Mr Goodwin Career

[goodwin114]

I have finally gotten around to acquiring Football Manager 2014 and am once again ready to delve in to its murky depths. The reason for the delay in getting underway a ?la 14 is because I was enjoying my own little quest on 13. I had my own database down to level 10 which was immaculate as it possibly can be, and was surging up the leagues quite happily.


However the lure of 14 was to strong and finally I came home.


Anyway enough nonsense and down to some serious business.


Upon downloading installing etc. I set about my usual process of installing the logos, kits etc. (and ad patch which is being done as I type) and the all-important adjusting of the database. This is the usual changing of competition names where appropriate, for example European Champions Cup to UEFA Champions League and whatnot. Also very important as it drives me nuts was to change the FA Cup and FA Trophy to ensure the rounds are more accurate, for example ensuring the competition doesn?t begin at the second qualifying round.
The game I elected to load is a broad choice game designed to give me maximum movement as possible while keeping it realistic as possible. For example I have no intention to go South America in real life so in FM I would not go there. I know it?s a game but that?s the way I do things.


I included the MLS, A League, English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Republic of Ireland, Italian, German, Russian, Dutch, Spanish, French and Portuguese leagues as well as maybe a few more tucked away.
I began as I always do: unemployed! My past experience is set as automatic so no top jobs heading in my general direction for a while.

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There was a mess of jobs available including quite a few international jobs but I decided to apply for Stockport County. I only ever apply for one at a time and resist apply for more until there?s an outcome one way or the other. This forces me to choose my applications carefully at times.


I received an interview for the job, which was great, and was promptly offered the job which I accepted with no delay and no dithering over the contract.


I will be conducting a root to leaf assessment of the club as well as setting up various things the way I like them.
There will be a follow up coming as soon as there?s a follow up to send.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your continuing support.

 

[goodwin114]

After being appointed this is my initial assessment and observations about Stockport County FC.

The playing staff I have found to have been of a decent standard but lacking in numbers and consequently depth. Since there’s no reserve competition and no U18 competition all players have been concentrated into one squad.
I’m not going to go through the entire squad but I will cover players during the course of the season but for me that stand out players are Phil Jevons and Iain Craney.

I will be looking to strengthen, obviously, with blatant weak points being at centre back and right winger.

The backroom staffs are not the ideal, super modern unit I would expect at the top clubs but for a starting position they are at least a starting position. Not the most flattering way to describe them but that’s the way it is. I have no room to bring anyone in without letting someone go. Just summarily dismissing people at the Club is not my style and I believe in giving people a chance. In my experience of playing Football Manager the best stats and attributes do not necessarily make the best players for your team. It helps but ultimately it’s a compatible working team that’s needed and that goes for on the pitch and off the pitch.

During the course of the season I will assess the backroom members and it will obviously be combined with other factors such as budgeting next season and this will have a bearing on the direction the backroom team takes.

All the back room staff (myself included) is out of contract at the end of the year.

The coaching and medical side are covered however rudimentarily that is but there is a lack of coaching staff and that is something that will be addressed immediately. Scouting is a big part of my preparations for games and for signings so we need scouts!

The configuration is a little different from what I would have chosen myself with an assistant and a goalkeepers coach. I’m happy to progress in this manner till nearer the end of the season and then we will have a better understanding of where the team member is in relation to what the Club will need next season.

Alan Lord
Alan has been is his position now for over a year and the first thing of note is the fact he is 62, and without risking the wrath of the political correctness massive, that’s not the way to build for the long term future.
He has a decent level of coaching abilities across the broad spectrum but he is limited as far as I am concerned if we progress up the leagues.
He does hold an A license so even by sending him on the pro course isn’t going to see him develop a great deal further.

Jordan Felgate
Jordan is a goalkeeping coach and from my initial impression average at best. He is 28 and has plenty of time to develop but he is going to have to fly to be part of the future. If I could choose a free hand I would rather have a coach than a designated goal keeper coach. I’m not looking to spend too much money on staff at this juncture.

Rodger Wylde
Rodger is the Clubs head physio and has been at the club since 1989. That being said however I would describe as average at the very, very best.

As is probably the industry standard I set up the three formations that I would envisage myself using.

All three formations carry the instructions to play at a higher tempo, to harass the opposition and pass shorter. It’s a tough style to master but a tougher style to counter effectively and in times of adversity the instructions can always be altered.
The three formations are a 4-4-2 and two variations of the 4-5-1, one for defensive purposes and one for attacking.

The facilities are fairly satisfactory. Edgeley Park holds 10300 and that should be ok to at least the Championship.
We have no youth team completion and that is an area I want to break into as it will help the development of the young players. There is no youth recruitment and no junior coaching and I do not know how that will impact on the intake of young players in March so there still is an area of mystery for me.

Training facilities are rated as average and that is good enough for me at this level.

The finances are reasonably healthy and I will be endeavouring to look after them as best as possible. We have 2000 season tickets going out of the door so that is a massive shot in the arm, especially for a club with has been teetering on financial oblivion over the last decade or so.

I don’t want to spend, indeed I have nothing to spend, money and I would rather build a team cheaply at this stage but a quality team. If it requires resources to do that then that’s the route I will take.

The Skrill North is the lowest that Stockport County has ever been in their history so no matter how successful we are we will setting records for lowest league position. It is what it is and all we can do is ensure that come May we are moving up.
We are predicted to finish 3rd behind Guisley and Altrincham who were both relegated last year as well I believe, but as part of my interview the board did state that promotion was the aim and I concur anyway. The top elements of the league could be close but some of the sides in this league are pretty poor and should be minor hindrances anyway. If it looks like top three isn’t on I would have to question myself anyway but I suspect the board would already be taking care of business in terms of sacking and replacing anyway.

The ambitions are a mostly generic set of stuff really. Develop a good team, win promotions and get bigger.

The method I wish to go down is pretty simple really. The establishment of a youth side and a development of that youth side to bring players into the first team or failing that a sellable asset that can bring the Club some money.
The stadium will take care of itself as 10,000 odd capacity will suffice right up to Championship level. I would like eventually the stadium to be tidied up and not be rated as very poor.

Development over time of the training facilities and youth training and recruitment facilities is something that requires time and money and is something I wish to get underway soon as possible and my best guess would be start of next season for that.
Obviously Stockport’s downfall has been financial and living within our means is vital. Developing what we can where we can when we can is paramount.

As for myself, my FM future is at Stockport for the season at least. At this stage I want to be here next year so to do that we need to be shiny for that to happen. If the Club begins to not match my ambitions then that will be a potential separation event but right now it’s about building the foundations for a dominant European superpower.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your continuing support.

 

[goodwin114]

The most pressing issue was to get some scouts in as there was a complete absence of any. I big part of how I manage my team is careful identification, selection and recruitment of players.


I like to identify players using the inbuilt filters but a good scouting system make the filtering even more efficient. Once they are identified I use the scouts to watch them. I assess the reports to ensure that the player is still looking like being the right player. If I’m still not 100% convinced I send a second scout if one is available.


Once I'm happy with the scouting element I go watch a game or two myself, to satisfy myself that the player can do what I would want him to do within my set up. Nothing more frustrating than outlaying lots of money for player who don’t deliver.
To that end I signed two scouts in rapid succession.


Bobby Roberts
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He has a judging ability and potential of 12 which is the best that was left after I filtered them out so I’m actually quite pleased with that.


John Milton
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John is the same as Bobby in terms of stats and I’m very happy to get two pretty decent quality scouts.


Obviously attributes don’t make good players or in this case scouts. They are contracted to end of the year and like everyone else they have to prove themselves and earn their next contract.

 

[goodwin114]

Stockport County 6-0 Flixton (Preseason Friendly)


Flixton was the first preseason opponents and I won’t talk too much about the game as it was a preseason game but a 6-0 demolition was pretty comprehensive. We pressed chased harried and attacked at high tempo which was everything that I could ask for.
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We got no injuries so another superb positive. The morale as expected has gone through the roof so all in all a decent day at the office.


I actually got startled as I usually play FM at really low levels and Stockport represents one of the biggest I've managed and I am used to 20-40 fans per game so a thousand fans making that noise through my speakers was a little unexpected!!



Eric Mutch

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Following the Flixton game I was pleased with Mutch’s contribution. He got on at half time and had little to do except tidy up. Flixton didn’t do much but they did get one clear cut opportunity and their striker went one on one and Mutch produced a very good save. This had done enough for me to offer him a deal. With only ?200 left on my wage budget I am very pleased he has accepted a youth contract which only puts me out of pocket to the tune of ?5 per week. I believe the government will offset some of that anyway so a bargain.
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Eric subsequently accepted the contract and I am delighted to add him to the squad.


Allen Bossman

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I was lacking a right winger with only one in the squad; Adriano Moke. Allen was released from Stoke and I brought him in on trial. He got a 35 minute shift against Flixton and he certainly did the job I wanted him to do so I decided to offer him a deal and he asked for a non-contract deal. I accepted this for potential another cheap decent transfer.

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A complication which arose was the fact he is Ghanaian and would require a work permit. I suspect he won’t get one despite getting one at Stoke and not playing in two years.
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[White army]

Good luck with your story

 

[goodwin114]

Nice one. Good luck recovering from bad form!!

 

[goodwin114]

Stockport County 1-0 Cheadle (Preseason Friendly)


A decent run out for the boys. I went with my perceived first choice team as I want them at maximum levels when the season gets underway.


As you would expect from the difference in leagues we dominated from start to finish but only one goal separated the sides, a fine turn and shot from the edge of the area from Dennis.


I was pleased by the control and sheer volume of chances created, I should be concerned by the lack of goals from these chances but it is preseason and that’s what preseason is for!
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Post-game there was no injury concerns and the standards of individual fitness are raising and I’m sure by the start of the season the players will be more than ready. Obviously there still needs to be the competitive sharpness but that’s something which can only be gained from competitive game.


Some pieces of administration from the week and the Club signed a new sponsorship deal which further strengthens our financial position. It’s not exactly a new sponsorship record but every little helps.
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Unsurprisingly and disappointingly Allen Bossman’s work permit appeal was rejected and as such will leave the club after electing to terminate his trial as a result. Because I terminated on Saturday he will be available for the game against Stockport Sports.
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Trialist Neil Yadolahi sufficiently impressed me and I elected to offer him a contract. He would now take up the rest of my wage budget and leave me a few quid spare. Or so I thought.
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Neil will bring the strength in depth immediately as well as being seeded into the Club, squad and team for future campaigns.


The wage budget has for some reason I cannot fathom has gone over budget. I can only assume bonuses have been factored in. As a result no more signings will be made unless an exceptional player becomes available. I will be looking to address the light weight nature of our right hand side by hopefully utilising the loan system. I’m not a huge fan of the loan system but it is a tool to be used.

 

[goodwin114]

Stockport Sports 1-5 Stockport County (Preseason Friendly)


A much more ruthless performance than against Cheadle. The possession stats were much closer but we were very clinical in front of goal. Indeed we were two up after five minutes.
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The idea for this stage was to start to sharpen the technical side of things and the men delivered. Again it’s not an accurate reading of the state of the men but we got what we want from the game.


We were blowing Stockport Sports away when there was a palpable change in aggression by them and the game at times descended into a good old fashioned ruck!


We picked up one minor injury, O’Halloran, who will miss our final preseason game but we for all likely purposes be back for Boston United.

 

[TheBallBoy]

Great detail, I like what I'm reading! Looking forward to this

 

[goodwin114]

Phil Jevons

I am very happy with Phil Jevons being part of the squad. I envisage him playing as a trequartista. He has attributes which are fantastic for this level. I see him as the attack focal point launching attacks and bring his attack partner in and creating chances for himself and others. Attribute wise he certainly has the ability. Obviously that doesn’t necessarily transfer into performance on the pitch.
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The only two negative points for me with regard to Phil is the fact that he is 34 and he has a pace of 7. I prefer pacey players as there’s nothing worse than watching chances break down because the attacking player isn’t quick enough.


I usually ensure that any players have a baseline of key attributes such as pace and passing but Phil’s attributes are superb that his pace being a little off is acceptable. As for being 34 I can’t really hold that against him but from that perspective I can’t really build a team in the long term with him as part of it.


I see him as an influential player certainly for this year and depending how he holds up over the summer maybe next year.
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[goodwin114]

Stockport County 3 V 1 Abbey Hey (PreSeason Friendly)

The last preseason friendly! Next Saturday we will be in the thick of it against Boston United. First though the business to hand.
I deployed as usual my initial first choice team. The game was pretty straight forward with the only real adjustment being that the majority of the players got eighty minutes.
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After the game I checked on the status of the groups fitness and was a little annoyed that only one player was in fact classed as match fit. Further investigation revealed that most of the men are only a short distance away from being match fit. After the Altrincham game a week on Saturday I expect most of the men to be there.


It has given me pause for thought though as I will adjust my preseason plans for next year, switching to adding an additional two friendlies for the under 21’s and making players available to play in them thus giving the guys more game time.
Stephen O’Halloran picked up a minor injury in the game and will defiantly miss the season opener and possibly the Tuesday game against Workington.


Next up Boston United at Edgeley Park.

 

[goodwin114]

Yeah I prefer the slow and steady approach. I find it builds the tension!!

 

[goodwin114]

Some Points of administration

Prior to the start of the season I went to the board. As we are in a decent financial position, for this level, and with projections looking like the business is going to double and then double again over the next two seasons I wanted to improve the facilities at the Club.

Not wanting to push my luck I was only going to ask for one thing. There are so many areas which need improving that it was a little difficult to select which one I wanted.


In the end the complete lack of a youth system was the concern which needed addressing. I asked (as it turns out I asked for the wrong thing, I should have asked for increased spending in the area!) for the youth facilities to be improved. To my delight the board accepted and it was signed off on.
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Obviously 140k is a huge chunk of change to outlay, especially as at best we will be a Skrill Premier side (at worst still in the North) but the work needed doing.
My intention is to develop a strong youth element and I want to have at least a U21 or an U18 side for next season. I'm sure the board will push one through anyway.


As a side effect the non-existent youth training now is ranked minimal. Progress is baby steps, baby steps is big boy steps and big boy steps becomes an Olympic Gold in the marathon with the right guidance.


Another order of business was captain for the year. Kieran Charnock was the incumbent and I dint want him as captain. Nothing personal there simply were better candidates. In this case I went with young Kyle Jacobs. As vice-captain I selected the newly signed Neil Yadolahi. It was a decision based purely on attributes. Most people in the squad reacted well to it and no one reacted badly.
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Now on to the start of the season.

 

[goodwin114]

Stockport County 3-1 Boston United (Skrill North)

So the season is finally upon us.
The preparation is done as much as we done. I'm a little disappointed by the standard of fitness and I suppose I have to take the blame on that front but it is in hand and obviously this season will shape next season's preseason. That being said the guys are not that far away from being match fit.
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Match fitness was not an issue in terms of selecting my team for the game. There were no changes from the last preseason game against Abbey Hey. Stephen O'Halloran is now back in full training but his fitness is not quite there. He should be ready to go on Tuesday against Workington. That being said Scott Duxbury will start at left back in his place. This is a small chance for Duxbury to stake a claim for the place.
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I set the team up in my current preferred formation of 4-4-2 as we practiced all preseason. Boston set up in a 4-5-1 formation. This is obviously going to give them an extra man in the centre and could lead to them dominating the centre but I am confident the quality of our central midfielders will negate that fact. I expect players to close and chase anyway. With Boston's more advance wide men will give our wingers space in which to operate in the little gaps between their wide men and full backs. Since good wing play is a vital part of our attacking play this is ideal.
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I told the players during the pre-match team talk that I wanted them to keep going from where they left off against Abbey Hey. I back that up by telling each department that I have faith in them. This gave me a decent number of guys who looked nice and motivated.
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The game started with Boston in possession and really moving the ball quickly. The first ten minutes or so they had the ball but didn't really advance to far forward with it. As a consequence we got hold of the ball and moved it around pretty quickly with the wingers, especially Moke getting down the wings.
We lost Howard through injury, which turned out to be minor, and he was replaced by Verma mid-way through the first half.


Chances began to stack up but without actually creating a clear cut effort. We began to really push them back and for a good ten minutes they were hemmed in and unable to clear their lines properly and eventually Moke got down the right and pushed in from the bye line and placed a low cross in bisecting two defenders and Phil Jevons was on hand to half volley the ball home from about six yards. Personally I relaxed and from that point the payers seemed to relax and domination of the ball was complete as we controlled it well and controlled field position very well also. The only criticism would be that we didn't fashion too many chances after that.
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The half ran out 1-0 and at the break I told them that they were good but could be better. Most of the guys responded well and I also had a word with two other players individually which perked them up also.
The second half saw Boston come out fired up and created a few minor chances but their advance ran out of steam and we resumed our control of the game. On the hour we created a quick flurry of chances which culminated with the ball making its way across to the left and was picked up by Verma who ghosted past his man and slammed a shot in to the near post which the keeper parried out. Unfortunately for Boston it land straight to Verma's feet who lashed it home at the near post. The game was comfortable at last and we began to really run Boston ragged.


Boston seemed out on their feet and about ten minutes later Moses received the ball at the edge of the area. He took a touched and smashed it home at the near post. Utter control and utter comfort was expected but football being that sport Boston ripped into us and set about creating chances forced Ormson into a little bit of action.
Boston got on the score board when a long ball from their keeper was latched and Spencer-Weir took it on the bounce and lofted it over Ormson's head and into the goal. Of the four goals on show it was the best but Boston were unable to get further into the game.
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After wards I told the men I was pleased by the performance and was underwhelmed by the player's response. I was glad the guys must think that they could do better.
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A decent start and with Workington on Tuesday the players got a day off to rest up.

 

[goodwin114]

Workington 1-4 Stockport County (Skrill North)

This game turned out to be an enigma. Proof positive that football is mental.


The major concern going into this game was player fatigue following the Boston game three days prior. I had given the players a day off in order to maximise recovery but some players were still coming at less than 90%.
In the end I rationalised that I would not change the team, with the exception of O'Halloran returning to left back at the expense of Duxbury, because the players will be getting the additional match sharpness which will benefit the team. Furthermore I'd rather grind into the game and freshen up with substitutes when legs are tired to give us that edge. Obviously with a game on Saturday the team and squad will be assessed accordingly.
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I elected to go with 4-4-2 as it is my preferred formation and again additional match sharpness will be layered on tonight. Scouting reports indicate that Workington will go 4-4-2. After having a look at them I feel that individually my guys are better than theirs.
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Before the game I told the men that I wanted them to pick up where they left off last time and told each department that I had faith in them. That elicited a decent response.
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As the game kicked off it was apparent that the pitch was terrible and the weather was rain and wind. Which was ironic as sat in my kitchen looking out my window wind and rain was exactly what was going on outside.
Now I was little concerned as the poor pitch and heavy conditions would take a toll on the players.
The first 11 minutes were a disaster. Apart from conceding and having a man sent off everything else that went wrong went wrong. After 10 minutes we had 29% possession and had registered zero shots in comparison to 71% and 8 shots by Workington.


That was just the tip of the iceberg. When we did get possession the passing was appalling. 11 minutes in and our passing was down at 54%. Jacobs from full back was in particular driving me nuts as when he got the ball he insisted on lashing the ball thirty yards ahead of anyone, us or them, and out for a goal kick. At the eighth time of asking I issued him the shorter pass instruction purely in an attempt to keep hold of the ball.


A real concern was the fact we were getting pulled apart especially at the back and this culminated with a bizarre incident when Workington were in possession and Fagbola simply ran forward past the man with ball leaving what would become one on one with the keeper when he advanced. At this point swearing began.
On 11 minutes Phil Jevons picked up a knock and was unable to continue and was replaced by Brandon Windsor. The only thing that was now missing was a goal for Workington. Sure enough within five minutes we obliged them.


The centre backs were pulled about yet again and the ball fell to Ross Wilson who took the ball around both centre backs who were less than a foot from each other; where else would they be, and he smashed it home from the edge of the area.


At this point my concern was to avoid being swept away by Workington and being put out of the game before we even got into it. As a result I instructed the players to drop deeper in order to defend going forward as opposed to defending on the turn.


No sooner than this instruction was issued we put a quarter (one eighth) of a decent move down the right which was closed down but we got a corner. We had worked on set pieces so it was superb, and unexpected, that Ian Creany swept a corner in to the near post and an unmarked Windsor half volleying home from inside the six yard box.


Somehow we found ourselves level and my initial reaction was that we had got lucky. Workington kicked off and when they were disposed and Moke took off down the right and slipped a cross into the six yard box and again an unmarked Windsor knocked the ball home.


I was a little lost as to what to do really.


Workington seemed to fall apart. Their good purposeful passing became very poor and five minutes later we had another corner on the right. A carbon copy of the previous corner saw Creany put the ball into the six yard box and yet again Windsor, unmarked put the ball away.


We had played appalling for the first half hour. Possession 60/40 against. Shots 10/4 against and somehow were winning 3-1.


Windsor incidentally had at this point 18 minutes on the pitch, three shots and three goals from a combined range of less than six yards. When he scored his first his kit was immaculate because he hadn't been on long and had done literally nothing and when he celebrated he did a "Klinnsman" and dirtied his kit, which irrationally annoyed me!!


From going 3-1 up we finally settled but O?Halloran was having a rough day. We began to dominate and dictate and the half ran out.


I told them at half time that they were doing ok but there was plenty of room for of improvement, which I think was a fair assessment.
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My thinking for the second half was to dominate possession and keep Workington off the ball so they couldn't come back and straight from the kick off the ball went forward to Windsor who smashed the ball home from about 20 yards. Not quite my game plan but game over.


The second half passed fairly incident free, with Workington hitting the bar from a cross and we did have two further half chances but it finished 4-1 which I will take that every day of the week.
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I told the men good result and good performance and they guys reacted well again. I did tell Moke well done as he was a nuisance and got himself an assist.
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Incidentally Windsor scored four yet only got a 9.9 rating?! What more does he have to do?


League table after two games and very nice to see the Club top of the division.
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Phil Jevons had no injury which was good news but everyone in the first team found their fitness sub 65% which with a game three days later is a problem.


They were given a day off to recover but I know envisage having to change things up maybe.

 

[goodwin114]

Brendon Windsor

Since he is the man of the hour, well man of the 79 minutes here?s a look at Brendon Windsor.
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He has a decent set of attributes, with the exception of passing which could make a decent deep lying forward in the future. He is only 18 so he definitely has time. If he continues impressing I can see him being one of the first to be offered a contract for next season and beyond.

 

[goodwin114]

Altrincham 1-2 Stockport County (Skrill North)

This is, like every other game that comes next, a vital game. Altrincham are tipped by the betting community to finish joint top with Guisley and as a result tipped to finish above us this season.
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Bearing in mind we played on Tuesday and have a game Monday changes were needed. I, despite negative comments from the Altrincham manager, elected to replace Stephen O'Halloran with Scott Duxbury at full back. I was amazed that the Altrincham manager identified Duxbury as the weak link in our side, especially as I wasn't going to play him. However since I decided to start him maybe he knew something I didn't.


I elected to also start Verma, Moses and Windsor in favour of Craney, Hand and Dennis respectively. All three of the replaced players were on the bench for the game. This was purely because of fitness reasons. I chose to go with players who had more in the tank rather than players with less who could become a liability and restrict options later in the game.
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I'd likes to say Windsor forced his way into the team because of his four goals against Workington but it was purely a freshness issue. He has defiantly given me a thought to have but one game doesn't make a season. This is an opportunity for him to give a good account of himself and force himself further into my thoughts.


I went with my preferred 4-4-2 again. I like the men to get familiar with one and get really comfortable with it. I prefer the opposition to react to me not me changing to suit them. Scouting suggested that Altrincham will be coming with a 4-4-2 setup of their own and a quick glance at their squad showed we were pretty evenly matched. However the real advantage lay with my squad and subsequent team being fresher than theirs. I expected that to be the major factor in deciding this game.
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I told the players to, again, pick up where they left off last time and individual departments that I had faith. I got a good reaction again so that is another good thing to take into the match.
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The game started a lot better for us than it did against Workington. We were a lot brighter and moving the ball a lot better and a lot more competently. Altrincham were also pretty sharp and it they had a few chances before James Walshaw slammed a ranged effort in. In a broader context I was a little frustrated with Kieran Charnocks part in the goal insofar as, to my mind seemed to try and be everywhere in the back half. This isn't a bad thing but at times he was almost marking his centre back Fagbola out of the game. It worked well until Charnock missed a tackle or didn't get the ball safe and then we ended up with a larger hole in the centre of our defence. For Walsahw'sgoal this was the case.


I just want Charnock to stay where I need him really but that's something I will work on with him. If this cannot be resolved then, as good as a defender he is, he is a liability and will be in line to be replaced.


I had confidence that we could get a goal during the course of the rest of the game. We immediately pushed right back against Altrincham and began to pick at them.


We ended up pushing them right back and barely five minutes after they took the lead the ball squirted out to Jevons who powered it home from the edge of the area. I knew we could score and was delighted to score so quickly.


The rest of the half settled into a pattern of Altrincham having possession at the back and in the middle but breaking down completely in the final third. We would then sweep it up and control possession in the back and middle but we were creating efforts in their final third.

I told the players at half time that we could still win and also reiterated to the defence and midfield that I had faith in them. Furthermore I told Windsor, who wasn't having a great game that I had faith in him.
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It wasn't high pressure four or five chance bursts but it was carefully worked efforts and they began to rack up.
I was aware that we had a game on Monday and the obvious thing was to keep going with the high press and close or to drop off in the second half. This equated, to me, go for a win or settle for a draw.


In the end I opted to leave it as it was. My primary concern was that if we eased off it would allow Altrincham back into the game and at that point were barely deserving of a point. I didn't want to have to rely on my defence to get us over the line and I certainly didn't want to rely on my defence with tired legs to get us over the line.


We were picking chances through their defence and in return Altrincham offered very little and it came as no surprise when we forced three corners in rapid succession and they all were delivered well by Craney and the third found its mark when Fagbola surged past his marker and thumped a header in.


After a short period of scrappiness Altrincham gained a little ascendancy a began to push us back but they lacked any form of cutting edge and the game ran out as a 2-1 win for Stockport County.
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I told the players at full time that it was a good win and that got a decent reaction. Now the players have got two days off and the we play Colwyn Bay at Edgeley Park on Monday.
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Obviously after three games I am delighted to be top on 9 points. It's still a long way to go so not getting excited just yet but another nine games will give me a real idea of where we stand.
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[TheWriter]

Good start to the league campaign and a nice win vs Altrincham! Good start, keep it going

 

[goodwin114]

Good start to the league campaign and a nice win vs Altrincham! Good start, keep it going

Ta mate. It's a fantastic start considering fitness standard (partially my fault) and especially as it's a first season i.e. new formations to get squared away AND especially since it's been a four game bounce in nine (?)days.

 

[goodwin114]

Stockport Couty 1-0 Colwyn Bay (Skrill North)

So another day another game. After two days rest the next league fixture comes around. Pesky bank holidays!
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After the superb win on Saturday we welcomed Colwyn Bay to Edgeley Park. The obvious thing was that the player's legs were a little tired. However it was not an excuse as Colwyn Bay also played in the same time frame so they would be equally leggy.

In terms of team selection I brought back the guys who were fitness rotated for the Altrincham game, namely O'Halloran, Hand, Craney and Dennis. However with Howard still injured and Lofthouse's fitness being so low I elected to keep Verma in the side but shift him over to left. In the back four Charnock's fitness was down at 86% and I made a tactical decision to replace him with Tuncliffe. With Colwyn Bay's very physical and very handy top line, which would include one Ade Akinbyi, I wanted as much energy and legs as possible to counter them. I believed Charnock could have done a job but with his fitness being low I wanted fresh energetic legs in the team.
In terms of formation I set up in my now customary formation of 4-4-2. With the absence of an out and out left winger I toyed with the idea of changing around but in the end I elected to go with what I know. I have a good base line reference point as to what I believe the team can perform at so if there are any dips it would make easier for me to correct them.
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I usually prefer my teams to force the opposition to react to me but I gave specific instructions for Akinbyi, in this case tackle hard and close him down. He may be at the downward point in his career but his attributes are still pretty **** good for this level and let's not forget has had ?15million spent on him during his career.
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I spoke to the men before the game and told them if we play our game we are capable of winning. That got a generally good reaction from the team with the exception of Dennis who seemed demotivated.
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The game kicked off and straight away we got a good hold of the ball and began to push and probe Colwyn Bay's right hand side and after two minutes Dennis cut outside cut back inside and curled and fabulous shot into the far top corner. Demotivated my ***. A superb start and I felt pretty good we would steam roller Colwyn Bays with little problem.

Indeed the pattern of play was all us. Passing was good at all ranges and very useful but as the half wore on Colwyn Bay came back into the match. They didn't actually trouble our goal in the first half but they began to find space and began to stretch us.

It was almost like a switch being turned off as both teams began to get scrappy in phases, as a result of tired legs I'm assuming.

The half ran out 1-0 and in all fairness we could've been two up and cruising. I told the men, at the break, they played well but room for improvement. I specifically talked to a few players and generally got a good reaction.
There were a few stamina issues creeping in now and the substitutes would be used to keep things on track as I was expecting virtually the whole side to drop to low energy levels, but in all fairness I also expected Colwyn Bay to drop as well.
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The second half became a bit of a side show really. Two tired defences and two tired teams in general played attack then defend with each other and it was end to end. We had two further chances to put Colwyn Bay to the sword but didn't take them and Akinbyi had two one on one gilt edge, golden, top notch, nailed on sitters that he missed. One was a fantastic save by Ormson and one was a tremendous block by Fagbola.

The defence in general was tired and stretched but they put some fantastic blocks in to prevent an equaliser. As an Arsenal fan who grew up with George Grahams "?ber Defence" it was immense to see these blocks flying in.
Ultimately the game finished one nil and Akinbyi really should have equalised for them. The defence and in particular Tuncliffe were superb. This has given me so really selection problems to mull insofar as Tuncliffe stayed in position and defend very well on the ground and air and because he remained in position the structural viability of the defence was much better. Charnocks needs to square that away very quick!
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I told the men post game it was a good win and well done and this went down a treat.
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There were no further injuries to take into consideration for the away day at Harrogate on Saturday and with the added bonus of five days between games I expect the standard of fitness to rocket up now.

After four games obviously I am delighted with the league. I believe we have the quality to win this league, if not the numbers, but like all leagues consistency will be the range finder.
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