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The Third Clough

Started on 11 December 2012 by sTedDarzZ
Latest Reply on 28 December 2012 by sTedDarzZ
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sTedDarzZ's avatar Group sTedDarzZ
12 yearsEdited


Manager: Kieran Clough
Past Experience: Automatic
Team: Nottingham Forest



Dear diary,
After years of living in my father and older brother's shadows, i have finally cracked my way into their world. And it couldn't have come at a more perfect club, Nottingham Forest, dads old stomping ground, let's see if 'Cloughies' blood really runs through me, let's see if I can sustain the glory that my father found here. Just another kid living off his surname, so they write, another man who'll never live up to his name? I'll show them that i have everything my father had and more, I'll show them! One day it'll be 'Brian Clough, wasn't he Kieran Clough's father?' One day i'll show them what kind of a man it makes you, growing up under my father's thumb, that one day starts now.
TEAM: Nottingham Forest
DIVISION: Npower Championship
KITS:
With fire in my belly,
Kieran Clough
A diary...

*Waiting for Mdlp to come and call copyright*

Anyway, can't wait to read ;), Good luck with Forest!
never heard of mdlp, another user? anyway, chrz, probs update tomorrow :)
sTedDarzZ's avatar Group sTedDarzZ
12 yearsEdited
Dear diary,
It's been a busy start to my tenure, but the months have flown by. I do my best to win over the media but it seems success is the only remedee for their doubts on my credentials,they'll soon come round. Having looked over my inherited staff I saw that there were some very gifted individuals in my ranks, therefore I decided not to break up the backroom staff, who seem a tight knit unit, they have impressed me very much over my first few months here.

So, naturally I then evaluated my squad and i highlighted areas of improvement, as my plan is to form a legacy at Forest i decided that bringing in youth and beginning to breed the 2nd 'Clough Generation' was important, here are the ins and outs;
Transfers In
  • Max Ehmer, a QPR youngster, 20, German, signed for £325k
  • Tommy Spurr, an English Left back, signed for £350k from Doncaster as back up
  • Alan Judge, a very promising 23 year old attacking midfielder, signed from Notts
    County for £3m
  • Billy Knott, a very promising young creative midfielder,19, signed from Sunderland
    for £2.3m
  • Bebe, a flairy young winger, signed from the great Manchester United for a petty
    for a player of his quality, £1m
  • Nabil El Zhar, ex Liverpool youngster, Right midfield, signed for £3.5m
    Transfers Out
  • Marcus Tudgay, un-necessary back up, went to Huddersfield For £550k
  • Jonothan Greening, aging midfielder, to Sheffield Wed. For £180k
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This is the formation I intend to play as much as i can this season, i have chosen this because it balances, attractive, attacking football with defensive stability and sensibility:

    And with the squad ready, the staff ready, and The Third Clough ready, let the season begin!
    Yours Hopefully,
    Kieran Clough
    sTedDarzZ's avatar Group sTedDarzZ
    12 yearsEdited
    Dear diary,
    The season began slowly, the fixture list was not kind to us, two draws and a loss from our opening three games, a decent start to my management but below par if I am to fulfill my ambitions. Scoring goals has not been a problem with Billy Sharp (on loan from Southampton) netting six goals in eleven games and Simon Cox an impressive seven, the deadline day signing of Jamie Mackie also impressing and contributing well to our goals so soon after joining the club. Wingers Bebe, El Zhar and Judge also netting several each, playmaker McGugan has also scored some impressive distance efforts.

    Our woes have come defensively and late goals have cost us points, I will seriously look to strengthen the back four in January and I am considering a new Defensive Coach to help with our organisational problems, the loss of loanee centre half Daniel Ayala to a long term injury has not helped matters. Now, after eight games we lie in eighth, onwards and upwards as a derby day beckons, another of the family teams, Derby County, the memories will come flooding back and I know my boys are ready.
    Yours faithfully,
    Kieran Clough
    Dear Diary,
    And so the Clough brothers met, my brother Nigel was always the favored, he was better at sports, cleverer, funnier, everything Dad saw in him, he didn't see in me. I always thought that Dad saw himself reflected in Nigel, in me he just saw a younger, weaker version of my brother, and Nigel reveled in it. My lust to beat my brother at anything and everything drove me forward through my teenhood, my father would never see in me what he saw in his first born, his apprentice. Now my chance would come, a football match is undebatable, the winner is he whose team put the ball in the net of the others the most, if my boys could beat Derby, my victory would be undeniable, and unlike in my childhood, Daddy won't be around to defend my brother.A bit of context, as you know, my team lie in 8th, however, Derby have made a startlingly fast start to the season and lie atop the Npower Championship, my task was not going to be easy.

    THE GAME
    The game started slowly, but with Forest displaying an unexpected air of confidence, something I have been trying to instill in them. I played a more defensive 4-1-3-1-1 in order to keep out our league leaders but my team had more possession in the Derby third than I had anticipated and things were going well. The game evened out after the first 10 or 15 minutes and entered a more natural ebb and flow, with both sides attacking cautiously. The match was not as tense and edgy as I was, but despite an open game the two sides entered the break at stalemate.

    HALF TIME 0-0
    At half time i introduce Billy Knott into the midfield to take the place of the tiring Guy Moussi and Alan judge for Lewis McGugan to try to find the missing, cutting edge.

    But find it we did not, the game closed up in the second half, i found myself yawning at times such was the scrappy, bitty nature of the match and with the game edging ever closer to a bore draw, I brought on in form Jamie Mackie for lone striker Simon Cox, to try to find a winner. However, in the end neither side could find that winner, a stalemate draw with big-bro enough to satisfy me for now. At least we put an end to their run of straight wins. Next time my boys will be even stronger and more prepared and the result will not be so kind on Nigel's team!

    FULL TIME 0-0

    Onwards and Upwards,
    Kieran Clough
    sTedDarzZ's avatar Group sTedDarzZ
    12 yearsEdited
    Dear diary,
    Our form has been picking up, slowly but surely. However, our defense is still our weakness, we are conceding far too many, thankfully our strikers (Cox, Sharp, Mackie) are scoring for fun, which is currently keeping us in the top half of the table.We're lying just outside the play-off spots and to reach them is my ambition for this season, which would exceed my board expectations. Enclosed is a copy of the league table and stats, along with our squad stats (note the great scoring record of Cox and Sharp).Now, with the majority of a debut season lying a head of me, back to work!

    [
    Onwards and Upwards,
    Kieran Clough
    'Never heard of mdlp'? I'm sure he'll have something to say about that :))

    Good start, and... wait, Bebe? :P
    ive never rated bebe before but i saw him for that cheap and all my scouts rated hime v highly so i couldnt resisit ;)
    sTedDarzZ's avatar Group sTedDarzZ
    12 yearsEdited


    Dear diary,
    I cannot find a superlative strong enough for our comment form, aided by no small part by the improvement of our defensive form. We are currently on a winning streak of 7 games and the end is seemingly not in sight.
    The long term injury of loanee Daniel Ayala made way for the introduction of young Jamaal Lascalles, an english centre half. Since his introduction he has been a rock at the heart of our defense and has a strong head on his shoulders for one of such tender age. His form has been recognised, winning Player of the Month and Young Player of the Month awards and I feel that our upturn in form is perhaps as a consequence of the young man, who is currently holding our defense together, he is a strong leader and I see a captain in the future, he has already taken the armband on one occasion.



    Our form has seen us rise to 3rd in the table, one spot outside automatic promotion! We have also leapfrogged my brother Nigel's team Derby County, it seems our brotherly rivalry may become a straight shoot out for promotion towards the end of the season;



    I also enclose our fixture list, showing our fantastic form, not bad for a 'rookie';



    The mood around the dressing room, and all around the city is good and optimistic. It is my job to follow through on that optimism!

    Onwards and Upwards,
    Kieran Clough
    1
    I will be following this story. Good job so far.
    Dear diary,
    Our form short after became record breaking, 8 wins on the trot a new Forest record which has seen us rise just short of automatic promotion, back to the Premier League, back where we belong.



    But at 8 the run came to an end a 1-1 draw with fellow sleeping giant Leeds Utd. but still we remained unbeaten, not for long. An opportunity arose to take the initiative, Burnley lying second, one point above us, a win would see us rise into the automatic promotion spots. A win we could not find, we succumbed to Charlie Austin, form striker of the league and slumped to a 2-1 defeat which saw us lying now 4 points behind Burnley, thankfully, still 3rd. Our unbeaten run spanned 12 games and is something to be proud of, now its time for the morning after the night before.

    Onwards and Upwards,
    Kieran Clough
    Dear diary,
    17 games to go, we're reaching the business end of the season! After an injury to our goal keeper, Lee Camp i have brought in Vic Belec on a short term loan to tide us over till 'Campy' can return.

    Our form did dip for a short while but we appear to be finding our feet again and, still, lie 3rd in the league. We were unfortunately dismissed from the FA Cup by Millwall. My sole concentration is now the league and with the season going swimmingly the possibility of a promotion at the end of our campaign is unexpected but excites me and drives me forward. Another aim of mine is to finish above Nigel, we are currently one place above his Derby team.

    The boys are doing the business thus far! Coxy and Billy are really pulling us forward and leading from the front, long may it continue!



    Onwards and Upwards,
    Kieran Clough


    Dear diary,
    With the season drawing towards it's conclusion, all looks set for a trip to Wembley for the play-offs. We have stalled slightly and currently lie 3rd, still, but with a distance of 3 points between us and the automatic spots, with 2nd having a game in hand. The play-offs now look my only route to the Premier League and it appears i will be facing, Blackburn, Derby and Hull/Birmingham in the play-offs. As we sit in the top play off spot with Derby just below us it looks like it might be Clough vs. Clough in the play off final and with two 0-0 draws this season the bookies would be reeling in the bets on that outcome.

    But that is not decided, nothing is set in stone and we must hold on to our form to achieve this, sparing the details our form is steady but not outstanding. The points keep coming and with every passing game we edge closer to our goal!



    Onwards and Upwards,
    Kieran Clough
    Dear diary,
    Mission complete! Wembley here we come, our first obstacle on our way to the promised land of the Premier League is Watford, who finished in the last play-off spot. Finishing above Derby, our fierce rivals on two levels, is a victory in itself and now we must follow through on a season of ups and downs with one final push.

    A brief summary of our season; we got off to a slow start, i struggled to get the players to respect me because of my rookie status but glittering performances from Billy Sharp and Simon Cox kept us in the top half of the table.

    Then our form picked up, I respect and control in the dressing room and we went on an incredible run of form, lifting us to 3rd in the table.

    Our form slowed but we were consistent and steady enough to remain third and reach the play-offs, finishing in 3rd.



    Our top scorer was Billy Sharp, who i will look to sign on a permanent deal or another loan, with 36 goals in all competitions. Let's hope for a few more at Wembley!



    Onwards and Upwards,
    Kieran Clough

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