Out of the shadows of The Eagles Valley

Why Arnold Town?

Eagles Valley is situated on the outskirts of the village I grew up in, so I have a local interest.

When I get a new Football Manager game, I ALWAYS pick Notts County to play first. Being the team I support, I guess I do what a lot of FM players do. However, I am awful with them every time. I have come to the conclusion that it is due to familiarity. I have too many pre-conceived ideas about the club and its players. Which never works in my favour.

Being the closest club to where I was raised, Arnold Town is ideal. A local team, who I have no pre-conceived ideas about. They're also crap, so its likely this save will end before Christmas with me being sacked (my usual standard at Notts).

Game Set Up:

Database - Medium

Level playable to in England - 10. District League



My Manager Profile:

Not knowing where to pitch my abilities, I relied on the games suggestions. I am actually surprised it gave me a qualification (National A Licence). The low skill levels aren't unexpected. I also kept the style focus balanced, this isn't something I usually mess around with on other saves and didn't see a need to here.



Club Details:



Previous manager Ray Chilton.





The old Gedling Road ground site was wanted by the council to building housing on, hence the move. The new ground is situated near to the village of Calverton - where I grew up.

Football Manager 2016 assessment of Arnold Town. Two things to note:

The ground is basically a field, with a stand and a club building. Is the 3000 capacity a local council safety thing?

Poor training facilities - Notts County used the Eagle Valley as a training ground for two seasons. If its so poor then I guess that explains the performances at Notts.



I love the club background detail:





I guess that may be part of my goals - end the barren spell.

Message From The Chairman/My Goals:

Chairman Marc Townsend welcomed me to the club with a 1 year contract and a salary of £325 per week. He is responsible for offloading players I put on the unwanted or development lists.

One thing I am pleased with is the lack of philosophies. Having not seen the team yet, but anticipating finding nothing special, I'm glad they're not holding me to unrealistic expectations. Having said that, my personal expectation is to one day play Notts County in the Football League - I won't commit to what level, just league football with do.

Seems there is a clean slate here. No pending transfers, no one on the unwanted list yet and no players on the development list. Works for me.

Next Update:

Thats it, a brief introduction to the club and the save. Next post I will be taking a look at the squad I have at my disposal.

I'm also undecided on whether this will be an update series, or more of a story. I'd better decide before the next post.

This looks really interesting and for sure im going to follow that story.Good luck tho i don't know much about the lower tier of England leagues.

Ooo I am excited to see how this develops! Everyone loves the local boy come good at his local team, plus the added bonus of being a minnow. All the best for this

I know very little about this level. But considering Arnold Town are on my doorstep I only know their ground.

Oddly there are a couple of names that are familiar, not sure if these are the real players but its weird. Can't wait to see how it pans out myself

Revised Goals:

As you will see the club isn't in the best shape. My goal of playing Notts County in the league is pretty much pie in the sky (excuse the weak pun).

This was a post outlining staff and players, but that would be too long. So I have split it into two parts, starting with staff - which is where I immediately begin every game. I believe in a solid backroom. If there is a spine in the team on the pitch, then the backroom is the spine of the club that helps drive it to success.

But before I begin, last time out I forgot to post the league table.



Being a local lad, I found it interesting how many small villages have teams still. Even more interesting is how many grew up out of coal mining. For anyone who doesn't know MW in the clubs title means miners welfare.

Staff Assessment:

At the moment the club is a two-man show. Marc Townsend (the chairman) and me. With only a week to the first friendly, I need to get some staff in quickly.





Looking at what I'm allowed and knowing the wage budget, I am keeping staff intake to a minimum. An assistant manager, a coach, a scout and a physio. I'm undecided whether I need a head physio or chief scout, does it really matter what level they are? That wage budget is looking thin on the ground and fancy titles in front of names tend to come at a cost.

I've placed adverts for these three positions. Here's the dilemma, I have no local player knowledge. No one to scout for me. I like to play the game in a realistic way and only try to bring in players recommended by scouts, or players I've seen play during matches. When you see the squad you'll understand why this is an issue early doors.

What I am pleased with is that we are least good at something when it comes to coaching. Its seems that my skills are in fitness and goalkeeping (oddly I used to play keeper a lot when I was in school, mainly because I was the fat glasses wearing kid - so they got it 50% correct).

We don't look too bad on the defensive coaching side either.

At least we aren't bad at everything, this gives me a good idea of what I need in an assistant and a coach.

I find it odd that I'm advised to have one Director Of Football and a Head of Youth Development, but no Under 21's or 18's coaches. Not sure I'll be needing a DoF at this level.



For the time being then, looks like no youth development, which is a disappointment. On the bright side, I can actually have staff. I wasn't too sure at this level.

We're in bad shape, with very little time to sort things out. This is going to be challenging.

First Team Squad Assessment:

Something I forgot at the lower league level is how many space holder players teams have. I originally thought I had 17 first team players, then realised I don't even have that:



The reality is, out of the 17 listed, only 11 are real players. But I am going to continue with all 17 until I get a better feel for their talents.

On first analysis, the squad is a little unbalanced in places:

Four players for the right back/wing back position and only one on the left. Two will be leaving the club.

Three central defenders, I'd want minimum of four vying for the position (the old two players for each role gambit). I'll be looking at a utility player for that last defensive place. Someone to cover central defence and the left back positions, in order to make the most of the wage budget and to give me the cover I need.

Only one recognised striker - Michael Slawson. At this level all stats seem to be flatlining, so until I see him play I wont be making a decision on him.



Depending on how good he is, I may need two or three more. With the budgets as tight as they are, I am not sure I could justify more than three strikers. Another utility player to help provide cover should be good enough.

It also looks like I'll be using the friendlies to assess the current players, as I haven't a clue about any of them and have no one who can give me a run down. This is the main difference between this save and my usual Notts save. With Notts I know the players and have a good idea of a starting 11 before a ball has been kicked. For once, the friendlies will have real meaning beyond getting players fit for the season.

This is only based on how many players I have for each position. Once I've seen them play, I may need to ship some out and bring some in.

Key players:

The current squad has four key players:

Danny Marshal GK

Richie Holmes DC/DR

Andy Haskins MC

Corey Nightingale DR/MC

I already have an idea of the tactic I'll be using and all four of these players fit well. Unfortunately, other teams have taken a shine to them:

Northwood contract offer for Nightingale. I've also offered him a contract, which he has accepted.



I like the look of Nightingale:



He's been around the local teams most his career, so knows the league well. At 26 he's a good balanced age, if I bring in youngsters he will be a good mentor. He's got good fitness, aggressive, a leader and a team player. I am basing my team on togetherness, working hard for one another.

Redhill have offered Danny Marshal a contract. I'll probably lose him, as contract talks between us broke down and he's not happy. He has some good stats and I really wanted to keep him:



So immediately I'm in the hunt for a new keeper.

Transfers:

As of writing this and still being early in to my save, these are the players who have been offered contracts by other clubs:



Outside the key players, listed already:

Michael Leslie DC - 27 years old, started his career at 17 with Notts County and has since been a bit of a journeyman. At 6ft 4" he could be useful in defence. Good team player too. I managed to persuade him to stay with a 1 year contract worth £20 per week.

Craig Meakin AM/L/R - Bit of a dilemma with Craig, I don't see us playing with attacking wide players. But I do like the looks of him. He's 23, has decent pace, good teamwork and fitness. He's also scored 13 goals in 38 games, but hasn't been prolific in recent years. I've offered him a contract, I think he could be re-trained to fit our system.

Mitchell Slawson St - Yes, our only full time striker. If the interest from other clubs is anything to go by, we could have a player on our hands here. (Note: this is where lower league saves may let us down - his history shows he's player for a number of clubs, but hasn't made any appearances and hasn't scored for any of them. Possible gaps in the data available?).



At 24 he's still young enough to improve, but should have enough experience too. He looks a solid, tank of a player. Good teamwork, work rate, good fitness, aggression and is a leader. At over six foot tall, he will cause defences a headache. Needless to say I've offered him a new contract.

I could go on forever about players at the club, but these are the ones who have stood out purely based on interest from elsewhere - I have no other opinion to help me form my own, so this will have to do for now.

The Affiliate Angle:

Notts County are our senior team affiliate, they train at The Eagles Valley so it makes sense. With this in mind I approached one of their youngsters, Ben Browne, about a loan deal. He's a defensive midfielder, so fills a hole in my tactic, 17 years old. Not being able to scout him, its hard to highlight his true ability. But, I was willing to take the risk.



He actually turned us down. Not willing to drop to this level.

So, I think I can rule out bringing players in from Notts. It could be a one way street if I develop a decent youngster.

With that in mind I approached the board about another affiliation. It took some arguing why I thought it was important, but in the end they agreed I was right. Off they went to find me a club, back they came empty handed.

My other plan was to hold a trial day, to flush out any decent players. The board turned me down.

I need a scout and I need one NOW!

Got to admit, this is very interesting and I'll most def. be following. KIU @Benignsource.

I keep thinking I've missed things out. But then I realise, I can't put them in because having no staff they don't exist yet lol.

Seasons Expectations (Or THEY WANT WHAT?)

Great News:

Some great news. Just as I was publishing the last update, I got a message saying Danny Marshall has opted to stay with Arnold Town, turning down Aylesbury and Redhill. I have to admit, I didn't see this one coming. Glad he has had a change of heart though.



The only downside here is that he still doesn't want to sign a new contract with us.

Are We Really This Good?



Never mind the cup, I've never done well in cup competition with any club below the Championship.

Top half finish in the league? With a team currently made up of 17 players, not even a full 17 at that, a backroom staff of just me and just one striker? I'd get that sort of ambition two or three weeks down the line, if we'd had a good pre-season and the squad/staffing situation was sorted. But, at the moment, I'm not seeing it. Or maybe I just not seeing how bad the other teams in this league are?

That came as a bit of a surprise to me. In the meantime I'm preparing the team for our first friendly against Dudley.

Good luck with this, look like you've got a lengthy journey on your hands

Who The Pundits Fancy to Do Well:

It seems the pundits agree with the Chairman and myself that Arnold aren't contenders for the title this season.



Blaby And Whetstone, although not tipped for the title, do seem to be a pundits favourite. I love the smallest squad bit - I wonder what that makes ours?

Pre-Season:

It's a strange situation I'm facing. The staff at a club can easily be taken for granted. It's easy to forget how much input they have in every aspect of running that club. From little bits of feedback on players, to opinions on opposition teams.

Having no one at the club to bounce ideas off, seek advice from has made bringing people in a priority. But it has also meant that pre-season is more than ever a real period of learning and evaluating.
For that reason, I'm going to give a run-down of each pre-season match. I was going to lay out the tactics I intend to use this season. That is going to happen, but it will be combined with match reviews/assessments.

My intent is to set up three tactics, using a different one for each of the first three pre-season games. Usually I'd set three up, but keep to one. In this case, not knowing much about the team beyond their stats (no staff means no reports to use when judging players), I've decided to rotate the formations and see what works best and who works best.

First Tactic/First Game:

I'm not ashamed to admit that I am a rubbish tactician. I often get it wrong. For this reason, I often adopt tactics created by those who have that skillset. Lately I've been using the various tactics created by StatApp (check his Youtube channel out). For a while I was experimenting to see what teams his tactics work best with. It seems none work with Notts County, as I was often sacked by Christmas. With Man Utd I won 4 titles, 2 FA Cups, 2 League Cups and the Champions League over four seasons using one of Luke's tactics.

That being said, I also like the way my son sets up his teams - check his Racing Club De Lens (RC De Lens) series Of Blood & Gold out. He's only just started with them, so not much in the way of tactics there. But, using his own tactics he managed to get Notts County promoted. He's also applied his own variation of a 4-4-2 deconstructed tactic with great success at Liverpool - winning pretty much everything there is to win in his second season with them.

Those are my two main sources for tactics in this save. The first tactic I'll be playing is 3-1-5-1 formation, used by StatApp in his The Sheffield Saga series, details in the video below:

Your text to link here...

I'll be honest, with such a small squad and limited knowledge I was pretty much just putting players in to positions when I picked the team below:



I was actually pleasantly surprised at how well the players fit this formation. With the exception of the defensive midfielder, this tactic could have been made with Arnold Town in mind. If you watch Luke's video, you will know it was made for a lower league club so it made sense to give it a go. Having only one striker, I was forced to go with a formation with one up front.

Dudley v Arnold Town:

Again, the media gave me a good indicator of the level I am at. Dudley are in the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division - so same level as us. But the media sensed blood in the water:



Are we really that good? I'm seeing signs that we might well be. Ok, nothing I've SEEN.

Dudley didn't seem that confident, if their tactical formation was anything to go by. Very defensive. Where we will be happy to keep possession, choke the midfield and boss the game from there. They seemed to be set up to sit back with as many men as possible behind the ball and to hit teams on the break. Is this a 4-2-2-2 formation, or a 6-2-2 formation?



Match Review:

1ST HALF

Early into the match it was obvious we lacked aerial prowess in the box. A few times the ball was pinged in from a cross or a corner and Dudley had no trouble dealing with it. Our players aren't overly short (we have our fair share of 6ft plus players), just crap in the air. As the half went on I discovered that this isn't only an attacking issue, but also defensive. We just couldn't cope with crosses in to the area, it was only fortune that kept the ball out of the net.

As expected we dominated the midfield.

It took only 18 minutes for Walton to score a pretty decent goal. It came as the result of some very good build up play, beginning with the keeper, up the left wing. Haskins providing the ball to Walton, who took it forward and shot from 20 yards out.

Watching back, the whole build up was almost slow motion. We had so much time on the ball to consider options, pass and move forward at our own leisure it was unbelievable.
Dudley seemed to come back into the game just before half time, but it was too little too late.

Player assessment, Walton is too sensitive. He didn't take kindly to the half time team talk - which was simply to avoid complacency. Said in a calm manner. He'll hate the talks I give when we're losing at half time.

I had to have words with Leslie during the break, seems he's prone to complacency. Even though it's just a friendly, that is something I don't want to see in my players.

2ND HALF

There was no real need to make substitutions at half time. The squad is that small and I wanted to see as much of this first lineup as possible.

Again we dominated midfield in the second half, almost frustratingly so. The ball spent too much time there.

On 69 minutes I bought Walker and Ramsey (who in the post match report seems to have changed his name to Sweeney and no longer appears in my squad listing on the tactics screen) on for Baxter and Slawson. I just wanted to see another option in the striker role and right midfield role.

I wasn't impressed with Ramsey (Sweeney), he was outpaced too many times. As a lone striker he can't let that happen.

Jackson scored from the penalty spot in the 74th minute. I must admit I didn't see the foul - too busy writing notes.

As the second half carried on, I was increasingly impressed at how effortlessly the players moved the ball from flank to flank. It was pleasing to see and will come in useful when trying to break teams down.

I need to keep an eye on Jackson. He's a tough tackler. I like that, but it may lead to him spending more time banned than actually playing.

Oh Marshall, why? WHY? For some random reason Danny Marshall had the ball and decided to kick it out of play and then sit down. It wasn't an accidental kicking up the pitch and the ball going out of play. This was a kick off the pitch, in a direction parallel with the goal line. THEN HE SAT DOWN!!!! Baffled.

How Did They Do?

Overall, I was impressed. Hoskins and Walton (PoM) were great in mid-field and only got better as the game went on - despite having tired badly.



The defence needs sorting. Not sure if this means a new player, or more training. Time will tell.

As expected, we had the better possession (64%) but only managed 8 shots, with 2 on target. Compared to Dudley, who were 6 shots and 1 on target I'd say we didn't play that well in front of goal.
We also need to be careful of our fouls, with 6 we were double that of Dudley. This may come back to bite us if it's not nipped in the bud.

Some good news after the match, Slawson pledged his future to the club. At least I know we'll have one good striker for the season.

The two main tactics, I'll be using this season, only require 3 defenders. In midfield, I'll be deploying wide midfielders. So wingbacks won't be needed.

It occurs to me that I have three players who might be surplus to requirements.

Craig Meakin (AM/RL)

Tremain Walter (DL)

Simon Hore (DR)

I've stated previously that I'd like to keep Meakin at the club. I like his stats and will be looking to retrain him as an attacking midfielder, so he can slot in to one of my tactics.

Tremain looks like he might be able to be trained for the wide left midfield position, this would also give me cover in a position we are need a back up player for.



Hore looks a little inflexible when it comes to training for another position. He really is good in one position.



I am wondering if it is worth the effort of re-training these players. Can I afford the valuable coaching time, with limited staff. We only get two training sessions per week. Will this be enough to bring them up to speed in their new roles, for them to be of use this season.

On the flip side, what if I need to change tactics to four at the back? I have plenty of cover at right back, so Hore may not be needed. But, at left back Tremain is it.

The compromise may be to keep Tremain and offload Hore. Releasing funds for wages and also not wasting training time.

With such a small squad I don't want to offload players until I know I have suitable replacements. Without a scout at the club, finding suitable replacements is taking longer than it normally would.

On the plus side, all three players have clubs interested in them. For once something going my way.

Staff Update:

Initial list of prospects for the scouting role came in on 14th July. I'm leaving the advert up. I'm unsure if the quality is poor because of the level we're playing at, or is it just the first wave of applicants is usually full of chancers? We'll soon see. At the moment, I wont be taking risks on scouts who have stats below 5 for judging ability and potential.

The response to the advert for a physio was just as uninspiring. Not one with a physiotherapy rating over 5. Maybe I need to look at their other stats instead?

But I thought I had a coach. Gerard Jones. I poached him from Hessle, who are in Northern Counties East Division One. If I'm honest, I have no clue if that is above, below or the same as where we are. All I know is I nearly got a coach. The hope of backroom staff meetings not just being just the wall and me anymore is dashed. Was he good? He has some attributes in double figures, was that good enough?



All I know is that I should have checked funds. Apparently we're skint and I forgot that. So couldn't afford to pay off Hessle.

First wave of Assistant Manager hopefuls were rubbish. Well, rubbish in the areas you need an assistant to be good in. The search continues.

An Omen?

To gain some match sharpness, I let all of the first team players play in an Under 21's match against Ilkeston Town. The result 0-0.



Not many of the first team players, if any, saw the match out. At 0-0 I imagined Ilkeston had done what I had and played first team players. Should I be worried that they hadn't and we could only manage a 0-0 draw?



Too early to judge? Or is that wishful thinking? At least Marshall may have gained some confidence, I just wish he'd sign a contract so I could rest easy too.

Transfers:

I started keeping an eye on transfers, just so I could bring the highlights. Little did I suspect that if I own a player, then he's going to be approached by someone. Doesn't matter who he is, or his ability. At some point in the last week, every single one of my players has been tapped up by another club.

When I've played at higher levels, I nearly had to give class players away. No one wanted them. Turns out all I needed to do was to buy a load of non-league players and I'd have been inundated with offers.

So, too many potential transfers in the offing to give any particular hightlights. ALL key players are targets, ALL bad players are targets.

Match Tactics (Hessle Rangers v Arnold):

For the second pre-season match I'm doing as I said and changing tactics.

This is another StatApp tactic and is just an attacking version of the tactic I used against Dudley, in the first friendly match.

Instead of a defensive midfielder, this tactic used an attacking midfielder. Of course we don't have such a beast at the club, so Mr Meakin has been volunteered to fill the role. He's not a natural, but with some training he may just be what we need. I haven't changed the team from the first outing. I wanted to, but didn't have the players to do it effectively for the tactic. The shape is basically a 3-5-1-1, with emphasis on attack.



Again, we're looking to control the mid-field. This time out we should see a better shots tally.

Looking at Hessle's lineup, I'd say they're going to be a bit more attack minded than Dudley. However, it also lends itself to counter attack football. Lots of players deep, but with more of an attacking threat with the wingers playing high up the pitch.



We may struggle again in the box, with our attack being outnumbered again.

1ST HALF

From the first ten minutes I should have known Slawson wasn't going to have one of his better games. Shooting wide on the 7 minute 30 mark, that may have knocked his confidence.

The first fifteen minutes was all them. They did a great job in pinning us back and not giving us the space on the ball we'd used to great effect against Dudley.

17 minutes in to the half and Jackson floated a lovely cross in to the box for Slawson to get on the end of. No such luck, he just missed the goal.

Meakin doesn't seem to be doing too bad in AMC role, could I have a player good enough to learn?

21 minutes - conceded. A great cross from White from the right, hit the crossbar, the rebound comes to Royall who puts it into the back of the net. Defence were nowhere to be seen. They hit us on the counter attack and got an early cross in to the box.

Slawson missed again on 22 minutes.

Its almost as if they have more players on the pitch, we're are being outnumbered everywhere.

Oddly we've played better since conceding the goal.

In a last ditch effort to get something from the half, I change from playing the ball in to the box to hitting early crosses. We are getting room on the wings to get the crosses in.

Just before half time Hessle are on the attack again, making the most of our disappearing defence. Sonner comes close to scoring, thank God for the crossbar.

I don't care if it's a friendly. They played poorly and got a bollocking at half time for it. I also changed the formation, this just wasn't working. For the second half I picked my sons variation on the 4-4-2 deconstructed tactic.



Keeping Meakin in AMC. Leslie and Haskins off. Walters on in the left back position. Hore on in the right back position. Glad I haven't offloaded him yet. Walton dropped in the the DMC position. With this formation Meakin and Walton are playing in unfamiliar roles, but I'd rather try this now than during the season when it matters.

For some reason I kept Slawson on.

2ND HALF

From the off we look better. Attack has more options and defence is picking up the Hessle players effectively.

Cross in to our box are being dealt with better.

We pretty much nullified the threat from their striker Birch, which was pleasing to see.

80 minutes in and Slawson wastes a point blank open goal.

We're getting better balls in to the box at low level. Problem is Slawson is crap. He screws up two one on one's with the keeper just before full time.

On the 90 minute mark Hore decides to randomly kick the ball out for a corner. Under no pressure, plenty of space and the keep nearby to pass to. Is this a thing for my team? Marshall last game and now Hore.

Defence has been much better and seemed less panicked.

I should have taken Slawson off, he was awful.

Positives from the game. Meakin looks like he's a keeper. Showing his adaptability.



We actually got more possession than I thought we had (59%). Shots about the same at 9, but only 1 on target - tells the story of Slawsons terrible game. Fouls is worrying, 10. As I said, I will address this.

The second half tactic suited the team. I don't usually have so many instructions for my players, especially at this level. But they handled it well.



It seems the attacking option of the 3-5-1-1 formation doesn't work as well as the defensive. Next game will be started with the 4-4-2 deconstructed.

Who needs staff?

I know I keep banging on about staff. But here is part of the problem. Key player for the club £20 to £25 pw wage. Assistant manager wants £65 pw. Keep in mind these are assistant currently out of work. Three now have turned me down - even after offers of £50 pw, which I think is too much considering player wage demands.

Pre-Season Pt. 3 - Moving Forward At Last

Player Updates:
From the two games we've played so far one of the players who stood out for me was Andy Haskins, 31 yr old midfielder. For this first season I was looking at making him the lynchpin of the team. Well, that won't happen. With so many offers for players coming in, I took my eye off the ball and lost him to Ascot. Its a massive blow to the team, especially as it was already a small squad and he was one of the better players in it.

But we move on.
Hinckley AFC v Arnold:
Having changed tactics, to great effect, midway through the Hessle Rangers game I decided to stick with the deconstructed 4-4-2 for this game.

I'm also mixing the starting lineup a little, just to see how flexible the team can be. So Walton takes the AMC positions from Meakin. I figure neither is a natural, what do I have to lose.
It seems the pre-season is stepping up a gear too, in terms of quality of opposition, ESPNFC.com predict an easy win for Hinckley:

The worry is this knocks the confidence of my players. As for Hinckleys formation, they line up the same as Hessle Rangers - is 4-1-2-3 the prefered formation for the lower leagues?

1st Half:
I don't know if its the tactic or Slawson, but he played so deep in this half - at some points he spent a lot of time in our own half whilst the midfield played ahead of him. But to give him his due he worked hard and was nearly rewarded when he got on the end of great cross from Leslie. In that instance he was bullied off the ball by 3 Hinckley defenders, I guess they saw him as a threat.
The first 15 minutes was all us, which is pleasing against a better quality team. The issues we were having in the first two games with dealing with crosses now seem to be resolved. Hore on the right back is looking like a good player.
As the half goes on it seems Slawson doesn't have much in him when it comes to battling for the ball. Even one on one with defenders he's easily bullied off the ball.
I am liking what I'm seeing from Jackson this half, he's getting in to some good postions on the left wing.
44 minutes in and Hinckley break the deadlock, with a goal from Taylor. It was a bit of a scramble in the area, the ball broke free for Taylor and he slotted it in to the goal with ease. The keeper should have done better, but was seemingly distracted by the battle for the ball.
But, unlike previous games, our heads don't drop and 46 minutes in we're on the attack. Walton and Baxter linking up well, Baxter getting the header towards goal - only being deinied by a dodgy offside decision.
Half Time:

There was a lot of positives in that first half. We matched Hinckley pretty well in everything but shots, even bettering them in possession and passing/tackling. This tactic seems to suit the players at my disposal and works for this level.
Subs: Read on for Chandler (DMC), Hayes on for Holmes (DC), Shariff on for Slawson (STC).
I finally lost patience with Slawson, he's only been around so long because I don't have another signed striker. Shariff is one of the grey men, as I like to call them. He's on because I'm considering dipping in to that pool of players - with no scouting system its hard to identify suitable players.
2nd Half:
Five minutes in the half and Baxter comes so close to scoring, getting on the end of a cross. His header is only denied by the keeper only just managing to get a hand to it to top it over the bar.
He does the same again 5 minutes later.
The gamble with Shariff seems to be paying off, he looks far more assured on the ball than Slawson - that contract may get offered.
Baxter has another opportunity to score on the 58th minute, but some hard tackling prevented him. The team are looking determined and aren't allowing Hinckley to dominate.
Its pleasing to see how hard Walters is working for the team, just what I want from my players.
We've played the offside trap well in this half.
68 minutes in and Walters pop up with a low cross in to the area, for their keeper to save. At any club with a decent striker the cross would have been met and converted in to a goal.
71 minutes in an Hinckley haven't really threatened, we have this game in total control. Just wish we could score.
And then, 87 minutes in, we do score. Sharif in the box heads back to Nightingale, who passes to Baxter on the right. Baster see's Jackson on the far post and lobs it over. Jackson takes his goal cooly. WOW! What build up play.
3 minutes later Nightingale bags his own goal from just inside the area.
Two quick goals, late in the game. This may be just a friendly, but I am seriously impressed with how we played and the patience we played with. Hinckley weren't as good as they were built up to be by the press.
I pegged Baxter to be PoM, but the stats say Jackson and Nightingale were better - due to their goals.


Here is what worries me, we can play like that against teams and then go out and get beaten by an under 21's team. Winterton Under 21's thrashed us 3-1.

We playing pretty woefully in all our following under 21's games. So bad, in fact, that I am no longer concerned. Make sense? No? Okay.
Ins and Outs:
In line with my transfer policy, only signing players recommended by scouts or one's I've seen play, I put a bid in for Hinckleys Nathan Walker. He played well, is a central midfielder and at 25 would be an ideal replacement for Haskins. Unfortunately Hinckley offered him a new contract, so we lost out.

I said previously that we receive a lot of offers for our players, so I've been firefighting and offering new deals - even to players who look suspect - just to keep a team together. Thankfully, some of the better players decided to stay.
Baxter, Walters, Hore all decided to stay. Hore and Walters settled on £25pw, but I had to break the bank for Baxter at £60 pw. After his last game, I thought he was worth every penny - I only hope I am not wrong.
A week is a long time in football and we made the most of it. We got some staff:
Jamie Musselwhite - Scout. His scouting ability is the best of a bad bunch - seems you get what you pay for at this level. 5/5 for player knowledge. Problem is, at this level, his wage seems extortionate at £55 pw. Considering a player gets average £25pw. But he may have unearthed a gem of a player for us. Ryan Crockford - who has four star ability, yeah weak premise, but I am taking what I can get. A 28 year old central midfielder.

He also recommended Mathew Huxley, a left sided midfielder - a position we desperately need to fill. At 33 he'll be ideal, if his stats turn out to be as good as indicated he could be a great signing.

Gareth O'Donnell - Coach. This one hurt the most at £65 pw. Believe me I had gone through a few different offers with a few different coaches and none would drop below this level of money.
The biggest coup, well in my opinion, has been getting a much sort after assistant manager. Seb Confrey, 33 years old and it seems in great demand. At least 10 other clubs were after him. His stats are rubbish, as expected, but the demand for him must count for something right?
At last it feels like we're moving forward.

A relatively quick update. Pre-season ended with a game against our senior affiliate Notts County. You know what, there was so little chance of us getting anything from this game I went on autopilot. We lost 3-0, I suppose that is something. They could have thrashed us by a lot more.

I am not taking this match as an indicator of the season ahead. It was purely a money match.