck there mate, no shame in losing to a higher league opposition though :)
 
PatrickLFC said:
Bad luck there mate, no shame in losing to a higher league opposition though :)
Click to expand...

To not clear the final hurdle is a bit frustrating but I'm pleased that we were able to make it to the finals in the first place.
 
The post-match press conference:
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It was a boring press conference to be honest, with a lot of mundane questions. What happened the next day was very interesting.

I was linked with the vacant spot at Nottingham Forest. Ah, rumours!
View attachment 201571

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My very first game in charge was against Wycombe, where we lost 3-1. It's time to exact revenge and beat them at home. We come into this game on the back of two successive defeats, so it's time to show our quality today.
Our defense started very shakily as Wycombe tried to put pressure on our back four. We nearly conceded on two separate occasions but Flinders pulled off some good saves to keep the score level. The first half was very cagey stuff from both sides. I instructed the players to keep a solid back four today and work from the back. They were doing the first part right, but not the second. Our attack was poor.

View attachment 201549After the break, we finally broke the deadlock. Josh Carson started the second half on a bright note, with a bunch of fancy dribbles and audacious passes. His creativity paid off when he put us ahead with a lovely goal scored with the outside of his boot. But our lead didn't last long. Sam Wood equalized for Wycombe one minute later. Our defense slipped up and lost focus for the first time in the game and we were penalized heavily.

Carson was doing a brilliant job today, and this is his best performance (and his first goal) after returning from an injury that kept him out for almost an year.

The rest of the team weren't playing at the same level and we couldn't find a way past the Wycombe defense. Barring that one moment of concentration lapse, our defense held strong and didn't leak any more goals.

The game ended 1-1. Ugh, I was hoping for a win to put some space between us and Plymouth. We're still above Plymouth but only on goal difference, but we do have a game in hand.
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View attachment 201535
Poor Oliver
View attachment 201534
This is frustrating. Vadaine Oliver was very nearly about to make his comeback after the injury, but he strained himself a bit too much during his exercises. That means he'll be out for another month. He'll probably miss the remainder of the season now. Argh!​
 
View attachment 201412
We really need a win here - not just to stay clear of Plymouth but to give ourselves some confidence. Our last three games have resulted in two losses and a draw, and our form has been quite patchy in the last month or so. Leyton start the game in the 15th spot.
I started with an aggressive tactic, trying to get an early goal. It very nearly paid off but Alex Cisak pulled off some lovely saves early on to keep Leyton on level terms. Leyton's resistance ended in the 26th minute when a lovely 40 yard pass by Summerfield sent Coulson 1-v-1 with the goalie. Coulson wasn't gonna miss.

Two minutes later, Jake Hyde made it 2-0 for us with a controlled finish. Following a decent build-up in the opposition half, Hyde played a lovely one-two with Carson and scored the second goal. We were really turning on the style in the first half as Leyton were stretched all over the place.

Leyton were lucky to be only 2-0 down at half-time. My half time teamtalk was made easy by that performance. A few words of encouragement and a few tactical changes later, the second half kicked-off.

View attachment 201405Leyton were more threatening in the second half as they tried to push men forward. After a few sloppy defensive outings, our back four performed very well today. Leyton were getting close to pulling a goal back but they never really got it. And Coulson crushed any hopes of a comeback with his second goal on the night. 3-0 up! This was the best of the lot - one touch to control the ball, and one to smash it into the net. Great stuff from the winger.

3-0 winners today as we dominated Leyton for the majority of the game. This gives us 3 point lead over Plymouth in 4th spot. Much needed win.
View attachment 201406

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View attachment 201395
Contract Business
View attachment 201396Ingham wants to move, and Winfield is not in my plans at the moment. A few months back, I decided to not offer a contract to Straker due to his high demands, but his recent performances has made me rethink the situation. I offered, and he accepted.

Steve Torpey is going to continue on as the assistant manager as he signed a contract as well. Swan rejected the club's offer as he feels that he hasn't gotten enough chances here.​
 
So is a move for D. Trott on the horizon or do you see him sticking around at York for a bit longer?

A move to Forrest would be big!
 
View attachment 201314
There were a few mindgames in play before this game from both camps. I started it by saying we're eager to beat Hartlepool following our draw at Bootham Crescent, to which Ronnie Moore responded by saying he's eager to put us 'overachievers' in our place. OK, Bring it on!!
We saw more of the ball in the opening stages and won a penalty in the 9th minute. Hartlepool were protesting that it was never a penalty. I'll be honest - it looked quite dubious. Summerfield stepped up to take the spotkick, but it was saved. Fortunately for us, the rebound fell to Summerfield who scored on the volley. 1-0!

Thompson doubled our lead in the 18th minute as he latched onto a Summerfield pass, marginally beat the offside trap and smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Superb start. The rest of the first half followed in the same vein as we were the dominant side. Couldn't have asked for a better first half.

Hartlepool made a few attacking substitutions at half-time and switched to a more offensive tactic.

View attachment 201311The second half was in complete contrast to the first. We were pinned down in our own half for extended periods of time as Hartlepool were attacking relentlessly. I was worried on the touchline and kept making minor changes and asked the players to keep the concentration levels up. In the 75th minute, I felt I had enough and brought on a third centerback and tried to kill the tempo of the game.

With 6 players defending now, Hartlepool's threat slowly reduced and we were able to see the game through. We won it 2-0 but very nearly allowed Hartlepool a way back in.
Stats say that Hartlepool only took 6 shots in the second half. it sure felt like a lot more.


View attachment 201310
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View attachment 201307
Nearing the finish line
While we beat Hartlepool, there were some other matches that kept me interested. Portsmouth hosting Plymouth was the most important one.
View attachment 201304
Portsmouth beat Plymouth by a narrow margin and now, we have a 6 point lead over Plymouth in 4th place with 4 games to go. Excellent!

View attachment 201300However, our next game is a particularly challenging one - we host Portsmouth. A win would be ideal. Even if we drop points, we'll be above Plymouth but the gap will be smaller.

Our remaining games are:
Portsmouth (Home) - 2nd
Accrington (Away) - 21st
Bristol Rovers (Home) - 20th
Morecambe (Away) - 23rd

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View attachment 201222
Crucial game! A win here would do us wonders and put us ahead of Portsmouth on goal difference. I am going for a draw here, and will set-up accordingly. We're going to attack in a very structured manner to make sure we don't lose our shape.
The game started slowly and we were playing at a pretty low tempo in an attempt to counter any super-attacking Pompey tactic. Portsmouth had plenty of possession in the first half (over 65%) but I didn't really care. We were going for a draw and we were doing a good job thus far. Considering our rather defensive set-up, it wasn't a surprise that our front three were barely creating chances. That's not to say we had zero chances, but the chances we had were down to long shots.

The second half started in a similar manner, us trying to keep it tight at the back and Portsmouth trying to break it down. It was going perfectly to plan till the hour mark. Rommy Boco decided enough was enough and produced a magnificent goal. He beat his marker and beat Flinders at the near post from a tight angle. Lovely goal!

I made a few changes after that, slowly trying to increase our attacking efficiency. We were doing well in attack but time was not on our side. Our best chances came way too late in the game for it to matter much. A goal would've been great but we couldn't get it as we ran out of time.

A disheartening defeat, and to lose to a wonder-strike (of sorts) is really unfortunate. Oh well...We've given Plymouth a slight chance to put pressure on us.
View attachment 201219
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Unlucky mate, still have faith that with that run home you'll get there though. :)
 
mask0991 said:
View attachment 996142
This game started interestingly. Most teams usually start finals cautiously, trying to be solid at the back. But Gillingham came out of the blocks flying and made a wonderful start to the game. It took them just over 3 minutes to go 1-0 ahead. I felt that we didn't deal with it particularly well. Flinders made a great block on the first shot but the rebound fell to Garmston, who tapped the ball into an empty net. We really should've cleared the rebound.

Less than 10 minutes after that incident, Hyde equalized with a brilliant goal. His run was spotted perfectly by Coulson and the out-of-form striker took his chance very well. 1-1 after 13 minutes and the game was off to a great start. No short of drama! Unfortunately for us, Gillingham turned on the style after that. Flinders was tested quite a lot in the remainder of the first half. It took some fantastic saves by our keeper to keep it at 1-1.

I asked the defense to show more determination and play with more passion. I just yelled at them to put on a better show in the second half. They reacted positively!

Things went from bad to worse when Ilesmani scored an own-goal just after restart. A harmless cross into our box was dealt with a lot of panic and the ball rolled past the line after a deflection off Ilesmani. Poor defending. Thanks to our creative attacking players, the game stayed in balance.

Gillingham were creating chances due to our shoddy defending while we were creating chances due to our creativity. But we couldn't put the finishing touches to our moves. This was frustrating to watch from the touchline, because I can't bring on more attackers considering how weak our defense was looking.

But I did it anyway as the game approached the 90 min mark. Same old, same old. We carved open Gillingham a few times but the ball just refused to cross the line. After 5 mins of added time, the ref decided he had enough and called time on the final. Gillingham players, staff and supporters alike were delighted.

I was disappointed because our defense, which has been our strongest aspect this season failed us in one of the biggest games of the season. Our wingers and strikers did reasonably well, but we should've defended better to boost the confidence of the team.

View attachment 996144
It has been a great journey to the final and we've managed to pull off quite a few upsets. But no trophies to show, which is what people remember. Better luck next time, I guess!​
Click to expand...

Sorry, I am not meant to laugh am I. Well, I am.
 
Nice ones mate - will be great to see York in League 1!
 
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