The Odyssey - A Personal Lower League Journey [formerly FM for Masochists]

[phnompenhandy]

At wingback

I always suspected Galasso's attitude, but kept playing him as I saw no alternative. I've latterly come to regard Orsi as worth a punt, so he gets to be first choice until either he proves to be a disaster or Galasso improves his commitment.

On the other flank, you can see why I was playing Flett there, but since giving Darroch an extended chance, he raised his game to not being completely awful for a few months although he ended the season with terrible performances again.

 

In midfield

Edin Hates as our deep-lying playmaker has been fine, but Antony Allison should be one of our best players and he's underperformed as well as failed to develop. In this case, I sense there's something systematic here and I think tinkering with the system or his role in it is required.

 

Lewis Scott was out injured for a long time, and since he returned he's not been back to his best. Is he fully recovered, physically and mentally after the summer break, or are there still issues? No idea as yet, but with Stoud, who only came into the first team when McQueenie left not developing over the final few months of last season, I suspect it's me, not them, and am looking to make changes to enhance their performances and development.

Finally, the main man

A superstar on the pitch, but at the ripe old age of 24, can't be expected to improve. I fear the clock is against us - he'll dry up in time - I just hope it's not too soon.

[phnompenhandy]

 

Boom! Here we go!

Perfect timing with preseason still young. Here are my changes, recognising the club's and my own limitations:

 

Ask Alan to focus the defence on positioning, and midfield on passing

GK coach Orsi – GK tactical – positioning, communicating, decisions

Fitness coach Scott Abernathy to improve quickness – wing backs especially

I'll keep this schedule as it is for 6 months until I get B licence and then look to fine-tune it and alter the schedules to focus on other areas.

My assistant Alan is still in charge of general training for now.

 

About that B licence

Edited January 31, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

9 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

I then sat with Alan MacKay to think through how to hone our tactics. We simply can't rely 100% on Ben; we have to bring the supporting cast into the game - one or two at least.  We could tweak a player role, or we could tweak a couple of team instructions. We'd use the preseason friendlies (including Under 18 games) to experiment. I decided to trial the following alterations:

Role: (a) try each of the Attacking Midfield roles as a Shadow Striker (no other player after Crawford can finish, so I don't expect much from this).

         (b)  try changing the Central Midfield support duty to an attack duty.

Instructions: (c ) Slightly increase the passing length although still short

                       (d)  Don't order never to dribble (maybe only for wingbacks as no one else can dribble anyway)

                      (e)   Increase tempo

                      (f)   Drop the Defensive line a little to reduce the number of goals conceded (thus opening up more space between front and back at risk of reducing our possession)  

                      (g)  Don't instruct team to work the ball into the box

Remember this? We put everything to the test on the training ground and games between the first team and Under 18s and other friendlies - roles and duties of attacking midfielders, central midfielders, wingbacks, and ten times the tactical instructions I mentioned above. Just about all of them made us worse, or at least less able to score. Finally, FINALLY I settled on changes that I feel confident enough give us a slight margin over what we had. In the end, all that has changed is that the attacking midfielder on support becomes a shadow striker, and that the tempo becomes slightly higher, and we don't always work the ball into the box. I think - I hope these changes take a little of the burden off Crawford and will share the goals around a little bit more.

[phnompenhandy]

I was on the phone to an old friend from down south whom I hadn't seen since I was unemployed.  I was having a winge about the new chairman and his and his fanboys' ridiculous playing style expectations.  My friend was shocked- he remarked on how out of character that was.  He reminded me that I'd resolved to be so grateful to whoever gave me a break that I'd do anything to please them. He didn't think it was a valid reason to say the chairman who gave me that break isn't the current one,  or that the fan base has changed.  Reluctantly,  I agreed he had a point,  and that maybe I should swallow my pride and compromise.  If you squint a certain way,  you could argue my tactical changes do make us a smidgen more direct,  and if my defenders play a little better,  we will be more defensively sound. 

[phnompenhandy]

The real effect of this ridiculously huge wage budget is not in any way to strengthen the squad, since I can't bring anyone in. At best it has helped in not weakening the squad as I was able to retain Flett, but the problem is the management have signed up every Tom, Dick and Harry to long contracts. I can't get rid of any that make problems because they demand game time or undermine me in other ways. You've seen my man-management and working with youth skills - this WILL happen, big time. Yes, yes, I try to please, but I'm being set up for a fall here. Unless... will that loan manager be able to earn his keep after all? Ideally, I'd keep all the youngsters and put them through my new funky training regime. Only if they get disruptive will I seek to shift them out. There are players too old for U18s but not first choice who will be offered for loan, but only after I'm sure a younger player is better.

I was informed by Davie that our wage bill is actually one of the lowest in the division – where do all these clubs get the money? Anyway, I can’t spend it!

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

What looks like an easy preseason was anything but. I'm exhausted. Despite all the work we put in, it's difficult to draw firm conclusions when the players are not fully fit, nevertheless, there were some fascinating outcomes. We beat a league club - admittedly they weren't fit either, but what we did was go with the little-used old low-block tactics for difficult opponents and it worked. We'll consider that in away ties against expected upper-table division three opposition. Other matches used a mix of players, with the last one being a deliberate 60% strength starting XI to prepare for rotation for bi-weekly games. That last one was also interesting for Ben Crawford playing as not a poacher but an attacking forward and still bagging all four goals. When he's not on the pitch, we're better than I'd hoped - young Young is an able deputy, and the presence of a shadow striker makes the formation a hybrid 5221/5212 with the attacking playmaker and wingbacks having two options to aim at.

[phnompenhandy]

Our first game was home to a team worse than us in the bookies’ eyes – expected to finish last, in fact. We dominated and beat Wishaw with our metrics all good, but scored only one goal. The next game was another tight result – a 2-1 win against Lugar Boswell Thistle, a stronger midtable side. We certainly didn’t dominate, and the xG was against us; nevertheless, six points from six was a terrific start.

The third match was away to Carluke Rovers – although they’d lost their opening two games, they were favourites for the title and couldn’t be taken lightly. We went with our more conservative approach. That was followed three days later by our first cup tie. As I’d previously mentioned, with 36 league games to contest, extra cup ties were problematic, and I put out a side that reflected that.

We had taken the right approach at Carluke and would have come out on top if Crawford hadn’t had an unprecedented six shots off target. We got caught by a 92^nd minute sucker punch. I felt the right decision had been made in the Scottish Challenge Cup. We took Kilbirnie Ladeside to penalties after a goalless two hours. Unluckily, we lost the shoot-out 4-5. Unrepentant, I put the same side out in the next match in the Strathclyde Demolition Cup at Girvan. Would you believe – another dour two hours without a goal; this time we shaded penalties 6-5.  I mean, I’m proud of the boys – the defence in particular, but it does leave me with a problem. The schedulers don’t simply stick an extra cup tie in midweek; they schedule them for the Saturday and shift a league game to Wednesday. Please lads, LOSE the next round!

The first team, having had a welcome two-week rest, now had three games in ten days to contest.  With Crawford back to poaching and Stroud to shadowing, it was David Flett from defence who got the only goal of the game against Glasgow United. Another game of few chances and a tight victory.

tight, tight margins - games where tactics decide

The P's:

Passing, Possession, Positioning all where I want them (note the shadow striker being more selfish).

And Pressing:

The opposition can't get a passing sequence going

I suspect at this level, Crawford is going to get less time and space, and our goal tally will be well down. Still, the demanding fans wanted a sound defence, right?

Edited February 1, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We've conceded two goals in six games at this higher level - I can see there's nothing that will please this guy. I'll play nice, but if I get the chance, I will move on and leave him rueing his attitude.

[phnompenhandy]

Away to Port Glasgow, the club deemed THE favourites for the title, above even Carluke. For good reason too – they never let us get our passing game going and had us pinned down all game. The result was still close though, as we went down 1-2. The following Wednesday saw us home to a poorer Glasgow side, Yoker Athletic from Clydebank against whom we sent out mostly the same side but dropped Crawford and a couple of others who’d put in disappointing performances. Giving Young a chance was probably a mistake – without Crawford we ground out a 0-0 draw.

A number of fringe players are balking at my training programs. I asked Davie to see if some can be loaned out to get some game time instead – it occurs to me that I have too little say in the training set-up to mould the players how I want them, particularly when they resist. Davie surprised me by releasing one, Ryan Thomson, and then another, Bob O’Donnell. They never made the grade and were never going to, but I hadn’t expected it. It’s a good sign.

Away to Girvan a month after beating them on penalties after a 0-0 draw. We all knew what to expect – a super-tight game. We were down on xG but fortunately, came away with the points in a 2-1 win. Straight into the Demolition Cup with the winners due to be away to Port Glasgow, we played our reserves. We accidentally thrashed Ashfield 4-1 with debutant kiddie Mark MacDonald getting two and Young coming on in stoppage time to bag two more.

With the first team back in action, we were home to West Park United who’s got promoted with us and were our neighbours. I was expecting three points and we were heading that way 2-0 up, but Shane Stroud got himself sent off and the Parkies pulled it back to 2-2.

still in a great position, mind

[phnompenhandy]

Our other fellow-promotee Saltcoats Vics were up next - they’d got off to a brilliant start ands were top of the league; nevertheless, I felt that if we could keep eleven men on the pitch we could take the game to them. The absence of Stroud was keenly felt, however, and we suffered a heavy if deserved 1-4 defeat. Kello Rovers came to Petershill Park the next weekend – they were a decent side on a hot streak so we reigned ourselves in a bit. The game was a 3-3 thriller, but given they played most of the game with ten men, it was a wasted opportunity.

The only other game we had in October was in the Demolition Cup, away to Port Glasgow, a game we had no chance in. Then again, we’d had ‘no chance’ in the previous round too. In a mad moment, I decided to put out a strong side and go for it. We did it - a thrilling encounter it was too. We won 2-1 to set up a semi-final with West Park.

 

Again, I asked the chairman to allow me to study for my next badge, after he'd okay all the other coaches. He refused. I insisted. He refused, I threatened to quit. He said 'okay'. I backed down, but the next day the manager of Orkney lost his job. I applied and publicly declared my interest. This is where we are now - one way or another, it looks like the end of the road.

Edited February 1, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Fans on my side?

 

[phnompenhandy]

Very happy for Alan. Very happy indeed. He's well qualified, isn't he?

I'd have a National A myself if the chairman wasn't of a mind that I'd part with the club if he allowed me to be more qualified.

[phnompenhandy]

Two-faced Temlett

[phnompenhandy]

The Orkney job went to someone BETTER QUALIFIED

That prompted this

Actually I'd got a tip off that there was a job waiting for me in England - 11th tier. Gotta go down to go up sometimes. I'm assured the board share my values although it's bound to come with a severe pay cut. Let's go see.....

[phnompenhandy]

I've been "facetiming" with my new boss, the chairman of POLPERRO AFC.  Yes, I'm moving to Cornwall. It's an amateur club with no salary, but Mr. Settle, who owns a holiday home business, is putting me up in a beautiful cottage with food and expenses taken care of. He’s sold me on his vision for the club, and was reliably informed that it's one I share. The chairman has an ambition and some financial backing to establish Polperro as a footballing behemoth in Cornwall. His aim is for it to be the biggest club in Cornwall (bigger than Penzance, Falmouth, Mousehole and, eventually, Truro City!) He wants Cornish fans to stop travelling to foreign climes to support Plymouth Argyle, and love Kernow football. He believes it starts in the schools – he says he's started to inculcate Cornish pride and encourage kids to be proud of Cornish football. He has already implemented a Youth Recruitment scheme and works with a partner, his trusted Head of Youth Development, who visits schools around Cornwall.

I trust the chairman and do share his vision. I'm ready to leave behind my mercenary inclinations to commit to Polperro and Cornwall - providing he keeps to his end of the bargain and both invests in the youth policy and allows me to grow as a manager. He's a young guy (39 years old), so he won't be retiring any time soon. He's just texted me a photo of my new accommodation as I sit on this train heading for Plymouth. I'll check back in after we've met tomorrow.

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The changes behind the narrative:

Spoiler

I have replaced Leo Messi’s L10 England database with Dan’s L11 England database, and kept Mozza L10 Scotland Pyramid (so Rossvale Academy is still here, but we have to pretend I previously managed them!).  That makes 22 leagues from 2 nations with all players from England and Scotland loaded (30K - now with no Welsh, Irish or other European leagues added as my limited rig can barely handle the new 11th tier).

I have holidayed to December 2024, allowing time between leaving Rossvale and joining Polperro. I have my National C licence, reflected in my manager attributes.

Lessons learned: I’ve used the editor to create the following scenarios explained in my narrative: I took 20 years off the age of the chairman! I made him a background benefactor. Youth Recruitment starts on 3 (other facilities are all 1). I've added a Head of Youth Development with a reputation good enough for Level 8. I've added other staff with reputations appropriate for Level 11. I reduced the club's reputation by 50 to partly balance out enhancements. The other thing I did was try to make the kit cooler by nicking Forest Green Rovers' (could have been Plymouth Argyle, but we don't like them!). That’s it. The purpose is to give the club some chance to develop without making it easy or indeed inevitable

And an observation: I can't see attributes or CA but I know from experience that with 16-year-old kids at this level you can count the CA points on one hand and still have fingers left over.

Here we are:

I've joined at the half-way point of the season. The squad is what it is, but Nathan (Settle, the boss) tells me we will only retain players aged 18 or under at the end of the season - the rest of the squad will comprise the first academy intake under the new regime. He has charged me to work with his good friend and Head of Youth Development to establish a CORNWALL DNA – a philosophy to inculcate in schools. Those two also take on the roles of Technical Director and Director of Football. My remit is strictly limited to player selection, tactics and (this time) training. I was surprised to find I'm not the only person starting a new job today - Nathan has appointed staff for us to work with, all people known to him and who live locally. There are no expectations for this season - we have half a year (or eleven matches) to find our way and set ourselves up for a new beginning next season. Nathan reckons we could get up to 1000 spectators around the pitch, and if we achieve our goals in years to come, could put in terracing to take the capacity up to the size of Truro's current ground - over 3000. He's encouraging me to dream big.

Edited February 2, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

You can see why a vacancy arose

 

There are a few hoops to jump through, and the holiday couple haven't moved out yet, but I'm raring to get my feet under the table.

[phnompenhandy]

Watched the team "from the stands". The defending - my word!

Hightlights; Town 3-0 Polperro Falmouth Town AFC

This is the side that played, and the younger backups.

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Interview! And the banter is strong with this guy. Second-bottom of the lowest possible league and we're over-achieving???

 

On to the serious business though - Nathan, I want your babies

Edited February 2, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

 

"Acceptable managerial support" - I like that. Makes a refreshing change.

It's Christmas - let's celebrate!

 

 

Give it the 'browz

Right, I have some work to do. See you later!

[phnompenhandy]

Nathan turns out to be not only an advocate of renewable energy and saving the planet, but a trenchant equal-opportunities employer. Of the dozen staff on the books, eight are women. He's just had a clear out - the backroom team joined the manager in departing the club over the course of December, so we're all new to the game. My assistant and the performance analyst have the notes of the previous guys and have been going over them in the last week, but my assistant only presided over one match.

early look at our backroom

The team has agreed that we should narrow the tactics down to a 5-2-1-2 or a 4-2-3-1 (The latter would only be considered if we got wingers in our academy intake - right now we lack wide players and I suspect that just like at Rossdale, our wingbacks won't cover up for that lack). My intention was to not continue 5221 or a similar system because I never got wingbacks working well and Polperro had no-one remotely capable. This could change with next intake but initially the squad screamed 433 to me. However, my assistant explained to me that the team is used to playing with wingbacks.   With only two wins all season, we can agree it’s been unsuccessful, but that’s not necessarily due to playing wingbacks.

But then I explained that the plan for the second half of the season was not to be as successful as possible on the pitch, but to prepare for next season. We wouldn't be retaining any players aged over 19, so there was no point playing them. We'd give as much game time as possible to the younger players and see who has potential. Nearly all the attacking players who've been regular this season are overage. We'd be blooding a lot of youths. Cassandra, the Director of Football came in and pointed out that if we were committed to this program, we shouldn't keep the non-teenagers on the books, so we all agreed it would be better to release all 14 of them. It would leave us with a squad of 27 teenagers, which we thought quite workable.

Together, we all stressed to the surviving squad that results were not all-important, and that they weren't to get despondent if (when) we lost. The coming months were to be an extended trial to see which systems work best.

Edited February 3, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

We recruited a scout with local knowledge, and he informs me that apart from being weak and lacking bravery, this young squad we now have should be about average in most departments compared to the league. He thinks the senior players were under-performing, and we were right to get rid of them.

Here is our experimental Cornish DNA philosophy.

 

For detailed explanation of the roles and duties, see Jack Sarah's here:

FM23 | Burton Albion - England DNA | Youth Academy Only | E1 Introduction to the England DNA

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Here is some data we retrieved from the matches under my predecessor this season:

I'm going with the same formation as it's familiar to them. It's been an unmitigated disaster!

 

Defenders play the ball out - good.

Lots of passing in midfield but very few chances created, and a shadow striker too timid to take his chances. We need to change their mentality!

Strikers - poor at winning the ball in the air - simple solution, keep the ball on the ground. More concerning is the lack of pressing - I'm going to have to go all Bielsa ball - defending starts from the front. Over the next five months, these boys are going to run run run. Those who can't handle it won't stay into the following season. I'm urging Angus our Youth Development guy to find me athletes, ones with strong characters and good engines.

Edited February 3, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Well, that didn't take long!

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Some good things here - I'm doing a deep dive into the stats after the last 5 league games (I'm omitting our first two matches which we lost 2-3 and 0-3 because I feel the boys hadn't had a chance to adjust to my new ideas, and I've written them off as free hits). We drew the third match with the league leaders, and won the next four against modest opposition. Now I'm factoring in the intake - who will start the last three first-team matches, who will go into the Under 18s squad and who won't be given a contract?

Edited February 3, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

I analysed those last 5 league matches (plus 7 friendlies and nine U18 friendly games). The metrics are all good except the passing, which is poor quality – few players manage anywhere near 80%, although that’s partly because we prefer risky to safe passes. You mat well ask, "What the heck are you doing telling them to make risky passes when they can barely pass the ball 5 yards?" Well, we don't let the opposition get any passing moves going either; we’re giving up less than one Clear Cut Chance per game, and against all but the best opponents, 1 or 2 Shots on Target.

Of the academy intake, we kept 14 of the 16 trialists, just releasing two inflexible left-wingers. Added to the 18 teenagers I inherited whom we retain, the squad for next season will comprise 32 16-19 year olds, a manageable size, I think.

[phnompenhandy]

How the season ended

 

Under my leadership we picked up 20 points from 10 matches. Over a whole season, that would average out at 48 points. However, the first losses were before the players were familiar with my system, and the last loss occurred when I was trialing the academy kids who'd been left out of previous matches. I reckon next season, Torridge, Appledore and whoever comes down from tier 10 will be only opponents worth worrying about.

The academy kids and other teens who'd been overlooked by the previous manager have shone too. Just look at the stats by the end of the season - damn fine!

For the last two league games I experimented with a defensive tweak, following Jack Sarah's DNA roles and duties 100%, which meant two of my central defenders tried out as ball-playing centre backs.  I rated the experiment as successful and we'll be going ahead with it.

They've all earned themselves game time next season. When they return from their summer break, I'll introduce them to you.

Edited February 3, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The staff are all back for pre-season - no one did a runner. We've gathered for a photo-shoot.

First up is my assistant Becky. She used to be a physio, but apparently Nathan saw potential. Who am I to argue - so far she speaks sense and i think we'll get on fine.

Evidently, equal opportunities takes in age as well. Angus is local and knows the schools and their sports faculties roundabout. He certainly delivered in my first intake; I just hope he doesn't retire and take all that knowledge and connections with him.

Leyla is our fitness coach. She's very good. I have to say that as she's strict and kinda scary.

Alistair coaches everything else.

With a turbo-charged motorised scooter and a flashy laptop, Sid is our analyst. He's been really great, as you've seen already.

[phnompenhandy]

Cassandra was a data analyst at Port Vale, but again Nathan saw greater potential and took her under his wing. He appointed her Director of Football and Technical Director - basically head of Human Resources, accounting and everything I'm not responsible for. She's been competent, supportive and pleasant so far.

Cassandra runs this team of scouts - I think they liaise with Angus too, but they operate all over the county and I don't see them.  They might send reports on upcoming opposition to Sid to summarise for me, and I think they go around schools spotting talent and taking Angus and Nathan's gospel with them.

EDIT: With Nathan funding all these upgrades to youth development under the hood, I believe these guys are going to be pretty active this season (see below).

Edited February 5, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

In the Medical Team we have Imogen, niece of our coach. She graduated from Swansea but lives locally - a Cornish girl through and through.

Lucia was attracted by the club's vision and came down from the North just before I arrived.

Jennifer came from a Welsh non-league club for the same reason.

Ellis' stake in the equal opportunities gig is that he's the legacy guy.  Apart from Angus and the scouts, he's the only staff member who was here a year ago. He's a bit bewildered by all the changes.

 

Edited February 4, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The chief absolutely means business. He's delighted with how I turned the club around last season and backs me all the way. He's saying publicly he wants a mid-table finish, but his money is saying otherwise:

 

There are consequences, of course

Not my responsibility, mind. I am terribly grateful though, after the stinginess of my last club. We could have the best facilities in Cornwall outside of Truro in no time!

Edited February 4, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Who's this?

We got funny furriners joining us from t'other side of the Tamar. Fremington is a Devon village a couple hours' drive away. Being outsiders, our scouts don't know much about them, but don't think they're all that.  In fact, Torridgeside (from Torrington, also in North Devon, as is Appledore) are the only side we feel will trouble us this season - remember, only the champions get promoted.

and Sticker reserves in the same division as their parent team???

Edited February 6, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The first team schedule is a gentle one game every Saturday or Sunday until the end of December, then a game a fortnight until the end of the season. There are no cup games.

The poor Under 18s on the other hand - Nathan entered them for some tourney, not realising how gruelling it will be. 34 games - with grudge matches at Plymouth and Truro!

Annoyingly, these games are scheduled for Saturdays at 11 am, so I can't have my first team substitutes get a game, which is what I normally do. I'm also unclear if this enhances or interferes with their development. Still, it reminds me that I forgot to introduce our Under 18s management team.

 

I'm actually responsible for Kiera - she's Glaswegian, and we met on my coaching course.

So we'll neatly divide the squad into 16 first teamers and 16 Under 18s. I don't know if the rules allow players who are Under 18 now to stay in the squad all season, or if one by one they'll be ejected on their birthdays. Time will tell.

 

EDIT:  It turns out the Under 18s League only permits two players who’ve had their 18^th birthday to participate. So we’ll start with the goalkeeper Watkins and one other, and have to ask a tourist to fill in as a trialist. As the season progresses and kids have birthdays, our Starting XI will become sillier and sillier. Stupid rules. Next year, mind.

Edited February 5, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

 

More and more goodness. After my request was granted, Jennifer informed Cassandra that her boyfriend was keen to join us. He should improve our lads' passing skills, she says.

Of course, we're all on unsalaried amateur forms right now, but it's not for me to point out that if at some point we go semi-professional, people are going to either need paying or letting go. Success won't come cheap - just look at the mess Truro are in.

I showed you the cottage I'm living in, in the centre of Polperro itself. Nathan recently bought shares in Killigarth Manor Holiday Park, right near the club's ground, and has reserved a number of dwellings for our staff to stay in rent-free.

Here are a couple of examples of staff accommodation

Killigarth Manor Holiday Park

Edited February 6, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Preseason with nine friendlies against tier 10 and 11 opposition got us all fit and familiar. The passing isn’t as accurate as I’d like (mainly the ball-playing defenders being asked to do more than they're comfortable doing) but the attacking metrics are good. Manny Omoregie, whom I thought Angus was over-praising when he arrived in the academy intake, has played himself into my starting XI. Ciaran Davies, our off-kilter shadow striker, was a preseason curiosity. No goals, no assists, a poor passing completion rate in his first six games – and yet he made the rest of the team click very nicely. But then he burst into life in time for the season anyway.

The only minor worry is some of the players starting to express a desire to earn some money. I hope they're patient, I can see it happening when we win promotion. I fear some of our best will decamp to earn a fiver now rather than wait and earn five times as much. We'll see. In contrast,

Becky and Leyla have demonstrated their commitment to the cause by resisting attempts by semi-professional sides Bideford and Hungerford to poach them and instal them as salaried assistant managers.

 

[phnompenhandy]

Assuming no one is daft enough to abandon us, here is the first team squad to take us through the season:

GOALKEEPER

DEFENDERS

WINGBACKS

 

Take our analyst Sid's comments with a pinch of salt. As you've seen, our friendly match-ups were not exactly taxing - the defence didn't really have much to do! I don't know why Cassandra thinks Zeph Rendall should be let go - he's been superb and we have very little backup in defence.

[phnompenhandy]

MIDFIELD

These three are all learning unfamiliar roles. Nathan is doing fine as our deep-lying playmaker, Joel is struggling a little as a Segundo Volante, and Nathan is defying our coaching team by excelling as a Shadow Striker in my peculiar formation.

 

STRIKERS

 

Brian is the fan-favourite - he's long been the club's best player, although the staff all feel he'll struggle at a higher level. Manny is the shiny new thing, the one the staff were all raving about. I was slow to be convinced - but see how as soon as I admitted he might be all that, his levels suddenly dropped off.

[phnompenhandy]

Well this is awkward

Sticker - a lovely village just outside St. Austell, lovely people ...

Quite the demolition of a side expected to finish 3rd. 7-0. I thought we'd be comfortably the best team in our league this season, but this?!

 

On the other hand, the Under 18s are having a tough time of it.

Entering this league was not a wise decision. I don't care about the results, but if it impacts their morale, it will in turn impact their development. And as I mentioned earlier, as soon as a kid turns 18, he's out of the squad. I've already set up a couple of friendlies for the Under 21 squad, which one by one these 18 year olds are joining. I reckon soon enough I'll just move the whole lot to the Under 21s and play winnable games to get their confidence restored.

[phnompenhandy]

Wait! WHAT??

Was this guy offered MY job? Or an Under 21 position? What's going on? Why isn't anyone telling me? Do I need to watch out for knives in the back? 

[phnompenhandy]

Yeh, embarrassing, really. At least Thornton had the decency to inject a little jeopardy at Callington by getting himself sent off.

I'll report in if anything changes. Right now, these duck shoots aren't newsworthy.

[phnompenhandy]

Yeah, bit lukewarm there Nathan, especially in the light of what you might have been up to behind my back 

[phnompenhandy]

The more discerning among you might have detected a slight hint of complacency in my ramblings recently. Paid for it.

There'll be no invincible season

My fault - I had to call up fringe players to cover for injuries and suspension - I should have left it at that but I called up a couple more to give them experience. Too much too soon. We made up for it in the next game.

Anyway, about those trips to quiet, idyllic Cornish villages

A lesser man might have blamed the RAF jets buzzing us while the game was on, but not me

[phnompenhandy]

Let's Go

Cornwall FA

UEFA C Licence

Eternally grateful to Nathan for not being that last git.

[phnompenhandy]

KERNOW DNA individual training schedules - they are divided into 4 equal sessions lasting just under 3 months each.

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

The full results for October are here - lesson learnt!

We went a little easy on Sticker Reserves after pummelling their senior team (well, okay a few fringe players had their day).

We've now played enough games to take a deep dive into the stats, but before I do that, having completed my National coaching qualification, I'm ready to share with you my KERNOW DNA individual training schedules. [that's the post above - I'm having a nightmare with formatting over this - I dare not touch it!!]

Edited February 6, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Right, eight league matches in, seven won, one lost. Let's dive in.

85% pass success - that's what you want from a keeper who passes out from the back.

Expected saves 86%; saves 60% - we'd like that to be better; he's not a brilliant goalkeeper, but then what do you expect at this level?

He's 16 - he's quite adequate for now, and I believe that with regular game time he will improve. If a better keeper doesn't come in our intake, I think I'd be confident in playing Andrew for 2 or 3 years.

[phnompenhandy]

Three central defenders. As you can see, Aras, Bakari and Rendall are the first choices, with the other three backups who get gametime in games I deem easy (and yes, I miscalculated once!)

Aras and Ball are the central of the three and are CDs on stopper duty. You can see that in virtually all metrics, Aras is considerably better than Ball although both dominate in the air.

The other four are ball-playing defenders on defend duty. Slough has odd metrics - he's played one match, against Sticker Reserves and made a huge number of interceptions, tackles and presses. I'll make a note to watch him closely next time. Leach also buzzes around far more than the others - does he have bags of energy or is it because he comes on as a substitute and runs at the max for 15 minutes? Slough and Leach will both get plenty more game time now I'm confident we can win every game.

All these defenders lose possession an awful lot. That mostly down to me. They can and do pass to the deep-lying playmaker but if he's marked, the defenders will launch the ball long and play the percentages game. We lose possession a lot, but then we press and win it back. It's fine - the results speak for themselves.

Attacking complete wingbacks. Like the bumble bee, scientifically impossible at this level, and yet here we are.

They get stuck in - they intercept, tackle and foul. They run - oh boy, so they run. They pass and cross loads, and have plenty of assists to their names. The only problem is my first choice left and right wingbacks are in a class of their own. The back ups are so far adrift I haven't dared introduce them yet. That will have to change soon.

[phnompenhandy]

Our defensive midfielders. Barden is our first choice deep-lying playmaker on a defend duty, with Bankhole his back-up. Barden has missed half the games so far due to injury.

Thornton is our Segundo Volante on support duty. He's been injured for a good while too and Rivers has stood in.

Bankhole is the weaker and more timid of the group, which holds him back a bit; on the other hand, he is the best passer, which is what you want from your playmaker. You want more energy from your segundo volantes bombing up and down. I'm not seeing it. Neither are really performing how I like. It's very early days of course, and a tough role to learn.

[phnompenhandy]

Ignore Rivers here - I couldn't get him out of the list. Ciaran Davies is our Shadow Striker, and Anderson got to show what he could do in one game - and disappointed. There are four attacking midfielders waiting for a chance to challenge Davies, so Darius here might have a long wait.

Davies is monster with his key passes, supplying five assists as well as chipping in with five goals (from an xG of under 3) in his seven games. The coaching staff didn'r believe he had any qualities needed by a shadow striker; I showed 'em!

With 20 goals in 7 games, you can see why we all love Brian. The three 16-year-olds are overshadowed, but they're all doing great too. Brian, along with Kasey, are not supposed to be banging in the goals - they are pressing forwards - on attack duty yes, but they're supposed to be making space for the attacking forward to clean up. You can see that all of them love to press from the front, but whereas Sexstone and Keary buzz about. Tierney likes to conserve his energy, and Omoregie just stands around in offside positions. In those rare moments he does find himself onside, like Tierney his conversion rate is deadly.

 

[these player squad views are courtesy of 'Second Yellow Card' - check him out on YouTube]

Edited February 6, 2023 by phnompenhandy

[phnompenhandy]

Through November we stopped playing well. First, I chose the wrong opponent to take a second look at Luke Slough, and I could no longer ignore Stefanou going into a funk at this point. I decided I had to drop him and try a back up left wingback after all. After conceding more goals in two matches than in the whole season previously, I was prepared to rethink our defensive tactics. However, after resting Tierney for two games (in which we scored ten without him), I brought him back and realised his pressing from the front affects our defence a lot. I’m still working on tweaks to our tactics, although the results in friendlies and Under 18 games are disappointing so far.

Fremington were keeping pace with us, prompting us to stay honest, but with them dropping away through November, we can afford the odd miscalculation or spot of bad luck.

By the beginning of December, at the halfway point of the season, the results and table looked comfortable enough -

fans though

So now the plan is this: to use this season to boost the skills of the whole squad, since we will need all of them next season (I checked last year’s champions Liskeard Athletic’s schedule – 42 league matches and 2 cup comps). The chairman is hunting that with promotion we will go semi-pro.  

After the four league games in December, from January to April we have only 2 league games per month. We will play as many second-string lads as possible without jeopardising promotion. We'll arrange difficult friendlies to push the first-choicers in readiness for next season, while the youngest ones still aged 17 will compete in the U18 league).

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by phnompenhandy