[FM15] If there were handicaps in football, I'd be on 100

[HotChocolate]

The only job to become available throughout pre-season was Raith Rovers who approached me for an interview but I told them I was happy at Tranmere and I was happy to sign another 1 year contract

Tranmere Rovers

Pre-Season 2022-2023

Friendlies - Somehow maintained unbeaten even though we came up against strong European teams in the form of Udinese and Genk.

Squad - It's hard to judge without seeing in competitive games but I think the squad has been built well. They're young with potential and a lot have already got a couple years experience in the first team. If I'm to add to the squad it will be at centre defence as we are seemingly weak there.

Transfers - A strong transfer window for us, for a 2nd year in a row we have extended Niklas Jensen's loan till the end of the season meaning he'll be in his 3rd year at the club. We did almost sign him permanently after Liverpool let his contract run down to a few days we seemed to agree a deal which would have made him the highest paid player in the squad by quite a bit on £2,100 but unfortunately he did end up extending his contract and is only on £1,400 with Liverpool! We then also brought Freddie Ludlow back on loan which is a huge boost for us as he was a key player for the team last season. Mark Dillon and Derek Holt came in to challenge Oli White at AML whilst Ethan Hurlstone will play behind them at LB. I've struggled to find a CM that fits alongside Max Ross so Matt Soraff was signed in the hope he fits the role. Finally Dan Wright and Stefan O'Connor come in as CB's but again I am looking to add a little bit of quality here. Going out were a few first team players from last season who I deemed not good enough, one of them was Mark Freeman who I managed to gain £20k for.

Expectations

Sky Bet League 2 - Mid-table finish

FA Cup - 2nd Round

Capital One Cup - Be competitive

Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Not important

A Swift Summary

A pre-season full of hope, the friendlies have shown we can really show up with performances and I feel the new signings are bedding in well and have hugely improved the quality of the overall team.

There has been a bit more money spent on wages to try and make that final push for the top 3 but I still have a solid £13,500 spare wage budget so the finances are not being troubled.

My eyes are still open to any jobs that may possibly come my way but I'm happy at Tranmere at the same time so it would have to be the right club at the right time to tempt me - Blackburn Rovers were definitely the right club just unfortunately not the right time.

[Zeonflux]

Great Stuff HC, shame about how the last season ended

[Nobby_McDonald]

Do you wish you went to Blackburn now?

[HotChocolate]

Great Stuff HC, shame about how the last season ended

Cheers Zeon! Just one of those runs...

Do you wish you went to Blackburn now?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I made the right choice at the time as I couldn't leave with the shot of promotion but if I had known we'd finish 10th then I'd have taken the job. So yes and no - I'm not annoyed for not taking it put it that way!

[Bilbo Baggins]

Hopefully you can get up this season.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Hopefully long term you made the right choice

[HotChocolate]

Tranmere Rovers

Early Season 2022-2023

In our first game vs Wycombe Wanderers we were seemingly heading to a 0-0 until in the 82nd minute when Ethan Hurlstone pumped a ball forward over all the defenders perfectly for Leslie Mosley to take forward and bury the one-on-one. We then made it 2 from 2 as Leslie Mosley again fired us to a 2-0 victory over Walsall before a real team performance vs Oxford saw us with 4 different goal scorers on the sheet in a 4-0 romp. Notts County halted our winning start and then we failed to capitalise on a good chance against Bradford, Freddie Ludlow missed a penalty within 10 minutes which might have got us going. Our 3rd draw and 2nd 0-0 in a row came against Grimsby – it seems as though we are hugely reliant on Leslie Mosley!

The most enthralling game of this save so far came against Barnet. Early on a terrible pass back by Danny McCallion gave them the lead in 2 minutes but we hit straight back with Max Ross capping a brilliant passing move. Then with 7 minutes on the clock Leslie Mosley made it 2-1 before Max Ross added a 3rd before 10 minutes had even passed. Ross then bagged his hat trick just before half time and Leslie Mosley joined him as a hat-trick hero with goals in the 46th and 50th minute. Freddie Ludlow and Spence Hall also got in on the act as we romped to an 8-2 win.

In slightly less entertaining fashion we beat Bury 1-0 to keep our unbeaten run going. Vs Carlisle we were in control of what was a very poor game, we were looking to take all 3 points until Scott Smith headed perfectly beyond the keeper and into the back of his own net. This, a player who has moaned at not playing has just scored a goal you’d be proud of, in his own net to cost us all 3 points. You could see tiredness was creeping in as we’d played 2 games a week, every week since the start of the season. The demanding fixture list finally took its toll as we didn’t show us away at Torquay and fell to our first defeat of the season.

- Sky Bet League 2 -

With 1 loss in 10 games we find ourselves in the play-off mix

Capital One Cup - Vs Championship side Rotherham United we dominated throughout and even after they took the lead early on we hit back and could have won it in added on time of normal time but Freddie Ludlow missed a penalty. He was given a chance to redeem himself in extra time which he did to fire us into the 2nd Round where we were beaten by a strong Bristol City side who were also in the Championship.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Vs Morecambe in we came from behind twice before Niklas Jensen saved a penalty late on to earn us a place in the Northern Area 2nd Round.

A Swift Summary

A solid start to the season in a yet-again tight league. I don't want to get ahead of myself as we had a similar start last year where it all went wrong but if we can hold onto leads and get more midfielders involved in the goalscoring action then we might have a serious chance of promotion. Still very early though.

[Bilbo Baggins]

Early days as you said but encouraging start. Mosley looks a real talent, blistering pace.

[HotChocolate]

Tranmere Rovers

Half Season 2022-2023

We started well against Preston as Leslie Mosley put us in the lead but they pulled one back to take a share of the spoils. We threw away more points against Woking after Dan Wright gave away a needless penalty and then Niklas Jensen actually watched the ball roll into the net rather than picking it up which he could have quite easily done. We managed to pull 1 back but that made it 4 without a win. This was followed by a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Stockport as I questioned whether our players had had bets on a Stockport win, we just didn’t get into their half and constantly let them take the ball off us with no challenge to win it back.

Fortunately we managed to hit back with wins against Chester, AFC Wimbledon and Cheltenham to re-establish our top 3 position. We then faced Plymouth in my 400th game of management. I can’t remember the last time we showed up and got a win against any team in the bottom 3/4. Plymouth took all 3 points after we gifted them 2 penalties for them to go 2-0 up.

Yet again we bounced back with a 2-1 win over Crewe and then another 2-1 win over Leyton Orient. Mentally the win against Orient was huge, as we didn’t particular dominate but we had a 2-0 lead just after the break. Then when Orient pulled a goal back in the 75th minute I thought it was going to be like last season where we’d throw away a 2 goal leads but we didn’t, we dealt with the pressure and defended well to keep all 3 points. The belief it was our season was there. We carried that belief into the Port Vale game as we waltzed to a 4-1 victory to close the gap on top of the league Preston.

Annoyingly we had plenty of chances against Newport County to make it 4 wins from 4 but we couldn't capitilize and had to settle for a point. Then against Chesterfield we were 3-0 down just after half time, we'd completely collapsed to them and seemingly were out of it. Liam McCarthy came on and managed to pull 2 goals back before their keeper pulled off a David Seaman like vs Paul Peschisolido save in the 93rd minute to take all 3 points. Fortunately we didn't let our heads drop and managed to get back to winning ways vs Morecambe.

- Sky Bet League 2 -

Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet

FA Cup - We faced League 1 MK Dons in the 1st Round. A solid performance in the 1st half saw us go into the break at 0-0 and then on 60 minutes I made a double substitution, Oli White & Leslie Mosley on. A minute later the 2 linked up brilliantly to put us 1-0 up. Only 9 minutes after our goal former player Jorell Howe levelled for MK Dons which made me make another tactical change, we went overload. I could see the opportunity of scoring a winner, we just needed more men up. And then in the 90th minute, my decision paid off, Freddie Ludlow buried to put us into the 2nd round! The team I relegated many moons ago Tamworth were the opponents in the 2nd Round, a frosty reception didn't effect us at all as we strolled to a 5-0 win and you'll never guess who we face in the 3rd Round, yep, a chance to take revenge for last season, Arsenal!

Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Thought we'd stumble against League 1 Shrewsbury but in reality we found it quite easy as we ran out 3-0 winners. Vs Doncaster neither team showed up and it’s only that they had an ageing Charlie Austin to get them a goal they beat us.

A Swift Summary

A solid run in the 1st half of the season sees us with a real shot of promotion but we're only 7 points clear of Notts County in 8th so we really need to be careful. We have an outside chance of the title but I can only see Preston cracking on and running away with it, but let's focus on the top 3 and not get ahead of ourselves.

A huge worry for the 2nd half of the season is Leslie Mosley wants to leave, he's heard West Ham are interested and I've agreed to sell him for the right price. Hopefully the interest wont come to anything but, with his form in the past few seasons it is fully understandable.

Couple of consortium takeovers: Coventry City & Morecambe. Awards: Freddie Ludlow won Player of the Month for September and I scooped Manager of the Month award for November. Transfers: Barney Wheatley came in on loan from Middlesbrough during October as we lost Niall Heaton for 4 months.

[MTM1977]

Looking good, hopefully you can keep the form until end of the season this time.

About Leslie Mosley situation. Whenever one of my players make the request to leave to team X, i always agree the same way you have.

Then i set his asking price to something really ridiculously high (if i don't actually want to sell him). So far that has worked, not a single time there has been a bid for a player in that situation.

[Jason the Yank]

This is the year. I can feel it.

[HotChocolate]

Tranmere Rovers

February/March 2022-2023

We really kicked on from the good start of the season. In January we managed to win 4 of our 5 league games to put us top of the league and win me Manager of the Month. I was actually disappointed to drop points against Notts County! The bad news of the month though was that against Oxford we'd lost Max Ross for the season with a broken leg.

We started February with a 1-1 draw at home to Bradford City. I hadn't found the best player to replace Box to Box midfielder Max Ross and we were struggling to create without him as it was an 88th minute penalty that earned us the point. This left us 4 points clear of nearest rivals Preston North End, who we faced next. We started brilliantly as a long punt forward found Freddie Ludlow free in the area to head it on, upwards and over the keeper. Then just before half time Spence Hall cut in from the wing, hit the ball low and hard towards goal and a lucky deflection off the keeper helped it on its way into the back of the net, 2-0 up at half time, the dressing room was full of energy. Neptune pulled a goal back for them in the 2nd and there was time for an equalizer, fortunately, we defended well and rather than them threatening it was us coming close twice. A 3rd goal wasn't required as we held on for all 3 points in a huge, huge victory.

We should have probably done more damage to Barnet as they were down to 10 men after 3 minutes when Giles White picked up 2 yellow cards and then down to 9 men late on as another double yellow cost them. Our incredible run continued against Grimsby and Bury as we picked up a 2-1 and 3-1 win respectively.

We lost our unbeaten run to http://i.imgur.com/YGUJwDG.png but in truth, we've not played brilliantly since losing Max Ross late January so to have remained unbeaten throughout shows true quality. The defeat wasn't enough to stop me from picking up Manager of the Month for the 2nd month running though. We've started March with a 1-1 draw at home to Torquay and I'm just hoping we can pick up a win in our next game against Woking to make sure we don't throw it away in the last 10 games.

- Sky Bet League 2 -

A position we fully deserve

FA Cup - We faced Arsenal in the 3rd Round looking to get revenage for last year and started well as we had the first chance of the game. Lovely interchange play between Oli White and Leslie Mosley gave White a great opportunity but he could only fire wide. Max Ross then fired over from the edge of the area but the pressure continued as we won a corner moments later. Unfortunately we conceded possession and let Arsenal break to take the lead through Mauro Icardi. Another corner gave Mosley the chance to level but he headed just over. Niklas Jensen made a double save just before half time to keep us in the game. Tyler Hudson put Arsenal 2-0 up just after the break and Jensen then pulled off 4 marvellous saves in the space of a minute to keep the score at 2-0. Freddie Ludlow blew the chance to put us back in the game as he missed a sitter. However, minutes later we were back in it, a lovely break forward left Stephen Wright with a simple tap in. We were really showing Arsenal up as only 5 minutes after the goal Spence Hall had a fantastic opportunity to level but he blazed his shot over. We kept the pressure on and as Stephen Wright found space to put Liam McCarthy in he was cool and calm to send the Tranmere fans (and me) into raptures as he brought the game level at 2-2 with 25 minutes left! Arsenal really then woke up and started playing but we were defending magnificently well. A lucky break gave The Gunners the lead again as a wonderful sliding challenge left the ball rolling to Aaron Ramsey on the edge of the area and with the keeper out of position due to the sliding tackle Ramsey fired into the almost empty net. We thought we’d equalized moments later but Spence Halls effort was ruled out for offside. Then McCarthy really tested Nicholls in goal with a bending free-kick before Wright forced Nicholls into an outstretched diving save. Arsenal then had a goal ruled out for offside before Oxlade Chamberlin took advantage of us throwing men forward to seal the win. There was time for Niklas Jensen to pull off one more fantastic save before the final whistle blew and the game finished Arsenal 4 Tranmere Rovers 2.

A Swift Summary

Our Youth Candidates are not even going to be signed but I don't expect any world beaters to come through soon as I focus more on signing young players.

Crawley Town in the Conference have now been taken over by a consortium and I was offered an interview by Walsall who were 10th in League 2.

There are 10 games of the season left and to use a common footballing cliché, lets take it one game at a time. Promotion and the title are in our hands but we all know how great at bottling it I am.

[Rikulec]

Fantastic form, promotion seems just about clinched now!

[Bilbo Baggins]

Superb form.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Great form, looking like the right decision to stay

[deltablue]

Good one, what's happening at Blackburn out of interest?

[HotChocolate]

Fantastic form, promotion seems just about clinched now!

It's not over till the fat lady sings.

Superb form.

Great form, looking like the right decision to stay

In the long run perhaps it was!

Good one, what's happening at Blackburn out of interest?

I'd seen something about a consortium planning a takeover but can't specifically remember if it came off. However, they did get promoted this season after avoiding relegation last year when they offered me the job.

[HotChocolate]

Tranmere Rovers

Promotion Push 2022-2023

We had 10 games of the season left to seal promotion and hopefully crown the season off by becoming Champions.

Against Woking we started brightly going 1-0 up early on through Freddie Ludlow but they managed to pull a goal back before half time to send us into the break nervy. A no-pressure team talk did the job though as we went out in the 2nd and played some good football to earn us a close 2-1 victory. Back at Preton Park in front of nearly 8,500 I thought we could continue on from the performance at Woking to take us another step closer to promotion. Unfortunately, we were held to a 0-0 draw but, it was still another point on the board. On the road we again put in another great performance as we romped to a 4-0 victory over Chester with 2 goals from Leslie Mosley and Spence Hall.

The win against Chester meant all we needed to do was beat AFC Wimbledon and we would be promoted. However, we had both Stephen Wright and Niklas Jensen out on international duty and the last time my reserve keeper played we got dumped 4-0. We didn't even let the pressure come close to us as Stefan O'Connor headed in for his 3rd goal of the season within 3 minutes. Then Spence Hall made it 2-0 on 24 minutes after Wimbledon failed to clear their lines. We rolled into the 2nd half brimming with confidence, Soraff almost made it 3 as his long-range shot rattled the crossbar before Hall's 2nd of the game sealed the win to let the promotion party start. Soraff rounded off a fine performance with another long-range shot, this time his shot found the top corner. Freddie Ludlow tried to get in on the action but he was also denied by the woodwork late on. Shortly after Walker didn't collect an easy ball which let Wimbledon grab a consolation but we didn't care, we were going up!

Determined to win the title we coasted past Cheltenham 3-0 and then headed down to Plymouth Argyle for Good Friday. And Good Friday turned out to be Great Friday as Leslie Mosley fired us to a 3-1 win that meant we could no longer be caught by the chasing pack - 4 games left and we were already Champions!

We were going for 100+ points and in front of a large home crowd we yet again turned on the style to breeze past Crewe Alexendra 3-0. Unfortunately, we let ourselves down after that. The players had seemingly gone into holiday mode and poor performances in the final 3 games meant we came away with just 1 point from 9. Shame not to break the 100 points mark but who cares, 3 years in the making we were Champions!

- Sky Bet League 2 -

Championies, championies ole ole ole

A Swift Summary

We didn't bottle it!

A tremendous run meant we wrapped up promotion with 6 games left and the title with 4 games left.

The board obviously want me to stay after a fantastic, unexpected promotion but for now I'm turning down contract talks. Again, it's just to see what comes up as I'm happy to stay given no better opportunity is available. So far the only offer I've had is Falkirk...

We scooped a couple of awards, Spence Hall won Player of the Month for March with Freddie Ludlow coming runner-up and winning Young Player of the Month. Leslie Mosley won Player of the Month for April.

P.s. has anyone ever seen this? Burton Albion & Blackpool are due to play their last game a couple of days after everyone else...

[Rikulec]

I told you it was going to be your year.

[Bilbo Baggins]

Going up! Great job on promotion.

[HotChocolate]

I told you it was going to be your year.

Going up! Great job on promotion.

Turned out to be quite easy in the end.

[HotChocolate]

Tranmere Rovers

Season Review 2022-2023

Sky Bet League 2 - A fantastic league season saw us crowned Champions with 4 games left!

Sky Bet League 2 (Salary Per Annum) - We budgeted mid-table as per the expectations and managed to succeed massively!

FA Cup - A great win away at League 1 MK Dons in the 1st Round was followed by a thrashing of former team Tamworth before an unbelievable game saw us beaten 4-2 by Arsenal who knock us out of the 3rd Round for the 2nd year running.

Capital One Cup - A winner in extra time against Championship side Rotherham saw us into the 2nd Round where we were beaten by a much better Championship team in the form of Bristol City.

Johnstones Paint Trophy - 2 wins at home against Morecambe and League 1 Shrewsbury meant we faced Doncaster Rovers in the Northern Area Quarter Final, unfortunately they nicked the only goal in a drap match that put us out.

Squad - 3 years in the making this squad has been built around the 4-2-3-1 formation and required everyone to put a shift in as we rotated the players throughout the entire season. Stefan O'Connor was the only ever-present in the team starting all 54 games. The youthfulness of our players gives me hope that if we stay up next year we could be onto something good.

Under 21's - Champions for a 2nd time!

Under 18's - Improvement on 8th last year as we finished 4th.

Finances - We've got a couple of loans outstanding and don't have any budget to improve facilities but they're secure so I have no complaints.

Key Players

Stefan O'Connor CB - An ever-present for the season with an average rating of 7.16 Stefan was solid at the back.

Max Ross CM - Again Max Ross finds himself amongst key players, with 4 goals and 7 assists before he got injured half way through the season with a broken leg.

Freddie Ludlow AMC - 11 goals and 11 assists was what Freddie Ludlow managed last year, 15 goals and 14 assists was his record this year in his 2nd year on-loan.

Leslie Mosley ST - After 2 seasons of bagging 33 goals Leslie went 8 better this year with a total of 41 goals.

A Swift Summary

A fantastic season where we couldn't really have asked for more! We had to constantly rotated the team but everyone chipped in all over the park and it kept the players fresh and happy with the level of football they were achieving.

Keeper Niklas Jensen, defender Stefan O'Connor, midfielder Freddie Ludlow and striker Leslie Mosley also made Sky Bet League 2 team of the year. Mosley was actually beaten to top goal scorer by Neptune of Preston North End!

Job wise: Again I'm waiting to see what jobs become available, I am happy at Tranmere and will sign a new contract if I don't get offered a big role but with a couple of managers under pressure like at Sheffield Wednesday (in League 1) I'm waiting to see if I can get that 'sleeping giant' job. Stevenage approached me along with Burton Albion but I turned both of them down.

Good news: Boreham Wood won the Vanarama Conference Play-Off Final to be promoted to League 2!

Season		Team			League			Pos	FA Cup		League Cup	FA Trophy/JPT	Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014/2015	Hednesford Town		Conference North	8th	4th Qual Rnd	-		1st Round	Took over in October
[i]2015/2016	Hednesford Town		Conference North	-	-		-		-		Sacked in August[/i]
2015/2016	Tamworth		Conference North	21st	-		-		3rd Qual Rnd	Took over November, Relegated
2016/2017	Boreham Wood		Conference South	2nd	3rd Qual Rnd	-		3rd Qual Rnd	Lost in Play-Off Final
2017/2018	Boreham Wood		Conference South	6th	2nd Qual Rnd	-		2nd Round	-
2018/2019	Boreham Wood		Conference South	1st	3rd Qual Rnd	-		2nd Round	Promoted as Champions!
2019/2020	Boreham Wood		Conference		5th	1st Round	-		3rd Round	Lost in Play-Off Semi Finals
2020/2021	Tranmere Rovers		Sky Bet League 2	6th	3rd Round	2nd Round	2nd Round	Lost in Play-Off Final
2021/2022	Tranmere Rovers		Sky Bet League 2	10th	3rd Round	2nd Round	2nd Round	-
2022/2023	Tranmere Rovers		Sky Bet League 2	1st	3rd Round	2nd Round	3rd Round	Promoted as Champions!

[HotChocolate]

With no good 'sleeping giant' opportunities available I was happy to sign a new deal at Tranmere for another year

Tranmere Rovers

Pre-Season 2023-2024

Friendlies - An almost perfect pre-season schedule as we beat the odds against Brentford and Ludogorets but just didn't show up at Wycombe.

Squad - We've kept the squad quite steady as no major overhaul was required. We've got enough in each department to keep us safe if we pick up any injuries and the quality is hopefully there to make sure we have enough points come the end of the season. Leslie Mosley has been my star striker the past 3 seasons scoring an amazing 107 goals but with the rise of Liam McCarthy who we signed on a free a couple of years ago I'm going to have to rotate the 2 to keep them happy. Fortunately, before he's 'broke the mould' we managed to tie him to a 5-year contract!

Transfers - Niklas Jensen comes back on loan from Liverpool for the 4th season running and Freddie Ludlow is on loan for his 3rd year running. Barney Wheatley was on loan in the 2nd half of last season and as his contract was up we managed to sign him on a free. Sam Clark comes in as a youth prospect and will hopefully go out on loan for experience whilst Nathan Mullings replaces Jordan Walker as my back-up keeper. Matt Soraff was released initially after his contract expired but my scouts picked him back up and as he agreed to be back-up we re-signed him. Stephen Hughes also came in on loan from Manchester City to challenge for a first team slot whilst Johnny King & Christian Oliver were signed as young, promising prospects to operate as back-up. Outgoings: we released all the expiring contracts of the youth, they weren't worth keeping and then Stephen Wright was sold to league rivals Sheffield Wednesday for a deal worth £350k that could rise to beyond £500k - I wasn't looking to sell but after negotiating that deal I was more than happy as we'd signed him for free the other season and he was only a back-up! I'm glad we sold him after the way he spoke to me as he left as well.

Expectations

Sky Bet League 1 - Mid-table finish

FA Cup - 3rd Round

Capital One Cup - 2nd Round

Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Not important

A Swift Summary

Okay so the board want us to finish mid-table when we are predicted 23rd. Now I think this is a mistake by me as I accepted the boards current vision whilst in League 2, which was to reach mid-table and after signing the new deal I wasn't allowed to choose expectations to adjust budgets. My aim is just to stay up and if the board aren't happy with that, tough.

I tried getting the board to improve the training facilities but there's just not enough money in the bank. Which I appreciate but it is disappointing as we have some great prospects that could benefit from it.

I had a fantastic opportunity to manage Australia after they approached me out of the blue and although I'd love to jump into international management at some point, just not yet.

[Bilbo Baggins]

Best of luck for the new season.

[MTM1977]

Congrats on the promotion and hope you have a good season in League 1!

[Nobby_McDonald]

Great effort Choc.

[HotChocolate]

Best of luck for the new season.

Congrats on the promotion and hope you have a good season in League 1!

Great effort Choc.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[HotChocolate]

Tranmere Rovers

Early Season 2023-2024

We started our League One campaign with a 4-2 defeat to Mansfield, the way we easily conceded goals was worrying but we bounced back against Exeter to take our first points of the season. Then against Sheffield Wednesday we went 1-0 up through Derek Holt early on before he lunged in 2-footed to earn himself a very early bath. Wednesday hit back with 2 goals before a tactical change earned us a point through super sub Liam McCarthy.

The way we came back seemed to breath life into us as we went to beat Luton Town 2-1 at Prenton Park. We started poorly against Swindon however as we found ourselves 2-0 down within the opening 25 minutes but we managed to pull a goal back to make it 2-1 at half time and then turned it around in the 2nd half to take all 3 points with a fantastic 3-2 win. We kicked on from these 2 wins to beat near rivals Blackpool 1-0 at Bloomfield Road before putting 4 past MK Dons.

A narrow defeat to Birmingham saw our unbeaten run come to an end before 2 home draws almost cost us an early place in the play-offs. It was disappointing to not take all 3 points as we found ourselves 2-0 up with just 15 minutes left.

- Sky Bet League 2 -

Fantastic start to life in League 1

Capital One Cup - We faced Barnsley in the 1st Round and it wasn’t a great start as they took the lead after 12 seconds from our kick off. Liam McCarthy equalized 7 minutes later but Barnsley re-took the lead on 12 minutes. New signing Christian Oliver made it 2-2 before the break but moments later Ben Hannock grabbed his hat-trick to make it 3-2. And it was 4-2 before 40 minutes. Barnsley carried on their dominance in the 2nd half as they bagged another 2 goals to make it 6-2 in the end.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy - A 1-0 defeat to League 2 Port Vale sees us out at the 1st Round.

A Swift Summary

What a start to the campaign, I was very worried initially after losing 4-2 to Mansfield and then 6-2 to Barnsley in the Capital One Cup but we've bounced back magnificently to put ourselves clear of the drop.

Leslie Mosley has broken the all-time league goalscorer for Tranmere Rovers after netting an impressive 143 goals whilst Liam McCarthy has scooped Player of the Month for September.

Middlesbrough in the Championship sacked Chris Powell after 1 game of the season - something I've never seen before!

[Rikulec]

Great start, keep it up.

[Bilbo Baggins]

Solid form early on, hopefully you can maintain it.

[HotChocolate]

Great start, keep it up.

Solid form early on, hopefully you can maintain it.

Indeed, we've nailed it so far.

When I downloaded a data update Alex Neil was sacked as Norwich boss three days into the save (obviously still in the summer). It was like the database just could not accept him holding that position!

Great progress with Tranmere, certainly better than how the side are currently doing...

How odd, I assume the Boro manager was given some form of points tally to achieve and it meant not losing!

[HotChocolate]

Tranmere Rovers

Half Season 2023-2024

Wow, wow and wow. An absolutely storming run that came out of nowhere.

A 3-0 defeat to Portsmouth seemed understandable at the time but now looking at that, it makes you wonder how we did lose it! We won 7 in a row as we absolutely battered some teams and were kind enough to keep the score line respectable. At no point have we ever seemed in danger of losing, the counter attacking style of play is perfect for the young quick team that we have.

We won 3 games away on the bounce before beating Oldham Athletic 3-1 to put us top of the league. After stumbling slightly at home to Mansfield we then threw away a 2 goal lead against Gillingham which was frustrating but another 2-0 win vs Bolton Wanderers leaves us clear at the top and looking very strong.

- Sky Bet League 2 -

Stuff dreams are made of

FA Cup - A 3-0 win over Grantham in the 1st Round was followed by a narrow victory at home to Plymouth which leaves us with Middlesbrough away in the 3rd Round.

A Swift Summary

Transfer news: Vinny McCabe has been signed as his contract ended in the Irish league, he comes in to take the RB position and will allow Dylan Rees to go if the right offer comes in.

Squad: They're an unbelievable bunch of players. Goals are coming from left, right and centre and the defence are keeping teams out with ease. The rotation system has worked a treat throughout the midfield and strikers and I can't remember ever being in control of such a dominating team. Liam McCarthy is just unbelievable, he's rated as a good Premier League striker and we managed to sign him on a free then sign him to a 5-year contract.

Job news: David Moyes has taken over at erm, Northampton Town. West Brom sacked their manager and bookies made me favourites (no offer of an interview came) & it was a similar story at Leeds United.

However, bombshell: I'd been keeping tabs on the Sheffield Wednesday job for a while and after being under pressure all season they finally had enough and sacked him. I applied, impressed in my interview and got offered the job:

For those that do not know, I am a die-hard Sheffield United fan and stupidly follow them round the country every game

I've already made my mind up of what my decision will be (and it took some deliberating again!) but I'm intrigued, what would you do?

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Tranmere Rovers flying high in League 1 looking like promotion should be ours with our fine form.

or

Sheffield Wednesday mid-table of League 1 but a huge sleeping giant and one I feel I could stay with for some seasons.

[Murrayzoster]

I would stay and win the title at Tranmere!

[jackyb1989]

I agree, another promotion could give your reputation a real boost and possibly get you a bigger job where you can bring some of your players with you (like McCarthy)

I like Wednesday as a team to play on FM, but I think you've got Tranmere in a stronger position.

[KDR]

Honestly? I'd walk to Sheffield to take either the Utd or Wednesday job. Huge potential. (And I quite liked the city on my one and only visit, despite the [Richard]head outside Brammall Lane who wanted a fight. I laughed in his face, walked round him and left the chuckle[brother] to it.)

So, personally...I'd take the job. Unless I was a Blades fan, in which case I presume I'd rather eat a snot kebab.

[Bilbo Baggins]

I'd stick with Tranmere. That said, a save with a rival of your irl team can be fun... for a little while. I had an FM14 save with Tottenham that was enjoyable for about two seasons, but then the realisation of who I was managing hit me and I lost all interest in carrying on. Beware!

[Rikulec]

You've achieved great things at Tranmere, but I'd say Sheffield Wednesday are a much bigger club and a better base to build on. I'd take the job.

[HotChocolate]

I would stay and win the title at Tranmere!

I agree, another promotion could give your reputation a real boost and possibly get you a bigger job where you can bring some of your players with you (like McCarthy)

I like Wednesday as a team to play on FM, but I think you've got Tranmere in a stronger position.

Honestly? I'd walk to Sheffield to take either the Utd or Wednesday job. Huge potential. (And I quite liked the city on my one and only visit, despite the [Richard]head outside Brammall Lane who wanted a fight. I laughed in his face, walked round him and left the chuckle[brother] to it.)

So, personally...I'd take the job. Unless I was a Blades fan, in which case I presume I'd rather eat a snot kebab.

I'd stick with Tranmere. That said, a save with a rival of your irl team can be fun... for a little while. I had an FM14 save with Tottenham that was enjoyable for about two seasons, but then the realisation of who I was managing hit me and I lost all interest in carrying on. Beware!

You've achieved great things at Tranmere, but I'd say Sheffield Wednesday are a much bigger club and a better base to build on. I'd take the job.

All is about to be revealed...

[HotChocolate]

Sheffield Wednesday

January 2023-2024

I played out 2 final games at Tranmere Rovers after Wednesday agreed to delay for a week, I was still undecided at the time whether to stay or go and beating Middlesbrough 2-0 in the FA Cup 3rd Round definitely didn't help my decision! However, a defeat to Exeter in the league ended our unbeaten run and woke me up to the realisation that if the season didn't end with promotion from this position, I would regret not going to Sheffield Wednesday.

So with a very heavy heart I decided to move. I felt as though I'd broke the ceiling with Tranmere, we were massively overachieving and I felt that leaving the club (http://i.imgur.com/MrnXsPi.png)"]top of League 1 I could walk away proud. Sheffield Wednesday is a whole new ball game, pressure, expectation, 39,000 seater stadium and the fact that I'm a boyhood Sheffield United fan adds to excitement. I've been looking out for a 'sleeping giant' for a few seasons and I've landed one of the biggest in my opinion.

So here is what I arrive to:

Squad - I can see why they're not doing so well! It's not been built with any idea in mind, they were the biggest spenders in the summer transfer window and have quite clearly overspent on a lot. I wasn't planning on changing the squad too much in the January transfer window but after taking a look, I may have to.

Expectations - Knocked out of all cups on my arrival but fortunately they only expect mid-table from me this season.

Finances - We're healthy and have a good few million in the bank. I told the board during my interview I wouldn't need such a big transfer and wage budget but I still have £2m along with £100k p/w wage to spend.

Facilities - Quite good facilities but at some point the youth will be needed to be upgraded as I would hope to start producing 1st team players at some point in the future.

Under 21's - No real prospects of note, I'm sure this will be a lot different in the next year or two.

Under 18's - Nothing to shout about but as our youth facilities aren't up to scratch I wouldn't expect too much at this stage.

A Swift Summary

Exciting times ahead, I did really struggle to make the decision given we were top of the league and looking good for promotion but the lure of the sleeping giant was too much.

I feel the fact I'm a Sheffield United support in real life adds to the excitement and anticipation but I'd also like to point out that I'm not a 'hate Wednesday' supporter (until derby day comes!) call me old fashioned but I'd love to see both Sheffield clubs (and Yorkshire clubs for that matter) do well.

[Rikulec]

Good decision.

[Bilbo Baggins]

Moving on up.

[HotChocolate]

Sheffield Wednesday

End of January Transfer Window 2023-2024

In an amazing twist of fate my first game for Sheffield Wednesday was away at Tranmere Rovers where we got soundly beaten 4-0. A win in my first home match vs Fleetwood restored a bit of confidence but we lost out on the road again 1-0 to Colchester.

The results aren't important just right now, I'm updating due to the amount of activity in the transfer window. Initially I wasn't going to touch the squad much, just expected to play the season out and look into an overhaul during the summer but the performances haven't given me hope. So it was to the market I went.

Transfers

Usually I'm not a big spender but I feel the money I've spent is justifiable and I'll be looking to build the players to be worth much more than what I signed them for

Taye Oladele - On loan from Reading initially to be a first team player but given other signings he'll be utilised as a back-up.

Michael Walsh - Free agent signing to offer competition predominately on the right wing.

Sean Brady - First of my 6 transfer deadline day signings. Young striker from Yeovil Town, his finishing really stood out to me as we look for a striker that can grab goals week in, week out.

Gareth Barrett - Young CB who came in as a prospect for the future.

Kenny McCarthy - Signed up as a young free agent who can operate out on the left or up front.

Joe Morrissey - £300k fee for this 18 year old Irish Striker from Cork City who offers a lot of potential as well as current ability.

Christy McLoughlin - Spent 1 million on 2 players from Shamrock Rovers, McLoughlin offers a good option at RB and hopefully will grow into a solid first team player.

Sean Brennan - My other signing from Shamrock Rovers, a midfielder who I tracked at Tranmere Rovers and tried to sign when his contract ended just a few weeks ago in December.

Outgoing: Ashley Smith-Brown - A full back who offered a good choice but ultimately was on too much wage for his quality and so, he had to go.

A Swift Summary

A very busy transfer window where I could have also signed Matthew Cox and Tim Levingston but pulled out at the last minute after deciding they weren't needed given how large the squad has got.

No expectations for the rest of the season, just going to try and bed the signings in now, look to sort out outgoing transfers as we have around 10 players transfer listed and make sure we don't get involved in the relegation fight.

[Nobby_McDonald]

The Blade has become an Owl.

I'm sure you're fellow away fans at your next trip would be interested to know you now manage your rivals in FM.

[HotChocolate]

Sheffield Wednesday

Second half of Season 2023-2024

Above is all the games I managed from taking over Sheffield Wednesday in January. We got off to a fabulous start, I mean err, not a fabulous start as we were hammered 4-0 at Prenton Park by Tranmere Rovers.

Things didn't improve as I was trying to bed new signings in, we lost 3 of my opening 4 games and only won 2 out of my first 6.

After a resounding 4-1 win over Preston North End we managed to kick on and pick up a bit of form going 5 unbeaten and winning 4 of them. The patchy, inconsistent performances came back though as we lost 2-0 to Bournemouth and 1-0 to Mansfield before 2 successive 1-1 draws with Hartlepool and Luton Town.

Again we picked up our form for the final few games of the season and almost managed to squeeze into the top of the table but just fell short. All-in-all it was a end of season as I expected, inconsistent form merited by the fact we'd had an overhaul throughout the season and the young squad was now trying to fit into Sheffield life and the style of play.

Sky Bet League 1

No complaints either way

A Swift Summary

I didn't expect anything more from our end of season run in. We'd made a good number of signings during January that needed to settle in and adopt the style of play we're going for. And it's a good job we spent up in January as we've not been given a budget next year!

The Youth Candidates are also nothing to shout about.

The good news is that Tranmere didn't fail without me and went on to win the league. On the downside, Boreham Wood battled bravely against relegation but didn't have enough to stay up in their first season of league football.

[HotChocolate]

Sheffield Wednesday

End of Season Review 2023-2024

Squad/Transfers - Former manager John Sheridan had a bit of an overhaul during the summer and then when I joined in January I went through a mini overhaul. The squad was good enough for what we needed in the final stages of the season but with a good number transfer listed I'll be looking at yet another overhaul for next season. Fortunately, we brought in promising young players that have now had a good half season under their belt ready for the next campaign.

Expectations - It didn't go very well for John Sheridan getting knocked out of all 3 cups before my arrival. We managed to earn the mid-table finish that was required but we'll be kicking on next season I hope.

Finances - Joined when they had 5 million in the bank a few signings and few months later we were down to a couple hundred thousands. Fortunately we've had a few incomings from finishing position etc that have boosted back-up to 2 million.

Under 21's - No ability and little potential for the first team but finished runners-up after a helping hand from the first team.

Under 18's - No stand out prospects but they did manage to finish 3rd in the league.

Key Players

Sean Brady - Having only been at the club 5 months there aren't many players that I'd class as key. However, January signing Sean Brady from Yeovil Town bagged a impressive 13 goals in 14 starts. Here's hoping he is my 20-30 goals a season striker!

Sky Bet League 1

No complaints either way

A Swift Summary

I didn't expect anything more from our end of season run in. We'd made a good number of signings during January that needed to settle in and adopt the style of play we're going for. And it's a good job we spent up in January as we've not been given a budget next year!

The Youth Candidates are also nothing to shout about.

The good news is that Tranmere didn't fail without me and went on to win the league. On the downside, Boreham Wood battled bravely against relegation but didn't have enough to stay up in their first season of league football.

Season		Team			League			Pos	FA Cup		League Cup	FA Trophy/JPT	Notes
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2014/2015	Hednesford Town		Conference North	8th	4th Qual Rnd	-		1st Round	Took over in October
[i]2015/2016	Hednesford Town		Conference North	-	-		-		-		Sacked in August[/i]
2015/2016	Tamworth		Conference North	21st	-		-		3rd Qual Rnd	Took over November, Relegated
2016/2017	Boreham Wood		Conference South	2nd	3rd Qual Rnd	-		3rd Qual Rnd	Lost in Play-Off Final
2017/2018	Boreham Wood		Conference South	6th	2nd Qual Rnd	-		2nd Round	-
2018/2019	Boreham Wood		Conference South	1st	3rd Qual Rnd	-		2nd Round	Promoted as Champions!
2019/2020	Boreham Wood		Conference		5th	1st Round	-		3rd Round	Lost in Play-Off Semi Finals
2020/2021	Tranmere Rovers		Sky Bet League 2	6th	3rd Round	1st Round	2nd Round	Lost in Play-Off Final
2021/2022	Tranmere Rovers		Sky Bet League 2	10th	3rd Round	2nd Round	2nd Round	-
2022/2023	Tranmere Rovers		Sky Bet League 2	1st	3rd Round	2nd Round	3rd Round	Promoted as Champions!
[i]2023/2024	Tranmere Rovers		Sky Bet League 1	-	4th Round	1st Round	1st Round	Left in January top of the league[/i]
2023/2024	Sheffield Wednesday	Sky Bet League 1	13th	-		-		-		Joined in January

[deltablue]

Very surprising move, especially considering the timing.

[DavidBeckham]

Good luck at Sheffield Wednesday mate!

[HotChocolate]

Very surprising move, especially considering the timing.

I agree it was surprising!

Good luck at Sheffield Wednesday mate!

Cheers.

[HotChocolate]

Sheffield Wednesday

Pre-Season 2024-2025

Friendlies - A very comfortable pre-season which consisted of playing local teams before hosting Manchester United at home where we were comfortably beaten.

Transfers - Another overhaul where we signed at least 15 new players for the 1st team. All frees apart from Kenniel Allen who we had to adjust the budgets to sign. Money was made in outgoings where for the 2nd time in this career I sold Stephen Wright.

Squad - A large squad where I think we have enough defenders to last us a lifetime. With no players over the age of 24 we're primarily focused on youth and building for the future but I'm quietly confident we have enough ability to meet the board expectation of play-offs. I have got a fair number of these players on the loan-list and do hope to receive bids for them in the coming weeks.

Under 21's - Again no players to hugely shout about just at this moment but Jacob Kemp could become useful in a few years if he reaches his potential.

Under 18's - Just Michael Wiley and John Lawson with potential but from previous experience youngsters in the lower league never reach their full potential.

Finances - We're back up to 5 million which is nice, there is room in the wage budget still in case we require it so hopefully I should be able to keep the bank in-check.

Expectations

Sky Bet League 1 - Reach Play-Off

FA Cup - 3rd Round

Capital One Cup - 2nd Round

Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Not Important

A Swift Summary

I'm hopeful but wary this year, we've had an overhaul of the team which could hinder us at the beginning whilst we gel and find out best 11.

Play-Offs would be good, promotion would be great but ultimately if we're still in League 1 come next season it's not a disaster. A run in any of the cups would be lovely as I've struggled to form any sort of performances in the cup previously.

Finally, Hereford United have been bought so I'll look out for their probably rise.

[True Blade]

Huge potential in that squad, good luck fella