Hello friends and welcome back to my Cambridge United story which sees us back in the Premiership at the first time of asking. In this report will be the build up to the new season plus some extra news to do with my management abilities sandwiched somewhere in the middle…so no scrolling down :)
June: 2016
With the euphoria of being promoted back to the Premier League well and truly over the players were sent on a well-earned break whilst the rest of us got on with running the business end of the club. First off was the latest financial report which by the end of the season saw us lose a staggering £9 million. I’m not even sure where that went too?
In preparation for the new season I sent a couple of scouts off to Euro 2016 where striker Jacob Plambech got injured representing Denmark in a 1-1 draw with England. Meanwhile things were very quiet domestically though I did see a few players of interest sign for other clubs. By mid-month Mariano Blanco caught the attention of foreign clubs but to my surprise he signed a new contract with us though two days later he was interested in a move to Olympic Marseille.
The final week the month came and the all-important meeting with the board to discuss expectations for the new season. We had just been handed a whopping £34 million in TV rights so I was expecting a healthy sum and wasn’t disappointed by the offers on the table. In the end I played it safe and opted for “attempt to avoid relegation”.
The same afternoon Liverpool terminated their link us due to being in the same League. Armed with my biggest transfer budget ever my assistant manager and I now started the build up for the new season in earnest. I will definitely have to exercise some control with my spending!
July 2016
The month started off with the board offering a new contract of £21,000 per week which I accepted.
Portugal went onto win Euro 2016 though the scouts I sent off to the competition didn’t provide any realistic transfer targets
As always there was a fair amount of managerial casualties following the tournament including the England position which was awarded to Stuart Pearce. I applied for the Sweden vacancy – nothing ventured, nothing gained and I got it!!!
I was quite shocked and so I will find myself leading this Scandinavian nation into the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Here’s the group we are in as well as the Swedish FA’s expectations.
Back to Cambridge and with my largest transfer budget yet – a cool £24 million and a salary budget of £275,000 per week I was hoping to be able to attract some better quality players which sadly was not the case over the first few weeks of July. However, I was happy enough to bring back three loan signings from last season who are now permanent Cambridge players; those being Steve Parker, Giovanni Ferrara and Sean Power. The “big” signing I was looking for was still eluding me as we entered into our pre-season fixtures which started off badly.
Following the game at Sheffield Wednesday I was dealt a crushing blow by Chairman Paul Barry who accepted an offer from Valladolid for my young Danish striker Jacob Plambech who was integral to my Premiership survival plans. Bollocks! (My apologies for the profanity but this is FRUSTRATING)
Transfers: Part 1
Below are the players arriving at Cambridge before or during the first three pre-season matches.
At left back is 21 year old Ayhtami Lopez who we acquired from Arsenal. He has some decent speed to him and is a great tackler but more importantly some flair to add to my left flank tactic which will hopefully set up Driver and Webster further up the field.
On the right side of midfield arrives Dume Candau from Deportivo and will play a supporting role to Sean Power. Dume is not world class by any means but has good technical abilities.
Lastly, a rather silly impulse buy; as I was thinking about my trips to Exeter years ago and sure enough I went and purchased striker Mark Ingram from the Devon club. I’m not sure what to do with him – perhaps loan him out?
August 2016:
Transfers: Part Two
With plenty of money still available I decided to go to IKEA – well actually the national pool of players for Sweden and came up with two decent strikers as I wasn’t happy at all with my front line.
First to arrive was Agon Mehmeti whose previous club was Dinamo Bucharest. In real life I work for a global company for AEGON so couldn’t resist the name. Good speed, finishing and mental attributes will mean he will be my new poacher.
Joining Agon on the front line is Linus Hallenius who has been playing in the Turkey for the last couple of seasons. I liked his physical attributes as well as scoring ability so he will set up as my deep lying forward.
Also on the front line will be Harry Kane who never quite lived up to expectations at Spurs so when he was offered I jumped at the chance to get him.
My final signing needed to be a rotational player to go into the central defence area and I found Jason Naismith up at St.Mirren. I think he fits the bill perfectly and hopefully will develop into a stronger player to replace the aging Luna.
Pre-Season Results: Part Two
Things dramatically improved over the next three games with the new arrivals and so the squads morale has certainly bounced back.
In the end I did practically spend all my budget so I will try and offload some other players before the transfer window closes. Here then is the complete picture just before the opening game of the season.
Looking Ahead:
Well we definitely need to do something about our finances as we have plummeted into the red quite seriously to the tune of over £2 million
As far as the upcoming season goes the bookies give us no chance whatsoever though I’m hoping to avoid a repeat of our first EPL season.
Finally then our fixtures which begin at home against Spurs with Harry Kane starting?
That’s it! Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.
Cheers!
Kevin
Johnny Karp
29 августа, 2011 at 10:06
I think you had a well-balanced transfers campaign, some good players in there that should make the squad fairly solid overall. It’s frustrating to lose your best player but I believe that Harry Kane can step up to replace him, this might be his season of glory. Good luck!
Kevin
29 августа, 2011 at 23:47
Thanks Johnny — I had my eye on a couple of other Danish strikers to complement Plambech but it was not to be. I certainly hope Kane can step up to the challenge.
Darren Smith
29 августа, 2011 at 10:52
I agree with Johnny and would like to add that you have a stronger squad than two years ago…at least it seems so anyway. Those Swedish strikers alongside Kane should hit the net far more than the previous bunch and I believe this will make the difference. Who knows what will happen, but my fingers are crossed for survival!
Kevin
29 августа, 2011 at 23:49
Hi Darren — Yes, in the end I’m happier with the team than last time out and there are some who have already experienced the Premeir League so I hope that will help too
vaibhavc
29 августа, 2011 at 11:00
Hey Kevin
You have a much stronger side than the last time you were in the Prem. You spent a lot of money as well, and Harry Kane will be a good signing. Shame about the board accepting the bid, 4.5 million is too little!
Kevin
29 августа, 2011 at 23:51
Hey vaibhavc — yes, 4.5 was way too low for Plambech which mad the whole transfer doublely annoying. I got a bit carried away with the money so I hope i don’t regret that come January!
Laxeyman
29 августа, 2011 at 11:02
Hi Kevin, a solid pre season there, you have a squad full of decent, hard working players, and although they aren’t world beaters, they should do quite well in the Premier League. The squad seems better than last time in the PL, so hopefully you’ll do better :) I reckon a finish somewhere between 15th and 12th is on for you this season, good luck!
Kevin
29 августа, 2011 at 23:52
Hi Laxeyman — they are not world beaters at all…LOL! Thanks for the confident prediction which I’ll do my best to fulfill :)
Excessive
29 августа, 2011 at 12:08
Whey Sweden!! :D
Some decent signings there Kevin, especially Hallenius who was one of my favourite players in Swedish football since he moved to Genoa.
Hopefully he can do something like this for Cambridge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoPhnunY0dU ;)
Anyway, good luck with the season mate.. Really hope that you can avoid relegation this time!
Kevin
29 августа, 2011 at 23:55
Hi Excessive — I assumed you were Swedish but wasn’t sure so I hope I can do your country justice in the qualifiers. I was delighted to get Hallenius as I think he will be a good partner for Mehmeti.
Excessive
30 августа, 2011 at 00:19
Half and half ;)
nielsneutron
29 августа, 2011 at 13:50
Your chaiman really lacks vision. And to replace Plambeck with swedish players that just add insult to the injury. I mean come on.I do think that you will be able to stay up this time just don’t really to much us on the swedes.
(Yes I am a dane)
Kevin
30 августа, 2011 at 00:03
Hi nielsneutron — I apologize for signing players from your bitter rivals but I really had no choice. Selling Plambech was like a punch in the gut as I already was reviewing several Danish partners for him. Those players then demaned wages I couldn’t simply afford so the Swedish option was cheaper. I hope you will still follow the story?
nielsneutron
30 августа, 2011 at 08:18
Of course I will. It is not your fault that your chairman lack vision,
Sayam Khan
29 августа, 2011 at 18:23
Some nice signings there Kevin, I think this season you will be safe. good luck
Kevin
30 августа, 2011 at 00:11
Thanks Sayam — I hope you are right :)
Lye
30 августа, 2011 at 04:39
Hi Kevin,
You are more experience this time and surely there will be some improvements this season. Lopez seems to be a reliable left back and Harry Kane is a player who has fine attributes all around. With other players coming in, definitely you are more equip for survival. It’s always frustrating to lose your best player. 4.5 million is not a lot of money and i wonder what your board is thinking. Nevertheless, good luck for the season ahead.
Kevin
30 августа, 2011 at 09:00
Thanks Lye — Lopez does look pretty good for my tactic and I’m glad you like Kane. I’m not sure what the board was thinking either. You are spot on that we gave away Plambech on the cheap!
Sibo
31 августа, 2011 at 08:53
I hate it when that happens! Very frustrating when the board go over your head. However you have brought in a lot of good replacements and the squad looks much stronger going into this season, I reckon you should be able to stay up.
Good luck Kevin! :D
cak
31 августа, 2011 at 19:57
Hey Kevin
Last Time you proved me wrong and gained promotion to the top flight, however this time I hope you don’t prove me wrong!
Some good new players have entered the first team, you now have a pretty solid squad, maybe a better squad this time around than last time, so I predict that you will avoid relegation comfortably. Good luck and I look forward to reading your next update
Liam Collopy
1 сентября, 2011 at 13:47
I also started a game with Cambridge and won the league in the 18/19 season the same year I finally got my new stadium. Although for some reason my save was lost and it said game dump or something, so annoyed!!!!!
Kevin
3 сентября, 2011 at 09:59
Hi Liam
Thanks for your comment and congrats on winning the league. I’m sure I’m way off your capability of doing the same thing myself.