Now let’s move on to the strikers, a pretty important area of the team. With Omar Koroma and Szymon Kazmierowski confirmed for a new season I needed another pair to improve my striking force. I was pleased to capture Peter Singh, an 18 year old English prospect that was released on a free by Manchester United. He surely can’t compete with Rooney for a first team place at Old Trafford but I believe that he has good potential to succeed at a lower level.
The other striker that joined us this summer is 21 year old Jonathan Obika, a strong lad that was released on a free transfer by Stoke. He already managed to get two Premier League appearances but he also got some League One experience while being sent out on loan. As a short term safety measure I brought in another striker on loan for three months, Michael Garrity from Everton.
So, I have a 27 man squad at my disposal for the start of the season. It’s a pretty young squad overall and I can say that three or four of these players might be sold in December, I just can’t decide which ones right now :)
I arranged eight friendly games together with my assistant and the matches went pretty well overall apart from the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Championship side Doncaster. I was pleased with the results against MK Dons and Notts County, fellow League One teams, and delighted with the win over Championship side Fulham (that’s right, they just got relegated with Roy Hodgson in charge!)
Here’s how my assistant evaluates the team but I have to say that I will rotate the players a lot at least during the first couple of months. So there won’t be a standard starting eleven, probably until the second half of the season.
The bookmakers think that we have a good chance of getting relegated and so do the media, their prediction is, as usual, that we’ll finish last.
After completing all the transfers and also bringing in some new staff I found myself 5,500 pounds over the weekly wage budget. The board was clearly unhappy with that but when I checked the finances I was surprised to see that the club had more than 600K in the bank! Most of that money came from season ticket sales (we sold 1,800!), TV rights and player sales. I thought I could ask the board to adjust the wage budget a bit since they had all that money. Their answer was not very pleasing though.
They did relay the pitch though, we’ll finally play on a decent surface at least until the heavy rains will start pouring down. That’s how our pre-season went, lots of activity and no money spent on transfers… I can’t really say what I expect from the new season, I can only hope that my players will manage to cope with their League One opponents. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the post and the first Premier League match day ;)
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.