Front Office Football Central - View Single Post

Greyfriars Bobby · 05-22-2019, 09:03 PM

1 June 2015

I’ve always struggled with how often to update a Football Manager story. I’ve tried writing up the highlights of each match, the way some of you do, but I never manage to keep that up for long. Semi-annual reports don’t feel right to me, either; I want to keep the momentum of my posts moving faster than that. I think I’ll try updating every other month for now.

We haven’t lost many matches, which is a very good thing. Until recently, we almost never won a league fixture, either, which wasn’t so good, and that pattern kept us in the bottom half of the table. Recently, however, we’ve begun getting results more often.

I’d like to think part of our recent success is due to some tactical adjustments I made. I always start with stripped-down versions of my tactics, with almost no team instructions. My 4-1-2-3 was working very well defensively—we weren’t allowing our opponents many dangerous chances. However, we weren’t scoring many ourselves, either, and the result was a string of banal 1-1- draws.

I like my teams to control possession without simply passing the ball around our half of the pitch, taking advantage of opportunities to attack when they arise. I want my teams to press fairly high up the pitch. I wasn’t sure our team had the ability to play this kind of football at the beginning of the season. We didn’t compare very well to our opponents in terms of decision making and passing ability, and I wasn’t sure our players were willing to work hard enough to implement a pressing defense.

Several weeks into the season, I discovered something interesting when I figured the average ratings of the 14 or 15 players who were playing the most. I was picking the hardest working, smartest, most dedicated players, in at least one or two cases preferring them to players whom my back room staff rated more highly. The lads who seldom got onto the pitch were the ones dragging our average down. Delighted, I began to instruct the team to play a more positive, creative style of football.

The Norwegian Cup tie against a Third Division side, Selbak, on 22 April wasn’t a very stern test of my new playing style, but we ran out 5-0 winners and looked good doing it. When we dispatched Sandefjord in similar fashion a few days later, I was more convinced.

The changes turned Marcus Pedersen into the most fearsome striker in Norway. In those two games, Marcus put 10 shots on target, and scored on 8 of them. That's right, he hit four against Selbak and four more against Sandefjord. He’s fired himself back into the Norway setup, and he was named to the national team for its matches against Bulgaria and Algeria this month.

All in all, then, I’m happy with how things are going now. We had been demonstrated a frustrating tendency to give away points in the last few minutes of games, turning wins into draws. Lately, however, we’ve reversed that trend. Ari Nyman's goal salvaged a point for us at home to a tough Brann side, and he went one better on the final day of May, when his fine effort from long range sent off Ole Gunnar Skolskjær’s Strømsgodset side.

Unfortunately, we still suffered a loss, when it was learned that winger Daniel Bamberg will miss about a month with a badly sprained ankle.

As luck would have it, we faced the same club three days later in the Third Round of the Norwegian Cup. This time, Kristoffer Haraldseid played the starring role, scoring in the 85th minute to send us through. I’ve decided to go all in and see how long we can make our Cup run last. We’ve drawn Fredrikstad, who are currently fifth in the First Division (the second level) in the Fourth Round, so I like our chances of lasting at least one more round.

The most unpleasant moment of the past two months was the departure of long-time club servant Tore Arne Andreassen on 15 May. Andreassen had mentioned wanting to leave the club to pursue some new challenges. I was fine with that, but I wasn’t fine with the way he handled being told that I’d try to find him a new club as soon as I could. I was surprised that he began griping to his teammates, and I ended up offering the mutual termination of his contract to stop him from wrecking the atmosphere of the changing room.

Tor Andre is still looking for a club that will give him the opportunity to meet those new challenges. Strangely enough, I’m listed as one of his favorite personnel.

I filled Andreassen’s spot in the team with free agent Christian Regniussen. He’s a polished, well-rounded central midfielder with the high work rate, determination, and teamwork I’m seeking to build the Haugesund culture around. His Professional personality is also a big plus. Christian is the younger brother of Norway defender Tore Regniussen.

We’re punching a bit above our weight, operating on a skimpy wage budget that will require our Director of Football, Asbjørn Helgeland, and me to find and bring in players with the right qualities for our style of play and with salary demands we can handle. Regniussen is a good example of this kind of footballer.

05-22-2019, 09:03 PM	#12
Greyfriars Bobby College Prospect Join Date: Sep 2013	1 June 2015 I’ve always struggled with how often to update a Football Manager story. I’ve tried writing up the highlights of each match, the way some of you do, but I never manage to keep that up for long. Semi-annual reports don’t feel right to me, either; I want to keep the momentum of my posts moving faster than that. I think I’ll try updating every other month for now. We haven’t lost many matches, which is a very good thing. Until recently, we almost never won a league fixture, either, which wasn’t so good, and that pattern kept us in the bottom half of the table. Recently, however, we’ve begun getting results more often. I’d like to think part of our recent success is due to some tactical adjustments I made. I always start with stripped-down versions of my tactics, with almost no team instructions. My 4-1-2-3 was working very well defensively—we weren’t allowing our opponents many dangerous chances. However, we weren’t scoring many ourselves, either, and the result was a string of banal 1-1- draws. I like my teams to control possession without simply passing the ball around our half of the pitch, taking advantage of opportunities to attack when they arise. I want my teams to press fairly high up the pitch. I wasn’t sure our team had the ability to play this kind of football at the beginning of the season. We didn’t compare very well to our opponents in terms of decision making and passing ability, and I wasn’t sure our players were willing to work hard enough to implement a pressing defense. Several weeks into the season, I discovered something interesting when I figured the average ratings of the 14 or 15 players who were playing the most. I was picking the hardest working, smartest, most dedicated players, in at least one or two cases preferring them to players whom my back room staff rated more highly. The lads who seldom got onto the pitch were the ones dragging our average down. Delighted, I began to instruct the team to play a more positive, creative style of football. The Norwegian Cup tie against a Third Division side, Selbak, on 22 April wasn’t a very stern test of my new playing style, but we ran out 5-0 winners and looked good doing it. When we dispatched Sandefjord in similar fashion a few days later, I was more convinced. The changes turned Marcus Pedersen into the most fearsome striker in Norway. In those two games, Marcus put 10 shots on target, and scored on 8 of them. That's right, he hit four against Selbak and four more against Sandefjord. He’s fired himself back into the Norway setup, and he was named to the national team for its matches against Bulgaria and Algeria this month. All in all, then, I’m happy with how things are going now. We had been demonstrated a frustrating tendency to give away points in the last few minutes of games, turning wins into draws. Lately, however, we’ve reversed that trend. Ari Nyman's goal salvaged a point for us at home to a tough Brann side, and he went one better on the final day of May, when his fine effort from long range sent off Ole Gunnar Skolskjær’s Strømsgodset side. Unfortunately, we still suffered a loss, when it was learned that winger Daniel Bamberg will miss about a month with a badly sprained ankle. As luck would have it, we faced the same club three days later in the Third Round of the Norwegian Cup. This time, Kristoffer Haraldseid played the starring role, scoring in the 85th minute to send us through. I’ve decided to go all in and see how long we can make our Cup run last. We’ve drawn Fredrikstad, who are currently fifth in the First Division (the second level) in the Fourth Round, so I like our chances of lasting at least one more round. The most unpleasant moment of the past two months was the departure of long-time club servant Tore Arne Andreassen on 15 May. Andreassen had mentioned wanting to leave the club to pursue some new challenges. I was fine with that, but I wasn’t fine with the way he handled being told that I’d try to find him a new club as soon as I could. I was surprised that he began griping to his teammates, and I ended up offering the mutual termination of his contract to stop him from wrecking the atmosphere of the changing room. Tor Andre is still looking for a club that will give him the opportunity to meet those new challenges. Strangely enough, I’m listed as one of his favorite personnel. I filled Andreassen’s spot in the team with free agent Christian Regniussen. He’s a polished, well-rounded central midfielder with the high work rate, determination, and teamwork I’m seeking to build the Haugesund culture around. His Professional personality is also a big plus. Christian is the younger brother of Norway defender Tore Regniussen. We’re punching a bit above our weight, operating on a skimpy wage budget that will require our Director of Football, Asbjørn Helgeland, and me to find and bring in players with the right qualities for our style of play and with salary demands we can handle. Regniussen is a good example of this kind of footballer. Last edited by Greyfriars Bobby : 05-23-2019 at 01:20 PM.