http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/TYA_zps59403399.jpg
When I called the players in for the start of my first ever training as the new manager of Leyton Orient I had already done my homework.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Theteam_zpsf6bb72a4.jpg
I of cause already knew the name of all the players from the massive file I had received from Gareth Casey the day before. But I knew a lot more than that.
I knew their birthdays, I knew the name of their wives and/or girlfriends and I knew if they were a dog or a cat person.
I knew all it was possible to know from reading a file about the strengths and weaknesses of all the players on my team.
I knew that the team's natural leaders was Nathan Clarke, just a pity about his poor decision making.
I knew that we had three French players in the team and only one of them struggled with speaking English.
I knew that Lloyd James was the best free kick taker in the team but he had not scored a goal in more than two years.
I knew that Kevin Lisbie from Jamaica was best at penalty kicks in practice but in games he easily got nervous and had a tendency to miss at crucial times.
I knew that nobody in the team had more straight line speed than Shaun Batt, just a pity had he had absolutely no technique.
I also knew that our best player Dean Cox was wanted by two teams from the Championship and that he would be upset if he was not allowed to go. He had been with the team for four years and had played a record 127 league games for the team. Now he wanted a new challenge.
And finally I knew that Barry Hearn had not paid a single pound for any of the players on the roster. They had all arrived Leyton Orient on free transfers.
I was ready to go to work.
With only twenty two players on the first team roster I also made my first signing. Keeping in line with the Barry Hearn philosophy of not spending any money actually buying new players, I went after free agents. The picking was slim but I did manage to find a player I hoped could help improve the team.
I signed 34-year old Jody Morris with a history of eight seasons with Chelsea in the top division.
I was we'll aware that he was now in the twilight of his career but I hoped that his routine from a long career could help with some ball control in the midfield together with much needed depth.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Firstsigning_zps9dfd0d23.jpg
The pre-season games had already been decided long before i had arrived in shining armor from Las Vegas. Instead of going overboard trying to implement a new and fancy playing style just a few weeks before the start of the League One season I decided to keep it simple.
I would have plenty of time later on to put my signature on the team but for now it was a question about getting to know all the things I could not read about in any file or report.
I needed to see with my own eyes what would happen when the eleven young men was put together on the pitch as a team.
The results were way better than what I could have hoped for. After a solid win in the first game against the mighty Welling United, we got a surprising win over Sky Bet Championship team Huddersfield Town on the road.
In the first two games we used a classic 4-4-2 formation but in the last preseason game I decided to go for the more ambitious 4-3-2-1 formation.
The players reacted well to the changes and a convincing 4-0 win against Bristol Rovers meant that we finished the preseason undefeated and without a goal scored against us.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/PreSeason_zps60bbc89a.jpg
Doing my homework
When I called the players in for the start of my first ever training as the new manager of Leyton Orient I had already done my homework.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Theteam_zpsf6bb72a4.jpg
I of cause already knew the name of all the players from the massive file I had received from Gareth Casey the day before. But I knew a lot more than that.
I knew their birthdays, I knew the name of their wives and/or girlfriends and I knew if they were a dog or a cat person.
I knew all it was possible to know from reading a file about the strengths and weaknesses of all the players on my team.
I knew that the team's natural leaders was Nathan Clarke, just a pity about his poor decision making.
I knew that we had three French players in the team and only one of them struggled with speaking English.
I knew that Lloyd James was the best free kick taker in the team but he had not scored a goal in more than two years.
I knew that Kevin Lisbie from Jamaica was best at penalty kicks in practice but in games he easily got nervous and had a tendency to miss at crucial times.
I knew that nobody in the team had more straight line speed than Shaun Batt, just a pity had he had absolutely no technique.
I also knew that our best player Dean Cox was wanted by two teams from the Championship and that he would be upset if he was not allowed to go. He had been with the team for four years and had played a record 127 league games for the team. Now he wanted a new challenge.
And finally I knew that Barry Hearn had not paid a single pound for any of the players on the roster. They had all arrived Leyton Orient on free transfers.
I was ready to go to work.
With only twenty two players on the first team roster I also made my first signing. Keeping in line with the Barry Hearn philosophy of not spending any money actually buying new players, I went after free agents. The picking was slim but I did manage to find a player I hoped could help improve the team.
I signed 34-year old Jody Morris with a history of eight seasons with Chelsea in the top division.
I was we'll aware that he was now in the twilight of his career but I hoped that his routine from a long career could help with some ball control in the midfield together with much needed depth.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Firstsigning_zps9dfd0d23.jpg
The pre-season games had already been decided long before i had arrived in shining armor from Las Vegas. Instead of going overboard trying to implement a new and fancy playing style just a few weeks before the start of the League One season I decided to keep it simple.
I would have plenty of time later on to put my signature on the team but for now it was a question about getting to know all the things I could not read about in any file or report.
I needed to see with my own eyes what would happen when the eleven young men was put together on the pitch as a team.
The results were way better than what I could have hoped for. After a solid win in the first game against the mighty Welling United, we got a surprising win over Sky Bet Championship team Huddersfield Town on the road.
In the first two games we used a classic 4-4-2 formation but in the last preseason game I decided to go for the more ambitious 4-3-2-1 formation.
The players reacted well to the changes and a convincing 4-0 win against Bristol Rovers meant that we finished the preseason undefeated and without a goal scored against us.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/PreSeason_zps60bbc89a.jpg
