Pre-season is Complete

The process of pre-season is now completed and it did have its uses; I have decided to use a simple 4-4-2 for the time being at least, I know my team much better and am much closer to being able to pick my strongest side and have built up the sides fitness, teamwork and morale. i finished my last blog after a 2-0 defeat to Barnsley, my pre-season concluded as such:

Oldham 3 - 0 Ipswich

A really impressive result in my opinion against a very good team, who could survive in the Premier League. A victory would have been shocking enough, but at 3-0 it is closer to a drubbing. We played 4-4-2 and had my same attacking tactics that I plan to use in League 1. Common sense would say to go defensive as they could thrash us but I had no use with practising ultra-defensive techniques, so I thought we might as well give it a go and it paid off. The scorers were Alessandra (28th min), Hughes (51st) and Fernandes (84th). The strikeforce worked well together and I was impressed they both scored against a tough defence and goalkeeper. Star performers were Alessandra, Greegan, Hughes, Taylor and Fleming. Fleming's performance in this game has earnt him the 1st choice goalkeepers place, which I did not envisage. He kept a clean sheet v. a very tough side. The MOM though was a substitute, Fabrice Fernandes came on a half time to play left wing in replacement of Fabio Ferriera and played brilliantly, tearing Ipswich apart.

Oldham 0 - 5 Manchester City

Here is an example of taking things too far, after the success of playing good attacking football against Ipswich I decided to attempt the same against Man City. The players my feeder club played were top quality and there was no chance we were going to beat them. We were losing 3-0 at HT (Johnson x2 and Robinho). At this stage I thought that we might as well try and went 'all-out-attack', this resulted in us conceding 2 more goals(one to Hamann and another is credited to my 'keeper Crossley because he pushed a Zhirkov shot into the crossbar but then in). 5-0 seems like a thrashing, but in reality we didn't play that bad. Ruled Crossley right out the running for no.1 also. There were little positives from this game, but then that was to be predicted. Unfortunatly the board had arranged the friendlies when I arrived, next season I will be in charge ! I think it is a good idea to play bigger teams for a challenge and experience, but they are too far ahead at the moment.

AFC Telford 0 - 3 Oldham

The final pre-season fixture, designed to make sure we are in winning form and high morale before the big kick-off. I played a strong line-up, the only thing hindering me was fatigue. Fleming played again and kept another clean sheet*. Hughes and Alessandra both got on the scoresheet as per usual and I was very impressed, especially with Alessandra who played and has been playing great. The final scorer was Babayaro who came on at the 70th minute and played out of position in LM (at the 70th minute I made a flood of changes due to the upcoming competitive season, with fitness on my mind, and moved to a 4-3-2-1 formation) and played so well he got MOM. Andy Liddell also played well. This friendly served its purpose.

* Goalkeeper

Over the pre-season period I have been testing my keepers and their records are as such:

S.Supple appearances: 2 conceded: 3 (Ashton Utd, Derby)
G.Fleming appearances: 3 conceded: 0 (Stalybridge, Ipswich, Telford)
M.Crossley appearances: 2 conceded: 5 (Barnsley, Man City)

Clearly Fleming has done best, and then I would say Crossley as his opposition were much harder than Supple's. I went into this period thinking Supple would be first choice, but for now at least, Greg Fleming has won the opportunity to be my first choice shot stopper.

"Whats occurring?"

Pitch size had to be decided and I went for the largest available option this I feel stops the centre becomming congested and adds more width to the game. I always choose this option.

I had to select Oldham captain. I went with current captain Sean Greegan, who is a great leader, but his age makes him not a long-term decision. Some managers like to bring their own man in and I like that but I don't want to upset the team at the moment. Vice-Captain is Andy Liddell, still.

This leads me on to the next issue. Contracts. Many of the players have their contracts expiring at the end of the season. The problem is most of them are old, so the decision is ... Will they be any good next season? Is it worth paying sign-on fees? Is there better free alternatives next season ? With all this to decide, I sorted a few out quick, giving an extra year to Hazell and the vital Hughes. The players remaining are: Maher (31), Greegan (34), Liddell (35) and Crossley (39). I will have to make a decision on them soon, but I don't plan to yet - It has to be before January though as then they can leave on free transfers. The others are Wolfenden, who got injured in the City game and I will offer a contract if he plays well in the next few months, and Stam who I tried to offer a contract to but he wants to be regarded as a key player but that is not his role in my team.

Additional Reading

For anyone who is interested in the current situation of Oldham Athletic then I would recommend this blog:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2009/03/royle_return_for_no_ordinary_j.html#069761
There is also this blog on my captain Sean Greegan:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulfletcher/2008/09/gregan_leading_the_dads_army_a.html#037327
If I have ignited anyones interest in the club then the club website is:
http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/page/Home/
If any of you who support a big club would like to experience the ups and downs of a lower league club, where wins are in no way guarenteed then I recommend not converting but supporting this club to a degree, and playing as them on FM

The season is now about to begin, I have completed my first press conference. The first three fixtures are: Cheltenham (H)- League 1, Accrington (H)- League Cup, Stockport (A)- League 1. There will be a blog describing how those fixtures go. I am very excited to see how this season goes and my team may be good enough to scrape the play-offs. The issue remains that my team hasn't got the strength or quality, although that has improved, but my budget has really hidered me. The aim is top half finish, potential play-offs. Next season I should be in a better position for success. Wish me luck.