Hello friends and welcome back to my Cambridge United story where last time we saw that The «U’s» were totally out of their depth in the Premier League, however were doing remarkably well in Europe which is where I’ll start.
Euro Cup
Having topped the group in November we had two games remaining with a difficult trip to Turkey and then finishing up at home to Inter Milan. Well we lost both games and consequently went out of the competition but we can be proud of the clubs first ever run in European competition.
Table
FA Cup
We had been drawn at home to East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town in the third round and a last minute equalizer by Conor Newton forced a replay in which we dominated and sent us through to the fourth round. There would be no repeat of last seasons 2-0 win over Arsenal this time and we we soundly beaten at the Emirates Stadium.
Premier League
Well, there’s not much to say here other than we didn’t win a single game after November. Following the FA Cup defeat against Arsenal I decided to play out the season in «holiday mode» as I basically couldn’t get anything to work in terms of tactics «in game instructions» or focused training over the previous two months. Morale had hit rock bottom and there was no way back. Rather than show you a sequence of «red dot» losses here’s the final table which eloquently sums up our performance in the top flight.
We now officially hold the title of the worst ever performance in the Premier League with just 8 points and have easily surpassed Derby County’s «goals against» tally in the 2007 — 2008 season.
Transfer News
The January window saw several players leave The Abbey Stadium mainly because they were unwilling to sign new contracts and who could blame them really? On the other hand they had all played terribly so I thought why not sell them now at a low price rather than get nothing come the summer.
Players Out
Players In
In a frantic attempt to salvage something out of the season I brought in most defenders but as you have already seen this was a futile attempt to save a season that was beyond repair.
Other News:
As the season came to a close we did secure a new kit sponsorship deal, our best one yet and the board also announced another stadium expansion.
I’m not going to bother showing you the player ratings, it’s pretty obvious they were all bad.
Well that’s concludes a rather miserable looking report and I now have the unwelcome honour of being the first manager to get a team relegated on Football Manager Stories. My players were terrible, my tactical abilities not good enough and therefore I’m not sure at this point where this story is going. Some may say that this has been a «realistic» season though it’s still quite humiliating to share something like this against so many successes both here and on other sites.
I guess I should have taken that Villa job!
Thanks for reading and your support of this story over the last few seasons.
Kevin.
Excessive
7 августа, 2011 at 10:47
Aw Kev, that was a tough pill to swallow i’m sure. Fact is, it never always goes to plan and there are no ‘gimmie’ games as i’m sure you have found out. Also with the club expanding and essentially getting better, i’m betting that you’ll come back stronger than ever!
Pick yourself up in the Championship next season and get back in that EPL!
Good Luck :)
Kevin
7 августа, 2011 at 17:23
Hi Excessive
Thanks a lot. Definitely some thoughtful consideration needs to be applied over the summer break on how to rebuild.
Johnny Karp
7 августа, 2011 at 10:53
Chin up Kevin, you will get promoted again next season! Relegation is part of football, disappointments are part of football (and life in general unfortunately), but the ability to overcome such difficulties is what we all admire. Don’t regret not taking the Villa job, Cambridge will shine someday and you will be the one to take them there! And that achievement will taste even sweeter after this season!
Kevin
7 августа, 2011 at 17:24
Hi Johnny
Thanks for the motivational comment and keeping the faith. Safe flight to Greece!
Sibo
7 августа, 2011 at 10:57
Well, I will try to avoid this season, as I think this post eloquently summed it up, but it is a real shame to see that after the great seasons you have had getting to the BPL… :(
I just hope that next season you can pick yourself up, dust off and dominate the Championship in order to come back better than ever!
Good luck next season. :)
Sibo
7 августа, 2011 at 10:58
Also, for one positive this season, congrats on the European run, even if you were pipped to the post at the end. :)
Kevin
7 августа, 2011 at 17:28
Hi Sibo
At least I did take a Championship team into europe so that is a positive out of all of this
nielsneutron
7 августа, 2011 at 11:29
Keep going. I really enjoy your story. Relegation is a part of football but I can see your frustation. You just have to reboot and get back in the game.
Kevin
7 августа, 2011 at 17:29
Hi nielsneutron
I’m happy you like my story. That makes me feel better :)
FM Blogger
7 августа, 2011 at 11:34
Hi Kevin,
I don’t really know what to say, this is football. I am sure that you will come back in the EPL stronger than ever, you are a really good manager but if you don’t have the right tools (players) there isn’t much a person can do. Relegation is definetely a thing that you can’t be proud of but the experience of participating in the EPL is going to help you to avoid some mistakes that you did this season and when you come back you will be a lot better. It is never easy to get a team that just got promoted and survive easily, the level is way different.
P.S You have done a great job so far. I mean, you must be the only person who make Liverpool lose against a league two team and you reached the final of the FA cup with a championship squad! I don’t know what the rest think, but these were great results.
Looking forward to your next post!
Kevin
7 августа, 2011 at 17:45
Hi FM Blogger
I’d forgotten about the Liverpool result…thanks for reminding me. Thanks for the compliment about me being a good manager too :)
Darren Smith
7 августа, 2011 at 12:03
Hey Kevin, well I’m sorry to see your boys relegated in such fashion but the writing was set in stone early on. You shouldn’t get too down about though, at least you now have an idea what is required player wise and can hopefully pick up a better team for a promotion push and to maintain some top flight football in the future. Chin up mate, as you said this is very realistic and to get promotion so many seasons in row was bound to end badly somewhere down the line. I’m looking forward to your Championship season and routing for a return.
Kevin
7 августа, 2011 at 18:23
Hi Darren
You are right. The season really ended before October and there wasn’t much I could do about it. Lack of real quality in the squad for the EPL.
Dan
7 августа, 2011 at 13:35
To bad Kevin. You should definitely stay with Cambridge, you’ll have learnt from this experience and know how to not let it happen again. It looks like the Cambridge board has your back too so there should be no trouble in building a capable squad for promotion again. You had a good European run and that should give you some positives for this season and something to build on.
Kevin
7 августа, 2011 at 18:25
Hi Dan
Good point about the board. Iwas expecting to be sacked but that hasn’t happened so there’s still hope!!
Ana Garcia
7 августа, 2011 at 14:14
When I got relegated with Real Union it was a very similar story to you.
Once morale has gone its almost impossible to get it back, and when you lose confidence thats that as you watch your team get beat every game.
But in the end you can look back on how well you have done taking this team to the premier league, and with the extra money, stadium improvement things will get better.
You should be able to get a few premier league level players for next season to help you try and get promotion back, and get rid of your players that just are not good enough for the top flight.
The best thing that happened to me was when I got relegated with Real Union, it allows you to re-asses everything and make improvements.
Really good luck Kevin!!
Kevin
7 августа, 2011 at 18:27
Hi Ana
I totally forgot your Real Union experience which eases the pain a little for me now. Yes, once the morale was down there was no way back. Anyway It looks like i’ll go on a rebuilding program and eliminate some dead wood as you suggested.
Laxeyman
7 августа, 2011 at 14:36
A shame Kevin, but not the end of the world, you can certainly bounce back from this, and when you do, it will make the success even more sweeter. Hopefully you can win promotion at the first attempt, chin up mate.
Kevin
7 августа, 2011 at 18:29
Hi Laxeyman
Thanks a lot mate and I appreciate your continued support!
Jakefog
7 августа, 2011 at 21:20
Don’t be disheartened, It’s a lot better than what I did with Wycombe! I won League 2 then finished around 20th in league 1 two seasons running!
Anyway, good luck in the Championship, I’m sure you’ll win it :)
Kevin
8 августа, 2011 at 21:04
Hi Jakefrog
Thanks for leaving a comment and your confidence in me.
vaibhavc
7 августа, 2011 at 21:25
Hey Kevin
That sucks to be relegated, but there was not much to do though. I hope you stick with the story, and get back into the Prem!
Kevin
8 августа, 2011 at 21:05
Hi vaibhavc
It really did suck to get relegated and I will stick with the story.
Nicholas Phipps
8 августа, 2011 at 00:14
Bad luck mate, it’s never a nice feeling being relegated, especially after your meteoric rise up the leagues. However, it’s nice too see you sticking with Cambridge and I’m sure you’ll get them promoted next season. I probably would have got frustrated and resigned so kudos to you for sticking with them :-)
Kevin
8 августа, 2011 at 21:07
Hi Nicholas
Thanks for leaving a comment. I really do feel like resigning but sue to all this support, including yours I will surely carry on now!
Lye Kuek Hin
8 августа, 2011 at 05:54
Hi Kevin,
I share the disappointment mate. I encountered this before during FM10 when i was managing Vauxhall, i got relegated in my second season in Premiership. But you have established Cambridge Utd into a decent team and the foundation is there. I believe you are one of the favorites to go straight up.
You can signed some transfer listed Premiership players to get you straight up. Keep going Kevin. You are still the best man to lead Cambridge to success. Good luck.
Kevin
8 августа, 2011 at 21:08
Hi Lye
Thanks for sharing your experience. Appreciate the tip about looking at transfer listed players from the EPL too!
joelance
8 августа, 2011 at 08:22
Tough luck mate. But once the morale goes, its often very difficult to get results. You’ve had an incredible journey so far, so don’t doubt yourself or Cambridge. You’ll win the EPL yet.
Kevin
8 августа, 2011 at 21:14
Hey joelance
It was definitely morale that caused the drop to the Championship. Thanks for your support.
Sears
8 августа, 2011 at 15:12
Aw, that’s a bummer Kevin. Please don’t doubt your managerial skills, your an excellent manager mate! Hopefully you can bounce straight back up with Cambridge, good luck Kevin!
Kevin
8 августа, 2011 at 21:15
Hi Sears
Thanks for the positive comment. That makes me feel better :)