Newman.Liam
Member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
The Beginning For A Young Enthusiastic Manager
On Tuesday 8th July 2008 a new era dawned. Erik Samuelson, chairman of Blue Square South side AFC Wimbledon, appointed a young Englishman from Southend-On-Sea in Essex to take over the helm a manager of 'The Dons'.
The club had only been in existence since 2002 after the old Wimbledon had moved to Milton Keanes in order to become the MK Dons. Instead of supporting another London based team , the fans decided to found their own club, and AFC Wimbledon was the result.
In their very brief existence the club had managed to rise several divisions and 2008/2009 would be their first in the Blue Square South, the highest standard of football the club had played in. So perhaps it was no real surprise for the change of management as the club tried to look onwards and upwards. However, the appointment of the untested and unproved Liam Newman definitely was a shock for many fans.
At 10:00 AM when the board announced their newest appointment the young, enthusiastic, ginger haired manager looked at ease with the press. Through excited blue eyes he answered the questions put to him with confidence and charm, already his charisma was starting to show. Was he over-confident, or would his belief that he could take the club to new heights become a reality. Only time would tell?
The following morning as he stepped out onto the training ground to take his first ever session as a football manager, Newman could see that he would have his work cut out if he were to get promotion to the 5th tier of English football at the first time of asking.
The media had made early predictions that 'The Dons' would finish in the top half of the table, but would ultimately miss out on the playoffs. Samuelson had stated that the clubs expectation was just to consolidate its position in the Blue Square South and that anything more than this would be bonus.
As Newman put his players through their paces, he made notes. He felt that there was potential in the squad to succeed, but there was a definite requirement for new signings. With the season just weeks away it was essential that Newman dipped into the transfer market sooner rather than later if the new acquisitions were going to gel with their team-mates in time for the league opener away at Chelmsford City on August 9th.
Chelmsford were also new to this division having gained promotion for the Isthmian Premiership along with Wimbledon the previous season. Like 'The Dons', City were predicted to do well but not achieve back-to-back promotions by the media. With seasoned players like Jeff Minton in the squad alongside talented players (at least for this level) such as Ricky Holmes and James Lawson, who Newman was very familiar with having watched him play for his boyhood team Southend United, Newman knew this would be a very tough first game so a successful pre-season would be essential.
Newman had been given a transfer budget of £10,000 by the board and quickly looked around to see if any bargains were out there. Loan signings are often extremely important for the lower and non-league clubs and they can sometimes be the difference between success and failure. With this in mind Newman made enquiries about an array of young upcoming players from the bigger clubs. It would soon be very apparent that AFC Wimbledon and the Blue Square South were not be a proposition that tempted players who were on the books of Premiership sides as they looked to gain first team experience with league teams.
On Friday 10th July it was announced that the new 'gaffer' at Kingsmeadow had completed his first transaction. And it was one that would please the fans as it showed the Essex born manager had an eye for a bargain and was able to attract players from teams higher up on the football pyramid. Former Cheltenham goalkeeper Scott Brown , 23, had signed a two year contract with 'The Dons' after the League 1 outfit agreed to let the player leave on a free transfer.
Success for Newman then who had at least brought in one new face and in a position where it was needed as previously the Kingsmeadow side only had one goalkeeper on their books , James Pullen. Newman received confirmation that a whole host of players had turned down the club ,both transfer and loan targets, so back to square one it was.
Newman's first game in charge took place on that Saturday. A friendly match away at Folkestone. The enthusiastic manager had stated from day one that pre-season was a gelling process and results wouldn't concern him. 212 fans were in attendance to see Folkestone's Derek Russell score an unfortunate own goal to give Newman his first goal as a manager, perhaps it was not in the fashion he would have liked but it gave him a buzz that he had previously never felt. He had arrived into the industry of football management. 'Dons' went on to draw the game 2-2.
Just three days later saw Newman take charge of his second friendly as his Wimbledon brushed Sutton aside, winning the game 2-1. Canadian midfielder Elliot Godfrey popping up with a goal in either half at Sutton's Gander Green Lane.
On the pitch the rest of pre-season showed Newman that there was still a lot of work to be done as both results and performances were inconsistent. Off the pitch, perhaps the biggest and most important news at Kingsmeadow was that AFC Wimbledon had ,largely down to Newman, managed to announce a link with Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League. The partnership was finalised on the 25th with 'Spurs' sending 19 year old goalkeeper David Button to 'The Dons' on a season-long loan.
Just three days later Newman had completed the season-long loan of another player. This time from League 1 side Brighton. The player heading to the Blue Square South outfit would be young centre back Michael Pearson, who said he would “relish the opportunity of first team football at Kingsmeadow”.
With the two loan signings and the purchase of Scott Brown, AFC Wimbledon were ready for the start of the season. In a pre-match conference Newman insisted that his team could succeed and that his players were more than capable of playing attractive football whilst getting the desired results. He pinpointed James Lawson as the main threat, quite possibly due to his Southend roots.
Going into the match Newman had mixed emotions. Excitement , apprehension and a slight feeling of nervousness consumed his body and soul. For this was the day his life would change forever, from this day onwards he would be a football manager. His performance would have a huge impact not only on his life but also his players, staff and supporters. In just a few weeks the fans had seemed to warm to Newman and he was already starting to feel a bond with them, as well as the players.
A pre-match talk with the players followed by a secret prayer to the man upstairs, and Newman was ready to step out into the spotlight and see if his pre-season training and words of wisdom had paid off. The next two hours would be the most important of his life to date.
On Tuesday 8th July 2008 a new era dawned. Erik Samuelson, chairman of Blue Square South side AFC Wimbledon, appointed a young Englishman from Southend-On-Sea in Essex to take over the helm a manager of 'The Dons'.
The club had only been in existence since 2002 after the old Wimbledon had moved to Milton Keanes in order to become the MK Dons. Instead of supporting another London based team , the fans decided to found their own club, and AFC Wimbledon was the result.
In their very brief existence the club had managed to rise several divisions and 2008/2009 would be their first in the Blue Square South, the highest standard of football the club had played in. So perhaps it was no real surprise for the change of management as the club tried to look onwards and upwards. However, the appointment of the untested and unproved Liam Newman definitely was a shock for many fans.
At 10:00 AM when the board announced their newest appointment the young, enthusiastic, ginger haired manager looked at ease with the press. Through excited blue eyes he answered the questions put to him with confidence and charm, already his charisma was starting to show. Was he over-confident, or would his belief that he could take the club to new heights become a reality. Only time would tell?
The following morning as he stepped out onto the training ground to take his first ever session as a football manager, Newman could see that he would have his work cut out if he were to get promotion to the 5th tier of English football at the first time of asking.
The media had made early predictions that 'The Dons' would finish in the top half of the table, but would ultimately miss out on the playoffs. Samuelson had stated that the clubs expectation was just to consolidate its position in the Blue Square South and that anything more than this would be bonus.
As Newman put his players through their paces, he made notes. He felt that there was potential in the squad to succeed, but there was a definite requirement for new signings. With the season just weeks away it was essential that Newman dipped into the transfer market sooner rather than later if the new acquisitions were going to gel with their team-mates in time for the league opener away at Chelmsford City on August 9th.
Chelmsford were also new to this division having gained promotion for the Isthmian Premiership along with Wimbledon the previous season. Like 'The Dons', City were predicted to do well but not achieve back-to-back promotions by the media. With seasoned players like Jeff Minton in the squad alongside talented players (at least for this level) such as Ricky Holmes and James Lawson, who Newman was very familiar with having watched him play for his boyhood team Southend United, Newman knew this would be a very tough first game so a successful pre-season would be essential.
Newman had been given a transfer budget of £10,000 by the board and quickly looked around to see if any bargains were out there. Loan signings are often extremely important for the lower and non-league clubs and they can sometimes be the difference between success and failure. With this in mind Newman made enquiries about an array of young upcoming players from the bigger clubs. It would soon be very apparent that AFC Wimbledon and the Blue Square South were not be a proposition that tempted players who were on the books of Premiership sides as they looked to gain first team experience with league teams.
On Friday 10th July it was announced that the new 'gaffer' at Kingsmeadow had completed his first transaction. And it was one that would please the fans as it showed the Essex born manager had an eye for a bargain and was able to attract players from teams higher up on the football pyramid. Former Cheltenham goalkeeper Scott Brown , 23, had signed a two year contract with 'The Dons' after the League 1 outfit agreed to let the player leave on a free transfer.
Success for Newman then who had at least brought in one new face and in a position where it was needed as previously the Kingsmeadow side only had one goalkeeper on their books , James Pullen. Newman received confirmation that a whole host of players had turned down the club ,both transfer and loan targets, so back to square one it was.
Newman's first game in charge took place on that Saturday. A friendly match away at Folkestone. The enthusiastic manager had stated from day one that pre-season was a gelling process and results wouldn't concern him. 212 fans were in attendance to see Folkestone's Derek Russell score an unfortunate own goal to give Newman his first goal as a manager, perhaps it was not in the fashion he would have liked but it gave him a buzz that he had previously never felt. He had arrived into the industry of football management. 'Dons' went on to draw the game 2-2.
Just three days later saw Newman take charge of his second friendly as his Wimbledon brushed Sutton aside, winning the game 2-1. Canadian midfielder Elliot Godfrey popping up with a goal in either half at Sutton's Gander Green Lane.
On the pitch the rest of pre-season showed Newman that there was still a lot of work to be done as both results and performances were inconsistent. Off the pitch, perhaps the biggest and most important news at Kingsmeadow was that AFC Wimbledon had ,largely down to Newman, managed to announce a link with Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League. The partnership was finalised on the 25th with 'Spurs' sending 19 year old goalkeeper David Button to 'The Dons' on a season-long loan.
Just three days later Newman had completed the season-long loan of another player. This time from League 1 side Brighton. The player heading to the Blue Square South outfit would be young centre back Michael Pearson, who said he would “relish the opportunity of first team football at Kingsmeadow”.
With the two loan signings and the purchase of Scott Brown, AFC Wimbledon were ready for the start of the season. In a pre-match conference Newman insisted that his team could succeed and that his players were more than capable of playing attractive football whilst getting the desired results. He pinpointed James Lawson as the main threat, quite possibly due to his Southend roots.
Going into the match Newman had mixed emotions. Excitement , apprehension and a slight feeling of nervousness consumed his body and soul. For this was the day his life would change forever, from this day onwards he would be a football manager. His performance would have a huge impact not only on his life but also his players, staff and supporters. In just a few weeks the fans had seemed to warm to Newman and he was already starting to feel a bond with them, as well as the players.
A pre-match talk with the players followed by a secret prayer to the man upstairs, and Newman was ready to step out into the spotlight and see if his pre-season training and words of wisdom had paid off. The next two hours would be the most important of his life to date.