[FM 15] Where the Road May Lead

[Tom Ashley]

I haven't forgotten my Dutch story, but I can't resist the temptation to manage in England, too.  This time my protagonist will start out unemployed, and we'll see where he ends up.  Football Manager 15; "fake names," so I can create player-characters with their own personalities.

 

Prologue:  Spring and Summer 2014

Paul Beardsley was doing graduate work in history at the University of Michigan when he met Patti Howell, a vivacious blonde who thought his accent was “precious.” An invitation out for coffee turned into a four-hour conversation, and two years later, Paul and Patti were husband and wife. The Beardsleys returned to England; Paul took a teaching position at a school in north London, and Patti worked at Debenhams. Baby made three on the first day of December, 1987, and they named their new son Daniel Paul Howell Beardsley.

Paul had been a decent Sunday league footballer, a scrappy defensive midfielder. Dan inherited his dad's talent, and then some.  He played the same position as Paul, with just as much grit and a bit more panache.  Intrigued by his mum's homeland after spending some time there on summer vacations, he studied and played football at a small college in Pennsylvania (or "soccer," as they called it in the States)  . He took a degree in English literature and came back home to England without any real plan for what might happen next.

Dan was good enough to play for Eton Manor, a semi-professional club in the Essex Senior League, and he found work with an animal shelter, where he wrote copy for their website and did anything else the owner needed. The more time he spent around the football club, the more he realized he'd enjoy coaching the game more than he did playing it. He began studying for his coaching badges and got as far as the National A level. He finished near the top of his class each time and, just as significantly, the bug bit him. Hard. He thanked his manager at Eton Manor, a fellow named Micky Hatfield, for giving him a chance to stay in the game, and told him he'd be hanging up his boots. Micky wished him well, and told him he'd be welcome to help out with the youth teams while he looked for a paying position.

That spring, Dan began sending his CV to any nearby club who advertised for a coaching position. Money was tighter now; Dan found himself missing the little bit he was paid to play for Eton Manor now that it was gone. There were times when he doubted the wisdom of his decision. Those times came more frequently in July, once the preseason began and he hadn't heard anything from any of the clubs he contacted.  Dan was a patient man, and he'd need every bit of that patience now.

[Tom Ashley]

October 2014-March 2015

“I think you're selling yourself a bit short, Danny. You've got a National A license. You ought to be taking a shot at a manager's position.”

Trevor Hale took a long sip of his drink. He'd been a good friend of Dan's since they were schoolboys. Dan knew he could count on Trevor to give it to him straight, but this time he wasn't completely convinced his friend was right.

“I haven't been given a shot at a coaching job, Trev. If a club won't bring me in to talk to me about that, what makes you think I'd stand a chance at the top job?”

“What's it going to cost you? The time it takes you to change a couple lines on your CV?”

Dan shrugged. “I guess you have a point there.”

Over the next few weeks, the first round of sackings began. The press actually listed him among the front-runners for the job at Nuneaton Town in early December. Nothing came of it; the Conference club hired Stephen Leeson, a veteran manager with a single England cap to his credit.

Dan spent Christmas with his mum and dad in Edinburgh. For a few days, he relaxed and took his mind off his job search. After the calendar turned to 2015, however, he found himself becoming more anxious about his prospects. A number of jobs came open with clubs in the Conference North and South—Boston United, Worcester, Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke, Bradford Park Avenue—and while Dan was sometimes mentioned as a “short list” candidate, none of the clubs considered him seriously enough to interview for a position.

Then, on a dreary February day, Dan learned his position at the animal shelter was going to be cut in a month. Money was tight, and a volunteer or two could do the jobs Dan was covering. The owner felt badly, and Dan didn't harbor any ill feelings, but the fact remained that Dan was now out of work. He had no choice but to return to his parents' home.

It was now nearly springtime. Paul Beardsley's connections with schools in the towns north of London were fairly extensive, and he pointed that fact out to his son one night over dinner.

“I can talk to a few people, Dan. I ought to be able to get you an interview for a teaching position somewhere.”

Dan sighed deeply. “If I haven't found a job by the end of the term, I'll give it some thought. Maybe I can coach a school team, something like that.”

Perhaps it was time to turn another page.

[Tom Ashley]

9 May 2015

Dan spent that spring watching for news of managers who might be getting the sack. He felt a bit guilty about almost rooting for other men—men with pride, with a love for the game, perhaps with families to support—to lose their jobs. For a while, the job market was very slow, and that gave Dan time to pay closer attention to events on the pitch.

The news out of his second nation was not good. On the first day of April, the American national team traveled to Vaduz for a friendly match with tiny Liechtenstein, and the hosts handed them a 1-0 defeat on a goal by a rather nondescript forward called Martin Hartmann.

He was at Wembley a fortnight or so later, watching Norwich upset Spurs in the FA Cup Semi Final. The Championship side got a brace from Spanish front man Francisco Jesús Moreno. The Canaries would face Chelsea—who saw off Arsenal in the other Semi Final.

April turned to May, and Dan was starting to resign himself to the idea of finding a job outside football. His father had spoken to a headmaster friend who had a position available for an English literature teacher, starting in the fall. He'd be willing to keep the position open until the end of the month to give Dan a few more weeks to pursue his last few managerial job leads.

Almost on cue, the first of those leads materialized.  The aspiring manager's hopes were thereby rekindled.  

Barrow had been an overwhelming favorite to win the Conference North this season. The Bluebirds underachieved, finishing fifth, nine points off front-running Harrogate's pace. They battled back to earn a place in the Promotion Final, but when they were trounced by Leamington, the board sacked manager Sean Edwards. Dan sent his CV to Barrow chairman Jeremy Traynor.

Expectations had also been high at Leatherhead. The Isthmian Premier League side had been tapped to earn a place in the Promotion Playoff. But when the team collected only two points from their first five matches, manager Joe Whittaker--who'd been there since 2011--was dismissed.  His successor, Jake Beale, didn't fare much better. The Tanners spent most of the season fighting to keep above the drop zone and finished 18^th, and that cost Beale his job, too.

The Leatherhead position was intriguing.  A Level Seven club like the Tanners might be more willing to take a chance on an inexperienced manager like Dan.  He decided to put his name in the pot for that position as well. Chairman Lucas Dean acknowledged the receipt of his application and promised to respond in the near future.

Now, all Dan could do was wait for either—or both—the clubs to contact him for an interview. Something told him that these could be his last chances.

 

[Tom Ashley]

27 May 2015

Exactly a week later, Dan got a call from Lucas Dean. The Leatherhead board were willing to bring him in for an interview. He borrowed Paul's car and made the hour-long drive around the M25 to the Tanners' grounds at Fetcham Grove.

Dan liked Lucas Dean. He was a pleasant, soft-spoken man, and he had a clear vision of the kind of manager he wanted to hire. He shared Dan's desire to play direct football; it might not always be stylish, but it often worked quite well in the lower leagues, and most British lads knew how to play that kind of game. Dean also wanted to bring in young players, and Dan agreed with that objective, too. He figured he might be able to command the authority of players in their late teens more easily than those who might be several years older than he.

The two men shook hands, and Dean told him he'd be in touch when the board had made up their minds. The drive back to north London seemed much shorter.

That evening, Dan got together with a few of his mates to watch the FA Cup Final. Trevor Hale was there, and a couple of lads he knew from Eton Manor. They watched Chelsea get a brace from Javier Herrera, who'd scored 32 goals in all comps, and a third goal on an audacious strike from their flashy Brazilian winger, Capitāo. Plucky Norwich got a late goal from Ian Francis, who banged it in off the post. Trevor was a Chelsea supporter, so he was especially delighted with the outcome.

The weather fit the English stereotype on 20 May, with a low fog that never burned off. Dan had always felt better about days like these when he got outside and did something active, so he took his bicycle out for a good, long ride. Shortly before noon, his phone rang.

“Dan, this is Lucas Dean,” said the voice on the other end. “We'd like to offer you a contract to manage our club.”

Dan nearly dropped his mobile. He nearly blurted out “Yes, Mr. Dean,” but something made him pause. He hadn't heard anything about the Barrow position. Did he dare asking Dean for time to consider his offer...just in case Barrow were considering an offer, too? How would a move like that,  from a managerial candidate with absolutely no experience, come across?

He took a deep breath.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Dean,” he replied. “I'd like to think about the offer a bit, if you don't mind.”

“That's fine, Dan. We'd like to have you. We can wait a week before we need to know anything definite.”

Dan closed his eyes. Perfect, he thought. “I appreciate it very much.”

Was it his imagination, or had the fog really begun to lift as soon as Dan ended his call from Lucas Dean? Life certainly seemed more exciting now, full of possibility.

Such was not the case for supporters of Wigan Athletic. They hosted Watford in the Promotion Playoff, with a berth in the Premier League at stake. The visitors struck three times in the second half, dashing the Latics' hopes. Watford would join Reading and Fulham in the top flight next season, with Stoke, West Ham, and Leicester going down.

The next morning, Dan's phone buzzed again. This time it was Jeremy Traynor, calling from Barrow. Could Dan make the trip up to interview for their manager's position the next day?

“I realize this is short notice, but we'd really like to speak with you,” Traynor explained.

“Sure, I can be there,” a delighted Dan replied.

The next noon, Dan was seated in Traynor's office at Holker Street, discussing the chairman's plans for his club. Traynor was also open to Dan's suggestion of a direct playing style. And Dan agreed with the Barrow board's goal of developing the club's young talent. Dan had plenty of time to think about the interview on the long drive south, and he felt quite good about how it went.

Jeremy Traynor wasn't wasting time. Dan was eating breakfast the next morning when Traynor called with a job offer. When Dan asked for time to think it over, Traynor agreed.

Eight days earlier, Dan Beardsley was this close to ending his dreams of managing a football club. Now, he had two job offers—enticing ones—from which to choose.