[FM 15] Where the Heart Is

[Narrator C]

This will be my first FM Stories contribution. It was inspired when my wife and I were looking through some pictures we took on a visit to Scotland in the summer of 2014.  Our daughter Zoe was fascinated by the Heart of Midlothian mosaic on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.  My wife took an adorable picture of Zoe looking up at us while she pointed at the heart, a huge smile on her face.

That favorite moment happened almost seven years ago. Zoe is 11 now. She enjoys playing for her school side and serving as her dad's "Director of Football" while I play FM.  Zoe is looking forward to participating actively in this story.  Since she discovered the Heart of Midlothian in the summer of 2014, we're going to use FM 15 and begin our story at that time.

We have used the in-game editor lightly as we've set up the story, giving Hearts a better youth program and making a few transfers that reflect the connections our manager character would have in the world of football.

Prelude:  "He's Coming Home!"

Nobody could say the board at Heart of Midlothian lacked ambition.  Tiring of a situation in which Glasgow held pride of place as the center of Scottish football and eager to establish themselves as indisputable holders of the title of Edinburgh's top club, the Tynecastle brass unveiled a forward-looking plan for Hearts' future.

Rather than seeking a quick fix through the purchase of star players, the club invested its resources in its youth program.  The Hearts academy at the Riccarton Campus was modernized and upgraded, and it was now comparable to any in Scotland.  Better youth coaches were brought in, and Hearts became a more desirable option for promising footballers from all around Edinburgh.  By the spring of 2014, the first players who were able to take full advantage of the club's new emphasis on youth were nearly ready to make an impact upon the first team. 

Now, the club needed to find the right manager to turn all this promise into success on the pitch.

Had he been twenty years younger, Cameron Reilly might well have been the poster boy for Hearts' project.  He joined the club at age eight and quickly established himself as a player to watch.  Even as a young teenager, Cameron demonstrated the ability to control a match from the midfield, either through asserting his will as a box-to-box presence or by coolly directing the action when the game called for a more measured approach.  He made his senior debut at eighteen, in the spring of 1996, and as that season ended, he had seemingly established himself as part of the club's future plans.

Then Ajax came calling.  The Dutch club spotted Cameron's talent and, as they often did, moved to secure him while he was still young and fairly affordable.  Cameron's mother was Dutch, so he was comfortable in Amsterdam, even though he remained on the fringes of the first team.  Still, he earned his first full international cap in March 1997, and he was considered one of Scotland's brightest young stars.

Cameron enjoyed his time with Ajax, and he was privately disappointed when they sold him to Rosenborg before the 1999/2000 season began.  Several things changed his mind about his Norwegian experience.  He was one of the first names on the team sheet.  He got to lift a league trophy, and he played in the Champions League.  A star for Rosenborg and  Scotland, Cameron was enjoying his football very much. 

After five seasons in Norway, Cameron moved on to FK København, where he would spend the rest of his career.  He retired in June 2013 after nearly a decade in the Danish capital, a club icon, captain of club and country.

Cameron couldn't remember when he first became interested in coaching.  He took his badges while he was in Denmark, and during his last three seasons there, he served as a player/coach.  His mentors noticed he was especially skilled with young players, who respected his standing in the game and to whom he could explain its intricacies in a clear, understandable manner.  

The Hearts board knew they were taking a chance, hiring a manager who had never led a team of his own at any level.  But that was actually one of the reasons why they thought Cameron Reilly was perfect for the job.  He was smart and energetic.  He loved the club and the city of Edinburgh.  "He's Coming Home!" was the slogan the club chose to herald Cameron's return to Tynecastle Stadium.  

And, as chairman Ann Budge pointed out at the news conference that announced his hiring, Reilly had been a winner everywhere he went.  Twelve clubs for which Cameron played had won league titles.  Eight times, he had led those champions as their captain.  But, at the same time, he had never displayed the obsession with winning that might cause him to lose sight of a long-term plan in his pursuit of short-term gain.  

It would take some time for Hearts to rise to the top of Scottish football. Cameron Reilly knew that, and he was both honored and delighted to be the man his boyhood club picked to lead it as it began that process.

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Narrator C

[Narrator C]

Preseason 2014/15:  The Cast of Characters

Some long-time Hearts supporters wondered if their club had gone too far in its attempt to usher in a new Golden Age.  With the exception of Director of Football Craig Levein, whose relationship with the team went back three decades, the staff that had taken shape around Cameron Reilly was young and, largely, unproven.

Cameron met Tony Tomlinson when both were studying for their Continental A license.  He had never played above the semi-pro level, but he was clever, and had already spent four years as a coach at age 30.  Cameron had to talk the Hearts board into hiring Tony as his assistant, but he was adamant that the young Englishman should be his second-in-command.  The other coaches--John Hill, Sam Tindal, and Neil Alexander, who was coaching the goalkeepers while still a regular player--were all under forty.  

The success of the Hearts experiment would be largely dependent on the skills and performance of the Head of Youth Development.  The club's directors had studied Dutch clubs closely, looking at the ways they developed young footballers.  Even before the club hired Cameron, whose footballing skills had been polished at the most storied club in Holland, they'd chosen Michiel Rook to head their youth program.  Rook wasn't well-known, but like most of the men in the Hearts back room, he was eager to make a name for himself.  Cameron liked him.

Chief scout John Murray was a veteran, but the five scouts working under him were all thirty-somethings.  Two were English (Elliot Firth and Ellis Freeman); two were Scottish (Ali McLean and Graeme Polworth); one was Dutch (Arie Lourens).  Cameron's knowledge of Scandinavian football would come in handy, too.

The young manager arrived with a clear vision of the way he believed football should be played.  A Cameron Reilly team would have more than their share of possession. They would play from the back, but they wouldn't simply tap the ball back and forth in the midfield without purpose.  The wide men, full backs and wingers, would challenge the defense with incisive runs; creative midfielders would deliver dangerous passes; hard-working center forwards would play in their teammates and take their chances themselves.  The team would play enterprising football, counting on a resolute holding player to guard the back four.  Reilly was pleased to see that many of the Hearts players should be able to adapt to this style of football fairly successfully.

It had been nearly a decade since Neil Alexander had been his team's No.1, but that was the job he would be doing for Hearts this season. Now 36, he was certainly more valuable in the long run as a coach than a player, but for now, his savvy and composure would give the team stability in goal.  Alexander would be asked to play with the ball at his feet more than he ever had; his ability to play as a sweeper keeper was far from certain.  His backup, recently-arrived Scott Gallacher, was not quite as good a shot stopper, and he was just as new to the style of play Cameron wanted to see.

The center backs were more comfortable as ball-playing defenders, especially Danny Wilson.  Already the captain at age 22, Wilson was an ideal fit for his role.  His partner, Norwegian Steinar Strømnes, about whom Cameron learned from his connections in that country, was a steady, reliable center half.  Teenagers Jordan McGhee and Mason Holgate were both full of promise.

Right back Callum Patterson, a home-grown lad, would be out of commission for as long as two months with a damaged kneecap.  In the meantime, Liverpool loanee Ryan McLaughlin would be more than adequate as his replacement.  Both Patterson and McLaughlin could fly, and both were only 19.  The starter on the left would be Adam Eckersley, whose travels around European football reminded Cameron of his own.  A Manchester United schoolboy, Eckersley had turned out for clubs in Belgium and Denmark before making his way to Tynecastle.  

Steef Niewuendaal's bald head made him look older than his 28 years.  But his energy and stamina were those of a young man, and his defensive nous and the calm efficiency of his passing made him a natural choice to play in front of the defense.  Steef's fellow Dutchman, Sander Duits, was an all-purpose central midfielder and, like Nieuwendaal, he was a natural leader.  Some might say he reminded them of Cameron himself.

Clever playmaker Simon Tibbling arrived from Djurgården soon after Cameron took over.  He could play on either wing as well as in the middle of the park, and anywhere you put him, he bedeviled opponents with his dribbling and picked out his teammates with sharp passes.  Cameron envisioned him as the conductor of Hearts' offensive symphony.  Kenny Anderson could do a job here, as well as taking a more defense-minded brief.

Cameron had four players from which to choose for the wide forward spots.  The veteran newcomer was American Bobby Convey, a former DC United starlet who spent five years with Reading before returning to the USA.  The local youngsters were Billy King, Sam Nicholson, and Jamie Walker.   Convey and Walker had been particularly impressive during the preseason, especially Walker, who scored five goals in five games.

Three center forwards with slightly different skill sets were in the team. There was Wout Weghorst, a powerful 6'6" striker who was a productive scorer with Emmen in the Dutch second division.  There was James Keatings, a tricky, unselfish speedster. And there was Género Zeefuik, who had been brought in on loan from FC Groningen before Cameron was hired.  All three of them expected to play regularly. The young manager might have his hands full trying to accommodate all three of them.

The Under 20 side contained several exciting prospects.  Versatile Ben Purrington could literally play all over the pitch.  Jack Hamilton might turn out to be the sweeper keeper Cameron was looking for.  Alastair Roy, only 17, was a promising striker.  Tom Gardiner was a smooth, left-footed center half, a younger version of Danny Wilson. And, from all accounts, the young teenagers who were being trained at the Riccarton Campus Playing Fields were an impressive bunch.

Cameron's managerial debut came in a Challenge Cup tie with Albion Rovers.  A healthy crowd welcomed him back to Tynecastle with a warm ovation before the match, and they cheered even more loudly at the final whistle, delighted by their club's 5-1 rout of the League Two side.  Danny Wilson took home the game ball after scoring three times--all on set pieces--while playing center half.  Weghorst and his substitute, Zeefuik, got the other goals.

Hearts' first league fixture would the most formidable assignment the Scottish Championship could offer:  a trip to Ibrox to face Rangers.  Despite the presence of the big Glasgow club, who were climbing back up the pyramid after their liquidation in 2012, the Hearts board expected Cameron to lead the club to promotion...as champions.

"Cameron Reilly is a winner. That's what winners do," Ann Budge stated, very simply.  

Time would tell if she was right.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Narrator C

[neilhoskins77]

Narrator C, Welcome to our little corner of the Boards! 

This already looks like a very interesting start, and I'm looking forward to seeing what yourself and your Director of Football can do here.

If she's found in the Boardroom telling the Chairperson (Wife) that you're not up to the job, then you know the pressure is on! 

[Narrator C]

6 hours ago, neilhoskins77 said:

Narrator C, Welcome to our little corner of the Boards! 

This already looks like a very interesting start, and I'm looking forward to seeing what yourself and your Director of Football can do here.

If she's found in the Boardroom telling the Chairperson (Wife) that you're not up to the job, then you know the pressure is on! 

Thanks, neilhoskins!  I think I'll tell the story somewhat organically.  I'm envisioning it (hopefully) as a long-running story, the kind that might last for decades. If that's the case, I'll probably write yearly, or semi-yearly, updates, rather than match reports.  There's also the story behind the story, where Zoe and I create our club's philosophy, build our squad, develop our tactic, etc.  That might be fun to add to the tale, too. 

The Chairperson is also a football fan, and she enjoys the fact Zoe and I have fun with FM together. I hope the DoF will give me time to bring our vision to life!

[Narrator C]

Inside the Club Offices

I'm stepping out of character for a moment to explain a few of the ideas behind the project Zoe and I have created.  I

I've already explained how Heart of Midlothian became our featured club.  If the Create-a-Club feature had been developed for FM15, we would probably have used it to pick our squad.  We started our save using the team that came "out of the box," using the database from the game's latest update.  Then, during the first game week, the board decided to accept transfer offers for two of our players, midfielders Prince Buaben and Morgaro Gomis.  There was nothing we could do about the deals. I suppose they made sense; Hearts were just coming out of administration in the summer of 2014, after all, and the club needed the money to pay down its debt.  Still, it frustrated us, especially Zoe, who liked these players and wanted to keep them.   The fact that the "real" Buaben and Gomis signed for Hearts in June 2014 and would never play a game for us made it worse.  And, with a transfer budget of zero, we couldn't buy replacements for them, either.

We based Cameron Reilly's heritage on our own family's roots--my wife and I both have quite a bit of Dutch lineage.  The journey Cameron took during his playing career, with stops in Norway and Denmark, was inspired by another vacation our family took, along with my parents. My Mom is a first-generation American, the daughter of Danish parents.  One side of Dad's family is largely Norwegian, and the other is Dutch.  We loaded Holland, Denmark, and Norway, along with Scotland and England, when we started the save.

When the AI-directed board started disassembling our team before it had a chance to take the pitch, Zoe and I decided to rebuild it using similar players from countries where Cameron would reasonably have connections.  That's how Steinar Strømnes, Steef Nieuwendaal, Sander Duits, Simon Tribbling, and Wout Weghorst came to Hearts.    We'll probably always keep an eye out for players from these countries as we progress. 

Bobby Convey was a sentimental choice. My brother-in-law went to school with Convey in Philadelphia before he joined the US Soccer residency program in Florida.  When I saw him pop up in a player search, I added him to our team.  Zoe "drafted" a very young Mason Holgate, because he is one of her favorite players.  She also chose Ben Purrington, because she thinks his surname would be a very good name for our family's next cat.  We signed Tom Gardiner on a free, based on a tip from one of our scouts.  

Watching our club produce talented youngsters who go on to distinguished careers, either at Hearts or elsewhere, will be part of what makes this project fun.  Boosting our youth program's ratings so they're as good as Hibs' are ought to give us some future stars to follow, without turning us into the world's greatest football factory.