FM19 - From Volunteer to the Premier League (Queen's Park/Morecambe/Middlesbrough)

[Izulde]

The Shrimps have one of the coolest nicknames and logos in football/soccer.

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by Izulde

The Shrimps have one of the coolest nicknames and logos in football/soccer.

It is a great badge, isn't it?

[NoSkillz]

Morecambe FC - A Brief History


Football has been played in in the town since the turn of the 20th century but it wasn't until May 7, 1920 that Morecambe FC officially came into existence.

They took a place in the Lancashire Combination League for the 1920/21 season. Football was popular in the town and the club drew well in those early years but the team struggled on the pitch in those early seasons. Their fortunes would dramatically change in the 24/25 season, when they'd win the league for the first time and follow that up with three more seasons with upper table finishes.

However, the rest of the 20's and the majority of the 1930's saw the team struggle both on and off the pitch, as results were few and far between and revenue was almost non-existent.

The post-war era saw an upturn in "The Shrimp's" fortunes, with steady progress throughout the late 40's and through the 1950's and foundations for future success were being built, including the formation of a supporter's club that helped fund many ground improvements. The club would win their second league title in 1961-62 and follow it up with three more league wins in the next six years. After their 1967/68 triumph, Morecambe FC were transferred into the newly created Northern Premier League. The fourteen year period between 1961 and 1974 is commonly referred to as the club's "Golden Era", one that culminated in a thrilling 2-1 win over Dartford in the FA Trophy final at Wembley Stadium, which to date remains their only major trophy win outside the five Lancashire Combination League victories.

A long and painful downturn in fortunes would follow, where results on the pitch suffered and supporters stayed home, with match attendance falling to averages of around 200 from highs of over 2000 in the early 1970s. A sharp reversal in form would come in 1985/86, with the team finishing in 3rd place in the league and that started a period of growth and optimism that would culminate in a tremendous 1994/95 season where the club would only lose four out of 42 league games, ultimately finishing second on the table to earn promotion to the Conference Premier League.

Their 12 years in the Conference saw the Shrimps become one of the best and most progressive teams in the league. The team had their greatest FA Cup success during this period, including wins over multiple league clubs. The Shrimps would make it to the playoffs twice (2003 and 2006), losing in the semi-finals in both years and after a fine 3rd place finish in 2006/07, they'd once again lock up a spot in the playoffs. They'd win the semi-final against York City to earn a spot in the finals, which took place on May 20, 2007. In front of 40,000+ fans at Wembley Stadium, they'd defeat Exeter City 2-1 to earn promotion to the Football League for the first time.

Less than two months later, Morecambe announced plans to build a new stadium that would better prepare the club for future success and ambition in league football. The team's last year in Christie Park was 2009/10, where they finished 4th out of the 24 teams, earning a spot in the playoff semi-final. They'd lose 7-2 on aggregate to Dag & Red but spirits at the club and amongst supporters stayed high, as the team moved into their brand new stadium, Globe Arena, in time for the 2010/11 season.

For the majority of the 2010's, the team was mired in the lower mid-table in League Two, with finishes as high as 11th but as low as 22nd out of the 24 teams. However, the historically cash poor club has been able to avoid relegation during that period while maintaining continuity with its coaching staff, retaining manager Jim Bentley for an astonishing 8 years, making him the longest serving manager in the entire English football league. His last hurrah came last year, as he led the Shrimps to a 3rd place finish in League Two to gain automatic promotion to League One in 2020/21, winning League Two Manager of the Year in the process.

Bentley would resign from Morecambe on June 14, 2020 after receiving an offer to manage at Portsmouth and I would be hired seven days later as his replacement, with aims of keeping the club up in League One as my primary goal in year one.

[NoSkillz]

2020-21 Season Recap -



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




The big news with moving to a professional club means I actually earn a living wage, as I'm being paid £1600 per week to manage the Shrimps on a one-year contract. My reputation has grown considerably over the past 12 months and I'm up to a "Nominal" rating now. Most of my other statistics have increased as well, with the only noticeable decline in "Loyalty to Players", which isn't much of a surprise considering how much I had to turn the roster over last year after a promotion.




The Shrimps have a "Decent" reputation as a club, currently ranked 82nd in England and have 698 season ticket holders, about twice as many as we had at Queen's Park. The most notable column here is our financial status - we're "Insecure" right now and if you can belive it, we have a cash balance of -£350,000 at the moment...yes, that's a considerable minus! The club is valued at £869,000, which ranks us last in League One and 85th in England.




So it's a big change going from the massive Hampden Park to cozy Globe Arena but I'm happy to see this is a new stadium (built in 2010) and hope we can eventually fill our ~6500 seats in the coming seasons. We could definitely use some better youth and training facilities but we have no money to do that here at the moment.


The pundits think we're doomed and predict a last place finish in 2020/21. My board ask me to fight bravely against relegation and I agree, which gives me the following transfer and wage kitty:

2020/21 TRANSFER BUDGET - £0 (Last year: £?)
2020/21 WAGE BUDGET - £21,868/week (Last year: £?/week)

Our current roster already has a wage total of ~£21,500 so I basically have no room to add players as things currently stand. We'll definitely need to do some purging of the roster, where possible, to bring in some capable players for the League One level and to put my own imprint on the playing squad.

[NoSkillz]

2020/21 Preseason: Roster Status



U18 Graduates

No one of note



Senior Roster

GK - Right off the bat, we're in big trouble. Morecambe legend Barry Roche just retired days before I took over management after an impressive 20 year career, including the last 12 seasons here with the Shrimps. He played 44 games last year at 37 years of age and only allowed 41 total goals, which is incredibly impressive. The only goalkeeper on our senior roster is 29 year old Mark Halstead, who played in 12 total games last year but is more of a backup player at the League One level. We need loads of help here.

D - Last year, Morecambe relied heavily on loan players on defense, with Bobby Copping (from Millwall), Ben Forrest (from Birmingham) and Canice Carroll (from Brentford) all playing major roles. That said, we do have some considerable talent here amongst Morecambe signed players, most notably central defender Sam Lavelle, a 6'2" 23 year old who started 49 games last season and seems to be one of our most talented players. Popular 28 year old right fullback Zak Mills is also solid but carries a hefty wage bill and looks to be the most marketable player to move off the squad if I'm looking to free up some money for other signings. 23 year old DC Stefan O'Connor and to a lesser extent, 19 year old DL Bailey Owen look like they can be serviceable at the very least. We will definitely need to shore up our depth here at the very least for the coming season but we have some pieces we can work with in defense.

M - Morecambe were led in midfield last year by a couple of 28 year olds in Aaron Wildig and team captain Alex Kenyon. Wildig scored one goal and added 4 assists in 46 appearances last year while Kenyon, a defensive mid, battled some injuries but still started 38 games, scoring twice and adding 6 assists. Both of these players have considerable wages and I'm definitely going to look at moving Wildig to free up some salary...I'm guessing it would be damaging to our locker room to move our captain so I'll try to avoid doing that. 21 year old Charlie Gilmour came to Morecambe on a free from Arsenal last year and was solid, scoring 4 goals and adding 3 assists in 42 total appearances...we'll definitely give him a look here. Perhaps our best central midfielder is 29 year old Andrew Tutte - he's a natural box-to-box defender (a quality I like), looks to be an influential member of the squad and also contributed 6 goals in 29 games last year. Looks like a keeper, although he's getting older and likely going to start losing skill and speed soon. We need depth in central midfield and I'll need to move out some more salary to help balance things somewhat. I also don't know what do do with captain Alex Kenyon - I don't usually line up with a DM so if I keep him around, I may have to re-train him to be a holding MC.

F - The team's leading scorer from last year was target man Jason Oswell, who provided 16 goals in 37 starts, a very impressive return. That said, he's a lumbering striker, with limited speed and is making quite a bit of money. I also plan on playing in our Gengenpressing 4-2-3-1 formation with one striker and he's ill-suited to that pressing role I need. Talented 30 year old A-Jay Leitch-Smith is perhaps our highest rated player at Morecambe and offers impressive versatility as a natural attacking central midfielder who can also easily adapt to the stiker position. He brought 8 goals and 2 assists to the team last year in 38 starts. 21 year old winger Carlos Mendes Gomes is also an impressive looking player - part of the youth setup at Atletico Madrid, he was signed by Morecambe two years ago and played 40 games this past season, cracking in 7 goals and providing 7 assists as well. He looks perfect for my inside forward role at AML with his strong right leg. Exciting! 25 year old Rhys Oates was the starter at AMR last year and while talented, wasn't very productive by the looks of it, with 4 goals and 2 assists in 39 games. I'd like to look for an upgrade at striker and right wing for sure, while adding depth where possible.


So, to sum up, we are desperate for a starting option in goal, could definitely use some added quality at MC, AMR and ST while also looking for better quality depth throughout the lineup.

All with no transfer budget and less than £500 available in our wage budget.

We have work to do!!


Coaching Staff Notes

With essentially no money to waste, I decide I'm going to keep any and all staff that still have term on their contracts. Our coaching staff is, bar none, the worst in the league and while I have a couple of open spots I can fill, I'm likely going to have to wait until next summer to truly have my own coaching team in place.

[NoSkillz]

July 2020- Transfer Window



Retirements

GK - Barry Roche
AMR - Garry Thompson

Barry Roche retires from Morecambe as a team legend after spending 12 years wearing the #1 jersey. Roche, who spent his formative years at Nottingham Forest, played in 485 games overall for Morecambe and will be very difficult to replace. Roche is attempting to become a goaltender coach in his retirement.

Garry Thompson retires as a team icon himself and was a product of the Morecambe youth setup, starring for many years on the wing. Thompson scored in one of the most important games in team history, scoring the first goal in Morecambe's 2-1 playoff final win over Exeter City back in May 2007 that earned the team their promotion to League Two. Thompson retires after 770 games in his 23 year career, 402 of which were played for Morecambe over two spells. He scored an impressive 123 total goals in his fine career. Thompson will move into coaching and is looking for a job in youth development.



Transfers OUT

MC - Aaron Wildig - Billericay - £56,000
GK - Mark Halstead - Darlington - £0

The big move is getting a decent transfer fee for Aaron Wildig, a versatile midfielder who was simply making too much money to play a depth role on this team. Wildig joined Morecambe originally in March 2015 on loan from Shrewsbury and eventually was signed on a free when the transfer window opened that summer. He played in 189 games for Morecambe over a five and a half year period, scoring 10 goals and adding 6 assists.

Mark Halstead was originally part of the youth setup at Blackpool and bounced around on various loan assignments for years until moving to Shrewsbury in 2014. He'd spend three years there, moved to Southport for a season then joined Morecambe in the summer of 2018 on a free. In his two years here, he started only 15 games, providing the legendary Barry Roche with the occasional breather and played solidly but while his wage wasn't too onerous, I felt I could do better on the transfer and loan market to replace him.



RELEASED PLAYERS

ST - Kyle Hawley

Hawley essentially was the only player on the team who had an expiring contract so I was able to let him go to free up a bit of wage budget. The 20 year old was a part of our youth setup and spent four years with the club, making only 9 appearances with the senior team in that time, with no goals or assits on his record. He won't be missed.



Transfers IN

GK - Louie Moulden - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, England
GK - Lewis Thomas - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, England
DL - Tristan Cover - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, England
DL - James Morris - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, England
DC - Samuel Nsumbu - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, England
DC - Morgan Feeney - £0 (Free) - 21 years old, England
MC - Owen Beck - £0 (From Liverpool) - 17 years old, Wales
MC - Rafferty Pedder - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, England
AMC - Thierno Ballo - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, Austria
AMR - Harvey Neville - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, England
ST - Harvey Knibbs - £0 (From Aston Villa) - 21 years old, Jamaica

Lots of depth and some decent quality here. Owen Beck comes over from Liverpool in a pre-arranged transfer organized by my predecessor. He's part of the U18 setup for Wales and has potential but is very raw.

My first official signing was right winger Harvey Neville, who was part of youth setups at both Valencia and Manchester United and is the son of famed United star Phil Neville. I'm pretty excited about bringing him in, as he looks to be good enough to start with us right away. Perhaps the most exciting prospect here is Thierno Ballo, a dynamic attacking central mid who played youth football with Leverkusen and Viktoria Koln in Germany before being scooped up by Chelsea on a £180,000 transfer back in 2017. He'd spend three years in the youth setup there before getting released on a free this June. He looks to be a sensational signing and will offer capable support to incumbent AMC A-Jay Leitch-Smith. Louie Moulden and Lewis Thomas both come from the Manchester City youth setup and both were released on frees by the Citizens. Both have plenty of potential and could play for us this year if needed.

Other interesting players who could make impacts this year include Samuel Nsumbu (former West Ham U18), James Morris (Southampton U18), Raferty Pedder (Tottenham U18), Morgan Feeney (Everton U18) and Harvey Knibbs, who I was able to arrange a free transfer from Aston Villa, as he was transfer listed by request.



Loans OUT

GK - Louie Moulden - Wrexham - Free
DC - Tyler Brownsword - Ebbsfleet - Free
DC _ Di'Shon Bernard - Chorley - Free
DC - Morgan Feeney - Southport - Free
DR - Liam Hegarty - Dag & Red - Free
MC - Ben Hedley - Dover - Free
MC - Rafferty Pedder - Southport - Free
AMR - Stanley Asomugha - Harrogate - Free
AMR - Rhys Oates - Wrexham - Free
AMR - Reece Mitchell - Dover - Free
ST - Jason Oswell - Salford - Free
ST - Bradley Clayton - Scarborough - Free

We needed to move wages out by any means in order to free up money to spend on players who could contribute this year. So that means we move 12 players out on season-long loans, with each of the respective clubs thankfully picking up the full wage bill in the process.



Loans IN

GK - Jonathan De Bie - £0 (From Aston Villa) - 20 years old, Belgium
DC - Luke Woolfenden - £0 (From Ipswich) - 21 years old, England
DR - Corey Whelan - £0 (From Liverpool) - 22 years old, Ireland
MC - Lewis O'Brien - £0 (From Huddersfield) - 21 years old, England
MC - DJ Buffonge - £0 (From Manchester United) - 21 years old, Antigua & Barbuda
AMC - Matheus Santana - £0 (From Watford) - 22 years old, Brazil
AMR - Kyle McAllister - £0 (From Derby) - 21 years old, Scotland
AMR - Jordan Cox - £0 (From Liverpool) - 21 years old, England
ST - Jahmal Hector-Ingram - £0 (From West Ham) - 21 years old, England
ST - Oladapo Afolayan - £0 (From West Ham) - 22 years old, Nigeria

So yeah, this is very unorthodox but with essentially no money to spend and a small squad, I figured the only way I could get quality players was to hit the loan market hard. And that's what we did.

There is no limit to how many loan players I can bring in for League One football. However, I can only have a maximum of five loan players in the match squad for any league games so I'm limited from that respect.

Pretty much every player here is a starting calibre player. Jonathan De Bie looks like an exceptional prospect (3.5/4.5), as do DJ Buffonge, Jordan Cox and Jahmal Hector-Ingram. Corey Whelan is very versatile and can play DC or DR at a high level while Kyle McAllister and Cox can play both sides of midfield.

I'm really delighted with what we were able to accomplish here and in all of these cases, the parent club was okay footing the wage bill in hopes that they'd all see plenty of first-team action.



Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins

Lets just say that things got off to a very rocky start for me as manager of Morecambe. And that's before we even stepped on the pitch for a game that actually counted.

Needing to purge salaries and get some money off the books, hard choices would need to be made and my first thought was to sell popular fullback Zak Mills, as he was valued at well over £100,000 and teams seemingly were interested in obtaining him.

It pretty much blew up in my face.

While there was definite interest in Mills' services, the player himself had absolutely no interest in leaving the club and was quite clear about telling me so, while also letting his teammates know what had transpired.

Within a week I was perhaps the most hated man in town.

I ended up taking Mills off the market and while I promised him that I wouldn't sell him for the balance of the year, hard feelings remained for him and his fellow teammates. Support from my players was practically non-existent as we went through our pre-season schedule and I spent more time on man management off the pitch (ie: kissing player's asses) then I can ever remember.

I set up a pretty gruelling set of friendlies, eight in total, as we had many new players being introduced to the squad and also had a number of players in on trial during the month of July. I also strived to bring in some big clubs for the friendlies to help bring in some much needed money into the team. We hosted games against Celtic, Tottenham and Manchester United, losing 2-0, 4-1 and 4-0 respectively in those contests. Thankfully, we'd win matches against Kendal, Drogheda United, Hartlepool and Preston North End and draw against Fleetwood to give our team a slight bit of confidence prior to the start of the regular season.

The plan was to retain and utilize the 4-2-3-1 Gegenpress system that I introduced at Queen's Park a couple years ago in order to present some attractive football to the Morecambe supporters. We'll try to maintain a positive approach on the pitch but we may have to move to a more balanced or cautious approach if things start getting away from us early.

We decided to keep Alex Kenyon as captain and named fellow veteran midfielder Andrew Tutte as our vice captain, two choices that were popular among their teammates.

Some important players battled injuries in the preseason and fitness proved to be a major issue with our players due to some lackluster coaching and some undisciplined plays in practice. Key AMC A-Jay Leitch-Smith wasn't ready for the start of the season while a few others also dealt with some knocks in the early goings.

Here is the starting lineup for Morecambe's first ever official match in Sky Bet League One, an away tie against Rotherham:

GK - Jonathan De Bie
D - Bailey Owen - Stefan O'Connor - Sam Lavelle - Zak Mills
M - Alex Kenyon - Andrew Tutte
AM -Carlos Mendes Gomes - Matheus Santana - Kyle McAllister
ST - Jahmal Hector-Ingram

[NoSkillz]

2020/21 Sky Bet English League One - First Half Results


My first official game at Morecambe saw our club travel to face Rotherham in Sky Bet League One play. There, we'd dominate in all facets of the game, winning 2-0, holding 59% of the ball and outshooting our opponents 25-3 (11-0 on target). Loanee Kyle McAllister and left fullback Bailey Owen scored our goals in a wonderful performance by the entire squad.

However, the results would soon start going against us despite our tendency to maintain a strangehold on possession. We'd drop our home opener 1-0 to a very strong Sheffield United side then get walloped in our next away contest, a heavy 5-1 loss to Luton.

Our struggles continued through September and October, where we'd only win three out of 11 league matches. We got hit with a transfer request during this period as well, as perhaps our most talented defender Sam Lavelle was looking for a new challenge and asked to be moved in the January transfer window to a bigger club.

I'd say we had two major "moments of clarity" during the season, with one of them coming in the midst of a three game winning streak in early November, our longest of the season to that point. The second of those wins was a bore 1-0 away win at Doncaster, where our team was outshot 16-6 and 6-2 on target but somehow came away with the victory. We'd follow that up with a win in penalties in Checkatrade Trophy play after a 0-0 draw in regulation. Our team wasn't scoring and our Gegenpressing 4-2-3-1 system wasn't anywhere near as effective at this level compared to the previous two years in Scottish League play.

So we decided to change it up, moving to a 4-1-4-1 attacking formation, utilizing a defensive midfielder, a rarity in my managerial career, along with two central mids, two wingers and a lone striker.

The formation change served multiple purposes: it got our captain Alex Kenyon on the field with more regularity and at his natural position. It also allowed us to start utilizing ultra-creative Manchester United loanee DJ Buffonge, who to this point had been held to spot starts and the occasional appearance off the bench. Our formation change also freed up our fullbacks and especially started to utilize the talents of unheralded DL Bailey Owen, a right footed left defender. We played both wide defenders as inverted fullbacks and asked them to push forward up the pitch and into the middle of the field, adding two more options in attack.

The changes paid immediate dividends. We'd win 6-2 away at Blackpool and follow that up with a 5-2 home win over Coventry and a 3-0 win home against Accrington. We were incredibly dynamic and everyone was getting into the mix offensively...it was beautiful football to watch!

However, we'd end the first half of the league season with losses to Bury and MK Dons and we would move into the second half of the season in 14th place (out of 24), with a record of 8 wins, 5 draws and 10 losses for a total of 29 points.

Our recent formation change and the resulting goals for allowed us to move into 3rd in the league in that department but our 35 goals against ranked us 14th, something that we'd definitely have to improve upon. On loan goaltender Jonathan De Bie was struggling immensely in the net and was actually being outplayed by U18 signing Lewis Thomas as we moved through December.



January 2021 - Transfer Window

We definitely needed some reinforcements during the January window. I felt we were safe from relegation but not comfortably so, sitting nine points above the line as we hit the midway point of the season. Goaltending was a major issue - on loan GK Jonathan De Bie was not proving to be reliable in net and while I was getting great performances from unheralded U18 keeper Lewis Thomas, I felt I needed a better veteran option going forward. You could definitely say that realization that De Bie wasn't good enough was our second "Moment of Clarity" this year.

I was hoping to find some reinforcements on defense as well - we did a fine job retaining possession in the first half of the season but had a shocking tendency to allow long balls to get over our head. Finding some pacey defenders could be a big help.

Of course, the biggest news was that I needed to try to find a home for disgruntled DC Sam Lavelle - he desired a new challenge at a bigger club but I wasn't going to sell him for anything less than our £160,000 valuation.



Transfers OUT


DR - Zak Mills - £65,000 - Exeter
MC - Charlie Gilmour - Free - Dag & Red
AMR - Stanley Asomugha - £67,000 - Luton
AMC - A-Jay Leitch-Smith - £75,000 - Portsmouth

Some interesting moves here.

If you recall, I tried to sell fullback Zak Mills in the summer and I almost lost the support of the entire squad and fanbase, eventually taking him off the market and promising him I wouldn't try to sell him. Well, in January, Exeter made an unsolicited approach for his services and I decided to accept - Mills was on an expiring contract, my influence was starting to rub off on the team to enough of an extent to where they didn't seem that upset to see him go and even Mills started to recognize that his playing time was dwindling due to the fine play from Liverpool loanee Corey Whelan. Mills would accept the contract and he was gone, leaving Morecambe after two and a half seasons, 88 total games, 3 goals and 18 assists.

The other big move was selling talented forward A-Jay Leitch-Smith to Portsmouth for £75,000, with clauses that could take the total up to £90k. Leitch-Smith was a complete enigma here - lots of talent but he simply couldn't stay healthy, spending four different periods on the shelf with various ailments. Importantly, when he was healthy, he didn't produce whatsoever, with zero points in 15 appearances this year. He leaves Morecambe after two and a half seasons, 94 total games, 12 goals and 6 assists. We wish him well at Portsmouth - if he scores 10 goals for them, we will get an additional £15,000 in the transfer. I won't hold my breath on that one!

I was elated to have Luton approach with an offer for the seldom used Stanley Asomugha - we actually had him out on season-long loan to Harrogate and with an expiring contract, it was a very easy decision to take the money and run when it was offered. The former West Brom U18 leaves Morecambe after scoring a single goal in 7 total appearances last year.

Finally, we decide to move talented prospect Charlie Gilmour out on a free to Dag & Red. This was solely a move to free up our wage bill - Gilmour, like Leitch-Smith, simply couldn't stay healthy here and only made two scoreless appearances off the bench for us this season before moving to the Daggers. The former Arsenal starlet played 44 total games for Morecambe, scoring 4 goals and adding three assists.

Perhaps the biggest shocker was the fact that the transfer-listed by request Sam Lavelle did not leave during the January transfer window. We actually found a buyer in Championship side Crystal Palace but they couldn't come to personal terms. Lavelle indicated that he was satisfied with my efforts to move him but still asked to be moved when the transfer window reopens in the summer. Lavelle still has a year and a half left on his contract with our club so I guess I'll try to find him a team after this season ends.



Transfers IN

GK - Conor Mitchell - Free - 24 years old, Northern Ireland
GK - Rory Watson - £21,000 (from Scunthorpe) - 24 years old, England
DC - Gabriel Osho - £30,000 (from Reading) - 22 years old, Nigeria
DR - Jordan Gabriel - £14,750 + Clauses (from Nottingham Forest), England
DM - Matt Dolan - Free - 27 years old, England
MC - Joe Pritchard - Free - 24 years old, England

The biggest move here is securing the services of talented GK Rory Watson, who came up through the Hull youth system before moving to Scunthorpe on a free in 2016. We get him for £14,000 plus clauses that eventually take the transfer to £21,000. He'll immediately take over the starting job from on loan youngster Jonathan De Bie. A week earlier, we picked up another keeper, 24 year old Conor Mitchell, who should be a solid backup option for us.

We add two key contributors to our defense, signing fullback Jordan Gabriel from Nottingham Forest and central defender Gabriel Osho from Reading. Both are starting calibre players right away and these were nice bargain buys as we had some money in our transfer kitty for the first time after selling players back in July and a few more here in January.

The last key move was bringing in defensive midfielder Matt Dolan - he's got wonderful leadership traits, something that our incredibly young team was lacking and he also brings great ability on set-pieces, something that was also an issue in the early stages of the season for us. He will get plenty of opportunities to play.

Joe Pritchard has some potential but is more of a depth option going forward.



Loans OUT

GK - Lewis Thomas - Harrogate - Free
DL - Tristan Cover - Gateshead - Free
MC - Owen Beck - Barry - Free
MC - Lamin Jagne - Bromley - Free

All four of these players actually served some time with our team in the first half of the season, most significantly GK Lewis Thomas, who actually outplayed his more celebrated counterpart Jonathan De Bie. The additions of Watson and Mitchell in January render him a surplus to requirements and I decide to give him senior football elsewhere rather than place him back with our U18s.

Cover, Beck and Jagne weren't featuring often and I get their wages off the books with these moves.



Loans IN

DL - James Hill - £0 (from Bristol City) - 18 years old, England
AML - Tyreke Johnson - £0 (from Southampton) - 22 years old, England
ST - Rob Harker - £0 (from Burnley)- 20 years old, England

First and foremost, we had two players in on season-long loan that asked to be returned to their parent clubs due to lack of playing time. AMC Matheus Santana and ST Oladapo Afolayan returned to Watford and West Ham respectively - Santana was part of our starting lineup in our first game but would only participate in six total games, contributing a single assist while Afolayan went scoreless in five appearances for us.

All three of these new players brought in are solid but will likely be backup options for our incumbents.

[NoSkillz]

2020/21 Sky Bet English League One - Second Half Results


The second half of the season started ominously, with bore 1-1 draws against both Rotherham and Sheffield United, followed by yet another loss to Luton, this time 4-3, over the Christmas week.

The season would turn around considerably after a heavy loss in FA Cup play on January 2nd. We'd start making some moves in the transfer market (indicated above) and we'd start to go on a scintillating run of form, starting with a 3-2 win at home against Exeter. That started a 7 game winning streak and a ten game unbeaten run that wouldn't end until March 9th with a loss to Bradford City. After a three game stretch where we'd secure only one of nine points, we once again ran riot, winning six games on the bounce before losing a meaningless final league game to MK Dons, finishing the season with a record of 23 wins, 9 ties and 14 losses, good for 78 points and incredibly, locking up the last League One playoff berth.

We were the best team in the entire league in the second half of the season, going 15-4-4 for 49 points!

Overall, we finished in 6th place on the table, led the league in goal scoring with 105 while finishing second in goal differential with +37, behind only QPR's +39.

Peterborough took the League One title with 95 points and securing the second automatic promotion was QPR on goal differential. MK Dons finished tied with QPR with 90 points but they would face us in the League One semi-finals, while Barnsley and Mansfield did battle in the other semi.

Adding to the drama was the fact that our season-ending League game was also against MK Dons, a match we'd lose by a heavy 3-0 margin. Game one of the semi-finals was also home at Globe Arena and despite a 20-9 (8-5 on target) shot advantage, we could only come away with a 1-1 draw, as we headed to Stadium MK for the second leg.

And what a nail-biter that contest was! We'd fall behind in the 10th minute on agoal from striker Brandon Thomas-Asante but we'd pull level early in the second half, with young winger Harvey Neville putting one home. The game would go into extra time and those 30 minutes would solve nothing, forcing a penalty shootout.

Unfortunately, goals from captain Alex Kenyon and star winger Carlos Mendes Gomes weren't enough to offset shocking misses from Andrew Tutte and Matt Dolan, as we'd eventually lose 4-2 on penalties, allowing the Dons to move on.

They would edge past Barnsley on penalties in the finals as well to lock up promotion to the Championship.

Morecambe would be back in League One in 2021/22, with hopes of continuing the great momentum built up after a wonderful second half of the season.







Sky Bet English League One 2020-21 League Awards

- Golden Boot (Top Goalscorer): Josh Maja, MK Dons - 20
- Most Assists: Henri Lansbury, QPR - 16
- Highest Average Rating: Leandro Bacuna, QPR - 7.32 (38 apps)
- Most Player of Match Awards: Alex Mowatt, Barnsley - 8
- PFA League One Player of the Year: Leandro Bacuna, QPR - 38 apps 14 gls 3 asts 7.32 avg
- League One Manager of the Year: Mark Robins, Peterborough

Maja. Lansbury and Bacuna dominated for QPR this year, with Bacuna getting named as player of the year. He scored an incredible 14 goals playing primarily at right fullback.

Robins deservedly earns manager of the year for winning the league with Peterborough. I'd be honoured to win the Manager of the Month award on three different occasions this season, taking the trophy in November, January and April.



PFF League One Team of the Year

GK - Arijanet Muric, Peterborough
DL - Colin Daniel, Peterborough
DC - Ben Wilmot, QPR
DC - Sean Raggett, Peterborough
DR - Leandro Bacuna, QPR
ML - Barrie McKay, QPR
MC - Josh Scowen, QPR
MC - Henri Lansbury, QPR
MR - Siriki Dembele, Peterborough
ST - Kazaiah Sterling, QPR
ST - Josh Maja, MK Dons

QPR and Peterborough dominate proceedings here on the Team of the Year. None of our players earn a spot.

[NoSkillz]

Cup Competitions 2020-21



Checkatrade Trophy

The Checkatrade Trophy is the EFL Trophy, a competition that takes place between teams in League One and League Two.

We drew a spot in Northern Section - Group G to start group stage play, facing Lincoln, Oldham and Arsenal's U23 team. We'd be fortunate to edge Lincoln and Arsenal's U23 team on penalties while beating Oldham 4-2 to move on to the 2nd round. There, we'd face League One strugglers Accrington Stanley, who would prevail in a mild upset to knock us from the competition.

Northern Section - Group G
Morecambe 1 - 1 Lincoln (Morecambe win 6-5 on penalties)
Oldham 2 - 4 Morecambe
Morecambe 0 - 0 Arsenal U23 (Morecambe win 4-3 on penalties)

2nd Round: Accrington Stanley 2 - 1 Morecambe



Carabao Cup

We had a tough draw in the League Cup 1st round, a home matchup against Championship side Hull. In the midst of a heavy slate of league games, our tired team battled well and won the possession battle but didn't win the most important battle, the one on the scoresheet. One game and we're out!

1st Round: Morecambe 1 - 2 Hull



The Emirates FA Cup

Thankfully, we'd fare a bit better in the top cup competition in England, the FA Cup.

We'd enter play in the first round and edge Doncaster before drawing fellow League One side Mansfield in round two. We'd battle them to a 1-1 draw in Mansfield, meaning a replay was in order back in Morecambe. There, we'd win comfortably to move on to round three, where a difficult match against Wolverhampton awaited us. The Wolves were languishing near the bottom of the Premier League table but this was our first ever official match against an opponent from England's top league. Ultimately, we were no match for them, as they'd storm out to a 5-1 lead before pulling their foot off the gas, knocking us unceremoniously from the competiton.

1st Round: Doncaster 0 - 1 Morecambe
2nd Round: Mansfield 1 - 1 Morecambe
2nd Round Replay: Morecambe 3 - 0 Mansfield
3rd Round: Morecambe 3 - 5 Wolves

[NoSkillz]

2020-21 Morecambe FC Recap and Statistics







2020-21 Morecambe FC Best Eleven

GK - Rory Watson - 17 apps 0g 7.00 avg
DL - Bailey Owen - 41 apps 2g 7.13 avg
DC - Stefan O'Connor - 29 apps 3g 7.18 avg
DC - Sam Lavelle - 45 apps 2g 7.02 avg
DR - Corey Whelan - 39 apps 6g 7.25 avg
DM - Matt Dolan - 22 apps 7g 7.53 avg
MC - DJ Buffonge - 39 apps 12g 7.26 avg
MC - Andrew Tutte - 47 apps 11g 7.29 avg
AML - Carlos Mendes Gomes - 45 apps 13g 7.02 avg
AMR - Harvey Neville - 33 apps 10g 7.13 avg
ST - Jahmal Hector-Ingram - 46 apps 21g 7.13 avg

Other notables: GK Lewis Thomas 12 apps 0g 6.99; DL James Morris 21 apps 0g 7.13; DC Samuel Nsumbu 16 apps 0g 6.93; MC Lewis O'Brien 32 apps 7g 7.15; AMC A-Jay Leitch-Smith 12 apps 0g 6.72; AMR Jordan Cox 24 apps 7g 7.20; AMC Thierno Ballo 30 apps 2g 6.90

Morecambe FC Fans Player of the Year: Andrew Tutte




- The stats shown above take into account all competitions with our senior team and include everyone who played at least one game for the big club this past season.
- Asterisk (*) means player did not finish season with club



Goalkeeping

-- Six different keepers played at least one game for our senior team this year, showcasing the issues we had in the first half of the season. We brought young Jonathan De Bie in on loan feeling he could lead the way but after a solid first month, he started to battle his confidence and continually let in bad goals. He was being outplayed by U18 keeper Lewis Thomas so we needed to make some moves in January to solidify the position, bringing in Rory Watson and Conor Mitchell. Watson took the starting job and ran with it, putting in a number of great performances and making the position his own. We should be in solid shape moving forward with Watson.



Defence

-- Our top fullback was Liverpool loanee Corey Whelan, who brought leadership, grit and talent to our back four. He also contributed 6 goals and added 7 assists, wonderful returns from a fullback. On the other side, the main man was natural inverted fullback Bailey Owen, who added two goals and seven assists on his own. January signing Jordan Gabriel performed very well upon his introduction to the team and will get the chance for a larger role next season. Young James Morris provided able backup for Owen on the left side.

-- Our top central defender is Sam Lavelle and he was just okay this year. He handed in a transfer request early in the season but could not come to terms with Crystal Palace in January and stayed with our team the whole year. He's got great intangibles and was very professional the whole season but didn't dominate the way I thought he would based on his talent. We are on very good terms at the moment but he still is looking to be moved in July. Stefan O'Connor was strong alongside Lavelle and January signing Gabriel Osho looked great as well and could be in line for more action should we move Lavelle. On loan defender Luke Woolfenden was average when called upon but I did like the look young Samuel Nsumbu gave us when used.



Central Midfield

-- We made a mid-season formation change to include a defensive midfielder, one that paid dividends right off the bat and likely contributed to our in-season renaissance. Captain Alex Kenyon was a solid leader off the pitch but wasn't very good on it - his contract is expiring and I will not be retaining his services going forward. However, January signing Matt Dolan was a revelation - his physical attributes are average at best but he brings great professionalism, leadership and technical ability to the club. He was a force on set-pieces, scoring about five of his seven goals from dead ball situations and really locked things down in a holding role.

-- In central defense, we were led capably by our supporters player of the year, Andrew Tutte. He's a very versatile player, equally adept at playing many roles and fit in well in our box-to-box role especially. The second half of the season belonged to Manchester United loanee DJ Buffonge - we couldn't find a spot for him early in the season but moving to three central mids allowed us to let him blossom in a Mezzala role. He was also clinical from dead ball situations and was a main component to our attacking style. Lewis O'Brien, on loan from Huddersfield, also played excellent football and was a common starter in the second half of the season.

-- Summer signing Thierno Ballo was perhaps our most intriguing addition but he was a victim of our formation change in December. Honestly, despite his immense talent, he wasn't making much of an impact offensively in a key role and his usage diminished greatly as the season progressed.



Forwards

-- We got impressive performances from our wingers this year. On the left side, incumbent Carlos Mendes Gomes notched 13 goals and added 9 assists while young Harvey Neville added 10 goals and 6 assists in essentially half a season, as he took the AMR starting role in December from on loan Kyle McAllister, who was largely ineffective and injury prone. Another loanee, Jordan Cox, proved more capable and we also got some late season help from Tyreke Johnson, another loanee.

-- Up front, we were led by young West Ham striker Jahmal Hector-Ingram, who led our team with 21 goals while adding 7 assists in 46 appearances. He was superb. No one else really made their mark at striker, although young Harvey Knibbs has some decent potential.



Year-End Financials





Our finances were in rough shape when I came to the club, with a bank balance well into the negatives, no transfer budget and the lowest wage budget in the league by far.

Through some effective player sales, some smart scheduling with our friendlies and a tight lock on the wage bill, we were able to pull a decent profit in 2020/21.

We did require a small shareholders investment about mid-way through the season but I'm hopeful that another year of being in control will allow us to keep making improvements to the balance sheet as we look toward earning a spot in the Championship in the near future.



Closing Thoughts

Well, it's always painful to have a season end with a playoff loss but I am quite satisfied with how the season went, especially after our very rough start both on and off the pitch.

I'm hopeful that we've found something with our 4-1-4-1 attacking formation that allowed us to be the best team in the second half of the season in League One and most importantly, our finances are getting stronger and will continue to do so as some dead weight will come off the books at the end of June.

I was offered a one-year extension (at the same wage) late in the season and decided to take it, with hopes of using as much money as possible on new signings and a new back room team.

That is another key - because of our bleak financial outlook, I was forced to keep all existing staff members around until their contracts expired in June of this year. With that on the horizon, I can now put together a full team of backroom staff to propel our club forward.

Support from players, management and supporters continues to grow and I've settled into life here in Morecambe.

I look forward to putting my full imprint on the team in 2021/22, as we will look to improve upon our 6th place finish in Sky Bet League One.

[NoSkillz]

2021-22 Season Recap -



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




My stats continue to edge up, with my reputation now up to "Decent" and a solid spike to my "Managing Finances" rating after handling our woeful budgets this year. One note about my contract - in August, I'd be given another one year extension and a small raise, with my salary moving up to £1800 per week (£93,600 per annum).




We see some excellent progression here with our club as a whole - our estimated value more than triples to ~£2.7 million but we don't really gain any ground in that area versus our peers, as we actually fall to 88th in England (out of the 160 major clubs). Our finances are now considered "Okay" and we put through modest increases to our ticket packages this season as well. Season ticket holders increase by around 50%, from 698 to 1047, a wonderful bump and one that hopefully indicates that we are playing an attractive brand of football now. You'll also notice a nice, healthy bump to our Scouting budget and that allows me to send our scouts to visit Championship clubs to look for some additional talent.




Not much change here, although we see slight regression in our Junior Coaching and Youth Recruitment ratings. That's very disappointing but likely related to our financial situation.


Media predictions vary: at the beginning of the season, they list us at 17th (out of 24 teams), which is pretty damned insulting considering our 6th place finish last year. However, that's modified somewhat to 12th as we approached the beginning of the league season - most of my transfer/loan moves were done in mid-July so I'm guessing the media predictions evolved with player signings during the summer transfer window.

My board expect a solid, mid-table resting spot - I contemplate setting the bar higher but that usually isn't smart. It's best to undersell on expecations unless you really need the extra money, which I don't at this point. Personally, I'm looking to finish in the top two in order to lock in automatic promotion.

Here is the budget that the board provides based on their expectations of a mid-table finish:

2021/22 TRANSFER BUDGET - £23,400 (Last year: £0)
2021/22 WAGE BUDGET - £29,609/week (Last year: £21,868/week)

We can definitely work with these figures. I plan on being smart with talent acquisition anyway, with most of my work being done in the free transfer or loan markets.

[NoSkillz]

2021/22 Preseason: Roster Status



U18 Graduates

DC - Owen Mitchell 1.0/1.5
AML - Frank Boyle 1.5/2.5
AML - Liam Brook 0.5/1.0
AMC - Lyall Reynolds 1.5/3.0
AMR - Greg Pearson 1.0/1.5

In League One, we're required to have at least one locally-trained player in our match squad if we're to maintain a full compliment of substitutes. So it's good to keep a couple of the U18 grads around for that purpose. Frank Boyle and Lyall Reynolds have decent ratings but Boyle is way too tiny (5'2"!!!) and Reynolds is mainly an AMC, which I don't intend to use much this year after successfully switching to a 4-3-3 (technically a 4-1-2-2-1) last year. Last year, we used left fullback Cole Edwards as our primary home-grown player but he has literally no talent and only got in two bench appearances as a result despite featuring in almost every match squad throughout the season.



Senior Roster

GK - Returning to Morecambe this year was last January's prize pickup Rory Watson. He was excellent in backstopping us to the best record in League One in the second half of the season and he will be our primary starter for 2021/22. Another January signing, Conor Mitchell is earmarked for the backup role but we also have two youngsters we signed from Manchester City's youth setup that will push for that backup role in Lewis Thomas and Louie Moulden. We're in good shape here.

D - We're in pretty decent shape at defense on the surface but the black cloud hanging over our heads is still the transfer request handed in by talented central defender Sam Lavelle. I'm on excellent terms with him but he simply desires a new challenge. I'm sticking to my guns on this one point though: I want £200,000 for him, which would set a Morecambe transfer record and is fair value for a 24 year old workhorse DC. I've already spotted a potential replacement for him, a pacy and very tall DC who is transfer-listed by request with Gillingham. As far as current central defenders, we're in good shape with Stefan O'Connor, Gabriel Osho and youngster Samuel Nsumbu, even if none of them is quite "star material". At fullback, we were led last year by Liverpool loanee Corey Whelan, who isn't available for this coming season. That shouldn't be too much of a problem, as we picked up the excellent Jordan Gabriel last January and I expect him to lead the way on the right side. On the left side, we have the very underrated Bailey Owen - he's a natural inverted fullback, which suits our formation and system to a "T" and will be our top choice on most game days. We could use some depth on both flanks and I'll likely utilize the loan market for that.

M - We were pretty strong in the central midfield last season and utilized a 3 man unit all year, with an AMC for about half a season and then a DM for the second half of the season. One major change will see captain Alex Kenyon leaving without a new contract - he's got great intangibles but didn't produce much at all when in the lineup at DM. We will need to find someone either on the transfer or loan market to take his spot. A possible replacement is January signing Matt Dolan, who was superb when called upon due to his great dead-ball prowess and fine leadership abilities. Andrew Tutte will be the main man in our box-to-box role - he's getting up in age (he's in his age-31 season) but consistently produced last year. Our main creative force last year was Manchester United loanee DJ Buffonge. Unfortunately, United chose not to resign him and he's currently available on the transfer market. I'd love to bring him to Morecambe full-time but I think he's looking for a bigger stage than League One. We still have the talented Thierno Ballo on our roster - he's a natural attacking central mid but perhaps we can train him to play as a Mezzala more in the middle of the park. Regardless, we utilized loanees to a great extent last year and we'll need to up our talent level in addition to bringing in plenty of depth for all three key positions.

F - We have two key players returning on the wings in Carlos Mendes Gomes and Harvey Neville. Both are young and very talented and will be our main starters up front on the left and right side respectively. That said, the vultures are starting to circle Morecambe in the case of Neville - I've been rejecting transfer offers throughout June from Championship sides and while he has told me he'd prefer to stay with us, I can't guarantee that will continue to be the case. At striker, we will be losing our top goal scorer from last year in West Ham loanee Jahmal Hector-Ingram. Like DJ Buffonge, Hector-Ingram wasn't resigned by his parent club and heads into the free agent market looking to sign with a team in a bigger league. We only have Harvey Knibbs as a current option on the roster and we will definitely need to supplement this position in the loan or transfer market.


Summing up, we have a number of key things to address:

-- We need to find a home for top DC Sam Lavelle and hope to find a capable, talented replacement.
-- We need depth at both fullback positions
-- We need starting level talent at both MC (preferably a Mezzala) and DM (preferably a Deep Lying Playmaker) and depth at all central midfield positions
-- We need depth at both wing positions (likely the loan market)
-- We need a top level striker and depth as well

Ugh. That's quite a lot we need to take care of!

[NoSkillz]

July 2021- Transfer Window



Retirements

None



Transfers OUT

AMC - Thierno Ballo - Sheffield Wednesday - £250,000

Thierno Ballo was unquestionably my most exciting signing last year: a supremely talented attacking central midfielder who had Premier League training (through Chelsea's youth academy) and played a position I valued greatly in my attacking 4-2-3-1 Gegenpressing system. However, he wasn't able to lead the offense as well as hoped and was only a marginal contributor in the first half of the season, a period of time where we struggled to score and stuggled to win. We'd change formations mid-season, employing a defensive midfielder and eliminating the AMC and that pushed Ballo into a Mezzala role in central midfield and then to the bench when he couldn't adapt. Getting £185k up front and up to £275,000 after future payments and clauses was impossible to turn down.

Perhaps the biggest news is who ISN'T on this list...

Top defender Sam Lavelle requested a transfer originally in January and despite getting an offer from Crystal Palace, he couldn't come to personal terms at the time. We kept him on the market and insisted on getting our full valuation of £200,000 for him. We had some offers between £120-150k along with a couple others that included clauses but I wouldn't budge. The window closed without a deal and Lavelle was pretty furious at first. Once I mentioned I'd definitely sell him to anyone bidding £200,000, he was okay again, feeling that was a reasonable amount. So he'd be staying with us until January and we'd try to move him out one more time before his contract expires next June.

We also had another controversial potential transfer offer to deal with - two teams were coming hard at young star winger Harvey Neville, with QPR and Crystal Palace seemingly trying to one-up each other in hopes of enticing me to sell. The bidding started at about £100k and kept going up, with me rejecting every offer. Eventually, in hopes of getting the clubs to stop with the offers, I set his value at £500,000, a figure I thought was high enough to scare everyone off.

A couple days later, Palace comes back to me with a non-negotiable £500,000 offer, with all the money up-front.

Holee shit!

I figure I can't back down now and after much thought, accept this unsolicited offer.

It wasn't minutes until I heard from a devastated Neville, who said he loved it in Morecambe and was very upset that I didn't feel he was good enough to be part of my plans. Whoa! Wait a second here!!! I *love* you my man but £500,000 is a hell of a lot of money! He indicates that he doesn't want to go and he wants me to cancel the deal AND promise that I won't look to sell him for at least another 12 months.

I think about it for a bit and decide to cancel the transfer and it barely takes a day or so for Neville to be back to 100% happiness. We certainly could have used that cash injection but we get to keep a very good young player...



RELEASED PLAYERS

DC - Di'Shon Bernard
DC - Tyler Brownsword
DR - Liam Hegarty
DM - Alex Kenyon
MC - Ben Hedley
MC - Owen Beck
MC - Lamin Jagne
AMR - Rhys Oates
ST - Jason Oswell
ST - Bradley Clayton

We've been waiting 12 months to clear a lot of these wages off our books so this was a positive day for our balance sheet. We had most of these players out on loan last season but the one name that stands out here is former captain Alex Kenyon. This fan favourite was a blue collar player without question - he was overlooked by all of the major clubs and started his footballing career with non-league clubs Chorley and Lancaster before finally opening some eyes at National League club Stockport. He spent one year there before Morecombe scooped him up on a free in the summer of 2013. Kenyon would spend eight full seasons with our club, playing 272 games, scoring 10 goals and adding 9 assists while providing leadership and stability in front of our defense. The fans will definitely miss him as will the boys in the dressing room.



Transfers IN

DL - Dale Sayers - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, England
DR - TJ Eyoma - £0 (Free) - 21 years old, Nigeria
MC - Lewis O'Brien - £0 (From Huddersfield) - 22 years old, England
MC - Paul Leach - £0 (From Manchester City) - 18 years old, England
MC - Greg Ganley - £0 (Free) - 18 years old, England
MC - Richard Baah - £0 (Free) - 17 years old, England
MC - Ming-yang Yang - £0 (Free) - 25 years old, Switzerland
ST - Austin Samuels - £0 (From Wolves) - 20 years old, England
ST - Robbie Shanley - £0 (Free) - 17 years old, England
ST - Ben Weaver - £0 (Free) - 17 years old, England

A few interesting pickups here and certainly one name that may be familiar to fans of Morecambe.

Our first transfer of the season was to bring Lewis O'Brien to Morecambe on a permanent basis on a free from Huddersfield. O'Brien spent last year with our club on loan and Huddersfield weren't planning on resigning him. We're delighted to add him to the roster - he is a natural box-to-box but can certainly play a number of different roles in the central midfield. The other big signing is to get Ming-yang Yang, a former member of Wolverhampton, into the club on a two year deal. Yang is a pedegreed central mid who seems capable of playing DM as well - that versatility could prove to be useful.

I'm perhaps most intrigued by the signing of Paul Leach from Manchester City's youth academy. This 18 year old is supremely talented (3.5 star potential) and I'll look to get him out on loan to further his development. That said, he's definitely good enough to feature in our side this year so that's an option as well. Sayers, Ganley, Baah, Shanley and Weaver are young players who developed at top academies that we're hoping turn into something while TJ Eyoma and Austin Samuels will provide depth for our senior team this year.

The one "big miss", if you will, was my inability to get imposing and pacy DC Ro-Shaun Williams from Gillingham. He was transfer-listed by request and we actually had a deal in place where I'd get him for a pretty bargain price of about £20k (plus clauses) but then a transfer embargo was placed on the team by their board, as they were in the middle of a potential sale. Of course, two weeks later the sale goes through and the new ownership took Williams off the transfer market and resigned him. I wanted him desperately as a replacement for Sam Lavelle, who likely would be leaving the team in January.



Loans OUT

GK - Lewis Thomas - Torquay - Free
GK - Louie Moulden - Dag & Red - Free
DL - Tristan Cover - Alfreton - Free
DL - James Morris - Tranmere - Free
DL - Dale Sayers - Blyth - Free
DC - Morgan Feeney - Aldershot - Free
DC - Samuel Nsumbu - Stockport - Free
DM - Matt Dolan - Torquay - Free
MC - Rafferty Pedder - Dover - Free
MC - Joe Pritchard - Tranmere - Free
MC - Richard Baah - Chester - Free
MC - Greg Ganley - Guiseley - Free
MC - Paul Leach - Dag & Red - Free
AMC - Lyall Reynolds - Solihull Moors - Free

I actually tried to move Matt Dolan out in the transfer market but there were no takers - he was making too much money and we were well over our wage budget so I was pleased to have Torquay offer to pay his salary while away on loan. All of these players had recall clauses in their loan contracts, just in case I decided I needed them.



Loans IN

DL - Lewis Gordon - £0 (From Watford) - 20 years old, Scotland
DL - Joe Anderson - £0 (From Everton) - 20 years old, England
DC - Reece Staunton - £0 (From Blackburn) - 19 years old, England
DC - Daniel Ballard - £0 (From Leicester) - 21 years old, Northern Ireland
DR - Aaron Lewis - £0/£1600 p/w (From Swansea) - 22 years old, Wales
DM - Jaimie Alvarado - £0 (From Watford) - 21 years old, Columbia
DM - Neil Furness - £0 (From Derby) - 18 years old, Ireland
MC - Sadou Diallo - £0/£1600 p/w (From Everton) - 21 years old, Wolves
MC - Tristan Nydam - £0/£3000 p/w (From Ipswich) - 21 years old, Zimbabwe
MC - Ethan Galbraith - £0 (From Burnley) - 20 years old, Northern Ireland
AML - Dion McGhee - £0/£325 p/w (From Sheffield United) - 20 years old, England
AML - Dion Pereira - £0 (From Watford) - 22 years old, Portugal
AMR - Sylvester Jasper - £0 (From Fulham) - 19 years old, England
AMR - Nathan Tella - £0 (From Southampton) - 22 years old, England
ST - Michael Fowler - £0 (From Burnley) - 20 years old, England
ST - Juanito Lopez - £0 (From Newcastle) - 21 years old, Spain

16 players in on loan!!!

Again, with us over our wage budget, we were forced to do whatever we could to add depth and quality to our lineup. The key names among the 16 include Aaron Lewis from Swansea, who can play both the left and right fullback slots with equal aplomb, Jaime Alvarado, a solid looking defensive mid, the midfield tandem of Sadou Diallo and Tristan Nydam and striker Michael Fowler from Burnley. Fowler, at 6'2", is a natural pressing forward and has every quality I desire in a striker, except for elite pace. The other additions are meant to be backups or depth - I was very direct with these loaning teams when it came to playing time expectations - I basically promised every team that these players would fit into a rotation at best as opposed to lying to them and saying they'd be key players. That meant missing out on a couple of targets but I much preferred this option versus having a mutiny against me mid-season when none of these guys are getting into the lineup. I was also careful to add clauses to all of these loan contracts that would allow me to send them back to their parent club if things weren't working out.



Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins

We set up a ridiculous stretch of friendlies in order to get our squad on the same page. In fact, after a couple of late requests came in from other teams, we ended up with 11 in total, forcing us to split our squad for much of the preseason. We had a couple of big teams come in, namely Manchester City (2-0 loss), Middlesbrough (1-1 draw), Newcastle (4-1 win!), Everton (3-3 draw) and Deportivo from Spain (5-1 win!). In all, we went 7-2-2 in those 11 contests to set us up well for the start of league play.

We decided to go primarily with the 4-3-3 attacking system we implemented in the middle of last year, with a DM, two MCs, two wingers and a lone striker up top.

Since we didn't renew the contract of Alex Kenyon, we needed a new captain and the easy choice was made to promote Andrew Tutte into the position after he spent last year as our assistant. We don't have an awful lot of veteran influence on the team as it's currently constructed so our choice for vice captain is newcomer Ming-yang Yang.

While our board and the pundits expect a mid-table finish, I'm shooting for automatic promotion...I want to finish in the top two but of course, any playoff position will likely do. I've been able to clear out all of the contracts I needed here in year two and also have a full compliment of new staff members, coaches, physios and analysts.

This is now my team, through and through and it's time to make the next step forward.

Our season begins on the road with a date against the bookies favourite to get promoted - Swansea City:

NEW OPENING DAY STARTERS NOTED IN ITALICS
GK - Rory Watson
D - Bailey Owen - Stefan O'Connor - Sam Lavelle - Jordan Gabriel
DM - Ming-yang Yang
M - Tristan Nydam - Andrew Tutte
AM -Carlos Mendes Gomes - Harvey Neville
ST - Michael Fowler

[NoSkillz]

2021/22 Sky Bet English League One - First Half Results


Our fine form that developed during our long preseason continued into the start of the League One season, as we'd march into Liberty Stadium and knock off the pundits' favourites for promotion 2-1 in the opening game behind goals from Carlos Mendes Gomes and Jordan Gabriel.

In fact, we'd dominate in the early goings, starting off with five consecutive league wins to immediately move to the top of the League One table.

However, a heavily condensed schedule in August, which included nine total matches due to Carabao Cup and Checkatrade Trophy play, helped contribute to a loss of form and the results started to drop.

Between August 21st (a 1-1 draw versus Fleetwood Town) and October 30th (a 2-1 loss to Oxford), we'd win only 3 out of 13 league games and we'd drop to 9th place on the League One table.

We'd hit rock bottom one week later. We'd get absolutely embarrassed by League Two side Newport in FA Cup play, as they'd wallop us 5-1 to unceremoniously knock us out of the competition. Confidence was at an all-time low and I needed to take a lot of blame - my team talks weren't working and our second half performances were a consistent issue, as our in-game form would seem to drop and we'd concede way too many late goals as a result.

We had a team meeting after the Newport game and I endeavored to be a bit more calm and positive in the dressing room. We'd squeak a narrow result in Checkatrade Trophy group stage play the next game against Rotherham and we started to gain more confidence, winning five games in a row in league play to hit the halfway point of the season with a 13-5-5 record, good for 44 points and a 4th place position on the table below joint leaders Sheffield United and Barnsley (50 points) and a resurgent Swansea City (45 points).

Our 44 goals placed us 4th in the league (Sheffield United had a league high 51) while our 28 conceded placed us eighth. We were definitely having issues in both areas - we weren't getting much production at all from our strikers (Harvey Knibbs and Burnley loanee Michael Fowler led the way with only four goals each). Meanwhile, goaltender Rory Watson was battling his confidence and we still had the looming transfer request from defender Sam Lavelle hanging over our head.



January 2022 - Transfer Window

I had a couple of major issues to deal with as we reached the reopening of the transfer window. Of course, I had to still try to move Sam Lavelle out of the club - this long-time lingering issue hasn't been too problematic on the pitch, as Lavelle is a very professional player and a good leader and has continued to play at a solid level throughout the last 15 months. Our relationship is solid - he just wants to move to a bigger club. Adding to the urgency is the fact that his contract expires in June and he obviously won't renew with Morecambe, so if I don't move him in this window, I will lose him for nothing. That said, I realize I have to move off of my desired asking price of £200,000.

The other major issue I'm facing is that we are currently over our alloted wage budget so I don't really have any money to make any moves as the window opens. Selling Lavelle could help somewhat but he's only making £1200/week so moving him will actually just get us under our board-alloted wage budget.

The January transfer window ended up being a lot more interesting (and infuriating) than I could possibly imagine...



Transfers OUT

GK - Conor Mitchell - Free - Tottenham
GK - Louie Moulden - £275,000 - Cardiff
AMR - Harvey Neville - £275,000 (£650,000) - Reading
ST - Harvey Knibbs - £49,000 - Walsall

Ok, lets start with the infuriating first...

If you recall, we had an offer in July for star young winger Harvey Neville for an all-cash, upfront sum of £500,000, a deal I accepted but then cancelled after Neville got upset and indicated his desire to stay. I relented and he stayed at our club. He'd continue his fine performances in the first half of the league season, booting home 6 goals and adding 8 assists in 23 total appearances before we received a complicated, multi-clause transfer offer from Reading. This offer had a much smaller amount of up-front money but included multiple clauses for games played, goals, etc that would take it up to a potential ceiling of £650,000 - our board of directors didn't even hear my opinion on the deal, immediately accepting it and Neville quickly came to personal terms and was gone.

What a slap in the face...

We only got £275,000 up front and would likely have to wait YEARS for this total to hit the sum I actually turned down months earlier. Just an awful piece of business from our board. When you add this to the fact that the board would not allow me to continue forward with improving upon my coaching classifications, I was not really happy with how I was being treated.

The board would step in for a second time, taking a full £275,000 offer from Cardiff to sell young goalkeeping prospect Louie Moulden. Moulden spent the first half of the season on loan at Dag & Red, allowing only 31 goals in 28 starts and I actually recalled him from loan after selling Conor Mitchell to Tottenham on a free in order to get his wages off our books. One week later, Moulden was gone as well but that's a hard deal to turn down, without question. So we'd have to go with another youngster, Lewis Thomas, as our goalkeeping backup for the balance of the season. Like Moulden, I'd have to recall Thomas from his loan at Torquay.

The final transfer in January was to move out underperforming striker Harvey Knibbs in a modest deal with Walsall. We signed Knibbs on a free from Aston Villa last year and he'd play in 53 games for our club (23 starts), scoring 9 goals and adding 3 assists during that time.

The one bit of positive news revolves around transfer-listed by request defender Sam Lavelle.

I wasn't getting any offers for Lavelle and my price kept dropping, going as low as £100,000 but I still got no offers. The window would pass and Lavelle actually came into my office and said that he wanted to reaffirm his commitment to Morecambe going forward and we would open contract extension talks with immediate effect. Within days we had Lavelle signed to a two year extension with no wage increase, an incredible about-face from a player who now might be captain material going forward. A very positive development, for sure.



Transfers IN

MC - DJ Buffonge - Free - 23 years old, Antigua & Barbuda
ST - Stephy Mavididi - Free - 23 years old, England

You may recognize the first name, as Buffonge spent all of last season here with us on loan from Manchester United and was arguably our most explosive midfielder. Buffonge was released by United and I attempted to sign him back in July but couldn't afford him. By the time we hit December, Buffonge was still unsigned and his wage demands were lowered and that allowed us to bring him in on a three and a half year deal. He will likely slot in at a Mezzala role alongside on-loan Tristan Nydam.

Mavididi is an interesting addition as well. The former Arsenal U18 moved to Juventus in Italy for a few years and actually played nine games for the senior team a couple years back, with the majority of time spent with the team's U23's. He was released and we pick up the talented English forward on a free but with the highest salary at the club now and a clause that guarantees him the largest wage moving forward. That's something I'll have to monitor closely. Still, a nice pickup.

We had one other contract offer accepted for talented right winger Uriel Antuna but we couldn't get a work permit approved for the Mexican native and we were forced to cancel the deal. We'd have to move forward at right wing with two loanees in Sylvester Jasper and the often-injured Nathan Tella.



Loans OUT

None



Loans IN

None



We did have a number of players who were brought in on loan back in July request to have their season-long deals cancelled due to lack of playing time.

Asking to be returned to their parent clubs were DL Joe Anderson (Everton), DM Neil Furness (Derby), MC Ethan Galbraith and ST Juanito Lopez. Of those four, only Lopez was one I contemplated rejecting, as he was starting to play a bit more often with the lack of goals from our top two early season choices of Harvey Knibbs and Michael Fowler. But with newcomer Mavididi joining the team, I felt I could let Lopez go without too much issue.

There was one player who requested to leave but I made him stay - DL Lewis Gordon certainly wasn't playing much but I felt I needed cover at left fullback just in case main starter Bailey Owen got hurt. Gordon spent the entire second half of the season upset with me as a result.

There was one more on-loan player that I elected to move out even though he was happy here - midfielder Sadou Diallo is supremely talented but he wasn't playing well when called upon plus I was paying half of his exhorbitant wages so it was an easy decision to send him back to Wolves to alleviate some pressure on our wage budget.

[NoSkillz]

2021/22 Sky Bet English League One - Second Half Results


We battled to a couple of hard-earned draws to start the second half of the season, coming back from three goals down against Walsall in a thrilling 4-4 away contest that the neutrals would have loved. We'd follow that up with solid wins over Rotherham and Fleetwood Town before heading into a match away against Mansfield. They were sitting just below us on the table so frankly, we were expecting a hell of a tight game.

We'd set numerous league and team records in that contest, scoring at will in an incredible 11-0 (!) victory. It was an astonishing performance.

The good form would continue for the rest of the season. We were eliminated from both cup competitions early so that allowed us to get settled into a comfortable one-game-per-week routine in the second half of the campaign, which meant we could keep throwing the same team out every week, with a few changes here and there due to injury or poor form.

Our strikers heated up considerably, especially on-loan Michael Fowler and goals were plentiful. We'd lose only once in 20 games (a shock 4-3 loss away at Exeter) as we headed to Portsmouth in mid-April with a chance to lock up automatic promotion to the Championship with two games left to play. There, a 54th minute goal from star winger Carlos Mendes Gomes was enough to give us a 1-0 win to assure us of at least a second place finish in the division.

We were still battling Sheffield United for that coveted League One trophy and in the penultimate game of the season, Shrewsbury Town would score two goals in the last 10 minutes to shock us 3-2 at Globe Arena, meaning we likely had to win our final game of the season against Norwich to lock up the division crown.

We had a full lineup ready to go at Carrow Road and we left no doubt as to our ambitions, with midfielder DJ Buffonge scoring only three minutes into the contest to get us off on the right foot. That was followed by three goals in succession from our top striker Michael Fowler, his second hat trick of the season, as we'd win 4-0 to edge Sheffield United by a single point, winning the League One title!

MORECAMBE WIN THE SKY BET ENGLISH LEAGUE ONE CHAMPIONSHIP ! ! !

We dominated the second half of the season, impressively winning 15 games, drawing 6 and losing only twice. We'd finish the year 28-11-7, good for 95 points, just one ahead of Sheffield United and five up on third placed Swansea. Barnsley struggled in the second half of the season, falling to fourth on the table but they'd get past Swansea in the playoffs to move up to the Championship as well.

We scored a whopping 74 goals in the final 23 games and ended up with a League One record 118 goals overall. Our +62 goal differential was astounding. Our 11-0 win over Mansfield also set a modern day League One record.

Morecambe are headed to the Sky Bet Championship!







Sky Bet English League One 2021-22 League Awards

- Golden Boot (Top Goalscorer): Nouha Dicko, Sheffield United - 21
- Most Assists: Sylvester Jasper, Morecambe - 14
- Highest Average Rating: Jordan Gabriel, Morecambe - 7.45 (36 apps)
- Most Player of Match Awards: Carlos Mendes Gomes, Morecambe - 6
- PFA League One Player of the Year: Jordan Gabriel, Morecambe - 36 apps 5 gls 8 asts 7.45 avg
- League One Manager of the Year: NoSkillz, Morecambe

Our own Michael Fowler finished third in the Golden Boot standings with 19 league goals in 30 appearances. We completely sweep the rest of the awards - Jasper was excellent in the second half of the season, taking over from the departed Harvey Neville and forming a great one-two punch with our left winger, Carlos Mendes Gomes. The star of the season was fullback Jordan Gabriel, who was ruthless in getting up into the play in our vaunted 4-3-3 system that utilized him as an inverted fullback, allowing him to get into the box on countless occasions to contribute to the offense.

I'd only win one Manager of the Month award (April 2022) but was honoured to be named Manager of the Year for the first time in my career.



PFF League One Team of the Year

GK - Rory Watson, Morecambe
DL - Bailey Owen, Morecambe
DC - Aristote Nsiala, Sheffield United
DC - Sam Lavelle, Morecambe
DR - Jordan Gabriel, Morecambe
ML - Callum Gribbin, Bradford City
MC - Tristan Nydam, Morecambe
MC - Andrew Tutte, Morecambe
MR - Xande, Sheffield United
ST - Carlos Mendes Gomes, Morecambe
ST - Callum O'Hare, Sheffield United

We place seven players on the starting eleven of the Team of the Year. They placed Gomes at striker, which likely works considering he played well up the pitch as a left winger for us in our 4-1-2-2-1 formation, essentially a 4-3-3.

[NoSkillz]

Cup Competitions 2021-22



Checkatrade Trophy

In Checkatrade Trophy play, we drew a spot in Northern Section (Group F) to start group stage play, with Rotherham, Liverpool's U23 team and Crewe Alexandria also in our pod. We'd comfortably win all three games in group play to move on to the second round, where we'd get beat at home by fellow League One side Bradford City to knock us out of the competition.

Northern Section - Group F
Crewe 1 - 2 Morecambe
Morecambe 3 - 2 Liverpool U23
Morecambe 1 - 0 Rotherham

2nd Round: Morecambe 0 - 1 Bradford City



Carabao Cup

We once again enter League Cup play in the 1st round and needed penalties to get past Wimbledon at home after a scoreless draw in regulation. We'd be thrown into the fire in round two, as we were drawn away against Wolves, a Premier League side. We got smoked by Wolves last year in FA Cup play but battled hard this year, ultimately losing on penalties.

1st Round: Morecambe 0 - 0 Wimbledon (Morecambe win 6-5 on penalties)
2nd Round: Wolves 1 - 1 Morecambe (Wolves win 5-4 on penalties)



The Emirates FA Cup

As documented earlier, we had a decent draw in the 1st round of FA Cup play, with an away matchup against mid-table League Two club Newport. We were mired in a huge slump at this point and the resulting 5-1 loss was unquestionably the lowest point of the season for our club but also served as the wake up call we likely needed.

1st Round: Newport County 5 - 1 Morecambe

[NoSkillz]

2021-22 Morecambe FC Recap and Statistics







2021-22 Morecambe FC Best Eleven

GK - Rory Watson - 44 apps 0g 6.97 avg
DL - Bailey Owen - 35 apps 4g 7.26 avg
DC - Gabriel Osho - 27 apps 3g 7.16 avg
DC - Sam Lavelle - 42 apps 2g 7.10 avg
DR - Jordan Gabriel - 36 apps 5g 7.44 avg
DM - Ming-yang Yang - 42 apps 5g 6.96 avg
MC - Tristan Nydam - 40 apps 9g 7.16 avg
MC - Andrew Tutte - 41 apps 10g 7.25 avg
AML - Carlos Mendes Gomes - 38 apps 17g 7.32 avg
AMR - Sylvester Jasper - 34 apps 7g 7.26 avg
ST - Michael Fowler - 36 apps 20g 7.28 avg

Other notables: DC Stefan O'Connor 30 apps 1g 6.94; DR Aaron Lewis 30 apps 5g 7.25; MC DJ Buffonge 23 apps 6g 6.96; MC Lewis O'Brien 28 apps 4g 7.08; MC Sadou Diallo 18 apps 2g 6.87; AML Dion McGhee 14 apps 5g 7.33; AMR Harvey Neville 22 apps 6g 7.12

Morecambe FC Fans Player of the Year: Jordan Gabriel




- The stats shown above take into account all competitions with our senior team and include everyone who played at least one game for the big club this past season.
- Asterisk (*) means player did not finish season with club



Goalkeeping

-- Incredibly, last year we had six different keepers who played at least one game for our senior team. Thankfully, we had much more stability this year. Our backup through the first half of the season was Conor Mitchell and he was decent enough but with a wage budget bursting at the seams, I decided to sell him on a free to Tottenham and go with one of our U18 graduates in a backup role. That said, I just rode Rory Watson hard for the rest of the season and he was ever present in goal, taking no nights off from the end of December right through until the end of the season. He had a pretty ugly mid-season slump but some solid performances in January got him back on track and he was great for the balance of the season. He's a solid keeper and should be more than capable in the Championship next year.



Defence

-- Our tactics put a lot of emphasis and pressure on our fullbacks, who are asked to play wide in defence and narrow in offense, cutting inside the wingers to offer options up the pitch. This inverted role leads to decent stats and right fullback Jordan Gabriel was sensational all season long, winning League One Player of the Year honours in addition to being the supporter's choice as Morecambe's Player of the Year. On the other side, the unheralded Bailey Owen excelled as well in that inverted role which is natural for him. On loan fullback Aaron Lewis provided excellent cover on both sides and was used in dead ball situations frequently throughout the season. TJ Eyoma and loanee Lewis Gordon played depth roles as well.

-- The two-year soap opera surrounding Sam Lavelle finally ended in January, when he ultimately decided to commit to Morecambe and resigned long-term at the same wage. His professionalism never wavered even when he was looking for a bigger challenge and he will likely get the chance to wear the captain's armband next season. Gabriel Osho and Stefan O'Connor evenly split time alongside Lavelle and both were solid. I wanted to utilize loanee Daniel Ballard more often but with stringent loan rules in place in League One, I often was forced to keep him out of the lineup as a result. Another loanee, Reece Staunton, spent the whole year at the club but was mostly used with the U23 squad.



Central Midfield

-- My preseason plan was to utilize on-loan midfielder Jaime Alvarado in our DM slot this season but the guy simply couldn't stay healthy. He got hurt on four separate occasions during the year, all for at least three weeks and he spent almost the entire year trying to get fully fit. In his absence, we were forced to use new signing Ming-yang Yang in that position, something that wasn't exactly natural for him but he was more than capable, especially with the physical and defensive demands of the role.

-- In central defence, team captain Andrew Tutte continued to defy Father Time, producing consistent offence and playing our box-to-box role to perfection. He was easily our biggest producer in the middle at 31 years young. Loanee Tristan Nydam was solid in our main Mezzala role - his stats don't necessarily reflect it but he was very influential when on the pitch. His main backup was mid-season signing DJ Buffonge - Buffonge spent last year on loan here from Manchester United and was incredible for us but he needed much more time to get his legs back this year after waiting until December to be signed. Lewis O'Brien is another player who spent last year here on loan and then was signed as a permanent member of the squad this season. He was a fourth-choice player for most of the year but consistently produced. Sadou Diallo was supposed to play more of a role here but didn't impress in the first half of the season so I sent him back to his parent club when the transfer window reopened in January to help our wage budget, as we were covering half of his salary while he was here at the club.



Forwards

-- One of the major strengths of this club is at wing, where we utilized loan players more than anywhere else. That said, our top producer on the wing by far is Morecambe's own Carlos Mendes Gomes, who notched a very impressive 17 goals from the left side. On the right side, it was a tale of two halves - in the first half of the season, Harvey Neville was excellent, scoring 6 goals and adding 8 assists. However, our board would accept a low-ball transfer offer from Reading and he'd leave our club in January. Sylvester Jasper took his place on most nights and ended up leading the entire league in assists. We also had solid depth options available in loanees Dion McGhee and Dion Pereira, with McGhee also performing well in a Mezzala role at select times.

-- Things were pretty bleak at striker in the first half of the season, as we couldn't replace the production from last year's top dog Jahmal Hector-Ingram. Thankfully, loanee Michael Fowler blossomed in the second half of the year and ended up leading the team with 20 goals, an excellent return in 33 starts. We picked up Stephy Mavididi in January and he was excellent in a backup role. Austin Samuels was our third option - I tried to loan him out to aid in his development but was unsuccessful, so he spent the majority of the year with our U23s. He didn't score at all in 12 appearances. Harvey Knibbs was a big signing last year but wasn't working out here at Morecambe - he requested a transfer in January when it became apparent that Fowler was going to lead the way and I was happy to move him out.



Year-End Financials





Top line revenue was up a modest 4.5% over last year, with player sales being the biggest contributor to our financial success. It was essentially a break-even year (our profit was ~£1000) but at least our chairman didn't have to invest any additional money this year into the team. Attendance was down, mostly due to our lack of success in cup competitions but I'm guessing we'll see a healthy increase here when moving to the Championship next season.

Our chairman has given me a projected transfer budget of just over £1 million as we prepare to move into the Championship while our projected wage budget doubles to approximately £60,000 per week. These numbers still pale in comparison with other Championship clubs but it's nice to see some early commitment being made here so we can get to work early on potential additions.



Closing Thoughts

Our goal was to get automatic promotion and we exceeded that goal by winning League One. This makes three promotions in four years of management for me and I was guessing and maybe even HOPING that my name might come up with other clubs.

I was due for a small raise moving to the Championship due to a promotion clause in my contract but when the board told me for a second time that they were rejecting my request to improve upon my coaching classifications, I was red hot.

Add this to the fact that not once, but twice went over my head and accepted transfer offers for our players, one of which was significantly LOWER than one I had rejected months earlier and my loyalty to this club was starting to wane.

Still, I prepared for the year ahead...

2022 is a World Cup year, with the tournament taking place in Qatar in November and December. The Premier League and Championship seasons, as a result, are being pushed forward. Instead of training camps starting in early July, our players return from holiday in early JUNE, a full month ahead of normal and the regular season begins in mid-July.

This meant we'd have to scramble to find players and get them fit in time for the start of the season.

There was one interesting spot available on the job market: Juventus was looking for a new manager and I decided to apply for the position. I pretty much knew I had no chance, even with the slight reputation increase I enjoyed winning League One and it only took a couple of days before a representative from the team came back to me with their regrets.

A few days later, there was a press report out of Middlesbrough - their manager Ben Wilkinson, who had spent the last one and a half years at Boro, left the role in order to take the job at Brentford, who had just been relegated from the Premier League. I was named as the bookies and supporters' favourite to take on this open position at Middlesbrough.

Frankly, I was pretty excited - Middlesbrough are a mid-table constant in the Championship and are coming off a 12th place finish in England's second tier...in fact, they've finished 12th three years in a row and have only spent one year in the Premier League in the last 13 years, with a "one and done" season in the top flight back in 2016/17.

Prior to that, however, they were a pretty strong, mid-table Premier League side, with 11 straight years in that top division from 1998 through 2009. As a result, this is what I'd call a "Proper" football club - they have a beautiful, modern stadium that was built in 1995, with Riverside Stadium seating over 34,000 fans. Their training facilities are uniformly excellent and they have an established youth recruitment system.

Taking a look at their playing squad reveals a solid veteran core but not much in the way of exciting 20 year olds. Much of their top youth seems to get sold off but their U18 team looks excellent and there are a couple of good looking youngsters in addition to some great old vets.

I decide to apply for the position.

Interestingly enough, the next day, I get a phone call from Bolton, who would like me to come and interview for their open position...

Bolton is another big club (in my eyes) but the main negative with them, on the surface, is that they have just been relegated from the Championship and will be playing League One football next year. As a result, I didn't apply for this position when it opened up but they still have asked me to come in for an interview.

I figure why not...at least I can hear them out and maybe word will leak to Middlesbrough that I'm entertaining other offers.

The meeting goes well - this is a much bigger club than Morecambe but again, Morecambe is playing in the Championship next year and I'm not really keen on another year of League One football. If Bolton makes an offer, I don't think I'm going to take it...

But I don't get the chance to turn them down.

The next day, the chairman of Middlesbrough comes calling...not with a job offer but he's interested in knowing more about my plans for the team, mostly as it relates to their current coaching and support staff. He indicates that he's already spoken with Morecambe's chairman and they have agreed on compensation numbers for any Morecambe staff that I'd want to join me at Middlesbrough.

WOW. That's pretty bloody cool.

They have given me a whopping £1.2 MILLION compensation budget that will allow me to retain any existing Middlesbrough staff, release any existing staff OR recruit Morecambe staff. I only need to use about half that budget while going through the staffs at both clubs - I'd prefer to bring my physio staff with me if I was to move clubs, along with a couple coaches, one scout and my assistant manager, who I felt was key in helping with a "good cop, bad cop" approach on team talks last year.

I submit my list and thank them for the call.

A couple hours later, they call back...this time, with a job offer in hand:

A one year contract at £14,000/week (£728,000 per year). As a point of reference, I made £1,600 per week last year!

A transfer budget of £4.5 million and a wage allowance of £560,000.

My goodness...my current transfer budget with Morecambe is £1 million and our wage allowance only £60,000.

Middlesbrough's top earner, striker Andre Gray, earns £57k per week, which is almost Morecambe's entire wage budget!

Middlesbrough is a massive club with Premier League infrastructure, an incredible youth system and a rich chairman.

It doesn't take me long to make a decision...

It's time to take the next step in my career and I will be looking to take Middlesbrough back to the Premier League.

[NoSkillz]

Middlesbrough FC - A Brief History



Middlesbrough were formed in 1876 by members of Middlesbrough Cricket Club during a meeting at the Albert Park Hotel, with their first recorded game taking place in 1877 against the Teesside Wanderers.

The club played their home games in those early years at Linthorpe Road and would be elected to the Football League officially in 1899, joining Division Two. They'd win promotion to Division One in 1902 and one year later, the club would move to Ayresome Park for their home games, a stadium that would be home for the next 90 years.

The team caused a sensation in 1905, paying £1000 for centre forward Alf Common, the first ever four-figure transfer fee in football history. In 1914, Middlesbrough would finish in 3rd place in the First Division, which to date is the highest league finish in club history.

The post-war era saw a downturn in fortunes for the club on the pitch, as the team would be relegated into Division Two in 1953-54 and spent 19 of the next 20 years in that league, with the other year spent in Division Three.

The team would finally earn promotion back to Division One after a title-winning season in 1973-74 and they'd stay in the top flight through the 1981-82 season. During this successful period, the team won their first two trophies, winning the 1975-76 Anglo-Scottish Cup and the 1980-81 Kirin Cup.

The club went through its darkest days during the mid-1980s. A string of poor finishes in Division Two culminated in a 21st place finish in 1985-86 and resulted in the club being relegated back to the Third Division. Massive debts forced the club into liquidation in July of that year and with no money to pay the registration fee for Division Three, it looked as if the club was going to have to fold.

With the club locked out of their home at Ayresome Park and a registration deadline looming, Steve Gibson, a 28 year old board member at Middlesbrough and owner of successful local business Bulkhaul Limited, formed a consortium to save the club at the 11th hour. Boro would complete a remarkable comeback from being homeless and on the brink of oblivion by winning promotion from the third division that first year and they'd follow it up by gaining a second consecutive promotion the next year, finally moving back into the First Division.

The team would be relegated back to Division Two the next year but gain promotion again just in time for the 1992-93 season, becoming founding members of the newly rebranded English Premier League.

The team's fortunes changed significantly with the hiring of former England and Manchester United legend Bryan Robson as manager. He'd lead them back to the Premier League after another relegation and see the club move into the 30,000 capacity Riverside Stadium, the largest football stadium built in the UK over the previous 70 years. During the Robson era, the team would make it to three Cup finals, including the 1997 FA Cup finals against Chelsea, losing all three. They'd also open a state-of-the-art training complex at Rockliffe Park, which was acknowledged to be one of the finest in all of Europe.

Manchester United assistant Steve McClaren would take over from Robson in 2001 and the club continued to succeed in bringing in star players from all across the continent while performing admirably in both Premier League and Cup play. One of the highest points in club history took place in February 2004, when the club lifted its first ever major trophy in a 2-1 win over Bolton to win the Carling (League) Cup. This earned them a spot in next year's UEFA Cup competition (now known as the Europa League), where Middlesbrough made it to the final 16 and also finished 7th in league play, their best in the Premiership era, giving them a spot in Europe again the next season. The team would struggle in the league, ultimately finishing 14th but flourished in Europe. One of the distinct highlights in club history came on April 2, 2006, when the club came back from a 3 goal deficit, scoring four consecutive goals to earn a 4-3 aggregate victory over Steaua Bucharest in the UEFA Cup semi-finals, earning a spot in the finals against Sevilla. They'd lose that contest in decisive fashion, 4-0 and McClaren would be wooed away from the club to take over stewardship of the English National Team from Sven Goran Eriksson.

In 2008/09, after 11 consecutive seasons in the Premier League, the team would finish 19th and get relegated to the Championship. Middlesbrough would earn promotion back to the top flight for the 2016/17 season but finish 19th again and see immediate relegation once again.

Middlesbrough have spent the last five seasons in the Championship and after three straight 12th place finishes, manager Ben Wilkinson resigned from the club in order to take the helm at Brentford, who had just been relegated from the Premier League. On June 17, 2022, Chairman Steve Gibson announced that I was being hired as the 36th manager in the club's illustrious history...

[NoSkillz]

2022-23 Season Recap -



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




Another promotion gives my reputation a boost up to "Okay" from "Decent" and that was obviously enough to entice Middlesbrough to bring me in. My stats continue to progress in the right direction but the biggest change here is in my salary, as I make the stratospheric leap from £1,600 per week to £14,000.




Simply put, managing Middlesbrough is a major step up from leading Morecambe, even though they are in the same division. Boro is a massive club for the Championship level and the differences seen in every category above is substantial. Just as an example, Morecambe were prepared to give me a £1 million transfer budget (versus £4.5 million with Boro) and a £60,000/week wage budget versus the £560,000/week budget I currently have with my new club.




Middlesbrough play their games at Riverside Stadium, a 34,746 all-seater that was built in 1995. Another massive step up from the cozy Globe Arena at Morecambe but still much smaller than Hampden Park in Scotland where our Queen's Park team played. Middlesbrough has a wonderful training setup - this is a club with a Premier League quality infrastructure and I couldn't be more excited about our facilities, which are uniformly excellent as you can see. I can see from the talent on our U18 team (and a couple of senior team youngsters) that the club is very good at developing from within.


Before I make any changes to the squad, media pundits predict a 7th place finish (out of 24 teams) in the Championship. That would place us just outside the playoffs.

My board are hoping for a mid-table finish, which is pretty surprising...I wonder if they lack ambition. It doesn't seem like it with the budgets I've been given...I'll certainly be expecting more out of our team but as usual, I elect to side with the board and keep official expectations in check.

Here is the budget that the board provides based on their expectations of a mid-table finish:

2022/23 SCOUTING BUDGET - £611,000 (Last year: £?)
2022/23 TRANSFER BUDGET - £4,500,000 (Last year: £?)
2022/23 WAGE BUDGET - £560,000/week (Last year: £?/week)

Very healthy numbers by the looks of it. Now, I'll need to take a look at our roster and see what we have to work with here at Middlesbrough...

[NoSkillz]

2022/23 Preseason: Roster Status



U18 Team

I've mentioned how strong our development system here is at Middlesbrough and while many of our top prospects have either graduated to the U23 or senior squads, we still have a few notable prospects worth watching. Players to look at in the future include GK Sean Gregory (1.5/4.0), DL Martin Guest (1.5/3.5), DC Darren Moore (1.0/3.0), MC Jack Bates (1.5/3.0), AML James Wood (1.5/3.5) and our top prospect, 17 year old striker Matt Dickens (2.0/4.0).



U18 Graduates

DR - Matthew Gibbins 3.0/4.0
DR - David Hale 1.5/2.5
MC - Tim Liddle-Campbell 1.5/2.0
MC - Adam Miles 1.5/2.5
MC - Ben Stephenson 2.0/4.0
MC - Cain Sykes 2.0/3.0
ST - Ben Appleby 2.0/4.0
ST - Jake Simpson 2.0/4.0

It's an embarrassment of riches at Middlesbrough - I've never managed a club that has so many talented home-grown youngsters. Gibbons is unquestionably the most talented in the group of seven up above and looks like he could be a first-team option at 19 years old. Ben Stephenson, Jake Simpson and Ben Appleby are also excellent looking prospects. Very impressive...



Senior Roster

GK - Our starting keeper is up there in age but he may be the Championship's best. Darren Randolph (3.5/3.5) is a 35 year old Irish international and is heading into his sixth season at Middlesbrough after coming over from West Ham United in a £5 million transfer back in 2017. Randolph played in every single game last year so as you can imagine, the backup situation is bleak. Middlesbrough spent £300,000 to bring in Dillon Phillips (3.0/3.0) from Charlton last July but he only played in one game all season...as a substitute. Not a ringing endorsement! There are a couple of marginal keepers on the U23 team and a solid 16 year old prospect with our U18 squad but I'll likely have to look at the transfer or loan market for a backup to Randolph. Still, we're in good shape here as long as Randolph stays healthy.

D - Our central defense looks to be a strength on this team, with four very strong looking players in 28 year old Semi Ajayi (3.5/3.5), 32 year old Aden Flint (3.0/3.0), 30 year old Diego Polenta (3.5/3.5) and 20 year old Nathan Wood (3.5/4.0). I'm a sucker for pacy central defenders and Wood certainly qualifies - I'm loving our depth and quality here! Things are much more suspect at fullback - we have two solid veteran options on the left side in 32 year old Joe Bennett (3.0/3.0) and 34 year old vice-captain George Friend (3.0/3.0). Things are a bit bleaker on the right side - the aforementioned Matthew Gibbins (3.0/4.0) is supremely talented but just graduated from the U18 squad. That said, he's easily the best I've got at the moment. Harold Essien (2.0/2.5), David Hale (1.5/2.5) and Djed Spence (1.5/1.5) are replacement level players and I'll need to look for upgrades. I notice that last year, the club had 18 year old Newcastle prospect Aron Potts here on loan for half a season. I may look at bringing him back in, as he's a 3.5/4.0 player which would make him a star at this level.

M - Middlesbrough look pretty solid in central midfield with some excellent veteran talent. 33 year old Adam Clayton (3.0/3.0), 34 year old Jonny Howson (3.0/3.0) and 29 year old George Saville (3.5/3.5) are a fine trio, with Saville especially looking like a perfect fit for my box-to-box role. At defensive midfield, the team look to have a gem in 26 year old Norwegian Mathias Normann (3.5/3.5), a very versatile playmaker. There are also a couple of fine looking former U18 prospects in the aforementioned Ben Stephenson (2.0/4.0) and 19 year old Hussein Pirbhai (2.0/4.0). We could use a more dynamic presence for our Mezzala role but otherwise, we're looking pretty great in central midfield. It looks like Middlesbrough played either a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-4-2 last year, as the team has a couple of wide midfielders who don't look capable of moving up into the attacking positions I crave. One of the team's best players is 27 year old MR Grant Ward (3.5/4.0) - he may be a candidate for sale if I can't figure out how to properly use him.

F - At left wing, we have a couple of enticing options in 25 year old Polish international Bartosz Kapustka (3.5/4.0) and 19 year old Ian Barnett (3.5/4.0), who came out of our youth academy and was talented enough to spend his 18 year old season on loan with Southend in League Two. Kapustka is best suited as an inside forward while Barnett is a natural winger. I'm delighted with both. Things are bleak on the right side at the moment: we have 31 year old Jota (2.5/2.5) and 20 year old Joe Gibson (2.0/2.0), along with a bunch of strikers who can play the right wing in a pinch. We will need an upgrade here for sure. The club is blessed with some fine strikers, most notably 31 year old Andre Gray (3.5/3.5), a natural pressing forward who scored a team-leading 19 goals last season after coming over from Watford in a £2 million deal the year before. He's perfect for my pressing system but his age worries me, as strikers tend to lose their pace right around his age. Another interesting player is 24 year old Luis Suarez...not that one! This Suarez was another Watford prospect who joined the club in a £4.6 million deal only three weeks after they picked up his teammate Andre Gray in a separate transfer. Suarez hasn't been as prolific as Gray (he scored 12 goals last year versus Gray's 19) but he's a complete forward with solid credentials. There are also a couple of fine looking youngsters in U18 graduates Ben Appleby (2.0/4.0) and Jay O'Brien (2.5/3.5), along with an overabundance of veteran depth on the team ripe for sale in 28 year old Saido Berahino (3.0/3.0) and 31 year old Martin Braithwaite (3.0/3.0). We have additional depth pieces as well on the U23 team. We are incredibly deep at striker and if we use a one striker system, as expected, I'll need to start moving some of these guys out in order to bolster our numbers elsewhere.


We have a largely veteran roster that's solid in most areas but we still have a number of key things to address:

-- We need to find a capable backup in goal, preferably a youngster with potential to eventually take over as a starter.
-- We desperately need depth and perhaps a starter at right fullback along with a younger depth option on the left side.
-- We could use a more dynamic presence in central midfield, preferably a natural Mezzala to compliment our fine veteran core and perhaps a backup at defensive mid.
-- We need an injection of quality at right wing, along with depth at both AML and AMR.
-- We need to get rid of our veteran depth at striker, as we're carrying way too many for a team that plans on utilizing a one-striker formation.

Time to get to work...

[NoSkillz]

Summer 2022- Transfer Window



Retirements

None



Transfers OUT

GK - Dillon Phillips - Hull - £115,000
DC - Nathan Wood - Southampton - £6,000,000 (£14.75m)
DC - Semi Ajayi - Crystal Palace - £3,100,000 (£3.8m)
DC - Jake Clarke-Salter - Nottingham Forest - £2,000,000
DR - Harold Essien - West Brom - £10,000
MR - Grant Ward - Aston Villa - £3,200,000 (£3.4m)
MR - Jota - Swindon Town - £1,900,000
ST - Saido Berahino - Reading - £50,000
ST - Martin Braithwaite - AEK - £2,100,000 (£2.6m)
ST - Luis Suarez - Ipswich - £4,700,000 (£5.75m)

Lots of action here...

Starting from the top and working our way down, we move out backup goalkeeper Dillon Phillips after only one year with the club and one single substitute appearance. I wasn't actively trying to sell him but Hull made an offer that I was fine with and we move on.

The sale that hurt the most during this transfer window was 20 year old DC hot prospect Nathan Wood. Southampton came calling and Wood basically forced me to make the deal with the Premier League squad. I probably could have fought harder on this one, especially since Wood was one of the top two or three prospects at the club but getting up to £14 million with clauses was too much to ignore. Wood is a home-grown prospect at Middlesbrough and played in 45 games over a four year period with the senior team, scoring twice and adding a single assist. This is a tough loss.

We also lost fellow DC Semi Ajayi to Crystal Palace a short time later. I had made a solid acquisition to replace Wood but Ajayi felt threatened by the new addition and asked to be moved. I wanted Ajayi to play alongside the new addition but I couldn't talk him down from his high horse so I moved him for £3.1 million plus clauses. Ajayi joined Middlesbrough back in 2019 for £2.4 million from Rotherham and played three full seasons for the club, playing in 78 games while contributing one goal and two assists. That's our top two central defenders gone...

We lose DC Jake Clarke-Salter and DR Harold Essien in separate deals. Clarke-Salter was injured the entire preseason so I was taken aback when offered £2 million for his services. That said, we had picked him up for £2.2 million from Chelsea back in 2020 but I don't see this as a big loss. He leaves after playing 24 senior team games with us over a two year period, contributing one assist. Essien is another home-grown prospect who was simply a surplus to requirements and leaves without ever having suited up for the senior team.

Grant Ward was a talented player but his inability to play in an attacking midfield position rendered him useless in my preferred setup so we moved him to Villa. Ward came up through the Tottenham system and had spells with Ipswich and Preston before coming to Boro in 2020 in a £3.7 million deal. We should recoup that full amount in this deal due to easily attainable clauses - Ward didn't produce much by the looks of it, playing 61 games for the club, scoring only 3 goals and adding 3 measly assists.

Like Ward, Jota was someone who excelled most in a non-attacking position in midfield so we turn a nice profit after scooping him up on a free from Birmingham last year. Jota played in 24 games last year, providing 4 assists but zero goals. See ya later...

We move the two veteran strikers as hoped, as Saido Berahino and Martin Braithwaite are moved to Reading and AEK respectively. It took some doing to get rid of Berahino and I had to eat some of his salary to move him - strikers who don't score goals aren't really in demand. Go figure. He spent just one year at Middlesbrough, scoring four goals in 31 games. Meanwhile, Braithwaite fetches a decent fee but not when you consider that the club paid a whopping £9 million for his services back in 2017 from Toulouse. It looks like he was a solid contributor for the club - he spent five years here, playing in 153 games and contributing 39 goals. However, he was on the wrong side of 30 and he was at best our third choice striker here.

Finally, we are forced to move another solid striker in Luis Suarez when Premier League club Ipswich come calling. We make a tiny profit after picking him up from Watford two years ago. He started alongside Andre Gray often in his two years here, playing in 72 games, scoring 19 goals and adding 3 assists. We'll look to find a capable replacement in the market to replace him.



RELEASED PLAYERS

GK - Aynsley Pears
DR - Ryan Shotton
MC - Alfie Payne
AML - Connor Malley
ST - Tyrone O'Neill

Not much to see here. Just clearing some expiring contracts out - none of these guys will be missed.



Transfers IN

GK - Peter Phillips (2.0/2.5) - Free - 18 years old, England
GK - Curtis Anderson (2.0/2.0) - Free - 21 years old, England
DC - Teden Mengi (2.5/3.0)- Free - 20 years old, England
DC - Jacob Bell (1.5/2.5) - Free - 19 years old, England
DC - Nathanael Ogbeta (2.0/3.0) - Free - 21 years old, England
DR - Dujon Sterling (2.5/4.0) - Free - 22 years old, England
DM - Tudor Baluta (3.5/4.0) - Free - 23 years old, Romania
MC - Joe Willock (3.0/4.5) - Free - 22 years old, England
MC - Hamza Choudhury (4.0/4.0) - Free - 24 years old, England
AMR - Dodi Lukebakio (3.0/4.0) - Free - 24 years old, Belgium

DC - Jonathan Panzo (3.5/4.0) - £1,800,000 (From Monaco) - 21 years old, England
DR - Ethan Laird (3.5/4.0) - £175,000 (From Manchester United) - 20 years old, England
AMR - Rabbi Matondo (3.0/4.0) - £350,000 (From Manchester City) - 21 years old, Wales
ST - Eddie Nketiah (3.5/4.0) - £3,900,000 (From Arsenal) - 23 years old, England

We are very tidy and efficient in the transfer market, making a number of key signings on a free while being smart about our cash outlays as well.

Phillips will play goal with our U18 side while Anderson is just a depth pickup and likely to head out on loan. At DC, I'm most excited by Teden Mengi, who came up through Man United's youth system but was just released. He's got size and speed and while raw, he will definitely be one to watch this year. Nathanael Ogbeta, formerly part of Man City's youth setup, is solid as well and I can see him contributing this year as a depth piece while Jacob Bell is added depth and a likely loan candidate. Dujon Sterling, just released from Chelsea, is a pacy and very versatile piece who can play up and down the entire right side.

At DM, I was thrilled to add Romanian international Tudor Baluta, who had just been released by Watford. He should provide competition with incumbent Mathias Normann in our deep-lying playmaker role. The two biggest free pickups are central mids Joe Willock and Hamza Choudhury. Willock, who wasn't resigned by Arsenal after coming up through their youth program, is a natural advanced playmaker but looks like he can adapt to the Mezzala role that I like to employ. Choudhury is a major find - he's got Premier League experience after spending his entire career with Leicester and he's versatile enough to play both the box-to-box role or even the Mezzala role if necessary. Finally, we pick up imposing right winger Dodi Lukebakio on a free after he was released by Watford. This 6'2" forward also has Premier League experience and should at least form part of a rotation this coming season.

We do very well with our cash outlays, as all four of these players were transfer listed by request, likely due to being blocked at their respective positions with their senior teams. Jonathan Panzo is an exciting addition - he came up through the Chelsea academy and moved to Monaco in 2018 for £2.7 million. He spent a couple of seasons at Fulham on loan and recently spent a little bit of time with the Monaco senior team but mostly was part of their reserves last year, which obviously opened up this opportunity for me to get him cheaply. He's 6'2", has excellent pace and is a natural ball playing defender and will be the odds on favourite to be a starter for us right out of the gates. Right fullback Ethan Laird was blocked at Man United and we get him for a pittance. He's a bit raw and may need time to develop at only 20 years of age but he's got great potential. Rabbi Matando is another very pacy but extremely raw prospect - he was frozen out at Man City and we get him for practically nothing - I expect him to work a rotation with Lukebakio at AMR this season. Honestly, I tried to get a more influential player for the right side but failed so we'll be forced to go with the two youngsters this year.

Finally, I splashed some cash to bring in exciting striker Eddie Nketiah from Arsenal. He's more of a natural advanced forward and on the small side so he's not the greatest fit for our pressing system but he looks like he can grow into the role. With last year's leading scorer Andre Gray returning, I can afford to let Nketiah slow cook a bit.

I think we were very effective in the transfer market, doing exceptionally well despite a limited budget. We still had a couple of holes that I'd look to fill in the loan market.



Loans OUT

DC - Teden Mengi - Chesterfield - £5000/month
DR - Matthew Gibbins - Sheffield United - £5000/month

GK - Sol Brynn - Dundee - Free
GK - John Turton - Forest Green - Free
GK - Curtis Anderson - Ebbsfleet - Free
DL - Terry Stephenson - Tranmere - Free
DC - Aron Ekpiteta - Forest Green - Free
DC - Andrew Wilson - Gillingham - Free
DC - Nicholas Hood - Torquay - Free
DC - Jacob Bell - Swindon - Free
DR - David Hale - Barrow - Free
DR - Djed Spence - Torquay - Free
MC - Kian Spence - Exeter - Free
MC - Isiah Cornet - Blackpool - Free
MC - Adam Miles - Torquay - Free
MC - Isaac Fletcher - Notts County - Free
MC - Tim Liddle-Campbell - Ebbsfleet - Free
MC - Hayden Hackney - Blackpool - Free
MC - Hussein Pirbhai - Colchester - Free
MC - Ben Stephenson - Crewe - Free
MC - Cain Sykes - Boreham Wood - Free
AMR - Joe Gibson - Leyton Orient - Free
ST - Alberto Balde - Leyton Orient - Free
ST - Jay O'Brien - Hull - Free
ST - Ben Appleby - Crewe - Free
ST - Gabby McGill - Tranmere - Free
ST - Stephen Walker - Oxford - Free

Most teams would keep the majority of their depth around for the U23 team but I'd prefer to have these guys get regular first-team minutes in hopes of developing. All of these players have their wages covered by the loaning team so that was helpful, even though I'm currently well under my wage budget.

The big prospects out on loan include Mengi, Gibbins, Pirbhai, Ben Stephenson, O'Brien and Appleby.



Loans IN

GK - David Burton (2.5/2.5) - £4,800/week (From Brighton) - 33 years old, England
DL - Joel Lopez (3.0/4.0) - £1,900/week (From Arsenal) - 20 years old, Spain
DR - Aron Potts (3.5/4.0) - £800/week (From Newcastle) - 18 years old, England
AML - Angel Gomes (3.5/3.5) - £6,750/week (From Manchester United) - 21 years old, England
ST - Mason Greenwood (3.5/4.0) - £10,000/week (From Manchester United) - 20 years old, England

We dabble in the loan market to add to our quality and depth. David Burton was essentially a panic addition - I had been trying for weeks to bring in a really strong looking young goalkeeper on a transfer deal with Chelsea but when I finally got down to negotiating personal terms, he was looking for way more money than I was prepared to hand out. Hopefully we don't have to use him too often! The other four players will get the chance to play on a rotation basis throughout the season. Lopez adds a youth element to the left side of our defense, which was sorely needed. Potts returns for a second consecutive season on loan from Newcastle and my plan is to rotate him with newcomer Ethan Laird. Gomes is a versatile piece whose natural position is AMC (a position I don't utilize in my main formation) but he's equally adept at AML and is accomplished in central midfield as well. Finally, we are able to secure the services of exciting forward prospect Mason Greenwood from Man United - he will rotate in at striker along with incumbent Andre Gray and new signing Eddie Nketiah. Greenwood also can play AMR, which could be helpful.



Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins

We had a challenging and very condensed pre-season due to the fact that 2022 is a World Cup year. Preseason essentially started about two weeks earlier than usual and that also meant our regular season was starting in mid-July as opposed to the normal start date of early August. I also had a bit of a skeleton staff to start the season - before I was hired, I was given the chance to bring some Morecambe staff members with me but at the time, I guess I promised that once I was done with my changes, that I wouldn't add to my backroom staff until after the new year. A minor nuisance for sure.

We were able to get eight friendlies set up and we did well in going 6-1-1, with a 2-2 draw against Scottish Premiership side Rangers and a 2-1 loss to Manchester United our only non-wins. The most shocking preseason result saw us embarrass Anderlecht 8-1 here at Riverside Stadium!

Similar to when I first got started with Morecambe two years ago, it took some time for me to find my way within a veteran dressing room. Some of my player sales did not go over well with the vets and the new, younger additions to the squad caused many to feel that their places were being threatened. As indicated above, I'd eventually lose Semi Ajayi because of this and I had another unhappy central defender in the towering Aden Flint, who was most worried about his spot being taken by Jonathan Panzo. He was right to be worried but when Ajayi was sold, I'd be forced to put the sluggish but well-tenured DC into the lineup right alongside his counterpart.

The lads seemed to adapt well to my 4-1-4-1 DM formation so my plan was to move forward with that once again. I maintained the same leadership group as my predecessor, with Flint keeping the captain's armband and left fullback George Friend being named vice-captain.

The media felt we'd finish just ouside the playoff spots in 7th place while our board hoped for a mid-table finish. I went along with them but deep down, I feel we can challenge for promotion this year and my goal is a top-two finish that would see us avoid the playoffs altogether and get the auto-promotion up to the Premier League.

Our season begins on the road, as we travel to face Cardiff in my first official game as manager of Middlesbrough. We had a seriously condensed schedule early on, with three games in our first week so I elected to go with a veteran squad for our first game and heavily rotate throughout the first week. We also had numerous injuries throughout the preseason and were especially shorthanded at striker, as both Mason Greenwood and Eddie Nketiah were on the shelf, requiring us to put transfer listed Saido Berahino on the bench. At this point, we also still had Ajayi on the squad so he was part of our opening day starting eleven, which you can see right here:

GK - Darren Randolph
D - George Friend - Diego Polenta - Semi Ajayi - Ethan Laird
DM - Mathias Normann
M - Adam Clayton - George Saville
AM -Bartosz Kapustka - Rabbi Matondo
ST - Andre Gray

BENCH: Joe Bennett, Jonathan Panzo, Dujon Sterling, Hamza Choudhury, Joe Willock, Dodi Lukebakio, Saido Berahino

[NoSkillz]

2022/23 Sky Bet Championship - First Half Results


We would hold 56% of possession and outshoot our counterparts 20-7 (5-5 on target) but in the end, we couldn't break Cardiff down in a season-opening scoreless draw. That would be repeated four days later in our home opener, as once again we'd dominate in every stat except the one that counts...goals...in yet another 0-0 bore draw against Birmingham.

Luck wasn't on our side in those games but we were getting chances and that was reassuring. We'd stick to our gameplan and the wins would soon follow, with my first win in the Championship coming in our third game away against Aston Villa, as goals by striker Andre Gray and young fullback Ethan Laird propelled us to the 2-0 victory.

We started firing on all cylinders by game five, where we'd stroll into City Ground and destroy Nottingham Forest 7-2, with Gray notching a hat trick to lead the way.

The first half of the season went exceedingly well despite the very condensed nature of the schedule due to the 2022 World Cup taking place in Qatar starting in early November. We'd end the first half of the season on November 5th, crushing QPR 5-1 in their own stadium to finish our first 23 games with a wonderful 17-3-3 record, good for 54 points and a 12 point cushion at the top of the Championship table. Leeds and Millwall were tied on 42 points, Sheffield Wednesday was fourth with 41 points and Bournemouth was fifth with 40 points.

After going scoreless in our first two games, we'd start pumping in goals with regularity and hit the halfway point of the season with an incredible total of 62 goals with only 22 conceded, giving us a ridiculous goal differential of +40.

Key contributions were being made by goalkeeper Darren Randolph, who was playing almost every game for us, the central defending pair of Aden Flint and Jonathan Panzo, new fullback Ethan Laird, the central midfield duo of veteran George Saville and newcomer Joe Willock and we were led up front by striker Andre Gray, who showed killer instinct when in the box.



January 2023 - Transfer Window

There weren't many disappointments in that first half but we had a couple. Our biggest offseason signing, striker Eddie Nketiah, was injured to start the season and then battled incredibly poor form for almost the entire first half of the season, to the point where he couldn't even score with our reserves team. Hamza Choudhury was a slight disappointment as well, as he struggled to produce when called upon but I was hoping to give both players time to get settled before jumping to conclusions.

Unfortunately, Nketiah wouldn't give me the chance, as he handed in an official transfer request due to not getting enough playing time. I tried to reason with him and hoped that the one and a half month World Cup break would give him time to reconsider his stance but it was to no avail. That was something I'd have hanging over my head as we started back with some mid-December friendlies to get back to fitness before the second half of the Championship season would begin. I also had an unhappy Diego Polenta on the team, as he had become a backup option behind the tandem of Flint and Panzo.

As far as needs, I didn't have anything major other than depth issues, especially at striker. We were dealing with contant injuries and at one point in late December, just as the second half began, I had no healthy first team strikers available and was forced to use my top U18 striker, Matt Dickens a couple of times. With Nketiah likely leaving, I'd need some reinforcements. I was also looking for a potential backup goalkeeper, as David Burton, here on loan from Brighton, wasn't very good.



Transfers OUT

DC - Diego Polenta - £2,800,000 - Cardiff
MC - Adam Clayton - £350,000 - Sheffield United
ST - Eddie Nketiah - £5,500,000 - Cardiff

Both Polenta and Nketiah wanted out due to lack of first team football and both move to Cardiff in separate deals. Polenta joined Boro in 2020 and played two and a half seasons here, playing in 68 games, scoring four goals and adding three assists. I would have preferred to keep him but he deserves a chance to start at his age, without question. Nketiah just had no patience whatsoever and despite not producing felt entitled enough to demand playing time that I couldn't possibly take away from the prolific Andre Gray. The board and the fans are not happy with me at all but I was left with no choice, as the kid was causing issues in the locker room and I couldn't have that affect our growing chemistry. I make a small profit on him and insert some sell-on clauses just in case he blossoms at Cardiff. Nketiah leaves after scoring only two goals (one on a penalty) in 12 appearances and 3 starts. I wish he had given me more time but perhaps this is for the best.

The final transfer out sees 34 year old Adam Clayton leave the club in a modest deal with Sheffield United. Clayton was on an expiring contract and was, at best, our fourth or fifth best option in central midfield and as a result, was mostly bench fodder here this year. Clayton joined Boro back in 2014 in a £1 million deal with Hudderfield. He was a solid citizen here at Middlesbrough for many years and leaves after playing eight and a half seasons and 299 games (!), where he scored ten goals and added eight assists. He certainly wasn't prolific but we'll miss his leadership and defensive capabilities.



Transfers IN

GK - Dean Henderson (3.5/4.0) - £4,000,000 (from Manchester United) - 25 years old, England

The 32 year old David De Gea is still considered one of the best keepers in the world and has been blocking Henderson for years at United. He was transfer listed by request and we scoop him up at a slight discount as a result. After an incredible start where he had four clean sheets in our first five games, incumbent Boro keeper Darren Randolph started to see his form slip a bit, likely due to me overplaying him and I'm hoping that Henderson will provide him with some regular rest over the second half of the season, with thoughts of promoting him to first choice should he play as well as I hope.



Loans OUT

DR - Matthew Gibbins - Preston - £10,000/month
DR - Dujon Sterling - Derby - Free
ST - Ben Appleby - Plymouth - Free
ST - Jake Simpson - Cambridge - Free

I actually recalled Gibbins in early January due to some injuries and then loan him back out, this time to Preston for 10k/month. Appleby was recalled as well but this was because he wasn't getting enough playing time at Crewe. Hopefully he'd see more action at Plymouth. Simpson was playing for my U18 team and Cambridge was looking to give him a chance in the first team so I decided to let him go. Finally, Dujon Sterling was a third choice player behind the superlative Ethan Laird and Newcastle loanee Aron Potts so I send him to Derby in hopes of him seeing some first team action.



Loans IN

MC - Julian Rosales (4.0/4.0) - £25,000/week (From PSG) - 19 years old, Mexico
ST - Christian Keller (3.5/4.0) - £6,250/week (From Chelsea) - 19 years old, England
ST - Daishawn Redan (2.5/3.5) - £5,250/week (From Chelsea) - 21 years old, Holland

So I unknowingly made a big mistake bringing Rosales in - I needed some extra cover after the sale of Adam Clayton and my scouts turned me on to this new signing from PSG who they were looking to loan out for seasoning. This was my first look up close at a "Wonderkid" and I was thrilled when he decided to come over to Middlesbrough for our championship run. However, what I didn't know was that since he had played for both PSG and his hometown team Chivas in Mexico this year prior to arriving at Boro, he wasn't able to be registered with a third team in one calendar year. So Rosales would spend the next six months playing with our U23 team...very disappointing...and kind of an expensive mistake since I was picking up a good portion of his wages while here.

Keller is yet another Wonderkid and will provide able assistance to Andre Gray and Manchester United loanee Mason Greenwood. He looks like quite the prospect. Redan is a very speedy striker and I was just worried about the constant injury issues Greenwood has been having so he's decidedly a fourth choice option for us...maybe even a fifth choice behind our U18 superstar Matt Dickens, who is absolutely throttling the youth level this year.

We have a comfortable lead in the division and we're looking to push forward in hopes of earning that coveted spot in the Premier League next season.

[NoSkillz]

2022/23 Sky Bet Championship - Second Half Results


France would win the 2022 World Cup and domestic leagues would fire back up again during the Christmas holidays, with the second half of the season starting on Boxing Day at Riverside Stadium as we'd host Cardiff. We'd continue our fine form after the long 7 week break, winning 3-0 on the strength of a Joe Willock brace.

Our league form was solid, if unspectacular through February - we were interchanging wins and draws but most important for a team at the top of the table was the fact that we weren't losing. In our eleven games in January and February, we'd win six and draw five to consolidate our position within the league.

We'd win our first three games in March to take our unbeaten streak in league play to an incredible 19 games, putting us within shouting distance of guaranteed promotion. We picked that exact time to lose our form, as we'd drop a shock 1-0 decision away to bottom half Millwall and then lose 2-1 to in-form Brentford to close out the month.

We'd head home for an early March game against Crystal Palace, knowing a win and some help would lock up second place at worst and an automatic promotion. We'd get that help and take care of our own business as well, dominating QPR 7-1 in our most one-sided win of the year to guarantee a spot in the top flight for 2023/24!

We had five games left to try to lock up the two points needed to win the Championship league title and a 4-0 win the following weekend against Sunderland allowed us to celebrate in front of our passionate and loyal fan base.

We are headed to the Premier League next season!!!

MIDDLESBROUGH WIN THE SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP ! ! !

We'd call up some U18 players and play some depth pieces in our final four games, where we'd win one, lose one and draw two, ultimately finishing top of the table by nine points.

Second placed Leeds actually had the best record in the league in the second half of the season, with our 46 points finishing 3 points back. We'd finish with 30 wins, 10 draws and only 6 losses, good for an even 100 points, a Middlesbrough team record and only six points back of Reading's league record total of 106 set back in 2005/06. Most impressively, we ended the season with a +76 goal differential.

What a great season...

You'll notice in the screen cap below that my former club, Morecambe, finished bottom of the table and unfortunately would be getting relegated back to League One.







Sky Bet Championship 2022-23 League Awards

- Golden Boot (Top Goalscorer): Rayhaan Tulloch, Sheffield Wednesday - 26
- Most Assists: Callum Gribbin, Millwall - 15
- Highest Average Rating: Joe Willock, Middlesbrough - 7.78 (38 apps)
- Most Player of Match Awards: Sead Haksabanovic, Sheffield Wednesday - 11[/b]
- Sky Bet Championship Player of the Year: Joe Willock, Middlesbrough - 38 apps 21 gls 12 asts 7.78 avg
- EFL Young Player of the Year: Ethan Laird, Middlesbrough - 33 apps 9 gls 6 asts 7.61 avg
- Championship Manager of the Year: NoSkillz, Middlesbrough

Joe Willock was sensational this year and he was essentially the engine that propelled our team on a game-by-game basis. We'll have more on his incredible exploits when I do a season-ending recap on our players. Not far behind him was fellow new signing Ethan Laird, who scored an incredible nine goals as a right fullback - our tactical setup allows him to get up into the play constantly and he was a menace for the opposition with his late runs into the box.

I'd twice be named manager of the month for the Championship (August and January) and would win my second consecutive manager of the year award as well.



PFF Championship Team of the Year

GK - Darren Randolph, Middlesbrough
DL - Harry Toffolo, Wolves
DC - Aden Flint, Middlesbrough
DC - Jonathan Panzo, Middlesbrough
DR - Ethan Laird, Middlesbrough
ML - Ian Barnett, Middlesbrough
MC - Joe Willock, Middlesbrough
MC - George Saville, Middlesbrough
MR - Ezgjan Alioski, Leeds
ST - Andre Gray, Middlesbrough
ST - Patrick Bamford, Leeds

We place an utterly ridiculous eight players on the league's team of the year. Again, more on each of these players' contributions in a follow up post.

[NoSkillz]

Cup Competitions 2022-23



Carabao Cup

We made a spirited run in the Carabao Cup this year, starting with a easy 5-1 win against League Two side Notts County. We'd edge past third tier side Manfield 2-1 and then dominate Premier League side Brighton 2-0 at Riverside to move onto the fourth round. In one of our more impressive performances of the year, we'd march into Bet365 Stadium and knock off another Premier League side in Stoke by a 4-0 score and then duplicate that feat in the quarterfinals, knocking off yet another Premier League side in Watford by the same scoreline.

Heady stuff!

We'd move on to the semi-finals to face Premier League side Fulham and when West Ham pulled off a shocking 2-1 upset over Chelsea in the other semi, I should have really been smarter about my team selection for our own semi. The problem was that I had another huge Cup game coming up in three days against Man United and I almost immediately regretted not putting more emphasis on the Carabao Cup semi, one that we'd end up losing 3-2 at the Etihad. Fulham would end up winning over West Ham in the final to secure a place in the Europa League qualifiers for the next season...that could have been us. Oh well...a hell of a run for a Championship side regardless.

1st Round: Notts County 1 - 5 Middlesbrough
2nd Round: Middlesbrough 2 - 1 Mansfield
3rd Round: Middlesbrough 2 - 0 Brighton
4th Round: Stoke 0 - 4 Middlesbrough
Quarter-Finals: Middlesbrough 4 - 0 Watford
Semi-Finals: Fulham 3 - 2 Middlesbrough (Neutral Site - Etihad Stadium)



The Emirates FA Cup

We'd enter the FA Cup in the third round and get a tough draw away at Brighton, our second cup match against them this year. We'd edge them by a goal but that was only good enough to earn a financially lucrative home tie against Manchester United. In an emotionally charged, see-saw battle, we'd drop a tough 5-3 decision despite holding 57% of possession to fall out of the competition early.

3rd Round: Brighton 1 - 2 Middlesbrough
4th Round: Middlesbrough 3 - 5 Manchester United


One further note on cup competitions. Our U23 team would beat Chelsea's U23 squad 5-1 to win the 2023 Premier League Cup while our U18 team would win the U18 Premier League Cup after a 5-3 win over Liverpool's youth squad. So a fine season for our backups and prospects as well!

[NoSkillz]

2022-23 Middlesbrough FC Recap and Statistics







2022-23 Middlesbrough FC Best Eleven

GK - Darren Randolph - 40 apps 0g 6.96 avg
DL - George Friend - 21 apps 1g 7.39 avg
DC - Jonathan Panzo - 39 apps 5g 7.49 avg
DC - Aden Flint - 45 apps 4g 7.32 avg
DR - Ethan Laird - 38 apps 9g 7.54 avg
DM - Tudor Baluta - 23 apps 3g 7.19 avg
MC - Joe Willock - 41 apps 21g 7.73 avg
MC - George Saville - 41 apps 11g 7.33 avg
AML - Ian Barnett - 39 apps 8g 7.24 avg
AMR - Rabbi Matondo - 32 apps 6g 7.19 avg
ST - Andre Gray - 37 apps 25g 7.29 avg

Other notables: GK Dean Henderson 10 apps 0g 6.96; DC Diego Polenta 11 apps 1g 7.01; DR Aron Potts 24 apps 3g 7.33; DM Mathias Normann 35 apps 4g 7.26; MC Hamza Choudhury 33 apps 4g 7.03; AMR Dodi Lukebakio 29 apps 7g 7.23; ST Christian Keller 12 apps 8g 7.33

Middlesbrough FC Fans Player of the Year: Joe Willock




- The stats shown above take into account all competitions with our senior team and include everyone who played at least one game for the big club this past season.
- Asterisk (*) means player did not finish season with club



Goalkeeping

-- Darren Randolph was immense early in the season, garnering four clean sheets in his first five games but started to slow down a bit as the season progressed, likely from overuse. I brought in David Button on loan from Brighton but he did not instill confidence in our side or his manager so I rode Randolph like a bucking bronco for the first half of the season. I'd splash some cash on Man United backup Dean Henderson and he got about half of the games after the break, playing quite well except for one notably poor effort. U18 prospect Sean Gregory got a late season start when we had already locked up the division title. Overall, it was a strong year from our keepers and in Henderson, we likely have a player capable of taking over the reigns from the veteran Randolph as soon as next year.



Defence

-- As indicated in past posts, our tactical setup allows our right fullbacks the ability to move up and down the pitch at will and as a result, we usually get some solid production from that side. Young Ethan Laird, signed for the smallest of transfer fees from Manchester United, was sensational in his first full year as a senior player, scoring an incredible nine goals and providing a dynamic presence in transition. He's still a bit raw defensively but his playmaking abilities certainly make the little mistakes worth it in the end. He was backed up more than capably by Newcastle loanee Aron Potts, who was very solid when called upon. On the left side, we heavily rotated between veterans George Friend and Joe Bennett along with loanee Joel Lopez. The 21 year old Lopez became our go-to guy until getting injured in January and he'd miss over two months, giving the veterans a chance to get back on the pitch. All three were very good. Dujon Sterling wasn't used much in the first half of the season so I sent him out on loan in January while U18 prospect Martin Guest got two late season starts when we had the division clinched.

-- Our incredible depth at centre back was tested in the preseason when we were forced to move our two preferred options at the time in Semi Ajayi and Nathan Wood. We'd also have to move Digeo Polenta in January due to a lack of first team football. That was because towering veteran and Middlesbrough captain Aden Flint and dynamic new signing Jonathan Panzo were just too good to take out of the lineup. I was pleasantly surprised by Flint all season - he's a lumbering player but at 6'6" tall, he was a dominating player in the air and his lack of pace was made up for by his partner Panzo. Simply put, Panzo was a revelation and his development throughout the season was pronounced. I think he's going to be an excellent Premier League defender and I'm guessing he'll soon be an English international as well if he keeps it up. After the January departure of Polenta, we recalled young Teden Mengi from loan and he was very good when needed. He's got size and speed and could be an excellent complimentary piece for us going forward. Nathanael Ogbeta was our fourth choice DC and didn't hurt us when on the pitch. I'm worried about how Flint's lack of pace will translate to Premier League football but otherwise, I'm satisfied with where we're at here.



Central Midfield

-- We had two excellent defensive mids in Mathias Normann and newcomer Tudor Baluta and both played exceptionally well all season. Honestly, I'm not sure how Baluta made our team of the year over Normann, considering he played less games AND had an average rating that was less than him but perhaps it's due to the fact Normann, a very versatile player, spent some time in central midfield when we had injury issues. Regardless, both were superb and both are simply plug-and-play options with no warts whatsoever.

-- I don't even know where to start with the sensational Joe Willock. Okay, lets start with the goals - he scored 21 (!!!) goals from central midfield, with none of them coming on free kicks or on penalties. In all my years playing Football Manager, I've never had a central midfielder score that many and I haven't even talked about HOW he scored them. So many screamers from outside the area that I lost count...countless late runs into the box to give us victories. Amazing throughballs and excellent playmaking ability. He's a wonderful footballer and I think his skills will translate very well to the Premier League. 29 year old George Saville was hard to take out of the lineup despite us having a younger and arguably more talented Hamza Choudhury nipping at his heels. Early in the season especially, Saville was scoring big goals and making plays but he did slow down as the season progressed, allowing Choudhury to wake from his own early season funk. Choudhury really came on strong at the end and I think will be a fine complimentary piece in the future, especially due to the fact he can play all three of our midfield roles (Mezzala, Box-to-Box, Deep Lying Playmaker) with equal aplomb. We sold veteran Adam Clayton in January and Jonny Howson took over as the fourth choice midfielder, getting a few appearances off the bench and as a starter. 17 year old Jack Bates was excellent on our U18 team and still has another year of eligibility there so we'll continue to slow cook him in hopes of developing another solid senior team member. We got 54 goals from our defensive and central mids this year, a mind-boggling total.



Forwards

-- We'll start on the left wing, where young home-grown star Ian Barnett ended up getting the majority of starts over Polish international Bartosz Kapustka. Late in the season, I noticed that Barnett was being called a "Wonderkid" by media pundits, my first truly home-grown Wonderkid in all my years of management. I can't take any credit for this, other than giving him playing time...it's obvious that the Middlesbrough youth setup is among the best in English football and it's something I'm going to give even more attention to in years to come. Back to Barnett - he wasn't super prolific but I'm guessing the goals and assists will come. Kapustka was actually very solid playing a role that isn't exactly natural for him - he's a playmaking inside forward who was asked to play the wing and he still contributed 10 assists in only 16 starts, an excellent return. I was a bit worried about our two new signings on the right wing but the young and raw Rabbi Matondo developed quicker than expected while Dodi Lukebakio was a force in the air and scored a number of headers and a couple of screamers with his powerful left foot. Manchester United loanee Angel Gomez was a nice chess piece for us - his best position is attacking central mid but for us he slotted in capably as a left winger or Mezzala. He was especially good as a substitute, scoring a number of late goals at key times for our squad in relief.

-- Andre Gray is a grizzled veteran at 31 years of age but he's a natural pressing forward which made him a perfect fit in our tactical setup. He ran wild early in the season, scoring goals almost at will but those goals dried up considerably in the second half of the year, when he went on close to a two month goal drought. Thankfully, January loanee Christian Keller picked up the slack and the Chelsea Wonderkid was a dominant force at times. He's going to be a good one. July signing Eddie Nketiah was quickly sold in January due to lack of first team football - he never could get settled here and the board and fans certainly weren't thrilled when I moved him to Cardiff and he started off his career there with 10 goals in 12 games!!! Thankfully Keller and Manchester United loanee Mason Greenwood alleviated some of that pressure with fine play on their own. Greenwood couldn't stay healthy this year but was very effective when available. One name to watch out for in the future is Matt Dickens - this 17 year old home-grown striker scored an incredible 44 goals for our U18 and U23 squads and scored two more times in five appearances with our senior squad. He's got great speed and is a clinical finisher. He's still got one more year of youth team eligibility left but I don't know what more he can prove at that level. He may be good enough to play for us next year but I'm likely going to look to loan him out so he can begin his professional career at a league where he can dominate.



Year-End Financials





There is a substantial difference in income and turnover once you reach the Championship and I know that the jump will be even more pronounced next year when we hit the Premier League. Our income was approximately 15x larger last year with Middlesbrough in the Championship versus our final year at Morecambe in League One. We made a decent profit and our average attendance was about 6500 less than capacity and ranked inside the top five in the league.



Closing Thoughts

We had a wildly successful first year in Middlesbrough and earn a convincing Championship title to gain promotion to arguably the biggest league in the world.

I'm honestly delighted to be at Middlesbrough and at this point, I feel I can accomplish a great deal at this club. We have a patient and seemingly rich chairman, incredible facilities, a loyal and fervent supporter base and a good mix of veteran and youth in our playing roster.

I've bounced around quite a bit in my first few years in management but feel I can set roots here with the goal of bringing a Premier League championship to Middlesbrough while hopefully seeing eventual success in Europe as well.

It looks like I'm going to be given a pretty healthy budget to work with next season and I greatly look forward to building a sustainable model for continued success here at Boro.

[Chas in Cinti]

Leaving us waiting for Premier League success?

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti

Leaving us waiting for Premier League success?

Ha!

Actually, I'm currently in February 2024, about 75% of the way through my first season in the Premier League with Middlesbrough. So I'm getting close to being able to recap the season.

It's going very, very well so far!

Thanks for reading...updates to come.