"It's What You Do With It That Counts"

D

Darandio

Destroyer Of Ego's
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Following nearly eight weeks of toil and suffering since the release of FM2013, I am finally in a position where am moderately happy with a tactic (and variations of) that I believe can bring success to me as a manager. After trying to create stories in the past which have crashed and burned, I'm more determined than ever to see this one out. Starting in July 2012, set as a semi-professional and starting unemployed, given the variable nature that we now have with FM2013, this could either see me become a success in front of those that follow the story or become an absolute failure. With that short introduction I bring you.........



"Possession isn't everything, it's what you do with it that counts"




Background
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Aged only 32 and a relative novice when it comes to management, Darren Porter does have a small amount of playing experience, twelve appearances at Semi-Professional level with Harrogate Town in his early twenties before a serious knee injury forced him to hang up his boots. Not content that this would be the end in football, Porter then went on to become involved with Gateshead FC in a coaching capacity before spending nearly five years in the Netherlands as a youth team coach with Fortuna Sittard whilst working towards his coaching qualifications.

Following the departure of Wim Dusseldorp as head coach at Fortuna Sittard in 2011 and the subsequent staff restructuring by new manager Tini Ruys, Porter was released from his post and remained in the Netherlands for several months, but failed to find further employment in a coaching role. Returning to England downhearted, Porter went on to coach players at a local youth outfit in the North of England and was always hopeful that he could return to the game at a higher level given the contacts he had gained whilst working in mainland Europe.

After several unsuccessful applications to clubs of varying size and stature within England, Porter was starting to become disillusioned and realised that any return to the game would probably only become available abroad. Applications commenced in earnest, a new agent was appointed and just as before, employment seemed light years away until an unexpected offer was received on 18th September 2012...........
 
The Offer
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It started with an email from my agent, then a phonecall. At first I thought it was some kind of joke, I mean, I'd built up several contacts around Europe, some had even become very good friends, but none were from Germany. But it was true, FC Energie Cottbus had recently sacked their manager Rudi Bommer after an uneventful start to the season which had seen them, winless, rooted to the bottom of the German Second Division and with a German Cup exit at the first hurdle.


And it was me they wanted to turn this around, the young and inexperienced coach from the North-East of England. Not only did they want me, they wanted me without even speaking to me first, there was just a concrete offer on the table, and one that was also lucrative to me for a man in my position. I couldn't refuse the opportunity and jumped on the first available flight to Germany in order to accept and sign the contract. I was eager to get started.


Earlier called BSG Energie and then renamed FC Energie in 1990 following German reunification, the club is not littered with great past successes with their only noteable achievement to date being runner up in the German Cup in 1997. Currently residing in the second tier of German Football, in 2001 FC Energie became notable for becoming the first Bundesliga club to field a side made up of 11 foreign players.


The Situation


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Everything has happened so quickly. I am currently sat in an office at the Stadion De Freundschaft, it's my office I think, I find myself surrounded by boxes with no clue as to what is in them and whether they are mine, or those of the last manager. I met the players for the first time this morning and they seem like an honest bunch although it's hard to tell, the language barrier is certainly going to have an effect in the coming weeks.

The situation we find ourselves in is quite simple, we are bottom of the league and for whatever reason, the players have not been good enough so far. One advantage we do have is that it is very early in the season and I have made it clear to the players that the season starts now. We have five days between now and my first game in charge, away to 1860 Munchen and I feel that this is enough time for me to form an understanding with the players and won't be requiring my current assistant, Markus Feldhoff to take charge of team affairs. I shall be meeting with Markus and the rest of the first team staff later this afternoon in order to discuss the best course of action for this coming week. But first, I have the task of my opening press conference where I will be introduced to the local media.............
 
Press Conference

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As I sat in the press room at the Stadion De Freundschaft, I was flanked on my left by the chairman Ulrich Lepsch and on my right by club captain Markus Brzenska. The room wasn't particularly full, I half expected it to be honest, I'm not particularly "big fry" and the club doesn't hold much stature these days either. The chairman seemed to be very jovial though, he's obviously dealt with this group many times over the years.

There wasn't even a television camera to record events, I never even noticed a dictaphone, just half a dozen people from the local rags with notepads, feverishly scribbling. After a short but seemingly triumphant introduction from my chairman, he handed over to me in which I made clear my intentions for the club and the coming season before asking the audience if there were any questions. They didn't have any for me though, they were all more interested in speaking to the chairman, asking the obvious questions about my appointment, why I was appointed, why a more suitable candidate hadn't been found, again, this was all expected.

The press conference ended and I realised just what a task lay in front of me here at FC Energie. I knew I was the unexpected candidate, I knew the position we were in and I knew that I had to win the fans over as soon as possible. What I didn't realise was the power of the media, the feeling of isolation they had given and I now knew that I would have to win them over as well. I know full well that the media in England can make it uncomfortable for a new appointment, I'd even go as far as to say the media over there can have an influence over your job and whether you keep it, I was now worried this was the case here as well.

I couldn't dwell on this though, I had a meeting planned with my staff immediately after the press conference and we had a lot to discuss.......


The Team
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I felt that the first thing to do would be to make it clear to all staff about their future at the club, they would be understandably worried. I assured them that whilst I would be looking to bring new staff in, all staff would keep their positions until at least the end of the season, it made no sense to completely tear apart the current setup and risk alienating the players, things would be done gradually and on merit. The same would go for the playing staff, it made sense to give everyone a chance to prove themselves worthy of their place in my team.

That said, the reports given to me by my assistant made it quite obvious that there were shortcomings in the squad, this was made even more apparent when I outlined my philosophy and the system I wanted to adopt. I won't pretend that my ideas were not met with scepticism, I fully expected it, but they are going to have to trust my judgement on this. Despite the shortcomings, it's clear that there is talent in the team.


I'm happy that there is a core to the squad and the most talented players are of a good age, not too young and not approaching the end of their career. Although I really like the look of Martin Fenin, I worry about his confidence. He signed last summer from Frankfurt and although he has the credentials to become a very good striker, he has not found the net for Cottbus in 16 appearances. Further to this, Leverkusen are also very interested in signing Martin, and I worry even further that this may be a detriment to his confidence at Cottbus, his head may have been turned.

Despite my happiness in the core of the squad, there is an obvious lack of depth and injuries will affect us should they happen. In certain positions we do lack in quality as well, especially in the full back department, an area of the pitch that my philosophy and tactic heavily relies on, this will have to be addressed as a matter of urgency. We also have the issue of the transfer window, it's now closed until the new year and we don't have an infinite pot of money anyway, around £700,000. I'll have to work the market a little if I am going to bring anyone in that can improve the quality of the squad, I'll have to take a look at the free market initially and see if I can pick up any bargains ready for January.

Although important, signings are at the back of my mind at this moment, I know there are now only going to be three full days in which to get to know my players better and get some work done on the training ground. We play away at 1860 Munchen on Sunday, so will be departing on the club coach at around lunchtime on Saturday. I was really confident this morning, but now realise that I have so much to do and so little time to do it, this week is going to be a baptism of fire........
 
Saturday 22nd September 2012
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Following three good days of intense training, I am happy with the ideas conveyed between myself, my staff and the players, there seems to be an element of understanding already. What matters is tomorrow though, we have a near 6 hour coach journey this afternoon and that is only if the traffic is kind, a 563km journey to Munich and our hotel for the night. It's going to be an enormously difficult week ahead because we have three games in the space of seven days. Following the game tomorrow, we return home and will have to make an assessment of the players on Monday morning because we have a game at home to Duisburg on Wednesday. Ideally I want to get another two days training in before that game, but we will have to see how it goes tomorrow and with the resulting journey home, I cannot risk overworking the players this early in the season.

We then have a similar situation after the game on Wednesday due to the following game which is away to Sandhausen on Sunday, this again involves a long coach journey, this time at a distance of around 646km. It's only after these three games that I will really have a better understanding of the capabilities of my squad and their ability to respond to what will be a congested week. Despite our current position, I am targeting 6 points from the first 9 and that in turn will hopefully restore some much needed confidence to this group.

Given all that has gone on in the first four or five days here in Germany, and despite the amount of effort and hours put in to the team on the training pitch, the lack of quality in certain positions is still clear to see. Following our team meeting, my intention was to start scouring the free market once our game against 1860 Munich was over, however, given our extremely busy schedule this coming week, I decided to start earlier and have spent three evenings this week on the hunt for potential targets.

Those three evenings have been less than fruitful, if anything it has made me realise even more just how much of a task I have here. Although I have not made any concrete offers, I have spoken to several players, all of whom have declared no interest in coming to the club, not even for a trial, these are not even what I would consider to be marquee players. I even spoke to Owen Hargreaves yesterday and although he was very sympathetic to the situation we find ourselves in, he still feels that he can play at a higher level and I understand that. I even spoke to Owen about a monthly rolling contract, he could use FC Energie as a platform to show his fitness but he still isn't interested, he obviously prefers to use his method of posting Rocky-esque videos on Youtube but I wish him all the best.

I'll keep trying though, I still need to make a better assessment of both the U23 and U19 players, although they are both very light in numbers at this moment so there isn't much for me to fall back on should the senior group of players not produce. I'm sure, given time, that if we can improve our league form and show some intent in the German second division that we will be able to attract the right kind of player. For now that will have to wait though, departure time is rapidly approaching and I have 6 or so hours of German rock music to look forward to. Apparently the club captain Markus Brzenska has the monopoly over what music is played on the coach and I hear he is a big fan of the music of David Hasselhoff, should be fun..........

 
The Managerial Debut



"Possession isn't everything, it's what you do with it that counts"
​

Never was a truer phrase spoken. You will hear it a lot from me in the coming weeks/months/years, it's the philosophy that I hold and forms the basis for how I expect my team to play. Granted, it is not for everyone, many prefer to see a team dominate possession and have a high workrate with the ball. Don't get me wrong, I set my team up to have a high workrate as well, but I prefer that workrate to be used in frustrating the opposition, letting them have as much of the ball as they want but only in the areas I want them to, in their own half where they can't do any damage. I want my players to hassle the opponent, tire the opponent out and strike only when necessary, conserving their effort for when it counts.



It was a strange situation in the Allianz-Arena, Munich, eerie in fact, a great arena that holds 71,000, only graced by a crowd of less than 19,000, it was a very strange experience. It was my first match in charge, I had less than a week to learn everything I could about the club, the players and even the culture, the press had me and the team on a hiding to nothing for this game. Even the biggest newspaper in Germany "Bild" surprisingly ran a story in their Saturday edition, confidently predicting there was no place for me at the club and that I would be gone by the end of October. To compound matters, after our arrival in Munich the evening before, we took a short training session in the arena and had three short five-a-side games from which Martin Fenin picked up a gashed leg. On the morning of the match it was determined that this injury would keep him out for 10-14 days, hampering the plans I had created during the week.

As it turned out, the match could have been a lot, lot worse. We were a team with new ideas, playing away at a team that are arguably a better side both man for man and collectively. We started the game very brightly, the players seemed to have taken on board much of what I had said to them and allowed 1860 Munchen to have the ball in their own half, breaking up any play which they tried to develop in our own. After around 10 minutes, we started to get the ball down and play our football and our patience was rewarded after 18 minutes when Stiven Rivic took hold of a short pass from Marco Stiepermann and stroked it past the keeper. Although the shot was on target, the slight deflection from Maximilian Nicu meant that it was credited as an own goal, maybe the dubious goals panel works slightly different here in Germany.

The team managed to stick to my philosophy for nearly an hour after the opening goal, but following a raft of substitutions, things started to change, the 1860 wide men knew that we were struggling in the full back positions and started to try and exploit this which culminated in a 74th minute equaliser from Ismael Blanco. It wasn't particularly deserved, we controlled the pace of much of the game as well as controlling how 1860 used the ball but we contributed to our downfall, lacking concentration in the final third when it mattered most. The players did respond well to the equaliser, once again nullifying any threat that 1860 had after that and the game was closed out to a creditable draw for ourselves. I would have much preferred a win, but it was also equally as important not to start with a defeat, it provides a platform, however small, to build on in the coming weeks.

In other news, whilst returning on the coach on Sunday evening, I received a call from former Bochum full back Philipp Bonig, in response to my offer of a trial. Phillip was very interested in partaking in the trial and arrived on Monday morning where he was assessed both on the training ground, by the medical department and by my technical staff. However, I don't believe that Philipp offers anything different to what we already have here at the club and I won't be pursuing a deal for him at this moment in time.


As previously mentioned, we have a home game coming up in midweek against Duisburg so after an assessment this morning, the players will be coming in for light training this afternoon in preparation for this game. Duisburg have made a solid if not unspectacular start to the season so should provide another tough test for the squad.
 
Mixed Emotions

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I'm pretty certain I should be ecstatic this morning. It was my first home game as manager of FC Energie and we picked up three points yet I am still troubled by aspects of the performance. It was a game that we effectively dominated, certainly a game that we deserved to win but I have been watching the dvd this morning, and cannot get past the 2nd minute of the game where we conceded. Once again, it was simply down to concentration and for the remaining 88 minutes, we were in control and reduced Duisburg to long range efforts, none of them really troubling the goalkeeper.

Of course it was fantastic to go on and win the game. Much of our play was exactly as was planned on the training ground and the players have really responded well to this tactic which is unfamiliar with them, I have to give them great credit for that. But they cannot make silly mistakes like they did there, especially at this moment in time when we don't seem to be able to close out games despite creating the chances to do so.


Ivica Banovic was outstanding last night, contributing both a goal and an assist, it was a really impressive performance, even more impressive given Ivica plays a holding role in front of the back four. The bloke really does seem to have been around forever, starting his career in his home city of Zagreb before moving to Germany in 2000, where he has remained ever since.

Another thing that has me troubled is the crowd. Last month, before I arrived, we played in front of nearly 21,000 here at the Stadion De Freundschaft. Last night, in my first game we only had a crowd of just over 9,000 and that is far too much of a drop to just attribute to bad form, or opponent. It must be me, it has to be, I understand that they may not be happy about the appointment, I'm an outsider to them but I also want them to support the team, we need them, they will play a pivotal role in the team turning around their fortunes.

Much like after the 1860 Munchen game, I don't have much time to work with the team before the next game on Saturday which is away to Sandhausen, again featuring a long coach journey. As was the case last night, I fully expect to name an unchanged line up for that game barring any unforeseen problems that arise between now and then. Nothing has changed on the transfer front either, it's going to be really difficult to improve the squad before January but after the performance last night, I do hold more hope towards the group I currently have.
 
Not Quite Right..... Yet

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If I have to take a positive from the opening three games in charge, it would be that we are currently unbeaten. I cannot look at positives at the moment though, my thoughts are more towards three games and no clean sheets and that really troubles me. Once again, our full back deficiency was shown to full effect in the game away to Sandhausen, with both goals coming from the right flank in some way, shape or form. This is something that needs to be addressed urgently, but it will have to be done by bringing someone in, there just isn't someone at the club good enough for that position.

I am fully aware that even with the resources I do have at my disposal, we should be winning against Sandhausen, regardless of whether we are away or not. I can take positives though, once again we were impressive on the ball and were able to control possession for long periods. Rivic and Adlung were in particular impressive, both play behind the front two but are encouraged to get forward at any opportunity and reflected this today by getting on the scoresheet.

We now have a few days before our next game, on Friday at home to St Pauli, another match that we really should be winning, my hope is that the game has a much better turnout. Martin Fenin might well be available for that game but his fitness will have to be assessed beforehand so we may well have yet another unchanged line up.

So that is September over with, with my arrival on the 18th and then three quickfire games in which we have remained unbeaten, I cannot really complain at the start of my time here. We have also made progress in the league table, slight but still relevant and I am looking to oversee an extension of this unbeaten start.


 
Doing It The Hard Way

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I feel much like I did after the game against Duisburg, I should be delighted at picking up another three points and reaching another milestone, we are out of the relegation zone. I'm still not happy though, we are conceding far too cheaply and having to work much harder to rescue the game. What I am impressed with is the attacking play, we are very dynamic and using many of the ideas we are working on in training, this at least shows that the players are taking note.

I also made a couple of changes for this game, with Guillaume Rippert coming in at left back to try and address the issues on that side, he had a solid game. A change was also made up front, with Sebastian Glasner replacing Marco Stiepermann, however, an injury early on for Boubacar Sanogo meant that the new strike partnership didn't last for very long. As it turns out, the substitution ended up for the best with Stiepermann scoring the winner, he hadn't looked like scoring at all in the previous three games, hence being demoted to the bench. It's worth making special mention once again of Daniel Adlung, another goal and assist resulting in a man of the match performance, this kid is a special talent.

We also saw the return of Daniel Brinkmann to the bench and he came on to make his debut later on in the game, it was interesting to see Daniel in competetive action for the first time as he is a player that really does impress me. Unfortunately, Martin Fenin wasn't declared fit enough to take his place on the bench so his first performance under my stewardship will have to wait along with what will hopefully be his first goal.

Finally, my plea for the fans to return was listened to, over 15,000 turned out last night and they were in full voice throughout, even when we fell behind, I cannot thank them enough for that. Football fans are generally knowledgable, they can see our current defensive frailties as well and with 6 goals conceded in 4 matches, that has to change. What I hope they could see was the ideas, philosophy and commitment from the current group, they couldn't be faulted in that respect.

Our next game is now a week away, a tricky fixture away at Paderborn but I am hoping that we can welcome more players back this week in order to have a much more healthy group to pick from. Maybe Martin Fenin will recover enough to finally score his first goal for the club, given the topsy turvy nature of the game last night, I've seen enough already to know that anything can happen.
 
A Pattern Emerges
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The end of October had arrived and we remain unbeaten, a fantastic achievement for a side without a victory before I arrived and given I had not managed to reinforce the squad at all until the end of the month. In these first seven games a pattern has emerged, we have won all of our home games but only managed to draw away from home. As the plan on arrival was to make sure we secure our league status, this kind of form is acceptable for me at the moment.

Saturday 13th October



Probably our worst performance of the season so far, we struggled to get going from the outset and once again conceded a very early goal, again down to our own lack of concentration. Daniel Adlung is starting to prove just how valuable he is to me with another excellent goal, the lad managed to get 5 German under-21 caps when he was younger, given what I am seeing from him, I am staggered he is only performing in the second tier of German football, I feel he is capable of much better. Hopefully this club can give him the higher level football he is so clearly capable of.

Martin Fenin did pass a fitness test on the morning of the game and made his first start under me, I was also informed that a Leverkusen scout was present for the game. Unfortunately for Martin, he had to be substituted at half time after receiving a knock. With these constant little niggles and no goals for the club as yet, I'm starting to fee that I will talk about Martin a lot, but for the wrong reasons.

Friday 19th October


Another impressive turn out for the fans, three points and a clean sheet, probably my happiest night in charge of the club so far. With Martin Fenin out injured for this game due to the knock sustained against Paderborn, Boubacar Sanogo was restored to the line up. Slaven Rivic opened the scoring, assisted by the rapidly improving Daniel Adlung, but my joy was short lived when Daniel had to be replaced early in the second half due to a twisted ankle which has subsequently ruled him out for 4 weeks, this is a big, big blow.

Saturday 28th October


The final match in October was despite the scoreline, a very entertaining game and maintained our unbeaten run. With Martin Fenin only fit enough for a place on the bench and Daniel Adlung out injured, it meant that two of my best players were missing and it did show. Nicolas Farina did make his first start under me and rewarded me with the opening goal shortly before half time. Unfortunately we were not able to hang on to this lead, we had a relatively poor second half but still managed to hang on and claim another away point.



After some well publicised knock backs from various out of contract professionals, I managed to finally secure former Anderlecht and Partizan full back Nemanja Rnic. Also capped three times by Serbia, I am looking for some much needed experience from Nemanja and am elated we have been able to bring in a player of his quality, he will certainly provide more steel to the back four and hopefully his presence will make the current full backs raise their game.

 
The Tactic

"Possession isn't everything, it's what you do with it that counts"

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Philosophy

As previously mentioned, this phrase defines the philosophy in which I set my team up to play. For a lot of people casually browsing, they will probably feel that this isn't a pretty style of play, they will much prefer their team to stroke the ball around the pitch for long periods of the game and that is entirely acceptable. What I have found, particularly in FM2013 is that although this type of football can work for certain teams, particularly the highly technical ones such as Barcelona, it isn't applicable as an overall solution.

One problem I had found with tactics that concentrate on your team having high possession and movement was that they would tire much more easily, this is proven by many users complaining about conceding late goals. This especially becomes relevant on teams playing European football, with two fixtures per week on a regular basis. The basis behind my tactic is the complete opposite, let the opponent move the ball around as much as they want providing it is in their own half where they cannot hurt you. If they do manage to encroach in your half, hunt in packs and don't allow their players any space in which to move forward any further, this pack mentality generally results in you winning the ball and having possession.

Once you have the ball, the key is to use it effectively, a more direct style of play. I don't want to see the ball moving from left, right or backwards, its just creating more work for the team and will conserve more energy as your players try and make space for the next pass. The key is that because you have just won the ball from the opponent, all of their players are caught in an attacking phase and you will have more space in which to move the ball quickly towards the front men, it is effectively a form of counter attack.

Background

The tactic originates with Meraklija Vujevic and his Peterborough tactic which can be found here. The tactic created by Meraklija is very sound in itself and good results can be achieved from it, but I found that it lacked certain elements that I wanted for my style of play, it's just personal preference. Although the tactic originates there, and full credit is given to Meraklija for the basis of the tactic, I have changed several elements of it so they now don't really have much comparison.

Originally, I tested the tactic with Liverpool, a game that I started over and over again without success. In the latest save, I had already played a few games and then decided to try the tactic from Meraklija but still couldn't find success and after around 12 games of trying, decided to make the modifications that result in the tactic I now have. At that point we were struggling in the bottom half of the table and the board were starting to give out signals that I could be replaced sooner rather than later. After making the first wave of tweaks to the tactic, I went on a run of games with only two defeats in 17 games and after several more smaller runs, we ended the season in the top half and with an FA Cup victory.

In the second season of the tactic, the game is now saved in January. However, with continued modification of the tactic, Liverpool are now 2nd in the league behind Man Utd, and through to the knockout stages of the Europa League with only three defeats all season so far. All of this is done with a Liverpool squad that I still feel has severe limitations.

Formation


As with the original basis of the formation the tactic is based in, the setup is a very narrow 4-2-2-2, but changed to a fluid style and standard strategy. We allow the players to be mobile, and move slightly out of position, but to remain disciplined at all times. The passing style is direct, to take advantage of when we relieve the opponent of possession and then move the ball swiftly forward whilst the opponent tries to recover from their attacking phase.

Shouts


This is something I feel that is much more important in FM2013, I certainly have achieved much better results with them rather than without. How dynamic they really are, I don't know, all I know is that these five shouts seem to work best with the tactic as it is at this moment in time.

Team Talks

Some may well disagree with me here, but I believe that team talks are one of the single most important elements in FM2013 now, in previous versions it didn't seem to matter a great deal. I have done tests where I could play as Liverpool versus Manchester City, assertively tell the players to "Do It For The Fans" and be 3-0 down at half time. Alternatively, knowing I am up against the better side, I tell them just to enjoy the game and we are 2-0 up at half time.

For this reason, I tend to try and calm and relax my players a lot, they seem to respond a lot better and don't become complacent and certainly become a lot less irate. This isn't going to work for everyone though, telling the best squad of players to relax probably won't work as they are expected to win and win easily, people will generally have to work out their own methods for this.

Previous Results

As already stated, the initial testing for this was done with Liverpool and then latterly in this thread with FC Energie Cottbus, where a live test of the tactic is being performed in conjunction with this story. Results for FC Energie are in the posts above this and will be posted in the subsequent replies below. Given that the two teams are poles apart in terms of quality and expectation, I am quite happy to see that the tactic is performing for both teams. For this reason, I see no reason why the tactic would not work at both higher and lower league teams.

Download

If you wish to try out the tactic, it can be downloaded directly by clicking here.
 
A Month To Forget
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I know that with the resources I have, the unbeaten run wouldn't last forever. I should also be happy though, we managed to keep two clean sheets within the month but the amount of goals conceded in the two defeats rather took the gloss of this. The fact that we ended the month in a lower league position than October means that this was truly a month to forget, something we need to move on from quickly.

Friday 2nd November


With new signing Nemanja Rnic available and on the bench, this was the first match in which I hoped the team would start to evolve. Things didn't get off to a good start though, Martin Fenin was once again forced off early due to injury, that still meant no goals for the club and I started to really worry that I would not be able to get the best out of him, even Leverkusen discontinued their interest. Over the course of the 90 minutes Aalen probably edged it but the game fizzled out into a 0-0 draw, the first of my tenure. The crowd was also very poor, with just over 7,000, how can the crowd drop by half in the space of one home game?

Saturday 17th November


This was a game we never really got going in and was one to forget, especially being my first defeat as FC Energie manager. Things looked positive before the game, Martin Fenin wasn't showing any ill effects from the knock that had forced him off against Aalen but he was poor, everyone was. Comprehensively outplayed from the outset, Kaiserslautern were better in every area of the pitch and were full value for the three points. Already struggling and with nothing to lose, I brought on new signing Nemanja Rnic on the hour mark and although the game was already lost, he did show small touches to confirm the quality I had signed.

Friday 23rd November


The level of support is really starting to worry me now. We are an improved side, we had only been beaten once in nine games since I had taken charge and yet here we were, in front of a crowd of less than 7,000, the lowest yet. Not only did we win the match and keep a clean sheet, there were positives all around. New signing Rnic made his first start for the club and was very, very solid, but the big news was Martin Fenin, he finally scored his first for the club, I'm so elated for him. My only hope now is that he can stay injury free and take confidence from this, I am positive he has many more goals in him.

Tuesday 27th November


In the previous game I was raving about the positives we had produced. Today was all about the negatives, I am amazed that we can go from such a fantastic performance to such an abject one in the matter of a few days. Nemanja Rnic was particularly bad today, nothing like the player I had been praising after Frankfurt win but I'll not make any rash decisions based on that, we all have bad days. The result knocked us back down to 14th in the league, whilst also severely denting our goal difference.

 
Shoots Of Recovery
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Traditionally a quiet month in the second tier of German football, December only had two games before the winter mid-season break, something that for me would be treated as a pre-season, with four friendlies lined up for January. I had also been talking to two players, players that I was also confident would improve the side and discussions were progressing well, things were looking up.

Sunday 9th December


Today we saw the real Martin Fenin, the Martin Fenin that I had been hoping would emerge and that had attracted interest by Leverkusen. Unfortunately, we weren't able to win the game against a very good Koln side, but if I consider that last time out against Aue we were so, so poor, this was a very welcome performance. The whole team played well, there wasn't really a player that performed below expectation and this was a very valuable point for the club.

Friday 14th December


The game on Friday evening was the final game of 2012, and it was important for us to end on a high in order to take some confidence into the New Year. We did just that, performing well against Bochum and securing a 1-0 victory despite being reduced to 10 men for the final 10 minutes when Nemanja Rnic was sent off. It's been a real up and down time for Nemanja since his arrival, some good performances mixed with bad, and then this red card which was fully deserved. Luckily we managed to hang on to the three points and end the year by consolidating our 14th position in the league.


Round Up

With thirteen games in charge since my arrival and only two defeats, I am quite happy with the progress we have made as a club. We have climbed away from the bottom spot we occupied when I took over and although we are no means safe, we have a small cushion from the relegation places. Further to this, we are playing good football on a regular basis and are now approaching January where we should be able to have more luck in the transfer market and improve the group. Having four friendlies during this break will be good for us, with a 6 week break in between competetive fixtures, it's important that we keep active and the games will also serve as a good workout for any new signings that we can bring in.
 
Beefing Up
​

As previously mentioned, January is effectively the month off for clubs in the second division here in Germany. After arranging four friendlies, I was also looking to improve the squad if possible and also went on the lookout for new backroom staff in addition to those that were already at the club. After speaking to several players throughout December, I finally managed to persuade two new playing staff to join the club. Peruvian winger Christian Cueva arrived on a contract until 2017 and will be utilised as an attacking midfielder, playing just behind the strikers. With Martin Fenin improving dramatically during December, I was eager to bring in a quality striker to accompany him up front. I was delighted to be able to persuade Anderson Lessa to sign, again on a four year contract.


I was also on the look out for backroom staff and specifically wanted to fill two coaching roles at the club. In what were pretty simple negotiations, I was very happy to conclude deals for both Brian Laudrup and John Versleeuwen, both will bring some much needed experience to the club.


The four friendlies presented a fantastic opportunity for the players to continue their good form from the end of last year. The first two friendlies were against German lower league opposition and the new signings were included from the second game onwards, with Anderson Lessa opening the scoring in his first game wearing the shirt. Martin Fenin also continued his good form by scoring an impressive hat-trick.

The final two friendlies were at home to what were arguably better European opposition and I am very please to say that we conducted ourselves very well, winning both games without conceding a goal, with Fenin and Lessa both scoring goals and giving a good indication as to what could be a good partnership.

 
Confidence Is Building
​

The new players have settled in very well and this has been reflected on both their own individual performances, and those of the team. Although I had great confidence in the tactic, my first thoughts were to consolidate our participation in this division and make sure we would avoid relegation. As it stands now, with February providing four wins out of four, we are now only four points off the promotion mix, something I couldn't have dared dream of when taking over.

Friday 1st February


Things didn't start well, we conceded very early on, something which seems to be becoming our trademark, luckily we have enough attacking prowess to overcome this. Following on from their good showing as a new partnership during the mid-season break, Lessa and Fenin both got on the scoresheet, Lessa scoring a debut goal. I am hoping big things will come of these two once they build up more of an understanding.

Friday 8th February


The crowds returned today, with nearly 14,000 braving the cold Friday evening but they were rewarded with what was probably our most effective performance of the season. I suppose I can be unhappy at conceding two goals, but our attacking play was magnificent, Anderson Lessa in particular standing out with two goals on his home debut, making it 3 in 2 games, what a signing.

Friday 15th February


Away to the bottom club Regensburg, it was important the complacency didn't become an issue despite our run of good form. For the first 55 minutes or so, it wasn't an issue whatsoever, Lessa scoring another two goals to take his tally to five in three. We then did as much as we could to undo our good work, gifting the opposition two goals and allowing them back into the game. With around ten minutes to go, we regained composure and went on to win the game due to an own goal by Philipp Zieiris who was under heavy pressure from Lessa.

Saturday 23rd February


Ingolstadt were flying high in the second division and I knew it would be a tough task to try and end the month with another win. Things were seemingly made harder early on in the match when on fire striker Lessa had to be brought off injured, luckily it now seems the injury is not a bad one and he will be back for the next game. I didn't need to worry though, fellow new signing Christian Cueva opened the scoring right on the stroke of half time and Stiven Rivic doubled the lead nine minutes after the restart. It was another fantastic result, and one which has really made people sit up and take notice of us.



A special mention has to go to Anderson Lessa this month, with five goals in three (and a bit) games, he is everything that I wanted as a partner to Martin Fenin and much, much more besides.

 
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