Luke Masters - FC Den Bosch #1
As the youngest manager in the clan, I needed a chance to prove myself. I found myself to be manager of FC Den Bosch, struggling in 13th Place, a complete under-achievement for one of the stronger sides in the Jupiler League. The team was strong, but was plagued with injuries and suspensions. Much to my dismay, two of the strongest players were out from when i took over (mid-season) for a few weeks. However I put together a rag tag team, worked out a base line for how I was going to play, and took it from there. If I can remember, the first game was a 1-0 win, however a 2-2 draw against a weak B team side followed on after that, and then followed some defeats.
One of the most annoying things about my progress last week with FC Den Bosch was the amount of goals we conceded from set pieces. I think about 1/2 of our goals were conceded from either corners, or from free kick assists. Unfortunately, we only scored three goals from set pieces during that half season. We were very incosistent, my tactics constantly changing to cater for faults in the previous, the wins we got, were mostly by 1 goal, and were not convincing. My midfield and attack were not linking well enough to create clear cut chances, and most of our games our chances were minimal, even half chances avoided our team. On the bright side, my defensive system seemed to work well, even within such an attacking formation. We usually only let in one goal from play a game, and sometimes not at all. If only the midfield worked better, we could have seen many of our draws and losses turn into a greater amount of points.
We floated around 13th place however, and considering my assistant manager told the board that my expectation was promotion, I found myself under constant pressure. A number of managers declared they would be interested in taking the job if I was sacked, but I held on. In the end we finished a close 12th. Considering we were only 4 points off play-offs 7th place, we did okay.
The highlight of the season was the short-term loan signing of Noyen from piggeh's Telstar, an experienced striker, who could finish. He scored 5 in 6 of his full starts but took an injury. Piggeh was rather happy about Noyen's performance, indicating that he should have put a recall clause on the loan deal, and then signed up the player on a further contract.
The season did end on a high note, beating FC Twente B 3-0. Despite 2 of our goals coming from set pieces, the other was a very well worked chance, and we also missed two clear cut chances. Based on the analysis, we had 13 shots to their 2, despite being a B Team, we had still struggled all season regardless of who we played, and this was pleasing.
However on low note, my job status currently is very insecure. What makes matters worse is that a consortium is looking to take over Den Bosch, and having past experience with consortium takeovers, I know that if they succeed, then I'll be out of my job.
On the bright side, we have secured 4 central midfielders, one who is very strong, two who can play at a high level, and one who is a good backup. We are also trying to bring in two wing back's, and trying to agree a contract deal with a certain English International Tank, however he is asking for too much salary for his food and protein budget.
That's all for now. In my next update, I'm hoping to be flying leaps and bounds with Den Bosch, however there's a possibility that I might be at a different club.