[FM13] Doing my best to Achieve in Britain! (+ Eire!)

[Fila]

Manager

Name: Christopher Massenhove

Nationality: English / Belgian

Past Experience: Semi-Professional Player

Present Club: Portstewart FC (Northern Irish Belfast Telegraph Championship Second Division )

Contract: Expires 30-06-2014, 1.400€ p/m

Season 2013-2014 Media Expectation: 8th

Season 2013-2014 Board Expectation: Achieve a respectable league position within the Second Division.

Career History

Portstewart FC

Overview of Portstewart FC's Stadium: Seahaven.

Overview of Portstewart.

Location of Portstewart on the Northern Ireland map.

• Season 2013-2014
  Northern Irish Belfast Telegraph Championship Second Division:
  -
  Northern Irish Cup:
  -
  Northern Irish League Cup:
  -
  Northern Irish Intermediate Cup:
  -
  

[Animosama]

good luck

[Fila]

good luck

Thanks, gonna do my best!

[Fila]

After I recovered from this shocking news and talked it over with my spouse we both decided it would be a nice challenge together with a fresh start in the beautiful "Tuaisceart Éireann".

I started with gathering as much information as was possible to be found about Portstewart FC and Portstewart itself.

[Fila]

The background of both club and home town was checked so next up was the squad and trying to figure out what tactic I was going to use together with the trainig regime.

I inherited the following players from the previous manager.

Portstewart FC Squad (Beginning of season 2013-2014)

After I had a meeting with my assistant manager (whom I don't believe to be extremely capable for the job) and took a thorough look at the players that I had at my disposal to get the job done I decided that the most important part of the squad that I had to upgrade was the goalkeeping department. Alistair McGarvey was simply to old and Joel Madison just wasn't that good to be a first choice out there.

With other players, like James Peden and Robert Nicholl, I couldn't agree on a new contract so I gave them permission to leave the team even though I would have liked to keep them.

With almost no money to spend on new players I went looking for players at the end of their contract. There I found a 32-year old Irish goalie at Coleraine FC who had played 25 matches in the Northern Irish Danske Bank Premier Division last season and had an entire career in Ireland and Northern Ireland's top divisions. To my surprise Gavin Cullen agreed to negotiate a contract with me and in the end we even agreed on a 2-year contract making my first signing immediately a big one.

I also wanted a decent backup in goal in case Cullen should get hurt or somehow underperform. I turned my attention to last season's first choice goalkeeper of Wakehurst FC, Gavin Mark. He was nearing the end of his contract as well and was one of the main reasons why in the end Wakehurst FC beat Knockbreda FC to the first place in the Northern Irish Belfast Telegraph Championship Second Division with only 22 goals allowed in 25 games. I was overjoyed when I also signed him on a 2-year contract.

To make sure there was enough competition for the defensive places I also signed 2 more defenders. Gary Largey joined from fellow Second Division team Sport & Leisure Swifts while Chris Bradley left Tobermore United from the Northern Irish Belfast Telegraph Championship First Division to join Portstewart FC's selection.

I also wanted to add more finishing power to the attacking part of our team so in came 2 poachers with the names Sean McMullan and Gerard Kerr. Kerr topped Armagh City's scoringboard last season with 15 goals and McMullan scored 4 goals in 16 starts at First Division's Warrenpoint Town.

What was left to do was the search for a new assistant manager. I had told my previous assistant that he could leave the job but not before he helped me find his replacement. That's how I finally found Tony Creaney at Lurgan Celtic who became my latest signing. As a 41-year old he still enjoys playing the game so he also got signed as a backup for the midfield. Tony Creaney still made 20 league appearances last season for his former team.

Portstewart FC Transfers (Beginning of season 2013-2014)

I felt like my squad was complete and ready to compete.

Portstewart FC Squad

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My second post is completely gone and I have no idea why :confused:

It had a little story to get things going and I don't have a backup anywhere

[Fila]

It now was time to see how my players would perform. I decided to start pre-season with a teambuilding week in neighbouring Ireland where I had set up 2 friendlies.

The first team we were going to encouter was Glenea United, an amateur club located in Gweedore near the Atlantic coast of County Donegal. A week later we will travel to the largest and most populous town in County Donegal where the Letterkenny Rovers would be our sparing partner in a match held on the banks of the River Swilly.

During our trip, and if it works well during the whole pre-season, we will try a 4-5-1 with a diamond on the midfield and a poacher upfront. When we have the ball this will allow us to switch to a 4-4-2 with running wingers.

At this moment Kerr and McMullan are in balance for the most attacking position, both will get equal chances on our Irish trip.

The tim had finally come for our first game in Ireland. We started well and during the first 15 minutes we had 3 good chances for Heneghan, McMullan and Nicholl but they all couldn't finish properly. All Glenea did during this time was foul our players, this resulted in a yellow card for Glenea Utd's Ken Byrne in the 14th minute. Glenea took over after these 15 minutes and had a good chance in the 18th minute before they opened they score in the 21ste minute. Kieran Higgans swung in a corner and Brian Barron headed the 1-0 past Gavin Cullen.

The boys felt this was not wright and our captain, Owen Peden, immediately responded with a low wide shot. Just 4 minutes after the opening goal Sean McMullan equalized with a header after he made himself free in the box to connect with the cross from Ryan McAllister. Just 3 minutes later our defensive midfielder Alan Gaston intercepted the ball in midfield and passed it to Nicholl who gave the ball to McMullan and allowed him to score his 2nd goal to put Portstewart FC 1-2 up. After that we took control of the game again and it was untill the 37th minute before the next chance followed, a Creaney corner was headed over by Vinnie Heneghan. Not much happened anymore before the halftime whistle so at the break Portstewart FC was leading 1-2 in Ireland.

6 players stayed in the dressing room after the break including McMullan who had already shown what he is capable of making me curious what Gerard Kerr could do in his place. Gavin Mark also got 45 minutes to show his abilities in the goal.

The first chance in the 2nd half came after 54 minutes when Glenea's goalie Dennehy had to dive into the feet of Ryan McAllister who got free of any defenders after a wonderfull pass of Mervyn Nicholl. 6 minutes later we had another great chance when our only Englishman, Tommy Parsons, hit the upright with a blazing shot. In the 65th minute Kerr had his first good chance of the game but the goalie tipped it wide. This seemed to fire Gerard Kerr up and in the 75th minute he had another great chance but his shot went just over the top corner. In between Glenea reacted with a shot by Costigan that went really wide. Kerr proved himself to be the greatest threat for the Glenea defense in the 2nd half when he had another 2 chances in the 86th and 87th minute but both chances were held by United's substitute goalkeeper, Glen O'Reilly. The last little chance of the game was for Glenea in the 91st minute but Michael Mooney missed by a mile. The game ended in a 2-1 win for Portstewart FC but it could have been easily more. Both first choice attackers made an impression on me. McMullan, who got awared the Man of the Match title for his 2 goals, with his 100% scoring ratio and Kerr with his ability to create chances. Hopefully we will start scoring them too later on.

The start in our second game on Irish soil was not as good as against Glenea United. The first 20 minutes nothing worth mentioning happened. In minute 23 Cullen had to save a shot of Letterkenny's striker Joe Burns. He also had the next chance in the game in the 33th minute when he couldn't hit the target with a spectacular half volley. A minute later Mervyn Nicholl had our first chance but he didn't do enough to get it on target so we saw the ball sail wide. In the extra time of the first half Nicholl had another opportunity after a pinpoint pass by Creaney but his shot went just wide of the top corner. Still 0-0 at halftime.

Tommy Parsons came on the field during the halftime break and had the first chance of the 2nd half but again the ball went wide under pressure of Letterkenny's defense. Letterkenny Rovers' biggest chance of the game untill this point came when McGranaghan headed the ball towards goal on a corner kick and Cullen had to save acrobatically to prevent the 1-0. Letterkenny Rovers felt something was possible and in the 70th and 73th minute Gareth Mullan had 2 more chance for the Rovers, the first one was a header but it was held by Cullen and the second one was a freekick that he just struck over the bar. By this time Portstewart FC was running everywhere except where the ball was. We stood our ground and in the 86th minute Letterkenny's midfielder Kyle McGranaghan had the last big chance of the game when Chris Malseed found him with a low first time pass and he had a shot. Cullen did well and pushed the ball away once again. The game ended like it was started: Letterkenny Rovers - Portstewart FC, 0-0. Although Letterkenny had the most chances in the match there still were some positive things to remember from the game. I was particularly pleased with how we performed under pressure and how the defense kept their ground.

Summary Pre-Season Ireland Trip 2013

The next day we left Ireland with an overall good feeling about how we performed in these 2 games and returned to Northern Ireland for 3 more pre-season games. All 3 of them will be played on our home ground, Seahaven, against higher division teams. I'm curious how we will do against stronger opposition.

[Fila]

For our first home game in pre-season we welcomed First Division team Larne FC in the annual game between our 2 teams. We can be quit short about this game and tell you that absolutely everything went our way. The game started calmly before Gerard Kerr had the first chance in the match in the 17th minute. He hit the post with his shot but luckily for us the ball hit the back of Larne's goalkeeper Brendan Quinn and found the back of the net in a bizarre way. The game went with Portstewart leading 1-0. In the 24th minute a simular freak goal happened when Larne had a freekick awarded, Johnny Gowdy went his chance and struck the crossbar. The ball hit Cullen's back and hit the net just like it did 7 minutes earlier in Larne's goal. Minute 29 saw Gerard Kerr finally scored his first goal of the pre-season for Portstewart FC when Quinn couldn't get near his shot. Portstewart had 3 shots after Kerr's goal but all went wide of the target. In the 38th minute Cullen had to make a save on Larne's right defender Chris Murray his long ball which was intented as a cross. Another shot of Gerard Kerr hit the target 3 minutes later which allowed us to go in to the dressing room with a comfortable 3-1 lead.

The first chance in the 2nd half came in the 53th minute and immediately was a good one for Larne FC when Topley pulled one back with a close range shot. It didn't last long though because in the 56th minute on-fire Kerr hit a half volley from outside the penalty box after Gavin Cullen had restarted the game for Portstewart with a goal kick. In the 66th minute Wayne McLaughlin skimmed the top of the bar with a freekick and in the 77th minute Holden hit a volley on goal but was denied by Cullen to keep the scoreline at 4-2. Sean McMullan had come on the field to replace Gerard Kerr and showed once again that he will be battling with Kerr for the striker position when he scored the first chance that he was given in the 78th minute. 5-2 was the scoreline in the meantime. He had another chance in the 82nd minute but the scoreline remained the same untill the final whistle. It was pleasing to see how easily it was today to score goals, especially for Gerard Kerr who picked up the Man of the Match title after his hat-trick.

The next game in our pre-season was another annual event in which neighbours and Premier Division team Coleraine FC made the short trip to Seahaven. My players were really motivated to get the game going. The match couldn't have started better for us when in the 6th minute Mervyn Nicholl bagged the first goal of the game, 1-0 Portstewart early in the game. My team really enjoyed this moment and looked even more motivated now. A freekick was awarded to us in the 14th minute and Andrew White stepped up to take it. He put it wide but it was a warning for Coleraine for what was about to come in the 22nd minute when White took our next freekick from 25 yards and hit the back of the net to make it 2-0. By now The Bannsiders felt it was time to wake up and pulled a goal back in the 29th minute with a shot from 20 yards out. Striker Shane Jennings made it 2-1. Just before half time a sliding tackle from Donaghy almost made it 3-1 when he tried to dispossess Nicholl but the ball bounced back of Donaghy towards goal and hit the bar. Halftime and 2-1 up against Coleraine FC.

Coleraine started better in the second half and had chances in the 52nd minute, when Jennings climbed above Ramsey and had his header saved, and in the 55th minute when Aaron Canning, a defender, beat Cullen in the air on a corner and hit the side of the post. We replied 2 minutes after this with a fierce shot to the top corner by Ian Dunlop but Alan Ryan saved and held the ball. A by now dominating Coleraine FC had another set of chances in the 60th minute when Cullen saved Grant's shot, in the 65th minute when Glenn Taggart put a shot over the bar and eventually in the 72nd minute when Timmy Grant scored the equalizer after Taggart had headed the ball his way. After this Coleraine tried to keep the scoreline like it was but Portstewart thought they deserved more and began to put the pressure on Coleraine's defense. This resulted in a few corners in the 75th, 77th and 78th minute before they had another corner in the 79th minute. Finlay passed it short to McLaughlin who centred the ball to the penalty box where Alan Gaston drove the goal towards the goal: 3-2 Portstewart! Portstewart pulled back to secure the win and Coleraine weren't able to get one more chance so the final score was Portstewart FC 3 - Coleraine FC 2. Mervyn Nicholl was outstanding in his passing and got awarded the Man of the Match title with a 8.7 rating. Although it still is pre-season we were all overjoyed with this great result against our neighbours and especially against a higher ranked team.

Our last pre-season game would again be against a First Division side, this time Dergview FC made the trip to our seaside town. The game started in a similar way like we did against Coleraine. We took an early lead through Vinnie Heneghan who headed home a corner by Creaney in the 6th minute. In the 10th minute Dergview's defensive midfielder Darragh Hassan scored in the bottom right corner with a well placed shot. In the 15th minute our captain Owen Peden was tripped in the penalty area by Richard Lecky. Heneghan stepped up confidently and already scored his 2nd goal of the game. McMullan hit the post in the 32nd minute before Ryan McAllister put the 3-1 in the net in the 36th minute behind McCusker. The first half ended with a save by McCusker on a shot by Parsons. After a goal packed first half Portstewart FC was leading 3-1 against Dergview FC.

In the 52nd minute Lecky passed the ball ahead of Walker who tried a long range effort but his shot went safely over the bar. This was one of the few chances for a disappointing Dergview. Not long after the hour mark Portstewart had a few chances. In the 66th minute Tommy Parsons came close with a free kick into the side netting. In the 67th minute Parsons crossed the ball for Kerr to head it at goal but Dergview's substitute goalkeeper O'Hara beat the ball away. Sproule put the ball behind the goal line under pressure. Parsons took the following corner and found Richard Largey at the far post but O'Hara saved again and this time held the ball too. The last chance of the game came in the 79th minute. Walker found John Montgomery with a low forward pass but he couldn't strike it cleanly and saw his shot saved by Gavin Cullen. 2 goals were enough for Heneghan to clinch the Man of the Match title in this game. We played a good first half so I am happy with that. The second half was not good but this counts for Dergview FC as well so overall I can be satisfied.

Summary Pre-Season 2013 (Without Ireland Trip 2013)

We had a beautiful run in our pre-season matches. Certainly if you only look at the results. The finishing in the first match at home against Larne FC was sublime and the game against Coleraine FC is something to remember eventhough Coleraine clearly took it easier, when they wanted they overran us. The second half against Dergview FC is something that can not be repeated during the season but maybe this can be explainded because we were 3-1 in the lead at half time. Let's hope so. Something to keep working on is our defense, I found them to give away to many chances on occasions resulting in only 1 game in pre-season where we didn't concede a goal.

Nonetheless I am looking forward to get the season going.