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Preseason Expectations and Thoughts
The pundits predicted that Dover would finish in 5th position in the 2010/11 Blue Square Bet South and our board shared their optimism, saying they expected us to battle for promotion. By agreeing with their assessment, I was given the following wage and transfer budgets:
2010/11 TRANSFER BUDGET - £5,000
2010/11 WAGE BUDGET - £6,000/week
Needless to say, we'd have to do the majority of our work in the free transfer market!
I inherited a pretty decent and relatively deep club.
TEAM STRENGTHS -
ST - Our strike force up front looks capable. Adam Birchall scored 18 goals in 43 total appearances in 2009/10, including 15 in Conference South league play. He'll likely team up with 21 year old Ben Hunt, a new signing from Bristol Rovers who arrived at the club just before I did.
D - We have some nice pieces at the backend as well. Olly Schulz may be our best player, a dominating presence at the centre half position and fellow DC Rob Gillman is the captain of the club. We also have nice depth at the fullback position.
TEAM WEAKNESSES -
GK - 26 year old Ross Flitney is decent but we can definitely use an upgrade in goal.
MF - We have some nice complimentary pieces at MC, with Jon Wallis looking like a jack of all trades but we could use a talent upgrade throughout the midfield.
Transfers OUT
DL - Dean Hill - Stalybridge - Free Transfer
DR - Joe Tabiri - St. Albans - Free Transfer
GK - Lee Hook - Released
MC - Sam Cutler - Released
ML - James Rogers - Released
DR - Jackson Ohakam - Released
Not much here. Hill was an assistant captain before his release.
Transfers IN
GK - Liam O'Brien - Free (Last Club: Portsmouth) - 19 years old
GK - Liam Hogan - Free (Last Club: Southampton) - 19 years old
DC - Oliver Nicholas - Free (Last Club: Arsenal) - 18 years old
MC - Paul Marney - Free (Last Club: Dundalk) - 28 years old
MC - Paul Caffrey - Free (Last Club: Sacred Heart) - 26 years old
MC - Harry Rubbins - Free (Last Club: Bristol City) - 18 years old
MR - Abdeltareck Sakali - Free (Last Club: Blackburn) - 23 years old
ML - Ismael Fofana - Free (Last Club: Charlton) - 22 years old
ML - Christian Nanetti - Free (Last Club: QPR) - 18 years old
ST - Kofi Poyser - Free (Last Club: Aston Villa) - 19 years old
All of these guys were signed off the street after being released from their former clubs. Most of the young guys were U18 players on Premier League clubs at one time. Nicholas is the most exciting prospect: a 4.5 star prospect according to my assistant manager but equally enticing are GK O'Brien (4.5 star potential), Sakali (4 star potential) and Fofana (4 star potential). Caffrey and Marney should provide experience and some needed influence to my young team and are certain starters.
Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins
I decide to leave DC Rob Gillman as the captain and name new arrival Paul Caffrey as the assistant. We'll keep things simple at this level, likely running a flat 4-4-2 for the majority of our games. Our "go-to" mindset will be a Control game and we will also utilize Attacking or Counter-Attacking mindsets for weaker or stronger opponents respectively.
Our first choice lineup to start the season will be as follows:
GK - Liam O'Brien
D - Nicky Nicolau/Rob Gillman/Olly Schulz/Matt Fish
M - Ismael Fofana/Paul Marney/Paul Caffrey/Abdeltareck Sakali
F - Adam Birchall/Ben Hunt
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