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

NoSkillz · 01-25-2014, 01:07 AM

Dover Player Retirements and Other Departures

-- Two of my players filed retirement papers and head into the coaching pool. Liam Craig joined Dover in 2017 right after we got promoted to the Championship. I picked him up on a free from West Ham and Craig was instrumental in helping us win promotion to the Premier League in his first year, scoring 12 goals and adding 24 assists in 38 league games as we'd finish second on the table to gain auto promotion. He played mostly wide during that first year and was forced into the middle of the field during our first year in the Premier League and he wasn't quite as effective, scoring 5 goals and adding 6 assists. He'd struggle in our second year up and last year saw his playing time dwindle to only 10 league games due to the emergence of young stars like Arsene Bamba, Andrea Rocca and Neil Cairney. Craig scored 85 goals in 469 league games with Ipswich, Falkirk, St. Johnstone, Barnsley, Bolton, West Ham and Dover and with our club, his final stat line shows four seasons of service, 111 league games, 19 goals and 35 assists.

-- Darren Pratley also joined our club in 2017 with Liam Craig and was named captain in that first year, a title he held for the entire duration of his stay at Dover. Pratley was an influential and productive player during his time here, playing in 112 league games for Dover, scoring 13 goals and adding 9 assists. Overall for his career, he played 538 league games with Fulham, Brentford, Swansea and Dover, scoring 94 times and adding 42 assists. His leadership will prove tough to replace.

-- As for player departures, four leave the club after we decline to make contract offers. Laurent Koscielny was brought in from Arsenal at the beginning of last season for £120,000 to provide some cover at DC and DL in addition to some leadership. The 34 year old Koscielny struggled immensely in his brief time with our club and he ended up playing only 6 scoreless games for our club.

-- GK Lukasz Fabianski was picked up on a free from Arsenal in 2019 and played two seasons for Dover, suiting up in 25 league games over the two years and collecting 5 clean sheets. He was excellent last year in limited appearances but at 36 years old, it was clear he was losing his edge and ultimately we let him go.

-- Petr Kostal played three full seasons for Dover after I picked him up for £1.3 million from Reading in 2018. He never really challenged for first team action, playing in only 36 league games for our club while scoring 5 goals and adding 5 assists. I did contemplate re-signing him, as he's versatile (can play both sides) and cheap but in the end, I know I can find some better talent for our depth slots.

-- Every year we lose a real Dover favourite and this time, it's the longest serving player in the club's history. One of my very first signings as Dover manager in 2010 was centre half Oliver Nicholas. He bounced around various youth programs, starting at Arsenal and moving to City, Blackburn and eventually Newcastle before we signed the 18 year old in July of 2010. I placed him on our U18 side but he played in 7 league games for us in the Blue Square South, notching 2 assists and a 7.44 average rating to show his potential quite clearly right away. The next season, as a 19 year old, he became a regular and he would hold down that starting position for eight full seasons, with average ratings above 7.00 in each year. He was there with me for every triumph and every disappointment but certainly, there were MANY more good times than bad, as he played at a high level right up until our promotion to the Premier League. That year in the Championship may have been his best, as he scored 5 goals and added 5 assists that year while being named our Fans' Player of the Season. While he struggled a bit at the Premier League level, his achievements with Dover are something to celebrate: 307 league games for Dover (a record), 27 goals, 18 assists, 28 Man of Match awards and an average rating of 7.10. He was at one time a Dover captain and to this day is still captaining Eritrea, having earned 50 caps and scoring 3 times for his country. It's a sad day for Dover fans and for his long-time manager. Good luck to Oliver in all of his future endeavours.

Transfer Market Plans

-- We have a decent amount of money to spend: ~£27 million currently in our transfer kitty but not much room with our wages so I may have to do some maneuvering. We're pretty solid across all positions with respect to starters but I'll need some more depth. I won't hesitate to spend big money on a striker or pacy centre half but we'll also have to fill some depth holes at left fullback and right midfield and possibly one more player for central midfield. Overall, we're in decent shape - I'm a bit worried about home-grown players but we have enough scrubby reserve team guys that at least qualify but if anything, it shows how few English players I have on my roster.

-- There is also one other major concern and that is about the leadership for the coming year. Our long-time captain has retired and after perusing my roster, I'm actually quite shocked at how few influential players I have - I guess that's to be somewhat expected with such a young club but I don't really have anyone that screams "captain material" right now - I will be on the look out for either a veteran to help guide the club for this year or a guy in his prime with good leadership abilities.

Transfer IN

-- Completing a deal made while the transfer window was closed, we welcome Ivory Coast international GK Youssouf Sylla to Dover! The 26 year old Sylla has 55 caps for his country and we were able to scoop him up on a free from Dynamo Kyiv. He's rated as a 3.5 star keeper by my assistant and he put up ridiculous numbers in the Ukrainian league, with yearly averages between 7.18 and 7.69! At worst, he'll be a very capable backup to Ingo Wilke and at best he'll push him for playing time.

-- Ok, so my two major transfer targets right now are 17 year old striker Paul Moses from Manchester United and 23 year old centre half Saber Nasri from Bolton. Moses looks like he could be the next English superstar, a 4.5-5 star potential talent with lightning speed and great intangibles. Nasri was a potential transfer target last year but I went with Cristian Rodriguez instead. I have a deal in principle with Bolton and get to the contract stage with Nasri but I have major competition in OM from France, one of the biggest club's in the world. Nasri is only a 3.5-4 star talent but he has great pace and off-the-charts intangibles to the point where he could easily be a captain candidate for us. I make a statement in the press about Nasri's skills and he is "delighted" by my comments so hopefully that gives us a chance. Moses will be tough to get - I bid £12.5 million for him and United want £25 MILLION! I come back with an offer to bring him on loan instead with a buyout fee. We'll see where this goes…

-- I bring in 4 new coaches and a new physio. My coaching ratings are now all better than 4 stars both for the senior team and our U18 squad.

World's Richest Club List

-- Barcelona takes over the top spot on the richest club list with a total value of £918 million, followed closely by Real Madrid at £914 million. Arsenal are the top rated English club in 4th place at £437 million. We drop two spots on this year's list down to 64th with a value of £59 million. I assume that will go up sharply as we get ready for our first year of European football.

01-25-2014, 01:07 AM	#159
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Dover Player Retirements and Other Departures -- Two of my players filed retirement papers and head into the coaching pool. Liam Craig joined Dover in 2017 right after we got promoted to the Championship. I picked him up on a free from West Ham and Craig was instrumental in helping us win promotion to the Premier League in his first year, scoring 12 goals and adding 24 assists in 38 league games as we'd finish second on the table to gain auto promotion. He played mostly wide during that first year and was forced into the middle of the field during our first year in the Premier League and he wasn't quite as effective, scoring 5 goals and adding 6 assists. He'd struggle in our second year up and last year saw his playing time dwindle to only 10 league games due to the emergence of young stars like Arsene Bamba, Andrea Rocca and Neil Cairney. Craig scored 85 goals in 469 league games with Ipswich, Falkirk, St. Johnstone, Barnsley, Bolton, West Ham and Dover and with our club, his final stat line shows four seasons of service, 111 league games, 19 goals and 35 assists. -- Darren Pratley also joined our club in 2017 with Liam Craig and was named captain in that first year, a title he held for the entire duration of his stay at Dover. Pratley was an influential and productive player during his time here, playing in 112 league games for Dover, scoring 13 goals and adding 9 assists. Overall for his career, he played 538 league games with Fulham, Brentford, Swansea and Dover, scoring 94 times and adding 42 assists. His leadership will prove tough to replace. -- As for player departures, four leave the club after we decline to make contract offers. Laurent Koscielny was brought in from Arsenal at the beginning of last season for £120,000 to provide some cover at DC and DL in addition to some leadership. The 34 year old Koscielny struggled immensely in his brief time with our club and he ended up playing only 6 scoreless games for our club. -- GK Lukasz Fabianski was picked up on a free from Arsenal in 2019 and played two seasons for Dover, suiting up in 25 league games over the two years and collecting 5 clean sheets. He was excellent last year in limited appearances but at 36 years old, it was clear he was losing his edge and ultimately we let him go. -- Petr Kostal played three full seasons for Dover after I picked him up for £1.3 million from Reading in 2018. He never really challenged for first team action, playing in only 36 league games for our club while scoring 5 goals and adding 5 assists. I did contemplate re-signing him, as he's versatile (can play both sides) and cheap but in the end, I know I can find some better talent for our depth slots. -- Every year we lose a real Dover favourite and this time, it's the longest serving player in the club's history. One of my very first signings as Dover manager in 2010 was centre half Oliver Nicholas. He bounced around various youth programs, starting at Arsenal and moving to City, Blackburn and eventually Newcastle before we signed the 18 year old in July of 2010. I placed him on our U18 side but he played in 7 league games for us in the Blue Square South, notching 2 assists and a 7.44 average rating to show his potential quite clearly right away. The next season, as a 19 year old, he became a regular and he would hold down that starting position for eight full seasons, with average ratings above 7.00 in each year. He was there with me for every triumph and every disappointment but certainly, there were MANY more good times than bad, as he played at a high level right up until our promotion to the Premier League. That year in the Championship may have been his best, as he scored 5 goals and added 5 assists that year while being named our Fans' Player of the Season. While he struggled a bit at the Premier League level, his achievements with Dover are something to celebrate: 307 league games for Dover (a record), 27 goals, 18 assists, 28 Man of Match awards and an average rating of 7.10. He was at one time a Dover captain and to this day is still captaining Eritrea, having earned 50 caps and scoring 3 times for his country. It's a sad day for Dover fans and for his long-time manager. Good luck to Oliver in all of his future endeavours. Transfer Market Plans -- We have a decent amount of money to spend: ~£27 million currently in our transfer kitty but not much room with our wages so I may have to do some maneuvering. We're pretty solid across all positions with respect to starters but I'll need some more depth. I won't hesitate to spend big money on a striker or pacy centre half but we'll also have to fill some depth holes at left fullback and right midfield and possibly one more player for central midfield. Overall, we're in decent shape - I'm a bit worried about home-grown players but we have enough scrubby reserve team guys that at least qualify but if anything, it shows how few English players I have on my roster. -- There is also one other major concern and that is about the leadership for the coming year. Our long-time captain has retired and after perusing my roster, I'm actually quite shocked at how few influential players I have - I guess that's to be somewhat expected with such a young club but I don't really have anyone that screams "captain material" right now - I will be on the look out for either a veteran to help guide the club for this year or a guy in his prime with good leadership abilities. Transfer IN -- Completing a deal made while the transfer window was closed, we welcome Ivory Coast international GK Youssouf Sylla to Dover! The 26 year old Sylla has 55 caps for his country and we were able to scoop him up on a free from Dynamo Kyiv. He's rated as a 3.5 star keeper by my assistant and he put up ridiculous numbers in the Ukrainian league, with yearly averages between 7.18 and 7.69! At worst, he'll be a very capable backup to Ingo Wilke and at best he'll push him for playing time. -- Ok, so my two major transfer targets right now are 17 year old striker Paul Moses from Manchester United and 23 year old centre half Saber Nasri from Bolton. Moses looks like he could be the next English superstar, a 4.5-5 star potential talent with lightning speed and great intangibles. Nasri was a potential transfer target last year but I went with Cristian Rodriguez instead. I have a deal in principle with Bolton and get to the contract stage with Nasri but I have major competition in OM from France, one of the biggest club's in the world. Nasri is only a 3.5-4 star talent but he has great pace and off-the-charts intangibles to the point where he could easily be a captain candidate for us. I make a statement in the press about Nasri's skills and he is "delighted" by my comments so hopefully that gives us a chance. Moses will be tough to get - I bid £12.5 million for him and United want £25 MILLION! I come back with an offer to bring him on loan instead with a buyout fee. We'll see where this goes… -- I bring in 4 new coaches and a new physio. My coaching ratings are now all better than 4 stars both for the senior team and our U18 squad. World's Richest Club List -- Barcelona takes over the top spot on the richest club list with a total value of £918 million, followed closely by Real Madrid at £914 million. Arsenal are the top rated English club in 4th place at £437 million. We drop two spots on this year's list down to 64th with a value of £59 million. I assume that will go up sharply as we get ready for our first year of European football. __________________ 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 : 01-25-2014 at 01:13 AM.