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Deleted Account #151676
#77680 Pre-Season 2013
#77614 Rick's Career
2015 started well enougth, we're sitting pretty at the top of division one, level on points with my old club Ross County who look bent on punishing me for ditching them for Rangers as they became the first side to beat my Gers side.
We began the month in style by slaughtering Airdrie 5-1, three of those goals coming from the spot as Dean Sheils scored four times. A 2-1 win over Partick Thistle sent us top before a 2-0 triumph at Raith moved us three points clear.
Next up came the visit of Ross County, and I could have given you the script for this game before the kick off it was so obvious what was going to happen, my side took the lead against the run of play with eleven minutes to play, however my usually reliable defence went to pieces in the final few minutes, allowing my former employers a ludicrously predictable FM victory.
With County now level on points with us we couldn't afford any slip ups against Morton, We lined up with a new winger on the team sheet;
I could have waited until June and had him for free when his contract expired, however I lacked a natural right winger and have been forced to play strikers out wide, so at just £50k I was willing to bring Marc in from Southampton a bit early, he immediately made a good impression, assisting and scoring a goal against Morton on his début to help keep us top with ten games to go.
Finally we welcomed Dundee United to Ibrox for an Scottish cup 5th round tie, Dundee took a first half lead to put us on edge, thankfully Faure levelled to set up a replay next week.
Dean Sheils impressive form earned him an award;
Cheers bud.
#77573 Rick's Career
I've had a good first month in charge at Ibrox, winning all four of our games and playing some good football;
My first game came at home to Queen of the South, Rangers had taken a big risk appointing me as manager when they could have gone for someone with much more experience at a higher level, so it goes without saying that I was desperate to prove myself, you can imagine my disappointment when we fell behind after just three minutes to a Martin Boyle strike. thankfully that turned out to just being teething problems as the players adapted to my tactical changes, two headed goals from French defender Sebastian Faure turned the game around before Ryan Wallace fired in a third to confirm the win.
Wallace who had been floundering in the reserves before my arrival continued his scoring form by adding another two against Livington and yet another against Dunfermline in a narrow 1-0 win.
Finally we took on Hamilton, knowing a win could take us top depending on other results, DJ Campbell's strike in the eight minute was enough to secure the win but Patrick just hung on to first place by a point.
There's several players who I want to ship out as they lack the work ethic I so prize, already though I have flexed the Gers financial muscle to re-unite myself with two of my former County charges.
Stevie was the primary source of goals at County having scored 36 goals in the last two years, hopefully he can continue his fine form here at Rangers.
His £110k move from Cowdenbeath to County was probably the best signing of my career so far, this time I had to stump up a bit more (£190k) but I have full confidence he will again repay my faith.
Thanks mate, keep reading!
Thank you
Aye it was a bit gutting but still, technically the cup is on the mantel piece of my club now.
Not any more \o/
#77479 The Night Thread Mk. IX
#77354 Rick's Career
Good luck to them, I hope the club bears me no ill will, I enjoyed myself there and am already looking forward to my first trip back to Dingwall.
Right, here's a look at my new players;
Rangers have a MASSIVE squad, the above screenshot is just the first team, there are also reserve and youth teams full of money sucking leaches with low work rates who I shall be trying to offload when the transfer window opens up. I am already planning to raid my former club in January to bring in Stevie Ross and Lewis Milne, both of whom I'm very fond of and would love to have as part of my set up here at Ibrox, I also wouldn't mind bringing Andy Graham over with me perhaps as a player coach, Andy was my captain at Dumbarton as well as vice captain at County.
Rangers are obviously a very well know club, but here's a quick overview of their facilities;
I think we should easily be winning this division, I've gathered a good tactical knowledge of all the other clubs in the league which should help, we are also still going in the Scottish cup with a last sixteen tie with Dundee United on the horizon.
#77340 Rick's Career
With the board impatient for a return to the SPL, even Ibrox legend McCoist wasn't afforded time despite only being six points off the pace in fourth, it just shows what a tough job this is and what sort of pressure I'll be under with the 54 time Scottish champions.
I've really enjoyed my 18 months or so with County, I build a squad I'm proud of and reached a cup final, however this was just too big of an opportunity to pass up and hopefully the start of my trophy collecting days.
#77330 SAF Challenge
#77327 Rick's Career
I literally don't know how to react to this month, it has been a truly baffling run of games, from appearing in a cup final to getting hammered by a division three side and other strange results along the way.
Ivan Sproule's sixth minute strike was enough to see off Livingston and return us to the top of the table before a disappointing defeat to bottom of the league Dunfermline promptly toppled us off of it again, our inconsistency is so frustrating, all of our last five wins have immediately been followed with a defeat so the omens were not looking good for the Challenge cup final when we came from behind to defeat Hamilton to once again climb to the top of the pile.
We were right to fear that omen, despite a spirited battle with Rangers at Hampden we were unable to bring the trophy back to Dingwall, going down 2-1 to the Ibrox side.
Of course after having lost the previous game the consistently inconsistent form gods owed us a win in the next match, which they duly delivered as we avenged having to collect silver medals in the cup final by beating Ally McCoist's men in the league for the second time this season. Mr. McCoist incidentally now finds himself worrying about his employment status after the Gers's poor start this season, sacking him would be rather harsh in my opinion but I would be quite happy to jump in his grave should he go!
An 83rd minute Ryan Donnally header ensured the points were split between us and Airdrie which was frustrating, but at least be broke our win/lose chain of results and earned a point to keep ourselves top of the division.
The final game of the month saw us entertain division three side Brechin in the Scottish cup, as games are coming thick and fast at this time of the year i opted to field a weakened team which included two sixteen year old's in defence which proved a fatal decision as Brechin sensed our weakness, exploiting it to full effect, I now have a sore throat from yelling at my players, none of whom stepped up, the performance was not good enough even if they are only young against a side such as Brechin, especially at home. Easily the worst performance I have overseen in my career so far.
Still at least we're doing well in the league;
There was an award for Stevie Ross this month;
I don't know where we would be without this lad, he already has 17 goals in all competitions this season, add that to his 26 last term and I'm suprised no bigger clubs have shown an interest yet.
The proposed takeover has officially collapsed now, although the chairman still seems keen to sell up;
#77315 Transfer Rumours 2013/14
#77295 The Night Thread Mk. IX
#77294 Random Jukebox's SAF - PLEASE DELETE!!!
Na, if Dundee's your only option I'd stay put for now, else your just swapping one relegation candidate for another, hold on and wait for Aberdeen or one of the Edinburgh sides to open up.
#77288 Random Jukebox's SAF - PLEASE DELETE!!!
#77283 Please delete
#77281 Fergie Mk. II
#77280 Random Jukebox's SAF - PLEASE DELETE!!!
Good luck dude
#77273 Rick's Career
It's always gutting to lose a cup final, even if you did go into it as underdogs. still the fact that we are reaching cup finals in the first place is something that the club can take heart from.
We will immediately get the chance to exert some revenge on Rangers as we face them at home next in the league.
RJ - Thanks mate, yeah, if only i knew how to cure our inconsistancy.
Charlie - I know, I wish they would hurry up and sort it out one way or another.
#77254 Rick's big walk
If you haven't donated already, please do, it's for a very worthy cause to go towards helping the 800,000 people in the UK and million worldwide who suffer with Epilepsy, even if you have donated already and can spare another few pounds that would be fantastic.
You can donate HERE or by text by texting RKKA87 to 70070 followed by your donation amount.
Thank you
#77241 France
#77240 Rick's Career
After our amazing run in the last few months the bubble had to burst sometime, defeats to Morton and Raith brought us back down to earth with a bump, we are however through to the Challenge cup final after overcoming Partick to set up a big day out at Hampden against Rangers.
Going into a game against Greenock Morton on the back of a run of seventeen games without defeat, one might be forgiven for expecting s to get something out of the game and when we took the lead after just ten minutes anything other than a County win seemed unlikely, however complacency crept into our game as Morton rallied and battled back to level terms before going on to win much to my annoyance, I made my fury known to my players after the game in no uncertain terms.
After a potentially morale shattering defeat it was imperative that I instilled confidence into my players ahead of the challenge cup semi final with Partick, thankfully I was able to push their buttons and fire them up for the biggest game of the season so far as two Stevie Ross goals in the opening twenty minutes were enough to book our tickets for Hampden where we will take on Rangers who we have already beaten this season remember!
Our cup joy was short lived as we slumped to a second league defeat in a row, this time to Raith Rovers who in beating us seized the top spot for themselves, Rovers had taken an early lead through striker Joe Hammill, however the irrepressible Steven Ross had evened the score just after the half hour mark, from then on we always looked the most likely winners as we trapped Raith within their own half, unfortunately we perhaps pushed them too high up the pitch as Lewis Vaughan broke away clean through on goal in the 85th minute to win the game for Rovers.
Those two losses hurt our pride as well as our title hopes, my side responded with a dominating display against Queen of the South, we controlled the game from first to last, allowing QotS just a single shot on goal throughout, in truth it could of been a rout, however I'm happy with 2-0 and getting back to winning ways.
Finally came the big one, a home League cup quarter final against Celtic, the potential for an upset was truly in the air before kick off, however our odds quickly became much much longer when Charlie Austin fired the Bhoys ahead after just 30 seconds, to my boys's credit the defended wonderfully and refused to allow Celtic a second before the break, they were rewarded with the last move of the half, Chris Whelpdale dropping a freekick perfectly onto the head of captain Grant Munro who nodded past Wayne Hennessey in the green and white goal to send us in all square.
Celtic were back ahead on the hour mark in infuriating circumstances, Portugese forward Joao Silva appeared to have dribbled the ball off the pitch for a goal kick, with all of the ball clearly over the line, however the officials (or the crappy game engine) didn't seem to notice this as the forward played a one two with a supporting Celtic player before beating Michael Fraser from point blank range at his near post.
Perhaps fueled by a sense of injustice, my lads carried on, even more determined that they should get something from the Champions, we were level again with twelve minutes to go when Stevie Ross was on hand to slot the ball home following a goalmouth scramble to send our supporters wild.
With the scores at 2-2 it looked as if we were going to force extra time, however another cruel twist of fate befell us late on, Tony Watt used his pace to burst through our backline but was denied brilliantly by Fraser, the keeper however could do nothing about the rebound which fell to Joe Ledgley who made no mistake in netting an 88th minute winner. A great effort by my team though and they can hold their heads high after giving Celtic a real test today.
The game also provided a much need financial boost;
That would be nice mate but the takeover now looks in doubt;
Hopefully they can sort it out as the club could really use it's finances being brought under control before it's too late.
#77184 Rick's Career
Our already very reasonable start to the season has turned into a truly phenomenal one as we continued our unbeaten run, we now have eight wins on the bounce and an unbeaten run which now stands at seventeen games.
The month kicked off with a narrow 1-0 win over Hamilton before a Challenge cup quarter final with Airdrie where my players showed just how much lifting a trophy this season means to them, picking apart the Diamonds to see us through to the final four where we will face Partick Thistle with the winner facing either Hamilton or Rangers in the final.
We rode the wave of euphoria from the previous fixture into our first meeting with the dreaded Rangers, my players gave the 54 time champions no respect as we outplayed the Gers from start to finish, Stevie Ross fired us into the lead on the stroke of half time, the dismissal of Rangers's Kevin Thompson in the 76th minute as we claimed our first victory over the Ibrox side in the clubs history.
Next up was an equally tough challenge in Partick Thistle, with us meeting again in the cup semi final next month this was going to be a useful exercise in both scouting and mind games, goals from Lewis Milne and Jordan Morton put us into a commanding position, the Jags did threaten a come back in the second half but we were able to hold out for another important victory.
It was then back to cup action, this time in the League cup as we headed to SPL side St.Mirren where we faced a stern test, the game was balanced on a knife edge with both sides having several good chances to take the lead, however it wasn't until the 86th minute that the deadlock was finally broken, Steven Ross wriggling free of his marker to fire us into a home quarter final with mighty Celtic, the end of our cup run? perhaps, but we'll certainly be going out with a fight, and if we can somehow knock out Celtic then what's to stop us winning our first major trophy?
Our final game in this remarkable month was our second face off with Airdrie this season, it actually proved to be the toughest game so far as the underdogs threw everything at us, thankfully we did manage to grab a goal against the run of play midway through the second half which we were able to protect in order to move four points clear at the top of division one!
The Airdrie game was also a milestone for me personally as I reached 100 games in management;
There was an award to make the occasion even sweeter;
In other news;
The club is over £1M in debt so a takeover would be brilliant to prevent a slide into administration, I just hope the new owner doesn't want to bring in a manager of his own!
Charlie - Cheers, but I won't be getting ahead of myself just yet, there is still a long way to go.
Shedender - Thanks mate!
Sean - Aye, but beating them this month has certainly boosted our confidence.
#77155 UEFA Under-21 Euros 2013
Their team would be in constant danger against Asian oppositions.
#77141 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Are you proud of that sentence?
#77133 The Night Thread Mk. IX
#77031 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Leicester is about ten miles from me in Ashby de la Zouch.
#77020 Fergie Mk. II
#76996 Rick's Career
It's been a frustrating summer for me and County as we faced up to the prospect of another season in division one, the club's financial situation meant I had to sit idly by and watch our rivals snap up my transfer targets as the vultures circled above the better players in my current squad, thankfully I was able to hold on to all bar one of my first team regulars but I had to make do with utilising the loan and free transfer markets in order to bolster my team.
Outgoing:
I was saddened by the lost of Kovacevic who was an integral part of my squad last season at right back, Alex Cooper can take a running jump for all i care as he never put an effort in for us. I have loaned a few of my most promising youngsters to our affiliate club Montrose in order for them to gain some first team experience.
Ok, lets take a quick glance at the new faces who will be representing the Staggies in 2014/15;
With Kovacevic leaving for Aberdeen I needed a new full back who could be relied upon to work his socks off for the cause, I could think of nobody more qualified than my old Dumbarton captain Andy Graham who I'm delighted to be reunited with. Just look at those mental attributes!
Ryan is an experienced midfielder who has had long spells with St.Johnstone, Ayr and Hearts as well as a stint South of the border with Ipswich Town, much like Graham he provides a phenomenal work ethic and is sure to supply plenty of ammunition for those ahead of him on the pitch.
On loan from Cardiff city, Simon provides an excellent rotation option for Jordan Morton.
Another warrior-esc player, Robbie joins us on free transfer from Northern Irish side Linfield, equaly adept at playing in central midfield or as an anchor man.
I have also brought back Rangers pair Chris Hegarty, 22 and Robbie Crawford, 21, on loan for a second season, both came on leaps and bounds last term, a second season of regular football could really aid their development and help them break into the Rangers team, if the Gers don't want them I would be quite happy to take the pair off their hands.
Here's a look at my squad as a whole;
As you can see, I have a strong side that should be capable of at least making Rangers and Partick work for the title, we have good strength in depth and some decent youngsters emerging which is encouraging.
Right then, on to results;
We've had a very reasonable start to the season, unbeaten after eight games and still alive in all competitions, I couldn't ask for much more, our cup form has been particularly impressive.
The opening day saw my players burst into life by tearing second division Elgin to shreds in the Challenge cup, Gary Glen emphatically staked his claim for a more regular place in my team by netting a hat-trick in just 15 minutes, Chris Whelpdale, débutante Simon Lappin and want away striker Steffan Wohlfarth completed the rout to set up a second round tie with Queen of the South.
The cup action continued against Peterhead, this time in the League cup, a brace from winger Jordan Morton and a rare strike from fullback George Francombe saw us ease through to a game with Greenock Morton.
Before the cup game with Morton we had to take on the Ton in the opening league fixture, we slipped behind early after conceding a seventh minute penalty, however Steven Ross came off the bench to rescue a draw which was the very least we deserved after controlling the game.
Two newbies secured safe passage into the last eight of the Challenge cup with Simon Lappin and Ryan Stevenson scoring in a 2-1 win over QotS.
Our second successive game against the Doonhamers didn't quite produce another victory as we played out a rather forgettable 1-1 draw.
A 0-0 bore draw with Livingston made it three draws from three games in the league, not the ideal start when we will be needing to get as many points under our belts as possible to compete with Rangers and Partick Thistle, but still, unbeaten.
Our second meeting of the season with Morton produced a real game of two halves, finding ourselves 2-0 down at the break, prompting me to lug the old hair dryer in which did the trick, Stevie Ross almost immediately pulled one back before winger Jordan Morton rifled in from 25 yards to even up the scores, from that point on there only seemed like there was one possible out come in the game, Ivan Sproule netting the winner with nine minutes to go to complete a wonderful turn around to send us through to a third round tie with SPL side St. Mirren.
Finally we visited Dunfermline, who we didn't manage a win over in our four meetings last season, all that changed today though as an early penalty got us off the mark before a thunderbolt from Ryan Stevenson extended our lead to two, which proved a winning advantage as we picked up our first three points of the campaign.
All in all I'm delighted with how the first month has gone, the cups in particular have been exciting, I believe we have a real chance in the Challenge and cup and perhaps if we play our best the League cup also.
It would be nice but with Rangers and Partick Thistle in the same division I have to say I'm not too optimistic about going up this year, I'm going to be focusing on building a squad for a serious push next season and sorting out our deepening financial crisis.
#76995 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Welcome to the the pits.
Where about's though mate?
#76889 The Night Thread Mk. IX
#76820 Way to break bad run??
Have a look at this guide which I found very useful. True Football Manager
#76752 Rick's Career
Well, our season ended up fizzling out, we had to settle for second place. a disappointing end to a season which promised so much last August but inconsistency has cost us in the end. As things stand I will be leading County again next season, but the board certainly isn't happy about failing to achieve promotion back to the SPL which was their primary aim for the season.
In earnest the title was lost at Hamilton rather than the crunch tie with Falkirk, we came from a goal down to lead in the 44th minute but immediately lost the lead to a Chris Iwelumo goal just a minute later. Needing to win I pushed everybody forward in search of a third goal, unfortunately that left us rather exposed at the back which Academical exploited with just four minutes left to play, Jon Routledge bursting away with my defenders still up in the oppositions half to all but kill our title dream.
We went into the Falkirk game seven points behind, if we could snatch the points then perhaps we could cause the Bairnes to doubt themselves in their final three games and leave the door open for us, slipping behind in the twelfth minute looked to be the end of matters, however we were handed a lifeline shortly before half time thanks to an own goal by goalkeeper Graham Smith. We began the second half like a speeding freight train, creating a plethora of chances, however, try as we might none of them would go in, finally Falkirk took advantage of our failings in front of goal, Lewis Small getting in behind our high defensive line to slot the ball past Alex Cisak to wrap up the title for the home side as we started to plan for another run in division one next season.
Typically with the title now beyond reach, our form picked up in the final three games, Stevie Ross continued to chase the golden boot with a brace against Queen of the South before midfielder's Robbie Crawford and Jordan Morton secured another victory, this time against Raith Rovers.
I used the final day against Cowdenbeath to experiment with a few of our brighter youth prospects, including defender Roy Bruce who at just 15 years old became the youngest player in club history, how good does the look?;
We did my former club Dumbarton a favour by preventing Cowdenbeath from winning, handing the Sons a stay of execution, although they were later relegated in the play-off's, Airdrie and Rangers will be coming up in their place whereas Partick Thistle will be returning to division one after being relegated from the SPL.
The title looks a bigger ask next season with Rangers coming up, I think it would be more sensible to begin building for a real push the following season and using 2014/15 as a transitional period, several of our players were promised promotion this season so they will be wanting to leave the club, some also have a non-promotion release clause so I may well have to revamp my squad in the summer.
We have several players in the team of the year;
Jordan Morton and Lewis Milne were both summer signings of mine who I brought in to start building a squad of my own making, they are both hard working and natural creative players who have proved well worth the money I invested in them, captain Grant Munro has lead by example at the back, he should still have another good season in this legs so he will again be a fixture in my defence next term, I will be using him as a mentor for young Roy Bruce as I slowly phase the youngster in. Stevie Ross didn't quite manage the golden boot, coming up one goal short of Raith's Brian Graham on 23, still he has been deadly in front of goal.