Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - FM – From Semi-Pro Minnows to Champions League Glory: Dover Athletic FC

NoSkillz · 11-15-2013, 11:03 PM

2017-18 Season Recap -

Preseason: Manager and Team Status, Yearly Budgets, Board and Media Expectations

I accept a relatively modest salary increase as we move into our first year in the Championship - I'm sure I could have asked for more, especially in light of the fact that I was contemplating a move away from Dover but I continue to just accept what's offered.

I've fought very hard for close to three years to get some sort of facilities or stadium upgrade to no avail. We've sold out a few games in the past two years (mainly cup ties) and I have to imagine that we'll sell out a few league games this year as well. We're definitely in position where demand may be higher than supply, so to speak.

We raise ticket prices over 20% with our move to the second tier on the English league system. It doesn't hurt season ticket sales, as we end up seeing close to a 25% increase there by the start of the year. Our estimated value hits £2.5m, which ranks 53rd in England out of the 160 teams but last in our league. Through the player moves I've made in the offseason, our squad personality has changed to "ambitious" from "professional".

The media predicts tough sledding for Dover in 2017-18 and expects us to finish dead last. The board asks me to fight bravely against relegation and I agree, which gives me the following budget:

2017/18 TRANSFER BUDGET - £110,000
2017/18 WAGE BUDGET - £50,000/week

A huge increase in both numbers versus last year!

Preseason: Roster Status

GK - Incumbent Ingo Wilke has been sensational both seasons here at Dover, winning GK of the Year awards both years. He will be our main cog at the back and I'll look to bring Martin Read back from Hearts on loan as his backup.

D - Our defence was a strongpoint last year and I hope that moving up a level doesn't hurt us too much. There will be one major move though: we'll be letting our long-time captain leave in July. I don't feel that David Ogilby is cut out for the Championship level so he will be leaving the club on a free transfer deal on July 1st.

M - We've enjoyed luck in bringing in key loan players over recent years for our midfield but I don't know if that will be the case this year. I think I'm going to concentrate on finding players to bring in under contract to our own club.

F - The guy who came out of nowhere last year, striker Robert Kerkhof. will be back again this year. There will be plenty of question marks beyond that, as most of our other contributors were loan players.

Transfers OUT

MC - Mark Byrne - Crewe - £40,000
MC - Jimmy Juan - Kansas City - £20,000
DC - Michael Raynes - Portsmouth - £10,000
ST - Craig Beattie - Shrewsbury - £10,000

DC - David Ogilby - Ayr - Free
DM - Carl Graham - Northwich - Free
DL - Aziz Deen-Conteh - Aves - Free

MC - Ben Hazel - Released
MC - Carlos Gurpegi - Released
ST - Aaron Greene - Released
ST - Lee Cochrane - Released
ST - Karl Connolly - Released

My transfer fees captured pale in comparison to last year. Byrne leaves after three seasons, having appeared in 59 league games over that period, scoring 9 goals and assisting on 7 others. Juan was a big disappointment for us in his only year and at his age, he was losing physical skills quite rapidly. Juan played only 13 games for us, assisting on 4 goals. Craig Beattie didn't make much of an impression either, playing sparingly over two seasons. He scored 13 goals in 33 games and heads to Shrewsbury in League 2. Michael Raynes was a great presence for us on defence for three years but he simply doesn't seem cut out for the Championship at this late stage of his career. He leaves Dover having played 78 games, scoring 5 goals in the process.

The two biggest players leaving are unquestionably long-time skipper David Ogilby and stalwart striker Aaron Greene. Ogilby was named captain upon his arrival in July of 2012 and served in that capacity right until his release. He played five seasons at Dover, scoring 8 goals and appearing in 178 games. His determination and influence will be greatly missed. Greene arrived one year later and immediately became a fan favourite at Crabble Athletic Ground, with his incredible speed and deft scoring touch. Greene leaves Dover after four full seasons, having played in 124 league games, scoring 55 goals and assisting on 31 more.

The last key player to leave is Aziz Deen-Conteh, who arrived in 2013 just as Greene did. Deen-Conteh had great speed as well at left fullback but he'd be struggling for playing time after our addition of Bob Harris last year. Deen-Conteh played 105 league games for us, scoring twice and adding 9 assists.

Carl Graham, Ben Hazel and Karl Connolly were U18 grads who played on the reserve teams or in the rare cup tie and were all expendable. Carlos Gurpegi and Lee Cochrane didn't make much of an impact during their time at the club.

I'd loan out two 19 year olds to get them some valuable experience in league football - ST Martin Horny would head to Millwall and DC Sam Barnett will play at Southend.

Transfers IN

ST - Simon Rideout - £75,000 (Last Club: Leicester) - 22 years old, England

AM/ST - Zoltan Bardi - LOAN - £65,000 Fee (From Arsenal) - 19 years old, Hungary
DR - Bogdan Dragnea - LOAN - £16,000 Fee (From Everton) - 19 years old, Romania

GK - Eduard Hanke - Free (Last Club: Nurnberg) - 20 years old, Germany
DL - Leo Creemers - Free (Last Club: Feyenoord) - 21 years old, Holland
DC/DM - Jeroen Simaeys - Free (Last Club: West Bromwich) - 32 years old, Belgium
DM - Benjamin Stumpf - Free (Last Club: Dortmund) - 22 years old, Germany
MC - Darren Pratley - Free (Last Club: Swansea) - 32 years old, England
MC/ML - Liam Craig - Free (Last Club: West Ham) - 30 years old, Scotland
AM - Marvin Emnes - Free (Last Club: Sheffield United) - 29 years old, Holland
ST - Victor Anichebe - Free (Last Club: Getafe) - 29 years old, Nigeria

GK - Simon Hayward - Free (Last Club: Manchester United) - 17 years old, England
DC - Andy Brown - Free (Last Club: Sheffield United) - 18 years old, England
DC - Gareth Mace - Free (Last Club: Manchester United) - 17 years old, England
ML - Steve Ingram - Free (Last Club: Manchester City) - 17 years old, England
MR - Ismail Mkhize - Free (Last Club: Tottenham) - 18 years old, England
MR - Frankie Taylor - Free (Last Club: Huddersfield) - 18 years old, England
ST - Lukasz Cichy - Free (Last Club: Lech) - 18 years old, Poland
ST - Darren Hicks - Free (Last Club: Chelsea) - 18 years old, England
ST - Sam Holden - Free (Last Club: Watford) - 18 years old, England

GK - Martin Read - LOAN (From Hearts) - 22 years old, England

Our big money signing is striker Simon Rideout, who we had here on loan from Leicester last year. Rideout scored 3 goals and added 4 assists in 13 league games and will be counted on this year as our #3 striker behind Robert Kerkhof and loan player Zoltan Bardi, who is back for a second consecutive year thanks to our friends at Arsenal. Dragnea will be a backup behind Conor Morrissey and Jackson Ramm at DR.

We sign a number of key players on a free. Benjamin Stumpf is a technically gifted DM/MC with great work ethic and stamina. DC/DM Jeroen Simaeys is a veteran who will provide leadership and cover behind our starting centre half backs Luke McCullough and Oliver Nicholas. Darren Pratley and Liam Craig are both dependable vets that will provide leadership and production in the middle of the field. Marvin Emnes should fit in quite nicely in an attacking role at AMC in our 4-2-3-1 formation and Victor Anichebe is a big Nigerian striker who should be a nice rotational player at the deep lying forward slot. I decided to bring back Martin Read on loan from parent club Hearts as our main backup at GK - I'll likely loan out new signing Eduard Hanke at some point.

I also signed a number of good looking U18 players, with the most intriguing of the bunch being MR Ismail Mkhize, a very tall and fast winger with 4 star potential.

Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins

We've added a TON of new players in order to ensure we have the right quality at all positions. I set up a much longer preseason schedule, arranging 9 friendlies to help bring the new squad together. We breezed through the preseason without a loss so perhaps my fears are unfounded.

New central midfielder Darren Pratley quickly earns the respect of his teammates and is chosen as their captain for the upcoming season, taking over from the departed David Ogilby. Luke McCullough is named vice captain, an honour he's had in the recent past (2014-15 season).

We'll rotate between three formations this year: a standard flat 4-4-2, our attacking 4-4-2 DM (4 defenders, 2 central mids, AML, AMC, AMR and 1 striker) and a standard 4-5-1 (with four midfielders and one DM).

We open our first year in the Championship against Nottingham Forest. Here is our starting eleven for game one (4-4-2 DM):

GK - Ingo Wilke
D - Bob Harris/Luke McCullough/Oliver Nicholas/Jackson Ramm
MC - Jamal Yildirim/Darren Pratley
AML/AMC/AMR - Liam Craig/Zoltan Bardi/Keith King
ST - Robert Kerkhof

11-15-2013, 11:03 PM	#32
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	2017-18 Season Recap - Preseason: Manager and Team Status, Yearly Budgets, Board and Media Expectations I accept a relatively modest salary increase as we move into our first year in the Championship - I'm sure I could have asked for more, especially in light of the fact that I was contemplating a move away from Dover but I continue to just accept what's offered. I've fought very hard for close to three years to get some sort of facilities or stadium upgrade to no avail. We've sold out a few games in the past two years (mainly cup ties) and I have to imagine that we'll sell out a few league games this year as well. We're definitely in position where demand may be higher than supply, so to speak. We raise ticket prices over 20% with our move to the second tier on the English league system. It doesn't hurt season ticket sales, as we end up seeing close to a 25% increase there by the start of the year. Our estimated value hits £2.5m, which ranks 53rd in England out of the 160 teams but last in our league. Through the player moves I've made in the offseason, our squad personality has changed to "ambitious" from "professional". The media predicts tough sledding for Dover in 2017-18 and expects us to finish dead last. The board asks me to fight bravely against relegation and I agree, which gives me the following budget: 2017/18 TRANSFER BUDGET - £110,000 2017/18 WAGE BUDGET - £50,000/week A huge increase in both numbers versus last year! Preseason: Roster Status GK - Incumbent Ingo Wilke has been sensational both seasons here at Dover, winning GK of the Year awards both years. He will be our main cog at the back and I'll look to bring Martin Read back from Hearts on loan as his backup. D - Our defence was a strongpoint last year and I hope that moving up a level doesn't hurt us too much. There will be one major move though: we'll be letting our long-time captain leave in July. I don't feel that David Ogilby is cut out for the Championship level so he will be leaving the club on a free transfer deal on July 1st. M - We've enjoyed luck in bringing in key loan players over recent years for our midfield but I don't know if that will be the case this year. I think I'm going to concentrate on finding players to bring in under contract to our own club. F - The guy who came out of nowhere last year, striker Robert Kerkhof. will be back again this year. There will be plenty of question marks beyond that, as most of our other contributors were loan players. Transfers OUT MC - Mark Byrne - Crewe - £40,000 MC - Jimmy Juan - Kansas City - £20,000 DC - Michael Raynes - Portsmouth - £10,000 ST - Craig Beattie - Shrewsbury - £10,000 DC - David Ogilby - Ayr - Free DM - Carl Graham - Northwich - Free DL - Aziz Deen-Conteh - Aves - Free MC - Ben Hazel - Released MC - Carlos Gurpegi - Released ST - Aaron Greene - Released ST - Lee Cochrane - Released ST - Karl Connolly - Released My transfer fees captured pale in comparison to last year. Byrne leaves after three seasons, having appeared in 59 league games over that period, scoring 9 goals and assisting on 7 others. Juan was a big disappointment for us in his only year and at his age, he was losing physical skills quite rapidly. Juan played only 13 games for us, assisting on 4 goals. Craig Beattie didn't make much of an impression either, playing sparingly over two seasons. He scored 13 goals in 33 games and heads to Shrewsbury in League 2. Michael Raynes was a great presence for us on defence for three years but he simply doesn't seem cut out for the Championship at this late stage of his career. He leaves Dover having played 78 games, scoring 5 goals in the process. The two biggest players leaving are unquestionably long-time skipper David Ogilby and stalwart striker Aaron Greene. Ogilby was named captain upon his arrival in July of 2012 and served in that capacity right until his release. He played five seasons at Dover, scoring 8 goals and appearing in 178 games. His determination and influence will be greatly missed. Greene arrived one year later and immediately became a fan favourite at Crabble Athletic Ground, with his incredible speed and deft scoring touch. Greene leaves Dover after four full seasons, having played in 124 league games, scoring 55 goals and assisting on 31 more. The last key player to leave is Aziz Deen-Conteh, who arrived in 2013 just as Greene did. Deen-Conteh had great speed as well at left fullback but he'd be struggling for playing time after our addition of Bob Harris last year. Deen-Conteh played 105 league games for us, scoring twice and adding 9 assists. Carl Graham, Ben Hazel and Karl Connolly were U18 grads who played on the reserve teams or in the rare cup tie and were all expendable. Carlos Gurpegi and Lee Cochrane didn't make much of an impact during their time at the club. I'd loan out two 19 year olds to get them some valuable experience in league football - ST Martin Horny would head to Millwall and DC Sam Barnett will play at Southend. Transfers IN ST - Simon Rideout - £75,000 (Last Club: Leicester) - 22 years old, England AM/ST - Zoltan Bardi - LOAN - £65,000 Fee (From Arsenal) - 19 years old, Hungary DR - Bogdan Dragnea - LOAN - £16,000 Fee (From Everton) - 19 years old, Romania GK - Eduard Hanke - Free (Last Club: Nurnberg) - 20 years old, Germany DL - Leo Creemers - Free (Last Club: Feyenoord) - 21 years old, Holland DC/DM - Jeroen Simaeys - Free (Last Club: West Bromwich) - 32 years old, Belgium DM - Benjamin Stumpf - Free (Last Club: Dortmund) - 22 years old, Germany MC - Darren Pratley - Free (Last Club: Swansea) - 32 years old, England MC/ML - Liam Craig - Free (Last Club: West Ham) - 30 years old, Scotland AM - Marvin Emnes - Free (Last Club: Sheffield United) - 29 years old, Holland ST - Victor Anichebe - Free (Last Club: Getafe) - 29 years old, Nigeria GK - Simon Hayward - Free (Last Club: Manchester United) - 17 years old, England DC - Andy Brown - Free (Last Club: Sheffield United) - 18 years old, England DC - Gareth Mace - Free (Last Club: Manchester United) - 17 years old, England ML - Steve Ingram - Free (Last Club: Manchester City) - 17 years old, England MR - Ismail Mkhize - Free (Last Club: Tottenham) - 18 years old, England MR - Frankie Taylor - Free (Last Club: Huddersfield) - 18 years old, England ST - Lukasz Cichy - Free (Last Club: Lech) - 18 years old, Poland ST - Darren Hicks - Free (Last Club: Chelsea) - 18 years old, England ST - Sam Holden - Free (Last Club: Watford) - 18 years old, England GK - Martin Read - LOAN (From Hearts) - 22 years old, England Our big money signing is striker Simon Rideout, who we had here on loan from Leicester last year. Rideout scored 3 goals and added 4 assists in 13 league games and will be counted on this year as our #3 striker behind Robert Kerkhof and loan player Zoltan Bardi, who is back for a second consecutive year thanks to our friends at Arsenal. Dragnea will be a backup behind Conor Morrissey and Jackson Ramm at DR. We sign a number of key players on a free. Benjamin Stumpf is a technically gifted DM/MC with great work ethic and stamina. DC/DM Jeroen Simaeys is a veteran who will provide leadership and cover behind our starting centre half backs Luke McCullough and Oliver Nicholas. Darren Pratley and Liam Craig are both dependable vets that will provide leadership and production in the middle of the field. Marvin Emnes should fit in quite nicely in an attacking role at AMC in our 4-2-3-1 formation and Victor Anichebe is a big Nigerian striker who should be a nice rotational player at the deep lying forward slot. I decided to bring back Martin Read on loan from parent club Hearts as our main backup at GK - I'll likely loan out new signing Eduard Hanke at some point. I also signed a number of good looking U18 players, with the most intriguing of the bunch being MR Ismail Mkhize, a very tall and fast winger with 4 star potential. Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins We've added a TON of new players in order to ensure we have the right quality at all positions. I set up a much longer preseason schedule, arranging 9 friendlies to help bring the new squad together. We breezed through the preseason without a loss so perhaps my fears are unfounded. New central midfielder Darren Pratley quickly earns the respect of his teammates and is chosen as their captain for the upcoming season, taking over from the departed David Ogilby. Luke McCullough is named vice captain, an honour he's had in the recent past (2014-15 season). We'll rotate between three formations this year: a standard flat 4-4-2, our attacking 4-4-2 DM (4 defenders, 2 central mids, AML, AMC, AMR and 1 striker) and a standard 4-5-1 (with four midfielders and one DM). We open our first year in the Championship against Nottingham Forest. Here is our starting eleven for game one (4-4-2 DM): GK - Ingo Wilke D - Bob Harris/Luke McCullough/Oliver Nicholas/Jackson Ramm MC - Jamal Yildirim/Darren Pratley AML/AMC/AMR - Liam Craig/Zoltan Bardi/Keith King ST - Robert Kerkhof __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo Last edited by NoSkillz : 11-15-2013 at 11:05 PM.