 | Hello to all CRFC fans and fellow ItsAGoal managers,
This is my first ever blog entry, and thus will be a good one, I hope you'll agree. It will feature the overall situation I'm in, in greater detail and what has been done to resolve the issues I inherited.
I joined itsagoal at what I feel was a perfect time. It was day 55, so the itsagoal season was nearing the finish line, and I was paired up with a division 4 side, in 15th place. The club had been on the sore end of a 4-0 walloping off of a very respectable Mardara United side. The morale was low and the club had been without a manager, or any proper management for a good amount of time and the club was falling into poor shape.
I told my players to look forward and not to dwell on the past. So we focussed on the upcoming game against a Ammington Toffees side giving it all to stay in the division. They would try 110%, but I was confident we could get the 3 points, and get off to a very positive start, however I faced a challenge which all new managers face, and very few get it right. I set up the team, and began to view past games for tactics, although since The Cuban Rose F.C hadn't had a manager since day 1, the tactics were pretty dull, and normal, with little vary in approaches and very varied results. So I had to take a risk, and taking inspiration from the club I supported since the day I was born, I went a defensive 4-5-1 and looked to gain maximum control off the game and stop any opposing attacks by dominating the midfield. We won 2-0 after a Stenmark penalty and a goal from Thayer.
I was very thankful to get the start I was hoping for, and the 2-0 was a sign of good things to come. We then had a weekend break, and it was time for myself to get my head down. I paid close attention to the finances, sorting out contracts, and some contract negotiations are currently ongoing but we are close to resolving the issue. Some players will be released at the end of the season if we are not promoted, and promotion is impossible now. I was looking to keep my squad average age down and I'm going to try and bring in some youngsters. My plan was to build from the back, and when I can make transfers on day 6 of next season, I will definitely get down to business with a couple of players, whom I've already stated interest to, to there respective managers. I saw a good amount of potential in the side and became a subscriber largely so I could take better control of the training and edit my club.
A busy weekend reached it's climax, and I spent a good hour analyzing and setting tactics for the big game against Ware FC the next day. We were by far considered the underdogs for this match, but I proved that CRFC are far from a pushover team. We secured a 1 - 1 draw after a 59th minute Stenmark strike to level the scores. Not to mention the fact that this was away from home, the side did tremendously well.
I've been very pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of fellow managers on itsagoal, recieving some 'welcome' messages and dealing with managers over transfers by pm, who were all very friendly, indeed.
So, we now look forward to a tricky opponent tonight in Drolysden. They are two places behind us in the table (6 points), and it will take a good effort to overcome this side, despite their recent lack of form. I've addressed the situation regarding ticket prices, and I'm happy to announce that ticket prices have dropped by 10, to 18.
Enjoy the game!
Aidan_nmw. |
