The Ballad of Charlie McGhee – 2nd Stanza

[Yeti01]

Whatever style suits you best mate, it's a great read either way. Will be interesting to see if you stick it out with Peterhead for a bit longer or jump ship

Thanks mate!

Last year I'd have said go to Swindon but with Mass gone, I dunno . Interesting decision in any case.

Yeah if Luongo was there I would be desperate to go there! Now, I'm ok if Charlie is overlooked.

Hah, what a finish to the season!

Considering that avoiding relegation was the goal last season, a mid-table finish is a move in the right direction. While I liked detailed match reports, your idea of making monthly reports showcased the roller coaster ride much better.

Cheers mate - to say the season was up and down would be an understatement! We were only consistent in our inconsistency!! I must admit I agree on the report style So I think I'll stick with the monthly updates - it certainly felt easier to write up the monthly report as I had a lot more flow already knowing what the next result would be.

 

[Yeti01]

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June 2017 – Siting, waiting, wishing…



He should have been relaxing, enjoying the scenery before him at Newy Beach but he was struggling. Charlie had gone home for some “r ‘n r” and was back at his Flagstaff Hill apartment, sitting on the balcony. Inside his Mum and Dad were relaxing watching some morning TV. Despite being separated they have remained friends over the years, it pleased Charlie that they could still enjoy time all together. Even though it was the middle of winter Newcastle was a balmy 21 degrees Celsius already at that time of the morning and the sun was shining brightly as Charlie took another sip from his coffee and looked out across the waves. The water temp was obviously a lot lower though judging by all the surfers in wetsuits!!


Yesterday McGhee had received an email from his agent with a link to a news story from the BBC’s sport webpage. It had quoted an unnamed source suggesting that he was Swindon Chairman Lee Power’s first choice for the Swindon job. Charlie took another sip from his coffee. His father looked over and laughed at him fidgeting with his phone. “Charlie lad! Look at you! I know you’re telling yourself you are ok if you end up back at ‘Toon but you’re not fooling me! Hahaha!” His dad slapped him on the shoulder, “Don’t worry lad, if not Swindon there’ll be others – but it’s already obvious your heart’s set on a move!”


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‘You’re not wrong,’ McGhee thought to himself. Looking down at his empty cup he debated going inside to get another cuppa. Suddenly, his phone buzzed and he looked down, ‘Private Number’ flashed across the screen and he answered apprehensively, “Charlie Speaking.”


“Charlie, It’s Lee Power here,” came the voice down the line, “I want you to come work for me.”


“Wow, I really don’t know what to say.” Charlie replied.


“Well don’t say anything yet, I’ll get my PA to email you some provisional contract details and we can go from there.” Power stated matter of factly.


“Sounds good,” Charlie responded, “Thanks for calling, it’s 10am here – must be pretty late over there!”


“Midnight, but I have no problems trying to make the decision as easy as possible for you. Think of it as a gesture of good faith that we will work together nicely” he was winning Charlie over.


“Thanks Lee, I’ll get my agent to look over it and we should have something back shortly,” and with that he hung up and spun around. Behind him his Mum and Dad stood there smiling.


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It really didn’t take long for Charlie to make his mind up. The contract was for significantly more money than he was on now but that really didn’t affect his decision too much as he is reasonably financially secure following his playing career. No, it was the quality within the squad that caught Charlie’s eye and he instructed his agent to email through the signed copy of the contract he had provided to Swindon. As soon as that was done he set about organizing his trip to England. “No sense you guys not enjoying some more time here,” He said to his parents, “but I should get over there and hit the ground running!”


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Upon arriving at Swindon he was introduced to the coaching staff, the majority of whom are sticking around so he doesn’t have to seek many replacements. After discussing the squad with Assistant Manager, former Southampton star, Matt Oakley they quickly agreed the his most important task at this point was organizing replacements or renewals for some the loans that had been at Swindon the past year. The club has an arrangement with Premiership Tottenham so a number of Spurs players had been on the Robins’ books last year. Also the club had Ake from Chelsea on loan, Charlie was a big fan of the young Dutchman and managed to extend his loan as his first piece of business.


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The second current loanee that McGhee decided to extend was young Cameron Carter-Vickers from Parent club Tottenham. The young central defender has great pace and will be an asset in League 1. Charlie also likes that fact that his passing is, well, passable – especially for this level and will assist with starting counter attacks at the back like McGhee intends to do.


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The final two long term loanees being brought in are Danilo Pantic and Marcus Edwards from Chelsea and Tottenham again respectively. That duo are expected to offer some more attacking options in the middle of the park and out wide in comparison to the current internal options who appear to be very solid defensively. After sorting out the loanee situation McGhee moved on the expiring contracts. They were a couple of players for whom McGhee took the option of exercising a one year option on to give him some more time to observe them before deciding on their future, otherwise, the remainder were given free transfers.


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Next up: Preseason

 

[Nomadic]

Cant wait to see how you get on at Swindon! Its a massive step up from Peterhead.

Two great loan signings in Carter-Vickers and Ake - should be solid at League One level!

 

[JamesScott2908]

Cracking story mate! Hopefully a good tenure with Swindon!

 

[ninjaskill]

Good luck with Swindon, lost a lot of players in the transfer window may need to make some more signings

 

[kolas79]

I just love your writing style man keep up and good luck with Swindon !!!

 

[Sam91]

Good luck at Swindon. Ake is still doing a job for my Chelsea side mate so hes a cracking player, versatile aswell.

 

[Yeti01]

Cant wait to see how you get on at Swindon! Its a massive step up from Peterhead.

Two great loan signings in Carter-Vickers and Ake - should be solid at League One level!

Yeah I was a bit surprised they were there to begin with and also surprised they were ok with coming back for another year - I'm certainly not complaining though!!

Cracking story mate! Hopefully a good tenure with Swindon!

Fingers crossed mate - not sure why but I'm feeling a lot more confident then I ever was at Peterhead. I think I'm just more familiar with the players.

Good luck with Swindon, lost a lot of players in the transfer window may need to make some more signings

Yeah it does look like I've lost quite a few but I'm not too unhappy with my squad to be honest - could use a tiny bit more depth but otherwise I don't think there will be any real big moves.

I just love your writing style man keep up and good luck with Swindon !!!

Cheers mate! Appreciate the kind words.

Good luck at Swindon. Ake is still doing a job for my Chelsea side mate so hes a cracking player, versatile aswell.

Not wrong - I'm still debating a bit about exactly where I want to use him. He could pretty much start for me at either left back, in central defense or in defensive midfield. Quality player.

 

[Yeti01]

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July 2017 – Turning over a new leaf…



As usual Charlie started the season off with a staff meeting. The difference this year being that the team at Swindon was much larger in numbers than the staff he headed up at Peterhead or even Newcastle!


McGhee started off, “I understand that there may have been a way of doing things round here previously. Whatever it was I want each and every one of you to know that I want your input – my door is always open. I’m a big believer in teams harking back to my playing days and I’m glad that a number of you have playing backgrounds too and should appreciate that.” There was nods all around the room.


“To that end I’ve noticed we primarily played a 4-4-2 that served us reasonably well although we did finish slightly below the preseason expectations. Well I want to change that slightly and drop to a 4-1-4-1 with an emphasis on breaking on the counter whenever possible.” McGhee looked around and didn’t see any protests so he continued, “My personal expectation this year is that the playoffs are the minimum acceptable finish – and personally I’m aiming to win!”


“We’re right behind you Gaf!” Oakley offered in support. “To be fair that lines up almost exactly with where we are being pegged in the media and by the bookies this season. They have us as 4th favorites behind relegated sides Birmingham, Barnsley and MK Dons.”


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“Good, I’ve lined up 10 friendlies this season ranging from Premiership to Non-League opposition.” McGhee moved on, “I know that seems like a lot but I want the players to know our system inside and out by the time the season starts. We start off with games against Coventry, Cambridge, Rotherham, Chesterfield and Shrewsbury in August and I want maximum points – I want to start fast and let the rest of the league chase us all season!” McGhee could feel the excitement in the room growing. It pleased him that the staff were believing, if they believed then the players would too, he knew it.


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Recognizing that, although his side’s first 11 would be hard to improve without spending considerable funds, there could still be improvements to the depth in the squad McGhee set about scouring some out of contract players for potential targets. His first, former Derby man Lewin Nyatanga, couldn’t reach an agreement with the club concerning contract terms. 2 players were brought in however. Josh Carson and Ryan McGivern have joined on smallish deals, neither are expected to be first-teamers but both will have important roles to play, particularly with the fixture congestion in the lower English leagues.


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The preseason friendlies were scheduled to start off with a bang. Chelsea were making to the County Ground for a match that was televised and expected to bring a full strength squad. The remaining fixtures included games against Everton, Villa, Wednesday and Reading so it would be a really good measuring stick to see where they were. Although beaten by the Premiership heavyweights Chelsea and Everton Swindon were far from disgraced and improved game on game.


The highlights were the draws against Premiership side Aston Villa and Championship side Reading. The game against Sheffield Wednesday was one though that will hopefully mean the team doesn't get too overconfident. By the time the match with Coventry rolled around Charlie felt his side were well and truly ready, now the real fun starts though!


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[Yeti01]

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August 2017 - Come what may


The excitement was building for Charlie as his first game approached. He felt the team had an ok-ish grasp of the deep lying 4-1-4-1 he was trying to bring with him from Peterhead. Also, generally, the squad seemed to be gelling well.

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The week of the first match against Coventry Charlie received a visit from Swindon Chairman Lee Power. Lee hadn't interfered at all so far in Charlie's tenure, instead allowing him to work with relative autonomy and that was the way McGhee liked it. He had dropped by on this occasion to reiterate the season goals that Swindon would be expected to achieve - Charlie didn't have any issue with them as they essentially mirrored those goals he had set for himself.

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The first match against Coventry over at the Ricoh ended up being an extremely drab affair with both teams cancelling each other out. Given McGhee's preference for a solid defensive foundation he wasn't too concerned with the result as the side had been working more on that side of the ball in training. Also, as this was an away point it certainly wasn't to be sneezed at!

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Days later the club was expected to back up in the League Cup against Luton. Given the short turnaround charlie went with a fully rotated squad against their fellow League 1 side and paid the price as the 2nd stringers couldn't get the job done. The performance hadn't been the worst but Charlie was a little concerned at how 'easy' some of Luton's goals seemed.

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Swindon were back to full strength though for the third match of the month away against at Cambridge United. Cambridge are relative newcomers to this level of competition so it was expected to be a bit of a walk in the park for Swindon. Unfortunately for Charlie that seemed to lead to a little overconfidence in the ranks and that cost Swindon as they were handily beaten 2 nil.

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The next game saw Swindon enjoy some home comforts as they absolutely smashed Rotherham in the 4th game of the month. A bit surprising that, to date, the formation which would appear to lend itself to counter attacking is performing significantly better at home that away. Charlie will need to keep an eye on that.

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Swindon faced a trip to red hot League leaders Chesterfield in there 5th game for August and were unable to do anything to stop the Spireites' march. It was all one way traffic at the Proact stadium as, despite trying to change it up from the sideline Chesterfield ran out easy 3 nil victors.

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To finish off the month Swindon then welcomed Shrewbury to the County Ground. Despite have the lion's share of both possession and shots The Robins failed to break down an impressive Shrewsbury defense that was well marshaled by Nathaniel Knight-Percival.

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[Yeti01]

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September 2017 - Nice


Before the first game in September McGhee was visited by assistant manager Matt Oakley. "Look, I know you're keen on the 4-1-4-1 but I really think we need to go more attacking." Oakley started.

McGhee didn't know what to say exactly at first - he was set on setting up on the counter and felt the 4-1-4-1 was the best way to do it. His mind drifted back though. Other than the 4-1-4-1 he had employed 3 other main shapes in his managerial career. A 4-1-2-1-2 wide diamond at Newcastle, a 4-4-2 in the latter stages of his time at Peterhead but also a 4-1-2-1-2 narrow diamond in his early time at Peterhead. Casting his mind over his current playing squad it made a lot of sense to move to the narrow diamond. "Lets do it," he told Oakley.

The change worked a treat. In the first game Swindon faced Barnsley at home and blew them off the park. Adil Chihi, playing in a more unfamiliar central role was the star of the show scoring 2 goals en route to a 3-1 Swindon victory.

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Up next was Oldham who felt the full brunt of the narrow diamond as both starting strikers in Obika and Sigurdarson scored doubles.

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Swindon's barnstorming month continued in the next game against Blackpool. The Robins were unlucky to go behind to a 7th minute goal but after that setback they composed themselves and then ran roughshod over the poor Tangerines.

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Burton were next to fall to Swindon's sword. The Robins played at the Pirelli Stadium like they were the home team and Albion had no answers. In fact, the only surprising thing in this match was the Burton troubled the scorers at all considering Swindon's dominance.

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The recent run of games had some old Swindon favourites coming out of the woodwork to lend their support the most vocal of which was Glenn Hoddle. His praise was well placed though as again Swindon were at their marauding best to overrun Luton and come out 4 nil victors - an amazing away result.

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It was seeming the only thing that could stop this run of victories was Swindon themselves and so it proved. In the match against Colchester that was the final match for Swindon in September McFadden earned himself an early bath for his second yellow just before the hour mark. It's a testament to how well Swindon are playing though that even a man down they managed to take the lead and hold it until 5 minutes from time, still managing a draw for their first dropped points of the month.

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Unsurprisingly, given their great run of form this month, Swindon ran away with things with the monthly award, picking up a clean sweep of Player, Young Player and Manager of the Month.

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[PatrickLFC]

What a month! Brilliant tactical switch

 

[Yeti01]

What a month! Brilliant tactical switch

It was a move born of frustration with my inability to get my usual style implemented - I usually play a 4-1-2-2-1 on the counter but seeing as Charlie prefers the diamonds I've been trying and trying to get them or a 4-4-2 to work without any real success.

Hopefully this is better!!

 

[AndySams10]

Superb run of results mate and great turn around. Long may it continue.

 

[mask0991]

Good start to Swindon career! And it's a wonderful feeling when a tactical gamble pays off.

Looks like McGhee has made sure that when Swindon wins, the scoreline is pretty embarrassing for the opposition. 6-0, 4-1, 4-0, 5-0, fabulous!

 

[kolas79]

You are on fire my friend keep up !!

 

[Yeti01]

Superb run of results mate and great turn around. Long may it continue.

Indeed - wouldn't mind if this lasted forever!!

Good start to Swindon career! And it's a wonderful feeling when a tactical gamble pays off.

Looks like McGhee has made sure that when Swindon wins, the scoreline is pretty embarrassing for the opposition. 6-0, 4-1, 4-0, 5-0, fabulous!

Not wrong - it seems to be even better away than at home too which seems counter-intuitive but I'll take it!

You are on fire my friend keep up !!

Cheers bud!

 

[Yeti01]

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October 2017 – Consolidating



Fresh off a result in which Charlie witnessed his side dropping points due to a lack of discipline McGhee was furious when the past repeated itself in the very next game!! Lenihan, having rotated in for McFadden himself saw red after defensive midfielder Momar Bangoura has also earned himself an early shower…


McGhee wasn’t happy. It really wasn’t so much that they had lost the Johnstone Paint Trophy 2nd rd match – he really didn’t care much for the competition at all – it was that now he would be without 3 players through suspension for at least the next match. Not good.


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The aforementioned suspensions meant some tinkering that Ranieri would have been proud of was required to field a competitive side against Doncaster Rovers in Swindon’s 2nd match of the month. In fairness the team actually performed really well – completely dominating an opponent at their ground again, it just appeared that the unfamiliar combinations cost Swindon, particularly whenever they entered the attacking third and they struggled to make their weight of possession translate into meaningful, clear-cut chances. The result? A nil all draw that was far from the end of the earth.


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Prior to the 3rd game of the month against Southend McGhee got some terrible news that one of his starting strikers, Bjorn (ironside) Sigurdarson, would be missing for 2 months due to an injured shoulder suffered on national team duty. The 26 year old has a lot of Eidur Gudjohnson about his game in that sometimes his doesn’t get as many goals as you would like but he contributes immensely in the build up to a lot also.


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Nathan Oduwa was drafter in as his replacement and the young flyer took his chance, scoring two goals as Swindon saw off Southend contempt 3 nil. Another really good, all round performance from the Robins.


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Unfortunately the youngster also picked up a serious injury! Another striker out for at least 7 weeks! McGhee couldn’t believe what he was seeing… On the plus side, the Fan Day the Board had organized was considered a ripping success.


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With his striking stocks dwindling by the game McGhee next turned to end younger Will Randall to fill the void left by Sigurdarson and Oduwa. Thankfully the next young striker up proved his was up to the task as he scored the only goal of the game in the win away at Bury.


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The goals were drying up as Swindwon took on Birmingham City in the 5th game of October for the Robins. McGhee’s other first choice striker, Jonathan Obika, got the only goal of the game but it is clear that, whilst Swindon are still very much the dominant team in each of their games, they are somewhat struggling to covert that dominance into goals now that there has been so many changes in the strike partnership.


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Oh my, this was one club captain Niki Maenpaa will want to forget! The big Finn has been really solid at the back for Swindon marshalling a defense considered one of the most miserly in League 1 this season but this was a howler, plain and simple. Scunthorpe were on the ropes the entire match here, only managing 4 shots in total for the entire match in front of their own fans but managed to scrape a draw thanks to Maenpaa’ moment of madness. Rather than stand up and take a routine catch the Finn decided to attempt and audacious dive to his right. In doing so he managed to drop the routine shot and then, to make matters worse, proceeded to fall on the ball – propelling it into his own net. Sometimes you just have to shake your head!!


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Despite making one bone-headed mistake his Captain has been completely reliable this season. Rather than eviscerate him in the media Charlie took the opportunity to rebuild some of his, no doubt, shattered confidence.


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It was still a really good month for the Robins – they have established themselves in the top 4 and now look to be certainties for promotion once they get their full complement of players back – and McGhee was recognized for this, finishing in 2nd spot in the Manager of the Month voting.


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The table is starting to make for really good viewing for Swindon fans. The team is playing a really nice style and churning out the results too for the most part. With a 5 point gap to 4th they have really gained a foothold towards to the top at this stage of the season and will now look to push on and press for an automatic promotion berth.

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[Yeti01]

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November 2017 - Setting a Platform.



Relaxing in a chair, Charlie looked around his office and felt content. For really the first time in his managerial career he felt as though the team was really starting to implement what he was trying to achieve. He continued to notice incremental improvements week on week as the squad continued to gel and could feel that something special is being built here.


The first game of November saw the Robins take on Barnsley in an FA Cup 1st rd tie. Charlie saw this competition as an ideal way to make a few dollars for the club. He was keeping the purse strings tight having not spent a cent of the transfer budget provided and was also running well under the wage budget provided. Tottenham loanee got the goal today from the penalty spot. He has been rotating in with Danilo Pantic in the attacking midfield role and both have been playing really well.


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Next up Swindon faced an away trip to Notts County. In truth this one was never really as close as the scoreline suggests. Swindon skipped out to a 2 goal lead thanks to strikes from Obika and Randall after only 9 minutes. Kiwomya then stuck back for County on the counter but following that Swindon dominated. It was only a matter of time before the Robins extended their lead and a little over 10 minutes later the 2 goal lead was restored when Swindon were awarded a penalty that Stuey O’Keefe converted. From this point on there was only one winner as Swindon continued to batter the Notts Co goal. County made things a little interesting with their 2nd against the run of play with 10 to go but Swindon were straight back on the ascendency and really unlucky not to win by more.


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Prior to game 3 in November the BBC decided to run a little feature on Charlie and his early time with Swindon – specifically focusing on the amount of goals he has been able to extract from the squad. It was a little bit bemusing to McGhee, in his eyes he has two Championship level strikers in Obika and Sigurdarson, so he fully expected the goals to flow – he was not sure why it was such a surprise.


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And of course you know how it goes - as soon as someone goes on and on and on about how many goals you are scoring, well, then the mocker gets put on you… Turns out Swindon wasn’t immune to this either. Despite playing MK Dons completely off the park Swindon left their shooting boots at home as they only drew nil all… Sometimes you just have to look at the positives though and in Charlie’s mind at least they had picked up a point.


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Geez would you stop it now!! Prior the match against Yeovil it was Sky Sports turn to put the spotlight on McGhee as he approached his 100th game in management…


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Time for history to repeat itself then... Another lackluster performance from the team in what should have been a celebration saw the side lose for the first time in ages in the league as they fell to mid-table Yeovil 1 nil in another game where, despite dominating, they failed to trouble the scorers. The recent couple of games has really highlighted to Charlie the impact from the injury to Sigurdarson has caused. When both Obika and Sigurdarson are playing Swindon seem unstoppable but when either is missing through injury or suspension then the side struggles significantly more in the final 3rd as neither Oduwa nor Randall seem up to the task of leading the line for any extended period of time. A decent 3rd striker will be a priority in the Jan window.


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Also after the game worse news was to come. McGhee really hadn’t been happy with the intensity shown by his troops in the first half of the Yeovil game and demanded more passion from them at half time. Unfortunately, instead of interpreting this as “I want my work rate” they decided to see it as “go and chop them some” and picked up 8 cards across the team. A pretty amazing effort when you think about it considering no one was sent off! This though, meant that the club was fined £2,500 – a slap of the wrist in the scheme of things, but public admonishment nonetheless.


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The club had climbed as high as 2nd this month but the last couple of results saw them finish November in 3rd. Still they are definitely within touching distance of surprise leaders Chesterfield and perfectly positioned to push on over the next few months.


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[Yeti01]

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December 2017 - Floating


It was lateish New Years day and Charlie was on the phone back to Australia talking to his mother. "Your boys seem to be going pretty good Charlie!" His Mum said.

"Yeah not too bad. I felt we could have done a little more this month but we are just where we need to be - just have to keep improving!!" Charlie replied.

He was right. The month had started off with the visit of Luton in the FA cup 2nd round. Fielding a rotated squad Charlie wasn't surprised that they hadn't dominated the match in their typical fashion but they had still run out easy 2 nil winners.

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Next up Rochdale visited the County Ground for their League 1 match. Many teams have tried to come to Swindon and pick up points on the counter - few have done so as effectively as Rochdale. To their credit Rochdale defended resolutely and deservedly picked up all 3 points here.

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Next the Robins travelled to Peterborough. This was one Charlie would really rather forget. After going down to a quality Jay Simpson header they fought their way back into the match only to see all 3 points go down the gurgler when Stuart O'Keefe, who has been really good for McGhee this season, gave away a silly penalty...

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Prior to the Coventry match McGhee asked his side to turn things around and boy did they! The scoreline might have 'only' been one nil but there was only ever one winner here. Complete domination everywhere except the scoreboard.

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Next the Robins travelled to Deepdale to take on fellow high flyers Preston North End. The game finished nil all in a far more even contest then Swindon and McGhee have become accustomed too.

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Despite only having played them a few weeks earlier in the league Swindon's next match was the reverse fixture against Peterborough. This time the Robins were prepared for Peterborough'***** and run tactics and ran out 2 nil victors.

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Lack of goals from his strikeforce with Sigurdarson still only finding his way back into fitness this month after a long layoff. One thing Charlie can't complain about though is the form of young attacking midfield Danilo Pantic. The on-loan Chelsea starlet was deservedly named Young Player of the Month for December.

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Despite what seemed to be a rocky month the Robins end the calendar year only 2 points from top spot. With a backup striker the only real bit of business Charlie is looking to do in the January window it remains to be seen if the incremental improvements Charlie is hoping to see continue will be enough to propel Swindon to promotion.

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