Hi everyone, welcome back to my Bury story. Our first season in the Premier League ended very successfully as we finished 10th. This season we wanted to get a place in Europe, but we needed some good signings to do that. Lets see what happened in pre season.
Firstly, player of the year was given to Shaun Wright Phillips by the fans, deservedly so.
The club also decided to expand the stadium by6295 SEATS!!!
Start of season expectations
Board did not want to mention a single word regarding relegation as they asked for a mid-table finish as minimum expectations. I told the board I can achieve a top half finish but you all know my secret expectation ;-) The board trusted me with a massive budget of 33.5m however the wage budget isn’t that big.
Transfers Out
We were extremely lucky to get our money back that we paid to bring Ortega to Bury. We made 700k profit by selling Johnathan Page after two years. Frank Lampard was sold because he had a ‘Match Highest Earner’ clause which led to his contract going from 10k to 40k! My advice is, never offer this clause to any players. 5.75m was made by outgoing transfers.
Transfer In
Despite our budget of 33m + 6m (player sales) we only spent 21m on transfers. Not a lot of players were available in this summer. Big names such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Andrey Arshavin & Micah Richards were signed!
The goalkeeping position will continue to be occupied by Paul Robinson and Yves Makabu Ma Kalambay will continue to be his back up.
We welcome a new right back, which was probably the most weakest and annoying position last season. Hopefully I don’t have to worry about this position anymore as we signed Micah Richards from West Ham. Micah was playing in the Championship! He has suceeded in Darren’s stories and I’m hoping the same for my story ;-) Micah posses excellent physical attributes and main defensive attributes, Marking, Tackling & Heading all = 15 :D A great signing in my opinion!
Victor Laguardia will be a definate starter in central defence. Christopher Mfuiy and Kevin Long will have to fight for the second place. But, Roberto Beltrame, signed for 3.4m could have a slight chance, but he is only 18 …
The LB position will continued to be occupied by Hector Alvarez.
Javi Garcia was signed on a free transfer after being released by Benfica. A typical defensive midfielder with high levels of marking, heading, work rate, team work and physically very good. A great signing in my opinion!
We broke our record transfer fee by signing Brazilian regen Ronaldo for 8m from Dinamo. His best position is a defensive midfielder but I think he is wasted there. He has such high technical attributes, and high levels of pace, that he can turn into a winger! Anyway, I’m sure he will be in my Bury team for years to come! :D
Petr Lastuvka is a young regen, who was only signed for 55k. Bargain!
Our new right winger is Antonio Quimbaba, born in Angola, was signed for 1.2m from Colo Colo. I’m sure he will also be in my Bury team for years to come!
Emmanuel Adebayor is our new partner for Nichlas Pedersen this year. With these two up front, goals are almost guranteed! I am amazed that I had managed to sign him for free. There were many clubs wanting Adebayor (Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Milan), but he rejected, maybe because they weren’t offering him first team football. By the way, what role would suit Adebayor most? (poacher, target man, advanced forward etc etc…)
Victor Anichebe was also signed on a free transfer, he will be a squad player.
Andrey Arshavin is my last signing I have to show. Arshavin will be a squad player.
Bury Squad
Bury’s squad is extemely strong this year, and I am looking forward to challenging in all 3 cups with this squad!
Pre season
Pre season went quiet well with no defeats
PHEW! That ends my long post! I hope you enjoyed reading this post!
Take care, Sayam
Vaibhav C.
1 апреля, 2011 at 19:26
Hey Sayam
Great signings there. Adebayor, Arshavin, and your regens are fantastic signings. Good luck with your season.
Sayam Khan
1 апреля, 2011 at 22:50
Thanks mate :-)
Laxeyman
1 апреля, 2011 at 19:59
Good signings Sayam, I particularly like Richards and the 3 new regens, all of whom look really good and will surely do well for you. Adebayor should score quite a few goals for you, hopefully he will gel well with Pedersen. I reckon you can make the top 6 this year, good luck!
Sayam Khan
1 апреля, 2011 at 22:52
Thanks Laxey, Richards and Adebayor are at the top of my like list for this seasons transfers. I think if all goes to plan, we will have a very lethal strikeforce! Top 6 is a possibility, it just depends on how we start :D
Darren Smith
1 апреля, 2011 at 20:12
Well done buddy, a fantastic pre-season. So great to see your boards ambition too. Micah Richards is your best signing. He was a rock at right back for me with At. Madrid and Newcastle. The odd bad game, but Micah has lightening pace which comes in handy! Good luck mate, I think you’ll reach the top six.
ps love the regens ;)
Sayam Khan
1 апреля, 2011 at 22:55
Thanks Darren :D
I’m starting to fall in love with my board lol. It’s suprising that Richards was playing in the Championship when he is soo good. Top 6 is a possibility, it just depends on how we start :-)
Liam101
1 апреля, 2011 at 20:29
You have done great with the signings sayam. I think Champions league is achievable this year.
Sayam Khan
1 апреля, 2011 at 22:56
Thanks Liam, but I think Champions League is too far for us at the moment, there are much stronger teams than us at the moment.
Sears
1 апреля, 2011 at 21:08
Hey pal,
They were some excellent signings, especially Ronaldo, Richards and Antonio Quimbaba. European qualification should be achievable.
Sayam Khan
1 апреля, 2011 at 22:56
Thanks Sears! ;-)
CsAtlantis
2 апреля, 2011 at 02:37
Micah Richards can’t cross eh? oh well, he is solid defensively, For Adebayor i think Target Man Attack/Poacher Attack should be okay, Arshavin looks kind of slow now at 33 years old :D
You’ve gotten a nice group of regens there
Is that your full squad? You need another left back surely, only 1 player who can play there it seems (If not try training Ronaldo at left back, he’s too good defensively to be a winger in my opinion)
Good luck with achieving your target
Sayam Khan
4 апреля, 2011 at 17:12
Hi mate,
No Richards can’t cross but I doubt I would have got any other full back better than him. Yeah, I think Adebayor plays best as a poacher also.
I was unable to find a back up left back, not even one on loan, hopefully Hector Alvarez will stay fit and I have already started to train Ronaldo at left back.
Johnny Karp
2 апреля, 2011 at 06:36
Good job Sayam, Ronaldo, Lastuvka and Quimbamba are very good youngsters and they add a lot of quality to the team straight away. I’m not sure about Adebayor though, he’s not exactly my favorite striker due to the rather low work rate and teamwork but he surely has enough talent to do some damage this season. Good luck!
Sayam Khan
4 апреля, 2011 at 17:14
Thanks Johnny, yes Adebayor’s ow work rate and teamwork is a concern.
Kevin
2 апреля, 2011 at 09:40
Wow!
Those are some real strong signings Sayam. Ronaldo looks immense, Lastuvka appaers to be an absoulte bargain and Garcia will add some steel to the midfield. No wonder pre season was so good for you. I think you are in for a great season with this squad. Well done!
Sayam Khan
4 апреля, 2011 at 17:18
Thanks Kevin, glad you like my signings. Ronaldo has the potential to become a legend for our team, it’s up to him to fulfill that Glad you like Garcia, seems a bit underrated.
Lye
2 апреля, 2011 at 13:18
Hi Sayam,
Richards and Adebayo will be crucial to your success this season. The regens are young and a lot of room for improvement. Not so sure about Arshavin though, i think he is quite inconsistent. I don’t think you have any problem finishing in the top half. Good luck.
Sayam Khan
4 апреля, 2011 at 17:19
Thanks Lye, I understand your concern on Arshavin however he is a squad player.
hils
2 апреля, 2011 at 18:50
Hi Sayam,great signings there!!!!!!!!! You will hopefully finish in the top half!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!!!!
Sayam Khan
4 апреля, 2011 at 17:15
Thanks Hils :-)
Ana Garcia
3 апреля, 2011 at 15:54
Some really good signings Sayam, hopefully they can help you achieve a top six finish!!
Good Luck!
:)
Sayam Khan
4 апреля, 2011 at 17:16
Thanks Ana :-)
Excessive
4 апреля, 2011 at 10:20
Woah! Massive boost to your facilities, should be right proud of your board for doing that. Will gain some much needed revenue aswell I’m sure.
Liking the look of Ronaldo, has some fabulous stats for someone so young! Also like the look of Garcia aswell he will add some much needed experience to that midfield.
Good luck Sayam, hoping for Europe this season :)
Sayam Khan
4 апреля, 2011 at 17:17
Yup, massive boost to our facilities! And i didn’t even ask for it! :-) Ronaldo has the potential to become a legend for our team, it’s up to him to fulfill that :-) Glad you like Garcia, seems a bit underrated.