Mike Bassett: England Manager

[Libertine73]

Interesting stuff about the 3 month thing

Decent end to the season given you were playing the ressies

Incredible defensive record fair play

Hope Dazza has finally coughed up the cake for the lads!

I'm well pleased with just 31 conceded. Mellish and Trott have been key to that.

[Libertine73]

N.B. The save progression and this update were written before the recent posts discussing the '3 month rule' with regards to getting a new job.


The Meeting

Darragh MacAnthony: Hello Mike. Congratulations, and well done on taking my club up to the Championship.

Mike Bassett: Is that it?

DM: What do you mean?

MB: Congratulations and well done. Is that it?

DM: Well what more can I say?

MB: It's more about what you could have done. We've worked our socks off this season, and have done well to win League One. The least I thought you might have done is present the players and staff with a celebratory cake.

DM: Hahahaha

MB: Sorry, is something funny?

DM: Dear God, you're serious. Look at you, I can tell you're absolutely fuming. Get a grip man! Hahaha.

MB: Get a grip? Get a f***ing grip? This is all a big joke to you isn't it?

DM: Steady on. If you're that bothered about your squad having cake, why didn't you stop off at Greggs on the way to training?

MB: Greggs? F***ing Greggs? Is that all we're worth? My next-door neighbour saw you at Costco the other day. You could have picked up a few trays of muffins, maybe some Danishes.

DM: Christ, I know that you like Kipling. I thought it was Rudyard though, not Mr.

MB: With your money, you could have ordered something from Betty's. My squad should have cake.

DM: Who do you think you are, Marie-Antoinette? Hahahaha.

MB: You're just a tight git, who just takes us all for granted.

DM: Right. Enough of that. Remember who pays your wages.

MB: That's another thing, I don't even earn half of what I got at little Accrington.

DM: If that's how you feel, perhaps you should F*** off and find another club.

MB: You know what? I think I will. I quit.




And with that, I was gone. My dream of managing in the Championship dashed once again.

I broke the news to my club captain Patrick Vroegh.

MB: I've quit, skipper. Thanks for everything you've done. You and your team-mates have done yourselves proud. I tried to get you lads some cake, but the tight git of a chairman wouldn't have it, so I've quit out of principle.

PV: Er, you didn't need to do that gaffer. We're professional athletes, so we're not that bothered about cake. It's not like any of us are Yaya Toure.



So that's it. I'm on the lookout for another job.

This is the current situation in England.




I'll keep you posted.

[Here2Win79]

Peterborough has a Costco? I’d better add 1 point in city attractiveness. So 2 points now.

[Redknapp69]

Patrick's response - wahahahahahhahaha

And Dazza can feck off - he's lording it in the US - hardly a "man on the ground" at Boro!

Barry Fry would have got you a cake.....

[Libertine73]

Barry Fry would have got you a cake.....

Big Bazza would have got us a cake with a stripper jumping out of it!!!

[Libertine73]

N.B. The save progression and this update were written before the recent posts discussing the '3 month rule' with regards to getting a new job.

Latest News

One of the coaches that I inherited at Peterborough has been promoted to Manager.




I wish Dan the best of luck. His preferred style is similar to mine, and will suit the players he will have at his disposal. He won't have to worry about bringing new players in, as in the winter just gone, I arranged several deals to go through this summer. This was in case our promotion bid didn't turn out to be as successful as it eventually was.

Meanwhile, a vacancy has arisen.




Bolton have just been promoted from League Two, having won the division under Jonathan Woodgate who has returned to his hometown club, Middlesbrough.

Hopefully I'll be successful with my application. Bolton have been getting average attendances of over 23000 in the fourth tier.

I'll keep you posted.

[Redknapp69]

Christ - Gosling developing superbly

Oooooh - Bolton feels a belter of a choice - lets hope you bag it

[madhatter_129]

Oooooh - Bolton feels a belter of a choice - lets hope you bag it

Or should we be hoping that he doesn't get it, in case the England job becomes available shortly? Although it would be quite bizarre to get turned down by Bolton and then offered the England job!

[madhatter_129]

This may be a daft question but as I never really had any interest in international management in this game before, I genuinely don't know the answer: If you accept an international job while manager of a club side, can you continue with the club side as well or do you automatically resign?

[Redknapp69]

This may be a daft question but as I never really had any interest in international management in this game before, I genuinely don't know the answer: If you accept an international job while manager of a club side, can you continue with the club side as well or do you automatically resign?

You can do both

[madhatter_129]

You can do both

Thanks! I wonder what Mike would do, though...

[Here2Win79]

You can do both

Thanks! I wonder what Mike would do, though...

Probably play as both because managing an international side only is incredibly booooorrrrrriiiiiinnnngggg.

Some words have been elongated to illustrate the long wait you have between international matches with nothing to do but click on hundreds of irrelevant news articles

[Libertine73]

You can do both

Thanks! I wonder what Mike would do, though...

If I do get offered the England job, I'd go all in, and quit whichever club job I have. The long wait between games would be a chore, but I'd only look at doing one or two tournaments.

I reckon that it'll be quite a while before I'm offered the job though, as my World Ranking isn't great. By the time it's sufficiently high enough to get the job, I'll be ready to call it a day on these short-term stints at various clubs.

[Libertine73]

N.B. The save progression and this update were written before the recent posts discussing the '3 month rule' with regards to getting a new job.




Slight glitch in the game there, as the season has ended. The board's expectations should change after the June updates.

I have of course accepted, so return to Lancashire.





Here are some details about Bolton Wanderers.




A nice big stadium, and good training facilities. I guess that the chairman has unimaginative parents...

Here's a look at the club's recent history.




The club have endured four League One relegation battles during this save, and three of them have been unsuccessful. I hope to be able to break this cycle.

As I said in my previous update, the club have been getting good attendances in the fourth tier.




This is by far the best supported club I've managed during this save.

Meanwhile, this is the current financial situation.




I'm not too concerned about things at this stage. There should be around £6-7M coming into the club this summer through Season Ticket sales and TV money.

This will mean that the club will have a few million in the bank, so potentially, a transfer budget for me.

Finally, I've made an assessment of the squad. There looks to be some decent players here, that could be reasonable. I will need to upgrade in every position though.

Here are the three players who have been given an asterisk.






Kielen Adams was very prolific in League Two last season. I'm not convinced that he'll be anywhere near as prolific making the step up, but I think that he has enough about him to be part of the squad.

Dennis Politic is the club captain, and has been at Bolton for a long time. He had plenty of goal involvements last season, and wins a decent amount of tackles. It's a shame that he only has a single digit value for Determination. I will look to upgrade my midfield, but Dennis will get the chance to show what he can do next season.

Finally, Conor Coventry. He looks a decent all-rounder, but may struggle to hold down a regular place next season.

You can see why I want to upgrade every position, if those three players are considered to be the best. As there may be some money available, I'm not going to rush in and do free transfer deals right now. I will have a look, but if I can't significantly upgrade what I have, I'll wait until July, as the bulk of the season ticket money will have come in by then.




Next Update

This will be news about England's Euro 2028 campaign, and whatever squad and backroom changes I make.

[Redknapp69]

• I guess that the chairman has unimaginative parents...
• Nice big club – should be an enjoyable ride assuming finances are not horrendous
• Ah fook – nearly £2m in debt – lets hope TV cash helps
• Sounds like a big overhaul planned!
• Christ – Kielan punching above his weight!
• Politic looks solid
• Conor Cov looks average
• Come on England – fook it up please and lets get rid of Southgate!

[Libertine73]

• I guess that the chairman has unimaginative parents...
• Nice big club – should be an enjoyable ride assuming finances are not horrendous
• Ah fook – nearly £2m in debt – lets hope TV cash helps
• Sounds like a big overhaul planned!
• Christ – Kielan punching above his weight!
• Politic looks solid
• Conor Cov looks average
• Come on England – fook it up please and lets get rid of Southgate!

Definitely. This is probably the least talented squad that I've inherited, and is nowhere near as good as the Hartlepool squad I took up as League Two champions seven seasons ago.

One thing that I've shown at all of my previous clubs in this save, is that I can transform a squad. There is normally a few decent players that I inherit though. At Bolton however, Politic looks the only player that is capable of making the step up. One of the keepers, Callum Burton, might be a decent second choice, whilst full backs Josh Clarke and Scott Tanser look okay, along with central defender Connor Young.

[Libertine73]

Euro 2028

England qualified for the quarter finals in uninspiring fashion. A good 1-0 win over Spain was followed by a 1-1 draw with Scotland, then a 0-0 draw with group winners Denmark.




However, slow starts in tournaments aren't always a bad thing. Gareth Southgate's boys overcame France 1-0 to reach the semi finals, then thumped Belgium 3-0 to set up a meeting with old foes Germany in the final.

It looked like England were going to suffer heartbreak when Leroy Sané gave Germany an 88th minute lead, but Raheem Sterling equalised a minute later to force extra-time.

The score stayed level throughout them final thirty minutes, so not for the first time in his career, Southgate faced a penalty shootout against Germany in the European Championships.

They'll be no paper bags over his head in the Pizza Hut this time though, as England came through the shootout 3-0 to be crowned European Champions.




Well done to Gareth 'Mr Redemption' Southgate. It may well be several years before the England job comes up.




This gives me a chance to continue to take clubs up to the Championship, in the hope that it enhances my World Reputation enough to succeed Southgate when the time comes.





Staff Changes

I've dispensed with most of my predecessor Jonathan Woodgate's backroom team, and installed a few of my own men. I'm linking up again with Lee Harrison, who was my right-hand man during my last two seasons at Hartlepool.




Lee was let go by my successor at Hartlepool, and during the intervening six years has gone into business as a second-hand car salesman. I had to buy a Kia Sedona from Lee as a condition of him coming to Bolton, but I was happy to do so as he played his part in helping us win the second and third of three successive promotions as champions.

I've also poached two coaches from League of Ireland Premier Division champions Limerick.





Two relatively young guys there who will hopefully whip my boys into shape.

I then turned to some Portuguese flair to improve my squad's skill levels.




This is Hugo's first coaching role. I hope that all four of my new guys will help to improve the attribute values of my squad.

I've also appointed a scout, and two new physios.




Next Update

I've also been busy in the transfer market. I'll provide details of my changes to the squad.

[Redknapp69]

• Bitch of a group for England and the feckers still squeak through – grrrrrrrrrrr
• Oh FFS – they only go and win it – that might keep him safe for a few years now ☹
• Or maybe he retires!
• Some good coaches there

[Here2Win79]

Allan McGregor sacked? Disappointed in you, no better man to put a toe up the arse of some of those dodgy players you e inherited Still, hiring the Chairman’s cousin will get you a few brownie points.
Good to see all those promotions haven’t gone to Mike’s head as he cruises around in his modest Kia Sedona. Not sure that will meet the exhaust regulations of 2028 right enough but Mike doesn’t strike me as a man who cares much about global warming.
Kielen looks like one of those players who outperforms his stats, although he doesn’t look like he will enjoy your hard pressing style, more of a poacher. Don’t fancy that DM though, you’ll need a bit more of an animal in next to Politic, assuming you are playing The Politician in the middle.
Anyone you can sell or is it all on the tv and season ticket money? Guess we might see a few swap deals?

[Libertine73]

• Bitch of a group for England and the feckers still squeak through – grrrrrrrrrrr
• Oh FFS – they only go and win it – that might keep him safe for a few years now ☹
• Or maybe he retires!
• Some good coaches there

I doubt Southgate will get sacked in the next few years, if the squad is good enough to win the Euros. Having said that, it's not a young squad, and expectations may be higher for the forthcoming World Cup.

[Libertine73]

Allan McGregor sacked? Disappointed in you, no better man to put a toe up the arse of some of those dodgy players you e inherited Still, hiring the Chairman’s cousin will get you a few brownie points.
Good to see all those promotions haven’t gone to Mike’s head as he cruises around in his modest Kia Sedona. Not sure that will meet the exhaust regulations of 2028 right enough but Mike doesn’t strike me as a man who cares much about global warming.
Kielen looks like one of those players who outperforms his stats, although he doesn’t look like he will enjoy your hard pressing style, more of a poacher. Don’t fancy that DM though, you’ll need a bit more of an animal in next to Politic, assuming you are playing The Politician in the middle.
Anyone you can sell or is it all on the tv and season ticket money? Guess we might see a few swap deals?

Yeah, McGregor was straight out the door. He's now at Scottish League One side Forfar, where his values of 9 for coaching keepers and outfield players will fit in.

I will look to use Politic in the middle, and yes, a beast alongside him. I like my midfield duo to average at least six tackles per game between them.

I hope that there will be a lot of departures. I'm looking to do my usual overhauling of the squad.

Mike is definitely in the 'glad the ice caps are melting' camp...

[Libertine73]

Players Out

There have been thirteen departures. A handful of which, already had previously arranged deals in place before I arrived. The rest were surplus to requirements, and raised just £170K in transfer fees.




Players In

Like with previous clubs, I've been on a massive recruitment drive. There have been no fewer than nineteen new arrivals.

Three of those are players that my predecessor Jonathan Woodgate arranged, and you may recall that I have a personal rule to honour any previously arranged deals.

One of those three has subsequently been sold, and the other two are teenagers. I'll see how they develop over the next twelve months.

Eleven of the remaining sixteen players will be in my starting line-up on the opening day of the season. It's not ideal having an entire XI making their debuts all at once, but I believe that they are all upgrades on the players that I inherited.

Here is my goalkeeper.




Rick arrives on a Bosman from Dutch club RKC.

This keeper's attribute values look as good as the best keepers I've worked with, such as Nathan Trott, Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson and Anastasios Karagiozis, who have all been influential in helping my previous clubs win promotion from League One.

If Rick has the consistency to match his talent, his capture could prove to be a real coup.

His annual salary of £150K is less than half of what my top earner is getting.

My right back will be Rory Hale.




This is another Bosman signing, with the Irishman having previously spent five years at fellow League One side Cambridge.

I can also potentially deploy Rory further up the pitch, but I'm hoping that he'll make the right back slot his own by defending well, and supporting my right midfielder when we attack.

My left back will be Brandon Mason.




Brandon arrives on a Bosman from Hull, having previously played under me at Coventry. There was a lot of competition for places at left back during my time in the West Midlands. If I remember correctly, Tyler Blackett established himself as my first-choice in that position.

Brandon did okay though. He got forward well, scoring one goal and providing three assists in his nine League One starts of the title winning campaign.

My two centre backs will be John McLaughlin and Michal Stanczyk.




Once the Season Ticket money started coming in, I was given a nice transfer budget of £3M. I splashed out £725K to Brentford for academy product John McLaughlin.

The Scottish under 21 international had only made two career starts for the West London club, but he gets a chance to relaunch his career at the Macron Stadium. He looks as good as any centre back I've worked with in this save.

Alongside McLaughlin will be the experienced Michal Stanczyk.




Michal was one of my first career signings when I was at Hartlepool. He was excellent for me at the Super 6 Stadium, making 111 starts in our three seasons together.

My successor at Hartlepool froze Michal out during his final two seasons there, before he joined Newport County on a Bosman.

Things weren't much better there. Michal was a squad player in his first two seasons, before being completely frozen out during his final two seasons.

The Pole was my club captain during Hartlepool's League One winning campaign, and will be my skipper for our opening game, in the absence of injured club captain Dennis Politic.

In front of my two centre backs will be midfielders Marcus McGuane and Dardan Aliti.




You'll be familiar with McGuane. He was with me at Peterborough last season, on loan from Hartlepool.

Marcus looks the business, but my experience of working with him last season was that he didn't have the consistency to match his talent.

He was unable to hold down a regular place, but was still an important squad player. He started 17 league games, scored 3 goals and provided 2 assists. He averaged around three tackles per game.

He also proved to be unprofessional, turning up late to training a couple of times.

Despite this, I've given Marcus the chance to show what he can do at Bolton. His contract at Hartlepool expired in the summer, and he was happy to accept an annual salary of just £65K.

No transfer fee and low wages seems like a small gamble on a player that could prove to be useful once again.

Alongside him will be Dardan Aliti.




Dardan cost just £7K from Swedish side Syrianska.

My intention was for Dardan to be a squad player, but he'll start our opening game, as Dennis Politic is injured. I like his determination and leadership qualities. I was mostly attracted by that 20 for Positioning though.

I'm hoping that Dardan will prove to be an effective ball-winner at this level. His performances during preseason suggests that this could be the case.

At right midfield is Vincent Klok.




Another Dutchman who like compatriot Rick Bosz, arrives on a Bosman, with Vincent arriving from VVV.

He compares well with other effective wide midfielders I've worked with, but will need to do well as there is plenty of competition at right midfield.

On the left side of midfield will be Danny Brownhill.




This is the third time I've signed Danny. I acquired him for free at Accrington. He was a good squad player in the club's League One promotion campaign, starting 15 league games, scoring 1 goal and providing 7 assists.

I then had him on loan at Peterborough. He faded after a good start, but again he was a useful member of the squad. In 14 league starts, he scored 2 goals and provided 3 assists.

Accrington didn't want to keep Danny, so they accepted my £100K offer. His annual salary is just £90K.

I'll be happy if Danny proves to be a decent squad player again. There is an alternative left midfielder if he struggles.


My two strikers will be Zak Rudden and Ryan Edmonson.




I first became aware of Zak when I was at Accrington, and arranged the deal to take him to the ABAX Stadium, whilst I was still unsure about whether the club would go on to get promoted to the Championship.

Zak hasn't pulled up any trees at my former club. In his two seasons there, he has started 39 league games in the Championship and League One. He scored just 9 goals and provided 3 assists.

Despite this, I was happy to pay out £250K to bring Zak to Bolton. He has the pace, strength and aerial ability that suits my long-ball game. I like that he is determined and hard-working, with a good team ethic.

I'm hoping that his finishing and movement will be good enough for him to be prolific here.

Alongside Zak will be Ryan Edmonson.




I paid £450K to Leeds for the academy product.

Ryan has only made 10 career starts, so he'll hopefully be chomping at the bit, to show what he can do.

The player has good strength and aerial ability, so will hopefully be able to make the most of any crosses into the box. I wonder if that 20 for Anticipation could prove useful for any loose balls in the opposition penalty area.

Ryan is the club's highest earner, with an annual salary of £350K.




Conclusion

It's been a good window, though after stating in a previous update that I would hold off on signing players on a Bosman, I still went and did it anyway!

Rick Bosz looks the pick of those freebies, but I may regret not waiting with some of my other signings.

I still have a considerable transfer budget, but I'm almost maxed out with 49 players. 13 of them are on the transfer list, as they are surplus to requirements due to simply not being good enough for this level.

A handful of my remaining 36 players are youngsters that I've inherited. I'll see how they develop over time, but I'm not planning on them being in my first team squad anytime soon.

Otherwise, there's decent depth to the squad. I'd like to bring in a few more players, but I need some of those transfer listed players to go. I've zeroed their values to help this to happen.




Next Update

I'll give more details about our finances, along with mine and the board's expectations.

[Here2Win79]

Looks like some quality signings there, including your keeper on an… ahem… Boszman. I’d have left the unprofessional guy for someone else though, they get two chances from me and then they get the boot. Front two look impressive and already netted a couple pre season so looks promising for another promotion campaign.

[Redknapp69]

• Keeper is a belter
• Jon Mc in DC looks awesome
• I’m liking the heading for the number 9
• Rudden looks very handy
• Got a few guys you worked with before
• Massive squad – lets hope more deadwood get shifted

[Libertine73]

Finances

The club are in a solid financial position.




We have a healthy bank balance, and there's a considerable sum of money available for me to strengthen the squad over the next week or two, before the transfer window closes. I will need my transfer listed players to leave though, to create some more space in the squad.

Our annual wage bill is currently £8.25M. At the time of writing, this is the tenth lowest in League One. This is good, as I envisage average attendances to be around 24000, which will be one of the highest in the division. This will provide good income for the club, and could even allow us to break even each month.




Expectations




No pressure at all from the board, despite me shelling out over £1.7M on new signings. Having already taken four clubs up to the Championship - three as League One winners - I know what it takes to be successful at this level.

There have been what appears to be some very good signings. Rick Bosz, John McLaughlin, Zak Rudden and Ryan Edmonson spring to mind.

I would question whether there's a depth of quality in the squad though. My second XI isn't anywhere as good as my first, so I may have to rotate players strategically. This could change in the next couple of weeks or in January, if my transfer listed players leave.

In any case, I think that we have a great chance of going up this season, though I expect a tough challenge from recently relegated Leeds and QPR.




Forthcoming Fixtures & Team News




Our opening fixture is at home to a Port Vale side that finished 7th last season.

This will be my side.






Next Update

I don't know if I've got the appetite to keep writing match reports, or if you readers particularly want to read them! I'm thinking of doing my next update halfway through the season at the end of December.

I can summarise the first half of the season, and maybe highlight one or two matches along with focusing on who the key players have been.