[FM22] Resuscitating the First Club to Fall from the Premier League to the National League

[Dong21]

On 26 May, 2022, Oldham Athletic were relegated from League Two ending their 115-year stay in the\Football League. Relegation to the National League gave Oldham the unwanted title as the first team to have played in the Premier League and then go on to drop out of the top four divisions in English football.

Oldham were founding members of the Premier League in 1992, having won the Championship (formerly the First Division) the year prior to get promoted. Under the stewardship of Joe Royle, the Latics won many fans across the country for their entertaining style of football. This halcyon era saw the Lancashire side reach the League Cup Final in 1990, losing to Nottingham Forest, and reach two FA Cup Semi Finals, both times losing to Manchester United after a replay.

Less than 30 years later, Oldham are now about to face a season featuring trips to Maidstone, Kings Lynn and Fylde.

Misery upon Misery

In November, 2020, I made a case in this forum that Oldham Athletic are arguably the most depressing team to have supported in recent history. I stated at the time that sadly I thought that Oldham were more likely to fall out of the Football League than turn things around and in my opening post I detailed the history of mismanagement and lack of transparency that had led them to be in this position. At the time I thought it would be an interesting challenge to see if I could rejuvenate such a troubled club.

Things have since gone from bad to worse. Relegation has happened. The challenge is now to try and resuscitate the club, and it may sadly be too late.

Relegation from the EFL

Controversial owner Abdallah Lemsagam, who has overseen the rapid decline of the club in recent years, remains at the club despite repeated protests from fans calling for him to leave.

After 14 managers in the five seasons, a further four managers have come and gone in the last two seasons – a clear indicator of the mismanagement and lack of stability.

The squad for the 2021/22 season was poorly constructed. Oldham’s owner decided to accept a loan from the EFL which resulted in restrictions on how many players you could have in your squad, limited how much you could pay them and restricted you to one year contract. What made this worse is that senior management clearly did not understand the terms that they agreed to, as they announced two players had signed on two year deals, only to realise this was not permitted. They had to renegotiate this deals, leading these players to be left out the team until the issue was resolved.

With the team lacking quality, in particular up front, manager Keith Curle was not able to get a tune out of the group and was sacked in November, 2021. Lemsagam replaced Curle with inexperienced Tunisian Selim Benachour. This proved to be a fatal move as during his two months in charge he was only able to win one out of nine matches.

Fan favourite John Sheridan returned to the club at the end of January but could not halt the slide towards the National League, with no budget provided (whilst the clubs around Oldham in the relegation battle all strengthened with signings). The final game of the season was halted with 11 minutes remaining, after fans stormed the pitch to protest, with the final moments of the game eventually played behind closed doors.

National League

Followers of the National League this season will have seen it boasts a high level of competition. All the teams are full time and many of the teams (and the wages they pay) are akin to the level of League Two clubs. With only two team’s getting promoted each season, the chances of going up are limited.

Relegation presents financial challenges as well. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the Oldham Times:

Quote

"If you're relegated you get parachute payments for two seasons from the EFL but immediately you lose all of what’s referred to as solidarity payments from the Premier League and they're worth around about £700,000 a year,

"Parachute payments you get £400,000 a year in League Two from EFL deals so I think that gets halved, so you go from about £1.1million to £200,000, and the National League is a really tough league.

"The whole of the National League apart from one club is full time and most of the clubs in National League North are full time. You've seen clubs like Stockport drop in to National League North as well so there's no guarantee you'll even stay there."

Despite all first team players being out of contract, morale around the club being at an all-time low and there being an extremely limited budget to rebuild the squad – the owner’s expectation is that we reach the Playoffs. I am looking forward to putting my managerial abilities to the test through this substantive challenge. I hope those of you who follow along enjoy the journey!

Edited June 14, 2022 by Dong21

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Dong21 said:

I hope those of you who follow along enjoy the journey

I hope you get some enjoyment out of it too!

[Dong21]

18 hours ago, warlock said:

I hope you get some enjoyment out of it too!

Thanks @warlock, despite the club being in such a precarious and disappointing position, it should be said that I am really excited about the challenge that lies ahead. Besides three players (more details on this coming soon), I have set the entire first team squad for release. So I am starting with almost a completely clean slate. Squad building has always been the part of management I have enjoyed the most, and I'd like to think my track record shows I am pretty good at it, so I know I will get a lot of enjoyment out of rebuilding this squad. There are also some exciting talents in the youth team who I would like to give opportunities to in the season ahead. My next update will preview the players that will remain at the club, following contracts expiring on 30 June. 

[Chevie]

You are an absolute sucker for pain and torment aren’t you @Dong21 hahaha

Good luck in the revival!

[Dong21]

6 minutes ago, Chevie said:

You are an absolute sucker for pain and torment aren’t you @Dong21 hahaha

Good luck in the revival!

I certainly don't like to do things the easy way @Chevie! 

Thanks it's going to be a fun challenge, that's for sure. 

[Dong21]

When I joined the club, only one player was contracted for longer than until the end of the 2021/22 season, every other player was due to leave in six weeks time. 

The one player under long-term contract was Mike Fondop, a journeyman striker who had joined in January 2021, just after the EFL's contract length limitation had ended. My staff only rate him a 'decent' Vanarama National League player and I would be happy to let him go if an offer comes in for him. 

With the exception of two players who I agreed new contracts with, every other first team player was moved to the reserves and set for release. As detailed in my opening post, this was a poor side who put up little fight on their way to relegation. There was little appeal for retaining the vast majority of them. 

Somewhat surprisingly, for a team in such dire straits, there is quite a number of talented youngsters in the team's youth ranks. Starting with near to no first team players, I offered new one year deals to four youth players and two year contracts to a further seven youngsters (all aged between 17 and 19) and promoted them to the first team squad. I was delighted that they all swiftly accepted their contract offers. This gives me a starting skeleton of a squad and also provides me with some players with potential that I can look to improve throughout the season. The wages of the young players signed up to pro-contracts range from £160 per week to £325 per week, so it really was a minimal outlay.

One of the first notifications I received when I joined the club was to tell me that our Youth Category for the coming season had been downgraded to Category 4. This suggests to me that it is unlikely we will be getting many high potential youngsters through in the coming years, so I need to make the most of the young talent we currently have! 

Besides seven youth players aged 16 and 17 who are currently in the Under 18s team, and are of lower potential than the players I have promoted to the first team squad, I will now introduce the players I currently have under contract for the  upcoming 2022/23 season:

Goalkeepers

Southerington is currently the only goalkeeper at the club. He is way off first team level and his potential is fairly limited, however I offered him contract to ensure we would definitely have a goalkeeper in pre-season. If recruitment is successful and we can bring in sufficient cover in the goalkeeping department, Southerington can return to the Under 18s to continue his development. 

Defenders

Defence is the currently where we have the most strength in depth (albeit this is still only six players!). 

I had initially intended to release the entire first team squad, starting with a completely fresh slate, with player free of the shame and disappointment of relegation hanging over them. However, after reviewing the first team squad I decided that both Clarke and Hart could be of use to us in the National League. Both are very solid players at this level, and at 25 Hart has the potential to become an improved player. Both accepted new deals on lower wages than their prior deals.

I also realised that there would be benefit in having some continuity and experience. As soon as I demoted the other players to the Reserves, Clarke and Hart became 'Highly Influential Players' in the squad hierarchy. Jordan Clarke has taken on the role as club captain, however this may be an interim decision if I sign someone with greater leadership and authority. 

One of the most exciting prospects at the club is young left back Benny Couto, who club staff thinks has the potential to be a League One player. I do have a slight concern that Hart may block his development as they play in the same position, but I am conscious of this and intend to give him game-time where possible.  

Another exciting youngster is Will Sutton who my staff believe has the potential to be a leading League Two player. He possesses really good pace, positioning and decision making for a young defender. What is currently letting him down are his low bravery, concentration and composure attributes. I intend to sign a centre back who possesses these traits, who Sutton can learn from in training.

Midfielders

Harry Vaughan is the most exciting of all the young players currently at the club. Last season he was repeatedly linked with Burnley in the press. Although I'm not sure his potential stretches quite that far, I have a feeling that if I threw him into the first team this season he will develop and perform well. I need to be actively conscious of not signing too many central midfielders to give him the opportunities he deserves, although we certainly need more than one! Despite being very sleight (5'4") and having absolutely no jumping reach, his technical and mental attributes are well above what you would expect of a teenager at this level. 

Kane Badby possesses electric pace, which makes him an exciting prospect. Badby and Moore are both very raw talents and it is yet to be seen whether they will get opportunities this season, depending on who we manage to sign. Luamba is listed as an attacking left midfielder, but with his strength and determination it may be that he may be better suited to being a centre forward. I will try and experiment with this during pre-season and see how he fares. 

Strikers

Up front is where we have the least potential. As mentioned previously, Fondop is a solid but unspectacular option. Da Silva has great pace which could be deadly at this level, but technically he is fairly limited. Sims is very young and lacking current ability. We will be on the hunt for a marksman who can fire us into the Playoff picture. 

Top Prospects Profiles

Spoiler

Budget

With the expectation of reaching the Playoffs, Oldham's Chairman has given me a transfer budget of £19k and a wage budget of £25.5k per week to rebuild the entire squad. 

The club is currently spending over £28k per week on wages, so I effectively need to wait for all the first team players' (who are currently in the Reserves) contracts to expire at the end of June and then I will have the financial flexibility to start offering out contracts to new players.

Considering our financial standing, I imagine I will be dealing exclusively in free transfer signings during the summer. My usual approach is to take players I am interested on trial during pre-season and assess them over time. I will avoid making loan signings where possible, but if we find ourselves struggling to recruit then this is a route I will go down. Let the recruitment drive commence! 

Edited June 14, 2022 by Dong21

[Dong21]

Eagle-eyed followers of this developing story will have noticed that I am commencing this career in the summer of 2022, with Oldham in the National League, which replicates their real life current predicament but is not where you would normally find them if you commence a save on FM22. I therefore thought I would provide some information on how I set this challenge up, before I get started. 

I set up the save with a whopping 42 leagues playable, with a further four set up as view only. As I knew I would be managing in the fifth tier, I added more leagues than I would normally do to add a greater level of depth and more lower divisions from other countries. I selected the start date to be pre-season 2022 for the Canadian Premier League season, meaning that the save commenced on 04 April, 2022. 

True to their pre-season media prediction, upon commencing the save I found Oldham in 23rd position in League Two with just six games remaining in the season. I decided to add a manager to Oldham so I could oversee the final six fixtures and steer them to relegation to set up this career challenge as required. Being in charge for this time period had the added benefit that it avoided the AI manager renewing any contracts that I would then be lumbered with. 

I demoted the first team squad, ready for their eventual releases at the end of the season, and promoted the youth players who I profiled above to the first team (with the one exception being goalkeeper Danny Rogers as, although I wanted the team to lose to secure relegation, I didn't want them to get thrashed and crush the morale of my prospects). Taking this approach had dual benefits as (1) the players are not yet ready for this level, so defeat and therefore relegation was pretty much guaranteed and (2) the young players got six games of EFL experience to aide their development. 

I proceeded to simulate the final games and after five defeats and one draw, relegation was successfully delivered. Scunthorpe joined us in demotion, replicating what took place in real life. 

In a promising development for the season ahead, my team of youngsters started to gel and perform quite well in the penultimate and final games of the season. These were a 3-2 loss away at Tranmere and then a 2-2 draw against Crawley. Youngsters Da Silva and Badby both bagged EFL goals, and top prospect Vaughan got two goals in two games. Even more impressive, was that despite being in a team of youths who mostly got beaten, Vaughan achieved a pass completion rate of 94% across the the six games he played - enough to give him the highest average across the entire season when you include the original first team! These developments increased my excitement to get started with this save.

After relegation was secured, I took no further action other than to resign and retire the proxy manager I had in place, allowing me to add a new manager ready to commence this challenge. 

With that, I was ready to get started! 

Edited June 14, 2022 by Dong21

[keeper#1]

Best of luck.  Following along now!

[karanhsingh]

On 15/06/2022 at 02:48, Dong21 said:

I proceeded to simulate the final games and after five defeats and one draw, relegation was successfully delivered. 

Never heard these words before 

Best of luck!

[Dong21]

On 16/06/2022 at 07:12, karanhsingh said:

Never heard these words before 

Best of luck!

Thanks @karanhsingh!

Hopefully the first and last relegation of this career. Certainly the last intentional one! 

[john1]

Good to see you writing again   Really enjoyed reading your previous story Good luck, hopefully promotion at first time asking?

[Dong21]

16 hours ago, john1 said:

Good to see you writing again   Really enjoyed reading your previous story Good luck, hopefully promotion at first time asking?

Thanks @john1, I appreciate your message! Enjoying the return to writing about my FM adventures.

I’m not ready to make targets or predictions yet! Need to see how my squad building goes 😅

I’ve taken a moment to restructure my staff (and enjoy the sunshine!☀️) so my next update will be about that. 

[Dong21]

Whichever club I manage, the first thing I do is assess the staff and consider whether there are ways I can make improvements. Having the right personnel influences so much of what is important to a manager, from identifying transfer targets to developing the players at club, so it make sense to dedicate a good amount of focus to this area. Even on a tight budget, there are usually options readily available that are better than what you already have. For me, staffing really does matter.

Assessing the staff at the club upon my arrival, I found that the quality was extremely poor. My faith in them was that low that I concluded that keeping them around would actively be to the detriment of the club. I agreed the mutual termination of nine contracted staff, with the most high profile being, long-term acolyte of John Sheridan, Tommy Wright. The only staff I retained were Goalkeeping Coach Steve Collis and Head of Youth Development Conor Marlin. Collis had good all-round goalkeeping coaching attributes, had one year left on his contract and I could not see a stronger option externally. Although Marlin's coaching attributes are limited, his ability to identify talent made him a better option than others in the market, so I renewed his contract for two years.

Effectively now starting with a blank canvas, here are the appointments I made:

Coaching Team

Having a right-hand man who has can judge the quality and potential of your players, provide valuable advice and also contribute to the provision of quality training and player development is essential. I therefore put a lot of time and effort into making sure I had the right Assistant Manager. I managed to acquire Terry McPhillips from Southport. It is testament to his ability that I offered him a three year contract. McPhillips has been coaching since 1992, spending 12 years at Crewe's prestigious academy, nine years in the youth set-ups of Premier League sides Everton and Blackburn and managing in his own right at Blackpool. I am of the opinion that his signing is coup for the club.

At this level of football you need staff who are well versed in multiple elements of coaching, compared to at the higher level where you have more staff and can therefore have more specialism. When I discovered Richard Thomas I was impressed by his mental and technical attributes, something that will be important as I will likely have a fairly young squad that can be developed, but also his competency across the board. For only £350 per week, the former Head of Youth Development at Watford, is an absolute bargain!

I have read a few articles on what it is like to manage in the National League, as I have never done it before, and a recurring theme was the vast amount of games you need to pay and the impact it can have on your squad. I therefore was delighted to acquire a Fitness Coach as impressive as Steve Haines. Haines' prior experience was at Derby County, and coincidentally that is where my new Head of Performance Analysis Harry Croft cut his teeth. Croft, again, has noteworthy attributes and is at an age where I am sure he will continue to grow.  This completes my new first team coaching team. 

Recruitment Team

Hiring in the recruitment team saw the return of two familiar faces; last time I managed Oldham I hired both Ronny Rosenthal and Eric Vandenbergh. They both served me very well and helped me identify players that we signed and went on to great success. When Oldham were a League Two club I was pleased we were able to employ the pair, so to do it now as a National League team is even more thrilling. 

The new face in this team is Khaled Badra. Admittedly a left field choice, as his areas of expertise lies with African and Middle-Eastern talent, I am hoping his scouting ability will shine through and be applicable wherever he is located. I will report back on whether this leads to a skew in the players I am recommended. 

Medical Team

Compared to other members of staff I have brought in, the medical team are relatively expensive. This is clearly an important area though, as at this level if you lose your key players to injury you are unlikely to have a large amount of options in reserve. I hired the highly respected Mike Micciche as our Head Physio and he will be ably assisted by Ryan Wilkie. Travelling down from Scotland to take on the role of Head of Sport Science is Andrew Lombard.

Development Coaching

For a club with as little resources as ours, developing youth prospects is extremely important as it creates a pipeline of talent for the first team and also, pragmatically, assets that can be sold to raise funds. I therefore made sure I had a full compliment of capable under-18s ('U18') coaches. I hired Dustin Hudson as U18 Manager, in his first role in football, for his good all-round managerial, mental and coaching attributes. My one concern is his temperamental personality - this was something I would have ideally avoided, but he really was the outstanding candidate. I have only given him a one year deal, so I can move him on swiftly if a better option becomes available or if I can see he is impacting the personalities of my young players.

Hudson will be supported by Assistant Manager John McKeown and Fitness Coach Ed Franklin. I think it is valuable to have former top level pro's working in the youth setup, especially with international experience, who the prospects can learn form. My new U18s Coach Ashley Williams certainly fits that bill. Williams has 86 caps for Wales and was a consummate professional. I am hoping his determined personality will conuter-balance Hudson's.  Likewise, I am hopeful Jussi Jaaskelainen will have a positive impact on our young goalkeepers. Jaaskelainen's attributes have seemingly been downgraded from when I have hired him in previous years, but he is definitely of a suitable level to do well in a fifth tier club's youth team. 

It is not yet clear whether I will decide to have a an under-23s ('U23') team next season - a first team and an U18s could well be sufficient in the fifth tier of English football. That said, I managed to persuade Chris Kiwomya to give up his role as Manager of the British Virgin Islands and take on the role as my U23s Manager. Kiwomya has great mental attributes, is an attack focused coach and has good experience developing youth. He is the only member of staff we have at U23 level currently. 

Foundations for Success

By taking the time to revamp the club's staff, I now feel comfortable that we have done a lot to lay the foundations for success.  I have built a team around me that have the ability to perform well and enable the team and I to fulfil our potential. With staff now in place, I can proceed to look at recruiting players. 

Edited June 19, 2022 by Dong21

[Dong21]

The fixture list has now been announced and we will start our National League campaign away at Eastleigh - quite a trek for the Latics faithful! 

Before then I have lined up eight pre-season friendlies in which I will test out a variety of trialists (who will hopefully earn contracts), look to build match fitness, strive to improve morale and team cohesion, and work towards establishing a tactical approach and starting eleven. Some would say there is a lot to do before our first competitive game! 

Abdallah's expectations are that we finish in the Playoffs, reach the 2nd Round of the FA Cup and reach the Final of the FA Trophy.

Season Preview

The media are predicting that we will finish 8th and are less likely to be promoted than both fellow-relegated side Scunthorpe and newly promoted Fylde. To be fair to the media, I have just released over 20 players and have only made a handful of replacements so far - what do they have to go off? At this point it is likely club reputation alone that is even putting us in their thoughts for top half. As you can see, Fylde were joined by Gateshead, Dartford and Maidstone in securing promotion to the VNL. 

Last season the league was won by a dominant Chesterfield. They were joined in promotion to League Two somewhat surprisingly by 5th placed Bromley. This meant that big hitters (it's all relative, right?) Wrexham, Grimsby, Stockport and Notts County remain in the division. They will all be strong contenders for Playoffs or promotion. 

Financial Projections

An initial glance at the club's finances indicated things might be okay, but scratch beneath the surface and it becomes apparent why our financial position is described as 'Insecure'. The club's balance is currently £650k, but with very little income expected over the coming season (we have received just £215k as a parachute payment and £5k from the league's TV deal) this should deplete rapidly. We have also just commenced repaying a debt to the Chairman of £28k per month - this may seem like a small amount but at this level it will soon add up.

By the end of the season we are expected to be £500k in the red and, even more worryingly, in two years time we will be £2.25m underwater. 

Wage Limitations

As previously noted, the board have given me a wage budget of £25.5k per week for the upcoming season. Based on 21/22 budgets, that would have given us the 7th biggest wage budget in the National League - not ground-breaking but certainly workable. With nearly my entire first team departing and those remaining on miniscule youth contracts, I was really looking forward to building a squad to fit the budget. A problem I have now discovered since I have started negotiating with potential signings, is that the board is limiting me with a £800 per week maximum wage for any signings. This is going to make things more difficult than expected. 

I certainly had plans to find young players and bargains, but I did also think there would be room in the budget for a few key players whose wage would exceed £1k per week. For context, predicted league winners Wrexham have 19 players on a higher weekly wage than my maximum, and this includes three players being paid more than £3k per week and a further two being paid £4k per week. Now we all know that Wrexham are owned by Hollywood superstars, so perhaps they are not a fair benchmark. That said, Stockport have 13 players paid over £800 per week (including one on £3k and one on £3.5k), Grimsby have 10, Notts County nine, Southend eight and Aldershot seven. Even newly promoted Fylde have five players on bigger wages than I am permitted to offer.

Now this may sound like moaning, but pragmatically I do understand the limitations from a financial security perspective. I'm just looking to paint an accurate picture of the challenge that lies ahead for me. The objective of turning Oldham Athletic around is still achievable, I'm just going to have to work harder and smarter than anticipated. 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Dong21

[Dong21]

For anyone that’s interested in Oldham’s current plight (and therefore the circumstances I am currently managing under in this save), BBC Sport have recently posted a good article on the subject:

Oldham Athletic: How the Latics stumbled their way to relegation to the National League

Edited June 26, 2022 by Dong21

[karanhsingh]

15 hours ago, Dong21 said:

For anyone that’s interested in Oldham’s current plight (and therefore the circumstances I am currently managing under in this save), BBC Sport have recently posted a good article on the subject:

Oldham Athletic: How the Latics stumbled their way to relegation to the National League

I coincidentally just read this yesterday.. sad stuff

[vikeologist]

On 14/06/2022 at 22:18, Dong21 said:

Eagle-eyed followers of this developing story will have noticed that I am commencing this career in the summer of 2022, with Oldham in the National League, which replicates their real life current predicament but is not where you would normally find them if you commence a save on FM22. I therefore thought I would provide some information on how I set this challenge up, before I get started. 

I set up the save with a whopping 42 leagues playable, with a further four set up as view only. As I knew I would be managing in the fifth tier, I added more leagues than I would normally do to add a greater level of depth and more lower divisions from other countries. I selected the start date to be pre-season 2022 for the Canadian Premier League season, meaning that the save commenced on 04 April, 2022. 

True to their pre-season media prediction, upon commencing the save I found Oldham in 23rd position in League Two with just six games remaining in the season. I decided to add a manager to Oldham so I could oversee the final six fixtures and steer them to relegation to set up this career challenge as required. Being in charge for this time period had the added benefit that it avoided the AI manager renewing any contracts that I would then be lumbered with. 

I demoted the first team squad, ready for their eventual releases at the end of the season, and promoted the youth players who I profiled above to the first team (with the one exception being goalkeeper Danny Rogers as, although I wanted the team to lose to secure relegation, I didn't want them to get thrashed and crush the morale of my prospects). Taking this approach had dual benefits as (1) the players are not yet ready for this level, so defeat and therefore relegation was pretty much guaranteed and (2) the young players got six games of EFL experience to aide their development. 

I proceeded to simulate the final games and after five defeats and one draw, relegation was successfully delivered. Scunthorpe joined us in demotion, replicating what took place in real life. 

In a promising development for the season ahead, my team of youngsters started to gel and perform quite well in the penultimate and final games of the season. These were a 3-2 loss away at Tranmere and then a 2-2 draw against Crawley. Youngsters Da Silva and Badby both bagged EFL goals, and top prospect Vaughan got two goals in two games. Even more impressive, was that despite being in a team of youths who mostly got beaten, Vaughan achieved a pass completion rate of 94% across the the six games he played - enough to give him the highest average across the entire season when you include the original first team! These developments increased my excitement to get started with this save.

After relegation was secured, I took no further action other than to resign and retire the proxy manager I had in place, allowing me to add a new manager ready to commence this challenge. 

With that, I was ready to get started! 

Sounds like you managed the club better than Mohammed Lemsagan, but I accept that the constraints of the game made it hard to match his level of incompetence.

Note: Lemsagan's the Sporting Director. I know Sheridan was the 'manager' at the end of the season).

Edited June 27, 2022 by vikeologist

[Dong21]

12 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

I coincidentally just read this yesterday.. sad stuff

It really is mate! Glad their story is getting a bit of mainstream attention - the pressure needs to stay on the owner to lower his asking price and sell up. 

12 hours ago, vikeologist said:

Sounds like you managed the club better than Mohammed Lemsagan, but I accept that the constraints of the game made it hard to match his level of incompetence.

Note: Lemsagan's the Sporting Director. I know Sheridan was the 'manager' at the end of the season).

Sadly I know Mo Lemsagan well as I've watched along with horror over the years as he's made bad transfer decision after bad transfer decision (from Urko Vera to Wilfred Moimbe to Florian Gonzales... I could go on!), all whilst never taking any accountability.

One of my great hopes for this save is for the departure of Mo and Abdallah, and the arrival of new owners. On last year's save I took the club from League Two to the Premier League and wasn't able to shake them. Hoping for more fortune this time around. Only a week after taking on the managerial role rumours started to swirl of a Fan's Trust takeover but after a month Lemsagem came out to quash the prospect of a takeover and sadly all talk of this has fallen away. Hopefully, like in real life, the fan's effort continue to grow!

Edited June 27, 2022 by Dong21

[Dong21]

Brief update:

I have been without wifi (or had extremely poor / slow wifi) since the weekend due to a network issue in my area. My broadband provider has promised me it will be resolved by next Monday... 

I have finished pre-season with Oldham and my squad is nearly finalised for the season ahead (as you can imagine, there have been quite a few new faces!), so when my internet isn’t like wading through treacle I have plenty to write about! Updates pending.

[Dong21]

With a threadbare squad, predominantly made up of under-18s, it was always going to be a busy first summer at Oldham Athletic. This proved to be the case and I now have 20 new arrivals to preview across the next two updates. 

I was excited to start with a clean slate and have the flexibility to spend my budget as I wished. I noted previously that I was limited to a maximum wage of £800 per week, which was lower than I was expecting and certainly limited some of our business. After the Fan's Trust takeover fell through in late July, I noticed that I could now offer up to £2,000 per week (budget permitting), so I guess the wage limit was somewhat like a transfer embargo. By that point I had constructed much of my squad, so no big spending spree of wage budget took place and from an overall financials perspective this is probably a good thing.

I took over 40 players on trial over a six week period. Many of whom featured during pre-season so I could cast judgment over their ability. Some were judged not good enough and quickly released, some were offered contracts but chose to go elsewhere and some were successfully signed. 

Central midfield has been a particular challenge. I must have offered around 10 contracts to players who would have been great additions, but in each instance they chose to go elsewhere - normally to a League Two club. I am writing this update on the eve of the new season. In the VNL, the transfer window remains open from May until March, so there is plenty of time for further additions. We currently have three contract offers out with players, two of which are central midfielders, however given how this summer has gone so far I have limited confidence these deals will be completed! 

Overall I am happy with our transfer dealings, I believe I have constructed a young, talented squad, without spending much to do so. The majority of the squad have potential to grow and improve, although there are a few sprinklings of experience which I think will be important for the campaign ahead.

Let me introduce to you, the Oldham squad for 2022/23:

Goalkeepers

This was one of a few priority areas as when I joined the club there was only one limited 17 year old 'keeper on the books (who has returned to the U-18s to continue developing once these deals were completed). I signed two goalkeepers, both of whom have the ability to be our first choice stopper. 

The more experienced of the two is Kyle Letheren who has played at a variety of clubs across the English and Scottish league pyramids, most recently at Morecambe in League Two. On current ability he is more accomplished than my other signing, Jake Turner, however Turner has the age and potential to go on and become a superior goalkeeper over time. Turner was released by Newcastle in the summer and, by coincidence, last got professional minutes during a loan at Morecombe in the 2020/21 season (prior to Letheren's arrival).

 

Given his age profile, I gave Letheren a one year deal, whereas Turner has got a two year contract. 

Full Backs

Before a signing was made, this was the area we were most equipped as I had already chosen to renew the contracts of right back Jordan Clarke and left back Sam Hart. I also have young prospect Benny Couto, who I am keen to develop, therefore I decided that there was no need to target a left back this transfer window. At right back, I found a player who would bring great experience and leadership to the team - something essential when we have so much young talent.

Prior to his brief spell in the Eredivisie last season, Jordan Spence was playing regularly in the Championship over the last few years. I therefore think it was a huge coup to persuade him to drop to the National League. In the season preview media items he has been identified as one of the best players in the division. Due to his leadership, determination and experience I asked him to become club captain at the end of pre-season. Prior incumbent, and fellow right back, Clarke didn't mind handing over the captain's armband stating that it he was "probably the better option".

I now have two good options at right back. Clarke was ruled out for seven weeks at the start of pre-season with sprained knee ligaments so I kept youngster Oliver Kilner around for cover and development. With Clarke now on the verge of match fitness, I may look to loan Kilner out. 

One potential danger is that MK Dons are currently interested in Sam Hart. I would hope to keep the player but a big fee could be transformative for the club so I would need to consider any offer carefully. Particularly as Hart currently only has a one year deal. 

Centre Backs

This was definitely the easiest position to recruit for - I was delighted by the abundance of quality players who were willing to sign on reasonable terms. As such, I signed four players who could all easily be first choice. There are a lot of games to be played at this level, so I am sure they will all get plenty of minutes.

Christian Maghoma has an interesting career path, having come through the Spurs academy, then spent time playing in Poland at Arka, before returning to the UK to play for Gillingham in League One. I have been very impressed with his performances in pre-season and as such have appointed him as our vice-captain for the season ahead. Having spent time in both Liverpool and Arsenal's academies, Mich'el Parker is also a player with pedigree. Most recently playing for Linfield in Northern Ireland, I was impressed with his technical and physical attributes.

Having a left footed centre-back is always valuable and Ash Kigbu is the player for me. Capable of playing left back, if needed, he adds versatility in a number of ways. Kigbu is a local lad who was developed at Man City before being sold to Wolfsberger in Austria for £250k. That deal didn't quite work out and now he is back in Greater Manchester looking to rebuild his career. Ben Hockenhull may be worth the signing for his resale value alone! The youngest of the four, the ex-Man Utd academy player, has bags of potential. 

Besides Kigbu, who would only sign a one year deal, the other three are all on long-term deals which is great as they all have potential to develop. 

You may recall that I had two young centre backs with potential at the club, Will Sutton and Frazer Cookson. As I recruited so well at centre back I decided to loan the pair out to Bradford (PA) and Evesham respectively, to continue their development.

Central Midfielders

As discussed above, this position has been our biggest recruiting challenge. The positive spin on this, is that it could lead to more opportunities for top prospect Harry Vaughan, which would be beneficial for the club. Despite the hardship, we have managed to recruit three players in this area. We intend to either play 4-1(DM)-2-2(wide)-1 or 4-2-3-1, which is why we want to be more resourced in this position.

Brazilian by birth, but with English as his second nationality thanks to five years in West Ham's academy, Bernardo Rosa could offer some attacking flair to the VNL. Clearly a very raw prospect, however his passing, technique, first touch and passing are already top class. One of my first signings of the summer was Bobby Carroll, formerly of Everton's academy. I'm not sure why Carroll's stats are showing as declining, he hasn't been injured or performed poorly in pre-season. Neither Rosa or Carroll have every played first team football so I am somewhat taking a punt on them, but I am looking forward to seeing what they do.

Our headline signing in central midfield so far is Khalon Haysman, who quite simply has incredibly mental attributes for an 18 year old. Comfortable in defensive midfield or central midfield, he is a player that I am very excited to be managing this season. Hopefully I can find a suitable midfield partner for him.

The outlay on wages for my central midfielders has been miniscule so far.

In the next update I will profile our signings and squad in the attacking midfield and striker positions.

Edited July 24, 2022 by Dong21

[Dong21]

You wait a while for an update, and then two come at once!

As noted in part 1, the two formations we have been utilising in pre-season have been 4-1-2-2-1 and 4-2-3-1. We therefore needed to ensure we have quite a variety of attacking players - wingers, central attacking midfielders and inside forwards (for when playing 4-1-2-2-1). Many of the players I have signed are adept in playing multiple positions, which is valuable to me.

Here is the rest of the Oldham 2022/23 squad:

Attackers

When playing 4-1-2-2-1, the below two signings will likely be my first choice wide options - Tormey as an inverted winger on the right and Jno-Baptiste as an inside forward on the left. When playing 4-2-3-1, or any other formation for that matter, I am sure this pair will also feature frequently.

Both players possess electric pace, something I am hoping will put as at an advantage in the VNL. Nathan Tormey is another player like Rosa and Carroll who is yet to get professional first team minutes for a club, but on my assessment he is more than ready! Francis Jno-Baptiste could easily be played as a striker, but at this early stage I see him as a wide forward. He has had an interesting career to-date, having spent the last three years in Sweden playing for Ostersunds.

As a Manchester United fan, turning Dion McGhee into a success really appeals to me. Similar to other players I've signed, he has started off with great promise (moving from United to Newcastle and then on to Sporting Braga) but is yet to have the opportunity to prove himself. He can play anywhere across attacking midfield and is on a bargain £300 per week.

George Williams is the highest earner at the club (in fact, he's the only player earning more than £875 per week!), which may seem a strange decision as he's not first-choice on paper. I made this decision for a coupe of reasons: (1) we had assembled the rest of the squad so cheaply that I could justify spending more here, (2) he is an out-and-out winger, which we need in the squad and (3) he has 125 league appearances in the Football League which is more experience than most of my squad and he is still only 26.

I signed two additional attackers for increased squad depth - both at opposite ends of their playing careers!

Signing Lee Martin may seem a little left-field (and it's not my United bias shining through, I swear!) but adding his experience to the squad to help out develop the youngsters seemed like a wise move. Martin has made 418 league appearances across his career and has recent experience in non-league with Ebbsfleet. With his loss of pace, he will likely be utilised as a central attacking midfielder rather than a winger. 

At only 20 years old, Rio Glean was signed as 'one for the future', although he did score a screamer in our last pre-season friendly to give me food for thought!

As you can see, we now have quite a few attackers. It may look like too many, but three are teenagers who I may choose to loan out or move back to our youth ranks. Realistically I can't see Kane Badby or Kofi Moore getting many minutes now I've recruited. Junior Luamba spent the majority of pre-season on international duty with DR Congo's U20s so is somewhat of an unknown quantity.

McGhee's contract is one that I am keen to extend in due course. Martin, by contrast, had a non-negotiable clause in his contract that he gets a one year extension if he plays 15 times, so I will need to think carefully about his minutes.

Strikers

We have been making plans to go with one striker up front this season. However, if it was financially viable I have been keen to have enough strikers that we could switch to a 4-4-2 if needed and have another firepower to cope. Four signings have been made, to join Vani Da Silva who was already at the club.

I was extremely excited to secure D'Mani Mellor as our planned first-choice striker for the season ahead. Mellor has made 10 substitute appearances for Man United and now I will be giving him the opportunity to be the main man. Mellor adds to our core of Mancunians at the club and picking up players from the big Manchester clubs will continue to be a strategy for me. Again, I think this deal is a coup for a club at this level.

Adding a different style of forward to the mix is Connor Simpson. Mellor is a pressing forward, whereas Simpson is more of a target man. Despite being only 22, Simpson has played for 10 different clubs with the most recent ones being in Wales and Iceland. Hopefully he can settle down and find a home with us.

Joining Glean in the 'one for the future' bucket is 20 year old Fidel O'Rourke. Signed from Liverpool's academy, I intend to loan him out for development this season. 

My plan for this transfer window was to try and limit loan signings if possible. In previous managerial saves I have had a great deal of success using loanees, but I wanted to try something a bit different and build using the club's players. In the latter stages of the transfer window I had been looking to add one more first team level striker to the group, however the wages wanted were getting extortionate. I therefore decided to make an exception to my loan policy and bring in Josh Thomas from Swansea on a season-long loan. He arrives with a slight knock (in the final stages of recovery from pulled knee ligaments), so won't be able to feature in the first game of the season, but should be able to be involved shortly.

I am now ready to commence the Vanarama National League season. Let me know what you think of the squad I've built and wish us luck! 

[Chevie]

Brilliant rebuild of the squad - one more DM/CM if you have the budget may just be the icing on the cake!

[SinlessCity]

@Dong21 I absolutely love the attention to detail here, including staff profiles.

After being given the goals for the season, I usually go straight to the coaching staff.  It's amazing how easy it is to upgrade on most of them, on most saves... Unless you're a PL team of course!  If you're willing to pay severance, of course.

Good luck with your save!

[john1]

Superb additions to the team and backroom staff

[Dong21]

On 13/07/2022 at 13:50, Chevie said:

Brilliant rebuild of the squad - one more DM/CM if you have the budget may just be the icing on the cake!

Thanks @Chevie! In my squad preview I mentioned that contracts had been offered to two central midfielders - they both rejected us for clubs further up the football pyramid. However, I was eventually able to sign another player who can play both DM and CM. More on him in my next update. 

10 hours ago, SinlessCity said:

@Dong21 I absolutely love the attention to detail here, including staff profiles.

After being given the goals for the season, I usually go straight to the coaching staff.  It's amazing how easy it is to upgrade on most of them, on most saves... Unless you're a PL team of course!  If you're willing to pay severance, of course.

Good luck with your save!

Thanks @SinlessCity - always great to hear when someone likes my approach to updates, as the updates can take some time to put together 😅

Absolutely agree - upgrading staff can take time and effort but it is worth it for the huge improvements you can make. 

6 hours ago, john1 said:

Superb additions to the team and backroom staff

Thanks @john1! I’m really pleased with the business I was able to complete. I just need to get them all to gel now.

I’ve actually completed the first three months of the season, but I am currently on holiday in Portugal and didn’t bring my laptop (I think it would overheat in this weather!) so a full update will be posted when I return from holiday next week. 

[Dong21]

After updating on my staff restructure and the numerous players I have signed to rebuild the squad, it is time to update on how our matches have gone in the first few months.

June 2022

The first fixture of my managerial reign was the game against the reserves that you traditionally play when starting out at a new club. This was a unique scenario as it was before June 30 and I had put all of the squad from the 2021/22 season in the Under 23s to await their contracts expiring. So this match ended up being our young players and small number of first teamers who had received new contracts (and who I profiled in my second post above) playing against the squad that got Oldham relegated. Our team also included four of the players who I signed first, including the goal scorer Jno-Baptiste. Considering I had barely commenced recruiting our new squad, I was pleased that we were able to secure a draw. 

July 2022

In a normal season, I would probably acknowledge that nine pre-season friendlies is excessive. Given that we were completely rebuilding a squad - I need a lot of opportunities to observe both our young players and trialists in matches and then build fitness and morale in players, once signed. You will notice the goal scorers in the games at the beginning of the month include trialists who did not end up signing for us, whereas in the games closer to the season starting my squad was closer to being finalised and the goals came from contracted players. 

We won all seven of our matches against local sides of a lower standing than ourselves, which was reassuring. Losing narrowly to League Two Chesterfield was not an issue and I was pleased with a draw against Championship side Preston. I ended the pre-season period feeling like I had a good level of understanding of the abilities of my players. 

We sold 2,050 season tickets, down from 2,500 the season before. Understandable given the relegation out of the EFL! It is my intention to try and win the disillusioned fans over. 

Our National League campaign commenced with a victory on the south coast, as we beat Eastleigh 2-1. We played very well, having 23 shots and hitting the crossbar three times. The score line would have been more resounding if not for a late consolation goal. Most satisfying was that 18 year old midfield prodigy Vaughan got an assist. 

August 2022

I mentioned in my message to @Chevie that I had managed to eventually sign a central midfielder. It was another ex-Manchester United academy graduate, Matty Willock who arrived at the start of August. Willock has made 50 league appearances for a handful of League One and League Two clubs over the last few seasons and is a full international of Montserrat, so comes with plenty of relevant experience. Equally happy as a ball winning midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder, he improves us in the middle of the pitch. 

On the subject of transfers, with my squad now up to capacity (and particularly having learnt on the eve of the season that you only get five substitutes in the VNL!) I loaned out a number of youth players to gain experience. Jim Simms, Oliver Kilner and Rio Glean all went on loan to Bamber Bridge. Kofi Moore and Kane Badby both went to Hyde. 

August was a tough month, in which I learnt that the National League has a higher standard of opposition that I was anticipating. We lost three times out of six. It was a stark reminder that my squad is still gelling together and it might take some time for us to fully click. It is worth noting that we currently have no team leaders, so squad dynamics need some time to foster. Centre-back Parker suffered a hamstring strain in the game against Solihull and was ruled out for five weeks. After failing to impress me against Solihull I dropped 'keeper Letheren and Turner has been by first choice stopper ever since. 

Looking at positives, our best performance and result to date came in the derby against Stockport. Additionally, it has been pleasing that we scored in every game. 

In August I received word that a local investor was in talks to takeover the club (mimicking what is hopefully happening in real life). However come the end of the month this had once again been quashed by Abdallah. Fingers crossed it will be third time lucky. 

September 2022

The game against Woking was frustrating as we through away a 2-0 lead and ended up drawing. Mellor had got on the scoresheet within two minutes but then was taken off injured. After the game it transpired that he had sprained his knee ligaments and was ruled out for eight weeks. 

With my first choice striker injured, it forced my hand to play strikers Thomas and Simpson and it has worked out well as they've both performed well when called upon. Thomas' first goal came six seconds into his debut!

After the Woking draw I decided to take immediate action to turn our form around. Firstly, I held a team meeting and told the team that we could do a lot better than we currently have been. Secondly, I decided to open the chequebook and sign winger Danny Lloyd on a free transfer. I have given him a two year contract on £1,800 per week, which does make him our highest paid player by some distance. However, I felt I needed some more quality on the wing and my staff rate him as the best player at the club, now he has arrived. The 30 year old spent last season at League One side Gillingham, however has extensive non-league experience. 

The team meeting seemed to have had the desired effect, as we have had two big victories against Dartford and Fylde, and also beat Barnet. The defeat at Boreham Wood was disappointing (particularly as we lost because of a penalty conceded by Spence), although they are currently league leaders so they were in good form. Lloyd has yet to do anything of particular note, but it is extremely early days.

So after 12 games, we currently sit within the Playoff places, which I am happy with. There is tonnes of room for improvement as I am still not settled on my best team and am constantly tweaking our tactical approach, but we are only five points off the top with room to grow so that is a good place to be. 

The final point to note is that the board decided to inject £110k into the club on 18 September and a further £150k on 26 September to help assist with our financial struggles. 

[warlock]

3 hours ago, Dong21 said:

I learnt that the National League has a higher standard of opposition that I was anticipating

I don't think there's a huge difference between the top half of the National League and L2, so it can be tough. On the other hand, you might find things a bit easier than expected when you win promotion.

Given the extent of the required rebuild, I'd say you were doing fine so far. Good luck with the rest of the season 

[Dong21]

10 hours ago, warlock said:

On the other hand, you might find things a bit easier than expected when you win promotion.

‘If’ we win promotion  

Appreciate the optimism! 

Certainly happy with how things are going so far. 

[Dong21]

Wonderful news, in real life, as it was announced last night that Oldham-based businessman Frank Rothwell has purchased both the club and the stadium. He will be joined on the board by legendary former Latics manager Joe Royle and his son Darren, who brokered the deal. 

Mo Lemsagam, the brother of former owner Abdallah and hapless Sporting Director, was seen leaving the stadium with a coffee machine under his arm. Symbolically, the closing of a dark chapter in Oldham’s history.

I’ve watched the introductory videos the club has posted on their social media and it really feels like the club is now in the hands of people who have its best interests at heart. I really hope this is the start of the local community reconnecting with the club in a major way.

Now all I hope is that the sale of the club is replicated in my FM save!

[Dong21]

It was always ambitious starting a big project like this in the middle of the summer with holiday season on horizon - so apologies for the lack of updates over the last few weeks. I am back from my travels now though and so can push forward with this exciting adventure. In this update I will cover the last two months at the club - and what a two months they have been!

October 2022

After a relatively inconsistent start to the season, we had started to turn a corner with three wins in our last four games in September. Things fully clicked into place in October, as we went on to win seven out of seven fixtures.

The Halifax game started badly when Haysman gave away a penalty and former Latics-man Zak Dearnley scored to put them in front. We came back to win 3-1 though with, importantly, winger Lloyd getting his first assist for the club. Besides Turner (GK), Williams (RW) and Simpson (ST) we changed the whole team to take on struggling Southend and beat them comfortably. One of our toughest tests came next; title-chasing Wrexham. Just before the match we learnt Williams, who had been doing so well for us, was ruled out for 6 weeks with a hernia. We went 2-1 down against Hollywood Wrexham, but roared back to win 3-2 and rise to 2nd in the table.

Nantwich in the FA Cup was a great opportunity to play squad members. Back-up striker Thomas, on loan from Swansea, got a confidence boosting hat-trick. Academy graduates Luamba and Vaughan got a brace and a goal respectively. This was the first 10 goal game the club had been involved in.

Around this time we got the news that young prospect Kane Badby had broken his leg whilst on loan at Hyde and would be out for 8 months. I suspect this will hinder his development quite a bit. We sent young striker Fidel O'Rourke on loan to Gloucester during the month, and I hope he has more luck than Badby. 

Simpson was the star of the show with a hat-trick, when we beat Aldershot. That result saw us rise to top of the National League table, albeit only on goal difference ahead of Boreham Wood. The game against Grimsby was a tight one, so I was delighted that we got a penalty that allowed us to capture the three points. McGhee, who had been in terrific recent form, was ruled out for 10 days after that victory. 

Connor Simpson won the VNL Player of the Month award due to his six goals in six games, and an average match rating of 7.6. Bobby Carroll's screamer against Southend came second in the Goal of the Month listings and I picked up my first Manager of the Month accolade. 

Hard-to-please owner Abdallah graded me a 'B' in my end-of-month assessment - I'm not sure what more I could have done to get an 'A'! 

November 2022

Whilst Premier League club's prepared for a break for the World Cup, the National League continued to roll on at pace during November. Our second game against Grimsby in a week, this time in the FA Cup, was a lot more straightforward than the league game. I once again played a changed side and they did well. All the hard work in the summer transfer window is paying off as I effectively have two sides I am comfortable playing. 19 year old left back Couto picked up the Man of the Match award in this game, thanks to his pair of assists. I decided to reward the youngster with a new £600 per week, three year deal. 

With winger Williams still out injured, I decided to reward 19 year old Junior Luamba for his good form in the FA Cup with a start again against bottom-side Maidenhead. He repaid my faith with two goals! This was the start of an unexpected spate of form as I continued to stand-by him. By the end of the month, Luamba was the shock winner of both the VNL Young Player of the Month and Player of the Month after a return of five goals in four games and an average match rating of 7.8 per game.

D'Mani Mellor had just returned from two months injured and then was ruled out again for a further month with a pulled calf muscle just ahead of the Maidenhead game. At the start of the season I considered him my first choice striker, but whilst he has been out Simpson and Thomas have done great meaning he will struggle to get in the team when he finally returns.

Second place Boreham Wood drew twice as we beat Maidenhead and Wealdstone, so we went four points clear at the top of the table. As the month went on they fell down the table with Notts County rising to second and Wrexham to third. Gateshead were third at one point, but our win at their ground knocked them back down to fifth.

We ended the month going seven points clear at the top, beating Torquay 1-0. Notts County have since played a game more than us and closed the gap back to four. I picked up my second Manager of the Month award, but was more chuffed about Luamba's personal accolades. 

I have titled this update 'Near Perfection' as although on the pitch things could not have gone better, behind the scenes there have still been challenges.

In early October the press started talking about a club takeover by an investor. I was really hoping it would be third time lucky, and was thinking the real-life takeover by Frank Rothwell might be a good omen, but as the month continued Abdallah once again quashed the move. 

After a run of 14 straight victories I chanced my arm and asked if I could be considered for a new contract, considering my current deal is only till the end of the season. Abdallah rejected this citing financial reasons...

Finally, I had hoped to see home attendances rising thanks to our red-hot form, but we have stayed consistently around the 2,200 mark. Here's hoping their is a lag in interest and gates start to pick up as the season continues!

Edited August 12, 2022 by Dong21

[warlock]

34 minutes ago, Dong21 said:

Things fully clicked into place in October

That's a fantastic run of results, and some impressive performances, too! I can see the attendances would be an issue - for what it's worth in October '22 my Gateshead side (also top of the league) are drawing an average 1,874. It might be a relegation thing - fans losing faith. Also in my save, recently relegated Harrogate, after two seasons in L2, have the National League's lowest attendance at 1,032.

Just a guess... FM moves in mysterious ways 

[Dong21]

Interesting @warlock and certainly sounds like it could be the case! If I look at Oldham in real life, their attendances would have definitely fallen following relegation if it wasn’t for the positivity surrounding the new owner.

Edited August 12, 2022 by Dong21

[Dong21]

December 2022

We were drawn against League One opposition in the FA Cup Second Round. Plymouth were 8th placed in the third tier when we played them, so I knew it would be a tough challenge. This proved to be the case and it was a straightforward 2-0 loss. 

I was worried that after 14 wins in a row that this loss could scupper our league form, but I had nothing to worry about and we were straight back to winning ways.

We were losing 1-0 to Solihull Moors so subbed on Lloyd and Thomas. Lloyd got two assists and Thomas two goals. Against FC United of Manchester in the FA Trophy I gave Lee Martin only his second start of the season and he had a phenomenal game. Two goals, with the second an absolute screamer. The negative was that CB Maghoma went off injured after 2 mins and was ruled out for 9 weeks with a groin strain.

Substitutions continued to change our games throughout the month. Thomas got the late winner against Dag & Red and Jno-Baptiste got the off-the-bench winner vs promotion chasing Notts Co. 

Both McGhee and Willock have been essential to our success so far, but were both only on one year deals. I therefore decided to give two year contract extensions to both, with slight wage increases.

January 2023

We started 2023 with a draw against local rivals Stockport. This was disappointing as it brought to the end a run of 16 league wins in a row. Striker Thomas continued to change games from the bench. There was probably an argument to have dropped misfiring striker Simpson by now, but since we continue to win, it didn't seem necessary. 

After injuries Mellor, Williams and Jno-Baptiste had all struggled to get back into the starting eleven. They had been doing well and building fitness in the U23s though, so I decided to test them out against lowly Maidstone. They all did poorly and are firmly back out of my first choice line up! 

Central midfielder Vaughan continued to impress, getting two assists and a goal against Alfreton Town in the FA Trophy. 

The thrashing of Scunthorpe was a great day for Danny Lloyd, but was most important for Simpson who scored for the first time in 10 hours. Hopefully this is him turning a corner. 

Throughout this run of form we had managed to build up a gap of 15 points between us and 2nd place. I can't quite believe how well things have gone and truly thought this was going to be a season of relative struggle, with Playoffs best case scenario. 

We conceded in the 90th minute away at Woking, meaning the gap reduced to 13 points. It is not panic stations just yet...

Transfer Update

Finances continue to be an issue at Oldham. Each time there is a prospective takeover, that could ease this issue issue, the owner shuts it down. In January the Chairman once again injected £75k to assist with running costs. With this in mind I decided to proactively sell one of my players to put some money in our coffers.

19 year old Benny Couto has performed really well every time he has deputised at left back, which has been all cup games and midweek league games generally. I therefore decided to cash in on first choice left back Sam Hart. Hart has been a key performer (21 league appearances, 2 goals, 9 assists and an average rating of 7.43), but I am focused on developing Couto. I therefore offered Hart out and, of the multiple bids we received, he decided to join Notts County for £65k. 

In addition, goalkeeper Letheren was unhappy not to be first choice so I let him join Spennymoor on a free. I also yet youngster Jack Williams join Redditch, again on a free. You’d forward Da Silva was loaned to Curzon Ashton.

Our youth intake preview suggests that our top prospect arriving at the end of the season will be a goalkeeper, so hopefully whomever this will act as Letheren's long term successor.

To bolster the squad I turned to the short-term loan market. First to arrive was goalkeeper Cameron Gregory on loan from Shrewsbury. The young shot stopper will provide great competition for Turner and we are only paying £230 per week for his wages. The second arrival, to act as back-up to Couto at left back was Swansea full back Lincoln McFayden. He is definitely good enough to be first choice if anything happens to Couto and we are paying none of his wages. 

The final piece of good news is that my assistant manager Terry McPhillips made the decision to reject Coventry and stay at the club. A sign of his faith in the project we are working on here at Oldham!

Edited August 14, 2022 by Dong21

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Dong21 said:

Lincoln McFayden. He is definitely good enough to be first choice

Good find. He's been added to my shortlist 

[Dong21]

My last update ended with a win away at Dartford that meant we were undefeated in 21 games. The path to promotion was looking extremely comfortable. It was therefore about time things got a little more interesting with some bumps in the road...

February 2023

Despite Barnet having a man sent off and despite us dominating the game, we kicked off February with our first league loss in several months. It was tough to take as we even had two goals disallowed for being marginally offside. The gap between 1st and 2nd was reduced to 10 points. I changed the entire starting eleven to take on Ebbsfleet in the FA Trophy and they lost as well, knocking us out of the cup. After the game Scunthorpe offered to take 35 year old Lee Martin on a free transfer. As he rarely plays I decided it would be good to save the wage spend and accepted. 

We got back on track with wins against Boreham Wood and Fylde. McGhee was the star of the two games, but it was great to see Simpson finally return to the scoresheet. The wins had returned us to being 12 points clear at the top, but a draw away at Halifax knocked that back down to 10. 

Contracts

Ash Kigbu had established himself as first choice centre back alongside Ben Hockenhull during the season. With less than six months on his contract, I opened talks with him about renewing his deal. Kigbu would only entertain a one year extension and wanted an extortionate rise. I offered to near double his wage and he still walked away, so Kigbu will be departing Boundary Park at the end of the season. Since these negotiations (post-Fylde game) I have dropped him from the team and have played Parker instead.

In more positive news, I successfully negotiated new two year deals for three players who have performed well and developed throughout the course of the season. Goalkeeper Turner and central midfielder Vaughan have new £900 per week deals and defensive midfielder Haysman has a new £1k per week contract.

March 2023

A place in the Playoffs was guaranteed after we thrashed Southend, in a match in which Danny Lloyd shone the brightest. A loss to promotion-chasing Wrexham was extremely disappointing as we were the better side. In these latter stages of the season our concentration and ability to finish teams off, when playing top seven sides, seems to be letting us down (see Grimsby result, later in the month for more of the same). The gap ahead of second was still nine points luckily.

We got lucky playing Aldershot as they had a player sent off in the first minute, so we were able to go attacking and wait for the goals to go in. After the Aldershot win I was advised we had now set a new club record points haul for a season.

For both the Kings Lynn and Grimsby games we were without Luamba, Thomas and Willock who were all on international duty. No postponement was offered, which happens in the Football League. Goalkeeper Turner was ruled out with a sports hernia for six weeks, so Gregory (who received a 6.2 match rating in his only prior appearance, when we were eliminated from the FA Trophy) was to deputise for the rest of the season. Centre-back Parker was then ruled out for five weeks with sprained ankle ligaments, giving the sulking Kigbu a reprieve and return to the team.

Despite our patchy form, Dion McGhee won the VNL Player of the Month for March. Understandable given his four goals, two assists and 8.04 average rating.

The loss against 5th place Grimsby means our gap ahead of 2nd place Notts County is 8 points, with 5 games remaining in the season.

In our final five games, we play four teams in the bottom half of the table, so I will be devastated if we manage to throw away automatic promotion at this late stage of campaign.

Anything can happen in football though. Fingers crossed we can secure our return to the Football League at the first time of asking.

[warlock]

11 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Anything can happen in football though

And often does . Watch out for teams battling against relegation; they're often tougher than top-of-the-table sides (ask me how I know!)

Good luck with the run-in.

[karanhsingh]

Looking good to go up as champions!

[john1]

Should go up at this rate!

[Dong21]

April 2023

In my last update I noted that first choice goalkeeper Jake Turner was injured, meaning loanee Cameron Gregory would deputise for the final month of the season. Disaster struck though. Prior to the Maidenhead game Gregory was ruled out for 10 weeks with a broken arm. We had no first team 'keepers. I spent quite some time trying to find someone to take on emergency loan, but was scuppered as either clubs didn't want to loan at this stage of the season or wanted the players wages to be covered, which we can't afford at this time (our whole wage budge was being utilised). This meant, therefore, that I decided to call up Luke Southerington from the Under-18s. In the end, I had nothing to worry about as he delivered clean sheets against Maidenhead and Wealdstone, on our path to promotion. 

Against Wealdstone we were struggling to make the breakthrough, so I subbed on Luamba and Simpson. Luamba got two assists and Simpson scored the crucial first goal.

Victory away at Yeovil was the result that sealed the league title and promotion back to the Football League. The only downside was Luamba was injured scoring his goal and had to be subbed off.

I am delighted to have been able to comfortably win the Vanarama National League. I really did expect it to be a battling season with Playoffs the best case scenario. 

After securing the league, I worried the team would take their foot off the gas against a good Gateshead side. Conceding three was sloppier than usual, but scoring six delighted the fans! McGhee and Simpson both got braces, but Haysman got the headlines after scoring his first goal for the club - an absolute screamer! A draw was a slightly underwhelming end to the season, but that didn't stop us partying once again at the full time whistle!

I was selected as the April VNL Manager of the Month. I was also shortlisted for the Manager of the Season (voted for by VNL managers) after achieving a 73% win percentage, but was pipped to the accolade by Mike Williamson at Gateshead.

League Table

Here are the final league standing for the 2022/23 VNL campaign:

 Notts County won the Playoffs to join us in League Two next season. They drew 1-1 with Solihull Moors in the Final, and then won on penalties. 

No team scored more than us in the VNL, in fact we set a league record with our 98 goals. Notts County had the leanest defence, but we only conceded four more than them. Looking at the table, one thing that stands out is our lack of draws which is pleasing to see. 

107 points may well be the most points I have picked up in a league campaign on FM. I can't recall being so dominant. 

Best Eleven

The above media item shows a fairly accurate reflection of the team I most frequently played this season. Sam Hart was the first choice left back, up until his sale in the January transfer window, and Matty Willock played nearly as many games in central midfield as Harry Vaughan. In the next post I will write up a comprehensive review of my squad's performance. 

Edited August 29, 2022 by Dong21

[warlock]

24 minutes ago, Dong21 said:

I am delighted to have been able to comfortably win the Vanarama National League

Well played, mate 

[Dong21]

19 minutes ago, warlock said:

Well played, mate 

Thanks @warlock! 

The downer on what should be a time of celebration is I'm currently dealing with uncertainty as to whether I will be able to stay at the club. When I joined the club I was given a one year contract. Half way through the season, with things going well, I asked the Chairman to consider extending my contract. I was told I needed to wait till the end of the season, due to our perilous financial position. The day after the league title was delivered, I decided to once again ask our unpopular Chairman for a new deal. Despite the success I have brought, I was rejected once again, this time being told that no new contracts would be offered until the very last moment possible to save money. 

I don't quite understand the situation. The Chairman recently put £150k into the club to manage running costs and we have been set our new wage budget for next season which is £5k more per week than we are currently spending (£32k per week). Admittedly there is no transfer budget, but we don't seem in such a severe position that they couldn't renew my contract. I'll happily accept the same terms as I am on now...

Hopefully I will get a contract before the end of June and then I can get back to dreaming of a new owner taking over! 

[Dong21]

With promotion in the bag, my attention turns to enhancing my squad so that it is capable of surviving and perhaps even thriving in League Two. Before I begin to review the transfer options available to me, it is important to first reflect back on the performances of my squad over the season concluded. I started the campaign with near to no squad at all, so most of these players are my signings to reflect upon. I focused on signing young players who could grow and develop in their roles and would have the possibility of being sold for a profit when needed. As detailed in my updates throughout the season, I have already gone through the process of renewing the contracts of my best performing players to give us a good chance of retaining them in the season ahead.

So let's take a look at how my players got on in the 2022/2 season:

Goalkeepers

After initially seeing off some competition from experienced stopper Kyle Letheren (4 appearances, 7 conceded), Jake Turner went from strength to strength as our first choice 'keeper and only conceded 33 goals in 41 appearances, including 16 league clean sheets. Turner developed from a 3 star player to a 3.5 star player during the season. Loanee Cameron Gregory (2.5 stars CA and 4.5 stars PA - I am not sure why this view is not showing assistant reports for loan players) and youth Luke Southerington did okay as stand-ins at the end of the season, but I don't intend for either of them to be in the first team next season. One of my transfer focuses will be to find competition for Turner. 

Full Backs

If Sam Hart had not been sold, he likely would have been a contender for our player of the season. That said, the decision to sell him was absolutely vindicated by the terrific form of Benny Couto since he departed. Couto had the second highest average rating of any player at the club and provided seven assists from full back. His development throughout the season has been phenomenal - he began the season being rated 2 stars by coaches and is now rated 3.5 stars. Due to his good leadership attributes and home-grown nature, I decided to make him vice-captain late in the season (demoting Maghoma in the process).

Lincoln McFayden (3 star CA / 4.5 stars PA) did not get too many opportunities to shine, as I was focused on developing Couto, but he did well in the moments he featured. I don't currently intend to renew his loan and will likely be looking for a new left back to support Couto.

Our leader on the pitch; Jordan Spence had a great campaign. Classed as a 'team leader' in the dressing room and Mr Consistent on the pitch. Jordan Clarke was an able back-up, however I think it is time to move him on and look for a younger understudy to Spence. I have just given a new two year deal to Oliver Kilner who spent the season away on loan from the club.

Centre Backs

At the start of the season I would have said I had four centre backs with equal ability, however I recall thinking that Mich'el Parker and Christian Maghoma would likely be my starting duo. After experimenting with different combinations at the start of the season, it turned out to be Ben Hockenhull and Ash Kigbu who stood out. 

Hockenhull was the star of the back line and was shortlisted for VNL Player of the Season (an award won by Solihull's Kyle Hudlin). Kigbu being left footed helped him gel well with his partner. 

When Kigbu rejected a new contract it created opportunities for Parker and Maghoma, the latter of whom would likely have played more if he wasn't so frequently injured.

Somewhat peculiarly, Parker was voted as our 'Signing of the Season'. I personally would have chosen McGhee. 

Central Midfield

No central midfielder featured more frequently for us than Khalon Haysman. The 19 year old predominantly played as a ball winning midfielder, yet still provided seven assists for his colleagues. Bobby Carroll was his understudy and his highlight of the campaign was that he won our Goal of the Season award.

Developing the clubs youngsters is one of my biggest motivators and focuses in this career. Along with Couto, Harry Vaughan is one of my priorities. The young central midfielder was involved in 40 games, scored seven times and got five assists. Throughout the campaign he went from a 2 star to a 3 star rated player.

Matty Willock was the first choice partner of Haysman at the start of the season. He was dropped through no fault of his own. We were looking comfortable at the table and I concluded I could risk playing Vaughan most games to aide his development. 

 Central Attacking Midfield

Probably the most exciting thing about managing Oldham Athletic so far has been the performances of Dion McGhee. The ex-United man has been imperial this campaign. His return of 19 goals and 15 assists say it all! He also picked up more Player of the Match awards (seven) than any other of our players. 

McGhee won both the Fans Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season. I personally think he was robbed when he did not win the VNL Player of the Season award.

The big challenge now will be hanging on to him. Cheltenham (who finished 22nd in League One) manager Joe Dunne was in the stadium on the last game of the season scouting him.

Bernardo Rosa did okay as an understudy - he even filled in at left back in the last game of the season due to injuries. 

Wingers

I was as shocked as anyone at how well Junior Luamba did this season. He does not have any standout attributes besides very high levels of determination, which I have surmised is the reason behind his successful campaign. 14 goals and seven assists, from a player only involved in 26 games is quite the return! 

Francis Jn-Baptiste and Danny Lloyd both featured regularly and were in double figures for goal contributions (goals and assists combined) but neither ever seemed to set the world on fire. When looking at transfer options, the wings will definitely be a place I will look at enhancing. 

Injuries curtailed George Williams and Nathan Tormey's involvements in the team. Williams may well have been our best player in the first month or so, but after getting injured he couldn't get past the in form Luamba.

Strikers

Our top goalscorer was Connor Simpson. 22 goals is a great return, but it was not the perfect season as he still managed to go on long spells without scoring during the season. It will be interesting to see how he fares in League Two. Josh Thomas (3 star CA / 4 star PA) had a really successful loan spell with us. Tasked most frequently with being an impact-sub, he quite often delivered with a goal. Disappointingly, at the end of the season Swansea agreed that I could take him on loan for another season (this time only covering £240 per week of his deal), but Thomas rejected the move. 

I started the season with D'Mani Mellor as my first choice centre-forward. A combination of uninspiring form and injuries meant that Simpson soon replaced him as my number one forward. Mellor is still only 22, so he may well be worth giving a second opportunity next season. That said, I will be giving some thought to moving him on if I can get a decent fee. 

[Dong21]

20 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Hopefully I will get a contract before the end of June and then I can get back to dreaming of a new owner taking over! 

Good news, I have now been offered and have signed a new one year contract so the adventure with Oldham continues on! 

Just a few days prior to this I was invited to interview for the Carlisle managerial role, vacant after they finished 9th in League Two. In real life, I believe any manager who’s club were letting his contract run down till it’s final month, despite having just won the VNL, would have definitely jumped ship! But the Latics are lucky, I am committed to this challenge. 

Edited August 30, 2022 by Dong21

[Chevie]

Congrats on the promotion!

[deltablue]

One promotion down, three to go

[Dong21]

It has been an extremely busy summer both personally (apologies for no updates in a while!) and at Oldham Athletic under my leadership. 

Identifying new talent is one of the elements of management I enjoy the most, so it was inevitable I would make some signings following our promotion back to the Football League. I did not, however, expect to make changes on this scale. No club had more incomings and outgoings than us. Our financial predicament was the reason this unfolded. 

Often when summarising a summer of signings I will run through position by position. Instead, in this update, I will outline the recruitment 'phases' that we went through and the relevant factors.

Recruitment Phase 1 - Add Experience

When I took over as manager a year ago, all I had to start with was youth. The team has evolved massively since then, however my recruitment focus in the first season was young players who could perform and improve, whilst also having potential resale value. Going into League Two, I knew I needed a few wise head adding to the group. There is less margin for error in this league, so some experience and composure is valuable.

I mentioned in a previous post, the Chairman had given me an extra £5k wage budget for the new season, so I had some funds to start making signings as soon as the season ended. The following four players arrived early in the window, all on free transfers:

 

First to arrive was striker Marc McNulty, on a free from Dundee United. A definite coup to sign a player who has just spent the last two seasons in the Scottish Premiership, considering we are newly promoted to the EFL. McNulty may not have been consistently prolific in his career but the last time he was in League Two (2017/18 with Coventry) he scored 23 league goals. 

Our second signing also has experience well above our level. Tom Carroll has spent most of his career in the Premier League or Championship. He played nearly every game last season for an Ipswich team that finished top half in League One. The screenshot above indicates he is in decline, but even if he is his attributes are still great for this level. My young central midfielders Vaughan and Haysman can certainly benefit from his mental attributes.

Our third signing, Ben Garratt, will provide proper competition for first choice goalkeeper Jake Turner. Some of my coaches even rate him superior than Turner - Garratt has spent the past four seasons as first choice stopper at League One Burton, so perhaps that is unsurprising.

At 26, Ben Stevenson who is formerly of Forest Green Rovers, is not quite as experienced as the other three signings. More so, he is just reaching his prime. Compared to my squad though, he will still be an experienced head. I am delighted to have strengthened the centre of midfield so swiftly.

Recruitment Phase 2 - Sell, Sell, Sell

When the first season officially concluded, my optimism surrounding our budget quickly evaporated. When promotion pay rises and yearly pay rises were applied, we suddenly found ourselves with a wage bill of £34,500 per month, which was higher than our £32k per month budget. We also had no transfer budget to convert into wages. Being in the red and with areas of the squad still to improve, it became apparent we would need to sell to raise funds and bring down the wage budget.

Luckily, there were players who I deemed surplus to requirements after having average seasons last time round, who had suiters and value based on their age and potential.

In total, player sales raised the club over £400k. The board would only let me reinvest 20% of transfer revenue generated - this was frustrating but gave me comfort that it was helping keep the club afloat and decreasing the wage bill at the same time.

The biggest value sale was D'Mani Mellor. I do think I could have turned him into a success, but the offer was significant and he was surplus to requirements most of last season so I took the money. Tormey, like Mellor, was often out with knocks and never established himself in the first team. At just 22, Sutton are also buying potential. 

I liked Willock and he did well for us, but after signing midfield quality (Carroll and Stevenson) and having other talent in the squad (Vaughan and Haysman) it seemed the logical thing to cash in.

Danny Lloyd was the player I was most determined to sell. He never set the world alight last season and his wage was £2.5k. I needed him off the books and was delighted when League One Barnsley submitted a bid. 

I also deemed Maghoma, Williams and Clarke as expendable. The only sale I regret slightly is that of Mich'el Parker. On transfer deadline day I received the £35k bid for him from Forest Green. I looked at free agents available and identified Polish defender Kacper Lopata as a suitable replacement. Scouts said he would be my best centre back, so I offered a contract to him. I therefore accepted the Parker bid and sold him. Shortly after, Lopata failed to get a work permit and the deal fell through. 

Recruitment Phase 3 - Unofficial Feeder Club

With budgets so tight I decided to ask the club to find me a feeder club so we could take loan players in without covering their wages. The Chairman accepted - the first request I believe he has ever approved. Whilst this process was ongoing, I decided to scout the U18s team of local giants Man United and Man City. Our overtures to United were not fruitful, but our review of City found a number of players who would be first team quality for us. The best bit? City only wanted us to cover 10% of each of their wages, which in most instances was around £300 per week! I could not let the opportunity to strengthen my squad on the cheap pass me by, so I arranged four season long loans in quick succession:

With bags of pace and good crossing, I am hoping that Matthew Whittingham can be an impactful option for us on the left wing. Another left sided player, young Tomas Galvez has been brought in as Benny Couto's full back deputy. 

My assistant manager considers Nico O'Reilly to be both 'four star' and the best player at the club - all this and on only £300 per week! Despite this, he will start the season behind Dion McGhee in the central attacking midfield pecking order as McGhee has well-and-truly earned his chance at this level with his performances last campaign. 

Jadel Katongo may have the same hairstyle as O'Reilly, but is a very different player. Has a strong chance of partnering Hockenhull as first choice centre back.

The board did eventually come back with Blackburn as our feeder club. By then I had already filled our loan spots, but accepted the offer as it may come in handy in the future. After scouting the team, I didn't see any better options than what I was able to get from City. 

Recruitment Phase 4 - Complete the Squad

After player sales, wage budget reduction and cheap loan signings, we finally had some budget to make some more additions to the squad. 

Arriving on a free from Arsenal, Harry Clarke is another who can be added to the 'coup' list. What will certainly have helped persuade him to join was his prior spell on loan at the club in 2020. Clarke will serve as our back up right back. Spence is great quality but is getting older, so I don't see it being long before Clarke succeeds him. Additionally, with only three CBs at the club, Clarke could easily fill in if needed.

I was almost not able to complete Clarke's signing however, as although there was sufficient wage budget there was no transfer budget to pay his signing on bonus. I therefore made the decision to reduce the cup competitions bonus to 'low' which put £36k back in the transfer budget. 

Jason Law spent most of pre-season on trial with the club, following his release by Mansfield. He got 9 assists in League Two last season. With funds in place, we were finally able to offer him a contract. 

To bulk out our forward options, I decided to take a punt on striker Bobby Duncan. He has so far failed to live up to his big potential, but is still young enough for it to happen yet. Only wanting £400 per week, the deal feels pretty low risk. Another bargain is fifth loanee Ben Lloyd who joins from Swansea where I have found good talent before. He adds depth to our wing options and is able to play in central midfield if needed.

Our final first team signing is Joe Duffy on a season long loan from Norwich. The big appeal to me, is that he is comfortable playing either attacking midfielder or striker. This is a sixth loanee, which is more than I would have liked. But needs must. Only five of the loanees will be able to feature in the matchday squad at one time. 

Recruitment Phase 5 - Looking to the Future

Firstly I should mention that youngsters Badby, Kilner, Glean, Moore, Da Silva, Sutton and Rosa all went out on loan to focus on their development. 

As the transfer window drew to a close, there was clearly enough budget to make a luxury 'one for the future' signing or two, if I fancied. In fact, the window closed with us having a surplus of £5.6k per week wages left over. Something to potentially utilise in January if we need it. The final two free transfers were as follows:

Fresh from Liverpool's academy, Oakley Cannonier (great name, especially for a striker) has great finishing, composure and pace for his age. He has gone into the Under-23s squad to develop. 

After our goalkeeper crisis at the end of last season, I was keen to have strength in depth this time around. I was really pleased to find Luca Gunter who, despite never playing first team football before, is rated by my staff as not far behind my two first team 'keepers in ability.

Edited September 24, 2022 by Dong21

[Dong21]

After such a busy summer of transfer activity, the composition of my squad has changed since I assessed my playing staff at the end of last campaign. Here, therefore, is a summary of the players at my disposal, as at the end of the transfer window:

Goalkeepers

We now have a great deal of depth in our goalkeeping department. Turner starts the season as first choice, partly based on the merit of his last season and partly as he has more potential to develop compared to the older Garratt. Young Gunter has the most potential of the group and, at 18 years old, has plenty of time to live up to expectations. 

Full Backs

We now have two top quality right backs. Spence was immaculate last season, but with him being 33 it is logical to start to look towards Clarke going forward. We only have three centre backs so both my right backs could see themselves potentially filling in there. In Couto and Galvez we have two youthful left backs with plenty of potential. My priority will still be developing academy graduate Couto. 

Centre Backs

Anyone following this career closely may be surprised to see Kigbu listed here. He had declared he would be leaving the club after demanding a ridiculous new wage, but just before his deal expired I reopened negotiations and to my surprise he was open to accepting a reasonable wage. Hockenhull continues to go from strength to strength. 

Central Midfield

We are now well stocked in the midfield. Although I have added quality in Stevenson and Carroll, I am still focused on developing Vaughan and Haysman.

Haysman is the highest earner at the club on only £1,300, which is indicative of the tight financial management that has taken place this summer. Vaughan is perhaps overpaid for his current ability, but is a player I intend to develop and build around. 

Wingers

Five wingers may seem excessive, but I see this as a key position for our formation and our chances of success. Only playing one striker, these are players we can bring on from the bench to look to change the outcome of games. I do not have a settled first choice pair of wingers, so opportunity is there to be seized.

Attacking Midfielders

During the summer we received a £130k bid for McGhee from Wigan. I flat out refused to negotiate. This was a player I had no intention of cashing in on. McGhee was sublime in our promotion season and I want to try to continue to build a team around him. O'Reilly is so talented I may well need to find away to fit both of them in the team. Duffy may prove to be unnecessary, but he can play striker as well as attacking mid and so does add valuable cover in a crisis.

Strikers

Just three strikers may seem not many, but I tend to only play one up top and many of my attacking midfielders can play there if needed. Simpson is the main man, with McNulty his understudy and Duncan the young prospect who I hope to find minutes for. 

I am pleased with the balance and depth of my squad. Despite us only just being promoted, I am optimistically targeting a top half finish. Fortuitously the board only expect us to avoid relegation.

Edited December 11, 2022 by Dong21

[warlock]

30 minutes ago, Dong21 said:

I am optimistically targeting a top half finish

Definitely looks possible. A busy summer but some good business, and plenty of talent added to the squad. Lots of potential, too.

Good luck this season 

[Dong21]

Thanks @warlock! Always appreciate your interest in / comments on my posts.

[warlock]

3 hours ago, Dong21 said:

Always appreciate your interest in / comments on my posts

And I'm always happy to see your posts . Not a lot going on in the FM bits of the forums, and I'm as guilty of that as the next manager. Mostly waiting for FM23 now, although I have a sporadic rebuild save with United. It's a bit easy, though - won the PL and Europa League in season 1 with a 'current transfers' database