Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of my Plymouth Argyle Football Manager Story. The first couple of months of our second season in the EPL hand’t been very productive so let’s see if things had improved any?
October 2015
We travelled along the coast line to meet Southampton which turned out to be another frustrating time especially in attack that in essence would ironically play in this away defeat. Ten minutes from the end we had Southampton under immense pressure and a long clearance from their defence fell by chance to striker Pollet who skipped over Ekong’s sliding challenge, rounded the keeper, 1-0. Darn!!!!
Following that defeat the bad news continued with left back Jamie Richards getting injured in training and will be out for at least three months. This was quickly followed by my £5.75 million right winger Kostas Fortounis wanting to leave as he can’t settle in England and so was granted a leave of absence. With Zeytulaev playing terribly so far this season I was basically without any attack on the right.
Our next game was at home to Arsenal where I deployed a very unbalanced 4-1-3-2 formation with no right winger and an extra striker as the lone one was not working for me in any shape or form. Chris McLaughlin gave us the lead turning a low driven corner kick into the net early in the second half this was after Stoyanov had pulled off a dramatic penalty save in the opening 20 minutes. Stoyanov couldn’t repeat the feat as we gave away another penalty and that goal meant another game ending in a draw for us.
A trip to London ended in what was a horrendous 3-0 defeat away to Fulham and our return to Home Park provided no further joy as we crumbled in the second half to Man United who went on to win 2-1 after we had equalized on the stroke of half time. Bruno Bertucci picked up a knock so I had no fit left backs in my squad.
Next up was United’s neighbours Bolton and we finally got a break early into the game as the home side were reduced to ten men after Zeytulaev was cynically tackled. We quickly fell into attacking mode with Fatos Beciraj coming close and Jaguare even closer as he missed an open goal (head drops whilst sitting on office chair). The breakthrough came from a Mauricio penalty kick after Baesu was brought down. Bolton equalized from a set piece as inexplicably we left a man unmarked to score even though we had a man advantage and they quickly doubled that lead as every player pushed up for a corner with Bolton scoring on the counter in injury time. Baesu spent the second half trying to walk the ball into the net wasting an abundance of opportunities though he did win the corner that Sissoko headed in to snatch a draw.
We returned to Home Park to take on league leaders Liverpool where one lack of judgement by right back Kappelhof was enough to create some space for Liverpool to score the only goal of the game. A long trip to the North East of England saw us come from behind for a well-earned point away to Sunderland with Fatos Berciraj getting the all important equalizer.
The final game of November saw the visit of Stoke City and a first half in which we played our best 45 minutes of football since pre-season. We should of course been 1-0 up except that McLaughlin who received the ball all alone in the box turned 180 degrees and passed it back to the half-way line. WTH? I was so livid but we continued to play well in the second half and McLaughlin’s “sin” was forgiven when he played a brilliant through ball to Beciraj who struck it cleanly into the net after 70 minutes. Marc Peolsi hit the bar 2 minutes later with a brutal strike from distance but then he sneaked into the box minutes later to tuck home a Kappelhof cross. We were going to win!!! That was assured as substitute Baesu swept in goal number three in the dying seconds for our first win since September 19th. Wicked!!!
*** So it was at this point I decided to carry on into December and see if we could win another game?
December 2015
Following the win over Stoke there was media speculation that I was widely tipped to take over at Chelsea following the departure of Alex Mcleish. Given my EPL record so far I thought that was hilarious and denied any interest in leaving Plymouth for Stamford Bridge.
The first game of the month, and for the second time in a row it was another confident performance by the lads as we took on Wigan at Home Park. A goal in either half first by Fortounis who was back from a leave of absence and then my sneaky little Romanian striker Baesu secured all three points. This was our first back to back win in the EPL.
For the second time in a couple of weeks I was top of the list for a job vacancy this time at Everton but again denied interest to the delight of The Board who went on to announce the completion of the stadium expansion which is now just shy of 25,000.
Our next game was away to Leicester whose manager Bryan Robson had billed it as a “relegation battle”. I didn’t get into a media exchange with him and let Chris McLaughlin do the talking on the field as he struck the opening goal after just 8 minutes at the King Power Stadium. A cavalry charge like counter attack was superbly finished off by Mauricio with 22 minutes gone and we should have scored more despite the even amount of possession but it was another three points in the bag!
The first of a London double header began at Home Park with a full house on hand in our recently completed extension. The Plymouth faithful didn’t have too long a wait for something to cheer about as Spurs we reduced to 10 men after just 2 minutes. As Tottenham reorganized McLaughlin struck from just outside the box feeding off an eloquent through ball by Shelvey. We then began to play some awesome possession football with Spurs chasing us around the park but we failed to add a second goal. That would come soon after the break as skipper Conor Coady found McLaughlin all alone in the box and it was 2-0. Coady would go on to have a brilliant second half along with Ekong who was solid at the back as we captured an unexpected win.
Our four wins on the trot came to an abrupt end as we had to play 3 games between Boxing Day and the end of the year. Jonjo Shelvey played magnificently as he dominated the midfield away to Chelsea where we were unlucky to lose by a single goal from a corner kick. Back at Home Park Man City were just too good for us and when Blackburn arrived for the final game of 2015 we had physically nothing left, finishing the game with only nine men on the field. To make matters worse defender Sissoko broke his ankle and will be out for three months.
Those three defeats was a brutal way to end the year and in the dressing room a requested Team Meeting turned bad sending player morale between very poor and abysmal which could really set back the good work we did to escape the relegation zone.
League Table:
Right now we are sitting very nicely in mid table, 10 points clear of the drop thanks to those four wins and a couple of more good results could put us in the top ten!
Fixtures:
2016 will start with an FA Cup game away to Stevenage where I’ll most likely have to play fringe players due to fitness and injuries and hopefuly there will be no repeat of the Stockport fiasco. That will be followed by a critical game at Goodison Park as Everton are just above the relegation zone.
Finally a look at our finances that have rebounded nicely and with no plans to bring in any new players in the upcoming transfer window I should be able to keep things looking quite healthy with Barclays Bank :)
Well that’s it for this update and to be honest I’m in a more positive mood than my last update. A bad week at work, a severe migraine and a powerful prescription to stop it made me all a bit moody, if anyone had noticed by my comments! The next update will be January through March which will then set things up for the Season and maybe Story Finale?
As always I appreciate you taking the time to read this and I look forward to your comments.
CsAtlantis
30 января, 2012 at 09:15
That is a nice spot to be in Kevin, you have put some considerable distance between yourself and the relegation spots (thought the relegation candidates look pretty destined for the drop unless they improve, wigan are 6 points from safety at 18th place!)
Blackburn are number four, how good is their team?
You’ll be facing a couple of teams lower in the league in the next couple of games like Newcastle, West Ham and Southampton so bagging a few wins (Everton too!) could very well push you into a top half position, hopefully you can get a morale boosting win at Stevenage
The Boxing Day schedule was very unforgiving for your team, playing 3 top teams in the space 5 days is just brutal, good luck for the rest of the season
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 17:33
Hi CsAtlantis
The Xmas schedule was brutal and we didn’t stand a chance. I’m not sure how good Blackburn are, they weren’t that special against us. Hopefully we can bag some wins in January to cement our safety.
John
30 января, 2012 at 10:07
Hi Kevin.
Just caught up on your whole series. I’m actually from Plymouth which made it very interesting to read!
Decent results so far though, hopefully push up the table a little further in the second half of the season.
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 17:36
Hi John
Greetings form Canada and thanks for taking the time to catch up with the whole story, hopefully it was enjoyable for you. I’ll be happy if we can squeeze into the top 10 at the end of the season.
Darren Smith
30 января, 2012 at 11:50
Some very difficult results to swallow there Kevin, your mini revival was vital but there doesn’t seem to be too many signs of sustained form which is needed. Hopefully you can manage some more strings of good results soon to make mid-table. Good luck.
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 17:39
Hi Darren
We just can’t seem to click in the final third. If we got more shots on target I think things would be a lot different. We play some really nice football moving up the opponents 18 yard box and then Duh!!
Alex
30 января, 2012 at 13:03
You’ve made a decent start to the season and it looks like you’ve got an easier run of fixtures coming up. I think you won’t have any trouble securing a mid-table finish. It’s nice to see your achievements are being recognised by other Premier League clubs with all that job speculation.
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 17:59
Hi Alex
I thought the job offers were quite funny actually though I appreciate your point of view. I think a few more wins will kill off any relegation fears.
vaibhavc
30 января, 2012 at 16:08
You have some good wins there for you, but also some hard results. Hopefully you can win games against teams below you, which can make you go up the table.
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 18:05
Cheers vaibhacv
We still don’t have the quality to take on the top teams which is evident in those results though I’m quietly confident we can avoid relegation this time :)
Laxeyman
30 января, 2012 at 16:29
Pretty good form Kevin, you’re doing much better than last year, and I can see you comfortably finishing in mid table, a few less defeats and you can certainly get 10 as well :) Good luck!
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 18:14
Thanks Laxeyman
We have been a shade unlucky in some games and totally outplayed in others especailly during Christmas :)
Tom Barnes
30 января, 2012 at 16:36
A few good results in there which will probably help you avoid the bottom 5 easily. I think the most important thing to look at is your goal difference over everyone else in the bottom third, much much better than some which has to be pleasing for you. Just got to get a striker who can bang them in on a constant basis.
Good luck for the rest of the season! :)
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 18:38
Hi Tom
You’ve highlighted a good point. We actually have a pretty good defence when compared to a lot of teams and the striker situation is somewhat annoying as we do miss quite a few opportunities.
Woody
30 января, 2012 at 17:27
you got some important wins in there
a few easy fixtures coming up after a run of hard fixtures
and should pick up some points there
anyway well done and good luck
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 18:41
Thanks Woody
I’m hoping to pick up points against Everton and maybe Newcastle as well as a good cup run maybe?
Woody
30 января, 2012 at 17:29
you got some important wins in there
a few easy fixtures coming up after a run of hard fixtures
and should pick up some points there and and an easy fa cup fixture
anyway well done and good luck
Johnny Karp
30 января, 2012 at 18:04
I still believe that the team has quality, those consecutive wins proved it, but it seems that confidence is not as high as it should be. However, playing in the Premier League is always tough for any team because you can always get beaten when playing big teams like Chelsea, Man City and the others. So I think that overall you did a pretty good job so far this season but I think that this team can do more in the second half of the campaign. Good luck!
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 18:47
Hi Johnny
You hit the mark with the point on confidence. We seem to lack it especially in the final third of the field and it seems to bounce up and down like a yo-yo. Still a good cup run and a couple of league wins could change all that :)
TheZiggy
30 января, 2012 at 19:54
The run of 4 wins was extremely welcome there. The confidence seems rather fragile though, and the injuries are very unlucky. If the problem you’re suffering in the final third is like I’ve seen with my Torquay side at times, your players seem to become very hesitant, and spend far too long looking for options and get tackled, or run into deadends and lose the ball that way, or make a totally insane pass that could never work. It allows the opposition to either get behind the ball and then you’ve got next to no chance of finding a way through, or mount a sustained attack. When we don’t think about it, running at the opposition and pass quickly, then we are deadly.
I’ve noticed that if I have one single player get nervous, the rest of the team seems to go into a state of panic, just kicking the ball aimlessly.
Kevin
30 января, 2012 at 21:27
Hi Ziggy
You have perfectly desrcibed Plymouth perfromance. That’s exactly what is happening with McLaughlin in fact the worst culprit but his attributes would say he should be banging them home. One of my midfielders acts the same way also which can lead to very furstrating «game play».
TheZiggy
30 января, 2012 at 21:57
If I work out something that will help to stop the players doing this, I’ll be sure to let you know. It’s really frustrating, and ultimately could mess up a lot of good work if it continues.
MRDNRA
30 января, 2012 at 23:06
You’re doing a very good job so far. Keep it up. Just one question out of curiosity, regarding McLaughlin’s pass back to the half way line, you hadn’t been training him to look for the pass rather than the shot had you?!!!!!!
Kevin
31 января, 2012 at 18:04
Hi MRDRNA
Thanks for your support. As for McLaughlin he’s being trained to shoot at goal. He can be such a donut at times then brilliant at others!
Lye
31 января, 2012 at 08:26
Hi Kevin,
I do think there are some positive results in those months. Inconsistency shown but i hope you can rally and get that much improvement in the second half of the season. Ask your players to give their all before you signed off a brilliant career. Good luck.
Kevin
31 января, 2012 at 18:08
Hello Lye
Hope all is well with the family and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment as you must be so busy. We are the epitome of inconsistency!
Miles Smith
31 января, 2012 at 12:49
Don’t give up this play-through Kevin! Your team have come so far but there is still so far you can take them!
Kevin
31 января, 2012 at 18:09
Hi Miles
Thanks for your support and very passionate plea :)
Dino Ozbolt
31 января, 2012 at 12:57
try using some counter tactics. very deep defensive line and quick tempo to get the ball forward in no time. it worked very well for me before.
Kevin
31 января, 2012 at 18:11
Hi Dino
Without trying to appear rude, been there — done that but appreciate the suggestion none the less.
Dino Ozbolt
1 февраля, 2012 at 15:39
hm..whats the problem with it? If I may ask..
and surely no offence taken, it’s childish to feel insulted on the internet :)
It’s just a discussion from my point of view.
Kevin
1 февраля, 2012 at 17:32
Getting the ball forward is not a problem, it’s what happens outside the 18 yard area is frustrating, poor passing poor finishing, hesitation -you name it :)
Dino Ozbolt
1 февраля, 2012 at 22:19
yeah.. I know the feeling.. not many chances and still they can’t find the net. The most irritating thing is the selfishness of my wingers! They ruin so many chances..I guess I learned my lesson.
No wingers with <15 teamwork in my team in the future! :D
Sears
1 февраля, 2012 at 22:45
I think your doing extremely well Kevin, your side have been improving well. Hopefully you can pick up some more wins in the next few months. KIU Kevin your doing a wonderful job!!
Kevin
2 февраля, 2012 at 00:34
Thanks Sears
You always come through with some up-lifting and inspirational comment :)
Imp_88
2 февраля, 2012 at 10:03
Noo the story finale should always finish with a champions league final win!
Kevin
2 февраля, 2012 at 20:44
Hi Imp_88
I’ll be retired in real life before that ever happens my friend :)
Martin - F.M.J.S
2 февраля, 2012 at 11:51
Hi Kevin
Sorry it took so long, Some mixed results again but you are doing better than last season so keep up the good work. And 3 points can put you into the top half of the table :)
Kevin
2 февраля, 2012 at 20:46
Hi Martin
No worries, I owe you a response as well. Thanks for your support :)
TheZiggy
2 февраля, 2012 at 13:53
Kevin, I’ve been trying to analyse what I’ve been seeing in my game, and I’ve decided a huge amount of the problem is my strikers. When they aren’t playing with confidence, they seem to stop making the runs to get into good positions, so they aren’t giving the wingers the options to pass or make crosses to in dangerous areas.
They seem to be picking the ball up a lot deeper they were earlier in the season, which makes it more difficult to find a route through. When the wingers are lacking the options into the centre in the danger area, their only option is to turn and look for someone deeper, but that means the opposition have more time to pack the defence. When my strikers were confident, hit early crosses was at times working a treat. I’m on a run of 6 matches where my strikers haven’t scored at, with us just relying on others to bail us out. In the Championship we’re getting away with it, but I doubt the Premiership teams would be so kind to us.
Kevin
2 февраля, 2012 at 20:54
Hi Ziggy
Thanks for such an interesting reply. My strikers started shooting wildly or making crazy passes though a lot of the time just kicking the ball against a defender? Another thing I’ve noticed is that the strikers also are making too many shots with their weaker foot as well. Example, McLaughlin who is left footed will run with the ball with the left foot but then take the shot with his right even though there’s no need too. Same is true on the opposite side as well. I haven’t seen this happen with opposing teams though :)
TheZiggy
2 февраля, 2012 at 22:42
Now you mention it, I have noticed that as well, with my strikers, they seem to lack the composure, and get nervous very easily. I did realise that recently each match in the press conference is being said to be our biggest match of the season so far, and I wonder if that is why I’ve been struggling with them lately. With one footed players, if it’s possible, the way to resolve it is to try and train them to just play with the strong foot with the PPM’s, although last time I tried to set one up myself, I didn’t get the option to set my coach to begin the training.
The opposition team have an uncanny ability of hitting superb shots off their weak foot, and also put a lot more long shots on target, and more accurate with direct free kicks, even with worse attributes than my free kick takers. It’s nowhere near as crazy as a couple of years ago, any opposition player could score from long range, even with 1 as his attribute for it. ;)
Juan
2 февраля, 2012 at 21:04
how do i start myown football manager story
Juan
2 февраля, 2012 at 21:05
how do you start your own football manager story
Ana Garcia
3 февраля, 2012 at 23:01
I knew things would turn around for you, I always had confidence it would! :)
Things are looking so much better and you are going into games and winning them but also are playing well which is an extra bonus.
Some tricky games to come but I am still confident you will finish in a good mid-table position, so good luck!!
Bhargav
4 февраля, 2012 at 11:31
Sorry Kevin, those injuries must be so frustrating. You are able to go toe-to-toe with the big teams, if you could only have key players stay injury free, so many of those results would be different. I was especially impressed by McLaughlin run of form. Good luck! I hope your last season in England sees Plymouth to a good place.