Darren Trott's Managerial Journey!

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Injuries
25th August 2015: Training today started with rather bad news. Head Physio Jeff Miller approached me to mention the reason behind Flinders' absence from training. Scott Flinders, my first choice goalie had strained his stomach muscles during weights training. Miller mentioned that it'll be atleast a month before he starts getting involved with the team.
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Flinders now joins what is a pretty long list of first team players who are injured. I quickly asked Miller to compile the full report and it was quite a depressing sight. So many injured players....
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Coaching Staff
A couple of weeks ago, the club placed an advertisement for a coach, preferably defending coach. I am the only coach at the club with good defensive training abilities, thanks to my playing career as a full back. So, I was hoping for some good defensive coaches to apply for the post.

While quite a good number of people applied, one name stood out. Peter Wilding was a rather well-known name among the lower leagues of English football and his interest in joining the club caught my attention.
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I called Wilding and had a long chat with him. We actually did play against each other quite a long while ago. This was when I was still playing for Newcastle. My memory is not quite strong but I believe it was a Capital One Cup game. After the conversation, I told him that we'll have formal talks the next day.

Everything went well and both parties agreed on a contract!
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Valiant Fightback!!
View attachment 214715This game couldn't have started in a worse manner. Two penalties in a space of 10 minutes put us in a lot of bother. The first one was a poor challenge by Russ Penn but the second one wasn't a penalty. I was fuming at the touchline and so were the players. But Mansfield went 2-0 up.

A cross by Lester from the right wing took a deflection before ending up in the net and gave us a lifeline. Atleast we went into half time with a chance of fightback.

It was a heated lecture at half time. I yelled at the players and urged them to show some passion. I used a whole bunch of foul words to drive the point home.

12 minutes into the second half, we conceded one more. Matt Green got his hat-trick. In contrast to his first two, this was a gem. Sometimes, you simply have to stand up and applaud an opposition goal.
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However, the drama wasn't over. With the scoreline at 1-3, I asked the players to bombard forward. Hyde and McCoy scored 2 goals in the space of 3 minutes to bring us level. The momentum was with us and for the next 20 minutes that followed, Mansfield were clueless. Their efforts to shore their defense was pointless as we attacked with impunity. Berrett hit the cross bar, Bellamy had a couple of clear chances but squandered it. It could've been 4-3 or even 6-3 but it ended up all even.
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Given the early state of the game with two goals down, it looks like a point earned. But given the dominance in the last 20 minutes, it was probably 2 points lost. Oh well...



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First Clean Sheet
View attachment 214448It took us a while to get my first clean sheet. In fact, it is exactly what I wanted. I lined up with a 4123 DM formation to make sure we don't concede.

Everything went according to plan. Mansfield saw most of the ball but it was us who threatened more. It took us quite a while to score but it almost looked inevitable considering how perfect our offensive moves were. A beautiful floated cross by Lester was headed home by Hyde with perfection.
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All of Mansfield attacks were easily thwarted by our defense. Unfortunately, with seconds left Russ Penn picked up a second yellow card for a foolish tackle. This is his fifth yellow card in 7 games and it looks like a warning is needed to let him know how I feel.

Anyway, it was a good win and the plan working perfectly delighted me!

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This is looking great mate, amazing the amount of work you put into it! KIU!
 
Lippo255 said:
This is looking great mate, amazing the amount of work you put into it! KIU!
Click to expand...
Thanks!

It is important that I need to put effort to keep up with the rest of the amazing stories around here. :)
 
Two days after the Mansfield game, I called Russ Penn to meet me before the training started. I spoke to him in a rather harsh tone and reminded him that I expect better from experienced players.

I gave him a stern warning that if he got himself sent off in another game, I was going to give him a two-match ban. He silently agreed and said he'd do his best to tone down his recklessness.​
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Johnstone's Paint Trophy Draw
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This is a tough draw. A top half League one side is going to be a challenge for us, especially at their home ground. We will, of course, put our best foot forward and try to get something out of the game.
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Better late than never.
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A fourth draw this season so far but I'm glad we got the equalizer with just seconds left in the game.

The game started with us dictating the tempo. We spent a lot of time in the opposition half trying to break the deadlock. Narrow misses, good shotstopping by their GK kept the score at 0-0. At half time, I told the players to keep going and the goal will eventually come - that's how it looked from the outside.
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The second half was a bit more even but it was Newport Co. who opened the scoring. Aaron Collins scored through the very first opening they had. We missed half a dozen good chances and they convert their first....had to be, right? Right?

With the game approaching the final whistle, I was worried - very worried about dropping points. We definitely deserved something from this game after a very good display. Thankfully for us, Jake Hyde scored one after Ellis Bellamy hit a low cross into the box after the corner was cleared by Newport.

All the York City fans were delighted and I was fist-punching the air in what felt like part relief and part delight. Fourth draw in six League games this season. Not quite sure what to make of it though....
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Not exactly the brightest of the starts with 7 points from 6 games. We have 3 draws in 3 home games so far and our only win (and loss) came away from home.

We need to start converting those home draws to win and that should help us slowly climb up the League table. We also have a rather poor defense until now. It is something we need to focus on!

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Loving this, been in York for 5 years, they definitely deserve to be at the top, good luck mate!
 
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A few days ago, coach Peter Wilding approached me and asked for permission to go on a coaching course to gain the Continental A license. I had some discussions with the board and whether they are willing to pay for the course. A long discussion later, business development director Rob McGill agreed.
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Injuries
10th Sept 2015: The situation looks a lot better now than it was a few weeks ago. Lots of the then-injured players are now back to playing regular football, although some of them are still recuperating.

But every good news comes with some strings attached. After the Newport Co. game, Femi Ilesmani got injured in a training session. This is a significant blow as he is our best left back and is a very reliable defender in our line-up. He'll be out for over a month. It'll be interesting to see how we handle this!

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Eddie Nolan and Scott Flinders should be back soon. I am eagerly looking forward to Flinders' return as he has been brilliant in goal in the games he has played.


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Deadly offense, leaky defense
View attachment 213679The scoreboard looks close on paper but this game was rather one-sided. In the first half hour or so, we had 6-7 shots to Stevenage's one. We finally broke the deadlock after extended spell of dominance when Jack Hyde used his 6 foot plus frame to head a cross home.

Before half-time, we hit again as Bellamy finished an excellent passing move with a bullet header. It's probably the best goal scored under my management.
[video=youtube;uawrBFx6M58]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uawrBFx6M58[/video]
It was after half time when the drama happened. Horror show from the defense as McAllister found yards of space to guide home a thumping header from a corner. Terrible defending.

More drama followed when McCoy missed a penalty for us as he shot straight at the Stevenage keeper. To be honest, the penalty call was a dubious one to begin with. Drama all around!
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Moments after the penalty miss, Ben Godfrey shot from inside the box to make it 3-1 to us. The two goal cushion was restored. We held the two goal advantage for the next half hour fairly comfortably. Although Stevenage pulled one back in the dying moments of the game thanks to another shambolic set-piece defending.

We need to work on defending corners...but for now, it's 3 points in the bag!​
 
First Home Win in the League
View attachment 213671It took us four games to get the first home win in the League. This was very well deserved, despite us needing a penalty very late in the game.

I started with a cautious approach because of our rather poor defending in recent games. It very nearly backfired as Anthony Straker had to clear one off the line. But soon after that, Carlisle striker Osei hit a shot with impunity and the ball thundered into the back of the net. Whoa, what a goal that was. I don't think any defending or goal keeper could've kept it out.
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Barring that Osei wonder goal, the first half seemed rather even. So, I told the players to keep things up and the goal will come. And it did, courtesy of a wild deflection. A cross from our left wing took a deflection off a Carlisle player before ending up in the goal.

The game seemed to be heading towards a draw, when I decided to bring on some fresh legs up front and in the wings to stretch the Carlisle defense. And it worked wonders! Michael Coulson won a penalty as he easily ran past the Carlisle defense. Coulson converted the spot kick with a neatly placed shot. 2-1, with 2 mins left.

I yelled from the touch line "Focus! Focus!" I very nearly poked my eyes with my fingers as I was signaling the players to concentrate. Carlisle tried to launch a couple of attacks but it was nothing our defense couldn't handle.

And there it was! The first league victory after three draws. Now that we have two back to back League wins, it's time to push forward and grab a few more wins in the upcoming games.
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We are now at 7th spot thanks to our successive wins. There is not a lot separating the teams around us and so, it is imperative that we keep up the good form.

Our attacking gameplay is actually pretty good as we are among the top teams in terms of goals scored. Unfortunately, we are the second in the infamous list of goals conceded. 13 goals conceded in 8 games doesn't look good.

Must. Improve. Defending.

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Injuries: One In, Another Out
I cannot catch a break at the moment. Just when I was happy about Scott Flinders is making a full recovery, Michael Ingham, my other first-team keeper has picked up an injury.

Thankfully, it's not a very bad injury. Ingham should be back in 2 weeks or so but still - curse my luck.
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Unbeaten Streak Ends
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And there ends our seven match unbeaten streak. Every thing that could go wrong went wrong. Nothing went our way, and we were quite simply outplayed by a superior team.

Notts County dominated proceedings and took the lead through striker Jon Stead. The pace in the build-up play was too much for us to handle. I was yelling a whole bunch of encouraging words from the touchline. Couple of mins before the half time, I was preparing for the team talk and change in tactics. Notts Co scored a second and it very nearly made me tear my notes.

I told the players to try and mount a comeback. "Everyone is expecting us to lose today. Now, go out there and prove them wrong. Stick to the tactics and don't give them enough space to pick passes. You've got nothing to lose but I expect to see each of you give your 100%"

We did pull one back in the 53rd minute. A cross from Sinclair was not well dealt with the home side defense and we got a goal after a couple of deflections. Barring the goal, it was Notts Co who were dictating the tempo. We still had no shots on target, which was a bit embarrassing.
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With the scoreline at 1-2, there was only one thing for us to do. I signaled to the players asking them to push forward in numbers. Some neat attacking play brought us a couple of nice chances but our all-out attacking mentality allowed Notts Co. to hit us on the counter and make it 3-1. After that, they saw the game out with a lot of ease.

Clearly outplayed today. Notts Co. are the bookies favourites to win the League 2 and today's performance showed me why they are! We've got a lot to learn from this defeat.

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After two months here at York, I am finally settling in. I am now fully able to put my playing career behind me and view the game as a tactician/manager. I have been so involved with the day-to-day football here that I've been completely isolated from the other Leagues and clubs.

The day after the Notts County game, I checked some video highlights of the two Premier League clubs I played for during my career - the Toons and the Saints.

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Newcastle are doing a great job and occupy the 5th spot in the League. Southampton, on the other hand are struggling a bit now and are in the relegation zone.

After the game, I wondered whether I'll get the chance to manage one of these two clubs. Or any Premier League club....Only time will tell.

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