[FM24] Wherever the Wind Blows... or who Pays the Most.

[danmcconnell1]

My next save will be a journey of greed. My sole aim is to make as much money as I possibly can, even if that means loyalty, or what's left of it in football, goes out of the window. The rule is simple, I begin as I would in real life, with no coaching badges and just Sunday League playing experience, then see where the wind takes me. If a club approaches me and offers me a higher salary, I take it, no matter where in the world it may be. 

I have a plethora of leagues loaded and was offered a job pretty quickly, luckily not too far away from home either.

Dartford FC play in the Vanarama National League South, one of the two lowest leagues available in England. Dartford are situated in the county of Kent, but not too far away from the capital, London. The club play their matches at Prince's Park, a 4100 seater stadium which was erected in 2006. 

There hasn't been too much in the way of success in the club's history, so it's absolutely my aim to try and change that before hopefully moving on in the future. I joined the club in April 2024 after beginning the save later in the season to try and reach the summer window sooner.

I joined a few days before the match against Truro which we drew 1-1 at home. The lads had already confirmed a play off spot before my arrival so it was all about trying to finish as high as we could with a win against Truro, however we didn't manage it. Luke Coulson gave us the lead but Truro equalised in the 2nd half to rescue a point. This meant we'd been drawn against favourites to win the league at the start of the season Torquay United in the Playoff Eliminator. 

Before we get to that playoff though, let's have a quick look at the squad.

It's not a big squad by any means, however we're only permitted 5 subs in this league, so there's no need for it to be huge. The defence are putting up decent numbers so far this season, with 3 of the back line scoring at least 5 goals and weighing in with assists too. In midfield, there are some decent talents too, Luke Coulson being the most impressive stats wise at this point. The name which really stood out for me was Charlie Sheringham, the son of former Tottenham and Man U striker Teddy. He's 36 himself these days which seems inconceivable in my mind after watching his dad play towards the twilight of his career, however he's not the top scorer, that accolade so far goes to Alex Wall, his striking partner who has 11 goals.

One piece of news ahead of the playoff match against Torquay was that the Chairman is looking to sell the club, just over a week after hiring me. Not sure what to make of it, however if it brings extra money in the club it can only be a good thing.

We beat Torquay by a goal to nil in what was a tense affair. Brandon Barzey scored the only goal 4 minutes into the 2nd half and we held on for a place in the Playoff Semi Finals where we will face the side who finished 2nd in the league table, Farnborough at the Saunders Transport Community Stadium in 3 days time.

We won the semi final too thanks to a 91st minute winner from left back Sam Odaudu. Shomoton had a shot from outside of the box following a corner which deflected around the 6 yard box before falling to Odaudu and he blasted home to send us to the playoff final where will face Hemel Hempstead Town at their stadium. I was surprised to find out these playoff finals are played at the higher seed's stadium instead of Wembley, however, in just my 4th match as a manager, we could be about to achieve promotion to the Vanarama National League.

Edited April 26 by danmcconnell1

[danmcconnell1]

The Playoff Final was a brilliant affair for us as we raced into a 2 goal lead within 4 minutes thanks to two Luke Coulson goals. Charlie Sheringham then fired home from the spot 8 minutes before half time to make it 3-0 at the break. We held on despite a couple of scares in the 2nd half to our clean sheet to confirm promotion and chaos ensued in that almost 800 strong away end at the Focus Community Arena.

We didn't have an out and out goal scorer this season by any means which is definitely something I will try to address following promotion (Hemel Hempstead have some great talent that I may take a look at), but this battling squad have defied the odds to achieve promotion. Luke Coulson has been outstanding in the short period I've been at the club as he scored 3 goals in 4 matches, including 2 in the playoff final. He's certainly a player I'd like to stick around next season if possible. 

[danmcconnell1]

The start to the season was a difficult one with just 1 point picked up from our first 5 matches which came against Oldham in our first home match at this level. We suffered defeats to Gateshead, South Shields, Eastleigh and Barnet. Our first win (and goal) at this level was at home to Woking thanks to centre back Joash Nembhard's header.

September began with another defeat against the other side who were promoted alongside us from the National South league last season, Yeovil. We then went on a 3 match unbeaten run, beginning with a thumping win at home against bottom club Dagenham & Redbridge, beating them 6-0 thanks to a brace from Akinwale, Rob Hall and Faal, who all scored their first goals for the club, Odaudu and Coulson scored the other 2. We followed that up with a goalless draw with Dorking and then ended the month with another big win, this time in stature instead of quantity of goals against top of the table Rochdale. Full back Maxwell Statham scored the only goal after we had 2 early goals disallowed too, meaning we could very easily have won more comfortably. We were due to take on Southend on the 28th however this was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch so will now be played midway through next month.

After our first 2 months in the National League, we sit in 19th in the table after 3 wins and 2 draws so far, giving us a total of 11 points after 10 matches. We currently sit 6 points above the relegation zone which I'm very happy with at this point.

Latham was first through the door in the summer, a brand new keeper who's taken over the number 1 shirt and done pretty well for us so far, conceding 10 goals in 10 matches, keeping 5 clean sheets.

Ben Wyatt is a left back who can play further forward however is currently backup to first choice left back Odaudu. He's made just 2 appearances so far but has been out injured for a period which has halted his training.

Elliot Andrew was next in, a striker who'll provide backup to our forward line. He'd made 5 appearances so far, all off the bench without scoring yet.

Anthony Jeffrey is one of the club's flagship signings this summer, a winger who can play either side and also upfront. He's yet to score but has got 3 assists and has really performed well for us so far.

George Fowler was next through the door, a versatile defender who's done really well considering he was initially brought in as backup to our defence, he's made 10 appearances so far, including 9 starts, so I'm really happy with his start for us.

Alfie Pavey is another striker providing backup to the first team and has only made 1 appearance off the bench so far, but again has spent time in the treatment room.

Rob Hall is one of 3 signings we made towards the end of the window which I'm really hoping will change our fortunes going forward. He's an experienced player at higher levels than what we're at. He's only 30 too, which means he's definitely got a good couple of years at least left in his legs, or so I hope. He has 1 goal and 1 assist in his 10 appearances so far.

Victor Akinwale is a young striker who I'm very excited about who's come in following his release from Crystal Palace. He made 5 appearances for Palace last season, including 3 in the Premier League, so definitely has the pedigree to play at a much higher level than where we're at currently. I'm really hoping once he finds his feet in the National League that he could become a really dangerous player. He only has 2 goals so far, both coming from the penalty spot in the 6-0 demolition of Dagenham & Redbridge, I'm really hoping he can hit a run of form and score a few for us this season. 

The final man through the door this summer was Muhammadu Faal, a forward player who can play anywhere across the front. He has 64 goals in his last 3 seasons with 3 different clubs, however they have all been at lower levels. The only time he's played National League football was with Barnet a few years ago where he failed to score in 19 appearances, however has broken his duck with us, scoring 1 goal in his first 8 for us.

And here is the stats of the squad after the first 2 months of the season, let's hope this little run of form can continue going forward.

[danmcconnell1]

October was, on the whole, another successful month for us as we picked up 10 points from 6 league matches, however we were knocked out of the FA Cup. We began with another high-scoring match at home as we thrashed Aldershot 6-1, Akinwale scored a hat-rick, his first for the club, Faal got another and Rob Hall managed a brace. We couldn't make it back to back wins though with a poor 3-0 defeat away to Bromley. As mentioned previously, our FA Cup defeat was a poor match at home to Hampton & Richmond who are in the division below us, so that was very disappointing. A 2-2 draw followed at home to York a week later, which was definitely a point gained after we were 2-0 down inside 20 minutes. The rearranged match away at Southend was 3 days later and we won on the road for the first time, outclassing Southend and winning 5-2 in the end. Maloney, Faal, Adebowale and an Akinwale brace saw us take the 3 points back home. Then just 4 days later we faced a long trip north to Hartlepool where we were unlucky to fall to a 3-2 defeat. Akinwale scored again for us whilst Andrew scored his first goal for the club but we couldn't hold on to the draw and conceded late to give the home side the points. Finally, we managed a slender win to end the month at home to Fylde. An OG gave us the lead but another Akinwale goal, his 10th of the season from just 17 so far, gave us a late winner to continue his good form, making it 5 from his last 4 appearances and 8 goals for the month in total. 

The league table is certainly looking a lot healthier for us too as we now sit in 14th after 16 matches, 21 points amassed so far from 6 wins and 3 draws. Our goal difference is looking decent at this stage too, absolutely helped by the big goal scoring hauls against Dagenham & Redbridge, Aldershot and Southend so far.

Victor Akinwale is playing really well for us in the opening 3 months of the season. He's only slightly underperforming in terms of his xG with 10 goals from his first 17 league appearances for us. He's scored both penalties he's stepped up for and has 3 Man of the Match awards to his name already. This is his first real taste of regular first team football and aged just 20, he really could have a bright future in the game if he can continue this level of goal scoring. He's also joint 2nd in the goal scoring charts in the league too, tied with 3 other players who have all scored 10 also.

[danmcconnell1]

We began November with a slender win away from home in Boston thanks to a solitary Akinwale goal, then followed it up with a disappointing draw at home to Kidderminster. We then welcomed surprise strugglers this season Solihull Moors to Princes Park and beat them 3-1 thanks to goals from Smith, Andrew and Barzey. That was followed by another disappointing result against a side struggling in the league, recently relegated Crawley, who's new manager bounce took effect in Gary Bowyer's first match in charge. Two Akinwale goals weren't enough as we fell to a 3-2 defeat. We ended the month by stealing a point at home to high flying Altrincham, late goals in each half from Smith and a Pavey penalty saw us share the spoils.

Despite it being quite an inconsistent month, we do move up 2 places to 12th after 21 matches, which for a newly promoted side at this level is not bad at all in my opinion. With a good result and other results going our way we could very easily find ourselves as high as 9th by the end of our next match, all being well, so there's plenty to play for. There is a bit of a gap opening to reach the top 8 which is concerning, however if this season ended right now, with us in 12th, we'd be ecstatic. We shouldn't look to run before we can walk. 

In other news this month, we formed a partnership with Championship side QPR. This will see us be able to sign young players on loan from the West London club without the cost of wages for us and we will host an annual friendly which will boost our coffers each summer. There's no annual fee which was disappointing, however the only other alternative for an affiliate club was AFC Wimbledon, which wasn't a huge fee anyway, so we decided to go for QPR who'd be able to lend us a better calibre of player, or so we hoped.

We took advantage of the new partnership almost straight away by bringing in Micah Anthony on loan until the end of the season. He's a winger who I'm hoping will be able to provide competition to Jeffrey and Faal who are our first choice, but be a capable backup too.

Edited April 28 by danmcconnell1

[danmcconnell1]

December began with our introduction to the FA Trophy in the 3rd Round as we took on St Albans at Clarence Park. We were behind until the 69th minute when Tommy Block scored from the spot for us then Paul Rooney scored a late winner to send us into round 4 where we'll take on Boston United in the new year. Unfortunately, the rest of the month was one to forget. We were pegged back from 2-0 up to 2-2, then went 3-2 up only for Ebbsfleet to equalise late on to deny us the win at Stonebridge Road. Jeffrey, Faal and Akinwale scored our goals. Back at home and we took on the other relegated club from League 2 last season, former Premier League club Bradford City. We were well beaten with as Vadaine Oliver scored a perfect hat-rick for the visitors, despite us taking the lead through Akinwale. Another defeat followed, this time away to Oldham, we were 2-0 down before Maloney scored to pull one back, then Hall got us back level in the 2nd half before Oldham won it late on. A goalless draw against Gateshead on Boxing Day was a decent result considering they're fighting for the title, however the final match of the year at home again, this time to South Shields, was an utter embarrassment. We were 3-0 down inside the opening quarter of an hour before Anthony pegged one back before half time, his first start since joining on loan from QPR brought his first goal in senior football. The 2nd half didn't bring the comeback I wanted and we were put to the sword, losing 6-1 in the end.

This poor month has seen us free fall down the league table into 17th, however we are still 7 points clear of danger, so are managing to keep the threat at arms length for now. I do hope that we can find an upturn in form as the new year comes though as it's much needed at the moment.

[danmcconnell1]

The start to 2025 has, on the whole, been a very positive one as we enter March. We began the new year with a 1-1 draw away at Eastleigh, Fowler scoring a late equaliser for us. We then followed that up 3 days later with a big win at home to Barnet, beating them 1-0 thanks to a Victor Akinwale goal. Akinwale was on the score sheet again as we drew 2-2 with Boston in the FA Trophy 4th round, Andrew scored off the bench to level it up late on to take us to penalties where we unfortunately lost and were knocked out. We responded brilliantly the following weekend though, thrashing Woking away from home 6-2 in Robbie Fowler's first match in charge of the home side. Akinwale bagged another hat-rick, Faal scored 2 and Hall got the other as we convincingly beat the side from Surrey. An even bigger win in terms of stature followed, beating Yeovil, who at the time were flying high in 2nd. Faal and Akinwale with the goals as we beat them 2-1 to make it back to back wins. We made it 3 wins in a row to end January with a 3-1 win over bottom side Dagenham & Redbridge, Smith, Akinwale again and Adebowale with the goals there. 

February began with a goalless draw at home to Dorking, which was followed by a defeat away to top of the league Rochdale. Maloney with our only goal there. We drew at home to Southend thanks to an Akinwale goal, he then scored the only goal in our 1-0 win over Aldershot. We ended the month with another convincing win, this time at home to Bromley, beating them 4-0 thanks to goals from Maloney, Barzey and an Andrew brace.

We've played one match in March so far, beating York 2-0 away from home, Faal and Hall with our goals to make it 3 wins in a row.

All of this means we sit in a healthy position in the league up in 10th place with 9 games left to play. The play offs are certainly not an impossibility for us as we sit just 3 points outside them at the moment and with us in decent form winning the last 3, I'm hoping we can continue this good run and challenge for a top 7 spot, which for a newly promoted side remember, is certainly not bad going. We're still semi professional too, so would really be up against it if we did manage to reach those play offs, however we have proven that we can more than compete in this league and despite a bad run of results over the festive period, on the whole we've been pretty consistent. 

Victor Akinwale's goal scoring exploits now see him top of the goal scoring charts and in line to win the National League's golden boot. He's currently on 23 league goals, 24 in all competitions for us, which in his debut season playing first team football, is certainly a very good return. He's under contract with us for another year, however we may face a battle to keep him in the summer as other clubs are already sniffing around.

We have also signed another goalkeeper, arguably an upgrade on Latham. Ted Cann was a free agent and initially brought in on trial, he impressed and was snapped up on a 2 and a half year deal. He's performed well so far, making 7 appearances, conceding 4 goals and keeping 4 clean sheets.

[danmcconnell1]

March was a disappointing month on the whole with lots of dropped points and missed opportunities. We began with a comfortable 2-0 win over York thanks to goals from Faal and Hall, but followed that up with a defeat at home to Hartlepool who scored in stoppage time to take the spoils. We then travelled north to Fylde and were really poor in a 3-0 defeat. We responded well with a 3-0 win of our own over Boston thanks to Akinwale, Barzey and Pavey's goals, but 2 draws on the road against struggling sides in Kidderminster and Solihull really dented our play off hopes.

We remain in mid-table in 11th place, however with just 4 games to go and 12 points to play for, we're 11 points off the play offs, those draws against Kidderminster and Solihull were the final nails in our coffin as far as I'm concerned in terms of the play offs. However, when we look back at the season, we have to be happy with our efforts. For a semi-pro side to have competed as well as we have and to not be in any danger of relegation at any point throughout the season is testament to the players efforts and ability. The best league position we can realistically hope for now would be 9th personally, but we can't finish any lower than 18th as things stand, so even if we did slip at the end of the season, I'm happy with the campaign as a whole and feel as though Dartford are a competitive side in this league and could potentially go on to bigger and better things. Whether I'm the one to take them to those things remains to be seen.

[danmcconnell1]

Our final 4 matches of the season didn't go our way at all, conceding 3 goals in all but one of the run in matches. We lost 3-2 at home to Crawley, Akinwale's goals were not enough to take a share of the points in that one. We then followed that up with another defeat, this time away to Altrincham, Hall and Rooney with our goals there. We did pick up a point against Ebbsfleet in our final home match of the season thanks to Adebowale and a late Block penalty. We then lost our final game away to Bradford, Faal and Maloney with equalisers, but we still managed to concede again just a minute later as Bradford won it.

Our poor final month meant we slipped down to 14th as the season comes to an end for us. It's been a very successful one in my eyes, we picked up some very big wins and were very rarely outplayed, with our biggest defeat of the season coming away to now relegated South Shields in the final match of 2024. South Shields join Eastleigh, rather surprisingly Solihull Moors and Ebbsfleet in relegation down to the North/South divisions.

Dorking take on Barnet and Yeovil face Altrincham in the eliminators, the winners of those will face Rochdale and Oldham respectively for a place in the play off final. Hartlepool won the league therefore are promoted automatically back to the football league.

[danmcconnell1]

After chairman Lee Harding announced he would be stepping down and selling the club this summer, we have a 2nd change in ownership during my 13 months at the club. Jordon Elliott is the club's new owner and has promised investment in not only the playing staff but the club as a whole. His first piece of work was to secure my signature for another year...

I agreed a 1 year contract extension, but with some caveats this time. Firstly, I'm being paid an extra £50 a week, taking my basic weekly salary to £550pw. If we win the league, I get a bonus of £6k, the same bonus applies if we reach the 3rd round of the FA Cup too. If we were to win the FA Trophy, arguably the most likely of those 3 scenarios, I'd also get a £6k bonus. I have now withdrawn interest in jobs elsewhere as part of signing this deal too. There'll be at least one more year here at Dartford.

[danmcconnell1]

To top up my salary with Dartford, I've taken a huge increase alongside my club job with the Fijian national team, taking a wage of £4600pw.

Fiji finished 2nd in their qualification group for the World Cup, however I do believe there are further qualifiers for the winners of the group New Zealand. It doesn't matter now anyway, Fiji aren't going to the next World Cup, so it's more local tournaments we have to look forward to for the foreseeable.

[danmcconnell1]

The new season begins today after a busy summer and our pre-season results were good as we remained unbeaten, despite playing 2 sides from the football league, even beating one of them in Newport County.

So far we've brought in 3 players, Charlie Wakefield and Connor Stevens on frees and exciting young striker Junior Dixon on loan from Birmingham City.

Wakefield is the kind of player I really like at this level and I feel is essential to any kind of success you may have. With very little money available at this level of the game, it's vital to find versatile players who can do a job if required in multiple areas of the pitch, coupled with the fact we can only name 5 subs too, Wakefield I'm sure will be a player we call upon lots this season.

Connor Stevens comes in on a free also from Barnet. The central defender can play on the left too which is helpful, however when he does play it'll predominantly be as a centre back. 

Junior Dixon is a player I'm very excited about. He's come in on loan from Birmingham and by all accounts knows where the net is. Another former Palace youngster, Dixon partners his former colleague Akinwale now, so we may well see a change of shape going into the new season to accommodate 2 strikers, we'll see.

Both Alfie Pavey and Brandon Barzey were released this summer, hence the replacements coming in of Wakefield and Dixon in those positions while we look to bolster the defence by bringing in Stevens.

This is the squad for the upcoming National League season. Manny Adebowale has been made available for transfer as we feel we have some very good youngsters coming through, plus with the signing of Stevens too, Manny has fallen down the pecking order, however we haven't received much interest in him as of yet. Both Sam Oduadu and Anthony Jeffrey have expressed their desire to explore their options at the end of their contracts, so we're also exploring the possibility of moving them on this summer to garner some much needed income. There is interest in both, however we may need to compromise on the asking price for both of those.

Noah Adams came through our youth intake last season and looks promising. His determination in particular is perfect at such a tender age, as are a lot of his mental attributes. He could be one to watch as the season progresses, he'll certainly get his chance this season.

[danmcconnell1]

The season got underway with a trip to Altrincham. We fell 2-0 behind before Jeffrey and Akinwale scored to make it 2-1 and 3-2 but in truth we were never really a match for the home side and began the new season with defeat. Things looked a lot rosier a week later in our first home game where we faced Rochdale. An Akinwale brace gave us a 2-0 win, our first of the new season. Another defeat on the road followed, this time away to Gateshead. We were 3-0 down when Dixon scored his first for the club then Akinwale got another one to make it interesting towards the end but again we fell to defeat. We managed a 1-1 draw back at Princes Park against Boston, Dixon scoring for us again. Unfortunately we ended the month with a defeat on the road again, this time in the Midlands at Walsall. 

All of this meant that after the first 5 matches of the new season we sit in 18th place on 4 points after what's been a difficult and inconsistent start for us.

[danmcconnell1]

September was another month of struggle on the whole, despite only losing once. We began with a 2-2 draw with neighbours Maidstone at Princes Park. We couldn't hold onto our 2-0 lead given to us by goals from Akinwale and Wakefield in the first half as the visitors roared back in the 2nd half to share the points. Then came the trip to Dorking where we lost 2-1, Jeffrey scoring our goal. He's now scored 2 this season, 1 more than he managed in the whole of last season. Next came a goalless draw at home to Halifax, then a 3-3 draw away at Dagenham & Redbridge. We were 3-1 up early in the 2nd half thanks to goals from Dixon and an Akinwale brace, however again couldn't hold onto our lead and were pegged back to only pick up a point. The month ended with probably the best performance of my time as Dartford manager. We faced Barnet at home, a very decent side in their own right, their league position so far didn't reflect their ability as a team. However their poor start to the season continued as we absolutely annihilated them 8-3 in the end. Junior Dixon bagged a hat-rick, only for Akinwale to beat him to the match ball with 4 goals, Rob Hall scored the other in what was an absolutely outstanding performance where almost everything we touched ended up in the back of the net.

But for the huge win over Barnet we would be in the bottom 3, however that win gave us a much needed 3 points and a big boost to our goal difference too. We sit in 18th after 10 matches played and I really hope that win at the end of the month can be a springboard for a good run of form to help shoot us up the table. My strike partnership of Junior Dixon and Victor Akinwale has already produced 17 league goals, I'm excited to see how many they can produce before the end of the season together.

My first two matches in charge of Fiji didn't quite go to plan, however I'm not too worried as they're friendlies. We lost at home to North Korea by a goal to nil, then travelled to Samoa for a goalless draw.

Edited Wednesday at 14:38 by danmcconnell1

[danmcconnell1]

October began with the continuation of brilliant form with a 2-0 win over York thanks to goals from Maloney and Dixon, another 2-0 win this time over Kidderminster thanks to Akinwale and Wakefield, then a 4-2 win over Chippenham in the FA Cup 4th qualifying round. Faal, Akinwale and Wakefield scored all before an OG got us a 4th to send us into the 1st round proper where we'd take on Peterborough away from home. Our good form continued once more with a narrow win over Woking, former Liverpool and Derby man Andre Wisdom scoring an OG to give us the 3 points. Unfortunately though, our form started to dip as we lost the last 2 matches of the month, both at home to Sutton United and Crawley. Faal did score against Sutton but were were outplayed whilst Crawley scored a late winner to take the points.

We entered the FA Cup 1st round with a trip to Peterborough and held them to a very admirable draw, Faal scoring our equaliser to take the match to a replay back at Princes Park in 2 and a half weeks' time. We followed that impressive result with another one, this time beating Bromley 3-1 away from home in what turned out to be our only win in all competitions this month. Stevens, Akinwale and Wakefield scored our goals there. We then lost at home again, this time to Scunthorpe with Dixon and Coulson scoring late goals for us in a game we were never really in, the final score line flattered us in all honesty. We did hold Yeovil to a goalless draw away from home who're flying high so I was happy with the point. Then came the visit of Peterborough, we took them all the way to penalties after taking the lead through Junior Dixon only for Malik Mothersille to equalise for the Posh. Unfortunately Taylor Maloney missed the target with his penalty which in the end was the decisive one as Peterborough were perfect from their 5 penalties to progress into round 2 against Vanarama North side Tamworth. I was very happy with the performance though, we took a League 1 side to a penalty shoot out after a replay which is no mean feat for a side of out stature. We returned to league action with a 3-2 defeat at home to Fylde, our home form has really fallen off a cliff recently which needs addressing as soon as possible. Akinwale and Hall got our goals in that one, while Dixon and Hall again helped us claw back from 2 down away at Aldershot to rescue a point in our final match of the month.

We remain in 18th after a couple of poor months on the whole. Our form heading into October was brilliant however we've shot ourselves in the foot by not capitalising on that form and kicking on. This could be a season of mid-table struggle in all honesty.

I was offered the chance to manage Curacao however their offer of £1500pw is nowhere near the wages I'm getting from Fiji, so the offer was declined, despite what would have been a good opportunity at a higher level of international football.

Speaking of Fiji, I recorded my first 3 wins in a row against Belize, Tuvalu and Afghanistan, before ending the year with a defeat away in Tahiti. I'm not sure when competitive action begins with Fiji, however I'll look forward to it.

[danmcconnell1]

After being approached by numerous clubs for interviews since the summer (which I attended), Charlton were by far the biggest to offer me one. I had an offer on the table from Port Vale with a weekly wage of £875, but was waiting to see if Charlton were to offer me the position of their manager too.

And they did. An almost quintupled weekly wage of £2.5k per week and bonuses for promotion to the Championship from League 1 for Charlton made it a very easy decision to make. I had a great time at Dartford, however the reluctance to make the step up to professional status meant that there was an artificial ceiling in place which was stalling any kind of progress I could have made with them. I wish them well for the future as they gave me my first chance in football, but now it's time to concentrate on Charlton Athletic.

Charlton play at the Valley in south London which holds 27,111, a huge step up from the 4,100 Princes Park of Dartford. Charlton Athletic played Premier League football from the early to mid 2000's, however haven't been back to the top division since their relegation back in 2007. There have been multiple relegations and promotions in that time between the Championship and League 1, it's now my job, after taking over from England legend Wayne Rooney, to get them back to the Championship.

Charlton's form over the last few months has been sketchy to say the least, however some could argue my Dartford side had a very similar run of results. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Gillingham last month and have won just 2 of the last 10 matches in the league which ultimately was the demise of Rooney, so I'm hoping I can push the team on to a good run of form and get them back up the table. They're also already out of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy too after being knocked out by Arsenal's Under 21 side.

We sit in 11th in the table after 22 matches played on 30 points, just 2 points outside the play offs as things stand. There's still plenty of football left this season so absolutely no reason why we can't be in and around that play off picture come the end of the season. We also have a Carabao Cup quarter final to look forward to later this month away at Brentford. 

It's a very big squad here at Charlton, far bigger than I'm used to in lower league football, so we may well see some outgoings in January if there are any takers. There are also ready some players on the transfer list so I may well be taking advantage of those potentially leaving the club, as well as possibly moving on a few others too.

[danmcconnell1]

My start to life in south-east London hasn't been great to say the least. My first match in charge was the defeat at Mansfield as we fell to a 2-0 defeat. Just 4 days later was the Carabao Cup quarter final and despite performing much better, we fell to a 3-2 defeat at the Gtech Community Stadium. We were 2-1 up with 7 minutes left after 2 goals from Victorio Ramis, however 2 goals in as many minutes for the home side saw the tie turn on its head and we were knocked out.  Then came my first home match in charge against top of the table Derby and we again were defeated, this time 2-1, Daniel Kanu scoring from the spot. We then faced a playoff chasing Barnsley side, losing 1-0 at Oakwell before ending the month and year at home to Wigan, losing 2-1, our goal coming from former Barcelona and Villa man Louie Barry.

This means we have dropped 6 places since my arrival down to 17th from 11th, still on 30 points. There's still a lot of football to be played, however the longer we go without a win the more difficult it becomes, especially for a new manager like myself. We have matches against sides struggling towards the foot of the table, as well as promotion chasing sides in January, so if we can get some points back on the board there's no reason why we can't look to try and get back in the playoff picture again.

I made it my mission to bring Noah Adams with me to Charlton from my previous club Dartford and he was only too happy to follow. The young defender is still very promising even at this level and playing at a higher level in our youth teams will, I hope, stand him in good stead and help him to improve.

[danmcconnell1]

Our form in this new year has been patchy at best. The new year began with a 1-1 draw away at Bristol Rovers, Kasey Palmer scoring for us, followed by another draw by the same score line at home to high flying Lincoln, Daniel Kanu scoring in the last minute for us. We then lost 2-0 away to Blackpool in a poor performance. We could only manage a goalless draw at home to bottom of the league Leyton Orient which I was really disappointed with, however did respond with a 1-0 over Port Vale in the Potteries, Lynden Gooch scoring our goal. We ended January with a 1-1 draw away at Bolton, new signing Scott Twine scored his first goal for the club.

February began really well with a big 4-1 win away at Portsmouth, another new signing, a huge coup for the club in Andres Iniesta scored a debut brace, whilst Kanu and Twine scored another 2 to give us a gigantic win. We followed that with a 3-2 defeat at home to Reading, Barry and Kanu scoring our goals in a game we were never really in despite the score line. Then came my biggest win since my arrival, a 7-1 win over Stockport. Campbell got 2, Mubama, Iniesta, Gooch, Twine and Edun scored all of the other as we thrashed the side from Greater Manchester at The Valley. We ended February with 2 more poor results though, losing 4-1 away at bottom of the table at the time Wimbledon, Gooch scoring an equaliser for us, then a 3-3 draw away at Plymouth. Twine scored a brace while Barry scored our equaliser.

We now sit in 14th with 9 games to go. We're 8 points clear of the drop and 15 off the playoffs, so it looks like we'll have to settle for a mid-table finish this time around. It's been a frustrating time as this side are so inconsistent, we do need somewhat of a clear out this summer as the squad is still huge, however that's partly my fault now after a busy January. 

First through the door is a man we've already mentioned, Scott Twine. He has started really well for us, despite giving away 2 penalties in his first 2 appearances, he also has 5 goals in 7 matches for us. He's been a breath of fresh air and I'm really hoping he can continue this good form as we move towards the end of the season.

Next in was another loanee, this time Sinclair Armstrong from QPR. He's a bulky centre forward who can play on either wing too, so a good versatile option to have. He's made 3 sub appearances so far after picking up an injury soon after arriving at the club.

Nathan Ferguson joined from Crystal Palace for a lowly fee of £150k. He's a versatile and still young defender at just 25, I'm really hoping he can kick on now and find some form which he's never really done at Palace, hopefully at this level he can get more regular minutes.

Jack Taylor joined us from Ipswich for just £12k. He's a battling midfielder who has pretty good attributes all round, at this level he should be bossing the middle of the park.

Ryan Wintle is another central midfielder, this time joining from Cardiff for just £300k. He's another player who's got a point to prove after never really pulling up any trees in the Welsh capital, I'm really hoping he can become a mainstay in our midfield and perhaps even chip in with the odd goal here and there too.

The final man through the door is one I've mentioned already, Spanish World Cup winner Andres Iniesta. I just couldn't resist bringing him in, even at 41, he's still a supreme talent. He already has 3 goals, including a penalty, and an assist in his 4 matches for us so far, making it 1 goal involvement per match already. He signed an 18 month deal so isn't just coming here to pick up a wage and leave this summer, he's here to contribute and he's done exactly that so far.

It was also a busy January in terms of departures. The biggest deals were George Dobson joining MLS side Minnesota for £4.5m, Alfie May joining fellow League 1 side Burton for £1.6m and Victorio Ramis joining Polish side Jagiellonia for £350k. Overall I'm very happy with the business we've done and I do think we have a better squad in terms of quality heading into the remainder of the season. The aim for next season will also be to improve the quality whilst perhaps reducing the quantity of players at the club again.

[danmcconnell1]

March began with a comfortable 3-1 win over Shrewsbury, Kanu, Palmer and Coventry with our goals at The Valley. We then followed that up with a 1-1 draw away at Carlisle, Coventry scoring again. Our only defeat of the month came at home to Peterborough, losing 1-0 which was disappointing. However we responded well after the international break with a 1-0 win of our own over Gillingham away from home, Lynden Gooch scoring a penalty to give us the 3 points.

Picking up 7 points from a possible 12 has seen us move up a place into 13th in the table. We are 12 points away from both the relegation zone and the playoffs, so very much a mid-table team this season. With 5 games left, the best we could possibly hope for, realistically, is a top 10 place, but even that'll be difficult as we need lots of other results to go our way.

Fiji returned to duty with a 2-2 draw at home to the Philippines, Jennings and Nalaubu scoring for us, then we travelled to Papua New Guinea where we recorded a 2-1 win thanks to late goals from Dogalau and Naresh. I'm still not entirely sure when competitive football starts again with Fiji, however I'll remain with them while they're paying me so handsomely, unless another international job comes along with a bigger pay packet. I have already turned down Curacao and the Ivory Coast due to their meagre pay offers, despite having better chances at major tournaments with those nations.

Edited Friday at 11:11 by danmcconnell1

[danmcconnell1]

The final month of the regular season saw us play 5 matches in total as we beat Stevenage 2-1 at The Valley to make it back to back wins, goals from Iniesta and Wintle won it for us in the 2nd half. We travelled to Burton and drew 1-1, Gooch with our goal which turned out to be the only time we dropped points this month. 3 wins in a row to end the season began with a 3-0 win over Wycombe, Mubama, Taylor and Palmer scoring there, then a 2-0 away at Notts County, Mubama again and Kanu from the spot at Meadow Lane before we ended our campaign with a dead rubber against Mansfield at The Valley, beating them 4-2 thanks to a Mubama brace, Twine and a Conor Coventry screamer to end the season on a high.

The final league table saw us finish in 12th, slap bang in the middle of the table. We ended the season 9 points away from the playoffs as our good form came too late in the end, however did steer clear of the drop by an impressive 18 points in the end, with that end of season unbeaten run helping us stay well away from danger.

For those who're interested, my old Dartford side won just 4 times after I left the club, with Akinwale failing to score again all season after my departure. They ended up going down with a whimper in the end back to the Vanarama South. I thought they had plenty of firepower to keep themselves up but evidently not. It does make me think that it may have been my tactics that helped Dartford to somewhat over achieve in that league though, so I hope I can have the same effect at Charlton.

Here's the majority of the squad and their numbers at the end of this campaign. Mubama and Kanu share the top goal scorer award with 10 each. I'm pleased to see that goals were spread around the side though, with Louie Barry getting 7, Campbell, Palmer Twine and Gooch all got 6 each while Iniesta and Coventry both got 4 each. There will be transfer activity this summer so watch this space.

[mannojunior]

Enjoyed following this so far. Terrific job done at Dartford and hopefully you can push for promotion next season at Charlton.

[danmcconnell1]

On 03/05/2024 at 20:01, mannojunior said:

Enjoyed following this so far. Terrific job done at Dartford and hopefully you can push for promotion next season at Charlton.

Cheers! Appreciate the kind words! Been quite the summer...

[danmcconnell1]

On the eve of the new season getting underway, we achieved a perfect pre-season, scoring 18 goals without conceding in wins over Welling, Hastings, Morecambe, West Bromwich Albion and Boreham Wood. We will take on recently relegated Preston in our first game of the new season.

This is the squad that will see us into the new campaign. Plenty of departures throughout the summer whilst there were plenty of arrivals too. Let's take a look at who left the club first of all.

First out of the club was Adedokun who joined Walsall on loan. Conor Coventry wasn't happy at the club following the failure to achieve promotion so requested a transfer, he joined Cardiff for £1.8m in our biggest outgoing of the summer. Tennai Watson joined Chesterfield for £160k, Tyreece Campbell went to Bolton for £550k and Ukranian goalkeeper Artur Rudko moved to Bristol City for £1m. Another keeper left in Harry Isted, he joined Swindon for £90k. A few young players went out on loan whilst the other major outgoing player was Ross McCrorie who joined Reading for what could reach £205k, meaning we've brought in a total of around £3.75m.

We've brought in a total of 7 players in total, the vast majority will bolster us at the top end of the pitch.

However, first in was Guillaume Hubert, a goalkeeper on a free from Molenbeek in Belgium. He'll be our number 1 going into the new campaign, however will be under pressure from number 2 Ashley Maynard-Brewer.

After a successful loan spell in the second half of last season, Scott Twine joins the club on a permanent deal this time after being released by Burnley. He's a player I really like who can play pretty much anywhere across the front, his versatility will no doubt be an important factor going into the new season.

Chris Willock joins us on a free following his release from QPR. He's another versatile midfielder who can play anywhere across the front again, we now have plenty of options at the top end of the pitch.

Filip Stevanovic is another winger who's joined on a free again following his release from Manchester City. He's still young at just 23 so I'm really hoping some regular football will help see him progress as he could become a very important player for us.

George Hall joins on loan from Birmingham, he's a central midfielder who likes to play further forward, I'm really hoping he can become an important part of our midfield this season.

Michael Ndiweni is a young striker who was released by Newcastle in the summer, he joins to bolster our front line. He's very pacy and aged just 22, has plenty of time to progress into a decent striker.

Daniel Gudjonsen is another striker who has come in from Malmo for a fee of £1.1m. He's the son of former Chelsea and Barcelona man Eidur, so certainly has pedigree. He began his career in Barcelona's La Masia before joining Real Madrid. He went to Scandinavia to join Swedish side Malmo where he's barely played. He spent time on loan at Notts County last season and scored a couple of goals for them in 15 matches, I'm really hoping a big move for him can spark his career into life.

Finally, the biggest news of the summer personally for me, fresh from winning the World Cup, France offered me the national side job following the departure of 3 time World Cup winner (once as a player and twice as a manager) Didier Deschamps quit the role after winning it again in the USA. Deschamps is a legend of French football so to follow him will be very tough after he won 2 World Cups, Euro 2024 and 2 Nations League titles in his 14 years in charge. 

It's some rise for me personally, from managing Dartford back at the beginning of December in the Vanarama National League to managing the likes of double World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe at international level, it's a very exciting time. I do of course feel for Fiji, I didn't get to manage them in a competitive match which I'm disappointed about, however the chance to manage the World champions, with a significant pay rise too, was too much of a pull.

[danmcconnell1]

We've had a flying start to the new season which began with a 3-0 win over recently relegated Preston North End. Ryan Wintle scored a brace while Daniel Gudjohnsen scored his first goal for the club. Our First round tie in the Carabao Cup was at home to Cambridge and we went one better to beat them 4-0 with a much changed side. Chris Willock scored on his full debut, Gudjohnsen managed a brace this time while Karoy Anderson marked his first appearance back at the club with a goal after spending last season on loan at Chesterfield. Next up was our first league match of the season at home against Portsmouth and we beat them comfortably thanks to goals from Scott Twine and a first for the club by loanee George Hall to give us a 2-0 win. We conceded for the first time this season away at Burton as we couldn't keep up our winning start, Lynden Gooch getting our equaliser in the 2nd half, however we got back to winning ways with a bang a week later at home to Gillingham, beating them 4-0 thanks to a Kanu brace, Gudjohnsen and Gooch both getting one each again. Then came the most impressive result of the month as we beat Premier League side Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup 2nd round at The Valley. Taylor opened the scoring whilst 2 late goals from another new signing Filip Stevanovic sealed our progression into round 3 where we'll take on recently relegated to League 2 AFC Wimbledon in South West London. The month ended with the first London derby of the season for us as Leyton Orient came to The Valley and we comfortably dispatched of them 2-0 thanks to 2 Lynden Gooch goals, he's had a great start to the new season.

All of this means we sit top of League 1 after 5 matches played, level on points with Peterborough, Wrexham and Plymouth, our goal difference being the most impressive at +11. It's been an outstanding start to the new campaign and all I can hope for is that we continue playing as well as we are, the rest should take care of itself.

We've brought in some more reinforcements at the back as Tom Holmes joins from Luton for £750k. He fits the theme of signings this summer, a versatile player however a defender instead of forward thinking player. He didn't get much game time at Luton over the last 3 years or so, so we're hoping he can find that form he did at Reading which earned him the move to Premier League Luton at the time.