Gary Gillatt Unveiled as the new Southampton Manager
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Today, it has been announced that the former manager of Semi-Professional sides Denaby United and Alfreton Town, Gary Gillatt has become the new Southampton managers. Many supporters are reportedly shocked by this news as they believe Gary doesn’t have the correct amount of experience to take on a job like this one. However, Gillatt had other things in mind who has said “You’ve got to expect it to be harder than what it previously was, but I thoroughly believe in my abilities as a manager and for that reason I believe I can return this club to its former glories."
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The new man for the seat has signed a deal keeping him there until June 2013, with £6,500 p/w as pay.
Okay, so to begin my career I went straight to look at the team. I took a look at what players I had and placed them into the 4-2-3-1 formation to gather the players I believe to be first team material. I then took a look at the youth players and gave the cut to anybody who didn’t have the ability to make the first team. Once my list was shorter I decided to take a look at the talent and I’m most interested in Luke Shaw and Callum Chambers.
Luke Shaw was only 15 so I kept him where he was, while I placed Chambers into the senior team for some valuable exposure in the friendlies.
I then took a look into the staff I had and gave the cut to those who I thought to be inefficient enough. I then placed ads into the job centre.
Transfers and A Few Friendly Matches
So I took a closer look at the entire squad and thought it would be wise to bring in some transfers if I want to do good this season. Main priorities lie with the positions of GK, M (C) & (R), D (R) and maybe a central defender if I can grab a certain player.
In terms of friendlies I have an interesting fixture of matches. There are 5 friendlies and they are as follows:
Mostly away yet relatively easy. I’m looking forward to taking on Sheffield Wednesday and playing one of my first matches with my favourite clubs rivals. Interested in facing Man City Reserves and seeing how my team does.
In regards to my transfers, I sent out a few offers to different clubs and so far have been able to negotiate prices and have been in contract talks with 3 players. So far, the only player to sign for Southampton is Adam Federici, a Goalkeeper from Reading. I paid £3.5M for him but after using him in previous saves I know he’s quite a good keeper.
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The first game of the season has arrived, my only new signing is Adam Federici and Callum Chambers is on the bench. We travel to Scunthorpe for my first ever game as the manager and we have been listed as favourites.
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Scunthorpe United vs Southampton F.C.
“Today, Gary Gillatt is tested for the first time, although only a pre-season friendly and the first match for the club, Gary Gillatt will be hoping for a win to start gaining some momentum. ‘It certainly is a great day for me. Southampton has some great talent and I think we’re well on our way to becoming ready for the start of the season. Hopefully the boys can perform well.’ States Gillatt.”
FT – Scunthorpe United 3 – 3 Southampton F.C.
Dean Hammond, Billy Sharp (2)
In our first match I believe we made a decent start. I think we should have done better against Scunthorpe but in saying that I realistically can’t believe we won. The amount of times we hit the post or came so close to goal on so many occasions were definitely some positives. Callum Chambers also managed to make the assist for our 3
rd goal which put us level with Scunny. We battled in the first half to get on level terms after falling 2 – 0 down to equalise before the second half. A tragic own goal from Morgan Schneiderlin was worrying but we managed to pull it back again.
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Southampton fail to make chances pay
“In an unfortunate first friendly match for Gary Gillatt, Southampton drew with the League One side Scunthorpe United, while many people are saying the match should have easily been won by Southampton. The Saints took 20 shots at goal compared to Scunthorpe’s 5 which shows how unlucky Southampton were. We caught Gary Gillatt after the match and he left us with his thoughts; ‘It’s not a win, but we battled back after being incredibly complacent in the first 20 minutes and struck back. Not a pleasing result, but a pleasing performance all the same.’”
I only have 2 days before I go to Hillsborough and play Sheffield Wednesday. So I focused this time on dealing with transfers and managed to sign 3 more players.
I had to spend quite a bit of money to bring these guys to the club but I since I received an elevated transfer budget for title challenge, I decided to make use of what I have. The second person to join is Jack Collison from West Ham for £9M, who will bring some competition to Dean Hammonds spot. I also chose to bring in the experience of Hernan Crespo on a free transfer and to finish the list, I took Neal Eardley from Blackpool for £6M. I can still sign one more player at this rate.
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Sheffield Wednesday vs Southampton F.C.
“On this day of friendly football we see Gary Gillatt and his Southampton side once again, this time traveling to Hillsborough and taking on Sheffield Wednesday. After last weeks draw you have to believe that both the manager and club are hungry for their first victory. ‘Today’s match is more than just a friendly for me, I’ve been a Sheffield United supporter my entire life and to take on Sheffield Wednesday in my second match, it would be a dream come true to mastermind their defeat.’ Says Gillatt.”
FT – Sheffield Wednesday 2 – 0 Southampton F.C.
What a disastrous start to my career. Thankfully these aren’t league matches because I think anybody will agree when I say Southampton should be winning matches like these, two npower league 1 sides have gotten the better of us.
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Now, I have a few days before the final match in this part, against the side of Eastleigh. This match should be an easy win for Southampton knowing Eastleigh are a Blue Square South team.
During the period between these matches I got results from the ads I placed into the job centre and signed a few new backroom staff. I also decided that Southampton would be parting ways with Andy Crosby. I started the ad for a new assistant. Additionally, I also secured the contract of Robert Snodgrass from Leeds United for £7M; the reason for this inflated price is because the player was indispensable to the club, I tried to lower the price but they wouldn’t go below 7M. I also put a bid in for Scott Laird who plays for Stevenage.
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Eastleigh vs Southampton F.C.
“The Southampton manager Gary Gillatt will most definitely be looking for a win today after failing to find victory in his first two friendly matches. Today his club face a considerably weaker opponent in Eastleigh. If Gillatt fails to win this match then it will not look very good. ‘After a shaky start the only thing I want to see is a win, Southampton are more than good enough to see Eastleigh off and now that they’ve had a little time to train together, I think they will come together as a stronger team and thrash our opposition.’ Gillatt stated to the press.”
FT – Eastleigh 0 – 4 Southampton F.C.
Jack Collison, Adam Lallana, Billy Sharp, Guly do Prado
Thank God that’s over. Sure, Eastleigh is nothing to brag about with a squad such as Southampton but there are still positives to this win. It shows the team they are capable of both winning and scoring goals. It will also be a morale boost to the side which will hopefully bring about more impressive performances. Only time will tell however.
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Anyways, that’s it for this part. I’ll update you on the rest of the pre-season in the beginning of my next part. See you ‘til then!