Warren — FM 2011 Hartlepool United Pre-Season 2011/12

Hi all and welcome back to my Hartlepool story. I have been able to post and write my stories quicker recently as the snow has been causing havoc and I have not been to at home for a week now so most of my time has been spend playing FM (it cannot get much better than that). Now lets get down to business and start the new season.

It was now the summer and after the delight of promotion into the Championship it was time to capture some new players in the hope that I can have another enjoyable season as manager of Hartlepool United. Today I will talk about the comings and goings of my squad before showing how my pre-season went and my aspirations for the season.

Season expectations

I was eagerly awaiting the start of the season but before that I had to wait on what my budget was for the season ahead. I was interested in what I was going to be able to spend.

When the budget finally came I was shocked in what I saw. I was given just £40 to spend on new players and a £10k difference to spend on wages. This rarely changed as well the more ambitious I was going to be this season so I would need to sell before I got any new players in. I told my board that I expect to avoid relegation just like last season.

Players Out

The players that did leave all went on free transfers. This was not because clubs would not buy them but the fact that they were all players that I felt would not be contributing to the squad this season and just clog up the wage budget. All in all a total of 17 players left the club and this certainly left a sizable hole in my squad.

Players In

After the departures left I concentrated in bringing some players in that I felt would be at least championship standard. By the end of the second week of July I had made 9 players sign for my Hartlepool team. I will feature a few and talk about them in more detail as some are loan signings and other you already know about as they played for me last season.

Michael Silerbauer

The first player I would like to talk about is Michael Silerbauer who came on a free transfer after being released by FC Utrecht. He is a versatile midfielder who can just about play across the whole of the midfield. At 30 years old he is getting on a bit but experience and overall stats should give us an edge over competitors who are surviving the drop.

Anders Due

Like Silerbauer his age and experience will be key to keeping us in the championship this season. His dead ball attributes will also help the quality of the crosses going into the box and add an extra dimension to our game.

Luke Moore

Most fans of English football will know who this player is who started his career off at Aston Villa and was supposed to be one to look out for in the future. This never really worked out and has been playing at West Brom for the past few season before I snapped him up on yet another free transfer. I just hope that he finds his home and form this season.

Martyn Woolford

Woolford was actually bought last season for a fee of £60k which is probably why there was a small budget at the start of the season. He has a lot of championship experience with playing for Scunthorpe. I hope that he can be an influential player this season.

Eyeman Henaini

The final player that I would like to talk to about is Eyeman Henaini. I am really excited to see him this season as he has shown a lot of the course of pre-season. I hope that he can get a few if not a lot of goals this season.

Pre-season

A decent pre-season but I guess it could have been better. The teams that I did beat should have been more comprehensively beaten but I guess that it’s only pre-season and it doesn’t really matter. I was impressed with the performance against West Ham and if we play like that this season I should have no worries what so ever.

Preferred Starting XI

GK – Scott Flinders

LB – Matt Hill

CB – James Chester

CB – Gary Liddle

RB – Lee Mair

LM – Anders Due

CM – Corry Evans

CM – Martyn Woolford

RM – Michael Silerbauer

ST – Luke Moore

ST – Eyeman Henaini

Thanks for reading

Warren

P.S I have decided to now post my blog in a two month format instead of a month to month basis as I am currently ahead in my story and I want to catch up and I feel this would be the best way in doing so.