End of Season Report
Well...what can I say. That was a much better season than I honestly expected. At the start of the season we were expected to struggle against the "bigger" teams in the league but in reality...we did pretty well I think.
The squad perfomed beyond both the media's and my own estimations in reaching 5th place and because Celtic won the Scottish Cup we secured a place in Europe!!
Finishing if 5th is very good for the club for several reasons. For one it gives us £1.28mil in prize money which is sorely needed for the club's finances which are in such bad shape. Another reason is that it equals what the team achieved last year in real life.
This season we had a good and bad run when it came to the cups. As you know we went all the way to the final in the Scottish Cup, while you might remember that we went out in the third round of the League Cup.
Throughout the season our top scorer was Paul Heffernan scoring 19 goals in all competitions.
Our best overall player was Sone Aluko, but because I bought him mid-season, I didn't think it was fair to give him my player of the season. That I would have to give to:
It's a shame that Buijs is determined to get higher wages or I would have tried my hardest to sign him to a new contract but alas he has decided to join league rivals Celtic on a free transfer.
After the successful season the board have offered me a new 2 year extension to my current contract with a wage rise of around £4,000 a month...too much for my liking as it will affect the club but nothing I can do about that. I have also had to pay over the odds to extend James Daytons contract (£6,250p/m) which would run out next season. His new contract now includes several new clauses that I wouldn't think he would need but he wouldn't accept the contract I offered without them.
In other contract news, with his contract set to expire within a week and after a very fruitful 5 months with the club I decided to officially extend Sone Aluko's contract until 2016 on £2,500 a month. James Fowler has also agreed to a new contract for 2 years on £3,000p/m while I will be waiting to see if Garry Hay announces his retirement before offering him a new back-up contract.
The pre-contract signings that are coming from Scotland have also joined the club and will begin gelling with the rest of the squad as soon as they come back from holiday. Those signings are:
Stephen Kingsley - 17 - Left Back - Current Potential =
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Future Potential =
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Micheal Gardyne - 26 - Attacking Midfield and Left Winger - Current + Future Potential =
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Andrew Murphy - 19 - Goalkeeper - Current Potential =
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Future Potential =
Of course some of our players also left now that the season is over and the transfer window is open:
Leon Panikvar - Leicester - £60,000
Billy Bernsston - Leicester - £60,000
Anssi Jaakola - Middlesborough - £28,500
Ryan O'Leary - Morecombe - £8,000
Daniel McKay - Newport County - Free
With the clubs finances now "secure" after a £1.71mil profit for the last month of competition the board have set me out initial budgets of £130,000 for transfers and around £115,000p/m for wages. I may look to delve into the transfer market once all signings have arrived so I have a chance to gauge what positions of the team need strengthening if any. Another thing that has come with the success from last season is a new kit contract deal worth £10,000. Not alot of money but still every little bit helps.