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Before the players head out for some much needed rest we have a final team meeting. I tell them mid-table is achievable next season (I had no higher expectation option) and almost everyone agrees.
Time to make the annual pilgrimage to the conference room where our Chief Scout, Head of Youth Development, Assistant Manager, and I sit down to go over the roster to see who is staying and who is going. Where do we start? The beginning, of course.
Goalkeepers:
With the departure of Gareth O'Keeffe mid-season, Adrian Lee became the clear-cut GK1. Chick Legg is staying because his playing time triggered an option year and I have a very high Loyalty attribute. He will be used to Tutor the GKs. Kris Newton, now being 18, will go out on loan so he doesn't stagnate; Legg or Gael Barbier will get the U23 starts. Michael Stewart is a problem. He is almost as good as Lee but I can't put him in the U23s because he'll stagnate. I don't want to bring him in 19 October and then loan him out. Luckily, with his late arrival (19 October) I can ease him into the U23s and then maybe a month later, or in January, start using him in the Seniors.
Right fullbacks:
Pat Lawford will continue to be our starter and Jordan Nickson will back him up. Jordan still hasn't got to Natural at DR but that's probably because he hasn't played many games there yet. Ethan Foster will be the sole DR in the U23s if I can offload Sean Peers. Sean is relatively cheap but he irks me for deplorable training efforts last season. Ralph Miller and Shane Pelling will split U18 reps.
Centrebacks:
Ben Evans is the right DC starter and Alfie Barnes is the left one. Though they are both right-footed, Alfie goes on the left because he is Accomplished at DL so it seems more natural. Angelino Ferreira just isn't developing enough at Marking, Positioning, and Teamwork. He can't just ride being super-fast and in League Football as Technical and Mental attributes become more important. I think I need to move Jason Cosgrove and Colin Cockbill, whether it's to the Seniors or out on loan. That depends on Ferreira being sold off. Rory Collopy is dead to me after three straight months of not improving in training. He just doesn't get it anymore so he'll be sold. Padraig Murphy and Adrian Partridge are gone, their contracts expire at the end of the month. I activated Kevin Jenkins' option so he can be a U23 body, along with Mark Hirst and Tom Simpson. George Bunn, Dafydd Knott, Danny Wright, and Rico Chase will compete for time in the U18s.
But there is this one guy...I'll address him below in New Players.
Left fullbacks:
Mark Curran is the unquestionable starter after finally getting his act together and putting in a string of better performances. I had to take a fine-toothed comb to figure out who is better: Steve Pike, Sam Sterling, and Dean Rice. I settle on Sterling as he has a better combination of Determination, Teamwork, Work Rate, Natural Fitness, and Pace. Plus he is Accomplished at DC and WBL; this will be important for substitution reasons as I won't be in Cups that allow 12 subs. I'll keep Pike in the U23s and become a Rice salesman. John Shaw and Brian Osborn will round things out, giving us coverage for the Youths.
Defensive midfielders:
My favorite signing of last year, David Caffrey remains my number one pick. DMC experiment Jose Parker, only Accomplished there, will be pick number two. Tasos Noulas, our Greek God, will be pick number three as he can also play at AMC. This means Gary Ferguson gets demoted to the U23s, where he'll join Henson Debellotte. Nathan Kingdon takes a walk at the end of the month. Terry Buckle came in as an experiment, a slow DR can make it at DMC? He's not Natural there yet so I'll sell him off as I don't need a third DMC in the U23s. I really don't need three in the U18s either but there will Lee Beirne, Kenny Holden, and Danny Douglas remain. Stephen Dennehy will join Kingdon on the dole.
Attacking midfielders:
AMC is our weakest position currently but I have a feeling Shaquille Bailey will change that before Christmas. But until then, Mark Flitcroft will be our starter. I really, really wish David Doran wasn't such a pain in the ass else he'd have a chance to compete. Instead he gets placed in the meat market and hopefully earns us a shiny penny, or more. Ben O'Reilly will be AMC2 until surpassed by Shaq and then I might sell him off. Stephen Lemon sticks around to tutor and provide sub coverage in five positions when we use the Diamond. Dean Hoddle will be the sole AMC in the U23s. Dennis Hammond goes the way of the dodo. Jamie Stimson and Tom Green get to work on their skills in the U18s.
Right midfielders:
My second favorite signing last year continues to be our starter because he is so damn good. I'm very happy to have Chris Dryden as our second-choice but after that...we just don't have much coverage. Two players who are not the solution are Mario Headley and Ibrahim Agu so they'll be shown the door. Gary Walker will patrol the right wing all by himself in the U23s while Mitchell Oliver and Gary Lund will do the same in the U18s.
Left midfielders:
Our Vice Captain, Stephen McGregor, will fill two roles, starting AML and Captain. Gary Leary will be out second left winger but also probably get a lot of time on the right. The following will see their contract expire: Ian Barnett, Nickcolson Garcia, George Conrad, and Glenn Day. That leaves Sams Young and Khinda in the U23s and Tobi Gant in the U18s. Chris Keegan is going straight into the Seniors because... I'm almost crazy enough to let McGregor take a walk this summer. If I can find a better Captain...
Strikers:
The most obvious of choices is John Burns and Mickey Morris at left and right striker. After that, I'll make Mark Marshall choice three and Eddie Macey four. This means Derek McLeish and Alex Rae will become ex-Brixton players; never-used George Hanley will join them. Kevin Carolan will be the only striker in the U23s and the U18s will be crowded with Geoff Smart, Allen West, Jethro Swain, and Richard Phillips. If Burns and/or Morris go elsewhere* then the last two might come up.
* I'm seriously considering loaning my stars to a Championship club. I for sure don't want to sell them but I gotta be realistic that they are going to stagnate here. Burns surprisingly doesn't have any suitors but half the teams in England and Scotland have interest in Morris. I likely will be able to keep Burns.
Effing hell, gentlemen. Lee sees a number of drops, as do Evans and Collopy. Collopy is absolutely gone now. Burns' improvements include his Determination going to 15 and personality going to Fairly Determined courtesy of Eddie Macey's tutoring.
I didn't get a financial status email on the first of the month but just know that we lost £3,372,991 last season. Damn. League Two is going to be problematic if we don't get more fans attending and don't trim some of the fat. I mean, it's not all bad, if you factor in taxes. We paid £3,275,168 in taxes so we really only lost £97,823 for the season.
Later in the month, the 19th, we avoid a tax hit due to our large loss over the season. The same day we learn we got a new kit sponsor to the tune of £52,000 for one year. I'm glad we didn't get a multi-year deal as I have a feeling the board will want us to get promoted again and we can make more if we are in League One. ANDDDDD for some reason the chairman injected £170,000 into the team bank. Our overall balance is now just under £22,000,000. Crazy.
Win the league and the cups I'm expected to leads to 100% confidence from the board. I wouldn't expect any less.
Also, I win Coach of the Year. Shock, surprise.
On 2 June the board want to discuss improving the youth level. I couldn't agree more! They say the improvement should be approved by the end of the season. Let us hope they mean the end of this month and not 30 June 2023.
On the morning of 5 June St. Mirren, in the Scottish Championship, offer me an interview. There is probably someway to parlay that into a better contract with Brixton but I just politely tell Groundskeeper Willie, "No thank you."
Best Eleven:
Team of the Season:
The word of the day, kids, is permanent. Permanent: Something that will not go away. I'm making this section permanent.
Aside from those chaps, Kenny Holden, who can play DL, DMC, and MC, had a great month. So many green arrows. Almost an exact duplicate of Cockbill's performance.
I must be an American idiot for not noticing this sooner.
Oh sweetness! Rice's Bravery is now 12.4, back to where he started before he dislocated his shoulder. It only took 18 months!
Ben O'Reilly has a spontaneous change of Personality from Fairly Determined to Resolute. I don't know why as his Determination remained the same. Maybe his Pressure went up? Or Professionalism? But he's kind of an enigma. He had a couple of drops and one gain but there were no green or red arrows. Strange.
Chris Dryden had a good month with gains in his Determination, Natural Fitness, and Stamina.
I have learned a very valuable lesson. When you are setting up tutoring, make sure the senior member has a contract that goes more than six months. On 30 June Macey's tutoring of John Burns ends as does Lemon's of U18 Tom Green. Though they have since been extended the end must have been set at the begin when the tutoring was first arranged. Burns' went quite well, his personality went from Fairly Loyal to Fairly Determined and his Determination went from 14 to 17.
It's newwww contract time, it's new contract time, it's new contract time, it's new contract time. Sorry, Howdy Doody. Let us start with should-be-a-Legend Chick Legg. I agree that £725 is good for a backup goalie in League Two. Apperance fee of £200, clean sheet fee of £150, and bench fee of £100 sounds about right. Naturally he and his agent will step outside for a moment (or few days) to discuss the matter.
Steve Pike also gets an extension offer. We settle on £500 and a £150 appearance fee until 30 June 2023. He'll get back to me.
David Caffrey signs his new contract on the morning of 5 June and Chick Legg the next morning.
That new Data Analysis Facility? It's going unused. So I need to hire a data analyst. It doesn't take long to find one. He is the U18 Data Analyst for Charlton, a League One team who finished 24th and will be joining us in League Two. He contract is about to expire so I offer him a good pay raise, he'll get £600 per week if he agrees. He agrees late evening of 6 June.
I also need two Sports Scientists, one for the U23s and one for the U18s. I am going to wait for some weeks as I'm finding only mediocre ones on 4 June.
So Brentford (Championship) want to poach my U23 Shooting Coach. I am not pleased. Replacing him will be hard. He agrees on 20 June and I can't wait for the day when we can start poaching staff. Good-bye, Christof Mertens. I find somewhat of a replacement but I wait until the game actually switches us over to League Two so I have a better chance of finding someone better.
Mertens' departure leads to a slew other changes. I mutually terminate the contracts of Max Curtis, our Head Physio, and Tony Newell, our U18 Assistant Manager. I then offer a contract to a Dutch coach named Wouter Bosma to replace Newell. If he agrees it's going to cost us £950/week, just £50 less than me.
To replace Mertens I offer a contract to German coach Martin Affeld. He doesn't speak a lick of English so he'll get sent to an language course; his Adaptability is 13 so it should go fine. I speak German so we'll communicate that way. He'll cost us £800/week if he signs. League Two is more expensive than Conference National! He agrees on the 27th, shortly after the players report back, and is immediately sent on an intensive language course.
Now for a replacement Head Physio. I have the perfect guy already on the roster, Chris Turnbull. He has a 20 in Physiotherapy and 19 Man Management. He wants £850 and I cool with that.
I need a Head of Sports Science. I'm going again with a known commodity, our sole Sports Scientist, Phillip McParland. If he signs he'll go from £275/week to £500.
As for our Chief Scout, he's not that great but there aren't many available at the moment. I'll offer a year extension and hope we find someone better next year. This play will be to the tune of £500/week.
I catch some egg on my face on 30 June. The board blocks McParland's signing as the Head of Sport Science because it turns out we aren't entitled to one. Guess I misread the chart that tells me how many staff members I can hire. Now I have to wow him with a better contract to sign today. All it takes is £500 per week.
Look at all these rumors, they're surrounding me everyday. Right off the bat when the transfer window opens Mickey Morris is linked to Bradford City and Motherwell. No offers actually roll in though. A news item on 6 June says Cardiff (Championship) want him.
Scottish Premiership side Rangers want David McCaffrey, leading to a journalist calling me. I issue a hands-off warning. On the 7th rumors start of their interest in Morris. Hrmmmhhh...
At the same time Cardiff declare their intentions on Morris, Ross County (Scottish Premiership) supposedly throw their hat into the ring for Stephen McGregor. All these rumors but not actual offers.
It isn't until early 9 June that actual offers start rolling in. Aston Villa (Championship) offer Alfie Barnes a 1-week trial. Rejected. Bury (League One) offer up to £73,000 for Mark Curran. Rejected. Then Millwall (League One), Preston (Championship), and Rangers offer between £38,000 and £39,000 for Morris. Rejected.
Morris thinks this means he gets an improved deal. I tell him not to be silly. He understands.
June 10 sees an out-of-the-blue offer for Ben Evans by Hull (Championship) for £77,000. It gets auto-rejected. I also have to deal with another offer, rejected of course, for Morris by Walsall. The next day Mark Curran is invited to join Aston Villa for £45,000. I reject it and change his asking price to £250,000. Most of the starters will get that treatment. Like Ben Evans does after Sheffield United offer £140,000 for him. And Mickey by Walsall, again.
Jose Parker gets attention on 12 June by Swindon (League Two), which I reject. I also up his asking price to £100,000.
But something is wrong with the game. Barnes, Evans, Curran, and Morris have seen their asking prices reset to what they were before I made them £250,000. So annoying!
But then the next day everything seems to be working. Well, at least Aston Villa's £160,000 was auto-rejected. And Swindon's £68,000 offer is also auto-rejected. Okay, then Walsall up their offer for Mickey, £98,000, but it too gets dismissed.
Oh damn. QPR offer £250,000 for Alfie Barnes. Technically they have met the minimum but they are in the Championship but are being demoted. He should got to a higher league so I reject the offer. Aston Villa the next day offer the same but they will be staying in the Championship, barely. The are 21st of 24 teams. I'm gonna ignore it for now. He agrees on 26 June and we exchange pleasantries as he heads out. Gonna miss him.
Also the same day, Evans is staying because Motherwell, Brentford, and Sheffield United don't meet the minimum. On 27 June, Rangers offer £215,000 though it gets auto-rejected. Now Ben wants to talk about why I'm blocking his moves. I ask Macey to resolve the matter, which he does successfully. But on 29 June more offers come in and they are getting super-close. Yikes.
The low-balling of Morris continues on 19 June with Ipswich (Championship, 13th) offer £83,000. Stop wasting my time! (All two seconds of it.) But I also have to address that earlier Alfie Barnes offer from Aston Villa for £250,000. But I check his history and we bought him for £300,000. Can't let him go for less. So I get them finally to pay us £300,000, another £50,000 after 20 league appearances, and a 30% sell-on fee. The only reason I ship him off is that his Determination hasn't budged up from 8. Gonna miss him.
On 20 June more interest comes in for Curran but they are below the standard so I don't worry. (I sure am glad nobody is trying to pilfer Pat Lawford of late.)
The offers for Morris keep coming in and they keep creeping up. Preston (Championship, 10th) are up to £105,000.
After we jump up to League Two another two offers comes in for Morris. From Preston (£130,000) and Walsall (£135,000). We get closer on 26 June when Brentford offer £145,000. And finally his agent thinks he should get a new contract. He is promptly dismissed. The next day Milwall offer £150,000.
Oh poop! In the late morning of 29 June Brentford offer £245,000 for Mark Curran. That's so close to being in dangerous territory. Ouch.
So here's the situation. Leadership. Macey isn't good enough to start. McGregor is going to be surpassed by incoming-AML Chris Keegan plus he's kind of maxed out. All the other players with good captain skills are pretty young. Ideally, we keep Mickey Morris because he would be a great Captain but he too is young. So I'm going to need to find someone who could be the new Captain.
There is a DC I like and an AMC. Though Shaquille Bailey seems destined to start, his Strength is currently 1, which just isn't good enough for League Football. Let us see what our scouts think of Desmond Brizan (a Grenadian) and Luke Matthews.
With Barnes' departure I need to find a replacement so I approach Brizan. His agent has "an unfriendly relationship" with me. Great. He wants £10,000 for the pleasure of signing his client. The client wants £1,500 per week, £10,000 sign-on fee, £400 start bonus, and a £400 clean sheet bonus. Yikes. A bit more than my scouts thought he might cost.
At the same time I approach Luke Matthews. His demands are pretty close to Brizan's but because his agent has never dealt with me I'm able to get him down to £1,000 per week, £300 per game, and £500 per goal. He will only accept a one-year contract but if he gets into 20 matches and we get promoted there is an automatic extension.
They both sign early on the morning of 30 June but won't report until 1 July.
In England, the Top Ten Most Reputable Teams are:
1. Man City
2. Man United
3. Tottenham
4. Liverpool
5. Arsenal
6. Chelsea
7. West Ham
8. Southampton
9. Stoke
10. Leicester
Meanwhile, in South London, we are now the 119th most reputable club in England. Up from 177th.
On 16 June, Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia joined the European Union. I think that means I can easily bring players from those nations to Brixton.
We advance to League Two on 25 July and immediately get news that we'll get £282,000 over the course of the season for the leage television rights. Nice chuck of change. But up in the Premier league it's roughly £800,000-£900,000. Per match. Yowza!
Yep. As expected, we are expected to get promoted to League One by winning the league. I also have to get us to the Second Round of the Carabao Cup and Third Round of the FA Cup. Doable.
I generally like to schedule all our friendlies before jumping into the next season formally but this year I was dealing with so many other things I only had four scheduled. So on the first day of the League Two season Grimsby (League One), Enfield Town (Isthmian Premier), and Grantham (Northern Premier League) offer to play us, and I accept. For the U18s, some puny team way down in the United Counties Premier called Crockenhill, again with the funny names, are going to pay us £12,000 to visit with our kids. Okay!
I go to make some more friendly arrangements and again I'm able to host the Bayern Munich reserves, or Bayern II in the way it goes in Germany.
Good news on the training front! When the squads report back on 27 June, Eddie Macey, Derek McLeish, Gary Ferguson, Tasos Noulas, and Mark Marshall are in top condition. However, as I page through the player cards I see that Jose Parker is all over the place; 20 red arrow and 5 drops with 3 green arrows and 1 gain, which oddly was his Determination. Dude? C'mon!
In the welcome back speech I Passionately tell them I believe we can make the Playoffs. Most of the lads don't feel that's ambitious enough (I didn't have any options higher than that one) so I tell them we can gain promotion. (Which is what the board wants anyways…) The players are all happy now! But then there is still one final statement I have to give and the options are all about respecting those who disagree. But nobody disagrees! So I chose the most innoucous, seemingly, option and most of the players lose morale. I hate FM sometimes.
Fourteen players left us on 30 June. They fall into three categories by which they came to us.
Youth who never made it: DMC Stephen Dennehy, AML Glenn Day, AML George Conrad, and ST George Hanley. All these cats came to us through the 2020 Youth Intake Day.
Youth that made it to the U23 but not higher: DMC Nathan Kingdon, DC Adrian Partridge, DC Padraig Murphy (2018), AMR Ibrahim Agu (2019), AMR Mario Headley (2020), AMC Dennis Hammond (2019), AMR Nickcolson Garcia (2019), and AMR Ian Barnett (2019). Kingdon and Partridge were signed during the summer of 2019 when I needed some bodies for the U18s. Kingdon cost us £5,000, which in hindsight was not a good investment. The rest were from our YIDs, in the years noted.
Former stars who had a good career here: STs Alex Rae and Derek McLeish. These guys were signed in 2017, Rae as a Trialist and McLeish was just supposed to be a U18 body. Alex ended with 83 goals and 20 assists in 107 appearances. Derek had 53 goals and 27 assists in 60 matches. Alex was unbelievably good at times and would have stayed longer if we hadn't got great players through the Youth Academy or signed away from other teams.