From Bates to the Big Time

[ManiReniSquireBrown]

I woke up and switched on the TV, putting it onto Sky Sports News immediately, as I do every morning. Hoping for maybe a bit of transfer news involving us or at least even a rumour. Nothing. Put some Weetabix into a bowl, poured some milk in and ate it. Got in my Range Rover, drove to Thorp Arch. As I entered to see Simon for our daily meeting there was an air of negativity, an air of disappointment, different to my normal working day at the club. Something was strange about today - it didn’t feel right. But I went to go coach the youth team as is my job. My name is Harry Ronsdale and I’m the manager of youth coaching and youth development at Leeds United. I’ve brought through players like James Milner, Fabian Delph, Aaron Lennon and plenty more. I love my job and feel passionate about improving this brilliant club, the one I grew up watching. I’ve turned down approaches from Man City, Chelsea, countless clubs as Leeds are my passion and project. I started my footballing career at Tranmere Rovers, breaking into the first team at 17, top scorer for 2 seasons from the age of 20, career ended by injury at 21. Then I came here at the age of 22, back when we were Premier League, determined to create a piece of history. We all know what happened with our finances after that. Anyway, we got through the morning well enough, I’m starting to think the lads I’m coaching are progressing really well and getting better every day. As I went to the canteen to get my lunch, I noticed the looks on the senior players faces was eerie and worried. I looked in the direction of the TV as they were doing and then I saw it.

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‘Sky Sports has just received breaking news that Leeds United have sacked manager Simon Grayson. Grayson had been at Leeds since December 2008 and guided Leeds to promotion from League 1in his first full season, as well as taking the Whites to just outside the play offs in their first season back in the Championship. There appears to be no reasoning as of yet to why Grayson’s been sacked but an insider in the club tells us it is due to a disagreement over lack of investment in the team. A few of the names linked with the job so far are Billy Davies, Karl Robinson, Gordon Strachan, Mick McCarthy, managers there that I’m sure Leeds fans would be happy with. ’

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I stood and stared in complete silence. Just this morning Simon was here as my boss and the boss of this great club. Now, nothing. Why had he gone? Was it really because of lack of funding? I’ve seen first-hand that there’s not enough money going in but Simon had always coped so well without it. Would this change how my lads were trained? Would the new manager want me to teach them differently? And then I thought…why not me? Why don’t I go for the job? I’m experienced, know all the players, have brought the club money and success in the youth. I can’t see me getting it but it’s worth a shot at least isn’t it? I walked back to my office and started typing up my ‘managerial CV’, explaining why I’m the man for the job. I sent it to Ken Bates, our chairman, and now all I could do was play the waiting game.​

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[ManiReniSquireBrown]

I'd been waiting for a reply for a few days, on edge but still managing to coach the young lads well enough. Checking my e-mail every hour to see of any reply. It had been 4 days now, which in my opinion was too long for a club this size to not have taken action. Which could only mean one thing, I wasn't successful. My mind started wandering...what if I'd have taken the job at Man City when I had the chance? I'd given this club a lot of time and effort and for what? Nothing it seemed. I went for my dinner and sat in my office, when suddenly I got a knock at my door. It was Sean Harvey, CEO of the club and second in command to the owner, Ken Bates. He had a suit in his hands and told me to change into it, I was puzzled as to why though. He then told me I had an interview concerning my application for the job. My legs were like jelly but I was excited inside, my mind was thinking what to say in the interview and was all coming too fast for me to think properly. I settled down, sat and thought slowly of what made me the best man for the job.

I came out of that interview so relieved, trying to compose myself and not give anything away as I passed each colleague. I felt it had gone pretty well and that I was in with a real chance of getting the job. I'd seen a lot of other relatively big name managers linked and I wasn't even on the odds on William Hill. But this only inspired me further to be the best that I could in my role. I had the confidence and credentials to take this club to the very top. The players liked me, the fans would probably like me, I played football the attractive way - but I was untested in such a role, a gamble. For the first time in my life that night, I prayed before I went to bed. I needed Leeds. Leeds needed me.​

I woke up, switched my laptop on and read my e-mails, as I do every morning. 10 new e-mails...and one stood out, the very second I glanced at it.​

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I'd done it.​

 

[ManiReniSquireBrown]

Around a week after I'd been appointed (albeit unofficially), Sean Harvey called me into his office again. I wondered what it was for this time...I certainly hadn't told anyone about my appointment, I'd even kept it quiet from my wife. I sat outside and waited patiently. I walked in and Leeds United were a club under a dictatorship with no money spent on the areas of the club that needed it. I walked out and Leeds United were a club fresh with new, exciting ideas and enough money to make us promotion candidates at least. Sean told me that a group of American investors had taken over the club, buying us for a fee that was in the region of £65,000,000 and that they had pumped around £35m into the club for improvements. But that still didn't answer the question I wanted to know: how much was available for new players? I hinted at it to Sean but there was no definitive answer everytime I did. And then he came out with a pretty impressive figure at this level...£2.8m. With another £50,000 available in wages. I nearly collapsed. That kind of money was what the team had needed for so long and everyone in Football (except Ken Bates, of course) knew it. I was more than confident that I could build a good team with that. And so with that, the fun and games started.​

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I realised that the coaching set up wasn't as good as it could have been so spent a large amount of time finetuning it. Gary Issott joined from Crystal Palace for around £80,000 in compensation and has always been someone I've seen has a pretty decent future in coaching in the game, as he is competent in a few different categories. Gary McAllister, a former iconic player here, was the person I chose to be my assistant manager. He's something of a coup as he loves the club and has managed here before so will know exactly what is needed to succeed. I also appointed 4 scouts as were on the short side in that position and 4 scouts of what look like the highest calibre including Ricky Sbragia, who has valuable experience and knowledge of a few different countries. I got 2 more coaches and also appointed Ray Clemence, an English goalkeeping great, as my goalkeeping coach and to me it looks like another great appointment.​

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I wasted no time at all in spending the money that had been allocated to me, I felt I had to transform the squad as the chairman wanted me to meet the minimum expectation of reaching the play offs. My first signing was Norwegian left midfielder Petter Vaagen Moen, picked up on a free transfer. We looked really weak and short on the left, especially in midfield, so I felt this was a position we needed to prioritise in. After that, Jody Craddock joined for a measly £160,000, a signing that I feel is a brilliant piece of business at this level. He'll add valuable experience to a youthful defence and is still at the top of his game. Next in was Craig Dawson from West Brom for £1.5m, a large fee but one I'm happy to defend. Craig is a cracking player already and still has years to improve yet. I feel he is the man to lead us to the Premier League, from the back. Heidar Helguson joined us next, on loan until the end of the season for £120,000. Heidar has bags of experience and is a hard working player, something that we lack upfront. Joel Ward came in from cash strapped Portsmouth for £90,000 and looks to have a bright future in the game already at the age of 21. He probably won't play often this season, as I feel he'll do well with time in the lower leagues, developing his game. Next in wasGael Bigirimana from Coventry, a coup for only £130,000. Gael looks a great player already and stands out head and shoulders amongst a lot of players his age. At only 18 years old, he is definitely one for the future. After him, Lewis McGugan joined for a fee of £1m. Lewis is exactly what we lack in the middle and is still relatively young. For the price we paid, I think this is a great deal as we have picked up a quality player for a decent fee from another club in the league. As I felt we lacked pace upfront, I signed Benik Afobe on loan from Arsenal for the season. Benik has great pace and will be hungry to prove himself to Arsene Wenger and as we're contributing nothing towards his wages, I feel this could be a good deal. I then signedPaul Gallagher until the end of the season on loan for a fee of £160,000 as I felt we lacked depth in the middle and someone to link the attack to the midfield. Paul is a player I've enjoyed watching for a while and offers something different. My scouts recommended Carlos Aranda to me so I paid £170,000 to bring him in on loan until the end of the season, with us paying nothing if we wished to make the move pernament. Carlos looks a good player at this level and is certainly someone I feel can make an impact for us this year. Finally, I was offered Yven Moyo to me from Newcastle for £45,000 and after scouting him, signed him. Yven is a fast, skilful player and offers another option on the wing, although I will probably use him as an impact player from the bench to start with.​

I released Paul Rachubka as I felt that his wages were too high for what I saw as a 3rd choice goalkeeper. I felt we had two better options in Andy Lonergan and Maik Taylor, therefore I didn't see where he'd fit in. I then sent Joe McCann, Monty Gimpel and Alex Cairns all on loan to Guiseley until the end of the season, as I felt the 3 would benefit from first team experience. All 3 are young and hungry and I think the loan spells will do them the world of good. Alex Bruce and Ben Parker left to join Peterborough for a combined fee of £360,000, which I was pleased with as I felt both really had no place in the squad or my first team plans. It also helped me to clear some more funds for the wage bill. Billy Paynter joined Ipswich on loan until the end of the season for an initial fee of £275,000, another move I was pleased with as I see Billy as earning too much money for a position he will never fill at Leeds. Ipswich can sign him for £125,000 if they wish, something I'm happy with. Zac Thompson joined York on loan until the end of the season, something I'm happy with as I don't see Zac really featuring at the moment and think he'll benefit from first team football. Finally, Lloyd Sam and new signing Joel Ward both went on loan to League 1 Notts County until the end of the season. Lloyd is a player I'm still unsure on, therefore I think a loan spell will help him prove himself to me. Joel still needs time to progress and I see this loan as the perfect opportunity to do so.​

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Pre season went well and I felt the players adapted well to the tactics I set up for them. They also bonded well with each other and it certainly gives me hope for the new season. We grinded out a draw against Dunfermiline but I informed the players that the gave was purely about fitness, nothing more. We battered Guiseley 5-0, I was pleased with how confident the team looked and especially with Petter Vaagen Moen, who chipped in with 2 goals. I was also happy with how we beat Bury, again it looked like a struggle at times but the players showed good composure to see the result out. We finished a short pre season against Bournemouth, we drew 0-0, something I wasn't ecstatic about but I did realise that it's only pre season.​

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Next up, Derby away. A new start awaits...​

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[ManiReniSquireBrown]

I hardly slept a wink in the hotel. My mind wandered all night, my pen and paper my only friend. Hours, days, weeks spent training in pre season to fine tune our formation, to get the players working the best they can with each other, making them understand what this great club is about. But some of the players looked nervous, some looked like they couldn't really be bothered. Of course, the majority were all in line with my goals this season of reaching the play offs at least...but that majority needed to be changed to all of them. I called a team meeting at 8am the next day, I was nervous and shaking a bit but the butterflies in my stomach were more through excitement than anything else. I made each and every player that I was here to change the club and take us to the top, that no other manager would bring to these players what I could and would. I made them aware of Derby's tactics and how they rely on technical players in the midfield knocking it through to the fast strikers. The players took it all in and I left that meeting feeling brilliant and not so nervous, I'd inspired them as much as I could.​

As I stepped onto the pitch at Pride Park, I didn't really feel anything at all. I looked over at the players and well, I didn't really know what to say to them, I'd said all I wanted to. I sent Gary Issott and McAllister to introduce the players into their pre match warm up whilst I went to talk to the press. When I walked into the press box, I felt an enormous sense of intrigue being thrown at me, every journalist wanting to know everything, asking every question. I'd got bored of it within 5 minutes, it felt like the same questions were being asked over and over again, but worded differently. With that, I left the press conference and went into the dressing rooms to give my players all the tactical advice and know how that they needed. The referee pressed the buzzer to bring the teams out and it was here. The start of my revolution.​

Derby started brightest, they pushed forward from kick off but our defence were straight onto them, waiting for them to come onto us before we pushed forward...within 30 seconds Addison had snapped into Aidy White, our young left back. I could tell it was going to be a tough game from the off, with them diving into tackles. On 23 minutes, we finally broke through and got a goal. Petter Vaagan Moen whipped a ball in from the corner and Heidar Helguson hit a perfectly timed volley past their keeper. It felt such a relief but I didn't even really celebrate, my mind was more focused on increasing our lead. We managed to keep hold of the ball and looked the better side when half time came, we were dominating possession and winning the ball back a lot easier. I told the players at half time that we were doing well and to keep it up, they could see the game out easily if they carried on as they were.​

5 minutes into the second half, we made it 2-0. Ross McCormack picked up the ball in our own half and ran, ran, ran and kept running, no challenges from the Derby players, before firing a shot into the right side of the net. We were seeing the game out nicely but I was hoping we could get a 3rd and finish them off. On 75 minutes, Vaagan Moen set up another. White knocked the ball up the field to him and he controlled it well, running up the left wing and knocking into the box where Heidar grabbed another to make it 3-0. Brilliant. But it wasn't to last. 4 minutes later, Theo Robinson ran at our defence with his lightning pace and pulled one back. I was annoyed, firstly at losing the chance of a clean sheet then at the fact the players let him get past them so easily. As soon as we took the kick off, we pushed forward brilliantly, Derby's players not even getting a touch of the ball. McCormack ran into the box with the ball and Shackell tripped him, penalty, no doubt about it. Helguson stepped up to take it....and belted it past the keeper. A hat trick on his debut, a great start to his career. We were 4-1 up away from home, a great result. With 4 minutes left, Robinson grabbed another, sprinting past Lees at right back and scoring from a narrow angle. Again, I was disappointed that we didn't keep the clean sheet but the players kept it tight at the back after that goal and Derby didn't get the chance to even push forward. This game seemed to have everything, as Tom Leeswas annoyingly sent off on 92 minutes for his second yellow. It taught me that our discipline was something we have to work on.​

I felt we played really well and I was impressed with how well we dominated the play, I was also impressed with how clinical our finishing was. Petter Vaagan Moen was brilliant on the left and 2 assists really showed just a little of how well he really could perform for us. The defence did well most of the game but the lack of pace we have at the back is clearly a weakness and something I'll certainly be looking at when improving the squad. On the whole, I'm proud of our win and a 4-2 win away from home is something most teams would dream of.​

 

[ManiReniSquireBrown]

August 2011​

11.8.2011 Morecambe [A] Carling Cup

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I fielded a weaker team for this game but still had high expectations for the game. They were 2 leagues below us and we were a much stronger set of players but I wasn't going to underestimate them, regardless. I still wanted a 100% start to my career with us and told my players to go out there and get the result. We got money from Sky Sports after the tie was selected to be covered by them and if we beat Morecambe we could go on to face a much bigger team, more money, the chance to make a better name for myself, to put us back in the spotlight. Anyway, that aside, we ran out comfortable 3-1 winners. We dominated possession and completely battered them. Paul Gallagher scored our first goal from the penalty spot on 20 minutes after he'd started well for us, Morecambe didn't look like getting a foot in the game. But they did. Just before half time, Gary McDonald hit an absolute beauty for them from 35 yards after Mika Vayrynen had been booked. I had a go at the players for letting them even have a chance on goal and told them to go out there and kill them off.

And they did, on 66 minutes Gallagher netted a second, Nunez won the ball on the right and knocked a ball in, where it bounced in the centre of Morecambe's box, before Gallagher hit a cracking half volley. But the game still wasn't finished yet and I urged the lads to keep going. And 5 minutes later, Vayrynen made up for his booking. Nunez again did well on the right, but his cross was cleared, only to land at the feet of Mika on the edge of the box. He smashed the ball with venom and his unstoppable effort flew straight past their keeper, for his first Leeds goal. A really great goal that finished the game off.​

I was pleased that we looked composed in front of goal and that both wings were looking dangerous...but again, our defence worried me. I know we were only 2 games into the season but 3 goals conceded in 2 games was bad to say the least. Anyway, I was happy with the fact we did well on TV and looked forward to the next round tie. One of the big teams would do, a chance to impress against one of the top teams in the country and remind them that we're not gone and we're still here. I watched the tie on Sky Sports News and saw it all unfold..every team that came out I thought we'd beat. Praying for a big team. Hoping. 'Preston North End...will play Leeds United'. Great. A pretty poor tie but it would test us at least.

13.8.2011 Ipswich [H] nPower Championship​

I was so, so proud of this result. The perfect result. 3-0, dominated, clean sheet and an all round good performance against a pretty decent team in the league in front of our own fans. We started well and looked quality on the ball, but we just couldn't put the ball in the goal.

Half time came and I swapped White for Pugh and Clayton for Gallagher, who had impressed me midweek - hoping he'd do something to change this goalless game. Again, we started brightly and McCormack had a goal ruled out as offside, one I didn't entirely think was offside but these days you can't criticise referees so I said nothing. The game was looking in our favour and we deserved to be 3 or 4-0 up but we lacked a spark, something different, something that would give us that extra push. Step forward Yven Moyo. I brought him on at 70 minutes, he had a waltzing run down the left and beat 2 defenders before playing Vaagen Moen in, who knocked the ball past Amos in the Ipswich goal. All our hard work had paid off and we'd taken a much deserved lead. But I wanted more, us to keep going and push on. And yet again, Gallagher scored, 10 minutes later. The Scotsman found himself through on goal after breaking away from the Ipswich defence after a beautiful pass from McGugan and placed a cracking finish into the net. The side looked great at this moment in time but I wasn't putting all my eggs in one basket yet, despite our defensive worries pretty much disappearing. 5 minutes from time, Robert Snodgrass, scored with a great free kick from 25 yards out to effectively finish them off. Our captain had led by example all afternoon and put in a great display. After the match, I reflected on how well we'd done and whether we could keep this kind of form all season. Time would tell.

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16.8.2011 Millwall [A] nPower Championship

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Another Tuesday, another game. They were coming thick and fast and the first team players were definitely showing signs of fatigue. The lads looked shattered in training so I made the decision to play our second string, a chance for a few of them to impress me hopefully. I told them to go out and get an early goal for us, hold on for the rest of the 90 minutes and get the 3 points…which seemed impossible considering our poor defensive start to the season. Millwall started brightest and their ex Leeds player Andy Keogh almost gave them the lead in the 5th minute but Lonergan somehow managed to tip the ball around the post. This seemed to wake us up and possession was all ours after it. We kept pushing forward but there just seemed to be no clinical finishing touch for us. Finally, on 23 minutes we got the best chance of the game. Nunez to Rogers to Nunez through to Forsell…”Hit it Mikael! Hit it! Hit it!” I shouted as he came through on goal…denied…by Mkandawire. Penalty, no doubt about it and he was sent off for further good measure. Michael Brown stepped up and netted it, as cool as you like. The team knew the drill now, defend like our lives depended on it. Our lack of pace was showing though, only Aidy White had any and as a left back against a team playing very central on the pitch it was near useless. Millwall kept pushing and testing us, our players seemed too content to just back off instead of getting stuck in. 38 minutes in, we finally snapped. Abdou whipped in a peach of a ball from the right from a free kick which met the head of Robinson who headed easily past Lonergan.

I went into the dressing room at half time and told the players to simply go out and get the 3 points. They knew what they had to do, simply score and defend. That was something that I had told them to do from the start though. The second half was extremely drab with only one chance, Brown came close to doubling his tally but his 20 yard effort just went over the bar. We left London with a point, I was disappointed we couldn’t hold on for 3 but a point is a point and 1 is much better than 0.​

20.8.2011 Coventry [H] nPower Championship​

The first team had recovered and looked determined, ready to get all 3 points and ready to push us back up to the top of the table. I told the players that we simply had to beat Coventry as to be honest I saw them as an easy 3 points but the players may have lacked the motivation to beat these lesser teams. It took us only 2 minutes to take the lead with a nice finish from McCormack after some gorgeous build up play by us. McGugan got the ball, played it with the outside of the foot to Vaagen Moen on the left who played a ball in low…McCormack slid in and put it past Murphy to make it 1-0. On 9 minutes, we doubled the lead. Clayton won the ball in the centre and McGugan controlled it well before sprinting past McSheffrey and scoring a cracker from a tight angle. Coventry looked finished already and I wondered just how many more we could score. We controlled the possession brilliantly and Coventry didn’t even have a sniff of a goalscoring chance. On 37 minutes though, their work paid off though and McSheffrey got his revenge on us. Coventry played some great football and a through ball found its way to McSheffrey who finished well.

I was hoping and praying that we didn’t repeat our game against Millwall and throw away our lead as I went into the dressing room at half time. I told the lads that consistency was the key to any successful season and if they wanted one, it was what we needed. They responded brilliantly to this and we went all out from the start of the second half. On 57 minutes, McCormack hit a superb half volley which flew past Murphy. Unfortunately, the linesman raised his flag for offside and our celebrations were halted. But 10 minutes from time, we finished the game off. Vaagen Moen’s corner met the head of Dawson who headed in from the penalty spot. A great goal to complete a great performance. 25 shots compared to 3, 73% of the possession and 3 points. Fantastic.​

23.8.2011 Preston [A] Carling Cup

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Absolutely pathetic performance. I played the second string and it backfired massively. We never looked like scoring and failed to even simply keep the ball at times. Hume scored twice and should probably have got a hat trick due to the ridiculous defending from our team. Not one of our players can come out positively after this game and although it’s only my first defeat in charge of the team I shall be changing things hugely with the team to prevent many more. Nothing much to say about this match, we never looked like scoring or stopping Preston from scoring. I suppose it does allow us to concentrate on the league but it’s something of a bittersweet taste left in the mouth.

27.8.2011 Bristol [A] nPower Championship​

The players knew I expected nothing less than a win in this game and looked raring to go out there and get one. They were in the tunnel 5 minutes before Bristol, had the desire to win at all costs and were going to fight for the ball, run on every inch of turf. And they did! On 27 minutes we took the lead through a sublime effort from Snodgrass who cut in from the right and curled the ball past David James, a brilliant goal by a brilliant player. After that though, we reverted to just falling asleep again. Playing panicky and looking scared, never a good thing. I was beginning to feel as if the players thought I was a nobody at the club, nothing more than a yes man, they seemed to match my ambitions but after scoring, they panicked and played it safe instead of taking a risk.

I told them to take a few more risks in the second half, to relax and make the impossible possible. This seemed to worsen us though. Bang on 50 minutes, Brett Pitman raced away after a through ball from Kilkenny and lobbed Lonergan brilliantly. I didn’t even react to them scoring initially, just stood staring. Things would change I told myself, these lads were just starting out and there was still a lot of time left. I told the players to push up, to add more pressure; I changed to a 4-3-3. We kept getting closer and closer, David James was superb in the Bristol goal though and it really just felt like it wasn’t our day. Step forward Ross McCormack. Snodgrass on the right whipped in a ball which Helguson smashed against the bar and after a bit or argy bargy in the box it fell to those fantastic feet of McCormack who smashed it into an empty net. The feeling of pride had come back and these late winners reminded me why I was in football. We held on for the win and I told the players afterwards I was proud of their efforts. A good first month for me as manager of this great club and hopefully more of the same to come.

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Player of the month :​

Petter Vaagen Moen (4 assists, 1 goal)Quite frankly a brilliant month for Petter, 4 fantastic assists from our brilliant Norwegian wide man and he looks like a great signing already. The man looks dangerous everytime he gets the ball and we look so much stronger with him in the team.

Plan on doing the rest of the season as a summary, Laptop Charger broke a couple of weeks ago and only just got a new one....got addicted to FM again and obviously you can only view match reports so far back. After the 11-12 season, I plan on doing updates of every 3 months.​

 

[ManiReniSquireBrown]

September 2011-
10/9/11 - Notts Forest away - Lost 2-1. Clayton. Pascal Feindouno signs on a free after the game, adds options to both wings.
17/9/11 - Middlesbrough home (TV) - Won 2-1. Feindouno, McCormack.
24/9/11 - Portsmouth home - Won 2-1. Jody Craddock (2).
27/9/11 - Hull away - Drew 2-2. Helguson, Craddock.

October 2011-
1/10/11 Barnsley away (TV) - Won 2-1. Feindouno, McCormack.
15/10/11 Watford home - Won 2-1. McGuagan, Feindouno.
18/10/11 Southampton away - Lost 3-1. McCormack.
22/10/11 Cardiff home (TV) - Won 2-0. Clayton, Gallagher.
29/10/11 Crystal Palace away - Drew 0-0.​

November 2011-
1/11/11 Leicester home - Lost 2-0.
5/11/11 Brighton away - Lost 1-0. Marcos Alonso signed on loan from Bolton for a month to solve injury crisis at left back. Mikael Forsell released after the game.
19/11/11 Birmingham home - Drew 1-1. Afobe.
26/11/11 Blackpool away - Drew 0-0.
29/11/11 Peterborough home - Drew 1-1. Rogers.

Board announced at the end of the month they'd allocated me a further £10.5 million for transfers. Easily enough to get promoted...but I felt the squad wasn't good enough to survive in the PL. Would I spend it wisely?​

December 2011-
3/12/11 West Ham away - Lost 2-0.
10/12/11 Reading home - Won 1-0. Clayton.
17/12/11 Burnley away (TV) - Won 2-0. Gallagher, Vaagen Moen.
26/12/11 Doncaster home - Drew 0-0.
31/12/11 Derby home (TV) - Drew 1-1 Vaagen Moen.​

January In's -
Adrian Mariappa was first to join, from Watford for a fee of £3m. Costly in this league but steadies the defence and already has the skills to cut it at PL level.
Rivaldo then came for £18k. He was at the very end of his career but still possessed the quality to change any 0-0 into 3 points for us.
Liam Bridcutt joined for Brighton for £1.4m. Looks quality already and will progress well with us I think.
Neil Alexander joined for £600k from Rangers. We needed competition for Lonergan and it looks like Alexander would provide that.
Karim Ait Fana came in for £1.5m from Montpellier. Looks like a bargain, has absolutely bags of pace and skill.

January Out's -
Lewis Turner, Sanchez Payne, Ramon Nunez, Michael Brown, Patrick Kisnorbo and Maik Taylor all left the club after being released. The only other departure was Andy O'Brien, joining Watford for a loan fee of £500k until the end of the season.​

January 2012-
2/1/12 Ipswich away - Won 4-2. Vaagen Moen, Becchio, Rivaldo, Smith (OG).
7/1/12 Stevenage away (FA Cup) - Won 2-1. Feindouno, Helguson.
14/1/12 Millwall home - Drew 1-1. McCormack.
21/1/12 Coventry away - Won 2-1. McGugan, Becchio.
28/1/12 Sunderland away (TV, FA Cup) - Drew 1-1. Vaagen Moen.
31/1/12 Bristol away - Drew 0-0.

February 2012-
4/2/12 Nottingham Forest home - Drew 0-0.
7/2/12 Sunderland home (TV) - Lost 1-0.
11/2/12 Middlesbrough away (TV) - Drew 1-1. Snodgrass.
14/2/12 Hull home. Drew 0-0.
18/2/12 Barnsley home (TV) - Drew 1-1. Ait Fana.
25/2/12 Portsmouth away - Won 2-0. Somma, McCormack.​

March 2012-
3/3/12 Watford away - Won 3-2. Clayton, Vaagen Moen, Loach (OG)
6/3/12 Southampton home - Drew 1-1. Feindouno.
10/3/12 Cardiff away (TV) - Lost 2-1. Somma.
17/3/12 Crystal Palace home - Won 2-0. Vaagen Moen, McCormack.
20/3/12 Leicester away - Drew 1-1. Somma.
24/3/12 Brighton home - Drew 0-0.
31/3/12 Birmingham away - Drew 1-1. Davies (OG).

April 2012-
7/4/12 Peterborough away - Won 2-0. Snodgrass, Becchio.
9/4/12 Blackpool home - Won 2-0. Vaagen Moen, Snodgrass.
17/4/12 Reading away - Lost 4-3. Snodgrass (2), McCormack.
21/4/12 Burnley home (TV) - Won 3-0. McCormack, Snodgrass, Stanislas (OG)
25/4/12 West Ham home - Drew 0-0.
29/4/12 Doncaster away - Won 2-0 Clayton, McCormack.​

So I managed to get us into the playoffs, with us finishing 3rd. We'd face Leicester over 2 legs, one of the toughest teams we'd faced that season.​

Play Off's-
5/5/12 Leicester away - Drew 0-0. Dominated the game but our lack of a finisher stopped us from being as effective as we could have. McCormack also got injured, we found out a broken leg would cost him 6 months out.
8/5/12 Leicester home - Lost 1-0.

My feelings on the season -
I felt proud of the lads as they'd come through well and we'd developed a strong base in the team. Our youth players were coming through well and the new lads were looking great too, if they progressed well enough - which I was confident they would. We had 2 solid goalkeepers in Lonergan and Alexander who added experience to a still young defence and both were as good as each other in all honesty. Our starting back 4 of Lees, Dawson, Craddock and White had done really well for the year and there was definitely confidence in that aspect but I felt we still needed backup. The midfield did brilliantly but at times they could just fall asleep and not play. Our forwards were definitely the problem area though. McCormack was our top scorer with a measly 12 goals, something which isn't good enough for a team needing promotion. This was my priority area and the first area to improve in. I felt that next season was definitely the year, IF we could stay consistent and give 100% in every game. I'll be honest, I didn't give 100% in the play off games as I felt the squad definitely wasn't good enough for
the Premier League.​

I appreciate this post is really, really ugly but as I said...just a brief summary.

 

[ManiReniSquireBrown]

2012-2013 : Our Time?

I met Sean 2 weeks after the end of the season, after our play off semi final defeat to Leicester. He had our chairman with him, the American billionaire John Malone. John had made his money from various media outlets and was worth $4.5bn. A rather amazing figure. But how much of that would I see this season? Without seeming rude, I wasn't in that hotel to admire the 5* star luxury or talk about John's family. I wanted to get down to the nitty gritty. I wasn't looking for tens of millions, the squad just needed a few bits of quality, should we be promoted. After what seemed like an age, I was told that a sum of £5.5m would be available for transfers as long as I managed to get promotion. Or £7m if I wanted to go for the title. I'm not one for getting ahead of myself, so felt that the task of promotion was more than achievable and safer. If I didn't win the title, I'd probably get the sack and my revolution was only just beginning, so it was best to play it safe.
​

Transfers In

Luke James from Hartlepool for £700,000. I'd made sure Luke had been scouted since around December as I'd heard great reviews about him. 12 goals in 28 appearances for a 17 year old in League 1 in his first season was certainly something that made the departing of £700k that much easier.

Marquitos from Valladiod for £1,100,000. Petter Vaagen Moen had done well on the left but we desperately lacked pace and someone to add legs in the final minutes of the game and backup for Petter. The man has blistering pace, like Ait Fana on the opposite side and I'm sure we'll give many defences a fright this year.​

Jacob Butterfield from Barnsley for £1,900,000. Barnsley had just been relegated and at the age of 22, he still had a few years to get even better. He adds a bit more depth to the centre of midfield and is a signing I'm pleased with. Jacob is the kind of quality in depth I have been looking for.

Hassan El Mouataz from Lokeren (Pre Contract Agreement) He had pace, the standard quality and a good cross on him too. It was no option really, I had to sign him. He'd add experience to a pretty young defence. I expected big things of him, with £12,000 a week on offer.

Josh Carson from Ipswich (Pre Contract Agreement - Tribunal fee of £1,500,000). Adds pace to the side and is more one for the future than anything. Josh needs to be nurtured and looked after to make him reach his full potential, something he struggled to do at Ipswich.

Jackson Ramm on a free after release from Blackburn. At the age of 19, he was pretty underdeveloped technically but had bags of pace and time on his side, I felt. Jackson was another that needed looking after and I felt that with a bit of time, he could do well.

Matt James on a free after release from Man Utd. One that I felt could upset the natives. But Matt has the quality to do well at this level effortlessly. The kid's still only young and I felt had loads of time to improve, he added a bit of quality to a pretty rough midfield. Matt is a lot more attacking than our other midfielders and adds an unpedictability to the team.

Tomas Oravec from Tranava for £300,000. He looked like the kind of player we needed, he was a good finisher and header of the ball and at the age of 32, had bags of experience. I hoped to have Tomas as my main striker, he looked to have all the attributes to perform well.

Juanjo Camacho on a free after release from Huesca. Juanjo would add experience to a very young midfield and gave us someone who could make something out of nothing and change a game. He was the kind of player I was hoping Matt James would be like.

Liam Stubberfield from Bury for £70,000. At the age of 17 and with amazing crossing ability, it could very well prove to be a bargain - but for the moment he shall develop in the youth team. Liam is certainly one for the future.

Jamal Blackman from Chelsea for £50,000. Could be a bargain in years to come. Jamal will be played in the reserves and youth team whilst he progresses so he can be ready when he needs to be. Jamal isn't far off being a good keeper in this league, just needs match experience.

Matthew Regan on a free after release from Liverpool. Matt is already a great defender and will be put in the youth team so we can follow his progress, which I'm excited about. Matt needs to work on a few aspects to be considered for a role in the team in years to come but I believe he will.

Tyler Blackett from Man Utd for £35,000. Tyler's a young left back, not quite the finished product but a player I'm excited by nonetheless. Tyler came from our rivals across the Pennines but I don't mind doing business with rivals if it's for players like him.

Graham Burke on a free after release from Aston Villa. Graham looks great already and is a coup at this level, but like a few others, shall do his time in the youth squad until I feel he's ready to join the big boys. Graham is already a decent player but like a few others, needs time to grow.





Transfers Out will come tomorrow and probably put pre season up too.

 

[ManiReniSquireBrown]

Transfers Out

Paul Connolly to Notts County for £110,000. Paul never really impressed whilst I was in charge of the club, he'll probably do okay in League 1 but needs to make a massive improvement on how much effort he puts in.

Luciano Becchio to Watford for £1,500,000. Luciano was a cult hero at the club but unfortunately never did well enough for me last season. A return of 3 goals in 30 games is a really poor tally for any Attacker at this level.

Rivaldo released on a free. Rivaldo only scored 1 goal for us and in hindsight was a poor signing, due to his lack of physical presence, something that's quite important at this level.

Pascal Feindouno released on a free. Pascal was okay but nothing more than okay. He managed to get 4 goals in 20 games for us, but I expected much better from him with his reputation and skill.

Robbie Rogers released on a free. Robbie scored some well timed goals for us and was always there offering a threat to defences but I felt he wouldn't go any further than Championship level.

Lloyd Sam released on a free. Lloyd hardly featured for us during my reign here, never really impressed me during training. I wish him the best of luck but I feel he needs to work harder to achieve anything.

Nathan Turner and Sam Byram released on frees from youth contract. Neither player showed any sign of turning into a good player and I feel that we really shouldn't have players like that on the wage bill.

Jody Craddock joined Charlton after reaching a Pre Contract Agreement. Jody had been excellent for us last season and although he's deteriorating physically, he still plays like a 18 year old. Loads of experience and a calm head in a young defence, Charlton have got their hands on a good player.

Joe McCann joined Fleetwood after reaching a Pre Contract Agreement. I was hoping Joe would impress me during his loan spell at Guiseley but unfortunately did nothing to stand out. I think he has a good club in Fleetwood and the chance to make a new start.

Billy Paynter joined Hartlepool on a free transfer after his contract expired. Billy never impressed me at all during his time here and with the wages he was on, he needed to be shifted on. I think he'll do well at League 1 level but not a Championship Attacker by any means.

Andy O' Brien joined Ipswich on a free transfer after his contract expired. Andy wasn't the kind of player I had in mind in our defence, therefore I felt not renewing his contract was a smart move. I think he has himself a good club in Ipswich and the chance of one last payday.

Luke James, Zac Thompson, Jackson Ramm & Yven Moyo all joined Notts County on season long loan deals.
Luke and Jackson have only just signed but I want them to go out and get first team experience as I both reckon they have the potential to end up in our first team at some point. Zac was sent there as I feel he has to take the chance and impress me, age is catching up with him. Yven joined as I see him as still progressing and needing first team football, something he won't get here yet.

Chris Dawson, Monty Gimpel, Alex Cairns & Tyler Blackett all joined Guiseley on season long loan deals. Quite simply, all 4 joined Guiseley as they need to build themselves as players and I see Guiseley as the platform for doing this.

Gael Bigirimana joined Leyton Orient on a season long loan deal. Gael was the star of the club's academy last season, captaining them to League glory. I have high hopes for Gael and see this as the chance for him to get some first team football. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on him.

Jake Forster-Caskey joined Peterborough on a season long loan deal. Jake is already a cracking little player and I feel this loan spell will do him the world of good, giving him some vital first team experience. At only the age of 18, he plays like someone double his age and has excellent vision and passing.
​

 

[ManiReniSquireBrown]

Pre Season 2012-2013

​

Friendlies to me have always been about fitness and team building, results didn't really matter. I kept it cheap and simple and had our lads in England, mainly against lower league teams as I know how hard it can be down there to raise funds so we had to do our bit. I mainly selected the team half and half, half first team with the other half being good youngsters. It seemed to work as we went through pre season without losing a game.
​

5.7.2012 Bournemouth [H] Pre Season Friendly

The lads did well to overcome a decent little side in Bournemouth, only a league below us. Bournemouth tested us a few times but Alexander did well in goal for us, preventing them from doing anything of any real danger. The crowd wasn't that huge but I was eager for them to see the lads and their new signings as I know that they'd of had a real sense of intrigue. We kept pushing and pushing but I made sure I rotated often. Formations, players, subs - I wanted to find out how we played best. Our solitary goal came from Snodgrass, our captain, who turned their right back inside out before launching a great curled shot into the right side of the goal. Robert wasn't giving 100% but still played like it, a real quality player to have in any team. We saw out the game and I told the players they'd done well and that the first game back is always the hardest in pre season.

​

9.7.2012 Bristol Rovers [H] Pre Season Friendly

Another home game for us and the groundsman had done a sterling job to keep the pitch looking as well as it did after only 4 days since the last home game. When I think of Bristol Rovers, I immediately think back to the day a sleeping giant awoke briefly and of our promotion to the Championship. I told the players to go out there and impress me, show me why they deserved a place in the starting 11 this year. And without a doubt, they did. Bristol took the lead after they sneaked a header in from a corner in the first minute through Harrold. Our response couldn't have been any better. We played some gorgeous stuff and goals from McGuagan, Ait Fana (x2), a Scott Bevan own goal and Oravec took us into the second half at 5-1 up. The second half was albeit a tighter affair, Bristol played very deep and only Somma could add to the goalscorers list, helping us leave Elland Road with an emphatic 6-1 win. Bristol never really stood a chance and our dominance was superb.

​

13.7.2012 Aldershot [A] Pre Season Friendly

​

Nothing much to really say about this game apart from that we dominated again. Ait Fana got the first and Somma (x3) finished the scoring. Aldershot didn't test us once and all the lads put in a good performance. There wasn't even a yellow card for us and despite the result it was still a pretty boring game.​

17.7.2012 Shamrock Rovers [H] Pre Season Friendly

Unlike the last game, this one was pretty evenly matched - both teams could have won it in all honesty. Like I said, pre season is only just about fitness and morale; but an unbeaten pre season would have been nice. Shamrock took the lead in the 23rd minute after some poor defending from us. I berated the team after that, as the defence is something I am particularly proud of. We went into half time losing by a goal and I told the lads that they were better than this and to go out there and get us a win. They went out and did exactly that. Goals from Vaagen Moen and Clayton managed to secure us the win and I was genuinely proud of how they pulled through. The lads didn't give 100% but were looking much stronger and fitter, something I was happy with. It also improved morale that we pulled back from a losing position to get the win.

​

22.7.2012 Kidderminster [A] Pre Season Friendly

Although not a huge win, one of the easiest wins of pre season. We spent about 85 minutes of the game in their half and they just couldn't put up with how brutal our midfield was. Summer signing Carson and captain Snodgrass grabbed the goals for us in a 2-0 win. I was really impressed with the effectiveness of our central midfield, who allowed us to knock the ball out wide so our more skilful players could kill off the opposition defence. Morale was high and fitness was very impressive, I felt that the team had come on leaps and bounds in a very short amount of time.

​

31.7.2012 Notts County [A] Pre Season Friendly

Our final friendly came against Notts County as part of our feeder club agreement. I told the lads to just go and enjoy the spectacle and play with freedom, as the pressure started in a few weeks. None of our players on loan there were eligible to play for Notts, something I'd had in the back of my mind. We beat Notts pretty easily and ended up as 5-0 winners. Dawson (x2), Regan, McGugan and Forster-Caskey all got our goals, something that made me pleased as they were all players that I'd bought myself. Our team was mostly English, pretty young and all the players that day were under the age of 26, something rarely seen nowadays. We finished pre season and I told the lads that these results were character building and were the standard for the season.




​

The season would start in 11 days with an away fixture to recently relegated Wolves, a tough test to say the least.​

 

[likeabaws]

unlucky on the playofffs mate, looks good KIU!