pre season 3
Season 3
It's here
League football is coming to Moor Lane
Im so happy to have gotten here in 2 seasons
i was anticipating a year of adjustment last season, but we managed to over the pre-season 95/1 odds and came out on top
this year brings the riches of league 2, and will give us far more wiggle room in the financial department, but, puts us up against far better opposition
this will be difficult
650/1 to win the league
we can write that off straight away, im hoping for survival, and anything above that is a bonus
we are going to need to clear out some deadwood, save up those pennies, and build a squad capable of keeping us up.
First of all Budget time
I've decided that as i havent spent a penny on transfer fees yet, im going to look to continue doing that as far as possible, thus hopefully getting us a decent kitty for when we get promoted again, so that being said, all the 1.3 million budget goes into wages instead
we have 37.5k remaining, that should get us some decent players as free agents, but loans will be essential again this season, as we can usually get people for £0 wages doing this.
First of all though, Marcus Tudgay was released as he wasnt all that good
so i kept form and hired another ex-player, but this time, one with a little more calibre.
Capped 97 times by Isreal Yossi Benayoun will hopefully add a good insight into some new signings.
this is his first job as a Director of Football, but im keen to let him have a go.
now however, its that sad time where the boys who took us out of non league, into the promise must be released at the end of their contract to make way for better more suitable players at this level.
A lot of these were very hard decisions, but they had to be made.
First of all, thenot too difficult decisions were to release Johnson, Dudley and Askew
they never made the cut and were an easy decision
but the rest
they all hurt
Emmanuel just never made the step up after that first great season
Bean is 35 now and just doesnt have the legs at this level anymore
Livesey suffered the same fate, being just too old now
Ibou touray was a weird one, he has the ability, but just never impressed enough to merit the now 1.2k he demanded a week
Burge i was sad to see go, but he is a non league footballer and that's it im sad to say
Piergianni was always a solid second choice, and great in the revamped back 3 in season one, but just isnt going to cut it in league 2
Murombedzi was a revelation in year 1, but again, isn't good enough to merit his new wage demands
now that they've gone, we need to get some new guys in
but first, theres a couple of guys i'd like to keep around a bit longer
Did you really think i wouldnt renew this one?
Balboa is a club hero, and will no doubt be good enough at this level
he's more suited to league football than probably Redshaw is with his physical attributes, so im looking for him to really step it up this season
1 more year added to the loan
Jamal Lewis got better and better last season
He improved week in week out and even showed he had the ability to play on the wing if needed
i'm interested to see how he develops as a footballer and we've tied him down for 2 more years.
Next we got 2 bits of news
Our first ever Carabao cup draw, and our first ever group in the Checkatrade Trophy
who would we get???
MASSIVE TIE
The biggest game in the clubs history to date?
probably
potentially 25000 people could witness this game and it will raise some much needed funds
can we win? who knows, teams like Hull tend to take this Cup with a pinch of salt and try some new players
Cant wait!
A tough as nails group
wolves have one of the better under 23 teams in the tournament
and Blackburn and Bolton are 2 of the strongest league 1 teams in the competition
Good group though, again, i'm looking forward to this
but we are going to need some players arent we
Yossi, Get your backpack we're going scouting
first up is young Jack Evans from Blackburn
We looked to get him in last season but he turned down the move looking to stay in the leagues
im looking to get a bit more fight and desire in the team, and with 20 work rate, 20 bravery, 19 aggression and 17 determination this lad has it in buckets.
pleased to get this over the line and for a year, with no wages, its a big win.
Next up is Anthony Jeffrey
He isn't the most technically gifted, but he will be the quickest player in the whole divison, and in some games, he could just make the difference
at £375 a week, he doesnt represent too much of a risk either
Next up, Yossi chipped in with this chap
Not overly sure what he brings to the table other than being a handy backup to Lewis
ill trust Yossi though, as thats what he's here for
I was impressed with Oates from his time at free scoring Hartlepool so took him on a 2 week Trial
He scored twice and got an assist in those two games and thus earned this contract
£460 a week and for that we get a useful centre forward with a dcent physical prowess along with good work rate
not too bad at all.
This one took some negotiating
Richards played very well against us for Fylde last year and ive wanted him in ever since to fill the void left by Shepherd
But Fylde were holding out for a massive 8 thousand pounds
i wasnt having that, im mr freebie
So we finally settled on 14k for Jordan, but only if we make the playoffs in the next years
it's a small price to pay if we get there, so i pulled the trigger and in comes a good all round left back with 10's or more across all the key stats
Another determined youngster comes in on loan in the shape of Cameron Sangster
By no means the finished article, but a decent passer with well rounded physical stats and loads of determination, he will fit in well into this new look hard working Salford side.
We let Johnson go and had no second choice keeper
and realistically, we arent getting any better than Crocombe at this level, so in comes Jasbir Singh at a bargain £160 a week
He's been around league 2 level as a backup since the mid 2000's with teams such as shrewsbury, so he will most certainly provide OK backup if needed.
Another one of our loan signings goes on Tom Solanke
this was another suggestion from Yossi, but i can see what he's going for here
good marking and tackling, coupled with decent physical attributes, especially his pace for a centre back is hopefully going to make him a good first choice if we can pair him with a good experienced centre back
and this is where this man comes in
Me and Yossi had been scouting international friendlies in the off season and noticed a shock result with Andorra holding Holland to a 0-0 draw in the Amsterdam ArenA
At the heart of that defence was a man who put his life on the line to secure a point in a friendly
and thats what i want
By no means perfect, and coming toward the end of his prime, i couldnt help myself when it came to this 30 year old, 30 capped veteran of Andorran international football
Welcome
Adrian Rodrigues
Now he's been signed as first choice, to partner Solanke but i realise that taking him from his last club in the spanish 6th tier, he might struggle to adapt.
so i brought in someone who might just have a little more
Yann Songo'o
A behemoth of a man with the heart of a lion
He will be employed in the defensive midfielder role to start with and with 18 aggression, 19 bravery, 20 determination, 19 teamwork and 16 work rate coupled with 18 natural fitness this man will be the anchor in the team, but can slot naturally into the centre half role if needed, with old faithful Gus Mafuta dropping into midfield.
We Also managed to pickup former Manchester United graduate Tosin Kehinde on loan for a season
however, as i forgot, you'll have to wait until next month for his screenshot
and with all this activity, this is how we will line up, Injuries aside, on the opening weekend of the league 2 season!
Max Crocombe keeps the gloves and looks to set himself as a proven league 2 level goalkeeper
Richards will start at right back and hopefully continue his good form from last season at Fylde
Solanke and Rodrigues will form hopefully a solid back 2 and give us a base to build forward from
Lewis holds onto his left back role and will continue to impress im sure
Big Yann Songo'o will act as a pivot, and a brick wall hopefully linking defence and attack and also bulldozing anyone trying to get past
Kehinde and Sangster will start out but with Evans, Mafuta and Maynard waiting to come in, it will be hotly contested position and im thrilled we finally have some depth in this position
Puig and Djonhambo hold their respective positions and i will expect some big performances this year, however with some electric pace in the form of Jeffrey, we've got a solid second option on both wings here
finally, im plumping for Redshaw as he's never let me down to date and i hope he can prove his critics at this level wrong and get some goals, he won't be given as much time this year with Balboa and Oates both waiting eagerly for the call.
Im actually really excited by this lot
I think they've a lot to offer this season and im more confident of survival now, and for a squad assembled for effectively £0 i think we've done well
Yossi, take a week off son
Pre Season was used this year as not only a good training tool, but as a bit of a money making effort too
We had some good friendlies against Leicester, Stoke and Peterborough that although ended up in defeat, made the club over 100k in Fees
and these results aside, we managed to go unbeaten against the smaller teams including feeder club Bury and Local heroes Atherton Collieries in the new yearly friendly we have with them.
im excited about this season, and with 20k or 1.1 million still to spend, if it goes wrong, we've always got january to fix things.
LETS GO
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