FM2006 - Notts County, 2006 Season: Let's Get To Work!

[Coffee Warlord]

Notts County on the Move

Meadow Lane (AP) - Following a suprisingly successful debut season, manager Rob Nielsen is said to be enjoying the offseason, in the hopes that he can improve the team enough to bring the team to the next level.

Offseason Transfers

Wow, is it a lot hard to transfer in players in this one. It doesn't help that our penny pinching board is not giving us a lot of money to work with. That said, we get to work on picking up some help. First things first though. We need some extra cash, and we need to offload some of the dead weight.

Transferred Out

Ross Maclean (20k) - Ross did well for us in his year, but he had a high wage, and was slow as molasses. With two of our three starting strikers locked up (Per Hoj and Darren Palmer), Ross could be let go, and we will look for help on the transfer list for the 3rd starter.

Ian Poole (5k) - One of the two odd men out of my packed midfield. Ian rarely played for me, and his wage was better served elsewhere.

Paul Powell (150k) - Ah, a tough decision here. Powell was a 17 year old phenom defender who looked like he'd be something special. Unfortunately, he was suffering from Really Slow Syndrome, and, well, that doesn't fly under Nielsen's regime. He was valued at 120k, and we got a good price for him, plus a 25% next sale clause.

Andrew Gallagher (50k) - This one was tough, but the offer was good enough. Andrew was a starter last season, and I rarely like dumping starters. However, with the emergence of Michael Monteyene, he became expandable.

Carl Vaughan (20k) - A last minute transfer, as our incoming transfers gave us more strikers than we really need. Cleared out some payroll with him, and he was marginal at best.

And lastly, Joshua Storey and Jon Davidson were released after their contracts expired. Neither of them saw much playtime for me last year, and I could use a better coach with Davidson gone anyway.

Transferred In

Mark Moss (Free) - Gotta love it when you pick up a starting caliber player on the free list. Mark is an exceptional left winger, and instantly displaces Watkins as our starter.

Paul Sayer (6k) - We continue hunting on the cheap, and pick up that 3rd striker we need. Paul is extremely fast (15), and has exceptional finishing ability, not to mention a stellar work rate. I think we stole this guy.

Tony Andre Langstrand (Free) - We picked him up off the scrap heap after his contract with Newcastle ended. A lifelong reserve player, he'll add some depth at the backline for us.

Unfortunately, none of our other signing attempts pan out, and we proceed to hit the loan market. Regardless, that's two new starters for us in Moss and Sayer, both upgrades in my system. I can't complain.

[Coffee Warlord]

Opening Day Roster

Well, we survived another torrent of injuries through the pre-season, but most everyone is healthy for opening day. And here's your Notts County 2006 squad!

GK - Steven Thys (31yrs)
We were unable to upgrade this position, and I've always had trouble getting new keepers. However, Stevey Boy did...alright for us last year, and will keep his job by default.

DL - Michel Monteyene (24yrs)
A free transfer project player from last year, injuries force him into the starting lineup, where he flat out rocked. He pulled an 9-8-8-9-7 form during the preseason, and should be a quality defender. He's still raw on technical skills, but is by far our best pure athlete.

DC - Michael Stevens (23yrs)
Returns for his second straight year as our center defender. Michael is quite simply a very solid defender who always seems to be in the right place to ward off attacks.

DR - Nicky Dunn (20yrs)
Nicky placed excellent ball last season for us, and will retain his starting role. He's in the mold of Stevens, with the ability to intercept a LOT of attacks.

ML - Mark Moss (25yrs)
A new arrival, Mark beat out Watkins for the left winger role, though Watkins still will play a big part in our team (barring his plague of injuries). Mark has decent speed, excellent passing ability, and is a smart player. We like him a lot. Mark will also take over as our primary corner kicker.

MC - David Howard (25yrs)
There was an opening in our midfield this season, and Howard won the job. We tried to pick up a stud midfielder in the offseason, but as there was nothing major available, Howard got his job. Don't get me wrong, he is very good, but I'd of rather had him as the primary backup.

MC - Matthew Dixon (21yrs)
I can't rave enough about this guy. The anchor of the midfield right here. We're simply a different team when he isn't in the lineup. I intend to do whatever it takes to keep him in Notts County as long as possible.

MR - Jimmy Lee (22yrs)
Platoon winger. Lee, when he wasn't injured, did pretty well for us this year, so he keeps his job until I can sign someone truly better. As it is, he'll split time with loaner Darren Watson.

ST - Per Hoj (25yrs)
Picked him up late last year, and he excelled. Per is a very well rounded striker, and we hope to see more of the same from him this year.

ST - Darren Palmer (23yrs)
29 goals last season in 33 appearances. Need I say more?

ST - Paul Sayer (26yrs)
Our other new face to the team, he isn't as well rounded as Per, but he has the skills necessary for a striker, and is our fastest forward to boot. Only thing you need to know about this guy...his first friendly with us, he nabbed a Hattrick. Booyah!

I like our starters, my scout likes our starters, and apparently, so do the oddsmakers, as we are 6-4 favorites for promotion, tied for tops in the league with Oxford and MK Dons.

Bench players to follow.

[Izulde]

Good luck, Rob!

[Coffee Warlord]

Reserves

GK - Steve Gray (26yrs)
He's a body. He plays keeper. End of report.

D - Martin Hannigan (22yrs) (Loan)
A passable defender who can also play right wing in a pinch, Martin is pretty decent, all things considered. I feel fairly comfortable having to play him, and he will likely get the nod when I need to run a 4-4-2.

D - Tony Andre Langstrand (20yrs)
Already rapidly increasing in skill from training, we hope Tony will become a serious defender in the years to come. He's decent now, but had a few key errors during the preseason, and has lost his status as the number 4 back to Hannigan.

D - Ben Law (25yrs)
Just transferred in at the start of the regular season (hence not noted up above), Ben is a well rounded defender who will do well in a pinch. While he isn't exceptional, he adds depth at a position we were lacking at the onset.

W - Darren Watson (21yrs) (Loan)
A loan winger who will split time on the right side with Jimmy Lee. Quality dribbling and passing skills, though he's unfortunately about as slow as his manager. The pickings were slim on the wings for loans.

W - Michael Watkins (29yrs)
Last years starting winger...okay, he would have been had he not been hurt the majority of the season. He is still quite skilled, and while he has lost his job to Moss, I expect him to get plenty of playing time, as my wingers burn energy fast.

W - Michael Warner (19yrs)
Wow I have a lot of people named Michael on my team. This particular Michael played a LOT by necessity last year, and will likely do the same. He's quite young though, and could be a force down the road. His best trait though is he can play both right and left wing, which comes in very handy.

W - Derek O'Rourke (22yrs)
Any other position on the team, and I would have transfered Derek. But, as I said, I need the depth on this team, as I run my wingers ragged. Unfortunately for Derek though, with Moss and Watkins at left wing, he will see little time, barring injury. (Heh)

M - Stephen Davis (27yrs)
Our #3 midfielder, I trust Stephen to come in and pick up the slack whenever necessary. He's a quality veteran who plays very solid defense, something I require in my midfielders.

F/M - Joe Mcintosh (22yrs) (Loan)
Yeah, we're shorthanded in the midfield, a complete 180 from last year. McIntosh is primarily a forward (and a good one at that), but can play midfield in a pinch, and well...we're in a pinch until we can loan out a midfielder.

F - James Nash (22yrs)
Lost his starting job, but was one of the few strikers to stick with the team from last year. He's a solid backup, and will start from time to time.

F - Chris Savage (24yrs) (Loan)
A decent striker who nonetheless will often be the odd man out, with Nash and McIntosh ahead of him on the depth chart. Did very well in the preseason though, with 2 goals and 3 assists off the bench.

As I said. We go from one extreme to the other in the midfield. We were stacked last year, and we're very shorthanded this year. I'm still hunting for a midfielder for loan, but the pickings are ridiculously slim. We'll see.

[Coffee Warlord]

August 2006 In Review

4 Wins, 2 Draws, 1 Loss (14points, +8 GD, 6th in League Two)

No complaints. Injuries have been fairly short term and easily manageable, with the exception of Jimmy Lee, who has been hurt the entire season, and will be out for a few more weeks.

Regardless, we're playing excellent ball. The trio of Per Hoj, Darren Palmer, and Paul Sayer have combined for 14 goals and 9 assists. Special kudos to Per Hoj, who has 7 of those assists, averaging 1 per game. Dixon has been on a tear on the free kicks, with 4 goals already this year.

Our midfield play has been stellar, and while I am still hunting for a backup there, the early going has been the Howard and Dixon Show.

Notable Notes

Darren Palmer leads the team with 7 goals in 8 appearances.

The defensive trio of Dunn, Stevens, and Monteyene are averaging ratings of 7.38, 7.43, and 7.40, respectively.

Steven Thys has exactly 0 clean sheets this season. God we need a keeper.

We pulled off a serious upset in the League Cup, defeating League One team Southend 2-0. Of course, we proceeded to draw a Championship League team away next, so I do believe our cup run will be ending quite soon.

[daedalus]

Nice upset. Even if you get bounced next, you've still got some money coming in. Woohoo!

[Coffee Warlord]

September 2006 In Review

5 Wins, 4 Draws, 3 Losses (19 points, 7th in League Two)

We cap an unbelievably frustrating month with a last minute win against Barnet, but in truth, it's been one of those hair-pulling months, and got worse at the end. Way way WAY worse.

Yep, Dixon is out for 2-3 months with torn ligaments. FUCK!

So, in addition to having serious difficulty holding onto leads (we seem to have serious issues in allowing goals in the last 20 minutes), our best midfielder is gone for months. Ow ow ow ow.

Oh, as for that Cup match against Southhampton? Yeah, we lost 5-0. Could have been worse, as we played almost entirely reserves that match, to keep our starters rested for the league games.

The only positive is Darren Palmer is continuing on his tear, averaging a goal an appearance. Pretty damn good.

Notable Notes

The Unholy Trio now has 22 goals this year. Palmer is tied for the league lead with his 12 goals, and Per Hoj holds the lead with 10 assists.

In the Weird Stats Department, Michael Stevens is 3rd in the league with 5.32 tackles/game.

Steven Thys. 9 appearances, 19 goals conceded, 0 clean sheets. We're getting a keeper, and that right soon.

We bring back an old face on loan. Ian Garner is back with the club, and with the injury to Dixon, will be our #3 midfielder.