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

NoSkillz · 11-08-2013, 10:10 PM

2013-14 Season Recap -

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

Taking Dover from the Blue Square Bet South division up two steps on the ladder to League 2 has done wonders for my reputation and my wallet. I get a huge raise, going from £700/week to £1,000/week on a two-year contract renewal (my longest yet!) and I'm now nationally recognized for my achievements. My loyalty to players rating still is suffering but I have to guess that the constant roster turnover is the reason. And truthfully, I *have* to turn over my roster if I'm going to succeed, as I'm quickly finding out that those 3 star rated players turn pretty quickly into 2 star players at the next level!

Other than our yearly pitch relaying, there's nothing new to report at our stadium. I continue to go as wide and deep as I can with our dimensions to take advantage of our speed on the pitch.

The big move here is obviously our transition to a fully professional club. Interestingly enough, by the looks of it, any players with terms left on their "semi-professional" contracts will have to live up to their end of the bargain but any new contracts I sign must be professional deals.

We've raised our ticket prices close to 20% over last year to coincide with our move into League 2 and our season ticket base continues to grow, up around 30% to 868. Our estimated value has gone up slightly and we're now 83rd in England out of 160 teams.

The move into professional football brings much more difficult competition and both the media and our own board are wary of our chances. The media is picking us to finish dead last in the npower League 2 while our board expects us to battle bravely against relegation. I could be more ambitious in an effort to get more transfer and wage money but I decide not to tempt fate and go along with our board's expectations. That gives us the following budget:

2013/14 TRANSFER BUDGET - £18,000
2013/14 WAGE BUDGET - £10,000/week

I did a bit of tweaking with the budget to give ourselves a bit more wiggle room on the wage side of the equation.

Preseason: Roster Status

GK - I like our goalkeeping, with incumbent Liam O'Brien and fast rising Reice Charles-Cook coming on as his backup. We also have Liam Hogan sitting around so I'll likely try to loan him out again this season.

D - We're pretty strong in the back with Oliver Nicholas and captain David Ogilby manning the middle and Jamie Reckord and Conor Morrissey at DL and DR respectively. I slipped up, allowing Carl Jenkinson to move into his last six months of his contract and he was picked up on a bosman signing by Sporting Mahones, effective July 1st. I need to be more careful about stuff like this!! We will be letting former stalwart Olly Schulz leave the club without a new deal, along with Tom Wynter and Stephen O'Donnell, as all three would be overmatched at the League 2 level in my opinion. We could use some new depth signings here but we are looking forward to seeing what young 5 star potential DC Luke McCullough can do!

M - Our strength continues to be on the wing but I'm starting to worry that Ismael Fofana and Abdeltareck Sakali may not be up to playing at a League 2 level. We'll see. Richie Ryan will be our main man in the middle and I'll likely look for some additions so as not to put too much pressure on prospect midfielder Rhys McCabe.

F - Our star striker Ben Hunt is back but I'm afraid he might not be talented enough to do much at this level. We still have Jamie Mclaren, Connor Deards and Razak Abdul but I'll definitely need to find at least one striker who has played at this level in the past.

Transfers OUT

ST - Jamie Mclaren - Brondby - £10,000
MC - Ben Sayer - Dundalk - £5,000

DR - Carl Jenkinson - Sporting Mahones - Free

DL - Tom Wynter - Released
DL - Rory McKeown - Released
DR - Stephen O'Donnell - Released
DC - Olly Schulz - Released
DC - Luke Browne - Released
MC - Jon Wallis - Released
AMC/ST - Alan Murphy - Released
ST - Emerick Hippias - Released
ST - Julius Gombala - Released
ST - Connor Deards - Released
ST - Samuel Ameobi - Released

I knew I'd have to let some key players from our past go, simply due to the fact that after two promotions, they may be in over their head at this elevated level.

We moved Mclaren after only one inconsistent year at the club. Getting £10,000 in the deal proved to be impossible to turn down, especially in light of some of my offseason signings (see below for that). Sayer was a young midfielder with decent potential but he was at best our 6th option so I felt it was wise to grab the money and run when offered. I've already mentioned the disappointment of having Jenkinson leave - he was excellent last year and I would have definitely fit him in on a rotation basis with Conor Morrissey had I successfully resigned him.

Of the free releases, the toughest two were Jon Wallis and Olly Schulz, two fan favourites who had been with Dover for many years. Wallis leaves the club after playing 222 league games, a team record. He scored 30 goals and added 32 assists and was amongst the most versatile players you could ask for, handling DR, MC and MR roles equally well. Schulz played 158 games for the club over 5 seasons, scoring 24 goals from the DC position, with almost all of them coming in the air on setpieces. He was a very capable defender and will be missed.

It may seem surprising that I released young Connor Deards after he scored 7 goals in only 16 league games but again, I was able to find a few incredibly talented strikers in the lead-up to the new season, making Deards a surplus to requirements.

Transfers IN

ST/ML - Aaron Greene - £4,000 (Last Club: Bohemians) - 23 years old, Ireland
MC - Janusz Kedzierski - £3,000 (Last Club: Aalen) - 20 years old, Germany
DR - Mark Urquhart - £1,500 (Last Club: Burton) - 22 years old, Scotland
ST - Alexander Rattke - £1,000 (Last Club: Nurnberg) - 21 years old, Germany

DL - Aziz Deen-Conteh - Free (Last Club: Chelsea) - 20 years old, Sierra Leone
DC/DR - Robert Ryan - Free (Last Club: Manchester United) - 18 years old, England
MR - Khaled Laaloudj - Free (Last Club: FC Mulhouse) - 24 years old, Algeria
MC - Arron Williams - Free (Last Club: Birmingham) - 18 years old, England
ST - Patrick Cooper - Free (Last Club: Fulham) - 18 years old, England

DR - Derek Churchill - LOAN (From Watford) - 18 years old, England
ML - Francesco Falleni - LOAN (From Arsenal) - 17 years old, Italy
MC/ML - Jake Caskey - LOAN (From Brighton) - 19 years old, England

I'm very excited about some of these signings. Aaron Greene is a left footed striker who is extremely fleet of foot - easily the fastest player I've had at the club. Fellow striker Alexander Rattke has a good speed/size combination and flashed goal scoring potential in the lower German leagues. Janusz Kedzierski will be a great addition as a midfielder with defensive duties while Mark Urquhart was brought in to shore up our depth on the right side of the defines.

Among the free signings, Aziz Deen-Conteh (great speed at DL), Patrick Cooper (tall, great in the air and a capable finisher) and Arron Williams (great speed, technique) will be ones to watch for.

I brought Jake Caskey back on loan for a third consecutive season and added DR Derek Churchill and the very young ML Francesco Falleni in on season-long loans.

Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins

David Ogilby will keep the captain's armband for a second consecutive year but seeing that last year's vice captain (Ben Hunt) will be playing less, I name DL Jamie Reckord as this year's assistant.

There's some slight turmoil in our front office during the preseason. Likely due to our promotion into professional football, Dover chairman Jim Parmenter comes out and says he's interested in selling the team. Early in July, a consortium led by local businessman Martin Watts submits a takeover bid but ultimately they'd fail.

This would be a running theme throughout the year, as another gentleman would eventually join the fray and rumours persisted that if Parmenter left, my job might be on the line! This despite the fact that I had led the club to two promotions in three years! It was a nerve-racking time...

We had a couple of key injuries to start our season, most notably DC Oliver Nicholas. Our opening day lineup was as follows:

GK - Reice Charles-Cook
D - Jamie Reckord/David Ogilby/Luke McCullough/Conor Morrissey
M - Ismael Fofana/Jake Caskey/Richie Ryan/Abdeltareck Sakali
F - Aaron Greene/Ben Hunt

11-08-2013, 10:10 PM	#16
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	2013-14 Season Recap - Preseason: Manager and Team Status, Yearly Budgets, Board and Media Expectations Taking Dover from the Blue Square Bet South division up two steps on the ladder to League 2 has done wonders for my reputation and my wallet. I get a huge raise, going from £700/week to £1,000/week on a two-year contract renewal (my longest yet!) and I'm now nationally recognized for my achievements. My loyalty to players rating still is suffering but I have to guess that the constant roster turnover is the reason. And truthfully, I have to turn over my roster if I'm going to succeed, as I'm quickly finding out that those 3 star rated players turn pretty quickly into 2 star players at the next level! Other than our yearly pitch relaying, there's nothing new to report at our stadium. I continue to go as wide and deep as I can with our dimensions to take advantage of our speed on the pitch. The big move here is obviously our transition to a fully professional club. Interestingly enough, by the looks of it, any players with terms left on their "semi-professional" contracts will have to live up to their end of the bargain but any new contracts I sign must be professional deals. We've raised our ticket prices close to 20% over last year to coincide with our move into League 2 and our season ticket base continues to grow, up around 30% to 868. Our estimated value has gone up slightly and we're now 83rd in England out of 160 teams. The move into professional football brings much more difficult competition and both the media and our own board are wary of our chances. The media is picking us to finish dead last in the npower League 2 while our board expects us to battle bravely against relegation. I could be more ambitious in an effort to get more transfer and wage money but I decide not to tempt fate and go along with our board's expectations. That gives us the following budget: 2013/14 TRANSFER BUDGET - £18,000 2013/14 WAGE BUDGET - £10,000/week I did a bit of tweaking with the budget to give ourselves a bit more wiggle room on the wage side of the equation. Preseason: Roster Status GK - I like our goalkeeping, with incumbent Liam O'Brien and fast rising Reice Charles-Cook coming on as his backup. We also have Liam Hogan sitting around so I'll likely try to loan him out again this season. D - We're pretty strong in the back with Oliver Nicholas and captain David Ogilby manning the middle and Jamie Reckord and Conor Morrissey at DL and DR respectively. I slipped up, allowing Carl Jenkinson to move into his last six months of his contract and he was picked up on a bosman signing by Sporting Mahones, effective July 1st. I need to be more careful about stuff like this!! We will be letting former stalwart Olly Schulz leave the club without a new deal, along with Tom Wynter and Stephen O'Donnell, as all three would be overmatched at the League 2 level in my opinion. We could use some new depth signings here but we are looking forward to seeing what young 5 star potential DC Luke McCullough can do! M - Our strength continues to be on the wing but I'm starting to worry that Ismael Fofana and Abdeltareck Sakali may not be up to playing at a League 2 level. We'll see. Richie Ryan will be our main man in the middle and I'll likely look for some additions so as not to put too much pressure on prospect midfielder Rhys McCabe. F - Our star striker Ben Hunt is back but I'm afraid he might not be talented enough to do much at this level. We still have Jamie Mclaren, Connor Deards and Razak Abdul but I'll definitely need to find at least one striker who has played at this level in the past. Transfers OUT ST - Jamie Mclaren - Brondby - £10,000 MC - Ben Sayer - Dundalk - £5,000 DR - Carl Jenkinson - Sporting Mahones - Free DL - Tom Wynter - Released DL - Rory McKeown - Released DR - Stephen O'Donnell - Released DC - Olly Schulz - Released DC - Luke Browne - Released MC - Jon Wallis - Released AMC/ST - Alan Murphy - Released ST - Emerick Hippias - Released ST - Julius Gombala - Released ST - Connor Deards - Released ST - Samuel Ameobi - Released I knew I'd have to let some key players from our past go, simply due to the fact that after two promotions, they may be in over their head at this elevated level. We moved Mclaren after only one inconsistent year at the club. Getting £10,000 in the deal proved to be impossible to turn down, especially in light of some of my offseason signings (see below for that). Sayer was a young midfielder with decent potential but he was at best our 6th option so I felt it was wise to grab the money and run when offered. I've already mentioned the disappointment of having Jenkinson leave - he was excellent last year and I would have definitely fit him in on a rotation basis with Conor Morrissey had I successfully resigned him. Of the free releases, the toughest two were Jon Wallis and Olly Schulz, two fan favourites who had been with Dover for many years. Wallis leaves the club after playing 222 league games, a team record. He scored 30 goals and added 32 assists and was amongst the most versatile players you could ask for, handling DR, MC and MR roles equally well. Schulz played 158 games for the club over 5 seasons, scoring 24 goals from the DC position, with almost all of them coming in the air on setpieces. He was a very capable defender and will be missed. It may seem surprising that I released young Connor Deards after he scored 7 goals in only 16 league games but again, I was able to find a few incredibly talented strikers in the lead-up to the new season, making Deards a surplus to requirements. Transfers IN ST/ML - Aaron Greene - £4,000 (Last Club: Bohemians) - 23 years old, Ireland MC - Janusz Kedzierski - £3,000 (Last Club: Aalen) - 20 years old, Germany DR - Mark Urquhart - £1,500 (Last Club: Burton) - 22 years old, Scotland ST - Alexander Rattke - £1,000 (Last Club: Nurnberg) - 21 years old, Germany DL - Aziz Deen-Conteh - Free (Last Club: Chelsea) - 20 years old, Sierra Leone DC/DR - Robert Ryan - Free (Last Club: Manchester United) - 18 years old, England MR - Khaled Laaloudj - Free (Last Club: FC Mulhouse) - 24 years old, Algeria MC - Arron Williams - Free (Last Club: Birmingham) - 18 years old, England ST - Patrick Cooper - Free (Last Club: Fulham) - 18 years old, England DR - Derek Churchill - LOAN (From Watford) - 18 years old, England ML - Francesco Falleni - LOAN (From Arsenal) - 17 years old, Italy MC/ML - Jake Caskey - LOAN (From Brighton) - 19 years old, England I'm very excited about some of these signings. Aaron Greene is a left footed striker who is extremely fleet of foot - easily the fastest player I've had at the club. Fellow striker Alexander Rattke has a good speed/size combination and flashed goal scoring potential in the lower German leagues. Janusz Kedzierski will be a great addition as a midfielder with defensive duties while Mark Urquhart was brought in to shore up our depth on the right side of the defines. Among the free signings, Aziz Deen-Conteh (great speed at DL), Patrick Cooper (tall, great in the air and a capable finisher) and Arron Williams (great speed, technique) will be ones to watch for. I brought Jake Caskey back on loan for a third consecutive season and added DR Derek Churchill and the very young ML Francesco Falleni in on season-long loans. Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins David Ogilby will keep the captain's armband for a second consecutive year but seeing that last year's vice captain (Ben Hunt) will be playing less, I name DL Jamie Reckord as this year's assistant. There's some slight turmoil in our front office during the preseason. Likely due to our promotion into professional football, Dover chairman Jim Parmenter comes out and says he's interested in selling the team. Early in July, a consortium led by local businessman Martin Watts submits a takeover bid but ultimately they'd fail. This would be a running theme throughout the year, as another gentleman would eventually join the fray and rumours persisted that if Parmenter left, my job might be on the line! This despite the fact that I had led the club to two promotions in three years! It was a nerve-racking time... We had a couple of key injuries to start our season, most notably DC Oliver Nicholas. Our opening day lineup was as follows: GK - Reice Charles-Cook D - Jamie Reckord/David Ogilby/Luke McCullough/Conor Morrissey M - Ismael Fofana/Jake Caskey/Richie Ryan/Abdeltareck Sakali F - Aaron Greene/Ben Hunt __________________ 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