Hello folks and welcome back to the Dorchester Town Football Manager 2010 story! It’s been a while since the last update, I was quite busy and I’m very happy that I finally managed to complete the preparations for the League Two season. As you know we got promoted from Blue Square Premier at the end of last season, now I had to bring in better players to face the professional teams in League Two.
The club’s financial status was a bit better, we were only around 50 thousand pounds in debt. I wasn’t expecting to have a transfer budget but I have to say that I was hoping for a higher wage budget. When you get promoted every player receives a 25% raise so our wage bill went through the roof and the board offered me a very low payroll budget to attempt surviving in League Two. I told them that I could bring the team to a top half finish but the new wage budget was just over what we were spending at the time.
The club officially turned professional but I can’t say that my board of directors turned pro. I made a request for a parent club again, I received the same response: «the board doesn’t think that we need one»! Our pitch was a total mess so I asked them to relay it. Their answer was shocking: «the pitch at Avenue Stadium does not need relaying»! OK, I understand that you don’t have money but don’t tell me that it doesn’t need relaying, just tell me that you don’t have the money to do it!
I was quite disappointed with their attitude but I guess I’ll have to live with that. I had to clear some of the wage bill so I sold quite a few players during the transfer window. I brought in more than 100 thousand pounds for the club but nothing came back into the transfer budget, not a penny! I also released the new bunch of worthless youngsters from the yearly youth intake and went on searching for free transfers and loans. By the end of August I managed to bring in 13 new players, 9 transfers and four loans.
Now let me introduce the most important new signings. We surely needed a better goalkeeper and when I saw that Romanian Daniel Tudor was available on a free I made him an offer right away. He’s 37 years old now but he still has good skills and loads of experience. He was a backup goalkeeper at Romanian champions Unirea Urziceni a couple of seasons ago and last season he played the game of his life in the Champions League last year. The first choice goalie was injured so he was sent between the sticks for the Glasgow Rangers vs Unirea Urziceni game at Ibrox Park. He had an awesome game, saved a penalty kick, and the team eventually earned a fabulous 4-1 victory. He will be my first choice goalie and maybe he will remain at the club as a goalkeeper coach later on.
I also brought in a good hard working Scottish midfielder, Simon Ferry, released by Celtic. He never managed to play a single game for Celtic in more than five seasons but his attributes might make him an essential player in our midfield.
The first Australian that joins our club is midfielder Chris Herd, the transfer was possible because he also has the British nationality. He has been at Aston Villa since 2005 but never managed to play in the first team. He will probably be a backup in midfield but I hope that with some first team football he could develop into a good player.
I kept only two of my strikers, Biagini and Dabu, so I needed another pair to make things work upfront. The first striker that I bought was Omar Koroma from Gambia, an African player that also holds a British passport. He has some experience in the Championship, he played for Watford, Southampton and Portsmouth. He should be a decent defensive striker in my tactical set up but I guess only time will tell. Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Chris @ Chester
19 июля, 2010 at 12:45
I’ve gotta say Johny, you have the worst board in the world. But still you’ve done a tremendous job preparing for league 2. It might just be me but I thinkt there isn’t a great difference in quality between bsp and league 2. Good luck with promotion
java
19 июля, 2010 at 13:13
u know? if i were u i’ll quit the game and maybe uninstall my football manager.
ur board is the «best», but u still managed to prepare a good squad.
ur story’s very inspiring…
i’ll create my own football manager blog soon. :D
good luck johnny!
Sears
19 июля, 2010 at 13:15
Hi Johnny, the board seemed to show no ambition but with the resources available, you did a wonderful job. I really believe you can shock a few people in the new season and secure a play-off spot or an automatic promotion spot. I wish you all the best luck, goodluck.
Johnny Karp
19 июля, 2010 at 14:31
@Chris @ Chester
Thanks mate. I don’t know much about the level of play in L2, I guess we’ll have to find out.
@Java
Uninstalling FM is not an option, never! :) Thanks for the good luck wish, let me know when you’ll have your blog up and running.
@Sears
Thanks for the confidence, I guess we’ll know more after the first couple of months but I surely hope that your prediction will prove to be right :)
dami
19 июля, 2010 at 14:08
well the club is owned by two 18 and 21 brothers who probably don’t know how to run a club… but I think you should be able to achieve a promotion spot…
anyway I have a problem…I have this two forward who don’t score as much as I would like…any advise on what roles to give them…
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab213/dami007/7GencaySivuk.png
http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab213/dami007/9ManuelSosa.png
Johnny Karp
19 июля, 2010 at 21:38
Dami, it’s not just a matter of striker roles. From what I see those two have great potential and very good abilities so normally they should perform well. But football is a team game and a striker can’t score if he doesn’t receive enough balls into good positions or if he constantly has to use his weaker foot etc. The first thing that you should check is if the team is creating enough chances for these strikers, if not then you have to modify the tactical set up. In my tactic the striker roles are assigned in a manner that makes them blend in with the rest of the team, pass the ball and enter exchanges with the midfielders or wingers. Anyway, the point is that I can’t say «use that one as a poacher and the other one as a complete forward» because you have to assign those roles according to your tactical set up.
Ana Garcia
19 июля, 2010 at 15:01
Your transfer policy is much like mine in respect of signing players from all over the world!
All my teams are very multi national but I too favour my home country’s nationality (Spanish in my case, Romanian in yours). Plus you must have a great scouting network just like I like to have!
A tough season ahead I always found the step from non-league to professional was always tough and took me a few season to establish myself, however with your record at lower league level I wouldnt be surprised if you were pushing for the top four!
Best of luck Johnny.
Lye
19 июля, 2010 at 15:28
I think we are used to the way the board works in the lower league mate. My Thurrock board should be the most stingy board in the FM world, i only have 60k to work with in the Championship. Nevertheless i think you have sign some bargains there and this should equip you to challenge for a play-off spot. Good luck.
Cal
19 июля, 2010 at 15:33
Good job at finding such good players i don’t know how you do it!!!
It must be annoying having such a bad board but you’ll be able to do it
Good Luck in Legue 2!
Laxeyman
19 июля, 2010 at 16:40
Hi Johnny, once again the board have let you down, but you’ve still managed to bring in some decent players. I think you’ll acheive your top half expectations, and you may go even higher, good luck!
Callum
19 июля, 2010 at 16:45
Like the new polish striker. I am a bit disappointed with Jivan leaving as i was quite attached to him. I think you will do well and a play off place is realistic although your team looks a bit shaky in a few of the friendlies. Good Luck Johnny :)
java
19 июля, 2010 at 17:10
haha… i don’t really mention it johnny. just i can’t wit ur board. if there are difficulty level mode on FM2010, playing as a manager of Dorchester Town is a Very Hard difficulty level, maybe Expert, or Legendary. U’re doing a great job Johnny.
well, i just started to play a new game (patch 10.2.0.) with Aldershot.
i just finished building the squad for the first season and won my first match. :D
i’ll write it down on my blog immediately. when i finish i’ll post the link here.
sorry if there are some wrong words, i’m indonesian, my english is… hehe… (u know what i mean)
Darren
19 июля, 2010 at 17:29
Hi Johnny, you’ve made some real progress there. Its ashame your board are as tight as a ducks a**e though. Well done on capturing Simon Ferry, I had him with Havant and Waterlooville. A very good midfielder however his lack of football leads to a long bedding in period.
I remember the Champions League game very well, Rangers were blown away by Unirea. Tudor may be old but he is a quality signing for League 2. I also like your new strikers, they could make the difference in a tough season. I’m not a betting man but if I were, I’d have Dorchester for the play-offs. Good luck Johnny
Kevin Mayo
19 июля, 2010 at 17:43
Hi Johnny
Darn this time difference as everyone has said it all before I get a look in :)
Anyway, Ferry should be a great asset to your team and as usual found an array of little gems for your team. Good luck with League 2!
java
19 июля, 2010 at 20:06
This is my new blog Johnny, i’m still an amateur in both blogging and playin FM, a cocky amateur. :D
Please check it out if you have some free time.
http://kickinorder.blogspot.com/2010/07/first-shots-of-shots.html
Johnny Karp
19 июля, 2010 at 20:15
Hi Java, I had a look but I can’t comment since I don’t have any of those types of accounts required to comment. You should change that setting. Anyway, I noticed that you signed Danish full back Rang Shawkat too, he should be a decent backup in my game.
java
20 июля, 2010 at 04:45
I’ll change the setting immediately. Sorry i’m new with blog. :)
Well, i have no choice because of the wage budget, so i approached some free players. Actually i found a great goalie for my squad, Villafuerte. He’s 30 and 15 caps for ecuador. He agreed to sign contract but i couldn’t get the work permit for him.
Johnny Karp
20 июля, 2010 at 05:16
Yeah, work permits are hard to get indeed.
Johnny Karp
19 июля, 2010 at 20:12
@Ana
Well, my scouting network could be better… I have only seven scouts but I tried to bring in staff with knowledge of various countries in Europe and beyond. Thanks for the good luck wish.
@Lye
Thanks mate. I can’t remember exactly, when did they find you a parent club for your Thurrock?
@Cal
Thanks for your kind words. Part of «how I do it» can be found here: https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/2010/07/football-manager-lower-league-management-guide/
@Laxeyman
Thanks for your encouragement. They did let me down but I think they will have to wake up at some points. Otherwise I think that I might remain at the club longer than them ;)
@Callum
Letting Jivan go was a tough decision to make but he had quite a few injuries and that affected his overall strength. I also needed to free some of the wage budget so I decided to sell him.
@Java
Don’t worry about your English, it isn’t that bad and the good thing is that you can always improve it with a bit of work. I’m looking forward to reading your blog.
@Darren
Thanks for your optimism, you could win a lot of money too considering the odds :)
@Kevin
Thanks! I have pretty high expectations regarding Ferry, he should be the leader in our midfield.
Lye
20 июля, 2010 at 01:36
Hi mate, if i remember correctly, they got me a parent club when we were in league 1. I had the same situation as you requesting for a parent club for few times and got rejected. I got fed up and never ask again. They automatically link with Peterborough during league 1 times.
Johnny Karp
20 июля, 2010 at 05:17
Thanks for the information Lye, then I guess I should wait until we get promoted to L1…
Andries
20 июля, 2010 at 11:00
Johnny,
I love this episode. The build up stories are favorite with me. I caught myself being angry at your board over your transfer and wage budget. It’s an absolute outrage, calling themself a proffesional club with such resources! Wish you the best of luck!
Jolicobbler
20 июля, 2010 at 11:17
Some good signings, Johnny. Will you adapt your play to accommodate your playing surface?
I know how stingy theses boards can be. I just survived L1 with Eastleigh on the last game. I now have a 20% smaller wage budget this season and that’s after saying I would finish in the top half. I’ve had to ship out players and bring in loans. Makes things interesting I suppose!
We have just moved to a new stadium so finances are a bit tight but with bigger crowds comes more money…next year should be better.
Good luck with the season. I’m predicting a top 3 finish!
Johnny Karp
20 июля, 2010 at 11:31
@Andries
Thanks mate. I guess they still have to learn what «professional» means.
@Jolicobbler
We played on muddy pitches at home and away too so far so I guess we’re used to it. Thanks for the good luck wish and I wish you the same for your Eastleigh career.
java
20 июля, 2010 at 12:28
http://kickinorder.blogspot.com/2010/07/august-good-start.html
My next post is done… check it out, thanks….
@johnny: Do you know when the next FM patch release? or maybe FM 2011?
Johnny Karp
20 июля, 2010 at 15:14
There won’t be another patch for FM 2010. FM 2011 will probably be released in October or November but nobody knows that for sure yet.
java
20 июля, 2010 at 19:06
i see…
thanks for the info sir. ^^