The Reds!
Scouts and Backroom Advices!
Scouts are pretty straight forward. To make them do wonder, you should give them assignments with predetermined conditions so they can focus on what you need. This saves you time which is gold in this game. The better your scouting network is the easier you can spot rare finds and even get them really cheap. From time to time, I always check on my Backroom Staff. I find the 2012 version a bit more active as they usually go back and forth changing Players' Squad Status and giving them additional trainings. Most often than not, your staff knows who can take the extra load and not be unhappy with their training schedule. It's important to keep the players happy so morale will always be high. It has an astronomical effect in game results.
I had my scout bring over defenders as I am more than happy with my offense. In Lower Leagues, it's always important to get better upgrades of whichever part of your squad that needs to since most are offered with Non-Contracts or sometimes really cheap Part Time Contract. I say keep on signing (especially the Free ones) since you can part ways with anytime. I think you only pay for their appearance fees if you decide to field them. To get a better feel of the players you'll be signing, I suggest Offer them Trials. I always ask for 4 Weeks during the regular season and ask to test them till the End of Pre-season. I had a couple of trialists brought by my staff from their scouting. I'm particularly impressed with three:
My current Goal Keeper,
Jas Singh has been really effective and so far have an average rating of 7 which is really good given.
James Gilpin was brought by a scout and was luckily on Free Transfer. I do not have any decent back up Keeper so it was a no brainer. He have a pretty good keeper stat overall not to mention a high One-on-One Stat (15!) and cat like Reflexes (13!). What he lacks in Anticipation (a sorry 5 for a keeper), he more than makes up with Bravery (12!).
One suggested by my backroom was
Thomas Lskov. A Left Back who can play all the way to AML which is pretty nifty. He has great Winger stat and very fast! 15 Acceleration, Agility and Pace. He's a decent crosser and could really work on his dribbling. He's the athletic type that doesn't have much on the mental side (lacking in anticipation, bravery, and concentration) which makes him somewhere in between a real wing back and a winger. He'll pretty much be really useful in some stretches. He'd be a beast if you set him on Dribbling focus and coach him to "
Dribble down the left flank on a regular basis". His speed will allow him to bring the ball up from the back allowing additional players inside the box when he does.
The third one I signed is
Gavin Donoghue. A natural defender who can play either center or on the right well. He's a good Right Back because of his high Marking and Tackling throw in a high Concentration score (all three at 13!). He's the perfect candidate to mark opposing wingers. With 12 Accelaration, his 9 Pace is more than enough to close down the opposition. Put him on
Strenght training to make him a beast.
That's right about everything I signed middle of January looking ahead to a tougher FA Cup draws.
I opened the new year with a disappointing 2-2 draw at home agaisnt
Blyth Spartans. It definitely put my men and myself back to the ground that we are not unbeatable.
I only have 4 more days to prepare before the 3rd Round of the FA Cup and I sure don't feel good with our chances. Because of cancelled games, my schedule is tougher the week of the FA Cup match. After the Blyth game, I had the squad take the day off hoping to play the
Stalybridge Celtic still in good form. The Celtics were on top form at that moment, winning 7 of their last 10 games and winning by a 2-goal margin. They are playing a
4-4-1-1 formation that seem to be unbeatable at that time. I figured if I can dominate the space between their 4 defender and 4 midfield, I can actually get a chance.
I first thought of a
4-1-4-1 tactic but thought my midfield line is a bit low so I pushed them all way up and got this. Everyone is set on Countering and I pushed my defensive line way up, marked the opposing AMC and STC tightly and have them
shown their Weaker Foot (!!!Great Lower League tactic as most players have their other leg at Very Weak status). We dominated the possession like I thought we should be doing. I had my defense to always clear the ball and we almost always get the possession and turn it to an attempt every time. The game was over at the half when the line was at 2-0.
Simon Johnson (in a position he's not used to) put icing on the cake scoring 2 more goals.
With only 2 days to prepare before the Bristol game, everyone was tired and so I had no choice to allow them 2 days of rest and hope we are 100% come the big
Bristol Rovers Game (
NPower League 1). I checked their last 3 games and they are fire! 2-0 against Accrington, 4-1 win over Plymouth and a 3-1 win against Crewe. They 7 wins - 2 loses - 1 draw their last 10 and has been unbeaten in their last 5 away games. Now it needs more than a miracle to get by this.
We went on to match 4-2-4 with our own 4-2-4. We are outplayed in every position but luck was on our side.
Joe Anyinsah and
Scott McGleish Bristol's main threat. I had them on tight marking and close on them every time. I also instruct my defenders to go hard on them. I also put the same pressure and man-marked their two center midfields. A great way to stop a 4-2-4 formation like this one is to break the connection from their defense going to their strikers. Man marking their two links in the middle means cutting off their chances of attack.
Back in the game, 20 minutes after the starting whistle,
Phil Younghusband dribbled the ball center field. His passing options are all blocked, he triend forcing it in and was forced to the left flank. He sees
Pablo opened up and passed near the center. With no where to go Pablo passed back to the surging
Tom Griffiths that looked like he's in for a break away.
Bristol Rovers center backs
Byron Anthony and
Adam Virgo collapsed on him leaving
Pablo Counago wide open. Griffiths assisted the shot just inside the box and on to the opposite side of the keeper for the Moors' ticket to the next round.
The second half weren't easy. We were broken down numerous times. I decided to park the bus and decided to field 4-4-1-1 tactic where everyone is on
Contain command. Bristol never had a chance for a Clear cut attempt. The closes was a follow up attempt that cleanly hit the post. The strategy was great and we were able to dominate the middle which limited their offense.
--
Days after the win, we were in the draw on who our next opponent would be. I was praying for
Ipswich Town, Cardiff or
Bristol City. Since they are the only
NPower Championship level team left (and everyone else is a Premier team), I thought my chances would be better if I play against them. They drew us fourth with Cardiff and Ipswich left. Getting a home game for the 4th round of the FA Cup means we'll get money and if we drew a huge team hopefully we get another TV deal for more bucks. As they drew our opponent, I felt my luck has run out when they announced that we'll be playing none other than my favorite team -
Liverpool.
I have 21 days to prepare for this. The first thing I did was get a better keeper and I finally decided to sign James Gilpin for peanuts. $50 p/w until 30.6.14 (LOL). I researched them and thought a 4-5-1 formation would be a good counter for the 4-4-2. I projected around 4-5 games would be enough to familiarize with the formation as we have say 3/4 in already. We focused on a defensive positioning and I aim to dominate or atleast keep up with ball possession and try to force a miracle. The first team to try it out on was
FC Halifax. They are fielding a 4-4-2 formation so it's perfect.
It feels good as we win 5-1. Next match was a
FA Trophy 2nd Round match against fellow BSN
Gloucester (also fielded 4-4-2). It was an ugly 3-2 win that was 1-2 at the half. I thought we need more time for the formation to settle in. With a 7-day break up, I arranged a match against a bigger
Scottish team,
St. Mirren. We lost 0-2 but somehow kept ball possession at even. The next two matches were also close calls winning a 2-1 game in Corby (then currently ranked 2) and barely escaping Gainsborough 3-2 (4th then). I had only two days left before Liverpool and so i gave the squad the much needed rest. Come game time...
...it wasn't pretty. We went in and managed to control possession but it showed that we are far apart in talent. Left midfield
Suso surprised the sellout crowd of 3050 with a fast strike with only 2 minutes into the game. 13 minutes later Cavener fell to an injury and have to be taken out.
Karl Broadhurst was booked on a hard tackle on
Dirk Kuyt that gave the visiting team a free shot at the goal. 2-0 to end the half but the team is not broken. My goal at the half was to inch closer but it didn't happen. We were very physical on defense and awarded another penalty 66 minutes into the game.
I was proud to have conceeded only 3 when we have allowed them 25 attempts that almost half are Shots On Target. It was a thrilling experience and something worth looking forward too. Next year will be different I told my squad and we'll be looking for revenge. We played with fire there but everything was worth it. The squad never faltered and the crowd was behind us all game long. I see a bright future for the moors. We ended January on a high despite the loss. The money we made all through out the season are now being put to building better
Training Facilities. Till next time...
Next Episode. First Complete Season....
