Hi everyone and welcome back to the north of England and to Hartlepool United who are the newest recruits to the Premier League. After a brilliant season last year we were preparing for the most exciting season in Hartlepool’s history but before I do that I have to sort out my squad and bring in some fresh faces that will hopefully keep us in this division for next season.
The new owner of Hartlepool United was very generous and after making plans to expand the stadium by nearly 5,000 seats (which will mean that I will play most of the season at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough) he gave me my transfer budget for the coming season.
I told the board that I could steer the club away from relegation which meant that I got a total of £21million in transfers and a wage budget of £115k per week. I think I may have to make some adjustments as to the wage budget as it has only given my £15k to spend so I may have to lower the transfer budget in order to meet this.
Out
All in all a total of 12 players left to help put some extra money in the coffers and reduce the wage bill. Others like Silerbauer were put on clauses such as highest earner and with new faces coming in and better players arriving this meant that I was wasting a large amount on the wage bill to keep players like Silerbauer, Norregaard and Moore.
In
Jermaine Beckford £425k from Bordeaux
Lee Foyle (loan)
Craig Gardner £1.1mil from Birmingham
Zavon Hines £775k from West Ham
Lee Hodson (loan)
Antony Lippini — £475k RC Lens
Glenn Loovens — £625k from Celtic
Alfred N’Diaye — £500k PSG
Jan Oblak (loan)
Silvio — £2.5mil from Sporting
Ivan Stoyanov — £3.5mil from Swansea
Oscar Trejo — £450k from Levante
Odds
After the comings and goings in the Hartlepool squad we were given the betting odds for the season and it didn’t look good. The bookies had said that I would do well to stay in the division and finish stone dead last. I was determined to prove them wrong.
Pre-season
I dont think that I could have any complaints with the pre-season results as it gave my new signings a chance to gel with the new surroundings and gain some money in the process. I now cannot wait for the season to start.
Thanks for reading
Warren
plobdork
18 января, 2011 at 13:11
hi wow i love this story how big is your staidium cos as far as i know hartlepool have a really small stadium in league 1 also beckford is a brilliant sighning!!!!! :)
warren
19 января, 2011 at 13:34
HI plobdork
I was very pleased when I signed Beckford and hopefully he will be the main man upfront this season.
Hartlepool in real life have a stadium capacity of 7691 seats with a few terraces but in my story and after the expansion has finished it should go to a 11,000+ all seater.
Laxeyman
18 января, 2011 at 17:30
Hi Warren, pretty good signings there, you’ve got some decent players in and also some good loans too. I reckon you have what it takes to stay up, good luck!
warren
19 января, 2011 at 13:36
All in all I was very happy with the signings I made over the summer and the loans I have brought in have added extra depth with less cost to the wages. I hope that we will stay up and build for the future.
Darren Smith
18 января, 2011 at 18:39
Hey Warren, you seem to have had a busy pre-season. I think the board were a little tight with your wage budget. They could have offered much more for a Premier League club. Even with that restriction you tweaked it well and selling those players was a wise decision I think. Well done on the signings and I can’t wait to see how the season starts. Its sure to be a real challenge but I think you’ll be fine mate.
warren
19 января, 2011 at 13:51
Hi Darren
I was pleased with the amount I got to spend in transfers but the wage bill was never a realistic budget so that will affect the transfer budget. I feel that every single one of the players I have brought in can do a good job for us and I feel that this will be a hard but hopefully enjoyable season.
Sears
18 января, 2011 at 18:53
Good signings Warren, there all good players and your well equipped to survive in the Premier League though it’s not gonna be easy. Good luck!!
warren
19 января, 2011 at 13:55
I felt that if I was going to survive this season then I would have to bring in players that have top league experience and know what it takes to survive in this league and I feel that I have done exactly that
Birdy
18 января, 2011 at 21:10
Hey Warren Some very nice signings there i reckon you will easily stay in the Premier League but like sears it will not be easy!
Good luck
warren
19 января, 2011 at 14:01
Thanks Birdy
It wont be easy but with the signings I have made I feel that it will be close and hopefully I will stay in this division for years to come
kevin
19 января, 2011 at 00:19
Hi Warren
A good mix of signings to strengthen all areas. very smart :) I think I’m interested in Silvio and N’Diaya the most as I like to build from the back. A great acquisition in Beckford so all in all you could be in for a promising season and defy those odds. Good luck!!
warren
19 января, 2011 at 14:06
Hi Kevin
I think that I needed to strenghten every area of the pitch anyway but I am glad that I had the opportunity to bring in the amount of players that I needed. Hopefully I can prove the bookies wrong and stay in this league to build for the future.
Lye
19 января, 2011 at 07:33
Hi Warren,
Plenty of signings there. The pace of Jermaine Beckford and Zavon Hines should pose some problems to the defence. Lee Folye seems to be a very good prospect. Good luck for the new season.
warren
19 января, 2011 at 14:09
Hi Lye
Alot of signings indeed and I hope that it doesn’t affect the dressing room too much as it imperitive that every player this season works and gives 110% every game. The B&H partnership will hopefully flurish thoughout the season and get better once they regularly play together.
Johnny Karp
19 января, 2011 at 08:20
I don’t necessarily agree with your strategy of bringing in mostly experienced players, I think I would have spent the budget on younger signings. However, it’s a safe choice I guess and the current squad should keep you out of relegation trouble this season. Good luck!
warren
19 января, 2011 at 14:14
Thanks Johnny
I see what you mean and I respect your judgement but I just feel that I will bring in the more experienced players in and once I know that I should be safe in this league that is the time when I can start building my squad and reducing the average age.
Ana Garcia
20 января, 2011 at 12:56
I hate when you have to play at another stadium when your’s is getting expanded! Hope it dosent unsettle your team too much like it did to me!
Plenty of new faces and hopefully they can help you in your survival bid this season.
Good Luck. :)
warren
20 января, 2011 at 17:09
Hey Ana
It is annoying when you have to ground share but the fact that Middlesbrough have a larger stadium then us, if we are able to fill a higher attendence than we could at Victoria Park then this will give us more revenue and gate money.
Lillyanne harris
21 января, 2011 at 03:28
You made some solid signings but no one that stands out as a star player. That said you should survive the drop.
warren
21 января, 2011 at 10:42
I agree there is no real wow signing but if that was to happen then it would be likely to be a higher transfer fee and that would affected the number of players that arrived.