Season Nine: Pre-Season
Last season we earned promotion to the Barclays Premier League, despite being expected to finish last. That was a fantastic achievement for us, but we have a lot of work to do now. We are looking to avoid relegation this season and to do so, we must strengthen the squad and train the players well. This is how our pre-season went for us:
Friendlies
We won five and drew one of six friendlies. These results included a win against a much stronger Chelsea side. We played fantastic football during the pre-season and scored a lot of goals. I am pleased with how the team played and I could not ask for anymore. Hopefully we can carry this form in to the season.
Transfers
This was an extremely busy transfer window, as we released 19 players, sold two and loaned out two. We brought in a total of eleven players for a combined fee of £29,000,000. This money was well spent, in my opinion, and we managed to strengthen many areas.
Stewart Wallace is a young, Scottish left back signed from Inverness. At the ripe age of sixteen, he can develop quite a bit and I plan on developing him to become either a good player for us, or to be able to sell him for a profit. He will be playing a couple of games every season to help nurture his ability. He's pacey, is determined and is also a good tackler. Hopefully he can develop nicely.
Fee: £375,000
Stewart Sellars is a young Scottish striker signed from Dundee Utd and the loaned out to Hamilton for the season. He is only sixteen too, but his work rate and teamwork ethics are both fantastic so I believe he is ready for regular first team football. He possesses wonderful off-the-ball movement and is a threat in the air. I reckon he can become a top Premier League striker and I will be looking to nurture him to become one.
Fee: £625,000
Iain Rae is a young Scottish goalkeeper signed from Dundee Utd. At nineteen years old, he will play back-up to Mark Bunn this season and Bunn will be a good tutor for him. He is a wonderful shot stopper and could become one of the best goalkeepers around if he develops right.
Fee: £500,000
Anthony Gerrard is an experienced Irish center back signed on a free transfer. At the age of thirty-four, this may be his only season at the club but he will be a wonderful asset for us. He can provide us with the experience of a player who knows what it takes to play for a club fighting to stay up. He is also a born leader, much like his more illustrious cousin who was born on the other side of Liverpool.
Fee: Free Transfer
Shane Lowry is an experienced Australian-Irish center back signed from Milwall. At thirty-one years old, he could be on the decline, but he will play a big part in the team for the two years that his contract keeps him here for. He is very strong and a great tackler.
Fee: £1,000,000
Andrew Casey is a young Irish center midfielder signed from Ross County. This kid is very promising and is one who I have been chasing for a very long time now. We did splash the cash on him, but when you see that he is an eighteen year old who has already made ten U21 caps for Ireland, you realise that this guy has potential. He is a technical maestro and fits in to the same mold of Iniesta's style of play. He will become a key player for us in no time.
Fee: £3,000,000
Star Signing
Gordon Russell is a Scottish left winger signed from Kilmarnock. He brings pace and skill to our play and still has a lot of room to grow. He will be a huge asset to our team and will hopefully perform very well for us.
Fee: £700,000
Ben Purrington is an English left back signed from Derby County. He is a good defender and is quite fast and strong too. He will be a solid defender for us to battle for a spot in the first team with Stewart Wallace and Ian Bermingham.
Fee: £925,000
Scott Sinclair is an experienced English left winger signed from Nottingham Forest. He is well known for his time at Swansea City and Manchester City, and he provides great skill and flair to our team. He will be a very explosive player for us and will help create chances for us.
Fee: £275,000
Joe Mason is an Irish striker signed from Leeds United. He is a very clinical striker, and that can be seen by his record for Ireland. He has a lot of experience in the Premier League with Norwich City and will be a big goal threat for us this season.
Fee: £600,000
Star Signing
Emiliano Cervantes is a teenage Mexican center back signed from Chivas for quite a large price. Despite costing us £21M, I reckon he will be worth the outlay. At eighteen years old, he is already rated the best center back in Mexico and the rest of North America, aswell as one of the world's hottest prospects. He is a defender of title-winning quality already, and he is still eighteen years old. He is fast, strong and a brilliant defender and ball player. He will be our best player for years to come and hopefully we can keep him for a long time.
Fee: £21,000,000
Star Signing
Vauxhall News
With Vauxhall Stadium currently being expanded to a 12,500 all-seater stadium to match Premier League rules, we will have to ground-share with Everton at Goodison Park until our stadium is ready to be played in. The stadium is due to be ready during the month of March, which means we will be spending most of our debut Premier League season away from our home ground, which is a disappointment, but is a necessity.
August-September Fixtures
We open up our Premier League account with a trip to Stamford Bridge to play giants Chelsea, before we play Spurs at home. We then play Nottingham County in the League Cup, before playing West Ham and Manchester United in the league. We then finish the month with fixtures against Norwich and Crystal Palace, both of whom offered me contracts last season. Hopefully we can make a positive start to the campaign.