Hello my friends and welcome to another episode of my Football Manager 2009 story! After the unexpected success in the Championship playoff my Blyth Spartans got promoted to the Premier League, a fantastic achievement for this small club. The board was extremely pleased with my results as a manager, so they offered me a new contract. I would have accepted any contract from them, I want to prove that we can play proudly against the «big boys» in the Premiership.
The club received around 32 million euro in TV rights for the new season, so I finally had a transfer budget to spend. When the board announced the start of season expectations I decided to gamble a bit and tell them that we would get a mid-table spot at the end of the season. I had to do that in order to get more transfer money and a better wage budget, I guess they won’t sack me if we finish 15th :)
Now let’s take a look at the transfers. I sold 12 of my players, plus released the almost all the youngsters that were promoted to the under 18 team. The best sale was my top goalscorer from last season, Christian Short, 3 million euro to Wolves.
I brought in 16 players instead for a grand total of 23 million euro. There are some well known names on the list, but most of the new players are promising youngsters that could grow to become Premier League stars in the future. I tried to create a nice blend of experienced players and hot youngsters but believe me, it was very tough to find all the players that I needed for the money I had. So I was forced to make some compromises but overall I think that we have a decent squad now, with enough depth and possibilities to grow in the future. I will probably use a 4-4-2 tactic in the Premier League and it was also important to find players that could adapt to that and also be able to play in the 4-2-3-1 system if needed.
Now let me present the most important players that came to Blyth during this busy transfer window. The new goalkeeper that will probably replace Fraser Forster in the first eleven is South African international Itumeleng Khune, brought for free after being released by Real Madrid. He is better suited to my way of playing because the defensive line pushes forward very much and I need a fast keeper that could act as a sweeper if the ball is being launched behind my defenders. I had a few other keepers that I wanted to sign but in the end I had to go for Khune because of the price tag.
My new right back will probably be the Greek young international Christos Karakatsanis, signed for free from Panathinaikos. I had to compete for his signature with a dozen of other European clubs, I hope he will adapt quickly.
The left flank will probably be covered by Ashley Allen, a very promising English regen. He is only 17 years old and I hope that he will be able to cope with the pressure of playing first team football in the Premier League at such a tender age. He already has 7 under 21 caps and I paid 2 million euro to Manchester United for him.
Gabor Baranyai, a young Hungarian regen, is my bet for one of the two central defenders positions. He is very talented and I hope that he can develop very fast into an international star. I bought him from Sparta Prague for 2.5 million euro and I had to compete with several Dutch clubs that wanted him badly.
I needed an experienced centre back alongside the hot youngster, and after chasing a lot of players for that position I had to settle for Cristian Suarez, 4.8 million from Club Brugge. He is the most expensive player that I bought and although I preferred other players I had to get him because of the price. Anyway, he’s a solid centre back that has what it takes to play in the Premier League.
There will be fierce competition for the left wing spot, Sandor Vaida will have to compete with another English under 21 star, Tom Chapple. I bought him from Sunderland for 3.7 million euro, quite expensive but there were numerous Premier League clubs that were chasing him. He could also be an option for the left back position, a player that could develop well in the future.
There will be a big battle for the two central midfielder positions, I have several players that could cover that role. For now, the favorites seem to be Mickey Wordsworth, another English under 21 star, and Dejan Stankovic. Wordsworth was a target for a few big Premiership clubs but he decided to become a Spartan and I hope he will become a real star very soon.
I guess you all know Dejan Stankovic, he played at the highest level for many years. He was released by Internazionale Milano and I decided to sign him although he is 34 now. He still has enough quality to play at a decent level for another season or two and he will also be a great example for the youngsters that will play and train with him.
And now, my brand new strikers. First, the goal scorer, Roman Pavlyuchenko. You all know him, he’s a famous Russian international. He was released by Tottenham and although I preferred a younger striker I had to get Roman, he can still play at the highest level for a few years more.
Last but not least, my new number 10… He’s Brazilian and his name is Maycon Vinicius Ferreira da Cruz, or Nicao if you prefer the short version. I had fierce negotiations with Fluminense for him, we argued for almost a month. They wanted 6 million euro and after long discussions I finally got him for 3.2 million. He is 21 years old and I think that he will be a sensation in the Premier League with his dribbling and creativity.
You’ll get too know the other players too during the season, there are a few promising youngsters in there that could become first team players sooner than I expected. We played 7 friendly games, more than I usually play. I wanted to give the new lads time to adjust to their new mates and to the system. We had mixed results, a lame draw at Dundee and a shameful defeat at Rotherham, but overall the team played well, creating a lot of chances and some nice football in the last three or four games.
As I expected, everybody thinks that we will finish 20th. Well, I don’t think that we’re going to win the title but I would be quite satisfied with a 15th place and very happy if we could finish in 10th place. It will be very difficult to obtain but I have a lot of confidence in my team and I believe that we have a chance of avoiding relegation. The most important thing is to survive in the Premier League this season, that would consolidate our finances and give the youngsters a chance to shine next season. I would also like to have good runs in the cup competitions, that would get some money in and also a great deal of experience for my young prospects. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that we’re in for another exciting season…
What do you think? Will my Blyth Spartans avoid the drop?
Lye
13 августа, 2009 at 16:29
Some great signings there…especially your new strike force. I strongly believe you can avoid the drop. Probably around 12th place. Like to see you fare better than that. By the way FM10 is releasing on 30th October.
Cant wait to get my hands on the new FM…Some new features there like the tactics…
Ahmed Shah
13 августа, 2009 at 17:45
Brilliant signings, Johnny!! Pavlyuchenko and Stankovic will do Blyth a world of good !! Hope to see Blyth survive…my prediction is 17th…;-) sorry mate
rooneye
13 августа, 2009 at 17:59
I going to be completely honest with you, I disagree with the comments above, I’m not too impressed by the signings. For me, there’s only 4 good premiership quality players Suarez, Pavlachenko, Stankovic (even though he is quite old) & Nicao. I really hope Im proved wrong, but I think you have taken a massive risk signing those unknowns, personally I would have sign more proven players. But, you have done amazing well so far with unknowns, so I might be being silly doubting you :D I really hope they all do well for you, however I feel you might just struggle this season. Good luck!
rooneye
13 августа, 2009 at 18:11
Oh yeah I forgot to mention about FM 2010, it looks amazing, some massive changes which look awesome. Yeah Lye the tactics wizard looks sweet with those shouts and instructions and player roles you can give like telling a midfielder to play as a deep lying playmaker or a ball winner etc. Telling them to get stuck in or exploit the flanks, its gunna be awesome you will be able to get them playing how you want a LOT more :D And player duties telling people to defend or support or attack and telling them to pump the ball into the box and that.
I love the new look too, it looks a bit like FM Live. Also the 3d match will get new animations, which is one of the things that lets FM 09 down is the way the players kick the ball just doesnt look right, so hopefully that will be a lot better and theres gunna be crowds yay! lol :D Oh man I cannot wait, can you tell Im excited? :D
JohnnyKarp
13 августа, 2009 at 19:46
Thanks for the comments folks! Ahmed, 17th would be OK, I wouldn’t mind. Liam, I couldn’t have bought too many world class players because of the finances, so I decided to build a squad that can improve in the future. Some of those unknowns might become world class players with a bit of luck, and that would mean a big improvement for Blyth, both financially and football-wise.
Lye, I checked out the Fm 2010 press release, looks quite impressive indeed! I’m looking forward to giving it a try but there’s still a long wait until then, more than two months…
Anyway, I’ll be playing my first Premier League games tonight, the first one will be at home against West Ham. Hope it’ll go well :)
Ahmed Shah
14 августа, 2009 at 04:53
C’mon my Hammers !!!! ;-) Just Kidding..Good Luck! :-)
Necdet Celal Güner
14 августа, 2009 at 09:52
Hi Johnny,
Assistant Manager Report from N.Celal Güner :)
Sorry for the transfers. Yes, Pavlyuchenko and Stankovic are fine but I guess you will need a tactic with DM. Your left backs are so young, despite their jumpings your DCs are short a little. Roman is not fast enough for a counter attacking style that you’re in damn need this season, as well as Stankovic is not fast and strong enough to compete with bulldogs. The others are so young, yes they want to show themselves in Premier, but sorry it will be a hard season. On the other hand, Nicao is a great transfer to that money, but you know he is not the pacey finisher forward of a simple 4-4-2. As far as I understand your managerial style, you want to play with Nicao in starting line up so you put your AM first on sheet. Let’s say Pavlyuchenko up front, Nicao besides. I think you have to try a 4-4-1-1 or 4-1-4-1 if Nicao could play in central midfield in order to keep all the lines more fortified. A 4-5-1 (Dutch) will perfectly fit I guess, if again Nicao could play in central midfield, and if Stankovic suits DM, the other kid will play anchor next to Nicao. Let’s see, I wish you could prove me wrong! (Search Damien Marcq for DM) At the end of the day, let’s don’t miss the whole scene; Blyth with a little tiny stadium in Barclay’s. Giants are coming, enjoy whatever the result. C’est superb.
JohnnyKarp
14 августа, 2009 at 11:37
Celal, actually Stankovic’s natural position is CM, but he can also play as a DM, AM, almost any role in midfield. You are right about the defense, it’s weaker in the air but I hope they can compensate with pace and positioning. Nicao can also play as an AM or CM, so I can use him as an AM if I play 4-2-3-1 or as a striker if I use the 4-4-2 tactic. I think that Nicao and Pavlyuchenko will play well together, even on counter attacks because the Russian is very good at holding the ball and he can always launch Nicao behind the defense. However, this is only theory, the real matches will tell us how it works or if it works at all. As a matter of fact I already played the first games but I won’t tell you how they went right now, I’ll begin writing a post in a few minutes :)