Finding The Right Blend

As it turned out, both of Schofield’s suggestions were actually pretty useless. Much like Grant Brown’s managing I figured, after the Colchester game had ended in a 4-1 defeat. Unlike last time, I didn’t hit the roof. After all, we were expected to lose. I was due back on the training ground in the morning, and I’d made it clear I was in charge of training; no exceptions.

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I had it all planned out. Schofield was on defending with Grant, and Corrigan was to spend the day working with Paul Farman. Kev Oxby, chief physio, was putting the midfielders through various fitness drills in the absence of a fitness coach. I meanwhile, was teaching my strikers how to shoot.

We’d had plenty of shots so far, but not enough goals. I knew that my strikers were capable; Tomlinson, Burrow and Nkusu were all very good, but they needed to find their shooting boots. I’d been contemplating putting them with the Under 21’s for a little bit, that should kick them off.

Midway through the session, I realised I had two missed calls. One was Esteban’s agent; he’d joined Millwall. I wasn’t too annoyed, Livermore’s face on the day suggested it was a done deal. The other was Tony Sparks, a scout by trade. He’d accepted my contract offer, and would be in the office to talk to George and John to complete a plan of action in the morning.

In the meantime, Jake Nicholson, the ex-Spurs youth product, had joined us for a week. We were also in talks with Damien Mozika about a trial. I had made it clear though that I couldn’t guarantee them a contract, and they would need to impress me. If I got Rowe, that be a problem for them.

I got a text through from Bob, as I wrapped up the session.

“80-1 for promotion. Make them regret that.”

Challenge accepted.​
 
So Barnet got Rowe. Goddammit. Although Jake Nicholson looked particularly cheerful this morning when he heard. My bad mood was further increased when Kev wandered over to me.

“Bad news mate, I have injuries to report” he said in a fairly sullen mood. “Alan has a dead leg, Sam-Yorke done for the next 2 months with strained ligaments.”

“****”. I turned away for a moment. Any more injuries and I’d run out of players. I spun back around. “Keep the other guys fit, I’ll work on a fitness coach”. Kev nodded and went back to the treatment room.

Once again, Dorrian’s cost-cutting was costing me. The sooner he left the better.

I finished the day by looking over the report Grant had sent me. We’d beaten Waltham Casuals 3-0, but we’d not been convincing. Only 3 shots on targets suggested my work with the strikers hadn’t worked.

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I made the call that I would take the next friendly, and examine in depth what exactly was going wrong.​
 
Another day, another lost transfer target. Nicholson joined Kidderminster. I decided I’d go for Mozika, to find out he was injured. I slammed my fist into the table. At this rate, the club would continue to go backwards.

I lifted the lid on my laptop, and send a message to my scouts. I needed reports and quickly. To their credit, they delivered.
They told me that they had had a word with Charlee Adam, my Birmingham loanee. He’d told them to have a look at Olly Lee, his youth team centre midfield partner. They’d seen good things, and told me a loan was viable.

In the meantime, I’d got in touch with Cambridge. I knew that Mitch Austin was available on loan, and decided it would be worth a punt for the left sided midfielder.

It didn’t solve my defensive problem, but I’m a firm believer in the importance of the midfield as a controlling influence. Besides, with a week still to go before the opening day, I had a little time to find one centre back. It couldn’t be that hard… could it?​
 
I slumped onto my bed. That match wasn’t pleasant viewing. Sheffield United simply outclassed us. The one consolation for me was that Nkusu had scored.

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Moving away from that abysmal performance, I looked at the calendar. I’ll be honest; it didn’t make for pretty reading.

Kidderminster (H)
Altrincham (A)
Barnet (A)
Braintree (H)
Halifax (A)
Torquay (H)

I sighed. Maybe 6-9 points at the most. Barnet and Kidderminster should beat us, and Torquay have only just dropped down to this league. Still, it’s worth noting that we are only expected mid-table.

I grabbed my notepad, and started making notes. I needed a gameplan for Saturday. Fast.​
 
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Gameday.

I stood on the touchline, and surveyed Sincil Bank as the players warmed up. It was half an hour until kickoff, and I’d just announced the matchday XI. In the absence of any wingers, Waite and Tomlinson were given the nod.

One thing I’d noticed in training was the way the 3 midfielders linked up. Power was selected in front of Adams and Nolan, but all 3 were given the freedom to roam.

I shook hands with Garry Whild as the players lined up on the park. It was the first time I’d noticed the nerves. It was my first competitive game in charge, and I desperately needed a good start. Just as the whistle went, I noticed Waite and Tomlinson move in slightly. I’d been drilling them on that all week, it was about time they listened.

Morgan and Nkusu traded chances early on, as the game took on a lively feel. I wasn’t comfortable; we hadn’t managed to assert ourselves on the game as I hoped.

Unsurprisingly, our lack of assertion cost us. Gittings went for a run, before smashing past Farman at the near post. I backheeled the nearest water ball in frustration, narrowly missing Kev Oxby.

It went from bad to worse when Diagne missed his header, and left Knowles with a tap in. If looks could kill, Schofield would have been the end of Diagne.

I’d turned away when Tomlinson took the ball to the touchline; I was expecting to go out. Somehow he managed to get the ball to Power, who in turned set Adam up for a low drive. It found the corner, and the crowd erupted. The young lad had done that a few times in training; it was nice to see him manage it on the pitch.
I shouted at Newton to continue pushing forward. The left back had been causing chaos; I needed him to carry on hassling the defence. I got a thumb up in return. I was also acutely aware of Grant shouting at the centre backs, encouraging them to get their heads in the game.

We hadn’t learned. Gittings escaped from Diagne to head home at 3-1. I’d seen enough, and hoiked him off, Nat Brown coming on. I sent Diagne down the tunnel, he needed to go and concentrate on his own failings out the way.

We instantly looked better, and some neat passing down the centre found Waite in the box; he didn’t miss. It was his first goal for the club, and he celebrated it as much as possible. I tried to remain calm, but a small smile escaped. The game wasn’t over yet.

We got to half time without conceding anymore. The players had noticed that Diagne wasn’t with the group when they reached the tunnel. There were a few raised eyebrows, but they had the sense to keep quiet. As did I, I could see Grant and Schofield were itching to get stuck in.

The squad reacted pretty positively. They weren’t destroyed by the experienced duo, but they were reminded of their responsibilities. They were also reminded that they owed the fans after last season, and this was not the way to do it.

Nkusu was starting to look leggy after an hour, so I got Burrow on for his debut. Hopefully some fresh legs would galvanize us. It didn’t, Knowles escaping yet again in the box.

A Tomlinson shot hit the post, but it was too late. I got the notepad out, and noted who was being fined after that. That wasn’t happening again, not on my watch.

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A shocker from Diagne! 4.9 & didn't even make it to halftime! I shudder to think what the score-line could have been if you hadn't hooked him!
 
Lippo255 said:
A shocker from Diagne! 4.9 & didn't even make it to halftime! I shudder to think what the score-line could have been if you hadn't hooked him!
Click to expand...

If he plays like that again, he'll be lucky to make it to the end of August!
 
It was only a short trip to Altrincham by coach, but the tension was palpable. After the rollicking the team had suffered by my hand on Sunday during extra training, this was unsurprising. I’d given them the squad sheet on the bus, so they had time to prepare.

Tony Diagne had been replaced. In fact, I’d told him not to bother coming on the coach,and to train with the reserves. It wasn’t so much the performance that bugged me, but the reaction to the two week fine; a standard punishment. He’d maintained he had played well and didn’t deserve it, so rather than argue, I just dispatched him out the way.

Will Aimson wasn’t quite fit after joining us on loan on the Monday; he was still carrying a knock.

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Therefore, defensive duties would fall to Brown alongside Bencherif. Mendy and Hodge would start behind Power this time, with Simmons starting ahead of Nkusu. Robinson also came in on the right side of the attack.

There were a few changes, and some untried youth in there, I mused. This was Hodges’ first and Simmons’ second games for the club. I was pretty happy with them in pre-season though, as was Grant. They’d have to play at some point to improve, tonight was as good an opportunity as any. Hopefully they seized their chance with both hands.

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Here we go again then, game number 2. It couldn’t go any worse than last time I figured. They’d lined up in a basic 4-4-2, so I was happy that Power should get some space to roam in between the lines.

The whistle went, and we pressed forward. In horrible, wet conditions, we had the first chance; a Newton free kick fizzing past the bar. I was cautious, our early dominance last match saw us concede first.

Newton started our next attack from a throw. Some neat little interchanges between Power and Tomlinson saw Power swinging in a deep cross into the box. I’d seen Robinson waiting for it, and watched as he timed his run beautifully to tap home. 1-0. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Hodge’s debut lasted all of eight minutes. He crumpled into a heap under a heavy challenge, and had to be taken off. Jon Nolan came on. I cursed, I was hoping to keep that change for later in the match.

We were brought back down to earth by a screamer of a freekick. Farman was poorly positioned, but take nothing away from Cavanagh, it was special. I turned to Corrigan and told him to push Farman hard on freekicks over the next week, same for Aidan Grant.

17 minutes in, and another Cavanagh freekick lead to another goal. This one hit the post, beating Farman again, and Kyle Perry nestled in the back of the empty net. 2-1 then and we were behind yet again. I vented my frustration on the nearest bottle, and shouted at the lads to concentrate.

It worked, some solid defence at the back from Power turned into attack, and when Tomlinson swung in a cross, Simmonds placed it home, albeit at the second attempt. We were showing much more of a fight this time, and I took note that the team as a whole were working more cohesively.

With very little incidents of note after that during the half, I was happy to get the team back in the dressing room. I reminded them that it was a “game of two halves” and that “it wasn’t over until the fat lady sang”. I felt like a ****ing cliché, but the team looked happy enough about it. The captain looked distinctly pleased, and that was all I needed; he was the most influential player in the team.

We continued to attack, with a bizarre Simmons header hitting the bar, and a goalmouth scramble being cleared off the line. I continued to hop around on the touchline; encouraging the wingers to attack, or reminding the defenders to mark up. I was like a man possessed; I wanted that first win, and I could sense it.

Tomlinson was starting to flag, so I decided to bring Waite onto the left. He scored last week, now we needed another one.

Reeves ran clear in the 88th​ minute, and my heart froze. He is a clinical finisher, and had caused nothing but problems since coming on. Time seemed to stop as he shot. The ball flew through the air… into the post. I breathed out loudly.
All attack turned to defence as we held on for the point. The whistle blew and I made a point of going and congratulating all our players; we were on the board, and things were surely only going to get better.

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Bad news guys, my computer took offence to this file and it no longer works. I'll reboot this for FM16 in a slightly different format, may start a new story within the week
 
Godfish93 said:
Bad news guys, my computer took offence to this file and it no longer works. I'll reboot this for FM16 in a slightly different format, may start a new story within the week
Click to expand...

Gutting! No back ups get made by the game? Good luck with your next one.
 
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