Hi, my name is Graham and I'm an Addick.

[Blarney]

 

June 13th, 2021... the best day of my life - to this point at least.

My name is Graham Gibbons and I have just been appointed as the new manager of the Charlton Athletic Football Club.

I've spent the past 19 years in the Charlton organization in one fashion or the other.  See I grew up loving the Addicks as a young child born and raised just outside Charlton in Greenwich.  My father used to take me to the Valley to watch the team play and when I turned 9-years old, I got my chance to join their academy.  I played every year between 9 and 16 and when I turned 16 I was given the chance to actually join the organization with their Under 18 squad.

Football was my life... and I thought my career was going to be playing the game I loved until I retired from it.

But life has a funny way of twisting and turning and not always coming out the way you planned.  When I turned 21 the team let me know they were not going to renew my contract.  I had to take a long, hard look at who I was and whether I wanted to continue chasing something that probably was not going to happen or find something else to make me happy.  Could I be a part time player?  Could I be someone that found themselves grinding in the developmental league for the next 3 or 4 years only to keep being denied what I truly wanted?  Or was it time to go another direction.  Playing the game I loved didn't necessarily have to be the only route available to me.  I could be a part of the game in a different way and still enjoy it.

So in 2014 I went to Bob Peeters, who was the manager at the time, and inquired as to any open positions.  Since I was only 21 I wasn't going to be overly picky and when he said there was an open position for a scout, I jumped at it.  I spent 2 years as a roving scout until I became the chief scout in 2016 under then manager Russell Slade.  At the start of the 2017/2018 season I was named the Assistant Academy Manager, underneath Steve Avory - who had been the Head of Youth Development since 2016.  At the start of the 2020 season I was offered the position of Director of Football under Lee Bowyer.  Lee abruptly resigned in the middle of the 2020/2021 season and Nigel Adkins was named manager after a short stint with Jonnie Jackson as caretaker.  However, that was very short-lived as Nigel was fired at the end of the season after not producing the results that new ownership was looking for.

At that time the assumption was that Johnnie Jackson - who started with the club in 2010 as a player - would be the front-runner for manager as he was when Lee Bowyer resigned.  Jonnie resigned as a player in 2017 and became an assistant manager that same year.  Since at the time I was the Director of Football and then Director of Youth Development, we spent a lot of time working together.  We had never met before then, he always being on the senior team and me never being called up.  But we worked very well together for the next several years as part of the backroom staff and became fast friends, despite the fact he was 10 years my senior.

We had new ownership at this time, a Dutch-American by the name of Thomas Sandgaard who had bought the team in late 2020.  He had already been through 2 managers with both Bowyer and Adkins either resigning or being fired.  He expressed a rather logical desire to have stability with the club.  As Jonnie and I had both been with the club for a number of years that was something that was desirable to him.  Also both of us had been players and then held other positions with the club, Jonnie as an assistant and myself in scouting and player development.  Mr. Sandgaard honoured both Jonnie and myself with interviews, mine after Jonnie's.  I was surprised to hear during my interview that Jonnie had recommended I be given the job, rather than asking for it himself.  He hadn't spoke to me about doing that before he did, so it came as a shock.  When I asked him about it later, he just told me he thought I was the right man for the job... and would be proud to stand beside me. 

Of course there were other interviews.  Many other interviews. 

Although Mr. Sandgaard said that he was impressed by my resume and time spent with the club, he was a little concerned with my age, being only 28 at this time.  I would be one of the youngest - if not youngest - managers in English professional football.  Granted while there had been a few men in their early 30's managing in the Premier League, it was still the exception and not the rule.  But he told me it wasn't a deal-breaker, just something to consider.

Ultimately, after hearing that he had spoken with several members of the coaching staff and a few players as well, I was told I had the job just a couple of weeks later.

It turns out that while my youth was a potential detriment, he also viewed it as a possible boon for the team as well.  The last couple of managers the club had were in their 40's and 50's and Mr. Sandgaard didn't like the way the team responded to them.  He didn't like what he saw from the team on the field.  He wanted a different direction.  He wanted to win.  

If nothing else, I wasn't going to bring an old-school approach to anything.  He said he loved my ideas on attacking football.  He wanted the fans entertained.  But more than anything he wanted out of League One, straight through the Championship and back in the Premier League.  He wanted to put Charlton back on the map.  He wanted to own London. 

I just wanted the opportunity.  

This was my chance.  If I couldn't be a player, if I couldn't make my mark on the pitch, I would make it on the sideline.  I was going to take this opportunity and run with it... and never look back.

My promise to Mr. Sandgaard was simple: I will give everything for this organization that I grew up loving.  Charlton is in my blood.  It's been in my tears as a fan and it's been in my sweat as a player.  

On June 14th, 2021, I signed my name on that dotted line... and my life changed.

This is my story.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by Blarney

[Blarney]

**** Hello Gents ****

A friend of mine talked me into trying Football Manager over the holidays and I was pretty impressed.  I've been a FIFA player - generally I like to create a player and play out my football fantasies but now and then I mess with being a manager as well, although I've never found FIFA to be particularly impressive in that category.  I had honestly never heard of Football Manager and neither had he until just recently and then he got me hooked on it.  I've only been messing with it for the past few days and on this forum for that same amount of time soaking up whatever knowledge I could find and reading through some of your excellent stories while trying to find one I'd like to do.  I fancy myself an okay writer and now and then like to put pen to paper and be inventive.  

I am American, please don't hold that against me.  I've actually just come back from 10 years living in England and Germany and my ancestry is Irish, in fact I'm only 2nd generation American and still have family back in Ireland that I visit frequently.  I will try, in my story, to write as much in "proper" English as I can... sometimes that flows naturally for me and sometimes it doesn't.  However, it surprises me that in the game they call it soccer and not football... which is very strange for a football management game.  

Being brand new I am obviously still learning the nuances of the game and can't say that I'll be very good at it, but I'll just go wherever the game takes me.  My goal is obviously to take Charlton to the Premier League and live out Thomas Sandgaard's goals.  Charlton was just one team I was looking at.  Obviously everyone is talking about Wrexham but I saw a couple of saves being done with them.  In fact there were 3 or 4 teams I was considering playing that I saw other saves being done on and I just wanted to go a different direction to start.  There were still a couple of other smaller English teams I had considered as well and didn't see posts on, but in my time in London I had been to a few Charlton matches and with them having a new owner and a manager that had just been fired in real life... it seemed to just fit what I wanted to do.  Better for my story.  I don't particularly know everything there is to know about them, so if I mess up something in their history I am sorry.  If for some reason it doesn't work out, I'll probably go and do a smaller club for fun, but I wanted to try something mid-major (American speak) to start.

My rules are simple.

Attribute masking is turned off.  I made my manager based on the recommendations of the game as to what type of manager Charlton would have.  I would assume the game doesn't allow crazy transfers so if it allows it, I'm going to assume it's not crazy.  While I know the game of football, I'm no expert by any means, so I'll just go along with what the game allows me to do for the most part.  I don't have any insider knowledge on tactics or anything that might be considered a gray area and I'm not going to do any research into anything that might be considered something I shouldn't know... such as players to sign or how to beat the game, if there are such articles.

But mostly I'm just here to have fun.  I've enjoyed reading many of the posts made here, the stories being written and seeing how you all live out your fantasies.  I can't promise mine will be the same, but it is mine.  

If you enjoy it great and if you don't, there is no accounting for taste.

That's a joke.

Let's see what Charlton has to offer.

Edited December 29, 2021 by Blarney

[Sonic Youth]

Nice intro (first post) and then a stream of consciousness in the form of a statement of intent 

11 minutes ago, Blarney said:

I'm not going to do any research into anything that might be considered something I shouldn't know... such as players to sign or how to beat the game, if there are such articles.

After much research, I’ve concluded that the best way to beat the game is to win! Or, just have lots of fun 

I guess being a Charlton fan might only be considered a mid-tier Addick! There’s probably no cure for that. Luckily (or hopefully), you don’t have that issue, and only Mr Graham Gibbons does!

I’ll keep reading 

[john1]

Good luck!  

[Blarney]

14 hours ago, Sonic Youth said:

Nice intro (first post) and then a stream of consciousness in the form of a statement of intent 

After much research, I’ve concluded that the best way to beat the game is to win! Or, just have lots of fun 

I guess being a Charlton fan might only be considered a mid-tier Addick! There’s probably no cure for that. Luckily (or hopefully), you don’t have that issue, and only Mr Graham Gibbons does!

I’ll keep reading 

I see what you did there... mid-tier Addick. 

And yeah I think I'm just going to try and have fun. 

Thanks! 

[Blarney]

11 hours ago, john1 said:

Good luck!  

Thank you. 

[Blarney]

June 14, 2021

My first real full day on the job... well, as the manager of course. 

Typically I would still be in vacation mode.  At least for another week.  The offseason - if you can call it an offseason - is very short.  The season ends at the end of April and starts up again with training camp at the first of July.  As a member of the backroom staff you don't even get that much time off.  You're typically around for at least another week after the season ends and you're back again a week or two before the team actually shows up.  And then even while you're off you're probably working on tactics or looking over players, making preparations for the coming season.  

I'm not complaining.  It's the life I chose and it's taken care of me and my family.  However, there is a lot to be accomplished in a very short time. 

I'll admit to something.  It's not like I thought I was going to get the job, but as soon as I knew it was open and that I had an interview, I started making plans.  What would I do if I actually did get it?  The last thing I wanted was for it to be the end of June and I was just hired and then I had a thousand decisions to make and no time to make them.

Probably the biggest decision - and the one I dreaded most - is my staff.  These were people that I have worked with, a few of them for the past couple of years.  I didn't want to make a lot of changes but I felt if a change needed to be made it was better to do it now, then wait a month or two and then make the change.  What I knew was that Jonnie Jackson was going to retain his position as assistant manager.  Steve Avory was going to continue as the Head of Youth Development.  He's been doing an excellent job there. I am going to move Steve Gallen to my old position of Director of Football.  He's been with the club since 2010 and I knew he'd do a good job there.

One position I knew I needed to make a change in was with my Chief Scout.  Paddy is a good man and he's a decent enough scout, however I truly feel I need someone a little more... accomplished in that position.  I'll begin looking for someone new immediately.  I'm also going to talk to the board about hiring a couple of more scouts as well.  We only have 2 on staff besides our Chief Scout and I think we need 2 more if we're ever going to take the necessary steps forward as a club.

I also know I'm going to be making changes with my performance analysts from top to bottom.  Right now we have Brett Shaw as our Head Performance Analyst and James Bradley as one of his assistants.  With the board's permission I'm going to hire a 2nd performance analyst... and then I'm going to replace both Brett and James.  Again, good people, but a change is necessary.

I also think we need 1 more coach and another physiotherapist.

The board is going to love me when I approach them with all these new staff positions along with the need to buy out certain contracts.  

But I'm prepared to make my case and see how much influence I have at the start of my new career.

[Sonic Youth]

I hope you get Bowie and not Dylan when asking the board for these changes.

[Blarney]

I feel before I get too far into this story I should explain who the Addicks are.

I think it's always necessary to understand the past to begin to understand the future.  Who Charlton Athletic is, is important to who they want to be.

Look, I know every single football club in England dreams of winning and competing and the Premier League and FA Cup and UEFA titles and all the glory.  But let's be realistic, since the inception of the Premier League back in 1992 only 7 teams have won the title.  It was 6 until last year.  Only 4 EFL clubs have won the UEFA Champions League.  The FA Cup has been much more competitive with a total of 44 different clubs holding raising that trophy.  Included in the winners circle - one time - is Charlton, as a matter of record. 

So competing is good.

Competing is also something that Charlton hasn't always done.

Charlton is an old football club.  They were formed back in 1905 and joined the Football League back in 1921.  They've played at the Valley since 1919 - for the most part, other than an odd year here or there (or 7 at one point as the case may be because of financial hardships).  

Pretty isn't it?

Okay, so these are pictures of the grounds from the years they were abandoned... the last time back in the late 80's to early 90's.

It's not pretty.  It's not a great history.  But it's not like other clubs haven't had financial difficulties.

But Charlton got through it, mostly with the help of our fans.  Actually more than help.  The fans ended up saving the club.

Without them, there may be no Charlton Athletic.

How about some pictures of better times? 

That's better.

That's the Valley.  Aptly named because the grounds were dug out from an old abandoned salt pit in Charlton.  In the early days there was very little money to build a proper stadium so the pitch was roped off and fans just stood around and watched the team play.

Eventually as time went on, more improvements were made and stands were built.  The last improvements came around the early 2000's and increased capacity of the stadium to just over 27,000.  Maybe somewhat surprisingly, the Valley is the 5th largest football stadium in London by seating capacity.  I say surprisingly because Charlton - as a club - hasn't had a great deal of success, especially lately.  But they do have passionate fans that have endured horrible ownership, financial ruin and scandals.  Those same fans also came together to bring the Addicks back to the Valley after 7 years of exile and they came together to oust former owner Roland Duchatelet, who basically ran the Athletics like a side-show.

Unfortunately the next ownership group wasn't much better and only held on to the club for a year before the current owner, Thomas Sandgaard took over. 

But that's the saga of Charlton Athletic -- 3 owners in the past 3 seasons, 11 different managers in the last 10.

No sanity.

No semblance of a reasonable direction.

And mostly... no winning.

The last time the Addicks were in the Premier League was 14 years ago, and even then it was just a brief stint of 7 seasons.  Charlton really hasn't had true success since the late 30's to early 50's when they were a mainstay in top flight football.  Their best finish was 2nd place in the top division back in 1937 (a 7th place finish in the Premier League in the 03/04 season is their best finish since the name change) and then their only real tournament success was the 1 FA Cup victory in 1947 (which followed a runner-up finish in 1946).

The last 6 seasons have been up and down to say the least.  We were in the Championship back in the 15/16 season and had been for the previous 3 seasons before that, but it had been a struggle.  Our best finish was 9th place, followed by 18th, 12th and then 22nd which saw us relegated to League One.  We stayed in League One for 3 years with respectable finishes all 3, culminating in our promotion back to the Championship after the 2018/2019 season.  Unfortunately we only lasted that one year with another 22nd place finish that saw us relegated again.  

This past season we managed a 20-14-12 record which was good enough for 7th place.

We need to do better.

And we will.

That's Thomas Sandgaard's promise to the fans.

And it's mine as well.

We will do better.

 

[Blarney]

Guys, I'm putting a hold on this save for a minute while I figure some things out.

As I said I'm new to FM22 and have been messing around with it for the past week while attempting to write this save up and I'm honestly just not feeling it.  I don't want to burn myself out attempting something that doesn't feel right to me, and I'm struggling with a direction with this club and my writing with it.  It took me over 2 hours just to do my last post because it didn't come naturally to me.  I know that may sound strange but for those that write and love to write, I would imagine you understand.  As I said when I started there were several clubs I was thinking about doing, but a few of those were already being done and I didn't want to piggy-back on those.  Charlton was one I was looking at just because of their history but as I kept playing them and writing them up, I felt something was missing.  My heart is elsewhere... another underdog club that's really been struggling of late... and has a long way to go to get back to any semblance of relevance.

However, there are some database issues with that club that I'm asking around to see how to fix.  

I'm just not sure what direction I'm going to go in but if I want to have fun with this, I need to be having fun, if that makes sense.

So for a bit I'm going to mess with the game and try to understand some things better before I get real deep into a save I'm not going to enjoy.

So putting a pin in this and may come back to it or figure out a different one if I find out how to fix some things in the databse - like team history for example - that I'd prefer was updated before I started it.... granted Charlton has the same issues where half the team history is missing and I'd rather it be completed that doing a 1 season save and having half the team history be filled incorrectly.  I know it's a minor thing and probably stupid, but tht's my OCD talking.  I'd prefer it to be more realistic and I can't see how to fix it.

Also, as I've spent more time perusing through the forum, I think my writing style more fits the FM Stories page rather than career updates... if I continue in my present form of writing.  These things I should have paid more attention to.

Regardless.... I'll be back once I sort things.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Blarney

[karanhsingh]

I quite liked the introduction, hope you get back to this