New tactics

Hello friends, in this post i will talk about my new tactics to cater for the current players that i have. Not consider totally new tactic just fine tune on the 4-4-2 that i am using now. The new tactic that i am going to use is the 4-4-1-1 tactic, the reason is that i am going to employ Antoine Sibierski  in the advanced playmaker role. However due to his age, he can't simply play every game so i am going to switch to 4-4-2 occasionally. Below is my formation and team instructions.

Player Role / Player Duty
Scott Tynan - Goalkeeper / Defend

Olly James / Robbie Threlfall - Full Back / Defend

Troy Archibald-Henville / Lewis Walker - Central Defender / Defend

Robin Shroot - Wide Midfielder / Support

Matt Paine - Wide Midfielder / Support

Simon Heslop - Ball Winning Midfielder / Defend

Kevin Macdonald - Box to Box Midfielder / Support

Antoine Sibierski - Advanced Playmaker / Attack

Paul Hakim - Poacher / Attack

In normal case, i will set the starting strategy to standard. I will change to counter or control depend on the opposition i faced. I seldom activate any touchline shouts unless my players perform very badly. I will test the tactics and fine tune it as the season goes. My next post will be the friendly and August 2011 results.

Announcement

Dear readers, i have been away from the internet for few days. That's why there is no updates on my Thurrock story, for people who is waiting for the updates, i am sorry to keep you guys waiting. I will post the next post tomorrow. See you soon..

Thurrock-2011/12 Pre-season

The celebration is over and it is time to get serious to work. The unexpected triumph last season had created a buzz within the town and the fans will be eager to welcome Blue Square Premier clubs to our small Ship Lane stadium for the upcoming season.

For the upcoming season, i was not given any money for new players, the only way is to look for the players in the free market. After looking at the squad, i retained majority of the first team players and released seven players. I signed five new players to replace them. I wanted to sign a few more, but my club financial is very bad at the moment. My chairman is a very rational person, once i exceed the wage budget, i was not allowed to sign any more players even though the players agreed with the contract.

I am quite satisfied with the players i had signed but i still think i need to sign a few more for some depth. If there is any injuries along the way, i don't think my team can cope with that. Let me introduce my new signings one by one..

I am sure Antoine Sibierski is one that you will be very familiar with, former Manchester City and Newcastle players who is 36 year old now. Though he lacks of pace but he has very high attributes in the passing, creativity, technique and decision. I will employ him in the advance playmaker role which doesn't require pace but rely on his ability to create openings and bring others into play.

He ply his trade in Scotland for many years and i brought him back to England to play for us this season. Decent physical and mental attributes, he will be employed as a ball winning midfielder in my team.

A former Birmingham player who was released in the close season, i snap him up for free to boost our squad. He is comfortable playing in the right midfield and central midfield position. I will play him in this two position depends on what tactics i use.

I will introduce my next two players at the same time as i think they are the most important signings for me this season.

Robbie Threlfall is a former Liverpool player and i am very happy that he decided to join Thurrock for a new chapter of his career. I am sure he will be a key player for my team for a few years. He will be my first choice left back.

Troy Archibald-Henville was released by Tottenham and i immediately offer him a contract which he never took too long to accept it. I will team him up with David King in central defence, i hope they will be able to keep a lot of clean sheets this season.

There you go, these are the players whom i think will help us to establish our feet in the Blue Square Premier. As long as we do not suffer too many injuries, i think we will be ok. I will keep a lookout on loan players who can help to improve the squad too.

The media have a different opinion regarding our squad, they predict us to finish 23rd in the new season. My board does not expect too much either, hoping we can fight bravely against relegation, however i have a lot of confidence with my team, i told  the board we can avoid relegation easily.

In my next post, i will post a new tactic which i think will suit the players that i have at the moment. See you soon...

Thurrock-April 2011 Season ends

Hello friends, this is the last post of the 2010/11 season for my Thurrock team. Seven games left to play and we are surely looking good for the promotion as you know from my previous post, we are eighteen points clear of 2nd place Chelmsford. I will not go into detail for all the games play as it will be an extremely long post. Here is the results in April..

There you go, my team ends the season with 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 loss. The draw against Bishop Stortford and the win against Tonbridge was enough for my Thurrock team to wrap up the Blue Square South title. My team now has 85 points and Chelmsford has 69 points, they are sixteen points behind us and with five games left, it was impossible for them to catch us and THURROCK HAD WON PROMOTION TO THE BLUE SQUARE PREMIER. WE DID IT.

After the title has been won, i think my team is already starting to celebrate and that is why we just won two out of the remaining five games. My players have been outstanding for the whole season, so i can't really fault them for the three losses. It is a pity my team cannot achieve the 100 point mark as the Ziggy wish for but nevertheless it is still a remarkable achievement for the team as the highest finish we have is 3rd in Blue Square South in the 2004/05 season. We end the season with 91 points. Here is the table.

Just to mention, Chelmsford had defeated Eastbourne in the play-off final to join us in Blue Square Premier next season.

My board and the fans were ecstatic about the promotion as it was totally unexpected. The fans were singing my name, i am very touched by their support and i hope i will be able to bring more glory to this club for many years to come.

I also need to thank the players for the effort and hard work to produce a successful season. Here is the ratings of my players..

David King has the highest ratings of all and he is the fans player of the year for this season. Paul Hakim and Jack Jeffrey deserved special mention as well, they scored a total of 36 goals in all competition and during the season review, both was selected to be the signing of the season.

Though the celebration is still going on, i am already setting my sights for next season as the competition in Blue Square Premier will be much tougher. I will be seeking the opinion of my assistant manager to decide who will be staying and who need to be release. My next post will be the first post for the 2011/12 season. Blue Square Premier, here we come...

Thurrock-February and March 2011 results

With us leading in Blue Square South, things are looking very good at the moment, the road to promotion is definitely depends on us. We need to ensure that there is no slip-up for the coming games. Due the Gloucester match cancelled and will be play in February, we will be playing five games for this month. Here is the results that you have been waiting..

vs Bath 2-0
First game of the month was against this mid-table team, we actually don't have much creativity in this match but we were very clinical in front of goal. Right midfielder Wayne Graves gave us the lead after a perfect through ball by Paul Hakim. David King doubled our lead in the 38 minutes with a close range goal. They tried to come back into the game but our defence hold them well.

vs Gloucester 2-1
They are currently fighting against relegation but they certainly show a lot of determination in this game. Jack Jeffrey scored to give us a lead in the first half. Though they were a goal down, but they still create many chances and was finally rewarded with a goal in the 87 minutes. I was disappointed to concede a goal so late in the game. However in the football world, anything can happen before the final whistle is blown. My defender Lewis Walker headed in a goal deep into injury time to mark his first goal and a win for the club

vs Sutton Utd 2-2
Another struggling club that we will be facing this month, my team seems to face problem quite frequently against relegation threaten club. We took a two goal in the first half, both goals scored by Jack Jeffrey. However they came out fighting in the second half and let them clawed back from two goals down to level the score. I was angry with my goalkeeper Scott Tynan for making a mistake to cost the team two points.

vs Staines 1-0
We did not perform well in this match, but i think we were very lucky here. Jack Jeffrey made use of a mistake by the opposition to score a goal in the penalty area to give us a win. He had maintain his good form and scored his fourth goal in four games.

vs Newport 0-2
We lost to them during our first meeting in October and this time round we couldn't take revenge on them. We were better than them in all areas for this match but somehow their striker was in great form and scored two goals out of three shots. Seems like luck ran out with us today.

There you go, three victories and one draw out of five games played, i am satisfied with the results that we had gained so far. Chelmsford did not have a good month and we had extended our lead to twelve points.

There will be four games waiting for us in March, the opposition is not very strong except for Eastbourne Boro. I will be a happy man if my team managed to win three of them. But they showed that they want the promotion badly and they performed magnificently to actually win all of the matches. Here is the results..

vs Eastleigh 1-0
We totally dominate this game against this mid-table team but can only produce one goal through Paul Hakim. They were being peg back in their half majority of the time and can only produce two shots throughout the whole game. However we only have one goal to show our dominance.

vs Grays 2-1
First meeting against our rivals resulted in a defeat in our home ground. This time round i warned my players not to disappoint our fans. But Grays took the lead in the 11 minutes with a well place shot. David King scored in close range to make things level in the first half. Three minutes after the break, Simon Heslop scored a well taken goal after a fine assist by Paul Hakim. The score remains as it is till full time whistle. It was a good comeback by the team and i am sure the fans will be going home happy.

vs Eastbourne Boro 1-0
It was not an easy game against this team who is challenging for a play-off place.They actually put up a decent performance but just couldn't find a way in. Though we were second best in this game but in the 18 minutes Matt Paine put in a nice cross for Paul Hakim to score the only goal of the game. They kept attacking at our goal and put in some rough tackles towards our players, resulting a man sent off in the 73 minutes. From that on they were powerless to threaten our goal and we had our third win for the month.

vs Havant & Waterlooville 3-1
Last game of the month was against 8th place team, it was an exciting first half performance between the two teams. All the goals were scored in the first 45 minutes, Jack Jeffrey gave us the lead in the 13 minutes and Matt Bodkin doubled it eight minutes later. They pulled a goal in the 45 minutes but immediately Josh Falkingham scored to give us the two goal cushion two minutes later. It was a contrast second half performance by both teams and the score stayed as it is until the final whistle.

I was awarded my fourth manager of the month award after getting all four victories in March. My team also reached a play-off spot after thirty five games. Immediately after the Havant game, i took a look on the table and was surprised to find that we are leading Chelmsford by eighteen points.

Only seven games left to play and with such a comfortable position at the top, i can't imagine that we will be losing the title. The Blue Square South title and the promotion is firmly in our hands and i believe i need only two or three victories to conclude our great season. Next post will be the conclusion of the 2010/2011 season, please come back and find out whether my Thurrock team be able to wrap up the title and promote to the Blue Square Premier.

Thurrock-January 2011 results

Dear friends, half a season gone and we are the leaders of Blue Square South, five points clear of second place Chelmsford. I need my players to be at their best for the remaining games in the next few months, any slip-up will allow Chelmsford to overtake us for the top spot and all our efforts before will be in a waste. It will be a busy schedule in January as we need to play seven games, the most important game will be away to our closest rival Chelmsford. If we can win this game, it will be very difficult for them to catch us as the rest of the opposition we faced is not very strong. Here is the results.

vs Welling 3-0
It was a fairly easy game for us, we dominate the game and doesn't allow them to create much chances. Jack Jeffrey opened the scoring in the first half to give us a lead. Then David  King head in from a corner and Matt Paine scored in close range in the second half to give us a very comfortable lead. Though we create a few more chances but we could not score anymore. I have one bad news, my physio informed me that Josh Falkingham suffered a injury and will be out for 2 months. That is a blow to my team as he has been performing very well.

vs Salisbury 2-0
It was not easy against Salisbury, they have been challenging a play-off place all season. Josh Falkingham is out injured, i gave a chance to my veteran midfielder Alex Smith to replace him. The game turned out to be easier than i expected, we produced a superb first half performance to take a two goal lead. The scorers were Jack Jeffrey and David King. Salisbury never really show that they want the game back and the scores remain as it is, we could not increase the score either. Another injury bad news, David King will be out for 2-3 weeks, i am a bit worried about it as he is in the best form of his life now. I hope it doesn't affect our results while he is out.

vs Dover 2-1
Both team were fairly even match throughout the game, we took a lead scored by Simon Heslop through a spot kick. But they make things level five minutes later. I think luck was with us as with fourteen minutes left, their defender scored a own goal to give us another three points in the bag.

vs Western Super Mare 3-1
They are the relegations favorites and occupying the last spot now, their defence conceded the most goals, and it really shown in this match, within five minutes after the starting whistle, we were 2-0 up, both goals scored by Paul Hakim. They manage to pull one goal back in the 63 minutes but Paul Hakim scored his hat-trick to put the game beyond them in the 75 minutes to consolidate our position on the table.

vs Basingstoke 3-1
Another relegation candidate who is struggling in the bottom half of the table. We established a comfortable three goal lead inside 47 minutes, Paul Hakim scored the first goal and Jack Jeffrey scored a brace inside each half  to the delight of our fans. Though they managed to pull a goal back but thats just pure consolation. This is our fifth win in the row, and i am delighted the injuries of Josh Falkingham and David King did not affect our results too much.

vs Chelmsford 1-3
Next up is against Chelmsford, currently ten points behind us. Based on current form they are the only team that is capable of catching us. They were very determined to reduce the gap between them and us, they performed magnificently and we were no match for them. They kept attacking and were rewarded with three goals, though Jack Jeffrey scored his fifth goal in six games to make the scoreline much more respectable. But i got to admit that we performed badly and they deserved to win the game. This reduce the deficit to seven points.

The last game against Gloucester was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch in their home ground, but you know what, Chelmsford had suffered a shock defeat and still seven points behind us but we have a game in hand.

I was awarded another manager of the month award after leading the team to five victories in six games. I am feeling quite confident now that we will be able to achieve promotion this season based on the current form of my players. I am particularly delighted with Jack Jeffrey, he had trained well and scored more goals in this month alone compare to him managed just four goals in the first half of the season. I believe he will become a key player for the team in the coming games. We will be playing four games in February and this is a key month for us, if we can keep up the momentum, nothing is going to stop us for running away with the Blue Square South title.

Thurrock-October to December 2010 results

Hello my friends, in this post i am going to bring you the games result played in October to December. After going unbeaten in the Blue Square South for two months, i know that a defeat will come sooner or later. But never did i expect my Thurrock team to suffer two defeats in October and one defeat in November. My players could not carry the good form over and due to some injuries we have a dip in form and we did not play too well in these few months. Probably we played too many games due to progress of the FA cup and FA trophy cup that's why my players are showing some fatigue. Here is the results.

October


vs Newport Co 3-4
This is a match which two in-form teams went head to head with each other. They are also having a good run at the moment, eight games unbeaten before facing us while we won seven games in a row. We took the lead by a own goal from one of their players early in the 5th minute. But they hit us back with two goals and lead 2-1 until the whistle. My players did not perform well in the first half. I ask for a better performance from my players during the break and Paul Hakim got us level after a fine cross by Chris Black in the 55th minute. We created few chances but just could not convert them. I thought the match was heading for a draw but some disastrous defending resulted them scored another two goals inside four minutes near the closing end. Matt Paine scored a injury time goal but that was just consolation. We suffered our first defeat in nine game and totally deserved it. My defence was awful today.

vs Arlesey 1-0
This is a FA cup third qualifying round against a non-league team. We attack from start to end but only manage to score one goal. I am starting to worry about the form of my players now. They are not playing as well as they are in the last two months.

vs Staines 4-1
I am a bit worried about the form of my players as they did not play well in the last two games. Luckily my strikers got their scoring boots back for this game. Matt Paine give us a early lead after a perfect cross from Simon Heslop. Paul Hakim scored the second goal seven minutes later, knock down ball to the penalty area by Matt Paine. They pulled a goal back after a powerful shot from 35 yards by their midfield player. But just before the first half whistle Jack Jeffrey gave us back the two goal cushion after scoring from a freekick at the edge of the area. With nine minutes left, Paul Hakim scored his second goal after a fine through ball from Jamie Garry. I am pleased with my players as we managed to secure the three points.

vs Bath 3-0
FA cup fourth qualifying round against fellow Blue Square South team Bath, we showed our superiority and scored three goals, a place shot from Paul Hakim, and two penalties scored by Simon Heslop and David King. We will proceed to the FA cup first round and will be facing Shrewsbury the league two leaders at the moment.

vs Grays 0-1
Next up is against Grays, our rivals. They are playing in the Blue Square Premier last season and was relegated to Blue Square South this season. Both team played  very cautiously and we conceded a goal in the 75th minute and could not find a way back. This is our second defeat for the month. My fans are very upset that we lost the game to our close rivals. I think a draw would be a fairer result as both teams never created much in this game.

vs Eastleigh 3-2
They are a mid-table team who has suffered two defeats before meeting us. It was a game played in their home ground, i think they wanted to win the game for their supporters. They attacked us from the start of whistle and we were two goals down in the first 11 minutes. Eight minutes later, Matt Paine scored in close range after a knock down ball from Jack Jeffrey. Some interchange passing in midfield area, the ball was passed to the right flank, Matt Bodkin sent in a perfect cross for Paul Hakim to head in to keep us level till the break. Both team tried to search for the winning goal and it was us who got it through a penalty. It was a superb comeback from two goals down to win the game.

October was a bad month for us, we won two and suffered our first two defeats. The lead from the top was cut to 2 points. We have six games coming up in November but only three blue square south games, the rest is FA cup and FA trophy cup games. Here is the results.

November

vs Eastbourne Boro 1-0
First game in November is against 3rd place team Eastbourne Boro. Though we control the game from start to end, but could not find a way in. I thought the game was heading for a draw, however deep into injury time David Knight produced his moment of magic to score in the penalty area to give us a vital win against one of our title rivals.

vs Shrewsbury 1-3
In this FA cup first round, we were facing the league two leaders Shrewsbury who is having a good run in league two. They have too much quality in their squad and were too strong for us. We only created two chances in the whole game and was doing ball chasing most of the time. Congratulations to them for advancing to the next round.

vs Havant & W 1-2
This is game which we were very unlucky as we created more chances than but their players took their chances very well. From 2-0 down, it was always a uphill task to chase the game back. Though Jack Jeffrey scored a goal but it was too late. This was our third defeat and we dropped to 2nd place after this defeat.

Next game was FA trophy cup against Newport Co, it was played in their home and neither side was able to win it. The game ended 2-2. Four days later, the replay was played in our home ground, this time we showed more determination and desire to win the game in front of our fans. Jamie Garry scored the only goal in this game and we will be facing Sutton Utd in the next round.

vs Tonbridge 1-0
Last game of the month was against Tonbridge who was recently promoted. It was another game which we dominate, but yet we always leave it so late to find a way in. Jack Jeffrey scored in the 88th minute to give us another win. I am a bit concerned with my strikers, the goals seem to dry up  a little at the moment. I hope they will improve their performance for the coming month.

It was another congested fixtures in December, we will be playing 6 games. I need to rotate my players as they need more time to regain their fitness back. Here is the fixtures.

vs Bishop Stortford 1-0
This was not an easy game, they are occupying 7th place at the moment. In the 12th minute we took the lead through a swift counter attack resulted the ball bouncing to the goalmouth area. Their goalkeeper misjudged the speed of the ball and Chris Black sneaked in to put the ball into the empty net. The score remain as it is as both team never created much to the annoy of fans of both team.

vs Woking 2-1
Next up is against 3rd place team, one of our rivals, i thought we played quite well considering it was a away game. My players wanted to extend the lead on top of table and Chris Saunders and Paul Hakim scored in each side of the half to give us a 2-0 lead. Though they claw back a goal in the 78th minute but our defence held on to give us a vital win.

vs Sutton Utd 0-1
We did not played too well in this FA trophy game and lost the game by a single goal. I am not disappointed with this loss as i want my players to focus on getting promoted to the Blue Square Premier.

vs Hampton & Richmond 3-0
We showed our attacking powess in this match, we were already two goal up inside five minutes from the start of the whistle. Paul Hakim set the record of scoring the fastest goal inside 30 seconds. David King doubled the lead for us scoring a screamer from 30 yards. Chris Saunders then scored from a corner to give us a three goal cushion. It was a superb first half performance from my players, they try to chase the game back in the second half but it was not their day. They even missed a penalty, a good save by my goalkeeper. But we could not increase the scoreline too. This was our fourth win in a row and leading the table by seven points.

vs Dorchester 1-2
It was a match which i never expected to lose against this mid-table team. But credit to them, they payed really well and established a two-goal lead after some slack defending by my defenders. Matt Paine scored to give us some lifetime but we could not find the equalizer and lost the match.

vs Farnborough 0-0
Last game of the month was against 15th place team Farnborough, we did not improve from the last game and never really get going. Though they created more chances but they could not put the ball into the net either. They had a player sent off in the second half, but my players never took advantage of that and it ended up a boring draw. 

With half the season gone, my Thurrock team is leading on top of the table five points clear of Chelmsford, the team occupying 2nd place at the moment. Eastbourne Boro is further ten points behind in 3rd place. I believe it will be a straight fight for the automatic promotion spot between us and Chelmsford.

I just hoped that there is no more injuries that will disrupt our claim for the promotion spot in the next few months. There are a lot of injuries to my few first team players for the past 2 month, one of the reason resulting our bad form. I will be monitoring the situation, will sign 1 or 2 players if i need to. For the time being, i will keep on motivate my players for the final push in the second half of the season. Please stay tune and find out.