The Story of Ernie 'Little Ern' Allan

[coolmcool]

Just realised i have one of the same players as you in Fraser Hornby although hes 8 years older!

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[Matt G]

Not had Hornby in any of my teams but he's a tricky opponent in my game as well. Hearts and Scotland international in 2024/25. And yeah...10th tier to L1 in four seasons. Wow.

 

[Brane_Orsou]

Congrats on the title, much deserved! Early aims for next season? Will you stay with Coventry or look to advance yourself? Or will that depend on the financial state of the club?

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Not had Hornby in any of my teams but he's a tricky opponent in my game as well. Hearts and Scotland international in 2024/25. And yeah...10th tier to L1 in four seasons. Wow.

Thanks mate, it's been a pretty incredible rise so far. I'm still waiting for the bubble to burst!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Congrats on the title, much deserved! Early aims for next season? Will you stay with Coventry or look to advance yourself? Or will that depend on the financial state of the club?

Thanks mate! So right now, I'm thinking mid table with Coventry in League One. I'm not going to make the same mistake I did at Chelmsford and apply to any jobs as it seems to completely upset the team/atmosphere around the club. But if anyone comes in for me and its the right job then I could be tempted to move on, only because Coventry's financial situation is so poor. They can't even send me on a coaching course to develop myself as they are constantly in the red. However, to move, the club would need to meet certain criteria....they'd have to be a bigger club than or at least on par with Coventry (I mean although we are only League Two/One, we are still a pretty big club), they would need to be higher up the leagues as I wouldn't move to another League One club now, and I'd look to see that their financial status was 'secure'. At the end of this season, the lower regional leagues in England will be removed from my game and I'm adding in Belgium, Holland and Portugal so that could even present opportunities to go manage in a different country.

 

[FM_TNSSO]

April 2021

April 2021

Saturday 3rd​ April 2021
Sky Bet League Two: Doncaster Rovers (Home)
Kick-Off: 15:00
Lineup: Thompson, Willis, Davies, Goode, Grimmer, Batty (Wright 71), Donohue, Bailey, Preston, Ahearne-Grant (Hornby 45), Grigg

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A solid 1-0 at home brings up the 100 points for us in the league! One more win and we break that points record.



Well the team that really wanted to win it, went on and won it! Arsenal U23s pick up the Checkatrade Trophy after beating Walsall in the final. Roarie Honesty set up more goals in the competition than anyone else, with 5 assists.

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Monday 5th​ April 2021
Sky Bet League Two: Carlisle (Away)
Kick-Off: 15:00
Lineup: Burge, Willis, Davies, Goode, Grimmer (Kelly-Evans 72), Batty, Donohue, Bailey, Wright, Hornby, Grigg (Honesty 72)

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After going 1-0 down, the lads responded superbly and by the end of the game, most could see we had been the better side and deserved the win. It was closer than I think was expected, but the lads are getting more and more into holiday mode as the season winds down now with the league title already won.



The Carlisle win did move us to 103 points, which is a new League Two record.

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It seems that all of my players are the favourites to pick up the League Two Player of the Year award. Jack Grimmer, Gregor Preston, Fraser Hornby and Ryan Haynes all getting a special mention.

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Saturday 10th​ April 2021
Sky Bet League Two: Plymouth (Home)
Kick-Off: 15:00
Lineup: Burge, Willis, Pask, Goode (Davies 72), Grimmer, Grant, Donohue, Bailey (Whitfield 58), Preston, Hornby (Ahearne-Grant 58), Honesty

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Managerless Plymouth are in a dogfight to stay up this year and clearly had much more to play for here than us. Whilst we casually strolled through the match, they looked like they were fighting hard for every single ball. They were rewarded for that effort as they get a massive win that will probably keep them in the division.



Saturday 17th​ April 2021
Sky Bet League Two: Grimsby (Home)
Kick-Off: 15:00
Lineup: Burge, Willis, Pask, Goode, Grimmer, Batty, Donohue (Haynes 62), Bailey, Preston, Hornby, Honesty (Grigg 62)

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Complete dominance from start to finish, but we only come away with a draw.



Saturday 24th​ April 2021
Sky Bet League Two: Bury (Away)
Kick-Off: 15:00
Lineup: Thompson, Willis, Pask, Goode, Grimmer, Batty (Grant 45), Haynes (Donohue 45), Bailey (Bridge 45), Wright, Hornby, Honesty

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Is it wrong to be disappointed with the lads for their complete lack of effort this month, when we won the title so easily?



We’d only lost 3 games all season prior to this month and then lost 2 in April. I can only imagine that the lads have already gone into holiday mode after wrapping things up so early. I still can’t complain as any tally over 100 points is impressive in any league!

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Player of the Month: Dion Donohue

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Just the business of one final League Two game to attend to next month. We’ll take on Eastleigh in the final game of the season, who have finished bottom of the division and will be playing in the Vanarama National League next year.

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[Matt G]

Thanks mate! So right now, I'm thinking mid table with Coventry in League One. I'm not going to make the same mistake I did at Chelmsford and apply to any jobs as it seems to completely upset the team/atmosphere around the club. But if anyone comes in for me and its the right job then I could be tempted to move on, only because Coventry's financial situation is so poor. They can't even send me on a coaching course to develop myself as they are constantly in the red. However, to move, the club would need to meet certain criteria....they'd have to be a bigger club than or at least on par with Coventry (I mean although we are only League Two/One, we are still a pretty big club), they would need to be higher up the leagues as I wouldn't move to another League One club now, and I'd look to see that their financial status was 'secure'. At the end of this season, the lower regional leagues in England will be removed from my game and I'm adding in Belgium, Holland and Portugal so that could even present opportunities to go manage in a different country.

What about Scotland? Heading north of the border is usually tasty, albeit you have to play all your rivals three or four times in a season.

 

[FM_TNSSO]

What about Scotland? Heading north of the border is usually tasty, albeit you have to play all your rivals three or four times in a season.

I thought about Scotland, but I've seen quite a few stories on here this year already focused on the Scottish leagues. However, I'm not ruling it out for the future

 

[FM_TNSSO]

May 2021

May 2021

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Saturday 1st​ May 2021
Sky Bet League Two: Eastleigh (Home)
Kick-Off: 15:00
Lineup: Burge, Willis, Pask, Goode, Grimmer, Batty, Donohue (Haynes 45), Bailey (Whitfield 66), Preston, Hornby, Honesty (Grigg 72)

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It’s nice to finish the season with a home win and wraps things up nicely. I would have been gutted to lose the final game of the season after the year we’ve had and am glad we were able to put on a decent show for the fans.



We’ll take home a whole £27k in prize money for winning the league. That should just about cover the cost of the party we’re going to have for winning the title.

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With the final game of the season out the way, we set two new records. The first is for the most wins in a season at 33 and is a League Two record. The second is a club record for the least defeats in a season with only 5.

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So here is the final league table, which shows us winning the title by a clear 23 points. An unbelievable season that will go down as one of my best ever even if my career lasts another 50 years! Peterborough and Oxford will join us in League One next year and it was Cambridge who were relegated on the final day of the season and will join Eastleigh in the National League next year.

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For the second time this season, I am linked with the Sunderland job who have just been relegated from the Championship. For the second time this season, I quash the story and tell the press I’m not interested!

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My U18s win their respective division this season as well! Things look bright for the future at Coventry!

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It’s Wycombe who win the playoffs, overcoming Bury in the final.

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The commercial summary is distributed around the club’s management and other than our main sponsorship deal, everything is up this season so we are heading in the right direction, although the finances are still £500k in the red.

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Our solidarity payment of half a million will help but still doesn’t bring us out of the red.

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Fraser Hornby has set a new average rating record in League Two this season! This lad is destined for big things I think!

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Manchester City lift the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1-0 in the final. Oh well, at least the Gooners have the Checkatrade Trophy to fall back on (still not bitter!).

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[FM_TNSSO]

End of Season

End of Season 2019/20

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The media release their end of season review and it makes for pretty good reading. We had an amazing season and my players deserve all the credit they are getting. We gave a good showing in the FA Cup, making the 4th​ round, and it took Premier League sides to knock us out of all the cup competitions this season. Filling only 30% of the stadium is a concern but we should see an improvement on that next year with us playing in a higher league. We also used one of the least amount of players in the league this year, which highlights we may have an issue with strength in depth, but we’ve got away with it this year as we haven’t suffered hardly any injuries.

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The board should be nothing short of delighted following that season!

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On club awards night, it’s Fraser Hornby who picks up the supporter’s player of the year award, narrowly beating Jack Grimmer. Young goalkeeper Jared Thompson was seen as the signing of the season and Fraser Hornby as the young signing of the season. I’d probably agree with the best 11 of the season, with the only role up for debate being that of Bailey in the centre midfield, which could have easily gone to Ben Whitfield instead.

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There are two players inducted into the club’s best 11 this season. Loanees Roarie Honesty and Gregor Preston both make the squad although not the starting lineup.

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I think one of the foundations of our success this season was our strong defensive record. We were really tough to break down in most games and some of that goes down to the formation, but I see here that we also have a total of nearly 650 club appearances between Grimmer, Willis, Goode and Haynes and I think that must play a massive factor too! That goalscoring record from Fraser Hornby is pretty impressive too average a goal every other game.

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Now it’s Sky Bet League Two Awards night….and the star of the show is young striker Fraser Hornby who cleans up! He takes the awards for top goalscorer and Player of the Year!

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And I take Manager of the Year. When I won the award at Chelmsford it was a bit of a surprise, but if I’m completely honest I expected this one and if I hadn’t of won it, I’d have been pretty p*ssed!

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And we completely dominate the Team of the Year, with no less than 8 of our players making up the 11!

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So let’s take a look at the squad’s stats in full. Charlie Goode was almost ever present at the back this season, making the most appearances for the club (58). Daniel Batty and Jack Grimmer also featured more than 50 times this season. It was three loan players that recorded the highest average ratings (Hornby, Honesty and Preston). Fraser Hornby was the club’s top goalscorer with 33, closely followed by Roarie Honesty who recorded an impressive 28. Two other players managed to get into double figures (Ahearne-Grant and Gregor Preston). On the assists front, our wide men were key this season with wing backs Jack Grimmer and Ryan Haynes leading the way!

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The dynamics in the squad are exactly where I’d expect after such a great season. Everyone is happy as larry! Although I have a couple of players looking for a little more first team football….Jordan Willis I will try to smooth over, but Liam Kelly will probably be leaving the club in the Summer.

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[FM_TNSSO]

June 2021

June 2021

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With 2 league titles and 2 manager of the year awards under my belt in only 4 seasons, I kind of expect more teams to come calling for my signature this Summer. Maybe I’m being big headed, I don’t know. Either way, it’s Bolton that are the first club I’m linked with in June….not a job I’m interested in at all so I quickly distance myself.

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Roarie Honesty and Gregor Preston have agreed new loan deals here for next season! This was absolutely vital to keep some of our young stars of last season at the club for another year. Unfortunately, Everton won’t allow Fraser Hornby to spend another season with us as they apparently want him playing at a higher level. Odin Bailey’s contract is up at Arsenal and I tried to sign him on a permanent deal but can’t meet his wage demands. Finally, Josh Pask is not good enough (in my opinion) for League One football.

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The opening fixtures for next season have been released and we kick off the campaign with a home game against Swindon who finished 10th​ in the division last year. We’ll follow that up with games against neighbours MK Dons and Luton away from home, before taking on Oxford United who came up with us.

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We’ll receive nearly half a million this season for TV rights.

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Well it seems we will take on Swindon twice in 4 days at the start of the season as we’ve drawn them in the 1st​ round of the Carabao Cup as well!

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The board aren’t going lightly on me this season considering we are new to the league. They want a top half finish! The cup competition expectations are the same as last season with 3rd​ round of the FA Cup and 2nd​ of the Carabao expected. I should be able to deliver on both of these no problem with the right draws, but the league expectation is higher than I was expecting.

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[JamesScott2908]

Just caught up on the last few days, You made League 2 look easy, The new formation seems to be working a treat and with the right players I think the top half finish could be achievable! Although id put my money on you finishing in the play offs Good luck!

 

[Matt G]

Top half of the table? Well the board don't lack ambition certainly. See what happens.

 

[Brane_Orsou]

Maybe the board will invest a little more to give you a better chance of attaining your top half finish. Now if you'll excuse me i'm just off to catch that pig that's flying past the window

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[FM_TNSSO]

Just caught up on the last few days, You made League 2 look easy, The new formation seems to be working a treat and with the right players I think the top half finish could be achievable! Although id put my money on you finishing in the play offs Good luck!

I'm not sure I'd risk my money on that just yet ;-) I have to admit I do a lot of tinkering with formations and player roles but this is by far my favourite out of all the ones I've created on this years edition of FM

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Top half of the table? Well the board don't lack ambition certainly. See what happens.

Let's hope I can deliver. Be a shame to be sacked after the season I've just had!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Maybe the board will invest a little more to give you a better chance of attaining your top half finish. Now if you'll excuse me i'm just off to catch that pig that's flying past the window

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Pretty much no chance at all of that happening! I'm gonna have to do the best I can with what I've got! Thanks for reading and commenting....much appreciated!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

July 2021

July 2021

I let a few players go as their contracts had expired and I saw no place for them in the squad this year. Liam Kelly, Conor Grant and Jack Bridge were amongst those released.

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I made my first signing of the Summer as Callum Camps joins us on a free transfer after his contract was up at Rochdale. Camps has spent his whole career to date with The Dale, but was keen to move on and we gave him to opportunity to progress up the leagues. Camps is a central midfielder, who is comfortable playing defensive or attacking roles and is a very welcome addition to my team after the release of Kelly, Grant and Bridge who all play in the centre of the park as well.

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I quickly moved to make my second signing of the Summer as I went in for striker Jack Marriott from Northampton. A fee of £575k was agreed (over the course of 3 seasons to enable our current budget to handle it) and a contract was offered. I was really looking forward to adding Marriott to the ranks, when I was informed that he’d opted to join AFC Wimbledon instead. Looking at his contract details, they offered the salary as us….I can only assume he went there as they offered him Key Player status against the squad rotation from me.

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After the disappointment of missing out on Jack Marriott, I quickly move on and do secure our second signing this Summer. And it breaks my own personal transfer fee record as I fork out £60,000 for West Brom’s 22 year old wing back Cole Dasilva. Cole will come in as a backup player for both Haynes (LWB) and Grimmer (RWB) as he is comfortable playing on either side of the pitch. He will certainly get some game time this year and is a pacey and determined young Englishman who can still develop. Dasilva spent last season on loan with Rotherham, making 16 appearances for them in League One.

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Centre back Tom Davies will miss up to 6 weeks of action after picking up an injury in pre season.

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I like to have 4 strikers who can come in and out of the first team ideally, so I was keen to add another to the ranks. I have done so with the loan signing of Tyrese Campbell from Stoke. The 21 year old English forward is over 6ft tall and has some really good ability when it comes to heading the ball! The fact we pump a lot of crosses into the box from our wing backs should suit him and I’m hoping he can bag us a few goals this season!

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Just a week after breaking my personal transfer record on Cole Dasilva, I have gone and broken it again. This time, I’ve forked out £120,000 for centre back Toby Sibbick from Leeds. It’s a bargain when you think they paid over £900k for him only 3 seasons ago. Since then, he has spent most of his time out on loan with clubs including Doncaster Rovers and Luton. He was a constant fixture in Luton’s lineup last season, making 45 appearances for the League One club.

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So based on the pre-season odds from the bookies, it would seem my board are apparently well within their rights to ask for a top half finish. The bookmakers have us at only 8-1 to win the league again, and we are almost evens to gain promotion! Am I just underestimating my team?

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We have another player that will miss the opening few games of the season through injury. This time, it’s first choice goalkeeper Lee Burge!

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I’ve added another centre back to the squad in 23 year old Regan Poole, who signs on a free transfer. Poole was released by Wolves at the end of last season, despite making 12 appearances for them in the Championship last year. He is a Welsh international with 4 caps for his country and is a really good addition to our back line.

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We’ve finished our pre season campaign and overall I have to say I’m extremely pleased with how things have gone. We were unbeaten, only conceded 3 goals in 7 games, recorded an 8-0 win and got good results against the likes of Newcastle and Hibs.

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So the season kicks off next month. My 5th​ season in management! We kick off things by playing Swindon twice in 3 days as we take them on in the league and Carabao Cup!

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[dporter8999]

Looking forward to seeing how the start of the season goes, even with finances that make you a prime candidate to get help from Oxfam, Coventry are a big side and expectations are high! I'm sure you'll be able to handle the pressure, just gotta keep doing what your doing!

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Looking forward to seeing how the start of the season goes, even with finances that make you a prime candidate to get help from Oxfam, Coventry are a big side and expectations are high! I'm sure you'll be able to handle the pressure, just gotta keep doing what your doing!

Haha that comment did make me laugh, but you're right....we need every little bit of help we can get on the financial front. Expectations are huge and to be fair rightly so, Coventry should never be down where they got to in League Two! Thanks for reading and comments are always hugely appreciated!