Adventures in Babysitting III: FM2006 - Dag and Red 2005/06
 

Personality1 takes charge at Dag & Red

In what may be seen as a surprise appointment, the Dag & Red board have named a virtually unknown American as their new boss.

Split Personality1, who turns thirty-eight next birthday, was introduced to fans and journalists alike at a brief press conference at the Glyn Hopkin Stadium this morning.

Pundits meanwhile remain unsure that Personality1 will be able to attract the sort of players to the club that he will require if he is to build a team capable of challenging the bigger clubs in the future


So begins yet another "Adventures in Babysitting" CM thread.
Welcome to the Glyn Hopkin Stadium, home of Dagenham and Redbridge, a football club in the English Conference National.

I will chronicle the story of a lowly English Conference Team trying to make it to the upper levels of the football world. Again, I will play an American landing a job with Conference team Dag & Red. And once again, if an international club offers me a position, I will gladly take it and start a companion thread to this one. My two ultimate goals are to A) win the EPL and B) win a World Cup final. Am I delusional? Probably. But you have to start somewhere.

In Adventures in Babysitting, I managed D&R for about eight seasons, eventually getting the team to what is now League One.

The second installment of AiB stalled in the midst of the first season as I had health and personal issues to attend to.

Both of those dynasties were done using the old CM 01/02 game. This will be my first dynasty using Football Manager 2006. I have fiddled around with this game since I bought it a nearly a year ago, but I have not really had a chance to play it in any depth. This should be fun, I miss my CM/FM fix.

Let’s get started: FM2006 is initializing the players (fake, BTW)…..and….here goes nothing.

Welcome to Adventures in Babysitting III – a FM2006 dynasty - The saga begins…

Still having problems formatting when I post. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to a quick forum search regarding the WYSIWYG editor and MS-Word, I've solved the problem of miscellaneous characters appearing in my posts. The tables are still a bit off, but readable.

At least I can finally post this dynasty.

July 2005 offseason

The initial team

We will begin in the summer of 2005 with a ragtag bunch of scrubs. Don’t get too attached to these guys as many of them will probably not be with us at the start of next season.


As expected, my team is rather poor. I have just one player that is valued over $50k. Yikes.

My style of play is 3-1-3-1-2 and I love to attack. Like most Americans I favor a team that can put points on the board…err balls in the goal.

Usually, my first order of business is to immediately put the players that don’t fit my scheme on the transfer list. This go around, I am going to be somewhat content with what I have. As I transfer players in, I will get rid of the appropriate riffraff. The only move I make initially is to move Steven Thompson to the reserve squad as he will not get much playing time on the senior squad.


Finances:
balance - $304,162; transfer fund - $38,599
wage budget $700,000 - $33,000 remaining.


Hmm. Not used to a transfer budget. I may be able to get the players I need that fit my style of play. My scout, Steven Nicholls, will be touring England for the next two months looking for quality players. Signings that result from his work will be reported before the start of the regular season.


July-Aug 2005 friendlies

S 7-16 @ AFC Wimbledon (NL)
T 7-19 Vs Stoke (CH)
F 7-22 Vs Arsenal Reserves (PR)
W 7-27 Vs Portsmouth reserves (PR)
SN 7-31 vs Wolves (CH)
ST 8-6 @ Stalybridge (C-N)


This is a bizarre schedule to me. It will be tough to get a good read on my players as none of these games are against Conference National opponents. During the friendly season, I will doing a near-complete player substitution at the break to get a read on my players so I can figure out which of these guys will be in the starting XI.

SAT - July 16th – NL AFC Wimbledon
In a game in which we should have won easily, we struggled and earned a draw. Not a good start to the friendly season. Dag & Red 2, AFC Wimbledon 2.

TUE - July 19th – CH Stoke
Stoke is a full three levels up the football pyramid from lowly Dag & Red and on paper, should handle us rather easily. Surprisingly, our boys play a great defensive game and we lose a rather close one. Stoke 1, Dag & Red 0.


FRI – July 22^nd – PR Arsenal Reserves
We play a match against a team made up of mostly u-18 kids and we look like crap. Sigh. Arsenal Reserves 2, Dag & Red 0.


WED - July 27^th – PR Portsmouth Reserves
Match 4 of the season is more of the same and we look bad, very bad losing a one-sided affair. Portsmouth 4, Dag & Red 0


SUN – July 31^st – CH Wolves
Sigh. This was perhaps the worst match I have ever had the displeasure to manage in any of my CM/FM careers. By m10, we were down 3-0 and lost a player to a red card. By the break, we were down 7-0. Yep. 7-0. We managed to settle down a bit in the second half and the Wolves did not get another shot on goal. Either we improved (unlikely), or they stopped trying to score. Regardless, it was a horrible game to watch. Wolves 7, Dag & Red 0.


SAT – August 6^th – C-N Stalybridge
We took an early 1-0 lead in this game, but for some reason, the players just took a mental vacation and let Stalybridge tie it up late. Although we scored for the first time in five games, we end up with a draw. Dag & Red 1, Stalybridge 1.


The Dag & Red directors are still sure that they made the right choice in appointing you manage.

Interestingly enough, I’m not so sure. We went a miserable 0-4-2 and were outscored a whopping 17-3. This could be the very worst team I have ever managed in CM/FM. Relegation is a serious possibility and I don’t know if I can do anything to stop it.


Transfers In



Transfers Out




I’ve kept my scout busy and managed to sign a few decent players, but nothing exceptional. My big signing, keeper Paul Ballard has been somewhat of a disappointment as he will end up being a backup to Paul Barker. This is going to be a long season.

Here is the team as it stands going into the regular season.





And here is the depth chart. I typically use the A squad in weeks with only one match. The B squad is used for cup matches and home games in weeks with two matches.




Finances:
balance - $304,162; transfer fund - $38,599 – remaining $10,559
wage budget - $725,000 – actual - $866,608

Upcoming matches
S 8-13 v. York (B)
T 8-16 @ Forest Green (A)
S 8-20 v. Cambridge (A)
S 8-27 @ Burton (A)
T 8-29 v. Grays (B)

English Conference National – a quick look

Here is a look at the teams in the Conference National. Although the Daggers played horribly in the early going, there is not a lot of talent in the rest of the league. We may not be one of the teams that contends for a promotion spot, but based on what I see out there, maybe we won’t have such a tough time after all….I hope.


Contenders for Promotion: Accrington, Hereford and Stevenage are the cream of the crop in this league. They are head and shoulders above everyone else as far as talent is concerned. I pick Hereford to win it all.


Best of the Rest: Aldershot, Dag & Red and Exeter all have an outside chance of getting to the playoffs and earning a promotion the hard way. Of course they would still have to get past the top three teams.


Mid-Tablers: Burton, Cambridge, Halifax, Morecambe, Woking & York are the type of teams that can make a decent run but will be unable to sustain it. They could just as easily win four in a row as lose four in a row. They are all beatable teams.


Mediocrity at its Finest: Altrinham, Crawley, Forest Green, Grays, Kidderminster & Scarbourough are rather poor teams. They do not have enough talent to compete with the most of the league, but will be able to beat up on the following group….


Relegation Squads: Canvey Island, Gravesend, Southend & Tamworth are not very good at all. If fact, they suck. The Daggers should get at least 6 wins from this group. If not, we are in big trouble.

Hereford have been made 5-4 favorites for promotion by totalbet.com The rest of the main contenders are: Aldershot 6-4, Exeter 6-4, Stevenage 7-4, Cambridge 2-1, Morecambe 7-4.

The bookmakers reckon promotion is unlikely this season without significant changes to your first team squad and this is reflected by your 25-1 preseason odds. A mid-table finish is considered a far more realistic target.

25-1 is probably a bit high and I disagree about Morecambe. I don’t think they have any business being mentioned with the likes of Hereford. However, I noticed that they did agree with me on Hereford. They are going to be tough to catch this season.

We had a few last minute signings before the start of the season. Keeper Tony Campbell joined the team on a $2k transfer and will ride the bench for most of the season. We are still looking for that elusive high quality keeper. Chris Smith, an AMR joins us on a free and will also play a reserve role with the team.

The big news is that we acquired DC John Perry on loan from premiere squad Birmingham for the rest of the season. Perry is very good, value $160k and should make an immediate impact on the team.

AUGUST 2006

SAT 8-13 v. York (A)
Official Odds: D&R (3-1) – Draw (2-1) – York (4-5)
My take: I still think we outclass these guys and should win at home.

First off, I forgot about the B team and let my starters take this one. We looked a bit tentative out of the gate and gave up an early goal. After that we settled down and played a stellar match. Crisp passing, solid attacks on the goal and great defense dominated our play and we tied it up. Things looked good. Then our keeper Paul Barker got injured and Richard Carr got a yellow card. We made a few switched, put defender Paul Campbell in the net and hoped for the best. Fortunately, the Yorkies are a rather undisciplined bunch and they racked up 2 yellows in the second half, including one that led to a penalty kick. The Daggers win their first game of the season. Dag & Red 2 , York 1. Scorers: David (m43) & Matt Thompson (m49-pen) MoM: Mark James (8)

One more signing to mention. We acquired John Yates who will serve as second team DR.

TUE 8-16 @ Forest Green (B)
Official Odds: Forest Green (3-1) – Draw (2-1) – D&R (4-5)
My take: I agree with the bookmakers, we should win this one handily.

We begin the game in fine ffashion as Thompson gets an early goal, but after that it was all Forest Green. Couldn’t seem to stop their attack and were down 2-1 late. A bad move by one theie players caused a penalty situation which we took advantage of. A very fortunate draw for the Daggers. Dag & Red 1, Forest Green 1. Scorers: Matt Thompson (m8), Shaun Bell (m90-pen)

SAT 8-20 v. Cambridge (A)
Official Odds: Dag & Red (3-1) – Draw (2-1) – Cambridge (4-5)
My take: I think we are better than Cambridge and we should at least get a draw at home.

Wow. This match was interesting to say the least. Cambridge outclassed us during the first half but the score remained a 0-0 draw. In m73, Ballard became the second goalkeeper on the team to leave a game due to injury; and yet again we have no way to get another keeper in the match since I had already used all three substitutions. Sigh. I put defender Paul Campbell in goal again and play one man short. Surprisingly, the Daggers were inspired and starting playing quality football. Go figure. Peter Sale scored a goal in m80 and life was good………but then……

Cambridge got all pissed off and began playing a higher quality of football as well. They take advantage of the one man edge and get a goal a m83. Game is all tied up…..but then…….

The Daggers step up yet again and get a shorthanded goal in injury time. Cambridge gets the ball, marches down the field, shoots toward the goal., ball is deflected and the whistle blows before the Cambridge can recover. Whew. Wow. Great match. I love this game. Dag & Red 2, Cambridge 1. Scorers: Peter Sale (m80), David (m92) MoM: Peter Sale (7)

SAT 8-27 D&R (4^th) @ Burton (14^th) - A
Official Odds: Burton (7-4) - Draw (11-5) – D&R (5-4)
My take: Burton has the same quality of players as Cambridge, so I expect another tough, but winnable match.

We bring in our #3 keeper, Tommy Campbell, along with many of the same players from the Cambridge match. It was a tough fought match and in many ways, the Daggers outplayed the Brewers. However, when the dust settled, Dag & Red suffered the first lost of the season. Burton Albion 1, Dag & Red 0.

August 2005 - continued

Keeper #3 “Little” Tommy Campbell is a whiny crybaby wuss of a player. The media came to me questioning his performance and I commented that he will be fine once he learns the system – or something like that. Now Tommyboy is saying things like “My manager expects too much out of me….whaaaaa! I was just trying to boost his confidence. What a dork. Unfortunately, Keeper #1 Paul Barker is still severely lacking match fitness and keeper #2 Paul Ballard is still injured. The crybaby will have to buck up and get things done in the upcoming match against the Grays.

MON 8-29 D&R (9^th) v. Grays (8^th) - B
Official Odds: D&R (5-4) - Draw (11-5) – Grays (7-4)
My take: On paper, we are a much better team. We should win this one easily.

At the last minute, I put in Barker over Little Tommy. Not sure why, hope it wasn’t a mistake. The Daggers started off great but after 10 minutes of play, it seemed as if they forgot how to play the game. Grays led 1-0 at the break and it looked like they would cruise to victory, until their keeper lost it mentally and came out to far allowing Cox to notch his first goal of the year. Unfortunately, the Grays scored a late goal to win it. Crap. Grays 2. Dag & Red 1. Cox (m79) – We slip down to 10^th place.

Upcoming matches
S 9-3 @ Crawley (12^th)- A
S 9-10 @ Altrincham (20^th) - A
S 9-17 v. Hereford (17^th) - A
T 9-20 v. Woking (22^nd) - B
S 9-24 @ Accrington (1^st) - A
T 9-27 v. Morecambe (7^th) – B



We should be able to get a few wins next month and move up the table a bit

September-first half 2005

A new month begins and not surprisingly, none of our players won any awards.

League Table

Biggest surprise is Hereford near the bottom of the table. It took them five tries to win a game; this from a team that was supposed to walk away with the championship. Accrington is playing very well right now, but I think few would have predicted a perfect 5-0-0 month of August.

The Dag & Red directors are still sure that they made the right choice in appointing you manager.

MON 9-3 D&R (10th) @ Crawley (12th) - A
Official Odds: Crawley (13-8) - Draw (2-1) – D&R (6-4)
My take: Again, on paper, we are a much better team. And again, we should win this one easily.

The A team takes the pitch except for Richard Carr who is coming off of an injury. Hunter will take his place. Just like last game, we started off okay, but after 10 minutes, the team fell apart and gave up three quick goals. The Daggers tried to rally in the second half, but fell a bit short. Crawley outshot us 18-5. The score could have been a lot worse, but Ballard played well in goal. Crawley 4, Dag & Red 1.[I] (Mark James m67pen)[/i]

SAT 9-10 D&R (16th) @ Altrincham (21st) – A
Official Odds: Altrincham (9-4) - Draw (9-4) – D&R (Even)
My take: I should just type ditto. We are the better team on paper blah, blah, blah. We really need a solid win here. This team is in the relegation zone.

We play great yet again for 17 minutes and take a quick lead. We fall apart and end up losing the match. What the heck is going on with this team? Altrincham 3, Dag & Red 2 (Cox m15, Harrison m80)

Sorry Dag & Red lose again
Dagenham & Redbridge continued their run of straight league defeats as they lost 3-2to Altrincham. After a good start to the campaign, this run of poor form has seen the Daggers slip into their usual role as mid-table underachievers. (Ouch!) Fans will be hoping that the team’s recent slip up in form is only temporary and that the club can once again start moving in the right direction in the league table.

Mark James won team of the week honors which was a bit of a surprise, considering how poorly we have played as a whole. I didn’t realize that his form has been fairly good (8-7-7-7-8).



SAT 9-17 D&R (16th) v. Hereford (14th) - A
Official Odds: D&R (3-1) - Draw (2-1) – Hereford (4-5)
My take: This is one game that I was worried about, even when we started out strong. With the team in disarray, we could lose big here.

Good game by bith teams but on this day, the Daggers pulled through. Best play of the match. Thompson received the ball midfield and started to the goal but was stopped by three opponents. With nowhere to go, he kicked a chip shot toward the net from 45 yards out, went over the keepers hear and caught the corner of the net for a goal. Awesome play. Dag & Red 2, Hereford 0. (Neal m58, Thompson m62 - MoM Perry – 9)

T 9-20 v. Woking (19th) - B
S 9-24 @ Accrington (2nd) - A
T 9-27 v. Morecambe (3rd) – B

Yikes. The schedule certainly does not get any easier.