samillyroy
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Following the dissapointing loss of my Chelsea file, I have returned to a file I first started a few months back with my hometown, Crewe. Let me bring you up to date.
I'm currently in the 2010/2011 season, and 5th in the league; an absolutely incredible position to be in considering where we started in 2009.
My first season was a great success: with an extremely small budget of 10k in comparison to that of Notts County, I realised early on that my signings were going to have to be either frees or loan signings. However, I never dreamt that the players I brought in would have such a brilliant effect.
There was a lot of deadwood in the side at the beginning of the season. The previous managers had relied a lot on youth players, and although I am perfectly okay with that, I felt that was not the way to get Crewe back into the swing of things short term. I made sure that players such as Westwood, Miller, O'Donnell and Elding (apparently my best player..!) were out of the club, as I felt they did not have anything to offer us going into the future. However, I saw a lot of promise in a couple of the players who remain in the side this season. The first of these was a youngster called Luke Murphy:
Luke's wonderful work rate and composure belied his age of 18, and he was the stronghold in our midfield for most of the 2009/2010 season, and he even won the Coca-Cola League 2 Goal of the Season for an absolutely extraordinary volley from 35 yards in our 3-0 win over Notts County.
I also kept faith in my two full-backs, the players that I thought were best adjusted to moving up the leagues. Billy Jones has become a wonderful left back in Coca Cola League 1 and came up with a fantastic 16 assists in my first season, whilst Brayford, who was linked with a move to Peterborough in the Championship, was another solid youngster for me that is at this moment ahead of Kerrea Gilbert, a former Arsenal trainee in the pecking order.
As for my new signings, I will start with the frees. My first player was Goran Maric, a former Norwich City striker from Serbia with very good ratings for this division. I got him on a 1k a week contract, which was less than some of the rubbish players I had at the club were earning.
I then brought in a fantastic centre-back in Izzy Iriekpen. He rejected approaches from teams such as Tranmere and Stockport to join us, and I was absolutely delighted to bring him to the club. He has repaid us with some brilliant defending and leadership in our back four, which has allowed my adventurous tactics to prevail without the fear of conceding too many goals.
Sean Doherty joined on a free to boost the left midfield position, although he failed to settle at the club and has since been offloaded. My final signings of the pre-season were Nicolae Mitea, a former Bucaresti winger with extraordinary pace and former Peterborough left-back Tom Williams as a back up to Billy Jones.
Before the season began, I also managed to set up what has turned out to be an irreplaceable affiliation with Premier League Champions Manchester United and the first player I managed to bring in was a young striker called Febian Brandy...
We started 2009/2010 fantastically, with a number of high scoring wins, most notably a 5-1 victory over Darlington and a 3-0 victory over Grimsby. By the time we met fellow promotion candidates Rotherham, we were sitting comfortably at the top of the table, even ahead of Notts County who had spent over 1.5m on transfers! However, we lost 6-1 with Le Fondre scoring an icnredible quadruple and it served as a reminder to us that there was a lot of work to be done in order to win our season.
Throughout the year, we suffered a number of crises in terms of injuries and I managed to secure a number of short term loan signings that in my opinion won us the league. John Ruddy joined us in January for 3 months and helped us create a brilliant gap at the top of the division before he subsequently left. James Chester was a fantastic defensive addition from MAnchester United, scoring an incredible 7 goals in his short 6 month stay at the club, before he left and signed a contract with St. Mirren. Corry Evans, the brother of Jonny Evans also joined us on loan for a number of months and bolstered our defence and our midfield and finally we managed to secure Francis Coquelin on a 6 month loan deal and his role in the defensive midfield, and his wonderful through balls lead to high-scoring victories such as the win over Notts County and also a solid defensive record.
We finished the 2009/2010 season first in the league, a magnficient achievement considering the financial position we were in and especially in comparison to Notts County. We cleared them by a single point on the last day of the season, but it was still a brilliant achievement and one for which the fans duly thanked me for.
This was my team of the season for 2009/2010:
Goalkeeper
John Ruddy - despite only playing for the club for only 3 months, without his brilliant performances we would not have created the huge gap at the top of the league that we managed as Stephen Collis was very weak. An excellent addition, and it was just a shame that he decided to join Tranmere the following season on a free instead of us.
Right Back
John Brayford - a reliable younsgter, Brayford constantly helped back-up the pace on our right wing in the shape of Joel Grant, and was also defensively solid. He most certainly displayed performances well beyond League 2.
Left Back
Billy Jones - the captain of Crewe Alex, Billy Jones led by example in League 2 with some fantastic performances, not only playing fantastically defensively but also managing an incredible 16 assists.
Centre Back
Izzy Iriekpen - For a free transfer, I could not have asked for anything more. Dominated in the air, scored a number of goals from corners and really organised my defence.
Centre Back
James Chester - Just a shame we were unable to bring him in on a permanent contract, after he really impressed alongside Izzy Iriekpen in this season. Scored a number of goals and showed composure that belied his young age.
Right Wing
Joel Grant - the youngster got his first call-ups to the Jamaican national team in this season after some stirling performances on the right and the left wing. Pacy and also with a good cross, Joel Grant had a great 2009/2010 season.
Left Wing
Tom Williams - Despite being a left back, Williams became the number one choice at left midfield in this season with a number of assists and also a couple of important goals
Defensive Midfield
Francis Coquelin - Only played for the club for six months, but was a fantastic addition to the squad. An Arsenal Under-18 winner last season, Coquelin was very composed defensively and also produced a number of vital killer balls for the front men.
Centre Midfield
Luke Murphy - The 19 year old held off tough loan competition to hold down a place in the squad with some great performances. Scoring 7 goals, all of which were from outside of the area, he also chipped in with some assists, and his general attitude to the game was brilliant.
Striker
Goran Maric - The free signing struggled to settle into life at Crewe but has since stated that it was his best career move to date. Scoring over 20 goals, Maric became a regular fixture in the side, with his impressive strength and off the ball abilities
Striker
Febian Brandy - Never in my time on Football Manager have I had such a fantastic striker; Febian finished with 44 goals to his name in all competitions, 40 in the league and over 20 assists. Top assist and goals in the league is a wonderful return for a player of such a young age. Joined on a free at the end of the season in what was arguably the transfer of the season in all the leagues. His pace and finishing ability terrorised teams and he scored hattricks on 3 occasions.
2010/2011
After a first brilliant season, where we really over-performed to win the League, it was now on to bigger pastures and without doubt a much bigger task. With the likes of Norwich, Southampton, Preston and Sheffield Wednesday in the league, many assumed that Crewe would have a tough year.
Signings:
With a small transfer budget again of just 20k, transfers were limited to youth players.
Ross Perry joined on a free from Rangers; he is a 20 year old centre-back with a lot of potential, and despite spending 3 months on the sidelines this season, he is tipped to have a very bright future. Kerrea Gilbert came next on a free transfer despite Championship interest, and his battle for the right back spot has been fierce this season to say the least. Steve Jennings made the move from Motherwell and has become a bit of a fans favourite with his crunching tackles and fantastic determination. Febian Brandy was released by Manchester United and signed up for the Railwaymen, in a move which really pleased the fans. Francis Coquelin turned down a contract from Crewe Alexandra in favour of a move to Russian giants CSKA Moscow, but then went on a season long loan to Gresty Road. After Ruddy rejected a contract, former United goalkeeper Tom Heaton became the next to join Illyroy's revolution at Crewe, followed by the loan signing of Rodrigo Possebon. The final player to join the team was target man Akpo Sodje, whose strength and heading abilities have become vital in Crewe's success this season.
I am currently in February and with these signings, we managed to go against all expectations and are currently in the play-offs. We were 1st in January, after some brilliant performances, beating Southampton home and away, and many of the other big teams. A number of injuries however has led to a small demise; Possebon returned to United with a broken leg and will be out for 8 months, so in his place came Andrea De Falco on a free transfer from Chievo. We've also seen the rise of youngster AJ Leitch-Smith who has come out of the reserves to score 3 very important goals, including 2 in a fantastic 4-3 win, where we came from 3-1 down with 15 minutes to go!
That's where we are up to now. Any more questions on how things are going then feel free to ask. I will give an end of the season update, before I start to make this more of a story, just thought that I would feel you all in with the goings on at Gresty Road
I'm currently in the 2010/2011 season, and 5th in the league; an absolutely incredible position to be in considering where we started in 2009.
My first season was a great success: with an extremely small budget of 10k in comparison to that of Notts County, I realised early on that my signings were going to have to be either frees or loan signings. However, I never dreamt that the players I brought in would have such a brilliant effect.
There was a lot of deadwood in the side at the beginning of the season. The previous managers had relied a lot on youth players, and although I am perfectly okay with that, I felt that was not the way to get Crewe back into the swing of things short term. I made sure that players such as Westwood, Miller, O'Donnell and Elding (apparently my best player..!) were out of the club, as I felt they did not have anything to offer us going into the future. However, I saw a lot of promise in a couple of the players who remain in the side this season. The first of these was a youngster called Luke Murphy:
Luke's wonderful work rate and composure belied his age of 18, and he was the stronghold in our midfield for most of the 2009/2010 season, and he even won the Coca-Cola League 2 Goal of the Season for an absolutely extraordinary volley from 35 yards in our 3-0 win over Notts County.
I also kept faith in my two full-backs, the players that I thought were best adjusted to moving up the leagues. Billy Jones has become a wonderful left back in Coca Cola League 1 and came up with a fantastic 16 assists in my first season, whilst Brayford, who was linked with a move to Peterborough in the Championship, was another solid youngster for me that is at this moment ahead of Kerrea Gilbert, a former Arsenal trainee in the pecking order.
As for my new signings, I will start with the frees. My first player was Goran Maric, a former Norwich City striker from Serbia with very good ratings for this division. I got him on a 1k a week contract, which was less than some of the rubbish players I had at the club were earning.
I then brought in a fantastic centre-back in Izzy Iriekpen. He rejected approaches from teams such as Tranmere and Stockport to join us, and I was absolutely delighted to bring him to the club. He has repaid us with some brilliant defending and leadership in our back four, which has allowed my adventurous tactics to prevail without the fear of conceding too many goals.
Sean Doherty joined on a free to boost the left midfield position, although he failed to settle at the club and has since been offloaded. My final signings of the pre-season were Nicolae Mitea, a former Bucaresti winger with extraordinary pace and former Peterborough left-back Tom Williams as a back up to Billy Jones.
Before the season began, I also managed to set up what has turned out to be an irreplaceable affiliation with Premier League Champions Manchester United and the first player I managed to bring in was a young striker called Febian Brandy...
We started 2009/2010 fantastically, with a number of high scoring wins, most notably a 5-1 victory over Darlington and a 3-0 victory over Grimsby. By the time we met fellow promotion candidates Rotherham, we were sitting comfortably at the top of the table, even ahead of Notts County who had spent over 1.5m on transfers! However, we lost 6-1 with Le Fondre scoring an icnredible quadruple and it served as a reminder to us that there was a lot of work to be done in order to win our season.
Throughout the year, we suffered a number of crises in terms of injuries and I managed to secure a number of short term loan signings that in my opinion won us the league. John Ruddy joined us in January for 3 months and helped us create a brilliant gap at the top of the division before he subsequently left. James Chester was a fantastic defensive addition from MAnchester United, scoring an incredible 7 goals in his short 6 month stay at the club, before he left and signed a contract with St. Mirren. Corry Evans, the brother of Jonny Evans also joined us on loan for a number of months and bolstered our defence and our midfield and finally we managed to secure Francis Coquelin on a 6 month loan deal and his role in the defensive midfield, and his wonderful through balls lead to high-scoring victories such as the win over Notts County and also a solid defensive record.
We finished the 2009/2010 season first in the league, a magnficient achievement considering the financial position we were in and especially in comparison to Notts County. We cleared them by a single point on the last day of the season, but it was still a brilliant achievement and one for which the fans duly thanked me for.
This was my team of the season for 2009/2010:
Goalkeeper
John Ruddy - despite only playing for the club for only 3 months, without his brilliant performances we would not have created the huge gap at the top of the league that we managed as Stephen Collis was very weak. An excellent addition, and it was just a shame that he decided to join Tranmere the following season on a free instead of us.
Right Back
John Brayford - a reliable younsgter, Brayford constantly helped back-up the pace on our right wing in the shape of Joel Grant, and was also defensively solid. He most certainly displayed performances well beyond League 2.
Left Back
Billy Jones - the captain of Crewe Alex, Billy Jones led by example in League 2 with some fantastic performances, not only playing fantastically defensively but also managing an incredible 16 assists.
Centre Back
Izzy Iriekpen - For a free transfer, I could not have asked for anything more. Dominated in the air, scored a number of goals from corners and really organised my defence.
Centre Back
James Chester - Just a shame we were unable to bring him in on a permanent contract, after he really impressed alongside Izzy Iriekpen in this season. Scored a number of goals and showed composure that belied his young age.
Right Wing
Joel Grant - the youngster got his first call-ups to the Jamaican national team in this season after some stirling performances on the right and the left wing. Pacy and also with a good cross, Joel Grant had a great 2009/2010 season.
Left Wing
Tom Williams - Despite being a left back, Williams became the number one choice at left midfield in this season with a number of assists and also a couple of important goals
Defensive Midfield
Francis Coquelin - Only played for the club for six months, but was a fantastic addition to the squad. An Arsenal Under-18 winner last season, Coquelin was very composed defensively and also produced a number of vital killer balls for the front men.
Centre Midfield
Luke Murphy - The 19 year old held off tough loan competition to hold down a place in the squad with some great performances. Scoring 7 goals, all of which were from outside of the area, he also chipped in with some assists, and his general attitude to the game was brilliant.
Striker
Goran Maric - The free signing struggled to settle into life at Crewe but has since stated that it was his best career move to date. Scoring over 20 goals, Maric became a regular fixture in the side, with his impressive strength and off the ball abilities
Striker
Febian Brandy - Never in my time on Football Manager have I had such a fantastic striker; Febian finished with 44 goals to his name in all competitions, 40 in the league and over 20 assists. Top assist and goals in the league is a wonderful return for a player of such a young age. Joined on a free at the end of the season in what was arguably the transfer of the season in all the leagues. His pace and finishing ability terrorised teams and he scored hattricks on 3 occasions.
2010/2011
After a first brilliant season, where we really over-performed to win the League, it was now on to bigger pastures and without doubt a much bigger task. With the likes of Norwich, Southampton, Preston and Sheffield Wednesday in the league, many assumed that Crewe would have a tough year.
Signings:
With a small transfer budget again of just 20k, transfers were limited to youth players.
Ross Perry joined on a free from Rangers; he is a 20 year old centre-back with a lot of potential, and despite spending 3 months on the sidelines this season, he is tipped to have a very bright future. Kerrea Gilbert came next on a free transfer despite Championship interest, and his battle for the right back spot has been fierce this season to say the least. Steve Jennings made the move from Motherwell and has become a bit of a fans favourite with his crunching tackles and fantastic determination. Febian Brandy was released by Manchester United and signed up for the Railwaymen, in a move which really pleased the fans. Francis Coquelin turned down a contract from Crewe Alexandra in favour of a move to Russian giants CSKA Moscow, but then went on a season long loan to Gresty Road. After Ruddy rejected a contract, former United goalkeeper Tom Heaton became the next to join Illyroy's revolution at Crewe, followed by the loan signing of Rodrigo Possebon. The final player to join the team was target man Akpo Sodje, whose strength and heading abilities have become vital in Crewe's success this season.
I am currently in February and with these signings, we managed to go against all expectations and are currently in the play-offs. We were 1st in January, after some brilliant performances, beating Southampton home and away, and many of the other big teams. A number of injuries however has led to a small demise; Possebon returned to United with a broken leg and will be out for 8 months, so in his place came Andrea De Falco on a free transfer from Chievo. We've also seen the rise of youngster AJ Leitch-Smith who has come out of the reserves to score 3 very important goals, including 2 in a fantastic 4-3 win, where we came from 3-1 down with 15 minutes to go!
That's where we are up to now. Any more questions on how things are going then feel free to ask. I will give an end of the season update, before I start to make this more of a story, just thought that I would feel you all in with the goings on at Gresty Road
Up the Alex!
