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Conquering England? It's like taking candy from a baby!


HotChocolate

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This is by far the biggest job I've been linked with, in any way. I had to deny it. I don't want to jump up unless it's to Sheffield United. That is the only team I will jump up to. But it's impressive to be linked with the Sunderland job because they are clearly a big team and this is my first season in managing in the Football League.
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This is by far the biggest job I've been linked with, in any way. I had to deny it. I don't want to jump up unless it's to Sheffield United. That is the only team I will jump up to. But it's impressive to be linked with the Sunderland job because they are clearly a big team and this is my first season in managing in the Football League.

Mate, Sunderland are a Mickey Mouse club. Fact. That would of been a huge downward step, not the illusion of a step up. ;) SnakeXe will back me up on this.

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League 2 - Mid-Season - 2018

League Table - We are doing incredibly well. Never looked near the relegation zone and although we wont be able to mount a push for the playoffs its so nice to not have any pressure half way through the season.

League Table Graph - We started off well and have now calmed down and found our place in League 2, which is re-assuring.

Results - Started well and then just slowly slowed down, but no complaints we are doing really well.

FA Cup - Very, very dissapointed. Played a full strength side and we were beaten against the team 23rd in BSP and who had scored just 10 goals.

Carling Cup - No complaints, we gave them a great game.

Johnston's Paint Trophy - I was pleased to get past the first round but Plymouth were to strong for us.

Squad - We've had our injuries but survived well. Some players just can't seem to step up into playing League 2 football though, which is an annoyance.

Finances - Oh dear.

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That is a good start considering the club is new to the league, shows promise that you can reach League 1 with Cheltenham maybe?

Thanks mate, Cheltenham don't have the financial capabilities for it and even though I probably would eventually (after beating Dario Gradi's record at Crewe :cool:) I'm not looking at staying beyond this season.

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Looks like a good solid final season at Cheltenham on the cards here :thup:
Very good start to life in the Football League :thup: Good luck for the remainder of the season :)
Solid start, looks like you're staying up :thup:

Thanks a lot guys, I'm very pleased with the way we've started. It takes away any pressure for the rest of the season (hopefully!)

Good start. You could have done with a decent cup run after looking at those finances.

I made the 3rd and 4th round past 2 years, knocking out 3 League 1 teams. But now I'm on the receiving end. I am amazed at the finances though, increase in tickets, tv money etc we had a bigger wage budget in the first year I was in charge.

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They ended up hiring Steve Haslam. A former Sheffield Wednesday player (of 8 years) a life long Sheffield Wednesday fan and as a manger has the same reputation as me (regional) with a managerial record of West Brom and Cardiff, losing more than he has won, -33 goal difference, 33% of games win. Over me, 148 goal difference, 48% of games won, managed a lot more games than him and a Sheffield United fan.

Well at least it's realistic! :D:cool:

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Blue Square Bet Premier - Season 2018/2019

League Table - Cancel your holidays boys! We're in the playoffs!

League Table Graph - We picked up at the end of the season and got ourselves into 7th to only then lose 3 games running and lose the chance of playoffs, but we pulled it back and it went down to the last game of the season.

Results - We amazingly managed to get wins put together and rarely slipped up, the same 11 played week in week out and never seemed to let me down, until the Aldershot game but after a team meeting we got straight back to winning ways and secured the playoff place on the last game of the season!

FA Cup - Very dissapointed.

Carling Cup - No complaints, we gave them a great game.

Johnston's Paint Trophy - I was pleased to get past the first round but Plymouth were to strong for us.

Squad - They really pulled together and put in some great performances however with lack of injuries a lot of the players were becoming unhappy.

Transfers - I had Evan Moran coming in from the start of the season (at the end of his contract) and he came in and did a great job.

Finances - The board gave us a huge cash injection of 400k.

Salary Per Annum - Not bad at all, one surprise was MK Dons being bottom but coming 2nd!

Key Players

Martyn Eastwood - 3rd season running Eastwood has been a key player for us, he really did stand out with 12 goals and 10 assists.

Martin Lofgren - Great defender that we've had for a few years. Always solid at RB.

Rasmus Torp - A brilliant loan signing that has shone at the end of the season, really shame he is out for the playoffs. 13 goals and 6 assists.

Aims for this Season

  • Avoid relegation - Came 7th!
  • FA Cup 3rd round - 1st Round.
  • Enjoy the season! - We well overachieved!

Career Aims

  • Get promoted from npower League 2 - It's still a possibility!

Previous Club Watch

Worcester City - Blue Square North - 14th.

Eastbourne Borough - Blue Square South - 17th.

Stalybridge Celtic - non league.

Overall Comment: Whatever happens in the playoffs doesn't matter, we've had an amazing season and even when we were 5 points clear in the playoffs I still thought we'd mess up and finish around 10th, we messed up but pulled it back! We've got Oldham in the semi finals (the team I played on the last game of the season!) and both games finished 1-1 with them in the normal league season. I don't expect anything but who knows?

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Cheltenham Town vs Oldham Athletic (npower League 2 Playoff Semi-Final 1st Leg)

The game was very poor and we conceded two sloppy goals from our point of view, we managed to pull one back from a scramble which leaves us with a chance in the second leg but it will be tough to go there and get a victory. Apart from the goals there wasn't really anything to get excited about, bit of a disappointing game wise and result wise.

Oldham Athletic vs Cheltenham Town (npower League 2 Playoff Semi-Final 2nd Leg)

A game where they absolute dominated for the full 120 minutes, we had 1 break away and it was brilliantly put away from Scott Vernon but that was it, the shots we had were never going to trouble anyone and I am amazed we managed to hold out and take them to penalties. For the shoot out I always sort the first 5 takers out, usually putting the better ones towards the middle/end but Edwards managed to save 3 of their penalties in a row so the miss from left back Dickens wasn't a problem. We're in the Final!

Stevenage vs Cheltenham Town (npower League 2 Playoff Final)

We didn't turn up, they scored with a very easy set-piece in the first 2 minutes and then went on and controlled the match. We did have a good spell before the end of the first half but with just 1 shot on target we really were never in the game. It's a shame to lose in another playoff final but if I am being honest, Cheltenham would have been battered week in, week out in League 1 whether I was manager or not.

Career History.

Season		Team				Competition			Finished		Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011/2012	Worcester City			Blue Square Bet North		13th			Appointed in October
2012/2013	Eastbourne Borough		Blue Square Bet South		1st			Promoted as League Winners
2013/2014	Eastbourne Borough		Blue Square Bet Premier		12th			FA Trophy Runners-Up
2014/2015	Stalybridge Celtic		Blue Square Bet North		21st			Sacked in November
2015/2016	Cheltenham Town			Blue Square Bet Premier		17th			N/A
2016/2017	Cheltenham Town			Blue Square Bet Premier		4th			Lost in Playoff Final
2017/2018	Cheltenham Town			Blue Square Bet Premier		1st			Promoted as League Winners
2018/2019	Cheltenham Town			npower League 2			7th			Lost in Playoff Final

Manager History.

Team				Played		Won		Drew		Lost		Win %
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Worcester City			35		17		6		12		48%
Eastbourne Borough		105		54		29		22		51%
Stalybridge Celtic		18		5		2		11		28%
Cheltenham Town			216		104		48		64		48%
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall				373		180		85		108		48%

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At the start of the feeling I knew the chances are I would resign after the last match of the season and I did. I have taken them as far as I could and further. Amazingly before I left I checked the finances they were £133k in the black! Which pleased me but it's time for a new challenge and I have to be honest, I have no idea where I am going next! :D

Confirmation of my resignation.

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Just received a very interesting offer from Lincoln City in Blue Square North (15th). I am in November and do want to take over them but would have much preferred it to be in February/March time. I have got to the point where they will no longer accept a delay. I'm really undecided on what to do, any ideas?

Edit: I may come to regret this decision but I decided to turn the offer down.

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Keep going with the job hunt, they'll be a League Two/BSP vacancy coming up sooner than later, I would have thought. You shouldn't need to go down as low as the BSN now that you've played a season in League Two. Perhaps you need to consider going overseas?

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Keep going with the job hunt, they'll be a League Two/BSP vacancy coming up sooner than later, I would have thought. You shouldn't need to go down as low as the BSN now that you've played a season in League Two. Perhaps you need to consider going overseas?

I've received many good job offers since the Lincoln one, Reading, Wigan, Oxford are just some that I turned down without a thought. I want to go back and manage in the BSN, it is one of my aims from the opening post and I just don't want to jump up just yet.

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Unlucky on the playoff final defeat. I agree with AK you shouldn't be looking to drop down a level now. If you wait a little while longer I'm sure a League Two or maybe even a League 1 job will pop up.

Edit : If you want to go back to the BSN, then you probably should have taken the Lincoln job but I'm sure another vacancy will come along soon. I got the job at Boston around February/March.

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Unlucky on the playoff final defeat. I agree with AK you shouldn't be looking to drop down a level now. If you wait a little while longer I'm sure a League Two or maybe even a League 1 job will pop up

I want to drop down though :D

I'm sticking to my aims in the opening post and I feel I can't leave the BSN with the nightmare I had with Stalybridge!

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Here is the final league table, it was a lot closer than what I wanted but I was more bothered about the off field matters and getting them all sorted for next season (which I've done). We had a horrible amount of injuries, which didn't help us at all but we managed to survive, at one point we were in the relegation zone. I'm ready for next season, let all the players go whose contracts are running out and bring in players with quality to get us into the top 5. The board sold out youth facilities to make sure we didn't go into administration, that took our £2m debt to £400k but it's now down £600k which is frustrating. I will lose a lot of wage budget next year and it will take a bit of doing to push for the playoffs but hopefully we can do it!

Previous Club Watch

Worcester City - Blue Square North - 22nd, relegated.

Eastbourne Borough - Blue Square South - 12th.

Stalybridge Celtic - non league.

Cheltenham Town - npower League 2 - 8th.

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Good luck with Macc. The debt is very high but not much you can do about it, aside from get lucky in the cup and get a decent away tie against top flight opposition. Worry about on pitch performances at the moment in my opinion.

I'm amazed, I was given more wage budget then knocked it up by selecting 'winner' got just under £10k p/w now! I am impressed.

Shame about the poor playoff final defeat.

2 playoffs, 2 playoff finals, 2 defeats, no goals.

I pray I win the league, if not I've got to go through the playoffs :(

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Macclesfield Town

Blue Square North - Season 2020/2021

League Table - I would probably say I am the biggest name in the League but Mansfield are sure to be a tough challenge.

Squad - A brand new squad and a much better squad, in my opinion.

Information / Facilities - 7th, is a surprised but I'd expect at least playoffs.

Transfers - The team is looking much stronger without the deadwood and we have £500 p/w left for one more player.

Finances - I've not helped it and I am worried we may end up admin if we're not careful.

Transfer Budget: £0k

Wage Budget: £9,750k p/w (up from £8,250k)

Current Wage Budget: 9,250k p/w (down from £10,250k)

Aims for this Season

  • Promotion is a must
  • A long cup run, for finances
  • Pray I don't get injuries

Overall Comment: I am looking forward to this season, we have a good squad and if we can hit the ground running I am sure we will be up there and challenging for the League title. Anything less than 5th is unacceptable.

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You probably beat Mansfield in the size stakes.

I would probably agree.

You really are a glutton for punishment! Good luck with your BSN dream :D

I have a feeling the BSN is just going to be one of those leagues I will never do well in!

Wow, that loan debt looks like a tough burden. Good luck getting out of the BSN!

It is a harsh debt, cheers mate.

I've spotted an error with your long names. It's Chester these days, not Chester City. The newly founded club are simply called Chester. The old City no longer exist.

Well spotted Nobby :thup:

Squad looks strong. Be suprised if you don't manage to challenge at the top this year

Thanks mate! :thup:

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This has come as no surprise to me at all...

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This is what happened:

  • I bought poor attackers who couldn't for the life of them get the ball on target may alone in the net, this resulted in us being knocked out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle and sitting an ugly 10th in the league.
  • We were never going to get anywhere, the players in the first 16 couldn't be changed, we only had 18 players. So if they were poor, I was screwed.
  • I was screwed.
  • Then Sheffield United sacked their manager and I applied (stupidly) before apologizing, unfortunately they didn't accept my apology and sacked me (something that's a good addition as I've never seen it before in FM).

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So here I am yet again after another failure in the Blue Square North. I have decided to hang up my non-league boots and get into League Football. So I will be job hunting in League 2. The Blue Square can wait and wait and wait and wait and wait and wait.

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Yes!

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The job was already availble once I was sacked and this is exactly what I was hoping for, a big team in League 2. A team I can steadily build again and get them back up where they should be! I really can see myself being here for a good few years. I am honestly excited about this job! Bring it on :D

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Not the best return to the BSN then! However, looks like a good challenge to get stuck into at Preston.

Whats the squad look like, some high earners you can ship out pretty quickly? I always like going into these struggling clubs and having a mass clearout :D

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