Hello there, readers, and welcome to the start of my new Football Manager 2019 story. I have taken over the reins at Shrewsbury Town, who lost in the League One play-offs last season and need a new manager to propel them forward.
If you missed the story preview, which details the club’s history and outlines my long-term plans for this career, you can still find that here.
Today’s opening chapter is quite a long one. It’ll start off with a quick rundown of the board’s initial expectations. Then I’ll take you through the squad I’ve inherited, along with some of the backroom staff who’ll be assisting me. Lastly, I’ll look at our results from pre-season before leaving you with the tactics I’ll be using during the early stages of my Shrewsbury career.
THE STORY BEGINS
Before I go on any further, I just want to explain a few things. I have edited the FM19 database, so that it’s as if the managerial movements involving Shrewsbury, Ipswich and Macclesfield last summer never took place.
Paul Hurst did leave Shrewsbury, but he didn’t embark on an ill-fated stint at Ipswich, who instead went straight for Paul Lambert to succeed Mick McCarthy. Meanwhile, John Askey stayed at Macclesfield instead of taking the Shrews vacancy, which meant that Mark Yates didn’t succeed Askey at Moss Rose. Any staff members who in real life went from Macclesfield to Shrewsbury with Askey have either been returned to their former club or are now unemployed.
I have loaded 50 leagues from 30 nations (mostly European, but also some major nations from other continents). Over 100,000 players have been loaded, which is just enough to fit in all of Chelsea’s loanees. One of them just happens to be at Shrewsbury, but we’ll come to him a little later.
Lastly, the first summer transfer window has been disabled, and thus I cannot buy or sell any players before January. However, I can still sign free agents and agree loan deals (in or out) from 5:00pm on 9 August until the end of that month. Jim White will be thrilled.
Now let’s set the scene. It’s Monday 25 June, and millions of English men and women are getting excited about the prospect of football coming home, following a 6-1 win over the mighty Panama at the World Cup. Meanwhile, one east Londoner has found himself a new home, about 175 miles away…
Goodness knows why Shrewsbury have chosen this 28-year-old managerial upstart to replace a man who took them to Wembley – twice. At least I’ve got a UEFA A Licence, as well as some previous playing experience at regional level, which gives me something to build on.
However, if things start off badly, there’s a chance that this new story might be an unexpectedly short one. I’m expecting us to just stay clear of relegation to League Two. Chairman Roland Wycherley and the board are expecting us to finish in the top half of League One, at worst. Looking at the squad I have right now, that might be a bit of a stretch.
To be fair, the media reckon we’ll end up 11th or thereabouts, so perhaps I’m underestimating my team. Or maybe they’re overestimating us. Erm… let’s try to stay positive, Christopher, shall we?
In terms of the cup competitions, the board’s expectations are a little more reasonable. We’re expected to reach Round 3 of the FA Cup, which means winning through at least a couple of rounds. Getting to Round 2 of the EFL Cup might be asking a little much, though, as we’ve been drawn away to Championship side Bristol City in Round 1.
Despite the Shrews losing the EFL Trophy Final last season, the board aren’t taking that ‘pointless’ competition too seriously and would be satisfied if we reached Round 2. The opening round has seen us drawn in North Group B with Sunderland, Macclesfield… and our first opponents, Middlesbrough Under-23s.
SQUAD REPORT
Shrewsbury start off with only two squads – a senior side, and an Under-18s side. The players below are all currently part of the senior squad, except one who is currently in the Under-18s:
I’ll now quickly take you through each of those players, starting with the goalkeepers. I’ve also taken screenshots of the attributes of eight men who are either key squad members or just particularly interesting, as is the case with this first player:
Okay, we’ve got to talk about Danny Coyne. He’s our goalkeeping coach, he’s almost 45 years old, and he’s not played a professional match since 2012. Yet the game has randomly generated some incredible attributes for Coyne – so incredible, in fact, that he’s considered to be a good Championship goalkeeper!
Coyne won’t be my number 1, though. The club have signed Joel Coleman on loan from Huddersfield for a reason; the 22-year-old is a promising shotstopper on a par with many at this level. Coleman’s biggest strengths are his aerial reach and his reflexes.
I’ve no idea why Steve Arnold was signed from non-league Barrow. Aside from having a Resolute personality and good agility, he’s pretty bad and couldn’t catch a cold. 18-year-old Cameron Gregory does look promising, so I’ll probably give him some gametime in the EFL Trophy.
The first of our defenders is Josh Emmanuel, whom Ipswich have kindly loaned to us after taking Aristote Nsiala and Jon Nolan on permanent deals. The 20-year-old Londoner is a pacey right wing-back with decent crossing ability, though he does need to improve on his positioning.
He’ll contend for a starting berth with James Bolton (no relation to Michael, thankfully), who impressed last season after arriving from National League side Gateshead. Bolton loves to put in a good shift out wide and thrives in high-pressure matches, but his crossing perhaps isn’t up to scratch.
Behind them in the pecking order is 19-year-old Ryan Sears, who my coaches reckon has the potential to become a first-team regular. Sears spent last season on loan at his hometown club – Newtown in the Welsh Premier League – and may be farmed out again for additional experience.
We currently have only one natural left-back in the first-team. Ryan Haynes is a pacey, flame-haired wing-back was part of the Coventry side that won the League One play-offs last season. Haynes seems a tad naive tactically, and I feel that I can easily find an upgrade on him in the loan market.
33-year-old captain Mat Sadler is playing for the Shrews for a fourth consecutive season (and a fifth in total). Sadler was once a promising left-back at Birmingham, but he’s since carved out a decent career as a Football League centre-half. Even with his physical abilities on the wane, Mat’s leadership skills and tactical awareness still make him an imposing presence in our defence.
His regular centre-back partner – and our new vice-captain – is 26-year-old Omar Beckles. Issues with concentration notwithstanding, Beckles is very solid and – at 6ft 3in – he takes some beating in the air. Omar is also an Arsenal fan who came through the Millwall youth system, so I really like him already.
Luke Waterfall is currently third-choice in that position, and the cool-headed 27-year-old Yorkshireman looks like he could do a job for us for a season or two. He certainly knows how to defy the odds, having been part of the non-league Lincoln team that reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup in 2016/2017.
Then there’s Kieran Kennedy, who won the National League with Macclesfield last season and quickly earned himself an undeserved double-promotion to League One. Just like Arnold, Kennedy’s clearly not good enough for this team, mainly because he keeps his composure about as well as Neil Warnock answering a question about Brexit. Suffice to say, I’ll be moving him on as soon as I can.
Scotland Under-21s international Zak Jules is next in line, but he perhaps doesn’t look ready for first-team football just yet. Neither does 18-year-old Cypriot Christos Shelis, who may need to build up some confidence out on loan.
Many a player has shown great promise in Chelsea’s youth team before never really kicking on. Creative playmaker Charlie Colkett fits into that category, and at 21, time is running out for him to make his mark at Stamford Bridge. A loan spell at New Meadow could be the making of this former England schoolboy international… but looking at those attributes, I have my doubts.
Anthony Grant is another player with Chelsea connections, having made one appearance for the then-Premier League champions in 2005, when he was just 17. He’s now a battle-hardened 31-year-old who’s made a living out of breaking up attacks in League One. As defensive midfield options go, this fearless warrior is not a bad one.
Grant was yet another of the Shrews’ summer signings, and so too was fellow defensive midfielder Ollie Norburn – a club-record £300,000 buy from Tranmere. Ollie is even more aggressive than Anthony (in more ways than one), and at 25 years old, the Leicester native has plenty of life in his hard-working legs. He also apparently has a mean long shot in those pegs.
And here’s our final loanee. Rangers and Scotland Under-21s prospect Greg Docherty is spending the season with us, and I expect him to become an excellent team player. This box-to-box midfielder has many well-rounded attributes and can effectively carry out defensive and attacking duties.
Josh Laurent joined us from Wigan, but this utility midfielder’s situation is a curious one. While he doesn’t have any stand-out attributes, he has very few glaring weaknesses (his vision perhaps being one). Laurent has yet to find a role that properly suits him, though I’m currently leaning towards using him as a mezzala.
31-year-old Doug Loft – a veteran of over 300 EFL games – doesn’t have that problem. With his passing ability and his selflessness, Loft is very much a midfield playmaker, though he does like to get forward quite regularly. He is also so versatile that he can do a job at left-back if I’m absolutely desperate.
19-year-old George Hughes could become a senior playmaker if he fulfils his potential, but he needs time out on loan first. I’m also quite optimistic about the future of local lad Ryan Barnett – an energetic box-to-box midfielder of only 18.
Late-bloomer Shaun Whalley made his name in non-league before becoming one of our star turns. The 30-year-old right-winger has fantastic dribbling ability, and he’ll need to demonstrate that to earn an extension to his four-season stay at New Meadow. (By the way, if I ever accidentally call him ‘Simon’, then that’s likely because I’m confusing him with the former Preston winger Simon Whaley.)
We might already have Whalley’s long-term replacement on our books. Having been discarded by Newcastle, Alex Gilliead is making a fresh start in Shropshire. The 22-year-old is very quick and is also a fine dribbler, though he does tend to drop out late in games. If he can improve on his endurance, I can see Gilliead having a very successful career with us.
On the left wing, we have a couple of right-footed inside-forwards. Abobaker Eisa also possesses plenty of pace and technical skill, and he scored 12 goals for Wealdstone in the National League South before joining us early this year. Originally from Sudan, Abo is the younger brother of Bristol City striker Mohamed Eisa, whom he might play against in the EFL Cup.
25-year-old Arthur Gnahoua also took the scenic non-league route to League One, joining us from Kidderminster in 2017. Though not quite as technically-gifted as Eisa, Gnahoua is more of a physical player than his younger colleague. I’m not overly convinced by Arthur, to be honest, and he might be let go next summer, if not sooner.
Lenell John-Lewis – nicknamed ‘The Shop’ – became a cult icon at Bury and Grimsby before moving to Shrewsbury. He only scored three goals in 44 appearances during his first full season with the Shrews, but maybe things will take a turn for the better. Although not the tallest of target men, Lenell is imposing in the air and has a very high Work Rate attribute, which I really like.
John-Lewis started this save as Town’s vice-captain, but that didn’t last long. Rating only 8 in Leadership and 12 in Teamwork, he couldn’t lead a Morris dance, much less a football side.
We have another double-barrelled target man in our books in Aaron Amadi-Holloway. The 25-year-old Welshman is quite heavily-built and has a never-say-die attitude, though his EFL strike rate is far from impressive. In 122 appearances since his debut five seasons ago, Aaron has barely reached double figures in terms of goals, scoring just twice for relegated Oldham last season.
18-year-old Charlie Higgs might be a better fit for that role in the future. Higgs is another youngster that I’m planning to loan out, and he might need to put in some strong performances to earn a long-term contract with us.
Now here’s a proper striker. Lee Angol was signed from League Two side Mansfield in the summer, having scored 10 goals for the Stags last term. He’s reasonably quick and a decent enough finisher, but it remains to be seen whether he can deliver the goods on a consistent basis.
Being a local club to me, I follow Dagenham & Redbridge quite closely, so I’m already somewhat familiar with Fejiri Okenabirhie. The London-born Nigerian got 12 goals for the National League club last season, showcasing his clinical and powerful finishing ability. If Fejiri can take that form into the professional game, we could have quite the hotshot on our hands.
Hopes are high for John McAtee, even if the teenage deep-lying forward almost shares his name with the unscrupulous founder of an even less trustworthy cyber-security company. McAtee had a couple of loan spells at local semi-professional clubs last term and may need more work experience before contending for a first-team place.
Lifumpa Mwandwe is arguably an even more promising striking prospect. Born in London to Zambian parents, the 17-year-old is quick out of the blocks and reads the game surprisingly well for such a young player. I predict it won’t be long before Fumpa graduates from the Under-18s and becomes part of the senior squad.
BACKROOM STAFF
When I was editing the database, I removed all Shrewsbury staff members who were only around during Askey’s reign (which, of course, never happened in this universe). That did leave us a little light on staff, certainly with regards to the senior squad. In that respect, we only had a goalkeeping coach (Coyne), a fitness coach, a physio, and a data analyst.
As John Filan never moved to Shropshire with Askey, I started off without an assistant manager. On the plus side, that meant I didn’t have anyone telling me we were being overrun in midfield. On the minus side, I needed to find someone who could tell me we were being overrun in midfield.
To fill the various job vacancies, I put a few adverts in the local newspaper (and online, obviously – it’s not 1998 anymore). Slowly but steadily, we managed to plug those gaps.
My assistant manager for the foreseeable future will be fitness fanatic Craig Brewster. The Dundonian was previously Derek Adams’ number 2 at Plymouth. I couldn’t wish for a much more dependable lieutenant than this disciplinarian and model professional.
The first addition to my backroom was actually Dean Austin, who had previously managed Northampton for a few weeks. He would now have a less pressurised job as a defensive coach. Taking care of our attackers was another erstwhile League One manager in Dan Micciche, who’d lasted only three months at Milton Keynes.
Former Crewe talent-spotter Chris Johnson was our new chief scout, but another new member of our recruitment team arrived with an even greater reputation. Patrik Andersson had an illustrious playing career as a defender for Barcelona, Bayern München and (ahem) Blackburn, also winning 96 caps for Sweden. He’d been out of work since 2011, when he ended a brief spell scouting for Manchester United.
The medical centre also received some attention. Ben Mortlock – previously of Hull City – was appointed head physio, and Adam Martin (a newgen) became our head of sports science.
Our original Head of Youth Development was rubbish (Eric Ramsay only had a ‘Working With Youngsters’ attribute of 2!), so I sacked him and brought in a better replacement. Richard Money has been there and done that, managing various clubs in England and Sweden, but nurturing young talent is his forte.
All of that left us looking pretty solid on the staff front. Now, if only we had a team to match…
PRE-SEASON REVIEW
Oh boy, now this was not much fun. Pre-season began with a four-game tour of Scotland, for which the tone was set when we threw away a 2-0 lead at Partick Thistle. We then somehow only managed a draw at Lowland League outfit Spartans, before Angol secured us a narrow win over Morton. It was in the fourth and final game, though, that things really got silly…
Airdrie were a third-division club, much like us, but it was still a shock to see them take the lead through a Dale Carrick penalty, which Okenabirhie quickly cancelled out. It was an even bigger surprise when they scored from pretty much every long-range shot they attempted.
Carrick got his second goal from distance to put the Diamonds 2-1 up before the break. A couple of his team-mates then did likewise in the second half – Ryan Conroy after we’d gone 3-2 up, and Grant Gallagher after we’d raced into a 5-3 lead. 34-year-old Darryl Duffy then stole an injury-time equaliser to complete a 10-goal draw, and one of the most bizarre matches I’d ever witnessed on Football Manager!
Things calmed down when we returned to New Meadow, but only a little. Angol’s third goal of pre-season gave us an early lead over Championship big-boys Leeds, who got back level through an excellent team move rounded off by Jack Harrison. Fortunately, Marcelo Bielsa’s extensive scouting of our training sessions wasn’t quite thorough enough, as we held firm for an impressive 1-1 draw.
Bielsa should perhaps have taken a few pointers off Neil Aspin. The manager of League Two Port Vale masterminded a shock 2-0 away win over us four days later. We were absolutely awful in that match, and we didn’t improve that much when Oldham Athletic – another team from the basement division – came to visit. Though Oldham went ahead through Jose Baxter after five minutes, Gnahoua and Gilliead turned the game around to get us just our second win.
I then hastily arranged one more friendly, at Hednesford (from the Northern Premier League). A fringe Shrews team scored FIVE goals before half-time, with an outstanding Eisa getting three of them. Though the result was never in doubt, I was still annoyed that Hednesford ‘won’ the second half after Michael Howard scored from distance. Goodness me, his career’s gone downhill since the 2005 general election, hasn’t it?
TACTICS
If you’re new to Fuller FM, I want to make something clear. I am not a tactical guru, and I do not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of how Football Manager works. If it’s a tactics masterclass you’re after, you might want to look elsewhere.
To start off with, my main tactic will be this 4-1-4-1 DM Wide (which I’m calling a 4-5-1 for short). As much as I’d love to play my ‘Fullerball’ vertical tiki-taka from my Fiorentina career, it’d get us slaughtered in the less technical and more physical world of English lower-league football.
Instead, I’ve gone with something more direct that stretches the play out a bit more. A defensive midfielder will provide protection for the back four, allowing the two central players ahead of him to create, find and/or exploit space. I’m also looking to create an overload on one flank (in this example, the left flank).
This team isn’t the most energetic by League One standards, so playing counter-pressing football would be suicidal. Instead, we will look to regroup and keep our shape whenever we lose the ball, though we will still press with some urgency when an opportunity arises to reclaim it. When we do, we will look to counter-attack with pace, which we do have in attack.
We gave away three penalties in pre-season, which perhaps highlighted how poor we were in the tackle. With that in mind, I’ve instructed my players to stay on their feet when tackling, in an effort to keep unnecessary fouls to a minimum.
Almost every lower-league manager worth their salt uses a bog-standard 4-4-2 at some point or another. This is my alternative tactic, usually for when I need to take the last resort and chuck a big target man up front alongside our number 9.
I suspect this system might need a bit of refining, because we hardly ever performed particularly well when using it in pre-season. We were especially inept at stopping long-distance shots from flying into our net. Giving one of my centre-backs a ‘Stopper’ role might help.
I’m a notorious tinkerman when it comes to tactics, so certain instructions and roles could change over time, especially if we’re in a rut. Any suggestions for any minor tactical tweaks would still be appreciated, though bear in mind that – as this post goes live – I’m already well over a third of the way through my first season. Don’t be too surprised if I’ve tried out your suggestion already!
Be sure to come back next week for Part 2, when my Shrewsbury regin begins in earnest. We’ve got the first two months of the League One season to look forward to, while we’ll also kick off our exploits in the EFL Cup and the Pointless Trophy.
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