Building a City...

I have to admit that I was a tad nervous heading into my second season as the boss of Oldham Athletic for a couple of reasons. The first reason being that because we over-achieved big time last season there is a heightened sense of expectation surrounding the club. Many a follower of the club will be expecting the club to replicate last season’s success and hope that they manage to go that one step further and gain automatic promotion or a play-off spot at the least. Another reason for my nervous feelings is that I have brought in quite a few players who haven’t had too long to gel into the club. They were used through the majority of preseason but it is whether they can perform in more competitive games that is yet to be answered. Or has it? A further reason for my anxiousness is that I have high expectations of myself, never mind of the club.

We have made a brilliant start to the league season with a disappointing cup exit to go along with it; were we really even going to get past Premier League outfit, Southampton F.C? No probably not and I can say that I’m not actually bothered in anyway. Our sole focus this season needs to be on the league and pushing for promotion, however a run in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy might be good for the club. The standout performance of the month has to be the result against Rotherham United, a club that I know well from back on FM14. Despite them having the fire power of Adam Le Fondre, it was Reuben Noble-Lazarus that stole the show and put in an excellent performance. He guided the club to a close called three points, an important three points! The game against Walsall F.C. was always going to be a difficult affair with them wanting to push for promotion themselves. We did ourselves proud in this game and probably deserved more from the game but they did score a 90th minute winner, which shows just how close the game was.


Unfortunately I have to tell you that Jerome Sinclair suffered an awful injury in the two nil against York City. Sinclair had been brought in on loan from Liverpool and I had hoped he would lead the line in the majority of the games and get us the goals we needed to kill of games. However, the injury has seen him ruled out for up to 3 months with a broken toe. Due to my poor physiotherapy department, this is more likely to be longer. I have decided to keep Sinclair at the club instead of terminating his loan as I feel he still has a part to play on his return to the club. In order to add depth to the attacking options during Sinclair’s absence, I have decided to bring in David Goodwillie (formerly of Dundee United and Blackburn Rovers) on loan for the rest of the season. He has the potential to get some goals for us but soon as Sinclair is back I can only see him getting straight back into the side with Goodwillie have to settle for being a backup player.

Player of the Month – Nathaniel Oseni

Awesome Story so far...Amazing how fast you got to this level!

2014-12-01 20:35#202170 TaroMisaki : Awesome Story so far...Amazing how fast you got to this level!

Thank you. Things are going well and long may it continue.

Really tough to lose Jerome Sinclair of all players to such an injury. Hopefully Goodwillie can pick up the slack while he's gone!

Absolutely gutted to see my beloved Blackpool rock bottom of League 1, but you come to get used to such tragedies when Karl Oyston is chairman.

Anyway, a pretty good month altogether. Only four games in but you've made a strong start, consistency will be the key to determining whether you can go up or not

Promotion is on the cards!

I've given your story a flick through from start to finish and I can tell you now you have a new fan. This is a brilliant, purely FM-based story and I can see why it's loved by many!

You've done brilliantly at lower level with Boston and I like the way you've gone with individual interests in stepping down as their boss. Again, you were fantastic in reviving Oldham's season and, on much of last season's form, who knows if automatic promotion or even League 1 success is waiting for you come April/May. Keep fighting the good fight!

Some really good signing James, and a good start to the season as well.
I'm with Justice on this one, promotion is on the cards!

Really nice story. I hope you will keep it up. I've been following this from beginning and you are doing it really well mate.
BTW this is my first post

Neal:It is a big loss as he was pipped to be our main goal scorer so it is going to be a tough time without him. Goodwillie will need to come big when he gets game time. Special mention to you for achieving first Story of the Month on FM15. Congrats! Link for anyone who hasn’t seen it below:

Walter:Unfortunately things just haven’t got better for Blackpool on my save. It was a good month for us; consistency will be hard to come by but I am very confident about this coming season.

Justice:Short but sweet comment and I full agree.

P-KIDDY:Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read the whole thing. It isn’t that long a story (yet) but it must have taken a while. I prefer the purely FM-Based as third person stories aren’t my strong suit. Automatic promotion is definitely on the cards this season but it is going to be a long journey to gain it.

pompeyblue:Hopefully the season will go well for us after this good season.

MisterLister:Thank you for using your first post on my story and I am glad you are enjoying it.

I haven’t hid my dislike of the domestic cup competitions but instead have made it clear that I see them as a distraction, especially when managing in the lower leagues. In my firm opinion, while the domestic cup competitions can bring in some much needed revenue, especially if a Premier League club visits your ground, the priority surely needs to be the league. The club in the long term will garner more income through good league position and promotions than a cup run every couple of seasons. They can be a great experience for the fans, especially for the fans of lower league clubs. It would be amazing for the likes of Oldham Athletic fans to experience success in a cup competition just like they did in the FA Cup in the past by reaching the latter stages. It is because of this, I have decided to take one of the cup competitions seriously. This doesn’t mean I will not put my everything in to the other one but it will not be a priority.

The cup competition I have set my eyes on winning is the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy (JPT). It is a trophy that the club have not won before and I am determined to bring it to Oldham and earn on a personal level, my first piece of silverware. It is not the most prestigious of trophies but it is definitely a cup that we can win with the right approach. The approach that I will be taking is one where players who have not featured much in the league games will be given an opportunity to impress me the manager. Daniel Ward for example has not featured in a single league game but I knew that he would be my cup goalkeeper. So far he has tested his abilities against Southampton and it didn’t work out. However, in the JPT I think he could do quite well and the experience would do him a lot of good. Others such as Giacinti who I was determined to play more this season just hasn’t featured. However, our player of the month Rolando Aarons needs constant resting time so the JPT provides Giacinti with a decent amount of game time; especially as I intend on going to win the trophy.

Player of the Month – Rolando Aarons

Young Rolando Aarons looks like a nice young player with that pace. Some excellent results as well, and hopefully you can make true on your word to win the JPT!

2014-12-06 00:19#202819 Neal : Young Rolando Aarons looks like a nice young player with that pace. Some excellent results as well, and hopefully you can make true on your word to win the JPT!

I would love to sign Aarons on a permanent deal at the end of the season as I think he could become a key player in Oldham's future. I'm confident if winning the JPT but there is still a few rounds to go.

As you can see from the title, I have achieved my first personal award with it being the manager of the month award. As you can see from the month we have had, the nomination was at least deserved but its’ great that I have managed to secure my first personal achievement in my unemployment challenge. Of course I explained to the media that I felt the praise should be directed at the players but deep down, I was made up with getting my name on the list of manager’s of the month for this season; hopefully it won’t be my last one. I was disappointed at times when at Boston United that I wasn’t really considered for the award, especially when we pushed for a play-off spot in my first month. However, I did come up against strong teams with good managers who were fully deserving of the award. Nevertheless, this is my award and I am keeping it!


As you can see from the set of results for this month, it wasn’t a high scoring month but instead it was a month of consistent performances with a number of players standing out. When I noticed Rolando Aarons was available on loan, and that Newcastle United was one of our senior affiliates, I couldn’t believe my luck. The lad is playing out of his skin every single game and is obviously trying to make an impression on his parent club’s manager. He brings so much to the team in terms of pace down the wings and with his passing being ok, he is creating quite a few chances for Poleon and Sinclair to get onto the end of. As you can see from his attributes, gradually some of them are increasing. I can’t say I am fussed about his penalty taking increasing but his stamina is the most important one for us right now. He is constantly feeling jaded and needing to be rested; fortunately we are capable of winning games without him, but they do some more certain victories when Aarons is on the pitch.

He is a player who has a very bright future ahead of him, in game and in the real world, and he is certainly a player who I hope I get to manage again in the future. Unfortunately I don’t think we will be able to sign him on a permanent deal (his value is bound to increase after this season) but hopefully, if we gain promotion, he might be tempted to return to us on loan again if he can’t be assured of first team football at Newcastle.

Player of the Month – Rolando Aarons

Nice month and hopefully Aarons price doesn't go up too much after the season