John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

2019-03-16 17:41#255412 SonOfAnarchy : Great stuff so far. Out of interest, what tactic are you using? You've scored a shed load of goals.

Thanks In Season 1 I was using a bog standard 4-4-2 with two inverted wingers cutting in onto their stronger foot with wing backs overlapping. This is why Morris and Cooper did so well that season. Up top, I have a poacher and a target man.

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

2019/20 Squad

*Clicking name will show player screenshots

01 - Tom King
02 - Adam Buxton
03 - Shane Ferguson
04 - Deji Oshilaja
05 - Dion Conroy
06 - Manny Monthe
07 - Jordan Mutch
08 - Ryan Hedges (on loan from Barnsley)
09 - Jayden Stockley (on loan from Preston)
10 - James Norwood
11 - Danny Rose
12 - Michael Harriman
13 - James Shea
14 - Thomas Glover (on loan from Tottenham)
15 - Jordan Clark
16 - Mark Ellis
17 - Jon Guthrie
18 - Robbie Keane
19 - Siriki Dembele (on loan from Peterborough)
21 - Harvey Gilmour
22 - Brendan Galloway (on loan from Everton)
23 - Aaron Lewis (on loan from Swansea)
27 - Charlie Lakin (on loan from Birmingham)
28 - Ollie Banks

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

August - December 2019

Fixtures



Stats



League Table



Awards

John Warrington Manager of the Month x3 (Aug, Oct, Nov)
Ryan Hedges Player of the Month x1 (Nov)
James Norwood Player of the Month x1 (Dec)

Manager Thoughts

What a first half of the season. Top of the league and absolutely cruising to the Championship. I can't really ask for much more than that, especially when we've only lost twice! That said, I was disappointed with the Boxing Day loss against Oxford as we lost a chance to widen the gap at the top even further.

We made it through our group in the Checkatrade Trophy with ease and we've since made it into the North 3rd round where Man United under 23's await. The Checkatrade Trophy is definitely a trophy I feel like we can win this season. We are into the 3rd round of the FA Cup, with Man City waiting in the 3rd round. We, unfortunately, went out of the EFL Cup in the 4th round against Man United but not before knocking out higher league opposition in Aston Villa and Charlton.

James Norwood has once again been the standout player, leading the way in terms of goals not only for us but in the entire league as well. The man is a goal machine. I've also been really impressed with the performances of Michael Harriman at right-back and Ryan Hedges on the wing. One disappointment recently is the injuries we've picked up with a couple of players being ruled out for a month or so. That's not ideal but I do think we have the squad to cover them.

2019-03-17 09:32#255426 JohnWarrington :

2019-03-16 17:41#255412 SonOfAnarchy : Great stuff so far. Out of interest, what tactic are you using? You've scored a shed load of goals.

Thanks In Season 1 I was using a bog standard 4-4-2 with two inverted wingers cutting in onto their stronger foot with wing backs overlapping. This is why Morris and Cooper did so well that season. Up top, I have a poacher and a target man.

Thanks mate. Going to give it a try with Fiorentina, see how it goes.

2019-03-20 19:54#255529 JohnWarrington :

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

August - December 2019

Fixtures



Stats



League Table



Awards

John Warrington Manager of the Month x3 (Aug, Oct, Nov)
Ryan Hedges Player of the Month x1 (Nov)
James Norwood Player of the Month x1 (Dec)

Manager Thoughts

What a first half of the season. Top of the league and absolutely cruising to the Championship. I can't really ask for much more than that, especially when we've only lost twice! That said, I was disappointed with the Boxing Day loss against Oxford as we lost a chance to widen the gap at the top even further.

We made it through our group in the Checkatrade Trophy with ease and we've since made it into the North 3rd round where Man United under 23's await. The Checkatrade Trophy is definitely a trophy I feel like we can win this season. We are into the 3rd round of the FA Cup, with Man City waiting in the 3rd round. We, unfortunately, went out of the EFL Cup in the 4th round against Man United but not before knocking out higher league opposition in Aston Villa and Charlton.

James Norwood has once again been the standout player, leading the way in terms of goals not only for us but in the entire league as well. The man is a goal machine. I've also been really impressed with the performances of Michael Harriman at right-back and Ryan Hedges on the wing. One disappointment recently is the injuries we've picked up with a couple of players being ruled out for a month or so. That's not ideal but I do think we have the squad to cover them.

You've done amazing so far. Really enjoying your save. Keep it up.

Incredible first half of the season...

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

January - May 2020

Fixtures



Stats



League Table



Awards

John Warrington Manager of the Month x6 (Aug, Oct, Nov, Jan, Feb, Mar)
Ryan Hedges Player of the Month x1 (Nov)
James Norwood Player of the Month x2 (Dec, Apr)
Siriki Dembele Player of the Month x1 (Jan)

Manager Thoughts

Where do I even begin!? What a season! We absolutely walked the league, winning it by 31 points with a record points haul of 117. When you bare in mind that we lost our last two games, that's an incredible achievement. There's no doubting that we are the best team in League One and if I'm being brutally honest, the Championship. I honestly think we can mount a challenge next season if we can bulk of the squad together.

So we lost in the 3rd round of the FA Cup to City, whilst this loss was expected it was still a little disappointing because City played their reserves. At least it gave us a boost in the club finances. Also giving us a boost in the club finances was our run in the Checkatrade Trophy. We saw off all the competition and deservedly won it, beating Oxford in the final at Wembley. If I have my way, Tranmere will never have to compete in that cup again.

Some of the performances from the lads have been nothing short of quality. James Norwood, in particular, has been incredible, absolutely walking the League One Golden Boot, scoring 14 more than his nearest challenger. The second half of the season saw the emergence of Siriki Dembele. He must have got new boots for Christmas as he's been unreal since the turn of the year.

Our youth intake came and went without fuss really. Only Gary Morris looks like he could make it at football league standard.

A bit of good news off the pitch is that the club has decided to look for a location for a new stadium. A new stadium is just what we need I think as we progress up the leagues. Also, the board have approved an improvement in our training facilities.

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

End of Season Awards

League Stats



League Awards

Manager of the Year



A second consecutive Manager of the Year award. Not going to complain about that. Without wanting to blow my own trumpet, I think I deserved it based on how dominant we were.

Player of the Year



If James didn't win this then there would have been some serious questions asked. He's been superb all season for us and is by far our most key player.

Golden Boot



FOURTEEN more goals than his nearest challenger. An absolutely incredible season in front of goal for James. He's up to 119 league goals for Tranmere now.

Club Awards



Fans' Player of the Season

It had to be in my eyes. James Norwood has been in sensational form this season, finishing as the league's top scorer. The fact that he had 46% of the vote speaks volumes about how well he's played.

Signing of the Season

Easily the most deserving winner of the award. Tom has been sublime in goal for us this season, playing 58 games in all competitions and keeping out two very good keepers.

Young Player of the Season

It took him a while to get going but once he did he was quality. I'm really hoping I'll be able to get him back for next season as I feel he'll be an asset in the Championship.

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

The Stats



*10 appearances minimum

Most Appearances
1. Tom King - 58
2. James Norwood - 50(6)
3. Dion Conroy - 49(1)

Most Goals
1. James Norwood - 45
2. Jayden Stockley - 22
3. Ryan Hedges - 20
=. Danny Rose - 20

Most Assists
1. Charlie Lakin - 17
=. Jordan Clark - 17
=. Shane Ferguson - 13

Highest Average Rating
1. Siriki Dembele - 7.67
2. James Norwood - 7.52
3. Aaron Lewis - 7.49

Player of the Match Awards
1. James Norwood - 7
2. Jordan Clark - 6
3. Aaron Lewis - 5

Most Interceptions
1. Dion Conroy - 153
2. Deji Oshilaja - 129
3. Brendan Galloway - 115

Tackles Won per game
1. Michael Harriman - 2.21
2. Brandan Galloway - 1.92
3. Manny Monthe - 1.89

Pass Completion %
1. James Norwood - 84%
2. Danny Rose - 83%
3. David Meyler - 82%

Shots on Target
1. James Norwood - 136
2. Jayden Stockley - 86
3. Danny Rose - 63

Distance Travelled per 90 mins
1. Anderson Arroyo - 8.2 miles
2. Aaron Lewis - 8.1 miles
=. Shane Ferguson - 8.1 miles

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

Around the Leagues

Premier League

Champions - Liverpool
Rest of top 4 - Man City, Tottenham, Chelsea
Relegated - West Ham, Fulham, Aston Villa

Championship

Champions - Watford
Promoted - Swansea, West Brom
Relegated - Wigan, Sheff Wed, Scunthorpe

League One

Champions - Tranmere
Promoted - Oxford, Barnsley
Relegated - Bristol Rovers, Southend, Portsmouth, Doncaster

League Two

Champions - MK Dons
Promoted - Carlisle, Wycombe, Forest Green
Relegated - Yeovil, Macclesfield

FA Cup

Winners - Tottenham
Runners-Up - Liverpool

Carabao Cup

Winners - Man City
Runners-Up - Chelsea

Community Shield

Winners - Liverpool
Runners-Up - Man City

Checkatrade Trophy

Winners - Tranmere
Runners-Up - Oxford

Champions League

Winners - PSG
Runners-Up - Man City

Europa League

Winners - Valencia
Runners-Up - Man Utd

Super Cup

Winners - Man City
Runners-Up - Arsenal

Just read right through all of this, what a class read it was. Great and unique start to the story and smart that you went through the years as a player then went back to 2018/19 as a manager as I thought you'd have started from the date you retired as a player so I must admit that was pretty clever. Changed the game for story backrounds now lol! Might need to steal your idea at some point if I create a story again! That player ended up pretty class too. Steam rolling the leagues eh? Well played!

Fair to say you've absolutely dominated in League One!

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

Pre-Season

Transfers

So going into pre-season it was clear that I had a lot of work to do. A lot of our squad last season were loanees who will need to be replaced or have their loan extended.



My first port of call was to see what loans we could extend and unfortunately, the answer wasn't what I wanted. Only Birmingham were willing to speak to us about Charlie Lakin. Of the loanees, I was confident in replacing most of them but Siriki Dembele was someone I really wanted to get back in. Luckily, he had a 550k release clause which we activated.





The next bit of business saw Danny Ward join on a free transfer from Cardiff. He's a striker who can also play on the left of midfield.



We then were able to secure the signing of Watford defender Williams Velasquez on a free.



I then reevaluated the squad. I decided that we were fine at the center of defence but desperately needed full-backs because we only had Michael Harriman. This led to the signings of Tom Field from Brentford for a fee of 625k and Kevin O'Connor from Preston for a fee of 12.25k.



On the same day, we were able to complete the loan signing of Luke Amos from Tottenham.



My next decision was to revisit last season's loanees. We had more luck this time around. We had a bid of 375k accepted for Ryan Hedges and Liverpool agreed to extend the loan of Anderson Arroyo.



This meant of squad looked like this on the 1st of July. Harvey Gilmour and Robbie Keane were the only first team players to be released.



Manny Monthe then decided to come to me with a transfer request which I accepted. He then ended up moving on loan to Wycombe. I responded to this by bringing in another loanee from last season, this time it was Brendan Galloway on a free transfer.



The next bit of business was the signing of Troy Parrott on loan from Tottenham.



Following that, we had a player departure with Jon Guthrie moving to Plymouth for a fee of 300k.



We replaced Jon by raiding his new side, bringing in Baily Cargill for a 300k fee.



We then made our last two signings with Christian Doidge and Billy Bodin joining after successful trials.



Or so I thought! I was then greeted with some players being unhappy with our depth in midfield. To counter this I brought in Billy Gilmour on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea.



Friendly Results



The perfect pre-season campaign! Not only did we win all seven games that we played, but we also managed to beat Premier League opposition in Liverpool and Championship opposition in West Ham. The good thing is that there have been no standout players, instead every player has been performing well which bodes well for the new season and gives me a bit of a selection headache! Fingers crossed we can go beyond expectations and mount a push for the playoffs.

John Warrington - A Footballing Journey

2020/21 Squad

*Clicking name will show player screenshots

01 - Tom King
03 - Shane Ferguson
04 - Deji Oshilaja
05 - Dion Conroy
06 - Billy Bodin
07 - Jordon Mutch
08 - Ryan Hedges
09 - Troy Parrott (on loan from Tottenham)
10 - James Norwood
11 - Danny Rose
12 - Michael Harriman
13 - James Shea
14 - Brendan Galloway
15 - Jordan Clark
16 - Anderson Arroyo (on loan from Liverpool)
17 - Danny Ward
18 - Baily Cargill
19 - Siriki Dembele
20 - Tom Field
21 - Christian Doidge
22 - Luke Amos (on loan from Tottenham)
23 - Billy Gilmour (on loan from Chelsea)
27 - Charlie Lakin (on loan from Birmingham)
28 - Ollie Banks
31 - Williams Velasquez
38 - Kevin O'Connor

Nice bit of business there! Billy Gilmour is a really good B2B CM too.