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Radii · 08-06-2011, 12:54 AM

Friendly #3

We host HSV from the German First Division. They score in the 4th minute on an easy goal after a nice through ball. A 40th minute goal comes on a cross and great volley from a really tough angle out to the right. They get two more second half goals after we make our subs. Ugly!

Ipswich 0 : 4 HSV

Loan In

In a move I almost want to reject because I don't want to have to type his name, D LRC Steinthor Gudmundsson will be joining Ipswich for the season. He's Icelandic and a couple of those characters are special chars and I dunno how to properly spell or pronounce the name. He's 20 years old and comes to us from Dutch power PSV.

16 pace/16 accel (yum!), 16 sta/16 agi/15 balance. 18 teamwork/16 work rate. 14 bravery, 13 determination, 13 positioning, all good! 11 marking/16 tackling/11 passing/15 heading all seem quite solid. Gudmundsson will likely start at DL and seems like he should be able to provide depth and cover at all defensive positions.

We end up canceling a deal for DL Kevin Moreau, as I really do want to get our own DL Kirkland playing time to allow him to develop as well. That leaves me with 3 young guys loaned in, room for a 4th, but no obvious spot to bring someone in at. Given the unknowns I have being a new coach for Ipswich and a new coach in the Championship, I basically feel that I'm ready to go into the season with what I've got and can use the last loaner to fill a need if someone isn't working out or if we run into a bad injury somewhere.

Friendly #4

We host Shrewsbury from League 1. DL Kirkland is away on international duty, he plays on the England U19 squad. We have a couple missed clear cut chances and should have really won this one, but instead play to a scoreless draw at their house.

Shrewsbury 0 : 0 Ipswich

-- Its a first for me! "The kickoff time for Norwich's Championship clash with Ipswich on Saturday 7th October has been pushed back to 17:30 for live television coverage" We're gonna be on TV! Norwich are our primary rivals.

Friendly #5

We travel to Braintree from the BS North where we are 1:14 favorites. Early goals from each of our strikers, Khan and Lewis give us a 2:0 start. A second half goal is added by Neil Gordon and we get an easy win.

Braintree 0 : 3 Ipswich

-- We're up to 14,500 season tickets sold, still expecting to hit 18,000.

-- There are rumors all over that we're going to sell Neil Gordon. This couldn't be further from the truth, I think this is something that started under the previous coach but Gordon is a huge part of my plans. The rumors continue to fly and I've had to turn down a couple unsolicited offers for him, he is unsettled by all the speculation though.

Friendly #6

Its our last friendly, hosting Crystal Palace. Starting DC Troy Brown is back from injury and will start today. Palace is the better team at their place today, they get tons more chances, we do find 3 clear cut chances but can't find a goal. They get a great header for a goal in the 75th minute, the only one of the match.

Crystal Palace 1 : 0 Ipswich

-- I'm asked to name the captains for the season and I don't make any changes. DC Troy Brown is the captain and DC Alex Bruce is the vice-captain.

August Update

The season is just about here!

-- Our first match is August 12th. We play league matches on the 19th, 22nd, and 26th as well. The League Cup first round is on the 15th and second round should we win is on the 30th.

-- We get a training update, aging (34 y/o) backup striker Jon Stead has lost some pace and agility.

-- There's no update from the board this month, weird?

-- We get an update about expiring contracts. 18 players/staff have contracts that are expiring this year. I check and as we got close to our wage budget the board is now being reasonable and I can save some good money here.

Contract Renegotiations

-- I'd looked at this as a way to save money when I first took over and many, many players were willing to take less money, but the amount we were allowed to offer was so very very low that we couldn't do anything. Right now we just need to trim a few thousand and are allowed to offer legit salaries. Lets see if there's anything I can do.

-- GK Brian Murphy takes a $6,000/wk cut to guarantee him an extra year and a bit of a signing bonus ($70,000). He's 34 but we don't exactly have an option in place to take over when he is done.

-- DC Troy Brown isn't taking a pay cut but he's 26 years old, is a solid DC and team captain. We extend him out 3 additional years to 2021 at the same salary he makes now, $15,500/wk.

-- DC Alex Bruce takes a small pay cut for an extra year as well. He's 32 but still going pretty strong. Even if he gets replaced as a starter he only makes $8,500/wk at this point, not superstar pay, the extra year to cut some salary now is huge.

Budget Update

Our wage budget is $273,479/wk. With the extensions we just gave our current payroll is now $265,565/wk. WE DID IT!!!! We paid out $133,125 in signing bonuses, though a good bit of that was to re-sign Troy Brown and not part of salary cutting measures. Totally worth it for the comfort of being under budget.

Random International News

The Gold Cup just completed, what an embarrassment. The USA host the tournament and finish dead last in their group, behind Haiti, Canada and Guatemala!!! Jamaica were surprise runners up in 2015, and this year they win the whole thing, beating Canada in the finals. Mexico finished 3rd.

The US fired their head coach in the middle of the tournament. I didn't put my name in for it, I'm not comfortable enough with Ipswich yet to take on the US job if I somehow was picked. Jay DeMerit won the job and is the new US head coach.

08-06-2011, 12:54 AM	#557
Radii Head Coach Join Date: Jul 2001	Friendly #3 We host HSV from the German First Division. They score in the 4th minute on an easy goal after a nice through ball. A 40th minute goal comes on a cross and great volley from a really tough angle out to the right. They get two more second half goals after we make our subs. Ugly! Ipswich 0 : 4 HSV Loan In In a move I almost want to reject because I don't want to have to type his name, D LRC Steinthor Gudmundsson will be joining Ipswich for the season. He's Icelandic and a couple of those characters are special chars and I dunno how to properly spell or pronounce the name. He's 20 years old and comes to us from Dutch power PSV. 16 pace/16 accel (yum!), 16 sta/16 agi/15 balance. 18 teamwork/16 work rate. 14 bravery, 13 determination, 13 positioning, all good! 11 marking/16 tackling/11 passing/15 heading all seem quite solid. Gudmundsson will likely start at DL and seems like he should be able to provide depth and cover at all defensive positions. We end up canceling a deal for DL Kevin Moreau, as I really do want to get our own DL Kirkland playing time to allow him to develop as well. That leaves me with 3 young guys loaned in, room for a 4th, but no obvious spot to bring someone in at. Given the unknowns I have being a new coach for Ipswich and a new coach in the Championship, I basically feel that I'm ready to go into the season with what I've got and can use the last loaner to fill a need if someone isn't working out or if we run into a bad injury somewhere. Friendly #4 We host Shrewsbury from League 1. DL Kirkland is away on international duty, he plays on the England U19 squad. We have a couple missed clear cut chances and should have really won this one, but instead play to a scoreless draw at their house. Shrewsbury 0 : 0 Ipswich -- Its a first for me! "The kickoff time for Norwich's Championship clash with Ipswich on Saturday 7th October has been pushed back to 17:30 for live television coverage" We're gonna be on TV! Norwich are our primary rivals. Friendly #5 We travel to Braintree from the BS North where we are 1:14 favorites. Early goals from each of our strikers, Khan and Lewis give us a 2:0 start. A second half goal is added by Neil Gordon and we get an easy win. Braintree 0 : 3 Ipswich -- We're up to 14,500 season tickets sold, still expecting to hit 18,000. -- There are rumors all over that we're going to sell Neil Gordon. This couldn't be further from the truth, I think this is something that started under the previous coach but Gordon is a huge part of my plans. The rumors continue to fly and I've had to turn down a couple unsolicited offers for him, he is unsettled by all the speculation though. Friendly #6 Its our last friendly, hosting Crystal Palace. Starting DC Troy Brown is back from injury and will start today. Palace is the better team at their place today, they get tons more chances, we do find 3 clear cut chances but can't find a goal. They get a great header for a goal in the 75th minute, the only one of the match. Crystal Palace 1 : 0 Ipswich -- I'm asked to name the captains for the season and I don't make any changes. DC Troy Brown is the captain and DC Alex Bruce is the vice-captain. August Update The season is just about here! -- Our first match is August 12th. We play league matches on the 19th, 22nd, and 26th as well. The League Cup first round is on the 15th and second round should we win is on the 30th. -- We get a training update, aging (34 y/o) backup striker Jon Stead has lost some pace and agility. -- There's no update from the board this month, weird? -- We get an update about expiring contracts. 18 players/staff have contracts that are expiring this year. I check and as we got close to our wage budget the board is now being reasonable and I can save some good money here. Contract Renegotiations -- I'd looked at this as a way to save money when I first took over and many, many players were willing to take less money, but the amount we were allowed to offer was so very very low that we couldn't do anything. Right now we just need to trim a few thousand and are allowed to offer legit salaries. Lets see if there's anything I can do. -- GK Brian Murphy takes a $6,000/wk cut to guarantee him an extra year and a bit of a signing bonus ($70,000). He's 34 but we don't exactly have an option in place to take over when he is done. -- DC Troy Brown isn't taking a pay cut but he's 26 years old, is a solid DC and team captain. We extend him out 3 additional years to 2021 at the same salary he makes now, $15,500/wk. -- DC Alex Bruce takes a small pay cut for an extra year as well. He's 32 but still going pretty strong. Even if he gets replaced as a starter he only makes $8,500/wk at this point, not superstar pay, the extra year to cut some salary now is huge. Budget Update Our wage budget is $273,479/wk. With the extensions we just gave our current payroll is now $265,565/wk. WE DID IT!!!! We paid out $133,125 in signing bonuses, though a good bit of that was to re-sign Troy Brown and not part of salary cutting measures. Totally worth it for the comfort of being under budget. Random International News The Gold Cup just completed, what an embarrassment. The USA host the tournament and finish dead last in their group, behind Haiti, Canada and Guatemala!!! Jamaica were surprise runners up in 2015, and this year they win the whole thing, beating Canada in the finals. Mexico finished 3rd. The US fired their head coach in the middle of the tournament. I didn't put my name in for it, I'm not comfortable enough with Ipswich yet to take on the US job if I somehow was picked. Jay DeMerit won the job and is the new US head coach.