smp20

Great crowd and an excellent win - into the 2nd Qualifying Round!

Takeley F.C. Update 1st September 2023 Results We had a poor pre-season. We opened up with two losses against sides a league below us, including a loss to fierce rivals Sawbridgeworth. Our only two victories came against local 11th tier sides and newly promoted 8th tier side Mildenhall thumped us. However, that poor pre-season was all forgotten after winning the season opener in the FA Cup Extra-Prelim and following that up by winning the opening league game. We've since gone on to draw and lose in the league giving us a 1-1-1 record, however we have made excellent progress in the FA Cup and we'll face 8th tier Bedworth Utd in the 1st Qualifying Round at home. Transfers With just 10 senior players in the squad and our youth team players merely making up the numbers my first task was to bulk out the team. With no wage budget of note, the only way to do so was to lean towards the loan market. First in was striker Kargbo. My scout brought attention to him in a report and the fact that he'd started his career in the Essex Senior League made him a realistic target. I scoured the centre back options on loan looking for those that had made the most tackles per game and up came Enfield-born Paul Dunne. With very little other info available we took a punt on him. We desperately needed a goalkeeper as our 16 year old No. 1 had shown a terrible attitude in training (Casual) and for some reason hates me. I put the feelers out to some local clubs and Saffron Walden made Saviour Ike available to us. I knew nothing about him other than the fact that they had trusted him to start 15 league games in two seasons at such a young age so he was brought in. Much to my delight when we got into our first quickness training session of the season I discovered that Mo Kargbo was rapid; at least for this level. Not only that he can finish and has decent movement. He is the ideal advanced forward in our system and I expect him to score us a lot of goals. Dunne's turned out to be a decent acquisition. He's the best performer in training and can hold his own physically at this level despite not being the strongest. The biggest surprise! Saviour could live up to his name as his handling and rushing off his line prove to be his strengths. Great attitude too, he could progress well in his career. After adjusting our scouting budget to transfer/wage budget (who on earth thought it would be a good idea to spend £3k a month on a scouting package ) we ended up with a bit more wiggle room. A centre back and defensive mid came in on trial for two weeks towards the end of July and after impressing Maynard was offered a contract. He's an East Anglian lad who has spent the last two seasons in the 8th tier. He wasn't interested in being tied down by the club, opting for a non-contract but with a hefty (for us...) £50 a game appearance fee. I'd fully expect him to be snapped back up by a higher tier side in a few months, but he's a key player for us in the short-term. Tactics A high-press Sacchi inspired 4-4-2 but with DMs. My staple approach. Squad Overview Teams were offering contracts to Whitfield however he turned them down in order to sign a proper part time contract with us, becoming just the second player to do so after Rees. I'm happy with our starting 11, however we lack depth as the majority of our bench are first year youth players. If we manage to stay fit, we can compete with the best in the league, however a few injury problems and I can see our youngsters struggling with the step up from youth football. Finances Thanks to our early progress in the FA Cup our finances are starting to look much healthier. Let's hope we can keep it that way.

Whilst I do like the ideas behind this, I enjoy looking at the attributes too much

We've just finished our first training session with our new fitness coach and finally after two months of putting the feelers out I've found my right hand man. Just one of three applicants, Thompson brings experience of both Managerial and Assistant roles at this level and the tier below. He will be our disciplinarian!

Thanks! Looking forward to having to think through everything realistically, that's the challenge indeed.

However, the board did allow us to offer a new contract to our star man and captain. He is a very good player for this level, snapped up from newly promoted London Tigers under the previous manager.

My focus returns to my current employers. At the moment the club isn't in the best financial state and the lack of wiggle room in the wage budget reflects this. We are effectively paying expenses; youth players are on £5 a week while players are on £20-25 a game appearance bonuses. The fact that the club has offered me £325 a week is ludicrous...

I was really hopeful on this one - it would have meant a return to my University town a decade after leaving!

A good opportunity came up at former Conference side Northwich and I feel I was very close to getting it.

The board were hesitant at first but were easily persuaded Here's a peak at how the table ended up. We were well clear of relegation in the end. We relied on trying to outscore our opponents, and it worked!

A win and survival is secured in style

A great win that puts us in a great position to stay up. We've jumped up to 16th, although our game was on a Friday night.

A late collapse means we're right back into trouble. Next up fellow strugglers Woodford!

Despite only getting to meet the players for the first time for a club brunch at 10am before leaving for the match, we managed to thump fellow relegation battlers 4-0 away in my first game in charge! We've climbed out the relegation zone, but just on goal difference. We need to keep up this level of commitment.

The first club to take a punt on me are relegation threatened Takeley, based a stones throw from Stansted Airport. I've managed to organise pickups from the club secretary from Stansted Airport Train Station for training and matches. A small squad bulked up by young players awaits me. We look strong down the right, but with just a youth keeper available we will be hoping he gets protection from our defence. It's desperate times for the club in the Essex Senior League. 4 games left, 3 points from safety. Thankfully we face the two teams directly above us in the league, so it's in our hands. This is certainly an eye opener into management at this level!

An interview was successful with Blackpool based Squires Gate, however after delaying the offer to look into accommodation options it was only viable with a pay rise to £300 a week, too much for them to offer compared to £220 a week. We go again!

Turned down a job interview based on the fact it wouldn't be realistic for me to start in Scottish League Two!

Real Life Coach to Realistic FM Career Ok here goes my second attempt at this as I was a little bit too ambitious loading all playable European leagues in my previous attempt. My aim is to replicate a realistic football management career given my coaching background. I am currently working full time as a youth coach in Vietnam for a local academy; I have previously worked in professional football club academies in England and have senior management experiences in Tiers 10 and 11, as well as first team coaching experience in Tier 9. This time I've opted for a trimmed down game world, however I've used an add on to include Tier 9 upwards. I've gone for leagues that I've got a realistic chance of managing in (English as first language) as well as a few big European Leagues to increase immersion and give me the option of a proper 'abroad' experience later on in the save too. My ambition is to start with an English Tier 9 team, ideally one I have a geographical connection to in East Anglia or the North-West and progress from there. The aim is to be as realistic as possible in all aspects. I'm currently holiday until Monday 16th January (today's date) with my best suit prepped for potential interviews. Let the journey(man) begin!

Unfortunately I feel that this save with all those leagues loaded is just far too slow, even with a decent laptop . I will be re-starting with something more streamlined but along the same lines!

I'm almost your neighbour! Working in HCMC - I will DM you the latter part

We've used all of our transfer and wage budget on one player - but I can really see potential in him. £10k upfront with add ons, but he could blossom into a league star.

Coaching Licence course agreed

The second side to take a punt on me are Northern-Republic Ireland bordertown side Warrenpoint. They've managed to maintain a place in the top-flight for a few season now, let's see if it's possible to push them on any further. At first glance I'm pretty happy with the squad, though we're lacking quality up top. Wade-Slater is a great player for this level and one we can build around.

Not quite ready for my own club yet