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

NoSkillz · 11-09-2013, 09:57 PM

2014-15 Season Recap -

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

Despite having another year left on my contract, the new chairman offered me a 20% raise for getting the club through to League 1 and I happily accepted, bringing my annual salary to £62,400. As indicated in one of my last posts, I'm now listed as "Favoured Personnel" by the Dover supporters.

I was able to get our new board to agree to a youth facilities improvement but for some reason, likely having to do with money, it was cancelled after the significant planning phase. Extremely disappointing!

Our promotion to League 1 sees Dover become a "regionally" recognized club and we also put a 20%+ increase through on tickets. Our season ticket holder base practically doubles, going from 868 to 1566 and our estimated value finally cracks the one million pound mark, sitting at £1.3m, 76th in England and 20th (out of 24) in League 1.

The media once again pick us to finish dead last and the board is just hoping we stay up. I tell them we'll attempt to avoid relegation and after some tweaking to get additional money allocated to wages, our budgets are as follows:

2014/15 TRANSFER BUDGET - £15,000
2014/15 WAGE BUDGET - £21,000/week

Our wage budget doubles, something that's a necessity as we have to deal with the larger professional salaries. I have yet to make a big splash in the transfer market and that won't happen until we get to the next level at the earliest.

Preseason: Roster Status

GK - Liam O'Brien has been with us through three promotions but he may be at his limit from a talent perspective. Reice Charles-Cook was a disappointment last year but he has much more potential than O'Brien. I may have to look outside the organization soon for a new keeper.

D - Now in League 1, we may have reached the point where our captain, David Ogilby, loses effectiveness. Already last year, young centre half Luke McCullough proved to be ready for senior football and at the very least, he will be in a rotation with Ogilby and our other fine young centre half Oliver Nicholas. Jamie Reckord and Aziz Deen-Conteh will likely rotate in at DL while Conor Morrissey should keep a hold on the DR spot.

M - I'm reasonably happy with our talent at midfield, especially in the middle of the park with offensive minded Richie Ryan and defensive-minded Janusz Kedzierski. Our wingers have historically been major strengths but ML Ismael Fofana and MR Abdeltareck Sakali may not be long for this level. I'll definitely need to shore up our depth on the wings at the very least. I also have a few intriguing prospects in the middle of the park, namely 4.5 star potential Luke Hendrie, who played for our U18 team for the most part last season.

F - We're in fantastic shape at striker, with Aaron Greene, Patrick Cooper and Alexander Rattke all returning after scoring 60 goals combined last season alone.

Transfers OUT

GK - Reice Charles-Cook - Sligo Rovers - £85,000
GK - Liam Hogan - Stevenage - £1,000

DL - Jamie Reckord - Raith - Free

MC - Harry Rubbins - Released
MC - Rhys McCabe - Released
ML - Christian Nanetti - Released
ST - Ben Hunt - Released

I had an offer I couldn't refuse on GK Charles-Cook and accepted it. The £85,000 is easily the largest fee ever received by Dover, breaking a record set in 1997 when the club sold Ricky Reina to Brentford.

Losing Jamie Reckord was avoidable, as I let his contract go without renewal into January and Raith offered him a deal. Despite offering him what he wanted, Reckord elected to move to Raith. Reckord leaves after three seasons with Dover, playing 85 league games, scoring 2 goals and assisting on 5 others.

The toughest loss for our fans is letting Ben Hunt leave the club without a new contract. Hunt joined the club at the same time I did but was signed by my predecessor just before my arrival. Hunt was a key factor in two of our three promotions but was our fourth or fifth choice at best last year in League 2. Hunt leaves the club after four full seasons, where he made 132 league appearances, scoring 54 goals and assisting on 22 others. The fans consider him to be an icon at Dover and were not happy that I let him leave the club.

Transfers IN

MR - Keith King - £18,000 (Last Club: Eupen) - 21 years old, Bermuda
DL - Denis Fidanov - £1,500 (Last Club: Lokomotiv Sofia) - 23 years old, Bulgaria

GK - Mick Ball - Free (Last Club: Watford) - 17 years old, England
GK - Bryn Halliwell - Free (Last Club: Norwich) - 33 years old, England
DC/DR - Michael Raynes - Free (Last Club: Norwich) - 26 years old, England
DC/MC - Tobias Figueiredo - Free (Last Club: Chelsea) - 20 years old, Portugal
MC - Mark Byrne - Free (Last Club: Sligo Rovers) - 25 years old, Ireland
ST - Lee Cochrane - Free (Last Club: Rangers) - 20 years old, Scotland

DR - Derek Churchill - LOAN (From Watford) - 19 years old, England
ML - Arsene Bamba - LOAN (From Arsenal) - 17 years old, France

Our biggest splash to date is made on Bermuda national team member Keith King, a young winger who can play both sides equally well. King is rated at 3.5 stars currently with a 4.5 star potential rating. Not bad! Denis Fidonov is a pacy fullback who should fit into a rotation with incumbent Deen-Conteh.

Of the free signings, DC Michael Raynes is the most polished player with a 3.5 star current rating. He's a highly determined and influential centre half back who can also play DR and should fit into our lineup on a rotational basis. GK Bryn Halliwell is strictly a backup at this stage of his career but I'm going to go with incumbent O'Brien for another full season.

I'm intrigued with Mark Byrne, who produced big numbers with Sligo over the past two seasons and will likely get some decent playing time. Lee Cochrane has the unenviable task of stepping in to replace the departed club icon Ben Hunt and will be our fourth choice at striker this year. Mick Ball will play for our U18 club in hopes of developing (3 star potential right now).

Our one new loan addition is a big one - despite being 17 years young, Arsene Bamba comes to us with a 3 star current rating and 5 star potential. Very pacy with great technical skill, he will likely rotate with our long-time left winger Ismael Fofana. We also bring back DR Derek Churchill from Watford for a second consecutive year.

Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins

With the departure of Jamie Reckord, I name young centre half Luke McCullough as our new vice captain. David Ogilby continues to wear the arm band despite seeing less playing time due to the competition provided by McCullough, Oliver Nicholas and newcomer Michael Raynes.

We continue to roll out a 4-4-2 for the most part but will sprinkle in some 4-5-1 when facing larger, more powerful clubs. Here is a look at our League 1 opening day starting lineup, where we played fierce club rival Gillingham, who were managed by our former skipper Andy Hessenthaler, the man I took over from.

GK - Liam O'Brien
D - Aziz Deen-Conteh/Oliver Nicholas/Luke McCullough/Derek Churchill
M - Ismael Fofana/Luke Hendrie/Richie Ryan/Abdeltareck Sakali
F - Aaron Greene/Alexander Rattke

11-09-2013, 09:57 PM	#18
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	2014-15 Season Recap - Preseason: Manager and Team Status, Yearly Budgets, Board and Media Expectations Despite having another year left on my contract, the new chairman offered me a 20% raise for getting the club through to League 1 and I happily accepted, bringing my annual salary to £62,400. As indicated in one of my last posts, I'm now listed as "Favoured Personnel" by the Dover supporters. I was able to get our new board to agree to a youth facilities improvement but for some reason, likely having to do with money, it was cancelled after the significant planning phase. Extremely disappointing! Our promotion to League 1 sees Dover become a "regionally" recognized club and we also put a 20%+ increase through on tickets. Our season ticket holder base practically doubles, going from 868 to 1566 and our estimated value finally cracks the one million pound mark, sitting at £1.3m, 76th in England and 20th (out of 24) in League 1. The media once again pick us to finish dead last and the board is just hoping we stay up. I tell them we'll attempt to avoid relegation and after some tweaking to get additional money allocated to wages, our budgets are as follows: 2014/15 TRANSFER BUDGET - £15,000 2014/15 WAGE BUDGET - £21,000/week Our wage budget doubles, something that's a necessity as we have to deal with the larger professional salaries. I have yet to make a big splash in the transfer market and that won't happen until we get to the next level at the earliest. Preseason: Roster Status GK - Liam O'Brien has been with us through three promotions but he may be at his limit from a talent perspective. Reice Charles-Cook was a disappointment last year but he has much more potential than O'Brien. I may have to look outside the organization soon for a new keeper. D - Now in League 1, we may have reached the point where our captain, David Ogilby, loses effectiveness. Already last year, young centre half Luke McCullough proved to be ready for senior football and at the very least, he will be in a rotation with Ogilby and our other fine young centre half Oliver Nicholas. Jamie Reckord and Aziz Deen-Conteh will likely rotate in at DL while Conor Morrissey should keep a hold on the DR spot. M - I'm reasonably happy with our talent at midfield, especially in the middle of the park with offensive minded Richie Ryan and defensive-minded Janusz Kedzierski. Our wingers have historically been major strengths but ML Ismael Fofana and MR Abdeltareck Sakali may not be long for this level. I'll definitely need to shore up our depth on the wings at the very least. I also have a few intriguing prospects in the middle of the park, namely 4.5 star potential Luke Hendrie, who played for our U18 team for the most part last season. F - We're in fantastic shape at striker, with Aaron Greene, Patrick Cooper and Alexander Rattke all returning after scoring 60 goals combined last season alone. Transfers OUT GK - Reice Charles-Cook - Sligo Rovers - £85,000 GK - Liam Hogan - Stevenage - £1,000 DL - Jamie Reckord - Raith - Free MC - Harry Rubbins - Released MC - Rhys McCabe - Released ML - Christian Nanetti - Released ST - Ben Hunt - Released I had an offer I couldn't refuse on GK Charles-Cook and accepted it. The £85,000 is easily the largest fee ever received by Dover, breaking a record set in 1997 when the club sold Ricky Reina to Brentford. Losing Jamie Reckord was avoidable, as I let his contract go without renewal into January and Raith offered him a deal. Despite offering him what he wanted, Reckord elected to move to Raith. Reckord leaves after three seasons with Dover, playing 85 league games, scoring 2 goals and assisting on 5 others. The toughest loss for our fans is letting Ben Hunt leave the club without a new contract. Hunt joined the club at the same time I did but was signed by my predecessor just before my arrival. Hunt was a key factor in two of our three promotions but was our fourth or fifth choice at best last year in League 2. Hunt leaves the club after four full seasons, where he made 132 league appearances, scoring 54 goals and assisting on 22 others. The fans consider him to be an icon at Dover and were not happy that I let him leave the club. Transfers IN MR - Keith King - £18,000 (Last Club: Eupen) - 21 years old, Bermuda DL - Denis Fidanov - £1,500 (Last Club: Lokomotiv Sofia) - 23 years old, Bulgaria GK - Mick Ball - Free (Last Club: Watford) - 17 years old, England GK - Bryn Halliwell - Free (Last Club: Norwich) - 33 years old, England DC/DR - Michael Raynes - Free (Last Club: Norwich) - 26 years old, England DC/MC - Tobias Figueiredo - Free (Last Club: Chelsea) - 20 years old, Portugal MC - Mark Byrne - Free (Last Club: Sligo Rovers) - 25 years old, Ireland ST - Lee Cochrane - Free (Last Club: Rangers) - 20 years old, Scotland DR - Derek Churchill - LOAN (From Watford) - 19 years old, England ML - Arsene Bamba - LOAN (From Arsenal) - 17 years old, France Our biggest splash to date is made on Bermuda national team member Keith King, a young winger who can play both sides equally well. King is rated at 3.5 stars currently with a 4.5 star potential rating. Not bad! Denis Fidonov is a pacy fullback who should fit into a rotation with incumbent Deen-Conteh. Of the free signings, DC Michael Raynes is the most polished player with a 3.5 star current rating. He's a highly determined and influential centre half back who can also play DR and should fit into our lineup on a rotational basis. GK Bryn Halliwell is strictly a backup at this stage of his career but I'm going to go with incumbent O'Brien for another full season. I'm intrigued with Mark Byrne, who produced big numbers with Sligo over the past two seasons and will likely get some decent playing time. Lee Cochrane has the unenviable task of stepping in to replace the departed club icon Ben Hunt and will be our fourth choice at striker this year. Mick Ball will play for our U18 club in hopes of developing (3 star potential right now). Our one new loan addition is a big one - despite being 17 years young, Arsene Bamba comes to us with a 3 star current rating and 5 star potential. Very pacy with great technical skill, he will likely rotate with our long-time left winger Ismael Fofana. We also bring back DR Derek Churchill from Watford for a second consecutive year. Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins With the departure of Jamie Reckord, I name young centre half Luke McCullough as our new vice captain. David Ogilby continues to wear the arm band despite seeing less playing time due to the competition provided by McCullough, Oliver Nicholas and newcomer Michael Raynes. We continue to roll out a 4-4-2 for the most part but will sprinkle in some 4-5-1 when facing larger, more powerful clubs. Here is a look at our League 1 opening day starting lineup, where we played fierce club rival Gillingham, who were managed by our former skipper Andy Hessenthaler, the man I took over from. GK - Liam O'Brien D - Aziz Deen-Conteh/Oliver Nicholas/Luke McCullough/Derek Churchill M - Ismael Fofana/Luke Hendrie/Richie Ryan/Abdeltareck Sakali F - Aaron Greene/Alexander Rattke __________________ 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 : 11-09-2013 at 10:01 PM.