Jon1982

Part 3 - A Butcher, Baker and Candlestick Maker! It was mid-August and Glen Road was bathed in a golden evening sunlight. As I left the ground for the day I decided to take a walk up to Topcliffe Farm on the public footpath which leads up from the side of a nearby road. The view at the top of the hill where Topcliffe Farm sits is amazing. You get a true perspective of the geography of the area. Morley is famously built on seven hills and from this birds eye view perspective you can see the whole town laid out in front of you below. On the Morley skyline you can see the clock tower of the Town Hall and to the right of it the tower of the now derelict St Mary's in the Wood church. There were also some old mill chimneys which could still be seen, long since disused. Until 1974 Morley was a seperate town from Leeds, with all the administration and courts run from its town hall. It had its own independent spirit from the big city which lay to the right, although these days the physical gap between Morley and Leeds has diminished with the building of housing and retail developments. As you walk along the path, the City of Leeds skyine comes into view with all its "skyscrapers" and some of the tallest buildings in Yorkshire are on view. You can see right across the city to Cookridge on the other side añd plenty in between, including Headingley Cricket Stadium, Leeds University and of course, in the foreground, Elland Road. As I took in this marvellous view I wondered how many out of contract footballers were out there and whether they would come to Morley and play for free.. for the love of playing.. The first four trialists, Claxton, Higginson, Lee and Blakey had all fecked off to higher ranked clubs who would pay them a small part time wage to play. We couldn't do that.. We couldn't pay anybody.. Another tactic was to try and recruit some players from the reserve teams of local higher ranked clubs, who may be on non-contract. Ossett United were just down t'road and also Wakefield. Then there was Farsley Celtic up the ring road who may have someone who hasn't quite made it at Conference North Level, which seemed like a different planet to the Yorkshire Amateur League. There must be someone, anyone to improve this team... Then the next day..... First Signing - John Cyrus (DC) After a million trialists have come, gone and signed for other clubs, defender, John Cyrus finally signed an amateur contract with Morley Town. He has had previous with Frickley, Shaw Lane and Altrincham. Apparently his Mrs is from the area and wants to move back. He wants to get away from the missus to play football.. A sweet deal all round then... Josh Agbozo (DMC/MC) Like the 52 bus to town, two come at once.. Step forward Italian, Josh Agbozo, a defensive midfielder we badly need. His dad owns an Italian restaurant in Leeds and he is a waiter when he doesn't play football Sanchez Payne AMR/ST Make that a hat-trick of signings – Sanchez Payne a pacy striker who has all the attributes to do well at this level. Previous clubs include Goole, Pickering and Albion Sports after starting his career on Leeds United’s books. Friendly 5 Cavaliers v Morley Town We take a trip over the Pennines for this one to play Manchester Football League Division 2 outfit, the Cavaliers.. I try an ‘experimental’ 4-2-3-1 with yet more trialists and the three new signings. Team: Reay (trial) Markey, Cyrus, Bowe (trial) Fisher, Agbozo, Forster (trial) Davies, Payne, Marie (trial) Tidsell We dominate the opening exchanges without creating much, but then such is the pattern we concede with their first attack. Heath gets down the right and squares it for Pilch to stab home at the near post. Too easy.. We respond. Trialist Marie has a fierce shot tipped over the bar. Then after a smart four man move, young Arron Davies has a close range effort brilliantly saved. Then the same player hits the bar from inside the area and the ball falls kindly into the keeper’s arms. A goal down at half time. Into the second half and sub McAlea plays a sumptuous through ball to Sanchez Payne who is through on goal.. He unselfishly squares it to Marie who shoots tamely into the keeper’s hands.. Oh dear! Then with their only attack for a while, Forth plays an inch perfect crossfield ball to Keenan who takes it under his spell and buries it in the corner for 2-0.. For god’s sake.. Fisher gets forward from left back and feeds McAlea who rifles the ball home.. but a hair on his big toe was offside, so disallowed. Sub Valerio de Martin has looked lively and he is through on goal, but hits the outside of the post. Then in a rare moment of quality, Mario Ward picks the ball up and drives at the Cavaliers defence. He plays in De Martin who cooly dinks the ball over the keeper to halve the deficit. It is no more than we deserved. We should be winning 4 or 5 -2.. Then De Martin plays in Mario Ward, who is one on one with the keeper....and puts it wide.. That was the last kick of the game. We should have won this, but instead they are dancing in the streets of Cavaliers.. Final Score: Cavaliers 2-1 Morley Town Morley Town Sign Edward Busfield (DR/WBR) We have signed a good solid right back, who has had previous experience with several non-league clubs including, Emley, Brighouse and even a spell in Sweden with IFK Mora. Friendly 6 Morley Town v Leeds University The students of Leeds University have made the short trip through the Armley gyratory to take on our boys. I of course gave them free beer tokens to a bar in Morley Bottoms for afterwards as an incentive. Amazingly though they are actually in the league above us, so maybe they will not be pushovers. Meanwhile I’ve been busy trying to recruit yet more talent to come to Glen Road, including 42-year old former Darlington hotshot, Jeff Smith. Looking at his stats he’s still got it though, so lets see how he gets on. Team: Dewberry (trial) Busfield, Cyrus, Milne (trial) Winn (trial) Agzboo, Davies, Andrew, Payne, Marie (trial) Smith (trial) The visitors enjoy a spell of early possession but it comes to nothing. Payne has an effort deflected over, while Arron Davies hammers a free kick against the crossbar. Then the best move of the game sees Winn feed Jeff Smith who squares for Davies, but his shot is blocked by the keeper. Then the unthinkable happens. Hairyes (yes that’ his name hammers the ball home from the edge of the area. 1-0 to the flippin students.. I give them a dressing down at half time, even the trialists. That was simply not good enough. They seem motivated and start the second half well, with sub Mario Ward missing a golden chance to equalise. Then we do at last. Smith feeds Payne who turns it into the path of the onrushing Ward who unselfishly squares to Davies to belt the ball into the roof of the net for one each! We look in control and most likely to score, but then Leverett launches a missile over our defence and Heugh runs onto it and buries it in the corner... I look on in disbelief. 2-1 to the students.. We re-assert control. A corner is swung in by Davies to the far post where Cyrus leaps highest to nod in an equaliser. 2-2. Then disaster. Winfarrah stumbles almost Gerrard like and Stafford nicks the ball and blasts the ball home for 3-2. For god’s sake man! Anyway all things considered we put up a good fight against a team above us in the pyramìd. The students enjoyed their time at Morley Bottoms, a new bar area down the hill from the town hall and we drowned our sorrows with them. Nothing like a bit of team bonding, although there is much more rebuilding to be done before the season actually starts. Majed Alasttal (DL) I have snapped up this left back after being released by Farsley Celtic. A real coup for us I think. Joe Lamplough (DLC/MC) I’ve signed this experienced utility man who has been around the block in Yorkshire non-league football circles, enjoying spells over on the coast at Bridlington and Scarborough Athletic, after beginning his career at Hull City. Jeff Smith (ML/AML) I am not normally in the business of signing 42 year old players whatever level I manage at, but this was an exception. He’s stlll got more than enough quality for this league and will be a useful impact player off the bench potentially. Louis Rowe (ST) A magnificent capture for the club, this pacy Irish striker will make all the difference to our forward line. He started his career at Oakwell, but failed to make the grade at Barnsley, before dropping down the leagues, through Workington and others to end up as Morley's latest recruit. When he is not playing football he works at a well known pastry shop in the centre of Morley. David Reay (GK) This 29-year old finally provides us with a decent player between the sticks. He has had spells at Worksop, Stocksbridge and Buxton in his non-league career so far. When he is not playing football, Reay is a butcher at Leeds Market. Friendly 7: Farsley Celtic Juniors v Morley Town Despite their name, this is not a kids team and they play in the Supreme Division, the level above us, so they will be no pushovers. I line up in an experimental 4-3-3 in a bid to try and stop the rot of friendly defeats. Hopefully they’ll play more like S Club Juniors.. Team: Dewberry (trial) Busfield, Lamplough, Milne (trial) Alasttal, Law (trial) Agbozo, Davies, Ward, De Martin, Payne It’s even Steven, but we actually take the lead. Law feeds Sanchez Payne down the right channel and his low cross is turned home by De Martin. As is always the way though as soon s we score they respond, Cian Jones sliding home... grrr! Allattsal looks like a good signing already and he gets forward down the left. He feeds Mario Ward inside who swivels and finds a great cross for Sanchez Payne at the back post who volleys home (almost) Van Basten-like from the angle, but from much closer in than the great Dutchman. Into the second half and guess what we get a third goal! Busfield does well to intercept a crossfield pass and he feeds the impressive De Martin, whose slide rule pass plays in sub Evan O’Donnell, who cooly rolls the ball past the keeper into the corner of the net. 3-1. Then we hit the suicide button. They get the ball on the right. The ball loops up into the air awkwardly, the keeper gets underneath it and it ends up at the feet of Jones whose Granny could have tapped in for the easiest goal of his career. Then Muir turned home another cross from the right to equalise. I take some heart from this performance and had I not done the full Ranieri style tinkerman routine in the last 20 minutes, we would have won this. We looked good in a 4-3-3 as well and there were positives to take from this game, but still disappointed not to win. Final Score: Farsley Celtic Juniors 3-3 Morley Town Jones 20, 83 De Martin 12 Muir 88 Payne 44 O’Donnell 53 Friendly 8 – Morley Town v Beverley Town Reserves Our friends from the Humber Premier League Division 1 make the trip from East Yorkshire to take on our boys in our final friendly. Hopefully a win will give us the boost we need before the season gets underway. The squad is looking more settled now with less trialists and more permanent ones, but there is still work to be done in improving the squad. Team: Reay, Busfield, Cyrus, Lamplough, Allasttal, Hudson, Agbozo, Davies, Payne, Rowe, De Martin The visitors have the better of the opening exchanges, but it is us who draw first blood. Alattsall runs forward and releases De Martin down the left channel. He checks back inside to find Agbozo on the edge of the area. The Italian waiter let’s fly and it fizzes into the top corner. Brilliant goal! We take control of the game and then double our lead. The impressive Allasttal skips past his man on the left and floats in a high cross which the keeper cannot deal with as he flaps at it. The ball lands at the feet of Sanchez Payne who taps the ball into an open goal. Suddenly we are knocking the ball about with the confidence of a skilled La Liga side. Busfield’s ball into the channel is seized upon by Payne, who cooly half volleys into the corner for 3-0. Young DeMartin is having a stormer in the left side of the front three. He checks inside before clipping a beautiful ball over the defence which only Payne can get to and he slots home for his hat-trick. New signing Louis Rowe has been quiet, but when he receives the ball from a a DeMartin knockdown, the Irishman lashes the ball at the goalkeeper, who can only half parry the ball and it trickles into the corner of the net. 5-0 Morley Town. Then, Beverley Town Reserves start to play and hit three late goals, which took the polish off what had been a fine performance and only our second win of the pre-season campaign. Final Score Morley Town 5-3 Beverley Town Reserves Agbozo 15 Blair 78 Payne 37,39,47 Barker 81 Rowe 68 McNube 83 Jack Cowgill (DC) I’ve snapped up this central defender to bolster our squad. He started off with Barnsley but has turned out for fellow West Yorkshire teams, Ossett United and Nostell Miners Wefare since. Cowgill works in a factory which makes Candlesticks... We have now signed a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker!!! All we need to do now is get high enough in the English pyramid to qualify for the FA Cup! I can just hear Gerald Sindstadt now.. God rest his soul... First Team Squad for the New Season Goalkeepers David Reay Soni Moreman Lewis Love (yth) Defenders Sean Markey (DR) Edward Busfield (DR/WBR) Joe Lamplough (DLC/MC) John Cyrus (DC) Jack Cowgill (DC) Rodger Winfarrah (DC) Trent Hartas (DRLC) Scott Fisher (DRL) Majed Alasttal (DL/WBL) Midfielders Josh Azbogo (DMC/MC) Rob Hudson (yth) (DMC) Barry Woods (yth) (MRL) Scott McAlea (MR) Jeff Smith (ML/AML) Arron Davies (yth) (AMC) Steve Tanner (yth) (AMC) Sakou Tidsell (AMLC) Faris Pamment (AML) Forwards Evan O’Donnell (AML/ST) Sanchez Payne (AMR/ST) Louis Rowe (ST) Valerio De Martin (yth) (ST) Mario Ward (yth) (ST) There are other players in the U21/U18s who also may appear every now and again. With pre-season now over and a team full of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, are Morley Town ready to hit the ground running in their Yorkshire Amateur League campaign? Find out how they get on next time on The Ultimate English Pyramid Game!

Sorry lads (and lasses) I'm afraid I've had to leave her on my other save! Yes your right, not sure she would love Morley when it is shrouded in Pennine fog and mizzle. Secondly it would seem weird to be knocking around town with another woman that is not my wife, even in a story. It just wouldn't be right so unfortunately Charlotte has stayed in Cambodia until I write the Ultimate World FM Game Part 2

Part 2 - Were All t'Leeds Round 'ere Aren't We? Morley, West Yorkshire July 2022 “Oh yea! Oh yea! Oh yea!” shouted the town crier, ringing his bell loudly as he stood outside Morley Town Hall, the ornate late Victorian structure which dominates this West Yorkshire town. As ever on these occasions the man in the red robes had drawn a crowd, who had briefly halted their daily business in Queens Street to come and see what the fuss was about. This included pensioners who loved this kind of things, to curious children and small group of teenagers hanging out in Windsor Court, the adjacent shopping precinct, who were taking the mickey a little and giggling as the crier carried out his duties. “Morley Town football club have appointed Jonathan Rudd as their new manager.” I expected cheers and people hugging eachother, jumping for joy as a brand new era dawned for their town’s football team... but no, nothing, just silence as people just stood there.. Then one bloke, wearing a tracksuit and in a thick local accent shouted, “Were all t’Leeds round ‘ere aren’t we!” The crowd cheered and there were a few chants of “Marching on Together...” and "Come on t'Leeds.." I stood there, invisible... This was of course the famous song from the very illustrious club about one mile away. If you stand in the centre circle of Morley Town’s home ground, Glen Road and look North, you could see the floodlights and the top of the stand of the famous Elland Road Stadium. Many of the pubs and bars in Morley had Leeds United murals, signed shirts, decorations and memorabilia from it's illustrious history, Charles, Charlton, Bremner, Lorimer, Strachan, Kewell, err Danny Pugh.. Beckford, Becchio and of course Bielsa.. and all the famous names who had worn the hallowed white shirt down the years. There was no doubt that this is a football mad part of the world, with some rugby league and cricket thrown in as well, but I had a lot of work to do to raise the profile of Morley’s football team which lay in the shadows of the monolith of a club just one mile away. The town crier finished with the day’s news and the good people of Morley went back to their shopping and whatever they were up to in the centre of their town on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I then walked up to Morley Town FC from Queen’s Street to meet the chairman Bryan Wilkins and the players. Where are Morley Town on The English Pyramid? Morley Town play in the Yorkshire Amateur Premier Division, which is Level 12 on the football pyramid. That’s eleven promotions from The Premier League and at the time of writing, ten for a local derby against the Mighty Whites from down t’road. I am here to try and make that happen, but it will be a long slog. They play their home games at Glen Road. At the moment the biggest games of the season are the Asquith Avenue derby against Gildersome Old Boys and the A6110 Ring Road derby against Beeston Juniors... Board Expectations The Board expect me to finish in mid-table. The supporters expect a fight against relegation. I think if we can recruit sufficient quality into the club, with some experience at playing higher in the English pyramid, then we can compete at the top of the table. In all honesty, the quality at the club made up players created by Football Manager, not real life ones, left a little to be desired and would require much activity in the transfer market in order to compete well in this league and move up the pyramid. Meeting the Players Note: This is the bunch of random newgens that the game automatically adds because wisely, upon loading the game with the whole English pyramid I ticked the "Add players to existing teams" box, which automatically generates them and are added to every single team in the pyramid.. So if your name is Rob Hudson, or Sean Markey, or indeed, Rodger Winfarrah and happen to live in Morley, then this is not you and just a strange coincidence.. Nor are any of these players real Morley Town footballers.. unless there is a very strange coincidence and there really is a left winger called Faris Pamment who plays for the club in real life. The squad I inherited its fair to say were not the best, but very realistic for the level of football we are at, which I like. There was however room for improvement in all departments. There were a few promising youngsters though, who played for us on a weekend and attended local schools, such as attacking midfielder Arron Davies and striker, Valerio de Martin. Scott Fisher who was older but looks like a capable full back who can play both right and left, but other than that not a great deal of talent to work with. One Man and His Chairman As it currently stood there was just me, Bryan Wilkins the chairman, an old bald headed man with a moustache and a bunch of players at the club. There was no backroom team in place because I foolishly forgot to tick the "Add Key Staff" option when loading the game. I needed to act fast to get a physio in place at least before our first friendly against Ashby Park Rovers Resreves in just 5 days time... Otherwise I may have to dig out my First Aid Certificate I did as a teenager at school back in 1995.. After our first light pre-season session I prepared some job adverts for an Assistant Manager, Head Physio, Head Scout and Coach and stuck them online.. Will anybody want to do these jobs for free in the world of football? Supporters Screen Oooh this is new (and perhaps overdue) a Supporters expectations screen. We have a 14% Hardcore Morley Ultras who live on the nearby Glen Road Estate ,24% are families who are from the nearby Bird Estate and 17% casual supporters who make the trip up the hill from Churwell every now and again when Leeds United are playing away down t’south somewhere.. First Press Conference The press conference garnered little interest from the local press and just a 16 year old Elliot Bartley, who was on work experience at BBC Radio Leeds turned up to ask questions. He remained expressionless throughout as I outlined my excitement on taking the role as Morley manager and my vision for the club. I may as well have been talking to a brick wall.. Starting to Build the Squad The first steps in building up the squad into a decent one was to see which locally based footballers were available on a free and might want to drop down to Yorkshire Amateur League Level to help our cause. Out of the seven available Leeds-based players, four answered the call and turned up to Glen Road on a warm July evening to begin training and be in contention for the starting line up in the first pre-season friendly in just two days time. Ben Higginson (GK) Harrison Blakey (DC) Dominic Claxton (DC) Redmond Lee (ST) Friendly 1 – Ashby Park Reserves v Morley Town We make the rather unnecessarily long trip down the M62 East to North Lincolnshire outfit, Ashby Park Rovers of The Scunthorpe and District League who play at the Co-op Playing fields. I line up in a simple 4-4-2, with all the trialists starting to see what they can do. Team: (4-4-2) Higginson (trial) Hartas, Blakey (trial) Claxton (trial) Fisher, Hudson, Tanner, McAlea, Lee (Trial) De Martin, Tidsell We don’t start well and Greenlee their striker wriggles clear and beats the keeper with a near post shot he really should have done better with. Immediately though we equalise through Tidsell with a fierce shot from the angle. Then we take the lead. Tanner’s perfectly weighted through ball reaches Redmond Lee who makes it 2-1 with a simple finish. Nice way for the trialist to impress. McAlea gets down the right wing. His cross is overhit but Tidsell retrieves, drops his shoulder to fool the defender before sliding a low cross for Lee to tap home for number 3! The Morley Ultras are chanting “Sign him up” already! 3-1 at half time. I make a few changes without doing the full Sven. On 60 minutes, sub Andrew is upended in the box and fellow sub, right back Sean Markey makes it four with a penalty straight down the middle. Blakey’s long ball was chased down by Higginson, he turns it back to Paige Andrew who cuts inside and fires in a low cross which is diverted home by young Mario Ward! 5-1 Morley! Brilliant stuff for the first game! We travel back to West Yorkshire in great spirits. Final Score Ashby Park Rovers 1-5 Morley Town Greenlee 12 Tidsell 20 Lee 31,40 Markey (61 pen) Ward 63 Friendly 2 – Morley Town v Marske United We host Northern League outfit, Marske United in my second friendly. I go in with a 4-4-2 again as the players seek to catch my eye before the opening league game. Team: Moreman, Markey , Blakey (trial), Claxton (trial), Fisher, Hudson, Tanner, McAlea, Lee (trial), O’Donnell, Tidsell After two minutes a long punt upfield from Markey should be comfortable for the keeper,.. but he fumbles it, straight to Redmond Lee who passes the ball into the empty net! 1-0 Morley. On ten minutes Marske swing in a free-kick.. but there’s pushing in the box.. Penalty! Kennedy steps up and sends Moreman the wrong way, one each. As the half reaches a conclusion, the North Eastern side look the more dangerous and hit the bar, before taking the lead moments later. A lovely through ball sends Scott free and he confidently slides the ball past Moreman for 2-1. Into the second half and we attack with vigour. Redmond Lee spurns a great chance to equalise after good work from sub Arron Davies, while sub Mario Ward has a goal chalked off for offside after more good work from the young Welshman, Davies. At the other end though they hit the post twice and their sub, Church blasts the ball over the bar when clean through. A 2-1 defeat, but we gave a good account of ourselves against a side from a higher level in the pyramid. Final Score Morley Town 1-2 Marske United Lee 3 Kennedy 12 (pen) Scott 45 Friendly 3 Bagby & Balk v Morley Town We are going back to school for this one, Thirsk School to be precise, in North Yorkshire, so a quick trip up the A1 and back for our boys today. I include a few new trialists who have answered my recruitment call. Let’s see if they are any good! Team: Moreman, Croft (trial) Winfarrah, Claxton (trial) Hartas, Hudson, O’Reagan (trial) McAlea, Lee (trial) Payne (trial) Price Match Action We look quite solid in a 4-4-2 and look the most likely to break the deadlock at first. McAlea has an effort saved low down by the keeper, while trialist Sanchez Payne flashes a shot just over. Their midfielder Lloyd scythes down O’Reagan and earns a red card. They are down to ten men. Then in a rare outbreak of quality, the three trialists combine, Croft sends Lee down the right channel who squares it for Payne to slot home. But we fall asleep from the kick off and a smart four man move from the home side sends Walker free and he fires it past Moreman for an unexpected equaliser. Just before half time, Lee misses a gilt edged chance to put us ahead after smart work from trialist O’Reagan. Into the second half and sub trialist Jordan Deacey looks lively and feeds McAlea, who puts n a low cross for Payne, but the keeper claws it away. Then from nowhere a free kick and amazingly the hosts take the flipping lead from a looping header which finds its way past Moreman into the top corner from their Finnish “superstar” Vieheranta.. 2-1 down. To make matters worse, young Hudson goes in hard on their midfielder and earns himself an early bath, making it ten each side. A really bad day at the office is compounded when Bagby break away from our corner and Snelgrove taps home a simple third. 20 shots to 10 and they win 3-1. Good job it was only a friendly.. Much work to be done.. Final Score: Bagby & Balk 3-1 Morley Town Walker Payne Vieheranta Snelgrove New Backroom Team Finally someone has answered by job adverts... New Assistant Manager Sam O’Hara I have snapped up 32-year old Assistant Manager, Sam O’Hara! Finally somebody is willing to join me at Glen Road. Welcome to Morley Sam! He has already made a few positive suggestions as to how we can move forward, so first impressions are good. New Coach I welcome Ernie Dyer as our new first team coach. He also wanted the Assistants job, but offered him this role instead. Welcome to Glen Road. With a name like Ernie, I’m sure you’ll fit right in! New Physio Dan Harmison, Steve's idiot brother has given up his time to cure my injured players. Thanks mate, We no longer have to hire a local quck to heal any injured players on matchdays. New Chief Scout We finally have a chief scout, after advertising for one and initially receiving zilch responses. Finally Stu Scanlon (not to be confused with Angela) put his name forward and we snapped him up, cos nobody else really wanted to come. Welcome to Morley Stu! New Scout Stu had a mate called Charlie who likes to watch local football matches and spot talent, so we snapped him up as well to work under Stu. Friendly 4 Rothwell Town v Morley Town We make the short trip of one junction down the M62 eastbound to the town of Rothwell. There are more trialists in the team as I still seek to make my first signing after a lot of comings and goings. Team: Moreman, Croft (trial) Bowe (trial) Cyrus (trial) Fisher, Kennedy (trial) Forster (trial) McAlea, Payne (Trial) Wetherall, Tisdell It’s even although Rothwell have a great chance which is beaten away by Moreman. Then out of nowhere they have a free kick on the edge of the box. Banks powers it Beckham-style into the top corner, keeper no chance and its 1-0 to them. In the second hlf we come out and try to equalise. We thought we had when Tidsell fired home from close range, but his big toe was offside. Then, a deep corner from Rothwell as nodded home by Rhys Sharples. The final nail in our coffin was yet another Worldie free kick, this time from Leam Forshaw. We reply with a consolation from the spot when Waide Andrew was felled. Young Valeron de Martin made no mistake. 3-1 the final score. We were undone by two worldie free kicks Beckham would have been proud of and could not take our chances. Disappointing.. Rothwell Town 3-1 Morley Town Banks 32 De Martin 90 Sharples 72 Hearn 82 After about 200 trialists have trained and played with Morley Town, only to be snapped up by clubs further up the pyramid, will anybody come to Glen Road and play for us, or will we have to make do the squad that the game has given us? Find out next time on The Ultimate English Pyramid Game!

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Part 1: Introduction - Welcome to England! Amongst the rolling green hills of Merrie Olde England, in a forgotten corner of an old industrial town or city, from the mass expanses of Hackney Marshes to the village playing fields the national sport that was invented on these shores 150 years ago is still played every week purely for love of the beautiful game. There is no money, there are no Bentleys, no Gucci kit bags, no fame or glory, but just pure passion for the most popular sport on the planet. This is the grassroots, the backbone of English football, in all weathers come rain or shine, hail, sleet, snow or fog, the muck and nettles, the freezing cold changing rooms, the muddy goalmouths, the roast dinner and pints after the game at the pub, the one man and his dog... Welcome to England! This is the Ultimate English Pyramid Game!!!

Thanks

Thankyou all for reading The Ultimate World FM Game and getting it to 15,000 views on this forum alone. After 3 years of playing the same save I have "upgraded" to FM23 and decided to start another story (a wee bit closer to home than Cambodia). More details to follow....

Can my story, The Ultimate World FM game be considered as completed? Spoiler alert but I am working on a new story and if I did a part 2 of the UWFMS in the future it would be a seperate thread with a new country/team but with references to the first edition..

Part 76 - Farewell EDC! My tenure at EDC had come to an abrupt end and in one of the worse ways possible. My interfering new chairman, Sann Veasna sold, or gave away one of best players, Men Samnang to our bitter rivals, Khemera without telling anybody else and it only came to light on the morning of a televised match against Phnom Penh Crown. This was a clear breach of trust between manager and chairman, one that is essential for the successful running of a football club on and off the field. I had not known Sann Veasna long, but it was clear to me by his actions how this was going to play out and it was something I did not want to be part of any more.. His interfering ways in recruitment, training and with some of the players themselves had affected everybody from the cleaning ladies to me the manager. There was an underlying reason also and that was an acceptance that while we remained semi-professional, we would always be the bridesmaids in the C-League, finishing around 5th each season. Thirdly this is The Ultimate World FM Game and I've only been to one country so far!! So, where did we leave off last time..?? Yes I'm in a fit of anger after leaving EDC and driving home. As I was doing this, I got a call from Nen Borey. I parked up at the side of the road "Jonathan, What's happened?" "I've quit Nen.." "Ohh Jonathan.." "I'm fed up of his BS" I was aware that Nen Borey may have his eyes on taking over, as he had been building up his coaching badges and had already been linked to both the Vishaka and Svay Rieng jobs. As far as I'm concerned he was welcome to it.. "I'm done with EDC Nen, I'm going elsewhere." "Are you leaving Cambodia?" "Probably.." "Jonathan it won't be the same without you. Please reconsider." "No Nen. My mind is I'm done with EDC and with Cambodia. It's been great working with you Nen, but its time to move on to pastures new." The conversation ended and I continued on my way home. When I arrived home I messaged Charlotte, who was at the hospital to tell her the deed was done, but I'd give her more details later. I made a cup of tea and then fell asleep for a while. I should be taking training now.. then having a scouting meeting.. well I won't be missing the latter.. but I missed the lads, the banter, developing young players into better ones, that kind of thing. Our next game was a very winnable away match against Build Bright United and we would be doing our Chance Creation and conversion routines which was always a favourite.. Later on, Charlotte stopped by to cheer me up and I told her of the parting conversation I'd had with my now ex-boss, Sann Veasna. She was shocked at how dismissive he'd been. The big elephant in the room though was where would we go next? Would we stay in Cambodia, or leave for pastures new? My managerial stock was pretty high in this country and could probably get whatever job I wanted. Nagaworld, Boeung Ket and Phnom Penh Crown had at one time or another offered me the job, but each time I had turned them down, believing I could win the title with part-time EDC. It turned out Charlotte and I both wanted to leave Cambodia for different reasons. Me for footballing reason, in that I wanted to challenge myself in (no disrespect) a bigger and more developed football nation than Cambodia. My partner on the other hand had too many bad memories of Phnom Penh, living in poverty for a time with her mother and after her death going through a low period in her life which led her to the much documented series of failed relationships. She also wanted an adventure somewhere else. A fresh start. Part of me wanted to get the country generator out again and go somewhere completely different, but waiting for those leagues to load and new jobs to become available would take too long and I had to think of Charlotte as well. It would have to be somewhere she was happy to relocate to as well. Taking Charlotte to manage a team in the high Arctic, or on a desert island wouldn't perhaps be the best idea for the long term future of our relationship! We agreed on either Thailand or Malaysia, Indonesia or Australia. The latter was notoriously difficult to access politically and as there were only about ten teams in the A-League, not many managerial vacancies, even though a new life there would of course be amazing! I updated my Management CV and looked at the special Football Management Job Centre page in the sky to see which clubs had vacancies. There were numerous Thai clubs, mainly in the amateur leagues, but I would need to at least sign for a semi-pro outfit so I could earn a wage. I needed to earn money, I couldn't just do this for fun. There were no jobs going in Malaysia or Indonesia at this point, just Thailand and some in the other leagues loaded, Papua New Guinea and East Timor, but neither of us fancied going there. The next day... Inevitably news of my departure had travelled fast to the pages of the Khmer Times, with a picture of me leaving The Electricity Stadium.. I'm not sure when the picture was taken, but it certainly wasn't yesterday.. Anyway the news had reached the fans and Sann Veasna had wasted no time in slagging me off on social media. He'd obviously got one of his henchmen to tweet the below... “Rudd was absolutely robbing a living at EDC, so glad he’s gone.” Charming! The press rang me up for an interview which I duly obliged and with all the bluntness of my Yorkshire roots, told them how it bloody was. The chairman had sold one of my best players, Men Samnang to Khemera without telling me, rendering my position as manager untenable and that while I bore no grudge with the player himself, I was more than upset with the chairman for forcing him out of the club to one of our rivals. He had done this so his signing, Jefri Henri Bisai, who again I bore no grudge with and was a good player, could play instead and that if Veasna had any ounce of footballing brain would have realised that I was playing both in a 4-3-3 formation and because Men Samnang could also play as a left inverted winger and the Indonesian was a central midfielder I could if I so desired play them in the same eleven in a 4-4-2 formation as well if required... A few days later..... It's fair to say I was moping around my apartment, missing the lads and missing the preparations for a big match. The only bright spark of the day was a visit from Charlotte after her hospital shift. She had promised a meal out that evening to cheer me up. I'd best get ready I suppose.. She arrived at 5pm, looking as resplendent as usual. Boy I loved her.. We got in the taxi and headed towards the centre of Phnom Penh. Charlotte was grinning from ear to ear throughout the journey... What was she up to? She was hatching another one of her schemes again, I could tell... The taxi pulled up in Sisworth Quay. I momentarily looked over at the spot where I had nervously waited for Charlotte on that balmy evening around one year ago. We had come such a long way since then. I had back then been secure in my job and the team was doing well. She led me into a bar, again the same one where we had officially got together on that night after she had explained about her previous relations with my now ex-chairman Hem Vutha. Upon entering the bar I noticed that an area of it had been roped off for a party. It was full of people and my first thoughts were whether or not we could get a seat and that it may take a while for us to get served. Suddenly all the people in the bar stood up and started clapping and cheering. A few chants of "Jonny Rudd's Electric Army," rang out... The bar was full of EDC fans...? I looked closer.. Nen Borey came over and shook my hand.. There was Chan Vannak my Head of Youth Development and... Sok Oeun Pidor!..... Taboula... Nhem,,.. Ratana... all stood applauding.. Raymond Etim!.. Tuy Oudom,... Chea Samnang.. Leap Bo... Um Makara... Min Rattanak.... Men Samnang (of all people)... Maol Daravon,, oh my god,, He was there,,, Keo Udom.... Anderson Gbayoro.. Mat Noron.... All the lads were there and coaching staff. Then Hem Vutha, the ex-chairman stepped forward and quietened the crowd... "Jonathan.. we just wanted to say thankyou thankyou thankyou for being our manager... Electricitie Du Cambodge and all the success you brought our team, for winning the Hun Sen Cup and The Kings Cup and establishing EDC as a strong C-League Club and improving football in the C-League as a whole. "We are very sorry you are leaving and things ended the way that they did with that ba***rd Sann Veasna! I wish I had never sold the club to him! But.. tonight is not about him, but about this amazing Englishman who managed our team with such distinction and honour.. " Well at least you can go to Malaysia now Jonathan without having to face me when you get back! Hahaha" "You must thank the lovely Charlotte here for arranging everything at such short notice, but we could not miss this opportunity to say thankyou for all you have done for us..." The whole room cheered and raised their glasses. Charlotte was grinning from ear to ear. "Jonathan a few words??" I was completely unprepared for this.. "Well... This is such a surprise... I thought Charlotte here was just taking me out for a meal and I've ended up here with you lot.. Those in the team I hope you remember that you have an important game Saturday! Cue a few laughs.. "But seriously I came to EDC not knowing what to expect.... how I would manage to train a team without speaking Khmer?.. How I would manage against opponents I'd never even heard of? You guys all helped me through that and did yourselves proud both as people and footballers. It has been the most amazing experience of my life to be the EDC manager and has been an honour to bring two trophies into your cabinet. Charlotte, thankyou so much for organising this and getting everybody together. Up the EDC!!" I then spent the best night of my life, chatting to all who had come to celebrate, reminiscing about old matches, the time we helped two fishermen pull a fish out the Mekong River on the way back from a cup tie against Mondul Kiri, the trip to Angkor Wat before the first Hun Sen Cup Final, signing "The Cambodian Pele" and of course winning the cup. All brilliant memories from this wonderful little football club... I managed to catch a word with Men Samnang and turned out that he had been practically manhandled out of the club on the morning of the Phnom Penh Crown game by a couple of Veasna's heavies.. He'd turned up at the ground on the morning of the game as normal, looking forward to taking on The Crown live on television, but was told at the door that he had been "sold" to Khemera.. and that if he contacted me about it then they would do more than just manhandle him into a taxi.... While the night in general had cheered me up, hearing this story from a talented young footballer, who was just 19 years old made me fear what the future may hold for all the staff at Electricite Du Cambodge FC with Sann Veasna in charge.. The End (of this part at least)

Phnompenh Andy! Thanks for your message and glad you are still reading the story. No i'm staying with FM21 for now, as I have to think of the time factor with the story, because any new game would have to begin in 2026 and going on holiday for 3 years would take an age.. When I first started the story the intention was this to be a journeyman save taking in several countries and may be finding my way back to Blighty, but I kind of got attached to EDC and Cambodia so stayed there (in real time) for nearly 3 years!

Thanks oche. I wouldn't say bigger club, but certainly a very different challenge. All will be revealed soon, as well as (BenArsenal) the aftermath of my sudden departure from EDC...

Part 75 - Untenable! Life at EDC was not the same. My autocratic chairman, Sann Veasna had imposed himself on the whole club and his meddling nature was beginning to have a huge effect on everybody concerned. It wasn't just the two 'surprise' signings of Bisai and Doloh, who had turned out to be decent footballers, as well as decent human beings, but he was everywhere. I couldn't go five minutes without seeing those bloody sunglasses and that annoying grin. He was there at training, in the dressing room before and after matches, telling me and my staff what they should or shouldn't be doing. He even attended scouting meetings. His predecessor, Hem Vutha always kept out of the football side of things and trusted me and my team to get on with our jobs. While he was present at matches and only appeared in the dressing room when invited, such as during both the Hun Sen Cup finals we had been involved with, he showed no interest in team affairs. Sann Veasna was the exact opposite. The tension was rising and it would take just one thing to light the spark... And guess what... The transfer window had just swung open. What could possibly go wrong? The Morning of The EDC v Phnom Penh Game It was Saturday 30th May 2026 and it was the day of the big, televised C-League game against Phnom Penh Crown. As was ritual for home fixtures the players would meet at 12, have a pre-match meal and then prepare for the game. We congregated in the dressing room and after the usual chat and banter was flying around amongst the lads, we began our brief meeting about team selection, who was in the team, who wasn't on the bench and remind them of the formation and tactics "So lads, Phnom Penh Crown. We have a good record against them and I feel confident of victory." "I'm going in with a 4-2-3-1... Som in goal, Sophorn you keep your place at right back, Mol, Adekunjo, Ratana, Makara your in the holding role, Bisai, Nhem and Pidor you are left and right wing and Men Samnang you are in the number 10 role behind Taboula." I looked round. "Men Samnang.." Where's Men Samnang?" "Anyone know?" There was silence. "Does anyone know where Men Samang is?" More silence.. "He hasn't accidently been put in the reserve squad?" "No replied Nen Borey, they don't have a game till Tuesday?" With that in swaggered Sann Veasna. "Sann, where is my number 10, Men Samnang?" Do you know where he is?" "Oh he signed for Khemera this morning." He replied glibly. "WHAT?" "Men Samnang has gone to Khemera.>" "Yeah he's gone.." "And you didn't think to tell me that my f****** best player this season, number 10, capped five times for his country aged just 18 and free-kick specialist has left the club and you did not tell me! "Well it's OK you've got Bisai who I signed. He can play." "That's not the point! You sold a player behind my back! The players looked on astonished as me and my chairman argued in front of them. "Maybe there's been some misunderstanding." reasoned Nen Borey. "Misunderstanding! He's sold our best player to one of our f***** rivals.."~ "I think we need to discuss this later. We have an important match today" and with that he vanished. I was fuming! Match 11 EDC v Phnom Penh Crown The EDC bandwagon rolls on to a home fixture against the Crown, which was live on BTV Cambodia, somethign which I really could have done without given the mood I was in. I After Men Samnang’s shock departure, Sung Rot takes his place in the AMC role. Mat Mol is back at the back and Um Makara moves into DMC. Our opponents lie in a lowly 8th. Team: Som, Sophorn, Mol, Adekunjo, Ratana, Makara, Bisai, Sung Rot, Nhem, Taboula, Pidor Match Action We start on the front foot and Sophorn’s cross sees Taboula have an effort tipped over the bar from the angle. But. A random free kick results in Prak Udom volleying home Chay Daravon’s free kick.. They look dangerous n the break. Soksana fires just wide, while Bisai whistles a free kick just past the post. 1-0 at the break. Into the second half I go 4-2-4. We somehow can’t get up for this game and we lack the spark that Men Samnang would have given us.. I change Dara for Taboula and Um Mony Udom for the ineffectual Pidor. Un Mony Udom forces a flying save from the keeper after a direct free kick. However we just cannot seem to get the ball off them. Our misery is compounded when Soksana barges his way past Mol and fires a low shot past Som for 2-0.. We’ve just never looked like winning this game no matter what we did. A disappointing defeat and our 5 match winning run comes to an end. Not that I care. This will be my last game in charge. I have made up my mind. Final Score EDC 0-2 Phnom Penh Crown Udom 17 Soksana 76 After the post match ritual had been completed in which I (think) I successfully managed to hide my thoughts about quitting EDC to the Cambodian Match of The Day cameras, I had a very important discussion to have with my better half. As normal after a home fixture I met up with Charlotte, who as usual had been at the game and we headed to one of our favourite Thai restaurants in downtown Phnom Penh. While we were both disappointed about the result, it was not really at the forefront of my mind. She had been aware of my growing frustrations in the job and the new chairman's interfering ways, but at this point had no idea about the Men Samnang situation and the fact that I felt my role as manager was becoming untenable. Funnily enough it was she who brought up the subject of my former attacking midfielder. "Where was Men Samnang? Was he injured in the warm up?" "Funny you should mention him.. He's left EDC and gone to Khemera." I explained about the pre-match argument between me and my chairman, of which she listened to open-mouthed. "And he didn't tell you? What are you going to do?" "Resign." She paused for a moment, sweeping her beautiful hair down her back and shoulders. "What are you going to do, are you going to find another job in Cambodia?" This was not something I had thought about, but there had been an itch with me for some time to try my hand in another country, one a bit more advanced than Cambodia, possibly Thailand. "Well let's see how things go, but I need to ask you something." "If I was to get a manager's job in another country would you join me?" She paused. That beautiful smile spread across her face. She nodded and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Yes... I just want to be with you. Wherever we go they will always need nurses and well lets get out of Phnom Penh and Cambodia. I have nothing but bad memories here." Yes Yes Yes let's start a new life somewhere else." We hugged across the table and held hands. My mind was made up. I would hand in my resignation from EDC in the morning. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I felt nervous as I drove to The Electricity Stadium perhaps for the final time. As I travelled memories of the last six years came flooding back.. The Kevin Keegan-esque rant in the press conference, winning the Hun Sen Cup and Kings Cup, my trip to Angkor Wat with Nen Borey, signing the Cambodian Pele, Charlotte and I tapping up players at the club's end of season bash. Amazing memories from an amazing club which would forever be in my heart. I climbed the stairs and knocked on the boardroom door. His secretary let me in and asked me to sit down. Sann Veasna emerged from behind his desk. He laid on the charm as usual. "Jonathan! great to see you!" What can I do for you?" "Sann.. I wish to resign from EDC with immediate effect.." Even the normal cool Sann Veasna paused. "You know yeah your right I mean it's not like were really going anywhere under your management. We were a pile a s**** against Phnom Penh Crown and I don't really want you as my manager any more. I think there's better out there.." I was insulted. "Sann I've given six f****** years of my life to this club, in a country and league which is completely unfamiliar to me. I've taken this team to two cup finals, one of which we won and have consolidated EDC as a respected and established club in the Cambodian C-League. This club is in a far better place than when I took over six years ago when we were constantly fighting relegation. I am proud of my achievements here, but you know what, I think it's time to move on as I cannot work under a complete p**** like you who sells my best player to a rival without even telling me. I quit," I stormed out the room, ran down the stairs trying to fight the tears, got into my car and drove out of the Electricity Stadium for the very last time. My tenure of managing the first club on The Ultimate World FM Game - EDC of Cambodia was over, but where will I end up next? Find out next time on the Ultimate World FM Game! to be continued.......

Thanks Ben, I'm guessing this is what has happened at EDC. It may be to do with energy costs going up as well which meant they had less money to spend on the football club. The difference is that Asian clubs are often linked to national institutions (police, army, energy company, brewery, casino etc) rather than towns and cities as in Europe which means their fortunes are linked to how much money these businesses make and maybe in harder times the associated football club is the first to go in cost cutting measures.

I was very sad to hear that according to the EDC Wikipedia page, the real life club was sadly dissolved at some point this year. Since I have been writing this story and when football in Cambodia resumed after the pandemic, the real EDC were actually in the Second Division and were promoted back to the C-League as Champions in 2022. Unfortunately this year they could not fulfil their fixtures (not sure of the reasons why I presume financial difficulties) and they disbanded, which is a great shame. EDC had a great little Facebook page and even streamed live matches on there, which was quite surreal for me to watch and see their stadium, players and fans thousands of miles away in the UK. Strange coincidence but their goalkeeper, was in fact Sokundara Som who also is my first choice keeper on the game, but was not part of the original squad. Quite what the club thought of a mad Englisman liking their posts, or whether they were aware of my story I'm not sure.. It seemed like a lovely little club though. If any of you guys who live in this part of the world have more details on their demise that would be appreciated. R.I.P EDC 2015-2023 Hopefully the spirit of the club will live on in this story!

Part 74 - Keep Calm and Carry on Up The C-League This was the carry-on film that never made it to the big or small screen, only the cutting room floor.. An Englishman trying to win the Cambodian Premier League title with a part time team representing an Electricity Company....Seven seasons in and we have only one Hun Sen Cup and the Kings Cup (The Cambodian version of the Community Shield) to show for my efforts. Maybe I have overachieved, with a team that can only offer players appearance money and a little bit less if summoned from the subs bench, or maybe I have underachieved with the talent I have had over the years. Have I taken this team as far as I can? With the help of my new chairman, can I build a team that can challenge the four professional clubs again? The future begins here, starting with my first ever opponents, Bati Youth in the cup. Match 7 – EDC v Bati Youth – Hun Sen Cup 2nd Qualifying Round 05/05/26 It’s showdown time! I’ve been counting the days until we get the opportunity to inflict sweet revenge on the acne ridden kids of The Bati Youth Academy. They are currently in 8th place in the Cambodian 2nd Division Group C and an easy win is predicted for Team Electric. I field a strong team, but replace my two strikers with Noron and Nhem Dara to give them some minutes. Team: Som, Sophorn, Adekunjo, Mol, Ratana, Soksuena, Men Samnang, Tuy Oudom, Dara, Noron, Pidor We dominate possession but fail to create a clear cut chance. Then on the near side of the pitch, Tuy Oudom pulls up. This looks serious and is stretchered off the pitch. Not the start I had in mind. Chhim Pheara replaces him. We look good but again that final ball is lacking. Dara gets down the right and his cross finds Noron, but the defender blocks his effort for a corner.. We have possession but cannot break down the stubborn kids, who have if anything perfected the offside trap as Noron and Dara keep stepping into it. This is getting a little frustrating.. Nil Nil at the break. Everybody in the ground is asleep.. I go 4-3-3 with Noron, Dara and Pheara forming a three pronged attack. Pidor now in a Mezzala role flights a lovely ball for Dara to run onto and his shot strikes the foot of the post and wide.. Then, relief.. Ratana gets down the left from full back. His low cross causes panic in the Bati defence and after a bit of a scramble the ball falls to Nhem Dara who tucks the ball into the corner of the net. It wasn’t pretty but it was exactly what we needed. We look the most likely to double our advantage, Dara’s cross to Pheara on the far post results in the youngster skewing his effort wide. We are just once cock up way from disaster though. This almost happens from a corner where Men Samnang hacks a header off the line.. Concentrate,, So much for a handsome victory, sweet revenge on those pesky kids, we are hanging on a little here.. I slow the tempo down and to short passing and this seems to do the trick as we re-assert control. Nhem Dara who has played well gets down the left, before checking inside and delivering a fine cross to the onrushing Pheara at the far post who this time makes no mistake, placing the ball into the corner of the net with a first time cushioned volley, for a more comfortable 2-0 scoreline. Job done and into the next round we go. Thankfully lightning doesn’t strike twice! Final Score – Bati Youth 0-2 EDC Dara 52 Pheara 89 Match 8 – National Defence v EDC We travel to the army team in reasonable spirits, knowing a win here would propel us into the top half of the table. I go in with a 4-2-3-1 with Chea Samnang making his first start of the season and Um Makara moving to centre back in the absence of the suspended Mat Mol. The hosts surprisingly languish at the bottom of the table with just four points, but seem to have a reasonable team at their disposal. Team: Som, Kongsmarch, Makara, Adekunjo, Ratana, Soksuena, Chea Samnang, Men Samnang, Nhem, Taboula, Pidor Match Action We win an early free kick, which Men Samnag swings in to Nhem! His header smacks against the upright and is cleared by the National Defence. Promising start. Men Samnang wriggles his way into the box but can only shoot tamely at the keeper. At the other end, a quick breakaway leads to Kim Rithy shooting but is well saved by Som. Nhem goes on a storming run which results in him firing just over the bar. Some nice moves result in poor finishing, especially from Taboula. 0-0 at the break, but we have looked far more likely to break the deadlock. Into the second half and I go 4-2-4 as we lacked width in the first half. Still we create chances, Makara heads wide from a corner and the National Defence live up to their name. Frustrating. Then to make matters worse a quick goal kick results in a race between their striker and Makara. My player holds him back and is also on a yellow. The ref takes a dim view and sends him off. I move sub Leap Bo to an emergency left back but funnily enough still feel we can win. The Defence sense an opportunity though and nearly score with a header just over the crossbar. We haven’t given up despite our numerical disadvantage. Sub Pheara goes on a barnstorming run through the midfield. He finds Nhem in the right channel who runs at his defender. His cross is cut out but the defender can only chest the ball into the path of Men Samnang who fires home from close range for a much deserved lead. Run Oudom lives up to his name before firing a shot which is saved low by Som. They come again and only a last ditch tackle from Ratana, now playing in central defence prevents an easy tap in. We are made of sterner stuff this season and hold out for a hard-earned three points. Final Score National Defence 0-1 EDC Men Samnang 80 It was a few days after the National Defence game and I was taking training. During the session I was interrupted by my chairman, Sann Veasna. Firstly it was a surprise to see him on the training field (something his predecessor would never have done), but what was even more surprising is that he was accompanied by two players, who I did not recognise. One was a short spiky haired dude, the other seemingly of Thai origin was taller. Veasna was still wearing those sunglasses.. "Jonathan.. he grinned, I want you to meet Jefri Bisai and Watthana Doloh.. They will be joining the club at the start of the new transfer window on 16th May..." This was really awkward. While I knew about Bisai, I did not know who was this Doloh fella was? I'd never heard of him, let alone know even what position he played... What was his pedigree? Was he also "tearing it up in the Thai amateur leagues?" I bit my tongue.. "Welcome to EDC," I uttered, as I bowed to each of the new signings in turn. "This is an exciting new era for the club and to lay down a marker to our rivals, I have signed these to bad boys," he turned grinning like a Cheshire cat at both of them... like he'd signed both Messi and Ronaldo on the same day.. Bisai and Doloh laughed nervously. "Well, gotta move on, we have contracts to sort out.. Happy training!" I gave a fake smile, before turning to Nen Borey who had come over to meet them as well. I shook my head. "I'm not sure how long I can put up with this Nen?" "Jonathan.. let's see how good these players are first. They may be just what we need for the team.." "I don't know, even if they are good players, what's the point of having a recruitment team if the chairman is going to sign everybody. Am I now obliged to play them both against Angkor Tiger on Saturday? Can I even sign players of my own in the upcoming transfer window?" After training I paid another visit to my Data Analyst's cupboard, Vinny Samways and all to get the lowdown on Watthana Doloh. Thankfully he had taken my advice and had tidied it up. Turns out, Doloh had been "tearing it up" for the mighty Prachinbui United in yes you've guessed it the Thai Third Division, which are regional semi-pro/amateur leagues... He was a right winger apparently... "We don't need another right winger, we have Tuy Oudom, Nhem and Pheara who can all play there, plus young Thin Pheng a promising 16-year old wide man in my youth team who was widely tipped to break into the first team in the future.. I thanked my data analyst and headed home for the day, wondering whether this could be the beginning of the end for me at EDC. I could not manage a team that was not my own, regardless of the ability of the players that were being bought by my new chairman. The Chairman’s Signings Watthana Doloh 1.5K from Prachinbui United (Thai) Watthana Doloh has landed in my squad (whether I like it or not) A decentish player but a risk. Jeff Henri Bisai (MC) 1.7K from Persewar (Ind) A midfielder with a bit of everything. Let's see of my chairman has a Judging Player Ability of 20... Match 9 Angkor Tiger v EDC Four straight wins in all competitions have helped to give the team new belief and confidence as we travel to The champions, Angkor Tiger. Three changes see Mol return for the suspended Makara and Nhem Sophorn for Kongsmarch. New signing Jefri Bisai starts in midfield, while new Thai winger Doloh is on the bench. Not sure what’s going on at the beer company, as they languish in 9th, while we start the game in 6th place. They still have the dangerous Omakafe and Bista in their ranks, despite their surprisingly lowly league position. All to play for as we try and catch runaway leaders, The National Police.. Team: Som, Kongsmarch, Mol, Adekunjo, Sophorn, Soksuena, Bisai, Men Samnang, Nhem, Taboula, Pidor. Match 9 Angkor Tiger v EDC Four straight wins in all competitions have helped to give the team new belief and confidence as we travel to The champions, Angkor Tiger. Three changes see Mol return for the suspended Makara and Nhem Sophorn for Kongsmarch. New signing Jefri Bisai starts in midfield, while new Thai winger Doloh is on the bench. Not sure what’s going on at the beer company as they languish in 9th , while we start the game in 6th place. They still have the dangerous Omakafe and Bista in their ranks, despite their surprisingly lowly league position. All to play for as we try and catch runaway leaders, The National Police.. Team: Som, Kongsmarch, Mol, Adekunjo, Sophorn, Soksuena, Bisai, Men Samnang, Nhem, Taboula, Pidor. Match Action We start brightly, but it is Tiger who have the first chance when Omakafe shoots wide from the edge of the box. From the resulting goal kick Som rolls it out to Mol, who finds Sophorn. Sophorn to Nhem. Nhem dribbles infield and lays it off to Men Samnang.. Samnang, sprays a lovely 30 yard ball wide left to Sok Oeun Pidor, Pidor for EDC on the left edge of the area. He finds a cross to Bisai! BisaiiiiiiII!!!!! What a goal. He strikes the ball first time into the top corner from 25 yards with his first ever touch in an EDC shirt! Unbelievable Jeff! Jefri Henri Bisai scores on his debut! What a way to announce himself to his new club! Amazing! Pidor tries to emulate his team mate moments later but his long range effort is well saved. At the other end, Tiger head one over from a corner. We look up for this though. The impressive Men Samnang picks up the ball in midfield and runs at the Tiger defence. He lays it back to Nhem Sophorn who lifts a lovely ball over the top for the onrushing Nhem... 2-0! He bludgeons it into the top corner from inside the box. Brilliant from the youngster once again! A Men Samnang free kick is met by the head of Adekunjo! It hits the upright! We haven’t had it all our own way but our defence has snuffed out anything that the Tiger can throw at us. Then on 42 minutes, Bisai lays the ball back to Sophorn who once again plays a fine forward pass to the onrushing Nhem and in a carbon copy of his first goal slams the ball home for number three. Where were the Angkor Tiger? Quite frankly.. who cares? Bista is angry and the Nepalese forward dribbles down the right flank before crossing to Sok Samnang who returns the favour from the left, only for Bista’s finish to be stunningly tipped round the post by Som from close range. Brilliant from the EDC keeper. The second half kicks off and Tiger have the first attack. Omakafe turns and runs at the defence, but is upended by Mol.. He’s already been booked.. Red Card! Not the start to the half we wanted. I sacrifice Pidor for defender Visal to lot in alongside Adekunjo. A long ball is played to the onrushing Omakafe.. who shoots straight at Som.. A let off for EDC.. Then nothing.. the game ticks and ticks as we frustrate the opposition and preserve our lead. Men Samnang gets the ball on the left and releases Nhem who skips past his man, but the goalkeeper denies him his hat-trick and a fourth EDC goal. And that was that. A brilliant scoreline in an even game. We power up the C-League table to fourth. Final Score Angkor Tiger 0-3 EDC Bisai 3, Nhem 21,43 Match 10 EDC v CMAC United Five straight wins in all competitions and suddenly we have got our mojo back. The problem is when we are confident and playing well, we tend to slip on a banana skin and fall on our backsides... Bottom of the table CMAC Utd have all the hallmarks of a very slippery banana skin. Up front, the evergreen Kawabata, who was supreme last time we faced him is up front, with ex EDC man Sos Suhana providing the ammunition from the right wing. We have an embarrassment of riches to choose from. Makara slots in for the suspended Mol, while Doloh makes his full debut on the right wing in a 4-4-2 formation. On paper an easy win, in practice, god knows what will happen... Team: Som, Sophorn, Makara, Adekunjo, Ratana, Sokuena, Bisai, Doloh, Nhem, Taboula, Men Samnang It is CMAC who have the first attempt at goal, Sos Suhana’s free kick which was comfortably saved by Som. We assert dominance as the visitors pack the defence with the aging Kawababta their only outlet on the break. We huff and puff. Taboula has a shot comfortably saved but that’s about it. We have had plenty of the ball but so far have been unable to break them down. Until.. Men Samnang, playing on the left tries to beat his man but is tackled.. Soksuena picks up the loose ball. He plays it into the penalty area. Taboula flicks the ball on into the path of Nhem who stabs the ball home at the far post. Relief! Taboula almost makes it two when his low shot is well saved after good work from Bisai. A warning shot! Midfielder Va Pheng drives forward and unleashes a fearsome shot which is spectacularly tipped over the bar by Som. One nil at the break. In the second half we dominate once again. Nhem flashes a shot just wide of the post, while a rejuvenated Taboula has a header tipped over the bar. CMAC started to creep back into the game and enjoy a good spell of possession, without creating much. The clock ticks on, until Som sends a thunderbolt of a goal kick. Nhem leaps like a salmon to nod the ball on to the onrushing Taboula, who makes no mistake, sidefooting the ball confidently into the corner for a two nil lead. Job done. CMAC created a couple of half chances late on but there was no denying us a comfortable win. We go second, just three points behind The National Police... Final Score EDC 2-0 CMAC United Nhem 34 Taboula 83 Pelap Taboula Makes 100th Appearance for EDC My star Nigerian striker, Pelap Taboula made his 100th appearance in an EDC shirt against CMAC United. He has scored 64 goals for the club and is quickly establishing himself as a true club legend. At just 23 years old there will hopefully be many more appearances and goals for the club. EDC have recovered from being bottom of the league at one stage to fourth in the table. Will the chairman's new signings help propel them even further towards glory, or will it prove to be a ticking time bomb in both the dressing room and manger's office? Find out next time onThe Ultimate World FM Game!

Haha I think that's just my imagination working overtime as thats what I imagine where a data analyst would be, in a cupboard.. with posters of old footballers on the walls..

Part 73. Meeting Mr Veasna It was the sunglasses, which glinted brightly in the hot Cambodian sunlight that caught my eye when I saw EDC's new chairman, Sann Veasna for the first time. He gave a little wave as he stepped out of his black, chaffeur driven Mercedes at the Electricity Stadium car park, in his pristine pin striped suit, slick black hair and of course those gleaming shades. His arrival was like that of a rock star. Me, Nen Borey and a crowd of sports journalists, including a cameraman from Cambodian Match of The Day were there to greet him and the takeover had caused ripples around the C-League. This was a big story and Sann Veasna was big news.. On first impressions this was a man loved life in the fast lane, with fast cars and probably even faster women, the complete opposite to his predecessor, Hem Vutha who was by default a mild mannered quietly spoken sort, but could have a nasty streak if you got the wrong side of him, as I did on a few occassions. On the flip side if Veasna was of this character, perhaps he would be more progressive and ambitious for the club and backed by the right finances could make EDC a lot stronger.. or he could just be a flash in the pan? At this stage it was difficult to judge. He could talk the talk, but could he walk the walk? The new EDC chairman posed in front of the camera, before giving a brief interview to the waiting journalists. He then took the time to shake hands with me, Nen Borey and other members of the backroom team. Although, unlike his rival bidder, who had vowed to get rid of me if he took over, Veasna had been quieter on the subject of my future, although he had indicated during the negociations that he would not be making any immediate changes to the non-playing staff. I would find out in a meeting with him that had been arranged later that day what his thoughts were on this subject The opening day defeat to the National Police had not done anything for convincing any new chairman that I was the man to take this team forward under a new regime, but the win against Boeung Ket with a much improved performance had hopefully remedied this somewhat. There was a small, but intimate drinks reception, although I kept off the champagne, as I had to help out with training later that morning. We had a big game against Nagaworld to prepare for, not really the opening game I would have wanted to impress my new boss. The casino would be seeking to spoil the honeymoon period of the new owners. I took training with the lads, grabbed some lunch and then headed up the stairs to the boardroom. It felt strange being there again. The last time had walked up these stairs I had been on the verge of the sack after my clandestine trip to Malaysia and things had been more than uncertain with Charlotte as well. That tired nauceous feeling I had felt that day will last with me forever. In the time since, results and the performance of the team had worsened and a scrambled 5th placed finish had papered over the cracks a little. I knocked on the door and was greeted by his PA, a pretty petite Cambodian woman in a crisp, white blouse and black skirt. Sann Veasna was on the phone. The PA smiled, beckoned me to take a seat to wait until my new boss had finished. Veasna, still wearing his shades was slouched in his chair with his feet on the desk, but seemed unaware of my presence. I am not normally one to earwig on other people's phone conversations, but I could not help but be interested in the mode of this one. "We want to sign him.. Bisai.." "Yeah we'll give you 1.5K.. 1.5K and a £500 signing on fee.. " Ok and a nice house in a fashionable part of Phnom Penh.. I have just the place in mind" Was I hearing right? On his first day as EDC chairman, was he trying to sign a new player for the team?.. But surely this was my job, or Khim Ravy's our Director of Football. Not his! This was a bit awkward.. "Great that's a deal.. Bring Jefri over next week we'd love to show him around the club. Yeah and his Mrs too of course. " "Great catch you later Mo " I looked around the room. His stuff was still in boxes, but already he was wheeing and dealing like Harry Redknapp on steroids.. He 7was momentarily surprised to see me sat there, before regaining his composure.. "Jonathan.. nice to finally meet you properly, he smiled bowing in my direction, before holding out his hand for a shake." "You never guess what he chattered excitedly, I've just signed you a top top player.. he's going to make waves in the C-League, put bums on seats this guy.. Your gonna love him.." Ok? "Anyone I've heard of?" It flashed through my head it could be a name, maybe a relic from the Chinese Superleague looking for a final payday (like he was ever going to get one at EDC..) Jefri Hendri Bisai.. Who? He's an Indonesian midfielder whose tearing it up in his home country but wants to come and play for EDC, his Mrs is Cambodian and she wants to come home.. This will be an amazing signing for the club.. " Righto.. This was an awkward one. On the one hand if Bisai does actually sign and he turns out to be a good player that will be great, but call me old fashioned, surely the chairman should only provide funds to buy new players at the request of the manager and the recruitment team, not buy the players himself.. This was a strange one and did this set a precedence for what was to come? Was I going to have players foisted on me whether I liked it or not and would the new chairman expect me to play his signings at the expense of more established players at the club? What effect would this have on the dressing room? Bisai, should he sign depending on his style of play could take the place of Chea Samnang who is my captain and an influential figure in the squad hierachy. He turned and smiled. "You'll be pleased to know Jonathan I think you have done a good job here to maintain EDC's status as an established C-League club and are happy for you to continue in your role. Of course you will be judged on results and if things don't go well we may look for a replacement. Like our predecessors, we want a top half finish and a Quarter Final place in the Hun Sen Cup and we will back you financially in order for you to do this." He stood up and shook my hand again. "I look forward to our first game together against Nagaworld." I shook his hand politely. He seemed nice enough, but what was all this about, making transfers behind my back? I would be watching him very closely... It was 3 in the afternoon and most of my backroom team had left the ground. I needed to find out who this Jefri Hendri Bisai was? My head scout had gone home, but there might be somebody else who may know? Therefore, my next stop was a rare trip to the cupboard where my data analyst and Technical Director Mao Samnang lived. Rumour has it he once spent an entire fortnight in there without coming out except for toilet.. Anyway that's another story.. I knocked on his cupboard door. There was a few scuffling noises coming from inside the cupboard. A few moments later the door flung open and a woman in her early 20s of Chinese appearence rushed out holding a dress around her body to cover up her modesty... I raised my eyebrows as my ruffled data analyst emerged in the cupboard doorway, his glasses steamed up and his hair all over the place.. "*Mao! How you doing man? "What do you want boss? enquired my data analyst obviously annoyed that I had interrupted his little rendez-vous. Mao, I wanted to pick your brains. Have you heard of an Indonesian footballer called Jefri Hendri Bisai? He paused suspiciously.. "Hmmm you'd better come in.." The data analyst's cupboard was a sight for sore eyes. The place was littered with pizza boxes, paper and computers. On the wall was a random poster of Vinny Samways, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and another of Paul Gascoigne's famous free kick against Arsenal in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final.. He was obviously a closet Spurs fan...... Anyway who was Henri Bisai and what was his pedigree? After a bit of faffing around we managed to find some data on him.. "Bisai ah here we go.. Plays for Pereswar in Indonesia who I believe are in the Third Division.?" "Third division?" I responded disapointedly.. "He made 58 appearances for them and scored 11 goals, with 16 assists and an Average rating of 7.17 He's done well granted, but only in the Indonesian Third Division." Yes, Indonesia is a bigger football nation than Cambodia, and have over the years produced some decent footballers who have had good careers in some of the stronger Asian leagues, but they could hardly be called a world footballing powerhouse. Their Third Division would probably be of a similar standard to our Second Division maybe at best...? Unless Bisai has just started out and is looking to move to a bigger club? "How old is he?" "He's 26." Hmmm I thanked my data analyst for his help and urged him to keep his extra-curricular activities away from the workplace and to give his cupboard a tidy in case our new chairman popped by for a visit. I left the cupboard shaking my head.. "Tearing it up in the Indonesian Third Division. " I uttered to myself as I left the ground for the day.. "Maybe Henri Bisai will become an Indonesian Vinny Samways?" joked Charlotte when I told her later that evening... "I'd rather him be the Indonesian Gascoigne." I laughed in response. Match 3 – Nagaworld v EDC Our challenging start to the season continues with a trip to the casino, who strangely lie bottom of the C-League after two defeats in their opening matches. They will still be a threat though. I stick to the same formation which served us well against Boeung Ket, but make one change with Pidor returning to the left wing, with Men Samnang switching to the number 10 role and Sung Rot dropping to the bench. Nagaworld have reverted to a 3-5-2 formation with Math Fasal playing as a right wing back. He really won’t like that!! Team: Som, Konsmarch, Makara, Mol, Ratana, Soksana, Leap Bo, Nhem, Men Samanag, Taboula, Pidor Match Action With new chairman, Sann Veasna watching from the VIP box, both sides go hell for leather in the opening exchanges. Taboula and Nhem both register shots on target to Nagaworld’s one in the opening 9 minutes. Taboula then has a volley well saved. We look good here, but can we break the deadlock? No but Nagaworld can.. A long ball is played up to striker, Chainuth who flicks the ball on to the right foot of Man Ratana who volleys first time past Som. Completely against the run of play.. Like the Aussies and their short ball theory at Lords in the Ashes, Nagaworld’s long ball theory works again as another hoof ball is latched onto Man Ratana who lashes it past Som for 2-0. Two long balls, two chances, two goals.. In the second half we control the game but don’t look like scoring. There’s an air of inevitability about this. I’ve been playing this game long enough... To cut a long story short Sim Daravon crossed in from the right and that man Ratana glanced home a third to cap a miserable trip to the casino for Team Electric.. It’s not like we performed badly, we just couldn’t score and they could.. We actually do find the net when out of almost impatience, Samnang Nhem turned and fired a fierce shot into the bottom corner for a consolation near the end. Final Score Nagaworld 3-1 EDC Ratana 28,31,85 Nhem 86 Match 4 – Chhlam Samuth v EDC It’s been a mixed start to the season so far. A terrible performance on the opening day, followed by a good win and performance against Boeung Ket and then defeat to Nagaworld. Which EDC will turn up today? I change to a 4-4-2, with Tuy Oudom back on the right wing and Taboula and Nhem up front. Visal makes his debut in the centre of defence. Samuth have had as bad a start to the season as us and have Chey Chitra in their ranks with a point to prove which makes them dangerous. Team: Som, Kongsmarch, Visal, Mol, Ratana, Makara, Men Samnang, Oudom, Nhem Taboula, Pidor It’s fairly even in the opening exchanges. We look good with two wingers but fail to create a chance. Then on nine minutes we win a free kick. Up steps Men Samnang to hit a fierce shot which the keeper can only palm into the top of the net! 1-0. We look in control of the game... until.. In a seemingly innocuous passage of play, where their player has the ball on the wide right, Visal on his debut decided to go in two-footed.. Red card! I sacrifice Taboula for Adekunjo with just Nhem up front. Just what I needed! To make matters worse from the resulting free kick, the ball is worked to Sok Veasna who unleashes a worldie straight into the top bins, Som with no chance.. When it rains it pours.. Seemingly out of nowhere we produce some magic. Substitute Sung Rot picks up the ball and runs with it before sending a perfect through ball to Samnang Nhem. The youngster scores with a lovely places finish seemingly against the odds to restore our lead. We then concede in the stupidest way possible.. a breakaway which leaves Bunsan the entire half of the field to run into and fire past Som. Enter Chey Chitra. The former EDC man looks over at our dugout before galloping past Mol and planting one past Som to turn it around 3-2. We have no answers.. The only answer is to go route one which is what Som does form a goal kick with devastating effect, sending Nhem clear to bag his second. 3-3. Shades of last season. As if this game couldn’t get any crazier it somehow does. Ratana fouls in the box. Penalty! Ratana is already on a yellow card.. Red! Down to 9 men we go Ouk Voeun does the rest sending Som the wrong way, 4- flippin 3. I can’t do anything right . Sok Veasna is allowed the freedom of the pitch before firing another bullet into the top corner 5-3. I am fuming! Tuy Oudom does his best to cheer me up by pulling one back with a clever dinked finish after a lovely ball form Sung Rot. 5-4. They see it out though and we lose for the first time to Chllam Samuth. Things have got that bad. I feel low, very low right now. We are rock bottom of the table after 4 matches and feel the whole world, Buddha and the Football Manger gods are against me... Final Score Chllam Samuth 5-4 EDC Match 5 EDC v Kampong Chhnang You may recall we played Kampong Chhnang in a cup game back in 2021 (see Getting our feet wet) Well they are now newly promoted to the C-League and it’s fair to say they have done better than us so far, lying in second behind the National Police. Whatsmore the fabled Ouch Tony is still there and leading the line for the visitors. You may remember that Ouch Tony very nearly engineered a cup upset almost by himself as he led a comeback that we only just managed to stave off and sneak through to the next round. Now 34, is he ready to repeat his barnstorming second half performance that briefly earned him the nickname, “The Cambodian Messi.” I go in a 4-4-2. Ratana and Visal are both suspended after seeing red in the last game, so in comes Name Sop horn at left back and Adekunjo to partner Mol in the middle. Team: Som, Kongsmach, Mol, Adekunjo, Sop horn, Makara, Men Samnang, Oudon, Nhem, Taboula, Pidor Match Action An even first fifteen sees Taboula have a well worked goal disallowed and the visitors cause us a few problems with some good attacks, without creating much. Nhem has a header well saved from a Pidor cross, but that’s the closest we come. Pidor has taken a knock so on comes Sung Rot, with Men Samnang switching to the left flank. We struggle to create, while for once looking fairly solid at the back. The, out of nothing, left back Nhem Sop horn lofts the ball forward. Taboula flicks the ball on and Nhem, running in behind buries it past the keeper with a smart finish. 1-0. Adekunjo wins a header above Ouch Tony which finds Sung Rot. He drives forward with a typical Sung Rot run through the middle, before threading a perfectly weighted through ball to the onrushing Nhem, who such is his confidence, lashes the ball home first time without breaking stride to double our advantage. We are on fire now. Sop horn wins a header this time and this finds Taboula who runs at the heart of the Kampong defence. He plays in the unmarked Sung Rot who fizzes the ball into the corner first time to put us three ahead! Into the second half and Kamopng come at us. I bring on Dara for a tiring Oudom, but means I have used all three subs. Then, Sung Rot pulls up.. down to 10 we go. This is the time for another Ouch Tony show, surely.. He doesn’t disappoint. On 69 minutes he waltzes through our defence before teeing up Chan Thera who slides it past Som. Bugger, We look vulnerable until Taboula, now playing on the left wing, dribbles down the flank before sending in a searching ball for Nhem Dara to volley home first time to put a seal on a much needed victory. We climb out the relegation zone into 10th. and breathe a big sigh of relief. Final Score EDC 4-1 Kampong Chhnang Nhem 33,35 Theara 70 Sung Rot 43 Dara 76 Match 6 EDC v Khemera 02/05/26 Just when I needed a nice easy game to back up the victory in the last match, bloody Khemera roll into town, wing backs, Judas and all.. Yes Maol Daravon has given up on his police career and defected to my bogey team. They are also buoyed by a good start to the season and lie in third on nine points, while we languish in 10th. To combat their annoying formation I restore the two DMCs, Makara and Leap Bo, with Nhem on the right flank and Taboula as the lone striker. Ratana replaces the impressive Nhem Sop horn who is unlucky to miss out.. Ros Kongsmarch is given another chance in the troublesome right back berth. Team: Som, Kongsmarch, Mol, Adekunjo, Ratana, Makara, Leap Bo, Men Samnang, Nhem, Taboula, Pidor Match Action A dream start for EDC! On three minutes, Men Samnang swings in a free kick and Pidor rises highest to nod the ball home! 1-0 to the EDC rings round the Electricity Stadium. We look up for this. Samnang who has been on fire so far this season line up another free kick... and fires it in off the inside of the post for 2-0. Brilliant from the youngster! Nhem then stings the hands of the keeper with a rasping shot. We are looking good here. But wait! Panha is through on goal after a brilliant through ball Panha.. thwacks the post. A let off for EDC! “Focus” I scream from the dugout. Men Samnang though is running the show in midfield. He waltzes past his man before unleashing a curling shot just past the upright. 2-0 at the break and we have looked solid and could have lead by more than just the two goals. Into the second half and good move involving the tenacious Leap Bo and Taboula results in the ball being spread wide to Nhem who runs into the box before he is felled by the defender. Penalty! Up steps Ouk Ratana... who fires it straight at the keeper, who parries the ball away.. bugger! No matter. Another nice move results in Pidor waltzing into the box before being felled by the defender. Penalty! I order Taboula to take it instead of Ratana and the Nigerian nonchalantly slots the ball home, sending the keeper the wrong way. 3-0 to the EDC! Men Samnang almost makes it four when he latches onto a Taboula free kick, but his fierce effort is clawed around the near post by the keeper. But wait. This is Khemera... Ly Ravy gets down the left, outpacing Kongsmarch before floating in a perfect cross for Panha to nod home. 3-1. We are made of sterner stuff this season and there are none of the capitulations which pockmarked last season. Men Samnang (who else) sends in another handgrenade of a free kick and the impressive Mat Mol heads home at the far post to round off a brilliant performance. Judas what’s the score, Judas Judas what’s the score rings round the Electricty Stadium in reference to our old friend, Maol Daravon. There was time for another goal, to Khemera Ravann beat Som to ball to nod home a consolation which took the gloss off a great performance against those perennial bogeymen from Khemera. Final Score EDC 4-2 Khemera Pidor 4 Panha 62 Men Samnang 12 Ravann 90 Taboula 56 (pen) Mol 77 A mixed start to the season for EDC as they start to slowly climb the table to respectability, but will the influence of a new chairman and his liking for dabbling in the transfer market unbalance the team, or will it propel them further up the league table? Find out next time on the Ultimate World FM Game!

Part 72 - Start of Season 7 Despite the upheaval of the takeover which which rumbling on in the backgound, it was important that me and my backroom staff took a "business as usual" approach to the start of the brand new Cambodian season. It is fair to say that the fixture computer had been less than kind to us during this period too. Some nice easy fixtures and a few early wins would help my cause of staying in the job, should any new owner be thinking about making a change. The first game, a visit to the vastly improved National Police (at least in a footballing sense) was followed by Boeung Ket at home and then a trip to the casino in our third game, which could potentially be my first match under the new regime. While Nen Borey and I were making tactical plans for the following day's training session there was a knock at my door. It was my effervescent, but sometimes highly strung head of youth development, Chan Vannak. "Boss, how could you?" "How could I what?" "You forgot.. I can't believe you forgot!" (This sounded more like Charlotte if I'd forgotten her birthday) "What did I forget?" "You forgot to tell the world about all the brilliant Cambodian wonderkids that I have unearthed for you three months ago.. You know the ones that are currently in our U21 team, that signed a youth contract all the way back in November.." I rolled my eyes and grinned at Nen Borey... "But please note this was done before the transfer embargo was imposed because of this takeover thingy. Make sure the readers around the world know this!" "Very well..." Annual Youth Intake (back in November 2025) At a time when the football club is bursting at the seams with players and seriously need trimming down to size, my Head of Youth Development, Chan Vannak has recruited a whole army of new potential recruits. Whisper it quietly but this could be a golden generation and are the most talented group to come through the club’s ranks in recent years... Hmm we’ll see about that.. New Youth Players Here’s a list of the new youth players I have decided to offer contracts to. Thin Theng MR/AMR A promising young winger with good pace and crossing ability. He did well in a couple of the pre-season friendlies Va Rithy AMC A good prospect with good pace and finishing ability. Mom Chamroeurn DR A lesser spotted right back with decent potential. Ung Hai DC A decent young central defender with good tackling ability. Sach Ratana MC A decent midfield prospect with a good passing range. "Happy now?" Chan Vannak smiled and skipped out the room... "While your at it boss, you may as well inform our readers around the world about the players who left the club over the Christmas transfer window? suggested Nen Borey. "Can't believe I forgot to do that Nen.." "That Charlotte.. she's too much of a distraction.." "Your right Nen.. this should have gone in "The Big Reunion" post.." Players Who Left The Club In Pre-Season (before the transfer embargo) Soeung Rithy (DR) Ly Sophorn (DMC) Sok Chanvirak (ST) Sonevilay Sihavong (DR) Ouk Vibol (DRC)- free transfer to Western Phnom Penh Seut Bairaing (DL) Chey Chitra (ST) Sok Vandeth (DL) Sok Makara (DRLC) Touch Van (MR/AMR) Vannak Sok (AMC) Tola Mao (DMC) Lamine Santos (MC) "Right Nen.. Let's start Season 7!" Match 1- National Police v EDC So here we go again, the beginning of a brand new shiny league campaign! I think we are going to be a lot better this year and look more solid at the back. Our new tactic will also help to dominate games and deny our opponents the ball. As ever though, the final result will be down to the lap of the FM Gods. Away to the National Police is a difficult assignment first up but will be a great game to see where we are at after our pre-season recruitment drive. They have Okereke leading the line and our old foe from Nagaworld, Long Pheng just behind, and former EDC man, Min Ratanak in centre mid. They are dangerous opponents, but we can play too.. Chea Samnang has not quite recovered from injury so Leap Bo steps in, while Visal is suspended and Pidor still injured. Team: Som, Kongsmarch, Adekunjo, Gbayoro, Ratana, Soksana, Leap Bo, Nhem, Sung Rot, Taboula, Men Samnang Match Action We keep the ball well in the opening exchanges, but the Police are soon on our case. A long ball from their keeper causes panic in our defence. Soksana can only flick the ball towards his own goal and Thorn Darapitch runs onto the ball. He hits the post, but the rebound fall to Okereke who makes no mistake. Not the start I had in mind.. The police are looking dangerous and Darapitch forces another fine save from Som, while Taboula fizzes one over the crossbar. Then a well worked move involving Soksana, Men Samnang and Ratana down the left whose cross results in Nhem hitting the post with a bullet header, Unlucky. Long Pheng turns Messi-like in the centre circle and runs forward with menace before playing a perfectly weighted through ball for Okereke who smacks it into the top corner. This is not going to plan. Into the second half and we are the better side. Nhem gallops down the right but is tackled. In the blink of an eye the Police kick the ball downfield to that man Okereke who sprints past Adukanjo, then finds Long Pheng who squares to In Sovidad. He beats Som at his near post.. 3-0 down, this is dreadful... We manage to pull one back. Men Samanag gallops down the left and his through ball sends Taboula in on goal, who angrily fires it into the top corner. 3-1. The revival was not to last. Long Pheng who has bullied our defence all day gets his goal to make it 4-1. I am devastated; I thought we were better than this. Gutted.. Maybe if this takeover goes ahead I deserve to be replaced... Khemera thrash Angkor Tiger Although our 4-1 defeat to the police was pretty horrendous, we can console ourselves that at least it was not the worst result of the day as Khemera thrashed the Champions, Angkor Tiger 7-1! Hun Sen Cup 1st Qualifying Round Draw In a twist of fate, we draw.. yes you’ve guessed it.. the one and only Bati Youth in the first round of the cup. Well at least we have a chance to seek revenge for last season. In another strange twist they could end up being my first and last opponents if I lose my job because of the takeover.. Exciting News In Takeover Bid The consortium featuring local businessmen, Sann Veasna and Mao Virath are the frontrunners to take over at EDC. Rival bidder, Oum Vannak (the one who wanted to get rid of me) has pulled out. The new investors have talked about building a new stadium for EDC and investing in the playing staff. Could this mean professionalism? Match 2 EDC v Boeung Ket I feel like I’ve come full circle with EDC. I’m feeling exactly like I did when I first took them over and that is batten down the hatches against the professional sides, such as Boeung Ket. I go in with a defensive 4-2-3-1. Mat Mol makes his debut alongside Adekunjo in the all important central defence role. Things can only get better as somebody once sang.. Team: Som, Kongsmarch, Adekunjo, Mol, Ratana, Leap Bo, Soksana, Sung Rot, Nhem, Taboula, Men Samnang Match Action We look up for this and already look sharper in the mind and in the tackle. An early slide challenge from Leap Bo gets a strong cheer from he home crowd. Taboula lashes a shot over the bar and then Sung Rot not long after sends a fizzing warning shot just wide of the post. Encouraging. Then we strike. Konsmarch retrieves the ball from a panicked clearance by their defender and keeps the ball in on the right touchline. He finds Leap Bo who flights the ball into the area where Taboula lays it off to Nhem. Nhem now for EDC, right edge of the area, He crosses it in.. Taaaabbbooullllaa!!I He finds the net with an acrobatic overhead kick. What a goal! Men Samnang drifts in from the left flank and finds Nhem! He forces a flying save from the keeper, preventing the ball from bursting the top corner of the net. Ket have a couple of attacks but ultimately they come to nothing. The clock ticks to half time. One nil to the EDC. As expected Boeung Ket come on strong in the second half. We pack the defence and it seems to be working. However, Adekunjo scuffs a clearance straight to Ouch Oudom, who plays in Sun Dara to slot home an equaliser... We rally and take a firmer grip on the game. We win a free kick on the near side. Ratana hangs the ball up to the far post where Samnang Nhem leaps highest and guides a looping header into the corner of the net to open his account for the season. Now we need to keep them out. I go defensive with Pidor and Nhem playing as wide midfielders. We look far better organised in defence and are like a blue wall which resists everything Ket can throw at us. We even manage to create a couple of chances of our own on the break. We see it through. What a much improved performance that was from the horror show that was the opening game. We were sharp in the tackle. Mol had an impressive debut at the back, while Soksana and Leap Bo were magnificent in defensive midfield. Final Score EDC 2-1 Boeung Ket Taboula 9 Sun Dara 55 Nhem 74 EDC Takeover Bid Completed Sann Veasna has become the new chairman of EDC after taking over the club from Hem Vutha and wishes to retain the services of manager, Jonathan Rudd... Finally the takeover is complete and despite humiliation by The National Police on the opening day, Rudd (for now) keeps his job. What will the new chairman, Sann Veasna bring to the club and could this be the beginning of a bright new era for Electricitie Du Cambodge? Find out next time on The Ultimate World FM Game!

Interesting concept. Good luvk with this one.

There's a whole world out there to explore Ben... I'm surprised I've stayed at EDC this long..

Part 71 - Transfers and Takeovers It was two days after the party and the first day back at training. In this time I'd had time to reflect on the events and Hem Vutha's shock announcement. I had very much mixed feelings about the situation. On the one hand a new chairman and one with a bit more money and ambition than Hem Vutha might be what is needed to drive us forward towards the league title and become the fifth professional Cambodian club. Then, would any new chairman want to bring in their own manager to lead the team and get rid of me? I won't lie I have had thoughts of moving away from EDC, hence my dalliance with Melaka in Malaysia, but then Charlotte happened at the same time and I wouldn't have got the job anyway.. Whichever way this panned out I would have to try and carry on as normal. Luckily all this was happening in the early pre-season, so would not affect the players much as they would be on their holidays and doing extra shifts at the Electricity Company as they often did between November and March. Secondly as Nen Borey had pointed out to me, once talks with a new owner were proceeding, a transfer embargo would be placed on the club, meaning we could not buy or sell any players (such as this is in Cambodia) during this period. This meant that we would have to get any business done early in the transfer window. Perhaps mine and Charlotte's Bonnie and Clyde routine at the party would pay dividends after all? I was not wrong. I arrived for training (such as it was this time of the season, more like a social get together with a light kickabout thrown in) Low and behold, four extra players had turned up, Sung Rot, Leap Bo, Um Makara and most importantly, Sok Oeun Pidor. They couldn't wait to sign and so me, Nen Borey and Director of Football, Khim Ravy wasted no time in taking them on board. It's great when a plan comes together. Charlotte was delighted when I told her later on. Um Makara (DC/DMC) Back for his second spell at the club, this ball winning midfielder can also play at centre back, with excellent marking ability. A great addition. Welcome back Um! Leap Bo (DMC/MC) Another player returning to The Electricity Stadium, Leap Bo has improved his game and will bring much needed leadership in the midfield engine room. SOK OEUN PIDOR IS BACK AT EDC After the announcement was made, EDC fans congregated at the Electricity Stadium to see the return of the prodigal son. I have managed to tempt him away from the National Police, back where he belongs at Team Electric! Sung Rot (AMC/FC) Amazingly, Sung Rot is back at EDC for his third spell at the club. The pacy attacking midfielder gives me another option in the number 10 role. Sok Chanraksmy Retires Club legend, Sok Chanraksmy has retired from professional football. When I first joined the club, way back in 2020, it was Sok Chanraksmy who stood out as one of the best players at the club. He won 11 caps for Cambodia, scoring 5 times. The pinnacle of his career came when he scored 21 goals in 24 appearances during the 2021 campaign, who along with partner in crime, Keo Udom regularly tore C-League defences apart. His goals saw EDC reach their first Hun Sen Cup final, where he will be most remembered for his “Gordon Smith” moment when he shot tamely into the keeper’s arms when through on goal in the final minute of the game, spurning the chance to equalise and take the match into extra time. Some say he had been spooked by a curse put on him by a Nagaworld-supporting monk, Sonny Mekarna during a visit to Angkor Wat, although this was never proven. After this incident he fell down the pecking order at EDC as younger strikers, Taboula, Noron and Nhem took precedence. He still turned out for the reserves, remaining professional and helping the youngsters he played alongside. In 2023 he became a player-scout and played an important role in recruiting players for the club. Sok will carry on at EDC, purely as a scout and retain his links with the club. OTHER NEW SIGNINGS Players In – Ros Kongsamrach (DR) My first priority was to sign a good, first choice right back and hopefully now in Ros Kongamrach I have solved this on-going nagging problem in this position which I has been present pretty much throughout my reign as EDC manager. He will also add some much needed pace to our back four. Nodeem Adekunjo (DRC/DM) I have snapped up experienced utility man, Adekunjo who was released by Phnom Penh Crown. He will add some much needed expertise and versatility in our defence. Soeung Soksana (DC/DMC) A solid centre back who can also play in midfield, with good aerial ability, tackling and teamwork. Mat Mol joins EDC A tough tackling centre back, with good marking and room to progress. Soeuy Visal Free Transfer This is somewhat of a coup for EDC. Visal has 64 caps for Cambodia and the 30 year old adds experience and pace to our defence. Nhem Sophorn (DR/L DM) free transfer from Kang Reach Say I love a utility player and Nhem Sophorn is a bright prospect, still learning his trade but will be able to step in and do a job when required. Three Brand New Teams Promoted to The C-League There will be three new promoted teams this year, who have never been in the C-League. They are Life University, Kampong Chhnang (not to be confused with Kampong Cham) and Baksey Chamkrong. Good luck to them, except when they play us of course! Small Boost In Reputation EDC have gained a small boost in reputation and are now the 6th most reputable club in Cambodia and the second semi professional team after the National Police. The big four professional clubs inevitably lead the way. Board Announce Budgets and Expectations I have been given a war chest of £4,000 for the new season and a wage budget of £3700. The board expect me to finish in the top half of the table and reach the Quarter Finals of the Hun Sen Cup. My Expectations – Challenge for the Title. Try and go on a good cup run. New Fixtures Announced for the 2026 C-League Season EDC have a tricky opening few fixtures. We start with an away trip to The National Police, before hosting Boeung Ket and then facing Nagaworld away. It will be a good test to see where we are at and put our new signings to the test. A New Goalkeeping Coach Yet another goalkeeping coach joins EDC. Good luck mate. A new Head Physio We needed a new head physio and have signed this 29 year old who has a long future in healing footballers ahead of him. Friendly 1 Chmao Khmao v EDC Our first friendly sees us take on usually friendly opposition in the shape of Chmao Khmao. Um Makara plays the ball to Pidor whose flick on reaches Taboula in the left channel. His cross is blocked, Pidor fires it in to Dara whose shot is then blocked. The rebound falls to Sung Rot who fires the ball into the top corner to open the scoring. Pidor and Ratana combine on the left. Ratana curls the ball in the defender misses it and Samnang Nhem nips in round the back to slot home. 2-0. Just before half time, Kongsmarch’s free kick is headed home at the far post by Sok Oeun Pidor! We were poor in the second half and our hosts created a few chances. Chay Sinoun fired in a deserved consolation. Final Score Chmao Khmao 1-3 EDC Sinoun 90 Sung Rot 11 Nhem 23 Pidor 45 Friendy 2: EDC v EDC Reserves Second up is our traditional kickabout with the Reserves. Here’s how we got on. Taboula and Nhem exchanged passes and the youngster thrashed the ball into the top corner like only he can. EDC hit the reserves on the break, with Sung Rot running clear and slotting home number 2. The Reserves hit back. Udon Sann’s shot is blocked and Sambath Mom fires into the empty net from the angle. 2-1. From a free kick the ball is cleared and Pelap Taboula runs through unchallenged for number three. Sung Rot picks the ball up in midfield and dribbles past Capriati like he isn’t there and slots past the hapless Votanak, to make it 4-1, with just 15 minutes on the clock. This is more like a rugby sevens game than a football match. Sung Rot is having a stormer here. A corner is cleared but the ball is picked up by Ratana who plays it forward to Sung Rot who turns and fires in number 5 into the bottom corner. This is men against boys. Amazingly there’s no further scoring before half time, although Pidor hit the post and Sung Rot thwacked the crossbar. At the other end, Som made some fine saves to deny Sann. Into the second half. Sambath Mom volleyed home a Tuy Oudom cross to make it 5-2. Savy Theara fires home from the penalty spot after a dubious foul by Visal. 5-3. Mat Noron responds with a penalty of his own after Pheara was upended in the box. 6-3. Mol Ly bursts through to make it 6-4 after a good team move. He scores again, wriggling free from inside the box to slot home his hat-trick. It’s squeaky bum time but after a good move, Nhem Dara is sent clear, his shot is blocked by the defender, but the ball falls into the path of Men Samnang who thwacks it into the top corner from the angle. 7-5. Sor Chanvirak fires in a late free kick for 7-6. Mat Noron puts clear daylight between the two sides when he latches onto a lovely ball from Sann Dara and powers it home for 8-6. Final Score EDC 8-6 EDC Reserves Friendly 3 – Samnang Apivath v EDC Makara sprays the ball to Tuy Oudom who skips past his man and fizzes a shot which the goalkeeper parries, only as far as Mat Noron who smashes in the rebound, 1-0. Ratana throws the ball in on the left to Men Samnang who steps inside his man and curls a wonderful shot into the top corner past the keeper. 2-0. Our opponents win a corner and Run Veasna is allowed a free near post header to halve the deficit. 2-1. Chea Samnang, who is having a good game in centre mid sprays the ball out to a resurgent Tuy Oudom who sprints down the right. His cross is met first time by Men Samnang, ghosting in off the left flank to sweep home number three. 3-1 EDC. From a free kick the referee awards a penalty. Not sure how, but Noron steps up and hammers the ball into the top corner for 4-1. Final Score Samnang Apivath 1-4 EDC Veasna 30 Noron 18, 75 (pen) Samnang 27,31 Friendly 4 EDC v Kep I’ve put the kids out for this one, including a couple of trialists. It was young prospect, Thin Pheng, a right winger who repays my faith when he cuts in from the flank and curls a wonderful effort straight into the top corner. Take a bow son! The same player creates the second. The youngster dips his shoulder and gains half a yard, before fizzing a delicious low cross for Taboula to tap home. The striker barely had to break his stride. Prak Piseth pulls one back with an equally brilliant curling shot from the edge of the box. Tep Vandeth equalises after a long goal kick. Sloppy. 2-2. Youngster Sor Chanvirak restores our lead after he bustles his way through their defence before slotting confidently home. 3-2. Chanvirak doubles his tally from a classic breakaway goal, with Taboula leading the charge down the left before squaring to the young striker who slides the ball confidently home. Ros Konsmarch send the ball forward to Sung Rot who chests the ball down and runs at the heart of the Kep defence before unleashing a rocket into the top corner for 5-2. Superb! Friendly 5 – EDC v Tay Ninh (VIE) Our friends from across the Vietnamese border visit us for our annual kickabout. The visitors draw first blood. Van Tung gets down the left and he squares it to the onrushing Van Tam who beats Som with an instant finish. We huff and puff but fail to blow the house down. It’s 1-0 to them at the break. I tell them they have not been good enough and they listen. We start the second half brightly and are rewarded when Men Samnang fires a free kick into the top corner for one each. These boys can play though. A well worked free kick sees Tuan cross for van Tung to sneak in at the far post and fire the ball past Som. Their lead doesn’t last long. Ratana’s deep cross causes panic in the Tay Ninh box. In the scramble the ball runs loose for Pelap Taboula to squeeze the ball into an empty net from the angle. 2-2. The match peters out into a draw, but a good exercise against decent opposition. Friendly 6 Kirivong v EDC It was tit for tat until on 25 minutes a breakaway saw Sung Rot leading the charge, the ball was laid off to Chea Samnang who planted one of his trademark strikes into the top bins. Men Samnang doubles the lead with a brilliantly struck free kick a certain Mr Beckham would have been proud of. Into the second half and we look very comfortable. Sub Leap Bo’s ball into the box sees young Nhem Dara stick out a leg to poke home a third. Un Mony Udom slots home a fourth from the penalty spot after young Thin Pheng was felled in the box. Final Score: Kirivong 0-4 EDC Chea Samnang, Men Samnang, Dara, Udom Board Expectations The board (as it stands) want EDC to finish in the top half of the table and reach the Quarter Finals of The Hun Sen Cup. My expectations – Challenge for the title and have a good cup run. Double Injury Blow Tuy Oudom (now back in the reckoning) will miss the start of the season with a groin strain, while key midfielder, Um Makara has an abdominal muscle strain, keeping him our for a month. Friendly 7 EDC v Wat Phnom Visal’s long ball reaches Mat Noron in the penalty area. He turns in one slick movement and fires home. 1-0. Touch Sinoun equalises in the second half after a breakaway. Straight from the kick off though young right back, Kouch Mol lifts the ball into the penalty area. Nhem shows his class by turning away from his marker and firing home for 2-1. The same player increases the lead by running onto Cheng Ravy’s goal kick and cooly slotting home for a 3-1 win. New Tactics and Formation I’ve decided to have an overhaul of my tactics and formation, which I hope will be for the best. Up until now we have been largely a counter-attacking side, set up to stifle the opposition and then break at pace. This kind of tactic though has its limitations and is one for a club to my mind that is a mid-table to bottom of the table and looking to stifle the opposition, which was the EDC that I inherited back in 2020. We have moved on and I think that I have built a side which can seriously challenge for the title. This means we must play like a team who believes they can. Therefore I have changed my style to Control Possession in a short passing style, as I want us to be able to dominate games and play on the front foot. My formation has also changed to a flexible 4-4-2, which is great news for some of my players such as Tuy Oudom who are out and out wingers. I want us to use the width of the pitch, but with the ability to roam from positions to confuse the opposition, so for example if the ball is down the left, then the right winger has the license to wander into the box to make a three in the box. We’ll see how long it takes my team to adopt these new tactics successfully. International Call Ups My young defender Ung Hai has been called up to the Cambodian U19s squad against Qatar ina friendly. Men Samnang is in the U23s squad to play Qatar U23. Ratana, Nhem Dara and Samnang Nhem have been called up by the senior squad to play, yes you’ve guessed it, Qatar in a friendly and Tajikistan in an Asian Cup Qualifier. Transfer Embargo Placed on EDC A transfer embargo has been placed on EDC as two parties battle for control of the club. A group lead by local businessmen, Mao Virath and Sann Veasna are said to be interested in buying the club, while a rival bidder, Oum Vannak has pledged to replace me as manager if he is successful in taking over the club... Bastard...! Find out who takes control of EDC and whether I am still in a job, next time on The Ultimate World Football Manager Game!

Part 70 - The Transfer Honey Trap This was a risky game, but one she was sure she could win. Charlotte's tactics tonight had been a gamble, a little bit like playing a diamond formation in midfield, sometimes it works and wins you the game, or sometimes it leaves you exposed and found wanting, especially by a 3-man midfield. There was more than just a 3-man midfield on the dancefloor taking their turn to dance with the belle of the ball. From Charlotte's perspective as a fan, here was a team which was going nowhere but another mid-table position, lagging behind the professional teams who would dominate forever more. Maybe just maybe if some of the better ex-players who had left the club would come back to EDC then they could challenge for honours once again. Secondly there was also a tinge of guilt because it was her actions which had led to some of them leaving. Charlotte had chosen her targets carefully. She knew Maol Daravon was off limits, especially with his scowling wife in tow. Secondly any if her exes such as Keo Udom was not of interest, nor The Cambodian Pele who was also preoccupied with his own guests... Instead her recruitment "shortlist" were taking the bait. Sok Oeun Pidor was of no interest to her, other than seeing him back wearing the colours of EDC again, creating and scoring goals. The same with Um Makara, Leap Bo and Sung Rot, but the problem for Charlotte as she twerked, twirled and flirted her way around the dancefloor was how it looked to her partner and to everybody else in the room. The last thing she wanted was him or anybody else getting the wrong idea... She decided to take action. -------‐----‐------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If she was doing what I thought she was doing then this was crazy and also a bit wrong. I trusted my girl though that her intentions were good, albeit a bit misguided. As Crazy in Love gave way to Usher - Yeah, Charlotte sacheted off the dancefloor and I grabbed her arm as she grabbed mine and we led eachother into the hallway outside. "I'm doing this for you Mr Football Manager please don't be angry.." she pleaded. "Charlotte I know exactly what you are doing.. but leave this in the hands of me and my recruitment team please. My director of football and I deal with transfers. You writhing around the dancefloor to Beyonce is not the way to sign new players." "But I want to help the team... and I feel responsible for players leaving the club. Daravon's departure left a big hole in our defence and that's why we conceded so many goals last season and it was all because of me! I wanted to make it up to you!" "Charlotte, players leave the club for many reasons it was not all because of you. Daravon wanted a new challenge in his life and join the police force.. You cannot blame yourself. Please just stop this nonsense! Look if it makes you happy why don't we use tonight to chat to some of the ex players and maybe put some feelers out for them to rejoin the club? How does that sound? We could do it together, work as a team." I suggested this knowing full well that most of them would want to consult with their agents if they had or could afford one. Secondly we were at a party and nobody wanted to talk "shop." The transfer window was not due to open for another month anyway and it had been long, hard season. Charlotte smiled. We will make a great team, together." "Good" The trap was set. Charlotte would wiggle her bum on the dancefloor and then lead her poor unsuspecting victim to a darkened seated area in the far corner, where I lurked to greet them. First up was Sung Rot.. "Sung Rot approached arm in arm with Charlotte thinking they were going somewhere a little quieter and looking rather excited by the prospect.. Bastard.. That is until I emerged out of the shadows like some kind of mafia boss... "Sung Rot!" Good to see you man, I greeted my former MC/AMC/STC with a huge grin on my face. "Now, do tell me what you are up to these days. " "Well I'm between clubs at the moment boss.." "Really, how interesting!" "Are you looking for a new club?" "Yeah I am" "Why don't you come train with us for a bit before we break up for end of season." (Training continued until the end of November) get your sharpness back and take it from there? No pressure on either side?" Sung Rot nodded but also was looking around to see where the beauty in red had disappeared to. "Great! We'll be in touch.. Can I get you a drink?" This was easier than I thought. The other players on Charlotte's shortlist would be a bit trickier, as they were with other clubs. Would they be open to wearing the navy blue kit of EDC again and working here at the energy company? Um Makara was the next to be "summoned." He was a prospect who had put in some good performances for us as a holding midfielder. Like Daravon and Pidor he had jumped ship to join the National Police which made me even more determined to get him back. "Boss I really hate being a policeman and the manager has only used me off the bench" "Great. Um, If you come back to EDC I will make you a regular starter as a ball winning midfielder. You will be the Claude Makalele to Samnang Nhem's Didier Drogba." "And I can come back and work for the Electric company?" "I'm sure something can be arranged.. we'll call you in the next few days. Now go enjoy yourself but keep away from the lady in red, she's taken... "Ok boss. " "Good lad.. Can I get you a drink?.." "Sok Oeun Pidor! EDC's greatest ever attacking midfielder left right centre, How are you my friend?" Pidor had his eyes so much on the prize that I had to repeat myself. "Sok Oeun Pidor! How are you?" as Charlotte sneaked off. "How is life in his majesty's constabulary Sok?" "Huh?" his eyes looking around to see where Charlotte had disappeared to. "How's the National Police force Sok? "Oh sorry hi boss.. "Don't worry about her Sok, she's taken and would probably have you for breakfast.. now... how do you fancy coming back to EDC Sok? We missed you last season with your darting runs in off the left wing and that creative spark you brought to my team.." Pidor agreed to have a word with his agent and would get back to us. He seemed keen on the idea of a return to The Electricity Stadium though as like Makara catching criminals in Phnom Penh really was not for him. The last remaining player on Charlotte's shortlist was Leap Bo, who I was the most dubious about signing. He had some potential but unlike the other three could not hold a place down in the team and his departure had not really had much effect on us. He would only be a squad player at best on ability, but he had matured and had high leadership skills, which is something that our team lacked, a real leader on the pitch. Leap Bo jumped at the chance (excuse the pun) to re-join us, as he was facing playing Second Division football with relegated Prek Pra. Our work done, Charlotte and I enjoyed the rest of the evening, as we danced the night away with friends past and present. Then, out of the blue, the music stopped and Chairman, Hem Vutha got on the mic to the surprise of everyone in the room.. Had he noticed our skulduggery in tapping up players to re-join the club? Was he about to declare undying love for Charlotte?.. Was he drunk? "Ladies and gentlemen.. Sorry to interrupt this wonderful evening, but there is something I would like to tell you... The room fell silent.. "After ten wonderful years at Electricitie Du Cambodge FC.. I have decided to step down as chairman and will put the club up for sale....! I will be seeking new investment into the club as we strive to make progress both on and off the field. I leave the club in a healthy position and exciting times are ahead for EDC under the new regime, whoever this may be. Thankyou very much! Cue a stunned silence and a few gasps, followed by a ripple of applause around the large hall... Charlotte and I turned to eachother stunned. Would I keep my job, or would any new chairman seek to install a new man at the helm as part of the takeover?.... However, if new investment in the club was made, could this lead to us turning professional? My secondary thought was whether all our hard work this evening with potentially persuading four ex players to come back to EDC had now been in vain if they thought there may be instability at the club... Time would tell on that one.. Will the famous four on Charlotte's shortlist re-sign for EDC, or will they be put off by the potential instability at the club? Find out next time on The Ultimate World FM Game!

Part 69 - The Big Reunion It was the beginning of November 2025 and the end of another Cambodian season. There were big plans though for EDC during the break and not just mine and my recruitment team's in the Christmas transfer window. The year 2025 marked the ten year anniversary of the formation of Electricitie du Cambodge FC and to celebrate a big end of season bash had been organised which was to be attended by 'anybody associated with the club over the past decade.' This included former players (who had made at least ten appearances), any backroom staff past and present (which would be enough to fill most party venues alone) and any season ticket holders who have held them for 5 years consecutively or more. The party was to be held in a large hall on the premises of the Electricity Company which the football team is part of. I had mixed feelings about this end of season knees up. On the one hand I enjoyed a good party and get together and it would be nice to catch up with a few old faces. On the other hand, after our pretty average season where we ended up going into freefall towards mid-table with more leaks in our defence than a sinking ship, coupled with the fact we were knocked out the cup by a bunch of kids I didn't think we had all that much to celebrate. There was a second reason.. (Yes you've guessed it) While things had been going pretty well with Charlotte over the past six months since we got together, the thoughts of her looking stunning in the same room as a load of ex EDC footballers, some of which she'd had previous relations with, filled me with a touch of dread. Then there was the chairman, Hem Vutha who would most certainly be there too.. and Daravon, unless he was on his police duties, Math Fasal would qualify also if he showed up and Keo Udom too... Maybe I was just being stupid and paranoid and a tiny bit possessive but so far I had managed to keep Charlotte and EDC separate, even on match days and it seemed to work. Even though she attended all the games she could, work permitting, always kept a low profile which suited me down to the ground. We would often meet up alone after games in the evening. This party would put her right in the mix again with the very people who thought she was a "loose woman," had previous relations with, or those who had tried to warn me off her. I had avoided the subject of Charlotte with Nen Borey and my backroom staff on purpose and some of them did not even know we were still together. This party of course would blow the cover off this facade as soon as we stepped in the room together. Charlotte was looking forward to the evening immensely and I said nothing to her on this issue as I did not want to upset the apple cart. The night before the party we went out to one of our favourite restaraunts together and the subject of old EDC players came up. Charlotte was quite opinionated about which players she'd liked (in a footballing sense) and which ones were not so good. One of the names that came up was Sung Rot, who of you may remember has had two spells at the club to great effect and another was Um Makara, who had only recently left us and Leap Bo who to her mind had potential to be a good midfielder before he moved on. She tactfully didnt mention the players whom she had relations with, K.Udom, Veasna and Daravon in particular who had been three of the best players to pull on an EDC shirt over the past decade. The evening arrived and Charlotte did not disappoint in a low cut, figure hugging red dress, with that stunning glossy dark hair flowing seductively down her back and shoulders. I still had to pinch myself that she was my girlfriend. We arrived by taxi and strode hand in hand into the Great Hall of the Electricitie du Cambodge headquarters in the middle of Phnom Penh. The hall was opulently decorated in the dark blue colours of EDC, with rows of circular tables with seats around them. There would be a three course meal before an end of season awards ceremony, a speech from Hem Vutha and then a disco. A DJ was setting up in the corner of the room. There were already some people there, including Nen Borey, Chan Vannak and Sok Chanraksmy. This was not the welcoming committee I had hoped for. I shook hands with them and exchanged pleasantries but I could tell there was an element of surprise as to the presence of the part Cambodian part Fillipino beauty stood next to me. It took Mrs Borey, a short, stern looking woman in her 50s who joined us from the bar to break the ice. "So you must be Charlotte then? I like your dress, it really suits your figure..".. and away they went on a little girly chat about dresses and hair.. The women bonded while us men stood like a defensive wall in front of the bar. I bought Charlotte and I a drink, while the other men dispersed as more people started to enter the room. They were interrupted by the presence of Hem Vutha, who strode towards her. My heart sank a little as he approached, knowing what I knew about their relations. They exchanged pleasantries and embraced. They seemed genuinely happy to see eachother and that despite ending their relations years ago had remained on friendly terms. He complimented her on how she looked. I stood there with a fake smile on my face hoping he would b***** off soon. It was amazing how many former players had turned up. Suon Veasna, Tum Saray, Nan Punlock, Moun Nara nowadays a bright young coach. Keo Udom was there thankfully with what looked like a girlfriend, a bonny dark haired girl in a navy blue dress. Maol Daravon appeared along with Mrs Daravon who upon entering the room looked daggers at Charlotte, who of course was her husband's former mistress. Sung Rot appeared seemingly alone and Um Makara, who had come along with Sok Oeun Pidor. Current players were also present too such as Pelap Taboula, club captain Chea Samnang and young Samnang Nhem who surely must be up for a few awards after his performances this season. Then over to my right.. no way! In walked none other than Ahmed Abdi aka The Cambodian Pele with not one but two girls on his arm, both of seemingly Southern European origin with long dark hair, and legs that were longer than the Mekong River.. What the hell was he doing here...? Did he even make ten appearances during his EDC career? According to Nen Borey the man from Somalia was now plying his trade for FC Ayia Napa in the Cypriot league and having rather a good time by the looks of it as well as earning a few quid in the sun.. I had to hand it to him. It was not long ago that he had turned up suddenly at my training ground with no shoes on his feet, begging to join the club... How he managed to convince not one but two girls to make the several thousand mile trip with him from Cyprus to Cambodia is beyond me but I guessed it was none of my business... Charlotte was also looking around the room with intrigue as to which players had turned up. Many of the them cast an eye Charlotte's way as she fluttered her eyelashes and occasionally ran her fingers through her hair as they passed. Hmmm.... She seemed particularly interested in Sung Rot my former attacking midfielder who had left us for the lure of professionalism but things had not quite worked out. Um Makara and Pidor had also not gone unnoticed by my girlfriend as playful pleasantries were exchanged. Soon after she rubbed my shoulder, gave me a small peck on the cheek and left my side to mingle among these ex-footballers. Alarm bells started to ring in my head... We sat down for dinner and she was one of the last people to take their seats, as she was too busy having a high old time chatting up ex-EDC midfielder, Leap Bo, who seemed rather taken with this flirtatious 33 year old woman in his midst.. and I knew exactly where he was looking. This was going worse than I had feared... What should I do? One did not want to make a big scene of it and it become a soap opera, but one could not let this idly pass.. I could see that Charlotte's actions had not been unnoticed by the Boreys who were also sat on our table. Mrs Borey in particular seemed fascinated by the comings and goings of my other half.. Charlotte sat and smiled sweetly at me as she poured a glass of wine which was in ready supply on the dinner table. I'd counted this was her third and we had only been here for just about one hour.. Was she trying to embarrass me? What had I done wrong? As we waited for our starters to arrive, Charlotte began eagerly texting on her phone.. Had she swapped numbers with half a dozen footballers already?? Was she arranging to meet with them..? I was getting angrier and more paranoid by the second. I was just about to grab the phone off her under the table when..... My phone message alert went off. Charlotte turned to me and gazed into my eyes, smiling warmly and adoringly at me. I read the message discreetly under the table. It read: Don't Worry Mr Football Manager, you are still and always will be my number 1.. This is all for a very good reason and you will see why by the end of the evening. Trust me! Love Charlotte XXX As I read the text her hand briefly rubbed my shoulder and she gave me a little wink. She was up to something, but maybe, just maybe it was not as bad as it seemed... The starters arrived and as we ate the delicious traditional Cambodian fish soup the conversation on the table turned to the progress of the team. Mrs Borey seemed surprisingly interested in this subject. "We need a new defence Mr Rudd..," she ordered bluntly, taking a mouthful of her soup. "Well y'know we have a few targets in mind, this is certainly an area of the team which needs strengthening." I replied. We conceded too many goals last season." "And what do you think Charlotte?" enquired the table's matriarch. Charlotte smiled, rubbing my shoulder.. "I'm sure Jonathan will sign some good players for the team this season. It is amazing to see so many ex-footballers have turned up to celebrate ten years of EDC. It is a testament to Jonathan and the club that they have turned up, such is the respect for all he has done for the club." "I believe you know quite a lot of the ex-footballers who have played for EDC, Charlotte, enquired Mrs Borey abruptly. "Well yes I do from watching the team every week." replied the girl in the red dress. "And off the field?" interrogated Mrs Borey in a stern voice. "Kim, enough.." ordered the normally reserved Nen Borey. "Well the way you have been flitting around the room like a little butterfly amongst these hmm very attractive young men,." "KIM Enough!" ordered Nen slightly raising his voice. I'm so sorry Charlotte and Jonathan she's had a bit too much wine." This rather awkward conversation was mercifully interrupted by the master of ceremonies who wished to welcome us all and introduce the Chairman, Hem Vutha and the CEO of Electricitie Du Cambodge Energy Company, Long Sophorn, a petite little man in a neat suit and with a bald head. Once this little introduction was over the main courses were served, a traditional Cambodian coconut fish amok. The meal passed without incident and Mrs Borey kept herself to herself throughout. After the meal had finished it was time for the awards and speeches. The CEO, Long Sophorn started off with a rather boring speech about how proud the energy company was to have such a successful football team. I even got a little mention and round of applause from the room as being the person to bring the first silverware to the club. Then chairman Hem Vutha took over, saying how proud he was to set up a successful club and one that has maintained their C-League status consistently over the past decade. Blah blah blah! No mention that we should be going professional though.... So to the awards ceremony. End of Season Awards Fans Player of the Season – Samnang Nhem Young Player of the season – Samnang Nhem Signing of the Season = Sam Chea (surprisingly) Top Goalscorer – Pelap Taboula (16 goals) Highest Average Rating – Samnang Nhem 7.30 There was a little surprise for the audience at the end as Samnang Nhem Wins Cambodian Player and Young Player of the Year! It was a big night for the young lad who is barely old enough to have a beer to celebrate.. My young striker has had a season to remember, having starred prominently for the first team, winning his first full international cap and now winning the coveted Cambodian Premier League Player of the Year! Well done Samnang! He has also bagged the Young Cambodian Player of the Year Award too! He is the future of Cambodian football. Let's hope we can hang onto him in the Christmas Transfer Window. Hope he has a big mantlepiece.. Som wins Cambodian Goalkeeper of the Year Sokundara Som wins Cambodian Goalkeeper of The Year as EDC players continue to sweep the board in the end of season awards! After the awards ceremony it was time to dance the night away as the DJ played his first song. Guess who was first on the dancefloor... Yes the lady in red Charlotte herself.... As my girl twerked and twirled and shook to the music, so the ex-footballers congregated as they danced with her one by one. Sung Rot, Um Makara, Sok Oeun Pidor and Leap Bo were all in there taking it in turns to dance with my girl! It seems strange, but all I could think of was Delboy from Only Fools and Horses.. "Play it cool Trig, Play it cool..." I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Nen Borey. "Jonathan.. I tried to tell you what she was like. She's a maneater and showing her true colours tonight. I'm sorry you had to find out like this" "Nen Nen.. thankyou for your advice, but I know my girl and I trust her." This was a brave thing to say as Charlotte was now Beyonce to Sok Oeun Pidor's Jay-Z.. full sl*t drops and all.. to Crazy in Love.... I ventured onto the dancefloor to keep an eye on things, trying to jig along to the music. She took my hand for a few moments and pulled me close, giving me a full smacker on the lips and winked at me. It was then I twigged what she was up to. It was a bit of a shot in the dark, but my mind flicked back to the conversation we'd had the night before in the restaurant... I looked onto the dancefloor and it struck me that these were all Charlotte's favourite footballers from EDC.. Sung Rot.. Um Makara, Leap Bo .. surely Pidor would be up there as well.... Hmm What was she up to? What was Charlotte up to? What will happen next? Find out next time on The Ultimate World Football Manager Game!

Hi guys Sorry its been a while but have not been playing much FM of late, partly due to the barnstorningly good weather we have enjoyed in the UK of late.. Anyway now that the weather has turned to a more normal British climate (rain) , I'm writing my next post and will hopefully be published soon so watch this space! Ciao!

Unlike Arsenal, EDC were never top of the table this season. The first full season in charge was more like an Arsenal-style implosion, which at the time I compared to Keegan's Newcastle.. Not an Arsenal fan, but hoped they would win so City didn't dominate.. Better luck next season..