The first match after I took charge of the team was against Swindown Rangers. I remember the day well. Eleven Bullets was lying tenth in the league. However flattering the position may sound to be for a team that had just been promoted, actually the team was clear of the relegation zone by only six points. I was fairly nervous before the match. I decided to go with a defensive formation of 5-4-1. Swindown Rangers was not a team to mess up with. They were the league leaders. I had to understand my team well for the first few matches in order to bring the best out of them.
As I entered the pitch along with the players the buzz in the stadium rang in my ears. It was the same exhilarating feeling that I used to get when I used to play. But this time it was different. I would be no longer going to the pitch. I would be sitting by the side lines watching my team play. The game started in high tempo. Swindown Rangers had realized that my team was not yet organized. So, they came out all guns blazing. One wave after another continued as my team continued to hold on. Eleven Bullets stood up as a team till the fortieth minute mark. As I was slowly starting to believe that we could hold on successfully till half time, Swindown Rangers scored the first goal. One of my bullets, Alex Nolan crumbled under pressure and gave away the ball cheaply in front of goal. Rangers made no mistake in converting the chance.
The half time team talk was more of a mission briefing before a battle. I decided to change the system completely. No way were we going to score with the 5-4-1 formation. We had not created a single chance in the entire half. In fact we had been stranded in our own half throughout the match. So I decided to change the formation to a basic 4-4-2. I substituted Alex and brought on Clay as a second striker. The second half started the same way as the first half. However this time my team started showing some character. We started using our flanks and played some good quick counter attacks. Finally Clay equalized at the hour mark from a free kick. Luke chipped the ball inside the box and Clay tucked it in for the equalizer. The fans started embracing each other in joy as the celebration among the players continued. I too could feel a sense of relief at last. The team had gained some much needed confidence. However my players had forgotten the basic rule that I had taught them… Discipline. Complacency started to creep in as the Bullets started launching one wave of attack after another. It was a match which the spectators were overjoyed to watch. The open ended play and the thrills and skills was making the match a highly entertaining one. However while doing this my team started to slowly lose their structure and formation.
Being the manager I should have seen the looming disaster. However my relative inexperience brought my downfall. On the seventy fifth minute mark, Swindown Rangers restored their lead due to poor man marking from our defenders. It was time for gamble if we were to get something out of the match. So, I made two substitutions replacing a defender with a third striker and bringing on a winger for the defensive midfielder Luke. As the Bullets went all guns blazing, the weakness in our defensive lines started showing up. Swindown Rangers hammered three goals in the last ten minutes. Eleven Bullets got badly beaten as the fans left the stadium cursing the players and the manager.
I had lost my first battle. However I needed to act quickly if I wanted to win the war.
The next three weeks were really tough for me and my players. We lost the next two matches and settled for a draw in the third one after taking a lead. We had entered the relegation zone. In the last three matches we had scored two goals and conceded five. The situation was clear to me. We needed to strengthen our defenses if we wanted to survive. We needed to change our style of play. It was time to develop something new. It was time to bring in fresh ideas. It was time to implement cutting edge strategies.
No comments:
Post a Comment