We’re coming to the end of the first season of my Football Manager 2021 journeyman series… and what a first season it has been!
Shama Deadman hasn’t enjoyed the easiest start in south Wales. In Part 3, we saw him battle to keep Cambrian & Clydach clear of relegation from the Cymru South. Meanwhile, he’s been in dispute with the club chairman for not letting him study for a coaching badge!
Today’s chapter will see Cambrian play through their final eight league matches, before Shama looks back on his first season. Has he done enough to finally convince the board to fund a coaching course?
MARCH 2021
As we entered March, Cambrian & Clydach were 8th in the Cymru South – 12 points clear of relegation, but a long way from the top. We had little to play for in our remaining fixtures, apart from the pride that comes with finishing as high as possible.
You may remember from the previous chapter that I signed a couple of 16-year-olds free agents in February. Now seems like a good time for me to introduce you to them properly. [I’ve also given them some realistic faces, courtesy of Zealand’s NewGAN Facepack.]
Harry Blake looks a solid option at both left-back and centre-half, though he broke his wrist playing for the Under-19s and won’t make his senior debut until April. Jamie Wilson looks more likely to make a quick impact, with his finishing ability and fitness making him a fine option up front.
I put my faith in Wilson when we hosted Carmarthen, starting him up front ahead of the out-of-form Ryan Prosser. The Old Gold kept the young buck quiet until he pounced on a through-ball by our 21-year-old talisman Liam Edwards in the 81st minute. Then, a minute later, Jamie did this:
TWO goals – now THAT’S what you call a debut! And with 22-year-old goalkeeper Harry Churchill comfortably keeping a clean sheet on his first home game for Cambrian, it was a good afternoon all round for our starlets! Mind you, not everyone was impressed…
I thought Wilson was ready for another start against new frontrunners Port Talbot, though he found their defence proved much tougher to crack. We had to take our first 0-0 of the season, though not before our opponents had a goal ruled out for offside.
Next up was a trip to Taffs Well, whom we thrashed 5-1 at home earlier this season. Though we faced some resistance this time, Edwards’ class eventually shone through as he scored twice, and produced another goal which went in off a home defender. A 3-0 victory secured our survival, while also pushing the (un)Well Men closer to relegation.
Unfortunately, Churchill couldn’t make it four consecutive clean sheets at Llanelli Town, who instead completed a hat-trick of 1-0 wins against us. In fairness, we were on the back foot as soon as Emanuele Zaminga‘s mindless lunge led to the Italian midfielder’s dismissal late in the first half.
We held on as best we could until the 72nd minute, when an awful corner – and some even worse defending by full-backs Mark Crutch and Joe Donovan – allowed Llanelli to score on the counter. Wilson and Edwards then had goals disallowed for offside as our top-half hopes were dealt a major blow.
APRIL & MAY 2021
Before our final four games, I welcomed in our new youth intake. As star ratings are relative to the team, these ratings don’t mean that we’ve unearthed a bunch of Gareth Bales or Aaron Ramseys. However, we do have a few decent prospects, and I’ve picked out two in particular.
Right-back has been a problem position for us all season, but Jack Dawe could fill that gap. Jack is already technically better than anyone we have, plus he’s got high Teamwork and Work Rate, though he does lack pace.
Speed isn’t an issue with Jamie French, who might well be the natural left-winger we’ve been crying out for. If Jamie can sharpen up his crossing, there’s a strong case for me switching to a standard 4-4-2 system next season.
I would give opportunities to those two youngsters (plus a few others) during the run-in, which began at home to Briton Ferry. Despite falling behind early on, a resurgent Prosser turned the match in our favour with a 17-minute hat-trick which began with a penalty. Though we then gave Ferry a penalty of their own, Scott Tomlinson scored a spectacular 25-yard volley to seal the points.
We had a more comfortable time at Risca, who were already well adrift at the bottom. Edwards compounded their misery with two goals, and Prosser with one, before our defence went cuckoo and handed the Cuckoos a consolation.
French had a memorable debut at Undy, setting up this goal for Edwards after just 20 minutes. Undy cancelled it out within five minutes, and we struggled to move back ahead before a late Edwards corner was nodded in by midfielder Kyle Jones. Our latest win secured us a top-half finish… and a couple of awards.
Don’t you love it when two of your star men are battling for Player of the Month? Prosser’s an enigma who can blow very cold for a few weeks, then be scorching hot for a few weeks! As for Edwards, he’s consistently been a cut above most of this division this season.
And I got my first award as well! Not bad for a managerial rookie with no coaching badges, eh?
The Manager of the Month curse didn’t bite me when we finished the season by beating relegated Trefelin 2-0 at home. Prosser couldn’t quite manage a third hat-trick this season, though another brace meant he did at least pip Edwards to our Top Goalscorer award (by 17 goals to 16). A clean sheet is always nice too.
That late surge of four straight wins (and six in our last eight games) lifted us into 6th. That’s actually a couple of places below where Cambrian finished the truncated 2019/2020 campaign, but after such a poor start, it’s as good as we could’ve hoped for.
2020/2021 SEASON REVIEW
It’s fair to say my first season in management was a tough but valuable learning experience. After winning just one of our first nine matches, it looked like we would struggle to stay in the Cymru South, but tactical rethink helped us to pull clear and eventually secure a solid top-half finish.
Though Llanelli ended our League Cup campaign very early, we went much further in the Welsh Cup. After battling past Undy in extra-time and narrowly beating a couple of lower-league teams, we had a great opportunity to reach a Quarter Final… but we threw it away against rivals Ton Pentre. Water bottles were flying across the dressing room after that defeat, I can tell you.
On the pitch, things are going fine. Off the pitch, though… well…
We had a player wage budget of £1,100 per week. I went over that after giving Connor Young a new £30-per-week contract in November. His defensive partner Jarrad Wright signed a £50-per-week deal in February, when I brought in Churchill on £60 per week. With several other players signing youth contracts, our weekly wage bill grew to £1,400 – and the board were understandably concerned.
I’ve already started to trim the wage bill. Kyle Jones reduced his weekly pay from £90 to £75 to stay with us for another two years, and backup keeper Neil Collins also agreed a pay cut. But that still leaves us with a few players on high salaries.
Winger Josh Bull is on £120 per week and will definitely be leaving this summer. Captain Ceri Morgan is on £150, but he’s been so disappointing in midfield that he’ll need to accept a huge cut for me to even think about keeping him.
And of course, there’s no way any Welsh second-tier club can keep paying £500 per week to anyone – not even if they’re Liam Edwards. Speaking of Liam…
| Fans’ Player of the Season | Liam Edwards |
| Young Player of the Season | Liam Edwards |
| Signing of the Season | Joe Donovan (ha ha) |
| Goal of the Season | Jamie Wilson (2nd vs Carmarthen, 6 March) |
| Top Goalscorer | Ryan Prosser (17) |
| Most Assists | Liam Edwards (9) |
| Most Player of the Match Awards | Liam Edwards (8) |
| Highest Average Rating | Liam Edwards (7.37) |
There’s no question that Edwards was THE star man at Cambrian this season. 25 goal contributions in 34 games is very impressive from Liam, who was also the only player to feature in every league game for us.
Edwards was most effective as a central attacking midfielder, averaging 7.53 in 21 matches when he played in that position. He also had the 5th-highest average rating in the Cymru South (7.34), which speaks volumes about his consistency. Indeed, he was voted as the division’s Young Player of the Year!
Sadly, it looks like we’ll have to replace the irreplaceable. Edwards’ contract expires at the end of May, and as he’d need to drastically reduce his demands, he’s shown no desire to sign a new one. If there’s any consolation, his exit would massively ease our wage bill and allow me to sign more players on part-time deals.
It was thanks largely to Edwards and Prosser that we had the joint-3rd best scoring record in our league, despite only ranking 9th on Shots and 10th on Expected Goals. It was more a case of us being clinical rather than prolific; our 15% shot conversion rate was bettered only by champions Port Talbot.
Attacking wasn’t a problem, though we did have some issues defensively. 37 goals conceded in 30 games isn’t terrible, but keeping only eight clean sheets won’t get you promoted. We’ll also have to improve our record at home, where we lost five league games – including one to Cwmbran Celtic, who narrowly avoided relegation.
Looking at the statistics below, you can see that we consistently underperformed in three positions: left-back, right-back, and central midfield.
I can understand why we struggled at full-back. Some of our players had solid technique but no pace, like the departed right-back Lewis Foster. Others, like left-back Lloyd Davies, were quick but technically lacking. My top priority over the summer will be to find players in those positions who have the athleticism and the technical ability.
Meanwhile, it’s alarming that Kyle and Ceri – supposedly our two best central midfielders – each squandered possession so cheaply so often. I’m not expecting us to play Spanish-style tiki-taka in south Wales (or anyone, for that matter), but whether we were playing shorter or longer passes, those two never found any consistency. It wasn’t until Zaminga and Tomlinson arrived that our form really started to improve.
Then again, should I get so hung up about pass completion stats in a league where direct passes are actually less risky than shorter ones? And why should I care about some arbitrary rating system where a 6.5 isn’t that different from a 6.7? At the end of the day, it’s only the results that really matter, right?
PLAYER-BY-PLAYER STATISTICS
AND FINALLY…
So you’re probably wondering what the future holds for me now that I’ve completed my first season at Cambrian. I’ve loved my time here in south Wales, but do I need to move on to further my career?
You may remember that I tried to ask our chairman Phill Williams to fund a coaching course for me earlier in the season. I might as well have asked Cerys Matthews to reunite Catatonia, for all the success it brought me. But with the summer giving me the perfect window to study in, I thought I’d chance my luck again…
…and this time, Phill said yes! All being well, I’ll have my first coaching badge by the autumn! But that’s not all, folks!
It’s official: I’m staying at Cambrian!
Phill offered me a two-year contract, and a £10 weekly wage rise! That’s roughly an extra £500 per year – enough to keep Liam Edwards with us for one more week. Frankly, I’d pay Liam’s wages myself if it meant he was still part of the Cam Army next season… but I guess you can’t always get what you want.
And that’s a wrap for Season 1! It’s a safe top-half finish for Cambrian, and Shama has finally been allowed to begin studying for his qualifications!
Please come back on Monday for Part 5, where Shama enters his second year with the Cam Army – and rebuilds his team for a promotion push!
Thanks for reading!
Fuller FM 
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