Welcome back to my Football Manager 2021 journeyman story, where Shama Deadman starts from the bottom of the football pyramid and tries to work his way up the coaching ranks.
So far, Shama has made steady progress in his first job in Wales. Cambrian & Clydach have secured back-to-back top-half finishes in the Cymru South, and are now aiming for the top-tier Cymru Premier after missing out on promotion in the last chapter.
Will it be third time lucky for Shama? In today’s chapter, he rebuilds his Cambrian squad ahead of the 2022/2023 season… and I hear that a big name is about to join the Cam Army!
TRANSFER WINDOW
Backup goalkeeper Neil Collins retired in the summer aged 38, and he was one of four originals to leave the club. Connor Young had two solid seasons at centre-half but was too suspect under pressure. Right-back Chad Goss and attacking midfielder Joshua Williams hadn’t developed as well as I’d hoped.
Jake Nicholls‘ part-time deal expired in July, though he was prepared to stay on a non-contract basis. However, after weeks of negotiating, we hit a sticking point over his appearance fee demands, so I decided that he could leave too. That meant I needed to sign TWO new right-backs before the new season.
A new left-back was also on my shortlist when the gifted but inconsistent Marcus Snell accepted an offer from Penybont. Another young left-footed defender was on the move, with Harry Blake hoping he would get more first-team opportunities at Pontypridd.
And so here are the six fellas I’ve brought in so far. Again, I’ve put most of my focus on adding more depth and experience to our defence, as we’re already pretty strong in midfield and further forward.
Firstly, we have Darren Robinson – a brave and selfless 17-year-old who has a bright future either as a centre-half or a defensive midfielder. He can also play right-back, where we’ve recruited the hard-working Ammanford captain Paul Morgan as well as the intelligent Ben Jones from newly-relegated Cwmbran Celtic.
At left-back, we have Oli Bate, who came through Millwall’s academy and is a great decision-maker. Then there’s our new backup goalkeeper Phil Moore, who has high scores in a number of key attributes and was signed from Cymru South promotees Caerau Ely. And finally…
Not that one, obviously. No, this Michael Jackson is a 17-year-old striker from Halesowen who caught my eye by scoring twice against us in pre-season. He’s determined, ambitious, naturally fit and has decent potential, so he could one day become Cambrian’s next star.
Our backroom staff is largely unchanged from last season, except we’re now on our THIRD Head of Youth Development in as many years. Our previous one flat-out refused to sign a new contract, so I brought in former Bolton defender and academy manager Jimmy Phillips instead. Jimmy’s on a two-year deal, so there’s no risk of him leaving next summer. Probably.
SQUAD REPORT
After another busy summer, we’re now looking a bit more like promotion contenders. As always, I’ll now reintroduce you to the squad – with player profiles for our key men and some of our summer signings.
With his shotstopping abilities and a determined attitude, Harry Churchill is now our firmly-established number 1. However, he will now face stiff competition from Moore, who is an excellent handler but lacks league experience.
Cian Trehy had a couple of hairy moments at centre-half last season, but the Irishman is a tough-tackler with decent positional awareness. He will mainly be partnered by covering defender Jarrad Wright, who’s now in the third season with the Cam Army. Providing cover will be 19-year-old Regan Fear, and the even young Robinson, whose versatility and teamwork will be very useful.
We’ve never had much luck with full-back, but I believe Bate can make the left-back slot his own. The Londoner is fairly pacey and has solid attributes across the board, aside from perhaps his concentration. We can still lean on the athletic but somewhat erratic James Parry as a more experienced backup.
There will be a fierce battle for our right-back spot between Ben Jones and Paul Morgan (and maybe Robinson too). Ben is a no-nonsense full-back with good athleticism and tackling ability. Meanwhile, Paul is more tactically astute and is a confident leader – the next Captain Morgan, perhaps?
Captain Kyle Jones has never found any consistency, but his work rate and versatility always makes him a handy player to have. I’ve also retained 35-year-old Simon Heslop for his professionalism and defensive know-how, while Jack Fox provides some extra attacking endeavour.
Callum Sainty took a little while to settle before becoming our ball-winner in chief, though he also chips in with the occasional goal or assist. Callum will have to work hard to stay in the team, mind, as 16-year-old Gavin Michael is a fearless and energetic aggressor who’s hot on his heels.
Jamie French became a regular presence on our left wing last season aged just 16. He’s quick, hard-working and is steadily maturing into a capable creator. Veteran Nathan Woolfe is still more reliable technically, but it surely won’t be long before Jamie firmly establishes himself.
And what else can you say about Liam Edwards, apart from that we’re incredibly lucky to still have him? The versatile attacker has provided 26 goals and 23 assists in just two seasons and is almost undroppable. Lewis Ellis is a pretty useful winger too, though he was injured for four months last season and might struggle to recapture his best form. Injuries have also sadly hindered the progress of teenager Daniel John.
Jamie Wilson may lack ambition, but he certainly doesn’t lack firepower, as the clinical teenage poacher bagged 24 goals in 30 games last season. The determined Llyr Morris was also among the Cymru South’s top scorers last term, often using his pace to devastating effect. Third-choice striker Dylan Reid has pace and power but tends to wilt under pressure, though time is still on his side.
We’ll be rolling with three different tactics this season- the first of which is this counter-attacking 4-3-3. One major change I’ve made over the summer is that we’ll be forcing our opponents outside, conceding some more space out wide to keep us defensively solid in the middle.
Then there’s our even more direct 4-4-2, where Edwards and Wilson have a formidable strike partnership. It’s worked reasonably well for us, especially when we’re up against a three-man defence. As always, though, we have to be wary of not being overrun in midfield.
Our home form was worryingly patchy last season, perhaps because we were too cautious. With that in mind, I’ve also set up a 4-2-3-1 as a third tactic, in which Edwards will drop a little deeper to support the striker. I’m still working out which role combinations would work best, particularly with the two wingers.
And before I move on, a quick word on dynamics. Worryingly, we don’t have any ‘team leaders’ – and we never have. Our most influential players have all been at the club for a few years now, but I guess neither Ellis, Edwards or Kyle Jones have the determination or leadership needed to step up that pyramid.
I’m well aware that a team without obvious leaders isn’t likely to achieve much, especially when the going gets tough. Believe me, I’ve been on the lookout for experienced players who can inspire this team for a while. That’s exactly why I signed Heslop in the first place… not that it’s done us much good!
In terms of other potential leaders, Morgan was honestly the best player I could find who would come to us on reasonable terms. At this point, I might be better off trying to lure Vinnie Jones away from Hollywood. I know he’s in his mid-50s now and hasn’t played football since the 1990s, but I reckon he could still do a decent job in this league!
PRE-SEASON
We didn’t enjoy the best pre-season opener, to be honest. Parent club Barry insisted on paying us a visit at the start of our second week back in training, and my goodness did we look unready for it! Barry scored from all three of their shots on target, and we managed just one goal in reply.
Luckily, we were able to sharpen up over the next fortnight, beating three non-league teams 16-0 on aggregate. Reid scored four goals (including a perfect hat-trick) as we thrashed Giants Grave 7-0, but then he only found the net twice in a pathetic 5-0 win at Ynysygerwn.
We also made light work of Carnetown as Wilson got up and running, before we played one more friendly at home to Halesowen. Jamie claimed a hat-trick in a 4-2 thriller, though Michael Jackson moonwalked into the spotlight with two long-range stunners for our visitors.
After four straight friendly wins, we were ready to begin our League Cup campaign, which was a tale of two penalty shoot-outs.
First off, we travelled to Pontypridd in a repeat of last season’s Round 1 tie. Wilson’s 24th-minute opener was cancelled out late on by the Dragons as a close contest finished 1-1. The penalty shoot-out was also hard-fought, as both teams scored their first five penalties, Churchill saved Pontypridd’s sixth, and then Wright finally booked our place in Round 2!
Six days later, we played out a topsy-turvy match at Caerau Ely. They opened the scoring with a 6th-minute free-kick, then Wilson scored one of his own in the 37th to give us a 2-1 lead. Ely replied with a couple more goals to move 3-2 ahead… until Bate equalised directly from a corner to force penalties!
Sadly, our luck deserted us in another epic shoot-out. Heslop and Ben Jones each wasted chances to send us through before the tie was settled with our 11th penalty, which Churchill fired into the stands to send Ely through 8-7. For the second year in a row, a shocking spot-kick from our goalkeeper had contributed to our League Cup downfall.
And this, folks, is why you should never let an Englishman take a penalty.
After finishing 6th and 4th in the last two Cymru South seasons, the board now expect us to break into the top three this time around. Of course, I’m very much aiming for the title – and promotion to the Cymru Premier.
The bookmakers certainly think we’re in the conversation. Our promotion odds have been cut to 5-2, though we’re now only considered fourth-favourites behind Swansea University, Haverfordwest and Carmarthen. The latter only just avoided a shock relegation last season, but they’re expected to bounce back quickly. We’ll learn more when Carmarthen pay us a visit on the opening day.
The League Cup might have gone, but the Welsh Cup still offers us the chance of a cup run. The chairman would like to see us get to Round 4, like we did a couple of years back. That’s definitely possible, as long as the draws are on our side and I don’t blindly play a 4-4-2 against a 4-3-3. (That loss to Haverfordwest last season will take a long time to forget…)
A strong start is always important, but especially so this season. Because of the World Cup in Qatar, the Cymru leagues will be taking a two-month break over November and December. Personally, I’m not sure why we even need a break at this level. Churchill’s a fine goalie, sure, but I doubt Gareth Southgate will be taking him to Doha!
Anyway, this winter break means we have to cram 17 league matches – AND the opening round of the Welsh Cup – into the first three months. This will be a major test of our squad depth, to say the least!
And that’s the state of play as Cambrian head into the 2022/2023 Cymru South season!
Please join me again on Friday, when I’ll take you through the entire first half of the new campaign, up until October! Can the Cam Army come through a busy three-month period and establish themselves as the team to beat?
Lastly, just a quick reminder: if you’ve enjoyed reading this and can’t wait for more, you can hit the ‘Follow’ button to be notified when a new post goes live. You can also find me on Twitter @Fuller_FM.
Thanks for reading!
Fuller FM 
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