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[FM13] My name is Steve Smith and i am a...... Football Manager??

rlipscombe

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rlipscombe

rlipscombe

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My Name is Steve Smith and i am a..... Football Manager??

The story of the next great Football Manager. Maybe.

“So what do you want to achieve with this book?” I asked.

“I dunno. An insight into the mind of an aspiring football manager, the trials and tribulations, the highs and lows of being ‘the gaffer’.” Steve replied.

“And what is the final chapter going to be? What do you want it to be?”

“I want it to be about the morning after winning the Champions League, maybe even the World Cup…”

I spat out my drink in disbelief. Winning the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE?? Steve wasn’t even a manager of ANYONE, let alone a Champions League winning team.

Steve Smith is your run of the mill ex semi-professional footballer. A career of travelling the length and breadth of Britain, playing for ‘glamour’ teams such as Worksop Town, Halesowen, St Albans and latterly Sheffield FC to name a few, Steve found a big hole missing in his life when his career was ended by a knee injury. The first six months’ were spent between the bookies and the pubs as what money he had was frittered away.

One day, about 6 months ago I bumped into Steve in a pub and over (a lot) of pints we talked and came up with the crazy idea of trying to write a book charting the rise of Steve Smith, Football Manager. Steve went on some football management courses and registered with the LMA. Which leads us to today, a chat over a pint in Sheffield discussing Steve’s first step in football management.

“What sort of job are you after?” I ask.

“A paying job” Was the short response.

“In the UK? Or are you prepared to go abroad?”

“I don’t mind really. As long as there is some cash in my pocket and a bed to sleep on I’ll be there” Steve genuinely didn’t seem to care where he ended up.

“What roles have you applied for?”

“I’ve sent my CV in to every club currently seeking a manager across Europe. Surely something will come along soon.”

“I am sure it will…” I replied, as if to give Steve a confidence boost if nothing else.

And with that Steve was up. A quick handshake and he was off after a taxi. I didn’t know when I would hear from him again – if at all to be honest.

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rlipscombe

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Leagues Loaded

Austria - First Division and Above

Belgium - Second League and Above

Croatia - Second Division and Above

Czech Republic - Second Division and Above

Denmark - Second Division and Above

England - Blue Square Bet Premier and Above

Germany - Second Division and Above

Portugal - Second League and Above

Spain - LIGA Adelante and Above

Sweden - First Division and Above

Switzerland - Challenge League and Above

Turkey - First Division and Above

Large Database used and a Semi-Professional manager selected.

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rlipscombe

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So, welcome to another career thread, hot on the heels of my Diego Messi career which has been mothballed for now. The reason for this? I haven't quite got fully into my South American career mainly due to me decent yet limited knowledge of South American football. Inspired by a couple of other career threads i have read in the past few days, including berty, iacovone and b101 i have decided to 'return home' to European football.

Again i am going to do the career mainly in the first person, this time as aspiring but largely failed journalist John Murray. The premise is that John has decided to write a book about the trails of an aspiring football manager with the aim of writing the next 'Miracle of Castel Di Sangro' or 'Stamping Grounds'. John met Steve who is setting out on his management career and John will follow Steve as he becomes the next 'Special One', though it is more likely he will become another Gareth Southgate.

i have loaded a number of leagues from around Europe and i have no set plan on how the career is going to go, or any targets i wish to achieve. i am just going to go with the flow and see what happens.....

i hope you enjoy.

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The phone rang. It was 6am. Awaking from my slumber i answered.

"John, i've only gone and got myself a job! Someone wants ME to be their manager!" Steve bellowed down the phone.

"That's great.... Where are we going? Sweden? Austria?"

"Lincoln John, we're going to Lincoln. Lincoln City want me to be their manager!"

And with that he was gone. Unsure of whether that had just happened, or whether Steve was drunk again (he was, a lot) i settled back down and was soon asleep.

I awoke the next morning and after breakfast i decided to search for news of the managerial appointment. Surely it was a dream.... I searched BBC Sport - nothing, not even in the non-league section. I searched the ITV website - nothing of interest as normal. A couple more sites followed but nothing again.. Maybe it had been a dream. About to give up, i logged onto the Lincoln website. It hadn't been a dream. on the homepage, in big bold letters...

STEVE SMITH NAMED NEW IMPS MANAGER

it was true after all. Someone had decided, in their wisdom, to hire and ex-alcoholic gambler to be their new manager. Steve was about to become a manager of a Blue Square Bet Premier side...

The world had gone mad.

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Lincoln_City_F.C._badge.png

Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club is a member of the Blue Square Bet Premier in 2012–13 following relegation from the Football League in 2011.

The club plays at the 10,120-capacity Sincil Bank, and are nicknamed the Imps after the legend of the Lincoln Imp. They have also been known as the Red Imps. Traditionally they play in red and white striped shirts with black shorts and red and white socks. Their most recent championship was the Conference, in the 1987–88 season. This season saw the club set an all-time record attendance (which has since been beaten by Oxford United) for a Conference match, attracting 9,432 spectators in a game against Wycombe Wanderers, on 2 May 1988, the last game of the season. The game also decided the championship, as Lincoln had not occupied the top-spot at any point in the season prior to this 2–0 victory.

47198p.jpg?rnd=89

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rlipscombe

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Hello once again, Rlips, a little disappointed to see you leave South America, but I understand, it really is a different world in Footballing terms. Look forward to following your progress here, good luck with your start in Lincoln.

cheers. i am a little disappointed too but i couldn't get 'into it' as i wanted. Didn't quite go according to plan also which didn't help.

Hope you still enjoy this thread though.

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Yeah it is. Go there a bit IRL and my in-laws have a bungalow on the east coast so have a little affinity to the area. was going to manage abroad first but when they offered role kind of felt i had to take it.

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"John, i am a little nervous..."

"Whyy?" i replied.....

"Well tomorrow i take charge of my first ever football team in our first ever competitive match...."

"Steve, you do realise it's 4am. Shouldn't you be asleep?" i replied sleepily.

"I can't sleep."

"Have you been drinking again?" i ask, Steve slurringly slightly.

"Just needed a little drink to settle the nerves...."

"Go to sleep Steve, go to sleep...."

And with that i hung up, put the mobile on silent and returned to bed to try and sleep. it was funny, i had never seen Steve worried in all the time i had known him. Pre-season had gone pretty well and the team was slowly coming together. Lincoln had beaten League 1 Oldham Athletic in their first friendly before narrow defeats against Celtic Reserves and QPR at Sincil Bank. A victory against Moseley was next before an entertaining draw against local neighbours Gainsborough.

Transfers had mainly been loan signings although a new Danish scout helped uncover Rasmus Tangvig, a young Danish winger. "I can understand a word he says" is Steve's summary of him but he looks a decent player to me.

Anyway, i write this sitting in the press box of Sincil Bank about to watch the Imps run out for the first time under the stewardship of 'Smithy' First up is Kidderminster Harriers, fancied to do well this term. The voyage of discovery starts here...

JM

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Lincoln_City_F.C._badge.png

Lincoln City FC

Blue Square Bet Premier

August – September 2012

Aug-Septresults_zps7507db4e.png

So as the results show we suffered an opening day defeat at home to Kidderminster before two consecutive away draws. Our first win came back at Sincil Bank at home to Macclesfield Town. Defeat away at Gateshead followed before consecutive home wins against Ebbsfleet and Alfreton, who were thrashed 6-1. Following that Lincoln won 1 from 5 as three consecutive away defeats saw Septeember end with defeat at Forest Green Rovers.

tablesept_zps02c40bd4.png

As a result the table has Lincoln in 16th position, 4 points off a play-off spot but also 4 points off the drop zone.

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Lincoln_City_F.C._badge.png

Lincoln City FC

Blue Square Bet Premier

October - November 2012

oct-novresults_zps04dd597f.png

October was a tough month for the club with the clubs only win coming in the final game of the month. Lincoln also creashed out of the FA Cup in a replay against Mansfield. What was particularly tough to take was that the equaliser came in injury time at the end of the game – an all too common occurance this season. Novemebr started with a home win against struggling Braintree was followed by successive league defeats. Another poor draw in the FA Trophy followed before a narrow win in the replay which left the Imps stuttering into December

tablesept_zps02c40bd4.png

The table at the end of November shows Lincoln in 18th with 6 wins from 19 league appearances… Times are tough for Smithy as he battles to keep a hold of his job…

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The boos rang out amongst the away fans around Moss Rose as the final whistle went. Lincoln had just crashed to their third defeat in 4 games and they had fallen to 20th in the table. “SMITH OUT, SMITH OUT” rang the cries. “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING…”

They were probably right Steve said later over a beer. He hadn’t always known what he was doing. A couple of hours earlier, Steve had been tols that his services were no longer required. He had been sacked as manager of Lincoln City.

lincolnsacking_zps1f5724bd.png

“I thought I was going to go after the Grimsby defeat… To lose against your rivals is never good and the abuse I got round the city in the following days was tough to take.”

The phone-ins had been unanimous in their calls for Smith to go. It had been tough to listen too at times. The local BBC Lincolnshire reporter had been having a field day, having taken a dislike to Steve early in the season.

“Do you think you’re cut out for this management lark?” I asked somewhat unconvinced myself.

“I think so…. I just made some mistakes I think” was the response. He had, but the players had to take their share of the blame. On numerous occasions the club had let leads slip despite Smithy’s protests. Injuries hadn’t helped too but these things happen in football.

“So what’s next then?” I asked

“I dunno. I guess I’ll try and get another job somewhere. I am not sure if it will be in England though. I think I need to get away for a bit and learn my craft somewhere. Hopefully they’ll be more forgiving.”

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Following his departure from Lincoln Steve spent a few months touting his services around Europe looking for a new role. Below are a look at some of the roles offered as well as Steve’s thoughts on them…

WS Woluwe was an early opportunity for employment. They were hovering above the drop zone in the Second League in Belgium. They were rejected because “they wear red and are affiliated to Sheffield United…” Steve doesn’t like Sheffield United.

Next up was another Belgian club, FC Brussels. This was a tempting offer until the budgets and finances were explained…. The wage budget says it all plus the club were heavily in debt.

A Portugese offer came next, Benfica’s B team. They were doomed looking at the league table so this was turned down. “I don’t want a relegation on my CV…”

Then the offers from Denmark came in…..

Naestved was a tempting offer – decent little club but the wage budget issues were off putting… The same went for Nordvest. Two more offers, from Herlev and Rishoj were rejected out of hand due to the size of the club and their non-existent wage budget…

And then came the big decision.

Bronshoj came in with an offer . Bronshoj had just been relegated from the second tier in Denmark so it would have been a good opportunity to fight for a promotion. The club was a good little club, Steve liked bacon so he was very temted to make the move to Denmark. Unsure over whether it was the right move, Steve delayed the decision for a week to consider his option….

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"John, i've had another offer. I was heading tot the airport for a flight to Copenhagen when i had the call from a Belgian club. They've just been promoted to the Second League and are looking for a manager to go in and have a major rebuild in order to stay in the division."

"So what are you going to do?" i asked

"well i'm just waiting for a bus and then i'll be at the stadium in about 10 minutes!"

"But what about the Danish offer? You should be signing a deal now..."

"i know, i know.... But what would you rather have? Bacon or lager?"

He had a point.....

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K._Standaard_Wetteren_logo.png

K Standaard Wetteren

Belgian Second League

Season 2013-14

Standaard Wetteren is a Belgian association football club team from Wetteren. They became champions in Third Division A in the 2008–09 season and thus will promote for the first time in their history to Second Division. The club was originally founded as an amateur club named Standaard Molenhoek. They changed their name to Football Club Standaard Wetteren in 1951 as they chose to register with the Belgian Football Association. The club plays it's home games at Marcel De Kerpelstadion.

ec1db98c895b4ea180157f8e9b28b067.jpg

stw-stadion-verlichting.jpg

Wetteren is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Massemen, Westrem and Wetteren proper. On January 1, 2006 Wetteren had a total population of 23,209. The total area is 36.68 km² which gives a population density of 633 inhabitants per km².

450px-Wetteren%2C_Sint_Gertrudeskerk_foto6_2010-10-09_16.27.JPG

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"How has yur first day in Belgium been?" i ask Smithy

"You could say it's been interesting... I walked into the changing room this morning to meet the players and the staff. All i had were a few players that looked like they'd just finished a season playing Sunday league football. As for the club staff, well it was just me! There is NO-ONE else at the club!"

"Oh..... No-one?"

"Not a sole. I spent all this afternoon frantically seeing if i can find some people willing to come and help me out. i have a few coming in in the coming days. As for the players i've contacted pretty much as many agents as i know asking if they've anyone willing to come in on trial so i can try and put some sort of team together."

"Bit different to Lincoln then when you walked in on a completed squad."

"Yeah it's a big of a culture shock. i m not sure what i've let myself in for here."

"I'm sure you'll be fine once you've assembled a squad. Keep the faith" i say trying to reassure Steve that he knew what was doing. in truth i have to say i am not sure myself but we will see i guess. i am sure it'll all be fine.....

JM

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K._Standaard_Wetteren_logo.png

Standaard Wetteren

Belgian Second League - Season 2013/14

Pre-Season Results

pre-seasonresults_zps326004a7.png

So as the pre-season results above show, pre-season went really well overall. a hastily selected group of trainees gelled together pretty well by the end and we finished with 5 successive wins. After experimenting with a standard 4-4-2 formation, i adapted to a 4-5-1 with decent success. We look defensively pretty sound and offer a decent threat going forwards.

Towards the end of the window when i was about to sign up my trialists i got the following message:

takeoverembargo_zps63aade54.png

This caused a few days of panic as i was barred from making transfers but 'thankfully' it collapsed and i was able to finish the squad how i wanted.

i will do a little 'guide to Standaard Wetteren' shortly which will introduce the key players. Overall i am fairly happy with what i have put together.

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“well it’s been tough but I think I have got my squad together. The takeover speculation didn’t help at all and for a while I thought I was going to have some real struggles. Thankfully (I think) the takeover failed and I could sign a few players.”

“Are you all ready for the new season then?” I ask.

“Yeah I think so. I am trying not to get my hopes up too much given what happened at Lincoln, and given the fact I’ve never even watched a game in Belgium before let alone manage one, I think we’ll be ok.”

“You seem to have got a largely young squad. Is that deliberate?”

“Kind of. I am hoping they’re going to be hungry and will work hard. A lack of experience may hinder us at times but young squads have been successful before so I am hopeful.”

“Any players to look out for?”

“Frederik Declercq I would say. He is an experienced head to marshall the defence and I am hopeful he could be key for us.”

“You’ve also got a lot of loan players at the club. Any reasons for that?”

“Mainly because of finances. Wages are a little tight and the young kids I can get in on loan are better than a lot of the dross available on frees. Plus I don’t have to pay any wages so that’s a bonus too.”

declercq_zpsf1b6c000.png

Having watched the team in pre-season Steve seemed to have made a better job of pre-season that 12 months earlier at Lincoln. The freedom of being able to build a squad from scratch has helped and Steve seems quietly confident going into the season.

“What are your expectations for the season?” I ask.

“Let’s be realistic. We’re a newly promoted team and everyone thinks we’re heading straight back to the Third Division. The chairman just want’s us to learn from the season which means there’s not a lot of pressure but I’d like to finish somewhere around 12th-14th. I think that would be a good finish.”

I agree. Realistically I think Wetteren may struggle and I hope that if the season starts poorly Steve doesn’t lose the plot like he did at Lincoln. Privately he took a major hit on his confidence and the months between work were dark times for him. The Wetteren job seems to have given him a new lease of life and I am hopeful things go well for him as much as anything.

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K._Standaard_Wetteren_logo.png

Standaard Wetteren

Belgian Second Division - 2013/14

August - September 2013

aug-septresults_zps0514e896.png

As the above results show We made a great start to the league season with two straight league wins. Along with the two away wins in the cup against lesser opposition we had won 4 from 4. A defeat to a decent STVV was a blow but three further games unbeaten followed and we were looking at one defeat in 8 going into the cup game against Westerlo.

cupswitchoffer_zps50930ab2.png

We were initially drawn at home to Westerlo but their cash offer to take the game to their ground was too much to turn down and we went to their ground. A 3-1 defeat followed but I wasn’t really interested in the cup competition so it was fine. A draw at the end of September away at Oudenaarde was a decent end to what was a promising start to the season.

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K._Standaard_Wetteren_logo.png

Standaard Wetteren

Belgian Second Division - 2013/14

October - November 2013

oct-novresults_zpsc72d1a72.png

October started with another home win against Lommel before a draw against Eupen. An uncharacteristic heavy defeat followed against Vise before another home win against Dessel saw out the month of October.

Novemebr was a disaster however. Only three games in the month but three defeats wherw Wetteren failed to score a single goal. During this period I had experimented a little with formation as I felt we weren’t scoring enough goals. Whilst it worked against Dessel it failed after that and we made a swift return to the 4-5-1.

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K._Standaard_Wetteren_logo.png

Standaard Wetteren

Belgian Second Division - 2013/14

December – January 2014

dec-janresults_zps5148bc7d.png

December started where November ended with another defeat against high-flying OH Leuven. Thankfully in our next game we broke the losing run with a 1-0 away win at rock-bottom FC Brussels, whom i had turned down last season. seems it was a good decision. This led to a mini unbeaten run before we ended 2012 with a Christmas defeat away at aptly named Sint-Niklaas.

January was another inconsistent month as a heavy defeat to mid-table Antwerp was ended with a dominant 3-0 home win against highly fancied Cercle Brugge. This meant that at the end of January the table looked like this:

tableendofJanuary_zps5ff8a43f.png

As the table shows, we sit 10th in the league well clear of the drop zone. Overall i am happy with the position. consistency would be nice but you can't have everything. we are developing after all. One final bit of news in january was that the club was finally taken over and a new chairman installed. no mention of me losing my job so all is good.

takeovercomplete_zpse49aa078.png

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Standaard Wetteren

Belgian Second Division - 2013/14

February - March 2014

feb-marchresults_zpscc0a6677.png

"John, you'll never believe what happened today" Steve said over an afternoon cappuccino. It was a lovely spring afternoon in Wetteren but Steve wasn't full of the joys of spring.

"What happened Steve?" i reply

"I had a member of the German press at the press conference. He asked me whether my players were accepting money to lose!!"

"unbelievavble..." i respond shocked at what Steve had said.

"What makes it worse is that he actually made me wonder! We haven't won a game for two MONTHS!! They can't be losing deliberately... Surely?"

As poor as the results were i didn't think it was the case....

As the results show, February and March were poor months for Wetteren. the team seemed to fall apart and Wetteren begin to fall towards the drop zone. Bit of a worrying time for the club but the chairman is still behind me.

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we have had a few meetings... all positive enough stuff but not always working on the pitch.

Formation wise play a 4-5-1 formation. Like the formation but never quite manage to get enough goals out of it. in terms of when concede it's not really an end of game thing so don't think it's due to fitness etc.

(i have finished the season so know how it pans out....)

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