FMSaddler96
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Right guys unfortunately this will probably be my last post for a week or two whilst I am busy. I may get a bit of time to upload a couple of bits but I can't see myself getting the chance to give proper updates. I will still look to reply to any comments though so feel free to continue to leave feedback.
So with the season underway we had 5 tough league games and a couple of tough league cup ties to go through. In reality I didn't expect anything from the 5 league games and when the draw for the league cup 2nd round was made I had given up on advancing in that too.
But let's take a look at how we did...
View attachment 131884Not all too bad! We went through the first two games previously but I just thought I'd give a quick overview of them again. Away to recently relegated Boro I expected nothing but when we went 3-0 up before the 20 minute mark I had hopes of adding more as we were dominant. The Southend tie wasn't easy as they took the lead and defended well on for Bradshaw and Morris to get goals in the final 30 minutes.
But from then on is where it got more interesting. We hosted the Blues and deserved a point but Maghoma scored a screamer for them in the final minute to leave us without anything. Travelling to Turf Moor next I wasn't hopeful but we stood stubborn at the back and Curtis Main got an all important winner late on.
We then went to back to back defeats. Brighton had struggled early on in the league but controlled the tie with us struggling to get any chances whilst they created everything going forward. We did quite well to stay in the game for so long before a late goal sealed the Brighton win.
Then was the league cup tie against Leicester. The Foxes had finished 8th in the previous two campaigns but had built a squad which would build on that this season. We actually played fantastically but they just took their only 3 chances whilst we lacked clinical finishing.
Finally was the most bizzare win I have ever experienced. After going 1-0 down to 2nd place Huddersfield Kieron Morris scored his 6th goal of the season to equalise. It looked to be heading for a draw until the Huddersfield keeper got injured with 5 minutes left and we then took control and just took a shot whenever possible. Their back 4 basically sat on the line but when Morris had a shot blocked the ball came back to Mantom who drilled it home to get all 3 points.
View attachment 131883So after 5 games that leaves us in a fantastic position! I never expected to get a point from the opening 5 but we managed to get 3 wins from 5. I am a bit disappointed that we lost 2 of our 3 home games but on the other hand we won both of our away games.
Looking at what is needed for survival from previous years I have set a goal of 45 points meaning we need 36 points from 41 games. Realistically I think we should aim for 5 points every 5 games as that gets us 40 points over the rest of the season and gives us 49 points. I don't think this is too hard to achieve and should we do that over the season I can start looking ahead to next season.
Once again though injuries have been troublesome over early days. Bradshaw got injured against Burnley and will be out for about another 2 months. Jamie Allen also got a big injury in our opener against Middlesbrough and is only just returning to fitness. Also Kieron Morris took a knock which saw him miss the Brighton and Leicester games and he has been key for us so far getting 6 goals in 5 games.
Injuries shouldn't trouble us as much this season as I focused on improving the depth of our team and it seems to have been working so far allowing me to rotate the squad. Allen got a rating of 8.4 in the Boro game but Grant continued from last season and has been superb since.
My only worry is any further knocks Morris gets as he has been superb since I took over. He scores and creates goals from that right wing and after the start he has had I see no reason for him to not be chasing 15 goals on the season.
View attachment 131881There was also one final piece of news. After the third league game, a win against Burnley the board approached me over a new contract and we agreed to a new two year deal which gives me more security in the role.
Also we have handed out new deals to a number of key players including Morris, Demetriou, Mantom, Downing, Sawyers and Bradshaw as I wanted to keep the core of the squad together for the foreseeable future. It has put us over our wage budget by £3.55k but it is important to keep these players tied down and I also managed to get back under the budget previously.
Hadzhiev had been a solid player for me last season but after a strong summer of signings and the emergence of Kinsella as our defensive midfield option I felt we could sell him without worry. So Hadzhiev has joined league 1 Swindon for £140k which is fantastic as it also cleared his £3300 wage off of the bill.
As well as this we have loaned out a ton of players. The most notable are Flanagan to Swindon, Tom Hopper to Leyton Orient, Matt Preston to Shrewsbury, Luke Amos to Carlisle and Pau to Northampton. There has been a total of 25 players go out on loan though, most for the season, and more impressively 8 of those are to league 1 or 2 teams showing the strength of our youth system and our depth.
So with the season underway we had 5 tough league games and a couple of tough league cup ties to go through. In reality I didn't expect anything from the 5 league games and when the draw for the league cup 2nd round was made I had given up on advancing in that too.
But let's take a look at how we did...
View attachment 131884Not all too bad! We went through the first two games previously but I just thought I'd give a quick overview of them again. Away to recently relegated Boro I expected nothing but when we went 3-0 up before the 20 minute mark I had hopes of adding more as we were dominant. The Southend tie wasn't easy as they took the lead and defended well on for Bradshaw and Morris to get goals in the final 30 minutes.
But from then on is where it got more interesting. We hosted the Blues and deserved a point but Maghoma scored a screamer for them in the final minute to leave us without anything. Travelling to Turf Moor next I wasn't hopeful but we stood stubborn at the back and Curtis Main got an all important winner late on.
We then went to back to back defeats. Brighton had struggled early on in the league but controlled the tie with us struggling to get any chances whilst they created everything going forward. We did quite well to stay in the game for so long before a late goal sealed the Brighton win.
Then was the league cup tie against Leicester. The Foxes had finished 8th in the previous two campaigns but had built a squad which would build on that this season. We actually played fantastically but they just took their only 3 chances whilst we lacked clinical finishing.
Finally was the most bizzare win I have ever experienced. After going 1-0 down to 2nd place Huddersfield Kieron Morris scored his 6th goal of the season to equalise. It looked to be heading for a draw until the Huddersfield keeper got injured with 5 minutes left and we then took control and just took a shot whenever possible. Their back 4 basically sat on the line but when Morris had a shot blocked the ball came back to Mantom who drilled it home to get all 3 points.
View attachment 131883So after 5 games that leaves us in a fantastic position! I never expected to get a point from the opening 5 but we managed to get 3 wins from 5. I am a bit disappointed that we lost 2 of our 3 home games but on the other hand we won both of our away games.
Looking at what is needed for survival from previous years I have set a goal of 45 points meaning we need 36 points from 41 games. Realistically I think we should aim for 5 points every 5 games as that gets us 40 points over the rest of the season and gives us 49 points. I don't think this is too hard to achieve and should we do that over the season I can start looking ahead to next season.
Once again though injuries have been troublesome over early days. Bradshaw got injured against Burnley and will be out for about another 2 months. Jamie Allen also got a big injury in our opener against Middlesbrough and is only just returning to fitness. Also Kieron Morris took a knock which saw him miss the Brighton and Leicester games and he has been key for us so far getting 6 goals in 5 games.
Injuries shouldn't trouble us as much this season as I focused on improving the depth of our team and it seems to have been working so far allowing me to rotate the squad. Allen got a rating of 8.4 in the Boro game but Grant continued from last season and has been superb since.
My only worry is any further knocks Morris gets as he has been superb since I took over. He scores and creates goals from that right wing and after the start he has had I see no reason for him to not be chasing 15 goals on the season.
View attachment 131881There was also one final piece of news. After the third league game, a win against Burnley the board approached me over a new contract and we agreed to a new two year deal which gives me more security in the role.
Also we have handed out new deals to a number of key players including Morris, Demetriou, Mantom, Downing, Sawyers and Bradshaw as I wanted to keep the core of the squad together for the foreseeable future. It has put us over our wage budget by £3.55k but it is important to keep these players tied down and I also managed to get back under the budget previously.
Hadzhiev had been a solid player for me last season but after a strong summer of signings and the emergence of Kinsella as our defensive midfield option I felt we could sell him without worry. So Hadzhiev has joined league 1 Swindon for £140k which is fantastic as it also cleared his £3300 wage off of the bill.
As well as this we have loaned out a ton of players. The most notable are Flanagan to Swindon, Tom Hopper to Leyton Orient, Matt Preston to Shrewsbury, Luke Amos to Carlisle and Pau to Northampton. There has been a total of 25 players go out on loan though, most for the season, and more impressively 8 of those are to league 1 or 2 teams showing the strength of our youth system and our depth.