Firing Blanks at Nene Park - A WWSM2005 Dynasty

[bbgunn]

The other day, I went looking through some of my favorite dynasty threads on this forum, mainly FrogMan's soccer threads (A Frog at Kenilworth Road, etc.) and Eaglesfan27's adventures with Harrogate Town and Man U. For some reason, it made me want to pull out my old copy of WWSM2005 and give it a go again, this time doing a dynasty that I can report here.

In case you are wondering, the title (Firing Blanks at Nene Park) is an homage to those old "A Frog At..." titles. As for Nene Park... you'll see why in a few posts.

I loaded up the English leagues (Conference North/South on up) only (sorry - my computer is not that great). Then I made my WWSM alter ego, using my real birthdate. With a summer 2004 start, that makes me 26 years of age. (Really going off the deep end here. ) I decided to use the "Start Unemployed" option and see what team I can land a job with.

The premise is simple: Become a good manager and work my way up the ranks. My ultimate goal is to get a job with Aston Villa (my favorite EPL team in real life). I put the Villans as my favorite team with the hope that they notice me down the road.

SOME NOTES BEFORE I BEGIN
*While I've had lots of success with previous CM games, I have yet to win anything other than an MLS title with WWSM2005. If I win anything in this dynasty, I'll be pleased. Feel free to give me any suggestions that you might have.
*I'm usually busy with my social life on the weekends, so don't expect any updates then, unless I really have some free time. Even during the week, I tend to be busy, but I'll try to update this as much as I can.
*I don't know how long this dynasty will last, as I'm waiting for my brother to send me a copy of WWSM2007. I may start a new one at that time, but until then, I'll give this a go.

[bbgunn]

2004 Aug 15

Job Update
I got a job, I got a job! Rushden & Diamonds, a League Two side, has decided to take a chance on me by hiring me as their new manager. I'm excited to finally break through here, and I'm looking forward to managing at Nene Park. Wait a minute... where is Nene Park? Ir...Irlingborough? Where's that? Oh well... it's a job nonetheless.

The media say that Rushden should be able to finish in the top half of League Two this season, and they hope that I have what it takes to take them there. Man, the pressure is starting already. Add to that the fact that the Chairman told me that I will only have a transfer budget of $12,000 to start with, plus I have to get the team's wages down. Bummer...

I take over Rushden two games into the season. They are currently 0-1-2 and at the bottom of the league in 24th place. We gotta get this thing turned around.

[bbgunn]

2004 Aug 16

Arrival in Irthlingborough
Yeah, it's called Irthlingborough. Some guy on the train told me that on the way to my future home city.



I get off at a small village smack in the middle of England. Only 9,000 people live here, I'm told - quite a shock for a city boy like me. How do they fill the stands for Rushden and Diamonds games? I find out as soon as I step into Nene Park for the first time. The place has a capacity of only 6,441, and not all of those are seated. I take a look at the players on the pitch and think: Nobody is going to notice me here. I start to wonder if I can be a success here, and, if not, if I can get noticed for another job.

[bbgunn]

2004 Aug 17

Team Evaluation
Well, time to evaluate the team and see what I have to work with. I'll just take a look at the more important players at this time:

Goalkeepers
Well, just one to look at here:

Billy Turley (ENG, Age: 31, Value: $20k)
For a League Two goalkeeper, Turley is not bad, but not good, either. His best qualities are his reflexes, eccentricity, bravery and positioning. So he's the type of guy that will throw himself in harm's way if necessary. But how many shots can he block throughout the year?

Defenders
John Dempster (D/DM C, SCO, 21, $48k)
Despite his age, I see Dempster as the rock of my defense. The Scotsman is relatively good at tackling and jumping, plus he has a good work rate, teamwork, and bravery.

Peter Hawkins (D/DM L, ENG, 25, $40k)
Another solid defender for the time being. Has good heading skill - great for those set pieces and for snuffing out crosses. Is naturally gifted and has great determination and a solid work rate. He is poor with decision-making, however.

Graham Allen (D RC, ENG, 27, $32K)
Allen is good at heading, and his mental attributes include bravery, aggression, and work rate, not to mention super-high determination! He's going to give you his all. However, he has poor dribbling skills. Might be better to play him on the backline than as a full back.

Phil Gulliver (D C, ENG, 21, $20K)
This guy has his head on straight, and is a good presence in the locker room at a young age. His best attributes are all mental: work rate, bravery, determination. But physically, he needs work. His dribbling and technique are not quite up to par.

Sean Connelly (D/DM R, ENG, 34, $12K)
Not the Goldfinger and Dr. No star... sorry. The second-oldest player on the team, but he doesn't quite have as much talent as the other aforementioned defenders.

Midfielders
Andy Burgess (AM LC, ENG, 23, $60K)
If Burgess is not the best player on the team, he is the most valuable at this time. He works well with his teammates, and he has high determination and a good work rate. Has a bit of flair, and he has considerable natural physical ability that needs to be tapped. The only knock on his game is his dismal penalty-taking skills.

David Bell (AM RC, ENG, 20, $56K)
Another important player for Rushden. Quite young, but he has a lot of potential. He may be the fastest player on the team as well as the most agile. Plus, he matches Burgess with his flair.

Marcus Kelly (AM RL, ENG, 18, $52K)
Kelly will be the youngest starter on my squad. Like Bell, he is one of our best midfielders despite his age. Has great natural ability that needs to be honed. Is determined, has a good work rate, and also has a bit of flair. This midfield will be entertaining.

Gary Mills (M C, ENG, 23, $18K)
The best passer on our team. Also has many of the good mental qualities mentioned earlier, such as determination, teamwork, and aggression, although I wonder if he could be too aggressive at times.

Andrew Sambrook (D/M RC, ENG, 25, $14K)
Still has a lot to learn; not so creative, and has poor dribbling skill. However, his versatility makes him a top sub off of the bench. Good teamwork and work rate.

Forwards
Alex Hay (F RC, ENG, 22, $20K)
Is our best striker, but that isn't saying much, really. We might be getting more goals from our midfielders. Anyway, back to Hay. Good long shot ability, but everything else needs some more work. Still, overall he is the best option as one of our strikers.

Drewe Broughton (S C, ENG, 25, $20K)
Our second option for goalscoring. What I like about him is his decent heading skill. Has a lot of physical potential as well. But he also has quite a few negatives: bad corner kicking, bad crossing, bad long shot ability (keep him close to goal before shooting), and bad penalty taking.

Craig Dove (AM/F RC, ENG, 22, $16K)
Not so great at this time, but with his versatility, makes a good sub. Terrible at headers, but has a good head on his shoulders and a good work rate. Hopefully he can push himself to improve.

Tactics
I'll start off using my famous (infamous?) Gunn Diamond tactic, which looks like this:


I'm envisioning Burgess to be the guy to control the direction of this team during possesion, so I'm putting him at AMC. Bell and Kelly will be capable as wingers.

I have the two center backs with back arrows because I feel that we are going to get a lot of shot attempts taken at us. If Allen had any dribbling skills, I would have him at right full back, but let's see what Connolly can do there.

[bbgunn]

WARNING: I took notes on my first three matches without really going in-depth, so the reports for those games will be bare bones. As I move on and get used to this dynasty reporting style, I'll improve on that. In the meantime, let me know if there is anything you want to see.

2004 Aug 21

Notts County 2-0 Rushden
My first game as manager of Rushden and Diamonds. We went with the aforementioned lineup and tactic, and it didn't work out well for us, at least not on the road against Notts Co, a team in 10th place in the 24-team League Two. (In case you forgot, we were, and still are, dead last.) The only player that did anything was Andy Burgess, the only player with above a 6/10 rating. We fall to 0-1-3 in the standings, and as for my personal record, I am officially 0-0-1.

[path12]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

[on the road against Notts Co, a team in 10th place in the 24-team League Two.

You mean that 1st Division powerhouse Notts Co. Oh, wait, that's my career.

Following along.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by path12

You mean that 1st Division powerhouse Notts Co. Oh, wait, that's my career.

Following along.

Hmmm... makes me feel better about that Notts Co. loss. Thanks for following along!

[bbgunn]

2004 Aug 23

Hawkins Out
One of my best defenders, fullback Paul Hawkins, went down with a collarbone injury in training today. That severely weakens an already weak defense. The physios say it may be some time before he sees the pitch again.

PREVIEW: League Cup Round One, vs Brentford
My second match as Rushden manager will be a League Cup match on Wednesday. We face Brentford in a first round matchup. It is also my first game in Irthlingborough, and I hope I can impress the home crowd with my Gunn Diamond playing style.

The lineup will be the same as before, but with Hawkins out, Stuart Gray will take over his spot as the left full back.

[bbgunn]

2004 Aug 25

RUSHDEN & DIAMONDS FOOTBALL NEWS
League Cup: Rushden 0-2 Brentford

Rushden & Diamonds had their hopes of advancing in the League Cup squashed when they were outclassed by a focused League One team in Brentford 2-0 at Nene Park. Brentford's two goals came not too long after halftime, in the 48th and 56th minutes.

5,596 Rushden fans came out to see the League Cup loss. Despite controlling possession 58% to Brentford's 42%, the home team had only one off-target shot the entire game, while their opponents had six (three of them on-target). Nevertheless, goalkeeper Billy Turley took the blame for the loss.

"It's all on me," he said. "I was the worst player on the pitch. Those two goals should not have gone in."

Rushden remains in last place.

[bbgunn]

2004 Aug 26

Change in Tactics
It's obvious to me that the Gunn Diamond is not cutting it here at Nene Park. I'm pleased to a point with the defense, but I think the midfielders are having trouble getting the ball to the other side of the pitch. With what amounts to a hole in the middle of the formation, my midfielders don't have a lot of passing options and not a lot of skill to create possibilities.

Taking that and our players' skills into consideration, I've decided to change our main formation to a 3-5-2, or actually, a 3-2-3-1-1. It looks like this:



This shores up the midfield a lot more, I think. The wingers will work a lot in this formation, but they will have options should they need to bail out. I kept the AMC position to utilize the skills of our top midfielders. Burgess plays better on the left, so he is there to hopefully set up Hay for some more offense. Let's see if this works.

[condors]

I am currently playing as Rushden in fm2007, good luck

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by condors

I am currently playing as Rushden in fm2007, good luck

Thanks, and you too. If you're successful, maybe you can give me some tips.

[bbgunn]

2004 Aug 27

PREVIEW: vs Southend (19th in League Two. Rushden - 24th)
I feel good about this game. The last two opponents were quality, but Southend is closer to us in the table. I'm hoping that the 3-2-3-1-1 will reap dividends for us here at home.

Here's the lineup for that game:

GK - Turley
DC - Gulliver
DC - Dempster
DC - Allen
DML - Gray
DMR - Andrew Sambrook (not so confident about this, but he looks like our best option here)
MC - Kelly
MC - Mills
MC - Bell
AMC - Burgess
FC - Hay

[path12]

What do your team instructions look like in that formation?

[bbgunn]

Sorry guys, but as the save game is messed up, I'm pulling the plug on this dynasty. I'll start another when the time is right.

[condors]

look forward to the next one