Ryan Ferguson - The Path To Power

Great kits and great update, keep it up, otherwise, I will not be happy

2014-09-22 18:38#194762 Tallery : Great kits and great update, keep it up, otherwise, I will not be happy

I'll make sure to keep you satisfied

Nyíregyháza Spartacus today completed the signings of Daniel Orozco and György Cséke on free transfers. Both players joined the Hungarian club on two-year deals, where they will hopefully revive their careers under new boss Ryan Ferguson, who has begun preparations for his debut season in management. Both of Ferguson's acquisitions play as central defenders and have come in to fill the defensive hole which set Spartacus back on many occasions last season.

Daniel Orozco - DC

Fee: £0
Signed From: Free Transfer
Squad Role: Key Player

A central defender was top of my transfer list and Daniel Orozco fits the bill perfectly. The Spaniard came through the ranks of Malaga, and made his senior debut for Atlético Malagueno (Malaga's "B" team) in 2007 at the age of 20. He impressed his coaches enough to earn a spot in the senior team for the 2009/2010 season, and even made four Liga BBVA appearances! He left for first-team football at AGS Asteras Tripolis in Greece in the summer of 2010 but struggled there, before finding himself as a free agent. He is a very determined and brave player and that is part of the reason for which I signed him. He is a fantastic player for the division which we play in and could even be a great Division I player. He will be a crucial player for us this season.

Ryan Ferguson: "Daniel adds a lot of quality, intelligence and experience to our team. We didn't have enough defenders in our squad and there was nobody better to sign than Daniel Orozco. I have no doubt in my mind that he will prove to be a fantastic signing."

György Cséke - DC

Fee: £0
Signed From: Free Transfer
Squad Role: Key Player

György Cséke was my second signing of the summer so far and he was needed to make up numbers in defence, not to mention his obvious physical presence. This is Cséke's third spell at Nyíregyáza, having played at the club in the 2007/2008 season and the 2010/2011 season. At the age of 30, he brings a lot of experience to the table and his aerial ability will be a great asset for us in both offensive and defensive set-pieces. Cséke will battle it out with Tamás Rubus to partner Orozco in defence.

Ryan Ferguson: "Cséke is a very experienced defender who adds a lot to the team. His power in the air will make him a feared player across the land."

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Previous Update: The First Day
Next Update: Season One: Pre-Season

Friendlies

Our pre-season campaign produced a very mixed set of results but they had one similar theme; no defeats. I am proud of my players for overcoming or equalling our opponents on each occasion, a feat which has raised the morale of the camp enormously as we approach the beginning of our season. Our first two encounters saw tied games as we failed to beat our opposition. However, three victories from the remaining four fixtures saw us end our pre-season on a high. I'm delighted with how my players performed. My interest in pre-season performances is not usually too high but this being a completely different challenge to those which I had faced in the past (Vauxhall & Luton), it was important for me to investigate the style of play which is imposed in Hungarian football. I now feel prepared for the season ahead.

August Fixtures

I make my debut as a football manager in a cup game against Jászapáti in an away fixture. I will be expecting to earn passage to the next round, as we are the big favourites for this tie. My league debut is a very interesting one; a home game against the favourites for the title, ZTE. This will prove to be a very tough challenge for my team, especially so early in to the season. Hopefully we can earn a positive result from this fixture. We finish the month with a trip to Siófok, who also have high promotion ambitions. It is important for us to get points on the board early on in to the season, as there are only thirty league fixtures to be played. It will be tough but if we can get a good run of form going, anything is possible.

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Well, it took long enough for me to get this far and I know you're anxious for the start of the season! There will be a report of my managerial debut against Jászapáti in the Hungarian Cup before a report of the month of August. I will be looking to write monthly updates with pieces of news reports/interviews/other drama interwoven. I hope that you all have enjoyed this story thus far and I can promise for even better updates to come!

Previous Update: Defensive Duo Seal Szpari Move
Next Update: Spartacus Squeeze Past Jászapáti In Ferguson Debut

Nice pre-season. Daniel looks like a good signing aswell

2014-09-24 23:41#194970 Zap : Nice pre-season. Daniel looks like a good signing aswell

Thanks

4-2-3-1: Balogh; Szokol, Orozco, Cséke 62', Törtei; Kákonyi, Ulviczky; Pákolicz (C), Huszák 63' (Rubus), Rezes; Molnár 45' (Szilágyi 79')

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Ryan Ferguson enjoyed a debut victory over Jászapáti in the Hungarian Cup Second Round as his team, Nyíregyháza Spartacus, came out as 1-0 victors. A late goal from substitute Péter Szilagyi in his first game for the club gave Ferguson a dream start to his managerial career.

Nyíregyháza had the brighter start of the two teams and won several corners early on in the game. Spartacus winger László Rezes came closest to a goal early on as his powerful drive from outside the box was deflected inches wide of the post by a Jászapáti defender, almost giving the home side an early set-back.

However, it was the home side who found the back of the net first as they penetrated Nyíregyháza's defence in first-half stoppage time. A quick-moving counter attack left Spartacus' midfielders for dead and a spectacular volleyed pass by Kotula picked out Mosonyi eighteen yards out who charged passed his marked and fired past a helpless Balogh. Luckily for Nyíregyháza Spartacus, the goal was ruled out for offside as Mosonyi had drifted in to an illegal position on the pitch. A major warning sign for Fergie's men!

Ryan Ferguson must not have been happy with the efforts of striker Marcell Mólnar, as he was replaced by Spartacus debutant Péter Szilágyi during the half-time interval. This gave more pace and power up front as Spartacus attempted to find a winning goal.

Despite the half-time substitution, Jászapáti still found themselves with the better of the chances as Kotula's dipping free-kick skimmed the cross bar and Újfalusi went one-on-one with Balogh, only to be thwarted by an excellent save by the away team goal-tender.

In a game where Nyíregyháza were on the back foot up until the hour mark, things turned from bad to worse as central defender Gyorgy Cséke was handed a straight red card for a professional foul. Dávid Kósa was running one-on-one with goalkeeper Balogh when Cséke slid in from behind to illegally deny the Jászapáti midfielder's chance. A red card was brandished by the referee almost immediately and a free-kick just outside the box was awarded to the home side.

Down to ten men, Ferguson's men did not back down. If anything, they stepped up and improved their game as they began to turn the tide on their hosts. Fergie's fledglings adopted a counter-attacking philosophy for the remainder of the game and the pace of Szilágyi proved to be a thorn in the side of the home team.

Nyíregyháza's first real chance of the game did fall to the debut striker. Newly appointed captain Dávid Pákolicz had shown a tremendous hunger in his first game as skipper and it was his willingness to chase down opponents which lead to his side's first real chance. Pákolicz closed down János Molnár near the half-way line and won the ball through a feisty tackle. A swift ball forward put Szilágyi in a dangerous position where his cleanly-hit half-volley thundered off the crossbar and back in to play.

However, the crossbar was still shaking when the deadlock was eventually broken with just over ten minutes remaining and it was Péter Szilágyi who scored. Jászapáti's counter-attack was quickly broken down and as they were left with few at the back, Rezes slid a delightful through-ball in to the feet of Péter Szilágyi who curled a close effort in to right-hand corner, out of the reach of the goalkeeper. The debutant had made it 1-0 to Nyíregyháza.

Despite Jászapáti's best attempts to get back in to the tie, Ferguson's men stood firm and kept danger at bay. The full-time whistle was blown and Ryan Ferguson had earned a victory on his debut. He will now look to make it two wins from two as his side face ZTE in four days time.

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Previous Update: Season One: Pre-Season
Next Update: Season One: August Update

Good pre season and a good first win. Hope you can keep up the momentum.

2014-09-25 19:14#195050 TonkaWolves115 : Good pre season and a good first win. Hope you can keep up the momentum.

Thanks

Where are the goals?

2014-09-26 07:53#195114 Walter :

Where are the goals?

Who needs goals?

Results

August brought the start of Ryan Ferguson's managerial career, and indeed his campaign at Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC. A dramatic cup victory over Jászapáti (see here for full match report) kick started the campaign before a daunting encounter against the title favourites. While ZTE had won the match on paper, it was Fergie's men who ran riot in a 4-2 triumph over the main promotion contenders. A hat-trick for Péter Szilágyi on his first start for the club was the highlight of a historic victory. Spartacus rounded off the month with a tightly contested 1-0 victory away to Siófok, where it took a spectacular dipping effort from all of 40 yards by midfielder Dániel Kákonyi to capture the three points. Looking back, it was quite possibly the best start which Nyíregyháza could have hoped for. Three wins from three, two clean-sheets and four goals in their first home game of the season will set the pace for the remainder of the season.

Player Of The Month

It could not have been anybody else but Péter Szilágyi for this award. The twenty-five year old striker came on as a second-half sub to score the winning goal in the first game of the season, before scoring a hat-trick in his first start against ZTE, the best team in the league by some distance. Péter was unlucky not to score in the third fixture, as he saw an overhead kick beat the Siófok 'keeper but curl just wide of the post. Szilágyi has been a true inspiration for us up front. Who knows, perhaps he can enter a Hall Of Fame which contains the likes of Obi Anoruo and Euan Smith!

Péter Szilágyi's Season Stats
Appearances: 3
Goals: 4
Assists: 0
MotM Awards: 2

Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0

Pass Completion Ratio: 76%
Shots On Target Ratio: 50%
Fouls Committed: 1
Fouls Against: 4

Average Rating: 7.70

Hungarian Division II

After playing two games, we sit top with six points! While other teams can go ahead of us on goal difference, we have done extremely well to earn six points from a possible six. We will have a big struggle to remain where we are but a good start is half the work.

Hungarian League Cup

The Hungarian League Cup follows the exact same format as the UEFA Champions League. There are eight groups of four, with the top two advancing. We play each other twice in our groups. Balmazújváros are the only other Division II side in our group, while the other two are both from the elite Division I. Debrecen is the second best team in Hungary right now and they are also our local rivals so the derby cup games will certainly be entertaining! I'm not expecting much, considering our stature. If we can make third place in our group, I am happy.

September Fixtures

We start the chilly month of September with a trip to Balmazújváros in the League Cup before playing our second home match of the season against Szigetszentmiklós. Four days later, we host our fierce rivals Debrecen in the League Cup, a game worth watching. Our other stand-out game is against Hajdúszoboszló in the Hungarian Cup. I'm hoping to continue our impressive start and pick up plenty more points this month. While I will be hoping to beat Debrecen, I expect to lose so whatever the result is, it is an experience to savour.

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Previous Update: Spartacus Squeeze Past Jászapáti In Ferguson Debut
Next Update: We Play To Win

Nice month and great win over ZTE! (finally an easy name) I must admit I hate having league cups in that format, though. Portugal uses the same system and I've never once got past the group stages

2014-09-26 20:14#195168 Walter : Nice month and great win over ZTE! (finally an easy name) I must admit I hate having league cups in that format, though. Portugal uses the same system and I've never once got past the group stages

The system means a lot more games than the norm but hopefully we can have some success in it

August had come to an end and, as was tradition at Nyíregyháza, I was to host a monthly press-conference where I would be asked questions on the club's performance over the past month. This suited me very well, as we enjoyed a perfect start to our season, which surely put an end to my critics. One thing was certain, they were certainly clueless as to how a manager with no experience could lead a team to the top of the league with such ease. The confused journalists flocked in to the press room one-by-one, with their notepads, pens and IPhones, and soon enough, the press-conference began.

Reporter One: "Ryan, your side enjoyed an unblemished opening set of games this month. What was the secret to your side's success?"

Ryan Ferguson: "Well firstly I travelled to Ireland where I acquired magical potatoes from the friendly folk known as Leprachauns. Then, a trip to Buckingham Palace where a drop of the queen's blood was taken before travelling all the way to the Andes Mountains in Peru to perform a ritual required to prepare a special broth which was served to my players, giving them extraordinary powers beyond your wildest dreams.

In all seriousness though, we worked very hard in pre-season to come up with a game-plan which played to our strengths and won us our first three games. The football itself might not have been pretty at times but the end result was the same; a victory in our name. That's all that matters, isn't it? It doesn't matter how you play as long as you win, and we play to win. It is all about efficient, effective football. The German teams have come up with a style of play which is very robotic and boring at times but it brings results with it. Mourinho is infamous for his "anti-football" style of play but look at the amount of success that he's had. He has an incredible record as a manager.

I'm a very inexperienced manager but I've studied the best managers in the business; the best tacticians. They all have different styles of playing the game but the end product is the same; to win the match. You have to play to the strengths of your players, and that is exactly what I am doing. I have taken a lot of inspiration from a number of managers and implemented some of their philosophies, along with my own, in to how I set my team up. So far, we've performed very well and overcome our opponents."

Reporter Two: "Can you describe your actions in the market this summer?"

Ryan Ferguson: "We were lacking players who could mobilise themselves in central defence so we made a shortlist of available players who could play there. We evaluated all our options and the two we picked up (Orozco and Cséke) have both proven to have been good signings. Over the course of the next few years, we will be looking to put the jigsaw pieces together and create a squad in the shape we want. For now, however, I am delighted with my current squad of players."

Reporter Three: "What's your plan for the future?

Ryan Ferguson: "Well, once I finish with this press-conference, I am going to head in to town to buy some tins of paint. I'm currently remodelling my little house and garden and I have a fence to paint. Although I'm undecided whether to paint the fence a bright Tom Sawyer-white colour or to go for a more natural dark-brown shade.

Oh, you mean my future in management? For now, my job is to push for promotion with the squad which we have so I'm just focusing to get points on the table. I was given just a one year deal, due to my lack of previous experience. I just have to keep working hard, learning more about management and when the time is right, myself and the chairman will sit down and discuss my future at the club."

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Previous Update: Season One: August Update
Next Update: Season One: September Update