Teddy Sheringham - A route into management

Okay then, I thought I'd give you all some brief info and history of Stevenage FC as I'm aware they're not exactly a huge club ...

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As you can see, Stevenage were plying their trade in the Conference division for 14 years before they managed to win the league in the 2009/2010 season under the leadership of Graham Westley.

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Westley then led the club to promotion from League Two the very next season, ensuring the club won back to back promotions which now saw then in League One and testing themselves against the likes of Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves.

The promotion to League One was secured by beating Torquay in the play off final which was watched by over 11,000 in attendance.

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Westley then almost managed the impossible by making it 3 promotions in a row by finishing 6th in League One, in their first year in the division.

Sadly though, they lost to Sheffield United in the semi final, losing 1-0 on aggregate.

They then had 2 disappointing seasons after this, a finish of 18 followed immediately after. It was the 2013/2014 season though that was truly disappointing, with Westley back at the helm (following an unsuccessful stint with Preston), the club finished bottom of League One.

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So, thats the league history sorted. Let's have a look at any cub success they've had ...

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Not an awful lot to shout about here really. 2 Conference titles and 2 FA Trophies are the only really competitions of any note.

The furthest the club have ever reached in the FA Cup is the 4th round, which they've reached twice. The first time in the 1997-1998 season, the club were knocked out in the 4th round by Newcastle after taking them to a replay. This game still stands as the highest attendance achieved at Broadhall Way with 9,000 fans attending.

13 years later they reached the 4th round again where this time they lost 2-1 to Reading. In the previous round, Stevenage managed to get one over Newcastle 13 years later by beating them 3-1 in the 3rd round.


I'll look to seriously improve on this.



So, this is where we find ourselves. In League Two for the first time in 4 years! The aim is to recapture this success and get back into League One as soon as possible.



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Good luck mate looks interesting and exciting! It'll also be interesting to see how well he does there in real life too
 
PafcLad said:
Good luck mate looks interesting and exciting! It'll also be interesting to see how well he does there in real life too
Click to expand...

Thanks mate :) Yeah I will too. Hopefully we can both have success this season!
 
Looks like a good read, very promising start! will be following!
 
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After dealing with all the press, I was keen to get started with the job a hand.

I allowed Dino Maamria (assistant manager) to take training for the first session. This is so I can take a closer look at the lads to see who's going to star this season and who fall's into the 'deadwood' category.

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3 STAR PLAYERS:

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David McAllister is one of the best midfielder and the one of the best players at the club.

My coaches think he's good enough for the league above. He's only recently signed for the club and is yet to make an appearance.

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Charlie Lee is another new arrival at the club and another ecellent midfielder who is also good enough for the league above.

It's a toss up between Lee and McAllister who will be the better player this season, but them two in midfield can only breed success.

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Chris Welpdale is another player good enough for League One. Welpdale is ideal for the right wing role and can either play right midfield or more attackingly.

The squad we have should be capable of challenging for a play off spot. Hopefully with some additions to the squad we can change this to an automatic challenge.
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Under 21 squad:

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3 STAR YOUTH PLAYERS:

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Joseph N'uessan looks to be one of the best prospects at the club. It's possibly a bit too early for him to be a starter but he has potential to be a very, very good league one player.

He's a big quick young lad who can either play behind the strikers or on either flank.

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Tyler Reading looks to have potential to be a decent keeper for us. He's only 17 and is way below the standard we require this season but again, I think he could make it to League One if he's trained correctly.

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Connor Calcutt nicks 3rd spot here. Again, he is a new recruit for Stevenage after plying his trade in the lower divisions. He's only 20 years old but is showing signs that he's not far away from the first team. His speed and finishing are already, by far, his best attributes.

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After seeing all the lads train, I know we need to strengthen in certain areas.

Strikers and wingers will be the priority, let's see who's out there ...​
 
After spending a few days watching the lads train, I was quick in entering the transfer market ...
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Julian Gray becomes the first signing of my reign.

The attacking winger should really offer competition on the left hand side. Tom Pett and Roarie Deacon will be his biggest challengers but Gray should be first choice.
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Now I know midfield wasn't really an area we needed to improve but I just couldn't turn down signing Clifford.

He's a brilliant player for this level and is probably already good enough for League One. He's also only 21 so plenty of time to improve further.
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Kwesi Appiah is the 3rd signing to be announced in the space of a few days.

Appiah should be one of the best in the league. He's an ideal striker as he can play on his own or off a big target man, his pace seems to be his best attribute.​
 
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Championship side, Leeds United and League Two side, Stevenage have announced a link between the two clubs.

The clubs will mean Leeds will offer the League Two outfit first refusal on their young or fringe players to get game time.

The news comes just 24 hours after Stevenage announced the triple signing of Kewsi Appiah, Billy Clifford and Julian Gray.

New Stevenage boss, Teddy Sherringham was pleased with the news, "I'm delighted that the board have announced this link with Leeds. Despite announcing the 3 new signings yesterday, we were struggling to attract any other players with enough quality to improve our squad".

Stevenage begin their pre-season campaign by hosting Watford at Broadhall Way tomorrow.


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Just after the link with Leeds was announced, we managed to bring in a couple more additions to the squad ...


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First up, full back Luke O'Neil signs on a season long loan from Burnley.

O'Neil is plenty good enough for this level and could really be playing in League One. He's ideal for us with his versatility, he's equally comfortable at their left back or right back.

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David Cornell became the next member of the squad.

The young goalkeeper signs on loan from Swansea after failing to make a single appearance for the Welsh club. Cornell should become number 1 and should start the season as first choice. He already looks better that Chris Day and is 16 years his junior.


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Samed Yesil becomes the last signing before we start our pre-season campaign.

Yesil is highly thought of at Liverpool with them hoping he gets some valuable game time here in League Two. He'll add good competition and could even form a good partnership with fellow loan signing, Kewsi Appiah.​
 
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We didn't have the best pre-season in terms of results but it's more about fitness and togetherness for me.

A 3-0 home defeat to Watford was expected, especially as they played their strongest side!

It was the 0-1 defeat to Bromley where we were really poor! We couldn't keep the ball and defended poorly, we had to improve from that.

And we did in the next game. A 2-2 draw against League One side, Mk Dons. We played well here and matched one of the League One favourites all game.

So, pre-season is now over and we'll have to ready ourselves for the league campaign to start in a few days. Just before we started the preparations though I thought I'd show the lads how it should be done ...
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[video=youtube;CLygNxy1psU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLygNxy1psU[/video]
 

  • [*=center]Stevenage begin campaign at home to Hartlepool.
    [*=center]Sheringham has brought in 6 players.
    [*=center]Stevenage 4th favouite for promotion with bookmakers.

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Teddy Sheringham admits his side head into the Sky Bet League Two opener at home to Hartlepool under-cooked after a disappointing pre-season campaign.

Sheringham has overseen just one victory in 5 pre-season games, failing to score in 3 of them. Although a 2-2 home draw against League One side Mk Dons should have lifted confidence a little.

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"I could do with another couple of weeks and another couple of players," said Sheringham.


"That isn't the case. We have worked very hard this week on what we were trying to do. We will be working very hard with a view to next Saturday's game.

"We know we need to perform to the top of our capabilities [on Saturday] to get a result. I'm under no illusions about that.

"Pre-season is all about getting fit. We have had a lot of players out at certain times.

"We will have a few more ready for [Saturday]. That will bolster our squad. I hope they come back quickly.

"I have got to learn an awful lot about my team. I will still be working and learning about them until this time next year. It's not easy, it's different games, different training sessions.

"I feel like I'm quite a quick learner so hopefully I will be on this occasion as well."​
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Just before the first game of the season, I went through the teamsheet and how I want the lads to play.

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This is the side I settled on for the opening day. It's a slightly different shape than we've been playing in pre-season but I felt we needed a change.

We'd started pre-season with a standard 4-4-2 formation with Appiah and Yesil up front together but we just couldn't keep the ball well enough with just 2 in midfield.

I've scrapped that idea though for the first league game and decided just go with Appiah up top on his own. He should get plenty of service though with Gray and Whelpdale cutting in from wide as 'inside forwards'.

The defence takes care of itself with a flat back 4 and David Cornell in goal.

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So, lets see how we get on against Hartlepool in the first game​
 
AUGUST 2015


We started the league with a home game against Hartlepool. We were expected to win here as Hartlepool struggled in a relegation battle last season.

I wasn't so confident though, I still didn't think the lads were fit enough and I wasn't sure how they'd get on with the new tactic with very little use of it.
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I was so chuffed with this win! I was really pleased of the lads.

New signing Kewsi Appiah opened the scoring after just 1 minute before Charlie Lee struck a brilliant free-kick from the edge of the box. This put the game beyond doubt.

We can still do better but no-one hits their top gear in the first game anyway.​
 
AUGUST 2014


August was a busy month and a busy start to the season. After the win over Hartlepool we face League One side, Swindon in the League Cup ...

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Despite losing here I'm still proud of the lads to take Swindon all the way to penalties.

We matched Swindon from start to finish and I think both sides would agree that the draw was a fair result for both sides.

After 120 minutes, the score remained goalless so penalties beckoned. With Swindon converting their 7th penalty to make it 7-6, Billy Clifford stepped up and put his effort wide. This meant Swindon went through where they'll play Stoke in the next round.

After the match finished, I was met with some terrible injury news ...

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Center back, Bira Dembele was ruled out for 4 weeks with a twisted knee. This is a huge disappointment as our defence has been so good so far this season.

We've gone 210 minutes without conceeding and Dembele was a huge reason for this.



Next up we faced Southend back in league action ...


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This was the most pleasing result of the season so far. I really fancy Southend to claim at least a play off place this season, Phil Brown is a brilliant manager at this level so to beat them 2-0 was very pleasing.

With Bira Dembele injured I decided to go with Darius Charles to fill in at center back.

Chris Whelpdale scored both goals which proves he's enjoying his slightly different role as an 'inside forward'.



Just after this win, we announced yet another signing ...


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Bell Baggie joins on a free transfer after being released by Tranmere last season. Bell Baggies won't quite be ready to be a starter just yet but he looks to have good potential and will offer good competition for both wide players.


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Another brilliant win here against another side who could challenge towards the top of the division.

Whelpdale once again got on the scoresheet after goals from Appiah and Julian Gray had already put us 2-0. Billy Clifford made up for his penalty miss against Swindon by netting the 4th in a complete rout.

We dominated from start to finish where Plymouth were never really in the game.



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This was a much poorer performance but still a good win. The goal this time didn't come from Whelpdale but from the other flank and Julian Gray.

This has been a brilliant start in the league, this is now our 4th win in a row all of which have been clean sheets. Can we now make it 5 from 5 ...



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Brilliant! A 5th win from 5 league games!

Again, we weren't at our best here but a solitary goal from Darius Charles ensured we finished the month top of the league with a 100% record.

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The first month of the season went so well that unsurprisingly we were comfortably top of the league, albeit after just 5 games ...

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We also had a clean sweep of all the monthly awards too ...


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First up Chris Whelpdale won the 'player of the month' award. Whelpdale has been brilliant, scoring 3 goals from 5 games from right wing. I bough Bell Baggie to give him some competition but he'll not feature at this rate. Lets see if he can keep this up for the season.

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Billy Clifford also went on to win the 'young player of the month' award. Clifford has also been impressive this season, featuring in all 5 games and scoring one goal. He got over the disappointment of his late penalty miss against Swindon and has been one of our most important players in central midfield.

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And lastly, the big one. Teddy Sheringham in his first month as manager went on to win the 'manager of the month' award. Really there was no contest, 5 wins from 5 with 5 clean sheets and a goal difference of 10 tells its on story on the rookie manager.​
 
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DEFENSIVE QUALITY PRIVDES SUCCESS FOR STEVENAGE:


With the season now underway it is clear to see things have gone well for rookie manager, Teddy Sherringham. Most people expected the former Manchester United player to improve Stevenage in front of goal, but it in front of their own goal where they've been most impressive this season.

The Boro have now played 5 league games in League Two, winning all 5 and not conceeding a single goal. Goalkeeper, David Cornell, who only signed a matter of days before the season started, has yet to pick the ball out of his own net.

This magnificent defensive record has allowed The Boro the claim a maximum of 15 points in 5 games as they sit 2 points clear at the top of League Two.


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Even an injury to star center back, Biri Dembele, didn't stop the momentum. Demebele twisted his knee after a League Cup penalty shootout loss to Swindon, another game in which the The Boro kept a clean sheet.

It wasn't a problem for Teddy though as Darius Charles came into the side and has performed brilliantly, even netting the winner against Wimbledon.

"We're thrilled to have such a defensive record so early on in the season. Just before the season started, I didn't think we were quite ready but the lads have really proved me wrong and I couldn't be happier." Sherringham said on his success.

"There's still a long way to go and I'm not naive enough to expect this to continue. We can still improve on our performances and that's what we'll be trying to do". The Champions League winner added.​
 
DEADLINE DAY



I was hoping it would be a quiet day here as our squads plenty strong enough, we don't need anymore activity at this stage.

But, mid-morning I looked on SkySports to have a nosey and saw this report ...

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As the transfer deadline approaches, SkySports sources are understood to believe Swansea are monitoring young goalkeeper David Cornell.

Swansea loaned the 'keeper to in-form League Two side Stevenage, managed by Premier League legend, Teddy Sherringham.

Cornell has started the season in fabulous form playing 6 games and not conceeding a single goal. To make things even better, Stevenage have gone on to win all 5 league games and currently find themselves top of League Two.

Due to this wonderful form and an injury to first choice goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has got the Swansea board considering recalling the in-form player.

Fabianski's injury leaves Gerhard Tremmel as the only senior goalkeeper at the club.

Swansea's preferred option would be to sign ex-England international, Rob Green from QPR but they could yet be priced out of a deal.

If Swansea fail with this pursuit then they could come to recall Cornell which would be a disaster for Stevenage.
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SEPTEMBER 2014

We started September with a home tie against Southend in the Johnstons Paint Trophy ...
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A pretty straight forward win here and a good performance to match it.

Kwesi Appiah got us on our way by scoring the opener inside 10 minutes. David McAllister then scored his first of the season to double the lead before Chris Whelpdale continued his brilliant form by converting a late penalty.

Just after this game we recieved some good news about Biri Dembele ...
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Dembele resumes full training after being out of action for around a month.

Dembele left the side in fantastic form and we've managed to carry this on in his absence. He's really going to struggle to get back into the side now due to the good form of Dean Wells and Darius Charles.
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We again played well here and played York off the park, the only disappointment being that we only scored 1 goal. Our defense has got us where we are today, this is now 8 clean sheets out of 8 games in all competition this season.
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Our first goals conceded of the season!

We didn't play well enough here and should have stopped both their goals. For some reason the defence just lost concentration for both goals.

Center back Darius Charles bagged both goals. Charles can also play up-front so this perhaps isn't that surprising.
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Back to winning ways!

Although it took us until injury time for us to kick into gear. Bury took the lead on 83 minutes, this seemed to kick us into action as we'd been poor throughout the whole game.

Julian Gray got the equaliser on 90+2 and then Connor Calcutt bagged the winner on 90+5.
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That's more like it!

A thumping 4-0 away win against Oxford ensures we bounced back from a couple of poor performances.

Appiah, and Whelpdale both got on the scoresheet again before Darius Charles continued his good goal-scoring form to make it 3-0. Luke O'Niell then capped this off just after the hour to make it 4-0.
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Another good performance, it's just a shame that we couldn't score more to make the scoreline more emphatic.

Charlie Lee bagged the only goal of the game by scoring his second of the season early on. This ensured we finished September well.​
 
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