retired_berrysale

You big Jessie!

You know that a real man would tough it out at Sutton.

retired_mrsjb

What Pete said.

KUTGW :thup:

retired_suzannechua

Great Work. Take them to Prem!

retired_ajbrittney

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RedmanJB:
Great Work. Take them to Prem! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

They'll never earn big enough money there, GGL isn't even a B road! I foresee traffic Jams light years long.

retired_rymar

By far my most succesful season yet. Building on the strong nucleus that had got me into the league, I added a quality central midfielder on loan, a pair of young wingers and a winger who I hope will solve my right side problems, and a great left back. Instead of shaking the team spirit, this seemed to boost it - we started reasonably well, by Christmas looked like playoff favourites, and by Easter looked dead cert to win League Two - which we duly did with a game to spare. And all this against a backdrop of the board expecting me to stave off relegation.

Cups were disappointing - early losses in both the FA Cup and the League Cup - very uneventful.

Sutton's biggest problem now, however, is going to be keeping its best players. My main striker (who has been irreplaceable and contributed over 25 goals a season 3 times) is out of contract at the end of this year and I can't resign him. On top of that, three of my first choice midfielders, my best centre half and my left back are all in the same boat. No major increase in the wage bill despite repeated board requests (oh, and they're "absolutely thrilled with the level of commitment I continue to show the club") means that the job offers that are coming in (had my first premiership one this season) are starting to look even more tempting - particularly those that have a little cash to spend.

However - keeping the Sutton dream alive is still the order of the day for me... so I'm still here, looking for new players that I can bring in as potential replacements, and trying to at least get some form of financial return for my departing stars. Do I have the appetite to rebuild, or do I need to make a fresh start elsehwere? That is the question...

Transfer Budget - 40k
Wage Budget - £8,250
League One awaits!

KingsbayYHPE

Nice work, Matt.

I always have pangs of regret when the Team starts to fold, but rebuilding is one of the joys of LLM I always feel.

Good luck (I reckon if you were going to leave you'd have gone already )

KUTGW!!

retired_rymar

It is amazing the emotional attachment one develops with a 28 goal striker...

KingsbayYHPE

Erm...aye...uhm...Oh! In the game?

retired_crazybonejr

Take that "thrilled" comment with a grain of salt, as you've seen where it got me with Peterhead.

But otherwise, such are the joys of LLM! KUTGW!!

retired_rymar

Well, I had to spend a day thinking about the decision, but... I'm gone! I figured that if a decent job came along that was no higher than the division that I am already in, I'd take the offer seriously (I want to get to the Prem, but I want to get myself promoted all the way if I can).

So, on October 6th 2009, Burnley, who were languishing in 23rd place in league 1 with 4 draws and 5 losses in their first 9 games, fully 15 places behind my Sutton side, made me an offer I couldn't refuse... all that heritage and footballing tradition was too much to turn down.

I have a squad of 27 players, 10 of which will never play for me and another 8 of which are unlikely to last beyond the end of the season subject to finding replacements. So I have 17 to form my squad until I can bring in some reinforcements. I've already put in a bid from my enormous £3.6 million transfer budget for my leading scorer from Sutton. The biggest irony I've seen so far is that there's a player at Burnely I don't want, who earns more than the entire Sutton wage budget...

First steps - sign some staff - I have 2 scouts, 1 physio, 1 coach and an AssMan who won't fit the bill. Then, on the playing side, I need a replacement for my aging keeper, to sign some defenders with pace (I have none at present, and anyone who can play right or central midfield as I literally have 2 players for 3 positions at present. In terms of expectations, I simply need to hold a safe mid-table position - eminently doable, I reckon.