June/July 2014

This pre-season turned out to be the toughest in terms of signing players. There seemed to be a distinct lack of talent available or willing to come to the club, and therefore only four players were brought in before the start of the season. The first to join was 22-year-old central midfielder Mitchell McPike, who had been released from the Glenn Hoddle Academy at the end of the previous season. It was a good signing, but we now had a clear abundance of central midfielders, with Lewis Montrose, David Fox and Michael Noone all vying for places in the starting line-up. However, that can only be a good thing I suppose.

My scouts were working overtime; collecting reports on literally hundreds of players, the majority of whom were either not good enough, or not interested in a move to AFC Telford. The England Trial Day wasn't a success either; after scouting every player who had been involved in the two games, nobody was signed. I decided to turn my attention to the loan market, and managed to bring in a trio of youngsters on season-long loans; Hereford's 21-year-old left winger Jordan Watson, Northampton's 23-year-old striker Joe Benjamin and West Brom's 18-year-old full back Sam Pitman. Watson, a Northern Ireland youth international, would provide Netan Sansara with some competition, whilst Benjamin would add pace and stamina to our ever-ageing forward line, as both Denis Behan and Richard Offiong were now 30.

In terms of outgoing transfers, the club was quite busy. Some notable players who followed Graham Coughlan out of the club were Matthew Duffy and Adrian Nevins, who signed for Hednesford and Morecambe respectively. Jon Adams, Andy McPherson, Matt Henry, Paul Gower and Robert Slater had also reached the end of their contract and were released on free transfers.

We had six scheduled friendly matches, the first of which was against, as usual, Glenn Hoddle's Academy. We won 3-1, with goals from Lewis Alessandra, Denis Behan and Michael Noone. This was followed by a 3-1 defeat at home to Stockport, then a battling 1-0 win against Leyton Orient, in which respectively, Lewis Alessandra and Michael Noone scored. A predictable heavy loss against our parent club Aston Villa was next (6-0) but that was followed by our own heavy win; a 5-0 victory against our feeder club Canvey Island, in which Behan (2), Alessandra, Jake Simpson and Mitchell McPike scored. The final friendly brought us up against Bristol City Reserves, and we won 2-1 with goals from McPike and Ryan Charles.

We were predicted to finish mid-table and given odds of 33-1 to win the league. However, I told the board that promotion would be the season's aim. August will see the league fixtures begin, and everyone at the club is raring to go and up for another impressive season, but hopefully this time we'll have something to show for our efforts.

June/July 2013

The 1st week of July saw plenty of changes at New Bucks Head, with no less than seven players leaving. Ryan Young, Paul Dixon, Adam Vasey and Danny Carey-Bertram were all released from the club as their deal expired, along with three others. The only incoming player was 29-year-old former Colchester midfielder David Fox, who would provide Michael Noone with some stiff competition in the attacking central midfielder role.

June was fairly quiet as a whole. We were given about £30k to spend; more than enough for a Blue Square Premier side, so I spent the majority of the month scouring endless lists of players in an attempt to find someone who would make a significant difference to the team. Both my scouts were sent out to look for players in and around the UK, but there definitely was a distinct lack of talent on show. Maybe we were looking in the wrong places.

Our first friendly of the campaign brought us up against Glenn Hoddle's Academy. David Fox started the game in midfield, alongside 21-year-old Leicester defender Tom Parkes. Parkes had been bought on that very day for a hefty £16k, a club record but a fee in which I was fairly reluctant to hand over. Parkes had signed after making 19 appearances for the League One side last season, and would be the long-term replacement for the ageing Graham Coughlan. We won the game 3-1, thanks to goals from Ryan Charles, Lewis Montrose and Michael Noone.

We then had two friendlies in the space of a week, and we won both of them. The first was against Canvey Island, which finished 1-0 through a Jake Simpson goal, and the second was against Horsham, which we won 5-0 thanks to goals from Jon Adams, Denis Behan and a superb hat-trick from Richard Offiong.

22-year-old Callum Harrison was signed for £3k just before the next friendly at home to Aston Villa, our parent club. Harrison came from Sheffield Wednesday, managing 12 appearances for the League One side last season, and could operate in defence and, more capably, in midfield. I was hoping to convert Harrison into a centre back, as he had all the necessary attributes; height, strength and tackling. We ended up losing the Villa game 6-0, but we put up a spirited performance against a side who finished 3rd in the Premier League in the previous season.

A 2-0 win against Birmingham Reserves, with goals from David Fox and Lewis Alessandra, completed the month. There was still one scheduled pre-season fixture left, away at Stourport, and then it would be the beginning of our league campaign. We were due to play Histon (H) in the first game, followed by York (H) and Wrexham (A).

June/July 2012

When the players returned from their break on the 25th of June, two new faces had already been brought in. Two strikers; 28-year-old journeyman Richard Offiong and 28-year-old former Ireland youth international Denis Behan both joined the club on free transfers. They were brought in to act as more-than-capable competition for Ryan Charles and Lewis Alessandra, who were both so good last year. The fixture list for the coming season had also been revealed; we started with two home games, the first against fellow ex-Blue Square North outfit Southport, and the second against cash-strapped Stevenage. This was followed by an away trip to Wales to play Wrexham.

Our first friendly came in the second week of July against League Two side Morecambe. The two new boys started on the bench, but came on at half time; Richard Offiong scoring the third in a 3-0 victory.

Steve Jagielka, Aidan Sherlock, Jack Watkins, Daniel Cable and Craig Gott were released on free transfers on the 1st of July, after their contracts had expired. Two more transfers were made after the Morecambe game; Right Back Max Wragg and Defensive Midfielder Lewis Montrose were both signed on frees, the latter coming in after an impressive trial, shortly before the next fixture at home to West Brom, our parent club. We ended up losing 9-0 on the day, although my excuse is I fielded a weakened side, which I did. Anyway, it was only a friendly. Lewis Alessandra strained his groin after coming on as a substitute, an injury which would see him miss the rest of the pre-season.

Australian Goalkeeper Alex Cisak and Michael Noone, a former Glenn Hoddle Academy player, were signed on free transfers and went straight into the side to face Stourport, our feeder club. We won the game 4-0, with goals from Ryan Charles, Denis Behan, Danny Carey-Bertram and Barry Madden (own goal).

We were on the receiving end of the same scoreline just three days later, against League One side Oxford United, but got back to winning ways against Taunton, where we won 2-0 thanks to goals from Richard Offiong and Denis Behan. The scoreline flattered our opposition though really; we had a total of 20 shots to their 4, so they were lucky to have only conceded two.

Our penultimate friendly came against the Glenn Hoddle Academy, in which we won 5-1, in a very convincing victory. Danny Carey-Bertram continued his impressive pre-season form by bagging two goals and the Man of the Match award. Netan Sansara and Denis Behan's brace completed the scoring.

Sheffield Wednesday were our final opponents before the competitive games began. We were holding them to a goalless draw until 15 minutes before the final whistle when they broke the deadlock, and then with two minutes to go, scored another to seal the win. An encouraging, if not disappointing game.

A bit of a mix-and-match pre-season in terms of results, as I'm sure you'll agree. I'm happy with the players I've brought in, although we could maybe do with a centre back to act as cover for Graham Coughlan (incidentally, the new club captain) and Adrian Nevins. I was surprised to see that we were tipped as promotion contenders at 14-1. Well, the bookies are rarely wrong, are they? Bring on the Blue Square Premier!

July 2009

I was officially unveiled as manager of Harrogate Town on the 7th July. Both the board and the media expect a safe mid-table finish for us, with the media predicting 10th place. The squad looked OK, but with definite room for improvement. The stand-out players on first glance were Brian Dutton, a tireless midfielder, Matt Bloomer, who I mentioned in the introductary blog, and a young striker named Daniel Broadbent. Unfortunately, even though they do actually play for the Sulpurites in 'real life', both Trevor Benjamin and Curtis Woodhouse aren't contracted to the club on FM2010. Oh well, we'll get past that slight obstacle.

No transfer funds, and quite a hefty debt meant I had to look at the free transfer market for new recruits. I looked for some familiar names, with international experience at first. Nathan Blake and Ian Cox were brought in on trial, along with seven other players, including former Hull City striker, Lawrie Dudfield.

My first friendly was against Stevenage, at home. I fielded a side which included Blake, and fellow trialist Bobby Ford. After 20 minutes, 37-year-old Blake, a former Wales international, rolled back the years and slotted the ball past the helpless Stevenage keeper for a goal on his debut. It looked as thought my reign at Wetherby Road had got off to a good start, but Blake had to come off injured with 20 minutes left on the clock. To add insult to injury, Stevenage grabbed a late equaliser in the first minute of stoppage time. After the game, I learnt that Nathan Blake had damaged his knee, meaning he'd be out for two or three months. I reluctantly terminated his trial.

My next move was to sack my assistant manager, Kevin Sharp, and begin a search for a new one. Then in came former Southampton winger Andy Williams on a free transfer, and Martin Pearson's and Sonny Cobbs' trials were made into permanent moves. The next game was a 1-0 defeat against Kettering, followed by a 3-2 victory over Airbus UK (which included a late winner from Lawrie Dudfield).

In a bid to increase the club's status, I made a link with Doncaster Rovers, which would mean they could choose to send players to Harrogate on loan, and we would receive some kind of financial benefit in the process. A good move, since our finances were (and still are) dire reading.

Barnsley midfielder Simon Heslop came in on a free transfer, in what was billed by the media as a 'coup' for the club, and 18-year-old midfielder, and hot prospect for the future, Nic Ignatiou was also signed on the advice from the backroom staff.

The final three friendlies this month included a 1-0 win against Glenn Hoddle's Academy, a 1-0 loss against Dover Athletic and a 2-1 win at home to Carshalton.

The main priority for next month is to find an Assistant Manager, and perhaps a couple of loan signings. But, although the media predicted us to be a safe, mid-table side, things are looking bright for the Sulphurites!