FM16: The Past is the Future

[Nottingham Forest]

Hadn't actually thought about counting.

[Nottingham Forest]

Season Four

2018-19 Season

August-December

Middlesbrough

League

Our first 3 games of the season meant a trip to London followed by games against the 2 Welsh sides. Millwall were the side we visited in London and much like our game a couple of months before, no side took control of the game and it eventually finished 0-0. Against Swansea we followed exactly the same process as we did against Millwall. Neither side looked like they wanted to win and again we played another drab 0-0. The match against Cardiff City was a bit more of a lively one. We took the lead through Jordan Rhodes on 9 minutes before he doubled our lead just a minute into the second half. Unfortunately for us that seemed to kick Cardiff into life as they pulled one back through Will Keane on the hour mark before they grabbed an equaliser with 17 minutes remaining. Our next 7 matches saw us pick up 16 points from a possible 21 as we secured good wins against Barnsley, Ipswich Town, Leeds United, Sheffield United and Burnley. Due to the fixtures coming thick and fast I believe that contributed to us only being able to pick up a point against Bolton Wanderers. The only defeat in that spell came against Birmingham City who had David Cotterill to thank as he grabbed a 90th minute winner.

As with most of my teams we're extremely inconsistent at times. The 5 games after the Bolton draw were against West Brom, Brentford, Fulham, Sunderland and Hull City. Against West Brom we just didn't show up as they beat us 3-1 with Jordan Rhodes getting our only goal. Brentford were next up and we were the better side as we lead through goals from Jordan Rhodes and Liam Palmer. Unfortunately we just couldn't hang on. Our next trip was to London to play Fulham at Craven Cottage. Harry Chapman put us into an early lead but Fulham fought back. Going into half-time we found ourselves 3-2 down. My team-talk didn't work as Fulham stormed out in the second half to score 3 more goals to beat us 6-2. A trip to the Stadium of Light to face fierce rivals Sunderland awaited us and it appeared we were still hungover from our 6-2 drubbing from Fulham. Sunderland raced into a 3-0 lead which turned into 4 shortly after half-time. My team-talk at half-time must have worked as a couple of minutes after their 4th, we managed to grab 1 back through an own goal. Young winger Neil Lowson then grabbed a brace with goals on 56 and 58 minutes. Lowson should have grabbed his hat-trick just 2 minutes later but hit the post before Jordan Rhodes, Craig Clay and Lowson all missed clear cut chances. We just couldn't find the equaliser as we lost in a 4-3 thriller. The final loss came against Hull City in a game where we never showed up.

Between the 6th November and the 29th December we managed to pick up 6 wins from 9. The first 2 of those came against promotion chasing Rotherham United and Brighton & Hove Albion. Against Rotherham I decided to tweak our style slightly and whilst we didn't concede, we didn't look like scoring either. However, in the 81st minute, substitute Éder capitalised on a mistake by the defence to get us the winner and our first win in 7 games. Brighton visited the Riverside next as they occupied 3rd in the table. Once again I tweaked our we were playing as we dropped from attacking to balanced. This seemed to work a treat as Ben Gibson and Stewart Downing put us 3 up inside the first 25 minutes. Éder grabbed his second in as many games with our 4th just after the restart. Brighton grabbed one but it made no difference. A trip to struggling managerless Aston Villa meant there was only going to be one result. They played us off the park as they recorded a comfortable 3-0 win. Our next 3 matches saw us pick up 3 wins and 3 clean sheets. Against Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers we dominated as we scored 7 goals. The match against Sheffield Wednesday was a bit more of a nervy affair as they had been doing well. Sean Kavanagh got the winner in comedy fashion after just 7 minutes as he passed the ball into the box only to see the keeper run past the ball as it trickled into the net. In the Christmas schedule we lost twice to Wolves and picked up a good win against Wigan Athletic.



In the league we currently occupy 9th place. With just 22 games to go we're just 2 points outside the play-off spots and if we can become a little more consistent I don't see why we can't grab one of them.



Capital One Cup

We drew Burton Albion in the 1st round of the Capital One Cup and we required penalties to get past them. Jordan Rhodes put us in front after 31 minutes only for them to equalise late on. Despite being the better side we just couldn't grab the winner. Against Stoke City we never showed up and the quality from them shone through as they secured a comfortable 2-0 win.



Star Players

Most of the squad have been performing well and all are in with a shout of being apart of this. However, there are 2 players that require a special mention. They form part of my midfield trio and the fact that they often play every game is proof that they are integral to the way we play. Those 2 players are Craig Clay and Grant Leadbitter. Craig doesn't get that many goals or assists but he seems to link the midfield and attack well which enables us to create chances. Grant on the otherhand uses his experience to pick his passes and helps maintain a steady balance between attack and defence. There have been games where we've been winning 2-1 and the opposition start to kick on and I've been concerned. Only for Grant to wang one in from 30 yards which wins us the game.

Finances

Our finances have taken a little bit of a hit but we're still in a good position as we go into the second half of the season.



Other News

Ben Gibson, Jack Stephens, Dael Fry and Craig Clay have all signed new deals. Clay signed a new deal after I persuaded him to sack his agent as he was pushing for a new deal. The board agreed to planned youth facility works and upgraded our scouting range. They also increased our transfer revenue retained percentage. In the FA Cup we've been drawn at home to play Stoke City live on tele. I've managed to complete my national A licence and immediately requested to go on the continental C licence which the board agreed to. We also saw Mouhamadou Kom join the club for £750k before he was loaned back out to his former club for the season.

The board proposed contract talks just before new year after they'd rejected my request on 2 occasions. I tried to get rid of develop players using the club's youth system but they refused. I still signed a new contract to remain at the club until the end of the 2020 season.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Progressing well from last season.

[Nottingham Forest]

Progressing well from last season.

Yeah we're going well. Small steps and I have a 5 year plan to get the club stabilised in the PL.

[Nottingham Forest]

Season Four

2018-19 Season

January-May

Middlesbrough

League

After our defeat to Wolves on the 29th, we went into the new year with a match against Millwall. Harry Chapman got our goal in the 41st minute but much like the game earlier in the season it finished in a boring 1-1 draw. Another trip to Wales followed as we beat Swansea 4-3. A goal a piece in the first half from Harry Chapman and Jordan Rhodes gave us an early advantage but Swansea hit back. They took the lead before Rhodes levelled things up before grabbing the winner and his hat-trick with 8 minutes to go. The next 6 matches saw us pick up 4 points from a possible 18 as we lost to Cardiff City, Barnsley, Ipswich Town and Sheffield United. The Barnsley game we were 2 up in the first 22 minutes and despite them pulling it level I thought we could hold on. Unfortunately Barnsley grabbed a late winner. The 4 points came through a 5-1 hammering of Birmingham City and a good point at home to Leeds United. We found ourselves score all 5 in the first half. In the second we just casually strolled around as Birmingham City picked up a consolation. Against Leeds United we just never showed up as they were leading with just over 10 minutes to go. Former player Lewis Dunk, kindly gifted us a penalty that Jordan Rhodes dispatched to give us a draw.

Our form in the second half of the season was poor and some of the results were crazy. Against Burnley we beat them 4-0 and never looked like losing as Rhodes got another hat-trick whilst Harry Chapman got the other. The next 4 games saw us fail to win as we drew against Brentford and Fulham whilst drawing with Bolton Wanderers and West Brom. We turned the style on against rivals Sunderland as we beat them 3-0 with them struggling to create many chances on goal. That was as good as it got for us as we only managed to win 2 of the final 8 games as we conceded 24 goals. We scored a fair few ourselves so provided some entertainment to the fans. The defeats came against Hull City, Rotherham United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers. The games against Hull, Rotherham and Brighton we were unlucky not have won or at least gained a point. Against Villa we took the lead but again we just couldn't kick on whilst the Blackburn game needs to be forgotten. The game against Huddersfield Town was frustrating as well as entertaining. We took the lead late on only for them to pull level again. Luckily for us Callum Lake, one of my young fullbacks who was playing at centre-half popped up with another late winner. The Sheffield Wednesday game was just another boring draw whilst we managed to claim a late victory against relegated Wigan Athletic despite not being at our best.



In the league we finished 13th which is 1 place below our media prediction. I'm slightly disappointed by this as we were looking good for a play-off place at Christmas. Unfortunately winning just 6 of the remaining 22 games is always going to cost you, especially if you don't draw many after that. Our attack is fine but our defence needs some working on if we're to progress next season.



FA Cup

In the FA Cup we managed to take Stoke City to a replay. They took an early lead in the first game before we equalised shortly afterwards. In the replay they stormed into a healthy lead before we fought back. We just couldn't find the 5th goal to take it to extra time.



Transfers

We delved into the transfer market in January as we looked to try to improve our squad. Darren Randolph left the club to join Bristol City as he'd recently picked up another injury. He left along with Ryan Shotton and Éder on permanent deals whilst Paddy Madden, Nouha Dicko, Matty Shepherd, Tom Lockyer and Alex Thorpe departed the club on loan deals. Madden and Dicko had been moaning about their lack of first team football. With Shotton's departure it meant Callum Lake was recalled from his loan spell at Bristol Rovers. Incoming we saw Brice Samba join for £475k whilst Grégory Guyon and Mathieu Rousseau joined as players for the future. Stephy Mavididi and Liam Hinds joined on loans from Chelsea and Arsenal.



Youth Candidates

We've had another reasonable intake and there a number of players who could go on to push for first team places in the future.



The two best players from this intake are Laurence Morgan and Mark Wattam.

Star Players

There have been 4 players who have impressed majorly over the second half of the season and they are;

Craig Clay - Craig continued his good form over the second half of the season as he continued to be the link the midfield and attack. Craig ended the season with 2 goals and 3 assists from 44 games with an average rating of 7.38.

Jordan Rhodes - Jordan managed to finish 2nd in the league's goalscoring table as he finished with 28 league goals from 44 league games with 30 in all competitions. He chipped in with 5 assists as well.

Harry Chapman - The young winger had one of the best seasons in his career to date as he managed to grab himself 18 league goals and 14 assists from 43 league games. I've also triggered his contract extension clause.

Grant Leadbitter - Grant managed to chip in with 9 assists and 6 goals throughout the season with all of those goals coming from 30 yard screamers. Despite his advancing years he's still been a key player for us this season.

Finances

Financially we've lost a fair bit of money but we're still in the black and that should change once we get a couple of other payments come in.



Other News

A number of young prospects have signed new deals to remain at the club and they are Alan Skinner, Bobby Race, Callum Cooke, Junior Mondal, Callum Lake, Tony Douglas and Tony Richardson. Backroom staff Bobby Winkelman, Chris Moseley, Nick Grantham, Phillip Hudson and Peter Bulmer all signed new deals. The board agreed to allow me to have more scouts, coaches and physios which meant I raided my former club Bristol Rovers to sign Dave Galley(Physio). A couple of adverts went out which meant Graeme Lindsay and Paul Butler joined as scouts whilst David McGurn joined as a new goalkeeping coach. The board once again scrapped the facilities upgrades due to a lack of funds but if they'd have let them go through we'd have been able to cover them a couple of weeks later with a cash injection from the chairman and the solidarity payment. The club managed to make a profit over the course of the season. The youth audit once again came and went as we managed to maintain the same level. The board decreased our transfer revenue retained percentage. I managed to pass my continental C licence but the board rejected my request to go for the next badge. I applied for the Nottingham Forest job but was not even offered an interview.

The initial budgets have been announced.

[Nottingham Forest]

Career Summary

Season Team League Position Achievements Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16 Bristol Rovers League Two 21st None Took over on April 10th.
2016/17 Bristol Rovers League Two 3rd Promoted
2017/18 Bristol Rovers League One 23rd None Resigned on 23rd December.
2017/18 Middlesbrough Championship 17th None Took over on 24th April.
2018/19 Middlesbrough Championship 13th None

[Nottingham Forest]

Season Five

2019-20 Season

Pre-Season

Middlesbrough

Going into this pre-season I already had my eye on a number of players who I felt could make a difference to our squad. I didn't think we needed too many players and as the season was winding down I kind of new who would be leaving and who would be staying. As with most clubs, the backroom staff is key in my opinion and I'll always be striving to improve that where I can. The board without me asking increased the amount of scouts we can have so that meant I signed Riccardo Fratini and Miroslaw Trzeciak. I've also extended the contracts of Adam Reed, Chris Pennock, Christoper Rusling, Craig Liddle, Graeme Lee, Isaac Osbourne, Kieran Scarff, Mark Moseley, Mark Tinkler, Martin Carter, Paul Butler, Simon Hood, Trevor Langford and my assistant Nick Haycock. The only member of my backroom staff to leave the club was Jim Melrose who was my director of football.

Board, Media Expections & Other Bits

Sky Bet Championship: Mid-table

Media Prediction: 16th (Last season 12th)

Title Odds: 40-1

FA Cup: Fourth Round

Capital One Cup: Third Round

Season Ticket Sales: 14,555 (Last season 14,588 - Down 33)

Finances: £31,525,659

Transfer Budget: £2,000,000 (£5,626,278 remaining)

Wage Budget: £405,949 (£124,349 remaining)

Transfers & New Player Contracts

Last season we saw our transfer revenue retained percentage decrease but as some player sales happened or were happening, I requested it be increased again and I was successful. I had identified a number of players who I wanted to sign and I've managed to get all of my targets which is a major bonus. I also managed to get most of them in early on which gave us a reasonable amount of time getting used to each other. Outgoing we saw 20 players depart the club with 10 of them being permanent deals. The only player I'm disappointed to see leave the club is Harry Chapman. Harry managed to get 18 goals and 14 assists in the league last season from the right wing. Unfortunately he's always been looking to leave for a bigger club and despite me trying a different approach to keep him this time, it upset him so I had no choice. Leicester City came in with an offer and I, more jokingly asked for his release clause which was £13.5m. They agreed and I thought that was it. Reading decided they wanted to come back in for him and I tried to get more than his release clause. They rejected and offered his release clause all upfront. Harry has gone from wages of £7k per week to £90k per week. Yasir Kasim, Nouha Dicko and Paddy Madden had all been moaning about their lack of first team football with the latter two spending the second half of last season on loan. Sean Kavanagh wasn't going to get much game time with George Friend and the emergence of Tony Douglas so when Leeds United offered upto about £200k for him I snapped their hand off. Adam Clayton only managed to complete 26 games last season in the league and when Bournemouth started showing their interest he wanted to go. I rejected the first offer which annoyed him but when they come back with an offer rising to £2.2m it made sense to let the 30 year old leave, especially as he was in the last year of his contract. Stewart Downing left due to his wage demands being too high, his quality dropping and his lack of first team football. The other 3 were youngsters who I didn't think would make the grade here.

Of the remaining players who departed the club, most are promising youngsters. Liam Palmer and Callum Lake are this years right backs so I wanted Kom to get some first team football in England to see how he adapted. The same can be said about Rousseau, Guyon, Tymon and Wattam. Mondal and Cooke were going to be apart of the first team but better players became available so they've gone out on loan to try and earn a new contract as they're in the final year. McNab and Shepherd aren't good enough to make the grade here so they're out on loan because they're rubbish. José Eduardo is a new signing who was rejected a work permit so he's gone on loan to one of our feeder clubs, Ituano until he's gained a work permit. I'm trying to get a side closer to home where he'll get a work permit through nationality.



There was just the 7 players who joined us over the summer. Although 2 of them are youngsters with one only being signed because he's possibly got a bit of potential. Here are the signings;

Daniel Bentley - I attempted to sign Daniel from Bristol City last season but he opted to join Nottingham Forest instead. He only played in 3 league games for them last season as they were relegated from the Premier League. With our troubles in net last season he was my first choice to become #1. I'm delighted I've got him as well. Especially for the £160k transfer fee.

Milan Lalkovic - Milan joins us from Walsall for £550k where he has spent the last 4 seasons. He's played in all but 4 league games. He's chipped in with goals and assists. Having been plying his trade in League One, it's a bit of a step up but one I'm confident he can make.

Oliver Burke - 'Twisty' has come through the ranks at Nottingham Forest but hasn't really shone and shown the potential he has. Last season he only played 18 games for Forest and one on loan for fierce rivals Sunderland. He's a joined for a fee of £525k which is a great bit of business for us.

Bradley Dack - Bradley has joined on a free transfer from Bournemouth. I was tracking him all last season as he was transfer listed and not having the best of times down on the south coast. He had a good season at Gillingham before having a good early start with them and Bournemouth but things just seemed to go stagnant. Hopefully he can find his best form again and help us get into the play-offs.

Romario - Romario was initially going to be signed along with Burke as the 2 new right wingers. But when Eduardo wasn't given his work permit I feared the worst with Romario. Luckily on appeal he was given his work permit as he joins us from 'Flemish' for £3.7m. He's probably the signing I'm most excited about as he has the ability to be one of the best players this club has ever had.

José Eduardo - José joins from Goiás for £900k where he's scored 19 in 75. Initially rejected for his work permit and rejected again on appeal which means he's gone to Ituano on loan until further notice. I'm hoping we can get a club closer to home so it's not a wasted fee.

Jon Cooper - Jon has joined after being released by Sheffield Wednesday. He probably won't ever make it with us but he was recommend through one of my scouts assignments. Hopefully he'll progress enough to make us a small fee.

Ben Gibson was once again moaning about moving to a bigger club. He eventually backed down so I decided to tie him to a new longer deal as he penned a one year extension to remain at the club until 2023. We have another year option on the contract. After Craig Clay's good form last season I triggered his contract extension clause which means he'll be at the club until 2021. A few Premier League clubs were sniffing around Dave Allsop which prompted his agent to request a new deal. I rejected and asked Dave to sack his agent which he refused. Dave was upset so I offered him a new deal for him to remain until 2022. We also have the option to extend that deal as well. Young academy left back, Jordan Crawford has signed a pre-contract deal. Another academy prospect, Laurence Morgan has turned professional as well. He's already attracting interest and bids from Premier League clubs. I triggered Mathieu Rousseau's contract extension clause which means he'll stay until 2021. Neil Lowson and Tony Richardson also penned new deals to remain at the club until 2022. We also have options on these two players as well.

This means our squads look like this now; 1st Team, Under 21s and Under 18s. Within the 1st team squad we have 10 players who have come through the club's academy which is a good stat to have and hopefully sets us up for the future. In the under 21s all of the players in the squad apart from Basse who didn't join us have the ability to make it with us. In the under 18s we have 6 players who could make the grade.

Friendlies

A solid pre-season as we managed to win 9 of the 10 games we had. In the process we managed to score 26 goals whilst conceding just 4. I've tweaked my tactic slightly as we're now set to be a bit more defensive and try to retain possession. In most games we were achieving 80%+ passing accuracy whilst still creating the chances.



Other News

The board rejected my request for a feeder club for us to send players who need work permits to. They did however accept my request for the training facilities to be upgraded. Hopefully they won't be cancelled again. I also managed to persuade the board to increase our junior coaching budget which over time will take it to exceptional.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Slow progress with Middlesbrough.

[Nottingham Forest]

Slow progress with Middlesbrough.

Indeed it is, but we're doing well and it's about getting a structure in place that enables the club to move forward.

[Nottingham Forest]

Season Five

2019-20 Season

August-December

Middlesbrough

League

With a strong pre-season behind us we started off the season with a trip to Deepdale where we faced Preston. Chris Martin gave the hosts an early lead after 2 minutes. Despite bossing the game in terms of possession we didn't equalise until five minutes before half-time as Oliver Burke grabbed his first goal for the club. Jordan Rhodes grabbed what turned out to be the winner after 57 minutes. Against Sheffield Wednesday we were once again the better side. Unfortunately our finishing let us down as we lost 1-0 through a Tom Carroll goal on 35 minutes. The third game of the month was a visit to Ipswich Town where once again we had the majority of possession but just couldn't get the goal we needed as the game finished 0-0. In the Peterborough United game I decided to change things up slightly in terms of how we used the possession and this seemed to work. We created a lot more chances and still most of the possession. Jordan Rhodes got his 2nd of the season after 13 minutes before Ivan Lombardo pulled the visitors level. Oliver Burke restored our lead 6 minutes later before Neil Lowson rounded off a comfortable win on 83 minutes. Our final game of the month before the international break saw us visit Hull City. Once again possession and chances were pivotal in us winning the game as Jordan Rhodes got the only goal of the game just before the half hour mark. The international break didn't do us good as we lost our next 2 games against Bolton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest. We didn't actually play too badly in the Bolton game as we once again had the majority of the possession and more chances. We just couldn't break the Bolton defence down as they took the lead after 17 minutes. Gianluca Lapadula got 2 goals on 54 and 78 minutes which sandwiched a Paulinho for the guests as they scored 3 in 24 minutes. Our only goal of the game was scored by Milan Lalkovic on 78 minutes as well. A tight affair against Nottingham Forest was won by them through an own goal from Daniel Bentley just 7 minutes from time. A 5 match unbeaten run followed with 3 wins and 2 draws as we beat Huddersfield Town, Leeds United and QPR. The 2 draws coming against fierce rivals Newcastle United and Birmingham City. The game against Leeds saw us record 26 shots with 13 of those on target whilst the game against Birmingham saw them grab a deserved equaliser with 3 minutes to go.

The 5 match unbeaten run was abruptly ended by Cardiff City as they hammered us 3-0 as they scored 3 goals within the first 30 minutes to kill off any hope we had. That defeat saw us put together another 6 match unbeaten run as we picked up points against Swansea City, Millwall and Fulham. The first 5 games of the 6 match unbeaten run saw us claim 5 clean sheets. The 3 wins came against Wolves, Brentford and Burnley as Jordan Rhodes grabbed 4 goals from those 3 games. In the month of December we failed to win any of the 5 games we had as we only collected 1 point from a possible 15. That point coming against Sunderland in a closely fought game. Against Rotherham United we decided to gift them a 3 goal headstart before the first half was complete. As if that wasn't enough we decided to allow them a 4th just 2 minutes after the restart. Jordan Rhodes had managed to pull 3 goals back by the 70th minute but despite our best efforts we couldn't get the equaliser. I'm not quite sure what it is about Aston Villa but I just don't like playing them. We had two games against them over the festive period as we lost both 3-0 and 4-2. Whilst I'd like to say we played well, we didn't. So I guess we just have to move on. The Boxing Day fixture saw us travel to Valley Parade to face Bradford City. We took the lead through Jordan Rhodes before Joe Garner pulled them level in the 70th minute. Old player curse struck again as Adam Reach grabbed the winner for Bradford in the 89th minute.



In the league we currently occupy 8th place as we sit just 2 points off the play-offs.



Capital One Cup

In the Capital One Cup we entertained Tranmere Rovers in the 1st round as I swapped all 11 players. We managed to secure a 1-0 win thanks to young striker Tony Richardson. Against Notts County I once again swapped all 11 players as we took an early lead through Dael Fry. Sean Goss and Jay Simpson gave County a 2-1 lead at half-time before Luke Freeman equalised on 64 minutes. Just 5 minutes later though, Josh Magennis grabbed the winner for County.



Star Players

Over the 1st half of the season there have been 5 players who I would class as key players and they have been Jordan Rhodes, Craig Clay, Jack Stephens, Oliver Burke and Liam Palmer.

Finances

Our finances have taken a little bit of a hit since pre-season as we've lost about £7m. We're still doing well financially though.



Other News

In other news, we saw George Friend depart the club as he went off to Swansea. I once again managed to get Craig Clay to sack his agent as he signed a new deal. Bobby Winkelman, Paul Jenkins, Michael Carrick, Peter Bulmer, Phillip Hudson and Stephen Pears signed new deals to remain on my coaching staff whilst Tony Douglas signed a new deal to stay at the club as a player. Matty Robson turned professional at the club. Corey Hopkins and Nathan Day joined the club as youngsters although they'll probably never make the grade. Álex Gomez and Daniel Chichillanne joined as new scouts whilst Steve Bissix joins as an under 21s physio from Bristol Rovers. The board agreed to some youth facilities upgrades, gave me a new deal and allowed me to go to take my next coaching badge. Unfortunately there was no success with getting a feeder team.

[deltablue]

Pity things have dropped off recently.

[Nottingham Forest]

Yeah it's been frustrating as one minute we're great and then the next we're useless.

[Nottingham Forest]

Season Five

2019-20 Season

January-May

Middlesbrough

League

We started off the New Year with a entertaining 4-3 win over Preston North End. Jordan Rhodes grabbed himself two goals whilst Neil Lowson and Romário grabbed the other goals. The next two games were against Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town as we picked up maximum points from those games. Jordan Rhodes grabbed 2 more goals in the Sheffield Wednesday result along with Luke Freeman whilst Oliver Burke grabbed the only goal of the game just before half-time against Ipswich. Against Peterborough United we got played off the park as they beat us 3-0 before we picked up a point against Hull City. A convincing 5-1 win against Nottingham Forest followed as we should of had 7 but the linesman decided to rule out 2 perfectly good goals. Jordan Rhodes and Dave Allsop getting braces before Romário grabbed the 5th in what should have been his hat-trick. We've had a few issues against Bolton Wanderers in the past but we managed to beat them 2-0 with another Jordan Rhodes double.

The next 7 games saw us ruin any hopes of us making the play-offs or claiming an automatic promotion spot as we picked up just 2 points from 21. We started off with 3 defeats against Huddersfield Town, Newcastle United and Leeds United before we managed to claim a draw against Birmingham City. The last 3 of the 7 saw us pick up a point against Cardiff City between defeats to QPR and Swansea. Our final 8 games of the season us pick up 4 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats as good promise in some games but appeared clueless in others.



In the league we have finished 11th, just 6 points off the play-offs. It's an improvement on last season but it's also a case of what could have been because had we not had that blip of 7 games without a win, we'd possibly have taken the final play-off spot.



FA Cup

In the FA Cup lost 1-0 at home to Oxford United in a close game. They scored the winner in the 63rd minute.



Star Players

Jordan Rhodes - Rhodes went 1 better than last season as he managed to score 29 in 44 league games. Has expressed his desire to leave so I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to keep hold of him.

Liam Palmer - The right back is just Mr Consistent. He's had his best season for the club as he played all 46 league games as he chipped in with 12 assists.

Craig Clay - Craig continues to defy my coaches opinion of him and continues to link the midfield and attack. Whilst he didn't score any he's got himself 8 assists from 40 games this season.

Dave Allsop - The academy graduate started to show his true potential as the season went on as he completed 29 league games with 3 goals and 4 assists. He sits in the middle of the park doing the dirty work.

Youth Candidates

Once again we had another great year of youth candidates as 7 players were offered youth contracts. They were Luke Hayford, Sunday Okoye, Dale Barrett, Steve Thomas, Lee Haynes, Lee Smith and Ashley James. The best of the bunch was Luke Hayford, who with the correct training could become a great centre half for the club.

Finances

As another season done and we're still in a good position financially despite the £6m loss or so since December.



Other News

Milan Lalkovic and Brice Samba departed the club as both moaned about their lack of first team football. Incoming we saw Brazilian, Tuta join the club. Unfortunately he hasn't been given a work permit so I'll be looking to send him to feeder club Eeklo when opportunity arises. The board offered me the chance to change the season expectations which I politely declined. Dave Allsop, Luke Freeman, Neil Lowson and Jay Atkinson all signed new deals whilst Jordan Crawford and Craig Mason turned professional. José Eduardo went back to Ituano on loan. I also activated the contract extension clause which will see him remain at the club until 2023. I've completed my continental B licence but the board have refused me the chance to take my A so far. We've also been granted an increase into the amount of physios and scouts we're allowed. I've put an advert out for a scout whilst Luke Anthony joins from my old club Bristol Rovers as physio. I've taken charge of my 100th game as Boro boss. Despite our reasonable financial situation, Steve Gibson still invested some of his own cash whilst we got news that our facilities were being upgraded. The youth setup has remained the same after an audit as we once again picked up the solidarity payment. The club also gave me the option to decide where we'd like to go for our training camp during pre-season so we're off to Portugal.

The board gave me the initial budgets and I have to say I'm rather pleased with the transfer budget that I have been given which should enable me to add the relevant players to the squad that I want.

[Nottingham Forest]

Career Summary

Season Team League Position Achievements Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2015/16 Bristol Rovers League Two 21st None Took over on April 10th.
2016/17 Bristol Rovers League Two 3rd Promoted
2017/18 Bristol Rovers League One 23rd None Resigned on 23rd December.
2017/18 Middlesbrough Championship 17th None Took over on 24th April.
2018/19 Middlesbrough Championship 13th None
2019/20 Middlesbrough Championship 11th None

[Nottingham Forest]

Season Six

2020-21 Season

Pre-Season

Middlesbrough

Going into my 3rd season as Boro boss I wanted to start tying down more backroom staff to longer deals. That meant Adam Kerr(Fitness Coach), Adam Reed(Physio), Barry Heffernan(Physio), Ben Davies(Coach), Chris Moseley(Head Physio), Daniel Donachie(Physio), Darren Ambrose(Coach), Graeme Lindsay(Scout), Harry Jamieson(Scout), Nick Grantham(Fitness Coach), Richie Kyle(Coach) and Steve McCall(Chief Scout) all penned new deals. The board increased the amount of scouts that I could employ at the end of last season which meant I was looking for 4 more scouts. The 4 that joined were Mark Stow, Jorge Cordero, Malcolm Esajas and Vicente Valcarce. Chris Cohen also joined the club after his release by Nottingham Forest as he was deemed as the best under 18s assistant manager I could find. Unfortunately as part of the deal he's also on a playing contract. Whilst his attributes aren't too bad, I already have enough central midfielders and left backs to cover the worst injury crisis so he probably won't play a game for the club. Joe Cole and Neal Bishop left their roles as under 18 and under assistant managers respectively.

Board, Media Expections & Other Bits

Sky Bet Championship: Mid-table

Media Prediction: 14th (Last season 16th)

Title Odds: 40-1

FA Cup: Fourth Round

Capital One Cup: Third Round

Season Ticket Sales: 14,771 (Last season 14,555 - Up 216)

Finances: £22,076,121

Transfer Budget: £11,370,000 (£8,626,763 remaining)

Wage Budget: £406,499 (£52,196 remaining)

Transfers & New Player Contracts

After last seasons dip in form over the latter half of the season I felt that I needed to add a few more experienced faces to the squad whilst also remaining true to the club by bringing through youngsters. I'll be honest and admit I wasn't planning on bringing as many players in as I did but in the end, I feel as though we now have the best possible chance to push for a play-off spot through a tough Championship season. 7 players departed the club at the end of their contracts whilst 18 players departed the club on loans to gain first team football. The full list of outgoings is here.

Incoming we saw the following join us on Teesside;

Britt Assombalonga - The former Nottingham Forest player joins us from Southampton for £1.5m. Britt managed to score 36 in 118 league games since the 2015/16 season which earned him a £4m move to Southampton. Just 2 league games there sees him move to us for a reasonable fee and hoping to recapture the form that he had when he helped Forest to promotion a couple of seasons ago.

Dimitar Evtimov - The 26 year old Bulgarian has had a tough couple of seasons as he's now at his 4th club in 3 seasons. He's joined us for £275k and I'm hoping he'll provide some great competition to 1st choice Daniel Bentley.

Eduardo - At 21 year, Eduardo is entering the prime of his career. Unfortunately he wasn't granted a work permit which means he'll be spending the next 5 seasons out on loan in Belgium. Whether he makes the grade here or not is another thing and he could well prove to be costly flop at £950k. Has only played 33 competitive games which has seen him score just 5 goals. Hopefully he can improve on that record.

Elio Capradossi - The former Roma youngster has spent the past 5 seasons out on loan with his best spell coming last season at Dundee in the Scottish Premiership. He's joined on a free as 4th choice but he's rated extremely highly by my staff and hopefully when called upon he can perform well.

Jack Price - The former Wolves man didn't make any appearances last season for them and I doubt he'll make too many here. He was signed as back up when a couple of first choice central midfielders were hit by injuries. Hopefully if needed he'll be a steady signing.

James Husband - James initially joined as first choice left back until a couple of my younger left backs were ready to step into the first team and I was extremely pleased to bring him back to the Riverside after 2 and a half seasons away. He's only cost £350k which is an extremely good deal. Whether he gets the playing time now with the other new left back remains to be seen.

James Fleming - The young Scottish right back joins from Alloa for £5k. He's nothing more than a good prospect at the moment but hopefully with the right support and training he could push for a place in the first team squad. If not, then he should be able to provide us with a reasonable sale profit.

Josh Scowen - Much like Price, Scowen was signed due to a couple of injuries to first choice players. Scowen has a better chance to stake a claim for a first team spot as he's had a reasonable career to date. Last season he struggled in the Premier League with Brighton so hopefully he'll feel more settled in the Championship when he's called upon. For a free transfer he should be a good acquisition.

Karel Jares - Just 17 years old and already considered my best left back! My scouts spotted him towards the end of last season and when I saw that his contract was running down I wanted to sign him. Initially it looked like he'd sign a new deal with Mlada Boleslav, where he made 36 appearances in 2 and a bit seasons. However, when he was released I took him on trial. As soon as he joined I wanted to sign him and whilst he's on £9k per week, he should prove a great signing for a number of years.

Morgan Sanson - The 25 year old joins for £1.7m from Inter Milan and I have to say I'm delighted with signing. He should be able to perform to a reasonable standard and should slot into our midfield fairly well.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek - Ruben joins the club from Bournemouth where he's not had the best of times. I'm thrilled to bring him to the club on a free transfer and I'm hoping he can provide the rest of the midfield with some competition.

Daniel Bentley, Laurence Morgan and Mathieu Rousseau have all signed new deals whilst I have triggered the contract extension clauses for Romário, Bradley Dack, Oliver Burke, Gregory Guyon, Stephane Tanguy, Alan Skinner, Pearce Tymon and Alex Thorpe. Graeme Saunders and Sunday Okoye have turned professional whilst Luke Hayford has signed a pre-contract deal.

Friendlies

I arranged 10 friendlies for this pre-season and we managed to win 8 and draw 2. Whilst the 2 draws came against 'lesser' teams we performed well in both so I am not concerned.



Other News

We received this seasons TV money which stands at £3.07m. I applied for the Leicester City role but was rejected.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Inching forward.

[Nottingham Forest]

Yeah, slow progression but I feel we're slowly building something special.