I can never seem to last more than 3 seasons at Champ manager, but i was
determined to pick a team and stay with them!
I looked for a lower team and since Torquay just avoided relegation i choose
them. As always, i sold or released about 15 players - so i could make some
money to build up a team. i ended up with just under 2 million - pretty good
I thought.
My first signings were Onesimo, Chris Beech and two Tobin brothers. I somehow
managed to get Robert Malcolm on loan. I signed a few more players and set
up a few friendlies which went very well- 4 wins and a draw with West ham. So
the season started with a game against Hartlepool which I won 2-1, then my
next two 1-0. I thought I was gonna have an easy season which I would win
comfortably. My next game though was the beginning of a nightmare. - an Eight
game losing streak which saw me 18th and it was almost Christmas. After
struggling to a 3-3 draw at Blackpool I decided my tactics were wrong (I had
bean using a 4-3-3 formation, and was already out of all my cups), so I
changed to a 4-1-3-2, which worked instantly - a 3-0 away win to league
leaders Cardiff.
I slowly climbed my way to a play-off spot. With 3 games to
spare I had gained a play-off place, which would have been auto. promotion if
I had beat 3rd place Leyton Orient in my last game. I beat Brighton, then
Cardiff to earn a Second division place.
A few new signings and a couple of
loan attempts later saw the start of the new season. Charlie miller on loan
and Robert Malcolm permanently were my main signings. This year my pre-season
was pretty poor-three draws and a loss to non-leaguers. My season started
pretty average and by ten games I had won four, drew 3, and lost 3. This left
me 7th in the table, and I reckoned I was doing quite well until I got a news
report saying the board were considering my position! PROMOTED and 7th in
Div 2- this wasn't too bad for Torquay, was it?
The next twelve games saw me
win nine and my job safe. I was now 2nd in the league behind QPR, and into
the fourth round of the FA cup (which I eventually lost out to Leeds with a
7-1 loss, oops). I continued my good season finishing 3rd and into the First
division. I had been saving up my pennies for a couple of summer signings in
Ramon Vega, David May and Gazza. With two consecutive promotions I felt
confident.
This was short lived as I lost my first nine, forcing the board to
again consider my position. Results picked up and the goals flew in, not an
awful lot though, I got my first win after my 12th game. By 20 games, I had
won four, drew two and lost a disappointing 14. Eventually it happened, "The
Torquay board have sacked manager Adam Galloway. They feel a new manager will
bring a new approach to the team"
So I began looking for work, but it took me three weeks to find one, in the
form of a struggling Premiership side Watford. I took the job and began
restructuring my new team, which was hard as it was mid season, but I signed
19year old Jamie McMaster and 22year old Leon Knight to partner Noel-Williams
up front. I found it tough in this big league, but I managed to keep Watford
in the best league in the world, finishing 15th. Not great, but I'm now
looking forward to my First real season at Watford.
Oh, and my old team, Torquay ending up 6th with an amazing 21 wins out of the
last 25, under the new manager - Peter Taylor, but unfortunately never won
their play-off.
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