Shaking up the Football League - A Bury FC Story.

[Mike :]]

End of Season Review

Premier League

Winners: Manchester City
Relegated: Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Everton
Top Goalscorer: 21 – Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)
Most Assists: 12 – Santi Cazorla (Arsenal)
Highest Average Rating: 7.90 – Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Overachievers: Bolton
Underachievers: Everton
Signing of the Season: Fulham’s Steven Davis - £3.9m
Worst Signing of the Season: Arsenal’s Timothy Chandler - £6.25m

nPower Championship

Winners: Southampton
Promoted: Southampton, Wolves Derby
Relegated: Barnsley, Coventry, Watford
Top Goalscorer: 42 – Charlie Austin (Burnley)
Most Assists: 15 – David Lopez (Brighton)
Highest Average Rating: 7.57 – Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton)
Overachievers: Bury
Underachievers: Watford
Signing of the Season: Bury’s Stefan Kutschke - Free
Worst Signing of the Season: Wigan’s Matty Taylor - £625,000

nPower League One

Winners: Stevenage
Promoted: Stevenage, Blackpool, Millwall
Relegated: Swindon, Crewe, Yeovil, Southend
Top Goalscorer: 25 – Andrew Keogh (Millwall)
Most Assists: 17 – Martin Woods (Doncaster)
Highest Average Rating: 7.58 – Miles Addison (Bournemouth)
Overachievers: Notts County
Underachievers: Swindon
Signing of the Season: Colchester’s Jabo Ibehre - Free
Worst Signing of the Season: Blackpool’s Chris Herd - £425,000

nPower League Two

Winners: Chesterfield
Promoted: Chesterfield, Oldham, Fleetwood, York
Relegated: Cheltenham, Barnet
Top Goalscorer: 20 – Stuart Beavon (Chesterfield)
Most Assists: 15 – Luke Young (Plymouth)
Highest Average Rating: 7.73 – David Buchanan (Preston)
Overachievers: Burton
Underachievers: Plymouth
Signing of the Season: Bradford’s Simon Mensing - Free
Worst Signing of the Season: Exeter’s Anthony Grant - £16,000​

 

[White army]

so overachivers hey lol....have u looked at my champions League challenge story

 

[Mike :]]

so overachivers hey lol....have u looked at my champions League challenge story

Yeah mate, unlucky getting sacked but you've done well at Feyenoord and it's a tough draw in the Champions League.

 

[White army]

Yeah mate, unlucky getting sacked but you've done well at Feyenoord and it's a tough draw in the Champions League.

o i kno but we will just have to wait and see if i can get through

 

[Mike :]]

2014-15 Season

Pre-Season Update

After last season’s success I had my yearly meeting with the board to discuss what would be happening for next season with regards to budgets, transfers and upgrading facilities. Following this meeting, we came up with the following targets:

Achieve a top half finish
Try and gain promotion
Reach Capital One Cup Fourth Round
Reach FA Cup Quarter Final

Transfer Budget: £393,000
Wage Budget: £72,500

If we wanted to achieve our furthest aim of promotion, we needed to bring a few players in to strengthen our squad. We spent a total of £325,000 trying to do this plus many free transfers coming into the club as well as receiving £1.1m for players departing the club. In total, we brought in seven players in and got rid of twelve players.

In

View attachment 297373

Shawn Bernard - £95,000 – Crewe
View attachment 297372

Hayden Mullins – Free – Unattached
View attachment 297371

Kyle Bennett – Free – Unattached
View attachment 297370

James Tavernier - £190,000 – Newcastle
View attachment 297369

Federico Masi – Free – Unattached
View attachment 297369

Fitz Hall – Free – Unattached
View attachment 297368

Marlon Davidson - £40,000 – Southampton
View attachment 297367

Out

View attachment 297366

Joel Lindpere - £65,000 – Hartlepool
Craig Jones – Released
Peter Sweeney – Released
Shaun Harrad – Released
Trevor Carson – Released
Liam Boswell – Released
Christian Dibble – Released
Jordan Melia – Released
Julio Arca – Free – Andria
Abdoulaye Seck - £50,000 – Millwall
Adam Lockwood – Free – Chesterfield
Lateef Elford-Alliyu - £1,000,000 – Leeds

Pre-Season Results

View attachment 297365

08.07.14
vs Bury Reserves
W 1-0

12.07.14
Vs Stade Rennais FC
D 2-2

16.07.14
Vs Wrexham
W 3-0

19.07.14
Vs AFC Wimbledon
W 4-1

22.07.14
Vs Chorley
W 6-0

26.07.14
Vs Ramsbottom
W 3-1

29.07.14
Vs Notts County
D 2-2

02.08.14
Vs Radcliffe Borough
W 6-0

09.08.14
Vs Olympiakos
W 1-0

Manager’s Point of View

It has been a good pre-season for us ahead of what could be a make or break season for me. If it goes well hopefully we will start the 2015-16 season in the Premier League. We brought a few players in over the summer and are currently working on a deal or two. We’ve brought in two very good youth players from Crewe and Southampton for a combined fee of £135,000 and I will be using them at every opportunity. We’ve also brought in a good young right back James Tavernier and a good young centre back in Federico Masi. Former Bury player Kyle Bennett has re-joined the club on a free transfer after he was released by Doncaster and will be used as an impact sub. Experienced players Hayden Mullins and Fitz Hall have been brought in as back-up and will be used in cup games as well as assisting young player’s development and coaching. I am looking forward to the upcoming season as it will show whether I can cope with a small squad in a decent standard league as well as doing well in cup competitions.

Upcoming Fixtures
09.08.14 – nPower Championship – Ipswich [A]
12.08.14 – Capital One Cup First Round – Rotherham [H]
16.08.14 – nPower Championship – Hull [H]
19.08.14 – nPower Championship – Huddersfield [A]
23.08.14 – nPower Championship – Leicester [A]
30.08.14 – nPower Championship – Nottingham Forest [H]​

 

[Mike :]]

August Update

Club News

Beckford checks in

View attachment 297424

Jermaine Beckford has arrived on a season’s long loan from Leicester after falling down the pecking order at the King Power Stadium. Beckford has made a career out of being poacher and that is the role he expects to play at Gigg Lane and has gone on record saying that he believes he can be the man to fire Bury into the Premier League.

PSG youngster arrives at Gigg Lane

View attachment 297425

19 year old Maxine Bouveret has arrived at Gigg Lane as back up to David Forde after a failed work permit from an un-named Georgian keeper. The goalkeeper arrives on a season loan from PSG and will be utilised in some cup competitions. He was brought in as Bury have no cover for Forde on the bench and with time running out in August, Michael Henson has made his move to bring some in.

August Results

View attachment 297423

09.08.14
nPower Championship
vs Ipswich [A]
L 3-5
McCleary 9, 64, 75, Drury 49, Cresswell 56 - Kutschke 16, Masi 77, McGoldrick 80

12.08.14
Capital One Cup First Round
Vs Rotherham [H]
W 4-1
Worrall 18, 76, McGoldrick 35, 89 – McKay 75

16.08.14
nPower Championship
vs Hull [H]
L 0-3

19.08.14
nPower Championship
vs Huddersfield [A]
D 1-1
Kane 19 – McGoldrick 34

23.08.14
nPower Championship
vs Leicester [A]
D 1-1
Marshall 90+1 – Tunnicliffe 48

26.08.14
Capital One Cup Third Round
Vs Reading [A]
W 1-0
Tunnicliffe 11

30.08.14
nPower Championship
vs Nottingham Forest [H]
W 3-2
Kutschke 27, 68, Redmond 76 - Halford 2, 79

Manager’s Point of View

August has been a very bad month for us as it took us until the last league game of the month to get our first league win. If we want to get promoted this season, we need to be winning at least every other game and I’ve told the team that during various meetings this month. The opening game of the season was bad as we went 5-1 down before we actually started to play and got two goals back because of this. We’ve progressed to the Third Round of the Capital One Cup where we will play Sheffield United and I believe we can progress in this tie too. To get to the Third Round we’ve defeated Rotherham and Reading and we’ve done well to get this far as Reading are now an established Premier League side. September will be an important month for us as a few wins could shoot us up the league up to mid table or even the play-offs.

League Table
View attachment 297422

Upcoming Fixtures
02.09.14 – nPower Championship – Leeds [H]
13.09.14 – nPower Championship – Bristol City [A]
16.09.14 – nPower Championship – Charlton [A]
20.09.14 – nPower Championship – Blackburn [H]
23.09.14 – Capital One Cup Third Round – Sheffield United [A]
27.09.14 – nPower Championship – Stevenage [A]
30.09.14 – nPower Championship – West Brom [A]​

 

[Mike :]]

September Update

Club News

Skarz extends

View attachment 297848

Left back Joe Skarz has signed a new contract at Gigg Lane which will see him stay at the North West club until June 2019. Skarz has become a fan favourite since his move from Huddersfield and they will be delighted with the news that he has signed a contract extension.

September Results

View attachment 297847

02.09.14
nPower Championship
vs Leeds [H]
D 2-2
Beckford 30, 45+1 – Peltier 37, 60

13.09.14
nPower Championship
vs Bristol City [A]
D 1-1
Monk 38 – Worrall 20

16.09.14
nPower Championship
vs Charlton [A]
D 1-1
Kermorgant 89 – Worrall 34

23.09.14
Capital One Cup Third Round
vs Sheffield United [A]
W 3-2 (AET)
Alberg 8, Eriksson 9 – Redmond 5, McGoldrick 73, Kutschke 105+1

27.09.14
nPower Championship
vs Stevenage [A]
D 1-1
Haber 78 – Beckford 58

30.09.14
nPower Championship
vs West Brom [A]
D 1-1
Redmond 78 – Wood 8

Manager’s Point of View

An improvement on last month as we haven’t lost but we are drawing too many games and can’t seem to see games out. We should have had two wins against Leeds and Charlton but our keeper made a mistake to let Leeds score from a cross and then we conceded an 89th​ minute goal against Charlton to deny us the three points. The West Brom game was good for us as I wasn’t expecting anything from it but the home crowd spurred us on to nick a point from them. The Stevenage game was severely disappointing as they were in the relegation zone and I thought we could have won it. Like I said before, we are drawing too many games and have drawn seven games now and only got one win so we really need to start winning soon or my dream of playing in the Premier League next season will be over.

League Table
View attachment 297846

Upcoming Fixtures
04.10.14 – nPower Championship – Crystal Palace [A]
15.10.14 – nPower Championship – Blackburn [H]
18.10.14 – nPower Championship – Everton [H]
21.10.14 – nPower Championship – Blackpool [H]
25.10.14 – nPower Championship – West Ham [A]
28.10.14 – Capital One Cup Fourth Round – Charlton [H]​

 

[Mike :]]

October Update

October Results

View attachment 297883

04.10.14
nPower Championship
vs Crystal Palace [A]
D 0-0

15.10.14
nPower Championship
vs Blackburn [H]
W 3-1
McGoldrick 30, 72, Redmond 41 – Agustien 20

18.10.14
nPower Championship
vs Everton [H]
D 0-0

21.10.14
nPower Championship
vs Blackpool [H]
W 3-2
Worrall 8, Mullins 49, McGoldrick 64 – Nouble 18, 45+2

25.10.14
nPower Championship
vs West Ham [A]
W 2-1
Noble pen 10 – Masi 21, Kutschke 63

28.10.14
Capital One Cup Fourth Round
Vs Charlton [H]
W 2-0
Worrall 3, Redmond 70

Manager’s Point of View

Compared to the past two months, this one has been amazing. We’ve moved up in the league and have only drawn two games this month against two top sides, one at the top of the league and another who have just dropped down from the Premier League. We’ve also picked up wins against big teams in the league with wins over West Ham, Blackpool and Blackburn which is an improvement as they’ve all been in the Premier League in recent years where we have been fighting it out in the Football League. We’ve progressed in the Capital One Cup again which has more than met my aim of getting to the Fourth Round as we are now in the next round with a game against Stoke which should be good. If we keep up these performances we’ll be back near the play-offs in no time.

League Table
View attachment 297882

Upcoming Fixtures
04.11.14 – nPower Championship – Wigan [A]
08.11.14 – nPower Championship – Burnley [H]
12.11.14 – nPower Championship – Sheffield United [H]
15.11.14 – nPower Championship – Millwall [A]
19.11.14 – nPower Championship – Brighton [H]
22.11.14 – nPower Championship – Peterborough [A]
25.11.14 – nPower Championship – Sheffield Wednesday [H]
28.11.14 - nPower Championship - Birmingham [H]​

 

[Mike :]]

November Update

Club News

Bury set a new record

View attachment 298356

Bury have set a new record for games unbeaten as they have now gone nineteen games unbeaten since the 19th​ August 2014. Bury have progressed so much as a club since Henson took over as interim manager before being offered the job on a permanent basis. Although many of the unbeaten games have been draws, Bury fans can take positives from this.

Nottingham Forest approach Henson

View attachment 298355

Nottingham Forest approached manager Michael Henson part way through the month with a view to him becoming the next Forest manager but this offer was swiftly rejected as he stated that he wants to transform his hometown club into world beaters and will not leave his position until he has achieved that.

November Results

View attachment 298354

04.11.14
nPower Championship
vs Wigan [A]
W 3-0
Kutschke 10, Bruce 45+1, McGoldrick 55

08.11.14
nPower Championship
vs Burnley [H]
W 3-2
Kutschke 28, Redmond 51, Tunnicliffe 75 – Vokes 38, Taylor pen 73

12.11.14
nPower Championship
vs Sheffield United [H]
D 1-1
Kutschke 18 – Lita 45

15.11.14
nPower Championship
vs Millwall [A]
D 1-1
Lowry 32 – Robinson og 70

22.11.14
nPower Championship
vs Peterborough [A]
D 1-1
Barnett 74 – Redmond 49

25.11.14
nPower Championship
vs Sheffield Wednesday [H]
W 1-0
Beckford pen 10

28.11.14
nPower Championship
vs Birmingham [H]
W 2-0
Bruce 56, Tunnicliffe 64

Manager’s Point of View

I told the team at the start of the month that we needed to start winning a lot more games and that we needed to start seeing games out and fighting for the last automatic promotion spot. We won four out of the seven games this month which is fantastic and we drew the other three games. We’ve started to gel as a team now as our new signings are finally adjusting to the formation and other personalities in the squad. Next month we start off with a tough cup tie against Stoke which will be difficult for us as I intend to rest a few key players ahead of a busy December schedule. We’ve got four home games next month and I am expecting positive results from them as I want to turn Gigg Lane into a fortress.

League Table
View attachment 298353

Upcoming Fixtures
01.12.14 – Capital One Cup Quarter Final – Stoke [H]
06.12.14 – nPower Championship – Ipswich [H]
10.12.14 – nPower Championship – Brighton [H]
13.12.14 – nPower Championship – Huddersfield [H]
16.12.14 – nPower Championship – Hull [A]
20.12.14 – nPower Championship – Nottingham Forest [A]
27.12.14 – nPower Championship – Leicester [H]
31.12.14 – nPower Championship – Leeds [A]​

 

[Mike :]]

December Update

December Results

View attachment 298861

01.12.14
Capital One Cup Quarter Final
Vs Stoke [H]
W 2-0
McGoldrick 44, Davidson 54

06.12.14
nPower Championship
vs Ipswich [H]
L 0-1

10.12.14
nPower Championship
vs Brighton [H]
W 2-0
Tunnicliffe 4, Kutschke 71

13.12.14
nPower Championship
vs Huddersfield [H]
W 2-0
McGoldrick 17, Tunnicliffe 21

16.12.14
nPower Championship
vs Hull [A]
W 1-0
Kutschke 33

20.12.14
nPower Championship
vs Nottingham Forest [A]
W 2-1
Steenvoorden 74, McGoldrick 88

27.12.14
nPower Championship
vs Leicester [H]
D 1-1
Tunnicliffe 19

31.12.14
nPower Championship
vs Leeds [A]
W 3-2
Worrall 65, Kutschke 71, Beckford 84

League Table
View attachment 298860

Upcoming Fixtures
03.01.15 – FA Cup Third Round – Exeter [A]
06.01.15 – Capital One Cup Semi Final First Leg – Norwich [A]
14.01.15 – nPower Championship – Blackburn [A]
17.01.15 – nPower Championship – Bristol City [H]
20.01.15 – Capital One Cup Semi Final Second Leg – Norwich [H]
31.01.15 – nPower Championship – Stevenage [H]​

 

[iamauser]

Looking good in the league, hopefully you will get instant promotion, or even go up champions!

Check out my story if you get time, need people to vote on what club to be http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2013-manager-stories/111977-story-gustavo-saoza.html