We had two centre backs on loan last season so it was an area that needed a lot of work. Ryan Carolan and Stefan O’Brien have been quite reliable but I surely felt that they needed good competition for a first team place. I chased several free central defenders, some of them pretty good, but most of them chose other destinations. In the end I had to settle for Romanian experienced defender Alin Ratiu, a 29 year old player with loads of experience in the Romanian top flight.
The first two friendly games showed lots of problems in my defense, I was quite worried so I decided to bring in two more centre backs on loan just to be safe. The first one is a Spanish youngster, Joseba Barbero, a guy with great pace that joined us on loan from Wolves.
The other loanee in the middle of our defense is Tom Thorpe, 1 19 year old defender from Brimingham. I hope that with these two my defenders will be kept on their toes and thus provide better performances against the tough League One strikers.
I guess I tended to overdo things a bit in defense but it’s better to be safe than sorry :) Moving on to midfield now, let me introduce Hristu Chiacu, a Romanian right/left winger that can also provide decent backup as a striker. He was a great prospect in Romanian football when he was 19 — 20 years old, now he’s 25 and he’s been tossed around from one team to another ever since his first game as a senior. He might never live up to the expectations that were stated at the beginning of his career but I reckon he could do a good job for us and maybe succeed in reviving his career.
I also brought in versatile winger Matt Richards from Walsall, he can also play as a central midfielder or as a left back. He has good Championship and League One experience, a decent free kick taker that could provide great backup in several areas of the team.
The last winger that I brought in might also be our first ever Canadian player: his name is Jacob Lensky, born in Vancouver from Czech parents. He is a current Canadian international that started his career with Celtic in Scotland, then moved to Holland where he played for Feyenoord and Utrecht. A cruel knee injury sidelined him for eight months and when he signed the contract with us he still had fitness problems that prevented him from training during pre-season. I have great expectations from him though so I hope he’ll settle in quickly and get back in shape. These three new wingers will compete with the three that we already had, Tiberiu Pãduraru, Aleksandar Mladenov and Revy Rosalia, so I feel that we’re pretty well covered in that area.
We also needed some more strength in the middle of the pitch and I was pleased to sign Al Bangura, a strong midfielder from Sierra Leone that also holds a British passport. He started his career at Watford and even managed to get 16 Premier League appearances there. Then he moved to Blackpool and for some reason got released on a free transfer this summer. He is still young and I hope that he’ll do his best to revive his career at Dorchester.
I already had another three central midfielders, Simon Ferry, Mimoun el Kadi and Chris Herd, but another good one can’t hurt especially when he comes for free and you don’t have to pay his wages. Young Dutch creative midfielder Zakaria Labyad joined us for a season long loan from Liverpool, the lad has good potential and I can only hope that he’ll show some of his talent in League One this year. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Sears
14 августа, 2010 at 18:13
Hi Johnny,
You had a busy pre season :-D
League One, in my opinion, is extremely tougher than League Two. You have a way better team than me though so you’ll more than likely do better :-)
Goodluck mate!
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2010 at 19:58
Thanks Sears, I hope we’re ready for League One but I guess we’ll only know that for sure after a few games.
Laxeyman
14 августа, 2010 at 19:53
Some good signings there Johnny, as usual you’ve managed to attract some good players despite the poor finances. You seem to have a good side for League 1, I think you’ll get into the play offs at least. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2010 at 19:59
Thanks for the confidence Laxeyman, I’m not that optimistic at the moment but who knows…
java
14 августа, 2010 at 20:16
Like the previous season Johnny, annoying board…
But i think you can compete in League One. I can’t predict your game since I don’t know enough about another clubs in your game. (every game must be different right) But I know your club will cause some shocks in League One because «they have you as their manager». Just be patience as always to your board, hopefully God will open their eyes. :D
Good luck sir..
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2010 at 21:27
Thanks for your support Java, the board will have to improve someday, they are way behind the team.
Cal
14 августа, 2010 at 21:48
Nice to see the board gave a huge starting budget
NOT!
You made some great signings with the recources you have.
Hope you do well next season!
Johnny Karp
15 августа, 2010 at 09:56
Thanks Cal.
Kevin Mayo
14 августа, 2010 at 22:08
Hi Johnny
That’s a very busy pre-season you had. It must have taken you a few hours to go through that lot :) I’m delighted you have signed a Canadian player for the first time and I hope he does well for you. Good luck with the new season!
Johnny Karp
15 августа, 2010 at 09:58
Thanks Kevin. I didn’t count but I reckon the pre-season took more than eight hours :) I have high hopes regarding the Canadian but first I have to get him back into shape after his injury.
Plobdork
14 августа, 2010 at 22:17
wow some of those cheap guys are pretty good promotion is just a season away good luck mate :)
Johnny Karp
15 августа, 2010 at 09:58
Thanks for the confidence mate! :)
Lye
15 августа, 2010 at 04:21
Hi mate, i think we have got used to the board managing style if we are managing lower league team. A lot of signings in, i won’t be making a prediction as i have confidence in you and the players you have brought in. I believe you will do well. The first few game will shape that and give us an idea. Good luck for the coming games.
Johnny Karp
15 августа, 2010 at 09:59
Thanks Lye. I had a fantastic board and chairman at Notts County compared to this one :)
Darren Smith
15 августа, 2010 at 10:09
Hey Johnny, look at all those Romanian flags in your squad!! I must admit I have a soft spot for a few of those players. You have done well with a crappy budget, hopefully you’ll have enough quality to compete. I found League One quite tough but its a great challenge. You should hopefully be in or around the play-offs this season. However I’m routing for your promotion campaign. Goodluck mate
Johnny Karp
15 августа, 2010 at 10:34
Thanks Darren, I hope that your assessment will prove to be right. As for the Romanians, I think that my knowledge of Romanian football is a great asset for the club :)
Vinners
16 августа, 2010 at 02:01
I can’t believe your board; rubbish transfer budget, no parent club. They are really testing your skills as a manager! Good Luck!
Johnny Karp
16 августа, 2010 at 07:26
Thanks for the good luck wish Vinners. I guess the board shouldn’t test my skills anymore, they might know by now that I’m a fairly decent manager :)
Zheljo
17 августа, 2010 at 09:45
very busy pre-season, the board was harsh with the transfer budget, but you have bough good players for free. would it be possible to make a post about the background of the team like training, coaching, finances, tactics, board request you made etc.?
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 11:01
Zheljo, my approach to those aspects if the game is explained in the Lower League Management Guide, you can have a look and then let me know if you need further info.
https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/07/football-manager-lower-league-management-guide/
Zheljo
17 августа, 2010 at 13:30
thx. that helped a lot.
Sayam Khan
17 августа, 2010 at 17:52
Excellent signings, you’ve done really well. Good luck, i think you’ll get promoted.
Also, excellent prediction contest, i got 7 points from the first week.
Johnny Karp
17 августа, 2010 at 18:27
Thanks for the compliment and I’m very happy that you like the contest too. You did well to get seven points, good luck for the next weekend! :)
de ce?
12 сентября, 2011 at 14:03
I got lucky, the board linked me with mighty Arsenal as my parent team while still in League 2. I’m also playing Dorchester, as I mentioned in a previous comment here on your story.