Fourteenth day - I am who I am

The transfer window closes at the end of August, and a normal deal takes around a week to negotiate. I am running out of time if I want to try to hire anyone else, it's now the 20th of August...

So it's with great interest that I finally get results from my scout, he's found two very promising 18 year old players and one specially is seriously good and not expensive at all.

I dive in, make my offer and happily fantasize about this guy. I could do with an AMC that can come out of the bench and gets balls from Tiernan. Plus, he's got potential to improve. He's good looking too, and I would like to have more females in the public, they are great for business as they attract even more boys. I want this guy a lot.

But when his answer comes, I am confronted with a dilemma.

He likes my conditions, my team and the salary. He will sign with Queen's Park and make true my wet dream of kicking East Stirlingshire into 5th division, but there is a small problem in the contract offer, easily corrected...

He wants a full time contract or nothing.

Shit.

Queen's Park does not hire full timers, I said it before, it's against our team's history.

So what to do? This guy would be great for my team and a game is a game, after all. It's meant to be played, not taken seriously like real life. Anyway, I already have 3 full timers on loan from bigger teams. At the end of the day, who would mind?

...

I would.

I cancel the contract negotiations and send the guy home.

My team will take all the glory or nothing at all.

Even if the game does not model it, I will not break more than a hundred years of history if I can prevent it,

I am who I am...

As the time passes with all this things, Albion Rovers pays me a visit to try and steal three points from Hampden Park. 

Great, fresh meat. 

And tender, very tender meat this is.

They will be first victims of my huge pitch combiend with my wing heavy tactic. My wingers are actually quite hungry for action, in the last matches away most of the action has gone through the center. And Albion Rovers is not a good team, so I think we are going to have a fun time at Hampden.

I choose the attack through the wings variant of my balanced tactic and encourage my boys.

I win 2-0 with 70% of posession.

I also stand proud in the first position in the league, tied with other 4 teams.

6 points and 5 goals scored and 2 against in 3 matches.

Not bad for a team of part timers, methinks.

Thirteenth day - No beauty without pain

My search for a new central defender has given me 2 good new players, that are quite cheap and very important, quite flexible. 

I am starting to see a pattern in my team that I need to correct. My system works very well but it demands a lot from the DMC and MC. They always get tired really fast and cannot finish in good shape.

So I am starting to think that apart from tweaking their training schedule, maybe what I need is to plan my changes for the second half. And to do that, I need to have players that can switch positions in the field.

So I hire flexible defenders, and we'll see if I can build a good late game strategy.

Elgin seem to be a tough team and I play at their home. 

They just beat Livingstone, so they could perfectly do the same to me.

As I analyse the upcoming game, I realize that probably morale in Elgin is very high. They also have field advantage. So maybe I should be cautious and defend more. And maybe try to keep possession so I take less pressure. I choose to play a balanced cautious game, with my standard formation but less of an attacking spirit.

Elgin proves that I am still way away from understanding this game.

In minute 20 I score one of my favourite move goals, in a fast transition. Elgin seem weak and unmotivated, so I keep my tactic.

However, luck and bad coaching combine in a explosive mix.

My tactic is not very intelligent, because by not attacking, I am actually being defensive but not enough. So what I am trying to do is a lot of things at the same time, the result is a lot of nothing.

I am not holding well to the ball and I am not attacking fast. My wingers are not doing anything and I am not in a good defensive position. So, instead of winning my second game, before the half time, Elgin scores in a static play. Well, I can live with a tie away from home.

At half time I encourage the players and ask them to attack more. It seems the team suffers when my instructions are not clear and I want them to at least try to win this.

In minute 65, Elgin steal my ball in midfield, makes two good passes and gives the ball to the striker in the box. He's well covered, my two defenders are with him. So he loses the ball, that rebounds towards the goalie. He walks to the ball and stands near it without touching it, nor does the defender by his side.

So the striker walks up, takes the ball and shoots, hitting on the defender.

The ball rebounds on one post and rolls parallel to the goal line.

The referee calls the goal and my players morale goes down.

I lose 2-1, and I feel things are evolving in my team and I need to understand them. Specially, my luck.

I say good words to my team after the match and look at the others.

Montrose loses, East Stirlingshire wins thanks to a lucky penalty and Livingstone wins too. 

I fall from 2nd to 4th, for the moment it's not a problem.

Ideally I want to be placed second or third at the end of February, with a maximum distance of 5 points behind the leader, whoever it is. I have planned to use my current resources to the fullest before the next transfer window opens, and then play a surprise card, because I have a secret...

As of now, I still have a margin of 250 euros in player wages, so I intend to spend all the winter looking for the ideal AMC and then paying through the nose for him. If it works and he does not get injured, I could win the league with a strong second leg.

At the end, after all this pain, the Queen will be the most beautiful.

Twelfth day - New tricks for an old dog

As the league gets ready to start, I ponder about my team. I have been able to get very good loans and can spend some money in players, but the question is what kind of players do I need? The assistant coaches want more defenders, but I am not so sure I need them. My defense has played solidly enough and I have spent a lot of energy making them adapt to each other. On my attack I have loaned players in one striker and both winger positions, so replacing them is going to be difficult and expensive.

I realize that if I finally get the AMC that I would like, it'd force me to put my creative midfielder in a more defensive role, put my loaned DMC on the bench and have a very, very offensive team that is much weaker in defense. As I have the team now, I play with an attacking attitude from a defensive configuration and I like how my team makes fast attacks. This spirit would be lost by getting an AMC on the field, even if he's very good. And he's not going to be very good, not with this amount of money.

So the changes start to become more difficult to do without losing something. Have I created a one trick dog?

In any case, I take a look at the market for defenders. If there is a good deal, I'll maybe be able to have better replacements. Meanwhile, my rivals have hired many players and are paying salaries in the three hundreds per week. Also, they are hiring full time players. I will fall behind soon as they train with a full schedule.

Queen's Park first match is against Annan, a weaker team than mine but I play away, and this makes me nervous. All my preseason has taken place in Hampden Park, so I have no idea about the performance of my team away from home. Also, I do not know if I should contain Annan or attack, as I have no idea how good they are.

I choose to go into a cautious attack. I tweak a little the second striker's role and tell him to stop falling to the sides to leave the area empty of defenders. Everyone is using a zonal defense, so this strategy is not working. Instead, I tell him to play in the middle and try to catch passes from the midfielders. I am trusting they'll play as always a 4-4-2, so that the two midfielders will be a little bit ahead of my striker when he receives the ball. If the opponent played a diamond, this system would be stupid, I would be putting my attacker in the same spot as the opponent's defensive midfielder.

But this is Scotland, a land of Celts with long beards who dress with girls clothing. There is no refinement in this league, no machiavellian subtilities. I am sure they will all play a 4-4-2.

And as it turns out, Annan does play a 4-4-2. 

They also play a bad game. They fight for the ball but they do not know what to do with it. They seem unable to mount a serious attack on my goalkeeper and I enjoy having the ball more. At half time we are tied 0-0 but I am pushing and our morale is good.

I apply the lessons learnt in the preseason and talk only sweet words to my boys. They are, for the most part, in good morale, excepting one of my central defenders, who seems angry about something.

In minute 10 of the second half, my team does exactly what I want them to do. I steal a ball in the midfield, my lone MC advances boldy with the ball in control and, as both midfielders advance on him to beat the life out of him, they leave a big space behind them. One of my strikers falls to the side and a central defender follows him some metres, leaving a space in the middle. The ball goes in that hole, and behind it appears my second striker following his new instructions, starting from the right position and facing the goal. 0-1 and Queen's Park season starts well.

I win the game 0-2, with both goals coming from the same transition attacks, and I am so happy that I start to think where I will display my upcoming Champions League Cup.

As the results pour in, there are some surprises. Elgin, a very average team, has beat Livingstone 3-1 and is leading. Montrose has won and East Stirlingshire has tied. 

I have to play my next match against Elgin at their home...

But before that comes the match that I did not want to play, Challengers Cup against Patrick Thisle, a first division team that is also my historic enemy.

My team is tired, I do not want to win this Cup, I do not care about the derby and I just want to lose by the minimum possible, so my actions are quite obvious.

In comes the reserve team, all fired up because they get a chance to play. I put them in defense, ask for some counterattack and let the game play itself. I am sticking to my priorities, at the beggining of the season I set my targets and I am not going to change now.

I lose 0-1 after missing a big, big chance by my soon to be unemployed 4th best striker.

So good, I am out of the Challenger's Cup, objective achieved and another thing that I can forget about.

East Stirlingshire on the other hand, decides to play a mixed tactic against his own first division rival. He's able to keep his own defense and goes into overtime and into penalties. East Stirlingshire wins and goes through to the third round, the coach is ecstatic...

I very much doubt that he should. What he's doing is playing a tighter calendar and, to keep his fitness up, he's very aggressively giving rest days to his players. That way, they get back in shape faster, but it actually negates the advantages of having full timers, because they do not train. 

I let him go deeper into the mistake, gloat about his victory and I concentrate on my objective, the league.

We'll see who laughs last.

Eleventh day - The Queen of Cups

Right, life in the third division is like this, you do twenty things right and nothing improves, do one wrong and it's a disaster.

My players morale has started to plummet, the trend has changed. And in that moment I realize that I am not doing a very, very important thing. I am not getting ready for the calendar that is coming.

In this division, the calendar is quite easygoing, we play one league match per week and the two cup competitions in the mid week, but, as the cups are usually extremely short for the small teams, the calendar is not stressful. My objective is to do well in the league, so actually losing the two cup matches would be quite nice...

Except for the morale problem. I am going to play against stronger teams, first and second division right before starting the real stuff against Annan.

So I am really, really bummed. I could make an effort to improve morale by playing a great competition cup, but that would cost energy and would prevent me from trying tactics, I'd have to play a serious game.

So what do I prefer, to have morale or tactical cohesion?

I decide that in this level of football, morale is much more important than technical matters and I choose to use the two cup matches as morale boosters, if I can.

For the first time, I attend a press conference. Before the first round of the challenge cup and against a second division team, I answer cheerfully and expressing my confidence on my players.

As the match starts, I take pressure off them, choose my standard central attack tactic with very few extra cautions and let the Queen's Park 2010 season start.

We win.

We were not supposed to win...

The players play a tough match against a strong enemy who's a little bit better mentally and physically, but not tactically. My players are better placed and get a lot of loose balls. In minute 67, my captain, the one who was angry at me, forgets he's a defensive midfielder, picks the ball in the centre, does a one-two with a striker and presents himself alone in front of the goalkeeper... Unfortunately, he scores.

Everyone is happy after the match, the fans, the players and the directors. Some of the angry players change publicly their opinion and all is beer and girls for the boys.

But I'm bummed, I do not want to play a second round, specially when I learn that the next round is against Patrick Thisle, a first division team. I'm thinking that that match will be a great opportunity to see my under 19 team play...

East Stirlingshire has made the same mistake as me and won the round. Montrose however, has managed somehow to lose and is now out of this stupid competition. 

I envy him...

Anyway, next the Scottish cup begins. I am still on shaky ground on morale, some of the players are still not as I would want them, so I try to repeat the same trick, positive messages, encouragement, offense and a lot of luck.

It very nearly costs me the league.

In minute 8, the enemy shoots a free kick from far outside the penalty box, hits on the top post and goes in.

As I change tactic and try to control the ball, I suffer a counterattack, the first one in the last 7 matches, that finds space even though my line is defending deeper than normally. Minute 25 and I am losing 0-2.

In minute 38, a loose ball flies outside my penalty box, the enemy striker fouls my defender, the "referee" does not call it, the striker hits a header from outside the area, the goalkeeper deviates it and it hits the top post again and goes inside.

The other managers turn down the volume of their speakers, I am swearing too much...

In any case, this is a very difficult moment.

In half time I am completely torn. I do not know what to do. I know what I would tell my players in real life, that they are playing very well but Lady Luck is a bitch and jealous of the Queen.

So I choose to not make the same mistake again. I encourage the players and stay calm in a balanced attack.

With my words, the team improves mentally a little, enough as to hope for some respite.

In minute 70, my captain forgets he's a defensive midfielder, picks the ball in the centre, does a one-two with a striker and presents himself alone in front of the goalkeeper... Amazingly, he scores.

I lose 1-3 to a team two divisions above me and finish the game attacking and dominating.

I cannot ask for more, if you ask me, this team is already overperforming.

After the match in the press conference, when the idiot journalists ask me about that maggot that called himself referee during the match, I have to bite my tongue. Because of his incredible incompetence, my team has suffered the worst defeat in the last 8 matches and it was completely unfair. But I know that the referees like complacent sheep as team managers, so I decide to lower my tone and thank the gods for the blessing of having such a fair, handsome and intelligent referee. I am clearly not worthy.

So as we close the eleventh day, I think the mistake's effects have been more or less contained. Team morale has stopped it's decline, I still do not have the confidence of the players but the results are not bad for the team that we have and cohesion will grow from now on.
I have learnt a lot about my boys, specially that they are exactly that, boys, and I will treat them as such from now on.
I am going to become the Queen's Mother...

Tenth day - The Queen's pride

While the next team arrives for the last friendly, it's time to go ask for more of these nice loans. Very fast, I fill the holes in my squad with players on loan and hit the maximum 4 allowed by the organization. 

I finally settle for a defensive midfielder that frees my creative defensive midfielder guy to go a little forward, play as a pure midfielder, but still have a lot of destroying power. This means that, although on paper I am playing 4-4-2, in reality, I am playing 4-1-3-2, almost a diamond...

I also have a new right midfielder that seems to be decent, nothing amazing, but clearly better than the drunkard I had before.

With all these new arrivals, the two new goal keepers and the tactics setup, I do not have time to think about the calendar that's coming up.

I am also growing confident, way too confident.

And the mistakes start to appear...

The last friendly is played at home against a bad team called Hermes. I want to try tactics, see my players move the ball and basically adjust the positions.

The match starts fine, I dominate and score 2 goals in the first 30 mins. My balanced central tactic works fine, as well as my balanced right. I look at my stats to see if they can fool an enemy coach into reacting to my tactics and it seems they do...

After 35 mins and after having tried balanced tactics attacking through the centre and through the right, I switch to left. This is my strong side, so I expect to see results.

During half time I tell the players I'm happy and to keep up the nice work, I expect to win 4-0, given how bad Hermes is...

However, Hermes has also changed and gone 5-4-1, trying to occupy as wide an area as possible in the sea of grass that is my home field.So my attacks come but do not score, I make good moves but I am unlucky. The match ends 2-0 and no damage has been taken, some tactics work, others need adjustment and the enemy had to basically give up the match to stay only 2 goals behind.

And then I start to make mistakes. Too much bombast and pride are my sins, I fail to see that this match is irrelevant and I wanted more goals.

So when the match is over, instead of congratulating them for an easy victory, I tell my players that I'm disappointed.

Instantly, morale plummets.

Two players start to question their decisions to play for Queen's Park.

The team's captain does not understand why I give them support at half time and am unhappy at the end after having won.

In the blink of an eye, I lose half of what had been gained in the previous epic struggles.

Right before the competition begins.

A Queen's pride sure is expensive.

Ninth day - Assume emergency position

As I am preparing the team lineup, I realize that Nottingham Forest has an aditional advantage over my team (as if they needed more). My team has not had the time to get rested after the match against Edimborough University. Even worse, engrossed by my attacking play in that match, I left my first team on the pitch for too long, so now they are dead. I can see clearly as they are in the dressing room that if I let them fight the british team in these conditions, I'm going to lose everything I had gained up to now, the morale of the players and some sort of cohesion. If one of my defenders makes one or two mistakes that lead into goals, he'll get depressed and then I will have a difficult task because he'll be a weak link in the chain. And I cannot afford this weak link.

I decide to minimize the force of the impact and I change the script on the spot. I bring out 10 reserves, only my brand new goalkeeper will play today. I also bring most of my under 19 team to be ready to play the second half. If I lose by a lot, then so be it.

In terms of tactics, I decide to use the same setup that worked so well before, narrow but not deep zonal defensive line, a rigid mentality and very low risk style of play. Only 3 players with any offensive orientation, the rest will not pass the midlfield line in the whole match.

As a result, I see Nottingham Forest dominate the sidelines and the midfield, but crash against my defensive midfielder. When they can escape my DMC, they give very compromised passes to the strikers, so ball control is difficult and they cannot score. Good.

In the midtime, we are 0-0 and I'm very happy, there must be something right in the tactic too, not only the players.

Anyways, the objective today is to reduce the score, not to win a medal.

I replace everyone, bring out the under19 and wait for the resting 45 mins to be over.

The match ends in a 0-2 for Nottingham Forest and I'm again very happy, the  crash was not so bad as I feared, I can still stand.

This leaves me with one preseason match left and I think a pattern is emerging for the 2010 Queen's Park team.

Three matches against clearly superior teams have proven that my team is solid and that although I cannot create goals against a vastly superior team, I can still dream about very decent defensive performances when playing away against say, Livingstone. Also, the team's morale is good even with a 75% loss rate.

The creativity and goal making capabilities of QP remain unproven, specially against a defensive team, as well a the performance away from home.

It's a reasonable starting point.

A different matter comes to my attention when watching my under19: the striker that I hired some days ago is too good.

I got him as a potential good player for the future, he's 18 and does not have better stats than my "good" guy Ian Watt.

However, when in the match he plays a much better game than Ian Watt, he positions himseelf better, dribbles much better and shoots also better. I like him.

But of course, this match is not very relevant.

On the other hand, if this guy performed, then I could concentrate on getting the holy grail of a AMC and actually pay him real money, as I am well below the wage budget.

It sounds too good to be true.

I decide that, at least for the moment, my underage striker is going to be in the first team  as a replacement and we'll see what happens. I also decide that he's going to play more than 45 minutes of the next match.

The next match is going to be the last in the preseason. I'm playing an amateur team and I will have the time to test my tactics in an interesting way.

Because by the way, my offensive tactics are ready.