The goal is to survive

Now pre season is done and dusted, transfer all done and I must say I am happy with the business we have done even tho I am still looking for the future, the start of the season is here. Going to feel strange going to the Salford community stadium this year but with a bigger attendance, we have to make this a hard place to go like we did at moor lane.

The Wednesday before the season kicks off, we all had a meeting and chatted about things, like where we want to be at the end of the season, we must keep this team in the championship so that’s the end goal. Press is going to be on these players now with the club one step from the premiership.

Fans turned out for the 1st game of the season and what a game they enjoyed, Cardiff away and we picked up where we left off by winning 6-4. Following that we went to Watford in the carabao cup and after going one down, we were able to win 3-2. The good start carried on with wins against Middlesbrough and Burnley and another cup win Vs Preston. Things came back down to earth with a defeat to Norwich. The new signings are bedding in well and to be near the top is a great achievement.

September was a mix and match with 3 wins and 3 defeats. Away to Leeds was 1st up and we showed the league favourites how to play football by winning 4-2, but after that Reading came to our temp home and we narrowly lost 4-3. Fulham was fun, where the returning striker Chalmer showed his former employer a show bagging 2 goals in a 5-2 victory.

West Ham took us to school in the carabao cup by beating us 4-0, and at this point I didn’t want heads to drop before the home game against Watford. The hornets were out for revenge and gave us our 2nd league loss of the season by winning 0-1. A trip down south to Plymouth was up next and we needed to get back to winning ways, which we did with 2 from Vale and captain Watts earning a 3-0 win.

A great start after 10 league games see us 3rd, and hopefully a season where we feel safe. This team has already shown they belong here but we know it will be hard to stay this high in the division.

New striker who we paid over £20 million for , Kym Chalmers is proving money well spent as he has 7 goals so far and Marquinos is our highest rated player getting 7.53 on average.

Still a long way to go so I hope you join me on our journey.

#WeAreSalford.

How to improve the team to stay in the championship

Favourite for the drop, I needed to boost the squad to stay in the championship. Me and the scouting team had to pick up players to replace players like Ibou, Lingard and Pogba. And with the chairman willing to put his money where his mouth is, with the backing of the class of 92, it’s time to work. Ryan Giggs walked into our meeting room with one hell of a smile on his face, everyone looked at each other and asked “why is he happy”, he then broke the news of the transfer budget of £55 million and told Ryan, do not make the same mistake again, and keep us in this league.

You can only imagine what it is like in the board room, names being thrown around on who the owners want, and as per normal Gary Neville is the loudest but in all it’s  a happy room because with the amount we have to spend.

We went through who has left and needed to replace them and players we would like to try and bring in.

1. Jack Rudoni

We all agreed on this deal, because he can play across the midfield and in an advanced position. He is 26 years old and expressed interest in joining. Huddersfield accepted a £6 million and the deal moved quickly after that.

2. Marquinos

This deal went through in January, but he has made the move. The Brazilian winger has a gift and could be key in unlock defences.

3. Matt Tagget

The left back was made available by his agent and we needed a left back, he fitted the mould we wanted. 31 year old has been at some key clubs and his experience will be key for us to do well this season.

5 more players have joined the club to build for the future, Ba, a midfielder from Paris FC, another Brazilian Melo who has a bright future, 2 goalkeepers arrived Vignaud and Bulay.

Bulay from Boca

The final transfer is a player who has the chance to play for a top side, coming from Fulham for a club record £24 million is Kym Chalmers, the strike has scored 5 times last season but done well in the reserve league, also turning out for Northern Ireland.

Business is all done and the team has done well in pre season, now we have to get off to a good start in the league. Ok it may not be our home but we must make the AJ Bell a fortress. The media has predicted 12th for this Salford side, I would be happy with that because I believe this club should be in the championship.

So get behind this side and join me on this journey.

#WeAreSalford

Ibou Touray testimonial

It’s a special event when one of the longest serving players has called it time in his career at a club who has shown him loyalty. He will always be a big part of the history of the club, joining when the club was in non-league and taking them back to the championship.

Club legend is not thrown around too often, but Ibou Touray is a true legend of Salford City FC.

Players, management and family all got together to celebrate Ibou time at the club with a meal at Hotel Football. The players, especially captain Elliott Watts put together a “this is your life Salford” for him, lots of jokes and stories.

Managers past and present, myself, Gary Bowyer, Richie Wellens and Graham Alexander presented Ibou with a trophy just for him for being with Salford from 2017 until 2029.  And the next day he would play his last game for the club against fiorentina.

Normally I will be doing a pre-match press conference, saying it’s a chance to show if my management style can go up against an Italian giant, but today isn’t about the team or me, it’s about Ibou. Yes we have some trailest to bring in which is a great chance for them but it’s about the day and the send off Ibou gets.

7000 fans turned out to see this special event to give Salfords record appearance maker the send off he deserves. Former players Natey, Watson and Mallan all turned out for this team, and they all stood in a guard of honour just for him, captain for the day.

The game itself was entertaining as it finished 2-2 with Ibou setting up the 2nd goal for new signing Rudoni to score.

After 395 games for Salford it was a fitting way to end his time here, he wasn’t known for his goal scoring 13 times in 12 years. The fans all stood and clapped as he went around the ground. He will be a hard man to replace but he is always welcome back to the club.

2 important players say goodbye

Now the end of the season has been and gone, I need to start planning for the future. It will be a big task to keep this Salford team in the championship, but we are going to do it with 2 players, who have had their moments this last season.

Jesse Lingard has called it time on his career, starting out at Man Utd in the 09/10 season, he didn’t get 1st team action until 2012 where a move to Leicester helped him with 5 apps. A year later 15 games and 3 goals at Brighton helped him get noticed, the loan moves to Birmingham and derby helped him into the utd team.

After Utd, West Ham and notts forest, Everton spent £19 million on him, but 17 games and one goal wasn’t enough to keep him there before a shock move to Salford on a free. He played 32 games scoring 8 goals in a season that saw Salford do the double.

The 2nd player to hang up his boots, has not been out the public eye, Paul Pogba. The frenchman has a strange time in the football world, at one point one of the best players in the world, ups and down, playing for Man Utd, Juventus mainly, with a spell at AC Milan and Real San Sebastian before a move back to Manchester with Salford.

Playing in 42 games grabbing 17 goals including goal for the season ended on a high getting one last trophy to his already large cabinet.

These 2 will always be part of the history of this save and it has been great to have them part of my team.

#WeAreSalford

#FM24

Down to the wire for the Non League Pep

These moments of the season are what every manager looks forward to. To go into the last 2 months of the season, just in the top spot, nothing is guaranteed, still, a lot to play for and with Cardiff hot on our heels, I had to keep this Salford team winning if they were going to head back to the championship.

March and April both are a bit light in games, with 6 games left of the season and only points between the top two. Playoffs ticked, and we knew if something happened then we still had a path if we needed it. Potentially we have another 2 games as the Papa John’s trophy has come down to the final 4. As I sit back in the chair I wonder how can I do? this, and in a way called upon the spirits that helped me get called the Non-League Pep from the press, but show the class of 92 I have what it takes like Sir Alex.

Before a ball has been kicked, the board has announced that the current ground is to get a makeover. With the team doing so well, the fans have increased which means more revenue. The current ground is being upgraded to a 7500 approx all-seater ground, with more if needed. This should take 12 months to complete, for the next season, we will play our home games from the Salford community stadium, the AJ Bell.

It was a trip to my hometown of Colchester to start in March, and we left it late again, after a miss pen and 95 mins on the clock, Jack Vale popped up with the winner. Sky cameras saw an entertaining semi-final in the Papa John’s Vs MK Dons, I was on the sidelines shouting to the team to get forward and with 6 minutes left we were able to get a winner and book a place in the final against Arsenal under 21’s. With a point needed to gain promotion, I set up the team to break down a Wrexham team, but with nearly 2 weeks break, we were slow to get started but 2 goals from Peart-Harris sealed a 2-1 win and promotion.

Wembley was the venue for the Papa John’s final, a place I came to a year ago, and what a game it was, we were cruising 4-1 with 15 mins left, only to get pushed back but still was able to hold out and win 4-3.

No time to celebrate as the league was still there to win, and Preston was next up, I had to make changes due to the final and it proved to be the wrong decision, as we lost 1-3. I had to pick the heads up after that defeat with 3 games left, but 2 goals were enough to beat Notts and one set closer to the league. Cardiff lost their game which means I needed a team to get a point for the title. Bristol Rovers was next up and OMG I was up and down all game, we scored, they scored, nail-biting for the fans, but we were crowded CHAMPION after a 7-5 victory.

The double was completed before the last game Vs Birmingham, the blues gave us a guard or honor which was lovely but we showed how good we are by beating them 6-1.

The board is extremely happy with the season and expects more next season in the championship.

The season review is in, and firstly I want to say a thank you to Jessie Lingard for his impact on the team, and will now join the backroom staff full time. Nicky Butt set me a goal of the playoffs but to win the league delighted him and the rest of the class of 92.

Fans player of the season was Peart-Harris, who also picked up the top goal scorer and most assists for the season. The young player of the season went to new signing Jack Stott. Signing of the year was Finn Azaz arriving on a free and an average rating of 7.1.

Peart-Harris won the sky bet league one player of the season, he needed a good season after coming down from the championship last year.

It’s time for a break and work on deals for next season. But my trophy cabinet is getting full. I also picked up the manager of the season, not bad from a non league manager taking his 1st professional job.

#WeAreSalford

Retirement comes to us all

Even tho at the start of the season, Jesse Lingard, a player-coach at the club, made the choice to hang up his boots at the end of the season. With 16 games this season scoring 8 goals is a good return for a 35-year-old player who had a good career turning out for Man Utd and Forest, as well as England. How he can turn to his coaching, teaching some of the youngsters here at Salford to become better players.

Now we start the new year, it’s got to be better than we ended last year, December was poor by our standards. With it being the new year, transfer window time, and looking at the team, I have to say we are a bit light at the back.

So to start the new year was a transfer meeting with Roy, Paul, and Nicky to get started. Coffee was flowing and a plan has been made, but the challenge now is to go and get these players.

4 players arrived at the start of January, left winger Jack Moylan came in from Sligo Rovers on a free. West Bromwich let go of Harry Clarke for £375k to bolster our back line, also Sander Brouwers, a left-center arrived from Feyenoord, and to complete the window for us Paul Scholes brought in Di’Shon Bernard, returning to the club from Millwall for £3 million.

The new signings were in the stands to watch us beat Cheltenham in the 1st game of 2028 4-2 away from home. The TV cameras were out for the cup game Vs Matlock, a match important to me, friendly faces now rivals in a match for a quarter-final spot. 2 goals from former gladiator Jack Stott and one from Hugill gave us a 3-0 win.

The top two came to blows next as this Salford side sits 6 points behind Cardiff, after taking the lead at the 30-minute mark, we got pegged back. I am waving the lads forward with 5 minutes to go till half time, we were able to get 2 quick goals to make it 3-1 at the break. The game finished 4-1, and the lead cut to 3 points. A win Vs Bolton put us level on points as the Bluebirds lost, but I wasn’t happy after we lost to Stockport 2-0, missing out on a 3-point gap. Coventry was next up in the quarter-finals of the Papa John’s trophy, this was a hard battle for us scoring late on to draw the game and go to pens. We were able to score all of our pens to win 4-2. After that, we ended January with a draw against Fleetwood.

February we changed things up with a new formation, to try and not concede goals when we are in the lead, but after taking the lead against Notts, we could only come away with a draw. A double home victories followed against Wycombe and Wigan. Then a 2 all draw against Walsall made it 3 unbeaten and a lead at the top of the league. Up next week got an away win at Exeter but couldn’t extend the lead after a defeat to Burton.

We had 2 more home games to finish up February, Lincoln was 1st up and a goal from John-Jules was enough to get 3 points, but then Peterborough made the trip up north, and a brace from Morton was able to get a win finishing up 3-1.

Fans at the ground are getting excited with a 3 point lead going in to the last 2 months of the season. 6 league games left, so there is a lot of work to do on the training ground if we are to go up, plus maybe a Papa John’s trophy final if we get past MK Dons in the semi finals.

I hope you enjoy this round up and hope you can join me to see if I can add to my trophy cabinet and the run of a trophy every season I habe been involved in.

Press conference

Journalist 1: Good afternoon, thank you for joining us today. We’d like to start by asking about the current season of Birmingham City FC in the Championship. How would you assess their performance so far?

Chris Wroot:Good afternoon, thank you for having me. Birmingham City FC has had an exciting season in the Championship so far. They’ve shown great determination and skill on the field, making their presence known in the league. The team has had some impressive victories and has displayed their potential for success. Overall, their performance has been commendable, and they continue to be a competitive force in the Championship.

Journalist 2: Birmingham City FC has had some notable signings during the transfer window. Could you tell us a bit about these new additions and how they have impacted the team’s gameplay?

Chris Wroot: Certainly! Birmingham City FC made some strategic signings during the transfer window, strengthening their squad and bringing in fresh talent. These additions have had a positive impact on the team’s gameplay. The new players have seamlessly integrated into the squad, bringing their unique skills and experience to the table. Their contributions have added depth and versatility to the team, enhancing their overall performance. It’s exciting to see how these signings will continue to shape the team’s success as the season progresses.

Journalist 3: In terms of tactics and coaching, what approach has Birmingham City FC taken this season? Have there been any noticeable changes compared to previous years?

Chris Wroot : Birmingham City FC has maintained a disciplined and well-structured approach to their tactics and coaching this season. Under their current management, the team has emphasized a balanced style of play, focusing on both defensive solidity and attacking prowess. There have been some notable changes compared to previous years, such as an increased emphasis on possession-based football and quick transitions. The coaching staff has done an excellent job in implementing these tactics, allowing the team to adapt to various game situations effectively. The results are evident in their performances on the field.

Journalist 1: Looking ahead, what are the team’s aspirations for the rest of the season? Are there any specific goals they are aiming to achieve?

Chris Wroot : Birmingham City FC has clear aspirations for the remainder of the season. They are determined to climb up the Championship table and secure a strong position in the league. The team is aiming for consistency in their performances and results, focusing on each game as it comes. They aim to provide entertaining football for their fans while continuing to develop and improve as a collective unit. Ultimately, their goal is to finish the season on a high note and potentially challenge for promotion to the Premier League.

Journalist 2: Lastly, how important is fan support to Birmingham City FC, and what messages do they have for their dedicated supporters?

Chris Wroot : Fan support is incredibly important to Birmingham City FC. The passionate and unwavering support from their fans has a profound impact on the players and the club as a whole. The team greatly appreciates the dedication and loyalty of their supporters, as they are the driving force behind their success. Birmingham City FC wants to express their heartfelt gratitude to their fans for their continuous support. They encourage their supporters to keep cheering them on, both at home and away matches, as their positive energy truly makes a difference. Together, the team and their fans can create an amazing atmosphere and achieve great things.