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I think this is my first bash at lower league management. Have had a great deal of fun!
Well, I started my game unemployed and fonud a vacancy at Conference team, Exeter. I applied and was quickly offered a role at the helm of the team. So far I have done two seasons which I will try and recount below.
I picked up one more scout and one more coach. Spending some time with my coaches, we worked on some seperate training schedules for the key positions of Goalkeeping, Defending, Offensive Midfield and Strikers. They weren't too intense, and the aim was to slowly build them up if possible, rather than jump in with something too tough.
One scout was assigned permanently to check out the next opposition, whilst one was tasked to look for youths in England under the age of 18 and more or less free, for my long term plans of bringing in some youth development to get around my inability to buy players.
As keen as I was to bring in fresh blood, the finances were nasty. I believe we were already over £100,000 in debt when I took over, and with wages of around £600,000 a year, and interest payments of £36,000 a month, the financial security of the team was paramount.
Bringing in loans was key to the season, with a permanent stream of experienced loans coming in, and no purchases made at all.
At the end of the first season, we had made mid-table respectability, and I could start to drive us forward as I wanted.
SEASON 2:
A whole load of players came to the end of their contracts, and I let 6 or 7 people go with a combined wage bill of over £4000 a week. With this saving, I felt that was £200,000 a year off the now mounting debt of around half a million pounds.
I, like before brought in some loan players, which as before were intended to be key to giving some depth to the decimated squad.
I made the decision to take us into youth territory and picked up 8 free transfers of 17 year olds with a great deal of potential, with a modal wage of £85 a week. My first team was more or less a core 16 players, with the youth getting their opportunity primarily when injuries or poor condition presented itself.
I also, using my first season as a basis, managed to find a formation I was happy with. Without going into specifics, we played it simple, and through the middle. A solid back four, with a midfield of five, wingers and one central player pushing up into a central support position, with two defensive midfielders falling back to help defend when needed.
The lone striker relied on the midfielders rushing forward to support him, as we played on the counter attack with quick balls through the centre.
This was kept as simple as possible and began quickly to pay dividends with the players at my disposal.
The season began faling into place, with a hard drawn home tie against Leeds winning us an away match and a windfall of £320,000 from the gate receipts helping us keep the bank manager happy.
With morale high, we fought our way to the final of the FA Trophy, and by the end of the season and with two matches to go, we had a final to play for, and in 5th place, a win would guarantee us a play-off position.
The last game of the league went horribly, with the lion's share of possession ours, but the ball just didn't want to go in, and a one-all draw our reward for a strong performance, and we slipped into 6th place and missed the play-offs by an agonising whisker.
The day out to Wembly was a different thing altogether - a similar performance from a team dominated by 17 and 18 year olds saw us roll over York amazing 5-1 winners, and the sorrow of missing out on possible promotion written off by a trophy for the club.
With the success, we brought in a new Assistant Manager, with veteran keeper Pat Jennings coming on board and bringing a whole new professional dimension to training.
At the start of our third season, we're single-mindedly targeting the play-offs as our aim, and even though our first and only game so far ended 0-0, the performance was superb. The 24 shots with only 5 on target I take as an early warning that we need to hone our striking skills, and look at where we are shooting from,
Again, I have culled the wage bill, letting 5 more players go, with the wage bill now down to £6500 a week.
I feel there is nothing more important than securing the financial security of the club, and we're now at the stage of being able to breathe easy with a radically lower wage bill, and the loan we had that was crippling us, finally paid off.
So in my third season in charge, the bank manager is happy, there is youth development underpinning the team, and we're ready to make our challenge to get out of the Conference and into league two.
This will be the final season of my wage cull: the policy of youth is set to continue, with many establishing themselves as key first team players.
It is with a great deal of pride that I am receiving offers of work for other clubs, and whilst I may one day move on, it certainly won't be till my job at Exeter is done, and that, at the very least, means two things: a positive bank balance, and membership in football league two.
Hmm, I'm reading this back after posting and I think the comment on my tactics is a little more over than it should be - but it doesn't let me edit that bit out for some reason (don;t have edit my own post, permission).
Hope it isn't too descriptive.
Now, time to go back in game and look for Chris Bart-Williams.
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Cambylobacter:
Without going into specifics, we played it simple, and through the middle. A solid back four, with a midfield of five, wingers and one central player pushing up into a central support position, with two defensive midfielders falling back to help defend when needed.
The lone striker relied on the midfielders rushing forward to support him, as we played on the counter attack with quick balls through the centre.
This was kept as simple as possible and began quickly to pay dividends with the players at my disposal.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This seems wuite specific!
I wouldn't mention tactics in your updates, keep your tricks under your hat.
![[Exeter] My first attempt at LLM](http://training.fitness.com/iconimages/scout-report/exeter-my-first-attempt-llm_ltr.gif)
[Exeter] My first attempt at LLM 
I'm not actually sure where it is to be honest!
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