A Long Term Challenge

Regret rejecting Freiburg now?

Walter:They are in a similar position as HSV were but I have a better feeling about Rotherham. Their last manager, Steve Evans, was sacked. I can’t really see why as they haven’t had the worst start to the season.

Neal:I am a lot more confident already and excited to get started with them.

Skeletor6: The board are expecting the club to gain promotion this season but not necessarily through the play-offs or automatic promotion. I am confident we could push towards the play-offs if I manage to find the right formation for the players we have got. It is going to be a long season and there is a lot to take into consideration like injuries so I can’t make a clear prediction of where we will finish in the end.

wellsy1498:I do share your confidence but things will be a lot clearer after the first few games if we can make our way up the league or not.

HamoudiLFC: Thank you.

Louis O.:I don’t regret rejecting Freiburg as I just didn’t like the look the club and the players. I have a good feeling about Rotherham United so I stand by my decision.

Lets hope a good start with Rotherham is on the cards! I know you're somewhat an "expert" at FM (that's how I rate you anyway) what's the best way to find a good starting tactic?

2013-08-31 15:42#132544 AaronHJFT96 : Lets hope a good start with Rotherham is on the cards! I know you're somewhat an "expert" at FM (that's how I rate you anyway) what's the best way to find a good starting tactic?

I wouldn't call myself an expert but thanks for they compliment. For a club I don't know I look at who are my better players ability rating wise, followed by looking at their preferred roles and then just create a formation that fits as many of them in as possibly. It looks like 4-4-2 will be the best for Rotherham and it will give most of them what they prefer.

2013-08-31 19:01#132602 Jamesg237 :

2013-08-31 15:42#132544 AaronHJFT96 : Lets hope a good start with Rotherham is on the cards! I know you're somewhat an "expert" at FM (that's how I rate you anyway) what's the best way to find a good starting tactic?

I wouldn't call myself an expert but thanks for they compliment. For a club I don't know I look at who are my better players ability rating wise, followed by looking at their preferred roles and then just create a formation that fits as many of them in as possibly. It looks like 4-4-2 will be the best for Rotherham and it will give most of them what they prefer.

ok,cheers! This is mainly what I do I just wanted to know if there was any other way of doing it because my tactics always turn out shite! Haha;) and tbh the way you took Liverpool & Huddersfield to the top like you did was brilliant that's kinda why I think you're great at the game:)

2013-08-31 19:49#132611 AaronHJFT96 :

2013-08-31 19:01#132602 Jamesg237 :

2013-08-31 15:42#132544 AaronHJFT96 : Lets hope a good start with Rotherham is on the cards! I know you're somewhat an "expert" at FM (that's how I rate you anyway) what's the best way to find a good starting tactic?

I wouldn't call myself an expert but thanks for they compliment. For a club I don't know I look at who are my better players ability rating wise, followed by looking at their preferred roles and then just create a formation that fits as many of them in as possibly. It looks like 4-4-2 will be the best for Rotherham and it will give most of them what they prefer.

ok,cheers! This is mainly what I do I just wanted to know if there was any other way of doing it because my tactics always turn out shite! Haha;) and tbh the way you took Liverpool & Huddersfield to the top like you did was brilliant that's kinda why I think you're great at the game:)

I would make sure your match training is very high and general training as high to start off with so they get use to the formation and tactics in training. I also set a lot of the players to train in their preferred position so they develop the correct attributes. Also stick at the formation and don't make drastic changes if it doesn't work out at the beginning.

Thank you for the compliment

Coming into the club we had a number of players on loan, with unfortunately Michael Tonge having only been signed on loan for the first three months of the season. Tonge so far has been instrumental in the side and has become the main playmaker responsible for dictating play, creating chances and getting the ball up to the inform Alex Revell. Unfortunately by the end of October Tonge will be departing from the club and returning to Leeds United. I have a feeling that he will be missed and it will be difficult to find a player currently at the club who could do as good a job as he has. I will be looking into bringing back Michael on loan for another three months, or if the funds are available, it will be to try and sign him permanently on a one year contract. I predict however that both of these will be very difficult but I will be trying my best.

Daniel Nardiello is an interesting character who 12 games into the season had not scored a single goal under the previous manager. This was difficult to believe as in league two he is one of the better strikers. Since I took over Rotherham we have seen Nardiello pair up well with Revell and score two goals in six games. Despite having a low score rate against the minutes he has played, he had put in solid performances and appeared to be integral in setting up the chances for Revell. In a recent game Nardiello was injured and suffered a broken wrist which will involve him in receiving specialist treatment as we just don’t have the facilities or physio’s with good enough ratings to treat him. It will be disappointing for Danny but on the other hand it will give Jordan Slew, who is on loan from Blackburn Rovers, to make an impact on the side and increase his chances of seeing first team action on a regular basis.

I was admittedly glad to see another experienced player, Danny Scholfield, on the books at Rotherham United as he could bring a lot to the side on the wings. I have always been a fan of exploiting the wings on this game so it was going to be something I looked to do in every game. Scholfield’s average rating increased greatly when I took charge of the team so you can imagine my disappointment when he was ruled out for up to 5 weeks with a groin strain. It is going to be difficult to know whether this is the exact amount of time he will be sidelined due to how poor our physio’s are. He will be a loss to the side but I will be looking to Brendan Roger’s son Anton, who we also have on loan from Brighton to fill the void which I am sure he can do well.

Unfortunately for us we had a rather decent player, George Francomb, on loan from Norwich reserves. However, he simply would see no game time as he was suffering from knee tendonitis which would seem him sidelined for the majority of the season. The decision was therefore taken to terminate his loan contract to allow him to return to his club to be treated.

Good luck getting Tonge into the club and some good loan signings

Very good update Unfortunate to see Tonge depart and all the other injuries, especially to Schofield but I think someone might have to step up a bit and take on the playmaker role, or you can hopefully resign Tonge.

Great story so far, the writing is fantastic!
Good luck with Rotherham

wellsy1498: I really do hope we manage to get Tonge back as he really is one of the better play makers that we have. It will be a difficult decision to make as to who will replace him in that position/role.

Walter: Like I said to wellsy, I am not sure who is good enough to step up and take Tonge's place. We have a lot of wingers at the club just not enough central midfield players which may be an issue in the long term.

AlexSonwild: Thank you. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

What an amazing start to my management of Rotherham United. When I joined we were sat in 13th place, three points out of the play-offs and we are now sat in first place one point ahead of second placed Southend United. I made changes to the team’s formation with us adopting a simple 4-4-2 approach with us focusing on getting the ball to Alex Revell through the target man method. This change in tactics and ethos has worked a treat as we have scored lots of goals and avoided conceding many. Revell has been on top form and scored 12 goals in 13 games which is brilliant and he really is our best player who is still in his prime. The rest of the team have contributed greatly to our play with them not being afraid to put in a challenge or two.

We are not controlling the ball as much as I would hope so I will be looking to them to retain possession more frequently in future games. It is as simple as this, if we have the ball then the other team won’t score. It has been great to see the players taking well to the new formation and they are enjoying their football with their morale very high. This was evident in the comeback win against AFC Wimbledon at the end of the month with us being 2 nil down to come back and win 3-2 with two goals from John Herron and one from the outstanding Alex Revell.

It is way too early to talk about play-offs and promotion but we are on track to achieve the expectations set by the board of directors which is to be promoted to league one. I am personally a lot happier at Rotherham and enjoying things a lot more and long may it continue.

Player of the Month - Alex Revell

Good stuff James, as always

Fantastic month, sometimes a simple 4-4-2 can work a treat! Great to see Revell in form and it looks like you've got a reliable source of goals. Keep it up.

Outstanding results! Certainly the HSV board now realizes they should have sacked all the players and not you. Keep up the winning.