8. End of Season 1 Round Up


                 


                    End of Season Round Up

  Having survived relegation with a game to spare I am looking to the future and planning to build a team which can compete better in this league. Firstly I have the last game to get out of the way against relegated Kampong Cham. I will use this to have a look at some of the younger and fringe players, which will help me decide how I am going to re-shape my squad.

Match 12- EDC v Kampong 

Cham 

31/10/20


 With survival secured this match against the C-League’s bottom side is a dead rubber, but provides a great opportunity for me to look to the future and for fringe players to stay in my thoughts for the next campaign. I’m hoping for a good performance and 3 points to make our survival look more convincing than it actually was. I also want to end the season on a high.  My team is as below, with Veasna and Chamraksmy on the bench incase things start to go Pete Tong.


EDC 1-1 Kampong Cham

Rotha 22                         Rithy 31

What a joke! We dominated the game and yet we only came away with a point. We took a deserved lead when Rotha poked home a pinpoint cross from our young left winger, Mol. Then, out of nowhere Keo Rithy equalised when he was put through on goal and slammed home an unstoppable shot into the top corner. In the second half it was all EDC. Veasna and Chanramskey came on to try and force something. The latter hit the post from the angle, while shot after shot was either saved, wide, or disallowed for offside. It was a frustrating end to the season, but given this was a dead rubber it hardly mattered. Much work to be done in the long close season. Somehow I will have to find my inner Harry Redknapp during the transfer window.

Team: 4-4-2 Sam Chameroun (GK), Panseth, Chandara, Daravon, Theara, Mol (yth), Sedsody, Udom(yth), Chetra, Samang(yth), Rotha

                             

Season 1 - Final League Table




1st Nagaworld 58pts

2nd Svay Rieng 56

3rd Boeung Ket 50

4th National Police 48

5th Kirivong 43

6th Vishaka 39

7th Asia Euro United 38

8th Angkor Tiger 37

9th Phnom Penh Crown 36

10th National Defence 36

11th EDC 25

----------------------------------------------------------

12th Solitio Angkor 20

13th Bati Youth  10

14th Kampong Cham 6

Congratulations to Nagaworld who were crowned Cambodian League champions. I am slightly comforted by the fact we held them to a 1-1 draw when we played them, but they deserve their win and gives us something to aspire to next season.

C-League Topscorers

1st George Kelechi (Nagaworld) – 15

2nd Phanny Y Rotha (EDC) – 14

3rd Filip Mihaljevic (Vishaka) – 13

Phanny Y Rotha's 14 goals makes him the second highest goalscorer behind Nagaworld's George Kelechi. What a find he was and his goals  helped keep us in the C-League. His partnership with Chanraksmey who bagged 12 goals was the most positive aspect of our team's performance so far.

Miscellanueous

 EDC received £6.39K for finishing in 11th

Phnom Penh Crown win the Prime Minister's Cup


  'The club's season started badly in April , with EDC eventually sinking to 10th, but with the arrival of new manager, Jonathan Rudd, they were able to mount a sucessful survival effort.

Now while I am flattered by that sentiment, we actually sunk to 11th place and did not get any higher... , so EDC were worse off in league position than when I took over in July... We did survive though...



 Granted, EDC's freak 7-3 win over Kirivong was memorable, especially with Rotha and Chanraksmey's goalscoring exploits, but the 1-0 win over National Defence was a complete snore-fest and would have deserved to be last on Cambodian Match of The Day. It was a big three points though and my first win. Punlock's piledriver against Vishaka was spectacular but only served to wake up the opposition and they turned the match around in the second half..


Team of The Season and Other Accolades

Average Ratings in (  )

Kong Rafat (6.97), Dara (6.36), Makara (6.50), Daravon (6.82), Theara (6.32) (surprisingly), Nara (6.50), Punlock (6.50, Saray (6.69), Veasna (6.90), Rotha, (6.83) Chanraksmey (7.00)

Top Goalscorer - Phanny Y Rotha 14
Most Assists - Suon Veasna - 6
Top Average Rating - Sok Chanraksmey - 7.00
Most goals in a game- 4 Phanny Y Rotha v Kirivong
Goal of the Season - Nan Punlock v Vishaka


End of Season Thoughts

The table doesn’t lie, but we survived in the end. 

We finished in 11th which is just one position lower than when I inherited the team in the middle of the season. I have only been in charge for 12 games but only won two of them, drawn 4 and lost 6. In most of the games except for the Svay Rieng match we actually competed quite well, but our weak defence time and again let us down and we could not keep a lead for toffee. However the board seem fairly happy with my progress and in the end there were three teams that were worse than us who went down. If we can bring in more quality and perhaps some foreign players we can compete better with the bigger teams in the C-League and finish higher up the table next season.

Squad Analysis and Areas 

to Strengthen

We have three good attacking players, Veasna, Chanraksmey and Rotha, plus one good defender Daravon. We have some utter rubbish in the reserves, mixed with promising youngsters. Kong Rafat has done well in goal, but at just 17 years old is he ready for the pressures of first team football? The same goes for Ratana, who is only 16 but full of promise, but lacks consistency, but I’ll forgive him he’s only a kid. Some like the hapless Nhem Theara are hopelessly out of their depth, while Punlock and Makara are dependable without being outstanding. I will be looking to bring in full backs, centre halves and a goalkeeper as a matter of urgency. A good AMC, which we lack, would also be on the agenda, plus a natural left winger as Saray is not comfortable playing there.

The transfer window is now open! Will I find my inner Harry Redknapp and wheel and deal my way to a successful squad for next season, or will it all go Peter Odemwingie? Find out next time on the Ultimate World Football Manager Game!

For the next instalment click here 'Wheelin & Dealin'














Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

76. Farewell EDC

Image
My tenure at EDC had come to an abrupt end and in one of the worse ways possible. My interfering new chairman, Sann Veasna sold, or gave away one of best players, Men Samnang to our bitter rivals, Khemera without telling anybody else and it only came to light on the morning of a televised match against Phnom Penh Crown. This was a clear breach of trust between manager and chairman, one that is essential for the successful running of a football club on and off the field. I had not known Sann Veasna long, but it was clear to me by his actions how this was going to play out and it was something I did not want to be part of any more.. His interfering ways in recruitment, training and with some of the players themselves had affected everybody from the cleaning ladies to me the manager. There was an underlying reason also and that was an acceptance that while we remained semi-professional, we would always be the bridesmaids in the C-League, finishing around 5th each season. Thirdly this is T
Read more

1. The Ultimate World Football Manager Game – The Set Up Part 1.

Image
  Saturday 26 th December 2020 (in real life) Boxing Day is arguably the most important day in the world sporting calendar. Traditionally and in a normal year it was the day when men would ‘escape’ after spending the previous day with family and loved ones. This year was different, the year we were advised to be ‘jolly careful’ by our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and it was the time where I only had one day to see my parents on Christmas Day. My original plans for Boxing Day 2020 had been kyboshed by the tightening of restrictions just days before. My Dad though has a saying, ‘Preparation meeting opportunity’ Sat in my living room with just my laptop, a can of coke and some background Christmas telly, Boxing Day 2020 was the perfect day to start my epic footballing journey. The one I had been planning for the past three months… Back in October and with a second lockdown in the UK looming I had an idea. Having relegated my Football manager fix from FM18 to Football Manager Mobile
Read more

71. Transfers and Takeovers

Image
  It was two days after the party and the first day back at training. In this time I'd had time to reflect on the events and Hem Vutha's shock announcement. I had very much mixed feelings about the situation. On the one hand a new chairman and one with a bit more money and ambition than Hem Vutha might be what is needed to drive us forward towards the league title and become the fifth professional Cambodian club. Then, would any new chairman want to bring in their own manager to lead the team and get rid of me? I won't lie I have had thoughts of moving away from EDC, hence my dalliance with Melaka in Malaysia, but then Charlotte happened at the same time and I wouldn't have got the job anyway.. Whichever way this panned out I would have to try and carry on as normal. Luckily all this was happening in the early pre-season so would not affect the players much as they would be on their holidays and doing extra shifts at he Electricity Company as they often did between Nove
Read more