Emm

I was living in a bit of a trance. Minute turning to hour turning to day. They all passed me by in a blur. It was hard to come to terms with such abject failure and the affect it had on so many peoples lives. Jobs would be lost, dreams had been quoshed, futures had been put in doubt because of my inability to hold onto a nine point cushion. Was it time to call it a day and look at a proper job. My dreams had definately been quoshed and my future certainly put in doubt.

BarryLFC

This is good, I hope it continues

PS: You suck :p

Emm

Cheers HD. I don't suck. I just got the players to throw the games for the benefit of the story. NOT :o.

Emm

20th June 1014. Yemi voted Eastbourne Boro player of season for 9th consecutive year :thup:.

That's a pretty impressive record and not one that I had witnessed in the game before.

It's such a shame that I won't get a chance of another season with Yemi :thdn:. He's not giving up and jumping ship. He's signed an extension to his contract and will be at Boro for at least 2 more seasons :thup:. With that good news comes the bad :thdn:. Len calls me in for a meeting :kris102:. He says he's sorry and assures me that if we had just managed to stay up he could have kept me on. There's no animosity. I think he can see how hard I've taken the relegation. It should have been easier for me because I didn't have the ties and the loyalty to the club that others did. In fact it seems to have hit me harder. At Boro, they have been involved in scrapping to avoid relegation on a pretty regular basis. it seems that they have become used to it and almost treat it as the norm. I set my standards higher and just can't believe that we were relegated on the last game of the season. It makes it worse that it was only on goal difference .

I'm still asked to pack my personal stuff up and have the office cleared by the end of the day. Len has asked 51 year old coach Nick Greenwood to take over at the helm on a caretaker basis. Nick has been at the club for over 17 years. Maybe they should have given him the job a few months ago and saved us all a lot of heartache .

Emm

20th June 2014.

Grays Athletic offer me job as Manager. They finished a reasonable 12th last season :thup:. There are no transfer funds available :thdn:, and although the wage bill is currently well above budget at £4000 pw, it actually seems rich compared to Boro :thup:.

Mike Woodward Chairman, welcomes me and tells me that we are expected to achieve a respectable position within the Conference South come the end of the season.

Although I have a bigger wage budget than I did at Boro, we are currently £411,000 o/d. The wage budget is £3600 pw and our current wage bill is £3955 pw so I will have to off-load some dead wood in order to bring in some fresh faces.

There are currently 19 players on the books. It seems like many players have been here for some time. They've been in the comfort zone. Too good to go down, but either not good enough, or not driven enough to challenge for success. I really believe in the statement, 'If you do what you always do, then you will get what you've always got'. The times they are a changing. I don't plan on getting sacked for a third time and will do everything that I can to make this club a success.

It's time to look forward, not back to Underhill or Priory Lane. My present is here at The Recreation Ground and if I am to have a long term future at The Rec, it will be decided by my actions here and now. Players in their comfort zone are of little or no use to me. Now is the time to get rid while I have the full backing of the board, and time to turn it around if things do go pear shaped.

Andrea Ferretti, a 27 year old Italian Striker has scored 99 goals for the club in his 8 seasons here. He's got to go, not for any lack of ability, but because he's being paid £750 per week :eek:. He's been awarded the Fans Player of the Year on 3 occasons so I may have incurr the wrath of some of the fans. Whether I sell him, terminate his contract by mutual consent, or even just release him on a free and pay off his contract, he will be going. For £750, I could pay between 10-12 decent youngsters.

Ahmed Deen is not a diamond from Sierra Leone. The left sided full back has made 267 appearances over 8 seasons. With any luck, he won't be making it 268.

Kevin Brown is a 27 year old centre back who has played 251 times over the last 7 seasons. I like my centre backs big powerful and good in the air. Kev thinks he can play a bit and will be of no use to me.

Gavin Heeroo is a Mauritius International. He has 8 caps and at 29 years old, can still expect to add to that number. He won't be doing it in a Grays shirt. He's scored 14 goals and made 69 assists over the last 9 seasons and this input will be missed. His wage of £400 pw will definately not be missed.

Ian Ross is another on his way. The 24 year old striker scored an impressive 65 goals in 4 seasons. His goals may be missed.


30 year old striker, Dennis Oli is a club legend. He has scored 116 goals in 10 seasons and has been awarded the Fans Player of the Year on 3 occasions. He has formed an impressive partnership with Ferretti but again he is on stupid money for this level. £700 pw is just too much money. I will be doing everything I can to get rid of him.

These actions may make me unpopular with the fans, but I see it as the only way forward, short of a huge cash injection.

Emm

There are only 3 players that I really fancy keeping.

Joe Bruce is 30 and his age is an advantage for a change. The utility defender will need to impart all his experience of 215 club appearances to the younger members of the squad that i hope to sign if we are to succeed.

Adam Hall has amassed 171 club appearances at the tender age of 23. The right winger will be an asset to the squad.

Keeper Nicky Eyre holds the record for most League appearances for the club. Although still only 28, he has already clocked up 370 league appearances. Although I don't like selecting keepers as captains, I may have to reconsider in Nicky's case.

There is no scout at the club :thdn: and no Assistant Manager either :thdn:. The sole coach is Gary Crosby who played for Forest under Clough Snr and I believe also played for son Nigel at Burton. He's all I've got at the moment but he doesn't look ready to step up to number 2.

I've appointed 3 scouts and sent them to look at young unsigned talent. I haven't got a penny to spend on trasfers so I am hoping to get some bodies in before they are snapped up by the bigger clubs. 3 scouts for a club of this size may be overkill, but it is imperative that I get some talent in before the start of the season. I've offloaded 10 players via a mixture of free transfers, mutual termination and simply paying off their contracts, but I still find myself saddled with the drain on resources that is Denis Oli. He may be a club legend but he is also fast becoming a right royal pain in the backside :thdn:, even on a free :thdn:. He's not interested in a mutual termination :thdn:, and Chairman Mike Woodward put the kibosh on the deal when I tried to release him on a free :thdn:. It would have cust the club about £70K, but would have given my wage budget a huge boost. If he's gonna stay, he better bloomin well pull his weight . I even managed to get some much needed cash for a player . Centre back Craig Richards has gone to fellow Conference South side AFC Wimbledon for £14,000. Anything is a bonus at this stage.

Emm

July 2014 Recap.

My first full month in charge of Grays.

We made a loss of £20.91K :thdn: but with no games being played and some contract terminations included within that figure, I am pretty pleased. It shows that the club should run at a healthy profit once things are on an even keel.

I've bought a total of 33, (that's correct, thirty three), players in at a total cost of £0.00. Five 15 year olds have arrived. I know I need an Assistant, but I am also now interested in the services of a Nanny. It is always a risk bringing in players in at this early stage of their careers, however the small outlay, (their wages range between £10 and £35 per week), I can bond them with the club and groom them for introduction into the senior squad. Although they are ineligible for the league games until their 16th birthday, they are of a standard where they will be competing for a spot in any cup games we may play. They are joined by nine 16 year olds. A number of this group will immediately challenge for a regular starting position. also arriving at the club are six 17 year olds, two of whom share my surname which although not uncommon in real life, is not too common within football circles. Three 18 year olds and five 19 year olds bring the total number of teenagers at The Rec to twenty eight. Good God :eek:. In less than a month I've turned a football club into a kindergarten!

It's not all youth though. I'm joined by ex Bee Adam Miller. The 32 year old AM RLC arrived for his 2nd spell at The Rec. He spent the 2002/03 season here after coming through the Ipswich youth system and has spent time at Canvey Island, Gravesend, Aldershot, QPR, Bournemouth and Barnet, (under me), where he was a member of the squad that won promotion to League 1 in 2011.

Another experienced signing is Mark Hughes, a 30 year old DM who gained 11 U21 caps for N.Ireland, but seems to have missed the opportunity for senior representative honours. He started off at Spurs and then spent time at Oldham and Darlington. In my haste to sign Mark, I offered a contract to another trialist with the same name. Mark Hughes Jr is 22 years old, and has also represented N.Ireland at U21 level gaining 3 caps. I probably wouldn't have signed him on purpose but his versatility may still prove valuble.

The last of my key signings is Gary White, a 20 year old DRC. Gary will start the campaign as club captain from the right back position. I hope that over time he will convert to the centre back position on a regular basis but this will not happen overnight. He has notched up 7 U21 caps for Ireland and has bagged himself a goal as well. He came through the Bolton youth system but could not force his way into the senior squad.

Emm

Opening day of the 2014/15 season was upon us in a flash. After 4 friendlies and a further 5 in house games, it was time to face Chesham. Eight of the match squad were teenagers :eek: and I was worried that I had got the balance wrong between youth and experience. We were away, and Chesham finished above us last term so they are no mugs.

The match itself was quite an even affair, with Chesham possibly creating a few more chances. The deadlock however remained unbroken until the last 10 minutes, when 16 year old striker Paul Moore, finished a rapid counter attack led by fellow teenager Kevin Nolan. A draw would have been a good result and I was delighted with a win and a clean sheet.

My red card nightmare that had so haunted me at Boro was nowhere to be seen although I was slightly concerned that starting striker Kevin NolanKevin Nolan and his goal-scoring replacement Paul Moore had finished the game with slight knocks. Keeper Nicky Eyre collected the MOM award and Joe Bruce impressed in the heart of the defence.

It was time to build on a great start and I was keen to get a home win at the first attempt against AFC Wimbledon. Craig Richards was starting at centre back for AFC Wimbledon after his £14,000 transfer from us in the summer and I was not expecting any favours from this determined stopper. Craig was obviously keen to do well against his former club but after only 11 minutes he was on his way back to the dressing room. Dave Thomas, a 19 year old Welsh striker caught him ball watching and managed to get goal side of his marker. Richards blatantly tripped him in the area, conceded a penalty :eek: and was shown a straight red for the professional foul . I hadn't nominated a penalty taker before the game and centre back Tony Jackson was nearest to skipper Gary White and claimed the opportunity. It was a poor pen and didn't even force the keeper to save. He put it wide and ensured that he won't be the regular penalty taker :kris102:. Dennis Oli scored the only goal of the game with a sharp finish after 20 minutes and showed glimpses of why he has scored so many goals. I would still rather he left, but if he is going to stay, I'm happy that he's in the goals. Oli looks dreadfully unfit though and really only capable of playing half a match at present. Mark Hughes Snr had a corker in the middle of the pitch, contributing 6 key passes in a MOM performance and both 16 year old left winger Gary Leach and 17 year old right back Steven Kearney made impressive debuts :thup:. A second win was pleasing and a second successive clean sheet even more so :thup:.

I had my sights set high, but I didn't think I would be playing in Europe this quick. Game 3 saw us travel away to Welsh side Merthyr Tydfil who were promoted to Conference South this year. Merthyr have a rich heritage and it was too long ago that stars such as John Alridge were helping The Exiles beat top class European opposition. They took a first half lead against the run of play with their only shot on target but we kept going and Tony Jackson made up for his penalty miss in the last match with a thumping header from an excellent Bruce cross :thup:. We almost grabbed the 3 points we deserved when their full back made an awful tackle on Saunders. He only got a yellow when he deserved a red but at least we had the penalty. The experienced Adam Miller took a decent pen but the home keeper justified his MOM award with an outstanding save and even managed to get back up to save the rebound from Miller's volley. It was a decent penalty by Miller and he will take the next one if he's on the pitch. Still unbeaten after 3 games is pretty good but I am upset to concede our first goal .

Game 4 sees us entertain Hampton & Richmond. They have just had a good win against Hendon, so should prove a tough test. Despite the game being quite even, and in fact H&R dominating posession, 3 goals in 5 first half minutes gaves us a good victory. A brace from Ben Saunders and another from Dennis Oli gave us a margin of victory that we did not deserve, but even without the goals we looked very solid at the back. Even when our defences were breached, MOM Nicky Eyre was there to mob up. A 3rd win and a 3rd clean sheet .

Our last game in August sees us travel to Sutton. Defender Tony Jackson set us on our way after only 4 minutes as he powered home another header, this time from a Mark Hughes Snr free kick. Sutton equalise in the 2nd half and we have to be satisfied with a single point.

Emm

August 2014 recap.

League Away. Chesham 0 Grays 1. Goal, Paul Moore. MOM Nicky Eyre.

League Home. Grays 1 AFC Wimbledon 0. Goal, Dennis Oli, MOM Mark Hughes Snr.

League Away. Merthyr Tydfil 1 Grays 1. Goal, Tony Jackson.

League Home. Grays 3 Hampton & Richmond 0. Goals, Dennis Oli, Ben Saunders (2). MOM Nicky Eyre.

League Away. Sutton Utd 1 Grays 1. Goal, Tony Jackson. MOM Tony Jackson.

The directors are encouraged by the start we have made to the season :thup:.

The club made a profit of £138,000 last month :thup:. (They did have to inject £150K to get this profit though) .

Barnet are 21st of 24 in League 1. Brian Borrows has been appointed manager and has wasted no time in making the team his own. Midfielder Jamie O'Hara has gone to Championship side Sunderland for only £50,000 :eek:. Paul is a class act and I believe given the right tutor he could play for England. Selling your best players is bad but selling them to other teams in your division is plain stupid . Lee Smith has gone to Conference side Rochdale for only £1,000. Burrows has loads of options up front so that is no surprise, even if he has given him away.

He's also made some strange signings , and current Irish U21 keeper Stephen Kavanagh, Borrows has insisted on signing 2 more keepers :toofar:. Rob Burch came from the Conference on a free and is sitting in the Reserves while Craig Gill, (Jones' understudy in the England U21 team), has arrived from Scotland for £425,000 :toofar:. With Matt Beck, who was signed after I left last season and Sean O'Neill who was my keeper and 3 youth keepers all on the books, Borrows now has 9 keepers at the club :eek:. Talk about overkill .

He's also signed 3 left wingers to bring the total at the club to 11 :kris102:. Who is he playing on the left? Sebastian Larsson, who I signed before I left, but who hadn't arrived. I had better get off my high horse .

On a more positive note, 3 of my youngsters have been called up for U21 International duty. Club skipper Gary White has been called up to the Ireland team, centre back Kevin Morgan has joined the Welsh U21's and Michael Murphy has met up with the N.Ireland U21's.

Mark Hughes Snr has obviously made an impact with N.Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez. Hughes has been called up to the Senior N.Ireland team to face Israel. The best he can expect is a place on the bench but it is still a great achievement for the previously uncapped midfielder.

Emm

Bloomin eck! It's a good job I'm not managing Scunny !