2019/20 - Update One

So, after what I had considered to be a successful pre-season, I was ready for the competitive games to begin.

August 2019

According to the pre-season predictions, we had what would be considered to be the hardest start to the season, with Brora predicted to win the league.  We certainly didn't disgrace ourselves, especially as we found ourselves down to 10 men when our left-back got a straight red after only 11 minutes.    They were more organised and more clinical, but I was at least happy to get a goal especially playing the majority of the game a man down.

Up next were Turriff United, this time one of the teams predicted to finish in the lower reaches of the table.  It was almost like the Brora match in reverse, with Turriff down to 10 men before the game hit the 15 minute mark.  It was largely plain sailing from there and we managed our first win and a clean sheet.

Buckie Thistle was our toughest game yet.  They probably should have scored more and their defensive organisation was too much for us.  We basically got nowhere near their goal all game and meekly fell to a 1-0 loss.

September 2019

We carried on the kind of poor performances shown against Buckie Thistle into our first two matches of September.  To quote Gordon Strachan, if you asked me in which areas we were the poorer team, it was mostly that big green area out there!

It was after the match against Forres Mechanics that I decided things really weren't working.

My thought process had been that, given the level of player at my disposal and the fact their composure isn't perhaps as strong as I would ideally like, we would be best served sitting deep and waiting for the opponent to turn it over, then when we finally get the ball, hoof it upfield with the intention of the ball getting to the strikers for them to get shots off at the goal.

All well and good in theory, but the simple fact was the route one approach wasn't working.  More often than not, the hoofed ball upfield would usually end up at the feet of one of the opposing defenders and so we would be on the backfoot again.

So, I decided an entire mentality change was in order.  I went to the tactics screen and changed the tactical style to a gegenpress - effectively, the idea here is as soon as you're out of possession, to hassle the opposition and attempt to win the ball back quickly.  I figured that if the other teams had similar issues with composure as my lot, then the in-your-face pressing would work in our favour and maybe we'd get more of the ball. 

The other side to this is, especially at this kind of level where players are part-time and they don't have quite the level of fitness as a fully professional side, it's more likely to see the players get tired before the end of the game.

But, going into the first Huntly game with this new mindset and the difference was immediately apparent.  And whilst this is not perhaps the best gauge of how things have changed, given Huntly were also really struggling, there was a definite difference and although we didn't win that first game, we really should have done.  This time, it was the finishing that let us down, as we actually managed a decent number of shots on goal!

A week later came the replay.  We were again the superior side but this time we made it count as we ran out 2-0 winners.  This means a bit of extra prize money, which is very welcome as we're already in the red despite being considerably below our wage budget.

October 2019

October was a busy month, as you can see.

We started out with a loss to Deveronvale, but we really didn't deserve to lose.  Their first goal was gifted to them, thanks to an absolute howler from our goalkeeper.  He jumped up to catch the ball from a corner, but completely missed, leaving an open net for the waiting striker to tap the ball into it.  Their other goal was a penalty.

Another game against Huntly came next.  Another decent performance, but we couldn't quite manage the breakthrough we needed to get more than a single point.

As there was a gap before the next game, I decided to arrange a friendly, to help the familiarity with the tactical system, but also to hopefully improve the morale a bit.  I think it was a success.

Fraserburgh was next, and this was a match we were expected to lose quite convincingly, with them sat in 3rd place before this game kicked off.  Indeed, it did look like we may be in for a bad day when they took the lead early on.  However, the players showed a bit of bottle and not only did they pull the scores level, they decided to score another 3 to give us a convincing 4-1 win,

Another convincing win followed, this time in the Scottish Cup 2nd round.  Next up in this competition will be Stranraer, who play in League One (two divisions above us).  Needless to say, if we make it to the 4th round, I will be very surprised.

I have mixed feelings about the Keith game.  On the balance of the play, we actually deserved to win.  However, Keith nearly nicked it very late on with our keeper coming to the rescue when they caught us on the break.  He palmed the shot onto the post and the ball rebounded to safety.  So, although we probably should have won, based on that chance I do have to be happy with the point.  Plus, it was a clean sheet and those are almost as rare as rocking horse shit, so there is that.

Next up, Nairn County.  We were clearly feeling generous here, as Nairn's goal was basically gifted to them.  One of my centre-backs was on the ball.  There was no pressure on him, but rather than playing a sensible pass, he thought he'd try a clever cross-field ball to our left back.  This however was absolute madness, and his accuracy was about on par with a Star Wars Stormtrooper.  One of their strikers intercepted the pass and coolly slotted it past our helpless keeper.  We did at least manage to equalise so all wasn't lost.

After all these games, here is how the table is looking:

It's not brilliant, but equally it's not as bad as it could be.  We are sometimes managing to play something which vaguely resembles football.  We're definitely suspect in defence and our attacking players do lack composure in front of goal.

But, I am seeing some encouraging signs for things moving forward.  And the board are very happy, as both league and cup performances so far have exceeded their expectations.

I will probably do something similar for the next update and leave it for 3 in-game months.  Means I can summarise a season in around 3 posts, which I think is a decent number!